#(and he fought to right his wrongs once seeing the lie!)

[achilleslyre]

obito carried so much on his shoulders for his entire life and all you people do is reduce him to an incel…….

[fangswbenefits]

Discovery

Summary: Miguel tries to fix the damage of his obsession for you, only to discover a secret you’ve been keeping that will change everything…

Pairing: Miguel O’Hara x spider-woman!reader

Word count: 3k

18+. Miguel POV. Obsessed and jealous Miguel. Inexperienced/In*ocent/V*rgin reader. Mast*rbation. Voye*rism (have to thank this anon).

Part 1 (if you’re just starting out) - Previous Part

Miguel O’Hara took pride in being able to keep his emotions at check.

For the most part, at least.

But when it came to you, he constantly found his reason at war with his feelings.

The way you were eyeing him expectantly, made his stomach flip.

“Is there something wrong?”

Many things.

For once, he didn’t want to lie to you. However, he dreaded what might happen in case he told you the truth.

Shaking his head, he took your pad in his hands, and glanced over at his watch.

100%

He wanted to just open the file and finally know who this Tom individual was, but he could see a faint frown settle on your face.

“Why can’t I have access to the settings?” you asked, coming to stand by his side to glare at the lit up screen.

He really didn’t want to lie.

“I needed to adjust the prototype first, before giving you full access,” he managed to say.

Great, Miguel.

Your eyes moved to glare at him. “You could have informed me of that.”

He could only nod, he tapped and scrolled through the interface, overriding the block he had placed on it a couple of days ago.

You didn’t seem upset in the slightest. If anything, it you seemed… tired? Sleepy?

“It’s done,” Miguel said, handing the pad back to you. “The interference was probably a mic, by the way.”

As you fought back a yawn, your face twisted into confusion. “A mic?”

Miguel was trying to play it casually, hoping that it would be enough to deflect this issue altogether.

But you… you were not easily detracted.

“Why is there a mic in my suit?”

His heart rate had nearly doubled, and he felt his sweat grow cold as your gaze intensified.

Then, he saw you straighten up as if hit by a sudden realisation.

“You… don’t trust me?” your voice was but a whisper and you started backing away from him. “You’re spying on me?”

Somehow, the conclusion you had drawn was almost as appalling as the truth.

“No! That is not why.”

“Then why?”

Miguel pressed his lips together, and you took his silence as an answer.

“Oh… you really don’t trust me, do you?” you went on, tears welling in your eyes. “I mean… Jessica did tell me you were against me joining Spider Society… I just… thought she wasn’t being serious…”

Miguel stepped closer, feeling a surge of indignation. “That was before I realised your potential!”

You blinked your tears away angrily. “You’re not even denying it.”

He let out an exasperated sigh. “I had my doubts at first, yes. Your inexperience, for example. But Jess quickly convinced me to take you in,” he continued, knowing that he sounded desperate at this point. “You are a very talented spider, and I realised that nearly right away.”

Then your eyes widened all of a sudden as if you had just realised something daunting.

Miguel felt his stomach flip, already anticipating more something much worse.

“Oh… oh… you — you sent Jessica to my dimension because of Tom…” you said, visibly shaken. “He’s subject A. You… you… woah!”

Miguel felt control slip through his fingers with each accusation you threw at him.

There was no point denying it, and he didn’t want to lie to you. If anything, he only sought to do damage control.

But your usual calm and sweet demeanor had long vanished.

“Who do you think Tom is?” you said between gritted teeth, clenching your fists at your sides. “Some… some secret weapon against Spider Society? Is that it?”

It was evident from your reaction that he clearly wasn’t that.

“Listen, I d-”

But you immediately cut him off, tears streaking down your face. “You want to know who he really is? Do you?”

In truth, he did. However, not at the expense of your emotional stability. Not like this. Everything was going sideways and he felt petrified.

“You don’t have to.”

“I’ll tell you!” you spat, hurt swelling in your voice. “Three days after I got bitten by that spider, I was struggling to get the hang of all the changes.” You began pacing nervously around the room, no longer looking at him. “I was heading toward a robbery site and… Tom was there… the criminals had dynamite and were threatening to blow up the building,” your voice cracked momentarily and you took a deep breath before continuing. “In an effort to get him out of there, I shot my web at his chest, but lost control and balance, and sent him flying across the street as the explosives went off…”

Miguel could only stare from a distance, feeling the frustration in your words.

You halted and glared at him, lips quivering and more tears spilling. “Tom broke his arm and suffered a serious concussion. Because of me.”

He opened his mouth to offer words of comfort, but decided not to interrupt.

“I grew up with Tom. He is — was my best friend,” you sniffled, lowering you gaze. “I even had feelings for him at one point, which was ridiculous… he was too good for me, anyway.”

Miguel took a few steps in your direction, wanting to convince you otherwise, but you immediately retreated away from him.

“Thankfully, he managed to fully recover. No one found out it had been me who caused it in the first place… everyone just assumed it happened because of the explosion…” you mumbled, before crossing your arms and hugging yourself, showing him you had done this multiple times before in search for comfort. “And I was a coward… I couldn’t bring myself to tell him the truth… so I removed myself from his life.”

A tense silence followed.

Nothing could have prepared Miguel for this revelation, and he couldn’t help but to feel a wave of sympathy for you wash down on him.

You then eyed him. “I don’t want your pity. I deserve this. I was never a decent spider-woman and-”

He quickly stopped you. “That is absolutely not true and you are not a coward.”

“Oh, but I am. When Jessica approached me with the offer to join you, I didn’t even think twice,” you confessed. “I’d do anything to spend as much time away from my dimension as possible.”

“You still perform your duties, as far as I know,” he pointed out rationally.

You let out a pained groan. “Because I have to! I’d much rather stay in the lab, piecing things together and be useful in other ways.”

“You could have told me.”

This time, you frowned and Miguel realised such expression didn’t suit you. At all.

“I didn’t want to. I didn’t have to. This is something I’m ashamed of.” You then pointed at his watch. “Your file won’t tell you any of this, and I really wish you hadn’t gotten involved, because this was my story to tell.”

Your words pierced through him like sharp knives, and he realised he had not only gone too far, but had also managed to hurt you in the process.

“If there is anyone here who understands what you are going through, it’s me,” he began carefully. “I know how it feels to want to do the right thing, only for the consequences to be disastrous.”

He watched your face soften ever so slightly, and you didn’t flinch away from him when he came to stand right in front of you.

“I’m really sorry that I overstepped the line,” he said softly. “I really care about you. That is the reason why I had the mic in your suit and why Jessica went looking for Tom.”

A half-truth, he figured. He couldn’t flat out say the actual reason. How would he even explain that he was obsessed with you? How could that justify any of this?

Simply put, it couldn’t.

And you would resent him.

So, he settled for a half-truth. He did care about you. Immensely. More than he could possibly reason with. But he just couldn’t have you know how much he wanted you to be with him to the point of extreme obsession.

Especially not after discovering this secret of yours.

He had to win you over.

“There is no one who can understand how hou feel better than me,” he whispered, cradling your face in his hands, tilting it enough to have your eyes meet his.

“But… you’re the Miguel O’Hara… you’re so… ” your voiced trailed off.

“Spider Society exists because of my mistake. Many people died at my hands, even if it was unintentional,” said with a sigh. “That is a burden I’ll carry forever with me. What you see here came at a price.”

You swallowed.

“But you don’t have to go through this.”

“How so?”

He caressed your cheeks with his thumbs. “You get a chance set things straight. Tom is still alive. I don’t get to have that.”

He would never have Gabriella back. Ever. That was the ultimate price he had to pay.

Your gaze dropped and he saw a couple of tears streaming down your face. “It’s not that simple.”

“It’s not, but it’s still an open door. A choice you have.”

He felt your hands grip his wrists for support, as silence took over you.

“I just wish you’d told me,” he whispered, closing his eyes and planting a kiss to your forehead. “I would have been here for you sooner.”

The effect of his words coupled with the gesture were enough to have you break into a sob, tears streaming down your cheeks, as Miguel held your face with both hands.

This was painful to witness.

He knew all too well how it felt to feel powerless and thinking that you’ve run out of options.

He knew you now. He understood you. Better than anyone ever could.

“I’m… s-sorry…” you mumbled, trying to keep yourself from crying. “You’re… getting all w-wet…”

Miguel couldn’t help but to smile endearingly at your concern, as your tears began to roll down his hands.

“Do not apologise,” he said firmly. “You can cry. I’m here for you.”

Nodding, you opened your eyes again and tilted your had back to stare at him.

“Please s-stay…” you said in between sobs, your hands gripping him tightly. “Please…”

You were killing him.

Little by little.

Miguel would give you everything.

He nodded and you stepped back and let go of him, running the back of your hands across your cheeks to dry them.

Then you went to sit on your couch, removing the clutter of wires and boxes that were in the way.

Miguel spotted a blanket nearby and came to sit by your side, draping it over your shoulders.

You leaned against the backrest, and he followed suit, feeling your head drop to his shoulder.

“Please remove the mic… and delete that file…” you mumbled.

“I will.”

He swung his arm across your from you, to pull you closer to him.

The two of you fell into a comfortable silence, and Miguel closed his eyes, relieved that he had managed to somehow control the damage he had caused. Unfortunately, it had come at the expense of you having to open up to him, and he felt guilty for that…

He knew he had to prove himself to you, and was grateful that you hadn’t chosen to shut him out completely.

“Somehow… this was sort of cathartic?” your voice was suddenly heard.

Miguel squeezed your arm tenderly.

“I had… never told this to anyone…”

Guilt hit him at once. “I’m sorry…”

“Don’t be… I think I needed to let it out,” you mused against him.

He couldn’t help but to feel an intense wave of compassion for you. There was no way around it: Miguel was in too deep when it came to you. Everything about you pulled him in and gripped him.

You would always be his sweet girl.

His devotion was yours.

Just yours.

“Hey, Miguel?”

He felt you shift beside him and he looked down to meet your sleepy eyes. “Yes?”

“Can I kiss you?”

Your words didn’t register at first, and he thought he had misheard you.

“What?”

You slipped your feet under you, before leaning slowly into him, face drawing near. “Can I kiss you?”

Denial hit him. “You’re just sleepy.”

But you didn’t back down. “No… I just…” your eyes darted down. “Can I?”

His heart went into a frenzy and he was left speechless. Your eyes were set on his lips and he somehow found the strength to nod.

It took you a couple of seconds to adjust yourself, and once you did, you closed the the gap, parting your lips slightly.

Miguel was left perplexed.

Weeks of yearning and obsession were finally being vindicated.

“Pretty eyes,” you whispered, breath fanning his lips. “So pretty…”

Your noses brushed together and he fought the urge to pull you into his lap at once.

“You’re the pretty one…” he said truthfully.

A smile curved your lips even through your sleepiness. “I’m going to kiss you now, Miguel O’Hara…”

And you did.

The moment your lips met his, Miguel felt his body react. It didn’t take long for the blood to rush down to his cock, slowly stirring it.

He could taste the inexperience on your lips as you kept breaking the kiss to gasp for air. It was blatantly obvious you needed some help figuring out what do next, so he happily obliged.

With one hand he managed to shift your leg to swing across his, and with the other he propped you onto his lap.

You broke the kiss, adjusting yourself and lacing your arms behind his neck and taking his lips again.

This time, he pressed his thumb to your chin, parting your lips, so he could deepen the kiss with his tongue. You immediately complied, and allowed him in with a soft whimper.

Miguel finally tasted you.

His sweet girl.

You came down to press your crotch against his painfully hard cock, and he immediately had to still your hips and lift you slightly.

You broke the kiss again, confusion in your eyes. “What…”

He didn’t dare confess it to you.

Instead, he pressed on your lower back so you would lean into him again with a kiss.

He wanted to taste you, but he couldn’t have you sit on his cock like that… he would absolutely burst.

His sweet girl sounded so sweet and receptive…

He felt you trying to defy his hold on your hips, surely wanting that friction, but he couldn’t afford that.

As much as he wanted to feel you grinding on him, he would be too embarrassed to cum so soon, and that thought was what ultimately prevented him from reaching the point of no return.

He brought one hand to grip your wrist, allowing the top half of his digital suit to disintegrate, so he could place the palm of your hand on his chest, revelling in your heated skin against his.

Suddenly, you parted from him with a gasp. “Wait… I’m…”

He arched an eyebrow in confusion and watched as you snaked your arm in between you two, sliding your hand down your sweatpants.

Miguel’s eyes widened and he was about to lose it until he realised what was really happening.

You slowly removed your hand and glared at it. “Oh.”

Your fingers were drenched in your wetness.

You were soaked.

For him.

He carefully looped his fingers around your wrist, wanting to taste you, but that sent you into an immediate frenzy, and you fumbled to get up from his lap, nearly falling back if not for his incredible reflexes.

“Easy…” he cooed, caressing his thumb along your pulse point. “It’s okay. We don’t have to do anything.”

You tumbled to the side and he let go of you, watching you sit back against the cushioned backrest and looking startled like a deer in headlights.

Just how inexperienced were you?

“Thanks…” you mumbled, chest heaving erratically. “I’m… yeah… and sorry…”

Miguel sat up straighter and arched a brow. “You don’t have to apologise.”

You nodded, your eyes falling to his bulge. “I mean… for that…”

Only you would ever apologise for giving him a raging boner.

His sweet girl…

“Don’t worry,” he reassured, feeling his heartbeat slow down. “Are you okay?”

“Yes…”

He offered a warm smile. “Good.”

Miguel didn’t even know where to begin. He couldn’t quite grasp the events of tonight, and it almost felt like a fever dream.

He was so used to getting hard from just the thought of you, that he couldn’t believe he was now hard because of you.

Still, the way you had reacted when you realised how wet you were for him led him to believe that maybe you were far more inexperienced than he had anticipated.

And he would respectfully give you all the time and space.

He would wait for you to ask him for more.

He could wait. His throbbing cock not so much, but he had other ways of dealing with that.

“Can I use your bathroom?” he asked, adjusting himself over his suit.

Your eyes widened. “Oh…”

“Just to ease some of the tension,” he immediately said.

He was desperate to let his cock spring free, and let it calm down until he was back at his apartment.

You then averted your gaze. “Can you… do it here?”

Miguel was utterly and completely taken aback.

“I… I have never…” you went on, quickly pulling your knees to your chest, wrapping your arms around them, and covering your face. “Nevermind…”

Oh.

Now it all made sense.

“Hey… look at me,” Miguel started, reaching out to tug at your wrist. “It’s okay.”

Slowly, you lifted your head to peer at him with evident hesitation. “Is it too… weird?”

“Not at all.”

And he meant it. By this point, he could feel his cock twitching more often, as more and more precum began to drip from the tip.

“Are you sure?” he asked, needing the absolute confirmation.

You promptly nodded, resting your chin on your forearm, eyeing him intensely.

He paused for a moment, expecting to be jolted away from this dream, or to have you backtrack.

“Please…” you whispered.

Swallowing hard, he allowed himself to sink into the backrest, before having the lower half of his suit disintegrating, and his cock finally released from its confinements.

Your eyes widened and your lips parted.

An instant ego boost that caused him to hiss as he wrapped his fingers around it. His body was so ready for you. Almost too ready. It didn’t take long before Migue felt droplets of precum sliding down his hips.

He couldn’t tear his eyes from you and it only added to the pleasure he felt.

Giving himself a few tentative pumps, he watched closely as you glared at the motion, curiosity splattered all over your face.

The first moans escaped his lips and he nearly slid his eyes shut, trying to stop himself from cumming too quickly.

But he didn’t want to miss out on anything you had to offer.

Miguel soon found a steady rhythm and began to fuck his hands like so many times before. But unlike those other times, he had you as an audience and he knew he wouldn’t last long no matter how hard he tried to muster images of the Vulture to dwindle his impending orgasm.

Then, you shifted closer, your legs dropping, but still pressed together.

He groaned, knowing exactly why you were being so fidgety.

Your hand was clutching at the hem of your shirt as a way to anchor yourself from the visual stimulation.

“You can touch yourself…” Miguel rasped, tightening the grip around himself, precum now flowing down his knuckles.

You pressed your legs tighter together and Miguel had to halt his motion or he would burst.

“…. or not,” he added, not wanting to overstep your line of comfort.

Your eyes darted to his face momentarily and, for the second time, Miguel saw your hand disappear inside your pants. You gasped softly and he could only guess that you must have reached your clit.

You let out the sweetest whimper, and Miguel’s cock twitched immediately.

His chest heaved and he swiped his thumb across the tip of his cock, letting out a groan.

He watched in awe as your arm moved rhythmically, and your eyes fluttered shut.

“Look at me…” he breathed.

You were biting yout lip, but did what he asked.

The urge to replace you hand with his — better yet, his cock — was almost painful and he knew he was heading towards the precipice, having to space out his strokes.

Your gaze fell to his hand. “How’s it so hard?”

He would have laughed if the situation wasn’t so dire and him being in need of release.

You scooted closer and closer, until your face was mere inches away, while still touching yourself.

For him.

Because of him.

“Why do you think?”

You gasped and he saw your hand slid out of your pants, fingers glistening with your wetness.

“Can… I?”

Miguel was too far gone to deny you of a newfound experience, so he nodded, bracing himself for what was about to happen.

He would burst.

You chewed on your lower lip as if unsure of what to do next, but he wanted you to take your time. A few moments later, you reached down with your soaked hand and he lets go of his cock, welcoming your touch.

He threw his head back and had to muster all of his willpower not to cum right away, as the pads of your fingers tentatively traced the underside of his cock, slowly moving to graze the veins that bulged from under the sensitive skin.

Everything inside him was suddenly burning like wildfire and he couldn’t stop his hips from jerking up.

By the time your thumb reached his tip and grazed slowly, Miguel hissed violently.

“Stop… stop - stop… please-” he begged, but was already being overtaken by the suffocating grip of a powerful orgasm.

You had indeed stopped touching him, but the damage had already been done.

His cock twitched rhythmically as hot spurts of cum began to cover his abs. Witch each roll of his hip, Miguel felt his vision blur and his fangs extend. He groaned your name a couple of times, before his words started to fuse together in a incoherent mess.

The stiffness of his peak shattered after a while and he slumped into the couch, struggling to even out his breathing.

Once he was finally able to open his eyes again, you came into his field of vision, holding a towel in your hands.

“Here,” you said as a smile broke across your face, before sitting by his side and offering it to him.

Even through the haze of an orgasm, Miguel was ablet o feel his heart skip a beat from your tenderness.

He proceeded to clean himself, wiping away the impressive amount of cum that had pooled on his lower abdomen.

“That was…”

His eyes were immediately on you. “Do you want me to…” he trailed off, allowing the not so subtle implication to dangle.

You didn’t catch it at first, but his silent was very telling.

“Oh, no — no, I’m fine, thanks,” you said with a chuckle.

“It’s only fair that I return the favor…”

You shook your head more vehemently this time. “It wasn’t a favor to begin with, Miguel. I was curious and… just wanted to watch you do it,” you mumbled as his digital suit began to cover his body again. “I had never… yeah — I’m still…”

Miguel had his suspicions that you were inexperienced, but he had no ultimate proof of that.

But this… “You’ve never had sex before?”

You settled back on the couch, crossing your legs. “No.”

He wasn’t sure of what to say. Was there even anything he should say?

So, he fell silent, waiting for you to take the lead.

“But… this was an interesting experience,” you eventually went on with a smile. “Do you… regret it?”

“No.”

But he could see doubt already settling on your face. “Maybe it was too much.”

“Not for me,” he said truthfully, straightening up in his seat. “Don’t think that, please.”

You nodded, but Miguel felt a pang of dread spread across his body. The last thing he wanted was for you to regret having opened up to him.

He had been longing for this for far too long to let it all be for nothing.

You were his sweet girl and you had his heart.

“Listen,” he started, set on preventing that from happening. “I can only speak for myself, but that was extremely hot. You are so, so attractive,” he went on, earning a doubting glare from you. “You are. I usually last longer than that.”

Your lips curled into an embarrassed smile, but Miguel could feel his words weren’t exactly reaching you.

Then silence took over.

You kept staring at your hands, head down and humming softly.

“Are you okay?” he shifted closer.

You took a deep breath. “I was thinking about your words earlier…”

“Yes?”

“Yes.”

He watched you closely. “And what are you thinking?”

“I think you’re right, Miguel,” you drawled out, your voice but a whisper. “I’ve been blaming myself for what happened to Tom for too long.”

A jab of compassion and empathy tugged at his heartstrings. “You’re absolutely right.”

Then, lifting your head, you met his eyes. “I think… I want to meet up with Tom again. Thank you for making me realise that, Miguel,” you finished with a sweet smile.

Part 6

Masterlist

[zeltqz]

begging for a jealous/possessive hanma that catches someone hitting on his s/o

#—♱𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 𝐎𝐑 𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇♱—#

— syn : hanma doesn't like the fact someone's hitting on his girlfriend.

— cw : nsfw content ahead ⚠︎ - deranged!hanma, death threats, choking, possessiveness, hanma refers to you as his, he almost kills a guy for you, red flag but its shuji so its ok <3

— length : 900 words

— a/n : i love my little red flag lmao. also i listened to house of ballons while writing this so its linked under the title if u wanna listen too lol

“Come onnnnnnn. You’re too pretty to be acting like this.” The man nudged you playfully, inching impossibly closer to your sitting form. “At least tell me yer name beautiful.”

You sighed exhaustedly and raised your glass back to your lips, taking a sip of your water. As you swallowed the liquid, you glanced at him from the corner of your eye. Yup, he looked like your typical wannabe punk. Someone that thinks everybody and their mamas are scared of in the streets. 

Before dating Hanma, you would’ve been scared of him. They’re known for their violence, threatening any person that dares to even walk past them on the street or look at them sideways. 

The crazed look in his eyes, the tongue piercing, the oddly dyed hair; wannabe punk. 

You put your drink down and motioned to the bartender to refill your cup of water. 

“I’m waiting girl. What’s yer name?” He was met with more silence. You could practically feel his irritation growing. “Stop being sucha bitch and just—”

“I have a boyfriend.” You thanked the bartender as he passed your cup back, filled with water. Taking another sip, you peeked over at him again from the corner of your eye, hoping to see him back away now that he knows the truth. 

But you forget who you’re messing with right now. 

“Boyfriend ? I don’t see a boyfriend. Oi!” He motioned over at the bartender, ushering him closer. Once the bartender got close enough, he wrapped an arm around his shoulder and brought him closer. “Do you see a boyfriend around here?” The bartender stammered and stuttered, so he clicked his tongue irritatedly and looked back at you. “Is this your boyfriend? Hah?”

You shook your head, remaining utterly calm. “Nope.”

“Exactly.” His voice sounded amused, as if he’d proved you wrong. “What kind of boyfriend would let ya walk outside wearing this, huuuuh?”

You could feel his fingers trailing along your thigh and closed your eyes, counting to ten in your head. In the midst of your counting, his touches got more bold, trailing them up towards the slope of your waist, up and down your arm. 

By the time you got to seven, you gave him three more seconds to get his hands off you, giving him the benefit of the doubt until the touches suddenly stopped.

You opened your eyes and looked to your left to see a long arm wrapped around the mans shoulder, the kanji sin tattooed big on his palm and you couldn’t help but smirk.

“Is there a reason you’re groping my girlfriend, hmm?” Hanma’s voice was sickly sweet and the man went red in the face. 

“No! No reason. Just mistook her, that’s all.” He smiled, showing all his teeth, hoping Hanma would let him off easy. 

“Mistook her?” Hanma hummed, confused. “Baby, did this man mistake you for anyone?”

You looked him deep in the eye for a second and fought back the urge to laugh when his lip started trembling, hoping and pleading in his eyes that you’d lie for him. “Not really. He actually even questioned your existence, Shuji.”

“I didn’t!”

“You did.” You grinned and watched the full fear sprout on his face.

“She’s lyin—” The hand resting on his shoulder quickly moved to his throat, squeezing until you saw veins forming down the length of his arm. You squeezed your thighs together, trying to calm the roaring pulse between your legs as you watched your boyfriend currently choking the fuck out of your harasser, all with a calm smile on his face.

“Don’t kill him Shuji.”

He winked and squeezed a little more until he went red in the face, his eyes threatening to pop out of his skull.

You frowned, crossing your arms over your chest. “Let go. He’s not worth it Shuji.”

“He touched what’s mine. Death would be the easy way out for him.” As if to prove his point, he began squeezing tighter and you knew if you didn’t stop him, you’d see the light in his eyes slowly fade. 

The chair squeaked as you slid off it and walked up to your boyfriend. “Shuji. Let go. He’s not worth it,” you repeated, voice a little firmer. 

Shuji had a deadpan look on his face as he stared at you, as if examining how serious you were. If he were to kill him right now, cleanup wouldn’t be an issue, your attitude would be. You’d stop talking to him for at least a week and ignore all his advances which would piss him the fuck off. 

“You’re so fucking lucky I want some pussy tonight,” Shuji said lowly in the man’s ear before letting go. 

The man dropped to the floor, coughing and holding his throat. 

You smiled and stepped over his crouched form, over to your boyfriend and wrapped your arms around his waist. “Love you Shu’.”’

“Mhm whatever.” He bent down to your level and kissed your lips. His hands gripped onto your waist, holding your tight and making you giggle into his lips. “Next guy that looks at you though, I won’t be so kind.”

[elenalolls]

Matt (or chris) fic where the reader is like sooo distant that matt (or Chris) become desperate to know what's wrong? Like to the point where he's begging her.

"Please. I NEED to know what's wrong so I can fix it."

PLS 🤭🤭

I’ll Always Be There For You – (M.S.)

Pairing: Matt Sturniolo x Fem!Reader

Summary: When you begin to face problems, you distance yourself from the one person you know you could go to and he notices.

Word Count: 670+

Warning/s — OOC idk help / Nothing (???)

A/N: I dont think I followed this request fully soz, WHERE HES BEGGINGGG OH SO UR SICK.

You had no intention of putting up a wall between you and Matt. It didn’t serve any purposes and you knew that. You also knew talking about what was going on would help in a way. So why were you suddenly doing things different?

You weren’t sure yourself.

And you had thought you were doing a subtle job at doing so, until you apparently weren’t when you received a text saying ‘Unlock your door. Be there in fifteen, let’s talk about you.’

‘Let’s talk about you’, let’s! Or, we can talk about how many… insults were thrown at you a day, ultimately bringing your mood down for over a week. Just for being in a relationship with your boyfriend.

Upon reading that message, your eyebrows furrowed. You wanted to tell him no, that you weren’t able to hang out or talk. But as you reevaluated his message, you realized he had sent it almost ten minutes ago, earning a groan. You ran a hand through your hair as you slipped on your shoes. Quickly making your way into your living room and towards the front door, refraining from, yet again, letting out a noise of frustration when you heard a car, his car, pull into your driveway.

Accepting your defeat, you unlocked and opened the front door. Crossing your arms over your chest, waiting for him.

When his figure appears from around the corner, you still. “Hi,” you manage to say, your voice cracking in the process. Well! “I don’t know if I can talk for long, what happened—”

“Are you okay?” Matt interjected, his tone stern, completely ignoring what you had just said.

“I— What?” You stammered, tilting your head. “I’m fine, are you okay?”

“Don’t lie to me.” Quickly adding, “Please.”

As you locked eyes with him, you could sense his concern, and it triggered a pang of guilt within you. You’ve had this discussion before, coming up with a solution that did work for a while, until it didn’t. And as if he could see right through you, he spoke once more. “You can tell me, Y/N. Anything. You know that.”

Your shoulders slumped, “I know.”

“Then what’s wrong,” He softly spoke, gently grasping both your hands. Slowly guiding you backwards, allowing the two of you to enter your house. Releasing your hands momentarily, he turned around and securely shut the door, locking it.

As you continue to remain silent, he lowers his head so he’s eye-to-eye with you, his hands moving to your shoulders, “Please. I need to know in order to help, Y/N. Let me help you.”

Reluctantly, you give in. “If you say I’m being overdramatic—”

He chuckles, rolling his eyes. “I won’t, of course I won’t. You know I won’t.”

“Right,” you murmur, “I know I said I wouldn’t check my comments on anything, but I was curious. I saw what was being said about me, and it just, I don’t know.”

Matt’s expression softens even more (if possible), “You should’ve told me. I could’ve said something.”

You looked down, causing your hair to cascade over your shoulder. Seeing this, he raised his hand and gently tucked some of your hair behind your ear. With his hand now on your cheek, you fought the temptation to lean into his touch as you uttered your next words. “You have already and clearly, it didn’t matter. Listen, it’s fine, I’m fine. Like I said, it just put me in a mood for a couple days.”

“It’s not, though.” The boy mumbled, holding your gaze. “You shouldn’t be criticized for being with me, and I’m sorry. I’ll talk with Nick and Chris about it, we can say something about it again, yeah?”

You allowed a smile to slowly make its way onto you face, “Okay, yeah.”

As he embraces you, his hands gently encircle your waist, drawing you closer. Your arms instinctively find their place around his neck. “Do you want to stay? We can watch a movie or something.”

“I thought you said you couldn’t talk for long,” he muttered against your neck, laughing as you pulled away soon after. “I’m kidding, yes.”

DT(s) — @bellelovesmen, @agirlsrage ! ౨ৎ

[fushipurro]

All That I Wanna Hear

☆ Synopsis: It's halloween night in 2018 and while you're home enjoying a good horror movie to pass the time, you get a text from someone claiming to be your long deceased husband. Your current partner isn't all that thrilled once he finds out, but soon the night turns into more than ghosts and goblins.

☆ Content: 18+ MDNI, f!reader, fluff/smut/angst all in one, breeding kink, creampie, praise kink, oral sex, established relationships, pet names, threesome, anal, foreplay, slight hurt/comfort, shameless smut, porn with plot, i meme a lot in this, toji and satoru bicker a LOT

☆ Word Count: 5.5k

unknown sender daddy long dick just landed in shinjuku baby, where you at, mama?

you excuse me?

unknown sender shit doll, you didn't change your number, did ya? it's toji.

you that's a sick joke, asshole

you at first thought it was just some kids having fun. it's halloween, right? the time for pranking others even if the "joke" is downright cruel.

hell, even satoru was playing into it when you got a notification of 10 million yen being added to your bank account on top of at least 500 missed calls from the same man and more coming.

he's supposed to be out chaperoning some of his students for some halloween fun in shinjuku. his group consisting of your two kids megumi and tsumiki along with a few others you've come to love like your own from their school.

you offered to come along with them to enjoy the festivities, but satoru insisted that you stayed home, all bundled up on the couch watching all your favorite movies and what not. a "well deserved break" he called it.

over the years he's done similar things ever since you first met him twelve years ago when life as you knew it completely shattered into a million pieces. instead of your husband coming home, you were greeted by a grim reaper clad in white hair and a school uniform.

before even attempting to respond to the flurry of notifications, yet another call from said reaper came blaring through with their face front and center. your own throat felt like it was closing in on you, desperate and grasping for air as every emotion fought to escape you. you picked up the phone, finally hitting that green button and instantly hearing the frantic voice of the man on the other end.

"you're home, right? stay where you are, i'm coming over right away."

"what's going on satoru? are the kids okay? what's with the money, the calls, the texts─"

"everyone's fine, just stay put! i'm almost there!"

your phone buzzed in your hand with a new message, a selfie image from the unknown sender with the caption "proof enough, sweetheart?"

sure enough, it was like looking at a ghost. a man with hair as dark as his surroundings, the piercing green eyes, the scar over his lip. not to mention the awkward angle the photo was taken at like he wasn't sure what he was doing or where to look when he took the photo. whatever phone he was using was nothing close to the old nokia he had in the past buried in your nightstand and it showed.

"...what the fuck?"

you could hear satoru asking, "what's wrong?" from the speaker of your device.

"there's no way, right? you're supposed to be dead??" you choked out, tears falling from your eyes onto the phone screen. this was a sick joke, right? there's no way your husband is alive after being dead for twelve long and grueling years, it's just not possible.

...right?

satoru burst through the front door to your home, "y/n!? where are you?!" he breezed to the living room hoping you were there, and sure enough you were.

he stood in the doorway panting, finally seeing your eyes lift to meet his with tears streaming down your face. "this is a prank, right? he's dead! i don't like this, it's not funny. . ."

he sped towards you, throwing your phone to the other end of the couch and pulling you in for a hug. there was no way he could lie to you, he saw it himself already while he was out with his students.

is it wrong for satoru to want to hide the fact that your dead husband somehow is now revived? 100%. he didn't like toji one bit especially not after almost losing his own life to him and surviving from the miracle of reverse cursed technique. he also hated how broken you became after toji died, because he killed him. he caused your pain. it was because of those actions that you were left alone to shoulder the weight of two kids in a cramped decrepit apartment you hoped to move out of someday soon at the time. satoru did not want to ever see that happen again to you after you finally allowed yourself to try and love again.

you aren't a sorcerer.

you aren't a killer.

you didn't deserve this.

toji kept a lot hidden from you about the jujutsu world and the many horrors in it, especially the acts he once committed. he changed for you as much as he could since the time he locked you down with a ring to the day he died. he forwent killing others and used his hands only to love and support life as best as he could.

he had no regrets over falling in love with you, but he also struggled to find his place in the world again. everything he believed he knew and did best centered around taking the lives of others and without that, he wasn't anything. but he had you, and the kids, and that gave him every reason to try.

when confronted about the impossible task of killing a girl being guarded by the one and only satoru gojo, he knew it wouldn't be the easiest thing in the world. toji also knew that he was the only one capable of doing it with the right methods and plenty of patience. the rewards he'd reap afterwards would be enough to coast through life in the way that you deserve and with functional appliances and hot water in the shower. even if it meant bloodying his hands one final time, it was always for your sake and yours alone.

satoru had no chance to even open his mouth before a deep voice familiar to both of you sounded from the front door he didn't bother to lock in his haste to get here. not that any lock or door could ever hope to stop the being that is toji fushiguro.

"daddy's home~, where's my angel at?"

"how the fuck did you find her?" he turned to face the man with a hostile glare.

toji scoffed, walking over to the couch, ignoring satoru in the process as he cupped your tear-stained chin to meet the smile always reserved for you.

"missed ya, sweetheart," he slowly admired all your features intently. twelve years is a long time and while you're still young, you're not immune to signs of aging. however, you can now say it's cute that you both carry the same small creases around your eyes. the idea of growing old with your soulmate and actually getting to is a miracle in and of itself.

seeing him once again like this made you sob mercilessly, if you could call whatever you were doing before that. the sheer force of many emotions overtakes your body. you're grasping his body and face praying your hands don't slip through like ghosts on TV. "toji, how are you alive? i buried you myself!"

"haven't a clue, but i couldn't care less about the reason. i'm back now and i'm not leaving you ever again."

he hooked his hands under your arms and pulled you up off the cushions and into a tight hug, one you've missed after the many years of sleepless nights in a bed far too big for one person.

sure, they were seldomly spent with satoru, more so as of late. he was there for you when no one else was or could be. you hated him at first, but you grew to understand everything that happened and he helped you learn to love again. you hated too that toji had done something so stupid that cost him everything, but you understand why and came to terms with it.

he shot a glare at satoru who was kneeling on the couch with his fists clenched and a sour expression. "you can go now, kid. my wife and i have some catching up to do."

"i'm not going anywhere." he hissed.

"i wasn't asking." toji growled in response. he leaned down to meet your lips, instantly making your body shiver. saliva coating your lips like gloss with a flavor that made long dormant senses come alive like flowers beneath a tundra.

it was like a dream, i mean, how else could your dead husband be kissing you again? yeah, cursed techniques can be crazy sometimes, given what you learned from satoru, but raising the dead? it was nigh impossible tampering with life in such a way.

there is no other way you could explain this. here before you is a man that looks like toji, sounds like toji, acts like toji, tastes like toji. everything about him is the toji you knew and you swear you can feel your soul humming for him like a human beacon.

one kiss wasn't enough. it never is with toji and you never used to complain about it. they start soft and supple and quickly turn into bites and feverish grabs, yearning for more. but the circumstances now are different than before. "t-toji, wait─"

"what's wrong, baby?" he interjected, "you know how much i missed ya?"

satoru shoved his hand in between the two of you, infinity protecting him from the possibility of toji's saliva getting on his perfect skin. "you've been dead for a long time, in case you forgot. people can move on with their lives."

"what are implying?" he narrowed his eyes at the man. "you been touching my wife in my absence?" toji got his answer when he saw your flustered gaze. "sweetheart, he did tell you how i died, right?"

"yes, but it's not like that, toji." you sighed, stepping away from the men and returning to your spot on the couch, resting your face to your palms. "satoru showed up out of the blue that day telling me exactly what happened. about everything, including the job you hid from me."

"yeah and she punched me too." satoru chimed in, making toji chuckle with pride.

"eventually, i forgave him, yes. it killed me that you went and died over some stupid pride. it's not like either of you are perfect people though, no one is, and i get that." your voice was cracking with grief and anger you haven't expressed since that day. "i just wish you would've talked to me instead of deciding for yourself what you thought was best. . ."

toji seated himself at your side, rubbing his hand on your back in an attempt to comfort you like he always used to. "i'm sorry, y/n. i never planned on dying that day and leaving you, i was stupid and i know it."

"i know... it was hard though- and satoru has been very kind in helping our family out after it all."

toji shot a look to the man keeping himself quiet to not disrupt the moment, but this time it wasn't one of anger. satoru returned his look with his own troubled expression.

"he took megumi and tsumiki in like they were his own kids, paid our debts, bought this house for us. he's even their teacher now, training and keeping them safe. oh you would be so proud of how they turned out, toji."

much to satoru's dismay, toji pulled you into his lap with your back to his chest. large hands resting on your stomach with his head in the crook of your neck delivering soft kisses to calm your relentless sobs of grief.

toji wouldn't say so right now, but he's the reason satoru came to you in the first place. he wasn't expecting much when asked what his final words were, but when regret washed over him over his choices, toji had one final hope to ensure you had the life you deserve.

"i'm home, sweetheart. m'not going anywhere ever again."

toji wasn't much of a jealous person. even after twelve years apart from you and another man filling the void, he only had himself to blame for leaving you and everyone else behind.

satoru on the other hand felt differently, but his jealousy wasn't about pride or broken promises. it was about you and sustaining your happiness.

the man you loved who got himself killed now walking back into your life by some blessing from above. the life of someone satoru has grown to love and care for. he never asked you for much in return, only that you'd give him a chance and you your own to love again beyond toji. at first it was merely about making things right for someone who didn't deserve the situation they were placed in, but it never stays like that. it always grows into something more. if you water and care for a plant, it will grow and bloom, as simple as that.

and just like with toji, it's never stops with one kiss. like a cactus waiting for a monsoon to drown it or the golden light of day to feed it. his soft kisses soon turned into bites, his breath fanning your neck behind your ears and his fingers kneading into the plush of your waist and working up to your chest.

"toji, w-what are you doing?" you blushed, squirming from not only the tongue striping your ear but the boner poking your back through the fabric.

"shh," he coos, "just lemme show you how much i missed ya, okay?"

"huh?" satoru groaned.

calloused hands began pushing back the hem of your shirt as he found his way in around your breasts.

"what do you think you're doing?"

"the fuck does it look like, brat?" toji hissed at the man. "gonna make love to my wife, right mama?" he said, moving his hand inside your shorts and over your mound, toying with the sticky fabric. a husky snicker filled your ears, "so wet for me already. can't wait to taste your pretty pussy again."

"fuck! toji~," you leaned into his touch, digging your nails into his thighs to balance yourself as he slithered his rough digit between your folds, gathering slick around his finger tip to work himself inside.

"so tight for me. fuck, i missed this. has he even been treating you properly?" he smirked at satoru.

the white haired man had enough sitting with on the sidelines, scooting in front of you blatantly ignoring the scowling husband.

"why don't we show him how i treat you, princess?"

oh how toji wanted to put him in his place, but then he thought about the fun you might have with both of your love interests filling you up. toji died, time passed, he gets it. but now, you have the chance to indulge yourself in something you never would've done before.

a mischievous grin tugged his scar upwards. he leaned back, propping his hips up to adjust himself and bouncing your body up onto his lap, back against his chest.

satoru took the invitation and closed the gap between you, muffling your moans with his tongue against yours while circling your chest with his hands.

you're toji's after all. your rings still nestled on your finger unmoving after all these years. what's the harm in some temporary enjoyment to celebrate his return?

from your mouth, satoru leaned down to tongue the buds on your chest after removing your top. toji took advantage of your now free opening to kiss you, slipping another finger inside your cunt and scissoring your walls open.

"you have the prettiest tits, princess. no competition, even from jackass back there." his voice humming against your nipple that sent shockwaves straight to your heart and other areas (read: pussy) that made your body flutter.

you were already in shambles, threatening to come apart. your whole body felt like it was on fire thanks to their onslaught of attention. toji's voice filled your ears, nibbling the lobe as he spoke, "you wanna cum, sweetheart? i can feel this pussy just begging for it."

you nodded your head as best you could, "y-yes fuck─ please." with a quick circle of his thumb to your pearl and a bite from satoru, your body unraveled turning your vision white. your body slunk further back against toji's as you settled from the high.

"that's my good girl." he praised, his voice like honey over your ears, "can't wait to feel you clenching around my dick again."

"please please daddy, i need you." you whined as he took his fingers out leaving you feeling void.

his deep laugh only made you shiver and perk up more, "so eager for me? always so good f'me, baby." he raised his fingers up to his mouth, admiring the clear dew before cleaning them off in his mouth. "best taste in the world right here."

satoru slid his head between your thighs, kissing your pearl and jolting your body in the process, "don't forget that i'm here, princess. lemme clean you up a bit."

"fuck, 'toru~," you mewled as he licked a straight stripe up your slit. his tongue savoring the taste before toji lifted your body up and placed you down on all fours on the cushions.

"uh uh, pretty boy," toji teased, "this pussy belonged to me first and will stay that way. but thanks for keeping it warm for me."

you heard toji unbuckling himself, cock springing free right up against your entrance making you squeal out in response. turning your head around, you could see the precum adorning the tip of his overwhelming size.

yup, definitely toji.

"why don't i fill up this mouth of yours then, beautiful?" satoru purred as he kneeled in front of you, freeing his own bulging length from his pants.

both of the men pushed their way into your holes at the same time, a guttural groan leaving you as you adjusted to toji's monstrous size. it worked in favor for satoru, the vibration making him throw his head back.

"shit─ almost like the day we first fucked." he flashed an arrogant smile to the man across from him, "the so-called 'strongest' falling short to a monkey like me?"

satoru returned toji's remark with a cocky look of his own, "so scary~, want me to hollow purple your ass again? that did the job last time."

so long as he wasn't distracted trying to throw hands, toji kept his pace was slow and sensual. savoring every moment he was connected to your body. his grip was sure to leave bruises later on your hips but you welcomed them proudly since it meant you had him again.

satoru had his hand at the back of your head, bobbing you evenly over his cock whispering, "you're so pretty, doin' so well for us."

the cock in your mouth was the first to show signs of his incoming release, now evident by his pace turning sloppy before ultimately releasing his seed as pure and white as his hair all over your tongue and throat.

he groaned deeply, cupping your cheek to admire his handiwork with soft eyes. "prettiest girl in the world."

your praise was interrupted by yet another challenge from behind, "look at that, he cums fast too." toji sneered. his eyes fell to the circle of cream glossing his own length.

"least i actually can." he shrugged in response, only taunting him further. "did you lose your touch in the afterlife, old man?"

"tsk." he clicked his tongue. with satoru out of your mouth, he flipped you so your back was against the cushions.

"toji!" you yelped in surprise.

"sorry sweetheart, but you know how i much i love seeing your pretty face when i fuck you full."

toji entered himself back into you, hips rutting at a faster more rough pace to chase his high. his breathing turned heavy with low grunts in between.

satoru leaned down, peppering kisses across your cock drunk face seeing stars. "hang in there, beautiful, you're doing so well."

with a few harsh thrusts, toji had shimmied himself as deep as he could inside. "want me to give you another baby? give megs and tsumi a new sibling?" you nodded furiously despite not being totally aware what he was even saying through the blood rush in your ears. "yeah? daddy can do that for you, my love. can't fucking wait to see you swollen again now that i'm home."

when you love someone as much as toji, almost anything they say sounds like a good idea when he says it so sweetly to you ten inches deep. you're even more willing to indulge in his antics now after all this time without him. you truly missed such moments, more than you know.

he hasn't even seen his kids yet, oh how shocked they're gonna be when they come home to the literal ghost in the house. inside your womb however was anything but ectoplasm from some spirit. thick ropes of cum shot out, burying you with warmth from the inside and out.

"thaaattt's it... fuck baby─milk me dry." he moaned pleasingly, leaning down to bite into your soft flesh as you screamed his name harmoniously until nothing else could sound.

after a pregnant pause, he finally pulled out, attempting to stuff his seed back inside you before satoru lifted you up onto your knees with your back close to his chest. "c'mere princess, you don't need that stuff in you." as he rubbed his length along your folds, he snaked his arms around your waist and chest to keep you up, leaning into your ear whispering, "only mine," as he smirked at toji's discontented face.

toji ignored him as he took your cheeks into his hand, kissing you oh so sweetly and full of love. you greedily kissed him back, a few tears falling from your eyes whether from satoru pushing up into you or toji's return to you, who knows. both, really. either way, you're beyond happy feeling your heart beating again like it last did twelve years ago. he wiped your tears with gentle kisses, "i love you, y/n, so fucking much."

he wasn't much with words of affirmation, especially in endearing ways. toji cared more about showing his love to you in small acts or teasing. but when your bodies are pressed together, be it through making love or holding each other to sleep, that's when you hear the words come straight from his heart and into yours.

"i love you─ahh too, j-jiji." you smiled blissfully, trying your best to get the words out as satoru's cock thrusted into your sweet spot over and over.

there were plenty of times satoru wanted to interject. as much as he disliked toji, this is the man you had chosen to love before and never stopped loving. despite his own feelings, your feelings are what matter most. that being said, when the moment's over, he's reminding you about the spot in your heart reserved for the honored one.

"if you want another baby, y/n, i'll give you one." he grinned, upping his pace. his balls made a splatter sound with each thrust thanks to all the cum and slick present. "i'm sure we can make the prettiest baby together."

"is that how it is? this is my wife we're talking about, pretty boy." he leaned forward to cup your cheek, trailing his fingers to the back of your head.

"is your memory falling short too, old man?" his voice becoming disheveled, "she's had several years without you to move on."

the hand twined within your hair urged you downwards. toji's hardened cock angry at the tip was begging for attention. before he could do anything, he turned your face up to meet his gaze.

"what's your surname, sweetheart?"

"fushiguro?" you responded, slightly puzzled given your headspace.

"not gojo, huh?" he lined his tip up against your lips, ever so softly saying "i'm glad," before impaling your parted mouth, thrusting deep into your throat. his face conveyed a victorious smile beamed right at satoru.

any attempt at moaning were muffled, or more accurately gagged. your voice straining with pleasure as you were being fucked in both ends. again. toji's girth was much harder to accommodate but all his gentle praises and cooing helped relax you. the burning in your jaw worth it just for this moment. it gave satoru some extra enjoyment on his end when every praise had you vice gripping his length.

satoru couldn't compete in raw size against toji. not to say that he's by any means below average, but toji's heavenly restriction keeps him above the already exemplary sizes. he does however have one secret technique only for his bloodline.

limitless.

simply activating his ability allows himself to essentially become a human vibrator. literally. through infinity, he can expand and retract the distance between your velvet walls and his shaft at any speed he desires. it does take some effort and obviously self-control, but this is a man with an endless pool of cursed energy.

domain expansion: infinite pleasure.

the two continued their race to cum, you had no choice but to be the first, followed closely behind by the other two. your body trembling at the mercy of their cocks pumping you full.

"fast enough for ya, gojo?" he scoffed, tilting your head up to his with a finger swiping prodding your lips, "open." you obliged, sticking your tongue out like a panting dog after swallowing his essence entirely. "good girl." he smiled.

you couldn't help but whine at the loss of satoru when he pulled out, but it finally gave you a chance to catch your breath. "can you guys stop bickering for one second. at this point, you two need to be the ones fucking like some good old hate sex."

the two men chuckled, "sorry sweetheart, but you're doing so well taking us." toji purred, rubbing his digits under your jaw like he was petting a cat.

"aww, don't tell me you're tired of us now?" satoru pouted. "toji's one of the few people that actually can put up a good fight with me and with you as our prize. . ." his voice trailed off as he pulled you away from the older man's grasp to kiss you. ". . .it only makes it more enjoyable."

"don't either of you get any bright ideas that leave me to grieve again, you hear me? i mean it."

toji hooked his arms under yours and pulled up onto his lap holding you at your waist with one hand and the other keeping your face in his neck. "i think we can agree to that, can't we, 'toru?"

"yeah, jiji," he replied mockingly while inching forward, "i think for the princess here, we can keep things neutral." his voice had a tone of mischief to it.

"what are you two doin─hey!" you yelped in surprise. toji had lifted you up onto his cock, sitting you down balls deep against your lips all the while satoru's tip rubbed between your ass.

"one more baby, i know you can do it." toji cooed with his voice just as full of shit as satoru's. "you want us to see eye to eye, don't you?" he smirked.

honestly... what the hell? why not?

your mind is so far gone with pleasure to care. all you want is to love and be loved by your two sacred treasures.

"god, fuck." you groaned as satoru worked his way in, agonizingly slow. toji kept himself still but the pressure of warming them both is downright insane. tears welled up which were quickly swiped away thanks to toji. he leaned forward, kissing you through it, humming into each other's mouths in ecstasy.

"ready, princess?" you nodded your head as best as you could with your shaky body.

"try and keep up if you can, pretty boy." you glared at toji with a hiss of disapproval. "i know i know, m'sorry. lemme put a sweeter face on you now, okay?"

toji moved his arms back under yours, this time hugging your chest to his in a tight bear grip as he rutted his hips into you. every time he pushed in, satoru pulled out. repeating as they set the pace while you raked lines down toji's back.

you were reduced to nothing but babbling nonsense, crying out jiji toru jiji toru and other incoherent swears. drool spilling from your mouth despite toji's best efforts to keep it occupied with his own. he eventually dropped his head to your shoulder, biting into marks he previously made. satoru pulled himself closer, opting to rest his head on the opposite side of toji and his arms coiled around your waist.

you were unable to hold out for long before coming undone but they didn't cease their own chase. despite their disheveled breaths and all the obscenities they growled, they continued on pumping. the rhythm they set soon fell apart and after a few harsh thrusts, the two pushed up deep inside you at the same moment washing you over in a second orgasm before the first even had a chance to settle.

"fuck... y'er so warm y/n. can't take it anymore, gotta cum sweetheart. take every last bit of us, you hear me? show us how good you are."

the best you could manage was a muffled "mphm" with haphazard nods as you clenched around them equally in force. the eruption of warm seed soon followed, coating your insides and spilling out with your arousal.

they finally pulled out after what felt like an eternity followed by the jungle juice of cum, slick, and sweat dripping further out from your body. you collapsed onto toji's sweat coated chest gasping for air. satoru couldn't help himself from doing the same onto your back.

"not bad, old man. i can see why she loves you so much."

"yeah?" a genuine smile crossed toji's face from his words, "you did fine yourself too, brat. may have to keep you around for her joy."

"you couldn't stop me even if you tried, i only take orders from our princess." he chuckled.

toji brushed his hand over your head, pushing strands behind your ears and admiring your beautiful fucked face.

"i am going to order you to get your ass off of us and go start a bath before she falls asleep for good."

"fine, fine." satoru groaned before pushing himself off the two of you, kissing you once before walking off to the bathroom.

"now then. . ." toji's eyes wandered to the empty slot on his finger. "did you bury me with my wedding band, love?"

with a groggy hum, you turned upwards to his face. "i thought about it but no, i still have it. i kept it with the intention of giving it to megumi someday if he ever wanted to get married to always keep you in our thoughts."

"guess he's gonna have to pick something else," he smiled. "death is one thing that will never separate us and even if it could, i would marry you again and again, as many times as it takes in every lifetime. we're bound to each other forever."

"jiji~," you sniffled. "i love you so much. welcome home... my sweet husband."

"i love you too, my precious wife." he kissed your crown, sighing peacefully before lifting you up into his arms. "time to get cleaned off before the kids get home, right?"

one perk to this nice house gifted to you is the master bathroom featuring a large enough tub perfect for the three of you to relax in. perfectly nestling you between your two loves as they took turns scrubbing and kissing every inch of you before bothering with themselves.

"i can't believe you tried to bribe me to not see my 'dead' husband, 'toru." you pouted.

he threw his hands up defensively, "hey you know we have history, princess. i didn't want to let you go that easily without a fight."

"well i'm not giving up either of you so you two better learn to get along and fast. i love you both too much."

"aww~, you're too cute, y/n. love you too."

toji barked out a laugh, shaking his head. "just don't forget your manners, she's first and foremost my wife." satoru rolled his eyes teasingly at the man before pulling you away from him into his arms.

after soaking for a good while, the three of you stepped out. satoru changed back into his clothes from earlier and as for toji, well you never could part with the majority of his favorites. each article still carrying trace amounts of his scent that bring you peace every time you're upset or need a reminder of him.

once dressed, you curled up once more on the couch to resume a movie from earlier, tucked in a blanket up in toji's arms with satoru close by.

the front door opened followed by a resounding "we're home!" followed by the footsteps of the whole group.

"hey mom, have you heard from goj─DAD?!" megumi had entered the living room first and immediately dropped his bag to the ground.

"megumi?" tsumiki followed in after, equally as shocked before the rest of the group arrived.

toji looked softly at megumi and tsumiki first, taking in how much they've grown with a smile and a stray tear glossing his eye.

"how are you even here?!" megumi said with an appalled expression.

toji shrugged, "beats me, guess even heaven couldn't keep me from seeing my family again in life." he smirked.

"welcome home, kids!" you smiled happily to the group, unable to move away from toji's lap to greet them better after the fucking you just went through. "come sit with us, tell us about your evening!"

megumi and tsumiki came over first, hugging toji again like they too needed to confirm it was truly him and not some apparition.

"so who are the rest of ya?" toji questioned, his eyes panning to the group that wandered over.

the pink haired boy spoke first, "i'm yuji itadori! megumi's boyfriend."

next was a chestnut haired girl, "nobara kugisaki, these guys' best friend."

lastly was a familiar name and face that earned a questionable hum from the older man when she approached, "maki zenin, nobara's girlfriend."

his eyes narrowed slightly, "zenin?"

"don't count her out just yet, gramps." satoru chimed in from the other side of the couch. "your cousin here is just like you, just not nearly as old."

"says the brat with white hair. i don't see any grays on my head just yet."

"well if your back isn't hurting then you can take over maki's training from now on. you're the best choice for her to learn from, her twin as well."

toji glanced her over, as if assessing her prowess, eventually giving a satisfactory nod. "sure, but don't think you'll pull me away from y/n that easily." he moved his mouth right up against your ear, "we've got twelve years of catching up to do, don't we?"

"oh toji," you laughed. "you'll have me every single day and night now. no more stupid missions for you."

"anything for you, sweetheart." he purred, pulling the blanket up over your tired form that clung to him tightly.

you did your best to try and stay awake to enjoy your time with everyone, but thanks to toji caressing your body softly, you fell deeply asleep. when the next morning arrived and you woke up with not only satoru at your side, but toji as well, you wept with pure hearted joy that none of this was a dream or a cruel prank. simply, the love of your life finally coming home.

home sweet home once again.

☆ Notes: the idea came to me when i was trying to sleep the other night and ended up making me stay up an extra hour giggling with all the ideas i was getting for it. i hope it's not been done before but either way i was so excited to write this, i had so much fun!! writing satoru more than usual was a bit tricky for me since i'm only used to toji brainrot, but we'll get there.

also if you wanna see a bad edit i made that inspired this whole thing, peep this link

[loveswrites]

Something with the Volturi, literally can be anything.

Poly Volturi x Reader

Time

Time it took me: 2 hours and 2 minutes

Word count: 1839 words

To anon~ Hello lovely! I hope you liked it, I did! I was excited seeing your request for something with the volturi. I just couldn't wait to write it. Let me know if you want more like this! <3

The arms around you wrapped onto you tightly. The music in your headphones was blasting a little too loud but you didn’t mind. You're basically in heaven right now. You felt the energy around you change and the tempo of Caius leg bouncing change. This let you know immediately that something was wrong. Taking off your headphones while opening your eyes that were previously closed, you were faced with Caius red eyes staring straight ahead with a deadly glare. Different from the one that was always on his face. You had taken your headphones off just in time to hear the end of the growls that were coming from your other mates.

You were currently sitting on Caius’s lap who was sitting in his throne. You were the only one who was allowed up here like this of course. It’s not like you hadn’t fought for this spot. All of your mates and all of the kings were considered for your safety as “We have a lot of enemies.” But you assured them that you would always be safe with them all in the room. So you were then granted permission to sit with the kings in the throne room during trails. Which didn’t matter cause you knew you were going to be in there anyways. You 're the future queen for heaven's sake.  

“You keep your mouth shut about things that have nothing to do with you.” Caius growled out. Sending waves of vibrations through his body making you shiver. You always liked the way he would growl when he was mad. It made you feel some type of way if you know what I mean. 

“I-Her music is very distracting! I can’t concentrate on the words coming out of my mouth!” The scared vampire kneeling stuttered out making you tear your eyes away from caius. You could stare at him all day if you could.  

The vampire looked terrified. He was shaking, his clothes were wet. You wondered if Felix and Demetri had to chase him through a lake or something as they were also wet. The two were holding him down to kneel in front of the kings as he tried to run away once already. You knew he was guilty of his crimes. You could smell it. And so could everyone else. 

“You wouldn’t have to think about anything if you weren't lying.” You stated, making all eyes turn to you. The kings had always preferred you to be silent so no unnecessary attention was drawn to you. You never listened. I don’t think they ever expected you to either. You’d always randomly laugh during trails. Or sing random words from songs that were stuck in your head. Or throw out random compliments to your mates or the other kings.

“I-I’m not lying I’m telling the truth!” He said, stuttering.

 Swinging your feet you stared at the vampire tilting your head you simply said. “Was that also a lie? You know after all these years of living or dying, Whatever you call it. I’d think you would’ve mastered the art of lying.”

Your comment brung a evil smile to Caius' face. His eyes were full of adoration 24/7 whenever he looked at you. 

“The level of the future queen's music should be of no concern to you.” Aro said, turning his head back to the Vampire. They always took pride in calling you their queen. Seeing that you were still human kinda shocked you but I guess there's an exception for mates.

“Mia cara, put your contraption back on and relax please.” Marcus said softly. You knowing exactly what was about to happen. You put your headphones back on. Turning the volume back up you closed your eyes and relaxed in Caius' grip. You felt Caius drawing patterns on your leg and his bouncing went back to normal. Kinda putting you in a rocking motion. You were very relaxed. You felt safer than ever. Somehow you fell asleep because when you woke up next you weren't in the throne room. Confusion ran across your face until realization came across you and you remembered that this was Jane’s room.

“Finally you're awake. You slept for hours.” Jane said, making you roll over to face her. Her face sparkled a little as some sun was coming through her balcony. You always loved watching her sparkle. You always teased her about being the bright star on earth. She’d always tell you to stop but you swear if she could she’d blush and be as red as a tomato all the time.

“You missed me?” You smiled up at her.

“Of course not you were right here this whole time. How could I possibly miss you?” Jane said with a straight face but couldn’t help herself with stroking the side of your waist. All of your mates had a favorite spot on your body they just looked to touch. It’s like you were just a stress ball for them. Made for them to grip, rub, bite etc. You loved it.

“But you stayed and watched me sleep? That sounds like fan behavior to me.” You stated softly dragging your fingers against her cheek. She leaned into your hand telling you she loved it. 

Jane was the hardest out of all your mates when it came to physical touch. You thought Caius would be the hardest to get to seeing as his awful hate to humans. But you're convinced that Jane’s is 10x worse. Rightfully so as her past with Humans wasn’t so good.

“I couldn’t just leave you alone.” She softly said with her eyes closed. She relaxed in your touch bringing a bigger smile to your face.

“Why not? Scared someone would come in here and snatch me away?” You giggled. Making her snap her eyes open bringing you to a halt with everything you were doing. Including breathing. 

“If someone dared to lay a hand on you I’d kill them all. Everyone, no hesitation.” Jane said sternly. Her piercing red eyes would scare any normal person, but with her words and lovely eyes you knew damn well you weren’t normal. Because with all of those things combined you felt Loved.  

“I know you would but I’m okay so you can relax, pretty girl.” 

“I am relaxed.” She said, You shook your head and brought her in for a kiss. Just a soft reassuring kiss. 

Jane responded to the kiss by pulling you closer to her by your hair deepening the kiss. It was a little aggressive but you knew that she was being gentle. She and Caius had a hard time being gentle but you loved them nonetheless. A few minutes into a kiss that was supposed to last only for a few seconds a knock was heard on the door.

You pulled away getting off her lap which was where she pulled you to a minute after the kiss got deepened. Making Jane huff in protest. 

“Brother, go away!” She only but slightly raised her voice knowing he could hear her.

“Sister it is now my turn, You said when she awakened I could spend time with her. She’s awake, I hear her.” Alec’s voice mumbled through the door.

Kissing Jane on her nose you smiled at her getting up from the bed.

 “I’ll be back later.” 

“But-”

 “You're the one who told him he could spend time with me after I had awakened, I didn’t agree to that. I’m only keeping your word, My pretty girl.” You smiled seeing her face which you knew she was flustered but also annoyed. The moment you opened the door you were snatched up by multiple hands making you squeal out in surprise. Wind rushed through your hair and hit your face. The world was blurry around you. It made you sick. You closed your eyes tightly in attempts to help with the splitting headache that you knew was on the express train to your head.

Finally you were put down on your two feet so suddenly making you stumble and hold your head. You already knew what was happening. You were being ambushed by Alec, Felix and Demitri. Your other mates. They liked to just grab you and run away no matter how many times you told them that their speed made you feel sick. They would always get cocky with themselves after you said it, so you stopped.

“What the hell again?!” You yelled out the moment you could hold yourself up without swaying side to side. All you got in response was chuckles and laughs from your lovers.

“I swear you guys may be older than the sun but you fucking act like you where born yesterday! How many times do I have to tell you that that shit makes me feel sick! My human shit can’t handle that! One of these days I’m gonna throw up on all of you and I’m not going to feel bad!” You ranted on holding your head as you felt the headache you were talking about earlier come on. 

“I’m sorry La mia bella ragazza.” Demitri said softly, coming up to you to wrap you around in his arms. He kissed your forehead in an attempt to make you feel better. You mumbled a few cuss words into his chest making him laugh softly.

“I know I know, we just wanted to try and spend some time with you before Caius came back from feeding.” Demitri said.

“We didn’t think you would sleep the whole day away in Jane’s room. It’s almost like you like her more than us or something.” Felix said. Even with your face hidden you knew that that 6 '7 teddy bear was pouting about you sleeping too long with someone else that wasn’t him. 

“Cauis said he wanted to capture you in your true beauty when he was done feeding. So with that information we knew you’d be gone for the rest of the day tucked away with the king.” Alec said coming up to you behind your back. Your face was still in Demetris' chest as Alec wrapped his arms around you from behind so he could kiss your neck softly. You let out a soft moan in response. 

Felix seeing this he came up to the on space that was available. With both sides of your neck now being kissed you had no choice but to keep your eyes closed and let out small whimpers. You were surrounded by three pieces of your heart. You felt nothing but happiness and joy right now. You can’t even remember what your life was like without them. Your lovers. You always felt safe. You never had to question if you were loved. They would always show it without you even asking. What more could you ask for?

“Mia cara! Where are you? I had that horrible excuse of a receptionist gather more paint for us now, come!” You heard Caius yell out.

Except more time.

[blue-rose-soul]

"Great Alastor Altruist* died for his friends!"

This scene has been spinning in my brain since Thursday. Like a lot of other people, my first thought was that this was an indication that Alastor had grown to care for Charlie and her friends at the hotel. And it's not because of the words he says. Even if you're watching without subtitles and don't see the quotations around that phrase, it's pretty obvious that he's laughing at the very thought.

"Me? Alastor? Dying for them?"

"Ridiculous."

"Absurd!"

"Utterly laughable!"

No, what makes me think that there might be a kernel of truth there isn't the words by themselves. It's the look on his face as he says them.

This is the part where Alastor's angry snarl breaks and he begins to look genuinely afraid. He clutches his chest. He digs his fingers into his scalp, drags his hand down the side of his face. And that's a perfectly reasonable reaction to nearly dying! It's very human! But I think it's very telling that this expression doesn't settle on his face until he's talking about dying for someone else. Before this he looked more angry than anything, and he lapses back into anger up until he begins talking about trying to find a way out of his deal.

Now, don't get me wrong, I understand why anyone would think otherwise. The thing about Alastor is that, despite how blatant it is, his mask works. Like I stated earlier, I find myself searching every word, expression, and gesture from Alastor for double meaning. Ostensibly, there's no one here for Alastor to lie to**. No one he has to put up an act for. But his smile, which he's already fully admitted is faker than fake, remains firmly in place. I wonder if putting up an act is so second nature to him at this point he can't help but do it even when he's alone. Maybe he tries to fool himself as much as other people.

I believe that he has come to care, but I can't fully believe it. I won't be surprised to be wrong. But there are some scenes that just don't make sense to me if he really doesn't care at all.

His chat with Niffty the night before the extermination, for example. Niffty isn't really someone he needs to trick. He has power over her, whether it's because he owns her soul or because of her blind devotion to him. It's telling that while everyone else is hanging out together, sharing drinks at the bar, Alastor keeps his distance and positions himself above them. At this point, Alastor seems to care about them the way we, the audience, care about them; as entertainment. He's enjoying watching their story unfold up close, but that's all there is to it. He admits to Niffty that one could get accustomed to being with them. Not him though! He's above all that.

Then the battle happens. At first, Alastor's role in the battle didn't require him to assume too much risk. He was on crowd control, limiting the number of exorcists the rest of the hazbins have to deal with at once. And he slayed a not insubstantial number of angels in the process***. But then Adam broke through Alastor's shield and singled him out. It would have been reasonable for Alastor to put some distance between himself and the Lead Exorcist. Charlie did say it was his job to deal with Adam, but as I've already discussed, Alastor really had no hope of winning that fight alone. Maybe if he'd escaped right then and there, or fought Adam alongside Charlie things would have turned out differently. Granted, I don't think his pride would have allowed him to take either of those options.

Regardless, the end result is that Alastor did come very close to dying for a cause that wasn't his. Considering what Adam did to the hotel, Alastor's pretty damn lucky he's not in two pieces here.

Now, I don't think this means Alastor is immediately going to turn around and integrate int o the hazbin family. Immediately after this line where he mocks the idea of dying for Charlie's cause, he gets angry again, leans further into the Radio Demon persona and starts contemplating ways to escape his contract. I think, that like someone recoiling after accidentally touching a hot stove, Alastor's going to pull further away from them. One thing I am certain about is how Alastor feels about his leash; he hates it. He wants to be rid of it. He doesn't know how to do that yet, but he's working out a plan and having Charlie in his corner is part of that plan. Giving a genuine shit about her or the other hazbins is not part of that plan. It's another leash, not as literal as the one connecting him to his patron but just as binding.

Alastor realizing he might actually care about these people may just make him more dangerous to them than if he just didn't care at all.

-

(*The word 'altruist' here being used as a title, not a name. Like something you'd see in a newspaper headline, or on a headstone.)

(**There do seem to be some odd eye motifs in the environment, but at no point does Alastor give any indication he is aware of them or acknowledge their presence in anyway. And I highly doubt he would have said certain things if he believed his patron was actively watching him.)

(***Taking this opportunity to go off topic a bit to call the Vees out on their hypocrisy. For all their bluster about 'taking the fight to Heaven' and how 'pussy' the older Overlords supposedly are, I didn't see any of them on the battlefield. Alastor was. He fought as long and hard as he could. There was nothing cowardly about him living to fight another day.)

[mrs-kmikaelson]

03| The Tribrid

Pairing: Klaus Mikaelson x daughter!reader Summary: After you find out your father is having and embracing another child, you think life can't get any worse... but you were wrong. Warnings: this gets angsty, kids Words: 2.9K

Masterlist | Part 4

I felt a tidal wave of different emotions. Shock, sadness, fear, and for some reason, anger. My heart sank to my stomach as I tried to process the information.

Until I realized I couldn't. Elijah and werewolf girl were right in front of me. So I shook it off, if that's the way you'd phrase it, and blinked. "You're Klaus' wife?"

Both Elijah and the werewolf cringed. "Ew, no." She made a gagging noise. "I just slept with him once in a moment of- absolute stupidity." Ew. She shook her head and pointed at me. "I just realized I don't know your name- I'm Hayley."

She did the whole 'hold out your hand for a hand shake thing' I already did with Elijah, but I still shook her hand and replied, "Y/N."

Elijah, who looked both vaguely confused and amused, cut in and pointed to us both, "Pardon me, but how, exactly, do you two know each other?"

Something happened in Hayley's eyes before she answered like she was choosing what to say. She glanced at me and then said, "I met her the other day. I spilled my tea on her at the café." 

My brow rose at the lie, but I didn't say anything. I just shrugged and reckoned, "Small world." Hayley's eyes met mine in a thankful expression and I subtly nodded at her before smiling at both of them. "I better get back to the party." I nodded to all the people. "Nice meeting you both- well, formally meeting you, Hayley."

Elijah gave a two-fingered wave that looked almost like a peace sign, but it was too refined looking to be categorized that way. "It's been a pleasure, Y/N." In his eyes, I saw a bit of recognition flash, but it was gone too quickly for me to register.

I turned around and began walking. I didn't really see what I was doing, I was just too focused on trying not to speed out of the building. My mind and my heart raced to see who could move faster and I was beginning to feel like I couldn't breathe.

When I ended up in another hallway, I sped into a room and closed the door without caring who saw me. Immediately, I pressed against it and everything that I'd just repressed in that conversation came rushing back to me in a flood. 

Klaus Mikaelson is having a baby.

My father is having a baby.

I felt like I wanted to cry, and scream, and tear my hair out but I spent way too long doing my hair earlier to even run my hands through it right now. I exhaled, trying to calm myself down. But then another thought came rushing to me. I just met Elijah Mikaelson. God, could this day get any weirder?

The answer to that is yes. Yes, it could. Because I looked up and, staring right back at me, was the Klaus Mikaelson.

I couldn't stop my jaw from actually dropping this time. I was too shocked to even say anything. 

He stepped closer to me and it was like I was frozen. He kept walking closer and closer until he was right in front of me. I couldn't keep my eyes off his because, my God, I have never been so close to him before and his eyes look just. like. mine.

He seemed to see the same thing I saw because, for a second, his blank expression was broken by a small look of curiosity. And, for a second, I wondered if he realized it.

And, for a second, I realized how sad it was that I've been on this planet for five hundred years, and this is the first time I've ever seen my father. And he still doesn't know it.

As he picked me apart with this gaze, there was so much I wanted to say, so much I thought I was over. I'm your daughter, I wanted to blurt out. I wish I had the courage to say it out loud, but there were so many thoughts I had that fought against that.

Her voice echoes throughout my head. Your father wouldn't love you, Y/N.

And with that thought, I close myself off as I'd done many times already. I pushed all my feelings down and pretended harder than I ever had to before, because I don't think I've ever felt anything like this.

I broke eye contact, looking around the room. Canvases sat on easels and drawings and paintings alike lined the walls. I was half stunned by the beauty of the artwork around me. The other half of me was stunned that, just my luck, I'd stumbled into Klaus' studio.

Fuck me.

When I looked back up at him, I didn't have any trouble speaking or looking him in the eye, because I promised myself I wouldn't. Y/N Mikaelson may have been scared to death, but Y/N Y/L/N wasn't; she was a badass tribrid who wasn't afraid of anything.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude." He looked a little surprised when I spoke. Why, is an answer I don't have. "I wandered off by accident, just needed some air away from the crowd."

Klaus hummed and his lips upturned in a small, unexpected smile. "Yes, I quite understand that feeling." Oh my God, he's talking to me. He held his hand out. "I'm Klaus," he said, as if I, of all people especially, wouldn't know that.

I reluctantly shook his hand, hoping to God he wouldn't pick anything up with the contact but, luckily, even after I let his hand go, he looked the same. But I'd never know, I suppose; maybe he was just as good at pretending as I was.

"And you must be Y/N," he stated. I stood up straighter. "I've been expecting you."

What?

I controlled my breathing as I waited for his response.

"You're the person that saved the mother of my child yesterday." A large breath would've left me if it wasn't totally obvious. He turned around and started walking. "You snapped a brute's neck, and then," he spun back around, "you left her there with his dead body, knowing he could awaken any second." His tone was less soft now, more accusatory.

Finally, I thought. He was beginning to act like the man I've heard about. 

So why was I still so surprised?

I squinted my eyes slightly. "No, actually," I corrected, "I knew he wouldn't wake up in the time it'd take for someone to get to her."

His voice was sardonic. "And how could you predict such a thing?" 

Using magic, I itched to say, but instead I said, "Life experience," and left it at that. Klaus didn't look like he believed me, but you gotta admit, that's a quip any vampire would use.

He hummed again, but this time, it was less agreeing and more sarcastic. This definitely wasn't how I imagined this happening.

Even if he didn't believe me, he left it alone because, next thing you know, he's moved on from the topic with not even as little as a thank you for saving his pregnant werewolf. 

"So you're a friend of Marcel's?" Well, the motherfucker can eavesdrop. He tilted his head slightly, almost as if he was interested, but I knew better than that, and I had a feeling he knew I knew that, too.

I kept it simple. "Yeah, I've known him for a while."

"Hmmmmmmm," he hummed longer before getting straight to the point, "And were you here, with him, in the entirety of knowing him? Because I heard your conversation with my brother and you look awfully familiar to me, as well." Oh, if I wasn't a vampire, I already know I'd be screwed because my heart would be beating rapidly right now.

He continued, "And I couldn't have seen you with Marcel because, according to your conversation with the saxophone player, you haven't been in New Orleans for a while." He's been watching me? "And I definitely did not see you with him in years prior because I did not even know he was alive."

I came to a mental block on what to say; I felt like I was on trial. But, like always, I tried to keep the storm brewing inside of me as exactly that: inside. On the outside, I was calm and collected, and knew what to say.

That calm and collected version of me walked forward so I wasn't backed into the wall, making myself look more confident than I actually felt at that moment. Klaus' brow raised again, like he expected me to cave in on myself, but I did the exact opposite and shrugged, suggesting, "You must have seen me around somewhere else, then. I've been alive a couple hundred years and, well, the vampire world is a smaller world than it's made out to be, isn't it?"

Klaus just blankly stared at me in response; not for too long, though, because eventually, just like with Elijah, I saw something pass through his eyes, but it was gone before I could even grasp it. His lips tilted into a fake smile as he agreed, "Yes, I suppose so." Lie. 

We both stood there in silence for a few seconds before I cleared my throat. "Well, I better get going and make sure Marcel hasn't gotten into any trouble." I smiled, but he could probably tell just as well as I could that there wasn't any authenticity to it.

He nodded, and I couldn't have been out of that room faster. I didn't stop to look at the expression on his face, didn't stop to look at the artwork in the room or didn't even stop to think. I just walked as fast as I could and didn't stop, even when I reached the courtyard. I didn't stop until I was outside completely to even breathe.

Panic bubbled in my chest, but I stuffed it back down. I'd let my guard down mere minutes earlier and look it where it got me, in the same room, alone, with my father who I've never met.

Let's not forget that said meeting was caused by me running off from my uncle and the werewolf pregnant with my sibling.

What the actual fuck.

What's next, fucking grandma and grandpa come back from the grave? Would I be surprised at this point?

Why couldn't I have just stayed in New York? New York was simple; it was easy, it didn't require me to dig into my past or think about the family that was ignorant to my existence.

And now I'm here. I've met my father, something I've both dreamed and had nightmares about for my entire life. Half of me is content with having met him, but the other half wishes it never happened. 

Tears welled in my eyes, but I blinked them away. 

Don't you dare cry, Y/N. You cry later. You need to be strong right now.

I blinked faster until I didn't feel the wetness in my eyes anymore and exhaled before I walked back into the Abbatoir in search of Marcel. I didn't feel like meeting another family member right now, so I'd like to leave ASAP, actually.

I found him talking up a broad in the corner and made my way over to him. My mind went to Camille immediately, but I shook that thought off. Cami didn't know  about all this stuff and, besides, her and Cellie weren't a thing so it didn't matter.

I stopped when I was right next to the blonde he was talking to and his eyes met mine. I didn't bother looking at the girl, instead giving Marcel a look that I hoped he was able to understand. "I'm heading out now. You coming or what?"

He opened his mouth like he was gonna answer one thing but closed it as if he thought different. "Uh, go without me," he mumbled over the music. "I'll see you tomorrow."

I nodded, leaning forward to kiss his cheek in goodbye. I waved. "See you then." And then I walked away, waiting until I was outside the slaughter house to speed to my house, not in the mood for a stroll through the Quarter.

The actions of me unlocking my door all the way to me undressing and falling into bed were a blur. As soon as my head hit the pillow, I felt the tears I'd been holding in leak out of my eyes.

The tears burned my skin like they were tiny shards of glass, my shoulders shaking like I was cold, but really I felt so hot that I could explode. The same way, even though I was crying like I was sad, I was actually angry.

I was so angry that this was what my life was like. I was so angry that I've never had family experiences. I was so angry that they'd all gotten a thousand years together and I was just thrown to the side. And it made me feel horrible that I was so angry about Klaus fathering another kid when he didn't even know about me.

I was so angry that I wished the tears running down my face were tiny shards of glass, 'cause maybe then the pain inside could've been drowned out by that.

As a vampire- hell, even as a werewolf, I could escape physical pain. But everything on the inside was still there. As hard as I tried to pretend, that girl on the inside that worried and whose heart raced- I could never escape her.

A sob left my lips at that thought. 

And I cried until I couldn't cry anymore and fell asleep.

THIRD PERSON, EARLIER 

Marcel stood with Rebekah in a corner of the Abbatoir, a hard expression on his face while she leaned against a pillar and crossed her arms. In his eyes, she turned against him, but in hers, she was putting her family first.

Putting her family first meant pulling him aside to scold him on why he'd attend a Mikaelson event, knowing he was on Klaus' hit list. To Rebekah, Marcel had a death wish.

But Marcel had pride, just like Niklaus, and even just like herself. And that pride that she had was perhaps the real reason why she'd pulled him aside in the first place: because of his human girlfriend.

To Marcel, Rebekah didn't give a damn about him, just like Klaus. So that's why, instead of flirting per usual, they instead stared at one another with uncertainty they couldn't see.

Breaking their stare-contest was a blonde that came over and called Marcel's name. Both of their heads whipped around, but the blonde's gaze was directed entirely at Marcel as if she were purposefully ignoring Rebekah, making her narrow her eyes.

As soon as the girl came over, she'd captured Marcel's attention completely. "I'm heading out now," she stated. "You coming or what?"

So they came together, Rebekah thought, as she analyzed the girl. Although she was blonde, she was not Camille. Who the hell is she?

But the longer she stared, the more questions she came up with, questions that steered away from Marcel entirely because Rebekah realized that this girl looked so oddly familiar.

Almost like herself.

Marcel glanced at his ex-girlfriend momentarily, as if remembering she was there, before looking back to the girl and muttering that she could go without him.

The girl nodded and kissed his cheek, forcing Rebekah's to tense. And without a single glance in her direction, she left.

The Mikaelson stared after her as she maneuvered through the crowd until she was no longer visible, turning to Marcel to see him already looking at her.

If she wasn't a thousand years old, perhaps she'd be blushing.

She smiled artificially like it didn't bother her, brushing a lock of hair away from her face. "And that was...?"

He scoffed. What gives her the right to act like we're together? He questioned to himself, but there was a long list of things he'd probably never say out loud to Rebekah. "That was a friend," he emphasized, "a friend who was there for me after you and your family left me to burn in the Opera House-"

She groaned, breaking her calm composure. "Bloody hell, Marcel, when are you going to let go of that one? I thought we were past it-"

"I'm not past anything." He gave her a steely glare, both of them silent for a moment before he fixed his blazer and spoke. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I actually have better things to be doing right now."

Rebekah resisted a scoff as he walked away from her, towards the crowd. She didn't understand him. God, he frustrated her almost just as much as Niklaus did. 

With the thought of her brother, her mind drifted back to the woman that'd just left before Marcel did. She tried her best to reimagine her face in her mind. She was distracted, though, by Hayley coming up to her and talking to her about her brother. And just like that, the girl from earlier disappeared from Rebekah's mind completely.

But maybe, just maybe, if she'd thought about it a little longer, then she would have realized that the blonde talking to Marcel looked just like her. That she looked like her once best friend, Klaus' lover.

Maybe she would've realized that the girl was a Mikaelson.

[cloudninetonine]

A Player's Aid: Chapter 15

Fandom: Legend of Zelda, Linked Universe

A/N: Hey guys! Finally more APA :))) There's been slight editing to this chapter as it got too long so those memes I made are a little incorrect :')))

Warnings: Bad language, Talk of conflict, talking of fighting (both verbal and phsyical), mentions of past pain, Tears spoilers (Purah Pad)

Waking up the next morning had never felt so draining.

The muscles in your eyelids fought desperately to stay closed, eyes stinging from the sun’s light with a tiring red edging your sclera and dark bags hanging in a show of your exhausted expression. God, you were tired. Void of any energy, your body felt a mere husk in the light of the morning sun as you lazily glanced around the entirety of the area, gaze falling once again to the fire pit that had been moulded by the boys the day before.

The scene differed in this instance, the sleeping bodies that once surrounded those burning embers were now animated frames ambling about for their morning routines; packing for the oncoming journey that awaited you and others simply standing for the sake of standing, chatting amongst themselves while their residential cook got to work on breakfast.

God, the idea of walking for another ten hours only brought a sickening sensation to your gut, churning with an audible curdle that caught the attention of some closer to you.

Hyrule’s face broke out in relief as he crouched down just beside you, his hand coming to gently cup your cheek. “I feared you wouldn’t wake until late afternoon, how do you fare?”

Closing your eyes your body naturally sought the comfort the brunette could so easily give you. “I’m tired.”

The back of his palm pressed gently against your forehead. “Are you ill? You do not feel warm.”

“No, just tired, Rulie.” Just wanting to curl up in a ball, cover your head and hoping to stay in the comfort of your blanket and floppy sleep mat.

Nearly dying would do that to a person.

“The Champion is preparing something easy for your stomach.” Time had stepped a little closer, not yet decked out in his usual intimidating chestplate and chainmail skirt as he leaned down in a similar fashion to your impromptu nurse. “He expected possible ailment or fatigue- tell me, do you think you will be able to journey today?”

The look Hyrule sent the eldest was smouldering, bubbling hot anger with a side of daring. “You can clearly see, they are not.”

The blonde sighed. “They can speak for themself, traveller-”

“Oh? Is that right? Is that what they did when you thrust your little plan onto them?” Your eyebrows furrowed at those words, glancing between the two in a quizzical manner as you watched the hero practically spit pure spite. “Or did you even let them speak? Just assumed they would be so eager to please you and would sacrifice their life for the sake of your precious theory?”

Ah, now you got it. Understanding the weight behind his actions, you knew it would have taken Time a while to finally bring forward what he did. He was a noble man, one able to admit his faults and wrongs in the faces of the many, that was the vibe you got from him anyway- and you were right. It came soon, sooner than you had expected but here was the proof right before your very eyes.

A very angry Hyrule.

If you knew he was going to throw such burning words you would have told the eldest hero that it best this secret lay low.

“Traveller!” Twilight snapped, walking forward- Oh? Is that why you felt a little more lonely that morning? Such a shame, Wolfie was so comfy. “Watch your tongue!”

Hyrule’s head snapped back. “Just like you watched your own? You just love to lick your ancestor’s boots, don’t you, ranch-hand?”

The whole group gaped- Time included.

Oop. Gagged.

“So eager to please the man you let sleeping dogs lie?” Twilight flinched at that. “You make me sick. Both of you do.”

Tension rose from 0 to 100 real quick. The expressions on everyone’s face held similar tones of surprise and nerves at the aggressive growl that their usual passive and caring healer held. You didn’t like it, not one bit, you hated the very obvious disgust that Hyrule plastered on his face as he looked between two of the oldest heroes, his brothers. 

Glancing back at Wild, you expected him to react- nothing. The blonde continued to stir the cooking cauldron with a grouchy pinch to his lip.

Him too?

Legend’s words seemed to grow truer and truer with each passing day, at least to your eyes. You in no way wanted to cause a wedge between these men, this group of heroes who shared the same name and adopted an unyielding affection towards each other from the hardships that they all faced. You didn’t want to drive them apart, to drag any away from their beautiful bond just because of mistakes. A mistake. A stupid mistake made by a man who held the weight of the world on his shoulders.

You refused to be the person that Legend so strongly believed you to be.

“Watch your mouth, Link.” Hyrule paused, turning back to look at your hardened expression- you didn’t want to be rude to the man, you had come to care about him so, but if it was your job to put him in his place then so be it. “You have every right to be upset but you shouldn’t say such horrible things to your friends.”

Time seemed surprised; Twilight looked surprised; Hyrule was surprised.

“Everything turned out okay.” God, would they stop staring at you? You hated being acknowledged. “He needed to know something important and he got his answer. Yeah, it was a stupid and shitty thing to do but for the sake of literally billions of people I would let him do it a hundred times if it meant it had you guys one step closer to defeating the Shadow.”

Silence.

“...Are you listening to yourself?” He asked, not venomous but certainly not kindly. “You could have died, (Name). Died because of his selfish little want-”

“It’s not selfish if he was thinking about the well-being of others-”

“Stop defending him!” You jumped a little at his voice, blinking wide with a look of surprise burned into your features at his own panicked eyes. “Stop. Stop putting yourself below others like you’re some insect in the mud, you are better than that-”

“You don’t fucking know me!”

The yell echoed through the air, sharp as it sliced the tension similar to a butcher knife with fresh meat, the others around the camp turning all eyes on you as you pushed your body up, your finger pointed right in the face of the traveller. Gaze burning, slightly wet with tears as trembling emotions swam through your bloodstream with repressed memories gnawing at the back of your mind.

“You don’t know where I come from, you don’t know who my family are, nor my friends or who the hell I even am!” The scream from yesterday had torn at your throat leaving an uncomfortable hoarse feeling as you yelled, voice cracking from the strain. “Don’t speak like you fucking know me, Link! You bloody well don’t! For all you know, I could have deserved to die on that day!”

Everyone flinched; Sky stepped forward.

“Now isn’t that going a little too far-”

“Shut up, Sky!”

He fell back, sharing a look with Four at your yell.

Turning back to Hyrule’s expression you almost faltered. He looked like a kicked puppy, face fallen, eyes wide with hurt and confusion with his hands up in surrender- he didn’t want this and neither did you, but hey, maybe this would get Legend to back off if Hyrule decided to avoid you after this. “Don’t you ever assume my character. You don’t know it, we met a week ago for fuck's sake! Do yourself a fucking solid and don’t ruin your damn relationships over this damn burden.”

With not much room for an exit, you collapsed back into your bedroll and dragged the blanket over your head, blocking out the view of them all in an effort to hide your wobbling lip and misty eyes. You hated confrontation, you hated making people upset, and seeing Hyrule look so broken over your yelling only made you feel like dog shit. How could you talk to your hero like that? Such a kind, humble man who only wanted what was best for you?

Here you were, acting so childish because he cared.

You turned your back to him, not that it mattered being covered by the comforter, but you needed to hide yourself even further and to you, this was the only way how.

Hide. Hide like the coward you were.

There was movement- the sound of footsteps in grass and the gentle call of one of the boys, the concerning, soft “traveller-” only squeezing at your heart, tears running down your cheeks at the thought of Hyrule wandering away.

There was more movement, more talking but you didn’t budge. You stayed there, curled into a ball with your mind only focused on the feeling of melancholy as those things happened around you. Even when Hyrule returned, even when Wild shook you gently to eat breakfast and when a group of footsteps collectively began to move back towards the castle, a lessening silence hanging over you and another soul hovering around the camp. Curled, still silently crying.

----------

“They didn’t mean that.”

The traveller’s head lifted slowly, glancing over to the Hero of the Wild with eyes still dim as the Champion kept his slacking pace, the others near yards ahead.

“You don’t know that.” The ache in his chest still present, the brunette kept his gaze to the dirt of the castle path. “The emotion in their voice was very heavy.”

The blonde spared him a sympathetic glance. “A lot has happened to them these past few days- I don’t think they meant the malicious tones.”

“...”

To see such raw emotion directed towards the fairy boy certainly wasn’t something fun. Hard on his heart, it weighed down all the way to the dark pit of his stomach as your words from that morning replayed in his head like a broken record. 

“You don’t even know me!”

It was a harsh hiss echoing through his head with every step. Every lasting memory in his mind taunting him as he thought about that guiding light back then. 

So bright, so mirthful and so wise- you followed him everywhere in the place of his courageous heart, motivating him at every turn. You helped him through puzzles, you sang his praises through every battle and tended to his wounds in the evening glow by the dancing fire while telling tales of old- you knew of the old hero too, his predecessor and even his predecessor’s predecessor. You had been with him for more than just those two journeys, no, you had been there for him for lifetimes.

And now here you were. Still bright, still mirthful and still wise- but your mind fogged at the mention of your honoured title. To you, you were not his guide, held so highly in the light of his eyes, but the burden cast upon the shoulders of the heroes, on top of the already heavy duty of protecting Hyrule.

“We don’t really know them…do we?” Hyrule’s voice was small, hesitant to speak the words. “We know a version of them that has seemed to be lost to time but-....is that really them, back there? Our Guide?”

Hyrule had doubted in those past few days, of course he had. You may have had their voice but that did not mean you were his guide- maybe he had been mistaken that day? Caught up in the shadows of sweet memories hearing the kindness and care that honeyed your words. Did he really know you?

“...I don’t know.” Wild’s eyes stared ahead, focused on the backs of the many other heroes. “But I do know this- they care for us, just like our guide did.”

The brunette glanced over, a feeling washing over him at the light that sparkled in the reflection of the blonde’s eyes- glowing in the sun, they resembled the beauty of a blue sapphire as he continued.

“It’s all I can see. In their eyes, in their actions and in their words, I don’t remember the last time I had ever seen such an emotion after finally waking from my century of sleep- handled with such softness.” He sighed, blissful, “And I know they don’t remember, I know they may not even be who I long for- but still, they feel the same. They feel like home. Like a bed after a hard day's work and I feel safe, brother.”

…Hyrule knew that feeling. He knew exactly what he was talking about. The traveller felt the same around you, felt that long awaited sense of comfort and stability that came with your mere presence. It was why your words felt like a dagger in his chest, your anger sharper than any blade that scathed his skin.

“Those nights ago, when I said it hurt that (Name) did not remember, I meant those words but- not as much as I expected. I am a new man, one born from our time together and from being with all of you. I want them to experience the new me and I want to experience the new them- make new memories.”

Hyrule wanted that too- he wanted you to know the new him. Know how your influence had changed him for the better.

Wild’s hand came to rest on his shoulder and Hyrule shared a look with him, understanding. “...I pushed them a little, didn’t I?”

“You were upset but yes, I believe so.”

Hyrule released a wet laugh, rubbing at his eyes. “I will apologise once we return.”

“Good plan, brother of mine.”

----------

“Are you going to stay underneath this blanket for the rest of the day?”

The glow of Gilda’s magic was calming, a forest green that hummed with the magic of old as she laid comfortably against your chest. She had joined you a little after the boys had left, fighting her way underneath the heavy fabric of your duvet to see your face still wet with tears after your ‘confrontation’ earlier that day. The fairy did not press you, only stayed a quiet presence- well, until now.

“Yeah maybe,” you croaked, sniffling slightly, “maybe I’ll just stay here and die like I deserve.”

The fairy’s wings fluttered gently, “don’t say stuff like that.”

“I shouted at Hyrule-”

“My brother will not collapse over some words said in anger.” You looked down at her as she shifted, her eyes catching yours through the soft glow of her magic. “Even if you were the person to say it- my brother has gone through worse hardships than being yelled at.”

You felt tears once again grow in your eyes. “But I was still so rude and he was just trying- he-”

Gilda shushed you gently, crawling up to your cheek and wiping at your eyes gently while you whimpered. “Oh Guide, the legends were true about your bleeding heart, it seems.”

You blinked in confusion, voice wobbly with confusion. “Legends-”

“(Name)? Are you okay?” Sky’s voice caught your attention, muffled by the comforter around your head. “....do you want to talk about it?”

No. No you did not, but you didn’t seem to have much of a choice when Gilda quickly flew up and dragged the blanket off your face to reveal to the Skyloftian knight the internal conflict that currently raged in your own head. A dirty trick by the dancing green wisp, your hand swiped to grab her but she had already zipped away to Epona and hid in the strands of her beautiful platinum blonde mane.

Bitch.

“...I’m fine.” A sight to behold, a mess of snot and tears as you laid in your bedroll, “I don’t need to talk.”

Sky paused before readjusting himself, the piece of wood he had been gently carving settled onto his lap along with his carving knife. “....do you need to eat?”

You glanced over.

“Sometimes when I’m upset I just need to fill up my stomach- pumpkin soup usually does the trick.”

“...are you asking me if I’m hangry, Link?”

“....I think?” He shrugged his shoulders, gesturing with his head towards the cauldron of food that Wild had left. “Would you like me to make you a bowl?”

You laid there for another moment, considering your options for just a few passing seconds before finally pushing your body up into a seated position with a small nod. “Yes please.”

It was…awkward. The man stayed quiet through the whole ordeal, just spooning some simple morning porridge into a bowl and handing it over to your awaiting hands. You thanked him quietly, sitting back with your eyes focused on the soft meal so as to not catch his gaze, as you could feel his stare still focused on your hunched figure.

You knew you couldn’t just wallow in this self-pity for the rest of the day, but it felt like the only familiarity to you after being away from home for so long. It was like greeting an old toxic friend after a ghostly parting, you couldn’t quite dismiss them but you did not want to welcome them in any shape or form. However, after already so long, the rest of the Chain now away in that castle of darkness and pain- you knew you couldn’t run from your own actions forever.

You started off slow. “I’m sorry.”

Sky hummed but you still refused to look his way. “For what I said earlier- I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have snapped at you like that.”

“That’s alright-”

“No, no it’s not alright.” You raised your head, you couldn’t hide from this. “I didn’t want to be interrupted but it was still wrong of me to tell you to shut up, I’m sorry for how I said it.”

“But not what you said?”

“....I needed to finish what I was saying earlier….I didn’t want to, but it had to come out before it became something worse than it was.”

The knife against the wooden carving gently chiselled further along its surface, a shape being moulded from the small piece of timber the further along Sky worked. It was interesting to see him actually craft, in Skyward Sword it was only ever hinted that the man liked to do such hobbies, and never in your life would you think you would be able to see Link himself actually whittle right in front of you.

“...what are you making?”

“A remlit,” looking closer, you could see the two giant ears to the cat-like creature in full. “An animal from my era- they’re quite sweet usually but in the night they would become temperamental.”

“...” You knew that a little too well, dodging too many attacks from those little shits while trying complete missions on the mainland of Skyloft. 

“My instructor, Mr Horwell, he used to say that the reason they would get temperamental was because they would bottle up every negative emotion in the day and let it out during the night- as everyone slept they would rage, and whoever would come across them would deal with the consequences..” You watched another wooden flake fall onto his lap as he carefully sculpted the face. “But they were kind creatures, purring and pawing the next day with love in their eyes. They never did want to cause harm, but sometimes it’s just inevitable. That did not mean they were cruel creatures- they were still worthy of love.”

“...ah.” You weren’t quite sure what to say. You knew where the knight was coming from, you could decipher the metaphor he so smoothly hid under the words of his old instructor and felt appreciation for his subtle attempt to make you feel better- everyone had bad days, sometimes the wrong people could be hurt from them but that did not mean you were a bad person. You could fix what you had damaged. “....thank you, Link.”

His smile was cute, lips upturning with ocean blue eyes warm with a beautiful kindness. “For what? I was just repeating the words of an old professor, that’s all.”

You huffed a laugh, “yeah, sure.”

Sky brought the remlit carving to his lips and gently blew at the statue, ridding it of any remaining shavings before gently grabbing your hand and placing the figure in your palm. “Please, have it. I have many more back in my own home.”

“Oh you don’t have to-”

“I insist.”

After a moment’s hesitation you carefully brought it up higher to inspect the beautiful detail that Sky had put into the carving.

…you needed to apologise to Hyrule.

-----------  

“Well, that was uneventful.”

“You could say that again.” Wind moaned, trudging behind Warriors’ form with a disgruntled look on his face. “The Shadow couldn’t even bother to stay? We just trekked over a whole fucking castle for nothing!”

“Language, sailor.” The captain’s quip wasn’t as fast as usual, a tired drip to his tone yet his disappointment did not yield. “What have I told you about your unnecessary curses?”

The young boy’s mouth opened, his eyes swirling with a devious intent only for his lips to slam shut at the look that the eldest of the group sent him. “Be calm, sailor, I don’t think now is the time.”

Wind deflated and that was that from him.

The castle search was deemed tedious- it was empty. Every corner of the palace swept proved  vacant, only the webbing of the hulking arachnids left behind, with the few remains of the usual skulltula drops that they only strayed away from- the men were overflowing in materials and a mere monster claw here and there wasn’t the biggest of discoveries that they cared to deal with.

So, after a few hours of wandering, investigating, and turning up seemingly more empty-handed compared to how they were when they entered- the boys left. It wasn’t that late when they had, mid afternoon with the sun still fairly high in the baby blue sky, puffy clouds dotting the expanse of colour with a calming silence as they continued to trek the dirt path leading up the famous Hyrule Castle.

Hyrule’s fingers unconsciously fiddled with the material of his vambrace, nails scratching against the old, weathered leather with the tips of his fingers pressing against the seams. The nerves were stronger now, thoughts of returning to the camp causing uncomfortable palpitations that almost mimicked sharp talons digging into the beating muscle with a cruel vigour that only seemed to make the panicked beating worse-

“Traveller.” Wild’s hand came to rest on his shoulder, “it’s okay, everything’s going to be okay.”

Hyrule ignored his reassurance. “Do you think they’re still upset?”

“Brother-”

“I don’t know how I’ll be able to resolve this- what could I even say?” Had he not already been walking the brunette would have been violently pacing, his footprints making dents in the dirt. “I know I need to apologise for pushing but what could I possibly say-”

“Link.” Tightening his grip, Wild tugged the man back before he could push himself into a dead sprint- he was always a good runner. “You won’t know until you face them- let’s not get in over our own heads, aye?”

However, Wild was never really good at comforting others and by Hylia did he feel awkward in his attempt.

Hyrule bit nervously at his nails, pupils shrinking at the sight of the camp growing bigger and bigger, along with your hunkered figure beside the Skyloftian Knight with an easier expression compared to that morning. Ah, his heart seemed to relax at that, maybe this would be easier?

Your eyes turned to him and suddenly he felt like that little 10-year-old on his way to face the incarnation of Evil in his dungeon of destruction and darkness.

You weren’t Ganon, of course you weren’t but the shadowing feelings of insecurity and doubt made him want to run like you were.

The two of you stood to greet them all, Sky moving to talk to Time as the eldest moved closer but you pretty much rushed past them all, not bothering to glance at the others as your eyes stayed focused on the brunette and blonde duo with a cocktail of emotions swirling in your gaze. He wasn’t sure what he was looking at, unable to decipher the intentions behind them, when you had finally stopped just a few paces before them, awkward but not backing down.

“....Can we talk for a few minutes?” You glanced between them, “Both of you? I think there’s something we need to talk about.”

You left no room for argument as you quickly grabbed their hands and began to drag them away. The many others turned to look at your trio quizzically as you rushed off into the haze of trees surrounding your camp, wandering a distance further enough so the others wouldn’t hear your talk as you finally turned to the boys, standing there awkwardly with a look similar to constipation as you tried to figure yourself out.

Moments of silence passed.

You finally opened your mouth-

“I’m sorry-”

“No.”

Hyrule blinked, glancing to Wild who shrugged in confusion as you cleared your throat, fidgeting nervously on the spot, your hand dived into your pocket to toy with the small remlit. “No, I’m sorry- you shouldn’t say sorry. Well, not to me maybe Time, and Twilight- but that’s not the topic of the moment. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry for snapping at you, I’m also sorry for the fact I probably look like I’m ready to pass a kidney stone- leave the questions till after Wild- I find it hard to apologise about things that present themselves as moral dilemmas. I feel like I was right about what I said but the way I said it wasn’t right- which leads me to saying this.”

Grasping their hands, you brought them together in an action of care, thumbs gently running over the skin of the back of their hands. Hyrule’s was softer compared to Wild’s, the champion’s skin marred with burns from those guardians that long century ago- you brushed it with care.

“I….I don’t remember.” The weight on your shoulders seemed to lessen, but you weren’t quite there yet; you continued. “I don’t remember a thing about being the guide. I don’t remember your journeys, I don’t remember the stories you talk about and I just don’t remember being your guide. I’m not sure if it’s some mental block from being from another world, or my memories were taken after finishing your games- hell, I don’t even know if I am the guide. I know you guys seem so sure but if I was someone this important I’d remember, right? I don’t know, I just- just-”

Your head was cast downwards during this talk, a mixture of shame and fear climbing up the expanse of your spine as your throat seemed to tighten with each word. You rambled, you were a rambler and you couldn’t help it- you needed to explain and you just couldn’t stop: the truth, your own feelings, your own doubts, your own fears and so much more. In your mind you had been tricking these men, deceiving them, living a life of lies that you let them crown you with like it was a veil of honour instead of what it really was- a mistake. They were mistaken. You were probably mistaken and if you were the person they had spoken so highly of all this time then you would finally spill the beans.

Looking at their face, you couldn’t fight back the tears. “I don’t want to trick you guys. I don’t want this to come back and bite me- a little selfish but the truth. I don’t want you guys to mistake some rando to be this highly respected entity. Maybe I am somehow related to this person in some weird soul link but I will no longer let you believe a lie that would only serve to harm both you and me.”

Gasping for breath, you hiccuped. “Please. Please forgive me for not saying anything earlier I-”

Wild’s hand moved gently, taking his scarred appendage from your grip to gently hold your cheek, catching your eyes with his own. “We know.”

A few seconds passed, you blinked as you managed to whisper a cracked, “...what?”

“We know you don’t remember.” Hyrule’s face filled with guilt, eyes shining with regret as he continued. “We’ve known for quite some time- we just didn’t want to place that weight over your shoulders.”

“But it seems we did so anyway.” A single tear that fell was gently brushed away by Wild’s thumb. “Forgive us.”

You hiccuped once again, “but- but why didn’t you say anything-”

“We thought maybe with time you would remember- with your name, your presence and your affiliation with magic, it never really crossed our mind that maybe you aren’t them. So, we decided to wait for the memories to come in.” Wild looked pained, “to force important memories would not be good for your health, (Name), trust me I know what that can do to one’s mind.”

More tears and more sobs, your body shook with the exhaustion of the emotional turmoil that once hung heavy on your shoulders, now free from the strain and feeling lighter than they had for days. Carrying guilt like this was always a burden, breaking you down day by day, hour by hour and minute by minute. You were never one to easily carry lies like they were leaves in your pocket- they felt more like a tiger stalking an antelope, following and following until one day they would strike.

Being pulled into the arms of the heroes was solace, collapsing into their warmth, still crying from the whirlwind as they held you protectively in their grip.

“I’m sorry, (Name).” Hyrule’s voice was heavy with emotion as he spoke, “I would have never said those things if I knew you felt that way, I-”

You tightened your grip, “it’s okay, Link-”

“No no it’s not and you don’t need to think it is.” When the brunette pulled back his face seemed soft but his eyes burned with a passion that was almost too bright, “However, I will stand by what I said- whether you are our Guide or not you are just as important as the rest of us. I will not have you be any kind of bait ever again, nor will you come close to death for as long as I live.”

When your eyes met his, you almost melted at the affection. “I would rather give my life than let you ever step on death’s doorstep…okay?”

“....Okay- but-”

Wild groaned, “dear goddesses, you're as stubborn as a mule.”

You pressed a finger to his lips, smiling when his eyes crossed to see it. “Shush pretty boy- this goes for you too. Anyway, I also want you to apologise to Twilight and Time for how you acted- not what you said. I know why you said it, don’t get me wrong, but as I said earlier, you’ve known these men longer than you have me, you’ve got a brotherhood with them and the way you spoke to them earlier was not okay.”

Hyrule huffed, “They needed to hear it.”

“Time did and he had, from both me and Twilight, but the rancher didn’t deserve that- he was just defending his old man,” you joked, gently booping Hyrule’s nose. “So, if you’re dishing apologies make sure to plate those two as well- okay fairy boy?”

Ears flickered happily at the name while his face was downturned, red seeping into his cheeks as the traveller tried to avoid your warm expression. “Okay.”

Glancing to Wild, you raised a brow. “Well?”

“I didn’t say anything!”

“Knowing you, you probably poured bugs into their sleeping bags!”

“No- that’s something the sailor would do, but I-”

“Oh, shut up.”

Tugging the two boys close once again the three of you shared lighter laughs, the tension that once hung heavy now gone within a moment as you joked mirthfully in spite of the earlier stress. You were grateful for the break, needing a moment away from the horrors of reality and trauma from earlier days that you knew unfortunately lurked in the depths of your mind, waiting for the worst moment to pounce.

However, right here, right now, you didn’t have to worry.

“Let’s rejoin the others- you both need to apologise.”

Both groaned, but did not fight your insistence as you tugged them back.

----------

An awkward apology at the least- Hyrule was able to manage the words, his usual kinder nature allowing him to offer both the old man and his descendant with only the most subtle hint of hesitance while Wild stewed in his defiance, kicking at the dirt with a harrowing sigh. The blonde only really broke when you sent a glare across the camp, eyes narrowed with a scowl that grew with disappointment every passing second until finally he managed to grunt a “sorry” that you knew wasn’t quite true but you let him off when the two older men seemed to accept it.

Silence rang out.

“Can we have dinner- I’m dying over here!” But thanks to the sailor’s flapping mouth, in the next half hour plates were served with steaming dishes of herbs, spices and the usual dinnertime chatter made sure to pave the way for a much calmer evening.

Sat between Hyrule and Wild, you felt more at peace compared to the last day and a half, spooning the contents of the champion’s amazing cooking into your mouth as you watched everyone converse. Wind joked with Warriors, the young sailor throwing playful jabs at the older captain while next to him Legend and Four were idly chatting. Twilight and Time seemed more interested in their food similar to you as Wild and Hyrule discussed in unwanted detail the scarring that marred Wild’s left side with Sky’s disturbed look not even hidden as he stared at the two with a disgruntled look.

Quiet, you raised the spoon closer to your face, more aware of yourself than you had been for a long while when you finally noticed, your hand gloveless- the yellow of the Sheikah eye.

Yellow?

Since when?

Pulling back the appendage, you studied it in confusion. The veins that ran up your arm had a similar tint, having changed from the luminous blue that had once decorated your skin into the sunshine yellow. How had you not noticed this? When did this happen? But then again, running for your life in the palace was probably more important than studying yourself in a mirror.

Glancing over to your side you caught the glimmer of Hyrule’s sword, shimmering in the light of the evening sun. Without hesitation you grabbed it, being careful with the beautifully crafted blade as you slightly pulled it from its sheath and stared at the reflection of the polished steel-

Your eye also glowed in a similar way, with only a single ring of Sheikah blue surrounding your iris.

“What the fuck…” You breathed, pulling at the skin under your eye to get a better look. “....looks like fucking piss. Piss eye.”

Piss eye.

Thank fuck your friends weren’t here- you couldn’t deal with hearing that for however long this new development stayed.

“Huh?” Sky seemed to zone in on you, looking at you with the same odd expression on his face he had already been wearing. “Are you okay, (Name)?”

Hyrule and Wild’s conversation stopped instantly, glancing over to you along with a few others- you weren’t exactly paying attention to them, still looking in the reflection of the sword.

“My eye is yellow-” Hyrule’s speed was almost comical as he leapt to his feet, grasping your face to study your current predicament.

“Does it hurt?”

“No-”

“Are you sure?”

“Hyrule, I’m alright.” You laughed, pushing his hands away. “Don’t panic yourself because then I will panic and I think I’ve had enough of that recently.”

Wild’s hand gently ran over the skin of the glow, studying the mark closely as the yellow reflected off the skyline blue of his eyes. “Reminds me of Stasis on the slate.”

“That thing you used to freeze the Shadow?” Wind hopped over to poke at the sigil. “Would be pretty useful if they could use it, huh?”

Four looked sceptical. “And how would that work, sailor?”

“Well, uh-”

“I did use it.”

Another silence hung over the camp when the words had left you, Hyrule stopped, Wild stopped, all eyes were on you as scenes from the other day played in your head. Yes, yes you had used the Stasis, you remembered how the yellow chains jingled and how the Shadow raged ferally in his imprisonment, those manic red eyes glaring down at you like a rabid dog ready to pounce-

You swallowed the anxiety building up in your throat, hands suddenly shaking in your lap as you blinked away fearful tears. “I- I used it on the Shadow- I- I stasised him when he was going to kill me-”

You let out a shaky breath.

Were the trees suddenly closer? Was it getting darker around you guys? But the evening had only just begun, it wasn’t supposed to be dark yet- no, the darkness was moving. Oh God, was Dink here? Was he coming to get you? Were you about to die?

Blood pumped in your ears viciously, drowning out the earlier noise as you frantically glanced around for any sign of the monster that lurked in the shadows, waiting to pull that dark sword of his and finally slice your neck-

“Hey!” You managed only a small yelp when Wind shook your shoulders, the world falling back into view as you caught ocean blue eyes staring back at you. “It's not here, okay?”

“Wha- what-”

“The Shadow isn’t here.” Hyrule moved back into view as Wind finally released you, looking concerned along with the rest of the group- minus Legend, the man just looked unimpressed. “....it must have been pretty scary if mentioning it made you this upset.”

You looked down.

“...I’m not used to running for my life.”

The animals of Hyrule chittered.

…

“Let’s see it in action then.”

You made a sound of confusion only to tense up at the sight of an apple heading right towards you. Muscle memory kicked in, all those PE sessions of tennis balls, cricket balls, shuttlecocks and more flying towards you at a speed that seemed more mach 2 than anything causing you to ball up with your arms flying to protect your face. A squeak of slight fear left your mouth as you braced for impact.

Waiting.

Waiting.

And waiting.

“Vet! What is your problem!?”

Peeking open an eye, you saw a hand reached out, the fruit that had been previously hurled towards you secured in its grasp as the champion stood taller with a look of rage plastered on his face- you could practically hear the apple cracking under the pressure of Wild’s seething grip.

“What?” Legend shrugged, leaning back. “If it appeared when they felt in danger it was really the only logical option.”

Twilight stood when Wild growled. “Champion, step back.”

“If he wants a fight I’ll give him one-”

Legend grinned snidely, also standing. “I’d like to see you try, cook.”

More people were standing and the tension quickly jumped to dangerous levels, heat growing on your face from the sudden nerves as you also hopped to your feet, rushing to grab Wild’s shoulder and yank him back.

“Let’s not!” You yelped, tightening your grasp when Wild tried to shrug you off. “I don’t need to be defended! Walk away!”

“I-”

“I suggest you listen, Champion.” Time looked furthest from pleased, his scarred eye opening to reveal the milky white that encompassed the whole of the organ. “Walk away, there will be no fighting in this group.”

Tension threatened to bubble out of the pot, bursting into a horrid brawl that would only serve to pull the boys away further than they already had from one another. Legend was a prick, that was your impression of him at least, but you also knew that he wasn’t always a prick from the friendships he had formed with each one of these men. If they were willing to defend him as they did each other then you didn’t want to cause more unnecessary drama, you may not have liked him in this moment but that did not mean you were about to have people fight him just because he was a dickhead.

Wild scowled. "He started this-"

"And I'm ending it." Time stepped closer. "I will see to it that he doesn't do it again, go cool yourself down."

Wild stood for a few more moments, still glaring at Legend who glared right back before taking a deep breath and turning his back towards his friend- out of sight, out of mind. You smiled at him encouragingly, feeling proud when he managed a smile back-

"I guess the ranch-hand isn't the only obedient mutt."

It felt like slow motion. Time turned with an angered look, lips pulling back to scold the veteran with Wild spinning in a similar raged way, eyes narrowed. Twilight also seemed to be disturbed by the words, all around the boys looked both surprised and unnerved by the veteran’s cold hiss. Even the man himself looked slightly surprised by his own words, a flash of regret reflecting in his eyes-

Just before your fist made contact with his cheek.

Not much was said amongst the crowd, only a shared look of shock as he stumbled a few steps, red quickly blooming on his cheek while you ground your teeth together in a burning fury, hissing.

“Watch your fucking mouth!”

He didn’t even give you a second before he shook it off, everyone frozen as he stopped his stagger and spun back around to deliver a similar blow right to your own cheek, the surprising force behind his fist strong enough to send you back on your arse with a pained flinch.

Silence once again gathered around you all.

Wind blinked, “Damn.”

And suddenly they all kicked into gear.

The shouting was loud as your world spun, the burning sensation on your cheek from Legend’s punch dulling the throb of your knuckles from your own attack as you tried to differentiate up from down. You could see bodies moving rapidly but you couldn’t quite focus on what was happening, even as you were quickly tugged to your feet and heard a voice right by your ear that you couldn’t quite focus on. 

Fuck, that was embarassing.

You had been downed so easily by a man shorter than yourself- but honestly, what had you expected with punching an experienced hero?

“I have had enough of this!” Time’s voice was very distinct, much deeper compared to the others with a growl that could freeze armies upon hearing the rage in his tone. “Acting like brats at a time like this!? You are not children, I will not have you fighting as such and the mere fact that I have already had the need to repeat myself, multiple times, about this is ridiculous!”

You blinked, finally focusing in- Legend had been grabbed and restrained by Warriors, the anger still evident but overshadowed by shame while Twilight held back a near frothing Wild, Hyrule in a similar position with Time, huffing as he stared down the veteran with burning eyes. Taking in your surroundings you noticed you had also been restrained, glancing back to see Sky with his brows furrowed and lip upturned as he watched the scene- your eyes making contact made you shrink in guilt.

‘....That had been an over reaction.’ He hadn’t even said that to you but why would he even say that about his friends in the first place?

“Take a walk- all of you!” Time’s hand had moved to hold the bridge of his nose in frustration. “I cannot handle the sight of any of you!”

Legend roughly fought his way out of Warriors’ grip to stomp away, the captain very close behind him. Wild and Hyrule had similar reactions, stalking off in a different direction with Hyrule quickly grasping your wrist with a gentle touch once Sky had finally released you, pulling you away from the scene and disappearing into the surrounding wooded area as the complaints began to spill from their mouths.

So much for trying not to split the group.

----------

The next morning was quiet.

Way too quiet.

The guilt ate at your stomach from the silence, keeping your head focused on the food currently sitting on your plate to not see the obvious tension on everyone’s face. The sudden brawl (if you could even call that embarrassment a brawl) last night had left everything strained, a horrible stillness over everyone once you had returned with no more words exchanged except for nervous goodnights from those like Sky and Four- you really hadn’t meant to cause something like this but here you were it seemed.

Legend hadn’t glanced at you once which you were honestly more thankful for. Having an enraged glare on you after everything would have only made you feel worse, especially with the belief that you were the one to go overboard the evening prior. You really just weren’t in the mood to have his acknowledgment over your shoulders with everything else.

Getting ready was a little more eventful, quiet chattering amongst the men as they gathered all their belongings to stuff them away for travel. You stood away with Gilda sat on your shoulder, leaning against the side of Epona who playfully nipped at your hood, her huffs shaking the piece of fabric laid over your head- it wasn’t exactly raining but the clouds certainly did not look good in those dark shades of grey.

You wanted to help pack up but the fear of the men’s anger overshadowed your want to help, merely keeping your head down while waiting patiently until finally everyone had their things gathered and once again you were on the road.

The settlers had waved you off from a distance, some wishing good luck while others stayed silent as the view of Hyrule Castle got smaller and smaller the more you walked, following the path Eastward that held Hebra Peak just on the horizon. You had no real idea where exactly you were all headed but you prayed to the heavens that if you were to somehow end up walking towards the beauty that was Rito Village that you would have the chance to speak with the amazing musician, Kass.

Man, that would have been cool.

Your heart dropped a little when instead of following the path your group broke from the stone trail and began to tread the grassy plains of Hyrule Field, the visual of Central Tower an hour or so ahead.

Something looked off though, your eyes narrowing to catch the sight of small movement and splodges of brown that seemed to encase the entire thing, working its way down the tall, slim Sheikah device and disappearing behind the hills that laid before you.

Wind had slowed down to meet your pace.

“Ya know-” He started, seemingly nonchalantly, face folding with a familiar cheeky grin as he looked up at you. “That was a good punch.”

You blinked and from behind you Twilight let out a grunt. “Sailor, knock it off.”

“I’m just saying!” His hands flew out, showing he meant no harm. “Listen, the Vet ain’t got the same strength as the ranch-hand but he’s got the resolve of a hero and we don’t go down easy! You nearly knocked him on his arse!”

Taking a glance to the front of the group you could see Legend glance back with a scowl and quickly moved your gaze when you nearly locked eyes. “I just surprised him.”

“Nu-uh.” Wind’s arms crossed with an even more evil smirk. “If I talked shit all the time I would learn to expect to get fists thrown at me- actually, I already do-”

Warriors came to yank Wind’s head towards him, gloved hand moving to cover the boy’s loud mouth as he let out muffled cries of frustration and tried desperately to rip off the older man’s palm.

“Maybe we need to sew your mouth shut, pirate.” He raised an eyebrow towards the smaller blonde when you noticed his mouth moved- “You licking me will do nothing.”

You tried to hide your smile.

“I will say though- I think it’s high time we gave you a weapon.” Finally releasing the youngest hero the Captain clapped his hand on your shoulder, shaking off his spit covered hand behind him. “And we'll teach you how to fight- that first.”

Your heart dropped- fighting? Like going up against actual monsters? ….Had your heart just stopped?

Wild and Hyrule exchanged a look at your haunted expression. “Maybe we should give it a while-”

“Learning now would be best if (Name) will be joining us indefinitely.” Squeezing your shoulder gently, he finally released his hold. “I know for some who have not held a blade before it would be a daunting thing to achieve but you will be learning from the best, I assure you- and we will not throw you into conflict by your lonesome- uh.”

When his expression curdled into something awkward you couldn’t help the laugh, your hand coming to rest over your stomach as you belted out a belly laugh that only made your companions sweat- the sudden foreboding feeling now replaced with comical mirth at the sight of Warriors’ face.

“You look like you sucked on a fucking lemon! AHAHA-”

So the handsome man could fumble- that was good to know.

----------

Scaffolding. It had been scaffolding around Central Tower- tall and honestly intimidating as it encased the Sheikah construct while fellow Sheikah and Hylian folk seemed to….tear the build apart.

Huh?

Scurrying, they used unknown tools to yank and pull the contraption apart. While the tower’s platform still remained it would only take a few more working men for it to leave the once intricate monolith to an intimidatingly tall spike within the surface of Hyrule’s great field. How sad…and here you thought that maybe you’d be able to try climbing one to experience just what Wild had to go through each time you hauled his arse up those things.

You wouldn’t have lasted getting a foot off the ground- nevermind a 100 feet-

“‘scuse me!” You side-stepped carefully, watching some more tradies walk past with the massive dripstone that bore the Sheikah mark over their shoulders- casket style. “Thank you!”

You heard the subtle whispers of Sheikah craft, the eye flashing a soft blue before it fell silent once again as the men hauled the abnormal tech towards a reinforced wagon bearing two horses.

“What are these guys doing?”

Wild’s eyebrows pinched, “I’m not quite sure.”

The Chain shared similar quizzical expressions, unsure of what to say. It seemed none of them had heard of the news, nor did they understand what was happening, but that was no surprise really, after all Wind had told you not much had happened in those months they were stuck in Hateno. Sure, Wild would teleport them here and there for updates but they preferred to leave the younger man’s timeline’s business to him- and if he had no such idea as to what was going on then why would the rest?

You saw Time open his mouth-

“LINK!? IS THAT YOU DOWN THERE!?”

Boisterous yet far, the whole group glanced around at the mention of their name before finally glancing up at the tip top of the tower, noticing a small head of white hair leaned far off the monument. Their body leaned forward so only the tip of their toes touched the edge (a petrified looking Sheikah holding desperately onto their form) as they tried to get a closer look towards the blonde just by your side. 

Hold on…was that?

Wild placed a hand over the arch of his brows, squinting. “Is that you, Robbie?”

The mad scientist laughed, an old man's cackle that echoed around the surrounding field. “Perfect!! Just the hero I wanted to see!!”

After a few minutes of frantic running with Jerrin, his wife, following after, demanding he slowed down lest he died on this scaffolding from hell until finally he was with your group. Poor old Jerrin looked wiped, panting up a storm while still hunched over from her sprint down the not so safe looking staircase while Robbie greeted you all brightly.

Throwing you his famous pointed pose with a dazzling little smile.

…did you just hear a guitar riff?

“What are you doing here, Robbie?”

The scientist leapt back into a normal position, smile still plastered as a conversation brewed- you quickly tuned it out as you glanced around. Similar to most of the Champion’s land, rubble and ruin surrounded you in the form of crumbling stone. This was once a great structure, you could tell, intricate and great as it stood tall- a church? A baron’s home? A noble’s? The stone beneath your feet bloomed stray strands of grass as nature slowly swallowed this great building and returned the stone to its rightful place, the soil below.

“-you!” You yelped when something was thrust in your face, pressed lightly against your nose from the apparent height difference between you and Robbie as he addressed your figure. “What’s your name!?”

“(Name)!”

“Just who Purah described- come! I want to see about those marks of yours.” The old man began to waddle towards a tent in the far corner of the yard, feet fast despite his old stature before he turned towards you, still frozen in surprise. “Come on then!”

Ah, great- once again prodded by scientists.

----------

“An interesting find indeed.” Robbie’s eye was massive within the magnifying glass, staring right back into your own Sheikah infested pupil for proof for the mad theories his mind had conjured. What did he search for? You had no clue but you did know that if he snapped some weird contraption at you again you would start biting.

And you bit hard.

Some people knew that from experience.

“And you say that you actually stasised the monster, correct?” You leaned back when he leaned forward.

“That’s right.” Pressing a hand against the tool, you pushed the older man back into his seat in an effort to gain your personal space back, and in a victorious moment he finally caved. Placing down his instrument while he tapped his chin in interest and muttered some words you couldn’t quite catch before he turned away to scribble down something into a notepad behind him. 

A mirror just by your hand showed that the ghostly yellow had fully taken over, sclera finally enveloped with your pupil a more pastel in the sea of lemon gold. You wondered how odd you looked to passersby with the magic that swirled, you wondered if it was hard for the others to sleep with the bright horrid glow that came from your person- god you’d probably have to start covering that up.

“Got any ideas for us, Robbie?” Wild asked from the corner, sat with Hyrule and the three other eldest as they waited patiently for the scientist’s upcoming ramble.

“Well...” Building up an atmosphere was probably something this man seemed to love, jumping off his tall stool as he placed hands on his waist and waited patiently for everyone’s attention. The heroes, of course, grew intrigued by the silence, their curiosity singing as they all leaned in for the old man’s news.

Robbie’s hands moved up with his shrug. “I got nothing.”

Silence.

Warriors sighed. Twilight sighed. Time sighed heavily, dragging a hand down his face. “Is that it?”

“Your guess is as good as mine! I’m an alchemist- not a doctor!” Robbie grumbled, crossing his arms. “Sheikah magic has always been an odd magic, but this is unheard of! Taking refuge in someone’s eye- you’re better off to ask the goddesses how such a thing could occur!”

Another dead end- the roots of knowledge only decayed further and further in the soil of the unknown. The measly plant that you had dubbed your mind withered the longer you thought about how exactly you were supposed to get answers for this. Would Hylia be your best bet? Would she even answer? Gag, the thought of getting on your knees to pray only made your stomach churn from both the anxiety and the scenario- if she were to answer, how could your mind cope with the knowledge that such a higher being actually existed? And if she didn’t? Well then you’d just be a tart kneeling before a statue in another universe.

You’d rather shit in your hands and clap.

“I guess there is one thing we could try! Or maybe two.”

The Purah Pad was a tool that Robbie had created using the scrap of existing Sheikah tech and the ruins of Guardians strewn across the land. Similar to the Sheikah slate in a certain way, it didn’t carry as much power as Wild’s important tool but still allowed things like teleporting and communication between others- like him and Purah, of course. Nifty little device it was, quieter than the Sheikah slate as the magic whispered and twitched, voices of hundreds rather than thousands harmonised as Robbie slapped his hand against his desk to reach for it and lay it gently in your hands.

“So!” The old man watched you, “You feel anything?”

Your eyes stayed focused on it for a few moments, then you slowly shook your head. “Not really…it’s just…talking.”

“Hmmm….” Robbie held his chin, tapping a finger against his cheek before he clicked his finger. “Ah! Come now.”

You followed the scientist outside: first, like a shadow, Hyrule close to your side along with your second, Wild, following behind. The eldest trio didn’t look too sure as to what was about to happen, abandoning the tools within his workshop to the open world outside his tent as the small man led you over to the Sheikah stone that you had passed earlier.

“If the pad is too quiet, I’m sure the slate is the same- so why don’t we try something bigger.” Patting the vacant object, he grinned. “Go ahead and touch it.”

The remainder of the Chain, who had scattered to explore the small area or simply rest watched with an interest as you stared at the grey eye, void of magic. “It’s not even on.”

“And you currently have its magic flowing through your veins- something could happen, but only if you try.”

That was a good point- but what would happen if you did that? Schrodinger’s cat, both dead or alive until someone opened the box. Was the Sheikah stone the cat and you, the unfortunate soul to open the box? The one to see the ending result, no matter how pretty or ugly such a thing turned out to be- this wasn’t something you wanted. You remembered the screaming of the teleportation magic when Wild had teleported you to the tip of the Dueling Peaks, loud and irritating. Though it did not compare to the pain of that day back in Purah’s lab.

Your mind had blocked out those memories for your own good.

“You don’t have to do it.” Hyrule said quietly upon seeing your hesitation. “Don’t push yourself for our sakes- I’m sure we’ll know soon enough.”

Wild seconded that motion along with Twilight. Warriors gave you a friendly smile and Time nodded his head in a similar understanding. The man had learned it was not his place to push.

But…there were answers that you needed. Why did this mark now paint your skin? Why did its magic flow through your veins? So many questions with so little answers, the longer your eyes glared back into the mark of the Sheikah etched into the stone, you wondered if maybe you could finally understand.

When a hand came to hold your free one you paused, looking down to see Wind’s face. “I got ya in case anything weird happens.”

It took a moment before you were able to smile. “Thanks, little man.”

You ruffled his hair and he playfully smacked at your hands.

People around waited with bated breaths, the other tradesmen also stopped their relentless work to watch in interest as your hand hovered lightly over the rock’s smooth surface. 

Was this a remedy to the unknown or another deep dive into a world of pain? Back at Purah’s lab was certainly agonising, a brutal hit to your seemingly weak body as such a devastating power possessed you- would you really be reduced into a spasming mess on the floor once more? Your brain pounded in sync with the nervous churn of your stomach at the mere thought, hand shaking from strain. 

You would never really know until you tried, right? Many theorists risked their own lives for answers that lay just beyond your reach, but then again some even sacrificed others for their own self preservation. Were you the theorist or the sacrifice in this moment? Hell, were you even a thought to the people you stood amongst?

“...”

You pressed your hand against the stone.

[marvelfanfn2187a113]

Strong Enough

Dean Winchester x little sister!reader, slight John Winchester x daughter!reader

Requested by Anonymous

Synopsis: John thinks you can’t hunt, you go out to prove him wrong.

“You could use my help!”

“You’d get in the way.”

“That’s not true!” You stepped in front of your father, demanding his attention. “I took out that shapeshifter, I don’t see why you’re mad.”

“I’m mad because you hesitated!” John brushed past you, grabbing his gun. “And because you hesitated, Dean almost got hurt. If you’re not gonna shoot first and ask questions later, then you’re not gonna hunt, plain as that.”

“It was wearing your face! I had to be sure about which one was you!”

“We’re done talking about this, you’re staying here. You’re too weak out there for me to trust you.”

You looked to Dean for support, but he just shrugged and headed out the door, John following behind him.

You sighed, turning to your desk and grabbing your laptop.

If they wouldn’t let you in on their hunt, you’d have to find your own.

…

“No way,” you breathed as you went over crime scene photos. In the boys’ hurry to take down the ghoul they were after, they’d failed to notice an irregularity with one of the victims.

The ghoul had somehow been interrupted while he was eating a man, and the man had been discovered several hours later. But as you looked now at a close up shot of the man’s face, you saw puncture wounds on the side of his neck.

“A ghoul would’ve just taken a bite,” you muttered to yourself. “So…a vampire and a ghoul in the same town.”

The ghoul must’ve attacked the man, and the vampire, smelling the blood, was drawn there, where he scared off the ghoul and had his own little snack.

“Alright boys, you can have the ghoul. The vamp is mine,” you grinned, grabbing a machete and heading out the door.

…

You talked to several locals, trying to pinpoint the location of the vampire. It didn’t take long, and after a conversation with a nice guy around your age, you emerged with a lead—and his number.

Dean would’ve been proud.

You got out of the taxi about a block from the warehouse—why was it always a warehouse?—where you knew the vamp would be holed up.

You snuck around the back, pulling the machete out of your pack and keeping it close to your side.

“Alright bloodsucker, get ready.”

…

“Dean?” You despised the quaver in your voice as your hands shook trying to hold the phone.

“Kid, where are you?” Dean demanded, anger prominent in his voice. “We got back to the motel and you were just gone, I-“

“I-I’m at a warehouse on twelfth street,” you dropped your voice to a whisper when you heard footsteps. “It wasn’t just a ghoul, there are vampires here. I-I thought just one, so I went, but-but it’s a nest.”

“A nest?” You heard a door slam on the other end, and then the impala’s engine start up. “I’m coming, just hold on.”

“Dean I’m so sorry, I thought-“

“Yeah, we’re gonna talk about it later, for now just don’t get killed.”

…

“Pretty small nest,” Dean commented as he cleaned the blood off his machete.

“Yeah, well I didn’t think I could take it alone,” you wouldn’t meet Dean’s eye as you followed his example with your own machete.

“Have anything to do with that kid that I ganked?” Dean questioned.

“What kid?” You were a horrible liar, and both of you knew it.

“The teenager. The one you ran from instead of fought.”

“Hm, I don’t remember that.”

“Y/N,” you looked up at Dean’s stern voice. “Don’t lie to me. Why’d you call me here? Why did you run from that vamp?”

“I…I couldn’t kill him,” your voice came out in a hoarse whisper as you once again ducked your head. “I m-met him earlier today, he was the one who gave me the lead…” you shook your head as tears started to pool in your eyes. “I thought he was nice, but he set me up. He killed people, he tried to kill me, and I-I still couldn’t…” you took a deep breath. “Dad was right, I can’t do this, I’m not strong enough.”

“Hey,” Dean lowered his head to look into your eyes. “No, he wasn’t right. You’re not weak. Hesitancy isn’t weakness.”

“It almost got you killed.”

“Ok, so you’re not gonna be the world’s best hunter,” Dean amended. “But it makes you a better person. You and I have both seen what happens when you go extreme in the other way, when you don’t hesitate. You become like Gordon, kill anything that moves. You’re never going to be like that, and do you know what that means?”

“What?” You wondered, still not convinced.

Dean placed his hands on your shoulders.

“It means you’re good. It means that you’re human. And, most importantly, it means that I know I can always trust you to do the right thing. And I’ll take that over the world’s best hunter any day.”

“Thanks Dean,” you gave him a halfhearted smile.

He grinned.

“Any time, kiddo.”

[curseofhecate]

And you understand now why they lost their mind and fought the wars

Anthony Lockwood x fem!reader

They are best friends since forever yet they only now realize they're in love with each other.

3.1k

This had been long overdue. But its finally here. I really hope you enjoy it and its not that bad as it is in my head. Also its the first time writting for Lockwood and I have yet to read the books because I'm a slow reader and I'm still stuck at a thausand boy kisses by Tillie Cole. This based off of one of my favourite Taylor Swift songs, You're in love (Taylor's Version).

The tension in the room was unbearable. It wasn't unusual for a case to go horribly wrong but it was a rare occurrence that one of them would get hurt. 

Last night's case could be rightfully referred to as a disaster. It had all gone wrong from the very start. The little information they had on the house's history, Lucy forgetting the salt bombs, the client's lie about the number of ghosts they'd have to face,it had all led up to this. 

No one had gotten seriously injured but in Lockwood's eyes even a broken wrist was too much of a damage. Especially when it was his best friend that had suffered the injury. 

It was well past 3 am now and tiredness was evident among the team. After a difficult case and a trip to the hospital, the last thing the three of them needed was their boss scolding them and pointing out everything they had done wrongly. 

Lockwood sighed, waving them off and assured them that they'd continue this conversation in the morning to which the rest of his team groaned. George was the first to go up to his room, complaining about how he needed to shower. Lucy lingered for a bit, finishing the rest of her tea in one big sip before bidding them goodnight and retiring to her room as well.

That left the two best friends alone in the kitchen. Lockwood got up from his seat, only now noticing how his tea had grown cold. He placed the kettle on the stove and opted for chamomile while the girl lit the three candles in the middle of the table. As he placed the two mugs on the table she turned off the lights and sat down next to the boy. "It's hurting my eyes" She shrugged at the boy's confused expression. 

Taking a small sip from the steaming mug in front of him, Lockwood turned to look at her again. Only this time his gaze didn't give away irritation or anger. His eyes had softened, the previous flames had died down and in their place was now worry and adoration.

This was a side of Anthony Lockwood few people were privileged to see, and even to them it was a rare sight. It was a look meant just for her, his best friend since he could remember.

His gaze shifted from her eyes to her injured wrist that now had a cast wrapped around it. "Does it hurt?" He asked gently, grabbing her wrist to inspect it, even though one couldn't notice anything out of place due to the cast. 

"I'll get over it. We both know I've had worst" She shrugged. Anthony sighed. He didn't like the idea of her getting hurt, especially because of him. Reaching over the table for the marker George had abandoned he smiled a little once he saw the little doodle on the thinking cloth. Another version of George’s take on angry Lockwood.

“Well in his defense, it did look like smoke was coming out of your ears” Y/n chuckled once she saw what he was looking at. Lockwood didn’t argue, only uncapped the marker gently grabbed her injured wrist again. 

“Can I?” he asked looking up from confirmation. The girl nodded, moving closer so that it would be easier for him to write on her cast. And right there, in the dimly lit kitchen and in the early hours of the morning, Lockwood wrote his name in black ink. He was careful, writing it on her inner wrist where no one could see his first name, Anthony, written in calligraphic letters, if they didn’t already know.

“People will think I’m your property Lockwood” she joked. “As if you could ever be someone’s property” he argued. 

He hoped that the dim light would hide the rosy color that was spreading on his cheeks and that she couldn’t feel the heat radiating off his face. And, truth is, there wasn’t much proof of Lockwood’s blushing. But she knew him too well and could tell by the tiny and subtle change in his demeanor. 

She had seen just enough to know.

It had been roughly a week since that night when someone else noticed the carefully written word. She and Lucy had been hanging out in their shared room, goofing around, flipping through magazines, painting each other’s nails and gossiping. It was one of the very few nights they didn’t have to deal with visitors and hauntings, which was a rare occurrence. 

“Oh come on! I want to sign your cast” Lucy complained, holding up a pink glitter pen. “No Luce, you’re going to ruin it” she said, letting herself fall back onto the bed, sighing. It had been a long day. Between spending the better half of the day with George at the Archives, doing research for tomorrow night’s case, coming back to find Lucy and Lockwood arguing about who would go out to buy the groceries (which was pointless as Y/n offered to go instead, to which Lockwood insisted he’d be the one to do it since she had a broken wrist and, according to him, couldn’t carry a single bag but still let her tag along with him) and dancing with Lucy to whatever song the radio was playing she had become exhausted. 

“How come Lockwood can sign your cast but I can’t” she pouted. Her words had her sitting back up in mere seconds. “What? You two know that I’m not stupid enough not to notice. God, even George isn’t that oblivious”.

“George knows too?” the other asked, confused.

Lucy nodded in response. The girl groaned, falling back onto the bed, already knowing what’s coming. 

“So, has he asked you out yet or-”

A pillow was thrown in her face, cutting her off. “Shut up” Y/n said, blushing, head down looking at her hands in a futile attempt to hide the pink color that was rising to her cheeks. Lucy took hold of the pillow and threw it back at her friend with little force so as to not hurt her. “You're blushing” she announced laughing at her friend.

“Oh shut up!

"Are you sure you're going to be alright on your own?" asked Lockwood, standing in the middle of their living room, their equipment bags placed down on the floor beside him. Her and Lockwood had been arguing back and forth all day about whether she could, or not, join tonight's case. It had already been four weeks since the accident that led to breaking her good wrist and the girl was growing tired of not being able to accompany the others on their nightly adventures. However no one could deny that she couldn’t yet fully handle a rapier so Lockwood won that argument.

"I could still come with you, '' she offered, hoping that he would finally cave in. "N/n we've already been through this'' he scolded, like a parent would their child,which was quite funny since it usually was the other way around whenever Lockwood decided to do something reckless (which was at least once during every case).

"Fine."

"You still haven't answered my question," he pointed out.

She sighed. "Yes, Anthony I'm going to be just fine. I can handle myself. Besides you are the ones staying out after curfew and putting yourself in danger while fighting ghosts."

"Like you don't do the same every other night."

"Apparently, I don't," she said, raising her bandaged wrist.

Lockwood laughed at her antics. "As soon as you can handle your rapier without dropping it every two minutes, I'll let you come with us. I promise. But until then you have to rest."

"I think I've had enough rest for the next eternity" she groaned.

"I just don't want to risk you getting hurt again. I want you to be safe. And taking you with us when you can't use your rapier means you can't defend yourself. And as much as I'd love to be your personal knight, I can't risk anything happening to you."

"I know Anth" she said, moving forward to pull him in a hug. The boy copied her actions, pressing a soft kiss on top of her head.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

Lucy hated that I love you, didn't seem to be doing anything for the two. She hated that they were both so clueless to their feelings for one another. She hated that they couldn't just kiss already. She hated that she had to sit through all this painfully slow slow burn. But most of all she hated that she'd have to ruin their little moment.

"Come on lovebirds. We have a ghost to take down" George interrupted them before Lucy could even say anything.

The Lockwood&Co agency was out of commision for the holidays. 

It usually felt nice to have a break. Not when it was the Christmas season. There were, simply, too many things to do, and that left all four of the friends exhausted. And now, well into the evening of Christmas Eve, the house was for once quiet.

George and Lucy had retired to their bedrooms a little while ago, which left Lockwood and Y/n. The two best friends were sitting side by side on the couch, sharing a blanket. Two empty mugs were abandoned on the coffee table in front of them and the radio played softly in the background.

And while Lockwood was immersed in the book he was reading, his best friend was resting her head on his shoulder, her eyes drifting from the book he was reading to the window.

The usually bleak weather had been replaced by a lighter sky and a soft white had started to cover everything. Noticing this, the girl tugged on the sleeve of his sweatshirt and lifted her head from his shoulder. This seemed to gain his attention as he averted his gaze from the book and looked at her confused.

"It's snowing,'' she announced. Getting up from the couch she pulled on her snow boots quickly and reached for their coats, throwing Lockwood his before putting her own on.

He didn't need to ask to know what that meant. Actually he knew just the moment she pointed the change of weather out to him. He knew there was no point in arguing with her, so instead he put on his coat and started searching for his own pair of snow boots.

When he had successfully put them on he was quick to follow the girl out the door leading to their backyard. And just as the door closed behind him, he felt something cold hit the back of his head. "Hey" he exclaimed, faking agitation as he turned to face her.

The girl gave him an innocent smile which didn't last long when a few seconds later she broke out laughing. Lockwood was amused. For a moment he froze in his place, not because of the cold or the snow but because he was mesmerized by the girl in front of him and time stood still for a second.

What could he have possibly done to deserve an angel like her?

The boy was pulled out of his trance when another snowball hit his face and his best friend was suddenly laughing harder than before.

He smiled a little, scooping up snow from the ground and throwing the snowball at her. The girl stopped laughing, clearly not expecting it. She glared at the boy as if he was an old friend that had betrayed her and turned into her worst enemy before her face broke into a soft smile as she picked up snow to throw back at him.

"Oh, it's on" Lockwood shook his head as he copied her actions.

Their little snowball fight lasted a bit over 20 minutes and it consisted of throwing snowballs at each other, laughing and giggling as Lockwood chased her around. Eventually they both got tired and when he finally caught her he lost his balance and ended up tackling her to the ground.

He rolled on his back and the two laid there, on the snowy ground, for a few minutes, laughing until they eventually calmed down. There was a silence then, one that lasted only a few seconds and yet it was enough for Anthony John Lockwood to realize that he didn't just love his best friend but he was in love with her.

Pulling himself up, he offered his hand for her to take. She joined their hands and let him pull her up. The two stood there, looking into each others' eyes with their faces only centimeters apart.

Anthony paused, as if wanting to say something but had decided against it at the last second. Then, his eyes never once leaving hers, he said "You're my best friend."

He had told her these words many times yet this once, they seemed to hold a completely different meaning. One that suggested that maybe she wasn't only his best friend and that maybe the line between platonic and romantic love had become blurry.

And it was at that moment that she realized that he was in love. With her.

He was in love with her.

And so was she.

She didn't give it a second thought, because if she had then she would have never actually done it, before pulling him closer and pressing her lips against his in a soft kiss.

And for the second time that day, time stood still for Anthony Lockwood.

And when she pulled away, she looked into his eyes and she told him that "I love you too."

And this time, the phrase she so commonly used with him held a different much deeper and more sacred.

The next morning she woke up in his room, to an empty bed. The clock on the bedside table read a few minutes after seven. She didn't bother changing out of his shirt that he had given her last night to sleep in, because she didn't want to accidentally wake up Lucy, with whom she shared a room with in the process. Instead she walked straight into the kitchen, knowing Lockwood would most likely be there.

And he was, sitting at the table, a steaming cup of tea in front of him and another mug placed directly opposite from him, where she would usually sit.

They greeted each other with a simple morning and she walked over to him first, leaving a kiss on his cheek before settling in her seat, her hand reaching over the table for his. Then there was a quiet "Merry Christmas" and after that a comfortable silence followed.

The two didn't need to exchange words, they understood each other perfectly even without saying things out loud.

She wished every morning could be like this. She wished she'd never have to worry about a case going wrong again or him doing something reckless that would put his life in danger as he more often than not did. She wished she could freeze time and stay in that moment forever.

None of them heard the timer going off. Not when the smell of something burning filled the room.

It was still a wonder for George how Lockwood had managed to burn the toast.

"Did you know that Lockwood has a picture of you in his wallet?" Lucy asked, staring absent-mindendly at the ceiling while laying in her bed. "He does?" asked the girl who lay next to her, turning to look at her friend.

"Mhm" the redhead nodded. "I noticed it yesterday when we went grocery shopping together," she continued.

"That's a bit weird. To keep a picture of your girlfriend in your wallet" Y/n pointed out.

"I actually find it really romantic. It's like he wants to have a piece of you with him all the time. I didn't really believe it could happen outside of romance novels" Lucy shrugged. "Hm. Who knew Lockwood could be such a romantic. Don't tell him I told you though because he will refuse it."

"That he keeps a picture of me in his wallet or that you called him a romantic?" the other girl laughed.

"I was talking about the picture but I guess he would have the same reaction in both cases."

She never really knew what it was like to be in love. She didn't know how to expect it would feel. She didn't even know how one falls in love with another, so much that they would go to the ends of the earth and sacrifice both themselves and the world for the other person. She thought it was something that existed purely in books, novels that would keep her up all night. And even if it did, she thought that she would never find it. That it wasn’t for her.

She never believed that she would find the Mr. Darcy to her Elizabeth Bennet; she'd never meet someone who would give up becoming a god for her like Percy Jackson did for Annabeth Chase.

Or at least she didn't used to believe.

But in the end, she found everything she could have asked for and more in the face of Anthony Lockwood, first her best friend and now her lover.

And suddenly, she now understood why some lost their minds and others chose to fight the wars, and even why certain people spend their whole lives trying to put the feeling of loving someone in such a way into words.

Because really, no amount of words, no matter how many or meaningful they were, could ever even begin to describe how she felt for him.

[itsthestutterforme]

BROKEN SILVER LININGS: Chapter One

Chapter Summary: You’ll never forget the look on Steve’s face when he saw Peggy at the SHIELD base back in 1960s. A part of his heart still beats for her so when Steve goes to return the infinity stones to their time line, you push for him to go to her. Even if that means it’s the last time you see him.

Themes: dark themes (character mourning, dissociation, dehydration, starvation), angst

**

“I think you should go to her,” you finally tell Steve as he stares at you from the driver side of the car.

He’s been asking you what was wrong since you got into the car with him. It was time for him to return all of the stones back to their rightful place.

And there was a thought stuck rattling in your head since you woke up this morning. You woke up earlier than Steve did, which was absolutely unheard of.

You were surprised you were awake so early. You and the team had fought Thanos’ army yesterday so you should have been exhausted. But something kept you from sleeping.

You turned around in Steve’s arms, sighing when you press your hands onto his bare chest. Your eyes drift down to his bruised ribs back up to his relaxed face as he slept.

Even when he was sleeping, his features were strong. The sight made you remember the look on his face when he saw Peggy in the lab next to her office.

That was the first time he saw Peggy in decades. The two of you stayed there to avoid being caught by authorities when Steve noticed his picture on a desk.

And by complete coincidence, you chose to hide in Peggy’s office. The love of his life.

You knew how much he loved Peggy. But he had to come to terms with the fact that he missed his window.

So he stopped talking about her but he still kept a picture of Peggy in his wallet. Right next to yours.

Now he had a chance to be with her. And you knew he would come back to you despite that chance because he loves you and he’s a loyal man.

Deep down, the two of you knew he wasn’t in love with you because he was still in love with Peggy.

So it needed to be you to push him to do what he couldn’t before. Choose himself.

“Go to who, baby?” He asks, his face pressed to concerned frown. “To Peggy,” you said softly. “Doll,” he starts but you interrupt him.

“I love you, Steve. And I know you. I know that you don’t talk about her anymore because you thought that seeing her again was impossible. But look around us, Steve. We did the impossible. You have a second chance and I want you to take it.” You explained, holding his gaze.

His face fell at your words and you reached over to turn the car off, taking the keys.

“I don’t understand.. How long have you had this in your head? That I would leave you for someone who’s in my past?”

“A past that you’re going to visit in an hour.” You correct. “How long?” He repeats, readjusting in his seat.

“Since Tony’s funeral,” “My God, Y/N.” He rubs a hand over his face.

“She’s the love of your life, Steve. Are you really going to pass up that kind of opportunity? You only find that kind of love once. And I’m.. really grateful that I had the chance to be loved by you.” He takes in your words a moment and shook his head.

Taking your hand into his, he pulled you closer to the middle console.

“Stop talking like I’m already gone. You are the love of my life,” “You don’t have to lie to me to protect my feelings, Steve.”

Tears brimmed in your eyes at the word gone.

“It’s going to hurt but it’s for the best,” you sniffled, moving your hand away from him but he tightened his grip.

“You still keep her picture in your wallet. I know that when we were in her office and you saw her, that your heart skipped a beat.. you’ve never looked at me like that.” You reasoned, wiping a tear trailing down your cheek.

“Baby, please don’t do this.”

“If I don’t push you, you won’t choose yourself. You deserve to be selfish. You deserve the life that Tony was telling you about, Steven.”

You pulled away from him, you opened the car door taking a deep breath of the crisp, fall air.

Your tears were free falling, trailing down your neck ultimately staining your shirt.

He climbed out of the car and desperately trailed after you.

“I’ll drive the car back to the apartment. I’ll take care of everything on this end-“

“Stop,” he closes the distance between you and you took a few steps away from him.

You tried to speak again but he tells you to stop. He waits until you ceased your backpedaling to fully embrace you.

“Just stop, doll. Please don’t break my heart like this.” He says softly, holding your face in his hands.

“I don’t have a choice. You won’t do it for yourself.” “You’re right. I won’t do it,”

“Go to her. Please, for me, Stevie.” you croaked, falling into his chest as soft sobs bubbled in your throat.

You mumbled a please and he blinks away a few tears, trying to remain level headed.

“I’ll call Banner and tell him Scott needs to return the stones.” He says.

“No. No, you’re going to return the stones.” You pulled away from his chest to look up at him.

“I can’t leave you like this,”

“Swear to me.. on your mother’s grave, Steve.” you said flatly, stepping out of his embrace. You felt sick to your stomach but most of all, you felt tired.

“Okay,” he whispers while a few tears fell down his cheeks. Your sleepless eyes met his and you gave him a nod.

He forced himself to stay in place while he watched you walk back to the car but called your name when your hand touched the handle.

You stopped in your tracks and he came over to you, holding your face in his hands once again and kissed you warmly.

His thumb caressed the apple of your cheek and your body relaxed against his as he pressed your back flushed against the car.

Each time you tried to pull away, he followed your lips. He told himself that if he didn’t let you pull away that you won’t leave.

By the time he stopped kissing you, your lips were sensitive to the touch.

Your chest heaved with deep breaths, gripping his Henley for dear life as you stared up at him.

Your heart beats moved in synchrony the longer you held his gaze. Neither of you said anything.

Truth be told, you said everything you needed to say.

Steve wanted to stay because he loves you. You wanted him to leave because you love him.

And there was nothing either of you could say to each other change that.

**

Curled up in Steve’s side of the bed, softly inhale his woodsy, pine body wash from the sheets.

Each time you slowly blink, a stream of tears left your eyes.

You could hear your phone vibrating from where you had left it on the kitchen counter.

You had to silence your phone altogether because Steve kept calling you every two minutes once you left the compound in his car.

You knew he wanted you to say you were sorry and to take back everything you said about finding the life Tony told him about.

What he hadn’t told you was that Tony mentioned you when he said that.

He said that the love you and Steve had was just like the love him and Pepper had. Truth was, Steve had been wanting to ask you about kids for a while.

But he didn’t want to pressure you into it because you were still young.

To Steve, you still had your life ahead of you. You were 27.

Sure women were having kids younger than that in his time but times have changed.

Everything has changed. So of course a part of him wanted to go back to his time because it was familiar. But his time didn’t have you.

You had been in and out of sleep for most of the day. When you slept, you dreamt of Steve. And when you were awake, you thought of Steve.

Your eyes became dry as your mind separated itself from your body, disassociating to a place where you were the love of Steve’s life.

Bringing his hoodie up to your nose, more tears pricked your eyes.

You were worried that you would run out of tears before you had a chance to truly mourn him.

You didn’t think it was possible for you to love someone so much.

“What do you think, Buck?” Steve asks, watching his best friend blow out a long exhale.

“I think it takes a special kind of woman to let go of someone they love so they can be happy.” Bucky explains.

“She seemed.. serious. She hasn’t been answering my calls. I don’t know. It’s like..”

“A part of you is waiting for her to call you back,” Bucky finishes.

“Yeah,” “Listen, man. I’m sure Scott won’t mind if you called him up,” he explains. “She made me swear to on my mom’s grave, man.”

“I can only imagine how tough a choice this is. But whatever you decide, I’ll take care of her.” Bucky consoles and Steve relaxed a bit.

For as long as Steve could remember, he processed things in black and white. But for the first time in his life, he was living in the gray.

**

Your eyes grew strained the longer they fixated on a dot on the ceiling. Your eyes fluttered closed when the pressure behind them became unbearable.

Little did you know that Bucky had been by your apartment door trying to talk to you.

When he was met by silence, he chose to respect your space. He came back every day at 12:00 o’clock sharp.

By day two, he was getting concerned because there was no sign of life in the apartment. But he was give you some grace because you were mourning.

However he told himself that by the end of week, if nothing changed he would break the door down.

Today was the seventh day.

“Y/N, are you okay?” Bucky asks through the door. His voice became white noise like everything else.

He waits a few seconds before kicking the door down.

“Y/N?” He calls, his voice echoing throughout your apartment. His heart sank when he didn’t hear a heartbeat.

Rushing into the bedroom, his eyes widened as they fell to your unconscious body.

He brought a finger under your nose to check if you were breathing and the longer he stood next to you is when he heard your faint heartbeat.

Panic rose in his chest when he tried to lift your head up and your neck fell limp in his hands.

“Oh my God,” he ran into the bathroom and turned on the shower in cold water. Taking your body into his arms with one hand under your arms and one arm under your legs, he walks you into the bathroom.

He steps into the shower and sets you in between his legs, laying you underneath the frigid water careful to push your hair out of the way.

“Come on, Y/N.” He pleads, watching your face attentively but there was no expression.

“I’m so sorry I didn’t come in here sooner, doll. Please wake up.” He adds, rubbing the sides of your arms.

A sigh of relief left his lips when you started to stir against his chest.

“Oh thank God,” he breathes. “Hm? What’s.. what’s going on?” Your mouth felt dry as you tried to speak.

“‘S cold, James.” You curled into chest as he continued to rub your arms.

“I-I’m sorry.” He pulls away from you and turned off the shower.

You called him James out of respect because you noticed only people close to him called him Bucky. You haven’t seen him unless there was a huge fight that needed everyone’s help.

So you figured you had to earn the right to call him that.

He left the bathroom and came back with fleece blanket. He murmured for you lean forward so he could wrap the blanket around you.

He didn’t bother asking if you could stand, he took you into his arms again and walked you out of the door, kicking it closed with his foot.

In that moment you noticed the wooden door frame splintering around the inner edges.

A piece of wood was just barely hanging on by a shred, moving from the air of Bucky walking past it.

As much as you wanted to ask what happened to the door, you barely had enough energy to keep your eyes open- let alone talk.

“Steve,” you murmur, groaning when the throbbing behind your eyes started once again.

“Don’t worry about that right now. I’m taking you the hospital,” he answered but you couldn’t help but notice some of your neighbors staring at you with wide eyes and others with their phones brought up to their ears.

Others were recording Bucky carrying you down their hallway.

What the hell happened?

[aplaceforyourhearttorest]

I don't know how to explain it to you, but I've been thinking a lot lately about 80s!James dating the most naive and sensitive girl to ever walk this earth. Like, sensitive in every way. Specifically with loud music (loud sounds in general) and very crowded places. She loves making colorful bead bracelets and giving them as gifts, and James loves teasing her, teasing her in any way. So much so that at the beginning of the relationship, this was a problem 'cuz she always cried when he got the name of a stuffed animal she had wrong... y'know what i'm saying? (I would love to read something like this written by you, something that follows this line i hope it doesn't sound so stupid)

80s!James and hypersensitive!girlfriend headcanon

⭒ James was initially hesitant to introduce himself and talk to you when he first saw you, after seeing how sensitive, shy and naive you appeared to be around your guys' mutual group of friends. He only made his way over once he saw you were being bothered by someone who was an obvious plus one, his earlier doubt and delay dissipating once he acknowledged how uncomfortable you looked.

⭒ What started off as a mindless and minor threat being thrown at an already fully drunk and nearly close to blacking out stranger for you, slowly turned and evolved into a mutual agreement, a friendship, and then eventually, a relationship. You would subliminally intercept any girls James didn't seem like he'd be interested in talking to on his own, and in return, he'd make sure you were left alone and as far away from the party's speakers as physically possible- him purposefully keeping the flinches you made whenever the cacophony of beats would accelerate and blare from them, and when too many people brushed against and bumped into you, in mind.

⭒ One night, the mansion was too overcrowded, and you were almost shaking in fright. Your breathing became labored once you realized James was no longer in sight, and you didn't see it possible for you to be able to escape the situation by using the front or back doors of the house. So, you did what you thought would be the second-best option. You fled upstairs. Your legs nearly collapsed beneath you, and the friends that had dragged you back here once again, slowly disappeared and became smaller in the ever-growing pit with every uncertain step you took further upstairs. Before you could have searched for a bathroom or an abandoned bedroom, James came turning towards the staircase you were ascending on. You quickly loosened your death grip from around the wooden railing and instinctively pushed yourself forward, directing yourself into the taller man's chest.

⭒ James took you in his arms for the first time with careful hands and ease, already knowing from your trembling frame that you were on the verge of having a panic attack. The ringing in your ears dwindled down to a constant back burner of a buzz as he guided you up the last few stairs, and toward his bedroom. Before your impending embarrassment could overwhelm you, or you could attempt to apologize, James guided you to sit down on the edge of his bed and took your unsteady fingers and intertwined them with his. That was the first night and time James proved to you he could be there for you, as long as you would allow him to be. "I'm right here, and you'll be alright," he whispered to you, his tone confident, yet gentle. A warm pad of a thumb traced the ridge of a line on the inside of your sweat clad palm, light blue irises grounding you as you fought to control your erratic and painful heaves of aborted exhalations. "Take a deep breath for me, come back to me. That's it."

⭒ But you were there for him as well. Your hypersensitivity allowed him to feel comfortable enough around you to be vulnerable. On the occasional nights you were invited back to the mansion or coerced back by your friends, you both found solace in each other's company. You'd lie in bed with him as music and drunken cheers continuously barreled on downstairs, listening intently as he confided in you about his own anxieties. About his fears of the band growing too big too fast, his fear of the band falling apart, and him losing his best friends and members because of it. His anxieties that came with him not being able to control what was happening around him, and to himself. You'd steadily hold onto his hand and run your fingers through his disheveled mane, while he'd lie his head on your shoulder and grip the fabric of your shirt, like it was his one and only anchor. And on certain overwhelming and exhausted days for him, it was. Other and often times, conversation would be lighthearted, hysterical laughter lifting the weight from both of your guys' shoulders as you each took turns exposing small parts of your opposite personalities through embarrassing stories from the past. You both would share books and overly folded and torn pages from magazines, you being teased every time you realized you were tricked into looking at a Playboy, your cheeks a blazing bright red, and James' smile wide and boyish and youthful. Handsome, even.

⭒ The first time James invited you over during the day, he surprised you by instead taking you out to the carnival. Your usual fear of large crowds and loud sounds was mostly taken care of, as James made sure to have you both arrive early and be the first in line before they even opened up that morning. Every time someone ran too close by you or screamed a little too loud, he'd wrap an arm around your shoulders and distract you with a new game, or gently guide you away to someplace quieter. Your heart fluttered in your chest for the first time after he won you the first of many stuffed animals that day, the proud and soft look on his face as he handed it over to you was forever imprinted in your mind. A branded memory that you held close to you.

⭒ "Please don't cry, sweetheart, you know I was just fucking around. Of course, I remember the name of your favorite, childhood stuffed tiger. His name was Lucky!" He tried to reassure you, after you began to cry at the idea of him forgetting something so monumental and important to you. Translucent tears cascaded themselves down your flushed facial features, as James absentmindedly bent down to place a consoling kiss on the precipice of your forehead. You both froze in place, before stuttering out twinned, awkward bouts of shy laughter. You gripped the hind legs of your pig stuffed animal and averted your eyes, hoping your erratic heartbeat and the butterflies clashing in your midsection weren't audible enough to make it up to his ears. Insurmountable relief flooded through you, as a calloused and ringed finger delicately tapped itself on one of the many beaded friendship bracelets covering the entirety of your left wrist. "How about you make me one of these, and we'll call it even after I win you a few more of these little guys?" James let out an amused sounding guffaw once he expertly ducked away from one of your usually soft and painless punches, after his next words playfully aggravated you. "I'll even let you name one of them Lucky Jr."

⭒ The sun was lowering itself in the sky, by the time James braked and parked in front of your family's dimly lit home. You wrung your hands together in your lap, undecided and contemplating on whether or not you should be the one to speak up first. You nearly jumped in your seat, after his voice lightly reverberated in the small confines of the car. "I had a good time." James announced, as his stomach muscles tightened, and his fingertips whitened underneath the pressure he exuded around the steering wheel. You squeezed your knees together and nodded, hoping none of your new gifts would slide away and make contact with the floor. "I did too, thank you for taking me." You murmured in response, warmth filling your chest as you watched James grin, despite his body language being a juxtaposition to the action. You sucked in a shuttering breath as he leaned over you to push your door open, the ends of his dirty blonde hair coming down in waves to caress the side of your bare forearm, as he fully made his way back into the driver's seat once again. "Since you don't feel comfortable with men walking you up to your front door." He joked, his smile slowly falling as he watched your eyes rake all over his face, as if they were now only taking him in for the very first time. The words you spoke next, stole all of the oxygen that resided in his being. "You're not just a man, James. To me, you are so much more than that." James sat still in place for a long moment after you whispered a goodnight and took action to make your way outside of the vehicle, dazedly waving back at you after you tossed a halfhearted one behind your back, before clumsily footing your home's front door open- with your hands fully occupied with his prizes, your gifts. He lowered his head down with a resounding groan, not even flinching as his forehead made contact with the cool to the touch, worn-out leather covering and stretched around the steering wheel. God, he was so fucked. He was falling in love with his best friend. Little did he know, so were you.

⭒⭒ "Did you run out of beads, or something?" He asks you, a seemingly permanent upward quirk on his lips as he leans forward and over the center console separating the two of you in his car, helpfully twisting his limb as you triple knot the braided fabric around his much larger wrist. You absentmindedly shake your head no, biting back a smile of your own as you hear him let out a confused, yet content sound. "Everyone else has beads, I wanted this one to be different." You admit, inwardly shying away after you raise your eyes, and they meet his own. James keeps his eyes set on you for a second too long, before looking down at the bracelets you made once again. Yours is a sage green, interconnected and intertwined with small, yellow flowers. His, a light blue, with a deeper shade of flowers making their way around the entirety of the fabric, yellow dots of color embracing the inside of each one, causing them to stand out even more against his healthily tanned, soft skin.

"You wore a sage green and yellow dress on the night we met for the first time." James verbalizes and realizes, as the image of you pops in his head. Your shaky smile and wide eyes, as he watched you try to get away from the man harassing you near the sound system. Your smile turning genuine and soft, as he asked if you were alright, and when he playfully came up with a way for you to help him back for the rest of the night. Your light titter of amusement, and finally, your nod of agreeance. The soft looks you two shared throughout the rest of the duration of the party, and the murmured goodnights you two parted with, you both being reluctant to separate and walk away.

Your bitten back smile turns into a wide grin as he vividly remembers your first meeting from all those months ago, your left hand resting on top of his wrist. Your fingertips absentmindedly shift the backing to the side so that the front would be fully visible, as James tentatively flickers his eyes back up to yours. "I wasn't wearing light blue that night, was I?" He asks you. You slowly inhale and straighten up in the passenger side seat, your free hand anxiously beginning to tug at the bottom hem of your t-shirt. You nervously lick your lips and shake your head no, missing your best friend's eyes as they helplessly follow after the movement.

"The light blue represents your eyes," you begin and confess, a small flicker of hope lighting anew in your gut, as James sucks in a deep breath and shifts closer. "I was making mine over the past few days, and what you wore didn't matter to me, not as much at the color of your eyes did," your hair falls free as you lift your head from against the headrest, lowering your hand from your shirt to use it as leverage to push yourself flat against the console. "Your eyes were the first thing I noticed about you when we first met, and you calmed me down. And now they're the first thing I search for whenever I know you'll be around."

A warm and large hand reaches forward to cup your nape as James whispers out your name, the softness in his tone enough to bring tears to your eyes. You blurrily blink as silver rings etch themselves in the tendrils of your locks, and as he slowly guides your head forward. The wake of goosebumps gather and multiply on your wrist as it makes contact with the divider, as James brings his other open palm up to delicately caress your cheekbone. Light and royal blue and yellow make safe haven in your right eye's peripheral as you're held in the most gentle way, and as your best friend looks down at you with his own set of blown, wide open eyes.

"If I'm reading into this wrong," James trails off, his expression turning into a grimace at the thought alone. You look back at him with longing, before lifting your hand from the console and encircling it around his wrist nearest to your face. He expels a sigh of relief at the familiar warmth in the smile you send his way, ignoring the pressure against his ribs as he leans forward to rest his forehead against yours. A light breath of a laugh is breathed out in the small space between you two, and you squeeze his wrist in reassurance, feeling alive and understood at the feeling of his incessant and abnormal heartrate pulsing beneath your fingertips. "How are you the one confessing first? I thought you were the shy and oversensitive one."

Your smile is overabundantly large as James kisses you before you can answer, the fabric of your guys' bracelets rubbing against each other as you press your lips on his and savor the feeling and taste. You both don't pull back until you're gasping for air, and as soon as you both reopen your eyes and look at each other once again, laughter ensues. You rest the weight of your head in his palm connected to your nape and look up at him gently, a sigh of contentment making its way out of your plush and kissed red set. Those same light blue irises from that first night, peer back down at you, filled with adoration and devoted conviction. "I think you confessed to me a long time ago, I was just too nervous to acknowledge it," you speak into the charged and electrified air surrounding you two. You unlatch your hand from around his wrist to raise it and graze the pads of your fingertips against his smile doted skin, and his lifted, already swollen lips. "You once told me to come back to you when I was having a panic attack, but I don't think I ever left. I think I'm always present when you're around. You bring it out of me."

James damply and disbelievingly chuckles, before placing a trembling kiss to your fingertips. You gently detach and wipe away a stray tear from the corner of his right eye, a few of your own already making their way down your jawline. "I love you; you know." You confess through a mused grin, the tone in your voice easy, because admitting it now was the easiest thing in the world. James beckons you forward once again, kissing you breathless before admitting his love back to you, although you already know what his next words will be.

"And God, do I love you."

⭒⭒⭒ Bright lights, heavy bass and thousands of screaming fans erupt from around you, yet all of your prior anxieties and worries are gone as you watch James and the rest of Metallica perform on stage, the partial noise cancelling headphones you're wearing giving you enough balance and security to be able to fully enjoy yourself. You lean back against the barricade and smile widely, the pride and joy you have for them nearly beaming out of your chest, as you look at the fruition and proof of all of their hard work over the past few years.

James' voice bellows out the next few lines of the song, before he makes his way over to the edge of the center stage, and squats down in front of you, his mouth outstretched in a euphoric and blissful smile. Something he always deserves to wear. He cheekily raises his left hand, and you do the same, the light and royal blue gemstones in his engagement ring shining just as brightly as your sage green and yellow ones. You both share muted I love you's, the sounds of cheers and sung back lyrics too loud for your guys' indescribable joy to be audible. But you both know how true the words you mouth back to each other are.

You twist the gold-plated jewelry around your ring finger as you sing along with the crowd, fully embracing the experience, and all that is yet to come.

As long as you had James by your side, and James had you, you two were prepared for anything.

(note: your request was so much fun to write, and it wasn't stupid at all. don't doubt yourself, babe! i hope i did it justice and you enjoy it ♡)

[doggone-devil]

How (Not) to Summon a Demon: Chapter 8

...and so it begins, my dear Readers. So it begins. Pairing: Alastor x fem!Reader Warnings: mentions of abusive, r/p/e, exes being absolute assholes, Alastor ready to kill, threats, stalking

Word Count: 2, 525

The day had gone surprisingly well, despite the horrible way it started. You had spent it with Alastor and Veronica, but mostly Alastor since your roommate decided she wanted to go do other things. Alastor had been a wonderful gentleman, holding doors open for you, letting you hold his arm as you walked. He even had you on his right side, away from the road. He was so old fashion it made you swoon, but you fought off the butterflies and kept a cool head.

Now you sat on the hood of your car, waiting for Veronica who said twenty minutes ago that she was just finishing up at a store and would be on her way. The sun was setting, turning the sky orange and red, little stars starting to shine through overhead. You glance at Alastor who stood by the car, his eyes watchful around the parking lot.

"Sorry she's taking so long," you apologize again, holding your head in your hands as you prop your elbows on you knees.

"It's alright. I'm sure she's just having fun," he says. "I hope you did, as well." You can't fight the large smile as it comes.

"Yeah, I did. Did you?" You watch his face carefully, trying to see if you can read him. It's hard, what with his constant smile. Why was that?

"Indeedy! Might be the most fun I've had since 1933!" You giggle, watching him spread his arms out and swirl his cane. He stops and faces you, dipping low. "Was a pleasure, my dear, thank you."

"Don't thank me," you say, crossing your arms. "Veronica was the one who mentioned it." You initially were going to stay in your room today and worry if your ex was coming to kidnap you. Oh no. Now you were thinking about him. Great. Way to ruin your own mood.

Alastor must notice how your shoulders drop as he steps forward. His body is blocking your view of Bourbon Street and you have to crane your neck to see him properly. Damn, you forgot how tall he is. "Everything alright, darling?" he asks. You note the way his smile is lowered, still there but now with pressed lips, like a frown.

"I'm ok," you lie. You don't want to burden him with your troubles. He's a demon, you're sure he won't care. No matter how much fun you had today, no matter what he says or does, he's only here cause you summoned him. Once you make your wish, he's gone. There's no point in letting your heart melt like it's doing now, no point in gasping when he leans close to you. Why is he so close?

"Darling," he says softly, tilting your chin to make you look up at him again. There's no point falling for him, so why is he making it so hard not to? "If there's anything bothering you, you can tell me. Let me help you." Fuck. Yep. You're screwed. Demon or not, your heart drops like an anchor out in the ocean, falling fast and hard to the sea floor.

"I -"

"There you guys are!" Veronica's voice pulls you back and you lean away from Alastor. You swear you see his brows dip in anger, but it's gone as he straightens up.

"About time you show up," you joke but the smile fades when you see Veronica. Her face is pale, like she's seen a ghost, panting as she catches her breath. Had she been running? "What's wrong?" Veronica looks up at you, clearly worried.

"What does your ex look like again?"

No.

No, no, no.

It can't be.

You feel your body growing cold, your hands shaking. "W-What?"

"It could've been someone else," she backtracks, shaking her head and reaching for your phone. You let her take it, fingers too numb to move. She goes through your photos until she stops on the only recent one you had of your ex. "Oh my god."

Your heart drops again, for a different reason this time. Fear crawls up your spine, wrapping itself around your throat.

Please, it can't be.

"Girlie, we need to leave," Veronica says, trying to hand you your phone back. You don't grab it, you can't move. You're stuck, tears forming.

He's here. He's found you. It's all over.

You hear Veronica shout your name, but it's lost to the rush of wind in your ears. You can't hear anything.

"What's wrong?" Alastor asks. Veronica shows him the photo.

"This douchebag is her ex and he's here. He's like, stalked her or some shit!" Veronica explains. "I know it's not my place to say, sorry girlie -" she sends you an apologetic look "- but this asshole abused her. It's why she left him."

Now you hear your name. It's Alastor this time. He has your head in his hands, forcing you to look at him. His eyes are glowing red as he peers into yours. You gasp, the damn breaking as you begin to cry. "H-He can't…H-He's going to hurt me!"

"Not while I'm here, he's not," Alastor states, voice hard as he scoops you into his arms. You let him, too scared to move on your own. Veronica's eyes widen, pointing between the two of you.

"Ok, we're going to revisit this later, but right. Let's leave." She takes your keys and gets in the driver's seat, Alastor placing you in the back with him. He buckles you up as Veronica begins to skid off from the parking lot and back to your apartment.

"Does he know where she lives?" you hear Alastor ask, clearly talking to Veronica.

"Not that I know of?" she answers. "I mean, if he showed up there, chances are it's a yes." She hits the steering wheel with the palm of her hand. "God! Why are men such pigs? No offense."

"None taken," Alastor says, looking back down at you. You're shaking like a leaf, eyes unfocused, no doubt lost in your thoughts. He tugs at your chin again but you can't see him. Not clearly. Everything around  you is buzzing, memories of your past clouding your mind. The arguments, the fights, the bruises. You absently rub at your thighs, the scars throbbing. You feel sick.

"Stop," you whisper but it's unheard. You say it again, louder. "Stop!" Veronica slams on the breaks, a car blaring its horn behind you. You claw your way out of the car just as the bile rises. You puke violently, your stomach lurching in disgust as your mind plagues you with the memories of that night. His hands on your body, on your throat, ignoring your cries and pleas for  him to stop. You had begged him, even praying for death when he wouldn't stop. You puke again, couching. A hand rubs your back, but you can't tell who.

"We need to get her back to the apartment," you hear someone say. "It's not safe out here."

Your name is called, faded and faint but you hear it. Then it's in your head, beckoning you. You feel yourself calming down, the sickness in your stomach ebbing away. You stand on weak legs, wobbling and swaying. The hand on your back comes to rest at your hip, steadying you. It's Alastor.

You whimper and lean into him. He picks you back up in his arms, carrying you back to the car. This time, he doesn't bother to buckle you, keeping you in his arms, tight against his chest. You hold on to him, needing him like a lifeline. Veronica gets back in and continues the drive.

It doesn't take long before you're being carried into the apartment, Veronica deadbolting the door behind you. Alastor takes you to your room, setting you on the bed. He goes to move away but you clasp tightly to his shirt. A silent hint for him to stay. He sits down by your side, his hand grasping yours to hold. You don't want to be alone. You can't.

Veronica joins you two, your phone in her hand. She looks pissed, angrier than earlier as she holds the screen up to you. It's opened to your messages and you see the new number, the letters making you feel sick all over again.

'Thought you could get away?'

You grab the phone, deleting the message instantly, but another appears.

'I'm coming for you, little rabbit.'

You throw the phone against your wall, the screen cracking. It goes off again with another notification, then another. You cover your ears, begging it to stop.

"Geez, this guy can't take a hint!" Veronica says. "Should I call the police?" You shake your head violently.

"No!" you shout. "No cops. Please. It'll only make it worse." You remember the last time you got the cops involved. He had charmed his way out of the dispute so easily and the consequences afterwards had nearly killed you. "No cops."

"Ok, ok. No cops." Veronica shifts by your side, kneeling down. "But, girlie, we gotta do something. I've seen the aftermath of this asshole. It took me a year just to get you out of the house. I'm not letting him ruin you again."

"You don't understand," you whisper, rocking back and forth now. "He won't stop. He won't stop coming for me. Not until I'm dead."

"I doubt he'll kill you. Stalk you? Sure. Threaten you? What abusive ex doesn't?"

"Veronica," you interrupt her. It's time to come clean. To tell her everything. "He almost has." Veronica's eyes widen.

"What are you talking about?"

"John almost killed me," you confess, hating the way his name bites at your tongue. "The last time I tried to escape, he nearly killed me, telling me if I ever left him again, he would finish the job. He even…" you trail off, not able to say out loud the horrendous things he did to you. Instead, you sit upright, turning your torso as you lift your shirt. On your lower back at marks, scars from his doing. You don't show her the others, already feeling like you're going to puke again.

"I didn't know." She lifts her hand, as if to touch them, but stops. You lower your shirt back down.

"I didn't tell you," you say. "I didn't want you to know. It's something I've been trying so hard to forget." You glance now, to Alastor. He's been silent the whole time and when you look at him, you know why. His body is vibrating with anger, his eyes cold and dark. The smile he always has, the one that's come to comfort you, is stretched so thin you're worried his skin will crack.

"Alastor?" you call out. His head snaps to you, the anger dissolving only a little. He forces his smile to relax some, for your sake. "Veronica, could I have some time with Alastor? Alone?" You know she's going to question you about it later, but thankfully, she does as you ask. Once she's out of your room, the door shut, you grab Alastor's hands. His finger lengthen, the skin darkening as claws appear. His human form fades away as the demon he is shines through. You gasp.

His horns are large, doubled in size and nearly reaching your ceiling. His eyes are pitch black save for two tiny, red dots. Blood drips down his chin as his sharp teeth bite into his lip, strained from how tight he clenches his jaw.

You should be horrified, terrified, absolutely appalled by his appearance, but you aren't.

Your hand reaches tenderly up to him, turning him to look at you. "Al," you softly speak his name. He leans into your touch but doesn't speak, not at first. A low, guttural growl resonates from within his chest.

"I won't let him touch you." His voice is deep, static dripping on every word. Your startled when he quickly leans over you, his upper body caging you in as he places his hands on either side of your head, forcing you to lay back. "He can't have you."

"He won't." You keep your voice gentle, letting Alastor know that you trust him.

Trust him?

You can't trust him. He's a demon.

No, you disagree with the voice in your head. He may be a demon but you can trust him.

"You said you'll protect me, right?" you ask, watching as Alastor's body slowly begins to relax. You place a hand on his neck, fingers rubbing at the underside of his hair. His antlers shrink back down, the black of his eyes gone with a blink, those warm, red orbs back to normal. You smile up at him, "There he is."

"Sorry," Alastor breathes out.

"It's ok." You don't feel any fear like you did earlier, only warmth and security. You knew that, no matter what, Alastor was here. He was with you and he wouldn't let anything happen to you. Demon or not, you knew the moment he vowed to protect you, you were in love with him.

"I should," Alastor says, moving away from you. He sits at the end of your bed, putting space between you. It makes your heart ache, but you understand. He doesn't want to scare you.

"Girlie, I'm coming in!" Veronica opens your door. "I brought you some water." You panic for a second, looking to Alastor, but he's back to his human form. How quickly he could do that never ceased to amaze you.

She hands you a glass and you thank you, gulping it down. You hadn't realized your throat was so dry, the cold liquid soothing. You set the glass down and stand up, feeling a renewed strength. You walk over to where your phone laid, bending over to pick it up. The screen lit up, thirty new messages unread. You opened them, anger building as you read each one.

"That does it." You turn on your heel, looking at Veronica and Alastor. "If he wants me, I'm not going down without a fight."

"Hell yeah! That's what I'm talking about!"

"You're not confronting him," Alastor states and you shake your head.

"No, but I am going to lure him into a trap. This bastard thinks he can get away with this, he's got another thing coming." You walk back over to your bed. "Here's the plan. Veronica, you'll be my 911 operator. I'm going to get him to think I'm meeting up with him -"

"No."

"- and then once he shows up, I'm gonna have my phone recording everything. Once he starts acting up, you'll call the police -"

"No."

"- and when they get there, I'll have everything on video. Evidence to prove my case against him."

"That's not happening," Alastor repeats, louder this time.

"Don't worry," you say, "you're going to be my backup. If he gets out of hand, you'll jump in and save me. I'll be fine." Alastor doesn't look like he believes you.

"Ok, so when are we doing this?" Veronica asks. You look at your phone, reading the last message John sent you.

"Tomorrow." You swipe your thumbs over the keyboard, typing out the text and hit send. It doesn't even take a second before he's responding, putting  your plan into action.

"Tomorrow, I'm making this bastard pay."

AN: Whew... this is. Yeah. Till tomorrow, my dear readers.

taglist: @i-like-potatoes12533, @girl-nahh-two, @mcntsee, @projectdreamwalker, @sassmasterxx, @alsemain, @yunimimii, @noraunor, @justneo11, @dragonlover123a, @falsemain, @ephemeralxv, @theshello, @wonderlandangelsposts, @weirdflower2024, @yourworstgf

Masterlist , Ao3

[mimisempai]

You make everything better

Summary

It's one of those bad days, which is bad enough in itself, but when on top of that Crowley sees Aziraphale laughing with Mr. Brown, he wonders if his angel wouldn't be better off with someone bright like him.

Notes

Just a little self-doubt and an opportunity for the angel to reaffirm his feelings for his demon.

On Ao3

Rating G -  1246 words

It was one of those days.

As soon as he opened his eyes, Crowley knew it.

It was going to be one of those days when he didn't feel like doing anything, saying anything.

When all he wanted to do was sleep and get to tomorrow.

But he got up anyway.

Not because he felt he had to, but simply because the only person who could bring him comfort on such a day was probably one floor below, leafing through his precious books.

Crowley knew with certainty that he wouldn't have to say anything.

Nor would he have to explain his state of mind, his lack of energy, his mood.

He would just lie on the sofa and Aziraphale would not question him.

For Aziraphale was the only one who knew.

The one who knew him better than anyone else in the universe.

So as he walked down the stairs, just imagining that familiar scene made Crowley feel a little better.

At least until he reached the bookshop.

It wasn't until he was near the sofa that he realized the angel wasn't there.

There was a small note on the coffee table.

He took it and read it.

I’m running an errand and going to Maggie's

I'll be back soon.

A.

The demon sighed, grabbed the blanket on the back of the sofa, and was about to sit down when his gaze was drawn to the familiar figure of his angel chatting with Mr. Brown in the middle of the street.

They were engaged in what appeared to be an animated conversation and Aziraphale suddenly laughed.

As Crowley watched in fascination as the angel laughed with someone other than himself, all he could think was that maybe this was the kind of person Aziraphale should be with. Someone bubbly and kind, someone bright.

In short, not someone like him.

Of course, Crowley tried to tell himself rationally that he was wrong. 

That Aziraphale had shown him more than once how he felt about him.

Even told him more than once how much he loved him.

But no matter how hard the demon fought the dark thoughts he knew were connected to his current state, he couldn't shake the idea.

His throat tightened, he curled up on the sofa, hoping to fall asleep as soon as possible and wake up tomorrow.

"Crowley?"

He must have managed to fall asleep because he was awakened by the sound of Aziraphale's voice and a light touch on his cheek.

He opened his eyes as he felt the angel sitting next to him on the sofa.

He saw the look of concern on his face as he was gently asked, "Are you all right, my love?"

Crowley shook his head slowly and murmured, "It's one of those days."

Aziraphale hummed and said quietly, "I see."

The demon expected him to get up and leave him alone, respecting what Crowley wanted on such a day. But as if sensing that this time was different, the angel remained seated and, stroking his cheek gently with the back of his fingers, asked thoughtfully, "Is there anything I can do for you?"

Just as the demon was about to shake his head, his mouth ran faster than his mind and he replied, "Stay with me and hold me. "

What possessed him to say that?

As if this kind of day wasn't already a burden for the Angel, now Crowley was getting clingy on top of it.

He opened his mouth to take back his words, but Aziraphale put a finger to his lips and said softly, "Before you start telling me that you don't want this because you think you're a burden, let me tell you that I'll be happy to do it if that's what you really want. So I ask you, is this what you want? Is this what you need?"

Crowley wanted to argue that he didn't need to be coddled, but he didn't have the strength to do so in the face of the angel's open, loving gaze.

He didn't feel like denying what he craved most right now.

So he nodded slowly, but Aziraphale shook his head and said softly, "No, I want to hear you say it."

Crowley sighed and whispered, "Yes, that's what I want, Angel."

Once the words were out of his mouth, he realized he'd needed to say them as much as Aziraphale needed to hear them.

The angel leaned over him and pressed a tender kiss to his forehead before standing.

"I'm going to close the bookshop, I've decided that today will be a day off. " 

Even though the bookshop's hours were more than erratic, it still touched Crowley to the core that Aziraphale would do this just for him.

Then, as he straightened up on the sofa, the angel returned and sat down beside him before opening his arms for Crowley to snuggle into.

He did so immediately as Aziraphale covered them with the blanket, tightening his arms around him as Crowley rested his head on his shoulder, burying his face in the hollow of the angel's neck.

Aziraphale gave a long kiss to his hair and asked softly, "Is that all right?"

Crowley hummed as he nodded his head against the angel's chest, and they remained so entwined in silence for a long moment until the angel asked gently, "Did something special happen to make you like this?"

"You mean me being clingy."

Aziraphale gave him a little tap on the shoulder and retorted, "Idiot, that's not what I mean. It's just that I can't help but notice that this isn't your usual way of handling a day like this."

Nestled safely in the angel's arms, Crowley didn't feel like hiding his feelings and told him what had made him react the way he did today.

When he finished, Aziraphale tightened his arms around him and replied softly, "I'm not going to tell you that you're a fool for believing for a moment that someone like him would be better for me than you. I know the irrationality of what one can feel at times like this."

He grabbed Crowley's chin and raised his face to his, looking into his eyes and saying softly, "But let me correct you, my love, okay? You're saying I'd be better suited to someone more bubbly, nice, and what again? Brighter. First of all, you're the one I love, and yes, even if you're not particularly bubbly today. Secondly, your kindness has nothing to envy Mr. Brown's, by far. And finally, who said you weren't bright? What's brighter than those beautiful golden pupils or that bright red hair?"

Crowley muttered, "You know I didn't mean that."

Aziraphale, still holding the demon's chin in his hand, nodded and replied, "I know. But you're bright. You're my light, my love. When I'm in doubt, when I don't know which way to go, you're the one I look up to. I always have. You made me open my eyes to the reality of our sides. You push me forward when I don't feel good about myself. You made me believe in myself. That's what being bright means to me."

He didn't let the demon protest and leaned his face into his, sealing his words with a tender, lingering kiss.

When they parted a few moments later, Crowley rested his head on the angel's shoulder, and they remained entwined in silence.

Maybe this wasn't one of those bad days after all.

_________

Still not beta'd

Still not my native language

Still hoping you'll enjoy this story  🥰

Still thanking you for bearing with me 😝

Ineffable Growing Love series : (After season 2) 

Part 1 Story 1-99

Part 2 Story 100-?

Ineffable Husbands masterlist : here (Before season 2)

[cherienymphe]

The Less I Know The Better VIII (JJ Maybank x Reader x Rafe Cameron)

Warnings: eventual NON-CON, eventual DUB-CON, jealousy, voyeurism, self harm, manipulation, underage drinking, drug use, mild unhealthy relationship, eventual violence, one sided kiara x jj, non canon ages, pogue!reader, I believe this is what therapists call a breakthrough 

➥ banner by @vase-of-lilies​ | divider by @firefly-graphics​

➥ series masterlist

summary:  When you start dating Rafe Cameron, no one is more surprised than you when your best friend JJ takes it really well. However, no one is more surprised than JJ when he’s forced to see his once frumpy BFF in an entirely new light, suddenly terrified of losing what he never knew he had to the person he hates most.

~

“What the hell is wrong with you?”

JJ closed his eyes, swallowing down a sigh and any other nastiness that threatened to come up. Kie’s voice was soft, but no less disappointed. The rest of the Pogues were around the fire, and JJ should’ve known that his solitude on the steps wasn’t going to last for long. Especially with one look at Kiara’s face.

“Y/N told me everything you said…”

That didn’t surprise him.

“She called me as soon as Rafe was asleep. She was a mess…and she was hurt, so I’m asking you again. What’s your problem?”

“Rafe-.”

“I thought you loved her more than you hated him. Or was that a lie?”

“It’s not,” he snapped, finally looking up at her.

Kie was angry, that much was obvious, but there was something else in her gaze that he couldn’t place. Something that made him feel so…wrong.

“You’re being an asshole, you know that, right?” she threw at him, arms folded over her chest. “The other night was supposed to be great for her...and you ruined it.”

“You don’t think I know that?”

Now, JJ could feel himself getting angry. He had already beaten himself up enough for how he acted, and he didn’t need nor want to hear it from Kie too.

“…and for what? Because she had sex with her boyfriend, and had a little pregnancy scare?”

JJ felt his teeth grind together at the mention of what had started the fight in the first place. He didn’t miss Kie’s emphasis on the word ‘boyfriend’, and he stared her down from beneath his lashes. Kie’s gaze was almost challenging, an eyebrow raised at him.

“You don’t think I’ve been in that same position before? You don’t think Sarah has?”

JJ exhaled, fighting the urge to tell her he didn’t care about them like he cared about you. You were everything to him, and seeing you with Rafe was one thing, but knowing that you were having sex with the guy was something else entirely. It made his skin crawl, and JJ pressed his tongue to the inside of his cheek. When he’d saw that lace monstrosity in your luggage, he had thought… Well, he had hoped that it was just a thought, an intent.

He hadn’t realized that his worst fears had been confirmed on that trip.

“He’s not good enough for her,” he finally said.

Kie heaved a frustrated sigh.

“I agree, but let’s not pretend that this is all about Rafe.”

JJ frowned at that, narrowing his eyes at her. What?

“What? Of course, it’s about Rafe. Kook king, asshole, the guy I’ve fought on more than one occasion. Remember him? I don’t think any of that’s changed just because she’s fucking him, now,” JJ sneered.

Kie’s lips twitched, like she was fighting a smile, but it wasn’t a friendly one. It was tense, filled with bitterness, and the look she gave JJ was cold.

“So, it’s all about Rafe… You’d be fine if it was anyone but Rafe.”

“Anyone who’s not some asshole from Figure 8,” he corrected.

“So, a Pogue…nice, I guess…”

“Doesn’t discriminate. I don’t think that’s too hard to ask for,” he added.

“Someone who can really relate to her life, right?”

“Yeah.”

“…even better if he knew her her whole life. Someone who wouldn’t ‘change’ her…?”

JJ blinked at Kie, not liking the look on her face and the slight scoff she let out.

“Someone like you?”

JJ blinked again, this time his lips parting in the process. He blinked again, rearing back a bit before letting out a humorless chuckle.

“You’re not funny.”

“I’m not trying to be…”

He and Kie stared at each other for what felt like a long time, neither of them saying a word. Her brows were raised as she waited for him to say something. Only…JJ didn’t know what to say to that. Kie’s suggestion was crazy, and he laughed again, shaking his head. JJ was actually a little insulted that she thought that low of him, that she thought this was about anything other than his protectiveness over you.

“That’s not what this is about,” he quietly said, and now it was Kie’s turn to laugh.

It was so loud and sudden that it drew the attention of the others.

“Oh my God,” she cried, shaking her head. “It’s actually less funny now that I see how deep in denial you are.”

“Kie-.”

“You don’t even realize it,” she bitterly chuckled. “…and I don’t know what’s scarier.”

JJ was looking at her like she was crazy, but funnily enough, she was looking at him like he was the crazy one.

“The thought of you behaving like this with some kind of self-awareness…or the thought of you not.”

Again, he was at a loss for words, and her face suddenly fell. She looked serious, swiping her tongue along her lips as she stared him down.

“She’s really happy, JJ…”

He felt his heart sink at the seriousness in her tone.

���Do you get that?”

“I do-.”

“No, I don’t think you do,” she interrupted. “You’re not thinking about how great he makes her feel, or how much she likes being around him, or how happy she is.”

“I-.”

“You’re not thinking about any of that! You’re only thinking about the fact that you hate him, and he’s with her, and you hate her for it.”

“I don’t-.”

“Yes, you do,” she spat, and JJ was standing now, face tight as he stared at her. “You’re a shitty liar because it’s clear as day that part of you hates her for being with him.”

Her voice had attracted everyone’s attention, now, and Pope was nearing them.

“You hate her for liking Rafe. You hate her for enjoying his money, for being around his friends, and for willingly being a part of a lifestyle you’ve talked shit about your whole life.”

Pope was reaching for Kie’s arm, but she brushed him off, dark eyes focused on JJ.

“She’s your best friend, and part of you hates her…because you don’t think she chose the right guy.”

JJ swallowed, staring after Kie long after she’d walked away. Pope had sent him an apologetic look, but JJ had ignored it. His throat felt tight, chest even tighter, and they all opted to keep quiet when he left. He was so deep in thought that he swore he almost crashed his bike twice on the way to your house.

Kie wasn’t completely wrong.

He didn’t want to say it, let alone think it, but part of him did hate you. He’d been telling himself that Rafe was just that good, that he’d swindled his way into your heart. He was confident that you would realize Rafe hadn’t changed, at all, that you would see him exactly for who he was… But the truth was that you already knew who Rafe was, and you chose to see the good in him instead.

You weren’t some innocent and brainless little girl who got tricked into a relationship with the asshole next door. You chose Rafe. You looked him in the face, and chose him, and it tore JJ up inside. It made his whole body hurt…but mostly his heart. He was running his hands through his hair when you answered the door, eyes wide at the sight of him.

“I’m sorry,” he breathed.

He watched the way your face fell, hurt flashing across your features, and he knew that he’d done that.

“I know. You…wrote that.”

“…but I wanted to tell you to your face.”

You took a deep breath, and JJ’s gaze was drawn to the movement, blue eyes watching the way your chest rose and fell. His gaze skimmed along the top of your shirt, lingering, and he blinked, lips parting as he lifted his gaze.

“You called me a Figure 8 slut,” you continued when he opened his mouth. “Compared me to one, whatever. Same difference, I guess. It hurt the same.”

JJ’s gaze found his feet, kicking at the dirt, and he sniffed. He could feel himself getting emotional, right now, and he didn’t know why. He hadn’t been right since you told him you and Rafe were dating, but he swore he’d been on the verge of passing out since he found that empty box in your trash can. Even now, the thought of that night made him nauseous.

It was hard to describe how he felt when he recognized what it was. It’d felt like he’d been outside of his body as he watched himself reach down and grab it. He couldn’t tell you how long he’d been staring at it when you finally came in the bathroom. It had taken everything in him to even move, let alone speak.

All he kept picturing was you…and Rafe.

The box had confirmed his fear, and images of you and Rafe were taunting him. You and Rafe in a hotel, in his truck, in his room—in your room. He kept thinking about Rafe touching you, dragging his lips over your body, defiling you. It was ass backwards, he knew that. It was archaic and stupid, and he had no right, but the thought of Rafe inside of you had made him see red.

You treating it like it was no big deal had only made him angrier. He was so angry, that in that moment, JJ was confident he could’ve killed Rafe. He’d always thought he wanted to kill him before, but never like that. JJ had never had that burning almost paralyzing desire to put a bullet in his face, to make him swallow his teeth, to run him down like a dog in the street.

He wanted Rafe away from you.

“I’m sorry,” JJ choked out, blinking and realizing that his vision had gone blurry.

He sniffed again, still staring at his feet, blond strands hanging into his face.

“I don’t…I don’t think he’s good for you,” he forced out.

His voice was low, but you heard him all the same.

“That’s not your choice to make,” you whispered.

JJ looked up, eyes finding the arch of the doorway as he took a deep breath. His hands were shoved into his pockets, and Kie’s words were loud in his head.

“When I told you about us, you told me that you loved me more than you hated him.”

“I-.”

“That’s what you told me, and I thought you meant that.”

“I do!”

JJ could feel that desperation creeping up, fingers trembling and eyes widening. He felt like your friendship was at a tipping point, that it could go either way, and it was all his fault. He felt desperate to save it, to keep it, to keep you around. To keep you.

He stumbled inside, and you took a step back.

JJ was taking deep breaths, shoulders heaving and heart racing. He felt panicked, feeling like everything was out of control, and normally he liked that, but in this moment…he felt like he might die. You were looking at him like you were sad and disappointed and confused all in one. He had done that, and JJ hated himself for it.

He pulled you into a hug before you could protest, arms right around you.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he tearfully mumbled, repeating it over and over again. “I’m so sorry.”

He didn’t even notice when you hugged him back, too caught up in making sure you knew how sorry he was. He kept blinking tears away, squeezing you tight as he buried his face into the crook of your neck. You were shushing him, trying to calm him down, but he couldn't stop shaking. The thought of losing you made his knees weak.

“JJ, it’s okay.”

It wasn’t. You were saying that because you were good, and it was okay to you, now, but it wasn’t. He knew that if he didn’t get it together, he would lose you, and that made him hold you tighter. It made him squeeze his eyes shut…and it made him brush his lips over the skin of your neck.

“You don’t think Kie’s right…do you?”

Pope didn’t answer right away, a slight frown on his face when JJ rolled his head towards him. They were both on the dock, drinking way more than they should. JJ could tell by the look on his face what Pope was going to say.

“Don’t pretend like you didn’t hear every word she said. You think she’s right?”

Pope let out a breath, looking away for a bit.

“I just think it’s weird for you,” he finally answered. “You’ve always been protective of Y/N, and this whole thing with Rafe…”

Pope shrugged.

“I sort of knew it would get worse before it got better.”

“So…you don’t think I have ulterior motives or whatever? Even without realizing it?”

The other guy’s head shook immediately, a scoff leaving him.

“You? Y/N? Nah,” he drawled. “You’ve never looked at her that way. I had to point it out to you that she’s a pretty girl, which is a little ridiculous if you ask me.”

JJ agreed.

He found that ridiculous, now, too…because you were beautiful. He felt a little silly for not seeing it before, but lately it was all he seemed to notice. The way the sun glinted off of your hair, the way your eyes would sparkle when you laughed, or how perfect your lips looked that night before Midsummers. As angry as he’d been, it wasn’t enough to make him forget how blown away he’d been when you opened the door.

That pink had looked great on you, and in that moment, you looked like his best friend instead of Rafe’s girlfriend. Where he normally would’ve cracked some joke, he’d only had the mind to tell you how beautiful you looked, tempted to reach out and touch you. You hadn’t even realized, turning away and talking to him like you weren’t a vision.

A vision that Rafe didn’t deserve.

JJ suddenly shook his head, feeling like the alcohol was getting to him.

“He’s just not good enough for her, you know?”

“Yeah,” Pope sighed. “We all know. Even Rafe knows, but…that’s up to her. You have to respect that.”

JJ’s jaw clenched, loathed to admit that Pope was right.

“You think they’ll break up?” he suddenly wondered, thinking out loud. “…because if they don’t…then…”

He couldn’t say it, didn’t even want to think it. If there ever came a time where you walked down the aisle with Rafe, JJ was positive that’d kill himself. It was either that or break up.

“They haven’t even been going out for half a year,” Pope assured him. “It’s a little too early to start wondering if they’ll get married. Bring it up again in two years if they’re still together.”

JJ nodded at that, a sour taste in his mouth at the thought of you and Rafe still together two years from now. He and Pope laid on the dock for what felt like hours, talking about any and everything, the conversation coming back to some girl Pope liked while JJ’s thoughts kept going back to you. He wondered what you were doing, and as if reading his mind, Pope mentioned something about you hanging out with Rafe tonight in passing.

“I gotta go.”

The words were out of JJ’s mouth before he could process them, and if Pope thought it was odd, he didn’t say anything. JJ was too drunk to think straight, unsure of what his goal even was, only knowing that he wanted to see you. He didn’t care if Rafe was there or not. You were his friend before you were Rafe’s girlfriend.

He could feel his blood bubbling at the thought of the other guy in your life, alcohol threatening to climb out of his throat. He wondered what you two were doing, if you were alone, and JJ could feel his hand reaching for the pocket knife in his jeans. It was sick, he knew that, his thoughts verging on concerning, but that didn’t stop himself from acting on them.

By the time he made it to your door, ignoring Rafe’s truck in your yard, he was sliding the knife back into his pocket. It took you a while to answer, and he couldn’t stop his heart from clenching at the thought of why it took you so long. When you swung the door open, you were surprised to see him, a tiny smile on your lips that quickly dropped.

“JJ,” you breathed, reaching for him.

He winced when your fingers brushed along the cut on his cheek, horrified eyes falling to the blood that had seeped through his shirt. You pulled him inside, breath shaky, and it was hard to ignore Rafe’s presence in the kitchen. The other blond was staring at him, JJ staring back as you fretted over him.

“Rafe, can you please get my first aid kit out of my bathroom?”

Your tone was thick with emotion, and Rafe stared at him for a few more moments before his gaze landed on you.

“Of course, babe.”

You forced JJ to sit down while Rafe disappeared, and you frantically blinked, trying to keep your tears at bay.

“What did-?”

“It’s nothing,” he hurried to say, throwing you a tense smile. “Nothing I haven’t dealt with before.”

You tilted your head at him, eyes sad before gently pushing his shirt up. JJ hissed, throwing his head back as you gasped, fingers hovering over the nasty cut along his abdomen. It burned like hell, but it was worth having you near, smelling you and hearing you worry over him. As you inspected the cut, he straightened, unable to take his eyes off of you.

The concern on your face made his shoulders ease, and JJ swallowed, drinking you in. With your gaze focused on wiping off the blood, JJ couldn’t stop himself from reaching up. His fingers grazed your hair, and his lips parted, softly exhaling as he studied the sight of it against his skin. He’d almost forgotten about Rafe entirely…until he looked up.

Your boyfriend was at the start of the hallway, just behind you and carrying the first aid kit. Only, his blue eyes weren’t on you. They were on JJ, narrowed and unreadable as he stared at him. JJ watched the way Rafe’s jaw clenched, and JJ licked his lips, slowly dropping his hand and leaning back.

“Thank you,” you said in relief, taking the kit from Rafe as he came near.

JJ could feel Rafe’s eyes on him, but he didn’t look up. He didn’t care about your boyfriend, too focused on the way you were patching him up. Your fingers were cool against his skin, brushing over him and making his stomach clench. His fingers tingled, and he thought to himself how much he wanted to touch you again.

His heart soared when you told Rafe he would be sleeping on the couch…and his lips twitched when Rafe pulled you down the hall.

“Rafe, you don’t understand, okay?” your voice carried even though you were trying to whisper. “Things at home aren’t good for him. It’s-it’s really bad.”

He didn’t hear Rafe’s response, but he heard you sigh.

“You saw him,” he heard you cry. “I can’t let him go back there.”

The rest of the conversation was hushed, but JJ didn’t care.

There was some part of him that realized how sick his actions were. It was a new low he didn’t even think was possible for himself, but the part that just wanted to be here with you outweighed it. JJ just wanted to see you and have you worry over him like you always did, and Rafe’s presence wasn’t going to stop that.

“Is Rafe mad?” he wondered when you brought him another pillow.

Your smile was comforting, but he saw right through it.

“No,” you lied with a shake of your head. “He’s just a little frustrated.”

“I’m sorry.”

He wasn’t, and you shrugged.

“He knows that I’m not just going to let you go back there,” you told him. “It’ll be fine.”

When you made to move away, he reached for you, hand on your wrist. Your gaze was inquiring as you looked at him, and JJ swiped his tongue along his lips. He swallowed, tracing his thumb along your skin.

“I’m going to be better,” he told you. “I promise.”

Your smile widened at that, his words genuinely lifting your mood. You thanked him, and when you wished him a goodnight, JJ almost didn’t let go.

It was in the early hours of the morning when he heard it.

It was faint, so faint he’d almost missed it, but the voice belonged to you, and that made his ears perk up. Your parents had the kind of jobs where they were either out late or out early, sometimes both. The rest of the house was quiet, early rays of sunlight poking through curtains and windows. When he sat up, JJ winced, almost regretting his drunken impulsive actions last night.

He’d almost thought he imagined it…then he heard it again.

You, out of breath…and moaning.

JJ’s feet had a mind of their own as they carried him down the hall. The closer he got to your room, the clearer the noises became. He could hear his heartbeat in his ears, out of breath as it raced in his chest. He kept telling himself to walk away, leave, but he didn’t think he could even if he wanted to.

Your door wasn’t closed all the way, and JJ took that as a sign.

His first reaction was anger, a rage filling him that he’d never felt before. Rafe was on top of you, too preoccupied to notice JJ standing in the crack of the doorway, peering in. The other blond was pressing kisses to your throat, just as naked as you were and lost in the feel of pushing himself into you again and again.

JJ wanted to pull him off of you, maybe even punch him in the face…then his gaze fell to you.

…and all of his anger was gone.

All of his breath left him, heart skipping a beat and mouth falling open at the sight of you beneath Rafe. Your head was thrown back, eyes rolling towards the ceiling while you wrapped your arms around him. You looked so desperate, so shameless as you grabbed at him and did everything you could to pull yourself closer.

Your legs were wrapped around his waist, hips lifting to meet his thrust for thrust. The sounds that left you made JJ swallow, his skin heating up and pants tightening. Your skin was dewy with sweat, voice choked and strained while Rafe fucked you. He couldn’t take his eyes off of you, obsessed with the way you looked as you begged Rafe to make you come.

JJ knew it was wrong. He shouldn’t be here, standing here and watching something so private, but he couldn’t leave. He was rooted in place by the sound of your moans, and the sight of your bare legs pulling him closer. You looked nothing like yourself…and everything like he knew you to be all at once.

You giggled the same way you did when Pope told a joke. You smiled in that soft way you always did when you thanked Kie for something. That desperation in you was the same desperation he’d always see whenever you were determined to snake a wave from John B. The excitement on your face was reminiscent of how excited you’d be to hang out with JJ.

…but there was something else in you that shocked him completely.

The way you dragged your nails over Rafe’s skin, leaving red marks in some places. The seductive laugh that left you when Rafe hissed, pressing your teeth into your lip. You were begging him to fuck you harder, to make you come.

“Baby, please,” you sighed into his mouth, gasping when he snapped his hips against yours.

JJ didn’t quite know what he was feeling in that moment.

He was angry at Rafe for doing what boyfriends do, for doing what he’d done so many times, just wishing that it wasn’t with you. He was entranced, completely lost in the sight of what you looked like in a setting he’d never taken the time to imagine you in before. He was hot, overwhelmingly hot and turned on and the hardest he’d ever been in his life. It was hard to separate all of his feelings as he watched you and Rafe in your bedroom, but one stood out above the rest.

You were kissing Rafe and opening your legs for him and moaning for him…and JJ wished that it were him instead.