#(I tried to follow them but ran into the stairs instead of actually going up them and lost them)

[eudico-my-beloved]

Finally managed to clear up enough space to run tf2 and in the process of adding a friend and us trying to figure the system out she accidentally queued a match and because it was my first time playing i didnt know shit so i ended up in the match, less than 10 seconds after spawn someone (or a bot) tried to votekick me (it failed) while a scout was running around me because he needed heals and i didnt know the keys to swap to medigun so i tried to shoot him with my syringe gun for some reason and he stared at me until i figured out that i need to press 2 to swap and at this point i was very panicked and then he said!!!!! Thanks doc!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And it made me feel better. I hope he knows he made me feel better and i hope he ends up in great teams with no bots every time he queues in for a match

[bloatedandalone04]

In The Way I Need You | Part 5

Series Masterlist

➪in which you spend the night with the beresfords, and once joey is asleep, you discover that your crush on clay may not be entirely one-sided.

PSA: strongly suggested to read the warnings before proceeding.

WC; 7.5k | Do not repost this anywhere, reblogs are fine ♡

“Hi! I’m so sorry I’m late, the traffic was so bad today, the taxi driver gave me dirty looks the whole ride here,” you say as you quickly enter Clay’s house. You had an overnight bag thrown over your shoulder and he didn’t know why the sight made him so happy, but he was smiling when you added, “I got this for Joey. I saw he didn’t have it in his growing collection.”

You lift your hand and reveal the book Oh, the Places You’ll Go! by Doctor Seuss. Clay’s smile grew at that as he took it from you. “You didn’t need to get him anything,” he said, still grateful for it nonetheless.

“I know,” you say with a shy smile as you shrug off your jacket. “I wanted to.”

Clay takes your jacket from you as he says, “Thank you. He’ll love it,” he hangs it up on a hook before guiding you upstairs. “Actually, he’ll probably want you to read it to him instead of me.”

You shake your head as you ascend the stairs. “I don’t think that’s true. You’re his best friend, after all,”

“I think you’re underestimating how attached that kid has grown to you,” Clay laughs as you both enter the living room. “I tried reading to him earlier and he said I don’t read as good as his babysitter does.” 

You gasp and laugh, too. “He did not,” 

“He did,” was all he was able to say before Joey finally caught sight of you.

“Y/n!” He said, excitement lacing his voice as he slid off the couch and ran over to you. He mispronounces your name again, but you adored the way he said it so you don’t bother correcting him. “Hi!”

You grin at him and drop your bag in order to pick him up. “Hi, buddy,”

Joey looks between you and his dad and he knew he was probably wondering why you were here when it wasn’t a school day. “Remember I told you Y/n was going to stay with us while grandma is away?” Joey nods and he continues. “She’ll be here all night and is going to get you ready for school tomorrow.”

His eyes light up as he hugs you. “All night?” He asked, his excitement to have you here for multiple days at a time radiating from his little body. 

“All night,” you confirm, looking over at Clay as Joey hugs you again. 

-

“I went out this morning and got you your diet coke,” Clay announced as he leaned back in his chair at the dining room table. He was wearing more casual clothing, casual being a white tee and khakis, and to see him not wear a suit or tie for the first time since meeting him had you feeling a bit lightheaded. “The shelves on the fridge door are all yours.”

You smile at him as you finish your pasta. “Thank you,” you say as you also lean back. “You didn’t have to do that, though. I’d be happy to just bring something with me whenever I’m here.”

Clay shook his head as he looked over at Joey, who was sitting beside him. “You take care of this guy while I’m at work, and I know how hard that can be. It’s the least I can do,” he joked and the messy smile his son gave him had your own growing. 

“All done,” he says as he pushes away his plate. “Can I go play now?” 

Clay nods and helps him down from the chair, watching as he runs around the table and out of the room. He shakes his head as you laugh quietly and stand up, collecting the dishes as you do so. “Oh, you don’t have to clean up, you’re a guest,” he tried to take them from you but you dodge his hand with a playful grin. 

“I don’t mind,” you say as you carry them into the kitchen. “You bought me my diet coke, after all. It’s the least I can do.”

Clay laughed as he followed you. “As fun as it is, you got to stop thinking you owe me something after I do the bare minimum for you,” 

You set the plates and forks down into the sink and turn to him. “I could say the same thing to you,” you tease with a raised brow and he turns away after realizing you made a good point. “That’s what I thought.”

You face the sink again and turn the water on, feeling him still looming behind you. 

Glancing back at him, you offer, “How about I wash and you dry? It’ll get done quicker that way,”

“Sure,” he says as he walks over to you. “But on one condition.”

You look up at him as he stands right next to you. He was so close you could smell his cologne and the scent made you feel the smallest bit dizzy. “What is it?” You ask after a few seconds, finally able to find your voice again after zoning out a bit. 

He leans in and takes a plate from you. You hadn’t been this close to him since the night you thought you were being given the chance to kiss him, but then got the message quickly when he pulled away before anything happened. He wasn’t pulling away now, though, and you felt lightheaded again. “You watch a kids movie with Joey and I,” he requested and you laughed, turning back to the sink as you washed another plate.

“You’re pushing your luck with that one,” you joked back as he laughed under his breath and set the dry plate aside before taking another one from you.

Half an hour later you were sitting beside Clay on the couch watching The Lion King. Joey was perched on his lap as he stared up at the screen with his big blue eyes as if it was the coolest movie he had ever seen. You supposed it was. It’s one of your favorites, as well, so you were quite happy with the selection. 

 Of course you cried when Mufasa died, and while Clay held back his laughs, Joey reached out and took your hand in his much smaller one, and you cried a bit harder at that because how a four year old could be this sweet was beyond your comprehension. 

Popcorn was scattered around the carpet as the movie ended and the credits rolled. Joey had fallen asleep during the last few scenes, and had migrated half his body onto your lap. “God, Clay, your kid is cute,” you say quietly as you run your fingers gently through Joey’s light hair.

Clay smiled over at you, running his hand up and down his son’s back. “He gets it from his mom,” 

You lean over so your lips are close to the side of his head, your hand moving down to cover Joey’s ear. “Bullshit,” you whisper, grinning at the laugh that escapes Clay. “He’s a spitting image of his dad.”

His face flushed a bit and he had to look away, instead focusing his attention on Joey. “You’re sweet,” he said to you as he picked him up, careful not to wake him. You blushed a bit as you watched him stand up. “I’m going to go put him to bed. Are you down for another movie? Preferably one not made for four year olds? Or are you too tired?”

Rolling your eyes, you cross your arms. “The Lion King is not for four year olds,” you defend your comfort movie, getting another laugh out of Clay. “And you’re the parent here, old man. Are you sure you’re not too tired?”

Clay shook his head, tightening his hold on Joey as he walked away from the couch. “Old man, huh?”

“The oldest,” you say as he glances back at you.

“Just pick another movie,”

He headed upstairs while you browsed through his movie collection, noting that even though he is still in his twenties, he had the film taste of a dad in the eighties. 

Star Wars Episode VI, Legends of the Fall, Braveheart, The Outsiders, Uncle Buck, Ghostbusters.

Jesus Christ. 

You grab The Outsiders and sit back down on the couch, picking through the kernels in the bowl as you wait for Clay to return. 

-

“Want me to make some more?” Clay asked once he came back downstairs and entered the living room. 

You hold the bowl out to him with a sheepish smile. “Since you’re offering,”

He takes it from you and walks into the kitchen, making sure to grab you a diet coke once the bowl is full again. Clay hands you the can before sitting next to you, much closer than before, and sets the bowl on his lap. “What’d you pick?” He asked just as the long opening credits of The Outsiders appeared on the screen. 

“It’s one of my favorites,” you smile your pretty smile at him and steal a few pieces of popcorn, setting the diet coke aside. 

“Yeah?” He hummed as he gathered a couple pieces in his own hand. “Have you read the book?”

You give him an unimpressed look and answer as you chew, “Of course I’ve read the book,” 

The way you said it made it sound like that was the most obvious answer in the world, and Clay laughed as he tilted his head back to drop the popcorn into his mouth. He could feel your eyes on him the whole time, and when he looked at you and caught you staring, his smile grew at the way your face flushed. 

You were so cute, and this was beginning to feel like a date rather than two adults hanging out on a professional level. 

Would it really be so bad? Maybe it was time for Clay to forget about Sam and how she left both him and Joey and never looked back. Maybe it was time for him to move on and close that chapter of his life. Really, how bad could it be?

You look away and stare at the screen just as the drawn out credits finally wrap up, and Clay knew he should be focusing on the movie, but how could he when his mind was consumed with thoughts of you? 

Halfway through the movie, the popcorn was eaten and you had moved a bit closer to him. Your hand was inches from his thigh as you gazed at the TV, your index finger tracing random shapes on the cushion. 

Clay could not focus on anything other than the fact that he wanted to take your hand in his and how he wanted to be holding you right now. 

God, was he always like this? Was he always this desperate for affection and touch? Had he really gone that long without it? 

He felt a bit pathetic as he tore his eyes off your hand and tried to pay attention to the movie. Sitting through The Lion King was a lot easier as he had Joey there to break the tension, but now that Clay is alone with you, he felt a bit on edge. 

He was so close to you, he could smell your sweet perfume and hear every breath you took. 

Maybe he was imagining it, but Clay was sure you were slowly moving even closer to him. The amount of will-power he had to use to not take you into his arms in that second was insane. Maybe he is stronger than he thought. 

As casually as he could, Clay lifted his arm and draped it across the back of the couch, and he knew he wasn’t imagining the small smile that formed on your lips as he did so. 

His attention was completely off the movie at this point, and it seemed like yours was slipping away from it as well as you boldly inched even closer to him until your back was pressed against his side, and your arm was draped over his lap. He laughed as he asked, “Are you comfortable?”

He knew you were smiling as you said, “Very,”

And you stayed like that for the rest of the movie. The back of your head was resting against his chest as the end credits began rolling and now he was wishing that the movie went on for a bit longer so he could sit with you like this for a few more minutes. 

He could smell the coconut scented conditioner you used and he knew he could easily become addicted to it, like he was beginning to become addicted to your vanilla perfume. 

A few seconds pass before you sit up but stay close to him, and when you turned your head and looked up at him, he didn’t move away. He didn’t give you the wrong idea like he did last time. He wouldn’t.

Your eyes stay fixated on his as you lean in a bit, and Clay was powerless to stop his hand from moving to gently caress the side of your head. “I’m not the only one feeling this,” he murmured. “Please, tell me I’m not the only one feeling this.”

This should feel wrong. You were just here to look after his kid, not satisfy his need for affection and his desire to be wanted.

But as you shook your head and gave him a small, barely-there smile, he didn’t care about anything else. 

It didn’t feel wrong at all, so why should he put a stop to it?

“You’re not,” you say back, just as quietly, reaching up and placing a gentle but firm hand on the side of his neck. “I feel it, too.”

Clay’s breath hitched in his throat as you brushed your nose against his, your lips not quite touching yet but still making his head spin just a bit. 

“Since the first day,” you added and the amount of happiness that filled him was too much to describe. He hadn’t been imagining all of this, the spark he felt was there for you, too. All the times he caught himself feeling guilty for pining over you weren’t in vain. 

“We shouldn’t,” he regretfully said, giving you an out. He was the older one out of the two of you, and the last thing he wanted was for you to feel pressured into doing or saying anything you didn’t really want to. 

A smile formed on your lips. “We really shouldn’t,” you agreed before you were both closing the distance and connecting your lips. 

It was a light pressure at first, with both you and Clay testing each other and seeing if you had crossed a line. When he moved closer to you and kissed you a bit harder, you didn’t stop him and instead returned the kiss with a sense of need he had never felt before, not even with his own wife. 

It didn’t feel rushed with you. Didn’t feel forced. 

After pressing another chaste kiss to his lips, you pull away. Slowly, your eyes open and meet his own, and you both wear matching, dumb grins. “Sorry,” Clay whispered and you shook your head.

“Sorry,” you repeated as you stood up. “It’s late, I should go to bed.”

He nodded, sitting up and taking your hand in his. You share a knowing look as his thumb traces various shapes onto the back of your hand, and he knew that you both wanted to do that again, but were trying to have some self control. 

With a final squeeze, he lets you go and watches as you turn and head towards the stairs, glancing back at him once before you were out of his sight. 

-

You ended up tossing and turning all night long and probably got no more than a couple hours of sleep. 

Your body was on fire and full of energy after the kiss you shared with Clay on his living room couch, and you couldn’t shut your mind off if you tried.

Since the day you talked to him on the sidewalk not too long ago, you’ve wanted him. Bad. And he all but confirmed he wanted you, too, how were you supposed to sleep after that?

The next morning you were up before the sun began to seep into the guest room. If you could even call this a guest room. It was massive, much like how Lilith’s master bedroom is, and you found yourself not wanting to return back to your small apartment once she came back home. 

You dress yourself in jeans and a tank top before leaving the room, pinning back your messy hair as you poked your head into Joey’s room. He was awake and looking up at the stickers that were stuck to the ceiling, his fingers playing with the hem of his sheets. Then he was looking over at you and smiling. “Hi, buddy,” you greet him as you enter his room. 

“Y/n,” he said back and you grinned at the fact that he was already getting better at pronouncing your name. “Where is my dad?”

His dad. Your boss. The very man you kissed last night.

You picked him up when he lifted his arms. “I think he’s still sleeping,” you answer, holding him against your side as you walk over to his dresser. “Want me to help you get ready for school?” 

He nodded and you were able to grab his shirt and pants with one hand before setting him down onto the carpet and helping him get dressed. After that you take him downstairs and sit him at the table before heading into the kitchen and looking for something for him to eat. 

When you spot the strawberries and cream, you look over at the toddler and give him a smile. “Joey, do you want some strawberries?” You asked and watched as he lit up and nodded a few times. 

You slice them up into smaller pieces and place them into a bowl before adding the cream and setting it down in front of him. Joey’s blue eyes widen before he takes the spoon from you and goes to town on the bowl.

Laughing, you make two more bowls of it, keeping an eye on Joey from your place in the kitchen. Your back was pressed against the counter as Clay walked in, and the small smirk he wore once he saw you left you feeling reassured that last night was definitely not a mistake. 

He wasn’t dressed yet, his body being covered by a sinful pair of grey sweats and a white tee. It felt so casual, so normal, to get to see him during the early hours of the morning before he changed into more presentable clothing and completely woke up.

You stay still and watch as he leans down and presses a kiss to the top of Joey’s head before he is making his way over to you. Keeping the bowl pressed to your chest, you pause your chewing when he stands a few inches away from you, his hands at his sides and a teasing glint in his eyes. “Hi,”

“Hi,” he says back, leaning in and gently bumping your nose with his own, and the simple action had your heart beating loudly in your chest. It didn’t go further than that as he pulled away but stayed close to you. “You have a good sleep?”

“Oh, the best,” you answer, swallowing after as you turn and grab the other bowl. “I made you breakfast.”

Clay looks down at the bowl before taking it from you with a boyish grin on his lips. “You made me breakfast?”

Nodding, you watch as he takes a strawberry between his teeth before promptly looking away as you feel heat rush to your face. 

God, he is hot. 

What are you doing? You should not be this turned on when you’re supposed to be getting his kid ready for school. 

Setting your bowl down, you avoid eye contact with Clay as you move around him, still feeling his gaze on you by the time you’ve made your way to Joey. “Do you need me to take Joey to school?” 

Clay leans against the counter as he eats, the open concept of both the kitchen and dining room giving him the perfect view of you and his kid. “Do you mind?”

“Not at all,” you answer, smoothing out Joey’s hair.

“Great, you can ride with Rick,” he says as he places the bowl in the sink. 

You furrow your brows, taking the spoon and bowl from Joey when he handed them to you. “How will you get to work?” You asked as you made your way back into the kitchen. 

“Would it sound too privileged to say that I have more than one driver?” He asked with a grin as he stayed still, making you have to reach around him to place the bowl in the sink.

“Yes,” you say as you stand up straight. “Extremely privileged.”

Clay laughed under his breath, crossing his arms. “I’ll take a cab,” he answered your question from before, and his words were surprising. 

“You’re gonna take a cab?” 

Clay, too, stood up straight. “Why is that so surprising to you?” He asked, smirking a bit afterwards. 

You glance back at Joey, who was distracted by the coloring book you placed on the table last night, as you step closer to Clay. “I don’t know,” you mumble, looking back at him. “I don’t know why I keep assuming you’re some stuck up rich guy who wouldn’t be caught dead in a car that isn’t one of his own. You’re different, Clay.”

His smirk turns into a soft grin as he drops his arms, his hands finding your waist as he pulls you closer to him. “Different how?”

Your face heats up a bit as you shrug, placing your hands flat on his chest. Your heartbeat was loud in your ears as you say, “You’re nice,” you pathetically answer, not being able to fight off the nervous smile that takes over your lips. 

“Nice?” He smirks again, bunching up your tank top in his hands. “That’s it?”

You shrug again, unsure of what the boundaries are at the moment. “You’re not stuck up, you’re polite, you walk me to the door every time I go to leave,”

“That’s the bare minimum,” he brushed off his own actions, reaching up to tuck your hair behind your ear. “You’re pretty.”

Blushing heavily, you break eye contact and look back at Joey. “I should get him to school,”

You go to pull away but he gently wraps his hand around your wrist, pulling you back to him. “Did I overstep with that one?”

He looked so genuine and a bit worried, further proving that he is more than just a decent guy. He is sweet and kind and can become so lost inside his own head when he thinks he messed up. He’s perfect, and that scares you. “No,” you shake your head, lacing your fingers together in hopes to reassure him. “You just….you make me feel things. Good things, I promise.”

Clay’s thumb traced random shapes onto the back of your hand before he nodded, loosening his grip on you. “Okay,” he gave your hand a final squeeze before he pulled away completely and walked over to J oey. He hugged him quickly and kissed the top of his head, glancing over at you as he headed towards the door. “See you later, pretty girl.”

Your face flushed for the tenth time since you woke up and you had to take a second to compose yourself, listening to Clay’s footsteps fade up the stairs. You clear your throat, smiling over at the four year old who was oblivious to the flirting that had just taken place in the kitchen. 

-

“Morning, Mr. Beresford,” Clay was greeted as he entered the floor that held his office. “Coffee?”

“No, thank you,” he answered, smiling at the man before walking past him and down the hall. He passed multiple offices, the walls being made of glass and not providing much privacy. That was his mothers idea, not his, and he stands by the fact that he doesn’t care to see into his employees workspaces to ensure they’re not slacking off, but she did. 

When Clay made it to his own office, these walls not being see-through, he closed the door and tossed his bag onto his desk. He stands behind it, pulling at the tie around his neck that he still wasn’t able to tie on his own. Sam always tied it for him, but now that she was gone he had to do it himself, and he did a really bang up job of it today. It looked awful, and he knew he needed to learn how to properly tie one soon. 

He looked out the window and at the city of New York, a small smile tugging at his lips. His friend, Jack, would tell him that he owned half this city, as if he wasn’t aware of that fact. For some reason Jack liked to do Clay’s bragging for him, seeing as he wasn’t one to brag much to begin with. Well, he wasn’t much of a bragger before Joey was born, now Clay proudly shows off just how amazing his kid is. 

He even bragged about him to you during your first conversation. 

The memory of that made Clay laugh as he sat down behind the desk, throwing off his tie as he reached for his phone. 

Joey’s Sitter: Just got back from dropping Joey off at school. Props to Rick for getting us there on time. You should give him a raise. 

Clay laughed again, reaching over with his free hand to turn on his computer as he typed out a reply to you. 

I’ll think about it. What are you up to now? Any plans for the day?

He sets his phone down as he enters the password for his computer. Almost instantly he was met with countless emails, the topics ranging from meetings to updates on his placement on the transplant list. 

The whole thing stressed him out, much like how it did back when he was just eighteen years old and thrown into the CEO lifestyle, and he looked back at his phone, where a text from you calmed him down a bit.

Joey’s Sitter: Not a thing planned…I was actually going to ask if I could tidy up your mansion, I mean your house. I didn’t get to clean the dishes before taking Joey to school, so I’ll start there. 

You reminded him a bit of Jack, but instead of bragging about his possessions, you teased him about it. It was a nice change, and something you had been doing since the day he met you. 

Unsurprisingly, his mind went back to Sam and how he so blindly missed all the signs she gave that showed she was just after his money. She never brought her wallet with her whenever the two of them went out, and then proceeded to fill her arms with things that Clay would end up buying for her. She claimed she forgot to bring her money, and that she appreciated his generosity, and that was that. 

She also failed to remember that she is a mother and is required to pay child support payments since she was the one to walk out, but he hasn’t seen a single cent from her since she left. Not that he’d accept anything from her, anyway.

You were so different from her. Yeah, you are six years younger than her, but you are far more mature than she ever was. 

Clay hadn’t even called her in days as he was too preoccupied sorting his life out. It was about time he did that, and he was proud of himself for not leaving her yet another pointless voicemail in almost a week.

Please, feel free, but don’t feel obligated. 

He replied to you before clicking on the first email, which was just a request for a meeting with both him and his mom. 

Joey’s Sitter: Cleaning is like therapy to me, Clay. I’m happy to do it. I noticed you’re a bit behind on laundry. Permission to do that, too?

Clay felt a bit embarrassed about that one. His mom was usually the one who is on top of the laundry, and she’s only been gone a couple days and it was already starting to pile up. 

Go for it.

He sent that then realized he will have to pay you for it. 

Oh, God, he’s supposed to be paying you right now since you’re looking after his kid. 

Fuck.

How is he supposed to pay you after kissing you last night and flirting with you this morning? You’d probably feel so cheap and used if he were to hand you the money you rightfully earned for babysitting Joey and getting him ready for school, but he couldn’t not pay you, either. He is your only source of income, as far as he knew, and he was quickly reminded of all the warnings he gave himself about pursuing something with you.

He knew he should’ve kept things professional, but he really didn’t want to. He’s held off on giving himself to someone in the way he did with Sam for too long, he was ready to get back to the dating scene. But with his son’s babysitter? That was a complicated one. 

Joey’s Sitter: I’m gonna have to go into your room to put your laundry away, is that okay?

That’s alright, just ignore the mess. Please. I’m working on it.

He typed out and sent his reply to you without thinking much of it, his overworked brain feeling like it had been sent into overdrive already. Clay had stressed himself out by thinking about you and what you and he currently are and how he should end things before they got too far, but as he looked down and read your text,

Joey’s Sitter: I won’t tell anyone that you’re just like any other twenty something year old guy who has questionable cleaning habits. Maybe. 

he suddenly didn’t care much about the quiet voice that was telling him to stop pursuing whatever it was that is between him and you. 

-

You balance the basket in your left hand as you use your right one to open Clay’s bedroom door. You knew you would feel like you were intruding had you not asked him beforehand, and his concerns about his supposedly messy room had you curious to see if it was as bad as he says it is.

It really wasn’t. 

The door swings open and the only thing that caught your attention was the fact that his bed wasn’t made. Sure, there were a few pieces of clothes strewn around the room and the drawers of his dresser were half open, but it was nowhere near as bad as you thought it’d be. 

You also found his boyish messiness attractive, and you were convinced that you would soon find everything about Clay attractive. And you weren’t even gonna mention the fact that his room smelled exactly like his cologne and how you felt a bit lightheaded as you took a step forward. 

Setting the basket on the bed, you walk over to the dresser and pull open the first drawer. Soon enough the basket was empty and as you picked it back up, you debated on whether or not you would be overstepping if you were to make his bed. 

You kissed last night and almost did again a few hours ago, so you were sure you were past that point, and you also didn’t want to keep texting him while he was at work just to ask. 

So, you put all the clothing that was around the room in the basket and quickly made his bed. On your way to the door, you pass his desk and see a picture of him and Joey in what looked like a hospital room. Joey couldn’t have been older than a few days, and Clay looked a bit younger than he did now. He was holding Joey close to his chest, his hand looking even bigger as it caressed the back of his son’s head. 

The framed picture had your heart swelling, as did the small grin Clay wore. 

How did you get this lucky to have them both in your life? Sure, it wasn’t anything long-term right now, but it didn’t matter. Joey had already stolen your heart, and Clay wasn’t very far behind. 

You look away and head towards the door, closing it quietly behind you despite you being the only person in the house. You kind of wanted to explore his room a bit more, but held off and hoped that he could give you a proper tour of it one day.

After setting the laundry basket down on top of the washing machine, you leave the room and make your way towards the guest room. The view from the window was amazing, and even better at night. You were too giddy to pay much attention to it last night, after kissing the guy you’ve been crushing hard on since the day you met him. 

You sit down on the queen sized bed, the soft, dark teal comforter inviting you to lay back. You do, your head settling against the pillow as you look off to the right and at the tall buildings that make up New York. 

You were pining over Clay, hard, and you got the smallest indication that he was feeling the same last night. But you have no idea if he is serious about you. Maybe he just thinks you’re an easy lay. God, that would probably crush you if he thinks that. 

Even though you were nearing the young age of twenty one, you quickly found yourself loving the domestic lifestyle most people don’t get to experience until their late twenties or early thirties. 

Really, you shouldn’t want to become a mother at your age, not when you haven’t even figured out what you want to do with your life, but getting the chance to see both Joey and Clay every single day felt like a dream. You wanted it, you wanted Clay to be serious about you, and you wanted Joey to feel safe and comfortable around you all the time. 

Had you told yourself back when you first moved to New York that you would be wishing you were part of this small family, you would’ve laughed. You didn’t even have a good relationship with your own family, hence why you’re living by yourself in a massive city, so you didn’t have much experience with a normal-functioning family like the Beresfords. 

Well, maybe they weren’t normal; they have loads of money, high paying jobs, and you were sure they owned multiple buildings and properties in the area. Still, Clay treated you like just another person. He wasn’t the typical stuck up rich guy who looks down on others just because he is wealthy, and that alone had you falling for him on the first day you met him.

Would he ever see you in that way? Could he? 

You turn over and hold a spare pillow to your chest, wondering what was going to come from this as you waited for the hours to pass until you had to go get Joey. 

You woke up to the sound of your phone going off a few hours later, and you smiled when you saw who had texted you. 

Clay Beresford: Won’t be home until later tonight. I’ll have my phone on me the whole time so if you need something, just call.

You sit up, tossing the pillow aside as you rub your eyes with your free hand, using your other to text him back.

No worries. Have a good night, Mr. Businessman. 

Sometimes you worried that you were being too forward with him, but he never seemed to mind it, which is why you keep doing it. It felt normal to tease each other back and forth over text, and now that you were progressing to teasing each other in real life, it only added fuel to the fire building within you. 

You got up from the bed after realizing that it was nearing three in the afternoon and you had to leave to pick up Joey. Well, Rick is picking up Joey, you’re just there for the ride until you return back to Clay’s home. 

When you do arrive back home, you give Joey a piggyback ride up the stairs and sit down on the couch with him. He crawls onto your lap as you set his schoolbag down and rummage through the new sheets that were in it. 

You pull out a piece of paper that had today’s date written on it and your eyes widen a bit at the scene on it. In the middle of the page was a small figure that had ‘ME’ written above it in messy writing, and to the left of that figure was a bigger one, this one being labeled ‘DADDY’. It was obviously a drawing of Clay and Joey that he had done today at school, but what was a bit surprising was the third figure.

On Joey’s right side was another person with your hair color and something that resembled the outfit you wore yesterday, which was a simple black tee and jeans. Above it was the word ‘SITTER’. You bite down harshly on your lip before asking, “Joey, did you draw this today?”

You knew the answer, but wanted to hear him say it anyway. “Yeah,” he confirmed what you already knew. “It’s me, daddy and you. See.” He pointed to each figure and you realized that both you and Clay are holding Joey’s hands. 

Your eyes burned a bit as you wrapped your arms around him from behind. “You’re sweet,” you tell him what you’ve been calling him since the first day you babysat him. “You’re so sweet, buddy. I love it.” You take the drawing from him and further inspect it. He even got your eye color right, and that had you blinking quickly as you set him aside on the cushion before standing up. 

Joey looked up at you, his big blue eyes a copy of his dad’s. “I’m hungry,”

You laugh, ruffling his hair a bit. “Okay, we can have an early dinner tonight. Daddy won’t be home until later,” you say as you begin to walk towards the doorway. Once you are in the kitchen, you immediately put the drawing on the fridge after looking at it for a good two minutes. 

Joey wasn’t aware of just how fucking cute he is, you’re sure of it. And seeing yourself, although in a drawing, with the two of them had your mind mixed up in a frenzy. 

You wanted this everyday, you wanted both of them. 

And, when Clay returns home later, you weren’t sure if you would be able to keep your hands off him. 

-

Clay shuts the door behind him before practically bolting up the stairs, his bag slipping from his shoulder and landing on the floor once he reached the top. 

He wasn’t sure why, but he missed Joey a lot today, and he also found himself missing you. He had gotten a taste of you last night and now he is beginning to think he will never get enough. 

He also wanted to talk to you about it and get an idea of where you’re at and what you’re thinking about in relation to what you and he did last night, but he wasn’t sure how to bring it up. 

Bringing his left hand up, Clay reads the time on his watch and sees that it’s nearing Joey’s bedtime. As if on cue, you walk out of the living room with a half asleep Joey in your arms and an unreadable expression on your face. “Hey,” he says, his mood lifting considerably at the sight of the two of you. 

“Hi,” you say back, pausing in the doorway. “We were just heading to bed. Did you want to take it from here?”

Joey lifted his head from your shoulder and smiled at Clay, and his heart melted at the sight. “Okay,” he agreed and took his son from you, stopping just in front of the second staircase. “I’ll meet you in the living room?”

You just nod and enter the room again, leaving Clay to hurry up the stairs. After tucking Joey in, he gives him a kiss on the forehead before leaving the room and shutting the door quietly behind him. 

He takes the stairs two at a time on the way down and shrugs off his jacket, leaving him in just his white button up and dress pants. He never bothered putting his tie back on after taking it off as soon as he got to his office. 

Once he entered the living room and saw you waiting patiently for him on the couch, Clay made it over to you in three strides. He sat next to you, his hands aching to reach out and touch you in any way you’d allow as he stared at your pretty eyes. “We should talk about-” but he wasn’t able to finish that sentence as you leaned in and placed your hands on his shoulders, your mouths meeting in a firm kiss. 

And just like that, any and all thoughts left Clay’s head as his hands reached up and caressed either side of your face. His lips meshed against yours like they did last night, but with a lot more urgency. 

Your hands were a bit frantic as they gripped his shirt before pushing against his chest. Clay moved to lie back on the couch as you climbed on top of him, your fingers tangling in his hair once you were straddling his waist. “Is this okay?” You asked breathlessly, your eyes revealing your genuine concern, and he knew you were asking if his heart could take this much excitement at once. 

You were far too nice and your carefulness was something that was lacking in his last relationship. He never felt this cared for before from someone other than his mother, and he was kissing you again before he knew it. 

“It’s okay, I’m okay,” he answered when he felt that you weren’t kissing him back, and when you smiled at his words, you gently traced your thumb along his jaw before kissing him again. 

“We shouldn’t be doing this,” you say in between kisses, but show no signs of stopping. And he really didn’t want you to. 

His hands grip your waist tightly and pull your body right against his own. “We shouldn’t,” he agreed and you pulled away with a big grin on your face that he was sure matched his own. 

You blush a bit and he notes that he’s quite good at getting you to do that without really trying to. “I’m really glad we agree on that,” you mumble before giving him a final chaste kiss. His hands slide down your jean covered thighs as you sit up and bunch up his shirt in your fingers. “Can we have another movie night?” 

Clay nods instantly, and he was sure he would say yes to anything you asked him right now. He felt like he was on cloud nine, with the prettiest woman he had ever seen sitting on top of him like he was your throne. You had kissed him again. You wanted this as much as he did. 

You smile at him before getting up and walking towards his DVD collection. “What do you want to watch?”

“I don’t care,” and he really didn’t. He wasn’t paying much attention to the movie you put in the DVD player as he opened his arms and gestured for you to lay with him.

You do so with a blush coating your face, pressing your back to his chest as you settle against him. Clay wraps his arms around you and laces your fingers together as he tries to calm his racing heart. 

He couldn’t believe you had this much of an affect on him, but here you are, tucked protectively in his arms as you stared up at the screen. 

Clay couldn’t remember the last time he felt this content, this carefree. All the stress he had felt throughout the day and all the questions he had planned on asking you were dissolving by the second, and before he knew it, he had fallen asleep. 

It was clear that you did, too, because the next time Clay opened his eyes, he was staring at the menu screen of the movie before his gaze drifted further to the right, where he meets the cold stare of his mother, who did not look pleased to see you and him wrapped up in each other’s arms at all.

[klausysworld]

Hi, can you please write an oneshot where reader exploited yandere Klaus Mikaelson’s trust by faking her affection to escape, but she returned to his house a few hours later crying and apologising because she realised she cannot live without him and her feeling toward him is actually real despite she tried to convince herself otherwise? Thanks a lot.

You came back

My plan was supposed to be perfect.

It had taken fucking months to accomplish only for me to wind back up in the same situation by choice.

Weeks of gaining his trust and being loving.

I had kissed him, touched him, declared my love for him.

I had laughed at his jokes, worn what he asked of me. I was his precious girl and my own stupid mind had to go and fuck it all up.

I thought I was free.

I had tricked the beast.

I was out, my legs moving so fast I couldn’t feel them as I bolted through trees.

And yet once I was miles out of reach and ‘free’ I was really just alone.

What the actual fuck was I meant to do without Klaus?

He did everything for me.

I had no money and was in a thin summer dress, but the sky was getting darker and the winds were picking up.

The cars that went past scared me, I wasn’t used to the outside noises anymore or the bright headlights. I had ran off before I had eaten and now I was starving with nothing but trees for miles. I was too afraid to follow the road incase he was driving on it.

But after another few hours of aimlessly walking, I just wanted him to come get me. I wanted to go back home and snuggle up with him. I want his hands in my hair while we watch his stupid films and he feeds be strawberries and calls me his princess. I want him to wrap me up in a blanket and rock me to sleep with promises of a better future. He’s never gonna let me do anything now.

He’s gonna put me back in the basement instead of upstairs and I’m gonna have to sit silence again and wait for him to stop yelling at me.

And yet despite all of those factors, I still found myself back at his house. But he wasn’t home. So I just waited on his doorstep for hours. Until he came back.

I was curled up on his doormat with tears rolling down my cheeks and my body shivering.

My eyes were closed in the silent hope that I would either fall asleep or die before he got back.

Bur the second I heard a car pull up I was wide awake and my eyes shot open. I whined at the blinding lights from the car and covered my head in my arms

I could head his footsteps as he quickly approaches me

“Sweetheart” he whispered before I was lifted into his arms. I hid my face in his chest as he rubbed my back. I let out a sob as my hands gripped his henley.

I could feel the warmth of the house as he brought me inside and locked the door behind us. I bit the inside of my cheek when I opened my eyes, we were heading for the basement

“Please no” I whispered “Please I’ll do anything else” I begged “please, please I’m sorry” i cried, I held onto him tighter “I’m sorry” I repeated, i kissed his neck softly “I’m so sorry”

I could feel his hands in my hair as he opened the door and I immediately let out a cry “nononono” I whimpered, my nails dug into him “I came back” I whispered “I came back!” I yelled “I came back you can’t do this!” I pressed my lips to his but he pulled away, his hand grabbing my neck

“You ran.” He stated

“I came back” I whispered, tears staining my face as he tried to drag me down the stairs “I came back to you” I cried

“You tricked me” he muttered coldly

“I’m sorry” I whispered “I was scared…but I need you…I want you, I know that now”

His hand stroked my face “how am I supposed to believe you sweetheart?” He asked, hurt visible on his face

“I’ll do anything you want” I promised

“You let me do that already” he muttered, shaking his head “you let me do all those things just to run away didn’t you?”

I looked down and he nodded, I didn’t struggle as he put me into the cell that was originally my room. He sat me down on the floor and searched me, he frowned when he saw the rips in my dress and little cuts from where I had ran through the bushes and trees.

“Why would you come back?” He asked quietly “you went through so much trouble to get away, you’re freezing, bleeding and white as a ghost” he murmured “did something happen?” He questioned and my expression softened. Even wen he was mad, he still cared. He would always care. He loved me.

I shook my head “I missed you” I uttered and he nodded, holding my hand “there were so many loud things and it was dark, and cold, and I couldn’t find any food in the woods and then I was lost and I couldn’t find you- I couldn’t” I brought my knees to my chest as I choked on my own words.

I was lifted back into his arms on onto his lap making me cling to him tightly “you were in the woods? Sweetheart you were missing over 14 hours”

I rubbed my face against his chest, pushing his scent into my nose. I wrapped my arms around him as I nuzzled into him “will you stay here please?” I asked weakly “please, just ten minutes”

His hand pet my head and I was lifted back up, I squeezed his shirt and looked up to him in confusion “where are we going?” I questioned and he looked down to me, his fingers tucked a strand of hair behind my ear

“To my room sweetheart” he murmured kissing my head softly and speeding up both flights if stairs.

“Why?” I whispered as he put me down on his bed

“You came back” he responded as though it were obvious, “you came back” he repeated before kissing my lips softly.

His hands unbuttoned my dress at the back and lifted it over my head leaving me in my underwear. I looked up at him nervously but his expression held no malicious intent. He lifted me once more and brought me to his bathroom and pushed my panties down my legs. I stayed silent as he took my bra off and then stripped from his clothes. His arm went round my waist, pulling me to him and bringing us both into the shower. He turned it on and onto the hot temperature I liked.

My eyes shut as he kissed my neck gently, his fingers brushing through my hair to get it all wet. I sighed out as he lathered my hair in shampoo, the heat if the water was much needed after shaking in a forest for over a dozen hours.

“I do love you” I whispered “I’m sorry I didn’t know that until now…and I’m sorry I lied before when I said that I did when maybe I didn’t yet”

“It’s alright” he muttered, rinsing my hair, “I haven’t made this easy for you sweetheart, I admit to that. I understand why you ran away, it’s okay…but I never expected you to come back, I shouldn’t have been so mad…I shouldn’t have put you back down there. You came back, you’re perfect, my precious princess”

I pushed against him closer, pressing our bodies together. “I love you” I whispered again, hugging him to me. We remained silent until we were finished and I was swaddled with one of his big fluffy towels.

His arms kept me to him as he carried me back to his bed, grabbing clothes on his way.

He slipped my silky pyjamas up my legs and over my head before throwing on his boxers and getting into bed.

I looked around for a minute, I didn’t come into Klaus’s room very often. He had a window that could open and he didn’t like to risk me being able to jump. It smelt like him, covered in artwork and the colour scheme was dark. His bed was bigger than mine, bigger than any bed I had ever seen and comfiest too.

I kept still as I felt him combing through my hair and pulling it into a low ponytail. “You want to go look out the window?” He asked softly, normally looking outside was great but after experiencing the world again I didn’t want to go back so I shook my head quickly and lead down beside him.

He pulled me to him, his arms pulling me so his front curled around my back. “You won’t leave again, do you understand?” He questioned though it was really just a statement.

“I won’t leave again” I repeated

“Good girl” he murmured

I turned in his arms to face him and smiled weakly. He leant down and kissed my lips softly a few times “I love you sweetheart, I don’t want anything to happen to you…You know that” he mumbled, his hand cupped my face making my eyes close “I love you” he breathed with a kiss to my forehead “I’m so proud of you for coming back”

“I’ll always come back”

[adaptacy]

can i request johnnys gf who knows the family secrets and loves them all anyway, just disappears one day and they all think she finally just left for good, ran away and isn’t coming back, but she actually just went to jail or ended up stranded somewhere lol

CW: meaningless angst, red flags from family members (cough nancy cough), johnny feeling down

He didn't understand it. He'd done everything right, hadn't he? She'd known for two months now- had dinner with them, had helped chop the meat, had gotten along with his relatives.

And she just leaves? Wasn't she scared? Didn't she fear the repercussions of an attempted escape? Didn't she know what he was capable of?

"I tried to tell you, boy. She was nothin' but a waste of time," Nancy scolded, rolling her eyes at the boy on the stairs. He gave a small nod, but only because he didn't want to hear her complaints. "Frankly, I never liked 'er."

"Well, I- I did," Nubbins hiccupped, swinging his leg back and forth as he gently kicked the railing.

"You liked her like you like them photos you take. She was nothin' but a decoration," Nancy snapped, and Nubbins nodded, quieting down.

"I thought she was sweet. Different, too. Nothin' like most of his girlfriends," Sissy encouraged, placing a hand on Johnny's shoulder. He shrugged her off, and she pouted, scooting away from him.

"It's whatever, she wasn't nothin' special," Johnny grumbled, standing up. The trio around him watched as he turned and headed up the stairs, and though Sissy attempted to follow him, Nancy grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back.

Shutting his bedroom door behind him, he lay down on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He just wanted to know why. She'd never had a problem with him. They'd gotten into arguments, but they'd always been resolved. The sex was good, she talked about it all the time. She'd constantly showered him with affection, and now she was just leaving? Who did she think she was?

Johnny hadn't enjoyed anyone else like he enjoyed her. Hadn't put up with anyone else like he'd put up with her. She was annoying, and weak, but he'd-

No, he wasn't going to use the L word. She ran away, she didn't deserve the L word. I mean- she ran away. She had a life here. A house, didn't she have a family-? She dropped all of that to leave, to ghost him? Instead of doing what any normal person would do and just break up with him?

But no, he wasn't deserving of a word, a note, an apology. An explanation. That's all he wanted. Just a reason. Just one reason. Clearly, it wasn't the cannibalism that turned her off. And she'd chosen to hang out with his braindead family members, so it wasn't them either. She liked the way Johnny looked, she'd said so, and he hadn't changed anything.

Did she meet someone new? No, they spent all of their time together. She just ran. Left.

Johnny sat up, pushing his hair back over his head. He wore a scowl, but his eyes were more hurt than anything. And wet. He raised a hand, wiping the pad of his thumb across his left eye. Now his thumb was wet.

He groaned, rubbing both of his eyes and shaking his head. He was angry. Not upset- he was frustrated, and angry, and violent. He was not sad. Johnny didn't get 'sad'. That was not a thing he was capable of feeling. Nancy had taught him that- people like Johnny weren't capable of real feelings. Emotions. 'You're special, boy,' she'd repeated, telling him over, and over, and over again. Throughout his entire life, that's what he was told. Reassured.

So he hardly understood why the hell his eyes were wet. His cheeks. He wiped his face again. Probably just sweat.

He just wanted an explanation. He wanted to see her again, too, but mostly just needed a reason. So he stood, grabbed the keys to his truck, and hopped down the stairs. Nancy and Sissy called after him, but he didn't listen.

The entire drive to her house, he was silent. The radio was off. He just stared ahead, his thoughts racing. His thumb tapped borderline anxiously on the steering wheel, and he was definitely going over the speed limit. Thankfully, nobody else was on the road.

When he reached her house, her car was out front, and he found it infuriating. He was growing angrier by the moment, and he didn't bother to knock. He picked up her doormat, inserted a key, and shoved open the door. He called out her name, but there was no response.

Stomping up the stairs, he opened her bedroom door and opened his mouth to yell, but he couldn't manage the words. There she was, sleeping on the bed, looking as peaceful as ever. As unbothered. As apathetic.

He just stood there like an idiot, watching her sleep, for almost ten minutes before he finally approached her.

"Wake up."

She stirred, gently opening her eyes. She squinted at Johnny, and then scoffed. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I want answers."

"Me too, asshole!" She yelled, grabbing a pillow and swinging it at him. He caught it, yanking it out of her grasp, his eyes narrowing.

"What? What answers could you possibly need? Are you really that goddamn-"

"I loved you! And you got your fucking mom to break up with me for you? You are so goddam childish," she growled, sitting up and grabbing a second pillow. She swung it at him, and he caught that one as well.

"Wait- what?" He stammered, pulling the pillows away from her, holding them in front of his chest like a shield.

"Seriously? Don't play dumb. You're unbelievable. You think that just because-"

"You left me," he clarified.

"What? No, you didn't want to keep seeing me. Nancy told me," she replied, her eyebrows pinching together.

"That ain't true. You stopped showin'," he scoffed, throwing the pillows to the floor.

"Then why'd she tell me you wanted to break up?"

Johnny sighed, rubbing his temple. "Damn it. I knew she was gon' do somethin'. Darlin', that ain't true. I woulda told ya myself," he assured. She frowned at him, and grabbed a third, and final pillow, threatening to hit him with it. "I'm bein' honest."

"I don't believe you."

"You believe Nancy over me?"

"...No, but-"

"I thought you'd gone 'n run off," he huffed, sitting down on the bed next to her.

"Seriously? You think I'm that heartless? That I'd just run off without any explanation? Damn, Johnny, that hurts," she chuckled, almost nervously. "I was gonna call. But I didn't wanna end up as dinner in the case that you were really mad at me."

"You shoulda. Sorry, darlin, she's been on my back 'bout you. I shoulda seen it comin'," he apologized, she rolled her eyes, leaning a head on his shoulder.

"I probably should've been more skeptical. That is good to know though, cause uh... I didn't really know what I was gonna do without you," she murmured, taking a hold of his hand.

He furrowed his brows, turning to face her. "Did you say you loved me?"

"No."

"I'm pretty sure you did," he pushed, narrowing his eyes.

"Shut up."

[yunhonumeris1fane]

Evening • JYH/OT8

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˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚˚ ༘♡

"Hanging out with the guys is never a good idea. Even if it's fun, something unfortunate is bound to happen"

Pairing - bf_yunho x reader, ot8

Genre - fluff

Warnings - none

You loved weekends, it was the only time of the week you could rot in bed and stay at home. But now that your social circle has added up to 7 friends and 1 special case, that you’re dating, there isn’t a thing called peace. You can’t just sit on the couch and do nothing, cause they always find something to bother you with.

“Y/n!” your name is called out by Jongho.

“Miss”

“What did you do?” You avert your gaze from the tv screen and notice Jongho, looking like a guilty little guy.

“How did you know?” He is taken aback. You already know so much about them, it’s not hard to predict them.

“Well…Ehm, Wooyoung broke your desk chair” Jongho spills the tea and is ready to be be scolded, but you keep your mouth shut.

“IT WASN’T ME, IT WAS JONGHO, HE’S LYING!!” Wooyung runs down the stairs in distress.

“No it wasn’t me!” Jongho fights him back and now you’re unsure of who’s to blame. Jongho is typically a self collected person, rarely breaking anything or causing too much chaos, on the other hand Wooyoung…

“Yes it was you!” Wooyoung acuses him, “Y/n, I was trying to fix the chair and Jognho ran away, he intended to make it like it was my fault” he turns to you, explaining every little detail.

“Did you fix it?” You inquire, as Wooyoung shakes his head.

“I wasn’t able to resuscitate the chair, it’s dead, I’m sorry, I did the best I could” Wooyoung pats your shoulder as you glare at Jongho, who quickly makes his way out of your sight, not wanting to be a dead meat.

“Okay. From now on, don’t go to my room anymore and don’t touch anything that is breakable”, You instruct him, walking over to the kitchen, where San, Mingi and Seonghwa are attempting to make dinner. It’s a bad combination, you don’t have high expectations, only hope that the kitchen doesn’t get destroyed.

“To us everything is breakable” Wooyoung comments and follows you around like a puppy.

“How are things here, I hope it’s better” You ask the guys, who are making tonkatsu over rice.

“Everything's good! It’s going to be delicious Y/n!” San exclaims, already drooling seeing the tonkatsu frying in the pan.

“At least one good thing” You sit down behind the kitchen island and wait patiently for the guys to finish cooking. When the pork cutlet is done, Mingi cuts it into bite size pieces, stabs it with a fork and brings it to your mouth. “It’s good, wow” you chew on it, humming in delight as Mingi’s face instantly lights up, happy that the food is actually more than edible.

When he goes back to cooking, you watch them talking to each other while preparing the dinner. It’s nice having people cooking for you, as you rarely had anyone to do that for you, instead it was always you doing it. It’s also fun seeing them looking so girlypop, cooking in a pink kitchen apron. What a sight.

Once they finish with the main dishes, they start preparing the side dishes. You get bored of sitting around, so you make your way upstairs to your room, to see the damage. The chair is not even near to fixable, the seat and the support is completely broken in half, the only thing you can do about it is buy a new chair. As you put the broken parts away in the corner of the room, you hear banging and yelling coming from the bathroom, that’s right in front of your room. It’s Mingi.

“Are you okay?” You get closer to the door, making sure he’s not dying or something

“I’m stuck Y/n, help, I can’t open the door!” He shouts, panicking.

“Have your tried unlocking it?” You suggest, but he takes it as a sarastic remark.

“I’m not that stupid”

“Okay, step away from the door” You inform him and immediately get to action, kicking the door a couple of times, you twist the handle and bam! it opens.

“Waaa, you should get a new door” Mingi walks out of the room, pointing out your poor quality house items.

“It’s expensive, why buy it when you kick it a couple of times and it’s back to normal” You reason with him as he stares at you in disbelief.

“It scares your guests, Yeosang was stuck in the bathroom last week too”

“Too bad. Let’s head downstairs, Yunho and the others gonna be here soon” You suggest, as you head towards the stairs.

“I can’t believe this” He murmurs, as you turn to him.

“what”

“Before you, he used to text me first, now he’s replacing me with you” He pouts, making you let out a soft laugh.

“He’s not”

“He is” he disagrees.

“He still talks about you”

“Reaallyy?” Mingi tilts his head as his eyes soften for a moment, “I bet if we were drowning together, he would save you”

“Why would we be drowning” You inquire, finding his words ridiculous.

“In tears of sadness”

“Who’s tears?” You're puzzled, not catching on.

“In my tears of sadness” He mumbles, ready to walk down the stairs.

“Why would you- AH!” Your question is quickly interrupted by Mingi missing a step and tripping down the stairs. But he’s not selfish, he takes you together with him, as your ankle twists and your butt meets the stairs. And here you are, together with Mingi, falling down the stairs, ever so ungracefully. The thunder-like sound attracting curious visitors in your house. What a great evening.

“what the-'' Seonghwa's mouth drops open, seeing you both sprawled over the floor. Mingi’s grabbing his back, hissing in pain as you’re holding onto your ankle. They show no mercy, everyone except Seonghwa fall to the ground, unable to hold in their laughter.

“Yah, why did you drag me down! Is this a part of your revenge plan?” You punch Mingi in his arm, who is quick to ditch the accusations. He doesn’t say anything, still on the floor, his upper body resting against the wall uncomfortably. You frown at him, still laying on the floor, your head on the first step of the stairs.

And if it isn’t awkward enough, the rest of the rest of the boys enter the house, shocked by the view in front of them.

“What happened here?” Hoonjoong approaches the crime scene with his hand over his mouth and eyes wide open.

“You two okay?” Yunho bends down to check on you and Mingi.

“Can’t feel my butt” Mingi whines, rubbing his hands over his back, to soothe the pain.

“Are you okay?” Yunho places his hand on your calf as you sit up.

“I’m fine, let’s go eat” You push him away and grab the staircase for support, trying to stand up, but the sharp pain in your ankle instantly hits you, making you shiver.

“Your ankle doesn’t look good, you sure you okay?” Seonghwa takes a closer peek at your ankle, it’s bruised.

“It’s hurts but it’s fine”

“Go to your room and rest, we’ll bring the dinner to you” Seonghwa assures you “take her to her room ‘kay?” Seonghwa speaks to Yunho who nods and wraps his arms around you, lifting you up and heading upstairs.

“I could have walked to my room myself” You protest, but he doesn’t listen, continuing his way over to your room, with you safe in his arms

“What about me?” Mingi inquires, hands raised like a toddler's, wanting to be picked up.

“Go help Yeosang and Hoongjoong set up the table” Seonghwa pats him on his head and returns to the kitchen.

“What happened to the chair?” Yunho asks, as he lays you down on the bed, covering your body with a fluffy blanket.

“Jongho broke it, I don’t even know how” You explain, a nervous laughter escapes through his lips.

“I’m sorry, I’ll buy a new one, as a compensation” Yunho offers, but you shake your head in disapproval.

“Jongho broke it, Jongho buy it!”

“If you say so” He smiles, as he takes your hand, his thumb drawing circles on your palm, “do you need painkillers?” He asks, noticing the tight grip of your hand.

“I’ll be fine”

“The food is here!” Seonghwa walks into the room, holding a plate in one hand, cutlery in another. He places the plate on the nightstand, “Eat up”

“Thanks” You smile at him and he leaves to join the rest of the guys in the dining room, leaving you and Yunho in your room.

“Let’s eat and then you take a nap” Yunho says, cutting the tonkatsu and guiding it to your mouth. In less than 10 minutes the plate is almost clean, the last spoon of rice is left, but you’re too stuffed.

“I’m so full” You whine, as Yunho places his index finger on your chin and manually opens your mouth to stuff the final spoon of rice.

“That’s it” He glances at you frowning while chewing the last bits of the meal, “I’ll go eat now, I’ll check up on you later okay?” with that he takes the dishes in one hand and while other one runs through your hair, agressively, yet lovingly messing up your hair.

“Mhm” You hum and watch him leave the room.

Now that you’re alone, you sigh, the ankle pain and the full stomach is making you really uncomfortable. You straighten out the pillow and lay on your side, closing your eyes, trying to fall asleep at least for a little bit.

About an hour passes by and the guys are all gathered in your room. The noisiness coming from them wakes you up from your nap. Once you’re conscious, you feel like the pain in your ankle has gotten worse.

“I think you should get it checked out by a doctor. It might be broken or something” Hoongjoong suggests, looking at your ankle, the discoloration is even more visible now.

“Yah, Mingi you broke her leg” Wooyoung points out, giving Mingi a judging look.

“Jongho's out of cast, but Y/n is now in one" Seonghwa observes the situation, standing by the bed, hands crossed over his chest.

"Dont be dramatic, I'm not in one yet" You scoff at Seonghwa’s assumptions.

"I'm sorry Y/n" Mingi steps forward, apologizing to you. He really looks sad, you want to hug him.

"It's okay, even if it wasn't you, I would have tripped over something anyways. Born clumsy always clumsy" You try to cheer him up, but he still is worried, “It’s okay Mingi” You assure him,

“I’ll take her to E.R” Yunho speaks up, lifting himself off the bed as the others agree.

“I don’t need the hospital” You block his arms that are reaching out for you.

“Then you want your leg amputated?” Seonghwa asks in a firm tone.

You don’t say a single word and give up fighting, as you find yourself in Yunho's arms once again.

After a long hour in the waiting room of the hospital, you’re told the exact thing Seonghwa said earlier, “You will need a cast”.

"But it's not that bad, it doesn't even hurt thay bad" You try to reason with the doctor.

"Miss, if you don't wear the cast, your bones will heal incoretly, leading to even more issues in the future" the doctor calmly explains the situation.

"It's okay, it's only for a couple weeks, it will fine" Yunho assures you as you nod and the doctor together with the nurse proceed with the treatment.

And once you're back home, you're attacked by the guys, questioning you about everything, not leaving you alone.

"Aww, how are you feeling, does it hurt a lot?" San gently pats your shoulder, as he questions you.

"Told ya" Seonghwa and Yeosang high five each other, as they were the only ones that knew for sure you'd get a cast.

"Is there anything you need, ask me anything If you need anything" Mingi clings to you, feeling guilty about everything that's happened.

"Please, give me some space out here" You lift one crutch in the air, as the guys immediately move away, "I would like to go to sleep"

"We'll help you" Mingi and San push Yunho away from you and together help you go upstairs to your room. Seonghwa, Wooyoung and Jongho following the three of you as well.

"They just stole your girl" Yeosang glances at Yunho, who is baffled.

"They did..."

˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚˚ ༘♡

A/n A little drabble based on my recent dream. Also the pic doesn't fot the vibe of the story, but he is just a fine azz man ^~^

[ramshacklerumble]

💬 for Gia please!🩵

Alright— maybe not one of Gia’s finest moments.

In their scurry down the stairs to the courtyard, a misstep only registered by a skip in heartbeat sent them sprawling. Pain erupted along their left side. Stinging and sharp down to their bones. Gia pulled together every scrap of willpower they had to scramble back onto their feet.

More footsteps. Not Gia’s. Shouts echoed down from the stairway.

If Gia’s crashing didn’t get them in a frenzy, their scream certainly did.

They only spared a glance at their phone still clutched in their hands to see the call they’d punched in was still patching through— suddenly grateful of the obnoxiously bling-bulky phone case Cater gifted them.

Gia wobbled and they clenched their jaw down so tightly they weren’t sure they’d be able to reply if Ace did picked up the phone. Doubtful. If their attempt at reaching Deuce was any clue, Ace was just as busy in his club's activities to notice calls. They ran.

They tried not to think about how one of the two students chasing them down was wearing a Savanaclaw uniform. What came instead were the memories of National Geographic gazelles and bloody feline maws.

In a scan of the courtyard, Gia caught sight of a straight path towards the basketball court. They cut across the grass. They weren’t going to make it.

“Got’chu.” A powerful hand clasped onto their shoulder, digging into their collarbone. Gia didn’t need to turn around to know it belonged to the student with the worryingly cheetah-like spots on his ears.

They weren’t going to make it to the basketball court— but they did make it to the second, and worst, option.

Gia hit the ground again with only slightly more purpose this time. If their left side was sore, their right was positively livid. They pulled the Savanaclaw student along with them. What followed was a flailing of clawing hands, kicking feet and spitting curses.

Until one simple question cut through the chaos.

“Who. Kicked. Me?”

It was almost comical— magical— how quickly Gia and the other student went stone still. Even if the question sounded a bit winded, it did nothing to lessen the chill skittering up both their spines.

Where he’d previously been napping eagle spread on the grass, Floyd Leech sat rubbing his ribs. Gia felt the sensation of hitting them tingling in their toes and saw the eulogy written on his face.

The cheetah boy opened his jaw to speak, only to leave it to fall wide at seeing a single, silent finger pointed at him.

—

(this was actually part of the very first thing i’d written for twst— my concentration comes and goes even more whimsically with writing than it does drawing and i didn’t wanna leave this ask to rot. the context was is meant to be the beginnings of what eventually leads to this post.)

taglist: @cyanide-latte @inmateofthemind @simons-twsted-children @tixdixl @blithesharem @thehollowwriter

@jovieinramshackle @theleechyskrunkly @skriblee-ksk @boopshoops @the-trinket-witch @twistedwonderlandshenanigans

@kimikitti (dm to be added)

[fandomnsfw]

Baddest Bitch PT 2 - Derek Hale x Reader

Pairing: Derek Hale x Reader

Prompt: Because I finally decided to stop torturing people and make a part two after like however long its been since I posted the first one! It was only ever supposed to be a one shot but as I re-read it the other day I was inspired.

Warning: Smut, fluff, everything okay!? We’ve got some Peter Hale snark some Stiles Stilinski curiosity and a whole lot of the sexy and soft Derek Hale so please read ahead if you like all of the above.

A huge thank you to my original beta @lets-imagine-fanfics for editing not only the first part a few years ago, but for editing this part. Her help is honestly a god sent.

ENJOY!!

***********

Previously on Baddest Bitch...

“But yes I would love to go on a date though I think it’s safe to say I’m pretty smitten with you don’t you think? I don’t exactly let anyone knock me up.” You chuckled before reaching over your shoulder and placing a kiss on his cheek.  

“Yes well ditto.” Derek grumbled shyly before you both finally let sleep take you.  

You slipped out of bed with a smile as you looked over at Derek who was still passed out after your brunch sexy time. You thought you would’ve been doubting yourself for allowing Derek to knot you, let alone even screw you without a condom, it was reckless and so irresponsible but instead you felt content like everything made sense.

You weren’t sure whether it was Derek or the fact that you might’ve made a child but you felt lighter than you had in years. However, you were still sticky so a shower was definitely on the cards. You began walking through the open space but you suddenly overheard the pack enter downstairs and you realised it was 7pm on Friday which meant pack night.

Shit.

You ran back to Dereks bed and slapped him against the bare chest shocking him so much he actually growled at you until he realised it was you. You pulled on your earlobe telling him to listen and his eyes widened immediately, shooting out of bed as he began routing through his draws to grabs jeans and a henley before slipping into them.

You shook your head at his lack of underwear as you ran over to your separate room taking Derek’s sheet with you as you went. You grabbed a paired of black high waist leggings, a red crop top and a pair of thongs. You grabbed your feminine wipes and started wiping any dried cum off of you so it wouldn’t be as noticeable to the other wolves.

You put on the clothes and took a deep breathe, readying yourself incase there was questions. You were usually so confident but for some reason you were worried what the pack would think. God how were you going tell the pack if you did get pregnant? You shook your head and started down the stairs, knowing Derek had gone down already.

You spot the whole pack rumbling through take away containers and realised they must’ve picked food up on the way so you put on a big smile and grabbed a plate. Liam noticed you first and gave you a big smile in return, suddenly he started sniffing the air and you tried not to look guilty because there’s no way a puppy wouldn’t be able to figure out where the smell was coming from with the whole pack in the house, right?

“Why do you smell like sex?” Liam asked stopping the whole pack in their spots as every wolf sniffed of air their eyes widening, while Derek suddenly looked a little too proud and Scott started laughing.

“I told her and Derek to fuck it out… ‘guess they took my advice.” Scott smirked like he’d won a medal.

You shot him a glare before serving yourself food and walking to the dining table without a word. Lydia sat next to you with Stiles following, who sat on the other side and you almost ran then and there. The brainy couple…you were doomed and you knew it.

“So... Derek?” Lydia started and Stiles hummed in thought, thinking about the question he wanted to ask but there were so many he had on his mind he decided to leave the questioning to his girlfriend.

“Interesting development, if you ask me.” Stiles added casually instead, causing you to look at Derek for help but he just looked amused.

“Oh you think this is funny, sweetheart?” You asked Derek, your tone sickly sweet, wiping the smirk from his face.

“You know what I think, Derek here would be to happy answer all your questions. Right, Der?” You asked, feigned innocence dripping from your words.

“I’m taking her out tomorrow that’s all you guy need to know.” Derek grumbled before everyone exploded as you shot him a smirk that let him know you’d won.

The pack continued their questioning throughout dinner - even the sheriff had asked one, which had made you laugh because he had asked ‘where will Derek be taking you?’ and Derek went redder than tomato as he clearly hadn’t thought of that yet. You saved him from the unexpected question by saying you wouldn’t mind trying the new Italian place downtown and he sent you an affectionate smile that somehow made everyone stop questioning the pair of you.

You poured yourself and Melissa a glass of red wine before you made your way to the living room. You were about to sit down with you glass when it was taken straight out your hand by Derek who shot you a raised brow and you scoffed at him making Melissa laugh.

“You’re brave going between her and wine.” Chris snorted as Melissa nodded against his shoulder trying to contain her laugh.

Derek raised both brow daring you to argue with him but you just stared him down like the enemy. You looked at the glass weighing your chances at getting your hands on it and not spilling at least half, but you just sighed angrily.

“Get me a juice.” You snapped viciously and Derek nodded before walking back to the kitchen.

“What the fuck just happened…” Stiles muttered in confusion.

“Language, but yeah what my idiot son said.” The sheriff scolded but looked at you confused, with a raised brow.

“I think it’s best we come some aspects of our relationship a secret.” You answered respectfully making the sheriff nod in acceptance, but Stiles just gaped at you, his mind racing a mile a minute.

“Is it a kinky thing?” Stiles gasped, as if the revelation of Derek doing anything kinky was the most hilarious concept to him and you almost keeled over laughing.

“No, but that made my day.” You wheezed as you tried to calm your breathing through the laughter.

“Excuse you.” Derek growled as he came into the room with your juice.

“Shut up, wine stealer.” You snarled as you took your juice resentfully.

Derek rolled his eyes but sat down next to you, wrapping his arm around your shoulders before pressing a gentle kiss to your temple making you instantly relaxed against him. Despite the pout on your face, you cuddled into him causing Lydia to chuckle at the sight from across the room.

******

You eventually drifted into your own thoughts as everyone chatted the night away. You must’ve fallen asleep at some point because the next thing knew you woke up to Derek carrying you upstairs. You stared up at him with a sleepy smile on your face and he looked down at you returning it with the brightest smile you’d seen all night.

He laid you on his bed and you raised a brow at him but didn’t move to get up as he stripped his top and jean leaving him naked but as he started to slide on a pair of boxers you let your pout show. He looked up innocently, like he didn’t know the effect he had on you, only to see your pout making him smirk.

“You can’t still want more, baby?” He chuckled as he remembered the second and third time you went after the first time.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of you.” You purred as you ripped your top off over your head letting him take in your lack of bra. You crooked your index finger in a come hither way and he was on you, his fingers finding the waistband of your leggings before pulling them down off your body leaving you in your dusky pink thong.

“You’re so beautiful.” Derek whispered against your lips and your eyes widened in shock. You had only ever really done one-night stands so you were never used to being called beautiful. Drunken men weren’t exactly there for the intimacy they were here for one thing only, your body.

“Did I say something wrong?” Derek asked softly and you looked up at him with a frown wondering why he was asking, but then you realised he must’ve sensed your change in mood.

“No. Not at all…no one’s ever called me beautiful in the bedroom just shocked me, Der, that’s all.” You answered softly and his frown was back as he pressed a kiss to your forehead before kissing down your temple to your cheek lovingly.

“Well you are…so beautiful.” Derek whispered into your ear sending a shiver straight down your spine as you clutched the bedding.

His lips left little kisses over every inch of skin from your cheek to your nipples, taking the left one in his mouth, sucking softly making you gently bite your lower lip as you watched him switch to your other nipple to pay it the same attention.

“Don’t get comfortable, baby. I’m about to show you how beautiful you are.” Derek whispered darkly; his voice full of filthy promises.

He wrapped your legs around his waist before picking you up using your ass to support you. He walked to the bathroom across the loft and you gave him a sceptic look but he just shot you a dirty smirk that made your heart race in anticipation.

He stopped in front of the bathroom mirror, signalling for you to get down so you jumped down and looked around the room with a shrug. He spun you around, pulling your bare back against his just as bare chest, one hand on you hip as the other grabbed your cheeks forcing you took look at him through the mirror.

“Watch close.” Derek whispered in your ear his wolf eyes flashing in dimly lit bathroom. You flushed under his gaze feeling a little embarrassed but you nodded gently letting him know you heard him.

Every nerve in your body felt like it was buzzing in anticipation, waiting for his next move but when his hand slowly slid from you cheeks to your throat your eyes flashed as you leaned into his touch. The hand on your hip suddenly tore your underwear straight off your body making you gasp in shock as Derek just gave you a sadistic smirk in return.

His hand slid between your legs, his finger immediately delving into your wet folds making you whimper against him, shamelessly grinding into his fingers. You felt Derek’s chest rumble in satisfaction against your back as teased you massaging your clit at an agonisingly slow pace.

“Look.” Derek growled as his eyes flashed in warning and you finally looked at yourself in the mirror.

Your face was flushed, glowing under the low lighting, your hair was half sticking to your face but the thing you noticed the most, was your expression. You looked so…beautiful…in pure trust and ecstasy in this moment with this man and you smiled at him.

“I only look like this because its you…because I trust you…even enough to take control of me in my most vulnerable position.” You whispered into the quiet room and his expression changed to something you’d never seen on him but you decided it was your favourite look.

“Make love to me.” You knew it wasn’t a question and that didn’t seem to bother Derek because he picked you up like a princess and took you back to his bed.

He laid you down on the bed carefully, pushing his lips onto yours passionately, as he brushed your hair out of your face affectionately while he took himself out of his boxer briefs. You slipped your tongue into his mouth, exploring every inch of him as you went; He tasted like the whiskey he drank earlier, making you smile into the kiss.

He brushed his tip through your wet folds, making you moan against his lips as you clutched onto his biceps in a plea that you needed him, and he clearly heard it because he slowly pushed into you, earning one drawn-out desperate moan as you clung to him like a koala bear. Everything felt more intense, and maybe it was because you were sure this was the first person to ever make love to you, or perhaps it was just Derek. Still, you looked into his eyes as he took one of your hands, intertwining it with his while he started thrusting into you slowly but deeply.

He looked at you with the same look from earlier and you cupped the back of his neck as he nudged against your special spot with every deep thrust and you felt yourself building faster than normal but he nodded letting you know he was close too. Your eyes were blurred with pure pleasure as his hand came down to massage your clit.

“Ahh…Der, m’close.” You moaned softly as you hid your head in his neck, and he pulled back to look into your eyes once more.

His thrusts got a little harder as he got closer to his end, his fingers never stopped moving gently and you couldn’t hold it anymore, the coil in your stomach unravelling as you looked into Derek’s blue wolf eyes through your hooded lids. Your legs wouldn’t stop shaking as Derek came with you, emptying himself inside of you once again.

“F-Fuck…” You whispered as you went lifeless against the bed, Derek resting on top of you but not putting his full weight on you, which you found endearing.

“Maybe I should get that diamond ring after all.” Derek chuckled and you let out a breathless laugh pulling him down for a kiss.

********

It had been about a month or so since you and Derek had started dating while making a baby… A weird concept, you were both aware, which is why no one from the pack is any the wiser. Obviously, you were well aware that you’d have to tell them soon, but for right now you guys didn’t want to deal with judgmental looks from your pack.

You were currently a week late but you couldn’t be sure if that was the stress of wanting to know or if it was, in fact, pregnancy so you bought tests… A lot of them. Derek looked at you like you were crazy when you dumped all 25 packets of different brands on his lap.

“I really don’t think this many is necessary.” Derek stated as you dipped one at a time into the cup of pee, specifically the morning pee you had been holding since you woke up at 7am this morning. The internet said it was better to take it with your first pee of the day something about HCG hormones or something... You didn’t understand most of it.

“And I really don’t think you should be judging me right now since I might be carrying your wolf spawn.” You sassed, making him roll his eyes but dutifully pass you another test to dip in the pee.

“Okay, now we wait!” You cheered happily as you lined the last one on rows and rows of toilet roll you had set out on the coffee table; you were aware it was gross but you planned on cleaning it afterwards, but you needed a large surface for the test, and the dining table didn’t seem like a good idea.

You sat there, your leg bouncing up and down as you watched the tests from the couch anxiously. Derek was pacing at the other side of the coffee table making you look at him with the deadliest glare, before you could tell him to sit down the loft door burst open and you stood up panicking.

You looked up to see Peter, who looked shocked by you and Derek staring at him like he was a trespasser. Your eyes widened as you pointed to Derek signalling for him to get rid of him, but Peter scrunched his face n distaste as he got closer.

“Why does it smell like someone marked there territory in here?” Peter gagged and your eyes widened.

“Don’t come any closer, Hale!” You screamed as you pointed at Derek’s uncle.

“Okay, did I walk in on some weird kinky thing?” Peter asked in distaste.

“Why does everyone think we’re always doing something kinky?!” You screeched, your arms flopping to your side in exasperation.

“Baby…” Derek tried by you immediately cut him off.

“Not now, Derek! I need to know why the pac-”

“Babe! Look!” He shouted, effectively shutting you up you looked at him with a glare before he pointed at the tests.

Every single one was positive. Holy shit, you were pregnant with Derek Hales baby. You looked at him with wide eyes when he stared at you as if trying to see how you felt about it. When your grin broke out, so did his, his arms immediately on your hips to lift you up happily, burying his head in your neck.

Suddenly you were very aware Peter was still stood there, as he hadn’t said anything you glanced over and found him staring directly at all the tests with wide eyes. You looked back at Derek in worry but he stayed silent like he was waiting for Peter to get his bearings.

“Congratulations, dear nephew… Talia would be proud.” Peter stated uncharacteristically gentle and you started sobbing shocking both men.

“Good luck with that. Bye.” Peter added with an arrogant smile on his face as he left Derek to deal with you.

“Peter’s not so bad! People should be nicer to him.” You sobbed making Derek snort humourlessly.

“Oh dear… Isn’t it a little early for the hormones to start?” Derek laughed and you just started sobbing more.

“Why am I crying?!” You cried into his chest, sniffling into his top, his scent instantly calming you.

“When do you want to tell the pack?” Derek asked softly as he kissed the top of your head.

“Tonight.” You sniffled as you pulled away to look at him. You could barely believe you were pregnant despite seeing the 25 tests with your own eyes. You were so happy, and Derek seemed even more excited, which made you proud that you could be the one to give him a family.

You were falling for Derek Hale, and for once, there wasn’t a reason to worry because you felt completely safe doing it.

********

When the pack all wandered in for the usual Friday pack night, you were in the kitchen making mocktails for the whole pack before making a few alcoholic ones for the adults that weren’t pregnant. The pack looked confused as they crowded around the dinner table with the take out bags.

You strolled over to the table as Derek and Peter carried the drink trays out behind you, looking unusually happy, and nobody dared speak like they were concerned for your mental stability. Malia glared at her father as if he was just as insane, while he helped you into your chair.

You made aimless chatter with Lydia, and the pack quickly relaxed so you started serving out the take away food that Scott had brought. You ate more than usual, making Stiles tease you, but you just stuck your tongue out at him causing him to scoff in disbelief.

After everyone had finished the food, the pack started to make their way to the couches and you gave Derek a nod as he stood in front of the pack with a small awkward smile. Everyone looked at him curiously but waited for him to speak, knowing it wasn’t Derek’s forte.

“We have some news, and I’d like everyone to remember mouth filters…” He stated as he directed his gaze to Stiles, who scoffed again, making everyone laugh.

“I’m pregnant.” You stated casually, and the pack just stared for what felt like forever, but then everyone went insane.

“Congratulations, Y/N. You’re gonna make a great mother.” Melissa stated, as she got up from her seat to hug you.

“You’re gonna be a great dad too, Derek. I’m so proud of how far you’ve come.” She added and she pulled Derek into a hug much to his shock.

“Thank you.” He mumbled, a blush taking over his ears and cheeks as he pulled away from Melissa.

“Congrats, man. Honestly, if anyone deserves this it’s you.” Stiles said as he approached Derek and the wolf’s eyes widened in surprise before softening and bringing Stiles into a firm hug, clearly shocking the younger boy, but he laughed and gave into the wolfs hug before pulling away and looking at you.

“You are the only girlfriend he’s had that I actually like.” Stiles whispered playfully and you let out a laugh before bringing him into a hug.

“You’re gonna be great parents.” He added seriously making your smile soften.

“Thank you.” You replied honestly as you pulled away.

“For everything… Like Derek, I have no family left and you guys have given me that. Through everything we’ve been through, that fact has only gotten stronger and for that I will be eternally grateful. I know a lot of you didn’t trust me when I first showed up, but after fighting together and surviving together for so long we’re stronger than any blood related family out there. So, thank you for being my family and I can’t wait to add to it.” You expressed slowly, Melissa and Lydia were crying into their significant others shoulder as you raised your glass in cheers

Everyone raised theirs in return with happy and satisfied smiles on their faces and for once everything felt complete, like finally having a baby on the way made this family more real and suddenly you couldn’t wait until the little one arrived.

[idontplaytrack]

Janis ‘Imi’ike x burnt out troubled kid reader where readers parents kick them out again and reader doesn’t want to come to their friends with their troubles so they try to stay away from everyone.

Be Alright

Janis ‘Imi’ike x gn! reader

Warnings: fluff, angst, some coarse language, underage drinking + driving, implied depression, mentions of death due to illness

In which, reader is way too independent and doesn’t like asking for help. Even when they really need it

“y/n, talk to me.”

“No. I’m fine. I’m just tired, I slept at 3a.m. last night.”

You hung up on Janis, tossing your phone aside and just closed your eyes.

~~~~~

“Hey, I haven’t seen you at school today. What’s going on?”

“Uh, I— I have the flu so I’m at home.” You admitted painfully.

“Oh, I’ll be by soon with some soup.”

“You don’t have to—”

“I’ll be there very soon.”

~~~~~

“Hey.” Janis nudged you from the back and you got startled awake.

“What time did you get to sleep last night?” She asks, you rested your head on folded arms.

“I don’t know.” You answered incoherently, “4?”

“What?”

“I don’t know the exact time okay? I drank last night.”

~~~~~

Your Mom has just picked you up from the police station after you arrested for drinking and driving. It was just after 3a.m.— you were tired, so was she. She was angry and so were you. The tension was high and even in your state, you could see that she’s had it with you.

“y/n, this is the third time this has happened.” She sighs while pulling up in the driveway of your house, “I’m sick of bailing you out of these things all the time. What is it with you? Why do you always get yourself in such situations?”

You didn’t say anything but just got out of the car. “I’m afraid I’m gonna have to kick you out. Until you show that you’re actually going to change for the better instead of harming yourself all the time. Your grades are slipping, you barely sleep, you skip school so often. Why?”

“Fuck it.”

Your Mom takes a deep breath, biting the inside of her cheek. She was about to ask you to talk about everything that was bothering you but then she just…“Yeah, okay. Fuck it!” Your Mom yelled back, “Pack up and leave, right now.”

Holding back tears, you ran into the house to pack a bag. Your stepfather stops you when he saw you running up the stairs to asked you what happened but you just ignored him, swallowing the tears. After hastily putting as much as you could into your backpack, you left the house without saying a word to either of your parents.

You made your way to Janis’, angry, terrified and heartbroken. Stepping onto her porch, you rang the doorbell. You saw a shadow in the window of Janis’ room— she was awake. Then, it disappeared before the front door swung open and you came face to face with her. “y/n.” She was shocked to see you like this— red-faced, unkempt, teary-eyed. “Come in, baby.”

You followed her lead up to her bedroom quietly. You sat down on her bed and she shuts the door behind herself. “What happened?” She asked gently, pulling her desk chair up to sit before you.

“My Mom kicked me out. Said she was done with me getting into trouble.” You told her curtly.

“Did you drink again?” She asks you hesitantly. You look at her and tried not to roll your eyes but eventually admitted that you had indeed been drinking— and driving. That was your final strike.

“I just miss my Dad, Jan.” You revealed, you couldn’t help it but sniffle.

Your Dad— not your stepfather. The guy who was your biggest role model and cheerleader — the guy who promised that he’d always be there for you. He had passed away nearly a year ago to an aggressive form of cancer.

“How could he just—” You choked on a sob, head buried in your hands. Janis grabs your hands, her thumbs stroking your knuckles. You shook your head, as if to get rid of the thoughts. “I just— I miss him so much, and my Mom— it’s like she doesn’t even care anymore. All she cares about is her new guy.”

Janis knew. Deep down, she just knew you wouldn’t just act out for the heck of it. You did it because you wanted your Mom’s attention- her love and care. Which she has failed to give you ever since she started dating three months after your Dad passed. You flat out started refusing to talk to her about anything other than stupid stuff like the weather and the time. She’d ask how you were doing, and you just dismissively said you were okay— even on days that you weren’t. Janis knew it. But she didn’t want to push you. She was scared to push you too hard and break you even more. Janis has been trying to help you in any way she could, without you even asking. You appreciated her for it, but lately, you haven’t been showing it really well.

She got into bed with you, holding you in her arms. “You’ll be alright.” She whispers, rubbing your back, “This, I promise you. I will help you with anything you need in order to get better again. Right now, ignore your Mom and the new guy. What you need to do is focus on yourself. Finding healthy ways to cope. I know you’re feeling frustrated and angry because your Dad left so suddenly. But you know that he would never leave you if he could choose. He loves you. That’ll never change. But right now, your own life is in your hands. How you choose to live every day…are you just gonna desperately try to get your Mom to notice you all while harming your own health or are you going to live your best life, the life you’re supposed to live and continue making your Dad proud? I know for a fact that he is so proud of you— I could see it. Okay? There is no doubt in that.”

You listened to her while you laid your head in her chest, one arm around her and your other hand naturally rested on her chest near her torso. “It’s so hard.”

“I know, bubba.” Janis presses a kiss to the top of your head, “But I know I’ll go through all of it with you, just as I have been, alright? You can always come to me— for anything. I mean it, y/n. Anything.”

You nod wordlessly.

“I want you to promise me.” She added on, stroking your hair.

You locked eyes with her, taking in a deep breath, “I promise.”

“Right now, what I want you to do…is get some sleep. Think you can do that? I’ll be right here cuddling you.”

You hummed, “Yeah.”

“Good.” Janis continues stroking your hair, then went smoothly down your back, “Close your eyes. Sleep tight, y/n.”

[chaosqueery]

okay, so I still don’t like the cheating aspect at all. Really wish they would have just had Eddie break up with Marisol when he kicked her out. But how they are going about Eddie processing his stuff with Shannon, well, I’m intrigued. And I didn’t think I would feel that way bringing her up again. And all because Tim’s bringing up Vertigo now.

That movie is straight up bonkers.

The entire plot of Vertigo under the cut so don’t read if you don’t want to be spoiled. Also, content warnings for themes involving suicide and murder.

To those who don’t know about Vertigo: It’s one of Hitchcock’s more famous films about a man, Scottie, a retired detective who is convinced into doing one last job for an old college friend, Gavin. He has to follow Gavin’s wife who claims she’s been possessed (by her great-grandmother who was the mistress of a wealthy man and has his child, only for him to take the child away from her, after which she killed herself) and trying to harm herself. After following her around for a while, Scottie winds up saving the Gavin’s wife, Madeline, from trying to drown herself in San Francisco Bay. She goes to thank him the next day and the more time he winds up spending with her, the more obsessed with her he gets, thinking he’s in love.

After she has nightmares that suggest she might actually be possessed my her great-grandmother, Scottie takes Madeline to Mission San Juan Bautista, the ghosts childhood home. Despite just declaring their love for each other, Madeline runs up to the top of the bell tower and falls to her death. Scottie tried to run up the stairs to stop her but blacked out due to his vertigo and extreme fear of heights (the reason he retired in the first place).

After being ruled a suicide, the coroner lays the guilt on Scottie for not doing more to stop her from jumping. He’s so depressed he’s near catatonic and starts imagining seeing Madeline all the places she typically went when he was originally following her. Until one day he actually does see someone who looks almost exactly like her, just different clothes, hair, and her name was Judy.

it’s then that it’s revealed to the audience that Judy was an actress hired to stage the suicide of Gavin’s wife. Scottie was never following the real Madeline, but Judy making it look like she was “possessed”, and when she ran up the bell tower, Gavin pushed his dead wife out the window instead. Gavin knew that Scottie would black out and not make it to the top of the stairs to see the switch.

Having already been in love with him, Judy doesn’t reveal her involvement with the murder. She keeps seeing him and he just becomes more obsessed with turning her into Madeline. He makes her wear her clothes, get her to dye her hair the same color, and she does it all because she wants him to love her, even if it isn’t really her. The Madeline he knew never even existed, she was just a romantic idealization of what he thought he wanted.

Eventually, Scottie pieces together who Judy was and takes her to the mission to get her to confess and confront his madness. He was trying to recreate the scene to shock himself out of it. He takes her up the stairs, conquering his fear heights, and acting like he’s gonna kill her. Once they make it to the top, she admits to everything and begs for forgiveness. They embrace, but then a nun comes in suddenly and startles Judy, causing her to fall to her death. But hey, Scottie’s cured of his fear of heights.

so yeah, that’s the general plot of Vertigo. Ummmmm…

I know they aren’t bringing some murder plot into this. And I don’t think this Kim lady is an actress made up to look like Shannon. Aside from being drawn to someone he imagines as a lost love, I don’t really expect them to follow much of the plot at all. Mostly it will be a reflection of the themes in the story and the goal of shocking Eddie out of his habit of trying to make every person he dates into Shannon and his need to mentally relive what happened to her.

There is also a part for Buck in all this. In Vertigo, Scottie has a long-time friend and ex-fiancé named, Midge. He spends a lot of time with her and she’s always trying to help him get to the root of his acrophobia and vertigo. It’s comfortable and they act like they’re married. She represents who he should be looking at, a love based in reality rather than a fantasy created for him. Something he is too lost in his obsession to see.

Spark notes did a lot better of discussing the themes than I would have, so I am just copying and pasting some shit, then adding my own notes to how they relate to Eddie’s storyline. This is the page I’m taking these notes from (x)

We all know that Eddie has worn a mask the entire time he’s been on the show, only allowing a few peaks underneath here and there. He tries to act like he has it all together while simultaneously harboring all kinds of inner turmoil. We’ve seen the more he pushes it down, the bigger his explosion winds up being. Despite the emotional work he’s done, he still hasn’t broken the habit of trying to replace Shannon or come close to moving on from her death.

Buck, like Midge is to Scottie, is Eddie’s constant. While Midge is aware that she still has feelings for Scottie, Buck remains oblivious. His mask is that of a platonic friend and companion, much more comfortable being there for his friend than really looking at who they are to each other. Instead he’ll be more intent on getting Eddie to see the truth about the Shannon/Kim fantasy, all the while loving him unconditionally because he’s the only one who can really see under Eddie’s mask.

Shanon had her own mask when she was alive, trying to be the wife and mother everyone wanted her to be. Even her memory was painted over with this idealized version of her, and it put so much pressure on her she lost focus of the person she wanted to be. She eventually realized she had to let go of this “perfect wife” so she could work on what was more important to her. To be a good mom to Chris. But Eddie never got the chance to let go of the “perfect wife” because she died before he could.

Kim’s mask is pretty obvious.

I’ll say it again that I think there is something else going on in Eddie’s head to make him suddenly start seeing Kim as Shannon. In Vertigo, they used the same actress for Judy and “Madeline” because she was the same person. Shannon is dead. I do not believe they are throwing a fake death trope at us. But why didn’t they just cast someone who looked a lot like her? It would have been more believable. But i think he is actually seeing her like that, but she might look totally different. Maybe there is something in his brain making him confused, thinking he’s back to when him and Shannon were last together, but it only happens when he actually sees Kim (like maybe he actually thought he was going out with Marisol too, until Kim showed up). Of course this is probably just me desperately trying to figure out how carelessly Eddie’s cheating on Marisol. Seriously, no guilt? Eddie?

No matter why these visions of Shannon are happening, it’s pretty clear that it’s about shocking Eddie’s system out of this endless cycle he’s found himself in. Reliving her death over and over again, keeping him in the fantasy of who she was instead of confronting what was wrong between them, and not allowing himself to look at what’s actually good for him. Or who.

Buck is the love that’s actually real. When all of this is over and Eddie has gotten the chance to really say goodbye to Shannon, he’ll finally be able to see this relationship he’s been building for years. The person he loves inside and out, to the core, without needing to project any idealistic persona on him.

Marisol’s purpose? To startle Kim out of a bell tower (in the finale “All Fall Down”)? Seriously, though, I think she mainly just there to highlight how lost Eddie is in this. To do something like cheat would take A LOT and it keeps the seriousness of the situation in perspective.

[ranchracoon]

CH. 5 The Summer Festival

Every day since the incident you've had this odd feeling of someone or something hovering over your shoulder; the first day after the Dimitrescus left you were jumpy over every sound. It wasn't the same feeling that you had before, it didn't feel threatening or off, it was as if a shadow was following just outside of your vision. It was always at inconvenient times too; just as you would get sucked into your duties you would feel your watcher. Once you were convinced that nothing was going to happen, you tried to sing, hum, anything to distract yourself but Angie would only yell at you to be quiet. Instead, you decided to make it a game; you would search every nook and cranny for where the lord could possibly watch you from: including the bathroom but thankfully you never felt uneasy in there. When you felt the familiar eyes on you, you would purposely get yourself into questionable positions to try and lure them out.

You groaned with your latest failure as the pain shot through your body. You weren't a clumsy person but you had hoped if you fell from a chair or something, that would work. Every attempt over the week failed, you started to think you actually became clumsy. Now it was Friday and you were no closer to your goal and it was starting to frustrate you greatly. Creaking above your head caught your attention, you glanced up toward the stairs not seeing anyone and you growled under your breath.

"If you're going to spy on me you might as well show yourself like a man!" You snapped.

"Last I checked I wasn't a man, but I'll accept it either way."

Angie rounded the corner and scowled at you, you cleared your throat and held your hands behind your back. You tilted your head at her and saw she was dressed in a bright blue dress with flowers braided into her hair. Her scowl turned upwards into a smile, something you rarely saw, as she clapped her hands together.

"Are you ready to go?" She asked.

"Go?" You replied.

"To the festival! My you're dense." She mumbled.

"I'm not going."

"Oh yes you are. Now get changed and come along before I drag you by your ear."

You groaned loudly in protest but you placed down your supplies and went upstairs to change out of your sweaty clothes. You came downstairs in a flared blouse tucked into trousers and some hand-me-down boots that Angie graciously threw at your head. Angie looked you up and down then reached into the bag hanging from her arm. She took out a wreath of sunflowers to place on top of your head then tapped your shoulder in approval. The walk to the festival was quiet, the air was sweet and carried a cooler bite with it that breezed through your hair. As you approached closer to the center of the village, music faintly swelled to your ears, and you lifted your nose to smell the aroma of food. Your stomach growled loudly as you licked your lips and hurried your pace toward the gate.

Angie was close on your heels as you caught the scene of the festival, lanterns lit the walkway all the way down to the maiden statue. Stalls decorated each side of the road with people surrounding them, your eyes widened at the sight and your mouth watered at the smells. The village looked completely different, whilst it was usually dull and gray it now bloomed with vibrant yellows, oranges, and life.

"Wow! This is amazing! Look at all the food and vendors." You beamed.

"Have you ever been to a festival?" Angie asked.

"No.." You whispered.

Three familiar squeals caught your attention as you looked over at the Dimitrescu sisters who ran over to you. Daniela and Bela looked gorgeous in their green and red dresses that had long trails of feathers behind them, Cassandra wore a dashing golden suit of similar design. Daniela hugged you tightly and you chuckled as you hugged back then looked at the other two. Bela and Cassandra walked with Angie as you and Daniela chatted toward the stalls. Angie tapped your shoulder and placed some lei in your palm, you eyed her before giving her a soft smile. You waved at the Duke who had a line around the corner, he smiled and waved back while you nodded your head to the music. Angie left the four of you alone to go do whatever she usually did. Daniela shared a cloak she had on with you so that you also looked dressed up.

"Hey Y/N!"

"Uck." Responded Cassandra.

You groaned in annoyance.

"Why won't he leave me alone?" You complained.

"He didn't leave us alone for a long time until mother threatened Mr Moreau that he wouldn't have an heir anymore." Snickered Daniela.

Salvatore approached you with his hands in his pockets, he had on a bright green suit with a yellow vest and his house crest pinned to the lapel. He must not own anything that isn't green, you thought. He cleared his throat and fixed his vest then ran a hand over his slicked back hair.

"Evening ladies. Good evening Y/N, I'm glad you could make it. I thought Lord Beneviento wouldn't let you come?" He pried.

"I said they wouldn't like it. Never said they wouldn't let me come. Maybe you should listen better." You retorted.

Cassandra snickered which earned a glare from Salvatore but it quickly turned back into his creepy smile.

"Well, care to join me in a dance and some food? I'd be honored to have you as my evening partner." He bowed and attempted to take your hand but you pulled it back before he could.

"Actually, I'm here with someone already." You replied.

He stood upright and furrowed his brows and pursed his lips, "yeah? Who?" He challenged.

"Bela." You said quickly as you grabbed her arm.

Bela looked down at you then Salvatore before she leaned into your side, her hips pressed against yours. The lines on Salvatore's forehead pulsed, his jaw clenched, and his face turned a light red. He looked like a child about to throw a tantrum. 

"Okay then...maybe we could go on a date some other time. Could we do that? I'd love to take you out on my boat." He said forcefully.

"I would never get on a boat alone with you. Besides, I have duties to Lord Beneviento and I can't leave whenever I want." You muttered.

"You can't use him as an excuse for everything. You're your own person, he doesn't own you! You just work for him, and must have a day off at some point to come out with me. What's the problem?" He yelled.

"Back off Salvatore. If I had a sickle I would slice your jugular and watch you bleed out." Threatened Bela.

"I thought Daniela was the crazy one." He spat.

"Who do you think gave her the idea?" Daniela added.

Salvatore growled under his breath before he turned on his heels and stomped away. You sighed relieved and released Bela's arm as you thanked them for getting him away from you.

"No need to thank us, Salvatore has always been a creep. Then again, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. His father had been trying to woo our mother for years despite her being out since forever, even Mother Miranda had to intervene." Bela sighed.

"What happened to his mom?" You asked.

"Mr Moreau killed her and dumped her body in the bay." Cassandra answered casually.

Bela smacked her arm, "that's not true and you know it." She turned to you and her voice softened, "she disappeared one night and no one has seen her since."

"She's definitely at the bottom of the lake." Whispered Daniela as she nudged your arm.

An announcer tapped the microphone to get everyone's attention. The feedback whistled and whined loudly before dying out.

"Good evening everyone! Please put your hands together Lady Dimitrescu!"

Everyone clapped as Alcina walked up the stage, you gasped softly and your jaw dropped. You didn't think she could get more beautiful but she proved you wrong. She wore a feathered dress where the mixture of colors made it look as though she dragged fire behind her. Her shoulders were exposed, and her neck was adorned with pearls that drew attention to her defined collarbone. Her black hair was curled and framed her face perfectly. Alcina took the microphone in her hand, her smile radiated and dazzled like the lanterns above her.

"Thank you all for being here, now for the official opening of the summer festival so please find your dancing partner and meet on the dance floor."

You glanced over toward the sisters as Cassandra left and greeted a young brunette woman dressed in a yellow dress with sunflowers braided into her hair. Daniela took off running through the crowd and when she returned she was dragging a woman with black hair that looked lightly blue. She wasn't dressed up and covered head to toe in flour, but she smiled brightly behind Daniela. Daniela winked at you as she embraced the woman close to her, Bela remained by your side.

"Mind if I have this dance?" She asked politely.

You smiled brightly and nodded, you took her hand and followed her to the platform as her mother started singing. Her voice echoed throughout the entire village, it was smooth but raspy and deeper than her talking voice, very clearly a trained singer. Bela and you swayed to the music, she pushed you out and spun you around then back to her. You smiled and laughed when you returned to her, she wrapped her arms around your waist and you rested yours on her shoulders.

"So Bela, why didn't you have a dancing partner?"

"What do you mean? I have one right now." She answered.

"Before me." You rolled your eyes.

"Well....I never really cared for courting or dating. People have tried but, I've never felt any kind of attraction toward them. It wouldn't be fair to drag someone along if you're not fully committed. It's a blessing in disguise I suppose."

"Why do you say that?"

Bela chuckled humorously, "I'm to take over the Dimitrescu winery once my mother steps down. I've only seen a sliver of how much work she does so I wouldn't have time to date even if I wanted to. I don't mind though, I only hope my sisters find someone who treats them right.."

You hummed in thought but remained silent for the rest of the dance, goosebumps rose on your skin and you shivered. You glanced around until you caught Salvatore glaring at you and Bela, you furrowed your brow and turned back to Bela, trying to ignore the shivers of discomfort. The song ended and everyone clapped again, your stomach growled loudly which made Bela laugh and offer to go get something to eat. After looking at each stall you decided on a large bowl of noodles with meat and vegetables on top. Bela got the same, and the two of you stood next to a table to eat, Daniela and Cassandra joined shortly after; each of them had their own food as the music shifted again.

"So...tell me about your dancing partners." You started as you wiggled your eyebrows.

"Oh.." Daniela blushed, "well, that was Ina. We've been seeing each other for sometime now, I think it's getting serious." She sipped her drink.

Cassandra rolled her eyes, "they've been dating for two weeks. She always thinks it's serious."

"Well, who were you dancing with then Cassandra?" You smirked.

Cassandra coughed into her hand, "oh that...that was Johanna. She works with the blacksmith."

"And, Cassandra has had the hots for her since they were in elementary school but won't ask her out officially." Bela chided. 

As the evening progressed you laughed with the sisters as they told you stories about them and you returned with stories from home. The bell struck eight times and you decided to searched around the non-food stalls located down one of the village streets. Jewelry, home brewed alcohol, potted plants, toys, you name it and it was there. You stared at the plants for a long period of time then glanced at the remaining lei in your hand, after a long time deciding you picked a bright red flower. You paid the woman some lei then tilted your head at some seedlings.

"You wouldn't happen to have something viney? That could climb up some wooden structures?" You asked her.

The woman tapped her chin before she snapped her fingers and searched near the back of her stall. She came back with two little seedlings with a picture of purple flowers attached. Out front of the manor were a few tent-looking structures made from wood, these would look perfect growing around them. The woman handed them to you but you refused, you had no more money. She insisted and you thanked her profusely until you heard Angie calling you. You trotted off until you found her and accompanied her back to the manor with the plants hugged against your chest.

Back at the manor you placed the seedlings in the backroom where they would get plenty of sunlight. You eyed the red flower, a thought crossed your mind and you smirked to yourself as you picked up the flower and walked to the elevator. At the bottom you walked through the kitchen and stopped in front of the lord's bedroom, hesitantly you knocked on the door and awaited some kind of response. Of course, nothing came, so you sighed heavily and placed the flower in front of the door. 

Continue Reading

[reigningqueenofwords]

Half a Drink

Pairing: Steve x Reader, Bucky x daughter!Reader

Part 20 of Looking for the Captain

Bucky couldn’t believe you’d actually called him ‘dad’. Did you mean to? Or did it just slip out? He tried to tell himself not to hope that it would stick, but it was hard to not hope. “I’ve never been called ‘dad’ before.” He breathed, the reality really sinking in. “I never got to hear her call me ‘da’, ‘daddy’, or ‘dad’ before.” He’d missed so much. It was a bittersweet situation. So many moments he’d never get back. “Maybe I’ll have one more drink.” He ran a hand through his hair and got up. “You want one?” 

Steve knew how much this was likely hurting him. “Half a drink.” He caved.  

“Be right back.” He made his way into the kitchen, pulling out what he needed. As he started to pour the drinks, a sad smile made its way over his face. 

Once in the room, you leaned against the door for a moment. Maybe relaxing, while a good idea, made room for all the feelings to bubble up. You’d been so busy and distracted at the tower that you really didn’t have time to stop and think of everything. 

Letting out a breath, you pushed off the door and quickly went to get ready for bed. You hoped this was just a passing thing and that by the next morning you’d be back to feeling like yourself. Maybe you’d do some outdoor yoga to clear your head, then use the landline to call Wanda. 

The guys were in the kitchen doing the dishes from dinner when they heard you scream. Goliath bolted up the stairs to paw at the bedroom door before the guys followed. Steve ran in, worried that someone got in the house. Instead he saw you having a nightmare. Without having to think about it, he went to wake you up. “Baby.” Steve held you close. “Wake up, you’re safe.” He assured you, heart hammering in his chest as you fought against him. “It’s me, it’s Steve.” He told you, causing you to calm down a bit. “Wake up.” He repeated. 

You were breathing heavily as you came to, and moved quickly to wrap your arms around him, your face buried in his neck. You were shaking a bit, and he hated it. He rubbed your back, hoping to soothe you. 

“Does she have nightmares often?” Bucky asked, wondering if this had been going on this whole time and he just didn’t know. He really hoped this wasn’t a constant thing for you, too.

Steve shrugged a shoulder. “Not that I know of, but I think if she had been, she would have said something.” He couldn’t see you not bringing that up with how open you had been with him. 

Bucky nodded, running a hand through his hair. “How about I make some coffee and we can put on a movie.” He suggested, knowing how nightmares could be. He had his share, and he never wanted to go back to sleep afterwards. 

“That sound good, babe?” Steve asked softly. “We can even watch one of your gore movies.” He offered, willing to watch whatever you wanted in order to make you feel better. 

Sniffing, you shook your head as you pulled back. “How about something Disney?” You suggested. Maybe the lightheartedness would help. You wiped under your eyes, willing the tears to stop. 

“Sure thing.” Bucky quickly agreed. “Any requests?” 

You licked your lips and sighed. “No. Just not Pinocchio. I don’t like that movie. Or Snow White.” You informed them. 

He gave you a small smile and nodded. “I’ll go see what I can find.” He left you and Steve alone, knowing you’d be more likely to talk about it without him there. 

The pair of you sat in silence for a few minutes as your breathing settled and you weren’t crying. “Do you want to talk about it? It’s okay if you don’t, I won’t push.” He promised, wanting you to know that he was there for you either way. 

You chewed on your lip as you thought. “This whole thing with my mom is really messing with me.” You were looking down at your hands in your lap. “I was wondering earlier if I’d ever call him ‘dad’, it was such a foreign idea.” You went on. “I felt so…hurt when it came to who my parents are. With how things went with him, and then mom attacking.” You shook your head. “That wasn’t her in there, I know that. He told me ‘that’s not your mom’. But how can I ever look at her and not be afraid?” You asked. “I feel robbed of ever having a father figure, and now I feel robbed of having my mother, too.” It hurt to say. Your chest literally hurt . 

“And then you slipped and called him dad.” He noted, knowing that probably messed with your head even more. 

“I didn’t even think about it. It just came out.” You let out a breath. “I’d been so distracted at the tower I never really had to come to terms with everything. Being here, and being able to really relax? I can’t avoid thinking about everything anymore.” 

Steve cupped your cheek and gently kissed your forehead. “And everything came out in your nightmare? You don’t have to give me details.” If it would just upset you more, he would just hold you.

“Thank you.” You replied softly. “I don’t think I want to talk about it. At least not right now when it’s so fresh.” 

“I get it. How about we head downstairs and see what Buck picked?” He wouldn’t refer to him as ‘your dad’ unless you seemed to want to stick with calling him that. 

You looked at him. “Was he weirded out that I called him ‘dad’?” What if he wanted to act like a dad, but didn’t want to be called that? “Or upset?” 

He gave you a reassuring smile. “He was emotional.” He explained. “In a bittersweet way. He never got to be called ‘da’, ‘daddy’, or ‘dad’ before. So finally getting that hit him hard.” 

“Do you think he’d prefer me to call him that?” 

“He wants you to call him what you’re comfortable with.” Even if Bucky hadn’t said those exact words, he knew him. He’d never force you to call him that. “He’ll just be happy with hearing you call him ‘dad’ just once.” 

Nodding, you felt that actually helped with possibly calling him ‘dad’. You wouldn’t feel forced. Maybe it would help in some weird way. “Let me get some shorts on and then we can go downstairs.” At the moment you were only in one of Steve’s shirts and a pair of underwear. 

Bucky had found the Little Mermaid and put that on. It was currently on the main menu, waiting for him to hit play when the two of you came down. Steve was carrying you on his back, and you had a blanket around you. “Did I choose okay?” 

“Yeah.” You gave him a small smile. “Thanks, dad.” You felt nervous, but you could see what it meant to him. 

The three of you got comfortable, you tucked into Steve’s side, his arm around you, and Bucky was on the love seat stretched out. Neither man minded that they were watching the Little Mermaid, just thankful that you were enjoying it. 

Steve picked the next movie, opting for Aladdin. He noticed your breathing even out halfway through, and hoped you could stay asleep. “She was worried that you were upset or weirded out that she called you ‘dad’.” He told Bucky quietly, not wanting to risk waking you.

“Really?” Bucky asked. “Why would I be either of those things?” Had he acted like that was the case?

“I think she’s just really still processing everything with you, and now her mom.” He explained, not even adding that you probably also had the whole Plan B on your mind. That was likely stressful and played into it. “She then asked if you’d prefer to be called that when I told her that you were emotional, in a goodway. Said that you would want her to call you whatever she was comfortable with.”

Bucky nodded. “You’re right.” His eyes went to you as you moved slightly. You looked so peaceful in your sleep, and he wondered what you looked like when you were really little. “If she called me Bucky for the rest of my life, I’d be happy because at least she’s talking to me.” He admitted. “Part of me was terrified that she would hate me, and that I’d never really be in her life.” 

Steve glanced at you for a moment, then back to Bucky. “I have a feeling you don’t have to worry about that anymore. “I think she might cling to you more now. She’s worried about looking at her mom and feeling afraid. Even though she knows that it wasn’t really her, she feels she’s been robbed of her mom.” He wasn’t adding on you feeling that you’d been robbed of a father figure, too. Bucky already had some guilt over that and wouldn’t make it worse. 

“I’ll head back to the tower tomorrow.” Bucky told him. “Get this shit sorted out so she’s not stuck in hiding forever.” 

Tagging: @vicmc624 @hisredheadedgoddess28

[meraki24601]

*bangs aggresivly on door*

FBI open up! Drop all your weapons and put yours hands up . we brought reinforcements. Now follow us and leave all your belongings where they are except for your laptop. We need a part 3 to muted.

I surrender! It took me longer than I had hoped, but to everyone asking for part 3 to Muted, here it is!

Part 1, Part 2

-----------*-***-*-----------

Muted Part 3

Hero slept nearly 4 hours without any nightmares. Something they hadn’t done, by their estimate, for around 10 years. They hadn’t even screamed or flinched when they woke up.

Villain rested peacefully next to them. They were lying with a respectful distance between them, but their fingers were tightly woven with Hero’s. Villain twitched slightly as Hero shifted but didn’t wake. With care they haven’t been allowed to use for a while, Hero released Villain’s hand and slipped out of the bed. 

This was it. The moment Villain woke and had some breakfast, they were running away. Away from Superhero. Away from Supervillain. As far away as they could go. Hero only had one suitcase, but it would have to be enough. Clothes, food, and first aid. Hero’s medical backpack wasn’t super flashy, so they could probably take that instead of taking up room in the suitcase. 

Having already barely escaped with their life once, Villain didn’t have any clothes they could bring with them. Some of Hero’s smaller shirts might fit well enough, and they can bring several belts to hold the pants on until they have the opportunity to buy some that actually fit. If they’re quick, they might even be able to get Ally to make some false paperwork for them to leave the country. 

As Hero zipped up their suitcase to take it downstairs to gather food, they heard a small noise behind them. Villain was awake and watching them with tears in their eyes. Shifting back so they could rest against the headboard, Villain signed, “We’re leaving? You weren’t lying?”

Sighing deeply, Hero signed back, “As long as you’re willing to try. I swear, I don’t know how much I can do, but I will do everything I can to keep you safe.”

“I’ve always liked road trips.” Villain laughed softly. “What can I do to help?”

“There’s a change of clothes and bandages in the bathroom. Wash up. If you can rewrap your wounds, I’ll make breakfast and pack food and toiletries. We can be out of here before my next check-in at 10.” Hero helps Villain rise from the bed, “I… I’m still so sorry for what I did to you.”

“Nevermind that, Moonlight. What’s done is done.”

“Moonlight?”

“I’ve always loved the Moon. The whole world is dark, but despite it all, there’s a small ray of light. No one has ever tried to help me before. No one but you has shone any light in my life.” Villain scratches the back of their head, “Is… is that alright?”

Hero’s grin could have rivaled the Cheshire Cat’s. “Only if I can call you Honeybee.” 

Villain giggled, “Why Honeybee?” 

“I’ll save my reasoning for later if you don’t mind. Now, get ready. We don’t have much time.” Hero pushes Villain toward the connected bathroom before slipping quickly out the bedroom door. They took a moment, joy filling their heart, then ran down the stairs to the kitchen. 

There, leaning casually against the kitchen counter with two of Hero’s favorite mugs were Superhero and Supervillain. 

Hero didn’t hesitate. Immediately, they drew on their power and prepared to shout for Villain to run. Hero wasn’t strong enough to take on Superhero, much less Superhero and Supervillain. They were going to die, but maybe Villain could make it out if they jumped out the window. All they had to do was warn them.

Too late. Before Hero had taken a full breath, Supervillain was behind them. Supervillain’s hand wrapped firmly around Hero’s throat, cutting off their cry. “Ah ah ah. None of that now, little traitor. Villain will be joining us soon enough. Let them finish their shower. Your friend Sidekick was all too eager to help them finish quickly.”

A small gasp of “why” is all Hero can squeeze past Supervillain’s hand. Superhero laughs as Hero struggles slightly, quickly growing desperate for air. “You gave us something we could fight against. Something we both hate more than each other.” Superhero growls as they slam Hero’s cup on the counter.

“Sweet little traitors like you and my darling Villain.” Supervillain shoved Hero to their knees. “Superhero and I, well, we came to a little agreement. A little party game of sorts. We work together to find the biggest, most violent ways to kill you two, then blame the fallout on you. No one will know the truth of us working together since, well, you’ll be dead.”

Hero hears a crash in their bedroom and can’t hold back a flinch. Seeing Hero’s reaction, Supervillain giggles, stomping their feet with glee. “Oh, Superhero. I know we agreed to punish our own as we see fit, but can’t I have this one, just for a moment? I won’t kill them yet, I promise.”

“I guess.” Superhero sighs, “But only for a moment. We don’t want to get carried away too quickly. We need a crowd outside.”

Sidekick crashed down the stairs, almost falling on the last step. Hero wasn’t sure, they couldn’t turn to get a good look, but they thought they caught a glimpse of a new bruise around Sidekick’s eye. “Superhero! S-Supervillain. It’s Villain. I looked everywhere, but they’re not here. I. I swear I looked everywhere. The window was open before I made it upstairs.” 

Superhero’s laughter sent shivers down Hero’s spine. Supervillain released Hero’s throat to grab their arm and twist it behind them, lifting Hero from their spot on the ground. As Superhero moved past them toward Sidekick, Supervillain’s free hand grabbed Hero’s side, fingers cutting into Hero’s now bleeding wound, and turned them to watch.

At that moment, Hero saw something they had never seen before. Superhero hurt Sidekick. They shoved Sidekick to the ground into a position Hero knew all too well. “Wait. Stop.” Hero whispered as they watched Superhero release their power into a whip. When the first stroke fell, Hero turned their head aside and threw up. That first stroke opened up Sidekick’s shirt, revealing dozens of old scars.

How did they never know?

With a loud crash, the outside wall of Hero’s apartment burst in. There, in the rubble, stood Villain. Hand clutching their side, Villain stood tall. Their smile was weak. Their whole frame shook from the effort, but their eyes were unwavering in their determination. Even as Supervillain dragged Hero out of the kitchen, they didn’t waver. 

“Run, Villain.” Hero gasped, “Please, run. They’ll kill us both.” Hero’s throat burned from the sudden use after Supervillain’s abuse. A small sound, however, drew Hero’s attention away from their new friend and to the three teenagers standing as far from Villain as they could get in the damaged room. 

Supervillain twisted Hero’s arm and squeezed their arm tighter, causing them to cry out. “Well. Isn’t this interesting? Oh, Superhero! It seems my little pet brought us some new friends. Where do they fall in our little alliance?”

Superhero slipped into view with that inhuman grace Hero learned to fear long ago. Their whip was wrapped tightly around Sidekick’s throat, dragging them, kicking, and trying to scream through the rubble. “I see. Did you think bringing in witnesses would be enough to stop us? They’re irrelevant. Unfortunate victims caught up in Hero and Villain’s fight.”

“Oh, I do love it when you talk like that. Maybe we ought to kill our underlings together more often. Make it a monthly event?” Supervillain released Hero to fall to the floor at their feet. Their power stretched between their fingers, growing with each step they took toward Villain.

The weak smile Villain wore gained strength. Their hands didn’t shake as they signed one simple little word. “Livestream.” Each of the teens was holding up a phone, livestreaming Superhero and Supervillain’s words to the world. “Let us go. All we want is to be free from the two of you and your hatred. We don’t want to fight anymore.”

“Go, then.” Superhero sighed, they started to walk away but turned quickly. “Was that good? We did what you asked. We performed in your play. Please, release your magic and let Sidekick go. Give Supervillain the antidote.” 

The building rumbled beneath Hero and started to collapse inward. Hero’s heart clenched as the two floors below theirs were crushed under the weight of the now unstable top floor. Screams surrounded Hero. Superhero found an out. They turned themselves into the victims. The cameras were off and the battle had begun. If only Hero could still fight.

A piece of the building had fallen on top of them, crushing them from where it rested on their lower back. 

Still in character, Superhero stood above Hero. “Please, let them go. I, I can’t save you from those wounds. Release my Sidekick. Please.” Even as they spoke, Hero could feel Superhero’s power shifting some of the rubble beneath them so sharp metal pressed against their chest. Not far away, they could hear Supervillain giving Villain a similar speech, though Villain seemed largely uninjured in the fall.

“Enough.” Sidekick’s voice was just barely louder than the growing fires around them. “Enough of your lies.” 

The rubble holding Hero down is lifted and slammed into Supervillain, sending them flying. Hero can breathe again. Though, not for long. The metal beneath them pierces their skin, drawing out a long groan.

“Enough, Superhero! I refuse to let you have your way.” Sidekick leaned over Hero, dragging their helpless body from the ground and tossing them into Villain. Instead of piercing Hero’s heart, the metal meant to kill them cuts a long gash across their chest before lurching up and impaling Sidekick.

Villain’s arms wrapped around Hero, pulling them away from the remains of their home. Hero’s voice rips from their chest as they use what little strength they have left to fight to reach Sidekick. They watched as yet another victim fell to their knees. The last thing Hero saw before the world went dark was a tear in Sidekick’s eyes as they mouthed “I’m sorry.”

[murderbirds]

To claim my rightful place pt. 4

When Edward decided to take an ex champion, alleged evil team leader and killer in his home, he expected one million things. He could decide to just kill Ed for the hell of it, maybe he enjoyed the sound of his screams and decided to torture him to know all information he knew about Galavan. Ed did work for the police after all. Perhaps he would force his savior to become his servant or, maybe, if the forensic scientist was lucky, he would take him under his wing and make a true trainer out of him. Instead, it took a week for Oswald to properly wake up due to his infections.

At first, he was skeptical, he even threatened Edward and assumed that the other would be a danger to him, but upon realizing that wasn't the case, Gotham's greatest trainer in the past fifty years became docile. He would spend most of his days either crying or sleeping. To even eat, it took everything out of him.

Now, Edward knew something had happened to the man's mother. He spoke about her when he slept occasionally and even sang to himself. He was understanding at first, allowing Oswald to take his time to mourn, however, after the first month, his patience was running thin. If the champion had at least tried to kill him, that would have been interesting.

Worst of all was Ogerpon. She wasn't exactly the patient kind and she seemed to be particularly unhappy with Oswald's pokemon eating her favorite snacks. Ed tried to buy enough for everyone, however he wasn't made of money.

That evening, Ed was getting home after work. Despite being tired, he had stopped by the supermarket to buy a few things for dinner. Just as he was making his way up the stairs, he heard a loud noise coming from his apartment. His eyes widened and he immediately dropped his bags to run home faster. He would recognize the sound of Ogerpon's attack anywhere. “Oggy!” He shouted as he unlocked the door to find Oswald's empoleon blocking the ogre's club just before it could hit his trainer.

“What the hell is going on here?!” Ed shouted and Oswald barked back.

“Your pokemon went crazy!” The champion's words seemed to spark something in the grass pokemon as her eyes burned and she let out a cry before jumping into the air to try and stab the trainer with her tiny horns.

Before she could hit, however, a glow came from one of Oswald's pokeball, revealing his togekiss which immediately used its wing to slash at the grass type, critically hitting it and sending the creature flying through the bathroom door.

“No!” Edward shouted and ran after her.

Oswald stood up from the bed and followed after them. “Crap- I- is she ok?”

Ed cradled her in his arms and stroked her head. The attack had been strong enough to knock her out. “S-she will be fine. She just needs to rest.”

Oswald sighed with relief. “Thank Arceus.”

“What happened?!”

“I'm unsure, I was watching television and I think my blaziken decided to eat something, one of the treats in the jar from the top shelf so I grabbed it for him and your pokemon suddenly freaked out. What is she anyway? A legendary I assume. Are you a member of the elite?”

“That's it then… those aren't snacks, they are special herbs from back home. I told her not to touch them because they were special, so she must have been trying to protect them.” He kissed her head, “I'm not an elite. Just some kid from a small island. Ogerpon is said to have arrived on my island a long time ago with her friend, but they were attacked and her original master killed so she got her revenge. This caused the people of the village to become terrified of her. Really, she is a sweetheart with just a bit of a temper.”

“Shit, I'm really sorry Ed…”

Edward glared at him. “Where did you get a togekiss anyway?! I thought those pokemon only went with good people.”

Oswald winced and the togekiss flew in front of him protectively. “It's ok, Eli.” The champion stroked its white feathers, causing it to relax. “My mother actually brought it with her when she moved from her region. They used to be quite common there until- until the elite trainers invaded searching for their legendary pokemon and stronger ones.” He spat, “people like the international police you so proudly work for.”

“They are just trying to keep people safe!”

“Really? Legendaries have been doing that for thousands of years without their help. Now look, you have people capturing them into mind control balls and using them to force those who can't afford a master ball into submission. Is that what you want to keep?”

“Well, I don't see anyone trying to do anything better!”

“I did! I tried! I reached the top, all without a single legendary pokemon, defeating one after the other, do you know what the thanks I got?! The whole city was hunting me down like a beast and my mother- my- my mother-” Oswald teared up. His lips quivered and Ed knew he had said what he shouldn't have.

“What happened?”

“It doesn't matter.” Oswald whispered and turned around, limping back to the bed.

Ed frowned and grabbed his pokemon before joining his roommate who was now sitting by the window with his pokemon around him. As the scientist sat down, the empoleon, togekiss and blaziken glared at him, protective of their trainer.

The brunette simply sat on the floor in silence trying to think of what to say and how to apologize.

Oswald was the one who broke the silence though, “El was her pokemon. Not mine. He joined my team to help me bring her back.” He wiped his tears with the palms of his hand. The champion didn't need to speak for Ed to know they hadn't been successful.

“Did you lose?”

Oswad laughed. It was a bitter laugh. “No. I won. It wasn't even difficult. That was the problem though. These people don't accept losing. It was my fault. I should have just let him win. Gotham isn't worth it. Nothing was.”

Ed watched him with pity. Even evil team leaders were capable of love, huh? “Well… what are you going to do about it now?”

The champion looked at him. “Huh?”

“Well, no offense, Oswald, but your mother was only dragging you down.”

“Excuse you?! My mother was a saint!” His pokemon seemed ready to attack and with Ogerpon still unconscious, Ed knew he wouldn't be able to stop them.

He still kept going. “Exactly! She was a good person, the thing you loved most. And she is gone. That means you are not tethered to anything else anymore. Nothing to hold you down.” Ed crawled to him and placed his hands on Oswald's thigh, causing the other to tense up and blush. “You can make a real difference, Oswald. You could save this region.”

The champion finally looked down to meet his eyes, cheeks still pink. “Y-you really believe in me?”

“More than I have ever believed in anyone.”

Oswald was silent for a moment. He inhaled and looked down at one of his pokeballs. “Maybe… maybe I could try again. There is just one problem. Galavan took half of my pokeballs. Elijah, Gertrude and Blaziken are the only pokemon I have left and I don't think I have the energy to train three new pokemon from zero.”

“What's your plan?”

“I'm unsure. I need to talk to some people, hope someone is willing to help. I still don't know if this is a good idea, but like you said, what do I have to lose?”

Edward smiled a little. “Well, Ogerpon and I will be by your side the entire time.”

“I'm not sure how happy she will be about that, but… thanks. Edward, was it?”

Ed felt beyond happy. “That's my name alright."

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8

Full story

[crystalninjaphoenix]

MerMay 2024 Day Thirty Released

Something was happening outside the glass walls of the tanks.

All of them knew it. Jack, on the bottom floor, saw countless humans running around, scurrying back and forth around the room, entering and exiting from doors, going up and down staircases. Schneep saw many of them walking up to the wall of his tank, holding up writing on tablets and paper, most of which he couldn’t read. He preferred not to engage with them, so he stayed in his makeshift den unless he saw a nice-looking human who was alone when they asked him things. Marvin noticed that the humans who came to stare at him had changed, staring at him with awe instead of curiosity, and most of them shouting and fighting with those humans who had banged on the glass that one time.

{Do any of you know what’s going on?} Jameson asked one day when he set up the communication.

“Nope, not at all,” Jackie said. “All I know is that I’ve seen that human in gray running around looking worried. Which is probably good, right? That guy gives me the creeps.”

Jameson was about to project more thoughts to the others when he noticed movement outside the glass wall of the tank. A wall slid open... a door of some sort? And out ran—Lise? Yes, Dr. Lise Ester was running forward and beaming. He hadn’t seen too much of her, but he definitely never could have pictured her so excited. Behind her was... something. What were those things called? Cars? But weren’t they usually bigger? And why did this one have a big glass tank full of water attached to the back?

Lise looked at Jameson and tried to smile in a friendly way. She pointed at Jameson, then pointed upwards. Jameson looked up... oh, is she pointing at the glass door where the humans dropped the food? Well, he couldn’t help but be curious. {I think something is happening? I’ll contact you all soon,} he said. 

“Be safe!” Schneep called.

Jameson cut off the communication and shook off the sand covering him, swimming up to the surface of the water. As he did so, he watched some humans drag something over to the tank. That was called a ladder, wasn’t it? Lise climbed up the ladder and pulled open the glass door at the top of the tank, leaning in. “Ah... hello?” she said. “Can you understand me?”

After a moment, Jameson nodded.

“Oh good!” Lise smiled. “W-we did it! We are getting you out of here!” She pointed down at the car with the tank... and Jameson noticed something. Driving the car was... Roxy. He hadn’t seen her too often, but he did recognize her. “I-it is going to be difficult, a-and I would not blame you for not trusting me, but I need you to stay still, okay? Please do not sting me.”

Jameson stared up at her. Was this a trick...? But Roxy had always been trustworthy. But also... that tank of water looked very small. But also also, when would he get another chance to get out of here? After a moment, he nodded.

“Great.” Lise looked a bit nervous. “Ah... ja.” She took a deep breath, and reached down. “I will try to be careful.”

Lise did not have the best balance. Jameson held onto her a bit too tightly, squeezing her with his tail and arms, but she managed to slowly get down the ladder, thanks to more humans at the bottom holding it tight. Others set up a second ladder—more like stairs, actually—next to the car and the tank. Lise climbed that and gently dropped Jameson into the water. “Are you alright?” she asked. “And, ah... what is that rock?”

Jameson just nodded. He clutched the makeshift power stone closely to his chest, hiding it with his wings.

“...well I suppose it is not a problem if you take something,” Lise said. “Hold on. We are going to get your friends.” 

The humans took down the ladders and Roxy drove the car into a room that was barely big enough for it and all the humans who followed it. One of them pressed a circle on the wall, the walls slid closed... and then slid open again, and suddenly, they were somewhere else. Jameson’s eyes widened. This room was magic! It could take them to different places! He clutched the power stone and looked down at it, casting the communication again. {I think... I think we are getting out! There is a car with a tank on it, and that Lise human is on it with that Roxy human—}

“I see you!” Marvin’s voice gasped.

Jameson cut off the communication and looked through the glass. Yes... the new room they were in—he could see Marvin moving around in the big round tank in the center! He dropped the power stone right away and pressed his hands and face to the glass. As soon as he got close enough, Marvin did the same.

Lise repeated the same process with the ladders, climbing up to the door in the tank. Marvin swam up right away, nodding eagerly as she said she would get him out. A few moments later, Lise dropped Marvin in the water of the car’s tanks, and Marvin immediately tackled Jameson. “Oh my stars, it’s so good to see you again, Jameson!” he gasped. “I-I missed you so much!”

Grinning, Jameson dropped the power stone and hugged him back. The two of them tumbled through the water for a second before they bonked against the glass wall of the tank and pulled away. I missed you too! Jameson said. It’s been so long!

Around them, the humans looked confused at how the two merms reacted to each other. But many of them softened when they saw the two continuing to hug each other, smiling and nuzzling. Some looked surprised. Surprised, even now, to see them act so human.

The car-tank drove back into the small room, and the wall closed and opened again, taking them to another room. In this one, Jackie was swimming in anxious circles around the tank. He swam right up to the glass, eyes wide, mouth moving in some way. We’re okay! Jameson signed, and Jackie relaxed slightly to see him say that.

Lise repeated the same process, climbing up the ladder to talk to Jackie, but this time she added something slightly different. “You’re a big merm, so I do not think I will be able to carry you,” she said. “This man here will be doing it. His name is Trafford and he is stronger than me. You can trust him.”

Jackie hesitated. That name sounded a bit familiar... but he really wanted to get out of here, so he nodded.

And a minute later, he was in the tank with Jameson and Marvin. “Are you two really okay?” he asked.

“We’re fine, Jackie,” Marvin reassured him. “Been worse, you know?”

Jackie laughed. “Yeah. I guess so.”

The next place they went to was the area with Schneep’s tank. Lise didn’t go up the ladder this time, instead writing things down on her tablet since she knew he could read. Schneep nodded, figuring out the words he didn’t know from context. Since Schneep was an even bigger merm than Jackie, Lise once again couldn’t go up to get him, asking Trafford to do it instead. And even he shook a bit while climbing the ladder, muttering comments about how this wasn’t safe.

Schneep stayed still for the ladder, but as soon as Trafford reached the ground, he wriggled out of his grip, breathing heavily, and crawled across the floor by himself, using arms and tentacles. The humans cried out in alarm and backed up, but Lise shouted at them to stay calm. Schneep was able to climb up the stairs-ladder and get into the tank, where he sank to the bottom immediately, curling up in a corner. 

Are you okay, Schneep? Jameson asked.

Schneep took a shaky breath through fluttering gills. “I-I just have not liked… being here.”

Jameson nodded, sinking to the floor next to him. We’re leaving soon. I just know we’ll be home soon.

“Yeah!” Jackie grinned.

“Don’t worry about a thing,” Marvin said. “It will be over before you know it.”

The last merm they picked up was Jack. Lise handled this easily, as Jack was the smallest merm out of the five of them by a noticeable amount. He landed in the tank with a splash. With all five merms in the tank the water was now significantly higher, and it was significantly more crowded. “I knew Chase and Anti would get us out of here!” Jack said.

Schneep raised an eyebrow. “How do you know they were involved at all? There are only humans here.”

“Well, uh... they probably did something to cause this!” Jack said optimistically. “Oh my stars. It’ll be so good to see them again.”

The car drove down a wide corridor in the building, followed by Lise and all the other humans. The merms swam around anxiously. They chattered at first, but now they stayed quiet, scared. What if they were wrong? What if they shouldn’t have trusted Lise?

The corridor ended at a wall. A wall which rolled up into the ceiling, revealing... sunlight, beyond. The merms all swam up, poking their heads out of the water as the car drove outside.

They were outside!

And there were people expecting them.

A way was cleared for the car to travel across the atoll that the C-SAHL was built on, but on either side of that path, there were humans. So, so, so many humans. Many of them had metal boxes that the merms recognized as cameras, and others were holding sticks up to their faces and talking into them. Jameson shrank back as he felt the weight of all the stares on him, and Schneep lasted only a little bit longer before he did, too. But Jack, Jackie, and Marvin all stayed at the top, looking out with wide eyes.

A lot of the humans were trying to talk to Lise as she walked beside the slow-moving car. Some of them shouted up at the merms, not all of them in languages that they could understand. Jack smiled hesitantly and waved a bit. Jackie and Marvin did not, they just stared. Even though they’d seen a lot of humans in their lives, they’d never seen so many in one place!

After a moment, Marvin nudged the other two. “Look!” He pointed at a small clearing in the crowd of humans, right by the path the car was traveling down. “It’s that human in gray!”

“Hmm?” Lise noticed him pointing. “Oh... those are some of the people i-in charge of TridentCorp,” she explained. “Mr. Visser, the man in the gray suit, was the one who took over Project Mermaid. He wanted to keep you all in the tanks.”

The three merms instantly started glaring at the human in gray, Visser. He seemed a bit flustered as many of the other humans pointed their sticks at his face. Three other humans in similar outfits—suits?—stood nearby, looking a lot more calm. One of them shot Visser a dirty look one time.

As the car passed by, Visser looked at all the merms with wide eyes. Jack grinned triumphantly. Jackie scoured his brain for knowledge of human languages until he remembered a phrase he thought would work here. “‘Suck it!’” he shouted.

Visser started, as did all the other humans nearby. Marvin burst into laughter at their reactions, and added onto it with a gesture he’d seen humans at the lake use, a gesture he knew was rude. That made Visser go pale. Even Jameson and Schneep, trying to hide from the attention, smiled smugly at that.

The car stopped at the edge of the atoll, on the very edge of a short, two-feet-tall cliff into the water. Out on the water... was a boat. And on the boat, looking back at the others, were Stacy and Ollie, waving. Lise looked up at the merms. “The tank is going to tilt forward,” she explained. “It will pour the water into the ocean, and you will be free. You will not ever have to come back here if you will not want to.”

The merms all looked at her, nodding in understanding. “‘F...Th... thank you’,” Jackie said slowly.

Lise smiled. “No, thank your friend Chase. If it was not for him, I would not know that you were people like you are, and neither would any of these people here today. Now.” She looked at Roxy and nodded. In the cabin of the car, Roxy pushed a button, and Lise looked back at the merms. “Goodbye.”

The tank was lifted up, tilted by a mechanism. As soon as they were able, the merms dove out into the water, splashing into the ocean and swimming free.

[percervall]

what if I love you?

Player: Jordan henderson Words: 870 Warnings: Fluff Request: Receiving flowers - Maybe one where the Reader is a younger physio who doesn't think he notices her until he sends her flowers on Valentine's day? A/N: Asndsd i love this idea so much??? hope I did it justice!

title from Gatlin's What If I Love You?

---

Seeing the vase on top of her desk made her stop in her tracks. She quickly looked around to see if the person who left them was still around, but the corridor leading to her office was empty. Dropping her keys and tablet onto her desk, she took in the bouquet. The majority of the flowers were in similar shades of pink, very close to her favourite hue, mixed with a few white and cream ones. She ran a finger over the petals of one of the peonies and felt her lips tug up in a smile. Turning the vase around she looked for a card, finding it tucked away between two roses.

“Someone’s got a secret admirer,” a voice came from the open door. She felt her cheeks heat up as her best friend and colleague Jess stood in the doorway.

“I’m sure it’s just someone being nice, I did just get my Masters in Sports Medicine,” she replied, not fully believing her own explanation. Jess hummed in a way as if to say yeah, sure. Even though they’d only been working together for six months, she and Jess had hit it off from the moment she became part of the medical staff at Liverpool. 

“I doubt Klopp would send you pink flowers to congratulate you, babe. What does the card say?” She had to admit Jess had a point there. Although the Liverpool manager sometimes acted like a dad for everyone he employed, she too doubted he’d send her this type of bouquet. She slid the envelope open and pulled out the thick cardstock. 

Happy Valentine’s Day! I didn’t know how to tell you in person without losing my nerve, but I’ve had a crush on you from the moment we met that day in the foyer of the AXA. Been trying to ask you out for months, but instead I’d end up making up some vague injury that needed looking at because the moment you look at me, I’m gone. So here goes: Can I take you out for dinner? Tonight maybe?

xJ

She read the card and then re-read it a second and third time, just to make sure it actually said what it said. She felt her cheeks heat up at the memory of the first time she met him. She had just joined the club and was still trying to find her way around the training grounds. Her arms had been full with supplies for the treatment room and she didn’t notice she still had one more step to go coming down the stairs. “Careful!” someone had said, as she collided against him with a tiny shriek. The boxes had fallen, but luckily he had caught her. 

“S-so sorry!” she had tried to apologise, momentarily forgetting what else she was going to say when she looked in those bright blue eyes. Jordan had chuckled, making sure she was okay as his hands lingered a little longer than perhaps necessary on her waist. When his fingers brushed against hers as he handed her the fallen boxes, she could’ve sworn she felt a spark of something pass between them. And this remained in the weeks and months that followed. They’d steal glances at one another when they thought the other wasn’t looking, hands would linger a little longer than needed when hugging or when she treated his injuries. She thought it had all been in her head, but now to see it written quite literally in black and white, it took her a while to let it sink in that all this time he had felt the same way. 

“You okay?” Jess asked, pulling her from her thoughts. She blinked, trying to clear the fog of memories.

“Y-yeah. Sorry, I have to go,” she mumbled and left her office, still clutching the note to her chest. She made her way down the corridor and saw the team was wrapping up training. Pulling on her puffer coat, she walked outside. Nervous butterflies settled in the hollow of her chest as she spotted the Liverpool captain. She swallowed hard and kept walking until she was almost in front of him.

“Hey,” she said, fidgeting with the note.

“Hey,” Jordan echoed, cheeks flushed. She wondered whether that was just because of the cold. 

“I-.. Thank you. F-for the flowers I mean. How did you know peonies are my favourite?” Jordan shrugged. “I might’ve overheard you mention it to Jess once,” he said quietly, not quite meeting her eyes now. She was quiet for a moment, trying to gather her thoughts. She had not thought this through when she left her office. 

“Also found your note,” she all but whispered, looking down at her hands that were fidgeting with the folded piece of cardstock. 

“You did?” She nodded, meeting his eyes.  He looked at her, eyes full of hope.

“To answer your question, yes. Yes, I’d like that very much.” The smile that tugged at his lips squeezed her heart. He brushed his lips against her cheek, making her stomach fill with butterflies. 

“Pick you up at 7?” he asked. She nodded, skin burning where his lips had touched.

“Great,” Jordan said, grinning now, “It’s a date.” 

She couldn’t wait. 

Tags @football-and-fanfics @kostasstsimikass @lfc21

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[theback-rooms]

Following your advice, Katie and I replenished the snacks and water and grabbed a container of salt, and headed back down.

This time I remembered to check if my watch and my compass worked. The compass definitely works: it went a little crazy when we were on the stairs, but once we got out into the forest it calmed down. The path through the forest seems to travel basically northward, and deposits us on the southern bank of the lake. The palace is on the northern side.

My analog wristwatch worked, in the sense that it kept ticking away the minutes, and when we got back to my apartment, it was actually still set to the correct time, according to our phones. But it was really weird: it had a second hand, and I watched it, and it seemed to be moving more slowly than one tick per second. It also wasn’t moving consistently: some seconds were distinctly longer than others.

I have no idea what any of this means.

Katie agreed to walk along the shore of the lake rather than take the boat, partly persuaded by your arguments, which I read to her. We walked westward along the southern shore.

It was still a moonlit night there (it always seems to be a moonlit night there, no matter what time of the day we go), and the evening was pleasant and warm, with pleasant scents on the breeze.

The orange yarn that we left at our original path was still there, and since we were walking along the lakeshore, we didn’t think it was necessary to use any more for the moment.

As we walked, I kept thinking that I heard things rustling in the diamond trees, which sparkled brilliantly in the moonlight. I kept grabbing Katie’s arm and hissing, “There’s something there!” She was just turning for the fifth time to say, “There’s nothing there,” when there was a thundering noise, and we both jumped and yelped.

A herd of some kind of deer burst out of the forest and ran right past us along the shore. I was too startled at first to get a good look, but once they had run past I began to register things about them. They looked about the size of white-tailed deer, and they were very beautiful and graceful, with a brush of stiff hair up the back of their necks like zebras. But that was definitely not the weirdest thing about them: instead of a pair of antlers, or even a pair of horns like an antelope, each deer had a single horn growing from its forehead.

We watched them surge down the shoreline and then back up into the trees, and Katie and I turned and stared at one another.

“Were those... unicorns?” Katie said breathlessly.

“I think they were.”

There was a pause, and then Katie made a sound that I think can only be described as a squeal of delight.

“My goodness, what a noise!” a voice spoke up, and we both jumped and whirled again.

There was a man standing just a few yards from us. He seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, although maybe he came out from the trees while we were distracted by the unideer.

He had black hair and dark eyes--he might have been Latino. He was dressed in a shining, highly embroidered green... well, I guess it was a doublet? Something very Tudor-y. Thank God he was NOT wearing a codpiece. He had on some relatively normal-looking cloth trousers and knee-high boots. His eyes, which had attractively drooping lids, were sparkling with amusement, and he was grinning.

“I beg your pardon, ladies,” he said, and did an actual bow, one leg forward, arms out, and everything. He was still grinning. “There is no one here to make an introduction, so I must introduce myself: I am Lord Julian.”

After a dumbstruck moment, Katie managed to make some sort of curtsy (despite her jeans) and I tried to follow her example (and failed miserably. I’m going to have to get curtsying lessons?).

I started to give him my name, and Katie elbowed me HARD in the ribs and gave me a LOOK, which I didn’t understand at all, except maybe, “We don’t want the creepy stranger in the Renaissance Faire costume who is living in the magical forest under your bedroom to google you on ye olde internette and start stalking you”.

Come to think of it, that’s actually hella creepy.

ANYWAY.

Katie goes, “We’re just passing through!”

Lord Julian smiles like he understands everything that is going through Katie’s head (I wish I did!!) and says, “Have you ladies not thought to join us at the ball?” He gestured to the castle.

“Ball?” I asked. “Is that what the music is?”

“Yes, indeed. Many fine folks from diverse lands have come to enjoy Lady Laurel’s hospitality. There are boats many places along the shore for those who find themselves by this lake so that they may join in the revels.”

“Oh! That’s what the boat was?” Katie says eagerly. “We’re not going to get cursed if we get in it?”

Lord Julian laughed at that, and I have to admit, the way his eyes smiled was very attractive. “No, you will not be cursed. But unless you are skilled at rowing, you may also take a very long time to cross the lake! May I take you across? My boat is just along here--”

I grabbed Katie’s sleeve in warning, but I shouldn’t have worried. She was already pasting on a polite smile and coming up with a vague excuse. “You know, it’s really late already, and I promised my boyfriend I’d spend some time with him tonight.” I thought she said the “boyfriend” part unnecessarily loudly, but w/e. “Come on--” She very nearly said my name and then caught herself. “Come on, let’s head home.”

“I am sorry to say farewell to you both,” Lord Julian said, not appearing particularly upset. “Perhaps some other time.”

Katie and I gave big, noncommittal smiles and hurried back along the shore.

When we got out of earshot, I asked her why I wasn’t supposed to give Lord Julian my name. “Because that’s a fairy thing,” she explained. “If they have your real name, they have power over you."

“What kind of power?”

“Magical power,” Katie said shortly. “Not-good power. Is he following us?”

He wasn’t, and we soon made our way back to the stairway.

So we know a little bit now about the palace on the other side of the lake, but I’m not sure if we should try to cross over the lake or not. What do you folks think? Katie and I are both on the fence about this, and about what to do next. My ask box is open, and you can always leave tags, replies and comments! I would really appreciate the advice.