#Hunter Bradley x reader

[that-gay-guy-from-hell]

A Walk Home: Hunter Bradley X G/N Reader

SUMMARY: Hunter returns a favor by accompanying you on your walk home.

BEGINNING NOTES: ⚡(Shy?) Hunter x G/N Reader 🪲Unestablished relationship ⚡Just some simple fluff to start this whole idea out! 🪲The reader knows that Hunter (and the others) are Rangers--not super pertinent to the story but it is briefly mentioned.

     Despite the day being two-thirds of the way over, Storm Chargers only had nearly a dozen customers. It was dead as dead could be. Which allowed Blake and Hunter to hang out in the back while Dustin was at the front counter, throwing a hacky sack to himself.

     “God--” Dustin groaned loudly, leaning his head back, “This is the most bored I’ve been in like forever.”

     Cupping his mouth, Hunter yelled, “I hear ya’!” 

     Dustin wandered into the back room and saw Hunter sitting on the table while Blake was fiddling with some random items on the bench, “Still nothin’ from Cam either?”

     “Nope,” Hunter ran a hand through his hair, “Today’s so slow, I think we could do a whole fight--zords n’all--and we’d still be back before anyone even thought of walking in those doors.”

     “No kidding,” Dustin sighed, “Where’s Lothor’s goons when you need ‘em?”

     The faint sound of a door opening caught everyone’s attention, making the trio return to the front of the store. 

     “Oh! Hey!” The Yellow Ranger smiled widely as he jogged over to you, pulling you in with a handshake and patting you.

     With a raised brow, you laughed, “Should I be worried? You’re acting weird.”

     Dustin sternly patted your shoulder and let go of your hand, “Just glad that someone finally showed up; it’s been hella dead today.” 

     “Oh yeah?” You casually folded your arms watching Dustin wander into the backroom and the Bradley brothers emerge.

     Hunter stood with his arms crossed and tilted back slightly with a loud sigh, “I think I’ve taken inventory four times… and I’m considering doing it a fifth.”

     With a small nod, you let out a small laugh, “I didn't know you could count that high--”

     The blond playfully backhanded your chest with a laugh.

     Dustin returned to the front with the hacky sack in hand and tossed it toward you, “So, what brings you in anyways?”

     “Well,” you tossed the bag up a few times and then threw it at Dustin, “I was on a walk, deep in thought, when I decided to come here for some advice.”

     Blake tilted his head, “What kind of advice?”

     Dustin threw the bag back, “You gonna try motocross again?”

     “What?” You laughed, “No way,” you paused while staring at the bag, “I uh… I actually need some relationship advice.” 

     When you tossed the bag back, it hit Dustin’s chest and fell to the ground.

     “Guys?”

     The three stood staring at you with various amounts of confusion.

     You laughed and rolled your eyes, “It’s nothing like that .”

     Hunter slowly nodded, “So then what kind of advice do you need?”

     “Well,” you leaned against the front counter and mindlessly stared at the floor, “There’s someone I want to ask on a date but I don’t know how to do it.” You sighed softly, “I want it to be special, you know?”

     Blake glanced between the other Rangers before staring at you, “But why us? Wouldn’t Tori be better to ask?”

     With a shake of your head, you laughed and placed your hands on the edge of the counter behind you, “Maybe..? But,” you smiled widely, “I figure you three might have the more interesting ideas.”

     The three traded glances with one another. 

     “Alright,” The Crimson Ranger took a deep breath before turning to Dustin, “Why don’t you go first.”

     “Me?” Dustin grabbed his hacky sack off the floor and went over to the counter beside you, sitting on it. He motioned to Blake, “Why don’t you do it, dude.”

     Blake sighed and relaxed his posture, “Okay well how about…” he moved his jaw in thought, “You could make them something..? I always see those stories about people asking someone with like a scavenger hunt-”

     Dustin laughed, “They askin’ someone to prom?”

     The Navy Ranger crossed his arms, “What, you got a better idea?”

     “Ask them out for a day trip together.”

     “That's so lame, dude.”

     “I didn’t say it had to be a boring trip. It could be something fun; like a hike or-”

     “Yeah, nothing says “I love you” more than a hike in the middle of one of the hottest summers on record.”

     Blake and Hunter shared a laugh.

     Dustin raised a brow at Hunter and gestured to him, “What are you laughing at, huh? You haven’t even given any ideas.”

     Hunter shook his head with a smile and looked over at you, “You wanted something unique, right?”

     You nodded, a slight nervousness pooling in your gut at the sudden intense eye contact.

     “Then just kiss them.”

     Before you could even respond, Dustin and Blake began to laugh.

     “Bro,” Blake shoved Hunter’s shoulder, “You tryin’ to get them in trouble?”

     Hunter rolled his eyes and shrugged, "I'm not saying they should give a sloppy granny kiss or anything; just something to get the point across."

     Dustin laughed, "You're telling me you'd be okay with anyone kissing you--as long as you’re friends?”

     Hunter shrugged, “It’s not that big of a deal.”

     Blake smirked playfully, “Says the guy who’s never even kissed someone.”

     “Hey!” He shot a glare at his brother, “I’ve kissed plenty of people.”

     “You know I mean real people, right?”

     Dustin and Blake shared a hearty chuckle.

     The blond sighed and shook his head, “Real funny Blake.”

     “What-” Blake smiled widely, “I’m only telling the truth.”

     “That’s not--”

     The loud ringing of Blake’s cell phone cut Hunter off.

     Nearly dropping it, the Navy Ranger pulled his phone from his back pocket and answered it while wandering off to the backroom. 

     “So,” Hunter raised a brow at you, “Who’s the lucky lady then? Do we know her?”

     With a scoff and smirk, you shook your head, “ Lady? Who said anything about a lady?”

     “Huh?” 

     You stood back up and began to head for the door, “Thanks for the tips, guys.”

     The pair shared confused glances.

     Blake returned to the foyer and looked at the dumbfounded duo, “We’ve gotta go,” the raven-haired ninja turned to you, “Could you watch the shop for us?”

     You squinted harshly, “You sure Kelly won’t have an issue with that? Plus I kind of have plans--”

     “Come on, it’s just for a short while.”

     Dustin gave you an unintentionally puppy-eyed stare as he added, “Please..?”

     After a short pause, you sighed, “I knew I shouldn’t have stopped by… Fine, I’ll cover for you. Just,” you pursed your lips and hit your thigh, “Just stay safe and hurry back, alright?”

     Dustin playfully smacked your shoulder and ran out the door, “Sure thing!”

     Blake gave you a nod and a wave, “Thanks for the help!”

     Hunter was the last to leave. Just before he walked out the door he turned back to you with a smile, “Thanks, we owe you one.”

     With that, the shop was silent once again.

     Each hour felt longer than the last as you watched less than a dozen people wander in and out of the shop. As the clock struck eight pm, you knew that it was finally closing time. Despite not ever working at Storm Chargers officially, you’d covered enough shifts for the guys that you knew the closing routine; change the sign, lock the doors, count the register, and take a quick inventory.

     Just as you were finishing up with inventory, two familiar faces knocked on the front door; Hunter and Dustin. 

     With a smirk, you waltzed up to the front door and opened it slightly, “We’re closed.”

     Dustin stared at you in confusion before he put together that you were joking and smiled. 

     Hunter sighed as he leaned against the wall beside the door, “We didn’t mean to be gone this long, sorry.”

     “Yeah, yeah, it’s nothing I haven’t heard before,” you moved to the side to let them into the shop.

     “So,” Dustin meandered around the shop, “What’s all left for closing stuff?”

     You shook your head and placed a hand on your hip, “Besides turning off the lights and locking the front door? Nothing.”

     “Seriously?” the Yellow Ranger smiled as he dapped you up, “You’re the best!”

     “Figured you guys would be a bit tired after your other job ,” you shrugged, “thought I’d just take care of it.”

     Dustin and Hunter went in back and grabbed their things. 

     You furrowed your brow, “Where’s Blake--he okay?”

     Hunter stuck his hands in his pockets, leaning back casually, “He wasn’t feeling too great after today so I said I’d grab his stuff.”

     Dustin shot Hunter a baffled look, “I thought it was cause you wanted to w-- urk!”

     Hunter jabbed Dustin with his elbow, speaking through gritted teeth, “Quiet, dude.”

     Ignoring the weird action, you laughed and shook your head,  “As much as I enjoy spending time with you both, I’d like to get home before the shop re-opens at seven.” You turned off the shop lights and left, both Rangers in tow.

     Dustin turned around and, after patting all of his pockets, found his store keys and locked the door. All the while Hunter had wandered to stand beside you.

     “So,” Hunter had a warm, but very obviously nervous, smile, “You got a ride?”

     “No, I hadn’t planned on staying so long.”

     “Well, I could walk you home.”

     Your eyes went wide as you stared at him, a very obvious blush decorating your features.

     Fearing that he just made you uncomfortable, Hunter immediately tacked on, “I mean, only if you want. I don’t--” A sudden loud laugh caught the blond’s attention and he turned to see Dustin laughing, “You got something you wanna say?”

     “Mhm,” the Yellow Ranger smiled, crossing his arms, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so shy before.”

     Hunter’s face turned red and he lightly shoved Dustin with a lighthearted scoff, “Fuck off.”

     The two shared a laugh before Hunter returned to you, “So, you uh-”

     You smiled softly, “Sure, I could use the company,” you very cautiously grabbed his bicep and gave it a quick squeeze with a wink, “Just in case there are any Kalzaks out for a nightly stroll.”

     He looked down at your hand, making you quickly retract the gesture. 

     Dustin gave you a side glance with a small smirk, “Well then, I guess I should say goodnight and leave you to it.” He gave you both a small wave and, using his agility, took off into the night.

     Hunter nodded and pursed his lips, “Shall we?”

     You nodded as the both of you began meandered down the sidewalk. 

     It was a rather peaceful walk. The autumn air and smell of distant campfires gave you a sense of ease. Throughout the walk, you kept looking down at Hunter’s hand that was right beside your own. It would’ve been so easy to grab it and intertwine your fingers with his, but, you decided against the impulse. Unbeknownst to you, Hunter had also been thinking and doing the same; wanting to hold your hand in his and pull you tighter to his side.

     When the two of you arrived at your doorstep, neither of you moved; opting to stand face-to-face and avoiding each other’s eyes. 

     Hunter took a deep breath, “ ‘suppose this is goodbye then.”

     You nodded and pursed your lips in thought. 

     Unsure what to do, Hunter gently rested a hand on your shoulder, “I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?”

     Once again, you only nodded. 

     The blond sighed softly and removed his hand, turning to leave. However, just as he left the porch, you went after him and grabbed his hand.

     Hunter turned back to face you, a confused look on his face, “What’s-!”

     Quickly, you grabbed his shirt and pulled his lips down to yours. By the time Hunter processed what happened, you’d already let go and were braced for the worst. However, instead of getting scolded or laughed at, Hunter put his hands on your bicpes. Mindlessly, he began to thumb over you and moved closer to your face, eventually he placed his nose beside yours. 

     Hunter closed the gap between your lips and his. It wasn’t the most eloquent kiss but the passion behind it made up for it tenfold. You placed your hands on his chest as his hands slid to your lower back, pulling you snuggly into him. With slow almost teasing motions, Hunter strung together a set of heated kisses. A smile tugged at both of your faces as he lightly bit your lower lip and broke apart. 

     “Just needed “ some advice ”, huh?” The blond raised a brow, smugly smirking, “No wonder you didn’t go to Tori.”

     Stumbling over your words, you avoided his gaze and gave a small nervous chuckle, “I didn’t expect you to give me something so…”

     “Straight forward?”

     You nodded.

     The Crimson Ranger cupped the lower side of your face and jaw, thumbing over your cheek, “You’re really somethin’, you know that?” His eyes flicked all over your face as he let out a breathy shy laugh, “Had me convinced you were gonna ask Blake or Dustin out.”

     You leaned into his hand, placing one of yours on the back of it, “Not in a million years.” Using your free hand, you grabbed his remaining hand and laced your fingers together.

     Hunter placed a soft kiss on your forehead, reluctantly letting you go, “You should get to bed, it’s getting late.”

     “You could spend the night if you want, I have plenty of room.”

     He gave you a wide smirk, “As tempting as that sounds,” he paused briefly, rolling his tongue over his lips with a small huff, “I think maybe it’d be best for me to come back in the morning and we could maybe go grab lunch together or something..?”

     “Oh?” You gave him a playful pat on the chest, resting your hand against him, and a wide grin, “You asking me on a date?”

     “Maybe,” he looked down at your hand. Despite his confidence, Hunter was a tad nervous which was made evident by how fast his heart was going.

     “As much as I’d love to,” you raised your brows with a small sigh, “You have work tomorrow morning.”

     After a moment of thought, Hunter clicked his tongue and lightly frowned, “Damn it!”

     “But,” you began to knead his chest, “If you want, we could go out after your shift; maybe catch a movie or something. Unless you’re busy with your other job?”

     His expression returned to a sweet smile, “No- Well, I mean, there’s nothing planned for tomorrow,” he placed a hand atop yours.

     “It’s a date then!”

     Hunter’s expression lit up, “It’s a date!”

     Using the hand on his chest, you pulled him down to you and gave him a small kiss, “Then I’ll meet you at the shop after your shift is over.”

     “Travel safe, okay?” You playfully winked, “This city can get kind of rough at night.”

     “I’ll be alright,” he patted your bicep with his free hand, “I promise.”

     Both of you were hesitant to let go of one another, but all good things must come to an end, Hunter’s phone began to ring.

     He gave a flat smile as he pulled the phone out, “It’s Blake,” he sighed, “I’ve gotta go. Sorry.”

     You laughed, “Don’t be, I’m sure he’s worried about you,” with one final peck to his cheek, you let him go, “Goodnight, Hunter. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

ENDING NOTES: I don’t know if it’s just me but Dustin strikes me as someone who would have some sort of fidget with him at all times; typically like a hacky sack or something like that. ⚡⚡⚡ Hopefully Hunter and Blake sound kind of like siblings; I don’t talk to my sibling. So I don’t know how siblings really interact and I tried to use the show as a base--plus some knowledge from things like DMC. Also, I didn’t mean to make Hunter so shy but it’s just how it worked out. Lowkey feels like he’d be very meek about this stuff, compared to Blake who’d be straight up about things. 

Want to see more like this? Check this out on AO3 (Linked Here)

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[iamburdened]

Girl, I LOVE to give feedback on good fanfiction. It’s like an obsession.

Did I spend the night reading it? Did it make me cry, giggle, get enraged?? Did I fall in love? Did it break my heart? I’LL LET THE WRITER NOW IT ALL IN DETAIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They wrote this PIECE OF ART and then thought ‘what if I gave it for free to everyone?’, if you think for a moment I will not worship them for it YOU ARE CRAZY!

[layla4567]

You're being mean

gif not mine

Pairing: TVA!Loki x Fem!reader

Summary: The bastard of X-5 or "Brad Wolfe" as he now calls himself has returned to his original timeline and is a renowned actor. When you try to catch him he won't stop bothering you and crossing the line with you, luckily Loki comes to the rescue.

Word Count: 2.4k

Warnings: Not proofread, Loki torturing Brad, Bradley being a brat (and kinda flirty), Jealousy Loki i think that's all

"I don't see it here, are you sure it's here?"

"Have I ever been wrong?"

Loki gave his friend a questioning look

"Ok ok but that time it was Miss Minutes' fault, not mine."

"You're bad at lying Mobius"

You walked up behind them wearing a beautiful long ivory dress. Mobius and Loki in their elegant tuxedos gave you an approving look.

"But he's right, X-5 is close, I feel it."

"So what are we waiting for? Let's go"

Mobius took the lead and you and Loki followed him. Loki stood next to you, wrapping his hand around your waist while he whispered in your ear.

"You look ravishing my dear"

"And your tuxedo looks wonderful on you"

Loki smiled as you placed a kiss on his cheek. The three of you walked through the alleys of the city in your elegant clothes. You arrived at the entrance of a theater with a giant billboard that said "ZANIAC"

"What kind of joke is this?". You said

"Looks like someone's been busy". Mobius joked

There were a lot of people crowded together and several photographers shooting their flashes at a guy who was getting out of a limousine dressed in a black tuxedo and a kind of white scarf over his shoulders. He smiled and greeted the people who smiled and applauded him. Loki, Mobius and you were left behind the crowd so he didn't see them.

"Let's get this over with"

You said as Loki offered you his arm and you placed your hand on it heading towards the red carpet entrance. Inside there seemed to be more people than outside, everyone was drinking and smiling while they chatted. Everything had a festive atmosphere. People approached X-5 and called him Brad Wolfe while he waved and posed smiling for the cameras.

The three of you stood in line as "Brad" walked by to say hello, upon seeing Mobius, Loki and you he almost dropped his bright smile but quickly hugged you and Mobius.

"Guys! It's good to see you!". He said with fake joy as he continued smiling at the paparazzi.

He was about to hug Loki but Loki looked at him seriously and this seemed to intimidate the actor so he lowered his arms and walked away clearing his throat.

"So your name is Brad Wolfe now?". You asked

"Bradley, indeed. Brad for friends". He said with a proud and presumptuous smile.

Bradley exhaled and clapped his hands while nervously looking away.

"Listen now I have an important premiere of my movie, what do you think if you have a drink while you wait? Mobius, Y/N what do you want?"

"surprise me". He said

"What he said"

"What about you Loki? What will you take?"

"Oh I'm fine, thank you"

"Ok then it will be two whiskeys and a martini for the lady"

Brad said winking as you rolled your eyes, Loki frowned.

"Well I guess this isn't so bad, we can drink while we work"

"Is he running?". Loki asked

"He is running!"

As Bradley escaped through a back door the three of you ran after him. Your dress and heels made it difficult for you to run but you managed by grabbing the hem of your dress and holding it up while trying not to slip and fall. Brad was fast but luckily he was still in your field of vision. You suddenly realized that Mobius was falling behind as he slowed down. You stopped and went for your friend

"Mobius, what's wrong, are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah it's just… I'm too old for this, I'm tired". He said while breathing heavily

"Come on, put your arm on my shoulder, I won't leave you here."

You were about to grab his arm but he stopped you by leaning his back against the brick wall.

"No, no, you have to reach him before we lose track of him. Go ahead!"

Reluctantly you continued running while wondering where the hell Loki had gone. Now Brad was further away but when he noticed that they were not chasing him he slowed down, that gave you an advantage so you took off your heels, throwing them near a trash can and ran with all your strength to catch up with him. Brad turned his head and saw you, nervously he started to run faster but you were already closing the distance and with a few steps you caught up with him. You grabbed him by the arm, he squirmed but couldn't get out of your grip.

"You won't be able to escape Brad". You said, catching your breath as you placed your hands on your hips.

“Please Y/N you don’t have to do this, just let me go”

"Let the only person who knows what happened to Dox and Sylvie escape? Let me think about it". You placed your index finger on your chin pretending to think. "Mmh NO"

Brad sighed with a grimace of disgust as he looked into the alleys for a possible escape route. Suddenly he slowly approached you, forcing you to press your back against the wall.

"Listen, we've worked together for a long time, you know me, I know you. Why don't we forget all this and just let me get on with what was supposed to be my life in the original timeline?"

You just looked at him with a frown without giving in, as Brad knew this he placed a hand gently on your shoulder.

"You know? If you let me stay here maybe I can even make a place for you in my career, you can surely be a great actress. Better than Brigitte Bardot if you let me say, which by the way the rumors are false, I'm not dating her if you're interested know"

Bradley smiled knowingly at you with that sickly vain smile he always had. You were about to tell him to go to hell when a shot of emerald green magic collided with him, sending him backwards until he fell on the cold floor near some stairs. You turned your head in surprise to see who had done that and you couldn't help a huge smile on your face. Your boyfriend Loki came walking opening his tuxedo with one hand. When he got close to you he asked you if you were okay, you said yes. Then he looked at Brad seriously.

"I think you're not playing fair, Brad."

Bradley growled and got up to run again, Loki ran after him.

"Meow". You purred, smiling amused.

Mobius, who had seen the whole scene, came trotting slowly towards you. I look at Loki who was running away and then at you, looking from one person to another with a confused grimace.

"You two are very weird"

Loki chased Brad down alleys until he reached a dead end, leaving Brad trapped between him and a large graffitied wall. Loki wasted no time and cloned himself using illusions, now these two Lokis cast a large horned shadow on the wall. The eyes of the original Loki turned green and the shadows took on a life of their own and captured Brad who was writhing and shaking his fists trying to get free. You and Mobius arrived just in time to see Bradley being humiliated.

"A little over the top, don't you think, all the shadow play?"

"I thought it was spot on"

Loki made his other clones disappear in a bright green snap, you smiled in delight. You loved when he did that.

"Of course my love"

***

When you returned to the TVA you already had your uniforms, you were wearing a long brown knee-length skirt with a matching jacket. They were about to enter the room where Brad was detained but first Mobius gave us a warning.

"Ok before we walk through that door I have to warn you that Brad knows all the interrogation strategies and he's also an asshole, so don't let him get under your skin okay?"

You nodded your head but Loki remained silent. You and Mobius looked at him and he felt offended.

"What?"

You laughed and went in with the others. The orange room was large and empty except for a small seat in the middle of the room where Bradley was.

"Welcome back, will remove this annoying collar from me?"

"Shut up." Mobius said

"Someone is grumpy today…"

You rolled your eyes trying not to exasperate yourself but Bbrad was a difficult guy to deal with.

"Let's get back to what interests us, where are Sylvie and Dox?". Loki asked

"I don't have the slightest idea, by the way, by what authority do they keep me here? Because in this entire room I don't see anyone with enough rank to do it"

"We don't need anyone's approval to arrest a hunter who abandoned his job."

Bradley looked at you with a swaggering sideways smile.

"Oh that's cute, really cute. But weren't you three the ones who said that free will is important and all that shit? Well, I went to get my life back, now tell me why you're upset with that."

"Because there are lives at stake"

Bradley's gaze passed from yours to Loki who was looking at him with his hands in his pockets and hunter's eyes.

"Lives at stake? Sure, I understand"

Brad repeated the phrase and sighed, shaking his head.

"We all know what you're trying to do. You're trying to make up for all the terrible things you've done in your pathetic life.."

Loki took a deep breath, closing his eyes, and Mobius was afraid that Loki would do something bad, so he stopped him.

"Ok that's enough"

"No, no Mobius, It's ok. Let him talk, I want to hear more"

"Good, everything you have tried to do to help others has only made things worse. I have read your file and the problem has always been you, you think you are special and you are not"

"Watch your viperous tongue Brad…"

You warned him gravely as you took a step forward, as if you wanted to assure him that if his next word is anything hurtful, it will be his death sentence.

"But it's the truth." He looked at you and then back at Loki. "Let's face it, it doesn't matter what you wear or what lies you tell your friend and yourself. You always make everything you touch worse. For Mobius, for Y/ N, for your mother.."

Brad shrugged and Loki raised his chin, feeling slightly hurt but trying to suppress it. That was the last straw for you. No one was going to dare talk like that about someone you loved, no matter who it was. You lowered your head for a second and let out an airy laugh full of anger and approached Brad with a firm step, clenching your fists.

"Ok you really have to learn to shut up"

"Y/N..." . Mobius said softly and with fear

"But why would I keep quiet? I'm just telling the truth."

You tensed your jaw as you placed your hands on your knees, leaning a little more towards his face to be almost at his height. He just looked at you defiantly, tilting his face up slightly.

"The only truth here is that you are an egocentric idiot who only cares about his timeline and not anyone else's, you said that Loki wasn't special, well you aren't either, let's be clear."

He looked at you laughing lowly, he seemed to have fun with this.

"You look adorable trying to insult me ​​or take information from me. That's not going to work. I told you, I've known you for a long time and you wouldn't hurt a fly."

With every thing Brad said about you, Loki's jaw clenched more and his pupils dilated slightly, lowering his chin.

You stood up, crossing your arms and tilting your head, trying to analyze him.

"Why are you so sure about that?"

He laughed harder, smiling and looking away for a second to see you again with an even more arrogant attitude.

"You've always been like this, the sweet Y/N, so helpful but so weak in character. You think you can be tough and play bad cop, but you can't. In fact, I thought you were smarter than that."

Loki exhaled and moved uncomfortably in the place without stopping to see Brad, Loki seemed to want to kill him with his eyes. Mobius looked from side to side, not knowing what to do and fearing the worst.

"You know what? Someone as smart as you wouldn't have looked for a guy who thinks he's a pathetic god as a boyfriend. You would have looked for a better match."

Brad said that last bit with a stupid smug smile making his intentions clear when he said another match. You felt like you had had enough so you just smiled.

"Stand up now"

"Sure." He said with a shrug.

When he got up you got closer to him and looked at him sighing with a smile that announced a victory. You placed your hands on his shoulders.

"Maybe you're right, you know, Loki did horrible, awful things to a lot of people. And maybe it's also true that sometimes when he tries to help others he makes mistakes." You pretended to remove some lint from his shoulder, fix his clothes and comb his hair with a finger, Brad just followed your hand confused "But do you know what the difference is between him and you? That he does try to correct his mistakes and doesn't hide like a coward pretending that everything is fine like you"

Mobius lowered his head trying to suppress a laugh while Loki smiled slightly proud of you. Brad looked at Mobius with a frown and then turned to you.

"Oh, and one more thing"

Suddenly you kneed him hard in his groin, making him groan in pain, causing him to bend forward, placing his hands where you had hit him.

"Never underestimate me, honey"

You walked away with a triumphant look while now Mobius, unable to contain himself anymore, let out the laugh he had been holding for a long time. You approached Loki and grabbed his hand, intertwining your fingers with his.

"Are you alright?"

He looked at you lovingly, smiling and relaxing his jaw, feeling himself relax.

"Of course, my dear"

"Well I think we've had enough, we'll come back later"

Mobius said as he approached the two of you. Suddenly he came to your side and whispered to you.

"That was excellent!". He said smiling and raising his thumbs in approval.

You laughed and left the room with them. You wouldn't let anyone speak ill of your friends, much less Loki. Maybe he was a pathetic god, but he was your pathetic god.

***

this was so silly xd but I've wanted to write something like that ever since that episode came out.

[blurredcolour]

The Night Moves | Part One

The Night Moves Masterlist

Alternate Universe

supernatural!Bradley Bradshaw x Female Reader; supernatural!Jacob Seresin x Female Reader

Summary: An internship with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History should have been the highlight of your academic career. The perfect addition to your resume while you worked on your doctoral thesis. An interdepartmental assignment, however, sees your reality ripped apart by incomprehensible forces. Five tumultuous days will leave you forever changed and inextricably linked to two men born centuries apart.

Warnings: Angst, Language, Violence, Blood, Gore, Supernatural Themes, Historical Inaccuracies, Institutional Inaccuracies, Mature/Explicit Themes - 18+ Only

Author's Note: Typically I provide sanitized versions of my more violent scenes however they are rather crucial to this entire series so please heed my warnings and do not engage with this series if you are not interested in reading blood and gore. Thank you for your understanding!

Word Count: 4053

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-Tuesday-

The sound of fallen leaves skittering across the pavement behind you would have brought a smile to your face if the card reader at the staff entrance of the National Museum of Natural History would only function properly. You had tried sliding your personnel card marked ‘intern’ through it quickly, slowly, repeatedly, and every attempt ended in two buzzes and a red-light signaling failure.

You were expected in the lab in five minutes and at this rate you were going to be late – not the impression you were hoping to make on your first inter-facility project. You took a step back and inhaled deeply, turning your head to your right to appreciate the brilliant orange leaves tipped in red barely clinging to the trees on the boulevard. The days had been unseasonably warm lately, though the arrival of a crisp north wind was heralding a change. Grounded and refreshed you approached the card reader once more and pulled your keycard forward, the lanyard around your neck taut, trying a slow, smooth slide through the slot. The resulting chirp and green light had you sighing in relief.

“Finally…” You uttered and wrenched the door open, hurrying down the stairs and through the corridor to the room number that had been provided via email. Stopping just outside, you took a moment to fill your lungs with air and smooth your lab coat before stepping inside calmly.

While you had reviewed the parameters of the assignment numerous times, nothing could have prepared you for what was waiting in that room. A catastrophic fire in a Virginia church two weeks ago had unearthed a lead-lined sarcophagus, which initial investigations had determined dated from the War of Independence. It had been delivered to the department of forensic anthropology for examination on Thursday of last week and as the initial scans of the vessel revealed there were artifacts contained within, the project had expanded to involve the National Museum of American History as well.

While your position as an intern had not garnered you an invitation to the opening of the sarcophagus, you had been fortunate enough to be assigned with the initial cataloguing of the items found within. Nonetheless you were still taken aback by the sight of a mummified corpse laid out on a wheeled exam table with the rest of the artifacts set out on other tables beside. The most striking thing of all, however, was the utter lack of damage to the artifacts one would expect from them being locked in a box with a decaying body for two-and-a-half centuries. From your vantage point they appeared aged and worn, to be sure, but otherwise very much intact.

A chill rolled through your body as you stepped further into the sterile room, and you heard a poorly smothered laugh. Turning quickly toward the sound, you spotted two forensic anthropology interns, Brett and Raj, whom you recognized from the Smithsonian-wide orientation meetings in the spring.

“It’s freezing in here to keep the smell down.” Brett, a strawberry-blond with a smattering of freckles across his nose, explained with a hint of apology in his voice. “We don’t often get remains like this…”

“With so much meat on them, he means.” Raj, with his black hair falling carelessly into his eyes, clarified.

“Ah.” You replied simply, not entirely certain how to reply to a statement like that.

“There is clothing on the remains to be catalogued but we have a few more scans to run, would you mind starting with the other items while we finish up?” Brett continued, despite the callous nature of his colleague’s words.

“Not at all, the majority of it seems to be on the tables anyway.” You nodded, gesturing to the objects that had been unpacked by people high above your pay grade.

You stepped aside as they rolled the table past you and through the doorway, murmuring their thanks as they pulled a sheet over the body respectfully. Brett’s sneakers squeaked slightly on the tile floor, the sound fading as they grew further away.

 Accustomed to working with their belongings rather than the long-dead directly, you immediately found it easier to breathe as soon as you found yourself alone. You grabbed an unoccupied chair from the corner of the room, reaching down to pull the lever beneath to seat and raise it to its highest setting. Retrieving your laptop from your bag, which you left hanging on one of the racks of hooks in the corner, you set it on your makeshift workstation. You walked along the row of tables filled with items awaiting cataloguing to the furthest from the door planning on working your way back to the gap the remains would eventually return to.

Sliding on a pair of gloves from a box on the counter that ran the rear perimeter of the room, you carefully picked up a pocketknife from the exam table, turning it in your fingers slowly to search for any unique characteristics. The initials ‘J.S.’ were carved into the wooden inlay on the underside, which you quickly added under the item’s notes on your laptop.

Retrieving the digital camera from the deep pocket of your lab coat, you took several photos of the knife before repeating the process with a pile of British notes and coins, a clay pipe, a pouch of tobacco, and a small black ledger with pages of accounts that would need further study, before coming to stand in front of a British regular’s uniform jacket. A private’s rank from what you could tell at first glance. Looking back toward the door, you furrowed your brows in confusion having sworn that the corpse was wearing a South Carolinian infantryman’s jacket.

“Odd…” You murmured in puzzlement, turning back to the task at hand.

You were nearly through with the loose items on the tables when the rattling of caster wheels from the hall announced the return of Raj and Brett with their charge. They replaced the exam table to its original spot in the room, locking the wheels with a series of clacks before folding the sheet back to lay at the corpse’s feet.

“You’ve got it from here?” Raj asked halfway out the door, not waiting for an answer before he was gone.

Brett scoffed, shaking his head as he signed off for the both of them on a clipboard, setting it down on the counter beside the body before looking to you. “Don’t forget to fill out your portion of the paperwork. We’ll lock up when you’re finished.”

“Will do, thank you.” You nodded before taking a fortifying breath, reluctantly moving over to the exam table.

Your eyes immediately fell upon the blue coat with red lapels, confirming your initial glimpse. Dressed in the uniform of the South Carolina Continental Army, with the ivory breeches and tall black boots to match, the presence of the red coat in his rucksack was all the more mystifying. But the shape occupying the artifacts, though desiccated, was still undeniably human – a fact that was deeply unsettlingly.

Embarrassingly, your hands took on a slight tremble above your keyboard and despite all wisdom to the contrary you found your eyes drifting towards the deceased soldier’s face. Logic told you the twisted expression resembling pain was from the contraction of muscles as they lost their moisture, but it nonetheless evoked a sense of deep suffering. Yet despite the years spent in that metal box, silken strands of golden hair still framed his face, the longer pieces pulled back into a tight plait at the nape of his neck, barely visible from your current angle.

The only sound in the room came from the faint hum of the fluorescent lights and light-headedness washed over you as you realized you were holding your breath. Wrenching your eyes from that tortured look, your gaze ricocheted about the room for something safer to focus on before landing on the dull, mud-splattered leather of his boots. You took a breath and slowly typed the color ‘black’ before exhaling slowly and describing the worn condition of their soles. Another inhale and exhale bracketed your estimation of the shoe size.

Employing similar tactics, you worked your way up the articles of clothing, one by one. Inhaling, exhaling, typing, photographing. Given that you were not authorized to touch the remains, you had to rely on the visible angles of the clothing, crouching and stretching, craning your neck and circling the table to take in as much detail as possible. It was yet to be determined if further investigation of the remains, including cleaning of the bones, was warranted and it was entirely possible these clothes would remain on the body for reburial, so you were diligent in your work.

Well, as diligent as the oppressive feeling of ill-ease that was cloying at your senses would allow. So grateful to be finished your work, were you, that you ripped off your gloves and were almost halfway out the door when you remembered Brett’s instruction to sign off on your portion of the paperwork. Swearing under your breath you clenched your fists and forced your feet to turn back toward the body and retrieve the clipboard from the counter beside it. You hastily flipped through the pages, willfully ignoring the seemingly anguished face to your left.

The careless speed which you employed in desperation to remove yourself from that room was not without consequence; the fine edge of the top sheet of paper catching the plush edge of the pad of your index finger. You hissed at the sting as blood welled up immediately, snapping your wrist in a self-chastising movement, unaware of the scatter of droplets you sent through the air before pulling the wound between your lips to stop the bleeding. Setting the clipboard down on the countertop with a clatter, you rapidly initialled through all the sections pertaining to you before noting the time of ‘7:05 pm’ and signed out.

The day had melted through your fingers, and it was now well past the normal time you went home. Your feet carried you back up the stairs, moving just as rapidly as you had hours before, this time driven by a desire to leave that room and its corpse behind. The air outside was anything but fresh, the humidity so close to one hundred percent that moisture hung in the form of mist, thunder rumbling ominously in the distance. Yet you had never been so grateful to be outside. You eased the pace of your aching leg muscles, making your way down the street towards your regular building to hang up your lab coat, collect your things, and head home for the evening.

The tension in your shoulders eased with each step, the heaviness in your chest feeling lighter as the staff door to your usual place of work was in sight. You were nearly there when a hand fell heavily upon your shoulder, making you yelp and whirl back defensively.

“Where the hell is my body?” Raj sneered at you petulantly, the question so preposterous that you blinked up at him not fully comprehending it for several seconds.

“What are you talking about?!” You finally found the wherewithal to answer. “Right there on the exam table where I left –”

“This sort of thing might pass as humor in your building, but it is most certainly not funny, come with me.” He interrupted coldly and thrust an authoritative arm forward in a commanding gesture, leaving you no choice but to turn back toward the basement you had just escaped from. You had been so close.

Retracing your steps, with Raj’s furious form at your back, you were filled with a sense of foreboding as your keycard once again acted up. With an infuriated huff he swiped his card aggressively from behind you. Even the door bowed before his rage and promptly unlocked. He flung it open, and you flinched out of the way reflexively before darting through the opening, not wanting to fan the flames of his ire any hotter. You flogged your brain, begging it to produce a reasonable explanation for the problem he was presenting you with but all it produced was the unhelpful buzzing of fear in response to Raj’s threatening presence behind you and the memory of that tortured soldier’s face in the basement.

Yet he had spoken the truth. When you stepped into the room, the exam table was empty, the sight making your stomach fall straight through the floor. All the other artifacts remained saved the most pivotal. You turned quickly to defend yourself.

“I swear to you, I signed out at 7:05 and got the hell out of here. I couldn’t bear to spend one more minute with that body…” Your palms grew damp as you spoke, trying to focus on any possible, rational, logical explanations. There were few.

His dark eyes narrowed, looking you over, calculating for a moment before he nodded. “Well, your signature is the last on the sheet and now it’s gone. So, you’re going to help me find it. And if it wasn’t your poor taste then it most certainly had to be Brett’s. You take this corridor and I’ll take that one.” He gestured in opposite directions as he spoke, making your throat spasm anxiously.

“Are you sure, I don’t know this building very well –”

“Just get on with it, you’ve already kept me here late.” He snapped and turned, walking off in his chosen direction, leaving you to yours.

Swallowing dryly, you turned with trepidation before forcing one foot in front of the other, trying doors as you went. The majority of them turned out to be locked, your key card of no use in the face of a traditional keyhole, so you continued on further and further away from the stairwell, from Raj, from the exam room. Reaching what you assumed was the end of the building you turned the corner and felt the shock of ice water in your veins. A pair of legs, lying prone on the floor, sneakers on their feet, peered out from around the next corner in the distance.

“Brett…?” You called out hesitantly, voice cracking, as your memory summoned the image of his footwear from earlier in the day. Clearing your throat, you hastened your steps and tried again with more volume. “Brett?!”

Rounding the second corner the air was punched from your lungs as the torn flesh of his neck and the gush of blood from the wound filled your eyes.

“Oh fuck!” Your voice was high pitched and you would have mortified you in normal circumstances – yet these were anything but. You dropped your bag and yanked off your lab coat, viciously fighting with the sleeves as they snagged on your wrists until you finally wrenched the fabric free. Balling it up, you pressed it tightly against his neck in a pathetic attempt to staunch the bleeding and started shrieking for help.

Your voice was hoarse by the time you, at last, heard the sound of quick-paced footsteps and heaving breaths growing closer. The security guard who appeared from around the corner might as well have been a fleet of medics, for all the relief his arrival brought you. He quickly summoned an ambulance using his radio and dove in immediately to assist you in trying to stop the bleeding.

“Help is coming, Brett, hold on…” You tried to soothe the wide-eyed man, who’s mouth was gulping for air not unlike a fish out of water.

Futile gurgling sounds were coming from his throat, blood bubbling at the corner of his lips and you felt hot tears pricking at your lash line as you got a solid look at how dire his situation was.

“They’re almost here, just stay still…” You choked out, regretfully registering the splatter of blood droplets that had infiltrated the cheerful freckles across his face. “We’ve got you.” The acrid tang of panic flooded your mouth as his noises grew faint, the light in his eyes grew dim, his body grew still. “Nononono…Brett…” Your voice fractured as the tears you had been thus far keeping at bay flooded your eyes.

“He’s stopped breathing, there’s no pulse in his wrist.” You vaguely registered the voice of the guard behind you. “I’m starting CPR.”

As he began compressions there was a sickly crunch as Brett’s ribs snapped, a wave of nausea roiling through you before his body convulsed with each successive blow. All the manual beating of Brett’s heart achieved was to drive more blood from his neck wound, rapidly soaking through the wad of your lab coat and onto the institutional tiles of the floor.

Silent sobs wracked your body as you struggled to maintain pressure against the wound, the fabric in your hands quickly drenched as a flood of humanity poured down the hall. A firefighter was hauling you and your bloodstained hands out of the way, sitting you against the opposite wall beside the sweat-drenched and dazed security guard. It was not much longer before pair of paramedics arrived, all manner of life-saving tools employed on the horrifyingly motionless figure on the floor until the flurry suddenly stopped. They started pulling away.

You watched, numb, as two of the firefighters draped a sheet over Brett until one of the medics – a woman with kind eyes and an angular face with the name patch ‘Zambrano’ on her chest – was right in front of you, asking your name. You murmured it robotically before swallowing tightly.

“Is…is he…?”

“I’m so sorry. Can I give you a look over? Are you hurt at all?” She eyed the blood on your hands, and you shook your head quickly.

“It’s… it’s all… his.” You stuttered and wiped your eyes on your sleeves. “Oh god…” You whispered, looking up as several police officers crowded into the already cramped hallway.

The next few hours passed in a blur punctuated by brief moments of clarity – the medic helping you wash your hands, one of the firefighters wrapping a blanket around your shoulders when you could not stop shaking, Brett’s body being wheeled down the hallway, a series of questions from the police. It was past midnight by the time you found yourself leaving your building, forcing a half-disintegrated granola bar from the bottom of your work bag down your throat – not from hunger but because the rational side of your brain dictated you needed nourishment.

You barely registered the splash of water as you stepped off the curb onto northwest Madison Drive before frigid water seeped into your shoe. You looked down and sighed deeply as the moisture quickly dampened the fabric of your sock, lurching forward to avoid the puddle with your other foot. The Mall was eerily quiet, the only evidence of the tourists that normally occupied the space was the scattered trash in the process of being collected by a handful of sanitation workers.

The Washington Monument was illuminated a ghostly white in the distance as you came to the top of the escalators leading down to the Smithsonian Metro Station when your faculties at last returned to you; finally processing the fact that there were no trains after midnight.

“Fuck me…” You breathed and turned to trudge back to the street, shoving a hand into your jacket pocket to retrieve your phone, crying out as you crashed into the muscled bulk of a man clad in a brown suede jacket. You jerked back, feeling your centre of gravity tilt off balance as your body erupted once again into the shakes you had eventually subdued an hour ago.

“Whoa, sorry!” Came his gravelly exclamation as his hands gripped your shoulders, pulling you closer lest you fall backward down the escalators. “You alright there, sweetheart?” He asked as he guided you over to the safety of the grass, tilting his head to get a better look at you, revealing his face in the process.

You swallowed roughly taking in his kind, coffee-colored eyes, the curl of his chestnut hair, and the way his mustache caressed his upper lip. There was something soothing about his very presence – the warmth radiating from his hands on your shoulders, the hint of sandalwood in his cologne. The effect was calming, fortifying. You exhaled deeply in response to his question, the quivering in your muscles subsiding.

“I’m sorry it’s…it’s just been a day.” You shook you head at the inadequacy of your statement, watching his lips quirk up slightly in response.

“It hasn’t been day for quite some time.” He teased gently, releasing your shoulders now that you were steadier on your feet.

“Ha,” You laughed once and nodded in agreement. “You’re telling me.” Resuming your quest to pull your phone from your pocket, you finally succeeded, pulling up your rideshare app. “Missed the last train, and now…well my luck is consistent. The next available car is fifteen minutes away.” You submitted your ride request and let your hand drop to your side in defeat.

“Let me wait with you, it’s a lot quieter out here than I expected.” You eyed with warily a moment until he offered his hand to shake. “Bradley Bradshaw, pleased to meet you.”

You glanced between his face and his broad, extended palm before placing your hand in his, replying with your name as he wrapped his fingers around yours. His handshake was the right mixture of strength and confidence; not too aggressive but firm enough to raise the temperature of your skin.

“Let’s go sit on that bench at the bus stop so your driver can find you easily.” He gestured before guiding you in that direction with his hand at the small of your back.

“So, you expected it to be full of tourists out here even at midnight?” You asked, mimicking normal human conversation despite the weariness you felt all the way to your bones.

He chuckled and shrugged. “Not sure what I expected honestly, just moved here and came out to get the lay of the land.”

You sank down heavily onto the bench the instant the pair of you reached your destination and looked up at him with a tired grin. “Well, if you want to see the museums you’ll have to come when we’re open” You laughed, a thrill fluttering through your stomach as he grinned in response.

“Might just have to take you up on that.” He sat on the bench beside you, legs spread wide enough that his knee brushed against yours. “The way you said ‘we,’ I take it you work in one of them?”

“American History.” You nodded, clearing your throat as your voice still bore the aftereffects of prolonged shrieking.

He looked up at the row of buildings across the road before glancing at the same behind you, across the Mall, before mistakenly pointing at the Museum of Natural History.

“So close…” You smiled and gently guided his forearm to point at the correct building, swallowing tightly at the firmness of his arm, palpable even through the layers of his clothing.

“Aha, right next door to that one then. I was close. What do you do there?”

Unwelcome images of dead bodies and dying colleagues and lab coats soaked with blood flooded your mind and you shook your head, trying to clear it.

“It, it varies but I mostly deal with historical artifacts and do research for the permanent staff as needed.”

He nodded thoughtfully, looking up as a set of headlights illuminated the pair of you. “Your ride?”

You compared the license plate number on the car with that in the app before nodding and forcing yourself to your feet. “Hey thanks…thanks for waiting with me, you’re ok to get home?”

“Oh yeah, it’s a short walk.” He nodded reassuringly, leaning forward to open the car door for you.

Smiling weakly, you slid in, confirming your name with the driver as Bradley shut the door behind you. The car pulled away before you realized you had neglected to exchange numbers with the handsome man who had not only kept you from falling to your death, or at least grievous injury, but also waited in the dark with you until your ride showed up.

“Dammit! I just cannot win today…” You hissed, knocking your head back into the headrest in frustration.

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Read Part Two

The Night Moves Masterlist

[mstechdragon]

Why yes. I did get dipped by the king of the clones himself.

How the interaction went:

Me: “Wanna make TikTok jealous?”

Dee Bradley Baker: “Who?”

I’ll never not find that funny.

[of-many-fandomss]

It was really successful- so I think I’ll do it again.

I’m accepting requests for any of the characters in the tags for Valentines Day!!

[delopsia]

Wolfish | Bob Floyd x Reader

Word Count: 3,800 Cross Posted on AO3 Warnings & Notes: AFAB!Reader, werewolf! Bob, implied werewolf hunter! Reader, unprotected sex, Bob has an undiagnosed praise kink, brief over-stimulation, size kink if you squint, sex against a wall, werewolves doing...werewolf things. Brief Summary: You can't seem to keep your hands off each other today. My late entry for @attapullman's International Bob Floyd Fucks Month!

Your back slams against the locker doors. Metal clatters so loud that it echoes. Bouncing off the walls, rattling around inside of empty crevices, and squeezing through the crack in the door. Had ought to rumble its way across the building, down the street, and right into the unwitting ears of your team. Freshly deployed. Chasing the false scent of the very man between your legs. 

Sure wonder what they would think if they walked in and saw this.

The obscene pressure of a werewolf's hard cock, straining against his sweats, pressing deliciously against your fluttering cunt. Your legs coiling impossibly tighter around his bony waist, sharp hip bones digging into the plush fat of your thighs, fingers trailing up the back of his neck, across short-clipped hair, to tangle in the longer strands at the top. 

His warm nose bumps against your cheek. Blindly guiding himself back to your mouth, sloppy and lazy, little wet noises punctuating every motion, razor-sharp canines nipping at your bottom lip. Such an otherworldly sensation that has your head spinning so fast you fear you'll fall, arms tightening around his shoulders.

"Four times has gotta be some kind of record," Bob's tone rumbles through you like thunder, shaking your bones like fragile leaves in the wind. The cold rims of his glasses bump into you as he draws away, darkened eyes drinking you up like a glass of water in the middle of a sweltering desert.

Your head falls back against the locker, sucking in a breath. "Maybe for you," squirming. Grinding down into the bulge of his cock, absolutely and unequivocally unashamed of putting on a show for him. 

"Keep telling yourself that," stupid wolf with his stupid, dumb head tilt. You can almost picture the puppy ears flopping over, begging for a good scratch. Part of you wonders if his leg would twitch if you found the right spot.

But you certainly don't mean to actually let your fingers slide from his hair and behind his ear. Blunt nails scratching at the skin there, blessed by the sound of his soft inhale. Eyelashes flutter. A boot kicks the floor. Defiantly holding himself together. 

Those sharp teeth glint in the moonlight as his mouth opens. "Gonna be in so much trouble if they catch us."

Funny, you very nearly forgot about them already. Jake, Bradley, Nat. All chasing down a scent you massaged into the fur of a semi-feral feline last night. They'll find the little calico here soon. Jake and Bradley will start arguing over who's in the right; Nat will get fed up and call for backup. If there's anything you know about Javy, it's that he'll be up and have the cat found before the spat is settled.

You only have so much time before they return, badgering you about another bad scent. Even less time to get this wild-eyed werewolf in you. Devilish, you draw yourself closer to him. Nose to nose. Legs so tight around him that your bones ache. "What, not keen on telling a group of werewolf hunters you're a—fuck,"  it hasn't even been that long since the last time you felt his cock twitch into you. There's no reason it should have you getting wet like this. "Werewolf?"

He stumbles forward. Knocking you into the lockers again. Big hands squeezing greedy handfuls of your ass. "Call me a prude, but I ain't much for being hunted, honeycomb." 

On their own, his hips roll forward. Impossibly strong arms working double time to draw you into it. And you're so, so certain that there's a wet spot staining your shorts right now. A sick mixture of your own wetness and his cum dripping out of your abused cunt, damn near sore from how many times he's filled you up today.

And yet, it's still not enough. "You really think they'd hurt you?" Your voice almost strained. Weary hand reaching between your heated bodies. Sliding those flimsy shorts out of the way, relishing in the hitch of his breath, all over the sight of your pussy.

"I don't wanna find out," he grunts, and for a second, you think he's gonna drool.

Your index finger slips between your folds. Gathering up your wetness, skin glistening with it, as your hand rises to his mouth. You don't need to ask for him to part his lips, letting two of your fingers slip past. His hot, wet tongue is so, so soft compared to the canines that brush against your knuckles. Sucks on them a little too eagerly, so content with your taste that his eyes fall shut. 

"Then you'd better hurry up, puppy," you murmur, catching his tongue between your fingers. He can get away at any moment, and yet, he makes no move to. 

Far too gentle, compared to the out-of-control, bloodthirsty werewolf stereotype. 

"Quit calling me that," his speech is a little garbled, talking without a fully operational tongue. But he's reaching down, pushing at the thick band of his sweats, heavy cock damn near falling out of its confines. So flushed and swollen that you reckon it's gotten bigger since the last time you saw it. Audibly slaps against your cunt, between your parted folds, right where he ought to stay for the rest of his life. 

Or, rather, where he ought to stay after he's done with you. 

Bobby has to draw himself back by a damn mile to stroke his big, blunt head down your core, nudging politely at your entrance. You're still so loose, opening easily as he presses into you. Thick, pink tip stretching you wide, bullying his way back into your overfucked, needy pussy. 

A noise draws out of your lips. Starstruck by the drag of his cock, big enough to make the dry, unlubricated glide feel like it's going to split you open. Would hurt if you weren't dripping around him, an obscene mixture of lube and cum spilling out of your pussy, coating him once more. 

"That's it," you breathe, head tilting back, "good boy."

A pitchy whine slices through the air.

You haven't heard that one before. 

Opening your eyes is damn near impossible, and yet, you're finding the strength to force them open. Immediately focusing on his flushed face. "What?" Your giggle is strained. Lungs suddenly too tight. "You like it when I call you that?"

He nods a little too eagerly. "Uhuh."

It's not fair.

Truly, it isn't. He shouldn't be allowed to bat those long, innocent lashes at you. Not when his oversized cock has your pussy aching as he sinks into you. It's a damn wonder he's fit the past three times because he's barely halfway in, and you're already struggling. Hands scurrying behind his neck, nails biting into the lithe muscle of his shoulders. Lungs seeming to shrink with every inch you take of him, running out of space for oxygen.

"'m I hurting you?" He whispers in that fragile tone of his, glasses glinting as he tilts his head forward. 

Your head is shaking before he can even begin to stall his hips. "N...no."

"Your nose is scrunched like it is," and as if you could have possibly forgotten where it's located on your face, Bobby leans in and bumps his nose against yours. So damn warm compared to this chilly little locker room; feels like you've cozied up to a furnace rather than a man. 

Defiant, your head tilts forward, foreheads knocking together. "Because you're big, dummy." 

His eyelashes flutter. "Oh." Struck dumb. 

As if he possibly could have deluded himself into believing that every man on this planet walks around hung like a damn horse. Even you had known it. Could see the fat outline of him in those thin sweats he loves. Blissfully unaware of the way his cock makes its presence known as he walks. 

But he's finally, finally bottoming out in you. Not a damn millimeter of space left for him to fill, sweaty skin flush against your ass. It's a damn wonder that you haven't started waddling from the amount of times you've felt this very sensation today. Once in the comfort of your bed. Again, in the break room, after you got the call that everyone else would be late. And when you'd dared to venture into Bob's office, perching yourself in his lap, kissing beneath his ear until he cracked and let you ride him.

Fatigue has only recently started to settle into your bones, and by the looks of it, Bob is feeling it, too. Pretty eyes closed, completely and utterly uninterested in moving. You'd think he was asleep if he didn't suck in a breath when you involuntarily clench around him.

"Too tired to fuck me, Robby?" You murmur, raising a hand to comb through his messy hair, ruined by your own doing.

He hums, twitching out of you a little, only to push back in just as lazily, "thought ya might be sore." 

"What," stars sparkle behind your eyelids; he's rubbing against that overworked bundle of nerves on every slow pass of his cock, "makes you think that?"

"Earlier," pumping into you a little faster now, finding that same old rhythm that never seems to lose its dizzying charm, "you were muttering about me bruising your pussy."

That...

"You heard that?" You could have sworn you'd muttered that while you were cleaning up last time. 

When he was on the other side of the room.

"I hear a lotta things," chirping, all too friendly. There's no reason why a man should smile so innocently while his hips are smacking into your ass, "like you whining my name in your hotel room last Tuesday."

Images flicker through your memory. The coziness of an expensive hotel bed. Soft blankets and an even softer, golden glow of the bedside lamp in a room all to yourself. Wrapped up in a false sense of privacy as your hand ventured below your waistband.

He'd heard you through the damn wall?

But you can't even be mad because he's squeezing you a little tighter. Every thrust of his hips bounces your body further up the lockers. Knocking the breath out of your lungs. A weakened whine twisting through the quiet air. Too intimate of a sound to be in a communally shared room. 

"And you wonder why I hate most werewolves," writhing. Arms tightening around his shoulders. Heels digging into the meat of his ass. "What else can you do? Smell when I'm turned on?"

"Uhuh," his obedient head nods. Such an unassuming motion that has you clamping down around him. Rips a groan right out of his broad chest. 

His hips shift. The slightest change in angle, and yet he's driving right up into those nerves. Plush tip massaging them head-on. Has you fluttering around him like a damn butterfly. Sent into a never-ending spasm.

"Fuck," you wail. Nails biting into his soft neck. "Bobby!"

And you're vaguely aware of the way he's looking up at you. Big puppy eyes, in utter awe of the sight before him. "There?" 

You're nodding before you've even recognized what he's asking. Clinging to him. Squeezing his big, overheated body to yours like he'll vanish if you don't. Worst of all, he lets you—pretty face nuzzling into the crook of your neck, the rims of his glasses digging into your flesh, where you can hug him even closer. Your cheek squishing against the side of his head.

"Good boy," gasping into his ear, "keep doing that."

A shiver races down his spine. Mouthing at the side of your neck. Whimpering beneath his heaving breath. The oversized palms that cling to your ass beginning to shiver. Slippery with sweat and struggling to maintain his grip. Growling low in his chest, suddenly sharp nails poking and prodding against your flesh as something within him switches gears.

You know it has because the tips of his ears are growing unnaturally fuzzy. Pointed. And in the time it takes for your hand to reach them, they've already turned. Looks as if the ears of a wolf have been glued to the sides of his head. Twisting and turning, sensitive and reacting to every involuntary noise that falls off your tongue.

"Bobby—" you choke. Squirming. Fighting for a glance at his flushed face. Have to tangle your fingers in his hair and yank his face right out of your neck. And he's...

magnificent. 

Glasses smudged by spit and sweat and hopelessly fogged. Strands of soaked hair cling to his glistening forehead. Mouth agape. Impossibly sharp canines glint in the poor lighting. Pink tongue on the verge of lolling out past his lips like a damn domesticated dog, panting in the summer heat. 

And yet, as you push his glasses up to rest on the top of his head, you find that his eyes are the same shade of sky blue. Wide and so, so eager. 

His feet shift, leaning away. You back presses harder against the lockers. A gap forms between your bodies. Just enough for your hand to let go of his hair and dart between. Diving past the hem of your shirt, clinging to your clammy skin, stopping just above his pistoning cock, to find your sore and overused clit. A tingle bolts up your spine.

"Fuck, you're—" Bobby's eyes screw shut.  Grunting low in his chest. A guttural, animalistic noise you've only heard him make once. "Clenching around me so fucking...mhm, shit." 

You reckon he can feel your sudden contraction as well as you can feel the fat swell of his cock head. Driving into you impossibly deeper. As if this sudden wolfiness has made him larger than he was before. His angle hasn't shifted, but his oversized tip rubs right into your g-spot with a vigor that makes your legs tremble around his hips. Head spinning. Tipping back to hit the locker door.

"Robby, Robby, keep, keep—," babbling. Cut short. He's listening. He's listening. Rubbing right into those little nerves over and over and over. You're not sure if the heat coiling in your belly is from his cock or your fingers. "Fuck, good boy."

"You gotta quit calling me that," he pants, sentence fractured by a choked moan, "gonna have me following you like a lost puppy for the rest of your life."

He'd look cute with a little blue collar that matches his eyes. But you can't hang onto that idea for long.

"I don't mind the," gasping, "idea of that."

Your body is beginning to tense. Too hot for this little room. The coil in your belly winding tighter and tighter with every thrust of his cock. Pussy squelching with the motion of him, so damn wet that you fear you're dripping onto the floor below. And Bobby is whimpering again. Pitchy little noises that you can't believe are coming from your cunt being wrapped around him.

His pretty mouth can't stay shut. Already opening again. "I'm...I...I'm—" 

"Uhuh," is all you can manage. Struggling to keep your eyes open. Legs growing tighter and tighter around him until, until, until—

Your back arches off the lockers with a silent cry. Thrust up into the clouds. Head spinning like a top. Spasming and cumming around his big, oversized cock without another warning. And you're only vaguely aware of the way he cries out at the feeling. Hips stuttering to a halt. Filling your well fucked pussy with his cum for the fourth time today. Twitching inside you. His head falling back into the crevice between your neck and shoulder. 

It may not have been your most intense orgasm of today, but it does take you some time to come down. Brought back to earth by the kisses against your clammy skin and the nimble fingers that massage the plush swell of your ass. 

Bobby looks normal again. Not a single wolfish feature to be found. Back to your same old, soft-eyed tech guy. The one who has deceived you into thinking he was human for so, so many years. Probably would have been able to keep up the act, too, had you not crossed the boundary between friends and lovers. 

Abrupt, his head snaps up. Those wolf ears are back. Twisting and turning like little radar dishes. 

"Shit," he snarls, and before you're even ready, he's sliding out of you. Cum already beginning to spill down your thighs. 

"What?" You're helpless. Don't realize you've been placed back on the floor until he's led you halfway across the room. "Bobby, what is it?"

"Jake. Bradley." Short. Straight to the point. "Down the hall. Coming this way."

There's a tiny janitor's closet in the corner of the locker room—barely big enough for one body to fit inside of it, never mind two. Not the ideal hiding spot, but with no other exit, you've got no choice. It's either hide or be caught.

You can only hope that there isn't a noticeable mess on the floor. Or, worse, a trail leading all the way to the door. 

The door to the locker room squeals open just as the closet closes. Your weary head struggling to catch up to speed, still processing the drop to the floor and the the things Bob has just said to you. Hell. The only reason you notice his arms are around is, is because of the wayward finger that dips beneath your shirt, stroking your skin.

Jake and Bradley are talking. The rumble of the voices is clear, but you can't make out a word that they're saying. It must be something funny because they're laughing. All too loud, uncaring of who they may disturb with their volume or where their voices may wander in the building.

For a moment, you're afraid to breathe. Worrying about the hammering of your heart. As if they could possibly hear the tiny thump of it in your chest.  

Bob's spent cock bumps into your hip. Still free of his confines. Wet with an obscene mixture of his cum and your wetness. Proof of your rendezvous. Frankly, you couldn't bring yourself to go another round, even if you got your hands on a magical reset button. But you can't help but notice that you haven't felt the glide of him against your tongue in such a long while...

Surely, Jake and Bradley won't hear if you...sink to your knees, here...just for a minute or two...

"What are you doing?" Bob whispers, barely audible, even to you. Eyes wide as you reach for him. "You can't—are you serious right now?"

But kicking up a fuss will get the two of you caught. A risk he can't afford to take. Not with those big, wolfish ears still twisting and turning on the sides of his head. The very thing you've all been gathered here to eliminate. 

Daring, your tongue pokes out of your mouth.

The slam of Jake's locker washes over Bob's sharp inhale. Too sensitive for the hellish sensation of your hot tongue dragging against the underside of him. 

His hands rise. Both of them clamping down over his mouth. Eyes screwed shut.

There's a tremor to him that wasn't there before—shaking like a lone leaf in the wind. Helpless to do anything but let you keep licking at him. Long strokes of your tongue. Gathering the sweet mess that clings to his cock. Who could have thought that an identifying characteristic of North American werewolves is sweet cum? You sure didn't until he'd cum in your mouth that first time.

Hell, he didn't even know. 

It's too dark to see his face, but you can feel his eyes boring holes into your shoulders. Hips twitching away, but never making the move to push your head away. Helpless to let you clean his pretty cock with your tongue, from base to tip. 

If there was light in here, you're certain he would be shimmering with your saliva by now. 

Whatever it was Jake and Bradley needed to do, it didn't seem to take them long. Their boots clomp across the floor. Lockers slamming shut. Loud, muffled voices grow faint as they meander down the corridor, surely heading to their vehicles, looking forward to a well-deserved day off tomorrow. 

You suppose Bob has heard the back door chime because his hands fly off his mouth. 

He's fortunate that you're too tired to push him much further. Gathering up the last of him. And just for extra measure, you allow yourself the simple pleasure of wrapping your swollen lips around his tip. Teasing his slit. Sucking gently. 

"You can't just," he babbles, sweaty hand pawing at the side of your face, "baby, baby, 's too much, it's too—"

His cock twitches. A splash of cum hits your tongue. A heavy puff of breath sounds from above.

He's pushing your head away before you can even begin to do it yourself. 

"Monster," his chest heaves as he tucks himself back into his pants.

"I could say the same about what you just put away," you grin. Rising back up to your feet. He wipes that expression off your lips with a big, wet kiss.

His ears are back to normal, much to your dismay. No fluffiness present to greet your fingers as your hands cup the sides of his face, bringing him back in for one, two, three, four more kisses.

And as you slip back into the locker room, you're greeted with a sheet of printer paper taped to the lockers. And in big, messy handwriting, it reads, "Who's been fucking in here?" With a list of possible culprits at the bottom. Their votes have already been cast, accusing Mickey and Rueben by leaving scraggly check marks next to their names.

"Damn," Bob's brows furrow, incredulous, "my name didn't even make the list." He grumbles, already reaching for the discarded pen. 

You can hardly swallow down your giggle. "That just means there's more for us to get away with, my dear." Speaking as innocently as you can. Batting your eyelashes at him. 

His eyes roll.

"I'm gonna dress as an old lady and eat you if you keep quoting that darn fable," but he's laughing. Tossing that pen back where he found it. Already reaching for your hand, squeezing it in his own. And with a limp in both of your steps, you venture back into the hallway and out into the parking lot. Already conjuring up your next big escapade before you can even tumble into the front seat of his truck.

This time, you reckon that you and he should go chasing a false werewolf scent for some fun in the woods. You've even got the little red coat to fit the occasion. The exact same shade of Bob's cheeks as you reveal your idea to him.

And in two days' time, when you all flood into the locker room to change, Jake will point at the tiny, squished inscription of Bob's name on the list and laugh. How funny is that? Somebody really thought their quiet wallflower tech guy was the culprit! 

All Bob can do is look your way and flash you that big, wolfish grin. Unusually sharp canines and all.

[beyondthesefourwalls]

A Change to Everything

Summary: Marriage wasn’t an option for you. Bradley knew this and had promised you that what you had is and would always be enough for him. A few overpriced rings wouldn’t change that, so long as you promised to love him forever without one. But he buys you one anyway, and despite every promise you made to yourself, you wonder what it would be like if maybe, just maybe, you ever decided to put it on. 

Pairing: Bradley Bradshaw x Reader (no use of y/n, so can be read as an unnamed OC)

Word Count: 4.7K

Warnings: Talks of a toxic marriage with hints of abuse, anxiety, canon-compliant near death experiences. 

Note: I'm so excited to be posting for this fandom for the first time! I haven't written anything in over a year so I'm a little rusty, but it feels so good to get this out.

The biggest, biggest thank you to @roosterforme​ for all of her help with this! Em, you are the best sounding board a girl struggling to get back into the game could ask for.

_____

“I want to show you something.” 

You looked up from the book you’d been working your way through. Bradley stood at the end of the couch, his eyes soft and focused entirely on you. The look on his face was one he really only used with you - open and unguarded. Trusting. One that came from years of knowing and loving one another. 

Without a word, you closed the book and set it down on the coffee table. You adjusted yourself to sit up a little straighter against the throw pillows as Bradley sat on the edge of the couch beside you. One hand settled on your thigh as the other revealed a small, hunter green velvet box. 

If it wasn’t for the soft squeeze of his fingers against your skin, grounding you like he was always so good at, you were sure you would have choked on the breath that almost got stuck in your throat. You stared at it, processing what you knew it was, heart thudding hard against your chest cavity. 

There was a growing weight of dread and disbelief in your stomach. There was no point in hoping it wouldn’t show on your face; he could see you better than anyone, even when you tried to hide. Especially then. 

“What is that?” 

A small indulgent smile tugged at his lips. The scar near his mouth that you loved to run your finger over lifted with the movement. With one smooth motion he opened the box. Despite the anxiety, the ring you knew would be waiting for you took your breath away. It was a thin, delicate band, lined with small, shimmering diamonds. There was a stunning pear shaped stone snug in the middle. It sparkled under the dimmed light from the lamp in the corner of the room and the dancing flames of the candle you had burning on the coffee table. Even without trying it on, you knew it would fit on your finger perfectly. Once upon a time it was everything you would have wanted. 

“A ring.” 

“Yes. So I see.” Your stomach twisted, but you couldn’t look away. “Why do you have it?” 

“I’m not proposing,” he clarified. At that, you finally lifted your eyes from the stunning piece of jewelry, and were relieved when you heard him snap the box shut. The same expression that was on his face when he approached you remained now, not deterred by the reaction you’d been having. Fleetingly, you thought you felt something akin to disappointment shoot through you, but that was an absurdity in and of itself, so instead you focused on the disbelief of his statement. “I’m sure that’s what it looks like.” 

You nodded, still trying to catch your breath. The ball of anxiety that resided in your throat shrunk by a margin. He wasn’t proposing. 

He wasn’t going to leave you when you inevitably said no.

The thought of marriage used to excite you. Like many little girls growing up, you had dreams of a poofy white gown and sparkling diamonds, a tall cake and dancing and standing in front of all the people you knew as you professed your love to the man you’d spend the rest of your life with. And that’s exactly what you got. For a moment, at least. 

At 23 years old, young and not knowing any better, you married a man who swore that he loved you just as much as you believed you loved him. You had been dating for two years and you knew what you were doing. You got the dress and the flowers and a diamond bigger than any 23-year-old should be wearing and that only the old southern money he came from could buy. You got married in a church for a denomination you didn’t believe in but that his mother insisted upon, before God and everyone you knew and even more that you didn’t know.

Things were good. Great, even. For a little while. But only a few months into your happily ever after, things started to change. Outwardly, you were still the Cinderella that got her Prince Charming. But behind closed doors, Prince Charming wasn’t so…well, charming. He would always get a little too drunk. A little too loud. His suggestions for you became demands: wear your hair like this, have it be this color, dress like this, eat like this, hang out with these people, quit your job. Your decisions were no longer yours. You hadn’t realized that taking his last name was the same as signing your life away. You had never regretted anything more. 

You spent five years in a continuous, vicious circle of your own hell. Getting out of it was the hardest, yet best thing you had ever done. You lost everything and everyone in the process, but you gained back your sense of self. 

Now, you looked at marriage like a trap. It was a steel doored cage you would never, ever put yourself in again. You didn’t know if you would survive the suffocation again. 

You met Bradley two years after you signed the divorce papers. He came into your life when you were finally learning to be confident in who you were and what you had to offer again. The smile he gave you that first day didn’t take your breath away; rather, it felt like it finally reinflated your lungs after so long of being deprived. 

Three and a half years together and you knew you would be with him for the rest of your life. 

You would do almost anything for him. But you couldn’t do this. 

Bradley knew that. It was a conversation you had pretty early on, actually. He had told you about his parents and the marriage they had. It felt like bursting a bubble almost when you gently explained that marriage wasn’t in the cards for you again. He had taken it surprisingly well. You had never shied away from telling him your reasoning why. He had promised you then that what you had is and would always be enough for him. A few overpriced rings wouldn’t change that, so long as you promised to love him forever without one. 

It was an easy compromise. 

You hadn’t thought seriously on the subject since. Not when moving in together, or adopting a cat together, or when you picked up your life to move with him when the Navy decided it was time. It hadn’t been necessary to think on or discuss; the matter was a non-issue. 

Bradley’s voice brought you out of your memories. His hand was a nice pressure on your leg, his thumb smoothing the skin on the inside of your thigh a comfort. Back and forth, over and over again, bringing you back into the present like only he could. 

“Don’t get me wrong, I’d con you into marrying me in a heartbeat if you weren’t so much smarter than me, sweetheart.” 

The smile on his face was playful now. His eyebrows were pulled together in mischief. You couldn’t help yourself; the smallest of smiles pulled at your lips, too. 

“But I know your stance on the subject. We’ve talked about it, and I get it. Despite the absolute rager we would throw as a reception, we don’t need a piece of paper to prove how much we love one another.” 

You didn’t, and knowing that only made you love him more. You and Bradley loved one another in your entirety. It wasn’t perfect, but it was a constant reminder that goodness exists. It injected a honey-like sweetness into your bloodstream. He made your soul warm, and the trust you had between you made you confident in the knowledge that you warmed him, too. 

“So why buy the ring? It doesn’t exactly look like something you could get for cheap out of a gumball machine.” 

��No,” he laughed, “that it wasn’t.” 

He set the box down and grabbed your hand. You always loved how big his was in comparison, though small wasn’t how you felt. 

Safe. Comforted.

“I bought it because….well….I guess because I’m yours. I’m yours, and you’re mine. I love you more than I ever thought I’d be capable of loving someone, you know? And you make me feel like I deserve to be loved like that in return, which you do with no hesitation. What we have…it’s special. So I guess I bought it because I want you to know that if you ever change your mind, I’m ready.  You just gotta let me know. But ring or no ring, I’m gonna love you forever, baby, okay? In this life and whatever comes next. $50 for a marriage license won’t change it.”

You thought on his words for a moment before you nodded and held out your pinky. He was interlacing his with yours before he even knew the agreement, because Bradley would always follow where you lead. Ring or no ring. 

 “If I ever change my mind, I promise to go half on that piece of paper with you.”

“Deal.”

——

Bradley had been called back to Top Gun. It was an honor almost unheard of and even as a civilian you knew it had to be important. It was a 3-4 week deployment; nothing in comparison to what you had weathered together before, but something about it made those weeks feel like years. 

He was the one who called you when it was all over and done with. From your shared bed in Norfolk, you cried as he recounted two ejections; one successful and one that never came. He was presumed dead for nearly four hours before the over-confident blonde you had only ever heard stories about defied every expectation of his callsign. 

It had happened almost three full days ago and this was the first time you had heard about it. 

“Why didn’t anyone call me?” 

He was quiet on the other line but you heard what he wasn’t saying loud and clear.  

You were his emergency contact, yes. The one that would be alerted should he ever wind up in the hospital or the first person they’d look for if he ever failed to report. But you were not his wife, and therefore you were not his next of kin. Your door wouldn’t be the one the United States Navy knocked on, despite it being his door too. A folded flag wouldn’t be placed in your hand as his casket was lowered into the ground. 

You hung up after he promised to call you again when the sun was up, and with the reassurance that he’d be home soon. 

Sleep didn’t find you again. Instead, you thought of Bradley turning around to fly after the man he hadn’t spoken to since his mother’s funeral. You could so clearly see him floating through the snowy trees with his parachute flying above him. You thought of them flying in a jet that hadn’t seen the sky in decades, pulling desperately at ejection handles. You squeezed your eyes shut when you saw that same jet explode into millions of little pieces of glass and metal, Hangman not making it in time to save the day. 

Phoenix would have been the one to call you, eventually. The two of you were fairly close from when they were stationed together before your latest move and she would know that no one else would have alerted you, and as a friend, she would have wanted to check on you, too. You hated the thought of putting that responsibility on her.

A whimper escapes when you realize it would have been three days before you knew.  

Throwing the comforter off of you, you flipped the bedside lamp on before making your way to the closet. 

It was nearing 4am and you found yourself sitting on the floor in front of the fireproof metal safe that you and Bradley kept there. 

It had been six months since you saw the ring. Bradley put it there that night after the two of you made love on the couch, and there it had remained. The green velvet box sat on top of both your birth certificates and beside the case where he kept all the medals that once upon a time belonged to his father. You had thought of it a few times in the last half a year, but hadn’t laid eyes on it again. You didn’t need to, really; you could still envision it clearly in your mind. 

You didn’t move to pick it up. Just seeing the box it was kept in had tears welling in your eyes again. 

You loved him. Oh, you loved him so much that it ached. He was your family and you were his. You were all other had in the name of it and all the other needed, too. You don’t think that you would recover if anything were to happen for him to be taken away from you. You would mourn him so deeply that you’re sure your fundamental state of being would be altered for good. That’s how he would deserve to be mourned, after all. 

It made you angry that a piece of paper would delay that. The government would think there wasn’t anyone to miss him, that he had no one, but you were right here. 

Bradley loved you enough to buy a ring that he knew you would probably never wear, so that he was prepared in the off chance that you ever changed your mind. He was just as happy for it to remain locked away in the back of your closet for the rest of your lives. 

Why, suddenly, did that not feel like enough? 

______

The Uranium Mission came with a lot of changes to your and Bradley’s life. A reconciliation years overdue. An adjustment of time zones and weather patterns brought on by a permanent move from Virginia to California. Having not just Phoenix around on a regular basis again, but a whole squadron of people you could confidently call friends after only a few weeks of knowing them. Suddenly, your found family of two was expanded. 

Despite that, the feeling of something missing hadn’t gone away.

You didn’t tell Bradley about going into the safe that night and how the thought of losing him had you reconsidering every commitment you had made to yourself in the last six years since you started out on your own. He didn’t deserve a reactionary response from you for something this significant and you couldn’t confidently say that’s not what it was. Something that big deserved more than a pre-dawn rash decision. It deserved thought. 

You pondered often what it meant. It was almost always in the back of your mind now. The ring, and all that it would hold. 

You and Bradley couldn’t live on base. It was something you had dealt with in Virginia, but Norfolk real estate was definitely not the same as San Diego. Finding a place to live was difficult. 

The joke was made after the fifth rejection on a house in the same amount of days. You had been living out of a hotel since you arrived two weeks ago and you were tired of being confined to the same four walls. 

“Jesus, maybe getting married wouldn’t be so bad afterall. At this rate, we’re going to be moving into our storage unit.” 

You could feel him staring at you. He didn’t speak, and you focused intently on trying to appear like you were still focusing on scrolling through listings on your laptop. Your cat rested on a pile of blankets in the corner of the small couch the room allowed, dozing the evening away. The TV played an old episode of Unsolved Mysteries in the background. Right when the lack of response from him was veering into awkward silence, Bradley snorted. The sound pulled a smile at your lips. He climbed on the hotel room bed, closing your laptop and stretching to set it on the bedside table. He settled on top of you. You never felt as safe as you did then when his weight pressed into you like this. 

“Can I help you, Lieutenant Bradshaw?” 

He nodded, his face reflecting the utmost seriousness. “We should take advantage of this room while we can, Sweetheart. Something tells me the ventilation in the storage unit won't be as kind to us.” 

You were laughing when he connected your lips. The ring popped into your head again, only for a moment, before he made every thought disappear like only he could. 

_____

You were wearing a fancy dress in an even fancier venue, surrounded by a sea of white uniforms. A promotion ceremony for all of those who partook in the mission that nearly took Bradley away from you. The thought still hurt your heart, but you were so damn proud of the newly pinned Lieutenant Commander Bradshaw. 

You had been in North Island for three months, and had finally found and moved into a house six weeks ago. It was a two story home about twenty minutes from base with a fenced in yard you didn’t know you wanted until you had it. Something told you that you and Bradley would be enjoying sunrises, rocking together on the back porch for many years to come. 

This was your first major event on the west coast. You had been introduced to more people than you could possibly recall. For the first time in your relationship, the process annoyed you. Not for the act itself, of course. It was how you were being introduced. 

It had never bothered you before when Bradley introduced you as his girlfriend. When people found out how long you’ve been together, you often got asked when you were finally going to get married. Often, jokes were made on Bradley’s behalf about having the courage to “put a ring on it.” He always took it in stride, the both of you knowing it was really you preventing the progression. 

You were an hour and a half into the night and going through the same conversation for the third time. This time, it was Admiral Simpson’s wife.  

“Four years? My goodness, when’s the wedding?” 

Bradley’s laugh was familiar and you knew what he would say before he said it because you had heard it so many times before. You had always let him handle these situations. A lighthearted response about not worrying because he knew how good he had it and that he wouldn’t be letting you get away anytime soon, followed by a subtle but effective change in subject. Before he could go through the motions, though, you found yourself uttering a response all on your own.

“Oh, maybe one day.” 

It was poised, polite, and said in a way that made it seem like you said it all the time. Mrs. Simpson laughed, none the wiser to how you just went off script. Out of your peripheral vision you saw Bradley’s eyes snap to you so quickly that you momentarily worried about whiplash. 

“How long have you and Vice-Admiral Simpson been married, if you don’t mind me asking?” 

In for a penny, in for a pound, you thought to yourself. You were never one to willingly bring up anything dealing with marriage. Yet here you were, initiating an entire conversation about it. As she went on about their history together and the various moves throughout their 18 years together, Bradley’s left hand squeezed your hip where it had been resting. 

You turned your head, meeting his gaze straight on. For a moment, it was just the two of you here in this room. His dark eyes were wide, earnest, but confused. You knew now wasn’t the time to discuss it. You hoped the look you sent him in return reassured him that you would and that there was nothing to worry about.

There was a barely noticeable nod of his head and he raised his glass of scotch to his lips as he turned back to the conversation. 

His hand remained flexed on your hip. 

You wondered what it would feel like if there was a ring on that hand to press into your skin and if you would be able to feel it through your dress. 

______

There was a tension in Bradley’s shoulders on the drive home that night. He was keyed up in the way he always was when he didn’t quite know what to make of a situation. Anxious, hesitant and searching, but this time there was an underlying feeling of something that resembled excitement. 

You settled your hand over his where it was placed on your thigh. When you came to a red light, you cleared your throat and he turned to meet your eyes. Even in the dim artificial light seeping into the front seat, he was the most beautiful man you had ever seen. 

He cleared his throat. Once, twice. His voice still sounded just this side of rough when he spoke. 

“You’ll let me know?” 

You adjusted your hands so you could interlock your pinkies, bringing them up so you could place the softest of kisses against his. “Only if you’re still willing to go half on the license.” 

You smiled at him and the sound of his soft laughter warmed you from the inside out. The light changed and he pulled his gaze from yours. You let your hands fall to your lap and he took the chance to interlock them together. He squeezed gently. You knew it was his way of acknowledging that yes, of course he would. 

His thumb ran back and forth over the ring finger on your left hand for the remainder of the drive home, and you didn’t bother to smother the smile or the shiver that went down your spine. 

If he noticed as he took it off of you that the dress you wore was the same shade as the box locked away in your closet, he didn’t comment on it. 

_____

He didn’t bring marriage up again in the following few months, and neither did you. It had been over a year at this point since he first showed you the ring, and things had continued as they always had. 

Sometimes, though, you would catch him looking at you. This was nothing new, of course; Bradley wasn’t shy about letting his eyes remain on you for longer than was socially acceptable sometimes. But the look in his eyes was different. There was longing there, a cautious sort of optimism that he hadn’t let you see before. You were surprised when it didn’t scare you away or make you feel guilty for putting it there. Before, it would have been nothing but false hope. Now, though, now it felt almost like an oncoming revelation. 

You found yourself looking at him with that same look, but you were careful only to let him catch you sometimes. It didn’t matter what he was doing. Cooking dinner, doing the dishes, folding laundry, reading a user manual for a multi-million dollar plane he already knew inside and out. Even now, as he laid partially underneath you on the couch, his eyes trained on the mid-fall Sunday football game playing on the TV, something you were usually just as entranced by, you couldn't help but stare. 

Anything Bradley did, you had a hard time looking away. 

Despite swearing you would never, ever do so, you couldn’t help but to compare him to your ex-husband at this moment. 

When you were married, you felt like you were a burden more than anything. A showpiece there to hold onto his arm, but only when he needed it. You were a pretty face and a warm body, micromanaged to the point where even a second out of line wouldn’t be tolerated, yet somehow he never cared about what you did, either. You were a caged bird afraid to chirp.

Bradley, though..he never let you feel like your voice and opinion didn’t matter - he never fought to silence you and instead encouraged the complete opposite. The love he showed you didn’t come with any stipulations. 

Your ex-husband always made you feel small, while Bradley made you feel invincible. Protected, safe, supported, but like you could do anything you wanted all on your own. There was no reason to be afraid when you were with him.

The differences were vast, like black and white and oil and water. 

Clarity washed over you slowly, then. It was a conclusion months in the making. Years, really. 

Bradley was the best man you’ve ever known. He proved time and time again how different he was from the man you were with before him.

Why, then, should you think marriage with him wouldn’t be different, too?

“I’ll be right back,” you kissed his cheek as you untangled yourself from his arms and stood from the couch. By the time you were halfway up the stairs, you were taking them two at a time in your haste to get to the bedroom. You were almost panting by the time you made it to the walk-in closet. Your heart thudded in your chest so hard you could hear it in your ears as you entered the code to the safe. This was it. This was it and you were so excited. You barely remembered to close and lock it back after you retrieved what you were looking for. You practically sprinted across the landing and back down the stairs. 

You were moving so fast and so hard that Bradley was already looking at you when you slid back in front of the couch, hearing you coming before you even hit the stairs. His eyebrows were raised in question, but you didn’t let him open his mouth to question your unusual behavior before you were breaking the silence yourself. 

“I’ve changed my mind,” you said simply. His eyes were already widening as you tossed the ring box to him, as if he knew what you meant without the added assistance. You suppose, if he had thought about it even half as much as you had in the last year, that he did. “As it turns out, the cost for a marriage license in California is more expensive than in Virginia. But I’m still down to split it if you are.” 

He jumped from the couch and then he was kissing you. He lifted you off the ground, spinning you happily. The green velvet box was digging into your lower back where he held you secure against him. You giggled against each other’s lips. When he set you back down, there was a lightness, a joy, that you hadn’t seen in his eyes before. There was a brief twinge of regret that you made him wait so long to experience that feeling; for you to witness it. If he was beautiful before, he is breathtaking now. 

“I can do this properly,” he said, but you were shaking your head before he was even finished. 

“Now is perfect. Just like this. If you want.”

“If I want?” He laughed, incredulous and gleeful. He dropped to a knee with no further prompting, popping the box open as he went. 

“Baby…sunshine….love of my life…holder of my heart and happiness….woman who can get me going like no other in every innuendo of that phrase.”

“Bradley!”

You were both laughing and oh, this was so, so perfect. 

“I love you so much. More than anything in this world and all the others. I’ll love you in this life and the next and the one after that, too. Marry me, baby.”

He didn’t phrase it as a question, but you answered it as one anyway.

“Yes. Yes, yes, yes.”

The ring felt wonderful on your left hand. It was enough that you felt it was there, but it didn’t hold the mental weight that the last one did. Instead, it brought a sense of completeness to you. A calmness you didn’t know you lacked. Your heart was so full it threatened to burst.  

You couldn’t wait for Bradley to have one to match. 

------

Main Masterlist

Ending Note: AHHHH!!! I hope you all enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please leave any feedback you may have; it really does mean so much! I hope to produce more content for this fandom in the future. These Navy Aviators have a hold on me!

[familyvideowithsteve]

façade, pt. eight : the battle of hawkins - steve harrington x fem!reader

This material may not be copied, reproduced, displayed, modified. This is my work, do not steal it, do not republish it.

summary: Revelations are in order, a plan too. Urgently.

warnings: (reading the first series is highly recommended) /NSFW/, no use of Y/n, she/her pronouns with no physical description, violence, near death experiences, blood, weapons, angst, depiction of mental illnesses and psychological abuse (warnings for the entire series not the individual parts) + First Shadow (the play) spoilers (sort of)

a/n: bear with me. BEAR WITH ME PLS. also, a round of applause for my two ride or dies please @hollandweather @we-out-here-simping they've been handling my scheming and teasing like they're royalty.

word count: 8.8k

façade the first series | the sequel | spotify playlist | pt. nine

Do not forget to reblog and comment, I would love to know your thoughts, it's incredibly lonely being a writer!!

The Upside Down was strangely quiet, there was not a particular direction set for them, finding a good enough place to hide and rest was their only goal for now. 

The group of hunters didn’t follow them, they probably thought they were maniacs for going into the gates, which.., isn't wrong. 

Not a sound was shared within the group, they had all gained back consciousness to Will’s voice waking them, throbbing headaches, nausea, more bruises and scratches, only the common goal to find someplace safe enough to rest. 

They walked through the woods for a bit, without knowing how much time had passed or what time or day it was, lost in darkness with only the red lightning shooting through the dark sky, and lost in time as Hawkins was lost in 83’ and with no sunlight nor moonlight to guide them. 

Marching along demolished houses, Hopper’s guess was to keep going until they got close enough to Hawkins’ centre; the closer the buildings were to the edge of the forest, the safer they were. 

“I know someplace, not far from here, Bradley’s Big Guy, down Center Street, there’s food and bottled water, it’s safe,” Will paused, waiting for an answer as everyone had stopped and turned to look at him, confused at the piece of information. 

“If it’s not destroyed, I could—”

“No,” Hopper interrupted, frowning, stoic and quite uncomfortable that a teenager would provide for them, he was the adult, he had to be the guardian.. didn’t he? “No. No one goes out anywhere alone, and how do you know that, kid?”

Will repositioned his hand around Dustin’s waist to get a firmer grip, finding himself quite embarrassed, “It’s.. it’s how I survived the first time around..” he added in a low voice, watching Hopper’s face turn into shame.. The realisation felt like a slap on the face, those kids have been surviving for years, and as of lately, without him, those kids have been going through this for four years now, they weren’t helpless nor incapable. He ought to remember that.

“Right.. It’s a good idea Will. We’ll go later, we have enough food, we need to find somewhere to rest first.” 

They kept on walking the length of the street, until they found a house, they had a direct access to the forest as it was on the edge, and Bradley’s Big Guy was about one block away, the library and police station were about three blocks away, so they were pretty close to the centre without catching anyone or anything’s attention. 

The house was a perfectly fine place to crash given the situation, they ate in silence, and used baby wipes to try and clean themselves a little bit, they emptied the packs of baby wipes given their number, and silently said their farewell to having proper hygiene. 

They decided on who takes watch first, and quickly everyone walked upstairs except Steve and Nancy who both covered the front and back doors. 

Steve had absolutely no desire nor the capability to fall asleep after the events of the previous days.

The Upside Down was uncharacteristically quiet, Steve had taken a barstool to take breaks standing up, watching through the windows, hidden by the curtain, there were no creatures, except Demobats he had seen fly after some time but it was very calm otherwise, which felt just worse. 

Moving a bit in the kitchen’s windows he saw the familiar shadowy form of the Mind Flayer’s head, far from there, it looked right in their direction but it was so stoic. 

Steve had goosebumps just observing it doing nothing but knowing he was watched, made him feel terrible. The powerlessness that came with that fact was like the weight of the sky on his shoulders. 

In need of a break he made his way to Nancy and discovered her in the living room, sitting on the sofa’s headrest, she turned her head when she heard him move, he sat down on the stairs’ first steps, sighing lightly. 

“Did you see anything?”

He shook his head, his fingers playing with the hem of his long sleeve shirt, “No, Demobats some time ago, and the Mind Flayer’s creepy head, but no, it’s.. It’s strangely quiet, don’t you think?” 

“It’s weird, yeah, we’re accustomed to more violence and attacks from the Upside Down, which only makes me wonder, how terrible is it gonna be when it comes?” 

He agreed, his head shaking, humming a little bit, giving thoughts to what she said, she was right, she had vocalised his worries, but Steve was quieter than usual, more.. kept together, which didn’t look like him to Nancy, and she couldn’t be more wrong. 

He absolutely wasn’t kept together, his train of thoughts had naturally derived to her and Eddie and he couldn’t stop worrying about them, “Do you think we’ll find them?” 

Now she could see through his worry, it’s almost like she didn’t recognise that side of him, he had changed so much, in the best way and she had failed to see that, but she stopped her thoughts from diving in dangerous territories and turned her body to face him. 

Steve’s lover’s name fell from her lips and his body had a visceral feeling, a longing so deep from his soul like he was lost without her, and he was, but Nancy continued, “She survived for a few days on her own without any knowledge of the Upside Down. I’m sure they’ll be okay, I’m only hoping we’ll find them quickly and soon.” 

His eyebrows furrowed, his frame turning more to her, “Do yo—,” he started but was cut off by screams echoing in the darkness, coming from one block away maximum, she turned around and Steve rushed to her side to try and catch a glance. 

The buildings and houses covered the entirety of it and they couldn’t see anything, the screams kept on going until Nancy gasped louder than she had intended to let out and Steve wanted to ask what until he saw. 

The Mind Flayer had gotten drastically closer to them, the swarm of Demobats left and the cries and screams quieted down, under their very frightened eyes and paralysed bodies by fear they watched as the Mind Flayer arrived closer and closer, with one singular, strident scream, the shadowy creature moved its two arms on the front and it being so gargantuan it moved at incredible speed to join the opposite side of town, overlooking the Upside Down once again. 

Steve and Nancy looked at each other, dumbstruck, unsure if they hallucinated what they just witnessed. 

They rushed to wake up everyone upstairs to explain what just happened only to find Will sitting on the floor, his head in his hands, the rest of the group around him. 

“What’s happening?,” 

“The Mind Flayer.. Those screams.. Please tell me I wasn’t hallucinating,” Will spoke directly to Nancy, his eyes red and wet, 

“You guys heard those too?” 

“‘T was pretty hard to miss. Will woke us up, saying that the Mind Flayer was coming, that he was hunting, he was.. he talked so fast, we couldn’t understand anything else,” Hopper calmly said, his eyes attentive to Will. 

Nancy explained them what they had witnessed, meanwhile Steve was deep in his thoughts, he had a feeling he knew who were attacked, he wanted to be wrong of course, but he couldn’t ignore his instinct, the voice behind the screams was so similar to him, “We have to go see if we can help whoever’s out there,” his voice broke through, everyone turned to him, either shocked or confused.

“We could get killed, are you insane?!” Jonathan was the first one to answer, he was equally as confused as everyone else but he grew tired of the situation, it seemed to be a never-ending situation where they continuously got hurt, followed, nearly killed.

Steve felt uneasy as soon as he heard him, and.. He was quite angry too, “We could get killed at any moment by being here, if it were you, wouldn’t you want to be given help if you were still alive? If it were Will? Nancy? We wouldn’t be talking about it, we would already be doing it, Jonathan,” Steve paused, he hadn’t felt so much anger towards Jonathan in years, and it seemed he was completely lashing out his anger.. And his truth. 

He hadn’t said anything to both Jonathan and Nancy when she had gone to him to be their own couple while they hadn’t officially put an end to their relationship, he felt cheated on but said nothing, and even having moved on from them, he hated it all. He hated still having to deal with this with them because Jonathan or Nancy would decide if something would have meaning or be accepted without a single thought back, while Steve has been considered the stupid and irresponsible one everywhere he stepped, he was immensely aware of that and he had enough. He took a step closer to Jonathan, who stood next to Nancy, 

“Your mother would be screaming both of your names without a care in the world that it would pinpoint all the creatures to us and we would be prey served on a silver platter, but you’re right, let’s not go help someone in need even if we’re in deep shit ourselves, let’s be so selfish we might stay here and rot and wait for either creatures to come find and kill us all. After all, you’ve always been one to disregard one’s feelings and trust your most selfish instinct isn’t that correct? You two are made for each other,” Steve finished, his words spitting venom that shocked everyone, but his head turned to Nancy, his glance never leaving hers’ with the most serious and warning look imprinted in his pupils. 

He left the room, leaving the room confused as to why would he lash out like that, and mostly, how it didn’t look like him at all, except Nancy, she felt like she was a deer caught by headlights, and she knew very well what he was referring to, Jonathan didn’t quite understand what it meant, he played it off as everyone was tired and irritable.

Indeed, being in such a large group and living a nightmarish situation, it was bound to create tension between tired, irritable and hurt people, but out of everyone, he didn’t expect Steve to be one of those as he always thought of him as.. small-minded and, well, idiotic. Jonathan’s opinion hadn’t changed from high-school which made him as narrow-minded as Steve believed him to be. 

They heard the front door closing shut and it sort of awaken everyone as they realised Steve had left, with a strangeness in their eyes, Hopper and Joyce left the floor and were quick on their feet to follow him, the kids copied the adults, the couple was left in the room, looking at each other, dumbfounded. 

Reluctantly, they followed the rest of the group until there was no one left. 

Steve was trying to pinpoint the exact location, upon the road he was only met with fractured asphalt and vines, the store was what he found first, he was about to step inside when he heard Hopper’s stopping him, asking him to wait for them, “We leave no one behind, got it?” 

He nodded, only half heartedly, Steve knew that he wouldn’t be much of a priority to anyone, and there was no point sugarcoating it, it was a fact and he was aware of it. His closest and best friend Robin was dead so he had no one close enough for it, except Eddie and her, if he managed to find them, and he had an intuition telling him he wasn’t far from them. That gave him enough of a motivation and will to act on it. 

Dustin was in between Mike and Will as they seemed to be his designated human crutches, but they didn’t mind; the three of them were somewhat content to have each other, Steve waited for them, and stepped after, not bothering to wait for Nancy and Joanthan from afar. 

They scavenged whatever they could find, whether it was food —Hopper didn’t trust canned food from the Upside Down, he wouldn’t be able to explain why, but he didn’t so they settled for packaged food in see through plastic— and absolutely anything that could be useful to make weapons or first aid kits. 

Leaving his aisle, small flashlight in hand —Hopper had given them when they had left his cabin, Steve had completely forgotten he had it as he had escaped death a million times before and using a flashlight didn’t seem smart— Steve had gone to the back of the aisle to search again until he found droplets of dried, marooned blood on the ground. 

His curiosity piqued, he followed it, it lead to the back, the workers’ only area, the clear glass doors intact and dirtied with numerous things including dried blood, it lead to a corridor with the back entrance and another room, no doors, it seemed to be used as a storage space and break room. 

He entered the latter as he followed the trail of blood, piles of clothes and cloths to make what seemed like a makeshift mattress, also bloodied, but it was fresher, it looked a bit sticky (coagulated) and didn’t look like the trail, or at least there were two different trails of blood. 

He sighed, he retraced his steps and decided on following down the corridor and exited through the back door, as he did so, Dustin had realised he had gone off and terribly wanted to follow him, he asked Mike to provide him with broomsticks and rubber, he fabricated crutches quickly and was able to follow Steve through the corridor, Mike and Will on his heels. 

They walked for only a few feet when they saw two people on the ground, one lying on his back, the other on the side, unfortunately, they could see who it was, at least Eddie’s hair was recognisable from that distance, they’ve all stopped in their tracks. 

Steve’s heart stopped, his legs were glued on the asphalt. His heartbeast suddenly grew louder in his ears, time had stopped. The world around him was crumbling down upon him and he was left powerless. 

  No. No. No, no no, no, no, no. It can’t be..

Please, for the love of God, No. 

Dustin’s voice broke him out from his paralysis, the poor teenager was next to Eddie, and for a second, it’s like they were reliving the same scene, days prior.

Dustin was crying out, hands tightly gripped to Eddie’s leather jacket, his cheeks and his eyes drowning in his tears, he was very vocal, just uncontrollable sob after another. 

He approached, cautiously as his knees were weakening, step after step it hit him more and more. 

Arriving at Dustin's level, his eyes first laid on Eddie, there was absolutely no doubt that he was dead, the amount of blood he had around him was.. deeply concerning. Pale lips, skin, the rigidness in his limbs, the emptiness in his eyes.. The pool of blood around him and on him..  it didn’t lie. 

His eyes fell upon her hands tightly intertwined in his, and from this moment it felt like an out of body experience. He crouched down next to Dustin, brought a trembling hand towards Eddie’s jaw, around where his jugular should be, an unsettling chill ran down his body when his fingertips touched coldness and rigid skin, he didn’t say anything, he only closed his eyes, his hand briefly touching his back to let him know he was there, and left Dustin to crouch next to her. 

Same trembling hand touched around her neck and he was shaken by a violent wave of hope, he could sense a fragile pulse, her skin was warmer and not as stiff, he lied her on her back, he was struck by the amount of blood she had on herself, some of it had to be Eddie’s, but he could see the difference between theirs, and immediately Steve tried looking for a wound, looking around her face, her neck, then his hands proceeded to lower his inspection, her cleavage then her arms, one side of her abdomen then the other and —Fuck! 

His eyes and brows widened in shock, fingertips soaked in blood, again, he didn’t know much, but he knew not to remove what was impaled in her lower abdomen. He completely fell on his knees, his eyes did double takes to her wound and her unresponsive face, he saw the faint rhythm of her stomach moving up and down, an immediate reaction of loyalty struck him and his hands grabbed her cheeks, moving her face so she was facing him. 

His finger pads inspected her hair line as he felt scabs and he sensed many, small cuts, he could feel the inflamed skin under the bruises, her name fell from his lips like a never ending spell, conjuring her to open her eyes and talk to him. He longed to see the colour of her eyes and the sound of her voice, to see a tiny smile appear around the corner of her lips, it would appease his mind, pacify his every anxious thoughts. 

To Hopper approaching it sounded like a solemn prayer, he couldn’t quite see who was with Dustin and Steve until he was closer and he stopped in his tracks, he knew the Munson kid from afar as the sheriff he had had encounters with him, he had never been so strongly opinionated as the rest of town since he knew Eddie’s background, always let him go with a warning as he was himself not so.. uninfluenced.

As for her.. he did know her family, but not that well, he remembers seeing her here and there in town, walking home from high-school, ignoring the cars full of her classmates making fun of her as they drove, he remembers that; he also remembers not doing anything about it. Watching it happen. 

Joyce approached Hopper, who got closer to Mike and Will, the four of them felt powerless, and completely out of it as they saw Dustin’s never ending sobs and Steve’s tentative of waking her up, even if most of them didn’t really know who she was. 

Steve was panicking upon the facts that a. They were in the Upside Down, b. Eddie was dead, c. he felt the most gut wrenching guilt to have been with her, having had an incredible month with her as a couple when he knew that trying to find love would lead to this situation, he felt responsible for it, and he hated himself for it, she shouldn’t have gotten involved, she didn’t deserve all the pain, injuries it inflicted her.

Hopper silently suggested that they bring her with them to a nearby house as they were too exposed, so he detached their fingers intertwined together and carried Eddie towards the woods, and tried his best to pay him the respect and rest he deserves, even in death. Steve insisted on carrying her even though his leg hurt from the additional weight he carried, it felt like he carried the remorse he felt, like he deserved it.

Mike had gone to Dustin to help him up, he gently walked him back to the group and they followed Steve to the house he was walking to. Will was fast to open the door and let everyone in, even if he wasn’t really sure what the plan was, but did anyone really know? 

Jonathan and Nancy had joined the group later and had discovered the scene, Steve’s arms circling around her knees and shoulders. Even if Jonathan had seen them holding hands as they arrived in Hawkins a few days prior, he could not stop thinking about how odd it was seeing them together. 

Nancy felt even more remorse over the entire situation, and over the fact that Jonathan had insinuated to abandon her when she was still alive and had a chance of surviving, even a small one, she felt like the worst friend ever. Jonathan recognised the mood change in her features and tried to hold her hand but she refused him, and with a glance he couldn’t recognise, she left ahead of him, catching up on the group, leaving him bereft.

Everyone followed Steve and Hopper as he walked straight for the living room, and lied her down to the closest couch, he didn’t really know what to do next, he wasn’t as skilled as her or Hopper, but he had watched her reanimate Eddie and tend to their wounds. 

Hopper saw the panic settled in in now knowing what to do and the what ifs, so he put a hand on his shoulder to get his attention, “There’s not much we can do, apart from cleaning the wound and until she wakes, her best shot is getting out of this place, kid.” 

He silently agreed, nodded, then proceeded to do as advised with the best they had while Hopper instructed the others to find rooms to rest in as he and Joyce would take the first watch. 

Everyone scattered away, Hopper settled on the stairs, his eyes on both the front door and the living room, silently watching Steve clean the wound in silence. They had managed to find antiseptic soap, it was the best he could do as he got rid of all the dried blood around the wound to discover the skin around to be quite stiff and the tiniest bit warmer. It wasn’t good and he hoped he was wrong by assuming it was getting infected. 

Every now and then he would steal a glance toward her face to search for any signs that she was waking up or uncomfortable, in pain. He understood how she was still alive, she was losing blood in such a slow and steady rhythm she still had chances to survive.. for now. 

He observed her stomach rising and falling as she breathed, kneeled on the ground next to her, Hopper recognised that devotion, he sincerely hoped they would find a way quickly enough to get them both, as far as he knew, they deserved to get out and get their lives back far away from Hawkins, in them he saw younger Joyce and himself, back in high-school. 

Steve lowered his head, he hadn’t expected to be crying, the tears falling freely and soundlessly, the fear of losing her setting so deeply in his bones like never before, he couldn’t resist it, not stop it.

His hands held on hers’ tightly, intertwined their fingers. 

He brought the back of her hand to his lips, chaste pecks on her skin, closed eyes, tears getting caught on her knuckles. “You can’t leave me, please, please, wake up. I don’t know what I’m gonna do if you don’t.” 

Her name fell from his lips like a plea, like a prayer. His whispers were so low he was barely able to listen to himself. He kept pleading silently until he had no tears left to cry, under Hopper’s very discreet eyes. 

He keeped one of her hands as he used his backpacks like a pillow, their intertwined hand close to him as he fell asleep out of complete exhaustion, into pure darkness. 

A detail none has seen yet due to the important lack of light and the general sense of panic and survival, is that through her shut tight eyelids, one could see her eyes flutter endlessly under the lids, the same way Max had when Vecna was infiltrating her mind. 

She opened her eyes and she was surrounded by complete darkness, alone, so soundless it felt deeply unsettling. She looked around, it was just darkness beyond sight, not a sound, only some light where she stood and it seemed to follow her, she didn’t understand. 

Expecting pain as she walked but she didn’t feel any, so she looked down at her body, to her surprise, she looked as if she hadn’t gone through literal Hell. Not even a hint of blood, or inflamed and tugging skin around the bruises and wounds, she didn’t have the small piece of wood impaled in her abdomen, her clothes were intact. 

Her long sleeve shirt was in one piece, as if she didn’t have a thousand cuts all over her body from the running, falling and trying to survive to monsters. 

It didn’t match real life, so she wondered, quietly but in confusion, 

“Am I dead? Is this.. Is this what death looks like?” 

Thinking of death, “Eddie? Are you there?” 

She was answered with silence, only her own voice and its echo fading through the darkness. 

“I don’t understand. I’m not supposed to be stuck here, am I? What’s this?,” She thought out loud, and as she realised that she may be stuck here with no way out for eternity, she felt her heartbeat moving higher against her thorax, her hands turned into fists.

The panic in her body turned a dial up as she heard footsteps coming towards her, and turning around, she was met with eyes the same colour as hers’. 

Goosebumps travelled along her body as her eyes and brows widened in shock, she was stuck in her movements, paralysed like. 

The body moving to her had gotten closer, facing her completely, she looked at her own reflection, same height, same hair texture and colour, body type, clothes, except, her look alike had the appearance of someone who tried to survive the Upside Down for a couple of days.

Her hair was unravelled, some strands stuck in dirt and clumps of blood, her skin and clothes underwent the struggles of her misadventure, cuts through her legs, torso, arms and face. The small piece of wood or whatever it was, impaled in the low side of her abdomen, she couldn’t see them, but she knew where the bruises were and how tensed and pained her skin around those wounds were. This was—is— her. 

She stood in front of her reflection, but it wasn’t motionless, she had walked, she was blinking, looking at herself, a smirk pulling on her lips.

Minutes passed as she needed to compose herself, she wanted to flee so badly but she knew she couldn’t even though she didn’t understand what was happening. 

In one desperate move she looked down at her hands, the bottom of her jeans, it was then that she saw her misadventure in the Upside Down on herself, the cuts, on the skin, through the clothes, the aches in her body from all the running, the bruises, the pain came back like she was struck by lightning and when she looked up, her alter ego had disappeared, she was alone. 

She was in complete solitude, tiniest bit of light around her whenever she moved, with nothing but a disturbing silence as a companion. 

Steve was shaken awake by a strong pair of arms, accompanied by Hopper’s voice to summon him awake, he didn’t understand anything at first, his mind so groggy he felt like he was drunk, then, what Hopper told him jolted him awake, “She’s awake, kid.” 

He immediately sat up and turned to her, inspecting her in anticipation. She remained lying down on the couch he had put her in, blinking away her confusion, he was eager, desperate, to hear from her, he squeezed the hand intertwined with hers’, it got her attention and she turned her head to him, a frown appearing on her brows. 

Submerged by two existing identities —hers’ and the Mind Flayer— she struggled to recognise the place and the people surrounding her, and Steve seemed to understand it as the confusion didn’t part from her face, looking at the three faces in front of her, Hopper, Joyce and Steve’s. 

The two adults didn’t know her enough to know that it was unusual, maybe she had fallen on her head multiple times and she was concussed, or the multiple injuries plus the emotional struggle of it all could lead to some kind of amnesia but Steve knew better, or, suspected better, he chose to put it aside and not bring it up now. 

She asked where she was, what was happening, she didn’t seem to remember anything it’s only when Steve recalled the weeks past events’ she seemed to remember some, then it clicked for Joyce, this kind of amnesia, the hesitancy, the stress in remembering past and present events, she knows it well because she’s seen it in Will back at the lab, when the Mind Flayer launched an attack, using Will as a spy. 

The similarities were so strong, it felt like déjà-vu. 

From the deepest corners in her mind that the Mind Flayer has infiltrated she had access to everything the creature wanted her to see and know, instructing her with one task, but she didn’t know what it was. 

It felt like going into a room without knowing why she came there. 

Sat side by side on the sofa, Steve couldn’t stop keeping his eyes on her. He knew something was off, it didn’t feel like she was there, like she was distracted, evasive, it didn’t feel like her. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Joyce taking Hopper by the elbow to pull him aside, whispering things, he glanced once their way and he knew instantly they were talking about her. 

Hopper looked away as soon as he saw Steve catching him, frowning. 

He was about to stand up and join them when she sighed loudly, one glance back towards her and he saw her hands entangled deep in her scalp in frustration, almost pulling at the root, her back completely backrested, her eyes set on the ceiling covered in vines. 

Steve’s voice pulled her out of the spinning wheels turning in her brain, as she let go of the root of her hair, Steve’s hand met in the middle and caught it, intertwining their fingers together, his eyes widened the moment he touched her skin and realised she was cold.

He brought himself closer and took both her hands in his, his thumbs ran around her wrists, “Do you feel cold ?”

Her brows frowned furthermore, there was some kind of latence in her answer as she didn’t really know if she felt cold or not, “No, I— I feel..,” she paused, her throat was sore from all the screaming and shouting she had done. 

Trying to clear her throat, she continued, her voice weakened and a bit hoarse, ”I don’t feel cold or hot, I feel so.. eerie. Like I’m not even here. Like I’m.. dying on the inside.”  

Steve closed his eyes for a few seconds as he tried to process what she was saying, his suspicious were rising alarmingly high, but when he opened his eyes he saw she had her turned her head towards the windows, following her gaze, he saw the Mind Flayer stood at the complete opposite side of town, far away, but he kept looking back and forth between her and noticed that its’ head had moved towards them. 

Goosebumps and chills rose along his body, his gaze focused solely on her, one final glance to the creature when he saw its’ head moving back to the position it had, overlooking the city, then one glance at her, she had such a passive expression in her eyes that he couldn’t recognise. 

Almost in sync, as she closed her eyes the most intense, piercing guttural shriek echoed in town, eyes revulsed behind her eyelids, Steve began panicking, shaking her arms, strong grip on her shoulders, her body was stoic, and he had flashbacks of Max and Nancy going through the same episode. 

Talking loudly than he thought, he shouted her name, getting even closer, practically straddling her as her head fell back, and with two firm hands he held her cheeks and tried to get her to wake, with no success. 

The monstrous shriek and Steve practically shouting her name, it had woken up everyone sleeping and brought Hopper and Joyce as soon as they noticed Steve moving on the couch. Everyone’s attention filled the room with so much noise it created nourished the stress and panic deep beneath him, soonly the excruciating noise in the room was quieted down by more guttural shrieks coming from outside. 

The movement of panic grew stronger and finally, someone thought aloud that their best choice was to leave now or all their chances of surviving would be close to none —which was already the case. 

That made Steve’s muscles tense, he finished letting her head fall gently on the cushion, he turned around, his eyes darkened and his face looked so tense that no one knew what to expect.

Nancy hadn’t expected Jonathan to propose such a thing, her head turned to him, shock evident on her face.

Steve wasn’t so surprised, “Again with the leaving people behind? People that aren’t close enough to you, that is. Please go, be the first to be eaten, pulled apart, whatever they do with you, I don’t give a fuck.” 

“No, no one’s going anywhere, you listen to me? No one’s leaving anyone behind,” Hopper’s voice tried to be stern but everyone’s patience was running low, it allowed more recklessness too. 

“So what, we’re supposed to stay here and wait until she wakes up when we know that we are going to be dead staying here, I’m supposed to wait for her when I know that the more we wait, the more we are targets!”

“Jonathan, she deserves the same chances as us to survive, we’re not leaving her behind, this is insane.”

“Nancy, this is life or death, the choice is pretty simple, we’ve already lost so much time, we can’t allow ourselves to lose more.”

“I know this is life or death, should I remind you we’ve all been through this for years, I know that you’re scared, I am too, but punishing her when she could survive too is just not okay! She got involved mere weeks ago by getting pulled in by a Demobat’s tail, she survived on her own here without knowing anything and she found us when we got stuck too. She could have left then but she stayed and she fought Vecna with us, almost dying countless times, she’s helped Max and she fucking reanimated Eddie the first time around, she’s not getting anywhere without us! I owe it to her to not leave her behind like I did for Barb!” 

She could only listen to what was happening around her, it gave her a bitter sensation in the back of her throat, but experiencing such.. vulnerability and inaccessibility in her own body and not having full control, it was insanely uncomfortable. 

She remained stoic, not daring to move, listening to everything that happened, in the blink of an eye, she found herself to be plunged in complete darkness, then, after a few seconds, she heard footsteps, the lights above her started flickering and she realised she wasn't in complete darkness anymore. 

She found herself to be in some corridor, evidence of a previous fight on the bloodied walls and the cracked tiles. She turned her body to the sounds coming from a man walking towards her, his pace confident, arms behind his back, dirty blond hair and entirely dressed as someone that came out of an asylum or some lab. She didn't know who it was, but she had a strong suspicion about his identity.

She was too shocked and frightened to form a sentence, the man resembled nothing like the descriptions she’s had from her friends. 

The light above kept flickering which allowed their surroundings to move to a darker but lengthier space, darker tiles on the walls and on the ground, with turned off lights on a spherical shape on a corner, but she focused on him, straightening her body and planting her feet in the ground. 

It indicated to him she knew how he was, she was on the defensive, which didn't matter that much as he was already infiltrating her mind. 

“If you don't wake up you and your friends will die,” his voice wasn't at all like she expected, it was soft, it didn't hold any roughness or threats, it warned her though.

Frowning, she didn't understand the situation, she struggled to form words, so he continued, “The clock is ticking.” 

His head moved slightly, he looked at her up and down, his chin down to analyse her posture and a weakness point, then chin up, he tightened his arms behind his back, focusing on the task at hand, his only chance.

She noticed and followed his gaze, body still planted on the ground, hands curled in fists, being studied so closely confused her at first, for someone who had thought of every possible outcome, who had thought of his plan to invade Hawkins, he seemed rather clueless. Making up his plan as it went on. 

 “I understand your suspicion, but I could help you.” 

One of her eyebrows raised in surprise, but she kept her mouth shut, having not a clue what she was doing but still resisting, however she could.

 He started moving towards her, only to pace in circles around her, slowly, he stopped behind her, an arm’s length from her, he paused for quite some time, which almost made her turn around, “I do not understand.”

 His voice has gotten harsher, his patience has worn down, “You think you can resist me, or him?” 

 Confusion struck her, what the hell did he mean by him? What was this? Who was he referring to as him?

 He completed his circle and arrived by her eye level, their eyes connected, she could read determination on him, the wheels spinning behind those blue eyes. 

“He won't be as merciful, your only way out is with me.” 

She kept her eyes fixed on him, she could read so much on him now that she had struck a nerve being silent and resisting, which allowed her to make a wild guess, “You're on your own.” 

He tried to not let his surprise show but the frown that appeared on his face could not be missed, “Only people that are left mending for themselves can be so desperate and reckless.” 

The Mind Flayer, “He’s given up on you, and you're left mending for yourself. If you wanted to kill me you already would have done so. So what's your purpose in this?” 

He tilted his head, the frown he wore indicated to her that she was correct, and he wasn't just impatient now, but mad as hell to have been figured out.

 “I spared you–”

 “No, you can't kill me, you’ve resorted to gaslighting and tormenting. But why?” 

The façade slowly started melting off as he grew angrier, the white outfit swapped for his disfigured rotting body, his voice distorted. Their surroundings changed to a field of floating parts of a destroyed house, red mist swallowing the ground.

Moving forward, new parts of his body were revealed, newly burned off parts, gaping holes in his chest, how he was still alive was profoundly shocking to her.

“You're hiding,” only a whisper that escaped her lips as she studied their surroundings, “..and hurting.. you're..–” 

He tilted his head, and she switched her attention on his face closer to her, his eyes were the deepest shade of blue, like the deepest regions of an ocean, where the light can barely escape, darkness only reigns.

“You're dying, and you're left mending for yourself,” she paused, she had no idea where all this courage came from to reveal his truth, where all that clairvoyance came from, “So, you're stalling.” 

Out in the open, he couldn't fathom how she had understood, “You're left so weak you can't even kill me. Why would you stall if he’s abandoned you?” 

He wasn't as defenceless as she thought him to be, with a grunt she saw his eyes close, and unexpectedly complete darkness surrounded her, she couldn't see anything, as if she were blind. 

She felt deeply uneasy the more she stayed in complete darkness, wishing she had shut her mouth. If he was going to kill her, she hoped it would be quick.

Given the alarming number of roaming creatures outside and some questionable sounds coming from them– the fact that they couldn't recognise what those creatures were, sent shivers down their spine, it completely terrorised them, it could only mean that something new was outside– they decided to split up. 

The pressure kept rising and rising and Hopper ended the argument by agreeing to split up, even though it killed him because he hated that idea.

The thing is, the groups were heavily uneven, only Nancy chose to stay with Steve, Joyce was staying with Hopper, Will and El stayed with their parents, Mike followed El, and Dustin was too vulnerable on his own with the crutches to stay in a much smaller group.

Steve retreated back to her, sitting on the cushion sideways to her, he grabbed her hand, hoping it would help him calm down his anger. 

He completely ignored the sounds of them getting their equipment and Hopper calling Nancy to share some with her, more ammunition, pocket knives, lighters, and tiny bottles of liquor.

She watched them leave, guns and makeshift weapons in hands, Dustin in the middle of them to assure his safety, until they were completely out of her eyesight, then her head turned to Steve, his back to her.

Nancy feared his mood wouldn't help them develop a plan to get out, but they needed to elaborate one, quickly, so, trying to ignore the worrisome shrieks from outside, she cautiously stepped towards Steve.

She sat on the ground, facing him, her head levelling with Steve’s lover, quietly observing her face, how her eyes kept moving back and forth, witnessing she was somewhere they couldn't join. 

“She’s getting colder, I don't know what to do to rid her of him,” Steve let out quietly, like a secret he could finally let out.

Nancy’s head turned to him, frowning.

“I didn't want to bring it up because I didn't know how everyone would react to it, probably the same as what happened, but–,” he paused, a brief glance towards her, not yet sure if he could say it, but what would she do? Throw a tantrum? Too late for that.

“I’m almost sure she’s.. The Mind Flayer has her, the same way he had with Will. She was awake before we all heard that terrific shriek, she felt.. off, like she wasn't with us, she didn't feel how cold she is, and it may be my head but, I feel like she’s colder.” 

She nodded, and immediately her brain thought of a way to make it out, wheels spinning on end, until Steve’s voice broke it all up, “To be honest, I’m aware I’ve doomed us all, I didn't think anyone would second me I thought I would.. die alongside her.” 

Shock blew on her face, her eyes moved to his face, his head low, searching for his eyes she tilted her head to the side, “Steve..” 

Deep in his eyes was sadness, and desperation, nothing she would have expected from him, she was stunted, shocked. His eyes trailed back to her, his thumb mindlessly caressed her cold skin. 

Their plan was quite simple, Steve would carry her and Nancy would go first, gun in hand, and they would travel small location to small location, not more than a block away to make sure they could attempt to hear or see their enemies, try to, at least. 

Nancy made sure she had enough ammunition in the pockets of her jacket, along with a pocketknife, she gave one to Steve and hid one in the upper pocket of her jeans.

Out of curiosity, and because she hadn’t dared to previously, Nancy held her hands and realised how cold she was, she also realised she had never properly inspected her injuries, she hadn't acknowledged what had happened to her.

She could see the multiple cuts through the materials of her long sleeve shirt and her jeans, but the worst injury was the one on her abdomen, she hadn't realised it was that bad, of course she had seen but.. she hadn't paid attention given everything that happened.

She pulled up the shirt, she let out a gasp when she saw the rawness of her injury and Steve cleaned it the best he could, the skin around was inflamed, swollen, and mostly fresh blood around the piece of wood impaled, but it kept the blood loss controlled.

One thing she wasn't sure though, were the jet black veins exiting the wound, calmly she called for Steve, who had been in the kitchen looking for more supplies. You never know.

He was about to ask but he saw, and the answer to his doubts were there, she was taken by the Mind Flayer, it resembled everything they had seen in Will, another shriek echoed through the city.

 “We have to hurry,” Steve briefly whispered and hurried himself to put on his jacket, his backpack followed, Nancy copied him, taking off the security on her gun, she opened the door as silently as she could, stepping carefully outside.

One hand holding a flashlight, the other hand holding her gun, she stepped cautiously through the porch as Steve held her, one arm wrapped under her knees, the other under her back.

He followed her carefully, arriving first to the store they had scavenged, a ten minute break later –inspecting their surroundings and planning as soundlessly as they could.

They continued like this without any encounters, house after house after house until they heard human screams and more guttural shrieks.

It wasn't just human screams, pained screams and warnings to run off.

Nancy recognised Jonathan’s voice in the lot, paralysed on the spot she was caught between helping them or staying with Steve. She turned to him, and he knew immediately what she was about to do, he didn't even wait for her to speak, he walked towards the nearest house to hide.

He heard Nancy run off to where the screams came from, getting closer to the door he hoped to be able to touch the handle with her in his arms, but he didn't even have the time to, she started convulsing in his arms.

“No, no, no, no!,” not as silent as he hoped to be, but to be able to carry her inside he had to force his way in, not exactly subtle, but his only choice.

So he forced the door open with his leg and rushed inside, he hid upstairs, closed all the doors, because he knew that every creature around had heard him barge in and rush upstairs.

He tried his best to keep her on her side while she was convulsing, as silent as possible, he prayed to God they wouldn't be found, eyes closed, hands tightly holding her body, he hoped. 

When the darkness completely surrounded her, she knew something was coming but she hadn't expected to be tormented by sounds only in complete and utter nothingness.

He had pulled out everything that's been hurting her for the past couple of months, hearing it made the memories come back and reliving them was torture. He knew what he was doing. 

The bullying, gaslighting, the jealousy, self esteem at its lowest, the people pleasing, diminishing herself, how she’s been harming herself on all levels and coping in unhealthy ways.

Every voice that spat venom at her face resurfaced, making her try to scream above those voices to make it all stop.

Covering her ears with her hands wasn't working, she could still hear everything, seconds turned into minutes, into how long it had been.

On her knees, her forehead and her arms touching the ground with her hands tightly put around her ears, she has completely turned into herself. 

She hadn't realised that it had stopped, she could still hear it, feel those words as if they were snakes crawling their way in her brain.

She let out a breath of relief when she finally realised that silence surrounded her, the muscles in her arms aching, now all her body screamed for a chance to let go, that it’s had enough, and her mind agreed. 

She’s had enough.

She opened her eyes but her eyelids were heavy, when she looked around herself she didn't recognise where she was, her jeans and arms were wet from the grass, she was in the woods.

She completely sat down, turned her upper body around so she could take a glance at her surroundings, grass, trees, there was a form a few feet from her, but she could hardly see what it was.

She got up, holding onto a tree next to her as her vision got blurry, she closed her eyes and tried to catch her breath, when she felt capable enough she walked towards the ambiguous form.

It was a handmade wooden castle, “Welcome all friends” and “Castle Byers” written on the front in yellow. She passed through the tarp, and a gasp left her mouth as soon as she saw him.

“So, this is where you're hiding,” a voice that resembled hers said, but it hadn't come from her own mouth, turning around she saw her alter ego leave as quickly as she came in. Turning inside the makeshift castle, she looked one last time at a very weakened, rotten and rotting body of Vecna, seemingly taking his very last breaths until the scenery floated away like a candle’s flame blown off.

Steve waited, and waited, her body had stopped convulsing just moments ago, he had left her when he was sure she was still breathing.

Trying to be aware of every sound he could make, he opened the door to the bedroom he stayed in, pocket knife in hand, but he heard nothing.

He tried his luck and went back inside to carry her downstairs, cautious on the steps, he put her down on the sofa and rushed to the windows. He saw Demodogs and Demobats roaming around, but the screams had gone, and with Nancy not returning.. he would rather not think of that.

His only hope was resting on the couch and.. and she was waking up, he couldn't believe it. 

He rushed to her side, she was blinking away her confusion, he pulled up her shirt to look at the wound and the black veins were still there, they had retreated a bit though.

As he was about to rapidly explain what had gone and what they needed to do, a violent shake broke through the earth, followed by the sound of something exploding.

Just a turn towards the sound and they saw bombs exploding, falling down like rain.

He rushed her up, with a strong grip around her waist he ran off outside through the back door that led to the edge of the woods.

Together they sprinted off away, doing their best to avoid any bombs, he heard some creatures following them but they were killed off easily as the hive mind worked its way until he brutally realised that she was part of it too as she fell unconscious on the ground.

Until the very end he would stay with her.

He doesn't realise when he falls unconscious too, he only knows that he’s an arm’s length from her.. as long as he dies alongside her..

There was nothing around her, not a sound, not a weird looking ego, not Vecna to torment her.

Just, back at the starting point, with nothingness and an uncomfortable silence surrounding her. 

Her arms closed off, tight around her body to try and warm herself a bit, she kept walking around nothingness. 

She wondered if she was going to be stuck in there forever, does she want to go back to Steve? Does she want to go back at all? 

She truly didn’t know, she didn’t know if she had the choice, but if she had it, would she return back to Hawkins? 

She didn’t have time to ponder the question really, because she joined the darkness within, and shortly after, she was back in her unconscious body, lying on the ground, fire spreading as the US army was gaining ground in the Upside Down, with it, bombing kept going, as it’s the only weapon they possessed that would work. 

Eradicate it all with fire— were the final words left from Dr Owens’s lips as he too, joined nothingness after being tortured for what felt like eternity, he had given nothing, not a single thing about Eleven or anything that he knew, except how to kill it. 

Bodies defenceless, they could only hope they would either survive together or die together. 

Do not forget to reblog and comment, I would love to know your thoughts, it's incredibly lonely being a writer!!

-> pt. nine

tags (of the prequel and/or people who liked the masterlist) : if you’d like to be tagged, let me know in my inbox  @freezaz123 @ihavebecomesomething @aphetropy @sigh-mon-reads @madaboutjoe @mystic-writings @333starbride @seatnights @gabby123rocks @hauntors @ourprisma @hollandweather @we-out-here-simping @cupofjoekeery @seatnights

(mutuals that might be interested let me know if not): @strangerquinns @stiles-o-dylan24 @bffysummrs @teen--marvel @stevesxyellowxsweater

[ohtobeleah]

Nosebleed Section // Jake Seresin

Part One: Like Brother like Brawler

Summary: Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin & Y/n ‘Brawler’ Abbott have only one thing in common. They suck at communicating their feelings. So when a bar fight breaks out? Things start to bubble to the surface.

Word Count: 3k

Warnings: Mentions of sexual harassment, assault, bar fight. Jake x f!reader. Angst, long pinning.

Author Note: Part Two is Linked Here. I wrote this at work thismorning when I should have been actually working. This has no relation to strictly scandalous but since y’all are getting the content today you may as well have some angst.

Jake Seresin liked to put out into the universe that he was some reincarnated version of a Greek Adonis. With a simple charismatic smile that could be seen from the hubble space station and perhaps a drink or two in him while he pretended to listen to whatever conversation he’d struck up with his latest squeeze, he’d end up with the girl–nine times out of ten. It was inevitable. Some people liked to knit in their down time, hell he knew Bob liked to do impossible puzzles while Fanyboy geeked out over Star Trek or Star Wars or Battlestar Galactica. Regardless of whatever ‘Star’, he knew he liked to geek.

Jake Seresin however liked to hunt. Women that is. He liked to single out a woman for the night, usually dealers' choice. But what happens when the hunter becomes the hunted for once? Usually his friends would scuff him off, not caring whatever pickle their obnoxiously over-galavant colleague has ended up in. but this one particular time? It had steam coming out of your ears as you sip the rest of your drink and watch the situation unfold before your very eyes.

“He looks uncomfortable, Bradshaw.” You bump into Bradley who's trying to focus on his shot. Leaning over the pool table to get a better angle at the ball he’s eyeing off. “That girl’s got her hands all over him.” It wasn't an unusual sight, but what was unusual was the way Jake was side eyeing you as a call for help. His hands up as he tries his best to back out of the situation before something else happens he's not okay with. But he’s stuck, he can't get out from the corner near the dart board. She's got him trapped on his stool, standing between his legs. “Should we rescue the damsel in distress before it gets outta hand?”

“Hangman's a big boy, he can take care of himself–” Rooster shook your worry off like it was water rolling off his back. “Ease up Brawler.”

But you couldn't not shake the feeling that the situation Jake found himself in was consuming him. In over his head for once. Keeping a close eye on the way the girl's hands roamed his body as she tried to kiss him–Jake just wasn't into it, trying to push this girl away that just wouldn't get the message. The final straw that had you finishing your beer and shoving the pool cue into Roosters chest before he could stop you from making strides across the Hard Deck with fire in your eyes was when you saw her hand graze up his thigh and land into his crotch–Making Jake jump back on his stool with wide eyes.

Jake Seresin was a lot of things, but when he was hitting on whoever he had his eyes on for the night he was always respectful of their boundaries. He knew the difference between not wanting a fucking bar of his bullshit and flirting just to get a rise. This girl however, god she couldn't hit water if she fell out of a goddamn boat.

“Hey!” You shouted. Fist balling at your side. “Hey! You need a hand Seresin or you good?” You asked as you made your way over, the look in Jake's eyes said it all. He was thankful for your efforts to come and drag his sorry ass out of the situation he found himself in. The only one who seemed to give a shit.

“I’m—“ He was going to say that he was happy to see you, happy that you’d come over because he wasn’t sure how to actually get out of the situation he found himself in. Sure it wasn’t the he didn’t find the girl still pressed up against him attractive. No. But he’d been into the idea of getting to know you a little more recently and fuck he wished he’d started that pursuit earlier. But he didn’t get a chance to speak because his not so appropriate companion was interrupting.

“He’s fine, we’re gonna get outta here in a minute.” The blonde turned over her shoulder to entertain you with a smirk. “You can come with us if you want, or not, I don't mind–but I'm taking your friend here home.”

“Is that what he wants to do?”

“Does it really matter what he wants when he looks an Adonis and has already fucked half the bar—?” Oh. She didn’t just say that.

“Oh fuck–” Roosters watching with panic rising in his chest as he watches the blonde laugh in your face, knowing you’re gonna blow your top any second. “Payback, nights over.”

“What why?” Paybacks just turn to Rooster who's taking off in your direction. “It's not even midnight yet?” Trust you and Hangman to ruin New Years Eve.

“Midnight enough.” Rooster shouted over his shoulder. As he does he sees you twist your hand up into the girl's hair, pulling her away from Jake who’s sat perched on his stool gobsmacked as you drag his assailant off of him. Fumbling with her in your grasp before you swing a nasty right hook into her jaw. Blood splattering from her mouth as she stumbles and comes at you with claws sharper than your whitt.

“Fucking bitch–” You hiss as shes clawing at your face, shoving her back into a mirror that shatters on impact as he press her against the wall. Grinding her against the rough interior like grated cheese. “Touch him again, I dare you.”

“Holy shit, chick fight!” Fanboys hollering from the table him, Bob and phoenix are sitting at having a peaceful dinner. “That's Brawler! Fuck–”

“Of course it is.” Bob’s turning in his chair with wide eyes. God he hates it when you get like this, far too much like his brother Rhett. The black sheep of the family, Bob would rather settle down and do a nice crossword puzzle than have his knuckles bloodied and bruised. You and Rhett however seemed to both have affinity for beating people up. He couldn't deny that either of you didnt start something you couldn't finish. “She’s gonna end up behind bars one day if she keeps going like this.”

“Well, at least the call signs accurate.” Phoenix just sighs as she wipes her mouth, standing on her feet to go and help Rooster and Hangman break up the bar fight. “Can't take her anywhere.”

“What is your problem!?” The woman you've got pinned to the ground screams as you lay another fist into her mouth. She's crying, it makes you smirk a bloodied grin down at her. “You psycho bitch!”

“You touched what’s mine, I don't take well to sharing.” You hissed as you felt arms wrapping around your torso, kicking and screaming you whaled out to be let go. “Get off me! Let me at her! Ill fucking gut her like a fish!”

“Ease up Y/n! She’s down!” Jakes got you pressed against his chest as he held you back, still trying to lunge at the blonde who was bloodied on the ground at his feet. “She's down.”

“She touched you–” You spat, still seeing red as Jake dragged you out of the hard deck still kicking and screaming. “She fucking had it coming!!!” Jake doesn't know what to do when Rooster and Phoenix follow him out, helping the girl who'd been giving him a hard time for the better half of the night stand on her own feet. His grip falters for only a mere few seconds and you're off again. Tackling the women down the front stairs into the sand–landing one final punch before Rooster is tossing you over his shoulder.

“BRAWLER ENOUGH! Fuck you’re gonna kill her!” He shouted with enough gusto that it's breaking through the haze that's clouded your better judgement. That and the alcohol in your system.

Everyone watches from either the windows or the front deck as Rooster puts you down, eyeing you off as your gaze drops to the girl crying in the sand–her friends finally coming to her aid with panic just oozing from their pores. Jake can’t register what's going on for the life of him, he’s seen you go at it a time or two, usually trying your luck with some older fellow whos pissing Penny off or some girl whos more as likely to give you a venereal disease than a black eye, but never has he ever seen you go at it with someone over him.

“Believe me when I say if I ever see you here again I won't go so easy next time.” That's Rooster cue to drag you off from prying eyes as Penny makes her way out with the first aid kit. Jakes hot on Rooster's tail, finding you sitting on one of the picnic tables around the side.

“You gonna tell me what the fuck that shit was about?” Jake groans as he takes in the sight of you. Lip split–eye swollen, hair a complete mess under the dim light of the festoon lights hanging above. “Or are you just trying to get an aggravated assault charge put against you.”

“Don't push it Jake–” Rooster warns as he assesses the damage, he’s done this far too many times to count. He’s surprised in your amature career that you haven't been dealt a minor brain injury or suffered anything like internal bleeding. “You know damn well she was coming to your defence.”

“I had it covered.”

“Please, spar me the honry details Seresin you were practically about to be date raped.” You choked back a groan of agony as Rooster pressed his thumb into your rib, confirming what he thought to be true. “Ow! The fuck Bradshaw–”

“Probably just fractures, but an elbow to the ribs will do that.” He said sternly as he watched the cut on your forehead from the shattered glass leak fresh blood. “Be right back, don’t let her fucking move–” Bradley pointed a finger into Jakes sternum. “I'm gonna go get the med kit from Penny.” Silence fell between you and Jake as he came to sit beside you. Listening to the sound of the waves crash against the shore. Aggravated by the moon's push and pull.

“I did have it covered you know–”

“Looked like you were crying out for help when you caught my attention.” You had to get rid of the blood pooling in your mouth, leaning over to spit a glob of saliva and blood mixture into the sand. “S’okay Hangman, I won't tell anyone you were almost North Islands next Murder Mystery.” You teased. “That girl was gonna fuck you up and you know it.”

“Doesn't mean I needed you to go all Rocky Balboa on her.” Jakes bumping your shoulder with his, smiling softly as you both laugh for a second. “Bob’s gonna be pissed you know.”

“Bob’s just gonna have to deal with it–” it was a touchy subject, but a subject you were happy to discuss with Hangman. He just got you. “Don't call Rhett.”

“Wasn't gonna bother, last time I did he told me to send you back to Wyoming and I can't really have you doing that.” You had followed your older brother into the Navy only a few short years after he’d enlisted. You’d come off the back of your stock horse during a camp drafting event and never wanted to get on the back of another horse again. Still chasing the same high–You ended up flying F-18’s. “Who else is gonna beat the ever living shit out of the girls who just can't keep their hands off me?”

“Keep it in your pants Seresin, I'm not interested in whatever diseases you've picked up over the years.” You hissed as Jake moved his hand to fix your hair behind your ear, saturated in blood from the cut on your forehead. “You should see the other guy.” You murmured as your eyes lingered on his before dropping ever so quickly to his lips then back to his soft gaze.

“Sure you're not, that's why you jumped into the nosebleed section when you saw her touch my junk.” No. You’d jumped in because over the years you’d been stationed in North Island, you’d never felt a love like the love you had for Jake Seresin. Ever since He’d been called back for that one mission–You’d been all in from then. Bob could see it, so did Rooster. You’d been his wingwoman since right after you’d both been posted out on a more permanent basis.

“I was just saving her from whatever you've contracted, medical bills are expensive you know.”

“You say that as if you won't be taking a trip to the emergency department to get checked out there Brawler.”

“Oh I'm fine.” You sighed as you got down from the top of the picnic table much to Jake's dismay. He had a simple task to not let you leave. “I expect a slab of beer to be at my door by tomorrow–consider it my damsel in distress tax.” You taunted Jake as you hobbled away with your hand pressed to your ribs. “Tell Rooster I’m fine, gonna go sleep it off in the back of the Bronco, wouldn't wanna ruin new years anymore than need be.”

“I'd kiss you you know–” Jake’s voice was breaking through the silence as he sat still on the picnic table, watching with his elbows on his knees as you turned around to face him with a scowl. “But I don't wanna take advantage of the concussion I know you've got and that split lips looks killer.”

“Why the fuck would you wanna kiss me for?” You asked, challenging him to tell you more. In all his years in North Island Jake Sersin had never felt a love like he feels for you. But it just never clicked that you may have felt the same. Until tonight when you defended him and it hit like a freight train.

“Because you're the best person I know.” Jake started with something that probably wouldn't be too jarring to your equilibrium. “And I’ve been struggling with the idea that I’ve been falling in love with you ever since I met you but always thought you just saw me for what I let everyone see.”

“Struggling huh?” Jake didn't mean to offend you in any way, but it had missed the mark and hit a nerve that stung in your chest nevertheless. “Damn, maybe I do have a concussion, because I know you didn’t just say that.” You shrugged Jake off like he didn't just confess his love for you. “I know I don’t bring much to the table Jake—but girls like that? are the biggest fuck arounds you’ll ever meet.” You let the silence linger for a moment before you swallowed back tears that threatened to spill over at the thought of Jake struggling with the fact he had feelings for you, as if you couldn’t be loved. Never good enough. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” You smiled as much as your split lip would allow you to. “Stay away from Badge Bunnies–I'm not always gonna be there to fend 'em off.”

“Y/n–hold on, I didn't mean it like–” Jake sighed as he raced after you, but as he went to Rooster rounded the corner with the medical kit he’d stolen from Penny after she’d finished doing a quick first aid assessment on the girl you’d beaten half to death.

“I thought I told you not to let her leave?” Bradley hissed through gritted teeth as he watched you heading for his Bronco. “She good?”

“She’s gonna sleep it off.” They both watched as you climbed into bradleys bronco like you owned it. More often than not though it's where you ended up. Much to Bob’s own dismay, he’d always hated it how you and Rhett could sleep anywhere with anything. Much to like each other to relies how fucking idiotic you two really were. “Said she’s fine.”

“Yeah well, those girls talking about pressing charges.” Rooster groaned as he and Jake made their way back into the Hard Deck as you laid down with a grunt, using one of Bradleys Bomber jackets as a blanket. “Tried to smooth talk 'em but they won't budge.”

“Shit.” Jake just sighed as he rubbed a hand across his face, catching the look Bob was sending him through the window of the Hard Deck. “What the actually fuck man.”

“Hey, she said you needed help man, I didn't listen–maybe if I had this wouldn't have happened.”

“I was fine, I had it covered.” Jake pressed, he knew there had to be more to it than just you wanted to defend him. “She was gonna get into it with someone tonight, we all knew it.”

“Kinda stings knowing it was over you though huh?” Bradley smiled as he tapped Jake on the shoulder. Watching as his best friend just threw his head back in defeat.

“Like a bitch bro.”

***~***~****~****~*****~*****~***~****~

[honnelander]

crush

alright, this is such a niche and self-indulgent little piece of writing bc i freaking LOVE this (awful and huge asshole) character buuut i do like to write for whatever i love in the moment sooo here's a little Brad Wolfe aka Hunter X-5 fic (he's cute ok??) (and if you're into marvel and are not watching the loki series, PLEASE go watch it! it's so amazing!) credit to @mrsbawar21-blog for the still!

WARNINGS: none

word count: 2.8

pairing: Brad Wolfe (Hunter X-5) x reader

summary: Mobius could tell Brad knew you a lot better than he was letting on, and he wanted to get to the bottom of it.

masterlist

taglist: @antrenna @buggy0827 @laviiv @feelinmatcha @ivonarfsh @facelessfionna @deserticwren @shadydeanmuffin

"See? Isn't this nice, Brad?" Mobius asked his beige jumpsuit-claded prisoner as he sipped on his vanilla milkshake, happy as a clam. "I mean, literally ten minutes ago we were at each other's throats, yelling at one another, and here we are," Mobius gestured around with his hands, emphasizing the 1980s McDonald's they were currently sitting in, "sharing a meal like two adults."

"Yeah, and you also tortured me," Brad replied quickly, not missing a beat as he kept his gaze set on the pair of Lokis conversing in the parking lot through the window. He drummed his fingers on the plastic tabletop, bouncing his leg up and down as he quickly glanced at Mobius with a quirked eyebrow. "Forgot to mention that part, huh?"

"Yeah, and you called me a 'nobody'," Mobius rebutted quickly, a hint of irritation dripping from his voice. He stopped himself, shaking his head slightly with closed eyes as he exhaled curtly.

Now wasn't the time to dispute that and the silver-haired TVA analyst knew that arguing with X-5- or Brad, whoever, was a waste of everyone's time and he didn't feel like renewing their earlier verbal scrimmage here when there were more pressing matters at hand. Ultimately, Brad did bring them to Slyvie in the end so that must count for something, right?

"But, that doesn't matter. See, I even bought you a shake," Mobius said, reaching across the table to pick up Bradley's vanilla shake and put it closer to him. "A little peace offering."

Brad's eyes flitted to Mobius' obvious olive branch for a second before looking back up to the analyst, unimpressed. After a beat, he raised his right hand, jabbing an accusatory index finger at Mobius, as he cocked his head to the side, saying, "But you did slap me, right in the face. I'm not gonna forget that."

"Just take the shake, Brad," Mobius said swiftly, slightly exasperated as he suppressed the urge to roll his eyes and let out a frustrated sigh.

Now, Mobius M. Mobius prided himself on his seemingly never-ending well of patience, but even he felt himself start to get annoyed at Brad's unrelenting persistence on being as difficult as can be. Did he always try to be as annoying as possible or was this just how the ex-hunter always is naturally? It was exhausting.

The former minute man-turned-actor glanced down at the shake again, leaving it untouched before looking out the window to refocus on the Lokis outside. "What- what are they even doing out there?" he asked with a huff, gesturing a hand towards the pair of variants. "It's like they're going over every detail of their relationship or something."

"Yeah, well," Mobius relented with a small sigh, taking another sip of his shake. "There's a lot of baggage to unpack when you're basically in a relationship with yourself," he explained casually like he was talking about a bad day at the office.

Brad picked up on the slight disdain in his captor's tone but he didn't care enough to broach the topic any further. Instead, Brad sighed in slight disgust as he resumed drumming his fingers on the table saying, "God... it's weird."

Not wanting to harp on his partner's unorthodox romantic relationship any more than he had to, Mobius picked up a plastic fork, getting ready to dig into his pie. "Now, why don't you tell me a little bit more about your movie, huh?"

Brad rolled his eyes and scoffed at Mobius's obvious deflecting technique. "What about it?"

"Tell me about all about it." The analyst took a forkful of pie, asking with an encouraging smile, "Is it a horror flick?"

"Oh, come on, Mobius. You don't care."

"No, really! I'm serious," he said through a mouthful of pie. "The poster we saw looked scary."

Not being one to pass up discussing his work and real life that awaited him back on the sacred timeline, Brad took the bait. "It's not scary... it's elevated thriller," he explained in a slightly matter-of-fact tone, waving his hand around for emphasis. In a condescending tone, he added, "It's cinema, thank you very much."

Mobius had no clue if there really was a difference between a scary movie and an 'elevated thriller', since it all sounded the same to him, but he appreciated Brad's enthusiasm on the topic.

Lifting his milkshake up to his mouth to try and hide his amused smirk, Mobius relented, "Oh, my bad. You're right... 'elevated thriller', got it." He nodded as he took a sip, putting his cup back down when he was finished. "I'll have to check that out then."

"And you have to get your own ticket!" Brad continued. "I'm not hooking you up. Especially not after all of," he waved his hands around at their current setting, "this."

"Right, of course," Mobius agreed patiently, watching Brad with a small smile. "I'll get my own tickets."

After his small spiel, the ex-hunter let out a small sigh. He blinked, a look of recognition overcoming his face as he straightened up like he was remembering the situation he was currently in.

He turned his torso to face Mobius head-on, putting his arms on the table and motioning towards the TVA analyst's meal. "Look, why don't we get this all to go, huh? It- it packs right up. Why don't we just- get it to go, so we can get out of here," he said, emphasizing the second half of his sentence as he mimicked packing something up and motioned towards the exit.

"We can't do that," Mobius rejected quickly. "Not yet, anyway. I haven't finished eating and besides, y/n hasn't even gotten her food yet," he added, jabbing a thumb over at you, who was loitering by the cashier in the front, hands on your hips as you looked up at the menu.

Brad followed Mobius' thumb, huffing out another irritated sigh at your figure and rolling his eyes. "She's still ordering? We don't have time for this- God," he muttered under his breath and slumped in his chair, rubbing his jaw. "She always takes forever to do anything," he added with a mumble.

However, Brad's little admission right there didn't escape Mobius' keen ears. Trying to keep casual, he dug back into his pie. "'Takes forever to do anything', huh?" he asked nonchalantly. "It kinda sounds like you know a lot about y/n."

Brad's eyes flashed to Mobius's briefly before looking elsewhere, shifting in his plastic seat. "Yeah, well, she's your partner, isn't she?" He glanced out at Loki for a second, "Or, at least one of them? You should know how slow she can be sometimes."

The silver-haired analyst shook his head once. "She's not slow. I prefer the term meticulous, actually."

For whatever reason, Brad felt the need to clarify himself, which Mobius couldn't help but find interesting since he knew X-5 to be a guy who always brazenly said what was on his mind no matter the circumstances.

"I didn't mean slow as in stupid," Brad quickly clarified. "I-I meant as in she just takes a long time to do anything."

"Uh-huh," Mobius replied simply, secretly enjoying how bent out of shape the man in front of him was getting. "Right."

"Yeah..." Bradley trailed off, finally picking up his forgotten shake and taking a long sip of it, avoiding Mobius's expectant gaze. After a few beats of silence, he put his shake back on the table, looking over at Mobius with an annoyed glance. "What?"

"Nothing," Mobius replied easily, looking over at Brad once again before looking back at his food, munching on a fry. "I just think it's interesting how you know how 'slow' y/n can be sometimes, that's all."

"Look," he looked back at Mobius, a hint of irritation (and embarrassment?) in his features. "Whatever little 'thing' you're trying to imply here between me and her, just drop it."

Mobius perked up, looking back at his prisoner. There it was again, Brad's peculiar choice of words. "'Drop it'? Don't you mean 'give it up'? Since 'giving up' would imply that there's absolutely nothing there, whereas 'dropping it' would mean that something is there but you just don't want to talk about it?"

Brad sat up. "Drop it, give it up- whatever Mobius, just stop talking about it."

A smile started to creep up on Mobius's face, finding joy in all of this. This little impromptu interrogation was turning out to be a lot more fun than the last one he had with the actor. "'It'? So there's an 'it' now? What's 'it'? Do you mean your little crush on y/n?"

The actor's body stiffened for a nanosecond before turning to fully face the analyst. "Mobius, I swear to God-"

"OH! So that's a 'yes'!" Mobius declared, hitting the tabletop playfully with a grin, his smile only getting wider at seeing Brad become more and more agitated. "You do have a crush on y/n! Aw, that's so adorable Bradley, really."

The ex-hunter leaned back in his chair, scrunching up his face as he looked to away. "'A crush'? Really, Mobius? What are we- five? Please."

"Oh, so you love her?"

Brad's eyes widened, snapping back to look at him. "What? No, I don't-"

"Oh, that's ok," Mobius reassured with a wave. "Maybe your crush on her will blossom into love one day, who knows? I mean, life is crazy right?" He got another forkful of pie as he said, "I just can't believe that you had a crush on my partner this whole time and I didn't even notice. What kind of analyst am I?"

Mobius shook his head, laughing at his own joke. It seemed so obvious to him now. He should've realized that X-5 had some type of feelings for his long-time work partner eons ago. He always thought it was strange how X-5 would randomly stop to chat with them, well, with you mostly he now realized, at seemingly random times throughout the day, like when you both were having lunch in the cafeteria or how X-5 would always be the minute man to volunteer and be the muscle for one of your missions if need be. He had always thought it was weird and strange, but now it just made sense.

"Mobius," Brad said, letting out a defeated sigh. "Can you just, drop it? Please?"

Mobius looked back up, eyebrows raised as he looked up at the former minute man. "And now you're saying 'please'? Wow, you're just full of surprises today Bradley, aren't you?" he asked with a disbelieving laugh. He watched as Brad slunk back into his seat, a resigned look on his face. Ever the kind soul, Mobius kinda felt kinda bad for him. "Hey, look," Mobius started, in a softer tone, "X-5, Brad, Bradley, whatever you want to be called, your secret is safe with me, alright? I won't tell her, I promise."

The movie star was quiet for a moment, sucking on his teeth. Even though he personally might not like Mobius, he did know that Mobius was a man of his word and kept his promises so, he had no choice but to trust him. "Yeah, well... thanks," he said, flashing the analyst with a quick look of gratitude as he rapt his knuckle on the table.

"Hey, no problem," Mobius said, regarding the man across from him for another moment before finishing up his pie. With a small, surprised laugh, Mobius said, "You know, I just think it's funny how a," jerk, he thought to himself, "guy like you ends up with a little, school-yard crush on such a kind and caring person like y/n."

Brad raised an eyebrow at Mobius's choice of words. "'A guy like me'? Liking someone like her? What is that supposed to mean Mobius?"

"Oh, nothing," he replied innocently. "I just think it's funny. I guess, in this case, opposites really do attract, huh?"

"Oh, what? Now you're calling me a jerk?" Brad started, ready to go at it with Mobius again. "Why don't you just-"

"Hey, guys," you said, finally arriving at the table with a brown to-go paper bag with your food, sliding into the seat next to Mobius, your partner, unknowingly stopping the argument that was about to take place. "Sorry I took so long. There were just so many options to choose from, you know? It was hard to decide."

Now that Mobius was keen on Brad's little crush on you, he couldn't help but want to mess with him even further. "Ah that's ok y/n, I know that sometimes those things can be a little slow," he said, the corner of his mouth twitching upwards when Brad sent him a glare. "So don't worry about it."

"No word from Loki yet?" you asked, completely oblivious to the invisible sparing match occurring between the two men. "They're still out there?" you asked as you leaned on the table, craning your neck to try and see the two variants better.

"No, nothing yet. Hey, y/n," Mobius said suddenly, hitting your shoulder slightly like he had just come up with a great idea. "Why don't you move and sit next to Brad? I think he has a better vantage point to see them than I do," he innocently suggested, sending Brad a good-natured wink.

Brad nearly face-palmed himself. He forgot that Mobius could sometimes be as subtle as a baseball bat. "Mobius," he warned lowly.

But the mentioned analyst continued unphased. "And while you're sitting over there, watching the Lokis, you know, next to Brad," he added again for emphasis, "you can eat your meal."

"Oh, no need," you answered easily, to which question, the guys didn't know. "I got my food to go."

"See?" Brad quickly straightened, a newfound urgency in his tone and movements are he looked back and forth between you and Mobius. "She's smart, she got her food to go, to have back at the TVA. Which is exactly where we all need to be. Right now. Let's go."

"Jeez, Brad, what is it with you?" He asked exasperatedly, rolling his eyes. "You're like a broken record. First, you're all like, 'get me back to the sacred timeline' and now you're all like, 'get me out of here'." He shook his head. "It's like you-"

"Know something," you said, cutting off Mobius' train of thought, your eyes looking at your beige jumpsuited prisoner with a calculating gaze.

At your words, Mobius stopped his spiel, blinking as he leaned back in his seat, his eyes looking over at Brad in thought. "Do you know something?" he asked.

Brad, however, stayed quiet. He picked up his milkshake, swirling it around before taking a couple of sips as he turned his body away from you both, looking out the window.

"Hey," Mobius said a little more firmly, slapping the actor's forearm to get his attention. "Don't get all quiet on me now, Zaniac. What do you know? Is this a setup?"

"It's an ambush," you said.

But Brad continued to suck on the straw, not looking at either of you.

"Bradley, answer me," Mobius said forcefully.

Brad put his milkshake down, swallowing the sweet treat before looking at you. "We need to get out of here," was all he said.

You held eye contact with him, discerning the urgency and panic you saw held within his gaze. You couldn't help but feel that when Brad had said 'we', he really only meant you and him. His look and words sent a shiver down your spine.

Mobius was the first to get up, the rest of his meal forgotten. "Alright, let's go. We need to regroup with Loki so our friend Brad here can tell us what's really going on." He picked up his tray, walking over to the trash to dump the rest of his fast food scraps away, and put his tray on top of the can.

Brad held your stare for another moment before finally blinking, breaking the spell, as he hastily got up himself. "Finally," he muttered. He tossed his drink away as he quickly followed behind Mobius.

But you didn't move. You stared at the now empty spot that X-5 had occupied seconds ago, trying to discern why you felt that he knew about a lot more than just this current situation.

As always, your long-time partner and best friend knew when you needed to be broken out of your train of thought and get you back on track. "Y/n!" Mobius called out as he headed towards the exit. "Let's go!"

Snapping back to reality, you blinked, shaking off your wandering thoughts and stood up, following Mobius and Brad outside. Now wasn't the time to analyze Brad's actions and choice of words, right now all you needed to know was what Brad knew right at this moment and why he was so adamant about getting back to the TVA.

If you wanted to question Brad more, you could do that later. He was your prisoner after all and time worked differently in the TVA, right?

[layla4567]

Too close

Pairing: Brad!wolfe x fem!reader

Summary: Brad or X5 is closer to you than with other workers and you don't know why.

Word Count: 3.6k

Warnings: Fight in an alley, violence (not very graphic), bad words, use words to describe the reader's appearance such as height or eye shape but nothing too specific to be considered an OC, not proofread

A/N: Ok after episode 5 I have to admit that I doesn't hate Brad that much anymore as much as Sylvie and now I need to see him in the final episode at least so that he can redeem himself or know that he is still alive idk. Btw, how difficult it's to write something about a character who appears so little and says so little and try not to always repeat or recreate the same scenes.

You ran as fast as you could with your ponytail swinging from side to side and your brown skirt flowing with every movement of your legs. On your chest you clutched a yellow folder with papers that threatened to fly away. Your face reflected the urgency and concern of receiving a warning for being late. You were an analyst and your duty was to report any possible trace of variants and then file them to give them to Mobius, your job was also sometimes to go out and look for variants like Mobius and Loki did.

Jogging through the halls of the great TVA you passed Hunter x5 and didn't realize until he exclaimed

"Whoa whoa stop there, don't you say hello anymore?"

You stopped panting tiredly in front of him and with a distressed face, you didn't have time for this. He was wearing his typical short-sleeved black uniform with his gloves that marked his name. His hands were holding his collar in an intimidating pose.

"I'm sorry x5 but I'm really in a hurry right now"

The hunter pretended to be hurt and put his hand on his chest, closing his eyes and making a sad face. You rolled your eyes and gasped in frustration. He seemed to always want to keep you and waste your time.

"Ouch, that hurt, you know? Someday you're going to kill me" he said sarcastically.

"I'm serious x5, I have to go but I'll see you later, ok?"

Before he can say anything you touched his arm tenderly, forcing a smile despite your worried frown and ran off gracefully. He stared at your hand as you touched him and then turned to see you running away with an amused smile.

______________________________________________________________

When you got to where Mobius was, your hair was disheveled and your clothes were a little disheveled from running so much, but a smile appeared on your face as you held the folder high, triumphant and proud. You didn't say anything waiting for someone to notice your presence and then you would catch your breath. Mobius and Loki were talking about something in whispers until the gray-haired man saw you and turned to look at you completely.

"Oh y/n there you are! and you finally bring the folder, we were waiting for you"

You sighed in relief even with your smile on your face, happy to be able to accomplish your mission. You always stood out for being efficient in your work apart from your warm, sweet and helpful personality.

Loki approached you smiling and took the folder, you were turning around about to leave feeling free of responsibilities when Mobius turned his head to look at you and say

"Oh y/n, wait, don't leave yet, we have an alert about a variant in London. Could you please take care of it? Don't worry, you won't go alone."

You opened your eyes wide in surprise and you were left speechless, you did not expect to have another task to complete so quickly, you planned to have some tea first.

"Oh..but I- uh..". You mumbled awkwardly and in a low tone.

"I promise it will only be a second, we can't do it, we're busy.". He said referring to Loki and himself.

While he said that, he took out his tempad and began to send orders to someone. You didn't know who Mobius was talking to, but a growing premonition took over you. That feeling became palpable when a figure you already knew entered the room and stood behind you.

"X5 just in time, you will accompany y/n to look for the variant, alright? I will send you the coordinates and all the necessary information in your tempads"

X5 nodded without removing his hands from his collar and standing firm, you closed your eyes and sighed as you turned around and met his mischievous eyes, giving you a small lopsided smile. You frowned and pressed the corner of your lip, it's not that you didn't want to work with him but every time they assigned the two of you together he got a little annoying and wouldn't stop teasing you. You both left the room and walked through the hallways with X5 following your step.

"How soon we saw each other again little mouse". He said looking at you without stopping walking.

That nickname almost made you freeze in place but you simply turned your head and gave him a playful smile, he always called you that since you were petite than him, in fact you were the shortest worker almost O.B's height and every now and then you had to look at people with your head slightly raised or stand on tiptoe. Anyway, that silly nickname didn't bother you, on the contrary, it made you smile because you knew he was like that.

"Don't get excited, it's just for work reasons". You said without stopping smiling at him as you took a funny turn and walked backwards.

"How mean". He said with irony

You gave him an innocent smile as you shrugged and turned to walk normally again. He came forward and started walking next to you.

"By the way, isn't it strange that they always put you with me on missions? Could it be because I'm stronger than you?". He asked with a mocking tone but with an intention underneath.

This time you did stand up and turn around to face him with your hands on your hips, frowning and pouting a little, you looked so adorable that he just smirked, proud that he had made you fall into his trap. You raised your head to get a good look at him.

"Hey, be careful what you say! I can be strong if I want to."

Then you gave him a small punch on his arm, to which he leaned back a little, laughing and pretending to hold his arm in pain.

"Oh be careful with that, you almost sent me to the hospital."

You exhaled air through your mouth as you looked up at the ceiling in annoyance. You took out your tempad and touching a button on the screen made a bright orange-yellow time door appear.

"Let's not waste any more time, will you? The faster we do this, the better."

"After You"

He let you pass and you crossed the door, disappearing while X5 followed immediately behind you.

______________________________________________________________

LONDON 1977

You two arrived at a branch in London in the 70's where there seemed to be the big premiere of a movie, so you discovered it from the large billboard that was at the entrance to the theater and that said "ZANIAC". X5 next to you seemed to admire the big lights and the elegantly dressed people as if those spotlights only shined for him. He gave a surprised whistle before saying

"Wow the people here really have fun". He said as he turned around and looked around and up.

"You could be a good actor". You told him laughing

"You really think that?". He turned to see you with a sparkle in his eyes, he seemed to like the idea.

You shrugged, smiling. "I don't know, we're in the TVA anyway, remember?"

"Yeah right..". he said somehow serious

At that moment you realized that you two were still wearing your uniforms and people would start to see you strangely, you had to change your clothes to fit in now. You took out your tempad and told it to do the same, luckily that device included the appropriate clothes that Mobius had assigned for you, all you had to do was press a button and you were fully dressed.

"What do you think if we go somewhere to change and then we meet to see each other? That way it will be a surprise!". You said, biting your lower lip and smiling playfully, sometimes you were childish but so genuinely and with so many good intentions that it was difficult to say no to you.

X5 rolled his eyes but smiled at you

"Ok if you prefer, let's meet in a minute in the back alley"

You nodded and trotted towards a dead end and he walked in the opposite direction. You pressed the button on your tempad and magically your uniform disappeared in an orangey holographic snap, as if a portal had passed through you and had exchanged your clothes for a beautiful long navy blue dress with a train, even your typical ponytail had been replaced by a high bun with curly strands framing the sides of your face. The dress was strapless and the final part of the skirt was decorated with pearls that varied in size. You wished you could have a mirror in front of you. You took a graceful slow turn trying to see your back and admire the train of your dress. You have never felt so beautiful. And that was not all, the dress had a small hidden pocket to store the tempad, Mobius had thought of everything, the dress was practical, beautiful and functional. When the agreed time had passed, you headed to the alley where X5 was waiting for you. You walked a little self-conscious for wearing something so elegant and not your usual casual clothes. You looked down, playing with your fingers nervously as you walked, you saw your partner's back turned and you stopped. You could see that he had a new haircut that suited him really well, and a black tuxedo.

"X5?"

Your soft and melodious voice made him wake up from his lethargy and he turned around distractedly to see you. When he did, he was left speechless with his mouth barely open. His gaze swept your figure up and down.

"Well? How do I look?". You asked him innocently with a worried frown forming between your eyebrows as you held your fingers anxiously.

X5 still couldn't say a word, he moved his mouth trying to say something but he couldn't. He never imagined seeing you with something as beautiful as that night. In front of him you stood out like a shining star, your tight dress highlighted your figure making you look sexy but your locks framing your face, your soft tilt of your head and those beautiful doe eyes that made him melt gave you a sweet appearance.

"You y-you look... I mean-... you". He started saying but no matter how hard he tried he did nothing but babble.

You laughed softly, slightly covering your mouth with the tips of your fingers without stopping to look at him. He cursed himself for acting like a fool in front of you, but your elegant gestures hypnotized him and he couldn't get angry with you. Finally, he sighed and said.

"You look beautiful"

You opened your eyes wider, if that was possible, and looked at him like a lost puppy, standing up even more and straightening your back in surprise, he almost had to close his eyes to take your penetrating eyes off of him. Right there you realized how good he looked, more than good, hot. You had always admired men who wore tuxedos and knew how to dress well but he had taken it to another level, he had adorned his black tuxedo with a white scarf around his neck resting on his shoulders, underneath his white shirt was slightly open, now his Brown hair had grown out and was no longer short on the sides but was slightly combed back with a nice tuft of hair on her forehead pushed back. You could stare at it for hours and not get tired, but you smiled and sincerely exclaimed

"And you look very good, I like your tuxedo and especially your new hairstyle"

He seemed to smile delightedly and ran a hand through his hair, combing it with his fingers. He murmured a thank you and then seemed to remember the mission and approached you, grabbing you by the arm so that you could rest yours on his, to which you were surprised by looking at him, blushing

"You will be my date tonight"

He smiled innocently but then he saw your rosy cheeks and realized what he had just said so he quickly corrected himself.

"I mean as an alibi! We have to hide so they don't discover us, you know.". He cleared his throat, trying not to look at you.

You sighed nervously, trying to hide your face with your hand, trying to push your curls away from your face. Without further ado, they both entered through a glass door. Inside there were many well-dressed people gossiping and laughing, several photographers were taking photos and waiters passed by with silver trays serving drinks. You weren't used to so much opulence or parties surrounded by people but X5 seemed to enjoy it. Feeling somewhat intimate, you clung to your partner's arm with both hands, squeezing it a little and bringing your tense body closer to him. He looked at you confused and noticed your strong grip and immediately became serious and brought his lips to your ear, causing a pleasant tickling that made you more nervous.

"You alright?"

You raised your head not expecting him to speak to you and when you did you felt that his face was very close to yours, you could almost feel his warm breath on your face, he looked at you with a hint of concern.

"Yes, thanks". You simply said nodding, you didn't want to overwhelm him with your worries, although you didn't know that he could listen to you for hours without getting bored.

You started weaving around people remembering that you had to catch a variant so the two of you looked around the place with your eyes scanning for the person you were looking for. The cameras didn't stop firing their flashes. Suddenly your fellow hunter spotted a man who was behaving suspiciously.

"Come to the back of the room, I think I found it."

Without hesitation he took your hand and guided you to where the guy was looking from side to side trying not to be seen. As they walked X5 smiled at the cameras even though they weren't really pointed at him, you frowned in confusion and an amused smile crossed your lips.

"What are you doing?". You laughed softly

He answered you without looking at you while he continued smiling looking at the photographers. "What do I seem to be doing? Smiling at the paparazzi"

You shook your head smiling, you forgot that he could be a little…vain sometimes.

"I noticed that but why? You're not famous"

"It's to blend in with people, darling"

You rolled your eyes even though you liked the new nickname better, it sounded elegant.

"Yes, of course, whatever you say, sometimes I think you enjoy this more than I do." . You laughed

They were both about a meter away from the variant, a man with short black hair with a scar over his right eye. His eyebrows were bushy and his prominent, square jaw gave him a threatening appearance. Some men and women were in front of the two of you and due to your height you had to crane your neck to see well, X5 took you by the shoulder and gently dragged you towards a space in the crowd where the man they were looking for could clearly be seen.

"Ok now we'll get closer, you just humor me"

You were about to protest but he pulled you to follow him until you were face to face with the man. You cursed inside, sometimes X5 was too impulsive and then he didn't know how to act and got into trouble.

"Hey man! How have you been? Do you still remember me?"

The man opened his eyes while furrowing his eyebrows in an expression between terror and disgust while your partner patted his arms with a big smile. You prayed inside that he wouldn't find out.

The variant forced a teeth-clenched smile that was intended to be natural. "Excuse me, have we met before?"

X5 pretended to be offended, muffling a somewhat exaggerated exclamation, you had to make an effort not to roll your eyes and facepalm.

"So I'm really sorry you've forgotten about me! What a shame because I still remember every day."

You bit your cheek to keep from letting out a smile that would turn into a giggle. Now more strongly you thought that he could really be an actor.

"I'm sorry but I don't know who you are.". Growl annoys the variant

The man was about to turn around to leave when X5 stopped him with a quick gesture, making the man look at him with hatred.

"No no wait don't leave yet, I haven't introduced you to my girlfriend." He said pointing at you with his open palm.

You hoped with all your might that your face hadn't turned red from what he had just said, you knew it was an alibi but still having that word come out of your mouth made you tingle. Smiling, you extended your hand to shake it.

"Jack has told me a lot about you."

X5 turned his head to look at you with a frown and big eyes, confusion was present in his gaze. His face almost screamed: what are you doing? don't screw up!

The handshake the man gave you was short and rough, almost disgusting. Your partner turned his head again to see the variant with a forced smile.

"So, how about we go outside and catch up?"

The man was obviously not an idiot, luckily he still didn't know who we were or what we really worked on but even so he could sense something suspicious so for a second he narrowed his eyes studying us and then smiled unconcernedly.

"Sure, I just have to go to the bathroom first."

The man walked away with sure steps and your companion stood watching him laughing as he left. When he turned to see you he frowned again like before when you had shaken the man's hand.

"What, Jack? What kind of name is that?"

"I don't know! I couldn't think of anything better, sorry!"

X5 sighed with his hands on his hips opening the jacket of his tuxedo, suddenly you saw that the variant was not heading to the bathrooms but was running towards the back door.

"Uhm.. X5..". You said pointing towards the background

"What? what's wrong?"

"He's running!!"

They both started running through the alleys following him, you had to take off your pretty heels and carry them in one hand to be able to run better. The fear of stepping on some glass or something sharp was always present during the chase, X5 knew that so from time to time he looked back to where you were and looked at the ground in case there was something that you would hurt yourself with.

The man with the scar was in the lead but soon found himself trapped between a fence that prevented him from escaping on the other side. You and X5 arrived just in time as the man spit insults at you. When your partner approached to take him by the arm, the variant struggled and the two became intertwined in a fierce fight with shoving, until the black-haired man gave him a good punch in X5's face. You screamed desperately, approaching your partner who staggered and fell to the ground, losing his balance, you grabbed his face looking for wounds but he was focused, snorting like a bull and looking at the man who had hit him. You stood up and struggled with the man ready to drag him with you and take him away from there. But he was too strong and he pushed you sending you to the ground in pain, you landed backwards on your butt with your palms resting on the cement.

"You stay out of it, bitch!". He shouted degradingly

This seemed to light a fire in X5 because he stood up with a scowl and grabbed the guy by the neck and slammed him against a brick wall.

"Listen to me, you idiot, you will come with me and learn to treat women well. And you better obey.". He said angrily with his face close to the man looking with hatred

You were still on the ground looking at the scene scared, you had never seen your partner so angry before. It is true that he was tough when he pruned the variants and he was not afraid to demonstrate authority or dominance with his pruning cane. But you had never heard so much hate in his voice while he defended you.

X5 took out his tempad and furiously pressed a button to open the door of time, then he pushed the black-haired man abruptly and mercilessly. He was agitated and his brow furrowed at his growing fury, then he saw you lying on the ground and his face softened. He bent down to extend a hand to you and ask if you were okay. You nodded still in shock and thanked him with your eyes for his help. You stood up without difficulty and then squeezed his hands in relief.

"Thank you really, for defending me"

You wanted to show him your eternal gratitude, to let him know and understand that you were eternally grateful to him. You would never forget what he had done for you today. He smiled at you and then straightened his clothes, you helped him with his hair that had become disheveled. Then you crossed the door of time. X5 took a moment to breathe deeply and then walked in behind you.

______________________________________________________________

I don't know if I'll do another part or some kind of series about this, I honestly don't know if I'll publish it either, this was actually going to stay in drafts as a silly self-indulgent fic. If I get to publish it, well, you're welcome tumblr

[blurredcolour]

The Night Moves

[Complete]

Alternate Universe

supernatural!Bradley Bradshaw x Female Reader, supernatural!Jacob Seresin x Female Reader

An internship with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History should have been the highlight of your academic career. The perfect addition to your resume while you worked on your doctoral thesis. An interdepartmental assignment, however, sees your reality ripped apart by incomprehensible forces. Five tumultuous days will leave you forever changed and inextricably linked to two men born centuries apart.

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

Part Five

Warnings: Angst, Language, Violence, Blood, Gore, Supernatural Themes, Historical Inaccuracies, Institutional Inaccuracies, Mature/Explicit Themes - 18+ Only

>>> return to main masterlist

[fangirlvibez]

The Festival of Hearts (a royal AU) - Introduction

Characters: King!Jake “hangman” Seresin x Queen!female!reader, Royal Huntsman!Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw, Master of Arms!Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, lady-in-waiting!Natasha “Phoenix” Trace, Royal Advisor!Robert “Bob” Floyd, King Champion!Javy “Coyote” Machado, Queen Champion!Reuben “Payback” Fitch and Queen Champion!Mickey “Fanboy” Garcia

Warnings: mention of arrange marriage, mention of dead parents and passing away during childbirth, mention of hanging, mention of killing, mention of illness, mention of attacking a person, inaccuracies in terms of the Middle Ages (Let me know if I forgot a warning)

Summary of the story: princess, now Queen Y/N (Y/M/N) Y/L/N was forced into marrying King Jake “Hangman” Seresin. Leaving her own kingdom, Eldoria, behind she left to live and rule Jakes kingdom, Misthaven. The time for an age-old tradition in Y/N kingdom came. Miraculously the Queen convinces Jake to invite her old village to come celebrate the tradition with them. This is the story on how the ruthless King learns how to love his Queen.

A/N: English is not my first language, so if there is any spelling or grammar errors: please let me know

Next part - masterlist

Queen Y/n (y/m/n) l/n used to be Princess of Eldoria. She was sighed away after the king, her father, passed away of an unknown illness. The Queen, her mother, passed away during her birth. Y/n was only 19 when she had to look after her small kingdom.

When other kingdoms heard she became queen, they target Eldoria. Y/n’s kingdom didn’t have a big army and was easily over powered by others. Her father knew she would be targeted the moment other kingdoms found out he passed away. Eldoria was the smallest kingdom of them all, only having a small village of a little over one hundred villagers. Her father made an agreement with the kingdom Misthaven, agreeing on giving his daughter away to King Jake Seresin, to assure she would be saved from a violent attack from enemy kingdoms. Why her father chose the most ruthless young king to marry her, she would never understand.

King Jake “Hangman” Seresin is the king of Misthaven. Becoming king at the ripe age of 17 after his dad passed away in an attack between Misthaven and an enemy kingdom. Now at age 21 he is know to be the most ruthless king to ever exist. Villagers and enemy kingdoms started calling him Hangman after an ambushed village was found where their whole army was hanged. It was later revealed the army of Misthaven ambushed the village, leaded by Jake Seresin.

When the King of Eldoria proposed a marriage between him and his daughter, he originally refused. Only agreeing when his Royal Advisor told him it would help his imagine in his own kingdom and their villagers.

Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw is the Royal Huntsman of Misthaven. A Royal Huntsman is an expert tracker and skilled hunter who accompanies the king on hunting expeditions, ensuring their safety and providing sustenance. When the king wouldn’t be available for a battle, he, together with Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, will lead the army in the battle. He got his nickname “Rooster” from the other knights because he was always waking up the earliest to check the castle for any dangers. He isn’t afraid to kill when needed.

Pete “Maverick” Mitchell is the Master of Arms in the kingdom Misthaven. A Master of Arms is a military commander who oversees the kingdom's armed forces and advises the king on matters of defense and security. He makes the attack plans of the kingdom and is the first one that will protect his kingdom.

Natasha “Phoenix” Trace is the lady-in-waiting of the Eldoria Kingdom. A lady-in-waiting is a trusted female attendant who serves the queen closely, providing companionship, assisting with personal needs, and attending to her daily routines. Y/n and Natasha have been friends since Y/n was a young princess. Natasha isn’t afraid in standing up against knights. If woman could become knights, she would be the first one to volunteer. Being Y/n’s lady-in-waiting, she followed her to Misthaven.

Robert “Bob” Floyd is the Royal Advisor from Misthaven. A Royal Advisor is a wise and trusted counselor who offers guidance and expertise in matters of governance, diplomacy, and strategy. They provide insight to the king and help shape their decisions. Bob convinced Jake into marrying Queen y/n after he heard the dark rumors the villagers spread about their King. Bob is convinced the marriage will help Jake into becoming the loving king he needs to be.

Javy “Coyote” Machado is the Kings Champion of Misthaven. A King Champion is the personal knight of a king. This title signifies that the knight is specifically chosen and sworn to defend and protect the king at all costs. Javy and Jake have been best friends since they were little. So it wasn’t a surprise when Jake choose Javy as his champion. Javy would do anything to protect the king, even if it costs his life.

Mickey “Fanboy” García is the Queens Champion of Eldoria. Similar to the King's Champion, the Queen's Champion is selected to be the queen's dedicated defender and protector. They are responsible for ensuring the queen's safety and representing her in tournaments, ceremonies, and other royal events. Mickey became the queens champion at age 14 when the 11 year princess was almost attacked by a dangerous villager. Together with Ruben “Payback” Fitch, he will protect the Queen with his life. Like Natasha, Mickey followed the queen to Misthaven.

Reuben “Payback” Fitch is the second Queens Champion. He was given the role at age 16 when the king started to become ill. The King was scared that more dangerous villagers would attack his daughter now that he couldn’t look after his daughter like he used to do. Luckily the villagers loved the princess and the King didn’t have to worry about his worrying thoughts. Rueben went with the Queen to Misthaven but occasionally would go back to Eldoria to look after the villagers there.

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[mrsjobarnes]

Not the Only Cowboy - Chapter 4

Summary: Jake had never been the type of guy to fall first, maybe you’ll be the one to change that. 

A/N~ Sorry this took so long guys, I just got finished my first year a college and had writer’s block, especially with this story. Anyways hope you enjoy it! Xoxo

Jake Sersin x Nurse!reader 

Word count: 960

Warning: Abuse, Let me know if I missed anything 

Likes & comments are welcome! 

Please do not steal my work! 

Masterlist | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

“I came to get my fiancé,” he said with a smirk with his feet propped on your desk. 

“Leave,” you said in a shaky yet firm voice, reaching behind you to open the door. 

“Excuse me,” he said, getting up and walking to you like a hunter stalking prey, “That is no way to talk to your husband,” he said smiling and closing the door and trapping you between it and him. “You should be grateful that I haven’t dragged you out of this place and back to our home, this fantasy of you having a job has made you change. Where is my sweet, loving baby” he asked. 

“She died the minute you laid your hands on me Blake, now get out before I call  security,” you said as calmly as you could. 

“And what are they gonna do,” he said in a growling tone. You closed your eyes and prayed to whatever God there was for help. “Now get your stuff and get in the truck we’ve got a long drive home.” You did as he said and grabbed your purse. 

As you walked out of your office you told your secretary you had to leave for a family emergency and that you’d be back tomorrow. You slowly led Blake the longest way possible to  the parking lot hoping to run into someone who could help you. After a few minutes, Blake caught on, “Alright baby you’ve had your fun, now lead us to the truck or you’ll have hell to pay.” you swallowed knowing he made good on his threats. You had one last chance to get help. You decided to walk past the pilot’s break room and then to the parking lot. Hopefully, someone will see you. As you walked past the room you looked in and made eye contact with Bob and signed SOS. you hoped he knew what you meant, you slowly began to come to terms with the fact that you were stuck again as you made your way to his car.  

—

Bob was exhausted and just wanted a cup of coffee, the new drills had been getting on his nerves because no one could complete them. As he sat down in the lounge room he saw you and a strange man walk by. Something was off, your body language didn’t look right, you looked on edge. Then he saw you sign SOS and he knew he needed to get help. He ran to the group and explained the situation. Hangman was the first to take off towards the civilian parking lot. Bob and Rooster took off after him once they made it there they started to look for you. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a white pickup truck move toward the exit. “I found her guys” he yelled. They all ran to the exit and narrowly made it. They stood in front of the car and saw Y/n in the car with tear streaks down her face. 

“Is there a problem soldier?” Blake said out of the window. Jake walked to your side and opened the door. “What the hell are you doing, get your hands off my wife!” he shouted. Bradley made his way to the driver’s side right as Blake got out of the car and tried to explain that one of their comrades had sliced his hand open while doing repairs on his plane. “Okay but I want her back in 15 minutes,” he says to the group. Walking up to you and hugging you “Don’t try anything” he said squeezing your arm. 

Jake grabs your hand and starts leading you in that direction. “Who is hurt?” you ask. Jake leads you towards Mavericks office in the opposite direction. You saw the gang waiting outside of Mavs office. 

“No one, Bob said something seemed off so we came running,” Jake said walking you into Maverick’s office where Phoenix, Maverick, and Cyclone were all standing. You saw your file on the desk. He shut and locked the door when you were in the room. “Everything you say in here doll stays between us,” he said, leading you to a seat. 

“Y/n why didn’t you tell us you were married?” Maverick asked 

“Because I'm not, that’s my ex-fiancé, I have no idea how he found me,” you say as you start sobbing. “I was so careful and made sure my old base wouldn’t tell him my new assignment. I thought I was free,” you say, trying to stop crying. 

“What I'm about to ask you may be a difficult question but has he ever physically hurt you?” Cyclone asked you. You shake your head yes and cry even harder. Jake wraps his arms around you while the others start talking and making a plan. 

Once you’ve calmed down Maverick starts talking, “Okay, Y/n we have devised a plan to get you out of here. You’re gonna go to your apartment with Phoenix and Jake and get some stuff and stay with Phoenix, okay?” he says. You shake your head yes, and stand to follow Phoenix to her car. 

“Stay right here with Jake while I get my car,” she said walking to her car. Jake clears him through as if asking you to look at him. 

“Please look at me,” Jake says. He pulls your chin to look at him and is met with your glossy eyes. “Darling look at me, I will never let him hurt you. Ever again. Not while I'm still breathing. Do you hear me” he says, looking at you with something you hadn’t expected. It wasn't a pity.  It was genuine and pure, it almost felt like love. You quickly look away scared of the feeling of loving someone again. 

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