#and said hi and and i had a really nice conversation with ambrose?? he asked me my name??? and when i replied he said cool im ambrose???

[petrodragonicapocalypse]

uncle murl. the village underground, london. 5th september 2023

[sulfurz]

ೃ༄ SHIELDING FEELINGS (LITERALLY) (roman reigns x fem!reader)

ೃ༄ PAIRING: roman reigns x fem!reader

ೃ༄ REQUESTED BY: anon

heyyyy!! i have a fluff request for roman x (fem) reader. it’s set in his shield days and the reader is a apart of the shield (or a really close allies with them whichever you want) and she’s kind of like the lita of the group. Her and roman have huge crushes on eachother and it’s so obvious to not only seth and dean/mox but the whole wwe universe. So the two guys try to come up with a plan to have them both confess to eachother 😅😅

ೃ༄ WARNINGS: this is pure humour and fluff! basically just himbos dean and seth struggling at playing cupid

ೃ༄WORD COUNT: 1.8k

ೃ༄ NOTE: hello lovely anon i got a BIT carried away with this i apologise but i hope it still works🥹 i had way too much fun writing shield as terrible matchmakers

dean ambrose had a plan.

albeit, it wasn’t a very well thought out one. but it was a plan of somewhat decent calibre.

you see, he had a lot of time for you, acting as shield’s manager and all. what he didn’t have time for was how goddamn dumb you could be sometimes (seth’s words, not his — although he very much agreed).

what was it that got dean so riled up, you ask? well it was the fact that you were so evidently in love with roman reigns, and yet never managed to say more than a pretty pathetic ‘uh, you look nice’ whenever the four of you were backstage.

even worse than you? roman. this man had not kept his crush on your quiet. apparently you were the only one who couldn’t see it, and yet instead of ever acting on said emotions, roman liked to play a fun game of hide from y/n in the locker rooms until it’s time for our match and then i only have to see her for five minutes before. this had, on many occasions, ended with dean nearly throwing him to the ground because of course all this was going to do was make you worry the very beautiful yet stubborn man hated you.

a pretty man, but clearly very little common sense, dean had concluded.

so that was when, after too many training sessions in which you’d sit in silence until your coach brought you into the conversation, he hatched his master plan.

now just to put it into action.

it just so happened the final member of the shield would be a perfect partner.

—

the plan was, in dean and seth’s eyes, bulletproof. they would probably have to undergo a pretty intense intervention afterwards considering how wrong they had been; but at first, their confidence was through the roof.

oh no, dean hurt his shoulder in practice — what a shame! good job seth was there to take him to the medic, a walk he definitely could have done on his own! but they were so smart, right? surely you and roman would talk about something if forced to coinhabit the same space without a buffer?

yeah. they really thought so too.

but after fifteen minutes of hiding behind a comically large stack of chairs, they felt it necessary to put the two of you out of your misery and cry that it was a false alarm.

maybe you two really were more hopeless than dean initially thought.

so came attempt two: the halloween party. because who doesn’t love a good dress up party?

apparently, cupid was more of a christmas fan.

as it happened, vast majority of people brought their dates to the work party, which dean and seth hadn’t planned for, but made the situation even more perfect. not to mention you and roman had accidentally both turned up dressed as demons (finn balor made a playful scene when you walked in) — it was practically a match made in heaven! or hell…

this attempt was easy in theory: set up a conversation about how fun dancing was, before abandoning the two of you at a table to take to the dancefloor themselves. surely you’d get fed up of being left out and want to join???? surely!

except, what dean and seth had failed to consider was that in the spirit of halloween, and the fact that some of the most iconic superstars in the roster loved a good prank, the place was practically decked out with tricks, instead of treats.

dean and seth observed quietly from the dancefloor (they had long since abandoned their girlfriends and were simply dancing together now, chest to chest (hey — this matchmaking was a taxing game!)), practically cheering when they saw the two of you finally getting somewhere.

roman stood, offering a hand to you with a good natured “if you can’t beat them, join them?”, and it was obvious the two of you were so close to finally making that first step as your hand reached for his—

then, a plastic skeleton hidden in a bowl of candy on your tabled decided to choose that moment to make its appearance very known.

and there went your glass of red wine, all down your favourite pantsuit (luckily — it was red too, but the dark patch across your chest was not doing you any favours).

roman very sweetly apologised on behalf of the skeleton, which was the very final part of the conversation seth and dean heard before you were scurrying away to change. they quite literally facepalmed as they walked over to a dumbfounded roman, who still played the entire situation off.

it seemed they’d have to step things up if they really wanted to get through the both of your very thick skulls.

so attempt three was… certainly less subtle.

worse still, it came only a month after the halloween party, when you were still in the thick of your ‘hiding from roman reigns’ era, so imagine your surprise when here comes dean ambrose and seth rollins, dragging roman up to you with the latter wearing an expression of confusion that surely mimicked you own.

“okay.” dean spoke, slamming a hand on the catering table “you, roman, like y/n.”

“you, y/n, like roman.” seth added.

then, like one of those old timely comedy acts, at the same time the men both exclaimed a “now talk!”

and to yours and roman’s credit… you did speak?

it’s not your fault the members of shield hadn’t made the topic entirely clear. it was obvious by now that when it came to roman, you were blind to any subtext, so they could hardly blame you for missing the mark.

“of course i like roman? he’s my friend?” you questioned warily, genuinely beginning to get concerned for the two men you considered friends.

“are you two okay?” roman added, genuine concern across his face as he outstretched a hand to slap seth? check him for a fever? both?

you hummed in confirmation, thinking back on every odd occurrence that had happened between you and roman recently, realising that the common denominator in every situation was the two other members of the stable you managed probably saying something extremely dumb.

—

eventually, dean and seth had to admit they were terrible matchmakers.

when the christmas party that same year had been announced, they very nearly put another thing together, but a swift reminder from the wonderful (and honestly; terrifying) randy orton, the two were reminded of every failed attempt in the past, and their plan unravelled before it had even found it’s feet.

as would turn out, when there wasn’t two idiots meddling, that was when things unfolded themselves.

after the many times you had embarrassed yourself in front of your teammate lately, you weren’t expecting roman to approach you mid way through the party. he had spent pretty much the entire night hovering on the opposite side of the room, and for good reason to. you were a liability after all, and his suit shirt was too nice to end up with wine on it. you had opted for white wine instead this time though, just incase.

“hi.” a deep voice came from behind you.

you had been watching triple h and stephanie dancing together for the best part of half an hour, nursing your glass of wine contentedly until the voice behind you had startled you. your glass wobbled in your hand in a terrifying suggested repeat of the halloween event, but roman was prepared this time, swiftly reaching a hand around you and saving it from disaster.

“i should have probably learnt not to sneak up on you.” he joked, motioning with your (thankfully still full) wine glass in his hand before he handed it back to you.

“i certainly learnt that red wine is tasty but dangerous.” you played along, your heart doing a weird thumping thing at how roman chuckled.

“i’m sorry if the other guys ever made you feel uncomfortable.” roman said genuinely, catching you off guard. it was rare you spoke, let alone when the topics brushed a level of seriousness. “we love having you working with us as shield, but they don’t know when to turn off the jokes sometimes.”

you shook your head quickly, hating the idea that roman was concerned about you. sure, dean and seth were idiots at the best of times, but it was a huge part of their charm. from them trying to break roman during promos to their odd, but intriguing backstage celebrations, the slight unhinged enthusiasm was what you loved.

“trust me. i love working with them. with, with you all.” you added at the last second, not missing the slight upper curl in the corner of roman’s mouth when he realised he was included.

you could already feel the blush creeping to your cheeks just because of all his attention being on you, and you knew you were just seconds away from blurting something stupid, when an equally annoying cough came from your side.

comically, both you and roman turned your heads at the same time to see the entirely expected source of the disturbance.

seth and dean were standing a little while away, watching you with the biggest grins you had ever seen. arguably bigger than whenever your team won.

when you realised what was causing their giggles, your heart stopped.

you had casually followed dean’s eyeline, just a simple attempt to see if you could figure out the cause, when you found it immediately. and it seemed roman did too.

mistletoe. hung exactly above where the two of you stood.

you couldn’t help but widen your eyes, going to take a step back but being prevented by a gentle, yet grounding touch to your wrist. when you looked back at roman, he was closer than before, and it was practically an instinct how your eyes flickered down to his lips.

“in the spirit of christmas, right?” he asked, a grin that told it was more than just christmas spirit, and in fact something he had been trying to tell you for a while.

still, you took your time, placing a cautious hand on his bicep as you leant in to connect your lips to his. “in the spirit of christmas.”

[bisexual-horror-fan]

"Needy Thing Ain'tcha?" Bo Sinclair X FEM! AFAB! Reader.

Hey, hey, hey! This fic is for the amazing and lovely @eggsandbeer birthday! It was on Saturday but as you all know I was at the con and she was so lovely and understanding and was more than willing to wait because she is the fucking best. She got a special version with her name in it but this one it has been scrubbed out per her request for all you wonderful people to enjoy! Hope you like this brat taming Bo fic!

—

Rating. Explicit. Length. 3.4K. Bo Sinclair X FEM! AFAB! Reader. She/Her Pronouns. Warnings: Established Relationship. Teasing. Taunting. Bratty Behaviour. Brat Taming. Spanking. Man Handling. Choking. Vaginal Sex. Outside. Public Sex. Exhibitionism. Punishment. Dirty Talk. Lingerie. Degradation. Possessive Behaviour. Biting. Marking. Orgasm Denial. Implications Of Road Head And Cum Eating. 

—

He wanted to impress you. 

You were just, fuck, you were something really speical. You were so good and cared about him and made him actually feel things, soft and warm and fluffy things, things that were arguably uncharacteristic for him.

He got a little swept up when he planned a date to help show that appreciation but he felt good about it, didn’t question it, and decided to just go with it. 

You were shocked he went so hard to be honest. He told you to dress up which already gave you some pause but you still did, and did so happily, he had told you he wanted to, “-show you off-” and when you stepped out of the house in that cute long baby pink dress, all sweet smiles he was certainly impressed. 

You slid into the passenger's seat of his truck as the compliment fell from his lips as easily as breathing, “Well look at you, fuckin’ beautiful.” He leaned over, a kiss to your cheek and you can’t stop the grin that spreads on your face. 

Your eyes scraped over him behind the wheel after he pulled away from you, “Lookin’ good yourself. Busted out the suit for this one, eh?” 

“Well I can’t have you showin’ me up now can I?” He teased with a grin as he turned the key and started up the truck.. 

“Oh no I am sure your ego would never allow that.” You replied easily as you bucked up and he reversed and pulled out. 

“Hey my ego can take a lot more than you think!” He argued with that smile still on his face and you sighed, “I’m so sure.” 

The drive took a while, you didn’t mind it, easy conversation flowed as the sun was setting, you were excited for a date night just you and Bo, going all the way out of Ambrose for it too was a refreshing change of pace. By the time you arrived you were really curious what he had in mind but he was refusing to give it up. 

You parked and got out, were led by him, a hand on your lower back as he ushered you in the direction of his choosing. It wasn’t a super hot night thankfully, late summer in this part of the country can be brutal, the breeze was welcome. You’d try asking again but you knew he wouldn’t answer you and the location he had in mind should be close now and how right you were. Down the street a few more stops and there you were. 

Soon seated across from him at a table in an admittedly very nice little French bistro, you had to give it up, saying to him, “Well I gotta say I am impressed.”

“Yeah?” He asked with that easy sideways smile that you loved, something warm playing in his eyes. 

“Yeah! Didn’t think you’d know a place like this.” You admitted as you picked up your menu and looked it over, he picked up his as he asked, “What? Is it really that shocking?”

You didn’t even look at him as you responded, “I never said that.”

“Implied it plenty.” He said quietly, looking over the top of his menu and you glanced up to meet his gaze, a small shrug and a coy smile, “What you get out of what I say sounds like a you problem.”

Oh you were being real cute. 

“Ha-ha.” He mocked and you smiled wider. Drinks and dinner were decided very quickly, you were pretty hungry and were excited to try it. You watched trays of food come by on their way to other tables and were dying for a bite. 

After your orders were taken he was looking across the table to you as you leaned back in your seat, your dress suited you so well, his eyes dragged over you in a similar fashion to how yours did on him earlier. During that, musing about how he wanted to touch you when he noticed it. The hint of black underneath that cotton candy pink. What did you have on under there? He wanted to know. 

He leaned forward, pointing to you as he asked, “You know in this lighting I think I can almost see through your dress.”

You scoffed with a laugh, “Oh really?” 

“Really, looks real pretty.” He started and you fought him off with a comment of, “And I think you must be imagining things.”  

He asked in disbelief, “What?”

“You heard me. Or maaaaybe you just wanna get under my dress.” You taunted further still.

“You think so highly of me yet again.” He sighed fondly as he adjusted in his seat.

He was being really nice tonight, really good to you but you were just in this particular mood that you happened to slide into, he thought you might catch yourself, reign it in maybe especially as he kept his mood even was still sweet as fuck to you. 

You didn’t.

You got worse, you got down right bratty. 

The warning look he gave you did nothing to dissuade you, if anything it spurred you on. You decided to make it worse, to tease him. You leaned forward, closer to him, pushed your chest out, let out the sweetest sighs and indulgent moans as you ate, let your foot slip out of your shoe and run up his leg, dangerously high on his thigh. Your foot was almost in his lap at one point as you eyed him, letting your fork linger near your mouth as you did. Your soft pink tongue between parted glossed lips running in the most tantalising fashion of the ends of the tines to make sure you got every last morsel of food.

It was infuriating. He was doing his best to be nice, to treat you well as a thank you for all you do for him and you were treating it like some big fucking joke. Acting rude and mean, making fun of him almost on any and nearly everything one second and acting like a little fucking tease the next. What has gotten into you? The worst part is he couldn’t do anything about it in public and he knew you knew that. If this was a meal at home he could have had you on your knees and “apologising” already, but that would have to wait. 

When the check was brought you were finishing your drink and didn’t even see how much it was but you teased, “Sure you can afford a place this nice, Bo?”

He grit his teeth and said, “I dunno, do you think you can stop being such a brat-?”

It was that tone that made you start to doubt yourself, him dropping your full name at the end like that. Maybe you went a little too far. He rushed through paying before getting up and motioning for you to follow with a curt, "C'mon."

The abruptness of your departure, his grip on your arm as he led you back to the truck and the silence that fell over you both solidified that worry. He opened the door for you and you hesitated, one arm was on the top of the door and his other arm was still locked on your bicep, he squeezed and leaned down. Heart pounding you held your breath as his eyes met with yours and he said with a small gesture of his head, in a tone as firm as stone, “Get. In.”

Shit. 

You really must have fucked up. You scrambled up into the passenger’s seat and as soon as you and your dress was out of the way enough he slammed the door closed making you cringe. You watched him stalk around to the drivers side and open the door, he slides in and you focus on buckling your seatbelt, refusing to look at him, eyes downcast. He shut his own door with much more force than necessary, you played with your fingers as a nervous tick when he did up his seatbelt and then started the car and pulled out of the spot. The best way you could describe his movements were angry, all tinted with frustration and a generally upset demeanour.

The silence kept up for a solid five minutes that felt much longer than that to you in the oppressive quietness of the car along with the tense atmosphere. 

He finally broke the silence by saying, “Not even gonna apologise, huh?”

You took that moment to glance over to him, he wasn’t looking at you, eyes on the road, his whole body language was screaming how displeased he was with you. 

“Apologise for what?” It left your lips without you thinking about it and you instantly regretted it. You were still a little too much in your mode from back at the restaurant and you were gonna pay for it, he laughed in disbelief, his eyes flicking to you as he asked, “You fuckin’ serious? Like you don’t know?”

He scoffed at the pause you took, trying to collect yourself for a proper answer and when you took a beat too long he filled in the blank, “M’ talking bout the way you were treatin’ me! I took you out to a nice fuckin’ place and you acted like a brat and a goddamn tease the entire time!” 

The way he barked that out, so harsh, it made the fear sharper, made a pit form in your stomach. Maybe you should just apologise but before you could he was pulling the car over and with wide eyes you asked, “Wha-what are you doing?”

He laughed again, a shake of his head as he parked the car on the side of the dark country road between the town you just left and Ambrose, “You wanna keep playing dumb? M’ gonna treat you like you’re fuckin’ dumb.” 

What the fuck did that mean? He left the car lights on, his seatbelt unbuckled and he got out of the car, he was around the front of it so fast and you made a move to lock the door but he flung it open before you could, “Uh-uh! I don’t think so!”

He reached over you, took off your seatbelt and you tried to get away, to the other side of the car to the driver's seat but he grabbed ahold tight, “You’re not gettin’ away that easy.”

He hauled you back closer, one hand on your face, gripping your lower jaw, making you look up at him and the other on your hip, the force of it was was near bruising, you squirmed and said through your slightly squished lips, “Bo, M’ sorry-”

“Shut it, s’ too little too late.” He said harshly, “Pretty lil words ain’t gonna sway me from this, you gotta show me you’re really sorry not just say it.” 

You had been in this position before, had to apologise with more than just words before but now you were parked at the side of the road in the dark you asked him, “Here?! Bo, please, I-I’m really sorry but can’t we go back home? I-”

He cut you off again, “No, no I don’t think so hon, normally I might listen but you gave up the right to ask for niceties when you acted like that and kept on fuckin’ pushing. Well you wanna push me? I can push right back.” 

You swallowed hard and he leaned in closer, his lips nearly on yours as he squeezed your hip, “An we both know I’m stronger than you, I can push a lot harder than you can.” 

You knew there was no fighting him on this. You decided to start to try to make it up to him, lessen this at all if you could, “What can I do?” 

“You can start by taking off that pretty dress so it doesn’t get wrecked.” He began and you hesitated, get wrecked? You knew he was capable of that, had wrecked lots of your clothes but how was he thinking of doing that this time, and he tsk’d, “Tick tock darlin’ longer you take the longer we are out here.” 

It didn’t take much for you to fill in the blank of, “-the more chance there is for someone to catch you both out here-”

He took his hands off you and gave you another chance, generously, for you to do it yourself and you took him up on it, stripping off the long pink dress and once you did he whistled low, “Oh so you are a fuckin’ liar on top of being a teasin’ little brat.”

He gestured to what you had on. All black ensemble, lacy thin bra that showed off nearly everything, barely covered your nipples, high cut hardly there panties, the little garter belt cinched at your waist attached to the silky looking thigh high stockings and your cute matching black leather heels. Shit, yeah, you did wear all this, sure your date would end the way it always did, with him between your thighs, you were fucking with him earlier and now you were going to get it. 

“I...I didn’t lie persay-” You began and his hands landed on your shoulders, a small shake as he said seriously, “Hon. Stop. Diggin’. M’kay?”

You needed to listen to him. A small nod as you were still holding the balled up pink dress, looking where you should put it and he said, “Toss it in the back seat.”

Isn’t that where you were both going to go? Were you gonna fuck on top of dress? That would ruin it all the same, wouldn’t it? You didn’t question, didn’t hesitate this time, you listened, threw it in the back seat and his fingers hooked in the straps of your bra and he tugged. He was taking a step back, you follow on instinct, out of the seat and falling in step with him as he leads. 

Outside, he wants to do this outside, of course he does. You are brought around the front of the truck, headlights still on, he shoves you over the hood, his hands on your wrists he places your hands flat. His body is pressed to yours, so close, his hands start low, on your thighs and then he dragged them up, rough, possessive. His mouth is on your neck, kisses start before his hands meet your hips, one hand sliding between your legs, fingers drag up over your clothed slit, soaked lace shifting and a spark of pleasure making you moan. He waits for it to sink in before his teeth do the same, a hard bite that makes you yelp. “You’re fucking terrible, you know that?”

You whimper out a weak, “Yes.” 

“Mmm I don’t think you really know.” He sighs, “But I’ll make you understand.” 

His fingers circled your clit for a moment before he pulled back. You missed the contact of him but you weren’t left waiting for long, one hand on your back and the other came down onto your ass, hard. The rings he wore made the spank have that much more bite. 

“You know you can’t be actin’ like that right? Just cuz we’re in public you think you can do anythin’ you want without consequence?”  Another hard spank that stole your breath and you nodded, “I-I know!”

“Oh she knows, does she?” He taunted, another hit, harder still and you let out a pained groan as he then asked, “So why’d you do it?”

You should be honest, another hit as he grit out, “Well?!”

Three more in quick succession that made you sob out, “I-I th-thought it’d be fun!”

He stopped then. You did too. Did you really just admit that?

He turned you, slowly. So you were facing him again, his hand slipped around your throat, it fit there, like it belonged. Your ass burned and hurt as he pushed you against the grill of the truck. His eyes bored into yours in the low light, “What did you just say?”

“I…I said I thought it’d be fun.” You admitted sheepishly and he sighed, his grip tightened, “That's what I thought you said.” 

He started to undo his belt one handed, you heard the jingling of the metal and the sound of his zipper shortly after, he talked the whole time he did this “You love fun, hmm? Just love havin’ fun even at my expense? How about I have some at yours?”

You whimpered as he choked you, grip tightened further and he said, “Get those fuckin’ panties off.” 

Your hands acted as if they were magnetised to the wet lace, your fingers worked fast, you dropped them down your legs and his hand that was now free after opening his pants was hooking under your thigh, “Leg up.”

Compiling was second nature when he was like this, you feel him lineup, the fat head of his cock brushed up through your folds and bumped your clit and you moaned, head tipping back. 

He choked harder, took more of your breath as he moved, pushed inside hard, barely any lube as he stretched you open. You groaned, a loud and long from the painful and sudden stretch, a moan of pleasure from him mirroring yours of pain and discomfort. Fuck, you were wet but he was big and with hardly any warm up, it hurt, it burned, he knew it and that made it feel better. He started to move, hard, fast, rough. His thumb stroked up your pulse point, tipping your head back further, you looked up at the starry night sky through tears that blurred your vision between the pain of him splitting you wide and the lack of air. You struggled to breath, his hand gripped under your leg hurt, blunt nails dug in, surely leaving crescent marks behind. 

“God you’re so fucking tight-” he groaned, his hand left your throat, palming on of your tits instead, a pinch of your nipple causing the air you had been sucking down greedily to blend into a choked moan between agony and ecstasy. He leaned down, bites over your throat and shoulder, more marks, hickeys left behind as filth was muttered into your skin, “Stupid fuckin’ bitch you know that? Ruining our nice little date night out, ha, shit-” 

He panted out, “Take it, fuck, take it-” 

As if you had a choice, every harsh thrust inside made you let out a weak sound, a near wheeze from from the force of his choking, “-cuz even if you are too fuckin’ stupid for your own good, you’re mine, all fuckin’ mine-”

And just as the pain was giving away, just as you were starting to feel the beginnings of real pleasure, as your tight cunt was slickening and loosing up, you recognize it, that tell tale falter of his pace that spelt his end and you were able to get out a small, “No, Bo ahh, wait, don’t cum yet-”

When his hand covered your mouth and he gritted out, “Shut up.” before you feel him shove in one last time, all the way, shoving you harder against the grill, the jolt of pain made you clench on him and made him groan your name as he held deep and spilled inside. 

You whined, legs trembling and eyes squeezing shut, fresh tears spilled, in pain, sore, frustrated, humiliated and exposed out in the open. He slowly pulled out after a moment, his hand locked over your mouth still as the cum immediately flowed out once he left, down your thighs, staining the tops of your stockings. He pressed a kiss to your forehead and you released a sigh through your nose, you did it, made it through. 

He hummed out, “S’ a good start. You can use your mouth on me on the way home, clean up the mess.”

You clenched around nothing and more cum dripped out of your abused hole as he untangled from you. “Now get back in the fucking truck.” 

You listened, moved to your side of the car but before he got in he said, “You better not leak on the seat or you are cleaning that up too, you hear me? And what is that bra still doin’ on? Get those tits out.” 

He was being really demanding. Your hands moved behind you, taking your bra off and getting into the truck on your knees, blowing him would be easier like this anyway, right? Maybe if you did well enough by the time you got back to Ambrose at least he might let you cum sometime tonight.

[nicolewoo]

Cub: Chapter 21: Taking care of business

Chapter 21

Pairing: Roman Reigns X Reader

Synopsis: Roman, Seth and Dean are a pack of werewolfs. Protecting their city from the scumbags of the world ends up with a surprise when a victim left for dead imprints on Roman Reigns.

Roman’s POV: I caught Renee in her bedroom folding laundry. “Hey!”

She turned to see me. “What’s up?”

“I’m wondering if you can do me a favor?” I said as I walked farther into the room.

Renee nodded, turning back to the pile of clothes in front of her. “Whatcha need?”

I folded my arms in front of me as I leaned against a wall. “Cub needs a dress for Saturday night. Do you think you could take her shopping? Buy a dress, shoes, purse… whatever she needs? I was also hoping you’d spoil her with like a mani, pedi, spa day. She deserves a massage.” I mused.

“Of course, I’ll take her shopping, but the spa is a bad idea while she is still adjusting to her wolf senses.”

I hadn’t thought of that. “Makes sense” I answered.

“How spoiled should I make her?” Renee asked.

I knew Cub was listening to the conversation through our link, and I didn’t want her to hear this part, so I blocked her for a second. I hated to do that, but I knew she’d protest what I was about to say, “If she likes it… buy it…. All of it.” I unblocked my mate.

What are you doing? Cub asked through our link.

Just spoiling my sweet Cub. I laughed when she got frustrated.

“You’ve spoiled me enough already.”

“It will never be enough.”

She came down the stairs in a very simple, very sexy Red Satin dress. The shiny material sliding over her curves as she glided down the stairs. I couldn’t help but think how I couldn’t wait to slide my hands over those same curves.  Her makeup was perfect. Becky had done an amazing job with her hair too.

I greeted her as she came to the bottom. “You look like a goddess. Absolutely beautiful.” I held my hand out to her as she reached the last step.

“Thank you.” She was embarrassed by my compliments. She definitely needed more spoiling. “You look amazing too.” She raked her eyes over me hungrily, and I couldn’t stop the growl of desire that came out.

“Whoa! Cool off Ro. You’ll end up missing the whole night.” Seth said as he came in, fastening a cufflink. I could think of other ways to stay entertained tonight, but she’d gone to all this trouble to look so stunning for me. She didn’t need the dress, the hair or the makeup to look stunning in my eyes, but I did appreciate the effort.

Dean came in the room now scrolling through his phone. “Cub, you look gorgeous!” he said when he looked up. She smiled slightly and thanked him.

Once Becky and Renee came down, we left for dinner.

The Crow’s Nest had a view of Anchorage from above, and I’d reserved us a private room with a view to the East.

“Dr. Reigns, Dr. Ambrose, Dr. Rollins, Dr. Lynch and my favorite, Miss Renee.” The maître de was really pouring it on thick for us. He took Renee’s hand when he said her name and kissed the back of it. “Oh, but who is this beautiful young woman? Could it be the Cub we’ve all heard so much about?”

Cub sniffed, confirming her suspicion that the maître de was a wolf. “Yeah baby. His name is Kordon.”

“It is a pleasure, Cub.” Kordon shook hands with Cub.

“It’s nice to meet you.” She answered.

Kordon turned back to his job, grabbing menus and leading us through the restaurant. “Your special table is ready for you.”

“Thank you.” I said.

She loved everything from the décor to the rich food to the company. We laughed at stories from our past and tried to get her to talk about her past, but she didn’t want to, and that was fine. Not tonight. Tonight was about spoiling her, and as she laughed along with us, I could feel that she felt loved. She felt appreciated. She felt joy.

After dinner, we stopped at the condo so everyone could change, and Dean picked up his equipment. Seeing Cub slip off her shoes, I came to unzip the back of her dress; allowing my fingertips to graze across the soft skin as I slid the zipper down.

This time, she was the one who growled. “In a couple of hours.” I assured her. “Gotta support Dean.” She agreed.

We found our seats right in the front row. She took in the sights and sounds of the arena with the same enthusiasm as at the restaurant. It was all so new to her, and I loved being the person who got to show her.

Seth and Becky had stayed behind to get snacks, and now they came toward us with popcorn and drinks. “Hope you like butter.” Becks said.

“OOOhhhh Yes Please!” Cub said as she took the offered popcorn bag. We settled into our seats. Seth quickly handed Cub some ear plugs and sunglasses.

“What would I do without you?” She thanked him.

“Probably get a headache” He chuckled as she put the plugs in and the sunglasses on. I felt her relax as the ear plugs expanded, blocking more noise.

Wrestling was new to Cub. Her parents hadn’t allowed her to watch it growing up. Even with the ear plugs and sunglasses, I was afraid all the lights and sounds would be too much for her new senses, and as I scanned her, I felt the pain and tension they caused, but Cub was determined to support Dean. Becky had some Ibuprofen, and I gave Cub some to help, but it would burn off soon. It’s all I could do for now.

Cub watched the show enthusiastically, admiring the athletes and what they could do. When Dean started making his way through the crowd and into the ring, Cub was the loudest cheerer, and Renee wrapped an arm around her happily.

“It might get scary. Dean can do some crazy things. Just remember, he’s a wolf, and he’ll be fine.” Renee said to reassure Cub.

Cub nodded her agreement, but still had a bit of hesitation about it. I leaned in close to her, kissing her head for reassurance.

Dean and his opponent, Drew, brought the house down. By the end of the match, both wrestlers were bloody and bruised. Dean had broken his ankle, and wrestled the last 5 minutes in terrible pain, but he looked out into the crowd, scanning until his eyes met Cub’s. Quietly, he whispered “I’m ok. Just need to morph, and I’ll be fine.”

Cub took a deep breath and tried to relax. It still bothered her, but once Dean had been helped backstage he morphed into wolf form and healed. His relief helped Cub to relax too.

Why does he do that to himself? Cub asked through our link, but she knew. She and Dean had developed a special bond….. a bond that comes from growing up in dysfunctional homes. A bond that comes from never being shown love and acceptance. For Dean, that included physical violence as well as emotional. In fact, having Cub around had helped him feel more accepted and loved. Like, only someone who’d been broken as a child could understand his darkness.

Cub thought to herself that she wanted to ask Dean how a wolf ended up getting abused. Foster homes? Addicted parents? The family unit was so strong in wolves that abused children almost never happened. Dean was different though. Dean had fallen through the cracks.

It’s his story to tell, baby girl. He’ll tell you when he’s ready; just as I suspect you’ll tell him your story when the time is right. She hadn’t really thought about that. We knew my pack wanted to know about her childhood, but it wasn’t until now that I realized she’d have to tell them about it. It made me anxious just thinking about it. There’s no hurry. When you’re ready.  I kissed the top of her head again.

“Roman?” Filemu’s voice chirped from my phone. “How are you? How is Cub?”

“Tribal Chief, we are doing great. How can I help you?” I asked.

“Given the circumstances, you having to leave Samoa so soon, I was wondering how you two would feel if a few of us came to visit. We were not able to teach Cub as much as we wanted. Now that your airports are open again, we can come to you this time.”

I hesitated. I had Tuesday and Wednesday off work and was hoping to run away for a romantic trip. Cub needed peace and quiet.

“Roman? Is something wrong?” Filemu asked.

I sighed. “I was actually hoping to get away with Cub for a couple of days. She’s been surrounded by people for weeks, and I think she could use a break.”

“OH! That sounds like a good thing for her. What days were you thinking of going?” Filemu asked.

I quickly focused on Cub’s mind to see what she thought of all of it. She was still adjusting to her senses and her new strength. I looked down at my arm where she had clawed it open in the throes of passion last night. It had healed, but she’d felt so bad about it. Add to that the fact that she was going to be changing without being sedated soon. She wanted the tribe here for that. She resigned herself to putting off our little get away until next week. Thank you, sweetie. I told her.

“Cub and I will get away next week.” I answered.

“Are you sure?” The tribal chief asked.

I agreed. “She’d like her tribe to be here when she does her first change without sedatives.”

Filemu sounded excited. “We thought she would have already done that. We would love to be there to support her. We’ll get a flight lined up and be there in a few hours.”

“Thank you Tribal Chief.” I said.

Roman had set the meeting for lunchtime, and Paul was quick to offer to bring lunch. I had caught glimpses of Paul through Roman’s head, but nothing clear. Now, as I opened the door, I wished I knew.... I wasn’t prepared....

He looked like a walrus! He was short, stout, balding, and a skin condition discolored parts of his face. I had assumed he was a wolf until I saw him, but the man in front of me was obviously not a wolf, and a quick sniff confirmed it. “You must be Ms. YLN. It’s an honor to meet you.” He said, shaking my hand. “How are you?” Everyone asked this question, but this man’s sincerity and ample smile made my thoughts of his looks flee my mind.”

“I’m good. Come on in.” I opened the door wide to let Paul and someone else in. I motioned to set the bags down on the counter. “I’m Paul Heyman. This is my associate, Michael Cole. “

“It’s a pleasure.” Michael said with the same sincerity as Paul.

A quick sniff confirmed that Michael was a wolf. I was a little surprised, and Roman thought “talk about that later.”

“But Paul isn’t in the best health. The tribe won’t let him become a wolf?” I thought.

“He doesn’t want it.” Roman replied. “I’m coming down now.”

A second later, Roman joined us and greetings were exchanged. There was some light chit chat about sports as we went to the dining room, and our guests started laying out the food.

Once we were all settled and started eating, it was Michael who started. He handed me a manila envelope. “So, what we have here is your paperwork and your cards. When I pulled the contents out, he began to explain. “We replaced the driver’s license you lost in the mugging. We also updated your address with the state of Alaska. You now officially live at Roman’s hunting cabin.” I was impressed by what they’d done without needing my help. Michael reached for the next bunch of papers; revealing a passport. “Here’s your passport.”

I was even more shocked. Were they forging federal documents now? “Don’t you need my signature or something?”

Paul and Michael smiled in amusement, but Roman answered. “They used the signature on your last drivers license.”

Oh. Ok. “Is that legal?” I asked out loud; eliciting new smiles from our guests.

“Baby,” Roman cooed as he put his hand on my leg “with enough money, everything is legal.” Now everyone laughed. “Ok. Lets keep going.”

Michael moved the passport aside, revealing a thick stack of cards bound together “these are your credit cards.” He’d said it so offhandedly I knew this was no big deal to these guys, so I just said thanks, but I thought “all these?” Roman chuckled.

“Here are your bank accounts,” Mr. Cole said as he flipped through the papers. “This one is just yours. I almost fainted when the balance came into view. 10 million!!!! “This isn’t my bank account.”

“No. I hope you don’t mind, but we closed your account, and consolidated your money with the tribal money and some of Roman’s money.”

“Tribal money?” I asked.

Paul was the one to answer now. “Every member of the tribe inherits $4 million from the tribe at birth. That money is put in a trust. At 16, tribe members begin receiving a small stipend each month. At 18, that stipend grows, and at 23 they receive full control of their money. Now, usually, the tribe members have earned interest while they grow up. We calculated the interest we think you would have earned and included it in your account.”

“And I threw in some mad money for you.” Roman added.

I….. me…. The girl who grew up poor as dirt. Me, myself had $10 million. But then again, it wasn’t my money really. It was the tribe’s money and Roman’s.

“It’s yours now, baby. You earned it.” Roman thought as he kissed my temple.

We ate, casually talking about vacations we wanted to take, the location of our dream home and family. Mr. Hayman didn’t start his portion of the meeting until after we’d finished our amazing lunch and cleared the table. Paul had taken the time to set up his laptop.

“Ok, I guess I get the fun part.” He smiled at Mr. Cole. He turned to me. “Ready to see your assets?” He was excited. I just nodded. “Your net worth,” He pointed at the screen “Is right here.”

I couldn’t talk. Couldn’t think! I had expected a few million. To find that Roman was worth 3 Billion floored me.

Heyman continued. “These are your joint assets. As you can see the total net worth is $3,577,476,875.68. Let’s break that down for you.” He continued to direct our eyes over the information. “Here we have the business portfolio. I’m happy to report that most of your business ventures flourished this quarter. We had one poorly performing IPO. This is…” He paused to put on his glasses and pointed at the screen again. “This was an up and coming computer security company. The owner’s wife died. In the aftermath, the company suffered.”

Roman interrupted Paul’s thoughts. “Do you have faith in this owner?”

“Absolutely,” Michael said. “You have been a silent partner on 3 other businesses he runs.”

Roman nodded curtly. “Do me a favor. Call the owner. Ask him how I can help. If he needs a manager, or time…. If you guys believe in him, I do too.”

My heart soared. My amazing mate cared more about the person than the money!

“I’ll take care of that today.” Michael assured and wrote himself a note.

“So, you profited $12 million this quarter from your business ventures.” I was never going to get used to this kind of money! “Your investment portfolio did fairly well; going up 3%,” Roman nodded casually. Paul continued. “Your liquid assets are currently at $5,892,446.93. Your non liquid assets add up to….”

He pointed back to the  net worth of $3 BILLION!!!!! Roman was a billionaire! “So are you baby” Roman thought.

“I don’t know how to be a billionaire.” I meant to think it, but ended up saying it out loud.

All three men laughed lightly. “We’ll teach you how.” Roman answered. “How about retirement?”

The mood of the room changed quickly. “Well… see….” Paul started stammering. “We have started the process, but the Yupik pack is still on their tour.”

Michael jumped in now. It was obvious he wasn’t as afraid to give us bad news. “As it sits now there are already four packs on their tour. That’s usually the max we can handle and still have the staff we need at hospitals.”

“

The meeting went on. Roman had to decide which non-liquid assets to sell so that he could have enough assets to build our dream home and go on our world travel. He was selling 5 boats, 3 houses and a boat load of land around the world and 5 of his businesses. By the end of the meeting my head was swimming with impossible numbers. Real people didn’t talk about BILLIONS. Normal people thought in thousands… maybe millions. Hell, in my life I’d never had over 3 thousand dollars at one time, and that included tax refunds.

Our guests went back to their offices once the meeting was done, but Roman invited them to join us for family dinner at the hotel Sunday, their families too.

Note from the author: Part 22 is already partially written!

@mindofasagitarius @lclb13 @serenityfiretrash @lustyromantic @reigns-5sos @bigpsychicbagelauthor @omg-im-such-a-masochist @marlananicole @wickedsunfire @starwithaheart @spookys-girl @pitlissa22 @snowpanda18 @thesamoanqueen @sassginaswanmills

[echo-goes-mmm]

Divine Intervention AU #9

Masterpost

Previous

Next

Warnings: none

Ambrose had transformed his fabric front door into a solid wooden one, and in hindsight that was a mistake. It was juicy bait to his more… nosy neighbors. 

“Ambrose!” called Emry from the door. “Open up, kiddo! We haven’t seen you in weeks!”

Ambrose sighed. He opened the door to find both Emry and Mael on his doorstep. Emry threw his arms around Ambrose. Okay, he couldn’t turn down one of Emry’s hugs. They were just so nice.

“It’s been a week, if that. And you’re not that much older than me.” 

“Oh, Ambrose,” said Mael, smiling. “You’re never going to win that one.”

“Mhm. What brings you both to visit?”

Emry grinned. “I heard you brought home a friend. Can I meet him? I brought a present!” He procured a stuffed mouse toy from his pocket.

“Emry, did you think I got a cat?” laughed Ambrose. Emry pouted.

“Well, Cato wasn’t really specific.”

“Does that mean I won?” interrupted Mael. He held up his hand, which had a dog chew in the shape of a bone. “I totally called it.”

“No way! Ambrose is totally a cat person,” argued Emry.

“Well, both of you are wrong. Elliot is a mortal. And yes, you can meet him, but he’s skittish, so tone it down a little. And no weapons!” Mael vanished his sword.

He led them inside, where Elliot was working on a jigsaw puzzle. He looked up at them, startled.

“Pet, this is Mael-” Mael waved- “and this is Emry. They’re friends of mine.”

“Well hi there, kiddo!” 

“Um. Hello.”

___________________

The two gods, Mael and Emry, looked very different from Cato and Ambrose. Their eyes were a normal brown and so was their hair. Mael was muscular and toned, and he looked like one of those old statues in his white and red toga. 

Emry was short for a god, and was the opposite of lean and lanky. He also wore a toga, but his was powder blue and he had freckles all over. 

Elliot wasn’t sure about Mael, but he immediately liked Emry. 

“I’m going to make some tea,” said Ambrose. He disappeared into the kitchen, leaving him alone with the others. Uh oh.

“So,” said Mael, flopping down on the couch. “Where ya from?”

“Uh. Azoth, sir,” He made a face.

“Don’t be rude, Mael,” Emry chastised. “I’m sure it’s a very nice place.”

“It’s a slaver’s country, Emry.”

“Oh.” 

Emry sat on the nearest armchair. “How did you meet Ambrose?”

“I was about to be sacrificed on his altar, and he didn’t want me to die.” 

“Oh.”

They lapsed into silence. 

“So do you like living here?” asked Mael.

“Yes. It’s very nice. I like the koi pond,” he said.

“Oh!” exclaimed Mael, “I conjured that. The fountain took a bit of work but I think I blended the stone in well. What do you think of the colors on the fish? I picked the color pallet from mortal fish of course-” Mael went on about the fish as Ambrose brought in the tea.

“He can go on for hours,” stage-whispered Ambrose. Emry snorted into his cup.

“Hey!” said Mael, in what was clearly mock-offense. “He brought it up.”

“It’s a very nice pond, sir. And the fish are very pretty.”

Mael beamed. “At least someone appreciates what I do.”

“We all love your creations, hun,” said Emry. He turned to Elliot. “I’m glad you’re here. It’s nice to see Ambrose making new friends.”

Ambrose sputtered. “I have plenty of friends!”

“I didn’t mean that,” said Emry, “just that you don’t branch out much. You don’t see the gods outside our little villa very often, and you restrict yourself to the people who come to your temple.” Ambrose frowned.

 “Not that there’s anything wrong with that!” he added.

“Nice save, Emry,” said Mael, dryly.

They chatted over his head for a while, and they did include him in conversation, but Elliot just wanted to do the puzzle Ambrose had gotten him. But he was polite, and soon enough Master Ambrose’s friends left.

Master poured himself another cup of tea, and sat quietly for a while as Elliot worked on the puzzle.

“What are you thinking about?” said Ambrose.

“Not much,” he said. But there was something Emry had said that stuck in his mind. He called the place they were living in a “little villa”. And there were even more gods outside of it. He shuddered at the thought. If Ambrose didn’t know all of them, like Emry said, there was nothing between him and getting snatched up.

“Master?”

“Hm?” 

“Could… could I have a collar?” Please say yes, he thought. Master Ambrose put down the teacup. Bad sign.

“Why would you want a collar?” Master uncrossed his ankles, leaning towards him.

“I- I just.” He took a deep breath. “Um. There’s a lot of people around.” He fidgeted with the puzzle pieces. 

“Do you feel unsafe?” asked Ambrose.

“A little,” he admitted. “Not everybody knows I’m yours.”

Master hummed. “And will a collar help you feel safe?”

Was this a trick question?

“I think so? I could take it off if- if it doesn’t work.”

“Well… I suppose I did promise you could wear whatever you wanted. If you want a collar, I’ll get you one.”

___________________

Ambrose thought it over. He wouldn’t go back on his word, it wouldn’t be fair. Some part of him worried what the others might think, but fuck it. They knew Ambrose better than anyone, and Cato probably already knew he was Elliot’s Master. He overheard Elliot tell Mael and Emry that he was both a sacrifice and from a slaver’s country. It didn’t take a genius to guess what that meant.

No one would think poorly of Ambrose if Elliot started wearing a collar. And aside from Mael, his brother Maelys, or maybe Valerian, no one would comment on it. 

If Elliot wanted a collar, Ambrose would get him the best damn collar he could conjure.

___________________

It took a few tries to get it right, but Ambrose was confident Elliot would like it. Soft black leather with a fur lining, it would be comfortable. He made the brass buckle as lightweight as possible, and there was a brass o-ring in front. It was a collar, after all.

 He did take the liberty of making the stitching a burnt yellow, so it would blend better with the black. Yellow was his color, and with the serpent sigil carved into the leather, no one could claim they didn’t know Elliot was under his care.

Hopefully it would help Elliot feel protected.

“Treasure,” he called, before stepping into the room, “I got you a present.”

Elliot looked up from his bowl of pasta. His eyes focused in on the leather in Ambrose’s hand. He put down the fork.

___________________ 

“Is that for me? Really?” he whispered. 

“Of course.” Ambrose sat in the chair next to him. Elliot looked closely at it. A snake was carved into the side, and it was so pretty. Intricate and detailed, he could see each scale, and the brass of the ring and buckle was so shiny. Master looped the leather around Elliot’s neck. It was so soft on the inside. Master Ambrose’s fingers brushed the nape of his neck as he fastened the collar.

“How is it?” he asked. He slipped two fingers underneath to test the fit. “Not too tight?”

“It’s perfect, Master. Thank you.”

taglist: @cupcakes-and-pain @secretwhumplair @paintedpigeon1 @whump-blog @whump-em @thingsthatgo-whump-inthenight @starfields08000 @littlespacecastle @mylovelyme @whump-cravings @zeewbee @just-a-whumping-racoon-with-wifi @fanastyfinder @roblingoblin285

[callsignspitfire]

Prologue: Welcome to Miramar

This is the prologue to my new TGM collab series with my amazing friend @seresinned. Here you can follow the adventures of best friend Julia and Joey on their adventures at Top Gun and navigating their love lives with a certain group of aviators.

Series Moodboards

Playlist

March 13th 2021. Miramar Naval Air Station, San Diego

The room was stifling, full of animated characters, shouting over each other as the ceiling fan whirled above their heads, despite the rain pouring outside. The clock struck the hour and Julia sighed, she felt her heart sink as the instructor marched into the room, a clipboard under his arm as he introduced himself. He took a quick register, stopping abruptly as he reached Julia’s desk.

“Where’s your partner? Joey Ambrose?” The instructor glared down at her and Julia glared back at him.

“Do I look like I keep tabs on him? He’s a grown-ass man.” The instructor rolled his eyes and scrolled something on his piece of paper before moving on. Julia looked at her watch again.

“You better have a hell of a good excuse when I find you, Joey.”

“Hey, is this seat taken?” Julia looked up to address the smiling man looking down at her.

“Apparently not. My pilot is a no-show,” Julia gestured to the seat, removing her wet coat that had been dripping continuously on the tiled floor, and the man sat down.

“Well it must be your lucky day because I happen to be a pilot,” he smiled smugly, his moustache twitching but Julia just rolled her eyes.

“No shit. We’re at a naval aviation base for crying out loud.”

It turns out that Bradley was a pretty funny guy and despite Julia’s attitude the pair soon got talking and by the end of the icebreaker meeting day they were laughing like old friends.

“You know you’re not so bad Bradshaw. I feel like Joey would like you,” Julia remarked, watching Bradley's face creased with confusion.

“Who’s Joey?” Of course, she hadn’t introduced her loveable, idiot pilot, despite having moaned about his tardiness.

“Oh, Joey’s my pilot. He’s a nice guy, if not a little chaotic and times. I feel like you’d get along well.”

“Really,” Bradley seemed amused, taking a sip of his coffee.

“Yeah, I think you would. He’s very cool. He’s in a band you know.”

“Really? Anything I’d have heard of?”

Julia thought for a moment before shrugging her shoulders, “Probably not. I think he has a demo CD somewhere. I can find it for you if you’d like.”

“Yeah, that would be great. Thanks.”

The conversation flowed effortlessly and soon the icebreaker afternoon came to an end. As soon as they were dismissed, Julia found herself hurrying out of the room. She was going to give Joey what for when she found him. Bradley was in hot pursuit.

“Hey Julia, wait up! How do you feel about hanging out tonight? There’s a bar by the beach, The Hard Deck, it’s a nice place. Maybe we could grab a drink.”

“You’re not trying to ask me on a date, are you? I’ve just got out of a relationship and…”

“Let me stop you there,” Bradley laughed and Julia found herself glaring at him once more.

“I’m not exactly into you if you catch my drift.”

Julia thought for a moment before the realisation dawned on her.

“Ohh. Well in that case sure, why not,” Julia slung her bag over her shoulder, following Bradley along the corridor. “Can I bring Joey my pilot along?”

“Sure, the more the merrier. I’m intrigued to meet this cool guitar player now.”

The pair reached the door out onto the tarmac and watched the rain pelt down. You could barely see three feet in front of you through the torrential downpour. Bradley pulled his umbrella out of his bag, opened it outside and allowed Julia the spot beside him.

“My Ma said to always be prepared,” Bradley chatted happily and Julia laughed.

“Isn’t that like the scout motto?”

“Ugh, probably,” Bradley shrugged, “Which way are you heading? I’ll come with you so you don’t get washed away.”

“Just to the post office on base. I need to post a letter to my mum.”

“Why don’t you just text her, or email her?”

Julia sighed, if she had a dollar for every time Joey had said the same thing to her she’d have retired by now. “I just think you get more out of a handwritten letter. There is so much more feeling to it, it’s personal.” Bradley shrugged, opening up the door so they could begin their journey towards the post office on the other side of the base.

You could barely hear yourself think above the sound of the rain pelting against the canvas above them. Julia huddled further into her coat. Considering it was supposed to be warm in Miramar the weather clearly said otherwise.

They were a few feet from the post office building when a figure came sprinting towards them, no cost on and his hair smeared against his head as the rain soaked him.

“Poor guy looks like a drowned rat,” Bradley laughed, a slight tone of pity running through his words. The poor man turned around, seemingly ready to defend his drowned rat image.

“Julia?”

“Oh, Joey! There you are! We were looking for you everywhere! Well, not everywhere. Here. We were waiting for you here. This is Bradley!” She spoke excitedly, pointing to the stranger. Joey seemed to look at her completely confused by the whole situation as the rain continued to soak him.

“This is Joey, the one I was telling you about earlier,” Julia continued, turning back to Bradley. “See, I told you he’d be late.” Julia watched as Bradley looked the man up and down and she already knew what he was thinking. Even she had to admit that Braldey was a good-looking guy and however subtly Joey was trying to be, she knew him too well.

Bradley seemed to be eyeing up Joey in return, tilting his head slightly as he stared at him. Julia felt Joey’s eyes boring into her as he gave her his classic what-the-fuck-is-this look, but she pretended not to notice, already having too much fun watching the interaction.

“Julia and I met this morning, in the icebreaker session..” Bradley began, smiling as if he knew something more, “Obviously, you were... Too busy… To turn up. So, we paired up for the session” He continued, still smiling at Joey.

Joey just shrugged nonchalantly, “Makes sense. Well, uh…nice to meet you... Bradley, was it?” Julia knew he was putting on the casual blasé air about him. Joey was extremely perceptive and would not have forgotten the name of the very attractive pilot in front of him.

“Yeah,” Bradley replied, seemingly unaware of Joey’s act, “and like everyone else, most people know me by my call sign, so Rooster’s fine too.” He stuck his hand forward into the rain to shake Joey's hand but Joey just continued to stare back at him absentmindedly.

“Like the bird?” Joey asked and Julia wanted to smack him at his lack of common sense. ‘Of course like the bird Joey, you dumbass’ was what she wanted to say but found herself unable to tear her eyes away from the interlocked hands. How long were they gonna keep this up, with the intense eye contact before one of them snapped.

“Mine’s Hurricane,” Joey blurted out and Julia once again found herself wanting to facepalm and Joey’s lack of social skills. Beside her, Bradley nodded, apparently mulling over how he was going to respond.

“Suits you” he declared simply, nodding once more and tucking his hand into his pocket. Julia could sense Joey’s urge to get as far away from the situation as possible and into the dry when Bradley spoke up again.

“Wait, so you’re Hurricane and Spitfire? Like the British warplanes?” He asked, grinning widely now.

Joey rolled his eyes and Julia instantly found herself regretting her decision to allow Bradley to walk her to the post office.

Bradley laughed again, softer this time, “No, don’t get me wrong, they’re good names. It’s pretty cool you’ve got matching ones since you’re partners in your squadron and all.”

Julia smiled, “Yup, that we are, and you’re right, they are cool, so whatever else you were about to say, don’t, we’ve definitely heard it at least three times before”. Why did everyone have to pick on their callsigns, especially a guy who named himself after a chicken?

Joey’s teeth were chattering wildly when he spoke up again, “Okay, as amazing as it is to meet you, as you so kindly pointed out earlier, uh, Rooster, I’m feeling very much like a drowned rat out here, so can we please go post that letter, Jules?”

Julia stepped forward quickly to Joey’s side, “Oh God, Joey. Sorry, yeah, come on. We’ll see you tonight at The Hard Deck, yeah?” She called over her shoulder to Bradley as she dragged Joey into the dimly lit post office entrance.

“Sure, see you there,” Bradley called back, giving a half-assed two-finger salute before taking himself and his umbrella back out into the rain.

Joey began to grumble about the cold and Julia finally felt herself tapping him around the back of the head, “Well, it’s definitely your fault for leaving without a jacket. Sounds like a problem actually. Maybe next time you could be more prepared.”

“I didn’t mean to sleep in,” Joey cried out exasperated and in desperate need of a warm shower and a hot beverage.

“Don’t worry about it. Just let me send this and we can get you home.”

19:00. March 13th 2021, The Hard Deck, Miramar

Joey and Julia were tucked away at one of the corner tables of The Hard Deck, a pack of cards lay strewn out across the table between them, but it was bottles of beer they held in their hands.

“You’re a lot drier than the last time I saw you,” a familiar voice called from a few feet away.

Julia turned away from Joey to see Bradley standing in front of their table.

“Well, I figured it was best I prove I can do better than the whole drowned rat look, y’know?” Joey chuckled, giving Bradley a quick grin.

“I can see. Seat taken?” Bradley asked, nodding to the empty third chair.

“Nope! Feel free to join us!” Julia grinned, tidying up the cards that had spread across the table and stashing them neatly back into their box.

“Cards, huh? What about pool? You guys any good?” Bradley questioned, eyes twinkling ever so slightly.

Julia was about to speak up when Joey interrupted, “Jules will swindle every man in this bar, Dude, I wouldn’t even try it.” He laughed and despite Julia wanting to explain herself she knew she could win a lot of money if she wanted to tonight. All those cocky aviators who didn’t think a woman could beat them.

“What about you? Wouldn’t wanna risk my reputation going up against Julia here, so it looks like you’re my only hope for a good time tonight,” Bradley replied, and Julia had to stifle the laugh that threatened to escape her at the flirty comment. If Joey couldn’t see the way Bradley was looking at him then he really must be oblivious. Bradley hadn’t even been here five minutes and he was already trying to shoot his shot. Joey sat back in his chair, his forehead creased as he thought for a moment. Julia already knew he wasn’t about to turn down this opportunity, despite his awkwardness sometimes Joey could flirty his way into and out of many situations, sometimes without realising, so who knows what he was going to say next.

“I’m pretty decent, if I say so myself, wanna find out?” Joey smirked, cocking his eyebrow Bradley just laughed in amusement.

“Game on.”

Julia laughed as she watched Joey and Bradley head over to the pool table. She didn’t notice the tall brunette man until he took the seat opposite her, swigging from his beer bottle and smiled at her.

“Hello?” Julia spoke cautiously, eyeing up the handsome stranger. His chiselled jaw and high cheekbones made him naturally blessed with good looks and from the smirk on his face he knew this, although the way his knee bounced nervously below the table told Julia otherwise.

“Hey there,” the man spoke confidently, his brown locks falling across his forehead, softening his features. “I’m Jack, Jack Thompson but everyone calls me Mayhem.”

Julia took the hand he thrust across the table and shook it, “Julia, Julia Lancaster but you can call me Spitfire.”

He smirked, “Spitfire hey, I like that. So what brings a lovely lady such as yourself to The Hard Deck this fine evening.”

Julia broke out into a fit of laughter, trying to avoid knocking over her beer as she hit the table with her hand. Jack looked a little hurt but his face fell even more when a loud cackle from the woman behind him followed.

“Jack, you couldn’t flirt if your life depended on it. The name Dice,” she thrust her hand over Julia’s shoulder as she looked at her half upside down from her spot leaning backwards on the chair behind Julia. Julia shook Dice’s hand, careful not to knock the woman off balance as her chair wobbled. Dice placed her chair back on all four legs and moved it around to join Julia and Jack on the table previously occupied by Joey.

“I saw you at the icebreaker briefing. You're a WSO right?” Dice took a sip from her fruity drink, the little umbrella still stuck out the side of the glass.

“Yep, that’s me. That guy over there, Rooster, was sat next to me,” Julia pointed towards Bradley who was leaning over Joey, laughing at his poor aim. “And that’s my pilot.”

Jack looked at Dice and they shared a knowing look, “yeah we met him earlier today, looking like a drowned rat,” Jack added.

Julia sighed, running her hand over her face, “Yep that’s him.”

The conversation between the three of them flowed easily, Jack was so likeable and Dice, Julia soon learned her name was Sarah, was as tough as they come.

“So what’s with your callsigns then?” Julia asked after her third pornstar martini that Sarah insisted they had.

“Well I’m Dice because I ‘dice with death’ and ‘Mayhem’ causes mayhem,” Sarah laughed, “I guess it’s fitting for him to be my backseater with my flying.”

Julia found herself feeling less lonely in their presence and the evening went by far too quickly. Julia soon found herself waving her new friends goodbye but not before she slipped her number across the table to Jack.

“Call me.”

June 6th 2021, Miramar Beach, San Diego

After that first night, their time at Top Gun seemed to fly by. Between training, drills, briefings and spending time with Joey and Bradley, Julia barely had any time to think about her ex. She’d barely thought of him at all. Their call up to Top Gun had come at exactly the right time and moving to San Diego had filled her with a new sense of hope.

The sun was beating down on a particularly sunny day when Bradley suggested they head to the beach with a few of the other guys. Joey, of course, had jumped at the chance to spend more time with Bradley and Julia wasn’t opposed to topping up her tan.

The beach was relatively empty and while the boys went down to the water to play football, or whatever the hell they were doing, Julia found a nice spot on the beach and settled down with her book and the beer she’d got from the Hard Deck. ‘Thank God for the Hard Deck’ was a phrase commonly used amongst the aviators and its proximity to the beach was a God send.

Sarah and Jack were playing football further down the beach with Joey and Bradley. Jack and Julia had grown closer over the last few months and they often found themselves at each other's houses when Joey was off with Bradley in the evenings. Nothing official ever happened but he was a pleasant distraction.

As she read, her mind began to wander over the past few months, the book in front of her soon becoming an inanimate object to conceal her thinking. She recalled a morning a few months ago, back in April when they hadn’t been at Top Gun for all that long. The air had still been crisp and the mornings still bore the chill of Winter.

April 21st 2021,The Barracks, Miramar

Julia groaned, stretching out underneath her duvet and gasping as the cold air hit her flesh, rippling goosebumps up her arms. She closed her eyes once more debating whether she could catch another hour's sleep and still get to base on time. Their time at Top Gun seemed to be passing quickly, despite still having so much to get through, each day brought new challenges but Julia couldn’t deny how much she loved having some healthy competition. The clock by her bed glowed ominously through the sleepy haze showing 0700. The briefing didn’t start until 0900 but she wanted to get there to the base with time to spare and she’d have to make sure Joey wasn’t late again. She had to admit, he’d been in a considerably better mood since meeting Rooster, he generally was arriving on time which was a rarity for Joey. With another pathetic moan, she pushed the covers away from her body and dispersed from her warm cocoon. Her feet squealed in anguish as they landed against the cold tiled floor and she shuffled to put her slippers on and grab her dressing down before leaving her room. Her first stop was the coffee pot, boiling and fresh pot and sighing as she took her first sip. The warmth spread through her pleasantly. If Julia could she was sure she’d put herself on a coffee IV infusion permanently. With as much enthusiasm as she could muster, she wrapped her knuckles against Joey’s bedroom door.

“Joey, it’s time to get up,” the lack of any reply caused Julia to knock harder, she knew Joey was in there and he could hear her. “Joey, come on!”

There was a muffled moan from within the room and Julia decided that he was on his own now.

Sitting at the breakfast table she scrolled through her photo album of last night, smiling fondly at the pictures of Joey and Bradley together. Her particular favourite was the one where they both awkwardly caught themselves looking at each other as she’d taken the picture. It was so obvious that they shared feelings for each other, all the lingering looks, the awkward moments where their hands brushed ‘accidentally’, the late-night phone calls that Joey thought she couldn’t hear. The walls in the Navy-owned housing were paper thin and Julia could often lay in bed and listen to their neighbour's conversations. She had to admit that despite being surrounded by people all day and evening and being out in the evening with the boys, she was pretty lonely. It probably didn’t help that Facebook had bought up memories for ‘2 years ago today’ the other morning, causing her to delve back into memories she would much rather forget.

It had been a picture she had as her phone lock screen for so long that it seemed alien that she no longer looked at it every day. It was from her last trip to Europe with her boyfriend, it also happened to be the holiday when he proposed to her. She remembered it all so vividly, the smell of the pine trees that surrounded them as they ate their picnic, the way the sun had shone down on them, the playlist they had listened to in the car on the way to their destination. That was 2 years ago before it all fell through and they fell apart.

She managed to avoid him after their break up and gradually her heart began to heal, it no longer felt like a knife was embedded in her chest. In the end, they’d both resented each other for different reasons and their relationship had ended on relatively good terms, with both sides agreeing it was for the best. She’d refused to contact him, removing his number from her phone and moving across the country with Joey for their Top Gun training. It had come at the perfect time, allowing her to leave all the memories behind, but she’d only run away from her feelings and masked how she’d felt.

Switching off her phone she sighed, someone it felt like her heart would hurt forever but Joey had promised her that there was someone out there for her, someone who would understand the commitment she had to her job. Someone who would understand her work ethic and the trials a relationship with her would have. Someone who would take her on sweet dates, give her forehead kisses, and tell her funny jokes, and…

Julia swigged the last of her coffee, now cold in the bottom of the mug. Who was she kidding? It was all a fantasy. There wasn’t anyone like that out there for her.

May 8th 2021, The Hard Deck, Miramar

“Hello? Earth to Julia? Are you in there?” Joey poked her in the ribs causing Julia to jump in her seat.

“What?” She glared at him, watching as he shrunk back in his seat a little.

“You’ve been really distant the last few weeks. You keep zoning off. Where’d you go?” Joey meant well and deep down she knew that but as she looked at him she couldn’t bring herself to tell him the truth.

“No, I’m fine. Just busy with all this Top Gun stuff, you know?” She lied, trying her best to keep a straight face.

Joey reached forward, clutching her hand in his, “If you need to talk about anything…” but she cut him off, shaking her head quickly.

“No. No, I'm fine. Or at least I will be.” Swigging the remainder of her beer before standing to leave, “I’m gonna head home to bed. I’m pretty tired after today's training. You guys have fun though.”

The boys waved her goodbye, and she tried to ignore the worried look that was etched across Joey’s face. She left the bar without looking back, taking the shortest root home and falling straight into bed.

She opened up her phone, inwardly groaning as it lagged so badly, and once again scrolling back through her camera roll to the years before. The memories flashed before her eyes as she relieved each and every moment that had once brought her such joy. That night Joey hadn’t come home until late and she’d cried herself to sleep, too exhausted by the time he’d gotten in to talk about his evening.

Squinting and shielding her eyes from the sun, she watched as a shirtless Jack ran up the beach, his sweaty hair sticking back from his forehead and sweat trickling down his chiselled abdomen. She found herself unable to tear her eyes off of him. As if Jack knew she was watching him, he looked up, smiling cheekily at her and raising his hand in a shy wave. Despite his ridiculously attractive face, Jack was far more reserved than he looked.

Julia sighed, picking her phone up out of her beach bag. It had 20% battery, just enough to see her through the day. Despite her normally well-organised schedule and her obsessive timekeeping she rarely ever left the house with a full battery. She flicked open the screen, scrolling back to the past once more. It was bittersweet really, the whole looking back to move forward.

She selected the years in bulk and sent more than three thousand pictures straight into the bin. She wasn’t worried about losing them anymore, and all the photos of her and Joey were backed up on her laptop, but at least there wouldn’t be the constant reminder of ‘him’ there every day. Top Gun was a new start for them and she intended to make the most of it.

She stood up, brushing the sand off her legs and dropping her phone back into her bag. She waved at Jack as she ran over to him. There was no harm in having some fun while they were here, right?

To think that today would be their final day at Top Gun hit Julia like a punch in the gut when she’d awoken that morning. The time had flown by and deposited treasuring every moment with Joey and the new friends she had made, their time was nearly up.

Thinking back on it all, Julia had to admit that the last few months had been the happiest of her life. Jack had been a great comfort to her when Joey wasn’t around and the pair had grown close. Sarah had become one of her best friends and Julia would even admit that Bradley was the best boyfriend Joey had ever had. Not that they would admit that to each other.

“I can’t believe we made it. We’re Top Gun graduates Joey. Who would have thought,” she squealed in delight, clutching her friend tightly and shaking him. Joey laughed, amused by her child-like excitement, although he too was ecstatic.

She caught Joey looking across the room and Bradley, who was in deep conversation with one of the instructors. “You know you two are good for each other. I’m pleased for you JoJo.”

Joey blushed, snorting at the nickname Julia had given him. “Yeah well, I’ve seen you getting pretty close to Jack too. What’s going on there?”

“Nothing,” she laughed, “We’re just friends.”

“Sure, sure,” Joey replied, “I’m gonna head over and see Brad. I’ll see you later at the Hard Deck.”

“Sure thing,” Julia turned around to see Jack and Sarah approaching. “Hey guys,” she waved them over.

“Hey yourself Spitfire. Hot damn I can’t believe you and Hurricane beat us. You guys are on fire,” Sarah laughed, giving Julia a sideways hug.

“Well what can I say,” Julia laughed, giving Jack a quick hug. “So, you guys are up for celebrating later? We’re all heading to the Hard Deck.”

Jack shook his head sadly, “I’m afraid not, Jules. We’ve been given our first assignment. We are heading out tonight.”

“Oh,” Julia wasn’t sure how to respond. She’d grown close to the pair over the last few months and it would be strange not to have them around every day. “Well, I’ll miss you guys. You stay in touch, okay?”

Sarah nodded, “Sure thing, Julia. I’ve got to go say goodbye to the others.” She turned to Jack, “Don’t be long, okay?”

Jack nodded, watching as his aviator retreated. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. We only got our orders last night and I didn’t want to ruin your graduation.”

Julia smiled sadly, reaching over and pulling Jack into a hug, “You couldn’t have ruined it. I’ll miss you, Jack.” Pulling away she grinned cheekily at him. “Promise you’ll write to me, like old-fashioned letters.”

Grinning wildly, Jack nodded his head, “Absolutely. Anything for you Spitfire.” The pair finished their goodbyes and Julia watched sadly as Jack disappeared into the crowd of fellow aviators. It suddenly dawned on her that she’d probably never come back here, to Top Gun. It had been a dream of hers for so many years and now the story was over but seeing Joey and Bradley laughing together with a few of the other pilots, she realised that no matter what she’d always had Joey, and their story was just beginning.

Tags: @seresinned @desert-fern @teacupsandtopgun @horseshoegirl @startrekfangirl2233 @sarahsmi13s

[hirillaeriel]

Through a Coffee Shop Window

Modern day AU

Characters: Elwing and Maglor

"Name for the order?" The barista asks.

"Ambrose." Maglor says softly.

"Your drink will be out in a few minutes."

Maglor steps away from the counter to go sit down. Coffee. He needed coffee. Well, he needed caffeine. He was so tired.

He was very old, older than the sun, and his age was becoming very prominent now in the modern days of this world. Forever youthful as the world passes him by. Immortality was a curse now. He couldn't just hide out alone and pretend everything was okay; there were no longer places to hide. Men, or humans as they now preferred to be called, had explored nearly every inch of the world.

"Can I sit here?"

Maglor glances up. A woman was standing in front of him with a hand outstretched towards the empty seat across from him. "Sure."

She sits with a sigh. A aigh that only comes from sitting down after a long time on your feet.

"Long day?" Maglor asks, trying to make conversation so that it wouldn't grow awkward.

"Yeah. I just got off work. Getting a pick me up before I head home to my kids."

Maglor mentally sighs. "Oh?" He tugs anxiously at his beanie. He had gotten the hat to hide his ears, they were so prominent and would have gotten him killed by now if he hadn't learned to cover them up. Escaping the witch trials had been a nightmare.

"Yeah, twins."

Maglor coughs. "Twins?"

"Henry and Adam. I love them, but they're a pain."

Maglor can't help himself, "Yeah, my boys used to be like that too."

"You have kids?"

"Just the two, Amos and Amon. They're twins."

"Aw, how old are they?"

"Eighteen."

"Eighteen?! You don't look old enough to have teenagers."

"Ah, yeah, they were adopted. They're my cousins, technically. They're mother couldn't take care of them so my brother and I stepped forward."

"Well, that was very kind of you." She pauses. "Any tips for dealing with twins?"

"Don't feel bad if you need a break. Parents need breaks with one kid and you have two. It's not wrong to get overworked and burnt out. Hire a babysitter or ask a friend to watch them. You need to relax too."

She laughs. "Thanks."

"Order for Ambrose!" The barista calls out.

Maglor looks up. "That's me." He declares before standing up.

"Ambrose…" The woman sighs. "Nice choice."

Maglor turns back to her. "Huh?"

"I said that's a nice name. Does your family have a naming scheme? Ambrose, Amos, and Amon?"

"Yeah, we like themes. My dad and uncles all have 'Fin' in their names."

"That must get confusing."

"Extremely." Maglor agrees. He remembers once when Tyelko called their uncle Nolo Naro. How he mixed up his uncle and father Maglor would never understand.

"Well, my name is Astracira." The woman smiles. She glances over Maglor. "I, uh, I like your hat."

"Oh." Maglor feels extremely awkward. "I got it from a friend." He glances at where his coffee sat on the counter waiting to be picked up. "I should go. I have places to be."

Astracira stands up. "I should go too, can't leave them too long. The babysitter starts charging extra if I am not prompt. Don't really blame her."

"But your coffee." Maglor gestures at the counter.

"You can have it." Astracira smiles at him. "You look like you need a few hundred more."

Maglor sighs. "It's been a long… life."

"I can tell." Astracira nods before she hurries out the door.

Maglor doesn't bother paying attention to which way she goes. He approaches the counter to get his drink.

The barista sets another drink down next to his. "Your girlfriend's drink is ready."

"She's not- she's not my girlfriend."

"Wife then."

"No "

"Huh. Well she specified that she was getting the drink for you so I figured you were together." She shrugs. "Whatever."

Maglor picks up Astracira's drink. He looks at the label to see what's in it - he had started to cut out dairy, the processed stuff messes with his stomach - and nearly has a heart attack. Elwing was neatly scrawled where the customer's name was supposed to be.

Elwing. It couldn't be. It was impossible. But was it? Yes, yes it was. Why would she come to buy Maglor a drink and have a nice relatively normal chat? She wouldn't. But then… This couldn't be a coincidence. That name was too specific.

Maglor glances out the shop's front window. "Elwing…" He whispers in shock. Now that he was thinking about it he did see her in that woman, the facial structure was all Lúthien. He glances back down at the order ticket. Huh, no milk. In fact, it was made just how he liked it. How odd.

[doomh3ad]

adding to the lester making a perfect gf series <3 little one shot in this universe.

you don't necessarily have to read the others but it adds background! you can find the other parts here and here , this takes place somewhere in between them! <3

quick summary : lester spared you, on the condition that he'd make you into a sinclair after his brothers murdered your friends.

this is DARK, and i mean that, but i'm super proud of how i wrote this one!

picket fence. [dark fic. nsfw mentions.]

You're settling into Ambrose quite nicely.

After your abrupt start, the murder - no. The...disposal of your friends, that's what Lester calls it. Not that he calls them your friends. They dragged you down, really. They weren't good enough for you.

Lester is good enough. Ambrose is good enough. He's drilled that into your head. You belong here. You were always going to end up here, this is your destiny, sweetheart, how could you refuse?

It wasn't perfect, your attitude readjustments were numerous but effective. He made you give a repeat performance of the first time you'd met on occasion, kneeling down as he shows you your place. That never failed to make you more...grateful...for your life here.

Lester wasn't a violent man, not by nature. He'd never raised a hand to you and never would. He would simply give you that look, that half-smile of irritation, that said "I don't want to do this, but I will."

You were a lot better-behaved when you saw that smile.

Lester had explained to you what he expected from you, what standards you were going to meet as a Sinclair.

Every day, you'd greet him with a smile on your face and a kiss on his cheek when he returned from his work. You did the housework together, divided it up evenly. During the day, you were free to roam around town or stay at the house as you wished. He never failed to praise you for occupying his dog when he was unable to. You'd take her for walks (Lester insisted you both get proper exercise), feed her (Lester imposed a regular eating routine for all residents of the house, human or canine), play with her (Lester asked what your hobbies and interests were and provided materials as necessary).

At nights, however, your time was always spent with him. You'd go for a drive, or sit and watch the stars, while Lester watched you. He said you were much more interesting to look at.

Your life in Ambrose is much like a fairytale. Lester once asks you what you imagined your life would be like when you were younger.

You couldn't give him an answer. You can't imagine anything other than this.

As he asked, you get Lester up every day with kisses or something more fun, crawling under the sheets to give him a good wake-up call. He gives you a sleepy "Good morning, baby." without fail, reaching his hand down to pet your hair.

You say "Good morning, Lester". Always. You can't remember a time where you didn't. He'll go make breakfast as you lay out both of your clothes for the day. You thank him in that sweet voice he likes, you set the table and make light conversation while eating.

When it's time for him to leave, you'll pout using the puppy dog eyes he's fond of, clinging to him and whining "Can't you stay a little longer, Lester? Just this once?"

And he'll smile, a unique smile, the smile that means he thinks you're adorable. That smile, too, can be a warming. Don't push it too far.

He'll never hurt you, because he doesn't need to. You're his good, obedient sweetheart. You do what he asks with a smile and thank him for the honour of being allowed to be with him as his equal.

You befriend Bo and Vincent, you help around town, you're a real asset. They all exchange satisfied nods behind your back. Yes, bringing you into Ambrose a good decision. For them, and for you.

It's a picket fence dream. You have the perfect life. Really, what else would you be doing?

[sinfulwrites]

Just wanted to say I adore your account and writing, I am always rereading everything cause it makes me so happy :') also, I leave you with this if you'd like to do it! If not, no worries, take care!! 💕

Vincent x reader one shot where reader is visiting a friend or family member in Ambrose & meets Bo (to no one's surprise he acts like an asshat, but reader isn't afraid to act like a smartass back) and later meets Vincent (swoon) but the next time reader runs into Bo, he mentions they're twins and reader says something like, "there's no way you're twins, Vincent is much more attractive and kind-" and Vincent overhears before walking in the room (he's so flustered!) Reader partly said it just to piss Bo off but they were being honest too, they'd just be too shy to tell Vincent to his face... 😳💗

Hello anon! I'm so honored to hear that, I'm so glad I can make you feel happy with these fics. <3

I kind of transformed this into a sort of slice of life kind of scenario? It's set before Bo and Vincent start killing, Ambrose was still a functioning town, that kind of stuff.

Bo is biased and hates the city so that's why he's picking on the reader. (And immediately gets annoyed because the reader isn't afraid to snap back at him.)

Bo and reader immediately dislike each other, but Vincent and reader immediately hit it off.

I headcanon as Vincent being more introverted, but wanting to talk to people, so he will perk up and be chatty with anyone who will try and engage him in conversation. Not many people give him the time of day, since he can't speak, so when you do he starts growing fond of you immediately.

I hope this lines up well with your request, I added my own flare into it so it's kind of got some side conflict of wanting to leave the city, I honestly just wanted to add some reasoning for the reader would want to come back and pursue a relationship, but I tried to get everything in your ask in here.

I have no self control of my creative juices

A beautiful stranger

You didn't live in Ambrose, but two of your friends did, so you visited the town often. You often stuck at your friend's house on your visits to Ambrose, mostly staying at your friends house and only really leaving with them. You weren't comfortable exploring a town you weren't familiar with alone, it's a habit you picked up from growing up in the city. Today though, your friend asked you to run over to the gas station across the street to break their 100 bill, since the store you wanted to buy some drinks at wouldn't accept a 100 dollar bill.

The gas station was quaint, the architecture was actually very unique, it was a nice change from the identical 7/11's and Shell gas stations. The small town had its appeal, especially coming from the city, being in a quiet little town seemed more appealing day by day. You were about to walk right into the store until you noticed someone working under a truck in the station's driveway.

"Excuse me?" You called to him, making him start to roll out and figure out who was talking to him. Admittedly, you stopped for a moment when you saw the man. Something about him seemed off for a moment, you really had to squint to realize he was wearing a mask of his face, only noticing when you really looked close at his visible eye. You also took notice of his hair, it was nearly as long as yours! And it looked amazing, you were almost tempted to ask him what he uses in it. But you remembered why you came over, the money. "Sorry to bother you, I was just wondering if I could break this hundred here?"

The man got up off the ground and you backed up to give him space to do so. Once on his feet, you noticed how tall he was. Height was never an important factor to you, you'd date anyone regardless of their height, but deep down you always had a bit of a preference for taller people. Right now, this man was just checking off your mental attraction list, and he didn't even know it. He gestured for you to wait there before heading into the store, to get another employee you supposed.

A minute later another man came through the door, a sweaty looking man in a mechanic suit, his fingers covered in oil and dirt. He looked like he definitely worked here, no doubt about that. He initially looked pissed coming out here, but his face immediately smoothed out when he saw you, and he leaned in the door leading into the station when he saw you.

"Hey. Heard you needed to break a hundred?"

You nodded and came over to the door, letting him hold it open for you before following you in towards the register, taking the 100 from you on his way past. After a quick check to see if it's real, he started tapping some buttons on the register.

"What are we lookin for? Fives, tens?"

"Twenties, if you can." You answer as you're taking a look around the store. The glass walls brought in all sorts of natural lighting and it just complimented the character of the building. The stuff inside didn't really stick out much, just regular things you'd find at a station. The charm was the fun thing to look at.

"Meet ya in the middle with three twenties and four tens and you got yourself a deal."

You just smiled and nodded back at the man. "Yeah, sounds like a plan."

The register finally popped open and he started shuffling the money around in the drawer. As he did, you took a glance at the magnets he had at the counter, all having that signature small town flare. Colorful language included.

"I don't think I've seen you around here. You new in town?"

"Nah, I'm just visiting some friends. I live in Baton Rouge."

The man chuckled as he started pulling out your change. "Ahh, from the city huh? I had the feeling you were a city dweller."

"Anything wrong with that?" You challenged, sensing some bias in his tone, but he simply shrugged.

"No, not at all. I'm just saying, no one around here is stupid enough to buy those unnecessarily expensive clothes like you city folk do, just loving to pay for a name brand."

Oh, you almost wanted to laugh right in his face. If only he knew you thrifted your entire outfit. But you just shrugged with a smile. "Yeah, but at least we can wash our hands."

That comment got you an annoyed smile and a nod as the man grabbed your cash. He didn't say anything but that smile told you exactly what he wanted to say. You crossed your arms and just waited, enjoying your victory over this unnecessarily bitchy gas station worker.

"So, you own this place, Mr. Independent?" You just wanted to get on his nerves now, and he only had himself to blame for it. He threw the first punch.

"Yep." You were getting on his nerves, he couldn't even keep a fake smile on his face.

"You work here alone then? I know I talked to someone out front," You gestured towards the wall of glass, at the truck you saw the man working on previously, your long haired wonder.

"That's just my brother. He's bumming off my tools so he doesn't have to pay me for labor."

That just made you turn back in shock, and it was at that moment he finally got you your money and practically shoved it in your hand, but you didn't take your leave without one final jab.

"He's your brother? Maybe you should take some notes and learn some manners." You took the money from his hand and stormed out before he could retaliate. Your heart was racing, and you enjoyed kicking that guy down a few pegs more than you'd admit out loud.

You didn't think much about the encounter after it happened, but you obviously forgot in the moment, that this was a small town. This wasn't like the city, where you had a very good chance of never encountering someone you had a bad encounter with again because of the sheer amount of people. Here though? Apparently this man and his brother lived just up the road from your friend's house, who informed you of that when you told them the story in the gas station. So not only was that revelation of getting on the bad side of one brother on your shoulder, now your friends were teasing you for having the hots for the other brother.

And as a testament to how small this town was, you saw your long haired crush walking by your friend's house the next morning on your way to check their mail for them. He immediately recognized you, and your stomach filled with butterflies when he stopped to wave at you.

"Good morning… I don't think I caught your name." You started making conversation, but you noticed very quickly you were being met with silence. You put the pieces together quickly though. "Oh, can… Can you not talk?"

He nodded, and that's when you were heartbroken for a moment, fearing you were going to lose your chance to talk to him. But then you remembered, you had a pen in your back pocket. So, you took one of the envelopes from your friend's mail pile and gave it to him, with the pen. He didn't seem to hesitate taking it and scribbling on it.

"Hi, I'm Vincent."

You smiled at him. "Hi Vincent. I'm Y/N."

You two shook hands after exchanging names. You then gestured to his throat. "If you don't mind me asking, why can't you talk?"

You were worried you were pushing your boundaries, it wasn't any of your business, that's the reality, but he replied immediately.

"I'm mute." He shrugged after you read it, in that "it is what it is," sort of way.

"Oh, is that it?" You were honestly intrigued. You'd never met someone who was mute until this day. "Do you know sign language?"

Vincent just nodded in response. You smiled at that. "That's so cool, I've always wanted to learn ASL."

You two just exchanged a nod back and forth before Vincent scribbled something on the envelope.

"Are you new here?"

You just shook your head. "No, I'm just visiting my friends." You gestured to the house behind you.

Vincent nodded one more time, then scribbled you one last note.

"I have to be on my way, but it was nice to meet you."

You immediately took the stuff back so he didn't have to linger. "Yeah, it was nice to meet you Vincent, see you around!"

Vincent waved goodbye before continuing down the sidewalk towards a destination unknown to you. You turned back to your friend's house to bring the mail in and will have to explain the conversation written all over their water bill. You turned to take one last glance at him, and he just so happened to do the same at the same time, so you both got caught checking each other out before you ran in the house to spare yourself the embarrassment.

It was the topic of discussion with your friends all day.

"You just need to move in with us, Y/N! You're already hitting on the locals, you might as well!"

You immediately gasped and elbowed them after that. "I wasn't hitting on Vincent!"

"Yeah right!"

The conversation repeated in your head all day long. It still lingered on your back up the long dirt road back to your friend's house after your journey to the dumpster, trash duty was dumped on you tonight but you didn't really care that much. You enjoyed watching the sunset. The sound of a truck driving up the road got your attention, soon enough a truck turned around the bend and blinded you with the headlights. It stopped next to you, and once your eyes readjusted, you were met face to face with Mr. Independent once again.

"Need a ride?" He offered you, and gestured to his empty passenger seat, but you didn't need the lift. Your friend's house wasn't far. Plus, getting in the truck with a stranger is a big no no.

"No thank you, I'm good from here."

"If you say so. I heard through the grapevine you got to know my brother Vincent this morning."

You blinked at that, but you guessed Vincent told him about it. Not that it mattered, you told your friends about it, you're not a hypocrite. You just nodded. "Yeah, we talked this morning. Let me guess, he's the behaved eldest child, and you're the trouble making youngest."

The man chuckled to himself at that one. His hand gripped the steering wheel in a terrifying grip before just smiling at you. "We're twins, actually, but I guess you ain't too wrong on anything else."

You genuinely gasped at that. "What? You're his twin? Now that's just impossible. He's so sweet, and you're so… Not." You grinned at him this time when you decided to just dig your heel in deeper. "And you're nowhere near as handsome."

With an exaggerated turn, you walked off in the direction opposite of the truck, towards your friend's house. The truck pulled off straight afterwards, so you failed to notice a now very flustered Vincent in the back of his twin's pick up truck. Truth be told, as any douchey brother would, his brother was trying to embarrass Vincent with his crush after he found out, but that exploded in his face in spectacular fashion.

His brother couldn't stand you, but Vincent watched you grow smaller and smaller with complete admiration. He only wished you wouldn't be leaving soon.

[stressedemoblackbratz]

crazy

pairing: bo sinclair x reader

request: hey love! if you could maybe write something for bo? maybe the reader is kinda shy and the rest of her friends are really talkative and pretty and she’s not used to having attention? please and thank you.

warnings: swearing, mentions of death, and your friends being kinda shitty.

a/n: this is my FIRST request and i kept it the way it was requested with just my own addings to it. i kinda hate it, but i hope you all like it.

words: 1,701 + not proofread

i’m crazy for trying, and crazy for crying, and i’m crazy for loving you.

tired was an understatement. you didn’t want to be out in the woods any longer and the belt on Wade’s truck fucking up was no help. you either could stay and get harassed by Dalton, teased by Nick, and have to listen to Blake and Paige be so in love every 5 seconds on the way to the game or cram into this musty ass truck with Wade, a random redneck, and Carly. both options were bad, but getting away from the first 4 who constantly made you feel bad about yourself seemed amazing.

you were the odd ball of the group. you were just usually really quiet compared to them all who happened to sometimes get obnoxious, especially Dalton. Paige and Carly were both very social and beautiful. you never faulted them for that. none of you could help that boys gravitated towards them. it was just aggravating always being overshadowed by them.

Nick, Blake, and Dalton loved to point it out. Wade didn’t, but he didn’t stop it. Paige would join in to please Blake and sometimes you wondered if she meant all the things she said. Carly never would join in but she was just like her boyfriend. you understood neither one had to step in, but as your friends, and also knowing how if it was the other way around you’d be looked at like a monster, it would be nice for them to come and help you.

the ride to Ambrose wasn’t long at all. especially considering Carly and Wade decided to walk the rest of the way. it was just a bit uncomfortable sitting by the man and Wade with Carly in his lap, her legs slightly on yours. you waved at the man who drove you all before silently trudging along with the couple. he tilted his head giving a quick wave back before reaching to call his brother.

after a few rings he picked up. “hello?” Bo’s voice rang though the phone.

“hey man. some teens or 20 year olds or something are going up there. two girls and a boy. they’re coming for a belt for that boy’s car. a 15.” Lester laughed into the receiver.

“you broke the belt?” Bo asked his brother with a huge smirk on his lips.

“well of course I did.” Lester said in a sing songy voice.

“mhmm. you’re evil.” Bo said getting ready to go to a “funeral” in town. quickly throwing on some more dressy clothes.

“Bo?” Lester asked.

“yeah?” Bo called into the phone while tying up his laces.

“the last girl. I think her names y/n or something. I think you’d like her, but hate all her friends.”

Bo perked up. Vincent could have fun with them. “are there more?”

“at the campsite yeah. like 4 more. there’s no way they’re getting to that game they keep talking about. the roads are full of traffic.”

“hmm.” Bo acknowledged.

“you know, I listened in on their conversations last night before I fucked the belt up.” Lester sighed. “they’re complete asses to y/n. I’m surprised she even hangs around them.”

“well maybe she’ll like hanging around me.” Bo said with sarcasm in this voice.

“i’m serious.” Lester told him. “she’s the only nice one out of them. I almost felt bad for that Carly girl too until I heard her and Wade up late talking about her.”

“then maybe I’ll keep her.” he said heading out to his truck.

Lester cackled into the phone. “i’ll wait and see then. I have to go, there’s more deer out there.”

and with that Bo made his way to the church to wait for you and the others two’s arrival.

the whole time he had so many questions. was Lester just trying to mess with him? were you cute? would you like him? would he have to give you to Vincent? ugh, it wasn’t even needed right now. the other two would most likely be added to the wax attraction before you did.

the walk to the gas station wasn’t even bad. it was the walk to the church and the sheer embarrassment and horror of interrupting a service that did it for you.

“I-I am so sorry sir!” you quickly said before going down the steps of the church, leaving Carly and Wade to deal with it on their own before they too started to walk with you, muttering apologies on the way.

on your walk away from them you could see a museum come into view. it was the same one that you had seen on your way in.

“let’s check it out.” Wade suggested from somewhere behind you. you stopped so they could go in front of you, you didn’t like the idea of going first into a museum of a slightly abandoned town.

especially not a museum that held realistic statues.

inside, you noticed the place was a bit dusty and that none of the people seemed to be celebrities like you expected. just extremely realistic statues of random people. there was also a dog sniffing around that apparently only you could tell was not apart of the attraction.

however you did notice someone outside with a mask by the window. before you could say anything Carly was already shrieking and pointing to it outside. just as he was there he disappeared, but Wade wanted to find him.

personally you wouldn’t have went and investigated OR stayed in the house.

grabbing at her hand you tried to calm her. “Car-“

“no!” she cut you off by screaming and quickly taking her hand away from yours. “you saw that thing?!” she questioned.

“yes. now I’m gonna go and find the gas station. let’s just stick to the plan and go over ther-“ Carly made it her mission to cut you off again.

“what plan y/n?” she made a tuh sound before laughing. “the plan was me and Wade finding this belt and going to this game you weren’t even invited to. i brought you because Dalton said he didn’t want anyone to think him and Nick were a thing. you were the only person available. I didn’t even invite you to tag along here. there obviously was no room for you in that truck we were dropped off in. and now you’re trying to drag me outside with that ugly ass thing?! the hell is up with you these days?”

you truly didn’t know what Carly had going on right now. you had known her for 3 years and she’d never acted like this before. it had to be the nerves due to what just happened because there’s no way she meant any of this.

“Carly you don’t mean that.” You told her with hurt expression.

“I meant every last word.” She defended before rubbing at her arms to try and calm herself down from the spook.

“you know,” you began. “no matter how much concealer you have Paige put on you or how many times you have Wade take you away to tell you you’re “the most beautiful girl in the world”, it doesn’t hide or change the fact you are ugly as hell on the inside. stay in this museum if you want, but I’m out.”

so with a that, you walked out of the house, leaving a terrified and angry Carly behind after you just tried to help her.

you started to make your way to the gas station. the whole trip was making you increasingly annoyed. this ENTIRE weekend you should’ve been at home. not in some dump holding back tears and frustration.

by the time you reached the gas station your face was soaked with tears and you saw the man from the church through the window.

you quickly wiped at your face and headed inside.

Bo raised at brow at you being alone and the watery eyes you had. he assumed there was a fight. “where’s the other two?” he asked.

you shook your head before sniffling to help your runny nose. “Carly and Wade are back at the museum.” you explained. Bo’s eyebrows raised at the mention of the museum.

“if I could just get this belt and be on my way it would be nice. I don’t really want to be around them any longer than needed.” you told him.

he led you to all the belts they had only to see he didn’t have a 15 there for the truck. you sighed and your eyes started to fill up with tears again as you realized you’d be stuck out there with them for who knows how long till they could get a new belt.

Bo noticed this quickly and placed a hand on your shoulder to try and get you to look at him. you shook your head no before sobbing into your hands. he felt awkward seeing you cry in front of him so he pulled you to his chest. soon you started rambling off everything Carly said to you and how the groups dynamic worked.

Bo could sympathize with you.

there would be times he felt overshadowed by people. he just didn’t know how you could deal with that everyday without some slight resentment to those you called friends.

“you could stay here with me?” Bo suggested, the corners of his lips raising into a smirk.

now to the average person that would be a nice offer that they would decline due to the fact you’re strangers, but we’re you really average?

no. spending a night away from torment was calling your name.

so you took the offer.

“i’d actually like that very much.”

suddenly a thought popped up in Bo’s head. “I’m Bo by the way.” he sheepishly said.

“Oh!” you said realizing you all never really introduced yourselves. “i’m y/n.”

“that’s a beautiful name for a beautiful person, y/n.” the compliment gave you goosebumps. it had been awhile since you received a compliment like that.

“thank you, Bo.” he loved the way you said his name.

after what you just told him he made sure everyone else would be posted in the museum.

you’d be safe with him.

[komotionlessqueenmm]

One man's trash, is another man's treasure.

(1-4)

Short story # 6

2,355 - Words

Fandom - House of Wax (2005)

Paring - Bo Sinclair X Reader

Summary - The reader finds herself & her 4 month old son stranded in Ambrose. While Bo finds himself enamored with the woman, wanting nothing more than to protect and provide for the two of them.

Warnings - Some dark topics, talk of abusive relationships, eventual blood & death, eventual smut. (I'm not sure what else tbh)

Notes - Italics mean the reader is singing.

Pt. 1 ~ Pt. 2 ~ Pt. 3 ~ Pt. 4

----

"No no no." (Y/n) sighed as her jeep sputtered and died, white smoke bellowing from under the hood. "Please don't do this." (Y/n) muttered under her breath, pulling the jeep off to the side of the dirt road, despite her desire to keep driving. "Damn it." She hissed under her breath when it died completely, flipping the four ways on instinctively. The baby fussed tiredly from the backseat, drawing (Y/n) full attention. "It alright my love." (Y/n) cooed before exiting the driver side, sliding onto the back seat, she comforted the infant. "Sh sh sh you're alright baby." She cooed as she brushed his hair away from his face, kissing his little hands. The baby's cries subsided, and he cooed up at his mother. His wide and bright eyes melting her heart, as he peered up at her. Allowing the child to suckle on her finger, (Y/n) used her free hand to check her cellphone, hoping to call triple A. "Of course." She sighed under her breath, tossing her phone into the front seat, after finding it dead. (Y/n) jumped at the sound of someone knocking on the window, looking to find a man standing there smiling at her.

"Oh you startled me." (Y/n) chuckled when she opened the door, leaving her child in his car seat. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to scare ya." He chuckled with embarrassment. "It's alright, no harm done." (Y/n) brushed it off before offering him her hand. "My names (Y/n)." He shook her hand with a smile. "Lester." He then pointed to the jeep. "Car troubles?" He asked as he let go of her hand. "Yeah I'm not sure what happened to it." (Y/n) sighed as she turned her attention to the jeep. "Mind of I take a look?" He tilted he head a little. "Please do." (Y/n) smiled quickly moving to pop the hood. "Where you headed?" Lester asked as he inspected the engine. "Anywhere." (Y/n) leaned her hip against the side of the jeep. "Running from something?" He asked impulsively. "I'm sorry I shouldn't have asked that." Lester quickly stammered. "It's alright..." (Y/n) cleared her throat. "Someone actually, I'm running from someone." She admitted. "I'd appreciate... I'd appreciate it if you'd forget ever meeting me after this." (Y/n) added. "Well a pretty face like yours would be hard to forget, but don't worry your secret is safe with me." Lester smiled, his honesty making (Y/n) smile. "Thank you Lester." Her appreciation making Lester grin. "You're welcome (Y/n), but I'm afraid I cant do much about your jeep." Lester's smile turned to a apologetic frown. "Are you sure?" She frowned a little when he nodded his head. "Well I appreciate you trying." (Y/n) sighed softly. "I could give you a ride into Ambrose, Bo owns the garage he could help you I'm sure of it." Lester suggested. "Oh I'd really appreciate the help!" (Y/n) beamed her excitement making Lester smile.

"Give me one moment." (Y/n) quickly moved to the other side of the car, unbuckling the car seat, she hulled her baby out of the car. "Oh you've got a little one." Lester observed with slight shock. "I hope that's not a problem." (Y/n) bit her bottom lip nervously. "N-no not at all." Lester stammered. "You need me to grab anything?" He asked. "Could you grab the stroller from the back?" She asked. "Sure thing!" Lester moved to grab the stroller while (Y/n) shouldered the diaper bag. "Let me lay a blanket down in the bed of my truck real quick." Lester explained as he carried the stroller to his truck, (Y/n) nodded her head in understanding as she closed up the back of the jeep, locking the doors before she joined Lester at his truck. "There we go." He murmured to himself as he laid the blanket out, laying the stroller on top of it. "Don't want to stain that up." He explained with a smile, (Y/n) smiled then looked to the cab of the truck. "I think I'll have to hold him in the truck huh?" She observed, sitting the car seat in the tailgate to unbuckle the infant. "I'm afraid so." Lester rubbed the back of his neck a little. "Oh let me get that." He moved to grab the now empty car seat. "Oh it locks into place on the stroller." (Y/n) explained pointing to where the car seat went. "Well ain't that convenient." Lester smiled as he latched the car seat into place. "Yeah it's really nice." (Y/n) agreed with a smile.

They rode in a comfortable silence for about ten minutes, before Lester struck up conversation. "So what's the little guys name?" He asked as he glanced towards the baby, quickly casting his gaze back to the road. "He's names Von." (Y/n) smiled as she lovingly stroked the baby's back. "Dose it mean something?" Lester asked with genuine curiosity. "I got it from old Norse, it means hope." She explained. "That's really cool!" Lester beamed excitedly, making (Y/n) chuckle softly. "If you don't might me asking... Where's Von's pa?" Lester asked after a few minutes. "That's who I'm running from..." (Y/n) admitted, finding it easy to confide in him. "He do something?" Lester asked. "When he found out I was pregnant... He tried to kill me." (Y/n) murmured softly, her words making Lester frown. "A neighbor heard the commotion, and he saved me. My ex went to jail, but he has friends in high places, and was able to get released last month." (Y/n) paused for a moment. "I received full custody of Von after my ex was sentenced, and when he got out I took off." She swallowed thickly, subconsciously touching the scar on her mouth from where her ex had slashed her with a knife. "He's a dangerous man, and I'm terrified that he's going to come after me, to finish what he started." (Y/n)'s confession upset Lester, he wasn't upset with her, but with her ex, a man he didn't even know.

"I'm really sorry to hear that." Lester cleared his throat, swallowing the emotional lump that had formed. "We'll be in Ambrose in a minute." He added. "Ah hell." He sighed at the sight ahead. "I forgot this road washed out last month in a storm." Lester explained as he parked the truck, I gotta flip my hubs into four-wheel." Lester explained, as he opened his door. "Oh I don't want to trouble you any more than I already have." (Y/n) reasoned. "Oh it's no trouble, I'm happy to help a pretty lady and her baby." He offered her a friendly smile, before setting to work. After he had finished his work, Lester hopped back into the truck with a grin. "Now hold on, I'm gonna take it slow but it's still gonna be bumpy." He explained as he put the truck into drive. (Y/n) nodded her head in understanding, cradling Von against her chest firmly, in hopes of not disturbing him to much. True to his word Lester took the drive nice and slow, the truck rocking this way and that as the tires rolled over some of the larger rocks. "Here we are." He murmured as they cleared the ruble, and made it to solid ground again. "Welcome to Ambrose (Y/n)." He smiled at her as he drove onto town, parking outside of the gas station. "Wow this place is really cute." (Y/n) hummed as she looked at all of the rustic buildings. "I'll go see if Bo is in." Lester offered as he hopped out of the truck. (Y/n) had nodded her head exiting the truck herself a moment later, her legs desperately needing to stretch. "Hello my sweet." (Y/n) mused at Von, who cooed up at her, a little drool dribbling down his chin.

"Bo's not in." Lester sighed as he exited the station. "He should be back soon though, he doesn't typically leave the garage empty for very long." He explained. "Well I guess I'll have to wait." (Y/n) smiled softly. "I could wait with you." Lester offered. "Oh no it's alright, I've already taken up so much of your time." (Y/n) declined his offer. "I'm sure I'll be alright, like you said he shouldn't be gone long." She reasoned as she subconsciously began bouncing Von gently. "Alright here let me grab the stroller for ya." Lester smiled as he opened the tailgate, grabbing the stroller he attempted to set it up. "The red leaver on the side, push it, then pull the stroller up. It'll lock into place with a click." (Y/n) explained, pointing to the red leaver. "Got it." Lester chuckled softly as he pulled the stroller up, smiling when it clicked into place. "Thank you Lester, for everything. You've been a real help." (Y/n) sat Von into the stroller, strapping him in before she turned her attention to Lester. "Here I've got some spare cash." (Y/n) quickly pulled her wallet from her back pocket, pulling out the thirty dollars she had. "Oh no I can't take that." Lester shook his head. "Please it's the least I can do." She smiled before taking ahold of his hands, placing the money in his palms. "What about your jeep, how are ya gonna pay for that?" Lester voiced his concern. "I've got some prepaid cards, I'll be alright." (Y/n) assured him, smiling when he finally nodded his head in agreement. "Alright... But if ya ain't got enough have Bo call me, I'll help ya out I promise." Lester smiled when (Y/n) nodded her head in agreement. "Thank you again Lester." She shook his hands before releasing him, waving as he hopped into his truck, and drove off.

(Y/n) sat on the curb outside of the gas station for about thirty minutes, gently rocking the stroller back and forth, letting Von sleep peacefully. "Go tell Aunt Rhody, go tell Aunt Rhody, Go tell Aunt Rhody that the old gray goose is dead." (Y/n) sang the old lullaby. "The one she's been saving to make a feather bed. The old gander's weeping, because his wife is dead." She reached up turning on the small battery operated fan she had attached to the stroller for Von. "The goslings are mourning, because their mother's dead. She died in the mill pond from standing on her head." (Y/n) smiled at the sight of birds flying in the distance. "Go tell Aunt Rhody that the old gray goose is dead." She finished the lullaby, softly humming in her throat the last line, drawing out the lullaby a little longer. "You've got a real pretty voice." A man called out softly, his sudden appearance making (Y/n) freeze up momentarily. "Oh thank you." (Y/n) smiled up at the handsome man, rising to her feet as he tossed his cigarette off to the side. "My names Bo, I own this shop." He introduced himself, offering her his hand. "I'm (Y/n)." She smiled shaking his hand. "Is there something I can help you with?" He asked. "My jeep broke down a few miles down the road, I got a ride from a man named Lester into town. He said you'd be able to fix my jeep for me." (Y/n) explained, idly continuing to rock the stroller back and forth. "I'm sure I can." He smiled. "Do you know what's wrong with it?" He asked as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. "I have no clue." She chuckled softly. "Well can you explain what happened?" Bo asked with a small chuckle of his own. "Uh it made this sputtering kinda sound, like it was running out of gas, but the meter said I still had over half a tank. And white smoke started coming out from under the hood, then as soon as I got the car off to the side of the road the engine died." (Y/n) explained to the best of her memory. "When was the last time you put oil in it?" Bo asked with a small tilt of his head. "Last week." (Y/n) replied quickly. "Has it been giving you problems before today?" He asked. "None." (Y/n) shook her head, not having had any issues with her jeep since before today.

"Hm I have to have my brother tow the truck back here, before I can determine what's wrong." Bo explained. "Of course." (Y/n) nodded her head in understanding. "I'll have to call him from the house, my shops phone has been broken for two weeks now. You can come with me if you'd like, give you a chance to relax somewhere a little more comfortable with your little one there." Bo offered as he glanced to the stroller, a friendly smile on his handsome face. "Yeah sure that would be really nice, thank you." (Y/n) smiled as he nodded her head, following Bo to the house on the hill. "What's his name?" Bo asked as he looked into the stroller at the sleeping toddler. "Von." (Y/n) smiled. "I like that name." Bo admitted with a grin of his own. "Thanks it means hope in old Norse." (Y/n) explained. "Well I like it even more then." Bo's smile widened a little when (Y/n) giggled softly, a notable blush painting her cheeks. "You know you and Lester have been some of the nicest people I've met in a while." (Y/n) admitted. "In my experience some of the nicest people are from rural areas like this." Bo mused, his statement making (Y/n) nod her head in agreement. "Yeah it's nice." She hummed with content as they reached the front porch.

----

Part one is complete!

Let me know what you think!

Oh and let me know if you wanna be tagged in the next parts!

Love ya!

PS this is the lullaby (Y/n) was singing, its called Go Tell Aunt Rhody.

[chasingpj]

𝐀 𝐒𝐞𝐭-𝐔𝐩

"We should go pick the strawberries over there. Percy and Y/n can work on the ones here."

pairing: percy jackson x child of hecate!reader

words: 3,887

warnings: none?? pls let me know if i missed anything

timeline: post sea of monsters

if you want to be tagged every time I update this story click here

a/n: hi hi! I was supposed to post this yesterday, but oops. I don't have much to say. again, it's a little bit of a slow start just because I want to introduce characters and establish relationship dynamics before getting into the good stuff. anyways, i hope you like it! i love hearing feedback so don't hesitate to reach out to me!

Part One Part Two Part Three

When you were stressed or needed to be alone with your thoughts, you often found yourself in the strawberry fields, either helping collect the harvest or simply sitting on the grass patches nearby. You usually preferred being in the fields alone, peacefully listening to the chirping of the birds and cicadas while inhaling the scent of sun-baked strawberries. However, there were times where you did stumble upon the company of the girls from the Demeter and Aphrodite cabin. You didn't mind hanging out with them, always amused at their banter and choice of conversation. They were always bubbly, taking advantage of the leisure activity to gossip and have girl talk, and it was nice, even if you were just listening.

Today was one of those days where you weren’t alone in the fields. Standing alongside Silena, Katie, and your half-sister, Lou Ellen, you find yourself zoning in and out of their conversation. Their chattering and giggling serve as background noise as you focus on cutting the strawberries from their stems to carefully place them in your basket.

"Who do you think are the cutest boys at camp?" You hear Silena ask when you decide to tune back into their conversation. A silence falls amongst the group; Katie and Lou Ellen were suddenly hesitant to speak. You look up, waiting for one of them to break the silence because it definitely wasn’t going to be you.

"I know what you're doing! You're trying to find out our crushes," Katie points her finger at Silena accusingly. Lou Ellen nods,

“Yeah, we know your tricks, Silena! You’re gonna try and set us up with people.”

"What? No!" Silena denies, but the smirk on her face said otherwise. "I'm just asking in general! You can find someone cute and not have a crush on them,” she points out. The three of you weren’t convinced at Silena’s claims, and the silence returns. You turn back to what you were doing, not really wanting to trap yourself in this conversation, and you decide to leave the pressure of confession to Katie and Lou Ellen.

"Okay.” Katie turns her body to face you. You hesitantly meet her gaze, already knowing what she's going to confess. "... this might be weird, but I think your brother is really cute," she admits, giggling nervously as she looks at both you and Lou Ellen. You scrunch your nose, shaking your head while Lou Ellen joins your reaction as she gags theatrically. The confession didn't surprise you, but it still felt weird to hear it.

"He's ugly!" You exclaim. Silena laughs, her head thrown back as Katie gasps at your insult about Atticus. Even though this wasn't the first time you've heard this from girls at camp, you still found it strange. Even your mortal friends have told you that they think your brother is adorable. You’ll never admit it out loud to anyone, but you were aware that your brother definitely wasn't ugly. Obviously, he wasn't if almost all of your friends had to mention his appearance at least once. Not only was Atticus conventionally attractive, but he was also a natural flirt, so he got attention from girls fairly easily. So much so that before your mother claimed you, Connor and Travis Stoll swore you guys were going to be claimed by Aphrodite.

You've only seen him flirt a handful of times, usually with the wood nymphs and playfully with the girls from the Aphrodite cabin. It was strange seeing girls flirt with him and giggle at all his stupid jokes because that “smooth” Atticus they meet is so different from the Atticus you saw. The Atticus you got to see was a clumsy dork that obsessed over Harry Potter and had a habit of bursting into song whenever he was bored, most often singing his own rendition of a song from a broadway musical or of a rock song from the 90s.

"No, he isn't! His facial structure is amazing!” Katie gushes. “And he's tall and has broad shoulders. He's also really funny!" You and Lou Ellen stare at her with a straight face before simultaneously bursting into laughter.

“He’s a dork!” Lou Ellen chokes through her laughs, and you nod, agreeing with her.

"Hey! I get where Katie is coming from! As his sisters, you guys are biased. Of course, you’re gonna say he's ugly," Silena points out, and you sigh,

“Live with him in the Hermes Cabin for a couple of weeks, and when you see him in his natural state, you won’t find him cute anymore,” you joke. Katie shakes her head,

“I don’t believe you. I bet he’s even cuter! You’re calling him a dork, but jokes on you, I like dorks,” she says playfully, crossing her arms over her chest, and you smile at her.

“To each their own, I guess.”

"What about you? Who do you think is cute?" Silena asks you. You side-eye the other, and you feel your face heat up. You really didn’t want to be the target in this conversation. Turning back to the bushes, you answer her question with a shrug of your shoulders. Silena scoffs, "there has to be someone! We have a good group of guys to choose from at camp."

"I mean, yeah…" you trail off hesitantly, and you feel the stares of the girls as they wait for your answer. You knew they weren't going to let this go, and so, you sigh softly, taking a moment to find the courage to confess. "I guess Percy is cute-"

"Y/n!"

Your breath hitches in your throat, and your shoulder tenses up at the sound of the familiar voice. It was too much of a coincidence that Percy showed up the exact moment you were speaking about him. The girls laugh at your reaction and your cheeks somehow become hotter as Silena smiles at you knowingly. If she didn't sense your crush before, she definitely sensed it now. Snapping your gaze away from her, you find the courage to turn around.

"Hey, Percy," you say, smiling sheepishly. You fiddle with your fingers as you take in his appearance. Percy was wearing his orange camp half-blood shirt and cargo pants. His cheeks were a little flushed at the summer heat, and you assume he probably came from training. As usual, his dark hair was slightly disheveled, and you couldn’t help your lips curling into a soft smile.

"Hey, I've been looking for you. You left these on the dock," he says, presenting the black pouch filled with your crystals in his hand. You gasp softly as you take it from him.

"Oh! Thank you. I can’t believe I forgot them," You shake your head at yourself as you put them in your strawberry basket in the meantime. You didn’t understand how your forgotten crystals never came to your mind once, especially this late in the day.

"No problem. I think they’re all in there," he smiles at you before acknowledging the girls standing behind you. "Hey, guys.”

He furrowed his eyebrows as they giggle amongst themselves. They murmur a few things to each other before turning their gaze to him again.

"Percy, I wanted to ask who do you think is the prettiest girl at camp?" Silena asks as the girls move to surround him. You're stomach flutters crazily with nerves, and you cringe, feeling embarrassed even though Percy was oblivious to the motive behind the question.

Percy looks around him, shifting his weight from one foot to another,

"This… feels like a trap,” he says slowly, making the girls giggle.

"It's not! We just want to know. Anyone, in particular, stands out to you?" Silena steps closer to him.

"Any crushes?" Katie asks.

"There has to be someone, right?" Lou Ellen smiles.

"Um… I- why are you guys asking so many questions?" He mutters, his shoulders tense up as he avoids the stares of the three girls practically towering over him.

"Guys, leave him alone," you laugh shortly. "You don't have to answer all that," you reassure him, cutting through their little circle as you squeeze between Silena and Katie.

You stand beside Percy, the girls deciding to step down and return to their original places. Silena smiles, and you can't tell what she's thinking, but you knew that the smile playing on her lips made you nervous. You awkwardly exchange a look with Percy, noticing that he was just as flustered as you were.

"You know… I noticed that those bushes over there get a lot of sun," Silena says, breaking her silence as she turns to Katie and Lou Ellen. She points at the bushes about three rows from where you were all standing, and Katie nods,

"We should go pick the strawberries over there. Percy and Y/n can work on the ones here." Silena gives you a smirk, winking at you before turning around and taking the other girls with her.

You resume your strawberry picking, chewing on your button lip. You were hoping that he didn't witness Silena wink at you because if he did, it was then way too obvious that the girls spontaneously set up this. There's a silence for a moment, and you feel your palms start to sweat as you try to figure out what you were going to say to him.

"Where's Ambrose?" Percy asks softly, and you glance over for a second, watching as he picks the strawberries beside you.

"Oh, uh, he ran off a little while ago with my brothers. They're probably playing somewhere." You smile, remembering how Ambrose wasted no time, running over to Alabaster and Ernest the moment they had offered to play with him.

"... how do you play with a ghost dog?" Percy gleams, amused at the idea of playing with Ambrose considering he couldn’t touch many things.

"There's a process where you can offer things to his spirit, so he has a few toys that he can play with," you explain. “He and I play with his toys all the time, but he’s with my brother’s right now, so they're probably wrestling."

"What? Really? I wouldn’t want to wrestle Ambrose,” Percy admits as a short laugh comes from his mouth.

"Yeah, me neither. He would definitely win if we did. Once he was so excited to see me; he jumped on me and knocked me down no problem,” you shake your head. “I think he forgets how big he is, and he ends up getting carried away sometimes.”

You look up from what you were doing, unexpectedly meeting Percy’s green eyes that resemble the color of the Caribbean sea as the sun shines into them. The butterflies in your stomach return, and you’re trying not to focus on the fact that the other was already looking at you. You look elsewhere, suddenly too shy to look at him, but your eyes couldn’t help but flicker back to his face. From this close, you noticed things about him that you didn’t see before, like the scattered freckles on his face, his long eyelashes, and his slightly chapped lips.

“I-” he stops himself suddenly, and your eyebrows furrow. The tension between you both was something you've never felt before. You didn't understand why Percy looked dazed, staring at you as if he found you to be the most captivating person in the world.

You open your mouth, but before you could speak, you see something moving at the end of the bush row. Breaking your gaze with Percy, you notice Silena's focusing intensely on you and him. It suddenly dawns on you that the strange tension was because she was working that love magic that all the Aphrodite children can do. She smirks when she sees that you’ve noticed her, and you swore you saw her mouth a “you’re welcome.” The tension suddenly falls as she hides behind the bushes right as Percy turns around to find out what you were looking at.

You giggle nervously, “um, yeah. Anyways... Ambrose can put up a fight,” you say, trying to revert to the original topic because you really didn’t want to discuss what just happened. You give him a second to get himself together, Percy looking a little disoriented after being under Silena's look magic. He blinks a few times before turning abruptly toward the strawberry bushes. A nervous chuckle leaves his lips, and his hand comes up to rub the back of his neck. He shifts on his feet and nods,

“Yeah, I can imagine.” He clears his throat, his voice coming out a little higher than he had intended it to be. You bite your bottom lip, trying to refrain from laughing, and you hum softly in response.

The two of you sat in silence for a bit before your conversation had picked up again. Surprisingly, even after being unknowingly manipulated by Silena’s magic, Percy moved on quickly from the awkward tension. You found it was easy to talk to him, the two of you chatting as if you didn't just meet yesterday. The two of you talked and laughed a lot, sharing funny stories from quests or about your mortal parents.

You’ve never been a closed-off person, and you were able to share things easily with people, so the conversation flew naturally. You guys talked about the weird perks of your powers. One of the weird perks you shared is your ability to see and communicate with ghosts, and you end up freaking him out with the many stories of your paranormal experiences.

You weren't sure how long you were talking to him, but time felt like it flew by, and eventually, your baskets were filled with strawberries as you finished picking the row. The sun was lower in the sky, and you assume that it was almost time for dinner. You figured you should find your siblings, and Ambrose and Percy had mentioned that he had plans to climb the lava wall with a few of his friends. So you guys placed your baskets in the drop-off section where they package the strawberries, exchanging a short “see you later” before parting ways.

☆’.･.･:★:･.･.’☆

The last thing Annabeth was expecting to see today was an out-of-breath Atticus bursting into her cabin, but there he was. She jumps in her seat at the sudden bang, the sound cutting through the silence. Her gaze snaps from her book to the door, concerned for a second as Atticus looks panicked. He lets himself in, scoping out the room in search of something.

"What are you-?"

"Have you seen Harvey?" Atticus asks, frantically looking for his familiar. Harvey is a black-footed ferret that was given to him by his mother. When you guys found out that Ambrose was for you, Atticus was pretty bummed. He was jealous that your mother had given you such a cool gift, and you had assumed that she had seen how upset he was because a few days after Hecate officially claimed you, Atticus received Harvey as a present. The morning he met Harvey for the first time, Atticus was thrilled to wake up with the ferret casually sitting on his chest.

"I'm sorry, Harvey? I don't know a Harvey?" Annabeth turns in her chair to face him, her arms crossed over her chest.

"My ferret, have you seen him?" Atticus drops to his knees, looking under the beds and the nightstands. He just saw him jump into the back window of the Athena Cabin, so he was sure that Harvey was hiding somewhere.

"Um, no?" Annabeth rolls her eyes, finding it rude that he has barged in as if he lived there. Suddenly, a small animal jumps from the top of the bookcase beside her and right on her desk. Annabeth yelps, getting up from her seat quick as Harvey snorts, and he clumsily runs across her papers before prancing across all the desks that were lined against the wall.

"Harvey, what are you doing?!" Atticus exclaims as he moves to stand up. He attempts to meet Harvey at the last desk, but Harvey jumps out of his reach just as he closes his fist to grab him. Harvey zooms across the room, forcing him to play a one-sided game of tag that Atticus was definitely losing. He occasionally slips and stumbles, the snorts that leave his snout starting to sound like mocking laughter.

"What's wrong with your rat?" Annabeth jokes as her eyes follow Harvey around the room.

"He's a ferret," Atticus corrects her, mumbling under his breath. He sighs as he tries to catch up with the animal, failing miserably as not only was he crazy fast, he was able to find the smallest corners to hide in.

"Similar family," she shrugs, smirking at him. "And you didn't answer my question."

Atticus sighs, getting on the floor to try and grab Harvey, who’s tucked in the corner under one of the beds. He squints at the small animal, not sure why he’s acting this way when Harvey was curled up on his desk, peacefully taking a nap about 20 minutes ago.

"He does this sometimes. I don't know. He wants to play, and then he causes chaos," Atticus grunts, almost grabbing Harvey, but he runs out of his reach once again. Atticus groans as he sits back on his heels, pinching the bridge of his nose. He decides he might as well take a breather since he's been chasing him for the past 10 minutes, and he considers that he should stop entertaining him since Harvey obviously saw this as some game.

He sighs softly, choosing to forget about Harvey as he looks over at Annabeth. Her gray eyes are fixed on him as she leans against the edge of her desk. Her curly blonde locks are pulled back in a messy low ponytail allowing the front strands to frame her face prettily. Atticus smiles as he admires her, taking in her appearance before she starts telling him off.

"You look pretty like that," Atticus compliments, his heart skipping a beat as their eyes meet. He watches as her expression softens for a second, her eyes wide at the random compliment. Atticus smirks softly, not surprised, as her face suddenly darkens into a scowl. If Annabeth felt anything for him, she was good at hiding it.

When Atticus had first arrived at camp last summer, Annabeth and he spoke here and there. Their conversations were brief but pleasant, and Atticus found himself wanting to talk to her more often. As his crush for her grew, he had taken it upon himself to harmlessly flirt with her, hoping she’d get the hint that he was interested.

"Like what?" She asks, her chin up as she moves to stand up straight on her feet.

"With your hair in a ponytail like that. It's cute.”

"Hmm. Thanks for letting me know, so I'll never do it like this again,” she says in such a serious tone that made Atticus laugh. There it is. Annabeth was always quick to shut him down, and she never failed to make witty comebacks. He was pretty certain that it was just banter, but it made it hard to tell if she was maybe into him. But he never failed to notice how occasionally, she’d momentarily be lost for words or have a flustered look on her face before it hardened as it did a moment ago.

"You'd be pretty regardless, Chase.” He feels his knees start to ache, and he sighs as he gets back up on his feet.

"Don't call me that," Annabeth says abruptly.

"What? Chase? What do you prefer? Annie? Beth? Anna?" He teases.

"I prefer Annabeth, thank you." She gives him a tight, sarcastic smile, and a short laugh comes from Atticus’s mouth.

"That's not fun, though…" His hand comes under his chin as he studies her. He ponders for a second, trying to come up with a name that he can personally call her. Annabeth shifts, avoiding his gaze as she looks elsewhere. She was weirded out that the other was looking at her for so long, and she tried not to show how flustered she actually was. She grunts,

"What?! What are you look-"

"Goldilocks," Atticus blurts out, his finger pointing into the air as his face brightens, thinking he’s an absolute genius for coming up with that name. Annabeth shakes her head,

"Don't call me th-"

"It's been decided. I will call you goldilocks. No one else can call you that," Atticus cuts her off, the same proud smile plastered on his face even though Annabeth’s eyes narrow dangerously at him. Atticus takes a step back hesitantly. At first glance, she didn’t come off as intimidating, but Atticus knew better. He was always sure not to push her too far because he was completely aware of her ability to kill him.

Atticus suddenly remembers Harvey, noticing how the sound of his little feet pattering along the wooden floor ceased a while ago. He scans the room finding Harvey standing on his hind legs a couple of feet away, calmly watching them. Atticus still couldn’t understand why he had acted so strangely. Familiars couldn’t talk, obviously because they’re animals but their actions are never out of vain. They’re usually trying to tell you something if they’re acting strange, and it takes a while to put the pieces together since there is only so much they can do. After thinking for a second, it dawns on Atticus that Harvey purposely made him come to the Athena Cabin so that he can talk to Annabeth. He smiles to himself, walking toward Harvey. He didn’t run away this time, allowing Atticus to put him on his shoulder.

"He just stopped,” Annabeth points out, her head tilting to the side.

"Probably got tired?" Atticus makes an excuse for him, not wanting to admit that Harvey had decided to be his wingman today. "Sorry for barging in, by the way," he apologizes. “I saw him jump in from the window, and I was worried he’d break something.”

"Whatever. Don’t do it again.”

"Got it. Well, I'll see you around, Goldilocks. Happy studying.” Atticus turns on his heels, hearing a scoff coming from Annabeth as he walks out of the cabin.

"When did I ask you to be my wingman?" Atticus asks Harvey as he walks off the steps of the Athena Cabin. He reaches up, his index finger petting the top of his head. "You're crazy, bud... But she is cute, isn't she?" Atticus laughs, Harvey snorting as if he agrees with him.

masterlist

[slasherhaven]

Hello, I hope I'm not bothering you, but could you write for Vincent with a pregnant reader who ran away from her abusive boyfriend and found herself in Ambrose when her car broke down, and Vincent felt protective of her and didn't let Bo hurt her? Maybe after the child is born, she encourages them to call Vincent "daddy"?

Vincent Sinclair with a pregnant future S/O who is escaping from an abusive relationship:

You were heading into the unmapped town for some gas but of course nothing could be so easy for you, since your car broke down just outside of “Ambrose”.

A man had come by in a truck, he was dirty and a little strange but seemed nice in his own way. He had offered to take you into town, said that the man who owned the garage would get your car, fix it up, and set you on your way.

You were cautious but didn’t have much choice, so you let the man drive you into town.

He couldn’t help but glance at your round stomach, his own twisting uncomfortably, knowing you were pregnant. He also couldn’t help but glance up at the bruise under your eye.

“...when are you due?” the man, Lester, asked. There was something strange in his voice, sympathy...guilt?

“...about a month” you answered and the rest of the drive was silent.

You got into town, dropped off at the garage. But instead of leaving town again, you saw Lester’s truck driving up to a house. Obviously, you didn’t think anything of it at the time.

You talked to the man who owned the garage, Bo. He seemed nice, happy to help, even charming. He asked what you were doing in town, squinting suspiciously when you shrugged, avoiding the question.

He told you that he had to get something from the house, so the two of you headed up there. Lester’s truck was there but no sign of the man.

As soon as you stepped into the house with Bo, Vincent was watching. Bo left you in the living room when he went to get whatever it was that he said you needed.

That’s when you caught a glimpse of yourself in a small mirror on the mantle piece. You gently touched the bruise under your eye, tears forming. You sighed, collecting yourself, holding your stomach protectively as you paced the living room.

Bo wasn’t stupid. Your car only had two bags in it. One carrying your things, your essentials, packed in a rush, carrying light. The other filled with baby products. You were bruised, quiet, avoiding small talk type questions. You were running from something.

And Vincent didn’t need to see your bags to know that. He could see what his twin saw. You were running and all three brothers had a feeling they knew what from. 

And so an argument ensued.

Lester stayed out of it, hanging his head and just waiting. Normally Vincent would be quick to give in to Bo, but not this time.

Vincent couldn’t let Bo hurt you. You had been hurt too much already, and you were pregnant. They just couldn’t do this, not this time.

Even Bo was struggling with the morality of killing a pregnant woman.

“She’s due in a month...” Lester spoke up, giving Bo a pleading look, please just let her go...

“And what do you want me to do about that?” Bo asked, uninterested with the information.

“Let her go” Lester sighed. 

“...fine” Bo nodded, he could do that, just this once.

Bo began to leave the room but Vincent grabbed his arm, turning him back to him. Bo only had to look at his town to know what he was thinking.

“No” Bo stated firmly. That was not happening.

“Maybe Vinny has a point...” Lester looked between the twins, also knowing what Vincent was thinking and agreeing with him.

You need somewhere to stay. A town that wasn’t even on maps was a perfect place to hide from whoever you were running from.

“We can’t. She’ll find out about the town, then we can never let her go” Bo reminded them but Vincent tugged on his arm again, harder this time. “...how long do you think we’re going to let her stay here?” he asked sarcastically.

“...” Vincent just gave him a look. Even with the mask, Bo knew what he was thinking. For the foreseeable future, for good if that’s what it took.

“No” Bo said even firmer this time. “...you’re both ridiculous, but fine. But since this was your idea, she and the baby are you’re responsibility, I’m not dealing with that shit. Got it?” he asked, staring his twin down. Vincent nodded.

Bo cursed to himself before leaving the room, going to find you.

It was a long, tense conversation. Bo practically interrogating you about where you came from, where you’re going, and why.

Eventually you broke down and told him. That you’re running from an abusive partner, don’t really know where you’re going. Just trying to get away. 

“My brother...suggested you stay here, if you have nowhere to go” Bo told you.

“Brother?...Lester, right?” you questioned, assuming that’s why the man from the truck came up to the house.

“My other brother, Vincent. You haven’t met him yet but he knows what I know, says you should stay here. Lester said you’re a month away from popping, you can’t be on the road alone when that happens” he explained. 

“No...I mean, thank you but it’s too kind. I couldn’t intrude” you shook your head, eyes wide at the offer.

“Whoever you’re running from won’t find you here. Look, I’ll let you leave now. It’s my brothers that are worried about you, especially Vincent” he shrugged. “Look, I’ll introduce you. But...he ain’t much of a talker” he offered.

Next thing you knew, you were speaking with the three brothers. Bo didn’t seem to care what you chose to do. Lester was eager for you to stay, claiming that Vincent was too. But when you looked at the masked man, he just nodded. Bo was right, he wasn’t much of a talker but that was okay by you.

And, eventually, they talked you into staying.

Bo kept his distance but wasn’t mean to you, that was fine by you.

Lester ended up going home, apparently he lived just outside of town.

Vincent was the one who kept you company, even if he was quiet.

He was always fretting over you, nervous about the pregnancy. He barely knew you but already cared so much. It was a...nice change.

He was quiet and you didn’t understand the mask, but it wasn’t your business. But he kind and gentle. Never touched you unless you told him it was okay, didn’t even stand too close.

But he was always worried about you and you knew that.

The two of you became close quickly.

Something about him just told you that you could trust him. Everything about him was a refreshing change. You liked him a lot, even after only a couple of weeks.

You opened up to Vincent. Telling him everything about your abusive ex and how you finally decided that you had to leave them to protect your child.

A month passed. All your bruises had faded like they were never there, Vincent was always by your side, and your baby was due any day, it was starting to feel like you were getting to start fresh, even after such a short amount of time.

And finally the baby came, sending the four of you into a panic. 

This wasn’t exactly how you had expected to give birth to your first child.

Bo drove you to the hospital and Vincent went with you both. You and Vincent sitting in the back seat, him trying to calm you down while trying to not freak out himself.

Bo couldn’t have complained more when he had to be the one to take you inside while Vincent waited in the car.

After, what felt like, an eternity, you got to leave the hospital and take the baby to their new home in Ambrose. 

As soon as you returned to the house, Vincent was by your side, worrying about you. 

Bo went to grab a beer and Vincent sat you down, you needed rest.

Vincent couldn’t help but stare in awe as you cradled your new born baby to your chest. Over the last month, he had fallen hard for you.

“Do you want to hold them?” your voice broke him out of his trance. His eye widened as he looked at you, hold them? You would let him do that?

He paused before nodding.

He sat down beside you and you carefully passed the baby to him. He held them like they were the most precious thing in existence.

“Their father...he’s a terrible man and I’m glad I had the courage to leave before he had the chance to hurt them. I’m glad I came here, found this place and you. I’m glad they would have had a chance to meet you, Vincent” you told him, making him look at you. In awe again. 

He wanted to tell you that he was glad too, that he would never ever hurt you or your child, that he would be here for you for as long as you allowed him to be.

Thankfully, you already knew that. Because you reached out and took his hand in yours, squeezing it gently.

Vincent completely melted when your baby cooed up at him.

“Hey, they like you” you smiled softly.

Vincent looked back down at your child and just fell in love with them, just like he had with you.

“Look at you, Vincent. You’re a natural” Bo teased as he stepped into the room.

But you just smiled, he was right. Vincent also smiled under the mask, he was okay with being a natural at this...

Time continued to pass, Vincent right by your side.

He as wonderful, more so than he needed to be.

He cared for you and your child more than anything.

If the baby cried, he’d offer to check on them. Even if the baby didn’t cry, they were just sleeping, Vincent would check on them.

So much time passed that you had practically become family. The brothers loved having you and your child around, even Bo did though he wouldn’t admit it.

Eventually you found out the truth of the town and you were rightly horrified. 

Vincent was horrified as well, terrified that you would leave now. Or worse, Bo would have to do something to stop you from telling anyone on the outside.

You needed some time but this had become your home and it was Vincent...you knew that he wouldn’t hurt you. Until now you didn’t think he would hurt anyone.

No matter what he did, you saw the fear in his eye, he was scared to lose you and your child. He wasn’t angry...he was scared and sad. He was still your Vincent.

So...you stayed.

And you didn’t regret it.

Eventually your child began attempting to talk. At the moment, all they could say was “mama”.

But then something incredible happened.

You were playing with your child and Vincent walked into the room.

Your child’s face lit up as they exclaimed “daddy!”

You both froze.

Vincent didn’t know what to do. He could cry from he overwhelming emotion he felt but he was also worried about what you felt. Where you mad about it?

He looked to you for how to respond.

But you relaxed, smiling slightly as you gestured for him to join you. And he did, sitting down beside you.

“If you don’t like it, I’ll try to get them to stop...but I don’t mind, if you don’t mind” you told him.

Vincent had to do something, this was a moment, even he knew that. It was important. 

So, he gently took your hand, squeezing it and nodding. You smiled before leaning into him, pressing a gentle kiss to his masked cheek before leaning against his arm, the two of you playing with his child.

Having your car break down just outside of Ambrose and meeting Vincent was the best thing that ever happened to you, you truly believed that.

Vincent hated that you had to go through so much pain to end up here but he was glad that you found them, that he could help, that he could have even met you and your child. 

Now, the two of you were his world. He would do anything to protect you both. He loved you both.

[theyreonlynoodlesmike]

Melting Wax, Crawling Vines (Vincent Sinclair x Fem!Reader)

Next Chapter ->

Warnings: knife mention, implied running away

Word Count: 2093

I'm warning y'all now that this is gonna be one of the darkest, if not the darkest, series I've ever written. There will be major trigger warnings later, and if you check out my ao3 you can get a feel for how bad they will be. Otherwise, enjoy!

You stared at the underneath of the hood of your car. Something was wrong, you just didn't know what . Sure, you knew how to change a tire and how to check your oil. You could probably put in a new battery if you really needed to. But when it came to just about everything else, well - You didn't know your ass from your elbows. It didn't help that you didn't necessarily have a tool box in your car. You used to, but you'd taken it out to make space for your move. Yeah, you had just about everything you owned that would fit into your little station wagon packed into it. Except a toolbox. The rest of your belongings was in a truck, which was definitely gonna make it to your new apartment before you did at this rate. 

You sighed, running a hand through your hair as the Louisiana sun beat down on your neck. It was early July. You thought making the move before the fall started would've been a good decision, and it was one you'd stand by, but you just wished it wasn't so hot . It was early afternoon and the sun was at its highest. You swiped at the sweat on your brow, shut the hood of your car, and went to get the map out of your glove box. You tried to pinpoint where you were, but it was nearly impossible without any nearby towns to use as a landmark. Finally, you realized what you needed to do. Just as the first car you'd seen pass by started coming down the road.

You waved your hand, trying to flag down the blue chevrolet truck that was speeding down the back road. You almost expected it to pass you, but it slowed down to a stop. When it did, the first thing that hit you was the smell. You tried not to make a face of disgust as a man with a dirty face lowered his window to greet you. His driver side door was red, and he grinned out from under a green cap.

"Hi, there. Need a hand?" He asked, and you gave him a grateful smile. He'd stepped out to assess the damage, rubbing his hands together as he came towards your vehicle. You guessed the roadkill in the back was the cause of the smell, and you were too polite to comment. Instead, you told him your name and said,

"I'm having car trouble, but I- Well, I don't really know what's wrong with it." And the man responded with,

"The names Lester," And he paused to give you a friendly grin. "I'll take a look and see if I can figure it out." He said, and you quickly thanked him. You watched as his eyes landed on the things stuffed into your car. "You heading somewhere?" He asked, and you rubbed your neck before you helped him pop open the hood.

"I'm moving, or, at least, trying to." You supplied the name of the town you were moving to, and he gave you a grin as he looked up from where he'd been studying the interior of your vehicle to say,

"Oh, I know that town. About an hour- hour and a half from here?" And you nodded. That'd been your original estimate for your arrival. Now, you were lucky if you made it there today. The two of you chatted politely, but he ended up closing the hood with a click and shaking his head. "I'm sorry, miss, but this is beyond me." He admitted, and you still said,

"Well, thank you for trying. Do you happen to know if there's a tow-truck company nearby- Or a mechanic?" You asked. He stared at you for a moment, and he almost looked hesitant to tell you. He was thumbing his chin, before he finally said,

"There's one about fifteen minutes from here." And you tilted your head. You hadn't seen any towns on your map, let alone one that close. But you weren't one to argue with a local. He continued, saying, "Bo runs the car shop in Ambrose. I can take you if you want." And gratitude filled you. While you knew he was a strange man, you weren't exactly in the position to deny the kindness of strangers. Plus, Lester seemed harmless, even if you knew from experience that you weren't always the best judge of characters. Still, you reminded yourself that it was either hitch a ride with him or wait for the next car to come along. If any did come along . So, you pushed away any potential paranoia and asked,

"Are you sure? Only if it won't be too much trouble." You said, and you watched the way his grin grew wider and wider.

"No trouble at all, miss." And that was all it took for you to pile into Lesters truck. You brought a backpack of yours, and filled it with your wallet, a water, and a change of clothes with all your toiletries. You figured, worse case scenario, you ended up renting a night at whatever motel Ambrose held while Bo, the man Lester had mentioned, tried to fix whatever was wrong with your car. You’d made sure to lock it, hoping that no one would strip or break into your car.

The smell was stronger in his truck, but you did your best to ignore it. You figured it would be impolite to mention it, and even moreso to ask him to roll down the windows. Lester wasn't one for silences, and he asked,

"So, why you moving out here anyways?" He asked, and you thought that was a fair question to ask. You were from a more populated city, and your new town was nowhere near as crowded. You pushed your hair behind your ear, and supplied,

"Oh, new job." And Lester was quick to ask before you could elaborate.

"Oh, congratulations. What do ya do?" And you gave him a smile. He was friendly and sweet, albeit a little rough around the edges. He was one of the friendlier people you'd met, and you figured your new town would be just swell if it had more people like him.

"I'm a teacher. I teach ASL." You told him, answering what you guessed his next question was going to be before he had the chance to ask. When he turned to look at you, a small bit of confusion on his face, you were quick to say, "American sign language." And clarity washed through his face.

"Oh, why they need a- an ASL teacher over there?" He asked, and you played with the edge of your jeans. You knew about the job description, but you didn't want to tell him that you'd jumped at the first opportunity you saw to fill a position. Hoped for something as far from your hometown as possible. As far away from- You stopped that train of thought. You didn't want to think about him . This was supposed to be a new start, and instead you told him,

"I'm teaching some older students as a night class," By older students, you meant adults. "And then some kindergarten students." And you watched as a laugh escaped his lips. He slapped his hand against the steering wheel, before he said,

"What do kindergartners need to know about sign language?" And you bit your lip. You felt as thought you'd given this talk about a thousand times before, but it didn't stop you before you said,

"Well, some of the kids are deaf, but some of them may just be nonverbal. This is a way for them to communicate when speaking feels like too much. And the night classes are for their parents, I'm assuming, so they can understand their kids. It's important, y'know, for them to have a way to express themselves, even if it's different from how most people do it. Some kids are just special cases." You explained it kindly with a shrug. Surely, it seemed obvious to you, but you were well aware that not everyone knew how useful the skill could be. He made a face, one where he nodded and jut out his lip. He rubbed his chin again, before he asked,

"Nonverbal, huh? Like mute?" He asked, and you gave him a nod. He nodded back, before looking out the windshield. "Sign language for mute kids. Express themselves. Huh." The truck was only silent for a beat. “You get lots of special cases?” He asked, and you couldn’t stop the smile that graced your lips.

"I specialize in special cases." You joked, and Lester was quick to laugh. He made a little hoot, seeming pleasantly surprised by your willingness to joke or perhaps by how comfortable you seemed with him. You smiled to yourself, enjoying the company of your new friend. Even if he wasn't from the town you were headed, it would be nice to know at least one person nearby. You'd started looking all around the truck, before your eyes fell on the man besides you. it'd been a quick glance over, getting a good look at him. You hadn't noticed it before, but you saw a knife on his hip when he lifted his shirt to mop at the sweat on the back of his neck. You'd barely glanced at it for a second before your eyes were being ripped away by his voice.

"You like knives?" He said, a tone of excitement in his voice. "Tools of the trade. You wanna see it?" And you agreed. He pulled it out, flashing the blade to you and said, "That's a bowie. Cut through anything." He said, and you agreed with a nod. To make conversation, you reached into your boot and pulled out a small pocket knife. It was much smaller compared to his, and you said,

"All I got is this, but it does the trick." And Lester let out a low whistle. He sheathed his knife back its holder, and you offered it out to him for him to examine. He pressed the button, letting the blade switch out. He looked it over. It was small and thin, but, as you said, it did the trick with most things.

"Didn't peg you as the type. What does a teacher need with a knife?" He asked as he passed it back to you, and you pushed the blade away as you answered.

"Oh, y'know, cutting up all the apples my students give me." You said, joking lightly. Lester grinned again, and you tucked your knife back into your boot. Again, you didn't want to actually get into why you had the knife with him. It was a layer of protection, something to make you feel safe. And, after the past couple of years, you weren't going to deny yourself anything extra to do that. He stopped the car, and you looked up to look around where you were. He had stopped seemingly in the middle of nowhere, right in front of a small creek. "Why- why'd we stop?" You asked him, and, for a moment, a flash of alarm rang through your head. You'd never been the best judge of character, and, for a moment, you were worried that you'd gotten yourself into another sticky situation. The same type of situation as to why you slept with that very knife under your pillow, why you'd decided to leave town- But Lester was as nonchalant as could be as he opened the door and stepped out. He said,

"Oh, I gotta flip my hubs into four wheel. You just sit tight, y'hear?" And the alarm inside your head faded. You slumped a bit, a wave of relief washing through you. He was looking at you, his hand on the door. You looked at him, the creek, and then back to him before you offered,

"You need any help?" And that same grin came over his face at your offer. He braced his arm against the open doorway as he asked,

"You know how to change a hub?" And you supposed that his skepticism was warranted. He did find you on the side of the road with a car that wasn't working. Still, you gave him a smile and sassed him just the tiniest bit as you said,

"I'm sure I can figure it out." Earning a smirk and swipe of his cheek from the man. He motioned for you to get out, and said,

"Alright then. Lemme get that door for you."

[f1nalboys]

Growing On Me - Bo Sinclair x Fem!Reader

Hey there ya’ll! This is the first time I’ve ever written for Bo Sinclair, so I hope I did him justice! Constructive criticism is welcomed and appreciated, and I hope you guys enjoy :)

next

WORD COUNT: 968

WARNINGS: readers friends are pos and are bullies (not sure if that needs a warning but just incase)

Bo wasn’t sure what he was feeling. For the last twenty minutes he’s been hunched over the hood of the car, listening in on the unlucky group’s conversation as he pretended to be finding the problem. There wasn’t one, of course; at least, not one that would be taking their car out of commission, but a job is a job. 

Normally he had a hard time listening in because god were they boring, but not this time. Not this group. There was two guys, mid 20′s, who were holding onto two of the girls, arms around their waist or shoulders, while another girl stood off to the side by herself. Bo could tell the instant they got into Ambrose that he was going to enjoy hunting them down.

They were loud and crude, much like Bo himself, but without his charm. They had sneered at Lester the entire ride home, apparently, and they continued to make snide comments about his looks and smell as they watched him drive off. Lester had walked up to Bo, pulling him to the side and told him everything. The only person who had talked to him was the girl who was off by herself. Y/N, he said. 

“Gonna feel bad when she’s gone,” Lester told him, casting a guilty look back at you, though you didn’t notice. 

“Get over it. She’s here which means she’s not leaving, you know that.” Lester nodded and took off, saying goodbye to the group. You were the only one who said goodbye back. Interesting. He did his normal shtick, telling them to get stuff from the gas station or hang around, wanting to keep an eye on them for the moment.

“So, how long have you lived here?” Bo looks up and see’s the two girls. Behind them were their boyfriends, too deep into their own narcissistic conversation to notice that their girlfriends were flirting with the ‘mechanic.’ The one who had asked the question, a tall brunette who was wearing the smallest shorts he had ever seen and a shirt that revealed a lot of her cleavage, smiles at him. 

“Grew up here, basically.” He responds, going back to the car. This wasn’t something new to him; people tried to strike up conversations with him all the time and he had become a natural at pretending to give a shit. “Why do you ask?”

“I just figured, you know, that it might get pretty lonely up here. Seems pretty deserted to me,” She leans onto the car, bending down so Bo could see in her shirt. He takes a moment to look at them (what? he’s only human,) and meets her eyes, grinning. She was cute and so was her friend.

Had they been out at a bar, Bo probably would have gotten the two of them to head off to a hotel room for a few hours, sending them off, forgetting their names the moment the door closed. He wasn’t a nice guy but from his own experiences, it didn’t really matter if you were or not, so long as you were attractive. 

“People here tend to stay in their houses once it starts getting dark. Not much to see around her, anyways.” The girls nod, breaking out into a quiet fit of giggles. He finds it hard not to roll his eyes at the sound. He couldn’t wait for the moment he would be able to hand them off to Vincent. 

The sound of footsteps causes the three of them to glance up. You were walking towards them, fiddling with your fingers and Bo watched as the two girls faces dropped, scowls replaced by frowns. You stop next to the brunettes' who rolls her eyes at you, your lips turning downwards slightly. 

“What do you want, Y/N?” She asks you and Bo felt the energy around him shift. The three of you weren’t good friends, that much was certain. He watches curiously as you open your mouth to answer, noticing the blush begin to creep up your neck to your cheeks. You look over at Bo and meet his eye, immediately averting your gaze, praying that your friend hadn’t noticed. No such luck.

“Oh my god, don’t tell me you came over here to flirt!” The blonde one says, her hand coming to rest over her mouth, stifling her laugh. The brunette didn’t even try, practically cackling as your face grew even redder.

“No, I wasn’t Hannah, I was just bored standing over there. Kelsey, can you stop laughing?”

“Hopefully you weren’t trying to flirt with him! I wouldn’t want you to embarrass yourself.” Kelsey says, plastering a fake smile onto her face. Bo’s eyebrows furrowed together slightly at the sight of you as you seemed to shrink away from them. “I’m saying that as a friend, Y/N, but let’s get real; someone like him wouldn’t go for someone like...you.”

She makes a show of waving her hand up and down your body which elicited a laugh from Hannah. Something that could almost be described as pity passed through Bo as he watches you swallow hard, fighting back tears. He knew that if a single tear happened to roll down your face that they would rip into you harder than they had. Blood in the water.

He doesn’t know why he did it. Maybe it was the fact that you reminded him of Vincent with your timid demeanor, or maybe it was just the amount of hatred he had for the other two girls, but regardless of what it was, he still spoke. He cocks an eyebrow at them, watching your face change in his peripheral.

“What’re you talking about? She’s cute. I was gonna try and talk to her after I figured this car thing out for ya’ll.”

[paperrretro]

LIGHTSTRUCK | pt. 4

Pairing: Merlin x Reader

Word Count: 1,488 words

Warnings: None

Summary: Your father accepts a position as Prince Merlin’s magic tutor, and you are unceremoniously dragged along.

(Or, pieces of your unspectacular life in and out of the royal palace, and how a certain idiotic prince somehow gets wrapped up in it either way.)

read on quotev | read on ao3

“He’s smiling at her.” Anabel sniffles into her plate of tiramisu. “He used to smile at me like that.”

You take a polite sip of juice, eyes fixed on a nearby wall as your friend watches Merlin from the other side of the ballroom. Two years. It’s been two years since they broke up. And while Anabel practically buzzes with second thoughts, Merlin doesn’t seem to be having any thoughts about her at all.

The whole situation confuses you.

“I thought you said you didn’t like him anymore,” you say.

“I know. I thought I didn’t … but he’s just so”—she reddens, eyes still fixed on him—“so nice and handsome. And my mother’s still mad about us having broken up. She was so pleased when we were dating. No other boy holds a candle to a prince, you know.” Anabel considers. “Well, except for maybe Prince Myrrdin or Prince Ambrose. But they’re not nearly as handsome.”

You don’t say anything about the massive crush you used to have on Prince Ambrose, but in any case, you’re inclined to agree (very reluctantly) with her point on Merlin’s good looks. He’s always been a handsome boy, only getting more so over the years, and it gets him a lot of attention wherever he goes. Many of your peers fall all over themselves just to get a smile shot their way.

Unfortunately, that’s only boosted his already enormous ego.

“You’ll find someone better,” you offer in an attempt to console your friend. “Look – Prince Hans is single. Why don’t you talk to him?”

She shakes her head vigorously, picking at her cake. “No, I don’t want to lead him on. And I’m friends with Greta. That would be too weird.”

“Oh.”

You’re not quite sure if you should start going down the list of eligible bachelors after that, so you don’t, retreating back to your juice. Thankfully, Anabel’s butler soon breaks through the crowd and the awkwardness to fetch her for another introduction.

You wave her off as she excuses herself, looking around for something else to do. Gatherings like these are really for showing off wealth and befriending other dignitaries, and the king had only asked that you come on behalf of your father (though you have no idea why, considering recent events), who is currently sick with some flu. Not too many people are interested in a tutor’s kid, though. You’re just glad to be here for the food.

“Hello, [Y/n]. Enjoying yourself?”

You perk up and turn to face Hans, who offers you a friendly smile. His plate is piled with an obscene amount of food.

“Hey, Prince Hans. We were just talking about you.”

“Really?” He casts a curious glance over your shoulder. “You and …?”

“Lady Anabel. I thought the two of you should go on a date.”

To your credit, the young man laughs. “Oh. She’s very pretty, but I don’t think Greta would like that very much,” he says.

“That’s what Anabel said.”

You take another sip from your glass as Hans nods, unsurprised. “I don’t exactly want to be a rebound, either. She’s still hung up on Merlin,” he adds, popping a roll of rice and seaweed into his mouth. His eyes widen. “… Oh. Wow, this combination of ingredients is incredible.”

Hans can tell too? Does everyone know? You feel bad for just noticing it tonight.

“Er …” You hold your tongue for a moment, wondering stupidly if Merlin can hear the two of you amongst the dozens of other conversations taking place, then power through for the sake of your sniffly friend. “Hans, do you know if he likes your sister? Merlin, that is.”

Hans gags on his kimbap. His head snaps in the direction of Merlin and Greta, the former of whom is leaning against the wall in a decidedly unprincely fashion. “What? No. And please don’t even suggest that,” he begs once he’s done coughing out a lung. “He’s just – you know how Merlin is, flirting with everything that breathes –”

“They’d be a cute couple,” you say, taking an inexplicable delight in pressing the new button you’ve discovered.

Hans looks thoroughly unimpressed, and you snicker until he puts a hand on your back and starts to usher you to the other side of the room. No amount of hasty apologies or digging in your heels is enough to stop him.

Merlin and Greta look mildly surprised when the two of you stop in front of them. You reach behind you to push Hans’ hand away, shooting him a light scowl.

“Sorry to interrupt, but I noticed [Y/n] standing over there all alone,” Hans, now perfectly unruffled, announces by way of an introduction. “Really, Merlin, I thought we were all friends.”

The other prince blinks, pushing off the wall as he glances at you. “Well, I didn’t want to interrupt your and Anabel’s … conversation,” he says.

So he did notice. You lift your shoulders in a shrug. “I’m guessing you think it was about you.”

“Wasn’t it?”

Crossing your arms, you give him a flat look. “Yes.”

Greta glances between the two of you and diplomatically starts a new subject. “Actually, it’s good that you’re here, Brother. Merlin was just telling me about how he wants to recruit you.”

“Hm? For what?” Hans asks.

You think Merlin stands a little taller in response. Dork. “A princess rescue team,” he says, “consisting of members from all over the island. Since there’s been an uptick in monsters and princess kidnappings over the past few years, I figured it’s about time we do something about it.”

You attempt to hide your surprise.

Hans looks pensive. “… Sounds like a noble cause,” he says. “Who else are you recruiting?”

“Arthur and the triplets.” Merlin lifts his chin towards Arthur, who’s chatting up some noblewoman – with an unknown degree of success – a few meters away. The triplets are nowhere in sight; you assume that they had foregone the ball in favor of tinkering in their workshop. “I’m also planning to talk to that new prince over there – Prince Jack. You know, the beanstalk guy.”

“What did Arthur and the triplets say?”

“Pino, Noki, and Kio are on board. Arthur thought I was asking him to lead the team.” Merlin rolls his eyes. “I told him I’d consider it if he ever pulls Excalibur out – which I doubt he’ll be able to do within the next few months. Or ever.”

Wait, wait, wait, wait.

“You’re going off in a few months?” you butt in. “What about your magic training?”

“My training? Oh.” His voice takes on a pleased hum. “Well, I’ve talked to your dad about it, and apparently, I’ll be ready to take the final exam by the summer solstice. I’ll be done with my other subjects by that time, too,” Merlin answers. He smirks at you. “No reason to hold me back, [Y/n]. It’s not like I have much to do here, anyway.”

You frown instinctively, about to retort that, yes, there are plenty of things for him to do. Diplomatic visits, helping train the new royal mages, other third-princely stuff that requires a lot of smiling and looking pretty. Stuff that he’s already mastered like a fish to water.

But you don’t. The idea of a rescue team is actually a good idea, one that would tackle a major problem on Fairy Tale Island head-on. You’re not irritated about his plan. No, something else is bothering you, and you finally put your finger on what it is.

“How come this is the first time I’m hearing about this?”

Merlin gives you a strange look.

“I … didn’t think you’d really care either way,” he replies, tilting his head.

“I don’t, but I still – I mean”—you struggle to understand why you’re suddenly upset over being kept in the dark; so what if he never told you?—“you’re just up and leaving Carmarthen to wander around Fairy Tale Island on a whim? Do you even know how to function without all your servants?”

Hans and Greta stiffen. Merlin frowns.

“Of course I do,” he says defensively. “I’ve been outside the palace before. And I’m sure there’ll be plenty of people willing to help us out once we’re rescuing damsels and preventing political crises.”

You bristle. “I’m not worried about that.”

“Then what are you worried about? Why are you worried at all?”

You have no idea!

“I’m not!” You scoff, throwing your hands up and turning to leave. “Go off and do whatever you want!”

“I will!” Merlin snaps after you.

Gods, your blood is boiling. Resisting the urge to look back and send off a rude gesture, you clench your jaw and stomp towards the exit, ignoring the scolds that trail after you as you bump past the other guests.

Like they matter. Like he matters. Merlin’s right – you don’t care.

So why does it feel like you do?

—

Part: One | Two | Three | Four | Five | Six | Seven | Eight | Nine | Ten | Eleven | Twelve