#(it's gonna disappear eventually so I'm gonna enjoy it while it lasts lol)

[enchantedchocolatebars]

Yes. ❤️ 🥹 💕 😭 💟

Commission art here.

Tagging @talisman975

[layce2015]

Supernatural (Dean Winchester x Female!Reader)

The Woman in White

(A/N: I am only gonna do the first 5 seasons of this show. I think I'd go insane if I did all 15 seasons lol. But, I do hope you guys enjoy my new fan fiction series.)

Masterlist of all of my stories / Next Chapter

"Dad, please!"

"I'm sorry, sweetie. But unfortunately, cancer is a monster you can't beat."

"C'mon, there's gotta be something!"

"You heard the Doctor..."

"The hell with what the Doctor said! I-I-I...I just...I can't do this on my own!"

"(y/n), honey, you are more than capable of doing the hunting buisness on your own than anyone I've ever known. And you know our contacts if you need any help."

"D-Dad..."

"It's okay, honey. I believe in you. I love you, sweetie, and don't you forget it."

"I love you too, Daddy. And I'll do my best. Say hi to mom for me." 

"I will..."

I sit up in my hotel bed then placed my hands over my face. I take a few deep breathes as I try to fight back the tears. That memory keeps coming back into my dreams. My dad's last day on this Earth, which happened just last year.

I let out a long sigh then brought my arms down and placed them on my knees, which was pulled up to me. I run my hand through my hair as I replay the memories of my father over and over in my head. I don't really have many memories of my mother as she died when I was very young. Dad told me that a demon had killed my mother.

That's right, a demon. 

I found out at a young age that demons, ghosts, monsters, they all exist!

Dad told me that these groups of people called the hunters are the ones that take care of those monsters. He also told me that he was one of them and he was one of the best. But the moment he met my mother, he decided to retire and settle down and then they had me.

But the peace didn't last long as a demon killed my mom by pinning her up to the ceiling and setting her on fire. My dad tried to save her as quickly as he could but the demon left. So then on, he decided to get out of retirement then started to train me once I was old enough.

I sighed once again when I heard something shift next to me, I look over and see a naked man sleeping next to me. I stare at him for a moment, kinda confused, but then I remembered that I went to a bar and started drinking, celebrating a successful hunt. 

Then this guy started chatting me up and we talked and drank until I took him back to this hotel and we ended up sleeping together. From what I can remember, he wasn't bad but...I've had better to be honest.

He stirred a bit in bed but doesn't wake up. I smirk a bit before I get out of bed and pick up my discarded clothes on the floor next to the bed.

After getting dressed, I grab my clothes bag and head out of the hotel room. I walk towards my dad's motorcycle, climb on it then turn it on and drive off.

*****

I, eventually, stopped at a diner and began to eat breakfast while also looking through the internet on my laptop. I skimmed through some articles when one catches my eye, it was an article about a missing person in Jericho, California. This young boy, Troy, disappeared on a bridge the night before and, as I continue my research, it turns out there's been other missing men that disappear around that bridge in the span of twenty years.

"Hmmm, interesting." I muttered as I sip my drink. I shut my laptop then finish my breakfast. I go and pay for it then get on my bike and head for Jericho.

Once I arrived, I get off of the bike and look down at my outfit, which was a white button up shirt, black pants and a black blazer. When you impersonate a person of the law, you've got to look the part. I grab the badge and put it in my pocket as I make my way to the bridge while I see some officers looking around the bridge.

"You guys find anything?" An officer shouts as he leans over the railings, looking down. "No! Nothing!" A voice shouts back at him as I walk up to the officer. "Hello Deputy." I greet as I walk up to him. "Hello, Miss...?" He started to ask as we go and shake hands. "Cooper. Agent Cooper." I said as I show him my badge.

"Deputy Jaffe. You look a bit young to be a marshal." He said and I chuckled. "Yeah, I hear that alot." I said and he nods at me. "Well, Agent Cooper, I appreciate you coming but...I think we've got this..." Jaffe started to say as he turns to the car in the middle of the bridge.

"Well, it's just I've done a little research and noticed that you had similar cases like this in the past twenty years. My boss found this very interesting and sent me here." I said and the deputy looks at me as another officer was looking through the car. "Yeah, we..." Jaffe started to say when the other officer comes up to him.

"No sign of struggle, no footprints, no fingerprints. Spotless. It's almost too clean." The second officer said when we heard someone arguing. "No citizens beyond this point." An officer said and I look over to see an officer arguing with two young men, one was really tall man with a little bit longer hair than the shorter man. 

I smiled as I recognized the two men as they argue with the officer. "Don't worry, sir. We're here for buisness." The shorter man said as he holds up his badge. "We've already got one of you here." The officer said and the men look a bit confused.

"They're with me!" I said as I walk up to them. The two young men look over at me and I could see a flash of recognition on their faces. "Bout time you two." I said to them. "Well...you know, traffic..." the shorter man said, smirking, and I shake my head but chuckle.

"They're federal marshals?" Jaffe asked me, shocked and confused. "Yes, they're rookies. I'm training them." I replied and he nods then he let's the boys through as the two of them look over at me, I smile and nod at them.

These two men were the Winchester brothers, Sam and Dean. I've known these two since I was a kid, their dad, John Winchester, and my dad were good friends and they took on some hunting jobs together. Before I was trained to be hunter, my dad would leave me with Sam and Dean while he and John went out to do some jobs.

Sam and I had similar interest in stuff and we got along pretty well. Dean, Sam's older brother, would always tease us and say we would end up together but Sam and I already had that discussion and both of us agreed that our feelings were just of that as a friend. Heck, Sam used to tell me that I was like a sister to him and I told him he was like a brother to me.

No, Sam wasn't the one I liked, in that way...it was actually Dean who I really liked. And, honestly, I still do like him. It didn't help that Dean was very good-looking but he had this persona of a bad boy. You know the ones, the ones you couldn't bring home to your parents. He also flirted with every girl he'd meet. I swear when our dads would go off on jobs and we had to go to a school together, Sam and I would take bets on which girl Dean would pick and how long it would take him to get with her.

The loser usually bought the winner either a soda or an ice cream with the little money we had. 

And if you're wondering who won the most, it was Sam. 

"I know my brother." is what Sam told me once when I asked how he was almost always winning our bets. 

But, yeah, Dean had all the girls fawning for him and I happened to be one of them. I was a bit shy and nervous when I first met him and he would kinda tease me. But then as I got older and more confident, I was able to tease him back which took him by surprise. 

And no, I never kissed or slept with Dean. I'm probably one of, if not the only, girl that has been a part of his life that hasn't slept with him. Shocking, I know but the moment just never came up. Sure, we flirted back and forth as we got older but I guess I wanted to play hard to get with him, just to make him go crazy and see if he was really into me.

But it's been a few years since I've seen them and the last I heard, Sam left the hunting buisness and went to college. I remember dad telling me that after he got a phone call from John. But I guess something must've happened for Sam to come back to the hunting buisness.

"You did have another one just like this, correct?" Dean asked Jaffe as we go back to the middle of the bridge, pulling me out of my memories. "Yeah, that's right. About a mile up the road. There've been others before that." Jaffe replied.

"So, this victim, you knew him?" Sam asked him and the officer nods. "Town like this, everybody knows everybody." Jaffe said while Dean circles the car, looking around.

"Any connection between the victims, besides that they're all men?" I asked Jaffe. "No. Not so far as we can tell." Jaffe replied.

"So what's the theory?" Sam asked after he looks at me and I give a slight nod to him.

"Honestly, we don't know. Serial murder? Kidnapping ring?" Jaffe said, shrugging, as Sam goes over to Dean.

"Well, that is exactly the kind of crack police work I'd expect out of you guys." Dean said. I whipped my head towards him and glared while Sam stomps on Dean's foot.

Dean holds in his scream of pain while I turn to Jaffe. "Thank you for your time." I said and I turn to the boys and jerk my heard towards our vehicles. They began to follow me. "Gentlemen." Sam said to the officers and we walked away.

As we put some distance between us and the officers, I turned to the boys. "Well, well, well, Sam and Dean Winchester. What are you boys doing here?" I asked them. Sam was about to answer when Dean goes and smacks him on the back of the head.

"Ow! What was that for?" Sam asked Dean. "Why'd you have to step on my foot?" Dean asked him, angrily. "Why do you have to talk to the police like that?" Sam asked Dean, just as angry, and I shake my head.

"Come on. They don't really know what's going on." Dean said as I scoff.

"Oh, how I missed you boys." I said as I look at them.

"Anyway, it's good to see you, (y/n)." Sam said. "Good to see you, Sam." I said as I give him a quick hug then I look over at Dean, who had a small smile on his lips. "It's nice to see you too, Dean." I said as I pull away from the hug. "It's been awhile." He said and I smirk. "Yes, it has." I said then I look between them.

"So...what are you guys doing here? Last I heard, you went to college, Sam." I said. "We'll explain later but thanks for covering for us back there." Sam said. "No problem, we've got to have each others back." I said then I see a couple of FBI agents coming up to us.

"Can I help you three?" One of the agents asked as Dean turns to them. "No, sir, we were just leaving." Dean said. As the agents walk past us, Dean nods at each of them. "Agent Mulder. Agent Scully." He said and we walk past them and head off.

"Still driving around in that Impala, I see." I said as we walk up to their beautiful black Impala. "Yep. You still driving that Harley Davidson?" Dean asked me and I smiled. "Of course, it is Dad's last gift to me." I said as I stand in front of Dean.

"It's a helluva bike." He said and I smirked.

"Yeah, it is. Just like your car." I said as I pat the hood of the Impala.

"So, you wanna follow us?" Dean asked me. I nodded and Dean gives me a smile. "I'll see you guys in a few." I said as I walk away and head to my bike. Once I get on and get my keys out, the boys' car comes up next to me. I start my bike then Dean drives ahead and I began to follow them.

*****

Dean...something big is starting to happen...I need to try and figure out what's going on. It may... Be very careful, Dean. We're all in danger.

I can never go home...

I furrow my brow at this once Dean stops the recording of John's last voicemail to him after we parked our vehicles in a parking lot in the city. But that EVP of this female voice was very creepy and weird. "Never go home." I muttered, confused.

Apparently, John was out on a hunt, following this story of these men disappearing on this bridge, and has been missing for a few weeks so Dean came to Sam for help. 

"Yeah, that's what we're trying to figure out." Sam said. "And you guys think this...ghost...woman... is involved with your dad's disappearance and these other disappearances?" I asked and the boys nod then I let out a sigh. "All right, so...what's next boys?" I asked them and they look at me like I'm crazy.

"What?" I said, confused. "You want to help us?" Dean asked me and I smirked. "Well, yeah. I was about to investigate this case on my own but...the more the merrier. That is...if you guys want me to help." I said.

"No, no, no, that's fine! Like you said, the more the merrier." Sam said as Dean shrugs but smirks.

"Okay then...so where should we start?" I asked.

*****

"I'll bet you that's her." Dean said as we see a young woman putting up missing posters on the wall. "Yeah." Sam and I said as we walk up to the girl. "You must be Amy." I said and she looks up at us.

"Yeah." She said, hesitantly, as she looks us over. "Yeah, Troy told us about you. We're his uncles and aunt. I'm Dean, this is Sammy and this is (y/n)." Dean introduced.

"He never mentioned you to me." Amy said and she begins to walk away but we walk with her. "Well, that's Troy, I guess. We're not around much, we're up in Modesto." I, quickly, explained.

"So, we're looking for him too, and we're kinda asking around." Sam said to her as another woman comes up to Amy and puts a hand on Amy's arm.

"Hey, are you okay?" She asked Amy.

"Yeah." Amy said to her.

"You mind if we ask you a couple questions?" I asked them and they look between us.

Later, the five of us were sitting in a booth of a diner, Dean, Sam and I sit opposite of Amy and her friend, Rachel. "I was on the phone with Troy. He was driving home. He said he would call me right back, and...he never did." Amy replied. "He didn't say anything strange, or out of the ordinary?" Sam asked her and she shakes her head. "No. Nothing I can remember." She replied. 

Then I noticed Amy's necklace, which was a pentagram inside of a circle. "I like your necklace." I said as I point at it. She looks down then holds the pendant and smiles. "Troy gave it to me. Mostly to scare my parents with all that devil stuff." She laughs. I chuckle a bit and I could feel the boys staring at me.

"Actually, it means just the opposite. A pentagram is protection against evil. Really powerful. I mean, if you believe in that kind of thing." I informed. "Thank you, Unsolved Mysteries." Dean remarks and I rolled my eyes at him as he takes his arm off the back of my seat and leans forward.

"Here's the deal, ladies. The way Troy disappeared, something's not right. So if you've heard anything..." Dean said then the girls look at each other, an uneasy look washed over their faces.

"What is it?" Dean asked them.

"Well, it's just..." Rachel stammers as she looks back at us. "I mean, with all these guys going missing, people talk." She said.

"What do they talk about?" Dean, Sam and I asked in unison, then the three of us look at each other before looking back to the girls. "It's kind of this local legend. This one girl? She got murdered out on Centennial, like decades ago." Rachel said as we watch her, attentively.

"Well, supposedly she's still out there. She hitchhikes, and whoever picks her up? Well, they disappear forever." Rachel said and the boys and I look at each other.

Later, we were in the library and Sam and I sit on either side of Dean as he opens up a web browser on the computer. He types Female Murder Hitchhiking into the search box then clicks go. The screen tells him there are (0) Result. Dean replaces Hitchhiking with Centennial Highway with the same response. 

"Let me try." Sam said as he reaches over to the computer but Dean smacks his hand. "I got it." Dean said to him but then Sam shoves Dean's chair out of the way and takes over. "Dude!" Dean exclaims as he hits Sam in the shoulder.

"Okay, children! That's enough." I said as Sam gets ready to type while Dean glares at his brother. "You're such a control freak." Dean grumbles at his brother.

"So angry spirits are born out of violent death, right?" Sam asked us. "Yeah." Dean and I said. "Well, maybe it's not murder." Sam said and he replaces Murder with Suicide and finds an article entitled Suicide on Centennial.

"Good job, Sam." I praised and patted his shoulder. Meanwhile, Dean glances at Sam as he opens the article, dated April 25, 1981.

"This was 1981. Constance Welch, twenty-four years old, jumps off Sylvania Bridge, drowns in the river." Sam said as he points at the screen where the picture of Constance is displayed.

"Does it say why she did it?" I asked.

"Yeah." Sam replied.

"What?" Dean and I asked as Sam continues.

"An hour before they found her, she calls 911. Apparently her two little kids are in the bathtub. She leaves them alone for a minute, and when she comes back, they aren't breathing. Both die." He said and my jaw drops a bit while Dean raises his eyebrows.

"Our babies were gone, and Constance just couldn't bear it,' said husband Joseph Welch." Sam reads as he scrolls down then a picture of the bridge appears.

"The bridge look familiar to you guys?" Dean asked and Sam and I nodded.

****

That night, we walk along the bridge, then stop to lean on the railing and look down at the river. "So this is where Constance took the swan dive." Dean said as we look down. "That's a nice way of putting it." I said to him.

"So you think Dad would have been here?" Sam asked Dean.

"Well, he's chasing the same story and we're chasing him." Dean said as I walk along the bridge and try to concentrate on the job as they argue with each other.

I just half listen to what they say as I feel like it's not my place being a part of this.

"Dean, I told you, I've gotta get back by Monday—" Sam said, slightly, annoyed as I pull out my flashlight and skim it across the lake below. "Monday. Right. The interview." Dean said.

"Yeah." Sam said and I look over at them.

"For college?" I asked Sam and he nods. "Congratulations, Sam!" I said. "Thanks, (y/n). At least someone appreciates my decision to go to college." Sam said as he glares at Dean

"You're really serious about this, aren't you? You think you're just going to become some lawyer? Marry your girl?" Dean asked him. "Maybe. Why not?" Sam said.

"Does Jessica know the truth about you? I mean, does she know about the things you've done?" Dean asked him as Sam steps closer.

"No, and she's not ever going to know." Sam said. "Well, that's healthy." Dean grumbles and Sam clenches his jaw.

"You can pretend all you want, Sammy. But sooner or later you're going to have to face up to who you really are." Dean said as he turns around and keeps walking, Sam and I follow him.

"And who's that?" Sam asked as I was on Dean's right side and Sam was on his left. "You're one of us." Dean said as he gestures between me and him and Sam hurries in front of us.

"No. I'm not like you guys. This is not going to be my life." Sam said then he turns to me. "No offense, (y/n)." He said and I shrug. "None taken. I don't blame you, Sam." I said and Dean looks over at me.

"Are you kidding me? You're on his side?" He asked me, clearly annoyed and angry. "I'm saying it's his life, Dean! He doesn't have to follow this if he doesn't want to." I said, exasperated. "Honestly, if I could, I would go to school as well..." I said and Dean rolls his eyes. 

"Oh, you gotta be freakin' kidding me." He grumbles as he turns away. "But unfortunately I'm way in too deep with this job and this life. There's still time for Sam..." I said until Dean turns to me. "He has a responsibility to—" He started to say but Sam talks over to him.

"To Dad? And his crusade? If it weren't for pictures I wouldn't even know what Mom looks like." Sam shouts and we look over at him. 

I frown at this as Sam continues, mainly cause I know how that feels. I don't remember what my mom looks like, but dad did have a picture of the three of us when I was a baby. "And what difference would it make? Even if we do find the thing that killed her, Mom's gone. And she isn't coming back." 

Dean grabs Sam by the collar and shoves him up against the railing of the bridge, which made me jump. "Dean!" I said, fearfully, as I walk up next to them while Dean glares at his younger brother.

"Don't talk about her like that." Dean threatened then he releases Sam and walks away. "You okay?" I asked Sam. "Yeah, I'm fine." Sam said when Dean calls out to us.

"Sam. (Y/n)."

We come to stand next to Dean and see Constance standing on the edge of the bridge. She looks over at us, then steps forward off the edge. We run to the railing and look over to see she had disappeared. "Where'd she go?" I asked. "I don't know." Sam said as Dean shrugs and shakes his head.

Behind us, the Impala's engine starts and its headlights come on. The three of us turn to look. "What the—" Dean said, shocked and angry. "Who's driving your car?" I asked him. Dean pulls the keys out of his pocket and jingles them. My eyes widen as the car jerks into motion, heading straight for us. We turn and run. "Go! Go!" Sam yells at us.

The car begins moving faster than we were; when it gets too close, we dive over the railing. Unfortunately, I didn't grab onto the edge quick enough and fell into the water below. Once I fell into the water, I blacked out for a moment as the water felt like it was replace with concrete.

As I started to come back to reality, I felt a pair of strong hands grab me then I felt my head hit the surface of the water. 

I cough then look next to me and see that Dean was the one that grabbed me and helped me out. "Thanks." I said, before I started to cough. "Don't mention it." He said.

"Dean? (Y/n)? Guys!" Sam's voice calls out and I look up and see that he had grabbed onto the ledge of the bridge and was looking down at us.

"What?" We shouted at him.

"Hey! Are you guys all right?" Sam asked us. Dean holds up one hand in an A-OK sign while I nodded and gave the thumbs up sign, which made me realize that my arm was covered in mud. Grrreeeaaattt...I thought, annoyed.

"I'm super." Dean calls out to him. "Just fantastic!" I said as Sam laughs, relieved, and scoots away from the edge.

****

After getting back on the bridge and looking over the Impala, Dean shuts the hood of his car and leans on it. "Your car all right?" Sam asked him. "Yeah, whatever she did to it, seems all right now. That Constance chick, what a bitch!" Dean exclaims and I chuckled as I stand next to him and lean against the spot next to him.

"Well, she doesn't want us digging around, that's for sure." I said and Dean gives a curt nod.

"So where's the job go from here, genius?" Sam asked Dean as he settles on the hood on Dean's other side.

Dean throws up his arms in frustration, then flicks mud off his hands while I shake my head and try to get it out of my hair.

Sam sniffs, then looks at us. "You guys smell like a toilet." He remarks as Dean and I look down at ourselves. I sighed, annoyed, then the boys head into their car while I go over to my bike and we take off.

[youmarin]

Chapter IV: Fuzzy Broken Scenes | JJ Maybank

A/N: I'm not sure but this one is probably the longest chapter so far and also a bit slower since everything goes to hell again lol. I'll probably disappear for a while now while I write ch. 5 and think about the rest of the story so enjoy this longer chapter and last week's updates.

[Edited: March 3, 2023]

tw: blood, violence, anxiety attack.

Word count: +4.5K

Ch. III here

divider from: gifcities.org

gif de @forbescaroline

Pope had been jumped by Rafe and Topper (well, it was Rafe that went crazy on him with what happened at the kegger as an excuse) when he got to Figure 8 to make some grocery deliveries. And now he had some nasty bruises, blood still streaking down his forehead and he could taste some in his mouth. His back hurt badly too. So now he was injured and had lost all the goods he had been entrusted to deliver to some other kook. When he got back to his father’s boat, he did his best to clean up and put himself together. A few minutes later he heard JJ’s content voice coming from the dock.

“You’re not going to believe what just happened to me, man! When I say count me in in all these grocery deliveries, Pope, I mean it.” Seeing Pope’s serious expression, his smile slowly faded. “What’s up with you? Bro, you good?” Even with his cap on, JJ still catched a glimpse of his beaten up forehead. Alarm bells started ringing in his head, “Yo, what happened to your face, dude?” He lifted Pope’s cap, “Jesus! What happened?”

“Rafe and Topper jumped me.” Pope confessed fixing the cap on his head, jaw clenched, upset.

Anger replaced any trace of joy from JJ’s face. Those fucking kooks. His mind raced. They weren’t just about to suck it up and let something like that slide, at least JJ wouldn’t. They hit us, we hit them. “What are you gonna do?”

Pope knew that looking for payback might cost him more eventually, for, when things went sideways kooks were more likely to come out unscathed. But at the moment he wasn’t on to thinking rationally.

2020 Malibu, 24-MXC. The world’s finest wakesetter ended up at the bottom of the sea, hanging out with the fish. When Topper found out, it wasn’t hard for him to figure out who was responsible for it, and when the news got to Rafe, his reasoning didn’t go too far of keeping this back and forth thing of hurting each other.

It was a bad moment to be passing through Figure 8. Because when the two boys saw you, Rafe’s ever racing thoughts became about you, and he took the opportunity. “Dude, look who’s coming over there.” He pointed at you, already scheming, “She’s been hanging around those pogues a lot.”

“So what, Rafe? She didn’t have anything to do with it.”

“But she does have something to do with them.”

“Dude, what are you gonna do? She’s a girl.” Rafe ignored Topper’s protests and walked towards you, leaving him to follow. You were looking at your phone, a smile on your face but it dropped along with your phone as you collided with someone. Looking up, you saw Rafe, and not far behind him, you saw Topper.

“Sorry about that.” Rafe told you, being anything but sorry judging by his smile.

“Um, hey, Rafe.” You stared at him warily, then at Topper. You had never interacted much with both boys apart from sole acknowledgements in passing. And you’ve heard of the way he refers to pogues. He didn’t seem to have a good reason to bother them apart from their social status differences. You crouched down to pick up your phone, but Rafe beat you to it. “What do we have here?” He said as he eyed the screen of your phone.

“What are you doing? Give me my phone back.” You reached for it but he held it away.

“Talking with your boyfriend? You like that scumbag?” He mocked. What you did next he didn’t expect. Your palm made contact with his cheek with a sharp sound. He looked at you as if you were insane for what you just did, but your expression remained ever so serious. You didn’t understand the reason for his attitude, and adding that he chose to badmouth JJ, you weren’t in the mood to be understanding. “You bitch.” He grabbed your wrist harshly.

“Let go of me, Rafe!” You tried to pull away.

“Rafe, let it go.” Topper started.

“No, no, no. These people,” his hands grabbed harshly on your chin, “Have to learn that there are consequences to their actions. You guys like to ruin other people’s property, don’t you?” Rafe said, his face close in front of yours.

“What the hell are you talking about?!” And then he pushed you to the ground, hands and knees scraping against the concrete of the sidewalk.

“Why don’t you ask your boyfriend?” He turned away and you saw as he dropped your phone down a sewer drain. “You’ll have to ask him in person, though.”

“You asshole!”

“Watch that mouth, sweetheart.” His smile looked more like a sneer. “You should be thanking me instead for throwing that old thing away. I know you probably couldn’t afford a new one.” He turned away from you, smacking Topper’s shoulder slightly, “Let’s go, man.”

As Rafe kept walking, Topper turned towards you one last time, “I’m sorry.”

“Vete al carajo, Topper.” He had done absolutely nothing to stop his friend and try to help her. And Topper didn’t need a translation to know you just told him to go to hell.

JJ was worried. He had been talking to you the day before and had invited you to the beach but you never showed up. You had read his last message that afternoon and he saw that you were about to reply but then nothing came back. He thought about going to your house but with what happened to Pope and after what they did, it was better to avoid to be seen (plus the anger's fog having cleared from Pope's mind, he had become a bit paranoid and was stuck to the blonde's side).

Previously, Kie had invited you all to the OBX Summer Movie Series this evening, so you were supposed to meet with them there. He really didn’t want to go, much rather taking a nap on his couch, but he needed to see you. So right now it was only Kie, Pope and him. John B had been MIA ever since their disappointing discovery of a shipwreck with no gold. As they found a place to settle in, Pope was expressing his distress.

“We’re out of the green zone, man.”

“Dude, tranquilo, okay?”

“This is the last place I wanted to be-” Kie was starting to eye them with suspicion with all of their whispering. She went to grab some drinks for them.

“Shut up, Pope.”

They took their seats and kept an eye on everyone who arrived. JJ was as anxious as Pope was, but one of them had to pretend and calm the other. This was in huge part his fault, for provoking Pope into doing what he did. Wait- No. They hadn't done anything. That's it. They had no idea about that sunken boat. About any boat for that matter. His leg kept bouncing up and down no matter what he told himself though.

When Kie came back, her expression wasn’t as happy as it was when she first arrived.“Just saw Rafe, and he said, and I quote, “Tell your boy that we know what he did.”

“Where is he?” without waiting for a reply, JJ turned around on his seat. He saw Rafe along with Topper and Kelce right behind them. He tensed, and just as he was about to turn his back to them again, he saw you arrive. He smiled but you weren’t looking his way. He noticed your serious expression first, then the band-aids in your knees. He frowned and looked up at your face again just as you noticed Rafe and glared at him. That only made him more alert.

“Founding principle, you guys. No secrets amongst Pogues. What is Rafe talking about?”

“I would also like to know what Rafe was talking about.” You said upon getting to their side.

“Hey, what happened to you yesterday?” JJ knew how he sounded, but he really was worried about you too. Things were getting a little too much for him and him not being able to say anything to anyone, even to you as much as he wanted to, was making things worse.

“How come you never answer my questions but I have to answer yours?” You really didn’t want to be there either but you wanted to see if JJ would actually tell you something this time. But unsurprisingly, it seemed he was choosing to avoid the topic, saying nothing once again. You sighed, not wanting to start an argument either.

His jaw tensed as he noticed your scuffed palms. He grabbed one of them. “How did you get this?”

“I fell.” But you weren’t looking him in the eye and he knew it was a lie. What he didn’t know was if you were lying to not worry him more, or because you were getting tired of all the things he kept hiding. In truth, it was both.

You pulled your arm away from his touch.

It was going to be a long, tense evening. And it was just starting.

“JJ”

“What?”

“Gotta take a piss.”

“Hold it.”

“I can’t hold it. I drank too much soda.”

“It’s too exposed. They’ll totally see us.”

“I gotta go.” he turned around, “They’re blocking the restrooms.”

JJ glanced around, “Come here. I know where.” as they started to head out, Kie spoke up, making them stop.

“Hey, where y’all going?”

“We gotta wring it out.”

“You’re gonna hold it for each other?” Had you not been upset and more awake, you would’ve laughed at Kie’s remark. When they were far enough, she spoke up again, “Stupid boys.” She turned to you, “What happened to you yesterday?” and gave a not so subtle glance to your injuries.

“Rafe and Topper happened.” you mumbled, sulkily.

“They did that to you?!”

“Rafe did, and he’s also the reason I don’t have a phone right now. All while Topper stared like an idiot.”

“Why?”

Raising your eyebrows, you said, “I guess “our boys” know the answer to that.” You both glanced back surreptitiously and saw the aforementioned boys plus Kelce head the same direction Pope and JJ had gone.

“ Okay, that’s trouble.” Kie grabbed JJ’s bag and stood up, you following.

Back from the other side of the screen, Topper had Pope on a headlock, Kelce holding JJ back while Rafe punched him.

“Kick his ass, Top!”

“C’mon, Rafe! That all you got?” Another punch to JJ’s face.

“Let go of him, Topper! Fascist asshole!” Kie swung the bag hitting Topper, just for him to grab it and throw it away to proceed with his assault. She then jumped on Topper’s back to get him off Pope.

“Stop it, Rafe!” But he pushed you away from him when you tried to stop him from punching JJ.

“Don’t you fucking touch her!” JJ managed to say before Kelce started to choke him and you fell to the ground.

Rafe grabbed Kiara off Topper and threw her beside you on the ground, “Stay out of this, girls!”

“Kie!” You and Pope both screamed. “You okay?”

She barely gave you a nod, running to get JJ’s backpack. She started rummaging through it and pulled out a gun. The famous gun you’ve heard about. You and Kie hesitated exchanging a look, before you chose to do the next big stupid thing. You grabbed the gun out of Kie’s grasp and pointed towards Rafe. “Y/N!” Kie was looking at you incredulously.

“C’mon, man. Just admit it!”

“Let them go!” Your voice shook when you spoke up, as the hand that was holding the gun was. Kelce looked towards you and immediately let go of JJ, who brought a hand to his neck, coughing. “Woah, hey… Calm down.” He raised his hands. You demanded again, “Topper! Let go of him!”

“You wouldn’t shoot.” Rafe laughed, but he didn’t make any move.

“Try me.” you put the safety off. JJ was staring at you, bewildered.

“Y/N…” He started.

While you distracted them, Kie had grabbed JJ’s lighter and had set the screen on fire. The show was over for everyone, people setting off running away in alarm. You put the safety back on and lowered the weapon as you saw the trio walk away from the two beaten up boys.

“You shouldn't have done that, sweetheart!”

You looked down at the gun in your hand, before shoving it back inside the bag, running away from the scene.

“Y/N! Wait, Y/N!” JJ ran after you, while Kie checked up on Pope, both of them staring at the other two, processing what had just happened.

“Y/N, please stop!” You ran fast, he noticed, but he was faster and ended up catching up on you. He grabbed your wrist, pulling you to a stop. He could feel your body shaking lightly, both of you breathing heavily.

“Why the hell did you do that?” You shook your head, eyes shut tight. You weren’t feeling well. “Y/N-”

“They were hurting you. They nearly killed Pope and-.”, opening your eyes, a bad idea, “You’re bleeding.” Your breath wasn’t slowing down. “I pulled a gun at Rafe. I pointed a gun at someone.” JJ glanced at you, worry in his blue eyes. He couldn’t help but feel guilty too. “I didn’t fall. I lied. It was Rafe.” All of the events of the day were getting the best of you and you were falling apart.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay- His hands were running up and down your arms trying to calm you down and give you some comfort. It took him a lot to ignore the new information he had received, but his focus was on you right now. That asshole Rafe would get what’s coming to him later.

“But-But it’s not.”

“Then it’s not, but right now, I want you to breathe. Can you do that for me?” You nodded. He guided you to sit down under the light of the streetlamp. You followed the rhythm of his breathing, and after a few minutes your heart slowed down, along with the swirl of thoughts in your head. You hadn’t even noticed when you had started crying, feeling the wetness of tears in your cheeks. JJ wiped them away and pulled you into a side hug.

You stood like that for a moment, but you couldn’t be totally at ease knowing he was in pain too. You took another deep breath, trying to compose yourself and moved to face him. He was about to question what was wrong but nothing came out as your hand made contact with his cheek ever so delicately, afraid of causing him more discomfort. “You’re hurt.” You repeated. “We should get you patched up.”

He managed a nod, trying hard not to stare at your lips. “You should see the other one.” Total bullshit, since you both knew Rafe had beaten him pretty bad. It wasn’t a fair fight, though. You took your hand away, but before it could go too far, JJ grabbed it, fingers intertwined. Looking down at your hands, you couldn’t help getting flustered, the light shining above you not doing much for you to hide it. Getting up, you started walking towards the Château.

JJ decided that he should start speaking. He knew things were far from being okay. His jaw was tense as he addressed the elephant in the room, “He hurt you because we might have done something to piss them off. Rafe.”

“Should I ask again what is it that you did? Is it about the same thing as before?” You saw him shake his head.

‘Nah. The other thing is over now. It was stupid.”

“I don’t think it was.” It couldn’t have been stupid judging by all the things they went through and if not even you knew about it all.

“But it won’t be a problem anymore.” They were still all broke (minus Kie), but at least there was something less for him to worry about. You nodded.

“So, what were Topper and Rafe so mad about?”

“They jumped Pope earlier today.” And for now that seemed like enough details for you to know since he didn’t elaborate. You took in the information. So they hurt Pope, they hit back, Rafe takes it out on you, and again they fight tonight. JJ did everything if it came down to his friends. It didn’t matter if it affected him or he got hurt in the process, he was selfless. You knew you couldn’t change that, and you didn’t want to change him, but you worried about him. You wished he would worry more about himself sometimes.

“I’m sorry.”

JJ looked at you, confused. “What are you apologizing for?”

“I lied to you.” You continued, “ I probably made things worse for you guys by pulling a gun at Rafe. And I broke down in front of you. I mean, you are going through way more than I am-” He didn’t mean to interrupt you but he deemed it necessary given the turn your thoughts were taking.

“I know you lied. You’re bad at it.” You frowned, making him laugh. You gave him a closed lipped smile. You liked to hear that sound. Trying to hide the extent of his worry, he continued, “Rafe had that coming.” JJ had brought the gun for that purpose to begin with, so he didn’t care at all about that. He only cared that you had gotten involved in all this crazy and impulsive behavior of his. Rafe had hurt you already once before with you not having anything to do with the situation. He was certain he wasn’t wrong to think that the older boy wouldn’t hesitate to do it again now. He sighed, “And all that stuff about me doesn’t make it any less fair for you to let your feelings out.” He lifted his red cap with his free hand, and put it back on backwards. “Honestly I’ve been very close to losing it sometimes.”

You looked at him and squeezed his hand in comfort. It probably took him a lot to admit that. You just hoped that if it came to that, it wouldn’t be too much for him to take, and that you’ll be able to be by his side and help him through it.

“Where is John B?” you asked as you crossed the entrance of the house. JJ turned on the lights.

“No idea. He’s had a tough time with how things ended.” He walked past you and into a hallway. When he appeared again he was carrying a first-aid kit. You took it from him, and made him sit in a chair. Sitting beside him, you tended to his injuries.

“This might sting a bit.” you grimaced as you gently brushed the material over the cut on his lip. He winced , but didn’t back away. He distracted himself from the pain and your proximity with a strand of your hair, curling it over his fingers. Your hand made contact with his cheek again, inspecting his face, while his eyes couldn’t help but look up at you. “Does it hurt somewhere else?” If he kissed you right now, would he be doing something wrong? “JJ?” He snapped out of his thoughts. “Hm? No. I’m okay.” He denied with a shake of his head. You raised an eyebrow. You had heard him groan earlier, and you had seen Rafe land a couple blows on his torso. “So if I do this,” you started. He watched as you got closer and was caught off guard as you reached for his side, pressing your hand on it enough for him to yelp and slap your hand away.

“Ow! You ask so you can cause it?”

“I ask expecting you wouldn’t be dumb enough to try and lie to my face.” You smiled proudly as you stood up. He shook his head, a smile of his own grazing his lips. “Let’s put some ice on those bruises you sure have.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He got up and walked towards the fridge. “ I’ll handle it. You can go ahead into the guest’s room and change into something more comfortable.”

You nodded, and went to what was basically JJ’s room. You searched in the drawers for something you could wear for the night, grabbing one of his T-shirts, which fitted you more like a dress. JJ’s pants were too big for you, and you weren’t sure wearing your friend’s boxers was appropriate. Your head snapped towards the door as it pushed open and JJ appeared, torso exposed as he pressed a bag with ice on a big bruise on his side. You both froze. “Oh shit. Sorry I…” His free hand went to his hair,he realized he was staring and he looked away in a sudden move. Speaking honestly, he wasn’t the only one staring.

“I can’t find some pants that- They are too big” you explained clumsily,

“Yeah yeah right I’ll check if Kie left something behind.” He disappeared back the way he came from, the door closing with a loud bang, you gave a small jump on your feet. “Sorry!”

In the end, you had to wear a pair of JJ’s boxers because he couldn’t find anything. He came back into the room after he was done tending to his hurt body and you were all settled.

“We should get some sleep.” You suggested, smiling awkwardly. Starting to make your way out of the room, JJ spoke up again.

“Where are you going?”

“To the living room couch?”

“In that case I should be the one sleeping in the living room.”

“No. I don’t want to cause you any inconvenience.”

“It’s actually pretty comfortable. You don’t know how many times I have crashed in it.”

“Then it should be okay if I-”

“Why don’t we just… Both sleep here?” He suggested, hoping you wouldn’t get any wrong idea regarding his intentions, “I mean, it’s just sleeping.”

“Yeah, no big deal.” You let out a nervous chuckle.

You both got into bed. Due to the space, your back was pressed to his. Yeah, no big deal, tell that to your heart who was beating in your ears. JJ’s was the same, he swore that you might hear it. You both turned, trying to get more comfortable. Now facing each other, he smiled at you, and you gave him one back.

“‘night, J.”

“‘night, Y/N.”

The next morning, you went to Heyward’s with JJ. JJ asked Pope for some free food under the glare of the older Heyward, since at John B’s there was nothing edible. It was fair to say the house needed some attention, but the boy didn’t even show up there. You were watching JJ, who was standing in front of Pope, talking about last night’s altercation, “Don’t let it get in your head. Three of them and two of us.” You rolled your eyes, amused, couldn’t let it hurt his ego. Still, it was true.

You almost missed what Kie was saying to you, “You’re wearing JJ’s shirt?” She smiled knowingly. “Did you kiss and make up?”

You were wearing the shirt he lent you last night, along with the shorts you wore the day before since you didn’t stop at your place before coming there. “What? No! What are you saying?” You answered with a laugh. You looked up and made eye contact with the boy, who gave you a smile. You smiled back, but the moment was cut short when Pope’s dad entered the room once again bearing some news.

“Hey, Pope, someone here to see you.”

“Evening, officer.” Pope gave the officer a wary look.

“I have an arrest warrant for felony destruction of property.” Pope looked back at JJ who mouthed to him to deny whatever the officer accused him of.

“What?”

“Hands where I can see 'em.” He addressed Kiara, “Young lady, out of my way.” She reluctantly moved aside as the deputy walked behind Pope.

“Whoa. Shoupe, what'd he do?”

“Take a look at the warrant, Heyward.” He placed the handcuffs on Pope’s wrists.

“Just tell us what he did.” You glanced at JJ, panicking, but he looked away.

“I’m sorry, you’re arresting him?”

“You're arresting him? You're just arresting my boy?”

“What’s the proof?”

“Be careful!”

“Shoupe, are you listening?”

“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be held against you in the court of law. You have the right to an attorney.”

“How much did they pay you, man?”

You were just as confused as everyone, all except JJ who you and Kiara knew had been involved in some way. Pope’s gaze was distant, stunned by the events unleashing. JJ tried to stand against the deputy to stop him, grabbing him but he pushed JJ off and kept walking Pope towards the cop car while Heyward held the blond boy back. Something flashed in his eyes, and he opened his mouth with resolve, making everyone and everything stop. “It wasn’t him!”

Turning towards him, he continued, “It was me. He tried to talk me out of it, but I was mad because he'd just been beaten up. I was so sick of those assholes from Figure Eight that I lost my shit.” He stopped right in front of Pope, “I can't let you take the blame for somethin' I did. You've got too much to lose.”

“What?” you whispered. You looked towards Pope, who gave JJ a distressed look. JJ was lying.

“JJ, what are you doing?”

“I'm tellin' the truth. For once in my goddamn life, I'm gonna tell the truth.” He glanced at you, and you shook your head in disbelief. JJ continued, looking at Heyward. “I took his old man's boat, too.”

“What the hell?” Heyward looked at him with disappointment.

“JJ, come on-” Pope started just to be cut off by JJ once more.

“Just shut up, Pope! Just shut up.” speaking to Shoupe, “He's a good kid. You know where I'm from.”

He gave JJ a look, “Yeah.”

“It was all me.” JJ and Pope held eye contact, as if they were silently communicating.

“That's the whole truth?” He asked Pope. No.

“Whole truth, swear to God.”

“I know what you think, damn it, I'm asking Pope here.” After glancing at JJ for a long time, Pope nodded. “Yeah, that about covers it.” And with that he let Pope go, placing the handcuffs on JJ’s wrist now, getting inside the car and leaving everyone staring as they started driving off.

“No, no, no, wait!” You slammed the passenger’s side window. “No! JJ!” Kie came beside you and wrapped her arms around you trying to calm you down. Pope started pacing, and threw his cap on the ground, mad about what just happened.

“Pope…” his father started.

“Shit!” He walked away.

“Pope? Pope!”

You rushed to catch up to him, getting in his way. He stopped and looked up at you. “He didn’t do it, did he?” Pope stayed quiet, but you pushed further, “Pope.” Your voice was stern, demanding for an answer. You already knew but you wanted him to admit it. He stared at the ground, nodding. And you started to walk away, ignoring his and Kie’s calls.

“In there, tough guy.” The door slammed shut. JJ pulled at his hair harshly. He sat down on the bench, elbows on his knees. Looking at the wall in front of him, his lips curled up in a sad smile, eyes watered. It was okay. Pope was left out of it, and he could do this. After all, there wasn’t much for him to look forward to.

[stylesann]

Stark’s retirement plan

Steve Rogers x fem!reader

Summary: Steve looks for his happy ending.

Warnings: none?

A/N: idk what this is… I just felt excited about writing and apparently the only thing I’m able to do is twist Steve’s ending 145 times because I did not enjoy cannon version hihi, and welll this is the results tho it might be really bad i still wanted to post lol, bear in mind english is not my first language so there could have some mistakes anddd to finish, any comments are appreciated 💕 💕 -> written and posted 16/06/21 ->I do not own any marvel characters or anything really

Masterlist

“You're a good man, Sam. This one's on me, though” Steve answered his friend and directed himself to Bucky. “Don't do anything stupid 'till I get back.”

“How can I? You're taking all the stupid with you” they both chuckle and hug. Bucky knows something is up with Steve, he knows him and he sees all the signs that something is making him nervous, unsettled. “Gonna miss you, Buddy.”

“It's gonna be okay, Buck” Steve assures his friend. Truth is, he is not sure it will. Steve’s been anxious, every since he saw her that day he couldn’t help but feel his heart ache. All he wanted was to go straight to her and hug her and never let go. He knows he has a decision to make, an important one in fact, but he can’t help but wonder the consequences that the deepest desires of his heart would cause in the timeline, and that itself makes him pray everything will work out as planned for once in his life. Steve goes over to the Quantum portal and activates the time-travel suit.

“How long is this gonna take?” Sam asks.

“For him? As long as he needs. For us? Five seconds… Ready, Cap? Alright. We'll meet you back here, okay?”

“I’ll see you in a minute” Steve tells his friends before he disappears on the platform.

***********

“Steve!!”

“Steve, answer the coms! Are you seeing this??” Steve hears the voice screaming at his past version while you’re all fighting the Wakanda Battle. It’s you. God, he has missed you so much during the past 5 years. He almost cries knowing what is to happen in the near future to you. He can’t let it happen again.

Steve knows his past version is too far from where you where fighting many aliens all by yourself. He knows that what you where referring is a few alien ships arriving from the sky, and normally he would go directly to you but Thanos is about to show up in Wakanda and take all of his attention. Back then, he couldn’t have reached you on time to stop that alien from stabbing you seconds before half the universe is turned to dust. But now, damn him if he wouldn’t be there to take you out of the battle alive.

Steve knows he had to act quickly so that everyone would assume you just got dusted too. When people were to show up in 5 years and you didn’t… well he would worry about that later.

The soldier sees the aliens trapping you in the middle of them and they start to close the circle, leaving you with less and less space to defend yourself from their attacks. You were losing. He could see your movements slower and you were clearly tired. Your breath was heavy and you had injuries on your arms and torso. Steve decides now is a time as good as any to get you out of here. He steps out of his hiding place and runs to you.

With Steve there you both manage to get the aliens down. You seemed to be ready to thank him when the atmosphere changes. What was before a chaotic battle noise, now was silence. That was it, Thanos had snapped his fingers, and Steves time gap to act was getting smaller. He grabbed your hand and dragged you to where he was waiting before. The confusion was evident in your face but he didn’t have the luxury to explain it to you in the moment, so he just asks you to trust him and you both wait until it’s safe to leave without people seeing you or him.

************

Steve could hear the raindrops outside while he prepared a tea for you. He looked out of the kitchen window and spoted you sitting in a small couch that you both decided to put on the front porch of your house. You were wearing his big sweatshirt and had a blanket covering your legs, the perfect description of cozy if someone ever asks Steve.

The weather was chilly but Steve couldn’t feel any happier. He had you, he finally had you in his arms after spending so long without hearing your voice or feeling your touch. He spent 5 years missing your presence, your quirks and your habits. He felt so empty, like a man out of time again. He was out of time with you, except that now he wasn’t.

As soon as you both had been able to leave Wakanda without being caught, he told you what had happened. It wasn’t as if you hadn’t realised his face seemed more tired and older than hours ago, when you had last seen his past self. To you it was obvious when you looked at him, at his eyes that carried the weight of the world, that he was there for a reason. It was clear to you that you wouldn’t had made it out alive if he hadn’t interfered with the aliens and so you understood beforehand what he would tell you, but Steve still had to explain everything else, and he did.

The soldier cried a lot when he told you what life without you was like and it broke you heart to see such a strong man in such a fragile state. Steve then mentioned Stark’s plan of retirement, of moving out of town and starting a family maybe, and he said he wanted that with you, which you agreed.

And now you both lived in a simple house in front of a small lake, that had a lot of trees around which provided the most beautiful sight wether it is a sunny or a rainy day. The house was far away from the avengers compound, you both pretty much spend 5 years secluded without seeing your friends in order to not mess too much with the timeline. But there was one change that couldn’t be avoided and you as much as Steve knew that he would have to reveal in a couple of months, when the avengers were supposed to bring everyone back from the dust.

“How is my two favourite people in the world?” Steve chants from the door. He hands you the tea and hugs your side while you accommodate to his body.

“We’re good, the baby is sleeping I guess, he just stopped moving” you chuckle lightly as your hand goes to your belly to caress you 8 month bump. You feel Steve’s hand on your bump and you see him sporting the biggest grin.

“You sleeping there J?” He lowers his head and whispers to the baby, receiving no kicks back.

“Yeah, definitely sleeping. Probably tired from the party that he threw this morning on my belly. I swear I couldn’t sleep 3 hours straight” you yawn tiredly.

“One more month and he’ll be here with us, honey” you cuddle closer to him as you drink your tea. One more month and your baby James will be here. Just one more month and you both are gonna be the happiest ever.

************

“And returning in, five, four, three, two, one–“ Bruce activates the Quantum platform, but nothing happens.

“Where is he?” Sam asks nervously, wondering if something went wrong.

“I don't know. He blew right by his time stamp. He should be here.”

“Well, get him back.”

“I'm trying.”

“Get him the hell back!”

“I said, I'm trying!

“Sam...” Bucky calls, he’s looking at a man sitting in a log. They both walk closer to see Steve, a few years older, wearing normal clothes but caring a round bag with him.

Sams the first one to approach. “So did something go wrong, or did something go right? You look older, no offence”

“Well, after I put the stones back, I thought, maybe I'll try some of that life Tony was telling me to get.” Steve answers, he knew the past few months made an impact in his appearance, considering the baby wouldn’t let you or him sleep for too long. It’s almost laughable that the great Captain America was taken down by his baby son.

“And how'd that work out for you?”

“It is beautiful. And that’s why I can’t have this anymore” Steve hands the shield to Sam. “You’re the best man for the job, and I know you’ll make it proud… How does it feel?”

“Like it belongs to someone else.”

“It doesn’t.”

“You wanna tell me about her?” He asks seeing a wedding ring on his friends finger, and Steve smiles getting up to go back to you and your son.

“Eventually, but for now, I don't think I will.”

[no-whump-on-main]

Apartment 307-8 (Grabbed by the hair)

Hi guys!! I'm so sorry it took me so long to update. School and work have been crazy but luckily I'm out of school next week so I'll have much more time and be posting more frequently! Apologies for the short chapter, I have no idea why but it just kicked my butt lol. I tried doing some cool multimedia stuff, I hope you enjoy! This is @sableflynn's BTHB request, grabbed by the hair.

TWs: Creepy, possessive whumper, mention of branding, also this chapter made me sad bc I love my mom and Elora's mom is sad so warning for that lmao

Elora was still lying there crying hours later. The tears had slowed from her initial keening sobs, but they still fell steadily down her face, accumulating in a small puddle on the tile by her head. She could see a bit of her reflection in the salty water; just her eyes, mostly. She saw green eyes that had once been so full of hope and life that were fading, the slow abandonment of hope almost making them gray out. She wanted to lie there forever, staring into her own eyes, until oblivion took her. If she cleared her head enough, she could pretend she was elsewhere, somewhere warm and loving; the blanket draped over her body did help with the fantasy, though she always knew somewhere in the back of her head that it was just that: a fantasy. She was still here. With him.

Clyde tried to give her time to recover, but his patience wore eventually. He began to get antsy after a few hours of watching her lie there, doing nothing but cry. Admittedly, he did enjoy it at first-seeing her so weak, so docile, because of him-but it eventually grew tiresome. Watching each tear drip down into the puddle became like watching paint dry.

He stood up abruptly. Elora was startled by the motion, flinching before stilling and watching him very carefully. What was he going to do?

“Get up,” he said simply.

Elora froze. She still felt sick, dizzy with pain and the lingering scent of her burning flesh in the bathroom. But why would he care about that? Why should she disobey him, when she knew what would happen?

Yet pride and pain got the better of her again.

“I can’t,” she whimpered. She felt weak. “I hurt. You hurt me.”

The piercing sound of a loud, sudden laugh began to echo through the bathroom. It reminded Elora of the laugh of a hyena. She winced.

“Darling, did you not think that was the point?”

Her expression hardened and her heart thumped in her chest. That was the point. She wanted to say something, but her mouth suddenly got dry.

The man simply grinned. “Get up,” he repeated, but she didn’t. She just laid there, dumbfounded.

He groaned angrily, rolling his eyes. “Fine,” he grumbled. “Be that way.”

He gathered up her hair in his hand, locked his fingers in a tight fist, and pulled up. Elora yelped and scrambled to get to her feet to relieve the pain, but he didn’t give her the chance; he carelessly dragged her off, out of the bathroom, through the hallway, and into the living room. She screamed and thrashed wildly, her hands desperately trying to push him away as her scalp burned like fire. Again and again, her feet scraped the ground to no avail, kicking and kicking but never able to gain enough traction to stand as she was mercilessly dragged. The man finally dropped her on the floor at the foot of a worn leather couch, releasing his death grip on her hair. Her hands immediately flew up to her head, applying gentle pressure to her scalp to try to ease the burning pain as she looked around the new room.

The living room was barren, like the man had half moved into it then given up. There was a dusty box in the corner, the couch, a worn coffee table, a small stand, and an old TV. Other than that, it was empty, in an eerie way. The aged carpet spanned the floor like an ocean.

The pressure didn’t do much and Elora dropped her hands, still wincing as the man plopped himself on the couch behind her, the leather making a loud crackling noise as he sat. She whipped her head around as her shoulders raised up to her ears instinctively. The man made a sour face, his features twisting into an ugly frown.

“Relax,” he commanded, forcefully pushing her shoulders down. At first, she tried to wiggle away, but that idea was abandoned when he tightened his grip, clearly as a warning. He grabbed the TV remote from the arm of the couch and turned it on. It started on some history channel documentary about cars, but Clyde quickly flipped through channels until he found the local news station.

A grin spread across his face as he read the blue banner spanning across the bottom of the screen. They were just in time.

UP NEXT: CAPE COD GIRL GOES MISSING; DESPERATE MOTHER PLEADS FOR HER RETURN

His hands wandered to Elora’s scalp and began to gently card through her hair. She inhaled sharply, and it took everything she had in her not to immediately shove him off. Somehow the gentleness felt worse than the pain; the false sense of care disgusted her. He was a maniac. He hurt her, he branded her, and now he was sitting on the couch petting her hair, pretending like none of it happened. It didn’t escape her attention how he set her on the floor instead of the couch, below him, like a dog.

The banner was bad enough, but she felt sick to her stomach when the station cut to a reporter sitting at a desk with a picture of her on half of the screen. It was the picture her mom took of her at the orchard last fall. It was candid; she remembered it. She was intently focused on a butterfly off on a tree, ignoring her mom as she snapped the photo. It was one of her favorite pictures of herself. And now, it was plastered all over the news.

The reporter on the TV began to speak. “Tonight, a desperate mother pleads for her missing daughter’s safe return. Elora Larkin, nineteen, of Barnstable county, Massachusetts has been missing since Friday night. She was last seen walking home from her job at Agathangelou’s bakery, wearing khakis, a black t-shirt, and black sneakers. The police have opened a tip line and are offering an unspecified reward for any information that leads to Miss Larkin.”

Elora felt a lurching sensation in her stomach, so visceral she wanted to throw up. That was her. On the news. Gone. Missing.

Behind her, the man chuckled.

“Look at that, baby. You’re all over New England.”

“I’m not your baby,” she snapped, turning around. But her head was spinning. All over New England? It wasn’t the Cape Cod news station on the TV. It wasn’t even a state news channel. It was entirely unfamiliar, the reporter’s face one she’d never seen.. So he’d taken her across state lines, making her chances of being found lower yet.

The man shushed her and put a finger up to her lips. “Watch.” She almost bit him, but decided it wasn’t worth the inevitable punishment that would follow. Besides, they might say something useful, something that could help her. She needed to pay attention.

The screen changed, and a missing persons poster popped up. Hers.

It was up for a minute before it faded away as the reporter came back on the screen.

“Such a sad story. Everyone in the studio is hoping and praying for her safe return. Unfortunately, vigilance is so important in this day and age. Up next, we have a recording of a press conference with the girl’s mother.

The girl’s mother. Her mother. Elora felt her heartbeat thumping in her chest.

And there she was. Jodie was standing at a podium in a building that had to be a police station. Demetrios was standing by her side, offering support by merely being present. While Elora hadn’t seen him cry even once in all the years she’d known him, he now looked like he was on the verge of tears.

Her mom started to speak. She looked so sad. Withered, like the life had been sucked out of her, from fear and overthinking and sleepless nights.

“My daughter-My daughter Elora has been missing since Friday night. She’s got-she’s got blonde hair, and green eyes, and she’s real tall. I’m sure pictures have gone around by now. She was walking home from work and-and then she disappeared. We were supposed to have dinner Sunday and she never came. It was supposed to be her weekend off. I- If someone has her, please, I’m begging you, let her go. Bring her home safe. She’s a good kid, she works hard, she rescues cats in her spare time...she doesn’t deserve this. And Elora, if you’re seeing this, I love you. I love you so much, honey. If you chose to leave, please just tell us you’re okay. It’s okay. You can go see the world, just tell us you’re okay. And if something-something bad happened, we’re gonna find you. I promise, baby, I love you and we’re gonna bring you home. Promise.”

At that point, she set the microphone down and began to cry, tears streaming down her face as she hurried off to an exit, the cameras following her for a few moments. Elora’s heart twisted in knots. Seeing her mom’s face brought her so much joy, yet knowing how worried she had to be made her feel sick with guilt.

But she promised. She promised she’d find her.

“That your mom?”

Elora stilled. He already knew the answer.

"She’s kinda pathetic. Could barely keep it together long enough to tell them about you.”

She went cold. “Stop,” she seethed. Her voice was eerily calm, given her anger.

"Or what?” he replied, twisting her hair up in his hand and giving it another tug.

Elora was silent. There was no or what. She knew that.

The reporter came back on the screen.

“Well, folks, that’s all we have on the case for tonight. Remember to be safe and vigilant. This has been Hannah Brown with News12.”

The man released her hair, picked up the remote, and turned off the T.V.

“Notice how they only talked about you, not me?”

Elora turned her head around. She was crying.

“What?”

He scoffed. “I said, notice how they only ran their mouths about you the whole time. Never said a word about me. You know what that means? They don’t know jack shit about me. They don’t know who you’re with or where you are. I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but we’re in Connecticut. We crossed state lines twice. They’re never going to find you, you know that?

She tried to hide it, but he could see her expression falling with every word he said, hope beginning to seep out of her. She shook her head vigorously, her bottom lip trembling.

“N-no! No, they will, you’re just crazy! You’re just fucking crazy!”

A scowl formed on his lips. “No, they won’t.”

She opened her mouth to protest, but in a split second, his hand was gripping tightly around her throat, cutting off her air. Her eyes went wide.

“No one is coming to save you.”

Elora swallowed, fear bright in her eyes. She tried to rip herself away, but the man raked his fingers across the fresh brand on her collarbone, sending her to the ground, keeling in pain.

“We could’ve had a nice evening if you behaved. Listened,” he grumbled, standing and once again grabbing her hair tightly before dragging her off towards the bathroom.

Tags: @exploringspaceinpyjamas @all-whumped-out @badthingshappenbingo

[nose-bandaid]

a hug per dollar

hello! it's me, the platonic anon from before... may i request a non-romantic, changgu & gender-neutral reader, coffee/study date? and maybe you could work in a reassuring hug 🥺 thank you so much 💛

Yeo One (Changgu) x (gender neutral) Reader | Platonic fluff + comfort?! | 1.8k words

synopsis: overworking can sometimes be an easy, but terrible habit to fall into, but luckily, changgu is there to drag you out when you do.

a/n: lol i think i projected this to have 1.2k but it ended up with 1.8 but i am not complaining !!!! to my dear platonic anon, sorry this took so long ksdhfkdsj i hope you enjoy it !! i may or may not have done an uno reverse on stud.hui.o fanatic because now it is the reader who's overworking BAM 💛

=====

"Don't you think we've been here for long enough?"

Your hand stopped writing the flurry of notes and you looked at your friend, who peered back at you over his laptop. "Changgu, it's literally only been..."

You flipped your phone over to look at the time on its display and faltered when you realized just how late into the day it was. "I guess we have been here for a while."

"Which is exactly why I think we should—"

"But I'm not ready to leave yet!" You snapped back, immediately backing off when you realized how harsh your voice was.

"You didn't get much sleep last night, did you?" He pressed on and you buried your face back into the piles of work laid in front of you.

"We don't talk about that either."

He let you be and the two of you went back to working in silence for the next while until Changgu eventually got up from his seat. Your eyes followed him as he stretched and let out a sigh. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom."

"Okay." You replied, and returned to your work.

=====

Not long after, a juice box slid into your view and you looked up at Changgu who returned after his bathroom break that took much longer than a usual bathroom break would've taken. You quirked an eyebrow in his direction.

"You got juice from the bathroom?"

He laughed and you took note of the other juice box in his hand — the exact same flavour as yours. "Of course I did. They added vending machines in the bathroom recently, didn't you know that?"

You decided to play along. "Is that so? No, I didn't know that. But do enlighten me as to why you would ever trust a vending machine located in the bathroom."

He laughed at your small jest. "Nah, I just went on an adventure to grab us some fuel." He dropped back into his seat and let out a relieved hum as he stared at his laptop. "After finishing that stupid essay I think I deserved the treat."

"You know, if you're done working you can always head back first. I'm fine on my own."

He shook his head adamantly at your offer. "This is our study session, you know? It's a we thing," he emphasized that with a point to the table. "So I'm not leaving until you're also done."

You sent him a small smile in appreciation and returned to your textbook, taking a small sip from the juice box as you did. It was refreshing and in the back of your mind, you wondered how he knew this was your favourite flavour. You didn't recall ever telling him.

"Though I think you've done more than enough work for today."

You didn't miss the next thing he muttered quietly.

"Look, Changgu, I'll just finish this chapter and we can call it today, okay?" You desperately held up a finger to assist in your pleading.

"One chapter and one chapter only." He reluctantly gave in, deciding to get a head start on another assignment in the meanwhile. Once again, you settled back into a comfortable silence, listening to the distant voices of others in the library.

You ended up finishing that chapter quicker than you initially thought you would and it flared up a new flame of determination within you. You could cram in a few more chapters then, right? You'll get them done in no time, especially with the flow you had now.

Agreeing with yourself, you got started right away.

You're pretty sure Changgu noticed when you flipped the page again.

And again.

And again.

Surely he's noticed the way you're slouched over a bit more now, the way your eyes were drooping and your gaze became unfocused. The way you've hardly touched the bag of snacks since he opened it. But you kept on going. Your determination knew no limits and you kept on going despite all the rational part of you that screamed at you to stop.

...Now, where did you leave off before you started daydreaming?

Right, at the end of this paragraph. You returned to staring at the mundane words in the textbook. You swore you were almost finished with this page but you also told yourself that what felt like hours ago. No matter how many times you read the same sentence over and over again, the words never seemed to stick in your mind. Your hand couldn't figure out what to write and what to leave out. All of it seemed important and you cursed the way your next exam weighed so much and yet gave you such vague preparation instructions. If only you had started studying earlier... but wasn't one week enough? Maybe you just weren't fit for this? Probably, because —

Changgu placed his hand onto yours. He gently pulled the pen out of your grasp and gestured for you to look at him.

"Let's take a break, you have no say in it. Seeing you like this makes me exhausted, I can't take this anymore."

No matter how many times you've drilled into your mind that it was absolutely not okay to take a break, the moment you heard the words from someone else, your composure crumbled.

You let out a deep sigh and let your weight rest on the table. "Yeah let's."

Changgu helped you pack your work away after cleaning up his own and waited until you were fully ready. When you slid the chair back to its former home, he held out a hand for you to take and you happily took a place by his side.

"Are you going to take me on another adventure?" You playfully asked, already feeling a little better now that your work was tucked away.

He shrugged. "Honestly, I had no clue where I was going to take you 'cause I didn't think you'd actually stop studying. But sure! Let's make this an adventure."

Stepping outside, you realized how much nicer it was to have a change of scenery. It was already late afternoon, the sun shining brightly above, engulfing you in a pleasant kind of warmth.

You sighed inwardly, this would've been more relaxing if your mind would just stop drifting back to all the work you still to be done. Hadn't you done enough? You worked so hard for the past who-knows-how-many-hours and yet it only left you unsatisfied and even more stressed.

Maybe it just wasn't enough.

A gentle bop on your head brought you out of your thoughts and you stared at Changgu, his hand still raised from bonking your bad thoughts away.

"Stop thinking so much." He crossed his arms and looked at you pointedly.

"Huh?"

Squinting his eyes, his face leaned into yours, getting closer and closer, and you found yourself edging away from the intrusion. Just as quickly as it started, he suddenly disappeared, straightening his back again and letting out a huff.

"Just as I thought."

"What?" You asked again, still lost.

"You're thinking bad things about yourself again! Stop that."

"How did you know?"

He playfully punched your shoulder at that. "I'm your best friend, you think I wouldn't notice these things? You always have this expression on your face when you're beating yourself up. Looks kinda stupid."

Your mouth gaped at his remark. "Hey!'

"I'm kidding, you never look stupid," he smiled and continued. "But what is stupid is you thinking that you're not good enough because you can't keep up with everything that's going on. Can you really blame yourself if some uncontrollable force decided to dump an unreasonable amount of work on you all at once? You're doing your best, which is one, really paying off because I swear you've covered like a billion chapters today. And two, is extremely cool — I heard the group studying behind us gush about how hard you were working and guess what?"

"...What?" You asked hesitantly, still trying to recover from your friend's spiel.

Changgu grabbed your shoulders to keep your attention. "I also think you're really really cool!!" He announced loudly, capturing the attention of a mother and her daughter nearby. They walked away after the initial surprise.

Your lip trembled, not even having it within you to be embarrassed by his public confession. Instead, you were overwhelmed by his kindness. "Changgu..."

He pulled you into a hug and you basked in his presence. The faint smell of fresh laundry lingered on his hoodie and you melted into his comfort. "You're doing great, and you'd be doing even better if you let yourself breathe for a moment. As overwhelming as it may feel, the only thing that's going to bring you down is yourself if you keep on going at this rate — not your work." He gently scolded before he pulled away and cupped your face, eyes boring into yours.

"Got that?"

You nodded hesitantly. "Yes."

"I don't know... that wasn't really convincing..."

You laughed lightly and pushed his hands away from you. "I got it, I got it, Changu. Thank you so much." You found yourself much more relaxed after your talk. "From studying with me to buying me snacks and comforting me... aargh, I appreciate it."

Changgu simply gave you a bright smile. "Anything for you."

That was all he said, but those 3 words were enough to express just how much you meant to each other.

"Besides, I don't think of it as a chore, any time spent with you is great."

You pouted. "You're too good for me, seriously. How can I make it up to you?"

In all honesty, you expected him to dismiss the question, but instead, Changgu's eyes wandered off as he placed a finger on his chin. "Well, I did notice that my favourite drink is on sale when I passed by that cafe on the way here..."

You sent him an amused look. "The juice wasn't enough?"

"Are you telling me to pass on a sale that takes a whole dollar off?"

Once again, you found yourself playing along with his act and your eyes widened. "Oh geez, you're right, we can't miss out on that." Pushing Changgu from behind, you ushered him forward. "Let's get moving! We spent so much time in the library the shop's going to close by the time we get there."

Changgu chuckled as you caught up and fell into step with his movements. "I'm glad to see that you're back to normal."

"And I'm glad we get to save a buck on overpriced drinks. Thanks for everything, Changgu." You swiftly replied and he sent a smile your way.

"Anytime."

[tarotdeckshuffle]

Jello! (Because it's yummy) You're an amazing writer! Making me believe that I'm in a relationship with all of the boys lol (T-T) May I request a happy ending fic? A celebration party is held before Noctis and Luna's wedding and s/o is trying to be supportive for her two childhood friends. She tries to come to terms that she's gonna lose her Noctis. The prince tries to talk to s/o about her distancing herself from him when the emotions were too much she needed flee..

Jello is pretty yummy. I haven’t had that in ages…

I’m so glad you like my writing!! Your support means so much to me! It lets me know that I’m doing something right and that I can bring joy to others, which is really all I’ve ever wanted. 

I am so sorry it’s taken me sooooo long to get to this fic. But, here it is! I’d say it’s a decent mix of angst and fluff with some Noctis x reader, some Luna x reader, and some OT3 with a dash of Disney references! I enjoy anything that lets me write Luna. Four Suns has gotten really out of hand in terms of length, so I’m working to keep my fics a bit shorter and moving a bit faster.  I hope this fits with what you were hoping for! Enjoy! ❤

Taglist: @idiotflowerex, @laststory1013, @sayaoqueen, @jophinabean, @mysme-already

If you like what you read, please consider supporting me on Patreon or buying me a Ko-fi!

Come Home, Cinderella

The wall was cold against your back, but it was better than being in the middle of this commotion. You were in Altissa, attending an “engagement party” for Noctis and Luna. Everyone laughed, drank, and danced around you, relishing the rare moment of communal joy.   The celebration was as much for the happy couple as it was for the entire kingdom of Lucis, as peace was soon expected.

Soon, the Prince and the Oracle would be wed. It was to be an ornate ceremony where the two professed their love for each other as the world looked on. As the rest of the world rejoiced in a celebration of love, you felt a hole form in your chest where your heart had been.

Our solemn hymns to sullen dirges change,

You could taste the playwright’s words on your tongue. Perhaps they were overdramatic, but you didn’t care right now.

Noctis was your everything. He always had been.

You had grown up as friends, meeting in the Citadel when your parents worked as groundskeepers. You had fond memories of playing hide and seek with your “new friend”. People had thought the little boy you spoke of was imaginary. Their shock at finding out your friend was real and THE PRINCE was hilarious to your young self.

The two of you tried to stay friends over the years. Many of your games came to include others, like Luna, Prompto, Ignis, and Gladio. No matter who came and went, you and Noctis were constantly together. The two of you grew distant with time, though, as you went to different high schools and made new friends. But fate had other plans.

Noctis was thrilled when you entered the court one day, summoned to be his newest bodyguard. By his side, the two of you became ever closer. A childhood friendship grew into a whirlwind romance. Sweet smiles led to small gifts that eventually led to secret kisses.

The two of you had been together for some time, keeping everything hushed until the future was more certain. The “royals” of Insomnia would not look kindly at a bodyguard the Prince was dating. So the two of you kept your kisses secret and your nights together short, only letting your closest friends know about the two of you.

And now, here you were.

With every memory you had of Noctis as a child, you now remembered Luna being there, too. She was a dear friend of yours. You truly did adore her. Who wouldn’t love the fair maiden with a soft heart and strong duty. But this was all so unfair.

You were here for them, though. You loved Noctis with all of your heart and Luna was still your friend. You had to keep telling yourself that it was your duty to support them.

Noctis had spoken to you as soon as he found out. So much of the conversation was a blur. He didn’t want this to happen, best for Lucis, stay together…blah blah blah. You knew he hadn’t wanted this to happen, but it was hard to see that through his smiles with Luna, now.

Luna’s smile lit up the room next to Noctis.

But he was your Noctis…yours.

It wasn’t fair.

But…he never truly was yours, was he?

The two of you were from different worlds.

Luna was from his world…

A hand on your shoulder woke you from you thoughts. It was Noctis. His soft smile touched your soul.

“Hey…” he said, moving to stand beside you.

“Hey,” is all you could respond. The two of you stood in silence for a few moments, staring out at the party.

“Want to get some air,” he finally asked.

You hesitantly obliged, unsure if you wanted to spend time alone with the Prince after all you had been through.

The two of you stepped out onto a balcony overlooking the sea. Silence and salt filled the space where love once lived.

Noctis sighed, looking down at his hands. “How’ve you been?” The silence did not break cleanly.

“I’m…fine.” You answered. How could you tell him you were being torn apart at your very seams, pulled between duty and love. How could you tell him that you still adored Luna but part of you wanted to hate her? How could you put this raw pain into words?

“That’s…good.” Noctis couldn’t look you in the eyes. He bashed his hands against the stone railing before turning to you. “Please, may I just kiss you? I miss you so much.” His eyes were pleading.

You stared back, teetering between what your heart wanted and what your head told you to do.

“No. It would be inappropriate. Your bride is just inside,” you replied, reverting back to your duty. The facade of the good soldier was easier to wear than that of the hurt lover.

Noctis stared at you, silent. Finally, he sighed, looking away. “Fair enough.” He turned away from you. You wanted to reach out to him, to hold him, to let him know it’d be ok, but…you couldn’t, you wouldn’t.

“[Y/N], I want you in my life. I love you. I…I want us to go forward TOGETHER.” His words were directed more to the sea below, than to you.

“I know.”

“Then…what are we going to do?” He turned to you and you were swept away by those eyes.

“I..” You began to speak, but were interrupted by someone calling for Noctis.

“Erg…wait here, I’ll be right back, ok?” His eyes held a determination in them as he held your shoulder. He turned away to return to the party. You watched his black hair and strong back disappear from view.

“Ok,” you whispered as he left.

What were you going to do? How would you get through this? If you stayed, you’d always hurt. You couldn’t be Noct’s mistress, that wouldn’t be fair to Luna. It wasn’t right. Could you ever be a proper bodyguard if you loved the future king?

A thought crept up from the back of your mind: Wouldn’t it be better if you weren’t involved?

The thought tasted bitter and left you with an awful sorrow, but it wasn’t wrong. Perhaps, this was the best option.

You set your glass onto the railing, determination running through your veins. You turned, making your way along the wall of the party. You reached the steps to the outside and began to run, taking your first breaths of this new freedom.

You were almost to the bottom before your heart pulled.

“[Y/N]!” It was Noctis, at the top of the steps.

Tears welled in your eyes but you kept going.

You kept going until you made it to the docks. A ferry was leaving in that moment. You ran aboard and threw yourself into a vacant middle seat. Wherever this random ship went was fine by you.

Noctis made it to the docks, just in time to see the ferry leave.

It was years later. You had been wandering Eos as a rogue hunter. That fateful ferry had taken you back to Cape Caem, only days before the darkness fell. You had heard rumors of Altissa falling, but you had also heard that both Noctis and Luna made it out. They had set out for Gralea. After that, though, there was little information.

You had been wandering the darkness for five years. It had been five years of wondering if Noctis was alright. Five years of wondering what had happened to Luna. Five years and countless steps plagued by guilt that you had left Altissa and abandoned everyone to the darkness.

You had spent every day trying to help in any way you could. You had escorted countless refugees to Lestallum and ended every daemon that you encountered. You didn’t help Noctis, you had run from your feelings and left him to face the darkness alone. You tried to repent every day by helping everyone else.

Today, you had heard rumors of daemons congregating near the entrance to Insomnia.  None of the other hunters dared to go near the city due to superstitions and the sheer power of the daemons in the city. You felt some sense of duty and need for self sacrifice, which brought your feet to the gates of the city you once called home.

The city that held so many fond memories for you. But standing at the gates to the ruined place made all of those memories feel like they belonged to someone else.

You stood, looking through broken gates into dark streets. “It feels like forever since we were last here. Doesn’t it?” A warm voice asked from behind you.

You spun around to face a dream in white. It was Luna, now a bit older than last you saw her, smiling warmly at you. She leaned on her trident as she took you in.

“Welcome home, Cinderella. You really scared everyone when you took off from that party.” She could have been no end of bitter with you, instead, she greeted you with the warmth of an old friend.

You stared at her, so many emotions swelling within you. “Where’s Noctis?” Your voice cracked, reminding you of a scared child.

Before you could take another terrified breath, Luna was there, holding you. “He’s alright. Shh, he’s just…resting.” She held you close while she explained everything that had happened.

The two of you made camp outside Insomnia, as you were in no shape to face daemons, now. Luna never left your side.

It took some time, but eventually you made your way into the city. The Oracle surprised you, holding her own and striking fear into the hearts of all daemons as the two of you swept through the city like a hurricane. None could stand in your way.

A song of laughter accompanied you as you made your way back to Lestallum. Luna had always been your friend, but this journey reminded you of why.

Having no place of your own to go back to, Luna invited you to live with her and Ravus. The spectral man was rarely home to mind, anyways. It took time, but living within someone else’s light soon thawed your frozen heart.

You found Luna to be the light of your life. Her smile was warm and her wit was sharp. She was utterly amazing. You had been too blinded by Noctis to see it before. All you could hope was that their marriage was filled with joy.

But it is the simple moments that change life the most. You had been wounded on your last daemon hunt. A stray tonberry left a long cut down your back. While Luna had healed it with gentle hands for you, the stiffness lingered.

You were attempting to put on your boots, but your stiff back made it painful to lean over. Luna noticed. With a silent but pained face, she was at your side, helping you with the task.

“Really, you don’t need to worry. I’ll get it,” you protested. You tried to wretch your leg from her, but between her strong hands and the pain in your back, she won.

“When will you stop torturing yourself? You don’t deserve this!” Her hands shook as she tied your shoe. Soon, the dark leather was stained with teardrops.

You stopped, stunned.

“Please, [Y/N]! Every time I see you hurt my heart breaks! Please, stop trying to atone for sins you never committed,” she looked up at you, crying.

“But, I…I…” you hadn’t expected to have to voice your soul. Your head snapped towards her as your voice plead. “I LEFT YOU ALL! I abandoned you in Altissa! And for what? Because I was lovesick and jealous…”

Luna stood, cupping your cheeks in her warms hands. “No, you didn’t. You ran away from a love you could no longer control. From a situation you didn’t know what to do with. No one blames you but yourself.”

“WHY?! Why don’t you blame me,” you cried. You could think of every reason Luna should hate you, but she didn’t. Why did she grant you such mercy?

“Oh, [Y/N]. It’s because I love you.” Her warm words hit you. You couldn’t believe they were real.

Your stunned eyes asked more questions than you could voice. Luna laughed through her tears. “I’ve always loved you! I loved you the moment I first saw you. But Noctis was always at your side. I didn’t want to intervene. I…well, I didn’t know what to do.”

“You…what?”

Luna wiped tears from your face before leaning in to gently kiss your lips. “I love you. I wanted you to stay with us in Altissa, but I was too scared to say anything. Please, won’t you stay now?”

It took a moment for you to fully understand everything that she said. Honestly, it all made sense. She was your moon goddess, your light, and you had always adored her. You had always found everything about her to be perfect. Looking back, maybe you should have realized your own foolishness sooner.

You wrapped your arms around her neck, pulling her in for another dreamlike kiss.

“Yes.”

The two of you were inseparable in the years that followed. Both of you had been planning for Noct’s return. You were trying to figure out how to tell him about your relationship, considering you both still loved him, as well.

The day finally arrived. You met the men in Hammerhead. Noctis was in shock when he saw both of you standing before him, hand in hand.

“I…I don’t know what to say…” is all he could say to you and his wife.

“Well, Sleeping Beauty, do you want to come home with us?” You held out a hand to him.

“There’s room for one more,” Luna added.

Noctis simply smiled. “I…I couldn’t imagine anything better.” He leaned over to kiss you, a rough hand on your cheek. His lips were as warm and soft as you remembered. You free hand wrapped around the small of his back, while your other held Luna’s.

Next, Luna swept in to kiss you. Her lips were a constant warmth in your life, sweet and gentle.

Then, you watched her and Noctis kiss. The sight that once pained you, now brought joy to your heart. You all had always loved each other, it just took time to learn that.

And now, you’d make sure you would have plenty of time to spend with each other. The three of you shared a love strong enough to conquer the strain of time; dameons would be no problem, in comparison.

Together, you walked into the light of a new day.

~END CREDITS SCENE~

Luna: “Wait, if you’re Cinderella and he’s Sleeping Beauty…who am I?”

You: “Maybe Belle?”

Noctis: “Naw, more like Ariel…”

You and Noctis, together: “PRINCE CHARMING!!”

Luna: That makes sense…

[breg21]

Ladynoir Month:  A Helping Hand

@ladynoirjuly2019

Ao3  FFN

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"Thanks again for your help, Rena."

The fox superheroine smiled, giving a two finger salute. "Of course, helping out my favorite pair is one of the best pass times."

The two giggled in sync before Chat un-subconsciously slipped an arm around his Lady's waist. "Still. It helps out so much with all these difficult akuma's lately. I swear, Hawkmoth is just getting worse and worse."

That was when Rena's eyes narrowed for a reason, unknown to Chat. He watched her as she watched them. She seemed to notice something and her eyes ran the length of them, a suspicious glee lighting up her eyes.

It caused little beads of sweat to start to form as a sneaky smirk started to shift up on the corners of her lips. Fear started to squeeze in the chambers of his heart and he just couldn't form his thoughts, much less question her. Why was she looking at them like that!?

When she did voice her thoughts, her words screamed mishfe. "So," Her eyes left their original place on where his arm was, and went between them. "You two are a couple them, no?"

His bugaboo went stiff in his arm, and he followed suit not even a second later. Oh, no. they didn't want the word about their relationship to get out so soon— granted, they had been dating for three months at this point— but it was still so new.

It was something they still wanted to keep for themselves for a little bit longer.

But that later, turned out to be now, as Rena took their silence as a yes. "Yes! You two are together! Took ya long enough."

Ladybug was the first to speak, stepping forward, she stretched out her hands, placing them on Rena's shoulders, and looked her dead in the eyes. "Rena, while we want to tell everyone eventually." She stressed the last word carefully. "We still want this to ourselves for a little while longer. As not to deal with the press or anything."

Rena sighed, but nodded in agreement. "Okay. I can understand that." She paused as she became lost in her thoughts. "Now that you two are together, all that needs to happen is for Adrien and Marinette to get together."

Wait, who and the what and the where?

His girlfriend's thoughts must've been in line with his, because their expressions matched almost perfectly. "W-what?"

Rena shrugged, and repeated herself. "Now Marinette and Adrien need to get together."

Chat tried to put the thought together, but it just wouldn't connect. "What're you talking about? Marinette Dupain Cheng and Adrien Agreste? They don't like each other."

Rena looked at him like he was the dumbest boy on the planet. He felt it too. "Marinette has been crushing on Adrien since he gave her his umbrella. Everyone in Paris knows it." Her hand went to her chin to give a quick rub. "Although, she says she's moving on. That she'll always love him, but she couldn't keep waiting on him when she knew it just wasn't gonna happen. A part of me actually thinks she's seeing someone."

"What?"

The fox superhero glanced at him worriedly. "Boy, you are just as blind as him. You should hear the other crazy thing she's done for hi-"

"Okay, that's enough, Rena." Ladybug suddenly snapped out of her daze as she pushed the girl away to the edge of the building. "Your necklace is beeping. We gotta go."

"What? It's no-"

"Time to go."

Ladybug moved, ushering Rena with her and disappeared over the side of the building and into the evening streets below.

That was..odd.

Chat, for the lack of a better term, felt utterly guilt.

Marinette had liked him? Loved him, from what Rena made it sound like— if it was even true, which he half believed, and half didn't. If that was the case then he had never noticed. That made him feel even worse, what kind of friend was he if he didn't even realize?

His thoughts smashed together, one after another as they fought for dominance over which one wanted to be heard the loudest, and he couldn't bring one to his full attention for some reason. His mind was heavy as his body was draining rapidly.

The one good thing that he learned, if all of this was true, was that she was apparently moving on— though, the idea that he'd always be in her heart made his shudder in sadness, knowing he couldn't give her what she wanted, nor what she deserved— the fact that she might have actually found someone that liked her back.

He wondered, very briefly, what would have happened if Ladybug hadn't reciprocated his feelings and Marinette had confessed, would he had pursued her? The chanting of what-ifs began in his head and it caused his skull to ache. Because he knew that Ladybug played too much of a role in his heart to ever truly give up, and he knew the likely outcome would be that he would've rejected Marinette. If the whole fiasco with Kagami taught him anything, it showed how much he truly loved his Ladybug.

But the thought of hurting Marinette still punched a fist in his throat, and he had to remind himself, that she was definitely happy. He saw that much at school. Maybe she had moved on, and for that, he couldn't be more excited for her. He wouldn't have to break her heart.

It did cause his thoughts to wonder though, as to who she was dating, if she was. He knew she wasn't going out with Luka, he was focusing on his band or something and had mentioned at one point that Marinette said she wasn't interested in him.

So, who...

"Kitty."

He twirled around in a snap at Ladybug's voice, almost losing his balance, but having his tail thankfully caught him around the beam.

She giggled at his stumble and closed the distance to stand directly in front of him. "A certain kitty seems distracted." She brought her hands up to run through his hair, and oh, goodness. Did that feel good. Like he was loved. She knew it too. She knew it made him pur in absolute delight and made him forget every little worry in the whole worl-

No, he couldn't be distracted.

"Just." He huffed as he reclaimed his focus. "Thinking of what Rena said. How apparently everyone knows that Marinette has a crush on that Adrien kid." He went quiet for a second before he decided to ask anyway. "Did.. did you know about it?"

Ladybug's hands halted in his hair and took a step back and shifted her weight from one leg to the other and repeated the motion. He could tell she was trying to look uninterested, but he could see the uncertainty that surfaced below. "I'm… not sure. I mean, I've heard rumors, but who really knows in the end besides Marinette, you know? I'd like to think it's her business. As long as she's happy, that's what matters."

He nodded, understanding where she was coming from. "Yeah. Guess so."

She nodded along. "Rena's back home safe and sound."

Even with the sinking feeling that just wouldn't leave his stomach, his cat ears perked up, knowing he could now spend the rest of the two hours they had together before she had to make off for home. He pulled her the rest of the way in, dropping his hands to her waist, and nuzzled his mouth against the shell of her ear. "So, what you're telling me, is that we finally have some alone time?"

Her beautiful laughter released the tension that had built up for over the hour. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders, and everything was right once again. "Duh. What kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn't give my kitty a proper goodbye before he left?"

He pulled back to look her in the eyes, and he saw all the love and care she held for him right there, and it was deeper than the oceans themselves.

"Only the best, bugaboo." He said as he rested his forehead against hers. "Only the best."

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Husband thoughts:

A normal person planting the seeds of love:

Makes a hole in the dirt, gently presses love seed into dirt, covers up seed hole, press gently on new dirt.

Rina/Alya:

Takes seed in clenched fist, thrust said fist shoulder deep into dirt, franticly look for witnesses as you scoop the dirt in your massive hole, whisper sweet nothings to your new love seed. ---------------------------------------------------- Wife-I'm sooooooo sorry. That was all him. Lol. I do want to say, that this is NOT reveal in this chapter (That comes a way's later ;)) Nor is this hinting that Chat's feeling as if he's falling in love with Marinette. He's in shock, and feels bad that he took so little notice of his 'Just a friend' This is planting a certain seed to grow for OTHER things for later chapters, I will admit that, but you'll have to see how it all turns out ;)

Well, until tomorrow! See ya guys! Lots of love