#and now...revisiting the incident | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

jaylaxies · 3 months ago

Text

A REUNION TO REMEMBER

PAIRING: sunghoon x fem!reader

GENRE/CW: smut, unprotected sex, fingering, cunnilingus, public sex, car sex, shower sex, squirting, lots of kissing, slight jealousy, slight degradation (slut) and praising, mentions of drinking, mentions of jay and karina (aespa), and other idols, mentions of nicknames (baby, princess, kitten), more to be added.

WORD COUNT: 15.3k words.

SYNOPSIS: You last met Park Sunghoon when you were attending high school, more precisely, when he had gained enough courage to ask you out, not knowing that the most popular girl of the school was already taken by the senior who was equally as popular. Four years later, your batch decided to hold a reunion back in your town, where you meet Sunghoon again. Only, the problem is that he's hotter than ever and you can't, for the life of you, keep your eyes off him.

PLAYLIST: here!

WARNING: 18+ content, minors dni.

A/N: hihi, angels! i’m done revamping the hoon fic, i hope y’all enjoy reading it <33 all likes, comments, reblogs are highly appreciated! it keeps me motivated! iloveyou all and happy reading <33

“There’s absolutely no fucking way he didn’t know!”

You exclaimed, frustration clear on your face, recalling how things went down back in tenth grade to prove your point.

Karina only sighed on the other end of the call, “listen, babe, I love you but you have to take into account how oblivious the poor boy was back then! He studied and skated, that’s literally all he did, that was him,” she spoke, emphasizing on the but part.

You huffed, sitting down on the edge of your bed, nodding to yourself slowly as you let it sink that her point was actually a valid one for once.

“It’s still awkward though,” you mumbled, playing with a loose thread of your sweater.

“It’ll be fine, okay? It’s been four years, and it’s not like you have to talk to him.” Her words were true yet again, and this is why you loved her.

Karina had been your best friend since you were in middle school, she’d always been honest and the social butterfly everyone loved, but at the same time, she was humble and kind, always taking care of the ones around her, not to mention how she was possibly the prettiest girl you’d ever met.

You were relieved to know that she would be with you for the school reunion—an event which was planned thoroughly, it was a big deal.

It wasn’t just a meet up, it was a three day trip back to your hometown, the whole itinerary was planned, as per the usual ritual:

The first day being the reunion dinner night—the most important one out of the three days, a day where everyone shows up clad in their best outfits, a day where they flaunt every bit of success and achievements they’ve accomplished.

The second being the beach day, to make sure no one is left out on the fun factor, also

The last being the night out at the newest club of your city, a night to let loose, especially when it concerns rekindling the old flames (happens more often than not).

The idea itself was thrilling, not to mention how desperately you needed this break, Karina was even quicker to express her excitement by booking two hotel rooms, non refundable at that, for you both as your parents now lived in Seoul, and not in your hometown.

Another sigh left your mouth as you plopped down on your bed, staring at the ceiling while wondering why you even bothered to check the guest list, to check whether Park Sunghoon was invited or not.

It was no surprise when you saw his name in the list, gulping as you recalled the embarrassing incident which took place between you both, the one in which you never got the opportunity to confront him, or explain yourself by any means.

You closed your eyes, revisiting the ever so embarrassing memory.

It was the last day of the tenth grade, your exams had just gotten over and the student crowd was elated, throwing notes everywhere to celebrate the fact that they were not chained to their textbooks anymore, not for a month at least; which caused you to scrunch your nose at the sight of paper wastage, not to mention, the meaningless litter all over.

“Uh—Hey,” a sweet voice called your name at the exact second, succeeding in grabbing your attention.

You recognized him as your classmate, Sunghoon, who was also a good friend of your own friend, Jay.

“Hey! Hoon, right?” You smiled at him, a slight red colour spread on his cheeks at the sight of you.

He nodded, also politely saying ‘hello’ to Karina, who was right next to you before his gaze fell to his fingers as he fiddled with them, his fang-like teeth biting down on his plush bottom lip with anxiety as he worked on mustering enough courage to look into your eyes, only to find your own ones staring at him with curiosity.

“I just—I wanted to ask if you’d like to, you know, go out with me sometime?” He let out the question, unsure of what words he had used and cringing at how shaky his tone was.

He had completely forgotten what he practiced in front of the mirror a thousand times, but he knows for sure that the result was not supposed to come out as horrendous as this one.

Your eyes widened as you looked at Karina with pleading eyes, asking for help. It was no secret that you were one of the popular girls at your school; sweet, hardworking, and humble.

Getting a confession such as this one was nothing new to you, declining politely always worked, however, that was when you were single and not in a relationship with the most popular guy in the school (as cliché as it was), who was also your senior. It was almost like a fanfiction with how the ace of the school, Lee Heeseung, had ended up falling for you.

The news was quick to spread, fast enough for your group chat to go crazy, asking you questions so diabolical which almost made you throw your phone away with embarrassment.

In the span of three days, the whole school was aware of the new ‘it couple’. Except for Sunghoon, that is.

“As, uh, friends?” You winced at how pathetic your question was, which certainly made things ten times more awkward than they were supposed to be.

“N—no, as something more?” Sunghoon helpfully explained, looking everywhere but at your face now.

“Sunghoon,” Karina spoke up, causing you to release your breath, thankful that she was here to control the situation when you could say nothing and feel uncomfortable looking at his disappointed face.

“She’s taken, love! Sorry,” she informed him, his eyes widening and mouth agape.

You wondered if he was genuinely clueless about this, he did look lost to you.

You gasped, suddenly feeling an arm wrap around your waist, pulling you closer as you stared at Heeseung in surprise, who was already looking down at you with a smirk.

“Hey, baby. I missed you,” he spoke up, kissing you right on the mouth, more exaggerated than usual.

Sunghoon witnessed the whole scene, a frown settling on his face, embarrassment clear on his face which was now red and showed clear signs of sadness as he softly said, “e—excuse me,” leaving as soon the words left his mouth, shoulders slumped.

You never met him again, only seeing him with Jay at times.

He was quick to change his school soon after it, knowing that he’d be able to do so easily since the finals were over.

You were going to meet him now.

Your eyes snapped open at the thought of that, you just wished for the trip to be a pleasant one. Furthermore, from your side, you’d make sure to not be awkward around him, pretending as if the whole situation didn’t happen in the first place.

If you’d even get to talk to him, that is.

“Wow, you really are dumb,” Jake laughed uncontrollably once Jay finished telling him the story of none other than Park Sunghoon.

“Shut up,” Hoon mumbled, annoyed that the topic which he had wanted so desperately to be buried in the corner of his heart forever was brought up, once again.

“Wait, but if you knew about them dating then why didn’t you tell Hoon?” Jake pointed the question towards Jay.

“Because he never told me he was going to confess in the first place!” Jay’s eyes widened almost comically as he exclaimed, “and it was exam time, finals at that, Sunghoon had sworn he wouldn’t use his phone till the exams ended, and you probably don’t have any clue as to how big of a nerd he was—”

“Jay! Fucking stop this,” Hoon whined, covering his face with his palm as Jay took out his phone, scrolling to find a picture of Sunghoon.

He looked a lot smaller than he is now, wearing a yellow, collared t-shirt and round specs, lips curved into a small smile as he looked into the camera.

“Holy fuck! You could have been easily casted for the live action of Doraemon, as Nobita, of course.” Jake high-fived Jay after taking a look at the picture, the latter almost falling down with the laugh he had let out, the similarities were uncanny.

“The fuck—Nobita? Oh god this is so fucking annoying, can you guys shut up now? I don’t even want to go and face her ever again,” he snapped, whining like a kid right after.

He had been overthinking about everything that could happen once you meet him again, his brain running at the speed of light with the unless possibilities.

Would you laugh in his face and remind him of how stupid he looked asking someone like you out?

Heck, would you even remember him?

You honestly didn’t have any reason to.

Acting nonchalant didn’t help his case one bit, his self awareness higher than ever, especially when it concerned you.

It mattered to him a lot more than he’d like to admit, your opinion mattered more than he’d like to admit, even after all this while.

A four year gap should have been enough to let his embarrassment fade away, however, all his efforts went to vain once he got invited to the reunion.

“Listen, it’ll be okay. She probably doesn’t even remember you!” Jay tried to make him feel better.

“That’s very consoling, that totally calms me down, thank you very much,” Hoon rolled his eyes, wondering if you’d forgotten him already. It wasn’t as if you both had been close, but you did see each around and during the classes.

He can’t lie, the thought made him sad.

“You definitely have a chance now though, if that makes you feel any better,” Jake let out slowly, noticing the glow up Sunghoon had after comparing him with his old picture.

“Shut up, It doesn’t matter, I don’t even like her anymore,” he mumbled, a light blush creeping up his neck as he did so.

Jake and Jay exchanged a knowing look, putting on a smile as they dragged Sunghoon for shopping while Jay went on talking about what all they should be packing for the three day trip, bringing a genuine smile to Hoon’s face as he looked at his goofy best friends.

Maybe the trip wouldn’t be so bad, he thought.

“Ay babe! You look hot,” Karina winked at you, eyeing you up and down while you glided your lipstick along the expanse of your lips, smacking them together a few times to spread it evenly.

You winked back, “you look hotter.” She laughed just as you said that, engulfing you in a hug.

“Ready to leave?” She asked, getting her luggage out as you followed with a nod, smiling while you got into the cab, Karina being quick to snap a few selfies to mark the start of your trip.

The entire time on your way to your destination, you felt giddy, wondering how everyone looked now, how their life must have changed, did they even remember you, would they even recognize you?

It had been a while since you had last met them and you secretly hoped that you’d get a chance to get laid—your frustrated mind needed this, the studies kept you busy and you hadn’t got time to tend to your personal needs.

Your mind was full of scenarios as you imagined how your stay would go, what all activities you’d do and so on, falling asleep on the plane while envisioning the same.

“Wake up, sleepy head,” Karina shook your arm slightly, waking you up from your dreamland.

It took you a second to realize that the plane was going to land, followed by the announcement of the same and you were still sleepy when you put on your belt, eyes barely open as you wiped your lips with the back of your hand.

The journey was short, and you were checked into your hotel room in no time. As soon as you jumped on the bed, Karina came into your room holding a bunch of skincare products and sheet masks.

“Get up! We need that glow for tonight,” she demanded, plopping on the bed with you as she ushered you to go and wash your face while you mumbled complaints with the need to sleep more.

Skincare was therapeutic for you, however, it also made you sleepy, even more so when the hotel beds were the absolute definition of comfort and pleasure, helping you slip into dreamland in no time.

Your skin felt radiant, so lovingly soft by the time you woke up, also checking the time so see that you had to start getting ready for the reunion dinner at once for you to reach there in time.

“No! You’re not wearing that,” Karina pointed at your trouser outfit, a pathetic scowl on her face, looking at the clothes in disapproval.

“Why not?” You asked, looking at it with genuine confusion. It did seem like a decent outfit to you.

“Because we have to show everyone that you’re still the it girl you were four years back, now hotter than ever,” she mumbled, looking into your luggage as you let her take the matter into her hands, your focus now on styling your hair.

“This!” She exclaimed, getting a dress out which made your eyes sparkle. It was a new dress which you hadn’t gotten a chance to wear before, and she was right, it’s the perfect opportunity for you all to dress up a little.

“Huh? I don’t remember keeping this in my bag,” you looked at her.

“Well obviously, I did,” she flipped her hair, proud of herself.

That was it, the music was blasting, the room was a mess with the makeup sprawled all around, also little articles of clothing as you both dolled yourself up.

“Ready?” She smiled. She looked stunning in that black dress of hers, her freshly coloured hair only added to her beauty.

“Ready,” you confirmed.

“Y/n!” You heard your name, and suddenly you felt warm hands around your body, pulling you into a friendly hug.

Sweet voice and strawberry scent was enough for you to know it was Isa. A big smile spread on your face as you hugged her tighter, looking around to see all of your classmates hugging and talking to each other.

“You look so pretty!” You were in awe, seeing her gummy smile and the pink dress she sported, she was no less than a princess.

“Girl look at you? You’re glowing! You literally grow prettier each day,” she giggled, making your heart melt. She had always been kind and bubbly, another one of the reasons why you were so close to her.

You looked around the restaurant, it was new and the interior was modern, booked for the night for your batchmates. Meeting everyone was like a breath of fresh air.

You didn’t even manage to say hello to everyone before they announced the start of the dinner, asking everyone to take seats, however, one of your old friends Jay was quick to reach to you, his smile as sharp as you remembered it to be.

“As stunning as ever,” he complimented you, hugging your side.

He stood tall in front of you, sporting a scent that gave you the essence of richness which only complemented his black suit, worn with a white button up inside, a gold chain dangling down his slender neck, resting well on his clavicle.

You can��t deny, he looked handsome.

“Thank you,” you said softly, “you look chic as always too.”

A sly smile graced his face, “do I now?” He chuckled, “come on, let’s go and sit,” he said.

You nodded, following him as you noticed that almost everyone had taken seats, Karina waving at you, pointing at the seat she saved, which you gladly took, fixing your dress while you did so as you started rambling about everyone you met till now.

What you had failed to notice, however, was the person sitting right next to you—someone who had visibly stiffened with your sudden appearance. He didn’t move an inch, not until you finally turned your head to look his way.

Your breath hitched, and you prayed that it wasn’t visible how your eyes widened by just a fraction, your mouth stayed agape, and your body frozen, all at the mere sight of Park Sunghoon.

Glow up would be an understatement, he looked like a completely different person without his specs and baby fat resting on his cheek.

His eyes were the perfect shade of chestnut brown colour, it was the first time you had looked into them so clearly, face sculpted with a sharp jawline and pointed nose, lips naturally shaded into a glossy reddish hue, his fangs peeking out by a midge, and hair parted to the side, styled accordingly to match his black button up.

“Hey,” a deep voice snapped you out of your observation session and you realized that it was him.

“Sunghoon, hey. It’s been a while,” you smiled at him softly, hoping that he didn’t notice you staring at him just a second back, mentally slapping yourself for reacting that way.

Meanwhile the boy was surprised to learn that you indeed did remember him, his heart beating a little faster now that he was in such a close proximity with you.

It was something he had ran through his mind a few times—the possibility of you both running into each other, the possibility that you’d care to remember him, the possibility that you would talk to him, however, now that it was actually happening, he couldn’t help but admire your beauty, absolutely no coherent thought graced his mind.

“You look so beautiful,” he whispered mindlessly, mouth opening again as he realized what he had said out loud, “uh—how have you been?” He quickly asked, mentally slapping himself for being such a mess.

That only made you smile further, a glint in your eyes as you replied, “thank you, Hoon. You look really handsome too.” You let out almost in a whispered breath, and you did mean it.

Your words made him smile, which displayed his fangs. Everything about him intrigued you all of a sudden, his presence affecting you in a way you didn’t think it would, your curiosity higher than ever.

Before you could talk more, the servers came out, bringing the starters as everyone chatted excitedly at your table, Karina pulling you to her side rather abruptly as you yelped while she whispered in your ear.

“Is that him? Fucking hell, Y/n, you couldn’t say yes then but it’s not too late—just four years, do it now!” She rushed to speak into your ear, making sure no one else heard it but you.

“Karina shut up, I just met him,” you whispered urgently with wide eyes to warn her.

“So? You have three whole days to be with him! And to be honest, he looks like he knows how to give a girl a real good fuck—” you covered her mouth, not letting her finish the sentence.

“Oh lord! I’m not going to do that!” You exclaimed, taking a bite of your soup, mood uplifting at the scrumptious taste.

“But why?” She was almost going to whine before Sunghoon called out your name, saving you from this conversation.

The sound of him pronouncing your name was rather attractive, especially the way he enunciated it so perfectly, your face heating up with the sudden conversation.

“Yes?” You asked too quickly.

He chuckled softly and you swore your name had never sounded any better.

Maybe you were too into studying all this while that even the littlest things made you jumpy.

Or maybe it was the hottest looking man sitting right next to you.

“Could you pass me that napkin, please?” He asked politely.

You were quick to grab one for him as you nodded, not trusting your voice any further, his slender fingers brushed against yours as he took the napkin from you, saying thank you softly, the slight touch of his cold hands made you shiver.

You needed a distraction before you’d make fun of yourself, and soon, you found one.

Yeonjun, who sat right in front of you, was successful in distracting you, asking about your life in Seoul and about what you’ve been studying.

He was also a student like you, although he liked to work as a model in his free time, “it pays well and you get free clothes too!” He explained with a goofy smile.

You felt content, loving how friendly the atmosphere was as if you guys never lost touch in the first place, everyone drinking champagne to celebrate with a cheer that you join in too, maybe this is why people hype up reunions.

Sunghoon was attentive to everything you had said till now, not wanting to eavesdrop yet way too curious to learn more about you, trying his best not to stare at you every few minutes. Your smile made his lips curve into one as well, unconsciously at that.

The dinner concluded soon, everyone getting up and gathering for a round of group pictures.

Sunghoon’s hand brushed against yours in the process, succeeding in giving you goosebumps again, which he didn’t fail to observe this time.

“Are you cold?” He asked, noticing your goosebumps.

You didn’t have any better explanation, and you couldn’t possibly tell him that he was one responsible for it.

“Oh—yeah, a bit,” you answered, looking at the height difference between you both, his body looked buff underneath his shirt, his veins visible now that he had rolled his sleeves up.

“Here,” he offered his blazer to you, gently wrapping it around your frame as you could feel yourself being overdosed with his scent—it was attractive, engulfing you as a whole.

“I—thank you.” Your cheeks felt hot as you looked away, trying to control your breathing.

Sunghoon was clearly pleased to see you in his clothes, he had seen you after a solid four years and yet, his opinion about you didn’t change in the slightest, you looked perfect to him.

You both reached the group, you trying to tiptoe more as to ensure your visibility in the picture. It was hard to fit such a big group into a frame, especially when people simply couldn’t stand straight out of pure excitement, posing with silly expressions.

“Y/n! Come here,” Karina called your name, pulling you close for another set of pictures with everyone.

“Listen guys! Tomorrow we’ll meet at the beach by twelve, make sure you reach there on time!” Hyunjin announced.

You loved beaches, the sunlight made the water shine like it hid the prettiest set of diamonds in there, the smell of land and water meeting was soothing to your senses, a place so calming, you could spend hours there just staring at the beauty of nature, just to see the sky switching it’s colours from hues of blue to deepest of the orange to the darkest shade of black.

It all made beaches beautiful and you were excited about tomorrow already.

As you made your way out of the restaurant, you noticed two other people waiting for you along with your best friend, Jay and Sunghoon.

“You’re here! We’re taking a cab together to our hotel, apparently they’re staying over at the same place as ours,” she explained, “they probably have their rooms in front of ours too!” She joked.

Sunghoon looked at you in his blazer, deciding that he won’t even ask you to give it back to him, it suited you too much.

His clothes suited you way too much.

He wanted to spend more time with you, he wanted to sit next to you in the cab and he made sure to sit in between you and Jay, his side pressed against yours.

“Are you comfortable?” He asked softly.

“Oh, yeah. Are you?”

He nodded, loving the arrangement so far. Living in the same hotel meant that he’d get to see more of you while Jay sniggered, causing Sunghoon to elbow him as he let out an ‘ouch’. Opening his mouth to ask you questions now.

“So, Y/n, how’s it going with uni? Do you have a boyfriend or someone special in your life?” Jay asked, knowing that his friend was dying to know the same.

“It’s honestly so hectic but somehow still manageable, I like what I’m doing and I won’t be leaving without that degree so, yes I feel like the hard work would pay in the end,” you explained confidently, “and no, I sadly do not have a boyfriend. It’s honestly hard to go on dates when you barely have time for yourself.”

Sadly you had said yet Sunghoon couldn’t have been happier with your answer.

You’d always been hard working and Sunghoon admires that about you, his focus was solely on you ever since you stepped inside the restaurant and talked to him. It wasn’t easy for Sunghoon to fall for someone, but once he saw you again, it was as if his feelings for you had never left.

Just then, the car swiftly came to a stop, jerking forward slightly as Sunghoon quickly put his arm around your waist, pulling your body into him, securing it.

Some car had successfully jumped the red light, almost causing an accident, but thankfully you guys were all safe and without any scratch as the driver was quick to use the brakes, before driving again, making sure everything goes smoothly now.

“You okay?” He asked, whispering as he cupped your cheeks.

You nodded, unconsciously shifting closer to him and he didn’t make any efforts to move his hand away, letting it rest on your waist while your head rested against his shoulder. You were hyper aware of the proximity but the scare was enough for you to not pay attention to it.

It felt comfortable, his scent, his touch, but more than that, it felt genuine, which is why you closed your eyes, sleeping on his shoulder while his breathing hitched, looking at your sleeping figure.

So pretty, he thought, brushing a few strands of your hair away from your face, tucking them behind your ear, letting his fingers linger there for a while. It felt like a dream to Sunghoon, and he wished that he could get more of this — more of you.

The comfort and your warmth seemingly got to him as well, his head resting on yours as he drifted off to dreamland with a slight smile ghosting on his lips.

“Cute! So fucking cute what the fuck?”

“They look like a couple, woah.”

A series of flashes was quick to disturb your sleep, eyelids slowly opening to see two phones being shoved into your face, clicking pictures of you, the chatter coming from the very same pair of people.

Just then, you realized that the picture in question was not just of you, but of the guy who so gladly let you sleep on his shoulder.

Your eyes widened when he blinked open his eyes too, Karina and Jay laughing at his reaction when he saw you staring at him, face inches away from yours.

His eyes widened comically before he diverted his attention to Jay, slapping his hand away who was busy shooting all of this on his phone, even the cab driver watched it with a fond smile on his face.

“You guys are adorable,” Karina squealed when you got out of the cab, rushing to get back to your room, cheeks heated and heart racing.

Were you embarrassed? Yes. But not even a single cell in your body can deny that it felt good—being close to someone.

“Can you stop pairing us as if we’re school kids?” You deadpanned, rolling your eyes at her excitement.

“Absolutely not, it’s fun.” She shrugged, joining you in the lift, “oh, and by the way, nice blazer you’ve got on,” she smiled, continuing to tease you.

Right, you had to return the blazer to Hoon.

Turns out, Karina was borderline prophetic and both of them were indeed on the same floor as you, your room right in front of Sunghoon’s room as if universe was hinting at something.

“Good night guys,” she sang, leaving for her room, a smirk on her face as she subtly pointed at Sunghoon’s room.

Jay followed suit, leaving for his own room, not forgetting to send a wink your way, which the other boy noticed with a frown on his face.

Your outstretched hand got his attention, his blazer now in your hand, “thank you so much for giving me your blazer, Hoon,” you spoke up.

His nickname comes out of your mouth seamlessly, making him smile.

“You can keep it with yourself,” he started, causing you to tilt your head in a questioning manner, “in case you feel cold again, y’know?”

“Yeah? What if I want you to be the one who keeps me warm if I feel cold tomorrow?” You looked into his eyes, testing the waters to ensure if he was actually confident enough to handle you now.

“I—Yes I can keep you warm,” he stuttered.

“Y’know we won’t be needing the blazer then,” he answered a second after overcoming the initial shock of you saying that, stepping closer to you.

“Perfect. Good night then, Hoon,” you spoke sweetly, a playful smirk on your face, your own heart racing at the exchange.

However, he wrapped his fingers around your wrist the second you turned around, spinning you so you stood right in front of him, hands on his chest to support yourself as your eyes widened at his bold move.

“Good night, love,” he whispered, his finger tracing your jaw, before he leaned in to place a soft kiss on the apple of your cheek, a teasing smile on his face before he walked two steps back, his bottom lip bitten to conceal his smirk as he got into his room.

Your fingers instantly touched the place where he had kissed you. The small display of affection earlier had left you restless and desperate for more, wondering how his lips would feel against the expanse of your skin.

“God, Sunghoon,” you whispered to yourself, eyes closing as you realized;

You wanted more.

“Fuck—oh lord! Faster, please,” you whined, as his fingers pressed against your cunt, rubbing your soft folds in an agonizingly slow pace, his lips planting hot open-mouthed kisses down the valley of your chest.

“You like that, huh?” He asked, mumbling against your skin, biting and sucking on your hardened nipples harshly, doing it enough to imprint marks on your body.

The pain was more pleasurable than you could have ever thought of.

“So fucking much,” you hummed, fingers grabbing onto his roots, tugging his hair slightly.

You cried out of pleasure when he inserted two of his fingers into your pussy, pumping them in and out before he came to whisper against your lips.

“Bet you’ve been dreaming about this—about me,” he smirked.

A moan left your mouth, which he swallowed by kissing you right away, taking all your lewd noises in.

“Don’t you, kitten?” He asked against your mouth, his fingers leading you to your orgasm, the nickname only acting as a catalyst to the high of your pleasure.

All until your alarm rang and your eyes snapped open, a gasp leaving your mouth as you sat up straight in a go, once you came to the realization that it was just a dream.

A wet dream.

About Park Sunghoon.

“Oh god, oh my fucking god, no way,” you groaned, hiding your face into the blanket, pussy tingling with the dream you had a few seconds back, mostly due to how realistic it was.

You had no other option but to hop into the shower and lean against the shower wall, your fingers inching down to play with your soaked folds, rubbing your clit in gentle circles as your phone played a sensual song from your playlist, remembering how Hoon touched you in your dream.

You moaned, shoving two fingers in, curling them inside you with a desperate moan, a moan of Sunghoon’s name, as you bit your lip to conceal your lewd noises, you thrusted your digits with need, till you made a mess on your fingers, breathing hard as you struggled to stand straight.

You looked into the mirror, breathless, realizing just how pathetic your condition was, even more so when you had made yourself cum by thinking of Park Sunghoon.

You wondered how you were ever going to face him after this.

Especially when you had a beach day ahead and the possibility of seeing Hoon shirtless would be high.

Ignoring the fact that you had a wet dream about the man sitting in front of you during breakfast was a tough thing to do, yet you managed it well.

He looked like a prince even in casual clothes and he knew how to make you go crazy by just a wink of his, even giving you the doughnut in his plate, which you wanted so dearly.

His appearance was innocent, unlike last night where he was in a black button up—hot and attractive beyond words, he left you speechless.

“Are we renting a bike or not?” You asked Karina with a smirk after you were done eating.

“I’m down,” she gave you a high-five, “I don’t know about the boys though.”

“Wait, you can ride bikes?” Jay asked, impressed.

“Of course, we can, Jay,” You answered proudly.

“Take us on rides then,” he said, brow raised at the offer.

“Sure, select your rider, we’ll go to the beach on the bike then,” you smiled.

By the time you got ready in shorts and a top, which you wore on your bikini set, the sun had come up and was shining brightly. You had your bag packed with all essentials and two sets of extra clothes because you never know when you’re at the beach, not to mention how much sunscreen you had used to protect your skin.

All four of you got into the lift, and you noticed how you and Karina were wearing the same colours, while the boys were in shorts and t-shirts.

“Who’s coming with me then?” She asked, showing her bike keys.

“I am,” Jay spoke up, as if it was their plan to leave you with Sunghoon, alone at that.

You bit your lip, closing your eyes for a second before turning to look at Hoon, “you’re stuck with me then.”

“Perfect,” he smirked, following you out.

“Wear this,” you passed him the helmet, which he put on.

But your gaze went on his arm, which flexed as he fixed his helmet, the short sleeved t-shirt did nothing to hide his muscles.

You were surely not gonna survive this day.

“Let’s go,” he smiled, snapping you out of your daydream.

“You ready?” A smirk settled on your face as you checked the rear view mirror, looking at Sunghoon, who was quick to send a nod back.

What he didn’t expect was that you’d speed up the second you start the bike, making him jerk forward and hold on to your waist, making you shiver slightly before you began your journey of a total of ten minutes, the beach being close to your hotel.

“Woah, fuck!” You heard the boy say from behind, making you smile as you zoomed past the cars and other vehicles.

“Hold on tight,” you screamed against the wind, loving the light breeze caressing your skin, and Sunghoon’s body pressed against yours.

His arms tightened around you with your command, and your mind wandered to the morning when you dreamt about him.

It did feel good, and you were certain you wanted more.

Meanwhile, Sunghoon was looking around, enjoying the scenery, but most importantly, he was enjoying the time he got to spend with you — his old crush. He leaned in, taking in your scent, smiling at how you didn’t change your perfume still.

He was highly attentive and observant when it came to you.

A series of hooting was heard in the parking lot, where all of your gang was waiting for you four to arrive, thoroughly surprised to see you riding bikes.

“That’s so fucking hot,” Yeonjun came over, wearing only beach shorts, abs on display as he saw you take off your helmet, the scene looked as if it came out of a movie.

“Dang, Junnie, been working out?” you asked, focus now on him as you happily chatted and took his hand, which he offered with his charming smile, and walked towards the beach with everyone else.

Sunghoon watched it all with his jaw clenched, Jay and Karina approaching him with a knowing expression on their faces. He wanted to spend time with you, and he didn’t expect anyone to steal you away from him so soon.

He was pissed.

“Maybe she’d notice you if you remove your SpongeBob t-shirt,” Jay adviced, keeping his elbow on his shoulder.

“What’s wrong with SpongeBob?” He asked, tilting his head.

“Oh god, what would you do without Jay, he’s right by the way. Also, do you have abs?” Karina asked, doing the same from his other side.

“Uh huh—does it matter?” Hoon huffed, shrugging their hands off and walking further.

“It does matter when you’re whipped and trying to impress a baddie!” Jay announced helpfully, making Hoon stop to slap his shoulder.

“Stop shouting for fucks sake!” He warned.

“You’ll never get her at this rate. Trust me, go shirtless and see the magic. Also, stop being a loser and move your ass, go and approach her before someone else does,” Jay said.

Sunghoon simply looked around to ensure that no one was eavesdropping on their conversation, his friend embarrassed him enough and your best friend didn’t help either. Did he actually make it that obvious? He wondered.

Seeing you laughing with Yeonjun did make him want to step up his game.

“Guys! Get changed and then the ones who wanna enjoy the water are free to do that, while those who wish to do water sports, gather around that area,” Taehyun announced, pointing at a shed area meant for the registration of water sports.

You simply wanted to enjoy in the water, so you made your way towards the changing stalls, getting rid of your shorts and top to reveal your bikini, after which, you looked into the mirror to ensure your appearance was okay.

“Love the bikini,” Isa complimented and you cooed at her one piece swimsuit. Everything she wore suited her perfectly.

And Isa didn’t lie, a lot of heads turned to look at you once you were out, some silently admiring your beauty, for instance—Sunghoon, with his eyes fixated on you and your body.

While others, like Yeonjun, didn’t hesitate to show how pleased they were by your entrance, whistling slowly, which flustered you slightly as you rolled your eyes at him, rushing to get under the beach umbrella, eyes darting away to look at Sunghoon, who was already staring at you.

“See you in the water,” Karina left, running away with excitement clear on her face.

That left you two alone under the umbrella.

“You’re not going?” You asked Sunghoon, getting sunscreen out of your bag.

“Just waiting for you,” he spoke smoothly, causing you to look at him.

“Help me then?” You passed him the bottle of sunscreen, turning around with your bottom lip bitten.

Sunghoon took a deep breath, he wanted to touch you in more ways than one. He squeezed out some sunscreen, his cold fingers touching your skin as he applied it on your shoulder with a gentle massage.

His strong hands made you sigh with pleasure, head tilting to give him more access to your neck area, his fingers paying attention to each inch of your back, fingers digging into your inner shoulder with his breath fanning your neck.

He took your name, almost as a whisper.

“Yes, Hoon?” You looked back at him, only to find his face inches away from you.

He came closer, looking into your eyes, “let’s go,” he smiled, heart racing from the proximity and he wasn’t sure how longer he could handle staying so close to you without even kissing you.

“Race you to the water,” you screamed, running away with a smile so big, it naturally made the boy smile as he realized how much he wanted you.

You were fast, but he was faster and his arms wrapped around your waist the second your feet touched the water. Soft giggles left your mouth as he turned you around and ran further, standing in the water with his arms open and a victorious smile graced his face.

“That’s fucking cheating!” You pointed your finger at him, others laughing at your childish bickering as he defended himself with a serious expression, trying not to give in to your pout.

“I don’t cheat,” he came close to say, pouting on his own.

Before you could retort, he started splashing water all over your body, others joining soon and splashing water everywhere.

“Hoon, what the—” You squealed, rushing to splash water back on him, only to trip and fall right into his arms, his hands firmly holding you close to him.

“What? Falling for me already?” He asked, a cocky smirk on his face.

“In your dreams,” you retorted.

“You were,” he shrugged, confusing you yet again.

“Where?”

He hooked his finger and lifted your chin tenderly, making you look into his eyes, “in my dream, last night,” he whispered, leaning in closer, leaving you speechless.

Sunghoon was the shy, nerdy kid who used to sit in the front of the class, always keeping to himself, talking to only Jay.

Now, however, you couldn’t even recognize the guy in front of you. While you found the old Hoon to be cute, you wouldn’t lie when you say that the confidence he oozed now made you want to know him more. The words rolled off his tongue so smoothly, which made you wonder if he flirted with others too.

It seemed as if he was on a roll to make you go speechless, and his plan was working. By the time you turned around to reply to him, you saw him swiftly remove his t-shirt.

Your body stilled as your eyes traveled up and down his body, skin shining with the sunlight that complimented him perfectly. He was lean but muscular, muscles flexing as he took off his SpongeBob t-shirt, abs now on display for everyone to see. He looked flawless.

Karina elbowed your side, eliciting a yelp out of you, “ow fuck—what?” You whisper yelled.

“You’re drooling,” she pointed out, “get that man,” she tapped on your shoulder, pushing you towards him.

However, when you observed some girl, who wasn’t a part of your group, coming close to Hoon while placing her hand on his bicep and asking if he was single, it made you want to run away and not witness the exchange of Sunghoon smirking at the other girl.

Jealousy was a nasty disease, and sadly you were terminal.

Naturally, you made your way out of the water, face hot as you fanned yourself walking towards the beach chairs under the umbrella, not knowing that the boy had no other job but to follow you, politely rejecting the other girl.

You sat down, closing your eyes as you tried your hardest not to think about the dream you had earlier, your desire only fuelled when he flirted with you with that ever so stunning smirk of his.

Seeing him shirtless was your last straw.

You needed alcohol in your system to survive this, to let yourself free. Sunghoon was already resting on the chair next to you by the time you opened your eyes again.

“I’m hurt,” he started, looking your way.

You raised your brows at his comment, “why? I thought you had company.” You took a sip of your drink, enjoying the bitter taste on your tongue and the slight warmth it brought to your throat.

The statement was of immense pleasure to him, especially when he sensed the hint of (read: obvious) jealousy that your words radiated, and he just wished he wasn’t being delusional, his ego boosting alongside his confidence.

Everyone was out of the water by now, the gang was done with their water sports activities as well, coming and sharing their experiences with a loud chatter, also talking about arranging a bonfire as the sky turned into the prettiest shades of yellow with orange and red hues.

“I do have company,” he whispered, coming closer for you to hear, “a very pretty one at that.”

He took the beer bottle from your hand, taking a long sip of it, your eyes fixated on how his Adam's apple bobbed as he gulped it down.

You snatched your bottle from him, watching as two drops trailed down his chest and towards his abs.

“Sorry, but you left your pretty company back in the water,” you huffed, smiling sarcastically before leaving to get a shower and change back into your shorts before the bonfire.

Sunghoon held on to your wrist before you could escape, pulling you so your back was flesh against his chest, his lips on your ear, brushing it slightly, “you sound jealous, princess,” he teased.

You turned to look at him, lips an inch away from his, your head tilting, “I don’t have a single reason to be jealous, Sunghoon,” you quipped.

With that, you walked away, knowing well you were jealous when you had no right to be so.

Sunghoon, on the other hand, was having the time of his life stealing your attention and having you to himself. Your reactions only encouraged him to do more, he wasn’t the one to flirt, however, he loved to get a reaction out of you.

Being together for two days was enough for Sunghoon to realize that his feelings for you never faded, it only grew more after spending more time with you. He couldn’t hide the smile forming on his face as you denied being jealous, it gave him hope that maybe, just maybe, he’d have a chance to win your heart. The fragrance of your body mist lingered around him because of the earlier proximity.

He swore it was his new favourite scent.

His eyes followed you, admiring your beauty from afar before he too went to get a shower and freshen up.

“So, you and Sunghoon, huh?” Yeonjun asked, sitting down on the sand next to you.

The shower did make you feel better, the cool breeze and the sunset creating a calming atmosphere, the bonfire in front of you only making it cozier.

The question caught you off guard, resulting in an awkward cough from you, “what do you mean?”

“Come on, anyone can notice the sexual tension between you two, or maybe I’m just observant,” he shrugged, “you can’t deny that he’s hot,” he pointed out helpfully.

“I’m not denying anything, but I don’t think anything will happen between us,” you pouted, watching the man walk towards your group, drying his hair with a towel.

A gesture so natural, but he made it seem so enthralling that you couldn’t help but stare.

“So you do think he’s hot,” Yeonjun followed your gaze with a smirk.

He wasn’t going to let this go, and you were sure of that, a groan leaving your mouth as you divert your attention towards him.

“I’ll help you get his attention, although I think you’re doing pretty fine yourself,” he lowered his voice at the last few words as Sunghoon sat down next to you, passing you his charming smile.

“Truth or dare,” Yeonjun asked you, starting to implement his plan, passing you another can of beer.

Sunghoon looked at you with curiosity filled eyes, jaw clenched slightly as he noticed your closeness with Yeonjun, why is he always around you?

“Uh—truth?” You asked more than answering.

This also gained the attention of your group, everyone cheering to play a round of truth and dare just like the old times.

“That’s boring,” he scrunched his nose, “how about I dare you to kiss or rather, makeout with someone in this circle?”

“Yeah, absolutely not. I’m not playing,” you took a long sip of your beer, ignoring the series of disappointed grunts coming your way.

“Why?” He whined, “I bet anyone would want a kiss from you,” he emphasized, looking around the circle dramatically before he swiped his tongue on his bottom lip.

Sunghoon bit the inside of his cheek in annoyance, eyes never leaving your face as he saw you disagree, a small smile on his face at your rejection.

Oh boy, was he going crazy with his ever so often mood swings, only when it involved you.

He also wondered if Yeonjun wanted that kiss for himself.

“He’s right I mean, you are beautiful and oh god, I remember the number of proposals you used to get on Valentine’s day,” someone pointed out as a matter of fact.

Seems like everyone was drunk already and the night had just started.

That statement made Hoon go stiff as he remembered his own memory of confessing to you.

“Oh, that reminds me of the time Sunghoon had come to ask you out,” Yunjin mentioned with a mischievous smile, as if everyone was on a mission to have you and Sunghoon in the spotlight.

You closed your eyes, dreading the topic that was about to come up right in front of everyone, moreover, deep down you did wish to hear what Hoon had to say, after all these years.

The said guy groaned, hiding his face when the topic he so desperately wanted to avoid, came up out of nowhere, secretly hoping that you didn’t find him weird after remembering the same.

“Sunghoon confessed?”

“What? When did this happen?”

“Did you reject him?”

A bunch of questions were thrown your way and you looked at Hoon with a panicked face, him doing the same, biting his cheek yet again and looking away in, well, rejection.

“It was in high school, and that’s all we’re telling you,” you answered, dismissing the crowd.

“So you can kiss him as your dare,” someone proudly suggested.

He looked bothered and you frowned, “guys, no. Let’s not make him uncomfortable now, it should be consensual y’know,” you spoke gently and Yeonjun took the hint to change the conversation really quick, daring someone else to drink five shots in a go.

If only you knew how much he yearned for it, yet he was sensible enough to not let it happen in front of an audience; batshit drunk and immature audience if he must say so.

“Hey. Are you alright?” You kept your hand on his surprisingly warm ones.

“You’re cold,” he frowned, intertwining his fingers with yours effortlessly and keeping them inside his jacket’s pocket, “I have to keep you warm, remember?” He said, still looking elsewhere as to hide the evident blush creeping up his face, not sure if it was due to the prior embarrassment or the newfound warmth of your body.

He was nervous, trying his best to divert the topic and you let him, scooting closer to feel his warmth.

“I really did not know you had a boyfriend back then,” he confessed with reddened cheeks, “I was just so fucking busy with exams and—”

“You don’t have to say anything, Hoon. I do understand and I’m sorry for what happened that day,” you tilted your head to look at him, blinking slowly as you finally felt your alcohol kicking in, “you’re pretty,” you whispered.

Maybe you shouldn’t have drank that much, knowing well you can’t handle, or anyone can handle you after you reach that level of drunk.

Hoon was on his fourth can of beer already, his tolerance level not being too high, causing him to get drunk faster—it showed on his face.

His heart hammered against his ribs when you whispered that to him, and he pulled you closer, “you’re the prettiest,” he mumbled, tucking a stray lock of your hair behind your ear.

Everyone seemed to be in their own worlds, laughing at random things, playing music and dancing, however, your drunk self wanted nothing more than to be with Sunghoon, to kiss him, and it took all of your self control to restrain yourself from doing so.

Sunghoon pulled you closer and on his lap, your face buried in his chest and his arms wrapped around you. He wanted you more than ever and being drunk, he couldn’t help but pull you impossibly closer to him.

His palm rested on the side of your waist, gentle caresses sending jolts of pleasure up your spine. It felt too

Despite everything, you did admit how his presence made you feel warm inside, and it wasn’t solely because of alcohol.

He bummed a song under his breath, you almost slept in his hold, his deep voice giving you butterflies. His embrace made you feel wanted, just like you had wanted him, and you indeed were in your own world, soon being disturbed by others saying it’s time to go back.

Someone made you drink water, and soon, you were in a cab with your best friend next to you, Sunghoon on the other side and Jay riding shotgun.

“Good night,” Karina sang out once you reached your hotel, Jay leaving soon after.

“Come with me, I want to sleep with you,” you whined, no control over your mouth anymore, you took Sunghoon’s hand, pulling him into your room.

“Y/n,” he whispered, closing the door behind him.

“Fuck,” he muttered out, seeing you remove your denim shorts, leaving you in your t-shirt as you climbed on your bed.

He followed, discarding his clothes and getting into the bed with you, a blanket covering your bodies. Your back was pressed against his muscular chest, his arm around your waist keeping you in place.

A soft gasp left your mouth as you felt his hot breath on your shoulder, his lips touching your skin, making it burn with warmth, “Hoon,” you softly whined.

“Yes, baby?” He continued placing open mouthed kisses on your skin.

“Kiss me,” you breathed out.

“Would you like that?”

“Yes, so much,” you confirmed.

“I want to kiss you,” he confessed, “but not when we’re drunk. If you ask that of me tomorrow then I’ll do it without question.”

“No—right now,” you mumbled, whining.

“Shh, sleep for me baby,” he said, distracting you with soft kisses on your shoulder again.

“But—”

“Go on, princess, sleep, hm?”

You smiled even though he couldn’t see you, “okay,” you said softly, admiring how beautiful the man was.

You turned around to face him, “good night, Hoon,” your voice came out as a whisper.

“Good night , princess.” You felt his lips on your forehead before you drifted off to dreamland.

A dull ache in your head disturbed your precious sleep. Your eyes opened with a few blinks, settling down on Sunghoon, who laid next to you with his eyes capturing your each movement. You stiffened for a good second, remembering how hot his lips felt on your body the last night.

“Fuck,” you groaned, hand on your head as the effects of hangover started to kick in.

“Here,” he got up, passing you a bottle of water.

“Hoon,” you started, not sure what to say about last night.

“I’ll go,” he says, “I—I didn’t want to make things awkward between us,” he apologized, getting up quickly, putting his clothes on and leaving before you could say much.

“Ugh,” you groaned, hating how the situation turned into what it shouldn’t have been, you wanted him, drunk and sober, in both states.

But he didn’t know that. You were worried if he didn’t want that, or if his gestures were friendly all this time.

His kisses weren’t friendly last night, your mind reminded you, and you let out a series of curses at that, at how desperately you had wanted him to be close to you, all this in a span of two days.

Sunghoon was breathing hard by the time he locked his room, going straight in the shower. He was frustrated. The hot water droplets paired with his flashbacks from the last night, the way you said his name in a whisper, the way your bikini fit you perfectly, and how you looked at him like you wanted him just as much as he did.

He groaned, hand traveling down his skin to pump his semi hardened cock, gulping as images of you invaded his mind. With his head resting against the tiled wall, his fist moved on his length with speed, with need.

He had never jerked off to the thought of anyone before you came into his life again, it was his first time and he admitted, he didn’t know that just the thought of your body pressed against his would make him this hard.

With a moan escaping his lips, he painted the tiles white with his cum, your name leaving his lips as he stood there, breathing hard and deep in thought.

He had to have you.

Tonight.

“We’ll go first,” you tell Karina, getting ready together for the last night — the club night.

“Sure, but why?” she asked, trying to perfect her already perfect liner.

“I don’t wish to face Sunghoon,” you mumbled, sitting down on the bed to wear your heels.

She stopped her movements, turning to look at you, “I thought you guys hooked up last night, it was going well, wasn’t it?” She asked, confused.

“I don’t know, babe. He didn’t do anything yesterday because we were drunk, which was very sweet of him, but then he left this morning without talking about it,” you explained.

“So talk tonight, and maybe do more cause you don’t have much time left,” she reminded you, “maybe go with Yeonjun’s plan too, Hoon would definitely reach out to you once he sees you with him. I’ve seen that he doesn’t really like when Jun’s with you, it shows on his face.”

“Really?” You asked with a frown, “making him jealous sounds very high school core to me.”

“So what? It works!” She smiled, “and I’m ready, how do I look?”

“Stunning, gorgeous, perfect,” you answered, “and I think I’ll take up your advice this time.”

She smirked, “let’s go and get you your man,” she said, coming close to you, getting a shade of lipstick out which suits you through and through, knowing well that it’s the perfect opportunity to use it.

Flashy lights, loud music, drinks and dancing bodies everywhere. It was easy to spot Yeonjun on the DJ stage, vibing to the music feely. Life of the party as always.

“Let’s grab some drinks,” Karina spoke in your ear, the music being too loud for you to hear much from a distance.

You nodded, following her and smiling when you saw a few people from your batch standing there and drinking.

“My ladies, you look hot,” Beomgyu said, kissing your knuckles and ordering drinks for you both.

Seems like making Hoon jealous won’t be a problem after all, especially when everyone has a flirty nature.

You weren’t going to drink today, you had to be sober and in your right mind, so you settled for orange juice instead, the music making you move on your own.

“My lady!” Yeonjun spoke up, popping out of nowhere, pulling you into a hug before he came closer to whisper, “you look stunning,” his eyes shining as he said so, “but I don’t see lover boy, where’s he?”

“Will be here soon I hope,” you replied.

“Dance with me, he’ll definitely come sooner if he sees you with me,” he smirked as you took his hand, taking up on his offer.

Yeonjun was a good company after all, your eyes widening at his bold moves before he pulled you in with a smirk, “lover boy’s here, and he’s looking at us,” he informed you, your eyes moving behind to look at him.

Sunghoon was agitated, fuming almost with the sight in front of him.

He wanted you all to himself, for tonight, tomorrow, and if possible by any means—forever, and he wasn’t going to shy away, not this time.

“Are you just gonna stand and watch while he takes away your girl?” Jay asked from beside him.

“Not today, not this time, Jay,” Hoon replied simply, his eyes following your actions, watching as Yeonjun took you to the bar, Gyu on the other side as you laughed about something you were talking about, whispering in each other’s ears.

Sunghoon scoffed, rolling his eyes as he walked towards you. He didn’t wish to be nice all of a sudden, it was the last night, last possible chance for him to actually do something or regret sitting back forever.

He stood right behind you at the bar, eyes fixated on your face, the shade of lipstick you had on suited you so perfectly that he wanted to ruin it by smashing his lips onto yours, turning you around in a single go and claiming you his.

Instead, he tapped on your shoulder, successfully capturing your attention as you finally looked at him thoroughly — he was clad in black trousers, a loose black shirt with two top buttons kept open, his chest slightly on display. A delicate chain on his slender neck, hair parted to the side to match his look and his defined jaw clenched as he looked at you with a desire filled gaze.

His eyes held a different kind of intensity tonight, almost the kind you’d want to get lost in, his lips curved into an attractive smirk as he finally spoke.

“May I steal you for a moment?” He asked.

“Yeah,” you nodded mindlessly, gulping at how fine he looked.

He didn’t wait for you to follow him, instead, he held on to your wrist and pulled you with him, your eyes widened at his bold move, your feet moving quicker to match his pace as he dragged you out from the back door, to an alleyway which was empty.

“Sunghoon—” you called out his name, but he was quick to push you against the wall.

His eyes looked into yours, they were dark with a feeling you couldn’t quite understand before he leaned in, “remember what you said yesterday?” he asked, nose touching yours, frustration clear in his voice.

“W—what?” Your voice came out shaky, his fingers on your arms were enough to make you shiver.

“Fuck, kitten. Forgot already?” He chuckled and you let out a shaky breath at how easily he called you such nicknames.

“Forgot what?” You asked, looking into his hooded eyes.

“That you wanted me to kiss you,” he leaned in further, his lips brushing against yours with his statement.

“Yeah? And what about it?” you asked, trying to sound stern, as if your legs weren’t about to give out right this second.

He scoffed, “I fucking bet you’d love it if Yeonjun would do that, won’t you?”

“I could be wrong, but I have a teeny tiny feeling that you are jealous, Hoon,” you replied, a small satisfactory smile on your face when you saw him scowl, your index finger resting on his clavicle.

He tilted your head upwards, his slender fingers holding your chin up so you looked into his eyes, “fuck—yeah,” he breathed out, “yeah I am, because I fucking want you all to myself—” he confessed.

“Fuck it,” you muttered midway his sentence, breaking your tough girl act and pulling him closer by his collar, your hand on his shoulder as you pressed your lips onto his.

He was quick to react, pushing you against the wall harder while also pulling you closer by your ass, his other hand on your nape. His lips moved against yours in a perfect harmony, you felt your knees getting weaker as his soft lips kissed you with no intention of letting go—not now, not never.

He separated your legs apart with his knees, pushing it in between them with ease, you pushed yourself further till you could feel his thigh in between your legs, applying pressure to your core which had you moaning into his mouth, almost to the point of drooling.

“Fuck,” he cussed, separating your lips to place rushed kisses on your neck, your head tilting to give him space as you grinded on his thigh, head ringing with the high he gave you just with his kisses.

“Ah—Hoon,” you whined, causing him to stop his actions, his slender fingers wrapping around your neck as he pulled you closer yet again, speaking against your lips.

“I really thought I was over you after not meeting you for four fucking years, baby,” he almost growled, “but nah. I saw you at the party sitting next to me and I realized that I still want you, now more than ever,” he whispered, staring deep into your eyes.

“I—I want you too, Hoon,” your voice came out breathy.

He let out a low laugh at that, “you sure you don’t want Yeonjun?”

He was jealous, he didn’t bother denying that and you admit you found this side of him hot, possessiveness clear in his eyes, which had turned even darker if it was possible.

“His name wasn’t the one on my tongue when I touched myself last night, y’know,” you admitted, not missing the look of slight surprise on his face, “it was yours, only yours,” you tiptoed to whisper in his ear.

A barely there smirk settled on your lips as you tried to leave, but Hoon was quick to pull you back, his hand on the back of your head as he pushed you against the wall yet again, and you loved how easily he handled you, as if your body moved the way he wanted it to.

“You’ll be the death of me, kitten,” he said, “it makes me want to mark you up.”

“Why don’t you do it then?” you whispered, raising your brow as a challenge.

He didn’t need to be told twice, his lips were on yours the very next second, your fingers tugging at his silky roots, sighing in exasperation with the wetness pooling in your underwear, your mind going fuzzy and your insides melting as you let him take control of you.

He nips at your bottom lip, hand traveling down to cup your breasts, squeezing them lightly before he pinches your hardening nipples, your back arched into him as you feel a shiver going down your spine.

Your short dress and its sheer fabric does nothing to help you, your skin feels as if it’s on fire with how passionately he kisses you, pulling you into him with desperation while pushing you back against the wall, your hand going under his shirt, tracing his faint abs softly.

He knows it’s not even nearly appropriate to do this in public, but he can’t, for the life of him, stop his hands from roaming over the expanse of your body, from his fang-like canines to bite your clavicle and his eyes darkening from lust as he sees your body responding to him exactly how he wants to.

“I won’t be able to stop myself anymore,” he grunted, taking your name.

“Take me back to the hotel,” you breathed out, intertwining your fingers with his.

He nodded fervently, hoping that his hard-on won’t be visible as he drags you through the sea of dancing bodies, biting his lip before you both get to the parking lot, getting into the car he had rented earlier.

He tried his best to be a gentleman as he opened the car door for you, bending down to press another sloppy kiss on your lips, the atmosphere warm with how drunk he looked in your essence.

It was hard for him to walk and get into the car himself, especially when you were right there, ready and just as desperate as him, your deep breaths only making him breathless.

His hand rested on your thigh the whole fifteen minutes of the drive, inching upwards with docile squeezes which made you squirm in your seat, low whines leaving your mouth desperately.

“Shh, baby. I’ll have to park the car right here if you keep making such sweet noises,” he warned.

The offer was tempting—tempting enough for you to let out a moan, to which he did what he had to. He swiftly took a turn, parking the car at the empty lane, switching the engine off before he unbuckled his seatbelt.

He turned your way, lips on yours as he unbuckled your belt too, a gasp leaving your lips as he effortlessly pulled you to his lap.

“You’re so fucking pretty.” His thumb traced your lip, which you parted looking up at him with innocent eyes to suck on two of his digits, swirling your tongue around it, your cheeks hollow as you took it in. You could feel his hardened length just under your clothed cunt, which made you move your hips slightly, just to get a reaction out of him, testing the waters.

However it backfired once he smirked against your lips, the warmth of his palm travelling up your body, resting on your clavicle as his fingers closed in around your neck, giving it a gentle squeeze before he thrusted up.

You moaned, struggling to keep your eyes open.

“I want you, please!” you begged, unbuckling his belt as he watched your every move.

“I can’t believe I get to have you now,” he says.

“What do you mean?” You stop to look at him, arms around his neck.

He puts his arm around your waist, picking you up slightly to get rid of his pants and boxers, “you’re the only fucking person I’ve ever wanted,” he says, whispering your name right after, eyes on your dress strap which slid down your shoulder, “tell me what you want, baby.”

Every word he spoke, every sound he made, it all caused an influx of this feeling in your chest—your heart raced, butterflies erupting into a wild fashion as your face heated up with the depth of this situation.

“You. All of you,” you answered in a beat, “I can’t wait anymore, I can’t stop thinking about you, Sunghoon,” you said.

“You don’t have to,” he whispered, kissing a sensitive spot below your ear, “don’t fucking stop, kitten,” he mumbled as he licked your neck, his fingers pulling your panties to the side simultaneously, pressing them to your wetness.

You held onto his shoulders as he rubbed your sensitive folds, his cock poking at your entrance alongside, “such pretty moans,” he groaned, feeling you being a mess in his arms, “all for me?”

“All for y—you!” Your words came out in fragments, legs shaking as he pushed his fingers inside you, your back arching into him yet again. His lips were busy planting kisses all over your tits, ensuring not to leave a single spot, pushing your dress down to reveal every bit of you.

Sunghoon was a patient person, but not when it came to you. You were driving him insane with just how vulnerable and needy you appeared to be in his arms, his eyes fixated on how your chest rose up and down, his own sweat making his hair stick to his forehead, your breaths intertwining as he plunged his fingers harder into you.

Your nails dug into his shoulders, strong enough to leave crescent marks, the sound of your low moans, his grunted murmurs, and the deep breaths interfolded impeccably with the music playing on the radio, reverberating through the car.

Once he felt like you were prepped enough, dripping on his fingers, he swiftly pulled you up, pressing his lips upon yours as he pushed you down on his cock, your walls clenching around his length, the stretch too pleasurable for it to hurt you.

Your fingers curled around the fabric of his shirt, scrunching it up as to support yourself against his body, each touch of his igniting your senses. His muscles tensed beneath your touch as your hand unbuttoned his shirt, the cold of your hand juxtaposing the warmth radiating his body.

“You’re not real,” he mused, mesmerized, “so fucking pretty, taking my cock like that.” Sunghoon knew he was far gone when it concerned you, but now that you were actually here, closer to him than ever, he couldn’t help but let his mouth run loose to tell you just how stunning you were.

“You’re mine tonight, huh?”

“So—so fucking yours,” you moaned.

He scoffed, grabbing your jaw to make you look at him, “say it, clearly.”

“I’m so fucking yours Sunghoon,” you gasped, feeling him twitch hard inside of you.

“That’s it, that’s my good little kitty,” he chuckled against your mouth, kissing your swollen lips yet again.

You both muttered a string of curses before you started shifting your hips, his hands on your waist guiding you up and down, eyes closing but he was quick to grab your neck, “look at me when I fuck you,” he said, bucking his hips up to meet yours.

He loved how you looked, hair messy, lips swollen and eyes slightly teary as you tried to form coherent sentences but failed miserably, all of which Sunghoon loved.

You were just as gone for him as he was for you.

“Can you feel what you’re doing to me?” He asked, taking your hand and pressing it to your lower abdomen where you could feel the bulge of his cock sliding in and out effortlessly, given how wet you were, practically dripping all over his lap and the car seat, something that the rental company wouldn’t really appreciate but that was the least of your worries.

“Gonna make you scream my name till the windows fog up with your desperation,” he rasped near your ear and you couldn’t function anymore, not when the hottest man ever had you spiralling for him.

“Sunghoon, H—hoon!” Your voice got louder as you did exactly what he had promised you’d do, making him chuckle against your neck, nipping on the skin with the intentions of leaving marks, his marks, “slow, please!”

You were lying to yourself by now, you didn’t want him to be slow, you just weren’t sure how much you can take before you lose the final string of your sanity—if there’s any left, that is.

“God,” Sunghoon mumbled, “slow? I’ll fuck you hard enough you’ll feel me in your cunt for days, kitten.”

“Fucking hell, I—I’m close,” you moaned, your nails digging into his shoulder.

“Let go, baby,” he said, groaning as he felt your juices coating his dick, your moans louder than before, eyes closed and his name like a mantra on your lips.

He grunted, rubbing your clit as he slid out of your pussy, stroking his cock until he spilled his cum all over your inner thigh.

“I’m not done with you yet,” he breathed out, “not so quick.”

You were fucked, quite literally. He kissed you, once, twice, and again till he was moaning in your mouth, so dazed he could barely function for a minute when you tried catching your breath.

He helped you get into your seat again, not even bothering to put his shirt on as he drove back, jaw clenched, your eyes on him the entire time, pussy tingling as his hand squeezed your thigh every two seconds.

And he didn’t lie, his movements were more frantic than ever as he drove back to the hotel with record speed, making sure to stay and help you look presentable, the small touches of him all over your face made you feel an feeling which you couldn’t quite name, it was indescribable, but you knew it gave you butterflies.

And you wondered how this guy who fucked you so roughly not even ten minutes back could also be this sweet and caring, kissing you every chance he got.

You giggled as you ran into the elevator, a smile gracing his own face at your giddy mood, “I don’t want this night to end,” he confessed.

“It won’t end just yet,” you said, taking out your room card and opening the door, which he closed equally soon as he pushed you against the wood.

He looked perfect, swollen red lips, shirt barely buttoned, hair all over the place, and eyes so shiny as if he held a whole universe in them, or maybe that was just your reflection.

“Kitten,” he sighed, “let me taste you,” he requested.

You looked at him with teasing eyes, a smile of the same fashion gracing your face as you went on, unzipping your dress and moving towards your bed while facing Sunghoon, letting the dress fall along with your underwear, uncovering your bare body to him, as if offering the last morsel of meal to a hungry man.

He unbuttoned his shirt, discarding all his garments. You could finally see him in light, his eyes hooded, body sculpted by the gods themselves, the v-line and his big cock making you gulp as you remembered how good he felt inside you.

“Get on the bed,” he ordered you, to which you obliged.

“God, such a good little girl for me, spread your pretty legs and let me see you, baby,” he spoke, getting in between your legs, his chain dangling down.

The nickname made you shiver, Park Sunghoon made you feel weak, in all the best ways, the way he kissed your thighs, inching closer to your inner thighs, so close to your core which was still wet, all of this made you breathless.

A pathetic whine of Sunghoon’s name slipped past your lips the exact second he licked your pussy, his big hands keeping your legs open, “eyes on me,” he spoke against your wetness, humming at the taste.

He wastes no time in immersing his tongue into your pussy, licking and sucking as you panted, thighs shaking, his tongue tracing your vulva, groans vibrating against your folds, your hips bucking up into his mouth as he delved deeper, pushing his tongue into you.

Your soft folds made him growl, nuzzling closer. Nothing was enough, he couldn’t get enough of you, even the scent of your arousal had his cock twitching, it was harder than ever, almost painful at this point, his nose nuzzling deeper, brushing against your heat.

“H—hoon,” you cried, a tear streaming down your face, your fingers tugging on his hair, which only urged him to growl more into your cunt.

It was so raw, so filthy.

You feel ecstatic as his thumb probes at your narrow depths, stimulating your clit while he pushes his tongue in, “want you so much,” he spoke against you.

“Hoon! Please, can’t wait anymore,” you said, pussy swollen and you needed his cock inside you.

“So needy, and for me?” He asked cockily.

“Y—yes! Please,” you begged.

“How can I say no when you ask so nicely?” He comes up, kissing you, making you taste yourself on his tongue.

His chain dangled around your collarbone, his intense gaze focused on your expressions as he pumped his cock a few times, his tip on your entrance.

He spit into your mouth, diving right in to kiss and capture your moan.

He pushed himself in with a swift movement, bottoming out. He asked if you felt fine, giving you time to adjust, he moved in and out of you swiftly, body pressed against your warm one, his each thrust getting deeper with the roll of his hips.

You could swear you had never felt this way before, he hit your g-spot so precisely, and the feeling of him being inside you, all raw and thick, made you mewl with pleasure.

“You look so pretty,” he groaned, licking your neck where he had just marked you, “falling apart on my cock like that.”

Your toes curled each time he opened his mouth to whisper something filthy into your ear, making your head spin in a good way.

He couldn’t take his eyes off of you, your fucked out face, swollen lips and the innocent eyes begging him to go faster made it harder for him to hold back. He, in fact, didn't wish to hold back anymore.

He thrusted in harder, squeezing your tit as you cried out his name, your walls clenching around him, making his length twitch as his fingers dug into your ass, pulling you closer, your tits pressed against his chest, his eyes wild and desperate.

“Can’t get enough of you, it’s like your body was made for me,” he smirked lazily, fangs showing as you told him how you can’t wait any longer, you can’t hold back any longer.

He was just as desperate, not being able to hold his dick twitching in you with a need to release.

“Cum in me!” You moaned out.

That drove him over the edge. You filled with his cum? His warmth dripping out of your soft little cunt? Fuck, he could burst his load right into you but he needed you to be completely, truly okay with it.

“Y/N, are you sure?” He asked, cupping your face, leaning in to brush his nose against yours, foreheads pressed as he breathed in deeply to control himself, just like you, a different kind of warmth spreading through your body.

He had never done that before, neither had you, however, you wanted nothing more than to experience it for the first time and you wanted it with each other.

You nodded, “yes—yes please,” before he pushed his cock harder, as you rutted your hips absentmindedly to ride out your high.

The room smelled like sex, the mist clouding it as your sounds resonated the walls, you didn’t even try to conceal your voices anymore, the dim lights only made the atmosphere hotter.

“Oh, fuck!” He grunted.

Your orgasm ripped through you as you pulled his nape closer for his lips to be on yours, his own climax rushing as you felt the warming sensation of Sunghoon’s cum filling your cunt up to the brim.

You both stilled, taking deep breaths and coming down from your state of euphoria, gulping as you saw him looking right at you.

“C’mere,” he said softly, getting up and watching his cum dripping down on your sheets, gulping as the tip of his ears getting red.

You couldn’t get up, only looking up at Hoon with teary eyes, he swore you looked like a broken puppy to him, which only made him wanna scoop you up in his arms, his muscles flexing yet again as he held you up, kissing the corner of your eye, tasting the salty tear that escaped, courtesy of his cock which provided you with the best orgasm of your life.

“Fuck—ah,” you whimpered, only boosting his ego.

You couldn’t walk, he made it happen.

Which made it his duty to take care of you, biting down on his smile, he chuckled, making you groan and slap his shoulder, only causing him to laugh without hesitation this time, you swore it was the prettiest laugh ever.

“You alright, love?” He asked, eyes shining as you nodded, both walking towards the bathroom.

“God—don’t say that,” you mumbled, shyness creeping through.

“What? My love?” He said again, smiling as he emphasized again.

“Hoonie,” you warned and he only kissed you again, before you pushed him playfully, stepping into the shower, barely holding yourself up.

“Need help, princess?” He asked, eyebrows raised as he stared at your body, and you gave him a look, almost surprised to see him getting hard again.

Oh boy, was he crazy for you.

“In the shower?” You raised your own brows.

“Well, I fear if I was the one who filled you up with my cum, I should be the one to help you clean it,” he whispered, getting into the shower, closing the glass door behind him, sneaking his hand up your waist.

“You’re crazy,” you said, looking up at him with a grin which you did try hard to conceal.

“Hey, it also helps us save water,” he added, smile widening, before he leaned in, lips on your neck, as you felt the warmth of the water cascading down your bodies.

“Missed this?” He asked, shoving his hand between your legs, “god, you’re so full of my cum,” he chuckled proudly as you shivered in his arms.

Sunghoon wasn’t usually this confident, however, seeing you breathless, whimpering and asking for more even though he had just destroyed your cunt was doing something to him, he couldn’t help but admire the sight—something he’d never get used to.

He was gonna get what he’s wanted all along, once wasn’t enough, even a thousand times won’t be enough, he wanted you for the course of his lifetime, eerily romantic thought for someone who was fucking the girl of his dreams in a shower. Lovely.

You pulled him in for another rushed kiss, feeling him smirk against you, chasing your lips as you tried to move back in hopes of whining, but he was greedy enough to grab your nape, greedy enough to swallow all your moans, keeping it for himself.

“Fucking hell,” he muttered, fingers teasing your cunt, or what he’d like to say, cleaning your cunt which he so nastily claimed, “not clean enough, hm? I think we’ll have to use a deeper approach.”

“You’re fucking crazy,” you panted, his cock lining up against your wet cunt, and you could only look up at him.

His hair sticking to his forehead, water droplets dripping down his face to your cheek, steam fogging up the glass door as you tried to keep yourself up on the slick tiled surface, his muscles flexing as his veiny hand held you up, his grunt loud as he pushed himself into you yet again tonight.

His thrusts were languid as you tried your hardest to breathe, his head leaning down, with his mouth open, practically breathing you.

“I fucked you so hard and yet you’re so fucking tight,” he grunted, “god—baby, you feel so fucking good,” he muttered. “So fucking good—fucking perfect—mine.”

“Yours,” you mewled out, eyes closing with each of his hard thrust.

Lasting long wasn’t an option, not when you were this close to reaching euphoria, but it was different this time, and you feared what might happen if he went on like this. His cock was so thick, also the biggest you’d ever taken, to the point you could feel its bulge on your lower abdomen.

“Can’t—can’t anymore,” you stuttered, legs shivering to the point your knees gave out and Hoon held you up with ease.

“Doing so good for me baby, let go, hm? Be a good little slut for me,” he rasped.

That tumbled you over the edge, your eyes rolling back as you let out the loudest moan of Sunghoon’s name, thighs shaking as a jet of liquid gushed out of your quivering slit, surprising the boy who let out a groan, filling your cunt again as you squirting all over his cock, the sensation overwhelming you to the point your body almost fell limp in his arms, panting harshly as Sunghoon moaned.

“Did you just—”

“I didn’t—know I could,” you mumbled, hiding your face in his neck, embarrassment creeping through.

He breathed in deeply, kissing you again, “that was the hottest fucking thing you could have done, baby” he mumbled against your lips, “you’re perfect, you did so well for me, you’re my good girl.”

Sunghoon barely held himself up, the way you reacted to him, the way you looked when you let yourself loose, it was going to be etched in his mind forever.

It took you both a while to calm down again, and he kissed you all over to do so, soft pecks all over your face, making you smile lazily at his sudden cuteness. He made sure you were clean and helped you shower properly this time before coming out.

Sunghoon was clingy, absolutely not having it in him to leave your side, observing every move of yours as if trying to memorize every bit of you, even making sure you’re clad in his shirt as you both made your way towards the bed, a soft glow gracing your faces.

“Hey,” he said, getting into the covers with you.

“Hey,” you turned towards him, still feeling giddy.

“I can’t believe you’re real,” he said, touching your cheeks softly.

“Why would you say that?” You asked, keeping your hand on his.

“Before tonight, I had only ever dreamed of being this close to you, I never thought I’d even get to kiss you,” he spoke.

“Hoon, I’ve been thinking about you since we met again,” you told him, brushing his hair with your fingers softly, “actually, ever since I got the invite,” you confessed sheepishly.

That made him smile, “can I ask you something?”

You hummed, “yes?”

“Can we, maybe, if you’re okay with it then y’know—” he fumbled with his words, making you laugh, even the slight lisp of his was so perfect.

“Shh, we’ll talk tomorrow, yeah? Hold me to sleep, Hoonie,” you said, putting your arm around him.

His heart melted at the sight, and what made him happier was the fact that you didn’t just want him for sex, your smile expressed it all. The thought of you actually liking him back, reciprocating his feelings made his heart beat faster, anticipating a future with you.

“Good night, baby,” he kissed you, just like last night. However, he kissed your lips tonight, making you giggle softly as you held onto him tighter.

He stared at you, not being able to hide his smile and wondering how he could ask you out again, especially when it would be easy for him to meet you since you both lived in Seoul.

The trip was officially over, and you could proudly admit that you loved every second of it.

Your flight was the same as Jay and Sunghoon’s, courtesy of you living in the same city, in which he couldn’t help but keep his eyes fixed on your seat. He appeared to be a pathetic puppy who couldn’t help but stare at his owner, gone to the point he picked the same movie to watch as you, talk about being a stalker in love.

Jay was sitting next to Hoon and he desperately wished he could kick Jay out and ask you to be next to him but he managed to behave these few hours. He was happy as long as he could look at your pretty face.

Both Jay and Karina screamed in shock when Sunghoon kissed you at the airport before leaving for their own apartments, he wasn’t shy about his, almost boasting in a way to show off how you were his, almost.

A text popped up on your notification panel as soon as you reached your place, still smiling like a madman while answering all the questions Karina threw your way.

Hoon <3: hey i was wondering if you’d like to go out with me sometime?

You: as friends?

Hoon <3: god, baby c’mon

You: as friends? 🥺

Hoon <3: Y/N what if i kms

You: as friends? 😁

Hoon <3: okay, fine 😔 nooo, as something more :(

You: fuckk you’re so cute like a puppy

Hoon <3: oh

You: don’t tell me… you like being called that?

Hoon <3: why don’t you try and say it then the next time i’m deep inside your cunt?

You: oh fuck

Hoon <3: is that a yes baby?

You: what if it is?

Hoon <3: that’ll make me very very happy, princess

You: AHAAHDHSJ text me the date and time 😚

You smiled, loving how things had changed from the first time he asked you that question.

It was indeed a reunion that you could never forget.

permanent taglist:

@jaeminvore @macaroonff @ajayke-reads @en-myworld @lunalovesstories @jayzdaze @deobitifull @celeste-hoon @mari-oclock @kpoprhia @ikeuizm @woniebae @lalalalawon @blessedcursd @skzenhalove @heesuncore @seuomo @kyurizeu @haechan-nahceah @tobiosbbyghorl @jezzebear @jaehoonii @itsgivingitalian @bunhoons @hyacandoit @luvswonyoung @ma-riiii @addictedtohobi @heeliopheelia @haanigurl @dopedels @kaykay11sworld @glitterjay @skzooluvr @yongbokified

taglist open! send an ask or comment to be added!

#fic : a reunion to remember #enhypen hard hours #enhypen smut #sunghoon smut #kpop smut #enha smut #enhypen #enhypen x reader #enhypen imagines #enhypen scenarios

4K notes · View notes

dameronspector · 2 months ago

Text

Getaway Car (Part 2)

Pairing: Manny Alvarez x GN!Reader, Joel Miller x Platonic!reader, Ellie Williams x Platonic!Reader

Summary: After a tough escape to Jackson, you end up getting taken in by none other than Joel Miller. Still hurt by Manny's actions and the heartbreak, you discover for the first time what it means to be surrounded by family since you were 14 years old. And you'd do anything to save this family, but you were still holding out hope for your love to come back home.

Warnings: Cursing, Angst, Hurt/Comfort from Joel, Joel is a father to Reader, Reader misses Manny so much, Mentions of Depression and Panic Attacks, Death, Blood, Gore, Starvation, Joel Miller Is Saved, Reader hates Abby and the group, Manny begs for forgiveness, reunions, that’s all i think!

AN: this part includes: how did Reader build relationships with joel, Ellie and the others. And ofcourse the incident and how Reader saves joel. I’m deciding to split this into three parts now because this is just inspiring me sm. (Sorry if this isnt good I’m editing this at 4 am help)

PS: I don't know anything about the game, my characterisation is based off the wiki information, the show and my own imagination. Plus, I headcanoned the QZ where they first met as Miami because that's Danny's hometown.

Somewhere near Jackson, 2023

You don’t know where you are or what day it was- all you knew that you had to keep going—you had to keep moving and stay vigilant. Max, your beloved horse, was a strong and supportive companion in your lonely journey. You thought he might’ve sensed your heart ache somehow as he would nuzzle closer to you every time you touched foreheads. In return, you made sure to find food and shelter for him, if not for you, as you were too depressed and tired to think about your own health.

Travelling solo across the country was triggering, as you were reminded of the time that you were on the run with your parents. And since then, you were always accompanied by Manny or the others. When you camped down at night, you kept yourself awake by revisiting all the happy moments with your Manny or by crying over him. The way he caressed your head when you were sleeping, the way he held your hands, the way he would crack jokes to cheer you up, his stories from back home—everything. You missed his scent, you missed that he wasn’t here to warm you up in the biting cold at night. You knew he must be losing his mind right now, the inability to protect you and not being able to see you making him insane. But you also knew you had to do this. For you, and as a human being.

The journey wasn't easy. You had some encounters with clickers and managed to roughly escape some raiders with minimal injuries. You tried your best not to stay at one place for a long time and even if you did, you would either hide out in high rise buildings or abandoned homes. Somewhere that had four walls to protect you and Max. Camping out in the open sent your mind went into overdrive as even the smallest of sounds sent you over the edge. So you tried your best to avoid open spaces. All of this was taking a toll on you mentally as you grew more and more paranoid, Manny’s smiling face in the back of your mind was the only thing that kept you alive.

According to the map, you were closer to Jackson now, the thought keeping you motivated to keep pushing. You hadn’t had a proper meal in days. You felt dehydrated and hungry, the feeling of exhaustion taking you back to when you were 14. You tried focusing your eyes in front of you, lazily guiding Max, but you could feel that fuzzy feeling in your head, your eyes slipping shut and your hands constantly dropping the reins, the crisp and cold air making it harder to focus. Max nodded his head and tried to get your attention with a grunt, but you were too far gone and you eventually passed out against his mane, leaving him grunting and neighing, standing still on the spot until he heard someone approach.

Jackson, 2023

“Joel! I see a horse!”, Ellie yelled out to get Joel’s attention. Joel rushed over to Ellie’s side. “You see someone on it?” “I don’t think so, can’t see properly from here.”

Joel nodded and slowly made his way over to the horse, his gun raised and a hand asking Ellie to stay behind the bushes. As he approached the horse, he noticed how the horse kept nodding his head and tried to turn his head behind, as if asking Joel to look over there. Joel held out a hand to soothe the horse and that’s when he noticed someone passed out on the horse’s back.

“Hey, easy, easy. That’s it, that’s a good boy”, he cooed to the horse to calm him down and walked over to check on you. You looked…bad, to put it simply. Your skin was pale, clothes dirtied and you looked sickly because of the lack of food and water. Joel furrowed his eyebrows- he could tell you had come alone, all the way to Jackson, from somewhere far and he understood that the moment he took a look at you. You carried a single backpack, probably filled with essentials only, no visible weapons on you or anything suspicious. You looked young, Joel noted- must be in your late 20s.

Joel stuffed his gun back into the holster and shook you by the shoulders, “Hey- hey, kid? You okay?” You stirred a little at his voice but you were so weak that you slipped from the saddle. Joel immediately caught you in his arms and carefully got you down from the horse. “Fuck- hey-Ellie!”, Joel grunted out. Ellie rushed out from her hiding place and came over to support your legs and helped Joel lift you in his arms.

“Shit, are they okay?”, Ellie asked in concern, taking in your pale and fragile form. Your head lolled into Joel’s chest and he let out a sigh.

“No idea. Likely dehydrated and passed out from exhaustion. Don’t see any injuries or nothin’”, eyebrows furrowed in concern, Joel looked you over once again. You stirred lightly against him, your eyes blearily opened and tried to focus on the person holding you. “Manny…”, you slurred out, Joel strained his good ear to hear you clearly, but to no avail as you were delirious and your speech unclear.

“They’re out of it. We need to take ‘em to the clinic right away. You take the horse to the stables, have him checked, okay?”, Joel instructed Ellie and she nodded her head before carefully taking away Max with her. Joel hoisted you up in his arms and made his way over to the clinic.

You woke up to a persistent beeping. The first things you noticed were that your head was pounding, your body aching all over, mouth feeling like someone had stuffed cotton in it and you felt a soft surface under your body. Opening your heavy eyes took a lot of effort, your vision blurry and your mind confused about your whereabouts. When you finally managed to focus your eyes, you noticed the room you were in, it looked like a hospital room and you were lying on a bed. Your initial reaction was to panic, thinking the Fireflies or FEDRA managed to capture you somehow. Your heart rate shot up on the monitor and the nurse came over to soothe you, “it’s okay, relax. You’re safe, I promise.”

You opened your mouth and winced at how dry it was, licking your dry lips to get some moisture back. The nurse seemed to notice this and offered you a glass of water, which you drank gratefully. “Where….am I?”, you managed to croak out in a scratchy voice. The nurse gave you a sympathetic smile, “You’re in Jackson, sweetheart. You were out for a full day.”

You paused. You reached Jackson? You actually managed to reach Jackson? Your eyes immediately filled up with tears out of relief. And then you remembered Max. “M-my, my horse? Where is he? Is he okay-” “Yes, he’s alright! We got him checked, he’s healthy. Joel and Ellie saved you, honey. You looked very weak, they found you passed out on your horse. Thank god Joel decided to bring you here right away”, the nurse struck an idle conversation while she checked your vitals.

You froze. Joel saved you? The person whose arms you felt was him?

“W-where is he?”, you whispered. “Ah, must be home right now. He was here to check on you this morning. He’s said he will come back before dinner. And what’s your name, honey?”

You swallowed, your throat swelling up with emotion and gratitude. “Okay, thank you. I’m (Name)”, you replied to the nurse in a soft voice. She flashed you a smile and went back to writing something on her writing pad. You promptly fell asleep after that conversation, your body too exhausted to stay up.

The next time you opened your eyes, they fell on a shadow of a man next to you. For a moment, your foolish heart jumped, thinking it’s Manny but once you focused clearly on the man, you realised he wasn’t. Tall even when sitting, broad shoulders covered by a flannel, hair cropped yet messy, his face was handsome- aquiline nose looked like it was made especially for him, lines of age and gray hair marked his hair and stubble. He suddenly snapped his head up to look at you and your eyes were captivated by the brown pools of his eyes, their colour as rich as coffee and the way they shined with warmth and sadness at the same time.

“Oh, you’re up. How you feelin’ now?”, his low baritone echoed in the empty room. Your face must’ve expressed confusion and he cleared his throat to introduce himself, “Sorry, ‘m Joel. Found you by the perimeter fencing. And don’t worry, your horse is safe in the stable”, he reassured you in his smooth voice. Your eyes widened in realisation, “Joel?”, you breathed out, “T-thank you for saving my life. I’m sorry for coming into your town like that but I had no other option. I just- thank you, Joel.”

Joel’s face flashed with surprise. For someone who was probably traumatised from the journey, you were a very courteous person. Joel was kind of impressed and suspicious of your attitude. He’s had enough experience to know the cheap tactics of enemies, acting kind at first and striking later was a classic move. But he didn’t get that vibe from you. Here you were, exhausted and grateful with tears in your eyes, miles away from home and yet you looked like you wanted to be here.

Joel nodded his head, a look passing over his eyes, “Yeah. You rest now. The doctor said you’ll be discharged by today evening. You can ask the nurse if you wanna get somethin’ to eat, she’ll tell you the directions. And uh, you’ll have to debrief with Maria, the council head. Nothin’ serious, just normal stuff like where��d you come from n’ all that. Okay?”

Your face twisted in stress, the thought of going out in a community and facing people while knowing that you’re an Ex-Firefly was enough to send you into a panic attack. You weren’t sure how to proceed with this information and how would you talk to Joel about it. They’d shoot you then and there, you’re sure of that. Joel seemed to have sensed this, “Hey, kid, relax. Nobody’s gonna hurt ya. I’ll come with you, if you want. I’ll send Ellie to keep you company till then, okay?”, Joel tried to soothe you. You swallowed painfully, your throat still scratchy, and offered him a short nod.

Joel left your room and Ellie took over his place. You liked her right away, she was a really lovely and funny girl and so helpful, you thought you’d already made a friend in her. She helped you get discharged and kept you distracted with her idle chatter. “You wanna get something to eat? We can go to the canteen to have something, it’s dinner time anyway. Or you can come over to our-Joel’s house and eat there? He’s asked me to keep an eye on you, so”, she asked casually while helping you walk out of the room.

“Um-I don’t really want to…eat in front of everyone”, you replied hesitantly with a hoarse voice. You haven’t talked much since you got here. Ellie looked at you with sympathy, she understood that you felt uncomfortable to be around so many people after being alone for days. “Yeah, of course. I’ll drop you off at his house and get a plate for you, that okay?”. You nodded your head tersely.

The two of you made your way out of the clinic and a shadow appeared next to you. “How’re you feeling, kid?” Joel.

You looked up at him and gave him a weak smile. “I’m okay.”

“You goin’ somewhere?”, he asked Ellie and she explained that you weren't comfortable with eating in the canteen and wanted to be somewhere away from judging eyes. He seemed to contemplate for a moment before offering, “If ya want, you can come to my house. You'd give company to Ellie as well”, he mumbled that last part and looked at Ellie with hope in his eyes. Ellie side eyed him and shifted her gaze away, focusing on the street in front of her. Your eyebrows quirked in interest and you paused, is Ellie the same girl..?

You looked at him solemnly. “Is that okay with you? I can totally just eat in the canteen, I don’t mind”, you rushed to add, not wanting to impose in anyway. Ellie looked you and shot you a shocked smile, not expecting the formality, they didn’t see that often. Joel gave you a small nod. “Yeah, that’s okay. C’mon.”

Ellie left you with Joel and walked away to get you a plate of food. Joel watched her go in worry for a moment, and you two began walking towards his house. They had finally given you some layers to put on, the autumn breeze was crisp, making your face cold in a pleasant way. Joel didn’t talk much, only speaking when spoken to or when he had to lay out any information, and you were glad for it. Your mind was too noisy to make any conversation right now and your eyes were too busy taking in Jackson. This was an actual town. You still couldn’t believe it. The people, the laughter of children, smoke coming out of chimneys, wires overhead, a constant mumble of chatter around you- your ears were ringing. You haven’t heard or seen such a normal and mundane scene in years.

The wonder and overwhelm must’ve been clearly visible on your face because it got a chuckle out of Joel. You turned your head to look at him. “Swear Ellie had that exact same look on her face when we walked through the gates.” You froze at his words. If Ellie was with him when he came here, then- oh god. She was the girl who Jerry was operating on. You felt bile rise up your throat. She was so young. The gravity of the situation hit you harder and you felt your insides curl with anger at the Fireflies, at the WLF, at Abby and at...Manny.

You forced yourself to let out a chuckle, your cheeks warming up from embarrassment. “Haven’t seen so much…life around me before. I swear I might even hear the electricity buzzing through the wires”, you joked lightly. Joel gave you a half smile, “Yeah, I get that. We jus' got here as well, few weeks ago.” You swallowed in guilt at that but also grateful that him and Ellie could escape Salt Lake and settle down here. “Yeah? That’s-that’s great. I’m glad you found a place to settle down”, you replied in a quiet voice and Joel stared at you in question, sensing a slight change in your mood. He decided to let it go and chalked it up to you still recovering.

You two finally reached his house and you took a moment to just stand on the driveway to stare at it. This was a whole, functioning house. An actual house that wasn’t just a hideout or a shelter or some dilapidated building. A house that looked like someone lived in it and that sent a pang through your heart, wishing you had Manny next to you. This should’ve been you and Manny entering your own house, him cracking jokes and flirting with you while your giggles echoed through the garden. You don’t even know where he is right now or if he was even alive. That thought made your eyes well up with tears and your chest hurt.

Joel turned around to see that you had stood still on the driveway, seemingly in a trance. Eyes shining with tears, you couldn’t avert your gaze from the house. Joel furrowed his eyebrows. You were so out of it since you got here, not even speaking a word to anyone or complaining about anything, Joel thought that you must’ve experienced something so numbing that you had lost all your energy and spark—he could relate to that. The way you kept making them comfortable as if you weren’t the one who was new to their town and as if you didn’t need care, almost made him laugh, in a good way. You were a good kid, he thought, feeling his fatherly instincts take over. He made his way over to you to shake you out of your trance.

“(Name)?”, he lightly shook you by the shoulders and you jumped. He raised his hands up and stepped back from you. “It’s okay, we’re here. This is my house. You wanna come in?”. You blinked your eyes rapidly to get rid of the tears and curtly nodded your head, making your way towards his living room.

You got hit by a comforting warmth and a smell of coffee as soon as you stepped foot into his house. The dark interior making it look cosy, like a library. There were several paintings hung around the house and it was decorated in little knick knacks, the dining table and coffee table having two forgotten cups each and a blanket thrown over the couch. It was home. And you didn’t know him, but it somehow screamed Joel.

You took a deep breath in, inhaling the comforting scent of coffee and wood and closed your eyes in contentment. After living an unstable and rough life since you were 14, you finally had a place where you could be you. The apocalypse was still out there, but here? Here, you could pretend that everything was okay and here, you could wait for your love to come back home. Joel noticed your reaction and his eyes shined with sympathy, tossing a small smile towards your way.

"Uh-after you have your dinner, we'll have to drop you off at the courthouse right away. That okay?", Joel asked you, breaking you out of your trance. You nodded and he spoke up again. "I didn't ask before but, where'd you come from?"

You stiffened up. You weren't going to drop a bomb on him right away so you decided to lie, you knew you would regret this later because Joel was too sharp to miss it. "I-I’m from the Miami QZ. Before coming to Jackson, I was at the Denver QZ", you confessed shakily.

Joel furrowed his eyebrows in shock. "You came all the way from Miami and Denver alone? That's halfway across the country", he questioned you gruffly. You swallowed thickly, this was a mistake. Joel was way too wise and experienced to catch your lie, you knew that. "Uh-yeah. I mean- I was alone from Denver. Left behind the group I was travelling with…we had left Miami a few months ago for Denver."

Joel narrowed his eyes at you, "A group? Why would you leave your group behind?"

You cleared your throat before answering, "Well, I wanted something else. Didn't agree with their ways, so I decided to move on", you shrugged, your hands clenched in tight fists. Joel stared you down with that steely gaze of his and you almost faltered before he nodded his head. “Alright, well, Settle down.”

After Ellie came back, you had your food and you ate it in silence, minus the chatter and questions from Ellie. You noticed some tension between her and Joel but kept quiet because you had just met them. She asked you your name, where you were from, how did you find Jackson, and so on and you answered her questions sincerely, hiding some of the facts for now. She was such a curious kid, it made you sad to even think that if it wasn’t for Joel, she wouldn’t have been here. Her infectious energy even made someone as stoic as Joel let out some chuckles. You felt a clear bond between the two- Joel always looked at her with so much care and love that it made you jealous. You haven’t had a parental figure to look over you since you were 14. You missed them. You blinked away the tears and focused on your food before they walked you to the town courthouse.

There were 6-7 people sitting on the panel. And you assumed that the two people sitting in the middle were the heads of the council. “(Name)?”, the dark-skinned woman sitting in the middle addressed you. You squeezed your fingers together, shifted nervously in the chair. Clearing your throat, you finally spoke up, “Yes.”

“I’m Maria, Head Counselor of Jackson. This is Tommy and the rest of the council. We just want to ask you a few questions about you and how you came across Jackson, is that okay?” Your eyebrows raised in recognition, so this was Maria. You nodded and Maria begun, “Can you state your full name and age?”, you gave her your full name and age and observed as she wrote it down.

“Okay, do you mind telling us where are you from?”

“Yes, I-I was originally from the Miami QZ. But, had to move to Denver a few months ago due to overpopulation in the zone”, you confessed as if you had practiced this lie. Maria nodded her head but her eyebrows scrunched in confusion. “Wait, you traveled across the country alone?”

“No, I had a group with me from Miami to Denver. But I left them behind in Denver because I didn’t agree with their ways and I had learned about Jackson. Was tired of being on the run so…thought I might as well move on.”

The man next to her, Tommy, leaned forward and stared at you in question. You couldn’t help but notice that he looked a lot like Joel and Manny. “You sure you came here just to settle? No people following you or any other motives?”, his gruff voice echoed in the room.

You shook your head vehemently, “No! I came here alone and in peace. I just want a place to stay, lost my parents when I was 14 so I haven’t had a proper home or stable life since then. I totally understand if you don’t trust me but, I promise, I came here in peace”, you confessed truthfully. While yes, you had omitted certain parts of your life but you did want to escape to Jackson to live a peaceful life, hopefully with Manny, but you weren’t sure when would that wish come true. You didn’t tell them about the situation with Abby yet because you needed to talk to Joel, directly first. Involving the council meant you had to go through ‘legal’ processes and you didn’t need all that, nor did you have the energy for it.

Tommy looked at you for a moment before nodding his head in agreement and Maria let out a sigh. “Okay, we’ll have to check your pack before we hand it back to you. I’ll help you pick out a house after we’re done renovating. Till then, you can stay with Joel, if you want”, Maria offered. You simply nodded your head and they excused you. You couldn’t believe it- you were a member of this community now, you were torn between crying in happiness and sorrow. Ellie dropped you off at the house before promptly leaving to hang out with her friends.

There was a pit in your stomach because of the lies that you told in the court but you had decided that you would speak to Joel right away. You stepped into the living room and called out for him, “Joel?”, you walked over to the hallway and called out once more, “Joel? Are you home?”, you noticed a door that was ajar and peeped through it to see Joel sitting a desk, head lowered and hands working on something.

You knocked at the door twice, but didn’t get any response. You furrowed your brows and decided to approach him instead, “Joel?”, he flinched and reached for a tool before he noticed you and put the tool down before letting out a sigh. “Sorry! I’m so sorry, I-i called you out twice and knocked on the door but you didn’t hear me I-” “s’okay, kid. Sat with the bad ear facing the door, not your fault.”

You grimaced. “Bad ear?”

“Yeah, apparently using a gun too many times can do that to your ears”, Joel scoffed and reached for the sanding paper to sand the sculpture in his hands. Your eyes widened in realisation, he was deaf in an ear- no wonder why he didn’t hear you.

Your attention spanned to his work bench. It was littered with wood, tools for woodwork, and a few sketches splayed across the table. “You’re a sculptor?”, you asked in interest, leaning closer to watch his skilled hands work.

Joel let out a breathy chuckle. “Somethin’ like that. Was a contractor back in the day. Noticed some wood lyin' around here and thought I might as well make somethin' out of it. Works as a distraction too."

Your mouth took an 'o' shape as you watched him sand down the sculpture. You smiled to yourself, finding it endearing that someone as gruff as Joel made sculptures in his free time to keep himself busy.

"Why'd you ask for me?", his voice snapped you out of your thoughts. You straightened up and cleared your throat. "Joel, there's something you should know. I needed to tell it to you first", you confessed in a quiet voice, your face twisted in pain like you were dreading this conversation. You noticed how Joel's body visibly stiffened and he turned his attention back to you, his sharp gaze judging you. "What is it?"

You swallowed thickly and shut your eyes. "You can kick me out if you want to but I—I used to be a Firefly. I was stationed at St. Mary's", your voice slipping into a whisper by the end of the sentence, not needing to elaborate further as Joel's eyes widened and his heart pounded against his chest. He knew what you were referencing. He gritted his teeth and clenched his hands into a fist.

"What the fuck are you doin' here? You came here to take her away? To leak whatever information they want? Get out of my house before I-" "No! No, please. Joel, listen to me. I promise, I didn't come here to harm you or Ellie, I swear. Just- hear me out, please", you begged him, your hands stretched out in a placating gesture. Joel clenched his jaw and observed you closely. You weren't carrying any weapons or anything, might as well give you a chance to explain yourself. He nodded at you to continue, and you let out a sigh of relief, your eyes burning with tears.

"Joel, I admit I was a Firefly. But, I don't do that anymore. Not after I found out what they were gonna do to Ellie. It's why I left them and came here, alone. I swear, they abandoned me the moment I disagreed with their plan I-"

"What plan?", Joel asked sharply.

You took a deep breath in and told him the truth, "Joel, they want to kill you. They will come for you. That doctor you killed? He was the father of one of my group members. She's- Joel, she's gone insane. Blinded by rage and vengeance. She's manipulated the whole group into seeking you out and killing you. I couldn't sit and watch so I took out information from the nurses you spared and I left overnight", your voice wavering because of the lump in your throat.

Joel stared at you in disbelief, "Why would they not follow you? Why are you doing this for us? We ain't even know you", he questioned you, unable to understand your motive.

Your face scrunched up in pain, "Because, The Fireflies killed my parents!", you cried out and Joel froze. "Because they keep hurting innocent people and I've been trying to bring them down since I was 14, Joel. They manipulated me into joining them after they killed my parents in front of me. I-I've saved countless of their victims before but if i had stayed back anymore, I would've been killed or abandoned for disagreeing with them or disobeying protocol. When I heard what they did to Ellie...i felt sick and disgusted with myself", you confessed before running a hand across your face to calm yourself down, "And no, they wouldn't follow me because...because someone close to me will cover up for me. But, that doesn't mean they won't find you. The nurses already told them some information on you. Their only aim is to hurt you, to kill you", you let out in a breath.

Joel was standing so still, that you thought he'd stopped breathing. He knew his luck would run out someday, his demons coming back to hurt him but hearing it from you, a stranger, made it very real. He thought of that day in the hospital and he thought about your story. You were nothing less than a guardian angel for him, he was in awe of your perseverance and the humanity that you possessed, to try and bring an evil organisation to an end since you were Ellie's age. Then, he thought of all the nasty work he's done in the past and thought- he doesn't deserve your kindness. That maybe, he's had it coming for a long time and he should just accept it.

He swallowed thickly and responded in a hoarse voice, "Don't tell any of this to Ellie. I'll figure somethin' out. Thank you for telling me the truth, you didn't have to."

You stared at him dumbfounded, "What? Joel-" "She'll lose her damn mind and stop talking to me altogether, I know. But still, don't tell this to anybody, y'hear me? This'll stay between you and me. I won't tell about your past to anyone else either", Joel pleaded in a soft voice.

You stared at him in confusion, your eyes shining with unshed tears and you reluctantly agreed to his conditions. What Joel didn't know, was that you were going to save him from Abby, no matter how much he refused to be saved.

Jackson, 2025

It's been 2 years since you were officially a Jackson resident. There were days where you still couldn't believe that this was your life now. You slept on an actual bed, had proper meals, had good clothes to wear, you woke up every morning and met with people, with families, around you, attended community dinners and events- it was surreal. You had a family of your own now-Joel, Ellie, Tommy, Maria, Dina, Jesse and the newest addition to the family- little Benji Miller.

You spent your days either looking after Benji, helping around town or going on patrols with the others. Joel even taught you some wood carving and it helped to bring you and him closer. Soon enough, you looked up to him as a father figure, the way he would fuss over Ellie making you crave that parental affection. He was a natural at that, being a father, his caring and doting side slipping through that cold and gruff exterior naturally. He'd bring you coffee, you'd accompany him on patrols where you jeered with each other, he'd teach you the guitar, you'd go on walks with him- like a normal father and child would.

After that confession, you were sure that you Joel would stop talking to you. But instead, he asked you to move into his house and Ellie was over the moon. She'd spend most of her time with you or her other friends, chatting away or helping with tasks around the town. Very soon, you had found out that her and Joel weren't on good terms ever since Salt Lake and it made you feel guilty that you were somehow connected to that. Joel never brought up that fateful day, trying to bury it ten feet under and asking you to do the same.

As days passed, you found out that Tommy was actually Joel's younger brother and him and Maria were married with a baby on the way. It made you tear up, happy that Joel and Ellie had a family of their own and made your chest hurt in heart break. Joel also shared that he had a daughter that he lost on the day of the outbreak. It made your heart break for him even more and made you understand why he was so protective of Ellie.

It's been two years since you left Manny and you still broke down in his memory. You would never get over it, you were sure of that, for he was such a huge part of your life that it was impossible to forget him and he always left an impact on people with his charm. You often found yourself zoning out and refusing to leave your room, your body numb with the pain in your heart. Joel managed to coax you out most days, Ellie dragging you out the others, but you'd be functioning like a robot. They didn't know why you acted the way you did, assuming it was just because you missed home, but still, they tried to keep you alive. Today was another day like that—you were standing on the porch, holding a hot mug of coffee in hand, staring blankly at the trees lining Joel's fence.

"Good mornin', Kiddo", Joel's quiet yet gruff voice mumbled next to you. You jumped and snapped out of your trance turning to face Joel. "Morning, old man", you threw a smirk at his way, him rolling his eyes in return.

"Ellie..?", he trailed off and looked at the garage longingly. Oh yeah, Ellie recently moved all of her stuff in the garage and has been avoiding Joel like the plague now. You saw the way his heart broke at that, everyday he looked at the garage door with sadness and disappointment lining his features and it broke your heart to see him like that. You had asked him if he wanted you to talk to Ellie but he'd politely shut you down.

"No, Joel. She's gone with Jesse and the others already", you let out an apologetic sigh. He blinked rapidly to get rid of the tears and bit the inside of his cheek. Your heart twisted in empathy for him. "I see...well, how're you? Feelin' alright?"

You pressed your lips into a thin line and turned your attention back to the trees, "I guess." Joel stared at you for a moment before letting out a sigh and sipping his coffee. "Have you ever been in love, Joel?", you asked him quietly.

He froze before inhaling deeply. "Well, there was Sarah's mom. Then, there was Sarah. She was my everything, my whole world revolved around her", he chuckled softly. "I...there was someone but...lost her when we were on our way to Jackson", he admitted quietly. You looked at him with sadness coating your tone, "How did you get over the pain? How did you forget them and move on?"

Joel's eyebrows furrowed. "You don't forget them. They're always in your heart, even if you can't see them. It's their memory that keeps you going", he replied carefully.

"It hurts to remember, Joel", you whimpered. Joel straightened up, alarmed at your sudden display of emotions, and laid a strong hand on your shoulder. "Hey, what's wrong? You wanna talk about it?"

You looked up at him with your tears in your eyes and sniffled. "I- i loved- love someone. But he betrayed me and I left him behind to come to Jackson. We were supposed to spend the rest of our lives here. I don't even know if he's alive now", you broke down in a sob towards the end of that sentence.

Joel's eyes flashed with empathy and he brought you close in a hug, caging you in his safe arms, your head pressed to his chest and whispered a simple reassurance, "Don’t jump to conclusions, Kid. It's okay, let it out.” You hugged him tighter and let out all the bottled up emotions that were choking you for the last 2 years.

Jackson, 2029

Joel was your surrogate father, at this point. Comforting you every time you burst into tears after missing Manny or patching you up after a bad patrol. At first you thought he was just filling up the space that Ellie left in his heart by taking care of you. But one night, he confessed to you that if Sarah was around, she’d be exactly like you and that made you cry like a baby, your arms thrown around Joel and him comforting you like your father would. You had started to jokingly call him ‘Pops’, enjoying the annoyed grunt he would give in return.

You had gotten closer to Tommy and Maria as well, Benji taking a special liking to you since you basically babysat him ever since he was a year old. You were basically a Miller now, Ellie was too, just a little distant and you tried to reassure Joel about it everytime. He thought you didn’t see his sad little face around her, but you did and you subtly tried to distract him by poking fun at him.

It had been tense at the Miller house since last night. Joel and Ellie got into a little disagreement at the New Years Party to which, you had a little disagreement with Ellie because you didn’t like her reaction. Joel was just trying to help her, you’d never forget that look of embarrassment and hurt on his face after she yelled at him, which lead to you telling her to get it to together (do not put a teenager and a 30 year old in a room together). After that altercation, you left the party to follow Joel to the house and gave him company, him strumming the guitar while you read your book and chatted to him idly.

Come morning, you knew something was wrong the moment you woke up. You were supposed to patrol with Jesse but Ellie would be joining you because Joel let her sleep in and went on patrol with Dina instead. It would be awkward with Ellie joining you but you couldn’t shake off the feeling that something was going to happen today.

And something did happen today.

Actually, what didn’t happen today would be a better question. Jackson was hit with the worst blizzard it had ever experienced in the last 5 years. And you, Jesse and Ellie were stuck in the middle of it, your radio signals complete busted. Jesse managed to find a rundown 7/11 and you three took shelter in it. You holed your horses into a nearby stable and hid away in the 7/11 for god knows how long. It was then that your radios were suddenly firing away, Amy shouting into it.

“Joel—Dina—-seen them?”

You and Ellie exchanged a look and rushed to stand close to the radio. Jesse picked up the radio and yelled in it for someone to reply before Ellie snatched it from his hands. Ellie asked what happened and you caught Amy’s broken words- Joel and Dina were both missing. You and Ellie were panicking, rushing out of the store to grab your horses. Jesse tried to ask about the directions but Ellie simply told him to go Southwest while you and her would be going Northwest.

Ellie and you rode your horses like your life depended on it. The blizzard was getting worse, harsh winds whipping against your face, ice crystals freezing on your eyelashes and making your vision blurry. Your poor horses- Shimmer and Max- doing their best to run in the knee deep snow. Your breathing was laboured from the amount of effort you had to put in riding your horse, the cold air entering your lungs and making it harder to breathe.

Just as you were feeling like you were running in circles, you came across a lodge and two horses tied to the fence. Joel and Dina’s horses. You looked at Ellie and booked it for the lodge, getting off your horses as quickly as possible and entered into the lodge. The basement was full of wrapped and broken furniture, you and Ellie scanned the area with your guns raised. Just as you were about to take the stairs, you heard noises. Several of them. Some in pain and the two of you rushed up the stairs, you watching Ellie’s six.

Ellie broke open the door from where the noises came from and you saw your nightmare playing out in front of you. Joel was lying down on his stomach, his face bloody, a pool of blood surrounding his knee and he was barely conscious. There was a blonde girl repeatedly punching him when someone tackled Ellie to the ground and that’s when you noticed that it was Abby who stood over Joel.

Your eyes widened and you screamed, “Abby!” The entire room stilled. Every single person in the room turned to look at you and in your panic, you didn’t notice the one person you were dying to see for the past 5 years- “(Name)?”, Manny whispered in disbelief.

But you couldn’t hear him, your ears ringing with anger at the psychotic look on Abby’s face and Joel’s helpless face. Your entire body shook in tremors, you grabbed your gun and fired a shot directly into Abby’s kneecaps. Abby howled in pain, falling next to Joel and Owen rushed to stop you but Manny pushed him away, “Don’t fucking touch them”, pointing a finger at him and coming over to stand in front of you. “Hey, angel? You’re okay? Oh my god, I-”, Manny’s voice cracked and he tried to hold you but you pushed past him to get to Ellie.

“Get your fucking hands off her, Nora”, you threatened Nora with your gun to her head. She looked at Manny and he seemed to have nodded his head and released Ellie, who rushed into your arms. You held her by her shoulders and approached Joel, who was now shakily reaching for you and Ellie.

“Joel…oh my god. Joel. Get up, I’m here now. It’s okay, you got us, Pops”, you offered him a weak smile and he simply whimpered in response. Your lips quivered and Ellie let out a cry before holding Joel’s hand in hers, trying to comfort him. Your eyes then fell on Abby, writhing next to Joel in pain and you clenched your jaw shut before crouching in front of her. You stared at her in disgust. “A coward and a fraud, just like your father, aren’t you?”, you snarled and she stared you down with her bloodshot eyes.

You waved her off and stood up, facing the rest of them and that’s when you finally noticed him- standing next to Owen, his eyes shining with tears and his cheeks splotched with red, his curls were longer now, yet he still looked handsome as ever. He still looked like your Manny and then you remembered the way he had tackled Ellie.

You made your way over to him and harshly fisted the collar of his jacket, your eyes bloodshot with tears and hands shaking in anger. “You…asshole. How dare you touch my sister like that? How could you betray me like this? Why?”, you cried out and released his collar forcefully.

“(Name), please-” “I cried for you. Every single day for the last five years. And he”, you pointed at Joel, “he was the one who reassured me that you’d come back. He was the one who took me in like his own. He was the one who gave my a family. And you…you cowards were cornering an old man to kill him off in a secluded lodge? For whom? For Abby’s fraud of a father?”, you growled, your voice hoarse from the tears you were shedding. “Some fucking friendship you have that you can’t even hold your friend accountable”, you turned around to address them all. Manny averted his gaze in shame, Mel was crying her eyes out, Owen and Nora had the decency to lower their gaze.

“You’ve always been the odd one in the group-”

“Oh, shut the fuck up before I put another bullet in you”, you roared at Abby, shutting her up effectively. And then your eyes fell on another body lying on the ground- Dina. “What the hell did you do to her?!”, you cried out before making your way to Dina and placed her head in your lap. “She’s- she’s just unconscious, I promise. It’s just a sedative”, Mel explained to you in between sobs. You trusted Mel so you nodded your head and removed your jacket before folding it and placing it under Dina’s head, running a hand over her beanie covered head.

You made your way back to Joel, sitting next to his head, rubbing a soothing hand over his shoulder. You couldn’t look at his mangled face without bursting in tears so you chose to look at Abby and channelled your anger and pain towards her. “I’m giving you a choice. You’re either gonna leave with the rest of them peacefully or you’re gonna make it difficult and get a bullet in your heads, each”, you threatened her and looked straight into her eyes before diverting your gaze to look at Manny, who looked like he was fighting with himself.

Abby looked at you in agitation and spoke up, “I’m not leaving before I end this-”, you cut her off and fired another shot, this time on the same arm that was punching Joel. She screamed in pain once again. Owen rushed over to support her and you noticed Manny clenching his hands into fists to stop himself from joining Owen, knowing it’d make you more upset.

You smirked at that, “I warned you, didn’t I? Yet, you chose to do this. And yet, I was waiting for you to come to me, had a whole house picked out for us and everything. I was stupid and I still am, stupid”, you let out a maniacal chuckle which made Manny and Ellie look at you in worry.

“(Name), hey, that’s enough. We- we’ll leave. Please. Stop this”, Owen placated. You turned to look at him, a crazed look in your eyes. “You better leave, because god forbid she is in front of me any longer…I don’t think any of you will be walking out of this room, alive.” Owen swallowed thickly and ordered the others to start packing their stuff.

He picked up Abby in his arms and she struggled against him, hurling loose threats towards you, Joel and Ellie. “I’ll fucking find you, and end the three of you. All at once. Slowly, just like I did to him-”

“I’d like to see you try, Abby. I’ll be waiting for you”, you replied nonchalantly, her threats mere words for you and shifted your focus towards Joel and Ellie. Owen shook his head and carried Abby out of the room, Mel and Nora quickly following him.

Manny was frozen to his spot. “Manny?”, Nora asked him, breaking him out of his trance. His jaw was clenched so tightly that his cheeks were shaking, wet from tears that he didn’t know he shed. He swallowed thickly, all of your memories together rushing through his mind and your agonised face haunting him. He had barely survived these 5 years, believing you to be dead after the first. He decided to push forward like a robot, his face and body devoid of any emotions. Your scarf had lost your scent after the first month apart and he had a breakdown because of that. The more he thought of it, the more he knew that he wanted to stay back with you. He’d do what he had promised himself 5 years ago- beg on his knees for your forgiveness.

Part 3

AN: sooo originally it was supposed to end here, but I’ve got too many ideas for their patch up. So strap in! 👀

tag list: @taylorsroxy @parkersjoy @aomi-recs @serendipity-29 @lucycarlisleswife @laurenjbb @onmyknees4kai @groovycass @spideybrie @yvonne-dump @monselxo @this-girl-is-tired

(sorry if some of y’all didn’t get tagged!)

#manny alvarez x reader #manny alvarez #the last of us #tlou hbo #tlou2 #danny ramirez #joel miller #joel and ellie #ellie williams #angst #hurt/comfort #found family

304 notes · View notes

ginnsbaker · 7 months ago

Text

All Of Your Pieces (6 - Dearly Lost)

Chapter Summary: You're no longer questioning your reality—that is until the twins does something you didn't think they were capable of. Monica, Darcy and Jimmy learn a fundamental truth about you from no other than Clint Barton. Pairing: Wanda Maximoff x Female Reader Chapter word count: 3k+ | Chapter Tags/Warnings: None

A/N: Let me know if the reveal at the end was pretty obvious :P // More author's notes here.

Series Masterlist | Main Masterlist

Things seem normal again. At least for a while.

Wanda watches you from the doorway, noticing how absorbed you are in a book, chuckling quietly at something on the page. You've always been a bibliophile, and she's never met anyone who reads as much as you do. Back when you went on missions together, you'd have a book in hand on the jet, finding time to read even on the way back to the compound. You'd even squeeze in a visit to a local bookstore whenever you were stationed somewhere new. In this reality, though you work hard to provide for the family, you still manage to read a page or two before calling it a night. She was more than relieved to find out that you were still wholly yourself in here.

Lately, Wanda’s found herself doing this more—watching you, making sure you're still there, still undoubtedly hers. She knows she’s keeping tabs on you more than she even does on her six-year-old twins, and deep down, she understands it's not healthy.

There hasn't been a major incident since your last big argument, the day she literally threw Geraldine out of town. But that's only because Wanda has been managing things before they can escalate. She’s been tweaking little things with her powers, smoothing over potential upsets, steering your mood when it seemed to dip. It never gets easier for her, using her magic on you. It feels as if she’s betraying you each time, but Wanda feels trapped into making these choices, believing it’s the only way to protect you and the boys and the happiness she’s found here in Westview.

“You’re spying again.”

Wanda blinks to find you looking up from your book, the corners of your mouth tilting upwards in a teasing smile.

“Can't help it,” she replies. “You look so beautiful.”

You close the book slightly, keeping a finger between the pages. “Have you seen yourself in the mirror?” you say, meeting her eyes. “Care to join me?” You pat the empty spot beside you on the couch.

Wanda crosses the room to sit next to you. “What are you reading this time?” she asks.

You hold up the book to show her the cover. “Just revisiting an old favorite.”

Wanda reads the title: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. She can't help but wonder why you decided to pick up that book now, of all times. Wanda feigns innocence about what it could mean.

“Mad scientist and monsters?”

“Yeah”, you say. “Though the monster isn't really the villain if you think about it.”

She raises an eyebrow, taking a seat beside you. “No?”

“No,” you continue. “He's just misunderstood, a creation trying to find his place in the world. It's the creator who's irresponsible.”

Wanda swallows, the irony not lost on her. “I see.”

Noticing the distant look in her eyes, you fold the corner of the page and set the book aside.

“Is everything okay?”

She forces a small smile and nods.

“Anything you want to talk about?” you offer, your hand brushing hers.

Wanda intertwines her fingers with yours, then shakes her head. “It's nothing, really. Just... thinking about how good things are.”

You squeeze her hand lightly. “I think about that too. Every day.”

Wanda smiles at you, though she can’t help but wonder how much of your response is truly yours, and how much is shaped by the spell she’s woven around you.

After a moment, you say, “You know you can tell me anything, right?”

Her grip tightens ever so slightly. She can feel her palm against yours becoming clammy. “I know,” she whispers.

“Good,” you reply, leaning in to rest your head against hers. “Because whatever it is, we'll face it together, right?”

Wanda closes her eyes, soaking in your words. “Thank you,” she whispers.

You chuckle softly at that, shaking your head slightly. It seems almost silly that Wanda feels the need to thank you for something so fundamental. Aren't you supposed to be there for each other no matter what? After all, that's what being married is about. Being there for her—it’s not something she should ever have to thank you for; it's just a given.

You reopen the book with your free hand. “How about I read to you for a bit?”

She nestles closer, sinking into your embrace. “I'd love that.”

You begin to read out loud, but even as she listens, a part of her remains restless. She wishes she could share everything with you—the doubts, the fears, the lengths she's gone to preserve these moments with you.

–

“If there's one thing I don't like about this show—” Darcy starts, her eyes fixed on the television displaying the latest episode of Wanda's broadcast. In Command Central, more than a dozen monitors are lit up around the clock to ensure they don’t miss a moment. Darcy's snagged this vintage TV for their own use, preferring to monitor and analyze the situation away from the others. Ever since Hayward declared Wanda the enemy, they've all agreed they couldn't trust him.

Monica and Jimmy both give her pointed looks. It's hard to appreciate the nuances of a TV show when you know an entire town is being held hostage for it.

“Okay, besides the whole ‘entire town under mind control by a former Avenger’ situation,” Darcy adds, rolling her eyes. “It's the lack of continuity. One minute, Y/N is giving Wanda the cold shoulder, they're arguing over something trivial, and the next, they're all lovey-dovey like nothing ever happened. We didn't even get to see how that last argument over the scorched lasagna got resolved!”

Monica sucks in her teeth. “I doubt that scene really happened.”

Darcy nods. “I can't even wrap my head around how she's pulling this off. Her powers are—”

“Autonomous,” Jimmy chimes in. “Or it could mean Wanda's losing control over the narrative?”

Monica shakes her head. “No. That’s definitely a result of her controlling the narrative.”

“What’s Hayward’s plan anyway?”

Monica’s head drops. “H-He isn’t including me in the closed door meeting.”

“Oh,” Darcy mumbles. That could only mean that whatever Hayward’s planning, he knows Monica would challenge it at all cost. And if Monica’s against it, well, it can’t possibly be good or morally tactful.

Right then, Monica’s phone vibrates in her pocket. She checks the message and allows a slight smile. “I might have some good news,” she says.

Darcy swivels her chair to face her. “Please tell me you found a way to fix this.”

Monica glances at the tent entrance. “Not exactly a fix, but maybe a step in the right direction.”

Before anyone can question her further, the tent flap opens, and a familiar figure strides in.

“Clint Barton?” Jimmy blurts out, eyebrows shooting up.

“Hey,” Clint says casually, giving a small wave. “Heard you all could use some help.”

Darcy's mouth hangs open. “Whoa… Hawkeye?”

Before the two can spiral into hero worship, Monica steps forward. “I reached out to Carol, but she's off-world. She suggested contacting someone who knows Y/N well.”

“We go way back,” Clint explains. “I trained her for a while before Nat took her under her wing.”

An awkward silence settles over the cramped room as Jimmy and Darcy stare at Clint with wide-eyed astonishment. Clint glances around at the hodgepodge of equipment piled in corners and cables snaking across the floor. He clears his throat. “So... this is Command Central?” he asks, arching an eyebrow.

“More like the storage room,” Monica replies dryly, arms crossed over her chest.

It’s Darcy who snaps out of it first. “Okay, I just have to ask—do you ever miss? Like, is that a thing that happens?” she blurts out.

“Darcy,” Monica warns.

But Darcy barrels ahead, as if not hearing her. “And your arrows—do you make them yourself? What's your craziest trick shot?”

Clint chuckles softly. “I designed them, yes.”

Monica places a hand on Darcy's shoulder. “We really should—”

Before she can finish, Jimmy pushes off his chair, nearly tripping over a stack of files as he moves closer. “In the Battle of New York, how did you keep track of so many targets at once?” he asks eagerly.

Monica sighs loudly. “You too?”

The former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent shrugs defensively. “What? I’m a fan.”

“Can we please stay focused?” Monica says, pinching the bridge of her nose in embarrassment.

Clint chuckles softly. “It's alright. I get it.” He looks around at them with a friendly smile. “But I heard you’ve got an urgent situation here?”

“Right, right. Sorry. It's just—you're kind of a big deal.”

Monica takes a deep breath. “As I was saying, Clint knows Y/N well. He might be able to help us understand why Wanda’s doing this, how important Y/N was to her, and give us a clue on how we could help her through her grief.”

Darcy tilts her head. “So, what's she like? I mean, off the record.”

Monica gives Darcy a pointed look. “Darcy.”

“Sorry, sorry,” Darcy concedes, raising her hands. “But this interview’s gotta start somewhere, right?”

Clint looks between them. “Hold on a second,” he says. “What exactly is Wanda doing?”

Monica opens her mouth but finds herself hesitating, unsure how to relay the gravity of the situation. How do you tell someone that their friend has commandeered an entire town? There's no easy way to frame it—Wanda's actions are both alarming and, not to mention, illegal.

Darcy blows out a breath. “Oh boy, where to start?”

“Mr. Barton—” Jimmy starts.

“Just call me Clint.”

“Mr. Clint,” Jimmy continues. “Wanda has... taken over Westview.”

Clint raises an eyebrow. “Taken over? What do you mean?”

Monica finally finds her voice. “Wanda created an alternate reality that’s protected by some hexagonal energy barrier—”

“Hex!” Darcy exclaims excitedly, proud to have coined the nickname that she’s heard other field agents using. “That's what we've been calling it.”

Monica shoots her a glare but keeps going. “—and people are trapped.”

“Trapped?”

Darcy nods vigorously. “Yep, complete with its own TV broadcast. Different eras, laugh tracks, the whole sitcom package.”

Clint runs a hand over his face, exhaling sharply. “Wanda did what now?”

Monica pulls two chairs over to the central table, motioning for herself and Clint to sit. “We can brief you more on that later. It's hard to explain when there's no broadcast at the moment,” she says, gesturing toward the small vintage TV that's been showing static for hours. “Right now, we're on a tight schedule to convince Hayward to take an approach that minimizes casualties as much as possible. So, what can you tell us about Y/N? Wait—Jimmy, can you...?”

“Got it,” Jimmy replies, pressing the record button on the device. “All set.”

“Coffee?” Darcy offers, holding up a fresh pot.

“Please, and thank you,” Clint replies gratefully. He takes a seat, wrapping his hands around the warm mug. Turning to Monica, he asks, “So, how do you want to begin?”

“We have her basic bio—date of birth, physical stats, the usual. We know she worked with S.H.I.E.L.D. and later joined the Avengers, but beyond that, there's not much. Officially, she died two years ago in Tokyo. That's where our trail ends,” Monica says.

Clint nods slowly. “That lines up with what I know.”

Monica continues, “What we need to understand is her relationship with Wanda. Who was she to Wanda? How deep did their connection go?”

Clint tries his best to appear nonchalant though he’s out of practice. Your relationship with Wanda was kept under wraps; only the Avengers knew the full story. How did these people find out about you and Wanda being involved if all they have is what's in Stark's database?

Monica senses Clint’s having second thoughts on how to answer. “I understand this is sensitive,” she says, giving him a moment. “We’ll answer any questions you have, but we really need your help.”

Clint takes a sip of his coffee before responding thoughtfully, “I don't usually delve into others' private lives, especially when they're not here to speak for themselves. But if it can help us understand what's going on with Wanda…” He stops for a second, a faint smile touching his lips. “Funny thing is, they couldn't stand each other at first.”

–

“Smells good in here,” Wanda says as she pads into the kitchen wearing her sleep gown. It's Saturday—the one day you insist she sleeps in while you handle the morning routine with the twins, repaying her for the five days a week she does the same for you.

You turn from the stove, a spatula in hand, and smile. “Morning. Pancakes are almost ready.”

She moves closer, wrapping her arms around your waist from behind and resting her cheek against your shoulder blade. “You're spoiling me,” she murmurs.

“Just returning the favor,” you reply, flipping a golden pancake onto the growing stack. “Besides, the boys love helping out.”

No sooner do you say that than Tommy and Billy dash into the kitchen, giggling and shoving each other playfully. “Mom! You're up!” Billy exclaims, eyes bright.

“Morning, sweetheart,” Wanda greets, reaching out to smooth his tousled hair. “Did you two help with breakfast?”

“Of course!” Tommy grins. “I stirred the batter.”

“And I added the chocolate chips,” Billy adds proudly.

You chuckle. “They've been a big help.”

Wanda looks between the three of you, her eyes getting a little misty. “I can see that. Well, let me set the table.”

Before she can reach the cabinet, you quickly intercept her movements with a gentle hand on her arm. “Ah-ah, not today,” you say with a grin. “Why don't you take your usual spot and sit pretty?”

Wanda looks amused. “Are you sure?”

You merely lean in and kiss her cheek, letting your lips linger for a second longer than necessary before whispering, “I’m absolutely sure I just want you there sitting pretty for me.” Wanda giggles, blushing.

After breakfast, Tommy asks, “Can we go play outside?” already half out of his seat.

“Finish your juice first,” you say.

They obediently chug their juice, cheeks puffing out adorably as they hurriedly swallow. You watch, momentarily concerned, but the sight is too endearing to fuss over.

“Done!” Billy declares.

Wanda laughs. “Alright, but stay in the yard.”

You begin clearing the dishes, and Wanda joins you at the sink. “They’re a handful,” she remarks, shaking her head fondly.

“I love it,” you reply, smiling as you scrub the same plate absentmindedly. “Honestly, I wouldn’t mind having two more just like them.”

Wanda nudges your hip with hers. Hearing you want to have more kids with her both terrifies and excites her. “Is that so?” she teases.

“Yeah,” you say, leaning in to rub your nose affectionately against hers. “I’ll carry the girls this time.”

“Girls?” she repeats with a soft smile, her face lighting up at the thought.

As you're both finishing up, a commotion comes from the backyard. The boys' excited voices carry into the kitchen. “Moms! Come see!”

You and Wanda look at each other in question before heading outside. The twins stand on the patio, each holding one end of a wriggling, scruffy dog.

“Look what we found!” Tommy shrieks.

The dog wags its tail furiously, tongue lolling out.

“Where did he come from?” Wanda asks.

“He was by the bushes,” Billy explains. “He doesn't have a collar or anything. Can we keep him?”

Wanda gently takes the dog from them, cradling it like a newborn. “Now boys, taking care of a living thing is a big responsibility,” she starts, “Dogs need food, exercise, training,” she brings her face closer to the little dog and begins nuzzling it. “Belly rubs and cuddles and kisses between his little ears.”

You watch your wife, noting that you’ve clearly lost her to the dog.

“We know,” Billy insists. “We'll feed him and walk him and everything!” Wanda hands the dog back to the twins as she turns to you, seeking your input.

“What do you think?” she asks, clearly hoping you’ll say yes. It’s always a challenge to say no when she looks at you like that—so childlike herself—but you’re not convinced the kids are quite ready for the responsibility—yet.

You sigh lightly. “I don't know, guys. A dog is a lot of work. And you're still pretty young.”

Tommy pouts. “But we'll be responsible, we promise!”

Billy nods earnestly. “Please?”

Wanda smiles at you, then turns back to the boys. “Maybe when you're a little older.”

“How old?” Tommy asks, tilting his head.

Wanda hesitates, glancing at you. You clear your throat and suggest, “Ten.”

“Yeah, when you're ten,” Wanda agrees.

The brothers exchange a mischievous glance. Wanda immediately realizes what's about to happen and begins muttering urgently, “No, no, no…” But she can't stop it. Right before your eyes, your six-year-old boys start to grow taller, their faces maturing as they rapidly age themselves to meet the age you've required for them to keep the dog.

Wanda glances back at you, hands on her hips. “Well, I guess that settles it, huh?”

–

Clint chews on what he's seeing for a long, hard minute. Watching you in proper pajamas—something he knows you'd never wear in your entire life—cooking pancakes and playing house with Wanda and two kids who look nothing like either of you, it's... it's a lot to take in, even after everything he's seen in this lifetime.

After sharing what he knew—what he could—about your relationship with Wanda, Clint asked Monica for more details on what exactly Wanda had allegedly done to the town. Monica's expression grew somber as she responded, suggesting that it was better to show him rather than tell. Skeptical, Clint doubted it could be as extreme as they were making it out to be, but he agreed to see for himself what was really going on.

He couldn’t have been more wrong.

“That's... that's definitely Y/N,” he mutters, eyes still glued to the screen. “Her face, her voice... even that annoyingly cheesy way she gets around Wanda.”

Monica glances at him. “So it's really her?”

“Yeah. Unless someone found her identical twin, that's her.”

Darcy folds her arms, skeptical. “But we thought Y/N died after the Snap. She didn't come back when everyone else did.”

Clint looks down at his lap, deep in thought. When he finally raises his eyes, there’s a hint of embarrassment on his face. He sighs and rubs the back of his neck. “That's…what most people were led to believe,” he says.

Three pairs of eyes are suddenly on him, waiting impatiently.

“Meaning?” Jimmy prods him for more.

Clint sighs, avoiding their eyes. He knows there's no turning back now.

“Y/N isn’t dead,” Clint finally discloses, earning a collective gasp that he’s already been expecting. “She went off the grid. Only Nat and I knew about this.”

267 notes · View notes

godmadeaterribleerror · 11 months ago

Text

Chapter 3 - You've Torn Your Dress

Series Masterlist

Author's Note: This one's the first of many doozies. I recommend you clock out now if you think the following will distress you: mentions of rape, but no scenes or explicit description. If not, read on! Chapter Title is from Rebel Rebel by David Bowie.

Word Count: 7.7k

Chapter Summary/Warnings: Your first mission is delivered, and it goes about as expected. Contains usual tags, emphasis on mention of rape/non-con.

Tags: Soldier Boy/Supe!Female Reader, canon divergence, enemies to friends to lovers, canon divergence, slow burn, angst

Read on A03!

Chapter 2 - Chapter 4

Want to be tagged? Just ask!

When your team stepped into the safe house, you could see the moment the smell hit their noses.

“Merde,” Frenchie was the first to speak, a poor omen within itself. “What the fuck am I smelling?”

“Uh, probably the milk and meat. They’re the strongest.”

Annie said your name carefully, watching your reaction as she spoke. “What happened.”

“He wouldn’t put away the groceries.” You said with a shrug. You were over it. It was like, ten bad things ago.

“So you just. Left them out?” Hughie said, seemingly baffled.

“Yeah.”

“Mallory said she delivered them on the first night.” Annie glanced between you and Hughie.

“She did.”

Hughie’s eyes widened further. “That was almost two weeks ago.” When you just nodded in agreement, he pushed further. “They’ve been out the whole time?”

You frowned. “He doesn’t get to win.”

“What are you, five?”

You just sighed, giving Hughie a pleading look. “Don’t tell MM.”

“What?” Butcher taunted from the back of the group. “That he was right, and you can’t handle Soldier Boy?”

“I thought you were on my side about this.”

“I’m on the side of the truth, Love.”

Both you, Annie, and Frenchie let out huffs of amusement at that claim, with Hughie looking sheepishly amused.

“You can’t possibly believe that.” Annie gave Butcher a pointed look. He only winked in response, leaving her to turn back to you with an eye roll.

“Has it been like this,” Hughie gestured vaguely around him. “The whole time?”

“Nah. Worse.”

Really, hell would be a better word for it. After the knife incident, there had been the toilet paper incident, which you had won, the coffee incident, also your victory, the laundry incident, point Soldier Boy, the TV incident, point you, and the Lord of the Rings incident, another point Soldier Boy. The Elton John, Jimmy Carter, and Rockefeller Center incidents had ended in stalemates akin to the Cold War, but should those fuses reignite, you were sure you could take them home. Overall, you’d burned him seven times, he’d thrown two chairs at you, you tossed shit in his face once and threatened castration on fifteen separate occasions, and he had offered to sleep with you thirty-one times.

“He hasn’t, he hasn’t hurt you. Right?” Hughie wasn’t fully looking at you when he asked, his voice soft and nervous.

“No. I mean, he’s tried. Not in… that way, but I’ve had a few things thrown at me. All the physical violence died out around the laundry incident, though. Now we’re using psychological warfare.”

“Laundry incident?” Hughie said at the same time that Frenchie said, “Psychological warfare?”

“Don’t ask.” Was your response to both. You’d avoid revisiting the laundry incident in your mind for the rest of your life if you could help it, and the actual practice of your warfare was more childish than you’d like to admit.

“Well, as lovely as a reunion this has been, we need to talk to you both. Where’s the cunt, anyway?" Butcher craned his neck to look down the hall.

“Probably moping around in his room.” You shrugged. “Let’s talk in the living room, standing at the door is weird.”

While the living room hadn’t taken even close to as much damage as the kitchen, it had not escaped you and Soldier Boy’s sparring unscathed. Books provided by the CIA, which were mostly stereotypical classics, had been upended from their shelves and strewn across the floor. The TV was still intact, as was the sofa, but the former was stuck on PBS, and the latter was, at this point, compromised of 70% trash.

“Holy shit,” Hughie muttered as he stepped over a copy of Catcher in the Rye. “You can’t plan on living like this the whole time?”

“Well, if America’s number one man-baby would stop moaning and bitching about his glory days, then maybe, yeah.”

Annie gave you a concerned look. “And if he doesn’t?”

“Then I’ll castrate him.” Though the threat had now been made sixteen times, it never satisfied you less to say it.

“I’ve told you, Sunshine, if you did that, you would only be hurting yourself.”

Everyone in the room fell silent, their eyes trained over you with tense gazes. You turned to find Soldier Boy almost directly behind you. “I’ve told you, by definition, I’d only be hurting you.”

He gave a mocking pout. “Wouldn’t that plague your perfect little conscious?”

“I’d live.”

“Bitch.”

“Cunt.”

“Prude.”

“Manwhore.”

“Whiny Brat.”

“Waste of space.”

“Waste of good pussy.”

“Waste of government money.”

“Waste of Compound V.”

“Pathetic, assfaced Dickwad.”

“Stuck up, pretentious Ice Queen.”

“Geriatric, entitled, blue-balled G.I. Joe Fuckdoll”

The room had practically vanished around you as you and Soldier Boy fell into your now well-tread path of insults. Your blood was burning with that feeling, aching to burst across the room as both of you glared hard enough to, fingers crossed, kill the other.

“Jesus Christ,” Hughie said, breaking you out of your own spell.

“What are they doing here?” Soilder Boy asked, somehow having only just clocked their presence. “Do I finally get to do my job and leave?”

“No,” Annie answered. “We have no way of knowing how long you’ll be here at this point.”

“That’s what I said,” you muttered under your breath, turning back to your team.

“Yeah,” Soldier Boy said at full volume. “And I don’t fucking trust you.”

“Will you get off my ass about it now?”

“I think you like me on your ass, Sunshine. My offer never leaves the table.”

“Cunt.”

“Bitch.”

“Helpless man-child.”

“Prissy tease.”

“Glorified propaganda poster-“

“No,” Annie cut it. “We’re not doing that again.”

“Party pooper,” Butcher grumbled. “I was hoping they’d kill each other this time. Then we could just go home.”

“Well, did you at least bring me drugs?” Soldier Boy seemed to search the room, as if a pile of weed and coke would miraculously appear on the floor amongst the mess of wrappers and fluid-filled paper towels.

“We’re not buying you drugs with government money.” Annie said, giving you a look of apology. “As I’m sure you’ve been told.”

“Many times,” you affirm under your breath. You’d had to hide the glue on day five, which had let to the toilet paper incident on day six. A day had not passed since where you didn’t catch him trying to turn a new household object into something to snort.

“I thought weed was fucking legal now.” Soldier Boy glared at you, as if you were personally responsible for the CIA not buying him blunts. “It’s a free fucking country. I should be able to smoke whenever I damn please.”

“Porn is legal,” you reply. “Doesn’t mean the federal government is going to bring you some.”

“If they brought me porn and weed, I’d be far more open to whatever shit you want from me.” He winked at you.

“We gave you that last time,” Hughie pointed out, shifting nervously. “It barely helped.”

“Will you be a good little supe if we come back with porn and weed? Because we can go and-“

“No, we need to do this now.” Annie spoke over Butcher, and you noticed a line of worry on her forehead, along with Hughie’s nervous fidgeting. Though Butcher didn’t seem plagued by an anxious tell, he relented to Annie faster than you’d ever seen, and alarm bells went off in your head.

“Annie,” you bit the bullet, asking softly. “What is the ‘this’ you need us for?”

She gave you an apologetic look. “Trial run.”

“Trial run?”

“We’re giving you a test, Love.” Butcher said with a smirk. “See if your little experiment is even viable. Maybe take out a player in the process. All depends on if you and him,” he jerked his head to Soldier Boy. “Do your jobs right.”

“I don’t need your little ‘test’ to know if I can do my job.” Soldier Boy snapped.

“Last time you failed,” Hughie muttered.

Frenchie nodded in agreement. “In a spectacular manner, yes.”

“Because that bitch and that pussy stopped me.” An angry scowl was thrown at Annie and Butcher, who returned it and grinned widely back respectively.

“You were going to kill a kid,” Annie said coldly.

“He shouldn’t have been in the line of fire.”

“The line of fire? Do you hear yourself? Do you really care about others so little that-“

“I’d do it again,” he snapped back, unbothered by Annie’s disgust. “You don’t get to ask me for help and get mad when I do.”

You gave Butcher a pointed look. “Aren’t you glad you listened to me?”

Though all you got in response was a grunt from Butcher, Soldier Boy’s eyes shot to you. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

You returned his glare, steeling your own eyes to match his interrogating gaze. “We’re removing the ‘kill a kid’ option from your choices. You want to know why we’re stuck here? Because you fucked it last time, and we won’t let you fuck up again.”

“You won’t let me?” He sneered, leering at you coldly. “You don’t let me do anything, Sunshine.”

If the “Sunshine” thing continued to stick, you might have to throw yourself off a roof. But you didn’t flinch, just tilting your head mockingly. “You wouldn’t need a shock collar if you hadn’t bit the hand.”

“I wouldn’t bite the hand if it hadn’t tried to kill me.”

“Nobody tried to kill you, Mate.” Butcher interjected. Soldier Boy’s anger switched back to him with fists curling at his side, but Butcher kept talking with a bored drawl. “You shouldn’t have bloody fucked up.”

“And, like I said,” you shrugged. “It won’t happen again.”

“If I see the shot, I’ll take it. Whether you like it or not.”

Looking into his eyes, you believed him. No doubt fogged your brain that, given the opportunity, Soldier Boy wouldn’t hesitate to take out Ryan Butcher with Homelander. Part of you, the angry and bitter part still trapped underground, understood that. But you’d see Ryan once, from afar, and he had looked so young. You didn’t have to imagine his fear or touch him to understand what it was like. For your life to change abruptly and without reason, to have to sprint to keep up with your new one. Soldier Boy had volunteered for this life. Ryan hadn’t. You hadn’t.

So, holding Soldier Boy’s gaze, you made your voice clear and steady. “You don’t get to take the shot until it’s clear. Ryan will be out of the picture before you even see Homelander.” You turned to Annie. “What’s the test?”

“Head-popper.” Butcher answered for Annie with an odd look at you. His voice carried the usual light and oddly joyful tone he used when discussing murdering supes, but his eyes on yours were quieter, with less manic vengeance than you’d seen before. If you didn’t know better, you’d call them thankful.

“Head-popper?”

Hughie jumped in at your confused frown. “Neuman.”

“Oh,” you paused, looking over Hughie’s worried face. “We’re going after Neuman?”

“Who the fuck is Neuman?” Soldier Boy asked with a reluctant grumble. You had picked up on his consistent annoyance with new things after you’d found him screaming at the microwave three days ago, and not knowing new people didn’t seem to be any different.

“She’s a supe who can pop people’s heads like balloons.” Frenchie gestured in imitation for effect. “It’s disgusting.”

“And she’s the VP elect, which would put an ally of Homelander in the White House, one step from the Oval Office.” Annie said pointedly, giving Frenchie a look. You offered him a small smile over her head. Though the demonstration hadn’t been helpful, watching his hands fly around mimicking Neuman’s powers was undeniably entertaining.

“She's dangerous,” Hughie added. “But she’s not a bad person. We don’t want to kill her, just remove her powers.”

“What do we need her for then?” You didn’t have to look to know Soldier Boy’s accusation was directed at you. You bit your tongue, trying to ignore the way the words seeped into your skin.

Because he’s right. A cruel whisper said into your ear, and the itch on your skin began to feel like a rash. You were saved from the plague of your thoughts—the urgent feeling to fall prompted by almost nothing—by Butcher.

“If you think you’re going anywhere without her, Governor, you’d better get used to being wrong. She’s there for the same reason she’s here. So you don’t go postal.”

Soldier Boy gave you an unreadable look as the rush of your heart in your chest slowed from Butcher’s words. You turned away from him, but you could almost feel his eyes through your skull as you looked at Butcher with a blank face.

“What’s the plan?” You asked, praying it would be simple, with as few people as possible around and, ideally, in the middle of a desert filled exclusively with fire extinguishers.

“MM and Kimiko are doing recon on one of Bob Singer’s rallies. Frenchie will create a distraction for the secret service, and Neuman’s personal detail is going to suddenly disappear-“

“Disappear?” You interrupted Butcher with raised eyebrows.

“Keep your panties on, they’ve been bribed. Once she’s isolated, Soldier Boy’ll blast her, and we can all go home confident in your little gambit.”

You hesitated, trying to imagine the last political rally you’d seen. Group of people in tight groups, electrical wiring for microphones, speakers, and lights. Gates and closed doors, hallways leading out onto streets. “How are we going to isolate her?”

“Me and Butcher will work on that,” Annie said, almost reaching for you with a reassuring pat, but thinking better and jerking her arm back. She opened her mouth, an apology certainly on her, but you raised your hand to cut her off.

“How long until we leave?” You asked. Maybe they’d say ‘three hours’ and you’d get to talk to someone who didn’t think swing music was sonically viable for a bit.

Hughie checked his watch. “Ten minutes ago.”

“Ago?” Your eyes widened.

He gave you a sheepish look. “We thought it would take less time to get you.” He turned to Soldier Boy. “Your suit’s in the van. I can bring it out-“

“I can change on the way.” Soldier Boy grumbled, ignoring Hughie’s start of sputtering protests. “Let’s get this over with.”

———-

Much to his annoyance, they had forgotten Ben’s shield, and nobody would let him change in the van. He tried several times, only to be met by a chorus of groans, shouting, and swearing. He had listened to their complaints only because she had started giving him a look he recognized as a flag for a storm of uncontrolled fire. No hot disgust or sparks of rage, only a cold and quiet, almost glassy-eyed stare. Her heart steady but her breathing too fucking controlled to be natural, measured so equally that it sounded mechanical. So, because he figured she would only become more bitchy to live with if she incinerated her alleged “friends”, Ben stopped trying to pull his shirt over his head.

Once he did, the van fell insufferably silent. The edged pleasantries and conversation he’d overheard during Butcher and his band of Assholes arrival had ceased save for tense questions and hushed conversations. Ben didn’t fail to notice all the spineless avoidance and careful words directed at them both. She, even after the foggy look faded, remained curled into a corner, trading small and toothless smiles with her team. More timid than he’d seen her before, almost like a scolded child as she looked around the van nervously. Her eyes watched the shadows as though Homelander himself might jump from them, the chew of her lip giving Ben a headache. The only words she spoke were a jab at Ben when he’d said something about political rallies post-election being fucking pathetic—giving him a lecture about American politics now heavily depending on something called “going viral”—only to fall silent once more after. Her team looked at her like a glass bomb, as if she was a delicate statue looming over their heads and not the vulgar, violent woman who slept down the hall from him. That woman infuriated him, testing his patience every time she opened her mouth, but this paranoid, skittish pussy of a girl was so much worse. So when the van halted and Butcher’s team began to filter out, he called her name. When she ignored him, he reached out and grabbed her arm.

“What the fuck!” She pulled herself out of his grip in a second, staring at him with anger. She glanced down at her arms, a look he didn’t understand crossing her face, before returning her attention to him. “Do not touch me.”

“I barely touched you,” he glowered, annoyance quickly flooding him. He had only brushed skin, with a light grip she had thrown off, there was no need to be so dramatic. “When I touch you for real, you’ll fucking know, Sunshine. And you’ll fucking beg for it. I needed to make you listen, you were fucking ignoring me.”

Her brows knit, and he heard the chew of her teeth on her tongue. “I’m not going to beg for anything, and I wasn’t ignoring you.”

“I said your name, and you kept fucking walking.”

“I didn’t hear you.” She snapped, but didn’t relent. “Speak up next time.”

She knew just as well as Ben did that they were both far from quiet, pussy-voiced fuckers. And while he definitely hadn’t yelled for her attention, it shouldn’t have fucking mattered. He’d seen her pick up his grumbled insults and mocking comments just fine over the past two weeks. “Bitch.”

“What do you want?” She asked with a sigh, ignoring his jab and looking at him as if he exhausted her just by breathing. “We have to go, and you still need to change.”

“You shouldn’t let them treat you like that.” He said, not hiding the contempt from his voice. He wasn’t going to skirt around his thoughts, lining them gently to help her fucking feelings.

Her body tensed, her limbs looking as if they’d locked into place. “Like what?” Ben heard her swallow as she answered, her voice not lost enough to make her sound clueless to his words.

“Like you’re a child they have to coddle. A problem they have to deal with.”

She stared at him, her glassy-eyes returning. “Shut up. You don’t know what you’re fucking talking about, cunt-face.”

Ben snorted. “They don’t treat you like the bitch you are. They always use that sweet, pussy voice, like they’re talking to a fucking puppy, when they say something to you. They’re always all fucking pouty when they look at you, pussyfooting around so they don’t make you sad.” He gave her a mocking grin, hoping the next words landed like a bullet. “They treat you like me.”

It had clearly worked, as the van had grown hot, and her eyes were clearing as her heart began to pick up. Ben felt an odd feeling cover him as he heard it, almost familiar and sparking pride in his chest. She wasn’t a jittery shell anymore, she was going to try and kill him. It made his grin grow genuine, and the van grew only more heated, the air waving around them.

Her mouth opened, and Ben hoped whatever came out of it would be vile and crude.

“Hey!” She turned her head and clenched her jaw as someone called her name from outside, the van rattling as a fist banged against it. “We need to go!”

The door opened to reveal the Cocksucker, whose face grew quickly red, a bead of sweat falling from his hairline, as he was blasted with a quickly dying wave of heat.

“Sorry,” she mumbled, turning from Ben as the heat dropped further. “Coming.”

Cocksucker gave her a worried look, his gaze flying quickly to Ben, but just nodded and stood aside for her to move past.

As the door closed and Ben began to change, he listened for their soft, tense words.

“Are you okay? Did he do anything to you?” Cocksucker’s voice was nervous and gentle, like being suffocated by one of those fucking fluffy blankets Ben had seen in the empty bedroom of the safe house.

“No, he just grabbed me to talk. And you don’t have to keep asking me that. I’m fine, and it’s not as helpful as you think it is.” Ben frowned at her voice, the malice from it drained entirely in only a few seconds, replaced with only a tired hollowness.

“Grabbed you?! Like, he touched you?”

Having anticipated Cocksucker being more interested in the “talk” part of her sentence, or the shit that sounded like it was about feelings, Ben's brain rattled over Cocksucker’s word, his tone of panic looping in Ben’s head. He spoke of Ben’s touch as though it were a plague, and not something many people would kill to feel. Ben almost burst out of the van to say just that, but froze when he heard her answer.

“It was fast, I didn’t feel much. Even if I did, it doesn’t matter. I can’t go the rest of my life without touching people.” Her voice had a finality to it, and Ben could almost picture her downturned lips and wrinkled brow.

“You touch us when you heal us.” Even Cocksucker’s voice didn’t sound sure of his response.

“It’s not the same, and you know that.”

There was a momentary stall in their words, and Ben took the opportunity to emerge, securing his belt as he walked to the door. He wasn’t sure what he’d expected to see, but Cocksucker looking pathetically around, anywhere but the woman as she curved into herself, wasn’t it. She held a white-knuckle grip on the sleeves of her jacket, her thumb running up and down in small movements. They both turned to him as the door banged open, and Ben caught the empty look behind her eyes before her indifference slipped back into place.

“Did you hurry me just to sit around like pussies, or are we going to start fucking moving?” He asked, the air feeling too uncomfortable to sit in.

Cocksucker blinked, glancing at his watch. “We have a few minutes until they arrive, but I guess it can’t hurt to be vigilant-“

“Arrive?” The woman’s eyes widened, and Ben saw smoke curl from her hold on her jacket. “They’re coming here?”

Cocksucker nodded. “It’s a high-security escape exit-“

“It’s a fucking street, Hughie.”

“That’s used as a high-security escape exit.” After a moment of searching the area, Cocksucker pointed a few yards down, at a large door set against brick. “Neuman will come right out of there, and her guards will close her out here, where Soldier Boy will blast her.” He paused, glancing at Ben, before looking back at the door and taking small, cowardly steps away from his spot between them.

“It’s a public area, anyone could walk past! What the fuck were you thinking?!” Her voice was hushed and agitated, and Ben had never seen her face lose color at that speed before, had never heard her heart stutter and jump as if trying to escape her body.

“It’ll be fine,” Cocksucker’s voice wavered, giving them both a nervous look. “It should be fine. MM said it would be fine.”

“You heard him, Sunshine,” Ben gave her a wink, adding a half-cocked smile when she didn’t even return him with a dirty look. “MM said it would be fine. And have some fucking faith in me, I’m not a fucking monster. I won’t blast any running pussies except for this head-popper broad.”

“You don’t even know what she looks like.” Her tone wasn’t quite the vicious mockery he was used to, but it was better than the apathetic, empty voice she’d been using. She was rolling on the balls of her feet, speaking without looking at him, her eyes moving restlessly from the door to the end of the street. “And I don’t believe you.”

Ben just shrugged, allowing the silence to hang. The wind was picking up, whistling through the chill of winter air, making the heat around them, emitting from both Ben and the woman, all the more obvious. Despite the biting cold, Cocksucker had taken off his stupid puffy jacket, even stepping back further from where they stood, with Ben in the center of the street and the woman off to the left. Despite her slowly stepping further and further back, her back now almost against the wall, Ben could feel her watching him, hear her heart continue its new and erratic beat.

“How long now, Hughie?” Her voice was raised to carry over the wind, though it hadn’t lost that stupid fucking weakness. Cocksucker, thank fuck, didn’t get a chance to respond with pathetically comforting words, as only one skipping heartbeat after she spoke a shrill fire alarm sounded.

“I’m assuming that’s your stupid French fuck's plan?” Ben asked dryly. “Start a fucking fire? I thought you pussies were all about minimal damage.”

“He probably just pulled the alarm.” The Cocksucker’s answer lacked any confident assurance. “And I think we’re just against needless murder.”

Ben almost started to rant about their so-called needless murder being a mighty high horse for a group of people who had manipulated him just as much as Vought, who’d been willing to help him kill all those backstabbing pussies from Payback so he’d help them. About how their stupid fucking moral purity complex seemed to adjust perfectly to aid them, and maybe he wasn’t a fucking angel, but he was strong and powerful—something they fucking needed—man, and he wasn’t a pussyfaced liar about what he was, what he did. The words died on his tongue, though, as hundreds of frenzied footsteps reached his ears.

“Fuck!” he growled, turning around and pointing at Cocksucker. “You fucking pussy.”

Cocksucker gave him an idiotically confused stare. “Dude, uncalled for.”

“She,” Ben pointed to the woman, whose heart was beating impossibly fast and looking on with a bloodless face. “Was fucking right. This is a stupid plan, because unless your head-popper walks like a human centipede, it’s not going to be just her that I fucking hit when that door opens.”

Cocksucker only gaped at him like a fish as the footsteps grew louder, annoyingly unsure stutters escaping him, and just as Ben decided it might be good to slap the idiot out of his daze, the woman stepped forward.

“We need to move, Hughie. Now.” Her voice wasn’t steady, her whole body was tensed and hyper, but it held a determination Ben almost admired. “We can’t be here.”

“He- he could be fucking lying, or wrong-“

“That’s not a risk we can afford to take.” She cut off Cocksucker’s doubts, and Ben found himself surprised at her defense of him, even if it could barely be called that. Her hands were smoking once more, but she had firmly planted herself in the middle of the road, eyes turning sharply to Ben. “If people see you, any element of surprise over Homelander would be lost. We need to fucking move, you need to get in the fucking van now-“

The door banged open, and the streets flooded as hoards of people in star and stripe-themed outfits flooded the road. Everything became so loud, and that rapt, snapping sound in Ben’s head started to spread through him, spurring the drum in his chest. They were finding rhythm so fast, everything fading as Ben tried to slow it. But there were screams and shouts, and everything was getting further and further away from him while carving into him all the same, so though Ben could hear the sounds of metal clanging and shouts of his supe name, he couldn’t think anything past the beat beat beat, until he lost it all at once.

As his vision grew clear with his head, Ben expected to see shattered bodies and bloody walls. Instead, all he saw was the woman and fire. Her face was flushed red, her eyes crazed, and her clothes had become charred with holes as the fire surged from her into a barrier, cutting them off from the crowd. Cocksucker was yelling her name, urging them both to return to the van and leave, but as Ben moved, he glanced back to see the woman frozen and heard her heart as if it were his own. The wall was growing wider and shooting high, Cocksucker wouldn’t shut the fuck up about moving, but her eyes had squeezed shut, unresponsive to anything but the growing flames.

“We need to fucking go, now!” Ben turned to see a large man he vaguely recognized barreling down their side of the street, his face twisted in anger. Butcher, Starlight, a small woman he remembered fighting, and that French prick followed him, all loading into the van as the large man stopped beside Cocksucker.

“I told you he’d fucking blow it,” the man said, giving Ben a disgusted look, so flawlessly revolted Ben wouldn’t be surprised if he’d fucking practiced in the mirror.

“Hey, I didn’t fucking blow it, you pussy-“

“You said that Neuman would come out of here, that it would just be her!” Cocksucker, much to Ben’s shock, cut him with a high voice and a wave at the wall of fire. “That’s way more than just her! Is she even there?!”

“No,” the man said gruffly. “Neuman saw Butcher and figured out something was up. She’s long gone.”

“Fuck!” Cocksucker yelled, running a hand through his hair.

“Oi, we can go over how MM fucked up later,” Butcher leaned out from the van. “We need to go before she sends Homelander.”

“How I fucked up? You’re the one who disobeyed me and blew our cover-“

“What’s wrong with Madame Anomaly?” The French Prick appeared at Butcher's side.

Cocksucker glanced at the woman, calling her name before turning to the large man Butcher had called MM. “She absorbed Soldier Boy’s blast. I think it got her stuck.”

“We don’t have time for this. Get Soldier Boy in the van, I’ll take care of the Anomaly.” MM repeated the French Prick’s words, and Ben realized they were, for the first time, using the woman’s supe name.

“You heard him, Gov. Get in the bloody van.” Butcher’s words were clearly directed at Ben, but as he climbed into the van Ben saw Butcher’s attention locked on the woman.

MM had moved closer to the woman, a move Ben deemed more fucking stupid than brave. If she had “absorbed his blast,” as Cocksucker said, he wouldn’t recommend any non-supe be anywhere near her. MM seemed to realize this himself at the last possible second, taking a pathetic, stumbling step back with a pause. He and Cocksucker exchanged a look, something passing between them that Ben didn’t understand, before Cocksucker leaned down to grab a pebble from the road. Ben watched as he shakily shook out his arms, wound up, and tossed the pebble at the woman.

It was a terrible fucking idea, Ben didn’t have to be Einstein to know that, but the chain reaction that played out still managed to go worse than he might have guessed.

The woman whirled around, her eyes blazing, with a roar sounding from her chest. Fire shot from the wall directly at Cocksucker. In almost slow motion, Ben watched her face become painted with horror as she recognized her target, a different, fearful sound leaving her. She reached an arm out, her heart seeming to falter, and barely redirected the flames before they hit Cocksucker in the chest. The blaze just grazed Cocksucker’s arm, passed the van clear of anyone else, and hit the building with a boom.

The moment the bricks caught fire and the ground began to shake as the building crumbled, the woman's wall of fire fell. The woman herself remained upright, but only barely as MM shouted her name and she started to stumble to the van. Cocksucker was hauled in by Starlight and the French Prick, the former fussing over his burnt arm—Ben had seen worse at Herogasm and nobody whined about it—and Cocksucker waved her off. The woman pulled herself in, ignoring Butcher’s outstretched hand, and the door closed behind her. MM appeared in the driver’s seat, and as the engine started everyone fell into a heavy-breathed silence.

Through the ride, Ben watched the woman open and close her mouth a million times, returned to her fetal position in the corner but watching Cocksucker with a strained face. Her hands tapped against her still-smoking jacket, reaching out hesitantly before she pulled them back into herself. No words were spoken, not even the anxious whispers of the ride there. Ben felt relief as the van stopped, MM climbing out and opening the doors to reveal the exterior of the safe house, grateful for any excuse to leave these stupid, sniffing pussies to wallow in their failure.

MM led Ben and the woman to the doors, opened them by leaning oddly at the doorbell, and gestured for them to walk through. The man followed them in, shutting the doors behind him with a rough push.

“If we failed the test, I am not doing that fucking shit again.” Ben grumbled as MM turned around from the now-shut entrance.

“Butcher told me about the fucking mess you and him made in here.” MM ignored Ben entirely, speaking to the woman as if he wasn’t even there. “A team cleaned it up while you were gone, and Mallory will send more groceries tomorrow night. I saw a picture, it was fucking gross. I’m only doing it once, because I don’t want a new disease to develop in here. You’re an adult, you should take care of this place by your goddamn self.”

The woman looked at her feet, humming a small acknowledgment. She didn’t look up as she spoke. “Is Hughie going to be okay?”

MM sighed. “The kid will live. I’ll look at him when we get back.”

“I could help-“

MM cut her off with her name. “He’ll be fine. We’ll make sure of it.”

She gave another nervous hum, and Ben jumped in.

“Can you answer my fucking question-“

“We’ll let you know what our next steps are after we talk to Mallory and Singer. This wasn’t good, but it’s not the end of the damn world.” Once again, MM ignored Ben. It was starting to feel personal. Before Ben could push further, MM reached a hand out to rest on the woman’s shoulder, right over a hole in her sleeve. Her head shot up with her heart, but the panic in her seemed to evaporate just as soon as it appeared. Her name was gentle as MM spoke it, eyes locked with hers. “You didn’t fuck up. You did your job.” She nodded slowly. “It’ll be fine.” With those last words, he exited the building, leaving Ben and the woman in the hall.

“What’s his fucking problem?” Ben grunted, half directed at the woman, half to just say it.

She gave him a flat look. “You killed his family.” Before he could come up with a clever response, honest or dodging the annoying feeling of guilt forming in his throat, the woman turned from him and walked away.

———-

You were so tired. Your bones ached, oddly cold in a way you hadn’t felt in a while, your skin crawled with feverish chills, and when you closed your eyes, you could see the flames graze Hughie and the building turn to dust. As MM’s lingering calm he’d offered you faded, all you felt was tired. Worthless. A liability. You had fucked up, just as much as Soldier Boy. Maybe more so, because he had PTSD, even if he would deny being a “hung-up pussy”. He had lost control because he’d been tortured by Russians, you’d almost killed your friend and definitely destroyed a rec center because you’d been startled. You just wanted to sleep, to deal with the inevitable fight about groceries in the morning, running on more than quickly expiring adrenaline and caffeine pills stuck in your throat.

You made it to your room, changing into one of the pajama sets folded in your drawers, hoping someone mentioned that the allegedly fire-proof wardrobe you’d been given apparently wasn’t strong enough for the full force of your fire combined with Soldier Boy’s nuclear explosions. A shame, you’d liked the pants you’d chosen for the mission. You’d live without the jacket, though. You’d hardly pulled the shirt over your head when the door ripped open, a still suit-clad Soldier Boy standing at your door.

“What fucking happened to you?” His question was blunt and confusing as he entered your room, remaining near the door but over the threshold.

Your body was too heavy to fight with him right now. There was no tense prickling on the bridge of your nose, only the throbbing stab of a headache. “Go away, Soldier Boy.”

“All of you have a fucking thing. A weird, sad reason to whine around and pretend you’re better than me.” He didn’t budge, but rather leaned forward. “What’s yours.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“You said I killed MM’s family. Butcher’s always pussying around about Homelander stealing his girl. Cocksucker mentioned something about that fast asshole doing something as well. I’m not sure what the French Prick bitches about, but I’m sure it’s something.”

“First of all, you did kill MM’s family.” You really don’t want to do this right now, but maybe he’ll give up and fuck off. A fruitless wish, a small part of you knows, but you have nothing left to push back with. “And Homelander didn’t ‘steal Butcher’s wife’, he raped her.”

“Right.” Soldier Boy watched you, his expression unreadable in the shadowy room. “Those are all fucking things. So tell me what yours is.”

“I don’t have one,” even as you speak the insistence, it sounded fake and hollow.

He takes another step forward. “Yes, you do. I saw how you froze, nobody without a thing locks up like that. I heard Cocksucker ask you if I ‘hurt you’. Just for the record, Sunshine, I may not be a Boy Scout, but I’m no fucking rapist.”

“You’ve tried to sleep with me thirty-three times.”

“And I’ll blow your mind when you realize how much you’d love it, no sooner. What’s your fucking thing.”

You stare at him, the intensity in his voice throwing you off. He’s insistent, comfortable in your room but standing at his full height, attention fixed entirely on you. That impression of dissection has returned—the feeling as if he’s trying to pick you apart for him to play with. “Why do you even care?”

“Because maybe if you tell me, I can kill what supe fucked up your pretty little head and you’ll be less of a bitch.”

You can’t stop the snort that escapes you. “What a selfish fucking cunt reason.”

He shrugged in something that could’ve been an agreement. “Maybe.” He falls silent, but doesn't leave.

You collapse to sit on the edge of your bed, staring ahead as you rub your temple. “Please just go.”

“No.”

You look at him, not caring if he sees the desperation in your eyes. “Can this not wait six hours for the morning?”

“No.”

“Do you know any words but no?” You mutter under your breath.

You didn’t miss his annoyed humph. “Oh, just fucking tell me.”

“No.” It was your turn to snap. Your exhaustion was becoming lined with bitter childishness, and you didn’t care enough to try and suppress your urge to sneer at him.

“Why not?”

“Because you’re an idiotic, self-absorbed, sadist asshat who wouldn’t know empathy if it started sucking his dick.” You mocked.

He grinned. “Ok, now name my bad qualities.”

“I’m not telling you.”

“I’ll start guessing,” he took another step forward, now almost directly before you. “Did that red-headed lesbian steal your puppy?

You frowned up at him. “Maeve was bisexual.”

“Did Noir take credit for a college project?” He ignored your comment, leaning down with a mocking smirk.

“Trust me, I got all my dues in college.”

“Did that gay-for-Jesus blond steal your boyfriend? Did the fast asshole that stole Cocksucker’s girl break up with you? Did water-boy eat your goldfish?”

“I’ve never met Ezekiel, A-Train actually murdered Hughie’s girlfriend, and The Deep famously doesn’t eat seafood, he fucks it. But by all means, keep going.”

Soldier Boy blinked. “He fucks it?”

“Yep. It’s gross.” You shrug. “Are you done?”

“Are you going to answer my question?”

You give a toothless smile. “Not until you get all your guesses out.”

“Oh?” There was unquestionable surprise in his voice at your relent, only making your fake cheer grow and your immature anger fully overtake you.

“I want you to feel like a real fucking asshole when I tell you.”

His face split open with a grin. “Well then, did the Twins kick you out of Herogasm? Did that bitch, Crimson Countess, overshadow your big debut? Did a Z-lister get more attention than you from the Vought pussies?”

You just raised your eyebrows, crossing your arms as Soldier Boy continued until the list of supes ran dry. As the last jeer left his mouth, he mirrored your face of cold amusement.

“Well?”

You leaned back, watching him closely as you spoke. “Homelander kidnapped me, kept me in a dungeon, raped me in an attempt to make more mini-Homelanders, and, after you returned, started experimenting on me to try and recreate the V used on you.”

A small shock rushed through you after you spoke. You hadn’t said any of that out loud, not fully, since you’d escaped. You danced around it with Butcher and his team, with Mallory and the CIA leaders, always picking and choosing parts to omit so nobody would look at you with pity and fear. It hadn’t worked, they did anyway, but there had still been control over it. Up until this moment, nobody had known why Homelander had done all those things to you. Everyone had seemed happy to chalk it up to him being a fucking psychopath, not anything deeper. Certainly not attempting to create a small army of additional Ryan Butchers. Small things were still yours, flashes of hunger and warped sounds remaining in your head, but everything else you had just told him.

Why did you do that? A voice hissed as the high from your petulance faded. Why did you let him win? Why did you give him a weapon to use that could hurt you?

But looking at him, he didn’t appear to be a portait of self-satisfaction and heartless triumph. He was staring at you, scanning you as though the scars Homelander left would be visible on your bare legs and arms. When he spoke, his voice wasn’t weak or coddling, but angry.

“He kept you locked up?”

You nod, part of you getting ready to fight him over something.

“He hurt you? To try and recreate me?” Your repeated nodding only seemed to inflate whatever was happening. “Did it hurt?”

Your arms and face started at that, an uncertain feeling spreading through you. There had been no reverent tone as Soldier Boy had asked the last question, no sadistic for affirmation. But you didn’t know what he wanted to hear. Why he even wanted to know. But an involuntarily honest answer escaped you. “Yes.”

He stared at you for another second before he opened his mouth, only to close it without making any sound. Abruptly, he whipped around and began to leave, giving you only one more indecipherable look as he closed the door behind him, leaving you on the edge of your bed, alone in your room.

You lay down slowly, half expecting him to storm back in at any moment, but minutes passed, quickly turning into a half hour, and your body sat at the edge of collapse once more. Soon it was unbearable, and you lay down, your racing mind being forced to a halt as sleep pulled you under.

Your sleep, as had been the case for a while now, was haunted by nightmares of blue eyes and yellow, fluorescent lights. You woke up in a cold sweat, and took a long, needlessly warm shower before forcing yourself to leave your room around 9:30. Despite your lingering fatigue, no part of you wasn’t restless as you walked down the stairs. Your body tense and ready to run, your head spinning with hypotheticals and lining up words you may need—that feeling under your skin creeping up your spine and fluttering in your gut. But Soldier Boy wasn’t in the living room or the hall. You poked your head in the dining room, hoping to avoid the minefield of the kitchen, but it was empty, the plastic chandelier lights off, the table occupied only by a vase of wilted flowers. You moved to the kitchen, ringing growing in your ears, but he wasn’t there. You turned to walk away, continue your search, but double-back as it hit you.

Nothing was in the kitchen. It was empty. Of Soldier Boy, and of the groceries MM said would be delivered.

You wandered in slowly, watching the counters as if they might start to glitch and flicker, revealing hidden produce and dirty dishes. But, leaning over the sink, there was a single plate, soaking in water that was dotted with crumbs. Slowly, you moved to the refrigerator, slowly opening it as you glanced around the room. Your eyes widened at the sight inside. Milk, drinks, and produce had been placed inside, disorganized and haphazardly. There was a jar of mayonnaise in the fresh drawer, along with a box of pasta on a side shelf, but the fridge was full. You moved quickly to the pantry, which had been sorted in a similar fashion, but filled. And when you opened the last cabinet, you saw a piece of paper stuck under a jar of peanut butter.

I know I did a shit job. Clean up if it bothers you, but don't bitch to me about it. And tell Mallory to get smooth peanut butter next time, or I’m not doing anything for her but killing Homelander - Ben

383 notes · View notes

novaursa · 10 months ago

Note

I’ve seen so many stories about Cregan and y/n immediately falling in love and living happily- but what if it’s the opposite? What if y/n is pissed she was traded like a brood mare to a brute from the North? Sure, the man is brave and smart and handsome, but he’s not what she had in mind for her partner. She might even tell Jace to marry Cregan himself, if he wishes to forge that bond so much. (Unfortunately, there’s no one else available, so the wedding goes as planned).

Credit to Cregan- he realizes immediately she is not happy with the arrangement, and doesn’t force her to consummate.

They continue to butt heads and snap at each other for several months (which doesn’t stop her from giving brilliant ideas on how to stock up for the winter and spoiling Rickon though, which makes Cregan suffer even more, because he is yearning for her). Cregan has fallen for her back in Kings landing, but if she doesn’t want him… so be it, at least Rickon will have a good mother.

Queue in an incident where Cregan gets hurt. Might be a wilding ambush and he is injured, or he just gets a sickness and starts running a fever. And she spends all nights with him, tending to him and whispering prayers in Valyrian because she realizes she absolutely cannot stand the thought of losing him.

OR,

They both grow more and more frustrated because both want each other but don’t know how to approach it since it all went wrong from the start. Plus, both are stubborn and prideful. Until one evening they just can’t stop fighting about some stupid thing, and she “accidentally” ends up pulling him into an angry kiss to shut him up. Of course, it turns into a hot angry sex.

(Bonus point if she rides a dragon and all this time her dragon is absolutely enamored with Cregan- to his horror, maybe even boops him couple of times but our poor Lord thinks it wants to eat him 😭)

I just want some tension and conflict before they make up 🤌 (I love vanilla but I need some spice every now and then)

I can do that. But I'll have to revisit this after my current requests are closed and all done.

I'm doing only short requests that are about 1000 words long in this round. This is a brilliant idea, but it needs way more development to do it justice. I can do it in two long parts (each being at least 5000 words, but it will probably be more).

You'll be tagged once the first part has been posted. 🙂

#house of the dragon #hotd x reader #hotd #hotd x y/n #hotd x you #cregan x y/n #hotd cregan #cregan x you #cregan x reader #cregan stark

228 notes · View notes

solarstranger · 1 month ago

Text

a/n. pleasantly surprised at how quickly i wrote this bit, it practically wrote itself. i love writing about psych/therapy stuff (despite my complex relationship with 'em), and bakugou being the central character in all of this is only the cherry on top <3 i honestly don't know where i'm going with this, but it's been fun so far. (0.8k)

navigation. part 1, (you are here)

thankfully—and to the relief of whatever dignity he had left—that interaction was short-lived.

well, it’s mostly because after you blinked at him for what felt like a torturous eternity and said a shaky hello back, he gave you a curt nod as if he wasn’t the one who just initiated the exchange and bolted it out of there without a single glance back.

that bit haunted him for the next few days, reappearing in his consciousness whenever the topic of therapy or anything remotely close to it was broached. he even snapped at kirishima when the redhead asked how his latest session went during one of their evening patrols together. it was a kneejerk reaction, an entirely out-of-proportion, aggressive response that shocked even him, which says a lot.

he should go ahead and text the guy an apology.

eventually, though, that unfortunate powwow slowly faded into the background of his exceptionally busy mind as the days went on. things got so hectic in the agency that he had to postpone his appointment for the week, which—quite frankly—is an upside to this chaos, because he sure wasn’t pumped about discussing his love life, or the lack thereof, with the jarringly knowing middle-aged lady. being able to definitively avoid you and buy you more time to forget about his stupid social blunder is merely the cherry on top.

okay, maybe the incident didn’t actually slip his mind after all.

“…bakugou-san? are you still with me?”

dazed, bakugou squeezes his eyes shut before fluttering them open, and what greets him is the very same lady against the backdrop of her increasingly familiar office, only this time she’s looking more concerned than perceptive.

right. he’s supposed to be in the middle of a session right now.

“yeah, sorry,” he mumbles, shaking his head in an attempt to rid himself of irrelevant thoughts and focus on the matters at hand. therapy is expensive, after all. “i’m here.”

that doesn’t seem to placate the woman who instead prods, much to his chagrin. “you seem out of it today. is there something in your mind that you want us to talk about?”

for a second, he debates caving and just telling her the dumb shit that happened two weeks ago, but then backtracks when it dawns on him how ridiculous everything is. what is he, a prepubescent boy? he died and survived a major war, for fuck’s sake. why is he so hung up on seeming awkward for once in his life?

even hearing it in his head is embarrassing enough.

that settles it, then. his lips are and will remain sealed.

but then his gaze refocuses on his therapist, and the sheer ‘unconditional positive regard’ or whatever the crap is called that she’s radiating becomes so palpable that it just spills out of him.

“i fucked up.”

that makes the lady frown—which, if he thinks about it, is understandable, because he rarely opens up about his failures, let alone this blatantly—although she manages to quickly school her expression into a more neutral one. “can i ask you to expound on it?”

at that, bakugou sighs, because it’s either he just tells the laughable truth or actually cite one of his actual mistakes—which he’s not feeling right now, by the way. or he can expertly maneuver the conversation to another topic, but something tells him there’s no getting out of the current subject. maybe today, there is, but it’ll surely loom over their next sessions indefinitely until either of them revisits it.

he should know. it’s happened to him too many times, he’s lost count.

with this realization, he can only sigh again.

“it’s stupid,” he preempts.

“i’d like to hear it regardless,” comes her classic, supportive response.

and so he does it. talk, that is. it starts off a bit rough—he didn’t know how to even begin without flushing like an idiot, but he managed to get the brief anecdote going. he still ended up blushing anyway—the warmth in his cheeks was undeniable—and if she noticed, she gratefully didn’t point it out. by the time he’s finished with the trivial tale, he’s mildly out of breath, having said everything in one continuous burst.

“i told you,” he spits when she doesn’t say anything for a beat. “it’s stupid.”

“i’d normally ask you to reconsider the adjectives you use for yourself and your experiences, but i think you’ve heard enough of that.”

he snorts. damn straight.

the woman then shoots him a smile, and he has to tamp down the reflex to bristle at an impending attempt to placate him. fortunately, it doesn’t come.

what does, instead, is a question.

one that catches him completely off guard.

“did you find her attractive?”

the fuck, is his first, immediate thought.

but then his normally trusty and acute brain seemingly comes to life and promptly supplies a second one that leaves him frozen and utterly dumbfounded.

yes.

˗ˏˋ while likes are appreciated, they don’t do much on tumblr! if you want to support me and writers in general, reblogs, replies, and tags are the way to go. feel free to drop an ask, too—i’d love to chat. have a nice day! ´ˎ˗

#smiling as i'm rereading this lmao i love referring to us as gorgeous beings. because we are (has crippling self-esteem)#this is why reader-insert fanfic exists right. escapism <3 #bakugou x reader #katsuki bakugo x reader #bnha x reader #re: bakugou katsuki #eeya.docx

73 notes · View notes

azaharinflames · 2 months ago

Text

Okay, I come here for my weekly post-ep delulu. It usually comes on Thursday, but I was in a state of shock and, honestly, I was feeling emotionally drained, so. Now it is when I can finally verbalise something I've been suspecting for a while, but that I saw a bit more possible after yesterday's ep.

I think (heavily on something I think, I'm not saying it's a definitive thing) that the show is gearing up to, potentially, have Buck be the new Captain.

Now, per Tim's words, we know the captaincy question won't be answered this season. We'll have an interim Captain (Gerard, this we know), but he'll be there temporarily. The new Captain will be something we'll see come Season 9. So. From here on.

I know a lot of us also wanted to see Hen in this position. And if they go with Hen, please know I will be fucking ecstatic, because I think she deserves it and has worked so incredibly hard for it. But I also think that the incidents from 805, and her NDE in 815, and even the way that almost losing Mara was tied to her job... well, that might make her step down, or decide that captaincy is not what is best for her family. And if the show chooses this path for her, I will only be able to respect that and her choice. Because she deserves to finally be happy with her family, and I get that she does not want to jeopardize it. Even more so after Bobby's sudden passing. I think living through that might put her off the desire for captaincy, and it would ultimately make sense.

However... this past ep also let us see a glimpse of the opposite. Of how this tragedy might motivate someone to step up, take care of everyone, and be a leader. To fight for his people the same way Bobby did. Not only because that's just inherently who he is, but because we have Bobby using their last moments together to tell him he's gonna be okay, that their people will need him.

And that person is Buck.

Buck, who took control of the situation quickly, who has been taking control more and more lately, and who has been shown to be increasingly more comfortable with that. Buck, who has, quite obviously, taken the role of caretaker during this season. I will revisit this a bit later, but the important point to make here is that the foundation is there. Buck immediately went to Athena and started fighting for his team, and they didn't stop until (almost) all of them were out. Buck, who in the preview has already been shown to go and check on Chimney, make sure he can help him.

(I know Oliver mentioned something changing for Buck professionally, but personally, I think that was a reference to losing Bobby, and not to becoming Captain just yet)

Truth of the matter is that I've always believed the end of the series would see Buck as Captain (whether that was in the 118 or, if Hen was Captain there, starting over in a different house). I think that, narratively, that makes the most sense, given that we start the show during his probationary period. Granted, I had not imagined it going down like this, but I've been seeing the potential for a long while, and last night's episode kinda cemented that for me.

They had Bobby quite literally passing down the torch to Buck. Whether that is purely on a moral level or whether that will also bleed into the firehouse, we'll see. But I think it's quite possible that Season 9 will see Captain Buckley, and that his big storyline of the season will be adapting to that. It will also make sense to have this happen to mark the start of a new era, one without Bobby.

Now, as for my guess on how this would work in general:

I think that by making Buck captain, they would also be giving him more mature storylines (which, I think, would feel natural with his character's progression). I think there would be sort of two categories in the firehouse; the OGs (Hen, Chim, Buck and Eddie if he comes back), and then the newest additions (I will include Ravi here because if he becomes a main, it also means a new start for his character. I also think there is a big possibility of having a Grant kid join the firehouse). I think this would feel like a sort of natural progression (by the start of Season 9, Buck will have been at the 118 for almost ten years. He cannot be the puppy-dog of the station much longer).

On a personal level, I personally believe Tim very much intends to settle Buck down with Tommy. Of course, they will have their issues, as every couple in this show does, but I think the intention to have Buck settle in his personal life and be in an unknown world in his professional life might be the move Tim is making. Especially because, as I mentioned before, we've constantly seen Buck feeding and taking care of his team. But the show is making a point of highlighting how Tommy is the only one doing that for Buck.

Also, a small addition to back this up, having Tommy be the sole witness of Buck breaking down is very interesting and very intentional. Because (unless I'm wrong) it speaks of Tommy being the only one able to see through Buck's bs. It also gives Buck someone safe, someone he can break apart with, and someone who he doesn't have to be strong for. The show starting to establish that in 815 feels very important to me.

I don't know. Please feel free to tell me if I'm being too delulu but like, I think this has some potential of eventually happening.

#bucktommy #tevan #tommy kinard #evan buckley #911 discourse #911 spec

88 notes · View notes

utilitycaster · 5 months ago

Text

You know, the thing about the FCG Coin of Delving One-shot (or for that matter one about the Chetney Eggs) is that it struck me how compared to the plot-relevant post-campaign one-shots for C1 and C2, it feels like a premise from which you could, ostensibly, have Bells Hells on your screen in a physical sense for a few hours but it's weirdly empty in terms of reflecting them in a meaningful way with any growth, and this too feels like a casualty of all the things this campaign skipped past or rapidly smoothed over in the finale to make a happy ending.

The coin was important to FCG initially because it was one of the only things they had from Dancer, who at the time they believed to have died, along with all their other companions. So that element disappeared once he found out she was alive, and especially the complicated circumstances and his own responsibility of what he'd once believed to be her death. It's unsurprising they never really revisited it.

Now, there's a way retrieving the coin could have been meaningful as a one-shot, and that's if the party had taken any time to grieve FCG either during the campaign or even in the finale beyond the brief moment with FRIDA. A single scene with Dancer, in which they told her what had happened, could have set this up with considerable weight - if they'd mentioned the coin incident at a memorial, for example, and she'd said she'd like the coin back now for herself because now it's all she really has of FCG, that could have been a deeply poignant moment and laid the groundwork for something with the same mix of shenanigans and grief as The Search for Grog/Bob. As is, the mere premise feels like a bit of, if you pardon the pun, a cash grab.

Opal's restoration without any real work done feels similar: this is a moment that could have been an excellent two-shot a la Uk'otoa, but it's solved now, so there's no point. And so on. One of the things I specifically loved about Campaign 2 that wasn't as true of Campaign 1 (for reasons that are not the fault of C1's narrative, to be clear) is that there were a huge number of remaining opportunities out there purely based in the work the characters had done during the campaign. For Campaign 3, the only character who really has any unexplored business he seems to care about is Chetney; even Ludinus feels like a plot thread that will, if ever addressed, fall to the Mighty Nein. By ignoring these consequences, they've also cut off a number of avenues for future stories with Bells Hells and the Crown Keepers that inherit the weight and meaning of a full campaign. The main options are mostly insubstantial fluff.

#bells hells #critical role

93 notes · View notes

ingravinoveritas · 9 months ago

Text

Earlier this year, a new blog was started here on Tumblr with the aim and intention of harassing a group of fans in the GO fandom. I previously made a post addressing this, as I was the initial target of this blog (whose original handle was a dupe of my own Tumblr handle).

I had hoped not to have a reason to revisit this particular subject, but given recent disturbing comments made by both this blog and its followers, and a post written by @nightgoodomens describing the situation from their perspective, I feel compelled to make a post of my own, to talk about what I have experienced and continue to experience at the hands of these individuals.

By now, some of you may be familiar with the blog in question. In my prior post, I did not mention this blog's name publicly, and I have no intention of doing so at this time, either. Yet I think it's important to be clear about what this blog's specific intentions were, which were made evident by its original creator on Twitter at the end of May:

It was only a few days after writing this tweet that the author did exactly this, and created this main blog. I feel that this has somehow become obscured over time, as given the negative response that this blog's initial posts engendered, the original creator apparently retired from the blog and gave the reins to someone else, and the blog's focus soon pivoted to defending Georgia and Anna. Prior to this, however, the blog began publishing Anons attacking me, including one that seemed to be threatening to doxx me:

What particularly perplexed me was seeing a gradual distortion of my own words and writing here on Tumblr, as well as people buying into it so readily. I also noticed one particular blog that became friendly with this main blog--they've changed handles a number of times, but at the time they were known as michaelsheendaily (then michaelsheensource, then thesheenantbergs). For months prior, they talked specifically about how awful the things I/others were saying about Georgia and Anna, and then seemingly joined forces with this main blog.

…Yet one year ago this very month, that same person (michaelsheendaily/thesheenantbergs) felt similarly to many of us and had sent me an Ask wanting to know if I thought Anna was being abusive to Michael. This Ask was sent from their (at the time, now deleted) main blog, but they helpfully DMed me from michaelsheendaily to make sure I had seen their question:

I answered this question (as I try to do with every Ask/Anon I get) straightforwardly and honestly, and firmly said "No" in response, as well as how serious it is to accuse someone of abuse, and that it is not up to any of us to try and break up a relationship, as Michael has people he can turn to if he needs to do so. I have also previously defended Georgia on my blog (and provided rationales and examples for why my perspective has gradually shifted over time), but it seems that the people harassing me have conveniently chosen to ignore all of this/have never looked at my blog beyond a cursory glance.

As this main blog continued its posting, and despite having Anons turned off, I began to receive a number of hateful Asks, which culminated with another blog suddenly coming into being about a month after these initial incidents. This blog claimed to be Michael Sheen (using a handle of his from Facebook), and published this despicably homophobic and noticeably un-Michael-like post:

The aforementioned main blog immediately drew attention to this post, and claimed that they had "proof" of this being the real Michael:

It soon became apparent that this blog was a fake, and despite its prior insistence that it could possibly be him, the main blog backtracked quickly as more people pointed out how obviously this was not Michael. Yet even the notion that someone would think this was acceptable--to pretend to be Michael, to (poorly) attempt an approximation of his writing style, all for the sake of attacking one person, and despite the fact that we know Michael already has a Tumblr that he hasn’t posted on in years--is just absurd beyond words.

But clearly this ill-conceived post inspired others, as only a week after this post appeared (and subsequently disappeared, along with the blog itself), I received an Ask from yet another recently-created blog of someone claiming to know Michael personally, saying that he would "destroy" me:

Which brings me to the present day, and how these themes have presented themselves yet again, in an even more unpleasant fashion.

Over the last four months, this main blog and its followers have continued to obsessively read my blog (despite how very easy it would be to simply block me) and screenshotted my posts in order to add their own vile commentary. I have not wanted to draw attention to any of this, but one particular instance has now made me change my mind.

I've recently talked on my blog about my upcoming trip to London, where I will be seeing David in Macbeth. A few days ago, it was brought to my attention that the main blog screenshotted one of my posts--which was a reblog of a video of David with Jodie Whittaker--along with my tags talking about the way David was sitting. One of the blog's followers commented this in response, and subsequently received a reply from the OP:

The "daggers" commenter currently runs several blogs dedicated to worshiping/defending Georgia and Anna (at least one of which is run in tandem with the original creator of the main blog). Numerous accusations have been levied at me and others from these blogs, one of the most outrageous of which is homophobia...yet this is their response to me simply saying David might not be 100% straight, and which eerily echoes the tone of the post from "Michael" three months ago. And while there are a lot of things about the last few months that have rankled me, nothing does so more than the hypocrisy I have witnessed, such as this.

The thing is, though, that when I saw these comments, all I could honestly think of was how sad I felt.

Because here I am, just days away from going on my trip--a trip I have been so anxiously awaiting, that is my first non-work trip in a very, very long time--and now the thought of, "Could someone try to attack me?" has crossed my mind. Yet my sadness is less for myself and more for the person who thinks it is acceptable to wish or even encourage violence against another human being. My sadness is that this person feels so unsafe or discontent in their own life--a feeling I know all too well--that their chosen course of action is to make someone else feel unsafe. To assuage their own sense of powerlessness by going after someone they perceive as having power.

My sadness is at these people being so sure that the celebrities they are a fan of would agree with them, yet needing/wanting those people to act in a way that aligns with who they want Michael and David to be, rather than who they actually are. I know that the Michael and David I became a fan of are two of the kindest, most intelligent, warmest men you could imagine, and that there is no part of me that wants or needs them to scream at or dislike the same people I do for the sake of my own self-serving purposes.

To that end, I have also been distressed by the apparent frenzy that was recently generated in the form of a "rallying cry" against myself and others in this group of fans facing ongoing harassment. But what I've tended to see as a response to said frenzy is some variation of, "People are saying these terrible things. I haven't actually seen any of these posts/comments, but it must be terrible, so I'll block this person/people." I am no stranger to fandom chatter/gossip, but every time I hear something, my first impulse is always to find the receipts. To learn more information what is being claimed so that I can make up my own mind. And that is the very same ethos I have espoused on my blog for years, because I would much rather people think for themselves than "fall in line" because they are being told to do so/threatened with being "cancelled" if they don't.

So if you want to find out something about my opinions or takes, it is all here on my blog. Everything going back five years since I joined the GO fandom, tagged and catalogued. I have not privated anything or deleted anything, nor do I have multiple blogs or side blogs--just this one. And if after reading what I actually have to say you still want to block me, you are certainly welcome to do so. I would just much rather you block me because of the truth, not because of someone else's personal vendetta and agenda.

To say that dealing with all of this for months on end has been surreal and stressful is a profound understatement. Especially because I have never once engaged with this blog, never replied to any posts of theirs, nor sent them an Anon or made threats of any kind (despite receiving numerous threats myself). Nor have I replied to the multiple incendiary Asks and DMs I have repeatedly received from the blog's original creator.

Again, I have not wanted to draw any further attention to these people, but the staggering awfulness of the most recent comments finally made me feel that enough is enough. I truly shudder to think what the response would be if someone made a similarly threatening comment toward these individuals...yet it's somehow completely fine to say these things about me. To make me and others into the "villain" that you need us to be to justify saying these heinous things in the first place. And while these individuals and anyone else are free to dislike me and to express their dislike in a public forum to their heart's content, that freedom of expression ends where my right to not feel that my personal safety is in jeopardy begins. A line that should never have been crossed has been crossed, and we as a fandom and as human beings are much the worse off for it.

No one should ever have to feel this way. Not even these people. And by talking about all of this and bringing these incidents into the light, my hope is that no one else ever will.

#michael sheen #welsh seduction machine #david tennant #soft scottish hipster gigolo #fandom woes #i can't even with this nonsense #the events of the last few months have just been unreal #especially because i've always talked about seeing our faves as human beings #and giving that grace even to those i dislike #but i guess it's easier to dehumanize me instead #felt good to write all this out though #but i am saddened that my trip has been somewhat tainted by all of this #still hoping to have a wonderful time and do many good things #i'll stop tagging now #long post is long #thoughts #discourse

154 notes · View notes

elliewithcellie · 1 year ago

Text

Rite of Passage

summary: steve takes care of you after a date gone horribly wrong (roommate!steve harrington x fem!reader)

wc: 2.0k

cw: results of the date which is not described, but understood to be sexual assault, Please use your discretion (marked in the tags so it can be filtered), steve stays platonic, he is the comfort in the hurt/comfort, reader takes a bath, semi-graphic description of injuries, angst but fluff in how steve cares so much for reader. PLEASE let me know if I'm missing anything

a/n: this is not for the faint of heart. it has been in the vault since 2022 just as a kind of a coping thing. it's one of the stories i revisit and literally just cry rereading, but maybe it can be helpful to others. this is just one way one can react to this sort of incident. everyone's own reactions are valid, and i love you.

It could happen to anyone. Almost every girl experiences it, some sick rite of passage to prove that you are a woman. To remind you that you are still inferior, second class, an object to be used. Then these women share their stories so nonchalantly, in passing, and in response to their friends’ stories. Some don’t share at all. Some bottle it up and smile through the pain anyway, now nothing behind her once vibrant eyes.

But you never really thought it would happen to you. Not that you were invincible or immune or reckless; it’s just not something that anyone can fully comprehend. You’d been told to smile more. You’d been objectified or ignored. You thought that put you on the list already.

You thought he was a sweet guy. You wished you listened to Steve. You had laughed at his suggestion to “at least bring him back to the apartment.” You were so embarrassed at the thought of making out with some guy while Steve hid in the other room. And you didn’t want your date to know that you lived with another guy. But all that seemed so insignificant now.

You had to walk home. Your teeth chattered in the drizzling rain, your gait slightly wider than usual. You crossed your arms and bit down on your lip hard, a desperate attempt at a distraction. Not a single car passed you on your trek home. The darkness consumed you. The silence betrayed you. With your phone now dead, making it to your apartment was the only hope filling your heart. You prayed that Steve hadn’t waited up for you. You just wanted to be alone.

You fiddled with your keys as you approached the locked door. You didn’t realize how much your hands were shaking. You struggled for a few more moments, begging for the strength to get inside without crying, when the door opened for you.

“Y/N! I’ve been calling you for like an hour! Where have you been?” Steve guided you inside. He attempted to take your jacket from you, but you jerked his hand off of you.

“Don’t! Don’t touch me.” Your voice quivered at the end of your sentence.

Steve lifted his hands and closed the door behind the both of you. “Sorry, I didn’t – I – you’re soaked, hon. Did—did you walk here?”

You nodded. You felt overwhelmed, anger rising to cover your tracks. “Can you just fucking cool it with the questions? My phone died. I walked here. I’m wet 'cause it’s raining. Just—just leave me alone.”

You shoved him out of your way with your shoulder and stormed to your room. You had never acted this way toward him, toward anyone. People knew you to be kind, gentle, and sometimes blunt, but never rude or aggressive. But you felt that part breaking right in front of your eyes. You were confused. You couldn’t comprehend what was happening, that this was happening.

You plugged in your phone. You paced around your room for your phone to light up again. When your phone turned back on, you checked for his number. He had already blocked you.

Your lungs boiled. Your body vibrated with rage. The impulse to scream grew stronger and stronger by the second. So, you did. A guttural, soul-clutching scream escaped your throat. Tears stained your cheeks. You felt your destruction in your hands, transferring the havoc condemned to you to your room. You threw your books, kicked your chair, and flipped your mattress, bawling and yelling through it all. You punched your pillow over and over until hands gathered you in their arms. You fought the arms, but the hold was tight.

“Hey, it’s me. It’s Steve. Relax. I’ve got you. You’re ok. You’re safe. You’re safe. I’ve got you.”

You sank into his touch and wept. Destruction left your body and devolved into devastation. Your body suddenly so heavy, you slumped to your knees, Steve following right behind you and still holding you close.

You couldn’t be sure how long you stayed on the floor of your bedroom. But Steve held you with the same force he did from the very start. He wasn’t going anywhere. You cried until you lost your energy, tears still streaking your face. You couldn’t even hold yourself up anymore. You were glad that you had Steve to lean on.

“How can I help?” Steve asked. You didn’t respond. You couldn’t process such an open-ended question. It seemed that Steve understood that. “Water is supposed to help relax people. What if I fill up the tub for you? You can rest in there, and I’ll grab some clothes for you. How does that sound?”

You nodded, not yet able to find your voice. Steve gently lifted you up, and the two of you walked to the bathroom.

You sat on the closed toilet as Steve crouched by the tub, testing the water with his hand. When the tub filled, he stood up and headed toward the door. “I’ll leave your clothes by the door, ok?”

He opened the door, and your stomach flipped. “Steve?”

“Yeah?”

“Please, I don—Can you stay?”

Steve’s cheeks turned a light shade of pink. He closed the door behind him and nodded. “Uh, yeah, ok.”

The two of you sat in silence. You didn’t ask for him not to look. You didn’t start to change. You didn’t move, a haze falling over you. The weight of horror and defeat pulled you down.

“Y/N?”

Your eyes snapped up to Steve’s. “Sorry. I’m just tired.”

“Do you—would you like some help?” Steve’s voice shook as if you were made of glass and one misstep would shatter you.

All you could do was nod. You shuffled out of your jacket as Steve untied your shoes and removed your socks, still damp from the rain. He rose to his knees to meet you at eye level. He patted your arm, and you lifted them halfway into the air, as much as you could muster. Steve carefully pulled your shirt over your head, officially crossing a line the two of you never even toed.

And what Steve saw broke his heart. Blue and green bruises in the shape of fingertips wrapped around your neck. More, less cohesive shapes scattered across your chest down to the top of your hip bones where the waistband of your pants sat.

“Oh my god,” he whispered. He sat in observation, conflict brewing within him. The more he looked, the angrier he got. His shame screamed for him to look away, to salvage the friendship you both have and remain a ‘gentleman’. But the true friend in him wanted to document every bruise on your body, to share the knowledge in your pain, and to lighten the load in any way possible. This part fueled him to continue.

“Stand up for me, please.”

You paused. Your heart began to pound, and you found it harder and harder to breathe. You started to feel dizzy.

Steve took your face in his hands and had you look at him. “Breathe. You’re ok. Breathe with me. In…and out.” You matched the rhythm that Steve set and took deep breaths. You collected yourself under Steve’s gaze, but you were still a little overwhelmed.

“I’m here for you, ok? Whatever you need just say it. Need me to turn around, I will. Need me to leave? I can. But I think you need to get cleaned up, ok? You think you can do that? What do you need from me?”

You thought for a moment. Your brain felt jumbled, like crossed wires scrambling messages. Steve sat at your knees patiently while you considered what you wanted.

“Let’s—let’s just get it over with,” you sighed, a dry laugh forced from your diaphragm.

You stood up with what strength you had left, resolving to lean your body weight on Steve’s shoulders as he kneeled beneath you.

He wasted no time in unbuttoning your pants, desperate to not make a scene of it. He glided your pants to your ankles, and you stepped out of them while using Steve to balance. He stood up and guided you into the water. As you stepped in, the dried blood between your thighs sucked the air out of Steve’s lungs. Now he felt dizzy. Now he felt rage. He could only have guessed, but now he was certain. His eyes stung as he blinked back tears.

“I—I’ll be right back,” he said, turning away from you.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m gonna grab those clothes for you. I’ll be right back. I promise.” He tore out of the bathroom, his tears now falling freely. He was gonna kill him. He was gonna kill that man if it was the last thing he did. He paced the halls debating on grabbing his bat. His blood boiled. Steve didn’t know what to do. He stormed into your room but was quickly reminded of the destruction that already took place. His temper cooled back down. You were his priority. You needed his attention. You needed him. He took a deep breath and collected all of your favorite cozy clothes.

He wiped his tears before knocking. A weak ‘come in’ responded. Steve opened the door. You had already begun draining the tub as you reached for your towel from your seated position. Steve grabbed the towel and pulled you up to your feet. He wrapped you up and did what he could to dry you. Then he helped you into your sweats and socks before guiding you to his room.

“What are we doing?” you asked.

“Well, your bed is kind of indisposed at the moment,” Steve chuckled. “So, you can sleep here for now, ok? I’ll be on the couch if you need me.” The truth was he planned on cleaning your room and putting it back together. He knew it was late, but a fresh start in the morning was sure to allow things to move forward a little easier, right?

“You don’t have to. I can sleep on the couch; it’s fine.”

“Please, I insist.”

“It’s your bed.”

“Well, then, at least stay with me. I want you comfortable. I want you to get some sleep tonight.”

“Are you sure?”

“Only if you are.”

“I think I’d like that, actually.” You tried to smile, but you were much too tired.

“Come on, then.” Steve smiled. He held your hand as he led you to his bed. He pulled the covers back, and you slipped in, Steve following close behind.

The room was dark and silent, two things that again began to trouble you. You stared up at the ceiling, trying to keep your composure. Steve, too, stared up at his ceiling fan, all too conscious of the space between the two of you, hoping you were comfortable, or at least relaxed enough to fall asleep.

“You were right,” you whispered, your lip beginning to quiver.

Steve’s ears perked up. “Huh? What do you mean?” He turned his body to face you, his arm propping up his head.

“You knew he was bad news. I should have listened.”

“No, no. No. You couldn’t have known. I didn’t know. You did nothing wrong. Okay? Look at me. You did nothing wrong.”

You nodded in the dark, the silence continuing to settle around you. You wanted to believe him; you really did. But fragments of memories struck your nerves, all too vivid and all so wrong to be truly convinced.

“Why did this happen to me, Steve?” Your voice broke. Steve pulled you into his chest as you cried for the second time this evening. He stroked your hair as he held you close, failing to keep his own tears at bay.

“I’ve got you, sweet girl. I’ve got you. I’m gonna keep you safe from now on, you got that? You can count on me.”

“Thank you,” you whispered.

The room eventually grew quiet and still, the only sounds the heavy breaths leaving both of you. Steve kept his promise, holding you in his arms and keeping you safe the entire night.

#steve harrington x reader #steve stranger things #steve harrington fluff #steve harrington angst #steve harrington hurt/comfort #sexualassault #me too #platonic!steve harrington #steve harrington #steve harrington drabble #steve harrington x you #steve harrington one shot #steve harrington fanfic #steve harrington x y/n

239 notes · View notes

jaylaxies · 3 months ago

Text

TEASER: A REUNION TO REMEMBER

PAIRING: sunghoon x fem!reader

GENRE/CW: smut, unprotected sex, fingering, cunnilingus, public sex, car sex, shower sex, degradation and praising, mentions of drinking, mentions of jay and karina (aespa), and other idols, mentions of nicknames (baby, kitten), more to be added.

WC: 12k words (estimated).

TEASER WC: 1167 words.

WARNING: 18+ content, minors dni (the full fic will include smut).

A/N: hihi, angels! revamping a hoon fic rn! taglist is open, send an ask or comment to be added! <33 (make sure to have your age visible on your blog! blank blogs will not be added to the tl).

“There’s absolutely no fucking way he didn’t know!”

You exclaimed, frustration clear on your face, recalling how things went down back in tenth grade to prove your point.

You huffed, sitting down on the edge of your bed, nodding to yourself slowly as you let it sink that her point was actually a valid one for once.

“It’s still awkward though,” you mumbled, playing with a loose thread of your sweater.

“It’ll be fine, okay? It’s been four full years, and it’s not like you have to talk to him.” Her words were true yet again, and this is why you loved her.