#and i think my heart would explode from the fear of it all before i even typed the message.

[harvestmoth]

more rejuv things but its. its just this guy again, im sorry shes all i can draw

[evilwizard]

The Lich Who Stole Christmas

Every tumblrina in tumblr liked Christmas a lot.

But the lich, who lived just north of Tumblr, did not!

The lich hated Christmas! The whole Christmas season! Now, please don’t ask why. No one quite knows the reason. It could be his skull wasn’t screwed on quite right. It could be, perhaps, that his skin was too tight.

But I think that the likeliest reason of all… was his heart was encased by a strange lead-lined ball.

“Last year I made something that I thought in would usher

A new age of magic—my prized OrphanCrusher.

But my patents were stolen, and my sweet new invention

Is now being used… with good-ish intentions.

You see, Christmas wishes contain lots of magic;

And my device extracts it through methods so tragic

That I dare not mention them directly here

Though the name might clue in certain readers, I fear.

The Wizard Council, now that they possess this device,

Might use it, this year, to stamp out wizard vice.

Though the process might turn quite a few kids to carrion,

The Wiz Council’s ethics are utilitarian.

So what shall I do? What is to be done?

It seems rather clear that this Christmas can’t come.

But I’ve read a few books, and I know a few tricks

So this year I’ll steal Christmas, while dressed as Saint Nick!”

So the wizard of evil returned to his lair

Stitched a red suit, and did up his hair

Built a sleek sled—and—who among us,

Could hope for a much better Rudolph than Krongus?

They took to the skies, that next Christmas Eve,

And tailgated Santa, whom they hoped to deceive

At every house he left presents, they quickly descended,

And stole the decor and the gifts he’d intended.

And when the dark wizard’s sleigh was full-loaded with gifts,

He tugged at the reigns, and they made for The Rift!

A place where the veil between worlds was thin…

And a brilliant place to dump the gifts in!

“You see,” he told Krongus, as they approached that strange crack,

“Once something goes in, it can never come back!”

“Moreover, it’s perfect,” the wizard did sing,

“For The Rift destroys every part of that thing!”

“Every instance, every atom in all multiverses,

Will be undone as though by my special dark curses.

Not a gram, not a dust speck or mote shall remain,

And no one will even remember their name!”

“But sire,” muttered Krongus, “would it not be more precise,

If you simply put in the OrphanCrusher device?”

The evil wizard thought of this, parking his sleigh in the snow.

He’d made quite a trip, and this seemed quite a blow.

“I do have one here,” he told that weird devil.

“But destroying Christmas seems rather more evil!”

Then, far behind him, and the gifts he had pillaged,

He heard a small noise coming from Tumblr Village.

It was simply a song, of holiday spirit,

But the wizard was utterly shocked just to hear it.

“It came without ribbons! It came without tags!

It came without packages, boxes or bags!”

Then the lich thought of something he hadn’t before.

Could it be Christmas was some kind of contagion or spore?

What happened next? Well, in Tumblr, they say,

The lich’s dead heart exploded that day!

And the combustive force of that villainous blast,

Airlifted the sleigh, and brought it right back,

To the village, where Tumblrinas rejoiced!

Then continued to sing, and lift up their voice.

And back at the rift, the lich, with head in a spin,

At the edge of the rift dropped the OrphanCrusher in.

So Christmas was saved, by accident mostly,

Though performing a good deed turned the bad wizard ghostly.

“Come, Krongus—we must now return to my tower,

While I wait several months to return to full power.”

And at Wizard Council HQ, certain strategist seers,

Saw all this occur through the orbs that they peered.

They smiled, and high-fived, and struck up the band,

Pleased that these events had gone just as planned.

[soulofapatrick]

I Choose You - Aaron Hotchner x female reader

Summary: What if Foyet makes Hotch choose between you and Haley during Season 5 Episode 9

Words: 1.5K

Warnings: angst; injury; kidnapping; near-death

Notes: Would you like a hospital part two?

Y/N’s POV

Foyet's voice, dripping with malice, reverberates through the room, sending icy tendrils of fear snaking down my spine. I can feel the weight of his words pressing down on us like a suffocating blanket, a cruel reminder of the nightmare we're trapped in. "You have to choose, Aaron," Foyet's words hang heavy in the air, each syllable laced with malice. "Choose who lives and who dies."

My heart lurches in my chest as I steal a glance at Haley beside me. Her once composed demeanour now shattered, tears glisten in her eyes like unshed diamonds, silent witnesses to the terror that grips us all. But beneath the fear, there's a silent plea, a desperate prayer for mercy that hangs unspoken in the air. 

I reach out to Haley, my hand trembling with the weight of unspoken words, but she refuses to meet my gaze. Her eyes remain fixed on Hotch, her ex-husband, her silent cries echoing in the deafening silence of the room. I can feel the weight of her accusation, the unspoken blame that hangs heavy between us like a shadow. I want to comfort her, to offer her some shred of solace in this sea of darkness, but my words catch in my throat, suffocated by the overwhelming sense of helplessness that threatens to consume us all.

Hotch's new partner, that's what I am. A constant reminder of the life he left behind, the choices he made. And now, in this moment of unspeakable terror, those choices loom large, casting a long shadow over our fractured lives. The pain and terror on her face makes me act before I can think about it, jumping to my feet and punching Foyet as hard as I can, hearing a cracking that I’m not sure is me or him. He stumbles back and Haley is crying out in fear. 

The gunshot that follows is deafening, the sound echoing through the room like a thunderclap. My head cracks against the floor, Haley screams and I can hear a muffled sound come through the phone before pain explodes in my shoulder, a searing agony that steals the air from my lungs. Everything around me blurs as waves of nausea wash over me, threatening to pull me under. I bite down hard on my lip to stile a cry, refusing to give Foyet the satisfaction of hearing me scream. 

Through the haze of pain, I can hear the sharp intake of breaths from the phone, the panicked shouts echoing in my head. But, amidst the chaos, amidst the pain, one thought pierces through the fog in my mind - Jack. I have to protect Jack at all costs. He’s upstairs, vulnerable and unaware of the danger lurking downstairs. 

With every ounce of determination I can muster, I push myself to my feet, the room spinning around me like a dervish of shadows and pain. Each step is a battle against the agony that courses through my wounded shoulder, threatening to pull me under with its relentless grip. But I refuse to yield. Jack needs me. 

Stumbling and swaying like a ship caught in a tempest, I make my way towards the stairs, each movement a Herculean effort against the overwhelming tide of pain. The world distorts and blurs around me, the edges of my vision swimming in a sea of darkness and light. But I press on, driven by a single, unyielding purpose - to protect Jack at all costs. He's my beacon in the storm, my reason to endure, and I will not falter in my duty to keep him safe.

The stairs loom before me like a mountain to be conquered, each step a monumental struggle against the forces that seek to drag me down. And then, in a cruel twist of fate, my strength fails me, and I stumble, my body crashing against the unforgiving carpet below. Pain explodes in a symphony of agony, a chorus of screams that reverberates through the empty halls of my mind. Blood pools beneath me, staining the carpet crimson with its silent accusation. 

But amidst the chaos, amidst the pain, there is a beacon of hope - Jack. With trembling hands, I crawl towards the wardrobe, my heart pounding in my chest at the sight of his small form nestled within its confines.

Relief washes over me like a tidal wave as I gather him into my arms, his warmth a balm against the cold embrace of fear that threatens to consume us both. In that moment, holding him close, everything feels right, as if the world has finally found its balance once more. But the illusion is shattered all too soon, replaced by the harsh reality of our situation. I look into Jack's eyes, so innocent and trusting, and feel a pang of guilt twist in the depths of my soul. 

I have to ask him to do the unthinkable, to press his small jumper against the bleeding wound on my shoulder, to stay as quiet as possible and pray that help arrives before it's too late. With trembling hands, I reach out to Jack, my fingers trembling as I gently clamp my hand over his small mouth, a silent plea for his silence in the face of danger. Another gunshot reverberates through the house, its echo a chilling reminder of the horrors that lurk below. My heart sinks as Jack has just lost a parent and he doesn’t even know it. 

“Don’t make a sound.” I whisper, my voice slurred with pain and exhaustion, the words a desperate prayer in the darkness that threatens to consume us both. 

Jack's eyes are wide with fear, but there's a determination there too, a flicker of strength that belies his tender years. Despite the terror that grips him, he nods, his small hand instinctively pressing the jumper harder against my bleeding wound, as if trying to stem the tide of blood that threatens to spill forth.

As I begin to fade in and out of consciousness, the world around me blurs into a hazy labyrinth of pain and uncertainty. My hand slips from Jack's mouth, the warmth of his breath fading into the chill of the night as I teeter on the edge of oblivion. The darkness threatens to swallow me whole, its tendrils reaching out with icy fingers to drag me into the abyss.

I reagin consciousness momentarily, hearing Jack’s voice, small yet resolute as it pierces through the darkness like a beacon of hope, calling out for his dad and the members of the team he can remember the names of, a desperate plea. 

And then, blessed oblivion claims me again, pulling me into its embrace with gentle hands and whispered promises of respite. 

As consciousness gradually returns, it feels like emerging from the depths of a murky sea, the world slowly coming into focus around me. Sirens wail in a cacophony of urgency, their shrill cries cutting through the air like a clarion call to salvation. They rhythmic hum of the ambulance’s wheels against the road lulls me into a strange sense of calm, a respite from the chaos that has consumed me. 

The pain in my shoulder, once a searing inferno threatening to consume me whole, now simmers beneath the surface like embers in the night, dulled by the merciful touch of oblivion. 

And then, as if guided by some unseen hand, my gaze falls upon the one constant in this tumultuous storm - the hand clasped in mine. It's warm and steady, a silent reassurance amidst the chaos that surrounds us. Following the line of the hand with bleary eyes, I find myself locking gazes with Hotch, his presence a beacon of strength in the darkness that threatens to consume us. His eyes, filled with worry and relief, speak volumes without uttering a single word, a silent testament to the bond that binds us together.

“I’ve got you. You’re going to be okay.” He soothes despite being covered in blood himself. His other hand is shooting my hair off my face and I wanna snuggle into it but he’s covered in blood. 

“Haley?” I ask, remembering the second gunshot and Hotch’s face flickers for a second before he squeezes my hand, bringing it up to his lips and kisses the back of it gently. It’s all I need to know that the muffled sound I heard through the phone after the gunshot was Hotch choosing. 

A choked sob leaving my throat and Hotch presses a chaste kiss to my forehead, mumbling softly, “Rest, the others will meet us at the hospital.” 

“Hotch.” 

“I’m not going anywhere.” 

“You chose me...” 

“I chose you.” 

Criminal Minds Masterlist TAG LIST - updated 21st Dec 2023

@guacam011y

[plutoswritingplanet]

Mortal Kombat 1 Intro Dialogues

a/n: some slightly flirty dialogues for suggested characters from Mortal Kombat 1 (and 11), reader is a blood mage, adjacent to "Unpunishable"

Warnings: Suggestive Language, Obscure References, Poor Attempts at Comedy

Shang Tsung

Shang Tsung: Liu Kang is squandering your potential.

Reader: I trust his judgement completely.

Shang Tsung: You were made for so much more.

...

Reader: You want me to make a deal with the Devil.

Shang Tsung: All I ask in return, is your soul.

Reader: It's too high a price!

...

Shang Tsung: I lay before you my eternal heart...

Reader: There is no love with you, only ownership.

Shang Tsung: I dearly love all of my possessions.

...

Reader: I must believe there's good even in the darkest corners of the world

Shang Tsung: Finding it in me might turn out to be a futile fight

Reader: I don't give up easily, Shang Tsung

...

Shang Tsung: Have you ever thought to say "stop"? "If you love me, you would stop?"

Reader: Not in a thousand years.

Shang Tsung: I see now, why we're destined for each other

...

Reader: The things you've been doing in your laboratories are vile

Shang Tsung: I've used the same magic, as the one coursing through your veins

Reader: Liar!

Liu Kang

Liu Kang: Empress Sindel has approved your application to study Outworld's medicine.

Reader: I'm honored by her trust.

Liu Kang: You'll do a splendid job as Earthrealm's ambassador.

...

Reader: I fear the pull of darkness overpowering me.

Liu Kang: I will guide you, until your mind is at peace.

Reader: What if it never ends?

...

Liu Kang: In the previous timeline, you were my close friend and adversary.

Reader: And in this timeline?

Liu Kang: I'm inclined to say the same.

...

Reader: Doesn't it get lonely, being a God?

Liu Kang: I'm devoted to protecting Earthrealm and its people.

Reader: You didn't answer my question.

...

Liu Kang: Beware Shang Tsung's honeyed words.

Reader: You've said we were destined for each other in all timelines.

Liu Kang: And your union always leads to your suffering.

...

Reader: You knew I'd reject Shang Tsung's offer? Fight him every step of the way?

Liu Kang: I had faith, you would make the right choice

Reader: Honestly, do you have music playing in your head when you say garbage like that

Johnny Cage

Johnny: Let me just say, there's no other place I would rather be, than right here with you right now.

Reader: I can change that very easily.

Johnny: Why so serious, sweet cheeks?

...

Reader: No, Johnny, I won't be playing in any of your movies, ever.

Johnny: Can I ask why?

Reader: Why I don't want the job that makes your brain explode?

...

Johnny: You might wanna reconsider your rendezvous with the Sorcerer.

Reader: Which one?

Johnny: Oh, you are a bad woman.

...

Reader: Don't be such a baby, it's just a scrap.

Johnny: And I need a hot nurse to patch it up.

Reader: Why do I even… You're impossible.

...

Johnny: You have experience with emotionally fragile men, right?

Reader: You're self-aware today.

Johnny: I was talking about Kung Lao...

...

Reader: Okay, Ninja Priest was actually kinda good.

Johnny: YES! I knew you had a thing for the clergy.

Reader: That's not what I... You're such an ass!

Kung Lao

Reader: Do you think Liu Kang has destined us to become friends?

Kung Lao: Obviously, I'd never choose this for myself.

Reader: He could've made you less of twat...

...

Kung Lao: It's way too dangerous for you to travel Outworld alone.

Reader: I don't need a babysitter, Kung Lao.

Kung Lao: Prove it, then.

...

Reader: If you buy me dinner at Madame Bo's, I'll heal your arm.

Kung Lao: I see your time with Shang Tsung is rubbing off on you.

Reader: See, now I gotta hurt ya.

...

Kung Lao: How does it feel, being in the center of the Snake's attention.

Reader: Fuck you man, I didn't ask for this.

Kung Lao: Not good then.

...

Reader: Come on, I paid for dinner last time.

Kung Lao: I'll be happy to pay... Once you beat me.

Reader: You can be an ass sometimes, you know that?

...

Kung Lao: You know I only meant it as a joke, right?

Reader: Let me show you just how funny I think you are

Kung Lao: Bring it on, Nurse.

Bi-Han

Reader: You betrayed everything your clan stood for.

Bi-Han: You have no moral high-ground here, Healer.

Reader: I don't need it.

...

Bi-Han: Join the Lin Kuei, and unleash your true power.

Reader: Not while they're under your command, traitor.

Bi-Han: Your pride will be your downfall.

...

Reader: I can feel your blood run cold through your body...

Bi-Han: It will boil while I destroy you.

Reader: You'll freeze to death, then.

...

Bi-Han: Your aversion to power is your greatest flaw.

Reader: Should I follow your lead, then, and betray all I love for a promise of greatness?

Bi-Han: Is it wrong to want more?

...

Reader: Maybe I can beat some sense into you…

Bi-Han: I will crush you, little girl.

Reader: Great, a quip about my height, so original.

...

Bi-Han: We meet again, Blood Mage.

Reader: I knew you couldn't stay away, Bi-Han.

Bi-Han: Let's see if your training has progressed.

Erron Black

(am i the only one devastated he wasn't included in mk1?)

Erron: What's a pretty lookin' thing like you doin' in a place like this?

Reader: Holy shit, you even talk like a cowboy!

Erron: …Nevermind.

...

Reader: If I win, I get to wear the hat.

Erron: You'd look mighty fine in it, I'd wager.

Reader: Don't you pull your punches on me now, Black.

...

Erron: There's quite the price on your head, sweetheart.

Reader: And you'll do everything to collect it, right?

Erron: I could be persuaded against it, with the right motivation...

...

Reader: Do you flirt with all your targets?

Erron: Only pretty little ones, like you, girlie.

Reader: Well then, let's dance, Cowboy.

...

Erron: I wouldn't mind giving you a ride around town, little lady.

Reader: I'd rather beat you where you stand.

Erron: Be still, my beating heart.

...

Reader: I know who sent you.

Erron: Someone who's eager to get their hands back on you.

Reader: You can both keep them to yourself.

[ginnsinabin]

general link hcs

+gen neutral

+botw/totk link

-Link always keeps an eye on you no matter what’s happening. In a fight he always knows where you are, walking through a village he keeps you in his line of sight and when riding together around Hyrule he not only watches you but also the tree lines if danger were to present itself

-While he is often with the princess, he still tries to make as much time as possible to be with you or have you with him wherever he goes

-Poor guy can’t bear the thought of not only loosing someone he loves more than anything but to fail at his job as a hero in protecting you would eat away at his soul

-Links most favorite kind of date with you is a simple trail ride on your horses with a picnic and nap under a cozy tree

-In his life of never ending chaos, having soft calming moments with you brings his mind at ease, having even just a moment of a peaceful life makes him happy

-Zelda will sometimes ask link of his whereabouts when not at her side and will happily giggle and tease him when he grows a light flush and is reluctant to tell

-She knows exactly where he was and it brings her joy knowing that link can finally have a piece of a normal hylian life with someone he loves, he of all people deserves it 

-Zelda will bring you around the castle and any excursions to not only spend time with you but to also let you and link spend more time together. It’s not a lie that the hero’s time is taken with his duties more often than not so she takes it upon herself to bring you two together

-It warms her heart to see two people she loves together

-While link knows that you can most certainly take care of yourself in battle, he always tries to take care of most if not all the danger before it even has a chance to reach you

-He wouldn’t ever admit to this for fear of belittling you, but he can’t let anything even bring the possibility of harm to you. From all that he’s lost and had taken away from him, he will die before he lets the world take you away from him

-Link is a man that thrives on quality time and physical touch

-He never gave it much thought before but after meeting you he doesn’t think he could ever live without it

-When you two are together you can guarantee that he will always be touching you in some way whether it’s holding your hand, cuddling or even just your arms or legs brushing against each other

-It grounds him to know that you’re really there with him and that you’re not going anywhere anytime soon

-No matter how long or tough his fights are, he will always come home with a rare smile on his face, no matter how battered and bruised he is he will always rush to get home to you

-In link’s saddle bag he always makes sure to have enough stuff for the both of you but will put in any extra things that he knows you like

-As much as he protects the whole world, it brings him to his knees if you dote on him. He might be reluctant at first but he will never say no, never to you.

- It makes his heart nearly explode having you take care of his sore and weary muscles and bones, always wanting to repay you but is always shot down with a “you do enough, let someone do something for you for once”

-Will melt if you have him put his head on your lap or chest while having down time at the house and will drift to sleep, feeling nothing but love and peace 

(A/N: totk has had me in a goddamn choke hold for days the same way botw did so now I gotta make my brain happy being apart of the world. More wrench stuff to come tho, that psycho always has my heart)

[luveline]

if you felt comfortable would you write the KBU au with steve and reader during/just after the birth of avery? 🥺

kisses before dinner —you and steve have a baby. mom!reader, 1.1k

Just like that, Steve's a dad. 

He wonders if he's supposed to feel different, and he does in little ways. Exhausted, worried, and unbearably happy —the kind of happiness to make your ribs hurt— Steve is feeling a hundred layers of emotion right now, but it isn't his emotion that takes centre stage, it's yours. 

You've been stiff with panic since your contractions started, and while that panic turned to happy tears the moment they laid her on your chest, you're looking at the baby like you're terrified of her, stiffness returned. Genuine fear. 

"Come on," he says softly, leaning down to kiss your forehead. "She's not half as ugly as we worried."

She's beautiful. Steve's legs hurt after all these hours of standing by your side, and he can't bear to look away from the baby's face, her face, and it doesn't matter. You're his priority. He juggles these two things as he assumes he'll be juggling them for the rest of his life, happily if clumsily. 

"Please smile, honey," he says. 

You relax almost imperceptibly with his murmuring. "I am smiling." 

"You're grimacing. Ten dollar word." He crouches and steps back enough for you to see his face clearly. "Are you happy? Like, truthfully?" he asks, knowing 'truthfully' isn't a word he says. Accusing the new mother of his child of lying feels a bit dick-ish, though.

"Of course I'm happy." 

"It's okay if you're not happy. I'm not happy if you're not happy, I'm–" 

"Steve." Your smile is sad in a way, but your eyes aren't half as scared as they were. "I am happy, I'm just worried. No more trial run… I'm a mom." 

"You're a mom." He doesn't mean to say it with the world's cheesiest smile. "I didn't know they made 'em like you, I would've started chasing moms years ago." 

You laugh. He's always loved your laugh because it's yours, and it couldn't come at a better time, not even when you were pushing. None of them sounded as happy as this one. "I'm a mom," you say, still laughing. 

"I know." He leans in to dash a kiss against your cheek. You perk up at the attention, so he does it twice more. 

“This is gonna be so fun,” you say. 

His heart rears to explode. Steve puts one hand on yours under the weight of the baby and the other behind your shoulder. “Just don't let me drop her,” you say.

“My hand’s already there.” 

“Okay. I love you. Are you sure?” 

“Don't freak out.” He thinks so many things in that moment but the loudest is, aw, my girl. “You're good, babe, I love you. This is gonna be fun, just like you said. We're gonna love it.” 

Steve sits on the side of the bed and holds you like that for a while. You relax at the support and watch the baby's little face in sleep. She has the most dainty face Steve has ever seen in person. She's so, so small. He kinda thought she'd be bigger considering the whole nine month gestation period and all your aches and pains, but she's perfect. He could fit her in two hands. 

“Avery,” you say. 

You picked it out together ages ago. Seeing her now cements it. “Avery,” he repeats happily, failing to resist the urge to touch her face again. 

You need time to recover and thankfully, the nurses and doctors haven't rushed the process. You're clean but in pain, and Steve gets to hold the baby by himself while you change. 

“Can I help?” he asks, watching you wince. You barely want to stand. 

“No, just hold her.” 

“She won't break if we put her down. She's safer in the bassinet anyways,” he says. 

Your eyes spark with panic as he goes to stand, so he sits, and he chews his cheek raw while you struggle into fresh clothes. 

A knock on the door startles you both. “Hello? Y/N? Steve?” Robin's scratchy voice echoes through the door. Her excitement is unmissable. 

“Yeah, Rob!” 

She opens the door carefully but enters the room less so. There's so much stuff hanging from the crooks of her elbows she can hardly carry it. “Hey! Oh my god, hey! Is that her? Of course it's her. Is she okay? She's okay, are you okay?” She turns her gaze on you. “Holy shit, do you need help?” 

You've only got a couple of buttons to do and the waistband of your pants to cinch, but Robin immediately drops all of her things to help you finish. 

Steve shares his first private smile with his very first daughter. “She's not always like this,” he murmurs. 

“How are you feeling?” Robin asks. She sounds treacherously concerned and overwhelmingly happy. 

“Maybe she is,” he adds. 

“I'm okay, Robin,” you say, reaching for her hand. “It hurts worse than people say. But it's over now.” 

“Thank Jesus!” Robin finishes her buttoning and ties a deft bow with your drawstrings. “Come on, mom, let's get you back to bed. Jesus, Steve, you couldn't have helped her?” She's mostly kidding. 

Steve lifts Avery. “She put me on baby duty.” 

Robin almost trips over her bags trying to get to him. “Steve,” she says, as though this one word should be enough for him, planting herself by his side. It's been a long time since he bothered trying to put boundaries between them, he doesn't even want them, he's proud as he can be as he lowers the baby to give his best friend ample view of her. While she looks, he lifts his gaze to you where you limp back to the bed. 

“Oh,” he says, “Rob, are you ready to hold her? Meet your niece. Arms out.” 

Robin stammers but holds her arms out. Steve transfers Avery in her swaddle carefully as careful can be. “Hold her head, okay? Lean back.” 

“Wait, you made this look easy. Steve–” 

Your eyes are wide as he stands and turns away from the bed. “Steve,” you say. 

“No more saying my name in this room, it's banned,” he says, putting his hands under your arms to make sure you're steady where you stand. You stop walking, pain in the line of your mouth. “Come on, honey. Let's get you back to bed.” 

Your eyes shine with tears, but you don't cry. You use his arms to push back up onto the bed and shuffle slowly into position before you put your arms out. He leans in for a hug. 

“Oh, Steve,” you say with a laugh, all soft and warm, having found the only exception to his new rule, “I wanted the baby back, honey.” 

“I know,” he sighs. 

[cutielando]

out of line ~ rafe cameron

my masterlist

Ever since you could remember, Ward had always been hard on Rafe. It might have been because he was his only son, it might be because he wanted him to mature early on, or it might be just because he hated his son.

At least that's what Rafe had come to believe.

Nothing he did ever seemed to be right. His father would always find faults in every single thing Rafe did, crushing the boy's morale every single time.

"I don't know how to please him anymore" he would always say when he came to you, all sad and unmotivated to even live.

You hated seeing your boyfriend like that. You hated the way Ward acted towards his son. You hated the fact that he always made Rafe feel bad about your relationship, always filling his head with thoughts that he didn't deserve you, that he should do you a favor and let you go because you would be better off without you.

It made your blood boil.

As you were laying on the couch in Rafe's home, his body laying on top of yours and your arms wrapped around his body, you were hoping to God that his father would not ruin your night.

"Rafe?" hearing Ward's voice made the both of you tense.

Rafe got up from laying on you and sat upright on the couch just as Ward walked in.

Eyeing you, you could see him clench his jaw and swallow harshly.

"Yes, dad?" Rafe said, clearing his throat and looking up at his father.

"What are you doing?" he asked, looking between the both of you.

The atmosphere in the room was tense, and you knew that Rafe was desperately weighing his answers to make sure he wouldn't say the wrong thing.

That is precisely why you decided to be the one doing the talking tonight, hopeful to finally give the older man a piece of your mind.

"We were watching a movie before you interrupted us" hearing you speak made Rafe's heart start beating rapidly.

He wiped his head around to look at you with wide eyes, but you kept eye contact with the older Cameron man.

"Excuse me?" his voice was dangerously low, but you weren't afraid of him and had no intention of backing down.

"You heard me. Do you want something with Rafe or not?" you asked, now standing up and stopping while face-to-face with him.

"You better watch your mouth, young lady" his threats fell on deaf ears, you were done cowering in fear of him.

Your family was the second richest one on the whole island, so you were also entitled to speak your mind seeing as you weren't a poor little Pogue afraid to speak in front of a Kook.

"That's funny, coming from the guy whose ego is so big he has to belittle his own son to feel better about himself" that struck a nerve.

Ward took a deep breath, exhaling loudly. His fists were pulsing, his veins were enlarged, he was on the verge of exploding.

But he knew better than that, he knew better than to make an enemy of your father. While Ward must think he's got the dangerous associates on the island, your father was by far more versed than him in that department. 

Your family might not have been the richest, but it was for sure the most dangerous one. And Ward knew that.

"How dare you?" 

"How dare I? How dare you look at your son, your own flesh and blood, and belittle him like he's a stranger to you? How can you stand there and insult him, make him feel worthless after how much he does to impress you, to satisfy you? And nothing ever seems enough. How dare you fill his head with lies about our relationship when you and I both know I am the only person who loves him and takes care of him. I am the only one who wants the best for him, not even you as his father? What the fuck is wrong with you?" you felt so good getting everything off of your chest.

Rafe was still speechless, still sitting behind you on the couch.

He was grateful for every word you had said, having conveyed everything he had been feeling but was too afraid to tell his father.

"You are way out of line here, bitch" he spit with venom in his voice.

Your eyes darkened and you stepped even closer to him, being almost face to face with him.

"Call me a bitch again and see what happens. We don't want to repeat what happened at Midsummers, now, do we? Or did you forget what my daddy did?" your voice now being dangerously low, knowing you had struck another nerve.

Ward visibly tensed, having remembered that your father had almost killed him in a fight when he insulted you at Midsummers while being intoxicated.

He cleared his throat and nodded, taking one last look at Rafe before turning around and leaving the house.

"Thank you" Rafe's small voice said as you next back next to him on the couch, unpausing the movie you had been watching.

"Never thank me for that. I want you to feel safe, and I was just telling the truth. You know my father has your back, he loves you and he would do anything for you" you told Rafe, who nodded.

Your father and him have had a very close and special relationship ever since you started dating almost 3 years prior. 

Due to the fact that you were an only child and your father had always wanted a son too, he treated Rafe like he was his own. He knew about his situation with Ward and always made sure he was being taken care of.

You sometimes thought your father liked your boyfriend more than you.

"I know, but still. Thank you for everything, you don't know how much I love you, baby" he leaned his body back on top of you, savoring your warmth and delicate touch.

"I love you too, so much"

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[marvelfanfn2187a113]

Face Your Fears

Sam and Dean Winchester & little sister!reader

Requested by Anonymous

Synopsis: You get into a fight with your brothers, but your recklessness that follows creates problems for everyone.

“You were hunting before you were my age! I don’t get why—“

“It doesn’t matter if you get it or not! I said no!”

Sam rushed to the library when he heard his siblings’ voices raised in argument.

“What’s going on in here?” He asked, trying to keep a calm and neutral tone.

“She—“ Dean started, but you cut him off.

“Dean is being completely unfair!”

“Ok, ok, calm down,” Sam sighed.

“Calm down?! You two are off all the time, actually helping people, putting your lives on the line, and I’m—“

“Exactly! You don’t need to be putting yourself in danger like that!” Dean interrupted.

“It’s what you do! And I sit here and read books!”

“Don’t downplay what you do,” Sam said. “We need you here.”

“But I could do so much more out there with you!” You argued. “I’ve been training, I know I can help!”

“Yeah, or you’d screw it up and get killed, and I don’t need your blood on my hands!” Dean exploded.

The silence that followed was deafening.

“Dean—“ Sam tried to speak up, but you interrupted him.

“So that’s it, really? You think I’m some kind of screw up?” You scoffed, and continued before Dean could speak. “It’s not like you’re perfect! You’ve screwed up the world before, and no one’s stopped you from going out to screw it up again!”

“Y/N—“ again Sam’s attempt to calm the situation was met with resistance.

“Well fine then, if I’m too much of a screw up for you, then I’ll get out of your way!” You shoved past your brothers and beelined for your room, slamming the door behind you.

…

Your brothers didn’t try to go after you. They were probably angry. You knew you went too far with what you said to Dean, but he called you a screw up; were you just supposed to take that and not say anything back?

It didn’t matter either way. You didn’t want them to try to talk to you, because you had something to do.

You had a hunt to go on.

You’d been researching one before you went to ask Dean about joining the next one; since he’d said no, you would take this one whether he liked it or not. And you were going alone.

…

It wasn’t hard to sneak out—back when you lived in motels, it would have been almost impossible to leave without one of your brothers waking up, but with the bunker it was easy.

You didn’t take the Impala—that would be too far, even for this rebellious streak. Instead, you took a cab to the next town over; you had struck gold, finding a hunt so close. It was pretty simple, too; three victims with hearts ripped out, definitely a werewolf. You had more silver bullets than you’d need packed up with a couple of guns in a duffel at your feet.

Dean was wrong about you, you could do this. After all, how hard could one little werewolf be?

…

Dean was right, and you were suffering the consequences of being wrong.

You struggled to pull your phone from your pocket, your fingers fumbling as your phone slipped around in your blood-soaked hands. Your breathing was labored, and every breath brought stabs of pain to your slashed-up abdomen.

You hadn’t noticed the signs of the second werewolf, so determined were you on taking the first one down. You hadn’t even seen him until he’d been right on you, ripping into your stomach. You’d had your gun in your hand, and by some miracle you’d managed to fire off a round into the werewolf on top of you, but not before he’d injured you pretty bad.

You finally got the phone in your hand, and you didn’t hesitate to press Dean’s number. You held the phone just slightly away from your face, wary of irritation the cuts on your cheek.

The phone barely had time to ring before Dean’s voice flooded your senses.

“Where are you?” His voice came out in a growl.

“D-De…” you hadn’t realized you were crying until you had to push your voice out past your tears.

“Sweetheart?” Dean’s anger was gone in a second when he heard your pained voice. “What’s going on?”

“I’m-I’m sorry, De,” you sobbed. “You were right, I’m-I’m sorry.”

“Shh shh, hey,” Dean soothed. “It’s alright sweetheart, I forgive you. Just tell me where you are and I’ll come get you.”

“I-I turned on my phone’s location,” you said. “Ple-please hurry. It hurts…”

Dean tried to ask you more, but a bang from somewhere nearby had you flinching, and the phone slipped out of your soaked hands and shattered on the concrete floor. You realized it was only your own gun, slipping off the table you’d laid it on. But it was too late; your phone was broken, and you had no way to call Dean back.

You could only hope that the tracker would still work.

…

Dean broke both the law and probably some speed records getting to your location. Sam was in the passenger seat, a first aid kit in his lap as he held on for dear life.

“I should’ve known she’d do something stupid,” Dean grunted.

“Dean, you couldn’t have known,” Sam reasoned. “And blaming yourself isn’t going to help her.”

Dean didn’t speak, and the rest of the ride was tensely silent.

“Here,” Sam said as navigator. “Turn left here, and she should be close by.”

Dean swerved the Impala to the left and screeched to a halt in an empty parking lot near a warehouse. Sam was right at his heels as he burst into the warehouse.

“De?” Your pained voice echoed throughout the building, so that it took Dean a moment to find you. When he did, he swore his heart skipped three beats. You were sitting in a pool of your own blood, propped up against the wall. Dean rushed to you, kneeling next to you and almost slipping in your blood.

“Hey, hey,” his voice was a mixture of soothing and panic as he brushed your blood-stained hair away from your face. “Alright sweetheart, tell Doctor Dean where it hurts.”

It was a pathetic joke, but you laughed anyway; Dean’s jokes always made you laugh.

But your laugh sent you to a fit of coughing. Dean winced as he examined the long gashes on your stomach.

“Ok, you’re ok,” Dean leaned back in relief when he saw that it wasn’t too deep; you’d be ok. “But I’m gonna have to carry you to the car, ok? Brace yourself.”

You gritted your teeth and clenched your fists, but you still couldn’t hold back the cry of pain when Dean lifted you into his arms.

“Sorry, I’m sorry,” Dean cringed. “I’m sorry. You’re gonna be ok.”

Dean laid you on your back in the backseat of the Impala, before taking the first aid kit from Sam and retrieving a needle and thread.

“Can’t we just bandage it up?” You whimpered, already squirming away from the needle. Dean’s finger froze for a second before he shook his head, his features softening. Both brothers were very aware of your fear of needles, but sometimes it couldn’t be helped.

“Sorry sweetheart, it’s gotta be stitched. Just close your eyes, it’ll feel worse if you watch.”

You closed your eyes, trusting your brother completely. However, before he could make the first stitch, your eyes popped open and you grabbed into his wrist.

“Wait,” you said. “I-I…I wanted to say I’m sorry.”

“Hey,” Dean sighed. “I’m sorry too. I said some things that…that I didn’t mean. You aren’t a screw up, ok?”

“What do you call this?” You gestured to your own banged up body.

“Inexperience,” Dean answered. “And you never should’ve been out here alone. Going solo on your first hunt is never a good idea.”

“I’m sorry about that, too,” you mumbled.

“It’s ok, kiddo. Maybe later we…we can talk about you tagging along on one of our hunts.”

“Really?” You grinned.

“Later,” Dean said sternly. “After you’re all better. Now let me get to this.”

As Dean lifted the needle, you closed your eyes again. You felt Sam’s large hand grab onto yours, and you squeezed his hand gratefully, holding on as Dean started to stitch you up.

“I didn’t really think you would screw up the hunts,” Dean said as he worked. “I just…I don’t want you out there. It’s dangerous, and I…I’m scared something will happen to you. But I guess I can’t keep you from it if it’s what you really want.”

“It is,” you said. “I want to do what you guys do. I want to help people, and I wanna be with you guys.”

“Ok then,” Dean said, tying off the stitches and patting your side to let you know he was done. You opened your eyes, and he smiled at you.

“I guess I’ll just have to face my fears.”

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[mountttmase]

A Mountain To Climb

The Christmas Special

Part Two

Note - they finally got their happy ending 🥺 little baby George is my whole heart I swear I think of him as my own child at this point I just love the little squish. Thank you so much for the love on part one and I really hope you like this part just as much 🩷

Pairing - Mason Mount × Reader

Word count - 6.2K

Warnings - fluff and a tiny smidge of angst

‘I’ll pop the heating on yeah? Get it all nice and warm for the little man’ Mason shouted to you as he opened the front door to let you in. The three of you taking your first family outing to the big Sainsburys to grab some last minute Christmas supplies and you couldn’t wait to get back into the safety of your home.

The run up to Christmas was always hard, there was always so much to be done and so much to plan but this year was different. You’d spent most of it heavily pregnant until your little boy made his entrance a week before Christmas Eve.

Mason was at training when you found out you were pregnant. You wanted to wait until he got home so you could take the test together and find out but you couldn’t handle not knowing and when the little test told you you were pregnant you collapsed on the floor in happy tears.

You managed to make them stop until he got home. The pair of you sinking to the floor once you’d shown him the positive test so he could hold you in his lap as you both silently cried. Counting back to realise your baby was probably conceived the night of your third anniversary and it just made everything feel even more special to you.

By all accounts it was a perfect pregnancy and Mason has been your rock through it all but as your due date approached you could feel yourself getting more and more anxious. Being a good mum was important to you and after everything that had happened throughout your childhood you were determined not to leave your little one with the same fate.

Just like Mason always was, your little bubba was late. Two weeks in total and you were starting to get to the end of your tether with being pregnant until your waters broke at 4am whilst you were tossing and turning in bed next to Mason who was more than horrified by all accounts.

George was a perfect mix of the pair of you. Your hair colouring and lips but Masons eyes and cheeks and you couldn’t be more in love with him if you tried. He was the cutest thing you’d ever seen and all you wanted to do was wrap him up and protect him from the world.

You had always been told you’d feel that feeling as soon as you saw him but there was a voice in the back of your head telling you it won’t happen for you. That you were a product of your family and it would take time for you to bond with George but thankfully that wasn’t the case and you’d turned into a big mamma bear almost instantly.

It was hard though. The pair of you adjusting as well as you could and even though Mason was the perfect father so far, your motherly instincts had kicked in ten fold and you very rarely let George out of your sight.

You weren’t sure what it was, that new baby fear maybe, or if it was something a bit more than that. If it was something you were trying to prove to yourself that you could be a good mum. The best mum. Nothing like the woman who raised you.

You knew it was in the back of your mind even though it shouldn’t be but you wanted to be perfect even though you were still healing from childbirth. Taking on every task that needed doing over Christmas and making sure it was done to perfection. Not accepting help from anyone, even Mason, as you organised a special Christmas Eve get together for all your family but the stress of it and learning how to take care of a little human was making you snappy.

Mason left you to it at first. Knowing not to rock the boat as your hormones were all over the place and you never backed down but eventually he stepped in. Telling you to relax and take a breather but rather than listen to him you exploded at him.

‘Will you just leave me Mason, I know what I’m doing’ you told him angrily. Moving your shoulder so his hand would drop away from you.

‘I never said you didn’t love, I’m trying to help’

‘Well that makes a change’ you scoffed and you felt awful immediately but your pride stopped you from apologising straight away. Under normal circumstances you knew he would probably have said something back but you heard him let out a short breath before carrying on speaking to you calmly.

‘Tell me what you want me to do’

‘What I want is for you to go away. I want these to be perfect and you’re just ruining everything’ you shouted, tears burning in your eyes before you slammed the napkins down on the table and made an exit.

You felt awful. Saying hurtful things to the man you loved who was only trying to help and when you stormed off upstairs he let you have your moment to calm down. Only going to look for you when he thought you’d been gone too long and finding you fast asleep on his side of the bed.

There was something about finding you on his side of the bed that made Mason's heart sing. He knew you were tired and stressed and not in any state to be doing as much as you had but he also knew how stubborn you were and how much it took you to ask for help but knowing you were taking comfort in his space made him feel just a tiny bit better.

By the time you’d woken up and calmed down you found Mason in the living room, sitting in the armchair with George asleep on his chest as he slowly rubbed his back with Parker asleep at his feet.

Ever since you’d fallen pregnant it was like Parker could sense the change. Rarely leaving you alone and forever laying his head on your ever growing bump and now that George was finally here he was just as protective. You wasn’t sure how Parker would react to such a little baby when he was such a huge dog but he was his usual gentle and loving self and no matter where George was, Parker wasn’t too far away.

Mason’s eyes were on you as soon as he sensed your presence but you didn’t know what to do so you played with your fingers whilst thinking of what to say. By the time you looked up, he’d moved George onto the one side of his chest before holding his other arm out for you to come and join them. Helping you sit on the arm of the chair and cuddle into his chest with your legs dangling over his lap and you felt even worse than before.

‘I’m so sorry’ you whispered, your tearful eyes looking into his sympathetic ones and you carried on talking before he had a chance to tell you everything was okay. ‘I just really want everything to be perfect you know? It’s George’s first Christmas and our families are gonna be together and I just wanna show everyone that I can do it’

‘I know baby. And I know you can do it but you can’t do it on your own okay? You pushed this little human out of you four days ago and you’re still healing, not to mention your hormones are all over the place. You need to rest’

‘There’s just a lot to do’ you sniffed. Reaching for George’s hand that was resting on Mason's chest and your heart thumped as he wrapped his fingers around yours gently.

‘How about we make a list of everything and then we divide and conquer? My mum said she’s happy to do whatever’s needed so we can see if she can help?’

‘Maybe that’s a good idea. I just wanted to do it myself’ you confessed. Not wanting to look like a failure but deep down you knew you could really use the help.

‘I know’ he breathed, pressing a small kiss to your nose. ‘And I know why too but you’ve got nothing to prove to anyone okay? You're a perfect mum and no amount of handmade place settings will change that’ he joked, causing you to nod at him with a smile. ‘You’re not superwoman. No one expects you to be okay? In fact I think they think you’re all mental for wanting to host them a week after you’ve popped a baby out’ he teased.

‘Thank you Mase. And I really am sorry for having a go, I didn’t mean it’

‘I know, there’s a lot of change going on but as long as we stick together we’ve got this okay? Now show me my favourite smile, pretty girl’ he teased, a smile taking over your face automatically and you felt a shiver roll through you as he reciprocated it. ‘There we go. And as for this one’ he mumbled, head nodding to the little boy who was still fast asleep on him. ‘He doesn’t remember anything half the time. We could literally skip Christmas and he’d be none the wiser. He’d just sleep right through it’

‘We’re not skipping Christmas, Mason’ you scolded, knowing he was only joking but you appreciated him trying to make you smile just like he always did.

So you did as he said. You made a list and a timetable and made sure to make lots of room for breaks and as soon as it was all written down you realised it wasn't as scary as you thought. But the last few sleepless nights had taken it out of you so when you got back from the shops to get on with your final task you felt yourself slowly slipping into sleep at the table.

‘Right miss, nap time for you’ you suddenly heard, feeling Mason’s hand on your shoulder but you shook it off. Wanting to finish what you were doing.

‘I’m fine-‘

‘Nope’ he laughed, forcing you out of your chair and looking at you with a stern face. ‘You’ve been in a mood all morning so you need a nap before everyone gets here’ he teased, pushing you up the stairs before he grabbed George from his basket. Parker sitting just below it like he always did but as soon as Mason picked George up he was up too and following you up the stairs and into your bedroom.

‘I’m fine’

‘Come on babe, you know what the nurse said. You sleep when baby sleeps’ he told you softly. Pressing a kiss to your forehead as he tried to attempt to push you to the bed but you resisted ever so slightly.

‘But I need to sort the-‘

‘Baby, we spoke about this’ he whispered. Popping George in the next to me crib before holding your face so you could really look at each other. ‘You’re exhausted and you’ll be even more so when everyone gets here later. I can do what needs doing okay. Will it be as good as if you did it? No, not at all. But I’ll make up for it with my charm and wit’ he teased, hands slightly moving to your neck as you smiled lightly. ‘You need to let me help, remember?’

‘I’m sorry Mase’ you whispered tearily but he cut you off with a kiss.

‘You don’t need to be sorry. Just please have a nap’

‘Okay’ you conceded, letting him tuck you into bed. George sleeping softly beside you as Parker took up a spot at the end of the bed and as much as you wanted to just sit and look at George you knew you were too tired and eventually gave into sleep.

You slept for longer than you wanted to but you knew you must have needed it. Waking up to quickly feed George and get him changed into his little Christmas outfit before meeting Mason downstairs. Feeling warmth rush through you at the sight of him finishing up the table settings and you resisted the urge to run over and kiss his face off.

‘It looks great Mase, thank you’ you told him, startling him a little bit but he sent you a kind lopsided smile before taking George from you so you could go and get yourself sorted and ready for everyone to come. Your heart melting at the way he was looking at him all dressed up and you could see how much Mason loved being a dad as clear as day.

Freya was first to arrive with Woody in tow. Making a beeline for George’s basket so she could pick him up and sit with him on Woody's lap.

‘Didn’t have you down as a baby woman’ Mason laughed, his arm around your waist as you watched the pair of them fuss over your little boy and it warmed your heart looking at the pair of them.

‘Well no, but this isn’t just any baby though is it’ she laughed. Stroking his little cheek with her thumb as Woody made the same gesture on Freya’s thighs and the pair of them looked at him in awe. ‘This is my little Georgie Porgie, the cutest baby in the world, yes you are’ she babbled to him and it made your heart flutter to see how much they loved him.

‘You’re supposed to be here to help’

‘I’m saying hello to my godson first’ she joked, but you smiled softly. Knowing there was a special gift for her and Woody under the tree from George asking to be his god parents so you were even more hopeful now she would accept.

‘You can come help me put the crisps into bowls if you like’ Mason offered, throwing her a bag after she’d popped George back into his crib and letting Parker take his spot underneath to guard him. ‘Woody, you too’

‘Yes dad’ he huffed before you watched Mason put him in a headlock and ruffle his hair.

‘Don’t talk back son or Santa won’t stop at your house tonight’ he joked, trying to mess his hair up but Freya was quick to separate them so they could finish sorting the snacks out.

Mason's family were next to turn up, Freya having to begrudgingly give George over so Masons family could meet him for the first time and you almost burst into tears as Tony pulled you in for a warm hug.

‘How you doing, love?’ He asked, walking into the house with you under his arm, your eyes full to the brim at his affection. Knowing how protective he was over you made you feel so full and watching his eyes tear up as he caught sight of little George almost sent you over the edge.

You loved sitting with his family and watching them fawn over him, knowing whatever happened that George would always have a loving family and people around him but when the doorbell went for the third time, you knew who it was immediately and the nervousness in your tummy was threatening to overflow.

‘You wanna get that, baby?’ Mason asked, a bright smile on his face and with a quick nod and a kiss to his cheek you were running to the door.

‘Hi dad’ you smiled, enveloping him in a big hug straight away and you felt your eyes sting as he held you back just as tightly.

‘Hi love. Are you okay?’

‘I’m good, how was the journey?’

‘Not as long as I thought but long enough’ he laughed, before stepping aside to reveal the rest of your family.

You’d met his wife Liz and your two step sisters Abi and Hailey twice before and even though you thought it might be awkward and weird you all got on like a house on fire. Pulling them in for a hug each as they came inside before leading them into the living room so they could mix with Mason's family.

You noticed straight away that George was back in Freya’s arms with Parker sat patiently besides her and you laughed as you made your way over to them.

‘What? He was handed to me. I didn't steal him I promise’ she laughed but you saw the pout from a mile off when you attempted to take him.

‘Come on Frey, my dads here and he wants to meet his grandson… god that sounds weird’ you laughed, taking George into your arms and you were surprised at how settled you felt as soon as he was back with you.

Watching your dad get emotional at the sight of your baby set you off, feeling Mason's arms wrap around your waist from behind made you smile though and with a kiss on your cheek you turned to pull him into a much needed hug.

George was an angel, never once crying or making a fuss as he was passed from person to person for a cuddle and you distracted yourself by refilling the snack bowls and getting drinks so the empty feeling you felt whenever George wasn’t in your arms didn’t linger.

After a while, Freya came to find you. Pulling you away from the washing up so you could spend some time with your family but the pair of you spent a little time just people watching as yours and Mason's families mingled.

‘You okay?’ She smiled, her arm around your shoulders as the pair of you stood to the side and watched everyone get along.

Your sisters talking to Jaz, your dad in deep conversation with Tony and Lewis and Debbie speaking to Liz who had George safely cradled in her arms. It all felt surreal to have everyone here together and it was overwhelming at how big your family was now.

‘Yeah, I’m okay’ you smiled, looking up and fraya before you bundled each other into your arms. You knew you both wanted to tell each other you were proud of the other but you let your arms do the talking before you pulled away. Laughing as you wiped your tears before going to join in with everyone. Freya choosing to go sit with Mason, Woody and the kids as they played with Parker whilst you went to see Debbie and Liz. Hoping you could steal George back as you felt incomplete without him.

Thankfully Liz and Debbie moved apart and patted the seat in between them and handed George over to you as soon as you sat down. Your heart hammering at the way your baby nuzzled into you and reached for the neck of your top to hold.

‘Now I want you to be honest, how’s Mason been this week?’ Debbie laughed and as much as you wanted to joke about him with her like usual you really wanted her to know how perfect he’d been.

‘Honestly? I really couldn’t ask for anyone better to do this with’ you smiled at her, watching her face soften instantly before you looked down to see George yawning adorably in his sleep. ‘He knows me like the back of his hand and knows when to tell me off when I’m pushing it too far. I think I forget I only gave birth a week ago but he’s really looked after us this week. You should be really proud of him’

‘I am’ she breathed. Tapping your knee lightly. ‘But I’m proud of you too. I know it’s hard to admit when you need help and I know you’ve spent a lot of time doing things on your own. But he really is a good boy and he loves you so much’

‘I love him too’ you laughed tearily, wiping your eyes with your free hand. ‘Sorry my hormones are all over the place still, I’m crying at the drop of a hat’

‘It’s okay, love’ Liz smiled, placing her hand on your other knee. ‘You should have seen me after I had Abi, I was inconsolable for weeks. It takes time and you’ll get there but you’ve got the best support around you by the looks of things’ she reassured you. ‘And you can always rely on your dad and me and the girls too’

‘Thank you’ you told her honestly. ‘And thank you for looking after my dad’

‘Of course’ she smiled tearfully. ‘He’s always spoken about you and I had to really give him a kick up the bum to speak to you. I think he was ashamed of how he acted’ she confessed, and sensing you might need some alone time you felt Debbie shuffle next to you.

‘I’m gonna go find my son and give him a big hug’ Debbie told you, standing up to go and search for Mason but before long her seat was taken up by the other man in your life.

‘I think me and Mason's dad are gonna get on great’ your dad smiled. Wrapping his arm around you and dropping a kiss on your forehead as he stroked George’s little cheek. ‘I still can’t believe I’m a grandad, I’m so proud of you’

‘Oh don’t you start, I’ve only just calmed down from Debbie saying the same’ you laughed, bumping your shoulder into his chest slightly. ‘But thank you’ you told him, smiling as Abi and Hailey shyly made their way over to join you all but you waved them over with a smile. ‘Would you guys like a hold?’

‘Me first’ Abi interjected, sitting herself down on the floor and Hailey joined her in a huff but you carefully passed George over and watched as he got himself comfortable in his new aunties arms. You felt so complete. The only person missing being Mason but little did you know he was currently feeling the love from his family too.

He was standing in the kitchen talking to his dad when Debbie approached him. Wrapping her arms around him with a tearful expression but he knew she wasn’t sad from the first glance as she held him tightly.

‘You alright mum?’

‘I’m more than alright’ she laughed, pulling back to look at him and the look of pride on her face made his bottom lip wobble. ‘I can’t tell you how proud I am of you. You’ve got the most gorgeous little boy out there and such a perfect family. I couldn’t be happier for you Mase’

‘Thank you mum’

‘It's not just that though, I’m so proud of the man you’ve become. She’s got nothing but praise for you out there and I know you’re looking after them so well. I just couldn’t be anymore proud of the man you are’ she sniffed. ‘And I know you’re not even doing it intentionally, it’s just who you are but it’s so lovely to see’

‘Stop it, you’ll make me cry’ he laughed, pulling his parents in for a much needed hug. Knowing they were proud of him was all he ever wanted and he was overwhelmed with how emotional they were for him.

You were soon up and making the rounds to ask if anyone needed any refills but everyone seemed to be fine so you went off in search of your boys.

You’d lost sight of Mason a while ago and now George seemingly too and as the noise in your living room grew louder you excused yourself to try and find them. Eventually finding the pair of them sat in the conservatory on the big sofa with a big fluffy blanket around the pair of them. Your chest feeling warm as you sat and watched Mason talk quietly to him before his eyes caught yours and he sent you a shy lopsided smile.

‘Look Georgie, mummy’s here’ he told him, poking his hand out from the blanket so he could beckon you over and once you were close he let you join him under the blanket so you could all cuddle up together.

‘What are two doing out here?’ You asked looking over to see George’s eyes were fully open and he was looking back at you when you spoke.

‘Little man was getting a bit overwhelmed with all the noise and people I think. Thought i'd just bring him in here for a little breather’ he told you and you felt yourself melt as you looked at him. His own eyes softening as they looked into yours. ‘What?’

‘You’re such a good dad, Mase’

‘Oh no you too’ he laughed. ‘I just had my mum and dad both crying in the kitchen saying the same’

‘But you are, you’re so good with him. And with me’ you laughed tears spilling down your cheeks. ‘Thank you for letting me join your boys only party’

‘You’re always invited to the boys only party’ he laughed, hearing Parker’s footsteps getting louder and louder before he rounded the corner and came into view. ‘Hello mate, you feeling left out?’ Mason laughed, tapping your thigh before Parker got the hint and jumped up next to you on the sofa so could lay his head on your lap. His eyes constantly flashing up to George as you scratched between his ears. ‘Well try and have a girl next, I feel like you’re a bit out numbered’ Mason laughed and you blushed at his words. Knowing he wanted to extend your family even more made your tummy flutter but you knew you had plenty of time for that.

George was starting to get fidgety and upset so you knew that meant only one thing. Carefully taking him from Mason as he passed him to you so you could feed him and as he settled down you felt Mason pull you into him further. A satisfied smile on his face as he looked down at his little family.

‘Just like your daddy you are’ you smiled, kissing George on the forehead. ‘Hungry all the time’

‘He’s just as obsessed with your boobs as I am’

‘Mason’

‘What? I haven’t got so much as a look at them lately, he always gets there first’ he huffed but the slight squeeze of your shoulder let you know he was only playing around but the look on his face let you know he was thinking about something else.

‘What is it Mase?’

‘Just seeing you with him, makes me realise how far we’ve come. Remember when you didn’t even want to be my friend? Now look at us’ he laughed. ‘I’d do it all again though if it meant we ended up here’

‘Me too’ you whispered. Leaning over so you could press a soft kiss to his lips before you both sat in silence to watch George. ‘We shouldn’t stay out here too long, everyone’s come to see us and we’ve gone and hid in another room’ you laughed once George had finished. Mason leaning in to kiss you softly as if he knew they should but he was sad about it.

‘I guess so. Why don’t you take George back to everyone and I’ll come back in a minute’ he told you. Helping you stand as Parker jumped up to join you and with a quick pinch to your bum you made your way back out to your family.

The rest of the night went without a hitch. Mason taking over the rest of the cooking with Freya and Woody and between the three of them they managed not to burn anything which you found quite impressive.

‘We’ll have to get the kids to bed soon or they’ll never sleep’ Jaz told you, stroking George’s cheek as she held him but Mason was pouting as soon as he overheard as he was having so much fun spending time with his little people.

‘Well you’ll have to wait a bit, we need to put snacks out for Santa’ he told you all seriously taking Summer and Mila into the kitchen so they could get a plate together of milk, cookies and a carrot for Rudolph before coming to get you and George so you could all take it outside and pop it on the porch. ‘We can check it in the morning and see if they ate it’ Mason told them before you handed George over to Mason so you could take a picture of the four of them and their snacks for Santa.

Everyone was off to bed soon after. Your dad and his family heading out as they had a long drive back home and after an emotional goodbye you walked back in to find Mason and everyone else finishing up getting things tidy.

‘You didn’t need to tidy up guys, I could of done it’

‘You’re hilarious, y/n’ Lewis laughed, wrapping an arm around your shoulder before walking you towards the stairs. ‘We’ve got this. Go to bed and we’ll finish up and see you in the morning, yeah?’

‘No, I can’t let you-‘

‘Mums orders!’ Debbie shouted from across the room, making you laugh as Lewis pushed you up the stairs. ‘We’ll see you in the morning okay?’

‘Okay’ You huffed, looking down at everyone appreciatively as you all shouted goodnight to each other before you went to your room. Getting dressed in your special Christmas pjs before Mason appeared with George not too long after.

‘I’ll just get ready and join you’ Mason smiled. Handing you over George and throwing you his Christmas babygrow that matched your pyjamas before Mason took his own matching ones into the bathroom so he could get ready himself. ‘I’ll have to go take a bite out of that bloody carrot in a bit, make it look like Rudolph ate it’ he huffed, shuffling into bed next to you and you looked at him with a fond smile before he looked down at George. ‘He’s so cute I want to eat him sometimes’ he laughed, pressing a quick kiss to his head before you did the same and place him in his crib next to you. ‘You okay?’ He asked, placing a kiss on your forehead, a confused smile on his face at the expression on yours but you just wanted to appreciate him and all he did for you.

‘Thank you for today Mason’ you smiled, the pair of you getting comfortable next to each other and his shy smile as blushy cheeks melted you.

‘There’s nothing to thank me for baby’

‘There is. It scares me sometimes how well you know me. How you always know what’s best for me’ you whispered. His face softening as he took your hand in his so he could rub comforting circles into the back of it.

‘It’s cause I love you’ he told you sincerely, picking your hand up to drop a kiss onto the back of it and you felt your fingers tingle at the sensation.

‘I love you too. And that’s why I want to give you a present early if that’s okay’

‘What?’ He laughed, watching you reach just by the bed to pull out what looked to be the size and shape of a shoe box. ‘What’s going on?’

‘It’s actually sort of a joint present but I want us to start using it as soon as possible’ you told him. Placing it on his lap before nodding your head so he’d tear into it. Once he had he was met with a cardboard box that he lifted the lid off of to reveal the present inside.

‘George’s book of firsts?’ He read aloud, picking up the folder so he could get a better look before his eyes were on you.

‘Its like a memory book. We can take pictures and fill in all his information so we’ve got something to look back on when he’s all grown up. I thought it might be fun for us to do it together’

‘I love it, thank you so much’ he whispered, leaning over to give you a small peck on your lips.

‘Open it up, there’s loads we can do’ you told him, watching his face the whole time as he flipped to the first page and you knew he’d seen it immediately.

This book belongs to:

George Tony Mount

To say naming George was easy would be a massive understatement.

First name, sure. You know you wanted something fairly traditional and when Debbie suggested it one afternoon as you all sat around to try and share ideas, the pair of you looked at each other with hopeful eyes almost immediately.

The middle name picked itself. Carrying on the tradition and a gentle nod to Mason's dad and all he did for the pair of you. You still remember the day you told Tony your thoughts around this and the little twinkle in his eye told you all you needed to know.

It was the last name that was a bit of a pickle. The pair of you not speaking about it as it had always been a bit of a contentious subject and so far no one had the guts to talk about it.

You knew it was partly your fault. Telling Mason soon after your engagement that when you got married you were unsure if you wanted to change your last name. It was the last tie to your old life and where you came from, the last piece of them you had, as you weren’t fully back on track with your dad yet but things had changed since then.

You knew Mason wasn’t thrilled by your thoughts on this subject. He wanted you to be his in every sense of the word and for his little boy to be his. But he also understood where you were coming from and loved you enough to look past it.

You could see Masons eyes full of tears as his bottom lip wobbled. A shaky breath leaving his lips as he looked up at you and your heart was thumping out of your chest.

‘Mount? You want him to be a Mount?’

‘I do’ you whispered. Taking his face in your hands so you could press a kiss to the end of his nose. And when we get married next year, I want to be a Mount too’

Your heart broke at the relieved whimper that left his lips. Dropping the book to his lap so he could wrap you up in his arms. His tears making your neck damp as you held onto each other for dear life before he pulled back to hold your face. Your own eyes now full of tears as you hadn’t realised how much it meant to him.

‘Really? Are you sure?’

‘I’m sure Mase. I want everyone to know we’re yours and we belong to you’

‘What changed your mind?’

‘You’ve given me everything I could ever want or need Mason. You’ve loved me when I didn’t deserve it and stood by me through thick and thin. All that I am, and all that we are now, it’s because of you and I’m ready to give myself to you fully. I know I said I didn’t want to lose my ties to my family but you’re my family. You and little Georgie are my whole life and it just feels like the final missing piece’

‘You’ve always deserved my love’ he whispered. ‘You deserve everyone’s love and I’m so happy you get to feel it from everyone now.

‘I think that’s partly the reason why. Knowing my dad and his family better now helps. I know I’ve got him now and losing my last name doesn’t mean I’m losing him or that side of me. But I’m gaining a part of you and you’re the most special person in the whole world to me and I’ll always choose you. Good days, bad days, come rain or shine I’ll always choose you Mase.

‘God I love you so much’

‘I love you too’

‘I can’t believe I’ve gotta wait another five weeks to show you’ he joked, making you roll your eyes as you realised what he wanted but couldn’t have just yet.

‘Well how about you run down and grab those cookies from outside so we can share them. Distract you a little bit’

‘That sounds like a good idea. I’ll drink some of the milk too’

‘Don’t forget the carrot’

‘I could never forget the carrot’ he winked, kissing your forehead before jumping out of bed and sneaking downstairs. Making you laugh at his attempts of being quiet and as soon as he was out of sight you realised this year for Christmas, you finally had everything you’d ever wanted.

[chrollohearttags]

LICK BACK

it didn’t take long before the rumor mill began to hit the last place anyone wanted it to. Chatter and discourse circulated among everyone over at AMG. From staff and crew to the top level..concerned about what it meant, not only for the PR manager and her clientele but the company as a whole. Honestly, it all seemed more like some sick, deluded fever dream. There was no way that a photo from years ago, taken completely out of context and held zero weight was creating all of these problems! Although they were both young and there were a lot of drugs and alcohol involved the night that said picture was snapped, they both were adamant in the fact that nothing came of it. There was no way in hell that she’d even entertain the idea of sleeping with EJ. The thought alone made her skin crawl. She didn’t see it for him then and damn sure didn’t now. And vice versa. And even on the off chance there was some forgotten one night stand…what did it matter now anyways?! They had obviously both moved on and there were zero romantic, sexual or otherwise feelings there. Whoever decided to dredge these up from the archives was either bored, miserable or mad as hell over something. Could’ve been a mix of the three..who knows. But what was certain, was that this had to be fixed and quickly..before everything fell apart!

pacing the floor of her high rise condo, purchased for work years ago, the talent scout nursed her glass of wine as she trembled. Fear and anxiety had taken over her entire body…her eyes bloodshot from crying for hours on end. Her heart felt as if it were going to explode from her chest..it was all too much to bear.

“So what are you going to do? Everyone seems to believe that something happened. Even if it was years ago, it’s going to be hard to convince the world that there’s nothing going on.”

“I’m sorry, Aunt Vivi but I’m not worried about convincing the world of anything. They’ll talk and believe what they want regardless. I’m only concerned with what my husband and (y/n) thinks. They’re the victims in all of this…they don’t deserve to have to deal with it.” But alas, she was wrong. Although that was her main priority, she failed to take into consideration how the rest of her clientele must’ve been feeling. She was the public relations manager..the quintessential fixer who made problems go away…if she was knee deep in her own scandal, how the hell could they trust her to get rid of theirs? It was a nightmare!

finally feeling as if the unbearable weight had caught up to her, Mikasa plopped down on a nearby couch, where her aunt and creative director Vivian Ackerman was seated. The older woman would cradle her niece’s head onto her chest akin to the way she had when she was younger. In truth, she was the only adult in her life who had actually taken the time to see her as a child in her adolescence rather than some machine; the ideal artist who moved on everyone else’s time but with her, she could be herself. And right now, the thing she needed most was a shoulder to cry on. To let her frustrations out.

“He left for his tour last night..didn’t even say goodbye. Once social media started talking, he went to a hotel and didn’t say a word. But the look on his face? I'd never seen him in pain like that. When I called him..he didn’t even answer. But then I found his ring on the nightstand. That and the necklace I gave him when he first started playing in my band. He never took that stupid thing off for anything….I guess it’s really over, huh? I screwed up..”

she could feel herself slipping further into despair. The thought of losing the one man who’d always given her the world. The man she joked, laughed and had more fun with than anyone. Who saw her flaws as perfections, accepted her in any way. The love of her life, Jean was gone and now her sweet (y/n) was pissed too. She had blocked her everywhere and was refusing to answer her or Eren’s calls. He told her that (y/n) had someone send for the rest of her belongings and that she wouldn’t be coming back. And EJ was in worse shape than she was. Not even bothering to get out of bed. How could they possibly convince you or anyone else that this was all a huge misunderstanding. But what shocked them both was that there was a single post uploaded to her Instagram page with her on a private jet. Tan leather seats surrounding her along with some roses. She sat posed as if she were straddling someone’s lap and her bare back was facing the camera with her face out of the frame. And coiled around her? Were tattooed arms with some rather familiar looking ink. The caption simply read “having my way.” Comments were shut off for the post so no one could have a field day underneath but trust, the alarm bells were going off something crazy. But one thing was for certain…when it was all said and done, those two would be the ones left crying!

“You think that was a little too much?”

“For what they did? Please..they’re lucky their asses aren’t dead right now. I’d say they got off easy.”

because right now..you were on a flight, headed to Europe. Lying in bed, draped in sheets as they caressed your naked body. But the linen wasn’t the only thing touching you. Right now, those very same arms and hands from the photo were rubbing and caressing your body. Only after using them to bounce you up and down on him. Some might say it was one hell of an overreaction to something that couldn’t be confirmed but fuck it, it shouldn’t have gotten this far. And as for who was helping you exact this little cruel act of revenge?

“Besides…I think this is much better. They can sit and think about that shit while we have some fun. Not like it’s the first time. What do you think?”

“I think you’re right..”

that too would remain a mystery!

[aajjks]

Tutor. JJK

synopsis. becoming your tutor was only the start.

warnings. söft yänd��rē, sïmp 101 jk, öbsëssîvë thoughts, öbsëssïön, flüff, he’s sö shy lmao

note. just a lil something, I like to call him simp!jk. share thoughts plz.

Jungkook could look at you forever.

You are so attractive, that smile of yours, those E/C eyes of yours make his mind feel dizzy, you make him feel so stupid, so foolish.

So foolishly in love with you.

But he knows you’re way out of his league, you’re everything he’s not, you two are no match, but yet his heart craves you, he can’t stop loving you. How can he not love you, you’re his first love, he was in love with you the first time he saw you.

“Can you stop daydreaming?” Jungkook almost curses under his breath, his friend annoys the fuck out of him sometimes, why would he even dare to interrupt him when he’s busy thinking about you?

“Don’t give me the death stare, simp.” Jungkook doesn’t stop glaring at his friend though, biting the inner cheek of his mouth, glaring daggers at him. “I mean… why don’t you just ask her out already? It’s been two years, JK.”

Jungkooks shoulders sulk at that, his friend has a point, but he simply doesn’t have the courage to ask you out.

You would reject him in a heartbeat.

“No… she’s way out of my league, man…” he barely whispers to himself. He’s so insecure, he wants you so much but he’s so scared to have you, you’re an angel, he’s not worthy of you.

“You never know Jungkook, I mean personally you’re a pretty good guy, I don’t understand your fear but you do you.”

Jungkook doesn’t reply but tries to focus on the teacher instead, as much as he wants to spend the whole period gawking at you, he can’t risk being noticed,

Especially not by you.

“Okay, so I am pretty sure that everyone’s understood the lecture, I hope there are no questions.” The old professor speaks, it doesn’t interest Jungkook.

His mind is still set on you, you never leave his mind, you have him obsessed, it scares him almost. But it feels so good though, because he has a reason to look forward to every day, his reason is you.

“Actually sir?” He blinks twice when he hears your voice, his heart immediately skips a beat. “I had a confusion regarding the concept, if you could help me understand- I am sorry yn but the class is almost over, maybe one of your peers will help you.”

Jungkook doesn’t think before he speaks up. “I-I CAN HELP YN!” His voice echoes around the class room, all of the students turn to look at the shy boy,

Including you.

You are looking straight at him, he can feel your eyes on him.

“Well it’s settled then, thank you Jungkook.” The professor picks up the papers and smiles, “class dismissed.”

Jungkook feels so uncomfortable under everyone’s gaze but as soon as the bell rings. He sighs of relief. Jungkook notices his friends gaze on him too, he doesn’t look at him, because he knows you’re still present in the room,

And he’s pretty sure you’re approaching him already. “Dude she’s coming, good luck.” His friend whispers to him, Jungkook closes his eyes, his friend leaves, even though he couldn’t care less about that typically,

He was all alone with you now.

“Hi Jungkook,”

He will explode any moment from the excitement that’s running through his body, his brown eyes shoot up at you, he stands up, his body is reacting on its own, “H-Hi yn.. wait you know my name?”

You are simply the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen, you give him a small smile, it makes him want to scream, “of course! And thank you for volunteering to help me, I appreciate it.” You put your hand out for him to shake, and he almost whimpers as he feels your skin touch his,

“I-It’s all good YN… don’t worry about it.” You’re making it impossible for him to act normal, “s-so shall I… oh you’re so cute jungkook!”

Oh my God.

“W-What?” Jungkook feels insane. He’s not sure if he’s hallucinating about you calling him cute, has he gone actually insane?

“I said you’re pretty cute, Jungkook.” He still hasn’t let go of your hand, you try to break the handshake, but he doesn’t budge.

“Are you okay?” You ask him with sheer concern, he’s too lost in his thoughts to realise that he’s been holding your hand for the last five minutes.

“O-Oh yeah I am… I’m sorry!” He quickly leaves your hand and apologises, bowing in front of you like a loyal servant. “aw no it’s fine. So I was thinking maybe you could help me with the concepts either in the free period or.. somewhere else?”

His eyes widen, he couldn’t believe this,

He had a golden opportunity in his hands.

“I-I… don’t mind anywhere YN.” He scratches the back of his head but inside he’s screaming, it’s so easy for him to conceal his feelings.

Oh the things you make him do.

“Great so how about my house? I mean I’m kind of a lazy person so I’d rather not meet at a coffeehouse or something, I love being in the comfort of my home.” You adorably explain and he’s sure his eyes are heart shaped right now.

“If you don’t mind of course.” Oh just how considerate you are, Jungkook is so obsessed with you, you’re an angel.

He’s convinced.

“O-Of course YN! I’m cool, I-I’m fine!”

“Okay thank you tutor, see you at 7?”

“Of course YN!”

“So I will text you the address, see you soon.” You wave at him, he just stands watching you walk out, you have him awestruck, today is a very blessed day for him,

Also he managed to keep a few secrets from you, like how he knows where you live, Jungkook sighed of relief when you left,

This was a start of something really special for him, and you.

[19ndonboy]

religion’s in your lips - mason mount

words: 2.1k

A/N: back again with a new imagine. i hope y’all will like this one, feedback is appreciated!! thank you

you could feel soft lips on your shoulders as you slowly drifted off sleep. you opened your eyes, adjusting them to the light passing through the curtains as they landed on your boyfriend. and years later, you still found your heart doing a somersault. you thought about how lucky you were to have this view every morning and you wouldn’t change it for anything else in the world.

you turned your head to face him and as you whispered a quiet “hi”, he felt his heart skipping a beat. he was so in love with you, he feared it could destroy him. he kept on his trail of kisses from your shoulders to your jaw to end up on your face as he counted them.

“18” on the mole on your right cheek, “19” on the tip of your nose, “20” on your eyelid as you closed your eyes with a smug smile plastered on your face, “21” on your forehead, “22” on your pink lips.

a kiss which ended up being messy as you couldn’t stop yourself from stupidly giggling as he thought about how he would turn the world upside down if he had to to hear your laugh over and over again.

“happy birthday my love” were his words that erupted a crimson taint on your cheeks. and with words minimizing how full of love your heart held for the man in front of you, you cupped his head and passionately kissed him. and you were hoping he could hear your heart exploding in you just as much as you could hear his.

you pulled away from his lips and he gave you his signature look, the one that got you weak to the knees before kissing your forehead as only him had the secret recipe to that warm and safe feeling that was spreading through your stomach. you laid your head on his bare chest as his hand found its usual spot in your hair, tangling them while you appreciated the peaceful silence surrounding the both of you.

and you don’t know how long you stayed here until all you could hear was your stomach growling, being too hungry to think about anything else but mason’s speciality, avocado toasts. you heard him chuckle behind you before he spoke “what do you think about getting out of bed, i’ll make you breakfast and then we can do what i planned for this special day” with a smirk on his face. he had a way with words and he knew it. you nodded and then made your way downstairs to the kitchen with mason following you.

he wasn’t happy with that though. before you could even realize, he had lifted you up and you were on his shoulders, you let out a high-pitched sound before laughing out loud. his favorite sound in the whole world, he repeats every time he hears it. he sat you down on a chair, asking you not to do anything as it was your day, “just like every other day” he would say when soppiness got to his head.

so you spent the next ten minutes watching him go in circles between a drawer and a frying pan in your kitchen while he was humming to your taylor swift playlist. and he took your hand to dance with you when the famous song 22 started playing in the room, joking about how you had waited an eternity to “relate to those words”.

you, then, both took your plate and went to sit on the sofa in your living room and started to eat in front of a random tv program, paying little to no attention to it as you were talking about your plans for the day. although, your birthday was never something you were looking forward to and therefore there was never much celebration on that day and it had been like that for years. but that was until you met him. he always made sure you knew how much you were loved and appreciated by people around you and he swore to himself, a smile would be the only trait visible on your face on that special date.

having finished your avocado toasts, he stood up, gave you a quick kiss on your head and excused himself two minutes as he ran upstairs. he returned right after with a box in his hand and a grin plastered on his face. you hid your face in your hands, which provoked a laughter from mason. you grumbled as he took your hands in his to make you look at him. “mason, you know i didn’t want anything for my birthday” you said, barely audible. “y/n i know but i wanted to. please, take it” he said while kissing each one of your knuckles.

you opened it and found a smaller black box, you gave him a quick glance before opening it and what came to your sight was a necklace with a gold heart locket. you opened it and what you weren’t expecting was a note with the words “forever and always, m” in it. a first sob left your lips and you couldn’t stop the ones following it. he held you tight and your head found itself in the crook of his neck, thanking him a hundredth time. he kissed your forehead, and waited for your sobs to subside. “hey hey, no crying on your birthday” and your sobs turned into giggles. “this is the best present i could’ve asked for mason, tha-“ he stopped you knowing another thanks was on its way. “your day is not over baby, get ready and wear a bikini” he instructed you to as he winked, making you roll your eyes as you did like he said and ran upstairs to your wardrobe to get ready for the day.

you put on your favorite blue bikini, your pink and orange crochet dress and you were ready to leave for his surprise destination. he was wearing a linen white shirt, one of your favorites, and a black short and all you could think about was how you wanted to unbutton his shirt and take it off. he was so handsome, the prettiest man you ever laid your eyes on, you thought. you hopped in his car, your playlist ready to be played through the car speakers. kendrick lamar’s song was starting and you were good to go, not knowing where he was leading the two of you, excitement filling you.

an hour and a half and you could see a beach in front of you. he knew how much you loved the beach, as it reminded you of what used to be home for you in your country. he was happy with his surprise when he landed his eyes on you and saw you smile. lucky for you two, there weren't much people here that day. being too excited to leave for the day, you didn’t even realize when mason put a basket full of chocolate chip cookies and a bottle of hard lemonade in his car. looking at the cookies like a kid on christmas day, you sat on the beach blanket and ate one.

and you spent the next hours just like that. eating cookies, drinking lemonade, laughing, kissing each other, talking and appreciating the moment. you couldn’t have asked for anything better as the two of you thought back to your first date.

“you know i was so nervous before. i called christian and he couldn’t stop making fun of me.” you laughed as it was the first time that you were hearing about this. “hey don’t laugh! him and nicole literally joked about how much i was sweating last week. they laughed about how smitten i was already back then” he blushed and you couldn’t stop yourself from pecking his lips “and they were right.”

“idiot” you rolled your eyes, although you’d never admit that his words made you feel dizzy. “that was the most chaotic date ever” as you recalled. “god, it had started so well in that café. stupid joke after stupid joke and i was asking myself how lucky did i get to be here with you. and i remember how neither one of us wanted to end it here so we went on a walk.” you could hear him laughing as you continued. “and then it just started pouring and as people with common sense, we ran to a store to get umbrellas”

“and that’s when i knew you were it for me.” you couldn’t hide the frown on your face at his words. “we got out of the store and before you opened the umbrella, you looked at your face through a car window, saw the mascara stains on your face and erupted in laughter.”

“mason, i hit your face with that umbrella a few seconds after. how-“ you both laughed at how concerned you sounded, clearly a tree had knocked into him to come to this conclusion at this time, you thought. “i know some people would have ran away after how this date ended but not me, that was the best one i ever had. from the moment i saw you enter that cafe in that little black dress to the moment i let you in the front door, my vision blurry because of the blow.”

you couldn’t stop your heart from beating so fast. you never knew this was how he felt after your first date. you know you made it here after this but you never thought he had felt like that. he kissed you, the kiss getting more heated by the second and you had to stop the two of you before going too far on the beach. he wrapped his arms around your body and you laid down on the beach blanket, kisses left on each part of your skin he had access to. and you stayed in this position for the next few hours, watching the sunset with no desire to leave this beautiful place for now.

eventually you had to go home and this day was slowly coming to an end. your hand in his, you made your way to his car and went home. his hand rested on your thigh the whole ride, making you feel safe and all giddy inside. he parked his car in the porch, flexing his biceps which earned him a slap on his shoulder as you feigned to be disgusted. he was so stupid and why were you laughing like a 15 years old girl?

you made your way inside and left your shoes in the entrance, taking the basket with you to put everything you took with you away. mason then took you with him and led the both of you to your bathroom. there was no better way to keep going with your day than to hop in the shower with your boyfriend. the two of you undressed yourself before getting under the steamy water. he grabbed your shower gel and started to wash your back, leaving a trail of kisses down your neck to your lower back.

your turn to wash him arrived and while doing so, you left kisses here and there on his collarbones, his shoulders, feeling him shiver under your touch. water soon turned cold and you both got out of the shower. picking pajamas for the night – one of mason’s shirts for you. and when you thought that this day could not get any better than this, you heard the doorbell. confusion written all over your face, you followed mason downstairs and saw him with a bag from your favorite japanese restaurant. food he had ordered during the day without you noticing.

you sat on the sofa, a blanket covering your legs and you ate sushi in front of one of your favorite rom-com movies, how to lose a guy in 10 days. you couldn’t recall the amount of times you had watched this movie, mason being your first victim when it came to watching the same movies over and over again. but as much as you loved it, your eyes drooped, wearied after such a long and emotional day at the beach. mason, on his side, could sense your tiredness as you weren’t commenting on the movie like you would usually do.

tv off and before you knew, mason was bringing you to your shared bedroom, and next you were in your bed. he followed you right after turning the lights off and he had his arms wide open for you to engulf yourself into them. one last meaningful kiss shared and before you drifted off to sleep, you heard him whisper “you’re so special y/n, i don’t think you’ll ever realize what you do to me”.

tag: @10vnderhaze @mountymase @fallinforerling

[myabsurddreamjournal]

Fate (part 5)

Soldier boy x Fem! Reader

Summary: Reader is a scientist who is forced to work at lab that they keep soldier boy frozen, she talks and cries to him when she is alone, thinking he can't hear her but he hears everything.

....

it was their first week here, the cheap motel room they booked with her money.

the walls were gray and a bit dirty, there was two beds and a small tv, and microwave. It was maybe one of the worst motel rooms in the city but felt like heaven for her after 2 years spent in lab.

For Ben, well he didn't say much, She realized shortly after coming here. Well there were times, where he speaked and even joked, asking her questions or answering her questions. But it was limited. whenever she asked something about his past, or he remembered something, He would suddenly stop talking and stare at wall without blinking, deep in thought. Afraid of triggering his PTSD, she kept her mouth shut even she wanted to listen and talk to him about it.

He was outside in the first day, coming back with his bag looking heavier at evening, saying he paid a visit to old friend. She didnt asked what was in the bag, thinking he would show it sooner or later.

At night they laid side by side in the beds. Almost 1 meter between them. She would think that he will be vanished in the morning, that he was a dream.

but he was there everytime. Looking at her sometimes. Sometimes asleep. She evem felt him adjulsting her blanket one night, Covering her feet. She felt no fear, which was so weird for her, not being afraid of someone who would explode at any second. And it confused her,

somethings about her confused Soldier Boy too.

......

She was applying makeup, a cheap eyeliner and lipstick, that she bought from a store today, after seeing her reflection on the mirror for the first time, she felt a bit self concious around Ben. Her skin were dull from bad diet and lack of sunlight for years. Unlike Ben, who looked perfect even with that hair and beard, or being there for 40 years.

well, he was Soldier Boy after all.

With this thoughts in her mind She applied lipstick on her cheeks too, and liked the effect.

putting down the lipstick, she looked at her hair, It looked lifeless like her skin and grew too long for her taste. She was thinking about cutting it for the last 2 or 3 days.

She decided to do it. picking up the scissor from counter. And started.

.......

After about half and hour, While she was cleaning the sink Soldier Boy knocked the door firmly.

she opened the door:

"-oh, im sorry do you need to use bathroom?" she said looking at him, he was wearing giants t shirt and sweatpants she bought for him from thriftshop, Homelander drink can in his hand. He looked almost normal,

Instead of answering he looked at her face.

Her hair was shorter now, (He never liked on women, thinking it made them look like man.) Her cheeks and lips pink. Eyes brighter.

But it was okay on her, beautiful even. He found himself thinking this often in last days.

But this wasnt like anything he felt before, and it made him so confused, he had affairs with countless women, they literally threw themselves on him. And he was attracted to them. Loved their curves, long hair And their femininity. The way his heart beated fast when they were close to him.

But she...

she was another story.

He didnt really give shit about anyone before, Never felt bad about things he said or did. But he found himself holding back last days. Whenever he was angry around her,

Because he hated the way she jumped in her chair when he raised his voice, angry at news about attacks on the tv.

He never wanted to see her like this.

He wanted to protect her.

He wanted to be close to her (in a different way).

Hide her in his arms from the world that she was so afraid of.

Lost in his thoughts he didnt realize he was staring at her face, and not answering.

-"Ben? are you alright?"

-"Yes doll, i was wondering what were you doing there hiding?"

-"I wasnt hiding, i was cutting my hair."

-"It looks nice"

-"Thank you." she said. Looking at floor.

the silence was awkward, so she smiled at him and got back the cleaning,

After watching her for a while he asked suddenly;

-"You can cut my hair too?"

He wanted her to cut his hair?!, Her heartbeat quickened.

Hearing it, Soldier Boy smiled softly. She blushed harder when she remembered that he was hearing it.

-"y-yes sure i used to cut my brothers hair all the time. You want me to cut it now?"

-"Yes doll."

-"Okay, you need to sit here." she pointed the old chair.

He walked towards it, her heartbeat was getting quicker.

-"calm down doll im not gonna eat you."

-"s-sorry i just still cant believe you are awake."

-"you sure this is the reason?", he winked.

-"yy-eah."

she picked up the towel from counter quickly, wrapping it around his shoulders.

He took a deep breath, shoulders relaxing, this was one of the weird things about her too, Making him calm whenever she touched him.

When she started to brush his hair with her fingers, He couldnt help the sigh that left his lips, Closing eyes. This felt good.

After few seconds, he tried to stiffen his posture, not letting his guard down, but it was impossible.

-"Where is your brother now?" he asked suddenly, eyes still closed.

-"he is gone." she said. He could see sadness taking over her face even his eyes closed.

well he felt like shit now.

-"back there, i felt this." he said then, trying to change the subject. He needed to wipe that sadness off her face

-"felt what Ben?"

-"Your hands, touching my face"

-"I-it was for checking your body temperature y-you know, i-its the easiest wa.-"

-"sure thing doll" he said, winking again, smiling at her who looked like a tomato.

-"im sorry if it made you uncomfortable Ben,"

-"It, didnt."

it was far from uncomfortable actually, like being touched by an angel, made him feel warm even for a few seconds.

but he didnt tell her that.

....

20 mins later their hair was mixed on the floor, dark brown and light brown together.

-"You like it?" she asked, taking off the towel from his shoulders

-"Yes doll," he said patting her head. "You will be the only one to cut my hair from now on" he said, smirking.

She smiled at him, looking at the floor again.

-"O-oh i almost forgot, i bought razors for you, your beard i mean, if you want to shave it of course." She told him as he was about the leave the bathroom

-"how you like it? do you think i should shave it?"

-"y-you look good both ways."

-"you too", he said looking at her hair.

taglist: @deans-spinster-witch@mfnqueen1@ponypickle@butchers-girl@verypostcrown @angelbabyyy99 @6asm0ne @uncle-eggy

notes: Next part too will be about their days in motel (they will get closer!) then we will see butcher and hughie :)

[samodivaa]

Deny the truth,set my world on fire (Part 3)

Bucky Barnes x Reader (Winter Soldier x Reader)

He knew that she was having an affair...she denies, but the love marks on her body are still there. She can't tell him the truth, it will break him - the Winter Soldier is indeed inside of him, fucking her at night and Bucky doesn't remember. Part 1⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ Part 2 ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆* Part 4⋆*･ﾟ:⋆* Music --- Vivaldi - Winter (L'inverno) Quotes - Fyodor Dostoevsky └── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──┘ Warnings - heavy ANGST, mention of murder, non-con

Listened to it on repeat until i finished the chapter. Enjoy. ✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧ Calm, boring days, an unknown future, and an irregular sleep, the days pass and nothing new. The absence of knowledge is the presence of paranoia – she crumbles mentally. It's been happening for so long – it is all that is happening, over and over again. She is full of fear, leading to feeling grief. Her life, a tragedy, a land of devastation and destruction. All the bright, precious things of Bucky fade so fast – in the end, memories are all she keeps. It makes her tremble to think back, to remember how she thought their life would be. Her greatest regret – believing so much in their future. She used to build dreams about Bucky and now she can’t believe if she will ever do it again - she treads the icy path between Spring and Winter, slowly and cautiously, for fear of tripping and falling into the snow again, for fear of losing her dearest Spring. She feels the chill north winds coursing through her home, despite the locked and bolted doors…this is Winter, which nonetheless brings it's own delight – after Winter, Spring always comes next.

She spend so much time in my head and in her heart that she forgets to live in her body, not hearing someone entering.

“Pain and suffering are always inevitable for a large intelligence and a deep heart. The really great men must, I think, have great sadness on earth.”

She blinks at that line of the book, her mind lingering once again to Bucky…but when is a monster not a monster – oh, when you are the reason, it has become mangled…she remembers when those eyes said love loudly, now these walls so quietly shift towards her as he leans on the door frame stealthy, still not alerting her. She puts the book aside, deciding to wash her dishes – her vast inner solitude poisoning her whole existence, there is no dignity in loneliness. The worst moment, when sitting alone at dinner, she has forgotten the ocean eyes, the depth of his laugh, it all had faded into into the past, where memories are silent.

Winter brushes his hands along the hardwood of the door, tentatively waiting for a sign that she had noticed him in the doorway. Three knocks follow on the wooden frame and her shoulders are already quavering, he once again craved a bullet with her name on it, burning Bucky down and in the ashes left behind – coming to burn her.

She glances at the door behind her as she holds her arms wrapped around herself before turning around to face him. Winter seems so human with his genuine smile, nodding slowly when his presence is finally acknowledged. Rage explodes inside, fire rushing over her skin. Winter’s face is flooding with color by then, and she finds that the sight makes her feel refreshingly nostalgic – the shades of Bucky somehow showing.

Dem light plays upon his face, revealing gleaming eyes, a mouth pulled into a grin. Stillness wraps her up in a cold embrace, a chill running down her body as he speaks.

„I warned you and you didn’t listen“

Winter shifts closer, caging her to the counter.

"Oh no…“ she whispers brokenly.

She brakes into a sob she could not contain, hands wrestled free from his grasp and worked their way to shield herself. He grips her hips, drawing her close, and roughly presses his mouth to the soft, swollen lips. Soldat longed for her for so long, dreamed of it as one would of an impossible journey to the moon, and now? How would he ever let her go?

The winters are becoming longer, very monotonous. Spring does come eventually, but it feels so short, looking back – it is not much more than a coupe of days.

He steps back, his fist unclenching, urging her to see – Walker’s work badge. All of her paranoia which played complicated possible outcomes - what an utterly incomprehensible thing has happened - without delay, Winter plucks every vibrating string in her mind by choosing to mock her.

„I warned you“

„You fucking monster what have you done?! I hate you so much I wish they never created you! I want you gone so much it hurts.“

His heart becomes a shriveled rose, poisoned with death and petals fall with every word from her mouth, sending him into a bottomless pit of anger.

„I will tell him, I will tell Bucky the tru-“

If once one has recognized the truth and seen it, you know that it is the truth and that there is no other and there cannot be, whether you are asleep or awake.

The melodious ringing sounds of Bucky’s dog tag chimes deep into her soul – as he holds them in front of her – as if a funeral bell is ringing, pealing for one a last farewell.

„Bucky is no longer“ dressed in all black, he is giving the eulogy „We can bury him together“ he says with the intend to drop them on the floor, but she catches them.

Up in her conscience, it's making her nauseous, she shifts backwards momentarily, but there is no where to run. Instinctively, Winter tightens his hold on her waist, though he neither pushes her away nor pulls her closer – just grounds her in place when she tries to slide to the floor.

„No…it can’t be, I don’t believe it“ comes her unenlightening, despondent response.

„He never picked up the phone that day. It was me, doll“

Now it all began to fall into place. A poor, beautiful, tragic fool - he had thrown her hope away on a moment's false illusion, and she was paying dearly for it. With her hope, her love, her soul.

„No, you are lying“ she whispers brokenly, her voice trembling. She blinks at him, her eyes enormous pools of misery with wetness clinging to the lashes and collecting in the tender indentation above her top lip.

„Stop crying “ he licks the hollow of her throat. "It is getting annoying“ a long, slow lick up her throat "…цветок“ (flower)

And if it frightens and torments her to think of Bucky and the simplicity and silence that accompanies him – she still believes in the illusion that he is there, it’s life-giving.

His left hand slides up gently to cup her chin as he leans in and kisses her once more, and with all her strength that she could find, she slaps him across the face, forcing it to turn to the side. He murmurs her name low. She whispers „no’s“. Winter presses himself close, giving a hollow bark of laughter as his angry gaze searches hers. He feels the trembling woman in his arms, her breathing shallow and uneven, clearly overcome with emotions.

„Тебе лучш��, моя куколка?“ (Feeling better, my doll?)

„Don’t you dare call me that“

From the desert of Bucky’s abandoned love, he dares mock her pain. Winter stares her down, watching every reaction as his hands memorizes her curves, groaning, his fingers clawing at her back and quite possibly tearing her shirt.

Bucky dreams - the trees, stripped of all foliage, are white and bone-dry, twisted and curved like desiccated skeletons. Smoke drifts up from the scorched soil that crunches under his feet. In the distance, there’s a hill where, on the other side, y/n stands waving at him. He quickens his steps. She is calling for him, her voice distant, desperate.

The smoke beneath his feet thickens, he is choking as he he is trying to find her.

The fog begins to thin.

He is no longer walking on stone or dirt, but on show.

Winter of the world has come, and her body is lying on the ground, thin layer of snow covering it.

He wakes up, covered in sweat, looking around and everything is so unfamiliar, it’s feasting off his fragile and confused being.

– and there she lies – – not dressed in snow, but in white sheets.

In the deepening grasp of reality, Bucky has no choice but to recognize the trembling in his own heart. A trembling ocean underneath his eyelids. The veil of sadness and shame – causes him to scream as he holds her body, awaiting her warmth.

„Y/n? Baby…what-t, where, baby come on wake up“

„Baby, please wake up, Jesus what happened…I can’t remem-“

But love unexplained is clearer.

She is still clinging on something, still clinging on hope – the dog tags – it seems that she wanted to pour out all her heart into his heart in hopes of waking him up – she loved him, she shall love him always, loving him more than life itself. “Much unhappiness has come into the world because of bewilderment and things left unsaid.” PART 4 ✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧

Tag list @kaz11283 @montyrokz @queenashen @pandabearrrrrrr @depressed-gays-of-marvel @introverbatim @chocolatelovemusic @happinessinthebeing @goodkittyspost @venting402 @tilltheendofthelinepal9950 @lovelywritinglady @lady-loki-barnes-djarin @msoldier

[chronicowboy]

"Can I tell you something?"

Honestly, Eddie isn't sure where it comes from. One moment he's watching Buck trying and failing to bite through the long line of melted cheese stretching from his mouth to the slice of pizza held at arm's length, the next something scolding tears through his chest like a bullet from a sniper's rifle and Eddie's mouth falls open before he can think of what he's going to say.

"'Course," Buck mumbles through his mouthful of pizza, breathing around it because its still too hot of course. There's a smear of red sauce on his chin and the pizza is still held aloft about a foot away from his mouth, Eddie finds him desperately beautiful.

"In the truck, after I was shot," Eddie slides the plate under the pizza slice just as Buck drops it, "and after you told me you weren't hurt, there was one last moment that I fought to stay awake."

"Eddie—"

"Not for Christopher, not for you, but for myself." Eddie nods, eyes trained on the picture of Buck and Christopher on the fridge. "I just wanted to look at you. Just for one last moment. When I knew that you were okay, that you weren't hurt, that I didn't have to worry about you or Chris. I just wanted to look at you." Ironic, he thinks, that he can't look at Buck now. He sucks in a sharp breath and turns to meet Buck's dazed blue eyes. "I wanted you to be the last thing I saw." Buck swallows, that damn string of cheese still hanging from his lips. "And then I woke up to Ana sat next to me in the hospital, and I don't think I've ever been more disappointed in my life."

The loft hasn't been this silent since the morning after that one fateful night during quarantine when they'd thought it would be a good idea to get hammered and play truth or dare, and nobody could look each other in the eye over the several terrible secrets that had been revealed.

Its that same cloying silence now.

Not their usual silence. Not the comfortable silence Eddie revels in. Not the warm silence that greeted him when Eddie walked into the loft with a pizza after asking Buck to call him with an "emergency" to get out of a date with Pepa's latest "perfect woman".

"W-why are you telling me this?" Buck stutters out. "Why- Why now?"

"Because I've been on four dates since you died and none of them have felt remotely close to the night we scammed ten Porterhouses out of the Chief." Eddie shrugs, looking out to the red umbrella flapping in the wind on the balcony. He swings his gaze around to Buck. "Because you said you had the answers, and I'm hoping with everything in me that you have the answer to this question."

"W-what, um, what question is that? E-exactly?" Buck asks, voice breathy.

"If I told you that I'd been falling since that ambulance exploded," Eddie smiles, its a shaky thing full of fear, "would you catch me?"

"Always," Buck breathes without any hesitation, laying his big hand on Eddie's forearm. "Always, Eddie."

"And if I asked for your heart?" Eddie manages to choke out.

"You've had it the whole time, Eddie." Buck smiles, just as shaky as Eddie's had been, but bright and brilliant. "It only started beating again for you."

"One last question?" Eddie raises an eyebrow, his own smile beginning to ache in his cheeks.

"Anything," Buck promises.

"Will you kiss me?"

"Now, I'm not sure about that," Buck grins, all smug and self-assured despite the fucking cheese still on his fucking chin. "Don't I get a date first, Diaz?"

"What? Pizza and beer isn't good enough for you?" Eddie quirks an eyebrow, plan already forming in his head for a homecooked meal lit by candles in the kitchen at home, undoubtedly a panicked call to Bobby when the lasagne doesn't go to plan.

"I'd like to be wooed," Buck says haughtily. "I died, I won you steaks, I think I deserve a little wooing."

"Oh, you do, do you?"

"I do actually," Buck grins at him.

"How about you finish your pizza first," Eddie reaches up to cup Buck's cheek, uses his thumb to catch the string of cheese and gently pushes it past Buck's lips which open for him willingly, "and then we can circle back round to the wooing?"

Eddie pulls his thumb from Buck's mouth with a pop and watches Buck's pupils dilate until the blue of his irises is entirely eclipsed.

"Nope, wooed enough," Buck blurts out before grabbing Eddie's face and crashing their lips together clumsily.

Its the best first kiss of his life.

[1d1195]

Traditional VIII

Well this is the fastest I've ever written. Sorry to leave you hanging on part 7 like that. You can read Traditional here.

I actually wanted this part to be longer but I think I stopped it at a good spot to continue with what I want in the next part but the next part will be a hot minute before it’s posted also part 9 will pick up right where this leaves off.

Warnings: angst (see I remembered the word this time), death mentioned, mourning, (etc.)

“Can I help you?”

Her heart officially shattered. Her head snapped up to the beautiful woman’s voice and she gasped. It felt like someone wrapped their hand around her throat and was squeezing all life out of her. “Oh my God,” how could Niall suggest this? Did he know? Was Harry really that mad at her he would have Niall convince her to come over and see another woman and...? “I’m so sorry,” she whispered breathlessly.

She stopped by the bathroom to take stock of what she looked like as soon as she got to the floor. She put the bag at her feet and stood in front of the sink counter and gripped the edge. The pain in her arm from her slip ached from the bruise forming on her forearm and rippled up the length of her arm as she held onto the counter. Taking a deep breath, she finally looked in the mirror.

Ill. She looked ill. From a green complexion to her red eyes. Her nose was cold and reddening by the second making her look like she had a cold. Bloodshot eyes and overall, just the pallor of a ghost. Her head ached and it was a dumb idea to come back to work. Surely, she would mess up more things. But there wasn’t much else she could do and nowhere else she could really go.

Slowly she closed her eyes and dropped her chin to her chest in defeat. Then tilted her neck all the way back to the ceiling. “Goddamn it,” she hissed to herself. Grabbing her bag, she walked swiftly back to her office. Maybe she would just sit there and stare at her computer screen until Harry finally fired her.

Niall covered the microphone with his hand. “Darling?” He asked curiously as the door to her office opened. “I’ll call y’back,” he dropped his phone back to the receiver and he hurried to her little space. “I thought—”

“I have no where to go,” she said curtly. Niall didn’t deserve her abrupt tone, but it was the only one she could give. This day was so awful, and she had nowhere to go except the one place she would most assuredly run into at least half of her problems. And that was her best option.

Without a debit card, she had no way to get to the hospital. Her apartment belonged to Harry and right now she didn’t want to be anywhere that was associated with him and the part of her life with him outside company walls. Her laptop was broken and even if she could use it her brain wouldn’t function.

“What are you talking—your apartment?” He reminded her with a question in his voice.

“You mean Harry’s apartment?”

“Love, all things considered, he wouldn’t kick you out or something... he wouldn’t do that to you. Not even on his worst day.”

She shook her head. That’s not what she meant but it was a new fear that twisted her stomach in knots on top of everything else. The tears flooded back into her vision. “I don’t want to talk about any of this Niall. I just want to work so I don’t have to think. If I have even a second to think about anything but work, I’m going to explode, and I can’t do that in front of you—”

“Sure, you can,” he said encouragingly. “Come on,” he said and tugged her out of her seat and into his office. She was too weak to do anything but follow obligingly. He gently guided her to the sofa he had in the room and hurried to his desk. He scribbled something, practically ran back to the door, and smacked the paper on the front before shutting it, blocking out the rest of the floor.

“What’s that?” She asked, curiosity getting the best of her as she looked at her hands in her lap.

“Says ‘Do not disturb. Meeting in progress.’”

“You’re going to get in trouble because of me,” she mumbled.

“Don’t worry, I know the boss pretty well.”

“That’s especially why.”

“He left for the day.”

She blinked. “What?” She asked softly. Other than being sick, Harry didn’t leave early. Ever. Most often he stayed late. The rest he left on time and not a moment sooner.

“He wasn’t feeling himself,” Niall said with a shrug. “Think you know why,” he was so casual about it. Her heart fluttered with worry despite how angry he was with her. How was she supposed to feel? She was in love with him. It didn’t matter. “Go on, then. Please tell me. I’ve been dying to help you as much as you help me.”

She shook her head. “I can’t Niall. You’re my boss—”

“Oh, for God’s sake, love. You’re also the love of my best friend’s life. Would you just talk to me already?” She looked at him as if she was really seeing him for the first time. She couldn’t believe he said that out loud. Now she understood why he put the note up. He wasn’t doing this as her boss. This was Harry’s best friend. If she could dream or hope about a future with Harry, he would be one of her best friends, too. “Pretend I’m not your boss right now.”

She apparently didn’t need much more encouragement for her already bubbling emotions to flow over. Poor Niall took it all in stride. Every word that exploded out of her, all the tears, everything. It wasn’t like when she talked to Harry, and it definitely wasn’t like when she talked to Louis. She told him all about the last twenty-four hours from Hell. She listed every inconvenience, every heartbreak. The debit card, the mean coworker, her dad, how her coffee tasted bad and got everywhere, her laptop was broken, and Louis and Eleanor were her only friends, and she couldn’t even go see them. “And of course, Harry hates me, so I didn’t get to see him last night,” she finished blubbering. She didn’t give lots of details on most anything, just the coworker since that was one of the only ones that she could see him dealing with. Not that she wanted him to.

“To be fair, I think Harry hates me, right now,” he smirked sadly.

“That’s almost worse,” she sniffled.

Niall rolled his eyes as he rubbed her back soothingly with the palm of his hand and watched her dab her eyes with the tissues he got from his desk. “He hates me because he thinks I’m stealing you away because you didn’t tell him any of that. And he’s mad that you didn’t want to tell him. He thought your relationship was evolving and you took like ten steps back without a word. Christ darling, I’m mad you for not saying anything about the harassment. That is not okay. You’re not plain, you’re lovely. She’s just jealous.”

She found it interesting that he agreed with Louis’s assessment. “That’s what Louis said, even before she talked to me.”

Niall shook his head. “She was extremely cruel for no reason, I’m so sorry, love. You did not deserve that.”

She shrugged awkwardly, defeated still. Even getting all of that off her chest. “I am plain. It’s why I was so worried about my... situation with Harry...I don’t...” she took a deep breath. “You’re not my boss right now?” She repeated his statement as a question for reassurance. He shook his head.

“Just a really good friend,” he promised. “I won’t tell Harry,” he added for good measure.

“I don’t even think he’ll want to sleep with me because I’m so ordinary and...” Despite his talk with Niall and that fact they were both aware of her relationship with Harry, she still didn’t like bringing it up. Plus, the untraditional details were lost on her, and she didn’t want to have to explain it to Niall awkwardly.

“Love,” Niall smirked. “Harry is...infatuated with you,” he promised.  “You don’t have to worry about any of that kind of thing. He would—look I don’t want to say it because it sounds like locker room talk and I don’t want you to think he and I talk about you like that. We don’t, I promise—but that’s not something you need to worry about. I’ve never seen him like this about anyone he’s ever been involved with romantically one way or another.”

It made her heart hope, and she hated it. She was prepared for defeat. Harry wouldn’t be in love with her anymore. They wouldn’t get dinner on Mondays or watch movies on Thursdays. There would be no more little sleepovers where he would be sick and accidentally tell her he loved her and forget by morning. She shook her head. “Niall, I...” She swallowed.

“Please tell me you’re in love with him, I’ve been dying for you to say it almost as much as he has.”

The smallest pause. Niall wasn’t her boss. “Of course, I’m in love with him. How can you not be?” She asked, face blushing, as she stared at her hands.

Niall sighed. “You need to tell him what you told me,” he said.

She shook her head. “No, it’s not his problem. I’m a big girl and...I have to handle it.”

“But you don’t have to do it on your own,” he promised her. “I don’t know everything, but I see the way you work, and I know bits and pieces of what Harry is willing to tell me. I know you want to fix every problem that crosses your path for anyone that has one. If you walked into your office and spoke to the you that sits at your computer, how would you help?” He asked. “Would you tell yourself to keep it all bottled up or take a hike and deal with it yourself? Or would you, the person who helps everyone with anything they may need, help you?”

She took a deep breath. The first bit of clarity over the last twelve hours was finally reaching her ears from Niall. “I would help.”

“Then help yourself, darling. Please. Tell Harry.”

She closed her eyes and nodded solemnly. “I think I have to go to the hospital first,” she said to Niall. “But I don’t have a debit card or a ride.”

“Call Harry’s driver. He won’t care. Or I’ll take you, I don’t mind at all,” Niall reached into his wallet and pulled out one of his plastic cards. “I think this has a 25,000-spending limit,” he smirked. “I’d be impressed if you used all of it in one weekend,” he smiled. “Bring it back Monday,” he shrugged. “Definitely use it to get a new laptop when you have time.”

Sucking her lip into her mouth she awkwardly took the card “Please don’t tell Harry about...her...”

He frowned. “Darling,” his tone was so disapproving. It sounded like that was going to be Niall’s first call. Maybe second if he called the bitchy woman down to his office to fire her after the sweet girl left.

“He’ll fire her.”

“As he should! She harassed you!”

She closed her eyes and shook her head. “Please, Niall,” she whispered.

He sighed bitterly. If even one thing that happened to her over the last day didn’t happen, he wouldn’t have listened. But she had been through enough and he didn’t want to be the cause of any more of her anxiety. Besides, once he was officially forgiven by Harry, he would ask for front row seats to her exit interview. “Okay, darling. I won’t. Go to the hospital. Then you have to go to Harry’s.”

*

Harry’s driver was kind throughout the ride and didn’t ask her a single question about why she needed to go to a hospital. In fact, other than asking if she wanted to listen to a certain type of music, he didn’t ask any questions. “Won’t Harry notice?” She eventually asked.

“No,” he shrugged one shoulder as he passed towards the streets that used to be home. She lived an hour away now, but it felt like an entirely foreign country right now. “Probably not. If he needed me, I would probably send another one of the drivers from the company,” he said simply.

The remainder of the drive was silent. Her heart beating erratically with every closer turn to the town she left. “Do you need help?” He asked when they arrived at the hospital. She shook her head steeling herself for the horribleness she was about to endure in so many emotional forms.

“No... thank you,” she said gratefully. “And... if you have to leave... I understand. But could you please...don’t tell Harry.”

“Of course, Miss,” he smiled encouragingly. Taking her work bag with her, she stepped out of the car and headed into the hospital.

*

It was a little over an hour later that she left the hospital with one less parent in existence. Although, she hadn’t had two parents since before her brother died, she felt saddened knowing that it would never be amended. And for her mom, it would never be the same. She would always be alone, now.

Naturally, it didn’t seem to bother her mother all that much. “I’ll never forgive you,” her mom said with tears in her eyes. “You can leave now.”

When it came to her parents, there wasn’t much she could do but listen. Part of her wanted to appease them and hope that eventually they would love her again. So of course, after she said goodbye there was nothing left for her to do except listen to her mother’s request.

Her loss didn’t feel as sad as it should have. Probably because when her brother passed, she didn’t just lose her brother. She lost her best friend and her parents all in one swoop. Mourning her brother at age sixteen when her friends were buying prom dresses and going on college tours in hopes of meeting college boys was a tragedy that Shakespeare wouldn’t write.

There was nothing like mourning the death of people who were still alive and lived with you every day.

When she exited the hospital room, she called the driver once more who told her to wait five minutes and he would pull around so she wouldn’t have to wait in the cold. She stood outside anyway, for the full five minutes letting the cold wash over her. She was already numb. Everything that had happened in such a short amount of time was numbing her. The cold didn’t even hurt because she was already in so much pain.

All she wanted was to see Harry. Her chest ached at the thought of being held by him. It would cure her broken heart, she was certain.

She sniffled and a few stray tears spilt over her lash line. Without her realizing, she got more teary as she waited, only noticing when his driver reappeared. “Miss,” the driver said hurriedly. He was rushing over to her on the sidewalk reaching for her bag and offered her a tissue from his pocket. He placed a hand on her lower back to guide her up the sidewalk to the car. “Is everything alright? Are you—”

She shook her head, tears steadily falling down her cheeks. She opened the door herself as he looked on with worry. “I’m fine,” she whispered but her voice broke on the word fine. “Can you take me to Harry’s?”

*

The closer she got to his house, the more anxious and sadder she got. As he parked in the driveway, she strongly considered telling him to take her back to the apartment. However, she all but promised Niall she would come here. Maybe these tears would make him listen at least for a moment. Wringing her hands together, she sat silently, awkwardly in her seat before the driver even made a move after several minutes. With a deep breath, she swallowed and pushed the door out of the way. “Can you wait five more minutes in case he really hates me, and I need to leave?” She asked.

The driver chuckled dryly. “He doesn’t hate you, but I’ll wait,” he said.

She made her way across the path and up the steps to his front door. She knocked and was prepared to stare at her feet the whole time she waited for Harry to open the door. Maybe she even planned to stare at her feet if he was willing to talk to her. She was going to beg or cry (probably both) just for five minutes to explain everything. Five minutes to try and fix her broken heart.

“Can I help you?”

Her heart officially shattered. Her head snapped up to the beautiful woman’s voice and she gasped. It felt like someone wrapped their hand around her throat and was squeezing all life out of her. “Oh my God,” how could Niall suggest this? Did he know? Was Harry really that mad at her he would have Niall convince her to come over and see another woman and...? “I’m so sorry,” she whispered breathlessly. It felt like she was swallowing her tongue. She backed away, nearly losing her balance as she did. She wanted to be embarrassed about almost losing her balance but even standing upright she felt like she was swaying and the only thing she felt was betrayal and she had no right to feel that way.

“Whoa, hey,” the girl said reaching for her before she fell back off the steps. She regained her balance and felt like her stomach was going to heave up anything she had eaten—which wasn’t the time to remember but she realized she only had a bagel and a coffee this morning almost twelve hours ago.

Of course, Harry would find someone else. He was...him. He had money and he could have any girl he wanted. Someone beautiful. Someone who didn’t have all the baggage that she did. Someone who didn’t hide from him and someone who would do what a companion like her was supposed to do.

“Why are you apologizing? Is Harry expecting you?” She asked tilting her head curiously, trying to figure out who she was. Like this was normal for her to be answering the door and for her to be standing there. “Are you alright?” She asked gently.

She wished she wasn’t nice. It was making it harder for her to be mad. Seeing this kind woman opening the door to the house of the man she was in love with would have been so much easier if she could have been mad. But she was just heartbreakingly sad. “N-no...I...I didn’t mean to intrude, I’m so sorry,” she repeated hurrying down the few steps and nearly missed the last one tripping into the yard. So much so, she lost one of her shoes. Worse yet in her fit of non-embarrassment, just total shock, she left it there. “Oh my God,” she whimpered to herself. She was now truly worried she would throw up. She turned quickly and practically ran back for the driveway.

“Kitten?!” Harry shouted from somewhere in the house.

“Hey, wait!” The woman called suddenly.

“Fuck,” she heard Harry hiss as she hurried back to the car, tears falling quickly down her cheeks as she awkwardly limped without her shoe the path to the driveway. With her head start she thought she really might make it in the car and drive away before Harry got to her. But he had much longer legs...and he wasn’t bogged down by missing a shoe. “Goddammit! Love, stop!” He shouted running across the yard. She pulled the door handle quickly trying to get away from this house, but the door smacked shut at the same time. Harry’s hand pressed to the window while the other grabbed her arm right where it bruised. She inhaled sharply in pain and winced. Harry dropped her arm like a hot potato, he released a breath out of frustration. “Kitten, stop,” he was out of breath from his short run—but it wasn’t the run making him breathless but the thought of losing her at this moment. She wanted to look up at him and see those perfect green eyes, but she was so scared. “Look at me, please,” he begged. But her eyes stayed glued to the driveway. Harry was only in socks, and she thought that was cute. His feet in socks. It wasn’t the time, but her brain was operating on no sleep and way too much trauma for one day.

Her face crumpled in pain and she shook her head. She couldn’t look at him, if she looked all the pain would boil over and she would start crying and never stop. Why didn’t Harry deserve some woman that would be there for him the way she couldn’t be? Why wouldn’t he want someone beautiful and not plain? Someone who wasn’t so young that she was still in the internship phase. Someone who didn’t need his money or a job. Someone who was brilliant enough to help him with whatever his company and he himself needed.

“Hey,” the woman’s voice suddenly sounded beside her. It was gentle and out of instinct she turned to the direction of the woman that was currently amplifying just how terrible her day could get just by existing. It wasn’t her fault either. She really thought the girl was beautiful and lovely. She was kind to not sneer at her as a sniveling mess. She sniffled looking at her curiously. The beautiful girl handed Harry her missing shoe then stuck her hand out to introduce herself. “M’Gemma,” she said softly, apologetically in tone as she smiled at her with a terrible look of pity directed toward her.

Even though one of the only things she prided herself on was being intelligent this had to be the dumbest thing she had ever done in her whole life. She was speechless. Couldn’t even say her own name as she held her hand out awkwardly and (fortunately for her) instinctively for Harry’s sister to shake.

At the same time, Harry crouched to the ground and placed her shoe back on her foot holding her ankle so gently, like she might break. “I was just going, truly,” Gemma smiled at her sympathetically. “I’ve heard loads about you. I’ll meet you again sometime, yeah?” She asked quietly. Harry was silent throughout the interaction. His breathing erratic as he was hoping she wouldn’t leave. “Bye Harry,” she kissed him on the cheek and Gemma went to the other side of the car and gave the driver a wave before sliding into the back seat. The car drove away leaving her alone with Harry.

“Kitten,” he whispered softly.

“I’ve had a terrible couple of days,” she sniffled tears clouding her vision again. The fear of Harry finding someone else nearly ruined her completely. She was lucky that wasn’t the case. But she still had to have this talk that she promised Niall.

“I know y’have love, I just...Niall texted me...and Louis is worried...and... my love,” his voice was so gentle. It pulled at every string in her heart.

She started to say the speech she had planned in her head when she arrived. Before she saw Gemma. “I know you hate me, but I have nowhere else to go,” she whimpered, and it was all too much, and she finally let her knees give out as she melted to the ground. She covered her face and cried.

“No. Baby, I don’t hate you. Not at all. M’so sorry about everything,” he promised crouching beside her. “Let’s go inside...s’too cold t’have y’out here,” he lifted around her waist to help her stand. He wanted to scoop her up and carry her because whatever demons she was fighting right now had made her weak. But she seemed overwhelmed already and he didn’t want to add to that any more than he already had by not realizing sooner that Gemma was talking to her without her knowing who Gemma was. So, once she was standing again, he held her hand and pulled her back to the house.

*

Gemma had been extremely helpful in working through Harry’s emotions with him. “You really think Niall of all people would do that to you?” She rolled her eyes.

Harry felt like her little brother at that moment. He didn’t too often anymore because he was always busy with his company, and he was always busy doing things that he never really got a chance to just be the younger sibling and have Gemma take care of him like she used to when they were young. “I think I love her, Gem.”

“Ya think?” She rolled her eyes. Harry sighed. The pair of them were sitting on his sofa and sipping tea. They ordered out for dinner and were now chatting so Harry would calm down. Harry never left work early, but he was so distraught and angry that something had to be done. Gemma came right over, and he told her everything about the girl of his dreams. Unbeknownst to Harry, Gemma was thrilled that Harry cared so deeply about someone in this capacity. Like Niall, she noticed it was so different than anyone he ever involved himself with up to this point in time. She couldn’t wait to tell their mum.

After venting for almost two hours and working through what he needed to do next, Gemma chatted about herself and caught him up on her life. In comparison, it wasn’t much. Work was good and her dating life was good. There wasn’t much to report.

Her phone vibrated. Hey Gem. It was Niall. I know he’s pissed at me, but can you tell him to look at his phone? It’s an emergency.

Frowning, she responded to Niall while she called out to Harry. “Harry, look at your phone. Niall said there’s an emergency.” He was putting the mugs in the sink when Gemma gave him the directions. As he put the phone in his hand, his stomach dropped. He hadn’t looked at it in hours.

He had a message from Niall and a message from an unknown number claiming to be Louis. His chest felt tight. The only thought he managed was that something was wrong with her; and that was the worst kind of thought.

Niall’s said: Harry...you have to talk to her. It’s bad.

Then a second message: Really bad.

He frowned feeling worry for the sweet girl. He almost called her instead of reading Louis’ message, but there was a knock at the door, changing his plan as he tried to gather his scattered thoughts. He tapped on the message from Louis. “I’ll answer it on my way out, have a good weekend, Harry!” Gemma called cheerfully. He didn’t even respond because he was busy reading.

Louis’ message was a long one: Hey Harry, it’s Louis. I stole your phone number from her back in August without her knowing. She would kill me for messaging you, but we’re on a plane and... well... she said she was feeling poor and headed to your house. But El and I just figured out WHY she’s poorly. She’s ignoring her phone, or something... Can you please tell her to call me? She probably won’t even tell you, so she won’t be a bother, and I can’t tell you through a text message... I’m sure she doesn’t want to interrupt our weekend either, but... please have her call me back. Or you can when you have her in a stable place... Thank you for taking care of her... I don’t think I’ve ever said that before to you... I don’t trust her with very many people. So, thank you for taking care of my best friend.

It took him a moment to pull himself from the message and that the other voice outside was the sweet girl speaking to Gemma at the door.

“Why are you apologizing? Is Harry expecting you?” Gemma asked gently.

“N-no...I... I didn’t mean to intrude, I’m so sorry,” she stammered, and Harry shook his head trying to reach the fact that she was there.

“Kitten?!” He shouted. By the time he raced to the door, she was nearing the car. He wondered when the driver got there briefly, but he was nearly sprinting, almost pushing Gemma to the ground, to make sure he got to the car before she did. As she pulled the door handle open sniffling as she desperately tried to leave, he smacked the door shut immediately. He would not let her leave.

Something was wrong with her arm because when he reached for it, she winced in pain and Harry thought he would murder someone if they hurt her. The messages from Niall and Louis scrolling through his mind. “Kitten, stop,” he whispered as she tried to reach for the car again. “Look at me please,” he begged. It had only been a day, but he was a lovesick man. He missed her face and he wanted to see the beautiful eyes he loved so much, the little windows to her soul. Even if he just saw them for a second. But she kept her eyes to the ground. Fortunately, at that moment, Gemma introduced herself.

That’s when Harry put it together that she thought Gemma was some other woman. He didn’t even find it funny, although he wished he could have. He felt so terrible she thought so little of how much she meant to Harry that he would find someone else in less than twenty-four hours.

Now, they were inside. “Where do y’want to sit?” He asked. “The sofa or the bed?”

“I don’t—”

“Love. Please, where will you be most comfortable?” He whispered gently.

“The sofa,” she answered.

He softly nudged her to the living area, taking her coat off before she sat and then he crouched to take her shoes off. Lightly, he pushed the sleeve of her blouse up because he didn’t forget, and he saw the nasty bruise on her arm that made his heart ache with anger. “What happened?” His voice was short. He thought of the messages both Niall and Louis sent him. “Louis texted me. Said you’re ignoring his calls.”

She shook her head. “I don’t even remember the last time I saw my phone.” He frowned. He was glad she was here. If he tried to call her and she didn’t answer, he would have gone mad with worry.  She sniffled. “Harry,” she croaked.

“M’here, kitten,” he promised, and he pushed himself to kneel between her legs and he placed his hands on either side of her face. It felt like fire to touch her like this. He craved it so badly. Not having it at movie night and not seeing her until five minutes ago...and knowing she was hurt? His heart was broken. “Tell me, please,” he begged. “I’ll kill someone if I have to.”

She sighed. “You have to listen to everything before you say something or I won’t be able to finish it all,” she whispered.

“Sure love,” he nodded obediently.

“And you can’t kill or fire anyone.” He didn’t respond because he wasn’t sure he could make that promise to her. Especially if someone caused that bruise. He pressed his lips together, knelt between her legs and held her face to keep her gaze. “It’s not going to make sense, so much went wrong so fast,” she told him.

“I can keep up,” he promised. There was a moment of pause as she collected all her thoughts trying to figure out how to begin.

She began her story. “Someone stole my debit card, and I don’t... As a rule, I don’t use my credit card... at least not right now. I have too many bills and worries to be using it. I can’t wrack up any more debt... So, I basically have no access to my account or money for a week,” Harry took a hand from her face to reach into his pocket for his wallet. That was an easy fix, and he was sad it started off so easy because that meant it was going to get much worse.

She shook her head. “Niall already gave me his, because I needed it to get to the hospital,” she said, stilling his hand from opening his wallet. She gave his hand a squeeze at the sound of Niall’s name. But he didn’t feel jealous. He did in the moment seeing his best friend holding the object of all his affections so comfortingly in his arms. He didn’t know what was wrong and he was irrationally angry that Niall wouldn’t say—even when he didn’t know at the time either. He wanted to be the one comforting her. That was all.

“Hospital?” He questioned his eyes falling back to her arm.

“I’m jumping ahead. It wasn’t for me.”

He frowned. Putting the wallet on the coffee table he would thank Niall later for offering his help while Harry was being an idiot. “Go on,” he said, and he moved to sit beside her. He stretched his legs out on the chaise section and pulled her over his body, so her legs laid over his lap. This way he could see into her eyes and still touch her. He kept one of his hands wrapped up in hers and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

“I was going to try and figure out how to transfer some of my money on my laptop to a temporary gift card or something… and maybe work on my internship reflection for school but... my laptop wouldn’t turn on,” she mumbled. “And then at the same time it occurred to me I can’t even buy a laptop because I don’t have a debit card.”

“We can go buy you a new one tomorrow,” he promised.

“S’not the point,” she mumbled. “You’re not supposed to interrupt,” she reminded him.

He squeezed her hand. “M’sorry.”

“The woman from the meeting who thinks I’m stupid because I’m an intern,” she whispered the description. “Do you know who I’m talking about?” Harry nodded, curious as to how someone he only saw at meetings had anything to do with this story. Harry almost forgot about her. She was right. So much had happened in such a short amount of time, he hadn’t even had a chance to debrief with her the wonderful job she did in person and to tell her not to worry about the woman from the meeting.

“You’re not stup—”

She continued without letting Harry compliment her. “She told me that you wouldn’t sleep with me.”

Harry blinked rapidly a few times, shook his head trying to clear it. Surely, he missed something to get to this section of the story. “What? I’m sorry...what do you—”

She looked at their hands held together. “She came to my office, unprompted, while I was sad about my laptop, and she just said I was stupid and plain, and you wouldn’t sleep with me because I wasn’t your type. I’m not special or smart and just because I had one good idea and I work well with Niall didn’t mean you would want me... an intern.”

He had no idea the condition to hear her story was not firing an employee was for the benefit of some cruel woman who was just so wrong. He felt speechless because everything in those two sentences was wrong. She wasn’t plain, she was so goddamn beautiful she haunted his every thought. Add in the fact she was so brilliant and kind. Harry couldn’t get enough of her, and the idea of sleeping with her...

Again, he if it meant he could have her there in his life forever, he wouldn’t care about being intimate. But otherwise, he would kill to be so close to her. “Kitten,” he whispered.He was so mad. The rage in his chest was consuming. She would be fired. For one reason or another. Harry didn’t care what he had to do. He wouldn’t let anyone speak that way to another employee. But especially not the angel seated beside him.

“It gets worse,” she mumbled.

Harry closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and nodded. He didn’t know how that could be possible, but he supposed he would find out. “Please continue, then.”

“She knocked my coffee all over my desk,” she said. “And it got all over my skirt, my laptop, the floor, my desktop, and then...I went to clean it and I slipped and that’s how I got this bruise,” she gestured to her arm. Instinctively, Harry reached out and brushed his fingers over it. Not only did he want to fire her, but he also wanted to kill her. The poor girl knew exactly what Harry would do under the right circumstances and that was why she made restrictions on hearing the story as such. She was good, Harry would give her that.

“That’s when you came in,” she mumbled. “I was so sad and heartbroken I couldn’t speak to even tell you what was wrong, and I knew how sad and hurt you were that Niall was comforting me... but Harry, I would never do that to you, ever. Especially with your best friend. Regardless of this... relationship we have... I would never... it’s a—”

“I had no right to be that mad,” Harry mumbled quietly. He had long since forgiven her. She didn’t even need forgiveness because she didn’t do anything wrong.

“And then you cancelled movie night,” she whispered brokenly. Somehow this sounded like it hurt her worse than the bruise or that stupid woman’s comments. Harry’s frown deepened and he rubbed his hand on the back of his head awkwardly.

“I was so sad,” he told her. “I shouldn’t have—”

“It gets worse,” she repeated. He was hoping she was done. The idea it could get worse...

Harry wanted to take her heart out so he could sew all the holes that she was opening and then give it back to her. And Harry couldn’t even sew but whatever he did had to be better than whatever wounds laid in her heart. “I was a total zombie today at work. Niall was avoiding me per you, I think. He told me to go home after lunch so I could... I don’t know I think he just wanted me away from him.” Harry frowned. That was what Niall wanted. It was all Harry’s doing because he yelled at Niall and accused him of things he shouldn’t have as his best friend. “So I was walking home—”

“Walking?! It was freezing out, kitten.”

“Can you... this is the worst part...” He was silent. But in his head, he was arranging for a car to follow her for the rest of her life and would be training a driver to somehow coerce her into the car if she refused in sub-arctic temperatures. “My mom called,” she said. Harry’s heart stopped. “I went to the hospital.” His eyebrows quirked up and he pressed his lips together. After another brief moment of utter silence, “my dad died,” she whispered.

“Kitten,” he cooed. “Baby, m’so sorry.”

This had to be one of the worst days in recorded human history. No wonder Louis’ message was so long. He was probably freaking out. “I went to the hospital...my mom...she won’t forgive me and...” she took a deep breath. “I had nowhere else to go and I just wanted you and I don’t even know if that’s fair after all I’ve put you through over the last day. So, I came here. I’m sorry for wanting you, I don’t want to—”

“Kitten,” he reached for her face and pressed his thumb over her lips so she would stop speaking and stop breaking his heart. She was here. That meant the story was over. Thank God. “I want you here. Always,” he promised. “I want you.” The relief on her face was somehow one of the most heartbreaking expressions she wore throughout the duration of her story. Harry wanted to cry at the thought. He pulled her toward him, face pressed to his chest, and he wrapped his arms around her. One hand snaked up her back to hold the back of her neck, his fingers tangling in her hair, and he kissed the space of her forehead just by her hairline before closing his eyes completely content having her there.

There were so many things that needed to be addressed. She needed to call Louis. Harry wanted to call Niall...he wanted to call that terrible woman and fire her over the phone but that would have to wait until Monday. Harry would see to it that something about the funeral be figured out. Maybe he would send one of his lawyers to deal with her mum. Her bank account, her laptop, even the driver he was seriously going to have follow her... all of it needed to be taken care of for Harry to feel like he was helping her and making her horrible thirty-some odd hours end.

But for the next five minutes he was going to hold her like it was his one and only job. “M’gonna make it all better, kitten,” he murmured brushing his lips over her forehead again. “Promise.”

--

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