#about 1/3 through the chapter and I’ve been at this for an hour and a half already rip

[wutheringmights]

waiting with bated breath. nervous. scared. laughing hysterically

I’m still editing, and it’s gonna take a little while longer. Go eat and read a book and stuff. You’ll know when it’s done

[darklordofthesimp]

Anything VII (König x Reader)

The 7th instalment in the Anything-Verse

Main Masterlist

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - 7 - Part 8

Like the characters? Read their fics below!

Sunshine Masterlist || Saint Masterlist

Series Summary:  A lack of information from the chain of command results in König mistaking you for an enemy sniper.

A/N: I’ve already got the next chapter mapped out hee hee

Category: Angst || Hurt/Comfort || Unrequited Pining || Tension

Warning: Graphic Language

You’d barely slept, how could you?

Though you supposed that you should have been used to broken rest, this time it wasn’t for the usual reasons. There were no nightmares that clawed at your mind, no anger that made you sweat- but, there was paranoia. 

There was crippling anxiety that had you wanting to hide beneath the covers, there was fear that gripped you by the throat. The sensation of being stunned was overwhelming, your thoughts were scattered and your world was tipped upside down.

Everything that you believed, everything that you had come to terms with, it was all a lie. 

You risked a glance at the clock, groaning as you realised that you’d have to get up. It was a mission, more so than usual. Dragging your sorry ass from the safety of your sheets was proving difficult, but the knowledge that you’d have to go train with König made it all the more impossible. 

You took a deep breath in as you pulled your top over your head. It was different now, the lines were blurred and König might not be the enemy that you imagined him to be. If there was anyone that was going to help you unravel this with the same urgency that you felt, it was going to be him. 

He’d do anything to prove himself, anything to stay as a sniper.

He wanted to keep the life he’d stolen from you. 

Your stomach turned at the thought, the words weren’t sitting as right as they used to. The anger that occupied your chest with relentless heat has begun to cool as of late. If König was truly misinformed, it would mean that he really was just trying to do his job. 

It meant that he was paying the consequences for someone else's misdeeds. 

It meant that he was also a victim. 

A chill ran down your spine and the fire in your chest reignited. Maybe he was a victim, but he sure as fuck didn’t look like one- he didn’t look like you. 

You groaned as you stepped through your broken doorway, the reminder of how unhinged König could truly be was unwelcome as always. You thought that the Austrian kicking the door down would terrify you, it told you that you were never safe no matter where you locked yourself up. Instead, the fact that he’d done it to ensure your safety confused you. 

You mulled over it as you walked towards the gym, mindlessly stepping one foot in front of the other. 

A couple of minutes spent trying to decipher how you felt towards König felt like hours, any small bead of energy expended suddenly blew out to exhaustion. The man was an enigma who left you stranded in your own thoughts, flailing to find land.

“Good morning, Birdy.” 

You forced yourself not to flinch away from König’s voice as you stood deathly still in the doorway. The man offered you a small wave from inside the gym, his arm stretched over his head as he loosened his muscles. 

You didn’t want to gawk at him, honestly. It was just kind of hard not to. 

He was larger than life, something that would never fail to amaze you. The sheer size of him was one thing, but his presence took up the rest of the space in the room. The breath in your lungs dissipated into nothing as you took in his visage. 

“Good morning, König,” you managed to say softly. 

You both froze for a moment, the gentle return of his greeting had caught the pair of you off guard. You supposed that there had been a shift between the two of you over the past few weeks. 

But the way you felt about the man before you gave you whiplash.

Torn between hatred, fear, familiarity and comfort, you wished you could just chalk him down to a psychotic beast that wished you harm. 

But he wasn’t and he didn’t. 

The path your mind had begun to wander reminded you of the revelation you’d come to. 

König cleared his throat, slowly standing upright as if he didn’t want to shatter the fragile friendliness between you both. Finally, you stepped into the room, one heavy foot after the other and your heart in your throat. You wanted to break the silence between you before that unnamed tension could grow, feeding on the quiet and everything that went unsaid. 

“What did you have planned today?” You questioned with a raised brow, “anything torturous and terrifying?” 

The Austrian snorted softly through his nose, crossing his arms over his chest. The slight smirk that pulled his lips upward had your breath catching in your throat. He cast his eyes downward before flicking that jade gaze back up to meet yours.  

“Isn’t everything I do “torturous” and “terrifying” according to you?” König said, the playful tone was obvious but tentative.

You took a deep breath. He wasn’t diminishing the incident, he was finding some semblance of humour between the both of you. You swallowed the small drops of rage that threatened to open the floodgates. 

“No,” you said, pushing your hands into the pockets of your hoodie. “That’s just you, I meant the training this time.” 

You watched the shift in König’s features, the way his shoulders relaxed and his eyes softened. The olive branch had been extended, received and the see-saw of emotions between you had finally tipped to fall on the opposite end. 

“Well,” König offered a small smile, “I promise that the training today will not be as scary as I am.” 

You tried to ignore the genuine relief that flooded through your chest, tried to maintain the easy-going air that had settled in the space between you. Despite your best efforts, anxiety threaded itself across your throat as you stepped closer to the looming figure before you. 

König slowly uncrossed his arms, sensing the shift in your attitude. It seemed like he always knew, even when you said nothing and your face didn’t change, he knew. Sometimes it irked you, but at times like these when he could read you and adjust, you appreciated it. 

“I promise,” he reiterated, that jade gaze as soft as ever. 

You took in a shaky breath, then released. “Okay.”

“Okay?” König repeated, taking a step toward you. 

“Okay.” 

And right there and then was the first time you’d seen him smile. 

It was brief, barely a flash of his teeth as he quickly regained control of himself, but it was enough. You knew that you’d never be able to dispel that image from your mind, you knew that you’d be thinking about it as you went through the never ending cycle of wondering whether you hated him or not. 

You knew that you’d want to see it again. 

A shiver ran along the length of your spine and an unfamiliar heat spread across your neck. You cleared your throat in an attempt to clear your thoughts. It might have been unsuccessful in that regard but it did get König to step into action.

“Right,” he said with a sigh, scanning the space around him. “The sooner we get started the sooner you can escape the torture.” 

Now it was your turn to snort as you took your sneakers off. “If only it were that easy.” 

König rolled his eyes, approaching you with slow and lazy steps that had your heart racing. You straightened up, letting him move closer until he was barely a breath away. The moment that you had both shared in the kitchen raced across your mind, the scene beginning to look dangerously similar- hopefully Graves wouldn’t appear around the corner to trigger your fight or flight reflex this time.  

“Can I help you?” You managed to choke out, dropping your gaze from his. 

“Uh, no.” There was mirth in his voice. The man took a step backward, his hands raised with his palms facing outward. “Are you not ready?” 

You tried to not look at the size of his fingers, you tried not to remember how they felt wrapped around your throat. 

“Ready?” You stammered. 

You couldn’t bring yourself to make eye contact, frozen as you stared at those fucking hands. They’d done so much damage, so much. 

You tried not to remember. 

Saint had always told you to replace a negative interaction with a positive interaction whenever you’d begun to spiral. When you remembered how hard his eyes had been when you'd been on that roof, you tried to remember how soft they were when he spoke to you now. 

Your mind fell back to the moment in the kitchen. 

“I’m ready.” You nodded, taking in a deep breath as he moved in close again. The scent of him flooded your senses, the faint recollection of his deodorant, something sweet and woodsy. 

Those hands slowly lowered and you watched as they fell to rest on your forearms. 

You remembered them holding you down, pinning you to the concrete as the weight of him pressed into your stomach. But, you also remembered those same fingers holding you ever so softly as he inspected you for burns. 

You let loose a soft breath, forcing your gaze upward. He was already watching your face, his eyes scanning your features for any sign of serious distress. 

“Well,” König murmured, his words tasting of the caramel latte he’d been sipping on earlier. “You going to take me down or not, kleine vogel?” 

You raised a brow, “you don’t need to cuss me out, I’m getting there.” 

The man frowned for a short moment, mouth opening and closing as he fought to find the appropriate response. “I did not swear at you?” 

The sentence was more of a question than a statement and while he was stuck in his confusion, you saw opportunity. 

You swung your hands around the grip that he had on your forearms, digging your fingers into his skin instead. You dragged him towards you with a sudden jerk that took every ounce of strength that you had. 

For a moment, you were worried that the giant wouldn’t budge. However, his whole body fell forward as you dropped onto your back with him above you. Both your feet came up to rest on his pelvic bone, bracing as the entirety of his weight fell onto your legs. The momentum was your best friend with this movement, pulling his hands to your chest as you kicked him over your head. 

The sound of 300 pounds hitting the ground hard behind you had your heart soaring. Adrenaline was pumping through your system, propelling you to your feet as you spun to mount your victim. 

König’s face was contorted, teeth bared as he gritted them hard. His hands were above his shoulders, fists clenched and you could tell that you’d stunned him. 

Satisfaction flooded your being. 

You scrambled up the length of his body, pressing your weight onto him as you clenched your knees hard onto either side of his hips. Your hands came down to push against his wrists, pinning his body as best as you could. 

The silence between you both was only broken by the sounds of panting. König’s chest heaved beneath, shallow and quick breaths as his eyes slowly fluttered open to glare up at you. 

“That was rude,” he groaned. “Smart. But rude.” 

“Yeah, well,” you replied with a shrug, taking a moment to try and wet the dryness in your throat. “Fights are often unfair.” 

König’s eyes narrowed for a moment before conceding your point. “Yes. Yes, they are.” 

You’d seen the signs too late, the way his lips quirked upward before he ripped his hands from yours. You’d felt his fingers grip your waist but you were unable to react before the world tipped from beneath you. The floor met your back hard enough to banish the air from your chest and your body froze as you were spun right back into the disadvantage. 

A gasp ripped from your throat, eyes wide as you stared at the man now above you. His hair fell across his forehead, resting atop his lashes as he watched you through a hooded gaze. Neither of you said a word and you didn’t bother trying to fight him off. König made a show of slowly moving to grip your biceps, your fingers scrabbling uselessly against his forearms as he pressed you into the ground.

His body was tucked between your thighs, spreading your legs far enough apart that they were rendered useless from beneath him. You swallowed hard, struggling to catch your breath. 

“Very unfair,” he confirmed with a husky murmur. 

“It’s always unfair with you,” you rasped, your fingers gripping his skin tightly. “Always, König.”

König’s face fell, any trace of satisfaction turning into something akin to sorrow. He cast his gaze aside. 

“Perhaps,” he said. “ But, perhaps if you were prepared it wouldn’t have been so unfair.” 

You watched him carefully. 

“Wrong place, wrong time.” You whispered. 

König met your gaze again, observing you for a long moment before offering a hesitant nod. “Yes.” 

Maybe, this was your chance. This was the opportunity to talk to him about what you suspected, to hear his side of the story entirely. Maybe, if you could sift through the discrepancies between your stories and what his chain-of-command had told him, you could both unravel the mystery. 

Either someone was trying to kill you and used him as the weapon to do so or something bigger was at play. 

Maybe, both? 

“Speaking of,” you began shakily, your fingers nervously tapping against his skin. There was no real way to gently ease into the topic, you’d just have to drop the bomb. “Do you think that maybe the whole incident was a little too… convenient?” 

König fell completely still, his eyes baring into yours. 

You supposed that maybe you could have been a little more tactful. 

You swallowed nervously when his chest didn’t move to breathe, he was as still as a sniper watching for their target. He reminded you of a snake lying in wait, preparing to strike out at any given moment. Suddenly, you didn’t feel so confident that he was the one that you should have spoken to about it. 

The man said nothing and you’d begun to realise that he didn’t plan to. 

“I just mean that,” you scrambled for words, anxiety clawing at your throat when he only stared. “I just mean that maybe it wasn’t just an accident or a miscommunication, maybe they were using you as a way to get what they want.” 

König’s face didn’t change when he spoke. “And what would that be?” 

You hated how perfectly still he was. 

“To take me out.” You could barely spit out the sentence.

The mans grip tightened against your arms and the small amount of trust that you’d built between each other teetered on the edge of a proverbial cliff. Adrenaline dumped into your system when he took in a deep breath, clenching his jaw. His eyes never left yours, holding you captive not just physically but mentally. You were scrambling for air. 

“I think that you are overthinking,” he finally said, relaxing his grip and releasing the tension from his lungs. 

Your heart dropped. 

Overthinking? 

Why wouldn’t he want to investigate this further? It would exonerate him, it would relieve him of the guilt, it would make him innocent. 

“What?” You rasped, blinking as though it would clear your confusion. “How can you say that?” 

“Easily,” König said, sitting up. His demeanour was suddenly so cold. He let go of your arms, shooting you one last look before he attempted to stand up. “You’ve been through a traumatic event. Overthinking is normal.” 

Desperation clawed at your chest. Before you could stop yourself, you reached upward to snatch his hands. König’s fingers interlocked with yours and his eyes widened when you pulled him back toward you. Your hands were trapped between his and the floor once more, his face only a breath away. 

But you couldn’t even think about the proximity and, for once, you didn’t even care. 

How could he just dismiss you like that? 

How could he just try to leave without even hearing you out? 

“König,” you whispered pleadingly. “Please, just listen.” 

The man shook his head immediately, trying to pull his hands from your grip. You held on as tight as you can manage, his name falling from your lips over and over as you begged him to stay. You needed him to hear it, you needed him to help you. 

“Let go, Birdy,” his voice was firmer than you’d heard in months, the sound of it a shock to your system. How the tables had turned, this time you were not the one trying to escape. Regardless, you disobeyed, only tightening your hold on him. 

“Just tell me what happened, maybe we can work it out,” the words sounded desperate, even to you. You sounded like a lover pleading for a second chance to make the relationship work. You sounded like you were holding to your last tether of sanity. You sounded crazy. 

König’s face was hard when he tugged back again. “We already know what happened, Birdy.” 

“Listen to me-” 

“Let it go, Birdy.” 

“But if you just-” 

“Enough!” 

You recoiled, flinching as he yanked his hands from yours, breaking your grip as easily as tearing a cobweb. König’s fingers wrapped around your biceps, pushing you back against the floor, restraining you from getting a steady hold on him.

The man leaned down, jade eyes alight with something you’d never seen. He burned, the thunderous expression painted across his features warned you that his blood was simmering beneath his skin. 

“Enough,” König seethed, his voice dangerously quiet. 

Fear trickled down your spine. 

Your heart dropped. 

As you watched the Austrian soldier lean over you with a ferocity that rivalled that godforsaken night, you realised that in your desperation you had been so stupid. So, so, so fucking stupid. 

König wasn’t going to help you. 

König was in on it.

[milfsloverblog]

Hii!! I have a Larissa x reader request. Larissa is in her late forties, has a shit ton of money (cause that woman screams money) and she's also a tad lonely, so she decides to find herself a sugar baby and that's where reader comes in, they are broke, almost finishing college and in need of quick money. I really just need this woman to pamper me with money and love and good sex, lots of mommy kink and out of the bedroom dominance pretty pleeeeeaaassseeee

Secret Benefits (NSFW)

Part 1. (Next part)

Larissa Weems x fem!reader

A/N: Anon, I loved this request so much I’ve decided to turn it into a multiple chapter fic. We’re mostly setting the scene in this chapter, but I added a tiny bit of smut. Thanks for the request, enjoy!! <3

You didn’t feel very proud as you clicked on the “sign up” button on the app your best friend told you about. You typed in your information - Name, age, height, weight, eye and hair colour. It did feel like you were only a product to be bought but it was what you were looking for, after all.

You filled in the “looking for” section - women, preferably. You didn’t care much about height or weight or anything like that, really, although you hoped you would be able to at least find someone attractive. But you couldn’t afford to be too picky.

It did feel like signing up for a normal dating app until you reached the “monthly income” criteria. This was by far the most important criterion, the one that had led you to this website, and yet you didn’t know what to answer. You stared at your phone screen for a moment before eventually typing in “Minimum $3500”. It felt like a correct amount, enough for someone to take care of themselves and you as well.

You uploaded a few pictures, a couple of selfies and one where your whole body was visible. You probably would have more chance of quickly finding someone if you uploaded a more revealing picture, but you just couldn’t bring yourself to do it. Not yet.

You took a deep breath and clicked on the button that would make your profile public, watching the message that popped up on your screen - Welcome to Secret Benefits, the number one sugar dating app in America.

Your profile had only been public for a few minutes when you received your first like and inbox message. A man saying he would pay you a thousand dollars a week and didn’t want anything in exchange, only to chat with you. Your friend had warned you about this kind of scam so you simply rolled your eyes and reported the profile.

Browsing through the app you quickly realised that most people on there were men over forty searching for a pretty thing to parade around with. You knew it was the whole point of this app and those kind of relationships, but still.

It felt like you had been scrolling for hours when a profile finally caught your eye. Larissa, 48. Her picture was what first caught your attention. The woman was half-turned from the camera, holding a glass of red wine in her hand. Her white hair was tied in an intricate updo, her lips painted with a crimson red that matched her nails and her blue eyes fixed on the camera as if she had caught the photographer in the act of taking her picture. It almost felt like she was looking right at you. She looked beautiful.

You clicked on her profile, hoping to learn more about the woman. You read her body description, eyes widening when you reached the height criteria and read that she was 6’3. She looked like the type of woman who enjoyed wearing heels and you felt dizzy at the thought of a two metres tall woman towering over you.

You noticed that she had picked “Unspecified” for the monthly income. You weren’t sure what that meant exactly. Was she wary about sharing her income? Strange, given the kind of app you were on. Or perhaps she was old money. She did look wealthy, the kind of woman who would have grown up in a rich family and inherited it all.

She had listed a few of her interests in her bio. Art, luxury fashion and haute couture, feminism. There was a single sentence written underneath, one that had your breath hitch in your throat.

“I call myself a hedonist, I seek utmost pleasure in everything I do.”

And that was enough to have you hooked. You didn’t care about the other thousands of profiles on the website anymore. You only cared about her. Larissa, her sapphire eyes and crimson lips, her hedonistic lifestyle and promise of utmost pleasure, and most importantly - her money.

You clicked on the little heart next to her profile picture, like your friend had told you to do. Now you were supposed to wait and see if the woman would like your profile in return. You could have sent a private message straight away, but your friend said it was better not to, it would make you look too desperate. I am desperate, you thought.

It was only hours later, when you were freshly out of the shower and about to get into bed, that your phone pinged and you quickly grabbed it to check the notification.

Larissa liked you back! The start of a beautiful story?

You stared at the notification for a minute, what were you supposed to do now that she had actually liked you back? You weren’t even expecting to get that far when you signed up.

You sat down in bed still wrapped in your towel and took a deep breath. How were you even supposed to engage in a conversation with a woman like her?

Your fingers hovered over the keyboard for a while. Everything you could think of sounded lame and you even considered calling your friend for some advice but it would have just been embarrassing.

You: Hi there! I came across your profile and was very intrigued by your sophistication and the way you described yourself. How has your day been?

That wasn’t too bad. At least you hadn’t sent a cheesy pickup line.

The little “seen” quickly appeared under your message and you bit your lip in anticipation.

Larissa: Good evening! Thank you for reaching out. My day's been quite busy with work, but I'm always up for interesting conversations. How was yours?

Okay, she had answered. She had liked you back and she had answered. Great, it was great.

You: I'm glad you're taking the time to chat. My day's been mostly filled with classes and hanging out with my friends, a normal day in the life of a college student haha. What do you do for work?

Larissa: I’d rather keep my work private, at least for now. But I promise I’m not doing anything illegal! College student, what do you study?

Well, that was a bit strange, although you could see why someone wouldn’t want to share their work field on this kind of app, there was no doubt those arrangements could ruin some people’s lives.

You: Sure, no worries! I study marketing. It’s not always easy but I enjoy it for the most part. I’m really curious about what brings you to this app?

The message was read almost instantly but it took the woman a few minutes to answer. Was she hesitant? Searching for the right words?

Larissa: I appreciate your curiosity. I'm mostly looking for a mutually beneficial arrangement where we can both enjoy each other's company and experiences. What about you? What are you looking for on here?

A mutually beneficial arrangement, that was certainly one eloquent way to put it.

Larissa: I'm seeking someone who can support me as I navigate my studies. I live on my own and have a job on the side but it’s getting really hard to finance everything alone. Plus, I think having someone older in my life, someone with more experience, could only be beneficial. It’s all about benefits and enjoying the finer things, isn’t it?

Larissa: It is! I suppose it’s the main reason why so many young women are on this app. Tell me, what do you enjoy doing in your free time?

You: Well, I honestly don’t really get much free time. But I like to sit down with a nice book whenever I can. I enjoy going for walks and I could spend hours in the kitchen cooking and baking. What about you? Any favourite ways to unwind?

Larissa: I don’t get much free time either if I’m being honest. I’m a busy woman. I do enjoy sitting by the fireplace with a book and a glass of red, one of life’s simple pleasures. I love exploring art galleries, trying out new restaurants and I sometimes, although very rarely, indulge in spa retreats.

Spa retreats? These things cost a fortune! You were lucky if you could indulge yourself in a night out with your friends!

The two of you kept exchanging for a while. You learnt that Larissa was British, that she had moved over here for her studies. She loved travelling, had been to many places around Europe and was a big fan of French cuisine. She felt like the kind of woman you could listen to for hours without ever getting bored.

It was getting late, your eyes were practically closing themselves and you knew you would be absolutely exhausted in the morning, but you didn’t want the conversation to end.

You had been talking for nearly two hours when the woman asked if you had ever dined at Ambrosia, a restaurant way out of the centre of Jericho. You snorted loudly as you searched the restaurant on Google and realised it was a gastronomic one. Did she really think you could afford that kind of place?

You: No, I’ve never been there. But I’ve just googled it and it looks like a nice place!

Larissa: It’s my favourite restaurant in Jericho, I think I must have tried everything on the menu by now. Would you like to join me there for dinner, let’s say on Saturday night?

Saturday night? You quickly checked your schedule, you were working at the bar that day.

You: I would love to, I really would love to, but I’m working that day and I can’t miss a shift…

Larissa: If it’s about the money, you don’t need to worry. Call your work tomorrow, let them know they will need to find someone to fill in for you on Saturday.

You swallowed thickly. What if this was some joke? What if you showed up at the restaurant and she wasn’t there? You would miss your shift, and lose money for nothing. But if she did show up…

You: Fine, I’ll call in the morning. What time should we meet at the restaurant?

Larissa: 6.30 pm? If you give me your address I will have a car sent for you. However, I understand if you feel wary about giving that kind of information to a stranger.

You did feel more than wary about giving her your address. For all you knew it could be some creep hiding behind that profile. But if you didn’t take the leap, you might miss a great opportunity. So you did it, you sent Larissa your address and thanked her for wanting to send a car.

Larissa: Thank you, darling. The car will pick you up at 6. I should probably let you get to bed now, I wouldn’t want you to fall asleep during one of your classes. Thank you again for reaching out, it’s refreshing to connect with you.

You: Thank you, Larissa. Likewise, I enjoyed our conversation. See you on Saturday!

You closed the app and took a deep breath. You were insane, absolutely deranged. Who in their right mind would agree to something like this so quickly? You groaned and pulled the duvet over your head. You’d think about this later, all you wanted at that moment was to sleep.

-

Saturday couldn’t come quickly enough. Your friend had asked you if you’d had any luck on the app yet and you lied, telling her that no one seemed interested in you yet. Maybe you would tell her about your meeting with Rissa once it’d be done. Maybe.

You had exchanged a few more messages with Larissa the next day, just to keep in touch and let her know that you were looking forward to meeting her, and so was she.

The doorbell of your flat ringing woke you up early on Saturday morning. You quickly threw on some pyjamas and went to open, your eyebrows shooting up when the courier handed you a big cardboard box.

“What the hell?” You whispered to yourself as you placed the box down on your coffee table.

You grabbed a knife from the kitchen drawer and carefully cut the tape, holding your breath as you opened the box. There was a small note on top of something wrapped in gold tissue paper.

I picked you an outfit for tonight, I had to guess your size using your pictures but I’m pretty certain it will fit. I suggest wearing a pair of black heels with it. See you tonight, darling.

-Larissa

You had to read the notes a few times to make sure you weren’t just making things up. She had picked you an outfit, really? Did she think you couldn’t dress up on your own? Well, to be fair you weren’t sure you had anything chic enough in your wardrobe, but still.

You carefully opened the tissue paper and your breath hitched as you unfolded the black slip dress that she had picked for you. The silk fabric felt incredibly soft under your fingertips and the lace trim on the neckline was beautiful.

“Simone Rocha.” You read the tag out loud. The name did ring a bell somewhere in your mind, was that a designer dress? Well, at least now you knew the woman was serious about taking you out for dinner tonight.

You were about to close the box when you noticed there was something else in there. You picked it up, eyes growing wide at the sight of a burgundy thong. It was beautiful. Made out of lace and embroidered with floral details, it probably cost more than your whole underwear drawer.

You bit your lip looking at the two items of clothing in your hands. Maybe you could get used to this lifestyle.

-

The car sent by Larissa arrived at your place at 6 pm sharp. You quickly put on your heels, fixed your lipstick, and took a last look at yourself in the mirror. The dress fitted you like a glove and you had rarely felt that beautiful in a piece of clothing, you looked expensive.

Hundreds of thoughts were rushing through your brain as you sat in the back of the car and absentmindedly looked outside the window.

And suddenly it hit you - would Larissa be expecting sex from you? Your eyes widened at the possibility. You had not talked about this. Sure, the woman had said she wanted someone to spend time with, but spending time with someone could mean a lot of things!

You were almost thinking about changing your mind and going home when the car pulled over and the driver let you know that you’d reached your destination. You took a look at the building outside and swallowed thickly. There was no going back now.

You thanked the driver and stepped outside, taking a deep breath of fresh air. You were halfway to the restaurant door when you heard your name being called, causing you to spin on your heels.

“Larissa?” You asked as your eyes landed on the woman walking towards you. She looked just like her picture - tall, elegant, beautiful.

“Yes!” She smiled and nodded.

Noticing that she looked you up and down, you allowed yourself to do the same. She was wearing an emerald fitted dress that perfectly hugged her waist and hips. Her legs had to be the longest you’d ever seen, they seemed to go on and on until you finally reached the silver heels that were on her feet.

“It’s nice to meet you.” You smiled back, feeling a bit awkward and not knowing what to say.

“Likewise.” Larissa answered and pulled the door open to let you in, her hand falling on the small of your back as she followed you inside.

Everything inside the restaurant reeked of wealth. The high ceiling, the polished wood floor and the leather seats. You were out of place and you felt like everyone around you knew it.

“Miss Weems, good evening!” A waiter flashed the woman a bright smile. “Your usual table?”

“Good evening, Adam. Yes please, the usual.” Larissa nodded and her hand on the small of your back gently pushed you, signalling for you to follow the waiter.

You sat down at the table and could immediately tell why it was Larissa’s favourite table. It was at the back of the restaurant, in a quieter space, and it had a perfect view of all the other tables.

The waiter brought the menu almost immediately and made a few suggestions as he poured two glasses of water. You could feel the older woman staring at you as you opened the menu and flipped through the pages. Everything was expensive, a whole three-course meal in this place would cost as much as your biweekly grocery budget. It was insane.

“Anything tempting you?” Larissa smirked, a strange glint in her eye.

“Um…Yes, yes there is a few things that sound really good.” You nodded and pushed an awkward smile.

“The dress suits you perfectly. You picked the perfect shoes to go with it.”

A blush crept up your cheeks hearing the compliments and you pushed out a shy “thank you”.

“Are you wearing everything that I picked?” Larissa asked, her head slightly tilting to the side.

Her eyes briefly dropped to your chest - no bra, that was the right choice for this kind of dress. Larissa was pleasantly surprised. She had purposefully chosen not to include a bra in the package but she wasn’t sure if you’d wear one of your own.

“Yes,” Your cheeks turned a deep red, not far from the colour of the thong you were wearing. “I’m wearing everything you picked. Thank you, by the way, I loved your selection.”

Larissa’s nostrils flared and she let out a satisfied hum, looking up when Adam reappeared by your table.

Larissa went first, there were far too many French words in her order for you to understand properly, but you enjoyed hearing her accent. It was like honey dripping from her lips. When you snapped out of your thoughts, the waiter was looking down at you expectantly. You opened your mouth to place your order only to be cut off by the tall woman’s voice.

“She will have the seared foie gras as an entrée, followed by the filet mignon - medium rare - with grilled asparagus, and the passion fruit mousse for dessert.” Larissa said, her sapphire eyes looking at you above the menu.

Your mouth dropped open. First, she had picked your whole outfit down to your panties, and now this. I want control, she had told you in one of her messages. You hadn’t really understood what it meant at that time, but you did now. You would never admit how turned on you were as you closed your menu and handed it back to the waiter who gave a polite nod and walked away from your table.

“You’re staring, darling.” Larissa pointed out, making you close your mouth and look away for a second.

“Sorry, I-“

“You weren’t expecting that?”

“Yeah…”

Larissa let out a soft chuckle and reached out, crimson nails taking hold of your chin to make you look at her.

“When we meet, if we meet again, I would like to be in charge of those things.” She simply said.

“In control, you mean?”

The woman’s nostrils flared again and she gave a small nod.

“Yes, in control. I do enjoy knowing you’re wearing something that I picked for you, that you will be tasting what I want you to taste.”

There was something almost erotic in the way she said it, something that sent a shiver down your spine and had your eyes dropping to the woman’s lips, watching them curve in a smirk.

“I wanted to ask-“ You mustered the courage to say. “If you would be expecting…more than just my company.”

“Sex?” The word sinfully rolled from her tongue.

“Yes.” You let out in a whisper.

“Would you like to have sex with me?”

Maybe.

“No.” It instinctively slipped from your mouth. “This is not the kind of arrangement I’m looking for.”

“Well, then I’m not expecting sex from you, no.” Larissa simply answered. She seemed sincere, like she really had not been expecting anything more than your company.

What if you had said yes, though? Would she have sex with you if you ever changed your mind? You swallowed thickly at the thought and picked up your glass, taking a couple of sips of water.

Larissa asked about your day and if you could explain what your studies consisted of, which you happily did. You told her about economics, and how you had learnt about analysing consumers and competitors. You were sure that it was boring, having to listen to these things when you weren’t involved in marketing, and yet Larissa’s eyes never left you. She gave a nod here and there, and asked more questions when something wasn’t fully clear to her. She seemed genuinely interested in you, and it felt nice.

“Thank you, Adam.” Larissa smiled when the entrées were placed on the table.

You looked down at your plate, it was beautifully presented and smelled incredible. What was it again?

“Seared foie gras,” Larissa said as if she could read your mind. “Enjoy, darling.”

“Thank you, enjoy!” You answered and picked up your fork to try the foie gras. You remembered having tasted it once, years ago at a wedding. But it didn’t taste this good in your memory.

Larissa watched your every move. She watched you push the fork inside your mouth, how you closed your eyes when the food filled your tastebuds. The foie gras was exquisite, the woman knew it, and she relished in the pleased hum that escaped you.

“What do you think?” She said, eager to hear your thoughts.

“It’s delicious, thank you for picking it.” You answered honestly, causing Larissa to let out a shuddering breath. Was she getting off on this?

The rest of the meal went smoothly. Larissa seemed determined to keep most of her life private, only answering a couple of your questions, often with well-thought answers that wouldn’t give out too much. It seemed like she enjoyed hearing you talk about yourself, though, for she asked you question after question throughout the evening.

“Thank you for tonight, Larissa.” You said when the two of you walked out of the restaurant. She had paid for the whole bill and, even though you had expected it, it still brought a blush to your cheeks.

She wrapped her arm around your shoulder and pulled you closer against her, walking with you towards her car. She had convinced you to let her drive you back to your flat, although it hadn’t taken much for you to agree to it.

You sat down in the passenger seat of her Chevrolet and stayed quiet as Larissa turned on the engine and drove away from the restaurant. A silence fell between you, it was a bit uncomfortable until the older woman turned the radio on and a familiar new wave song filled the car.

Larissa softly hummed along to the tune and her hand moved to rest on your leg, just above your knee, her thumb soothingly rubbing your skin. You didn’t think you would love it as much as you did, but her hand was warm against your flesh and it simply felt right.

“I think we’ve arrived.” Larissa said as she pulled over in front of your flat.

“Mm? Oh, yeah, yes!” You nodded taking a look outside. You had been lost in your thoughts for the entirety of the ride.

Larissa leaned over and pulled something from the glove compartment before handing it to you. It was a small golden envelope with your initials handwritten on it.

“For your missed shift.” She smiled and placed the envelope in your hand.

“Thank you.”

“Mhm. Now go, get some rest.” She purred. “I will text you later.”

“Goodnight, Larissa.” You bit your lip, hesitating for a second before eventually placing a kiss on the woman’s cheek.

“Goodnight, darling.” She squeezed your thigh and watched you step out of her car, waiting until you were inside the building before she drove away.

You closed the door behind yourself and let out a breath you didn’t know you had been holding. It had gone…surprisingly well. Larissa was truly charming, she was intelligent, eloquent, and wealthy. And she was breathtakingly beautiful.

You stepped out of your heels and walked through your flat, dropping the envelope on the kitchen counter before you made your way to the bathroom for a well-deserved shower.

Thoughts of the older women flooded your mind as soon as you stepped under the hot water jet. Was she home already? What was she doing? Had she enjoyed her evening? You were pretty sure that she had. More than once you had caught her pupils dilating as you thanked her for what she had picked for you, whether it was the food or the clothing. Was she thinking about you right now like you were thinking about her?

Would you like to have sex with me? - her voice echoed through your mind and you whined, dropping your hand between your legs. There was a sense of urgency in the way you fucked yourself as you thought of Larissa being in control of you, your food, your outfit - God, you’d probably let her take control of your whole being if she asked for it.

“Fuck- Larissa!” Her name rolled from your tongue as you reached your climax, leaving you panting heavily against the shower wall. It was depraved, you thought, fucking yourself thinking of a woman you had just met.

The same thought crossed Larissa’s mind as she slowly pulled her fingers out of herself, pushing them between her lips to lick them clean. It was depraved, but you had looked so good in the dress she’d picked for you and you had been so thankful all night long.

The tall woman opened a kitchen drawer, pulled a cigarette out of it, and lit it while she poured herself a glass of red with her other hand. It usually was either one or the other, but tonight she really needed both. Larissa was hooked, she couldn’t help herself, she loved taking care of a pretty thing.

You grabbed the envelope from the counter on your way to bed, opening it once you had settled down under the duvet. Two hundred dollar bills fell on your lap, making your eyes widen. This was almost double what you’d have made for your shift tonight. You bit your lip and put the money back into the envelope before shoving it inside your bedside table. Maybe you could get used to this, spending time with a beautiful woman and being paid for it. What was that thing she said? Ah, yes, to seek utmost pleasure.

———————————————————————

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[lot-of-nothing]

Entwined (Ch. 6)

Melissa Schemmenti x Reader

Protective Mel <3

Warnings: Smut, flirting, arguments, and working through internalized homophobia

Author’s Note: THIS TOOK SO LONG OH MYGOD. @icannolongercountmyfandoms is the one you can thank for a new chapter bc she LITERALLY threatened me with BODILY HARM /j

Ch. 1 | Ch. 2 | Ch. 3 | Ch. 4 | Ch. 5

A soft knock on your office door drew your attention from your desktop monitor to the sweet face of Melissa Schemmenti. You had been ordering parts on a vehicle currently in your shop when her presence delightfully interrupted your work. 

Leaning back in your desk chair, you rest your hands on your thighs as you look her over. She wore leather pants and a form fitting top that only reminded you that it had been weeks since you last fooled around with the beautiful redhead. You spoke with a smirk, your eyes obviously wandering to admire her entire body, “What do I owe the pleasure of having Ms. Schemmenti in my office?”

Mel adored the way you stared, allowing the door to shut behind her as she inched deeper into the office. Her eyes scanned the walls littered with articles about the auto shop that had been in business for decades - opened by your great-uncle in the 70s. She murmured her reply without looking at you, “Just thought I’d drop by...” 

“I saw you less than 12 hours ago. I can’t believe you miss me already.” Your eyes were glued to her ass as she turned her back to you. 

Melissa kept her back to you as she spoke, slowly walking the perimeter of the office to skim the framed headlines. She returned the playful banter with a monotone, “I’m just here to make sure you are doin’ your job and not just daydreamin’ about me all day.”

“I have time for both.” You tease, earning a sideways glance and eye roll from the redhead. 

When she was done touring the office, she perched herself at the edge of your desk. Your response was to move your office chair closer while simultaneously leaning backwards, stretching out to allow Melissa’s eyes to skim over you. 

“Enjoying the view?” You asked.

“I am.” Her arms folded over her chest as a mischievous smirk grew on her lips. Mel’s eyes flickered from your shoulders, over your chest, allowing her eyes to linger before drifting back to your face, “I’ve never seen you in your work clothes.”

You give a shrug, teasing her, “That happens when you don’t call before 8pm.” 

Your comment had more bite than you intended, but Melissa didn’t seem to take it too personally. She brushed her hair over her shoulder before placing both of her hands on the arms of your chair and looming over you, “Why don’t you let me make it up to you?”

Rather than meet her intense green hues, you admired her cleavage with no effort to conceal your desires. “What do you have in mind?” Melissa’s demeanor changed with a playful laugh. You could’ve sworn you felt her purring as her face drifted closer to yours. Her nose and lips brushed against yours before she scantily pulled away, “A little weekend getaway. You, me, and a cheap, little hotel right on the beach in Atlantic City.” 

You cocked your head with a shit eating grin across your face, “Are you asking me on a date?” 

Her response contained no hesitation or nervousness. Rather she seemed incredibly satisfied with herself, “I am.” 

“Then say it.” Your demeanor was entirely too confident for Melissa’s liking, and you could tell this was the case as her brows narrowed as she stared you down. Her stubborn nature had her fall silent, searching your face to see how serious you were. You confirmed your serious intentions as you returned her intimidating gaze, “Go on.”

The redhead glared for a few seconds longer before straightening her back and softening her features, “Will you go on a date with me?”

“Why, I thought you would never ask.” To reward Mel for her behavior, you rose from your chair, pressing a brief kiss to her lips that threatened to cause Melissa’s cheeks to flush red.

—

“What in the hell is this?” A voice and a banging on the window to your office caused Melissa to jump from your lap to prevent anyone from seeing how cozied up you had been with one another. 

With a wave of frustration now coursing through your veins, you rose from your chair and strode to the door, opening it to face a disgruntled customer. He pushed a piece of paper stained with the vaguely familiar markings of the autoshop printer into your face. You quickly pushed away his hand and failed to provide his aggression with kind customer service, “It looks like a receipt.”

He pointed at the receipt, raving about the additional charges tacked onto the original cost of fixing his vehicle, “What the hell are all of these extra charges? You said it was gonna cost $300 and now you’re charging me over $500!”

You only shrugged at his frustrations, leaning away from him as he threatened your bubble of personal space once again as you tried to explain the additional charges. You hadn’t noticed Melissa lingering in the doorway behind you, silently fuming at the way the customer was speaking to you, “We told you when you dropped it off that you gotta pick it up within 24 hours or else we charge ya’ for parking. You left the Buick here for over a week, man. We aren’t a public parking lot. We need the space for other customers.”

“Where’s your fuckin’ manager?”

“I am the fuckin’ manager.”

You returning his energy wasn’t something he took kindly. He waded up the bill and tossed it aside before pushing his finger into your chest, “If you think for a goddamn minute I will be paying this bill, you have another thing comin’. I don’t need some bitch robbing me of my hard earned money.” The second he touched you, Melissa rounded your side and came to stand between you and the man. Her hands were balled into fists and perched on her hips as she stared defiantly up at the man who stood two feet taller than her. You glanced down and noticed gripped in one of her hands was a baseball bat you kept tucked behind your desk, “Is there a problem here?”

The man gave a tired sigh, waving a hand in Melissa’s face. Little did he know that his waving hand was akin to the red flag waving in the face of a raging bull, “Get lost, red. It’s none of your business.”

With one swift movement she lifted the bat, allowing it to slide in her hand so she gripped the barrell, shortening it enough that she could poke him in the chest with it. You watched her lean back and forth as she threatened him - a genetic trait of Schemmenti’s as they threatened people. “The second you decided to start with the name callin’ it became my problem. I suggest you pay up before your car ends up with more problems than what you came in with.”

He made the worst possible decision as he placed his hands on his knees, speaking to Melissa as if he were talking to a child. “Stay the hell out of this. This is between me and your girlfriend.”

Melissa stared him down for a fraction of a second before snapping. She allowed the bat to slide back down in her hand so she could grip the handle and lift the aluminum bat above her head, ready to strike. You were lucky you had your eyes glued to her rather than the unwelcome customer so you had the time to loop one arm around her waist while the other raised to grip the barrel of the bat. 

“No, no, no, no!” You scolded, tugging her back towards the office while some of the boys working in the shop intervened. 

Mel barely gave up a fight against you, rather she stared down her new mortal enemy with a vitriol you had yet to see on her face before. When she was finally in the office, you released her while tearing the bat from her grasp lest she have any ideas about slipping past you to exact her revenge.

Knowing she was now trapped in your office, she began pacing back and forth with a rage you could feel radiating off her. You leaned against the door, watching her traverse your office like a caged wildcat which only made you smile. With a lighthearted tone, you tried to calm her, “Easy, tiger.”

Melissa whipped around to face you, her hands clenching and unclenching at her sides as she was clearly unhappy with your decision to prevent her from teaching that guy a lesson. She stared up at you with a defiance that you found incredibly endearing, and what was even more endearing was the way she continued fighting for you, “He can’t just talk to you like that!”

“Don’t give it too much thought. I deal with guys like that all the time.” You calmly brush off the encounter, remembering countless situations wherein things escalated much further and you were called far worse. Leaving the bat by the door, you approach the seething woman with a serenity that cooled her boiling anger. 

The redhead refused to respond to you and her eyes studied the calendar on the wall to avoid meeting your own. She folded her arms over chest and you watched her demeanor shift from simmering anger to pouty eyes begging for your attention. 

Taking her face in your hands, you lift her face towards you and press a kiss to her forehead before wrapping her into a tight hug, “I promise you. It’s okay.”

--

You drop your phone down onto the bed when Melissa walks out only wearing an oversized sweatshirt. The bagginess of the clothing hid everything and you were ready to help her out of it as quickly as she put it on. You gestured for her to come to your side of the bed, “Just when I think you can’t get more gorgeous, you walk out looking like that.” 

Melissa crawled into bed with you, straddling your lap for a moment to give you hope before sliding off to land on her side of the bed, “I have work in the morning. I don’t need any of your funny business. ”

You ‘tsked’ her response and pulled away the covers so she wouldn’t be able to hide. You rapidly maneuvered so you would be on your knees before her so your hands could guide her thighs open. She was smirking as she put up no fight against your efforts. She even lifted her sweatshirt to reveal more of herself to you; that move alone told you she wasn’t truly opposed to your ‘funny business’.

Settling onto your stomach, you lean your cheek against her thigh, staring intently at her panties, “Funny business? There is nothing funny about this...”

“Mm… Prove it.” A manicured hand wove into your hair, drawing your face closer to her heat. Her back arched involuntarily and caused her hips to shift downwards closer to your mouth. 

“Happily.” You murmured, hooking your fingers around the waistband of her underwear and pulling them down her legs the best you could. They were at her knees when you lowered your face to her cunt once again. As a professional in pleasuring Melissa, you skillfully wound your arms around her thighs before using your fingers to spread her cunt open for your tongue to go to work. 

You felt Melissa’s thighs squeeze your head for a moment as she worked to remove her underwear without trying to impact your ability to give head. The feeling of her legs around her head drove you insane. You tried to let her know how much you craved her as your hands shifted back to her thighs so you could feel your fingers compress into her soft flesh. 

Melissa relaxed back into the bed, completely melting into your touch. Her hands rose above her head to grip the bed frame - a silent way of giving you complete control. 

She was already sleepy from your lovemaking from nearly an hour ago, so this time Mel was far less energetic and performative. It was mesmerizing watching her head softly turn back and forth while soft breathy moans escaped her mouth. This was exactly what made Melissa so addicting for you. 

You watched her crane her neck so she could press her face into her pillow to catch the fabric between her teeth. In response, you swirl your tongue around her clit before giving her clit a hard suck. She gave a strained and exhausted growl that faded into a quiet whine - her quietness all centered around preventing her roommate from hearing.

You attempted to move your mouth away to give her reprieve, but her hips lifted off the mattress to impede too much separation.

Part of you wondered how far you could push Melissa. To satiate your curiosity, you gently scraped your teeth against her clit, earning a hiss then a whiney moan. You were clearly pushing your luck with how much she could handle. When you continued with your teasing licks, your eyes flickered back up to her face to enjoy the view. Her chest was heaving and her bottom lip jutted out into a pathetic pout as her hips began grinding against your tongue as she sought out an orgasm. 

For a split second you considered confessing your love to Melissa like you did all those years ago, but you kept yourself from doing so. She needed to come to you. Instead you opted to pay her a compliment instead, “You’re so good for me, pretty girl…”

Your heart fluttered as you watched a smile spread across her face. She then attempted to silence a rumble deep in her throat and hide her simper, but it was fruitless as the compliments continued falling off your lips. You breathily mumbled about her hips and thighs, briefly pausing to stroke your tongue up and down her drippy cunt, and continued your mad ramblings about how beautiful you found her to be.

In your moments of desperation, your words had caused Melissa’s face to grow hot from embarrassment. It was easy accepting compliments when the moment lacked the vulnerability of sex and nudity, but when your face was buried between her legs the flattering remarks felt all too real. She tried to brush them aside, only to have them linger at the outskirts of her mind. 

As you refocused your attention on her clit with the addition of two fingers gently inching deeper into her pussy, Melissa was struggling to escape the thoughts of your feelings towards her. She despised how light it made her feel. She hated that she felt herself being drawn closer to orgasm from the adoration she felt from you. 

Her fierce independence was battling the all-consuming craving to feel desired.

While you were not privy to her inner turmoil, you only worked harder to bring her pleasure. Your fingers gently curled within her, stroking that special spot you discovered during your youth. A coil tightened within Melissa, her hand shooting down to grip your spare wrist to steady herself. 

You chose to lose yourself in giving head once again. Her breasts gently shook with each light shift of her body - a mesmerizing sight. You were lapping and kissing at her clit softly as you hoped to draw out this experience as much as possible. However, Melissa was unable to take anymore as an orgasm washed over her and her back swiftly lifted off the bed and quickly arched back into the mattress, pushing her hips to your mouth. 

You slowed down the movements of your tongue, but you didn’t stop entirely. You wanted to slowly bring her down from her peak (and selfishly you wanted you to continue enjoying the feeling of her thighs clamped down on the sides of your head). When her back finally relaxed against the mattress, you slipped your hand from her cunt to reluctantly help guide her thighs into a resting position. You gave her thighs a couple of gentle bites, encouraging to ease up on you, “Come on, pretty girl…”

Melissa whimpered as her legs shakily parted, nervous you would attempt to continue regardless of her exhaustion. You only nuzzled her thighs, slowly smothering them with kisses in a way that gave Melissa butterflies. 

She was quick to try and move herself out of such a vulnerable position. “Let’s get cleaned up. I’m already way up past my bedtime.” Melissa gave your arm a pat, encouraging you to get up as she shifted her hips to the left as if she were attempting to move off the bed. 

You rolled off the redhead and sat up, taking that as her subtle hint for you to head home. After following Melissa to the bathroom and using the sink to wash your face and hands, you began gathering your clothes to make your exit. This only confused the redhead as she pulled back the comforter for both sides of the bed as she expected you to join her, “Whered’ya think your goin’?”

“Oh…” Your eyes widened and you began removing your sweatpants that you just put on. You undressed and joined the redhead in bed, earning a satisfied hum from her. 

When you were settled on your back, Melissa was on her side facing away from you. She found a way to make physical contact with you by backing up in bed so her back was pressed to your side. She shifted in bed for a few moments as she tried to find a comfortable position, and after she did she mumbled sleepily, “Be warned. I wake up at 6.”

You started your sentence mid-yawn, “That’s a shocker.”

She had one final quip for you as sleep threatened to overtake her, “I don’t just wake up looking this beautiful.” 

With a chuckle, you gave her ass a pat, mumbling out your final few words before allowing yourself to enjoy some silence before you fell asleep, “I doubt that…”

--

You woke up the next morning with Melissa already off to work, but when you checked your phone you had a message from Mel waiting for you. 

Melissa: Couldn’t bear to wake you up. You should have told me you were that cute when you slept. I would’ve let you stay sooner.

Y/N: I don’t believe that for a second. 

Y/N: Don’t worry. I’m getting ready right now and I’ll be out soon. 

You quickly sent the second message as you didn’t want to seem too over confident nor did you want to overstay your welcome. 

Melissa: No rush. There is lunch for you in the fridge. I marked the tupperware.

You grinned at your phone like a lovestruck idiot. Quickly you threw on your clothes and wandered down to the kitchen to see what Melissa had left for you in the fridge. Sitting on the top shelf was undoubtedly a tupperware full of her insanely good spaghetti with a bright pink sticky note stuck to the top marked with your name and a little heart.

Y/N: Thank you! Will I see you later?

Melissa: Open house tonight. See you Saturday? 

Melissa: I’ll let you take me to dinner.

The thought of waiting two days to see Melissa next was brutal, but you would take what you got as rarely did she ever make plans with you in advance. 

Y/N: Let me? What an honor.

Melissa: Believe me. I know.

You were smiling at your phone through the rest of the day as Melissa texted you about little things happening at school. Sometimes the stories she told you about Abbott were hard to believe. 

Her attention made you feel lovesick as you were constantly checking your phone, smiling at the thought of her getting into shenanigans and doing her terrible impressions for her work friends. The thought of going on a weekend getaway with her was only sounding better and better.

Taglist: Taglist: @esposadejoyhuerta, @unicorniusfallapatorius, @sapphicxrat, @earpivore, @jeridandridge @petty-femme27, @darkcolorphantom, @a-queen-and-her-throne, @cosmichymns

[delicatebarness]

i think he knows | chapter seven

Summary: How much exactly did Bucky get from the bet?

Warnings: I'm not crying, I'm sweating from my eyes.

Word Count: 1358

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A/N: This might be my favorite chapter so far. However, enjoy, I'll be back writing on Saturday <3

Tags: @bigtreefest | @caplanbuckybarnes | @angelbabyyy99 | @mega-kittyglitter-1 | @cjand10 | @armystay89

The room felt too small, you felt like you were suffocating with him standing this close to you. You could sense that you hurt him, his eyes lost the small glint of hope the second you said it. His head dropped, no longer looking down at you but more at his sock-covered feet. 

“I wanted to talk to you,” His voice trembled, causing your heart to sink to the pit of your stomach. You didn’t know how to feel. “About everything.” 

The memories of the weekend flooded back, causing your eyes to tear up. Here he was, standing in your room, willing to talk. You had the opportunity to get your answers, but, you couldn’t bring yourself to want to hear it. 

“I, I don’t,” you stuttered as you began to flush, trying to find the right words without hurting him more. “I don’t know if I’m ready to talk,” you admitted softly, barely audible.

When he lifted his head back up to look at you, you watched a tear begin to fall down his cheek. His eyes were searching for something in yours, you weren’t sure what.

“Come for a ride with me,” he gestured toward your window, you assumed the open window was how he entered into the room earlier. “Let me take you for a ride, I promise it will only be a ride. We don’t need to talk, just,” he raised his hand to your cheek, barely touching it, he quickly pulled away stopping himself from going too far. “Please, come with me.”

Looking between Bucky and the window, you fought a silent battle in your mind not knowing what to do. Your mind, that was telling you that it was a bad idea. If you go with him, you’ll be giving him more power in the situation. Your heart was telling you the opposite. It told you what you felt that night at The Overlook was real enough. 

Your mom’s voice began to overpower all the warning signs in your head, “If you truly want to know the truth, go with your heart. Your head will make up reasons to not do something that is meant for you” The advice she gave you on Friday night after giving you your space. 

With a sigh, you nodded agreeing to go on the ride with him. His face lit up with glee as he rushed over to put his shoes and jacket back on. You set your textbooks and backpack down in their usual spot before heading to the window. Bucky climbed down first, waiting for you at the bottom. Looking up he watched as you sat in the same spot on the ledge as he did only a few nights back. Guilt once again rushed through his veins, it disappeared as quickly as it came when he noticed your heavy breathing while you looked down at the ground. 

“I’m here,” he called up to you, bringing your attention to him rather than the hard ground below. He stood watching you, his arms pulled up toward you. “I’ve got you, I promise.” 

A promise he kept, with his reassurance you began to climb down and once you were within reach, he helped you the rest of the way. As you landed, you crashed into his chest. Both of your breaths hitched, and looking up at him you caught the remorse in his eyes. For the first time since that moment with him at The Overlook, your mind went quiet. 

~

The engine hummed below you, your mind eased while you pressed against his back again. The street lights began to turn on as you rode past them, the sun disappearing below the horizon. You could have sworn he rode down every street in the town, it felt like you had been riding for hours before he stopped the bike by the lake. The silence was deafening the second he stopped the engine.

You walked side by side down to the lake, taking his jacket off he laid it over the grass, gesturing for you to take a seat on top of it. You accepted the offer with a small smile. You sat with your knee up, chin resting on top. You could feel his gaze on you as he sat beside you on the grass. 

The silence lasted the entire time you watched the sun set completely. It wasn’t until it had disappeared that you found the confidence to speak.

“Who won?” Your voice broke, and your throat felt scratchy as if you hadn’t used your vocal cords in months. Turning to look at him, you noted a confused expression on his face. “The bet, who won?” 

“I promise you, this,” He gestured between the two of you, suggesting you and him were the ‘this’. “This had nothing to do with a bet.” He spoke with confidence, never breaking eye contact with you. 

You narrowed your eyes at him, he was giving you the truth-telling signs but you weren’t fully convinced. “Sure, getting close to the quarterback’s sister, making her let down every wall, distracting her from everything she’s worked for, taking her first kiss,” the tears began to well in your eyes again, you wondered how, how were you still able to cry. “Doesn’t sound like one of your games, at all.” 

Bucky’s expression faltered as he watched the tears stream down your flushed cheeks, he reached out, his hand hovering as he debated whether to touch you or not. “I messed up, I know, I’ve got a reputation.” He pulled his hand back, running it through his hair as he let out a breath. “But this, this is different. You’re different.” His eye pleaded to you as his voice softened. He needed you to believe him. 

“How can I believe you? How do I know that you’re not just,” You couldn’t bring yourself to finish the sentence. You didn’t want it to be the truth, you desperately wanted to believe him.

“I wish I could make you understand that you mean more to me than you’ll ever know,” he sighed, his jaw tensed in frustration. “I knew you didn’t see me, for all these years, but I saw you.” He looked away from you, his gaze now focused on the water ahead of you. “I’m sorry, I did manipulate this, just not in the way you or Steve or anyone else would think.”

He stopped for a moment, he rubbed his face in his hand before back through his hair. He continued, cut you off as you began to speak. “I knew if Steve caught me looking at you, he’d tell you to stay away. I knew if he did that, you’d notice me and it was less of a risk to have you come to me than me come to you.” 

“James, I -” He looked back at you as you tried to find the right words. They didn’t come. Instead, you reached your hand out to his cheek and pulled his face close to yours. For a few seconds, you locked your eyes with his, giving them a chance to show you a reason to not do what your heart was telling you. 

He looked back at you with remorse and guilt, the kind that showed you his heart had pure intentions. They showed you just how much thinking he had hurt you, hurt him. 

You allowed yourself to take a moment to get lost in them. Until his lips parted slightly as if he was about to say something. Pressing your lips against his, you silenced him. 

The kiss was soft, bare. All the doubts and insecurities melted away with every passing second. You explored every inch of each other's mouths, not wasting a single opportunity. Your hand pulled his cheek, his fingers were tangled in your hair, and you both tried to pull each other closer. 

When you finally pulled away, a spark of hope appeared over his smile, a genuine smile. Smirk is nowhere to be seen. You both caught your breath as your hearts pounded together. 

He leaned in, pressing his forehead against yours. “Can I call you, Sunshine?”

---

Series Masterlist | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

[superhaught]

Incurable Cravings (Chapter Four)

Pairing: Regina George x Reader

Warnings: none really, just angsty

Word Count: 2200, Part 4/?

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3

Continuation of Incurable Cravings series!

Little author's note: I made a small edit to Chapter 2 to fix a plot hole that I created for myself. Regina and Leighton have been living in separate homes for five years as opposed to the original ten.

Regina and reader begin to navigate their first day at school in light of their newfound relationship. Reader learns more about the history between Janis, Regina and Leighton.

Regina’s family was complex. 

You knew that Ms. George used to be married to Regina’s father. Together, they had twin daughters, Regina and Leighton. You were all around 13 years old when they divorced. The resulting custody arrangement was unusual. Ms. George kept Regina and the house, while Leighton went with their dad and moved to the east coast. You vaguely knew that the father, Henry, got remarried to his college sweetheart, who had an older son from her previous marriage. Ms. George kept her maiden name and changed Regina’s last name to match, and has since also remarried and had Regina’s half-sister, Kylie. Regina’s stepdad, from what you knew, was a high-ranking military official. He didn’t see combat, but he was almost never home. All of them seemed to prefer it that way. 

Regina and her stepdad famously did not get along well, so his frequent absence was appreciated by her. And Ms. George enjoyed being able to maintain her independence. She often referred to herself as a single mom, even though she, objectively, was married.

You hadn’t seen Leighton since she moved away, and based on what Regina had said, she had rarely seen her twin either. You were positive that the distance must be hard on them both. Regina and Leighton had always been each other's' best friend when you were younger. They were practically joined at the hip. You remember that when Leighton moved away, Regina didn’t come to school for almost two weeks and she wouldn’t see anyone.

The divorce, and your small friend group falling apart, all happened within the span of a year. And now, as Regina slept peacefully in your arms, you wondered just how much pain she had been carrying.

It broke your heart. 

In spite of your racing thoughts, you eventually gave in to sleep yourself and were able to get a few hours shuteye before Regina’s alarm was going off and waking you for school. Regina groaned and snoozed the alarm once before turning over and curling up against your chest.

You giggled at how cute she was being and took to kissing her head and playing with her hair for those ten extra minutes. You felt her press a few soft kisses onto your neck and then the alarm went off again.

You reached over her and turned the alarm off and then rubbed your palm over her upper arm. 

The blonde smiled and whispered, “good morning…”

“Good morning, sweetheart. How are you feeling this morning?”

Regina yawned and stretched her arms out a little before responding, “better than I’ve felt in a while.”

“Good.”

She met your eyes, “am I remembering last night correctly?”

“What do you remember?”

She hesitated for a moment, examining your expression, maybe considering dropping it, “I remember you saying that you love me…”

You nodded your head, “I did, Gina,” you tucked some hair behind her ear, “I said ‘I love you.’”

She nodded back and bit down on her bottom lip. You could see the anxiety mounting in her through her tensing muscles and rapid eye movements.

“I…” she began.

“Shhh…” you leaned in and captured her lips in a kiss. 

She melted at the contact and let her hand travel over your shoulder and up the back of your neck to hold you close. Regina held you in that kiss for a long while and then just silently nodded again as she pulled away.

“Thank you…” she whispered. 

And thus, only a fraction of your conversation actually  took place out loud. You never really imagined having a bond like that with someone, not after the years you had lost of growing with Regina and Janis as your closest friends. But right here, in this moment, Regina knew without a shadow of a doubt that you had meant what you said. And you knew that she felt the same way about you in return. 

You both took a minute more to play with each other’s fingers as you held hands in the bed. 

The blonde kissed your hand and whispered, “I wish we had time to enjoy more of each other instead of going to school…” 

“I do too, trust me.” 

“I just want this gorgeous body of yours all to myself, all the time…” 

You smirked, “you are such a temptress… but don’t worry, Gina. I’m all yours.” You kissed her cheek and then her lips again, obliging her when she grazed your lip with her tongue to deepen the kiss. You shared a few more kisses like this before Regina finally forced herself to sit up. 

She looked sore and stiff in her movements. You reached out to gently touch her back after she sat up and you asked, “do you want help getting up?” 

“No, no… I’ll be okay. Thank you baby.” 

You got ready for the day together. Regina happily let you borrow some of her clothes that she reserved for wearing only around the house. No one would likely be able to tell that they were hers, not that it mattered to you. 

Ms. George had fixed you both a quick breakfast and offered you free reign of the pantry to make yourself a lunch. 

Regina, with a little bit of encouragement from you, managed to eat a cup of yogurt with granola. 

“I’m gonna go start the car, you coming?” Regina asked you when she finished eating. 

“Yeah, go ahead, I’ll be right out.” 

Regina nodded and left through the front door of her house. You heard the engine of her Jeep start and you turned to Ms. George, who was scrolling Facebook on her phone while eating her own bowl of yogurt. 

“Ms. George?” 

She looked up at you, “what’s up, sugar?” 

“Do you have Leighton’s phone number?” 

Regina held your hand the whole car ride to school and walked inside with you, only dropping your hand once you were in the presence of others. 

Regina saw Gretchen and Karen waiting for her at her locker so she turned to you and gave you a sweet goodbye with a quick, stolen kiss to your cheek before she split off from you and resumed her normal. 

You realized that the two of you hadn’t discussed this part. You didn’t know how long it would be this secret between the two of you, but you hoped not long. 

But you were greeted with your own smack in the face from reality when you walked up to your locker. Janis stood there, waiting for you. 

You took a deep breath, “hey.” 

She crossed her arms in front of her chest, “hey. I want to try this again.” 

She stepped out of your way as you opened up your locker and she continued when you didn’t really say anything in response, “yesterday, I know I approached you about Regina in the wrong way, and I’m sorry.” 

You grabbed one of your textbooks, “thank you. I forgive you.” 

“But… I’d really like to talk to you about this. I saw you leave that storage closet with her. And I saw you go home with her after school yesterday. And, oh my god, you’re wearing her sweatshirt.” 

Shit. Of course Janis would recognize it.

“And? What exactly do you want to know?” 

“I… well, like what are you guys doing together? Are you hanging out again?” 

“I guess we are… yeah. We’re hanging out.” 

“Why?! Why would you do that?” 

“Janis…” your voice betrayed your sadness and frustration. 

“No seriously, come on! You’re one of the only people who knows the truth about what Regina has put me through! I thought you would be on my side!” 

You pinched the bridge of your nose and inhaled, “Janis, it’s more complicated than sides… and, and I don’t know that I do know the truth!” 

“What do you mean? You were at that party! You were there!” 

“I mean, why does Regina think that something happened between you and Leighton?” 

Janis’ jaw dropped, “what?” 

“What happened between you and Leighton?” 

“What did Regina say?” 

“She didn’t say anything specific, only that you hurt Leighton somehow.” 

“I…” Janis clenched her hands into fists, “that has nothing to do with me and Regina! I don’t even… you knew how I felt about Regina… you don’t really think I deserved what she did, do you?” 

“Janis, no. I don’t think you deserved it. I don’t think any of us deserved anything that happened, Regina included. I think we were kids with a lot of complicated feelings.”

Janis stared at you incredulously. 

“Didn’t you guys make up at the dance last year?” 

“No. We didn’t. She was high on pain medication. She didn’t forgive me and I didn’t forgive her.” 

You sighed, “Look, right now, I know that Regina wants me around and I’m okay with putting things behind me so that I can be there for her. But you don’t have to do that. Just don’t get mad at me for trying.”

She stared at you again. 

You closed your locker door, “you weren’t the only one of us who was in love with her, Janis. You weren’t the only one who lost her, okay?” 

You walked away from Janis for the second time, once again, unsure whether you were making the right choices in navigating this whole thing. You couldn’t exactly tell Janis the whole truth about your relationship, not without consulting Regina about it first. But you knew it wasn’t fair to leave Janis completely in the dark either. 

You sat through your math class unable to pay attention to a single word out of Mrs. Norbury’s mouth because you were so caught up in how complicated this all was. 

On your way out, Mrs. Norbury called you up to her desk and you obliged. 

“Hey, you doing okay?” 

You nodded, “yeah, I’m just having a weird week. I’m sorry for spacing out.” 

She gave you a half smile, “look, I know your grades are going to be fine, that’s not what I’m worried about. I just want to make sure you’re alright.” 

“It’s just friend stuff.” 

“Alright, well, just remember that graduation is right around the corner. You need to make sure that you’re thinking about what you want.” She smiled at you as if what she said wasn’t annoyingly vague. 

“Have you told anyone else about your acceptance letter yet?” She continued. 

“No… still only you and my parents know. I’m not ready to tell anyone else yet.” 

“It’s been a few months now, you’ll have to start telling people eventually.” 

“I know… I just…” 

Mrs. Norbury waited patiently for you to finish. 

“It hasn’t really sunk in for me yet.” 

She raised an eyebrow. You knew she was suspicious of your answer but she let it go, “okay. Well, if you need anything, just let me know.” 

You nodded and left her classroom. Your heart was pounding. 

Until yesterday, there was no one that you were overly concerned to talk to about your college acceptance. But now… you’d have to find a way to tell Regina that in just a few short months, you’d be moving to Boston for college. 

You hustled to your next class and pulled your phone out as you sat down in your seat. You quickly started a new message to the number that Ms. George gave you. 

When you left that class, you checked your phone first thing and you had a text back. 

“Is Regina okay?”

You typed your response as you walked, “Regina is okay, but there’s a lot going on right now and I could use your help. I’m sorry to text you out of the blue like this. Your mom gave me your number.”

“So, you and Regina are friends again?”

“Yes.”

“Janis, too?”

“That’s one of the things I wanted to talk to you about… what happened? If you don't mind me asking…”

It took a minute for Leighton to respond. You watched the little bubble that indicated she was typing until her message back finally came through. 

Leighton wrote, “honestly? Looking back, it’s stupid and I’m p sure Regina overreacted.”

Leighton tells you that when you were all kids, Janis confided in her that she had a crush on Regina. Janis begged Leighton not to tell Regina, and Leighton agreed, not seeing any reason to hurt Janis and ruin the friendship between the girls. But sometime later, Regina came to know the truth and talked to Janis and turned her down kindly. Janis was still mortified, but beyond that, she was pissed. Janis assumed that Leighton told Regina and wanted to get back at her for it. Janis knew that Leighton had a big class presentation coming up and she came to school wearing a beautifully pressed, matching white suit jacket and skirt. Janis loaded up her lunch tray with everything that the cafeteria had to offer that would stain and then “bumped” right into Leighton, dumping her entire tray onto Leighton. 

It was petty. It was stupid. It was misinformed. But it made Leighton cry in the bathroom, and that was something Regina couldn’t abide. Regina planned her revenge, and that’s how the spin-the-bottle party happened. Janis embarrassed Leighton, so Regina embarrassed Janis with the best ammo she had in her arsenal.

Next Chapter

[whimsyfinny]

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Reader

Summary: Charlie discovers the Winchester boys to be struggling with keeping the bunker tidy, looking after themselves and being able to do their job simultaneously. Luckily she has a friend who’s from a Hunter family that is in need of work and can help them with research. Or so she thought that’s what her job would be. When Dean sees your more domesticated side, his head won’t stop swimming with all the wrong ideas.

Slow burn, enemies to lovers, smut

Warnings: BIG SMUT - fingering, PinV, essentially just a chapter of p*rn

Chapter Word Count: 2997

—-MDNI—-

A/N: basically just a whole chapter of smut. Hope it doesn’t suck ass as it’s 2am an I’ve been trying to proof read for half an hour but fuck knows what I’ve just written. But yeah same as always pls let me know of any errors as I am the only one who proof reads this shit.

——————————————————————

Please read the below first:

Prologue Chapter 1

Chapter 2 Chapter 3

Chapter 4 Chapter 5

Chapter 6 Chapter 7

Chapter 8 pt. 1

Chapter 8 pt. 2

I’m Not Your F*cking Maid

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

I laid in bed staring at the ceiling, sleep failing to whisk me away. I tossed and turned for several hours; kicking the covers off in frustration before pulling them up to my chin, then kicking them off again before pulling them back up - repeating this horrid cycle until two in the morning. Thoughts kept racing through my mind and I couldn’t get the image of Dean looking at me with those dark lustful eyes out of my head. The way he watched me move around Sam, witnessing how I caressed his younger brother and made him squirm where he sat. I could only dream of what was going through his mind in that moment - of what I hoped he was thinking. Heat prickled my skin and bubbled in the pit of my stomach as I remembered my daydream from earlier; Dean fucking me into his mattress as he held my hips and sought nothing but his own pleasure. A groan left my lips as I threw my covers off and sat up, rubbing my temples in a weak attempt to dismiss my attraction to the obnoxious man wreaking havoc in my mind. I placed my feet on the cold floor and stood up, deciding a glass of cold water was the best remedy for whatever it was that I was feeling. I rubbed my eyes as I padded towards my bedroom door, tugging on the old T-shirt that barely covered my behind. I grasped the handle and opened the door, jumping in surprise at the sight of Dean leaving his room. A startled noise left my lips as I placed a hand on my chest, not expecting to see him standing there.

“Shit, Dean, you scared the crap out of me.” In response Dean mumbled a half hearted apology, taking a step closer to me.

“What are you doing up? It’s late, you should be in bed.”

“What are you, my dad?” I scoffed, not sure how to feel about the reprimanding. He held his hands up in defence, only bowing his head slightly, not saying anything else. I sighed.

“I just can’t sleep; I’ve been tossing and turning for hours but no luck. I was just on my way to get a glass of water.”

“You didn’t think to put any more clothes on?” He asked, and it looked like he was trying desperately not to look me up and down as his eyes wouldn’t leave mine.

“I’m sorry - how many people do you run into at TWO AM? I wasn’t expecting company,” I tugged more on the bottom of my T-shirt, trying harder to cover up what little dignity I had left in front of Dean Winchester. All of a sudden we were stood in total silence, neither of us knowing what to say as we now avoided eye contact and I played with the hem on my shirt. We stayed like this for a few awkward moments before I opened my mouth to say something right as Dean decided to speak.

“I can’t get you out of my head, (Y/n).”

My eyes snapped up to meet his, and there was an almost pained look about his face that was hard to place in the dim lighting. My mouth opened and closed a few times, not knowing what words to pick. Luckily for me, Dean kept talking.

“That shit you pulled earlier - the way you… danced… for Sam - made me genuinely jealous of my own brother. I mean come on, we’ve already done the deed, why didn’t you pick me?”

“Because how would you have known how good I was if you couldn’t see everything?”

He thought for a second before tilting his head and raising his eyebrows in agreement.

“You’ve got me there.”

“I know what I’m doing, Winchester.”

“You sure do sweetheart,” Dean stepped closer to me, closing the already short distance between us with those forest-green eyes not leaving mine. Our chests were almost touching as his gaze started flicking between my eyes and my lips. I watched as his own lips parted and he chewed on his bottom lip as if deep in thought, his eyes growing darker by the second. My heart started to race and the atmosphere turned thick. What was he thinking about? Why did he have to look at me the way he did - like he wanted to devour me - the intensity of his gaze increasing by the second and making me warm both inside and out. Not another thought ran through my mind when my back thumped against my bedroom door and Deans lips descended on my own - hot and hurried. His large arms circled my waist, rough palms caressing every inch of my back, waist and ass like he was searching for the best place to grip onto - to dig his fingers into my soft skin. I pulled on his hair, bringing his face and body closer to mine, wanting to feel every muscled inch of him press against me.

I released one hand from his hair and reached back, fumbling around the door looking for the handle, soon finding it and twisting. The door swung open and we stumbled in, too wrapped up in every fibre of each other to pay much attention to anything else. Dean kicked the door closed, reluctant to release me from his grasp and his lips still on mine as he hastily backed me towards my bed; my knees hitting the mattress and I tumbled down onto my back, pulling him with me. He gripped me with one strong arm and lifted me further up the bed so I was in a more comfortable position - my head now resting on the pillow and my hair fanning around me. His lips were so soft on mine, his stubble occasionally scratching my chin when his lips parted further and his tongue hesitantly skimmed mine. The action was slow, as if he was testing the waters. I couldn’t stop the moan from leaving my lips at the feeling of him in my mouth and the sheer intimacy of the action, wrapping my arms over his shoulders and surrendering my mouth to him. I subconsciously pulled him closer, my knees parting without a second thought and his hips dipped down, allowing me to feel every well-sculpted muscle in his abdomen and thighs - including the hardness growing in those loose pyjama pants. The ever so familiar sensation of my own arousal began brewing like a storm; twisting in the pit of my stomach with excitement and anticipation. Electric jolts shot through me every time he pressed into my most sensitive area, making my legs twitch involuntarily as breathy gasps escaped me. His mouth quickly left mine and trailed down my throat before he sat up, pulling himself from my grasp. His evergreen eyes, black with desire that pierced into mine with white hot lust held my gaze, and I fought to stop my eyes rolling into the back of my head from the way he looked at me. Without missing a beat he pulled his black T-shirt over his head and threw it to the floor, holding himself above me as I let myself admire him - trailing my gaze over every inch of exposed skin, lingering on his tattoo. I reached up and traced my fingers over it, feeling him shiver and groan at my gentle touch, his head dropping into the crook of my neck. With one hand he reached down, those rough fingers delicately slipping into my underwear and circling that sensitive button, making my legs twitch even more than before. He went around and around, tauntingly avoiding contact with it before a desperate whimper slipped from my lips. He smirked like the Devil himself before he finally indulged me, pressing his fingertips expertly to the tender mound, undoing me in a way that I’ve never been undone before. He leaned down as his ministrations continued, pressing soft kisses to my moaning lips. My head tilted back into my pillow as that recognisable feeling in the pit of my stomach began to twist tighter and tighter, my nails digging into Deans shoulders, leaving behind little crescent moon-shaped indents in his skin. My breathing increased and I was right on the edge of bliss when out of nowhere he stopped, the pleasure disappearing in an instant. However before I even had a chance to complain he’d slid two thick fingers inside me with ease, drawing a gasp from my chest. He pumped in and out a few times, teasingly pressing on the hidden cushion of over-sensitive flesh that was hidden deep inside, making me writhe underneath him. It wasn’t hidden to Dean though, no, he knew EXACTLY what he was looking for. Once again this pleasure was short lived as he pulled his fingers out, leaving me cold and empty on the inside. On the outside however I was red hot as I watched the older Winchester stick his fingers in his mouth, circling his tongue around them as he sucked my essence from his digits, not missing a single drop. My heart flipped when he spoke in a low, husky voice.

“Delicious - just like last time.”

Heat spread like wildfire over my cheeks as I blushed furiously, not knowing how to deal with the sexual expertise of this incredibly objectionable man. He placed his hands on my thighs, my knees almost gripping his hips in anticipation.

“Are you ready princess?” He asked, his voice smooth and frustratingly calm, except for his chest rising and falling rapidly with supposedly eager breaths.

“Yes- Dean please-”

In a single beat he pulled himself out of his pants and slid inside me with ease, stretching me as he made every inch disappear. My eyes rolled and my mouth was agape, a pornstar-grade moan unintentionally leaving my lips and making Dean quiver.

“Fuck- (Y/n) don’t squeeze me like that darlin or I won’t last long…” he breathed out, all calmness from his voice now gone.

“I-I’m not doing anything- I swear,” I almost squeak out as he lowers himself over me again, one hand dropping next to my head to support himself as the other gripped my thigh pulling it around him. It was his turn for his eyes to roll.

“Lord have mercy…” he muttered out under his breath, slowly moving his hips, thrusting in and out, in and out, over and over and over again. He was ever so gentle at first, but that soon changed when his own pleasure was there to be chased and gentle thrusting turned to mind-melting pounding. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, his mouth occasionally pressing into the curve of my neck as my lips rested near his ear, my soft moans going straight to his brain. I started to feel sweat pepper his skin, his breathing heavy as his motions became even more rapid and uneven. He was right - he wouldn’t last long. I unwound my arms and placed my palms on his chest and pushed, taking him by surprise. He stopped his pounding and I could feel him flex inside me, bringing a gasp from my lips before I could get my words out. I refocused, his attention on me unwavering.

“Get on your back.”

I didn’t have to tell him twice as he flipped over with ease, pulling out of me for a second and taking my spot on the bed. I flung my leg over him and lowered myself down on him with zero hesitation, hating the cold feeling of emptiness. Deans hands worked on their own as they grabbed the soft flesh on my thighs, his fingers digging in as he groaned in pleasure. His head went back in the pillow, his eyes shut and jaw slack as I started to move, rocking back and forth, his hands softly guiding me. My fingers pushed into his chest as I steadied myself, and he seemed unphased by my weight in his state of ecstasy. I moaned, unable to stop myself from chasing my own pleasure as I looked down at him, loving that I was the one making him lose his mind in bliss. He opened his eyes, lids still hooded as he gazed up, watching me ride him like there was no tomorrow. For a moment his hands left my thighs, reaching up and tugging on the old T-shirt I was wearing.

“Take this shit off,” he growled, helping me discard the item. I lifted it over my head and tossed it to the floor with his garment, dishevelling my hair in the process.

“Better?” I asked, now completely bare to his burning gaze.

“Fuck yes,” he breathed, hands sliding up my stomach to caress the underside of my breasts, sliding a thumb over the silky smooth skin as his palms rested on my ribs. I rocked against him harder, feeling my own wetness on my thighs and mixing with my sweat. In this position it was like his cock was in my throat - he felt so deep, so engulfed by me I felt I could never let him go. I’d never felt so full in my life, it was borderline uncomfortable but I couldn’t get enough - it was intoxicating. HE was intoxicating. The smell of leather and gunpowder on his skin, the taste of beer on his lips and the silky smooth scars that dotted his otherwise perfect body was a drug in itself. I don’t even know if I truly hated him. Especially when he was here giving me the best sex of my life. I’d fuck this mans brains out everyday if I could. If he’d let me.

It didn’t take long for my impending climax to appear on the horizon. It bubbled, almost boiling as I rocked harder, faster, more desperately than before, making the bed creak and the headboard knock against the wall. Deans grip on my ass was assisting my motions as I started to lose control over the sounds tumbling from my lips - the name.

Dean.

I could see the desperation seeping into him as his rhythm started faltering, throwing me off for a split second before we found unison again. My nails dug into his chest once more, Dean totally unphased and too overwhelmed with pleasure to even care. My own pleasure turned to Earth shattering ecstasy as the buildup dropped and the cord snapped - wave, after wave, after wave of euphoria crashed around me, making my eyes roll and toes curl; legs trembling either side of Dean as I moaned his name - temporarily forgetting all other words. Clenching around Dean, it sent shockwaves through him that brought him to his own release, his grip painful on my delicate skin as he came undone with my name on his lips. I instantly felt warmth seep down the inside of my thigh, and the thought of being completely filled to the brim by him made my heart flutter. Dean trembled beneath me, both of us slowing down as we came down from our synchronised highs. After a few quiet moments of nothing but heavy breathing, he was the first to speak up.

“Ahh fuck, (Y/n)…. What the fuck was that?” He ran a hand through his hair.

I tilted my head in confusion.

“Excuse me?”

“THAT,” he said pausing to catch his breath, looking up at me with eyes as black as coal, “was one of the most intense moments of my life,” he propped himself up onto his elbows so we were now almost eye to eye. I couldn’t help but giggle.

“I hope that’s a good thing?”

“Damn right.”

We stared at each other, clarity returning through the sexual fog, and strangely, regret was nowhere to be found. Deans tongue darted out and wet his lips, and I gnawed on my bottom lip almost nervously. He was still here. Unmoving. Why didn’t he leave?

Why didn’t I WANT him to leave?

We sat in peaceful silence as I stayed on his lap, Dean making no effort to move even though he had started to soften inside me, letting the mess leak out and drip down my thighs and over his hips. I’d have to change the bedsheets before sleeping. Deans eyes were returning to their usual mossy green, his gaze gentle on my figure for the first time since we’d met.

“I should probably get off - let you get back to your room,” I said, my eyes not leaving his, my tone lacking.

“Yeah… I should really let you sleep…” Deans voice was the same as mine. We looked at each other for a few more minutes before we both leaned forwards, Deans fingers threading ever so gently through my hair and I placed my hands on his bare chest, feeling his heartbeat thrum beneath my fingertips. His lips were as soft as silk as they pressed on mine - a great contrast to the bruising make out session earlier. He kissed me with a tenderness I didn’t know he could muster, and it made my heart flutter something crazy. His mouth moved on mine, as soft and warm as a summers breeze and I didn’t want it to end. Eventually he pulled away, a smile on his lips.

“Sweetheart you really need to sleep,” his voice held a kindness I’m sure wasn’t for me.

“I…umm…” I paused and looked away, fighting with myself about whether I should even say what’s in my mind. I decided to be bold, fighting the blush rising from deep within.

“Dean, I don’t want you to go…”

He stared at me, and for the first time ever a pink glow adorned his masculine features. He was still. Very still, and I was starting to scold myself for being weird and out of character. It didn’t take much longer for him to reply.

“Well let's get you cleaned up and head to my room - we can sort your sheets out in the morning.”

——————————————————————

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[drewharrisonwriter]

Donor Part 3

Part 1 | Part 1.5 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Pairings: Bestie Henry Cavill x OFC

A/N, Warnings: 18+, this is part 3 of Donor. English is not my first language. Smut finally ensues! BAHAHAHA THIS IS IT FRENNIES. But please do forgive me if it's not as spicy, this is my first time writing smut in years. It's somehow still a slowburn LMAO Further warnings include: Henry and his breeding kink, first time doing it together (lol), talks of pregnancy and sticky icky future talk.

Special thanks to @summersong69 for all of your help in improving EVERTYHING and @winter2112rose for sharing your suggestions. YOU ARE AMAZING! Thank you for beta-reading this chapter and improving my shaky and unrealistic plot points and smut scene. You guys are heaven-sent! 😭💕

And to everyone who read, liked, commented, and reblogged THANK YOU! SO GRATEFUL FOR ALL OF YOU!!! I stopped writing for years and I just began writing again a few months ago for fun, I never expected people to actually read and like this lol It was just really to express my sheer deluluness 🤣🤣🤣

I’m AO3, too as MoonDjarin ^_^

Henry’s face shifted. His lips in a tight line. 

“Hank?” You asked, after a long stretch of silence. “You alright?” 

“Yes, I just wanted to ask.” He replied. 

Before you know it, he was pulling into your driveway. He was still unusually silent. 

“Do you want to come in for a coffee?” You offered and he nodded.

“Yes, of course.” He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes this time. 

—-

However many drinks you had downed at Charlie’s party, it seems that the hazy effects of alcohol that had clouded your head an hour ago have mostly worn off now that you're back home, preparing coffee for both you and Henry.

Placing a mug of coffee on the kitchen island where Henry perched on a bar stool, you briefly turned away to fetch some ice for your own drink. In that moment, he called your name, causing you to pivot back to face him.

"Are you seeing anyone?" he inquired, his hand absentmindedly rubbing the back of his neck, his gaze avoiding direct eye contact. His question prompted laughter from you, and you shook your head in response.

"No, not at all," you replied, a playful chuckle accompanying your words.

Acknowledging your answer with a nod, Henry took a sip from his mug. 

"Why did you ask? Are you trying to set me up with someone?" Your playful eyebrow wiggle only elicited a smirk from him, his attention still inexplicably fixed on a coaster before him, and you suddenly wonder what's so interesting about it. 

“No, I’m just… I’m wondering because you said you don’t want me to be the f–to donate anymore.” 

Oh. 

Oh.

“Well, I’ve thought about it.” you began, your form casually leaning against the kitchen island. “Since you started dating again, it made me realize that I’ve been too selfish by forcing you to donate last time and even offering for you to co-parent. That doesn’t seem fair to you or your future partner either.” 

He knew you would say something like that, and that’s what he was afraid of–you pushing him away once again. Henry, of course, deeply understands your sentiment but it pains him to know that you’re moving forward with this without him. Funny, he thought to himself, he didn’t even want to do it in the first place. You had to beg him and now, it looks like the tables are about to turn. 

You smiled warmly at him, your gaze tender as you placed your hand on top of his.

"You know what this means, right?" he asked, his smile infectious.

"What?"

"Sperm Bank Tinder." Laughter bubbled between you, the shared joke lightening the atmosphere.

"Yes, I suppose that's in my near future again," you chuckled, accompanied by a playful grimace and you groaned at the thought of going through donor profiles again.

"But you," you shifted, standing tall as you moved to take a seat beside him on a bar stool, playfully poking a finger against his chest, "You deserve a family."

His response was immediate – enveloping your finger with his hand, he pressed it over his chest where you could feel the steady rhythm of his heart beneath your touch.

"A wife, a marriage, someone to come home to…" Your voice softened, a wistful smile playing on your lips  as you briefly averted your eyes from his intense gaze. You were acutely aware of his yearning for a simple, fulfilling life.

Henry was always open about his dream of retiring in his 40s, of settling down and having a couple of children. The more the better, he used to say. Despite the glitz and glamor of the life he has made for himself over the past two decades, he wanted nothing more than to be a simple and loving family man. 

He just wasn’t a hundred percent honest with you on some other aspects of that dream. 

Finally you meet his blue eyes and notice that they’re glimmering, 

You continued, “Not just a sperm donor for your best friend to father a child you don’t get to hold as often as you want because she’s a selfish, neurotic bitch who thought having a baby with her best friend is the most brilliant and fool-proof idea ever.” 

A soft chuckle left Henry but he pressed his lips tightly, closing his eyes, and tried to even his breathing as a tear rolled down his cheek and he trembled, allowing more tears to fall. 

There was a long silence.

The hundreds of conversations Henry had with you in his head over the years all came flooding in; each scenario unfolding like scenes from a vintage film, casting a dizzying spell that left him feeling weightless, his pulse still racing despite his best efforts to compose himself.

It’s now or never. He tells himself, he has to tell you now. 

“I want all that.” he confessed, and you nodded in understanding, knowing so well that he deserves to have that life, a life that, really deep down, you wish he could spend with you. But you also know so well that diving into a relationship as deep as that with him would always have the possibility of eventually ending.

That terrifies you. 

Which made the thought of solo parenting sound really good to you in the first place and the main reason that you’re always giving Henry an out. Of all the things and people you could bear to lose in your life, the possibility of one of those being Henry is something that you deeply fear. 

You and Henry have loved each other in many ways over the years, but you know he won’t love you as more than his best friend, as more than an honorary family member. You even convinced yourself that it would be wrong and settled on being content that all you ever will be are lifelong friends. Who, at one point, have thought of co-parenting a child that will be loved and cherished no less, regardless of the unconventional methods and relationships they will be blooming from. 

You could be happy with that. 

Henry rises from his seat, his gaze fixated on you, his hand still cradling yours against his chest. His lips part, words poised on the edge of his tongue, yet they retreat as if searching for the right way to escape, and you can see his gears turning. 

He took a deep breath, and finally admitted what he wanted to tell you for years: “I want to do all of that with you… if you would let me.” 

Suddenly, you feel your fears growing stronger. You thought they’d ebb away once you heard him finally say that, but somehow it only made the ugly, gnawing fear stronger.

“Hank…”

“No, darling. Listen to me, please.” he implored, a wistful smile tugging at the corners of his lips, though beneath it lay a current of nervous anticipation. “Because it’s going to kill me if I don’t say it out loud now…” His chuckle held a touch of vulnerability, a mask slipping to reveal the raw edges of his emotions.

You swallowed hard, your throat suddenly dry. 

This was the moment you had always been wary of having with Henry, the juncture where your deep-rooted fears collided with your undeniable affection for him. You could feel your heart racing, its rhythm matching the chaotic thoughts in your head.

You looked up at him, your heart pounding in your chest. His blue eyes bore into yours, filled with a mixture of hope and vulnerability that you hadn't seen before. You could sense the weight of his words even before he spoke them.

"I've loved you for years, Y/N," he confessed, his voice trembling ever so slightly. 

"Not just as a friend, but as something more. And–Christ! I-I've been a coward, too afraid to risk our friendship, too afraid of what it might do to us."

Your breath caught in your throat, and you felt a rush of emotions swirling within you. The truth hung in the air between you, and you realized that the fear you'd been grappling with was mirrored in his eyes. 

"I've watched you go through relationships, seen you deeply in love with other people, and it's always torn me apart," he confessed, his fingers entwined with yours, his touch growing firmer, as if seeking solace in your connection. "I've wrestled with my own heart, tried to act normal, thought of finding my own path to happiness that isn’t with you…to be content with being your friend…” he exhaled deeply.

“I’ve even convinced myself that I’m okay with just being your turkey baster baby’s donor.” he managed to interject with a playful glint. A chuckle rippled between you, but then his expression shifted, his tone turning earnest once more. “But I always keep on wanting more and more. It's become unbearable, darling. And the truth is…” 

Tears welled up in your eyes, your emotions threatening to overflow. You never imagined that he felt this way, that your connection ran so deep for him too.

"Hank, I..." you started, but he gently pulled your hand closer to his chest.

"Let me finish, please," he whispered, a trace of a smile tugging at his lips again, but his voice quivered. "I want to be that person you come home to. I want to build a life together, not just as someone who could help you out with having a child in the most ridiculous way,” He chuckled once more, and you joined in, appreciating his effort to instill a bit of levity into the conversation.

“I don’t just want to be old Uncle Hank.” He continued. “I want you, darling…I want the children you want. I want to wake up beside you every morning and hold you every night…"

“Even if it means that you and Kal will have to live with me and my cats?” You teased, a playful glint in your eyes, and you both shared a genuine laughter.

“Even if we have to live with you and your cats.” He reassured you. 

His words hung in the air, a fragile bridge between what was and what could be. You gazed into his eyes, feeling the depth of his emotions washing over you.

"But I understand if you don't feel the same way," he added, his voice softer now, tinged with a hint of resignation. "I…I know that this might change everything, and I don't want to lose you, but I also want you to know..."

As he spoke, you felt the weight of your own fears, the echoes of his confession resonating within you. The prospect of losing him was a terrifying thought, but so was the idea of risking your friendship for something more.

You took a deep breath, trying to steady the whirlwind of emotions inside you. 

"Hank, you've been my rock, my confidant, and my closest friend for so long," you began, your voice trembling like his had been. "And the idea of us being together... it's something I've thought about too, something I've wanted deep down for a really long time. But I've also been so afraid, afraid of what it could mean for us… What if things didn't work out?"

He nodded with his eyes closed, trying to will his tears back. 

You looked down at your intertwined hands, your mind racing with conflicting emotions. The fear of losing him battled with the desire for something more, something that had always lingered beneath the surface of your friendship.

"You mean so much to me, Hank. And I can't imagine my life without you." He nodded in understanding, his thumb caressing the back of your hand as he listened intently.

"Of all the risks and challenges we could take in this life, don’t you think this is worth a shot?" He asked. "Darling, please… let’s try.” he continued, his voice soft but filled with conviction.

A small smile tugged at your lips as you let that thought sit some more in your head. 

"Alright..." You whispered. 

"What?"

"Alright, maybe we can try." 

For a moment, the room was filled with a shared understanding, a mutual acknowledgment of the risks and rewards that lay ahead. The unspoken promise hung in the air – that you were willing to take this leap of faith together.

Henry leaned in, his lips brushing against your forehead in a tender, lingering kiss. It was a promise, a concession to the emotions that had been simmering between you for years. 

As he pulled back, his gaze met yours, and you could see the genuine affection in his eyes.

"No matter where this leads us, I want you in my life, Y/N."

You nodded, your heart swelling with a mixture of emotions – hope, fear, and an overwhelming sense of connection. 

You wrapped your hands around his neck, standing up from the stool where you were sitting, nuzzling your nose on his jaw and planting a soft kiss on the side of his mouth. It might have been the alcohol making your decisions for you, or perhaps it was the tension that had been building between you two for more than a decade. But at that moment, none of it mattered. 

Henry's breath caught as your lips brushed against his skin. The sensation sent a shiver down his spine, igniting a warmth that spread through his chest and down between his legs. He hesitated for a moment, his heart pounding wildly in his chest, before he lifted his hand to gently cup your cheek.

His touch was tender, almost tentative, as if he was afraid that this fragile moment could shatter if he wasn't careful. Your eyes locked onto his, "I've waited so long for this," he whispered, his voice husky.

“Shut up, we’ve kissed before.” You whispered back with a smile, remembering that you shared a few on-screen kisses in your music videos in the past. 

“Not like this…” He leaned in, his lips brushing against yours in a feather-light caress. The kiss was sweet and tentative, as if he was testing the waters before fully diving in.Very different from the ones you’ve previously shared, where he was more confident in the rehearsed way your lips crashed. 

You found yourself responding instinctively, your hand sliding up his chest and curling around his neck. The kiss deepened, becoming more intense as the pent-up emotions began to flow between you.

The kitchen around you seemed to fade away as you lost yourself in the sensation of his lips moving against yours, his arms wrapping around you, pulling you closer. It was a mix of familiarity and newness, as if you were discovering a whole new side of your best friend of nearly 20 years.

Finally breaking the kiss, he rested his forehead against yours, his breath ragged. "If you tell me to stop, I’ll stop now," he breathed, his eyes locked onto yours.

"Don’t stop. Take what you want," you replied, your voice barely above a whisper. Henry’s breath hitched and he bit his lip, preventing a smile from fully showing, his dimples so deep; he looked up with his eyes closed tight and exclaimed, “Thank fuck!” 

You giggled a bit and found an opportunity to plant small kisses on his throat and he groaned. The intensity of the moment was overwhelming, and you both knew where this was going and you allowed yourselves to succumb to it. 

Henry wasted no time in yanking the zipper off your dress from the back, slipping it off your shoulders, revealing your laced covered tits heaving heavily. He groaned at the sight of you, his grip on your waist tightened as you snapped off the lace bra from the front, fully exposing your top half to him.

He wasted no time and instantly latched onto one breast. You bite your lower lip to keep a moan from coming out, a hand steadying yourself onto his bicep and the other running through the hair at the back of his head.

He kissed his way back up, nipping lightly at your jaw and moving behind your ear which sent you moaning for more. He pulled away slowly and led you to the bedroom down the hall and gently pushed you down on the bed, settling your head on the pillows while he quickly unbuttoned his dress shirt and you shimmied yourself out of your dress and your underwear on the bed.

“Darling wait,” Henry said before he could pull his trousers down.

“What?” 

“I, uh… I didn’t bring a condom,” he admitted, his expression serious, brows furrowed, his thoughts lost in the heat of the moment.

“For fuck’s sakes, Hank.” you burst into laughter. Drawing him close, you planted a gentle kiss on his lips, your voice tender. “After the turkey baster situation, I think we’re way past worrying about not using a condom."

He joined in your laughter, eyes squeezed shut, his teeth catching his lower lip in amusement. 

“Right…” he smiled, a blush bloomed from his neck that went up and spread across his cheeks. He went on to fully remove his trousers and joined you in bed. 

“I’m clean, if that’s what you’re worried ab—“

“Oh I know… no, that’s not what—I’m clean too.” He confirmed and you nodded in reply.

His body pressed gently against yours, the thin barrier of his boxers the only separation. He leaned back down murmured against your jaw, his voice close, "Are you truly ready to start trying?" 

Meeting his gaze as you pulled back slightly, you responded, "If you are..."

“I am,” He whispered in between kisses. “Nothing I want more, darling. No matter how many times more, no matter how many children you want…” You whimpered at his statement and you saw a shift in his eyes, something darker.

The sensation of his kisses was intoxicating, prompting your legs to part instinctively as you slid his boxers down with a gentle urgency. He reached back down between you, teasingly tracing your now drenched seam. A primal groan escaped his lips, a raw expression of the arousal that surged between you.

"God," he rasped, his voice laced with need, his eyes darkened with desire. His fingers trailed down your inner thigh, grazing your slick folds, before he pulled them back, coated with your arousal. "All for me, darling?" Your heart raced as you bit your lower lip, nodding in fervent agreement.

He leaned back, his gaze searing into yours before he began to pump his thick length a few times. He then notched the blunt tip to your now soaking entrance, his eyes locked onto yours, seeking permission in the intensity of the moment. He had you pinned beneath him, knees pressed to your chest.

He eased into you slowly, taking his time, groaning deeply at the sensation. You lifted your hips slightly, your breath catching once you felt him inside you. The stretch of him filling you was just what you needed.

“Fuck, darling… so tight.” 

You moaned as he slowly inched in, your eyes rolling back in pleasure at the stretch. You were aware that he's big, you just never anticipated it was this much, nor did you think you would ever have to worry about it until now. 

Once he was buried to the hilt you knew you’d never been penetrated so deeply, his cock reaching an undiscovered place in you. He gave you a moment to get used to his size and the position he had you in. 

You arched your back and moaned loudly, no longer holding back as he bottomed out and began moving in and out of you in long, slow, delicious strokes.

You tilted your head back in response to his motions, a soft gasp escaping your lips as you basked in the feel of him. The brush of his lips against your throat was followed by a restrained groan of pleasure that echoed in the air.

"I've wanted you this entire fucking time," he breathed, his voice laced with a mixture of tenderness and desire, as he hovered over you, his lips tracing a path across your face. 

“Wanted to give you a baby…make you mine. Let the entire world know about it…” 

“I want to have your baby, Hank. Fuck a baby into me…” The weight of your words sent Henry growling and spiraling into a different realm. His grip on you intensified, he adjusted his angle. 

He looked you in the eyes and asked “Is it okay if I pick up the pace, darling?” You nodded in reply and he began jackhammering into you, eliciting a slight yelp in surprise as he hit a spot in you over and over again that made your toes curl and the coil in your lower abdomen intensify drawing you closer and closer to your orgasm with each thrust. 

“Fuck, Hank! I–I’m so close…” You whimpered, walls clamping on his thick cock as you near your release. 

“I know, darling…I got you, I got you…” He cooed. 

The sloppy sounds of him taking you belonged in a pornographic film. Years of built up tension between the two of you and the events of the evening finally came to a head when he fucked you into the mattress and all you could do was reach up and grab his neck as he utterly destroyed you for any other guy and your bed began to bang against the wall loudly. 

Both of you had dissolved into garbled praising of one another, drunk off the intensity of your coupling. You were cock drunk; there was no other way to explain it. The only thing that registered in your brain was the point at when your two bodies collided. 

"Fuck, darling... I don't know if I can last much longer." His brow furrowed and his body tense above you told you he was close. 

One of his hands reached down between you to begin rubbing your clit enthusiastically while his other gripped a fist full of your hair. 

You tipped your head back, sinking more into the pillow, exposing your neck to his hungry mouth. He didn’t hesitate to bite down on your neck as his hips thrusted up into you.

You came–hard, eyes tightly closed and lips parted in a small o; cumming and clenching around him while he continued working you through your climax; groaning at the feeling of you practically milking him. 

“Cum for me, Hank. Give me a baby...” you whimpered, your body curling in on itself as he continued thrusting into you. 

“Shit,” Henry groaned before you felt him release into you; a string of curses and praises sputtered as he did. 

Henry pressed his forehead against yours as you both caught your breath. He stayed inside you for a few more minutes, the two of you just basking in the intimacy. 

A soft smile curved his lips, "I love you," he whispered.

Part 1 | Part 1.5 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Tag list:

@jyessaminereads @summersong69 @itsrubberbisquit @sweetandgentlecreature @kingliam2019 @leaveitbythewave @mrsevans90 @evansabove1981 @bascmve01 @shellyshellshell @iamsana @foxyjwls007 @one-sweet-gubler @henryownsme

[janeyseymour]

Love Thy Neighbor- pt 3

Summary: Melissa comes over for a 'thank you' dinner. Things happen. A short, sweet chapter before things get a little wild.

Part 1. Part 2

WC: ~1.6k

After your interview, you head home, change into something more suitable to spend your day in. You pour over the information that Ava had given you while preparing a special dessert for you and Melissa to share before deciding that you should probably start your delivering for the day. Before you go anywhere, you head to the liquor store and pick up what Melissa revealed to be her favorite bottle of wine, along with some champagne to celebrate the fact that you were no longer unemployed. 

When you see that it’s about time to start heading over to Abbott to pick Ellie up, you head in the direction of the school. You wait for a bit before the front doors open, and your little girl is once again hand in hand with Melissa. It absolutely warms your heart.

“Momma!” Ellie shouts and waves in your direction. You make your way up the steps to get to her and the redheaded teacher that has taken a liking to your daughter.

“Hey there, sweet girl,” you crouch down and pull her into a hug. She wraps her arm around you, squealing with delight. “How was school today, little one?”

“So good!” she giggles. “I love Mrs. Howard. She lets me go with her to the secret lounge to give Miss Me- Miss Sch… Miss Sch…” she fumbles through Melissa’s last name, and she looks up to Melissa for guidance.

“Schemmenti,” the teacher chuckles.

“-a snuggle!” Ellie finishes.

You glance up at the redhead who still has Ellie’s hand in her own with a smile. “That’s so good to hear, sweetness. I’m glad you like school.”

“It’s the bestest!” your daughter chirps. She lets go of you to raise her arms in a silent request to be picked up by Melissa. She obliges. “I love you, Miss…”

“Miss Mel is fine,” the teacher smiles and squeezes your daughter gently.

You raise a brow in curiosity.

“I told the kiddo I can be Miss Mel at home or when it’s just the two of us, but at school in front of everyone else, I have to be Miss Schemmenti,” she explains. You nod along- that makes sense.

“Alright, love bug,” you tickle Ellie. She squirms and giggles in Melissa’s arms. “I think it’s time we head home so you can play and Momma can start making dinner… so it’s ready when Miss Melissa comes over.”

The woman in question brightens at that, and she nods. “I’ll be over once I get my things settled.”

You have dinner going by the time there’s a knock on your door, and Ellie is up and running to it before you even have to ask her.

“Who is it?” she singsongs.

“Melissa!” the redhead calls through the door, and you can hear the little girl whip open the door before you hear a soft ‘oof’ coming from Melissa as Ellie no doubt tackles her in a hug.

“You act like you didn’t see me a couple hours ago,” the teacher, and your new coworker, teases as she picks Ellie up and walks with her into the kitchen. 

“Hey,” you smile as you continue to chop up some vegetables for the salad you’re making. You point to the two glasses of wine you already have poured.

“Hey, yourself,” Melissa laughs as she sees Ellie on the table and lifts the glass to her lips. “How was your interview?”

“As if you don’t already know,” you roll your eyes playfully. Melissa feigns confusion. “I walked in and Ava threw my resume in the trash because someone already told her about me and that she would be a fool not to hire me.”

“Wonder who that could’ve been,” the redhead grins. “Congratulations.”

“So, I will officially be a third grade teacher starting on Monday. They said I’ll be working closely with the teacher who already has these kids-”

“Me,” the woman reveals. “You’ll be working closely with me.”

“i thought you said you were a second grade teacher?” you furrow your brows.

“I’ve been teaching two grades for a year and a half now,” she sighs. “But I have more second than third.”

You furrow your brow. “That can’t be effective.”

“I’m a damn good teacher, so I make it work,” she shrugs. “But now we got you, so I’m sure we’ll be better off.”

You blush. “I hope so. I wouldn’t want to disappoint.”

“Momma’s the bestest teacher in the whole world!” your daughter giggles. “She helps me read all the time!”

Dinner is set out on the table a bit later, and you and Melissa are raising your glasses, clinking them together gently.

“I wanna cheers!” Ellie proclaims as she holds her cup of milk up. “Cheers!”

The two of you let out small laughs and do as the little one wishes. And then you’re diving into dinner.

“Dang, Y/N,” Melissa says through a mouthful. “I thought I was a good cook. Do you do it all?”

You blush. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You teach, you cook, you clean, you raise an adorable little girl-” Ellie grins at that. “And I saw the guitar and ukulele in your living room, so I know you play. Jesus, what do you not do?”

“Crotchet,” you deadpan.

The redhead lets out a laugh. “Well, I can always teach you how to do that.”

Dinner is cleaned up, Melissa absolutely insisting to help you (and because Melissa is helping, so does Ellie) before the three of you settle on the couch.

Your daughter watches Bluey, content to curl up in the redhead’s lap, while you and your new coworker discuss work and what you should expect. She tells you who you need to watch out for, who is a helper, and what students are at risk. You’re immensely grateful that she is able to tell you as much as she can about each kid, and you write notes in the binder you had put together for the class.

“For the first week or so, we’re going to transition you in… so you’ll split time between getting your room ready and observing the way that I handle the third graders,” Melissa tells you. “During preps, we’ll work together to make sure that the curriculum is working out for you and that you know what all you need… but, and I don’t usually offer this, if you need help outside of school all you have to do is holler across the hall.”

“I appreciate it,” you lay a gentle hand over hers. “Thank you, Mel.”

“It’s my Miss Mel time, Momma,” Ellie playfully scowls at you as she moves your hand back into your own lap.

“Yeah, Y/N,” Melissa teases you. “It’s my Ellie and Mel time.”

You rolls your eyes playfully before sighing. “A few more minutes, but then little miss has to start getting ready for bed.”

“Can you read me my story again?!” Ellie whips around and asks your neighbor. Melissa chuckles but nods before looking to you for approval.

After a few more minutes, you tell your daughter to start getting ready for bed, and she does happily.

“Miss Melissa and I will be in in a few minutes,” you promise her gently. She grins and gives you two thumbs ups.

When Ellie is out of sight, you look to her. “Stay after she goes to bed? I have a surprise.”

She nods, but she looks suspicious. 

No sooner is Ellie bouncing out of her room, her stuffed rabbit in her arms and bellowing, “Momma! Miss Mel! I’m ready for my bedtime story!”

The two of you chuckle at your antics, and you scoop your daughter into your arms, tickling her as you take her back to the bedroom.

The little girl picks a book from her bookshelf before handing it to Melissa and climbing into her lap.

“After the story, I’ll lay down,” she tells you when you raise an eyebrow at her not getting under her blankets. You decide you’ll let it slide for tonight.

Melissa reads this story before hugging Ellie tightly. “Goodnight, little one.”

“Goodnight, Miss Mel,” the six year old chirps. “I’ll see you tomorrow!”

You tuck Ellie in, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead before flicking off the light.

You and your friend head out, leaving the door open just slightly. You lead her back into the kitchen and pull out the tiramisu you had made earlier, along with the bottle of champagne you had bought to celebrate your new job.

Melissa looks impressed as you put the dessert onto two plates and pop the bottle. You raise your glass in a toast, to which she mirrors your actions, before sipping the bubbly. She takes a bite of your creation, and her eyes light up.

“You like it?”

“Hun, this is… incredible. Better than my Nonna’s, but don’t ever let her hear that,” the redhead smiles as she takes another bite.

You smile, eyes warm, before leading her to the couch. You turn off the Australian show before settling on another program. The two of you eat your dessert together. 

After a bit, you take the now cleared plates and set them on the coffee table before folding your legs underneath of you, relaxing into the cushions of the couch. She leans back with you, and her shoulder bumps with your own.

You blush, looking at her and seeing the way that she’s looking at you with such a tenderness. Her green eyes sparkling in the dim light of your living room.

Before you know what’s happening… her lips are on your own.

[rileyglas]

The List ~Pt. 7.5 - Clarity~

Alastor (Hazbin Hotel) x Reader

Summary: Written from Alastor's POV, this chapter gives insight of what the Radio Demon is up to during Part 7. Feeling like you (Alastor) are going mad, you makes a visit to your dearest friend leading to a shocking confession to Husker.

Themes: The usual angst, mystery, sassiness, cursing, fluff, actual plot, Rosie is the sweetest, slow burn, poor Husker, and of course 18+

A/N: This part isn't necessarily needed to follow the story however it was fun to do something a little different. I tried writing in Alastor's voice and give a (small) glimpse into his side.

3.6k Words

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5  Part 6 Part 7 Part 7.A (You're on it!) Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11

**sentences in italics are internal thoughts of the reader/Alastor

This is maddening. You buried yourself in pointless work. Anything to refrain from having to leave your tower and see the others around the hotel, especially her. The foreign ache in your chest only throbbed more at the thought of seeing the hurt in her eyes. Reckless fool! How could I allow her to make me feel such emotions? Almost a hundred years of creating my image and some sinner has the ability to destroy me like this - no - of course not…she was never just some sinner…

Slumping over the scattered paperwork across the desk, you bury your head in your claws. Time was non-existent. Has it been hours? Weeks? Months? No, couldn’t have been that long since you watched her entire being shatter right in front of you. The pain was too much for it to have been that long. This was supposed to just be a partnership, a power grab…How did I end up like this? The radio tower has been your home since she left. You were far too prideful to go back to your room, too afraid of what would happen the moment you caught a whiff of her perfume that surely lingered in every grain of wood and every fiber of your sheets. 

A few soft taps at the door pull you from your tormented mind. Quickly standing from the desk, you straighten your shirt and throw on the same suit jacket you’ve worn for who knows how long. I must keep up appearances, no one can suspect anything otherwise. 

With a shake of your head, you plaster on the usual smile and open the door to see Charlie and Vaggie. “Hey Al! Just wanted to let you know we are about to head up to Heaven for a few hours. Mind keeping an eye on the hotel while we are gone?” Charlie beamed with an excitement that quite contrasted her partner's uncomfortable scowl. 

“Of course my dear! Your hotelier has everything covered.” you chime with a half-hearted bow. Vaggie steps forward, obviously annoyed, “Don’t set anything on fire, don’t destroy any more walls, and please for the hundredth time - keep Nifty out of our room. Last time she tried to throw out all my clothes!”  You hum in acknowledgement and follow a concerningly bouncy Charlie down to the lobby where, like clockwork, a portal to Heaven opens. “Common Vaggie! Bye everyone!” Charlie hops through the portal, dragging a less than amused Vaggie behind her. 

“Sheesh Smiles, you look like -” Angel starts to say before promptly shutting up and going back to his phone after seeing the glare you shoot towards him. Twirling your cane, you walk over to the bar where Husk tentatively pulls out a glass as if silently asking if you wanted a drink. You wave him off, “No need Husker. I have much to do today and need to be of a clear head.” Yeah right, like I’ve managed a clear head at all lately. “Though I am curious, where is our charming little friend? I heard she had fallen ill.”

Husk shrugs but Angel is quick to chime in, “Oh Charlie sent her to get some things from town and take them to Lucifer. She’ll probably be back soon…as long as Lucifer doesn’t take up too much of her time - if you know what I mean.” Angel mutters the last part seductively with a wink. A fiery rage burns through your veins. How dare he insinuate something so repulsive!? The urge to shred the sinner limb from limb boils over and your eyes flash to him, “It’d be wise to keep such vile comments to yourself spider.” you hiss through gritted teeth. A relaxed smile returns as you regain composure and walk away. Without her around, you figure you’ll have some time to freely move about the hotel, busying yourself with the usual to-dos.

You finish the last of your tasks and begin to head back to the tower when Vaggie and Charlie come flying back through a portal, landing harshly on their backs. Tears flood Charlie’s face. She pulls out her phone to make a call, “Dad, you were right. It was horrible!” she says before hanging up. Within seconds another portal opens within the lobby, this time Lucifer coming through. Of course he has to make a grand appearance. 

Your attention snaps back to Charlie in time to see her shove Vaggie away and bolt up the stairs. Now would be a good time to make quite an impression on the girl. You attempt to follow the princess but Lucifer drives his elbow into your side, forcing you into the railing. Every muscle in your face twists in annoyance at the pretentious little “King”. The urge to go after him is quickly snuffed by the feeling of eyes burning into your back. 

A glance over your shoulder makes your heart drop into your stomach. There she is, staring into you. Her eyes didn’t have their bright sparkle and she looked utterly exhausted even with all the makeup. Did she always put on so much? No, she hated caking it on. I really did a number on her didn’t I? Her usually bright smile is replaced with a grim look of…Anger? Concern? Pain? You don’t have enough time to read her before Lucifer makes his way back down the stairs. 

“She seems to need some time alone.” he announces as he makes his way back over to the shell of a woman standing before you. You watch as he pulls her flush with his body, greedy hands snaking up her sides. He mumbles something before placing his foul lips against her skin and disappearing into red ribbons. 

Her face mirrors your feelings of disgust at his touch. Did he force himself on her? I swear if he hurt - You catch yourself stepping towards her. Every ounce of your being longed to wrap her into your arms. Your heart begged to pour yourself into her, to remove every trace of Lucifer from her body. Her gaze meets yours again. You freeze. The pain behind the eyes that stared back at you made your knees nearly buckle. What is wrong with me… With a nod you slink into your shadow. I believe it’s time to visit someone who can help.

It was always a pleasure to be in Rosie’s presence. You can’t quite remember how you met but you knew she was easily your oldest, truest friend here in Hell. Usually you didn’t dally much about romance, her self-proclaimed specialty, but right now you could use any insight she could give. 

“Alastor! How I’ve missed seeing that dazzling smile of yours!” Rosie pulls you into her ever smothering hug,  “Come along, I was just getting some tea. Tell me, what do I owe the pleasure of such company?”

You remain quiet as you sit at the table to pour two cups of tea, smile faltering just enough to tell her something was very wrong. “Oh darlin’, what’s going on? I can’t recall a time you’ve looked so distressed.” It was strange hearing yourself try to explain these last few months. You’ve always made it a point to be very well spoken, years of broadcasting have ingrained it into your mind. But today you fumbled your words telling Rosie how you wound up in this position - with these…feelings.

“Oh my stars. I never thought this day would come.” She sits back in her chair in astonishment. Your ears perk up at her short response, “What do you mean dear?” Rosie leans back towards you, gently placing a hand atop yours, “Alastor darling, you’re in love!” 

An uneasy feeling washes over you. Your hand quickly retracts at the mention of that word. Love? What a ridiculous notion. It’s fruitless…unnecessary…weak…

Her face softens at your doubtful silence, “All of those moments, the desires, even the pain…it’s obvious you’ve fallen head over heels for that gal. She must be quite a charmer to get you this worked up!” she laughs giddily but you’re far from amused at this assumption. 

“Rosie dear, I’m not some hopeless romantic. I don't have the time nor the need for such frivolous things.” She frowns at your bitter denial. You can see she’s reeling, trying to find her next words. She stands up and begins pacing the room, still unable to conjure the right response. Your frustration grows as you try to reason with her, “Look, I just need to figure out how to be rid of this. I can’t eat, I can’t sleep, I can barely think without her somehow worming her way into my mind.”

Her dark eyes snap to you, “You admit you want more than just a mutual partnership?”

“Well yes -”

She steps closer to you, “And you crave her presence, her touch, her voice?”

“Always but - “

“Do you desire a future with her and only her?”

Irritated, you try to answer once again, “At one point yes howev-”

“Alastor, do not deny yourself love just because you don’t fully understand it! It is not a weakness - no sir - it’s quite the contrary.” 

“Enough!” The table jolts beneath your now balled up fists, “What does it matter!? She loathes me! I set fire to her and burned any trust or feelings she could possibly have for me! I ran her off - straight into that imbecile's arms!” you snarl with a heavy static filling the air. 

A gentle hand rests on your shoulder. You look up at Rosie like a remorseful child, “She’d never believe me even if I told her…” you say softly. She squeezes your shoulder before returning to her chair and taking a sip from her cup. “Words are cheap, but actions, they speak for the truth. Don’t allow your pride to get in the way of what you could have.” Her tone turns sharp and concise, “Now, I know you and I know you’re not one to hold onto what ‘could have been’ or fret over past mistakes. But I’m telling you from experience, if you don’t at least try with this girl, you will regret it.” The words drive into you like a hot knife.

A heavy silence falls between you two while a battle rages in your mind. She’s never steered me wrong before, but how can she be so sure? She hasn’t even met this girl and she can already make these incredibly bold assumptions. You finish your tea and stand from the table. Walking over to Rosie’s chair, you bend down to peck her cheek with a quiet, “Thank you.” before stepping into your shadow to return to the hotel. 

In the past you’d have a drink or two to celebrate a victory or to get Mimzy off your case about ‘the good old days’, but tonight you wanted to be numb. “Another.” you demand, slamming the glass against the hotel bar. 

Husk cautiously pours more into your cup, “Uh boss, you doin’ alright?” Before he can finish his question your glass is empty and pounds the bar again, “Another!” you repeat. Husk couldn’t figure out if he should be amused or scared about your sudden change in demeanor. He pours you more, not daring to say no to the demon who owned his soul so tightly. 

You weren’t keeping count of how many drinks you managed to take into your body. Truthfully you didn’t care. The liquor was supposed to make the thoughts stop and numb everything but you found it only amplified with each glass. “Husker…Did - did you see him?” your speech might have been perfect but your mind was definitely beginning to blur. 

“See who?” Husk asked nervously looking around, wondering what strange delusions you might be seeing. 

You hiccup and laugh at his oblivious reaction, “That King…putting his hands all over her. He’s trying to take what is rightfully mine. He has no business touching her in such ways!” you growl as another hiccup leaves your chest. 

“Oh - uh yeah I saw that. She didn’t seem too happy about it either -”

“You’re damn right she wasn’t!” you shout louder than intended.

“Right…” Husk trails off, unsure of how to handle you in this new state of drunken anger, “Look, you don’t have to tell me but you’re definitely drinkin’ to forget something.” he says, trying to tread lightly. 

You signal for another drink while shaking your head in response to his question, “My dear Husker I - I think I’ve developed…feelings - “ The sudden sound of a bottle shattering makes you jump out of your chair. Looking over the bar you see Husker frantically cleaning up the bottle he dropped out of pure shock. 

He looks up at you, eyes wide with bewilderment, “Fuck sorry, I just thought I heard - feelings? What kind of feelings are we talkin?”

You slam another drink back, “Seeing him with her did something to me. It…hurt…It felt like a knife plunged into my chest.” If you were paying closer attention, you’d hear his snarky retort, “If only it was a real knife….” but you’re too preoccupied inside your own mind. Husk finishes cleaning the floor and leans against the bar, grabbing a new bottle and pouring you another without asking.

Why am I even talking with him? I didn’t think liquor could affect me so much down here. Ignoring instinct, you happily down another without wasting any time. The burn washes over your body and a peculiar sense of clarity suddenly hits, “I love that girl.” you say plainly, without a shimmer of doubt. 

Another bottle shatters against the floor along with the glasses Husk was starting to carry to the sink. “Fucking get it together Husker! Do you need gloves or something?! You’re wasting perfectly good rye!!! They would have had your head back in my day for such careless actions!” you shout at the now completely stunned bartender. He stares at you, eyes wider than saucers. Annoyed with the sudden lack of conversation from the demon - It is quite rude of him to just keep staring, I mean really - you slink away into your tower to be left with your thoughts. While you climb the stairs, you don’t bother looking back to see Husk’s mortified face as he mumbles frantically to himself, “What…in the actual fuck…just happened…I need a drink, wait no, I need ten drinks...and where the hell is Angel when you need him!?”

Your buzz begins to fade as you pace your tower, somehow causing everything to hit you tenfold. Rosie was right, I can’t deny this any longer. What am I going to do…hell what can I do? Why is this so hard to -

Three loud knocks reverberate through the tower. You still, not daring to give the person on the other side any clues as to if you were there or not. Please just go away, I don’t have the patience or clear mind for anyone right now. Your shadow tugs violently at your pant leg, signally the urgency of answering the door. You warily turn the knob and focus your eyes on the dimly lit woman in front of you. All the air leaves your lungs.

F-fuck…

Tag List (Let me know if you would like to be added!)

@rl800 @fairyv-ice @looking1016 @martinys-world @sirens-and-moonflowers @alastorssimp @alastorsgirl48 @mysterisumone @phamtasic @ohnah2022 @eris-norwega @kaylopolis @littlebluefishtail @little-slyvixen @laudrawin @qu1cks1lversb1tch

[lavendertom]

The Neighbor Across the Street pt. 5

Mike Schmidt x Babysitter!f!Reader

part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 6

wc: 3.6k

warnings: angst, little bit sad (if y’all can stick thru this ONE part 🫶), fluff sprinkled in some parts (as always, lmk if there’s anything i’ve missed)

summary: the neighbor across the street needs a babysitter, so you take the job, not knowing what’s in store for you as you grow closer to the siblings. AU where nothing bad ever happens at the pizzeria.

A/N: this is gonna be the “hard” chapter, but it’ll all be worth it for part 6, the official finale of the series 🥹 no worries tho, i still plan on expanding the story once it’s over!!!

——————————————————————————

You could barely focus in any of your classes today. Your mind was full of thoughts about one person and one person only: Mike. All of the things that happened in such a short amount of time were eating you alive. You couldn’t take any of it anymore. In a way, you wished Abby hadn’t told you about her secret. You didn’t want something as silly as a “crush” to get in the way of your goal of keeping Abby and Mike happy.

As you drove home from your classes, you didn’t know what to expect that evening. You knew he probably wanted to clear up whatever had happened the other evening. Maybe he just wanted to tell you he was sorry for not paying you again. But then why did he want you there an hour early? What on earth could he want to talk about for a whole hour with you?

You only ever had two serious conversations with him in the two months or so of knowing him, the one the first night shift of babysitting Abby and during your walk with him just a few days ago.

There was that voice, all the way at the back of your head, that was telling you something completely different. There was a voice that was saying this had to do with Abby’s secret. You attempted to quickly get it out of your head, your hands getting sweaty at the thought as you continued driving home. You hated to admit this was making you more nervous than it should’ve been.

The thought of him waiting at his door until you got home crept into your head once more. The way he saw how you looked back one last time like you’d done every time before. How often did he wait at the door like that? Did he genuinely care about you that much to wait?

When you got home you had an hour until you knew you’d have to be at Mike’s house. Of course today was one of those days where your professors just knew you were having an off day and assigned what felt like 10x more work than usual. You hesitantly took out all of your textbooks and notebooks in an attempt to knock out a few assignments before you left.

As you sat down, something hanging on the headboard of your bed caught your attention. The black hoodie Mike had lent you was there. You truly intended on giving it back to him yesterday since you’d accidentally wore it home the other night. Whether you forgot it by chance or on purpose you couldn’t even remember anymore.

It sat there like a painful reminder of not knowing what was to come later. He said it wasn’t anything bad, but maybe he just didn’t want to stress you out. What if he had to quit the night job, therefore leaving you jobless? You didn’t want to leave them hanging. You didn’t care if you were getting paid consistently or not. You just wanted to be there for them. That was all that mattered to you now.

You continued to sit there, looking at the hoodie, thoughts racing through your mind with no signs of stopping. The textbooks and notebooks all over your desk were never opened, you didn’t have the energy now at least. Not when your leg wouldn’t stop bouncing and stomach was twisted into knots. You kept telling yourself “It’s just your imagination, everything is fine. Everything will be okay.” It was already almost time for you to go, so you threw all the books back into your bag, grabbed the hoodie, and made your way over.

The feelings were mutual back at Mike’s house. Mike wasn’t sure why he felt so anxious about having to talk to you. It really wasn’t a big deal at all. He just wanted to clear up last night and, well, some other things too. He was just as scared of the unknown as you were. The kitchen smelled like pasta cooking as he tried his best to distract himself by making Abby’s dinner. Just incase the conversation went really bad and you didn’t want to stay. Not that he was anticipating that it would go badly.

He stirred the spaghetti as the water bubbled, focusing as best he could on everything but his thoughts.

“Mike why are you making dinner tonight?” Abby interrupted standing by the fridge.

“Thought I’d give Y/n a break for one night.” he said, still looking down at the pot of boiling water.

“She makes it so much better than you do though.” Abby started whining.

“Beggars can’t be choosers Abs.” he said with a sigh.

“What does that mean?” Abby said with a confused tone to her voice.

“Life’s not fair, that’s what it means. You either eat my pasta or nothing.”

He could practically hear the girl roll her eyes in response.

“Well, I’m not hungry right now.”

Now she’s just being a smart ass, Mike thought to himself.

“Good thing Y/n can warm it up for you later when I’m gone.”

“I don’t want to eat it later though. It’s gonna be gross later.” she crossed her arms now, she knew what she was doing.

“Well you’re either gonna eat it now, later, or never. This is what you’re getting for dinner.” Mike was getting more impatient with her sudden attitude.

“Your pasta is gross Mike I’m not eating it.”

“Whatever. I don’t care anymore, don’t eat it.” Way to ruin this evening Abby.

“Why do you have to be so-“

“Abby, just stop! I’m not having this today. Go to your room.” he didn’t realize how much he rose his voice at her. Arguing wasn’t uncommon for them, but he rarely, if ever, rose his voice this much at her. He looked back at her, the young girls eyes were welling with small tears. This evening already wasn’t going as planned and Y/n hadn’t even arrived yet.

“I hate you Mike!” Abby shouted before running to her room, slamming the door shut.

Mike took a deep breath, putting a hand over his face. Why did he always have to mess everything up? He should’ve never asked Y/n to come over early. If he hadn’t asked, then this situation would’ve never happened. He should’ve just let the situation go. He looked back at the pot of spaghetti, the water still bubbling, finally deciding to shut off the stove.

He looked at the landline phone hanging on the wall beside the fridge. It was almost calling his name to pick it up, dial your number, and tell you not to come by anymore. He stepped forward reaching out a hand to pick up the phone. Just before he could start dialing the numbers he heard a door slowly and quietly open.

He looked at the clock on the stove, quickly realizing what time it was. There was no escaping the situation now, for either of you. He walked out of the kitchen, now in the dining room as he watched you shut the door and set down your backpack.

“Hey.” you said in almost a whisper, your usual smile on your face to hide the nervousness that still lurked deep down.

Just like that, time felt slower than ever before for Mike. Honestly, every time he saw you it began feeling more and more like that. It wasn’t like you tried to dress to impress or anything like that. The only times you had a remotely “nice” outfit on were the first few days of babysitting and extremely occasionally after that. Even then, it was nothing more than a pair of jeans and a somewhat nicer t-shirt or sweater.

Your hair was in a low messy ponytail, loose strands of hair falling out of the scrunchie. You wore a t-shirt with your college’s name plastered across the front and extremely baggy black sweatpants. This was a look that was all too familiar to Mike. The days you wore outfits like this were days that school was beating your ass. Those were the days he’d come home and find you still finishing up work at the dinning room table far too late in the night.

The way that an outfit so simple and, for lack of better terms, lazy, could make Mike feel this way felt like a crime to him. He was convinced that any other outfit imaginable would not compare to this. There was no way to explain this, but this just felt different to him.

Maybe it was because of your determination and drive for success. It was something he didn’t see in himself. Maybe he envied that you had that in you and he didn’t. He saw how hard school was. He saw that no matter how hard it got, you were still there on time every time. He wished so much he had that level dedication in him.

That’s when his eyes turned to your hand. It was holding the black hoodie he let you borrow when you stayed for s’mores. He had honestly forgotten he even gave you it, but now he was wondering why you’d brought it back. He really didn’t mind if you’d kept it. Now thinking about it, he wanted you to keep it.

“You didn’t have to make dinner Mike, you know I’ve got it.” your voice, still quiet making sure Abby wouldn’t hear your presence, broke the thoughts in Mikes head and brought him back to reality.

“Yeah, um, about that…” he began, sighing heavily.

“We need to talk.” you immediately noticed the tension that was now forming.

“Yeah.” he pulled a chair out of the dining table for you, and you both quietly sat down.

You both sat in silence for a minute or so. You waited for him to start talking and you were going to give him as long as he needed to gather his thoughts. You focused on the salt and pepper shakers in the middle of the table.

“I’m sorry.” he finally spoke up.

“Why are you sor-“

“Let me explain before you try telling me I have nothing to be sorry about.” he interrupted, his volume significantly louder than before.

You didn’t say anything back, you were ready to let him say whatever he needed to say because clearly he needed it.

“It’s just-“ he paused again, putting his face into his hands. He took a deep breath attempting to gather his thoughts and emotions before he spoke again. He wasn’t going to let them ruin this conversation.

“I don’t deserve you, Y/n.” you finally looked up. Those incredible brown eyes met yours. They almost appeared to have tears forming in them.

“You do so much for us Y/n. You’re here on time every day, no matter how much you had going on during the day. You’re always willing to do literally anything with Abby. All of the dumb things I’ve said no to her about, you’ve said yes. You’re the mother figure she never had. She doesn’t act the same way around me as she does with you. She deserves this so much more than I do. She needs you, Y/n. I don’t deserve any of this. I can rarely pay you on time. I’m putting you in this horrendous situation where you go to class every day, then you come home for 2 hours max and babysit for the entire night. You’re working literally 2 jobs and you didn’t even want this. I accidentally threw you into it, you should’ve just not taken it. It’s not fair. And yesterday when I stormed out without explaining anything, that wasn’t fair either.”

“Mike-“

“You deserve more Y/n. You deserve the world. You have so much motivation and determination in you it’s actually insane. You’re always smiling, always trying to be kind and helpful. You put others before yourself. I just feel that someone like me, the complete opposite of you, doesn’t deserve to have you in my life. I have not even an ounce of dedication or care inside of me. You don’t deserve to have to put up with all my crap. You just don’t Y/n.” he stopped, still looking you in the eyes.

You really wanted to break down and sob. How could he think he’s worth nothing? How does he not see all the effort and care he puts into taking care of Abby? He’s trying a whole lot harder than other people who have half the worries in life that he has.

“How long have you felt this way?” you said quietly, you knew if you spoke any louder than a whisper you’d start crying.

“Since the moment you first came by to try out the job.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” small, but noticeable tears were now falling down your face. “You’ve felt this way for almost 2 months and you didn’t say a word?”

“Y/n, please don’t-“

“What do you mean ‘please don’t?’ How am I supposed to brush past this knowing you’ve felt like this for 2 months now?” You wiped the tears off of your face.

Mike was now looking down at the table, avoiding your face at all costs. He knew if he saw you that way, it would be over for him. It was never his intention to make you feel this way, he knew you would care, but he didn’t think you’d care this much.

“Mike, look at me right now.”

His eyes hesitantly met yours. Your heart was beating so fast you could hear it in your head.

“You are the most thoughtful, caring, most determined person I’ve ever met. You sacrifice so so much for Abby and you don’t even realize it. When I talk to Abby, I hear all about a big brother who pours his heart out just for her to be happy. She is so incredibly lucky to have someone who dedicates so much of his time and energy just to make her happy. You didn’t ask for this and I know you’ve been through hell and back, but you do everything for that girl. No matter how much you think she doesn’t see it, you are genuinely her whole world. I have never, ever, met someone so caring in my life. You don’t have to do any of it, yet you are so selfless that you do it.”

“Then why does she hate me? Why does she always say so much about how great you are and how much she loves your cooking more than mine? Why are we always arguing over the stupidest things?”

“That’s what siblings are for Mike.” you said with an airy laugh through your tears. “After I came over to hearing your argument I went to talk to Abby. She said how she thought you hated her, how you’re always working and never do stuff with her anymore. I told her to look at all of the amazing things you do for her, all of the toys and art supplies she is lucky enough to have. I asked her who gets her all of these things. Who works their ass off for her to have the greatest childhood ever? You do, Mike. She just doesn’t know how to put that into words or actions. We’re gonna work on that though, okay?” you reached across the table to grab his hands and held them in yours.

“You need to give yourself a whole lot more credit. All I want is for you guys to be okay.” you smiled, tears still running down your face. “I just want to help you guys in any way I can. I don’t care how much I get paid or how often I get paid, that doesn’t matter to me anymore Mike. I just want to be there for the two of you.”

After all he said, after his vulnerability showed the underlying jealousy he had for you and your kindness you did it once again. You put others before yourself. He didn’t realize you were not going to give up.

“This is exactly why I don’t deserve you.”

“Quit saying that, you deserve me just as much as Abby does.” you squeezed his hands, reassuringly smiling at him. “You’re not getting rid of me.”

All he really wanted to do in this moment was to get up and kiss you. You believed in Abby, and in him, when you didn’t have to. No one was forcing you to do any of this and to know you were taking it upon yourself from the kindness in your heart made Mike feel even crazier for you. You were one of the first people to show genuine care and love to him and Abby since their parents passed away.

“I love you Y/n.”

Those 4 words came out with no thought, no hesitation, no control. It just felt right.

You were both shocked, yet relieved to hear those words. Your next 4 words didn’t have much thought to them either

“I love you too Mike.” you said, not hesitating either. It didn’t feel forced in the slightest, it felt right for both of you. You honestly couldn’t believe what had just happened and neither could Mike. Neither of you would admit it, but you weren’t even sure what to do next.

“Well it took you guys long enough.” a small voice peeped from behind you.

You turned around to see Abby, standing with her arms crossed, a smug look on her face.

“Abby, how long have you been here?” Mike said, quickly letting go of your hand he still had in his.

“Long enough to hear you and Y/n say you love each other.” she said, smiling wide and giggling. “I am so happy you finally told Y/n you have a crush on her! Or did Y/n tell you she has a crush on you?” her eyes lit up with excitement.

“Well, I wouldn’t necessarily say that’s what happened but-“

“Oh, he definitely was the one who told me first.” you smirked after interrupting.

“But who decided to hold hands first?” he quickly responded, returning you a small smirk.

Your face began burning up as you buried your face in your hands for a moment, but you also couldn’t help but laugh. Leave it up to Abby to be little miss matchmaker. Of course she’d sneak her way in to finally see her hard work come together. Once Mike realized there was no point in hiding anything anymore, he grabbed your left hand again and held it in his. It felt almost freeing, like a weight was lifted off of him in multiple ways, to be able to hold your hand.

“Also, I’m hungry.” she chimed in quickly, with a hint of annoyance in her voice.

You and Mike both looked at each other, knowing that the pasta he attempted to cook was probably off the table now. It was also almost time for Mike to go to work now, which he really didn’t want to do anymore, but there was no other choice.

“I’ll just order you guys a pizza.” he said with a smile, a genuine smile. “Y/n doesn’t need to be cooking for you after this, and I know you won’t eat whatever I can make in 10 minutes Abs.”

Abby began jumping around with pure excitement. Probably a little too excited after just offending Mike’s cooking, but that didn’t matter anymore. As long as she was happy and you were happy, Mike was gonna be happy. He was going to start changing his attitude about everything and he wouldn’t want to do it with anyone else than you. It wasn’t going to be easy, but was gonna try his very best.

“You sure Mike? I don’t mind cooking.” you replied.

“Really Y/n?” he said, sarcastically rolling his eyes.

“Okayyy fineee.” you said holding out the endings extra long, just for dramatic effect.

“Thank you Mike!” the Abby shouted, running up to his chair to give him a hug. Mike smiled at you as the young girl clung onto him.

“Thank you.” he mouthed to you.

You gave him a soft smile in response. You looked down at the black hoodie still in your lap. You brought it in the case he wanted it back, but after the conversation you two just had, there’s a good chance he’d want you to have it. Whether that was his original intention for you to keep it or not, you decided you would keep it. A constant reminder of who you were doing this for. Taking this job, you didn’t know what you were getting yourself in to. You also didn’t know why you were so nervous for this conversation. It couldn’t have gone any better. You were ready to go through whatever hardships and challenges you had to for your two favorite neighbors.

——————————————————————————

A/N: get ready for part 6 hopefully before thanksgiving 🥳🫶 also trust i see all of ur comments and i wish i could reply to ALLL of them, but i don’t wanna flood the comments! sending each and every one of u and virtual hug rn and love! 🫂 if anyone wants a little preview of what’s to come, check out of my first work my favorite prize, those r the vibes i am going for in part 6 🤗

jules jewels (tag list! lmk if u want to be added or removed 🤗)

@balesita @universi8 @browneyedgirly93 @marsmallow433 @prongsprincessworld @ajlareads @k3nnlolz @louweasleymalfoy @chompwoman @wasabidottie @queenie-official @emmaishere432 @curasimp @nevvdrinksteaa @rcailleachcola @scribblesandsherlock @iheartyouyou @prosteticsynthesis @novausstuff @dessxoxsworld @1-akira-2 @starringo @planetevermore @cherriebat @mxrvelouss

[inthe-dark-tonight]

Falling Into My Sins

chapter four: someone who's stuck inside your mind

dbf!joel x fem!reader series - loosely inspired by the song skin by soccer mommy

chapter 1 chapter 2 chapter 3 chapter 5 chapter 5

summary: you take up tommy’s offer to take you on a date, the night ends with a confrontation from joel and an unexpected turn of events.

word count: 2.6k

series rating: E (18+ mdni)

warnings: no outbreak AU, age gap (reader is in their 20s, Joel is in his 40s) no use of y/n, no physical description of reader, tommy and reader flirt, slight angst/confrontation, some kissing, alcohol consumption, joel being grumpy, if i’m missing anything bb please let me know <3

notes: i’ve been procrastinating posting this chapter but here it is!! excited for this one, it’s gonna get messier after this hehe thank you @javiscigarette for beta reading this chapter for me MWAH and thank you to the loml @shatteredbaby for helping me time and time again with proof reading and ideas for this story ilysm ♡

The rest of your night was pretty uneventful, after Joel and Tommy left you only had about an hour left of your shift. When you got home it took you a while to fall asleep, the memory of how he grabbed you and crashed his lips into yours unexpectedly replaying in your mind over and over. You wish you could say he hasn't been occupying your mind. You need to forget about him, and tonight you’re going to try. 

It’s about half an hour before Tommy picks you up, you’re finishing up getting ready when you hear a knock on your bedroom door. 

“Come in.” You turn to face the door.

Your dad opens the door and peeks his head in. “Sorry, I know you’re getting ready. Just wanted to ask if you’ll be free next Sunday.” 

“Uh, yeah I don't think I work.” 

“Okay good.” He nods his head and starts to leave. 

“Why?” 

“Just might be making some plans, wanted to make sure you’re around.” You nod at his response and then he closes the door. 

You hear your phone go off and quickly grab it to look at the notification.

I'm outside whenever you’re ready. No rush. 

You smile at the text and take one last look at yourself in the mirror before heading down stairs. You call out to say bye to your dad and then close the door behind you, making your way down the front steps to Tommy’s car. You feel slightly giddy as you see him get out to open the passenger door for you. 

“Hey” he has a small content smile on his face as he opens your door. 

“Hi” you look up at him shyly, stepping into the car. 

He closes your door and you watch him walk around the front of the car to the driver's side. He gets into the car and buckles his seatbelt before looking over at you. A smile forms on your face as he looks back at the road and pulls away. 

“So, the bar we’re going to is called the Blind Donkey.” Tommy’s eyes are focused on the road still.

You let out a small chuckle before replying. “Never been before.”

“It’s pretty mellow, we’ll have a good time though.”

You nod in agreement and look out your window as he drives towards downtown. Tommy reaches out to turn up the radio, and the rest of the ride is fairly quiet until he’s about to park. As he pulls in the parking lot, you think you see a truck you recognize. 

“Oh by the way,” he pulls into a spot and puts the car into park. “I hope you don’t mind, I invited my brother.” 

You feel your heart sink down into your stomach. You’ve got to be kidding.

Tommy looks over at you while he unbuckles his seat belt and you force a smile. “No, of course not!” 

He matches your smile before reaching for his door handle, and you do the same grabbing your purse as you jump out of the car. 

You walk around to the back of the car and meet him, he glances towards you before walking towards the door and you follow behind. As you get closer your heart starts racing and the events of last night play through your head. Why did Joel kiss you if he was out on a date with some other girl before showing up at the diner? Is she here with him tonight? The last thing you really want is to see him. 

Tommy holds open the door to the bar for you and you thank him as you walk inside. The air inside is hazy with smoke and it smells faintly like cigarettes and stale beer, you don’t mind it though. Your eyes wander the small space filled with a pool table, an old jukebox, a few small booths and a bar. Your eyes fall on Joel sitting at the bar with his back towards the door, beer in one hand as his other taps on the bar top to the rhythm of the music. 

Even from the back he’s good looking. His graying hair lays perfectly in soft waves, and his black shirt stretches across his back and shoulders just right. You snap yourself out of it as you get closer. 

“Joel!” Tommy shouts out as the two of you approach, only a few feet from where he’s sitting now. 

He slowly turns around, lips tilted upward until his eyes meet with yours. His smile is immediately wiped from his face, eyes growing dark as they take in your presence. His jaw ticks as he turns back around towards the bar. Tommy pulls out a chair for you then takes a seat between you and Joel. He places his hand on Joel’s shoulder and squeezes lightly before taking a seat. 

“What’s she doing here?” Joel grumbles quietly to Tommy, still loud enough that you hear the comment. 

You glance over at him to find that he’s looking past Tommy, eyes burning into you. You roll your eyes as they meet with his and quickly look the other direction. 

“I invited her” you can hear in Tommy’s voice that he’s smiling. 

“Hm.” Joel lets out a grunt at his words. 

You hear a slapping sound as Tommy lightly smacks Joel’s arm with the back of his hand. “Don’t be an ass, Joel.” 

You hold back a laugh as you turn back towards the two men. Joel’s looking forward, brows furrowed and a small pout on his face. You try not to focus on how pretty he looks right now.. 

“What are you having Tommy?” You rest both elbows on the counter and lock eyes with him. 

“Just a beer, what do ya want, hon?” he asks. 

“Same thing.”

A warm smile spreads across Tommy’s face, you look past him to find Joel’s eyes locked on you again as Tommy tells the bartender your order. The bartender looks over at Joel but his eyes stay on you. 

“I’ll have a whiskey.” he grumbles. 

“So, Joel,” Tommy clears his throat. “No date tonight?” He says with a smug smile on his face. 

“No.” He shifts in his seat. 

You glance at him from the corner of your eye, and you can help but wonder why he’s alone tonight.

The bartender comes back after what feels like forever, Tommy nods at him and leaves some cash on the counter. You take a sip of your beer and look around. Your eyes fall on a pool table in the center of the room and an idea pops into your head. You eagerly look over to Tommy.

“You know how to play pool?” you give him a sweet but devious smile. 

He raises a brow at you. “Yeah, you?”

“No, wanna show me?”

A smile spreads across his face. “C’mon” he nods towards the pool table.

He gets up from the bar and you follow, glancing at Joel one last time before walking with Tommy to the pool table. He grabs two cue sticks from where they’re hanging on the wall, passing one to you. He sets his down for a moment to set up the billiard balls as you watch. When he's finished he looks up at you and walks towards you with an eager look on his face.

“Let me show you how to use that.” he clears his throat before stepping behind you.

You hold onto the cue stick as he rests a hand on your back, gently guiding you to lean over the table. 

“It’s all about getting the right angle.” His voice comes out low, you can feel him hovering close behind you. 

You glance back to look at Tommy but your eyes meet with Joel’s, still sitting at the bar watching you like a hawk. You slightly roll your eyes and look back towards the pool table. 

Tommy grabs your right hand that’s clutching the cue stick. “Bring this hand back.” He guides you gently and then leans over to your other side touching your left hand. “And use this hand to help guide.” 

His body is pressed lightly against yours, when he speaks his voice comes out soft and smooth. He’s so close you can feel his chest move against you as he breathes. 

“Just like that.” He adjusts your hand slightly. 

“Okay” you breathe out.

“And then slowly just,” His right hand rests on your lower back as he rubs his thumb back and forth slowly. “Follow through.” 

You take a deep breath and focus your aim on the cue ball before going for it. One of the solid colored pool balls flies into one of the pockets and you gasp, turning around to face Tommy. 

“I did it!” There’s a huge smile plastered on his face as he laughs at your reaction. 

You smile back at him and turn around to continue the game. 

The game goes on for about 30 minutes, you end up winning and it keeps your mind off of Joel for a bit. 

“You definitely cheated.” Tommy raises a brow at you, one hand resting on his hip while the other holds the cue stick. 

You chuckle at his accusation. “Nope.” 

He walks towards you, grabbing your cue stick from your hand. “How about another round?” He gestures towards the bar. 

“Yeah,” you trail off, turning to look towards the bar as Tommy puts the cue sticks back on the wall. 

Then you see him. Joel’s standing at the bar next to a woman with golden skin and dark wavy hair. He’s leaning in closely as they talk, giving her the same charming look he gave you the night you met. You feel your cheeks get hot as you watch him with the woman and you feel a lump starting to grow in the back of your throat. 

“Um,” your eyes are still glued to Joel as you speak to Tommy. “I need to step outside for a moment.” You snap your head to look at Tommy, giving him a tight lipped smile. 

“Sure, I’ll grab our drinks.” He looks back at you with a hint of confusion in his eyes, then you turn to walk towards the door. 

The room feels like it’s spinning and the air is getting thicker as you try to get to the door as quickly as you can. You take in a large breath as you push open the door, the cool night air surrounding you. It feels good, calming you down as you finally start to settle and lean your back against the wall of the building. Your breathing starts to steady as you watch headlights pass by, listening to the muffling sound of chatter as crowds walk past you on the downtown streets. 

You let out a long sigh as you lean your head back and close your eyes. Then you hear the door to the bar open and shut, heavy footsteps getting closer to you before the stop. You open your eyes and look towards the door to find Joel standing a few feet from where you are. 

You groan and turn towards him, giving him an expectant look. You’re not sure why he followed you out here and what he could possibly want. 

“What do you think you were doin’ in there?” The crease between his brow deepens. 

“What are you talking about?” You throw the words he used last night back at him. “I’m just enjoying my date, Joel.”

His jaw ticks in annoyance as he shoves his hands in his pockets, looking out at the street. He doesn’t look at you as he says his next words. 

“With my brother?” An amused expression grows on his face. 

You attempt to swallow back the lump in your throat, then his eyes meet with yours. 

“Trying to make me jealous?” His eyes grow dark, burning into you as they rake over your form. 

“No.” Why does he have to look at you that way? 

“Hm.” His eyes meet yours again and you can tell he doesn’t believe a word you’re saying. Your stomach turns as he watches you closely. 

“That could’ve been you in there.” You blurt out. 

His brow raises in curiosity at your comment. “Still could be.” A smirk starts to grow on his lips as he quickly runs a hand through his hair. 

“You missed your chance.” You roll your eyes and try to walk past him. 

He gently grabs your arm, stopping you in your tracks. “Did I?” He looks at you with dark eyes.

You scoff at his words, looking into his eyes before tugging your arm out of his grasp and walking back into the bar. The audacity, you think to yourself as you walk back over to Tommy.

“Hey, everything okay?” Tommy gives you a concerned look as you walk towards where he's standing at the bar, a drink waiting for you. 

“Yeah,” you grab the drink and shoot it back, slamming the glass back down on the counter.

You frantically look back at the door and see Joel walking in. You peel your eyes away from him and turn back to look at Tommy, an idea coming to mind as you lay your eyes on him. You grab him by his shirt before you can second guess it, and crash your lips into his.

He makes a surprised noise at first, then his lips start to move in sync with yours and he gently lays a hand on your hip. When he breaks the kiss he’s breathing heavily, face still only a few inches from yours. You quickly look down, cheeks growing hot from embarrassment at the move you just made. 

“Um,” you break the silence. “Can we go?” 

Tommy just nods looking a bit dumbstruck. You turn to walk towards the door and your eyes meet Joel’s, there’s nothing but anger behind them. 

Tommy trails behind you as you pass Joel with your eyes glued to the ground. You can feel his gaze burning straight through you. If only you could read his mind. 

You rush to Tommy’s truck the second you’re outside of the bar, he unlocks it and you tug the door open and jump in as fast as you can. Fuck. What were you thinking?

Tommy gets into the car, still not saying a word as he starts the engine. He lets out a deep sigh and glances at you before backing out and leaving the parking lot towards your homes.

You shouldn’t have kissed him. You knew it was wrong and you knew deep down it was just to try and make Joel jealous. You’re sure he didn’t even care, he made it clear that what happened didn’t mean anything. Like he said, it was just a fuck. You feel like an idiot for still feeling this way about Joel even after everything. You should probably say something to Tommy, at least apologize.  

“I’m sorry.” You whisper as you give him a shy look, afraid to meet his eyes. 

“For?” His eyes stay on the road as he answers you. 

You’re almost afraid to let the words leave your mouth. “Kissing you.” 

He lets out a small chuckle as the truck comes to a stop at the red light, then he looks over at you. “Don’t be.” He smiles at you. 

You smile back at him before looking out the windshield as the stop light turns green. You start to calm down now that you know he’s not mad, but you’re mad at yourself. You know that you kissed him for the wrong reasons, you just hope he never has to find that out.

thank you so so much for reading & any feedback is appreciated <3

tag list and some moots: @ilovepedro @isitmeulookin4 @joelsversion @nostalxgic @gracieheartspedro @jenispunk @beskarandblasters @pedropascalfan221 @mellymbee @kaybee181520 @joeldjarin @akah565 @chefchy4 @untamedheart81 @eliza-8 @fellinfromthetop @znerac

[hiraeth-ink]

Could I Be Yours (a Joel Miller fic) Part 2

Pairing - Joel x Married Female Reader 

Series Summary - You’ve been married for two years now to your long term man Marcus, but with your dwindling sex life and your marriage on the rocks, you came to an agreement. You're allowed to sleep with other men. The only rules? 1- You have to tell your husband about it. 2- No staying the night, you always leave after sex. And lastly, rule number 3, you can’t sleep with the same man more than once. These rules are in place to avoid feelings blooming, but what happens when you meet Joel, and end up breaking all of the rules? Will it break your marriage too? If faced with a choice between Joel Miller and your husband, who would you choose? 

Read part 1 here

Chapter summary - One time with Joel was never going to be enough, questions rise in the week leading up to your second meeting and the aftermath. Will the second time be enough? And is it just sex? Or something more? 

Warnings - mentions of, infidelity/open relationship(?), alcohol, protected p in v, ass play, oral (m+f receiving), overstimulation, Joel being a sweetie, Joel being a menace,

Word Count - 8.9k

a/n - I’ve tagged everyone that asked for a part 2, I’m definitely making this into a series so more to come! I’m so overwhelmed by the love the first part got, thank you so much. 

You were dreading the moment your husband walked through the door, back from his work trip, expecting to hear what you had gotten up to while he was gone. Your mind raced with what you should tell him, contemplating whether you should lie altogether and say you didn't see anyone at all, or maybe tell him that you met someone but it wasn't anything special, or even just tell him the whole truth? Tell him that you met Joel, had the best sex of your life, stayed the night, agreed to see him again and haven’t stopped thinking about him the past two days. But how could you explain that? “Hey Marcus! I know we’ve been married for five years now and together for even longer, but I broke the agreement rules and now I’m waiting for a guy to text like a teenager with her first boyfriend!” You felt ridiculous, every time you picked up your phone you were hoping for a text from Joel, even a missed call would satisfy you, at least then you would be able to reach him. 

You had spent less than 24 hours with Joel, but in that short time he had completely overtaken your mind, his taste was on your tongue, his name in your bloodstream, his face behind your eyelids. Not only was he the best you’d ever had, he wanted to get to know you, he wanted to see you again. You started to feel that you were only hung up on him because he had shown you some much needed attention, but this felt different. Joel made you feel as if you couldn’t say no, as if you couldn’t control yourself, as if it didn't matter what was best or wise. You had already decided you were going to see him again, you just hadn’t decided what you would tell Marcus. 

—----------------------------

Marcus had let you know that he would be home later that night. In your guilt you had cooked his favourite meal, and as he walked through the front door you were taking the lasagna out of the oven, mentally cursing yourself for cooking for hours instead of deciding on what you were going to tell him. He shouted, “Hi, honey,” as he kicked off his shoes at the door, throwing his bag to the floor on the side, probably because he was expecting you to clean up, and walked towards you. 

“Hi,” you answered with a forced smile, “how was the trip?” You busied yourself with plating up the meal as he walked towards you, unsure if you could face him yet. He stood behind you, wrapping his arms around you from the back and kissing your cheek, mumbling about it being fine, but boring.  He detached himself from you as quickly as he approached you, something you would normally have been upset about, a clear sign you were not as close as you used to be, but this time you were grateful for his sudden coldness. You both sat down at the dinner table, he thanked you for the meal with a smile that didn't quite seem genuine and you ate in silence, like you usually did. 

As you looked at him from across the table, you seemed to make the same realisation again, you came to the same conclusion, you and Marcus did not belong together. You should not be his and he should not be yours. But after 12 years by his side, catering to him, caring for him and never once leaving him, you were at a loss for what to do next. You had spent your whole adult life with the man sitting across from you, and although you were no longer in love with him, you had love for him. Of course you had love for him, you had been through life together for so long, it was impossible not to. But worst of all, it was impossible to make a decision relating to the fate of your relationship when your judgement was clouded by insecurity. You were scared of what would happen if you got a divorce, scared of what you would do, where you would go. But how much longer could you live in a loveless marriage? How much longer could you keep up this lie? 

As you washed the dishes, Marcus stood next to you, watching you, before he asked, “So,” and just from that one word you knew exactly what was coming, your panic starting to rise, “how was Saturday night? Did you meet someone?”

Taking a deep breath, you prepared to lie to your husband, “I actually just went out for a couple drinks with Carrie, she called and said she had a shitty day at work so I wanted to cheer her up a bit.”

“Oh, baby,” he said in a low voice and you recognised the quick change in his eye, you had seen it countless times over you twelve years together, he wanted to fuck. You wished you could say that you wanted you, but you knew that wasn’t the case, he was just horny and he wanted to fix that. “So you didn't get your fill this weekend, huh?” he said as he walked towards you, turned off the water, grabbed your cheeks in his hands and kissed you. His kiss was soft, but not meaningful. It was gentle, but not affectionate. While he kissed you with excitement and arousal, his lips did not carry one ounce of love to yours, you felt nothing. 

Because you felt nothing, Joel was quickly returning to your mind. You remembered the way you felt everything in his touch, in his kiss. It may not have been love, but it was more than what you felt now. His touch was tender, affectionate and meaningful. His kisses were full of interest, passion and lust. And you felt all of it. These thoughts of Joel only made you want to create space from your husband, it felt wrong to kiss him with thoughts of another man clouding your brain. As his hand trailed from your cheek to your breast under your shirt, you knew you couldn’t carry on. You moved his hand away and broke the kiss, whispering, “Not tonight Marc,” You created some distance between you and him as you continued, “I’m sorry, I’m just …I’m so tired.” He said nothing, only looked at you momentarily, turned around and walked away. 

When you eventually got to bed, he left for the bathroom and upon his return you had crawled onto your side of the bed and tucked yourself under the covers. He got into the other side of the bed, but if you had not felt the bed dip beside you, you wouldn’t have noticed. He was lying next to you but he didn’t say a word. He was lying next to you but he didn’t pull you close. His lack of affection only made your mind circle back to Joel again, the way he had pulled you into his arms and kissed your forehead, Joel’s tender touches extended into the night, his kisses extended past sex and arousal. Eventually, you fell asleep to thoughts of your time with Joel. While your thoughts of Joel were increasing, your guilt was slowly dissipating, you felt as though you couldn't feel guilty for feeling this way, you couldn’t help your feelings, you would just have to take action soon. 

—---------------------------

The next day, you woke up to an empty bed, the sheets on the other side crumpled, messy and cold, much like your marriage. Rolling over to face your nightstand, you checked your phone, hoping to get ahead on reading emails before Monday morning. But before you could check your emails, you were taken aback by the top notification on your phone; a text. 

The message read: Hey sweetheart, it’s Joel. Can’t stop thinking about you. Can I take you out on Friday night? 

You read the message once, twice, three times. Your eyes fixed to your phone, sweeping over the words quickly before scanning them again, already wanting to read the words again, overwhelmed by the fact that you were on his mind, as he was on yours. Sitting up, you wracked your brain for a possible response and felt like a teenager again, not wanting to be too keen, to sound too desperate. Deciding to ignore these thoughts and answer how you wanted to, you sent a simple: Hi Joel, of course! I’ll be free after 6 :) 

Fighting the urge to jump up and down and squeal in delight, you get ready for the day ahead. Your morning shower is full of loud, unabashed singing, your morning coffee paired well with contented humming. Your excitement doubled when you received another text from Joel on your lunch break: I’ll pick you up at 7, sweetheart. 

And that was the start to your week, your week that was filled with thoughts of Joel and excitement to see him again, to feel him again. The week passed with minimal contact with Marcus, you were like two ships passing in the night, he started going to work earlier in the morning and coming home much later in the night. Most days he wasn’t home when you woke up and he was getting home just as you were going to bed. Truthfully, you had no idea where he was in the evenings, he was home early for the first time on Thursday night and claimed he was, “swamped at work,” but you weren’t sure if you believed him, although it could be your own lies that clouded your judgement of his honesty. That night, he explained that his weekly ‘guys night’ on Friday was at his friend Steve’s, and that he would likely stay over, telling you, “not to wait up.” As if you ever did anymore. 

You awoke on Friday morning to an empty bed, again, but that was at the back of your mind. At the forefront of your mind was that night's plans, and Joel. Your day at work passed agonisingly slowly, you could barely concentrate on work with your excitement and apprehension beginning to flutter in your stomach, butterflies filling your chest, turning you into a restless, mind wandering mess. You were practically counting down the minutes until you could leave, and when you finally could you raced to your car, barely saying goodbye to your co-workers before rushing home. After applying light makeup and stressing over your outfit choice for what felt like an hour, you landed on a lilac dress that was tight on your torso and showed off the perfect amount of cleavage, and flowy at the waist, stopping at your mid thigh. Pairing with short, comfortable heels you felt good, genuinely good about yourself. You felt beautiful. Checking the time you exclaim a fuck seeing the numbers 6:58 on your phone, gabbing your purse and walking downstairs to wait for him. His texts throughout the week had been short and casual, with a quick text that morning to confirm that seven was a good time to come and get you. You heard the signature sound of the doorbell ringing before you reached the bottom of the stairs, Joel was right on time. You smiled to yourself at the prospect of Joel being just as eager to see you as you were to see him. 

You took a deep breath before opening the door, and almost gasped when you saw

Joel on the other side with a bouquet of beautiful flowers in his hand and a smile on his face. He looked you up and down and let out a whistle, “You look beautiful, darlin’.” Hearing his voice again sent a shiver through your body, and seeing him again rendered you almost stupid, you barely had the brain power to say hello as you looked him up and down. He was wearing black jeans that were a loose fit but still tight where his cock rested. His black shirt was constricting around his shoulders and biceps, the sleeves pushed up to his elbows and showing off his forearms. Your eyes stopped for a few seconds too long on his chest, where the top two buttons of his shirt were undone, allowing his chest hairs to poke out, leading up to his broad shoulders and thick neck that you could lick up and down. You were shaken from your thoughts as he said, “These are for you, wasn’t sure what flowers you liked so I guessed… I hope they’re ok I-”

“These are beautiful, thank you, Joel,” you interrupted, “come in for a second, I’ll put these in some water.” You ushered him inside, grabbing a vase and filling it with water, unsure what you’ll tell Marcus about the flowers. That thought quickly left your mind when you turned to face Joel and thought about the last time you had been given flowers. Marcus had not bought you flowers for years, he had done so in the beginning of your relationship but after he had won you over, he stopped. 

“I can’t remember the last time I got some pretty flowers,” you said with a smile, your eyes flicking from the flowers to Joel, who was now walking towards you. He placed his hands on your hips and pulled you towards him, before wrapping his arms around your waist and kissing you slowly. You trailed your hands up his chest and wrapped them around his neck, falling all the way into the kiss, falling all the way into him. 

Joel pulled away slightly, his face still only inches from yours.“That’s a damn shame, sweetheart,” he said in his gruff, Texan drawl, “I’ll make sure to keep that vase full from now on.” He pressed his lips to yours once more, and all you smiled against his lips as his hands came up to cup your face gently. Joel was proving to be some sort of an enigma to you, you were completely mystified by his ability to be a sweet, tender man who could get nervous asking to see you again or ramble about being unsure what flowers you liked, but also be rough and demanding, demean you and make you come harder than ever. 

Joel kissed your forehead and then your cheek, and whispered in your ear, “we should go,” before gesturing to the front door with his hand, “The reservation’s for 7:30.” He gave your ass a quick tap as you made your way out of the door and to his car. The passenger door was opened and closed for you in true gentlemanly fashion, and Joel ran around the truck to the drivers side before stepping in and starting the drive to the restaurant. 

“So, where are we going?” You asked curiously, only now realising you had dressed for the occasion without even knowing where you were going. 

“This little Italian place that my brother recommended to me.” He wore a smirk on his face as he spoke, sneaking a glance over at you as he drove.

Joel stopped the car at a red light, “Did he say the food’s good?” You asked and he looked at you properly, his smirk growing into a full grin. 

“Oh he didn't say anything about the food,” he said after a chuckle, “just that that’s where he takes all his dates.” You scoffed loudly and Joel laughed, clearly amused by your reaction. 

“Well, if that's where he takes all his dates, the food must be pretty good,” you shrugged, earning another chuckle from Joel, the sound almost vibrating in his chest, placing a smile on your face as you watched him expertly manoeuvre the steering wheel, his upper arms tensing, causing his already tight black shirt to look even more constricting around his thick, muscular arms. He reached over to place his hand on your knee, caressing it slightly before moving to your hand and holding it in his. 

“How was your week?” He asked as he brought your hand, that was still engulfed in his to his lips, placing a featherlight kiss to your palm, “You been writing at all?”

“Work was fine,” you answered, “just lots of emails, meetings and reading transcripts; the usual.” The fact that he remembered what you had said last weekend about wanting to be a writer warmed your heart, he was proving to be more attentive than your husband already. Not once had Marcus encouraged you to commit to your passions, to go after what you really wanted in life. It made you wonder whether he really knew you, if he knew who you really were. Did he not know you or just not care enough to acknowledge that you were unhappy, that you both were. “I haven’t been writing much, sometimes I’ll jot down some ideas but by the time I get home from work I just wanna eat and sleep,” you shrugged once more, unsure if this was the truth. “How was yours?”

“Mine was alright, just the usual,” he began, “got an apprentice now, real young guy that has no idea what he’s doin’. Which is fine, he’s gotta learn somehow, but he’s almost injured me so many times this week.” He put the car in park and quickly got out of the car, running to your side and opening the door for you, “I’m shocked I have any feet left, with all the heavy shit he’s been droppin’.” You giggled as he held your hand, guiding you down and out of his truck, before walking towards the restaurant side by side. 

Joel opened the restaurant door for you, gave the host his name for the reservation and held a chair out for you when you got to the table. “Well aren’t you a gentleman, Mr Miller.” You smiled at him as he took his seat across from you, “I’ve barely lifted a finger since you picked me up.” 

The gentleman sent his signature smirk your way and simply said, “That's how it should be with an amazing woman like you,” and you couldn’t help but feel as though that was not only a compliment towards you, but also a dig towards your husband. Either way, you liked it, you had never been treated this way, and you were slowly coming to the realisation that your whole relationship and marriage, you had settled. Settled for less than you deserved, settled for the bare minimum, all because you were attached. 

Before you could respond, a waiter was standing next to the table, asking what you wanted to drink. Joel ordered a bottle of wine, looking at you with raised eyebrows when the question of red or white was raised. “White, please,” you smiled at the waiter, flicking your eyes to the man across from you as he walked away with your drink order. “Is white ok with you?”

“Honestly, I’m more of a scotch guy,” he smiled, “but yeah white is good,” he winked at you as the waiter set the wine glasses down and carefully filled them, before placing the bottle in an ice bucket and stepping away from the table. You both took a sip of your wine and smiled at each other, you hummed at the taste of the wine while Joel took a large gulp before setting his glass down again, the stem of the glass disappearing within the confines of his massive hand. 

After ordering your food, you decided to ask the question that had been on your mind for a while. “So,” you began, “I noticed all the pictures in your house, who’s the girl? Is she your niece or something?”

“That’s my daughter, Sarah.” He answered after a pregnant pause. 

“Oh,” the word left your lips before you could prevent it, sounding more surprised than you hoped. You knew that he was  older than you, but he still seemed young to have a non infant daughter. 

Clearly taking your surprise as dislike he scrambled to explain, “I wasn’t trying to keep the fact that I got a kid away from ya’, it just never came up and it's been a bit of a mood killer in the past,”

“It’s definitely not a mood killer for me, Joel. I’m sure you're a great dad,” your sincere expression and words brought a smile to his face as he sipped his wine.

“I try my best,” his words were accompanied by a small shrug, as if it was no big deal. Before you could say more, your meal was placed on the table in front of you and you heard Joel's loud exclamation of gratitude for the food that looked amazin’.

—------------------------

Following the delicious food, wine and conversation, Joel paid the bill, only slightly annoyed that you had offered to pay half, before ushering you to the truck with his hand resting lightly on the small of your back. Reaching the truck, Joel pressed you up against the truck, your back flat against it and your chest flush with his, and kissed you roughly. His lips trailed from your lips, to your cheek before kissing your ear. 

“Can I bring you home with me, beautiful?” he purred in your ear, his hands wandering your body, completely indifferent to the fact that you were in a public space. You could only hum and nod in response, your lip between your teeth as your eyes fluttered closed, focusing on the feeling of Joel’s wandering hands. He straightened up, now face to face with you and reached up to slowly pull your lip from your teeth with his thumb, holding your eye as he did. He smirked as you looked up at him, doe eyed and curious for what was to come. Not wasting any more time, he opened the door to the truck, joined you in the car and drove. 

—--------—------------------

“I want a drink,” he said when you were both out of the car,  wrapping his arms around your neck as you walked side by side to his door, pulling you closer to him so he could whisper in your ear, “and I wanna eat your pussy.” He nipped your ear before unwrapping himself from you and unlocking the door, ushering you inside. He instructed you to sit down on the sofa and wait for him while he made a drink. You busied yourself by looking around the living room, the pictures that adorned the walls of Joel, his brother and his daughter, Sarah. She was a beautiful girl, and you made a mental note to ask Joel to tell you about her. You picked up a DVD off the coffee table; Curtis and Viper 2, some action movie you hadn’t heard of. Joel walks back in as you were reading about the movie, holding a drink in each hand. 

“I know you like margaritas so I got all the stuff to make em,” he said sheepishly, passing you one of the drinks, “never made em’ before so whether they’ll be good or not is a different story.” He smiled at you as you raised your glass to his, clinking them together and murmuring a cheers before sipping your drink. 

“This is good, Joel!” You almost shout, overwhelmed by the fact that he not only remembered your drink of choice, but had gone out of his way to buy the ingredients to make one for you, and it really was a good margarita. The man looked at you with a look of disbelief, his eyebrows raised as he took a swig. “Seriously! I love it, thank you.” He let out a grunt which you assumed translated to, you're welcome, and took a seat next to you. 

He gestured to the DVD still in your hand and asked, “Are you snoopin’ through my stuff?”

“Just wanted to see what kind of movies you like,” you giggled at his accusatory tone. 

“I haven’t even watched all a’ that one, had to bail my brother out o’ jail halfway through,” the annoyance was clear in his tone, “on my birthday, no less.”

“What did he do?” you asked eagerly, your eyebrows raised in curiosity. 

“It was a bar fight,” he explained, “apparently some guy was gettin’ handsy with the waitress so he stepped in and it got out of hand.” He shrugged after explaining, as if he didn’t care why his brother was arrested, just that he had to bail him out on his birthday, half way through the cinematic excellence of Curtis and Viper 2. 

“So your brother’s a knight in shining armour, is what you're saying?” You asked teasingly, subtly moving closer towards him. 

“Enough about my brother,” he smirked, knocking back the rest of his drink before continuing, “now that I’ve had my drink, I want a taste of you,” he said before kissing you, swallowing the gasp you released. He pulled away, asked if you were comfortable and reassured you that you could stop at any time, before continuing his invasion of your lips. 

Joel was quickly stepping into his second persona as his desire grew, he was kissing you roughly, taking off your clothes and ordering you around. He stood up and, looking down at you said, “hands and knees.” 

And then you found yourself in a compromising position with your clothes long forgotten. Your knees were on the sofa, your elbows resting on the back with your back arched, ass in the air as a fully clothed Joel massaged your cheeks, groaning at the view of your soaked centre as he pulled them apart, spreading you open. 

He gives a light slap to your ass, and upon hearing your low moan he slaps the other side, a little bit harder this time. He kept going until your breath was shaky and you were letting out quiet whimpers at every slap, you were so needy you were ready to beg him to touch you where you needed him most. You let out a desperate, “Please,” and looked over your shoulder at Joel, whose eyes were glued to your glistening pussy.

“You want me to touch you, sweetheart?” He looked into your eyes and smirked, they told him that he had you exactly where he wanted you, needy and desperate for his touch.

“Please touch me, Joel,” you begged, breathless and impatient, wishing that Joel would give up the teasing and make your legs shake instead. He didn’t speak, but swiped a lonely finger up your slit, exploring your folds only for a few seconds, taking in your grateful sounds before removing his finger and going back to spanking you, hard. You could do nothing but let out surprised yelps following each sporadic slap, enjoying the sting of his palm on your skin, your wetness now dripping, spreading to your inner thighs. “Joel, please,” you begged again, feeling as though you were praying to a higher power for just a crumb, a morsel more of Joel, “I need it.” 

“Oh, you need it, baby?” He asked innocently, clearly trying to rile you up as much as possible, wanting you to be completely desperate for his touch. You looked at him over your shoulder and nodded, your brows knitted together in frustration. “Words, sweetheart,” he said, “tell me how much you need it.”

“I need it Joel. I need it,” you said, begging urgently now, craving his touch, “need it so bad Joel, please touch me, I’ll do anything.”

Joel hummed while trailing his thumb through your folds before circling your clit slowly, earning a long moan from you, finally appeased after what felt like hours of teasing. To your frustration and disappointment, his thumb left your clit before you could even get close to coming, and trailed upwards, before sinking knuckle deep inside of you. You whimpered, loving that even his thumb stretched you out. He thrusted his thumb in and out of you once, twice before removing it and trailing it upwards, stopping at your other hole and gently circling it, his touch feather light and barely there. You gasped in surprise and the circling stopped immediately. “Is this ok?” he asked quietly, his voice reassuring and you knew that if you said no, he would immediately back down and wouldn’t pressure you into anything. While you had never indulged in ass play, your stomach flipped and your pussy fluttered with a delicious feeling of anticipation while your lips let out a hushed yes. 

“Look at me when you talk to me,” he said, his voice a low growl which only made you wetter. 

You turned around, looked him right in the eye and spoke in the most confident voice you could muster, “I want your thumb in my ass, Joel.”

“Oh, fuck,” he groaned at your response, the circling of your puckered hole resuming immediately, his eyes flicking back and forth from your face to where his thumb was caressing. His eyes found a home on your face when you let out a sigh at his touch, “You’re so beautiful, sweetheart,” he brought another thumb to your clit, circling it in time with the circles on your tighter hole, making your eyes flutter closed, “so, so beautiful.”

His sweet words made your heart squeeze and your cunt flutter. How could he be so impossibly sweet at a moment so dirty? How could he have such a tight grasp on your heart in such little time? His ministrations were hurling you towards the edge, he had you gasping for breath and releasing throaty whines, all while looking back at him, looking straight at you. Until he stopped circling your clit and removing his thumb from your pussy, his other thumb was still working your ass. You were prepared to beg once more, but you clamped your mouth shut before the words could leave your lips as his tongue left fast kitten licks on your clit. 

“Oh, Joel,” you moaned as he sucked your clit into his mouth and pushed his thumb into your ass slowly, the delicious stretch mixed with his mouth encasing your clit had you running towards the cliff edge, wanting nothing more than to fall off. His tongue flicked your clit as he sucked, his thumb now thrusting in and out of your hole, and you could no longer contain yourself. Your legs were shaking, your head fell forwards to rest on the back of the couch, no longer able to hold it up. Your mouth was open, loud moans and whines leaving your lips, the noise surrounding you in the air, joining the obscene noise of his mouth on your cunt, mixed with his throaty groans. As you came down, Joel removed his thumb, leaving you empty, before going back to leaving feather light kitten licks on your clit, until your hips were lifting away from his mouth, completely overstimulated. He chuckled, leaving open mouth kisses on the backs of your thighs, before getting on his feet and trailing more open mouthed kisses up your back, gathering your hair and pulling you up with it so your back was flush to his chest, landing a passionate kiss on your lips. 

He broke the kiss but didn’t fully pull away, his lips were still only a breath away from yours. “I want your cock in my mouth,” you said against his lips, reaching your hand down to grab his hard cock from underneath his jeans, squeezing lightly, making Joel groan into your mouth. The resolve he had held so far was breaking down, the cards he held close to his chest being shown as he started grinding his cock into your hand, clearly just as desperate for your touch as you were for his. 

Joel picked up a pillow from the couch and placed it on the floor next to his feet before helping you up and off the couch and to your knees on the pillow. Now looking up at him, you watched as his thick fingers removed the button of his jeans and undid the zipper agonisingly slowly. You were craving the heavy weight of him on your tongue, craving his taste, craving his low groans. As he stepped out of his jeans and boxers, you looked up at him, his cock heavy between his legs and begging for your attention, begging for your touch. Reaching up, you held it at the base, making Joel hiss at your sudden touch. You reached your other hand up to his torso, touching his soft tummy underneath his shirt. “Take this off,” you whispered, “I want to see all of you.”

He quickly obeyed your request, taking off his shirt and granting you the beautiful view of Joel Miller in his glorious, naked form. He looked down at you, grabbed the base of himself, tapped his tip against your lips and said, “Open up, sweetheart,” with a smirk playing on his lips. You encased your mouth around the tip and sucked lightly, swirling your tongue around the tip at the same time, revelling in the sight of Joel’s head falling back and the appreciative grunts leaving his mouth. You gripped him at the base and squeezed, before quickly stroking what you didn't have in your mouth. “Fuck, sweetheart,” he said, his voice almost as low as a whisper, but still deep and sultry, “your mouth feels so good.” His praise made you want to take more into your mouth, to go faster, harder, whatever he needed to get there. You looked up at him to find him looking down at you as you worked him over, and he smiled before asking, “You think you can take all of me baby?” His voice made your pussy throb, and you realised that he could say anything to you, tell you to do anything in that voice and you would do it happily. You took him further into your mouth, trying your best to breathe through your nose and stop yourself from gagging. This effort was fruitless as Joel groaned and thrust his hips, his cock pushing into your throat and making you gag around his length, “Fuck, I’m sorry darlin,” he looked down at you apologetically. 

Spit was falling from the corners of your mouth as you responded, gasping for breath. “Keep going, Joel.” He looked at you with his eyebrows raised as if to say are you sure, but you had already taken him back into your mouth, garbling what was meant to sound like I’m sure. 

He groaned again and moved the strands of hair that fell in front of your face, gathering your hair again and holding it softly before fucking his cock into your mouth. “That’s it, atta girl,” he muttered in his low drawl, his eyes rolling back once more before landing on you again. “You look fucking beautiful with your mouth stuffed full o’ me, baby,” you were a slobbering, gagging mess, your mouth stretched wide around his cock, spit dribbling from the corners of your mouth, it was dirty, and messy and you couldn’t help but moan around his cock. Joel groaned at the sensation, muttering a, “good fucking girl,” under his breath before lifting your mouth off of his cock. “You’re gonna make me come if you keep doing that, sweetheart.” You looked up at him as if to say that's the point. “I wanna come in your pussy, not your mouth,” he responded to your wordless rebuttal, pulling you into a standing position by your elbows before gripping the backs of your knees with one hand and lifting you into his arms, carrying you bridal style up the stairs. You were a giggling mess the whole way up to his bedroom, unbelievably turned on by his strength and ability to navigate his way up the stairs while kissing you the whole way, with only one or two bumps on the way. 

He threw you onto the bed and swiftly turned you over so that you were lying on your stomach. “Hands and knees, baby,” he demanded, one that you obeyed in a heartbeat, arching your back and looking at him over your shoulder. He rolled a condom over his length and gathered the wetness from your cunt, lathering it over his cock before slapping his tip against your clit, making you jolt and moan in surprise. You opened your mouth to tell him to just put it in already, but a breathy moan left your mouth instead, as he pushed all the way inside of you in one, smooth thrust. With his hips flush to your backside, he groaned out your name, “you're so tight,” as he pulled all the way out, before thrusting all the way back in again, “so fuckin’ good.”

You moaned loudly, feeling every inch of him, every ridge and vein of his cock against your inner walls was amazing, but you needed more. You needed him fast and hard, you needed him in an animalistic way, in a way that you're sure you had never needed anyone else. “Please, Joel,” you whined while looking back at him, “I need more, I need it harder.” Giving into your whining, the man chuckled and sped up the pace of his thrusts, fucking you in earnest with his hands on your hips. 

“Is your lil’ hubby not fucking you right, sweetheart?” He growled out after a particularly hard thrust and you couldn’t help but moan at his filthy words. It turned you on that he said it, it turned you on even more that he was right. “Is that why you come to me, soaked through your panties?” His words made your walls tighten around his length involuntarily, his words were filthy and salacious. His words were also true and incredibly sexy. “Answer me,” his demand was accompanied by a hazard slap on your ass. The only answer you could give through the speed and depth of his thrusts was a loud, strained chant of yes yes yes. He bent over until his back was flush to your chest, pulled your face towards him and kissed you messily, before placing his middle finger in front of your lips and instructing you to “suck, baby.” You took his finger into your mouth, sucking on it as he told you to. You heard a whispered, “atta girl,” in your ear, the loss of his finger in your mouth quickly following the words as he straightened up, speeding up his thrusts again. You soon felt the now familiar finger of his finger circling your puckered hole, letting out a low, animalistic moan as he began to slowly push it in, revelling in the stretch of his finger in your ass. You felt so incredibly full, and it was a delicious fullness, you never wanted to be emptied of this fullness. His finger was now settled fully inside you, and your groan mixed with Joel’s, “I wish you could see what you look like right now, baby,” he muttered, his voice sounding almost like a whimper, “my filthy fuckin’ slut.”

You were sobbing and moaning, eyes watering from the intensity of your impending orgasm, unsure if your body was made to take this much pleasure at once. Deciding it definitely wasn’t, you try your best to speak. “I can’t take it Joel,” the words come out in a cry as Joel begins quickly rubbing tight circles into your clit, the finger in your ass now thrusting in and out at a fast pace. He knew you were close, and he was determined to get you there.

“Oh, yes you can, baby. Look at you, you're taking it so good,” he praised, his breathy voice making you drip. “C’mon, be my good girl and take it all,” he could tell that his filthy words were having an effect on you, your pussy closing in on his cock when he called you his good girl. 

You came with a long cry, your arms no longer being able to handle the weight of your body, your front collapsing on the bed, your cheek hitting the mattress as he continued using both of your holes mercilessly, his fingers not stopping their attack on your clit. 

Feeling you clench around him, he grew closer and closer to coming and started babbling incessantly, “that’s it baby, that's all you gotta do, just take what I give you.”

No longer able to hold off his orgasm he came with a low grunt, his hips smacking into even harder than before as he rode out his high, still praising you filthily, “my good little slut, you take it so good.” He gave a few shallow thrusts before pulling out, making you whimper at the loss, now feeling empty. Joel threw away the condom, gave you a gentle kiss on the forehead and disappeared to the bathroom. 

Hearing his footsteps returning, you rolled onto your back. Joel softly spread your legs, 

wiped your centre and inner thighs with a warm rag and, lying beside you, pulled you so close you could hear his heart beating. “So,” you began, unsure if you should bring this up, thinking that if he wanted to talk about it he would have now. Deciding to ask anyway, you continue, “is Sarah’s mom in the picture, or….” you trailed off, unsure how to finish that question. Regretting the question as soon as it left your mouth, you quickly added, “It’s ok if that's something you don’t want to talk about…. I’m just,” you trailed off again, worrying you’d crossed a line with your questioning. 

It was silent for a minute or so, save for Joel’s steady heartbeat in your ear from where your head rested on his chest, and Joel’s sigh as he traced circles on your shoulder with his fingertips. “She left when Sarah was a few months old….Just took all her stuff, left me a note and I never saw her again.” His voice was as steady as always, it was such a horrible thing to experience yet his voice held no pain, as if the pain had once consumed him so fully he never had the capacity to feel it again. 

“I’m so sorry she did that, Joel, I hope she’s sorry too.” This was the only thing you could think to say in the moment, but then again, what else was there to say? 

“If she knew anything about Sarah, she’d be pissed she spent the last fourteen years away from her,” his smile grew as he mentioned his daughter, “she’s the best thing that ever happened to me. It was hard, you know, being eighteen and a single dad but I got help from my brother. Wouldn’t change anything now.” The smile that inhabited his face when he spoke of his daughter was infectious, you had never met her, but you felt it would be a privilege to, merely based on Joel’s smile. 

“Can you tell me about her?” You asked, no longer feeling there were any boundaries or lines to cross between the two of you, and you were glad, because you wanted to know everything about him. Seeing him again and hearing him open up to you only deepened your interest, you felt a connection that you could barely explain. 

Joel turned his head to look at you and shifted slightly, so he was facing you properly, “She’s um, she’s smart as hell. Always readin’, you two would probably get along with your books and stuff,'  you interrupted him with a chuckle, delighting in the fact that you meeting his daughter crossed his mind, no matter how fleeting the thought. “She loves soccer and she's really good at it too. She's funny, always making jokes about my age and my back….. Sorry I'm rambling,” he trailed off, his cheeks growing red as you looked at him with a wide, toothy smile. Seeing this side of him, the side of him that was a caring, devoted father was new to you and you and you liked it, more than you felt you should. 

“You're not rambling, it’s sweet. I like listening to you,” it crossed your mind that you never learned his age, and so you asked with a curious tone, “how old are you exactly?” with a teasing smile. He responds with a smirk and a low chuckle, “Thirty four, darlin’. Why? That too old for ya’?” It was his turn to throw you a teasing smile as you shook your head, “And you?”.

You smiled, “Twenty nine.” he nodded, his fingertips tracing a trail down your arm from your shoulder, passed your forearms and down to your hand before interlocking your fingers with his. It made you smile, this show of physical touch, it made your heart race as you looked between your hand in his and his face, still looking at yours. While looking at his hand your eyes trailed down to his wrist and noticed that the band of his watch was escaping the buckle. With the hand that wasn’t being swallowed by his massive one, you fed the band of the watch through the buckle properly, ensuring it was tight enough to avoid falling from his wrist. 

“And you know, she fixed me this watch for my birthday,” he nodded his head towards the watch, “sure, she stole the money out of my drawer to fix it but she knew I wouldn’t do it myself. She’s like that, she’s thoughtful and kind, even if I’m always busy with work and ….not as present as I should be.” His eyes saddened as he finished speaking, his voice straining slightly. It was hard seeing a man who had fathered a child with no help from the mother for the last fourteen years, work full time to provide for her and still feel bad about his parenting skills. His love for her shone through his words like sunlight beams through blinds and his fear of shortcomings was only another piece of evidence of his love for his daughter.

“You provide for her, you care for her and you love her, Joel,” you said while moving your hand up to cup his cheek, forcing him to look into your eyes as you tried your best to reassure him that he did enough. “I’m sure Sarah appreciates everything you do for her.”

Joel said nothing, he only held his hand up to your cheek and kissed you, a soft, meaningful kiss. A kiss that said thank you, and expressed all the emotions he felt but didn’t think he could speak. The room was silent for a while after that, you both did nothing other than hold each other close, steal kisses in the moonlit room and savour each other's innocent touches. 

The silence was eventually broken by a quiet question, “Are you happy?” You had no idea where his question had come from, or what he meant by it. 

“What do you mean?”

“With him. Does he make you happy?” You felt almost paralysed with shock at his question. Although you knew the answer to his question, hearing it from Joel made you unsure how to answer. Of course you weren’t happy with him, if you were you wouldn’t be here right now, in Joel’s house, in Joel’s bed, in Joel’s arms. But you had always heard that it wasn’t that simple, that marriage was full of ups and downs, that it took work, that you wouldn’t always be happy. 

“It’s not that simple, Joel,” you said while averting your eyes from his, looking down, not wanting to see his face when he realised you were staying in a marriage you weren’t happy in. 

“So you're not happy with him?” He did not sound accusatory or judgemental, only empathetic, and you were unsure which one you would have preferred. You didn't answer, you couldn't answer him. You only looked at him, and he held your gaze, pulling you impossibly closer to his chest. Your heart melted at his attempt to comfort you, an attempt that was successful as soon as you were enveloped into his warm embrace. 

“You deserve better than that, deserve better than to be unhappy,” he muttered into your ear while stroking your back softly. It had been so long since you had felt this kind of warmth and affection, since you’d felt this comfortable and safe. 

“I know, but I’m scared,” you admitted, your voice quiet and trembling as he listened intently. It surprised you how comfortable you felt with Joel, you barely knew him, and yet you felt comfortable bearing your true, innermost thoughts and feelings to him. Your marriage problems were a subject you hadn’t fully revealed to anyone, not even your closest friends, yet here you were, practically bearing your soul to Joel, the man you only met a week ago, and hoping your naked, true form wouldn’t scare him away. 

“We’ve been together for twelve years, Joel. I might not be happy anymore, I might not even love him anymore but my whole adult life has centred around him.” You expelled a sigh before continuing, “The thought of being alone for the first time in twelve years is terrifying and…I’m just not sure if I can do it.” 

“Being alone is scary, but would you rather be alone and happy, or miserable with him for the rest o’ your life?” He kissed your cheek before continuing, “Besides, you’re not totally alone without him, you know that right?” His words were enough to bring tears to your eyes, your cheeks quickly wetting with the streams of your teardrops running down them. Joel kissed them away, pulling you closer, though it didn't feel possible before. 

“I kind of have a …. confession,” you hesitated, you wanted to tell him the whole truth of the situation but you were worried about his reaction, worried he would pull away from you. His look of confusion only added to your apprehension. “I haven’t been completely honest about the agreement I have with my husband.” He craned his neck further from you, allowing him to look at you head on as you spoke. “I can sleep with other men but we have rules too, and I've broken the rules with you.”

“What are the rules?” He asked with his brows furrowed, patiently awaiting an answer. 

“I can’t stay over after sex, I can’t sleep with the same guy more than once, and I can’t do it behind his back,” you stated, unconsciously avoiding his eye, “I’m meant to tell him everytime I see someone, but I didn’t tell him about tonight. I didn’t even tell him about the last time.”

“Why not?” The furrow in his brow had not relaxed, you couldn’t tell if he was confused or angry, his face concealed the exact emotion he felt. 

“I didn’t want to tell him that I’d had the best sex of my life while he was on a work trip.” Your explanation caused the return of his smirk, but only momentarily. 

“So, is that why you saw me again? Because of the sex?” His voice was small, he sounded shy as he asked the question, the question you had wanted to ask him. 

“No,” you said quickly, “not just the sex.”

“So why break the rules for me?” His question was a loaded one, a gun full of bullets, and your answer would pull the trigger. 

“You’re different,” you tried to explain, “I’m not sure I've ever felt so connected to somebody in such little time. I’d be an idiot not to see you again.”

Joel smiled and kissed your cheek, “I like that answer,” was the only response he gave to your explanation before murmuring a quick goodnight and closing his eyes, effectively ending the conversation and leaving you completely bewildered. You had pulled the trigger and he had dodged the bullet. 

—--------------------------

The next morning, you left Joel’s house in a hurry, you politely refused his offers of coffee, breakfast and a ride home, claiming you had things to do and needed to go. Your confusion had kept you awake until late last night, your wandering mind refused to rest. Your confession had changed everything and you felt like an idiot. Of course he didn't say he felt the same way! This is only the second time you’ve met the guy and you’re already talking about how strong of a connection you feel. 

On your way home, you couldn’t help but try and pinpoint exactly what you felt for Joel. You knew it wasn’t just sexual, although the sexual connection was certainly alive and well, you felt more than that for him. You had feelings for him, although you were unsure what the feelings were, the presence of feelings was undeniable, for you, at least. Joel’s response last night made you feel as though he was only looking for sex from you, despite his actions saying differently. You were so taken aback that he had opened up to you last night, and closed off not long after. “I like that answer,” didn’t confirm if he felt the same way and you were sure that if he did feel the same way he would have said so. You thought that you shared an unexplainable connection, currents running between you, drawing you together. But now, you were unable to resist the voice in your head that told you it wasn’t like that for him, that to Joel you were nothing but a fuck, or that he liked thought of fucking someone else’s wife. Maybe he saw you as a trophy on a shelf, the unhappy, married woman. 

Thank you so much for reading!!

Read part 3 here

Tags :

@untamedheart81 @smol-beb @harriedandharassed @southernbe

@urfknlame @sheepdogchick3 @csarab615 @janellesbody

[rorywritesjunk]

No longer locked upon the land but free on the rolling waves

You and Buggy come face to face with himself from the past, and while you’re fully accepting that this is your husband as a child, Buggy doesn’t want to accept it.

Rating: PG-13ish, but just due to some swearing.

Warning: Upset kid, upset husband. Reader is way too nice, doesn’t necessarily take husband’s feelings into account as well.

A/N: A combined request. I did a few versions of this story before feeling like it hit the marks I was wanting to hit. Also, I’m just trying to vibe off what I’ve seen of Kid Buggy. I’m no expert. I’d protect that kid with my life. He’s so adorable. I also like the trope of “Meeting your self from another time” and “gets turned back into kid-self”. This is the former, and I know shit about time travel but I just kind of made something up. This story has also been a lot of fun to work on and the reaction from people has been lovely, thank you! There's at least one more chapter (unless I get a surge and suddenly write way more), but I may write a few one shots about Buggy and his wife because I've come to adore her a lot. Title comes from "Sailing Song" by S.J. Tucker.

Chapter 1 + Chapter 2 + Chapter 3 + Chapter 4 + Chapter 5 + Chapter 6/Epilogue

TAGLIST: @lostfirefly @misadventures0fdes @sylum @valen-yamyam16 @dohkyu @fluffybunnyu @skyofsteel @lavalampskyy @gingernut1314 @ane5e

Chapter Four

“Is he mad at me?” Buggy asked when the two of you were in the kitchen together. He was helping you make dinner; you gave him the task of cutting up carrots while you cut up onions and celery to throw in a large pot. Neither of you saw Buggy ever since the kid asked him about Shanks, and that was a few hours ago. He thought maybe he was in trouble, that the captain was mad at him for asking those questions. 

“No, he isn’t.” You assured him as you wiped your knife on your apron. “Shanks is… a sensitive subject for him. I don’t even know what happened, but don’t worry, okay?” You smiled and took one of the pieces of carrot, popping it into your mouth. “I know the captain enjoyed showing the place off to you, y’know.”

“I liked seeing everything, especially those Buggy Balls!” Buggy grinned. “Can we fire one out of a cannon?”

“Oh uh, maybe?” You munched on the carrot as you took what he cut up so far, dumping them into the pot. “We’ll ask the captain next time we see him.”

Buggy nodded, watching the veggies get stirred in the pot for a bit before looking back up at you. “How long do I get to stay with you?”

That was a question you were waiting for but didn’t want to hear asked because you weren’t sure how to answer it. You didn’t know how long he would be with you, but what would get him home? Maybe tomorrow you could head back into town with him, see if anything can trigger his return, but part of you wanted to keep him around. Admittedly, that was a selfish want. He needed to return home because he had his own timeline to live through, and if he stayed here could it mess something up. 

You smiled at him and shrugged. “I dunno, but maybe tomorrow we head into town where we met and see if anything happens. I bet you wanna head home.”

“Yea…” He trailed off, looking back down at the veggies. “But if I could stay… I think I would.”

That was a knife to the heart again, because you would let him stay if you could. You’d give him the love and attention you knew he deserved, support his dreams and endeavors, everything. 

But he couldn’t stay. He needed to return home and that broke your heart. You just smiled at him and tossed some salt and pepper into the pot before pouring in some water.

“If you could, I know you would, and I’d be fine with that, Buggy.” You replied as you gave the pot a good stir before putting the lid on. “But… you have to go home at some point, because I don’t… know what could happen if you stay.” Turning to face him, you suddenly pulled him into your arms and hugged him. “I have loved having you around, you know. You’re a wonderful kid.”

He allowed the hug for a moment before pulling away, crossing his arms as he turned red. You chose not to say anything, instead just smiling and standing back up. He eyed you before bolting out of the kitchen all of a sudden, catching you off guard. What just happened? Did you upset him? 

Your husband entered the kitchen at that moment, looking in the direction the kid ran off too. “What just happened?”

“I don’t know.” You said with a frown. “I hugged him and called him wonderful, then he took off.”

“Huh.” Adult Buggy shrugged and went over to the stove to see what was being made for dinner. As he lifted the lid off, seeing the soup starting to slowly simmer, the kid came rushing back in with something in his hand. Buggy frowned at his younger self. “What’s going on?”

The kid looked him up and down before turning to you, holding something in his hands. He looked smug as he grabbed your hand and placed the item into it. You were confused for a moment, and when he pulled his hand back and you saw what it was, you almost dropped it. You had completely forgotten about the pendant and this was the first time you really got to see it up close and you nearly dropped it in surprise. 

“Consider this my proposal for when we meet again.” He said, looking quite proud of himself as he crossed his arms. Your husband’s jaw dropped and he raised the lid up, looking like he was going to throw it at him. You intervened and pocketed the pendant, kneeling down in front of the kid once more. It was hard not to laugh because the look of pride on the kid’s face was the same one you saw on a certain pirate captain when he asked you to marry him years ago, except you were given a bouquet of flowers with no petals (having been destroyed after he stole them and ran off with them) and a ring with a rock the size of his nose (also stolen). 

“Thank you, it’s lovely.” You told him; your husband grumbled and put the lid back. He wouldn’t risk hitting you with it by accident. You leaned over and gave the kid a kiss on the cheek, choosing not to comment further when his face turned bright red. Instead, you stood up and patted him on the head. “I’ll treasure it, Buggy.”

The kid side-eyed the husband, smirking at him despite blushing brightly. The little shit, he should have at least kept it until he met you later on. It didn’t make sense to give it to you now while you were already married to his adult self, but Adult Buggy didn’t say anything after you gave him that look that told him to keep his mouth shut or there would be consequences since he would likely say something stupid. Grumbling, he decided to take a seat at the table instead, the kid taking the seat across from him. He glared at the kid and the kid just smirked. To you, this was just hilarious but you were doing your best not to start laughing. 

~

You allowed them to fire one Buggy Ball out to the water after dinner and that was it. There was to be no town destroying during this trip and the identical grumpy looks from the two of them was amusing, but you put your foot down. You even stood by, watching to make sure it was just one, and the look of excitement on the kid’s face almost made you cave to allow a second one, but you remained strong. You didn’t cave, even when the two of them gave you doe eyes after your husband asked if they could. 

And you decided to allow it after reminding the captain that it was wasting ammo, and that a demonstration was one thing, but now it was just a waste. He hated it when you pointed those things out. Reluctantly, he decided not to fire off a second one, much to his and the kid’s disappointment.

As it grew later into the evening, you decided it was time to settle in for the night. The kid was easier to get ready for bed than your own husband, but you knew the captain also needed to make sure the crew had taken care of the ship for the night as well. 

The pendant was still in your pocket from the kid’s little proposal, the weight of it a reminder from a moment in your own past. You got the kid ready for bed but you didn’t change into your own sleep clothes, which he noticed and frowned at.

“You’re not ready for bed.” He pointed out as you tucked him under the covers. He reached out and grabbed your arm. “Are you leaving?”

“What? No, no.” You shook your head as you sat down on the edge of the bed. “I promise I’m not leaving the ship tonight, Buggy.” You reached over and touched his cheek softly with your free hand and he let go of you. “I need to go talk to my husband about something, but I won’t leave the room until you fall asleep, okay?”

Buggy wasn’t sure about that. You were constantly around, but now you were going to leave him alone in your room? You saw the hesitation on his face and sighed softly. “Promise I’ll be here when you wake up in the morning, but if you wake up after I leave the room tonight, you can come find me. I’ll just be out on deck with the captain, okay? I won’t be mad if you need me, Buggy.”

That seemed to help. The kid just nodded and settled down under the covers, pulling them up to his nose. You leaned down and kissed him on the forehead before straightening back up. “How about you tell me another story about your time on the Oro Jackson?”

He beamed and nodded, launching into a story about some mischief him and Shanks got into. He yawned a few times while telling it, and it wasn’t too long before his eyes closed and he fell asleep. You made sure he was comfortable, watching him for a few minutes while he slept before getting up and heading to the doorway. You looked back once more, making sure he was asleep before you left the room to go find your husband.

The captain was on deck, arms crossed as several crewmen lingered about, no doubt on the night watch shift. He glanced back at you when he heard you approach, holding his arm out to you to pull you close to him. He shrugged his captain’s coat off, draping it over you as you reached into your pocket and pulled the pendant out, holding it up to him. He frowned as he looked down at it. 

It was an oval shape, cut from a piece of moss agate that when you held it up to the light, it was as though you were looking up at the sun through a thick forest of tall trees. You remember watching your father cut down and smooth the stone out to the shape it was while your mother fastened a chain to it, creating a lovely necklace for anyone who desired it. You remember it being on the table at their booth along with other pieces, but after a group walked past the table, it was missing. You remember being mad that it happened but your parents just shrugged it off, not bothered by the missing piece.

Now you had it in your hand over twenty five years later. 

“What’s this?” Your husband asked as he took it out of your hand, frowning as he looked at it. He studied it for a moment, eyes widening slowly as he started to remember what it was. “This-”

“Mhm, my parents had it on the edge of their table, making it a prime target for anyone with sticky fingers to steal it.” You told him as you took it out of his hand and stuck it back into your pocket. “Didn’t think my husband was the one who stole it.”

“I-I-”

“Buggy, it’s okay.” You chuckled at the look of panic on his face. Did he think you were going to divorce him over something petty he did to your family as a kid? “I wanted to show it to you, but… I wanted to ask you something.”

“Anything.” He blurted out, trying to mask the concern on his face after seeing that pendant. “Whatever you want, babe, just don’t… ask for a divorce, please.”

“No, I’m not asking for a divorce.” You assured him, wrapping your arms around him. “But… I’m just curious what happened to you as a kid. Do you… remember any of this happening?” 

He stared down at you and you tightened your arms around him, thinking he would bolt from you. Minutes went by before he finally shook his head and you frowned. He didn’t remember any of this, really?

“What… do you remember?” 

He hesitated for a moment, checking his surroundings for a moment to make sure no one else was listening. The crewmen paid you no mind, knowing better than to stare or make any comments about the two of you when there was any sort of display of affection between the two of you. After what felt like an eternity, your husband sighed and just shrugged.

“I remember snatching the pendant off the table when we walked past, and I was a few steps ahead of everyone.” He reached up and rubbed his face while you continued watching him, resting your chin against his chest as you listened to him talk. “There was some kind of light and… I walked into it, but there was just a moment of darkness, like I blinked or something, and then I was back and nowhere near the crew without the pendant. They said they lost sight of me for about fifteen or twenty minutes, but they weren’t worried.”

“They weren’t worried?” You repeated with a frown. “A kid under their watch disappears for that long and they weren’t worried?”

“We’re pirates, it didn’t matter-”

“It matters to me.” You said firmly. “Pirates or not, you were a kid who got lost and ended up somewhere new and scary, Buggy. I can’t… I can’t even imagine what that would have been like.” You huffed, releasing your hold on him just a bit. “Were… you scared of the kid because of what had happened to you back then? About not remembering what happened?”

He nodded slowly. You reached up and put your hands on his cheeks, bringing his head down to kiss him. You were trying not to lose your head at that moment because the love you had for him was a lot. You’d level a city to get to him, burn down a town, and if you had the chance you’d go back with the kid and give that crew a talking to about how to handle a missing kid. It wasn’t right, fair, anything and your heart hurt knowing this. Every kid deserved love, to feel safe and protected, and here your husband just told you that the adults he knew just shrugged off the fact that he had been missing for just a few minutes, while the kid in your care had been with you almost three days. 

You really wondered if you could sneak back in the timeline with the kid and give them a piece of your mind.

Your husband pulled back from the kiss first, a grin on his face as one of his hands went to your back, pulling your body closer to his. 

“It’s fine now, babe, I’m fine.” He insisted as his hand slid down your back. “Seeing the kid was just… startling.”

“You threw him overboard.” You reminded him as his hand stopped at the base of your spine.

He rolled his eyes. “Stop bringing that up.” 

“Don’t attempt to grab my ass when I’m being serious with you.” You shot back. 

“Now hang on-”

“What’re you two arguing about?” 

The two of you turned and saw the kid glaring sleepily in your direction. You pulled away from your husband and went over to him, lifting him up into your arms as he wrapped himself around you. With one arm you held him while the other pulled the coat off and draped it over him, wanting to make sure he was warm.

“Are you okay?” You asked him as you hugged him. He let his head drop onto your shoulder, nodding sleepily. “Come on, let’s go back to bed. I’m tired too.”

Your husband wanted to protest, he wanted more time with you, but the kid locked eyes with him and smirked. Oh, that little shit. Buggy huffed angrily, he would not be competing with a kid for your attention, but he was also very clingy of his wife, just like the kid was in this moment, and he would very much be ready to compete for your attention if needed.

“Buggy, come on, time for bed.” You called to him with a smile as you headed to the bedroom. The kid stuck his tongue out at the captain and he bristled angrily, ready to throw the kid overboard again if he needed to. Grumbling something about bratty kids, Buggy followed after you, wondering if he could throw the kid overboard without you noticing. 

[penkura]

last forever [5/13]

Summary: Zoro only offered to marry you to keep you out of an arranged marriage with a man much older than you. You agreed with the caveat of ending it via annulment once you received word from your parents regarding the original engagement, despite your growing feelings for your close friend.

Pairing: Zoro x Fem!reader, mentioned Sanami later (like epilogue later so chill)

Warnings: Marriage of Convenience, Fake Marriage, referenced sex (waaaaaay later on), mutual pining, Zoro is bad at feelings but what's new there, eventual romance I promise, mention of past attempted assault (I'll warn in that chapter), creepy older dude later on

Note: Only three hours late, that's not so bad haha. I had fun with this one, adding in how our couple met, I was going to do it as a flashback but I couldn't get it to work in my head how I wanted, so it's here differently. I'm a little mean to Reader at the end, or, well, Zoro is, but he has his reasons. Things will be okay, I promise.

[Ch. 1] ● [Ch. 2] ● [Ch. 3] ● [Ch. 4]

Honestly, at this point, you shouldn’t be surprised at Zoro’s tendency to get badly injured from his own stupidity at times. Little Garden ended up being more than just an island you all passed through, with giants and more Baroque Works agents, you’d even been caught by Mr. 3 and nearly turned into a wax statue, joining Nami and Vivi shouting at Zoro that he was being an idiot with his threats to cut his own legs off at the ankle to fight the agents there.

You were relieved when Luffy and Usopp showed up, stopping your husband from doing anything ridiculous. Once the four of you had been freed and Sanji showed up, explaining where in the hell he’d been, you grabbed onto Zoro’s shirt, making him look at you while you give him a blank stare.

“…what?”

“Sit down. You need stitches. Again.”

Rolling his eyes, Zoro does listen to you, sitting down nearby the rest of your friends as they discuss your next course of action and Dory and Broggy offer to help you all leave. Vivi comes over and watches you as you stitch up Zoro’s ankles, looking impressed by your quick work and how you don’t even look a bit squeamish about it.

You just shrug when she comments.

“I’ve gotten used to it. This guy’s an idiot—”

“Hey.”

“—so I’ve had to learn to fix him up.”

Vivi laughs a bit and nods, seeming to understand. Once you’ve finished and out your small kit away, you just give Zoro a smile when he quietly thanks you, before you walk back over to the rest of your crew. You hang close to Sanji and it again causes a strange ache in Zoro’s chest, he has to bite his lip to make it stop.

You’ve started spending so much more time with your cook, he should be happy about it, maybe you’re starting to have feelings for Sanji. Some of your free time is now spent in the kitchen, if Zoro walks by he hears you laughing most of the time. The weird feeling in his chest moves to his stomach when he hears you, he’s still not sure if it’s annoyance at you and Sanji getting close or jealousy at the situation.

Shaking his head, Zoro pushes the feelings away and goes to join you all to leave.

What the hell is wrong with me?

+!+

When Nami comes down with a strange illness after you leave, leading to your crew trying to find an island with a doctor, you all take your turns watching over and caring for her. You hope and pray you all reach an island and find a doctor quickly, you don’t want to lose one of your best friends. The boys freaking out about it doesn’t help at all, leaving you and Vivi to really care for Nami and try to help her get better. Every second her fever doesn’t go down scares you, it’s worse if it’s gone up even a tiny bit.

You know nothing about medicine, it’s something your mother thought was useless for you to know. All you needed to know was how to bandage yourself or your future kids up, that’s it. She really treated you like you were made of glass at times, you always wondered if that was due to how late in her life you’d been born. Whatever the reason, you’re happy to help Nami right now, to try and make her feel better.

When you and Vivi switch off one night, instead of heading to bed like you should, you choose to go up to the crow’s nest where Zoro’s taken the first watch of the night. You stopped in the kitchen before heading up to bring something to drink with you, grabbing a coat on the way since you’re in a colder area right now.

Once you make it up the ladder, you poke your head in and give Zoro a smile when he looks at you with a raised eyebrow.

“What?”

“Wanna share a drink?”

You aren’t surprised when he seems to light up briefly at the mention of sake, nodding you over to sit by him, handing over the bottle you’d gotten from Sanji while you made yourself comfortable beside Zoro. You’re still not used to the burn of alcohol but still take a big a drink when Zoro hands the bottle to you, passing it back to him. The only reason you started drinking was because Zoro had bet you to do so on your eighteenth birthday, promising you he’d give you money if you did it, so you took a few shots that were given to you, quickly regretting it when you threw it all up outside the tavern you two had been in. He may have lost the bet but at least he was nice enough to hold your hair back and get you to your hotel room without much trouble, and you did get your money a few days later.

“I meant to thank you for the other day.”

“Huh?”

“In Loguetown when we ran into Elias,” Zoro barely looks at you, but you pay him no mind, instead watching the light snow fall against the midnight sky, “For not telling him the truth about, you know, us.”

Shrugging, Zoro takes another swig of drink, before offering it back to you which you decline.

“Wasn’t any reason to tell him. Don’t need him telling your parents the truth.”

“He wouldn’t have, but I get what you mean.”

Zoro nods, partially believing you just from the one meeting with your brother and the things you’ve told him. You were a surprise to your parents, coming along when Elias was ten-years-old, your parents in their late thirties and not planning to have another child. Elias was enthralled with you once you were born, he’d protected you from everything, especially once you turned fifteen and your parents started to sift through possible suitors. According to you, he was pissed when your parents chose someone even older than him, promising he’d never leave you alone with the man and eventually helping you run away in the dead of night.

You two were close despite your age difference.

“You know,” you draw Zoro back to paying attention to you when you speak again, “Taking care of Nami reminds me of how you took care of me when we first met. Remember?”

Your smile as you ask makes him feel like his stomach is doing flips, it must be the alcohol doing that he thinks, but he still nods a bit.

How could he forget that?

You were unexpected to him too, running into a rundown bar so quickly you’d slammed into Zoro, making him grab your arms to keep you upright as you tried to apologize but your mouth felt like it was full of cotton, you don’t even know if actual words came out. You were burning up from a fever and passed out while Zoro kept you upright. The bar owner was nice enough to put you up in a room while you recovered, and he still isn’t sure why he did it, but Zoro took care of you the entire time. Johnny and Yosaku had been there at the same time, helping out by bringing any medicine they thought would help, getting a doctor to come check on you only to confirm you had pneumonia but that you’d be fine after a few more days of medicine and rest.

Once you were better, you were so grateful to the three men that you offered to give them whatever money you had on you, which they all rejected, you definitely needed it more. You kept the truth about why you were running into a bar in your state to yourself, eventually making an offer to Zoro only that you could travel with and help him, but he'd only agree to that if you beat him in a small sparring match, he’d noticed your sword right away.

Of course you lost, but you both had a great time, to the point Zoro let you tag along the last year and a half, he helped you improve your skills and you’re still so grateful to him for everything.

The second you shiver form the cold you’re about to go back down to sleep, before Zoro moves his arm to open the blanket around him and nod you over again.

Smiling again, you scoot over and sit right up beside him, practically flush against his side when he brings his arm back down around you. You’re both used to this, used to coming to each other for simple things like warmth or food, even with the rest of your crew. It’s leftover from when it was just the two of you.

Zoro doesn’t want this to go further past your friendship and being crewmates, not now. Neither of you can or should be thinking about romance, that’s Sanji’s job.

So why does he feel disappointed when you finally go down to the bunks?

+!+

After leaving Drum Island with Nami well and Chopper aboard as your doctor, you’ve started to have a tiny second shadow following you around. The reindeer taking a liking to you right away, starting to follow you around the ship after you’d given him the initial tour. He's started staying close to you and showing you how to make medicine and dress wounds, teaching you more than you ever could’ve imagined knowing.

Chopper has also started bringing you with him to nap with Zoro, your swordsman almost rejecting it at first, before Chopper pulls you to sit beside him while your doctor lays across Zoro’s lap. It makes you laugh as Zoro tries not to have any eye contact with you. Can’t let you see him being all soft and stuff about Chopper now.

You don’t say anything about it, especially once you all make it to Nanohana and do your shopping to find desert and heat safe outfits, though you feel like you’re going to suffocate at times, you’ll be glad to avoid a severe sunburn or heat stroke.

Then you all met Luffy’s big brother Ace.

You remember seeing him in the paper before back home, briefly, the thought in your mind that wow, he’s attractive but it’s not like you’d ever meet him.

The universe laughs at you constantly, you swear, especially when it seems like Ace starts to flirt with you as he joins you all for a bit on your journey to Erumalu. You feel like you have a never-ending blush on your face and it makes Ace laugh when you shove his arm after he says something to you about how shy you seem.

“You’re so cute! I can’t believe you’re on my brother’s crew!”

“Stoooop, you’re making me blush even more!”

You do laugh alongside Ace, he’s easy to be around. Comfortable and almost familiar, you’d say. It reminds you of time spent with Elias, though, without the flirty comments. Ace throws an arm around your shoulders, trying to keep his voice down even though your crewmates are all over the place at this point either partying or sleeping nearby, in Zoro’s case.

“So, you got someone special to you or do I have a chance?”

You hum, pretending to think before giving Ace a smile after you take a sip of your fancy drink Sanji made for you girls.

“Sorry, I got my eyes on someone else.”

“A shot to the heart!” Ace throws his head back as you laugh, double checking that Zoro’s still asleep in case Ace asks you for details, “Just don’t say it’s Luffy, I couldn’t handle losing out to my brother.”

“No, no,” Shaking your head, you watch Ace as he seems to perk back up knowing it’s not your captain you’ve got the hots for, “Definitely not Luffy.”

“Is it a secret then? Promise I won’t tell nobody.”

Ace leans on close to you, your face still warm from either the sun or your blushing you aren’t sure, but the few glances you take towards Zoro tell him the answer, making him grin.

“Ooh him huh? Yeah, I can see it.”

“S-See what??”

“You guys, together. Does he not like you back?”

You wish you hadn’t been so obvious, but you shrug a bit, shake your head, then groan and hide your face behind your drink.

“I…don’t know…he’s not really the romance type.”

Nodding a little, Ace keeps his arm around you and pulls away just a bit, he’s probably making you more nervous that you already were by being so close to your face. He hasn’t known you for more than a day at this point, but he’s been able to see you and Zoro seemingly drawn to each other most of the time, or Chopper does it for shade or to be carried by one of you because of the heat.

Maybe your face is warn more from a blush than from the sun after all.

“I bet he’ll come around. You’re cute, he’d be lucky to have you.”

You almost drop your glass at that.

When Ace leaves you all the next morning, you feel sad at the fact he’s going on his own again, but when Luffy says you’ll all see him again, you agree with a smile. Zoro watches you, wondering how you’d gotten so close to Ace in such a short time, but he realizes that’s just you.

Despite your past with your parents, you trust far too easily at times. Granted, Ace is a good guy, but Zoro worried that it’s going to get you, all of you, into trouble one day.

Though, it’s more likely to be because of Luffy than you.

+!+

Alabasta is finally free from Crocodile a few days later, thanks to your crew and Vivi’s work. You’ve all been granted stay at the palace to recuperate, all of you sustaining major injuries though some were starting to heal faster than others. Luffy spent a couple days sleeping but was now up and ready to party as Alabasta celebrated their freedom.

Your worry for Zoro at the time had kept you attached to his side for the most part, latching onto his arm enough that he’d gone from flinching at the contact to quietly removing your hands from him, he doesn’t want you that attached to him, you get it, kind of.

It still hurts when he does it, Sanji sees it on your face more than anyone else. Zoro had protected you at points during the attacks going on, until you all separated to battle different members of Baroque Works, you ending up trying to stop several of the fights between Alabastan army members and the rebel forces, a few of them not taking that kindly and turning their weapons towards you. Most of your wounds were stabbings or slashes, a deep one on your abdomen that Chopper fixed up no problem.

After you’ve all healed enough to join in the celebrations, that’s just what you do, even with the Navy around. Sanji drags you along to dance with him, trying to keep you distracted from Zoro, though you gravitate towards him anyway. It’s like in Cocoyashi, you just lean against the wall Zoro’s placed himself at, giving a smile while you talk to him, brushing your arm against his whether by accident or on purpose. You’ve brought him another drink too, it makes Sanji scrunch his face in annoyance, only because it seems like Zoro just doesn’t care, like he’s that oblivious to your crush on him.

And maybe he is, the blond isn’t sure, even when you look a bit dejected and return to his side for a just moment, to tell him you’re going back to the palace to up to rest for a bit. You’ve gotten tired from the party and need a few minutes. Sanji promises to come get you after a little while, which you thank him for as you leave.

He has a half a mind to tell Zoro to go with you, but by the time he looks back, the swordsman is gone.

+!+

“Why are you up here?”

You hum a but, turning and giving Zoro a smile. Yes it was late, normally you'd be asleep, but Alabasta was still awake, having a party to celebrate the end of the their war and the rain returning to the country. You had chosen to return to the palace, watching your crewmates outside the window. Luffy and Usopp were celebrating in disguises to keep the Navy off your tails, Nami was laughing with Vivi, Chopper and Karoo nearby asleep, and you haven't seen Sanji or even Zoro until now, when your favorite swordsman found you.

“Just…wanted to rest a bit.”

Understanding, Zoro nods a bit, leaning against the wall beside you, arms crossed over his chest while he watches you.

You know that he heard you talking to Ace when he was with you all, telling him you've developed feelings for your legal husband. Honestly he's had his suspicions for a while, mainly after you all left Drum Island and you acted so odd at times, but he never wanted to confront you about it before.

It was harmless, a crush didn't mean you really believed the two of you would be a couple or anything. Despite your actually being married, since it wasn't meant to last forever, he figured he'd leave you be and maybe your feelings would fade over time. You spent a lot of time with Sanji, Zoro fully expects at one point for you to bring the annulment papers to him, saying you liked the blond or that your parents finally responded to you.

Neither of those have happened, and seeing your constant smiles and little blushes at him, Zoro feels the need to say something about it.

"Listen."

Zoro sounds so serious you can't help but sit up straighter, keeping your gaze on the still partying city outside the palace, but you nod to let him know you're listening.

"Whatever…this is between us," he's staring right at you, but you don't dare to look at him, knowing what he's going to say, "it's not going any further than our being crewmates. Whatever feelings you may have, I'm not returning them any time soon. We need to focus on our goals and helping Luffy, not romance. Got it?"

Despite the ache in your chest at that, you nod, the softest agreement coming out of your mouth in return. You knew this was coming, from the way Zoro started to distance from you after your time on Drum Island and the recent events in Alabasta, you could tell something was up and you guess this was it. Zoro was trying to put a stop to your feelings for him, he couldn't be caught playing romance with you right now, maybe never.

Of course, even with your half-hearted agreement, you know feelings can't be squashed so easily. You don't want to stop them, but Zoro wants you to so you can focus on your goals. You weren't going to become a world renowned swordswoman if you were busy focusing on a relationship with someone. Zoro would never become the greatest swordsman in the world if he was focused on you.

When he finally leaves you alone, you can't help yourself and the quietest tears start. You knew this was going to happen, Zoro doesn't like you back, he’s only still married to you because you haven't heard a thing from your parents, but damn it still hurts to basically get a rejection like this.

It feels worse when Sanji comes into the room a few minutes later, having kept his promise on bringing you back down to the party with him, and he knows you've been crying without having to see your face. He wants to go after and curse out Zoro for making you cry, whatever the reason, but chooses to quietly pull you into a hug instead, telling you that you don't have to say anything, but he's here for you.

Honestly, having Sanji around, someone who was willing to listen to you and just let you cry over something that felt stupid at the time, you felt like things would be okay after some time.

Even when he says he'll kill Zoro for making you cry once you tell him why.

[thedeviltohisangel]

All The Things I Did (3): Don't Leave Me Alone

chronology: chapter 1 chapter 2 interlude 1 chapter 3 interlude 2

a/n: well well well. here i am again. not as sad as interlude 2 i promise. i put them in chronologic order up top for all the new fans of this fic. focusing on gale and cass this chapter. i've appreciated all the screams in my ask box (i will explain anything about spook x bucky i've got going on in my head whenever you want, shoot me a dm) and will work on more interludes this weekend. keep the prompts coming! good a good mix of current & post war bucky x spook. love you guys and enjoy this longer one in celly of the finale.

Of all the places for them to bump into each other, no one should have been surprised it was in the base library. It was small and quiet and didn’t have the nicest lighting. But it had plenty of books on plenty of topics and very few people ever frequented it. Normally, it was her place to unwind and seek solace. Breathe in the scent of the worn bindings and get lost for a few hours. Cass wasn’t sure if John even knew it existed so it only made sense that this is where Gale would find her first.

Gale Cleven had been in communication with John Egan since their first day of basic training. Had watch him fly and crash on occasion. Watched him flirt and dance and take girls home. Only a few times had watched him give a piece of his heart and never once had he watched it go anywhere. When he had sent him the unicorn to pass along as an apology to a bar owner in Greenland, John had written one line at the end that made him more confused than the figurine had. A little note at the bottom: P.S. I think I’ve found my girl. 

Gale hadn’t known then, wouldn’t know for awhile, that Bucky had only seen her across the airfield when he had written that. Hadn’t even spoken a word to her. Had taken one look at the way every man on that base stopped and parted for her. One look at the way she navigated herself around the airfield while never looking up from the paper in front of her. John Egan had been gone like a freight train.

“Excuse me, Lieutenant Cooper?” She was in an armchair in the back of the library, curled up as much as her uniform would allow, thumbing through a book on Prussian history with two others opened and balancing precariously on either side of her and a stack of yet-to-be-read books piled on the floor. “I don’t mean to intrude. I just thought I’d introduce myself. Gale Cleven, friends call me Buck.” 

“My friends call me Cass.” She shook his hand as firmly as she could, her right arm in a sling. “You know, John has a whole thing planned for us to meet. He’ll be heartbroken.” Him and Cass had spent the night on a blanket in the flowers, just like she had wanted upon her return. He told her all about his best friend Buck and that introducing her to him was almost like her meeting his sisters or mother. Joked that she needed Buck’s approval before he could take her on another date.

“We can work on our story. Let him still have his moment.” Cass smiled and motioned for Gale to take the chair next to her. She placed a notecard between the pages to keep her place before giving him her full attention. 

“I’m sorry your first impression of me was when I got off that plane yesterday. I promise I’m not always that dramatic.” Gale laughed. The swelling in her eye had gone down slightly and there was color back to her cheeks. Maybe a couple of new bruises on her neck but he assumed his friend was more likely the culprit of those than the secret police.

“I barely noticed over the commotion of Bucky.”

“I wasn’t expecting that,” she noted shyly. All of a sudden her fingernails were much easier to look at than Buck’s gaze.

“I’ve known Bucky, John, a long time. You’ve enraptured him, Lieutenant.” Gale hadn’t expected such a reaction either. Bucky had always been somewhat impulsive, sure, but always with a personal gain in mind. Win the bet. Win the girl. Win the game. But yesterday had been near primal. A base instinct to protect. To put himself in between her and those who would do her harm. It had come as natural as breathing.

“Your word choice is inspiring, Major Cleven.” Her eyes twinkled. She knew.

“Has he serenaded you yet? Then you’ll really be inspired.” 

“I don’t know if that is what I would call it. I haven’t worked my way to that level of affection yet.” He thought back to the desperation in John’s voice when he called Cass’ name yesterday. Thought back to the venom that replaced it when someone got in the way of him reaching her. 

“I’m sure it’s only a matter of time.” She ducked away from his gaze again.

“Don’t tell him I’m telling you this, but I’m pretty enraptured by him, too.” Gale reached over and squeezed her hand, locking the secret between them, and stood up to let her get back to her reading and to find the book he had come here looking for in the first place. “Cass? I’ve got a favor to ask. It’s kind of a big one.”

“Something wrong, Buck?” 

“No. Just something that’s been on my mind since he left.” He mulled over the words for a moment. “He’s got a big heart. Does a good job at hiding it. I’ve been doing my best to protect it since the day I met him but if something happens to me up there…”

“You don’t even need to ask, Gale.” She would be his armor. Protect John Egan the way her soul had told her she should from the second she laid eyes on him. Had recognized the purity within him and felt the need to protect it. Cassandra Ann Cooper had been gone for John Egan the moment he stepped foot in England.

Gale nodded in appreciation. “I’ll see you at dinner tonight.” He walked to a shelf out of her sightline and Cass sighed deeply. She had faced down some scary people. But that interaction had her stomach in more knots than any of them. She had met, and talked to, and hadn’t made a fool of herself in front of, Major Gale Cleven. Cass smiled. John was going to be so happy when he found out.

----

The man in question was having a bit of a devious streak. Decided he was going to be early to pick up Cass instead of simply on time. Decided, after five minutes of waiting, that it had been too long since he last kissed her. Mary rolled her eyes when he came strolling in, thinking better of it when she opened her mouth to ask what he was up to. 

“Mary, I swear if Major Egan is early, tell him I’m not ready.” He smiled as he heard Cass answer his knock.

“Too late, Spook. Let me in so I can see whatever potions you're brewing to look so goddamn beautiful.”

“Are you calling me a witch?” Her voice was closer this time. John pressed his palm to the door where he imagined hers was.

“I miss your face,” he provided simply.

“I have curlers in my hair.” Her mother had never let her father see her with her curlers in. Even after thirty or so years of marriage. Told Cass it took away the allure of femininity. 

“Good. I’ve been imagining what you might look like in my bed in the morning-” He almost fell through the door when she opened it, her fist around his tie and all confidence choking off in his throat. 

“No remarks like that in the hallway where anyone can hear you.” Cass sat back down at her vanity for the finishing touches of mascara and powder. 

“Afraid they won’t find you so spooky anymore?” There weren’t too many artifacts of her life for him to look at. Photos of what she presumed were her parents and her siblings. A pile of letters with a return address in South Carolina. A jewelry box on top of her dresser.

“I don’t mind the nickname. I never had one growing up.” John stopped to admire her in the mirror as she pulled the curlers from her hair. He swallowed. It did look like he imagined she would be waking up next to him. How she would be after spending the night letting him worship her.

“Hey, wait on that for a second.” Cass put the tube of lipstick down and looked at him with a question across her brow. “Don’t want to mess it up when I kiss you.” She smiled and crooked her finger to beckon him forward, standing on her vanity chair as he got closer.

“So handsome,” she sighed as she took the opportunity of her newfound height to really take him in. She knows he would disagree but Cass found something ethereally beautiful about John Egan. The slope of his nose and the angles of his cheeks. The soft hair on his upper lip that she had found such joy in kissing. 

“I’m glad you think so.” He started with just a quick peck, enjoying the look of annoyance on her face. 

“That’s not worth holding up my lipstick application for.” John took that as a challenge. He felt guilty for only a second as he tangled his fingers into the curls at the back of her head and held her steady. John was trying to be mindful of the healing cut on her lip but she was pushing herself closer and closer and he had no choice but to give her more and more. It wasn’t slow. It was a spark spinning itself into a fire. An ember catching fire on all the things around it. He was a man starved for her oasis. She was a girl all too eager to tantalize him in the desert. 

John slid his arms to wrap tightly around her waist, lifting her against his body and turning so her back was against the wall. Instinctually, she wrapped her legs around his waist and gasped into his mouth at the sensation. “Fuck, Cass.” 

“John, we have to slow down.” She was enjoying his lips that had moved to her throat all much. Was so flushed with desire for him that beads of sweat were collecting in her collarbone. Cass unwrapped her legs from around his waist and John smiled with pride when her knees buckled ever so slightly. 

“You’re right. Do this the right way. The slow way.” He straightened his tie and bent down when Cass reached up to fix his hair.

“Doesn’t have to be slow forever. Sir.” She knew exactly what she was doing when she said it. Relished in the way it made his eyes darken with lust again immediately. “We’re going to be late to dinner. And I already made a literally bloody first impression with Gale.” 

“Come to think of it,” he noted as she expertly coated the red pigment around her lips, “it might’ve been more fun to try and kiss it off of you, Lieutenant.” 

“There’s always later.” 

He watched her hips sway to the Jeep, held her hand while he drove and smiled so wide it hurt when she slid across the bench and kissed his cheek. It all felt so normal. Felt like he was back home taking a girl to a movie and milkshakes on a Friday night. Felt like being with her was exactly where he was meant to be.

“Before you ask, no, we are not going back to the pub tonight.”

“Oh?” she asked as they drove right past. “Our memories from the other night incapable of being topped?”

“Just thought we would meet him somewhere nicer. This little bistro up the way a little bit.” 

“John Egan, are you nervous?” 

“Maybe.” She laughed but snuggled into his side. 

“It’s very sweet that you love Gale so much.”

“Don’t tell him. I’ve got a reputation to uphold.” Cass thought back to her conversation with Gale in the library. About the mushy heart right behind the very ribcage her cheek was resting against. 

“You know, I’ve been told I’m good at keeping secrets.”

----

Gale watched from the window by the table as John’s Jeep pulled into view, smiling to himself as Cass held his friend’s and kissed him. Stayed close to whisper reassuring words and knock his nose against hers to seal the promise.

“Bucky you lucky son of a bitch,” he muttered. They held hands as they walked in and when she let go to shake Gale’s hand, firmer this time as the sling hadn’t gone with her dress, John had kept his hand on the small of her back. Looking back on it, Gale doesn’t think there was a moment the whole night they weren’t touching. 

“Cass, this is the best man I’ve ever met, Major Gale Cleven. But I call him Buck.”

“Gave everyone else no choice but to call me Buck, too.” John pulled her chair out for her and pushed it in, sitting straight as a rod in his own until her arm locked around his comfortably. He visibly relaxed and kissed her forehead when she offered it.

The conversation flowed smoothly, John none the wiser the two of them had already met. Buck had her giggled over stories of a younger Bucky, taking her back to their days when they were first learning to fly. She asked about Marge and John noticed the way her chin dropped into her hand and she watched Gale with adoration as he spoke about the woman he had loved since he was a child. And would love until the day they died. 

“She sounds absolutely lovely, Gale.” Cass reached across the table and squeezed his hand when his gaze turned melancholy for a moment. 

“If you’re crazy enough to see it through with this one,” his chin jutted towards John, “I’m sure you and Marge will be thick as thieves.”

“Hey! I’m not that bad of a guy,” he spoke around bites of his dinner.

“John, you’ve got a little…” Cass motioned to the corner of her mouth to signal a bit of sauce was lingering on his. Without even really thinking about it, she used the corner of her own cloth napkin to dab away the offense. 

“Better?”

“Perfect.” Gale could lose his stomach with the sweetness. “Gentlemen, if you’ll excuse me to the powder room.” John stood as she left, watching her with a dazed smile on his face until Buck coughed.

“She’s something, Bucky. A real class act. Whip smart. Has you wrapped around her finger many times over.” John hummed around his sip of whiskey. 

“I’ll keep wrapping myself around it as long as she’ll have me.”

“Yeah? I should tell you she’s too good for you.” 

“You’d be right. I don’t deserve someone like her.” He swirled his glass pensively. “You know I love you and I love Marge and I love the little world you two build whenever you're together. I’ve always wanted that but kept getting in my own way. Chasing the immediate instead of being patient. Cass and I, it’s going fast because of this fucked world we live in. And I’m not getting in my own way because I’ve found a girl who won’t let me.”

“Watching you two, I think it’s real, John.”

“I think it is too,” he swallowed the lump in his throat. “We’ve got to make it through this thing, Buck. I came here with nothing to lose but now I’ve got something I couldn’t stand to.” There was something desperate in his eyes. The same look Gale had seen yesterday when he was fighting the officer to reach Cass. 

“Feels nice to have someone to live for, doesn’t it?” he teased.

“Nice, scary, like I’m being mauled by Meatball.” They both laughed in spite of the truth. “You think she’s smitten with me?” Gale rolled his eyes.

“I do.” Bucky nodded.

“Good.” Cause he thinks he might love her. 

“Sorry for the prolonged departure.” She came back with a  smile, John standing and kissing her gently. “Major, I just reapplied that.”

“Couldn’t help myself.” Didn’t want to. 

He watched her and Gale banter back and forth the rest of the night with a smile on his face. Cass was the first girl he was introducing to his best friend, wished it was under better circumstances. Wished he had met her somewhere the threat of not making it to tomorrow didn’t exist. That he could court her properly and take her to the drive in and canoeing on the lake by his parents house and listen to a ballgame on the radio in the summer. Wished he had the courage to tell her and Buck that he was scared of losing them both. That he had been up there once and would back up a hundred times more if it meant they could live in a safer world. 

And one day, after all three of them had done their part to end this war, John will mention this dinner at Buck’s wedding. And Buck will mention it when John asks him to be their child’s Godfather. But they didn’t know what they would have to go through to get there. That John’s fear of losing them both will come true. And that he would almost lose himself in the process of getting them back.