#I made this exact set before like last year but I no longer like how it looks so here's this LMAO.
Have you heard the news that you’re dead?
DEAD!
Live at Maxwell’s
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Next to You
spencer reid x fem!reader
summary: sharing a room with the person in the bau that hates you the most makes you go through more emotions than you thought possible
warnings: kind of enemies to lovers, arguing, crying, no use of y/n, smut, nsfw - 18+ only, apology sex, soft sex, fem oral, protected p in v, praise, typical criminal minds death and unsub mentions
word count: 2.7k
Last minute cases in desolate towns in the midwest often meant that there was nowhere for the team to stay. It wasn't uncommon for you to have to pair or group up with other team members in dodgy motel rooms.
The most recent investigation had brought you all to the middle of nowhere in Nebraska, a long day ending with a drive to an motel that housed 7 rooms in total.
You, Reid and Rossi were the last to arrive so when Prentiss handed you a room key and told you that you would be sharing with Reid, it was already too late to complain.
"It's for your own good" she she grinned, picking her go-bag off the floor beside her.
"I hate you" you sighed.
"Sure you do" she was already walking off. You've been face to face with serial killers regularly, and this was just surviving a few nights in the same room as Spencer Reid, you could do this.
You walked back outside to find Reid standing in the dark by the car, right hand in this pocket and his left leaning against the black SUV.
"Looks like you're with me, Reid" you announced and the way that his face instantly dropped almost knocked you over. It was almost like you'd told him you were about to kill him.
"Come on" you began walking down to room 4, Spencer following shortly behind as you unlocked the door.
Being met with just one double bed though was enough to bring tears to your eyes. The couch looked like it had been through the war and there was no way on earth you were even touching it. And the sigh that Spencer let out made you want to rip your own hair out.
"I'm gonna sleep in the car" you quickly turned around to walk out of the door.
"You're not sleeping outside with a killer targeting women the exact same age as you on the loose" he stopped you in your tracks. He was right. "I can take the couch".
You were a little surprised at the chivalry but thankful none the less. "Are you sure?"
He didn't answer, instead dropping himself onto the couch.
Feeling content with his actions, you dropped your own bag on the floor beside the bed and told him you were going to use the bathroom before cleaning yourself up and changing into the oversized t-shirt you were using as pyjamas.
Coming out of the bathroom again, you were going to tell Reid that he was free to use the bathroom now but he simply glared at you.
It was as if he wanted to make your life hell. He always scowled at you, made snarky comments on little details about you, gloated whenever you got anything wrong. He always drove you up the walls, since you first started at the BAU, and you never knew why.
It's not like you had done anything to him, from what you knew at least. You smiled and shook his hand when you met him and even thought he was cute, you treated him just like you did with everyone else on the team, but you quickly noticed how differently he treated you.
You gave him plenty of time to warm up to you before you let yourself develop any solid opinions on him. You were warned about how he took to knew people, and you were understanding at first. But after you were several months in, and now years, and he still treated you like an outsider, you were no longer shy to expressing your dislike for him.
Other people on the team noticed it too, you, JJ, Garcia and Emily often discussing it with each other, but if one of them ever mentioned Spencer's attitude to himself, he'd deny everything and brush it off.
You really tried to not let it get to you, especially with the support from others, But man, did it upset you.
Spencer eventually got himself ready in the bathroom and came back out, silently setting himself up on the couch as you sat in the bed and did some research. There was a nice silence for a while, and then:
"Could you stop turning the pages so loud" he sounded irritated already and you hadn't even spoken to each other in the past 30 minutes.
"What?" you matched his tone, was he really trying to start a fight with you right now?
"I can't even think with how much noise you're making"
"I'm not making any noise, Reid, what's wrong with you?"
"You're flicking the pages, I can't pay attention to anything else"
"Oh so the sound of paper is able to stop boy genius in his tracks?" you mocked, pissed off at what he was choosing to do do.
He glared at you in response, he looked like he was about to blow a fuse.
"I don't know how to help you here, Reid, I'm trying to work on the case"
"Yeah, trying, it's not like you've ever actually done anything important for one" his voice had raised slightly.
"What?"
"You're practically incompetent, how you got recruited to the bureau, I'll never know" you hadn't even noticed him standing up, but it suddenly made you feel uncomfortable so you got out of the bed too, standing on the opposite side of the room.
"Excuse me?" you were completely shocked now, how had he gotten so far.
"You heard me. You have no place on this team. All you do is mess things up, you can't figure anything out and then you go and let our unsubs go"
Oh
You knew exactly what he was talking about. During one of your first cases, you had unintentionally informed an unsub that the FBI were searching for him during an interview with his wife and he got away. He was dangerous and you had never forgiven yourself for the people who had died before he was finally caught.
You just broke down in tears after that. It felt like he'd re-opened the wound right there and then.
"Fuck you" you spat through tears. You couldn't even look at him now, turning your back to him to sit on the bed.
"Oh my god, I'm so sorry" it was like he had suddenly snapped out of the unexplained rage he was just experiencing.
You felt the bed dip as he sat down behind you, and then a hand rest on your shoulder.
You were edging on losing the ability to breathe. It wasn't even just remembering the worst experience you had on the job, it was the fact that Spencer had used it against you just to get a reaction out of you. You wouldn't have even expected that from him.
He just sat behind you as you attempted to regain some sense of composure, not saying anything else. Was he finally feeling some sense of remorse for how horribly he had been treating you?
Once he noticed that your breathing had slowed, he called out your last name, your work name. It felt so impersonal in that moment. Not that you'd ever been on a first name basis with him, but you gave no reaction to him.
He tried again, squeezing your shoulder this time. You gave him nothing.
But then he whispered your name. Your first name. It was quiet, apologetic.. desperate.
You sniffled, wiping the tears from under your eyes before you turned around to look at him. He was sitting right behind you in the bed now, his big brown eyes practically burning a hole in your head. You knew you probably looked like a mess now, face red and wet, eyes puffy, and hair mangled.
"God, I'm sorry" his hand reached up to wipe a stray tear from your cheek "I'm such an idiot, I can't believe I said that".
You flinched at his touch, not saying anything back to him.
"If I could take that back I would, I did not mean it. It was just in the moment" he tried to hold your face in his hand but you avoided his touch.
"In the moment?" you repeated "What even was that moment. It's like you wanted to have an argument with me for fun".
"I don't want to argue with you, I just.."
"You just hate me" you finished.
"No! I don't hate you, I'm just stupid and don't know how to deal with how I feel about you"
You looked directly into his eyes, eyebrows furrowed. "How you feel about me?"
You managed to catch his gaze as it briefly flicked down to your lips. It felt like something was drawing you closer as you moved towards him.
"Please, let me make it up to you".
"No. Are you saying you've treated me like this because you can't figure out what to do about your feelings for me? What are you? Twelve? You've made my life miserable."
The tears spilled out again, what was he even saying?
"Please, just let me show you how sorry I am"
His voice was laced in what could only be described as desperation, it was making you want to hear him out, forgive him, and you didn't quite know why.
"Please" his voice was on the verge of breaking.
Your walls were crumbling down, it was like he'd cast a spell on you
"please"
You only nodded, allowing him to to lean in closer to you, finally cupping your head in his hands and softly pressing his lips against yours.
It was like he was purposefully avoiding any roughness as he gently kissed, from your lips down your jaw and then down your neck. He looked at you then, his eyes meeting yours in a silent question. And you nodded.
He loosely grabbed the hem of your shirt, and you let him lift it up over your head.
He didn't touch you yet, kissing your lips again as he began to slide your underwear down. You manoeuvred enough for him to take them off you completely. He was so gentle that you didn't even think of feeling self-conscious being completely undressed in front of him.
He urged you to spread your legs and quickly laid down on his stomach in between them.
You barely had time to blink before his lips were on you, kissing up the inside of your thigh. as his hands wrapped around you, holding you down.
Then, he was softly licking up your cunt, softly moaning to himself as he tasted you. He avoided your clit, dragging his tongue everywhere except where you needed him most.
"Spence" the nickname drove him crazy, he finally felt like maybe you could be his.
He finally flicked his tongue over your clit and you couldn't help but push your hips against his face, a whine slipping from your lips.
He only egged you on, using your legs to pull closer to his mouth. He kept circling your clit, increasing the amount of pressure he used as your squirmed under him.
Every few moments, he'd bring his tongue down again, dipping into your hole gently, gathering your slick, before suckling at your clit again.
Slurs of his name, swears and a few 'oh my gods' were the only coherent sounds that could leave your mouth. He had gotten you incredibly sensitive and you felt like you could tip over the edge at any moment.
Spencer himself couldn't stop himself from moaning at your taste, your sounds, how your skin felt under his hands. The vibrations pushing you further.
He suddenly sucked a bit harsher, almost nipping your clit before going back to his previously gentle movements.
The contrast between the rare harsher movements and his gentle attention had you bucking into his face, only to be stopped by his hands pushing you down.
All of a sudden, you felt your release. You moaned much to loud as you writhed under Spencer's mouth, him carrying you through your orgasm.
Just as you felt yourself come down, you went to pull yourself away from Spencer, but he refused to let you, keeping you pinned down to the bed as he let himself taste your release.
"Spencer, please" you were so incredibly sensitive at this point, your body jolting at every small movement. You had to bite the side of your hand to stop yourself from yelling out from the pleasure.
He suddenly pulled off of you with a soft *pop* ad sat up, quickly kicking his trousers and boxers off as you reached forward and loosened his tie and unbuttoned his shirt.
Now that he too was undressed, you felt more equal, it was almost metaphorical as if he was agreeing to end the weird tension between the both of you.
He sat between your legs again, lifting your legs around his hips. You hadn't noticed the condom he had taken out from his pocket until you heard the crinkle of the foil as he opened it.
He quickly rolled it down his shaft as you finally got the chance to look at him. You felt yourself clench in anticipation.
He finally lined himself up and you were subconsciously pushing your hips down towards him.
"Please, Reid" you practically begged as he leaned forward but he stopped at your words.
You looked into his eyes, pleading for him to fill you up, but he didn't.
"Spencer" you whined, and he quickly rutted his hips into you.
"Thats it, good girl" he praised as the air was knocked from your lungs.
He started slow, using one hand to prop himself up and the other to finally caress your skin. It was like he was trying to memorise the curves of your body with one hand. He grabbed at your hips, held your waist, squeezed your breasts, as he slowly picked up his pace.
He couldn't get enough of feeling your body as he pinched your nipple, marvelling at the way it hardened further.
"God, you're so beautiful" his hand finally fell down to your clit, rubbing small circles in time with his thrusts.
You couldn't even get a single word out at this point, too tired and desperate to say anything.
"I'm so sorry baby" if he didn't have your attention before, the name had definitely gotten it now. "I'll be so good for you from now on" you could tell he was close from the waver in his voice, but you too felt your 2nd release approaching.
"You're so perfect" his rambling was interrupted by groans, "never want to leave your side ever again" his thrusts had last there rhythm as he circled your clit quicker, desperate to get you to cum before him.
It didn't take long for the coil in your stomach to snap, vision blurring as he continued his thrusts. Not much after, he plunged into you one last time. You could feel him coming inside as he filled up the condom, his chest now flush against yours.
You both laid there for a few moments, enjoying the hot, sticky embrace as you caught your breathe.
Silently, Spencer pulled out, taking off the condom and throwing it in the trash before pulling his boxers on. He then got you cleaned up, helping you put on your own underwear afterwards, before you got into the bed.
He tried to walk over to the couch but you were not letting that happen. “Get in here Reid" you muttered, laughing quietly as he practically jumped in beside you.
As he faced you in the bed, he brushed a stray hair behind your ear. "I'll make it up to you, I'm sorry, about everything" he kissed you once more, it would take more time for you to forgive him, but for now you let yourself fall asleep in his arms.
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GOOD AFTERNOON LAVIII !! hwo are ya :3
i might js make an everyday appearance but HEAR ME OUT !! a year ago or so i made a lil joke saying i want toji to fuck me with his gun but like.. what if he actually did > 0 <
just wanted to share that :333 IM SO HUNGRYYY, im cravin pancakes but im pancakeless :( you could he sleeping so if you are i hope ur sleeping well and dreaming of super cute things :D : D TA TAAAA (that’s a fancy bye)
— pearl anon
໒꒰ྀ ྀིᴗ͈ˬᴗ͈)ꕤ*.゚ omg gm, i was dreamin’ ! ♡ ‘n i’ve been well, which i hope you've been feeling the same too pearl ! <3 besides the no pancakes disruption ;( ( ! ! but i do hope this feeds ur cravings in some way ??! sob — chocolate pancakes ( >> ) or fruit-based ??
★ ┆ CONFESSIONS .ᐟ ───── TOJI FUSHIGURO ‧
⟣ WARNINGS ‧ MDNI | f! reader | pwp, dub con ( coercion ), gun / fear / and power play, interrogation, degrading, slight praising, squirting, choking / asphyxiation, humiliation, &’ dacryphilia. ᡣ 𐭩 | WC ‧ 1.1K + |
“Tell me where your brother is.” The silencer attached to the sauntering man's gun was cold – at first… The teasing against your ridden hood was no longer enough to set you straight – to spill out any more information he coveted for, solely wreaking a mess out of you; a spill of only silky cum ran down the table he interrogated you on, all shame flowed into a glistening puddle below…
Now the slim, steel barrel between the quaver of your thighs was scolding… “This’ll all end if you just open more than these pretty legs and tell me where my scared little target is. Alright?” And he jams it deep, no hesitation in plugging you up with a loaded gun to the hilt…
Slippery folds spread wide to make room ‘till the invading metal eases in – ramming through your cum-soaked embrace. It hilted in your steaming depths with shocking ease before dragging back with a slight roll; he'd twist at the handle to slide around — left and right, left and right like a q-tip swirling around.
Eyes squeezing tight, “Sir… Please, I told you–” You hiccup, “Told you… I don't know…” You didn't know him, or even knew your brother had a damn hitman chasing him down. Well, it’s a slight explanation as to why he abruptly vanished last week… but you still had no clue of the exact reason!
You didn't know anything!
But you do know, you couldn't risk your brother's life any further. Damnning family loyalty.
The scar lined down the broad man's lips wrinkled stiffly as he frowned, “Where did you see him last goddamnit.” You shake your head, almost a sob falling through feeble lips in response.
Still not good enough. He clicks his tongue.
“Sweetheart,” The mix of gentle words and a pistol shoved up your pussy was… odd, “Before he left, did you at least see him take a scroll?” Raspy voice drawing out slow for you, he tilts his head, “Think real hard f’me, ok?” You barely could muster up words! How in the world could you even remember a stupid piece of paper while a gun is lodged inside you?!
Oh fuck…
Your eyes fill with light, and so does the killers, believing you were about to spew out the truth, “Yeah, yeah, I know that look, tell me.” The only truth spewing out was your cunt reacting vividly to the twisting pole splitting through you.
Another, milky mess splatters at his grey pants and around his gun. Runny with a shimmer – damp and soiled, he soughed as you tremble embarrassingly along the tabletop… Cunt clenching around the working barrel, you cry out; the trepidation, adrenaline, and coerced pleasure from a — truthfully, a hunk of a man was all foreign, shaking a deep rattle in you.
Gasping ‘till the shady room fell silent…
The man's shaggy hair falls with his head, dropping it low with a sigh followed, “It’s just a simple yes or no. Use your words this time, honey.” Patience running eerily low.
Toji had a damn job to do. He was ranked highest in his field of work for a reason. He never cared to show mercy when it came to his money, and that's exactly what his consumers loved. Toji always got the job done one way or the other... Even if working his gun with lethal strokes inside your pussy ‘till you couldn't bare another rumbling high was undoubtedly a way… Anything to get what he needed to get what he wanted.
And before you could reason by catching your breath, your interrogator leans over your feeble body; a stiff leg booted between yours as the other crowded you in on the side. Hovering over you full flush, Toji fills his free hand with your throat, as if he was trying to stifle the very answers out of you.
“I’m giving you one more chance,” Those same words he's said a good handful of times rang through your ears, “Speak up.”
“… I–I…” But the firearm pulling and twisting around your insides was forcing your lips to clamor.
You haven't had room to properly suck in a fresh breath of air in the past three hours…
Verdant eyes scanning your face, so close, you could feel the flutter of his lashes tickle at the stained, wet cheeks that puff out. Welting in tears, you shiver, “I don't… I don't remember…—!” You hear the stiff pistol driving through your silken furrow cock back.
Oh fuck.
“Heh. You really don't now?” Burying all inches of glossy metal inside tight walls, then retracting and slamming down harder, Toji’s grip tightend too, “ ‘Cause I feel like you do. A little birdie told me you even helped him out, huh.” Fuck.
Cum churned with sappy liquids; dragging a translucent milky ring around his suppressor, nothing was going to impede his assignment.
All brisk motions left your gummy insides shivering potently and brain to slosh into a mushy pile… Toji kept at it ‘till you seemed fucked out of your mind. ‘Till you actually couldn't give him any more answers...
<– BACK : PINNED ⊹ ࣪ ˖ NEXT : MORE TOJI –>
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growth spurt
summary: teenage boy vs boobs
mike wheeler x fem!reader
part 2
mike, lucas, dustin, and the rest of the hellfire gang sat in mike’s basement the dnd game all set up and ready, waiting for you to arrive. they had made some sort of something up for your character so you could join back at anytime. something about freezing ur brain? it was very confusing and you gave up about halfway thru eddie trying to explain it. mike was seated next to eddie, deep in conversation about what they think you look like now.
‘bro she probably looks the exact same.’
‘there is no way kid. a girl like her goes to a summer camp? she’s gonna be a whole new woman when she comes back.’ eddie stares knowingly at mike, leaned back and legs spread.
‘she won’t be that different. i mean her hair will be a little longer, but in the four years i’ve known y/n she has not changed one bit.’ mike replied, knowing you literally have been wearing the same graphic t-shirts since the 6th grade.
‘cmon mike-’ eddie’s rebuttal was interrupted by loud shuffling upstairs and a loud door slam. all the conversation stopped as the party listened to you talk to mrs. wheeler and try to escape her attempts at small talk. finally after a few minutes of a painful interrogation from mike’s mom you made it to the basement. you crept down the stairs, slightly concerned at the lack of conversation. but then you finally made it to the bottom of the stairs. and boy was mike wrong.
the hellfire shirt you got at the start of summer barely fit you now, your bust stretching the logo quite a bit, you had also cut the shirt to show just a sliver of your abdomen,and the shorts you wore did nothing to conceal your long legs. but the part that really got mike was your hair, what had once gone past your hips, was now just below your ears, with bangs. mike had never seen you with bangs. mike just stared as he felt cupid’s arrow shoot him straight thru the heart.
he didn’t know how long he’d been staring until he felt eddie’s hand clap on his back and push him towards you. he stumbled forward and ran into a hug with you. he felt your hands tense in shock, but then slide around his waist and pull hum farther into you. he immediately followed your action and pulled your head just under his. pulling away, he looked into your eyes, scared if he stayed there any longer he’d never be able to let go. his hands fell to your upper arms as he stared.
‘what?’ you asked. confused as to why he was glaring as you so intensely.
‘ you cut your hair.’ he mumbled quietly under his breath. his hand reaching out and softly touching the peice closest to your face.
‘yeah. yeah i did.’ you said as you laughed. turning out of his grasp to walk to greet everyone else and finally catch up. but all mike could think about was how you hair moved as you talked. and your bare thigh kept brushing against his. and how it felt when you would giggle when he said something funny. but his favorite was how good it felt to have you in his arms.
you were the last to leave, pecking him on the cheek before running out to get your bike from his yard and start the journey home.
he quickly ran up to his room, careful to hide his hard-on from his mother cooking in the kitchen. he couldn’t even handle seeing you for four hours today, how is he gonna handle seeing you every single day at school?
a/n it’s literally 1am. i read this over once. i don’t love it. but i have 2 start somewhere ig. pls lemme know if u see any spelling mistakes (or just writing mistakes in general), even tho i will not fix them. this is my first fanfic. hope u like it baes. feel free to send in a request. i have 0 ideas rn. happy reading.
LEMME KNOW IF U WANNA PART TWO :DDDDDD
part two coming ?soon?
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SingleFather!Leon Kennedy x Male!Reader [Fluff]
Warning; set a year after infinite darkness, mentions of cancer, mentions of death.
Masterlist.
Resident Evil ID
Hearing his phone ring was the last thing he expected when he got out of the shower ready for bed. A call so late at night only meant another mission. He had just come back less than two hours ago, can't he rest for a little bit longer?
(M/n) sighed as his phone continued ringing and he picked it up, leaving the speaker while he got dressed, ready to go out, not realizing who was calling.
"(M/n), I need your help," he blinked and halted his movements, his jeans pulled up to his hips but still undone.
"Leon?" He asked while grabbing his phone, realizing that yeah, it was Leon the one who was calling him, "Are you okay? Did something happen?"
(M/n) grabbed his black shirt, and began buttoning it up, fixing his jeans when he was done.
"Yeah, I'm fine, it's just-" he heard ruffling on the side of the call, followed by a door closing and Leon's deep sigh, "I got called on another mission and I... I didn't know who to call other than you, but-" now he was rambling.
"Leon, it's alright, that's what friends are for, right?" He didn't wait for a response from Leon, he continued talking, "What do you need?" (M/n) sat on the bed and put on his socks, reaching for his combat boots and tying them.
"Yeah, you're right, uh..." Leon took a deep breath and (M/n) grab his phone, walking out of his room, "Something happened and I can't leave the house alone so I wanted to ask if you... Could stay over till I come back?" (M/n) frowned and grabbed the duffel bag he always had ready to go, something he learned he needed to have with the course of the years.
Leon heard the clinking sound (M/n)'s keys made and he sighed, "Sure, no problem, I'll be there in ten minutes-" he walked out of the house when he made sure every light was turned off, and walked to his motorcycle, "Maybe five, actually," he said with a chuckle when he realized just how late it was, everything was quiet, "See ya, Lee."
Followed by a 'see you in a few', they hung up and (M/n) secured the duffle bag strap across his chest, put on his helmet, and started the engine.
//////
The ride to Leon's house was roughly five minutes long, and there he was. (M/n) parked his bike in the garage, where Leon was waiting for him, his own duffel bag next to his red Ducati. He got off his bike and was immediately hugged by Leon, catching him off-guard and making his heart pound like crazy in his chest.
"Thank you, (M/n), I know you just back from a mission yourself, and I'm suddenly asking you to stay at my house-," (M/n) held Leon's shoulder, making him make eye contact with his (e/c) eyes.
"Hey, I've told you time and time before, Lee, I'll be here whenever you need me, always," Leon slowly calmed himself, and nodded with a small smile on his face, placing his hands on (M/n)'s wrist as he released his grip, "Now... Did you get a puppy or something?"
Oh, maybe I shouldn't have said that, Leon looked conflicted again, looking away nervously and biting his bottom lip. His blue eyes looked into (M/n)'s who was confused once again, and after a few seconds he sighed in defeat, "It's more complicated than that, (M/n). Come with me..."
Frowning slightly, (M/n) followed Leon inside his house, walking through the kitchen and to the living room, where he stopped when Leon did, glancing back at him for a moment.
"Drew, come here, please," he called loud enough and sighed. Both of them waited, but (M/n) wasn't expecting to see a little boy. Not only that, he was an exact replica of Leon himself, only... As a kid. The only significant difference was that Drew had light brown colored eyes, they were almost golden.
It didn't take long for (M/n) to put two and two together.
"Drew, this is (M/n)," The sound of Leon saying his name brought him back to reality, and he showed a small smile at the boy, waving his hand at him, watching him do the same with a smile of his own, showing the faint dimples on his cheeks, "He's a close friend of mine, and he'll take care of you while I'm gone."
"Nice to meet you, sir," his cute voice melted (M/n)'s heart, and he found himself smiling more at him.
"Well, it's nice to meet you too, Drew," the little boy giggled and hugged Leon's leg, hiding behind him and pulling on his jeans. Leon looked down at him, and watched Drew making grabby hands at him, he smiled and leaned down to pick the boy up in his arms.
"You're sleepy?" Drew yawned with a nod and reach his hand up to scratch his eyes, Leon looked at (M/n) who was just silently looking at them, a shine in his eyes that made Leon blush and glance back at his son, "Okay, let's get you to bed, then."
While waiting for Leon to come back, (M/n) sat down on the couch and tried to analyze the situation the best he could with no information whatsoever. He couldn't interrogate Leon about this and he didn't want to, but he couldn't help but remember how Leon had told him that he's only had one serious relationship in his life.
Out of peripheral vision, he saw Leon walking back to the living room and he stood up, "Lee," well, now he couldn't leave without telling (M/n) about this, "So... What's the story?"
Leon checked his watch, he had twenty minutes to spare before he absolutely had to leave. He sighed and beckoned him to sit down on the couch together, taking a deep breath before proceeding to tell (M/n) everything that had happened while he was out on his vacation.
//////
Leon had walked into this cozy and comfy-looking café, he had been walking around the beautiful and calm town, and he was getting quite hungry, and well, the desserts on display were everything he needed to convince himself to walk in.
He quickly order what caught his eye, along with a black coffee, and sat down on the farthest seat available, completely out of habit. While he waited for his order to arrive or get called to get it, he checked his phone for a while, just to make sure he didn't get any new mission like it always happens when he's out on vacation.
"Uhm... Excuse me?" He got pulled out of his trance, looking up and making eye contact with a woman, he blinked a few times, confused. He knew this woman.
"Mikayla?" He mumbled, watching how she showed him a weak smile and nodded, taking a few breathes and feeling her legs trembling, "Oh, sit down," Leon stood up from his seat to help her, watching her trying to smile at him but groaning in response, "I guess it would be impolite of I ask you what's wrong."
She laugh a bit, getting comfortable in her seat.
"I was gonna tell you anyway," she tried to make light of the situation, which did work for a moment, and then she tried to formulate her next sentence, "Leon, I... I have cancer," he was left speechless, and it was the only appropriate thing he could do, "It's terminal and, I'm on the last stretch," she chuckled with tears in her once bright golden eyes, "And I have to confess something to you..."
Leon reached for her hand, gently wrapping his warm hands around her cold ones, trying to give her some reassurance, "What is it?"
Mikayla's eyes filled with tears as she stared into Leon's blue ones, filled with concern.
"You have a son."
Unable to understand this new information, Leon sputtered, "Are you sure... He's mine?"
The woman smiled, understanding why he would be skeptical of this claim, so she looked around in her wallet for a picture of her son. Their son. Leon couldn't deny it the moment he saw the picture, he looked just like him when he was a kid.
"He turned four a few days ago," the memories of the night they met flashed through his mind. They had a passing romance back in 2003 and they agreed on breaking it up when he had to leave back home, if only he had kept in contact with her-, "Don't blame yourself, Leon, I knew about it before you left, and... I couldn't tell you."
Leon took a deep breath, still staring at the photo in his hand, shortly after handing it back to Mikayla.
"There's something else, isn't there?" She nodded and took a deep breath, proceeding to explain everything to him.
//////
"She was in her last month of life, and she didn't have anyone to take care of Drew, so... She asked me if I could take care of him after she dies, and..." Leon stopped playing with his fingers to look up at (M/n), who had been listening in complete silence, "I wasn't gonna let him go through what I went through when my parents died, I couldn't do that to him."
(M/n) wrapped his arm around Leon's shoulder, squeezing it to reassure him that everything was okay.
"I'm just surprised you didn't call me earlier, I could've helped," Leon glanced up at (M/n), shaking his head slightly and leaning closer to rest his head on his shoulder, his nose gracing (M/n)'s neck.
"I meant to tell you sooner, but..." His hands gripped (M/n)'s shirt tightly, making the (h/c) haired male worry, reaching his hand to gently hold Leon's face, making him look up at him, "I didn't know how to, sorry, (M/n)."
It was hard to resist the urge to kiss Leon right then and there, but he managed, breaking their eye contact by messing his brown locks with a chuckle, hearing him groan and push away from him.
Leon was about to complain about it, but he saw (M/n) standing up and walking to the door, and he was remained that he had to leave for who knows how long.
"Come on, Superman, you have a city to save, don't you?" Leon chuckled at the nickname, walking to the door as well, grabbing his keys.
"Who're you calling Superman?" Leon opened the door and was about to step out, when he felt (M/n)'s arms wrapping around his waist from behind, the touch making his skin feel like it was on fire. He stayed silent and completely still, feeling (M/n) nuzzling on his neck and taking a few deep breaths, "(M/n)?"
"Take care of yourself, Lee. Please."
There was something else in his words, something that meant more than what he said, something that made Leon's heart beat faster inside his chest. (M/n) gave one last tight squeeze before letting him go. Leon turned around, thanking the cool air of the night helping him hide the pink color on his face.
"I always do."
Leon couldn't hold himself back, taking a step forward and hugging (M/n). They stayed like that for a few minutes until Leon's phone started ringing.
"Duty calls, eh?" They pulled back while Leon nodded, smiling at (M/n), muttering an 'I'll be back soon' before running to his bike and pulling it out of the garage along with his bag, watching the door close down slowly.
(M/n) waved Leon goodbye as he got on his bike, the engine coming to life, and securing his helmet on his head, waving back before driving away.
Walking back inside once the bike disappeared in the horizon, (M/n) turned off the lights and slowly walked to the couch, making a quick bed with the cushions, and laying down on it. His eyes slowly became accustomed to the darkness, and he found himself staring at nothing in particular, lost in thought.
"How soon can soon be?"
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journey to kintsugi ▹prologue
— A/n 📝Reblogs and comments make all the difference. I do not allow my work to be translated or uploaded to any other place. My tip jar if you enjoy this story a lot and feel like it. ☕️ You can read this chapter on AO3. Word count: [3.9k]
— Warnings⚠️ mature content—violence, mentions of death, gore — canon-typical themes; Minors DNI.
ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤMain Masterlist | Official Playlist | Series Masterlist
ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ▹ Close Your Eyes
Winter was far from kind to those that had no idea how to fend for themselves and the child you see walking a few meters away from you, hunting alone and scared in cold, has only a couple of days left. Three, if luck was on their way.
They knew some things to stay alive, but not enough. They had company, too. Inside the cabin, someone waited for their return, you were certain of it. By the ramblings the wind carried as the kid tries hunting for food you knew that much — a family member, most likely, or a friend they made along the way if their disposition to keep the person alive is anything to go by, and curiosity gnaws at your fingers to approach and discover who.
Ultimately, you refrain from it.
That lasts for a while — you help from a distance and repeat the mantra that's kept you alive until now, gritting your teeth at the instinct twisting your guts to go, help, help them, you need to help.
Regardless of how much you fight or deny it, both of them end up in your path in less than five days.
A change that would affect not only their lives but yours, deeply. Irreversibly. And forever.
Keep your distance. Always be alert.
It worked, for a while. But... Distance only works if there is no connection.
The power a name holds is enough of a connection for so many things. Enough worry to grow in your bones like vines until you are following a track down the snowy mountains. Until you are putting behind you everything you've branded to your skin for the past thirteen years and mingle, mixing with outsiders as if that ever worked.
For three days and three nights, you offered what you could as help to the child. Convincing yourself that, at least, you could do, you pitched in a ghostly hand to keep the young one alive — an easier hunt, or clearing the path they leave behind since they never learned how to, or an offering of food on the first hard night where no attempts from their part resulted in anything.
Then, a name, and everything freezes before it sets into motion.
"Ellie."
Then, they're no longer 'the child' or 'them'. They're Ellie, and Ellie is in danger. That's all it takes.
All you have is a name, but the purpose comes easily.
ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ⤎ ⤎ ⤎
It happens on the fourth night. As you finish the perimeter rounds of the forest, you hear the familiar sound of a voice you've grown to recognize.
Without thinking, your feet move you toward the direction, instinct keeping you in the dark and silent at all times. Although the kid is young, they are far from innocent or harmless.
Despite their wild and occasionally sad behavior, their banter with themselves is adorable. You've grown fond of it, despite your best efforts to remain detached from the situation as a whole.
It's a few steps before they come into sight that you hear they're not alone.
Everything halts — your movements, the air around you, and the bubble of security you felt wrapped around you.
Then, it hits why — both voices are familiar.
Only the second one should know fucking better than to be this far up high these mountains. Your mountains. Knowing exactly who he is and what the likes of him do, his warning came long ago.
David knew better.
He should fucking know better than to be up here, considering you said the exact words 'if I see you in my woods again, you're a dead man'. Crystal clear as water from the source. As the streams of sunlight hit through the glass — what was he doing here?
Willing your body out of the freezing state, you stepped close enough to listen.
"... my buddy, James." Fucking James. He's with David, and you should have killed both of them long ago if you were being honest. Blood started boiling hot in your veins as you placed yourself between the trees carefully enough to see and hear the situation. "We come from a larger group of people," David lied through his teeth, setting his trap of false humanity and security in him. "Women, and children. We're all pretty hungry."
As soon as he said it, you eyed the deer bleeding on the ground near the kid.
Shot by an arrow.
They did it. All on their own.
A strange and unexpected surge of pride rushed through the icy fortress of your ribcages.
"Yeah, same here." The kid you might know for only days, but you smiled as you sensed their lie, too. Knew of their lie. Good for them. "Women, children. We're all hungry too."
"Uh... Perhaps we can offer a trade?" David offered. "For some of your meat." That clever, rotten bastard. "Doesn't even have to be all of it. We have things you might need. Clothes, ammo, food—"
"Medicine!" The interruption came across as desperate as it probably was.
So this was what they needed. If only you knew earlier.
"Antibiotics, d'you have any?" the kid asked. That meant the person they hunted for daily and went back to tend for most of the day was bruised. Badly bruised, and likely infected.
"Yeah. Not much, but, we do. Back at the camp." No! You froze again, your heart beating faster in your chest. "We could show you what we have. If you follow us back—"
"I'm not following you anywhere." Good. The deadly grip you suddenly had on your own bow loosened. "He can go. Jason, wasn't it? Yeah. He brings it here and we make the trade."
Every part of this is wrong. All the possible scenarios of this ending in the shitshow you know it could rush through your mind, and you want to scream while David and Jason trade looks, nodding to each other.
"Two bottles of penicillin for—" he pauses, looking back at the kid.
Their grip on the arrow and bow is steady. You've seen them crying, biting their fist, talking to themselves and doing their absolute best over the past few days, but now you see them clearly.
"Ellie." So it's a girl. With the coat always on and the distance, you kept yourself from guessing. "And Jason," Ellie directs her gaze to the man. "over there... better come back alone. With the medicine. Once you hand it over to me, the deer can be all yours. You guys go your way, and then I go mine. Alright? If anyone else shows up—"
"I know," David interrupts. Ellie must've given a warning before, and David confirms it by repeating the words you missed. "You'll put one right between my fuckin' eyes." The pats the tip of his finger to the location. Ellie nods, and you wish you saw her face now instead of his.
"That's right."
David and Jason share yet another look, and Jason leaves.
Your window of time to make a decision starts, and it narrows as soon as Jason's out of sight and Ellie demands David's rifle for herself.
He puts himself in a vulnerable position by doing so.
He obeys her without protest, then puts on his best 'tired' face for his next act. He then suggests it is cold — which it is — and they could at least wait for Jason's return in the abandoned warehouse a few feet behind them. Looking solemn. Harmless.
You should shoot him right there and then, but it might scare her. James might be coming back with penicillin.
No 'mights' made up for the fact that as David dragged the deer inside and Ellie followed suit, the invisible clock of her possible safety — and the chances of an unforgettable trauma — rose like the tide.
The voice of your elders started ringing in your ear.
Outsiders are danger. Nothing but danger.
You should run away. There was no real reason as to why you should help — more than you already had — a strange child whom you never met. Who had someone waiting for her high up in the mountains. Someone who could be equally if not more dangerous than her. Who could thank you for saving their companion by putting a bullet between your eyes.
Death arrived to people for less.
Fear and uncertainty hold you behind the trees for longer than you cared for. Longer than you or the girl have, longer than it should if you want to offer any help. You want to run back to your safety. Run away from the dangers that this could bring to your life, but your gut rearranges itself every second you waste in thinking about leaving her behind.
Sure, you could not intervene. She's not your responsibility. She could probably make it out of this alive.
Still...
Fuck.
Your gut pulled you forward, and you were moving.
Adrenaline spiked your veins, filling through you like scotch does, warming everything in its path.
Entering the warehouse stealthily is not a problem — how you'll get Ellie out of there is.
They're too distracted with each other to hear you coming.
There's a gun — David's gun — still pointed at him, and it makes a smile form behind your scarf.
She's good.
If your instinct is right — as it always it, no matter how much you hate to remember or try to deny it — this girl's a survivor and someone worth the trouble. There's no time anymore for you to second-guess all the risks you're putting yourself under just to get her away from the slimy, horrible hands of David and the likes of his.
"...to trust people nowadays. I get that." David knows how to talk.
So do you. "David."
Both sets of eyes lift towards you. Ellie goes from someone who was starting to let her guard down to hiding her panic behind the gun. You know so because you can see her fidgetiness in your peripheral vision, but your focus remains on him right now.
David raises both hands in the air, trapped between the threat of your arrow and his own gun in the girl's hands.
"The last words I spoke to you were very clear. You have no business in these woods." Or anywhere else. "Tell me why I shouldn't shoot."
"Who the fuck are you?!" demands Ellie. "Who is she?! You know her?"
"Unfortunately." David might be a master manipulator, but his mask is slippery. "She's a savage."
You scoff. "I'm the savage." The irony. If you want Ellie to not shoot you, there's something you need to do. "Hi, kid. I live in these woods. The man standing next to you is a cannibal. And a rapist. And worth less than any bullet in that gun."
Each word after 'hi kid' is enunciated with clarity, and when you finish, you do it — danger danger dangerdanger— you look away from him for a second, making eye contact with her for the first time.
Ellie's eyes are wide.
Drowning in fear.
It makes acid burn in the pit of your stomach.
With the aid of your shoulder, you keep the aim on David as you pull your scarf down so she'll see your face.
Not a stranger. No danger to you.
"Kid, don't listen to this—"
"Shut up."
It's almost... comical. The way both of you say it at the same time.
"I have no reason to lie to you," your gaze now shifts between Ellie and David, who started sweating and fidgeting as well. "I don't want your meat. All I want is him..." you pin him under your eyes, watching his every move. "Out of my woods."
"I thought you wanted me dead," says David. He almost smiles.
It makes you sick. "Don't tempt me."
"Why d'you care, then?" asks Ellie. "If you don't want what I hunted, why d'you give a shit if he's scum? I have his gun pointed at his head and his buddy's about to bring me the only thing I need. I don't need your help."
Why do I care? What an excellent question, kid.
The guiding voice in your mind answers with — Never run from your gut, Lupi. It'll always lead you right. It's your True North.
"All she wants is to confuse you. Just shoot her," says David. "Have I given you any reason to think I wanna hurt you?"
And oh — wrong move.
Ellie frowns. The crease dips between her eyebrows, and she looks between David and you.
She's a clever one. People never give you reasons before hurting you.
Then, something happens. When Ellie looks back at you and your gazes meet, something lights up in her head and she straightens up, her posture changing from the feral-like behavior of someone who's trapped in a corner.
"It's you," she says, voice barely above a whisper. "You... the rabbits with broken feet. You helped me."
You have to fight back a smile. "Seems like you don't need my help anymore," you reply, the sass slipping out despite the need for seriousness.
Ellie's mouth twitches at the corner.
A scream of frustration is the only warning you get.
David uses the second of distraction as you two share a look and smashes his body against Ellie, knocking the gun out of her hand and then proceeding to pull his pistol out of his back pocket, pointing the gun at her head.
Freezing you at the spot. Again.
"Alright, back off." Mask off, David is a whole different person. He pulls Ellie a few steps back as she grunts in the chokehold of his arm, but when the barrel touches her temple, the cold metal settles her, washing over her body like a bucket of cold ice. Reality. "Why the fuck did you have to meddle, huh? Since when d'you give a damn about random fucking strangers? I thought outsiders meant danger," he spits the last word.
Despair makes people reckless, Lupi. But it also makes them stupid.
You breathed in, willing the words to be your own cloak of reality, and breathed out through your lips.
"Is he bringing the medicine?" you asked.
David frowned at you, startled by the question.
"Just answer the goddamn question."
"Of course he is. I wanted her to trust me." David looks from you to Ellie. "Knew it the second I saw her... that she's special." He moves some of her out of her face with the barrel of the gun. "Aren't you?"
"So what — you were gonna give me the penicillin and then let me go?" Ellie asks in disbelief.
"Of course. You'd need more. I'd convince you to come to me. I'd show you I can protect you."
"Yeah, I feel so protected right now," spits Ellie.
David huffed in frustration. "Well... there's always the other way. I'm sure that with time you could be convinced to be good. I always wanted a more... wild pet."
The words make your insides twist, and your brain wrecks itself with ways to make this all go away.
"What the fuck—" Ellie triest wiggling away from him, but you see it.
David pushed his body, molding it against hers. "You'd be good, eventually."
Your own despair threatens to make you stupid, but you fight back. There's no time for stupidity in your hands, not if you want Ellie — and yourself at this point — to make it out alive.
So you put a plan in motion.
Pretending to hear something, you look away from both.
That catches David's attention.
This will be a risk. A huge one, but at the same time, if he rubs himself on Ellie just one more time, you might snap and try something that goes beyond ridiculous, like shooting an arrow between his eyes even though he has a gun pointed at a child's head.
"Clickers."
With one word, you try to ignore the ice in your veins as you back away from them.
Fear is the greatest poison. It works the fastest.
David lets you go, and you exit the warehouse hearing him say: "Shut up — I didn't hear anything. If she did, she can handle herself."
Stupid fucker.
Stupid, dead fucker.
As soon as you're out of their sight, you do a double-check to make sure you hear nothing. Then, you open one of the pockets in your pants and retrieve the small plastic container.
There's a dart already loaded in the blowgun.
All you need is a security check before executing the plan.
Finding an open spot in the warehouse is easy — numerous windows are cracked, and the snow makes your movements silent.
When both Ellie and David are in perfect view again, all you have to do is aim.
Your expertise.
Bullseye.
The dart hits David's neck. In three seconds, he's out on the floor.
You hear Ellie cursing and you're about to head back inside when you hear footsteps approaching, and you know who it is before you even turn around.
James has only the time to take note that it's you.
His eyes catch on the scarf you pulled back over your nose — they widen at the sight of black and painted scales, and fear is his downfall.
The arrow you aim at hits his forearm, clean through.
The gun drops, and his scream echoes.
Loud bastard.
You rush to where he is and pick up the bag in his other hand after securing his gun in your satchel. Checking inside, the penicillin and syringe are there.
James is groaning, crying in pain as he clutches his arm. The red in the snow is not enough in your opinion.
"He's alive inside. You're alive here. Consider that an act of mercy on my behalf and a final warning." You take a step back and make sure his eyes are on his before you speak your last words. "I'll have no words for any of you the next time. Only death."
A part of you wishes there would be a next time. Leaving James alive is not something you want.
When you turn around, Ellie's standing there with a weapon pointed at you, but unlike the last time, she's shaking.
You sigh.
Her eyes are fixed on you and the bag that's in your hands.
"That's mine," she says.
"I know." You throw it at her feet. "All yours."
Despite knowing you've helped her, she's still shocked.
"It was you, right? The dart?" she asks.
Both of you ignore James's noises. You nod. "If James over here manages to carry that sack of shit back home, they'll live." Maybe. The dart is also poisonous, but you keep that to yourself. If they raided penicillin, they can revert your poison. Maybe.
"I need..." Ellie's shaking. "I need to—"
"Let's go." You want her out of here.
To your surprise, Ellie follows.
You go back inside, and you retrieve a rope from your satchel to secure the deer with her help. Adrenaline helps with carrying the deer up the mountain, but snow slows you both down.
It gives you two the time to come down from the high. To process what just happened in the silence that is only interrupted by the howling of the wind and the noises of you two making your way up.
Silence is only as suffocating as the situation, and this one is stiff.
When you pause, so does Ellie. "Five minutes rest." The warehouse has been out of sight for a few minutes now, which means the distance is safe.
Ellie sits next to the deer. She's no longer shaking, but the shock is still imprinted on her face.
She gets up, restless, her eyes frantic.
Then, she looks at you. "Was it true?"
As much as you wished for a different answer, you nod.
"How do you know?"
"'Cause I've seen his compound."
Ellie's head starts shaking. "Why is he still alive, then? He and his people?"
"Are you asking me why I haven't killed a compound with over twenty, maybe more, men?"
"That many?" You nod in answer, and Ellie exhales shakily. "I... I wouldn't have made it out alive."
"Maybe not." You look at the deer. "Maybe yes. Thankfully, we won't have to know."
"Do you think they'll come after us? Up here?"
You shake your head with property this time. "That part was far down the mountain — further than I usually go, and admittedly, higher than he had the right to be."
"You threatened him before," she confirms.
"He knows he's dead if he comes up here. Plus — his guys have no clue how to survive up here. You and whoever you're helping are ok. From them, at least."
That seems to be enough for her. Ellie nods, and swallows so thickly you can almost see the knot in her throat.
It's one of the saddest things. Witnessing her process what could've been. What almost was.
"He... he said he wanted to..." she's special. "He was r-rubbing on—"
"Oh, sweetling."
Her eyes, when they find you again, are shining with tears.
"He would've—"
You interrupt, not wanting or needing the end of those words.
With slow and deliberate movements, you open your arms and step closer to her. "But he didn't. It's ok. Can I..."
Instead of answering, Ellie only allows her body to fall forward into your embrace.
It's been a while since you hugged another person, but you know she needs to feel some form of contact that's not laced with malice.
"And if it makes you feel any better... I picked a poisonous one for what he did." You hug her as she shakes, wishing you'd been faster. "He might not make it."
Ellie cries for only seconds.
It's like that's all she has in her — the shock makes her whole body tremble with it, but after only a couple of minutes, you hear a sniffle and feel her pulling back, so you let her go.
She avoids eye contact. "Thank you. For... down there. And helping me these days."
"You're welcome."
Wiping her face in her coat, Ellie nods, more to herself than anything, and then picks up the ropes again. "I know I don't know you, but — would you give me one last hand?"
"With what?"
"I—I don't know how to work a needle. Can you — Joel needs penicillin, and he needs it fast, but I don't wanna waste what I have now 'cause it's not as if I'll be getting more any time soon. So... can you do it? Do you know how?"
As much as you hate needles, you did know how. "I can. And I do."
Ellie's next sigh is in relief. "Ok. Alright."
You two start your way upwards again, but this time, you're distracted.
Joel.
That's the name of the person she's doing all of this for.
"He's gonna be ok now," Ellie whispers.
Somehow, you find yourself nodding along. Joel's gonna be ok.
The same gut that pulled you towards her tugs at that phrase, sparking something underneath your skin.
Joel and Ellie. You will help them and then go your way.
chapter one →
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TWICE x M Reader - "Cry For Me": PART 3
One more one-shot before I spend the rest of the days remaining before 2023 ends!
This took 8 months after I last published the previous chapter, and I apologize for the delay caused by my lack of motivation to write and bunch of important tasks to do both in my private space and my campus. I recommend that yall read the first 2 parts before proceeding to this one so it can help yall remember what happened in this ongoing multi-part story.
Enjoy reading and have a happy Christmas season everyone!
Here's my Ko-fi account where you can drop your donations or ask for a commission. You can check it out on my Tumblr profile too! Buy knightyoomyoui a Coffee. ko-fi.com/knightyoomyoui - Ko-fi ❤️ Where creators get support from fans through donations, memberships, shop sales and more! The original 'Buy Me a Coffee' Page.
Previously on TWICE x M Reader - [Cry For Me] : PART 2
Nayeon opens her bag and takes out her camera. She turns it on and scrolls down on the gallery and paused at the exceptional picture that when she shows it toher, it won't need any further explanations to spill in addition.
"I must say, he did kept you out from it. Although, having an eyes is useless when your mind is blind... and that what he is."
Nayeon then gave the camera to Tzuyu and watched her look at it horribly.
"I know it's not the perfect thing you want to see, but I have to remind to you again Tzuyu.
You agreed to help me, I'm just doing to favor in return.
This is one of my ways. I'm going to open your eyes and see the reality.
Especially... when the truth is right there to set you free."
In the middle of the night, sounds of helpless, broken and grieving screams and cries can be heard in the Chou residence.
Despite of the exhausted eyes, Tzuyu's tears still pours out from her eyes one after the another until she finally burst out in loud sobs.
She pounded the bed, raked her hair aggressively and threw all her pillows with her clenched fists in all anger, rage and devastation.
She remained suffering inside the darkness as the image of you and Momo kissing outside of the gym earlier continues to intensify the pain in her heart and mind while her vengeful state becomes intensified.
The next morning, Jeongyeon and Nayeon had breakfast at a neighboring café in Jeongyeon's neighborhood. In an attempt to lighten the mood, they engaged in talk about unrelated subjects until Nayeon made the decision to go back and concentrate on the actual task they were working on.
Nayeon stated inquiringly, "About YN, how did it go well?" but her tone hardly conveyed her curiosity. She will never develop any expectation when your name is spoken.
As Jeongyeon was reminded of what had transpired the night before, the disappointment that had been building inside of her surfaced again. "Uhh... nothing.", she said.
Not wanting to get misintepreted and just leave her friend hanging for a lack of detail, she emphasized it further. "I-I mean... it didn't happen."
"What do you mean?" Nayeon furrowed her brows.
Jeongyeon bent her head down and stared at her nearly empty pasta dish. "He didn't show up. The receptionist from his workplace yesterday told me that it was his dayoff but he didn't saw any signs of him outside."
To Nayeon's perplexity, Jeongyeon nodded, "So you were supposed to meet him there?" She shook her head and clicked her tongue. "How am I not surprised that he'll forget it."
Jeongyeon sighed, "He said he was free." "But anyways, maybe he was with Tzuyu yesterday. I shouldn't complain about it if it was his girlfriend he chose to spend his time rather than me who is his ex."
Nayeon saw that you had let Jeongyeon down once more. She knew in advance that you wouldn't provide her the appropriate apologies, like you did a year ago.
In retrospect, she was truly appreciative of it as the longer you persist in your obstinacy and self-centeredness, the more she has been inspired to rebel against you in an effort to exact revenge on you for the harm you caused to her friend's weak heart.
Even yet, it was difficult for her to accept that the only thing that came of it was that you were still ruthlessly breaking Jeongyeon's heart and now hurting Tzuyu as well, who is aware of the darker part of your nature.
Nayeon chimed in, presumably trying to shift the responsibility and allay Jeongyeon's concerns, saying, "It's fine, Jeong. I already knew that it'll go that way." It made her wonder, though, if it was the sole reason behind Jeongyeon's melancholy.
"Do you too, right?", she checked.
Jeongyeon turned to face her, shocked by Nayeon's persistence. "I-I am." She pretended to be happy.
Nayeon's eyes narrowed. She had known Jeongyeon for almost ten years. She's skilled at lying, but because they've grown close to the point where they resemble siblings, Nayeon wouldn't take it well.
"Should I remind him again?" Jeongyeon asked. Nayeon hated to see her slowly getting manipulated again by YN's disguise of being a nice, sweet guy that Jeongyeon used to fall in love- and then get fooled afterwards before.
She had to pull her back away in case things gets more alarming.
Nayeon doesn't forget that even after months of their break-up, Jeongyeon is still TRYING to get over him. The man still has this soft spot in her heart which serves as Jeongyeon's weakness from him despite how she despises him from what he did to her.
With that, Nayeon needs to do better and continue to flip that disadvantage into advantage in order to be useful against YN's downfall.
"No need, I still got him kept on track." Nayeon said. "You're right, he was with Tzuyu yesterday. Fortunately she gave me a signal and that way I had to continue following him."
"And did you find anything suspicious?"
Nayeon looked at Jeongyeon's wondering gaze. She breathed deeply and gulped the saliva to her throat before responding.
"Getting there."
Although she detested lying to her friend, she made a mental promise to herself that she was going to tell what was true eventually, as for the time being this had nothing to do with Jeongyeon.
On the other side, you parked your motorcycle next to the sidewalk in the interim. You got off and took off your helmet, bringing your personal items with you as you entered the bakery.
The chimes chimed as the door opened, attracting the attention of the few individuals within.However, one woman in particular stood for a considerable amount of time staring at the man who had just entered the same room as her. As their eyes locked, a grin slowly appeared on her face.
It became wider when he fell in line and the more he gets closer, her blush became larger and eyes sparkled in front of him.
"Good morning, Mina." You grinned and said hello to the woman who actually owns this business. The more you pursue to intrigue her, the simpler it will be to get her drawn to you.
You and Mina first met when her bakery became your go-to place whenever you wanted to have a sample of a fine, freshly baked bread across the street. The first time you discovered this place was when you pointed her location as your recommendation to Jeongyeon for the two of you to try some delicious baked goods to take home.
You led yourselves there with much pleasure. Although Jeongyeon was a stunning lady who accompanied you at the time, as soon as you walked into the bakery, it seemed as though you were drawn constantly and automatically to the alluring beauty of the cashier who was waiting to serve you and your ex-wife.
Mina was so lovely. You were quite attached to her when you had the chance to get to know her better and started going to her store frequently. She remembered you as a regular customer because of something in her gentle voice, her melodious laugh, and her carefree smile.
And the more you two get to know yourselves more, you became even more comfortable to atleast try to test this woman with your ways of stealing her heart and making her fall in love with you as much as you are developing the same for her.
"Hey, YN!" Mina welcomed you. "Where have you've been these past few days? Didn't get to see you here."
"Ooohhh missed me already?" You teased her. Mina became shy and takes her eyes away at your sight.
"I-it's not like that, I was just c-curious." Mina reasoned out. "You know that with the most of the times I get to see you coming here, it'll make me feel strange to just suddenly not being able to spot your presence here."
You hummed and nodded, shrugging your shoulders. "Now that I'm here, are you happy now?" You smirked.
Mina giggled at your silliness. "You cheered up also my day more, YN."
"Good for me, because I always love to see your lovely smile, Mina." You reached for her cheeks and pinched it.
She pointed to the many bread and pastry varieties arranged on the glass shelf underneath you and asked, "Stop with the fluttering words, what do you wanna buy?"
She got your favorite treats once you mentioned them, packaged them, and calculated the total price. You thanked her after paying and made a gesture to blow her a kiss before heading out of the store.
Your kind gesture made the young girl's heart skip a beat, even though she had no idea that she would soon become just another victim of a love fraud.
Back on the current status of the mastermind, Nayeon reaches the place she spent hours monitoring by, which almost made her bored.
Entering the place without the needed proper attire, she unbotheredly walked in and approached her next target.
"Hi, miss. Are you here for an class appointment or a simple workout?" The cashier entertains the newly arrived client.
"Oh, nothing. I just want to speak with the owner, please." Nayeon denied. She looked at one of the posters pasted of the wall and found an interesting name. "Ms. Hirai Momo."
"Uhm... sorry miss, but if you don't have any scheduled class with her, I'm afraid I can't allow you to meet her." The lady still didn't accepted her permission.
Nayeon's patience is being tested yet she remained calm, not wanting to cause a scene here especially that the lady is making sense anyway. She can't just come here and asked for a stranger who actively running an establishment as of the moment to engage in a conversation with her.
She sighed before speaking. "Is she currently here, if I may ask? Actually she's a friend of mine.", she said.
"Oh... I'm really sorry miss." The watchlady bowed down to apologize for restricting a close friend of her boss. "But... Ms. Hirai is not here right now and will not be visiting for today."
Nayeon oohed and gave a comprehensible nod. She was a little let down that after traveling this far, the person she wanted to speak with wasn't here. Nevertheless, she wasn't very impacted by it because of her desire and espionage. "Okay, I'll just ask her by myself. And also, don't tell her that I came here today, got it?"
The woman complied with her request. "Thank you."
Nayeon hurried back to her car after leaving the gym. In an instant, she turned on the engine and spun the wheels. "Alright, her home it is then."
She drived for almost less than an hour until she reached a street on Seoul where she spotted the familiar place she has recently been into. Nayeon went out of the car and stepped in front of the gate before pressing the doorbell.
"Who is it?" The occupant inside called through the talkie.
"Hello, is this is the house of Ms. Hirai Momo? I'm a friend of YN's. He told me to give something to you." Nayeon claimed.
"Ah okay, wait there a second please." Momo responded after. Nayeon just chuckled badly at her deceiving words.
She saw a front door opening, and there she was. Momo stepped out of the house and walked through the gate to open it. The two women stood face to face at each other for the first time.
"Hello, sorry to interrupt you on your time today, Ms. Hirai... but can I just speak with you personally for a moment?" Nayeon suggested. The Japanese woman was speechless as she stared at the unfamiliar face for a while before replying, with some doubts forming inside of her.
"S-sure, come in." She gestured her and gave her a way to pass through.
"Thank you. It's nice to meet you by the way, I'm Nayeon." She offered her hand and Momo accepted it with a small smile.
"I'm Momo."
Together, they went into the home when she shut the gate. Momo led Nayeon into the living room and inquired about her preferences; Nayeon ignored her and assured her that their talk would be brief.
"So, you say you have something from YN that you want to give from me?" Momo responded.
Nayeon gave a nod. She prepared herself since she was going to tell this unaware woman about her major plan. "Yes, but let me clarify things first."
Momo was still unable to speak. "This wasn't directly given to me by him, but I assure you that what I have in me right now... was his own doing."
"What do you mean by that?" Momo knitted her brows, expressing confusion on Nayeon's choosing of words. She opened her phone and gave it to Momo. As the latter looks at it to know what the content was, she swear that she felt like her heart was about to lose its function to beat.
"W-what the fuck is this?" Momo slowly losing the volume of her voice, her lips shuddering followed by her hands that are gripping the sacred object presenting the painful truth on her. "Who the hell are you?"
"I'm just a generous friend who seeks vengeance for my beloved friend and for those who fell the same situation as her." Nayeon said. "And that includes, you. Momo."
"What are you talking about?!"
She threw the phone beside Nayeon's space in the couch. Momo stood up quickly in anger, creating a screeching sound on the chair she sat in.
Nayeon who didn't flinched, just matched Momo's level of intensity in her stare. "From the way you let me in to your house just by the mention of the name YN LN, I could take it that you knew him really well. Especially if i'm not mistaken... you two have something really fishy going on between yourselves."
Nayeon crossed her legs and continued to view Momo's widened eyes as she listens to this mysterious woman spitting all the revelations in front of her. "You may be asking yourself right now, how do I know about it. I have no choice but to admit, I've been keeping my eyes not only on him... but on you too."
"And why do you stick your nose on us? What do you want from us?!" Momo stomped in irritation.
"No, Momo. By the look of your face after what you saw, it should be what do I want from YOU."
Nayeon grabbed the phone and stood up to confront the emotional Momo. She presented the picture again featuring YN and Tzuyu kissing together in front of the clothing store Tzuyu works at. "Don't you still get it? I'm here to tell you that your man who is my friend's ex-husband is cheating with some other woman. THE SAME THING THAT SHE DID TO MY FRIEND AFTER HE LEFT HER BROKEN AND ALONE!"
Momo winced at Nayeon's scream close to her face, little did she know that the rage and anger that Nayeon is containing inside of her from YN is more terrifying and dangerous. "And fuck him for doing that to her! I even had to fly here back from States to take care of my friend because she needed it!"
"So don't you even dare to pull out any mercy or defense card against that cheating bitch because I swear to God, he never was sincere as you. He doesn't care at all even for you." Nayeon tells Momo. "He deserves nothing but little protection on his side, now that I'm coming for him. But ofcourse, I'm not gonna be like him, I'm not gonna be alone on this fight, because I'm bringing a backup with me."
She stepped forward to narrow her stare deeper on Momo's astounded display after learning your true colors.
"You have to join me on this one, Momo. Do this with me not only for Jeongyeon and Tzuyu... but for yourself too."
Momo finally whimpered and shed tears down across her face as she couldn't bear the aching feeling disturbing her both straight into her heart and mind. She is still in disbelief that you dared to include her on your dirty mind games and offensive tricks.
"This isn't true..." Momo shook her head rapidly. Her heart that was already became fond of his affection is fighting for denial just for the sake of her love. "He told me that he loved me..."
"He never truly did, unnie." Another feminine voice just interrupted whuch effectively stole Nayeon and Momo's attention. Sana who is at the stairs, sitting and has been watching their argument from the start after hearing loud voices coming from downstairs, heard everything they talked about.
"S-Sana?" Momo questionably called her.
Sana lowered her head in a mix of afraid and nervousness from what she's about to tell her long-time friend. "I was a victim of YN's mischief too, unnie."
Nayeon who didn't expect the sudden turn of events, took the turn to interrogate the new girl. "What did he do to you?"
A bit of a flashback when YN went to Momo's home, after some fun times they shared through most of the afternoon, Momo became tired and fell asleep on his lap.
Sana who was currently working on the bunch of records she has to encode as her job, took a short break by going down, filling up some cold water and taking some nice sweet dessert to regenerate herself on finishing her task.
After she finished drinking a refreshing water, she got taken aback when she felt YN nuzzled on her neck while hugging him from behind.
"You smell so good today, Sana. I missed your scent so much." He said as he took another huge sniff on her nape. "Did you just took a bath earlier?"
Sana turned around and slapped him on the face quickly. "What do you think you're doing?"
"Cmon, Sana really? We've been like this close for some time now and you're gonna act dumb on it?" He tried to reach her waist but Sana pushed him away.
"I know what you're trying to say, but I never wanted it and I never even gave you the rights to touch me freely like as if you own me." Sana retorted, with a slight grunt on her voice.
"Oh you will be mine, soon. Are you really gonna keep being feisty against me? I'm liking it more, you know?" He stepped forward, prompting Sana to lean back which only led to her front body to purse closer. "Makes you look hotter to me."
"Stop being ridiculous, for fuck's sake, YN!" Sana kicked him in the shin causing him to groan almost in the pain before shutting his mouth to avoid Momo from waking up. "Momo is in love with you, have some shame please!"
She just walked away from YN, leaving him glaring on her annoyingly. "And can you just please leave me alone and get out of here now. You can visit Momo unnie again tomorrow or else I'll force you out by myself."
At the end of her recollection, Sana looked apologetically at Momo who felt pity for her cousin being harassed by the man she thought her intentions for love was nothing but pure behind her back.
"And I want you to believe her because... I-I fell in love for him too, unnie." Sana seethed the pain from her chest. "But I never liked what he's doing to me because I know he already has you, unnie. It's not right. And I always want you to be happy ever since we were kids, you know that. That's why when I learn that you got him first, I just let it aside even if it'll hurt me."
Momo cried harder, as the guilt and her sympathy for her cousin grew. "So please, listen to me unnie. Don't let him just do this on you."
All three of them became silent after Momo repeatedly spoke 'I'm sorry' for her cousin who chose to sacrifice letting go of her feelings for the man she loves in order to let the person she cherish the most in her life continue to experience the happiness she's getting from the same man she would've love to receive from.
Sana choosing her over you as the more important option was nothing for Momo to be infuriated about on her cousin who is loving the same man she loves also. She was rather acknowledged her decision more. She has now realized that not only her, but her cousin was also just got manipulated by his fake personality.
"So, what are you gonna do, Momo? Would you still remain your side linked on the man who is just using you for his own desire or you will listen to your cousin who cared far better for you than him?" Nayeon set the options for Momo to pick.
"If your purpose of coming to us was to get back on him for playing on our feelings..."
"... then we're joining you" Momo finished Sana's words. Nayeon encapsulated a satisfied smirk at their right response, which provided an additional inclusion to her revengeful accomplices against YN's toxic and unforgivable ways. "He has to regret messing on our feelings like it was nothing."
Meanwhile, you went to the ground floor of your building to retrieve a key from one of the rooms at the conceirge to access it after finishing your lunch.
You were about to head out of the building to look for some meal to feast when the figure of Jeongyeon looking at your direction as she sits at one of the chairs on the waiting area caught your sight.
"Jeongyeon, hey!" You greeted her, almost impressed at yourself for not being awkward already on meeting her, probably due to your reestablished connection with her as a friends through her initiation. "You're back."
However, he was rather surprised that Jeongyeon is wearing a sullen mood, her lips are pouting at his approach. "Hey."
"What's wrong? You look so down. Is there a problem?"
He then got hit by her bag as she glared madly at him. "You really forget about what we agreed on yesterday, don't you?"
"O-oh wait, no!" You denied, adding some hand gestures to emphasize your reaction. "Ofcourse I don't, how would I be?"
"Then why didn't you showed up?" Jeongyeon rolled her eyes. "You never changed. You really can't be tr-"
"Wait look, my girlfriend needed me more okay?" You stated your reason. Jeongyeon felt a pang on her chest at the mention of Tzuyu, dragging her mood even lower, as if it was unnecessary. "She needed me to take care of her because she didn't really feel good after leaving her work."
"Ahh... I see... okay. I understand." Jeongyeon faked a smile and nodded. "I mean, it's your girl. Her priority is more important than me who is nothing but on-"
"I was about to message you but I noticed that you blocked me in every contacts that we used to have." You added, stopping Jeongyeon from her drama. She paused and then realized her own mistake. "So I didn't get a chance to inform you, well thankfully you're here to let me to tell you personally."
"O-oh, is that so?" Jeongyeon said with a sheepish chuckle. "I-I'm sorry. I forgot to unblock you. I guess I also forgot on my part."
You just laughed and shook at how hilarious the coincidence that just occurred. "It's fine. But can you forgive me now too?"
Jeongyeon was about to speak but she sensed some bit of a hidden message there, creating some trouble within herself. She is compelled to say it but something is also pulling her back from doing it. Perhaps it's simply her tendency to overthink things, but there was a clear reason why the word he just spoke became sensitive to her as well.
She observed you again, and her face shifted to a bland demeanor when she had intepreted that it's still not for the one thing she's hoping to have from him. Jeongyeon guessed it'll take her more than that to qualify his sincerity for the casualties she had cost.
"Jeongyeon, you're alright?" You checked up on her as you noticed she got lost on her deep thoughts again.
Snapping out of her trances, she blinked rapidly and faced you again. "Y-yeah, I'm okay. You're going to eat right?"
"Yeah. It's my break now."
"Then I'm joining you, if you mind?"
You smiled at Jeongyeon's insist. "Sure. Let me pick some place for us."
After successfully visiting a restaurant, you and Jeongyeon ordered your foods and to your kindness, you persuaded that you'll be paying Jeongyeon's bill in which she declined at first but only ended up letting you as you also didn't allow her to reject your offer.
You two had a very comfortable and lively lunch, partnered with some engaging conversation about your recent happenings in life, while proceeding to exclude what happened to the two of you in the past.
In turn, you couldn't help but notice the strength and grace with which Jeongyeon had moved forward in her life. Her charming and alluring beauty that was used to hook your feelings on her, you couldn't deny that it never failed to do you so. It's starting to create statics of clips from some of your memories of her where your mood and your adoration for her gets uplifted simultaneously whenever you see this wonderful view of her.
In relief, the waiter distracted your reminiscence of Jeongyeon that is almost getting on your feelings again, passing the receipt of your ordered foods before you gave your payment.
Leaving the restaurant with Jeongyeon after finishing your lunch with her, you and her returned to your workplace. "Thanks for paying for my meal, YN."
"No problem, it's my way of catching up to you." You said. Jeongyeon appreciated the thoughtfulness.
"Well, I have to go now. I still have somewhere to go, I just came here to remind about our supposed meetup yesterday." Jeongyeon excused herself.
"Oh okay, be safe on the road Jeongyeon." You understand, nodding softly and smiling at her. "Goodbye and thanks for the time!"
"You too, YN." Jeongyeon waved her hand at you, but instead you returned the gesture by wrapping her around on your embrance, sending undescribable sensation tingling around her body.
"I-it's really good to have you back, Jeong.", you remarked about the redefinition of your relationship with her. Jeongyeon listened, her heart surprisingly softened as she heard the tenderness in his voice.
Now that you disappeared in front of her and entered the building again, that left Jeongyeon to be stunned once again at your heartful and cheerful action, she sighed deeply and clenched her fists at how tough it is again to resist the glimpse of your old being while knowing the bitter truth of it that you still haven't changed, leading yourself astray.
She watched your back distancing away from her, breathing gets heavier as a result of a familiar longing feeling increasing, having her saddened at your lunch that brings her back to that particular time in the past when she had her first date with you and those other numerous times you had to take her outside before, almost giving the same vibes in comparison.
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Happy birthday hubby
Characters : Aizawa/ Fem reader
Genre : One shot/ NSFW/ 18+/ Fluff/ Smut/ Oral (male receiving)/ Creampie
Please do not read if you're a minor
Masterlist|Second Masterlist
You had been planning it for so long, longer than one would under regular circumstances.
But this year is extra special since it would be the first time celebrating it as a married couple.
Your husband doesn't care much about extravagant parties or events, and prefers intimate moments with you instead, so you took that into consideration when preparing for a quiet evening with your beloved.
_ "This looks perfect!" you cheered as you admired your handiwork.
Your appartement was fresh and clean, softly decorated and dimly lit, table was already laid with a delectable dinner made from scratch especially for your husband, and a chill champagne bottle was placed elegantly in an ice bucket, ready to be popped open.
You had taken a day off specifically for the occasion, spending it preparing for that exact moment.
You looked at your wall clock and gasped as you realized that you had less than half an hour left before your man was home, so you flew to take your shower and slip into something more suitable for the occasion; a burgundy lace babydoll nightie which accentuated your boobs, pairing it with its matching sexy panties that showed just enough of your buttocks to make him go wild.. his absolute favorite set.
And as if on cue, you heard the front door unlock just as you stepped out of your bathroom, so you hurried up to your husband, a bright smile adorning your face.
_ "Welcome home Shouta." you greeted him seductively as you ran a hand along your exposed thigh.
_ "Hi honey.. oh! Hello there.." wasting no time, he kicked off his boots and walked right up to your open arms, devouring your lips and swallowing every soft giggle that left your mouth.
_ "To what do I owe this special welcome home present?" his whispered query vibrated against your jawline, while his fingers sneaked past the lace trim of your panties and teased that luscious bum he loved so much.
_ "It's your birthday silly, how come you manage to forget it each and every year?" your giggles resumed as you were certain he would fail to remember it this time around as well, though you couldn't help the warm feeling spreading across your chest at the thought of him never forgetting yours since the day you two had met.
_ "Oh, can I open my present early this year?" his teasing didn't stop, and his lips moved to latch onto your neck while his big calloused hands squeezed your butt cheeks.
_ "Dinner first, dessert later." you made a point of stressing that last part before freeing yourself from his greedy clutches and pulling him along with you.
_ "You did all this for me?" he stopped dead in his tracks, looking around himself and admiring the ambience you worked so hard to set up.
_ "Of course I did! It's my husband's birthday and this is the least I can do." you pressed a gentle peck on his cheek and took in that sweet rare smile of his, the one you would do anything to see adorning his face for eternity.
He gave you the world on the day he asked you to be his, and you promised to give him the happiness he very well deserved in return.
_ "Don't take too long in the shower okay? We better have dinner before it gets cold." you ran your fingers through his raven locks and he groaned with satisfaction, leaning into your touch like a delighted wild cat.
He did exactly as you asked, emerging from the bathroom not too long after walking in, water droplets failing to cling to his beautiful long hair and instead joining the ones gliding on his bare chest and disappearing into the waistband of his sweatpants. He looked alluring, and you must have been staring for a little too long because..
_ "Like what you see princess?" his smirk proved how obvious you were being, but that didn't stop you from admitting it.
_ "You have no idea how handsome you are, do you?" whispering your response as you walked right up to him, fingers grazing his peeking happy trail.
_ "Don't tempt me gorgeous, I'm already at my limit." he growled, almost losing his composure and carrying you straight to bed, but you have spent so much time preparing for the evening and he wanted to relish it properly with you.
You smiled, dragging him after you to sit around the table and enjoy your meal, exchanging small talks and loving words and gazes between each bite.
His left hand rested on your thigh the whole time, fingers caressing your skin mindlessly and sending shivers down your spine.
His effect on you is magnificent, that even something as simple as that can easily get your mind spinning.
_ "So, did you like the food?" you wanted to distract yourself anyway possible, but he saw right through you.
_ "I did, it was delicious and I enjoyed every single bite," he whispered his response, lips a hair away from your neck, and nose brushing against your flushed skin, "but such a mouthwatering dinner needs a suited dessert, am I right?"
He wasn't even talking about food anymore, since he has never been a sweet tooth, and his hinting words almost brought a moan out of you, so maybe it was time for him to receive his first present.
_ "Dessert is served." you took the last sip of your champagne glass and stood up slowly, taking a few steps back before offering your husband a suggestive wink, and squealing as he almost knocked over the table while rushing toward you.
He picked you up effortlessly and walked straight to your bedroom, placing you gently on the bed and towering over your awaiting form.
_ "You look gorgeous," he groaned, leaning in to connect your lips in a heated kiss.
You sucked on his tongue eagerly as the lingering taste of champagne made you lightheaded, moaning loudly when his big warm hands roamed your body.
His lips left yours and moved to place open mouthed kisses along your jaw and neck, nibbling softly on your skin before sucking a perfect red spot right above your pulse.
_ "What happened to our 'no marks in visible locations' policy?" you uttered between giggles and flipped him down on his back before straddling his waist.
He blinked in surprise but an amused smirk soon appeared on his face, "I like this view." his fingers squeezed your sides as he spoke, and his awakening bulge rubbed against your clothed cunt.
_ "I can tell." you teased him some more, grinding on his lap while enjoying his low growls and little flinches each time you rolled your hips against his.
You were in control for once and you liked it, although you knew you shouldn't taunt him too much since it was his birthday.
You leaned forward, kissing his lips gently as your hands caressed his well defined torso before moving lower to cradle his covered cock, smiling into the kiss when he bucked up his hips against your touch.
He was eager to feel more of you, and if you were to be frank, so were you.
Your lips latched onto his collarbone next, trailing soft pecks along his skin, and traveling down to his chest. You could feel his fingers moving through your hair and pulling gently the closer you got to his hardness.
You finally looked up, smiling sweetly and admiring the deep blush dusting his cheeks and neck before carefully lowering his sweatpants and freeing his raging shaft.
You licked your lips and swallowed hard, wrapping your fingers around his thick throbbing cock and giving the glistening head a few kitty licks before taking him into your mouth.
_ "Fuck.." he cursed under his breath, tightening his hold on your hair.
You bobbed your head slowly at first, swirling your tongue around his length and relishing the low groans filling the room. You soon quickened your pace and took him in deeper, swallowing around his shaft as his tip hit the back of your throat each time.
_ "Keep going honey, you feel so good around me, yes that's my girl." his praises encouraged you, bringing out a pleased moan that vibrated against his sensitive cock.
You followed his instructions, hollowing your cheeks and bobbing your head even faster to give him more stimulus, while your hand moved to fondle his fat balls.
He knew he wouldn't last much longer if you kept it up, and he didn't want to shoot his load unless deep inside of your cunt as you squeeze him tight and cum with him, so he pulled you up, freeing his cock from its heavenly confinement and dragging you closer so you were straddling him again.
He didn't need to say anything as you immediately comprehended his desire, leaning on his chest for a kiss and whining against his lips when a gush of cold air fanned over your newly exposed cunt, as your husband moved your panties to the side and fondled your swollen rosy clit.
_ "Shouta, stop teasing me, please put it in already.." you were needy and unashamed to show it, you wanted to ride him until you both reach your blissful high.
_ "Ready for me gorgeous?" he cooed, helping you to your knees and positioning himself at your fluttering entrance, before lowering you slowly on top of him with a satisfied sigh that escaped you both.
You looked breathtaking; heaving chest and glistening sheen of sweat covering your trembling body as you were barely able to contain yourself on top of him.
_ "Beautiful.." one hand sneaked under your babydoll to press on your lower belly, "I'm right here princess, can you feel it?"
_ "Yes.. yes, deep.. so good.." you couldn't even formulate a coherent sentence, he was tucked in deliciously within you, filling you to the brim.
Your palms rested on his pecs as you shakily lifted your hips up and slammed back down, "Shouta! please.." you whined longingly, unable to finish your request, but he got it, cupping your butt cheeks and helping you bounce on his cock.
The friction was heavenly, his thick long veiny shaft rubbing you in all the right places, and his aroused eyes fixated on your figure.
One of his hands moved to cradle your cheek, thumb gliding along your parted lips and past them.
You took his finger in, sucking hungrily and nibbling softly until you heard his growl, "fuck, you're so sexy y/n, I'm going insane."
You whined an incoherent response and watched as your husband retracted his thumb and placed it on your clit, "Shouta.." a familiar warmth started pooling within you, as his fat cock rutted into you deeply, and his thumb fondled your sensitive nub.
_ "Does it feel good? fuck, you feel amazing squeezing around me honey," he sat up, one arm supporting your back while the other kept rubbing your clit.
_ "So good! Don't stop please, I'm cumming!" you dug your nails in his shoulders, your wails fading in his neck as he rolled his hips against yours.
_ "Me too sweetheart, don't hold back, cum for me." his whispered request pushed you over the edge as you spasmed violently on top of him, crying out his name and creaming around his pulsating cock before collapsing against his chest.
_ "That's my girl," his hips stuttered and his groans filled up your senses as his warm load coated your gummy walls, fucking it deeper into your cervix before finally relaxing in your hold.
It took you both a moment to regulate your breathing, his softening cock still tucked into your gushing pussy.
_ "Are you feeling alright princess?" he nuzzled your hair and wrapped his protective arms around your still trembling form.
_ "Perfect," you giggled, burying your face deeper into the crook of his neck until your breathing finally settled, "ready to receive your present, birthday boy?"
_ "What? So this wasn't my present?" he chuckled lazily, squeezing your luscious bum to emphasize his point.
_ "There is something else," you looked away shyly before carrying on, "I know you don't really care about receiving expensive stuff, even though you never fail to buy me the most extravagant gifts in any given occasion, so I wanted to get you something that would hopefully make you happy."
_ "Honey you've done more than enough already, everyday I spend with you is a gift, and that's all I've ever wanted," he smiled sweetly, pecking your nose and looking deep into your eyes.
Your heart swelled with joy hearing his words, and you couldn't wait to hand him the gift hidden in your nightstand..
_ "I made this for you, I know it's not perfect and it could've been better, and no matter how hard I tried I just couldn't get your hair right, but I hope you like it anyway."
It was a little plushie, hand made by you, "see? You're even using your quirk here," you added softly and anticipated his response nervously.
Was it that bad? Would it have been better if you thought of something else? Did he not like..
_ "I love it! This is so cool, you never cease to amaze me," he took the little Aizawa plushie in his big hands, admiring its details, "you must've spent too long working on it right? I don't know what to say."
His response soothed you and you could finally relax seeing how much he adored it, "happy birthday Shouta, I love you and I always will."
_ "I love you more beautiful, just stay by my side and I'll be the happiest man alive."
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the justice league's moms' book club's guide to vampire slaying, a martha kent, alfred pennyworth, atlanna & hippolyta fanfic
edit: I was hit by the kudos bot, if ya'll could send a click over to the fic to even out the hits it would help so much! (the stats inversion is stressing me out.)
Chapter 2 - Alfred Pennyworth
Alfred Pennyworth’s mornings start long before the sun rises, on a good day. They also start just after the children have gone to bed.
He delicately pulls back the covers, turns to the side of the bed and puts on his slippers one foot at a time. The bed will be made, now that it is no longer occupied. He lays out his clothes, each outfit more or less the same for days reserved for the manor. The differences are in the details—the fine pinstripes, a change in the cuffs or a more ornate lapel. It’s the little things that amuse him without changing too much in his routine. The boys bring in enough excitement on their own.
Before dressing, he washes his face and brushes his teeth. A fine tooth comb is run over his moustache to ensure that every stand is in order. He’ll make sure his hair falls in line just as well. Then, his clothes are put on in the exact same order: shirt and socks, slacks and suspenders, shoes, then waistcoat and lastly, gloves. The uniform represents the home. A well-kept man keeps a neat home; more often than not, Alfred is the first face that welcomes any guest at the manor.
Ace’s food clinks into his bowl, just half a cup in the morning. The dog stretches from his large, fluffy bed, pink tongue unfurling before padding over to nuzzle Alfred’s palm. Alfred affectionately pets his head, then scratches behind his ear. “Good boy,” he says, by way of greeting him.
Two meals are to be prepared today for lunch. By the time he finishes, entire mini-pies made from scratch, the two boys filter down the stairs. Dick with his overly long hair, due for a cut, but destined to push the chore back as long as he can (or as long as he thinks his girlfriend likes it), and Jason with his bag that is just a touch too big for his little stature.
“Al, you’re up early.”
“Morning, Alfred!” Jason beams, excited for another day of school. For all the vitriol he had for Batman the day he was found, swinging tire iron and all, he has truly taken to living in the manor. By far, his most favourite part of his new life is school. Alfred has never seen a child apply himself so meticulously and so appreciative of the gifts that were given to him; he didn’t have the opportunity to learn when he was trying to survive, so he makes the best of it. “Morning, Ace!” He adds, already sneaking cereal from his bowl to the happy hound.
“Morning, Master Dick. Master Jason.”
“Bruce still asleep?” Dick asks while plucking the cereal bowls off the counter and setting them on the table. He helps Jason put his lunch in his backpack. “I didn’t hear him come up last night.”
“Likely,” Alfred says, putting out different cereal accoutrements. Jason dives straight into the bananas and squeezes out a drizzle with honey and makes, what he calls, ‘farty-noises’. “Are you ready for your presentation today, Jason?”
“Yeah,” he says, distracted by the food.
“I read it over, it should go great,” Dick grins. The smile that blooms on Dick’s face is as boyish and bright as the first day Bruce brought him home.
Alfred returns the smile, unable to believe how much Dick has grown in the past couple of years. Now, they have two children in the house. What a dream, what a lovely fantasy—what a wonderful reality. There was a time where Alfred would have never believed Bruce would let go of his anger and allow others into his life. Not too long ago, he had feared that Bruce would turn any children in his path into vicious warriors searching for vengeance. Seeing the two boys before him, he has never been more glad to be wrong.
“Think we can take a fancy car to school today?” Dick wiggles his brows. The rules were clear. If they’re early, their homework is done and going together, Dick can drive any car he’s insured on. Bruce had been kind enough to put his name on at least one sports car.
“Yeah! Can we?” Jason cheers.
“I should think so. I would prefer it if you drove something with more than two seats.” Alfred fetches the keys to his car. “Enjoy.”
“That’s… not,” Dick grimaces, but it lasts only a fraction of a second before he smiles again. “Thanks, Alfred. We’ll take good care of her.”
“Drive carefully and have a pleasant day at school.”
“Thanks, Al.”
“Bye, Alfred!”
Once the children have gone and their plates are cleaned, Alfred prepares a tray for Bruce with a single cup of coffee and buttered toast. On late nights, he prefers a light breakfast for sustenance. The steps down towards the batcave are long and winding, but Alfred enjoys the exercise. It had been a different story before he installed the anti-slip mats. It was a test of his nerve and his fine muscle control.
He catches his son sleeping over the keyboard of the main console, several screens flashing feeds and information. Bruce still wears the suit, though the cowl has been abandoned somewhere or other. Alfred places the cup of coffee on a weighted warmer for whenever Bruce wakes up. The plate of toast remains covered. He finds a large blanket, its fabric still soft and smelling like rose, bergamot, lychee and cedarwood. He wraps it around Bruce’s shoulders, a gentle show of affection.
Now that all his children have been attended to, Alfred can finally begin the real work. He hangs his waistcoat and replaces it with his striped apron. A feast must be prepared and he is but a man. Alfred adores the challenge.
All his tools are set neatly in front of him, mixing bowls, measuring cups and food scales. He’d made a large bulk of the savoury foods this morning, but now, it’s time for the fun stuff: cupcakes ! It’s a good thing he waited for the boys to leave for school, or he would have had to fight them off. There’s only one left, but he likes his odds against Bruce.
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Where Are You?
Higuruma Hiromi × Reader (uses second person)
Summary: Higuruma seems to be running late in what is deemed to be the one of the most special day of his life
Notes:
I WAS SAD OKAY I'M SORRY
I like this one too actually (very proud of it)
Let me know your thoughts?
Word count: 790 words
Masterlist
Higuruma was a punctual man; in fact, his punctuality was a defining quality of his personality. He always kept his word with an almost ritualistic exactness, whether it was during a lighthearted get-together of friends or an evening with her. He held every moment and every appointment in high regard, which is evidence of his unwavering commitment and consideration for other people's time.
But as she stood alone in the center of the aisle, surrounded by guests whose sympathetic gazes seemed to weigh her down, she couldn't help but question why today of all days, Higuruma had chosen to be late.
Somehow, deep within her heart, she already held the answer to her own questioning. Not when she's noticed Higuruma's lingering gaze, how his hug lasts a second longer than a usual one would be, how his smile would be brighter in the presence of you.
Not when she's not you.
Of course, it would be you holding him back from their wedding today.
Higuruma's secretary of 7 years.
It was intentional on his side, of course. Especially when you had always shown her kindness, respecting the boundaries set by their families' mutual agreement to exclude you from the wedding, much to Higuruma's dismay. You never overstepped, always maintaining a courteous distance, even as others whispered and speculated about your relationship with him.
Sometimes, she think that it's what made Higuruma like you.
You always smiled at her when she comes to the office, informing her of Higuruma’s schedule, something you knew with the back of your hand.
There was never a reason for her to resent you, as when their engagement was announced, you sternly reminded Higuruma to prioritize her above all else.
But beneath her calm exterior, however, a storm raged, a storm formed of unfulfilled love and whispered desires. For in the quiet moments of solitude, she found herself consumed by a longing so profound, it threatened to consume her whole.
And as she watched Higuruma's gaze linger on you with a hunger she could never hope to satisfy, she realized with a heavy heart that she was merely a bystander in the grand tragedy of your love, a love in which she played no part, no matter how desperately she wished otherwise.
Of course, Higuruma's feelings was never the issue. It was painfully clear from the outset that his affections were yours and yours alone, long before she was forced into the picture. You held the entirety of him within the grasp of your hand, his every word and gesture a testament to the depth of his devotion.
Anything you uttered, any request you made, was met with a dutiful nod and a tender smile, as if his sole purpose in life was to bring joy to your world.
But beneath the surface of his unwavering loyalty lay a wellspring of sorrow, a sorrow born of unspoken desires and unfulfilled dreams. Even though he loves you and wished that he could spend the entirety of his life with with you, he was constrained by duty and obligation, with other people's expectations dictating his every move.
You had him, but he could never have you.
And even though she had never been resentful of you and had never let jealousy control her mind, she couldn't deny the ache of longing that gnawed at her soul. For in your eyes, she saw reflected the love and devotion that had always eluded her.
A love that belonged not to her, but to you.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the creak of the church door, heralding Higuruma's belated arrival, dressed in the attire his mother had chosen, he exuded an air of readiness for the occasion. He was handsome, and his whole aura showed nothing but preparedness for the event.
He quickly rushed down the aisle, bowing and apologizing to anyone that he would make eye contact with. When he stopped in front of her, she noticed the redness of his eyes, alongside the more prominent darkness of the circles in his eyes.
“Have you been crying?” She asked quietly, hoping that the priest doesn’t come in and interrupt that moment between them together
“She always loved me.”
Those four haunting words reverberated endlessly within her thoughts, etched with the shattered timbre of Higuruma's voice. Each syllable dripped with despair, a desperate plea for a sliver of happiness he yearned for, yet felt undeserving of.
Exhaustion weighed heavily upon him, yet he maintained a facade of professionalism, masking the truth behind this union, a facade so convincing that to anyone but her, it appeared as a union forged in love.
But underneath his whole aura showed a man who was robbed of a lifetime of happiness.
For you are his happiness.
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Hi! Me again, your friendly neighborhood Sean Renard lover! I was wondering if whenever you feel like writing if you would consider writing Sean being very protective over the reader and everyone is saying to him that he’s so in lover with them and he’s like “no I’m not” and then he’s like realizing that’s he’s like in love with the reader damn near devoted. Or whatever you’d like to write. I’d honestly be happy with anything you put out. But take your time, no rush needed. Just whenever you feel like it. Thank you so much!!!! Have an awesome day!!! 🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻
LITTLE BIRD
Reblogs and Comments are greatly appreciated!!
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Fandom(s): NBC Grimm
Pairing(s): Sean Renard x Reader
Word Count: 2.5k
Genre(s)/Tag(s): Gender Neutral!Reader, Wesen!Reader, Use of nicknames (little bird), Reader is implied to have longer hair, but it’s not explicitly stated
Notes: I hope you enjoy!
TW for violence in the latter half of the oneshot (I’ll add an extra trigger warning when that starts)
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“Lieutenant Renard?” Sean looks up from his desk to see Cadet Drew Wu fidgeting with his button-down cuffs. He was nineteen and green in the gills, still exploring his options as a police cadet. But even though he hadn’t fully committed to the police academy yet, he was a hard worker.
He’d make a good police officer.
Sean sets down his pen and clears his throat.
“What’s the matter, Wu?” The police cadet stepped aside, and Sean’s jaw almost dropped at the sight of you. It was as if you had come straight from a painting. It seemed you hadn’t changed at all. Well… not exactly. You had aged, being a handful of years younger than him.
But you were still as beautiful as the day he lost you.
After all, the last time he had seen you was when his mother took him, and they fled from the Royal family out for his blood. You were but a fledgling that hadn’t yet sprouted in your full glory.
You both stare at each other before Wu swallows awkwardly and takes his leave. Then, you take a seat at his desk and smile,
“It’s certainly been a while, Sean.” You say quietly, and he feels his heart stutter at your warm words.
It had been years since anyone other than his mother was so full of kindness for him.
He sets down his pen and leans his forearms on the desk.
“How did you find me?” He asks seriously, and you shrug
“I have my ways. You should know this by now.” You tease, and your eyes flash a deep glowing blue for just a second. So quick, in fact, that he almost missed it. Feathers as black as pitch shuddered down your hairline before disappearing into your tresses.
Sometimes he forgot you were wesen. A Raub-Kondor, to be exact. And a brilliant one at that. You were often employed, even at a young age, by the Royal Families to track down and “take care of” certain traitors or deserters. It was how he met you in the first place. The thought of your job made him shudder,
“Are you here to get rid of me?” At this, you looked downright offended, eyes going wide and mouth dropping open ever so slightly.
“Of course not!” You hiss, and he feels his shoulders relax. He wasn’t in danger after all. You notice his palpable relief and smile that smile that makes his heart skip a beat.
The two of you part ways with the promise of meeting up for coffee. Your number is stored safely in Sean’s phone, and you even send him a text saying, “It’s me :)” and he can’t help but smile at the little emoji. You were always lighthearted despite all the blood on your hands.
You shift in place, eyes scanning every face in the small coffee shop as you wait for Sean to arrive. You check your phone and scroll through the brief messages you had shared with your childhood friend. He wasn’t the best conversationalist via texting. He typically preferred a call over texts.
“Have you been waiting long?” Comes his voice, and you jump, knee jerking up and hitting the underside of the table. Your eyes meet his, and he offers a half smile, clearly amused by your reaction.
“Not at all. I just got here a few minutes ago. I took the liberty of ordering you a coffee, black with one sugar, if I remember right?” You say, ears burning at your surprise at his arrival. He sheds his long overcoat, drapes it over the chair across from the booth you were in, and takes a seat.
“You remember correctly. I’m surprised you remember after all this time.”
At that, you duck your head, ears burning even more in embarrassment.
“I try to remember everything about you.” You say quietly, so quietly that he can barely hear it. But obviously, he does because his face splits into a warm grin.
He looks so handsome when he smiles.
The waitress brings over your drinks and a slice of chocolate cake that you ordered. You visibly brighten at the sight of the sweet treat and nearly dig in when you remember your manners.
“Would you like some?” You offer, noting the waitress had gone through the trouble to give you an extra fork for the occasion. Sean, sipping his coffee, shakes his head.
“Thank you, but I’ll pass for now. I know how much you adore your sweets.” He teases and you roll your eyes, secretly happy that you get the chocolate dessert all to yourself.
The cake is absolutely demolished in a few minutes flat, though you were careful not to get any crumbs on your clothes. Then, you start on your coffee.
“I see you still are a sugar addict,” Sean says as you add sugar to your bitter drink. You huff but stir and take a sip of the sweetened beverage. Perfect.
“I prefer the term sugar motivated.” You say, and he chuckles, making your breath catch, but you hide it quickly by taking another sip.
You thought your crush on the bastard prince had died over the years.
Clearly not.
“So…” You start, and he looks up from his coffee, eyebrow raised. “How’s life here in Portland?” He hums, glancing around the coffee shop before answering.
“It’s certainly different than Vienna. But enough about me… Why are you here?” He asks, suddenly serious, and you have to fight the urge to sit up straight.
You should’ve guessed he would ask something like this. It had taken you years to track him down to the Portland area. And for what? But you knew better than to lie.
So…
You didn’t.
“I missed you. As stupid as it sounds, I missed having someone to talk to. Well… that and your mother is concerned about you joining the police department. She’s worried it’ll put a target on your back.” You say, and Sean sits back in his chair, stirring his coffee absentmindedly as he mulls over your words.
“I appreciate the concern, but I’ll be fine. I’m surrounded by good people.” He says, and you raise an eyebrow skeptically. Thankfully, Sean takes your concern seriously. He always has.
“But what if things go wrong?” You ask, and he shrugs a shoulder.
“If it makes you feel any better, you are more than welcome to stay here in Portland to keep an eye on me.” You smile at his words,
“I’d like that.”
Despite your promises to keep out of the way, you quickly become absorbed into his little work family. As the years go on and the precinct grows, you are always a constant at his side. You attend his promotion ceremony from his previous ranks to precinct captain, and he holds your gaze the entire time as he gives his speech.
Even as people come up and congratulate him, he finds himself only wanting your attention. He couldn’t care less about everyone else.
He feels a smaller hand slip into his, and he looks to find you smiling up at him. He sets down his glass of champagne, still mildly embarrassed that the precinct threw this shindig for him.
“Congratulations, Sean.” You whisper, and he hides a smile, but you still catch the twitch of his lips, and your smile widens.
He’s about to say something, but you are both interrupted.
“Is this your spouse?” Hank Griffin, homicide detective, and one of the most senior staff at the department. He’s followed by the newer homicide detective and his new work partner, Nick Burkhardt. Sean huffs out a dry laugh and shakes his head,
“Nothing like that. They’re a childhood friend, that’s all.” He says, and Hank nods, not entirely convinced.
Why was everyone doing that when he introduced you? Hell, even Wu didn’t seem to believe him.
Later, Sean spies you chatting with Nick as you raid the dessert table. You’re polite, and he feels his heart clench as Nick says something to make you laugh. Feathers shift down your hairline like they did whenever you half-woged, and he sees Nick’s face drop, but he hides the expression by the time you look up from your sweets. And that makes the clenched feeling in Sean’s heart twist more.
Was he a Grimm?
He’d have to look into this more.
Sean, ever the gentleman, walks you to your car after the celebration of his promotion. You, feeling adventurous, slip your hand into his and swing them back and forth ever so slightly.
Surprisingly, he doesn’t complain. He even squeezes your hand.
“I just wanted to say congratulations again.” You say as he opens your car door. You squeeze his hand once more, and he offers a quick quirk of his lips that you almost miss.
“I couldn’t have done it without you, little bird.” He says and presses a soft kiss to your knuckles. You feel your cheeks heat up and hide an embarrassed smile.
He always was the cheeky one.
Feeling a bit bold, you lean out our car window just as he leans down to presumably tell you goodbye and kiss his cheek. He freezes, eyes widening ever so slightly in shock, but he doesn’t say anything.
He remains like that as you drive away, brushing his cheek with his fingers.
You chew on your lip as you watch him disappear in your rearview mirror.
Hopefully, you didn’t mess things up by doing that.
You don’t hear from Sean for several days. And it’s making you nervous. Had you overstepped your boundaries? Had you misread the signs from all your little coffee outings?
The book in front of you failed to hold your attention as you glanced from the words on the page to the cellular device next to you. After another thirty minutes, just when you were about to give up on reading, your phone buzzed.
Buzz… buzz buzz… buzz buzz…
The book was hastily bookmarked, and you scooped up the phone and swiped right to answer the call.
“Hello?” You said, trying to seem… well… not breathless or like you were anticipating the call.
“Are you busy?” Sean asks, sounding ragged as if he had been working for three days straight.
His new promotion must be wearing him down.
“I was just reading. Is everything okay?” You ask and hear a quiet hum on the other end.
“Might I invite you to dinner tonight?” Your heart skips a beat.
Dinner… that was a step up from coffee dates.
A big step up.
You make a noise to let him know you hadn’t died at the suggestion (though you certainly felt like you were about to pass out).
“I suppose I might be free tonight. Let's say we eat at seven o’clock?” You tease him gently and hear him write something down.
“I’ll pick you up.” He says, and you can’t help but smile.
“That sounds lovely.”
VIOLENCE STARTS HERE
Dinner doesn’t go as planned.
Sean’s car rumbles as he waits for you to come out of your hotel room. He had offered to let you stay with him at his new house; he had a spare bedroom after all, but you had declined. Instead, you had told him you were a big kid and could take care of yourself.
A shadow moved inside your hotel room on the second floor, and he looked up, a frown pulling his lips down. What was taking you so long? You hadn’t even responded to his text saying he had arrived. Should he call you?
He pulls up your contact and is about to press the call button when you come exploding through the window in a rain of glass and chaos.
Coincidentally, you land on the hood of his car, and his airbags deploy as you cave in the metal.
There’s someone on top of you, hands wrapped around your neck and squeezing like your life depended on it. He can see your hands going limp, and he darts from his car and draws his gun that he keeps with him at all times.
“PORTLAND PD! DON’T MOVE!” He bellows, and the person jerks their head up to look at him, eyes wild and glowing yellow.
A Mauvais Dentes.
The sabertoothed wesen leaped at him as he felt his face change in his woge.
He fired.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The man fell, his woge rippling across his skin and retracting the fangs and fur into his body until he looked like a regular man again.
Sean ran to your side, where you lay gasping on top of his car, pulling out his phone and dialing 911 as he went.
“911, what’s the location of your emergency?”
“This is Captain Sean Renard of the Portland Police Department. There’s a man who’s been killed and someone else who is gravely injured.” He started and rattled off your address, begging first responders to hurry because you looked terrible.
You had been in the middle of getting ready—a blouse stained in blood and shredded to bits, trousers, and you weren’t wearing shoes. Your throat isn’t much better. Sean can see where the Mauvais Denetes had punctured your skin, and its oozing blood at a sluggish pace. Your woge ripples under your skin and the tar-black feathers retract into your face. Your beak disappears, and when you open your eyes, they’re glassy.
“Stay with me, little bird, stay with me.” He says as he sheds his suit coat and tears it into strips to tie around your wound to hopefully staunch the bleeding.
“Sean?” You gurgle, and he hushes you,
“Don’t speak. An ambulance is on the way.” He says, and you nod once, closing your eyes again, and he listens to your breathing.
It doesn’t sound good.
He only hopes that you make it to the hospital.
Time slows. The ambulance and police arrive after what feels like hours. Blood has stained Sean’s trousers, but he doesn’t care. All that matters is you.
The first responders load you carefully into the ambulance and stop Sean before he can get in with you.
“I’m riding with them.” He snarled, and the two workers looked at each other before one stepped aside and allowed him to sit beside you. He holds your hand until they hook you up to get your vitals. You open your eyes again and wheeze,
“Sean?” You gasp, and he holds your grasping fingers.
“I’m here, little bird.” He whispers, and his heart is broken as he hears you whimper.
“Don’t leave me.” You whimper, and he stands as the ambulance rumbles into motion and presses a kiss to your forehead,
“Never.” He says and knows deep in his soul that he means it.
Because he loves you too much to let you go.
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Outpace Us All - Ch. 4 - Santiago Fic
A/N: Set two years after the mission in Colombia. The boys walked away with enough money to begin new lives back home. Santiago divides his time between being an investigator and a short-term foster care provider with the state. He begins to question himself and his ability to do good after he has several run-ins with a young boy in a delicate situation. As he is trying his best to help this kid through a tragedy, he begins to rely heavily on his complicated relationship with Frankie.
Angst. Hurt/Comfort. Original child character. Frankie is a single dad who owns a diner. Santiago and Will are cops. Benny is Benny.
Rating: Adult
Word Count : 11,000
Warnings: Men loving men. Sex. Cursing. Mentions blood and violence. Mentions drug use. Some lines of Spanish dialogue, which I include as a warning only because I am a non-native speaker.
Masterlist
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Wednesday, October 9th, 2021. 7:45 AM
They were only four days in, but the situation of Samuel and his mother still remained mysterious. Hardly any of the questions brought up that night at the police station had answers.
All Santiago did know was that the kid was cleared to stay at his place for at least another week. Depending on how things developed over the next few days, the duration could be prolonged. For the moment, a week’s worth of visibility was the only bit of clarity they had.
Santiago recognized that there was a high possibility of Samuel's stay in care being stretched to two or three weeks. The longest emergency foster he had ever hosted was a little over two months. There was no official timeline or exact definitions given by the state of California, but emergency stays that lasted much longer than a couple months usually started to bleed into a different category. If Sonia's situation didn’t begin to show signs of improvement, then their case would inevitably change in the eyes of the law. If that were to happen, Sam would formally enter the foster system and require a placement in a more long-term setting. Santiago's home would need to be made available once more for other emergency cases. In the best of circumstances, Sam would go live with another family. In the event that there wasn’t an available home that was a good fit for him, he could also be sent to a group facility.
Thinking about either outcome didn't feel particularly great, so Santi decided to stay focused on what was currently in his control. For the time being, he could provide Samuel with a roof and a bit of stability. The rest was outside of his sphere of influence.
As it currently stood, things with his mother were complicated.
Even though Santiago left his number with Sonia and encouraged her to call or text whenever, all of their communication continued to pass through Dana.
They were set to have a phone call with her later that evening, but in the back of his mind, Santiago was wary of the possibility that it might not happen. Sam's confession to fearing his mother abruptly leaving him still rang fresh in his memory, but he felt that it was important to look at things objectively. There was still so much he didn't know, and this situation didn't quite feel like other cases he had seen. This woman didn't fit the profile of someone who abruptly abandons a child, even if her young son seemed convinced that she was going to try.
Despite everything, there had been an update the night before that was positive.
Dana explained to Santi in a text that Sonia was already pre-approved for public housing. They would just have to wait for her paperwork to be processed and for whenever the next unit would become available. She was also in the early interviewing process for a new job, in what field exactly Dana hadn’t specified, but things were progressing. She still wouldn’t give any answers about what happened in the weeks and months leading up to her eviction. Dana and the staff at the shelter tried their best to coax any amount of details out of her, but she held strong to giving them only vague non-answers.
They were being led to believe that everything about her situation was simply due to hard luck. Nothing more.
Samuel was their only other potential source for information, and he was just about as tight-lipped as Sonia.
Santiago was already beginning to see the impact of everything on the boy. He wore the markers of someone who carried an unabated stress, like something under the surface was quietly eating away at him.
Samuel was undeniably well-behaved, but not in a easy going, mild-mannered way. He displayed a level of discipline that was disconcerting for a boy his age. His bed was always made. He knew to put his things away and how to fold his clothes nicely. Every day it looked like he was making a conscious effort to leave as little a trace as possible of his existence in the house.
He regularly picked and chewed at his fingers, to a point where his cuticles were irritated and red. Saturday evening when they went to the supermarket, Santiago turned around from looking at cereal to find dried blood caking Samuel’s fingertips. With a fair amount of difficulty, he managed to fight the urge to scold the behavior. Instead, he found the public restrooms at the back of the store and sent him to go wash his hands. They later made their way to the check-out line with a couple boxes of band-aids thrown into the cart.
Sleep seemed to be another issue for him. The hushed sounds Santiago thought he imagined coming from across the hall the first evening were now a nightly occurrence. He would lay there in his own room, listening to Sam's bed creak from tossing and turning, only to be interrupted by noises that hovered between sobs and whispered pleas. It was impossible to be sure, but it was almost like muffled prayers being spoken into the dark.
Over the last few days they struggled to find something close to a routine. Santi took him to school in the mornings, picked him up in the afternoons. Later that day he planned to surprise him with a stop by Frankie's on the way home.
Sam seemed torn between absolutely hating Santiago while simultaneously needing to follow his every move around the house. He spent a lot of time glaring and trying to look angry, but couldn't hide the fact that he didn't seem okay with being left alone. He would always try to hover in or around whatever room Santi was in, pretending to ignore him. It wasn't necessarily bothersome, but Santiago did find himself growing slightly exasperated by having suddenly acquired this disgruntled and mute second shadow.
The only times Sam really spoke at length were during the rides to and from school. For whatever reason, there in the back seat of the truck, he felt comfortable enough to voice a small part of whatever was passing through his mind. He would often ask several questions in a row - usually about his mother, but sometimes there were surprises.
Is my mom staying at someone's house or in a hotel?
Is she in trouble? Is it kind of like a jail?
Does she get to go outside?
Are there animals?
Is there a pool?
Why don't you have any animals?
Why can't I take the bus to school?
In the space of a single car ride, it was impressive just how many questions he could fire out. Santi figured that it was maybe his way of trying to make sense of what was happening in his world - a grasp for some semblance of control.
That Wednesday was no exception. They were slowly crawling along in the thick morning traffic. The unusually heavy rain from the weekend was gone, leaving only crisp autumn air and a starkly clean blue sky. The song "Don't Fear the Reaper" was coming to an end on the radio. During the brief lull between each track in the DJ's morning mix, Santiago could hear the sound of Sam steadily picking at his fingers.
They were about to exit off of the freeway when a voice piped up from the back seat.
"Santiago?"
He glanced briefly at the rearview mirror to find the kid staring in his direction.
"Yeah?"
There was a stretch of silence where he sensed that Sam was working up the courage to ask whatever was on his mind, but what finally came out took him by surprise.
"Are you a cop?"
It was asked in a manner that wasn't at all spontaneous, it was clear that he'd been thinking carefully about the matter for some time. The boy sat back with the seatbelt crossed over his chest, looking down at his lap as he awaited the response.
"Kind of..." Santiago began to thoughtfully chew at the inside of his cheek as he came to a stop at a red light. The conversation about what he did for a living was one he was used to having around other adults. It was surprising that he felt just as defensive about his choice of work even here in the presence of a child.
"So, I'm a detective." He started. "Which means that I help lead investigations. Do you know what the difference is between me and most of the police you see?"
He caught sight of Sam once again in the rearview mirror.
The boy frowned as he shook his head. "No."
"Cops usually patrol out on the street. They're the ones you see in black and white squad cars." Santi explained as he turned onto the last street before Sam's school. A quiet groan left him the moment he caught sight of the long stretch of cars and school busses sat between them and the drop off point. His fingers restlessly drummed against the steering wheel.
He reached over and cut the radio before turning around to look directly at Sam.
"Those cops drive around looking to stop crime from happening. Detectives like me don't really do that. We sit at a desk most of the day. We only really go out when there is something to investigate, so that means that the crime has already happened."
Samuel seemed to think over his words for several moments. He stared out the window, watching as older children advanced up the street on foot towards the school.
"But you've got a badge like a cop." He rebutted.
"I do." Santi agreed as he craned his neck to try and see past the long line of cars. He toyed with the idea of parking on a side street and walking Sam up himself.
"I don't like cops."
Samuel's confession was stated plainly, with no anger or malice. His tone of voice carried the same level of indifference as if he were talking about a vegetable that he doesn't eat.
"Oh yeah?" Santiago considered him through the rearview mirror, watching the way he disinterestedly fidgeted with the nylon straps of his backpack. "Why's that?"
He thought back to the night he picked him up at the police station, to the scene he found taking place in that hallway. He began to wonder about the likelihood that maybe the encounter hadn't been Sam's first bad experience with police.
"Cause..." He began with a shrug, only the dark curls at the crown of his head were visible while his eyes remained trained down at his hands. "They ask too many questions."
Santi never had the chance to ask for any further clarification. The carpool line had progressed rapidly, effectively bringing the conversation to a swift close. He managed to quickly exchange a one-sided goodbye before Sam jumped out from the backseat. He watched for a few seconds as his blue backpack marched off toward the steps of the school.
___________________________________
Wednesday, October 9th, 2021. 1:00 PM.
The office had a certain level of noise going at all times. Phones ringing. Tapping keys while someone typed. Chairs rolling across the floor. It was an open concept workspace. People were constantly walking in and out. The adjacent hallway was always reverberating the loud clanking doors on either end.
Will's concentration flourished in that sort of environment. His mind was able to soften all the individual noises to a dull roar, turning it all into soft static that played in the background while he filled out reports and progressed through his schedule.
He and Santiago worked side by side. Their desks were back to back just outside of their head of unit's office.
Santi was the exact opposite in that he hated the office noise. Often he would ask for Will's help to fill out paperwork because he couldn't string coherent sentences together with all the distractions happening around them - the chatter that would build up near the office coffee machine, the people randomly filing in and out of the meeting rooms, the phone they shared between their two desks ringing every other hour. All that time he spent following cartel activity out in the jungle had changed his threshold for sensory input. Two years later and he still struggled to recalibrate.
There were times when it bordered on overload. In those moments, Santiago would push away from his desk in frustration, announcing that he needed air before getting up and taking aimless strolls through the hallways and stairwells to clear his mind. He often needed those breaks. From the moment he joined on with the narcotics division, he always preferred to take his lunches outside. He was far from the only one, certainly, but Will couldn't think of one time where Santi chose to bring in leftovers or a sandwich from home. He always went out to grab food, run errands, or go to a nearby park to walk.
Sitting in the breakroom and shooting the shit with other colleagues wasn't ever going to be his thing, and that was okay. Will didn't talk him in to joining the force because he needed him to socialize.
It was precisely 1 o'clock when he came strolling back in from his lunch break. A takeaway coffee was securely nestled in one of his hands, a large shopping bag dangled from the other.
Will didn’t look up in his direction, but could still hear the moment he paused mid-step as he spied the cream colored envelope left sitting on his keyboard. It bore the official seal of the Sacramento police department’s bureau of professional standards.
“Came in while you were at lunch.” Will explained over his shoulder.
Santiago’s eyes squinted to read the label as he took the envelope into his hands. There was an official looking gold and blue seal embossed over the back, with his name and desk number clearly addressed on the front.
"You mind sharing why the Lieutenant of Professional Standards is noticing you?”
Will's voice was calm as he presented the question, but he felt the beginnings of a familiar anger rising up within him. He had brought Santiago on with Narcotics not just because he knew that he was overqualified for the job, but also because he knew how badly he needed the distraction. They all noticed how he closed in on himself after Colombia, but Frankie had been the one to see first hand just how deep Santiago's spiral went.
Will never wanted to know the details of what transpired between the two of them that one weekend, but he was able to deduce enough for himself. Whatever shit that had been brewing off in the distance must have come to shore, because ever since they seemed to be silently weathering that storm together- silently in front of everyone. Will didn't need to ask any questions. He just saw that Santi needed to be saved from himself, so he tried to do his part and talked him into the job as a means of protecting him, as a means of keeping him close.
But Santiago was one of those people who couldn't be kept out of trouble. He had an innate desire to go searching for it himself, always under the premise of some self-righteous bullshit.
“Shit, this came today?” He whispered in disbelief as he looked down at the envelope.
With a gentle thud, he settled down onto his own desk chair, attention fixed to where his name, office floor, and desk number were neatly printed across the front. His finger quickly slid underneath the flap to break the adhesive seal. A few pieces of stapled paper were neatly folded inside.
Santiago left Will’s question to hang in the air between them as he began to read over the documents. There were several lines of formalities before he finally arrived at the essential information.
"This letter is to inform you that a unique system tracking number has been allocated to your filed report. You will be notified by the department as soon as report #10D53335F8296 has been assigned an investigator and upon the completion of the initial preliminary review..."
Santi ripped his eyes away from the papers to find Will staring at him, one eyebrow threatening to arch in a silent demand that he be filled in.
"On Monday I filed a complaint about an officer." He supplied, his voice kept purposefully to a murmur as he continued to scan over everything.
Attached were several similarly worded documents informing him that over the course of three days his complaint had astonishingly progressed through the first steps outlined in the opening letter. A civilian investigator had officially been matched to his case and had already begun the preliminary review. He was given a time and date to be interviewed about the incident.
Will dragged a hand over his mouth. He took a slow inhale before looking back at the man still intently reading over the stapled documents.
“You filed a complaint for what?”
“Improper force." Santiago responded while promptly re-folding everything and neatly fitting it back inside the envelope. "The cop on duty the night I picked up Sam was out of line. So I notified the supervisor of his unit. She advised me to formally file a complaint so it would be on record.”
Will's eyes narrowed as he listened.
“You filed this Monday and they responded today? That doesn't seem right."
He sat forward in his seat, nodding over to the envelope in his hands.
"Mind if I take a look?"
Santi shrugged before handing over the documents. “They just want me to attend a meeting. Give my side of the story...”
Will silently read over each page, seeming unable to accept Santiago's dismissal of the situation. His expression remained neutral as he analyzed the details, convinced that there should be some sort of error. He knew well enough how these things worked. Normally it was a question of months before anything went anywhere, not days.
"What's the officer's name?" He whispered, still intently reading.
“Powell.” Santiago replied before draining the last of his coffee. "Some young rookie who was on patrol the night Sam was picked up."
There was a minute twitch in Will's features before he let out a low whistle.
Santi couldn't pretend to have missed his friend's reaction. "What's that look?" He insisted while taking the letters back.
Their eyes met. Will could only shake his head as he settled back in his chair.
“For your sake, Pope, I hope he's not related to Deputy Chief Powell.”
"So what if he is?"
Santiago wore a mirthless smirk before he turned around to face his own desk. Powell could be related to the head of the CIA for all he cared. He would still go to that stupid formality of a meeting, give his version of what happened, maybe get Dana to corroborate if necessary, and then it would stop there. Powell would at most get a slap on the wrist, but there would at least be documentation of his conduct somewhere. Maybe it could serve the next person who might need to report him for something.
Will didn't entertain his question. He recognized that it wasn't worth the back and forth. Santiago's bleeding heart and his need for the last word were things that he knew too fucking well.
___________________________________
Wednesday, October 9th, 2021. 3:30 PM.
Every day so far after school, Santiago had taken to picking up Samuel at the park directly across the street. While he waited for the dismissal bell to chime, he found himself reflecting on their conversation from that morning. Currently, there was a general feeling of mistrust hanging over his house, and he was fairly certain that the sentiment went both ways.
The first few months after returning from Colombia, he lived on edge. The money they stole belonged to more people than just Lorea. The list of dangerous individuals who would be looking for answers was long. Despite how careful he had been in-country to destroy any trace pointing to him or the boys, he couldn’t shake the paranoia that followed him home. Every night he would make the rounds in his own house, checking all of the windows and locks. He installed a security system with cameras. He looked frequently in the rearview mirror while driving. Whenever he couldn’t sleep, he peered through the blinds to survey the street outside.
Even though the paranoia began to fade after the first six months, Santiago never really lost those habits.
After the kid tried to run away on Saturday, he found himself once more making the rounds to make sure that all windows and doors leading outside were properly secured. Santi had no choice but to keep his house keys either in his pocket or locked in his nightstand. It only seemed to further cement their roles as jailor and detainee, but for the sake of Sam’s safety he couldn't risk making the same mistake twice.
Due to the abrupt nature of how most placements were brought to his home, Santi regretted how difficult it was to build a rapport with them. The past few days with Sam were proving to only be more of the same. Most of their interactions so far felt like forms of interrogation, so he couldn't exactly blame the kid for not liking him.
He worried that staying in a foster home while his mother was in a shelter felt like something akin to punishment.
The afternoon sun blazed down onto the concrete and the rooftops of cars. The crisp autumn air from that morning was gone, as the heat of summer desperately tried to make one of its last appearances before the cold weather officially took over everything. All of the kids walking up to their respective rides had abandoned their morning jackets for short sleeves. They were chatting happily, buzzing with energy as they shoved at each other and ran around.
As he scanned through the crowd for signs of Samuel, Santiago couldn't keep from thinking about how different he was from these children. Their steps seemed light and easy, their sleep at night was probably unburdened and peaceful.
Amongst the throngs of pupils walking along to find their parents, Samuel abruptly appeared alone. With his head bowed, he slipped between the small packs of kids to hurry towards the truck. His movements were quick, his sneakers pushed off hard against the sidewalk as soon as he caught sight of Santiago's truck. The moment he yanked the door open and clambered up into the backseat, he skipped right past saying hello.
"-When are we going to call?"
A gentle scoff escaped Santiago as he turned back to the front to readjust his seatbelt. He could only shake his head while shifting the truck into reverse.
"I told you already this morning, Sam. Not until after dinner. She's still busy during the day."
The boy's face visibly soured at the answer. His backpack was promptly shrugged off and allowed to drop to the floorboards before he twisted around to grab his seatbelt. Since yesterday afternoon, he had been repeatedly reconfirming with Santiago the timing of the phone call. Whenever the subject crossed his mind, his body began to fidget with impatience. It had likely consumed his thoughts all day while at school, which only made Santi worry that he was potentially getting set up for another big disappointment.
He had seen one too many times how phone calls with parents could fall through. It was a small, disruptive blow that could be so cruelly devastating for a kid in care. Having that dangling carrot ripped away unexpectedly just made their already difficult situation that much more unbearable.
Even the announcement of stopping by Frankie's didn't seem to lift Samuel's mood. That afternoon there were no unexpected questions fired from the backseat. They drove along listening to only the radio.
The moment they pulled into the parking lot of the diner, a garish red instantly caught Santiago's eye.
Parked in the very first spot by the front door, sat Benjamin Miller's pride and joy. Against the deep charcoal of the asphalt and the cool metal of the building's exterior, the gaudy paint job almost appeared to be glowing.
Even Sam seemed to perk up in the back seat. As they slowly drove past, his head turned to continue peering out at the sportscar, his expression showing just how perplexed he was by the vehicle. It was easy enough to understand why. Next to all of the humble sedans and pick-up trucks, Benny's Ferrari looked like it descended from another planet.
Maybe he likes cars, Santi quietly thought to himself as he found parking a few spaces down.
They slid out from the truck into the balmy heat. Before he could properly close the door to the driver's seat, Sam was already scurrying past him.
The boy balanced restlessly on the outer edges of his sneakers.
“How long are we staying here?” He squinted against the harsh late-day sun.
Santiago shot a dry look in his direction. He shook his head once more before locking the truck and joining him up on the curb.
“Not too long. Thirty minutes, maybe.”
Sam’s face fell at his answer.
“Why?” Santiago demanded with a smirk. “You’ve got somewhere to be that I don’t know about? You got a part time job somewhere?”
Even for a seven year-old, the rhetorical nature of the question didn’t go unnoticed. The boy was still a bit too young to master the art of rolling his eyes, but his stony expression conveyed the same message. He ignored the joke and turned on his heel.
Just before he could fully face away, an odd shaped hole at the collar of his t-shirt caught Santiago's eye.
“Hey! What happened to your shirt?"
Sam didn’t turn back to him, but his head dipped forward as his hand reached up to press against the rip at his collar. It was a plain dark red t-shirt, one of the new things that he bought him recently. After a couple seconds of reflection, it dawned on Santiago that Sam had been wearing it every day to school since Monday. He hadn't been able to notice in the mornings because Sam was usually wearing his jacket.
"Kid, have you been wearing the same shirt all week?"
Santi felt almost guilty, wondering if the teacher at school had noticed him arriving every day in the same clothes. Instead of answering the question, Sam looked at him with the expression of a child who is trying to judge just how angry the adult confronting them might be. Santiago could once again feel their conversation hurtling towards that interrogation pattern of cop against fugitive, and he knew that he needed to back off. The last thing he wanted was to make a kid feel guilty over a seven dollar t-shirt.
"Do you like that one a lot or something?" He asked easily.
Sam continued to look unsure, but he nodded his head faintly.
Santiago didn't really know if he was being truthful or not, but it didn't matter. The truth surrounding why he didn't change his clothes for three days wasn't the real issue. He needed to find a way to help him stop feeling so wary around him.
He only shook his head as he tsked in quiet disapproval. "What is that face for? C'mon, you're not in trouble."
He lifted his baseball cap and pushed back some of the curls off his forehead before he walked over. "Look, it's fine. I ripped my jeans about every week when I was your age- drove my mom absolutely insane. I can buy you more in that color if you like it, but try to wear a different shirt every day, alright? People are going to think that I don't take care of you."
His hand dropped down onto the boy's shoulder, he gently steered him towards the diner.
"C'mon, I'll let you meet the guy who drives that car."
Together they began to head for the front door.
The late afternoon sun cast its glow through the windows of the bustling diner, covering the space with a warm autumn light. The air hummed with a mix of sounds. Conversations intermingled with the scraping of silverware, the clatter of dishes, all while the staff hurried back and forth from behind the bar to the tables. Unlike the last time when Santi brought Sam in the wee hours of the morning, the place was now packed. The entire neighborhood seemed to have the same idea to swing by after work and school. Patrons filled the cozy booths and the worn counter stools, the aroma of the sizzling grill, coffee, and homemade pies wafted through the air.
Dead in the middle of the buzzing diner, Santiago's eyes honed in on the familiar figure of Benjamin Miller. He was sitting perched on a barstool at the counter, a basket of half-eaten onion rings set out in front of him. He wore a smile as he joked with someone standing on the other side of the kitchen window, probably Frankie.
Despite himself, Santiago felt a grin crack his features the moment Benny spotted him.
He quickly stood from his barstool, loud voice booming over the dull roar surrounding them.
“Ahh, there he is!” Benny brightly called. His tall figure was dressed in a sweat damp t-shirt and Carhartt work pants, a faded baseball cap turned backwards over his damp blond hair. He was no doubt fresh off from some project, probably flipping another house to sell.
Sam paused mid-step, unsure where to go in the busy space packed with people. Before Santiago's legs could collide into his back, his hands easily dropped down onto his shoulders. Silently, he guided the boy forward, steering them both in the direction of the counter.
“Hola, Santiago… ”
Santi’s head spun at the familiar sound of a woman’s voice.
Carla, Frankie’s second in command was shooting him a grin as she carried plates of food over to a table.
“Oye, Carla, que tal? ” He brightly greeted over his shoulder.
They reached where the younger Miller brother stood waiting for them at the counter, just across from the opening where orders were passed up from the back of the kitchen.
“Where the hell have you been?” Benny grinned before firmly drawing Santi close. His large hand clapped hard against his back, making a hollow thumping noise that warmed his insides.
He pulled a face of amused disbelief as he pulled away. “Ah, c’mon, we saw each other like three weeks ago.”
In his defense, it was true. Three weeks of absence was nothing at all compared to his previous track record, but now that he was stateside for good, his friends and family demanded more of him. His old excuse of working on the other side of the world didn’t fly anymore.
Santi craned his neck to glance around at the filled tables. “Jesus, Ben, did you invite the entire block to come here with you?”
“Yeah, told them Fish was paying.” Benny deadpanned before his eyes fell to Samuel. “Who's the kid?”
Sam’s hands held onto the straps of his backpack as he looked around to watch the bustle of the diner.
“This is Sam. He’s staying with me for a while.”
Benny's eyebrows rose minutely before he could catch himself. He didn’t quite know what to make of the pair. He’d seen Santiago take in older boys, most of them old enough to at least have a learner’s permit. This one looked like he just learned to ride a bike without training wheels.
"This is my friend Benny." Santi explained down to the boy planted in front of him. "He's the one who drives the red Ferrari outside."
Samuel's gaze traveled slowly from Benny's work boots up to his face, seeming torn between being impressed and feeling some mild disbelief.
For years Santiago had witnessed Benny have that effect on people. He didn't know him before their time together in the army, but Will always swore that he came into the world with that magnetic pull, and never for a second did Santi doubt it. Everything about Benny drew attention - his height, his loud voice, his ice blue eyes and disarming smile. The flashy car parked out front was just another cherry atop what was already a well-decorated cake.
"Is Frankie around?" He asked, eyes already scanning for him amongst the kitchen staff.
As a direct answer to his question, Frankie's broad back suddenly appeared through the door to the kitchen. He was busy lifting a white cook's apron over his head. Both his stride and posture read like he had been having a rough afternoon.
It was all but confirmed when his mouth formed a tight apologetic smile the moment he caught sight of Santiago. He made his way over.
"Two cooks called out today." He quickly offered. "Go ahead and sit down. Let me bus this table in the corner and I'll be right there."
His eyes never lifted to properly greet Santiago's, instead his hand only squeezed his bicep as he slipped past.
"Y'alright, Fish?" Benny demanded.
"Yeah, yeah, I got it. Rush is almost over." He waved dismissively, speeding away to the other end of the diner. "Carla, you tell Angel that I got the dishwasher working again. No excuses for the dishes being backed up anymore!"
"Sure thing, Frank." Carla sighed from where she stood at the cash register. "He's been like that all damn day."
She looked up at Santiago as she muttered the last part. He craned his neck to follow Frankie, teeth gently worrying the inside of his cheek while he studied him.
Benny didn't say anything, choosing instead to busy himself with clearing away his empty basket of onion rings. He stood and moved easily behind the counter like he was no different than any of the people actually on Frankie's payroll. He disposed of his trash and dropped the plastic basket with the others, only pausing to serve himself a glass of ice tea from the beverage fountain.
“Hey, kid..." He called over his shoulder to Samuel. "Why's there a hole in your shirt?”
Santiago watched as Sam slightly straightened in surprise, caught off guard to be suddenly the topic of conversation for Benny. Like before, his hand moved to defensively touch the aforementioned rip.
"Nothing." He mumbled.
“Nothing, huh?" Benny repeated before taking a mouthful of ice-tea, the familiar shine of amusement never leaving his eyes. "Sounds fake. What really happened? Did you get in a fight?”
A short pause fell between them, where Samuel only stared at the man with a furrowed brow. Not sure that Benny's playful teasing landed, Santiago nearly opened his mouth to intervene before a faint half-smile slowly broke across the boy's face.
“No!” He quietly insisted.
“Uh-huh. Did you at least win?” Benny demanded, playfully wiggling his eyebrows as he munched on a piece of ice.
"No!" Samuel looked down at the counter to conceal what could only be described as a bashful sort of grin.
“Aha!" Benny quickly exclaimed. "You did win, didn’t you!”
Sam tried to make an exasperated face, but couldn't suppress his own urge to laugh.
It was the only time Santiago could recall seeing him smile. Before he could even begin to dwell much on that realization, Frankie was making his way back over to where they were sitting.
"Cómo te va, Samuelito ?" He lightly nudged the boy's shoulder as he walked past.
He expertly slipped behind the counter, immediately beginning to search all around before brandishing a silver ice cream scoop. “How about some ice cream? I’ve got chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla.”
Sam blinked at the new proposal. His mouth parted with initial hesitation, unsure of what he was supposed to say. There was a faint creak of the barstool as he turned to look at Santiago, his sable brown eyes asking if he had permission.
“Yeah, it’s alright, go ahead.” Santi nodded to him. “-But just one scoop, Frank!” He quickly added, already familiar with the diner’s generous portion sizes. “I need him to eat dinner tonight.”
Frankie audibly scoffed at the proposal, mumbling "who eats just one scoop?" under his breath.
“Sociopaths.” Benny easily chimed in, never looking up from his phone.
Much to Santiago’s dismay, his protests only fell on deaf ears. He watched as two large balls of strawberry ice cream were scooped into a small bowl. They were dressed with a few jets of whipped cream and a wafer cookie before being promptly delivered to the space in front of his young charge.
His disapproval quietly dissolved into the back of his mind as he watched the way Samuel dug into his free dessert, his feet swinging in the air ever so slightly. By the time Santi looked over to issue a silent thank you to Frankie, the man had already disappeared back to the kitchen.
“Are you coming to the cookout at Will’s this weekend?” Benny asked as he settled down on the open stool next to him.
Confused, Santi sharply twisted around to face him. “I just spent all afternoon next to your brother. Since when is he grilling?”
“Since I just texted him to say that we’re cooking at his place this weekend.”
The explanation didn’t come as a surprise, but Santiago only gestured his head vaguely in Samuel’s direction.
“I don’t know, Ben. I'm not exactly free.”
“So what? Bring him.” Benny declared before standing on the foot rest of his stool. He abruptly craned over to peer through the open window to the kitchen. “Fish! Tell him he should bring the kid to Will’s!”
“Jesus-” Santi whispered, his hand softly hitting the counter top in exasperation. Discretion was a quality Benny seemed to abandon once in the civilian world.
“You should bring him.” Frankie replied from the kitchen, never looking up from the order of food he was plating. “It’ll do you some good to have a break.”
It didn't take long for him to finally agree to stop by Will's place on Saturday. He didn't truthfully have a good enough reason not to go and the idea of sipping a beer on the immaculate deck in his buddy's backyard didn't sound too terrible. He didn't quite know what he would do to keep Sam entertained around a bunch of adults, but he half-suspected that Benny would take care of it for him.
___________________________________
Wednesday, October 9th, 2021. 7:30 PM.
It took everything he had to keep Samuel occupied before they were meant to call Sonia. The boy rushed through his homework and through eating dinner. For the entire evening, his eyes never once stopped following Santi around - looking for any sign that it was finally time. The unvoiced question of "when" sat plainly between them.
Santiago didn't know what to do with him in these moments. He didn't seem interested in TV. Multiple times he tried to sit Samuel down in front of cartoons while he went to do things around the house, but without fail he would abandon the bright colors and flashing lights to come find him. He would try sending him to go play, but that was an even bigger failure, though for reasons that admittedly weren't Samuel's fault. The only things remotely resembling toys lying around the house were several decks of playing cards and an old football that was too big for the kid's child-sized hands.
His only remedy to Samuel following him around was to give him little chores. Part of him worried that it would come across like a punishment, but to his surprise Sam was strangely eager to work alongside him. Things like sending him outside to pick up sticks in the yard while dinner cooked, getting him to help unload the dishwasher, setting the table - he was visibly content to have little jobs to perform, to be useful.
Santiago made a note to call his own mother and ask if she had any of his old toys in storage. Even if it was a solution to make the time pass, giving the kid chores to occupy him felt a little too much like something out of a Dickens novel. He didn't know where that obedient part of his personality came from, but further exploiting it wasn't something he wanted to make a habit.
A half-hour after dinner they finally went to the back bedroom to call Sonia.
Samuel climbed up on to the desk chair this time, while Santiago sat down on the foot of the bed.
His number must have been registered on a pre-approved list since the last call, because they were put directly through by the shelter. Much to Santiago's surprise, Sonia picked up on the very first ring.
She sounded better than the last time they spoke with her. Her voice was lighter, less tired. Immediately she wanted to share good news with them. A new job had been offered to her at an insurance company. She would be able to start in a couple of weeks. They just needed to wait for the city housing office to place her and Samuel in an apartment.
"It won't be long." She promised him repeatedly. "Just another week, sweetheart."
After answering his many questions, she happily demanded to know everything about school and how we was doing.
Santiago sat back and watched Sam as he began to recount the last three days in great detail. The good news had clearly lifted his spirits, but something about having his mother's undivided attention made him positively beam. Sides of himself that he never showed before began to peak their way through. He seemed to drop his serious demeanor as he talked about what they were learning at school and how he got to help feed the class pet that day. For once he began to sound like almost any other seven year-old.
It made Santi think back to himself as a little boy. He could remember having some of the very same reactions and mannerisms- speaking animatedly with his hands while he told stories, using the occasional word in English when he couldn't quickly find what he wanted to say in Spanish.
Sonia let Samuel rattle on for twenty-five minutes, lightly laughing as she listened and only ever stopping him to briefly ask one or two questions.
Hearing his voice seemed to have the same effect on her as it did on him - it was both a source of comfort and sadness.
Before long she made a quick excuse about needing to go. The way she said goodbye to her son and wished him goodnight was inexplicably rushed.
___________________________________
Saturday, October 12th, 2021. 3:00 PM
Will’s backyard was impressive compared to the mix of patchy grass and dirt behind Santiago's house.
It was a space that was designed for a family, for entertaining lots of guests. Will didn't yet have the wife and kids element locked down, but Santiago knew he was working on it. Out of all of them, he was maybe the most cut out for that kind of life. He didn't ever talk about those sorts of things with him or Frankie, but Benny probably knew his plans for the future. They all used their shares of the Colombia money in various ways to rebuild their lives back home - each of them trying to construct something closer to what they had imagined for themselves - each with varying levels of success. Maybe for Will, using his time and money to carefully curate and care for this big house with a magazine-worthy backyard was a way of manifesting.
For now, it hosted their boys' nights and get-togethers with Will & Benny's extended family.
The grass was perfectly maintained, soft enough to comfortably walk on barefoot, with absolutely no prickly weeds or sharp little stones. There were large oak trees in the very back near the fence, the kind with low branches perfect for hanging a tire swing. There was a stainless steel double grill for large cookouts, a sand pit for playing horseshoes, even a built-in seating area on the deck that held a fire pit.
Samuel and Santiago were the last ones to arrive.
There was no bright red Ferrari in the driveway, but Santi recognized the black SUV out front as one of Benny's back-up vehicles. Frankie's truck was parked along the curb.
Following the usual protocol, he led Samuel along the side of the house toward the back gate. Even Will’s side lawn was perfectly mowed, the tall wooden privacy fence stained an HOA-approved color. While balancing a small cooler of drinks under one arm, Santiago easily reached over the fence and unlatched the wooden door with his free hand.
Sam stayed close behind him as they entered the backyard, dutifully carrying the grocery store bag of burger buns they were tasked with bringing.
Already, he could hear the sounds of Benny’s laughter and Creedence Clearwater Revival from the outdoor speakers. The smell of grilled meat hung in the air, ambient mosquito lamps were lit around the back porch.
Will was unsurprisingly manning the grill when they walked up to the back deck. He was dressed in cargo shorts and flip-flops despite the autumn chill that was guaranteed to arrive once the sun went down.
“So this is your plus one?” He asked over his shoulder. The burgers sizzling away were left briefly unattended as he turned around to face them.
Santiago ushered Sam to stand in front of him. “Go ahead, say hi to Will.” He pressed.
Sam looked up from the plastic sack of buns he held against his belly, obediently mumbling a quick hi just loud enough to be heard.
“How’s it going, kid?” Will nodded to him before pointing to the table at the center of the deck. “Go set those over on the table for me, will you?”
The boy moved to follow his instructions. As Santiago worked at transferring his beers into the bigger communal cooler, he watched Samuel from behind, his gaze needlessly supervising while he went about the simple task.
Will couldn’t keep himself from smirking. It was always the same with every new placement Santi took in. In the beginning he was always hypervigilant, needing to establish order so he could pass as a reliable authority figure. When most of the teenage boys he took in stood a full head taller than him, he had to play the bad cop over the first few days and make them earn his trust through curfews and chore lists. But before long he always eased up.
Seeing him with a child seemed to have completely morphed that old strategy. He stared after Samuel with the same energy as a mother hen, always looking to be a split second away from fretting over him.
Santiago caught Will watching him the moment he straightened up from filling the main cooler. His eyes narrowed as he craned his head to the side.
“What is your deal, Miller?”
Will could only shrug and shake his head before he turned back to the grill.
Frankie and Benny came out from the sliding glass door, a young black Labrador eagerly following behind them. The dog was just about at adult size, easily weighing over 60 pounds. His nails clicked across the deck as he scurried over to greet the newcomers.
His deep bark reverberated throughout the backyard before he suddenly lunged toward Samuel. Instinctively, Santiago’s hand gripped the boy’s shoulder. He abruptly stood up, ready to move himself in front to intercept, but Benny already had a firm hold on the dog’s leather collar.
"Bo, settle down!" Will sharply called his dog's name.
"He's fine. I've got him." Benny easily calmed the situation. “Big guy's just a little excited.”
Sam didn't back away from the overly energetic dog. He stood squarely planted in the same spot, grinning as he offered out a hand for him to smell.
“Atta boy, Sam.” Benny quietly praised, his grip still steady on the dog's collar. “Let him smell you first. When he sits down then you can pet him.”
Santiago watched as Bo finally dropped into a sitting position. Sam reached up to scratch at his ears.
“You like dogs?” He asked him.
Sam nodded at the question. He leaned back as the dog’s pink tongue tried to lick his face, softly laughing as he attempted to dodge the overgrown puppy's affection.
Santi thought back to conversations they held in his truck on the way to school in the mornings. Multiple times the kid had asked him why he didn't have any pets. Watching him confidently interact with Will’s dog showed that he clearly had grown up around animals.
A strange tension in his jaw slowly melted away, one that he hadn't even realized he was holding. A single corner of his mouth ticked upward in a hesitant smile. He began to wonder if maybe he overreacted a bit. In truth there had been no real danger. Will's dog was young but he was well trained. Even if that weren't the case, in this backyard surrounded by these four men, nothing bad would have ever happened to Samuel.
He hadn't even noticed Frankie digging out a beer for him from the cooler. Cool and wet fingertips suddenly wrapped around his elbow, still dripping from the ice water. Santiago felt his chest deflate some as the frigid glass bottle was pushed against his open palm. He tried to lean into the man's touch, turning his head slightly in hopes that they would graze one another, but Frankie slipped away just as quickly as he came.
The brief contact still caused something in Santiago's chest to buzz, like the quickest flash of static electricity. He tried to meet Frankie's eyes as he set about grabbing drinks for everyone, but his brow was obscured under the brim of his hat.
His body language was the same as in the diner a few days ago. He may have been physically present with them in the backyard, but mentally he was so clearly elsewhere.
Santiago only swallowed and nodded to himself. With the help of a nearby lighter sitting on the table, he popped open his beer with ease. He tried not to mull over any hidden meaning in that fleeting touch as he took his first swig.
The afternoon sun warmed the air around them. For the next few hours, Sam chose to stay close, quietly hanging off to the side and listening as the adults talked. Conversation was principally dominated by the Miller brothers. Benny had a fight in Vegas coming up. Will wanted to organize a boys hike in a couple of weeks.
Samuel sat between Frankie and Santiago, happily eating whatever was offered to him. Ever since their last telephone call to his mother, Sam seemed to be eating and sleeping much better. Santiago was relieved to see for the last few evenings that there was hardly any food left on his plate. Late at night when he would finally to bed, there was hardly any noise at all coming from Sam's bedroom across the hall.
As the sun gradually began to set, Sam finally ventured off the deck to play in the yard with Will's dog. He happily chased after the black Lab, chucking his grimy tennis ball up in the air for him to catch.
Happy that the kid was occupied and knowing that they would be staying a while longer, Santiago allowed himself to settle back with a second beer. The sun was beginning to fall already, and Will was starting to gather the supplies to light a fire.
Frankie sat next to him on a folding chair. He hardly spoke the entire afternoon, opting to drink water instead of beer. His shiny black eyes made a point to avoid Santiago as much as possible. He sat with his arms folded, intensely watching Will's very involved technique for placing logs in the metal base of the firepit.
Impatient, Benny reached over to nudge his brother with his foot.
"You playing Lincoln Logs there or what?”
"I’m trying to get the most use out of this wood.” Will retorted as he worked at securing the logs in place. “How many of my fires have kept your asses from freezing out in the field?"
“Hundreds.” Santiago agreed.
“Well now we're freezing our asses off in the middle of civilization. Hurry up, will ya?” Benny replied while tugging a hooded sweatshirt over his head. “The temperature's dropped like 20 degrees.”
The crackling flames soon danced in the firepit, casting a warm glow.
Their collective attention was redirected when Bo came trotting back up onto the deck, sans tennis ball and without Samuel.
Sanitaog scanned the backyard, struggling to locate the boy until he noticed a small dark figure high up in the big oak tree near the back fence.
Thanks to the lights Will had installed on the back of his house, Santiago could see Sam dangling from a thick outstretched limb of the magnolia tree. In one fluid try, he managed to bring his legs upward, wrapping himself entirely around the branch. His skinny arms weren’t covered with much muscle at all, but what little he possessed seemed to be well toned. He was completely at ease while he worked his way comfortably atop the thick branch, settling himself into a sitting position.
“Looks like you’ve got yourself a country boy, Pope.” Benny laughed as he looked over his shoulder, one brow raised in amusement.
“That’s definitely a kid that spends time outside.” Will hummed before taking a sip from his beer.
Santiago had to admit that Sam was surprisingly strong for his size. He doubted at age seven that he possessed the necessary core or upper body strength to pull off those maneuvers.
Still, that nagging instinct to keep the boy out of danger remained ever present at the back of his mind. Slowly, he cupped one hand around his mouth.
“Sam, buddy, that’s high enough!” He cautioned across the yard.
“I’m fine!” A small voice eventually called back.
A soft sigh of frustration escaped Santiago when it was clear that his warning went ignored. He set his untouched bottle of beer down beside him.
“I better go make sure he doesn’t fall and break something.”
Before he could even move, Frankie’s hand gripped his shoulder, gently nudging him back down onto his chair. “Stay. I’ll go keep an eye on him.”
They all watched Frankie's broad back traipse across the lawn, his hands in his pockets as he approached the oak tree.
“Does he seem off to anybody else?”
The three of them didn’t look at each other. Santiago let his question hang in the air, spoken softly enough so it couldn’t be heard on the opposite side of the backyard.
Frankie stood at the base of the tree, head tilted back while he mindfully watched Samuel climb. His words weren't entirely clear, but they could hear him speaking in Spanish. His hand moved to point to something once in a while, gesticulating while he gave some sort of direction or encouragement.
“He does.” Will quietly agreed as he lowered himself onto one of the open Adirondack chairs. “I thought maybe things weren't going great at the diner.”
Santiago knew that if things were going poorly at the diner, Frankie would just be stomping around and slamming cabinets while cursing up a storm. This went beyond the dishwasher breaking down and line cooks calling out. The empty look in his eyes for the past few days suggested something much deeper. Even more so, Santiago knew that Will was more astute than that. He had to have the same alarm bells ringing in his head.
“No. You and I can both see that it's something more.”
Will stoked the fire some before settling back into his seat. He looked Santiago in the eyes, his face still remaining neutral.
“Look, we only found out today.”
Santiago's brow knit together as he stared at the two brothers. His attention zeroed in on Benny, catching the moment he began looking uncomfortably down at the beer bottle in his hands. Will may have been known for putting on a stony mask, but his younger brother was never quite able to hide his emotions in the same way.
“What do you know, Ben?”
Benny's lips pressed together into a tight line, but he never lifted his gaze. It wasn't his information to share and he fucking hated being the messenger, but he knew that when it came to Frankie, Santiago could not be talked into backing down.
“Elena is trying for full custody.”
The silence that followed the admission was heavy, and it only set Santiago further on edge as he struggled to process the information. His mind raced to try and find some kind of meaning.
Elena had ample reason to be pissed at Frankie, but their daughter had stood as a no-conflict zone between them. They always co-parented well, despite their differences. And even though she hated Santiago's guts, he didn't know her to be a cruel or vindictive person. Something had to have happened.
“She's gotta be doing this to try and get his attention. Have either of you spoken to her?”
Benny cleared his throat, his eyes still trained down towards the mouth of his beer bottle.
“It's still so fresh, man. He’s only known since Monday.”
Will shook his head before pointing a warning finger at Santiago. “This isn't our fight, Pope. And frankly, of all people, you definitely need to keep your nose out of it.”
Only a year earlier, that sort of comment would have sparked rage deep within Santi. Maybe it was because it was coming from Will, and maybe the 2nd beer had him feeling more relaxed, but he simply nodded.
“Yeah, I'm aware.” He bore a bitter half-smile as he held up a placating hand. “But this isn't fucking right and we all know it.”
Santiago took a sip of his beer, only turning his head so he could verify that Samuel hadn't gone any higher in Will's tree.
Frankie must have succeeded in convincing him to climb down, because he was now hanging upside down by his knees from the lowest branch.
Seemingly eager for a subject change, Benny nodded to the scene taking place on the other side of the backyard.
"What's the story with this kid?"
Santiago shrugged. "Hard to say. His mom's got issues, but she won't talk to anyone. We just know that they were evicted and about to sleep out on the street. It looks like she's running from something. Maybe an ex. Maybe she owes someone money."
Will leaned onto the armrest of his deck chair. "Does she have a record?"
He let the question drift out between them casually. Due to their line of work, they both had access to certain connections and the privileges that went along with them. It was a practice that wasn't discouraged or encouraged, but they both knew that Santiago could have easily obtained her file if Sonia had one with the police.
"Nope. All clear."
"What about the kid?"
Santiago slowly blinked, his dark eyes incredulous.
"Does he have a police record at age seven?"
A smile appeared across Will's face as he looked out across his back lawn. He could so clearly hear the indignation in his friend's voice as he disbelievingly rephrased the question, there was no need to look over to confirm that his eyes were probably narrow slits.
"I meant have you tried asking him for more information, Pope."
An empty laugh pushed its way from Santiago's chest.
"I've tried, but I'm not exactly his favorite person." He sighed, his chair creaking as he leaned back into a long stretch. "We've fallen into this cops and robbers routine somehow. He goes non verbal the second I start asking any questions."
Will's fingers scratched against the stubble growing under his chin, this time a twinge of genuine amusement flashed across his features as he tried to imagine the scene.
"It's only been a few days, right? Don't they usually settle in after a while?"
"Yeah, yeah..." Santi hummed as he began peeling off the foil wrapper around the mouth of his beer bottle, clearly unconvinced. "Most of them do."
Benny leaned forward to chuck another log onto Will’s fire, his face contemplative while he looked for the right spot.
“If something’s really wrong, he’ll eventually talk.” He spoke while a few stray fireflies took off into the air.
Santiago didn't ask for clarification, but he couldn't keep from mulling over how Benny's advice applied to both individuals on the other side of the backyard.
___________________________________
Saturday, October 12th, 2021. 10:15 PM
They left Will's house around 10 PM.
After saying their goodbyes to the Miller brothers, Santiago and Frankie stood between their trucks parked on the edge of the front lawn. Sam was already climbing up into the backseat of Santi's truck while the two men said goodbye to one another. Santiago purposefully lingered in the embrace they shared. His arms held the man against his chest, stopping him from being able to pull away too quickly. It was indulgent, surely, but he needed to feel that contact, for however brief it ultimately would be. The conversation he held with Will and Benny just a few hours earlier still rang fresh in his mind. To say that he was concerned for Frankie didn't come close enough to the worry he was now feeling. Santiago knew that if what Elena was attempting to do was for real, his own heart would break at having to watch such a callous thing be inflicted on the man he loved.
He ghosted his mouth against his warm skin, first finding the shell of his ear, then the plush flesh of his cheek. It was risky behavior, because they’ve always made a point to be lowkey when out in public, but he was reassured when Frankie thankfully didn't tense up.
“Tomemos un café está semana?” (Let's go for a coffee this week?)
Santiago whispered the proposition warmly to him when he pulled back and their eyes met for what felt like the first time all damn night. He was sure to subdue the smile he wore, knowing in the back of his mind that Frankie could suspect something if he played this too strong.
Maybe the two beers he drank that afternoon made him less observant, but if Frankie suspected anything, he didn't let it show. His large hands only lingered on Santiago's waist. He gave an easy nod to the question before his dark eyes flicked downward, seemingly to fixate on his throat.
“Claro, cuando tú quieras.” (Sure, whenever you want.)
It was impossible not to think about the fact that "going for a coffee" used to be their old excuse to sneak off and see each other - when they were both in the army and even when Frankie and Elena were still together. Sometimes it would be just that, a simple coffee and a long talk, but more often than not it was more.
This time, Santi really only wanted to talk to him. Frankie was so damn good at hiding whatever he had going on inside. Being able to speak one on one - that meant without the boys, without the diner chaos around, without one of the foster cases in tow - would probably be the only way he was going to be able to get anything out of him.
The drive back to his house was short. Just after he ushered Samuel inside and sent him back to brush his teeth and change in to pajamas, his phone began to ring in his pocket.
With the boy heading off down the hallway, he pulled the device out and made his way into the kitchen. A frown took over his features as he caught Dana's name across the screen.
Even though he could hear the water running in the hallway bathroom, he kept his voice hushed as he answered.
"Hey, what's up?"
"Sonia didn't return back to the shelter after curfew last night. Her phone has been going straight to voicemail all day."
His footsteps froze in the middle of the tiled kitchen floor. Dana sounded angry as she began to rapidly recount what few details she possessed.
"Even if she did come back, I doubt I can convince the shelter at this point to keep her spot. Not to mention she's also-"
"No, no, hang on." Santi abruptly cut her off. His mind was racing with the slew of information she just fired at him. He already knew what she was suggesting and he didn't want to hear her voice it out loud. "How many hours has she been gone now? Let's not jump ahead before we know what we're dealing with."
"Her phone has been turned off all day, Santiago." Dana repeated. "You know what this looks like. I know what this looks like."
He let out a slow exhale as he tugged off his baseball cap. The faint hum of the fluorescent light over the sink registered in his ears. He tossed his hat onto the counter before his fingers threaded deep into his tangled curls. He began to gingerly pace over the kitchen, making the same brief circuit around his island as he listened to Dana list their options.
"Listen, it's your call." Santiago cut in once she finished. "But maybe we should just ride out the weekend and give Sonia a chance to come back and explain-"
Just as he rounded the island for the umpteenth time, he caught sight of a small figure standing in the kitchen entryway. It immediately brought his words and movement to a direct stop.
Samuel's face was unreadable. He stood stock still as he stared at Santiago, the black darkness of the living room just behind him.
No one moved. No one spoke.
Fuck.
___________________________________
@velocibee @thirstworldproblemss, @ohsomightypeaches, @ellenmunn , @hopeamarsu, @astroboots, @kesskirata , @itspdameronthings , @acdeaky @waywaychuck , @unbelievable-dear , @niki-fromthevoid @songsformonkeys , @duckydanny @rebel-fanfare
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ᴠᴇʜᴇᴍᴇɴᴛ
POSSESSIVE!JOEL X SIREN!READER - VEHEMENT.
[PART SIX TO THE SIREN SERIES].
WORD COUNT - 4,613.
RATING - 18+. [infidelity, angst, joel being the bold and petty person he is and multiple hardcore sex].
SUMMARY - both you and Joel could feel the building intensity between the two of you, even after the intense and bitter history the two of you had shared, the both of you openly long for each other but there are two obstacles in the way, yourself and Shiloh.
if you want to join a the last of us/joel miller discord here you go! 𓆩♡𓆪
feedback would be appreciated!
As the pair were hungry, the two rode out of the woods in awkward silence, even though it had normally taken you longer to become ravenous compared to Humans, you had lately arrived to your limit. You had been in front of Joel, and comically the both of your stomachs had been faintly growling, in spite of the years of wandering around the world specifically due to the outbreak, living in Jackson had weakened both their endurance for food.
You had turned around to look at him, nonetheless of the feelings you demonstrated the night before, you had adhered it was right to get food for the both of you. “We’re near an ocean, I can go fetch us fish to eat before we make it back to Jackson,” you forwardly clarified and timid, Joel held the reigns of Old Beardy against his lower stomach and haltingly beckoned his head.
“That’ll be great,” he softly replied; and earnest to make it quicker to the beach, you had directed Mira to jaunt faster.
Still and all the ride to the beach wasn’t long, and you had lightly pondered how long it would have taken if both you and Joel were on foot. Would it have made the two of you find way to accommodate and make peace with one another? Withal, it was not like Joel had to make appease with you, especially because it was him that had made you feel like a problem. Feel ruffled because you weren’t Human.
The second you had found a good place to tie Mira around, you had directly dragged your feet against the sand once you became shoeless. With Joel left behind, he had watched you near yourself towards the cold body of water with the moment he multi-tasked to tie his horse next to your stallion, he had observed you taking off your clothes in order to prepare yourself to dive inside the water.
Despite of what you had told him the night before, he couldn’t help himself but miss you, he had missed everything about you, and favourably, you had given him parts of yourself he had longed for. Your impudence, allure and physical figure. Contrite, Joel pulled himself together, his hazel vision set on how your black tail flicked out of the water, before the entire of your body had plunged into the liquid.
It didn’t take you long for you to retrieve the fishes for the both of you to eat, in fact, you had reclaimed multiple of fishes just in case. The concept of Joel standing in front of where you would pull yourself out of, didn’t come to you, thus, the moment your eyes met with his, you weren’t familiar with how you should’ve reacted, howbeit, you kept yourself together. Silent, you had dragged yourself out of the body of liquid, the laser of his perception hot on your skin.
Your skin a lighter shade compared to your Human skin, your hair longer and your fingers webbed. The small gills in your cheek and the thin slits in your eyes, impertinent, Joel had externally gazed at every detail of your Siren frame. The black scales of your rudder that had dimly glowed blue hues, the prevailing details of your inhuman form had Joel consider that with how complicated and exact your Siren body had looked like. Perhaps Sirens weren’t an aversion, mayhap they were made to exist by God just like how Humans were but instead were made to live in the Sea.
You were beautiful, and he had no longer had any fear that had made him think other-wise. Eventually, you had looked away from him, suddenly ambivalent due to how hard he had been staring at you. “What are you doing here?”
“Waiting for you.”
Nourished, you curved your eyes at him. “You didn’t need to do that,” chiefly, with the conversation you had shared with him yesterday, you’d think he’d leave you alone, yet, Joel wasn’t always a man of his word, as well as you being a flaky person, but there was a commodity of him being there for you to make sure you came out that had made you feel cordial.
The moment your entire body had been pulled out of the water; you had forced yourself to transform back to your Human physique. Your skin had returned to its mortal shade while your hair had returned to its previous length, your hair was long but your Siren hair was considerably longer, and the webbed skin between your digits had shrunk back into your hands. Your akin legs currently separate and abruptly, you were back on your feet.
Absorbed, Joel had watched the entire transformation and the second he had realised you were naked he had briskly turned his head away from you.
“Nothing new,” you coolly muttered and satiated, Joel scoffed.
“Does it hurt?” Joel asked and the moment he had felt your body was covered, he curved his face to look at you.
“The first few times it did, but now it doesn’t anymore,” you answered, your back faced towards the bearded man as you picked up the dead fish you had collected.
“It must be strange, living with people who aren’t like you,” Joel thoughtfully commented and you had continued to achieve your task without responding to what he had said. “What type of fish did you catch?”
“Saltfish.”
Impressed, Joel nodded his head just as he directed you to where he had lit the fire within the brief time period you had assigned yourself to catch bait. Constructed, you had put down the chum and wrapped your arms around your body, the weather was cool and sunny with a bit of breeze that had poised the two of you. Perchance, it was because of the time you had currently spent together, but there was a brusque craving the two of you were hit with, perhaps, it was always there and you had pushed it away thus your explosion towards Joel the previous night.
Fluctuant, you had looked at Joel and an article in you had broadcasted that you knew that he anticipated the same emotions, but, no---you couldn’t, you couldn’t do this to Shiloh, you just couldn’t, but you did. You were in his arms; your lips longingly caressed his while your body had pressed against his physique. It was so quick, so impetuous that you didn’t even realise your frame was against the ground, ready to open to him and ready to be worn.
The fabric you had currently worn had been taken off again, and your breast, plump had faced upwards, fondled and played with by his generous hands. His lips removed off your mouth and placed against your neck, sensitive, your body had lightly jolted to his touch, the pad of his fingers had glid down the side of your waist and to the hem of your lower garment. He was quick to pull them down, quick to contact your pearl with his digits, the motion soft but the feeling had felt excessive and fervent.
Your opening wet had ached for his size, and in entreat, you had gripped your breasts and gently moaned to his touch. “Joel, please,” you perilously begged, and quickly his eyes landed on yours, his range of view hungry and sensual, he had gazed at you, his eyes inquisitive and lewd.
“What is it, gorgeous? What do you want me to do?”
His voice had been coarse and genitive, the way he had sounded had made your skin rigid and firm, timid your eyes had become low, his fingers had worked on you and you had arched your back and released a flushed moan. “What do you want me to do?” He dragged and quickly you had grabbed his wrist the moment you had recognised your climax which had throbbed to release.
“I want you to fuck me,” you implored and for one last time, you had stretched a moan, your sap had quickly slipped out of you and furthermore, you had gently run your fingers against your nectar and pushed your coated fingers into his mouth, and compliant, Joel had sucked the amrita off your digits. As his hands found way to his clothes, the Miller man had swiftly pulled off his clothing, his shaft hard which had flared hungry and cardinal.
The moment he had lowered his body against your frame, he had embraced you once more, his caress rough and eager, your lips sore to his esurient behaviour, you had wrapped your arms around his shoulders whilst his hands found way to the back your knees. You could feel the stiffness of his cock press against your cunt and the juncture your wetness had coated around him, you loudly discharged a moan against his mouth, your eyes tight shut as your body re-adjusted to his size.
Oh, you had missed him so badly, and your body knew, throughout the time the two of you were separate, your body had craved his touch so much, Shiloh couldn’t give you what had needed but Joel did. His moves were strong and persuading, as he pressed his body in an able and laden manner, his stout bulky to prove that once again, you were his. His thrusts angry and chafe, as his hot breath waved against the edge of your neck as he chased his comfort, your moans altered loud as the head of his cock pressed against the urchin-like spots that had been elevated.
Your nails had dug into his shoulders as you submerged the need to mark his body, your digits found way to his hair, and roughly you had gripped his locks, eyes shut and cunt in ardor. “Joel,” you had whined in pleasure, the way his sac had slapped against your heat and his low grunts in memo of his pleasure, firm, your cunt had gripped around his shaft, the hotness sweeping around your body as you could feel yourself pulse around him.
“Fuck, gorgeous,” Joel sparingly moaned, his movements twitched and inconsistent as the high ride dragged through his current. The wet slaps expanded just as Joel’s figure pressed harder against your body, his seed had quickly released inside you but the hitherto hunger he had was still prominent, his hips continued to buck forward, strong and speedy, being selfish to chase his lust but his libidinous ways had caused your body to shake under his, your forehead urged against his while you had wrapped your legs around his waist, your body tight while you had eventually released a carnal nectar that had wickedly built up in your chassis.
Relieved, you had slumped your body against the cold sand to gather on what had just happened.
The two of you had barely spoke since the exchange, moreover, you had both silently consumed the fish you had finished cooking a couple of minutes ago and the both of you had awkwardly exchanged glances to each other while the other wasn’t looking.
Guilty, you had lightly bit off the fish food your teeth had dug into and slowly chewed on the fare, you had dragged your eyes to the older man who had sat opposite you, even though he had seemed sullen, you could detect the alleviation he had embodied due to the activity the both of you had shared.
“Don’t tell anyone what we did with each other,” you dryly muttered, your eyes serious while his coloured orbs met with yours. He seemed like he had attempted to hold something back, but Joel’s pettiness usually got the best of him.
“The anyone being Shiloh?”
He had seemed diverted of your request and his mean but pleasantly occupied expression had made you shrink into your error. “He’s too good to me and I ruined everything.”
In response, he shrugged. “It’s my fault for kissing you.”
“I’m the one who agreed to kissing you,” you contritely muttered as you threw away the bones of the fish you had finished eating into the fire carcass.
Silently, Joel gazed at you as he quietly disagreed with your comment, it was a moment of zeal and as Joel had no regrets with what he had done with you, he could see that you were rattled about what had just happened and he comprehended that for now, there was nothing he could do about it. In spite of that, you had all of a sudden been distracted by something that had caught your disrupted attention, he had curved his head to give attention to what had caused you to become pre-occupied and briskly, Joel had noted Shiloh and Bella come into view with their horses.
They had appeared happy and it was authentic, the moment Shiloh jumped off his horse, Rocky, Shiloh had immediately caressed you into his arms, his limbs soft and inviting which had you blended into his touch. You had returned his hug and felt Shiloh press his mouth against the top of your head.
“I missed you so much,” Bella commented then turned to look at the Miller man who had gracelessly watched the scenario occur in front of him. “Well, I missed you too,” Bella clumsily delivered in order to make Joel feel appreciated, her inept behaviour had pushed a laugh out of you as Joel uncouthly beckoned his head towards your best friend.
“Is there something wrong?”
The abrupt inquiry from Shiloh had caused you to stiffly shift your head towards him, he had his hands framed around your face just as he carefully examined your frame. During his time being in a relationship with you, Shiloh could easily tell when you were upset, and he had consistently taken your emotions seriously.
“There’s nothing wrong,” you responded but your answer hadn’t been enough for Shiloh to believe so.
Hastily, Shiloh turned to look at Joel who immediately gathered the strength to defend himself. “Did you do anything to her?” Shiloh bluntly accused and suddenly, the fear he had for the respected man had depleted, his eyes denunciatory and fervent, he had angled his body in direction of the bearded man who swiftly stole a glance from you.
“I didn’t do anything,” Joel calmly responded and in distrust, Shiloh turned to look at you then twisted his gaze to Joel once more.
“Did you say anything to upset her?” Shiloh inquired, “because that is definitely something you’re talented at.”
“Okay that’s enough,” Bella interrupted, she had fleetly dragged herself between Joel and Shiloh to prevent anything tangible, if it were to happen.
“I just told you nothing happened between [Y/N] and I, she even told you,” Joel impolitely replied, crassly, he looked at you, his eyes crude. “Did you tell him everything?” Joel questioned; his tone had bluntly hinted to the break-up you two had mutually shared a while back.
Snotty, Shiloh curved his orbs at the older man as if what he had asked was deficient. “Of course, she did!” Shiloh arrogantly responded. “She tells me everything, I’m her boyfriend!”
Humoured, Joel crassly laughed at him, his sharp tone had caused you to diminish into your body and confused, Shiloh turned to look at you while you had looked back at him, your eyes had pleaded for him to stop. “I told you everything, now just sit down and eat.”
For your well-being, Shiloh had sat down beside you, his position grumpy and mellow, “if he had just accepted you for who you are, things wouldn’t have been so tense.”
“I’m very confused,” Bella candidly confessed. “It seems like there are things I’ve been left out of because things aren’t making any fucking sense.”
Fallen silent, the group had been sunken into their own thoughts, you had promised yourself that you wouldn’t speak anymore, if you were honest, you had been tired of hearing everyone’s voice, chiefly your own. “After this, we’re returning back to Jackson,” Joel dryly instructed, as your eyes were fixed on the ocean you were still able to catch Bella nod her head with the corner of your eyes, dismal, you had dragged your bent legs against your chest. You had then wrapped your limbs around your lower body and pressed your face against the cup of your knees and lightly fell asleep.
The moment Shiloh and Bella had finished their fare, Bella had lightly shoved you awake, the group had readied to return back to town and Shiloh and Joel were already on their feet and had carried their hooves to their horses.
The ride back to Jackson had been awkward, everyone had resumed to keep their thoughts to themselves for the sake of everybody but specifically, [Y/N]. Joel had been in front of everybody while you had been sandwiched between Bella and Shiloh. When the four had arrived to the gates they had quickly been able to note the people who had awaited at the opening, it had seemed like everyone had been able to make their way back, and you had considered it as luck. The moment you had dropped off of Mira, you had noticed the auburn haired that hastily made way to you and Joel, the person’s stance excited yet relieved.
“I thought something really bad happened to the both of you!” Ellie had cried out; her reassured physique had wrapped around you with her thin arms. Content, you had returned Ellie’s caress and gently pressed your lips at the top of her head while she quickly said a few hyped words that included of you having to tell her what had happened when you were out there.
Just as she resumed on speaking, Shiloh had appeared beside you, his large hand had been placed on your shoulder which had caused you to let go of the Williams girl who had impertinently looked at the man who stood next to you. She muttered a low welcoming to the man just as Tommy arrived and commenced to speak to both you and Joel.
“I’ll walk you home,” Shiloh candidly asserted just after Tommy left after he spoke about how he was glad everyone made it intact. It was evident that Shiloh hadn’t waited for you to tell him that you had agreed for him to take you home, he had just grabbed your arm and softly dragged you away from Ellie and Joel.
You didn’t want to see the look Ellie and Joel must’ve had on their face, aside from Joel’s apparent dislike for your romantic partner you could also tell that Ellie discernibly didn’t take liking for the nurse. Nevertheless, your home hadn’t been far from the gates but it didn’t stop Shiloh from his investigation. “Did anything happen before I came with Bella?”
You had gritted your teeth, you had wished that he had just let go of his inquiries and you had wished you didn’t fuck Joel in the beach, but you’d be lying. “Nothing happened, and if something happened, I would’ve told you.” You impatiently declared and with his hand now moved into your hand, Shiloh turned to look at you, the both of you had arrived to the destination of your home and it had seemed like the weather had begun to pick up the babble, you weren’t surprised, you can tell the nice weather was about to change the moment you saw the skies blue darken.
Your partner had then cupped your face, his face solemn but satisfied. “Good, I’m just glad nothing happened to you, and that you’re safe,” he kindly declared, “get some sleep, you must be tired.”
Softly, you had nodded your head, the warmth of his hands was removed from your face, and you had then been heralded to enter your home, and when the door was closed behind you, automatically, your shoulders had dropped, and you could feel the acute and excessive energy in your veins disappear. Finally, you didn’t feel like the whole world was on your shoulders, and eventually, you had become unburdened by what you had done.
Luckily, rain hadn’t picked up, you had gazed out of your windows for a couple of minutes while your thoughts and fought in your mind. You knew shouldn’t do it, but you were an adamant girl, and an adamant girl who usually made the wrong choices.
With your mind made up, you had carried yourself out of your home, and on your way out you had quickly yanked your coat from where it laid and quickly guided yourself out of cabin, and forcefully made your way to Joel’s home, you had noted that he was in as you could see there was a couple of lights that glowed in his window, as your eyes had stared into one of his windows, you had suddenly fell into a puddle of hesitation, yet, just as fast, you allowed yourself to drag yourself up his porch and knock on his door.
He didn’t take long to open his door, and the moment his coloured gaze rested upon you, he remained stunned. “[Y/N]?” He questioned, surprised, slowly, he had pushed himself slightly out of his door frame to check if anyone had seen you come by, but with this strong weather he doubted that anyone would be outside. “[Y/N], come in,” he quickly ushered and in response, you stepped into the warmth of his home, the vehement warmth you had longed for.
“Is there anything wrong?” Joel questioned and quickly you shook your head, but you were in truth, unsure.
“I wanted to come and apologise for what had happened, and I wanted to know if you were okay,” you truthfully explained, tightly, your arms were wrapped around your body as your eyes were big and destitute for his response.
“I’m fine,” Joel kindly replied, “why do you want to know?”
Graceless, you had gently bounced your shoulders. “I can’t keep lying to myself,” you poorly responded, “about the fact that I don’t care about you when I really do. I’m not angry at you anymore, I can’t bring myself to still be mad at you.”
“Especially with what you said last night?” Joel asked, his eyes intrusive to her answer.
“Everything I said last night, I take it back,” you candidly replied, your vision examined the bearded man who calmly stood in front of you, searched for his approval, for him to at least understand that what you said had come from the heart.
Indulgent to your reply, Joel had felt the intensity in his shoulders become permissive. “And I take back how I reacted when I found out what you were the other time.”
Content with his answer, you had automatically hurried yourself towards his muscled figure, your arms ready to hug him but something once more switched in your mind, and instead of a hug, you had invited him to a kiss. Joel hadn’t been surprised with your behaviour and had wanted what he had received from you, ever since yours and his interaction at the beach, it had left Joel wanting more albeit the anger Shiloh had brought out of him. He liked the fact that he could fuck you again, to silently prove that no matter how much Shiloh could be angry with him, you would always run back to him, to Joel.
With your trousers and damp underwear nether to your ankles, Joel had slid his fingers between the wetness of your heat, just by the feather of his touch you had loudly moaned at his caress, your swollen lips pulled away from his mouth just as you begun to grind against his digits.
“Do you want to keep doing this behind Shiloh’s back?” Joel boldly asked and in control to his touch, you had furrowed your eyebrows in bliss.
This was a bad idea, you knew this could end bad, but doing this with Joel had given you entice. “I can’t do this to him,” you whimpered as your forehead softly collided with his, your eyes had wettened not due to sadness but due to pleasure. The roughness of his fingertips had circled on your nub and quickly you could feel your body quake against his.
“Do you love him?” Joel inquired and in ease you closed your eyes, your lack of response had caused the taller being to become rough with this play, his rough moves had caused you to yelp in revelry. “Do you love him more than me?”
In desperacy you hastily shook your head, you had wrapped your arms around Joel’s shoulder to balance yourself, you had lightly lifted your left leg to give Joel better space to fondle and stroke your clit and when he had found the gratifying area and continued pursue it, you had gasped, your cunt eager and keen to have his cock thrust inside you. “I want you to say it,” Joel eagerly escorted, “do you love him more than me?”
“No!” You shamefully cried out; tears had rolled down your cheeks as you could feel yourself climax endlessly to his touch. Breathless, you had rested your head against the corner of his neck, gingerly tired. “I love you more than I love him.”
“Show it,” Joel forwardly offered, “fuck me and show it.”
Suddenly electrocuted with energy, you had aided Joel to unbuckle his belt, as well as the moment his trousers dropped, his shaft had eagerly heaved out from hiding, quickly, Joel had carried you and allowed you to wrap your lower limbs around his waist, and slowly his cock had immersed into your cunt, relaxed, the both of you had sighed but not too long after, Joel had begun to thrust his cock upwards, his heavy pulls taking you for surprise. Yet, you had hastily joined his act, in sync you had bounced on his shaft, your wetness thickly coated and gripped his cock that had caused him to fight his barbarous and abhorrent lust.
Still, your fervor and glow had commenced him animalistic and fleshly desire to activate, with craving cruelty, his dick had angled in your walls, the curve of his cock had stroked all the good tactile areas inside your body. Your skin had become damp with sweat and had mixed with his. His sac swollen had socked against your skin and your eyes swelled with tears had acquired you to release troubled and overwhelmed moans, you could feel your orgasm surge in your body as you humped and sprung on his cock, your clit puffed and athirst while your cunt had repeatedly gripped around him. Edacious for his semen, you had arched your back and rolled your hips, “Joel!” You lustfully cried out.
“Yes gorgeous?”
“Make me cum!” You eagerly whimpered, and keen to appease to your request, the man had become furtherly coarse and bearish with his thrusts. As your limbs around him gripped onto him weaker you had echoed embarrassing moans out of response of his brusque blows and abruptly you had climaxed around his dick, exhausted, you had held onto him and allowed the able-bodied man to use your body like the jade you were until he had eventually milked out his load into your cunt.
Finally, he had let you go, and the moment you were on your feet you had quickly gathered the clothing that had stiffly laid on the floor and put them on. The exchange had been too fierce and shameful for you to even say anything, but Joel had no complaint, he had watched you put on your clothes and quickly leave his cabin, it didn’t upset him because he knew there’ll be another time, you’ll come back to him.
songs that fit this chapter ⬎
⟶ purity ring - vehemence.
what do you think of this chapter? i actually really liked it, the drama.
if you want to join a the last of us discord/joel miller discord here you go! 𓆩♡𓆪
masterlist
♆
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lantern night — yoon jeonghan
SYNOPSIS: On a night festive with lanterns, Jeonghan and Emeiko felt the pull of flickering lights and intertwining hearts. How will their encounter unfold under the mesmerizing spell of the lantern-lit night?
PAIRING: yoon jeonghan x oc au
WORD COUNT: 1.6k
The moment we set foot on the open grounds, my friends released breaths of amazement.
“It’s so beautiful,” Vernon spoke softly.
“Wait until the lanterns are lit up later,” I replied with a soft smile on my face.
No other words were exchanged between us, as my friends breathlessly took in the view.
“Should we go buy our lanterns now?” Seungkwan broke the silence.
We all nodded and headed in the direction of the store.
As someone who had grown relatively familiar with the lantern festival, I let my friends buy their respective lanterns first, making me the last in line.
However, I failed to take notice of the growing flock just beside me. The next thing I knew, I was alone, separated from my friends.
I took out my phone and attempted to make a call but as expected, there was no signal in such a hidden place.
So I had to resort to bringing my friends back together only through my wandering eyes and booming voice.
Suddenly, I was on a venture, admiring the lanterns everyone seemed to have held dearly.
As if entranced by the harmonious aura, the task of finding my friends had been long forgotten. Instead, I made my way around the swarm of people, gripping my light source tightly.
It seemed to have been an effective tactic.
Not until I felt a tug, urging me to halt.
Not until I caught sight of the strings of my lantern entangled with that of another.
I pulled, expecting the small action to do the job of untangling my strings with the stranger.
Yet I was faced with a slight force in my direction. I finally faced the man who I had been pulling strings with.
To my surprise, he was already looking at me.
The man, who could easily be described as good-looking, seemed to embody what I would imagine an angel to resemble.
Even with the tired glint in his eyes, no one could deny the beauty he possessed.
I was snapped out of my trance when a voice spoke. “Do you want to?” He said while motioning to our tangled strings.
No other words were needed because we both knew that it took effort from both of us to set free of our lanterns.
So we did.
Amid the crowd, there stood 2 strangers, untying unintentionally made knots in complete silence.
After what felt like hours, the task was finally done. It was just in time for releasing the lanterns.
I was about to give my thank you but the loud bell overpowered my small voice.
Midnight.
I unknowingly had a smile on my face but just when I was about to set my lantern free, its strings snapped before I could even light it.
I released a small breath of disappointment, thinking about how nothing seemed to be going right tonight.
Not only did I lose my friends in the crowd but I no longer had time to even go back in store for a new lantern.
I may have not been doing a good job of hiding my disappointment because I suddenly felt a tap on my shoulder.
It was the stranger next to me, who had previously entangled his lantern strings with mine.
He motioned to his own as if he were offering the now-lit lantern to me.
I gave him a raised eyebrow, to which he responded with a slight nod.
“Are you sure?” I asked softly and he nodded back.
So I took the lantern from his hold, looking at the light source in admiration.
No longer wanting to waste any more time, I pulled the strings of the lantern, releasing it into the night sky.
We were yet again faced with utter silence, both of us admiring the now-bright sky.
Similar to the previous years, I was having the time of my life. Everyone was. Or I at least thought so.
If only I had not looked in the direction of my companion tonight at that exact moment, I would have missed the sad glint in his eyes.
It was gone as soon as it arrived.
It made me wonder what made him appear so gloomy on such a festive night.
I wanted to ask however before I could even find my voice to speak, he beat me to it.
“I proposed to my girlfriend of 3 years tonight. You could only guess what her response was.” He laughed bitterly.
I had no words to say so I was glad when he spoke again. “It was a dream we both had to attend the Lantern Festival together. Every year we would try but something would always get in the way. 3 years later, we’re finally here.”
“You could quit pretending, you know?” I spoke softly.
He seemed taken aback by my words, “Excuse me?”
“Never been rejected nor have I turned a proposal down so I might not know exactly what you’re going through but I’m sure it hurts like hell.” Despite looking at the lanterns above, I could feel his eyes flicker in my direction with what I assumed to be filled with amusement.
“You don’t have to keep smiling to show that you’re okay when you aren’t,” I concluded.
From my peripheral, I could see him shake his head lightly, as he looked at the sky too. “Wouldn’t that be unfair though? Everyone here waited months for this beautiful experience. Seeing someone sad would ruin the moment for them.”
I released a sigh. “Doesn’t that make things unfair for you as well? You were rejected by someone who you envisioned the future with yet you couldn’t even express how you truly feel.”
It was silent for what almost felt like forever until I heard his soft voice again.
“I was about to take my leave though.”
“Hmm?” I asked, my eyes still stuck to the lanterns.
He spoke. “I was rushing because I no longer wanted to be here by midnight. It felt wrong for sadness to fill up my heart when everyone here is having the time of their lives.”
He kept going. “There’s just something so romantic about being in a lantern festival, you know? From having to personally pick out your lanterns together to lighting and eventually releasing our flickers of hope into the night sky.
And then, you watch it join the countless others, dancing in light and shadow. It may sound selfish but I refuse to go through that alone when my intention for even being here was to tie strings with her.
The experience just sounds so magical that pushing through with it today seems inappropriate. Its glow is a reminder of the love that once illuminated our lives.” He said so softly that I could quite literally hear both the love and sadness laced in his voice.
“I beg to differ,” I responded, making brief eye contact with a slight smile.
“What?” He asked, with a raised brow.
I diverted my attention back to the lanterns before speaking again. “I see why one can easily attribute the Lantern Festival to a sense of union between two lovers but it isn’t all about that.
Its gentle glow brings comfort and solace to the loneliest souls. It’s a reminder that a flicker of warmth can always be found, even in the coldest of nights.
As you release your lantern into the night sky, it feels like letting fragments of yourself free, releasing your worries, fears, and doubts into the vast expanse above.” I ended, just when our lanterns were no longer within birds-eye view.
He chuckled a bit. “That’s quite a unique perspective to have, considering how we’re mostly surrounded by couples.”
“Are we? Or is it because you’ve only made yourself aware of the couples around and not the lost souls?” I asked finally making eye contact with the stranger while motioning to the many solo goers around us.
I released another sigh. “Look, I don’t want to seem like I’m intruding considering how you got your heart broken minutes ago but my only point is that it’s okay to be a lonely lost soul. Do you know why the festival begins at midnight? Because people see it as some sort of time reset. An opportunity to start anew.”
It was silent for a few minutes until he spoke again. “I can’t. It’s too early for that. I gave you my lantern not just because yours broke but because I’m not ready to let mine go.”
That’s when it hit me. He didn’t release any lanterns tonight.
I looked him in the eye again. “Then keep coming back. Until you’re ready to cast your lantern – whether it be with a significant other or alone. But for now, think of tonight as a starting point for your healing journey from the things you choose not to talk about.”
How are you so certain that there are things I hide about myself?” He asked with furrowed eyebrows.
“You just don’t seem like the sharing type.” I shrugged.
“How are you sure? You don’t know me.” He spoke defensively.
“I don’t but your eyes speak a thousand emotions.” I said finally making eye contact again
“You don’t have to worry. What was shared tonight stays here. It isn’t like we’ll cross paths ever again, right? It was nice talking to you, stranger.” I gave him a warm smile and proceeded to make my leave, finally catching sight of my friends.
“Wait! What’s your name?” He shouted.
I looked at his curious gaze and gave a small shrug before proceeding to walk away.
What a night.
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Plastic Skies of Betrayal - Model 12: F-5E Tiger II “Area 88″
So this model is a little special. I know I said the same thing about the last one, but while the Raptor build came with a heavy dose of anxiety and frustrations, the next build turned out to be a nice planetary alignment of materials and people all coming together in an incredibly rewarding project. Just like the Raptor, however, talking about it involves talking about other things first. In this case, a late 70s manga that set up camp in my brain months ago and refuses to leave.
Have you ever heard of AREA 88? If not, you’re about to.
So there’s this plane called the Northrop F-5 Tiger II, which I’d actually never heard about until I played Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War. That game famously starts you off in an F-5 and locks you there for the first four or five missions, so I became pretty well-acquainted with this tiny little fighter. Some people might recognize its shape from the original TOP GUN, where it was painted black and used as a stand-in for Russian MiG planes, but on the other side of the Pacific, a lot of people know it best as one of the signature planes of one Shin Kazama.
Shin is the protagonist of AREA 88, a manga by Kaoru Shintani that started all the way in 1979 and ended in 1986, the same year TOP GUN came out. I first heard about it while looking at some model kits, and since I was (and in a lot of ways still am) elbows deep in fighter jets at that time, I started to dig a bit deeper. Three OVAs and half a manga series later, I was absolutely hooked. The air combat is fantastic and the manga pulls a bunch of incredible visual tricks to render it, but it’s the intense melodrama of the characters that really kept me in. It’s a tremendously engaging, compelling and interesting series from every angle. And funny enough, I’d actually seen it once, over a decade ago. Just not as a manga or as an anime.
As it turns out, AREA 88 had a videogame for the SNES that had been brought to the West as “UN SQUADRON”, and I had actually played it back when my computer was so underpowered that all I could play were emulated retro games. Running into the game’s source material again in the midst of a wild craze triggered by another videogame was a strange but fun little return, and along with my growing obsession with said source material, cemented my decision to make my next model AREA 88-themed. And the universe seemed more than happy to provide.
My current favorite hobby shop turned out to have a 1/72 Tiger II model for a very nice price, made by the same company that made the F-16 model I’d built some months ago. To make things even better, it was also the exact same kit I’d already seen a much better hobbyist than me turn into Shin’s plane and upload tons of great reference pics online. All I really needed would be the decals, so I asked the shop’s owner if he could get me in touch with someone who prints customs decals. He obliged, although in the end that wouldn’t be necessary.
The build itself was pretty sweet, although not without its hiccups. There was no family drama to distract me this time nor lingering feelings of guilt. Even money was no longer an object. Feeling more relaxed than usual, I took my time with it, and challenged myself to add a few extra touches. For example, taking the thinnest brush I have, dipping it in red paint and giving the stick a little button,
The other thing I also tried out was, for the first time, primer. Yes, I’m a dummy. Yes, I’m not sure how I got this far without it. But I’d never actually needed primer before until disaster struck and some patches of paint began to fall out of my Raptor model kit. I’m still not sure what caused it exactly, but priming models from now on seemed like the smartest solution. As we say down here, better to prevent than mend.
That said, I don’t think I fully understand this whole priming thing yet. Without an airbrush or a spray can, I just used a brush to coat the kit with it, right off the bottle. I’m not sure if this is a good way to use it but at least it smelled really good. And not in a thick chemical kind of way, just genuinely sweet smell. But anyway...
Painting had to be paused for a moment after I let a friend borrow my white paint, so for a week or so only the Tiger’s tail saw any paint, but once I had everything back things moved pretty quickly. I was a bit worried about the blue part since masking tape and me don’t see eye to eye. Still, it worked out alright, and any imperfections were quickly corrected with a bit more paint. Which is something I really appreciate in model-making: if you mess up, you can usually paint over it. Usually.
Like with the stick, I took the time to paint a few other little details like the position lights. Decals and weathering also worked out pretty well, thanks to HobbyBoss’ decals being really good and the plane itself being really small compared to the last couple ones I’d made.
The other thing I felt quite proud of was my paintjob on the transparent parts. I’d been scared of canopies for so long that a bunch of my first models are still purely transparent there, but thanks to a couple of really comfortable brushes and some experience, I’m feeling far more confident about it nowadays. Plus, I’d fallen in love with this shade of blue, so adding more to the plane was its own reward. And speaking of canopies, another little touch I’ve been adding to the planes since the Raptor is to give the whole thing a coat of matte varnish, but then use gloss for the canopy, giving it a nice shiny finish. Although that led to a moment of anxiety when a drop of varnish went inside the canopy and stayed there, giving it a very ugly thick white curve that I feared was permanent. In the end I went to sleep and woke up to the varnish having completely dried out and disappeared, so that’s a good life lesson: sometimes you just need to sleep things off.
So with that and a combination of black and gray panel liner, the Tiger was done! ... or was it? After all, this wasn’t just any Tiger, this is supposed to be Shin Kazama’s Tiger. It was still missing a couple of very important touches. But for the time being I was pretty damn satisfied with the model, top to bottom.
A couple of weeks passed and I never really got around to contacting the guy I’d been recommended, but then I ran into something interesting: a local hobbyist in our local version of eBay was offering custom display bases for model kits at a pretty affordable price. I’d been thinking about getting or even making a humble display base for pictures and stuff, but when I noticed that he was offering custom touches, an idea came to my mind. And that idea lead to a frankly pretty amazing moment of pure human connection.
So after I got paid, I reached out to the guy and asked about getting a 1/72 base made with some extra touches. First, he asked for a picture of the model I wanted to go on the base, so he could take some measurements. Feeling pretty proud of my work so far, I sent him a picture...
... and I swear, the very first thing he said was, and I quote:
“Oh, is that Shin Kazama’s F-5 from Area 88?”
To which my answer was “Ok, that simplifies matters.”
On top of immediately understanding the assignment, new friend even offered to throw in a little extra: a Shin Kazama scale figurine, free of charge. I said yes, of course, ‘cause momma didn’t raise the kind of fool that says no to free stuff, and also asked if he knew anyone who could help me with the decals. As it turned out, he did know a guy. And the combined efforts of three different people living nearly 400 miles away from each other all came together to make something that makes me incredibly happy.
Like everything else I’ve made so far, it’s not perfect. The tail decal couldn’t be easily printed in transparent paper, so it was printed on blue paper that’s ever so slightly a different shade than the one on the plane. But the results are still more than good enough for me.
In the end, this kit turned out to be a very welcome de-stresser. The difficult parts turned out to be a lot less difficult than it seemed, and the base and decals story is something I know I’ll always talk about with a smile on my face. In a hobby that’s usually pretty solitary, that little bit of long-distance camaraderie went a long way. And left me a very nice base for all future projects.
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20 questions for fic writers
I was tagged by @bluedaddysgirl! Sorry this took so long. ;;
I'll tag: @withercrown @a-aristippus @lacertae-dreamscape @aevallare @loveoaths @kevystel @frogunderarock @wolveria @dreaminghour @bright-thorn @kitewithfish
And anyone else who wants an excuse to do this please tag me I'd love to read your answers!! 🥺💖💖💖
1. How many works do you have on AO3?
134.
2. What's your total A03 word count?
444,065
3. What fandoms do you write for?
I started my writing days in Overwatch and most of my fics are from that era, but most recently, I've written for Star Wars, Baldur's Gate 3 and Arcane.
4. What are your top five fics by kudos?
A New Era - First Jayvik fic I wrote, and somehow it's at the top of the jayvik ao3 tag by kudos even though it's mindrot I wrote between episode breaks. Sorry long form jayvik writers ;;
Lost Time - life-affirming jayvik sex after the s1 finale. I'm just now realizing that all my top kudos fics are jayvik LMAO
Opposites - jayvik fic where someone talks up Viktor at a party and Jayce gets jealous.
Arcane Ficlets - my randomly assorted Arcane stuff I wrote via tumblr asks. All jayvik too 😂
Warm Heart - Viktor has cold hands but Jayce knows just how to warm him up.
5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?
I try to! But sometimes it takes me months to get back to people. Once the inbox number ticks up I get a little nervous ;; which only makes the problem worse!
6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?
I tend not to write anything that ends too angsty. I have one or two that have a sort of bad-end vibe. Usually I'll write an angsty ending then delete and rewrite. LOL
Maybe this silco/viktor fic: Back Down? Since Viktor knows he shouldn't be messing around with Silco but he's so drawn to him.
Runner up: one of my ramyatta fics Stargazing because it shows the difference between their past relationship and the present at the end, where they are no longer together. t _ t
7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?
Probably Encore, since I wrote it because Outer Wilds canon endings beat me up so badly. LOL
8. Do you get hate on fics?
Very rarely!
9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?
Almost always. Any kind, basically. LOL I love pining and unestablished relationship like crazy, and both characters just falling into sex with each other. Blow jobs, possessiveness, breeding kinks, ritualistic sex, size difference, voyeurism, smell stuff, sex pollen, outfits... a VERY wide range. 😂
10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?
I almost never write them. I think I have written a few fics that just takes characters and puts them into another game's setting, but that's about it.
11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?
Not that I know of?
12. Have you ever had a fic translated?
Yes! Most I had one of my ramyatta fics translated into chinese. I've also had my only symbrock fic made into a podfic.
13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?
Not really. I've done a fic with bluedaddysgirl that was Thrawn/Cad Bane, but mostly I collaborate with artists to do illustrations of my work. I did some RPing back in the day, but none of that's going to see the light of day LOL
14. What's your all-time favorite ship?
Probably genyatta? But honestly, I have so so many. Obimaul also has a special place in my heart.
15. What's the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?
My last year's nanofic. It was an AU where Bo-Katan never saved Obi-Wan from Mandalore, so he remained Maul's prisoner. It was going to be a what if where Maul realizes he doesn't know what to do with Obi-Wan now that he's finally exacted his revenge, and they would slowly fall in love while doing powerplays the whole time. LOL It was a bit weird because I had to write it so fast, so a lot of the fic was just Savage and Obi-Wan interacting, so it almost made it seem as if they would be the better pairing TBH. It just needs so much reworking and IDK if I have the power. It probably just needs an entire re-write.
16. What are your writing strengths?
I feel I'm very good at condensing ideas into short word counts. I also think my sex scene writing, specifically my dirty talk, is pretty good! That's one of those things that I can't stand to read if it's bad in fanfic, so I try to make what they say as in character as I can. 😳
17. What are your writing weaknesses?
Writing anything longer holy shit. I'm really terrible at it because as soon as I have to deal with pacing it's a death sentence for my motivation. 💀💀💀
18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?
It can be done well? But only if you are a fluent speaker. I personally don't do it because I'm an idiot who only knows one language, and I don't want to mess up the mood of writing by accidentally making an embarrassing gaff in another language.
19. First fandom you wrote for?
In my life? Probably Kingdom Hearts. On my ao3 account: Dragon Age: Inquisition.
20. Favorite fic you've ever written?
Definitely Polite Company, my Obimaul reverse AU fic. It's the longest thing I've ever written and posted. SUCH a comfort fic to me, and it was a blast to work on. There's just something so fun about writing Jedi Maul that I still can't get over it. The ideas kept coming for that fic which almost never happens for me, and somehow it was fairly well received, which I'm just so ridiculously grateful for. I'm always surprised at how much Obimaul isn't a main pairing for Obi-Wan when they have such ridiculous chemistry. Not even 600 fics on all of ao3 for them💀💀💀 A crime!!
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