#and petrify looks so useful send help | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

fleursbending · 2 years

Text

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲'𝐬 𝐒𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐓𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫. | Sully Family

𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭 : "You taught me that love doesn't make us weak, it makes us stronger." Sully! Reader to Sully! Parents? Just a fluffy family fic please

𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 : sully!family x sully!daughter

𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 : becoming one with the metkayina's has not been an easy task. as everyone continues to settle in their own ways, your family begins to grow more worried about your well-being. this isn't the sully they know. you're withdrawn, and quiet. what better way to fix that than to seek you out when you least expect it?

𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬 : hi if you're confused so am i! there were issues when i first posted this so i am reposting it again. thank you for the love on the previous one though! // trust me this is fluffy 😭 just have to go through a lil angst to get to that part <33 this is purely a self-indulgent hurt/comfort fic! didn't fully proofread this btw! pls feel free to reblog and leave your thoughts in the comments.

𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 : bullying, discrimination, angst but fluff at the end, descriptions of loneliness, hurt/comfort, you're gonna wish even more that u were a sully after reading this.

𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 : 3.2k words

𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭 : hiiiiii my luvs you can read part 2: here !🙏🏼

The ocean was not your friend, you could only look at the endless channel of water in disdain. This was far too daunting for you, you liked the little rivers or ponds back at home. The sealife while beautiful, petrified you.

You missed the lush greens and the smell of the dew from the occasional rain back in the jungle. It was easy to forget your responsibilities, not that you had as many as your other siblings. Being the second youngest Sully had its perks. Not older than Lo'ak, and not younger than Tuk.

The "expeditions" you went on now made you look like a fool. You didn't know the terrain here, how to navigate fluidly through the water like Tsireya, Ao'nung, or Roxto.

Each passing day your siblings got better at managing to hold their breath, and riding their Ilu's. But you were still stuck in the past.

It felt reality kept kicking you in the face. Your stubborn self was annoyed as well. Holding a grudge against your family. It seemed like no one missed home. You understood why your parents made the decision they did, but it didn't make the act of doing so hurt any less.

At least you had these quiet moments before your thoughts ran rampant to practice your breathing.

You were suddenly interrupted from your twisting thoughts when a nudge was directed at your head.

It was Ao'nung and his crew.

"Leave me alone." You hissed at them, not wanting to deal with their bullshit today.

"Leave me alone." Ao'nung mocked you as he tugged on your tail.

You quickly stood up, looking to see if any of your family were close by. They weren't. You were supposed to be back in the Mauri but once again, you lost track of time.

"No one is here to help you, Y/n."

They grabbed your hand, poking insults at you and your family. You knew better than to talk back, especially if no one was here to help you out. It was 4 against 1. So instead you bit your lip and kept your mouth shut.

"Roxto, are you there?" His mother called from around the corner, startling the goonies.

"You're in luck, scram!" Ao'nung hissed at you.

Eyes widening, you stumbled as you rushed back to your Mauri. You didn't dare look back at your tormentors.

Once you were a few steps away, you slowed your pace. Catching your breath, before making your way inside.

The worried chatter of your family halted when you made your presence.

Neytiri stopped pacing, moving over to you and grabbing your face in her hands.

"Ewya help me before I lose it. Where have you been? You're 15 minutes late! I was about to send your brothers out to look for you."

Had it really been that long?

"I'm sorry." You looked down in shame. It's weird being on the brunt end of the stick. Even your parents have grown more accustomed to having to tell you off rather than Lo'ak. It was definitely odd.

"You didn't answer your mother's question, where have you been?" Jake didn't like being stern with you, but you being late to dinner had been happening more regularly.

You used to be a stickler for these dinners, being the one to push for them. How everyone had to be in attendance, and on time. It was family bonding time, moments to catch up on what everyone had done that day.

"Just around, I was with my Ilu - I'm sorry." You looked down to the Mauri's floor, unable to meet your father's eyes. It was hard lying to him.

Neteyams eyebrows arched in confusion, he had just been with his Ilu. You were nowhere in sight. He decided to let it slide this time, but he couldn't help but wonder where you snuck off too.

"Alright well, you really got to keep track of time yeah. You used to love these dinners!"

"Yes, and I still do!" You answered too quickly, not missing a beat.

If Jake wasn't suspicious before, he certainly was now. But like Neteyam, he decided to let it slide. Your brothers had told him and Neytiri how you've been struggling to catch up and learn everything in the lessons.

That was partially it, but if only he was aware of the bigger picture.

Jake nodded, looking to Neytiri. She also held a look of concern, but Jake made a silent signal that basically stated:

"We shouldn't push it, not now."

"Well, let's eat before the food gets even colder." Neytiri ushered her kids over, keeping a close eye on you.

Your family gathers around the food that was already set, and start eating. As all your siblings chatted excitedly about the activities they've done throughout the day. You didn't say a thing, not even piping in.

Neytiri and Jake once again met gazes, thinking the same thing.

Something's wrong with our daughter.

Soon dinner was over and it was time to rest, as your family rested together you couldn't help yourself as you removed Tuk's arm that clung to your shoulder.

Maneuvering your way outside, you jumped into the water. Why sleep when you can practice again?

Before Eclipse ended you made sure to squeeze the excess water out of your hair and made yourself comfortable alongside your family. Your body ached and could no longer fight off your sleep deprivation. But it was worth it, you could hold your breath a lot longer now under water.

From then on, it gradually got worse. Even your siblings would struggle to find you throughout the day. You'd take longer naps through the day, and Lo'ak knew you were sneaking out at night. Your essence seemed to further rid itself from you, and all that was left was a hollow shell of yourself.

They too, shared similar thoughts with their parents. No longer could they see you dwindle away. It didn't sit right with them, you're a Sully through and through. Sully's stick together.

So they did what they know best and was most accessible to them, track.

Instead this time they weren't on a hunt, or looking for what was to be a good meal for their clan. They were following the steps of their baby sister.

If you stepped out of your brain for a moment, you would have immediately clocked them. But once again, Y/n was shut in her own bubble.

"Bro, don't you find it weird that she hasn't realised we are here?" Lo'ak whispered as he looked at you behind the leaves keeping them hidden.

"Shut up, Lo'ak" Neteyam grumbled. He didn't want to agree even if his words held some truth.

"Hey, I have to agree with him. We shouldn't have been able to get this far. She's usually far too hyperaware of her surroundings." Kiri observed you, stunned and clueless.

They'd never been to this part of Awa'atlu before. They'd been so fixated on the ocean. They had yet to really explore the area that surrounded their new home. It oddly felt like they were waltzing through their past.

At last, you came upon your tree. You liked it because it had a specific branch that you could curve into. Blend in, and be one with your surroundings. Like you had used to do before in the jungle. This was now your next best option.

Your siblings looked in confusion at one another, not understanding how this could be the reason you've been periodically gone. Did you spend all your time here?

But then it came.

It was barely there, and you were struggling to catch your breath. The cries.

It strikes through the serene sounds of the waves crashing against the shore, and the nearby insects chirping.

Your sibling's ears flattened as they looked at each other in sheer worry. You were a spitfire, but you had always been calm and collected. The physical embodiment of the word warm. Happiness was always with you. So where did it all go wrong?

"Great mother, I fear that I am not good enough. I thought consistency was key, I've been trying to practice anytime I can. But I'm so tired. I've never felt this weak and useless?" You mumbled to yourself, looking up into the sky.

Groaning in frustration, you continued. "Maybe Ao'nung was right. I will never be one of the people. I will always be too alien. I will never be able to live up to my family."

Lo'ak enraged by the doubts you had voiced stepped out from their cover.

Your ears tuned into the noise, you finally tuned into your senses and became more alert. As you hopped off the branch, hastily wiping your tears.

"Brother." You choked out, lips trembling.

He took slow steps towards you, trying to soothe you as he brought you into a hug.

"Baby sister," he said so quietly, solemnly.

You couldn't remember the last time he hugged you, and neither he could he. It wore his heart down, seeing you in such a vulnerable state.

Soon the presence of more arms wrapped around you both, clinging onto you - securing you in their grasps. For the first time in a long time, tenderness surged through you.

"We've got you, Y/n. You're going to be alright. Let it all out now." Neteyam who was at your right side gave you a gentle kiss on your forehead, muttering to himself - "Oh my baby sister."

Kiri had never felt such pain from you, it came off in waves. And it almost debilitated her. In that moment, it was the most protective she had felt for you. It synced through all of them, a fire had awaken in the pit of their souls - so fierce that even Toruk Makto would flinch from it.

Slowly your breaths began to ease, and your tense shoulders slumped down. It was emotionally taxing having had all these emotions balled up inside you. Now it was unraveling, and it felt all too bittersweet.

Your siblings sensing this, mellowed out on their group hug they were giving you. Moving over, you all settled down against the tree you've been confiding in moments before.

Tuk grabbed your hand while Kiri tucked your intricate braids behind your ears. You mouthed a "thank you", leaning your head on her shoulder.

All it took was Neteyam to ask a very simple question, "What's been going on, baby sister?"

And once your mouth opened, you decided - why not just let them in on everything? So you did.

You told them about how ashamed and humiliated you had felt when you started lagging behind. How Ao'nung and his friends would tease you whenever they had the chance to do. (It was always away from prying eyes). Due to that, it only made the feelings of hatred you harbored for yourself - increase a tenth-fold.

A deliberately belligerent cycle was born. Self-doubt equated to "I will push myself to the brink of exhaustion". You'd seek out your family thinking they'd have noticed. But they were too caught up in their own commitments to realise your intentions.

All you wanted was for any of them to see the hard work you had been pouring in to adapting here. But how could they when you always lingered on the outskirts?

Late to dinner, late to the lessons, never seen. They couldn't appreciate what was in front of them because they hadn't witnessed it themselves. How utterly ironic.

"I see why you didn't, but I wish you had told us, Y/n. We could have helped you." Kiri insisted as she patted your head.

"I know." You grumbled, but you were grateful for how attentive they are to you.

"Ao'nung will pay." Lo'ak seethed, completely shifting the topic of conversation.

Neteyam rolled his eyes and interjected. "He will, but not in the way you are seeing it in your mind right now. We have to go to dad and mum about this."

Your irritated eyes widened, leaping up from where your back had laid against the tree. Y/n scowled at Neteyam, her tail flicking in anguish. No, not her parents.

"Absolutely not, 'Teyam. They mustn't know anything of this." You countered him, disbelief flooding your features. Your parents would only perceive you as a failure, and that was the last thing you could stomach right now.

Neteyam stood up by you, placing a reassuring hand on your shoulder. He shook his head at you and gave you one of his brotherly grins.

"Baby sister, they are just as worried as we are." He looked behind you, and urged you to turn around.

Oh great mother, that could only mean one thing.

Ember crashed on ember, one filled with panic, and two filled with distraught. The tension was taut, but all your parents wanted to do was cradle you in their arms like they had in your first few months of life.

"Kids, back to the Mauri." Jake ordered them, pointing back to where it was.

"But dad-" Lo'ak butted in, worriedly looking at you.

"It's okay. Thank you, Lo'ak." You coaxed him to join your siblings who were also hesitating a little.

They disappeared amongst nature, and their footsteps grew fainter and fainter. Until all that was left was your heartbeat pounding in your ears. It felt oddly comforting being in their company even though doubt was eating you up from the inside.

It's been a while.

Neytiri was the first to approach you, her hands shook as she cradled your face. She took you in for the first time in weeks, and this time she was able to do it properly. Lately, she'd only been able to admire you whilst you sleep, or during meals.

In the morning you'd be gone in a blink of an eye. Throwing a haphazard, "I'll see you later", over your shoulder.

She missed you profoundly, so much that it physically pained her sometimes. Neytiri treasured you deeply, to put it bluntly - her heart felt like it'd been slashed by a Thanotor ever since you started pushing yourself away.

Jake followed in his mate's footsteps. His eye's tearing into your soul and trying to catch if there had been any distinct changes that have occurred to you.

"You don't look like yourself." Jake stumbled on his words.

Neytiri hissed, smacking your dad on the back of his head. A slight giggle escaped you that made both of their hearts sing. "Ma jake."

"Sorry." He mumbled, giving you a cheeky grin.

Y/n's doubts were already melting away before she herself could even acknowledge it. She grabbed both her parent's hands, leading them over to her tree not too far away from where they had been standing.

Mimicking how she and her siblings were just before. She settled against the tree again, bringing her parents down with her.

The trio admired their surroundings, taking in the wonders of Pandora. Especially Jake, and Neytiri. This is the closest they've felt to something akin to the jungle they'd once inhabited.

"I'm sure you heard everything, and it is true. I am sorry if I've disappointed you guys. I thought I could manage it all on my own."

Neytiri played with your hair and could only chastise your words. "You did not disappoint us, if anything - you infuriated us. We were just worried about you, our dear daughter."

Jake nodded in agreement. "We love you, and we want to be there for you. We will if you allow us. That's what we are here for. You don't need to fight these battles alone. Remember what I told you, baby girl?"

You rolled your eyes and pushed your dad away from you jokingly.

"It's us against the world." You mumbled.

Jake teasingly put a hand to his ear. "I'm sorry? What was that? I couldn't hear you."

Neytiri let out a soft laugh at you two's antics, watching with endearment sparkling in her eyes.

Clearing your throat, you reiterated your words. "It's us against the world."

Jake did extravagant hand motions, "More enthusiasm please!"

You were beaming, yelling out, "It's us against the world!"

"That's right baby, it is." Jake wrapped an arm around your shoulders bringing you to his side. Neytiri instinctively leaned against you both.

Y/n couldn't help but admire her parents. They were her foundation, her protectors. She couldn't believe that she used to be ashamed of being a Sully. It was her legacy, one she is only beginning to pave. She wasn't about to let Na'vi who didn't truly know her, dictate her life any longer.

"You taught me that love doesn't make us weak, it makes us stronger." You started, staring at your parents.

"I just - I couldn't catch up. There are so many other bigger things to worry about, and I thought.. I don't know. That I'd overcome this. I tried to love the ocean and the people. But I miss home. I miss everything that was green, now it's just all blue! That's actually why I like this place so much." You rambled, arms waving erratically. It felt gratifying to get it off your chest, especially to the two people you have wanted to tell from the get-go.

Your parents nodded, taking all your words in. But they were still conflicted. Their daughter had a competitive nature like no other, every time the world pushed her down - she always got back up. If you were lagging behind so much, you would have just pushed yourself more. Work extra hard, and seek help from your family.

But you haven't done any of that this time. All the means necessary she could have used as a stepping stone were left out of this equation. Instead, you had suffered in silence.

"You know, Y/n. It's not your fault for feeling like you don't belong. But you are one of us. You are Sully, you are the embodiment of strong heart. It does not matter what others say to you when no one else is there. It does not matter that you have 5 fingers." Neytiri protested, sighing.

She made sure you were looking at her, hearing her.

"What matters is how you control how it affects you. You are still growing, baby. This is a lesson you will remember for a lifetime and the next." Neytiri advised you, squeezing your hand.

"Your mother is right. At the end of the day, the power is in your hands. So use it, sweetheart. Follow your heart, and let us know next time if it gets a little too much. Alright?" Jake expanded on what Neytiri had told you.

You looked down at their hands holding yours. Yeah, Sully's really do stick together. And you wouldn't trade that for anything else in this world and all the other's orbiting you.

"Alright." Y/n restated, tugging both of her parents up with her. They stared at their child with confusion.

"Let's go back home." This time what you threw over your shoulder to them was a sweet smile, dimples and all.

Neytiri and Jake spoke with only their eyes as they let Y/n guide them back to their Mauri.

Our daughter is going to be just fine.

࿐ ࿔*:･ﾟ˳೫˚

bonus:

Y/n's laughter could be heard inside the Mauri as she played in the water with Tuk just in front of their home.

Jake turned to Lo'ak and Neteyam who were doing some chores.

He cleared his throat, scratching the back of his neck.

"I'll turn a blind eye if you decide to give Ao'nung a beating or two. Just for today." Jake mentioned, before going back to cleaning his gun.

Lo'ak had a devious grin, rubbing his knuckles together, "Yes Sir."

𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒃𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 ━━━ 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑

⤷ feedback and reblogs are always much appreciated ! feel free to ask through my inbox if you would like to join my taglist. ♡

#junie's library 📚✧.*#atwow #neteyam sully x reader #avatar the way of water #avatar x reader #jake sully x daughter!reader #atwow spoilers #neytiri x daughter!reader #neteyam x reader #avatar #avatar 2 #sully family x reader #sully family #kiri x reader #lo'ak x reader #avatar imagine #neytiri x reader #jake sully x reader

6K notes · View notes

pacifymebby · 11 months

Text

Afraid of Everyone / Alfie Solomons

Hurt/comfort tw kinda violence against women/misogyny, mostly just soft protective Alfie. Based on that PTSD episode I had a few weeks ago.

You looked petrified. That was the only way he could describe you and the look you'd unintentionally shot in his direction. Even from across the crowded bar he could tell that you were trembling. That you'd done your best to be stubborn and brave in the face of the cunt who'd just gotten a little nasty with you at the bar because you'd rejected his advances, but that now the moment of conflict had passed you were frozen to the spot, scared that any sudden movement would see you spiral and burst into tears.

He hadn't ever really seen you like this before. You were always the suffer in silence, the indignant, stubborn and self defensive type. But he recognised the look in your eyes from the faces of other women he'd known. That teetering on the edge of tears look. The thin line of your lips pressed together, tight and unsmiling. The stubborn stare, the determination not to cry giving your upset and terror away. A real tragedy because you were doing so well to stand your ground and had you not inadvertently shot him that "help me" look just then you'd have had everyone in the room fooled.

But you couldn't fool him and he knew exactly what you needed in that moment when the dread was squeezing your chest too tightly. When your legs and hands were shaking. When you were struggling to breath steady. You needed him, your Alfie to come sweeping in. To steal you away from that overcrowded, shit hole he didn't even understand why you'd come to anyway. Pretty little sweetheart such as yourself, trying to stand her ground in the arse end of London Town.

He'd made his mind up about cutting in before he saw one of those lary fuckers raise his hand to you, before he heard the vile thing he said to you too. But when the half cut man staggered forward into you and spat his scorned vitriol in your face Alfie couldn't stop himself.

"Alright then..." he announced his presence with his hands on your shoulders, the warmth of his body behind yours sending a little quiver of relief through you. The sound of his voice giving you the strength to remain standing tall in the face of the cunt who stood leering at you across the table. "Alright then my little cherub you gonna introduce me to your new friends? They don't look very friendly mind you, nah... Specially not this cunt... Nah ziskeit, this cunt in particular looks like a right miserable... Well..." he flexed his tone, taking one hand from your shoulder to caress your cheek with the back of his knuckles.

"Well... He looks like a cunt don't he..."

The cool metal of his rings soothed the blush burning your skin and when his fingers lingered near your mouth you understood exactly what he was doing.

Saving you.

Promising to take you home and take care of you just as soon as he'd scared these poor bastards out of town.

"Now then," started Alfie, his eyes narrowing as he looked between the two men who had stood so proudly only moments before but who were already cowering away under Alfie's cruel glare. They'd certainly sobered up in the seconds it had taken him to cut between you. Pick them out. Get their measure. "Now then boys... Got a little favour to ask you haven't I eh my sweets.. got a teensy tiny little favour to ask you right?" he said stroking his hand down your arm, his tender little acts uncanny when compared to the tone in which he spoke.

His fingers found yours and entwined with them for a moment, locking and then unlocking, dancing lightly over your palm as he carried on drawing out his threats.

"Y'see boys," he said, "I'm gettin on a bit now me and well my hearin' just ain't what it used to be yeah... And I miss things sometimes right...things I'd quite like to hear... And just now yeah, when you were talking to my lovely, frankly 'too pure to share the same fuckin breathin space as you' girl yeah, well I was all the way over there right..." He said eyes going wide as he gestured with his hand to the other side of the room, walking his fingers through the air just before you so that neither you nor the men in question could take their eyes of his menacing hand. "See it's quite far ain't it that... Quite far away wouldn't you agree?"

You watched the two men nodding, saw how they tried to hide their shaking. Saw how they tried to inch away. They must have known they couldn't really run. Must have known they were trapped and at Alfies mercy.

So now they knew exactly how they'd made you feel. As Alfie opened his long coat and subtly wrapped it around your shoulder, letting you press yourself against his chest, letting you hide behind the thick black material and quiver into his side, you couldn't help but smile at that; the knowledge that those two men were feeling small. Just as small as they had made you feel only moments before.

"So yeah, this favour what I want you two boys to do for me, Alfie Solomons the king of Camden fuckin Town, therefore by extension the king of this here fuckin shithole of a public house... Yeah... What I want right... Is for you to repeat exactly what you just said to my girl yeah? Cause I was pretty far away right and I'm not entirely sure I heard you right yeah.. and before you say anything yeah..." He held his finger to his lips to shush them, his eyes wide and theatrical, that eccentricity leaving the two men with unsteady knees, "before you say another word right I want you to think very fuckin carefully about what you're gonna say alright... Cause the thing is yeah, what I reckon is that you'd better fuckin hope I didn't hear you right.. cause if I did yeah, if you did in fact say the terrible, frankly horrifying unrepeatable things I thought I heard you say just now yeah... I'm gonna take your fuckin billiards yeah, and I'm gonna make you swallow em one by fuckin one until your ugly cuntin face caves in..."

You watched their faces pale, watched the blue tinge of fear taint their skin as they froze, mouths opening and closing, panic setting in. But Alfie didn't do anything. Didn't carry out a single one of his threats because with you wrapped up within the confines of his coat he could feel your little body trembling against his and he knew he needed to take you home. Needed to get you somewhere quiet where it could be just the two of you. Where he could sit you in his lap and take care of you the way you needed him in that moment with your big sad eyes looking up at him all watery and scared.

"Nah," he sighed, his sudden softness uncanny when matched with the glare he'd fixed on those men. The way his hand lingered in the air between him and them, accusatory finger still extended towards them as he changed his mind. Lowered his voice and grew tender instead, focussing on you.

"Nah," he shook his head, pulled his coat tighter around you and squeezed you to his chest with one arm holding you to his warm body. The other still aimed at his new enemies. "Reckon I'll make em wait eh? Give em a little while to ruminate on all their sins before they see their comeuppance yeah? What do you think eh my little ziskeit? You reckon we should make em wait it out?" He asked looking down at you, his hand cupping your cheek, thumb brushing a tear which had slipped from your lashes despite your best efforts not to cry.

"Yeah," you tried to say, though your voice never made it beyond your lips he still knew what you'd meant to say to him.

"Alright then," he grinned snapping his fingers towards the bar, pointing out the two cunts he couldn't wait to get his hands on in the morning, "Alright mate... You see these two miserable cunts there yeah... See em? Can't miss em really ugliest fucks for a country mile... I mean look at em, cunts should be livin in the dungeons at the opera Garnier, phantom of the operas a prettier sight than them two... It's like the fuckin elephant man gôr disentry right.. and shat himself... Fuckin disentry mate."

"Uh... Yes Mr Solomon's..." The poor lad behind the bar stood watching Alfie with a timid, uncertainty in his eyes, wringing his towel between his hands. Worrying, you imagined, about what was about to be asked of him.

"Right well y'see these poor bastards right... And I say "poor" but don't you go feeling sorry for them now alright, don't you feel sorry for em cause theyve fuckin earned their right to be "poor" haven't they..." Alfie let his voice wander up an octave as he spoke, that familiar meandering madness leaving the whole room in silence as they watched the scene unfold.

You hidden away in the folds of Alfie's long black coat, him with one arm wrapped around his girl, the other gesticulating between the two men who stood still trying to beg forgiveness. Their voices trembling and meek, going ignored by everyone else in favour of Alfie's theatrics. The poor lad behind the bar wringing his towel in his hands, doing his best to follow Alfie's request.

"Where was I? Oh right yeah... You ain't got a naughty step in here have you?"

"A naughty step?" The boy stuttered looking between Alfie and another bar man, begging his friend to help him.

"Yeah, y'know... somewhere they can sit nice and quiet yeah, have a good long think about what they've done?"

"Uh.." the lad hesitated, his frightened eyes meeting yours for a moment, fleeing almost the second he'd seen the whites of your eyes, not wanting to look at you when it was clear Alfie was doing his best to keep you protected and hidden away. He didn't want to find himself on the receiving end of that infamous, sociopathic temper.

"Here," Alfie clicked his fingers, pointed to a stool by the back door which was being used to prop it open, "what about this one yeah? Nice and low to the ground an all... Right where you belong.." he narrowed his eyes at the men quivering before him, flashed them a malicious grin, "fuckin sit down both of you yeah... Nah there's not much room so you'll have to share yeah... Both of you right, I want both of you to fuckin sit yourselves down there right, nice and quiet yeah... You fuckin sit there and you don't move a muscle till I come back for you yeah?" He asked waiting for a response, chuckling when the two men backed away nodding frantically as they did exactly as they were told.

You felt Alfie's chest vibrate with his low chuckle and tried to smile yourself. It was hard however because you hadn't yet managed to shake the panic that those men had sparked in you. You hadn't been able to calm down. All this time you'd been using every fibre of strength you had in you to hold it together until you were safe and sound and out of sight but you were beginning to run out of energy. Any minute now you were sure you were going to break.

"Alfie," you mouthed, tugging on his shirt to get his attention. To make him look down at you so that he'd see the paleness in your frightened face and understand. You needed him to take you home.

"Right," he nodded, his eyes locked with yours, trying to comfort you without words or affections so as not to give your vulnerability away. "Right Ollie my boy... where are ya treacle... Ollie my lad keep an eye on these two right... If they so much as blink yeah... If they so much as blink you have my explicit permission to perform whichever act of exquisite violence you so wish..."

And with that Alfie had swept you away, the crowd parting for the pair of you as you left.

The air outside was cold and a fine rain dusted over you both as you walked but you didn't feel the cold because Alfie kept you tucked up inside his coat with him, his arm wrapped around your waist to keep you close.

He knew that that was what you needed above everything else just then. Some kind of physical connection, something to hold onto. Someone to feel close to.

And there was no one who could make you feel as loved or as safe as him.

You stopped beneath a streetlight and he turned you around in his arms, squeezed you tight to his chest all wrapped up in his embrace, your face buried in his shirt, breathing in his soft rum and woodland scent. You nuzzled into him and he stroked his fingers through your hair, cradling your head to him as he bowed his toward you and kissed you tenderly. Let his lips linger in your hair as he listened to your shivered breaths.

"Alright littlen," he sighed softly, "s'alright my little ziskeit, you're with me now yeah, just you an me and your Alfs gonna take care of you now right, Papas gonna get you home right, gonna make you feel all better yeah?"

You smiled into his shirt, holding onto him a little tighter, arms wrapped around his waist, his still holding you snug and tight so that you knew he meant every word he'd just said.

For a minute he let you stay there, holding onto him, face buried in his shirt, your frame tucked away inside his big coat, the heavy wool going some way to making you feel safe too. He stroked your hair down your back and rocked you from side to side, his eyes narrowed on the quiet street as he surveyed the shadows. He wouldn't relax until he'd gotten you home but he didn't want to make you worry so he did his best to relax his body, did his best to put the anger he felt to one side. To box it away until the morning when he planned to return to that pub and exact his revenge.

For now however the rain was beginning to soak into his coat and your dress and your sad expression was beginning to pinch with cold.

"Alright my girl," he said stroking his thumb over your cheek, letting it rest on your lips as he spoke, "alright poppet time to go home..."

🐻💌🐻

Until you'd met Alfie you'd done a lot of fending for yourself. Faced a lot of things alone. You weren't necessarily built for it, hadn't particularly excelled at it, but for the most part you'd survived well enough on your own. You'd been doing it so long that even after the older man had made it his new life's passion to take you under his wing and dote on your every need, you never quite got used to having someone else worry about you or take care of you.

That's why you'd been so determined not to cry in front of anyone else. That's why when Alfie got you home and closed the front door behind you both, giving you strict instructions to go and get warm by the fire you ignored him. Took yourself straight up to the bedroom and began to undress.

To you the evening was a write off, a night of total humiliation and weakness that you would rather forget. You just wanted to climb into bed, curl up foetal position small and snug, and hopefully fall asleep before you started crying on Alfie.

He'd seen you cry before, naturally, but that wasn't the point. The less the better as far as you were concerned. You weren't a little girl, you weren't weak, you were stronger than most women and you were determined to show Alfie that. Because of everyone Alfie was the one who appeared to have the hardest time believing that you could look after yourself.

You didn't even notice his shadow in the doorway or the sound of his footsteps as he came to a halt in the frame, his gaze fixed on you. You were too busy trying to take your shoes off and slip out of your skirts to realise he was watching you. Wondering why you weren't doing as he'd told you to.

"Now then poppet..." he said softly, his gaze warm but stern as he watched and waited for you to turn around. When you looked up at him you felt a nervous flutter in your tummy, a shiver running through you as your glossy eyes shone with tears and blinked up at him. If he kept looking at you like that, with all the gentleness of a father, you were going to break down. You were already so close to falling apart and the tender way his attentions were fixed on you then was leaving you struggling.

But Alfie didn't want you to struggle. He didn't want you to hold back.

"Ziskeit," he said with a gentle tsk tsk, "come 'ere girl," he said, a gentle warning tone to his low voice as he held your gaze and waited for you to do as you were told.

You hesitated, wanting to shake your head and argue with him, wanting to tell him to leave you alone... But you didn't argue back with your Alfie and you knew that if you told him to leave you now he wouldn't listen. Still, you tried.

"I'm fine Alf don't look at me like that... I'm alright really I just wanna go to bed..."

But as you argued your voice weakened because he held your gaze, looked at you with knowing eyes and remained stable and stubborn, waiting for you in the doorway.

"Now don't start with all that ziskeit, cause me an you both know it ain't true and you ain't the kind of girl who tells lies... Come on now darlin, come give your old man a cuddle yeah? You wouldn't deprive your devoted old Alfie of that would you ziskeit?" He asked offering you a tender, teasing little smirk. One which despite its humour you knew you couldn't deny.

So when he opened his arms out for you to fall into you gave in, slipped from the edge of the bed into his warm embrace, nuzzling into his shoulder as he closed his arms tight around your frame.

"There we go, good girl, good girl..." He cooed softly, his husky voice gentle and tickling your ear as he pressed a kiss to your cheek bone and whispered to you. Gentle things which left tears prickling in your eyes. "There we go my little ziskeit, back where you belong yeah? Back where you belong in your Alfie's arms..." he said every tender sentence like a sigh, his words caressing you so that you finally felt safe enough to let go of all that fear, all that hurt which had been building and rotting away inside you.

The first few tears escaping terrified you. You didn't want to let them fall but you couldn't control them. You tried to snatch at your cheek with your hand to wipe them away, you tried to blink and stare at the ceiling until your eyes dried out and stung but it was already too late and besides, Alfie was determined that you were going to cry. You needed to cry, even if you didn't seem to realise that yet he knew it.

"S'alright my little ziskeit, go on poppet have a big old cry yeah, never mind tryin to be brave ziskeit, papa don't want you to be brave now alright..." He murmured stroking your cheek with his thumb and pressing a lingering kiss to your forhead.

He closed his eyes as he bowed his head to yours and wrapped his arms around you tightly. He could feel you shaking as you tried to control your sobbing, he could tell you were still trying to hold back.

"Don't do that my little love," he warned tenderly stroking your hair, cradling your head in the palm of his hair, "remember who knows best yeah ziskeit, me yeah, your Alfie... An I'm tellin you not to be brave yeah... World's had enough of brave now alright, needs a little gentleness yeah, a little feeling right... Now I've got you ain't I, it's just you an me, you an your Alfie... You don't have to be brave for me little ziskeit, you don't have to be brave for me..."

And as he spoke you felt it all finally catching up to you, all the adrenaline of the evening hitting you like a freight train. Leaving you shaking and distraught, barely able to hold yourself up, your legs trembling as you shook and collapsed against Alfie's chest, your knees buckling so that he had to catch you and scoop you up into a steadier hold.

"Oh my little ziskeit," he sighed, his heart aching for you and all the sorrow and fear he could hear in your sobbing. You'd broken down just like a little girl, lost control of your emotions completely and though he knew it was good for you to get it all out, he wished you didn't have to. Wished he could snap his fingers and make all that pain go away.

He was supposed to be your great protector and yet he hadn't been able to protect you from all this.

He let out a sigh and let his own knees give in sinking slowly to the floor with you in his arms, leaning against the wall and relaxing his legs out in front of him.

"There there my darlin, there there my little ziskeit, 'salright poppet I've got you yeah, you're safe with me little ziskeit, ain't gonna let a soul hurt you ever again..." he murmured to you kissing your temple and bundling you up into his arms so that he could cradle you in his lap.

He felt your body shaking with convulsive sorrow and rested one hand in your hair. He knew that all there was to do was wait it out, wait there with you stroking your hair whilst you cried yourself into exhaustion.

"Why are people always so fuckin cruel Alfie, why are men so fucking cruel..." You sobbed, your voice anguished and shrill and breaking his heart as he stroked his fingers across your cheek and shushed you gently.

"I know ziskeit," he said swallowing a lump in his throat, feeling that familiar cold determination grio him, his mind already beginning to turn to plans of revenge. The things he was going to do to make those evil bastards regret causing you this pain. "This time tomorrow though my darlin, this time tomorrow the world will be down two fuckin cruel men though yeah, promise you that my poppet..." he said pushing a lock of hair from your face, looking down at your tear stained cheeks with such tenderness as you tried to speak again, working yourself up into even more of a state.

"But... But even if you kill them there'll still be... M...more.." you sobbed trying to swat his hand away when he cupped your cheek in his palm and pushed his thumb to your lips gently.

"Hush now ziskeit, shh," he hummed pushing his thumb between your lips, ignoring your hand on his wrist which tried to argue back. He waited patiently until he felt your mouth close around his thumb, until he felt your tongue brush over him and you began to suck. "There we are poppet," he said with a soft smile, watching your eyes flutter shut, your lashes heavy and dewy with tears. "That's better ziskeit, settle down yeah, don't you worry about anymore of them cruel bastards now, you don't need to worry about any of them no more, I'm here now ziskeit and I ain't gonna let no one touch you no more, not a soul... Only hands you're ever gonna feel on you again yeah, the only fuckin hands ever gonna touch this angelic little face right, are these two hands right here... You're mine my little ziskeit, all mine yeah... An am gonna look after you right... Gonna start by puttin them two sorry cunts in the ground..."

You opened your eyes then, lying with your head in his lap, looking up at him with teary doe eyes. He looked down at you, let you drag your lips over and away from his thumb for long enough to ask one more question.

"Promise?"

Your voice was but a sweet little whisper. Your lips hovering by the tip of this thumb and he cupped your cheek in his palm and let you nuzzle into the heart of his hand.

"Promise."

Taglist:

@mollybegger-blog @zablife @impossibleheartflower @liliac-dreamer @inalovesrabbits-blog @jomarch-wannabe @itsghostgirlyo @marwwfairy

@toddlerbodybag

@everysage

@tommyshelbywhore

@kas3ylovesyou

@call-sign-shark

@cocoaflowers

#alfie solomons x reader #pealy blinders imagine #hurt/comfort #peaky blinders imagines #alfie solomons fanfic #alfie solomons fluff

402 notes · View notes

bubbles-for-all-of-us · 8 months

Note

I know that you don't take request right now but I just had to submit this one before I forget it lol. I'm hoping that you'll write it when your requests are open again?

So anyway, reader is ridoc's twin/sister (he's hilarious) and she walks in on someone trying to kill bodhi so she helps bodhi fight him and later takes care of his injury and he falls for her. The following days someone keeps leaving little gifts for her (protective ridoc lol) and reader approaches bodhi to ask what he's doing and he confesses that he likes her

Not exactly like the request but close by and way longer than I thought it would be. So many of you bad missed Bodhi so here we are.

Angel eyes

It truly was luck. Luck and nothing more. You had separated from the girls after your nightly walk. A way you bunch decompressed after a long day of training. It felt better like that. Easier. With no one able to walk in on you chatting. You had stayed out longer after swearing to be careful, simply because the night was warm and you enjoyed nothing more than being able to watch the stars. They reminded you of home. All the people you had left behind.

You had rounded the staircase not longer than an hour later when you heard muffled sounds. Not a lot of cadets followed the curfew hours so at first you brushed it off to someone sneaking around the same way you were. Just the higher you climbed the more it didn’t sound like innocent chatter. No. It sounded as if someone was struggling. The scraping against the rock walls. The pained growls. You pulled the blade from your boot, one that your brother had kindly gifted you. Testing the weight of it in your palm before letting your senses guide you to the noise. It probably wasn’t all that smart to approach something like that alone but something from deep within urged you to.

And there there they were. Two males held Bodhi’s hands while the third one sent punches into his stomach. The sight made you stumble for a moment. Bodhi was a great fighter. You had the honor of being assigned him as a partner on the mats. This felt wrong. They have had to drug him. Used something to weaken his link with Cuir. Blood that soaked the gag now had been the thing that sent you into action.

Using the shadows to your advantage. You crept closer. Sending your brother’s dagger flying. Not stopping to look if it landed the target because you knew that it did. And there was no time to admire your handy work. The less time they had to realize that they weren’t alone anymore the better. Right as the dagger met the guy who’s been punching Bodhi neck, your hands were already around the second male's neck twisting it with a painful crack.

It’s the third guy who instantly backs away from Bodhi, sending his body crumpling to the ground. He’s the one to meet your black eyes. You can feel that he wants to run. That he’s panicking. That he’s petrified because he can’t move. Your power is too deep in his system. “Lucky for you, I need someone to speak about this to”, you step closer to him, “And you will voluntarily do it, won’t you?”, he barely nods, shallow breaths barely hitting his lungs. You smile up at him watching as he tries to do the same but your power seizes his muscles. Making him hit the floor too as he wriggles in soundless spasms.

You turn back to Bodhi, who had crawled to rest against the wall. Hand draped over his middle. You cross the distance in a couple of smooth strides, dropping to your knees. Bodhi instantly flinched trying to pull back. You two weren’t necessarily strangers but you weren’t friends. He was in the ranks up above the group of people you hang out with. But you saw him around, trained at times.

“Let me help”, you muttered, “Can I pull your shirt up?” You caught his gaze, right as he pulled the blood rag from his mouth. His nod was subtle. Easy to miss but you caught it nodding alongside him. Gently pull up the material.

“Shit”, you hissed. The skin was already turned black and blue. They sure didn’t hold back, “You need to… We need to get you to the healers”. A slight panic flickered in your chest. His friends were on patrol tonight too. Meaning you quite literally had no help to call out to. But Bodhi didn’t even nod as he watched you.

“Bodhi, you need to show me that you can hear me, okay?”, you muttered, cupping his cheek with your palm. “I will get you some help”, you nodded at him, looking into the eyes of someone who seemed to look past you now. Cursing beneath your breath you turned around looking at the corridors that stretched out, hoping to find any sort of movement. “Pretty”, the sound was groggy and tired. You halted. “So… pretty”, he breathed out. “What?”, you muttered, your eyes catching his one last time before his body slumped down.

Bodhi felt like his whole body was on fire. At times he was sure that he had died and it was the flames of the underworld liking at his skin. But in flashes of consciousness, there were voices. Muffed ones and unrecognizable. But most importantly there was a girl. One that constantly leaned over him, brushing at his hair. Her cold fingers felt heavenly against Bodhi’s burning skin. And those eyes. Those gorgeous eyes looked down at him. So pretty. So unbelievably pretty.

Quite frankly Bodhi was convinced that whoever his angel was he had dreamed. Hallucinated. Until he had finally been able to get to the main floors. Both Xaden and Garrick were on either side of him. Even if they said that they weren’t worried they had been mother hens to him ever since.

But only a couple of steps in Bodhi halted. A full-body shiver ran through him. It felt like a fever dream all over again. “What is it?”, Garrick gripped Bodhi’s upper arm but he didn’t know. He couldn’t seem to get his words out. “I told you that you should have still stayed in bed, Bodhi, damn”, Xaden stepped in front of his cousin. Bodhi shook his head, pulling at Xaden’s shoulder, “Her”, he breathed.

Both males turned to where Bodhi was pointing, before sharing a look. They had interrogated the one suspect who had been neatly delivered all tied up. But no one knew who had done the handy job because Bodhi’s stories had been well… rather delirious. “What about her?”, Garrick asked, look at the way Bodhi glanced at you as if you had carried the moon and sun. “That’s Ridoc’s sister, Bodhi. Violet’s friend”, Xaden muttered.

Bodhi pulled at their grip, rushing through the crowd. He knew he had seen you before but this. You looked like an angel in his head and now you were here. “You”, he breathed, making you turn your head at the new voice. “Durran, good to see you on your feet”, you shot him a smile. You didn’t want to make a big fuss. No one knew what had happened that night and you preferred it that way. “You were there. I saw you”, he muttered. Your brother raised his eyebrow shooting you a strange look. So much for a secret.

“Come”, you pulled at his hand, wanting to get away from the crowd of people. “Look, I did what I had to”, you breathed as you two rounded the corner of a more secluded area, “If your friend needs help with solving…” but you didn’t get to finish the sentence as two strong arms warped around your shoulder. Your body stiffened for a second. He was hugging you… You slowly raised your arms as well, careful to not hurt him. The bruises on his body still vivid in your head.

“Thank you”, Bodhi breathed, “I thought I had imagined you”. You chuckled, “Most would say that’s quite a nightmare”. Budhi shook his head as he slowly pulled away, “I thought quite the opposite”, he admitted, swallowing thickly, “I thought you were an angel. Your eyes…”, he muttered moving to cup your cheek. You felt your face burning crimson, fighting the urge to look down. “So pretty”, he breathed out.

“Is that what you were referring to back in the corridor when I…”, you frowned. Surely, not. He wouldn’t have noticed that. “Yeah…”, Bodhi breathed, his face growing red as he pulled back, clearing his throat, “Sorry, that’s stupid”. But you caught his wrist, “No, it’s sweet. No had ever thought that they were… well… pretty”. Your eyes locked and for a moment you two just stood in silence. “Can we meet up sometime?”, Bodhi breathed after a moment. You chuckled, “Sure, if you’re not scared that my brother will kill you with a fork”, you nodded towards the table where Ridoc had unfortunately seen you two talk. So much for a secluded spot. Bodhi huffed, “I think, I can handle a fork”.

#bodhi durran #bodhi durran imagine #bodhi durran x reader #bodhi durran x you #bodhi durran x oc #bodhi durran fourth wing #bodhi durran iron flame #bodhi fourth wing x reader #bodhi fourth wing imagine #fourth wing x reader #fourth wing #fourth wing imagine #iron flame x reader #iron flame imagine

213 notes · View notes

heyidkyay · 6 months

Text

And I'm petrified of being alone, now |

Part Twenty-One

Matty Healy x reader

Summary: She’s just trying to get by, really. What with being a single parent to her four year old son whilst simultaneously trying to kick start a successful career as a radio presenter. She’s got everything she’s ever wanted though, friends close by, a mum who’s merely a phone call away, and of course her baby boy. What else is there to wish for? But then, it’s not long before her relatively normal life gets upended and turned on its head, and she’s suddenly forced to deal with situations she’s never even thought to imagine.

What happens when one mention of a certain controversial singer on her show sends a flood of unexpected challenges her way?

Authors Note: This is a long one, it took me a while but hopefully the waits been worth it? EMOTIONS is all I'm going to say.

Warnings: Lots going on- talks of car crashes, alcohol abuse (both in the past) also some previous thoughts on trauma and different coping mechanisms

> Last update: look back here if you'd like!

Masterlist

It takes a second for change to implement itself, though it can take a while longer for its realisation to truly hit.

…

I could hear him.

Bustling his way around my kitchen, singing quietly as he worked on the breakfast he’d promised the night before. Tins clattered, the kettle whistled, and the fridge door rattled closed, all whilst I padded my way towards him, pausing in the entryway to simply take in the sight I’d been gifted.

I grinned over at Teddy, who was currently tiptoeing on the wooden stool I had tucked away for whenever he felt inclined to help me cook, and then at Matty who seemed happy enough with making him giggle whenever he chose to lean in close to sing by his ear.

“Thinking this through… It's like, one,”

“..TWO!” Teddy laughed back when Matty pointed at him, beaming brightly at the sight of the man’s all too amused face.

“Yeah, ‘cause I'm in love with you-”

“I-I-I-I!”

It was something I’d never thought to even picture, let alone see, my son staring up at a man with such adoration and pride. The two of them simply belonging. The whole scene made me ache with a wanting for it to never stop, but even the best of things had to come to an end I supposed.

Matty turned, a smile painting on his features, only to pause when he caught sight of me, watching them from the doorway. He narrowed his eyes, then gave me a sly smile, before he placed the plate he’d been holding down on the counter and shuffled on closer, arms stretching out towards me as he continued to sing along to his own song. I mean, the ego on him.

“… I’m in love with you.”

It was hard going, attempting to dampen the grin that pulled at the corners of my mouth, especially when Matty wrapped his arms around my hips and started to sway us to and fro. He raised his brows up at me, fully expecting me to finish off the song for him, so I rolled my eyes and laughed the final line out, accompanied by a much louder Teddy, “I-I-I-I-I.”

Matty leaned in close to press a quick kiss to the corner of my mouth, his tangled hair tickling my cheek. He chuckled lowly to himself when I wrinkled my nose at the feeling and tried to escape from his hold, but did eventually let me go.

“What are you even making?” I asked the pair of them around a fond smile, crossing the kitchen to ruffle Teddy’s curls and open up the little window there. I sniffed lightly. “Did you end up burning something too?”

Matty rolled his eyes at that and shook his head with a tut, before he moved to pick up his plate once more, sliding past Teddy and I to grab at the toast which had just popped up. “No.”

“Liar.” I laughed with Teddy, picking him up and settling him on my hip whilst Matty turned his back on us to start buttering the bread. “What’s with the big breakfast then anyway? I thought you had to record today.” I asked him, praising Teddy quietly for the way he’d spooned some sugar and two teabags into a pair of matching mugs for us.

“Later on,” Matty answered me in a quiet murmur as I peered over his shoulder to nick a fresh piece of toast. “Oi!”

Grinning around the bite I’d just taken, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it wasn’t completely charred. “Better than the last batch.” I told him honestly and with a wry smirk.

Matty just shook his head at me, but even as he turned back to the task at hand I could see the tiny beginnings of the smile he wore. “Said I could cook.”

With a sarky hum, I could only reply, “Does toast even count as cooking?”

I was simply swatted away with a tea towel in hasty retort and Teddy squealed, wriggling to be let down.

“Okay, okay!” I relented with a laugh of my own before I slid on over to press a grateful kiss to the side of Matty’s neck. “It’s very good, merci mon amour.”

I pulled away with a grin when I felt him tense beneath me, gesturing to Teddy for him to go ahead and grab the milk for us from the fridge whilst I began to pour the hot water into the tea he’d started.

“What are you up to today then?” Matty asked after having cleared his throat, tossing the butter-covered knife into the sink before he looked over at us. He thanked Teddy proudly when the little monster hurried back from dumping the tea bags in the bin to point at the man’s given cup. “Lifesaver!”

Teddy giggled happily.

Matty’s question had me chewing on the inside of my cheek as I went about lifting Teddy into his usual seat at the kitchen table and laying a plate in front of him. I smoothed down his tousled hair and didn’t quite look in Matty’s direction when I finally said, “You know, the usual… Quick trip to the shops, phone mum, speak to Finn, maybe pop into the park. I hear they’ve put in this new little greenhouse by the pond, you know, just across the bridge?”

I’d thrown it in there, hoping that he might just brush over it. But then Matty didn’t offer me an answer of any kind, so with nothing else to occupy myself with I slowly peered over to where he still stood, propped up against the kitchen counter.

He was staring down at the bowl of fruit he’d prepped sometime earlier, almost as though the grapes had suddenly grown legs and the banana pieces had turned purple. I sighed quietly to myself and felt my shoulders drop an inch before crouching down to whisper in Teddy’s ear, “Go turn on the tele for me, yeah? We can eat on the sofa today.”

Teddy’s entire face lit up at the very prospect and was so eager in his haste to hurry into the living room that he almost toppled out of his chair. I chuckled in fond exasperation, helping him down and handing him his plate with a quiet caution before allowing him to run off.

It was then that I turned my attention back to the main issue at hand.

We hadn’t spoken much of Finn and what had happened back at the studio. I’d given Matty his space after it had all gone down, allowed him the time to mull it over and hopefully forget the words that had been said, but I knew that had mostly been wishful thinking on my part.

Still, I was kicking myself for it now. We’d been good. Things had really been looking up; at work and at home, with Teddy and Matty, and then with Matty and I. Stupidly, I had thought that this might just be something we could have simply plastered over and left to settle, because admitting to the fact that things weren’t alright between two of the most important people in my life just wasn’t something I was ready to face yet.

I’d been selfish in that regard though, it seemed. Because of course Matty had taken the brunt of it all and pretended to shrug it off like it was no skin off of his nose. Leaving me to realise all too late just how much this whole thing had affected him.

“Matty.” I called to him softly before I gently rested my hand on the crook of his arm, testing if I was welcome. When he didn’t immediately shy away from my touch, I slid in behind him so that I could press my forehead to the curve of his back, to where that little dip in between both of his shoulder blades resided.

Thoughtlessly, my fingers trailed over the hem of the jeans he’d thrown on that morning, toying with the two belt loops which sat at the very centre.

We stood there for a long moment in the quiet space of the kitchen, the food going cold but neither one of us really caring. It was only when I felt some of that tension finally ebb in his shoulders that I slowly wound my arms around his middle, smiling slightly when I felt his hands take hold of mine at his front.

“I hate this.” I admitted to him, voice so faint it was muffled by the fabric of his t-shirt. His fingers squeezed my own.

“I know.” He told me after a small pause and I felt him raise his head to gaze out of the small window sat opposite. “I know, Squeaks. Me too.”

I squeezed back.

“I’m sorry we haven’t spoken about it either. That I let it fester. I just wished, hoped even, that you might not linger too much on it, that things would- I don’t know, just end up working out. But I was stupid.”

Matty heaved a weighted breath and I let my eyes slip closed at the motion before he carefully turned in my grasp. He stopped to stare down at me, lifting a hand to tuck a strand of stray hair behind my ear, thumb brushing over a whitened scar I had yet to hide with makeup.

“Don’t. There’s no need.” He murmured to me, though his gaze was focused on the slow movement he’d just made. “Talk to him. He’s your mate, it’d be weird if you didn’t. But, I don’t know. Reckon I just might need some time. That alright?”

I was already nodding before he could even finish his sentence, more than okay with that. “‘Course it is. Though I don’t know much about talking with him, I’m betting on a screaming match. I’m still fuming with how it all went down.”

Matty gifted me a soft chuckle, and although it was hollow he had tried and that was what mattered most to me. It would take time to move past this, I could understand that. “Let him explain first, yeah?”

I frowned, brow pinching with it. “What do you mean? What’s he got to explain?”

He smiled, one of those soft dopey ones of his, the kind he often gave me whenever I’d said something silly or he was humoured by my confusion. “I get it, Mouse.” He sighed quietly, “I don't like how he went about it, it was cheap, shitty even, but he was just looking out for you, babe.”

My frown deepened and I didn't care to give his words much thought. “There’s looking out for me and then there's being a massive prick, Matty.”

With a huffed breath of a laugh, Matty trailed his thumb down my jaw to skirt over the bottom edge of my lip. His eyes finally met mine. “He went about it the wrong way, but he’s been good for you, baby. Looked after you and Teds for years, got you through some hard times, and so for that I give him a little leeway.”

My expression softened.

Matty’s fingers pinched my chin as he coaxed me back up to meet his gaze.

“Do that for me?” He asked, and who was I to say no to an ask like that?

Instead of answering him though, I simply leaned in and kissed him sweetly, cradling his jaw in my hands so that I could thumb over the tops of his cheeks. I wondered, momentarily, where I’d gotten so lucky.

–

A kid in the studio had both its perks and disadvantages, Matty had soon come to see.

Squeaks had been messaging Finn not long before he’d gone to set off, slowly pulling out some clean clothes from the ever growing pile he kept adding to each time he went round to her flat, whilst Teds completed his phonics, sat on the bed.

He’d kept calling out to Matty whenever he’d stumble onto the next, asking him to sound it out for him before trying to memorise it himself. Matty had enjoyed it- enjoyed all the time he spent with the little monster as a matter of fact- but helping him with the lessons he knew that Teddy would soon carry on further into his life… He didn’t know, it just settled something within him. Made him feel needed.

He hadn’t ever felt much of that.

Anyway, Squeaks had come into the bedroom just as he’d been tugging on a jumper, one she had said she’d liked the last time he’d worn it, and mentioned that she had to get ready to drop Teddy off round Adi’s so that she could head on over to meet Finn.

Matty had tried to keep his expression fairly neutral each time she mentioned the man. Because he hadn’t lied earlier when he’d asked for her to give her mate the benefit of the doubt. But it still irked him. The whole situation did, in truth. See because he knew that he was running on fucking borrowed time here with her. He’d never claimed to have been a lucky man either, so he knew that something was bound to happen sooner or later. He was merely praying that he’d be able to hold onto this small bubble of peace he’d found for himself for as long as he possibly could.

Teddy had appeared put out by the fact that he would have to head on over to Adi’s, who still lived with her elderly grandmother. All pouty and sweet looking, proper cute in actuality, and Matty had honestly gone and spoken before his mind had even had a chance to catch up with his massive mouth.

Mouse had been just as surprised by his offer to let Teds tag along with him down to the studio, spilling out claims that it would be fine with the guys (who’d yet to even meet the tyke) and that they weren’t actually working on anything too big that afternoon (just recording the ending of a session). And even though Matty hadn’t exactly asked the lot of them beforehand either, he figured it to be true enough.

And with the relief that had visibly fallen off of Squeaks at his reassurance, Matty hadn’t had it in himself to regret the offer. So with that, he’d set to helping her get Teddy ready for the day and then headed out the door.

Thing was though, the last time he’d ever gotten the tube with a little kid had been years before when his mum had visited with Lou. And back then she’d been the one to worry over his every move, not wanting to lose him in the crowd or have him swept under a carriage. Gruesome yeah, but it was a real fucking fear Matty realised.

This time around it had been his turn though, and God, did he feel sorry for all the shit he’d given his poor mum throughout the years. Was this why parents looked so tired all the fucking time?

Teddy was good enough though, curious sure, always asking questions and pointing at everything, but he listened, held onto his hand and didn’t ever wander off. He’d enjoyed counting the stops on the train too and didn’t think much of the few stares they’d gotten on the platform and again when they’d sat down.

By the time they’d made it to the studio, Matty had felt as though he’d just gone and ran a half marathon.

It was only when Teds had crowded into his trouser leg upon first walking through the entrance that he realised that this was just as new to Teddy as it was to him, and the fact that he was now being forced into an unknown setting probably didn’t make things much easier for the kid.

Still, he had managed to perk up on the small tour Matty had given him. Wanting to ease his nerves before they ventured much further, it had just been the two of them wandering the halls aimlessly and simply nodding or smiling at the very few people who passed them by.

It was only once Matty had figured it time to head into the room the band usually booked did Teddy quieten again.

“Where’ve you been? Only texted you like twenty times!” Matty heard George huff from around the short corner they were hidden behind after he’d called out to let them know that it was just him.

Matty paused by the door to cast a glance down at Teddy, but the kid was already looking at everything the walls had to offer; the big plaques with the even bigger names, the posters and many album covers that dotted the dark paint. It was only when Matty crouched down to level with him did Teddy glance back.

“You alright, monster?” He asked quietly, wanting to give Teds a second to wrap his head around things. Matty noted that he was back to chewing on his lip again, eyes wide and unsure, but Teddy gripped onto the hand Matty silently offered him.

After a moment, Teddy nodded at the question and Matty gave him a hopeful smile. “Good, ‘cause imma need you to kick this sorry lot into shape for me, alright? I mean, I know I’m good but they can’t just depend on me for everything, can they?”

He was gifted a quiet giggle, one which eased Matty’s mind a tad.

“Matt!”

Matty rolled his eyes at the shout of his name then shook his head mockingly at Teddy, who seemed to have jumped a bit at the beckon. “Told you, didn’t I?” He tutted playfully to the boy, rolling his eyes too for added effect, “Fall apart if I’m not here.”

Teddy was back to smiling now, “Like mum.”

Matty laughed at the comparison, certain that Squeaks would say that she had a much harder job with the show than he did here in the booth. But Matty wasn’t too inclined to disagree, she worked far too hard in truth.

“Exactly, mate.” He replied anyway, then nodded in the direction of the many voices that were bouncing their way towards them, watching as Teddy peered round him once more, “You think you’re gonna be okay?”

Teddy blinked and then looked over towards him, it was in moments like these which Matty saw just how much he resembled his mum, he reckoned it was those big eyes of theirs that held so much emotion.

“Yeah.” The boy finally breathed out and so Matty squeezed his hand just once in support, before lumbering back to his feet. He stole a quick breath for himself and then started leading them both further inside.

George was stationed where he always was, by the decks, surrounded by laptops and many a monitor. Ross was sprawled out on the beanbag they’d lugged in on day three, fiddling with the bass he held in hand. Hann, however, had chosen to sit nearest to the door and so he was the only one to glance upon at their nearing footsteps.

Matty watched on as a flash of surprise flickered across his mate’s face. Brows rose and a slow blink was seen before Adam finally smiled, looking every inch the father Matty knew him to be.

“Just who might you be then?” Hann greeted cheerfully whilst tucking his mobile back into his trouser pocket. He didn’t make a move to get up off the settee corner though, something which Matty felt immediately thankful for, it seemed neither of them wanted to crowd the kid just yet.

It was with that greeting though that Ross’s head finally shot up and George turned to face them in his big fancy chair. The pair of them flicked both alarmed and shock filled gazes to Matty, who did his very best to ignore their all too familiar mugs.

“This is Teddy.” Matty acknowledged, crouching down once more so that Teds could lean further into his side whilst his wide eyes surveyed their way about the rest of the room. Matty wondered what it must’ve felt like for him, struggling to recall moments from his own childhood when his mum and dad had brought him along to their interviews to sit in the audience.

“Teddy love, these three doughnuts are my mates. You remember, the ones I’m in a band with?”

Matty let Teddy have a second, waiting quietly as the little boy dragged his gaze back towards him with parted lips, he blinked and then nodded, hands wringing the sleeve of Matty’s jumper.

Matty merely smiled, bringing the kid in closer to press a quick kiss to his head of hair. “Look, Teds. See that one there, with the funny face? That’s Hann.” He was delighted to hear Teddy’s soft laughter, however muted it was, even as Adam scolded him with an unimpressed glare. “Then in the corner there, that guy?” Teddy dipped his chin, eyes trained on the bearded bloke who was grinning away like a twat, “That’s Ross, he looks like a giant but cries when he’s hungry.”

“I do not!” Ross shot back scathingly, narrowed eyes pointed at Matty which only proved to fuel Teddy’s quiet chuckles.

“Yeah alright, MacDonald.” Matty ignored whatever else Ross attempted to say after that, rolling his eyes theatrically towards Teddy before he gestured over to where George was sitting in his chair, pushing those pretentious sunglasses he often wore up onto his shaved head. “And that one there, that’s G.”

Teddy leaned in close again to whisper in Matty’s ear, “Drums.”

Matty chuckled despite himself, loathing the fact that of course Teds would have remembered the drummer. Most did. “Yeah, mate. That’s him.”

George quirked a brow at the hushed conversation shared but said nothing on it, at least not then. Instead he just waved Teddy on over, “You want to come see? Got a ton of buttons you can press.” He added as though he was trying to entice the kid.

Matty dampened the mirthful grin that crawled up onto his face when it seemed to work though, even as Teddy tugged him along by their joint pair of hands.

By the time Matty finally got around to stepping into the booth to record a few verses a while later, Teddy felt comfortable enough to wait for him just outside the door with the three giant idiots he’d left him with.

–

A stalemate.

That was where we were currently sat.

Even with everything that had gone down, him starting this whole mess, I had been the one to go to him. To his loft where he worked most days when he wasn’t with clients, or visiting galleries.

Finn had welcomed me in with his usual hello through the intercom, buzzing me up into the building and then meeting me just past the front door. He’d been kitted up when I’d entered, still in his apron and covered in paint, the latter of which he was trying to wash off when I first spotted him.

He’d had the kettle already going and he smiled slightly after asking me how I’d been. I’d been truthful, said that I was doing good- all things considered.

There’d been an awkward pause at that, the two of us unsure on where we should then go with the encounter, but the kettle had whistled and on instinct I had turned to grab the mugs.

He had nodded gratefully, but then gestured me over to where his colourful sofa sat by the large open bay windows, joining me with two steaming brews not a minute later.

“How’s Teds?”

I licked at my lower lip at the question, peering into the still swirling mug. “Good, on Easter break soon enough.”

“What have they been working on then?” Finn asked next, because we both knew this was a safe topic, an easy starter.

“Phonics at the moment,” I replied with a small smile that couldn’t quite be helped, recalling the way Teddy had puttered around after Matty this morning calling out each sound he’d needed to learn. “He sounds them out after breakfast most days and then again at night.” We shared a brief smile, before I mentioned, “Matty’s been helping too.”

Finn hummed.

I pressed my lips together to keep from blurting out everything I wanted to say at the sound of it, attempting to stick to the plan I’d formed on my way over here. Letting Finn open up on his own, rather than come in all guns blazing.

“How is that going then?”

My brow pinched as I peered over at him from across the settee, “What, with Matty and I?”

Another hum, though this one was accompanied by a slight nod.

I was wary of how to answer Finn, especially after having learnt what the man truly thought about our whole relationship, but figured I should at least be honest.

“We’re happy.” I love him. “He’s good for me, I think.” It terrifies me. “He brings out a part of me that I haven’t seen much of since- I don’t know, maybe my first year of uni?” I let go of a breathy chuckle, picking at the wrinkled hem that sat at the knee of my jeans. “It’s been, really nice.”

When I chanced a glance back up, it was only to find Finn already looking back at me, his expression carefully set, almost as though he was trying to suss out any sort of lie in my answer. I waited a second and then he smiled. Nothing less than genuine, and I felt my whole body relax at the sight of it.

“I’m sorry for how I reacted.” Finn spoke softly, placing his cup down on a side table to slide on a tad bit closer. He rubbed at the back of his wrist before settling his hands in his lap, “I shouldn’t have gone about it the way I did, I just- You know I care so much, Mouse. And this is me in no way asking to be let off the hook or anything of the like, but, you have to remember I was there through it all.”

Frowning slightly at his words, I followed Finn’s prior motion, putting my own mug down so that I could pull a leg up under me, settling nearer.

He let go of an exhale, “I was there when you found out about Teddy, I was there before that and then after. I saw the line of broken hearts you left in your wake, chasing this thrill you sought so hard to find, and all of the games you wanted to play.”

He took my hand then and I just let him, thinking on his words, on how it must have seemed to someone else looking in from the outside. I knew I’d been a right mess after leaving home.

In truth, I’d been a mess since the night of the accident, when my whole world had been flipped on its head, turning me into this scarred little kid. Leaving me not only alone, but wanting to chase after everything I felt I’d missed out on because of it the second that I’d gotten the chance. Which had meant finding friends and casual sex, bar hopping and clubbing for days on end, looking for the next best thing to simply entice or excite me.

Finn had been there.

He’d been there through most of it, if not it all. He had watched me jump from guy to guy, get my stomach pumped at the local A&E, not just once but three times. He’d been the one I had turned to in my lowest moments, when I’d felt dirtied, when I’d just wanted to cry, or to merely laugh. He was there.

I could understand what Matty had meant now.

‘He looked after you and Teds for years, got you through some hard times, and so for that I give him a little leeway.’

“I can still picture your face, you know.” Finn murmured, stare fixed on the tight hold I now had on his hand. “That night you turned up at mine after finding out that you were pregnant. You looked a fucking state, soaking wet from the rain and wearing only your pjs.” We shared a light chuckle that echoed before drifting off. “It broke me, to see you like that.”

“I know.” I whispered in a rasp, emotions clinging to the back of my throat.

Finn only smiled sadly. “But it worked out. Enough that you seemed happy enough with what you had. And I know that Teddy will always be enough fro you, but you deserve so much. You deserve to live and to love, to have that family you’ve always dreamed of.” I went to protest but he just shook his head, “I know it’s what you want, Mouse. You don’t have to say anything for me to notice the looks you give other parents in the park, or the kids who meet their mums and dads in the school playground. I can see how much you want that, and not just for Teds. But for you too.”

I swallowed thickly, feeling all too seen suddenly.

Finn squeezed my hand, forcing me to meet his gaze once more. I hadn’t even realised I had shied away. “Does he do that? Does he give you that hope?”

The inside of my cheek had practically been bitten raw these last few days, but it didn’t stop me from chewing on it again as I looked over at Finn with a watery stare. “I think so.”

With a slow, albeit fond, tilt of his head, Finn hauled an arm over my shoulder to crowd me into his side. The two of us huddled in close on his artsy sofa that would look so out of place anywhere else.

I smiled at the thought.

“If he means that much to you, then I’ll make up for what I did. What I said.” Finn reassured me, his voice quiet in the large expanse of his loft. I hadn’t actually expected it to go this way. “But I do want to know. I want to make sure that he knows that he’s not just getting you out of this, that Teddy isn’t a deal breaker here. That he’s grown enough to understand the implications and repercussions of his life and whatever the fuck goes on with it. That he is clean-”

I opened my mouth, guard jumping right back up. But Finn just tucked my head under his chin, hand gripping at my shoulder enough to keep me there with him.

“Sobriety is hard. I understand that. When it finally comes to light that he actually is with you, that means Teddy too, and it’ll be a fucking mess. I want to make sure that he won’t fuck up and throw it all away the second shit gets hard.”

Inhaling, I could only nod. I knew what he meant, it was something I had thought about an awful lot. Too much in fact, I’d worried enough over it that I was still so wary over whether or not to broach the topic with Matty himself. But I hoped, for the first time in a long while.

And that had to be enough for now.

–

Finn’s had been an emotional affair, but not a place I’d lingered too long after our initial apology. We both still needed some time to process and to lick over our wounds.

I’d been more than thankful for it though, it had been a real weight off of my shoulders in truth, because knowing that there was a chance to move on past it without having to pick and choose, or divide my time, was something I hadn’t really held out hope for.

I was a pessimist at heart.

But that being said, I’d been quite optimistic about Teddy’s few hours spent with Matty- alone. Which should’ve been daunting in retrospect, insane even, and had probably once been, but Matty had quickly come to prove himself not only to me, but to Teddy too. So although I’d been cautious, I hadn’t necessarily been quick to stamp out the idea.

The last little excursion the pair had been on without me had gone down a treat, with Teddy having been tuckered out and fast asleep the second he’d gotten into bed, and Matty having bonded further with him somehow.

Then there had been the whole ‘I love you’ mess.

And God, if anyone would’ve told me that I’d have been the one to say it first I would have laughed in their face. Cackled loudly enough to be heard three streets over and on the very urge of wetting myself. But then exactly that had happened.

The words had been lingering in the corners of my mind for a few weeks before last night. Tittering, almost. Having started popping up around Christmas time, with the unannounced gift giving ceremony we’d shared and the incredible bond Matty seemed to have formed with my son. And had then settled in not long after that demo I’d received and the midnight visit where Matty had turned up at my doorstep in a downpour.

I hadn’t loved.

Not really.

I’d loved people, friends and family. Sure.

But someone to keep? Someone that I could call mine?

No, that had never really felt like much of an option for me. And Matty… he’d sort of come out of nowhere, hadn’t he? This mess of a man, but so very wonderful in his own way. He had really crept up on me, and looking back it almost felt as though it was bound to happen. Us, I meant. It felt strange to imagine it any differently.

Messages now

I’m here! Come get me, it’s freezing!!

It didn’t take long before his telltale pop of curls emerged from the main entrance to the same studio I had found him perched outside of during the aftermath of the big mishap with Finn. It almost felt like coming full circle with our decision to have me meet the pair of them here after just having talked with Finn.

Matty’s grin was infectious as we moved to meet one another in a quiet hello, his arms catching themselves around my middle whilst I buried my face into the curve of his shoulder.

He was warm, that was my first thought even as he pressed a chaste kiss to my head, enough so that I didn’t mind the fact that he kept me tucked up under his arm as he pulled away to lead us back inside the building.

“You get here okay?” Matty asked me once the door had rattled shut behind us, his voice travelling in the sparse lobby like area I’d yet to get acquainted with.

Humming, I answered his question with a nod, “Yeah, walked most of it, Finn had a client call out of the blue.”

Matty’s cheeks hollowed a tad but he hummed too before tilting his head over to the right, we started to walk that way. “It go alright then?”

I let go of a heavy breath, eyes surveying every inch of the studio as we wandered further inside, “As well as it could have, I ’spose. It’ll take time, I reckon, though he wants to make it up to you, too.”

Matty appeared to blink at that, the words seemed to have caught him by surprise, but he didn’t falter in his wandering, leading me down a narrow walkway.

“Are you up for that?” I pushed.

He wet his lower lip in thought, dipping his head at a maintenance worker who passed us by before looking back at me. “Told you, I’d give him a little leeway. But I wanna know more about what you spoke about first. If that’s alright with you.”

I was nodding away before he could even tack that last bit on, “Of course, I wouldn’t think not to, in truth.”

I was gifted a sweet smile and quick peck to the cheek before Matty paused, his hand catching on the handle to a heavy door. Soundlessly we slipped past it, Matty closing it slowly behind us to stop it from banging against its hinges and alerting the rest of the room’s occupants to our sudden arrival. Not that it would’ve been all that easy a task, what with the noise that consumed you the second you entered.

Matty smirked at the look that must’ve crossed my face at the sound before he held a finger to his lips, signalling me to keep quiet. I rolled my eyes but took the hand he held out towards me, the two of us creeping over to the corner that gave way to the real chaos that greeted us beyond.

First thing I took notice of was the loudmouth four year old who had seemingly taken charge of the band’s rehearsal, a sight which had me biting my lip to muffle my sudden hysteria.

George was seated by a stretched desk full of slides and buttons, elbows rested on the tops of his thighs whilst he listened animatedly to Teddy’s thoughts on whatever he had Ross and Hann tinkering about with.

The latter two were just holding onto their instruments, Ross stood with his bass and nodding along to what strings Teddy pointed at, whilst Hann was told to ‘look happier’. Something Matty had immediately snorted at, endlessly amused by Adam being told to liven up by a kid who’d only been out of nappies for a little over a year and a half.

The snort seemed to catch George’s attention though because his head shot over at the sound, which in turn forced the rest of the room to follow.

I heard Teddy’s gasp before he came bounding over, wearing a pair of sunglasses that probably cost more than my monthly rent.

“Alright, lovie?” I laughed, swiping up an excited Teddy before he could barrel straight into my legs. “You been having a good time?”

Teddy’s enthusiastic nod was enough to assure me of that but then Ross spoke up, “Should hope so, been hounding me to get this bassline right for ages, ain't you, mate?” He smiled at the giant grin he received in turn before nodding over towards me, “He’s got a proper good ear though. Should get him into it soon, especially if he likes it.”

Blinking, I could only look back down at Teddy, who was now informing Matty on everything he’d missed out on in the sparse moments he’d been gone in a tangent like ramble.

George sniffed as he made to walk on over to us which forced me to glance up again. Hann had started to take off his guitar strap whilst Ross went back to fiddling with his strings once more. Seeingly wanting to get whatever he was working on down before he had to leave for the day.

“He’s a good kid.” George commented to me, watching on as Teddy reached out to be taken by Matty, the man not even second guessing the motion of catching the boy under his arms and settling him on his hip. “And Ross ain’t wrong either. He seemed to really enjoy himself, had him messing about with the console for a bit and Matty even got him to play a couple chords on the guitar for us.” He chuckled lowly, a soft sort of smile breaking up his typically stoic features.

“Hope he wasn’t too much for you guys, Matty reckoned you’d all be alright with him tagging along but I didn’t even think to double check.” I mentioned, eyes caught on the way Teddy was now so enthralled by the story he was telling both Matty and Hann, arms stretched out wide as he exaggerated something or other.

George was shaking his head when I glanced back at him, “It was nice. Having him here, but seeing Matt with him too.” George’s mouth thinned when he lifted a hand to tug on his ear, “I didn’t think he could be like that. It’s strange, him letting someone else hog the limelight whilst he’s sat on the outskirts.”

We both shared a fond chuckle, because I could see what he meant but also, “He’s taken to Teddy better than I expected, really. It’s something I’m most thankful for, as well as the fact that Teddy seems to really like him too.”

My smile was warm, I could tell, and when George caught a glimpse of it I got to watch him almost mimic the gesture, as though he was thankful for it all too.

“You’re good for him.”

My breath caught a little at that, but I kept on smiling as I peered over at Teddy and Matty who were giggling between themselves whilst Hann, and now Ross, had seemingly taken to shaking their heads at the pair in indulging amusement.

“He’s good for me.”

…

The walk home from the studio had been spent hand in hand. The three of us just padding along the narrowing pavement, Matty more often than not trailing alongside the curb so that we could keep it up.

Teddy seemed to enjoy it though, even more so when Matty and I had started up a game with him, lifting him up off his feet so that he could swing back and forth in midair for a few brief moments.

By the time we’d made it home we were all just content to find something to eat and curl up in front of the tele, me listening to Teddy tell me all about his day with Matty whilst Matty pulled my feet into his lap.

He put Teddy to bed not long after, upon the boy’s sleepy request, and had returned about fifteen minutes later, having read a story and bundled Teddy up under his duvet covers. It had been then that I’d gotten to tell Matty more about the conversation I’d had with Finn, rehashing his words and even delving a little deeper into my past with him.

“How long have you known him again?” Matty asked me, thumb trailing back and forth over the jut of my knee whilst the tv played on low.

“Only since the first year of uni.”

Matty appeared quite surprised by that, he said so too. “Seems like longer.” I grinned tiredly at his musings, eyes squinting with it as I leant further into his side.

“It does a lot of the time, but sometimes it doesn't. Wasn’t lucky enough to have been gifted a group of bandits and made to start a band.” I teased, not unkindly, appreciating the way his hand travelled up to run his fingers through my hair. I peered up at him, “They’re all so lovely, you know.”

He answered me with an airy titter, the sound soft enough not to echo out of the living room and down the hall to where Teddy slept, “You’ve never been on tour with them, sweetheart.”

I laughed then too. “Maybe, but Teddy likes them. And I like them too.”

“I’m glad.” Matty whispered, pressing a kiss to the crown of my head. When he pulled away, I moved to capture his hand in my own. “You have anyone like that?”

I shook my head minutely, not wanting him to disturb his position, “No, wasn’t in school long enough to make any lasting friendships and then I guess when you reach a certain age it always feels a little harder.”

A quiet swept over us then and I took the time to simply admire the few tattoos Matty's forearms held; the passport number, the box, the postcode on his inner elbow.

“Was that because of what happened?”

His voice was cautious, which was unusual for Matty and more than likely the cause which had me peering up at him, rather than his ask that had gone and broken our peaceful bout of silence.

My nose wrinkled, “What, with my scars?”

Matty gave a soft hum of assent, watching me from under a careful gaze, obviously anxious not to overstep or force my hand on the matter. I smiled at his care and gave his hand a gentle squeeze.

“Yeah, it shook me a lot. I mean, I spent weeks in hospital and then after that, I was on strict bed rest whilst at home.” I explained to him, fingertips trailing over the faint grooves in his palm. “I was homeschooled for a long time too and when I did finally go back, well most of my class didn’t much care for me beyond the horror story they’d been told. It grew old quickly enough though, but even so it was hard to connect with people beyond the basic level.”

Matty’s thumb had begun to trail over the skin of my wrist, settling once or twice on my pulse point before going back to stroking again. “What did happen? I mean, only if you’re alright with saying anything about it, I know sometimes shit can still be hard.”

I breathed out an airy chuckle, turning my head to hide my enamoured smile in the wrinkle of his jumper. “I don’t mind. I don’t like mentioning it with strangers much, which is why it’s not really public knowledge unless you go digging. But it was a car accident.”

I felt Matty tense beneath me but his touch didn’t stray, only became that bit bolder, the hand in my hair coaxing me to glance up at him so that he could kiss me sweetly, nose nudging at the curve of my cheek before withdrawing. I hummed happily.

“My dad was with the local police. High up, but a drinker. Only started though after this one case, and then it spiralled. My mam worked night shifts sometimes at the hospital, which was a good way away from where we lived, so it would just be him and me until she got home.”

I took a breath, realising it had been quite sometime since I’d actually spoken about the crash, or even thought of it really. The scars were a constant reminder, yes, but the crash itself was something that had occurred almost two decades ago now, so I’d had time to sort of come to terms with it. As much as I could.

Not to say that it still didn’t wear at me, it had been a big event in my life, changed things in more ways than one. Because it had also been the spark which had sent my dad packing.

“It’d been raining that night, I remember ‘cause the water had been leaking in from under the backdoor. My dad had sworn up a fucking storm when he’d noticed it but could only really stick a couple towels down, claiming that he’d fix it on his next day off.”

A light chuckle escaped me at the vivid memory my mind made up, his tall figure, the odd phrasings he would use, but nothing of real substance. I couldn’t quite recall his face, or the depth of his voice, seeing as I hadn’t looked over old videos or photos we had since I’d visited mum back home.

“It had been a bad storm, had the tides reaching the cliff peaks if I remember rightly. Which meant that the hospital had started to flood, at least the north ward where mam had worked.” I continued, enjoying the delicate caress of Matty’s thumb as it trailed up my arm, “She’d been sent home after they’d managed to move most of the patients on the ground floor westward, but her car broke down about a mile out.”

I could hear the call even now, the sound of my dad’s heavy footsteps when he’d come to wrap me up in a coat, murmuring that we had to go and pick her up.

“The winds picked up, I guess. Dad didn’t have a car seat, that was what we used mam’s car for. So he just sat me in the front seat before setting off.”

Matty’s touch faltered slightly, probably having suspected where I was headed with this before it picked up once again. “The rain was relentless and we weren’t too far from the shore so it almost felt as though it was just thick sludge falling from the sky. It was hard to see past the first metre or so.”

I swallowed, noting how the light from the tv screen stretched out across the floor and flickered each time a scene changed.

“Our town wasn’t huge, but it was big enough to warrant a couple T-junctions and the odd roundabout. There was a fourway, just up past the old baptist church, a road mostly used for when you were coming off the main motorway or headed out towards the airport. Dad had been drinking, you could smell it on him some days, but at night it was always stronger. He blew through it, the traffic light teetering on amber before it finally turned red.”

Staring blankly out across the living room, I could almost picture it. The downpour which had clouded the windscreen, the old dash of my dad’s car, the familiar scent of his preferred brand of tobacco.

I licked at my lower lip, mouth suddenly dry. “A van had been crossing. On the passenger side.” I added quietly, appreciating the grip of Matty’s hand as I carried on, “All I really remember after that are headlights and the blare of a horn. Woke up a couple days later, having missed my seventh birthday and my dad nowhere to be seen.”

I huffed a small chuckle, reaching up to rub at my eyes before turning to face Matty. I wasn’t quite prepared for the wet gaze I’d been met with or the single tear that had seemingly escaped and come to a pause on the bridge of his upper lip.

I lifted a hand up to wipe it away, smiling when he kissed the pad of my thumb.

“You’re incredible, you know that.”

I’d been called many things, but I don’t think incredible was one of them.

I leaned in to kiss him, wanting nothing more than the feel of having him close, even if that meant tasting the salt of his tears or enduring that careful way he held my face. It was everything I had needed then.

–

After the little moment I had shared with Matty the previous night, I’d gone to bed feeling a little more drained that usual, but I’d put it down to the exhausting day I’d had and the fact that Matty’d had to head home so that he could do a skype interview early the next morning.

I’d almost been tempted to say that he could do it here in the flat, but with Teddy you could never tell when the kid would be coming or going, so it was safer for Matty to stick to his typical routine.

But I’d woken up all sniffly and foggy headed the next morning. The pounding at the base of my skull had forced me up out of bed in search of painkillers, as well as the fact that it had just gone ten, which meant that Teds was already up and mulling about.

I took a couple of nurofen I had tucked away in the medicine cupboard with a glass of water and figured I’d be better getting a move on with my day than heading back to bed. I knew that Matty would be popping round sooner or later too, so I attempted to sort through a load of washing that desperately needed to be done as well as tidy away the mess we’d created last night.

Teddy had helped himself to a banana from the fruit bowl at some point but was already asking for breakfast by the time I’d stuck the washing machine on- unaware of how close to crying I’d been after I’d gone and dropped a wad of detergent on the floor.

Even so, I’d set to start on a pot of porridge, knowing he would enjoy it with either some jam or spread, but I was surprised when I heard the front door rattle shut not long later, having not heard a knock nor Teddy answer it. I went to scold him, frowning at the fact that he thought he could just answer the door to anyone when Matty appeared with a few Tesco bags in hand.

“I knocked on the window, so he saw me before he let me in,” Matty was quick to rush out, grinning down at Teddy who had since spotted his breakfast and made a dive for it. “Figured I’d grab some stuff before stopping in, knew you mentioned feeling crap last night before I left so..”

He shrugged, moving over towards the kitchen before I could even think up a reply, a little bewildered by the fact that anyone would have the foresight, let alone the sincerity to do something like this for me.

“Matty.” I breathed out, so utterly warmed by the gesture as I followed after him, “You didn’t have to.”

Matty rolled his eyes at me, settling the bags down on the counter, “Shut up, you idiot. Just let me feel like an adult for once, yeah?”

I laughed, unable to help myself, even as he gestured for me to take a seat at the table, claiming I looked a little warm and confirming it when he pressed his hand to my rosy cheeks.

“Do you ever stop?” He questioned around an exasperated smile, settling some basic cold medicines down as well as a few sweet treats. “Washing machine’s already going, the kid’s been fed, floor seems to have been swept too. How’ve you not dropped?”

I rolled my eyes at his ever growing eccentrics, though was still wearing a rather pleased smile. It was nice, I deemed, having someone look after me for once.

“I can’t stop, babe, got things to do, a tiny person to look after!”

Matty just shook his head at that, obviously not too happy with my retort, “Guess we’re just gonna have a lazy day then, yeah? Got snacks, popcorn even. Reckon Teds will enjoy it. I can even take him out to the park for a bit, just to let him run off some of that energy.”

I blinked at the maddening man stood before me. Wondering what I’d done to deserve all of the things he'd done for me. And without having even been asked.

“Haven’t you got stuff to do?” I queried, content to simply watch him unpack the shopping he’d bought.

Matty shrugged a single shoulder, wrapping up a carrier bag and tucking it into the stash I kept hidden beneath the sink. “Nothing important.”

“The interview went alright then?”

He hummed, putting a couple tins of soup away in a cupboard just above his head. “Yeah, fine. Hann did it with me, other guy was in Paris or some other, I think. Definitely French though.” His phone sounded then, but it seemed he’d left it in the pocket of his jacket which he’d gone and thrown over the back of a chair upon walking in. “Look at that for me, would you?” He asked, peering down at a carton of something or other, probably pondering over whether or not it went in the fridge.

I was only a little surprised by his request, but did so anyway, trying to find the phone in one of his many deep pockets. “Definitely French?” I prompted, smirking smugly over at him before my fingers finally found the device. “You sound so certain, Healy. Almost as though you’ve been taking notes on the French dialect, or something like it.”

Chuckling to himself, Matty flashed me a big smile from over his shoulder before turning away with a wink. “The French are fit, baby.”

I laughed lightly with a halfhearted shake of my head, then peered down at his phone, “Password?”

“0709.” He told me, and so with a slight pinch in odd wonderment I typed it in.

“Why that?” I couldn’t help but ask, only glancing up again when I heard the shuffle of his feet. I raised a single eyebrow. “What, is it like the death of your guinea pig or something?”

Matty’s face pitched itself into a hearty grimace that made me cackle. “My guinea pig? Who the fuck owns a guinea pig?” He shook his head at me, deciding it wasn’t worth the effort and instead said, “It’s the date we met.”

My eyes widened considerably. “Actually?”

With a light huff, he turned back to putting things away, “Thing gets lost or nicked more times than not, so I’m always changing my passwords. Figured I’d remember that one.”

“Matty!” I all but awed, honestly feeling the love. “You can be such a sap sometimes, you know that. The day we met!”

I received a glare in retort but I simply laughed at him before turning to look down at the message he’d just received. My forehead furrowed.

“You said you had nothing going on today!” I was quick to accuse, eyes flashing up to meet his somewhat startled face, “George’s party is tonight!”

Matty’s mouth formed a little ‘o’ before he merely shrugged, “G will get over it if I can’t make it. You need me here more, and besides, his birthday isn't even for a couple more days. They’re only throwin’ it tonight so that most people can make it.”

I looked heavenwards, hoping that the second pause would give me a little bit of strength. Did it fuck. “Matty, you’re not staying here with us when George, your best mate might I add, is out celebrating his birthday! He’ll want you there.”

“Squeaks, you’re sick. He’ll underst-”

I shook my head, “No, you’re going. I’ve got a little cold, nothing that’s gonna kill me. What will kill me though is you not going to be with G on his special day.”

Matty narrowed his eyes a tad, “Don’t guilt trip me.”

My next bout of laughter couldn’t be helped. “I’m not!”

With a scoff, Matty turned to put the carton he’d held in the side door of the fridge, shaking his head as though I was the one being outlandish. “It’s fine, alright?” He said once he’d spun back around, “I’d much prefer being here anyway.”

My head dropped to the side as I looked up at him, “Babe, please go. It would honestly mean a lot to me, but even more so to George. You know, who’s birthday it is. Go on. Please?”

Matty sighed and ended up dropping himself into the opposing chair, I slid his phone on over to him. “What about you though, and Teddy?” He asked and it was sweet, how much he cared.

“We’ll be fine.” I assured him, reaching out to take his hand, “The party isn’t til later anyway, so how about we stick with your lazy day idea and then when you need to start heading out, I can just pop Teds in the bath and get him ready for bed.” When Matty still didn’t seem too keen on the idea, I squeezed his hand a tad and added, “You can even head back here after if you want.”

He perked up at that, but was still a little resistant to the whole idea of leaving.

“I promise we’ll be fine, love.”

And oh, did I wish that had been the truth.

113 notes · View notes

kairiscorner · 9 months

Text

⋆⁺₊❅⋆ holiday headcanons event !!

day 2.1: ice skating with yuuta ⛸️

🍰 genre: fluff !! ✒️ word count: 548 💭 summary: learning how to ice skate with yuuta ⛸️ 📣 thanks for requesting @flowerjun ! if you'd like to request any other prompt for any other character, please refer to my holiday headcanons event and send me an ask!

"y'okay, yuu?" you asked him, concerned as you tied your skates' laces, watching your hesitant boyfriend wobble on the ice, trying to keep himself upright and balanced. he winced and nodded, he would've said it himself, "yeah, i'm okay," if he just wasn't so petrified at the prospect of falling face first on the ice and skidding across the frozen surface.

you smiled softly at him, slowly getting up yourself and struggling to find your balance and momentum on the ice. "this... is pretty hard, huh..." yuuta voiced out, a little shy, smiling a little despite the gnawing fear of him greeting the icy ground through an unceremonious fall.

you nodded and chuckled, a bit anxious yourself. you were trying to maintain your balance and glide along the ice, though your knees were buckling. "woah, gotcha," yuuta whispered in a hushed tone, wrapping his arm around you taking your arm in his hand, trying to help keep you stable as you both wobbled on the ice.

you chuckled and looked up at him with a smile. "guess this is pretty hard," you muttered, chuckling. a warmth rushed down yuuta's shoulders as he saw your smile, a grin tugging at the corners of his lips, making him grin back at you.

you two tried to glide on the ice, not even trying to act skilled or graceful like figure skaters, you two were both content to just make it out there on the ice without falling. you had better luck than yuuta, with him falling on his bottom and chest every time he tried to glide, with you rushing to help him up, but stumbling down and and landing on your bottom and chest, just like him.

yuuta always felt horrible whenever you'd stumble because of him, trying to help you up with staggering movements as he struggled to get himself standing up on the ice. "sorry, maybe i should just... sit this one out," he offered, looking down at the frozen ground in shame. you cupped his face with your hands that warmed him up, looking into his charcoal black irises with a soft smile. "if you wanna stop, we can... but don't feel bad about messing up, yuu. i've messed up time and time again trying to get my gliding right, and i know you'll be able to make it, too. i believe in you."

and it was those very words that melted yuuta's heart, his face heated up and his cheeks reddened, with his hands on top of yours that rested on either sides of his face. "thank you, love..."

you two stayed until sunset, gliding and falling; with yuuta gradually getting better as you both slid on the ice together, hand in hand, and with yuuta learning on his own as he tried to glide without you. whenever you cheered for him, yuuta could feel his knees stop shaking, and his body getting used to the cold and slipperiness of the ice. he did usually fall over whenever he'd glance at you and smile whenever you cheered for him, but that was only because you got his full attention whenever you cheered, it was okay to fall on the ice again, it was a sign that yuuta kept falling for you, over and over again.

328 notes · View notes

patheticdarling · 2 years

Text

The Man I Once Knew

Summary: Reader is the twin to Jacaerys and second-born child, to the newly crowned Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen. Her mother worries for her younger brother as he is sent off to Storm’s End, so she has her daughter tail her brother. And Y/N comes just in the nick of time as she comes face-to-face with her formerly betrothed and first love, Prince Aemond Targaryen.

Warnings: ANGST (my fav)/incest (always with the Targaryens)/cussing/fighting/blood/threats/dragons/Luke doesn’t die but Y/N.../i have no right to characters or dialogue/sorry if the High Valyrian isn’t right (i used a translator lol)

Word Count: 3650 (pretty lengthy)

*NOT MY GIF*

“Y/N?” your mother approached you in your chambers, a worried look on her face.

You stood from the table, breaking away from your previous conversation with your stepsisters, “Mother? What is it?”

Baela and Rhaena took your mother’s look as more than enough instruction for them to leave. She approached you, taking your hands, “I’ve just sent your brothers away and I..” her voice shook.

“Mother, I’m sure Jace and Luke are more than competent. They’re some of the finest dragon riders in the Seven Kingdoms.”

“I can’t get Luke’s face out of my head,” you led her to sit down, she had had an exhausting past couple of days, “My sweet boy. Scared to death.”

“Luke is,” you pondered, “Strong.” her jaw tensed, “I know, Mother.”

Whenever people had called you or your brothers “strong” it was never meant as a compliment, it was the most legal way for them to say that you were bastards and your mother was a whore, according to your late Uncle Vaemond.

“I shouldn’t have let him go. He’s only four-and-ten.”

“Same age you were when Grandsire named you as his heir.”

“And I don’t want Luke or Jace or Joffrey or you to ever have to experience the pressure and hate that I’ve had to endure these past years. I can’t do it. Luke cannot do this alone.”

“Mother, what’re you saying? I thought you said Lord Borros would be honoured to host Luke.”

“I may have spoken too soon. Luke is still a boy. Lord Borros may see us sending him as an insult.”

“Tell me what it is you want me to do and I will see it done.”

She squeezed your hands, “Go after your brother. Fly to Storm’s End and help him.”

You nodded, “Yes, Your Grace.”

Your mother smiled at you before pulling you into her warm embrace, “My brave girl. Fly safe and quick.”

You gave her one last reassuring smile before going off. You mounted Seasmoke, a gift from your paternal grandparents after your father had died.

“Alright, valītsos. Let’s jikagon. Sōvegon,” you cooed at the dragon before flying off. Alright, boy. Let’s go. Fly.

Seasmoke was one of the fastest dragons in the realm, you arrived at Storm’s End in haste. A storm had just begun as you landed in the courtyard.

You dismounted from your dragon, giving him a thankful pet before you approached the guards, “I am Princess Y/N Velaryon. I bring a message to Lord Borros from my mother, the Queen.”

They bowed in unison before moving to usher you inside. Before you made it up the castle steps, you heard a deep growl from the distance. You turned as the lightning illuminated the silhouette of the most fearsome dragon in the world. But it wasn’t Vhagar who sent chills down your spine, it was the thought of reuniting with the one who wrongfully stole her years ago.

You walked into a tense hall, Lord Borros looking visibly annoyed as he spoke to your brother. Luke looking petrified but trying his best not to show it. And Aemond Targaryen, standing there as smug as ever.

“Princess Y/N Velaryon,” the guard introduced you, abruptly interrupting the conversation.

Your younger brother looked over at you, a raised brow, “What’re you doing here?” he muttered.

“Mother sent me,” you answered quickly before going to address the head of house, “Lord Borros,” you curtsied.

“Princess,” he greeted, his annoyed demeanor seemed to ease. Your beauty was a renowned thing in the realm and nearly every man had asked for your hand the older you had gotten, still you remained unbetrothed, your mother hadn’t dared make the same mistake again. “To what do we owe the pleasure?”

“My brother and I were sent as envoys from our mother, Queen Rhaenyra.”

The lord sighed, creepily taking you in, “Ah yes. I’ve just read your mother’s terms. And as I was telling your brother, King Aegon has also made me an offer. His also entails a marriage pact.”

You followed Lord Borros’ eyes as they fell onto Aemond and a younger brunette who stood next to him, the girl you assumed to be his betrothed. Aemond continued to smirk smugly.

“You were offered the Prince Aemond’s hand, my lord?”

“Yes, I was. Your mother seems to have offered me nothing in exchange for my armies. As your brother was just saying, he’s already betrothed.”

“That he is. To the Lady Rhaena Targaryen. As is my eldest brother, Prince Jaecarys, heir to the Iron Throne,” Lord Borros huffed in his seat, “However, I would advise my lord to not take the word of the brother of a usurper as an honest one.”

You glared over at Aemond, “And what is it that you mean, my Princess?” Lord Borros narrowed his brow, “King Aegon was crowned before the masses by the High Septon himself-”

“He did so knowing that King Viserys had named Queen Rhaenyra as his heir. Your father swore House Baratheon to my mother’s claim. The word of honourable men is what the realm depends upon. And believe me when I say this, Lord Borros, the usurper King Aegon is no honourable man. And neither is his brother.”

“Skoros ao ȳdragon iksis treason, Dārilaros,” Aemond finally hissed. What you speak is treason, Princess.

Your eyes met his, “Issa se truth, Dārilaros.” It is the truth, Prince.

“Y/N, please-” Luke tried to intervene.

“Lord Borros, I was once betrothed to the Prince Aemond,” your eyes had now met the Prince’s once again, “Many years ago. I thought we might be happy as husband and wife. But that was before his family betrayed mine. Before he proclaimed my brothers and I illegitimate, committing treason and suffering no punishment for it due to the soft heart of my grandfather. Before he stole my dead aunt’s dragon that was her mourning daughter’s right to claim. Before his mother cut mine and paid no price. Before him and his family conspired to murder my grandsire and steal my mother’s throne.”

“Enough,” Aemond spoke up.

You shook your head at him as tears of frustration welled in your eyes, “Tell me, Lord Borros. Is that the type of man you want bedding your daughter? Siring your grandchildren? My mother saw what sort of man the prince truly was. And so did I.”

“I said enough!” Aemond tried to rush at you, Luke trying to step in front of you before you pushed him behind you.

He stopped just before you, “Is that all you’ve got to say, my Prince?”

Aemond’s breathing was ragged as his eye stayed fixated on you, “Look at you,” his eye ran over your figure, “a woman grown.”

Your eyes never left his as the guards pulled him back across the room, Aemond shoving them off as he walked the rest of the way himself.

“My mother will expect your answer on the morrow, Lord Borros. And not a moment later. Lest you want to be served with fire and blood.”

You turned to your younger brother, he nodded at you, “Let’s go home.”

Both you readied to leave, “Wait.” Aemond’s voice rang in the hall, “Lord and Lady Strong.” Your bodies both tensed at his words, “Did you really think that you could just fly about the realm trying to steal my brother’s throne at no cost?”

“We will not fight you,” your brother spoke up, “I came as a messenger, not a warrior,” Luke quoted your mother, still you both gripped the swords attached to your hip.

“A fight would be little challenge,” Aemond muttered to himself, “No,” his hand moved to his eye patch as he peeled it off, “I want you to put out your eye.”

He had revealed the sparkling sapphire that sat where his eye once was. Most in the hall were shocked, they had never seen something so bizarre and frightful. You would’ve felt the same way had you not been the one who gifted Aemond the sapphire anonymously on his name day years ago. It was meant to be a necklace for your betrothed before the incident on Driftmark. Only you, your mother, and Queen Alicent knew. Both swore never to tell after the events that occurred to put it there in the first place.

“As payment for mine,” Aemond continued as he stared down your brother, “One will serve,” he pulled the dagger from his side and threw it across the room to your brother’s feet, “I would not blind you. Mm, plan to make a gift of it to my mother.”

Your jaw tensed as Lucerys eyed the dagger before meeting Aemond’s intimidating stare, “No.” his voice firmer than it had ever been before.

“Then you are craven as well as a traitor,” Aemond spoke.

“Ao sagon se nāpāstre, Uncle,” you hissed back. You’re the traitor, Uncle.

“Not here,” Lord Borros attempted to intervene.

Aemond took off towards your brother, “Give me your eye or I will take it, bastard!” he had snatched the dagger from the floor and charged at Luke.

You pushed him out of the way again, caging him in with the guards as you both drew your swords.

“Not in my hall!” Lord Borros’ own voice had now erupted and echoed off the walls.

You stared up at Aemond, daring him to make another move or say another word with your venomous gaze. His chest rose and fell as you continued to vex one another with just your eyes.

“The boy came as an envoy. I will not have bloodshed beneath my roof,” Lord Borros spoke, “Take Prince Lucerys back to his dragon. Now.”

You and Aemond’s gaze never broke as Luke sheathed his sword and followed the guards out.

“Princess,” Lord Borros again tried to intervene, “I think you should be going as well. I will not have a Princess of the Seven Kingdoms’ blood on my hands.”

“It’s the Prince’s blood you should concern yourself with, my lord,” you spoke before finally sheathing your weapon. Aemond following suit with his dagger, “Your answer on the morrow, Lord Borros.”

The rest of the Baratheon guard escorted you into the courtyard, the storm was now in full effect as you watched Lucerys mount Arrax.

You mirrored his actions as you climbed Seasmoke, you looked back over the castle walls as lightning struck once more. Vhagar was gone. Now you and Luke were truly in danger.

“Īlon jorrāelagon naejot jikagon sir, lēkia,” you instructed your brother over the storm. We need to go now, brother.

His eyes fell to where Vhagar once was, worry growing in them shortly after noticing the dragon’s disappearance. Luke nodded towards you before you both instructed your dragons to take off. Seasmoke was larger than Arrax and still struggled against the harsh winds and rains just as much. You knew Aemond, more than most, he couldn’t have been far behind. Revenge was now fresh on his mind once again. He wouldn’t stop until he had your brother’s eye or more, for all you knew.

“Sagon gīda, Seasmoke,” you tried to ease your dragon, hoping to not radiate your stresses unto him. Be calm, Seasmoke.

There was a loud roar from behind you, you looked back to ensure Luke was unharmed but his eyes were already fixated on the dark shadow that had been cast above the both of you. It disappeared for a moment, both of you trying to find it again in the thick clouds and heavy rain. You turned forward again just in time to evade the enormous jaws of Vhagar, veering Seasmoke off to the right. Luke being able to do the same with Arrax.

“Stay calm, Luke!” you shouted to him.

“What do we do?!” he shouted back.

“We’re faster than him. He knows it,” you yelled, “Ȳdra daor sagon zūgagon, Luke. Iksan lēda ao, valonqar.” Don’t be afraid, Luke. I’m with you, little brother.

Luke’s demeanor calmed a bit at your words. Yet you could still hear Aemond’s dreadful laugh and Vhagar’s deep growls as you continued to fly. They were both now on Luke’s tail, Aemond shouting in High Valyrian but his words washed out by the storm.

“Y/N!” Luke called out to you.

“Hold steady, Luke. Follow me!” you lead the two of your smaller dragons into a narrow canyon, knowing Vhagar was much too large. There was a brief calm where you looked at your little brother.

“What do we do? He’ll never leave us alone.”

You took a deep breath, “Listen to me and do not argue. You are going to continue through this canyon and you are not to stop going on until you return to Dragonstone, am I clear?”

“But what about you?” You just looked at him, the truth written in your eyes, “No! He’ll kill you, Y/N. I can’t let you-”

“Yes, you can,” you spoke softer, “Avy jorrāelan, valonqar. Sagon kostōba.” I love you, little brother. Be strong.

“Kostilus, mandia.” Please, sister. His eyes tearing up. You just shook your head before taking off towards the top of the canyon, “Y/N!” Luke’s pleading voice faded out as Seasmoke pulled you both out of the canyon.

“Aemond!” you shouted, now behind him. He turned on Vhagar, eyeing you, “Henujagon zirȳla mērī.” Leave him alone.

“Se skoro syt should gaoman bona, ñuha Dārilaros?” Aemond yelled back. And why should I do that, my Princess?

“Ziry won't vīlībagon ao. Yn kesan, ñuha Dārilaros.” He won’t fight you. But I will, my Prince.

“Seasmoke stands no chance against Vhagar.” When he broke from speaking to you in High Valyrian, you knew you had struck a nerve back in Storm’s End. As children and as lovers, you and Aemond loved to speak to one another in High Valyrian. The language made your connection that much more intimate.

“I’d be stupid not to realize that fact, Uncle. So why don’t we put the dragons aside? Let the steel sing instead.”

“If you’d rather die slower. Then so be it.”

You both landed your dragons on a nearby beach. Both of the beasts growled at one another before you and Aemond commanded them to be still. Seasmoke took the sky while Vhagar rested, she was an older dragon after all.

You drew your sword, “Iksan vaoreznuni ēdas naejot māzigon naejot bisa, Uncle.” I’m sorry it had to come to this, Uncle.

“Apologetic, issi īlon? lī doe laesi won't mirre va nyke.” Aemond sneered. Apologetic, are we? Those doe eyes won’t work on me.

You batted your lashes, “Daor dombo, nyke suppose. Iksā betrothed tolī mirre.” Not anymore, I suppose. You are betrothed after all.

Aemond yanked out his sword, gripping it tightly, “Ao sagon sepār angry ziry iksos daor naejot ao dombo.” You’re just angry it’s not to you anymore.

“Relieved iksis tolī hae ziry. Yn nyke apologize lo bona saddens ao, ñuha Dārilaros,” you smirked. Relieved is more like it. But I apologize if that saddens you, my Prince.

That seemed to be the final straw for Aemond as he charged towards you. Your swords met with a fierce clang as your fight began. The two of you had grown up training against one another, so this was to be an inevitably long fight. Both of you were well aware of how the other fought and hence, knew how to defend yourselves against one another. But Aemond had grown stronger over these years, I suppose seeking vengeance and also attempting to train the world’s most powerful dragon will do that to someone. But you never wanted to hurt Aemond, not seriously anyhow. He was a pretentious prick and a gods awful person but he was still your first love.

And having that thought in your mind is exactly what Aemond needed to get the upper hand on you as he tackled you into the sand, pinning you down.

“Se nyke thought īlē supposed naejot sagon iā kostōba riña,” Aemond growled as he held his dagger to your neck. And I thought you were supposed to be a strong girl.

You struggled against him but Aemond kept you down, “Se nyke thought īlē supposed naejot sagon iā honourable vala,” you spat. And I thought you were supposed to be an honourable man.

“You think you know me so well, don’t you?” Again, Aemond’s switch to the common tongue reminded you of his true hatred once again.

“I did. But now you’re simply a shell of the man I once knew. The man I once loved.”

Aemond’s jaw tensed at your words, “You never loved me.”

“If you really think that to be true then you are not only the least honourable man I’ve ever met but the stupidest one as well.”

He pushed his blade further against your neck at the insult, “Pār skoro syt gōntan ao henujagon nyke skori nyke jorrāelatan ao olvie?” Then why did you leave me when I needed you most? You could tell his demeanor was slipping as the High Valyrian returned.

“Henujagon ao?” Leave you? you scoffed, “Ao forced nyke qrīdrughagon. Se dōrī sesīr ēdas se decency naejot ivestragon geros ilas.” You forced me away. And never even had the decency to say goodbye.

“Ao defended aōha valonqar's paktot naejot gūrogon ñuha laes se pār ao expected iā geros ilas vūjigon?” You defended your little brother's right to take my eye and then you expected a goodbye kiss?

“Nyke gōntan daor such run!” I did no such thing! “I stayed by your bedside nearly every night I could,” now your emotions had bubbled over, “Much to my entire family’s dismay. Because I loved you and I wanted to make sure you were cared for! I tried so hard to be there for you. And you know what you did, Aemond? You locked yourself away. Showing me no gratitude for the love I continued to bore for you even after you declared my brother’s and I illegitimate. So go on, continue to wallow in your self-pity as you’ve done for these past years. But spare me from watching it.” You pressed your own neck further onto the blade, the stinging of its sharpness drawing a bit of blood. You squeezed your eyes shut.

Aemond’s breathing became uneasy at your words, the once steady hand that was so keen on cutting your throat now shook and applied less and less pressure. Before he pulled it away completely.

Your eyes blinked open, “Zūgagon, issi īlon?” Scared, are we?

Aemond said nothing as he looked down at you, your figure still pinned under his. You could almost see the thoughts jogging through his brain.

He brought his hand up, you prepared for him to strike you finally, “Emā daor drīve naejot sagon zūgagon yno yet.” You have no reason to be afraid of me yet.

You looked back as he peeled his eye patch off once again, now revealing that gleaming sapphire to only you this time.

“Gaomagon ao iēdrosa claim naejot jorrāelagon nyke? Gaomagon ao jorrāelagon nyke hae se dyni iksan sir?” his gaze never broke from yours. Do you still claim to love me? Do you love me as the monster I am now?

You slowly brought your hand to the side of his face, he flinched at your touch before melting into it, “Bisa dōrī vēttan ao se dyni.” This never made you the monster. You spoke softly as you ran your thumb along the scar. “Aōha prūmia gōntan.” Your heart did. “Se nyke iēdrosa jorrāelagon ao anyway.” And I still love you anyway.

Aemond’s eye scanned over your face once again, “Jiōragon bē.” Get up.

You didn’t even fully register his instructions before he lifted you to your feet, “Skoros sir? Issi ao jāre naejot feed nyke naejot Vhagar?” What now? Are you going to feed me to Vhagar?

Aemond didn’t respond as he continued to drag you by the arm. Towards where Vhagar lay and you thought to yourself that maybe you had just given him the perfect idea. The great beast growled as you approached her. Readying yourself to meet your fate, you were thrown off as Aemond dragged you over to the ladder that led to Vhagar’s saddle.

“Hepnon,” Climb. he instructed, nodding upwards. You shook your head before Aemond grasped his dagger once again. At this point, you knew you were in no position to argue as you embarked on your hike up the side of Vhagar. Aemond followed. As you both seated yourselves into the saddle, Aemond grabbed your wrist and began tying them together with rope.

“Kȳvanon va throwing nyke ezīmagon se embar se letting nyke qrimbughegon?” Plan on throwing me into the sea and letting me drown?

Aemond fastened the last knot on your bindings, “Daor, ñuha Dārilaros. Īlon're jāre naejot Dārys Tegorīr.” No, my Princess. We're going to King's Landing.

“Dārys Tegorīr? Skoro syt daor sepār ossēnagon nyke sir?” King’s Landing? Why not just kill me now?

“Ñuha lēkia kessa jorrāelagon iā hostage. Se kesan jorrāelagon iā ābrazȳrys.” My brother will need a hostage. And I will need a wife.

“Skoros hen Āeksio Borros' tala?” What of Lord Borros’ daughter?

“Qogralbar bona Barāthēon orvorta. Issa daor ao.” Fuck that Baratheon cunt. She is not you.

“Aōha lentor nor ñuhon kessa mirre mazōregon īlva.” Your family nor mine will ever accept us.

“Nyke ȳdra daor tepagon iā qrugh qilōni rules. Hae bōsa hae īlon dīnagon.” I don’t give a shit who rules. As long as we marry.

“Obūljagon naejot ñuha muña. Lo gaomā, kesan dīnagon ao. Lo daor, ossēnagon nyke sir. Kesan dōrī nāpāsagon ñuha lentor.” Bend the knee to mother. If you do, I will marry you. If not, kill me now. I will never betray my family.

Aemond couldn’t bite back his smirk. His princess had only grown more fearsome over the years, “Naejot Zaldrīzesdōron pār, ñuha Dārilaros.” To Dragonstone then, my Princess.

1K notes · View notes

polyamorouspunk · 1 year

Text

Anyone who’s followed me for a while on here knows that I’m the king of not knowing when to keep my mouth shut, so I’m going to try and embrace and talk about something.

So I stepped up my anarchy game last night by, uh, removing a homophobic message, we’ll call it, and I want to use this experience and well as others to talk about some things.

Any anarchy you engage in is going to be terrifying the first time you do it. You will be petrified. You will be paranoid. You will think that the cops are going to come banging down your door or car window even if you didn’t do anything illegal. I’m sure if you’re a black American you already feel this way on a much lower and more frequent level just living day-to-day, but if you’re white and you’re trying out anarchy for the first time you’re going to be terrified because we have ALL been conditioned to think that “when anarchy happens the cops are immediately called”. That’s not true. It can be a bit of a mind-bend to convince yourself that you’re not going to be noticed or found out. There are many posts with tips and tricks to make sure this doesn’t happen, but that’s not what this is. Along that line, people who engage in anarchy are not these fearless people. They are average people like you and me. It’s easy to see people and go wow they’re so brave but there’s a good chance they’re scared shitless. They’re brave because they can override that fear but harness it when needed to complete the anarchistic goals.

If you are in trouble, cut and run, even if you aren’t done. It can be very easy to think “I’m so close! I just need a bit more time!”. Don’t. Don’t take that chance. Leave it. I didn’t finish removing all of the message I found last night, but I started noticing 2 cars circling the streets looking for me, so I wasn’t risking staying there to finish it. Because I decided not to stay and finish what I started I made it home safe. If I had, I could have been caught. In that moment I made a snap decision that said “it’s time to go now” and that was the right decision to make and I stand by it.

Even if you’re work goes unfinished or gets replaced in the line of “anarchies that send a message” it doesn’t mean it wasn’t all for nothing. You sent a message. The homophobic message I removed was replaced right after I took it down. Not sure if it even lasted the night honestly. Meaning no one saw my work except the people who spotted me when I wasn’t quick enough to hide and the people who replaced it, and if it did last the night then maybe the errant person here and there. But what I’m telling myself is that person or persons who put that message up now know someone doesn’t agree with it. Someone willing to stand up to them. To disrupt the status quo. They can no longer think that everyone is going to go along with them putting that message up, because I don’t, and I made that clear by removing it, even if it was only for the briefest of moments.

Don’t push yourself too hard if you have limitations. I pushed myself too hard last night to do this and my body is suffering both last night and all today, and probably at least all tomorrow as well. It was a good effort and I’m glad I did it even though I was freaking out, but as I alluded to in my posts last night, I did trip and fall and sustained some injuries, and also I just pushed my body too much to get the whole thing done. Was it worth it? I’m telling myself it was, because it has to be, because if I tell myself that it wasn’t then what do I have? At least I’m practicing what I preach, and that’s important to me.

Going back to #1 and #3, bigger anarchies are scary, but even if they don’t really work out like you planned, it helps to desensitize you to these kinds of extracurricular activities. The first few times I did my routinely anarchy, I was petrified. Now I hardly even blink (but I’m still careful). Become comfortable but not lax. Become relaxed but not lazy.

Don’t post about your activities directly online. I wouldn’t even recommend making a post like this but like I said I suck at keeping my mouth shut and I’m hopefully being vague enough if anything does come knocking. Take care to clean up after yourself.

#punk culture #okay to reblog

222 notes · View notes

heliads · 9 months

Note

I’d like to request a platonic Finnick x female reader one-shot. The reader is Finnick’s twin sister (younger by 10 minutes) and won the games the year after he won the games. Katniss and Peeta meet the reader and Finnick on the victory tour that takes place after the 74th games. The reader isn’t part of the 75th games, but she is part of the rebellion that takes place after the 75th games. Before Finnick dies, he tells the reader he loves her and asks her to look after Annie.

hello thornyrose

'supposed to be us' - finnick odair

masterlist

Your nightmare is dark and dangerous. It clings to your mind like bathing in an oil slick. You can hear ghosts shouting and screaming. A boy from your district begs you for mercy, but you don’t give it to him because you saw him trying to poison your food supplies mere hours earlier. There is no justice in the Hunger Games. The one who lives is not always the one who deserves it.

Even after your eyes open, you can only stare upwards into nameless dark, petrified that a single movement will set the other tributes upon you in an instant. For a moment, you don’t know where you are, and then the dream lifts and you’re only certain that you aren’t stuck in the place you just were. This is not the Arena. The Arena was never quiet. Even when the Gamemakers cut the sound of chirping insects and rustling leaves so they could hear your heartbeat and the shallow beating of your lungs as you waited for death to come your way.

District Thirteen is quiet, and that is where you are. Your Hunger Games ended nine or ten years ago. You have not been in the Arena again, even if your brother has.

Your brother.

Finnick Odair is a household name. To you, though, he was never the golden Victor of District Four, the pretty boy with the trident, the peacock. Finnick is your twin brother, older by ten minutes. He’ll never let you forget that. When you watched him in the Arena for the first time, all you could do was hope that you’d hear him remind you of it even one more time.

As it turns out, you got your wish. Finnick won the sixty-fifth Hunger Games at the young age of fourteen. He came home shell-shocked but doing a quite good job of pretending otherwise. He talked to you and your parents and made sure none of you saw him break down whenever the Capitol came to claim him again. He never told you what happened whenever the Peacekeepers spirited him away from you, but you found out anyway when your name was read in the Reaping one year later.

They saw it was Finnick’s fault that you ended up in the Games. It’s easy enough to fudge the name chosen in the Reaping Ceremony, even if the Capitol always pretends it’s a total twist of fate. Finnick was acting up. He didn’t want to be a body in warm sheets that didn’t belong to him. He protested Snow sending him to strangers’ beds one too many times, and as a warning, you ended up in the Games one year after Finnick won his. Finnick never fought the orders again.

You cannot tell who blames each other more for their troubles, you or him. It is not either of your faults that you ended up with the blood of twenty-three tributes on your hands, nor that Finnick hasn’t been wholly Finnick in a very long time. He is your brother. Things happen in Panem that no one will speak on. Not even family.

You were supposed to die in the sixty-sixth Hunger Games, of that you are almost certain. The Gamemakers certainly threw more than the typical amount of twists your way. It felt as if every mutt in the Arena was designed to hunt you first before any other tribute. Rain snuffed each fire you made. Ants spoiled your food. Other tributes were directed towards your camp. Still, you managed to pull through. As a District Four Career, you had been receiving training in preparation for the Games since you were young, but Finnick had made sure to help you in advance just in case something like this happened.

As it turned out, he was right to worry. Your Games were close, but when the final cannon sounded, you were the one standing bloodsoaked and exhausted on an empty battlefield. After that, even President Snow couldn’t kill you off. You and Finnick, beloved twin Victors of the Capitol, were as untouchable as District gets.

Look where that got you, though, dragged back to the Capitol each and every year to remark on the Games and mentor a new couple of kids to their death. District Four tributes have a good chance at winning, so you were able to help a good few along. Annie Cresta, to be specific. You watched as they fell for each other. It is supposed to be a simple thing, watching your siblings fall in love. For Finnick, it was a victory akin to winning the Games.

You can still remember one dark evening, the first time you and Finnick were home after you’d won the Games and were finally alone without one of Caesar Flickerman’s cameras shoved in your face. He’d sworn to you then and there that he’d never fall in love. Finnick didn’t want anyone else to be used as a sacrifice to get him to play along with the Capitol’s rules. He’d been forced to watch you compete in the Hunger Games as a punishment for disobedience. Never again would he allow himself another weakness.

Annie grew on him, though. She has a way of melting down people’s barriers. Annie reminds you of salt water on a rusty latch; give it enough time, and even the hardiest locks will be worn down to ash and dust eventually. Finnick needed her more than he needed his walls to stay strong. After some time, he allowed himself to indulge in the sheer joy of needing someone and being needed by them, and after that, he was better.

There had been a brief time of relative peace in District Four. There is no peace in Panem, not really, not even when the weapons have been laid down and the Peacekeepers are posted at every door to stop the fighting. We send our children to die. We save some of them, but not all. Never all. You and Finnick and Annie and Mags do your best. It is never enough.

In between the Games, though, in between the Victory Tours and scheduled press appearances, you make your own kind of peace. You talk with your brother late into the night. You learn more about Annie, and she learns to trust you like she trusts Finnick. There are people who understand your life after the Games, and there are those who don’t. As it turns out, you don’t need the world as a Victor, just two people. You give them their space so they can imagine what it is like to live a life without fear or terror, and when you need them, they reach out to you. You are not alone, you are never alone. Except for when you want it.

And, when several years have passed, you watch the seventy-fourth Hunger Games and learn about a girl they call the Mockingjay. You haven’t seen someone like Katniss Everdeen in a very long time, if ever. You observe her closely on her Victory Tour with Peeta Mellark and make sure to speak when you run into each other during her stop in District Four. There’s an earnestness to the two of them that you can’t help but appreciate. You consider their strength for a while, and then you contact someone in the Capitol you’ve grown to know during your many mentorship runs and tell him that it’s time to act.

Plutarch Heavensbee has been involved in the rebellion for a very long time. He won’t tell you how long, not exactly, but you can guess that his start date was far before your name was even pulled from the Reaping, before Finnick’s. He confessed that he’s been eyeing you and your brother for a while now, but he’s been waiting for the proper impetus. Watching the District response to Katniss, you tell him that it’s now.

Plutarch agrees, and begins to give you specific tasks to further the goals of the rebellion. It’s small at first. You deliver secret messages to a certain Beetee Latier when you’re near District Three. You also speak to Haymitch Abernathy at the opening ceremony of the seventy-fifth Hunger Games under the guise of exchanging mentorship tactics. Slowly, carefully, plans are laid.

This is also due in part to the fact that you are not Reaped for the third Quarter Quell, although your brother is. There are many surviving Victors in District Four, and you immediately complained to Plutarch that Finnick and Annie were both Reaped even if Mags stepped in, but there was nothing the Head Gamemaker could do. He told you that it would have been more suspicious if the rebellion had meddled with the Reaping and likely given them away too early.

Still, that doesn’t settle any apprehension in your gut as you have to prepare your twin for yet another round in the Arena. Although he was careful to disguise his expression the moment his name was called for the Quarter Quell, you saw the brief flicker of desolation in his eyes. Finnick doesn’t want to go back there any more than you would. All you can do to save him is ensure that the rebellion’s plan works and you can pull him out before too many Victors are killed.

If you were going to confess something, it would be that you value your brother above all else. Yes, the rebellion’s plan is important, but at the end of the day, you are there to save your twin. Finnick made you promise that you’d watch out for Mags and Annie both outside and inside of the Arena, but you disregarded both of those oaths in favor of focusing on him. You get Finnick supplies and sponsors when he needs them, you make sure to talk the Gamemakers out of siccing any truly terrible mutts on him. More than the usual, of course.

And, when the Arena is breached by the rebellion and it comes time to get the Victors out, you tell them to go for Finnick first. This means that they don’t have time to get Annie. You don’t think you’ll ever forget the look on Finnick’s face when he realized that Annie was still in the Capitol after he was rescued and brought back to the underground colony of District Thirteen. He’s glad to see you alive, of course, and he was about to stage a fit before he knew you were safe, but you don’t know if he’ll ever forgive you for not getting Annie as well. It’s not as if you had any choice, the Peacekeepers came for you immediately, but the fact remains that Annie is as good as blood to you and you left her behind.

You make up for it eventually, of course. While you join an attack party to break into the Capitol and bring back Annie, Peeta, Johanna, and the other captive Victors, Finnick stays behind to act as a distraction. You heard later the sorts of terrible secrets he had to offer from his time in the Capitol. Finnick had done his best to shelter you from all of it, and you can only hope to return the favor someday, and more than just pulling him from the Arena.

You never get the chance. Yes, seeing him reunite with Annie after your mission was a success felt better than winning your own Games, but the happiness didn’t last forever. Soon enough, you and Finnick fought your way back into the Capitol along with Katniss, Peeta, and other highly trained soldiers in an effort to end the war once and for all.

Only one Odair made it back.

It wasn’t Finnick.

Should it have been? You’ll never know for sure. The memory of his final moments will stay with you forever. Your group had been running through the underneath of the Capitol, pursued relentlessly by bloodthirsty lizard mutts. The fight had ended with a dead end, a ladder up to the surface. Finnick had insisted on being the last one up because he had always been the hero, the good one, the savior. Right before he was able to make it, the mutts charged and pulled him back down. You had heard his screams and known there was no way you could save him, not this time. Katniss had detonated the tunnel to bring him a quick end. It was merciful. You wish you had died instead of him.

It is a terrible thing, losing a brother. Since Finnick was older, he has been around quite literally your entire life. You are now older than he ever was. It is far more devastating than it sounds. Living that kind of agony is like nothing anyone can ever describe to you. There is only pain in endless waves. As time goes on, you have more space between each rush of hurt, but then you remember the way District Four sun shone on his hair and turned it to gold, or how the two of you learned to swim together, or the smile on his face when he married Annie and everything goes to pieces again.

Before Finnick died, he had told you that he loved you and asked you to look after Annie. You do so to the best of your ability. Neither you nor Annie want to spend time with others all that much after the war. You retreat back to a small house in District Four where nobody comes looking for you, asking you to kill again. Annie has a baby boy. You see Finnick in his face every day. At first, this is agonizing, but then you realize that it would be worse to forget the precise shade of Finnick’s eyes than to be piercingly reminded of it every time you see your nephew.

It becomes a sort of game you play, looking at the little boy and remembering each bit of Finnick that you can. There was a certain way he would run, all efficiency, and a precise method of articulating each syllable in your name. The first time Annie’s son says it, you have to excuse yourself to another room to cry. After that, it’s easier. The game becomes more one of happiness than sadness.

It destroys you sometimes, the life Finnick should have led. The memories make it bittersweet. But, as a friend of yours once said, there are worse games to play.

hunger games tag list: @w1shes43, @ilovexavierthrope

all tags list: @wordsarelife

#finnick odair #finnick odair oneshot #finnick odair imagines #hunger games #hunger games imagines #hunger games oneshot #platonic finnick odair #sibling finnick odair #the hunger games #the hunger games imagines #the hunger games oneshot #hunger games finnick #hunger games finnick imagines #hunger games finnick oneshot #finnick odair x sister reader #finnick #finnick imagines #finnick oneshot

98 notes · View notes

write-orflight · 10 months

Text

Golden: Chapter 3

**Gif Not Mine**

Prev - Next

Pairings: SpencerXReader (Friends to lovers)

Rating: M

Words: 2. 1K

Warnings: No warnings. Over-bearing mother maybe??

Request: OPEN/CLOSED

Summary: One misheard conversation turns Y/N and Spencer’s perfect friendship upside down. Now, she needs him to play pretend for her parents wedding. Will their friendship last this one little hiccup? Or will it change how they see each other forever?

A.N Guess who's back in the house?? Sorry for my long hiatus I didn't have a way to write for a while but now with my new laptop. I plan on writing a lot more! reply to this if you want to be back on my taglist. Love, Cia

Chapter 3: I know you were way too bright for me

You sprinted across the quad at record speed. In fact, you’d be surprised if a track coach didn’t try to recruit you because you knew you had to be breaking some type of record. You saw Spencer walking from his Advanced Physics class when you tackled him from behind, sending him toppling over.

Spencer sputtered for a second before turning over realizing it was you. “Y-Y/N, What the heck?!”

“Shut up.” You say, from your perch on top of him. You pull the folded piece of paper out of your back pocket, shoving it in the taller man’s face. “Read it and weep.”

Spencer squinted slightly at the paper. “This is a C…”

“Hell yea, it’s a C!” You say, excitedly. “In calculus! Effectively bringing my D up to a low C.”

“And we’re happy?”

“Yes!” You say, shaking the man by his shoulders. “Because I never have to take that shit again, which means we’re going out tonight.”

Spencer groans which you mock. “Don’t you think you should be studying instead? To bump that grade up.”

“Nope, C’s get degrees, so I’m getting shots. Which means you are too.”

“Fine… but you’ll have to let me up first.” Spencer says. You mumble a quick ‘oh yea’ as you get up off the man’s lap. He brushes the dirt off his pants as he stands with a small frown on his face.

The two of you walk in silence in the direction of the bar just off campus before Spencer looks over at you.

“I’m proud of you for getting a C, Y/N.” Spencer smiles down at you. “I know you were struggling with Calculus. You should be proud.”

You smile up at the man. Spencer doesn’t think he’ll ever get used to the supernova you seemed to hide behind your teeth. “Thank you, Spence.”

—-----------------------------------------

“Let’s just tell her we both died.” You say, as you drive down the road that leads closer and closer to your childhood home. “We’re in the FBI, she’ll believe it.”

Spencer laughs. “Faking your death won’t solve our problems, Y/N.”

“Fine… witness protection then.”

“We’re gonna be fine, our story is air-tight, we prepped for this, and it’s only for a week.”

You sank more and more into your seat as Spencer turned down Cherrytree Drive, your childhood street. You couldn’t help the dread that entered your heart as you passed the big tree you used to climb as a kid which was also how you broke your arm in the 7th grade.

Spencer parks in your parents' very expensive, long driveway. Your parents were both doctors and did fairly well for themselves even after retirement due to some good investments. Spencer looked over at the petrified look on your face and gave you a pity smile.

“Look, if you want we can say there was a last minute case and we can turn back. But it’s your parent’s anniversary and even though you don’t like the circumstances, I know you’d be more upset if you missed it.” You blew a breath, you knew Spencer was right, as he often was. “I’ll be right here… Whatever you want to do.”

You sigh again. “Fine, let’s just get this over with.” You say, before swinging the car door open.

The first person you see is your sister running down the front steps, her mellow-demeanored husband following shyly behind her. You run halfway to meet her as Spencer grabs your bags.

“Y/N!” The wind is knocked out of you slightly as the 2 of you collided. “God, it’s been too long, how come you never visit?”

“You know, my work schedule. We’re just lucky the serial killers took a break this week.” You laugh at your sister’s scared expression. She never liked the details of your job, being one of those people who thought Serial killers only existed in the 70s.

She changes the subject almost as soon as possible. “I see you roped Spencer into saving you from the Momster. Do you really think you guys are gonna pull it off?”

“Well, Spencer seems to think so and he’s smarter than me, so.”

Your sister hums for a second. “You know, I think you two are gonna pull it off.” She says, in a way that almost sounds sneaky, you raise an eyebrow at her. “You wanna know why I think you’re going to pull it off?”

You decide to indulge her. “I don’t know, why Rachel?”

“Because I don’t think you guys are going to make it through the week before realizing you’re madly in love with each other.” She says, making mock kissy faces at you which you push her for.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Rach, You know me and Spencer are just friends.”

She holds her hands up in mock defense. “Hey, I’m just saying. I don’t look at any of my friends the way the two of you look at each other. I’m just saying maybe this weekend, the party, all the Romantic energy.” Rachel says, wiggling her eyebrows at you. You roll your eyes at that. “Maybe you’ll see what I see.” Rachel shrugs.

“And what do you see?” You say, deciding to indulge her.

“A man who's completely in love with you.” She says, turning to the two men who were getting your bags from the car. Well, Jacob was getting the bags from the car while Spencer excitedly explained ancient marriage traditions. You can’t help the smile that spreads across your face. You look over at your sister who is smirking at you, you roll your eyes at her again.

“Come on, let’s go find mom.”

You find your mom standing at the kitchen counter baking while your little sister, Isabelle, was sitting on the other side of the kitchen island studying. You walk up and tussle her hair.

“Hey Squirt!” You say, excitedly.

“You know, I’m an adult now, right?” She says, hands moving up frantically to fix her hair. “I don’t like being called Squirt.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, Izzy.” You say, watching her grumble a soft ‘my name is Isabelle’ under her breath before turning your attention to your mother. “Hey Mama.” You say, softly as you go into her waiting open arms.

“Oh, my baby! I’m so happy you were able to make it!” She says into your shoulder. She pulls away holding you at arms length. “So… where is he?” She questions in a kind of sing-song tone.

“Where’s who?” You say, deciding to play dumb to mess with your mother. She just levels you with a look. “He’s getting our bags with Jake.”

Your mother lets you go to swat at you. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you were dating Spencer! Of all people!”

“Yea, I know, Mama.” You say, already starting to feel bad for lying to your mother. “It’s just new and we work together… we just wanted to keep it under wraps and all.”

“And it’s not a problem? Working together?”

You shake your head. “Spencer and I work well together.”

“No, I mean dating and working together. Your coworkers don’t mind?”

“Oh.” You say, understanding her question now. “No, none so far. But we do different things for the team.”

“Oh, I know they were probably rooting for you crazy kids as much as we were. When I told your dad, he even smiled.” She says, happily. It doesn’t sound like much but for the stoic man it was practically jumping for joy.

As if on cue, Spencer walks in and your mother immediately forgets you exist. “Oh, Spencer!” She says, smiling brightly at the young man.

“Hi, Ms. Y/L/N.” He says, softly.

“Oh, honey, you can call me Abigail.” The older woman says. “Or even Mom if you’d like.”

“Ma!” You say, slightly embarrassed. “Do you think we could go upstairs and unpack? We had a long trip.”

“Of course, honey. I set up the guest room for you guys, unless you want to sleep in your old room?” Your mother asks. You frown at the thought of sleeping in your eye-draining bright pink room with Tween Beat posters probably still on the walls and shook your head.

“We’ll take the guest room.” You say, practically pulling Spencer away.

Once the two of you are secluded in the room, you take the first sigh of relief you had been holding.

“We can still back out if you want.” You say, as Spencer sets your bags down. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know my mom would be so… pushy immediately.”

“I did.” You give Spencer a confused expression. “I’ve been preparing for this since you asked me. I know what your family’s like, it can't be any worse than what we do everyday.”

“It could be. It’s my mother.”

As if you were speaking of the devil, you hear the familiar rapping of your formative years on the door before your mother just fully walks in half-covering her eyes with her hands.

“Hope everyone’s decent?”

“We’ve been up here for 4 minutes, Ma.” You say, rolling your eyes while Spencer smirked at the antics of your mother.

“I just wanted to see what you were wearing tonight.” Your mom smiled. You and Spencer looked up shocked.

“Umm, what’s tonight, mother?” You say, eyebrows raised. Your mom holds her hands up in mock surrender.

“I know we said we were only having the two parties for the vow renewal but I was so excited that you were coming home and bringing Spencer. I may have invited a couple of people over for dinner tonight.”

You clench your jaw, knowing your moms game. “Uh-huh, a couple of people… And how many is a couple people?”

“Like… maybe 50… or 70?”

“Mom! We’ve been traveling all day, I hardly think we’ll be the best entertainment.”

“Oh, I’m sure you’ll be fine. It’s only dinner anyway.” Your mom says, tapping your cheek in that enduring this is not open for discussion way she tends to do. “Now, try to look presentable, people will start arriving by 6.” She says, leaving without another word.

“Shit!” You exclaim, frustratedly, face planting into the bed “Spencer, honestly if you want to leave right now, I wouldn’t blame you. I should’ve known she’d pull some shit like this.” You say, muffled into the clean sheets.

You feel a hand at the small of your back. You ignore the warm feeling that travels up your spine at Spencer’s touch. You knew this weekend was gonna be a test of your self-control but if a hand on your back was going to make you dizzy then maybe you needed to be the one to back out this weekend.

“I know who your mom is too, so I already anticipated it. However, if you just want to leave, we can go.”

“But then I’d feel bad, I dragged you out here, made you help me with a ruse…”

“You need to remember, I came here for you. I decided to go along with this for you, because you asked me to. I care about you. I’ll do whatever you want.”

You turn over and look up at Spencer and you can’t help but feel your heart sink. Here was a man, who had done nothing but make sure you were okay the entire duration of your friendship and all you could think of was the softness of his eyes. How the light in the room danced in his eyes, how his jaw looked in his position above you. Spencer was a good friend, your best friend, and he was here because he wanted to help his friend. And here you were unable to stop the fluttery feeling in your stomach when he looked at you. You knew you liked Spencer but you also knew you didn’t deserve Spencer. As a friend or… anything else. The absolute least you could do was try to be a good friend, so you swallow that feeling before smiling up at Spencer.

“It’s just the weekend, right?” You say. “Nothing changes.”

Spencer looks slightly remorseful, only for a brief second before smiling back at you. “Yea.. nothing changes.”

Perm Taglist: @moonshinerbynight @crimeshowtrash @richardrosejpeg @itsametaphorbriansblog @urguardiandevil @no-honey-no @this-is-why-imma-die-alone @scarletred79@idroppedmygourd @luwheezys @avis-exe @newvialuna @onlyhereforcriminalmindsthings @ceeellewrites @eevee0722 @crying-on-the-floor @thereaderlexa @makeadealwithdean @ifyousawthisnoyoudidnot @spencers-dria @measure-in-pain @jori21 @002345k @fictional-hooman

#criminal minds #bau x reader #spencer x reader #spencer x you #spencer reid x reader #criminal minds smut #spencer reid smut #spencer reid

87 notes · View notes

runawaymun · 4 months

Note

so.. reading and looking at your fics and art kinda makes me wanna try my hand at some stuff too (they are just so beautiful and elicit so many feels), but. you seem so knowledgeable and familiar with tolkien/elves lore (and so does everyone else i've started reading in this community of elf-lovers on tumblr haha) and i'm most assuredly not. i don't get so many of the world-building allusions authors make about the history/culture/magic, which is easy enough to deal with when reading, but do you think i'd be able to write anything good with such limited understanding of the world i'm writing in? i'm not even confident enough for modern au's because idek that much about the character's relationships/connections with each other, y'know? but what do you think? would the holes i have or straight up inaccuracies rly weaken the story and interrupt the reader's connection to the world/character's, or could i still get by? tolkien's worldbuilding is so intimidating lol

Oh my goodness, this is such a sweet ask.

I'm really glad that you love my art and writing so much, and I consider it SUCH a huge compliment that it inspires you to make your own! That's what it's all about, honestly.

So first off I just want to address the anxiety around the lore-knowledge and the Tolkien fandom because listen listen listen, there are people of every level of knowledge creating art and fics here. Let me just say that when I first published And the Stars Shine the Same three years ago, I was mostly working off of film knowledge and some vague book knowledge, and I was petrified to post it because of how intimidating the Tolkien fandom seemed. I was so worried about getting this wrong and making mistakes -- so know that you're not alone in that, and it is a very common anxiety in this fandom. The thing is, when I posted that fic I found that people loved it, and that everyone was so nice, and really I have not had anybody (save maybe...one person off the top of my head) get very nitpicky about the lore/language/etc. Everybody else was very nice, loved the fic, and super receptive and friendly.

I promise you that there are so many lovely people in this fandom and that, while they're extremely knowledgeable they're also so friendly. Nearly everybody I know would be delighted if you came into their inbox and asked them a question about their specific area of interest with regards to the Silm and LOTR. There are amazing resources in this fandom, and everybody is very happy to help when asked. When I was getting started I mostly talked to friends, looked at other fanart (because honestly there is a LOT of information packed into how people portray characters in fanart for this fandom), and when I wasn't sure on something I just checked the wikis. I believe Tolkien Gateway is one of the best resources, though I also use The One Wiki to Rule Them All, and this is one of the best resources I've found for just a quick look at common Sindarin phrases, and for everything else I use Parf Edhellen which is an incredibly comprehensive dictionary for Tolkien's various elvish languages. And if you're not sure on something, just send a call out into the void because there are dozens of besties on Tumblr who are happy to offer suggestions for names or phrase translations. There's also so much information on Youtube.

I didn't even get around to reading the Silm and rereading LOTR until I felt like it. Honest to god I looked at the wikis and asked friends for most of the stuff I needed.

And I know how intimidating it can be to build your own story within Tolkien's world, but for me what I liked so much about his work is that--- while he is specific on some things, he's also very vague on others. There is a lot of room for interpretation and your own headcannons and worldbuilding. That was part of why I chose the historical spot I did for Stars and Boundless Sky, because it was sort of "dead space" so to speak with regards to Tolkien's own worldbuilding, and so I was able to play around and do my own thing without worrying too much about stepping all over lore.

But okay, all of that to say: yes you can write good stories without being super knowledgeable. Please believe me you can. You can write whatever you want, so long as you love it, and it is yours. If you have a story you want to tell in Tolkien's little legendarium then please, please do. Tolkien's legendarium is a mythology, and mythologies are meant to be retold and reinterpreted. Tolkien's canon is incredibly loosy-goosey. There are parts of unfinished tales where Christopher Tolkien wrote: "I really couldn't make sense of my dad's notes, so here's everything. Knock yourself out ig" (notably, "Of Galadriel and Celeborn").

And Peter Jackson was fairly faithful when it comes to the og trilogy. Like there are things that I take issue with that are pet peeves of mine, and I know that's the same for a lot of people as well. Everybody has their things they take umbrage with and things they like, but generally if that's your base for knowledge you're going to be just fine to start writing fic. If you decide you want to research more, then that's up to you and the story you are trying to tell! If you're working off of the Hobbit films, that's a little different, but in general the Hobbit fandom is pretty chill when it comes to that. I would suggest reading the book if you can find the time to. It's an easy read and short, and it is very, very different to the films.

With the LOTR books...I know a lot of people are book purists and that's okay, and a lot of people go "oh you really SHOULD read the books", but tbqh as a lover of both, I think the films do a good job of telling you the heart of the story (barring a few characters like...uh. Elrond, whom PJ absolutely butchers, but I digress sorry sorry). The books do add a lot and deepen the meaning for a lot of things, and flesh a lot of characters out (and they're just fun to read), but again... yes you can write good stories without being super knowledgeable. I will say that over and over again nonnie I am grabbing you by the shoulders and looking you dead in the eye: please write your story if you want to. Please do not be afraid to just give it a stab. If you find that your lack of knowledge is holding you back for some reason, just ask! So many people will be happy to answer your questions.

Fanfiction is for everybody. Tolkien is for everybody. You do not have to be the most incredible skilled writer or know the lore really well to be able to write it. Please believe me as a person who was scared to write for the Tolkien fandom and then fell in love: people really do not gatekeep much, and if they do they're assholes. I have met so many lovely, friendly, genuine people by creating stuff for this fandom. You will be okay.

So...ough this got long, sorry. But TLDR: Yes. You can write a good story. If you are worried about holes/the story/characterization getting weakened, try to find a beta reader. They're absolute life-savers. Barring that, start posting, find a friend who as insane about your blorbos as you are, and then share snippets and plot ideas with them and within that kind of community you can get a feel for what's working in your story and what isn't. All of my best friends I have made on here are people who read my fics and have been so helpful in offering suggestions.

There are many resources, everybody is friendly, it is not as scary as it looks. The most important thing is that you have fun. Write what you want to write. It doesn't have to be good. All that matters is that you enjoy it.

#this got huge but I am very passionate about this #nonnie i love you and i am gently holding you in my cupped hands #please go write your fic just for the hell of it and have fun #that's what I did and it literally reminded me why I liked writing #and I have made so so many friends in the process #<3

41 notes · View notes

kotton-kandy953 · 2 months

Text

━ 𝚂𝚆𝙴𝙴𝚃𝙷𝙴𝙰𝚁𝚃

➛ yandere!make tbhk oneshots x fem!reader

title page┆word count: 1.1k┆warnings: blood/gore depictions, slight harassment, description of a dead body┆about you: y/n l/n is tsukasa yugi's human assistant (taking place of sakura) whom he fell madly in love with┆a/n: I made who Tsukasa killed anonymous because it's just easier that way.

TSUKASA Y. x ASSISTANT ! READER

You stood there in horror at the ghastly sight in front of you. The phone you were going to use to call for help hit the cold, bloody floor with a thud.

The amount of blood splattered and smeared on their dead body and the surrounding area was sickening.

Your eyes were bloodshot as you looked around the dimly-lit and gruesome murder scene.

Looking up at the wall facing yourself, the words "SHE'S MINE" sloppily written in fresh crimson blood made your eyes glassy with tears.

Why would he do this...?

The more you thought about it, the heavier your erratic breathing became.

You couldn't think straight.

You couldn't think at all.

"Shh...~"

Came a familiar boyish voice from behind you, seemingly trying to calm you down from your post-panic attack.

Or at least that's what it felt like.

The boy's clacking shoes echoed through the room as he made his way closer and closer to your petrified being.

A bloody hand was placed over your closed mouth, causing your (e/c) eyes to jolt around in fear.

You could hear soft giggling from the boy behind you as your screams of fear and discomfort were muffled by his cold hand.

You gripped his wrist and tried your hardest to pry his cold hands off your mouth. No matter how hard you tried, you just couldn't get him to let you go.

"Y/n... shh~, be quiet." His cold breath hits your ear, sending cold chills down your core.

He continues to whisper in you ear, attempting to soothe your nerves but only making them worse.

"If you scream..." Tsukasa continues while lightly tugging at your uniform dress' sleeve, "...it's going to be your blood splattered on the walls next~"

The boy whispered in your ear, his cold breath fanned against your skin.

He purposely blew in your ear, a smirk forming on his pale face.

You blushed from all of the physical contact you were receiving from him.

You always knew he was touchy and clingy, but this just feels like you're more of a lover to him than an assistant.

It made you uncomfortable.

He pressed his cold cheek against yours, you could feel his demented smile growing larger. You trembled with fear and tightly shut your eyes.

Then you nodded, complying with his rules to stay silent.

"Good girl~" Tsukasa hums in satisfaction as he pulls you closer against him by your waist. You squirmed against his restraints but to no avail.

"Hey... stop moving so much." He mumbles in a pouty tone. "I won't hurt ya..."

Tsukasa lightly traces circles and shapes on your waist area. His chest was still pressed firmly against your back.

You stopped trying to fight against him, knowing that it'll all just be in vain.

"You're a really obedient girl aren't you...?"

Tsukasa swiftly turned you around to face him.

Tsukasa looks over your body adoringly.

You can't help but notice the overwhelming and unsettling amount of love in his Amber eyes.

You felt disgusted by how sickeningly sweet he was to you.

"...I like that about you..."

He continues as he wipes the blood off your mouth that his hand had stained there with the sleeve of his black kimono.

"...Naive..."

He leans in close to your ear, whispering, "easy to manipulate..."

You gasped softly as you felt his lips graze your ear ever so slightly.

The boy suddenly shows an expression of pity, "There, there. Stop crying, pretty girl..." He mumbled.

You hadn't even noticed yourself that you were crying.

Have you been this whole time?

Your face felt hotter at his closeness and soft touch. Despite your current circumstances, Tsukasa made you feel... warm?

Or he did.

Without warning nor hesitation, the boy pulled you even closer to himself by your waist. You could feel his chest against yours as he crashed his cold lips against yours in an intense and forceful kiss.

You felt yourself taken aback and shocked from the sudden impact, he just pulled you in tighter.

Tsukasa's blood-stained fingers caressed your (s/c) face while the other hand tangled through the (h/t) of your (h/c) hair.

For this was your first kiss, you were confused as to how to react.

You couldn't find it in yourself to enjoy any of this.

It just feels so... so fake.

Your eyes shot open in surprise as you felt Tsukasa's mouth open and he let his tongue slip into yours. At this, you shut your eyes and gripped onto his black Kimono.

It's sad that you couldn't even enjoy the excitement and bliss of your first kiss because of this sociopath stealing it from you like it's nothing.

He had just bludgeoned someone to death.

And is making-out with you with their blood still staining his hands.

Continuous tears rolled down your (s/c) face, even as he kissed you.

The lovesick boy pulled away from your lips and looked you dead in the eyes.

His piercing amber irises sent shivers down your spine every time you made eye contact with him.

"I was right..."

He moves his hand that was messing with your hair down your chin to lift it up. A playful grin forms on his face as he turns your head to the side.

The other hand starts tracing hearts on your cheek with the blood of his victim.

"...they do taste like lemons~"

A sinister smile curves his flushed lips as he notices the fear on your face.

"Oh, please don't be scared, my pretty girl~" Tsukasa whispers comfortingly in your ear and wipes your tears.

"It's okay, it's okay," Tsukasa pats your head, "they're at peace now~"

You couldn't believe it.

Is he implying that he put them to rest!?

After torturing them to death and playing with their blood like finger-paint!?

"T- Tsukasa... please... let me go." You managed to mumble out.

The constant fear, anger and confusion hitting you back to back overwhelmed you.

"I might..." he runs his thumb over your bottom lip which is also flushed and bruised from the kiss. "...only if you let me love you..." He stares directly into your soul

"...always and Forever”

#toilet-bound #toilet-bound hanako-kun #tbhk tsukasa #tbhk #tbhk fanfic #fanfiction #fanfic #Tsukasa yugi #tsuksa #yugi #yandere tsukasa #yandere #yandere x reader #male yandere #female reader

28 notes · View notes

hobiebrownismygod · 9 months

Text

VENOM - Part 4 (Finale)

Venom!Hobie x Fem!Reader; Spider-Punk x Fem!Reader

TW: usage of Y/N (not often), cursing, graphic descriptions, angst, not proofread

Synopsis: Having a symbiote is a canon event, so Hobie brown must've had one of his own, right?

~1.6k words

Taglist: @therealloopylupin2099 @spiderrinn @l0starl @daydreaming-en-pointe @itsparis-07 @vileviale @puff-hugs @s6onder @@d0ubl-tr0ubl3 @lauryn2558 @choccymilkdrinker @fiepige (concept credits!!) @sunasslut69 @ask-1610-miles

MASTERLIST ☆ TAGLIST LINK

PREV|NEXT(none) ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ˚★⋆｡˚ ⋆ ┊ ┊ ┊ ⋆ ┊ ┊ ★⋆ ┊ ◦ ★⋆ ┊ . ˚ ˚★

"Run."

Run, run, run, run, run

The only word going through your mind at the moment.

You had to run.

The environment around you was blurred, screaming people and mounds of rubble simply flying past you as you ran, faster than you ever had before, you ran for your life.

You could catch glimpses of Hobie-no the symbiote in the corners of your eyes, throwing things at you, lunging at you, mouth hung open and teeth ready to feast on fresh flesh, sharp and white and petrifying.

This wasn't your Hobie anymore. Your best friend, your childhood mate, London's hero...no this was something else entirely.

A monster.

"Come Back Here Y/N." The menacing voice of, not your best friend, but the monster that'd taken him loomed over you, flooding your hearing and sending your mind into a flurry of panic. Your heart beat quickened and your legs grew numb as you kept running.

But where were you going? You didn't know.

You couldn't stop to think it out.

"COME BACK."

You ran into an alleyway, dodging past a man on a bike before continuing, the symbiote close behind you. It slammed into the wall, your sharp turn catching it off guard, and it let out a loud, angry groan.

"Y/N?"

You felt your blood run cold. That didn't sound like the symbiote.

"Y/N, why are you running from me?" You turned back, eyes beginning to water at the sight in front of you, no longer the monster, but your best friend, black, wriggling vines wrapped around his chest, stomach and neck, reaching out towards you.

"Hobie..." You whispered out, a breathy gasp escaping your lips when he stumbled towards you.

"Don't run away...help me." He said softly. "Please help me." He blinked back tears, as he held his stomach in pain, doubling over before he looked up at you through blurry eyes. "It hurts."

His voice was a mix of his own and the symbiote's, demonic yet pitiful at the same time, every single shaky breath of his sending a wave of guilt and shame flooding through your body.

How could you just run away from your best friend like this? How could you leave him to this monster?

"Please...come back to us. Let me help you."

"I..." your voice faltered off. "You have to fight it, Hobes, you have to!" you pleaded, taking a cautious step back as he stumbled forward again, falling onto the floor with a thud. He crawled towards you, knees and elbows scraping against the cold pavement.

"I-I can't." he whimpered, arm reaching out once again from the ground. The vines grabbed around his forearm, circling his wrist and finally covering his hand. "You need to help us."

You shook your head, the tears falling as you started walking backwards, searching for some sort of exit.

In your hurry, you accidentally knocked over a trash can behind you, causing a mound of garbage to fall to the ground as you tripped. A loud clang was emitted from the pile and you quickly scrambled to your feet.

Á̴̛̼̪̻͔̲̈͊̈́Ą̴͉̞̿̃̔̿̑̕A̶̧̤̙͕̝͗͋̒͒̿̏͠Ą̶̇̆Ä̵̧̘͎̘̖̫̝̯̜̀͐̌̄̽̃́͠

You yelped as the screeching shocked your ears, the symbiote's shriek loud enough to alert the entirety of the city. It fell back and the vines began ripping themselves apart around Hobie's head, revealing his face for just a moment before they combined again, twisting like some sort of morbidly injured animal.

You glanced back towards the ground to notice the clang had come from a couple of steel bars that'd been in the garbage, along with old food and glass jars. The bars were now vibrating and hitting each other as they rolled down the street.

Oh.

STOP IṬ̵̘͌̈́͌́̌̈͋̑ ̴͔̩̥̼̐̏̓̀Ś̷̤͔̰̜̤͔͚͐̈́̇̈́̓̑͛͜͝͝Ţ̶̫̪̼̞͚̖͐͐̾̇͐Ŏ̶̡͔̠̭̦̤̩͕͚͗̔͒͠͠Ṕ̴̢̹̙̾̂͐̈̾̚ ̶̡̞̺̼̗͈̦̖̰͑̓͊I̸̞͈̱̘͕̩̳͉̓͜͝T̴̢̙̫̗͓̳̣̣͛̌̃͌̔͌ͅ ̸̧͓͉͓͗̀̋̓̚͜͠S̴͖͌́́͛̂́̆͗͘TOP IT ̴͓͚͕̤͚͖̦̍̀̐̑̋̽̚͜͠STƠ̴̢̙̲̰̮̐̄P̶͙̗̝͖̟̳̟̹̜͙͌͗ ̴̢͚̜͍̪̜̯̰̩̐͑͗̑͒͘͘͠I̷̧̼̤̬͕̔͒̿̿̊̾̔̔͛Ţ̶̡̬̫̘̹͕͇̌̀̀̏͌͆͒̓͜ͅ

He screamed, clutching at his skull in agony as he fell to his knees, his fingers scraping at his bare skin, digging into the flesh. It was a horrific sight and you grabbed one of the bars, the sound finally stopping.

He panted, his head drooping down as he caught his breath, the black slowly creeping up his back and over his shoulders. "Wh-what happened?" he whispered, looking up at you.

"What did you do?" he looked down at his hands as the symbiote engulfed them yet again, pure, pain-filled tears falling and wetting his palms. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO US?"

You covered your ears as the tears streamed behind your face, and in your fear, you dropped the bar yet again. His body began to convulse, his head tilting back as a scream escaped his lips. You fell to the floor, sobbing as you watched him, the torture contorting his expression and his voice.

"I'm so sorry." you whispered.

You hit the bar onto the ground again.

Ḁ̸̡̰̦̭̱̯̣͑̒̽̂̄̃͂ͅA̶̮̼͍̘̽̒̓̽͛́͛͛͜͝͠A̵̛̜͑̓̀̓̓͘Ą̸̢̨̡͉͕̣̻̼͍̻̦̥͒̉̉̏͂̐̓̓̆̕ͅȀ̵̢͎̣̠̳̥̓̍͠ͅG̸̨͚̤̥̘̦̻̱̰̖͖͕̪̎͐̔H̷̩̾͌

You kept slamming the metal down, each clang causing a ripple to flow through the black covered Hobie's body, the symbiote screeching and distorting.

It would rip itself apart and come together again, more like a liquid than a solid at this point, rising up before falling down and sending Hobie to the ground, shaking and screaming like he was being exorcised.

"FIGHT IT HOBIE!" You yelled, hitting the ground once again, his body twisting in response. His shaky hands slowly reached towards his chest, grabbing at the vines of the symbiote snaking over his waist before pulling it apart.

He let out a blood-curdling yell as he slowly tore the black from his writhing body, revealing the red and blue of his suit underneath. You kept hitting the bar down, the pressure nearly bending it in the process.

And then...it simply melted off. He crumpled down, his body practically folding in half as the pitiful lump of black squirmed on the ground next to him.

You stared for a moment before approaching him, holding the steel bar above you just in case.

"Hobie?" You whispered.

The symbiote tried to move, tried to slither back towards Hobie in his moment of weakness, but you noticed and slammed the pole down one more time. It twitched, falling back and changing shapes frantically as it tried to regain its senses.

You needed something...a box or a jar or-

A jar.

You ran back towards the trash, the dirty glass jar from before catching your eye. You picked it up and dropped it onto the symbiote, effectively trapping it as it tried to hit and break through the glass.

It wouldn't last forever...but it would suffice.

"Hobie...Hobie wake up." You whispered, shaking your best friend and taking his hand in yours for the first time in what felt like forever. "Please wake up."

His expression was calm, eyes closed blissfully.

He couldn't be...no, he couldn't be.

"Bee?" You asked softly, the last flicker of hope you had disappearing as you cupped his face in your hands.

And then, his eyes fluttered open.

"L-love?" He murmured out, unfocused gaze taking a moment to settle on you. "Is that you?" A stupid smile spread across his face, making him look as though he was drunk.

You laughed a watery laugh, the tears beginning to fall once again. "Yeah, it's me, Bee, it's me." His body was no longer limp and he was beginning to move slightly again.

"Is-wh-are you okay? Are you alright?" He asked, putting his hand on the back of your head and pulling you a little closer as he tried to get a better look at you.

You used your thumbs to wipe the half-dried tears from his cheeks, nodding uncontrollably in response. "I'm just fine."

Those words seemed to relax him and he let out a quiet sigh of relief, his head falling back as he closed his eyes. "Th-tha's good."

"Are you okay?" You asked, using your palm to rub the tears from your eyes as you looked down at him, unable to stop yourself from running your fingers over his face and feeling his soft skin under your touch.

He smiled at the feeling, nodding quietly. "You saved me, you know that?"

You hesitated, shaking your head no. "That's not true. You saved yourself. You were amazing."

"No, no." He let out a quiet groan as he sat up, looking at you with a grin. "You saved me. I was being a dick to you these past couple days and you...you still went after me." he chuckled under his breath.

"You're a dream, you know that? I don't deserve you." He whispered, smile faltering as he pulled you closer, burying his face in your neck. You could feel his lips quivering as he spoke. "You're the best thing that's ever happened to me. And I nearly screwed it up just because I didn't listen to you"

"Oh, Bee." You smiled, rubbing the back of his head gently. "You're my best friend. I'd never abandon you. No matter how much of a dick you were. Although...you definitely were a giant dick recently."

He chuckled, pulling back and wiping his eyes. "Yeah, yeah I was." He leaned in and gave you a peck on the forehead, a warm feeling spreading to your cheeks.

The heartfelt moment was interrupted by a quiet thud, the symbiote still struggling to escape the jar you'd put it in. "We should probably get rid of that." you said softly, looking down at it.

"Yeah, that'd be for the best." He replied, jumping slightly as the symbiote knocked at the glass.

"You'll take it back to the facility? Or better, you give it to Riri?"

"Yeah, she'll take good care of it." Hobie replied thoughtfully, taking the moment to give you another peck on the forehead. "Thank you. For saving my life."

"Yeah, yeah. Just don't make me do it again."

┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ˚★⋆｡˚ ⋆ ┊ ┊ ┊ ⋆ ┊ ┊ ★⋆ ┊ ◦ ★⋆ ┊ . ˚ ˚★

A/N: Yay, this series is finally done!! Sorry this part took so long to come out, but I hope you guys enjoyed the finale <3

102 notes · View notes