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ipuckwithhockey · 3 years

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Easier Said Than Done- M. Tkachuk

Part 1

Part 2- Can’t stay away from you

summary: Matt knows this is a bad idea but he can’t help himself when the universe keeps bringing you into his life.

a/n: part 2 is here y’all! i hope you enjoy it. let me know what you think!

warnings: cursing

You’ve been settled into a table at a coffee shop for a couple hours with your “time to study” playlist blaring through your headphones and you don’t notice a tall blue-eyed man approach you. When he taps your shoulder unexpectedly you practically jump out of your chair, causing your hand that was writing your beautifully organized notes to knock your cup of coffee off the table, shattering on impact as it hits the floor. The man has quick reflexes though, and is able to jump back and out of the way of the falling cup.

“Fuck! Sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you!” The man blurts out as you try to take in what just happened.

You take your headphones out of your ears so you can hear what he’s saying, “Sorry what? I- I couldn’t hear you.” You stutter a bit when you look up at him and realize who he is. You don’t know him, but you do recognize him.

He was at the Giordano’s about a week ago for their son’s birthday party. You remember seeing him there, his curly mop of hair and broad shoulders had caught your eye, but you also recognized him from somewhere else. You recognized him from the pictures that Lauren has framed around their home, from the advertisements plastered across the city, and from the TV when you get a chance to watch a Flames game. Matthew Tkachuk just scared the shit out of you and you almost spilt a coffee all over him.

An employee comes over to help you clean up the mess that has been made and sweeps the broke glass away. You and Matthew do your best to help but end up awkwardly apologizing to the employee and then thanking them when they’ve finished cleaning up.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. Probably would have gone for a different approach had I known that was going to happen,” Matthew says.

“Oh, it’s fine. I was just taking—” You look down at the table and you notice that your once beautifully crafted notes are now splotched with coffee. You can’t help it, you try to control it, but the tears start to pierce the corners of your eyes without your approval. It’s completely embarrassing but your stress over law school is winning over your pride and composure. Matthew can see your chin start to tremble and even though you’re trying to hide it, the look on your face says it all.

“Are you okay?” Matthew asks cautiously.

“Y-yeah” you choke out. “mfine. It’s fine.” Your cheeks are lightly stained with tears and you’re sniffling between words, trying to get a grip and steady your breath as you start to gather your notes. You try to make yourself busy without looking up, not wanting to make eye contact, and praying that he might just leave you be. Instead, he gently wraps a hand around your forearm to get you to look at him.

“Hey hey. It’s okay. I’m sure we can fix it.” He says with concern in his eyes. He’s trying to be gentle with you because the look in your eyes says you might just crack again as you shake your head no, looking at your notes. Matt doesn’t really know what to do in this situation but he does know that he hates seeing you upset and will do anything to try to help. “Here, how about we start by sitting down.” He motions for you to sit in the chair you jumped from moments ago, “And I’ll get you another coffee, okay?” He asks, still looking at you with caution. You can’t say anything because you’re afraid you might cry again so you just shake your head telling him okay before he leaves to go order you another coffee.

While he’s gone, you’re able to calm yourself down, taking some deep breathes as you tell yourself it will be okay. You know it will be and you know that your stress is causing you to over dramatize the events that have unfolded. You also know that you have another set of the same notes at home and that you were just redoing them to help you study. A few minutes later Matthew returns with the coffee cup he held earlier in one hand and a new one in his other. He sits the other cup down in front of you and to your surprise he takes the seat across form yours.

“Thank you. You didn’t have to do that.” You thank your voice for not giving out on you and for sounding somewhat normal as you speak. Embarrassment doesn’t exactly cover what you’re feeling, and you’re surprised that Matthew has stuck around this long in general, but now he’s sitting down in front of you and doesn’t look like he’s going anywhere any time soon.

“I think it’s the least I could do considering I scared the hell out of you, broke a glass… and then made you cry...” He looks down sheepishly as he says the last one. He feels horrible and quite frankly, very out of his league in this situation. Not only did he ignore his promise to Gio to stay away from you, but he’s also managed to get you to hate him in about five seconds. What makes him feel even worse is that you’re still being so nice to him. This is only adding to his growing infatuation with you, and he curses himself for not having the will power to walk away the moment he saw you.

You blush out of embarrassment, “I’m the one who should be apologizing to you, and they’re just notes, it’s fine. I actually have a copy at home. I’m just stressed, and I freaked out but I promise you it’s totally fine.” You try to reassure him and the concern he’s showing, and instinctively letting your hand rest on top of his. A simple comforting gesture that wouldn’t mean anything to most people, lit a fire in Matthew that he wasn’t prepared for. His eyes are glued to your hand and when you notice you quickly pull it back, but not without noticing how large and warm it was. But before you get a chance to apologize Matt is asking you what you’re studying for and trying to cover up the blush that has settled across his cheeks.

“It’s for the exam at the end of the semester, so not for a few months but I—“

“You’re already studying for a test that’s months away?” He looks at you like you’re crazy, and you laugh because when you broke down crying a few minutes ago he seemed pretty collected but now he’s downright flabbergasted, “I’m Matt by the way,” he adds quickly, realizing that you might not know who he is and that it would be polite to formally introduce himself.

You let out a little laugh, “Yeah, most of my grade is based off of the one exam so you have to study for it all semester.” You explain to him as he nods but still looks confused. “…I’m y/n, you were at Gio’s the other day for Jack’s birthday party, right?” you ask him, and Matt is astonished that you even noticed he was there. Every time he looked at you, you were either entertaining the kids around you or having what looked to be very mature conversations with the adults that made Matt feel incredibly of place.

“Yeah I was. I uh- that’s actually why I came over here in the first place. I recognized you.” Matthew says trying not to sound too creepy, and you can’t help but smile because you can’t believe he even noticed you. Being noticed by any cute guy is one thing, but Matthew Tkachuk had that kind of bad boy vibe that made him that much more irresistible.

“Oh. Well, it’s nice to finally meet you. The kids talk about you all the time.” You say.

The Giordano kids loved Matt and when you babysat on game nights the three of you would sit together on the couch in matching jerseys, all with the number 5 on the back, but whenever number 19 would get into a scrum the kids would go wild. Reese used to get upset every time it would happen, but her brother has taught her to cheer instead now. Jack really admires Matt and sometimes during mini sticks, instead of pretending to be his dad he’ll pretend to be Matt. (You just try to keep the pretend scrums to a minimum.) It was adorable and he is obviously attractive, but you aren’t immune to the rumors that float around town. He’s a playboy who can take a different girl home every time he goes out. Even Mark and Lauren have even made comments about his bachelor lifestyle.

Despite those rumors and the comments, you’re genuinely surprised by Matt. He stays with you at your table for over an hour as the two of you talk. You expected him to be pompous and cocky and just like all those douche bags that you met in college. He was cocky, but you didn’t expect him to be so nice or sweet, or even funny. You definitely didn’t expect him to flirt with you. It wasn’t anything too over the top, but subtle things in the tone in which he would speak made you think he was trying to flirt.

Over the hour that you spent together he asked you about your relationship with the Giordano’s and he had plenty of questions about law school. It was actually really sweet. Matt hadn’t gone to college, skipping that step, and opting to go to the OHL before signing with the Flames. Most of his knowledge of the university experience came from his brother Brady’s short stint at Boston College, or a few stories he heard from his friends back home. He didn’t know a lick about law school, and he’s fascinated listening to you explain things that are surely going right over his head.

He gets so caught up in you that he doesn’t realize how much time has passed and when he looks down at his phone, he realizes that he’s going to be late for a meeting and can’t help but feel a little sad. He doesn’t want this conversation to end and if it does, he doesn’t want it to be a singular occurrence, which is what has him asking if he can have your number.

And despite the little voices in your head telling you no, you end up saying yes. “Yeah. Yeah, sure.” You reply not able to hide your smile. He’s charming and handsome and completely out of your league, but you figure it won’t hurt to give him your number anyway. He might not even use it, right?

A few days later you find yourself sitting in a fancy chair in a boutique that sells $50 scrunchies as you watch Lauren try on a dress that probably costs as much as your rent. She insisted that the two of you go shopping before lunch— on her of course, and no matter how many times you told her that you couldn’t let her do that, she stood her ground and insisted it was her treat. It’s been a couple hours of shopping and you don’t know how Lauren can do this for so long. If shopping was a sport Lauren would be winning gold at the Olympics, you however wouldn’t even qualify.

You let her buy you a new blouse that you’ll probably get more use out of when you get a job at a law firm and a swanky dress that was probably only appropriate for a fancy party. You’re not sure when you’ll ever get to wear it, and would never have spent that much money on something that you would get so little use out of, but Lauren really hyped you up and when she offered to buy it you couldn’t say no.

“So,” she says as she sits down in the chair next to yours, “What’s been going on in your life that isn’t school?”

You laugh at that. All you really do is go to class and study right now. It’s pretty hard to keep a job in law school so you’re basically just a full time student. You don’t really have a social life unless it’s studying with your friends or maybe an occasional lunch or dinner out. There’s really nothing new on the ‘not school’ front and you tell her that, getting a lack luster facial expression from her in return.

“You work too much! You’re young! This is the time in your life to go out and have fun!” She exclaims. Lauren completely admires your work ethic and she’s incredibly proud of you but the mom in her wants to make sure that you’re not missing out on some of the best years of your life because you’re too busy studying. She means well and she has a point, you probably could be a little more active in your social life and this in turn makes you remember who you saw a few days earlier.

“You’ll never guess who I ran into the other day.” You say as you wait for Lauren to change back into her clothes.

“Oh!? Who was it? Is he cute?” She asks from behind the curtain of the dressing room, and without even knowing if it was a guy, but not so secretly hoping it is.

“It was Matthew Tkachuk. And yeah, I guess he is kinda cute.” you joke.

You can see the surprise on her face as she pops her head out from behind the curtain, “Where in the world did you run into him?” She asks in reply, but you make her finish changing and check out of the store before you answer her. Lauren may be able to shop until she drops but you’re ready for lunch and if you have to hang this over her head to get there, then that’s what you’ll do.

The two of you leave the store, Lauren with another bag in her hand, and walk around the corner to the restaurant for lunch. “So, where the hell did you run into Chucky” She asks as you settle into your seat and pick up the sleek menu sitting in front of you.

“Well, if you must know, I was studying at that coffee shop by my apartment, and he came up behind me and scared the shit out of me. I knocked my coffee on the floor and everything.” You tell her in a little bit of a mocking tone, knowing that she’s a sucker for gossip. “He felt really bad though, and bought me another coffee after he made me cry—“

“He did WHAT!?”

“Well, the coffee got on my notes and I was just really stressed about school so I kind of started crying...”

“So he wasn’t mean to you? He didn’t do anything rude, did he?” She asks in her best mom voice. It makes you chuckle, and you tell her no, explaining that it was just an accident. You also tell her about how he stayed and talked to you for a while. “He actually surprised me. He’s not as... I don’t know... dick-ish?” That probably wasn’t the best way to describe it, but it probably got the message across but when you look up you can see something brewing on Lauren’s face and it resembles worry.

“Listen, I’m just going to be straightforward with you. He’s a good guy, but he lacks... Well, he lacks some maturity on the relationship side of his life. I know he can be very charming, but I can’t promise that he won’t hurt you. The stats aren’t good, and I don’t want to see you get hurt by him.” You haven’t even told her about him asking for your number, and because of this, you choose not to. Instead, you tell her not to worry about it, and that you don’t think that door will be opening anytime soon anyway. There might be a very small part of you that is a little let down because he hasn’t called or texted since you gave him your number, but you push that thought to the side. Lauren had a point too, there isn’t any guarantee that you wouldn’t get hurt and right now you need to be focusing on school, and not on a hypothetical relationship.

The next time that Matt sees you it’s not by his doing. He’s tried his best to keep away from you and has resisted using the number that sits heavy in his cellphone. Instead, he stalks your Instagram and goes through your Twitter likes. He feels like he’s back in middle school again as he begins to pick apart pieces of your life. You apparently read. A lot. And most of your liked tweets are from the Sparknotes account or niche memes that Matt doesn��t understand. He may not understand them, but it doesn’t keep him from reading every single one of them in hopes of gaining some sort of insight into your life.

On more than one occasion he has sat up at night thinking about texting you, asking what you were up to and hoping you would come over. He never did because he knew that one night wouldn’t be enough. Night after night he could have a different girl come and go from his bed, but for the first time in a long time he didn’t want a girl for just one night. But he couldn’t even let himself pick up the phone to ask you out on a proper date because his captain asked him explicitly to stay away. He couldn’t disobey a direct order. And who knows, maybe he wouldn’t be any good at any of this relationship stuff anyway. Unfortunately, that didn’t keep him from wanting to try. All these factors only added to the list of reasons why he couldn’t let himself pick up the phone and call you. He couldn’t justify it and so he pushed the thought to the side.

The world works in mysterious ways though, and sometimes it will continue to bring two people together no matter how much they fight it. That’s exactly what happened as Matthew came by to pick up Mark on his way to the arena and you were on your way into the house to babysit for the game. You were just getting out of your car when Matthew pulled up in the driveway beside you.

You can see that it’s him and you try to rush around his car and into the house before you can experience anymore embarrassment. He asked for your number weeks ago and clearly hasn’t used it. There wasn’t any obligation to do so, but you figure you can assume that asking for someone’s number implies that they are going to use it, except he never did. So maybe he just asked out of pity or maybe he asked and changed his mind.

“Y/N!” You hear him call out your name following the sound of his car door shutting, stopping you in your tracks as you slowly turn to face him.

“Matt! Hey!” you say a bit too enthusiastically and like you hadn’t seen it was him in the car.

The two of you are at a standstill, neither one knowing what to say or how to act with the looming fact that Matt has your number in his pocket but hasn’t chosen to use it. He knows that he shouldn’t have even asked for the number in the first place and that he’s gotten himself into this mess but now doesn’t know how to get himself out.

“Um. So I-“

“It’s totall-“

You both start to talk at the same time but you insist that he finish his statement first, “I’m uh- I’m sorry about not calling. I know that’s a dick move-”

You cut him off, feeling a twinge of confidence arise, “So why didn’t you?” You ask innocently but knowing that you’ve caught the hotshot off guard.

“Um- I just I don’t know if this is a good idea.” He replies.

“Well how can you know if you don’t try? Isn’t that the whole point of going on a date?” You say and then realize that maybe he didn’t want your number to ask you out. Maybe he just wanted to see if you would be willing to crawl into his be one night and out the next morning.

You don’t get a chance to answer. Gio is coming out the front door and doesn’t seem to even notice that the two of you are in the middle of a conversation. He simply waves goodbye to you and ushers Matt back to his car as he starts to talk about something to do with Johnny. Matt does his best to play it off cool, hoping to god Gio hasn’t noticed, and thankfully he doesn’t mention you at all on the drive to the rink.

Spending time with the kids was just what you needed as a break from your classes, and you let the kids stay up until Lauren gets home from the game. The Flames won 3-1 and the kids couldn’t have been better for you. You’re in such a great mood that when Whitney Houston’s I Wanna Dance With Somebody comes on the radio, you turned it up full blast so that you can sing at the top of your lungs. The earlier encounter with Matthew is long forgotten as you sing and dance to the radio on your way home. With the radio turned up you don’t hear a text come through. You don’t even see until you’re snuggled up in bed, ready to set your alarm for the next morning, and when you click on the unknown number you’re more than surprised when you read what the message says.

Maybe: Matt: Hey it’s Matt. I think you might be right about the dating thing. Are you free Thursday night?

#matthew tkachuk #matthew tkachuk imagine #matthew tkachuk fic #calgary flames #flames #hockey fic #hockey fanfic #hockey imagine #hockey fanfiction #nhl fanfic #nhl fic #nhl fanfiction #estd

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matthewtkachuk · 4 years

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speak now - rafe cameron

it’s the day of your wedding and, even though it’s been two years, you can’t stop thinking about the one who got away. little do you know he’s also consumed with thoughts of you and he’s not ready to give up just yet

warnings: angst with a happy ending

pairing: rafe cameron x reader

word count: 2.9k

a/n: this is the fic i wrote for pen on imessage, everyone say thank you to @girlsru1eboysdroo1 for the fact that this isn’t totally depressing!! i emphasized her favorite lines just for fun, i always wanted to write a fic with this trope so here it is, enjoy!!

You had loved Rafe Cameron your whole life, and truth be told you probably always would. But, he wasn’t yours to want anymore and you weren’t his. In fact, you were silently freaking out in a small room of a church, thinking about the one who got away as your fiancé stood at the end of the aisle.

It wasn’t fair to Chris. Chris, who was so sweet, so kind. Who supported you through thick and thin. Who uprooted his whole life to follow you to the grad school of your dreams. Who held you and loved you and treated you right. Chris, who would probably do anything for you if you only asked.

That was the thing though, with Rafe you never had to ask. He had known you better than you had known yourself, could predict when you needed him and what exactly you needed. He could feel the shift in your energy after a bad day at school or work, and was always ready to cheer you up, whether it was shitty fast food and shittier reality television or his sometimes gentle touch.

Rafe had known you and loved you, all the parts of you. Not just the good that Chris so often praised you over, your kind heart and selfless attitude. But also, the parts of you that you felt you had to hide, your petty jealousy, your quick temper. He loved not only your beautiful parts, but every scar and every flaw too.

But Rafe had let you down, too. His own temper and irrationality got him into trouble on more than one occasion, and all you had wanted was for him to let go of old hurts. You understood his insecurity stemmed from years of never being good enough for his father, Ward Cameron was a son of a bitch who had ruined the self-esteem of the boy you loved. Ultimately it was a combination of both that spelled the end of your relationship. A screaming match where he had projected his own inner turmoil onto you, certain that you could never truly love someone like him. He had said things he couldn’t take back, and you had packed your bags that night, never to step foot in his apartment again.

So here you were, two years later, about to marry another man. You looked at yourself in the mirror, saw the fresh tears pooling, threatening to spill and ruin your expensive makeup. If anyone were to see you, they would probably assume they were happy tears, brought on by the overwhelming joy of linking yourself to Chris forever. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Your tears stemmed from the knowledge that going through with this truly meant the end of a future with Rafe. It was stupid, Rafe hadn’t contacted you in the years since your break up, and the only information you received on his wellbeing you got through his sister Sarah who you still thought of as a friend. Rafe didn’t know that you kept tabs on him, but you wouldn’t be surprised if Sarah told him about you, too. You briefly wondered what it would have felt like to receive the news of your engagement, if he ever saw the invitation hung on Sarah’s fridge. If he was sad, or jealous, or if he even cared.

For a moment, you thought about running, pulling a runaway bride, but Chris didn’t deserve that. His only flaw was that he wasn’t Rafe Cameron, and it wasn’t fair to resent him for that fact. Besides, your mother would throw a fit. She had been mad enough when you had arrived home, 21 and single and in need of a place to stay as you got back on your feet. You were pretty sure she might actually disown you if you left another ‘eligible bachelor’, especially this close to commitment. You would likely never hear the end of how you had ruined a perfectly good (and extravagantly expensive) wedding. Not only that, there was no guarantee the next guy you found would hold a candle to Rafe, and you were certain by his two year long radio silence, that Rafe was over you. So, you got up, smoothed down the crinkle in your off-white wedding dress, dabbed at your eyes with a tissue and grabbed your bouquet, resigned to going through with the wedding.

The truth is, when Rafe walked into Sarah’s apartment to pick her up for a lunch with Ward and Rose, she all but threw herself at Rafe to prevent him from seeing the invitation on the fridge. Her plan had been to meet him in the car, but Rafe had walked right in using his key. Suspicious of his little sister’s actions, he gently moved her aside and entered the kitchen to grab a glass of water. He paused, hand hovering near the water dispenser on the fridge as his eyes landed on the photo of you and Chris with “save the date” written in bold block letters. In his shock, the glass slipped from his grasp, shattering on the floor. The sound shook him from his thoughts, and he grimaced at the broken pieces of glass that lay at his feet alongside his shattered heart. He looked at Sarah with a look of pure devastation as she offered him a soft smile and quickly swept up the glass. Unfortunately, the pieces of his heart couldn’t be cleaned up so easily. “I’m sorry,” she had offered quietly and all he could do was shrug and say, “me too.”

The green eyed monster of jealousy lingered on his shoulder in the weeks that follow, causing him to lash out more and more. His coworkers avoided him, his friends wanted nothing to do with him, and the only people who he could stand to be around were his little sisters of all people. Despite Sarah keeping your engagement a secret, she had tried to save him from heartbreak, but it was always going to hurt no matter when or where he found out. Since finding out, thoughts of you consumed him, they always had. He had given you the space you had so desperately asked for that night you left, always thinking that you would come back to him, that the two of you would work it out and move on together. He never stopped thinking about you and wondering where you were and what you were doing. He’d heard you’d gone through a few relationships, and he wouldn’t lie about the way his heart would leap a little every time your relationships failed.

Now, it was serious. You’d found someone you’d deemed worthy enough to spend your life with. Rafe always thought that person was him, but he didn’t blame you for not thinking that, too. He had his issues, he was quick to anger, projected his insecurities on others, he’d struggled with addiction and alcoholism although he’d been clean for almost three years at the point. Rafe couldn’t help but admit he was jealous. Jealous of the nights he didn’t get to spend with you, jealous of the love you were giving some other guy that you had once reserved for him, jealous of the life you were going to spend with someone else. Above all else, he was jealous that you were happy without him. He thought you hung the moon, and he was once happy to live among the stars. He would still rearrange the entire night sky for you, but now you saw stars in another’s eyes.

As your wedding date approached, he only felt worse. He couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to have been the one in the wedding invite picture, to have his name written in an elegant script alongside yours on a piece of thick cardstock paper inviting your family and friends to celebrate your love. The daydream overtook his brain. Thoughts of wedding cake tastings and searching for a venue and fighting over seating charts invaded his every waking hour. And at night, he dreamt of being the one at the end of the aisle as you slowly walked towards him, a vision in white with your hair framing your face like the prettiest painting he had ever seen. Saw you approach him, place your hand in his and vow to be his forever. Felt your lips on his as you kissed for the first time as man and wife, dipping you unexpectedly and feeling your delicate fingertips wrap around his lapels to keep you steady. Dreamt of the first dance, twirling you around in his arms, and speeches and kissing every time cutlery tapped a wine glass. Dreamt of a hotel suite with rose petals on the floor, of slowly unzipping your dress and kissing every inch revealed, of a lacy white lingerie set and making love to you as your husband for the first time. But every morning he awoke in a too-large and too-empty king size bed with nothing but the faint memory of a dream.

On the morning of your wedding he awoke from such a dream, and realized he was going to wake up like that every morning for the rest of his life - sad, alone and wanting you. It was then he understood that he had to do something, had to tell you how he felt. He knew it was selfish and impetuous and rash, but he wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he didn’t at least try. He couldn’t let you marry some hedge fund manager from Raleigh who dressed like a douche in your engagement photo shoot. And so Rafe pulled himself out of his depression and his silk sheets, dressing himself in a suit and tie to hopefully blend in the back church pew. He didn’t tell Sarah, didn’t tell anyone about his plans lest they convince him not to try.

“Bride,” he told the usher when asked who’s side he was with, before slipping into the last pew on the left. His eyes glanced around the church and he shook his head, even the venue was wrong. You had always told Rafe that you wanted to be married on the beach, barefoot in the sand of the OBX, a soft breeze against your skin. He would always tease you about the breeze, lying in bed together with your hands intertwined dreaming about the future. But, in your dreams, you had always giggled, you could control the weather and you wanted a slight breeze like a scene from a movie. He pulled at his tie a little, the atmosphere stuffy and stifling, and he thought that, if you would have him, he would give you your dream beach wedding, even if he had to buy a large fan to give you your slight breeze.

You stood at the back of the church, nervously picking at the bouquet in your hands as your bridesmaids made their way down the aisle. Your arms were shaking with anxiety, but to the casual outside observer you likely seemed to be jittery with excitement. “You ready, sweetheart?” your father asked, offering you his bent elbow. Swallowing hard, you placed your hand in the crook of his arm and entered the chapel. Chris stood at the end of the aisle, a vision in a dark grey tux with a light pink tie to match the color of your bridesmaids’ dresses. You felt tears prick at your eyes as you felt nothing for the man standing there waiting for you. His eyes filled with matching tears and you felt nothing. Scanning the pews for reassurance from your family and friends, you spotted him. There, in the back pew on the left side, your side, sat Rafe Cameron.

You froze, eyes wide as you laid eyes on Rafe Cameron for the first time since you walked out of his apartment two years ago. Of course, you had unhealthily stalked his social media for months after the break up, and every now and then when you felt like torturing yourself, but this was the first time you saw him in person, close enough to run to, close enough to touch. Tearing your eyes from his, you scanned the church again, gulping as you met the furious stare of your mother in the first row, cringing at the almost devastated look on Chris’s face. Lastly, you looked up at your father who gave you a knowing stare, before inclining his head slightly at you. It was that small confirmation that sold it for you. You handed the bouquet to your father, quietly said, “I’m sorry,” before you turned and ran out of the church.

It was difficult to run in your expensive red bottom shoes, but you made an admirable effort for the first few feet before stopping long enough to slip them off. You held both shoes by the heel in one hand, the other hand grasping the bottom of your dress to keep it from dragging on the ground slowing you down. There’s a small park across the street from the church, and it’s here that you realize you’re being followed. Your chest restricts as you recognize the voice calling your name doesn’t belong to your mother or Chris or your bridesmaids. Stopping and turning around, you spot Rafe hot on your heels. You can’t do anything but stand there and stare at him as comes to a stop in front of you, slightly out of breath despite his trim figure. You take him in, eyes roaming every inch of his tall frame. You’re a little dizzy, unsure if it’s the rush of your fight or flight instinct, or the rush you’ve always felt in Rafe’s presence.

“I’m sorry,” is the first phrase that leave his lips and you look at him in confusion. He loves the way your nose scrunches up, and the little crinkle that appears between your eyebrows, has dreamed of seeing it again.

“For what?” you asked, unsure of what he was apologizing for. You weren’t upset that you’d ran off, you knew that you didn’t really want to marry Chris, that you had only said yes because of the pressure from your mom and the knowledge that Rafe hadn’t spoken to you in two years.

“Everything,” he admits, flexing his hands nervously. “God, y/n, I fucked up so bad.” Your eyes are staring at his fidgeting hands, and in a split second you’ve dropped your shoes onto the grass and grasped his hands in yours, linking your fingers.

He looks between your now linked hands and your face, and you take the opportunity to take a step closer to him. “I’m sorry too,” you speak softly, “I shouldn’t have ran like that. I should have stayed, and I should have fought for you.”

“You’re not-“ he swallows, “you’re not mad I ruined your wedding?” Despite your hands in his, despite the look in your eye as you stare up at him, despite the fact that you haven’t run from him, he has to ask. Has to make sure that you’re still as in love with him as he is you. That you’ve spent the past two years thinking about where you both went wrong and how you could fix it. That you had thought and dreamt of this moment, where you were close enough to press your lips together.

“I think we both know that wasn’t my wedding, not really. Wrong color scheme, wrong venue...” you pause thoughtfully, squeezing his hands as a smile makes its way onto your face. He catches on quickly, his lips upturning with a small smirk as he finishes your thought, “Wrong groom?”

You giggle, dropping his hands in favour of gripping his face with your palms, smiling widely up at him. There’s something about the intimacy of the moment, of feeling his skin beneath your fingertips, that has you emotional. Rafe feels it too, staring into your eyes, in full disbelief that this is how today has gone. He had hoped, of course. He wouldn’t have shown up at the church if he thought there was no chance of stopping your wedding. But to have you here... Your thumb strokes his cheek as his eyes fill with tears. “Yeah, baby, wrong groom.”

At your confirmation, he ducks his head down and presses his lips to yours. Your hands slide from his cheeks to wrap around his neck, pulling him closer. He wraps an arm around your waist, the other wrapping around the back of your neck holding you in place as the kiss deepens. You have to pull back to breathe, but he doesn’t let you go far, holding you in place as you rest your foreheads together.

“I’m so in love with you,” he whispers against your lips and you grin before pecking his lips once. “I’m still in love with you, too,” you whisper back. Suddenly, you’re kissing again, two years of absence melting away with each brush of your lips.

You pull away for a second time, smiling as his lips attempt to chase yours. “We’re going to have to work at this you know, our issues didn’t just go away,” you tell him seriously.

He nods, grabbing one of your hands to kiss the inside of your palm, “I know baby, but I’m ready to work on it, on us, this time.”

You grin widely at him once more, before grabbing your shoes and linking your hands together, “then let’s get me out of this stupid dress.”

everything taglist: @velyssaraptor @danicarosaline @copper-boom @x-lulu @prejudic3 @rekrappeter @downbytheouterbanks @ilovejjmaybank @bricksatanakinswindow @jellyfishbeansontoast @sunwardsss @rudyypankow @im-a-stranger-thing @alexa-playafricabytoto @maybankfullkook @girlsru1eboysdroo1 @sortagaysortahigh @socialwriter @bluesiderudy @anxietyandtacos @diverrdown @stargazingstarkey

#anyway #i'm getting soft in my old age #rafe obx #rafe x you #rafe x reader #rafe x y/n #rafe imagine #rafe fanfiction #rafe cameron x you #rafe cameron x reader #rafe cameron x y/n #rafe cameron imagine #rafe cameron fanfiction #rafe cameron #rafe cameron angst #rafe cameron fluff #diverdcwn writes

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everybodyscupoftea · 3 years

Text

under the mistletoe

ole miss rafe x reader

the beginning of your relationship with some misunderstandings along the way (ft. the first kiss)

yes i will continue to use the same gif of this man :)

(warnings: cursing, drinking, light editing)

Rafe texted you for the first time about a date the weekend after the Egg Bowl. You weren’t overly enthused at the prospect, he’d been a huge dick, but you couldn’t help but be intrigued by him.

Dinner and a movie.

It wasn’t even a question. It was a demand, like he knew you’d say yes so there was no point in actually asking. To be fair you did plan on saying yes, but he didn’t need to know that. So, after 30 minutes, you had to make him sweat it out, you responded.

First of all, you should ask. Demanding is not the way to get a date. Second of all, if you think I’m voluntarily stepping foot in Oxford for a boy, you’re sorely mistaken.

Rafe responded almost immediately which made you feel a bit vindicated.

You’re right. I’m sorry. Meet in Jackson?

Which you could absolutely do. The two of you made plans for the following weekend to meet at the Cultivation Food Hall, and then you wanted to check out a science museum they had there. It was the inner vet major in you. And shockingly, Rafe agreed without much of a fight.

Of course it was almost too much to ask. What more could you expect from an Oxford frat douche bag, really there was no one to blame but yourself. The science museum was maybe a little bit childish, but you thoroughly enjoyed it while Rafe made it very clear he was bored.

You weren’t entirely sure what his major was, but clearly it wasn’t very sciency. There were easy hikes which cheered him up a bit, so you were glad for that, but when the two of you got in your cars to go your separate ways, you expected that to be the end.

It wasn’t, and he texted you again.

Did you make it back okay?

And when you didn’t answer, ready to leave him on read despite the warm feeling in your chest, he texted again.

I hope you had fun, I did. Can I see you again?

You walked over to your roommate’s room and dropped onto her bed with a loud, dramatic groan. She looked up from her desk where she was reading for one of her classes with an amused look, “Something wrong?”

“Rafe texted me,” you told her. She’d heard all about the date, you called her on the drive home so she had Thai takeout waiting for you when you got there, so she understood for the most part.

“And? Leave him on read if he made you that miserable today that you had to eat your weight in Thai food.”

“But, part of me wants to text him back. Like a big part of me. I don’t- explain to me.”

She snorted, “You’ve always liked toxic men.”

Your jaw dropped, but you couldn’t really argue with her there. There was nothing but the truth in her words, “Um, you didn’t have to come for me like that.”

“You needed honesty. I know you’re going to text him back, so what do you plan on saying?”

“What should I say?��

“I don’t know. I barely met him. Have your texts been super flirty?”

“Not really.”

“Do you want them to be?”

And that you had to think about. Did you really want to pursue things with this guy when you were both about to graduate in a semester.

“Maybe, I don’t know. I mean it might not go anywhere or get, like, super serious.”

She made a face, “But is that the guy you really want to pass the time with? Like you could definitely meet a nice boy here.”

You scoffed, “I’ve been here for three and a half years and haven’t managed that. May as well go for a hotty toddy.”

She sighed and gave you an amused look, “I’m a little embarrassed for you. This should be against everything you stand for.”

“It is,” you told her, slightly ashamed, “but he’s also cute.”

“Like I said, toxic men as long as they come in a pretty package.”

So, after a few hours you texted him back.

Yeah I made it, thanks. I’d like that. Maybe we can catch that movie. But no way in hell I’m going to Oxford.

His response was a little delayed, which you didn’t expect one back that night anyway, you sent it late. But just as you were almost asleep, your phone buzzed.

Fair enough. But don’t expect me to show up in Starkville anyway

Some people in your major were throwing a Christmas party a week before Christmas, and you really were debating going. Most of them had significant others and you knew it would be pretty painful being one of the only singles drinking alone.

“So bring Rafe,” your roommate suggested when you were yet again laying on her bed to complain.

You sat up fast, head spinning a bit, “I can’t just ask him. We haven’t even been seeing each other that long. Like he hasn’t even kissed me or anything. No relationship definition at all.”

She joined you on the bed and wrapped an arm around your shoulder, “Okay, feel free to correct me if I’m wrong, but you actually really like this guy, right?”

“Yeah,” you sighed, “I’m such a hypocrite, but I really do.”

“Then ask him. You said the dates were getting better with each one. You’ve seen him every weekend for a month and some weeknights since you don’t have Friday classes.”

“What if he says no,” you whispered, “I think that’s why I’m most worried. It’ll really really hurt if he says no.”

She bit her lip, thinking, “Okay, if he asked you to be his date at some event in Oxford, would you go?”

You answered without hesitation, “I would.”

“Then ask. If he says no, I’ll go as your date and we’ll drink and have fun. But all you can assume is that he likes you as much as you like him, and he’ll say yes.”

“You’re right,” you admitted, standing from her bed, resolved, “I’m going to ask him.”

Hey Cameron, got a minute?

He answered quickly.

Sure, what’s up?

So you called him, and he answered on the second ring. Deep down you were very pleased about that.

“Hey,” he answered, “something wrong?”

“Not really, I just had a question for you.”

In hindsight, maybe you should’ve done it over text so if he did reject you, it wouldn’t be where he could actually hear your response. But the reasoning you called is so that if you got a no it wouldn’t be in a text where you could reread and over analyze that night.

“Fire away,” he cut off your spiral.

You sighed, “Okay so a few people in my major that I’ve done group projects with before are throwing a Christmas party. We all get plus ones, and I was wondering if you wanted to come with me.”

He hummed, “What’s the date?”

“Um, I think December 18th. If you’re going home before then, that’s totally fine. I just wanted to ask.”

“You’re willing to bring a hotty toddy to a bulldog Christmas party,” he teased, “I’m honored.”

You snorted, “Unfortunately, I am. If you want to at least, please don’t feel pressured.”

“I don’t. And I’m not going home for Christmas. I haven’t since freshman year. The reason I asked was because some of the guys in my pledge class are having a get together of our own. We did Secret Santa and it’s on the 21st so I didn’t want to miss it.”

“Oh,” you paused, “so you’ll come with me?”

“Of course,” his voice was soft, “you sound surprised.”

Your cheeks heated up, “I mean, I was kind of expecting you to say no.”

Rafe went silent, you could almost hear the gears in his head spinning as he tried to come up with a response. You were about to ask if he was okay before he responded, “You know that I like spending time with you, right?”

You tried to play your anxiety off, “I mean, I’d hope so the amount of weekends we’ve spent together so far.”

“Good. So then why do you think I’d say no?”

“I don’t know,” you chewed on your lip, “I guess we just haven’t really talked about what this is and I wasn’t sure where you are or how you feel.”

He hummed, “Okay, I understand. I’m sorry for not communicating better.”

“It’s okay, I should’ve done better too.”

“Well, now that we’re on the same page. Tell me exactly when the party is and I’ll be there.”

You hesitated, “Do you want to come the night before and stay?”

His voice was warm, when he answered, “Absolutely.”

“Thank god,” your roommate had said when you told her, “now I can go home early.”

Her partner was from her hometown, and they didn’t get to see each other often. She’d come to visit a few times since you and your roommate had lived together, so you had at least met her before.

“Tell her I said hey. Do you need a ride to the airport?”

“If you don’t mind.”

“I need to pick up dessert for the party anyway, so I’ll drive you to Jackson and go to Target there.”

The two of you woke up at 3 a.m. to get her to the airport by 5:30. She talked a little about her Christmas plans and then the two of you rode mostly in silence. It was kind of calming, despite being super tired.

Before she got out of the car, your roommate pulled something out of her backpack and held it out to you. You took it, frown on your face, “Is this mistletoe?”

“It is. You said Rafe hadn’t kissed you yet, put this to use.”

You shook your head, huffing out a laugh, “I don’t know about that one.”

“He’ll be at the apartment all weekend, just hang it up in the kitchen or like in the hallway leading to your room.”

“It seems cheesy.”

“It is, but that’s what makes it fun,” she insisted.

Taking the mistletoe, you set it in the cupholder, “Fine. I’ll think about it.”

She nodded, pleased enough, “Thank you.”

You didn’t hang the mistletoe up, but to be fair you got totally distracted by stress cleaning and baking the desserts for the party you decided to make from scratch instead of buying store bought.

Rafe wasn’t supposed to show up until that night, but there was a knock at your apartment door at 2:30, startling you. He was smiling sheepishly on the other side, “I know I’m early, but I didn’t see any point in waiting longer.”

Grinning, you stepped aside to let him in. He looked around, taking in the decorations you and your roommate set up the day after Thanksgiving. You pointed toward the hallway your room was down, “If you want to set your stuff down, my room is at the end of that hall.”

“Thanks,” he answered, bending down to kiss you on the cheeks, something he’d been doing since date three.

Walking back to the kitchen you immediately picked the stress baking back up where you’d left it to answer the door. Rafe was gone for a while, using the bathroom you assumed, and when he came back, he was changed, and you couldn’t help but stare.

“What?” he asked, a weird look on his face.

“Nothing, I’ve just never seen you out of like jeans or slacks.”

He glanced down at himself, sweatshirt with his frat letters on them and grey sweatpants, before looking up at you, “I figured since we were staying in I could get comfy.”

“Yeah definitely,” you reassured, “I like it, just was surprised, that’s all.”

“You like it, huh?” he teased and stepped fully into the kitchen, wrapping one arm around your shoulders, “That’s noted.”

Rafe did dress back up for the party, which you were expecting. Jeans and a nice sweater. You smiled at him and tugged gently at the sweater, “This is cute.”

“Bought it just for the party. It’s even maroon, see?”

“I do see. Didn’t know if it was a coincidence or not.”

“Nope, fully intentional.”

It felt like a good time to kiss him, mistletoe or not, but before you got up the courage, he was stepping away to grab one of the desserts off the counter. You sighed internally and grabbed the other with the hand not holding your keys.

“Alright, I’m parked in the back lot, opposite direction of visitor parking.”

“Cool, after you.”

Sitting in the car, you plugged your phone into the aux. Rafe buckled up and got comfy in the passenger’s seat. You smiled at him, it felt natural for him to be invading your space the way he was. But he was giving you a bit of a complex with the whole not interested in kissing thing.

He glanced down at the cupholder and did a double take. You cursed yourself for forgetting to take the mistletoe out of your car when he asked, “Is that mistletoe.”

“Um, yep.”

“Why do you have it?”

“I meant to give it to my roommate when she flew out, but it was so early it totally slipped my mind,” you lied smoothly.

Rafe nodded, totally believing it, and you sighed. Maybe you should bring it in, hang it up when he’s in the shower or something. But deep down you knew you wouldn’t. You didn’t want Rafe to kiss you out of obligation for some stupid tradition. You wanted him to mean it.

The drive went by quickly, the boy hosting lived at an apartment complex just up the road, and you found parking easily, recognizing a few cars in the visitors' spaces meaning you weren’t the first ones to show up.

Rafe got out and took in all the MSU merch hanging from balconies and on cars with a grimace, “Y’all have almost too much spirit.”

“We aren’t snobby enough to think it’s tacky and above us,” you responded, taking a clear shot at Ole Miss.

“Fair enough. It’s just a lot of talk for a school who’s so bad at sports.”

Your jaw dropped, “I know an Ole Miss football fan isn’t speaking right now. Are you aboard the Lane Train?” you asked, mockingly.

Rafe rolled his eyes and shook his head, reaching down to ruffle your hair playfully, “With that record? Absolutely not.”

“And not because he’s a piece of shit?”

“Well, that too.”

He grabbed both containers in one hand and your hand in the other, lacing your fingers together as you led the two of you to the right building. His palms were sweating a little, and you squeezed gently, “All good?”

“A bit nervous, just don’t want to look stupid in front of your friends.”

“Why would you,” you were confused, unsure how he’d reached that conclusion.

“I mean, you’re all like STEM majors, right?”

“Yeah?”

“And I am not.”

There was so much to unpack there, so you tried to go for a joke, “I mean we aren’t going to just talk about like anatomy and biology all night, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

He snorted, “Maybe a little. I just feel out of my depth.”

“I promise, it’s going to be okay. You’re really smart too, just in a different way. But we aren’t really here to show off our intelligence. It’s more to drink and eat and bitch about our professors.”

“See, that’s super specific,” he complained.

“Well, yeah, I guess. But most of us are dating out of our majors, just hop on the bandwagon like they do and you’ll win ‘em over in no time.”

By the time you’d finished reassuring him, the two of you had arrived at his door. You squeezed one last time and he smiled, seeming more at ease. Reaching up to knock, it swung open before you could, a guy named Justin grinning widely, “Welcome welcome to the annual Bitchmas Party.”

Rafe snorted and let you step in first. Justin set his drink down on the table by the door and held his hands out, I’ll take your coats and your keys please.”

Handing them over, he escorted you through the entranceway to the living room, stopping you right as the tile changed to carpet. You squinted at him, “What?”

Wordlessly, he pointed up and you saw mistletoe, your blood running cold. Rafe made a noise and bent down to kiss your cheek, close to the corner of your mouth but not quite.

“Boo,” Justin jeered, “but close enough, come on through.”

Your stomach sank. Again. And Rafe leaned down, “Sorry about that.”

“It’s okay. I mean, you could’ve kissed me.” Your words came out a lot sharper than you intended, but before Rafe could question you, Ashton was stepping in to ask the two of you about drinks. Rafe asked for a soda and you got spiked eggnog. May as well to sort through the mess of feelings in your stomach.

Someone spread out the food and everyone lined up to get plates before settling in the assortment of chairs all over the room. You sat on the couch and Rafe sat on the floor, leaned back next to your legs. Justin gave him a weird look and offered a chair, but Rafe declined, saying he was fine.

At some point, he wrapped an arm around your closest leg and leaned his head on your thigh, nodding along to the conversation. You brushed your hand through his hair that you’d convinced him to leave ungelled, and complained about your animal sciences professor who’d made the tests way harder than necessary and not offered bonus opportunities.

Rafe actually interrupted, “Okay wait, she put questions on information not taught in class and not readily available in your textbook?”

“Correct.”

“So how were you supposed to know you were going to be tested on it.”

“You weren’t,” Justin answered him, drily, “That was her whole point. Be prepared for anything.”

“She should’ve just given us papers on those topics.”

“Agreed,” a girl named Emily chipped in, “I would’ve so much preferred that than literally guessing on a test.”

Rafe made a face, “I mean, for my history courses we were expected to do the readings and then like additional research, but she told us the topics beforehand so we’d know what to research.”

Ashton’s girlfriend leaned forward at his words, “You’re a history major?”

“Yeah,” Rafe answered, his grip on your leg tightening.

“Me too,” she looked excited, “what do you want to do?”

He leaned forward eagerly, “I want to teach, European if possible. I haven’t decided if I want to do like Advanced Placement courses in high school or just go get a masters and be a professor. What do you want to do?”

“I want to do research so I’ll definitely be going after a PhD. But I figure at least that way, I’ll be doing something while Ash is in vet school.”

Rafe looked around, “Is everyone here going to vet school?”

Mostly everyone in your group was, so they all nodded, including you. Justin spoke up, “Buncha nerds in this bunch. We all grouped together pretty much since day one since we all had the same plans. We’ve lost a few along the way.”

“Rest in peace Jasmine and Brady,” you added, solemnly.

“Do you all want to stay here?” Rafe asked, clearly curious about everyone’s plans.

A few people around the group nodded, but some shook their heads. Rafe hummed, taking in the information before looking over his shoulder at you. You nodded, “Yeah, I like MSU’s vet school, I want to stay.”

He nodded thoughtfully, “Good to know.”

Justin gave you a weird look and you shrugged, just as confused.

Four cups of eggnog later, the party was winding down, and you were happily tipsy. Rafe, still sober, had an arm around your waist to keep you steady. He led you toward the door, passing under the mistletoe again without stopping and you sighed.

Glancing down at you, he made a face, “Clearly something is on your mind.”

“Clearly,” you muttered back sarcastically. He opened the passenger door for you to climb in and you asked, “You know how to get back?”

“It’s just up the road, I don’t think it’s that hard.”

You rolled your eyes, “Just a question, no need to get so offended.”

The ride back was in uncomfortable silence, so unlike the drive there that you were squirming in the passenger seat. Rafe glanced over at a red light, “Are you about to puke?”

Offended, you answered, “No, I can handle my fucking alcohol.”

“Okay,” he muttered, “no need to get defensive.”

You hated how weird it felt between the two of you, but you weren’t sure how to fix it. Unless he just magically decided you were kissable, but you didn’t foresee that happening in the near future, so instead, you pouted.

Rafe parked and turned the car off but stayed seated, so you did too, feeling uneasy. He looked over at you, “What’s up. Why have you been so weird tonight?”

“I haven’t.”

“You have. And I think it actually started yesterday when I got here. Is it just me being in your space? Like am I invading it or something? I can go home tonight if I need to.”

Maybe you weren’t in the ideal state to have this conversation, but you also figured this was probably the state you were most likely to let the honest truth slip.

“No. The problem is you aren’t taking up enough space.”

Which in hindsight didn’t make much sense, you couldn’t blame him for the confused, “What does that mean?”

“It means that you won’t kiss me and I’m not sure why.”

“I-” and for once, for once in your whole goddamn relationship (or whatever you were calling it) Rafe was speechless, “I thought you didn’t want me to.”

Then it was your turn to be shocked, “What? When did I say that?”

“On our first date, you talked about only kissing when it got serious.”

“Yes.”

“And when I brought up the Christmas party in Oxford, you didn’t ask about a plus one. Hell, you still won’t come to Oxford at all.”

“How was I supposed to know I’m supposed to invite myself to a Christmas party with the boys? And sure, I was opposed to Oxford at first, but I think we’ve been seeing each other long enough for me to actually make that trip,” you answered incredulously, startled at all the assumptions he’d jumped to.

He squinted, “You never said.”

“You never said,” you fired back, “I invited you to a party with my friends, I thought that would be hint enough that I think this is serious.”

“I need it outright said,” he mumbled.

“Clearly.”

“Hey,” he protested, “it’s not just me. In fact, you never brought it up either.”

“Okay, Cameron, to be fair, you never brought up anything about that party other than that it was Secret Santa for some guys in your pledge class. Not only do I not want to be the only girl there, I especially don’t want to be an MSU girl there with a bunch of drunk Ole Miss frat boys.”

Rafe snorted, “Fair, that’s totally fair. So, I guess I should ask, do you want to come? There will be girlfriends and boyfriends. Secret Santa is just a small part.”

“Sure, I need to come see your apartment anyway, I should know what I’m getting into.”

He laughed loudly, “I’m not sure if I’m okay with that.”

You poked him teasingly, “Hey, you can’t take it back now, buddy.”

“I’d never.”

And with that, he got out of the car. You felt significantly better as he jogged around to grab the door for you. His arm went around your shoulders immediately, and you weren’t sure if it was an attempt to keep you standing straight or not.

“I’m not that drunk,” you told him.

He raised his eyebrows, “Okay four cups. I could smell the booze in that eggnog, it was strong.”

“Well you hurt my feelings, what else was I supposed to do besides drink?”

Rafe snorted, “Talk to me.”

“In front of everyone? At a party?”

“Bathroom.”

“So Justin could think we were hooking up in his bathroom.”

He squinted at you a few seconds, “Okay so it wasn’t the most conducive situation for a serious talk.”

“Mhmm.”

The two of you climbed the stairs to your third floor apartment. Rafe behind you so you wouldn’t fall and hurt yourself. He was a little offended when you muttered that you’d just take him down with you, “I could definitely catch you.”

“Okay buddy,” you patted his shoulder.

He made you drink four glasses of water in the kitchen and by the time the two of you were walking to the bathroom to get ready for bed, you were significantly sobered up. You tried to get to the sink first and Rafe playfully hip checked you out of the way to get his toothbrush.

“Nooo,” you complained, “my skincare routine is so much longer than yours, you can wait.”

“Guests first,” he argued, successfully keeping you away from the sink.

You gave up pushing against him to pout, “At least pass me my makeup remover.”

“Fine,” he grabbed the bottle from the sink and passed it over, “I guess you can at least start.”

“Oh thanks for your permission,” you responded sarcastically.

The next five minutes of him washing his face and getting ready, you kept trying to nudge him out of the way, but he wasn’t budging. Finally, you dug your fingers into his side and he yelped, twisting away enough for you to get some space in front of the mirror.

Your eyes lit up, “Are you ticklish?”

“No,” he denied, just a little too fast.

“Liar.”

You reached out to him again and he grabbed your hand pulling you into his chest. So caught off guard, you didn’t register him tilting your chin up or lowering his head to kiss you. And then his lips were on yours for the first time, and you made a noise, leaning into it.

He smiled and you could feel his heart racing where your hand was pressed against his chest. In the proximity, you couldn’t help but dig your fingers into his side again. He jerked away, joking glare on his face, “Watch it, mamas. I’ll make you pay for it.”

“Promise?” you teased, finally catching him off guard enough to get mirror space.

Rafe stepped over to sit on the closed toilet lid to wait his turn again and laughed. You turned to look at him, mid-washing your face, and gave him a questioning look.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the squashed mistletoe, “Guess I don’t need this.”

“You were going to use the mistletoe to kiss me?”

“I figured if your roommate wasn’t going to use it, we could.”

“Oh I lied,” you admitted, turning back to rinse your face.

“What?” he asked while you were drying.

You nodded, “She gave it to me to get you to kiss me.”

“Oh,” he perked up, “well I guess it kinda worked. Make sure to thank her for me.”

“No, absolutely not,” you insisted, “she does not need that ego boost.”

He laughed, holding his hands up, “Fine, we’ll do it your way.”

“As we should always.”

He laughed again and hip checked you over toward the wall so he could get back closer to the sink. You couldn’t help but think to yourself that you could get used to this.

day 3 of @obxmermaid‘s holiday challenge: mistletoe

#college rafe #ole miss rafe #rafe cameron #rafe cameron fic #rafe cameron x reader #rafe cameron x you #outer banks fic #obxmermaidholiday

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brandstifter-sys · 3 years

Text

Fight Not Flight

Word Count: 1466 (Ao3)

Pairings: TS Shorts Sleepxiety, background dukexiety

Characters: Remy, Andy, Virgil, Remus, Roman (mentioned)

Rating: T+

Warnings: Injury, hospital mention, panic mention, fighting, past virgil x andy, misgendering (assumed)

Remy returns home after a night on the town only to find an unwanted guest on his couch and his boyfriend covered in bruises. Andy is just glad he’s home to cuddle after the hellish night he had!

---

It wasn't unusual for Remy to return home at odd hours of the morning. As long as he texted his boyfriend updates, he was good. Of course, he was used to his boyfriend texting back. This time, he had a good excuse—it was hard to hear the phone during a loud concert.

Remy expected his boyfriend would be awake, but he was not expecting to walk in and see Virgil, of all people, asleep on the couch cradling a stuffed octopus toy to his unbound chest. Remy scowled at the sight and marched down the hall to the bedroom. This was not okay.

"Gurl you had better not have brought that bitch here for a little one-on-one while I was out!" Remy hissed as soon as he entered the bedroom, not actually believing his own accusation. His boyfriend was lounging on the bed, covered in bruises including a black eye, and the bastard just had to smile at him.

"Nah, he needed to crash while Ree is in the hospital. Ro kicked him out so he could panic freely. You know that I don't want to get that close to my childhood best friend," Andy said with a shrug and winced. Even in his favorite pajama pants and a clean shirt, he was visibly uncomfortable.

"Details now!" Remy ordered and lowered his sunglasses.

"Well we went to the concert, and I swear the idiots were actually flirting finally and moshing. But then a total chode decided that Virge should free the tiddy and got too close. Let's just say that didn't go over well and there was a fight three against five."

"You got in a fight?" Remy gawked, s little bit unsure with his boyfriend's nonchalant tone. He could have been tired or emotionally drained. Neither one meant for an expressive anxious mess.

"Yeah, and I kicked some serious ass, at least until security threw us out and the fight kept going. You really don't want to be on Virge's bad side. The leader of the bitch pack was wailing on Remus. It was ugly and he was taking too many hits because Ree is feral as fuck."

"Gurl are you serious?"

"Yeah and the douche bag found a giant ass shard of glass on the ground and—let's just say after he used it he got his ass handed to him by a raging trans emo. And then the cops showed," Andy continued, flinching at the memory.

"The cops?" Remy gawked, "Andy you know those bitches are—"

"I didn't call them! But in this case I'm glad they showed. Remus got taken to the hospital, and Virge and I had to give statements. Then we paid the trash a visit, called Ro to tell him and get over there, had some serious panic, and only got back here an hour ago. I made V shower and set him up on the couch, I showered and dried my hair, and then you got home."

"Damn, and you worry about me hitting the club!" Remy jeered and sat down beside him, gently brushing his bangs away from his good eye. That impish twinkle was still there, even if it was hard to see.

"You don't go with friends who are more fight than flight, freeze, or fawn," Andy shot back and took his hand, pressing his busted lip to the palm, "And maybe I worry about you more than I worry about me."

"Mr. Tough Guy here, getting into fights to defend his friends and then getting all soft with his beau!" Remy teased and booped his nose gently. Andy snickered and shrugged.

"You make me soft in the best way, but if you want you can make me hard too!" Andy jeered and wrapped his arms around Remy's waist, resting his chin on his shoulder, letting his eyes flutter shut.

"Bruises are so not sexy on your face, try again later!"

"They hurt, babe. Kiss it better?" Andy mumbled and kissed his neck. Remy shivered and tilted his head back.

"Can't do that if you don't let go, babe!"

"Then I won't, you feel like paradise and I need a vacation tonight," Andy said and yawned, "Dreamland sounds good."

"Did you stay awake just for me?" Remy teased.

"Yeah, someone had to explain the situation with V. And you make it easier to sleep," Andy grumbled and hid his face in Remy's shoulder.

"You really need to rest, Boo!"

"Not without you, Kitten."

"Then let me get in my jams and take my meds, boo. Not gonna lie, you're getting a little clingy."

Andy snorted and let him go, flopping onto the bed with a wry smirk. Remy flipped him off and got up, sashaying out of the room.

He shut the door and strolled into the kitchenette, surprised to find the light on. Virgil was awake and staring at the electric kettle, waiting for it to finish. He was hugging that same octopus toy and holding the only mug Remy hated.

"You know you need to get that hotter for herbal tea," Remy said, making Virgil jolt. He set the mug on the counter and sheepishly rubbed his neck.

"I can turn it off and go to the convenience store down the street," he muttered and tugged on his toy's tentacle.

"No, hun, you are not going anywhere when you look like you might punch anyone who bumps you," Remy said and leaned against the counter. Virgil shied away and turned off the kettle. Remy wilted and fought back a groan.

"Okay, hun, truce time," Remy sighed, "Andy told me what happened to your boyfriend."

"He's not my boyfriend."

"Do you want him to be?"

"Right now I just want him to pull through."

"Fair."

"I'll be out of here once it's light out—I know you don't want me here and I get it."

"I don't like it that he's still close to his ex, but I'm not that much of a bitch."

"It was back in high school before we were out. I never liked him that way, and the feeling was mutual."

"He never mentioned that part. He just told me you dated for a while."

"Yeah, I asked him not to bring up those times. He's been good about that—you have a great boyfriend. You shouldn't keep him waiting too long."

"Sleepytime tea is on the top shelf, but you can have some of the iced tea from the fridge if you want," Remy said and went for the pillbox on the counter and a glass he kept next to it.

He took his meds and left Virgil to get his calming tea, pleased that a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He went back to the bedroom and smirked at the lump under the covers. Thinking Andy was dozing off, he tossed his jacket aside and unzipped his jeans.

"If you wanted to put on a show I would have put on some music," Andy jeered tiredly and watched Remy blush. He could be so shy despite being a shameless thot.

"Who said anything about a show? Babe, it is so not the time!"

"Well don't hide in the bathroom, I wanna see my boyfriend being pretty without trying," he grumbled and nuzzled into his pillow, blinking up at Remy almost adorably.

"You," Remy scoffed and took off his sunglasses, "are so not playing fair, Boo."

"I'd cheat if it meant I got to have you, Kitten," Andy shrugged before yawning. Remy gawked and slipped out of his jeans and shoes. This man was too much!

"You better not cheat on me!" Remy shot back, trying to maintain his bad bitch composure. It wasn't working. Not when Andy was staring at him like he was a literal angel disrobing right in front of him.

"I won't do that—I would do almost anything for you—" he paused to yawn again, "—even take a shiv to the gut to defend you."

"You really need to stop hanging out with the trashboy. I don't want you getting shived," Remy sighed and pulled on his sweatpants. He crawled into bed while Andy snickered.

He yelped quietly when Andy wrapped his arms around his chest and pulled him close. He curled around his thot and purred softly, finally getting the cuddles he craved.

"And you call me 'kitten!'" Remy jeered and got cozy.

"Mhm, this tomcat loves his kitten," Andy mumbled against his neck, making Remy shiver, "safe kitten, rest easy." Remy snorted and rolled over.

Andy was already asleep, exhausted from his trying day. Remy smirked and placed a delicate kiss to his black eye, and then to his split lip. He closed his eyes and listened to Andy's rhythmic heartbeat, drifting off to his favorite melody—the proof his little nightmare wasn't a dream.

#remy sanders #andy sanders #remus sanders #virgil sanders #sanders sides #dukexiety #ts shorts sleepxiety #sleepxiety #remdy #there has to be a better ship name for these two and I will find it eventually #misgendering mention tw #violence mention tw #injury mention tw #stabbing mention tw #hospital mention tw #panic attack mention tw #sandyscribed #ask to tag

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pollylynn · 3 years

Text

Title: Helpmeet WC: 1100 Episode: The Fifth Bullet (5 x 11)

She is totally his Work Wife, and being his Work Wife is a two-way job. She is his wife who works her very important job, with which he totally helps. And she really should be his wife who helps him when he works. That is the Work Wife Way, but she does not seem particularly enthused about either end of this arrangement.

Seem is the operative word when it comes to being his wife who works. It’s not vanity to say that he is way too useful for her not to be enthused, deep down, that she has a Work Husband. Who else does she know, after all, who can reconstruct an entire amnesiac person—an amnesiac person who, by the way, is all but alone in the world—from nothing more than a plastic bag and the fond memory of a hundred wet doggie kisses right there out on the street in front of God and everyone?

She might argue that she knows an entire building people full of men and women trained in the art of reconstructing entire people from less evidence than a plastic grocery bag, but he knows that’s all part of the seeming. No one but her Work Husband went the extra mile and let the key to the case kiss them right on the mouth, now did they?

There is a possibility—a slight possibility—that her lack of enthusiasm for his recent attempts to enlist her help with his work is one-hundred percent genuine. He doesn’t really see why, especially given what he’s trying to enlist her help with at the moment.

“This is right in your wheelhouse, Beckett,” he tells her, though flattery has been getting him nowhere in this case.

Her head snaps up from the paperwork that simply cannot be complicated enough to warrant the attention she has been giving it, all in the name of neglecting her Work Wifely duties. She flicks a glare his way, then a glance back at the paperwork that seems to require that she crack Fermat’s Last Theorem from first principles, but ultimately she loses the Work Wife war with herself.

“How?” she snaps. “How is someone else’s love life ‘right in my wheelhouse’?”

Her air quotes are so aggressive that he worries about carpal tunnel syndrome, but that’s a concern for later. He has her talking—an absolutely necessary skill for the writerly end of her Work Wife duties—and now is the time to run with it.

“Remind me, Detective—are you not in the business of mysteries?” Her eyes narrow and he back-burner calculates the odds of her wasting a perfectly good latte by dumping it in his lap. It’s not yet 10 AM, so he decides he’ll take the under and presses on. “Is not love the greatest mystery of all?”

What might be an entirely new muscle in her jaw twitches, and he thinks he might have miscalculated. He wonders if he has time to yank the plastic liner out of the trash can next to his chair to make an impromptu rain slicker for his lower body when her posture abruptly shifts. Her shoulders descend half an inch and her head tips to the side. Her tone, when she speaks, is sharp, but inquisitive sharp, not on-the-verge-of-murder sharp. “Why do you care, Castle?”

“Why do I care?” He draws back, scandalized. “Why don’t you care?” He holds up a hand as though there’s any danger of her interrupting him. He reaches for the stapler, purely for re-enactment purposes, and sets it perpendicular to the short edge of the desk. “Here we have Jeremy Preswick. A once sweet, self-effacing man, supposedly afflicted by late-onset douche bro syndrome. Now that’s presumably courtesy of a sudden influx of money. Hey, it happens.”

He has wandered too far down that dangerous path to retreat when he realizes that a Work Wife who was not being her best self might draw parallels to the life history of a certain Work Husband. A sidelong glance registers a smirk that has him rushing on. He reaches for the pencil cup, keeping a sharp eye out in case she’s in a slapping mood.

“And here”—he sets it at the far edge of her desk blotter—“we have Emma Carnes. A young romantic, a woman absolutely in love, who . . . what? Takes a practical turn as she closes in on thirty? Cannot take dropping one more Russian novel on her foot?”

“Or . . .” She sets down her pen as she drags out the syllable. She swings her chair around to face him. Now this is how the Work Wife System is supposed to work. “She realizes as she closes in on thirty that she got married too young. Exactly like she told us.”

“That doesn’t make any sense!” He sounds sullen as he edges the office supplies closer to one another. He knows he sounds sullen. “He’s dropping a hundred grand to hold on to the painting. She’s crying over the thought that he held on to it, and then she’s crying over the thought he didn’t hold on to it.” He rattles the pencils in the cup as though he can shake the two stand-ins out of their mutually destructive silliness. “And that apartment! You saw it. Was that the apartment of a douche bro? Nothing either of them did makes any sense.”

“It doesn’t.” She plucks the pencil cup from his hand and fiddles with it herself a moment before setting it on the far side of the desk by the phone. She scowls, and he’s not sure if it’s at him or at herself. Either way she takes up her pen again, preparatory to abandoning his work needs in favor of her nth-level paperwork once again. “Case is closed,” she says brusquely, but she can’t help muttering one more time. “Why do you care?”

He doesn’t care, exactly. He certainly wishes Jeremy and Emma and Lucy a bright future, and he hopes this time around they avoid the pitfalls that led to their broken home in the first place. He doesn’t exactly care what those pitfalls were. He cares about what she thinks she were, and he wants to affirm that she finds it just as baffling as he does that two people who were obviously crazy in love, even when they were driving one another crazy, should have broken up in the first place.

He cares because he needs to know that he and his Work Wife are on the same page.

A/N: This is without form. But if it were not without form, its form would be a doggo.

images via homeofthenutty

#Castle #Caskett #Castle: Season 2 #Castle: The Fifth Bullet #Kate Beckett #Richard Castle #Fic #Fanfic #Fanfiction #Fan Fic #Fan Fiction #Writing #Tell Me More

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marvelousell · 4 years

Text

The Agreement (Part 3.)

Pairing(s): frat boy!fwb!Tom x reader, frat boy!Harrison x reader

Summary: Tom is a typical frat boy, his love for partying, drinks and girls are bigger than his ego. Y/N is a whole different dimension, she keeps her circle small, and even though she knows her best friend Tom is a total douche, she can’t say no to the little deal that was sealed between the two of them.

Word count: 2.5k

A/N: Here it is guys part 3.! I’m so glad you all like this series, and I’m so grateful for all the amazing comments and reactions you send me 🥰. I would still appreciate it if you reblog, leave a comment or send a feedback!❤️

My tag list is open for this series!

Warnings: mentions of smut, swearing, mentions of alcohol

Part 1. Part 2.

Masterlist

“Tom get that.”

“Tom your phone is ringing.”

“For fuck’s sake.”

The annoying beeping of the phone woke you from the deep slumber.

You were so jaded. The sharp pain in your muscles and in between your thighs made you yelp as you tried to sit yourself up.

Your eyes were burning, aching for more sleep.

“Are you deaf or what?” You said, finally opening your eyes.

However you were welcomed with an empty bed. The right side of the bed was cold, so it meant he went away a long time ago.

Stupid you.

“Well what did you thought Y/N? That he would stay in the morning, snuggle you up and make you breakfast?! Of course he would leave, that’s Tom after all.” You let out a loud sigh, crossing your arms, clearly annoyed that he didn’t at least tell you he was going home.

“A fucking message would be polite Holland.” You muttered to yourself.

Okay calm down. That’s how this thing works right? You wanted this, so we’re going to put the feelings aside.

“Okay the overthinking needs to stop, everything will be just fine.” You said, sliding back into your bed.

Hey it’s Saturday, nothing to do so why not?

Oh wait if it wasn’t Tom’s phone ringing it was yours.

Who is even already up at this time, and on weekend as well?

11:50 AM

Already noon? That explains a lot.

1 missed call from Anna

3 text messages from Anna

2 missed calls from Tom

3 text messages from Tom

So he did call after all. Lucky me.

Hey you up?

It’s almost noon Y/N you never sleep that long, call me when you wake up.

Are you going today? Do you want me to pick you up?

What the hell are you talking about Anna?

Did I make some plans and totally forgot about them? That would be embarrassing.

Morning love, I just wanted you to know I left early because the guys from the frat needed me. Didn’t want to wake you up, thought you need that rest after last night.

You still sleeping or? Did I dick you down that good?

Never mind. Harry is having a chill barbecue party tonight, so he told me to call you, Anna and Amelia are going too so they told me they would pick you up. Also take a bikini if you want to.

Dicked me down to good?! Idiot.

So the barbecue party is what they are talking about. Cool.

Will there be more cute girls? Probably.

And boys as well, so that means let’s have fun.

He isn’t the only one that can enjoy himself.

To Anna:

I’m going, pick me up around six.

Oh you better! Take that red cute bikini, some bird told me there will be some hot guys.

Typical Anna. But she ain’t wrong.

Stupid pain. I’m a mess, my room is a mess.

I need a break for sure, and a bath would definitely help because limping all day is a big no.

The scent of the eucalyptus oil filled the whole bathroom. The warm water mixed with it reduced the soreness and stiffness that was making you feel exhausted.

It was what you needed, enjoying the silence and some me time.

Until the phone rang again.

“Are you kidding me right now?” You groaned from the feeling of the chilly air coming in contact with your warm body as you tried to reach your phone.

Tom.

“Hello.” You answered, closing your eyes to relax as much as possible.

“Good morning to you too love. Didn’t wanna answer my calls eh?”

“I was sleeping Tom.”

“Yes, but you replied to Anna’s messages.”

“Well she needed to know if she will pick me up or not.”

“So you’re going?” He asked.

“Of course I’m going, wouldn’t miss that.”

“I kinda called you to say that I’m going to ask Sophie for that coffee, so God please help me and get her off my dick.” Tom continued, hoping that this will go as planned.

“Mmm great.” You moaned, the bath doing the job, making you feel ten times better.

“Are you touching yourself?” The voice on the other line spoke. You could practically hear him smirking.

“Excuse you?!” You screeched, not believing his words now.

Well there goes your relaxing time.

Thanks Tom.

“Nothing to be ashamed of. If I was you, I would do that too after the good sex last night, with me in your mind, rewinding the scenes that happened.” He laughed through the phone.

“Your ego is really bigger than your dick Holland.” You joked, but still telling the truth.

“Ouch sweetheart, should I let you finish what you started? We don’t want you to be that infuriated tonight.”

“For your information I’m having a bath. Trying to relax a bit.” You spit back.

“Ohh, so I did a good job after all?”

“Goodbye Thomas, see you tonight.”

“Sure sweetheart, see you.”

He really was a pain in the ass sometimes, but there was something that made you totally hooked.

You ended the call, standing up from the bath drying yourself up.

“Let’s find that bikini then.”

It was 5 PM now, the doorbell echoing through the small apartment.

“Just a minute!”

“Hello to you too gorgeous.” Anna’s singing voice lightened up your mood instantly.

The anxiety was present. Normally it would just be a stupid barbecue party. All good, nothing to worry about. Anna, Amelia, Tom and Harry would be your company, you would all enjoy the night, talking and drinking together.

But after everything you couldn’t suppress the nervousness that was making you almost puke.

“You look beautiful Y/N! So I believe that you put on the red thing right?” She smiled, winking at you.

“I did. Who knows maybe someone will love that old piece?” You joked, looking for your bag.

“Oh come on, I have someone for you to meet tonight, he is totally your type!” She began, “A great opportunity to set aside the crush for our famous lover.”

Anna was the only one who knew about the silly crush on Tom.

I mean how could she not? You, Tom and Anna were inseparable since you were little kids.

Harry was younger so he joined the group later.

Amelia was the last addition. You two met in college, clicking immediately. So you introduced her to others, and that’s how it began.

“Fair enough, I do need someone right?” You questioned, styling your hair.

“Yes! It has been a while since you have had a boyfriend, and sex.” She raised her eyebrows, sending you a cheeky smile.

Yes, it has been. Especially sex. Fifteen hours is extremely long. I agree with that Anna.

“Oh, wait you had company yesterday?” She asked, eyeing the two wine stained glasses that were on the kitchen counter.

Crap.

What am I supposed to say now?

“Uhm, n-no..both glasses are mine.” You said, hoping that she doesn’t suspect something.

“Both?” She asked suspiciously.

“Yeah, I was reading a book. My regular Friday night, and I was in the mood for some wine. I kinda put the first glass in my room, and when I went back to the living room I was already tipsy and I forgot where I put my glass, so I just took a new one.”

“Christ what a lame excuse Y/N.” You thought, feeling your cheeks getting hotter.

“Not going to lie, that sounds like you. You’re so confused when you get drunk.” She laughed, making you relaxed.

“Yeah, yeah…totally. Are we going now?” You said changing the theme, exhaling the air that got stuck in your throat a few seconds ago.

“Let’s go, you’re boy is waiting!”

Jesus give me strength for this night.

“Y/N! Anna!” Harry yelled, drawing the attention to us.

A chill barbecue party? This place is almost jam-packed.

“Well long time no see Harry.” You smiled, embracing him in a tight hug.

“Since Monday. I know you can’t go without me that long.”

“I guess I can’t.”

“You two can get a drink and take a seat or whatever you want. I still need to finish this food so I will find you after that, yes?” He asked.

“Don’t worry Holland Y/N will definitely be busy in a while.” Anna stated, laughing together with Harry.

“Oooh yes, forgot about that.”

“Why does everyone know something that I don’t?” You asked completely confused.

“Enjoy yourself Y/N! Why don’t you get us something to drink and I will try to find Amelia?”

“Sure, whatever.” You answered, still a bit suspicious because of their behaviour.

The place was starting to get full. The music that was playing in the house was loud enough for you to make your way to the kitchen as fast as you could.

You were looking around the house trying to find him. You couldn’t help yourself.

The kitchen was small but at least empty, and it had a view on the whole living room.

You put Anna’s drink on the counter, resting your back on it and looking at the sea of people, hoping you would catch at least a glimpse of Tom.

And you caught more than a glimpse for sure.

Tom and a familiar blonde attached to his hip.

Nothing unusual.

If only he wasn’t that dumb and blind, so he could see how much you like him and how a relationship isn’t a bad thing.

If only.

You are his best friend but you still didn’t know him.

Tom was a great guy. He had a good heart, but why didn’t he trust girls? Why is commitment such an issue for him?

Many questions were in your head right now and they were all unanswered.

Oh Tom, I definitely need to lose these feelings.

“He sure knows how to get a girl.” A male voice spoke behind you, making you turn instantly.

Wow.

You were greeted with a pair of deep blue eyes that were fixed on yours. His broad smile and perfect teeth were absolutely breathtaking. They could brighten up every girls day.

His figure was leaning on the fridge, drink in his hand. He adjusted his glasses, still looking at you.

“You mean Tom? Yeah, but only in his bed.” You joked, making him laugh.

“You’re not wrong.” He spoke.

“I’m sorry I didn’t introduce myself. Harrison.” He extended his hand, waiting for your name.

“Y/N, nice to meet you.” You took his hand in yours, the warm feeling sending chills through your body.

Jesus those irresistible blue eyes.

You were smiling like crazy, possibly looking like a fool.

“Beautiful name.” He spoke.

“Thank you, yours is not that bad either.” You smiled, unable to keep your eyes away from him.

Oh shit Anna’s drink.

Well she wouldn’t mind.

“Would you like to go outside maybe? A bit to crowded here.” He asked.

Is he really asking me to go with him somewhere?

Just be yourself Y/N.

“Sure.”

“After you.” He motioned you to go first, standing close behind you.

How incredible would it be if Tom saw you now.

However he was to busy facing the girl that will be his partner for the night. He was whispering in her ear, making the blonde giggle.

You couldn’t judge, you fell for his actions too.

This is just for fun. This is just sex. Nothing else.

Keep that in mind.

Someone out there is waiting for you.

“What do you say?” Harrison’s voice was ringing in your ears.

I zoned out again, why am I so embarrassing?

“Sorry, I didn’t hear you the music is just too much.” You turned your head, his face now close to yours.

“No worries. I asked if you would like to sit there.” He asked one more time, pointing to the small table in the garden.

You nodded.

There were still people around you, but his presence was making you more nervous than them.

You didn’t feel like this in a while, that’s a good start.

“So..you’re here with someone?” He began the small talk.

“Yes, with my friends. Couldn’t miss Harry’s ‘chill’ party.” You laughed, emphasising the word chill.

“Harry and his chill parties.” Harrison laughed, seeing where you’re coming from.

“You know him?” He added.

“Harry? We’re best friends since forever.”

“Really? How did I never met such a beautiful friend of his?”

You were blushing like a teen girl on her first date.

Who wouldn’t? Look at him, he was not just handsome but kind and sweet as well.

“I’m not someone who would immediately catch a boy’s attention, but thank you.” You smiled, glancing at him lowering your eyes on your drink.

“You sure caught mine.” His sweet voice spoke back.

The damn weird feeling in my stomach. Is he really making me feel these things already?

“Oh stop it you’re making me blush.” You covered your face, grinning widely.

“I think that you’re absolutely adorable when you blush if I may add.” He laughed.

Harrison was smitten.

He just wanted to get himself a drink and go find Harry.

However his plans were interrupted by a gorgeous girl in a pastel dress.

She was already lost in her thoughts when he stepped inside.

Harrison still got a perfect view of her face that was staring at the crowd forming inside the house. He saw her looking at his best friend, her facial expression turning into a disgusting one after she saw Tom fondling the girl’s bare arm.

“First girl that doesn’t find his flirting intriguing.” He thought.

He needed to talk to you. You were something else, he didn’t want to lose the chance.

Thank God he found the courage to say something, because now he wouldn’t be here sitting with you. Looking at the most engaging smile ever.

“Thank you.” You spoke, trying to calm yourself.

“So.. You and Tom?” He smirked rising his eyebrow, waiting for an answer.

Oh no he saw you staring.

Harrison was just curious. He saw the difference between you and other girls from college, but he still asked that.

“Me and him? God no! I’m his best friend.” You replied, putting on a disgusting face.

“Hey I don’t judge, just asking.” He put his hands up in in defence.

“But honestly, you don’t seem like that kind of girl.”

Now you were the one waiting for an answer.

“What I wanted to say is that you seem very bright. That the lame flirting attempts aren’t your weakness and that you’re not an attention seeker. You’re a girl who knows what she deserves. Gosh that sounded better in my head I’m sorry.” He chuckled, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“I just think that you’re pretty cute, not like the other girls here.”

This guy.

You couldn’t get enough of him. Hopefully he will be around here much more.

“That’s so sweet of you. Thank you Harrison, it turned out really nice.”

“Just the truth beautiful.” He smiled at you.

“Well, well, look what we have here.”

Tag List

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@timey-wimey-lovi

@rachaeldonnaspiteri1

@peterparker-rickybowen-mybabies

@sweetestscape

@quacksonhq

@stuckyyrogers

@kaylinfayezink

@tomhollandthing

@stardustom

@hannahholland1811

@yoinkyourheart

@magicwithaknife

@thurstyforholland

@quaksonhehe

@fanficscuziranout

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collecting-stories · 4 years

Text

Test Drive - t. 01 - Sarah Cameron

Summary: After a bad breakup you convince your roommate and best friend to go to one last party with you where she makes an unexpected move.

A/N: I love Emily Burns’ EP/Album Seven Scenes from the Same Summer and I get serious Sarah vibes whenever I listen to it.

7 Scenes from the Same Summer Masterlist | Outer Banks Masterlist

♡don’t make me your test drive for the weekend♡

“I hate to be the one to say this but I think you need to get out of this room and do something. It’s been almost a week Sarah-” You commented, rummaging through the suitcases of already packed clothes for something to wear to the party you’d been invited to.

The comforter on the other bed moved, Sarah’s head peeking out as she wriggled around to look at you. “We were together for three years! Three years of birthdays and holidays and dates and vacations-“

You rolled your eyes. It was no secret that you were not a fan of John B and his whiny ‘pay attention to only me’ attitude that demanded all of Sarah’s time when he was visiting. When they broke up you had practically thrown yourself a party. “I know, I know. But you aren’t gonna move on from that laying under your blankets. When was the last time you took a shower babe?” 

“Is my personal hygiene really all that’s important to you?” 

“No, my best friend not totally losing it over a guy is though. You’re 3 hours away from home Sarah and he’s acting like you live on another continent. If he ‘can’t handle’ you going to college then why do you wanna be with this guy anyway.” It was the same argument you had with her every time that she fought with him about their schedules, the only difference this time was that they were totally broken up. A screaming match that you were forced to endure too.

“I love him.” 

“I know you do,” you said, trying not to sound sarcastic, “but let’s push all the love down and just focus on what kind of douche calls you two days before the biggest final of the year and tells you that you’re selfish for asking him to come out to visit for the weekend.”

“He knows I can’t leave during finals! I never focus when I study with him!” Sarah complained, pushing the blanket down a little bit further.

“Why’s that?” You asked though you knew the reason. You were desperate to get Sarah to this party with you and you needed her to actually get out of bed to do that.

“Because,” she said, “because he doesn’t let me! It’s always ‘I’m bored’ and ‘can’t you do that later’ and ‘aren’t I more important than stupid books’ like I’m supposed to drop everything for him!” 

“What a dick.”

“He is a dick...” she agreed, trailing off as she flopped over onto her back and pulled the blanket up.

“Oh my god, you were so close.” You cried in frustration.

“I said-“

“Yeah, I got the train of thought that just happened.” 

“What am I gonna do? What if we never get back together?” Sarah asked, sitting up in bed and brushing her hair out of her face.

“I can’t imagine.”

“I just want him to call me and tell me he changed his mind or something. Like it was all a dumb fluke.” She face was blotchy from crying and she was picking at a tangled piece of hair near the end.

“Sarah,” You stressed.

“I know!”

“Listen, that girl from the third floor, Annie, is having a party tonight. Why don’t we go? It’ll be nice.” You finally said, defeated that you couldn’t bribe her out of bed and trying it the straight forward way instead.

“I don’t wanna go to some lame party, I just want to be left alone.” 

“Okay, well I’m gonna...Victoria’s gonna be there, from my econ class, so I’m gonna head up there.” You confessed.

“You’re ditching me for a hook-up?” Sarah practically screeched looking at you in annoyance.

“You said you wanted to be alone!”

“Yeah like, go in the other room and watch tv while I sulk not abandon me for Victoria from econ!” She hated Victoria from your econ class. And she hated that you were thinking about some girl while she wanted you to be thinking of her.

“Well...depending on the night I might very well be in the next room before the parties over.” You said, offering her an awkward smile.

“Hooking up with her is worse than abandoning me for a party.” 

You groaned and stood up, walking over to bed and laying down next to her. “I haven’t dated in months babe, and I endured countless weekends sitting on that couch or going to Starbucks while John B ‘visited my you. The least you can do is let me have this.” 

“Fine but I’m coming with you. The last thing I need is Victoria from econ thinking I’m a loser cause I’m moping in bed on a Friday night.” Sarah said, climbing out of the bed.

“That’s the spirit!” You cheered, raising your arms in the air and fake cheering.

“Seriously?” 

“Whatever gets you out of bed.” You replied.

“I’m still upset!” Sarah snapped, digging through the suitcases you had just been crouched in front.

“I know, I know.” You insisted, sitting up, “wear the leopard print dress.”

“I’m not trying to hookup with anyone. I’m only going because I have a reputation to maintain and Victoria from econ is the worst!”

“Maybe, but I heard she’s really good in bed.” 

“Is that all you care about?” She laughed for the first time in two days.

“I literally cannot explain to you how little sex I have had all year. Besides the last party I went to that kid from Poly Sci grabbed my boob...and only because he tripped and put his hand out accidentally. That was the highlight of the last three months.” 

“I’m not wearing the dress.”

“You look so good in it!” You said, already imagining Sarah in the spaghetti strapped leopard print mini dress.

“Really? I think it’s a little tight across my butt.” She confessed, pulling it out and holding it up.

“It’s tight everywhere, that’s the point. Besides, you have a great ass so who cares.” 

“Oh tell me more.” Sarah teased, turning to the side and popping her leg to pose for you.

You grabbed her pillow off the bed and threw it at her, “get a shower! We’ll do praise Sarah Cameron hour later.” 

“Fine but your starting with how great my ass looks.” She said, grabbing her toiletries bag off the back of the door.

“Super! Get a fucking shower and let’s go! Victoria-“

“From econ awaits. I get it!” The door slamming behind her was the last sound you heard as you flopped back onto the bed and tried to figure out what you were going to wear to the party.

“Did you find her?” Sarah asked, sitting on the arm of the couch, turned in toward you, knees almost touching. You were sitting on the windowsill scoping out the party.

“Yeah, Annie snatched her up, literally. They are already in Victoria’s room by now I’m sure.”

“Annie does not wait.” Sarah commented, taking a sip of her drink.

You groaned, looking down at your chest. “God, I should’ve gotten like breast implants or something instead of the nose job.” You grabbed your boobs for a second, squeezing them and then crossing your arms under your chest to push them out more.

“I don’t think fixing a deviated septum constitutes a nose job.” Sarah teased, casting a look down at your mostly exposed boobs. The top was low-cut already and when you sat like that it offered up more of them to look at. “And besides, your boobs look fantastic.”

“You really think so.” You pouted at her, leaning so she was almost forced to look at them.

“Oh my god, yes now get them out of my face.” She laughed, pushing you away from her.

“Ugh whatever. You’re no fun.”

“I’m loads of fun.”

“Incorrect. I dragged you all the way here to this banging party-” You said, bobbing your head on the word banging.

“You’re so embarrassing, why are we friends?”

“-told you how great your ass looks and you can’t even flirt with me to make me feel better.” 

“Were you that invested in Victoria?” Sarah asked.

“No, I just really need a good hookup or something. A girlfriend preferably.” You sighed, slumping against the window.

“Those are two different things. And I heard Victoria only does hookups.”

“Is it so wrong to imagine Victoria from econ going down on me and then realizing what a fucking hot girlfriend I would be?” You asked. You could definitely imagine it, even if it wasn’t Victoria that you wanted to have as a girlfriend.

“How would that work?”

“Forget it, you’re not bringing me down to your level.”

“My level?”

“Yes, your level, of being in a shitty mood. I’m going to remain hopeful that Victoria from econ will come back to the party, sweep me off my feet and, preferably, fuck me into oblivion.” You said, matter-of-fact.

“Amazing.” Sarah replied.

You sat up a little straighter when you noticed the door open and two girls enter the party, going their separate ways. “Ha! Look, I knew it.”

“What? Oh my god, they’re back already?” Sarah caught sight of Annie going over to a group of friends and whispering. One of the guys in the group put his arm on her shoulder and for a second Sarah imagined herself at a party like this with John B. Dancing and drinking, his hands on her.

“Annie has the stamina equivalent of a goldfish’s attention span. She never lasts and she barely reciprocates.” You informed, not noticing your best friend’s distracted state as you watched Victoria from across the room.

“How do you know?”

“We hooked up in September.” You shrugged. Your first college hookup.

“You never told me that!”

“We weren’t friends yet! You were just some weird straight girl with a hobo boyfriend.”

“Wow.” Sarah exaggerated the word, rolling her eyes at you.

You smacked Sarah’s thigh when Victoria glanced your way, turning to your roommate and best friend, trying not to look too excited. “Oh my god, she looked over, act interested in me.”

“We’re already talking?” 

“Like, pet my arm or something.”

“Pet your arm?” Sarah asked in disbelief.

“Just-“

Sarah grabbed your face in her hands, throwing her last bit of caution out the window, crashing her lips to yours. Quite literally, she pressed herself closer to you as she kissed you and you somehow pulled yourself enough out of the haze to kiss back, eyes closing without even looking to see if Victoria was still paying attention. All you could focus on was Sarah’s tongue wetting your bottom lip before slipping inside your mouth. Her tongue caressed yours and her hand ran down your neck and over your back before she was groping your breast in her hand, squeezing the soft skin through your bralette. She captured your bottom lip between her teeth, tugging gently as she pulled away.  

When you opened your eyes, she was staring at you, wide eyed, hand still holding your breast and the other cupping your cheek. “I-“

“Dorm?” You chanced asking.

“Yes.”

She stood up, straightening her dress with one hand while you held the other, leading her through the crowd of people as if you were trying to make it back to your room before the momentum wore off and you were just roommates again. Victoria called your name when you got close to the door, having seen the entire kiss from her spot. 

“Sorry, can’t talk.”

Sarah cocked an eyebrow at her as she passed, throwing up the middle finger before she was totally out the door. She had always been annoyed by Victoria and it always had everything to do with how much attention you paid the girl in your econ class. But now you were pulling Sarah along and Victoria had subsequently lost. 

Sarah felt for the handle, back against the door, as she kissed you. Her other hand was in your hair, pulling you as close as she could as she tried to get the door to the dorm open. She didn’t want to think too much what this meant for your friendship or her relationship with John B or herself, all she wanted to do was enjoy this moment and the feeling of you against her. She finally got the door, tumbling through it and almost losing her balance but your arm around her waist caught her.

“Holy shit,” she laughed and kissed you, not wanting to lose the moment as she walked both of you backward through the small common room to your bedroom.

“Maybe you should open this door the right way,” you teased, your hands on her waist gently guiding her to turn around.

She stepped back just enough to press her ass against you, looking back over her shoulder and smiling, “does that only work on straight guys?”

“No, that definitely working.” You laugh.

Once you were both through the bedroom door and had it swinging shut behind you Sarah resumed kissing you, hooking her hands around the back of your neck and connecting her lips to yours. She walked backwards until her knees hit the bed. You pressed your body against hers, hands on her waist trying to bunch her dress up from there.

She disconnected from you for a second, pulling the leopard print dress over her head, hair flying over her shoulders, and leaving her in nothing but a nude colored thong. You choked down a laugh and she frowned at you. “Not the reaction I was expecting,” she said as she grabbed at the hem of your dress.

“We have the same underwear on.” You replied and Sarah looked at you, eyes sparkling with laughter. She could remember when you’d convinced her to impulse by half the collection of Skims and then you’d both spent weeks flashing each other at random points during the day to tell the other how comfortable your clothes were.

“I fucking hate you.” She mumbled as she kissed you again, pulling you down onto the bed with her.

When you propped yourself up on your elbow to look down at Sarah you could totally understand why John B wanted so much of her attention, though you’d spent an entire school year with her so it wasn’t something you were clueless to before. But she looked beautiful, laid out on the bed with her hair fanned out around her. She smiled at you and you leaned down to kiss her, lips brushing against her and then moving along her jaw to her neck and collar. You kissed the underside of her chin down to her clavicle while your free hand ran up her side, running your fingers along the underside of her breast and feeling goosebumps rise on her skin.

Sarah’s eyes drifted shut at the sensation of your lips sucking a bruise into the skin above her right breast while your hand grasped her left, brushing your fingers over her nipple and then twisting it between your thumb and finger. She moaned, running her hand through your hair and holding on at the base of your neck. She guided you further down her body, your mouth pressing kissing all around her right breast.

She moaned when you finally licked across her nipple, flattening your tongue against it and then sucking on her breast making her dig her nails into your arm. Sarah had a way of making a person dizzy with her. She could make you forget everything but her just by smiling or biting her lip but feeling her under you, getting to taste her slightly sweaty skin had you more in awe of her than you’d ever been before.

“It’s cool with me if this is just a rebound or whatever, I get it. But we’re friends and I should be totally honest with you.” You said, staring at the ceiling so you didn’t have to meet her eyes. “I’ve had feelings for you pretty much since August when we started texting. I didn’t say anything cause I didn’t want you to feel weird or to think that I was trying to encroach on you and John B cause I would never but...after what just happened, I feel like whatever you choose to do, you should know.” 

“That you like me?” Sarah asked, laying there with you in the afterglow, her fingers brushing designs into your stomach and sides. She had never even really thought about being with a girl before...not really. Sure, Kiara had a girlfriend and when they first started dating Sarah had wondered what it would be like but not seriously.

“Yeah.”

“Since August?”

“Oh yeah, hardcore.” You nodded as best you could laying down. She hadn’t let go yet, that had to be a good sign.

“What about Victoria from econ?”

You shifted, sitting up so you could look at her. Sarah sat up across from you. Finally you explained, “She’s hot and the exact opposite of you and that was definitely the point. But hooking up with Victoria wasn’t going to change the fact that I liked you. It might’ve lessened the blow of ya know, not seeing you all summer. This definitely won’t do that.”

“I don’t really know what to say.” She admitted.

“You don’t have to say anything, I’m just telling you, to be up front and cause...I want you to feel comfortable and I know you’re going through a lot with John B right now and the year is over. I also wanted to tell you that I totally understand if you want a new roommate next year.” 

“No, no, are you kidding me? Kiara’s roommate was a fucking psycho all year! I am not rooming with a stranger! My luck I’ll get stuck with fucking Victoria from econ!”

“You really hate Victoria.” You laughed.

“Of course, I do! With her fucking stupid ‘I’m summering in Portugal’ and ‘once I made out with an ambassador’s daughter at a fundraiser for poor kids’ and ‘I speak three languages’.” Sarah said, mocking the way Victoria’s voice always sounded, “she’s the worst.”

“How many times have you talked to her? I’ve never heard any of those things.” You said, trying to think of how much you actually knew about Victoria.

“Spring break that you bagged on! She fucking showed up and spent like three days telling me dumb stuff about herself, like, bitch I don’t care about you.” 

“Okay,” you laughed, “I think we’re getting a little off topic, let’s revisit the conversation we were actually having.” 

“I don’t wanna go back to the eight.” Sarah moaned, leaning over and pressing her face close to her ankles. “It’s gonna be Kiara feeling conflicted about who to hang out with and everybody being weird about parties and seeing John B pop up every five seconds because that would be my luck!” 

You bit your lip, weighing the options of asking Sarah back with you for the summer now that the two of you had just had sex. “Well I’m not sure how enticing it would be but, you could come with me back to Philly for the summer.” 

“What would we do in Philly?” Sarah asked, looking up at you.

“We can go to museums or head to the shore for a day or go eat a 14oz burger or get cheesesteaks and giant slices of pizza or recreate the Rocky scene or go to a farm or see Amish people....” you listed, “any of these.”

“Eating. The cheesesteaks sound good.” 

“Philly has banging food.” You said, nodding.

“Okay.”

“Seriously.”

“Yeah, okay, I mean we’re friends.” Sarah shrugged.

“Yeah, of course, and we can stay friends.” You agreed. You knew you had feelings for Sarah and now she knew that too but you weren’t going to let them come in the way of your friendship.

“Yeah. So, yeah I‘ll go to Philly with you.” 

“Okay.”

Sarah sat there for a moment before, looking around the room, before looking back at you and pouting. “Hey, do you think we could still cuddle cause I could really use it right now.”

“Yeah, totally, I’m coming in for a cuddle.”

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haikyuuwaifu · 3 years

Note

Hey mama I kinda need some life advice so me and my dad have never really been close and he has been a great a douche bag ever scene he found out I was born but my mother is a lot like you she doesn't take no motherfucking shit from anybody she really started to show her bad bitch side after she had my sister but anyway my dad is not the best he has forgotten my birthdays I got sick one time and he didn't care I went to go visit him when I was like 7 and he didn't really pay attention to me and keep in mind my parents have never been married I was a heavily unplanned pregnancy and Mama it's like I want to have a stronger bond with him but he is making it really hard for me to do that and I don't know how work this my mom has given the best advice that she can but I am really just lost um sorry for the long rant Mama I really needed to get this of my chest feel free to answer you really don't have to😅

DON’T WASTE TIME AND ENERGY ON SOMEONE WHO DOESN’T DESERVE IT.

Seriously, your dad sounds like a total piece of shit. And if he doesn’t want to be involved, don’t let that shit bother you. CLEARLY you’re better off without him. It’s not worth your mental health or your emotional health to pursue something that will inevitably make you unhappy. Long term, it’s his loss. He doesn’t get to see how great you are, and that is on HIM not YOU. You’ve got your mom and sometimes that’s all anyone really needs. THE ONE PARENT who is there through and through is worth MORE than that shitty parent who doesn’t care.

My dad isn’t the best at like, being a good emotional support system, but he’s been my support system my entire life. My biological mother is a trash bitch c*nt that can kick fucking rocks. I don’t even think about her. That’s how unimportant she is to me. You just gotta let go of that asswipe and focus on all the good you have around you now. He’s not your dad. He’s just a sperm donor bitch.

Mama

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wwwafflewrites · 4 years

Text

Never Fear (The Winchesters Are Here)

Six Feet Under

You woke up to a deep ache in your shoulders. It was sore all the way down your back. Probably bruised to hell.

You grunted, and your breath fanned back onto your face. You attempted to move, despite your smarting back, and your hands brushed against loose dirt and flaky wood. You tried to adjust your eyes, but there was nothing to see. Just… black. Wherever you were, it was a narrow space. A dirty narrow space.

Was it time to mention you were also slightly claustrophobic?

You were sweating. The air was stuffy. But there was something cold right next to you. Something cold and yielding. You reached for it, blindly patting with your hand flat out, until your fingers curled around something with contour.

You mapped out the dimensions of the object before recoiling in horror. That was no object—that… that was a body.

Which, with your odds, meant you were in a coffin. An oddly large, though still cramped, coffin. Underground. With no way out but through the suffocating dirt.

Freaking ghouls.

Your first instinct was to scream. To pound up against the wood and holler until your throat was raw. It wasn’t that you wouldn’t, either; it was that you couldn’t.

You couldn’t breathe.

There was something in your chest right now. There had to be. A void where your lungs had been, like a vacuum that swallowed up all the usable air. Your heart was in your throat.

Were you running out of oxygen? Was it already too late? Your shallow breaths were burning a hole in your chest. You couldn’t breathe.

You reached over to the corpse, this time with urgency. Cold but still flaccid. The body had been fresh for about an hour, then. Rigor mortis hadn’t even begun.

Does it matter? a part of your mind reasoned. It sounded a little like Dean. There’s a cold, dead body next to you, you’re on your last round of air, and you still can’t stop being a nerd?

"It matters," you muttered to yourself. "Matters ‘cause that means I’ve been stuck down here for about an hour. Takes about five hours total to run short on oxygen. Means at the very least, I’m not dying… yet."

As hard as a transition was going to be, you needed to breathe deep and slow. But there was still a tightness in your chest.

Relax your shoulders, you could almost hear Sam chiding.

"A little… difficult to do… suffocating in a pine box," you said, but you relaxed them anyway. You then took in your first, full breath since you woke up. That was progress.

You couldn’t count on the Winchesters finding you in time, or at all. You were going to have to take matters into your own hands and try to climb out of the grave. Dean had done it before, so you could too.

Dean’s also, like, 200 pounds of muscle, Sam cautioned.

If you were going to climb out of your grave, you needed a mask to protect your face from the dirt. Which meant you were going to need to work your shirt off of your head. You brushed your hand over your stomach. Well, you must have put up a fight. Your shirt was shredded, so… that was a no go.

The dead guy had a shirt, Dean said.

Fantastic.

You looked over to your left, to the corpse you couldn’t see. You reached over, awkwardly pulling the shirt up. Its cool skin grazed yours as you worked the fabric over its head.

The neck didn't jerk about; it was rigid, but the arms weren't. Rigor mortis was kicking into gear. Which meant you had been down here for roughly two hours. Working as a hunter, you needed to have some level of knowledge on the dead.

Such a nerd, you could see Dean rolling his eyes.

You tied the bottom of the shirt which took a little while with your arms pinned down and the pitch darkness to guide you. Finally, though, you made a tight knot.

You pulled the shirt over your head like a bag and sat there for a moment. You wished the Winchesters could talk you through this.

That's when you broke at the pine box. The dirt was cold, dry, and thankfully loose. It fell in clumps around your shoulders, and you shoved it down at your feet.

Climbing your way past the dirt was no joke. It was grimy and freaking difficult. It was like those foam pits that gymnasts use that are nearly impossible to work your way out of, except in complete darkness with limited space. In other words, a freaking nightmare.

But you kept working. Kept pushing up while pushing the dirt down. Six feet, Sam reminded you. Just six feet. Once you’re standing, just work upward. Should be about as tall as I am, yeah?

You made a risky move upward, throwing your hand up as far as it could go, and touched air. A light breeze fell over your skin.

To say it was encouragement was an exaggeration. You worked twice as hard, shoving your way to the top. When your hand felt hard dirt, you crunched your abs and pulled until your chest hit the surface. You frantically dug your legs out before collapsing on the ground.

You went into a fit of hysterical laughter, a result of your adrenaline high and the last throes of your panic.You threw the filthy t-shirt off of your head, inhaling the air that you had once taken for granted.

In your brief delirium, you recalled Dean Winchester retelling his old raising-from-perdition story. He had hardly mentioned climbing out of his grave, as if it hadn't been important. His focus had mainly been on the mystery of the angels and how they turned out to be douches. He had made this part sound like a. Slice. Of. Pie.

And, well, you got a freaking reality check today. Because it was an entire body workout, and it was exactly as terrifying as it sounded—no, worse. Waking up in pitch darkness, in a small space, with a corpse, six feet under the ground? Hell naw. You were lucky you'd had enough trauma to know how to push back your panic. Because two years ago, you probably would have rotted down there, helpless.

It left you to wonder, though. Why the ghouls left you alive, and not the dead guy. All the other grave desecrations had been long dead—but you were the first to live.

First, you were going to have to get back to the motel. You already knew the boys were gonna freak.

///

When you opened up the hotel door, the Winchesters sprang out of their chairs, barking your name in surprise. "You're—you're…" Sam stammered as he took in your state. You couldn't blame him; the grave had covered you in dirt from neck to toe.

"Alive. I know," you said. "I'm also really dirty. You mind if I use your guys' shower?"

Sam blinked. "No, not at all, but uh, seriously—what happened?"

You let out a halfhearted, breathy laugh. "Nothing I couldn't handle." You tried to shrug past Dean, but he caught your arm.

"You were gone for three hours," he said.

"Look, we're just worried about you. Could you humor us?" Sam added. His eyes were pleading and damn hard to say no to.

You scowled. "You two gotta tell me what happened on your end first. Deal?"

"Deal," Dean said. "You know most of it. Several grave desecrations of old gravestones, but fresh bodies where bones should be. People in town go missing a few days before that. We split: you went to check on the newest body, while we checked the cemetery. We ganked the ghoul, figured you were coming back from the morgue, but you never showed. After about three hours of looking, we came back here to see if you had maybe come back at all. Actually, we were just about to leave again." Dean clapped his hands. "Did you ever find anything at the morgue?"

"Yeah, the guy had died from…" …asphyxiation. You trailed off. "Oh crap…"

"What? What is it?"

"Asphyxiation. The guy… he, uh, he had died from asphyxiation. Originally, I mean. The ghoul had been burying his food to eat later. Like… like a squirrel. Must have taken the guy out to snack on, but he was already dead." It was all coming together. "The ghoul was either stupid or confident because he got sloppy. Probably because he was too hungry to care. That's why… why I… why I..." Damn it, you let that slip. You peered around them, looking for escape. "Guys, hey, can I just shower? I really just wanna—"

This time, Sam caught your arm. He was gentle, but he had a firm grip. "That's why you what?"

You clammed up, peeling your eyes away from them. "Why I… uh…" you couldn't think of an excuse, and the silence was becoming too long to make a convincing one on the spot. You should have walked into this room with a workable lie in mind, but all you had wanted was to shower, scrub all the dirt off your skin, and to lather soap where you had touched that god-awful corpse. You just wanted to be clean and to sleep.

And you seriously were trying to tell them things. Lying sucked, but this? You weren’t sure if you could tell them this and come out of it in one piece.

Sam softly said your name again, trying to bring your eyes back to his. It was too easy. He knew your tells. Your eyes always gave you away if you lied.

We're never going to let this die, your inner Dean voice sang. And you internally swatted it away.

I know, you thought sourly. Behind your eyes, a pressure built. Just let me go so I can cry alone. I can't cry in front of you. I can't. "He—it… might have… buried me alive." It took everything you had in you for your voice to stay steady.

Both of them rocked back a little. Dean looked a little dazed, and Sam looked pale. Sam tilted his head, "Excuse me, buried—?"

"It explains the dirt," Dean sighed. "No offense, sweetheart, but you smell like a toilet."

Oh, shove it, Winchester.

"Yeah, I know. That's why I just want to shower—"

"Hold on," Sam said. He had his hands combing his hair. "Hold on, hold on, just— am I the only one bothered by this?! She— you could have died!"

"But I didn't," "But she didn't," you and Dean said in unison. He winked at you and you rolled your eyes back.

"Sam. I have been through a lot. You know it, I know it. I'm not that girl from two years ago. You said it yourself once before: I'm a Winchester now. And I'm not a Winchester without a few near death experiences."

Sam scowled. "You two are so frustrating. Fine, go. Go take your shower. This conversation isn't over, though."

Thank God. You could handle this later. The conversation alone had keyed you up. You were burning with tension, anxiety, and trauma. You waved a hand at him. "Fine. But can we do it in the morning? I am so frickin' exhausted." It wasn't a lie; you had bruises lining your entire back, and your face muscles hurt from all the fake expressions you were sending Sam.

They can't know that I'm weak. How hard could it be, anyway?

Dean did it once, like a freaking champ. Why couldn't you just suck it up and be a big girl?

He looked on at you with that sad, thoughtful look of his. Complete with the infamous Winchester puppy eyes. "Yeah, sure."

You were happy to get out of the conversation—and this hunt—relatively unscathed. Hopefully, you would never have to go through that crap ever again, or you really didn't think you'd be able to keep yourself together like you just had.

When you shut the bathroom door behind you, you let the silent tears run down your face. You bit your hand, heaving, wishing you had the freedom to scream. But you couldn't, so you didn't. All you did was turn on the shower right as you let out a quiet sob into a towel to muffle it out.

Why did your life suck so bad?

///

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miss-choco-chips · 4 years

Text

College au part 2

Home, a place where I can go to take this off my shoulders- someone take me home (Machine Gun Kelly, X Ambassadors & Bebe Rexha – Home)

They are there for each other, the good and the bad. That’s what family is for, after all.

-.-.-.-.-.-

-I'm so gay -sighed Miguel almost dreamingly, stopping next to Slobo by the doors leading to the backyard.

Blissfully unaware of them, Tim was going through his usual routine of what seemed a mix of gymnastics, various martial arts and parkour, with a side of dancing to spice things up.

His friend snorted without even raising his eyes from the motorcycle engine he was trying to fix. A blasphemy, in Miguel's humble opinion, to have such an amazing view and to not take advantage of it.

-I know.

He dropped to the ground, head resting on Slobo's shoulder, gaze unwavering in his appreciation of slim muscles and perfectly controlled strength. Tamed power to the fullest.

-I mean like, really really gay.

-Yeah, what else is new? Pass me the motor oil.

He blindly patted the ground for it, picking something vaguely shaped like a can and thrusting it to where he thought were the other's hands.

When Tim bends over and starts stretching, Miguel wheezes and drops the can.

-I'm so stupidly, non functionally gay.

Slobo rolled his eyes and picked it up, his other hand going to close Miguel’s jaw.

-Dude that's all old news. Either come here with fresh gossip, be helpful, or leave. I don't need you making a mess of my stuff. You are getting your hormones all over my individual bubble.

Miguel sighed again, eyes almost physically turning into hearts when Tim stretched his arms over his head.

-Fuck, I can’t handle this much inner gay. It’s overwhelming.

-Nothing inner about it, dude. You’re dripping it all over my work station. Can’t you go be a disaster gay somewhere else?

-Tim is here, so no can do.

-Can’t you just ask him out and save us all the pining show and second hand embarrassment?

A few meters away, Tim had taken out the bo staff and was practicing some moves. He accidentally brushed a branch (a thick one, from the pine tree Kon’s grandparents had made him plant upon moving there), and snapped it in half. He seemed kinda sheepish about it, which was both adorable and terrifying. Miguel was scared and horny.

-He’d destroy me.

Slobo hummed, hand reaching up to pat Miguel in the shoulder.

-Sounds like something you’d be kinda into, though.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

-This coffee tastes like dirt -complained Tim, while chugging half the pot in one long gulp.

Distantly, Cassie noted there was still steam coming out of the liquid. Hadn’t Tim just brew it? Also, was it completely dark? No sugar?

Like her future?

Despairingly, she let her head fall again on the table.

-Why did I get into politics?

-Your pathological need to fulfill Diana’s expectations -replied Cissie, sitting across from her, long hair in what could have been a bun once upon a time but now looked more like a bird’s nest. That had been hit by lighting. Repeatedly.

It strangely suited her. Or it could be Cassie’s adoration for her friend speaking, who the fuck knows.

-Which, I might add -interjected Tim, not waiting for them to say ‘you may’ before continuing. Because he was a rude bastard like that- you invented by yourself. Diana only hopes you don’t end up in jail. And if it's for the right causes, she might even forgive that.

He dropped to the ground for no discernible reason, back to the cabinets where they kept the fine cutlery they never used. He was staring at the halfway empty pot like it contained the key to conquering mankind.

Knowing Tim, it might actually be true.

-Don’t try to take over the world -she asked, worried he might. Cissie made a confused sound, not privy to Cassie’s internal monologue, but Tim just nodded distractedly, which was all she needed before turning back to her half done paper.

-How are you doing, sis?

-Sis like sister, o Ciss like Cissie? -came Tim’s voice from behind her, probably still sitting on the ground.

-Yes.

-Oh -the girl in front of her blinked- sorry, you were talking to me?

-I mean… Tim is not ‘sis’.

-I resent that, I totally could be. Also, seriously, why does my coffee taste like dirt?

-Don’t drink it then. You were saying, honey?

Cassie rested her chin on a hand, elbow carefully to the side of her paper.

-How are you doing?

-Wondering why did I ever thought studying psychology was a good idea. Why? Who started me on this path, and can I punch them? -her voice raised higher and higher the more distressed she got- Tim? Do you remember?

-Your therapist back in high school got you out of your toxic home life and helped you basically re-build your sense of self worth. Also you like to get into everyone’s business so Kon suggested making a career out of it.

-Remind me to punch him later.

-You could break your hand, and you have an archery competition this friday.

-Kick him, then.

-Got ya.

-Can I just die? -interjected Cassie, phone at hand. Her screen displayed a text sent by a classmate, who updated her on their due date. Apparently, she had calculated wrong and it was way sooner than what she thought- What’s the worst that could happen if I die? I’m sure people would get over it.

-You’d be losing all the progress you made in your career so far -reminded her Cissie.

Tim’s voice joined from behind- Included, but not limited to, that one class you had with the douche professor. Imagine if you lost your progress and had to start over. Imagine having class with him again.

She shivered- That was both incredibly motivational, and unholily terrorizing.

Greta entered the kitchen then. She looked fresh and cute, which was probably due to her having a full night’s sleep.

-Wow, you three have been here the whole night? -she asked, obviously concerned, looking over Cissie’s shoulder at her assignment- Did you guys even make progress? At all? -her eyes discovered Tim’s half assed project, on the place next to where Cissie sat.

If Cassie didn’t love her so much, she would punch her in the face.

Tim sighed.

-I can’t get up. I can’t feel my legs -he admitted. Cassie thinks, she should be worried. Losing sensibility seemed like a serious problem. But, whatever, Greta was here, and she was perfectly well rested. Let her take care of the worrying.

-Tim? Oh my god, are you alright? -she rushed to his side.

-I think the coffee stopped making effect, and my three-on-a-row all nighters caught up to me. Just let me die, Greta. If coffee is not longer working on my body, I might as well let the grim reaper do its thing.

Cassie couldn’t see her any longer, since she was at her back by Tim’s side, but she could still somehow sense her concern growing.

-Tim... Did you use this bag by the coffee maker to brew it?

-I can’t move my head to look up at what you’re pointing, but I guess I did.

-Oh, honey… that is soil for Kon’s vegetable plot. Not coffee grounds.

-...so that’s why it tasted like dirt. Thank god. Excuse me while I faint.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

-I think Conner is dead on our living room -announced Miguel entering the kitchen. Slobo, Anita and Greta didn’t even blink, just kept their... poker? game going.

-He’s probably just sleeping -the other man waved a hand dismissively- Did you check his pulse or something?

-Ew, no. What if he’s really dead? I don’t want to touch a corpse. Greta, you go touch it.

-Why me?

-If anyone will need to put their fingerprints in a veritable crime scene, who better than the only one with no criminal record?

-Tim doesn't have it either, go knock on his door and tell him to do it. I’m about to swindle both these jerks.

-There’s a difference between never getting caught by the police, and erasing all virtual proof of your crimes. Tim belongs to the second group. Also, last I checked, he and Bart were working on something on his room. I’m not approaching that danger zone without protective equipment.

-Speaking of -Slobo raised his head, looking around- has anyone bought them food in the last couple of hours?

-Kon, probably.

-He is dead -he reminded them- Cassie and Cissie are still asleep, and I’m not waking them up. Greta?

Out of their group, Conner was Tim and Bart’s official handler (when Tim was not micromanaging them all, at least; little control freak). Many people believed he lifted at the gym to get all the girls; in truth, as the boy had once told Miguel, it was so he could carry both his friends to bed in one trip to tuck them in at the same time, because if he did it separately, the one that got to be second always tried to make a run for it.

In the event he was unavailable, Cassie took over. Her skills with a lasso and years of practice at the rodeo came in handy then, and it never failed to crack him up when he saw how swiftly she caught them both.

And if she wasn’t close or was busy, then Cissie took over for Bart and Greta for Tim, as they could only handle one at the time.

The rest of them were last resource. Second to last was Jason Todd, who as both Tim’s brother and Bart’s TA held a fair amount of power over them.

If Jason told them to fuck off, then Slobo, Miguel and Anita would talk it out among themselves. Slobo would suggest knocking them out. Which, considering Bart’s speed and Tim’s mindblowing ninja training (and where the hell did he learn that, they would never know), wasn’t a very realistic option. Anita suggested drugs; but between Bart’s ADHD medication and Tim’s antibiotics for his lack of spleen and antidepressants, the adverse effects made them all a little uncomfortable with the idea.

Miguel’s own suggestions, which involved a lot of tender care and coddling, where ignored with a few laughs and a shrug.

-Fuck you, I’m not leaving this table so close to cleaning you both up. If you are worried, you go feed them.

Slobo shrugged.

-If they die, I call Tim’s room. Having a roommate is the worst.

-Excuse you -raised an eyebrow Miguel, walking to the fridge for a drink. He might as well watch the game.

-If I have to listen to you practicing your singing before showering one more time...

-If I can deal with you cursing at your phone at five am, you can deal with my melodious voice -Miguel blinked- That’s not poker.

-We are playing Truco.

-What?

-It’s a popular game in Argentina, or so Tim said. He taught us when he was having a coffee break this morning. And by the way: Truco, bitches!

-I’m in! -Slobo yelled back.

Greta looked at her cards impassively, then at the ones laying on the table between the three of them, before raising an eyebrow- I call Re Truco.

Miguel watched them go for a while. He wasn’t sure on the rules, but from the way they kept yelling, he knew it was highly competitive. It also seemed to involve a great amount of deceit, bullshiting and being as poker faced as possible. It made sense that Tim had been the one introducing them to the game. Speaking of…

-Maybe if I knock on the door with a coffee offering, he’ll listen to me without punching my nose in? -he mumbled to himself, aware that the others were ignoring him. Decided to test his luck, he climbed to his feet and readied the coffee maker.

The rest of the afternoon saw Miguel sitting on Tim’s bed, watching from the sidelines how both he and Bart built… something. It had a chainsaw and a mini shield, so maybe a fighting bot? There were some (not very legal) competitions around campus...

It was almost dinner time when he remembered a tiny, small detail.

-Man, I’m so hungry. You guys think dinner is ready? -asked Bart, hand sweeping the sweat off his forehead- Who was in charge of it tonight?

Lightning-like realization hit Miguel.

-Oh, yeah, speaking of that… Kon was probably dead, last time I checked. Maybe we should order a pizza or something?

-Cool, I could do pizza.

-I’m sorry, Kon was what?!

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

-You guys need jobs -told them Tim one morning over breakfast. They had just moved in together, and classes were about to start. Nobody seemed willing to talk about responsibility yet, but he felt like they needed the push to do it.

-I have a job -proudly smiled Bart, eyes never leaving the TV where his character was beating Kon’s into a bloody plump. He didn’t elaborate past that, and Tim made a mental note to investigate further later. Bart’s career was enough, they needn't add another unsolved mystery.

-Where is this coming from, though? We have loads of time for that -scoffed Slobo, watching the game intently.

-Classes are starting soon, and people will be getting all the good jobs. I did some calculations, and the money you guys have been saving for living expenses will run out in two, three months tops. Greta has the coffee shop thing and Cassie just got called back from the movie theatre, but the rest of you need to find some money maker. Stat.

-And what about you? -threw Cissie back, internally agreeing with him but despising the reality check.

Tim looked at her, completely deadpan. Silently, he took out his wallet, fishing three cards (one silver, one golden and one black) from it and showing them to her.

-Even before being adopted by a billionaire, I already was a rich trust fund baby. And now that I’ve said it, I’m gonna avoid getting punched by making my exit. Good luck job hunting.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Cassie and Anita’s room was ground floor, along with the kitchen, living room, laundry area, a medium size bathroom with a shower, and a very small one with only the toilet and sink. The second floor housed Bart and Conner’s room, along with Miguel and Slobo’s, and Cissie and Greta’s, plus the biggest bathroom, with both a tub and shower. The attic had been claimed by Tim, who won that right by paying the deposit for the house on top of his part of the rent. It was the biggest room, the size of the entire house without partitions, with only one separation in the form of the small sized bathroom. He loved his room, would pay twice what he coughed up to have it. It was worth it, every cent.

He loved his attic; The bathroom, however, was another thing. It ran out of warm water constantly.

-This is the second time this month. I love you, but you aren’t burrowing our bath -denied Cissie firmly, arms crossed as she waited outside the door for Greta to finish her shower-. If it was any other day I’d say yes, you know I would, but you aren’t the only one that needs to get ready for the movie, and there’s six of us sharing here. Go ask the girls.

Defeated but understanding, he went another floor down, arms full with his skin and hair care products (he had a image to keep, and one never knew when paparazzi would be around; he and his brothers had a steady competition on who got caught in camera being a ugly mess the least, that he wasn’t willing to lose) and clean clothes.

Anita shrugged when she opened the door, still naked except from her towel and hair dripping.

-Yeah, Cassie already took hers. Just remember to lock the door, dude. Since its ground floor bathroom, someone always tries to get in to pee when you’re showering, it’s annoying. Also, don’t come at me with complains about hair in the drain, okay?

Thankful beyond caring, he nodded and hurried towards it.

He wasn’t expecting what he found there. Already halfway to the shower, he stopped to leave his folded clothes on top of the cabinet near the sink when he saw...

-Why are there weapons here? -he couldn't help but scream, clutching a towel to his naked chest. He felt distinctly like a victorian lady preserving her virtue from a foe. It was a very curious feeling.

-I said no judgements!! -Anita yelled back from across the hallway.

-Yeah, regarding hair on the floor! Nobody said anything about weapons!

-So I forgot my katana there after my shower, big deal. Just don’t fall on it, problem solved.

-No, I’m used to seeing your katana, but why the fuck do you girls have cat shaped brass knuckles?

-They are cute and useful! Aren’t you taking a shower, dude? The movie starts soon!

Deciding that this wasn't a battle worth picking, he turned on the warm water. Ahh, nice, wonderful hot water.

-Oh, Tim! -came Cassie’s yell- Don’t lock the door, forget what Anita said! I need to put on my make up and that mirror is better than the one in our room.

-I’m gonna be showering though.

-And?

Yeah, she had a point. Shrugging, he made sure the door was unlocked before stepping under the water and closing the curtain.

He heard her coming in and rummaging through one of the little bags he saw on the sink cabinet. He couldn't help but ask.

-Why do you guys keep weapons here?

-They are for when we are most vulnerable.

-With thighs like yours you’re never vulnerable.

-I love you. But just pretend I have noodle legs, for argument’s sake.

-Mkay.

-Well, name one instance when you’re more weak and exposed than when you’re taking a shower.

-...Yeah, I follow. Still seems a bit excessive, but I do like that pointy needle thing you have by the blow dryer. I need to get my sister one of those, cute and deadly like her.

-That? Oh, honey, no, that’s a hair pin.

-If you put your hair in a bun and use that as an ornament, you’d never be unarmed, that’s all I’m saying. Again, cute and deadly.

-...You’ve opened my eyes.

-You’re welcome. May I borrow your eyeliner?

-Sure, but why? You don’t usually use makeup.

-If I make myself long enough wings, maybe I’ll be able to fly away from my problems. Or look fabulous enough to not care about them.

-In moments like this I’m reminded of my undying love for you. Do my eyes too.

-Gotcha.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

He came home five minutes after receiving the text, chest heaving from the run and heart beating furiously for a entirely different reason.

Cassie, phone at hand, was waiting by the door. Her eyes were solemn.

-What happened? -he asked, not bothering with niceties as he stepped in and closed the door behind him.

-Family dinner went wrong -she shrugged-, not that he told me. Bart was playing games when he walked in and he texted Jason, who told him, and then he came to me.

Fuck them, Kon thought uncharitably. The Waynes were both an awesome family, and boarding on toxic. Guessing which kind were they going to be any given week was like playing lottery. It was such a Murphy law thing that they went for shitty this particular weekend, where Tim could have used their love and support the most.

-How is Jason? -he asked, not that he cared too much, but because he knew Tim would want to know sooner or later.

-Bart didn’t say, but he did mention he was hanging out with Kori and Roy, and Artemis said in the family group chat to not bother her tonight, so I’m assuming she’s there too.

-Biz is still at the farm, but three is better than nothing -he sighed, taking off his coat and walking towards the stairs- Bart?

-He just convinced Tim to take a bath in the big tub, so he’s probably standing guard by the door.

A nod, Kon’s steps hurried with purpose now that he had a clear destination in mind.

-The others?

Cassie waved vaguely towards the arch on the wall leading to the living room. Kon could see someone moving there from the corner of his eye, but didn’t turn to check; he wouldn't be derailed from his path.

-Greta went to the attic to clean Tim’s room a bit. You know he doesn't have the strength to do it himself right now, but seeing it like that also makes him feel worse. Cissie and Anita are readying the living room for a movie night, picking up all the pillows and blankets in the house. A pillow fort might be in the making.

They were on the second floor now. Kon could see Bart ahead, back resting against the wall, just by the side of the door.

-Slobo ran to Tim’s favorite pizza place -Cassie kept going, keeping pace with him- and should be back soon; Miguel went to the store to buy comfort food, sweets and stuff. Ice cream too, probably.

Conner nodded again, glad to see everyone was following their protocol for these kind of situations. All their housemates accounted for, he stopped in front of Bart and patted his shoulder comfortingly. He was very empathetic, tended to pick up on everyone’s moods, specially Tim’s, and let himself be influenced by them. The shadows on his eyes were probably a mirror image of how their friend currently taking a bath was doing. Not so hot, apparently.

-I’ll take it from here, you guys go put on your pajamas and help the girls get everything ready -he suggested, eyes going to Cassie’s. She nodded, understanding that her mission now was to calm Bart down. Helping Anita and Cissie would do wonders for him.

On most situations, the group tended to follow Tim’s lead, their indisputable commander in chief; when he couldn’t be there, or was too emotionally compromised, Cassie would take over. However, in this particular scenario, everyone deferred to him for some reason. Maybe because he’s been with Tim for the longest time, maybe because he knew him best. It didn’t matter; all he cared about was that it made his work easier, and they seemed glad to have a task they could focus on, rather than dwelling in concern.

Softly, he rapped his knuckles against the door.

-Tim? I’m coming in, dude -he informed him, voice low as to not spook him if he was dissociating. The last they needed was him slipping in the shower.

When no answer came, he entered the steamy bathroom, door closing behind him. As Cassie had predicted, Tim was sitting in the almost full tub, knees hugged to his chest and chin resting above them. His eyes went to Conner when he approached him though, which was a good enough sign to make him visibly sigh in relief.

Tim’s eyes narrowed, as if he wanted to snap at him that he didn’t need them to take care of him, but then he just deflated and looked ahead again, not nearly strong enough to fight.

Knot growing on his chest, Kon sat by the tub’s edge- Hey there. You’re not looking very cool right now. Have I ever told you I despise like 66% of your family?

-Three out of six is not 66%.

-Three? I only like Alfred and Cass.

-You don’t dislike Jason.

-I mean, it varies from moment to moment. But I’ll give you that since you’re feeling bad, and concede on 50%.

Tim snorted a little, and his eyes didn’t look as dead as they had when Kon first came in, so he gave himself infinite Best Friend points.

-Want to talk about it? -he asked gently, hand on Tim’s wet shoulder. He felt more like saw him shrug.

-Nothing to tell, really… It was more of the same shit. I love them, but sometimes they…

-Don’t make it easy, huh?

-...yeah. I don’t even know why I’m so fucked up over it, I’m used to this.

Kon squeezed his shoulder- Your psychiatrist warned you, this week was gonna be tough even without the family drama. Your body is adjusting to the new medication, and it…

-Yeah, yeah, I know -he sighs, sinking deeper into the water- I just… I just hate this. That my brain works like that, that I worry you all, that I can’t just fucking deal with it alone. You know what Jack used to say about mental illness…

-A stupid bastard’s words shouldn't be taken seriously. And you know we don’t like the J word in this house, it’s one of the rules.

Tim’s smile, small and tentative, was a thing of beauty. It never failed to remind Kon why he put so much effort into making the situation better for his friend, when he saw that it actually did help.

-You guys can’t just erase my father from my memory by sheer force of will and avoidance of the topic.

-Sure we can -he gave his shoulder a light pat-. The boys will be here soon with food, and I heard a movie night is in order. You done with your bath? We could stay here longer if you want to, though.

Tim’s smile grew a little bit, cheeks warming, delighted despite himself at the love and care that was being bestowed upon him. Some time ago, he might have fought them over it; the progress was hard earned, but Kon wouldn't change a single thing about it.

-Yeah, I just have to put conditioner on and comb my hair -he hesitated a bit, glancing down at his arms hugging his legs and probably weighing their strength-. Could you, uh… do it for me?

Kon had already been reaching for the bottle even before he asked.

There was little he could do to help Tim, medical wise. But there were professionals for that, and after many late night talks and specially bad episodes, Tim had gotten better at seeking their help when needed.

What he could do was no less important, though; making sure their home was a safe, supportive, non-toxic place for him to come back to.

That’s what best friends-- what family was there for.

63 notes · View notes

caelesjjk · 4 years

Text

a place where hands can’t reach | l.h. (Greek god!Luke)

A/N: I have worked tirelessly on this, and I am really proud of it to be honest. Its long as hell, over 17k. But i would appreciate more than anything if you guys took time to read it and tell me what you think. Thank you!!

I also wanted to give a shout out and recognition to Amara ( @dammitbands ) and her fic Wasteland, Baby which you can find here. I was super inspired by her fic and decided to give my own go at a Greek god AU.

“Touch me with your words. Penetrate my mind. Hollow me out. Leave me gasping, scratching, wanting more. Touch me with your words in all the places your hands can’t reach.”

Ares will always be known as being the brutal God of War. He was almost uncontrollable and bloodthirsty when it came to battle, something that made him hated among the other Gods as well as the humans on earth.

It took thousands of years and too many battles to count for the pain and terror of war to finally take its toll upon him. Ares wanted more from this life. There had to be something more. He had become fascinated by the humans and the way they lived and wanted to leave behind the memories and all the blood he had on his hands on Mt. Olympus, and go to Earth where he could be more than just the God of War.

His plans to leave Olympus were not received well. The other Gods knew if Ares left that they would have no one to fight their battles for them. No one to blame for all their misfortunes. So Zeus took it upon himself to punish Ares, telling him that if he chose to go to Earth and live with the humans he would be cursed for as long as stayed there.

Ares was told that he would never be able to touch another being with his hands without killing them. His darkness and brutality that lingered deep within him would consume them, and there would be nothing he could do to save them. They would crumble in his fingertips, drift away on the breeze, or burn to ash the very moment his bare hands touched them in any way.

But to Ares, this punishment would be as easy as breathing compared to the weight he carried on his shoulders now in Olympus. And so, he retreated to Earth, taking a human form. He knew that he would spend the rest of eternity alone, and banishing himself to Earth was supposed to make that easier. And at first, it had been. Hundreds of years he walked the planet, lying low and keeping to himself. He took on the name Luke, in hopes it was average enough to let him stay below the radar of wondering humans.

Luke was still the God of War, and it was in the darkness that he found the most comfort. He walked around in all seasons with leather gloves on his hands, in hopes that he would never accidentally touch someone and consume them with all the evil that lingered inside of him. He had never had a desire to touch someone while he was here, and he wanted to keep it that way. He needed to make sure that he proved the other Gods wrong so that one day they would understand that he was more than just their war horse.

Like most nights, Luke found himself in the corner booth of Gordo’s diner down the street from his apartment. He preferred it over the bustling restaurants and casinos that most humans frequented in Las Vegas. The décor was hideous, with all the red knick-knacks lining the dusty shelves on the walls and the faded yellow tables with chips in the tabletops. The food was shit, and the coffee was even shittier, but if he was being honest with himself, he didn’t come here for either of those things. He came for her, the waitress with the raven colored hair and the face full of freckles. She wore chunky boots and mood rings on each of her thumbs that were shaped like crescent moons. Her name was Anna, and she one of the few humans Luke tolerated. She was sweet and soft spoken, but she also had an edge about her that had Luke coming back in every night. He refused service from anyone other than her. It was like she could tell that he wasn’t much for talking, because most nights, she didn’t press him.

“Want any more coffee?” She asked, breaking him from his thoughts of the past. Luke shifted in his seat, clearing his throat.

“Think four cups might be my cut off.” He answered, using his gloved hand to push the white coffee cup towards the edge of the table.

“Are you cold? I could ask them to turn the heat up in here.” Anna motioned towards his gloves, Luke quickly pulled his hands beneath the table into his lap.

“I’m fine.” He picked up the book he had been reading before, trying to get her to walk away from him without any more questions. Anna gave him a small apologetic smile before picking up the empty coffee cup and heading back towards the kitchen.

“Such an idiot.” Anna sighed to herself as she dumped the arm full of dirty dishes into the sink. She had always seen him wearing those gloves, never taking them off, even in the dead of summer. Obviously there was a reason behind them. And Anna knew deep down that it must have been something that he didn’t want her to know.

“What is it about the weirdo in the corner booth that you like so much anyways?” Michael, one of the other servers asked as he plopped a small pile of whipped cream onto a piece of pie as he spoke.

“I don’t like him, really. I’m just sort of fascinated? I know it’s weird.” Anna leans against the sink, looking towards Michael and the complete mess he was making of the pie slices he was about serve.

“Yeah, totally weird.” Michael teases, throwing the small plates onto a tray and lifting it onto his shoulder.

“Are you going to serve it like that?” Anna giggled, pointing to the mess.

“It’s for a bunch of drunk frat boys, I doubt they care how pretty it looks.” Michael sighs, pushing open the door of the kitchen. “At least help me hand these out?” He stuck out his bottom lip, trying to be as cute as possible and persuade Anna to help him.

“Fine. Let’s go Mr. Puppy Eyes.” Anna holds the door open and lets Michael walk through before they both approach the rambunctious table. Of course they’re all smacking each other and throwing shit around the table. Typical drunk asshole behavior. Michael and Anna were used to dealing with these types on their late shift. Las Vegas was always full of surprises.

“You brought a friend with you, Mike.” One of the frat boys brought attention to Anna, making her cheeks heat up and her blood pump a little faster.

“She’s just helping me hand out your order, man. No need to embarrass her.” Michael tossed a few plates onto the table in front of them, some of them snickering and not trying to hide it.

“What’s your name, sweetheart?” One asks, touching Anna’s wrist when she places a plate in front of him.

“I assumed you being a college boy and all that you could at least read.” Anna points to her nametag that’s attached to her black apron. Most of the others laugh at his expense when Anna makes the comment, steam practically billowing from his already red ears.

��Got a mouth on you. I like that.” Frat douche pulls Anna down onto his lap. She pushes at his chest and pulls at his hands.

“Let go of me!!” Anna shouts, looking to Michael for help, but the other guys at the table have him blocked from getting to her.

“Calm down, babe. Just having some fun.” His mouth is against the shell of her ear, Anna feels dirty when he breathes on her neck.

Quicker than she can comprehend, she’s being pulled off of the frat guys lap in a blur when a leather gloved hand wraps around her wrist. Anna finally focuses on what’s in front of her again, the first thing she sees is the broad leather clad shoulders of Luke stepping in front of her, grabbing the frat guy roughly by the back of the neck and slamming his head down against the table, his face flattened against the surface. The sound of glasses and silverware clanging to the floor is quickly followed by yelling from the other guys that had been at the table.

“Get the fuck off of me!” Touchy Frat guy says, struggling against the grip of Luke’s hand. But he isn’t able to move at all.

“Apologize.” Luke leans down towards his ear, saying the words quietly. Blonde curls falling on his forehead in the process.

“Fuck you! Get off!” Frat douche continues to struggle, Luke rolls eyes and uses his gloved hand to lift the assholes head and slam it back against the table once more.

“Luke!” Anna shouts, her pretty green eyes meeting his when he looked up. They were the same color as fresh moss growing against the trunks of trees. Beautiful and alluring.

“Apologize, shit bag.” Luke says between clenched teeth, eyes never leaving Anna. He could tell he was frightening her and that alone made the evil threatening to spill over inside him retreat back to where it came from.

“Sorry…I’m sorry!” The frat guy finally gives in, and Luke stands him up straight, practically kicking him towards the door.

“You’ll hear from my lawyer!” Frat guy tries to get the last word in, but Luke only smiles widely, slowly bringing up his middle finger for the group of frat guys to see. They all continue yelling all the way out the door, the bell above the door jingling over and over until they were all gone.

“Luke…what…why did you do that?” Anna brushes her hair away from her face, her chest heaving in surprise.

“Find comfort in the fact that I would have done much worse if you had not been watching.” Luke says, heading back towards his table. He picks up his things and starts to walk towards the door.

“Wait…just, thank you.” Anna steps in his path, reaching out a soft hand to touch his forearm. Luke freezes momentarily, then quickly pulls his arm away and rushes out the door of the diner, the bell clattering against the glass once more.

“Did that all actually just happen?” Michael says, still a bit in shock as he takes off his black beanie and ruffles his hair. Anna sighs, turning back towards Michael and the mess they were about to clean up.

“What exactly am I paying you two for?” Gordo, the cook and owner of the diner says from the door of the kitchen.

“Great timing, Gordo!” Michael rolls his eyes, bending down to start picking up the mess on the diner floor.

Anna takes a moment to watch Luke out the window. He has his hood pulled up over his head now, crossing the street in a hurry. She had no idea why he had done what he did. Perhaps he was just being nice and chivalrous. Perhaps it was something else entirely. But with how limited their conversations usually were, she wasn’t sure she would ever get the answer she was looking for. The desire to be closer to him was odd, but strangely welcomed even now.

Luke had been denying the power he possessed for a very long time. Though sometimes, he did give into the voice inside of his head. He kept an array of weapons inside a secret wall compartment in his apartment. And now and then he would take one out, preferably his sword. He would swing it around with more precision than any other God or mortal would ever be capable of. It was only enough to release just the slightest bit of the pressure he felt from not using his power, but it was enough.

He merely wanted to get home before his desire to kill the group of idiots from the diner had him hunting them down. But, deep down Luke knew that they wouldn’t go about their nights quite so easily.

They waited a few streets down in the alleyway, waiting for Luke to come by so they could jump him. And unlucky for them, Luke had a feeling that they would. He had been around long enough, seen enough human weaknesses to know that something like this would happen. He sighed loudly when they rushed him and pulled him into the darkness of the alley.

The one who he had publically humiliated back at the diner, took a swing at his jaw while two others held onto his arms. Luke wasn’t even trying to get away from them. He was only slightly hoping to quench that nagging feeling in the back of his mind that was asking for him to slaughter them. He had been denying himself his own power, rarely using any abilities for a very long time. It wasn’t easy, but he wanted to do it.

“Who the fuck do you think you are?” The frat guy yells as he swings at the other side of Luke’s face. Of course Luke feels the pain of the blows, but it doesn’t affect him the same way. Pain is something he has learned to tolerate so well after the thousands of years of enduring it. He can taste the blood in his mouth, letting it drip off his chin as he looks up at his attackers with a devilish grin on his face.

“Perhaps you should keep your hands to yourself next time?” Luke says with a small laugh.

“What the fuck did you just say?” One of the attackers says.

“I said…” Luke spits some blood onto the ground so that it sprays across the original douche’s shoes. “Keep your fucking hands to yourself, asshole.” And with that Luke was taking punch after punch to his torso and face, others choosing to join in now as well. He let it happen for a few moments longer, soaking in the feeling of the attack. It was exhilarating. And he knew as soon as he was finished here, he would need to stop. He would need control himself. He didn’t need the other God’s coming around saying “I told you so” any time soon.

“You needed someone to teach you a lesson, blondie.” One of them says as they back away to admire their handy work. Luke his bent down on one knee, taking a few deep breaths to gather himself. He had to control it because if he didn’t, he would kill them and he already had enough blood on his hands from all the wars he had fought in.

“This will only hurt a little.” Luke spits more blood onto the ground, boots scraping against some loose gravel as he starts to stand up. His eyes begin glowing a bright blue, the light scorching through his veins.

They all begin to scramble away, but Luke raised one of his hands in front of him, shaping as if he had it wrapped around someone’s throat, all of the frat boys halting to a stop. The group of them grasp at their necks when their air flow starts to wither away. Luke pulls his hand higher into the air, and their feet lift up off the ground. Their legs kicking as they yell with the last bit of air they have left in their lungs. Luke breathes in another long breath, then snaps his fingers and sends them all flying in different directions until they slam into the walls of the buildings they had been standing between. They hit with loud thumps, sliding down the walls. Most of them have fallen unconscious, others scrambling to stand up, Luke brushes off the front of his jacket and begins walking back towards the street. His wounds dissipate as the blue light still simmering in his veins heals him completely. He picks up his book from the ground and turns left out of the alley to make his way back to his apartment.

“Miss it, don’t you?” Luke heard a voice say from behind him. He turned his head to look over his shoulder and see a face he hadn’t seen much of in recent years.

“Apollo.” Luke said flatly, his jaw tightening slightly as he turned to face him. He was dressed in all white, and Luke would never understand why the Gods thought white was such a glorious color. Apollo’s black hair was quite a contrast to the rest of him.

“No need for formalities, friend. It’s Ashton when I’m down here in this hell hole.” Ashton sighs with a look of mild disgust on his face and flicks his hand towards nothing in particular, taking a few steps towards Luke.

“We aren’t friends.” Luke scoffed, folding his arms over his chest.

“Still holding that grudge?” Ashton asked, small smirk on his face.

“You mean the one where you did absolutely nothing to help me when Zeus was handing out punishments?” Luke steps cautiously towards Ashton now.

“I’m not the one who desired a human life, Ares.” Ashton said, smile growing wider.

“Well let’s just say I’m still bitter, and you’re still an asshole.” Luke turns to begin walking away, until a wall of burning arrows fall down in front of him, blocking his path. His jaw and all the muscles in his back tighten in frustration.

“We should talk.” Ashton says.

“What could you possibly have to say, that I’d want to hear?” Luke turns back around.

“All those wars all those years ago…we may have underestimated the other gods then. But we know where we went wrong and we can correct it this time.” Ashton closes a bit more of the gap between them.

“This time? You’re insane.” Luke laughs. “I won’t be a part of it.”

“Won’t you hear me out?” Ashton asks.

“Go fuck yourself, Ashton.” Luke whips his hand in the air, the fire on the arrows behind him smothering out in the darkness. He steps over the burnt remains and begins walking again.

“I thought you might say that. I’ll make you see things my way, Luke. I’ll see you soon.” Ashton calls from behind Luke. But when Luke takes one last look over his shoulder, Ashton is already gone. He throws his hood back over his head and crosses the street towards his apartment building.

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Anna Bradley wished more than anything that she didn’t have to work her way through grad school. That somehow she could afford her apartment. But life just didn’t have those things in the cards for her right now. She struggled, and she knew she wasn’t the only one but that didn’t stop her from feeling just the slightest bit sorry for herself now and then.

She hated the way her hair was always frizzy, no matter how many times she used a deep conditioner. There wasn’t a product out there that had tamed it so far. Every morning while she looked in the mirror was a string of frustrated sighs and annoyed groans.

Her one bedroom apartment was filled with things that Anna loved. She painted the brick walls with light yellow paint in an attempt to make it feel warm. Her window sills were filled with plants of all shapes and sizes. Some with flowers, some with vines. Every morning she made sure to say ‘hello’ to them, gently patting the top of the cactus’ before opening the curtains to make sure they got all the sunlight they needed.

Magenta was Anna’s 10 year old dachshund who loved to lay on her fluffy pillow at the end of Anna’s bed and soak in the sunlight as well. Her sweet little face was graying slightly around her eyes and nose, but she was still Anna’s little baby that she adored. Every morning before Anna left for class, she made sure that Magenta was comfortable, kissed her head and told her to watch over the place. It was routine for them all.

It was quiet inside the small apartment, which was something Anna appreciated. There was a constant buzz of sound outside in the busy city, but not in here. She kept an endless supply of tea in the cabinet just to the left of the sink and every time she opened that particular cabinet she was met with the worlds most flavorful aroma.

“Rents late again, Anna.” Mrs. Parks said as she caught Anna trying to sneak through the lobby of the building.

“I know. And I swear, any tips I make tonight are coming straight to you, Mrs. Parks.” Anna tries to smile convincingly. Mrs. Parks sighs and motions with her head for Anna to go. Anna quickly mouths ‘thank you’ before heading outside into the crisp night air.

Nights were surprisingly cold in Las Vegas, it was something that took a bit of getting used to. Working the night shift at the diner was something else that took some getting used to, but there wasn’t another option when classes took up most of the day otherwise. So she drug her tired body into Gordo’s almost every night so she could serve to drunk college kids and late night casino goers.

And then there was Luke. He always sat at the same table, most of the staff knowing not to seat anyone there because he would inevitably be coming in. He had floppy blonde curls on his head and a perfectly sculpted jawline. Not that Anna was paying attention to those types of things. But she may have noticed a time or two that his nose turned up just slightly. She knew that the hottest fires truly burned blue, and that his eyes were no exception to that. Most of his wardrobe consisted of black and leather, which wasn’t unusual for the most part but he wore it always, even this past summer when it was practically radioactive outside. Those gloves he was always wearing had to be ridiculously uncomfortable.

It bothered Anna that after knowing him all these months, she truly didn’t know him at all. Maybe that’s why he was so alluring. Maybe that’s why she had such a desire to be close to him. But any time she tried, he literally and figuratively pulled away. He was untouchable.

“Schedule says 9:00pm, Anna.” Gordo shouted through the order window as Anna walked briskly through the diner door, seeing the clock on the wall read 9:03pm. She rolled her eyes.

“Got it, Gordo.” Anna slipped into the back where Michael was tying his apron on behind his back.

“Everything okay?” Michael asked, noticing Anna’s frustration.

“Yeah…I just really need to make a ton of tips tonight before Mrs. Parks kicks my ass to the curb.” Anna sighed, throwing her apron on over her head and tying it haphazardly.

“I can help you, if you just ask.” Michael leans against the wall watching as Anna rushes around, grabbing her order pad and pen from the basket on the counter.

“I’m sure I’ll be fine. But thank you, Mikey.” She pats his shoulder quickly, throwing her hair up messily and then pushes through the swinging door to get out onto the diner floor.

The night was slower than usual, frustrating Anna to no end. She could feel herself getting more and more upset, but she held back as much as she could so no one would notice it. But Luke noticed everything about Anna, and he knew something was wrong.

“More coffee?” Anna asked him as she approached the table with a smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes like it normally did.

“Do you get a break?” Luke asked, closing his book quietly and sitting it down on the table.

“What?” Anna asked, shocked that he had asked.

“A break. Will you have one soon?” Luke said.

“Yeah…I mean I could.” Anna shuffled over the words she spoke, still flustered that he asked her.

“Sit.” He motions towards the seat across from him at the table. Anna stared at him a moment longer, then blinked to clear her thoughts.

“Michael, I’m on break, okay?” Anna looked behind her to where Michael was standing at the register.

“Sure thing.” Michael smiled and wiggled his eyebrows at Anna, her cheeks heating up as she quickly turned away to look back at Luke.

“Right. Um hi.” She said as she slid into the booth across from Luke.

“Why are you upset?” He asked bluntly.

“I’m not upset.” Anna replied, biting at her lip nervously. Luke merely raised one of his perfect eyebrows in disbelief. Anna sighed. “I just have a lot on my plate. Grad School. Trying to pay my rent. Just feeling the effects tonight I suppose.”

“Your struggling upsets you?” Luke asks, watching her face carefully, wishing he could pull her lip from between her teeth as she chewed at it.

“Yes. More than usual.” Anna sighs, her breath blowing her hair away from her face, slouching back into the booth as if she’s deflated.

“The tips you receive here, they go directly to you?” Luke asks, reaching into the back pocket of his black jeans and grabbing out his wallet.

“Most of the time.” Anna laughs a little, knowing Gordo likes to keep extra for himself now and then.

“Then put this in your pocket, and pretend I never gave it to you.” Luke opens his wallet, and pulls out four one hundred dollar bills and sets them on the table in front of her. Anna almost chokes on air as she gasps.

“Luke, I could never accept this.” Anna pushes the money back towards him.

“Why not? It’s your tip.” He closes his wallet and puts it back into his pocket.

“It’s too much. Way, way too much.” Anna’s eyes are wide as she looks down at the money.

“I don’t understand. Your service is always impeccable, I’m merely giving you what I think is deserved.” Luke pushes the money back towards her as he begins to gather up his things.

“Luke…I can’t.” Anna shakes her head in disbelief that he would even consider leaving her this much money.

“Consider it a loan then. You can pay me back when you’re able.” He stands up, pulling a black beanie onto his blonde curls and slipping his backpack on.

“You’ll let me pay you back?” Anna asks, her mouth dry.

“Of course. When you can.” Luke smiles, giving her one last look before he starts going towards the door.

“Luke! Wait!” Anna quickly hops out of the booth and stands in front of him before he gets to the door. “Why would you do this for me?”

“You deserve to have a place to sleep and food to eat. It’s simple.” Luke sighs gently, wishing the freckles on her cheeks and nose weren’t so endearing. Anna bites her lip and closes her eyes for a moment.

“Thank you.” She steps up close to him, lifting up onto her tip toes and pressing a quick kiss to his cheek. Luke can feel his skin warming under the feeling of her lips. It was the most affection he had felt in ages. He gave her a tight lipped smiled and proceeded the rest of the way out of the diner.

Anna had no idea why he really did what he did. He hardly knew her and still so willingly handed over more than enough money to help her get ahead on things for the time being. She looked at the money once more and then shoved it into her pocket before anyone else could see it, her smile widening. The troubles she had been feeling just minutes before this slowly lifted off of her shoulders and chest and she could breathe again. Paying Luke back was one thing, but making it up to him would need to be really special.

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The next night, when Anna came in for her shift she was immediately met by the frustrated face of another waitress that she did not recognize. Her blonde hair was swept up into a nest on top of her head and her hands were on her hips as she approached Anna.

“Is that guy your boyfriend or something?” She huffed, her Brooklyn accent very thick as she pointed towards Luke in the corner booth. His usual black leather gloves on his hands as he flipped through pages of yet another novel.

“No, he isn’t. But if you’re new here, you probably didn’t know that he only wants me waiting on him.” Anna explained, her cheeks heating just a little.

“Yeah, well he’s a real dick. Literally wouldn’t even take a glass of water from me.” She pops a piece of gum into her mouth and rolls her eyes dramatically. “All yours, honey.” She slips past Anna and heads towards the kitchen. Anna can’t help but smile as she approaches Luke’s table.

“Giving the other waitress a hard time?” She asked.

“She’s dreadful.” Luke replied, marking his page and setting down the book in his hands.

“You know, everyone that works here is capable of pouring you a cup of coffee.” Anna sat down across from him, knowing her shift didn’t start for 10 minutes.

“I only want you.” Luke said, his hands under the table as he watched Anna’s face. When her eyes widened momentarily he thought about his words and backtracked. “I mean, I prefer your service.” He clears his throat.

“What do you do when you come in on my days off?” Anna asked.

“I don’t come in.” Luke shrugs his broad shoulders and leans back against the back of the booth. Anna decided it was probably best to drop this subject when he seemed uncomfortable.

“I’ll um…I’ll pay you back what I owe you soon, I promise.” Anna says.

“I’m not worried.” Luke slowly brings his gloved hands up onto the table and links his fingers together.

“I wanted to do something more than just give you the money…like maybe I could take you to get a real cup of coffee? One that doesn’t taste awful?” She laughed lightly, looking to Luke for an answer.

Luke wanted to say yes so badly. He wanted to tell her that he would do ungodly things just to know more about her. But getting to know her was dangerous, for both of them. She would never understand the burdens he carried, and Anna did not deserve to carry any of them with her. She was far too smart and far too beautiful for this world.

“I…can’t.” Luke said nervously.

“Oh. I’m sorry, you probably have a girlfriend or something right? That would be totally inappropriate for me to ask that…god I’m just…sorry.” Anna stands up from the booth and Luke does the same.

“No. No girlfriend. It’s me” Luke tries to explain, but knows he sounds ridiculous.

“You’re really going to use the ‘it’s not you it’s me’ gig already?” Anna’s eyebrows scrunch together in confusion as she turns to begin walking to the kitchen.

“Are you angry with me?” Luke asks, following her down the row of tables.

“Why would I be angry?” Anna turns to face him quickly, almost making Luke bump into her.

“You seem angry.” Luke sighs, hands going into his jeans pockets.

“I’ll bring you more coffee soon.” Anna spins around and moves swiftly into the kitchen through the swinging door. Luke stands there a moment, not sure what to do. And as he’s about to go back to his table, Anna is shoving through the door with plates in her hands, not bothering to even look in Luke’s direction.

“You’re visibly upset.” Luke says quietly as he follows her to another table.

“I’m not.” Was all she said as she sat the two plates down on the table in front of the hungry customers. Anna continued to ignore him, moving past Luke and walking towards another table.

“Will you stop for a moment?” Luke asks, stepping in her path.

“I’m not upset with you, I’m upset with myself.” Anna says, looking over Luke’s shoulder as Gordo throws another order up into the window.

“Why?” Luke moves until her green eyes focus on him again. For a moment, Anna considers telling him the truth. That all she wanted was a few hours outside of this diner where she could talk with him.

“It’s nothing, Luke. I have work to do.” Anna brushes past him again and Luke sighs in defeat, going back to his table, running his gloved hands through his messy mop of curls.

Luke watches Anna as she hastily moves around the restaurant, she continues to smile for each customer, never forgetting anything they ask for. She grabs a coffee pot from the counter where his eyes follow and land on Ashton, who sits at one of the stools at the front counter, a smile on his face when their eyes meet. Luke tenses, his jaw tightening when Ashton waves Anna over to him. What the fuck did he think he was doing?

Ashton leaned his elbows on the counter when Anna approached him, making sure to smile kindly for the human girl.

“What’s good to eat here, darling?” Ashton asked, watching as Anna’s cheeks tinged pink when he called her by the endearing name. Pathetic human, he thought.

“Pancakes are always good.” She said, taking the coffee cup off the counter and filling it, sitting it in front of Ashton.

“How’s the coffee?” Ashton smiled at her a little more.

“Pretty awful.” Anna shrugged.

“Should we maybe grab something better then? If you’re free that is.” Ashton asked, long fingers dancing around the coffee cup on the counter.

“I don’t even know your name, and you’re asking me out?.” Anna laughed, her hand going to her hip. Luke was still watching, but his anger was literally beginning to burn.

“Ashton. And yours?” He asks.

“I’m Anna.” She reaches out and shakes his hand and already Luke knows that’s something he would never be able to do.

“So what do you say, Anna?” Ashton asks as he straightens the lapels of his long coat. Luke pushes out of the booth and storms across the diner until he reaches the two of them.

“She can’t.” Luke says, blue eyes meeting Anna’s green ones, pleading with her.

“What?” Anna asks, confused and the slightest bit annoyed.

“She can’t go with you…because she’s going with me.” Luke glares at Ashton, knowing he’s feeding right into what Ashton wanted to happen. Now he has something to hold over Luke’s head.

“How did you even hear what we were…” Anna begins to say but Luke cuts her off.

“Anna, please. I was wrong to turn down your invitation earlier.” Luke stands next to Ashton on the opposite of the counter from Anna.

“He turned down your invitation? What a fool you must be.” Ashton pats Luke’s shoulder much harder than necessary. Anna looks to Luke, who looks desperate for her answer.

“I um…I’m sorry, Ashton. I think Luke and I need to talk.” Anna smiles kindly at Ashton. He is unbothered of course, but slides a business card towards her.

“Call me when you’re ready, Anna.” With a wink, Ashton glides back out the door. But before he does, he makes sure that Luke sees the triumphant smile on his face.

“Fuck.” Luke says under his breath, pinching the bridge of nose in frustration.

“What the hell was that?” Anna crosses her arms over her chest and looks at him expectantly.

“I don’t like him.” Luke sighs.

“Do you even know him?” Anna scoffs.

“We are…old friends.” Luke leaves it at that.

“Do you actually want to have coffee with me or was that just some jackass move to make me feel even worse?” Anna’s voice is a bit sad, her hand rubbing the back of her arm nervously.

“Where shall we go?” He asks. Anna smiles, a real smile. One that reaches her eyes and lights up her face in the most angelic way Luke had ever witnessed.

“I know a really nice place. It’s not too far of a walk from here.” Anna leans over the counter, Luke does the same, feeling like a magnet that can’t escape her pull. “Will you wait for my shift to be over?” She says quietly.

“Of course.” Luke replies, his mouth aching to cover hers, but he really could never let himself. Anna bites into her bottom lip gently.

“Okay. It shouldn’t be long.” She says.

“Why are you just standing there, Anna? Tables!” Gordo shouts from the pick-up window, his gray hair sticking out in a dozen different places. Luke wishes he could make him talk to Anna the way she deserved.

“On it, Gordo.” She smiled anyways, rolling her eyes playfully.

“See you soon.” Luke says, walking back down the row of tables until he reached his booth where his things were still sitting.

The rest of her shift, Anna felt nerves bubbling in her stomach. She had been hoping for this moment for such a long time, that now that it was actually happening she had no idea what she was going to do or what she was going to say. Luke didn’t seem like the type of person who wanted to make small talk, he was more of the deep conversation type. He was constantly reading or writing things down and Anna just knew that any typical type of conversation just wouldn’t do. And all of these thoughts swirling around her mind were making it harder and harder to come up with anything at all.

She slipped into the bathroom at the end of her shift, washing her hands and arms and slipping into some clean clothes in hopes of smelling less like a diner and more like herself. Her hair was a mess, but she pulled it down from the hair tie and tried to run her fingers through it over and over until it looked presentable. She looked at herself in the dirty mirror above the sink wishing she had brought her make along to work so she could cover up the imperfections, but what she saw in the mirror would just have to do, she didn’t want to keep him waiting any longer. For all she knew, Luke could have taken off by now.

But he would never. Anna didn’t know it, but Luke never wanted anything bad to happen to her. Never wanted her to feel a bit of sadness. She radiated so much goodness. And when she nervously came out of the bathroom, carrying her bag on her shoulder and running her hands over her hair once more, Luke knew he was fucked.

“Are you ready to go?” She asked him when she approached the table. Luke stood up quickly, gathering up his things and throwing his bag onto his shoulder.

“Lead the way.” He said with a small smile and motioning for her to walk in front of him. Anna smiled, walking just in front of him as they moved towards the door of the diner. Luke tried not to stare, but Anna’s body was something to admired and praised. She was soft and curvy, and Luke was forever day dreaming of all the ways he’d like to touch her. But that’s all it could ever be, just day dreams.

They walked side by side, Luke staying just the slightest bit behind Anna as they made their way through the always sidewalks of Vegas. It was ingrained in his DNA to always watch his back, and he was feeling particularly protective of the beautiful girl he was with. Their walk was mostly silent, neither of them feeling the need to say much at this point in time. It wasn’t necessary or uncomfortable.

“Here we are.” Anna’s sweet voice broke Luke from his thoughts and he quickly moved to the door to hold it open for her. She smiled saying a quiet thank you as she stepped through the door. The sweet smell of baked goods and the strong smell of good coffee wafted into both of their noses as soon as the door closed behind them.

Anna ordered her drink, opting for Chai tea over coffee. After Luke ordered his drink, he reached for his wallet in his back pocket but Anna’s hand gently touching his forearm had him freezing in place. Her soft mossy colored eyes met his and he softened just the slightest bit.

“It’s on me, okay?” Anna handed some cash to the barista before Luke could argue with her. Luke nodded once, taking his coffee from the counter and following her to a table. He sat his cup down quickly and moved behind her to help her take off her coat.

“There you go.” Luke said next to her ear then placing her coat on the back of her chair. Anna hoped like hell that he couldn’t see the goosebumps covering her skin.

“Chivalry isn’t dead then, is it?” Anna smiled over the rim of her cup as she sat down in her chair.

“Not for me.” Luke replied, removing his own leather coat before sitting down across from her.

“You aren’t from around here, are you?” Anna asked, licking her lips after she sat her cup down, watching Luke carefully.

“No, certainly not.” He smiles, leaning back in his chair, his long legs opening and taking up practically all the room beneath the table. Anna was fascinated that someone could be as breath taking as Luke and still seem like he was loneliest person on the planet.

“You aren’t going to elaborate on that?” Anna knew the answer, but hoped Luke may give away little parts of himself at least. He merely shook his head ‘no’ as one of his fingers slid across the lip of his coffee cup. Anna sighed. “What will you tell me about yourself?” She didn’t want to push, but she needed something.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea that you know much about me, Anna.” Luke didn’t meet her eyes, he knew she was looking at him, but he didn’t want the temptation of telling her everything.

“How will we be friends if you don’t tell me anything about you?” Anna asked.

“Friends?” Luke wasn’t sure why that word gave him such a strange feeling. Friend was such an understatement for what he wanted Anna to be.

“I think we’ve known each other long enough to at least be friends, don’t you think?” She leans her elbows onto the table, her face and every little detailed Luke adored coming closer to his. Luke instinctively leaned closer to her, the magnet effect taking over his will power.

“Perhaps.” Luke gave her a lop-sided smile that had Anna’s stomach flipping it circles.

“How long have you lived in Vegas?” She asked. Fifty years, Luke thought to himself.

“Quite some time.” Was all he was willing to give. Anna sighed again.

“Alright, Mr. Cryptic. Maybe less personal questions? What’s your favorite book you’ve read lately?” Anna tried to keep things light without being intrusive.

“I try not to get attached to the novels I read.” Luke explains, twisting the silver rings on his fingers.

“That sounds a little tragic, actually.” Anna says, surprising Luke with her answer.

“Why is that?” Luke asks.

“All those books I’ve seen you reading at the diner. None of them good enough to be remembered? Just seems a little sad, maybe discouraging even.” Anna sips her tea, her cheeks turning slightly pink.

“Things begin to blur together after you’ve read so much.” Luke says, hoping that it didn’t sound too strange. Anna looks at him for a moment and then nods in understanding.

“Maybe you’re right.” She says. Luke can’t help but laugh at her answer. She was the type of person who truly tried to see things from everyone’s point of view.

“Tell me more about you, Anna.” Luke said.

“What do you want to know?” Her eyes lighting up slightly.

“Everything.” Luke smiled, a small laughing passing through his lips when Anna did the same.

She had no problem telling him anything he wanted. She told him about school. About her family. What she wanted to do with her life. All the things and people the inspired her. Things that she feared. The way she considered her friends her family. How she would eternally be staying away from tequila. Where the best pizza in town could be found. How cheesy movies and kit kats were the best way to cheer her up. Listening to her talk was everything Luke had hoped it would be.

He wasn’t ready to give up much of himself. He didn’t think he ever would be. He mentioned tiny things, enough to make Anna feel as though she was getting to know him as well. Some things that made him seem normal. Human. It was hard to keep things from her when she was so open and accepting. But this was the best thing he could do for her.

“Shit, it’s like 3:00 in the morning.” Anna laughed after looking down at the time on her phone for the first time in hours.

“You need to rest.” Luke said gently, standing up to help her slip her coat back on.

“I actually don’t have class tomorrow.” She said, sliding her arms into her coat and turning to face Luke. “Do you want to maybe, hang out?” Anna asked, her lip pulling between her teeth.

“Hang out?” He smiled, taking in the way she looked with tired eyes and a happy smile.

“Yeah…I mean we could check out some hidden Vegas gems.” Anna said as the two of them made their way out of the 24/7 coffee shop.

“I’d like that.” Luke said, another smile spreading across his face. “Even if I think it’s a bad idea.”

“Do you think it’s worth it to find out?” Anna asked, stopping outside as the door closed to look up at Luke.

“It is.” He replied, his gloved hands going into the pockets of his jacket. “Goodnight, Anna.”

“Night.” Anna was hopeful that if she was patient, the mystery of Luke would unfold for her and he would realize he could trust her. He needed all the patience she could muster.

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There were more and more days and nights spent together after that. Luke had little to no self-control when it came to Anna. He was crazy about her if he was being honest with himself. And even though he was uncharacteristically happy, he was still worried. He knew deep down that Ashton would be planning something. Something to get Luke back on his side and back into Olympus. But Luke didn’t want to be anywhere but here in this dingy diner with Anna watching him from the corner of her eye, thinking that he couldn’t see her.

The freckles on her cheeks had darkened after they’d spent all day yesterday lying in the sun on the roof of Anna’s apartment building. Luke read aloud from the newest novel he had picked up and Anna laid with her shoulder against his and her eyes lazily closed as she listened to every word he spoke, soaking up the sound of his voice as if it was the rays of warm sunshine they were lying under. Now and then she allowed herself a peek at the way his lips moved when he pronounced the words through the dark lenses of her sunglasses. Noticing the way the blonde curls on his head practically matched the sunlight that warmed the tendrils against his forehead and around his ears. She relished in the way his fingers felt when they brushed against hers, whether it was by accident or on purpose, she couldn’t bring herself to care. Anna had determined some time ago that Luke was not someone from this time. The way he spoke and carried himself was nothing of this world even. It was farfetched really, but how could he be real?

“Shouldn’t you be focusing on all of these diner patrons instead of me?” Luke asked when Anna approached his normal booth in the corner.

“None of these diner patrons look as good in a leather jackets as you do.” Anna teased, making Luke laugh quietly.

“Is that so?” He asked, eyes meeting hers, his skin warming when she smiled down at him.

“What can I say? I’ve got a thing for leather.” Anna slid carefully into the booth, sitting next to Luke, his arm moving to hang over the back of the seat behind her. The close proximity was overwhelming. She smelled like the rose scented shampoo that she loved so much, and Luke could not have picked a better scent for Anna if he tried.

“What else?” Luke asked, their faces very close together.

“Hmm.” Anna pretended to think for a moment. “Motorcycles.” She said suddenly.

“Motorcycles?” Luke laughed.

“Why not? It’s extremely attractive!” Anna laughed as well, lightly nudging Luke’s ribs with her elbow.

“Don’t ever let me catch you on motorcycle, Anna.” Luke’s eyes were a darker blue as he spoke.

“What will you do if I decide to take a joy ride around the city one night?” Anna continued to push.

“Let’s not find out.” Luke smirked, sitting back and creating a bit of space between them to try and extinguish some of the tension building.

“I wanted to ask you something.” Anna cleared her throat and shifted slightly in her seat.

“Ask away.” Luke said turning his long body to face her in the booth. He was becoming less and less wary of answering her questions.

“Tomorrow night, some friends are going to the big arcade downtown. Laser tag, ski ball, dumb stuff like that. Will you come with me?” She pulled her lip into her mouth, her teeth chewing it nervously. Luke moves his gloved hand to her mouth and uses his pointer finger to pull her lip from between her teeth, his eyes staying trained on her mouth. Anna feels her heart pound in the confines of her chest.

“Have you known me to say no to you?” Luke says quietly.

“It’s always an option.” Anna breathed.

“I’ll go, if that’s what you want.” Luke moves a stray piece of hair away from her face, wishing he knew what it actually felt like as it passed through his fingers.

“Great. I’ll meet you there at 8:00 then?” Anna says, stumbling a bit as she scoots out of the booth when she hears Gordo yelling from the kitchen.

“8:00 it is.” Luke picks up his coffee cup and takes a sip, watching her walk away as she waves over her shoulder and pushes through the swinging door.

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Anna walked quickly through the streets on her way to the arcade. She couldn’t stop the smile on her face from widening as she got closer. Luke had agreed to come, and it was unexpected. She knew that if she wanted something to happen between them, anything at all, that she would have to be very careful with how she approached it. Luke seemed like he could make a run for the hills at any moment, and that was slightly unnerving for her.

“Anna?” She heard as she slipped past someone on the sidewalk.

“Oh, Ashton. Hi!” Anna smiled, stopping to turn around and speak with him.

“Such a big city, surprised I’ve run into you again.” Ashton moved closer to her, his stare making Anna feel slightly uncomfortable. His long trench coat making him appear even more intimidating.

“Yeah. Really surprising. How are you?” Anna asked.

“I’m quite well, Anna. Thank you for asking. If you don’t mind telling me, how’s Luke?” Ashton tried to pretend he was interested.

“Oh, you guys are old friends right?” Anna remembered Luke saying something of that sort weeks ago.

“Ah, yes. Very old friends.” Ashton laughed a little at the thought.

“I’ll let him know that you were asking about him.” Anna took a few steps back, trying to indicate as politely as possible that she was going to leave.

“Do that.” Ashton said, watching as Anna’s smile dropped when she started walking away.

Anna couldn’t help the uneasy feeling she felt, but she didn’t want it to ruin her night with her friends and Luke, and when she saw Luke standing outside of the arcade, all the worry seemed to melt away. He was dressed in his usual black jeans, but rather than the black t-shirts and leather jackets she was used to seeing him in, he wore a white t-shirt that he had messily tucked in. He had pulled his hair back into a bun on the back of his head, which was one of those things that Anna never thought she would find attractive until that very moment. When she was just a short distance away, he turned around, smiling when she approached him.

“Sorry if I’m late.” Anna said, feeling a bit out of breath.

“Not at all.” Luke opens the door to the arcade and let’s Anna go in. She leads the way over to a table in the food court area where some friends are sitting.

“Guys, this is Luke.” Anna said, Luke gave them a quiet hello and a small wave.

“Diner guy! Glad you could join us!” Michael says loudly, clapping Luke on the shoulder. “You’re on my team.”

“Excellent.” Luke says, eyes meeting Anna’s when she laughs at his reaction. He craved that sound.

The group makes their way to the laser tag area, everyone strapping a kill counter to their chest and grabbing a laser gun from a shelf on the way into the arena. Michael is already planning strategies and bragging about how his team is going to be victorious.

“See you out there.” Anna says to Luke as she moves to join her team on the opposite side of the arena.

“I think the point is that you don’t see me.” Luke answers with a grin.

“We’ll see.” Anna jogs the rest of the way over to her team, all the lights in the arena going black before the black lights and neons pop on to reveal the course they were working with.

“Everyone spread out!” Michael yelled, moving to duck behind a fake boulder. Luke rolled his eyes, knowing that battle strategy was literally all he ever used to think about.

Someone from Anna’s team started yelling, telling everyone to attack and Luke could suddenly hear the sound of the laser guns being shot and the beeping sound of the kill counters going off as people began taking shots. He felt is heartbeat pick up, every ounce of him wanting to absolutely dominate at this, but it was just a game. Luke needed to keep his cool and not let the instincts take over. But no matter how much he tried to bury it, he was still an amazing shot. He kept his distance, taking shot after shot and never missing a single one. But he had not been able to see Anna the entire time the game had been going on.

Luke got down on his hands and knees, carefully carrying his gun in one hand and slinking across the arena towards the other teams side. He could see Michael rolling around like some sort of ninja from the corner of his eye, keeping most of the other players distracted while Luke made his way into enemy territory.

He moved behind one of the fake boulders, the smoke machine in the corner coming to life and creating a fog that was slightly obstructing his sight as he continued looking around for Anna. Perhaps she had already lost all of her lives and was sitting out somewhere. Luke stood up straight, pushing some loose curls away from his face and releasing a long breath he felt like he had been holding in forever. As he turned to head back across to his teams side of the arena, Anna popped out from behind one of the boulders, pushing Luke’s shoulders until he was backed into a dark corner.

“Boo.” Anna said, smiling widely and triumphantly. Luke instinctively moved his gloved hands above his head against the wall in an attempt to keep himself from touching her.

They looked at each other for a few moments, both of their breathing uneven and mingling together. Anna stood on the tips of her toes, gently brushing her nose against Luke’s as he stood frozen. His stomach somersaulted when her hands slipped off his shoulders and rested against his chest, their mouths continuing to gravitate towards each other.

“We shouldn’t.” Luke whispered, eyes falling shut when he felt Anna’s eyelashes brush against his cheek.

“Tell me not to kiss you.” Anna breathed, praying he wanted to kiss her as much as she wanted to kiss him. Because she wanted to kiss him until there was no oxygen left in her lungs. Luke opened his eyes to look at her, eyebrows scrunching together knowing it wouldn’t be true if he did say the words.

“You will be my undoing.” Luke pressed his forehead against hers, but Anna was no longer feeling patient as her lips found his in a sweet kiss.

It was as if time had decided to forget all about them. Luke craned his head to the side, appreciating the way Anna’s lips fit with his. Her hands twisted into the material of shirt, needing something to hold her the earth before she floated away altogether. Kissing Anna was easy. It wasn’t messy or rushed, just lips and occasional meeting of tongues. Luke wanted to breathe her in and keep her in his chest for the rest of eternity. It wasn’t until he felt her smile against his mouth that he remembered to breathe at all.

“What is it?” He asked, opening his eyes and taking in the way the whites of her eyes glowed in the neon lights. Anna slowly lifted the laser gun in her hand and pointed it at at Luke’s kill counter on his chest. Anna quickly pecked his lips once more before pulling the trigger and the loud beeping noise from the counter started going off. She laughed manically as she started running back towards the action happening. Luke was slightly shocked, but mostly impressed as he pushed off the wall and took off after her.

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Things were too good to be true.

Surely Luke was not truly allowed to be this happy after all the awful things he had done in his life.

But he found himself sitting amongst a large crowd of adoring parents, students and their families as he watched the girl he adored walk across her graduation stage with the happiest smile on her face that he had seen since he met her. Anna was deserving of this accomplishment, more so than anyone else he knew. And no matter how exposed he felt being amongst this crowd, he would not have missed this for the world.

At the end of the ceremony Anna made a beeline for Luke as he stood towards the back of the building. She jumped into his waiting arms, wrapping her own tightly around his neck. He pressed kisses to her cheeks and lips, making her laugh and return them all the same.

“Very proud of you, sweet girl.” Luke said only loud enough for her to hear. Anna’s cheeks heated, but she couldn’t help the need to get her lips back to his. She kissed him as if no one else was there, her body pressing into his. The leather of the gloves on his hands was cool as his fingers ghosted down the exposed skin of her arms.

“All I could think about while I was up there was how badly I wanted to be doing this.” She said against his mouth, both of them smiling and gently bumping teeth.

“Not thinking of how all your hard work has paid off?” Luke carefully sat her feet back on the ground.

“I was a little.” Anna sighed. “But it meant a lot to me that you came. I know crowds aren’t your thing.”

“I seem to have lost all sense when it comes to you.” Luke told her, his leather clad hands leaving her arms and clasping behind his back.

“I think that’s a compliment.” Anna laughed, shaking out her hair when she pulled off her graduation cap.

“Are you ready to go to the after party?” Luke asked, offering her his arm to take.

More and more, Luke began to understand how his curse from Zeus was actually a punishment. All these years he spent alone, it never mattered. He never needed or wanted to touch anyone with his hands. But now that this human girl was in his life, it was the purest form of torture that he could possibly imagine. He wanted to know what her skin felt like against his fingertips. How soft her hair was when he ran his fingers through it. Sure, he could feel her with other parts of him. On his lips. But it wasn’t that intimate feeling that you feel when you touch someone with your hands. And sweet Anna never pushed for answers, though he knew she was curious as to why he did things the way that he did them. Never taking off those gloves no matter what. And more so than ever, he was terrified to accidentally hurt her. He would truly never forgive himself.

“Actually…” Anna took his arm, fingers moving over the material of the black button down shirt he was wearing. “I was thinking maybe we could skip the party? Have it just be the two of us tonight?”

“Oh…” Luke swallowed hard. “What did you have in mind?”

“I thought maybe you’d finally show me your place? I’ll make you dinner, we can drink as much wine as possible?” Anna looked up to study his reaction, watching his face go through 20 different emotions in just a few seconds worth of time.

“If that’s what you desire….this is your day, after all.” Luke smiles, a nervous pull in stomach trying to tell him it wasn’t a good idea. But he was incapable of saying no to Anna Bradley. Some almighty god he’s turned out to be. And when she squeaked and clapped her hands together happily, he knew that there was not a god on Olympus that could say no to this earth bound angel.

They quickly made a stop at the grocery store when Anna excitedly explained to Luke that she had the most perfect recipe for a spinach tortellini dish and that she had to make it for him. Luke followed her through the store, adoring every moment he was allowed to spend with her. But there was a feeling deep in his gut that told him something awful was going to happen that would ruin it all, and he hated that it wouldn’t go away.

Anna was nervous, and she tended to seem overly excited when she was nervous. She wanted this night to end a certain way, and hoped that wooing Luke with food and wine would make him feel that way as well. She knew they needed that next step. She wanted him to feel safe with her. To let down some of the walls he kept so high. And when he agreed to let this night happen at his apartment, she felt just the slightest bit of hope that he was going to let her in and show her parts himself that he was so desperately trying to keep hidden.

She watched in awe as Luke pulled into the parking garage of one of the most expensive tower of penthouses you could live in Las Vegas. She hadn’t imagined this type of place for him, but he was continuously surprising her.

Luke carried the grocery bags and led Anna towards the elevators, pressing the button for the top floor just as the doors closed behind them. Her lip was between her teeth up until the moment the doors slid back open. There were only two doors on this entire floor, which meant that Anna had completely underestimated the size of Luke’s apartment once again.

The door opened with a push of Luke’s foot after he had unlocked it with a set of keys from his pocket. He stepped to the side, smiling gently when Anna slid past him into the apartment. It was mostly dark inside, just a bit of light from the sunset coming in through the wall of tall windows at the far side of the room. It was one big open floor plan, the kitchen and the living room area were all connected. Anna stood in the foyer, not sure if she should just walk in. Luke took the bags of groceries into the kitchen area, pressing a few buttons on what Anna assumed was a security system.

“Are you alright?” Luke asked as he approached her again.

“Of course. Your apartment is…big.” She laughed, not sure what else to say. Luke laughed quietly, taking her hands in his gloved ones and pulling her gently towards him and further into the apartment.

“I’ll show you around a bit.” Luke says, flipping on a few light switches. Anna’s eyes can hardly focus on just one thing in the room.

Thousands of books are stacked on floor to ceiling bookshelves next to the fire place. The black leather couches make a complete circle in the middle of the room, where you have to step down slightly to reach them. There are glass cases lining the walls filled with artifacts. Anna was not exactly a history buff, but she could tell the pieces here were ancient. There were paintings in perfectly intricate silver frames taking up almost all the available space on the walls that were not converted into bookshelves. Marble statues of what she assumed were greek gods, guarded the doorways and some of the corners. It was beyond anything she had imagined and so incredibly beautiful. But it was also unnerving to think that maybe she didn’t know Luke even the slightest bit.

“There’s so much to take in.” Anna finally released a long breath, her fingers running over the spines of the books on the shelf closest to her.

“I’ve had a lot of time to collect things.” Luke moved to the fireplace, turning it on with a remote he picked up from the mantle.

“You always say things that make you sound ancient.” Anna meant to be teasing, but Luke laughed, running his fingers through his hair.

“You’re quite observant, Anna Bradley.” Luke sighed, his blue eyes coming back to her face and watching her carefully.

“You’re cryptic.” Anna tried to relax the muscles in her shoulders.

“I have my reasons.” Luke stopped to stand just in front of her.

“Are your reasons going to make you disappear without a word one day?” Anna’s eyes were pleading as she looked up at him. Luke felt his chest and his jaw tighten at the same time.

“Let’s not do this tonight, Anna.” Luke watched Anna’s eyes close for a moment in frustration.

“You’re right. I should make that dinner I promised.” She moves to step around him, but Luke places his hand against the wall so that his arm blocks her path to the kitchen.

“Trust me, please?” Luke speaks lowly, close to the shell of her ear. Anna wished it was easier to be angry when it came to Luke.

“I do.” Her hands find his curls and pull his face down to hers until their noses brush. “I just want you to trust me too.” Anna whispered, even though she knew she didn’t have to.

“For tonight, just know that it pains me to keep things from you…and perhaps one day, I’ll be able to tell you more.” Luke was hopeful, but how he ever could, he wasn’t sure.

“For tonight.” She sighed, but Luke captured her lips with his and swallowed down the rest of the sound. They let their mouths do the talking for a few moments before Anna pulled back just enough to speak. “What was that about?” She smiled when referring to the sweet kiss.

“Just want to start making up for all the time I should have been kissing you.” He kisses her again, the both of them smiling against the others mouth between pecking lips.

“Let me make this food for you, before I decide to forget it altogether.” Anna playfully bites onto Luke’s bottom lip before pulling away to walk into the kitchen. He watches as she goes, focusing in on the way her hips move and how she devilishly smiles over her shoulder when she notices his eyes on her.

Cooking was one of those things that Luke had never bothered much with in his hundreds of years as a human. He could handle the basics and could get by on simple recipes. But when the smell of the food Anna was making began wafting through his apartment, he suddenly wished he had at least tried taking an interest in it. She was quite masterful as she moved around the kitchen, throwing spices onto the chicken while the noodles boiled in a large pot on the next burner. Every now and then she would look up from what she was doing to smile at him, and Luke couldn’t begin to imagine how he had gotten this lucky.

“You could at least open that bottle of wine if you aren’t going to help, Lu.” Anna said, popping one of her fingers into her mouth to taste the sauce she was making. Luke moved from his spot where he had been leaning against the counter to grab one of the bottles of moscato from the fridge.

Anna could practically feel herself salivating when Luke opened one of the higher up cabinets and reached for the wine glasses he kept there. His shirt slid up his stomach as he stretched and she wanted nothing more than to get her hands on the skin there. He noticed her watching him and couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face.

“How’s the food coming?” Luke teased, breaking Anna from her trance.

“Almost finished.” She breathed and half laughed, trying to clear her mind.

“Smells perfect.” Luke sat the wine glasses down on the counter, opening a drawer on the kitchen island to retrieve the cork screw.

“If I’m known for nothing else, hopefully it will be this pasta.” She laughed lightly. Luke’s face got serious for a moment.

“You’ll be known for so much more than a mere pasta dish, Anna.” He said, jaw slightly tightened.

“I hope you’re right.” Anna met his eyes, and it only took a second for Luke to step around the counter and reach her. His gloved hands went to her hips and turned her away from the stove so he could kiss her. It was so incredibly gentle and sweet that it took Anna’s breath away.

“You are incredible, Anna Bradley. Nothing less. And if I need to remind you every day, then that’s I’ll do.” Luke said the words against her lips, still brushing them together between words. Anna wasn’t sure she would ever understand Luke’s unwavering faith in her, but she couldn’t deny that made her heart swell.

“I’ll hold you to that.” She finally said when they unwillingly pulled their lips apart. Luke smiled and pressed a lingering kiss to her forehead. “Now stop distracting me.” She playfully pushed against his chest before turning back to the stove to finish the food. Luke poured wine into the glasses and handed one to Anna.

“Cheers to you, sweet girl.” Luke clinked his glass against hers, watching her freckled cheeks tinge pink as she took a long sip.

Anna plated the food she had been working on so meticulously as carefully as possible. She wanted it to be absolutely perfect, and that there would be no chance that Luke wouldn’t be impressed. She was convinced that this food was going to be that thing they both needed to get to the next step of their relationship. It was a long shot, but one that she knew would be worth it.

There was not a lot of food out there that Luke had not tried at least once. He had been many places and tasted many things. He had probably even eaten this exact dish at some point in his human life, but nothing had ever tasted like this. Something that someone he cared about deeply had put so much love and care into was an untouchable taste. It warmed him from the inside out when he didn’t think it was something that he was capable of.

“What do you think? Anna asked from the stool next to him. They were both sitting at the large kitchen island with their food and wine.

“Perfection.” Luke took another bite, making Anna smile widely as she did the same.

When they were finished, Anna stood up and reached over to take Luke’s plate. He stopped her hand with his, giving her a look of concern.

“I was just going to clean up.” She said.

“You’ll do no such thing.” Luke takes the plates from her hands and heads over to sink to begin washing the dishes. Anna picks up her glass of wine and walks into the living room area where she notices a vintage record player sitting near the entertainment center.

“Can I play one?” She asks. Luke looks up smiles as he continues washing the dishes.

“Of course you can.” He replies. Anna kneels down in front of the crates full of records stacked next to the record player and begins flipping through until she finds one that she loves. She quickly places it on the records player and settles the needle into place.

The record spins and begins filling the space with music. Anna sighs in content as she takes another sip of her wine. It takes her a moment to realize that the water of the sink is no longer running, and that Luke has made his way over where she’s been gently swaying to the music. She turns and finds him walking over to her with his hands behind his back.

“Is this one okay? I could always put a different one on.” Anna says, her nerves trying to trick her.

“Anna, this is fine, I promise you. Just dance with me.” He puts his gloved hand out towards her. She sits down her glass and wraps her fingers around his. Luke twirls her around once, making her giggle before he firmly presses her body against his.

“Is there anything you can’t do?” Anna asked referring to how effortlessly Luke seemed to be able dance. She watched his face drop and brows furrow as if he was thinking of something specific, but wasn’t willing to speak it out loud. “What is it?” She finally asks.

“There are so many things I want to do, that I simply can’t. Things that seem so small until you realize you can’t do them.” Luke leans down and presses a kiss to Anna’s shoulder. She looks at her hand in his, and decides to ask the question that she knows Luke has been avoiding since they met.

“Luke…Why are you always wearing these gloves?” She looks up at him and he sighs.

“Because I don’t want to hurt anyone. Especially you.” He explains.

“That…what does that mean?” Anna searches for more.

“It means just that. And I need you to believe me.” Luke’s face is a bit sad as he watches Anna contemplate his words. If she was anyone else, he knew she would have taken off a long time ago.

“I do.” Anna said softly, bringing his gloved hand to her face and cupping her cheek with it. Luke’s heart pounds when she leans into the touch. “I still feel you.” She presses a kiss to the leather covering his palm.

“I’ve waited a very long time for someone like you, Anna Bradley.” Luke breathes out, his hand moving to the back of her neck and gently pulling her closer to him.

Luke connects their lips in a soft kiss. He wants to relish in the feeling of her pouty mouth against his for as long as possible. Anna’s arms wrap around his waist until she can clasp her hands together at the small of his back, holding him to her tightly. She slid her fingers up and down his spine over the material of his shirt, making Luke shift slightly. He swiftly lifted her onto the counter, Anna’s face becoming even with Luke’s as they continued their kissing. Anna was intoxicated by the smell of his cologne that wafted into her nose as she took deep breaths through her nose while her mouth was occupied.

Nimble fingers made their way from Luke’s back to his front, where Anna began popping open the buttons of his shirt. She needed to get her hands on every inch of his skin as soon as possible. Luke could feel panic begin to blanket him and he gently pulled away from the kiss so he could speak.

“It’s…it’s dangerous for us to do this.” Luke’s voice shook slightly, he wanted her so badly.

“How can I make you see that it’s not?” Anna ran her thumb over Luke’s bottom lip.

“I can’t hurt you. If I accidentally touch you with my hands…” Luke ran his hand through his hair in frustration.

“What will make you feel safe?” Anna kisses him again, hoping that he feels her sincerity through her lips. Luke thinks for a moment, running through options. Finally, he stands straight and lifts her off the counter and sits her on her feet.

“Come with me?” Luke motions towards one of the doors on the other side of the room. Anna knew this was what she wanted, so she moved to follow him towards his room.

Another wall of windows with light from the busy city below is found on the far side of Luke’s bedroom. Long white, flowy curtains hang at the corners. His oversized bed sits against another wall, more white sheets and pillows are placed perfectly. The floors are a dark wood and the rug that’s placed at the end of the bed looks like it’s made of golden fur. What really catches Anna’s attention, is the huge painting that hangs above the bed. Without googling anything, it appears to be some sort of Greek war with soldiers and horse drawn chariots. But before she can observe it any further, Luke is gently touching her shoulder and bringing her attention back to him.

“Is this okay?” Luke says, referring to his bedroom.

“It’s beautiful in here. Your whole space is beautiful honestly.” Anna reassures him, Luke smiles.

“It isn’t too much?” Luke asks, gloved hands going to the rest of the button of his shirt and making quick work of them. He slips the material off his shoulders and lets it drop to the floor. Anna’s mouth drop open slightly at the sight of him. His chest was unbelievably broad with a gorgeous layer of hair spread over it. His torso was long and the muscles beneath his skin moved in a way that had Anna crossing the room towards him in a daze.

“You’re beautiful.” Anna sighed. “Like one of those statutes you have out there.” She bit her lip and watched as Luke froze slightly for a moment, then shook his head almost in disbelief.

“I think you’ll have this figured out much sooner than I had anticipated.” Luke says, confusion covering Anna’s sweet features.

“Figure what out?” She asks.

“Nothing. Nothing at all.” Luke dodges the questions for now. He moves over to the bed and sits down on the corner before meeting her eyes again. “Come over here so I can touch you, sweet girl.” He pats the spot on the bed next to him. Anna is moving quickly, not meaning to seem so desperate.

She sits down against the soft sheets, scooting until she’s right next to Luke, who gives her a gentle smile. He leans over, connecting their lips again. His tongue immediately brushes the seam of her lips, asking hers to mingle. Anna shifts her weight onto her hip so she can face him more and deepen the kiss at the same time. Luke’s hands ached to touch her, and he was too afraid to lose control.

“You’re holding back.” Anna said against his mouth with one more peck to his lips.

“Do something for me?” He stands up and walks over to his closet. He disappears inside of it for a moment, then reappears with a red neck tie in one of his hands. Anna swallows hard before speaking.

“What are you thinking?” Anna asks, her lip becoming sore where she’s been nibbling it.

“I’m thinking…that I need you to tie my hands behind my back.” Luke approaches her slowly. Anna’s eyes widen for a moment, her heart pounding at the thought of tying Luke up. She had no idea that was something that would turn her on in the slightest. But now that it was right in front of her, she knew that it most certainly did.

“Will that make you feel like we can go farther? Safely?” Anna rubs her thighs together, her body wanting some friction when Luke looks at her with lust filled eyes and slightly swollen lips.

“It will never be a good idea for me let this happen. But I’m a selfish bastard, and I want you so badly, Anna.” Luke stands in front of her where she sits, and Anna stands up slowly.

“Okay.” Anna whispered, reaching out and touching his chest, fingers brushing through the hair. Luke released a shaky breath and closed his eyes at the feeling of her touch.

“Take this.” Luke handed her the red tie, and turned around so that his back was towards her.

Anna admired expanse of his broad back and shoulders. All the light colored freckles sprinkled over his skin. How the muscles tensed when her fingers traced down the length of his spine. Her hand caressed his skin, fingers dancing across small of his back where the hem of his pants sat. Luke shivered when Anna pressed her lips to the middle of his back and kissing down his spine. Luke sighed again, bringing his hands back behind him so he could twist his gloved fingers into the material of Anna’s shirt and pulling her closer to him. She continued pressing kisses to the backs of his arms as she tied the silky tie around his wrists, making sure it wasn’t too tight. Luke knew if he truly wanted to get out of the bindings, he could with ease, but he hoped feeling the tie wrapped around his wrists would remind him that he was with the most important person in his life, and he needed to keep her safe.

“Finished.” Anna said, her thumbs rubbing at Luke’s wrists a few times before he turned around to face her. He leaned down and kissed her once, then moved back to the bed and sat down again.

The humming of Anna’s heart in her chest was making her entire body overly aware of the beautiful man sitting on the bed. His hair was a mess of curls and his eyes were soft and pleading. She crossed the space between them, throwing one of her legs over once side of Luke’s hips and gently settling the other on the other side. Her fingers immediately lace into his hair, angling his face up so she can kiss him deeply. Luke hands are already aching to be touching her. They want to feel her soft hips as he pulls her down against his crotch. But instead, he settles for attaching his lips to her neck. He sucks gently at her skin and revels in the sounds leaving her mouth as he does.

The only other sound is the light hum of the record player in the living room area that has stopped playing but continues to spin. Luke skims his nose across her jaw, kissing the space where the bones meet.

“This really must go.” Luke says, nudging at the neckline of Anna’s shirt she’s still wearing. She doesn’t hesitate, smiling widely before grabbing the hem and yanking it over her head in a swift movement.

There was no possible way that Luke could ever forget the way she looked right now. It was all he ever wanted to see each time he closed his eyes from now until the end of time. She more perfect than any goddess he had ever seen. The way she curved was sinful. He leaned forward pressed a few kisses to the swell of her breasts that popped over the cups of her bra. He used his teeth to bite down on material of the cup and gently pull at it, signaling he needed the bra to be gone as well.

“This too?” She finally said, kissing his lips quickly as she reached behind her to undo the clasps.

“This body of yours should never be hidden by clothes.” Luke kissed her shoulder and watched as she slipped the straps off of her shoulders and down her arms.

“I think society might feel a little differently about that.” She laughed, her hands moving to rest on his shoulders as he took her in.

“They are absolute fools.” He whispered, his mouth ducking down so his tongue could flatten against one of her nipples. Anna groaned, eyes fluttering shut at the feeling. Luke did the same to the other one, his breath rushing over the sensitive nubs causing her to shiver and lean into him more.

“Lay back.” Anna said, half breathless as she finally opened her eyes to look at Luke again. He obeyed, letting his upper body fall back against the mattress and the down comforter splayed across the bed. He couldn’t focus on the discomfort of his arms being beneath him when she hovered above him, bringing their mouths together again in delicious kisses.

Anna sat back up on her knees and slid her one of her hands from Luke’s chest down to the button on the jeans he was wearing. She kept her eyes locked with his while she undid the button. Luke knew his breathing was uneven and quick, watching her slide the zipper down. The lights from the city coming in through the windows behind them was glowing against her skin and it was possibly the most beautiful sight Luke had ever seen, and he had seen many magnificent sights on Mount Olympus.

He let her pulls his pants off of his hips and crawl back up his body. But as she settled back on his hips, he lifted them slightly, bringing her knees off of the bed. Luke shifted, moving to one side and bringing Anna with him. She squealed slightly when her back hit the mattress and Luke was now hovering above her. His arms still behind his back, he bent at the waist and kissed a line of warm wet kisses down her stomach. She hummed appreciatively, squirming a little as her arms raised above her ahead.

“How will I ever get enough of you?” Luke pressed another kiss above her navel, then nudging the button of her pants with the tip of his nose. “I regret nothing more than all the time I could have had you this way and was too scared to have it.”

Anna sits up on her elbows and looks down at him, resting his forehead against her lower stomach. One of her hands slides down and into his curls, lightly scratching at his scalp and gently pulling until he looks up. Her eyes tell him everything he needs to know. He’s quickly moving back up her bosy and finding her lips, almost falling over when he doesn’t have his arms to balance himself. Anna laughs quietly against his mouth.

“There’s no reason for you to be afraid of me.” Anna tells him, fingers caressing his cheek.

“Just afraid that one day the universe will realize I am not worthy of you, and I’ll lose you altogether.” Luke sits up and Anna follows keeping her hands cupped on his cheeks.

“The universe wouldn’t dare try.” Anna smiles, the most contagious and convincing smile Luke had ever seen. And even if it’s just for tonight, he believes her.

“The heavens have nothing on you, Anna Bradley. You are painfully beautiful.” Luke kisses her hard, her head bobbing back and falling back onto the comforter. “Now get the rest of these clothes off before dispose of them with my teeth.” Luke says, playfully biting her bottom lip and causing her to giggle.

Beautiful hands slip down her body and quickly rid herself of any remaining clothing items. Luke moves until he’s on the floor at the foot of the bed on his knees. Anna hooks her legs over his shoulders and Luke pulls with his upper body until her dripping core is face level with him at the end of the bed. Anna digs her heels into the space between his shoulder blades, her patience growing thin. Luke makes sure she’s comfortable, slowly pressing kisses to the inside of her thighs that seem to tighten around his head each time he gets closer to where she truly wants his mouth to be.

“Luke…” Anna groaned, hips moving towards his face. Luke laughs against her skin.

“Don’t worry, sweet girl. I’m going to take care of you.” He moves his mouth up and presses a kiss to her clit. The feeling as Anna squirming and begging him for more.

His tongue circles it next, then licks through her folds, tasting her all over his wet muscle. The tip of his nose nudges against her as his tongue continues to delve inside her, not letting a bit of her wetness escape him. Anna’s hands grip at the soft comforter but she can’t resist lacing them into his wild blonde curls and gently pulling him until his tongue is buried deeper inside of her. His name falls from her lips over and over as she comes undone, and Luke just knows he will never hear a more beautiful sound. Her back arches off the mattress and Luke licks up everything she gives to him.

Luke licks his lips as he comes up to have a better look at her body as she comes down from the orgasm he had given her. Her breasts move up and down with her heavy breathing and her hands leave his hair to brush through her own. She takes another moment, then sits up on the edge of the bed, Luke still kneeling between her legs. Their eyes meet and breaths mix together as they both try to calm their rapid beating hearts. Anna moves one of her hands to the back of Luke’s neck and pulls him forward until their lips meet. She tastes herself on his lips and immediately wishes he could be between her legs forever. But there was something else she wanted.

“I want to have all of you.” She said between kisses.

“You do.” Luke replied quickly without hesitation. Anna felt her breath leave her lungs at the sweet words. How could her heart possibly not be bursting through the confines of her chest?

“You have all of me too.” She reassured him. Luke smiled, leaning forward to nuzzle his face into her neck when her arms wrapped around his neck.

“Hold on tightly, little angel.” Luke whispered against the shell of her ear. Anna wrapped her legs around his waist and tightened her arms around his neck. Luke stood up with her wrapped around him and carried her up to the head of the bed. “Tie me hands to the head board, okay?” He sat her down on the bed and turned so his back was facing her. Anna touched the gloves on his hands, the leather was warm from Luke’s warming body. He flinched slightly and Anna undid the knot of the red tie.

When his hands were free, Anna pressed a kiss to each of Luke’s wrists where marks were slightly showing. Luke turned and moved to get on the bed, his back pressing to the metal bars of his black bed frame that stood tall against the wall. His gloved hands went above his head and his fingers wrapped around one of the bars tightly. Anna held the tie in her hands and slowly moved to straddle is hips again. She wrapped the tie around his wrists and attached them to the metal bars of the bed frame.

Warm kisses were left against his chest and stomach as she made her way down his body. Anna looked up and found Luke’s ocean colored eyes watching her carefully as she pulled his underwear off of his hips and down his legs. He was so hard and aching to be inside of her at this point he could barely keep himself still. Anna took her lip between her teeth and bit down while wrapping her hand around his cock. Luke groaned her name, her touch overwhelming him even more than he expected. Her gentle hand pumped him a few more times before her mouth was finding his length and letting is disappear down her throat.

Luke knew that this must be what heaven was really like. It wasn’t Mount Olympus and all of its kingdoms amongst the clouds, it was this girl and everything she made him feel. His wrists strained against the tie that he so desperately wanted to snap.

“Anna…baby, you have to stop.” He said, voice raspy and mouth dry. She pulled off of him slowly, smiling sweetly as she moved back up his body and found his lips. They kissed for a moment before Anna began rolling her hips and grinding down against Luke’s crotch.

“I need you.” She whispered against his greedy mouth.

“Take everything you want, sweet girl.” Luke said breathlessly.

Anna continued to kiss him as she situated herself over him, her hands using his broad shoulders to steady herself as she slowly began to sink herself down on Luke’s cock. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head as he stretched her so deliciously. Luke was leaning forward his lips finding her chest and pressing kisses to every bit of skin he could get to. She was beautifully warm and incredibly wet around him. She moved her hips upwards and slowly slid back down as she began to find a mind blowing rhythm that had Luke falling apart much quicker than he ever imagined he could. His arms still straining against the tie, fuck he wanted to touch her.

“You feel so good.” Anna moaned, finger nails scratching against Luke’s shoulders as she continued rocking her hips.

No longer being able to bear the torture of being confined, Luke merely pulled at the tie and snapped it as if it was nothing at all. Gloved hands rush forward and grip onto Anna’s hips and quicker than she can even process Luke has her back pressed to the bed while he settles between her legs. He angles her hips up slightly and begins moving his hips in a slow yet hard pattern. Anna moans his name over and over, locking her ankles around his ass to keep him going deeper and making her see stars behind her eyelids. Luke buries his face in her neck, kissing and whispering praises as he chases the high he so desperately needed to reach.

“You are my heaven on earth, Anna Bradley, and I need you to cum for me. Let go for me, baby.” Luke kissed her swollen lips and swallowed down her angelic moans as she came undone beneath him. As she tightened around his length, Luke felt himself releasing inside of her as well. It was like nothing he had ever felt.

His arms gave out from under him and Luke pressed his sweaty face into Anna’ chest so he could listen to her heart pounding in her chest. Her fingers slid into his hair and moved it away from his forehead. They stayed quiet for what seemed like forever before Anna spoke.

“Did you really rip that tie from the headboard?” She smiled looking down at him.

“I think I did, yes.” Luke craned his neck so he could look up and meet her waiting smile.

“Adrenaline is a crazy thing.” She laughed, her thumb gently rubbing against his jaw. Luke merely shook his head.

“You should get some sleep.” He finally said after a moment.

“What about you?” Anna yawned, her dark hair fanning out over the pillows as she adjusted herself on the bed.

“I’ll be right here.” He said, moving from between her legs to her side and wrapping his arms around her body.

“Promise?” Anna said sleepily.

“Nowhere else I’ll ever want to be. Sleep.” Luke pressed a kiss to her shoulder as she began to drift off to sleep.

“I’ll make you breakfast in the morning. Bacon…hmm.” Anna said with a mumble. Luke didn’t reply this time, just held her a little tighter.

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It was 2:00 in the morning when Luke found himself wondering into his bathroom. He stared at himself in the mirror for what seemed like a lifetime. Mostly wondering where the almighty god of war had gone after all this time. Ares was nowhere to be seen in this reflection, and Luke started to think that maybe he liked the way that looked.

He used cold water to rinse his face a few times and made his way back out of the bathroom. As she shut the door behind him, he suddenly felt that something wasn’t right inside of his apartment. Someone was here that shouldn’t be. Luke rushed forward, pressing a panel on the wall on his way to his bedroom where one of his swords was hidden. He grabbed the handle, feeling its power pulse through him as he dashed back into his bedroom.

There, Luke found Ashton sitting on his bed next to Anna’ sleeping body. Luke felt his heart stop beating all together in fear.

“Hello, old friend.” Ashton said, making himself more comfortable on Luke’s bed. “I’ve made sure your little human can’t hear us. We need to talk.”

“If you touch her, I’ll kill you.” Luke threatened through gritted teeth, slowly moving towards the bed with his sword pointed at Ashton.

“No need to be pointing that thing in my direction. Nothing has to happen to the girl.” Ashton puts his arms behind his head and relaxes against the headboard.

“What’s the catch here, Apollo? What do you want?” Luke continues to move around the room slowly.

“I want to finish what we started. You’re the only one who can help me get what I want.” Ashton said, a smile on his face.

“That’s not me anymore. You’ll have to find someone else.” Luke glared at Ashton. He didn’t want that life of constant battles anymore. He found something he loved more.

“Then maybe you need something to persuade you?” Ashton moved his hand towards Anna, gently tapping his fingers against her hand. As soon as he did, she began gasping for breath in her sleep. The strangled sounds of her breathing had Luke in an instant panic.

“What are you doing?! Stop it!” Luke lunged forward, his sword immediately swinging around and pointing directly at Ashton’s throat.

“Give me what I want, or she dies. It’s simple.” Ashton continues to smile as Anna convulses against the bed. “She really is beautiful isn’t she? Might even give Aphrodite a run for her money.” Ashton laughed. Luke’s mind was all over the place, but he knew what he was going to have to do.

“Alright. I’ll do it, just stop it.” Luke practically sobbed. Ashton clapped his hands together in triumph before tapping Anna’s hand again and she fell still in her spot on the bed.

“I knew you’d see things my way.” Ashton stood up, straightening out his suit jacket.

“I want to add my own terms to this deal.” Luke slumped against the wall, shoulders falling in defeat.

“Go on.” Ashton said.

“When this battles over, and you’ve gotten what you wanted, you have Zeus make me human. And I never see any of you ever again.” Luke pushes his hair away from his face as he watched Ashton contemplate his terms.

“Alright, Ares. Deal.” Ashton walks over to Luke where he shakes his hand in a binding contract.

“Let me say goodbye to her, please.” Luke says, letting his sword fall to the ground as he makes his way over to the bed.

“I’ll wait downstairs.” Ashton disappears from the room and Luke goes back to lay next to Anna.

He presses his chest to her back, kissing her shoulder. He moves her hair away from her ear and presses his lips against the shell.

“I didn’t want this for you.” He whispers. “I wanted you to go about your life without me in it. But you sucked me in and I had no chance of escaping. I have been selfish when it comes to you, because I wanted every second I could get with you. You are precisely and entirely what I needed to start living again, and I will be forever in your debt for that Anna Bradley.” He kisses her cheek. “And I love you. That is something that will never change so long as I am alive.” Luke gets up from the bed before he no longer has the energy to do so.

He watches her a moment longer as she sleep peacefully against the white sheets of his bed and then walks out the door.

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Anna was late getting into her office that day. Her coffee practically cold as she sipped it in the elevator on the way up. Her briefcase was especially heavy with reports she had been working on from home to keep herself busy.

She needed all the distractions she could get so that she didn’t have to think about him. How he left her and never came back over six months ago.

Anna had gone back to his apartment time after time to find it empty. Everything was gone, including him. He never answered his phone. He never tried to call. He just disappeared, and Anna’s heart was broken.

“You have a client in your office, Anna.” Her assistant said as Anna entered the office.

“I wasn’t expecting anyone today.” Anna said, fumbling with her briefcase and oversized coffee cup. Her assistant merely shrugged and went back to answering the phones. Anna sighed and walked down the short hallway to her office.

Once inside, she noticed someone sitting in one of the chairs in front of her desk. The blonde curls on back of his head eerily familiar.

“I’m sorry I’m late, I wasn’t expecting anyone today.” Anna made her way into her office as the person in the chair stood and turned to face her. She froze in place, dropping her briefcase and coffee to the floor.

“Could spare a few moments for an old friend?” Luke said, a gentle smile on his face.

“Luke…” Anna choked out, her throat tightening.

“Hello there, sweet girl.”

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