#I have been found sleeping with my phone - alarm *blaring* - in my sleeping hand tucked underneath my face

[elusivecagedmockingbird]

Orbiting: pt.3°

: pt.1° | pt.2°

[icehockey!jungkook x figureskater!reader] [1.8k idiot fwb to lovers; mutual pining, TONS of smut, use of cock ring]

-

"Jungkook, you can't be serious," you're limping around your home following the cause of your headache.

"I am," he deadpans. He pushes your throw pillows on one side of the couch and plops himself in it. "Back to your room, Y/N. Or do you need me to tuck you in?" he teases with a grin.

Tired from the day and your ankle still throbbing with pain, you huff and retreat to your room. You don't bother closing your door.

"You coming?" You call.

A second passes. Then another. He didn't fall asleep already, did he?

A thud is heard from your living room. Then, Jungkook appears in your doorway.

Shirtless. You gulp, trying not to salivate. He knows he looks good; he doesn't need the boost.

"You're insatiable," he chastises, but at the same time, he's walking closer to you. "But you need to rest, babe." His hands softly rub your head, then tuck a stray strand of hair behind your ear.

"It's not that. It's cold outside," you roll your eyes. "Can't have you getting sick, at least not until your game tomorrow. Your team needs their star player," you jest.

Jungkook only giggles, already claiming his side of your bed. The side that's always been his. Even before this whole friends-with-benefits thing, Jungkook always slept on the right side of your bed during sleepovers or when he needed to crash the night after a long practice.

You lived a bit closer to the rink—that was his excuse to the guys on his team when they teased him. Also, his mom agreed that it wasn't safe for him to be driving late at night, especially when he was already tired. Sure, she didn't know he slept in your room, but it was all 'platonic' then. The important thing was he was getting good rest. It really wasn't because of your warmth beside him in bed and that he found comfort in seeing you after an exhausting day that made him sleep better. Or so he thinks.

It's a tug-of-war when it comes to him admitting how he feels on certain moments.

"Hey, get your head out of the gutter, Jeon," you mimic his words earlier.

With a pout but round eyes filled with mischief, Jungkook retaliates with tickles. In a fit of laughter, you try to get him to stop, "Gguk.. my fo—ot."

"Oh, shit," he raises his hand to stop. "Sorry, babe."

Catching your breath, you throw him a glare, "You're lucky I can't tackle you." Jungkook responds with by nuzzling his head in your neck and littering pecks on your neck. "Go to sleep," he mumbles between kisses.

You let out a chortle, "You're the one wreaking havoc on my bed, Jeon."

He hums coyly in reply.

"Hey," you nudge his head on your shoulder,"Thank you."

Jungkook tilts his head and and kisses your lips. "Always," his voice soft, sleep slowly penetrating him. You let a minute pass until his breathing evens out, and then, slowly and very carefully, you press your lips to his forehead.

"Night, Gguk," you whispered.

-

You were a morning person. And from the moment you wake up at 6 A.M, you follow your routine to a T.

The alarm goes off for the second time and the clock already reads 6:13 A.M. Your hands struggle to reach your phone on the bedside table and it doesn't help that Jungkook keeps pulling your body further down the bed. Your hips are pinned with his tattooed hands, back arched from pleasure, and legs dangle on the edge of the bed.

Kneeled at the foot of your bed, Jungkook pushes his face deeper between your thighs. His warm tongue switching between sucking and flicking your clit. The lewd sounds of wet pleasure and your breathless moans echoes around your room, drowning the blaring alarm.

You plead for more. You want more. You need more. More pleasure, more of Jungkook. So, you grab his head and push him towards your sex while you buck your hips. Jungkook only groans in response. You can feel your orgasm nearing, but right before you unravel, he pulls away.

"Fucking insatiable." Jungkook licks his lips, tongue catching every drop of you, "And I love it." He stands, his hard cock springing and leaking, then reaches for something in your bottom drawer. But before his hand could re-emerge from the box, you already know what to expect.

Both of your breathing picks up, eyes meeting each other. You were the first to break away. Your eyes traveling down to where his hands are—one shamelessly pumps his dick and the other holds a vibrating cock ring.

With your good foot, you push yourself back up to the bed. "Good girl," Jungkook smirks.

"You gonna stand there all day or are you going to fuck me?" You taunt.

"Nah, I plan to wreck you, babe."

Cock ring in place around his dick, Jungkook aligns himself to your cunt. He's only a tip in and you can already feel the vibrations. Jungkook feels good, too. His brows furrowed, mouth hang open and quiet moans spill.

Truly insatiable and impatient, you pull Jungkook by his arms, "Wreck me. I want all of you, Jungkook."

The sounds your mouth and pussy make and the smell of sex permeating the air intensifies the pleasure Jungkook feels. He would love to start every day like now—buried inside you, your pussy clenching and sucking him back in every time he pulls out. Your whines grow pitchier every second, and Jungkook knows you're close. But he wants to prolong this moment, despite his cock throbs with want to release. So, he plunges deep into your pussy and stills. The cock ring still vibrates around his cock and sits perfectly in line with your clit.

Tears gather at your eyes and while you're always pretty, this look you have when you're being fucked dumb has to be one of Jungkook's favorites.

"Wanna cum," you plead. You're at each other's mercy, but it's Jungkook who drives you to orgasm—coming undone and moaning in unison.

The moment passes, and you both hiss at sensitivity from the vibrating cock ring.

"Wear my jersey to tonight's game, yeah?"

-

Loud sirens go off as the box opens, and the players run to the ice.

Your eyes are quick to scan the huddle, looking for the man with the 97 print on his jersey.

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen," the announcer booms. "Welcome to the beginning of the hockey season. Now, Neil, who do you think will be our star player this season?"

"Easy question, Jack. I would place my bets on Jeon Jungkook. This kid is dubbed the golden maknae of their team and to outsiders."

You agree. Jungkook truly excels in everything he does. And while it may seem as if things come easy for him to strangers and mere acquaintances, no one sees the early mornings and long hours of work he put in to be the best.

"What a phenom. I've heard at least 3 NHL clubs would love to have him on their roster. Truly an incredible young athlete. And if you haven't seen him before, you're in for a real treat."

Goal after goal has been made within the past 50 minutes. On the ice, Jungkook glances at the bright scoreboard. It's neck and neck, and the crowd chaotically shouts. He hears their team name louder, he thinks. And he can't help but feel driven at the thought that one of those loud cheers of his name is from you in the stands.

"It's your shot, Jeon," his teammate shouts as they pass around the puck. Jungkook is terrible at multitasking, but as he dodges the opposing team trying to get the puck, he quickly peeks at the side of the bleachers where he knows you always sit. It's a brief moment, but he sees you—hair tied with green ribbons, their team color, and you're wearing his old jersey. He was right, too. You were screaming his name.

He smirks. Speeds up, and the rest happens in quick succession—Jungkook shifts his hockey stick to take the puck, glides it to the center, and makes a goal.

The cheers grow louder. Despite remaining seated among the jumping crowd, Jungkook was quick to find you again, and you made eye contact. He smiles and you blow him a kiss back.

-

Still high on adrenaline, Jungkook slams his hips behind you. His sulky mood earlier from not being able to fuck you in the showers turned a 180 because he's reminded how much he prefers this view, anyway. His hands pull at your braid while you're fucking yourself back into him.

A strangled call of his name leaves your mouth. He doesn't like that you're holding back your moans. Slipping his cock out of you, he holds your leg delicately and flips you within the tight space of his car, knocking the breath out of you.

Above you, Jungkook's abs glisten with sweat, and his tip slick with your arousal and his. You sit up, wincing from the discomfort from your foot, and pull him for a kiss.

He loves it when you get this eager and hungry for a kiss. It has him fucked. Not only does it make him rock hard but it has his heart constricting, too. It doesn't help that no one else has made a mess of him like this. And he’s not just talking about the mind-numbing, toe-curling pleasure he gets every time you have sex.

Years ago, he thought he made peace with the fact that all you could ever be was best friends. But ever since your arrangement, his desire for you grew. He didn't even think it was possible, but here he is a year later. His arm clung to your waist, laying you on his backseat cushion. Jungkook continues to thrust into you. He picks up his pace, and his eyes are glued to your juggling tits before he bends over, pushing his cock deeper into you, and attaches his mouth to play with your right nipple.

As he always does each time you fuck, he makes sure your pleasure comes first. If he can't be outright with his feelings, Jungkook secretly hopes that the way he fucks you—putting you first and taking care of you during and after sex, conveys his feelings and intention. And with every kiss you pull him in for, the unspoken words at the tip of his tongue would smooth over yours.

He would never deny that the attraction towards you has always been there, but he's not shouting it from the mountains either.

At least, not yet.

Plus, he thinks that if you really wanted more from your no-strings-attached arrangement, you would have said so. And he isn't that stupid to be the one who will bring it up, all because his heart and his dick is in-sync. He'll wait it out, he decides. Whether it's for his feelings to subside or for you to feel the same and beat him to confessing, you've always been braver of the two of you, anyway.

He'll wait.

For now, he's willing to give parts of himself that you want to take.

Jungkook's fingers squeeze in between your bodies, and it reaches your clit. Two fingers aggressively rub the hood of your clit while his thumb softly flicks at the nub. In a matter of seconds, you squirt. And Jungkook can't wait to drive you home and do it all over again.

-

>> Page 4

[daengtokki]

𝐵𝓁𝒾𝓃𝒹 𝒟𝒶𝓉𝑒 𝒫𝒶𝓇𝓉 𝟧

Kim Seungmin/Female Reader

wc: 7.4k

rating: fluff/light angst/mature/explicit ಇ (contains: f/m receiving oral, pet names, Seungmin being sad)

comments: Blind Date part 5! Wish I could’ve thought of a better title. This is separated into pieces by month. All of the oneshots in my masterlist happened after these events. And since I tried following a strict timeline for the entire series (part 1 started in sept 2021), we are now in Feb 2023, the morning after Last Date.

⠂⠄⠄⠂⋆ ⠁⠂⠄⋆ ⠂ ⠂⠄⠄⠂⋆☽

February

The next morning you wake up warm and too well rested. You never wake up like this. There was no blaring alarm at 6:45, and no noisy upstairs neighbor while you tried to get to sleep.

No, none of that happened. You’re not there anymore. You breathe in the brand new scent of a brand new bed and finally focus your eyes on the spot in front of you. It’s empty, but you can tell he was there. The pillow isn’t fluffed, and if he tried to fix the blanket, you messed it up again in your sleep. He was here, though. And he’s still here. You can hear him right outside the door, walking down the little hallway.

And then it’s quiet when he reaches the kitchen.

You search for your phone and find it tucked beneath his pillow—10am. Seungmin sent a text twenty minutes ago…

good morning ☀️🤍

He’s too sweet to come force you out of bed on your first morning here.

One long shower later, you wrap yourself in the sweatshirt he left folded at the foot of the bed. You’re not sure if he left it there for you, but you’re taking it anyway…at least for now. And just as you walk for the door, you hear him again.

He’s humming something.

Now you remember what you were talking about right before you drifted off to sleep last night. You listen carefully as you get closer, and he gets louder, but then he hears you and stops for a second, starts again, and smiles at you.

“Morning,” you wrap your arms around him from behind and squeeze. “How long have you been up?”

Seungmin spins himself and hugs you back, “not long…maybe an hour.”

“What was that you were humming?”

“Oh…uh, it’s called Wish. I can sing it, if you’d like.”

He remembered. Maybe not until just now, but you’re glad that he did. As soon as you nod at him, he smiles and hums again—and very slowly, he starts to sing. You can tell he’s hiding himself a little, busying his hands with the coffee grinder and not making eye contact. He’s being shy, so you decide not to watch him too closely.

First, you walk toward one of the windows and pull the blinds back a little. Winter sunlight pours in and lights up the room. Seungmin looks back to see what you’re doing. You catch him and smile, and he smiles back. Then you open one of the moving boxes. This one goes to the kitchen, and you notice now that Seungmin has already emptied one of them. He specifically found the one with the coffee maker, the coffee, and everything that goes with it.

You sit on the arm of the couch and watch. He doesn’t realize it for a while, so you get to watch him work.

First he plugs in the grinder—he must have waited to do this part so he didn’t wake you, but he still waits while he sings. He pours in the beans and closes it, but doesn’t turn it on. Next he fills the coffee maker with water. He fumbles with it a little, so you wonder if he typically uses something a little more fancy.

The grinder turns on, and he looks back at you, and he stares for the few seconds it takes to finish and stop itself. Smiles. Turns and goes back to his task. Pops in a filter, pours in the coffee, turns it on.

“Thank you”

“For what?” He closes the distance between you and tucks himself between your open legs.

“Getting the coffee out, and making it. And singing for me.”

He leans in and kisses your forehead, “that’s my job. I’m going to get you a Nespresso machine, though.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I may have ordered it already.”

You pull him closer and push your face into his chest, “are they wondering where you are?”

“Probably. Not curious enough to ask, though. Or text.”

“Are you worried about it at all? Should I not be as worried as I am?”

Seungmin stands you up and holds you tight against him. Rubs your back, kisses your ear and works his way down to your neck. “You don’t have anything to worry about. But maybe this is why you had trouble sleeping.”

“Yeah, but I…I’ll try not to worry. I have you, that’s all that matters.”

“You have me. And we will have each other all day…what would you like to do?”

What would you like to do? There isn’t much the two of you can do—you have to stay inside, away from people and prying eyes, because if anything ruins this, you’ll have nobody again. You won’t have Seungmin.

But you’re perfectly satisfied spending the day with him here, looking at him, talking to him, touching and kissing him. Doing nothing. He already has the coffee going, so you’ll make breakfast and sit on the couch with him nestled between your legs. Maybe you’ll find something to watch together. Or you’ll just watch him play one of his games. He can tell you all about the last few weeks—the weeks that you’ve seen in so many photos and videos; ones that don’t tell the whole story.

“Nothing”

“Nothing?”

“I just wanna be here with you. What are you hungry for?”

“Hungry for? Hmm…” he grabs your hand, does a cute little spin—you watch his hair bounce up when he shakes it out of his face—and he sits on the couch. “What am I hungry for?”

The feeling of falling hits before you realize his hands are on you, and you do fall, very neatly into his lap. One arm squeezes you around the middle, and the other hand pulls at the collar of your shirt. The fabric is in the way of the kisses he traces along your shoulder, but he manages well. And he gives you goosebumps. You can feel every hair stand up, and the shiver that runs through you feels so loud in the quiet room.

“Min,” your lips tremble, “Minnie?”

“Yes love, is this okay?” Your knee is pulled back and your legs spread across his lap. But he doesn’t touch. His fingers knead gently into your soft inner thigh, slowly moving up, and then down.

You relax against his chest and nod.

“I’ve missed you,” his hand jumps up to your arm and does the same, “touching you…the way you touch me. I didn’t realize how much until after I left last month.” He sighs and pulls you, turns you on his lap until you’re chest to chest and straddling him. “You weren’t there. And I left you alone, and I felt…guilty.”

“No, don’t ever think that. I don’t want you to feel that way.”

“I know. I thought about it before, too. Before everything, after everything. And what would happen if things, you know, got serious.”

“We knew it would be like this, Minnie.”

“We did, I know.” Seungmin’s mouth twists and he sets his head back against the couch. “I was so worried about how you would deal with everything, I forgot about myself.”

“Oh, Seungmin…I thought about it.” You adjust yourself, sit up a little on his lap. “You always act so stoic, so I wasn’t sure if I should even worry. You’re tough to read sometimes.”

“I am, I’m sorry.” He looks at you again, eyes still glossy and big.

“No, I like trying to figure you out,” your fingers graze over his ears, tuck the loose hair behind them. They’re warm and pink like the flush of his cheeks. “I get a little more every time.”

“Not enough to scare you away yet?”

“Not even close”

The kiss you lean in for is so eagerly returned, you almost lose your balance. But Seungmin takes you by the waist and holds you tight.

“You sure?”

You yes into his mouth and push your tongue in. The coffee maker beeps loudly from the kitchen, but it doesn’t distract. Seungmin pulls you closer and grips your thighs, hard. It feels good. He pushes down until you’re on him—and his dick, still mostly soft, is growing against you.

His heart is racing. You can feel it when your hands move over his back, and you pull away to give him a moment to breathe.

He lays back and looks at you, and then looks down at where your hips meet. There’s a smile forming on his lips, but he’s biting them and making them even more swollen and red. You can’t read him, of course.

“Hey, look at me.” You touch under his chin with your knuckle until he lifts his gaze. His eyes give him away—he looks sad, but you don’t think he is. Worried, maybe. Hopefully not worried about some part of him you don’t know yet, and it being a part you won’t like.

“Hi,” he closes his eyes and lets the smile take over. Eventually his shiny, braceless teeth appear, and he relaxes. Sighs. Squeezes his fingers into your hips.

You lean down and kiss his jaw, and you can’t help but suck a little when you get to where his pulse is still beating wildly. Leaving a mark sounds…appropriate. He can cover it, of course, but knowing it will be there, and that you put it there—why not? You suck until you can nibble on the skin, until he makes a sound and moves his hips.

“That’s a little naughty,” it comes out like a laugh and a moan and a feeble attempt at a protest all at once. “Now they might get curious.”

It is. It’s a bit bold. You pull away and move to a new spot. “Are you good with your concealer?“

“I’m sure I can figure it out.” He laughs and his throat jumps under your lips. “Can I request?”

“Of course, what would you like?”

First his shirt comes off, and he grabs the back of your neck, gently guides you further down, then stops when your lips graze his nipple. You look up and his hand is covering his eyes and he can’t contain his smile.

You run your tongue over him, hard; kiss and suck him into your mouth as loudly and dramatically as possible. Then you move to the other side and do the same.

He’s red in the face.

“Don’t be shy, Min”

Seungmin looks down at you and squeezes your neck. And he whimpers when you do it all over again.

“…puppy”

His hips jump up into yours, “hmm…did you call me puppy?”

“Yeah, your eyes when you look at me like that,” you glance at the red mark forming on his neck, “puppy eyes,” you move to it again and kiss while your thumb circles his hard nipple, “my sweet pup…does it feel good?”

It does, and you know it. You can feel it in his little movements—his thighs shaking beneath you and his quick deep breaths. His eyes glaze over and he sinks into the couch as the blood rushes to his dick. And his sounds, so needy, coming from deep in his chest. But they’re soft. He breathes them right into your mouth when he grabs you for a kiss.

The time you’re apart from him is filled with cute texts and selfies, late night phone calls, Seungmin’s stories he tells you in a hushed voice in his hotel room—because the last few nights he has had to share the space. It makes up, to some extent, for when he’s not here and you can’t talk until one of you falls asleep; when you can’t make coffee and stare at him across the table the next morning.

When you finally come together, this is what will happen. You miss his touch, and (now you know how much) he misses yours. He’s shy about asking for new things, and all you want to do is give him exactly what he wants.

Your hands slide down his stomach, grab at the waistband of his sweats, and when your fingers graze over the hard tip of his cock, he groans.

“Yeah,” he finally answers when you pull away, “…so good.”

“Any other requests?” You dip down again and kiss across his chest, over his stiff, sensitive nipples.

"Uhmm…uh," he’s smiling and licking at the corner of his mouth—thinking. His brain seems to work a little better once you stop kissing.

“Mmm, yeah…maybe”

“Tell me”

Before he can get another word out, his phone buzzes. And then again. A few seconds later, it buzzes one more time. It sits there on the counter just a few feet away, innocent, but not really. You hate his phone when he’s here with you, because any notification could mean he’ll be on his way out.

He’s still looking at you when you pull your eyes away from it.

“I can grab it for you”

“I don’t want it”

“No?”

He shakes his head, “I want…mmm, I want you—” he pauses for a few seconds. One hand hangs from his neck, the other is kneading into your thigh, “to lie on your back.”

One more kiss, then you lift yourself from his lap, and do what he says. You make yourself comfortable; one leg hangs off the side, and the other slides down until the sole of your foot can rub his thigh. Seungmin doesn’t move yet, just sets his head back and looks at you…looks at you like he’s still a little unsure, and a little bit hungry.

As soon as he moves, your heart races and your legs start to shake. He turns himself and closes a hand around your ankle, and he holds tight before he slides his palm up your shin and to your knee. It’s forced back against the couch, and he puts himself right between your legs.

His lips are warm and wet on your thigh, but the hem of your shorts gets in the way, and he stops to grab them by the waist band.

“Minnie…”

He looks at you as he pulls them from your hips, and you watch his gaze move down.

“Min”

The air is cool against you, and you open your legs further without realizing it. Seungmin’s lips hit your other thigh and kiss, moving closer and closer…

You gently grab a handful of hair and tug until he looks at you, “Seungmin.”

“Yes?” His hand is so close to touching you, and his mouth isn’t much further away.

“You haven’t tried this yet…are you sure?”

“Mhm…yeah”

Maybe he’s a little clueless about what he’s doing down there, but his mouth closing around you, the temperature change, and his tongue sliding innocently over your swollen clit does what it needs to do. You move your elbows from under you and let your back hit the cushions.

He sucks hard, and the sound he makes when he releases you is so loud and dirty and satisfying, the little laugh you can’t contain turns into a sigh.

“You can tell me what I’m doing wrong.” You look down at him again, and he looks up, pokes his tongue out to lick his lips, “and what feels good.”

“That felt good”

He does it again, and then his tongue slides into your folds, and it’s not much, but it feels perfect. Every part of you is so sensitive, and the thought of him down there is really all it takes to set your nerves on fire. You roll your hips into him, and he pushes his mouth harder into you, moves it side to side, tongues your clit so delicately that you spread yourself open even more.

“Seungmin,” it comes out like a delirious giggle, it makes him laugh, and his mouth vibrates. You stutter when you start up again, “did you…ah…ooh.”

“Did I what?”

You don’t answer right away, because he doesn’t stop. He’s sucking again—his fingers circle your opening, you can feel how wet you are against them, and you desperately want him to slide them in, but he only teases.

“Did you research?” It comes out like a laugh and a moan, because he’s doing something very right down there. He’s a little erratic and his touch is light and careful, but it’s driving you crazy. It feels good.

“Maybe,” he smiles and kisses. “Am I doing okay?”

“Yeah, you are…don’t be shy, though. You don’t have to be so gentle.”

“Am I being too gentle?”

Seungmin is always gentle. It’s the only way he knows how to be. Even now, he’s staring up at you with his cheek nuzzled against your thigh. He’s been so careful with you every time you’ve been intimate, and you can’t wait to get him out of his shell.

“Mhm, but I like it,” you run your fingers through his hair and scratch, and he groans. "Keep doing what you think I'll like.''

One long hard lick from your opening to your clit, and then he’s back on you. He kisses back down and pushes his tongue in deep, lapping up every bit of arousal that he can. He moans and pulls you by the hips, and you wonder if he can even take a breath.

“Minnie,” you purr and squeeze his hand, and he grabs back to lace his fingers with yours, “aah yeah that’s so good…fuck.”

He keeps going, and his thumb slides over your clit and sparks go off behind your eyes.

The sound you make for him is so needy—you weren’t ready for how he was going to make you feel, but it’s just him. His touch and his sounds and his eagerness. It’s as if that year of built up frustration…that year of waiting for him, pours out of you every time he gets close. And it feels so good.

“Make me come”

His drawn out, dramatic mmmm sends a shiver through your thighs and up your spine. He’s working hard, and he’s so focused; two fingers reach deep inside of you, and the tip of his tongue moves softly. His lips close tight and suck. You’re overwhelmed with his touch now, and you need the slow rise of your orgasm to last forever.

But Seungmin gives it to you, and your moan echoes so loudly off the bare walls of the empty apartment.

His lips stay put, but his fingers slip out and move up until they reach his mouth. You can feel the heat from his tongue as it slips out to run over them

“Hey…” you nudge him with your leg, but he doesn’t move, doesn’t respond. “Seungmin, you okay down there?”

“Mhmm.” He’s there so suddenly, hovering, looking down at you with lusty eyes—even more hungry than they were before. “I am very okay”

“You work too hard, you know that?”

“Do I? I guess I should relax more while I’m here.”

Your legs catch and pull him down until you can grab for his waist. “Yeah, I wanna take care of you,” you kiss him once, “sit down…”

There’s something about the way he listens and obeys without question, and the way he looks at you when he does it. You like that look.

“Lay back and get comfortable. Do you want some coffee while I suck your dick?” You touch him, just to get a rise.

“Do I…uuh, do I want—“

“Iced?”

“Iced is good”

You watch him carefully when you get to the kitchen. His back is to you, but you can see his face when he does finally get comfortable against the pillow.

The clink of ice on glass brings him back from his daydream. He keeps his eyes closed, though, because the sun is a little too bright coming in now, but it doesn’t last—a few seconds later he hears the blinds being pulled closed, and now it’s dark.

One eye opens when he feels you climb back onto the couch, coffee in hand. The bittersweet smell hits him when you set the straw to his lips, and he takes a long, slow slip. Now he opens his eyes and grins at you.

“Is it good?”

Seungmin nods and grabs your sweatshirt when you reach over him to set it down.

This is new for him, too. You’ve done it before, very briefly during your first time together, and he remembers it very well, but you’ve never gotten yourself comfortable between his legs like this.

His head falls back when you touch. It’s just the palm of your hand moving softly up and down, and there’s still fabric separating you, but it feels so good. And he does relax, just like you want him to.

Your voice rings in his ears (“gotta get you hard again, love”). He still feels a little drunk from eating you out and making you come, because he wasn’t sure he could. And he thought he was going to come, too, but he somehow controlled himself. Now he’s softened up a bit—but just seeing you here, pulling at his shorts, stroking, leaning down to kiss and lick—he’s growing in your hand.

The warmth of your mouth warms his entire body. You pull every inch of him in, and when his head hits the back of your throat, he whines and bucks up.

“Sorry…sorry”

The feeling of your lips pulling up and off of him makes him do it again.

“It’s okay, you might not fit in a few seconds.”

“No?”

“Just wanted to go for it while I had the chance.”

“Are you still going to try?”

He can feel the hard pulse of blood rushing to where your hand is gripped tight, the other palm is gently cupping his balls, caressing them, “oh yeah, I’m gonna try,” and then your mouth is on them.

“Ah…that—" he sighs and lays back even more, trying not to disturb you while you work. The warm wet licks across his skin—Seungmin didn’t know he was that sensitive there, and that it would feel so intense, “wow.”

He hears and feels you giggle.

At the same time he’s trying not feel so self conscious. Maybe you felt the same when he had his face between your legs, but all Seungmin could think about down there was making you come, how horny your taste made him, how wet he was making you.

Now you’ve switched places, and he should know better anyway. His mind, heavy with pleasure as you explore him, still skips back to all of your previous times together—your first kiss, sweet and surprisingly intense. Seungmin wasn’t ready for it, and he wasn’t ready for the hard-on he tried, with great difficulty, to hide and calm down. Somehow, you did not notice. Or you didn’t say anything. And then you kissed him again, and again, and he never told you that was the first time someone really kissed him and meant it.

aah…mmm his hips buck again when you run your tongue up his shaft.

You’re taking your time with him, and he thinks you might be doing this more for your own pleasure than his. And that makes it even better.

The second date, when he somehow found the courage to kiss you himself—more than kiss you…he pulled you right on top of him. And then your hand found his erection, and he hoped for a moment, before he got nervous, that this would be his first time. He liked the idea of it being with you, even though you didn’t know each other well. But you liked him, and you didn’t hide it. You were exactly what he needed.

As soon as he scared you off, he so badly craved your touch again; your fingers running down what you obviously wanted.

“Minnie?”

He hears you, and he smiles at you, but it takes him a second to reply, “yeah…aegi.”

“You’re quiet, are you okay?”

“Perfect...don’t stop, you feel so good,” he sighs and reaches for your hand.

You grab his and slowly work him into your mouth, further and further back. The warm, wet feeling is familiar…but watching you swallow him and gaze up at him, it’s so much better in the moment. Seungmin whines when you suck hard and pull back, and bucks up when you push back in.

This time you take all of him, and when he feels the tight squeeze of your throat, he groans and grips your hand in a desperate attempt to keep his hips still. Now his mind is blank and buzzing, and all he can comprehend is you, and the hot radiating pleasure moving through his body.

In and out, so perfectly timed, his head is pushed down your throat—the tight stroke of your hand, your palm and fingers delicately massaging his balls. He could scream. His free hand fists the pillow under him, and he lets himself moan so loudly. He has to, otherwise he’ll lose control, push himself deeper and choke you.

You push him in even more, and now your lips are flush against his skin.

Every last inch is in your mouth, down your throat. It’s such a pretty sight. Your eyes water, and you hold onto his hips as you carefully, slowly pull him out. You leave a mess of spit, and your face is pink when you breathe in deep and cough, but you’re back to stroking him as you catch your breath.

Seungmin wipes at your lips with his thumb, and the look he gives you is full of worry, and concern. He doesn’t want you pushing yourself for him.

“I’m okay, Min”

“Are you…” his breath catches when you close your mouth over his head and lick, “…sure? Mm, yeah you’re good…fuck. Right there.”

“You like it like this?”

Your tongue circles his head, over and over, and he rolls his hips upward when it slides hard over his tip.

“Yeah just like that”

Seungmin lets himself relax again—back against the pillow, neck arching delicately over the arm of the couch. If you could see him like this, you’d tell him he looked like a painting; a statue, something too pretty to not be preserved. He stares up at the ceiling and lets himself get lost in the moment. His head swims. All he feels is you—the steady, hard stroke of your hand, and the pressure of your tongue on every perfectly sensitive nerve.

When he finally lifts his gaze to peek at you, you immediately look back, and your eyes lock. Neither of you seem to want to look away first, so Seungmin doesn’t. And you don’t. If anything, your stare intensifies as your hand and mouth work harder on him.

“Should I warn you?” he asks, and a shy laugh follows. “When I—“

You nod and pull him in again, not completely, but enough…a mouthful.

Seungmin is still holding out, but he can’t do it much longer, especially now that he’s looking down at you and watching every movement you make. It’s an overwhelming feeling.

The last time the two of you had sex, it was so intimate, and it was slow, and he almost doubted you for the briefest moment beforehand. But then you told him you loved him, and he was so relieved you stopped his mouth from saying anything stupid in that moment. Or not saying anything at all, because he just can’t get the words out even if he feels it.

But he is thinking and feeling it now as he watches you. And he feels himself getting there, and he can’t hold it back any longer.

“I’m gonna come…I’m gonna come”

He lets go and you hold him tight, work your mouth gently up and down as he empties himself for you—swallow, lighten your touch, kiss across his head. His hips relax again, and you move your mouth to the softest part of his thigh.

He just watches you kiss up his hip and stomach, and he wonders how long you’ll take to get to his lips, because that’s where he wants you. Until you get to his nipple. Now Seungmin hopes you’ll stay there a little longer, and you do. He’s even more sensitive than he was before, and you feel the goosebumps that jump up all over him.

“Now what?” he asks just as press your lips to his.

“We eat lunch. I’m so hungry.”

｡˚☽˚｡⋆

Every hour you get with him is special, and you take care to remember that whenever he’s here with you. This time it was four. Four perfect hours. Seungmin continued to ignore his phone when, eventually, you both got yourselves off of the couch.

He made you coffee, and he finished the one you made for him.

You ordered and ate lunch, helped him do his laundry and playfully scrutinized his folding techniques. And then you helped him pack.

It’s in the middle of this that he finally checks his notifications, and he takes his time doing it. You watch closely as his eyes move up and down the screen, and then he types and waits for another message to come through.

“Did you get everything you need?”

You just need to break the silence. There’s not much here that belongs to him...not yet at least.

Seungmin leans in to kiss your cheek, “yeah, I think so. My ride is on the way.”

“Oh…we should get you zipped up and ready to go.”

“We should?”

“No,” you stand and hold your hands out for him. “Maybe.”

His phone buzzes in his pocket as you head for the front door. He doesn’t check it—instead he drops his bag and works on getting into his shoes. “I think he’s here,” he checks after a second buzz, picks up his bag again, then sets it back down when he looks at you, “come here.”

You’re already halfway to him when he says it, and you squeeze the air out of his lungs

“Be safe, and don’t forget about me”

“Forget about you? I won’t if you remember to text me all day.”

“I don’t wanna bother you too much”

“I better have a text waiting for me every night when I get off the stage…no, a voice message. Both.” His hands rub in big circles over your back and shoulders.

Another buzz from his pocket.

His arms slip away, but he goes in for a kiss, and Seungmin lets you hold him there for as long as you want. You grab his hand and hold it as he unlatches the locks, squeeze tighter when he turns the knob and clicks the door free.

“I’ll see you soon”

“Seungmin?”

You stare at him, and one by one your fingers begin to unhook until only your middle fingers remain. The words just don’t want to come out. Even as you repeat them over in your head, when you open your mouth, it’s only air.

His other hand tickles beneath your chin, almost like he's coaxing it out of you. "You alright?"

"Yeah”

“Yeah?”

“I love you”

His mouth opens, but nothing comes out. A blush rises up his neck, and you can see his vein jump. But he still doesn’t say anything.

“I…uhm-“

Seungmin pulls you against him, and his hands are all over you again, moving gently over your back, down, until one sneaks under your shirt. He presses his warm palm against your skin and keeps it there.

“—I miss you already”

Still no reply, just a soft, sweet laugh against your ear. He pulls back and places a wet kiss on your forehead, then his bag is over his shoulder and his hand is on the doorknob again.

“I’ll call you as soon as we land, I promise”

｡˚☽˚｡⋆

March

｡˚☽˚｡⋆

May

“I know you’ve been busy, you don’t have to explain yourself,” you can barely hear him grumbling, “and don’t apologize.”

“Please”

Both of you are silent, but there’s still commotion on Seungmin’s end. Endless voices, an intercom, kids screaming. He’s at an airport somewhere.

“Okay, you can do it once. Only once.”

“I’m sorry I’m sorry…I won’t see you for a few more days.”

“It’s alright, Minnie. I’ll be at work, I’ll have plenty to keep me busy, I promise.”

“I’ll make it up to you, somehow. Is there anything I can bring home for you? I’ll find you something anyway.”

“No, I don’t need anything. Just you and your dirty laundry.”

Seungmin laughs, and that’s enough of a gift. You hear one of the others teasing him, but you can’t tell who it is, and he laughs again, tells them to stop being nosy. You figured one of the others knew about you, and that confirmed it.

“Give meeee…” he thinks and hums, “three days. How does that sound?”

“Tuesday? Okay I’ll see you a Tuesday.”

He sighs and fumbles with his things, and it sounds like he almost drops his phone, “you’ll be at work.”

The worry and uneasiness in his voice is too much, but you know now matter what you say, he’ll feel bad—he’ll feel guilty.

“Just tell me when, and I’ll be there to greet you.”

｡˚☽˚｡⋆

June

“We’re okay, right?” Seungmin is standing in the kitchen, leaning against the counter. His back is to you, but you still hear his soft voice. It almost sounds like he's not talking to you, like he's speaking to someone else in front of him, like he doesn't really want you to hear.

And you’re not sure why he would even ask you that, because as far as you know, yeah, you’re okay. The two of you are the same as you've ever been. He just got home a few hours ago, though, and he’s been a little quieter than usual.

“I think so,” you watch him carefully, but he doesn’t move from his spot. “I mean…I’m okay. Are you okay, Min?”

“Yeah, I am.”

“Anything you wanna talk about?”

From where you’re sitting, you can see him slowly shake his head, slump his shoulders a little, and drink his coffee. He’s tired, and he needs to sleep. Maybe talking can wait until after he’s gotten some rest.

“Come sit with me. Please.”

He rubs at his neck and turns to face you, and he looks…off. He didn’t look quite like that this morning when he came through the door. And he still isn’t getting any closer to you.

“Baby, what’s the matter?”

Finally he starts toward you, but he doesn’t look happy about it. His head falls back and you can see him scrunch his nose at the air, “I’m okay.” He sits down next to you and sinks back into the couch.

“Maybe you should get some sleep.”

“I’m not tired.”

His voice is still soft, but he says it quickly and with no thought. He sounds annoyed, and you’re not sure how to take it, or reply. He’s been gone for a while—either away or just so busy that he couldn’t get away to even see you. You haven’t seen him face to face since the 23rd of May, and you only spent the night together—he’s been spending every night for the last few weeks at his dorm.

And he is tired. He can tell you whatever he wants, but you know him well enough to hear it in his voice and see it in his eyes. They’re in the middle of a comeback, so you’re actually surprised he showed up this morning, unannounced.

“Okay, okay I’m sorry.”

He looks at you, eyes heavy. It feels like he’s looking right through you and at the wall. For the first time, you’re unsure about leaning forward and kissing him, or grabbing his hand.

The quiet between you continues, and the longer it goes on, the harder it is to break. Seungmin closes his eyes and lets out a deep breath, sinks even further into the couch. You sit back on the other end and try not to look at him. Instead, you look at your phone. Stare blankly at it. There’s nothing there you want to see. You have him here with you, and he’s the only thing you want.

The last time you sat together here on the couch, he was cuddled on top of you, unable to sleep, but trying to relax. Humming happily against your chest, rubbing his hand over your arm. You think back to greeting him at the door this morning—he kissed you on the lips, pecked you on the cheek, then disappeared into the bedroom with his things.

The sinking feeling in your stomach gets even worse.

His eyes are still closed, at least. When you rise from your spot on the couch and head for the kitchen, he does exactly what you hope he does—it only takes a few minutes until he folds himself up and gets comfortable. And you know when he’s fast asleep, you can see it in the way his body rises and falls so steadily with his breath, and how his fingers twitch every so often.

Now you just have to hope everything is okay when he wakes up.

｡˚☽˚｡⋆

"Hey...hi."

Seungmin is peeking around through the crack in the bedroom door. You closed yourself in there so the living room would be silent for him. And you know when he finally woke he was groggy, confused by the dark, and by the quiet. There are so many windows in there, but you made sure to pull every curtain shut tight.

"Can I come in?" His voice is still small.

You give him a nod, and he immediately steps in and pushes the door most of the way closed. A half finished water bottle swings from his hand, his bare feet shuffle a little on the carpet. He seems to be avoiding your gaze as he makes his way to his side of the bed. Carefully, he climbs on—trying not to disturb the papers you have strewn around—curls up into a ball like he did on the couch, and even though it's warm, he gets all the way under the blanket.

"You wanna talk yet? We don't have to…but...“

You told each other you’d always talk and be open, even on the bad days. Especially on the bad days. Seungmin is having one (or several) of those, and he’s obviously struggling. He has spoken to you openly about his feelings before, so you know he’s capable. You just wonder if he will this time.

“I’m your person, remember? You can give me some of what you’re feeling. Whatever is going on in here…” You set your palm on his forehead, run your fingers through his hair. He relaxes, but still doesn’t talk or move as you gather up your things, set them aside, and get under the covers with him. There’s a moment of hesitation and a little jump in your stomach, but eventually you reach for and grab his hand. He doesn’t pull away, and you’re relieved when he squeezes his fingers around yours. “You can tell me.”

“Mm…I’m not sure.”

“Not sure what’s going on in here?” You rub his temple and a smile tugs at the corner of his mouth. “That’s okay.”

“I do…but I don’t.”

“Is it work?”

“Sometimes.” He looks at you. “You’re right, I’m very tired. I’m sorry.”

“Is it just that… just worn out? It seems like more.”

Seungmin squeezes your fingers again. “We have been doing so much, I have been…I don’t feel like I’m doing my best.”

Being hard on himself is not new, to him or to you. But he’s usually able to see through it and pull himself up, keep going, push forward.

Everything lately, and you’ve kept up with every single comeback moment, performance, interview, etc…has been exhausting as a spectator. You can’t imagine being him. You can’t put yourself in his place. The amount of eyes on him, and the criticism—you could never handle it.

“Oh, pup…I wish I could make those feelings go away. You do so well, all the time.”

He moves closer to you, puts your arm around his waist. You squeeze him until he finds a good spot and nuzzles against you, but he’s still tense.

“I know I’m biased and you might not believe me, but I watch you all the time. Only you. And you’ve been amazing every single day. Did you go back and listen to yourself singing Laundry?”

He nods against you, hums a little mhm.

“You sounded beautiful. And you looked like a prince.”

“I do believe that you’re biased,” Seungmin laughs a little into your neck, “I’m glad you think I did well, thank you.”

“It’s not an opinion, Minnie. It’s the truth. And I know there’s more. You’re always hard on yourself, but you’ve never come home like this.”

Seungmin squeezes himself even harder against you—face in your neck, legs twisted with yours, air being forced out of your lungs by his grip. He groans loudly as he softens his hold.

“Why did you ask if we were okay earlier?”

He goes right back into your neck and sighs.

“…Seungmin.”

Another muffled sigh, a groan. “I’m just being stupid.”

“You’re not being stupid if something is upsetting you.”

“My sister accidentally told an old school friend of mine about us. She didn’t believe her, she said this would be worse than a long distance relationship, and something like this is silly and would never last.”

“Silly?” You take him by his shoulders and force him out. You need to look at him. “Us?”

Seungmin nods and looks anywhere but at you. “She said it’s just a matter of time before you lose interest in me. We spend too much time apart, and it’s not normal.” He pulls the covers up to his chin and pushes himself down. Now all you can see is his eyes, his forehead, and his blond hair spread across the pillow. “I ignored it, but then I didn’t hear from you yesterday, or the day before so I started thinking about it too much. And we haven’t seen each other at all lately, I’m so exhausted, and I feel like I’m not doing well enough. I’m not a good boyfriend.”

“Oh…” his words, no matter how softly he speaks, knock the wind out of you. You think back to yesterday, the text you typed and didn’t see sitting in the message box, unsent, until very late last night. And the day before…you were at work for twelve hours, but figured Seungmin was so busy anyway. “Oh, Min…I’m so sorry I didn’t text you. But none of that is true.”

The room feels warmer, but it’s not. You’re just angry at yourself for leaving him on read. You push the covers away from both of you and plant kisses all over his face, “I love you more every time I see you, or hear your voice,” you move your lips gently over his ear, making him giggle, “even if I’m an idiot and forget to send a text.”

“I was starting to think I was away too long.”

“You have been gone too long, and I’ve missed you, but you’re gonna have to do a lot more than that. I haven’t forgotten how long I went without you after we first met.”

Seungmin covers his face with both hands, but his hesitant smile is peeking out beneath it. He runs a hand through his hair, flips onto his back, and kicks the blankets away. “Don’t remind me.”

“Don’t ever say you’re not good enough.”

The look on his face is still unsure. He’s staring up at the wall, blinking slowly. Lost in thought, maybe.

“I think we’ve done pretty okay so far.”

“I know you could find someone to be with you every day if you wanted, and you deserve that.”

You reach out and grab his hand again, “finding someone isn’t easy, and finding someone like you is…impossible. I’d take this over any of my past together-every-day relationships.”

Seungmin looks you up and down, settles his gaze on your face, and rolls over until he’s hanging over you, “yeah?”

“That didn’t make the relationship good. You make this good.”

Lips graze your cheek—he kisses softly down to your jaw, and across your neck, “good,” he sighs when your fingers run through his hair, and he collapses onto you. He mumbles something into your neck.

“Hm?”

“Did you call me…pup?” He’s smiling fully for the first time all day, beaming at you. A completely different person from earlier.

"Yeah, I've never called you that before? I’m pretty sure I have”

"I don't remember, but I like it.”

｡˚☽˚｡⋆

[jerzwriter]

With Warning Part 5: Captain Lahela & a Serving of Common Sense

Book: Open Heart (Book 2 Timeline) Characters: Tobias Carrick & Casey, Bryce Lahela Rating: Teen Words: 1,800 Series Summary: Found here it changes a little here - both the warnings, and in this part, who it's being delivered to. Chapter Summary: Casey's just returned from her holiday getaway with Tobias, and she's happy to have the apartment to herself... so of course Bryce shows up! An animated conversation with her friend, gives her food for thought. A/N: I'm going in a little different direction... this was supposed to be all about the friends warning Tobias to stay away from Casey - and it started that way - but now, the warnings are changing.

The timing of this story is just after parts two, three, and four of Christmas Through Your Eyes and the Epilogue of that series takes place after this fic. (The chronological list of fics in the "From Here to There" part of their journey. 😊)

With Warning Masterlist Tobias x Casey Masterlist || My Full Masterlist

The alarm on Casey’s phone blared for the ninth, or maybe it was the tenth time... but it had done the trick. After rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she stumbled to the bathroom with a delirious smile... she hadn’t been dreaming after all. The Christmas trip with Tobias really happened, and as she splashed cold water onto her face, she realized that for the first time since the attack, she had gone for days simply being... happy.

Her friends were already at work, and she relished being home alone. She adored her roommates, but she knew what awaited her. They would have questions. They’d want to see the photos still tucked away in her phone. And she wasn’t naïve; she knew she’d have to face them when they returned home later, but right now, she needed time to process it all herself.

Returning to her room with a piping hot cup of tea, she stared at the unpacked suitcase lying at the foot of her bed and decided reality could wait a bit longer. Hopping back in bed and looking at the photos from her trip sounded far more enjoyable.

She startled when the phone rang, and a photo of her mother appeared. Maybe it was because she wouldn’t be speaking to her face to face, or maybe because her mother hadn’t had a front-row seat to her budding friendship with Tobias, but Casey decided this might just be the test run she needed.

“Hey, Mom!” She gushed. “Yeah, got back late last night.” “Oh, it was wonderful! We ended up going to New York, too... can you believe I lived there for four years and never saw the Rockefeller Center Tree? Finally crossed that off the bucket list!” “No, neither of us were on social media. We wanted to live in the moment... but I’ll get some pictures up soon.” “I am happy, Ma... I haven’t been this happy in some time!”

Her neck twisted toward her bedroom door as she heard a noise in the hall; that’s where she found Bryce standing with a bowl of cereal already in hand. He went to walk off when he saw she was on the phone, but Casey waved him in.

“Mom, I have to go, Bryce is here. But I’ll call you later and fill you in on all the details.... Of course I'll tell Bryce you said hello, Ma. I love you, too!”

He had already settled into the beanbag chair in the corner of her room, a goofy grin on his face as he enjoyed his... well, Elijah’s Captain Crunch. “You didn’t have to hang up on my account,” he said between spoonfuls. “I would have waited.”

“No... just as well,” Casey insisted. “My mom was five minutes away from asking why we didn’t see her when we were in Philly, and I could do without answering that for now.”

“Mmhhm. So, why didn’t you see her?”

“Same reason we didn’t visit Tobias’s family – that’s not what the trip was about. It was just for fun.”

“And was it?” he asked sincerely. “Fun, that is?”

“It was, Bryce!” She answered more quickly and enthusiastically than she had planned. “I can’t believe it, but it truly put me in the holiday spirit. I didn’t see that coming!”

“I think that might have been Tobias’s plan all along,” Bryce winked. “I should thank him because I love seeing you this happy again... it’s legit, right? You know you don’t have to put on an act for me.”

“I know that,” Casey smiled, taking a seat next to her friend on the rug. “I’m not pretending... I honestly am starting to feel alive again.”

Bryce put the nearly empty cereal bowl aside and gave Casey’s hand a squeeze.

“That’s great because I’ve missed you! It was nice of T to take you on this trip.”

“It was,” she grinned, not comprehending why her cheeks became so flushed.

Bryce lifted the bowl again, gathering the tiny bit of milk that remained on his spoon. “You two have gotten really close, huh?”

“Well, it’s not like that,” Casey replied in a defensive tone. “We’re just friends.”

“OK... I didn’t insinuate you were anything more.”

“I know,” she sighed. “I didn’t mean to snap at you. But, most of the time, when I’m good friends with a guy, everyone assumes it’s something more. And it’s kind of stupid, honestly, because I’m bi... so do people assume I'm fucking anyone I’m good friends with?”

Bryce offered an understanding nod. “As someone who identifies as pan, I can say with full authority... yes. Yes, they do. But fuck them.”

“Fuck who?” Casey asked. “All my friends?”

“No!” he laughed, tossing a pillow her way. “Fuck the idiots who think that. Well, don’t fuck them... screw them. No, don’t screw them either... you... you know what I mean!”

“I do,” Casey giggled. “And you’re right, screw them! Tobias and I love spending time together. We make each other laugh; he’s really helped me these past few months.”

“All good things!” Bryce agreed.

“Exactly! But that doesn’t mean we’re more than friends. I mean, sure, we kissed a couple of times...”

Bryce’s eyes opened wide. “Wait... you what?”

“We kissed. But it’s wasn't a big deal! I mean, you know that. We’ve kissed, and we’re just friends, right?”

“I mean... it was a long time ago...”

“I know, but when we kissed... what were we?”

“Friends.”

“Right!” she snapped her fingers. “And you didn’t think any more of it, did you?”

“Uh...no... I didn’t. Did you?”

“Of course not! Because it was no big deal... Just like me and Tobias. It’s no big deal because we’re just friends.”

“Uh-huh,” Bryce nodded, noting this was her second declaration in seconds. “If you say so.”

“I do!”

“Good!" Assuming they were moving on, he changed the topic. "So, what city was best? Did DC win, or did Philly?”

“Best city, easy,” she winked. “Philly. But the best Christmas tree... that went to New York. Honestly, New York is so magical at Christmas. We even took a carriage ride through Central Park!”

“That’s so cool! I’ve always wanted to do that!”

“Yeah, I made sure the horse was well cared for first...”

“Of course you did,” he chuckled. “I’d expect nothing less.”  

“I'm so glad I got to share that with T. It was... perfect! It started snowing, and I swear, it felt like we were in a movie! That's when I saw the mistletoe, so... you know... the kiss.”

“So, your first kiss was on the carriage ride?”

“No, that was our second kiss. But it wasn’t a big deal.”

“Uh, huh,” Bryce muttered. “Uhm, Casey have you ever thought...”

“I mean, we only kissed once before that! Last month... outside of the bookstore in Cambridge. And that’s only because I asked him to!”

“You...asked him... to... kiss you?”

“Yes! Because it had been such a long time since I had been kissed... or anything, really...  and I just wanted to know if I could feel something again, you know? But...”

“I know... I know..." Bryce injected. "It didn’t mean anything.”

“EXACTLY! I'm glad we're on the same page!"

Bryce studied Casey carefully, scratching his head.

“So. Why Tobias?”

“Huh?”

“If it was just a kiss between friends... meaning nothing... why did you ask him? You could have asked me? Elijah? Jackie... any of the roomies. But you asked... Tobias.”

“Well, he and I kissed before. You know, back when we were dating... but those were very, very different. Totally different kinds of kissing! So, it made sense.”

“But we’ve kissed before, too,” Bryce smirked. “So, why didn’t you ask me?”

Casey returned his smirk with one of her own. “Do you want me to kiss you, Bryce?”

“No,” he snickered. “I’m just trying to understand your thought process in choosing Carrick.”

“I don't know... it just felt right...”

“Two times. It felt right... two times.”

“Yes! But we agreed not to do it again because we don’t want it screwing us up. We’re just friends... it didn’t mean anything!"

“So you've mentioned,” Bryce rubbed his chin. “But, Casey?”

“Yeah?”

“What if it does?”

Casey turned to him with as much panic if she had been a deer in the wild and Bryce's car was careening toward her on a dark night. “What... what do you mean?”

“I’m just saying... would it be so awful if the kisses meant something?”

“Bryce,” she gasped, lowering her voice even though they were alone. “No... I’m... I’m not ready for anything like that. And, besides... he’s just my friend... there’s nothing more to it.”

“Yes, for the dozenth time. He's just your friend,” he smiled. “Whatever he means to you, that’s for you to figure out... if you want to figure it out at all. I’m just saying, it’s your choice... and if you decide he does mean more, that’s all right, too.”

A slight crinkle appeared on her brow when she turned to Bryce, words she hadn't intended to speak falling from her lips.

“Do you... do you like him?”

“I’m just getting to know the guy... he’s more of your friend than mine. But I have to admit, he’s impressed me. He’s been really good to you, and you appear to make each other happy. Isn’t that what they say it’s all supposed to be about?”

“I... I guess... but we are just friends.”

“And you’re my friend, Casey. So if that’s what you say, I believe you.”

“Thank you,” she smiled in relief.

 “Shit!” Bryce cursed, noticing the time on the clock. “I didn't realize it had gotten so late. I've got to get going; I have a date."

"Oh," Casey grinned. "Care to share the details?"

"Nope."

"Do I know them?"

"No comment."

“Uh-huh,” Casey teased. "I have my ways of finding out, you know! Just like Elijah can find out about his Captain Crunch."

"Are you seriously blackmailing me?"

"No," she shrugged. "I mean, I'm blackmailing you, but just for fun. Your secret is safe with me."

Delighted to see his friend bantering and laughing again, he pulled her into a hug.

“It is great having you back, Case. Promise me you won't go away again.”

“I’ll try not to," she said squeezing him tighter. "I promise.”

“And Case... about Carrick.”

“Bryce!”

“I know, I know, but listen! Sometimes, you overthink things way too much.  Try not to do that... just... just go where you're happy. That's what it's all supposed to be about.”

“I’ll take that into consideration.”

“That’s all I ask,” Bryce said before heading to the door. “Well, that, and don’t tell Elijah about the Captain Crunch....”

Casey crossed her heart with a grin. “It’s our little secret."

~~~~~~

Just one more "warning" left. Thanks to those who are reading!

@choicesficwriterscreations @openheartfanfics

Tagging others separately.

[pagusthebestus]

Heizou x Sick gn!reader

Character(s): Heizou x gn!reader

Prompt: Sick reader

Genre: Fluff

SFW

850 words

Heizou may be a little ooc

You just got home from work and walked into you're shared home with your roommate Heizou. You had a pounding headache and just wanted to get to bed. "Well, someone is finally home." Heizou looked over at you from the living room. "Sorry, my boss made me stay late to fill out more documents..." you apologized to him. You headed straight for your bedroom that's right across the hall from Heizous. "Heading to bed already? Not even gonna get something to eat?" Heizou asks worriedly watching you walk over to your room. "Not hungry." That's all you said as you walked into your room and closed the door. You got ready for bed and went straight to sleep.

The next morning you woke up to your alarm blaring in your ears, your headache was somehow worse than the night before. You groaned and turned off the alarm and started to get out of bed. after getting changed you walked out of your bedroom and saw Heizou in the kitchen preparing himself and you some breakfast. "Need any help?" you asked in a groggy tone. "Not at all. You should just sit down" Heizou smiles over at you. You sat down at the dining table and waited for him to finish making breakfast. He saw you at the dining table with your head in your hands. "are you okay Y/N?" he asked with concern laced in his voice. "uh.. yeah." you replied "Are you sure???" he asked again "Mhmm." you assured him.

As he brought you your breakfast he sat down on the other side of the table. You sat there staring at your food, just the thought of eating made you want to throw up. he looked up at you and said "You don't look well at all. I don't think you should go to work today." "No, I have to go," you replied dryly. You were always a bit of a workaholic, it would take tons of convincing to get you to not go to work just for one day. Heizou sighed, "give me your phone," he said and reached his hand over the table. you stared at him for a second. "For what?" "Just" he paused for a second "Give it to me" You sighed and gave him your phone, and he grabbed it from you and began looking through your contacts trying to find your boss. Once he found your boss he started typing. Soon enough he gave it back to you. You took a look at what he did on your phone.

cool boss 👍

Y/N Hey, I can't make it in today, I'm not feeling too well. Read at 8:34 AM

cool boss 👍 Alright. Hope you feel better soon! Read at 8:35 AM

You would be telling him off if you had the energy to do so, but you don't, so you stay quiet. "Thank you..." you mumble not really wanting him to hear it. "No need to thank me, darling. Get back to bed, and I'll take care of you today like your knight in shining armour" He winks at you as you roll your eyes at him and stand up to go to bed like he asked you to. You got on your bed and fell asleep almost instantly.

Once you wake up again you realize you've been tucked in. Must be Heizous doing, you thought to yourself. you looked over to your bedside table and saw a little bell with a note that read:

If you need me, ring the bell! :)

-Heizou (a.k.a your knight in shining armour)

You giggle slightly at his ridiculousness, You reach over and grab the bell and ring it wondering what his next antics are gonna be. you hear his footsteps coming closer to your room and once he opens the door you see him holding a tray. The tray consists of a cup of hot tea, a bowl of soup, some light snacks like crackers and goldfish, and a colouring book with pencil crayons so you don't get bored sitting in your room doing nothing.

"Your knight in shining armour has arrived, lovely" He brings in the tray and puts it at the end of your bed. You sit up "My knight in shining armour huh..." you say sarcastically. He glares at you and says "Watch your tone you sarcastic shit. I brought you this wonderful trey and I can take it away," You giggle at his goofiness "Sorry my knight in shining armour" You say with a small smile on your face. He brings the tray up to your lap and then steps back. "just ring the bell if you need anything else from me, Darling" He winks at you and turns around to leave the room.

You began eating the small snacks on the tray, it was the only thing you could eat without wanting to throw up. You also took a sip of your tea. It was surprisingly really well made and tasted great.

After Heizou left you started to think about what just happened, and you blush a little. Why were you blushing? you had no clue. Heizou was just your roommate. Right???

A/N: uh I honestly have no clue how to continue. but y'know I might continue it anyways at some point, emphasis on the might 🥰. sorry if he's kinda ooc.. this is just how I see Heizou lmao. anyways thanks for reading :))

[the-four-hoursemen]

Interesting info; I am an extraordinarily heavy sleeper

some would say I sleep like the dead

_Death

[sacredsorceress]

Secrets (One) || Bucky Barnes

pairing: bucky barnes x reader

summary: when your husband, bucky barnes, leaves to go to work intruders invade your home. although you escort your children to safety, when the intruders find you they have a lot of questions about the “winter soldier”- a name you’ve never heard before.

a/n: finally posting the first chapter! most of at least the first bit of the series is going to be absolute angst so I apologize in advance (if you’re looking for fluff to cleanse the palate you can check out my masterlist linked below)

word count: 2.6k

warnings: kidnapping, violence, angst, swearing

Prologue

masterlist || request || taglist

You woke up to the sound of the alarm clock blaring, darkness still encasing the room. Throwing your arm out to your side you reached for your husband, but before your fingers could feel his chest you felt the cold sting of metal catch your hand midair.

Although the room was dark you smiled, opening one of your eyes to peek at the man beside you.

Your wrist still in his hand, he smiled back at you, leaning down to plant a kiss on your forehead. “Go back to sleep, doll.”

You groaned, pushing yourself up to instead lean on your elbow. “Do you really have to go? It’s Saturday.”

He dropped your wrist from his hands, sighing as he kicked his feet over the side of the bed, silencing the alarm that sat on his night stand.

“I’ll be back before you even notice I’m gone.”

Instead of resting your head on the pillow and allowing yourself to drift back to sleep, you sat up in bed, slowly slinking your arms over Bucky’s shoulders and down his chest. Leaning into the crook of his neck from behind, you left a kiss on his jawline.

“I always notice when you’re gone, baby.” You hummed into his skin. “Gonna leave me all alone with those brats today?”

Even though the Sun hadn’t risen and the only light shining in between your shades was that of moonlight, you could see the tired smile form on his face. He chuckled and you wrapped your arms tighter around him, feeling his chest rumble with his laughter.

As much as you called your children brats playfully to your husband, he knew how much you adored them.

“They like you better anyway.” He said, picking up your hands that had been resting on his chest, leaving a soft peck on each of them before resting them back on the bed.

He pushed himself off of the bed, making his way over to your shared closet, tugging the first t-shirt he grabbed of his over his head and you watched him stretch as you laid back down in your spot, tugging the sheets tighter around you.

“That’s not true, James.” You said. “You have a metal arm! Do you know how cool that is to a four-year old?

You heard him chuckle, making his way towards your side of the bed. You felt him tuck you in tighter under the comforter and lean over, planting a kiss on your temple. “You don’t have to pretend for me, doll.” He whispered. “They’re smart to like you more than me. I know I do.”

You smiled as he pulled away. “Be safe, okay?”

“Always am.”

-

When you woke up hours later, it unfortunately wasn’t to the sound of an alarm clock, your kids shaking you or your husband’s kiss. When you woke up again it was to the sound of a vase shattering downstairs.

At first, you bolt up in your bed, throwing off the sheets prepared to yell at whichever one of your children had irresponsibly broken one of your possessions. When your hand reached the doorknob, however, you heard the sound of men’s voices echoing from downstairs.

You immediately rushed to your bedside, picking up your phone with trembling hands to dial your husband’s phone number. As you waited for Bucky to pick up you carefully opened your door and tiptoed across the hall over to your daughter’s room, praying that your floorboards wouldn’t creak beneath your feet.

When you saw your daughter still sleeping peacefully, sprawled across her toddler bed you breathed a sigh of relief. Tucking your phone between your shoulder and ear, you carefully picked up your daughter, resting your free hand behind her head to allow her to rest in the crook of your neck. Instinctively her tiny hands tugged on your shirt even in her sleep.

“Hello? Y/n? What’s wro-”

“Someone’s-” You paused, eyes widening as you heard two men now loudly arguing downstairs. “Someone’s here. I can- I can hear them downstairs, Buck. There’s someone in the house.”

At first he didn’t say anything and you were afraid he didn’t hear you properly until you heard him cursing on the other line.

“Y/n, listen to me.” You heard him say finally- you weren’t sure if you had ever heard him so serious. “In the basement underneath the rug there’s a door. If you open it up there’s a crawl space over there- take the kids and go hide there until I can get there.”

Even though he couldn’t see you, you nodded, tip-toeing out of your daughter’s room and into your son’s, still hearing shouting downstairs.

“Okay. Okayokayokay.” You whispered into the phone, reassuring yourself that you could get the task done. “Incase anything happens-

“D- don’t say that.” You heard your husband stutter on the other end. “You’re going to be okay, baby. I’m... I’m gonna get there soon, okay?”

“Okay.” You assured him, not really believing it.

Your phone still tucked beneath your ear, you shook your son awake and as soon as he opened his eyes, you placed see your hand over his mouth.

“You have to be quiet.” You whispered, just enough that he could hear. “Can you be quiet for Mama?”

Eyes still wide, you watched as your son nodded his head.

“There’s bad guys in the house, okay?” You said, pulling on his hand to help him out of bed. “So you and me and your sister have to go to the basement and wait for Dad. We have to be super quiet, okay? They can’t hear us.”

“L-like spies?” He asked.

“Yeah, buddy.” You smiled, trying to hold it together for the children in your arms. “Like spies.”

Picking up your phone one last time you told your husband that you loved him and without another word, you hung up on Bucky, slipping the phone into the pocket of your sweatpants. 

Squeezing your son’s hand and being sure to not step too heavily on the wrong floorboards, you peeked around the doorway to make sure no one had made their way upstairs. When the coast was clear, you tip-toed down the hallway to the top of your staircase. Listening, you heard more than two men arguing downstairs. 

You swore to yourself, afraid you wouldn’t be able to make it to the basement without getting caught when you heard the door to your garage swing open and the men’s feet slowly become quieter as they made their way into it.

Thanking God for your chance, you sped down the stairs, your children in tow.

Swinging the door open to your basement you raced down another flight of stairs, unsure of how much time you had left before they realized that you were there.

You moved your daughter out of your arms and into those of your son, pulling the rug off of the floor to unveil a hatch.

Seeing the hatch in the floorboards, a part of you questioned how you had never seen this before. How did you not know about this? What wasn’t your husband telling you, keeping random crawlspaces a secret?

Pulling it open you saw a small crawlspace hiding inside, about three feet deep and four feet wide. The only thing kept inside it was a large safe.

Assessing the situation you realized that you had two options- either attempt to take the safe out of the crawlspace, risking making a loud noise that would alert the intruders in your home to come straight for the basement... or safely hide your children in the spot that was left in the crawlspace.

“Shit.” You swore to yourself, hands trembling at your side.

“What’s wrong, Mama?” Your son asked, behind you.

At the sound of his voice, you spun around to face him.Taking a deep breath to compose yourself and smiling you kneeled in front of him placing your hands on  his shoulders.

“Everything’s okay, baby.” You assured him, smiling. “I just... do you think you can take care of Rebecca for me?”

Not speaking another word, he nodded still holding his sister in his arms.

Holding yourself back from allowing your voice to crack you pulled your daughter out of your son’s arms.

“I knew you could, hon.” You smiled and grabbing his hand you led him into the crawlspace, helping him jump down into the hole.

When he sat down comfortably in the corner of the crawl space, you carefully lowered your daughter into his arms. Fighting back ears in your eyes you pat his hand.

“Keep her quiet, okay?” You said, placing your finger over your lips. “I need you two to stay nice and quiet. I’m going to shut the top and you don’t say anything until your hear Daddy, alright?”

Nodding, your son hugged his sister tighter in his arms. Reaching out your hand to brush your thumb against his cheek you gave him one last smile.

“I love you so, so much- you know that?” You told him, sitting on your heels on the edge of the crawl space looking over them. “Now stay still, okay? I love you so much.”

And with that you shut the hatch, a loud sound ringing throughout not only the basement, but the house as you did.

When you heard multiple footsteps stomping down the staircase, you quickly threw the rug over the hatch and fell onto your back on the floor. Looking up from your spot you found three men standing above you- the one in the center looked older than all the rest and once your eyes met his, he took a step towards you, causing you to scramble backwards towards the wall.

Despite trying to leave his grasp, he leaned down, grabbing your chin in his hand and pulled your face only inches away from his.

“Where’s the Winter Soldier?” He asked, so close you could feel his breath on your face.

To say you were confused was an understatement. When you heard intruders break into your house, you were sure it would be to rob you, but now as this man stood in front of you, all he did was ask you a question you couldn’t even begin to comprehend.

“Who....” You shook your head, your eyes scanning the faces of the other men behind the one in front of you. “What? I... I don’t know what you’re talking about-”

Grasping your chin tighter, you could see the scowl grow on the man’s face.

“Don’t-” He sighed. “I know you know who he is.”

In your mind you ran through the name, but as hard as you tried it didn’t ring any bells. Frustrated and terrified you shook your head.

“I swear.” You told the man in front of you, desperately. “I don’t know who that is. You have the wrong person.”

The still unnamed man released your chin from his grasp before turning his head to look at the frame that hung on the wall beside him. Tearing it off the wall, he shoved the frame in your face.

“So, you don’t know who the winter soldier is?” He asked again. Looking at the picture you saw it was one of you and your husband from years ago when you had first bought your home. Shoving the frame closer to your face, the man pointed at Bucky. “Then who’s this?”

You glanced at the other men in the room before looking back at the man.

“That’s my husband!” You shouted. “Who the fuck is the winter soldier?”

As soon as you shouted the words, the man threw the frame against the wall and you jumped as you heard the glass shatter and fall onto the ground.

“That’s the winter soldier!” The man in charge shouted, pointing to the broken frame now lying on the ground.

You flinched as the man shouted and kicked the glass shards across the basement floor. 

You were so consumed in worry and terror over the situation that you could barely understand what the man was telling you. Who was the winter soldier? What did he want with him? Why was he telling you that it was your husband?

He paced across the basement and you watched as he finally stopped in front of the two men that were still standing above you and faced them.

“Fine. That’s it.” He grunted. “We’ll take her with us.”

Without another word, the man in charge shoved through the other two men and made his way up the staircase. As soon as he ascended the flight of stairs, the two men made their way towards you and as much as you attempted to make your way to your feet and scramble your way out of their grasp, their hands landed on your arms and pulled you towards the stairs.

“Let go of me!” You shouted, kicking your feet on the steps below you as they dragged you up the staircase from the basement. “You have the wrong person!”

The two men said nothing as they continued to drag you out of the first floor of your house and into the front yard where an unfamiliar car was waiting. As one of the men swung open the back door of the vehicle you struggled in the other man’s arms.

“I’m not the person you’re looking for!” You shouted again desperately and helplessly.

As the two men threw you into the backseat of the car, tying your hands behind your back before you could attempt to do anything else, you finally heard the voice of the man in charge once again, sitting in the driver’s seat.

“You’re right.” He told you, meeting your eyes in the rearview mirror. “You’re not the person I’m looking for... but... you’ll bring me the person I want.”

You listened as one of the men who had grabbed you, made his way into the front seat while the other slipped into the backseat of the car beside you, slamming the door shut.

“What are we going to do about the winter soldier?” The man in the passenger seat asked his boss.

“Don’t worry,” The man in charge said, shifting the car into drive. “The winter soldier will come for her... and he’ll pay for his crimes.”

-

As you hung up the phone with the last words leaving your mouth being a shaky “I love you”, Bucky stood in the corner of the room, staring at the phone in his hands, beginning to feel his hands shake and his heart practically beat out of his chest.

“Buck?” Sam asked, laying his hand gently on his friend’s shoulder. “Hey man, you good?”

Staring at the wall in front of him all he could think about was what he had done to you. Those weren’t random intruders- they couldn’t be. He had no doubt in his mind that they were after him, but you- and possibly even your children- were the ones who were dealing with the consequences of his mistakes.

“Barnes?” Natasha asked from her seat at the table, glancing between Bucky and Sam.

Squeezing his shoulder once again, Sam asked. “Who’s Y/n?”

Without turning to face any of them, still staring at the same spot in the wall- he finally spoke.

“My wife.”

You were his wife and you were in trouble all because of him. All because he couldn’t tell you the truth. All because he couldn’t protect you. You didn’t even know what you were getting yourself into.

“I have to go.” He said, brushing off Sam’s hand before leaving the room.

You were his wife and he was going to get you back- whatever it took.

[foli-vora]

more than words, pt.4

A/N: Hello, angels! I hope you’re all safe and healthy! Next instalment is here, and I’m very excited for what’s coming. I really enjoyed writing this chapter so I hope you enjoy, too! Love to you all! (I hope I haven’t forgotten to tag anyone but if I did, I’m really sorry!)

Pairing: Francisco ‘Catfish’ Morales x f!reader, best friend!Benny Miller x f!reader

Word count: 4.1k

Warnings: SO MUCH FLUFF, swearing, brief alcohol mention, bit of spice (reminder: this fic is 18+), Frankie being the tease he is

pt.1 / pt.2 / pt.3 / pt.5 / pt.6

+

Your lips were still tingling when you woke the next morning, eyes fluttering open and a smile creeping onto your face as the events from last night replay through your mind for the millionth time. Frankie had been on your mind the entire drive home, the tenderness of his first kiss kicking your heart into double time, and the pure unrestrained passion of the kiss that followed hitting a far lot lower.

Was it possible for a first date to go as well as it did? There wasn’t a single moment in your time spent with Frankie that had you unsure about his character or intentions.

Benny had actually done it. He had found you a guy you really liked. Is Hell freezing over?

You reach for your phone as you slip from bed, stretching leisurely as you make your way to the kitchen, and finding Benny’s contact before pressing ‘call’. It takes a few rings, until his drawl finally greets you through the phone.

“Did you puke?” is his immediate answer and you roll your eyes, tucking the phone between your ear and shoulder as you putter around your kitchen putting some breakfast together.

“No, you asshole.”

He laughs. “He’s that whipped, he’d probably thank you.”

What? What does that mean? Has Frankie spoken to Benny? Did he talk about last night? What did he say? Did he think it went as well as you did? Shit. Calm down. You try to steady your suddenly quickening pulse, a pleasant flutter consuming your stomach as you attempt to sound casual.

“Oh? Has he said something?”

Benny’s voice is sly, teasing – he knows you far too well. “Maybe.”

“What do you mean ‘maybe’?”

“Maybe I’m sitting next to him right now. And maybe he’s sitting here blushin’ like a little –” Benny grunts suddenly, seemingly in pain, and the phone crackles as he shifts on the other end, “don’t fuckin’ kick me. Anyway, Fish wants to know what you’re wearing.”

You hear him then, raspy voice piping up in the background with an aghast ‘What?! No–’ and then there’s more scuffling, more grunts of pain, and Benny’s snort of laughter.

“What are you even doing up?” Benny redirects his attention to you after a few minutes of bickering with Frankie, words muffled as he talks around whatever food he has rolling around his mouth. He had noted the early time when your face had flashed over his screen, wondering what could’ve possibly gotten you up and out of bed so early on a day off.

You shrug lightly, even though he couldn’t see it, and prepare your pancake batter. “Just couldn’t sleep in.”

He’s quiet, chewing thoughtfully and then asking softly, “You okay?”

“Yeah – I’m fine, just bored sitting at home. For some reason, I wanted to see what you were up to and if you wanted to hang out, but you’re busy so never mind.”

Benny laughs, “Aw, you missin’ me, angel?” he teases.

“Ugh, I take it back. I’d rather sit here in silence and stare at my wall.”

You can hear him laughing even as you pull your phone away and press the red button, shaking your head and smiling to yourself.

-

A week passes by before you even know it, work taking over much of your week, and much to your delight, Frankie had eagerly organised another night to meet up. You had talked all week of course – a phone call every evening once Mena had been put down for the night, texts here and there throughout the day, and when he had asked if you were free at all over the weekend, you had agreed without a second thought.

Eagerness buzzes through your system the entire day of the date and the drive to the restaurant, a much welcome change from the anxiety riddled one before. It was a breath of fresh air.

Frankie was waiting for you, as he said he would, leaning against the wall of the restaurant and a smile immediately widening his features when his eyes find you.

This time there was no hesitation, no voice in the back of your mind wondering how to tackle the situation. As soon as you saw him – you couldn’t help yourself – you were in his arms and giving him a soft kiss in greeting. Pleasantly surprised, he smiles against your lips, arms winding around your waist, and the electric tingles that rocket up from your palm when his rough hand gently takes yours has your heart going wild in your chest.

It’s dinner instead of drinks this time, and the two of you squeeze yourselves into one side of the leather booths, instead of sitting opposite each other. You order quickly, and sip at your beer while you listen to Frankie talk about his week, the conversation soon moving in all sorts of directions as you wait for your food.

“How could you not?” You cry at one point, slapping a hand on the table and watching his shoulders shake as he laughs, stomach twisting at the pleasant sound of it.  “The universe is huge – like, huge. We are not alone.” You say ominously, and he laughs harder, head hitting the back of the booth.

“Where’s the proof?”

“What?”

“The proof! If it’s so big and we’re not the only ones here, where is everyone?”

“It’s a cover up.” You sniff indifferently, sipping your drink and fighting the twitches threatening to turn your pursed lips into a smile. “Oh my god, you were in the military – are you in on it?”

He’s struggling to breathe, cheeks aching under the grin stretching his features and stomach starting to cramp. “In on what?”

“That’s it! You’re part of the cover up!”

“Yeah, you’ve got me. I was actually a part of a crew chasing away UFO’s.”

No longer able to keep it in, you erupt into a fit of violent giggles, melting over the table top and letting the laughter shake your frame. Frankie watches you fondly, affection flooding his system and causing his insides to warm pleasantly.

He was still trying to work out how he was here, with a beautiful woman, having great conversations, fun conversations, and laughing more than he had in… shit… a long time. It was refreshing and, if he were completely honest with himself, slightly nerve-wracking. Nothing ever stays so perfect, and that thought had him ensuring he was enjoying every second he could with you before you inevitably realised you were incredibly out of his league and went looking elsewhere.

But… how could you ever? When you peak up at him, you can’t help but study the way his eyes crinkle when he smiles, the way his dimples deepen in his cheek, and you honestly couldn’t imagine anywhere else in the world you’d rather be. It was… scary. You’d only known him a couple of weeks, and you were feeling like this?

The night melts away before you both even know it happens and soon, you’re snatching up the bill before he can move, and walking out onto the street, Frankie’s arm slung around your shoulders and keeping you pressed close up to his side as a sharp late evening breeze sweeps through you both.

“You’re not serious.”

“I am.”

“Chickens?”

“I’m sorry, but have you ever been chased by a rooster? Those things are fucking vicious, Frankie.”

He grins, shaking his head. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Okay, well what about you?”

“Heights.”

What?

You frown, “But you’re a pilot?”

“I can handle heights if I can control the situation. Flying is easy – I know what to do when I need to do it. It’s when something’s out of my control – falling off a cliff and shit. It’s just… a long way down.” He’s quiet, obviously dwelling on something before he’s shaking his head and smiling, “Do you have a favourite book?”

The short walk to your car takes longer with the leisurely pace you both had unconsciously set, wanting to milk the remaining minutes of the date as much as you could before having to part ways.

“Thank you for dinner.” He spins you into his arms and you laugh quietly, smiling.

“You’re welcome.”

Silence falls over you both as you regard the other.

Frankie… your voice is so quiet, the soft whisper of it dances in his ears, igniting a fire through his veins. He unconsciously presses himself closer, lost in the way your lashes flutter when you look at him. You raise a hand, fingers trailing softly against his jaw and he turns his face into your touch, chasing the feeling of your warm fingertips as they glide up and around his neck.

“Kiss me?”

He smiles, enjoying the way your face scrunches slightly as he nuzzles his nose against yours, “Say please,” he mutters playfully, grin widening when you breathe a quiet giggle.

“Please kiss me, Francisco.”

Oh shit.

You don’t miss the way his face slackens for a brief moment, eyes widening and breath seemingly getting caught in his throat. He swallows, the flicker of a flame that had been burning lowly in his stomach suddenly blazes red hot and then he’s moving, hands cupping your cheeks and claiming your mouth with an intensity that had your knees buckling the second his lips touched yours.

You melt instantly, unable to stop the small whimper that bubbles from your mouth as his tongue traces teasingly along your lip. You open your mouth automatically, tongue immediately sliding greedily along his. His mouth was hot, rough against yours, and the grunt he lets out when your fingers dig into the dark curls at the nape of his neck has a delicious heat shooting to your core, your hips rolling against his.

Fuck. Did you just grind on him?

The sudden stab of panic at potentially going too far is quickly extinguished when his hands fly to your hips, pulling you impossibly closer and keeping you tight up against him while his fingers dig hungrily into your flesh.

The sudden blaring of a car alarm has you both jumping apart and a mile high, Frankie’s hands tightening on you instinctively, and it’s not until you look around that you discover it’s your car making that God awful noise that is ripping your ear drums apart.

“Shit,” you fumble for your keys, quickly pressing the button while Frankie chuckles into the skin of your throat, hands softly rubbing up and down along your waist to calm you. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s my fault.” He grins, not at all remorseful for causing such a big disturbance. “It was probably for the best – any longer and we might’ve been arrested for indecent exposure.” The words are growled playfully against your skin, but you can’t help thinking he wasn’t far from the truth. You laugh, wrapping your arms tightly around his torso and placing a final kiss on the corner of his lips.

“Drive safe,” you say as he begins to pull back, and he smiles warmly at you.

“You too.”

You slip into your car, watch him disappear down the street and sigh dreamily, body working on auto-pilot for the drive home while your head remains firmly in the clouds. You could only hope you had actually somewhat paid attention to the road and didn’t miss any stop signs or red lights.

Your phone goes off in your hand when you eventually walk through the door to your apartment, and you read the text as you shrug off your jacket. Your eyes have to read it back and forth a few times before the words actually sink in, and then you’re holding it to your chest, delicately cradling the device while you rest heavily on your door, heat flushing along your cheeks.

I’ve thought about whether or not I should say this the entire drive home, but fuck it... miss you already.

Well, fuck.

-

Delivering a sharp little karate chop to the remaining flat cushion on your couch to fluff it, you place it with the others and then neaten the edges of the blanket hanging over the back, casting one final glance around your apartment and trying to imagine seeing it through a visitor’s eyes.

Clean.

Really clean.

Frankie was picking you up for a ‘mystery date’, which meant – naturally – you had spent the entire day scrubbing every surface in your apartment until it looked like you semi-had your life together. Did you inhale more bleach than what is probably considered healthy? Most definitely. Do you regret it? No. Will your apartment ever be this clean again? Also probably a no.

Checking the time, you’re startled to see how long you had spent fluffing fucking pillows and chant curses as you run to your room, kicking the clothes you rip off under your bed to deal with later and quickly pulling on the outfit it had definitely not taken you two hours to decide on. Your eyes dart to the alarm clock next to your bed when a knock on the door echoes throughout your small home.

Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, he’s on time –

God, why can’t he just show up half an hour late like the others? You immediately regret giving him the code to your building… that could’ve bought you an extra few minutes.

Stupid perfect face with his stupid perfect punctuality –

You open the door with a grin, hoping your forehead doesn’t look as sweaty as it feels, face softening when you find Frankie standing on the other side with a little potted houseplant cradled in his palms. He sees your eyes fall to it curiously and holds it out to you, your fingers brushing his when you carefully take it from his hands.

“You said flowers make you sad when they die, so…” he shrugs lightly, a gentle smile curling his lips.

Oh.

Emotion claws at your throat as your fingers trace the patterned leaves softly. Not only had he paid attention and actually listened to you during your many conversations, he had gone out of his way to find you a gift you could nurture, one that wouldn’t inevitably end up in the trash after a week or two of blossoming.

You swallow the sudden lump in your throat, clearing your throat quietly before glancing up at him, shy and overwhelmed by the wave of adoration that inundates you.

“Thank you, Frankie. I love it.”

And he knows you really do. He can hear it in your voice, sees the gratitude shining in your eyes. He follows you as you turn back into your apartment, eyes following you fondly as you walk around, eyeing potential places to situate your new addition.

“I think he looks good there.” You say, turning to confirm his approval over your shoulder after you situate it in the middle of your small dining table. He smiles, nodding his support and watching you turn back to look at the plant, taking his own little minute to admire you and the way you look bathed in the bright afternoon sun shining through your windows.

Fuck. He was captivated, completely infatuated by someone he had only known, what – three weeks? He should be nervous, should be alarmed that such strong feelings had developed so quickly, but he couldn’t bring himself to feel anything other than joy – hope. Maybe this could be it, you and him. Endgame.

Fuck. Don’t get ahead of yourself.

His arms open automatically when you saunter up to him, enveloping you into a warm embrace while you press an appreciative kiss to his cheek.

“So, this mystery date,” you say, pulling back to gaze up at him while your hands wrap loosely around his neck, “will I need a jacket?”

“Yes,” he nods, grinning when your brows pinch in contemplation. “You’ll never guess so don’t hurt you head trying.” Lips press against your forehead and you press back into the soft touch, heart jumping at the tender gesture.

-

“Minigolf?” You question, looking up at the colourful entrance.

“Is that okay? If not, we can go somewhere else –”

He’s nervous – you can hear it in his voice.

Easing his anxiety, you shake your head and grin, “It’s perfect.”

You watch him relax, a pleased smile curling his lips, and then your hand is in his as he leads you through the gate and to the reception area to pay. The both of you meander outside once collecting your clubs and balls, and you feel childishly giddy at all the bright colours and fun obstacles set throughout, bouncing slightly in excitement as you walk to the first hole.

“Do you know what you’re doing?” He asks around a grin, head tilting as he watches you set up and take your position.

“This isn’t my first time,” you hum, shifting on your feet and lining up your shot. Swinging the golf club gently, you watch the neon orange ball bounce along the walls and finish up teeteringly on the edge of the cup before falling in with a satisfying clunk.

“Oh, by the way,” you spin, smirking, “I kick ass at minigolf.”

“Good,” he returns your smirk, gently nudging you out the way, “I don’t have to take it easy on you, then.”

What had started out as fun, quickly becomes competitive, and with competition comes foul play. Frankie had pinched your sides when you went to hit your ball, your body jolting with a yelp of surprise as he exploited your ticklish spots. In return, you knocked his golf club when he swung, and giggled wildly when he immediately turned on you, wrapping you in a tight hold and raining scratchy kisses along your throat in punishment.

The afternoon melts into evening with mix of steady conversation, laughter and hidden kisses behind obstacles – Frankie stealing the breath right from your lungs when he crowds you against the side of the colourfully decorated windmill and claims your mouth, the crowds of other couples and families wandering around the course oblivious to the two of you hidden in the shadows.

If he was trying to work you up, it was working. He had to know what he was doing to you, had to know how all-consuming his presence was when he swept you up into kiss after kiss. You were so wrapped up in the touches he would caress you with, so focused on the feel of his moustache as it tickled the skin above your lip, that you were completely unaware you were losing… until you peaked at the card Frankie kept sticking out of his back pocket (totally not because you were checking out his ass) and the wave of vicious competitiveness shadows the overwhelming desire to jump him right in the middle of the course on the artificial turf.

Payback.

The next course, you took your short as normal, squirming as you feel Frankie come to stand right behind you. Focus –

Breathe, he’s not there. Breathe, he’s not there. Breathe –

Goosebumps rise along your arms in waves, the skin on the back of your neck prickling as he ghosts his curved nose down the column of your throat, your head tilting ever so slightly to allow him more access.

Fuck. No, breathe –

You swing the club, satisfaction rolling through you when the ball ends up in the cup perfectly in one shot. He’s slightly shocked, incredibly impressed, and presses a soft kiss of praise just below your ear. You watch as he takes your place, dropping his ball on the ground and readying his posture.

God, you need to stop looking at him like that.

The golf club feels loose in his grip, palms clammy from the fiery gaze locked onto the back of his neck as he hunches over for his turn. He feels a presence behind him but doesn’t pay any mind to it, and instead pays all of his attention to lining up the ball, mentally calculating what sort of angle he’d need to get it through the tunnel and around the winding corners to the cup a short dip below.

The cool puff of air suddenly blowing past and tickling his ear makes him fumble, the ball missing the tunnel and bouncing off of the sides and rolling back to his feet. He sighs, eyeing you over his shoulder with a playful frown as you blink innocently back at him.

He lines up again, tensing when warm hands work their way under his jacket, resting softly on his hips. He could feel the heat of your palms through his t-shirt and clears his throat, shifting on his feet and trying to focus back on the ball. You nuzzle your nose into his neck, teeth nipping lightly at his skin when he swings the golf club softly. Another miss. Frankie watches the ball return again, stopping at his feet with a light knock to his shoe.

“Yeah, that’s right, Morales – I’m onto you.” Your soft voice rings in his ear and he grins, knocking the ball into position with his club. “You may play dirty… but I do, too – try again.”

The words settle hotly in his stomach.

“You think you can win?”

“I know I can.” You all but purr into his ear.

He blocks you out then, focusing everything he has on getting that stupid fucking pink ball through the tunnel. He’s got it this time. This time –

Fingers dive under his shirt and his stomach jumps as they trace along his hot skin, slowly following along the waistband of his jeans teasingly. Fire shoots through his veins, muscles clenching under the feather light touches, your nails softly dragging along his skin.

Fucking Christ –

“Are you just going to stand here all day, Francisco?” You question slyly, voice soft and mocking. At your teasing, both verbal and physical, he hits the ball a little harder than intended and it bounces off the turf entirely and into the bushes lining the course.

You’re smug as you watch it disappear into the shrubs, “I’d say that’s forfeit.”

You go to step away when he starts to turn, but a hand grabs your wrist and keeps you flush against him, your insides somersaulting as his dark eyes burn through you.

“You’re trouble.” He accuses gruffly, heart still hammering in his chest while his skin burns from the ghost of your touches.

“You love it.”

He does.

Fuck, he does. Too much.

“Come on, loser,” you murmur, lips leaving a whisper of a kiss against his. “I’m hungry.” And with that, you turn, winking cheekily at him from over your shoulder, and he watches you walk away with a dumbfounded expression before he follows along behind you, jeans feeling a little tighter than what they did before.

-

The tension is stifling in the truck on the drive home. You feel your heart beating in your ears, the anticipation bubbling in your chest growing with every mile Frankie travels closer to your apartment. You were aching. Physically in fucking pain, and rubbing your thighs together was doing nothing to soothe the insistent throbbing from your core.

All that playful teasing, the touches and the rough kisses during the day, had caught up, and it was destroying you.

Frankie had briefly mentioned Mena staying with his parents for the night, and it had kickstarted your thoughts into overdrive. Was that a hint? Was he giving you a green light to potentially take this further? Was he saying he would be open to staying over? Was he asking to?

You were worried you were thinking on it too much, maybe getting the wrong idea and he was just expressing how nice it would be to have a night all to himself, but then his hand landed on your thigh and squeezed, and any inklings of doubt all but vanished.

He watches you from the corner of his eye, trying to focus on the road and not the way you keep shifting in your seat. He feels every time you squeeze your thighs together, feels the muscles move under his hand, and he physically has to stop himself from making a noise every time you do. Do you have any idea what you’re doing to him?

Your building comes into view and then he’s pulling up outside, removing his hand from your thigh and throwing the truck into park, letting it idle while you study the structure and get your thoughts together. Swallowing the sudden spike of nerves that settle in your stomach, you look to Frankie and find him already watching you quietly.

For a moment, you say nothing, and he doesn’t bother filling the silence. He lets you have all the time you need while you decide on your next move. Not that you need much time – you know exactly what you want.

“Do you want to come up?” You ask quietly, watching his eyes darken as they flicker to your building before returning to you. You watch his Adams apple bob as he swallows, and then he’s nodding, turning the keys in the ignition and the truck cuts out beneath you.

+

Tags: @anu-simps @seasonschange-butpeopledont @withasideofmeg @you-got-me-starry-eyed @emilykjh @peterhollandkait @sara-alonso @starlightsearches @bookishofalder @empress-palpat1ne @shadowolf993 @rosiefridayrogersunday @canyonmirrors @eoz-stuff @blackonemasie​ @layniapetrovnaaa​ @alberta-sunrise​ @betterthanbucky​ @linkpk88​ @afootnoteinyourhappiness​ @livilottie​ @hailmaryyramliah​ @kesskirata​ @blueeyesatnight​ @a-perfct-stranger​

[wicked-mind]

Betrayed: Chapter one

Betrayed

Summary: Everybody thought Steve’s sister had passed away decades ago. But when you show up at the facility and try to attack Bucky, there are questions to be answered.

Pairing: Bucky x reader

Word count: 3.3k

Warning: A bit of violence, a hint of PTSD

Masterlist

All Writings Masterlist

NOTE: This story is set post Endgame, but Natasha is still alive and Steve never went back in time to be with Peggy. Although I have always been a fan of creative writing, this is my first time writing based on any movies/series. Any feedback would be appreciated (: Enjoy!

*gif not mine

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CHAPTER ONE- You

“ALERT: PERIMETER BREACH!”

The alert echoed through the rooms of the facility, waking everybody up at the ready for a fight. Natasha was the first one up and slowly sneaking out of her room, armed with a gun. She stopped at a door and opened it, Steve had his shield and was ready to follow her with a nod. They slipped into the hallway together. Bucky joined them, as well as Wanda. They all spread out and went down different hallways in teams.

“We have movement in the kitchen.” Nat whispered to her ear piece, which had Sam and Clint on the other end moving on the opposite side of the facility through the kitchen. They all stopped, looking into the dark room. Nothing was touched. Nobody was there. They slowly spread out into the kitchen, checking any corners where someone could be hiding.

Nat lowers her weapon and looks around at her teammates, who looked as confused as she was. They didn’t get false alarms. Nat suddenly looks down at her phone, which she was using to track movement in the facility.

“There’s definitely something moving around here.” She said, showing Steve. He looked as the dot bounced around the screen, shifting to different rooms. It was going through all their bedrooms, before stopping at the edge the hallway that lead to the kitchen.

Both Nat and Steve looked up to the edge of the hallway. Nat already had her gun pointed, ready to fire. The rest of the team gathered around the entrance, keeping their distant and following Steve and Nat’s lead.

“Whoever you are, come out now!” Steve demanded, stepping forward a few feet and squinting his eyes in the darkness.

The room paused for a moment as something was heard moving in the darkness. Out of the black, a pale foot popped into view, followed by another. A woman now stood in front of the avengers. She was shoeless, dirty, and pale. She was wearing black shorts and a light blue shirt which had mud and what looked like blood stains on them. Her hair was a mess, her face dirty. But her eyes... they glowed a deep red. The woman tilts her head, eyes locked on Steve. In her hand she held one of Steve’s dirty shirts from yesterday, twiddling it in her fingers.

“Steve...?” Y/N whispered from the shadows. She kept his shirt in her hands, gripping it so tightly that her fingers could tear it apart. Her voice was soft, meek.

Steve looked on confused as why the woman held his shirt, but when he looked at her face as she spoke his name, he rushed forward a few steps, waving his hand behind him for Natasha to lower her weapon, “Y/N?” He asks softly, continuing to walk towards her, “Turn off that alarm.” He said back to Nat, who quickly stopped the blaring alert that kept repeating perimeter breach. The room fell silent.

“Who is she, Steve?” Sam asked, approaching Steve slowly, keeping his eyes on the woman. He was still on defense as were the rest of the avengers.

“Y/N... my sister..” Steve said, continuing to slowly walk towards Y/N slowly with his hands outstretched to show he wasn’t a threat. He thought she was dead. Last he heard she was at boarding school with Bucky’s sister, Rebecca. When he came out of the ice he looked her up immediately. All that was on file was that she finished school, had a family, and passed away peacefully in her sleep. He obviously knew now that was a lie.

Bucky came out of the back, stepping into view from the darkness. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Y/N... it had been decades since he had seen you. His heart felt heavy as he observed her, seeing her dirty and covered in dried blood. Y\N was his sister’s best friend. Him, Steve, Bex (Rebecca), and Y/N were always around each other after Bucky and Steve met. He would always steal glances at her, noticing that she would also steal some glances at him and flutter her eye lashes at him. She was always so happy, laughing and tucking her hair behind her ear, looking up at him. He remembered before he was deployed, Y/N snuck out with him to watch the sunrise. She watched the sun kiss the sky, creating vibrant orange streaks. Bucky remembered watching her. The way the fresh rays hit her skin, watching her small, content smile. He didn’t want the moment to end but knew it was coming to a close. He had reached out and gently touched her hand with his fingertips, “Hey Doll, I’m going to need something to keep me motivated while I’m away,” he said gently, smiling softly as she accepted her hand into his. She turned to look at him, her large blue eyes locked on his, “What do you say about saving me a date when I come back?”

Y/N had smiled and nodded, moving her face closer to his, her eyes flickering between his lips and his eyes. Bucky leaned in as well, moving his free hand to gently touch her warm face with his fingertips, inviting her closer. They had shared one kiss that early morning when they watched the sunrise. But that was enough to have both of them hooked on each other. After he was deployed, they would write each other. She had told him her brother finally got accepted into the military, sharing small details of which Steve had told her in letters. Always signing them with xoxo and hearts. But then the letters stopped from Bucky and Steve. Y/N was heartbroken to not hear from her boys.

Now, Y/N was standing in front of him. Bucky was trying to muster up some words to speak, letting her know he was there too. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. When he was back in his right mind after his return, he had looked her up also, wondering what became of her. He was given the same information Steve had. But obviously, something happened. She was young still, alive. “Y/N.. Doll, what happened?” Bucky finally found his words, moving to step closer to Steve, who was still slowly making his way towards his sister.

Y/N finally moved. Well, her eyes did. The deep red eyes flickered to Bucky at the sound of the new but familiar voice voice. Suddenly, her grip on Steve’s shirt tightened, pulling at the fabric. In the silence, everybody could hear it tear ever so slightly as a deep growl was heard coming from Y/N. Her eyes locked on Bucky’s face. Her gums slowly rose, her teeth showing which made the growling even more audible. “You....” was all that passed her lips, her eyes locked on Bucky’s face.

Y/N emotions changed quickly. She was soft, almost scared looking before. Now she looked threatening, angry. Small wrinkles appeared on her forehead as if she was frustrated. In a swift movement, Y/N lunged at Bucky. She was fast, really fast. Steve tried to grab his sister, but was pushed away with ease by her hand, throwing him across the kitchen and into the dining table. She had her hands outstretched at Bucky as she lunged at him. She almost had him in her grasp, and all she could think about was killing him. Shutting those blue eyes forever. But, as she got closer, an arrow hit her shoulder, shocking her. She froze and her body seized from the electricity, before dropping to the floor unconscious.

Bucky turned his attention to Hawkeye, who shrugged, “What? It got hostile real quick.” He said, walking to Nat’s side who had just stood there, confused by the whole ordeal that was unfolding in front of her. Steve sprinted back over to his now unconscious sister on the floor, shooting daggers with his eyes at Clint. He kneeled down, removing the arrow from her shoulder. Bucky leaned down as well, lifting his metal arm to sweep away some hair from her face. As soon as he touched her, Y/N eyes opened and locked with his again. She grabbed his metal arm, twisting it away from her and quickly jolted up towards Bucky. Her face buried in his neck, which almost looked like affection. But given that Bucky let out an audible yelp of pain, it obviously wasn’t. He pushed her off of him and into Steve’s arms, who held her tightly, trying to back her away from Bucky. Y/N was growling, struggling in her brothers arms as her eyes were still on Bucky, determined to rip him to shreds. Nat quickly moved, pushing three needles into Y/N’s neck, causing her to slowly slip into unconsciousness once again.

“You sedated her?” Steve asked, looking at Nat.

Nat looked at him, “Well duh.. did you prefer her trying to kill Bucky?” She said, waving her hand over at Bucky who had his hand to his neck, blood dripping between his fingers. Clint and Sam were immediately at Bucky’s side, assessing his wound. She had bitten into his neck, taking a small chunk with her. Clint and Sam started moving Bucky to get him to med-bay to assess the bite.

Steve picked his sister’s unconscious body up into his arms, turning and walking back down the hallway to his bedroom, placing her on the bed. Those sedatives should keep her down for a while, but then again so should have the shock from the arrow. He had never seen his sister so violent. Sure, he would see her stand up to bullies for him when they were younger. He was a scrawny kid who got beat up a lot, but as soon as his sister showed up she was always able to calm the bullies down with her charm to leave Steve alone when Bucky wasn’t there to save him. But she was never violent. Always kind with a smile on her face. He looked at her now. He never imagined seeing her this way. Dirty, broken looking. Her swept some hair away from her face as Bucky did, but she stayed unconscious.

“Wanda, Nat.” Steve called, knowing they were at his doorway watching, “Can you help get her cleaned up?” He said softly, his eyes not leaving his sister. He didn’t want to see her like this. She looked like she had crawled out of a grave. Crawled out of hell.

Nat nodded, disappearing down the hallway to get some clean towels to help wipe off the dirt.

“Of course.” Wanda said, quickly going to her room to get a change of clothes for Y/N. They looked about the same size of clothes.

Nat returned with a bowl of clean water and a couple medium sized towels, sitting on the opposite side of the bed from Steve, slowly dabbing away dirt from Y/N’s pale skin, “You know there’s going to be some questions when she wakes up..” Nat said, looking over at Steve who nodded, “I think we all have some questions.” He stated.

Wanda returned and picked up a clean towel, starting to help Natasha get rid of the dirt and dried blood. Wanda suddenly froze, looking at Steve and waving for Nat to back up a little bit, “She’s waking up.” Wanda stated.

Nat looked at her, “I gave her three sedatives. She shouldn’t be waking up so soon.” But backed off a little like Wanda said.

Steve took his sister’s hand, standing and hovering over her so he was the first one she would see. Her eyes opened, the red staring at him, “Steve...” a small smile came onto her lips, but as she noticed the two women in the room, she sat up, scooting away from them a little.

“Woah... Y/N, look at me.. Y/N, it’s okay.. they’re here to help. They’re my friends.” Steve said with a small smile for confidence, lifting his other hand to touch her face, “This is Natasha, and Wanda.” He said, introducing you to the women. “Would it be alright if they helped clean you up? You’re really dirty right now and it would make me feel better if you’d let them.”

Y/N looked at Wanda, then Natasha, listening to Steve. She nodded. Her whole demeanor had changed again. She wasn’t threatening at all, instead she seemed a little scared, timid. Wanda gave Y/N a comforting smile, “Come with me, Y/N, I’ll help you to the tub to clean you up. I got some clean clothes too.”

Y/N looked to Steve, as if to ask if it is safe. Steve nodded and slowly helped Y/N to her feet, walking with her down the hallway as Nat and Wanda lead the way. Nat opened the door to the large bathroom and turned on the tub, checking the temperature of the water. Wanda slowly reached her hand out to Y/N, as if to ask permission to help remove her dirty clothing. Y/N nodded to Wanda to accept her help, but then looked at Steve. Her nose scrunched, “Get out, Steve.” Y/N said.

“What? Y/N I’m not leaving.” Steve said, looking at her confused.

“You are not about to see me undress, get out.” Y/N repeated, giving her brother a look as she gestured to her clothes. She seemed almost normal again. She offered Steve a small smile, nodding, “I’ll be fine..”

Steve looked at Nat who nodded in agreement. Steve sighed, “I’ll be outside the door if you need anything.”

Y/N nodded, watching her brother exit and the door shut behind him. She gave a small smile towards Wanda to let her know she can continue to help. Nat and Wanda helped Y/N remove her clothing. Some of it crusted to her skin from blood. It was obvious there had been some wounds on Y/N that caused this, but there were no open cuts. Just small silver scars on her body. Y/N slowly stepped into the warm water, sitting down. She brought her knees to her chest, hugging them in the water. The clear water quickly started turning a brownish color from all the dirt and blood on Y/N’s skin. Nat and Wanda gently scrubbed her skin with sponges until they finally found pale skin underneath the grime. The two ladies helped Y/N wash her hair in silence. Nat was keeping a close eye on Y/N, still unsure what to think due to the fact she had attacked Bucky. But Y/N hadn’t made any threatening moves towards anybody else. It was like for that split moment she had turned into a totally different person, one full of rage and violence towards Bucky.

Wanda smiled at Y/N, “All clean!” She beamed, reached to unplug the drain to allow the dirty water to empty the tub. She grabbed a towel, holding it up for Y/N to step into. It was like Y/N was a totally different person beneath the filth. Nat and Wanda could now see the family resemblance with Steve.

“I’m going to go check on some things, Wanda will help you get dressed and anything else you need, alright Y/N?” Nat smiled and put a hand on Y/N’s shoulder in a comforting way. She then made her way towards the door, opening it slightly to leave but not enough to let Steve see into the bathroom.

“Thank you, Natasha.” Y/N said before Nat slipped out the door, then looked to Wanda, “Thank you, also.” She smiled slightly while Wanda unfolded the clean clothes and passed them to Y/N to get dressed. She quickly put the clothes on. Some dark grey sweat pants and a black T-shirt. They fit perfectly. “Thank you again, Wanda.” Y/N said, giving a smile to her.

Wanda smiled back, “Of course. Now let’s brush that hair.” She said, holding up the brush in her hand. Y/N turned around to allow Wanda to brush through her long blonde hair, detangling it. She stared at herself in the mirror. It was like a totally different person staring at her. She was clean, she looked normal. It left a small smile on Y/N’s lips seeing herself like this. Normal. Besides the red eyes staring back at her.

When they were finished with Y/N’s hair, they exited the bathroom. Steve looked at Y/N, smiling as she finally looked again like the sister recognized. He reached out and pulled her into a tight hug, leaning his head on the top of hers, his cheek now damp from her wet hair. Y/N smiled at the hug, wrapping her arms around her brother and hugging him back. It had been so long. She had missed him so much.

Steve led her back to his bedroom, thanking Wanda for the help before closing the door so the siblings could be alone. He watched as Y/N walked around his room, observing it. She looked at the pictures on the wall, the contents on his desk, taking in everything in the room. Steve stood there for a moment silently, letting her look around, before clearing his throat which brought Y/N’s attention back to him.

“Y/N. Can you tell me what happened? How are you here?” He asked, his voice soft and calm, caring.

Y/N stood silent for a moment, staring at her brother, before sitting down at the edge of the bed, “Am I in trouble?” She asks, looking down at the floor.

Steve shook his head, moving to sit by her, “No, no no Y/N. I just need to understand what happened... why you attacked Bucky and-“

Y/N flicked her head up, her red eyes staring at him, “DON’T!” She stopped him, her face twisting into an angry look again. She held up her palm and him to stop him from talking, “Don’t... say his name. He’s a traitor. He deserves everything he will get. He’s dangerous.”

Steve’s brow pulled together in confusion of why his sister snapped at the name. Why would she call him a traitor? They were best friends, and Steve swore they were closer than he wanted them to be. He remembered their flirtatious looks, the way they would steal glances at each other. She had never spoken ill of Bucky, what changed?

“What do you mean? He’s our friend, Y/N, remember?” Steve asked, careful not to say his name again to not set his sister off.

Y/N quickly stood, looking at him, “He is NOT our friend. He did this to me, Steve.” she said, her hands gesturing towards herself, “He’s the reason I’m like this.. he helped them create me...” her voice slowly got softer as she spoke, tears welling up in her eyes. “He tricked me, told me he came back from deployment and wanted to keep our promise. I stood there like an idiot, all dressed up. But then, he appeared. His eyes empty. He just grabbed me.. and... he took me to them...” she said, her right hand going up to grip the side of her head scrunching her freshly washed hair, her breathing quickening, “He stood by as I screamed... they played with my head... and he just watched... I called to him to save me and he turned his back on me... he... he...” she started to seem like she was hyperventilating, pacing around the room, gripping her head.

Steve stood quickly, pulling his sister into his arms again, shushing her softly to try and get her to calm down, “I’ll figure it out, Y/N. Just shh... calm down. Rest.” He said. He was able to get her to sit down on his bed, still hugging her until she fell asleep. He let her lay on his bed, tucking the blanket over her as she slept. He asked Wanda to keep an eye on her and let him know when she was waking up, to which Wanda nodded and sat in the chair next to the bed. There was something familiar about Y/N to Wanda, but she couldn't place how. Steve walked down the hall on his way to med-bay, a serious look on his face. He had to hear for himself if what his sister told him is true. He had to get some answers from his best friend Bucky.

[rebelwrites]

Nothing But A Pirate

Killian Jones x Reader

Summary: When the reader thought they had found true love they didn’t think that true love would leave her with a broken heart

Requested by @thenocturnalsyren // Hi. I don’t know if you’re taking requests right now but can I get a Hook x reader where the reader is Regina’s younger sister who she’s very protective of. Regina’s not entirely thrilled that her sister is getting close to Hook, a pirate, and threatens to tear his life apart if he doesn’t break it off before the relationship progresses to just more than friends. Reader is heart broken until one night when Hook drunkenly confesses what happened and his feelings for her.

Join The TagList Here 💜 // Killian Jones Masterlist

“Thanks for a good night Killian” you grinned as he walked you to your front door.

“You needed it” he smiled, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear making you feel like a teenager again.

“I hope you realise you aren’t getting this shirt back any time soon right?” You giggled resting your hands on his chest.

“I know, I mean it looks better on you than it ever did on me” he winked

“I best get going before Regina realises I’m still out” you laughed.

“Love she’s not your mum and you are 26” he smirked.

“I know but you know how overprotective she is of me” you shrugged “but I will see you tomorrow yeah?”

“Yeah you will love” he nodded “now go get some sleep you have work in the morning”

“Oh if I’m tired I’m fully blaming you” you giggled.

“Guilty” he winked.

“Night Killian” you smiled standing on your tiptoes to kiss his cheek.

“Goodnight Y/N” he smiled hugging you.

Quietly you unlocked the door, waving at Killian before you closed the door as quietly as you could hoping Regina wasn’t still up. You didn’t know what you and Killian were, but you couldn’t deny you were falling for him. Leaning against the front door you couldn’t help but smile at how amazing the night had been, yes you might have been slightly buzzed from the rum but you needed a night like this.

“What time do you call this Y/N/N” Regina said appearing from the kitchen.

“Shit I didn’t realise you were still up” you sighed.

“Where have you been?” She asked raising her eyebrow at you, she didn’t need to ask she knew where you had been but she wanted you to say it.

“Just out” you smiled.

“You were with him again wasn’t you?” She asked.

“Yes I with with Killian” you nodded.

“I’ve told you he is trouble, he is nothing but a pirate” she sighed.

“And I’ve told you before Ree, we are just friends” you sighed as you realised that’s all you would ever be.

“Somehow I don’t quite believe that” she frowned.

“Can I go to bed now?” You asked, folding your arms across your chest.

“Yes” she sighed, moving from the bottom of the stairs to let you up.

Regina had always hated how close you and Killian were but you never let it bother you, he made you feel like no one else had ever done and you were just friends. So her being over protective couldn’t wipe the smile on your face as you made your way into your room.

You couldn’t help it as you got changed for bed, you were going to sleep in his shirt, the smell of leather and spice was intoxicating and you knew you were going to get the best nights sleep wearing his shirt.

Morning soon rolled around, you were disturbed from your sleep from the sound of your alarm blaring in your room making you groan. You were tired from only getting 4 hours sleep but it was so worth it. Rolling out of bed you wiggled your toes in your fluffy rug as you rubbed the sleep out of your eyes.

You knew you didn’t need to start getting ready straight away so you pulled on a pair of shorts, grabbing your phone you headed downstairs for some much needed coffee.

“Morning Aunt Y/N” Henry grinned from the breakfast bar.

“Morning kiddo” you smiled ruffling his hair making him groan.

“So mums not happy with you” Henry said resting his head on his fists.

“When is she ever happy with me” you laughed as you poured yourself a coffee.

“You went out with Hook again didn’t you” he grinned.

“Yeah I did” you smiled leaning against the counter next to him. “But I don’t know why you are so happy about that kiddo”

“Well you see, you and Hook are meant to be together” he smirked.

“Let me guess it’s in your book!” You asked raising your brow at your nephew. “Look kid, me and Killian are just friends and that’s all it will ever be”

“Trust me” Henry winked.

“Don’t you need to be getting ready for school?” You asked nudging him.

“Nope it’s Saturday” he smirked making you laugh

Checking your phone you saw a text off Ruby asking if you could come on a bit earlier and open up as Granny wasn’t feeling too well.

“Gotta go kid, gotta get ready for work” you nodded kissing Henry’s head.

“You wanted to see me Regina” Killian asked walking into her office.

“Yes take a seat” she nodded. “I wanted to speak to you about Y/N”

He couldn’t help it, a smile formed on his face as your name was mentioned.

“I don’t want you seeing her anymore” she said coldly.

“Excuse me” Killian said in shock “we are just friends”

“See I don’t quite believe that, I’ve seen how you both flirt with each other and nearly every night I know Y/N sneaks out to see you.” She said with no emotion “you are a bad influence on her Killian”

“Like I said we are just friends” he said standing his ground.

“And if you don’t back off and break whatever it is you have going on with my sister before it progresses to more than just friends then I will tear your life apart” she hissed “do you understand?”

He just stared at Regina taking in the words she just spoke. There was nothing he could do, he knew if he didn’t follow her orders she would make your life hell as well.

“You know this will crush her?” He sighed running his hand over his face.

“She will get over it” Regina shrugged.

“You know if you make me do this I’ll have nothing to look forward to. My life will be empty” Killian said quietly.

“I’m sure you will find something to fill your time but it sure as hell won’t be from my sister” she glared “now pass me your phone if you know what’s good for you”

Reluctantly he handed his phone over to her and watched as she typed a message out before handing it back to him.

“Remember Killian I can make your life hell so don’t try anything” she smirked.

Instantly his heart felt heavy as he left the office but there was nothing he could do when Regina had backed him into a corner. As he was walking through the building he checked what she had sent.

New message to: My Trouble Maker 🔥

We can’t see each other any more, I was never your friend. I just felt sorry for you. Do not contact me, I’m done.

And in that moment he felt his heart shatter into a thousand pieces.

“Ruby I’m taking my break” you shouted as you were walking out the door.

Your break always consisted of taking your coffee and going for a stroll through Storybrooke. You were in a good mood until you got a text off Killian. A text that made you freeze and tears fall instantly. He was just using you. Everything he had ever said was a lie. It was like the weather matched your mood as the bitter wind picked up making you pull your leather jacket tighter around your body. Cutting your wall short you stormed back into the diner and into the bathroom.

Leaning against the sink you tried to calm you breathing down but it was no use, you couldn’t control the sobs as you punched the mirror, watching it shatter like your heart. You knew nothing would ever happen with him but the fact he was just cutting you out of your life stung more than your now bleeding knuckles.

You didn’t even hear the door to the bathroom open until you felt the gentle touch of Mary-Margret as she placed her hand on your shoulder.

“Oh Y/N what happened?” She asked softly.

“Killian fucking Jones happened” you sobbed as she pulled you into her arms.

“Come on let’s get you out of here, we will get your knuckles cleaned up and we can talk” she whispered.

“Okay but what about work?” You whimpered.

“I will speak to Ruby” she said, guiding you out of the bathroom.

As you were waiting by the door, you felt every looking at you. You knew you looked a mess but didn’t care. That was until a certain pirate walked into the diner.

Before he could even reach you Mary-Margret stepped in.

“Don’t even think about it, I don’t know what you have done but you have broken Y/N so just go somewhere else” she hissed as she placed her hand on the small of your back guiding you out of the diner.

You were now sitting on Mary-Margret’s sofa with a cup of hot chocolate and a blanket wrapped around you. You had finally managed to stop crying.

“So what’s got you so upset over Killian?” She asked “I thought things were going well with the two of you”

“I thought the same” you sighed “we had an amazing night last night sitting on his ship, drinking rum and him teaching me about the constellations but then today I get this text from him”

Passing her your phone she read the text and sighed.

“Oh Y/N” she whispered.

“I know we were just friends but I thought we could be more you know” you sniffled “he made me feel like no one else has ever done, and then there’s the flirting but I guess it was all lies and I don’t know what to do”

“Why don’t you help me with the fundraiser tonight, it might help take your mind off things even if it is just a couple of hours” she whispered squeezing your knee.

“Thank you” you whimpered. “To make matters worse Henry thinks Killian and I are destined to be together. I don’t know why he thinks that but I know he is going to try and convince me things are going to work out but I really don’t think they will”

“Maybe he is right Y/N look at me and David we had a rocky start but look at us now” she smiled “just give yourself some time, your heart will mend eventually”

“It just hurts” you whispered as a few more tears rolled down your cheek “I thought I meant something to him”

It had been a month and a half since your heart was shattered into a thousand pieces and you were still heartbroken, you weren't as lively as you once were. Nothing felt the same anymore. And right now you didn’t want to be drinking cocktails at Granny’s with Emma, Ruby, Mary-Margret and Belle but they forced you to come out. So you put your best fake smile on and pretended to be having a good night.

Hearing the bell ring as the door opened, you looked up wishing you hadn’t. You walked as Killian stumbled into Granny’s, it was obvious to anyone that he was drunk. And he was making a b line directly for you.

“No I don’t think so Mr” Ruby snapped as she stood up in front of you “she doesn’t care what you have to say especially not when you are drunk so just turn around and go away”

“Y/N please” Killian pleaded.

All it took was one look into his piercing blue eyes for you to cave.

“You have 5 minutes” you sighed, pushing yourself to your feet.

“Are you sure?” Ruby whispered, placing her hand on your arm.

“Yes Rubs I’m sure, if I’m going to get closure to move on I should hear him out” you nodded.

You followed Killian outside, and were relieved that no one was out here. Sitting at one of the tables you placed a cigarette between your lips not wanting to start the conversation.

All it took for Killian to start sobering up was you agreeing to give him 5 minutes of your time and seeing you so broken helped sober him up a bit.

“Love” he whispered sitting next to you. “I’m sorry”

“Is that all you have to say” you scoffed rolling your eyes “because if it is I’m going to go back inside”

“You know I’m never good with words” he sighed “it wasn’t me that sent that text”

“Oh so someone took your phone and sent it then” you laughed.

“Something like that” he nodded “look I didn’t want to cut you out of my life but I had to”

“You didn’t have to do anything Killian” you sighed leaning back in the chair.

“Regina threatened me” he said.

“No you are lying, my own sister wouldn’t do that to me” you snapped.

“She didn’t like that you were spending so much time with me and warned me that if I didn’t break off whatever was going on with us before it progressed then she would tear my life apart” he said as tears burnt his eyes.

Looking up at him you sighed, you knew when people were lying and right now you couldn’t tell if he was lying or not.

The two of you sat in silence as you lit another cigarette.

“I thought I told you to stay away from her” Regina’s voice appeared from behind you. “Or have you forgotten what I said.”

You couldn’t believe what you were hearing, he was telling the truth all along.

“Excuse me” you spat standing up, squaring up to your older sister. “It was you”

“Yes it was” she said “I was only doing it to protect you Y/N”

“No what you were doing was making my life hell” you hissed “I’m a big girl now Regina, it’s my life and I can do what I want”

“Can’t you see he is a bad influence on you Y/N, he is just a pirate and he will never change” she said.

“I don’t care if he is just a pirate Ree” you shouted “you had no right doing what you did, and yes to you he might just be a pirate but to me he is more than that, he makes me feel things I’ve never felt before. Don’t you want me to be happy?”

“You know that’s all I want” she nodded.

“Then back the fuck off and let me live my god damn life, and if I want to spend my time with Killian I will damn well do so” you screamed.

“Fine but don’t come crying to me when he breaks your heart” she said “I’m only doing this because I love you”

“You know I love you Ree but right now just go before we both do something we regret” you sighed taking a step back.

You watched as she left, taking a deep breath you ran your hands through your hair knowing full well Killian had just heard every you had just said.

“So” he smiled as you sat back down at the table.

“I’m sorry I didn’t believe you” you whispered, not looking at him.

“I’m sorry I didn’t let you know sooner what was going on” he said placing his hand under your chin lifting your face up so you were looking at him. “And I’m also sorry for not coming clean about how I felt, I didn’t know if you felt the same way and I thought I’d rather have you in my life as a friend than nothing else. Every night we spent on my ship, drinking and watching the stars were the best nights of my life”

You could help but smile as he wiped away the tears that fell, the feeling of him touching your skin was electrifying. And you couldn’t help but let your eyes flicker down to his lips before looking back into his eyes.

[potionsprefect]

A Day at Home

Pairings: Ethan Ramsey x Victoria Clarke

Word count: 2.4k

Summary: Ethan spends a day with his kids whilst Victoria works

Rating: G

Category: fluff

The peaceful sleep was interrupted by the blaring alarm on the bedside table. Ethan cracked one eye open before realising it wasn’t his alarm going off.

Ethan tried to hide a smirk as his wife beside him groaned as she sat up in bed. She turned off the alarm with a sigh.

“Have you missed that sound?” Ethan grinned reaching out to stroke her back.

“Definitely not. Night shifts were more tolerable.” Victoria replied rolling her eyes.

“Maybe you should stay here today. Spend the day us.” Ethan sat up and moved closer to Victoria, wrapping his arms around her.

“Mmm. And who would cover the intern rounds?” Victoria sighed contently.

“Plenty of other doctors Rookie.” Ethan smiled leaning in to kiss her neck.

“As tempting as that sounds, I think many of the interns have missed the kinder Doctor Ramsey than the grumpy one.” Victoria turned her head towards Ethan.

Ethan leant forward and gently pressed his lips to Victoria’s tightening his arms around her. Seconds passed before they broke apart. “Go and get ready. I’ll make a start on breakfast.”

Victoria grinned as she hopped out of bed and headed to the en-suite. As Ethan got out of bed he heard the shower running as he headed down the hallway.

He briefly checked in the two bedrooms of the two small humans who occupied his life, smiling to himself when he saw them fast asleep.

Ethan made his way downstairs, heading into the kitchen. As he turned the lights on in the kitchen, a golden retriever suddenly sat up, startled by the bright lights.

“Sorry Jenner.” Ethan chuckled as he bent down and stroked the dog who lolled his tongue happily. Ethan filled his food bowel and he tucked in happily.

Ethan got a frying pan out the cupboard and turned on the hob, pouring a little oil in before heading to the fridge and taking out some eggs. With a swift move, he cracked two open and cooked them in the frying pan.

It didn’t take long for them to cook and soon, Ethan was serving them on top of some toast. Victoria entered the kitchen not long after greeting Jenner before sitting at the kitchen island.

“This is nice.” Victoria smiled as she ate the eggs and toast. Ethan knew it was her favourite, he had watched her make it many times.

“Only the best for you.” Ethan cupped her cheek in his hand.

Once Victoria had eaten her breakfast, she made her way to the sofa, ready to absorb the last few minutes of silence before she headed out to work.

“How longs your shift today?” Ethan asked sitting down next to her and pulling her into his arms.

“Only 6 till 5. I’ll try and be back as quickly as I can. Luckily you and I have tomorrow off as well and the kids are going to your Dads. We’ll have to make some plans.” Victoria replied, laying her head on Ethan’s chest.

“Plans you say?” Ethan smirked stroking Victoria’s hair.

“Do you remember what it was like having sex in the middle of the day?” Victoria asked looking up at him.

“I vaguely remember saying it was some of the best sex in my life.” Ethan chuckled.

“I thought we could relive some of those days.” Victoria grinned kissing his cheek.

“You don’t want to give me a sneak peek now?” Ethan tightened his arms around her.

“If I did, I wouldn’t go to work today. And at least one Ramsey is expected to show up for their shift.” Victoria smirked.

“You’ve become very much like me. Sensible.” Ethan said.

“You’ve rubbed off me.” Victoria smiled getting up and grabbing her bag.

“Have a good day. Try not to get into trouble.” Ethan walked her to the door.

“Trouble? You set the bar pretty low.” Victoria grinned.

“Alright no need for sarcasm.” Ethan rolled his eyes but then leans down to press a short but sweet kiss to Victoria’s lips before pulling away. With a smile she headed out the door and Ethan watched her walk down the road before she disappeared down the corner and Ethan shut the front door.

By the time Ethan had headed back into the living room, Jenner was snuggled up on the couch under a blanket.

“Great idea Jenner, it’s freezing outside.” Ethan chuckled as Jenner wiggled happily. He sat up and moved so Ethan could sit down and then rested his head on Ethan’s lap.

Ethan grabbed the medical journal on the coffee table and read it whilst he waited for the kids to wake up. It was still relatively early but Luke and Lily were always early risers and Ethan knew he would have to wake them at some point.

“Should we go and see if your brother and sister are up?” Ethan looked down at Jenner who sat up at his words.

Ethan put the book down and headed up the stairs to see if he could hear any movement from the twins rooms. He hovered outside Lily’s room before gently opening the door and found her sat on the floor playing with her Barbie dolls.

“Hi Daddy.” Lily looked up and smiled at Ethan.

“Hi sweetheart. How comes you’re awake?” Ethan sat down on the floor next to Lily.

“Heard you and Mummy.” Lily shrugged.

“You’re funny you know that.” Ethan said stroking her hair. “Mummy will be back later this evening. So it’s just you, me and your brother today.”

“Yay!” Lily grinned as she threw her arms around Ethan hugging him tightly. “Will you play with me?”

“Of course. What are we playing?”

Lily handed Ethan a tiny plastic tiara that was far too small for his head. He eyed it suspiciously before taking it.

If him looking utterly ridiculous for a make believe game made his daughter happy, he was willing sacrifice his dignity.

Lily giggled when Ethan put the tiara on and pretended to serve him make believe tea. The two played this game for a while before Ethan headed out the room towards Luke’s bedroom to wake him up. Luke was still fast asleep when Ethan crouched down and gently picked him up.

“Time to wake up Luke.” Ethan gently stroked his back.

“No Daddy. I’m still asleep.” Luke mumbled laying his head on Ethan’s shoulder.

“You don’t sound asleep to me.” Ethan chuckled.

“But I am.” Luke whined as he rubbed his eyes.

“Look it’s a lovely day outside. How about we get some breakfast and then we go to the park.” Ethan walked over to the window to look out to the sun peaking out in the distance.

“Okay if we must.” Luke sighed as he forced Ethan to put him down as he headed to the bathroom.

Ethan chuckled as he followed him. With Luke, it was always about making a deal, just like Victoria. He definitely had her traits whereas Lily was a lot like Ethan.

It didn’t take long for both kids to get ready and soon the three, alongside Jenner were heading to the park.

“Can we go on the swings Daddy?” Lily looked up at Ethan.

“Of course you can.” Ethan smiled as the twins ran off towards the swings.

There were times where Ethan couldn’t believe that this was his life. Less than 5 years ago, having children would never have been an option, yet here he was, watching his two children run around the park.

Ethan followed the kids round the park as they went on the swings and slide and then played fetch with Jenner before they headed home.

“Would you like to help me make lunch?” Ethan looked down at the twins.

“Yeah! Pancakes!” Luke grinned.

“Why not?” Ethan chuckled as he got out the correct ingredients.

Ethan helped the twins onto their separate high stools so they could reach the counter. Luke and Lily loved helping Ethan cook in the kitchen even though there was always a big mess at the end of it.

“Wow! They look so good!” Lily beamed as Ethan served them up.

“When Mummy gets home, we have to tell her all about our pancakes.” Ethan sat down at the table.

“Why?” Luke asked.

“Because Mummy thinks I can’t make pancakes. But between us.” Ethan leaned forward like he was telling them a secret. “I can. And Mummy should know that.”

Luke and Lily giggled as they ate their pancakes.

“You can do a lot of things Daddy. You’re the best Daddy in the world.” Lily beamed.

Ethan’s heart swelled at Lily’s comment. He would’ve been lying if he said that he wasn’t scared when he found out that he was gonna become a father. Naturally, he was excited but there was always that underlying fear of “what if I’m not good enough?” or “what if my children don’t like me?”

But every time his children smiled or laughed, he knew he was doing a good job.

The kids finished their lunch and decided to play with their toys whilst Ethan read his medical journal. As Ethan turned the page, his phone sounded from the coffee table.

“Who was that?” Luke looked up from his race car.

“It was Mummy. She wants to know if you two are behaving.” Ethan said in a stern voice.

“We are! We are! Tell her I ate all my lunch!” Lily looked at Ethan with pleading eyes.

“Okay I’ll tell Mummy Lily has been a really good girl today.” Ethan pretended to type out the message on his phone.

“Hey what about me?! I’ve been good as well!” Luke folded his arms.

“Good point. I should tell Mummy Luke has also been very well behaved.” Ethan chuckled.

“When will Mummy be home?” Lily asked.

“Later this evening sweetheart. But she misses us and she’s thinking of us. She hasn’t forgotten about you.” Ethan smiled stroking Lily’s hair.

“Do you think of us Daddy when you work?” Luke asked.

“Of course I do. Every minute I’m away from you two and Mummy.” Ethan cuddled the twins tightly

“We miss you too. Mummy says you have a very important job and that you save lives.” Luke said.

“That’s right. I help make people better. And so does Mummy.” Ethan smiled.

“That’s so cool! Do you wave a magic wand?” Lily sat up.

“Not quite Lil. But there is a lot of magic involved.”

“Cool! I’m gonna go grab my doctors kit.” Lily said getting off the couch and running out the room.

“Wait for me!” Luke said sprinting after her.

Ethan chuckled and went back to his medical book.

— — — — —

A few hours later, Ethan had made dinner for the kids and they were drawing in their colouring books in the living room. Ethan was washing up in the kitchen when he heard the front door opening.

“Anyone home?” A familiar voice called out.

“Mummy!” Luke and Lily cried as they ran towards their mom who bent down and embraced them.

Ethan headed towards the hallway where he saw Victoria cuddling Luke and Lily, the twins holding onto her as tightly as they could.

“I missed you both so much! Have you been good for Daddy?” Victoria pulled back to look at them.

“Yeah? He told you! He told you we were being good.” Lily said with a confused look.

“I had to see for myself didn’t I? You’re always good for Daddy.” Victoria tickled Lily making her laugh a little.

The twins ran back into the living room and Ethan made his way over to Victoria.

“There’s no way I could’ve told you they were behaving after what you sent me.” Ethan chuckled wrapping his arms around Victoria.

“Just keeping you on your toes. Give you something to look forward to later on.” Victoria smiled standing on her tip toes to kiss him.

“How was your day?” Ethan said breaking the kiss.

“Long. Although the interns were not as bad as you make them out to be. Much more manageable under my care.” Victoria teased.

“You clearly have some magic I don’t have.”

“I do. It’s called patience.”

Ethan laughed as he tightened his arms around Victoria.

“They noticed someone was texting me so I pretend to text you back. But you’re right. They were well behaved today, as usual.” Ethan said.

“Sounds like we’re doing a good job.” Victoria replied.

“We are.” Ethan said kissing Victoria.

The couple headed into the living room and watched their children colour in.

“So what did you two get up to today?” Victoria asked as she sat on the floor and cuddled the twins.

“We went to the park with Jenner and then came back and made pancakes!” Luke said.

“I see. Sounds like Daddy’s pancake making skills have the Ramsey seal of approval.” Victoria looked at Ethan with a smirk.

“They were yummy in my tummy! And then we played doctors in the afternoon. We made Daddy feel better.” Luke continued.

“Is that right? Sounds like Daddy was looked after by two budding doctors today.” Victoria said.

“I was. They made me all better.” Ethan said sitting on the floor and pulling Lily into his arms, tickling her, making her laugh.

The twins then stifled several yawns between them so Victoria and Ethan carried them to bed. The twins were pretty much fast asleep when they hit the mattress and Victoria and Ethan quietly made their way back downstairs.

“Finally alone.” Victoria sighed, flopping down onto the sofa.

“Remember, we’ve got tomorrow to ourselves as well. I text Dad earlier and he said he’d be round at 8:30 to pick them up.” Ethan pulled Victoria into his arms.

“Fabulous. Plenty of alone time tomorrow.” Victoria grinned.

“Speaking of alone time. Are you sure you don’t want to give me a sneak peek of what you’ve got planned tomorrow?” Ethan asked.

“Well...” Victoria trailed off pretending to think, then sat up and straddled Ethan’s waist. “It sounds like you’ve earned serious brownie points today, therefore, I think you deserve a little treat.”

“Only a little treat?” Ethan grinned, gripping Victoria’s waist tightly.

“No need to rush things, I’ve got bigger plans for you tomorrow.” Victoria smirked pressing her lips to Ethan’s.

“I see. And how big are these plans.” Ethan replied.

“Let’s just say you won’t be left unsatisfied.” Victoria smiled.

“And with what I’ve got planned for you, you won’t be able to walk.” Ethan kissed her again.

“Maybe we should have a warm up to prepare ourselves for tomorrow.” Victoria said cupping Ethan’s cheeks in her hands.

In a swift movement, Ethan unbuttoned Victoria’s shirt before leaning in to kiss her neck. “Excellent idea Mrs Ramsey.”

— — — — —

Anyone want a part 2? Let me know!

Hope you enjoy this! Let me know if you would like to be tagged.

Tag list: @ohchoices @openheartfan @queencarb @genevievemd @iemcpbchoices @choicesaddict5 @schnitzelbutterfingers @alina-yol-ramsey @stygianflood @malakemads-blog @gryffindordaughterofathena @magicalshepherdtreeprofessor @openheartfanfics @rookie-ramsey @sophxwithers @caseyvalentineramsey @romewritingshop @ethansramsey @codykosuckmytoe @mrsethanfreakingramsey @coffeeheartaddict

[wienerbarnes]

Secret’s Out

Pairing: Bucky x Reader (Cheek to Cheek)

Word Count: 1,796

Warnings: not much, brief slight angst i guess

A/N: back on my cheek to cheek bullshit 😌 after this one, im going to be posting some oneshots that date back to some of reader’s background and times before bucky! which im excited for :D enjoy!

MAIN MASTERLIST | CHEEK TO CHEEK MASTERLIST

Another mission, another briefing. You get the alert the morning of, the last minute meeting blaring in your room as you make yourself breakfast. You sigh and turn the stove off, accepting that you won’t have time to finish cooking and make it to the conference room in the next five minutes. You take the time instead to get dressed in what you normally wear to briefings and take your coffee to go.

When you arrive, there’s no one in the room, no one besides Sam and Bucky. Was the meeting for nine and not eight? Are you freakishly early? Could you have actually stayed and eaten your eggs and toast?

“Do you know what this is about? Because he won’t tell me.” Bucky huffs at you playfully, not actually angry, but still annoyed at the fact that Sam refused to tell him anything that’s going on until you got here.

You shake your head to tell him you don’t and slowly make your way over to the seat next to Bucky as Sam’s voice booms in the room.

“F.R.I.D.A.Y., lock the door.” A distant click is heard as your bottom meets the chair and Bucky’s face becomes more and more confused.

Sam is silent for a moment, seemingly trying to figure out what words to say and how to start.

“I found a video of you.” He says.

“... What?” You whisper in disbelief.

“I was looking into your background. Specifically your HYDRA background. And I found a video that needs explanation.” As if on cue, a video is displayed behind Sam.

You are seen sitting at a small table, a small blender to the right of you. You look dangerously thin, hair greasy and matted, dark circles under your eyes. You have a crazy look in them, a look Bucky hasn’t seen since the first time he saw you in prison. This isn’t prison though, he very quickly realizes. Besides your body growing rigid next to him, he just knows that this is a HYDRA facility.

You’re humming obnoxiously loud in the video as a large man - presumably a Hydra scientist -  steps into frame. He wears a light blue button down shirt tucked into slacks underneath a lab coat. The tune of Singin’ in the Rain is all that’s heard for the first few seconds of the video as you stare up at the man, watching him as he checks the blender.

“Shut up.” He finally snaps at you, growing annoyed with your loud humming.

“I’m singing in the rain! Just singing in the rain! What a glorious feeling, I’m happy again!” You yell out, screaming out the lyrics in tune before a loud crack sounds, as the man in the lab coat slaps you hard across the face.

Bucky flinches next to you and you barely remember what this video was. You’re more consumed by the fact that Sam was doing some kind of background check on you for some reason and the fact that there’s a video at all. I didn’t know they recorded me.

You seem to hold back a smile at the man, as though he told some amazing joke and you’re trying not to laugh, despite having been backhanded across the cheek.

“Turn on the blender.” The man commands.

“That’s a very nice shirt you’re wearing.” You compliment.

He ignores you as he waits for you to turn on the blender. Bucky looks closely at it, but the button is on the side closest to the handler. He takes a wild guess that they don’t expect you to just reach around and switch it on with your finger.

You suddenly remember what this video is. And you realize why Sam is so angry. This isn’t good at all.

“It’s a nice shade of blue. A calming shade of blue. Like a sky blue.”

“Shut up. Turn on the blender.”

“No, no, not a sky blue. More like a… cerulean.”

“So what, you like my shirt. Turn. The. Blender. On. Now!” He commands, voice raising as his patience wears thin.

“Cerulean… blue. A nice shade… of cerulean… blue…” You drift off.

That’s when Bucky sees it. A small label on the blender, Cerulean. Before his thoughts can spiral too deeply into the name of the blender, it's a loud whirring sound in the video, making him flinch once more.

Nobody touched the blender, it seemed to have powered on by itself and a wide smile grows on your face, the same one he saw in the other video he’s seen of you, when you escaped the Hydra facility. You giggle girlishly as the man leans forward and shoves his hand into the powered blender, blood splattering out of it immediately, spraying across your face and your smiling teeth and tainting the blue of his shirt and lab coat.

Four men crowd you, holding you by the head, by the neck, by the shoulders, gripping your chin even though you barely moved through the duration video and the shot switches to black before powering off completely.

Bucky finally peels his eyes away from where the video was playing to look at you, and you look terrified.

“Sam,” You try to start.

“Mind. Control.” He says.

“Sam -” You try again.

“You hid mind control from us!” He yells.

“I can explain! “You better, and I’m only giving you thirty seconds to do so.” He snaps.

“It - It was fight or flight! I don’t even know how I did that! I barely remember that video at all! I’ve only ever been able to do that one other time! Sam - Sam -” You stutter, “They injected me with all kinds of shit, kept me awake for days on end, fed me, starved me; they did anything to manipulate my body in order to manifest powers. You have to - to - to believe me, I don't know how I did that -”

You’re getting hysterical. You can not fuck this up. You can’t be on your own again. You can’t be living in fear all the time anymore, you can’t go back to that. You can’t be away from Bucky, you can’t lose Bucky, can’t lose Bucky.

“Sam, that’s enough.” Bucky finally speaks up.

“Buck, I know she’s your little girlfriend, but -”

“Sam, do you hear yourself right now?! Look at her!” You’re on the verge of hyperventilating and overall losing it.

Bucky doesn’t pay Sam attention long enough to hear anything he’s going to say before ducking down to where you hold your head in your hands.

“Can’t… can’t be alone again… no, no, no,… can’t” You mumble to yourself.

Sam takes a deep breath, calming himself in order to assess the situation before him, “Hey. Hey!” He snaps, catching your attention and making you look up, tears in your eyes.

“I may be angry at you for keeping this from me… but you’re not going anywhere. Do I wish you would’ve told me so I wouldn’t be surprised by some ominous video this morning? Yes. But we’ll figure it out. We’re a team and I’m not abandoning you. So stop the crying so we can deal with this. Because you need to tell me everything.” Sam tells you with seriousness in his voice, the Captain coming out.

You take a deep breath and wipe your tears, preparing to tell them everything you can remember.

…

You’re exhausted. You cried. A lot. Trying to sift through thousands of memories you spent so long trying to repress because you never wanted to remember them; you never thought you’d need to.

You tell Bucky that don’t feel like being around anyone the rest of the day, and you’re glad he accepts that, letting you have your alone time and leaving you with a promise for breakfast the following morning.

Meanwhile, Bucky calls up an old friend, someone he hasn’t talked to in years. But it’s the only person he can think of that might be able to help you get a hold of your powers.

He sits on his couch in his apartment, phone against his ear as the line rings, before an accented voice finally answers.

“Hello?”

“... Hey.”

“... Bucky? Is that you?”

“Yeah. It’s me. How soon can you be in New York? From wherever you are? I need some help.”

Morning comes too soon for you, though.

“Agent 51?”

“Oh… my god. What do you want?” You groan, loving F.R.I.D.A.Y., but hating her voice so early in the morning, with only seven minutes to spare before your alarm was supposed to go off anyway.

“Your training has been canceled this morning by Captain Wilson. Instead, he has requested that you meet him in Conference Room B.”

“Ugh, at what time?”

“As soon as possible, Agent.”

“Holy shit,” You sigh, accepting that you won’t be able to sleep anymore, “Fine, I’ll be there in ten minutes.” You hope that Bucky somehow knows your training is canceled and brings you breakfast in the conference room anyway as promised yesterday.

Making your way to the conference room with your coffee in hand for the second time in the span of two days - which you hope doesn’t become a routine - you might add, you make sure to rub a hand across your head, smoothing down any hairs sticking straight up at weird angles now that the hair is growing back. It’s only maybe an inch or two long, but not long enough to do anything to it and not short enough to ignore.

Entering the conference room, you see Sam, Bucky and some… woman, her back turned towards you. You close the door timidly behind you and Bucky turns around to greet you, styrofoam box in hand and the smell of bacon and toast hits your nostrils. Knew it.

“Brought you breakfast, baby.” He tells you with a smile, walking up to you to plant a soft kiss on your lips in Good morning.

“Ugh, ew.” Sam spews. The woman giggles at his reaction and you’re brought back to the stranger in the room.

“Who are you?” You ask, not really wanting to beat around the bush considering that Bucky just kissed you in front of somebody you don’t know, something he’s never done before.

The woman turns around and you take in her features. High cheekbones and big green eyes, she’s very beautiful but very… young. Like, really young. Younger than you, for sure, but not a teenager either. She wears what seems to be casual clothes, her nails painted dark with rings crowding her fingers. Her most striking physical detail, though, are the long waves of bright orangey-red hair, flowing across her shoulders.

She smiles at you sweetly, and you feel calm as she introduces herself, “Hi, I’m Wanda.”

[theficplug]

l Next Lifetime l Erik Killmonger l

warnings: none, but the usual 18+ for the eventual smut and a possible tw for grief but i promise it gets better and its a romcom

synopsis: reader grieves Erik until she doesn’t (i’m trying not give too much away). I really want to make it a series that i actually keep up with (sorry Girls Trip readers) because I have up to part 4 written. alright thats all i hope yall vibe with it. 

erik killmonger x black reader 

Every night since Erik crossed over into the ancestral plane he has visited you in your dreams. You went through every single stage of grief before you began to accept the facts. 

At first you sat and festered in your anger for him and refused to talk to him. The audacity of him,  after you begged him not to follow through with the idiotic plan of trying to take on all of Wakanda. 

You told him that his ideas and his heart would’ve been in the right place had they not have been clouded by rage and carrying years of hurt and anguish. You understood where he was coming from but you knew and he knew that the way he was going about it was only going to leave him with one ending. 

He loved you more than anything but once his mind was made up about something there was nothing in Heaven or Earth that could change it. 

You knew that he would have to see it through even if that meant to his own demise . 

On the first night you would be lying if you said that you didn’t cuss him out for leaving you like that and going off and getting himself killed. You told him that he had done the same thing to you that “King” Azzuri had done to his father. Left you feeling alone and to deal with the loss of not having your heart with you. 

“I COULD HAVE LOVED YOU THE WAY YOU WANTED TO BE LOVED. I COULDN’T HAVE LOVED YOU MORE EACH DAY IF I TRIED. FUCK YOU E. THAT WAS SO DAMN SELFISH OF YOU. FUCK YOU. I DON’T WANT TO TALK TO YOU. AND YOU DON’T HAVE THE RIGHT TO INVADE MY DREAMS LIKE THIS. YOU AREN’T EVEN REAL.” you would yell into his face and watch as his demeanor was a lot different there. 

It was as if his Earthside worries didn’t bother him as much his face seemed much more relaxed and his scars had healed over. 

You would run your fingers over his chest as the tears well in your eyes and you take in the sigh of him for a moment. 

“I know… It wouldn’t have been enough. I couldn’t contain it. It felt like something had come over me . Possessed by the idea of revenge. I needed it. I felt like my father’s memory was worth avenging until I sat down with him here. He and moms sounded a lot like you at first. They were pissed off, but they understood. The ancestors told me that “a child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth”. I wanted their warmth at first. To know what it would feel like to have what T’Challa and Shuri got to experience their whole lives. But it was something about the heat of fury that felt different. But I realized somethin’.  On this side, don’t none of that matters. None of it. The only thing I see and think of is you and how I wished I would have focused on growing old with you instead.” he explains and you fall into his arms to let out the sob that you had been holding in for a while.

You wake up in the dark room in cold sweats and gasping for air. You realized that you had been crying in your sleep and wiped your eyes before trying to shake it off and smack at your phone to get the alarm to stop. 

For weeks it would go on like this every night. You would settle into bed and fade into hues of reds and purples as you wander around finding him sitting in different sections of the flowers and creeks. He was holding a little bouquet of random tulips and wildflowers in his hand for you. 

You settle on the grass next to him and rest your head on his shoulder as he turns to kiss your head. 

“You ever wonder what life would be like if it wasn’t like this? If we could truly do anything, be anything and not have to worry about everything else.” you ask him and he takes your hand in his. 

He looks at you pondering your question for a moment before tucking a lilac into your hair.

“Nah, I can’t let myself think like that because I'll get stuck in wishing I were there. Instead of getting to enjoy these moments and building my own lil slice of heaven with you.” he says quietly thinking things over before leaning into kissing you softly. 

You wipe at the tear falling down his cheek before replacing your thumb with a kiss. 

“Take me back to being 6 years old in the cool murky ass Toll Plaza waters,feeling weightless, not caring about a damn thing.”

 “We’re reaching out for each other with our popsicle stained hands and laughing at shit that doesn't even make sense but it made sense to us. My gramps yelling at us to not go too far out so that he can get to us. We called him crab pawpaw for the rest of the day...What I wouldn't give to be sitting on my grandmother’s porch swing, trading cards with you. Our birthday is coming up soon. I’m going to miss getting charms from you.” you say to him softly as you run your fingers through his thicker beard and take in every second that you get with him. 

“I’ve been promised that I can give you something more special than a charm. You gotta just trust that everything gon’ be alright.” he reassures you and pulls you closer into his arms 

“GIRL IF YOU DON’T GET UP RIGHT NOW. YOU LEFT THE ROAST IN THE OVEN-” your best friend Tika yelled from the kitchen as she flailed around with the extinguisher and you wake up puzzled for a moment before letting out an “oh shit”. You remember that you laid down on the couch  to scroll while your roast baked and the next thing you know, you were sleeping and that that old ass oven is smoking. 

You spring up from the couch grabbing a towel and fanning the fire alarms trying to get them to stop blaring before the Super comes pounding at your door. 

“Alright. Alright, stop hollering. I was trying to surprise you with a nice dinner to thank you for being there for me over the last 9 months. I know it ain't been easy having me mope around and not be myself. I swear I sat down for 10 minutes tops and I was just flat out asleep. Them doubles at work has been kicking my ass and grad school-.” you explain and Tika shakes her head.

She puts the extinguisher down and holds up her hands. “When my dad passed junior year of college, you and your entire family were there for me and my mom. You guys made sure that we had food for weeks and were able to make rent on time and everything in between. I know what grief looks like. I couldn’t imagine losing the love of my life like that. I know that we didn’t know Erik like you knew him but the way you talk about him. You’ve convinced me that he hung the moon itself in the sky.” she reassures you and you nod while looking over at the blackened roast that's sitting in the pan, burnt to a crisp. 

“It’s only 6:30. Wong’s is still open. I'll just go get something real quick. Do you want vegetable noodles and the teriyaki chicken again?” you ask as you pull on your shoes and grab your umbrella. 

“Surprise meeee and you owe me flan for cleaning up this messss.” She sing songs as she grabs the mop.

“Leave it up to a theatre major to turn nearly burning down our apartment into a song. I got you.” you reply, laughing on your way out the door. 

You couldn’t shake what Erik had told you in your dream this time though. He had been promised that he could give you something better than a charm. What the hell did that mean though? You were sure you were probably just overly stressed and exhausted from working and classes. You were going to enjoy your birthday beach trip this weekend with your friends and try to put everything else behind you. 

Somehow as lost in your thoughts as you were you managed to make it to Wong’s and back home just in time to greet an overly dramatic Iridia at the door. 

“What the hell happened here?” she asks, sitting down her bags and surveying the burnt roast and little residues of foam still left to clean. 

“She fell asleep and almost turned our overpriced condo into dust.” Tika answers for you and you give her a small nod.

“I got you spicy egg rolls?” you offer and she hesitantly takes her order from you with a small smile.

“Got something to lift your spirits. It’s new dresses to wear this weekend cause girl I get it. I do, but grey is just not your colour sweets. You’ve got yellow undertones, you need scarlet reds, ochre. Something, not, this…” she trails off pointing at your baggy sweats and oversized sweatshirt. 

You laugh softly at her bluntness finding it kind of nice that some things have remained normal. 

“Whaaat? I thought this was hermit chic?” you retort sarcastically. 

“Thank you. That’s almost sweet of you.” you reply by taking the bags from her. You look at the red mesh dress and admit that if there’s one thing about Iridia is that her bougie self got style and you missed getting dressed up. 

 You thank the girls one final time before retiring to your room to finish some of your assignments up. You look over at the clock and notice that it’s 2 am. You crack open the fortune cookie on your nightstand and eye the quote etched across the small piece of paper 

“Pfft. If only that damn 10$ that i lost last week could circle back around to me. That’d be nice.” you thought to yourself before closing your laptop and trying to get some rest to have enough energy for this weekend. 

As you settle in the usual hues of lavender, violet, and scarlet come into view and you are taken into the field of flowers and you giggle as the butterflies land on your shoulder and one on the tip of your finger. 

Your plan worked. You only thought about E’s favourite double chocolate cake and hoped that you’d be able to bring it into your dreams with you.

You carried it proudly as you scan the field of flowers and beautiful willow trees for him. 

“E? E ! Happy Birthday to us! E. Where you at?” you call for him and look around but he’s nowhere to be found. You sat on a large boulder by the water hoping that he was just exploring and would find you eventually. 

You didn’t get much sleep that night after waking up shivering and in tears thinking about how the only connection you two still had left was broken. 

You do eventually fall back to sleep only to dream about running across campus and being late to a final even though you were nearly done entirely with university. 

A few restless hours later and you were already dressed and enjoying your fresh brew while watching the world awaken from the kitchen window. 

“Good morning.” you startle Iridia and Tika who were trying to sneak into the kitchen with breakfast and set everything up for you. 

“Damn we can’t get anything past your insomniatic self. Buon compleanno bambina!” Tika says sliding on her little party hat. 

“You’re wearing the dress! You look so pretty and is that eyeshadow I see on you? Okay lemme find out our girl is slowly coming back to herself.” Iridia says smiling at you. 

“Thank you, do I smell pancakes?” you question and they laugh as they hand over the box to you. 

After you have all gone over plans for the little weekend trip you grab your bags and are ready to hit the road. 

It was only an hour to The Smith’s beach house for the weekend but all 3 of you were well stocked with snacks and playlists. 

“We are heerrrreeeeee” Tika announces while parking the car.  

You get settled into the lavish and snazzy beach home, courtesy of Iridia’s parents. You hadn’t been since junior year of college and was just glad to be in a different setting.

“They said that the wine bar is open to us and we can have the party here as long as it looks the same as when we found it.” Iridia says already getting ready to change into her neon bikini to compliment her rich complexion and hit the beach. 

“What, it’s summer? You never know who the winds of adventure are going to blow in-”

 “FUCK MEEEE” you both hear Tika call from the bathroom down the hall. 

“HUN?” you call back and you both laugh at the long sigh followed by “guess who Mother Nature decided to surprise 2 weeks early? I didn’t even think about it and didn’t pack any tampons.” she explains

“On it. I’ll be back in like .2 seconds in the meantime toilet paper pad it and figure out which boutiques we’re going to damage our savings with first.” you say before hearing Tika’s protests. 

“It’s your birthday. I’ll go.” Iri suggests and you shake your head. “I love y’all but it’s our first birthday that we don’t get to spend together apart from when he joined the military and I know he wasn’t perfect and he had his flaws but I really wish that I could get to hug him once more. To make him feel special even if just for a second… So please, I'll get the tampons. I could use the fresh air.” you say quickly dabbing at the tears prickling the corners of your eyes. Iri pulls you in for a hug before nodding and starting the conversation with Tika through the door about if she would prefer to go for the street festival first or the carnival games.

- - - -

You pull at the top of the sundress getting it to hit just right and not fall down as you make your way down the aisle of the market and pick up a few things that y’all might need for the weekend like the small cups for shots, fresh fruits for your ‘cure to a hangover’ smoothies, and food. 

You pick up a small double chocolate cake with ‘happy birthday’ written in cerulean letters.

“Excuse me, I’m sorry ma. I don’t mean to bother you right now but  I got a head splitting migraine right now and can’t find the Advil for nothing and was hoping maybe you’d know which aisle? That’s what I get for listening to my friends talking bout,  drink “the beast”. Niggas had me dreaming in colours and flowers. I felt like I was traveling through space or something... It’s my birthday too. Happy Birthday “ you hear the man ranting away behind you and his voice reminds you of E’s. You chuckle softly to yourself before turning away from the cakes to see the man's face. 

You let out a loud scream and drop the cake on the ground . It crumbles instantly across your sandals and everything fades to black before you faint. 

When you came to you were sitting in the break room of the market with Erik and the store managers who were opening a ginger ale for you and asking if you were okay. 

You nod slowly, coming to, and closing your eyes again to count to 5 as they leave the room. 

“This can not be happening. I know that this is not happening right now.” you say to yourself and you look up at him again to see that he’s still standing there. 

“It’s hot as fuck outside. You probably just got a lil overheated. This ginger ale is cold so you should be alright.” Erik says to you and you shakily take the ginger ale from him. 

“Who are you? I don’t know what kind of joke this is or who put you up to this, or if my girls thought that this, whatever this is would be funny but it’s not. It’s really insensitive.” you say as tears fill your eyes again. 

“I’m N’Jadaka Stevens? My parents, I’m adopted, but those are my parents regardless, own Aloha Oakland so you ain’t gotta worry about paying for this” he gives you the bags of items you collected before you fainted.

“ I just wanted to make sure you’re alright. I never come down here so I don’t really know where shit is in this place. I'm actually here with my own friends, celebrating my birthday. So, I don’t really know what’s going on. You good?” he asks again before asking you to follow his finger. 

You wrap your arms around him and break down sobbing. “Happy Birthday.” you whisper to him and he looks at you puzzled for a moment. 

“Ma, you lowkey weird but everybody needs a hug and I can’t have my birthday twin crying on her special day so come here.” he says squeezing you a little tighter. 

“If you’re here through the weekend. I’ll catch you around. Try to stay out of the heat but if you go out try to keep something cold with you to drink so you don’t pass out again.” he advises and you take him all in. 

 You slowly give him a once-over noticing that his hair was now faded and it was neatly lined up on the sides connecting with his beard. He slid off his hoodie and left the black tank top underneath, you quickly noticed that there were no scars or keloids. His jaw was unclenched and there was no vein popping from his forehead. There was a serene and relaxed look etched across his face despite him stating that he had a migraine earlier.

“But shiiit if you don’t mind. Can I get your number? Cause for some reason. I don’t know why I feel like I know you? To be honest I don’t remember much from before being adopted.” he admits 

You nod your head before putting your number into his phone and you grab your bags and quickly make your way to your car. 

You breathe in deeply through your nose before looking around. “I’m losing my fucking mind.” you say to yourself quietly. “I gotta be. This can’t- This can’t be happening right now.” you say resting your head on your steering wheel.

- - - -

“What happened to you? It’s been like an hour almost. Are you okay?” Iri questions as she eyes you and the bags. 

“I just. I fainted that’s all and they wanted to make sure I was okay before going home.” you explain and Tika thanks you for the tampons as Iridia overly dramatic self sighs and presses her hand to your forehead. 

“Poor thing, I knew I should’ve gone with you. Sit down, I’ll get you a cold glass of Stella Rose.” she says laughing at the wine part and walking to the kitchen. 

Group Text from DakaStevens84: Party @ Royal Rochelle’s Roller Rink. Yes, the roller rink cause who says you’re too old for a roller rink? Come skate fast and shake ya ass.

You laugh softly at the message knowing that this is something that he would’ve totally wanted to do but never took his eye off his plan or gave himself time to just breathe and be. 

“My fault.  It’s Daka from Aloha Oakland btw. My friend Orleans really tryna go through with this. Man a whole ass party planner and this the best he could come up with. Y’all can still come through though if you want. I wouldn’t complain if I got to see you again, and them pretty ass coffee eyes.” he texts to you and you smile softly at the butterflies fluttering in your stomach while looking at the text

“Do you believe in reincarnation?” you ask Iri as Tika joins you at the bar.

[tag list @doublesidedscoobysnacks @chaneajoyyy @mirandkimy​ @doitforthevine67 @dasia21 @depressionandfandomsinc @sinfully-dope @ambitionwood @heybriheyyy @wholelotta-melanin @theesotericqueen @mbakuwife @spookys-girl @teardropzih @bigchoose @ceo-of-baby @sweetpeachjones @lost-ssoull @love17us @beautifullmelodyxx​ @ghostfacekill-monger​ @shyblackgurl​ ]

[sevenstarsinning]

Summary: Raditz loses his mate when Planet Vegeta is destroyed and finds himself working alongside Prince Vegeta. When he comes to Earth to recruit his brother, he’s dealt another devastating blow when Goku refuses to join and leaves him near death. He’s found by a human and attempts to adapt to life on Earth.

Ch. 1 - Ch. 2 - Ch. 3 - Ch. 4

Chapter 5

Morning dew coated the outside of the pod and birds chirped on the tree branch nearby. It was way too cheery for early morning. Being awake at that time usually meant you either couldn't sleep at all or woke up long before you should have.

That morning you woke up too early but it was entirely Raditz's fault and you were more than okay with that.

Sometime during the night he wrapped his tail around your waist and pulled you up to sleep on his chest. That was where you woke up and that's where you remained, listening to him purr while his body heat kept you warm. The rise and fall of his chest was like a gentle rocking putting you completely at ease. That was no easy feat and there he was making you feel safe and content without even trying.

You lifted your head up to see he was awake. It felt like a kaleidoscope of butterflies fluttered in your stomach when you realized something was different.

"You're awake... and you're still purring."

His eyes locked onto yours and the butterfly feeling spread to your chest and throat leaving you seconds from saying something you probably shouldn't say.

"I'm comfo-"

"You're beautiful," you blurted. Your eyes widened and you let out a nervous laugh.

His brow raised in surprise, mouth slightly ajar. For a moment, you expected him to push you over to your side of the pod.

Instead, he smiled and struggled to keep his eyes on yours. He was nervous and you had no idea why.

"I've been called many things but uh... that's a new one," he finally said, breaking the anxiety inducing silence between you.

"Was that a bad thing to say?" You asked, unable to hide the worry in your voice and on your face.

"No, not bad at all. Just new."

When you saw the smile that spread across his face, you realized making a complete fool of yourself in front of him didn't bother you at all. In fact, you were willing to let it happen more just to see that smile. It was like a potent dose of serotonin and you needed more.

"I think I have a solution to our housing problem," you revealed, changing the subject to avoid doing something incredibly stupid.

His tail tightened around your waist and you knew he wasn't letting you up anytime soon.

Later that day, you and Raditz embarked on your first journey away from the house together. He usually stayed back when there were errands to run or groceries to buy. He wasn't a small guy by any stretch of the imagination and walking side by side with him downtown drew the gaze of many people passing by. It wasn't just his size that made people take notice, it was also his gorgeous mane of black hair that nearly touched the ground and his bulging muscles stretching the material of his t-shirt and jeans. It was Raditz in general, all the way down to the way he carried himself and the air of confidence he seemed to be naturally gifted with.

"This is definitely the place," you said, opening the door to a white dome shaped building.

Raditz shuffled in behind you, almost filling the doorway completely. A purple haired girl with the Capsule insignia on her shirt approached.

"Welcome to the Capsule store, my name is Lynn. Is there anything I can help you find?"

Her eyes drifted over to the huge saiyan next to you. He tilted his head, curious about her. Then it struck you, Raditz had little to no experience around other humans.

"Yeah, my house was half demolished when a... plane crashed into it." You knew exactly how ridiculous it sounded but saying a space pod carrying a hot alien crash landed on your house was out of the question.

"Was it a... an alien ship?" Lynn asked, glancing up at Raditz.

"How do you know that, human?" He said, stepping closer to the much smaller human.

"My boyfriend- " Before she could finish her sentence, an alarm blared and red lights flashed overhead. The ceiling opened up but before you could see what was happening, the tail tucked under Raditz's shirt flung out and coiled around your waist, pulling you safely behind him.

"You're supposed to be dead!" A voice called out amidst the chaos.

You peeked around Raditz to see an entire row of artillery from the ceiling aimed at him. A teal haired woman standing on the other side glared, not the least bit intimidated.

"Hey, can you get the insane security to stand down, he's not going to hurt anyone," you yelled back, waving your hand.

"Is that... is that a human behind you?" The woman asked, trying to get a better view.

"Help me out, big guy, your tail won't let me go," you said. Your heart felt like it might beat out of your chest. Everything happened so fast you barely had time to react.

"And put you in harm's way? No, you stay back there, this is Kakarot's friend," Raditz growled.

"Wait... you mean Goku?" Lynn said from behind a shield that went up around her automatically.

"Raditz, calm down. They haven't attacked, we can talk to them," you whispered. It was hard to hide the panic in your voice over the predicament you found yourself in.

"Human, where is Kakarot?" Raditz asked, turning his attention to Lynn.

"Enough!" The other woman shouted. "If you promise to keep him on a leash, I'll disarm security."

"Raditz, please?" You begged, lightly scratching the back of his head to soothe him.

He let out a little growl and loosened his tail. "Fine."

The red lights retracted along with the row of weapons and disappeared into the ceiling.

"All I have to do is hit one button and those will come back out, so don't try anything," the woman said, approaching him without a trace of fear.

"I'm Bulma, I'm assuming you're the one taming the saiyan?" She stepped around him to look at you.

"Trying to," you laughed nervously. Raditz still had his tail around you, protecting you even without an immediate threat.

"Come on, let's go out back and talk. Lynn, close up and go home. Make sure Goku knows about this," Bulma said, giving out orders as she guided you and Raditz towards the back of the dome.

The back door led to a shaded patio with a row of tables and thick, beautiful foliage lining the sides to offer privacy to anyone sitting out there.

"Raditz can sit there," Bulma said, pointing at the first table, "we're going to the back table."

"No, I'm staying with her," he snapped, his tail coiling tight around your waist again.

"It's okay, big guy. I'm safe, this is like the smartest and richest woman in the world," you said, nodding towards Bulma. He eyed her wearily but relented and loosened his hold.

You gave him a reassuring smile before following her to the last table.

"Sorry about the security system in there, it's not even loaded with ammo, it's just a deterrent. What did you come in for?" Bulma asked, taking a seat at the last round white table.

"A house. His pod wrecked mine when he landed. We've actually been sort of living in his pod and it's not very roomy," you explained.

Bulma was unfazed by all of it and that piqued your curiosity.

"You've been sleeping in the pod with him? Has anything happened?" She leaned in and kept her voice low.

"Not really. It was a little rough at first but he's adjusting," you said in a hushed voice.

"That's good. He's definitely a lot less hostile than I remember." She glanced past you at Raditz. You could tell her mind was racing, sorting through the chaos that just came back into her life.

The two of you talked for a while, you filled her in on Raditz and she told you about Goku and the little bit she knew about saiyans. You were looking forward to meeting him at some point and even though it was a long shot given the history, maybe Raditz and Goku could at least talk. That could be a step towards him finding happiness on Earth.

"I'll make you deal. If you keep an eye on him and tell me if anything weird happens, I'll give you a capsule house." She said it like she was giving you a piece of cake as opposed to a whole house.

"Bulma, no. That's way too much, let me pay," you countered.

She reached in her pocket and pulled out a handful of capsules. "How many bedrooms were you thinking?"

"Just one, that's all I can really do at the moment."

She settled on a pink capsule and placed it on the table in front of you. "That's a three bedroom. It's one of the models we used for photos so it's fully furnished and you're not paying for it."

"Bulma, you don't even know me. I-"

"Your saiyan back there came to Earth to recruit Goku. The only reason he's here is because of my friend which means your house is gone because of this. It's the least we can do for you," she said, pushing the capsule closer.

"And remember, call me immediately if anything feels off with him, okay? This is a direct line to me," she said, passing a business card to you with the Capsule logo shimmering on the top left corner and a phone number scrawled across the bottom.

"At least let me pay you something for this, please?" You pleaded with her.

"Absolutely not. Just come to my next party, I’ll introduce you to Goku," she said, refusing to take no for an answer as she headed back inside the building.

On your way back to the car, Raditz remained silent. There was no good way to approach the subject of his brother. That had to be weighing on him.

"What's that place?" He finally spoke, pointing towards the small building on the other side of the road.

"It's a bar. One of my favorites actually," you replied, coming to a stop at a four way intersection.

"What's a bar?"

"A place where people usually drink strong tasting liquids that make them feel funny."

"Strong liquids?" He raised an eyebrow and sat forward just enough to see past his hair which had taken up residence between the two of you.

"We call it alcohol. It's how I ended up in that field the night I found you."

"Libations. That's what we called them."

Instead of continuing straight through the intersection, you made a quick left followed by a right and pulled into the parking lot.

You entered the old, dimly lit bar with Raditz in tow. The evening crowd was starting to trickle in.

Raditz found a table while you ordered drinks. You leaned back against the bar while you waited, watching him mess with the phone you gave him. It looked so small in his hands and he looked adorable navigating what he called primitive technology.

After very carefully walking back to your table, you sat a tray full of drinks in the middle and pulled out a chair.

A big, strong arm wrapped around your waist and the next thing you knew, you were sitting in Raditz's lap. You were already so used to cuddling with him in the pod that you didn't think anything of it.

As the day turned to night, you introduced Raditz to all of your favorite drinks and even some you didn't like just to see his reaction. Aside from trips back to the bar to order more drinks, he kept you in his lap with an arm around your waist.

He required a ton of alcohol to even get a buzz and you were content sipping and never getting totally drunk. One of you had to stay a little sober to avoid bad decisions.

"What is this one?" Raditz asked, holding up a pint glass of blue liquid.

"That is your last drink of the night, big guy." You grabbed it and took a quick sip before handing it back.

"It's called... last drink of the night?" He stared at the glass, confused by the weird name.

"It's called an Adios Motherfucker."

"Say that again but... slower," he said with a big goofy smile. Drunk Raditz wasn't too different from the sober version. The thing you noticed the most was the sadness in his eyes. You watched it slowly fade until it was gone completely. His smiles lit up his entire face and he laughed louder.

"Can I have another one of these?" He asked, holding up his empty glass.

"Dude, I've already had to drag you to my house once, we're not doing that again," you chided.

"Human... sweetheart- just one?" He stuck out his bottom lip and pouted.

"Human sweetheart. That's a new one," you laughed, shaking your head at how ridiculously cute he was.

You relented and bought him one more drink. The expensive bar tab made you feel sick but it was worth every penny to see him finally shed the darkness that enveloped him. Even if it was only for a night.

As soon as the chilly night air hit your face, you regretted not bringing a jacket.

"Saiyan, give me your warmth," you said, ducking underneath his massive arm.

"We not driving?" He asked, lifting you into his arms like a child.

"I've had one too many drinks." You buried your face against his neck and settled in for the walk home. Luckily it wasn't far and you liked getting carried by Raditz, especially with his hands on your ass to hold you up.

"You smell good," he said in a sleepy voice as you neared your half destroyed house.

"You can still smell my perfume? I figured that would've faded by now."

"No... not that," he muttered, burying his face against your neck to sniff you. If it was anyone else, you probably would've freaked out.

"Your scent, the normal one."

You pulled back and smiled. “Wait, do you have some kind of heightened sense of smell that I don’t know about?”

“Yeah, it’s a saiyan thing. We can pick up on scents and changes in scents we’re familiar with. Particularly with females we’re close to or want to be close to.”

He crossed the lawn to the backyard and lowered you to the ground. “How does this capsule thing work?”

You pulled it from your pocket, clicked the small button and tossed it approximately where you wanted your new house to be.

“Holy shit, Bulma,” you said in awe of the beautiful house she gave you. It was far too much and you were already trying to figure out ways to pay her back. You and Raditz explored the house briefly before calling it a night, exhausted from the day.

You tossed and turned even though the new bed was the most comfortable thing you had ever laid on. The temperature in the room was perfect and it was dark enough, but something still wasn't right.

You knew what it was but you didn't want to acknowledge it. Lines had already been crossed on multiple levels with your unexpected roommate. You shared the pod out of necessity, nothing more.

Minutes ticked by and you only seemed to get less sleepy. You finally got annoyed enough to get out of bed and go to the living room, but you didn't make it there. You ran straight into a wall of saiyan at the end of the hallway.

"Holy shit! What the hell are you doing out here?" You stepped back and saw him carrying a glass of water.

"I can't sleep so I got a glass of water. That a crime, you tiny pain in the ass?" He asked with a little smirk.

"No, it's not a crime, you giant pain in the ass," you said in a mocking tone.

"Can I sleep with you?"

You knew he meant actual sleep, but your brain processed it in a different way entirely and it left your panties wet.

"Sure," you said, against your better judgement.

He followed you back to your room and walked around to the other side of the bed while you got back under the covers on your side. He laid down and turned on his side to face you.

"Bedroom not comfy enough?" You asked, scooting closer to him. He draped his arm over you and started to fade right away.

"Not that... just didn't have you," he said before drifting off to sleep.

You were wide awake until he started purring, head rested against your shoulder. It didn't matter how much you tried to fight off the feelings you were having for him, they weren't going away. The last thought you had before you finally fell asleep was the realization that you needed Raditz by your side to fall asleep.

A loud crash outside made the entire house shake. Raditz was up in the blink of an eye checking the window to see what it was. His tail fluffed up and moved wildly behind him.

You scrambled out of bed to look for yourself but there was nothing, just the backyard.

"What's wrong, big guy? Are you seeing something I'm not?"

"I need you to stay behind me and if anything happens to me, run," he said, effectively scaring the hell out of you.

"What? You can't just say that with no explanation! What's going on?" Your anxiety skyrocketed as he moved past you to head towards the living room.

"Raditz- "

"Behind me," he snapped.

Before you could protest, the front door was kicked completely off the hinges and left in a mangled heap on the floor. A tall, muscular guy with short, spiky black hair walked in. One eye was covered with some kind of device you had never seen.

"This is what you've been doing, huh? There's something incredibly wrong about a domesticated Saiyan," the man said with a cocky grin.

A shorter man stepped in behind him, black hair shooting towards the sky like small spires. He also had the same device covering one of his eyes and he somehow looked even more intimidating than the bigger one.

"Prince Vegeta, Turles," Raditz said, giving them each a nod.

[cordytriestowrite]

Fight, Fight, Fight

Bucky x Reader

One Shot

College AU

Summary: I see your "there was only one bed" and raise you "there was only one shower" with a sprinkle of "enemies to...still enemies but also lovers"

Natasha Romanov slid Sam Wilson a glass of vodka. A literal glass of vodka. Filled almost to the brim with the strong, clear alcohol a few drops sailed over the rim and left a wet trail as the glass came to a stop. 

"Drink."

Who was he to argue with a Russian about drinking? He took a large swallow, letting it burn down his throat and wash over the knot of nerves in his stomach. 

"You have to say something, Sam. It's your house."

He nodded. Natasha was right. When he put up the flyers in the student union offering the spare bedrooms in the house he inherited from his grandfather he thought it'd be a win-win. He was in his senior year, about to graduate and in need of some cash flow: enter roommates. He thought it would be like living in the freshman dorms all over again, bonding with people like Steve and building lifelong friendships. But no, while the roommates individually were just fine, it was when they were together that brought Sam to sit at his dining room table practically chugging eight ounces of cheap vodka. 

Natasha was nice enough to support him, maybe nice isn't the word, annoyed enough to help him. They had only just started dating after being introduced at Steve's birthday party two months ago, but she had been witness to too many squabbles, slammed doors, and sabotage. 

"There's gonna be a civil war in this house in less than," Sam glanced at his phone, "ten minutes."

"That's why you drink.

-

Your books were heavy and kept slipping from your arms. You adjusted them as you walked but that adjustment would only work for a few minutes before you had to perform another juggling act. The house was only two blocks from campus, the air was cool and breezy, you were pretty sure you aced your civ test, but you were far from content, after all finals were only a month away.

Bucky was walking just in front of you, headphones blaring music that even you could hear. He held a single, slim textbook and a pencil in on hand and his phone in the other. That's why you were mad. Bucky insisted on walking home together after class, but you never actually walked home together. You worked hard in class while he coasted on through. And yet you knew you would both pass.

When you reached out to Sam about the open room in his house you were hopeful, optimistic even, about a new living situation that didn't involve sleeping two feet from someone else in a dorm room that was always too cold. Had you known Bucky Fuckin Barnes had also called up Sam you would have stayed huddled under your blankets with earplugs while your roommate had sex in the bed two feet away from you, loudly. Anything was better than being stuck with the guy in and out of classes, but it was too late.

You hit an uneven patch of concrete, stumbling and losing your hold on your textbooks. You growled in frustration as they tumbled to the ground, bending down to collect them. Every week, every fucking week, you had to carry four textbooks to and from class. Every week Bucky saw you carry four textbooks while he carried practically nothing. He never offered to help, not once.

"Hey asshole." You called, knowing Bucky wouldn't hear you over his music, but it felt good to yell.

"You could fucking stop and help me for once."

Bucky stopped and turned, he pulled an ear bud out of his ear and regarded you with a fake smile. He didn't move, didn't even raise his voice to match yours.

"Buy a backpack."

-

Sam's head shot up from the table top at the sound of the front door slamming open and hitting the wall. The house shook, or maybe that was just him. Natasha swiftly stomped toward the comotion, coming back in less than a minute with strong hands gripped onto the shoulder of both you and Bucky, who were still screaming.

"Backpacks were literally made to hold books-"

"Or you could just take one or two-"

"Why would I help yo-"

"QUIET!"

Natasha's sharp tone cut through the animosity between you as she pushed you into a chair opposite Sam. She walked Bucky to the chair at the far end and stood behind him, arms crossed and mouth tense.

"Sam." She prompted.

Sam sighed, wishing he was still face down on the table in blissful, drunk, silence. He took a deep breath, sparing a glance at his girlfriend before opening his mouth. He should have prepared something, but the booze had loosened his lips and now he was just coming out with it.

"I can't have it anymore. The fighting, the yelling...I'm done. I like you both and I'm sorry to do this but-"

"Sam, please don't say what I think you're going to say." You started.

"Dude, come on we're just-" Bucky spoke over you.

"You don't speak for me, Bucky."

"I'm just trying to apologize to Sam for your shitty behavior. Since you don't seem to want to do it."

"Bullshit, Barnes!"

Sam slammed his palms against the table top. He stood suddenly, a wave of dizziness sending the room into a tailspin. He closed his eyes, grit his teeth, and finally just said it.

"I want you out."

-

It was mid semester. Dorms were full and open rooms were few and far between. Sam agreed to give you both a week. It wasn't enough time, but between classes and homework at least you barely saw Bucky.

Wanda had found the apartment. Said it was good practice for when she got her real estate license. You couldn't pass up her help so you agreed to let her do some of the heavy lifting. 

The place she found for you was on the other side of town. One bedroom, no washer or dryer, and on the fourth floor. The building was old too. Faded wallpaper and flickering lights lead you down the hallway towards the unit. The realtor had given you a code to the lockbox hanging from the doorknob, but the box was already hanging open. You were about to text Wanda when the door opened.

"Bucky?"

-

"Wait, you two are moving out...together?"

Sam shook his head in disbelief, hoping he just heard them wrong. 

"Unfortunately." You grumbled, crossing your arms and glaring at Bucky.

Bucky glared right back, eyes hard and hands busy aggressively making a sandwich. He was getting mustard on the countertop, like usual. 

"Okay, one of you can stay here and the other can take the apartment?"

Bucky, finished with his sandwich but leaving the counter dirty, joined you at the table and with his mouthful answered simply.

"Can't."

"Can't?" Sam echoed.

"I paid the first and last month's rent. I'm not trusting her to pay that back to me."

You nodded, "And it's my name on the application. I'm not risking him tanking my credit score when he doesn't pay rent."

You snatched the remaining half of Bucky's meal right out of his hands, taking a large bite, savoring Bucky's protest more than the actual food.

"God, who destroys a sandwich with this much mustard?"

"It wasnt your fucking sandwich! "

Sam could only watch as the conversation digressed into yet another fight. How you two were going to share a one bedroom was beyond him, but at least he would get some peace and quiet.

-

You woke up, not suddenly, but gradually with enough time to know it was still dark before your eyes even opened. You also knew you were cold and that your body was huddled too close to the edge of the mattress. Behind you there was a loud, sudden snort that made you finally open your eyes. 

You were in fact at the edge of the mattress, your blankets nowhere on your person, and your phone screen showed the time to be 4:03 am. You turned, squinting against the fluorescent lights shining through the cracks in the blinds. Bucky was on his back, loud snores erupting from his open mouth, blankets bunched up around his body keeping him warm. He looked deep in sleep and that just wouldn't do.

With both hands gripped tightly on the comforter you yanked with all your might. You pulled and tugged until Bucky was completely bare, his exposed skin erupting in goosebumps. The snoring stopped, Bucky turned on his side, eyes still closed, to grope blindly for his missing warmth. You smiled ruefully and turned your back to him, enjoying the thrill of victory as you shut your eyes.

The mattress squeaked and rocked as Bucky flopped around like a fish out of water and suddenly your victory was stolen by a man who wasn't even conscious.

With a deep groan of resignation you turned over and dropped the comforter over Bucky's form, tucking the corner under his shoulder to trap in heat. Bucky exhaled deeply and settled into the covers. You turned your back to him again. Making sure the blankets were tucked under you as well.

-

Natasha didn't think Sam should be worrying about his old roommates as much as he was. But here they were out to dinner with Steve and Sam had barely said two words in as many minutes. Steve threw her a look, one that asked her to explain, but she only rolled her eyes and elbowed her boyfriend.

"Hm?

"I was asking how class was going, Sam." Steve gently reminded him. "But something tells me you got something other than finals on your mind."

Sam heaved a huge sigh.

"I can't stop thinking about them."

-

You vaguely remembered your alarm going off, but sleep dragged you back under as soon as you made the offensive noise stop. Next time you woke up there was much more appeal. The sun was soft, its rays warming your face. Your body was cocooned in a pleasant mix of skin and sheets. You hummed, turning into the warmth, breathing in the familiar scent of your bedmate. You couldn't even drum up irritation at the smell of his 3-n-1 shampoo. 

Responsibility tickled your brain, urging you to untangle from Bucky and get ready for class. You did just that, albeit reluctantly, sitting up and grabbing your phone.

You overslept. Your final was in thirty minutes.

"Shit!" You hissed, jumping out of bed.

"Whatisit?" Bucky grumbled, rubbing sleep from his eyes.

"We missed our alarm. Civ final's in thirty minutes." 

You pulled off your pajama bottoms, stepping out of the pool they made around your ankles. Bucky was up and out of bed by the time you pulled off your shirt. 

"Fuck!"

On long legs he sprinted into the bathroom, but you were there to catch the door before he slammed it shut.

"What are you doing?"

You shoved your way through, pulling back the shower curtain and turning the knob. The room filled with the hiss of water and arguing. 

"I've got to take a shower."

"Well so do I?"

"Does it look like I give a fuck?"

It was a race to get naked, to find yourself under the spray before the water could turn cold. You stepped into the tub, Bucky following suit. He closed the curtain, mouth still set in a hard frown.

"This is your fault."

You laughed, leaning your head back to wet your hair. 

"Oh, is it? Maybe if I wasn't up half the night because of your snoring I wouldn't have missed my alarm!"

You switched places with Bucky once you were doused, letting him under the spray. He grabbed his 3-n-1 shampoo bottle and squeezed too much into his hand.

"I only snore because you insisted on taking your mattress."

"My mattress is the most expensive thing in this apartment."

"So you're just bad at spending money then?"

You glared at each other, silent as your fingers worked to clean your hair. Bucky did the same. The staring match raged on for a few breathless moments, until for the first time all morning Bucky's gaze drifted away from your face and down your naked body.

"Pervert!"

-

"I don't know why you're worrying." Steve said, watching his best friend flitter around the kitchen.

"I just want to know how they're doing." He explained, pulling the chicken from the oven.

"You know, Nat's right. This is crazy. Why am I supporting this?"

Sam had to agree. He felt crazy thinking about his old roommates so much. It's been six months. If one of them had killed the other he needed to know.

"I'm just checking in on my friends, Steve."

-

Bucky opened the door to Sam's place like he still lived there. You pulled on your joined hands, yanking him back a step to chide him.

"We're guests stupid. Knock."

"Knock, knock." Bucky called sarcastically, shooting you a smug look when Sam shouted "Come in!".

"You're rude." You grumbled.

"And you're a know-it-all." Bucky shot back without looking at you.

"I'm not-"

"Hey!" Sam greeted, voice a bit too loud, smile a bit too wide. His arms were open as if he was going to go for a hug but they hung suspended as his eyes found your joined hands.

"What's uhhhh, what's this?"

You and Bucky looked down at your interlaced fingers, then at each other, then back to Sam.

"We're together."

Sam's arms fall heavily to his sides, then up to run over his head as his chest swells.

"WHAT? How? What?!"

-

You and Bucky had made your way home to your one bedroom apartment, changing into your pajamas and you continued your squabble from the walk home.

"They poop in a box. It's disgusting!"

Bucky scoffed, leaving the room briefly and coming back with a glass of water that he sat down on your bedside table.

"We shit in a box too if you think about it. Just admit you aren't a cat person so we can break up and I can take the cat."

He crawled into bed, lifting up the blanket so you could join him. You stood there for a moment before relenting and crawling in next to him, tucking your head under his chin and throwing your leg over his hips.

"Whatever, I'm tired. We'll continue this in the shower tomorrow."

"This isn't over." Bucky warned before planting a kiss to your forehead. "Love you."

"Love you too, but we're not taking Steve's cat."

Bucky groaned, rolling on top of you. 

"Cats are awesome, if you got your head out of your ass-"

"If you thought for more than two seconds about the responsibility-"

The bickering continued as you shed each other's clothes, putting a pause on fighting in favor of moving together. It's how most of your arguments ended and while most people, especially Sam, couldn't wrap their heads around that it was what worked for you and Bucky. So did the one bedroom apartment, the shower that ran out of hot water too fast, and the cat Bucky was going to sneak in before spring semester. It all somehow made sense. 

Except the fucking cat, come on Bucky!

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[frostedfaves]

Umbrella In the Rain

Pairing: Jake Peralta x fem!reader

Summary: Jake being a light in the dark for Reader.

Word Count: 2.3k

Warnings: implied depression, mentions of trauma

-

A pen tapped lightly on the file in front of me. I looked up to see Rosa settling back into her chair with just a hint of concern resting on her features.

"What's up, Rosa?" I attempted a smile that didn't fully form.

"Are you okay? You look like Boyle when he dropped his sandwich earlier."

"Yeah, just got a little lost in thought there," I forced out a believable chuckle as she raised her eyebrows.

"For the fifth time today?" Her brows dropped again when I sighed. "Look, I'm not saying you have to talk to me or anything because you know I don't do feelings. But I am really good at listening to my friends. When I want to, that is."

This time a real smile broke out. "I know, thank you. I'm just having a bit of trouble concentrating today. I don't think it's anything to worry about."

She nodded and returned her attention to her computer as if the conversation never happened, my shoulders instantly relaxing. Truth be told, I was a little worried. To the outside world, I had no reason to feel like there was a weight on my shoulder. I had a great job working with some of my closest friends and things with Jake only got better with each passing day.

Lately I've been focusing on my past, things that not even Jake knows yet. Cuddling at night with Jake keeps the focus away from them in my dreams, but my conscious brain isn't as easily tricked. I have things I've held onto, things that hurt and only feel heavier when I add on the guilt of not being open with Jake about it. I don't feel that he'd ever leave me for experiencing trauma. If anything, he'd want to be there for me more. But I don't have the heart to invite anyone else to the arms of darkness that welcome me when I'm alone. Especially my ray of sunshine.

Jake was still on a stakeout with Charles by the time I left, so I decided to go to my apartment for the night, quickly texting him when I walked through the door.

I just got home. Please be safe tonight. I love you and I'll see you tomorrow.

Not even a minute later, I received a reply from him.

Sorry I have to work so late tonight, but I guess it's better that you get a break from me so you don't get sick of me! Love you, babe

I cleared the notification after plugging my phone in and turned on Do Not Disturb for the night. I contemplated going to at least make a sandwich for dinner, considering I hadn't eaten since breakfast with Jake. Five minutes later, I found myself in the bed instead, long t-shirt and underwear replacing my work clothes. I couldn't bring myself to care about eating, now that I was alone with so many thoughts.

My alarm went off the next morning, and it took all of my energy to force my eyes open and keep them open. After cutting the blaring sound short, I flipped over onto my back and stared into the ceiling for so long that I forgot why I was even awake. Shit, I have to work.

I picked up my phone again long enough to look at the time, fully aware that thirty minutes had passed. Groaning, I dropped it again as I settled back into the pillows, probably letting another ten minutes or more pass. Without even stopping to think about it, I picked up my phone again and constructed a text to Holt.

I feel awful and can't make it out of bed this morning. Think I should stay home for the day.

I paused with my finger over the send button, reading over the message a few times. Why was I lying to my boss? Just as I was about to erase the words, a little voice reminded me that my paperwork would still be there when I got to work tomorrow, and that I really needed to just lie down and forget the world for a day. So I watched the screen until 'Delivered' popped up, turning off my Do Not Disturb just in case he needed to reach me later. I instantly regretted it when my phone went off with three messages in a row minutes later from Holt, Rosa, and Jake.

Update me on your condition.

Sincerely,

Raymond Holt

Dude I know you're not sick. Am I gonna have to baton whack a confession out of you?

Hey, babe! Holt said you're sick :( Why didn't you tell me? Do you need me to bring anything later? Love you and get some rest!

I let the screen go dark again and turned my back to the phone, wrapping myself up into the covers now that I had no responsibility for the day. A few tears found their way across the bridge of my nose and onto my pillowcase. I simply closed my eyes and hummed 'Funky Cold Medina' to try and keep the incoming thoughts locked outside of my brain.

At some point, I opened my eyes again to the sun shining in a different part of the room. I quickly realized the sound of my apartment door opening woke me up when I heard Jake calling my name and his footsteps heading this way. I buried my face into the pillows and adjusted my breathing right before he gently opened the bedroom door.

"Babe?" I heard him walk around and felt the edge of the bed in front of me dip slightly. A light chuckle fell from his lips as he reached over to tuck some of my extremely ruffled hair behind my ear, rubbing my jawline just under there.

Eventually he stood again and left the room, returning seconds later and bringing a beautiful aroma with him of chicken and spices. I heard pen scratching paper for a second and felt the other side of the bed dip as he leaned over to place a kiss on my forehead.

When I was sure he left, I sat up and rolled over to see a to-go tub of vegetable soup and a box of what I could only guess to be chicken dumplings. My favorite meal from my favorite restaurant.

Before I could even understand why, I'd pulled my legs to my chest and buried my face into my knees as I sobbed louder and louder with each passing minute, not stopping until I was forced to in order to breathe. I gulped big mouthfuls of air, releasing them in rough, shuddering exhales as I attempted to stop the flow of tears with the collar of my t-shirt. I managed to breathe a little more calmly but the tears never stopped. I just let them go on and soak my pillows as I fell sideways onto the mattress.

Through a watery filter I caught a glimpse of the note Jake left. I stretched far enough to grasp the closest corner of the paper and yanked it onto the bed, inhaling deeply because somehow I could smell just a hint of his comforting cologne. I managed to hold in a fresh wave of tears just long enough to read his quickly scribbled words on the page.

Wasn't sure what kind of sick you were but I hope this food helps. I'll be back this evening to help you with whatever you need.

I'd barely reached the final word before I was sobbing again, clutching the note to my chest as my body shook and my heart ached. The more I cried, the more exhausted I felt, and the more I realized that there was no way in the world that I deserved someone like this.

I must've fallen asleep again, because I opened my eyes to a room that no longer held the sun, but a singular ball of light from a nearby lamp. I became aware of the note missing from my hands and Jake's arms around me. When I turned and pushed my face into his hoodie covered chest, he pushed back a little and tilted my face toward his.

I blinked in shock when I noticed his eyes, shining with just a hint of oncoming tears. Unknowingly, I raised my hand to his chest and grabbed a fistful of fabric out of fear.

"Are you okay?" My voice came out faintly and full of crackling from lack of use and the ghost of a smile fell upon his face.

"I should be asking you that," he whispered. He noticed my confused look and continued. "When I got back to work and everyone asked how you were, I told them that I wasn't really sure because you were knocked out when I brought the food. Rosa pulled me aside and told me that she didn't really think you were sick, and that there might be something else going on based on how you were acting before." I tried not to physically react as he searched my face for any signs of that being true. When I didn't give him anything to work with, he continued.

"As much as I didn't want you to be sick, I also didn't want to think that you were going through something alone, especially when I could be here helping you. But then I got here and the food is untouched and my note is soggy from tears and so is your shirt and you were sleeping again and I.."

I closed my eyes as he cut himself off, not wanting to see the tears that were building in his eyes again. Coward move as the one who caused them, but I felt too unstable to face the consequences.

"Baby, please look at me." I forced my eyes to open, nearly sighing in relief at the lack of tears on his cheeks. "Y/N, is there something going on with you? Is it me?"

There it was, my third breakdown of the day. Something about his uncertain tone and the near tears in his eyes were enough to make my own a reality. He coaxed me through it, rubbing my back and kissing my messed up hair as my body shook. He shushed me as I started to cough, reminding me that he was here and that it was okay, and that pulled me from his arms.

"It's not o-okay!" I pushed myself up into a sitting position, looking down at him and trying really hard not to whimper. "I'm pushing you away and all you do is help me anyway when you shouldn't because it's my fault in the first place and—" I cut myself off with a few hiccups and coughs, and he took the opportunity to sit up with me and place his hands on either side of my face.

"Listen to me, Y/N. I love you, okay? I don't care how much you push me away. You're clearly hurting and so I'm gonna be here to help you. I'm not going anywhere so please feel free to talk to me when you're ready."

I took a moment to just look at the man in front of me. I raised a hand and ran it through his curls, dragging the same hand down the side of his face and rested it on his shoulder. My opposite arm met the other one around his neck and tugged him slightly forward, squeezing him into a hug. His arms moved around my waist and rubbed my back as I placed my head on his shoulder. I took a deep breath and started to talk.

I didn't stop until I was done telling him about every violent moment of my childhood year by year and sometimes month by month, aware of his arms tightening around me slightly during certain parts. With each story I told him, I felt my shoulders practically lifting as the straps from my emotional baggage were removed and the weight dropped away. My lungs found it easier to process the air my mouth and nose forced into them, my hands loosening their grip on his hoodie as a sense of security wrapped around us both.

He never once interrupted, and when I finished, he pulled me into a different hold against his chest as he sank into the mattress. He whispered promises into my ear that I knew he'd keep, and I gave him words of trust with my safety in return, as well as assurance that I'd talk to him whenever I felt out of control again.

By the end of the night, Jake helped me find a therapist to call first thing in the morning because—despite his beliefs on therapy—he knew that relying solely on him for my happiness wasn't very healthy no matter how happy he made me. I needed someone who knew more to help me process my emotions so that I wouldn't have such a struggle sharing my mind with him.

I sat there looking into his eyes as I ran my thumb over his jaw, telling him I loved him repeatedly. I wanted to shout it until my throat burned from the force. To make him feel the warmth he sent from the ends of my hair to the tips of my toes every time he was simply there. To be as useful to him as he was to me. To be his umbrella in the rain. He told me that I always was from the moment we met. That he couldn't even see the rain when I was around. I was everything to him, even when I felt like nothing.

Hearing those words filled me like a soothing tea stirred with honey. With his arms around me creating the warmth that kept me sane, I couldn't see the rain either.

[liamscxtt]

a day in the life ; self para

when: thursday, august 28th

where: literally everywhere

nb: just a brief (long) narrative of what the typical day looks like for liam.

trigger warnings: homelessness, death and drug mentions, drug abuse

5:00am

there’s a moment when you first wake up when everything is just a haze. a moment when you forget who you are, what day it is -- all of your problems just don’t exist, for that moment. the moment only lasted a few seconds before the blaring sound of the alarms coming from the phone bring you back to the brutal aspects of reality. and yet, those were the best five seconds for liam.

groaning, he turned over and tapped on his screen, desperately trying to shut the alarm off; the bright screen burning his already sleep deprived eyes. he probably only got about three hours of sleep, if that. he was used to it at this point, and then there were days like today. days where he wanted to wither into the depths of his own self-loathing. 

he looked out the window to see the sun beginning to rise. a sky painted with shades of blues, purples, and oranges, almost like a messy yet somewhat neatly put together painting made by a middle schooler. there was something beautiful about waking up with the sun, parts of it that brought him peace. his sister loved watching the sunrise - she always went on and on about how sunrises were the true underdog; how mother nature picked it’s most beautiful mixture of colors for the sunrises, all because it took a special person to appreciate the beauty that came from it. he never really understood what she meant, until he was forced to watch the sun rise every single morning. and as always, she was right. sunsets had nothing against sunrises. 

these quiet mornings were the best part of liam’s day. the hours where he felt most connected to his sister and to himself. the hours he felt truly at peace. it was crazy to think that liam’s favorite time of the day was between 5:00am and 6:30am. 

he turned on his car to play youtube on his aux before climbing out of his vehicle. the sweet melody’s of the soft pitched tunes filled his car and the immediate area surrounding it, and a smile creeped on his face as one of her favorite songs began playing in the background. he wasn’t religious, but there was a part of him that truly found strength in knowing that his sister wasn’t far away. 

he rolled up the worn down mattress topper, collected his pillow and blanket in one hand. he broke down his bed as he pushed the backseat of his 2006 ford escape upright and neatly tucked his belongings into his trunk. 

5:30am

he pulled into the vacant parking lot of the soulstice gym. the gym was set to open in a half hour; luckily for him, there weren’t many college students that would dare to wake up at the crack of dawn just to work out. he stuffed everything he needed to get ready for the day into a duffle bag; shower supplies, and a clean outfit. he desperately needed to do laundry, and he needed to get food...but pay day wasn’t until next week. he was gonna have to find cash, and find it quick - maybe he’ll just pick up another shift at the bar. he practically lived at that place now.

his footsteps echoed through as he walked through the empty fitness center; not even the cleaners had arrived for their early morning shift. he quickly hopped into the showers and get ready for the day. lord knows he needed to wash the dirt and sins that painted his skin from the previous nights festivities. he couldn’t even recall what exactly happened, and that was both a blessing and a curse. it was shortly after he turned on all the lights and greeted the early morning cleaners, jimmy and george. 

“good morning, son!” greeted george. 

“mornin’, will.” jimmy greeted shortly after. 

jimmy and george worked closely together, and were usually gone for the day 2pm; and yet, liam knew the guys quite well. 

jimmy is in his early-forties, married with two children. he worked two full time jobs to get his children through school. his son played division II baseball at a school somewhere in the midwest, and is majoring in sports education. he wants to be a gym teacher. his daughter is studying to be a nurse at monarch. she aspires to work in women’s health. jimmy always spoke so highly of them two. 

george is in his mid-sixties, but is still kicking it like he’s twenty. he’s also married with children and even grandchildren, but his story is more tragic. he’s a retired firefighter, who is still working a full time job because his pension wasn’t enough to make ends meet. can’t make ends meet. his only daughter passed away at a young age - drug overdose, he says. his only son is constantly in and out of jail for drug charges - leaving george and his wife to take care and raise their two grandchildren, layla and michael. layla is 14 and is getting ready to start high school. she loves to play volleyball, and apparently is a natural. michael is 9 and is getting ready to start fourth grade. he love cars, spider man, legos, sonic, and baseball cards. he wants to be a youtube gamer when he grows up. liam didn’t know the kid, but he thought he was fucking awesome. 

two completely different stories, and yet liam believed that those two men deserved the world and then some.

“what’s up, guys?” liam greeted with a smile as he filled up his metal water bottle at the nearest filling station. “when are the kids set to go back, george?”

“this coming monday. mikey’s already complaining how he doesn’t need school to be a youtuber. apparently he’s ‘done his research’.” the comment makes both liam and jimmy laugh. 

“tell the little man to put that energy into a sport, or a trade. i need a new mechanic.” jim jested, once again causing the other two to laugh. “what about you, will? getting ready to start the semester back up? gabby is already stressing because some of her professors already posted the syllabus.” 

“shit, i haven’t even gotten my textbooks yet. i might have to join mikey with this whole youtuber plan and hope for the best.” liam said with a nervous chuckle. he almost had completely forgotten about the upcoming semester approaching. 

to quickly divert the question away from him, he spoke once more. “say, george. i found a few baseball cards at the bar the other night. remind me to bring them in for you.” 

“you’ll make that boys entire week. maybe i’ll use that to bribe him to go to school.” 

jimmy just smiled. “you’re a good kid, scotty boy. never change.” 

2:30pm

it had only been a half hour since liam clocked out from his morning job, and he quickly made his way over to the library. the mention of school that morning brought liam into a panic. he grabbed a spot at one of desks in the computer station, powering on the device and pulling out his notebook. luckily enough, most of the textbooks he needed the library had available. leaving his stuff behind, he went to go fetched them. 

he already had mastered the technique of not having his own textbooks. every week, he would go and scan all of the chapters he needed for each and every class. luckily, monarch offered free scanning and printing. he made small talk with the librarian that sat at the desk nearby as he printed out at least three weeks worth of chapters for each of his classes. 

he sat down once more, and took the time to put the pile of papers neatly into his binder. it was time to start planning. 

6:30pm

now it was time to work his night time job, mars bar. he was working with adrian tonight, so he knew it wouldn’t be that bad.

his stomach had been grumbling half way through his shift. he hadn’t eaten anything all day. but he continued to push through. he had to, at least until pay day. he continued to chug water; if his stomach was full of water, his body didn’t have time to remind him that it needed some sort of nutrients. he was a master manipulator when it came to his own body now. 

1:00am

the rounded out the tips that he received from his customers. it was a good night, and luckily enough he would be able to do laundry the next day. his body was tired, though; aching from the lack of sleep and abuse his body endured from the festivities. he felt like he could sleep for an entire month, and then some. 

he drove around for a bit after his shift, a thing he did as he needed to both unwind and find a somewhat safe space to park his car. university police were patrolling the parking lots that night, which immediately told him not to park there. he couldn’t park in greek row - too many people he knew by this point. he was left to park in a nearby park, in a nearby neighborhood. he found himself saying a small prayer that nobody would mess with him that night. 

he lit up a joint once he found his place, feeling the smoke fill his lungs as he listened to the calming music that played on the radio. ed sheeran was playing, a song from his multiply album. it was one of his and his sister’s favorite albums. that’s the one thing they shared in common, their taste in music. but she was more pop in a sense, and he was more edgy. but still, the music brought him comfort.

he got his bed ready; a mattress topper, paired with a pillow and a blanket. he made himself comfortable and looked at his phone, just to see he missed a text from his mother at 10:45pm.

hi honey! spoke with your aunt today, and we’re making plans for christmas. did your father reach out to you? let me know what plans he has set. i’ll arrange my trip around your plans. 

i hope you had a great day! i love you! ❤️

her message was followed by a bitmoji image of her holding a huge heart. and he smiled. 

i haven’t spoken to him all week, but i’ll reach out tomorrow and let you know. i’ll call you tomorrow. love you ❤️

there was a huge part of him that wanted to call her now, that wanted to tell her he had been struggling both physically and mentally...but then he remembered the damage and the financial burden his injury left. it ruined his family. he ruined his family. and just as he was about to press call, he let out a frustrated sigh before locking his phone and tossing it not too far away from him, rolling over to attempt to get some sort of rest.

just to do the same thing. all. over. again.