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theblackestvalkyrie · 9 months

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In Defense of You

Pairing: Miguel O'Hara x black!wife!Reader {Alternate Universe}

Summary: A little look into the life Miguel commandeered in the alternate universe filled with snippets and moments of love that ultimately lead to disaster......Or the one where Miguel took his alternate's place and gets you and your family killed. [TW/A/S/F]

Warning: Angst, marital smut, character deaths, murder, pregnancy, squirting, anxiety, Spider-Man 2099 lore HEAVILY referenced, reader body descriptions, insinuations of relationship/marital abuse, POV changes, attempted murder, housewife mentality, low-ish self-esteem reader, depictions of violence, slight OOC Miguel because this is before his family died and he closed himself off, SAPPY SOFT MIGUEL, vomit, bilingual family, Spanish language used but I gave up halfway through lmaoo, Spanish speaking black reader, mentions of alternate universe stuff like tv shows, technical marital cheating, no use of y/n, NO BETA WE DIE LIKE MIGUEL’S FAMILY.

A/N: I was inspired by the movie scene in the gif and then I saw this pic on TikTok and thought it paired well. Realistically, I think the timeline/Source/Universe would have noticed if Miguel was there for too long where he doesn’t belong but I wanted this to make you care about the characters and story so lmaooo. This takes place after Miguel and Lyla create a way to travel through universes and BEFORE he recruits the first Spider-Man (Earth – 67) to his cause. I don’t know what Earth this happened on in the movie so I just made it 22 and also made up that counterpart’s job and any and all allegations of marital abuse.

It started with a morbid curiosity. After he had made the discovery of alternate realities and then the way to travel to them it was only natural for Miguel to want to see those other lives. His own life on Earth-928 hadn’t been anything to be proud of. He had every opportunity in his younger years being almost too smart for his own good. He could have done anything, been anything and he ended up at Alchemax. A megacorporation that was every bit the definition of capitalism and big government all at once. They had their fingers in damn near everything you could buy on the free market.

Alchemax was trying to corner the market on superhuman drugs. They had pretended to care about the well-being and safety of everyone by offering a serum to give people powers like the good old days when superheroes weren’t so rare. The overwhelming demand for this serum led to Alchemax skipping right passed any safety measures and straight to live human trials. So much death and chaos followed giving Miguel a crippling addiction to their serum and his genetics mutated beyond repair.

Again, it was only natural for him to seek other lives. To see what could have been. An that’s when he found Earth-22. He meant to be an observer in the beginning he really did. Meant to blend into the background not even an afterthought to anyone who would glance at him. His assistant Lyla (or LYrate Lifeform Approximation) knew not to say anything about how much time he was spending on that Earth-22 and he never volunteered any information about it, opting to keep it as a special place for himself.

Of course, Earth-22 wasn’t all that special except you. Nothing in those alternate universes had captured his attention so fiercely as you did. He hadn’t known you in his reality. If he had maybe he wouldn’t be the broken addicted man he was today.

You were everything he wanted in a life partner and then some. You dealt with a lot while holding down the household and raised your daughter Gabriella with more love and care than Miguel recognized in his own childhood.

You didn’t have many friends and rarely went out except for when it came to taking Gabriella out or running errands. Despite this seemingly monotonous life, you never let it affect you in a negative way and if you did, you never let it show. Miguel didn’t know if it that was admirable or stupid.

While you were seen as a goddess in Miguel’s eyes, his counterpart on the other hand was a disappointment. The Miguel of Earth-22 was everything he was not. Ignorant of the needs of his wife and even more so of their daughter. Instead, he pretended to be a man of integrity. Everything he did seemed to contradict what he said. He said he would take less hours at work yet he was working at Alchemax, another fact that blew Miguel’s mind, and in fact would double down on how much he worked while making excuses to his family.

He said he loved his wife yet he was fucking one of the clinical laboratory scientists that he worked with.

He said he loved his daughter yet he rarely spent any time with her and if asked probably couldn’t even tell you her age.

What a fucking disappointment.

Then it was like the universe answered his prayers. The alternate version of him was killed trying to stop a purse snatcher as cliché as that was. He had lived his whole life as an asshole and tried to redeem all that negative karma with a failed purse snatching attempt. All Miguel could see was your reaction to his doppelganger’s death. How devastated you and your daughter, Gabriella, who was only seven would be. How would you make ends meet? The Earth-22 Miguel was the main breadwinner of the family so how would you fair then? Would little Gabriella even remember her father? There were too many what ifs for Miguel to think clearly. His current life on Earth-928 was over thanks to the need to lay low after the blowout with Alchemax and becoming the new Spider-man, this was the fresh start Miguel needed and he did the only thing he could think of on short notice. He blended in.

You hummed happily under your breath as you soaped up a plate in the sink letting the background noise of Gabriella’s children’s show lull your mind to wander. Any minute now your husband Miguel would be home from work and then you would talk to him about it. Lately you felt like Miguel has been wondering. Not in terms of cheating that you knew of but lately things have been souring between you two. He wouldn’t hold you as closely anymore as he often did. The sex and kisses were pretty much non-existent and would only happen when you initiated it. It was starting to make you feel self-conscious and ugly. You knew your body was just a little bit off from giving birth to Gabriella and after she turned five you decided to get back into shape. This proved to be much more difficult to balance a relationship, household, personal needs AND a rambunctious toddler but you were proud of yourself for making it this far and keeping things together. But the relationship with Miguel was deteriorating lately and you wanted to do something to reconnect with him.

The sound of the front door opening broke you from your thoughts and you hurriedly dried your hands on a dishtowel and made your way to the living room. Gabriella had beaten you to Miguel first and was giggling excitedly already swept up into his large chest.

“Daddy, I missed you!”

Miguel peppered little kissed across her face before hugging her even tighter not saying a word. Eventually Gabriella had enough.

“Daddy, you’re squeezing too hard!” she frowned and kicked her little legs in mock protest although she made no real move to get out of his arms.

“Sorry honey.” Miguel laughed as he let her go and watched her scamper back to her place on the couch and completely enthralled with her show.

You moved from your hiding place in the kitchen archway pulling his attention from Gabriella and onto you. You shivered feeling his eyes pierce right through. It felt like he was looking straight into and through your soul and every hidden dark corner of your being.

“Hi…” Your voice trails off and cracks under the pressure of his gaze. If he noticed it, he didn’t say anything. Instead, he crosses the gap between you and into your personal space.

Miguel cradles your face tenderly breath fawning over your face lightly. His body seemed so much harder and chiseled then you remembered and being so close to Miguel after so long send a sharp tingle to your core. You were suddenly so much more aware of how badly your body had been neglected. Up close he looked so much more different than you remember. Harder, like there was a wall up or some kind of hurt that was still raw and emotional.

“Hi.” His eyes raked over your face as if to commit them to memory.

“Can I kiss you?” He asks suddenly confusing you.

You had never really asked Miguel to ask consent before and he never really asked. Things just kind of happened between you. You never even thought you could deny your husband access to your body.

You bit your lip in thought nodding shyly at his words and he grinned in triumph.

He met your lips kissing you softly as if for the first time making you gasp wantonly into his open mouth. He was making your head spin until Gabriella’s giggle at her show broke you apart. The last time you saw Miguel being this gentle with you was when you first started dating and you would be the biggest liar in the world if you said you didn’t miss the treatment.

Despite this you still wanted to talk to him about your relationship.

“Can we talk after dinner?”

He looked concerned but nodded pressing a lingering kiss to your temple.

All throughout dinner he didn’t want to let go of your hand opting to eat with one hand and only letting go when you absolutely had to eat your food. Miguel was also much more attentive to Gabriella even going so far as to help her cut up her vegetables and listen to the stories about her time spent at the park that morning. He even cracked jokes and asked questions about your day. You were in awe it was like you had married a whole different man. After the meal, Miguel even washed the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen after sending you off to put Gabriella to bed with a tender kiss to both you and your daughters’ temples.

“You’ve had a long day mi amor (my love). I’ve got it from here.”

His actions and words made you feel loved in more than the seven years you’ve been married. You both got ready for bed although he was a lot slower than most nights and you both slipped under the sheets of your shared queen size bed.

“We still need to talk.”

The way Miguel had been acting since he had gotten home had filled you with the confidence to be open and vulnerable with him now. So, you told him. About how you didn’t feel like yourself physically. How the pressures of raising a child while he worked all day, while running the entire household without his help was taking you into the beginning stages of a depression you didn’t think you could get out of. How the sex between you two was non-existent and you felt how much he had loved you today. How it felt like it had been before the babies and the bills and the seemingly endless responsibility of it all was taking over.

Miguel didn’t hesitate to cross the bed and gather you in his arms in a strong hug.

He began apologizing profusely not making and excuses for the past behavior and verbally committing to being a better husband and father. You had no reason not to believe him as this was the first-time bringing these issues to him yet he took it better than you thought.

“I don’t ever want you to feel this way again mi amor(my love). You and Gabriella are the most important things in my life. I wouldn’t be the man I am today without you both. Mi corazón es perfecto porque tú estás dentro de él (My heart is complete because you are in it). I want you to feel as loved as you have made me feel. No puedo vivir sin ti (I cannot live without you). Let me show you how much you mean to me.”

And show you he did. The sex that night was like no other with Miguel being more attentive and loving as ever. You lost count of how many times he made love to you that night and how many times you came.

You tried to keep it down for Gabriella’s sake you really did but the things Miguel was doing with his tongue were making things difficult. Miguel’s lips were wrapped around your clit suckling like a newborn calf while he worked your opening over with three thick fingers.

“Give me another orgasm baby I know you can. Quiero sentirlo (I want to feel it).”

With a quiet sob you came around his fingers shaking and quivering. Quickly, Miguel rose to his knees on the mattress and spread your legs wide bending them at the knees into an M shape before grinding against your slick heat.

“You think you can take some more baby?”

You were already past your limits tonight never having been this sexually worn out in your life but you wouldn’t want to be anywhere else right now but underneath your husband.

“Por favor, sí, lo necesito (Please, yes, I need it)!”

Miguel slipped his cock into you giving you a second to adjust before he started thrusting into you at a steady pace. The curve of his shaft was made for your insides as you molded around him perfectly and his cock head rubbed the spongy mound of your g-spot deliciously.

Immediately you start creaming around him the moans in your voice getting louder and louder not even thinking about the child sleeping down the hall.

But Miguel did and with his hand over your mouth and his face in your neck he sang praises of devotion and love to you while he pulled another blinding orgasm from your body.

He held you down into a mating press and pounded your shaking form into the mattress harder when you began to squirt around him drenching the lower half your bodies and the bed. Miguel kissed the tears streaming down your face as he whispered more words of affirmations rocking into you slowly.

“Eres mi todo (You are my everything”).

Miguel was cheating on you. The Miguel of Earth-22 had been having a whole ass extramarital affair with his co-worker and Miguel had forgotten. He had been so enthralled with you and Gabriella that he had completely forgotten about the mistress problem.

Marisol Medina was a newly hired clinical laboratory scientist working in the same department as Miguel as his subordinate. On Earth-928 Miguel had worked in the genetics department and it seemed Earth-22 was the same. The only difference being that Alchemax wasn’t creating super serums here and his doppelganger had actually been the head of the Genetics Department which in retrospect was an HR nightmare. That meant that Earth-22 Miguel had hired Marisol in the first place. Maybe he hired her in the hopes of taking her on as a mistress? Which made sense because if he was being honest Marisol’s job could have been done by a slightly trained chimpanzee. It made Miguel sick to even think about.

Marisol was everything you weren’t. She at least a foot taller and a few pounds thinner having never had children nor the natural curves you were genetically blessed with. Instead of the natural curls and headwraps he loved on you, Marisol had thick wavy auburn hair running down her back. She couldn’t speak Spanish as well as you could, Miguel would find out later that this was a complete lie in order to get closer to him, and in fact that was apparently how they had connected in the first place. Of course, he had to nip that in the bud quick and started treating her like a co-worker and less like a mistress.

Miguel had waited until he was the last one in the office to approach her. Predictably, Marisol had stayed behind too. He had been successfully ignoring any attempts that didn’t have to do with work and ignored her phone calls outside of work even going so far as to block the number.

She had approached him with tears in her eyes and Miguel cringed internally at the cruel nature of it all.

“What’s going on Miguel? First you ignore me at work and now you won’t pick up my calls? What did I do wrong?!”

Miguel sighed, “I love my wife, Marisol. Whatever thing we had is over. I’m sorry we had anything in the first place.”

Marisol covered her mouth in a barely contained sob as he continued. Might as well rip the rest of the Band-Aid off.

“You can still keep your job if that’s what you’re worried about. I’m not that much of an asshole. From now on I’m your boss not your boyfriend. It’s over.”

He left but not before catching the blank look on Marisol’s face through the tears. If Miguel had been a more observant man, he would have seen the hatred and revenge brewing behind her eyes.

With Marisol taken care of, Miguel toyed with the idea but ultimately gave up the idea of even being Spider-Man in this universe. Not only did he have a crippling addiction to Rapture, thanks to a blackmail attempt by the Alchemax of his original universe, but would it take too much time away from his new family. This was the break he needed. Away from the chaos of being Spider-Man and back to where he belonged. With Gabriella and you. And why shouldn’t he treat you both as if this was his reward for every fucked up twisted thing that had happened to him? You both deserved happiness and so did Miguel.

Still, he had to take those fucking Rapture injections. Getting time away to dip into the stash he had stolen were getting low. Not critically but enough for Miguel to go back to his original Earth and bring back more. Developing more was out of the question. Alchemax had mad it nearly impossible for it to be recreated outside their labs. Even if he wanted to, he would need to have equipment in the home. With you being a stay-at-home mom, there was no way you would ignore a gigantic laboratory setup in the house.

With added trips to Eath-928 for Rapture and Miguel assimilating to his doppelganger’s life, your little family slowly fell into a comfortable routine.

One year had passed and your family was flourishing. Gabriella was now eight and showing an interest in soccer. Miguel was still showing you the love and appreciation you had asked for and this made the relationship flourish. You finally felt like the energy was being reciprocated and you couldn’t be happier. On top of all of this you found out you were pregnant.

Miguel had actually cried when he found out which threw you because he hadn’t done the same when you were pregnant with Gabriella. You just chalked it up to the heart-to-heart conversation you had last year and didn’t think too hard on it.

Family trips had become more recent as of late and this just added to the happy feeling all around. Today was a trip to the beach, something that was seriously needed in the summer months.

“Em, hurry up we’re gonna be late!”

Gabriella’s soccer ball came flying down the stairs the same time as she did and you would have laughed if the ball hadn’t flown over your head and grazed the mirror hanging in the foyer.

“What did I say about balls in the house!?” You scolded her smoothing the curls of her head as she passed to grab her ball.

“Not to do it in the house. But I want to bounce it on my head like the real players!”

She demonstrated this by attempting to balance the ball on her head but you quickly grab it and replace it with a kiss instead.

“If you practice soccer, you won’t be able to go to the beach today. You don’t even have your sandals on!”

This seemed to snapped her out of her soccer haze and she squealed in excitement as she ran to put on her shoes.

As if on cue Miguel pulled into the driveway and bared through the front door with several shopping bags full of snacks and sunscreen. His face lit up at you and he dropped his bags and gathered you in his arms kissing any exposed skin.

“Hi baby.” He dropped you and kissed you hungrily then dropped to his knees and kissed your swollen stomach addressing the unborn child in your womb.

“Hi baby.”

You laughed as the baby pressed against your abdomen to nudge their fathers’ lips and Miguel grinned. At seven months you thought you were huge but Miguel wouldn’t hear it and often kissed your stomach like he did now.

“Did you see that honey? He knows me for sure.”

A boy. You and Miguel had been ecstatic when you had heard and even Gabriella had been excited to have a brother when you both sat down and told her then news.

The beach proved to be an excellent idea. The day was filled with snacks and fun but both you and Gabriella had been tired by the end of it. This left Miguel to pack up the supplies you brought in while you took the trash to the nearby can on the sidewalk.

“Cute family.” You jumped in surprise to find a woman in large sunglasses and a floppy beach hat obscuring her face.

“Oh, thank you!” You grinned watching Miguel help Gabriella stomp on her sandcastle when he was supposed to be packing up the toys and towels.

“How old is she?”

“She’s eight now.” You couldn’t help but gush.

“I have a nephew around her age. Maybe they go to school together?”

Before you could spill anymore of your private life you could hear Miguel shouting for you.

“I better get going Miss?”

“My name is Catherine.” She smiled shaking your hand.

“I’ll see you around Catherine.” You smiled back and waddled back to your family.

“Who was that?” Miguel frowned wrapping a protective arm around your shoulder.

“Just someone who thinks our family is cute.” You tease pinching his side.

Miguel laughs and scoops Gabriella onto his shoulders making her squeal and ignoring the way the vanilla ice cream in her hand dripped down the cone and onto his shirt.

“Well of course they do! Just look at this little sand goblin!” He tickles his daughter’s calves and she laughs and squeals. They make a beautiful picture together and it makes you want to snap a picture so you pull your cellphone out of your bag in the sand and snapped a few before recording a short video as well.

“This is definitely cute.” You laugh at the mess of ice cream on his shirt growing.

“Cariño (honey), help me!” Miguel waves to you in mock terror as Gabriella smashes her ice cream into the side of his face laughing the entire time. As you stopped the video and cleaned Miguel up you couldn’t help but notice a sinister feeling creeping up your spine.

Running into Catherine was becoming such a regular occurrence at this point that you two just started planning things to do together instead. It was nice to have a friend again. An actual girlfriend to confide in the things you couldn’t with Gabriella or Miguel.

This day you and Catherine had planned a much-needed manicure and pedicure day and had ordered from your favorite burger spot. You had been craving it all day and you both had arrived back at Catherine’s house to eat on her patio before moving inside to enjoy the cool air conditioning.

You sighed reclining back in your chair and kicking up your feet enjoying the breeze from the A.C. Miguel had been worried as of late with your perinatal period being considered a moderate risk pregnancy. You had been determined to have a good and relaxing time despite this and Miguel had reluctantly agreed to let you go out.

“I fucked your husband.”

You froze. Your sense of peace absolutely shattered by the whiplash of your friend’s statement.

“I’m sorry?”

“I said I fucked your husband.”

Catherine’s face was strangely blank and emotionless. This was a hard contrast from the smiling funny person she was just minutes ago.

If she was joking or not you genuinely couldn’t tell. You set your drink down and clutched your stomach nervously.

“What the fuck are you taking about? If this is a joke Catherine it’s not very funny.”

“My name’s not Catherine you stupid bitch. It’s Marisol. I’m so sick of pretending to be your friend. Having to hear all about your pathetic little problems and your little brats every fucking day has been driving me crazy.”

You couldn’t believe what you were hearing. This couldn’t be the same woman you had become friends with over the past few months but here she was now out of her seat and towering over you with a disgusted look on her face.

“Miguel’s a liar you know. You can’t trust him. He told me he loved me. That he would leave you and that brat. But he goes and knocks you up.”

Her fist comes swinging in a heavy right hook to the side of your face and you’re on the floor before you can react to the jarring information of your husband’s infidelity. The world spun on its axis and you landed hard on the ground as Catherine now Marisol began kicking the side of your head and back with her boot. Your instincts kick in and you curled up in a ball protecting your stomach from the violent assault. You could feel the anger in each one of her punches and kicks, the pain of it all making you physically vomit on the floor and her boots.

Marisol screamed in disgust and grips a handful of your braids before pushing your face back into the vomit and rubbing you in it like a dog being punished for pissing in the house.

“You nasty fucking bitch! Look what you did to my shoes!”

She drops your limp form into the mess on the floor and spits on you.

“That’s supposed to be my baby you cunt.”

Marisol stepped over you kicking you in the side this time and walked into the kitchen rambling to herself. You knew then that she was going to kill you and your baby. You had to get away. With all of the strength you had left, you crawled to your phone which was now on the floor along with the rest of the contents of your purse.

Just as you touched the phone, you were yanked backwards hard by your legs. A knife in Marisol’s hand flashed menacingly, the jagged tip slicing your arm as you fought back.

“Stay still you fucking bitch. I want my baby.”

Pain bloomed in white searing heat and you saw spots behind your eyelids. You screamed bloody murder in an attempt to get anyone to hear you as the knife began to slice into your side.

Miguel was worried. You had promised him that you were going to call him when you got to your friend’s house. Normally Miguel wouldn’t be so possessive but with the delicate nature of your pregnancy you’re lucky Miguel let you go out at all. Yet you hadn’t called.

Miguel peaked in on Gabriella taking a nap in her room before closing the door and summoning Lyla on his interdimensional watch. Immediately Lyla’s small holographic figure appeared.

“Nice digs Miguel! You’ve made quite a life for yourself here although the style is a little dated.” she judged as her figure flew around the room to various objects obviously excited to be in the space Miguel hadn’t previously allowed her.

“Where is the little rugrat? I’m dying to meet her! She can just call me Auntie Lyla!”

“Cut the shit. I need you to track a phone for me.”

Lyla frowned and studied his face.

“You going back to being Spider-man? The hero we all know and love?”

“Maybe…...She hadn’t checked in.” he answered cryptically ignoring the hopeful tone of her voice typing his missing wife’s number into the watch. Almost immediately on the map popped up a tiny glowing dot where you supposedly were.

“See she’s safe and sound at 426 Herald Way owned by a Marisol Medina.”

Miguel froze, bile rising in his throat. His Spidey senses had been tingling since before you hadn’t checked in but Miguel didn’t want to be controlling like the previous Miguel had been.

“Lyla, I need you to watch Gabriella for me.” He pulled the suit on and flew through the door without a second thought

“Hey I don’t babysit for free!” She shouted after his retreating form.

When you woke up the first thing you thought of was your son. Your movements cause sharp pains to blossom across your body making you cry out in pain. A pair of hands came to cradled you gently. It was Miguel. You could see Gabriella curled up on the hospital couch asleep clutching a stuffed animal snuggled into her blanket asleep which soothed some of the panic but your main concern was your unborn child.

“Baby, can you hear me?”

Immediately you began to cry and Miguel shushed you moving to sit on the bed. Everything that had happened came rushing back to you. You couldn’t calm down seeing your slightly deflated abdomen.

“My baby Miguel. I need my baby.”

He couldn’t survive at almost eight months, could he? All the knowledge from your previous pregnancy with Gabriella and the baby prep books that you had diligently looked over and memorized were nowhere to be found. Instead, your mind spiraled into panic and negativity.

“He’s fine baby he’s in the NICU. I just saw him a few minutes ago he was sleeping. Please lay back for me.”

He gently guided you back down as you continued to cry silently this time.

“Miguel did you cheat on me?” you cried.

His face dropped and for the first time in a year, the illusion of your happy marriage shattered. All this time had Miguel been trying to make up for whatever guilty conscience he had when he had come home that day a suddenly changed man?

Was this pregnancy just meant to distract you from the strange things that Miguel had been doing like leaving at random times?

He thought you didn’t know but you did. That weird watch he never took off even in the shower. The way you would catch him looking at you or Gabriella sometimes. He would get a faraway look in his eyes like he couldn’t believe you were real and in front of him. You had thought that it was love but now you didn’t know who he was anymore.

“Baby I can explain.”

“Save it. I don’t know who you are right now Miguel. I thought I could trust you but that almost cost me and my child’s life. I let this woman into my life. I told her private things about me. I feel violated Miguel. I don’t know if I will ever feel safe again.”

For the first time in your life, you saw Miguel truly cry. You put up walls around your heart so that you could focus on the logic of the situation instead of getting sucked into his tears.

Miguel could sense this and gripped your hands in his.

“I don’t want you to hate me.”

“Just tell me what’s going on!”

So, he told you. About where he’s really from. About the first time he saw you and what really happened to your Miguel. The cheating, the lies, the secrets. It was all revealed. This explained why Miguel had suddenly switched from absent husband and dad to ‘Father-of-the-Year’ in the span of a few hours. Why he went from demanding they all speak Spanish in the home to speaking mostly English and why he never seemed to know where anything was in the house for a few months. He even told you how he dealt with Marisol….

Miguel could smell your blood a block away as he swung through the buildings to Marisol’s home a little outside the city. Crashing through the patio sliding doors, glass flying everywhere, he was met with a scene that confirmed his worst fears.

You were on your back the room covered in your blood. He couldn’t see the shallow rise and fall of your chest but he thought you were dead. Marisol loomed over you still slicing and trying to follow the steps she researched a few weeks ago on how to perform the procedure but she stopped when Miguel barreled in like a bull in a china shop. Fangs out and Rapture coursing through his veins.

“Miguel, you came back!”

Red. All he could see was red and he let his rage take over. Before Marisol could come towards him, he tackled her, hands wrapped around her throat in a death grip.

“Miguel w-wait! I lo-ve yo..ou” She gasped and choked, kicking and scratching at every part of him she could get her hands on.

He didn’t feel it.

All he could think about was the loss of half his family. Their baby boy hadn’t even taken his first breath yet. Hadn’t even been given a fair shot at life. You were dead. How would he tell Gabbie what happened? How would she cope?

It made his blood boil. So, he kept squeezing her neck.

He squeezed even as she started crying and the blood vessels in her eyes started to burst from the pressure.

He squeezed even as she began to piss and shit herself as her tongue and lips swelled.

He squeezed until her head shot across the room and she stopped struggling.

He couldn’t feel anything.

These revelations left you shocked with so many more questions. It made your head spin.

Miguel could see how overwhelming this was for you and sat in silence to give you time to process this. The doctor came in cutting the heavy tension and giving you a rundown of your injuries and permission to visit the NICU when you felt better.

Baby O’Hara, as he was still named, was now ten days old. You had already missed so much when you had been in surgery and then a little recovery time to get the strength to see him. On your first visit you requested to go alone. Everyone had spent one-on-one time with him but you and it added to the feeling of missing out. On your second visit, Gabriella, and much to your slight annoyance Miguel, accompanied you to see the new family member to welcome him together.

Despite his small age, Baby O’Hara had a full head of hair perfectly smoothed and you briefly wondered if he would get your curl pattern as he grew bigger. His size made the wires and tubes seem so much bigger than they were. Despite this, he seemed as strong as ever his little legs kicking with curiosity.

You smile through your tears as you run a hand across the silk stands of his head, down his little chest.

As if he knew you were there, Baby O’Hare grabbed your thumb with surprising strength.

“Would you like to hold him?”

You jump in surprise but nodded eagerly as the nurse, who had been watching the event unfold, comes to the side of your wheelchair and gently folds the front of your hospital gown to expose enough of your chest for the baby but enough to remain modest.

She opens the incubator and expertly places him across your chest for skin-to-skin contact. You can feel your hearts beating together and you cradle him gently to you as Miguel and Gabriella crowd around you.

“He’s so tiny.” Gabriella stares in wonder.

You look at her for a minute just taking in both of your children, making it a point to ignore Miguel’s presence. Your daughter had been through a lot these past few weeks. Miguel hadn’t told her the whole story so all she knew was that she had almost lost both her mother and new brother. It had made her more clingy than normal which you didn’t mind since you could use some close family time.

“Do you want to name him?”

Her face immediately lights up at the idea as she excitedly looks back and forth between you and Miguel.

“Can I really?”

“Absolutely, my love. Anything you want.”

You couldn’t help but to role your eyes at his words. Of course, Miguel would agree with you right now. After everything that happened, he was lucky he was even breathing the same air as you right now.

Gabriella bites her lip for a few minutes taking in her baby brother now fast asleep.

“I pick Benji.”

You can feel Miguel’s confusion but you hold back a laugh already knowing where she was going.

“Why Benji?” Miguel wondered

“If I ever get a dog, I would name them Benji.”

“I love it!” You laughed.

Baby O’Hare was officially named.

It had only been 6 months since everything happened. Couples therapy was going slowly. You were still hesitant to trust Miguel and it was starting to bleed into other aspects of your life. Like trusting him alone to watch the children. Logically you knew this Miguel was different from the one you married but he still could have told you about the mistress Marisol yet he hadn’t.

Miguel knew you didn’t trust him yet he never did anything to trigger you or rush you too forgive him. If anything, he was being more than understanding and you couldn’t tell if it pissed you off or made you fall more in love with him.

Benji, more practically named Benjamín, was doing well as a preemie according to his doctor and so was Gabbie you couldn’t be happier.

Of course, the happiness couldn’t last.

The rumbling started around noon. Benji had just gone down for his nap and Gabriella was home from school for summer break so she was playing in the living room. Your apartment building shook with such fierceness the pan that you had set on the stove to start lunch was thrown to the ground.

Panicked you rushed to grab Gabriella on your way to Benji’s nursery. As if on cue the infant started his high pitch crying obviously mad about the disrupted nap.

You grabbed him as carefully as you could as you all ran underneath the dining table for safety. Earthquakes in Nueva York were nonexistent so you could only imagine what could be happening.

The shaking and rumbling stopped but you didn’t dare get up yet for fear of aftershocks.

“Y/N?!”

It was Miguel decked out in his full Spiderman attire. He had shown you once when you asked but this was different. His face was panicked and he was breathing hard.

“Miguel!” You called to him as he climbed through the living room window and straight to your little family.

“Are you alright?!”

He frantically checked you all over for any sort of wounds before hauling you up careful of the baby still in your arms. He grabbed the baby sling off the couch nearby and helped you and Benji into it. Gabriella was clinging to your leg silent tears running down her face.

“We need to go.”

His eyes were darting everywhere and he looked nervous…. guilty even.

“Miguel what’s going on.”

He sighed in defeat. He swore to never again lie to you.

“It’s my fault. The quakes…everything.”

The ambient noise of Nueva York had changed from the usual city atmosphere to screams of terror and flashing light.

“The universe is collapsing. I didn’t even know this was a possibility. It has to be me…. what I did…”

Terror seized you as Miguel lead you all out on to the fire escape through the open window he entered through. He wrapped your arms around his neck and helped Gabriella onto his back.

“Hold on we’re getting out of here.”

Swinging across the city you quickly realized what the screaming was for. People, cars, well everything was disappearing at an alarming rate. Miguel was swinging his ass off through the city but you knew that while he had the stamina, he couldn’t out run whatever it was forever.

“Miguel, you need to put us down!” You yelled over the wind.

He shook his head frantically.

“I can’t. Need to keep you safe.”

Up ahead the world was starting to disappear as well sandwiching you on all sides. Miguel could tell it was over. The weight of you all was wearing him down and the glitching was coming faster now. Even if he could get you away from the glitching you all couldn’t leave. Not without a watch to stabilize your energetic frequency to another universe like his did and he would need three.

Miguel stopped on what was left of the street as the people around you were in chaos letting you all stand on your own.

“Y/N I love you I’m sorry.”

He hugged you close sandwiching the children between you as you all sank to your knees in defeat.

You cradled his face in your hands sobbing as he took you all in. The way Gabriella looked like a perfect mix of you both. The tiny cute little features Benji was growing into like the little curl pattern he was starting to develop and you. The one who had drawn him to stay there in the first place. It was love at first sight when he first saw you that day as you ran errands and Miguel couldn’t fathom a day without you. Without all of you.

You kissed slow and needy knowing it would be the last time. You knew you wouldn’t get to tell him everything you wanted to say. How you did forgive him you were just being stubborn. There was only time for one last goodbye.

“Miguel I lo-”

The world turned white and his family was gone.

Miguel was alone again.

#miguel o'hara x reader #black reader #pregnant reader #mom reader #into the spider verse #into the spiderverse imagine #beyond the spiderverse #beyond the spiderverse imagine #Mature content warning

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chipmunkfanno1love · 2 years

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Favourite Ship Tag Game

Since tag games are so popular around here, I thought I’d give it a go and make my own. :D

Choose 4 romantic ships (fictional couples and/or fictional characters you *wish* were couples) you love from any fictional source whether it be books, movies, TV shows, mobile/video games, etc. Please also reference the fictional source they come from. The list doesn’t have to be in any particular order.

Give your reasons why you love this couple and/or why you think they’d *make* a great couple. If you can, please include a picture or GIF of the couple.

Tag 5 of your followers to share this game with. You may choose to tag more or less if you wish, but I do recommend choosing 5. No pressure, just please share this game with others for the sake of spreading the word.

Please be respectful of others and there opinions. No abuse please. :( Also, have fun. :D

*Warning*: Story spoilers ahead.

1. Rapunzel and Eugene Fitzherbert/”Flynn Rider” from the Tangled franchise.

I love these two because they are beautiful example of a healthy relationship. They love and support each other selflessly in their goals and dreams and never try to pressure the other into doing what they aren’t ready for. They are always there to support each other and build the other up to become the best versions of themselves.

Rapunzel helped Eugene find the selfless, loving man underneath the selfish, vain thief, while Eugene gave Rapunzel the courage to live her dream and break herself free from the manipulative Mother Gothel’s control and find the truth about her real parents and her being the lost princess. They’re each others New Dream and I love that about them. :D

Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi did amazing in these roles.

2. Branch and Poppy from the “Trolls” franchise

I love these two because they are adorable examples of opposites-attract. Poppy is the bubbly, endlessly optimistic princess turned queen of the Pop Trolls, while Branch is the grumpy but realistic former hermit with a heart of gold.

Poppy helps Branch to see the bright side of things and helps him to find his true colours, while Branch keeps Poppy grounded and realistic when she takes her plans too far and is always there to help her out when she needs him.

I hope these two marry some day and Branch becomes Poppy’s king consort. They make a great team - romantically, plantonically and just generally as trolls.

I also love Justin Timberlake and Anna Kendrick. Their singing voices are amazing. :D

3. Callum and Rayla from “The Dragon Prince”

A great example of the enemies to friends to lovers trope (though they’re currently on the outs romantically). These two have a beautiful bond that grows naturally over the course of 3 seasons. Despite being estranged due to 2 years apart in Season 4, the two are slowly and naturally repairing their broken bond and I hope in time these two will not only repair their friendship but eventually fall in love all over again and get back together as a stronger and much more mature couple.

4. Simon and Jeanette from the “Alvin and the Chipmunks” franchise

The adorkably nerdy pair and *Smart Ones* of their respective musical trios, The Chipmunks and The Chipettes. Despite being similar in their intelligence levels, the two are still different enough from each other that aren’t clones of the other. Jeanette is more shy and compassionate in temprament to Simon’s more snarky, deadpanned wit. He’s always there to catch her when she falls (most of the time literally, lol) and she’s always there to support him and cheer him up when his inventions are ruined (mostly by his irresponsible brother, Alvin).

Though they are still a bit young and shy to start a serious relationship with each other, it’s obvious this adorable pair were made for each other. They do and will make an adorable pair - romantically, platonically and acemedically.

I tag @16magnolias , @briarosabelle , @creativefictionlover , @psalm40speakstome and @travelinglighttoday . Though anyone can feel free to play if they wise to. Have fun! :D

#tag game #romance ships #fictional characters

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burgers-and-french-fries · 1 year

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Taking Chances: Chapter Forty Nine.

Note: This is the penultimate chapter and I’m beyond thrilled to say that because I am so ready to move on with Taron and Nicola’s story.

That being said, this chapter is only half edited so keep that in mind when reading. Also keep in mind that this chapter mentions the use of drugs and alcohol. it also mentions suicide and other forms of abuse; and last but certainly not least, this mentions adoption.

I think that covers it. Enjoy!

===

Laying in bed wide awake was nothing new for Nicola but with her mind going a million miles per milli-second with the events that led up to this point, it was no wonder why she couldn’t seem to settle herself.

“Are you awake?” Nicola asked just above a whisper. When no reply came, she continued to lay there until she grew annoyed with her brain and gently got out of bed.

She quietly walked down to the kitchen and made herself a cup of tea before sitting on the sofa and turning on the tv in the hopes that whatever was on would help lull her into a sense of tiredness and she’d be able to finally fall asleep.

*Flashback*

After saying her goodbyes and giving her well wishes to Edna, Nicola sat on the ground with her bags next her in the airport baggage claim. She honestly had no clue what to do.

She sat there with a blank look on her face as she picked at the skin around her fingers, deciding what her next move would be. Did she really want to leave the protection of the airport building and face reality or did she just want to stay in her current spot and let the world pass her by. She didn’t know. She felt lost.

Sure she talked to Edna on the plane and told her certain things, but it didn’t help like she had hoped. Instead she felt fried, like her brain was a hamster running on its hamster wheel with no end in sight.

Nicola pulled out her phone and saw that she had a few missed calls from Brenna and a couple texts from her as well. Nicola had no energy to reply but the one thing she had the energy for was talking to Taron. As much as he had made her mad and pissed her off at times, he felt like her rock, her safe place. She knew it didn’t make much sense but now that they were on the same page of moving on for the better, she felt like she really needed him in this moment.

She was about to press his contact name but when Brenna called, Nicola stopped and thought better of it. She knew it wasn’t smart to do until she and Taron could talk face to face.

Nicola took a deep breath and answered the call, but one thing was for sure, she could really use one of Taron’s comforting hugs right about now.

Meanwhile back in Cannes, Taron sat on the bed taking a small break from packing. He scrolled through his phone and looked at the pictures from the previous night.

He still felt like he was on cloud nine with everything. Not only had the movie been well received but he and Nicola had finally taken a step forward to repair their relationship and he was hopeful that they’d end up together. Though in saying that, Nicola had disappeared again, which at this point was par for the course. Taron would show his vulnerability to her and then she’d run. This time though, he knew something larger was keeping them apart, he just wasn’t aware of what it was yet.

Clicking on an image taken of him and Luna, Taron smiled but jumped when a knock sounded at the door.

“Taron, it’s Guy.” Guy prudently said through the door.

Taron frowned to himself. He felt the worry flood over him. He thought it was about one of the kids, but nothing could have prepared him for what Guy was about to say.

“What is it? What’s wrong? Are the kids ok?” Taron asked as he opened the door, revealing Guys concerned expression.

“The kids are fine, but I don’t think Nicola is.” Guy replied.

Taron’s face paled and his heart started racing.

“Go on.” Taron said cautiously.

Guy took a deep breath and played the voice message for Taron that was left before Nicola was notified.

‘Hello, my name is detective Fellows with Scotland Yard. I’m looking for Nicola Ryan. We have tried contacting her but are unable to do so. If you are able to reach her, please tell her that we need to speak as soon as possible as this is a family matter. Thank you for your time, have a good afternoon.’

Taron stood in his spot feeling even more concerned.

“What was the family matter?” Taron asked.

Guy didn’t reply, instead, he played another voice message.

‘Hi, this is Amanda Robinson with Chilton family services. I have made attempts to contact Nicola Ryan in regard to the passing of her parents, Carolyn Henrik and Greg Owens but have been unsuccessful at this time. She has listed you as her emergency contact, so if you do hear from her, please let her know that she is to contact me as soon as possible. Thank you.’

“Are you ok?” Guy said after he pocketed his phone and looked at Taron who was unmoving. He knew something was wrong and this confirmed his suspicions. He had to get to her now.

“She needs me.” Taron said as his body put itself on autopilot.

Sitting on the train, Nicola replayed the conversation she had with Brenna on the phone.

*Mini Flashback*

“Is everything ok Nic, you’ve not answered me at all.” Brenna asked. She wasn’t mad at all, she just wanted to make sure that her friend was ok after Nicola told her about the events of the premiere.

“I left early.” Nicola replied numbly.

Brenna’s brows furrowed.

“What happened?” Brenna questioned.

“My parents.” Nicola said.

Brenna could hear the silent tears in Nicola’s tone. She could sense that her friend was in more distress than she was letting on.

“Do you want to talk about it, or do you want me just to stay on the phone with you?” Brenna asked.

“Stay on the phone.” Nicola said, closing her exhausted eyes to stop the tears she felt building.

“Ok. I’m here when and if you are ready.” Brenna answered.

Nicola stayed on the phone with her friend for a while longer until she felt her tailbone screaming for relief.

Nicola stood up and went outside to hail a taxi to the train station.

“I’m staying on with you but if I randomly hang up on you, I’m getting in a taxi.” Nicola explained.

“Ok.” Brenna said, taking a drink of her coffee.

“Can I ask you something?” Nicola questioned and Brenna chuckled.

“You just did.” She replied, trying to make light of everything. It didn’t work.

“Bren.” Nicola simply said.

“Sorry. Go on.” Brenna responded, feeling bad.

Nicola bit her lower lip.

“How did you deal with the emotions when your father passed away?” Nicola asked, feeling her heart shatter all over again.

Brenna’s heart sank and she closed her eyes.

“Oh god Nic. When did it happen?” Brenna asked, putting two and two together.

“Last night while we were watching the movie.” Nicola told Brenna softly.

“Oh honey, I’m so sorry.” Brenna said.

They talked for a while longer before the taxi arrived.

*End of Mini Flashback*

Again, Nicola should have felt better after having told someone, but she didn’t, and she was beginning to wonder if she’d ever feel relief after talking about all of this.

While Taron was on the way to the airport, he googled to see what the cheapest flight back to London was. He needed to find the next available one but to his dismay, he couldn’t find any for the life of him.

He groaned to himself and called Lindsay to see if she had anymore luck on her end. Unsurprisingly, she was able to find exactly what he needed. She gave him the details and as soon as the car pulled up, Taron jumped out, grabbed his bags and ran to where his airline section was.

“Passport please.” The lady behind the desk asked.

Taron handed the id over and waited anxiously as she checked him in.

“Perfect. Just put your bag on here and we’ll be set.” She told him as she gave him the passport back and printed the necessary luggage tags.

“Look, I’m kind of in a rush so could you hurry up.” Taron said feeling his anxiety rise.

He really had no clue why it was rising but he knew Nicola and knew that she did irrational things when she was upset and/or had her walls up.

“I’m going as fast as I can, sir.” The lady replied firmly, not appreciating his tone.

Taron sighed and tapped his fingers on the counter they were resting on.

“Have a good flight.” The woman said as she finally passed him everything he needed.

Taron didn’t say anything, he just ran to where security was. He could only pray that nothing would hold him up any longer than necessary.

Being on planes made Taron uncomfortable at best. He hated being trapped in a tin can that could down at any time should it decide to. He hated the idea of feeling so small and invisible. He was someone who thrived on attention, even if he did hate the lime light at times.

He especially hated being trapped on a plane when someone he loved and cared about needed him.

While sitting in his seat, Taron’s knee kept bouncing up and down and no matter how many times he willed himself to stop, it kept doing it.

“Can I get you anything?” The young flight attendant asked, stopping at Taron with the bar cart.

Taron looked at him and gave him a tight-lipped smile.

“Rum and coke.” Taron replied, needing something to calm himself.

The flight attendant nodding his head and got to work making Taron’s drink. When he was done, he handed Taron the cup and went on his way.

Taron took a drink and allowed the liquid to fill his body and calm his brain. It worked a little bit, but it wasn’t by much.

“What’re you having?” An elderly gentleman asked Taron, making him jump.

As far as Taron could recall, no one was sitting next to him when he boarded the plane but then again he was in his head so maybe there was someone there and he didn’t notice till now.

“Rum and coke.” Taron replied cautiously.

“Sounds good. I’ll have what he’s having.” The man spoke. Taron looked at him and swore he had seen him before. He just couldn’t remember where.

“George is the name.” George said as he shook Taron’s hand.

“Taron.” Taron replied.

“Where are you headed?” George asked, taking a sip of his own drink.

“Home to Wales.” Taron answered simply, not wanting to give too much away. He didn’t know George at all; or at least that he could think of.

“Hmm, I love Wales. My wife loved it too.” George replied, closing his eyes as if remembering the good old days.

“Married my Edna there too.” George said, opening his eyes.

Taron smiled at him.

“That’s nice.” Taron replied.

He and George talked for a long while and it made Taron feel calmer. It was nice to have some company to help pass the time.

“This Nicola sounds like a Goodin.” George told Taron.

“It took me a while to see it but yes, she’s a very good one.” Taron answered, feeling his heart skip a beat at the thought of her.

“Make sure to hang on to that.” George warned.

“I intend to.” Taron told him as everyone disembarked the aircraft.

With the sun now setting and painting the sky in a beautiful mix of oranges and pinks, the birds chirped happily in the trees as the warm sea breeze rustled the leaves of the tree in Nicola’s front yard.

It was a beautiful sight but now being home and having the harsh reality slap her in the face, Nicola felt like an imposter. She felt like she didn’t belong here. She felt as though she was in a nightmare and no matter how hard she tried; nothing was waking her.

Nicola stood there looking over the grandeur that was the house. She remembered the first time that she and Jasmine saw it. They were both so excited for the new adventures that would be had in it. Little did Nicola know that a lot of momentous milestones would be reached there.

Tina realized that Nicola was pregnant in that house, Taron found out that he was going to be a father again in that house (even though it didn’t go the way Nicola had hoped), Luna was brought home to that house, Taron and Nicola had many ups and downs in that house, Luna had her first smile in this house. Everything was made in this house and now, Nicola was coming home to this house knowing that her mother was gone. That was it, there was no more hope of her mother coming to her asking for forgiveness, no more chance at having a proper relationship with her mother.

Nothing was ever going to be the same again and the thought of that made something in Nicola snap. She felt enraged, betrayed, disappointed, heartbroken, alone, invisible, small, like a child again discovering the cruelty the world held.

She hated feeling this way and she hated that she officially had more than the world placed on her shoulders and that she’d be facing all of this alone, or so she thought.

Driving at night was something that Taron loved doing, especially when it came to driving around Aber at night. People milled around laughing and chatting among themselves but the bar dwellers, they were easy to spot most of the time because they’d be stumbling around trying to walk straight. Some drunk people though had others escorting them out of the pubs and helping them into taxis so they could home safely.

The lights on the prom were enchantingly lit, giving off a romantic glow to the prom’s surroundings. In the distance, you could always hear the last little chirpings of the birds in far off trees as they settled in for the night. Not to mention the calming sea breeze that would pick up now and then, carrying the smell of the ocean as it flitted by. It was pure magic to Taron and one of the many reasons he loved Aber so much.

As the music in Taron’s car drifted through the spears of the radio system softly, Taron took a drink of his now cold coffee that he had made back at the London flat before he made the long journey home.

The entire way back to Wales, Taron’s mind was on Nicola and what had happened to her in the last few hours. His heart ached for the woman. He could remember when the Police knocked on his front door to tell him that Kate had passed. He recalled feeling like the wind had been sucked from his body while his mind went blank. His world stopped that day and faded into grey, as cliché as that may sound. It wasn’t until Nicola came into his life that he felt alive again, like his world had colour again, like his life had meaning again. All of this combined made him wonder how Nicola was holding up.

Taron got his answer when he took a little de tour past Nicolas house.

The first thing that caught his eye was the fact that the front door was wide open. It wasn’t like Nicola at all to do that. She was very particular about that, especially as she had two small children in her care. Seeing the door open made his insides sink. The next thing he noticed was the kitchen lamp that had been turned on, which casted light on a taller dark silhouette in the living room. At this time of night, he assumed Nicola would be in bed, so these two things were adding to his already heavy concerns.

Taron parked the car immediately and cautiously made his way to the front door; of course having his phone at the ready in case he needed to ring 999.

The closer Taron got to the house, the more that he could hear items being broken. When he got to the front door, he saw the house keys still in the lock. He walked in and took careful steps when he noticed Nicola’s carry-on bag and luggage laying vicariously on the floor in the foyer.

“Nicola.” Taron said softly, not wanting to draw any attention to himself in case this was in fact an emergency.

No answer came and Taron continued on to where he heard the smashing sounds coming from.

There he saw Nicola in the middle of the living room surrounded by bits of broken glass and various other materials of things that were once whole but now lied destroyed around her.

“What are you doing?” Taron asked incredulously as his eyes grew wide. Nicola was holding a glass vase above her head ready to throw it at the ground.

Nicola whipped around and instead of answering him, she angrily chucked it at him. Thankfully Taron ducked out of the way and the vase hit the wall behind him, shattering into a million tiny pieces.

“Nic, calm down.” Taron tried as he looked at her, holding his hands out in surrender.

Taron could see the darkness in her eyes and knew that she was far too in her emotional outburst to stop now. He knew very well that nothing was going to stop her, but he was damn well going to try.

His words did absolutely nothing to stop Nicola, in fact, they only spurred her on.

“FUCK YOU!” Nicola shouted louder than she ever had, continuing to throw things at him.

Taron had never seen her this upset, and they had had their fair share of arguments.

“I know that you’re upset but you need to stop before you hurt yourself.” Taron told her, moving closer to her to try and grab the last breakable thing in the living room.

Nicola didn’t reply to him and as he got closer, she felt her blood boil even more. Didn’t he care that she was hurting? Didn’t he know that this was helping her feel better? Didn’t he know that this was allowing her to release the pent-up rage she had collected over the years?

The woman didn’t hesitate in throwing the item in her hand at him.

Once that item was shattered, she looked around for more ammo, but she realized that she was out fragile things in the living room. Nicola forcefully wiped her tears away, growled and screamed, storming to the kitchen for more. Unfortunately for her, Taron was much faster this time and was able to get to her before she could destroy anything else.

Him blocking her way made her feel violent all of a sudden and it scared her. Sure she had strong feelings toward Taron, but she would never go as far as hitting him or hurting him physically, until now that is.

Nicola mustered all the strength she had left, balled her fists and started hitting Taron as hard as she could. She couldn’t explain why but hitting him felt so good. Hitting him was a long time coming.

Taron stood there and took it at first but then his chest started hurting from where she was brutally pounding him.

“Nicola, stop!” Taron said firmly as he grabbed her in the hopes that it would stop her. It didn’t work. It only made her flail her arms around as she tried to remove her hands from his grasp.

“Let me go!” Nicola shouted back as more tears fell.

“Not until you stop.” Taron told her, not realizing there was a fist heading straight for his jaw.

BANG!

Nicola got him square in the face.

Taron stumbled back a little bit as he held his jaw. He was part shocked, part impressed at her determination and part in pain.

“Jesus fuck woman!” Taron hollered at her.

Nicola stopped and looked at him as he pulled his hand away. She hadn’t meant to hit him in the face. He was just in the way. I mean after all; didn’t he know that you never stand in an angry woman’s way. Especially one that had just lost any chance of truly knowing her mother.

“I told you to let me go.” Nicola snapped.

Taron just looked at her, took a large breath and walked over to her.

“Put me down you idiot.” Nicola screeched as Taron wrapped his arm around her waist and picked her up, carrying her outside and to where his car was parked.

“Stay here.” Taron warned her and she knew he meant business. Part of her was grateful that he had come for her but part of her was still annoyed at him for ruining her tirade.

Nicola watched as Taron went back into the house, turned the light off, got her bags and locked the front door, concealing the mess at least for now.

“What are you doing?” Nicola asked when Taron opened the back door and threw her luggage inside.

“Get in the car.” He replied simply. Nicola did as she was told but she wasn’t thrilled about it.

When she was in the car, Taron made sure to lock the doors so that she could escape before he looked at her, his jaw throbbing something awful.

“We’re going back to mine.” He said. Nicola just turned her head and looked out her window, choosing to ignore him.

As they drove, she thought back to the last time she was in this seat. She and Taron had come home from Anglesea and fought about whose daughter Luna was. Nicola was adamant that Luna was hers but then again, so was Taron.

“You’re going to be fine.” Taron said, a lot softer this time.

Nicola did look at him, she couldn’t. Her heart hurt way too much, and she knew that if she looked at him, she’d break down and cry, even more than she already had been.

When she didn’t reply, Taron spoke up again.

“I know about what happened.” He said simply, letting his words hang in the air.

Nicola didn’t know what to say. If she was being honest, all she’d rather do is be in Taron’s arms as he held her close, this time without the punches she was giving him.

Once they got back to Taron’s, he told Nicola that she could clean up if she wanted to and offered for her to shower or take a bath if she really wanted while he made them some tea and took her bags to the guest room.

Nicola gave him a small smile and nodded as she went into the bathroom that Mikey mainly used.

She started her shower and instead of really cleaning herself up, she allowed the hot water to wash away all the anger she felt from before. She allowed the water to wash away all the tension she felt from the long journey home, and she allowed it to wash away all the anguished sobs that wracked her body.

From where Taron was in the kitchen, he could hear Nicola’s pain filled cries and wanted so badly to comfort her, but he knew better than that. He knew that everybody had their way of grieving and sometimes it was best to let the one in mourning be so that they could process their emotions in any way they needed to. Which reminded him that he needed to ice his jaw before bed.

By the time that Nicola had gotten out of the shower, her body ached, and her eyes were begging for a rest. Her stomach thought, that felt as though it could use food and lucky for her, Taron was in the kitchen putting some Oreos onto a plate for them to have before bed. Was it the healthiest? Not in the slightest but it was something comforting and nostalgic and right now they both needed that.

“Hey.” Nicola said quietly as she perched herself on a bar stool.

Taron looked at her and nodded. He wasn’t mad or upset, just extremely tired.

“Want some Oreos?” Taron offered, putting the plate off to the side of her but within easy reach. Nicola shook her head lightly.

“No.” Nicola said as she leaned forward and rested her head on the counter. She couldn’t keep it up any longer.

“Tired?” he asked her, knowing the answer already.

“Yeah.” Nicola replied as a yawn escape her lips.

“I’ll show you to your room.” Taron said, walking out of the kitchen and past Nicola.

“I don’t want to be alone.” Nicola told him, taking hold of his arm, looking at him with sadness and vulnerability. Taron felt his heart rate pick up.

He didn’t say anything to her, he simply let his fingers sip in between hers as he led her to his room.

Laying down in his bed, Nicola felt better knowing that she wasn’t by herself and that she was with the one she loved, even if she wasn’t ready to admit it just yet.

“You all good?” Taron asked he got in beside Nicola.

Nicola looked at him and took in how he looked. His eyes were tired and red, his hair was disheveled, and his face had slight covering of scruff while his attire was comfy and laid back. A simple old band shirt with a pair of sweatpants. He was the epitome of lazy but casual.

“I think so.” She replied as she itched the tip of her nose.

Taron looked at her and nodded.

“Good.” He replied as he turned over and turned off the light.

Nicola turned over so that her back was to him did her best to cocoon herself in his blankets, the smell of them lulling her into a sense of safety and security.

“Night Taron.” Nicola said as she closed her eyes.

He didn’t answer her though, he was trying to quietly go through his nightstand.

Nicola’s brows furrowed as she listened to what he was doing. When she heard the drawer shut, she turned so that she could kind of see him.

“What are you doing?” Nicola asked, scaring the shit out of Taron. So much so that he quickly hid the item he was looking for under the blankets.

“What? Nothing.” He replied a little to quickly. Nicola quired a brow at him.

“It wasn’t nothing Taron. What were you getting?” Nicola asked again.

Taron wasn’t budging in his answer. It remained adamant that he wasn’t doing anything.

“Ok fine. Have it your way.” Nicola said, beginning to turn back but as she was doing that, Taron pulled the item out of it’s hiding spot.

“What the hell is that?” Nicola asked, now sitting up and turning on her lamp.

Taron felt defeated.

“It’s my sleeping mask ok.” Taron replied, looking down at the ratty old thing.

“A sleeping mask?” Nicola asked with amusement evident in her voice.

“Yeah, alright. Poke fun all you want but it helps me.” Taron told her.

Nicola chuckled as she held her hands up.

“It’s so ratty.” Nicola said as she saw it clearly.

“If you’re going to keep this up, you can sleep in the guest room.” Taron said, feeling defensive.

“Taron relax, I’m only teasing you.” Nicola said as she smiled at him. He just looked at her with slight annoyance in his eyes.

“If it helps you, that’s good.” She told him honestly as she moved down, turned the lamp off again and cocooned herself in the blankets once more.

“That’s it? No other remark?” Taron asked, not believing that she was going to leave it there.

“Nope. Night.” Nicola replied, sleep now evident in her voice. Or at least that’s what Taron thought.

He remained skeptical but put his mask on anyway.

“Night.” He replied, slipping the material over his eyes and laying down.

After some time, Nicola was still wide awake and finding her brain off on one with all sorts of things. She tried to will herself to sleep but with each attempt made, it proved useless.

Eventually Nicola turned over so that she faced Taron in the hopes that the new potion would help but it wasn’t. Nothing she was trying was helping.

*End of Flashback*

Nicola flicked through the tv channels until she concluded that no show was helping her either, so with that realization, Nicola turned the tv off and went back to the kitchen to put her cup in the sink.

As she passed the counter, her eyes landed on a paper pad and a pen conveniently sitting in front of her eyes. Nicola grabbed them and went to sit at the dining table to write down everything that she was feeling.

Once she was finished writing everything down, she went back to Taron’s room and laid down next to him. She was facing him and as her eyes adjusted to the dark, she could make out the mark on his jaw where she had accidentally punched him.

She felt her eyes well up with tears again and before she knew what she was doing, she reached out for Taron and gently caressed the forming bruise. She let her fingers feel the stubble on his face, let them feel the warmth of his skin.

The more she did that, the more her heart burst into pieces all over again. She attempted to stop her crying but the more that she did that, the more she felt her body betray her. She felt the tears fall from her eyes and as they did, she leaned forward and hovered over Taron’s lips.

“I’m so sorry.” She whispered as she connected her lips with his in a small kiss.

What she didn’t know was that Taron was awake, he felt her come back to bed, he felt her caress his face and he felt the pain and anguish radiate from her body as she kissed him.

Nicola pulled away and sniffed.

Taron ripped his mask off and captured her lips with his again, pouring every ounce of love into it. He wanted to show her that it was ok, that she was safe and that he would do anything and everything to protect her. He wanted to show her that she was his whole world, besides the kids of course.

Nicola continued to let her tears fall as they kissed and held each other tightly, as though they were afraid that they’d be taken from one another.

Eventually they pulled apart as they desperately needed air. Nicola took this opportunity to look Taron in the eye.

“Make love to me.” Nicola whispered and Tarn just looked at her, unsure if she was being serious or not. He looked at her questioningly.

“Yes.” Nicola replied, pulling Taron close to her again, needing to feel him pressed against her.

Taron kissed her lips hungrily before slowly moving down to kiss her neck.

Nicola let her body give into the pleasure Taron was giving her. She allowed her mind to fully relax and to live in this moment. She let her fingers tangle themselves in Taron’s hair as the craving for him intensified.

She had forgotten just how much he set her body on fire with a passion she had never known before. With a desire to please him, with the desire to love him fully and completely.

Taron allowed his body to feel the same. He allowed his body to feel the gentle touches Nicola offered him as he kissed down her body, as he let his fingers trace every curve and dip of her body, as her moans filled the air in erotic ecstasy. As her melodic cries of pure euphoria hit him in the places of his body he forgot were there. As her body writhed and reacted to his touches. As she grasped the sheets beneath her as if trying to ground herself. As they became one. As they fell asleep in the arms of each other after the blissful sensuality of love making.

The next morning, the sun shone through the curtains as the sounds of the outside world roused her from her sleep. She felt like she was on cloud nine. She felt lighter and she felt happier but the thought of having to talk things through with Taron terrified her. She didn’t know how the conversation was going to go but with her feelings written down, she decided to hope for the absolute best.

“Morning.” Taron greeted as he emerged from the bathroom.

Nicola turned to face him and took in the water droplets that sat on his skin and clung to his chest hair. She took in how sexy he looked as he walked over to his closet. How tempting he looked with the towel hung that low on his hips, giving her a little peek at the hair that traveled down from his navel and sat neatly groomed around his penis.

“Fuck.” Nicola muttered to herself, but Taron heard it and grew intrigued.

“You ok?” Taron asked, walking out of the closet now dressed in a long-sleeved shirt, which had it’s sleeves pushed half way up his arms, and shorts.

Sat down next to her and brushed strands of her hair away from her face while smiling down at her warmly.

“I’m ok baby.” Nicola replied warily, almost scared of his reaction.

Her words warmed his heart and set off more butterflies within his belly. Taron leaned down and kissed her lips tenderly, humming at the contact of their mouths.

“You sure?” He asked genuinely.

Nicola’s cheeks reddened as she tried to move again, feeling the same stiffness pull at her muscles.

“Sore.” She replied, feeling coy all of a sudden.

“Shall I carry you downstairs and we can talk?” Taron offered, making Nicola chuckle.

She lifted her arms toward him and allowed him to carry her but not before she asked him to get the folded piece of paper she had written on the night before.

With the paper now securely between her teeth, Taron gently picked her up and carried her to the sofa, gently her placed her on it, making sure she was comfortable and went to make them some tea.

Sitting on the sofa, Nicola realized that she was in the spot she was in the first time she entered this house and what led to it.

*Mini Flashback*

Taron got his son settled in his car seat before getting in the car himself and heading in the direction of the park.

Unfortunately for him, he saw 'the woman' sitting at a picnic table keeping an eye on Jasmine.

"Right, go play." Taron said to Mikey as he took him out of his car seat and set him down on the ground.

Mikey ran off and started playing.

Taron locked the car and took a deep breath.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Nicola snapped harshly when she saw who was approaching.

"It's none of your damn business." Taron spat back.

"Well if your moody ass is going to be here then yes, it is my business." Nicola sassed.

Taron scoffed and sat down on the same seat as she and removed his sunglasses.

Nicola glanced at him and really took him in. He wasn't bad looking, he had nice eyes and a sharp jaw. He was pretty cute.

"Take a fucking picture." Taron seethed, making Nicola jump.

"Excuse me?" She questioned.

"Stop staring." Taron said, locking eyes with her.

Nicola swallowed harshly. His eyes had turned an almost black shade and he looked like he was thirsty for blood.

"Staring and trying to figure someone out are two very different things." Nicola replied with a raised brow.

"And what exactly are you trying to figure out?" He said dangerously low.

"What an asshole like you gets out of hanging around parks like this. I'll call the police you know." She said, not realizing that he had come here with Mikey.

"You're a bitch, you know that." Taron countered before turning to look at Mikey, who was happily playing with Jasmine.

"Yup, definitely a Taz." Nicola smirked.

Taron's heart stopped. No one besides Kate had called him that, not even his mum. Only Kate was allowed to call him that.

"Shut the fuck up." The man said, slamming his fists on the table.

"Since I met you, all you've done is piss me off. You've insulted me and I think it's my turn to insult you. Why is a woman like you in a park like this anyway? Is it because no one wants a self centered, condescending slag like you? You feel better surrounding yourself with others like you? Or is it because no one wants to get between those legs, and this is where you come to sulk to yourself about it?" Taron said, eerily calm.

This didn't phase Nicola in the slightest as all she was focused on were his lips, which is funny because normally she'd slap the shit out of him but there was just something about him that spoke to her.

Before she could think of what she was doing, her hand went to the back of his neck and she pulled him forward, crashing her lips onto Taron's.

His lips were soft, and the kiss was magical but for Taron, he felt awful. How could something feel so right and so wrong at the same time?

Meanwhile from the top of the play fort, Mikey watched as the two adults kissed.

The little boy crouched down so that he was hidden and started crying.

"What's wrong?" Jasmine asked as she finally looked up from her rock collection.

"I hate my dad." Mikey whimpered.

Jasmine looked toward Taron, covered her mouth and started giggling.

"They're kissing." She said through her giggles.

Mikey hid his face, making Jasmin stop giggling.

The little girl attempted to hug her friend, but Mikey got up and ran over to his father.

"Mikey stop!" Jasmin called but Mikey wasn't listening.

Mikey quickly reached his father.

"That's my daddy!" Mikey shouted as he pushed Nicola away from Taron.

Despite the fact that Taron had massively hurt his son, Mikey wasn't willing to share Taron just yet.

Nicola looked at the man she'd just kissed and saw the hurt, confusion and sadness in his eyes.

Taron sat frozen in place as Mikey climbed up into his father's lap.

Absentmindedly, Taron wrapped his right arm around his son and held him protectively.

"Mine." Mikey said as he wrapped his small arms around Taron's neck and glared daggers at the woman.

It was evident to Nicola that Mikey was definitely this man's son and that she had just made a huge mistake.

Her cheeks went bright red, and she bit her lower lip in embarrassment.

Taron finally rejoined reality and realized what had just happened.

"Kate." He whispered as he touched his lips with his left hand, displaying the fact that he was wearing a ring.

Nicola's eyes landed on the gold band on his ring finger, and she sucked in a breath. Of course he was married, and she'd just kissed a married man. Fuck!

The next day, Nicola was sitting in her car trying to think of what to get Taron as an apology for treating him so poorly.

"What do I get for him!" Nicola groaned out loud.

"KFC's always a good choice." Kate said from the backseat.

Nicola hit her steering wheel a couple times before agreeing with her inner voice and went to KFC.

"At a girl." Kate praised with a wide smile.

It didn't take Nicola long to get everything she needed for the apology but then it dawned on her, where in the actual hell did this man live?

Just as she stepped out of the food place, two women walked past her talking about a house with blossoming rain lilies out front.

"They were always my favorite." Kate replied.

Nicola smiled to herself. She remembered driving past that house once as she took a shortcut to work one morning.

"He's not long home but he'd appreciate the chicken. Save him from almost burning the house down again." Kate giggled.

Because there was hardly any traffic, Nicola made it to the house quicker than she thought she would.

"Here goes nothing." She said as she set the food down and knocked on the door.

Nicola took a step back and waited for an answer.

"Can I-" Taron began before realizing that no one was there.

As he went to close the door, a gentle breeze picked up and rustled the plastic bag.

Taron looked down and saw the take away bag.

He smiled to himself as he bent down to grab the food.

"Thanks mam." Taron said, loud enough for Nicola to hear.

She coyly stepped forward and Taron's smile immediately fell from his face.

"Before you say anything, please hear me out?" She asked, nervously fiddling with her fingers.

Taron could hear the genuine tone in her voice.

"I was making tea." He replied.

Nicola shrugged.

"No, it's ok. I don't want to interrupt. I just wanted to drop that off as an apology for how I've treated you." The woman responded.

Taron nodded friendly.

"Come in." He said, standing to the side.

The woman slowly walked into the house and stood in the entryway awkwardly. "Ok." She said.

"Can I take your jacket?" Taron asked as he came back from the kitchen.

"Yeah s-sure." Nicola stuttered.

Taron hung up her jacket and led her to the living room.

"I'll be back with the tea." He said.

Nicola smiled in response.

"Take a seat, I'll only be a minute." He continued before walking away.

Sitting down, Nicola felt nervous and on edge, not knowing what his response would be to what she had to say.

She wanted to offer her help but with not knowing his name and knowing that the name Taz pissed him off, Nicola decided it was best if she just stayed quiet and tried to get her thoughts in order before he came back.

"Thank you for being willing to hear me out. I really do appreciate it." Nicola said as Taron placed the tray of tea down on the coffee table.

He gave Nicola a tight-lipped smile.

"Be strong Nicola, you've got this." Kate whispered as she watched from the other end of the room.

"How do you take your tea?" Taron asked as he doctored up his own cup.

"Same as you." She said with a smile.

When he was done making up her tea, he passed her a cup and sat down.

"So, the real reason I came here was to hopefully start over." Nicola admitted.

"Go on." Taron said, waiting for her to continue.

"Can I be honest with you?" Nicola questioned.

Taron shrugged defensively.

"You were right, I have been a bitch but-" She began before Taron rolled his eyes.

"There's always an excuse, isn't there?" He sassed.

Nicola looked down and bit her lower lip.

"I know there isn't a reason for you to believe anything I say, but I'm trying to explain myself. I know that I was awful." Nicola replied, looking up at him.

"The first time I met you, I had literally just been granted custody of my little sister and it was a really rough morning. I was annoyed and I took that anger out on you." She explained.

Taron quirked his brow.

"And that's the truth is it?" He replied.

Nicola lightly scoffed.

"Why would I lie, I'm not like that." She answered.

"When I was 3, my grandparents were granted custody of me because my mother was and still is a drug addict and would sleep around almost all the time. It got so bad, and she'd leave me on my own for long periods of time." She explained, running the tip of her thumb around the rim of the cup.

Watching her, it became clear that she was being truthful. Taron still remained defensive but respected her for opening up to him.

"When I heard that my mother was doing that again to my little sister, I knew I had to give Jasmine a chance at a better life but to do that I had to move from my one-bedroom flat to a two bedroom and then had to fight my mother on everything." She finished.

Taron closed his eyes and sighed.

"I'm sorry." He said.

"I know I've acted like a bitch but I'm really not. I know I've been awful to you and there is no excuse for that. I guess I just wanted you to know that I'm a nice person under all of that." She explained.

Taron nodded.

"And I know that the way that I handled our last meeting wasn't right and I feel so guilty. I had no idea that you were married and had I been in my right mind, I would have just slapped you and walked away." She chuckled slightly.

"I'm not married." He said, shocking himself as well.

"But you're wearing a ring." Nicola pointed out.

"I mean I was married but not anymore. She died." Taron answered.

"Shit, I feel even worse now." Nicola said.

Taron surprised himself by laying a hand on top of Nicola's.

"Please don't feel bad. To be honest, you calling me Taz took me by surprise. My wife used to call me that and I hadn't expected to hear anyone else use the name." He explained.

"Right, I get you. I'll make sure I don't do it again. Sorry." She promised.

"Don't be sorry. You couldn't have known." Taron replied, slightly warming to her.

Before either of them could say anything else, Pickles took his chance and climbed up Taron's leg.

"Hello you." Taron greeted, scooping up and petting the furball.

"Who's this cutie?" Nicola asked.

"This is Pickles." Taron introduced.

Nicola giggled.

"Pickles. Cute name." She said.

"My son picked the name." Taron stated.

"Does he like pickles?" Nicola questioned.

"His favorite tv show is the Rugrats." The man said with amusement

"Let me guess, he likes someone from the pickles family?" Nicola wondered out loud.

"Yeah, Stu apparently reminds him of me." Taron answered sadly.

"You can say no but you look like you could use a hug." Nicola noted carefully, really not wanting to undo her apology and make him feel uncomfortable again.

"How about we just start with names." Taron replied, not feeling quite ready for any kind of intimacy from another woman.

Nicola smiled.

"Sounds good. I'm Nicola." She said warmly.

"Taron." He replied.

"Nice to meet you Taron." Nicola said.

"Nice job Pickles. You're a good ice breaker." Kate said as the feline walked past her and toward his food bowl.

*End of Mini Flashback*

“Where’d you go?” Taron asked as he walked into the living room holding the same tray he did when they first talked properly.

“I was thinking about the first time I sat in this spot.” Nicola said as she watched Taron make up her tea. She smiled to herself.

“I brought you KFC.” Nicola said, looking around at the décor Taron had up.

She saw that Luna’s picture still sat up next to the one Taron had of Mikey and Kate when Mikey was freshly born.

“I remember.” Taron told her as he passed her a cup.

“Thank you.” She said, taking a sip.

“You’re welcome.” Taron replied, sitting on the ground by Nicola’s feet.

Nicola looked at him questioningly.

“Why are you down there?” Nicola asked and Taron shrugged at her, keeping his reasoning to himself for now.

Nicola ran her thumb around the rim of the cup just as she did at least a year prior.

“It was the first time I met Pickles too.” Nicola mused, looking at the coffee table where the letter sat.

“He took a real shine to you.” Taron added, making nod in agreement.

“Taron?” Nicola voiced, looking down at him.

“Yes?” He replied, keeping his eyes locked on hers.

“This is for you.” Nicola said as she reached for the paper and passed it to him.

Taron placed his mug down and took the folded paper from her.

“What is it?” He wondered out loud.

Nicola bit her lower lip in anticipation.

“I couldn’t sleep last night so I came down here for tea and to watch tv, but it didn’t work. When I was coming back from the kitchen, I saw the pen and aper pad you had on the counter.” Nicola explained.

“What is it though?” He asked. He could probably guess but he wanted to her it from her.

“It’s a letter. I thought it’d be better if you read what I wanted to say to you. That way we don’t fight, and I can get all my words out the way I want to.” Nicola explained further.

Taron nodded and proceeded to open it.

‘Dear Taron,

You are asleep right now and seem to be sleeping deeply which I’m glad for, but I can’t sleep. My mind feels so clouded and heavy with everything that has happened between us as well as things that have happened in the past few hours. I know that we have had our fair share of ups and downs but for right now, I don’t want to talk about that. I’d rather talk about is my past, if that’s ok.

You already know that my grandparents got full custody of me when I was 3 because my mother left me home alone for long periods of time while she was off on benders but what I didn’t tell you was that my grandparents actually adopted me. It was so hard for them to see their only daughter constantly abusing her body with drugs, alcohol and various other harmful acts but it pained them even more to see their very young granddaughter ignored by the one person she should have been able to rely on.

Things with them were fantastic. I had them all to myself and they gave me a safe place to be. A safe place to grow up. Unfortunately, my grandmother got sick and sadly passed away. I was only 6. It was very sad but somehow grandpa and I handled it well. We decided that we were going to move out of London for a fresh start but then my mother got herself into some trouble with the law and it took a toll on my grandpa. So much so, he ended up committing suicide. I had no idea how bad his depression had gotten and to this day, part of me wishes that I would have paid more attention to that rather than chasing my friends around London and getting into all sorts of shit. Shit I never want either of the kids getting into.

Anyway, it wasn’t long after he passed that I learned that my mother was pregnant with Jasmine. When I heard that, I got angry. I felt like she had let me down so much, ignored me for way too long that I didn’t care. She tried to reach out, but I was having non of it. I refused to get tangled up with her.

That went on for a while but then when one of my friends, who works with addicts, caught wind that Jasmine was going through the same shit I was, I knew that I had to do something. I felt like I needed to protect her from the evil that was my mother’s world. From there, we moved to Aber, I officially got custody of her, met you and as they say, the rest is history.

The rest is history….

That’s such a weird thing to say, especially now.

What pains me even more than my past etc. is knowing that my mother is history. That my chances of having my mother come to me apologizing for everything she’s put me and Jasmine through is history. The chances of Luna knowing her grandmother is history. My chances of having a proper mother is history.

The one thing I know for certain is that I don’t want us to be history. I want us to be the future. I want us to raise the kids to be strong, brave and courageous individuals who see that world for all wonders it holds.

I want us….’

Taron folded the paper back up and looked at Nicola who had tears in her eyes. He could tell that she was nervous, and he could see that at any moment she was going to cry, whether from relief or from grief, he didn’t know. The one thing he was certain of though, Nicola required reassurance.

Taron got up onto his knees in front of Nicola, took her face between his hands gently and tenderly kissed her lips before pulling her into hug.

“I want us too.” He breathed into her ear.

Nicola chuckled with relief, bursting into tears. Finally able to let her walls come tumbling down, never again to keep them apart for as long as they both shall live……

===

Tag List:

@geo-winchester

@elizami11s

@stilessbaseballbat

#taron david egerton #taronegertonfanfiction #taron egerton blurb #taking chances #Single Father #singlemother #dad!taron #taronegertonxy/n #taronegertonimagines #taronegertonxreader #taronegerton #taronegertononeshot #TaronegertonAU #taronegertonangst #it'sjustpickles #penultimate

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nicsnort · 28 days

Text

Trial by Fire (part 11)

A Nightcrawler/Fem!OC romance, drama, and mystery fanfic, with lots of Quicksilver thrown in for fun and even more drama.

Intro (with link to full Ao3 story) First Previous

Quicksilver took her to the city and area she had requested. It had only been a couple of weeks since she had been home, but it felt so nice to see her house again. Digging around the front porch, she found the stone with her spare key and opened the door.

“I don’t have much in the way of food and whatnot since I thought I’d be gone for a while. Guest room is the door up the stairs on the left. The door on the right is my bedroom. Middle is the bathroom.”

Bedelia was sure he already opened all the doors the second she unlocked the front door, and if he didn’t do it now, she was sure he would later. “My office is downstairs next to the living room.”

The air in the house was just a bit stale. Perhaps it was because she had told Quicksilver about her family, but when she breathed in, there was the faint memory of smoke in the air. “This was my parent's home,” she explained as she locked the door behind them. “They were able to pay off the mortgage before they died, and the insurance and settlement money covered the repairs…I’m going to change into my own clothes, but go ahead and make yourself comfortable.”

“Pretty spacious space.” He commented. Family home, hm? That couldn’t have boded well for her recovery if she was surrounded by memories. He shook his head. She was an interesting one.

Although he had heard her mention the lack of food, he still peeked into the kitchen. Damn, she wasn’t lying. There was zilch, nada, nothing. Well, he could fix that and get his excitement and thrills out all in one.

By the time Bedelia returned downstairs, Quicksilver was sitting on the couch with his feet propped up on the coffee table. The TV remote was in one hand and a slice of pepperoni pizza in the other. He looked up at her, that hint of a smirk showing his amusement and arrogance, before he called out, “Smart move starving the rats before your stay-vacation on Genosha...but I get ‘hangry’ if I don’t eat. Check it out. More than Twinkies, I promise.”

He nodded towards the kitchen, full to the brim with food in the fridge, freezer, and pantry. On the table was a box of fresh pizza he had picked up and a six-pack of IPAs. Not that alcohol did much to him when he drank moderately, his metabolism was too high. Still, he felt he needed and earned a drink or three.

Bedelia blinked at the sight of Quicksilver eating pizza on her couch though mostly at the sight of his feet propped up on her coffee table. Silently she turned and looked into the small kitchen. She had only been upstairs about ten minutes. How had he gotten all this food in here...no; more importantly, where did he get it? The pizza he had was from a local joint that took at least 20 minutes to bake a pizza when there were no other orders. Wait, of course. He stole it. The man’s morals were hazy at best; why should he avoid stealing? Not like Bedelia was one to talk when it came to hazy morals.

Grabbing a slice of pizza herself, Bedelia sat on the opposite side of the couch. “Just don’t bring the cops to my doorstep with stolen goods.”

Quicksilver looked insulted. “Bring the cops? Are you saying I’m slow enough for those pigs to lay eyes on me?!” He was grinning as he took another bite, pleased with the situation. A bit of freedom, access to the city and all of its wonderful shops...and women.

She took a moment to eat before looking at him. “So, do you still want me to call you Quicksilver? I feel like it will draw attention if we need to go out.”

At her question, he looked thoughtful. He wondered how often they would go out together -- the editors and companies, no doubt. “You can call me...Pietro. Only when we’re near other humans.” He emphasized, biting into the crust. “I’ve got a reputation to uphold.” He added.

He turned on the television to a movie on TNT, one that involved some issue with the weather.

Of course, Bedelia already knew the name given that Scarlet Witch had let it slip. Still, she smiled and gave a nod. “Naturally, I don’t want to harm your reputation.”

Finishing off her pizza, Bedelia went into her office, which was right next to the living room. She cracked the door, so he could “watch” her as she worked. The first thing Bedelia did was turn on her actual computer. She needed the information on it for this next stage. Then she got out her phone and called a friend. She knew it was still early in Mexico with the time difference, but Ink needed to know she was safe.

“Bedelia,” a groggy voice answered, thick with accent. “How the fucking hell are you calling me? Did something happen?”

“Ink, hey, sorry for waking you. Yes, something happened. I can’t explain it now, you are going to have to wait for the article, but you can cancel my pick up from Genosha.”

“Girl, what the hell,” the mutant on the other end of the phone said. “How’d you get off?”

“Listen, if you wait for an explanation, and trust me, I’ll go on that date you’ve always wanted.”

At that phrase, she could tell Ink shot straight out of bed. FIRE - the independent journalist society they were just a part of, the ones that got them in contact with each other in the first place, encouraged all members to have key phrases that would tell their fellows they were in danger. One of the most common was saying they’d go on a date.

“Alright, girl, but you owe me a nice long one.”

“I promise you it will be worth it. Now get back to bed.” She hung up and sighed. Well, at least one person knew she was in trouble. When the article was published, Ink would know why and how. Hopefully, he could start sending her resources to help. As a mutant, perhaps the Brotherhood would be willing to talk with him for her release.

Rubbing her face, Bedelia turned to her computer. Time to start contacting editors. She had a few in mind, but it was still a business transaction. Bedelia wanted to be paid well for her work.

~~~~

If he was honest, Quicksilver hadn’t been paying much attention to the movie. Even on his second beer -- these were strong, but he barely felt a hum in his veins -- he listened in on bits of the journalist’s conversation. It seemed normal, for the most part. He figured she was talking to a contact. In any case, even if someone were fool enough to visit, he’d take care of them -- surely she knew that.

Quicksilver got a final slice of pizza and glanced at the door. He walked over to the window and glanced out. It was empty, the streets. He was tempted to go out, but the journalist would be alone. No, that wouldn’t do. He walked over and pushed the door open with a fingertip, letting it slowly open with a creak. “Any luck?” He inquired. If she found someone, well, a celebration was in order…

Bedelia had emailed several editors over the past couple of hours. Two had already gotten back to her, interested in her story. The Washington Post, a respectable paper that she knew would ensure the article was spread well, but that would be far more likely to make her remove all positive comments about the Brotherhood - they would pay very well. And Vice news, a more activist online site that would get less spread and may be overlooked, but she knew would take her article as is - they would pay less well.

Quicksilver’s words pulled her from her thoughts. “Yes and no.” She explained the current two choices, leaving out the pay. “I am waiting for one response in particular. Eugene at the Guardian owes me a favor, and they have printed several of my articles on mutants before…”

As if on cue, her phone rang. Not an email. Promising. “Speak of the devil,” she muttered, holding a finger to her lips at Pietro. “Eugene, hi! You got my email?”

“Yes, are you telling the truth,” the smooth British clipped voice asked.

“Have you ever known me to lie about my work? As I said in the email, I have a story that will destroy the reputation of an entire country and will change the perspective that many have of mutants.”

“That’s a tall order...how much?”

Bedelia grinned like a cat lapping at cream. He didn’t offer her a price; he was letting her name her price. It meant he was desperate for the story. “I am calling in that favor you owe me. I want a contract. I will be exclusive to you for three years. You will get at least one story monthly on mutant issues, and I want this story to be a special print...oh, and my contract pay per year will be 100k.”

“That’s a big ask, Delia, your work is good, but 12 stories a year isn’t much. How can I know they will be worth it?”

“At least 12 stories, likely more. And I can guarantee you that it will be stories that no one else would be able to write. Completely exclusive information from some new sources of mine.”

She could hear Eugene running his hand over his face. “At least tell me the big reveal before I agree. I need to know that this story is what you say it is.”

“Genosha is using mutant slave labor to fuel their economy.”

The man on the other side was silent for a long moment. Finally, he spoke. “You have proof?”

“Yes. I saw it myself, and I have photos.”

Another long pause. “I always knew you were insane, Delia. Deal. I’ll have the lawyers draw up the contract and send it to you.” His next words lost their business-like edge. “Are you alright? How did you get out of there?”

“I am fine. My new source helped me. Don’t worry about me, Eugene...tell the wife I say hi.” With that, Bedelia hung up. Two years ago, she had helped Eugene with his divorce. Hopefully, the man was smart enough to realize that those words meant something was wrong.

Looking at Quicksilver, she grinned. “There, the story is as good as published, and I have a place to publish everything else for the next three years.”

Pietro studied her as she spoke. His attention shifted to the things around her in the office. Books, papers, a shit ton of papers, and yet it was all set up nicely enough. He imagined before she said it that some of those books held her works. Hardcore, wasn’t she? He walked into the office, his footfalls sharp on the floor.

He picked one book out of the shelf and flipped through it. Not that he was reading anything, his attention was purely on her words. He glanced back at her and smirked. “You do realize you signed yourself to us for three years.” It wasn’t a question. No, if she were this smart, this attentive, she wouldn’t have missed that little...unfortunate detail.

“Signing myself to you for three years, guaranteeing my life for three years unless I fuck up, po-tay-to po-tah-to,” Bedelia told him. Even though she hoped to be extracted from the Brotherhood’s grasp before the three years were up, it was good to know she had three years to sort it out.

There was a smirk at her wording. To him? Not to them or any other plural word, but to him. Well, he guessed she was right. If he couldn't get the babysitting to rotate, he supposed he could have fun with this for three years. She at least batted back commentary rather than cowered.

He shot the book with a sharp snap and laid it on a shelf, distinctly out of place. “This calls for a celebration. Tell me, journalist, where is there a place to enjoy yourself? You do enjoy yourself on occasion...don’t you?” Quicksilver raised a brow, grinning.

“Oh yes, I can enjoy myself. Let’s go to my favorite cafe and bookstore. It’s a little place not too far from the city archives. I always buy a new book after I publish a story, but I will treat myself now and then.”

At the reference to a book and a cup of coffee, Quicksilver rolled his eyes. "A book? Well, whatever satisfies your ritual." She had to be such a bookworm nerd, didn't she? At least she was discrete. "Let's go."

_____

Fanfic Masterlist

#fanfic #xmen #quicksilver #pietro maximoff #nightcrawler #kurt wagner #fanfiction #long reads #Trial by Fire

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refixindia123 · 2 months

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Best LED TV Repairing Course in Delhi

Delhi, India's busy capital, serves as a hub for educational and vocational training institutions. Refix India focuses on LED TV Repairing Course in Delhi have become extremely popular. This blog discusses the introduction, importance, scope, and demand for LED LCD Smart TV courses in Delhi, providing a thorough overview for aspiring technicians and fans.

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seodigifronix · 2 months

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When to Repair vs. When to Replace Your TV: A Cost-Benefit Analysis

Deciding whether to repair or replace your TV can be a challenging decision. As with any significant household investment, understanding the cost-benefit dynamics of each option is crucial. Here’s a guide to help you determine the best course of action for your television.

Assessing Repair Costs

When your TV starts showing signs of trouble—such as flickering screens, sound issues, or connectivity problems—the first step is to evaluate repair costs. Minor issues, like a faulty remote control or a broken HDMI port, are usually worth fixing. However, for more severe problems, such as a malfunctioning panel or significant internal damage, repairs can be costly and may not always restore your TV to its original performance.

Read more: TV repair Service in Bangalore

Evaluating Replacement Options

Replacement becomes a viable option if repair costs exceed 50% of the price of a new TV or if your current model is outdated. Newer models offer advanced features like 4K resolution, smart capabilities, and improved energy efficiency. If your TV is over 7-8 years old, the cost of repairs coupled with the potential need for future maintenance may outweigh the benefits of upgrading.

Additional Factors to Consider

Warranty and Support: Check if your TV is still under warranty. Repairs might be covered, reducing your out-of-pocket expenses. For out-of-warranty repairs, consider if the repair shop offers reliable service and parts.

Energy Efficiency: Newer models are generally more energy-efficient, which can reduce your electricity bills over time. Older TVs, especially CRT models, consume more power and may lead to higher utility costs.

Technology Upgrades: If you value the latest technology, such as improved picture quality or smart TV features, investing in a new TV might be the better choice.

In conclusion, whether to repair or replace your TV depends on the cost of repairs, the age of the TV, and the benefits of upgrading. By carefully weighing these factors, you can make an informed decision that fits both your budget and entertainment needs.