#They were decided against though due to not being able to see in the dark (or at least that not being hinted at in their pokedex entries)

[this-is-a-url]

Hiker pokemon team, but it's based entirely on how realistically useful I think each pokemon would be

[rizsu]

ex-husband!gojo, who wakes up every morning to his disappointment. it's been well over a couple months, yet he still extends his arm to feel for you.

ex-husband!gojo, who still has your contact saved as his main emergency contact. he uses this to his advantage— ringing your phone with the excuse of being "too drunk to drive." it works. he isn't exactly high off his brain, but he has alcohol in his system.

ex-husband!gojo, who happened to spot you with another man. who is he? is he your friend? your lover? perhaps you met after the divorce? whatever the status is, it doesn't help to soothe his jealousy. it's not like he can walk up to you — you might issue a restraining order against him.

ex-husband!gojo, who finds himself at your doorstep. it's late, storming, and you're probably asleep. he doesn't move. mind set in chaos as he ponders whether he should leave or ring the bell. he wants to see you, but the look of disgust he might receive is something he isn't ready to face.

ex-husband!gojo, who's shocked that you opened the door. he didn't ring the bell. were you already there? probably. his throat ran dry, unable to speak a word. you're leaning on the door's frame, arms crossed as you tilt your head. "you need something, gojo?" you asked, not willing to receive an answer.

"can i — can i come in?" he stutters, a little shocked at the use of his surname. the little sparkle of hope that you continue using his first name has been dusted.

ex-husband!gojo, who's fidgety in your home. your silence isn't helping him relax. hell, he hasn't known relaxation ever since the divorce. "help yourself to the kitchen. sleep wherever, i'm going back to bed," your voice held no volume of softness. it was as if you were but a stranger, yet he refuses to let you become one.

"then, may i sleep in your room? on the floor, of course," he's hesitant with his request, deciding it's best to justify himself, "i don't know my way around this house."

ex-husband!gojo, who's yet again stunned that you allowed him in your room — let alone your bed. now he's as still as a stick, unable to fall asleep due to his itching urge to pull you into him. you're most likely sound asleep, uncaring to the man you once called your husband.

ex-husband!gojo, who calls out to you, keeping his voice low as he speaks, "can we talk?"

you replied to him, voice still holding its tone of harshness, "what is there to talk about?"

"anything. how's life been for you?" he keeps his speech short, afraid of annoying you. it's a little late for that, however. you're already annoyed by the attempt of useless talks. "just get to the point, gojo."

and so he follows, sighing before he reveals his intentions, "i fucking missed you, that's all."

ex-husband!gojo, who's surprised when you sat up. although your room holds no light due to the black-out curtains, his eyes adjusted to its darkness, being able to see your every feature. your face, hands, neck, collarbone, chest — everything. he misses being able to run his hands through your body ever-so lovingly. when you lowered yourself right above his face, his eyes kept your gaze. your jaw's clenched. why does he look as if he lost everything? wasn't the divorce mutual?

ex-husband!gojo, who's rendered speechless when your voice cracked. he didn't expect it, nor did he expect you to say what you did. "i missed you, too." did you really miss him? he feels as though he's being lied to. raising a hand to cup your cheek, he shares his words, "really? then why not act on it if you're not lying?"

ex-husband!gojo, who happily accepts your kiss, moving his hand from your cheek to your nape. softly pushing you closer to himself — and to deepen the kiss. it's soft but rough. passionate but seeping with hatred. it's everything at once. you're pulling at his hair, purposefully tugging it as if you're using it to distract yourself from the escaping emotions. he's the same. using his other hand to travel along the junction of your neck and shoulder, squeezing it each time he feels to let the tears flow.

[ceesimz]

My Soul, It Did Decide!

Part 2 of this!

Here it is, as promised. I thought it was too long but I couldn't decide what to take out, so have it all. It was supposed to be done and out for Friday but when the Northern Lights come knocking you gotta go find them😅 Enjoy! Title of P1 is from my favourite Little Simz song 'Angel', this one from 'Worth It.' by Raye!

Adjusting to life with a child was as daunting as expected; having a whole human being depend on you was quite possibly the most terrifying thing in the world. Yet, when wide brown eyes stared up at you in the dead of the night and ten little fingers gripped just one of yours, it felt like you were made for it.

Newborns were possibly the laziest species of all, and you loved it. The first few weeks of her life, all Anaís did was eat, sleep, eat, and sleep some more. That left plenty of time for you to marvel at every little thing about her; the few wisps of dark brown hair she had, her perfect button nose, her tiny feet that were ever-moving, and her hands with the most adorable nails you'd ever seen, if that was possible. Not to mention the smell of her, which you thought was a myth, how women were obsessed with the smell of their baby, but you weren't embarrassed to admit it was entirely true. Alexia loved to tease you about it, but when one time in the middle of the night you'd caught her doing the exact same thing as you, she reluctantly gave in and joined you in your opinion.

The beauty of parenthood unfolds in countless ways, and the wonder of seeing the world anew through your child's eyes is unparalleled. You'd come to learn that even the simplest things made to be the most incredible memories. But the thing that got you the most though, was not only the prospect of all the memories your family were going to make, but what life Anaís might live.

Would she follow in Alexia's footsteps and become a football legend? Would she follow your path instead, a more educated and business led one? Would she become a doctor and save hundreds of lives, would she become the first astronaut to land on Mars, or would she spend her life living at home with you and Alexia? You didn't care what she would grow to be, your first rule of parenting was to never hold expectations against them beyond the normal ones of being kind and whatnot. The pride you felt towards her at such a young age was so extreme and overwhelming, you couldn't begin to process what it would be like when she came into her own as a person. Truly, there was no greater joy than being a parent, that much was true, and you hadn't even experienced any of the larger milestones yet.

There were moments over your life, before Anaís, where you worried about how much you'd be able to handle a child. Sometimes you wondered if you even wanted kids, but the thought of not having Anaís in your world now was... god, you couldn't even imagine it.

Even when she was screaming at the top of her lungs, refusing to sleep.

"Anaís, mi chiqui, por favor. Go to sleep." You begged, slowly stepping around the room whilst rocking a crying Anaís in your arms.

You'd tried it all by now, and nothing was working. Diaper change, feeding her, soothing her, cuddling her, everything you could think of. But nothing was good enough. There were tears brimming in your own eyes, thoroughly exhausted due to the restless night Anaís had had so far, and it seemed the end wasn't in sight yet.

"Please, please, little one." You sniffled, your emotions finally consuming you as one of your tears fell to merge with Anaís' own on her cheeks. "I don't get what's wrong!"

For all you knew, Alexia was in the bedroom a few feet down the hallway, soundly asleep. Blissfully unaware of the difficulties you faced in the next room over. Selfishly, the thought only made matters worse. A strangled shout escaped you before you could stop it, stressing both yourself and Anaís out inexplicably more.

By the grace of something your shattered mind couldn't name, that last call out from you had awoken the Spaniard, and she soon came stumbling into the nursery, instantly sobered from her sleep upon the sight she walked into.

Your face was red from stress and sobs, Anaís' tiny little cheeks matching yours as her face scrunched uncomfortably with each scrike she let out, and you only cried more at the sight of Alexia.

"Mi amor, what's happening?" Alexia rushes over to you, cautiously taking Anaís from your arms as her eyes flick worryingly between you both.

"She won't stop crying!" You sob, hiding your face into her neck. "I've d-done every- everything, she just won't stop."

"Okay, okay. Hey, what time is it, amor? Can you check for me please? Just that one thing, my love, that's all." Alexia asks, hoping there was a remaining part of your overwhelmed mind that was still lucid.

"Um, it's- it's almost four, I think." You choke out, slumping into the rocking chair and crying into your hands.

"Thank you, amor, that's all I needed. Stay right here, can you hold our mija for just a minute whilst I get something? I will be right back, I will be really quick."

You nod, and Alexia presses a firm kiss to your forehead before placing Anaís back in your arms. The 8-week-old had almost fully exerted herself now, no more loud cries coming from her, only a few upset whines that broke your heart nonetheless. Wiping your face on the shoulder of your shirt, you cradle Anaís closely and rest your forehead against hers gently.

"I'm sorry I can't figure it out. I'm so sorry." You mutter exasperatedly, a few tears falling onto the baby's head.

Thankfully, Alexia races back into the room, holding something that would hopefully be the solution to Anaís' problem. The realisation of what was most likely wrong with her struck your heart.

"She is probably feeling unwell from her injections, amor. Let's give her some of this, it should make her feel better."

In her hand was a bottle of medicine for young infants, made for specific times like this. The previous day, Anaís had had her 8 week jabs and the doctor had suggested that she may feel a little under the weather afterwards, something that was completely normal, and the medicine Alexia held more often than not worked in the same way paracetamol did for people with cold symptoms. Anaís didn't seem to be running a fever, much to your relief, but she was obviously in some discomfort and it killed you that you hadn't thought of it.

"Yes, yes, give it her." You respond shakily, standing up as Alexia measures the right amount into the small syringe.

It takes a little while to give Anaís the small dose of medicine, having to give tiny amounts in quick intervals since she was so young, but a few minutes later she'd had it all with little fight. She's still very unsettled, but her tears have fully stopped now, instead letting out a few grunts as she wriggles restlessly.

"Hopefully she will feel better in a few minutes. Do you need anything, amor? Anything at all?" Alexia offers quietly, her hands coming up to rest on your cheeks as she wipes your tears away so delicately.

"No, I'm okay. You can go back to sleep now if you want." You tell her, not meeting her eyes.

"Hey, I'm staying with you and chiqui. Let me know how you are, sí?" Her eyebrows furrowed anxiously as her eyes assessed your face.

"I'm fine." You sniffle, but she instantly shakes her head.

"Mi amor, you seem so tired and stressed. Let's get back to bed and relax. I can text our friends that we won't make it to lunch later too?"

"No, we can still go. It'll be fine." You give her a tight-lipped smile, hoping it'll convince her, but your eyes are bloodshot and weighed down by some dark bags, and she sees straight through you.

"They know that parenting is never perfect or straight-forward, amor, we can just reschedule. You need the rest and so does Anaís, okay? I will text them. Come on, back to bed." She wraps an arm around your shoulders and guides you out of Anaís' room.

Once you're back in your shared bedroom, you sit back against the headboard and Alexia sits on the edge of the bed next to your legs. One of her hands rests on your bare knee as you wore a t-shirt and shorts in the hot summer weather, and she gazed at you with no love lost.

"She's tired herself out I think. With all the crying." You stated, unsure what to say when she's looking at you like she was. Alexia simply smiled and nodded, watching as Anaís' eyes finally fluttered shut.

"Look. She's okay now. We're all okay." She says, shifting a little closer and pressing a kiss to you cheek. "I love you. You are the best Mama that Anaís could have."

You don't reply, overridden by worries and doubts and tiredness to even consider the statement she'd made, so you just shrug and feel Anaís properly settle down, now asleep.

"Could you put her in her cot, please?"

Alexia nods immediately and stands before picking up Anaís, careful not to wake her, and murmurs a few words in Spanish to her followed by a feather-light kiss to her cheek, then she places her in the cot beside the bed. You watched the scene in front of you, it never failing to put a smile on your face even in the worse moments of parenting.

As Alexia makes her way back into bed, you shift to lay on your side facing Anaís, a position you lay in almost every night as it's reasurring to be able to see her so close to you whilst she sleeps due to the netting on the side of the crib. Alexia shifts up behind you and leans up on one elbow to press a kiss to your cheek, before hugging you tightly back into her.

"I'm proud of you. I love watching you being a Mami. It's my favourite thing ever." Alexia whispers, her thumb stroking over the soft skin of your hip under your shirt.

"Really?" You laugh humorlessly. "Even when I'm screaming and shouting and crying because I'm so fucking stressed? Because I can't help my own baby?"

Alexia frowns and rests up on one elbow again, using her other hand to press you onto your back so she can get a look at your face.

"Why would you say that?" Alexia asks in a voice that came across more stern than she wanted it.

"You saw the state of me when you walked in. It was such an obvious solution, what she needed, and it did not cross my mind at all. She was feeling poorly and I didn't notice. I couldn't figure it out." Your ranting voice trailed off with the last two sentences, your worries all-consuming in the moment.

"Oh, mi chica." Alexia sighs, laying down and urging you to curl into her side with your face hidden in her chest. "Don't say things like that, it breaks my heart. I believe in you as a parent more than anyone in the world, there's no one I trust more with our chiqui than you, amor. It is your first time being a parent, I do not blame you for anything. Nothing at a-"

"So why are you so perfect then? It's your first time too, yet you handle everything so much better than me." You cut her off with an argument that sounds more accusing than it actually was. Thankfully Alexia knew you didn't mean it maliciously, the only nasty thing in this situation was the doubtful devil on your shoulder.

"I just try my best, as do you. I still overthink every little thing I do and I still worry all the time. It's been a long and emotional day turned night and you're exhausted, it's fine that you didn't think of her feeling poorly because the doctors said it's a fifty-fifty chance she'd even fall ill. This is why we co-parent, because when one needs the other, we're always there. And when we need to rely on each other, that's absolutely fine. When we need help, that's fine too. I'm not perfect, neither of us will ever be the perfect parent, but to me you are perfect. I promise there is no one else I'd rather raise children with. Anaís loves you so much, and I love you so much."

She rambles on, words of devotion and appreciation seemingly spilling from her like it's second nature. At some point during her impromptu speech, her free hand had travelled up to your head as she lightly stroked through your hair.

"Do you hear me, amor?"

With a shy nod, you bury your face in her chest and sigh shakily.

"I love you." You mumble, your hand that rested on her waist squeezing gratefully.

"I love you too. Put that irrational voice in your head to the side and let's sleep as long as possible before she wakes up again. Then, we can relax all day. Even if that means staying in bed the whole time, and you know I never let that happen." Alexia jokes, relieved to hear the short, quiet giggle you let out. "I will always be proud of you. Comprendo? Always."

"Sí, Ale. Thank you." You murmur, taking one last glance at Anaís who is still sleeping soundly now that she's feeling better. Then you lay back down against Alexia's chest, loving nothing more than falling asleep cuddled up to her. "Is it okay for me to sleep like this?"

"More than okay, amor. Rest well."

Despite it not being the comfiest position for her, Alexia happily lays there and holds you until you fall asleep, which happens fairly quick. With a little readjustment and a disgruntled noise coming from you, she shifts to a better position before falling into a slumber soon after.

All the lows of parenting were miniscule in comparison to the highs, because when Anaís smiles so brightly for the first time in her life the next day, the events of the previous night were almost entirely forgotten. It happened whilst Alexia was downstairs making breakfast, you'd just dressed Anaís in her nursery and as you were smiling down at her, albeit tired and slightly delirious, she just returned the smile like it was something she'd been doing all her (short) life.

When Alexia made her way back upstairs, a filled breakfast tray in her arms, her heart dropped when she walked past the ajar door to Anaís' room to hear you sniffling once more. She thought it was something to do with the previous night, so she quickly set the food down in your room before racing back.

"What's wrong?" She asks tenderly, gently placing her hands on your shoulders as to not scare you.

"She, she smiled at me." You stammer, overjoyed at such a beautiful milestone.

"She what?" Alexia lightly moved you over so that she could stand beside you at the changing table, looking down at your daughter where she wiggled happily.

"She smiled at me! A big, gummy smile!" You repeated, Alexia laughing giddily.

"Really?!" She cried out. "How?"

"What do you mean, how?" You giggled, to which she lightly nudged your side and rolled her eyes.

"How did it happen?"

"I don't know, I was just looking at her and smiling at her little outfit and she smiled back." You recounted, a few sly tears leaking from the corners of your eyes.

"Mm, who wouldn't smile at a face like yours, amor?" It was your turn to roll your eyes, this time at her charm. "Let me see if I can make her smile."

You watch on as Alexia delicately takes hold of Anaís feet with one hand as the other comes up to dance her fingers up and down the bottom of her feet. The reaction is almost immediate.

"Oh my god, she did it again!"

You giggle at the grin offered up by the little girl in front of you, your cheeks aching as the happiness of the moment is worth everything that you'd gone through and more. And the look on Alexia's face too? It's priceless.

All in all though, one of Alexia's biggest loves was of course football, which meant there was only so long she could go without playing. However, she also couldn't bare the thought of leaving your side for too long now that Anaís was in her life, so she opted out of the international pre-season camp that the team had organised and instead chose to stay back at home to do her own specialised camp at the Barcelona training facilities. Training days were longer compared to the little and often gym days she'd had over the last few months, but for her there was absolutely nothing better than knowing that you and Anaís were waiting for her with open arms, no matter how her day had gone.

Her new way of life gave her a completely different perspective for her career, and it felt like her motivation for, not only football, but her life in general had been completely redefined. She had a tiny human being to care for now, and everytime she kicked the ball, everytime she stepped on the pitch, every pass she completed, everything she did was done so with an urgency to be as perfect as possible. And no, that wasn't a toxic mindset, because as the past couple weeks had shown her, there was hardly such a thing called perfection. Undoubtedly she was annoyed at herself whenever she made a mistake, that would never change, but as long as Anaís still greeted her with that infamous gummy smile of hers everytime she saw Alexia, it was hard to be so negative when the meaning of her life gazed up at her like Anaís did.

However, the prize that was her career came at the expense of sometimes missing out on moments that tore her heart in two.

Ever since Anaís had first smiled, Alexia had been on a mission to achieve the next milestone: hearing her giggle for the first time. The happiness of her little girl was addictive, and she was sure that when she heard her laugh for the first time, she'd want to hear it every second for the rest of her life.

Unfortunately, timings weren't on her side.

In her hotel room, hours away from her family, she checked her phone for the first time since she got back from her game that evening to see a video you had sent. And what she was met with was so beautiful, but so heartbreaking.

With your friend behind the camera, you were stood in front of the TV screen with Alexia's game playing, holding Anaís over your head and slowly lowering her down until you can blow raspberries on her tummy. Her reaction? Letting out the most adorable, high-pitched giggle. Otherwise known as the sound Alexia had been dying to hear. With that, she dropped her phone to the bed beside where she sat and covered her face in her hands.

Of course she was over the moon at such a milestone, but she found herself moved to tears at the fact she wasn't there to witness it for herself. The person she'd go to when she was down was obviously you, but when she checked the time on her watch, she saw that it was about this part of the evening that you started Anaís' nighttime routine to get her settled. It was a precarious process and the less distractions, the smoother it goes. So instead, she turned to the the other woman of reason in her life, her own Mami.

"Hi mija. How are you?" Eli answers within two rings, herself back at home in Barcelona too.

"Hola Mami, I'm okay. Did you see the game?" Not quite possessing the willpower to open up yet, she started up a light and easy conversation.

"Of course I did, it was very good. Was Keira okay after the game? She went off, right?"

"Ah, yes, she did. Just cramp, I think." Alexia murmurs, a frown on her face as she messes with the corner of the pillow and concentrates on not falling apart so quickly. But after all, it is her own Mother she's talking to.

"And how are you, really?" There it is. That's the phase that breaks anyone who's on the verge of tears.

"Um, overall I'm okay, but tonight... a bit... not okay." Her voice cracks as she speaks, her frown more prominent as a single tear sneaks out.

"Why's that, mija?" Alexia hesitates. "You can tell me anything Ale, you know that. No matter what it is."

"Well, it's not really a secret that I'm not a big fan of travelling for football. It's always been that way and you've known that." Eli hums in acknowledgement down the line. "But now, it's... so much harder. Leaving my family at home. Anaís, she changes everyday and I'm missing that."

"And you rang me because you're too afraid to ring home, aren't you?" As ever, Eli could read Alexia inexplicably well, even hundreds of miles apart.

"Yes. Because it's not their fault, it's nobody's fault. I know it is just life and it's my choice, nobody is forcing me to continue playing, but now I'm starting to wonder if it's all worth it when I'm missing out on something so incredible. Anaís laughed for the first time this evening, and I was hours away, in a different country, on a football pitch, doing what?" Alexia scoffs, bringing a hand to her forehead with a quiet groan.

"You were out on a football pitch doing your job, achieving your dream, earning to provide a great future for your family, Alexia. It's not all for nothing, it's for everything. It's for Anaís' future and how well she gets to live, that's a privilege. It's for your future child's life and how well they get to live too. This is your dream, your Papi's dream, this is everything you've worked for all your life. Your children will get to reap the benefits from it, and you'll get to watch them grow up and lead beautiful lives because of the opportunities you will provide for them." Eli reasurres her, and Alexia begins to feel better by the second.

"I know. I know. You're right, Mami. Always."

"Sí, siempre." Eli agrees with strong conviction, making Alexia laugh quietly. "Think of how many more laughs you will hear from Anaís, Ale. You have a lifetime of laughter with her. Her first laugh, it was caught on camera, I got sent the video too. So you didn't miss it, you can watch it all night long tonight. Don't get so clouded about this, I know you and how your mind works and when your nena is back in your arms tomorrow, all this will be forgotten. But if we need a longer conversation about it, you can speak to me whenever."

"You... you get me everytime, Mami." Alexia smiles, Eli laughing heartily. "Thank you. You are right. I will get over all of this. T'estimo, I will see you tomorrow?"

"Mhm, at dinner. Ring your corazón tonight, escuchame? Hablar con ella, she will want to know. Then get some rest, sí? Mi hija, jo també t'estimo. Bona nit."

"Bona nit, Mami."

Before she got herself settled for the night, she fired off a quick text to you that asked for you to ring her when you had a moment. She knew it could be five minutes or five hours until you rang her, and she would happily accept either.

Once she had done her own night routine, she gets into bed knowing she will probably not get a lot of sleep tonight, even if she's not got to get up for a unhappy baby. With that knowledge, she grabs her phone again and watches the video from earlier. Before, she'd only gotten to the part where Anaís had giggled for the first time. What she hadn't seen though was the next few seconds of it, where the match broadcast had shown a close-up of herself. Stood to the side of the screen, your friend zoomed in on Anaís' face who had recognised her Mami on the screen and let out another burst of giggles before hiding her face in your neck.

It warmed Alexia's heart to no end, and all her thoughts from earlier flew out the window at the footage she'd just seen. Whether it was physical or not, she had been there in the moment of Anaís' milestone, and she had been there in the mind of her daughter at such a time. In fact, she had also made her laugh in the moment, and that meant the world to her. She just needed to experience it in real time now.

A little later, when she was watching some junk on the hotel TV, her phone finally rang with an incoming call from you.

"Hola, amor. Thank you for ringing me." Alexia breathes out as she lays on her side in bed.

"Of course, Ale. I watched the game, it was a good result. How are you after it? Feeling alright?" You whisper, sat up against the headboard and watching Anaís as she sleeps soundly.

"Sí, todo bien. How are you? Did Anaís get to sleep okay?" Alexia's eyes shut as she asks, picturing her daughter laughing to her heart's content.

"We're all good here, she's snoozing away beside me. Bedtime went as smooth as possible." You smile and resist the urge to reach out to take Anaís' hand, not wanting to disrupt her sleep. "With a few giggles here and there."

"I saw the video. Qué niña tan increíble es, no?"

"Isn't she just?" You sigh contentedly. "Did you see the part where she giggled at you on the TV?"

"I did. I just wish I was actually there to see it." Alexia mumbles, and you can easily detect the sadness in her voice.

"I know. I... I was in half a mind whether to send the video to you or not. Because I knew it would probably upset you, that you weren't here for it. I know how much you wanted to see it."

"No, no, I'm so glad you did. Forget the football game, it made my night. I will get to see her tomorrow, it'll be fine."

A few things you'd learnt in your time with Alexia: one, she was great at shunning her feelings to the side if it made other's lives easier. Two, she would reach a point where that habit of hers would cause a meltdown. And three, you were her weak point, and she could never shy away from pouring her heart out for too long to you.

"I know you, Ale." You state softly. "I know you're more upset than you let on."

"Mm. I was but I rang my Mami and I feel better now."

"You promise?"

"I promise." Alexia smiles, because she knows that tomorrow she'll have her daughter and the love of her life back in her arms, and it'll all be okay.

"Okay. Let me know if you want to talk about it, anytime at all." Alexia hums in acknowledgement. "I have an idea."

"What's that?"

"Tomorrow, instead of getting the coach back from the airport, why don't Anaís and I pick you up?" You suggest, knowing exactly what she needs, which is to see her daughter.

"I would love that. That would be amazing." Alexia replies breathlessly a few moments later. "I would really love that."

"Then it's a plan, hm? We'll be there, waiting for you. Might even make a sign. 'Welcome home, Mami! '" You tease, grinning when Alexia chuckles shyly.

"I have been gone for a few days only. I'm not coming home from prison, amor."

"Hm, don't lie, I know you'd love it if I did do that though. I see right through you, Alexia."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." You hear her stifle a yawn, and though it's not late, playing 90+ minutes of football whilst caring for a young baby are two things that are already exhausting in itself.

"Get some peaceful sleep while you have the opportunity. I'm jealous." Alexia huffs.

"You know I don't sleep after a game. Even worse when you're not with me." She complains.

"Okay, then I'll stay on the phone whilst I have a bath and I'll wait until you fall asleep." You hear the smirk before she even replies.

"And how will I sleep if I know you're in the bath?"

"You would think that now you've got a child, you'd be somewhat more mature." You roll your eyes but there's a hint of a smile on your face. "I'm not going to video call you because I know for a fact you wouldn't sleep then. I'll just talk your ear off. You normally reach a point where you stop listening when I do that."

"Anaís does too. You talk her ear off a lot."

"It's good for her development! When she starts talking at eleven months instead of twelve, you'll be thanking me."

The pair of you continue to chat and joke for long into the night, you deciding to ditch your plans for a bath and Alexia more than happy to listen to you discuss whatever came to your mind. For the whole duration of the call, there's a soft smile on her face that doubles in size when she hears you gently shushing and soothing Anaís when she fussed a little in her sleep. It was safe to say she was more excited for her airport pickup the next day than she was for anything in her life.

Because the sight of her little girl in your arms the following afternoon was a thing she didn't know it was possible to miss so dearly over a short period of time. You didn't have a sign, but in one of Anaís' tiny fists was a small Barcelona flag that matched the jersey she wore too. As soon as Alexia caught sight of you both, she ditched the conversation she was in the middle of and broke off into a light jog towards you. Anaís was turned away from her at first, but when she got closer, you shifted the little girl in your arms and pointed towards her Mami running over.

And what did she do then? At the sight of Alexia, running with her luggage and her laptop in her arms with a shy grin on her face, Anaís giggled.

"Ay, dios mío. Mi chiqui." Her voice was quiet and shaky when she spoke, immediately placing her bag down and her laptop on it before reaching out for Anaís. "Hola, nena. Hi!"

You wrap an arm around her waist and rest your head on her shoulder, laughing when Anaís reaches a little hand out to grab at Alexia's nose. The rest of the team stay back and watch the moment, Mapi having filmed it all as she knew it'd be a memory Alexia would want to keep. They had never seen this side of Alexia, where her heart was merely a puddle on the floor due to the love she held for her daughter. Anaís didn't know it yet of course, but she had Alexia wrapped around her finger from the minute she was born, and that was never going to change.

"Oh, I have missed her so much." Alexia sighs, resting her forehead against Anaís' cheek and repeatedly pressing kisses to the soft skin there. Quickly, the baby's attention inevitably falls elsewhere - being in such a hectic public space like an airport was just so intriguing for her.

"She missed you too. Look at that smile! She's dribbling all over the place." You state, Alexia shrugging nonchalantly.

"I don't care. Anaís, oye, mírame." Alexia leans back and gently pokes her daughter's cheek to gain her attention back. However, the young girl was seemingly stuck in a giggly trance as Mapi creeps closer, pulling a different face with every step she takes. "Mapi! Basta, pendeja! You are distracting her!"

You laugh at Alexia's jealousy and Mapi's subsequent pout, quickly wiping away Anaís' drool with the bib she had on.

"Ay, Ale, don't swear in front of your child." Mapi tuts, a smug grin on her face as she lightly tickles under Anaís' chin and pulls yet another giggle from her. It's simply music to Alexia's ears.

"María, come on, leave them alone." Ingrid takes Mapi's hand and pulls her away but not without a grumble from her.

Finally, now that Mapi and her childish tendencies are gone, Anaís decides to turn her attention back to Alexia.

"There is my chiqui." Alexia bops her nose lightly, eliciting her new favourite sound from her. "Shall we go home?" Anaís grins, her little tongue poking out as she does so. "Mhm, home time! Venga, Mama, let's go so we can cuddle on the couch."

With another laugh, this time at Alexia's eagerness, you pick up her laptop as well as the Barça flag that had fallen from Anaís' hand at some point, and place them both in the backpack Alexia was wearing. With Alexia holding Anaís, you go to grab her suitcase but she gets there before you.

"I have it, mamacita." Alexia smirks as she says it, and you roll your eyes and start walking. "Hm, hola to you too. I missed you also, by the way."

"Come on, my favourite groveller. Let's get dribbles here back home, she needs a nap soon."

Before she knows it, Alexia is dead to the world asleep with her head on your lap as you comb through her hair delicately and Anaís sleeps on her chest. It was a sight you had missed more than you realised, and you of course had to pull your phone out and document it. For Alexia, there was truly nothing better than being at home.

In a baby's first year of life, first-times and milestones come thick and fast. Foremost is the first feed, the first diaper change, the first sleep. Changes in both their behaviour and their appearance happen so quick, it's hard to keep up. Those initial milestones may be seen as minor, if you look past the sentimentality to them, because when the 'proper' developments start happening, that's when it gets special but utterly hectic.

Three major things seem to happen at once for Anaís. Two of them are fine, amazing actually, as they're the first step of leaving infancy: sleeping in her own room and starting to be introduced to solid food. But it's the third one that catches Alexia completely off-guard, something that happens out of the blue, and it has the Spaniard panicking like nothing else.

One moment, she's changing Anaís' diaper, the next minute, her child has vanished.

You were elsewhere in the house, probably using the valuable alone time to be productive with house chores, so you were none the wiser. Alexia had turned away for hardly a second, but Anaís was long gone.

How, one may ask?

Well, the little girl just decided to up and crawl away on her own accord.

To be honest, she didn't get very far, and neither did Alexia's panic last too long because only a few seconds later did she hear the familiar grunts of her daughter and the quiet slaps of her hands against the wooden panels of the lounge floor.

So when Alexia got up and walked towards the sound, there Anaís was, casually crawling around like it was nothing.

"Dios mío, Anaís, you scared me!" Alexia sighs, relieved, as she picks her up and puts her on her hip. "Eres tan descarada, pequeña. Honestly."

Then Alexia turned, leaving the room and wandering upstairs to find you. Anaís' nursery was empty, nor were there any sounds of life coming from any of the other rooms, so she knocked lightly on your shared bedroom door before walking in. She let out a short burst of laughter when you scrambled up off the bed, slightly embarrassed at being caught laying unproductively in bed on your phone.

"What is it?" You blurted out, cheeks a little red.

"Amor, we have a problem." Alexia sighed dramatically, worrying you slightly.

"Okay, are you going to tell me, or..?" You asked, stepping closer and smiling at the dribbling baby in Alexia's arms. She greeted you with her now toothy grin, almost like she knew the chaos she was soon to cause.

"You will never guess what just happened." Alexia laughed, as did Anaís, consequently making you laugh too.

"Tell me then!"

"I was changing her, and I looked away for one second to bag up the dirty diaper, and she was gone. She crawled away, amor. So quick." Your jaw falls in shock, eyes flicking between Alexia's slightly fearful face and Anaís' blissfully unaware one.

"You're joking." Alexia shakes her head.

"No. We have a little explorer on our hands now. We will have to tape our eyes open, otherwise we could blink and she will be gone."

You stay frozen for a little longer, eyes wide and mouth agasp, before your body deflates and you slap your palm against your forehead with a deep groan.

"Welcome to the start of toddler life, amor!"

The chaos of having a small child that now possessed many worrisome abilities wasn't all bad, because after all, there were still many moments that continuously proved everything that parenthood involved was 100% worth it.

Any challenges or difficulties that life threw at you and Alexia were almost always temporarily forgotten whenever Anaís was around. That was the best thing about having a child; they are so young and innocent and cheerful, it's hard to feel down for too long when they're giggling in your face or squealing at nothing or even just sleeping in your arms.

That's where Alexia found herself today.

Even with her newfound confidence and willpower for football, sometimes that all slipped out from underneath her feet. That was the case with the game she'd just arrived home from. Anaís had had a small sleep regression recently, causing the both of you to be up and down constantly all night. Ultimately it took its toll on the both of you, but with you still on maternity leave whilst Alexia travelled around Spain and Europe for match after match, she was inexplicably exhausted.

Everything had caught up with her it seemed, because no matter how hard she tried and how frustrated she got, nothing went her way in the game. So much so that she was taken off at the 60 minute mark due to her performance, something that hadn't happened to her in... well, she couldn't remember.

The only positive from the day was the fact it was a home game, meaning she'd be able to crawl into bed and hide from the world for sometime with her little family. She wouldn't be lying if she said she had never desired anything more.

When she got back to the house, you were in the kitchen having just eaten a late dinner as Anaís was lay in her mobile swing, the saving grace to her sleeping issues as it seemed to be the only thing to get her off to sleep at night now. There was a plate of food waiting in the microwave for Alexia, but her appetite was completely gone at this point.

"Hola." She whispered when she walked into the room.

"Ale." You smiled sadly at her broken demeanour, immediately opening your arms. With a slight hesitation, she comes over and allows herself to let go in your embrace, and the tension you feel under your arms tells you everything you need to know about her current state of mind. "I know you're probably frustrated with yourself about today, but I want you to know I'm still proud of you. For everything, absolutely everything."

"W... Why?" Alexia mumbles insecurely.

With a frown, you lean back slightly and bring up both hands to rest on her cheeks. She doesn't meet your eyes until you raise her chin up a little, and it opens up a world of emotional complexity.

"Why am I proud of you?" You repeat and Alexia nods. "Because you are playing football at the highest standard in Europe and achieving so much, whilst also being the best Mami for our little girl. That's hard, Alexia, two very difficult things to juggle at once and you just do it. I can't ask anymore from you. That is why I'm proud of you."

She makes a noise of uncertainty, almost like she can't believe you'd say such a thing. At that, you sigh and urge her to bury her face back into your neck, to which she does so instantly. One of her hands comes up to clutch at the back of your neck as the other wraps tightly around the small of your back, and you let her stay like that for as long as she needs.

Some time passed before she decided to pull back, to which she rested her temple against yours for a few seconds until she looked down at you.

"Thank you." Alexia breathes out, turning slightly to look at where Anaís was fast asleep in her swing. "I... I know she is asleep, but can I pick her up? Please?" You pull a face at the question, wondering why she's asking to pick up her own daughter, but Alexia interprets it differently. "I just need to hold her, amor. If I wake her up, it's my fault and I-"

"No, Ale, of course you can pick her up. Of course you can." You tell her, and she moves instantly.

This version of Alexia you unfortunately knew too well. Even as a senior, veteran player, her whole self-worth completely crumbled whenever she gave a poor performance in a game. It was something about her that would probably never change, so you had grown accustomed to it over time. And tonight was one of those especially bad occasions, but it's the first time it had happened since Anaís had come into your lives, so you were sure that the little girl's presence was involved in the buildup to Alexia's current mindset, but she could also be the exact solution the Spaniard needed.

With your worries for your partner in the back of your mind, you watched as Alexia delicately unclasped the buckle keeping Anaís secure before picking her up.

"Shh, mi nena, sólo soy yo, tu Mami." She quietly soothed her, one hand holding Anaís up against her shoulder as the other rubs comfortingly across her back. The little girl immediately turns her face into Alexia's neck, mewling at the disruption before she soon settled again. "Te quiero mucho, preciosa."

"Why don't you go through to the lounge and I'll heat up your dinner for you?" You suggest, watching as Alexia nods wordlessly and leaves the room.

Seeing her like this, it's unexplainably difficult. You know there is not much you can say that'll make a difference to how she feels right now, it's something Alexia has to work through on her own, a classic case of time heals all, but that acknowledgement doesn't soften the blow at all. However, you hope that spending time with you and Anaís will make her feel a little better before the night is over.

You get a hint of that when you walk into the lounge a few minutes later; Alexia is sat stiffly upright against the sofa, the uncomfortable position of her contrasted by her closed eyes as Anaís lay across her shoulder. Alexia had her face turned to the side into Anaís, and under the dim light of the room, lit up only by a lamp in the corner, you notice a stream of tears running down her cheek.

Wasting no time, you put the plate you were holding down onto the coffee table before sitting down beside them both. Careful not to disrupt the peace either of them had created, you wrap an arm around Alexia's shoulders and press a gentle kiss to her jaw. The midfielder shifts slightly so that she's leaning against you, keeping Anaís in place as you raise a hand to brush her tears away.

"Okay?" You whisper, resting your head against hers.

"Mhm." Her voice cracks slightly even as she hums, so you hug her a little tighter.

All three of you settle into silence, comforted by the sound of Anaís snoring lightly. Nothing needs to be said, nor could you think of anything, so you allow Alexia this moment to decompress from the day, wanting nothing more than for her to feel better. It doesn't matter to you how she gets there, whether that's by staying on this sofa all night long with you and Anaís, or forgetting to eat her dinner in front of her, whatever it takes you'll let her do. Because you think the world of her, and when she's feeling down, it offsets everything around you.

Until, some time later, Alexia breaks the silence with a sentiment that causes you to tear up too.

"I wish I could stay here forever."

She spoke so quietly, you would have missed it if you weren't waiting for it.

"Here, with you and with Anaís. Nobody watching us, no one asking anything from us. Just us three." It was clear from the tone of her voice that she's getting a bit teary again, and it tugs at every one of your heart strings. "Nothing can match this. I never want to do anything else again."

"Ale." You sigh shakily, suppressing cries of your own as her shoulders shake with silent sobs.

In her mind, she had to be completely silent, because if she woke up Anaís now, you don't even want to think about what her mind would tell her. It would be lethal. She couldn't handle failing at another thing, couldn't handle disappointing the two people she loved most.

"Go put her to bed before I wake her."

"Are you sure?" She nodded and shifted away from you.

"Don't want to wake her up."

With that, you stand up and watch Alexia place a final kiss to Anaís' forehead before she gives her to you. You move as quickly as possible without waking your daughter up, delicately placing her down in the crib in her room and grimacing as you do so in case she wakes up with a cry, but the universe must be on your side today because she stays asleep. A relieved sigh escapes you as you flick on the baby monitor, grabbing one of them and leaving the room. Heading back downstairs, you cautiously make your way back to the living room, not really sure what sight you'll walk into.

What you see is equally as heartbreaking as every time you'd looked at Alexia this evening.

She's seated in the same position as before, but this time her head is thrown back against the cushions of the sofa, and her face is completely stoic and devoid of emotion. The exception that gave her away were the stuttered breaths coming from her and the damp lines down her cheeks.

You join her again, wrapping both arms around her this time and pulling her fully into you. One of her hands comes up to grip your upper arm as she cries a little harder into your shoulder.

"We both love you, Alexia, so much. Please don't forget that." You remind her, stroking up and down her back as you embrace her. "You're more than good enough for us, no matter what your mind is telling you."

That seems to hit a sensitive point for her, because she only sobs harder into you. The only thing you can do now is be there for her, so you decide against speaking anymore to wait for her outburst of emotions to simmer down.

It takes longer than you expect, but eventually it does happen, and she falls quiet again whilst slumped against you. Casting your mind back through the years with her, you can't recall a time seeing Alexia as distraught as she was tonight. So, at that revelation, you gently urge her head back up from your shoulder and properly look at her. With your hands on either one of her cheeks, you lean in to press the softest kiss of mankind onto her forehead. It pulls more tears out of her, the tenderness of it, but her shoulders aren't wracking with sobs and her breathing is almost entirely normal.

"What's going on?" You question, gazing up into her normally piercing eyes, but tonight they were half-lidded and filled with defeat.

"No sé." She rasped. Her mind is way too convoluted to unravel everything going on at the moment, so she finds the words to say and pieces them together. "Not tonight. Please."

"Okay, that's okay. We don't have to." You reassure her, and you can see the relief flood her as her body deflates. "Can I talk though? I have some things to say."

"Sí." She shrugged, taking one of your hands with both of hers and fiddling with the rings you wore.

"Hey, you gotta look at me." You demand softly, tilting her chin up. You meet her eyes and smile a little, an act that rids her mind of one of the dark clouds over her. "I don't care how soppy and cliché this is, but meeting you is the best thing that has ever happened to me."

Alexia chuckles at that, something she's done thousands of times in front of you, but this one perhaps means the most.

"That is cliché." She comments, grinning half-heartedly when you roll your eyes.

"I already said it was, you can't claim that one. Let me finish." You push her shoulder lightly before composing yourself again. "You are the only person I want, Ale, and you mean so much to me. I can't even put it into words, so that's all you're getting for that part."

She laughs again, this time a little more tearfully as your loving words are fighting off all her doubts.

"To Anaís and I, it doesn't matter how many goals you get in a game or how many trophies you get in a season. I just want my Ale to be happy, and Anaís just wants her Mami to be happy. We will love you no matter what, and I'll be here as I am now to remind you, and Anaís will remind you the next time she's sick from you making her laugh." Alexia shakes her head at the reminder of an incident she had certainly learnt her lesson from a few months ago, the pair of you laughing quietly about it again. "You've seen the way Anaís looks at you. She's infatuated with you, Ale. And it's possibly my favourite thing in the world."

She sniffles a few times but nevertheless nods when you finish talking, feeling indefinitely better than she did when she got home. Raising your hand, she lightly kisses your ring finger before leaning forward to envelope you in a tight hug. It's an embrace that conveys all the words she can't verbalise right now, something you instantly understand as you know the woman in your arms better than she knows herself at this point.

"You're all we both will ever need. You just need to remember that more often."

There was a conversation that you and Alexia had had during the time you were trying to get pregnant, one that all same-sex couples most likely have at that stage. But it was resolved fairly quickly, and that was that you would be Mama and Alexia would be Mami. Ever since then, you and Alexia had endlessly teased and bantered each other about what Anaís would say first out of the two options.

What you weren't expecting though, was Alexia's reaction when Anaís eventually did say her first word.

Anaís bellowed her first word at you one random morning when you walked into her room where she sat waiting for her parents in her crib. Alexia was a few steps behind where you froze in place, overcome with about every emotion one could name at the fact Anaís had not only spoken, but said Mama too.

Alexia's excitement kicked in immediately, so she skipped over to Anaís' crib and picked her up, holding her in the air and grinning up at her.

"What did you just say, chiqui? Did you say... Mama?"

"Mama!" Anaís squealed loudly, giggling when Alexia rewarded her with a barrage of kisses.

You were still stuck in place, the only difference was that there were now tears of joy dripping onto the carpet by your feet. Alexia turned with your daughter in her arms, laughing when she brought her over to you.

"Hola, Mama! Let's wipe these tears, right Anaís?" She takes one of Anaís' hands and uses it to brush the tears off of your face. "Say the magic word, nena! Mama!"

"Mamaaaa." She shouts and to add to the sentiment of the moment, she points right at you as she says it, indicating that she does actually know what she's saying.

"Yes, well done! Oh, we are so proud of you, chiqui, aren't we?" You nod and cover your face with your hands, curling into Alexia's side. It's a struggle for her to hug you whilst also holding a wiggly Anaís who is always giddy in the morning, but she makes it work. "Sí, we are, Anaís. Mama, are you okay?"

"Yes, yes, perfect. I just can't believe she said it." You sniffle, removing your hands from your face but staying at Alexia's side.

Anaís grins as you reach out to cup her cheek, turning her head to blow raspberries against your hand. The three of you laugh together, you and Alexia forever enraptured by every display of Anaís' ever growing personality.

"I always knew she would say Mama first and I'm so glad she did." Alexia admits, chuckling at the confused face you pull.

"Why?" You wonder, leaning forward to kiss the tip of Anaís' nose.

"Because you deserve it. You did all the hard work with her, being pregnant and then giving birth like a campeona, and you do a great job being her Mama. It was only right for her to say it first."

You had no idea she felt such a way about the situation, and it only caused you to get emotional again. It wasn't that Alexia never voiced her gratitude towards you, she did it daily, it's just that hearing her speak so highly of you as a parent meant far more to you than you could ever voice.

"Thank you, Ale. That's unbelievably sweet of you to say." You giggle, thumbing away a few tears and leaning your head against her shoulder.

"Buena, it's the truth. Oye, Anaís?" Alexia calls back Anaís' attention, smirking when her daughter looks up at her. She raises her eyebrows expectantly, waiting for her to say the inevitable. "Ma..."

"Mama!" Anaís grins at you again, jerking forwards towards you.

"Woah!" You catch her, holding her tight against you in a loving hug. "You are crazy, Anaís."

The little girl seems surprisingly outraged at that as starts to babble away unabashedly in your arms, her hands gesturing wildly as she did so, a trait she'd clearly picked up from her Mami. You giggle at her unintelligible ramble, blushing when Alexia randomly places an affectionate kiss on your cheek.

"Loca como su Mama, amor!" Alexia comments with a poke at Anaís' leg. "She even loves chattering away like you."

"Sí, nuestra paralanchina pequeña."

You tickle Anaís' tummy, interrupting her ramble. She turns to you with an angry face that is scarily similar to Alexia's, and the pair of you have to stifle your laughter at the sight of it out of fear of whatever terrible consequences she'd release upon you both.

"Enojada como su Mama también." Alexia mutters.

It's your turn to fix her with a warning glance. She instantly backs down with her hands up in surrender, stepping away from the fury running through the veins of her two favourite girls.

"Mama?" Anaís turns back to you with a questioning glance, and you take advantage of that.

"Sí, Anaís, Mami needs to run away right now, doesn't she?" You smile politely at your daughter, one she returns, before you both look back to Alexia with those menacing grins. A second passes before she sprints out the room. Anaís laughs and you chuckle too, walking out of the room in a much calmer fashion.

If there was one thing you'd learnt about parenting so far, it was that you should never take things for granted. There's a seemingly infinite number of firsts in a person's life and being there to witness them all as a parent was an experience that couldn't be conformed to a few measly adjectives. Sure, you would hear Anaís say 'Mama' countless times in your life, but you wouldn't ever get to hear it for the first time again. Sometimes, when you thought about that, you were consumed by sorrow, but that was part and parcel of parenthood. No matter how harrowing it was, you had no choice but to accept it.

The thing that easily made up for it was spending the rest of your life as a parent to Anaís, and in the grand scheme of things, that was the biggest privilege you could ever have.

Not so long after the beautiful experience that was Anaís' saying her first word, she turned a whole year old. One year of having a little plus one with you everywhere you went, one year of seeing the woman you love grow into an amazing parent, one whole year of nothing but the absolute best memories you've ever had the honour experiencing. To say it had been the best twelve months of your life was a complete understatement.

Obviously due to your work and Alexia's games, you had a very low-key day between yourselves on her actual birthday, and 'day' was a generous word. It was more of a frantic celebration because of course Anaís chose her birthday to be the day she had her first ever lie-in. When she finally woke up, it meant you only had less than an hour to spend as a family before Alexia had to leave for training which doubled into media day that she couldn't avoid. Fortunately, the team had organised it so that she was first so she could get home as soon as possible, but she had still grumbled about it everyday since it was arranged.

The short hour was enjoyable nevertheless, if not a little emotional, and you practically had to push Alexia out of the door so that she wasn't late. You understood her defiance, knowing that if you were in her shoes you would be wrecked at having to be away from Anaís on her birthday, but it was only for a few hours and that was enough persuasion for her to go.

When she did return, she hardly let Anaís out of her sight. That was until her closest family and childhood friends came over for a calm dinner to celebrate your daughter. It was turning out that Anaís was quite the social butterfly, so she was happy to be passed around all evening to the ones you and Alexia loved most. The day completely exhausted her though, and that night you and Alexia spent far longer than normal stood over her where she slept in her crib.

The midfielder was behind you with her arms around your torso, her chin on your shoulder as you both gazed at your daughter's sleeping form. This time a year ago, you were in a hospital bed with a tiny, wrinkly baby in your arms as Alexia lay beside you. Now, a year on, that little newborn had completely grown into her own and was fast on her way to walking. It was a bittersweet contrast for sure, but you were well adjusted to how fast time moves and how to accept things, so it didn't plague you in the same way things had in the past.

To Alexia, not that she had made you aware yet, this day wasn't just about Anaís, but you too. Because a year ago today, she had graced her eyes upon the greatest wonder in the world, and that was all down to you. You, who had gone through agonising pain for much longer than just the time you were in labour, and managed to deliver her daughter perfectly healthy. Never would she take that for granted, and she had a little trick up her sleeve to make sure you knew that.

"Amor, come to the lounge with me." She whispered, pairing it with a kiss to your bare shoulder beside your vest strap.

After a last moment of admiration, you nodded and allowed her to lead you to the living room, your hand in hers as you trailed after her. When you got there, she urged you to sit right in the middle of the sofa in front of the TV before she walked off to grab her laptop. She came back in a few moments later and turned the TV on, then mirroring her laptop screen to show up on the bigger screen. You watched it all with a curious frown, none the wiser to what you were about to see.

"I wanted to make something for us to remember the past year by." Alexia said, pausing as she searched for the right file. "It is also a gift from me to you because we should celebrate you too today. You gave birth to our little girl, and that is no easy feat. So this is just a small way for me to express my gratitude to you since words will never do you justice."

You'd be lying if you said your heart wasn't beating about a hundred miles an hour by now. Alexia hadn't even shown you what she had organised yet, but you had an inkling that in a few moment's time you would be emotionally ruined.

Alexia pressed play on the video she had pulled up and came to sit beside you. Before the first image had even come on, it was still just a black screen, you scrambled to find her hand and clutched it tightly in your lap.

In the next couple minutes, numerous photos and videos of your little family of three were displayed on the screen, a compilation of all the best documented moments captured within the last year. Some of them were taken by you obviously, but the larger majority of them were from Alexia's point of view and you had a sneaky feeling that was the point of it. A lot of the things in the montage you hadn't even seen, like the video of you singing a Spanish nursery rhyme to Anaís one night when she was still a newborn, or the picture of you fast asleep with Anaís on your chest with two fistfuls of your t-shirt, and way more of the same value that had you crying almost instantly.

Next to you, Alexia had a pensive look on her face, anxious as to what your thoughts were. Obviously she noticed you were crying, but she stayed unmoving until the video ended and you reacted first.

And due to a lack of better words in the moment, you accidentally give Alexia a momentary heart attack...

"Alexia, what the hell?" You cried, one hand over your eyes. The Spaniard froze beside you because out of all the thing she expected you to say, that was not one of them.

"Did you not like it?" She asked in an insecure voice, to which you turned to her in shock.

"No, I loved it, Ale." You told her, and she left out perhaps the biggest sigh of relief you had ever seen someone do. "Why did you do it though?"

"Because I just appreciate you so much, amor, and I need you to know that. Seeing you and watching you with Anaís is a magical thing to witness and I wanted you to see it through my eyes. It is the greatest honour of my life, being able to love you both. The second greatest honour is being alive to witness you with her." She explained earnestly, her free hand that wasn't held by yours coming to cradle your face. You leaned into it immediately, the image of you with your head tilted to the side with a soft pout and tears on your cheeks drove Alexia crazy. "Look at you! I can't get enough of you, you make me go crazy."

With a wet laugh, you raised a hand up to rest on the back of hers on your face and turned to kiss her palm.

"You drive me crazy with your grand gestures like you just did! You need to tell me who made that for you so that I can get them to do one for your Christmas present." You say, Alexia chuckling and shaking her head.

She manoeuvres you so that you're sat on her lap with your back to her chest, and she hugs you tighter than ever like that.

"You see what I see now?" She murmurs into your ear, and you're unsure if the hand that settles over your stomach is a subtle hint.

"What's that?" You wonder innocently, leaning your head back to rest against her shoulder. With you like that, she turns to place a few gentle kisses to the new skin on show.

"I see the most incredible, beautiful, and caring Mami in the world. One that loves so whole-heartedly, you leave an imprint on everyone you come across. When I first met you and I fell victim to that effect, I knew I had to have you. But I had no idea quite the impact you would have on my life. I find myself doing the stupidest things in the world just so I hear two people laugh." She huffs, grinning when she hears you giggle. "I also find myself loving the two most amazing people on the planet. These two people happen to love me too, and I have to think of myself as the luckiest person in the world to say that. My fortune far precedes my most ambitious dreams, because with you and Anaís in my life, what more could I want?"

Oh, what a fool you would be to deny her of that.

Later that same summer came the World Cup, and this time around it was held in Brazil. If it wasn't for Anaís, you would have of course tried to get over there for at least one of Alexia's games. But that would be too challenging and complicated to do with a one year old, so Alexia didn't even blink twice when you fearfully brought up that fact to her on one of the last nights you would spend with her before the summer turn of games started.

Before Alexia left though, you had a small present in store for her. The morning of the day she would be leaving, you were adamant at being the one to dress Anaís because there was a vital piece of her outfit that she needed to wear.

That key item was a Spain jersey of course, with Mami 11 printed on the back. So when you walked into the kitchen where Alexia ate her breakfast, she gave you a funny look at the weird way you were carrying Anaís. But that look was wiped off her face when you place Anaís on the ground for her to walk over to Alexia. The midfielder's jaw dropped as she noticed her daughter's shirt, but it wasn't until she spotted the detail on the back that she was overcome with emotion.

"Amor, you did this?" Alexia asked, abandoning her breakfast as she crouched down and held her arms out for a wobbly Anaís to wander over to her.

"I did." You replied proudly, watching as Alexia hugged her daughter tightly before turning her around so she could get a good look at her jersey.

"Dios mío, pingüino. Look at you." Alexia whispers in amazement, then she picks up Anaís and walks over for a family hug. "Thank you, thank you. That's amazing."

And of course, for every one of Spain's matches that tournament, you and Anaís were watching with your jerseys on in full support for Alexia. Before each game, you would take a photo of you both and send it to Alexia, which she told you was what empowered her to walk out onto the pitch for every game. You and your daughter missed Alexia of course, but it was much harder for her since she was halfway across the world from her family.

It was that much harder when her team were knocked out of the tournament in the semi-finals.

...But, when she arrived back to her hotel room later that night after that dreadful game, she sensed a spark of her excitement in her chest, because the loss meant she could come home. It meant she could finally see you and Anaís after what felt like a lifetime apart, and she focused all of her energy on that eagerness she felt instead of the effects of the defeat.

And the reunion was so worth it, because this time you and Anaís did greet her with a sign at the airpot this time, and the Spaniard all but collapsed into the arms of you both when she saw you.

You thought the biggest shock of your summer would be Spain getting knocked out in the semi-finals, but unbeknownst to you, there was a whole other storm coming.

After the World Cup, Alexia whisked you and Anaís away on a holiday to escape from the world and spend time together as a family without the pressures of life. But when you were lounging on one of the outdoor beds on the balcony of your hotel room one day of the holiday, you heard a statement you were not expecting.

"I'm going to retire from the national team."

Alexia was wandering aimlessly around the balcony, trying to bounce Anaís to sleep for her mid-day nap when she had said it.

"What?" You sat up and raised your sunglasses to look at her properly, wondering if you there was a chance you had heat stroke and may had hallucinated it.

"I said I am retiring from the national team." She repeated nonchalantly, as if she hadn't just revealed huge news.

"I'm not quite sure we're on the same page, Ale. Could you explain a little?"

With a chuckle, Alexia tugs Anaís' hat further down so that it blocks the sun from her eyes when Alexia sits on the edge of your sun bed.

"I have decided to step down from the national team, for good. I have much more interesting things to do with my time now." She shrugged, glancing down at her daughter. "When we get back from vacation, I have a meeting with the federation to tell them. Nobody knows, it's a decision I made for myself."

"Are you sure?" You're a bit speechless, caught off guard by the sudden admission.

"Very sure. I'm certain that this is what I want to do. I'm content with everything I've achieved for the team, so now is my time. I'm not ready to retire fully, that's a while off yet, but I don't want to spend so long away from you both again. It's just not worth it. I'm not missing that much of Anaís' life again." Alexia explains.

You take a moment to process the sudden declaration, before you lean forward to wrap an arm around her and hugging her carefully, mindful of Anaís in between you both.

"Well, I guess that's that. As long as you're sure, Ale, then there's not much to say. I'm grateful you've made that decision, who would I be to get upset at the fact we're going to have more time together?" You say, noticing the relieved smile on her face. "You don't want to, I don't know, discuss it a bit more? With anyone, doesn't have to be me. I just don't want you to regret it."

"No, I'm completely okay with it, amor. I think I had already made this decision before Brazil. It was something I needed to figure out on my own, and I have had long enough to process it and now I'm fine with it. I think I am actually excited."

Now that she mentions it, she does have a lighter look in her eyes, like this is a weight off of her shoulders. She had come back from the tournament with that look, and it irritated you that you couldn't figure it out at first, but now you completely understood it. You smile at her, filled from head to toe with pride and love for the woman in front of you, and you lean forward to kiss her softly.

"I'm happy to hear that." You whisper, and she can't help but lean back for more.

One more thing about parenthood to add to the list, was that children had the worst timing in the world.

"Oh no. Ay dios. I'm sorry, amor, I would really love to continue this but I need to go change her diaper right now."

Before you could open your eyes, Alexia was scurrying off into the hotel room, and you didn't even want to know what had just happened.

There soon came to be a very special occasion for Alexia, one she had been dreaming of for as long as she could remember. For some time now, you and Alexia had had multiple discussions about when Anaís would go to her first game, and finally the pair of you had landed on an option.

Barcelona were due to play in the final of the Super Cup in Madrid, and you, Anaís, and other members of Alexia's family were travelling to attend the game. You were beyond excited for it; since Anaís had come into your life, you had hardly been to many of Alexia's games, something you adored doing before you had a child to care for.

Alexia, on the other hand, was encumbered by nerves as she lined up in the tunnel for the game. She can't remember the last time she had been nervous for a match, so she didn't really know what to do with herself. For the few minutes she was in the tunnel, her mind was almost in overdrive - would Anaís be okay? You and her family were there for her, she had to be. Would she kick up a fuss? She was still only young after all. Would she hate the amount of people there and the noise of it all? Well, that one couldn't be possible because Alexia had bought some baby ear defenders that she demanded you pack, so at least there was one surefire solution. She couldn't spiral for any longer though because Cata shoved her from behind when the captain didn't move.

The game went off without a hitch, and when Alexia did her pre-match tradition as she hopped onto the pitch, her mind clicked into concentration. That didn't stop her from glancing up at the section of the stadium she knew her family was in though, desperate to catch a glimpse of her daughter. She finally did spot you both as she was walking off the pitch at half-time, almost melting on the spot when she saw you holding Anaís who of course wore a Barcelona jersey on top of her jumper so that she stayed warm. With an eager wave, she admired the view for a bit longer, before jogging off to the tunnel.

She was glad to find that her nerves didn't affect her performance, bagging two assists to help the team win 3-1. It was a great match to watch as a fan, and you were thrilled for Alexia and her team, and the cherry on the cake was the fact that Anaís had been no trouble at all throughout it. For about twenty minutes of the first half, she fell asleep, but was startled awake by the crowd (and you) when Barcelona scored their first goal. Since then, she had been wide awake, and as good as gold.

From your place in the stands, you watched on with pride as the trophy ceremony carried out, forever happy to see Alexia with a medal around her neck and a trophy in her arms.

But perhaps the most exciting moment of the day for Alexia was when you walked out of the tunnel a little while later with Anaís in your arms. Alexia ran over as soon as she spotted you, knowing this was the plan all along if Anaís had coped well. She laughed giddily as she approached you and wrapped you both up in a tight hug, flooded with pure happiness.

"Well done, Mami!" You grin, patting her cheek a few times before offering Anaís out to her.

"Mami!" Anaís shouted in Alexia's face, before her attention inevitably falls to the shiny metal hanging from her neck, She tries to pick it up, but it's a little heavy for her, meaning it thumps Alexia heavily in the chest.

"Oof, Anaís." Alexia huffs, taking off her medal and putting it around your neck instead.

"Ale." You roll your eyes, cheeks slightly red, and when you try to take it off her hand reaches out to stop it.

"Leave it, amor." She smirks, kissing you quickly as you go to argue again. Leaving you a tad flustered, she turns back to her daughter. "Oye, Anaís! What's that?"

The midfielder points to one of the footballs off at the side of the pitch, and Anaís' face immediately lights up.

"Ball!" She grins, reaching a grabby hand out towards it.

"You want to play?" Alexia wonders, going over to collect the ball and walking it further onto the field before placing Anaís down in front of it. "Kick it, chiqui!"

Rather unceremoniously, Anaís does kick it but not without falling afterwards. You laugh as she tumbles down, Alexia rushing over and doting on her.

"Ale, she'll be okay, don't stress her out." You tell her, to which she nods and rights her daughter again before coming back to your side. "She doesn't quite have your elegance yet."

"I know." Alexia snickers, and the pair of you follow to wherever Anaís toddles off to. "Look at her go though. Not really a waddling little pingüino anymore."

The nickname, 'pingüino', had come about back when Anaís took her first steps just after she turned a year old, and it had stuck since then.

"No, she isn't." You hum in agreement, throwing an arm around Alexia's waist as you continue trailing after your little girl. "Uh oh."

There wasn't any real danger when you uttered that, it was just Mapi.

"Hola nena! Wow, look at you!" Mapi ran over to her and swooped her up off the ground. "What name do you have on your back... oh, boo! Boring! I think you should have my name, sí Ale?"

"Over my dead body." Alexia grumbled, elbowing you when you laughed at her grumpiness. "That is an emergency shirt, we didn't have time for a name because we didn't realise her other one was too small for her jumper."

"Blah, blah, blah... no wonder you are always sleepy, Anaís, her talking is tiring me too!" Mapi teased, wincing dramatically at the disapproving huff Alexia gives. "Oh no, nena. We need to run. Let's go play before Mami kills me, huh?"

You shake your head at Mapi's antics and watch as she steals your daughter away to play football with her. Alexia has a subtle smile on her face, and you giggle quietly when you see it, knowing she's trying to act like the captain she is but can't resist the cuteness of her daughter.

"Cálmate, Capi." You bump your hip into hers, smirking when she looks down at you with a suppressed grin. Now you take the medal off and place it back around her neck, silencing her complaints in the same way she did to you earlier. "You have too many medals and trophies now, campeona, I'm not sure our house can stand the extra weight."

"Behave." Alexia muttered lovingly, pulling you in for a proper hug. "Thank you for coming, and thank you for bringing her too."

"Of course. I loved being at a game again, and Anaís handled it perfectly. She had a little nap in the first half but stayed awake for the rest of it."

"Really?" Alexia said, her eyebrows shooting up in surprise as her face contorted to one of shy excitement, an adorable sight to see.

"Yes, she did. She didn't cry once, she was very settled." Alexia nodded and casted her eyes back over to Anaís. "Told you she would love going to your games."

At that, she finally lets herself break out into a whole-hearted grin, and she hugs you tight to her side as you watch Mapi and a few others dote over Anaís.

"I need her at every game. She is my good luck charm." She mumbles, swallowing down the lump in her throat. "Mapi is going to injure our mija."

She wasn't exactly wrong on that part; Mapi had started passing the ball softly to Anaís and urging her to kick it, to which she did but not without falling over again. The defender can't help herself: she passes Anaís the ball over and over, and Anaís tumbles down each time. Mapi would burst out laughing, before helping Anaís up and giving her the ball once more. Luckily Anaís saw the humour in it too, giggling almost just as much as Mapi.

Alexia let it happen once more before marching over. You were a little out of earshot, but you saw Alexia pick Anaís up from the floor and brush off the grass from her clothes, then she turned to Mapi with an accusing point and most likely the sternest voice she could muster. From your viewpoint, you could tell Mapi was stifling yet more laughter, but she kept up the innocent act in front of her friend. And when Alexia turned away from her with a shake of her head, Mapi looked over at you with a huge grin that you matched, letting her know she wasn't actually in trouble like Alexia tried to establish.

"That woman is the bane of my life." Alexia complained when she came back over to you, a slightly damp and grassy child in her arms.

"Mm, you love her really." You retaliate, flicking a blade of grass off of Anaís' arm.

"So what." Alexia huffed, cradling Anaís closely to her chest and swaying a little. "Oh, dios. She's so grown up."

"I know." You pout at the sight of Anaís in her arms, now calm and a bit tired. "Already kicking a ball about."

"We must buy her some football boots soon." You shake your head and laugh.

"She's not even two years old yet."

"Doesn't matter, amor. Project Putellas starts now."

The night before Anaís' second birthday was a turning point to remember; you and Alexia, in the spur of the moment, agreed on having another child in the very near future. When she initiated the decision, you hadn't even hesitated to affirm your willingness to her. It was an easy choice for you because both of you had always wanted two children, but in the past two years the topic of making that happen had hardly been brought up. You knew the time would come, and now it was here.

For the rest of the time you spent preparing the cake for it to go in the oven, the pair of you revelled in the coy anticipation that lingered in the air. Separately, your minds were running wild with the limitless possibilities that could occur in the next few years, until you stood up from placing the tray in the oven and Alexia was there, gazing at you with the softest smile she could muster.

"Another baby, huh?" She commented quietly, taking hold of your hand.

"Apparently so." You matched her smile, both of you watching the other before Alexia pulled you in for a tight hug. "You sure?"

"Amor, que pregunta tan estupida." She said bluntly, making you laugh. "I have never been so sure of a decision before. I believe now is the time for us to have another, as long as you are sure."

"Oh, what a stupid thing to say." You teased her, grinning when she grumbled and lightly hit your waist. "I'm more than ready to have another."

"Hm, good." She smirks, and her hands travel a little lower on your back. "We can go try if you'd like?"

"Really?" You scoffed, swatting her hands away and stepping out of her grasp. "Come on. Help me make this icing. And don't make any inappropriate suggestions."

From that day on, the pair of you delve yourselves into the process of IVF again. After last time, you both were more than happy with it all and how the process goes, so you chose the reciprocal type again and were there for each other through it all once again. It was a little trickier trying to do injections with an investigative toddler who wanted to be involved with it too, never straying far from you two, but you made it work.

However, not all things can go to plan. Perhaps the first time with Anaís had been too good to be true, because conceiving this time was much more difficult.

Over and over, yours and Alexia's emotions were tugged from left to right, one day on cloud nine and other days plunged into the deepest melancholia. It was a ruthless and relentless cycle of hope, anticipation, disappointment and frustration. Your self-worth took a gut-wrenching blow each time, your mind overgrown with blame and guilt and inadequacy. But, as someone wise beyond their years once said, your fortune far preceded your hopes because each and everytime Alexia and Anaís were there to pull you back up out of your pit of darkness.

"Amor." Alexia whispered gently one morning, sitting beside where you lay in bed and placing Anaís in her lap. "Wake up, mija, it is a big day, we need y-"

"Mama! Up, now!" Anaís shouted, pushing against your shoulder.

"Anaís, no! That is not nice, I told you to be gentle. Gentle, sí?" Alexia scolds quietly, about to warn Anaís again when you rolled over with a tight-lipped smile on your face.

"Morning." You muttered, bracing yourself when you saw Anaís stand in Alexia's lap. "Oof, chiqui, good morning to you too."

"Feliz navidad, mis amores." Alexia said, resting a hand on Anaís' back as a reminder for her to stay calm.

"Christmas, Mama." Anaís grinned down at you, placing two heavy hands on your cheeks, smushing them together, and giving you a quick kiss.

"Mhm, happy Christmas, bebíta." You sat up and gave her a hug that lasted about a millisecond due to her very limited attention span.

"Anaís, why don't you go get your stocking from your room? We will open it in here." She didn't need to be told twice - she leaped off the bed, briefly scaring the life out of you and Alexia, before racing out of the room. Alexia turned to you when she left, looking over you with a watcful eye. "How are you, amor?"

The previous day, cruelly on Christmas Eve, you both had found out that the third IVF attempt had not resulted in a pregnancy. What should have been a day filled with fesitivies and joy and tradition, was instead another day of grieving. After you had gotten home from the appointment, Alexia had quickly dropped Anaís off at Eli's for the afternoon so that her full attention could be on you. Not much was said or done, this had occurred one too many times now for any words to be of gratification. You both just needed time together, away from any other worries, to be able to process it. The healing process wasn't a straightforward one, you didn't magically feel better this morning, but knowing what day it was made it just a tad easier.

"Not bad, but not great. I just don't want to think about it. For one day at least." You answered, and she nodded instantly.

"We can do our best. When that little rocket is around, I think we'll be swept off our feet." Alexia said, glad to hear even just the breath of laughter you give her. "Don't hesitate to tell me if you need a break though. You let me know how you're doing, alright?"

"I will. Thank you, Ale." You told her earnestly, offering a semi-genuine smile to her.

"Te amo mucho, siempre. Siempre, amor." Alexia whispered when she wrapped you up in her arms.

Then Anaís came steaming back in, her Christmas stocking dragging along behind her unceremoniously, and you giggle when Alexia tells her off for it. The little girl sassed back a reply and Alexia can't help but laugh too, helping her lift it onto the bed. Watching your daughter's face light up with every gift she opens and how she hugs you both tightly after every single one, it's hard to be enveloped by the gloom your mind tried to subdue you into. Anaís was the best gift of all, and if a second child wasn't meant to be, you still had this beautiful girl that made you numb to all the problems life threw at you.

In the midst of this ongoing IVF journey came Alexia's birthday, and to distract yourself from the difficulty of the past few months, you had set yourself and Anaís a project to do as a gift. It was a minor token of appreciation for the woman who had been nothing short of perfect throughout it all, forever there to lean on and pick up the pieces when you need her to.

The day had come for you both to show off what you'd done for her, and though you'd already spent the morning at home with Anaís and Alexia, as well as giving her a few other gifts, this was the part you were most looking forward to. And as you pulled up to the Barcelona training facilities where you would see your hard work for the first time before surprising her, it was safe to say you hadn't felt such excitement in a long while.

"So, frecas, are you ready to surprise Mami?" You smile at Anaís through the rearview mirror of your car just as you pull into a parking space.

"Mamiiii!" Anaís sings from her seat, her little feet swinging excitedly.

"Sí, Mami!" You repeat back, turning off the car before hopping out and walking to Anaís' door. "Vale, mi niña pequeña, what do we have to remember whilst we're here?"

"Be nice, hold your hand, and... smile!"

You laugh at that last one, because you and Alexia never have to remind her to smile as it's something she is always doing anyway. The pair of you love to tell her how happy she makes everyone around her with her cheeky smile, and from then she'd taken it upon herself to do it, somehow, even more often.

"Yes, everybody loves it when you smile." You tap her nose lightly, delighted to hear her giggle. "Do you remember how today is going to go?"

"Tell me?" Anaís asks as you help her out of the car.

"Yep, I can tell you." You reply, taking her hand and leading her to the reception. "We're going to be taken to an office where we can finally see the gift you made for Mami. Then we can give it to her, and maybe if you're up for it, we can have lunch with everybody. Are you excited?"

"Mhm." Anaís mutters quietly, indicating she was feeling a little uncertain about something. When you're away from the car park and outside the main doors, you turn to her and crouch to her height.

"What's up, mi chiqui? Is there something bugging you?" You question softly, taking both of her hands and squeezing them.

"Nervous." She admits, shuffling forward in a silent plea for a hug, which you immediately engage in.

"It's okay to be nervous, isn't it? Mami and I get nervous still and we're old." You joke, hearing her giggle slightly into your shoulder. "What's making you nervous?"

"The people." Anaís tells you, to which you nod understandingly.

"That's alright, thank you for telling me. There might be a lot of people today, most of them you will know though. They're all Mami's friends, aren't they?" She nods shyly when you move back to look at her face. "They are. You just stick with me and Mami when we see her, we've got you. Always. And if you don't want to stay for dinner, let me know and we can go home. Okay?"

"Okay." She smiles brightly up at you, an image you wished you could treasure forever, and you lean forward to kiss her forehead.

"Perfecta, mi amor. Venga!" You take her hand again and press the buzzer to be let into the building. "Do you know what Mami says when she gets nervous?"

"Mami asks for your besitos!" Anaís answers with a grin, catching you off guard. The question was more of a rhetorical one, but you had underestimated your daughter's cheekiness.

"Well, she does, but that's not what I was going to say." You laugh, cheeks red, opening the doors when they unlock. "Mami says that most of the time she doesn't need to feel nervous because the thing she was worrying about is never as bad as she thinks. Do you understand?"

"No." Anaís shrugs bluntly, again making you laugh as you lead her into the reception.

"Okay, chiqui, forget I spoke." You say with a light eye roll, the small girl giggling to herself beside you.

Signing both of you in, you make small talk with the receptionist who hands you two name stickers. Anaís was currently in a phase where she just could not get enough of stickers, so you gasp excitedly for her.

"Pegatina?" She looks up at you with a giddy face, politely snatching the sticker from you and putting it in the center of her sweater.

"Sí!" You smile at her excitement, and an idea comes to mind. You turn back to the receptionist with a plan. "Existe alguna posibilidad de que tengas una hoja extra de pegatinas en blanco? Mi chiqui los adora."

"Claro! Aquí tienes." The lady smiles brightly at you and hands over a sheet of blank stickers. She waves at Anaís, who returns the gesture shyly before you turn to her and show off the item in your hand.

"Mirar, Anaís! More stickers!" Your daughter gasps loudly at the surprise, gazing up at you like you'd just given her the best gift in the world.

"Gracias, Mama!" She squeals, moving to hug your leg tightly.

"No problem, mija. You can draw on them at dinner if you'd like." You say, ducking down to kiss the top of her head. "I'll put them away for now, Mami finishes training soon so we need to go."

With Anaís' hand in yours, you lead her through the building and towards the meeting room you had been informed to go through. Nowadays you were more than familiar with your way around the facilities, having been here numerous times, but you can tell Anaís is still a bit apprehensive. And as a result of yours and Alexia's healthy parenting habits, she didn't hesitate to tell you again.

"Mama, I'm scared." She says, tugging on your hand and coming to a standstill outside the office just as you go to open it.

"Scared about what?" You frown, bending down again and brushing a few wisps of her out of her face.

"Mami will not like her gift."

That broke your heart, because you could already picture Alexia's reaction when she saw what Anaís had done for her. You made a bet with Eli and Alba that she would cry when she received the gift, something they instantly agreed with.

"Anaís, I promise you, Mami will love her present. I know she will, you don't need to worry or be scared. She will really love them. I pinky promise." You hold her hand out for her to link fingers with you, and after a moment of careful consideration, she nods and seals the promise.

"Ready now." She says confidently, so you smile and stand up again.

Knocking twice, you open the door to find a few members of staff there - a few from Barça and a few from the team you'd worked with at Nike. In the middle of the table was the box that contained the surprise, and Anaís' eyes widened so far they almost bugged out of her head.

"There, Mama." She said in a loud whisper, the others in the room smiling brightly at her excitement.

"There they are! Let's go sit down and look at them."

You lead her to the table and sit down in a middle seat, keeping Anaís on your lap. One of the Nike staff talks you through them briefly, giving you an update on the process, and the whole time Anaís bounces giddily. She was getting a little antsy and you figured it was a bit of an odd situation for her to be in; sat in a room with unfamiliar people, one holding a camera to film the day, all whilst the thing she'd been desperate to see for over a month sat waiting in the middle. Somehow she had managed to keep the whole thing a secret, Alexia to your knowledge none the wiser about the whole thing. There were nearly a few slip-ups, but so far so good.

"Okay, that's all I think. You can look at them now."

Anaís grins as you reach for the box and pull it closer, putting it within reach for her to open it.

"Go on, Anaís, you can look."

You watch her face rather than look at the gift at first, your heart clenching at the utter joy and awe on her face as she lifts the lid off of the box. She lets out an adorable gasp, reaching a hand out and delicately picking up one of the things in there.

"Mama... I love them." She states, turning to look at you and showing off the item in her hand.

"They are amazing, aren't they? They came out perfect, wow." You take the other one out from the box, examining it closely. "Mami will adore them."

"When is she coming?" Anaís wonders, and you look up to the Barça staff.

"Training will finish any second now. They'll text when she's on h-" His phone pings as he speaks. "Ah, she is on her way now."

"Great! Anaís, let's put these back in the box so Mami can open it for herself." Anaís nods eagerly and carefully puts them back in, before turning and hugging you unexpectedly. "Hey, what's this for?"

"Mami will love her gift. I know it!" She squeals, pulling back and placing a sloppy kiss to your cheek.

"Thank you for that! How lucky I am to have such a kind, cute little girl, huh?" You smile at her, leaning forward to kiss all over her face. She squeals again and hides herself in your shoulder, pressing kisses of her own to your shirt. "Do you remember what to say when Mami walks in?"

"Umm... felicidades?" Anaís says, and you nod proudly.

"Perfect! Bien, mi niña."

No less then five minutes later, you can hear footsteps and a familiar voice coming down the corridor.

"-are you making me do media without showering? It was hot today, I'm all swe-"

Alexia cuts herself when she opens the door to see you and Anaís there. It's a far better surprise than media.

"What are you two doing here?" She asks with a huge smile on her face, frozen in place at the door.

"Say it, Anaís." You whispered in your daughter's ear.

"Felicidades, Mami." Anaís says shyly, and Alexia bounds over to her to pick her up and hug her tightly.

"Thank you, princesa! What a lovely surprise!" She exclaims, looking over at you for a bit of context.

"We have a better surprise for you. Come sit down." You tell her, patting the chair next to you.

Everyone else in the room stands back and watches, and Alexia takes her seat with Anaís curled into her side. With a quick kiss to her forehead, she gestures to the box in front of her.

"This?" She wonders, and before you could get a word in, Anaís pipes up.

"Open it, Mami! It is the best gift ever!" She urges, patting her leg to try and hurry her up.

"Alright, alright. Cheeky." Alexia tuts jokingly, reaching around Anaís to flick the lid open. Her jaw drops when she looks inside, and of all things in the world, she wasn't expecting them.

Inside, were two completely customised football boots, designed by Anaís with help from you and a team at Nike.

The design of the boots were fairly similar, except for a few tiny details that were special to each one. They were mainly white, and on each toe end of the boots were Anaís' hand prints in the blaugrana colours. Under the Nike tick on the outside of each boot were Anaís' initials with a penguin beside them. Additionally, under the logo on the inside of the boots were the words 'Vamos Mami' written in Anaís' squiggly handwriting. Every single detail, from the heartwarmingly poor stick figure drawing of Alexia on the back of the boots with the words 'My Hero' beside them, to the one of Alexia's favourite flowers and the other little contextual family inclusions, sent her into an emotional frenzy.

They were obviously majoritively designed by a small child, Anaís, but that was what made them so very special to Alexia. To her, they were probably the best gift she could've received purely based off of the sentimental value of them, and she had had tears in her eyes the moment she saw them.

"Anaís... wow." Alexia choked out, hastily wiping away one that slipped out. "You made these?"

"I did! Me and Mama!" Anaís claimed proudly, grinning up at Alexia and helping her to brush her tears away. But the sight of her crying confused her, and her smile quickly turned into a frown. "Oh. Not happy?"

"No, no, I'm so happy, Anaís, so happy. I love them so much that I'm crying, how silly?" Anaís giggled at her Mami, and the whole thing to you was ineffably adorable. "Oh wow. I really love them."

"Can you wear them for your games?" Anaís wonders.

"Well, I will, but only for my most important games. I don't want to ruin them and get them all muddy."

"We have a replica pair at home so you don't need to worry about that." You tell her, and she reaches over to take your hand, squeezing it gratefully.

"Thank you both. You really thought of everything." She shakes her head and sighs shakily, unable to tear her eyes away from them. "Anaís, is this a picture of me?"

Anaís giggles and nods as Alexia points to the stick figure of herself.

"I drawed it." Anaís says, and you stifle a laugh at the ridiculousness of the drawing. It is definitely easy to figure out it's done by an almost 3 year old.

"These are the best present I've ever got." It's then that she notices even the shoelaces are customised; red and blue hearts drawn by Anaís are patterned up and down the laces, and even the aglets of them have Anaís' name written there. "You both really thought of everything."

"We did our best." You affirm, leaning into her side when she holds her arm out. The arm of the chairs make it a little uncomfortable, but it doesn't take away from the moment.

"Tengo la mejor familia, eh?" Alexia whispers, kissing Anaís' forehead again, then your cheek. "Mis amores, are you staying for lunch?"

"Anaís was a little bit nervous about that earlier." You reveal, and the little girl nods sheepishly.

"Hey, that's okay! You can stay with me and Mama if you need to, everybody just loves seeing you smile, mi sol pequeña." Alexia says to Anaís, and the girl follows through immediately with her big, cheesy smile. "Exactly like that. Shall we go now? I'm hungry and I want to show off my amazing gift to everybody."

After that, the three of you make your way round to the cafeteria. Anaís sits on your lap throughout, eating a bowl of her favourite meal, tomato pasta, before drawing personalised name stickers for everyone she knows. Her tiny mind gets blown away when she finds out Mapi's last name means lion, so she of course has to sit with her for the rest of dinner to discuss such an outrageous topic. It gives you and Alexia a moment alone after it all, and she shuffles your chair closer so that she can whisper endless amount of soft words to you. She can't believe her fortune at having two people do such an act of kindness for her, and she makes sure the two of you know it.

The only thing is, those one of a kind boots aren't the sole surprise of the day. And the next one shocks you too.

Later that evening, as Alexia is in Anaís' room reading her a bedtime story and you do your skincare in the ensuite, something catches your eye in the back corner of the cupboard when you go to get your cleanser. It's a box you haven't paid any mind to since the first round of IVF for the second baby, as it had unfairly gotten your hopes up. But now it piques your interest too much, and whilst Alexia is busy elsewhere, you decide to do it.

You're not expecting anything, having been let down too many times, and that's why you scream so loud.

"Oh my fucking god!"

About half a millisecond later, Alexia comes running in with a disgruntled and half-asleep Anaís in her arms.

"What's wrong!?" She asks desperately, noticing your trembling shoulders as you faced away from her and your teary eyes in the mirror.

Slowly, you turn around, another hCG test in you hand.

"This s-says twenty-six, Ale." You stutter, your free hand coming up to cover your mouth.

The pair of you stare at each other in disbelief, eyes wide and jaws to the floor. You're probably an image to behold, with two under-eye masks on and spot cream dotted around your face, and Anaís in Alexia's hold looks less than pleased at the events that have occurred with her wild bed-head.

"It says what?!" Alexia cries out, breaking the stand-off and coming over to you so she can catch a look at it. "It does say twenty-six!"

"Ale..." You breathe out, looking up into her eyes and shaking your head. "I'm not falling for this again."

"Amor, don't start stressing. Let's take this as a good thing for now, and we will go to our appointment tomorrow like normal. Okay? Don't stress, please, this is a very good sign." Alexia reasurres you, wrapping an arm around you and rubbing your shoulder comfortingly. Anaís still has no clue what's going on, but she sleepily puts an arm around your neck too, always one for a family hug.

"Last time though, it gave us a good score and it ended up being nothing." You sighed, closing your eyes in her hold.

"But last time wasn't as high as this. This is much better, this is an amazing sign. The only thing we can do is wait to see the nurse tomorrow, okay?" You nod reluctantly, sighing in frustration and pulling away. "Is it alright if I go put Anaís to sleep? Or do you want her to stay with us for a bit?"

You look at your daughter in Alexia's arms and instantly make a decision; you could never deny cuddles with her.

"Take her to bed with us."

For a little while, the three of you cuddle closely together in your bed, a film of Anaís' choice playing on TV even though she had fallen asleep less than ten minutes into it. Once it had finished, Alexia went to put her in her own bed before coming straight back to you. You try to settle into sleep, but it evades you due to your clouded mind, and Alexia notices. She spends an unknown amount of time reasurring you, also talking about everything and nothing to sooth you, until you eventually do fall asleep. It takes a while for her to get to sleep too, but she does with a smile on her face.

And she was right to have that smile, because the next day at your already scheduled blood test with the nurse, it's confirmed that you are pregnant. The relief is overwhelming, because it's not just the fact that you are finally pregnant, it also erases all the doubt and guilt and whatnot from the past eight months, finally clearing your head from it all. It's a huge weight off of your shoulders, and an almost equally large on off of Alexia's because the heartbreak she felt everytime, not only when a transfer failed, but when you loathed yourself after each one was so heavy, it nearly broke her in two. But here you were, healthy and happier than ever with a baby growing and a smile on your face.

Being able to tell family and friends a little while after was an incredible experience, somehow even better than telling them about Anaís, because they all knew the struggles of the past months and how difficult it had been for you and Alexia. Your favourite part though was telling Anaís, even if it was a little anti-climatic, because she simply shrugged and said 'about time' before asking to go to the park.

There was one little worry. Not a problem with your health or the baby, but with Anaís. Because she was so excited about having a sibling, except she often would say...

"It better not be a boy." She would huff grumpily, and she would say it unprompted too whilst doing things like drawing a family picture and adding a baby to the tummy of your stick figure or as she played with her dolls.

And it was certainly a worry because the baby did end up being a boy. It was yours and Alexia's plan to tell Anaís the gender on her birthday, but after finding out it was a boy, that didn't seem like such a great plan. Out of fear of possibly ruining her birthday, you told her the day after, and it went much better than you expected.

"Will he play dolls with me? And like stickers? And like drawing?" She had asked after a few moments of silence.

"He probably will, yes." You responded.

"He might even like football too." Alexia grinned, and Anaís easily matched her with a cheeky smile of her own as you rolled your eyes.

"I guess that's okay then."

As you months rolled on and you moved from trimester to trimester, Anaís fell more and more in love with her little brother. She loved talking about him, as well as talking to him whenever she was given a chance, her hands moving around your bump to feel his little kicks. With each one-sided conversation she had, she would end it with a kiss and a whisper of 'hurry up, chico!'

Your hormones had kicked in a little stronger this pregnancy, because every time Anaís would interact with your bump, your reaction would range from a lump in your throat, to full on tears. Alexia loved it, teasing you every so often, but she quickly figured out her limits after your tears of joy at Anaís soon turned into tears of pain when the baby dealt you a hard kick to the ribs. The Spaniard's face immediately paled when you screamed at her so furiously, it sent Anaís running for the hills through the house. Thankfully, the next day, the little girl forgot all about the night's events, until one day a while later she brought it up in front of her Tía Alba, and your face turned red with embarrassment.

Your little boy decided to bring himself into the world a tad early in September that year, with a bit of a longer labour and more complicated birth. But, in the end, her arrived safely and healthily, and the same went for you. Alexia had sat there, biting her nails anxiously as the doctors did their checks, but they ultimately gave you the all-clear and the nausea left her stomach.

"We still don't have a name." You huffed tiredly when Alexia took him from one of the nurses and brought him over to you.

"That's okay. We will figure it out. For now, just look at his cute face." Alexia smiled brightly, sitting beside you carefully and showing him off.

"He is cute." You sighed contently, resting your head on her shoulder. This birth had thoroughly taken it out of you, and it was a miracle you were able to keep your eyes open.

"He is chubby." Alexia hummed, and she winced when you lightly slapped her hip.

"Be nice to him." You scolded her, but Alexia was just glad to see the smile on your face that you failed to fight back.

"I am being nice, he just has very big cheeks." Alexia defended herself, raising a hand to lightly run the back of her finger along his cheek, a gesture you remember her doing for Anaís.

He was clearly much more fed up with the day then Anaís was when she was born, because he was already fast asleep. His little mouth was open, and sometimes when he fidgeted in his sleep, his tongue would poke out momentarily. Alexia laughed quietly whenever he did as you watched them both, already absolutely infatuated with the sight.

"I can't wait for Anaís to meet him." Alexia stated, and you nodded in agreement. "Can we ring her? Or do you want to rest some more?"

"No, let's ring her. I miss her."

For obvious reasons, it had been over a day since you'd last seen Anaís, the longest you'd gone without being with her. Alexia passed your son over to you and got her phone out of her pocket, going onto it and getting up her Mami's contact.

"You're sure?" She checked, and you nodded.

Within three rings, Eli answered the FaceTime call, and before she could even speak, Anaís' face took over the whole screen.

"Is he here yet, Mami?" She asked quietly, and Alexia couldn't resist.

"No, not yet, I'm sorry chiqui."

"Ale! Don't be mean, tell her."

As soon as Anaís heard your voice, she gasped excitedly, hoping she had correctly interpreted your words.

"He is here?"

"He is. There he is." Alexia turned the camera so that you and the baby were in view for Anaís to see, and her face was adorable.

"Oh my... he is so cute." She whispered, noticing he was asleep and speaking as quietly as she could. "I love him."

"You do?" Alexia said, her heart filled with more love than she ever thought possible.

"I really love him." Anaís smiled brightly. "Is Mama okay?"

"Yes, I'm okay, thank you mi niña. I am very, very tired, but I'm alright." You told her, and she nodded, glad to hear it.

"Does he have a name?" You shook your head and saw her eyes light up. "I have a name!"

"Go on." Alexia prompted her, not really expecting anything that could be a good suggestion.

"Oriol!" Anaís said proudly.

Your eyebrows shot up in surprise, wondering where on earth she got that from, but happy with it nonetheless. It was already on the name list you and Alexia had, and it was actually one of your favourites. But the pair of you just couldn't choose, so you decided to shortlist a few and to wait and see until he is born. Oriol was indeed a name on the shortlist.

"Yes, that is a good name." You nodded, looking at Alexia to see what she thought.

"I really like that name, well done chiqui." Alexia replied, and the pair of you share a glance.

Speaking with Anaís for a little longer, you both notice her getting progressively more tired as it got closer to her bedtime. With the promise that she can visit tomorrow, you say goodbye to her and let her take one final look at her brother before she goes to the room she was staying in at Eli's. You stay on the phone with Eli for a few moments, smiling at all the praise she offers you, before she bids you both farewell and hangs up.

"So..." Alexia started, looking down at your son. "I think we have a solution to our problem?"

You look down at him too, knowing what Alexia was talking about, and nod.

"I think we do."

When Anaís visits the next day, she hugs you and Alexia tightly first, having missed her two favourite people in the world for the short time she was away. Then, Alexia gets the baby out of the hospital cot and shows him to her, and she's fascinated by him. She quickly has a moment of overwhelming excitement, and she jumps around on the spot away from him so that she can, in her own words, 'get it all out' before she holds him.

Sitting on the chair beside your bed, pillows scattered around her, Alexia carefully places him in her arms that hold him securely. Unsurprising to you, you immediately well up at the sight, wanting to burn the image into your mind forever. She makes sure she holds him properly, asking Alexia every so often if she's doing it right, before she leans down and kisses his hat-covered head softly. Alexia shows her a special 'trick', where she offers her finger out to the baby and Anaís gasps quietly when he wraps his hand around Alexia's finger. The moment only forces more tears out of you, and Alexia looks up at you and flashes you a teasing smile. Her attention is drawn away from you not a second later when Anaís asks something.

"Does he have a name yet?"

Just like last night, you and Alexia share a glance, before you turn back to Anaís.

"His name is Oriol."

[hauntedwitch04]

Wrong time, right person

Azriel x reader

Words: about 3.3k words

Warnings: smut, smut, Iforgot to say smut, and Azzy himself ;)

Author’s note: Hi loves! I finally managed to write some more after the crazy week I had. Hope you like it, your witch Becky

Requests are open I Ask

My masterlist

Join the Taglist

If you like my works, consider to buy me a coffee - Patreon submission

KINKTOBER ...........-..........KINKTOBER TAGLIST 2023

DAY 3: Sex pollen

It's an easy mission they said.

Touch and go, they won't even know you passed by they said.

Assholes. Liars. Bastards. Especially liars though.

This is all I can think of as the Shadowsinger and I find ourselves running through the trees being chased by the guards of the lord we had gone to spy on. Someone must have warned of our arrival, because a few minutes after arriving on the spot, we were already surrounded by enemies. We fought to the end, but were forced to retreat into the woods, seeking safety in escaping through that labyrinth of logs, hoping that those stupid enforcers would not be able to follow us.

It seems like hours that we are running when we finally decide to stop, in the vicinity of a cave, so that we can find refuge from the darkness and our pursuers.

"We finally lost those assholes." My companion comments, sitting back against the cave wall, leaning his head against the rock and showing his neck, leaving it exposed to my gaze.

That simple gesture kindles a fire in me that burns brightly, and I feel compelled to look away. I close my head between my legs and feel Azriel's gaze on me as he approaches. I feel him rest a hand on my shoulder, and I can't help but moan at that simple contact. I feel my cheeks get hot, but he doesn't flinch and asks me worriedly, "Hey, are you okay?" I can't bring myself to look at his face so I nod slightly still with my head between my legs and mutter a nonsensical apology. He still tries for a moment to wrest the truth from my lips, but I don't even flinch for a second. Azriel, seeing then that I did not intend to explain anything, stands up.

"I'm going to gather some wood for the fire, or we'll freeze to death tonight." He says, as he approaches the exit of the cave. I glimpse from below my knees the color of the sky, which is now turning blue.

"Okay, I'll stay here." I tell him in a whisper loud enough for him to hear me. I guess he nods, before walking out of our shelter, leaving me to think about why I took that action earlier. Ever since we escaped from the building I feel a strange sensation permeating my body, but I hadn't given it too much thought before since my priority was to run away from the guards, but it's as if after all that effort that feeling has expanded to the nth degree. It almost feels as if my body no longer belongs to me: I feel a wet sensation between my panties, while the fabric of my T-shirt brushing against the skin of my breasts sends shivers down my spine as my nipples harden against my bra. I squeeze my thighs together trying to ease that sensation, but it all proves futile. I feel a wave of embarrassment rise through my body again, thinking that this is all due only to a small gesture from the Shadowsinger.

Eventually I decide to lie down and try to get some sleep hoping that with a good dose of rest the next day I would wake up feeling better than I am now. I lie down with some difficulty on the floor only to fall unconscious in the arms of Morpheus after a few seconds.

But all is in vain, because in the middle of the night I suddenly wake up all sweaty. I sit up while with one hand I hold my chest. I feel the fire from before writhing in my gut, and on instinct my other hand goes to my center automatically, but realizing my gesture I immediately freeze.

Azriel was sitting in front of the fire, and seeing me feeling so sick he immediately approaches me, touching my forehead to feel if I had a fever. Immediately he retracts his hand feeling how hot I am, and makes me lie of me.

"You try to lie to me one more time about feeling good, and I swear I will never make you go on a mission with me again, and I will make sure Rhysand doesn't either." Says Azriel, as he removes part of my suit, to let the cold night wind cool me down a little. I again find myself letting escape a moan of pleasure as I feel that cool night breeze brush against my warm skin. I feel my nipples becoming turgid as I somehow try to get away from the Shadowsinger's constant touch, which is only making the situation I am in worse.

"I would say now is not the time to lecture me Az." I reply as I try to catch my breath. The Illyrian looks conflicted, but finally stands up and looks me straight in the eye.

"I'll try to do something. You stay here, and in case you give a yell, I'll be back here in less than a second." Says Azriel before disappearing into the night.

I stay looking at the place where he disappeared for a few minutes, trying to distract myself from the feeling of pain and the impossibility of having what my body desires, but finally I give in and begin to slowly run the fingers of my right hand over my center. I immediately feel the pain lessen, but like a drug, this never seems to be enough and I need more and more. My other hand wanders down my body until it rests on my breast and I begin to stimulate one of my nipples. My right hand I run it under my pants and for the first time my fingers come in contact with the wet lips of my pussy.

I remain in that limbo situation for what feels like an eternity experiencing enough pleasure to not die of pain and at the same time not enough to be completely well.

After what seems like hours, I hear Azriel's heavy footsteps getting closer. Quickly I try to look presentable, but immediately the lack of that little antidote causes me more pain than I felt before. I feel twinges in my abdomen that make me bend over, but despite this I look up at the man in front of me, and I cannot help but curse Mother for creating such a perfect being: he has not slept in days, he is drenched in sweat and tired, and yet he continues to be the most attractive person I have ever seen.

He stops to catch his breath, and only then do I realize that he no longer has the cape he was wearing before, in fact now his muscular arms are clearly evident, thanks in part to the tank top he was wearing.

"Where did your cloak go?" I ask, trying to distract myself in a very unsatisfactory way.

"I had to give it to Suriel, to get him to help me understand what you have." He says casually as he approaches me. At that gesture I try to pull away, but he doesn't let me, resting his hands on my shoulders. He then places his lips on my forehead to test whether I still have a fever. That gesture again unleashes a fire capable of burning whole woods in my stomach, and I groan, almost in pain, pushing him away from me.

"Did I hurt you?" Azriel asks worriedly, and I wave him off, so as not to worry him, but he doesn't seem convinced.

"What did Suriel tell you?" I ask, trying to change the subject.

"Well, as we were running away you spilled a jar of powders on yourself as we were going through that sorceress's store, remember?" Azriel says, looking at the ground, as if ashamed. I nod, remembering very well that damned jar, which made me sneeze for several minutes.

"You didn't read the label on that jar, did you?" He continues vaguely, so much so that nervous and without patience, I force him to look at me before answering him.

"Of course I didn't have time to look at it Az, go straight to the point." I say impatiently. His cheeks turn red, and he stammers something under his breath that I can't understand at first, so I ask him to repeat it. He raises his eyes and fixes his in mine, before repeating what he had tried to say before.

"It was sex pollen, the one that spilled on you." He says finally, and I feel the blood freeze in my veins, still in shock from the revelation he threw at me. "And according to Suriel, the only way to keep you from dying right now is to...well you know, go along with what your instincts are asking you to do."

"Thank you for explaining in such a nice way that I have to masturbate Az, really very nice." I say almost angry at him, even though I know I'm not really. I'm partly angry at myself for putting myself in that situation, but I can't do anything about it now, and now I'm also in danger of dying.

"Hey, I'm trying my best." He replies, scratching the back of his neck with his right hand, looking embarrassed.

"I know, I know Az, it's just-" I pause for a moment, trying to find a way to say it. I take a big breath and keep talking. "I've already tried touching myself, alone, down there, but it didn't do much good." I confess in a low voice, hoping he won't hear it, but unfortunately Shadowsinger's hearing is too acute to miss my confession. He freezes for a moment as if he is about to reason out what to do, then speaks again.

"I know." Azriel says in a guilty tone.

"What do you mean you know?" I ask shocked as I look at him, not understanding what he was referring to.

"Well the Suriel may or may not have told me that you would not be healed this way. "He continues as he watches the fire casting beams of light on the walls of the cave we are in. I stop again, and begin to reflect on all that I knew about these powders as I feel the pain getting worse and worse. By now I can feel my panties completely wet, as every single contact with what's around me unleashes a series of shivers that reaches to my core.

"I thought that was enough...well you get it. In all the books dealing with pollen with potential danger they say that's enough, be satisfied." I try to explain, as I draw a groan caused by my shifting which resulted in clenching my thighs together.

"I thought so too, but he said this doesn't count if-" He freezes as if he cannot find the words. I, growing more and more impatient, ask him aloud to continue.

"Az just doesn't seem like the time to be shy." I urge him to speak.

"He said it's not enough when you're in close proximity to your mate." He blurts out, standing up sharply. I squint my eyes not believing what my ears have just heard, but I immediately understand that feeling that has long been building in my heart toward my mate. Well I would say more than friend. I feel something forming in my chest that takes shape through a golden thread extending from my sternum to that of Azriel, who is currently turned his back to me as he looks out of the cave as if in the same there is the answer to this problem. Immediately I feel that silly happiness I felt at having found my mate, and that he was the man I actually loved all my life already disintegrating under the idea that he didn't want all that.

"You don't have to." I whisper, in the grip of ever-worsening cramps, but right now they seem like nothing more than mild pain compared to what my heart was feeling.

"You don't understand, if we don't do this, you will die and I won't let you die." He counters by turning around and dropping to his knees at my height looking me straight in the eye.

"I don't want your pity." I reply harshly as I try to get out of his sight, unable to do much given my condition, because I don't want him to see my suffering and the pain his rejection has triggered in me.

"No, I don't want my mate, the woman I've loved all my life to die and I'm pissed off at Mother because I didn't want it to happen like this between us the first time. I wanted to do everything right, take you to dinner, confess under the stars and then make love to you in my bed between the sheets I had specially chosen your favorite color, not on the floor in a stupid cave after risking our lives! When I knew you were my mate I wanted nothing more than to thank Mother, fate or whoever, but now I hate them because they had to pass the anger they vent on me to you, and I don't want to see you suffer because of me." He blurts out as he begins to walk around the cave again, then finishes his speech by looking at me. A strange light sparkles in his eyes, they look like the eyes of someone who loves to the point of being sick, to the point of suffering, and that love right now is directed at me. I can't believe his words, but that connection makes me feel that everything he just said is the truth, and immediately the happiness I lost a few moments ago returns, along with hope.

"We can still do it." I confess in a whisper and he immediately turns to me, his eyebrows furrowed over his beautiful eyes. "We can do it once we get home. We'll tell Rhys they can go screw him and his missions, and we'll take some time to figure this out and get used to it, and we can do everything you just said, because believe me I want to do all that with you."

"But?" He asks as he approaches.

"But now all I need is you fucking me as hard as you can in this shitty place so that I can stop dying and talk to you without having to moan every time." I say, as I grab his shirt with one hand, since he was now close enough to me, and kiss him with all the passion in my body.

I feel like I can finally breathe again as my lips on his, and I can already feel the pollen fade as the urge to feel Azriel inside me increases without measure.

"As my lady wishes." Whispers the Illiryan on my lips as we pull away from that breathless kiss. I immediately feel his lips graze my neck, to start biting and sucking on it as if his life depended on it. Every single movement of his lips and tongue made me touch the sky with one finger as I moaned his name as if I were a priestess intent on making a prayer and he the deity I believe in.

His lips then move from my neck to my breasts, where he begins to suck on my nipples like a hungry child. I bring my hands into his hair and pull them every time his tongue touches one of my sensitive spots.

"Baby doll, if you pull my hair one more time, I don't think I'll be able to keep myself from fucking you so hard I'll leave your silhouette on the floor of this place." He says pulling away for a moment to kiss my lips again.

My hands move down, and I begin to open his pants, while he begins to open mine.

"All words, I want to see some action." I reply, trying not to give away how much his words had affected me. He smirks, realizing that he actually made a mark with what he said, just brushing against my panties and feeling how wet they are.

"You will regret saying what you just said baby doll." Az replies, as with a quick gesture he enters of me. I didn't even notice that he had moved both my and his panties, but right now I don't care.

Feeling his cock inside me is an otherworldly experience. I can feel the walls of my pussy tighten around his sizable member as he tries to stay as still as possible to get me used to his size.

"Tell me if it hurts, or if you feel like you can't take it anymore, okay?" He asks softly, as he kisses my sweaty forehead. I feel the cramps from the sex pollen return, and I groan before I answer him.

"Az, I can't take it anymore, either you move or I swear I'm going to flip you over and start doing what I need to do on my own." I say, trying to move my hips slightly and create some friction, but he stops me, resting his hips on mine and giving that silly little smile that makes him so sexy.

"Oh, I can't wait to see you ride my cock, but I'd say leave that experience for another time. Tonight is just for you, and for your pleasure." He comments and then begins to move.

Immediately I feel every single part of the universe fall into place as he gradually increases his speed. My body seems to be persecuted everywhere with shivers of pleasure as his lips rest lightly on my breasts again. Between his mouth, his cock, and the sex pollen in my body my orgasm seems to come with a speed I never expected.

"Please Az, don't stop." I say groaning, feeling the pleasure grow more and more every second.

"Oh baby I could never deprive myself of the feeling of my cock against your cervix. You're going to come, aren't you?" She whispers back as I try to nod. "Then we'll come together love."

"Yes, please Az fill me." I continue, and I feel her muscles tense even more under my touch.

"Honey don't challenge me, you know I could fuck you so hard you wouldn't walk tomorrow even if you prayed to Mother." He counters by increasing his speed.

"It would certainly be worth it." I answer as I now feel I am on the edge of oblivion, just one thrust would be enough to sink into pleasure. I hold my breath for a moment as I feel him move for the last time before my body begins to move in convulsions of pleasure, and my vision becomes totally blurred.

I feel him releasing all his semen inside me shortly after coming, and I feel him lying on top of me, relaxing.

We stay like that for a few minutes before he starts laughing. I look at him not understanding why he is laughing until he explains himself.

"God, I guess in the end I will have Rhys to thank for this mission." Whispers Az.

"Actually it wasn't that bad." I comment, laughing in turn.

"Let's say it had its upsides." He replies with a wink. "But don't think it's over here, wait until you get home, and when I'm done with you the only thing you'll remember is my name."

Yes I would say we definitely have Rhys to thank.

TAGLIST

@horneybeach1 @peachyxrosie @whoreforblackhill @forsiriussake @ash04w3 @l3viathanpup @ohemgeewhat @123345566 @kidsaproblem @lust4lucille @lisamanban123 @alina02 @shodowbane09 @supernatural-lvr

[frxxxncx]

need to know - k. soonyoung

»boyfriend!¡kwon soonyoung x fem!¡reader.

»Summary: you just wanted to dance all night long, but the night had other plans for you.

»Tags: smut (MDNI), pet names, establish relationship, chocking, exhibitionistm, dirty talk (I suck at this, I’m not joking), degradation…?, sex in public, bulge kink kind of, fingering, unprotected sex, creampie, it’s a little nasty at the end ngl, kinda mean dom!soonyoung, sub!reader.

»Words: 1.7k

note: This concept of Kwon Soonyoung makes me scream in my pillow every night. Need to know was my most played song in 2021.

note 2: Any typo or incoherence that you might find was completely intentional, it’s for the sake of learning about my mistakes.

Your pink mini-skirt danced gracefully with you, stroking your plump thighs softly, fabric barely covering your ass, chest moving slowly, contrasting with the voluptuous motions of your hips.

You felt aroused, only looking for your boyfriend's gaze from the bar counter, you were the one who proposed to go out to dance, but Soonyoung, even though he liked to dance was not in the mood to do it that day, but you were willing to make his cock raise proud, as if you had telekinesis.

You felt someone behind you, but you were certain that it wasn’t your boyfriend, you were going to get away from him but an evil thought crossed your filthy mind, you decided to use the disrespectful guy whom was gripping grossly tight your waist with his flagrant sticky and sweaty hands, you wanted to provoke your boyfriend, but his reaction was taking long that you expected and you were starting to get utterly disgusted by the stranger.

Still it was thrilling, you knew what was coming after this stunt you just made. The movements of your hips were exaggerated, while your hands were placed over the other guy. Gross.

It was extremely uncomfortable to feel the unfamiliar hands travel your body with that intimacy, but at the same time you shiver at the feel of Soonyoung's strong gaze over you. So he finally saw you.

The foreign hands disappeared, being replace for your boyfriend’s hot and heavy touch, you could hear clearly how Soonyoung shouted with rage “Fuck off”. A chill ran down your back, you knew perfectly what was coming and you were so fucking prepared for the consequences of your actions.

His hands were squeezing your waist so tightly, and you were sure the silhouette of his fingers was going to be engraved in your skin in a purplish color by tomorrow. His warm breath felt delicious over the back of your neck, body’s so close you could feel all of him pressed against you. Soonyoung tongue caressed your ear feeling the cold metal of your piercings.

“Did you like provoking me while grinding against that bastard like a fucking slut in heat?” He whispered, one of his hands getting to the hem of your pinky skirt, thighs clenching together at the familiar feeling striking your cunt, his digits travelled over your soft skin, and under your skirt, fingers stroking the fabric of your lingerie.

The darkness of the place played in your favour, no one seemed like they were able to see a thing, or maybe they were just enjoying the show, perhaps they were doing the same with their partners.

The rough palms of Soonyoung caressed your cunt over the silky fabric of your underwear, making you stutter in his arms, his left hand rested on your neck choking you slightly, enough to make you moan at the pressure, you could feel your slick starting soak the thin fabric of you lingerie, you were dripping like a faucet and you needed a plumber to help you fix the problem, most definitely.

His cold fingers sneaked inside your underwear, digits now dripping wet in your arousal, you shivered thrilled with his fingers now rubbing circles in your swollen and needy clit, your hips wouldn’t stop moving anxious due to the strokes that started to become faster and faster, putting more pressure in the delicate bud of nerves, his middle fingers travelled to your core, making his ways inside of you, your hands gripped his wrist tightly, retaining a guttural moan that was building up in your throat.

His ring finger joined inside, now both digits were playing in your warm embrace, rubbing into all the good spots inside of you, while his palm was fondling your clit, his fingers scissoring you, stretching your velvety walls. Your moans slipped from your mouth uncontrollably, and you were so glad that the music was so loud, otherwise everyone would notice how your boyfriend was finger fucking the life out of you.

“You pussy so cute and so wet for me, I can feel your cunt so deliciously tight around my fingers” he whispered in your ear, curling his fingers and tightening the grip in your neck “Come on, baby, beg me for it and I will give it to you” the kiss below your ear makes you gasp, breathing was starting to become difficult “Beg for me, just like the cockslut you are” a high pitch moan escape from you when his fingers stretched more inside of you, the burning feeling only making you wish for more.

“Please, please, I need you” you whine desperately, head pressed against his chest, arching your back and moving your hips, feeling the hard on in the base of your back.

“It turns you on, huh?” His hoarse voice behind you contrasted with he sensual music that was playing now, hand that was fingering you, now unzipping his pants hurriedly“I’m going to fuck you infront of all these people and you are soaking wet for it”

He lifted your skirt and moved your underwear to the side, you felt the fabric tear in your skin, and sighed at it, his cock was caressing your sticky folds, spreading all your juices on his shaft, sliding easily on your lips.

“God, you’re so ready for me” he purred, and without thinking twice he thrusted inside of you groaning satisfied after bottoming you out, a loud and guttural moan break from you, due to the force and the toughness of the thrust it kind of burned, but it burned so good that the coil that been building in your belly increased enormously.

“Ooh, baby, you’re so perfect, so good for me” Soonyoung’s dancer hips pistoned with an animalistic pace, biting your lips was starting to become a poor attempt to muffle some of your whimpers, even the wet and lewd sound was beginning to echo over the music in your ears.

Your velvety walls were clenching around Soonyoung’s dick, making him groan satisfied, the sound of his voice caressing your ears like honey, almost triggering your desired orgasm.

The pleasure filled your insides and your clit wouldn’t stop pulsating under Soonyoung insisting rubs, left hand gripping firmly your neck taking your breath away, the coil in you belly was so close to bursting, your hips trembling and colliding with his that wouldn’t stop pistoning into you, every thrust tougher than the other.

At some point, both of his hands rested on your belly, pressing not tight but just enough to make you see stars over your head like a pretty halo, his dick jammed inside of you and the pressure of his hands made you feel like your guts were being rearranged, everything was hot and narrow, your lips were bright red and glossy, you thought that tomorrow they would hurt so bad.

Soonyoung kept hammering into you, one hand pressing your stomach and the other taking your breath away once again, while his hips drilled into you fast and messy, your so desired orgasms stroke through you, body jerking forward as you howled in pleasure, while he kept grunting on the damp skin of your nape, and finally he let go of you neck. He plumped himself dry into you, painting your insides white.

And perhaps it was because you were on a public place or maybe it was the fact that your boyfriend just was exceptionally good at fucking you, but if he wasn’t holding you tight, you would be in the floor due to the overstimulation.

“Fuck, I think we need to go home” he said getting out of you slowly, hearing you whine in the process, now he was fixing his pants and holding tight onto you.

The words could get out of your mouth properly, you only remained clinging onto Soonyoung’s arm while his still warm cum travelled in the soft skin between your thighs, your cunt was sore, even then you could feel his dick inside of you, making you shudder, your legs were all wobbly and the sticky load was peeking from the edge of your skirt. Soonyoung felt bad about it and wiped it as much as he could with his hand, and then he fixed your underwear so his cum wouldn’t go anywhere.

You tried to walk while grabbing your boyfriend’s shirt tightly, but your legs just gave up and a mini scream came out when you felt like falling on your face.

“Sonnie, I can’t, my legs” you said, stuttering looking at your boyfriend with shining eyes because of the tears, still moaning quietly trying to stand still.

He looked at you with furrowed eyebrows and a smirk, satisfied of having fucked you so well you couldn’t even walk, but still he felt a little -just a little- bad for you, maybe he was to rough, you liked it though.

Chuckling Soonyoung gave you one last look full of joy and breathed out surrendering.

“Come on, pretty, I’ll carry you” he said before lifting you into bridal style, making you feel as light as a feather. “When we get home, I’ll make us a warm bath and I’ll clean you up very well, it’s okay, honey?” He asked in a childish tone, making you laugh and nod at the same time.

Once you were outside the club, Soonyoung made sure to put you in the passenger seat carefully but still a gasp came out of you, he zipped your belt and closed your door, and then he went to his seat.

During the drive home, you couldn’t help but feel a little bit tense because of the sticky mess in between your legs, but still the light burn in your core felt quite pleasant making your cunt pulsate.

When you finally where in front of your house, you sighted “Next time instead of fucking in the middle of the dance floor, better drag me to the car and fuck my brains out here” the embarrassment was starting to kick in, the liquid confidence losing its effects.

Soonyoung looked at you with a crooked smile "why next time when I can do it right now?"

[cinnamon-girl-writes]

sweet nothing . . . eren yeager x reader

y/n gets food poisoning, but luckily her knight in shining armor (sweatpants) is there to save the day

sickfic, modern au, emetophobia, hurt/comfort

by @cinnamon-girl-writes!

You flushed the toilet and watched the former contents of your stomach disappear.

Pushing your h/c hair out of your eyes, you sighed heavily. You had had a miserable past two hours, being able to keep nothing down, not even soup.

It had all started that afternoon when you and some of your friends (not including your boyfriend, Eren) had eaten at a taco truck on the beach that Armin had sworn would be delicious. You mentally cursed the blonde man as you rinsed your mouth out in the sink.

“How’re you doing?” you hear from behind you. You turn to see Eren leaning against the doorframe of the bathroom.

“Terrible,” you respond gloomily. As you try to pass him to go lay back down, he pulls you into a bear hug. 

“I’m sorry, mama. Do you want something to eat?” Eren said apologetically. You shook your head, burying your face in his muscled chest. You absolutely hated being sick.

“All I really wanna do is sleep,” you said plainly. Eren could see the exhaustion behind your eyes, so he helped you to the couch so you could lie down for a while. You turned on your favorite movie, Howl’s Moving Castle, and promptly fell asleep twenty minutes in.

Eren was by your side the whole time, giving you enough space to breathe but also being there to comfort you. He sat beside you on the couch (you decided that sitting up was the best approach due to your queasy stomach) with his arm slung across the back of the couch behind you to support your head. Once he noticed you were asleep, he pressed gentle kisses to your forehead, whispering sweet nothings even though he knew you couldn’t hear them. Maybe they would help you have peaceful dreams, he thought.

After a few hours you started stirring. You woke up drowsily, asking what time it was and how much you had slept. Eren informed you that it was five thirty and you had been out for three hours.

You grumbled, laying your head against your boyfriend’s chest.

“You need something to eat, mama. It’s almost time for dinner and you haven’t eaten since you’ve been sick.”

After a drawn-out sigh, you agree. Eren tucks you in and gives you the remotes as he goes to the kitchen to prepare you some food.

He’s decided to make you miso soup since it’s one of your favorite foods and it’ll be easy to keep down, hopefully. He carefully prepares the dish, adding in just the right amounts of each ingredient how he knows you like it.

Meanwhile, you sat on the couch idly watching the evening news, your movie having ended long ago while you were asleep. Not much has happened lately in your city; a new restaurant opened, another class of seniors graduated from the local highschool, there was a parade downtown this weekend.

Finding yourself bored, you turned around to see what your boyfriend was up to in the kitchen. You found him shirtless, wearing only a pair of gray sweatpants with his long dark hair pulled into a bun behind his head. You smiled to yourself, hiding your face behind the couch cushions. Silently, you admired Eren from afar: his chiseled abs, defined arms, and-

“Enjoying the view, babe?” Eren teased as he turned off the stove, pouring hot golden broth into a bowl. 

You blushed, turning back around. He came around the couch and set the steaming bowl in front of you on the table.

“Y’know, I’m beginning to think that you don’t hate being sick after all . . . “ your boyfriend joked, pulling you in for a hug. He pinched your sides playfully, pressing sweet kisses to the side of your head.

“I hope you feel better soon, baby,” he said solemnly.

“Yeah, me too,” you dejectedly responded.

You ate your soup, opting to lay in bed after you were done. Eren stayed by your side, as always, pulling you close and smoothing your hair as you fell asleep.

“Sweet dreams, baby.”

[dreamsontheirway]

Heyy <3

I have a request for a Spencer Reid one shot where Reid’s girlfriend (the reader) has break-in anxiety, due to past experiences growing up.

She’s home alone and hears a noise causing her anxiety to spike, and Reid is the only one who knows how to calm her down.

(And his colleagues don’t know he has said girlfriend)

I'm Here Now | S.R.

TW: previous abuse mentioned

Navigation

-----

It was Friday night, and Spencer was forced to work late along with the rest of the team. Their case had taken longer than expected, and there were piles of paperwork and case files that needed to be completed.

All Spencer wanted to do was go home and be with you, his partner of two years. He couldn’t tell the team that, though, because no one knew about you.

You and Spencer had decided to keep your relationship a secret very early on. All Spencer wanted to do was keep you safe from his job, and this seemed like the best way to protect you.

You didn’t mind all too much. You had grown up in a very unstable household and were plagued with anxiety and PTSD as a result.

Your father was an alcoholic and before your parents finally separated when you were a preteen, he was abusive, physically and verbally. Even after your parents separated and he moved out, the nightmare continued.

Your father had tried to take you, kidnap you, on multiple occasions. He never got very far, but you still remember the sound of him twisting the door handle, breaking the glass of the back door, and the sight of his shoes through at the base of your closet door where you were hiding.

Due to the trauma, you were left with extreme “break-in” anxiety, even now being in your twenties.

Spencer knew about your worries, and he did his best to make you feel safe. Most of the time, his mere presence was enough to calm you down. The knowledge of your boyfriend being an FBI agent, especially one who had a gun in a safe in the bedroom, allowed you to breathe a sigh of relief.

However, tonight was proving to be extremely challenging for you and your mental health. It was nearing ten o’clock at night, and Spencer was still at the office.

You hated it. You hated seeing the darkness through the windows and the knowledge that you were completely alone in the apartment. Each little noise caused a jolt and a spreading of tingling fear throughout your body.

You were attempting to soothe yourself by watching old reruns on television. You pulled the blanket up under your chin, and let out a long sign.

You’re okay, you told yourself. You’re safe.

At the same time that your eyes flashed open, a pounding noise came from the hallway. It sounded like something heavy was dropped.

What was that?

Your eyes widened, and your heart rate picked up. You looked between the door and the window frantically, making sure both entrances were watched. It was hard days like this that you wished you didn’t live on the first floor of your apartment complex.

All of a sudden, another pounding noise came from the hallway, but this time it reverberated through your living room. The pounding noise was against your front door, and you saw it shutter with the weight of something thrown against it.

Your breathing became sporadic, and your eyes were wide with fear. You threw the blanket off of your shaking form, and bolted to the bedroom, falling to the floor of the closet and slamming it shut.

Another pounding noise came from the front door.

You let out a sob, and fumbled with the phone in your back pocket.

Spencer picked up on the second dial tone.

“Hey, we’re almost done here,” he spoke gently, knowing that you were waiting for him.

“Spencer!”

Your voice was a whispered croak, and you were becoming lightheaded from the lack of oxygen your body was able to take in.

Spencer immediately knew something was wrong by your tone. Sometimes he struggled with emotions, but he knew you like the back of his hand.

He knew your struggles, and he knew your traumas. He knew this morning that today would be a bad day. You had been quiet, pensive, and he hated the fact that he had to work late knowing this.

“What is it, darling?”

Although Spencer had gone to the corner of the room and was talking softly, the team looked up.

Darling? Emily mouthed to JJ, her brow raised.

JJ only shrugged in response, her blond hair bouncing with the movement.

They smiled at each other knowingly, and made a mental note to tease Spencer about this later.

“Y/N? Hon, answer me.”

Spencer was beginning to panic; all he heard on the other end of the phone was your labored breathing and light cries.

“There’s,” you started, choking, “someone at the door. I heard pounding. Help.”

Spencer’s heart twinged at the last word you spoke, his protective instincts taking over. Logically, he knew that the chances someone was actually attempting to break in were slim, especially since he had installed security software due to your anxiety. That didn’t stop the fear in his chest from spreading and his desire to protect you from taking over.

“I’ll be there soon, hon. Everything’s okay.”

Spencer scrambled back to his desk, collecting his things.

Hotch approached Spencer’s desk, his thick brow raising at the young man’s franticness.

“I have to go,” Spencer started, biting his lip. “Personal matters.”

Hotch only nodded at the man, knowing that Spencer wouldn’t leave unless it was important. He peered at the other agents and matched their confused expressions.

Spencer wordlessly jogged towards the exit, throwing the glass doors open before hopping in the elevator and tapping the close button frantically.

“C’mon, c’mon,” he muttered, growing frustrated at the slow elevator.

He just needed to get to you; that was all that mattered to him. Even if no one was actually breaking in, which was likely the case, the thought of you suffering alone made him feel physically ill.

Spencer blew through red lights and rolled through stop signs before finally arriving at the apartment complex. He scaled the stairs, lightly jogging towards your front door.

He took in the open door across the hall, and multiple people moving a large dresser.

Spencer couldn’t help himself.

“It’s a little late to be moving heavy things around!”

Spencer ignored the startled looks from the couple across the hallway and entered your shared unit with ease.

“Y/N?” Spencer called out, but he already knew where you were.

He beelined to your bedroom and slowly peeled back the closet door.

His heart wrenched at the sight of your shaking form, your face contorted in raw emotion.

“Honey,” he cooed, reaching out to you. “I’m here now.”

Your eyes met his, and you let out another sob before launching yourself into his arms. He held you, pulling you into his lap protectively.

“Th-there was someone,” you managed to garble out. "I heard something."

"I know, love, they're moving furniture across the hall,” he states, perturbed. “God only knows why they decided to do that at half past ten at night."

Spencer's jaw tensed at the thought, frustrated with his neighbors and protective over you.

"Oh."

You buried yourself in his chest, your sobs slowly subsiding with the knowledge that everything was okay.

Spencer’s grip on you was firm, yet gentle, as his long fingers traced shapes on your back. He continued the soothing motion until your crying morphed to hiccups.

You pulled away slightly, enough that you could comfortably look into his eyes.

“I’m so sorry,” you whispered, your voice wet. “I’m sorry you have to deal with me, with this.”

You gestured to your crouched forms inside the closet of your bedroom. You laughed bitterly, embarrassed.

“Y/N, look at me.”

Your eyes met his, taken aback by the firmness dripping from his voice.

Spencer’s eyes held a whirlwind of emotions. Protectiveness, urgency, and above all, love.

"Never apologize for needing someone, okay?"

Your wet lashes blinked, another salty tear sliding down your cheek. You offered a soft smile and a tearful nod his way before sliding your arms around his torso.

-----

Navigation

[aylish91]

Its a late night and i had a scenario for the Leviathan Au…

Reader was born a mer, and actually the last of their species due to the unfortunate involvement of humans, and nightmare decides to take in reader because of this.

Maybe a comfort scene where reader is grieving over the loss of the members from her pod and the loss of her species in general and nightmare finds them alone? I would love to see what your take on this would be..

A morsel for your soul dear Anon. I may have misread it the first time, but we got there! hahaha! Have some first meetings and hurt/comfort.

Thank you for reading and requesting!

Why do you Weep?

The deep was… different. The pressure made your fins heavy and breath hard. You knew in time your body would become more accustomed to it and work out its difficulties, but for now, it was one more reminder of how much things had changed.

You missed the shallows and the reef. You missed your reef. You missed the laughter and anticipation of waiting for hunting parties returning with jellies and siphonophores.

You missed everything.

Sometimes you wonder if it would have been better if you had stayed behind. At least then you could have been lost with all the others. As it was, your mother’s panicked pleas were the only thing keeping you going. She and your father had given up so much that you might survive…

It hurt.

Flaring the soft ridges of your spine and fins, you forced yourself to dive deeper. You weren’t sure how far you had swum to reach the trench, but your mother was adamant that your safety hinged on descending “past the edge of day”.

Humans couldn’t follow unaided.

You knew you had reached it when a thin barrier of dark magic barred your path.

Though you were still cautious, crossing the border had been an immense relief. The waters had turned far too dark from the addition of nightfall and you were on the verge of collapse. Finally being able to search for a place to rest gave you hope.

The ledge you eventually found was large enough to lay but not inlaid enough for any sort of proper protection, but you made it work. Your pitiful nest may have lacked material, but it was enough to sleep on for a night. Besides, in the end, it didn’t really matter.

Your fins bristled.

If it had been any darker, you would never have noticed the massive tentacles creeping around the ledge ready to encase you. Quickly dodging, a growled reverberating voice sent true fear gripping your soul.

 “Why do you weep, little fish? What causes you such trepidation?” Though the words were that of concerned question, their tone and the intent boiling the water proved otherwise. Any genuine concern was replaced with that of mistrust and hunger.

You were nothing more than a trespasser. Prey to be chased and hunted.

Instincts had you darting up and away, but what you thought was an exit quickly turned into a trap. The tentacles were merely a distraction for the dark leviathan before you, his large skeletal hands loosely surrounding your escape. All you could do was flair your fins in hopes the flash of blue and white would warn against attack or consumption.

The titan only gave a pleased hum, a single slit of an orb casting eerie shadows. It made you distinctly aware of other flashes just out of sight of its light.

“Oh my~ A Sea Swallow? It has been quite the amount of time since I’ve had the pleasure of seeing one of your kind. What brings one this far into my territory? And in such a state? Pushing boundaries again, or simply a mistake? Please, do tell.”

A spot of jittering red passed overhead.

You couldn’t speak, terror allowing your poison to coat your body. At your silence, the titan leaned closer with a growl.

“What’s the matter? Has my appearance truly been this much of a surprise as to capture your tongue?”

The silhouette of a very large shark passed on the right. You flinched at the movement, the giant’s eyelight dilating to flick over you. Your soul was pounded in your chest as you shook but your words remained locked away.

Slowly, he leaned back.

“Pity. These circumstances have been less than appealing. Perhaps… a gentler touch is needed…” His fingers closed around you. “Come. I wish to know what has driven a Blue Angel this deep.”

You didn’t fight. You couldn’t. You were helpless as he dragged you further into the dark unknown.

***

You found yourself wandering back to the rim. Time had played a big part in your return, but it didn’t make the journey any easier. However, once there, you couldn’t bring yourself to cross the precipice of the deep. You stayed at its mouth, gazing back toward the reefs and shallows up ahead.

The silence was deafening.

Despite everything you had gone through, the growth and strides you had made, the water felt heavier now than in the depths. The colors were too bright, sunshine overwhelming instead of warm. Everything felt like it was too much.

There was no one to greet you home.

…

You couldn’t do it.

As tears burned the corner of your eyes, you found yourself wishing you had never taken the trip. Flashes of your past had you breaking. Sobs wracked with heavy tears filled the silence. In your grief, your fins paled in their droop as you floated freely in the open water. They pulled you slowly down to drift past the cliffs and crags as you sank.

You were numb, watching the light above dim the further you fell. One moment became two, two became four until time drifted with you into nothingness. It took a sudden uplift in the water for you to regain any sense of reality. A familiar glow cutting through your metaphorical darkness.

Nightmare’s face hovered above you, his tentacles flaring below. The subtle brush against your fins had you registering his hands carefully cupping your form. In a way, it reminded you of the very first time you passed into the realm of the deep, the soft rumble of his voice pulling you further from the oblivion.

“Where are you, little fish? Your mind has taken you beyond my reach.”

His words were oddly quiet, eyelight dim as it searched. It stirred something within you, helping you feel for the first time just how cold you had become. Slowly, you moved enough to grip one of his clawed fingers. His thumb, though hesitant, came to stroke your soft underbelly.

You felt muted and far away.

“Everyone is gone... It’s too quiet.”

“Something tells me it's not the boys to which you refer.”

Tears once again threatened to spill. “My family. My pod... They—”

“Are down in the deep.” You felt the water shift from his shuddered intake of breath. “Those that came before might not be with you Angel, but that does not mean there can’t be others. Has our time meant so little that you cannot see them for what they truly are? What we, are?” You had never heard him take such a gentle but firm tone. So quiet. Reserved for only the two of you. You could feel the overwhelming intent in each word. It spread comfort with promises of so much more.

“We may not be able to bring back your past, but do not forget your future in your grief. The present is still here, waiting. The shiver would be very disappointed if you forgot that.”

“All this time I was just— How? How do I keep going? It hurts! Nothing’s the same anymore!”

His giant skull came to bonk and nuzzle into yours. “With time, nothing ever is. There is always change, no matter how subtle. We grow, we love, we lose. Currents move and sands pass. It is unfortunate you should have to face such things so soon, but we are here, and we can help carry the burden.” A claw caressed your tear-stained cheek. “Share your sorrows, that I might ease your pain. You are not alone.”

For the first time since the incident, you felt a deep sense of release. The ache in your soul softened. Gripping tighter, you pressed back with a desperation you didn’t know you had.

“I wish you could roam in the shallows. If you were… Should I ever get the courage to go back, I would have liked you to be there.”

“Perhaps…” He hesitated, eyelight darting away as a hint of color bloomed on his skull. “Perhaps when you are ready, I will be.”

You met his gaze in confusion. “But, how—”

A gentle claw pressed against your lips with a mischievous chuckle, water rushing from Nightmare’s sudden descent. “Now now, my Angel. All in due time. For now, let us return. The others await your return home.”

…

Home.

… You smiled, leaning more into the giant. It looked like there would be someone to greet you after all.

[emotionalsupporthufflefluff]

fancy sticks that guide us all

Ominis Gaunt x GN!Hufflepuff!Reader (Not MC)

[Table of Contents]

Summary: Always having admired Ominis Gaunt from afar, you were a muggleborn Hufflepuff with no hope of ever gaining his attention. Until, one day, you were the only one he paid any attention to. (just pure blushy fluff/ no beta, we die like Soloman Sallow)

Of course, you knew about him. You had been in Hogwarts this whole time, you were in the same year as him, no matter that he was Slytherin and you were just a ‘lowly’ Hufflepuff (though everyone else who said that could scoot on with themselves, you had so much pride in your house). There was also the matter that he was a rather special case, being pureblood and a Gaunt, and blind. Even those who had never even heard of the Gaunt name would see him out of the corner of their eyes, the pulsing red light at the end of his wand almost signalling that everyone should pay attention. And you definitely paid attention.

You couldn’t help but be selfishly grateful for his blindness at times, when your staring had become so apparent that other classmates, or friends- let’s not mention the teachers- had to gain your attention back and raise their eyebrows at you. “Oh, just staring off into space,” You’d tell them, as if you weren’t always looking directly at a particular space every time. Even your best friend Poppy, as lovely as she could be, teased you mercilessly about your ‘daydreaming.’ It’s already been seven years, and you could only play your admiration off so many times before someone got suspicious.

Poppy had figured it out eventually, though you had been surprised it took her so long. Your crush on one Ominis Gaunt was indeed obvious, as loath as you were to admit it. Though, granted, Poppy had some other things in mind. Rather, creatures in mind. However, once she finally followed your line of sight one too many times, her gasp was so loud it disturbed the entire Charms class, and you had blushed so brightly that Professor Ronen had almost sent you to see the nurse. After assurances that everything was okay and no, you did not need to see the nurse, you really were okay, the professor finally continued on with his lecture.

So, yes, of course, you knew Ominis Gaunt. But that didn’t mean he knew you. At least, that’s what you believed.

You were just exiting the rarely-used side door out of the Central Hall, leading to the bridge that ran above the Transfiguration courtyard toward the Defense Against the Dark Arts building, when you decided that you’d settle on the nearby bench and work on your potions homework that was due later in the week. Since it was your last year here at Hogwarts, all the professors were handing out their hardest assignments yet, and you still weren’t exactly sure how Professor Sharp expected you to write forty inches on the improper uses of dittany.

You were just settling your bookbag on the rough stone bench, digging through for your books and parchment when you heard a noise nearby. Curious, you turned your head and noticed someone standing behind a statue near the corner of the castle, coughing lightly as if trying to be discreet. You tilted your head in confusion, leaving your bookbag and approaching the statue slowly.

“Hello? Are you sick?” When no response was forthcoming, you continued on, “I could help escort you to the nurse if you need it?”

“No, I’m just fine, thank you.” His voice came from behind the statue- and, wait- it was his voice and you couldn’t stop yourself from sucking in a gasp. You could only hope he hadn’t heard the quick inhale. However, his response really didn’t answer any questions. You took a few more steps, circling around to be able to see the side of the statue, and there he was. Ominis Gaunt was sitting on the statue's pedestal, his head in his hands and no pulsing red glow in sight. You felt frozen in your spot, studying the man with your eyes and wondering what had happened to cause the hunch to his shoulders.

“Well, if you’re not sick, then- well, that is to say-” You hesitated, unsure how to phrase your question. Once you pause, not fully finishing the thought you had tried to start, Ominis finally lowers his hands in defeat, turning his head slightly in your direction. You took that as an indication that he was listening, and took another step forward. “It’s just that I frequent this courtyard often, and I’ve never seen you here?”

“You come here often?” He asked, his tone incredulous, and you couldn’t keep your laugh back.

“Well, it’s quiet.”

“Not as quiet as some other places. I can practically hear all the conversations happening down in the transfiguration courtyard.” Once he finished his sentence, you remained quiet for a moment, tilting your head as if this would help you listen. You could hear slight mumbling from the yard below, but likely nowhere near as well as he could.

“Well, some of us aren’t so gifted in the hearing department,” You muttered, shrugging despite the fact that he couldn’t see it. You almost felt bad for the statement until Ominis’ smile slowly grew across his face. “Anyway, sorry to bother. I just wanted to see if you needed any help, but since you’re fine-”

“Actually!” His outburst startled you, causing you to turn back toward him after almost heading back to your bookbag. You noticed he held a hand out toward you, slightly to the right of where you stood, and you tilted your head, taking a few more steps toward him. You could tell his course correction as you walked, moving his hand toward you directly before finally dropping it. “I do- well, I happen to have, uh,” He hesitates, picking at his nails as he stares off in a random direction, “Well, I’ve dropped my wand.”

At this, you felt another gasp well up, studying Ominis a bit more thoroughly before turning and searching the ground of the courtyard with your eyes. Not seeing a wand laying around, you finally took the last few steps toward him and sat next to him on the stone. “Was it out here?”

“Yes,” Ominis answered as you got distracted by the lovely blush lighting up the top of his cheeks and the tips of his ears. He really was charming, and the blush only highlighted the fact. Your eyes kept darting between his milky blue eyes, down to the blush- and hells, he must be embarrassed- and finally to his hands before circling back up. After a few beats too long, he speaks up again hesitantly, “Do you see it?”

Keeping yourself from yelling out ‘Oh!’ you immediately turn your head and scan the surrounding area again. “Out here- what, in this spot?” You jump off the stone, crouching down onto your knees and scooting around to search the area more thoroughly.

“Well, not exactly here. I had been walking from the Defense Against the Dark Arts tower when a strong wind blew, practically knocking me down. I lost hold of my wand and heard it clatter in this direction. I tried Accio but it didn’t return so I tried to search for it.”

You lifted your head at this, intending to look up and ask where exactly he had been standing when you realized where exactly you were kneeling. You were practically right in front of his lap, and honestly, if anyone walked by at this moment they would probably get the wrong idea. If you hadn’t been blushing before you certainly were now, your face emanating heat like a furnace. You clear your throat and stand, nodding and looking anywhere but at him.

“Right! Right, okay, so you were on the bridge when you dropped it?”

“Am I-” Ominis hesitates, scrunching his eyebrows together, before continuing in a quieter voice, “Am I no longer on the bridge now?”

You finally look back to his concerned expression, blinking a few times. You were surprised at his question, he had always seemed so capable. Yet, you supposed, he likely depended on his wand to know where he was and how to get around. This only made you even more determined. You placed your hands on your hips and began a circle, studying more intently before walking closer toward the bridge, looking both ways. Hesitating, and fearing the worst, you approached the edge of the bridge and looked downward.

“Wait, I see it!”

“You do? Can you bring it-”

“Well, not exactly-”

“What?”

“It fell off the bridge toward the Transfiguration courtyard, wait, just-” You withdraw your wand and perform your own Accio to watch the wand wiggle in place, caught on some sort of edge on a statue down in the courtyard below. You sigh, shaking your head with a smile. “Well, that explains it. It got caught on the statue down there, I tried to summon it but all it did was a little jig.”

“A little jig?” Ominis questions you, a smile playing on his lips, as you begin to approach him once more.

“Yeah, y’know,” You began to wiggle yourself before stopping, sighing and approaching before grabbing his hand and wiggling it. “Like that.”

“Oh,” He whispered, almost like an exhalation of breath than anything, but his fingers curled around your own instead of pulling away. You swallow roughly for a moment before he tugs on your hand, looking up from his sitting position. “Could you lead me down to it?”

You were holding his hand, you were holding his hand, okay, don’t panic. You nod before, once again, stopping yourself and speaking. “Yeah, I mean, of course!” You take a firmer hold on his hand and pull until he stands, blushing at the fond smile on his face.

“Thanks, Y/N,” He mumbles, and you felt a burst of butterflies flood your stomach. He knew your name? “I don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t come around.”

“Oh, aha,” You chuckle breathlessly, trying to brush it off, “It’s fine, of course, no problem. Every Slytherin needs their emotional support Hufflepuff.” You kick yourself in your mind, shaking your head, but begin to pull Ominis in the direction of the door to the Central Hall.

“Oh, is that the rule? I hadn’t been aware.” He mumbled, his head low as he walked. “I guess that means you’re stuck with me, then.”

Travelling the staircases of the Central Hall ended up easier than you had thought it’d be, really you only had to tell him when the stairs were beginning and ending and he was able to correct himself accordingly. It had been a little crowded, but you managed to keep him from knocking into anybody as you traversed the hall. Finally making it through to the Transfiguration courtyard, you pulled him over toward the statue that you had seen.

“Here, wait just a second,” You began to climb the statue, pulling yourself upward until you could finally reach and nudge the wand. You pushed it a few times before it finally slid from its perch, clattering down onto the ground. You heard a mumbled spell from Ominis as you tried to climb down, slipping halfway through and beginning the short descent with a wince, your heart spiking.

Except, you never felt the impact, and belatedly registered Ominis yelling out the levitation charm quickly. You opened your eyes, looking around to notice Omiinis’ wand glowing lightly, pulsing as if he was still using his normal charm, and you were slowly lowered to the ground. As he began to approach you snapped your mouth shut after having been hanging it open in astonishment, and watch as he offers a hand down to you. You take it once again, and he helps haul you up to your feet once more.

“Thank you,” You whisper, standing a little too close to him, though neither makes a move to back away.

“I should be the one thanking you,” He mutters back, his voice quiet like yours as if he didn’t want to break whatever was happening between you two. “I’m practically useless without my wand.”

“Aren’t we all though?” You watched his eyebrows raise in surprise, and suck in a breath, attempting to explain, “Well, I just mean-”

“No, I get it. I know what you’re saying it’s just- no one has ever agreed before. Everyone always tries to say that it’s untrue, that I don’t need to rely on my wand.”

“But,” You hesitate, biting your lip as you stare into his milky eyes from so close, “Don’t we all? I mean, especially here, no? In the school that teaches us magic, we literally use these sticks every day and-” You’re cut off by his loud laugh, and you couldn’t help but copy his smile.

“Sticks?”

“Oh, well, you know. Before I came here I had no clue wands even existed. They- well, they really do just look like fancy sticks.”

“Fancy sticks,” He repeats to you once more, shaking his head slowly, his large grin softening to a fond smile once more. You both remained quiet once more before you suddenly felt a touch at your hand, looking down to notice him taking your hand once more. “You wouldn’t happen to want to lead me to our next class?”

“I-” You hesitate, and he seems to get the wrong message, pulling away before you reach forward with your hand, taking his now, “No, I just- I left my bookbag upstairs when I went to talk to you. I forgot to grab it on the way down here.”

“Then, we go fetch your bookbag, and head to potions?” Your smile widens, squeezing his hand gently and receiving a squeeze back in kind.

“I wouldn’t want to make you go out of your way.”

“You went out of your way for me,” He replies easily, tugging on your hand once more. “If you stay indecisive for very much longer, I have a feeling we’ll be late.”

“Then I guess we better get a move on,” You whisper, your chest filling with sparks and sunlight, and you feel almost so giddy you couldn’t contain it. You began to lead him away, and despite having his wand pulsing in one hand, you led him around the castle with his other.

A/N: I meant this to be a cute little one shot but now I have an idea for another fluff piece as maybe a part two to this so maybe I’ll write that if y’all want??

[hollowwrites]

Did you just come from the Undercroft?!

Ominis x MC

Summary - Rewrite of The Undercroft confrontation

I have been putting this off because I like soft Ominis and this is mean Ominis. You can tell based on the fact the majority of this is filler.

Warnings - None just a rewrite, feel free to change Evelyn to MC or Y/N

Word Count - 1342

~

It was almost like Anne was back.

Almost

Sebastian and Evelyn had become quite close after they broke into the Restricted Section. A fact that, initially, Ominis had detested. But had grown to accept.

They had they’re own interests and they’re own adventures.

And Ominis would hear about them all when they got back. Much to his disdain.

More often than not, he found himself angry at Sebastian for being reckless and foolhardy, and concerned for Evelyns’ naivety and politeness.

If he had to hear about some villager who needed some spiders taken care of one more time…he was going to lose it.

Sometimes, he’d feel the pang of jealousy on his tongue when they would laugh at some inside joke or recall something they had seen together.

But he found that he and Evelyn had a different friendship.

She floated around him after classes asking questions about this world and, most of the time, about him.

Her compassion was unlike anyone he’d ever met. If he hadn’t bore witness to her snark and attitude himself, he would have sworn she should have been a Hufflepuff.

A kindly Badger in a Snake skin waistcoat.

So he’d started to care for her. Much like how he cared for Anne.

Well, not exactly.

Anne never really felt like his friend. Sebastian and Anne were the complete opposite of himself and his siblings and it just drew more attention to the widening rift of his family. Usually, he felt a deep sadness whenever they interacted. It wasn’t her fault, and he loved Anne, but there was always that lingering want for something he could never have.

A family.

Evelyn, as it turns out, was alone. Just like him.

She made him feel not quite as lonely.

He quickly became able to pinpoint her in a crowd, an ability he only really had for Sebastian and a couple more of the Slytherin lot. Her signature Rose scent could be picked up as soon as she entered a room. It varied day to day but it was always rose. Heady and musky or light and floral.

She was always a Rose.

It’s as though they gravitated towards one another to be snarky and snippy about other people’s perfect lives, whilst theirs remained flawed.

On more than one occasion, they were partnered in potions and they giggled and gently mocked Garreth for his ‘middle child’ shenanigans. Their elbows knocked against each other whilst stirring the various concoctions and she even clutched his arm in wonder as Garreth selflessly demonstrated why you don’t add Unicorn Hair to Focus Potions.

They also buddied up in Defence Against the Dark Arts after she noticed standing too close to Sebastian was a one way ticket to getting picked on to showcase spells. They chatted to one another during class sometimes leading to being scolded by Professor Hecat.

“Mr Gaunt, Miss Hollow. perhaps you can explain to the class what is more important than the differing features between a Grindelow and a Mermaid.” She said harshly, causing the whole class to turn to them.

“Apologies Professor Hecat. Evelyn here was simply explaining to me the differing features. Due to my ability to not see them” Ominis lied. They had been talking about how Duncan Hobhouse had asked her to acquire a Tentacula Leaf.

“You have never needed assistance before, Mr Gaunt” Hecat snapped back just as quickly

“No one ever offered before” he retorted and resumed their conversation with no further interruptions.

~

So he’d decided he was going to show her the Undercroft. It was somewhere special to him and she was becoming…someone special. The day he’d decided to show her had been an awful day. The weather was atrocious, the humidity in the halls sending Ominis into sensory overload. He had back to back Potions into Herbology, his least favourite lessons. And to top it all off, Sebastian would not stop talking about the Gaunts. Their secrets, their heirlooms, their magical artefacts.

It had worn him down to his last nerve and he was looking forward to showing her his hideaway and spending some time with her, alone.

When he rounded the corner in the Defense Against the Dark Arts tower he heard the telltale clockwork mechanics of the Undercroft door opening and shoes walking across tile. They stopped suddenly.

“Hello Sebastian”

And then the subtle smell of blooming roses fell upon him, Engulfing him in a warm blanket of betrayal.

She gasped so quietly even he wasn’t sure he heard it. She hadn’t exhaled since.

“Wait…I can hear you” Ominis was confused and angry and…hurt

“Oh Hello Ominis.” Her voice was still a lullaby to his ears but it had a shaky quality to it. Like she was nervous or scared “I was just heading to-“

“Evelyn? Did you just come from the Undercroft? How did you get in there?” He could feel his face betray his true feelings, a frown forming and his voice turning sharp.

“I-“ she started before realising she couldn’t lie to him “Actually Sebastian brought me there but…” she added quickly “he made it perfectly clear to keep quiet abo-“

“That…rat” for lack of a better term, Ominis saw red. His fingernails dug into the skin of his palm. “You breathe a word about his place to anyone and not even your precious Professor Fig will be able to help you. My father is friends with the headmaster and I’m not afraid to exploit that connection if I need to”

He couldn’t fathom why he said that. Even as the words fell from him he knew they weren’t true. She knew they weren’t true. They’d spoke about how estranged his family had become. She knew it was a lie and yet her breath still caught as he said it.

“Trust me, Ominis I won’t say a word”

“Why should I trust you? You’re Sebastian’s friend not mine” he spat

“You’re my friend” she said meekly and reached out to him. The tiny tug of his robes set him off once again.

“Don’t…touch me!” And he snatched his arm away

“Omin-“

“Sebastian is going to get an earful about this” he strode past her, his shoulder knocking forcefully against hers. He felt bad immediately. The one thing he took from his family was their pride. And it was that same pride that stopped him from turning and apologising. As he tapped onto the various clock faces of The Undercroft, he heard her sharp intake of breath and a shaky exhale of a sob. The soft tap of her heels against the stone fell further and further from earshot as she ran away.

~

“SEBASTIAN!” Ominis shouted the moment he stepped foot into the cavernous room. His voice carried around every nook and cranny.

“Oh…” Sebastian replied, not even bothering to cover up his deceit. She had left not one minute ago, he definitely knew she’d left here.

“How dare you? You had no right!” He poked his long boney finger into Sebastian chest. He knew where he was, the sound of his flinching and sighing pinpointed him exactly.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t think-“ Sebastian started almost immediately being cut off

“What? That I’d find out”

“No-“

“Or did you just perhaps not think at all”

“I didn’t think you’d mind. You two get on really well.”

“Not anymore. You made sure of that.” He thought back to the sound of Evelyn crying and felt another wave of guilt.

“What did you do?” Sebastian rolled his eyes “It wasn’t her fault, she-“

“No! It’s all your fault. It’s all ruined” Ominis threw his arms up in defeat.

“Oh don’t be so dramatic. This place isn’t ruined because she knows about it. She’s a good person, she won’t say anything”

“No you’ve ruined my whole day. I was going to show her this place. It was going to be me who brought her. It should have been me”

“Why does it matter if it’s me or you?”

“It matters, Sebastian”

“You really like her don’t you?”

“Shut up”

Masterlist

[lemonandlime22]

No place like home...

Word count: 2.2k

Warning(s): Slight B6 spoilers, angst, believed character death?, slight gore mentioned in like one sentence

A/N: Based on this post, I've been wanting to write this for so long and I finally remembered lol. Don't ask abt the title just made sense in my head and im not changing it

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The sky was dark, it was early afternoon but no one would have been able to tell due to the thick dark grey clouds that covered every inch of the sky above this prestigious school. The sun seemed long gone with not a single ray making it through those clouds. The only source of light for the students and staff was the large overbloted beast with a mane of blue fire right in the middle of what used to be the prestigious Night Raven Collage.

Everything was in rubble, a mess with every step you took, and large fires that were scattered all throughout. It looked like a war zone, and might as well have been. Most of the student body had been evacuated to the other side of Sage Island long ago, and most of the staff stayed behind to take care of the destructive beast. A handful of students refused to leave, most insisting they could help. 

Among these students was a first-year friend group, one of which was the magicless student that had lived in the abandoned dorm with the once small fiery beast. 

Most of the first years earnestly instructed Yuu to evacuate with the rest of the students to RSA, but they refused, Grim was their closest friend if not family. They'd be damned if they were going to leave him when he was like this. Their friends soon gave up, they knew there was no point trying to change Yuu's mind when they had it set on something. But they made sure to keep them close so they'd be protected.

So many people were on the ground injured, all covered in bruises and burns from either being swatted at by the beast or just nearly dodging its fire. The more of those people Yuu recognized the bigger that feeling of dread and fear grew in their gut. 

They saw so many upperclassmen just scattered around, like Cater that had been staying in the back but went just close enough to be able to cast a spell, but was hit with Grim's fire before he could do a thing and was knocked out when he hit the ground. Yuu could identify a few more people, they saw Ruggie's ear twitch as he laid face down, they couldn't tell if it was Jade or Floyd but they saw bright teal hair peeking out from the other side of some rubble. 

Yuu knew they couldn't fight, they were basically useless in this battle, and like all the other overblots, a burden. They decided to make themself useful by trying to get as many of the injured somewhere safe as they could. They might not be the strongest but they are still capable of carrying someone.

"Epel! Come with me!" 

"W-what!? I'm kinda in the middle of somethin' here!" 

"Just come here, you're going to help me get these guys to a safer place!" Though the two were barely 15 feet apart they could hardly hear the others voiceover the beast's constant cries whether it was of pain or rage was unbeknownst to any. 

But Epel understood what Yuu was getting at as they tried to pull Ruggie's unconscious out from some rubble and onto their shoulders. He soon followed his friend's lead and started using his unique magic to help carry more people at once. Neither Epel nor Yuu could see each much other, mutually agreeing to spread out so the injured could get to safety faster. 

Yuu searched just off to the side in between two larger pieces of rubble, it was hard to see much of anything while inside. It was far darker than they had expected, Yuu could barely see an inch in front of them let alone the stray fireball coming straight for the pieces of concrete that leaned up against each other. 

The magicless prefect only had a moment to realize what was happening and what was going to happen, just long enough to realize they wouldn't be able to avoid it. But it was still just a moment, a moment that was soon over and replaced with pitch-black darkness. The sounds of Grim's powerful roars, spells being cast, and orders being barked, quickly came to halt only to be replaced with... an alarm...? 

*Beep*  *Beep*  *Beep* 

Yuu shot up, nearly falling off their bed. Wait- bed!? Why would they be in their bed? Is- is this some type of afterlife or something? They turned the alarm off and sat on what on what they weren't to sure was their actual bed for what felt like hours before slowly sliding off it, weary of whatever had happened. They slowing began to feel around the room to see if this was truly real or just some sad dream. When they finished, they stumbled back, very unsettled by the acracy, they didn't want it to be real. No wait- yes, yes they did want this. 

But if so then why was there such a deep pit in their stomach? They pushed that thought to the back of their head, they needed to focus on building the courage to walk out the door. What if their family was there? How would they face them after they had been gone for so long? Or did any time pass at all? Yuu's room looked the same so maybe..? 

Yuu scanned the room once more just to make sure, and sure enough, everything was just how they left it. The clothes they had absentmindedly tossed around the room just hours before they were thrown into Twisted Wonderland were still scattered all around, and in the same condition they were before they left. Nothing had gotten substantially more dusty or anything that would show being abandoned for a year. Then again their family could have kept it clean... 

As they thought of the possibilities a dreadful thought came to mind, what if it was a dream? A painfully realistic dream. Yuu had heard of baby/family dreams before which are dreams where you build a whole life and family years into the future. Could Twisted Wonderland just have been one of those? But- no... that- that can't be it... can it? Can all the relationships they built and the trauma they went through really just be a realistic dream!? 

Yuu began to panic at the thought and quickly began to search their body for any proof that the past year was real. They needed it, it had to have been real! They had woken up in their pajamas so there was no chance there was any material possessions were on them. Any one of the many scraps and scars from their time in that school would be more then enough. 

But... there was nothing... they looked over and over but still... nothing. No scars no scrapes. Nothing. Tears of frustration and desperation bleared Yuu's vision, they didn't know what to think.

Was it really all just a dream...? 

The smoke slowly began to clear as the small fires were put out. The sky could almost be seen again, but it had grown a darker blue since the last time anyone on Sage Island had seen it. The battle had ended just barely an hour ago, the injured were being treated and those who were well enough were helping where they could. Grim miraculously survived his overblot, though he was unconscious and heavily injured. The staff of both NRC and RSA began discussing what should be done with him once he is well enough. Most of the uninjured were helping with the rubble and looking for more people.

Among these uninjured were some first years, but they were looking for one person in particular, the magicless Ramshackle prefect.  Jack did his best to keep everyone calm but they were all quite frantic a worried, you were magicless and had no means of protecting yourself during this disaster. Epel was possibly the most frantic having been the last to have seen them. Eventually as the hours past, Yuu was the only person unaccounted for and many had joined the search. Luckily there hadn’t been any casualties so far but many were starting to worry that would change. 

Riddle was the one that came across the tattered scolded piece of ceremonial robes that stuck out from under a large piece of rubble that lay flat on the ground with another large piece leaning on it as if they had been leaning up on each other before they fell. Riddle began to panic and called others around over for help to lift up the two pieces of concreate.

He had hoped it was just a ripped piece of the robes, but to his and the other's deep dismay, it was the full outfit with small splatters of blood lingering on it. Leona, one of the others that came to help lift the rubble, was very confused. This was way too little blood for someone who was crushed, actually, there was no viscera of any sort, save for the small spatters that could be easily explained away by getting scrapped or having a nosebleed. He was far from the only confused one either, after a moment of panic Riddle quickly realized the same, along with the others that helped. 

So they continued the search, and for days as they cleaned and repaired the school they kept a keen eye out for the missing student. But no, not a thing. 

The only thing left of Yuu was the robes, which Crowley cast a spell to concurred that it was in fact the prefects clothes. Everyone was confused, it was as if Yuu had just disappeared inro thin air.

Ace and Deuce refused to accept any answer other than Yuu being alive somewhere in Twisted Wonderland. Even going so far as to say the Mirror was wrong and that they did have magic and they used teleportation magic or something! And other very outlandish explanations like that. Epel, Jack, and Sebek were far more reasonable than the Heartslabyul duo but still had many questions and were shocked by how quickly the situation changed. First, they had to worry about how to stop and save Grim, then how they were going to stop Yuu from fiercely protecting Grim from whatever punishment he would receive from the headmasters. Then... how they would have to explain to the fiery beast that his dear friend Yuu might be dead.

And now, well they haven’t told him anything about what was happening since he woke up 4 days after the incident. Thankfully he woke up with zero memories of what happened. The first years refuse to allow anyone to even mention his overblot to him, at least not until they get any kind of answers or are able to find Yuu. 

And until that time comes, if it ever will, Ace, Deuce, Jack, Epel, and Sebek all do their damnedest to keep both headmasters and the possible authorities off Grim’s back. Ace insists that Yuu knew Grim the best and should be here to defend him before any type of legal action is taken.

Eventually, too much time passes with no sign of the prefect there is no other way to take it than the passing of the young student. And Grim... he inevitably found out what had happened, his overblot and Yuu’s disappearance, or possible death. 

I’d be lying straight through my teeth if I said he took it well, how could he have? His closest friend and only family was probably dead and just cause he didn’t want them to leave him! 

Grim wasted no time running away, whether to find Yuu or just escape the headmasters and authorities no one knows. . .

Yuu’s family was worried, Yuu was perfectly fine, acting normal one day, then acting weird and out of it the next. But not just the next, they were acting like that for weeks. They would talk to and spend time with their friends and family but it never seemed like they were actually there, as if they were constantly off in another world. Every time someone asked what happened they would just brush them off saying everything was fine. Yuu began buying strange things, old warn books in Latin and other seemingly ancient languages, but also, so.. So many mirrors. That's all you could see in their room, just so many mirrors ranging in so many different sizes and shapes. Some had even been smashed, but Yuu refused to throw any of them away. 

There was one mirror that they recently got ahold of though, it seemed to have enthralled them. They barley said a word anymore, let alone leave their room. The mirror was a large classic oval mirror, just over half the size of Yuu. It had a gold rim with intricate snake designs around each of the sides and a crown at the top. Truly nothing too special, you could find it at almost any antique store, but it was all Yuu cared about anymore. 

All they did, day in and day out, was stair at the mirror as they cried. Sometimes Yuu’s family could hear faint begging coming from the teen’s room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[tsams-confessions]

We're coming off anon with this one boys. It's long and I apologize but it's been weighing on my mind for quite some time.

There are three things people tend to know me for in this fandom. My art, my fanfics, or my thread on TSBS server. Said thread is a place where I talk about the psychological aspects of the show, as well as do character analyses and sometimes even analyze entire lore uploads for the kicks and giggles. I'm a psychology major, I also have ASPD. I made the thread so I could talk about Eclipse, who at the time I suspected had the same disorder I do and which was later confirmed less than a week after I made the thread. Since then Ruin has also been confirmed as an ASPD haver, which I personally deeply enjoy. It's fun for me to talk about my disorder and relate it to the show since ASPD is really hard to understand. 99% of people are inherently capable of empathy, and about 2% of that 98% lose that ability during childhood. So it's understandably not a very well-understood disorder. It's also a very scary and dark disorder, and I can say that honestly because I live with it. Due to this fact, it tends to be villainized in media, and I am very refreshed by the fact that TSAMS does a good job of not making their ASPD havers raving lunatics with a thirst for blood. 

Anyways, that's just background information. So far I haven't met very many weirdos about ASPD in this fandom. Almost everyone is very chill with the fact that I am a sociopath and I haven't received a ton of weird comments about it. It's a relief since I deal with a lot of open stigma and harassment irl because I refuse to pretend to be something I'm not. However, there was an instance in my thread when I was actively talking about ASPD, and a new member decided to. . . I don't even know. It was creepy and weird, and really uncomfortable. They basically told me that I'm 'too nice of a person to be a sociopath' and that they could tell that I wasn't a sociopath because they see the good in people. They also said that they were surprised that there are sociopathic people and inferred that sociopaths are pretending, whatever that means. They kept going to keep making weird and stigmatized comments about the disorder, as well as continuing to compliment me in a very unnerving way. I think about it a lot because it was very uncomfortable to be interrupted like that in the middle of talking about ASPD. There was the new mod online and participating in the conversation, but they didn't say anything to the person who was actively making me uncomfortable, even though I expressed such in the chat. 

I deal with a lot of stigma and ableism in my day-to-day life, where people tell me that I can't be a sociopath because of really stupid shit. Like the fact, I get along with people or want to help people in the medical field. Or the time-tried 'but you're a woman' comments. I don't understand why the mod kinda just left me to fend for myself and ignored the person causing issues, and while I don't hold it against them, I do have anxiety about this situation repeating itself in the future. It's not easy to talk about a disorder that the average person could not even dream of understanding, and it's even harder when people who don't know you are trying to tell you that your disorder is fake based on flimsy reasoning. It's really invalidating of the actual hellscape I had to survive to be able to even turn 18, and it rakes up my anxiety to a 10 just at the thought of it. There's not a lot of safe spaces for someone to talk about having a dark disorder, and even less for something as rare and misunderstood as ASPD. It's hard enough as it is being a high-functioning sociopath, and I just needed to rant, I suppose. Haha, could make it a "tl;dr even I get offended sometimes."

Anyway, not dropping names, but it wasn't a private matter. Nor am I upset with the mods, it's just a thing that happened that I think about a lot because it's a very rare thing for me to be offended. Glad that the majority of this fandom that I've interacted with has been willing to hear me out ASPD, but I just worry about having a repeat situation like this. It's a very sad thing to witness in this fandom that talks about inclusivity. We can't pick and choose our disorders, and where there are canon sociopaths in the show one would think the fans would try to be a little more educated on the disorder (not directed towards anyone and I appreciate the people who are willing to ask me things about it instead of making assumptions).

.

[kingkatsuki]

But think of the scandal of pro hero bakugo getting caught stalking and harassing you and ruining his image and he blames you so he comes to collect "revenge"

I’LL SCREAM! I couldn’t decide whether I wanted them to have been in a relationship or not so I wrote about him being a stranger to you, but how hot would it be if he was your boyfriend? And you’d been over the moon because he’s like the dream guy right? The guy every girl wishes she could have— but you see that dark side of him that no one else can see. So you’ve been dating for a while until he got too intense too quick, too obsessive and possessive and when you broke it off he began stalking and harassing you? (I might write this one too oop)

Because it’s all your fault he’s doing this, that you’ve made him into this.

He was perfectly fine until you came along. Teetering on the number one spot, advertising campaigns fighting for his face as an ambassador, fans going wild for the latest piece of Dynamight merch, tweeting their love and praise for the hero.

Life was good, he was doing good.

And then suddenly he can’t stop thinking about you. The day you were sharing the same train carriage as him as you both made your way into the city. His normal train cancelled due to signal failures which meant that he was forced to get the next train, now full to the brim with commuters.

His back pressed against the cool glass of the door as you stood in front of him, the saccharine scent of your perfume invading his senses as he was unable to take his eyes off you. The innocent way you tried to stop yourself from leaning against him in the packed carriage, even though businessmen continued forcing their way on to the train. Forcing your body harder against his as you mumbled out quiet apologies, glancing up at him with a small smile before guiding your eyes back to the floor.

Each time the train would jolt it would push you back into him again, and Bakugou wished it would happen more often. Something that would usually be an annoyance for him was now becoming a comfort. His heart falling when you began to weave your way through the crowd of people as you got off the train at your stop, his crimson eyes lingering on you through the glass windows as he watched you continue up the escalators at the station.

And now all he could think about was you. Sitting behind his desk at work as he fantasised about the perfect life with you, even though he didn’t even know your name. Wondering if there was a way he’d be able to find out, maybe through travel records or having a sidekick follow you out of the station one day. He wondered what train you got home, having never seen you on any of his when he’d commute back past eight in the evening.

Deciding that he would start to get the same train, the one that left after his usual. Standing in the same carriage as he began to look out for you, noticing the pattern in your movements. There were two different carriages you’d usually jump on, one was your preferred— a little further down the platform where it was quieter, and the one you’d jump on when you were rushing to work. Dead centre as you managed to hop on before the doors closed, almost making it look like some kind of sport.

After a few weeks of getting into the same train carriage as you on the way to work, it’s soon not enough to satiate his need to be close to you. Deciding one morning— when he doesn’t even have work, to get on the same train as you and follow you to work. Keeping a few steps behind you as you walk towards your building, noticing you’d always stop in at the same coffee shop before you’d go in to the office— Manual’s Agency. This would make it easier to find out who you were.

And the next day he has your name and department, already organising a bouquet of flowers to be sent to you with a sweet note accompanying them. If only the sweet note didn’t terrify you when you read it. Mentions of watching you for weeks, following you and his intent to be with you. Little gifts continue to show up for you, but you have no idea they’re from him.

Any men that had ever been flirty with you on social media were also nowhere to be seen, a young sidekick from Manual’s agency that you’d been texting back and forth now continued to ghost you and you had no idea why. Texting your friends that the guy that you’d just been on a date with was now completely ignoring you, and them telling you that you could do so much better.

Little did you know that when he’d left the bar that night, Bakugou had cornered him down an abandoned alley and threatened to make sure every agency in the city wouldn’t hire him if he continued to date you.

And when the time came for Bakugou to finally reveal himself to you— he terrified you. Stopping you right outside your favourite coffee shop as he tried to hand you your favourite drink, his hood pulled up over his messy blond hair as he towered over you. Telling you about how he’d been watching you for weeks, and how he wanted to marry you.

But you’re petrified— not only at the fact that he said he’s been watching you for weeks, but at the fact that he knows your exact order, he’s been sending you gifts with your name on, and he just said he wants to marry you. So you race off and into the safety of your agency.

It’s a few weeks until he tries again. A restraining order isn’t going to be enough to stop him, nor will all the articles now branding him a stalker and a creep. He’ll set you straight— make you tell everyone it was just a big misunderstanding.

He waits in the coffee shop for you, nursing your exact coffee order as his crimson eyes focus on the tall high rise as he waits for you to leave for the evening.

5.05pm — he checks his watch as he notices you walking out, much slower now after a long day at work. He follows you back to the station, getting onto the same train as he decides today is the day he’ll follow you home.

[undercover-monsterlover]

Author's Note

I tried to make this appropriately disgusting considering it's a zombie, so there are some gross descriptions, be warned. Also, this is literally my very first try at smut, so give me a little slack lol. Sort of a long intro, sorry, the spice starts at around the eleventh paragraph.

Urbex YouTube videos had finally gotten to you, and you finally decided that it was worth the risk to go check out that abandoned sanitarium a few towns away. You got a cool new outfit comprised of green military pants, a black tank top and old bomber jacket from a thiftstore. If you were gonna do this you might as well dedicate yourself to the aesthetic right?

Which is also partially why you decided to go at night, the other reason being you thought you'd be less likely to be caught at night. Caught by who, you didn't know, you didn't think anybody cared enough about the old place to guard it. You weren't able to find out if anyone even still owned the land, or if it was really abandoned. You knew it was originally used as a tuberculosis "treatment" center forever ago, and had been used by the government for something after that, but you didn't research too far into it. You hoped leaving it a little mysterious would make it even cooler to explore.

The headlights of your car illuminated the face of the old building as you pulled into the driveway, if it could even be called that anymore, it was mostly just a slight gravel path between the trees. You parked in front of the building, took a flashlight from one of the giant pockets in your military pants, and stepped inside, past the dilapidated old doors. The lobby was small, with only a round desk and a few cabinets. A sanitarium didn't really need a welcoming introduction, you supposed, unnecessary given it's purpose.

The cabinets were empty, probably cleared out when the last residents left, so you quickly moved on from the lobby. A hallway to the left thankfully was lined with patient rooms. Each one had walls covered in chipping paint, revealing the grey cement structure, a wire bed frame, and a set of drawers, but little else besides dust and debris. So far, no great mystery to discover, or ghostly apparitions like in the videos.

Not yet disheartened, you moved on to the next hallway. Again, it was lined with only patient rooms, a group bathroom with curtained showers and toilets, and nothing else. Again, you turned the corner. This time, it led to another similar looking hallway, but also, a flight of stairs leading down. A quick shine of the flashlight assures you it was nothing but the same, so you chose the stairs.

At the end of the flight was a door, unlike the wooden ones of the patient rooms. This one was metal, had no window to see inside, but thankfully, was unlocked. You took the handle and pushed, but felt some resistance. Confused, you pushed against it, grunting with the effort, finally gaining a big enough gap to just barely squeeze though. The other side revealed the cause of your difficulties. A large set of drawers, all full to bursting with papers and files. Why would someone push a drawer in front of the door? Seems a little counter-intuitive seeing as it was unlocked anyways...

Emboldened by the first shining ray of intrigue, you walked the cement hallway the door had led into, before it opened up into a larger corridor with more of those large, thick metal doors. The first door you tried was locked, but the second seemed unlocked, though stuck shut due to rust. You thought to try and force it open, but as soon as your fingers found a grip, a groaning, whining sound echoed in our in the corridor.

Startled, you your heart beat quickly and you poked your head outside the door. The sound, you supposed, had come from another, narrower hallway on the opposite side of the corridor. Steeling yourself, and assuming you'd just find a raccoon or cat or something, you entered the dark hallway.

This hallways was lined by cells. Dark, rusty metal bars, lined up one after another, each cell separated by a thing wall of cement. You shined your flashlight ahead, and you heart sunk as you saw a hand curling around one of he bars up ahead. Nobody could possibly still be alive in one of these cells, it had been years since it had been used for anything.

But you got your explanation once you willed your feet to step closer. There, in the cell, one good eye reflecting back the light of the flashlight, was something you could really only describe as a zombie.

Purplish, yellow, waxy skin, hanging loosely on the arms of the monster, the hands almost black with necrosis. The right side of the face looked almost skeletal, the rotting skin stuck so tight to the bone you could almost see the shape of his teeth through his cheek. The still working eye looked almost too small to fill the eye cavity, either it had shriveled as it aged, or the eye socket had lost fatty flesh. The left side of his face however, was bloated, purplish and disgusting, it looked like it would feel spongy to the touch. His eye was swelled up and shut, but you could see something pulsing, squirming underneath it, and your stomach turned as you realized it had to be maggots.

It groaned softly, much quieter than you had heard before. It must have heard you enter, was that first groan to get your attention? You could do nothing but stare at it, holding your flashlight to illuminate it's awful face. It was wearing a light paper like shirt that had essentially fused into it's rotting skin at the shoulders, the paper disintegrating into the puffy skin on one side.

It groaned again, and you took a panicked step back as it's arms slowly stretched out from behind the bars. Its shoulders pressed against the bars as it almost desperately stretched it's arms towards you, making grabbing, groping motions with it's hands. You wondered what it was trying to do, grab you to pull you in and bite you, or was it just attracted to the light of the flashlight? But, as you looked at it, you realized it's one working eye was fixed firmly on your chest. Oh God, could this shambling structure of oozing meat possibly still have urges like that?

It's blackened hands were making rather unmistakable motions though. A shiver ran up your spine. This certainly cast everything in a new light. A little bit of you even felt some sympathy for it. This mindless creature has been stuck in the dark with unattainable wants for who knows how long. I mean, what I'd you maybe gave it just a little...satisfaction? I mean, it didn't seem violent and, you did feel bad for it...

You took a step forward, and it made another groaning noise, sounding excited. You took another step closer. It's finger strained towards you. One more step and- god. It spared no formalities, it's hands roughly cupping, then squeezing your breasts. And opened again, and squeezed again, and again, desperately palming your chest over your tank top.

You stood still, half intrigued on a scientific level, half intrigued on a deeper level. It's hands thoughtlessly mashed at your breasts, though the feeling wasn't entirely unpleasant for you. You leaned into its hands to give it a little more tractions. It pulled against your shirt for a moment, but unable to rip it, gave up and went back to just groping.

A shudder ran through you as one of it's fingers ran over your now hard nipple, and you felt blush rise to your cheeks. Well, it had been trying to get your shirt off, you might as well give it what it wants, it's not like it could hurt anything. And really, didn't the poor thing deserve just a little indulgence?

You stepped back to toss your jacket on the ground, and it made a frustrated whining sound, though it lost its tone somewhere in its throat and it came out as a strangled gurgle. But, as you took off your shirt, and unhooked your bra, it resumed its groping motions towards you. Neatly folding your shirt, and placing it on your jacket, you returned to your position.

Once again, it's hands mercilessly grabbed at your breasts, squishing them together, then apart, all with renewed vigor due to feeling your bare skin. One of it's thumbs again unintentionally flicked over your nipple, and the following jolt of arousal was hard to ignore.

It's groping pace increased, and it pressed it's whole body against the bars of it's cell. More and more provoked, it's hips began pressing against the bars. Then they pulled back, and slammed against them, desperately jumping against the bars, as if the little bit of its brain that was still functioning made the conclusion that if it was feeling boobs, obviously sex was coming next.

Your heart rate increased, and through the sensations of the groping, you wondered if it could even still have sex. God. Now you had to find out, didn't you, curious as you were. Almost sighing, you reluctantly stepped closer to the cell, and the zombie excitedly gurgled, now able to run a hand over your shoulder or neck, and weirdly affectionately caress your face before going back to squeezing your tits.

You stepped closer, letting your hand drift down towards it's waist, and unzipping the dirty, threadbare pants it had one. Presented with the bulge against it's underwear, you asked yourself a question. Were you mentally prepared for the reality of seeing a zombies dick? The only answer thrown forward from the back of your mind was a loud, resounding, yes. Hardening yourself, you pulled it's underwear down, and it's hard dick lolled out of it's pants, a rotting purple colour, oozing something you hoped to god was just pre-cum from its tip.

You wondered how it even had any blood flow to get hard, but then again, how was this dead thing even moving at all? Taking a breath, you wrapped your hand around the cold, hard appendage and hoped to god the skin wouldn't just slough off when you pulled. Thankfully, one little stroke proved it was still intact enough.

The same motion also ceases the distracting groping motion on your breasts. Your hand still wrapped around it's dick, you looked at its face, now much closer to yours, but still behind bars. It's mouth was now half open, the brown teeth and bloated purple tongue on full display. Gurgling sounds emenated from it's mouth.

You gave its dick another experimental tug, and it made a sharp, satisfied grunting noise. Another stroke, and it's hands went back to your chest, though a little slower. Just a few minutes ago, you had asked yourself the question am I prepared to see a zombies dick. You now needed to ask yourself a far more intense question. Were you ready, prepared, and willing to put a rotting, oozing dick of a dead creature inside you.

Yes?

Alright then.

Taking a breath, you unzipped your own pants, neatly folded them, placing them on top of your shirt and jacket, quickly followed by your underwear. Goosebumps sprouted up on your bare skin, the cold air of the basement wrapping around you.

You gave the zombie's dick a few more strokes, the twitching tip an unnatural reddish colour, but nonetheless, you turned around. You nearly jumped when you felt the things clammy hands on your ass, playing with it with the same fervour as it had your chest. You waddle backwards a little closer, thankful nobody was here to see this, probably in miles. Its hands settled on your waist.

You backed up more, and when you just barely felt the cold tip against your labia, the monster hands tightened on your waist, and slammed you back onto it's cock with no warning.

You let out a loud gasp, as it immediately set forth on a brutal pace of thrusts. You brought a hand to your mouth to stifle your gasps as your body shook with each impact of it's hips against you ass. It felt more like a toy or object was being shoved inside of you repeatedly thank a dick. It was cold, hard, and long, and the icy feeling let you easily feel each sensation withing you. Still, the novelty of the feeling was arousing none the less. Its pace only increased as it continued, slamming you mercilessly against it's dick and the bars of it's cell. It's hands were right around your waist like a vice, you were sure you'd have bruises on both your ass and you waist tomorrow.

You knew you were getting excited by the way it's cock easily pushed in an out with each thrust, you were getting wet, and the effect was like lube even on the uneven, undead cock. The temperature of it's dick was slowly reaching an equilibrium with your vagina, warmed up by the movement and your body heat. However you were still acutely aware that the member thrusting and pulsing inside you not from something living. The dissonance only made you wetter.

You moved a shaking hand lower, your middle finger finding your clit, and rubbing in slow circles. This added stimulation made your legs shake, but you knew even if your knees gave out the grip of the zombie would keep you upright.

The creature showed no sign of slowing down or finishing yet, so you did your best to brace yourself against the bars, trying to give yourself a little cushion from the cold steel with on hand, the other still swiping over your clit. The creature's pace was more erratic now, still as fast, but with stuttering breaks between each thrust. It was getting close. You knew whatever semen had been marinating inside it for this long had to be far too rotten to be safe to have inside you, but god, you couldn't move now, you could feel yourself getting closer as well. The tight, hot feeling in your core only got better as the monster kept going. Just a little longer, just a little longer, just-

You groaned as you came, your pussy clenching around the dick of the zombie, pulsing with aftershocks. You just barely overcame the post-orgasm haze to realize you needed to get off of it, now. Your hands moved to clutch it's hands, still wrapped around your waist as it pumped, trying to rip them off of you. With a final effort you succeeded, falling forward, but managing to catch yourself with your hands before you face-planted into the floor.

Shaking, you heard the zombie let out a loud groan, as something cold splattered onto your backside. Standing up, your reached a hand behind you to wipe it off. Grabbing your flashlight to shine it at your hand, you saw the cum was yellow, chunky, and thick, as if coagulated. Thank God it hadn't came inside.

Giving yourself a moment to recuperate, you eventually turned to look at the monster again. It was still humping mindlessly between the bars, but at a more leisurely pace, it's dick now soft again. With a satisfied sigh, you began to pull your clothes on again, reminding yourself to get tested for std's, and really every other disease as soon as possible.

[valentine-cafe]

May I place an order of Turimaus and Strawberry shortcake for a female reader who is deeply scared of both thunderstorms and heights? Maybe a bit of bloodshed added for spice? Have a good day, you two ! XD I will stop spamming your inbox for now.

. ˚◞♡ 𝒏𝒐 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒆𝒂𝒓  — 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒑𝒆𝒓, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕-𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒐, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒖𝒏𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒂𝒓𝒚◞ ₊˚

⊹ ۪ ࣪ ᥫ᭡ 781 talisen, rishen, alessio x fem!reader ( sep. ) ꒱how they are with a reader who has a severe fear of thunder or heights, made worse by a severe situation.

˖ ࣪ ଓ content warnings◞ accidental knife wound ღ reader falling to their doom ღ kidnapping ღ violence mention ღ 0.7k

˖ ࣪ ଓ receipts◞ we love our 781 boys they're so so soft

˗ˏˋ꒰ 🍰 ꒱ links: m.list ღ guidelines ღ characters ღ lorebook ⊹ ۪ ࣪ 

  ˗ˏˋ꒰ 🧁 ꒱ 𝒛𝒉𝒂𝒐 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒏 ( reader accidently hurts herself due of thunder )

˖ ࣪ ଓ  talisen has always been careful with you and your fear of thunder. as someone who is easily affected by loud noises in general, he is particularly well-versed in these fields. he is able to calm you down easier. this includes him wrapping his arms around you should you be comfortable with it, nestling your head against his chest and singing softly to distract you from the loud crashes of thunder.

˖ ࣪ ଓ he always makes sure to be around you when he can see a storm incoming and even frequently checks the weather to prepare himself for possible thunderstorms.

˖ ࣪ ଓ hates not being with you during these times and has even left some voice notes on your phone that you can listen to should the time arise that he is not around while a storm is around 

˖ ࣪ ଓ on one occasion you had decided to surprise him after a long day of work and went into the dorm’s kitchen to make dinner for him when he returned. what you had not expected was the sudden collection of dark grey clouds — of which you barely even noticed with how busy cooking you were

˖ ࣪ ଓ the first crash of thunder had you jolting from your position of cutting up carrots. the action causing you to stumble with the blade and accidentally slice yourself across the arm. combined with the terror of your worst fear ringing in your ear and the pain running down your forearm, you let out a shriek fumble back into the counter

˖ ࣪ ଓ just as the cold metal hits the floor, so do you feel icy hands that wrap around you — strong arms immediately pulling you in and cocooning you. as though to shield you from the world as the thunder roars outside

˖ ࣪ ଓ “sshhh, sssh, baobei I’m right here, it’s okay, it’s alright,” the rushed, panicked whisper of talisen fills your ears as you crumble into his arms. one can only assume that he was on his way up and the sound of your scream prompted him to rush to your side immediately. so here he was, cradling your quivering form and and hushing you with his assuring voice

˖ ࣪ ଓ “breathe for me okay? one, two. . . one, two. . . there we go,” 

˖ ࣪ ଓ with both of you huddled up beneath the counter, he grabs the cloth that had been discarded on the floor and swiftly applies pressure to your wound. all while he brings your head to his chest and sings a song that he has composed for you. his free hand offering you squeezes and caresses as he manages both your state of terror and the new wound on your arm

˖ ࣪ ଓ he manages to eventually bring you down. opting for placing his noise cancelling headphones over your ears so that he can tend to your wound. always making sure to caress and squeeze at our other hand every now and then to remind you that he was right there. he stays with you throughout the storm and long after. cradling your crying form in his bed until you eventually fall asleep.

  ˗ˏˋ꒰ 🧁 ꒱ 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒐'𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂 ( reader is falling to her doom )

˖ ࣪ ଓ  the medic has always understood your fear of heights and has made his duty to ensure that you avoid it in every instance that it is possible, especially when it came to the several story buildings of your university along with the general layout of nueva york. whether that be holding your hand or covering your eyes and bringing your head to his chest when the two of you are in an elevator, making sure to walk along the side of the stair railing or in general keeping you away from areas that might make you grow anxious 

˖ ࣪ ଓ  he’s always scolding people when they try and convince you that there are ways of getting over this fear. while he acknowledges that there are, he also knows how severe it is in your case, and thus would rather you not be pressured into doing such 

˖ ࣪ ଓ  he often tends to pick you up into his arms when you grow uneasy in terms of this fear. holding you close and letting you know that he is right here and that he will protect you from anything and everything

˖ ࣪ ଓ  this is the very reason that rishen was beyond horrified when during a throw-down with a villain across the city, he saw the villain grabbing a hold of a civilian and tossing them across in an attempt to deter rishen. that civilian being you

˖ ࣪ ଓ  the realisation that his girlfriend was now falling to her doom combined with the reality of your fears — your screams tore straight through his heart and he waste no time before leaping into action and diving off the skyscraper to get to you

˖ ࣪ ଓ  his heart pounds within his eardrums when he sees your frightened face. when he hears your terror-filled cries and witnesses your tears that fly into the air as you scream as though it might be your last. which it very well might have been should rishen not get to you in time

˖ ࣪ ଓ  he zips along is webs and eventually manages to pull you to him, his warm arms encasing you within his tight hold and enveloping you altogether — before he swings off to a safe place where you immediately fall limp within his arms and sob your heart out

˖ ࣪ ଓ  “hey, hey — it’s okay. I’m right here okay? I-I’m right here baby - breathe for me querida.”

˖ ࣪ ଓ  his hands cup your face and his mask dissipates so that you can see his own face. so that he can press kisses along your head and show you that he is here. that he is upholding his promise to protect you despite it all 

˖ ࣪ ଓ  “I know, I know mi cielo. shhh, you’re okay. focus on my heart okay? that’s it,” he’d bring your head to his chest and cup the back of it with his hand, massaging your scalp and bringing you down from the fear

˖ ࣪ ଓ  he of course picks you up into his arms and allows you to cling onto him. whispering a hundred apologies and promises that it will not happen again and that he’ll keep your safe

  ˗ˏˋ꒰ 🧁 ꒱ 𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐 𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒔 ( reader is held captive and there is a storm )

˖ ࣪ ଓ alessio had been on a mission earlier in the day — one that had lasted until this very moment — tracking down talon members that had been reported of kidnapping people in the same area of nueva york that you lived in. he had the nervous suspicion you might’ve been taken away from your home against your own will, by talon agents that had discovered your connection to him. 

˖ ࣪ ଓ and much to his dismay, he found his suspicions were all true when he stepped into your ruined apartment. sent into disarray, the flowers he had given you earlier completely scattered on the floor along with broken pieces of your favourite vase.

˖ ࣪ ଓ it made it ever the more gut wrenching to him when he heard the stirring of rumbles from the sky. a thunderstorm was in the making and he knew how much you hated thunderstorms. he knew how it would send you into states of panic when they came around and how you would need something to cling onto, so that you could calm down. he could almost hear your loud panicked squeaks and screams already every time a thunderstorm would start.

˖ ࣪ ଓ not long after he heard the first crash of thunder, he was headed out the door of your apartment. following the movements of the talon members he was looking for on his tracker. hoping but also dreading if you were with them or not. because what would they do to you? what had they done to you? his thoughts were loud and he hated it — how they deafened the thunderstorm — because he knew that if you were out here, your panic would be so much more worse than if you had been inside of your home.

˖ ࣪ ଓ “por favor, esté bien. por favor, no te atrevas a lastimarla” he’d utter, mind running laps.

˖ ࣪ ଓ the moment he spotted your face and the fear that it was wearing. the moment he saw the first flinch — he could almost hear the first hitch in your breath as you reacted to another crash of thunder.

˖ ࣪ ଓ he could feel his left eye twitch uncontrollably at the sight of the long cut that ran down your arm. feel the anger rise within at the sight of bruises that were still forming on your body and truly, it had not taken long before the talon member were gone. painting the street dark red, blood spreading across the road from the heavy rain that poured from the sky, the only light around the both of you being the lightning strikes that lit up the dark clouds every now and then before booming thunder surrounded the both of you.

˖ ࣪ ଓ you’d think that someone who had just killed an entire group of talon members would drag you to him with firm hands. however they were anything but. it was such a gentle and strong, reassuring, warm hold that he pulled you into. wiping away the blood on his suit before covering your ears and hushing you softly.

˖ ࣪ ଓ “c’mon baby, breathe, it’s alright. i’m gonna take you home and you’re gonna be alright, yeah?”

˖ ࣪ ଓ he’d take a hold of you and carry you home, making sure to hurry you home while assuring that you were breathing properly and that when thunder struck, your ears would be covered so that the shock that ran through your cold and wounded body wouldn’t enhance any feelings of faintness.

˖ ࣪ ଓ taglist◞ @eunoiaastralwings @gayeepy , wanna join the taglist? fill out this form

˖ ࣪ ଓ remember◞ you make a writer's day every time you like, reblog and/or comment on their piece. if you enjoyed my work, please considering doing so

˗ˏˋ꒰ 🍰 ꒱ please consider supporting: tip jar ღ masterlist ⊹ ۪ ࣪

[guinea-pig16]

Something Better || Chapter 2: Familiar Grounds

Ghost x Reader x Soap

Fic is below the cut, please read Chapter 1 first if you haven't!! Please enjoy !!!

______________________________________________________________

Word Count: 4,500+

Warnings: guns and gunfire

______________________________________________________________

You stared at yourself in the mirror. Goddamn. You couldn’t remember the last time you looked at yourself. You looked like hell.

You had dark bags under your eyes from sleepless nights, your skin had a sickly tone due to lack of time outside and inconsistent meals, your once muscular arms had gone soft due to inactivity, and your eyes that once sparkled with life were dim and lackluster. You ran a hand through your hair, letting out a long sigh. You had a lot of work to do.

You called Laswell the next day, accepting the position. You could hear the smile on her face as she explained the next steps. As soon as you had completed your recovery, you would be under her jurisdiction for the next few months as she showed you the ropes. Then, you would be assigned a task force. Now, all you had to do was recover. Easy enough.

It was in fact, not easy. You thought bootcamp as tough, but this was just downright torture. Everyday, your nurses would push and bend your leg in a new, painful way. But you would show up everyday bright and early, eager for more. And every night you would collapse into bed, exhausted, your mind too tired to plague you with nightmares.

You got yourself to begin eating more, making sure to leave your plate practically spotless. Your nurse openly cried in front of you when she saw your clean plate.

Slowly but surely, your stamina was returning as well as your muscle definition. You were able to walk further everyday without assistance from a cane or a nurse, though you still had a noticeable limp. But eventually, you would have to resort to using your cane, though you wouldn’t admit it.

Two months pass, and your doctors declare that you’ve completed your recovery. The nurses who have been with you since day one decided to throw you a small party to celebrate, bringing in plates of snacks and drinks. You were happy to see them look at you without pity and sympathy, just joy and pride. The party was full of laughter and smiles, and occasionally a few tears. Especially from your personal nurse, who practically saw you as her child. Then, the day came for you to be discharged from the hospital.

“Now, just remember sweetie… I’ll always… I’ll always be here for you.” Her eyes well with tears once again and she chokes down a sob. You smile gently and nod. She breaks down and wraps you into a bone-crushing hug, being mindful of your lower back and leg. You awkwardly pat her back. She fans her eyes and takes a deep breath, before returning to helping you pack your few things. You walk out of your room, a content smile gracing your face. A different nurse walks with you to outpatient, as yours is currently being consoled by the others. You give her a grin and a wave goodbye, causing her to break down once again.

The nurse walks you to outpatient and you see Laswell waiting outside, leaning against her car. The nurse gives you a small hug and wishes you well. You thank her and return the thought, before turning and leaving the hospital for the first time in months. You take one step outside, and breathe in the fresh air. You take another step and-

“AH!” You cry out, a sharp, searing pain rips through your right leg. You would have collapsed to the ground if Laswell hadn’t caught you. And then you realized something. You forgot your fucking cane.

“You alright there, L/N?” Laswell asks, helping you stand up straight. You hiss through your teeth as your thigh begins to spasm painfully.

“...Yeah… Forgot my damn cane…” You mumble, slightly embarrassed. Right after those words leave your mouth, your nurse comes running out the doors, clutching your cane.

“I can’t believe you! Trying to leave without your cane! You should know better!” She chastises. You just have to stand there, clutching your returned cane, as your nurse chews you a new one. Laswell stands behind you, a small amused grin on her face. Eventually she calms down, and gives you another hug and kiss on the cheek. 

“Be careful dear. I better not see you here again unless it’s to visit, alright?” You roll your eyes slightly and smile.

“Yes ma’am. Take care now.” You wave goodbye as Laswell opens the passenger side door for you. You see her hand move to take your cane for you, but stops herself. She rounds the car and gets in on the driver’s side as you tuck your cane next to your seat and pull yourself in. You throw your small bag of belongings in the back seat and buckle. Laswell takes off the emergency break.

“You ready to begin, L/N?” She says, turning her head towards you. Eyes full of determination, you nod. She smiles. “Alright. Let’s get started.”

_______________________________________

 From that moment on, you spent nearly every single day by Laswell’s side. She assigned you classes to take, mission logs to read, training simulators, she even brought you to mission debriefs. She watched your progress closely, praising you when you completed an assignment, and correcting you where you messed up. After four months of training, she finally decided you were ready for your first official assignment.

“You’ll be assigned to one of our low stakes task forces to start off with. If you do well, you’ll be moved to higher stake task forces. Got it?” You gave Laswell a curt nod, taking in each and every word she said. You two were on your way to meet with the general to get your first mission before you met with the task force. Your cane hung around your arm. You didn’t want the general or the task force seeing you walking with it, even if you did have a noticeable limp.

The two of you reach the general’s office door. “Now, General Evans is just going to state the mission, it will be up to you to figure out how to accomplish it.” Laswell said, looking at you. You nodded in response. She gave you a nod back and knocked on the door.

“Enter.” Said the voice from inside. Laswell opened the door and the two of you stepped inside. General Evans was standing in front of his window, looking outside. He turned once the door closed and gave you both a smile. You straightened and saluted him, slightly hiding your cane behind your back.

“At ease, you must be Officer L/N, the retired vet, right?” General Evans stuck his hand out. You took it and he gave you a firm handshake.

“Yes, sir.” You replied. He smiled at you and gestured for the two of you to sit at the chairs in front of his desk. He took his place behind his desk and laced his fingers together.

“Alright, so, we’ve got some important intel at one of our bases in the Bahamas, but a local terrorist group has invaded it and claimed it as their own. So we’re sending task force 125 in to infiltrate and reclaim the base. It should be easy enough, the group isn’t large and won’t have the same gun power we have.” He explained. You listened intently, mind swimming with strategies and plans. You could see Laswell watching you out of the corner of your eye.

“Got all that, officer?” You nodded.

“Yes, sir.”

“Good, I expect this to be resolved by 0800 Friday. Dismissed.” You nod and stand, saluting the general once more before you and Laswell leave. Once outside the office, your leg trembles and you finally resort to using your cane for support. Laswell glances at you, but doesn’t say a word.

“Right, let’s go meet the task force.”She says. You nod and both take off down the hall, albeit slower than you would have liked due to your limp. The two of you head to the training room of the base. As you approach the door, you lean your cane against the wall and walk in without it. Laswell hesitates a moment, looking at your cane. But you’re already through the door.

There’s only one group in the training room today, that being task force 125. As you enter, you see the captain stop and look at you. He motions for his men to stop as well. You see that the team is decently sized, about 10 people including the captain. Laswell steps in behind you and stands at your side, arms behind her back.

“Well, you must be our new strategist, right?” The captain approaches you, almost sizing you up. He notes your posture, how you lean all your weight on your left leg. You think you hear him let out a huff. You straighten your back, much to its discomfort, and stick out your hand.

“Officer Y/N L/N. You must be Captain Fischer, or am I mistaken?” You say, eyes boring into his own. He hesitates slightly, before gripping your hand tightly and shaking it.

“...That I am. And behind me are my men. Get over here, boys!” Fischer turns his head and yells. His troop kind of awkwardly walks forward, and a handful salute you and Laswell. Out of the corner of your eye, you see Laswell’s eyes slightly narrow. 

“Alright, here we have Privates Bradley, George, Stephenson, White, Foster, and Woods. Then it's Corporals Park, Garner, and Pittman. You got that, officer?” Captain Fischer says, a slight snark in his tone. You nod.

You know exactly what this team is like by just looking at them. During your years of service, you’ve encountered people like them before. They’re young, reckless, and think themselves unkillable. They’re egos are high because they’ve been placed in a task force. Little do they know, their task force is just the clean up crew. Compared to you, they’re just a bunch of rookies. But you know that you have to start somewhere in order to move up.

“Pleasure to meet you all. Now, let’s get started shall we?” You say, hands behind your back. You explain the mission to the team, word for word, exactly how General Evans gave it to you. You notice that they halfway listen, a couple of the privates eyeing you up and down. 

“This mission should be easy in and out. I’ll have the plans ready by,” You glance down at your watch. “0200 this afternoon. By then, I expect you to be ready for debrief and packed for the plane that leaves by 0700. Copy?” You saw the Captain’s eyes roll slightly. But you didn’t let it bother you. You saw Laswell slightly smile next to you.

“Copy that. We’ll be waiting.” He says. You nod, and dismiss the team. They shamble away, glancing at each other, chuckling. You let out a breath you were holding and grit your teeth. Your leg had been throbbing the entire time, but you didn’t let it show. Laswell nudged your side. You looked over. She was holding out your cane to you.

You stood there for a second, then took it, gratefully leaning on it for support. “Thanks.” You say. When had she grabbed it for you?

“No worries. Now, let’s get you the intel you need for the mission.” And with that, you two took off back down the hall.

You spent the morning planning how the mission would go, considering every countermove, attack, even what the weather would be like. You double, triple, quadruple checked the intel you received, making sure it was 100% accurate. You wanted to prove yourself to Laswell and make sure this mission went smooth as butter.

Exactly at 0200, you met back with the task force. Though, you had to wait about 10 minutes longer for the entire team to show up. You went over the plans with them, detailing where they would infiltrate, where the intel was located, and where the enemies would be located. They half listened, occasionally yawning loudly. You ignored them. At least it wasn’t your ass going on the mission.

Later that day, Laswell walked with you to the black top to put you on the plane. Task force 125 was surprisingly on time and packing their things into the plane. You saw the captain look you up and down, taking in your cane, and whisper something to one of the corporals, smirking. You once again, ignored it. You and Laswell stopped in front of the plane.

She turned to you. “Alright, L/N. This is your first mission. Don’t mess it up now, understand?” You nodded. She patted you gently on the shoulder. Her eyes softened. “You’ve done good so far, now’s your chance to prove yourself, got it?” You gave her a smile, and nodded again. She glanced at the task force and back to you, then leaned down next to your ear. “Try not to let them bother you that much, they’re just a bunch of idiot rookies.” She whispered. You chuckled slightly.

“You got it, Laswell.” You said, a smile on your face. She returned the smile and patted your shoulder again.

“See you in a couple days, officer.” She said. You saluted her and she walked back into the base.

You took in a deep breath, and walked onto the plane, clutching your bag, cane clacking against the ground. You could see the soldiers eyeing you from the corner of your eye. You tried not to let the embarrassment build up in your gut.

The engines rumbled to life as you and the task force settled down. And the plane took off into the sunset. You hoped to God this mission would go as planned.

_____________________________

“Fischer, what’s your status?” You said into the microphone, watching the body cam feed intently. You had landed in the Bahamas just a few hours ago, but there was no time for rest and relaxation, much to the team’s dismay. It was just past midnight, and you had shoved their asses right out into the field. You knew night missions tended to go smoother, as the enemy wouldn’t be expecting it. At least, from your experience they didn’t.

“Tired as hell, but moving forward.” He responded, a snarky tone to his voice. 

“Copy that, keep proceeding, you’re about 1 click away from the base. Keep low to the ground, there’s a chance for night guards.” You said into the mic. Fischer grunted in response. You shuffled around the various screens, looking over your people’s shoulders. When you arrived, you were given a small team to help you monitor the task force’s radios and cameras. You listened to the idle chatter over the radios between the team’s members.

“Officer L/N, we’ve got visuals on the base.” Said a member of your group. You went over to him and looked at the camera. Private Stephenson had been the first to approach the base.

“Private, we’ve got a visual on the base, keep low and keep an eye out for guards.” You said to him. You heard him sigh.

“I’ve got it.” He replied, before inching closer to the building. You furrowed your brows. What the hell is he doing?

“Private, stand by, wait for the others to arrive.”

“I said I’ve got it. This shit’s easy as hell, I’ll be in and out, 2 minutes top.” Stephenson said.

You frowned and were about to start to order him to wait again, when you saw a glint of metal from his camera.

“Stephenson, get to the ground. Now.” You said, eyes fixed on the sniper rifle that was steadily aiming for his head.

“What, why?”

The rifle stopped, and you knew what was about to happen.

“Get on the fucking ground, NOW!” You yelled. Stephenson hesitated slightly, but dropped to the ground right as bullets whizzed past his head. You gritted your teeth. The fucking idiot just alerted the base to their presence. 

“Goddammit Stephenson, you just let the whole base know you’re here.” You grumbled on the radio. He said something back, but you had already switched back to Fischer’s channel.

“Keep to the trees, Stephenson was kind enough to let the group know you were coming. Expect more targets to leave the base. They’ll be looking for you.” You said, pinching the bridge of your nose. Bunch of idiots… Your team was never like this… You stopped that train of thought before it could continue.

“Roger that.” Replied Fischer. You watched as the team slowly approached the edge of the treeline, a couple retrieving Stephenson from the edge. You and the team watched carefully as members from the terrorist group exited the building, just like you said, looking around. You scoffed slightly at their weapons. General Evans was right, they wouldn’t stand a chance against what you had. But they had the advantage now of expecting the team, and you could tell they weren’t going to be scared off easily.

“Let’s just go in, guns blazing.” Said Corporal Garner.

“Negative, they’re expecting you now, you’ve lost the element of surprise. They’re weapons may not be the best, but they have the advantage right now. Remember, they outnumber you, it’s 10 against 20. Best course of action is to lure a handful into the woods and take them out.” You said, watching the targets scan the treeline.

Fischer scoffs. “Please, we’re better trained than them, we can take them.” You see him get ready to charge, along with the others. You grit your teeth, and your team looks at you with apprehensive eyes.

“Do. Not. Engage. You’re going to get your shit rocked. Lure a handful of them into the woods and take them out with your knives.” You say, attempting to keep your cool.

Fischer straight ignores you. You hold your head in your hands as you watch them charge out into the open. Gunshots echo through the radios and you watch the screens, your face set into a deep scowl. Just as you said, the team is quickly overwhelmed and are forced to take cover behind a couple fallen trees.

“Captain, we’re taking on too much fire! What do we do?” Yells Corporal Park. You stand there, waiting for Captain Fischer to respond. He doesn’t, and in the silence you can tell he’s panicked as hell.

“Captain. I’m going to say this slowly so it gets through your thick fucking skull. Throw one of your smoke bombs at the targets. Once the smoke has filled the area, you, Park, Garner, and Pittman charge and take down as many targets as you can with your knives. Do not use your guns, they’ll be able to see the flash and hear the sound, alerting them to your location. Before the smoke clears, enter the building and have the rest of the team shoot down the rest of the targets. Retreive the intel and get your fucking asses back to base. Copy?” You say, voice low. You couldn’t help but let some of the venom enter your voice as you spoke. Your team was looking at you apprehensively. 

Fischer was silent for a moment. “Roger that.” 

“Good. Now begin.” You replied. You watched as he executed your plan. He threw the smoke bomb, and as soon as smoke filled the area, he, Park, Garner, and Pittman jumped over the fallen tree and sliced down at least half of the targets. They slipped through the open door and Fischer motioned for the others to begin shooting. Gunshots rang out through the night air as they stepped through the base. 

“Keep your guns up, the base could still have targets inside.” You say through the radios. Fischer, Pittman, Garner, and Park reply with a curt ‘Copy’. Right after they replied, a terrorist jumped into the hall with a gun, but was quickly shot. They inch down the hall, towards the intel room. Finally, they entered and quickly found the intel you were looking for.

“Good. Now get your asses back here.” You say. You get a quick ‘Roger that’, and watch as they exit the building. The rest of the team have already taken care of the targets, their bodies splayed out on the ground. You huff and take off your headset. You gently set it onto the table, an attempt to appear you’ve kept your cool. But you and your team both know that it’s just a ruse. You were fucking pissed.

Your boots clamped on the ground, your cane clacking angrily on the concrete floor as you tore down the hallway, people quickly getting out of your way as you rushed past them. Your right leg was screaming at you for the harsh speed, but you didn’t care. You had a score to settle. 

You arrived outside right as the task force returned. They looked nervous and as soon as they saw your figure striding towards them, scared. Captain Fischer stepped forward, mouth open to speak. The only sound he let out was a small cry as you hooked your cane around his knee and tugged, causing him to fall. You grabbed his collar before he hit the ground, getting him down to your level. You brought your face close to his.

“Listen here you ignorant, egotistical prick. I don’t give two fucking shits if you like me or not, but you do not ignore a direct order, do you understand me?” You savored the fear in his eyes. He swallowed and gave you a single nod. You loosened the grip on his collar and let him fall to his knees. You glared at the team around you, they shrunk under your gaze.

“You all could have died tonight because you decided you were more intelligent and experienced than me. You’re fucking lucky I didn’t leave you all out to dry out there. I know you think you’re better than me because you’re faster, stronger. But let me tell you something.” You leaned forward, your voice low. “You disobey an order again, and I’ll fuck you up so bad they won’t know which side is your ass and which is your head. Am I clear?” The team hesitated a moment and let out mumbles of ‘yes’s and ‘okay’s. You scowled once again.

“When I say, ‘Am I clear?’ I expect a fucking ‘Yes, Officer.’ Now, once again, AM I CLEAR SOLDIERS!?” You yelled, posture straight, feet apart, arms behind your back. The team stands stiff as boards, and salute.

“YES, OFFICER!” They yelled in unison. You sigh, looking at all of them. You hold out a hand to the Captain, who’s still kneeling. He hesitantly takes it and you pull him to his feet.

“Good, now get the hell out of my face. We’re leaving by 0900 so get some rest.” They scurry away, the Captain hesitating slightly, looking at you, before he ran off. Once they’re gone, you let out a gasp and clutch your right leg. It was killing you the entire time, but the anger had thankfully sheltered you from the pain. For a bit at least. You hobbled back inside and made your way to your assigned quarters. 

You closed your door and leaned against it, savoring the darkness of your room. You had a headache coming on, and you were thinking about the mission. You pulled out your phone and texted Laswell.

You put your phone back into your pocket, not expecting a response. You shambled over to your bed and collapsed in it, exhausted. You weren’t going to worry about changing. Your eyes began to drift close, when you felt a buzz. You quickly pulled out your phone again.

You smiled at your phone. Setting it on your nightstand, you rolled over and pulled your blankets up to your chin. Letting out a sigh, you drifted off to sleep.

________________________________

After that mission, task force 125 treated you with respect. They executed every order you gave them as effortlessly as possible, and listened intently to your debriefs. You worked with them for about 2 months, before Laswell transfers you to another task force. You’re surprised when the team wishes you well, Captain Fischer giving you a hearty handshake as a goodbye. 

For the next 6 months, you bounce between task forces, each one providing a new and more intense challenge from the last. You plan, strategise, and give orders effortlessly. You’ve had no casualties in any of the teams you’ve worked with. You began to develop a sort of reputation as this incredible strategist, the one who got things done without losing men. Eventually, you developed a codename, Harbinger. 

Even with your reputation, you still couldn’t escape the judgemental gazes of the teams you worked with. Their eyes would immediately be drawn to your cane, to your limp. You could tell they wanted to ask, but no one ever did. You never gave them the chance.

One day, as you wrapped up a mission with your latest task force, 326, Laswell entered the intel room where you were monitoring the team's return. 

“Oh, Laswell, nice to see you. What are you doing here?” You ask, turning away from the screens. She came to your side, and you saw her clutching a folder. She smiled at you and handed over the folder. You gave her a curious look, and opened the folder. Inside were four documents. You skimmed through them. They were files of the soldiers, John Price, Kyle ‘Gaz’ Garrick, John ‘Soap’ Mactavish, and Simon ‘Ghost’ Riley. Your eyes widened slightly. These were the members of task force 141. You looked back at Laswell, who was smiling.

“You’re being transferred to task force 141 with me, L/N. This is your last mission with 326. Tomorrow we’re flying over to Greece where they’re stationed to meet them.” She said. Your jaw dropped. You’re going to be task force 141’s strategist, along with Laswell. The task force 141. You’ve heard the rumors about them, about their strength, resilience, and teamwork. They all moved together as one, and were considered unstoppable. You’d heard what they did with the Hassan mission. You studied their debriefs intently. And you were about to meet them. 

“Are… Are you serious? Do you think I’m ready?” You ask. As excited as you are to work with such a strong team, you can’t help but feel a bit apprehensive. Are you skilled enough to be trusted with the lives of these soldiers?

“I’m certain of it. This is what I’ve been training you to do, remember? Since day one I’ve been wanting you on the team, but the higher ups wanted to be certain you were ready. You’ve proven to be more than skilled enough to work with task force 141.” Laswell says, smiling at you. You look back at the folder in your hands, thinking.

You look back at Laswell, determination present in your eyes. “What time do we leave?” 

She smiles.

“That’s more like it.”

You hand her back the folder, and the two of you leave the room. You can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings to the table.

______________________________________________________________

Hiiii !!! I wanted to thank yall for your support of this series !!! Ive never had so much fun writing something before !!! Next chapter we'll see our task force 141 boys!!! Have a wonderful day !!! Ciao !!! &lt;3

XOXOXOXOX &lt;3

tagged people:

@sucka2me @deltottoro