#anyways that fight with his dad screwed him up

[sharksandjays]

“As of late, however, Ive felt different. My powers feel more…aggressive. My temper shorter. My purpose clouded and uncertain. Maybe I’ve been pushed to the edge by now.”

Alt under cut

[mediumgayitalian]

part two

———

Getting outrun for seven miles by an eight year old is a uniquely humbling experience. Compactly humiliating, coincidentally, is being outrun by an eight year old while dragging along a bouquet large enough that it cannot be adequately contained with two hands and must therefore be carried between two people.

Lee is having something of an afternoon.

“It starts in seven minutes!” shouts Will, at least twelve solid yards ahead of them and running backwards. He does not appear even to be sweating. “Hurry!”

“Could not be hurrying more if I tried,” Lee wheezes.

(It’s not that Lee isn’t a good runner. He is. It’s that Will is freakishly fast, because he has dimples when he smiles and has endeared himself to the dryads, who have been teaching him how to sprint like the hopped up little Energizer Bunny he is. Michael has been calling him Soda Boy for ages, on account of how he so closely resembles a can of pop that has been vigorously shaken, which he hates. Remembering it brings Lee some peace.)

“Let’s go let’s go let’s go!”

Clamping his mouth shut in a desperate attempt to preserve energy, Lee surges forward. Michael matches him, having to run significantly faster to keep up with his long legs. Their panting forms a discordant melody of despair. Poetic.

When they stumble through the door, chests heaving, Lee considers collapsing to the ground and weeping for joy. He will never run again. If a monster chases him, he will simply fight or accept his fate. He has reached his quota.

But, for perhaps the first time in his life, there is no time for dramatics. The lobby is devoid of the massive crowds it held earlier, shadows eerie in their absence, and only the final tail end of a line shuffles through the stage doors.

Despite his internal vow, Lee sprints forward to catch up with them.

“Hold it,” says a man in a venue volunteer! vest, holding up a hand. He glances at them, resting his gaze on Will’s messy hair, Michael’s scuffed shoes, Lee’s wrinkled shirt, and pausing for quite a while on the giant bouquet. The narrowed eyes and thinned lips are familiar. Lee stiffens.

“Go on in,” the man says to the middle aged couple in front of them, who’s crease-free jackets read ‘Dance Mom’ and ‘Prop Team Dad’ respectively. He shoos them inside, complimenting the honest-to-Apollo corsage in the woman’s hand, chortling along to the man’s joke. The laughter drops from his face the second the couple is guided through the doors, and the man turns back to the three of them.

“The show,” he says, nose upturned, “has begun. I can’t let anyone else in lest they cause any…disturbances.”

“The show starts on three minutes and forty-seven seconds!” Will protests, sticking his watch in the man’s face. Completely oblivious to his murderous look, he continues, “Forty-six seconds! Forty-five! Time’s-a-tickin’, let us in!”

The man bares his teeth in a smile. “Regrettably, you are too late. You’ll have to wait for the intermission.”

Will blinks at him. He looks at Lee, at the doors, then back at the man.

“But…we’re on time. And if we come back later, we’ll miss my sister’s dance!”

The man shrugs. “This will be a valuable lesson, then.” He purses his lips, glancing again at the bouquet. “Perhaps be more prepared, next time.”

Will turns back to Lee and Michael, crestfallen. He swipes quickly under his eyes, squeezing his thumb into fists, but the tears well up anyway. “We’re going to miss it?”

Michael snarls. In one quick move he shoves the massive bouquet entirely into Lee’s arms, yanks Will by the shoulders to stand behind him, and gets right in the man’s face.

“You listen here, you slimy ratbag, you had no fuckin’ trouble letting those last scragglers in so you better clean up your act quick before I —”

A loud crashing noise makes them all jump, interrupting him. Nearly crushing the flowers, Lee whips towards the source of the sound. One of the competition banners has been yanked down, metal frame collapsing on the tile floor. Fastening screws rattle to a slow stop beside it.

“What the —”

Another banner crashes to the floor. This time, the little hands that tore it down are a touch too slow to dart away, a blonde head not quick enough to duck behind a corner.

“Hey!” the man shouts. Shoving Michael aside, and moving quicker than Lee can think to stop him, he sprints towards the corner Will disappeared behind. “Get back here! You can’t do that!”

Lee curses, trying to manoeuvre the flowers to see and run at the same time. Michael runs ahead of him, on the man’s heels, chanting shit shit shit shit under his breath. Lee’s brain takes the initiative to alternate, chanting fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck every time he takes a breath.

They’re going to get kicked out for sure. Diana is going to kill them and it’s going to be justified, because Lee is going to have to live with the noble look he knows Cass will have on when she realises they’re not there to watch. The shakey, practiced smile she’ll slap over the disappointment in her dark eyes.

Shit shit shit shit indeed.

“Lee! Michael! Over here!” whispers a voice. Lee whirls around to face it — boy does he ever feel like a puppet on a stick right now — and, for the second time in as many minutes, feels his head pound at the disorienting frenzy of emotions that bubble up when he sees his baby brother’s face. Will stands half inside a doorway Lee hadn’t noticed on the way in, tucked in the shadow of a corner.

He is fast, holy shit.

“What the hell are you doing,” hisses Michael.

“Getting us inside! Hurry up!”

Lee doesn’t need further prompting, clock ticking in his brain. Gods, how long do they have left? Thirty seconds? Less?

“Most big theatres have sideline entrances,” Will explains after Michael helps shove the giant bouquet through the tiny door. He guides them, upright to their hunching, down a tight corridor. “They’re for performers to pop up in the audience without being seen. Mama and I race each other to find ‘em when she did shows.”

Lee had forgotten, for a moment, how much of his life Will has spent in and out of theatres, bars, stages. Naomi Solace has been growing more and more famous since…half of his life, at least. Lee remembers hearing about her four years ago, when she’d done a smaller show in Queens. A friend of his had gone.

Michael reaches out and tugs the mostly-undone ponytail he’d wrestled Will’s hair into that morning. “Good job, kid.”

He grins over his shoulder. “Thanks.”

They stumble into the darkened audience in the nick of time. The second Lee steps out of the cramped little corridor, dragging the stupid flowers (he is, in fact, regretting his choices at this point in time; when he has a free moment he will add this to the list of reasons he will be kicking his past self’s ass if the Hephaestus cabin successfully recreates DeLorean time machine) along with him, the stage lights come on. An announcer’s voice calls out, “Entry 109, Competitive Open Solo: Cass Hasapi.”

“Fuck,” Michael mutters. A quaint family of four gasps. He sneers at them. “Fuck, you see Diana?”

“No, is she maybe —”

“I think that’s her hair —”

“That person is way too tall, what are you —”

“I swear to the gods, I am going to kill you both,” whispers a beautifully familiar voice, and then Lee is being dragged. “Sit the hell down and shut the hell up. Will, baby, c’mere.”

Will climbs happily over the two empty seats, settling onto Diana’s lap and curling under her chin. He sticks his tongue out when Lee and Michael follow in behind him, struggling with the bouquet, muttering about favouritism.

“I’ve literally known you for six times longer than you’ve known him,” Michael mutters, sticking his tongue out right back. A grandmother with a severe bob whirls back and hushes him.

“Yeah, I’ve had all that time to get tired of your bullshit. Shut up.”

Before Michael can retort — Lee is sure he has an eloquent and devastating response, Lee has been helping him practice — soft piano drifts out from the speakers. A light turns on, pointed at the stage.

All four of them snap their mouths shut.

In the centre of the stage, Cass stands, poised. Her back is turned to the audience, arms extended above her and tilted to the right, as if reaching for the setting sun. Her hair, braided loosely back, brushes the edge of her thickly draping purple costume. Her knees are bent and locked and one bare foot sticks out like she’s trying to balance herself, like she’s mid fall.

A gravelly, male voice sings lowly along to the piano. How do you know which time might be the last? She moves along the dip of his voice, dragging her limbs through the rigid air. What I would give just to see you again? She moves with a swooping twist of her heels, twisting at the waist. Under the heat of the stage lights, her face contorts, forehead deeply wrinkled, mouth parted, breathing quickly. I’d walk to the depths of a world down below and demand to get back what some circumstance stole. She holds herself with such tension that Lee finds his own shoulders hiking up to his ears. Her chest moves rapidly, hands shaking, knees buckling. His breath goes stale in his lungs.

When the chorus starts, hard and heavy and sudden, I turned back one last time just to prove you were there, Cass hits the floor. He gasps with the rest of the audience, clutching the plush armrest, but it’s intentional, part of the dance. ‘Cause the last ray of sun made Eurydice cold. Collapsed on the floor, limbs bent, dress askew, she crawls, begging, towards the audience. Did she know? Did she know? Did she know? Did she know?

Cass does not move gracefully. She moves like a beached, gasping siren dragging herself back to the depths, like someone climbing out of a pit. Every movement looks heavy and painful. She looks at the audience and Lee is surging forward before he can stop himself, breath hitching, brain screaming: help her! help her! help her!

If I knew how it’d feel back then, I wouldn’t take another step.

Her body twists again, hair escaping her loose braid and sticking to her neck, her forehead. She claws at her throat like she’s suffocating, eyes accusing everyone watching like they’re holding her under. Each movement of her arms swell and sway on the beat, bare feet slapping the ground with every hit of the kettle drum. If you can see me it’s all in your head, but it feels real to me now, it felt real to me then.

Everything ends.

The piano fades out, the drums hit their last beat. All that’s left is the wretched guitar, taught like strings snapping, taught like the tense pull of her suspended muscles.

But I opened the door and went down the stairs; I turned back one last time to prove you were there.

As the last word fades, she drops. Not slowly, not evenly, but like whatever was holding her up crumbled to dust. Like she was shot. Her purple dress pools out around her like dark Hyacinth. She lays completely, entirely still.

The lights cut. The air in the audience goes heavy.

They come back on and no one says a word. Lee realises, as it drips onto his hands, that he is crying. Diana is, too, tear tracks too fresh to dry on her face, and Will is leaned forward so far he sways precariously. Michael’s hands are pressed harshly to his eyes.

Trancelike, Lee stands. All eyes snap, abruptly, towards him, but he ignores them. He looks straight across the rows of chairs and locks eyes with his sister, upright now, heaving, standing hesitant. She looks at him, and then beside him at Michael, and then at Will in Diana’s lap. They scramble quickly up next to him, and without any of them saying anything, they begin to cheer.

Cass’s face lights up.

With permission, much of the audience claps. No one stands as they do and as they continue hooting and hollering the claps fade quickly, replaced with stares and murmurs, but Cass still stands there, beaming, looking away and looking back like she can’t believe they’re there. That someone is there, that someone watched her, her, from beginning to end. A hand tugs on his sleeve.

“Can I sonic?” Will asks, raising his voice to be heard.

“Level four,” Lee allows.

He needs no further permission, grinning. He lets out a piercing whistle that makes everyone around them shout in alarm and Lee’s ears ring. But Cass laughs, loud and bright, so it’s worth it, and when Will looks at him in question he nods. The second whistle is definitely beyond a level four, but Lee doesn’t care. Cass looks the happiest he’s seen in a long time.

———

None of them care too much about staying for the other performances. But Cass has two more dances with her studio classes, spread out as they are, so Lee remains doomed to two hours of an aching ass and performances that come nowhere near Cass’s masterpiece. Will seems intrigued, though, by some of the pieces, so he grits his teeth and bares it. Besides, the rolled eyes he shares with Diana and Michael every time someone does something exceedingly cliche or tries and fails at depth (someone, often, being one of Cass’s teammates, shocker) makes it somewhat worth it.

By the time the judges call the last entry, though, Lee is ready to book it out of there.

The lights come back on and pop music plays through the speakers as dancers, in track suits over their costumes, congregate on the stage. Lee stands and stretches, letting Will stand on his shoulders and jump off into Michael’s arms to get some of his energy out. (And, also, ‘cause tossing a small child between them is fun. Diana jogs into the aisle so they can throw farther, but they all decide against it when a security guard glances over.)

After what feels like eight million years, the judges finally lumber over to the stage. The building voices hush as they climb the steps, standing in front of the gathered studios with cabled mics and stacks of foreboding envelopes.

“Welcome, dancers and families,” starts one judge.

She blabs on for several minutes about what an honour it was to judge and how wonderful everyone was. Blah, blah, blah. Lee spaces out about the time Diana’s eyes glaze over, and he looks instead to the gathered stage, observing. There are five different studios that he can see, each with about forty to fifty dancers. Mostly young women. They sit tangled together, legs on legs, arms around shoulders, feet tucked under thighs. Cass, he notices, sits on her own, at the very back of the stage. She sits straight-backed and proud, though. Chin lifted, braid resting over her shoulder.

Impossible to miss.

Two of her group dances win Diamond (Diana explains to them that this is Very Good. She thinks). Most others do not get this honour. Lee notices especially the older couple to their left looking quite sour. The glee he feels is indescribable.

“The winner for our open solo, for all age groups, was actually unanimous. It’s been a while since that happened!”

A girl near the front of the stage, who Lee recognises as the one to make a cruel joke about Cass’ mother, preens. Her solo was boring as hell. He’s not sure what she’s so smug about.

“With a score of 97.6, congratulations to Entry 109, Cass Hasapi!”

The four of them scream like lunatics.

They don’t even wait for scattered applause. Each one of them clambers up on the pristine chairs, covering them with scuff marks, and yell at the top of their lungs, jumping and cheering like chimps in a cage. Cass goes red, but she can’t hide her smile as she stands and accepts her award, grinning over at them. Michael holds up his camera and snaps a photo of her, pink-cheeked and wild-haired, glowing.

———

“Cass!”

Will sees her before the rest of them, sprinting towards the changeroom doors at top speeds and leaping up into her arms. She catches him easily, spinning them both around, pressing a thousand kisses to his hair and face.

“Hello, my darling! Hello hello hello!” Every word is punctuations with a kiss, or rather a press of her wide smile to anywhere she can reach. In seconds his cheeks are stained with her lipstick. “Oh, it has been weeks, darling boy, I missed you!”

Will clings to her sweater, face buried in the crook of her neck. She holds him just as tightly.

(Will has seen Cass more than Lee, in the past few months. He knows she’s made a few sudden trips to camp. But he also knows that she was the first one to welcome him into camp, the day his mother dropped him off, and when he was claimed she was the first to bring him home. She loves to tote him around, too, to have him trail after her for cabin inspections, holding the clipboard, or paint his nails when she’s bored. He misses her something fierce in the winters. She holds on tightly when she comes back home.)

Squeezing him one last time, she turns to the rest of them. Despite her wide smile, her mascara runs.

“You came,” she says, voice wobbling.

Michael clears his throat. “No shit.”

His voice wobbles, too.

“Come here, you goober.”

He’s the next to cling to her, inserting himself under her arm. She presses a kiss to his temple and he pinches her ribs, complaining, getting louder when she digs a knuckle into his hair. Diana jogs up and separates them, as she always does, flicking Michael on the forehead and pressing a kiss to her sister’s cheek.

“I’m so proud of you,” she whispers, squeezing her hand.

Cass’s tears spill over again. “Thank you.”

Lee clears his throat. He feels, suddenly, like a doofus, holding a bouquet of flowers the size of him, but Cass looks at them and grins again, chuckling.

“You sell your kidney for that or what?”

Lee snorts. “No, we exchanged Will. This is a clone.”

“Did not!”

Lee blows a raspberry. “Did too. Clone.”

“I’m not a clone! I’m me!”

“Nuh-uh.”

“Ya-huh!”

“Alright,” Cass interrupts, rolling her eyes fondly. She kisses the tip of Will’s nose again and sets him down, turning towards Lee, hands outstretched dramatically. “Hand me my dues.”

Because she is, at the core of her, a true daughter of Apollo, even though the amount of poise and grace that bleeds from her at any given time contradicts almost directly with the guy who beams Pocketful of Sunshine directly into their brains at five in the morning every single day without fail, she kneels with a flourish. Because Lee is, at the core of him, also a child of Apollo, he goes unquestioningly along with the bit, pulling out one of the flowers to knight her before resting the entire bouquet in her arms. She has to hold it with both hands.

“You guys are ridiculous,” she says, grinning.

“They are ridiculous,” Diana stresses. “Dumbasses were damn near late getting this for you. They already had flowers, mind you. They’re just dumb.”

Will holds up his hand with his watch. “I kept us from being late!”

Diana squishes his cheek. “Thank you, sweetpea. You’re already smarter than your brothers combined.”

“Stick out your tongue again and I’ll grab it, you little snitch,” Lee warns.

Will, darting to hide behind Diana, does not heed his warning. Because he’s a little shit. bc

The walk out of the building in a gaggle of movement. As other dancers and their families walk by, glowering at Cass’ flowers and at Cass in general, Lee makes a point to catch their eyes. To smirk. To let them know, without saying a word — you were wrong. Of course you were wrong. Look at how she’s better than your bitter ass without even trying.

It warms him inside, truly.

“I’m thinking,” Diana says, walking back to the car, “that we stop at Dairy Queen on the way home. On Michael’s dollar. Will, look real excited so Michael can’t say no.”

“I am excited,” Will says, turning to face him, “so that’s real easy.”

Michael sighs. He taps his foot on the pavement, glaring. He sighs again. “You’re getting s plain cone and that’s that. You understand me?”

Will takes that as code for ‘begin negotiating’. Diana joins him, the two of them chasing Michael to the car, yelling about Blizzards and sundaes. Cass falls into step next to Lee, adjusting the flowers.

“So,” she says, shooting him a small smile.

“So,” he intones.

“Diana told me you snuck the boys out of camp.”

“…Yes.”

“Organised the whole trip, basically.”

“It wasn’t hard. I just told Michael to pack his shit and he listened, for once. So.”

“Lee.” She waits for him to open the trunk, letting him stuff the ridiculous flowers inside before facing him, grabbing his hands and squeezing. “Thank you.”

“I don’t —”

He swallows past the lump in his throat. How can he say it? How can he tell her about being fourteen and older than half the unclaimed kids in Hermes, still reeling over camp as a whole, and the fear that had dissipated from his chest when she stood in front of camp and said, firmly, he’s ours? About the hours she spent listening to him ramble about Pokémon, learning the game for him, mailing him cards she finds around? About the letters she sends him every week without fail, even though she’s swamped with her own shit, because she remembers the night he cried, months and years of being weird and lonely and unlike anyone else he knew? How can he explain the bubbling in his chest, the ache for her, because of her?

“Of course, Cass.”

She opens her arms and he falls into them, forehead on her shoulder, arms tight around her waist. She grips around his back, pressing a kiss to his hair. His throat is dry, choking back the thickness of his tears.

“I love you.”

“Love you too, Lee.”

[marvelfanfn2187a113]

My Job

Dean Winchester x little sister!reader

Requested by Anonymous

Synopsis: You storm out after an argument with Dean, but then you get into trouble. Will he get there in time to help?

Trigger Warning: attempted sexual assault (not graphic), drugging

“It’s not rocket science, kid, we’ve had these rules since you were born.”

“Yeah, but I thought-“

“What, because dad isn’t here right now, I’m just gonna let you do whatever you want?”

You huffed, “Would you let me speak?”

“No, you’ve said what you wanted, and the answer is still no.”

“It’s just a few hours!”

“And you know the rules. When we’re on a hunt, you don’t go out. At all. For any reason other than the motel is on fire.”

“It’s a stupid rule!”

“It’s a rule that means that you’re safe. While monsters are out there, you’re not, it’s not exactly unreasonable.”

“It’s just one time!” Dean’s efforts to bring the volume of the conversation down just made you want to yell louder. “It wouldn’t kill you to loosen up!”

“It might kill you!” Dean matched your volume. “Im just trying to protect you, and dad would say the same thing if he-“

“You’re not dad!” You couldn’t take it anymore. You brushed past Dean, shaking his hand off when he tried to grab your arm, and stormed out the motel door, slamming it behind you.

Who was he to say you couldn’t go out? Dean, who had to be the most reckless person you knew.

Well, maybe you’d have to show him that he should practice what he preached. You were going to do as he did, not as he said.

You buried your hand into your pocket, pulling out one of your fake IDs.

You were going to show him.

…

Not fifteen minutes later you’d slipped into a bar and used your fake ID to order a beer. The bartender gave you a strange look, unsure about the “22” printed on your ID, but he’d served you nonetheless.

You sat at the bar for several minutes, wanting to spite Dean but not really wanting to drink. He’d gotten you the fake ID “in case anything happened”, and you needed to pretend to be an adult. He certainly didn’t get it so you could drink underage, and you honestly had never wanted to. You’d seen what it did to John, and how it was starting to affect Dean. You didn’t want it to somehow turn into your coping mechanism like it had with them.

Suddenly your fight with Dean felt really stupid. Was the rule really so unfair? It was his job to keep you safe, after all, and it made you feel horrible knowing that he’d never asked for that job. You weren’t his kid, you were John’s, but Dean saddled the responsibility anyway. And how did you repay him? Screaming at him and running off without telling him.

Oh gosh. He must be freaking out! He didn’t know where you were, and you’d already been gone for a bit. You’d seriously screwed up.

“Hey, princess.”

Just the sound of the grating voice made your blood run cold, and when it was followed by a hand on your arm, you visibly flinched.

“Do I know you?” You asked the stranger nervously.

“Not yet,” the man licked his lips, and your skin crawled. “Are you even old enough to drink that?” He gestured at the drink in front of you.

“Yes,” you hated how your voice quavered.

“Right,” the man grinned, clearly not believing you. “Don’t worry baby, I won’t tell on you.”

Whenever Dean called you baby, it always made you feel safe, like a baby sister Dean would always protect. When this man called you baby, it made you want to crawl out of your own skin and hide somewhere.

“You here with anyone?”

“No—I mean, I mean yes,” why, oh why had the truth slipped out?

“That’s ok, I can keep you company,” you curled in on yourself when the man leaned his body closer to yours, hating how small and pathetic you must look compared to him.

“No thanks,” your voice came out barely above a whisper.

“What was that, baby?” The man’s hand came around your waist, and he didn’t wait for an answer. “Why don’t you have a drink, you’re so tense.” He pulled your drink closer to you, and suddenly you wanted nothing to do with it.

You shook your head, finding that your voice didn’t want to work.

“Aw c’mon, just a little sip,” the man suddenly had one hand on the back of your neck, the other lifting your drink. You tried to squirm away but his grip was too strong, and a whimper escaped your lips when the cool feeling of the glass pushed against them, demanding entrance.

“Open up, pretty little thing,” he twisted so that his arm was holding your neck in place, moving his hand over to your jaw to pry it open. You felt the bitter liquid enter your mouth, and suddenly the man put the cup down, using one hand to cover your mouth while the other pinched your nose.

You couldn’t think, couldn’t even breathe. Eventually it got to the point where you had no choice but to swallow, and once you did, the man released you.

“There we go, now that wasn’t so bad, was it baby?” He leaned close, and his alcohol stained breath invaded your senses. “The next part will be even better.”

Suddenly your head felt fuzzy, your body swaying in your chair. Surely this couldn’t happen because of one sip of beer, right? The scene played back in your head, and suddenly you saw it. The man’s hand hovering over your drink when he went to lean close to you. He must’ve slipped something in it, that’s why he was so desperate to get you to drink.

“S’cuse me,” your voice came out slightly slurred as you slid out of your chair, heading for the restroom. You sensed the man following right behind you, and you broke into a run.

It was a single bathroom, so you were able to lock the door a split second after you entered. You fumbled for your phone, not even hesitating as you clicked Dean’s number.

“Y/N where are you?” Dean didn’t wait for you to speak, his voice demanding and angry. You felt tears begin to stream down your cheeks as a pounding came from the bathroom door.

“I’m so sorry, Dean I’m sorry, I need help please.”

The anger dissipated, and was replaced with worry as Dean repeated his question.

“Where are you?”

“It’s-um…” why couldn’t you remember the name? Your brain felt so fuzzy, and you were so tired.

“It’s that bar we passed, um…”

“You’re at a bar?” You heard the Impala engine start, and your heart rate picked up when the door shook with the man’s pounding.

“Dean I’m sorry,” you sobbed. “Please hurry, there’s-there’s a man and he-he’s trying to…”

“I’m coming, it’s ok just hold on baby.”

Boom!

The door hinges shook.

“Dean…” you whimpered.

Boom! Boom!

The plaster around the door cracked.

“Baby? What’s happening?”

Boom!

You let out a panicked cry when the door flung open.

“Honey, talk to me, what’s-“ Dean’s voice was cut off when the man smacked the phone out of your hand.

“You didn’t have to do that,” your stomach knotted at the sickeningly sweet tone. “It’s not gonna hurt that bad, I promise. It’ll be quick.”

“Please…” you felt your knees give out, and you curled against the wall as your whole body shuddered.

“I’m gonna take real good care of you,” the man was reaching forward to grab you when he was suddenly flung backwards, and Dean took his place in front of you. He remained for a few seconds, looking you over for signs of injuries, before he turned his attention to the man, his whole body tensing with rage.

You slowly got to shaky feet as Dean began to pound his fists, his palms, his feet, everything, into the man, and before long the creep couldn’t hold himself upright, his face bloody and his body bruised.

“Dean.”

The beating stopped immediately at the sound of your terrified whimper. Dean dropped the man and turned to face you, and you ignored his bloody knuckles and bruised hands as you collapsed into his arms.

“I got you, you’re ok,” Dean’s strong arms held you tightly against him, and you relaxed completely as he picked you up, your arms wrapped around his neck and your legs around his torso as he carried you outside.

He set you down gently in the passengers seat of the Impala, and he moved to close the door but you grabbed onto his hand.

“Not yet,” your voice came out in a hoarse whisper, and Dean knelt down to look you in the eyes.

“You’re not hurt are you? He didn’t…” Dean trailed off as you shook your head, and relief settled onto his features. “Honey what happened?”

You recounted the story, and as you did you began to cry again. It felt like living it all over again, and soon you were sobbing in Dean’s arms as he held you close, rubbing your back and cradling your head.

“It’s over now,” he promised. “I’m gonna take you home.”

You finally let him pull away, and he shut your door before climbing into the drivers seat. You drove in silence for a few minutes, but you couldn’t hold back what you needed to say any longer.

“Dean, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean any of what I said, I know why we have rules and I know you’re doing your best. I-I know-“ you broke off, pulling your knees to your chest before continuing. “I know you don’t deserve to be stuck in charge of me, and I’m-I’m sorry for being so difficult.”

Dean had been silent up to this point, but now he broke him, alarm on his features.

“What? Baby I’m not stuck with you, you’re my baby sister and it’s my job to-“

“But it’s a job you didn’t ask for!” You broke in, trying to keep back your tears for the third time this night. “Dad just left you here with me, and-and I know I’m not easy-“

“Stop right there,” Dean interrupted. “Sweetheart, this is the easiest job in the world for me, ok? I mean sure, sometimes you run off and give me a heart attack,” he gave you a pointed look. “But sometimes you also help with research, or bring me food, or talk Sammy through his nightmares. Honey we need you around here, just as much as you need us. We’re family, understand? It’s all of our jobs to look out for each other, so don’t think you’re just some burden on me. Don’t ever think that.”

You felt your face light up with a smile, and you finally looked up at Dean.

“Ok.”

“Ok,” Dean nodded firmly as he pulled into the motel. “Now c’mon, you should get some food and sleep.”

“Dean?”

Dean hummed as he opened your car door and led you inside.

“Can…can I sleep in your bed tonight? It’s just…I’m still kinda freaked and I thought-“

“Of course you can baby,” Dean leaned down and kissed your head. “That’s what I’m here for. It’s my job.”

[sillybond]

As a send of here's my compilation of every detail/gag or pretty much everything that I loved about the Fionna and Cake finale.

First off, the lighthearded stuff.

First of all. That's Hunter!!! We finally get to see HW gender-swapped counterpart's design. Gotta say I love that they kept it the same, it does feel like it could fit anyone.

Talking about him, I LOVE that they are finally adding him to the gang. I didn't expect him to be so prevalent in the finale, but I couldn't be happier! It seems like the crew has finnaly learned to apreciate HW and they are inserting her (even if it's Hunter) whenever they can.

All the raw emotion of the lich would have been unheard of at any other point in AT's history. The depression and hopelessnes, such human emotions were amazing to explore in him. He poses himself as a "ceesless weel" a god-like beeing of pure destruction, but even he neels when he realices it was all for nothing.

For some time I theorized that Golb (and subsequently Golbetty) was, in fact, Scarabs and Prismo's Boss. Kind of like a ultimate deity, high up on the pantheon. But seeing how Scarab adresses her in such a careles way, emphasizing that she should "stay out of this" made me think about the real power dinamic between thees two. And thus, of the whole multiverse bureocracy.

This tittle card rips me apart. It's briming with thematic importance. But I feel so many emotions simply beacuse it says cheers, it's like a send-off, a happy cheerfull goodbye to all of us who enjoyed this show. It made me tear up a bit when I first saw it.

For thoose who aren't aware Pawn Swan's was created by Steven Wolfhard after CAWM alongside the pup kingdom. He has in his tumblr a gigantic amount of lore about it. I'm sooo happy they finally got to use his ideas and designs. Many of the pups seen all trought Shermy and Beth's sequence were in his drawings too. So go check that out!

I'm a complete sucker for happy endings and THIS was PERFECTION. I simply connot describe how much I obsolutely LOVE that they are able to comunicate and talk. it's just perfect, this show has me spoiled-rotten.

In pure Marceline fashion Marshal tries playing another song. And Gary is soo into this man it's unreal

But, also in pure Marceline fashion, he gets interupted. It kind of reminded me about Marceline's song to Bonny in Obsidian. But it's kind of the oposite outcome, Scarab isn't affected by it at all while Glorbo is finaly delt with.

Talking about Simon being happy. I'm just so glad that he has been able to reconect with Astrid!!! This man is such a DAD, I love him :,)

Before Fionna's world was finaly canonized we can see that it really just amounts to the city. Which makes sense because if you are trying to put a whole world in a dude's head, you are going to have to cut some stuff out.

Anyways, after they are made legit we can see that the city has expanded! And I also assume that now there's not only a city, but a whole world too!!

This really came as a surprise honeslty, but a welcomed one at that. I assume that since Jay agrees to stay in the city, even if it's not forever, Farmworld Finn must be fine. It doesn't make any sense for him to drop his 4 little brothers just to screw around in another universe.

The only sad part is that, since we don't see neither PB nor Marcy in the tank that means they are probably dead. In the end it does seem like they took eachothers life, together.

Now onto the heavy stuff!

"This is the world we want to fight for. The Scarab is kind of invincible. But we won't give up. If we die, we'll die together, as ourselves"

This cuts deep. At this moment Fionna was ready to die. She acknowledges that she had tried everything she could and that, in a way, it was her fault. But she also understands that this is what it is. And she's ready to depart. In what she thought were her last moments she found happines in thoose and that around her. Magic or not, they were all together, and that's what mattered.

"We made our choices. We could have made better ones, but I don't have any regrets. You were a wonderful experience"

We knew Simon had wronged Betty. She had put away everything for him. He didn't do it on porpuse, but he recognised he could have been more thoughtful. In the end, while Simon acknowledges his mistakes Betty doesn't demonise neither him nor the relationship that came bacuse of it. It's a very sentimental, heartfelt conclusion.

As humans we often try to make our best to navigate life. But with all the choices in front of us it's very hard to get it right. A lot of time might have to pass before we truly see how wrong we were. We realize that we hurt people, and that things didn't have to be this way. But once we acknowledge this we can finaly move on. At this moment, Simon realizes that it's okay to fail but, unfortunetly, we can't go back. We have to live with it and it can't prevent us from moving forward.

In the end all we can do is have compassion for ourselves, and for each other.

That was pretty much all of the details and highlights for me. There's some other ones but they are kind of too obvious to point out.

Thanks a lot for reading the whole thing! It means a lot :)

[thescribblesofreverie]

I Needed You

Aaron Hotchner x Daughter!reader (reader is sixteen)

Summary: Your dad was usually your best friend, but lately everything has been different.

Warnings: Reader skips school, reader and Hotch get into a fight, brief mentions of smoking and drinking, reader cusses a little, Haley and Jack didn't exist cause kids make me uncomfortable

Word Count: 2384

A/N: This is my first Criminal Minds fic! It is a little stereotypical because I'm still learning how to write in second person and write Hotch. I'm counting this as a starter fic. In the future I will write more creatively, and I have a series in the works. Any and all feedback is appreciative, but please be kind.

You didn’t know that you wanted to hurt him when it started.

There was no malice intended, fuck, there was barely eny forethought at all. Sometimes, the subconscious makes decisions and there’s nothing you can do to stop it.

Your father was an important man. Unit Chief of the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI was not an easy role to get. Nor was it an easy one to keep. He was barely ever home, either at the office or away on the case. He did his best to call often at night, but as you got older it got less and less frequent.

When he was home he was a great dad. Movie nights happened often, he helped with homework, and you made meals together on some nights. You were even fairly acquainted with the team, though you weren’t close to any of them. Though you dad loved and trusted the team, he preferred to keep both lives separate. When asked why he would usually mumble something along the lines of “safety”. 

Unfortunately, those good nights became less and less frequent.

Y/N,

We got called out on a case. I’ll be in Oregon. Call Garcia if there’s an emergency. There are leftovers in the fridge.

Love you,

Dad

It had been case after case for months. There was hardly even a week passing between each one. You didn’t blame your dad - you couldn’t really.

But goddamn were you lonely. 

You had friends, but they couldn’t hang out all the time. And nothing was like the company of your dad. He was usually your best friend.

-

“Hey dad?” You knocked on the door of his home office, waiting for his response before coming in.

“What’s up?” He didn’t glance up, focused on the paper in front of him.

“I need help with my Algebra homework. I keep trying to solve the problem and it just won’t work…” You were nearly in tears over it.

“Give me a little bit, and I’ll be out.” he still didn’t look up from his work.

“Ok.” You said quietly and closed the door. He never used to bring work home with him. 

If he ever came out to help you, it was too late. You fell asleep, curled up on your bed, the assignment pushed to the side. The next morning before school, you struggled through it on your own. He had already left. 

It was hard to not be upset. You knew his job was demanding. You knew he got stressed. But he was all you had.

Didn’t he realize that?

-

It all started with a group project. 

You were paired together in biology, and you had to do a research project on one of the topics given. The kids you were paired with were kids you knew, but not well.

You were surprised when you found yourself actually enjoying the project for once.

“So who wants to give the presentation?” Jake asked your little group.

“Nose goes!” You shouted, pressing your finger to the tip of your nose.

The four others quickly followed, leaving Casey the last one. She groaned.

“Oh come on, I hate that stuff.”

“No one likes it! And to be honest, I don’t think anyone pays attention during this stuff anyways.” You pointed out.

The group was sitting in Jake’s room, trying to make the final decisions for the presentation. It was to happen during the first period the next morning, and they were supposed to be the last group.

“I swear, after this is done I'm just leaving school. Screw the rest of the day, a presentation first period is grounds for leaving!”

Jake seemed to consider this carefully, pursing his lips and cocking his head. “Why don’t we all leave?”

“Yeah, sure, Jake.” You laughed.

“No, I’m serious!” He grinned, jumping up from where he was sitting on the edge of his bed. “Why not? I can forge my parents' signatures. If you get me an example of your parents signatures, I bet I can do those too! I can make notes.”

“I don’t know, Jake.” You said quietly. “If my dad found out I think I wouldn’t be allowed to leave my house until graduation.”

“Come on!” He whined, looking at the whole group. “I think we can pull it off. Do any of you actually want to be there?”

No. The answer was the same for all of them.

“You know what, I’m in.” Casey spoke up first.

The other two quickly agreed, leaving everyone’s eyes on you.

“Y/N?”

Your dad was on a case. If you were ever going to be able to pull it off, it would be then. And he hadn’t been checking up on you as much ever since you turned sixteen. 

You looked up at your new friends and grinned. 

“Let’s do it.”

-

It wasn’t a one time thing. 

It became quite often actually. Leaving the school was less likely, but sneaking off to hide somewhere for a period happened weekly. Your grades really weren’t any worse or any better. You were still having issues but it wasn’t like you were getting any help with them, so why bother with class?

You considered it very low on the rebellion stage. All you did was miss class sometimes to hang out with your friends. It wasn’t like you were getting high or drinking…

-

You got sloppy. That’s all it was.

You decided to leave after the second period, texting Jake and Casey who quickly joined you. You had a headache and a school environment is the worst place for having a headache. 

Jake’s parents were at work, so the three of you hung out at his place for the day. It was only a few blocks away, and you had only just got your license, so you didn’t have a car yet. 

You made it back to school before you bus left, hurriedly getting on it and riding home.

When you got dropped off, the first thing you noticed was your dad’s car in the driveway. 

He’s not supposed to be back until this weekend.

You rushed inside, swinging the door open.

“Dad!”

He was standing in the middle of the room, a panicked expression on his face when his eyes snapped up.

“Oh thank god,” He breathed out, eyes roving over you, looking for injuries. “She’s here. She’s safe, Garcia.”

He hung up on her, and tossed the phone onto the end table before engulfing you in a hug. “I thought you were gone.”

You hugged him back, confused but still excited to see him.

“I thought you weren’t gonna be back till the weekend at the earliest?”

“We got home early…” He trailed off, pulling away. One eyebrow was raised. “The school called and said you never showed up to third period. Or anything after that.”

Oh, shit.

He took in your shocked expression and frowned, jaw clenching. “I thought someone had taken you.”

“I’m fine…”

“What the hell were you thinking?” His voice was calm.

“Dad, I-”

“Skipping school? Why would you do that? Is something going on?” He was peering at you with an intense gaze. “Are you being bullied?”

“No!” you searched your brain for any excuse. 

“Do you know how irresponsible this is? You’re at school to learn, y/n. You’re at school to prepare for your future.”

“I know.”

“Do you?” He ran a hand down his face. “What if something happened, and no one could reach you because you weren’t at school?”

“I have a cell phone.” 

His glare told you that was not the right thing to say. “Ok, what if something happened to you! What if someone saw a teenage girl wandering around during school hours and decided to take advantage of that! At school you’re at least protected.”

“I don’t just wander!”

“Are you saying this is a regular thing?”

Shut up, y/n.

When you were silent he took that as a “yes”. 

“Where do you go? Do you have a secret boyfriend?”

“No!”

“Are you doing drugs? Drinking?”

“Dad, stop!” You finally shouted. “I get it, what I did was wrong!”

“I don’t think you do get it!” He took a deep breath. “Why hasn’t the school called me until now?”

You hesitated. 

“Y/N. I’m gonna need an answer.”

“My friend… can forge signatures.”

He closed his eyes. It was silent for far too long. 

“You’re grounded.”

“I know.”

“Indefinitely.”

“I know.” you rolled your eyes.

“Hey!” he snapped, raising his voice slightly to catch your attention. “Don’t act like this isn’t your fault. I will be calling the school to let them know that you can only leave when I call in and let them know. No more notes.”

“What if you’re on a case?”

“I’ll remember.”

“Sure.” You scoffed. “Are you gonna tell the school?”

He hesitated. “No. But only because I’m certain it won’t happen anymore.” 

You grabbed your backpack and went to your room in a huff.

He was right. Skipping was dumb.

But now you were going to be even more alone.

-

Hotch didn’t like how the fight ended.

Honestly, he wasn’t sure what to do with you in general. You were usually such a good kid. None of this made sense to him.

Keeping tabs on you wasn’t easy with his job. The hours were long and the work was important. He texted you to check in a lot more than he had been, but all he got was one word responses. 

You were being tight-lipped about what friends you had been skipping with. The loyalty would’ve been a good thing in most other circumstances.

When he did come home, you stayed in your room. Some nights you wouldn’t even eat dinner with him. 

It was stressing him out.

Rossi knocked on his office door about a week after the fight. He let himself in and sat across from Aaron.

“You’re on edge.”

“That obvious?” Hotch muttered.

“What’s going on? Is Y/N ok?”

Aaron shook his head. “She got in trouble last week. I found out she’s been regularly skipping school.”

Rossi winced. “Y/N? That’s surprising.”

“I know.” Hotch nodded. “She’s grounded. She has to come home after school first thing, and she isn’t allowed to hang out with friends until further notice. But…”

“But?” Rossi prompted after a short time. 

“I expected her to come around sooner. She’s a smart kid, she had to know she would be in trouble for this. But it’s been a week now, and she still won’t talk to me! I just don’t understand what happened.”

“You know what I’m going to say.” Rossi said, smiling gently.

“I know, I need to talk to her. I just wish she would come to me like she used to.”

-

That night your dad knocked on your bedroom door.

“Come in.” You said, though you really didn’t want him to.

You were bored. And really lonely. 

Jake and Casey were sympathetic, but you didn’t get to hang out. And even if you did text them all the time, it wasn’t the same.

“Hey…” His voice was gentle as he entered the room and quietly shut the door behind him.

You were sitting at your desk, your algebra sitting in front of you. Most of it was undone, and the few problems that were done had been erased and re-wrote multiple times. None of it was adding up.

You were silent, waiting for him to talk first.

“I think we need to talk. Can I sit?” 

You nodded and he sat on the bed, across from you. 

“I know you’re upset about being grounded.” He started. “But what you did was wrong.”

“I know that.”

“Then why are you still so mad?”

You sighed and looked away. “I really don’t want to talk about this.”

His face fell, and he genuinely looked hurt. “Honey, I just want you to come to me again. You know I’m always here for you.”

Anger.

White hot searing anger flared up quickly and your eyes snapped to him.

“Bullshit.”

“Y/N-”

“No, that’s bullshit!” You stood and crossed your arms. “What are you talking about? We haven’t had an actual conversation in months!”

“That’s not true!” He was standing now too.

“Yes it is!” you stood your ground. “You’re always at work or bringing it here! Even if you’re not on a case, you’re doing paperwork and shit and you still don’t come home.”

“Y/N, my job is important!” He defended himself. “I’m sorry that it takes so much time, but I do my best to keep it at work!”

“You used to! Now I can’t even ask for help with homework without being brushed off.” Your hands were trembling. “You don’t talk to me when you’re on cases anymore, and we haven’t had a movie night in three months!”

He was taken aback. “Y/N, I-”

You shook your head, fighting tears. “I don’t have anyone else, dad. No one else can help me with my homework, no one else texts me to check up on me during the day. I get that your job is important, but I wish I was too.”

His heart shattered.

He had been aware that work had been more intense lately, but he had no idea how badly it was affecting you. 

“Y/N, honey…” He hurried across the room and wrapped you in a hug, letting you sob into his shirt. Your shoulders shook and you clung on like you were going to lose him. “I’m so sorry…”

The apology didn’t excuse it. It didn’t make up for you feeling abandoned for so long. 

“You were skipping school because you thought no one would care.” He muttered, the answer finally hitting him.

You choked out another sob, silently nodded. 

“Of course I care…” He said, holding you close to him. “I’m sorry I’ve been distant. I promise, I won’t bring work home anymore. And I’ll make sure to text you more and call when I’m on cases.”

“I’m sorry, I’m being needy…”

“No.” He promised, looking her in the eye. “You’re not. You’re the most important thing in my life.”

You sniffle and nod, finally smiling. 

“C’mon, let’s go get some dinner.” He kissed your forehead and led you out of the room.

[hina-hina]

Hello i was wondering if you could write ghost and a daughter reader who wants to follow ghosts steps but he doesn't like the idea and they ended up in big argument and wasn't able to make up before he left

Hello friend! I love this request and it's something quite similar to what I did for Price a while back. Still one of my favorite scenarios! Thank you for requesting, Hope you enjoy!!

Tried something new with this one, I hope you guys like it! I saw another writing using this format but I can't remember the user. If you know, please lmk so I can give proper credit!

Ghost is a single dad in this btw!!

→ COD Masterlist

|| Ghost With a Daughter That Wants to Go Into the Military ||

Warnings: Wicked amounts of angst but also fluff

Female!Reader // Platonic

Your dad always claimed that you were a little too much like him

Most of the time, he found it endearing

But then their are times he wished you didn't take after him so much

He had come home from deployment and he could tell something was up

You had insisted on making him a home cooked meal because you knew he had been surviving off bland MREs for months

But he sat down and the two of you had a pleasant dinner and exchanged stories on what had been happening in your respective lives

When you suddenly got serious, he knew he was in for it

You scooted your chair close to him and grasped his hand which had been lying on the table then said you had something to tell him

His mind immediately starts jumping to the worse but he tries to keep it under control and let you finish

Then you tell him that you plan to enlist in the military

He is immediately shook by fear and just tells you a simple but firm, "No."

"You didn't even let me explain!" You shout back as he back.

Ghost jumps from his chair, turning his back on you as he runs a shaky hand down his face, "You don't need to explain, the answer is no."

Your face screws up, anger at your father's abrupt dismissiveness, you grumble, "It wasn't a question."

He turns, his face drawn up in a surprised annoyance, "Excuse me?"

"What's the big deal, anyway." You were standing now, locked into an intense stare-off with Ghost, "Your in the military."

"I joined the military to ensure you would never have to. Conversation over." His accent was becoming thicker as you could almost sense his rising anger.

You were being overtaken with such childish anger. You wanted to stomp your feet and scream until he decided to listen to you. You hated fighting with your dad but you couldn't stand how protective he was over you sometimes.

Ghost was now moving to collect the dishes, ignoring looking at you entirely as he moved to put them in the sink. Him dropping the conversation and trying to move on like nothing happened only made you more angry.

"Well, I'm doing it whether you like it or not!"

You knew you were being childish now but that didn't stop you. You turned on your heel and stomped up the stairs to your bedroom, slamming the door for good measure.

The next few days were painful to say the least. It was filled with silent dinners and the both of you being too prideful to start the conversation again.

This continued until the day came where he had to return to base to prepare for his newest mission.

That's what brought you to today, the both of you standing face to face in the living room. He was dressed in civvies but he had his impossibly large military duffle tossed over one shoulder, his balaclava gripped in one hand as he prepared to become Ghost again.

"I'll be back in a few months. I'll send letters and tell Mrs. Davies is next door if you need anything."

You nod your head but still refuse to speak, causing a deep sigh to rumble from his chest. He looked like he wanted to say something but he didn't. Instead, he opened his arms slightly, a subtle invitation for a hug.

You don't move a muscle.

He face twitches with disappointment before he raises his hands to pull his balaclava on, hiding his facial expressions from you.

"Bye, love."

He heads out the door and locks it behind him. You feel your eyes start to sting.

Despite what happened when you left, he does keep true to his promise to send letters up until the day comes when he has to ship out.

You don't hear from him again and you spend the next few weeks sulking alone. Until a knock comes from the door, causing you to drag yourself from your bed despite how your body fights against it.

You open the door and standing there, shifting nervously, is none other than John MacTavish, your father's sergeant.

Your heart sinks, "Can I help you?"

"Hi, lassie," He smiles but it seems forced, "I was sent by your father's task force to inform you that yer dad has been injured while in action."

"What?" Your voice cracks, a hand coming up to cover your mouth.

"He's alright now, gunnin' to see you actually. I can drive you to the hospital, if you want?"

Immediately, all the things that you were angry about seem so insignificant. You regret not hugging him even more. You give the other man a slight nod as you rush to grab your purse, locking the house and rushing out to his car. He doesn't push you to talk and he pretends not to notice the silent tears streaming down your face.

When you arrive to the hospital, John walks you through the secure areas in the military hospital and leads the way to your father's room. He holds the door open for you and you inch inside.

Ghost is laying on the stiff hospital bed, eyes shooting toward the door as he watches you enter. His eyes crinkle from under his balaclava, a tell-tell sign that he is smiling. "Thanks, Johnny. Mind givin' us a minute?"

"Not at all, sir." John closes the door behind himself leaving you and your dad in the silent hospital room.

Your dad is the first one to speak, "How are you, love?"

You crumble. Your eyes fill with tears as you stumble toward your father's bedside. His arms immediately open and you jump straight into them, careful to avoid his bandaged wounds. He shushes you softly as you beginning to release hiccuping sobs.

"I'm s-so sorry! You got hurt and I didn't even give you a fucking hug before you left! I'm s-sorry, Dad!"

"Enough of that, no more Scrikin', now." He wipes your tears away, taking one hand to pull his balaclava off. He never liked wearing it around you. "I'm sorry for not hearing you out. I just can't stand to think of something happenin' to ye. But, I promise we will talk about it. Don't go jumpin' into anything just cause your old man said you couldn't."

You laugh, rubbing at your ruddy cheeks with the sleeves of your shirt, "Ok."

"Love ya, kid." He ruffles your hair.

"Love you too, Dad."

Thank you for reading!

[thefiery-phoenix]

Hii! Could i request a yandere jake kim? If you still accept a request

Thank you! :))

Sure

YANDERE KIM GIMYEONG(JAKE KIM) HEADCANONS

He's the son of the one and only Gapryong Kim, the king of Seoul, a fearsome and respected man among his gang members and yet a horrible dad and husband. Jake wasn't overly fond of the way his dad behaved with his mother, he could sense his mother's sadness at times. Which is why he vowed to himself that if he was ever in a relationship with someone, he'd be a loyal man. He values loyalty above anything else. You'd first meet him when you both are in school together. He always roams around with his gang called 'Big Deal' which you thought was sort of funny since they went around pretending they were a Big Deal. You were secretly terrified of the large bulky bald Jerry Kwon, who's referred to as the right hand man of Jake and his sword, who's always willing to do anything for him and go above and beyond for him. You've seen them fight in the classrooms, you've seen the way they beat people up whoever dared to speak ill against Jake and his father

Jake honestly didn't want to get into fights because of one reason, he wanted you to stop being so nervous around him. The first time he got into a fight and ruthlessly beat someone's head against the wall over and over again and kicked them with his exceptional fighting skills, he saw the slightly terrified look in your eyes and his heart felt a slight pang of hurt. That wasn't what he wanted your opinion to be when came to him. You quickly put your head down and tried to mind your own business to avoid getting involved and interfering in the matter as you buried your nose in your book. You were a quiet little thing, never really interacting with people that much and he started growing curious about you. You've piqued his interest and seeing you be so nervous around him just didn't sit right with him

He wants to find a way to win you over. The other members of the Big Deal would soon get to know that he's developing feelings for you and some of them will tease him about them, till he tells them to shut it with a slight embarrassed blush on his face. He's always staring at you like some idiot with a slight lovesick grin on his face like cupid struck him in the heart with a love arrow or something. He likes the way your hair strands fall in your face, he wants to be the one to push your hair strands back behind your ear and look into your eyes lovingly and hold your hand and feel your touch. He feels like he's falling into a chasm of madness by the second and he doesn't regret it either. Oblivious Jerry will ask him why he won't confess to you but there's a teensy problem. You didn't want anything to do with him because of the number of fights he gets himself into. Part of him understands but the other part of him is just being irrational and illogical and telling him to screw it and ask you out anyway. "Boss Jake, would you like for me to write a love note for you?" asked Jerry in a slightly loud tone as Jake looked at him with a slightly embarrassed look on his face. "Shh...Jerry. You shouldn't be bothered about such things. Go do your homework, you're too young to be bothered about romance" said Jake in response

Jake will find out about things you like and he'll leave little candies and your favorite drinks on your table. It makes his day when you look at it curiously and when you look at him slightly suspicious as to why he's doing this, he and his members would just pretend to be doing something else and when Jake catches your eye, he'll give you a slightly awkward wave. You'd notice he's being gentle around you and he's actually a good decent guy deep down. You'll slowly become friends with him and he'll love hanging out with you. You could join the Big Deal if you wanted but secretly he sort of wishes you wouldn't. Not that he doesn't enjoy your company, he does but he just doesn't want you getting involved in fights and such. He wants to protect you from them

He'll start growing possessive and obsessive over you and he feels like his feelings of obsessiveness are justified because of what's happening. After what happened with Sinu Han's disappearance and after saving him from the clutches of the Worker's Second Affiliate, he's starting to become paranoid about losing you. You just mean so much to him, you mean the world to him. You're his heart, his soul, his significant other and you're always on his mind. He might not look like a romantic guy from the exterior but he totally is. He loves getting all romantic with you, you'll always be the precious one who'll be in his heart. Would probably say things like "You don't cross my mind because you live in it" sort of things

Being with Jake also means you'll have the whole of Big Deal ready to watch over you and protect you. They won't call him out on his obsessive and unnatural feelings of possessiveness towards you, they're all just happy that their beloved boss found someone to love. Sinu hypes his obsession for you and starts gushing madly about how adorable it is for Jake to love you so much. Jerry, the right hand man of Jake would do anything for him. You might be Jake's significant other and Jerry would respect you but that doesn't mean he won't snitch on you and give Jake an account of whatever goes on in your life. If someone else has their eyes on you and is planning to take you away from his beloved boss, he, Lineman and Jason Yoon would be there to take care of the pest. They'd warn the person to stay away from you and if they still don't get the hint, now they're just ASKING for a beating at this point

You're not allowed to go anywhere without someone he trusts accompanying you. It's too dangerous and he'd rather burst a blood vessel than let something happen to you. He might be sweet and affectionate and gentle towards you but for someone who tries to harm you, he shows no mercy. He doesn't care if he's being beyond ruthless, all logic and rationality would be out of the window and down the drain when someone tries to harm you. The other day while you were helping the girls set up some new clothes at their shops, there were a few guys who started eyeing you in a rather inappropriate manner. You didn't think much of it before as you continued to help the girls. However Yeonhuei gets the feeling something is wrong and is on high alert to protect you against the creeps. One of the guys 'accidentally' brushed his hand against your thigh and you thought it was a harmless innocent mistake. How wrong you were. The men thought that you seemed like a pushover and they could take advantage of your personality as they smirked to themselves, thinking of all the 'fun' they could have with you

While you were heading out of the shop, they cornered you against a brick wall and started leering at you and making all sorts of lecherous comments about you and your body. You tried to run when they grabbed you by your wrists and refused to let you go. To your relief, a large looming figure that stood out distinctly in the night atmosphere stared down at them and you realized it was Jerry. Jerry was ready to fight but Jake wanted to get rid of those pests himself. He needed to set an example, no one would get away with touching you. Jake beat them unconscious and mentally vowed to finish them off later at some point by breaking their hands since they didn't deserve them after trying to do that to you

He'll pull you close to him and comfort you as he'll wrap his arms around you and softly kiss your head. You both will go back to his place and he'll ease your worries by rubbing soft circles around your back and make a bowl of your favorite instant Ramen or order some takeaway for you both. He didn't want you getting upset over some lousy scumbags who had no decency as he'll hold your hand in his and assure you that he'll always be there to protect you

He doesn't even need to make it seem like he's kidnapped you or something. He has a clever method of ensuring you're always by his side. He'll tell you things like how it's dangerous outside without him and that he just loves you so much. Might even resort to slight guilt tripping at some point but he just wants you to stay with him. He could never bring himself to yell at you or hurt you, that's not what a real man does to the one he loves. If you try leaving him or escaping from him, he'll just track you down. Jerry will just hoist you over his shoulder like a sack of flour and bring you back to his boss where he'll be ready to chide you and scold you like you're a naughty child. He'll check for any injuries you could have received during your little 'stunt' and after that escape attempt of yours, no way would he be dense enough to trust you on your own. You'll always have someone watching you

Luah will be able to figure out even the slightest thought you'll have of escaping or leaving them. She's smart that way. She'll also be the one to dig up any information and dirt to use against people who've hurt you before in the past and Jake will send his members to have a little 'talk' with them and he doesn't care if it's the Workers either. Jake doesn't like it when you're crying or having a meltdown, he's doing it for your own good. Those Workers scumbags could hurt you, he's just trying to protect you. He wants to keep you safe. He doesn't care even if he has to go against that old lousy MF Charles Choi, he always hated him anyway. Half the people he knows despise him too. He'll give you some privacy if you need but secretly wishes he could hold you in his arms and comfort you instead. Overall he wouldn't be a bad guy to have as a yandere, just stick with him and things will be all right. He does want a family with you after all with little ones running around here and there. He's slowly building a fantasy of having a family with you and he'll make sure he'll get that fantasy to become a reality with you one way or another even if he has to get his hands dirty, which wouldn't really be a problem for the son of Gapryong Kim...

[gabessquishytum]

Hob was new to the city, so during his first full moon he put on his "collar" and walked about in his wolf-skin. Mostly he looked like a big dog and he chose a werewolf friendly city to move to, so he figured he wouldn't be hassled too much.

🐺🐺🐺🐺

While walking about Hob smelled something delicious! Following the smell lead to a tall pointy fence, but Hob wasn't going let a fence stop him,,,he jumped. Hob landed in a garden (only scraping his side a little).

The garden wasn't what he was smelling, though, as nice as it was. Hob continued to following the smell around the corner of a house where he came upon a pup and its father.

They were his smell!

Hob didn’t want to startle them too much, so he yipped from a distance. If wolves could sheepishly wave, Hob would have.

The larger wolf started to growl, when the pup shot out and started (cutely) yipping at Hob, wagging his tail and poking Hob with his nose.

Papa!wolf quickly changed back into his human form, sighing Orpheus; Hob used that as his signal to change back himself.....apologizing for intruding,, to the still fantastic smelling (beautiful) man.

Hob was screwed.

Himbo werewolf Hob!!! I love him!!! Also Hob in a collar... ajsjdbdhshs ANYWAYS.

Of course Orpheus is desperate to play with his new friend, the big fluffy brown wolf who is twice as broad as his dad. See, his dad is very protective, so Orpheus doesn't have a whole lot of friends to play with, either in wolf or human form! He wants to play!!!

Dream grumbles under his breath but agrees that Orpheus can play with Hob. Only five minutes, though. Hob quickly shifts back to wolf form and immediately engages in tag, play fighting, even a fun chasing game with a football! Little by little, Dream is also pulled into the game, until the play-fighting ends with Orpheus and Dream successfully pinning Hob’s big fluffy body against the ground. They caught him! And Hob has never been more pleased to be caught, it's fair to say.

Unfortunately Hob can't stay forever (and he's polite enough to excuse himself instead of waiting for Dream to shoo him away). But Dream surprises him by inviting him to stop by for dinner after the full moon is over and done with. For Orpheus's sake, obviously - it has nothing to do with the fact that Hob smells so good and is so handsome with his hair messed up and dirt on his face. He just deserves a proper welcome to the neighbourhood. Or something.

Hob accepts the invitation and apologises again for just jumping into Dream’s garden, but Dream just snuffles against him and gives his ear an affectionate nibble. So Hob is starting to think that following his nose wasn't such a bad idea after all...!

[secondhand-snow]

a body of impulses

chapter 2: feeling like unraveling

lukas matsson x f!roy! reader (succession)

★ chapter 1 ★ | ★chapter 3★

wc: 9.0k+

warnings: super dysfunctional family, fluff first then angst, roman roy as his own warning, season 3 finale as its own warning, mentions of manipulation, drinking, smut, virgin!reader, inexperienced!reader, corruption kink (for real this time), dick pics, mention of phone sex, making out, dry humping/grinding, biting, pussyjobs, cum play/eating, unprotected sex (wrap it before you tap it!), aftercare, no use of y/n

summary: Lukas is amazing. He's tender, he's deviant, he's everything for you. But you're still worried, your family has never seen a beautiful thing that they haven't wanted to break.

author's note: chapter 2 is here, thank you for all the love on chapter 1! i hope you love it as much as i loved writing it ♡ be warned that this is heavy on the plot of episodes 3.08 and 3.09, so if you haven't watched the full show you may get a bit lost. please consider liking, commenting, or reblogging if you enjoyed!

You have a tendency to get anxious when things are good for too long. A few weeks without a family fight, a month without a scandal, half a year without Kendall relapsing; nice things usually end in flames in your family. They make you superstitious, always looking around the corner for something to jump out and fuck everything up. So, when Lukas is good, you get scared. You expect some kind of backhand. A threat of blackmail, a tweet exposing your promiscuity, a package of anthrax at your door. 

It never comes.

He calls you every night, your timezone, not his. Listens to you talk about your day and doesn’t press when you can’t give him details on the company. He loves to send you pictures, just of him doing the most mundane things. Lukas on a Zoom meeting, Lukas working out, Lukas eating dinner. Together, you fall into something almost domestic. It’s still a secret. You don’t open his messages in public, stay far away from any conversations about him at work that could lead a blush to your face. But when has anything in your life been completely honest?

He’s been begging for a while now to fly you out to Sweden. You know it’s a risk you shouldn’t take at the moment, but you entertain him anyway. When you ask why he wants to see you so badly, he says he misses you. Then he says he wants to fuck you on his desk.

 That almost convinces you, and you’re about to start packing when a roadblock emerges. Your dad asks you to come with him and your siblings to Italy, for Caroline’s wedding. You hadn’t been planning on going, she wasn’t your mom and you didn’t have much of a relationship with her. In fact, you actually thought she secretly hated you, something to do with how quickly Logan married your mom after their divorce. Regardless, you didn’t want to go to the wedding. But when Logan Roy calls, you come. Always.

So the bags were repacked and you found yourself on a different private jet with your siblings, once again at the mercy of your family.

“She’s probably in sexual thrall to him. He’s driving her wild with his sugar dick.” Siobhan spoke matter of factly, completely oblivious to how absurd her words sounded. Still, it wasn’t the strangest conversation of hers you’d walked in on. “So there’s nothing we can do.”

 Roman was perched across the aisle from Tom and Shiv, sitting oddly in his seat, running his hand through his hair while he spoke. “All right, fine. Let him kill her for her emeralds and… screw us out of the fucking firm. See if I care.”

“Mommy issues?” You spoke up, setting your bag down on a free seat before moving to lean over the back of Shiv’s chair, kneeling on the seat behind it.

“Always. I didn’t know you were coming?” Rome turns to address you, eyebrows coming together in question.

“Dad drafted me. I think he just wants to terrorize Caroline with my presence.”

“I think you torment her enough by just existing. She doesn’t get to be the perfect mother of Logan Roy’s prodigal children.” Shiv pitched in, finally acknowledging your presence with a little smile.

“I don’t think I’m even invited to all the events. He’s just gonna have me working on the GoJo deal the whole time.”

“Oh! About the deal, I was talking to Karl and Frank-” Tom is addressing Roman more than you, but still gives you the courtesy of eye contact before your brother cuts him off. 

“Yeah, no, you’re not really a part of that. Either of you, actually.” Rome nods his head to the couple, a smirk on his face charged by his current power trip.

“Well, I am.” Shiv interjects, annoyed.

“Well, I can’t fire you yet Shiv, because I’m still a little bit scared of you. But, my thinking is, when I take over, I’m gonna put you in the office next to mine and you’re gonna be my sexy secretary.” You just shake your head at Roman’s comment while he turns to head back to his seat. 

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Siobhan is more irritated than really upset, going back to her phone as Roman leaves the conversation.

“I dunno. We’re working on it.” He taps the back on his legs in a rhythm before sitting down. “Ongoing process.”

You address Tom, seeing the confusion in his eyes that people tend to get when talking to your brother. “We’re just working on outlining terms. Honestly, Gerri would be better to ask for specifics. I don’t know how much Dad wants me to say.”

Tom just nods in thanks, which you return with a small smile before heading to your seat. You’re across the aisle from Roman, who’s already curled up and ready to nap on the flight. Taking out your phone, you see a new message from Lukas, covertly labeled in your phone with just an “L.” You turn the screen away from your company, making sure to not catch the reflection in the window as you open his text.

Stockholm is a 4 hour flight to Italy. 

Is it? I’ll be in the air for at least 10 hours.

10 hours without talking to you?

I think you can manage it.

I don’t know about Italy. I can’t be held responsible for what I do when I’m in the same country as you.

It’s a risk. 

Will there be a reward?

…I’ll text you when we land.

He sends a picture of himself doing a kissing face. You send a heart emoji in response, hiding your face with your hand to conceal your smile. 

It turns out that you were invited to a few events of Lady Caroline’s wedding. Not the ceremony, of course, but at least you were allowed to attend the receptions leading up to it. You weren’t going to be cooped up in a hotel room all weekend, signing documents and having Facetime sex with your not-boyfriend. In fact, you ended up at one of these events just a little after your arrival, a garden party full of snobby aristocrats and expensive champagne. It’s too hot out for your liking, you're already sweating in your semi-formal sundress and downing your second glass of cold bubbly. 

You end up with Shiv, partially blocked from the sun by the shadow of her hat, quietly snickering at her and Tom’s jokes about a clueless cousin Greg. It’s surprisingly calm for one of your family gatherings, no shouting or challenging or worse. The tranquility snaps like a twig with a ding on your phones.

“Uh- Matsson…” Shiv speaks first, the two of you pulling out your phones simultaneously, her angling her screen to share it with Tom. A message from Karolina leads you to Matsson’s twitter page, and his latest tweet. It’s a goofy gif of his face with a Snapchat filter on it, the text reading ‘Going to Macao, feeling lucky.” You’re half excited, half alarmed. You don’t really know if you should believe it at first but, against your better judgment, you hope it’s true. Hope he’s just an hour or two from you, the closest he’s been in weeks.

 “What? Going to Macao? Feeling lucky?” Tom squints against the sun to see the Tweet before pulling out his own phone. “The fuck is that?”

“You get this thing from Karolina? It’s off the radar and now this? Is this- is it a move?” Gerri’s entrance is quick, followed closely behind by Roman. You open your mouth and close it again, not sure if your words will betray your duplicity.

“It, um, it could be…could be nothing, you know? Fucking social media fireworks!” Roman’s hand is threaded through his hair, the silver watch on his wrist glinting in the light.

“‘Going to Macao, feeling lucky.’” Gerri repeats the four words, she’s as flabbergasted as everyone in this little Waystar circle. Business has once again interfered with pleasure. “Is he trying to boost his price?”

“Is he just rocking the boat?” Shiv’s voice is unsure, wavering from her usual monotone state. “Or trying to blow up the deal? I mean, has he got good subscriber numbers coming in?”

“Maybe he’s just going to Macao and he’s feeling lucky.” Tom chimes in as Rome steps away from the group, phone pressed to his ear in a call you can’t fully hear.

“I mean, yeah… It’s not out of his archetype to post something like this.” You shrug, not sure what to contribute that hasn’t already been said. 

Roman finishes his call, turning back to you to speak. “I don’t know, it’s like, his thing. He’s a- a trickster.”

“Okay. Well, sounds cool. Is he gonna, like, steal our watches and fucking saw the deal in half?” Shiv’s getting upset, you know she likes control and she’s too far removed from this deal to do anything about Matsson’s stunts. 

“Maybe!”

“You’re supposed to be inside this Rome!”

“Hey, it’s gonna be fine. Mattson’s not stupid, he wouldn’t deliberty fuck this deal and announce it to the world on Twitter.” You’re trying to reason with your siblings, though it’s not really working. Roman mostly ignores you, Siobhan rolls her eyes. Atleast Gerri and Tom look somewhat appreciative for your input. 

“I am inside, Leave it.” 

You’re done with the dialogue, done with being the peacemaker and getting stepped over by your narcissistic siblings. You throw your hands up, phone held in one and the other in a flat palm to signify your retreat before you walk away from the cluster. You hear Greg say something behind you but don’t bother to answer him, instead moving to find a quiet place far away from your siblings.

You end up in a corner somewhere, mostly blocked by trees and bushes, a little cubby hole you hoped was private enough to not be listened in on. Your fingers nimbly click through the apps on your phone, pausing briefly before pressing the call button on Lukas’s contact. It rings once, twice. Then, an answer.

“When are you coming over? Should I send you a helicopter?”

“Macao?” Your voice is higher than normal, laced in shock and thrill.

“Closer than we’ve been in weeks.” The smile is apparent in his voice, he’s pleased with himself, you hate it. And love it.

“You’re fucking insane. I didn’t think you were serious!” 

“Yeah, I am. I’ll send my jet over.”

“Oh my God, I still cannot believe you. I can’t- my family is on high alert after your little rogue Tweet.” You laugh, not really mad at him, just eager and amazed.

“Oh come on, that was nothing.”

“It was a play to keep them on guard and you know it.”

“Well, partially. It’s for the numbers too. And for your attention.”

“It’s so hard to be away from you when you do shit like this…”

“Oh yeah? You miss me?” It’s a taunt, he knows the truth even if you deny it. So, you’re honest.

“You know I do.”

“Mmm… I miss you too. Keep thinking about what I’ll do when I see you again.”

“Lukas… I’m in public…” You can’t help but glance around, be sure you’re alone when he starts talking like this. His plan is already so clear to you.

“So you don’t want me to tell you about all the ways I’ll fuck you?”

“... Don’t do this to me now.”

“It’ll be just us in this house. I’ll take you wherever I want to. You can scream as loud as you want, don’t have to be worried about someone hearing.” His voice drops, there’s a small rustling on the phone. His words shoot straight to your core, a sensation beginning to form there.

“I’m at a fucking wedding party and you’re getting me turned on. You’re evil.”

“You love it.” You pause a moment, taking a deep breath and steeling yourself before responding. 

“I’ll call you tonight. Please be careful.”

He chuckles.“I will.”

When you hang up, your text thread with Lukas is immediately graced with a photo of his dick, hard and gripped tightly in his fist. It makes you inhale sharply, curse under your breath at the growing need between your thighs. You text him back, simply writing “Fuck you.” before clicking your phone off. It takes you a few minutes of breathing exercises, but you’re able to calm your desire and soothe the blush in your cheeks before returning to the party.

Nobody asks where you went, nobody even really cared that you were gone. You can blame it on Connor’s show of making a proposal, or Matsson’s antics occupying everyone’s minds, but this is how it always is with you. The good child. The innocent daughter. Forever right where she needs to be, never in anyone’s way, constantly willing to help. You disappear when you aren’t wanted, you emerge only when you’re useful. The perfect loyalist, somehow being turned to a deserter.

Lukas leaves Monaco before you can sneak away to see him. You know it’s for the better, but it’s still a disappointment. You resign to finish the family trip and visit Sweden as soon as you get home to New York, going along with the planned events, a false smile plastered on your face. It’s during Caroline’s bachelorette in Cortona when your plans change. You were nursing a glass of wine, silencing your discontent at the rooftop bar when Gerri approached you.

She dragged you around to speak with Roman, revealing that your Dad had once again put you on babysitting duty. Logan wanted Rome to go talk to Mattson at his house in Switzerland, and wanted you to keep him in line. He couldn’t trust Roman to not fuck the deal, but he didn’t want you to speak to Mattson alone. So, you were recruited to accompany Rome. Speak just enough to stop him from saying something stupid, but not enough to draw attention. It was a game you were good at, one you had been practicing since youth. You were loyal to a fault, and Logan always used it to his advantage. 

Lukas is ecstatic when you tell him you’re coming. Less so when he learns Roman is accompanying you, but still thrilled. You ask him for discretion, first nicely and then sternly. You can’t afford to make your relationship, whatever it is, public. He knows this too, knows what your family would do if they found out, but can’t help teasing. It’s only a day after Logan’s request that you board a helicopter, headed to Lake Maggiore. Headed to Lukas.

Roman is oddly quiet on the flight, constantly on his phone or looking out the window, eyes blank. You know him well enough to see the anxiety clouding his mind, feel the nervous energy radiating off his body. You reach over to him and hold his hand. He looks annoyed. He doesn’t drop it. You squeeze his fingers gently, he returns the motion, lets you quietly comfort him until you land.

 Lake Maggiore is beautiful, surrounded by the Alps and lush vegetation, villas and lake homes dotting the shores of the water. You move straight from the helicopter to a boat, which immediately takes off at high speeds, skating over the surface of the lake. The wind fucks up your hair, blows up the skirt of your sundress, almost makes you loose your sunglasses. When you finally dock, you quickly pull out your phone, using it as a mirror to fix your smudged makeup and windswept hair before your host arrives. Roman gives you a weird look, silently judging you for putting effort into your appearance. As if he doesn’t spend hours in front of the mirror every morning styling his hair to look perfectly imperfect. 

When Lukas’s frame finally emerges from the hedges of his property, you have to bite your lower lip to hide your smile. He’s so himself, wearing sweatpants and a plain t-shirt, not bothering with real shoes, just a pair of casual slip-ons. It almost hurts to see him and not be able to immediately kiss him. Jesus, your inner monologue sounds like something from a cheesy rom-com. You feel so love-struck, it makes you crinkle your nose in embarrassment. 

The boat is tied up to the dock now, Roman perched on the side trying to make it onto solid land. The waves rock the vehicle back and forth, knocking him off balance and ruining his attempt at disembarking. 

“Do you want me to hold your hand?” Lukas has one hand in his pocket, the other reached out to Rome, close enough for him to grab. If he wanted to. “Come on, I’ll hold your hand.”

“Piss off.” Roman swats his hand away, finally moving off the boat with a small jump. You move, taking his place on the edge of the boat. It’s a bit unsteady, but you manage getting on to the dock in just a few seconds. You shoot a smug smile at Roman before following the two of them up some steps, away from the water and onto Lukas’s yard.

“It’s nice to see you again, man.” Roman speaks first, breaking the silence that had fallen over you three.

“Yeah, yeah. Long time.” Lukas has his usual posture, slightly hunched and lanky, with his hands in his pockets nonchalantly. 

“This is an amazing place!” Rome looks around, you continue to follow him and Lukas through the lawn, letting them lead you as you observe.

“Yeah...”

“No?”

“I don’t know, it kind of freaks me out, to be honest.” 

“Oh, yeah?”

“When I got it, I wanted everything to be perfect.” You climb a few steps, the group arriving at an outdoor pool area, lined with shrubs and facing the lake. “Now I’m sleeping on a camping mat until I get a deep dive on the best mattress in the world. It’s great- it’s great. I’m just not feeling great. I mean… I’m fine… Well, but, not really.”

You frown at his words. You want to reach out, hold his hand, touch his back, do something to comfort him. But it would be too obvious, too impulsive. Instead you nod sympathetically, catching his gaze for a moment.

“Maybe let’s leave the little feeley-feelings out of it. Cause I’m gonna give you nothing. Nothing!” Roman’s half joking. He hates emotions, tries to diffuse bad ones with humor, even if it feels inappropriate.

“Roman.” Your tone is a warning, pushing your sunglasses back on your head to give him a glare before turning to Lukas. “I get it. You want the best, but you don’t realize how boring perfection is when you always have it.” 

“Yeah, yeah. Success.. It doesn’t interest me anymore. It’s too easy. It’s fucking… anyone can do it. Analysis plus capital plus execution. But failure… that’s a secret.” Lukas is looking at you like you’re the only person in the world when he speaks. Sometimes he thinks you can see into his soul, you somehow know him better than anyone. He takes his sunglasses off, using the collar of his shirt to hold them. His blue eyes look directly into yours.“What are you worst at?”

“Well… I… am never telling you any of my weaknesses. Ever. Never, ever, ever.” Roman breaks into the conversation again, disrupts the eye contact between you two. “And I won’t let her tell you any either. Stuff a sock in her mouth, a ball gag or something.”

“That’s smart.”

“I know, I am smart.”

“Cause I ream people. Juice em like oranges. I get way too into people, and they disappoint me.” He looks at Roman when he says that, but you can’t help but take his words as a warning. Things moved fast between you and Lukas, you’ve barely known him for a few weeks and were already opening your heart to him. Letting him into your mind, letting him rearrange the furniture there like he owns it. “Hey, I’m thinking of doing like a- quarterly up and outs at the company.”

“Oh, yeah. Firing people is like, 85% of why I get up in the morning.” Roman shrugs when he talks, moving to take his sunglasses off and hold them in his hand. “But, uh.. I do want to ask you about that tweet, if you don’t mind.”

“Oh the…” Lukas laughs, looks at you, back to Roman. He makes a face, sticking out his tongue to mimic the Snapchat filter on his tweet. “That one.”

“Yeah. Seriously, yes. You got like, big shit coming your way?” Rome uses his free hand to run his fingers through his hair.

“...Are you- are you asking me for material nonpublic information?” Lukas’s grin is lopsided, he’s testing the two of you, seeing how far you’re really going to go.

“Maybe. Were you trying to get your share price up by tweeting unverifiable information outside of normal disclosure channels?” You cut in, raising your eyebrows at him, tilting your head in a way a little too close to flirting. Roman smiles at that, watches you exercise your knowledge like a proud father.

Lukas’s voice is mocking, a fake sad cartoon tone coming over it. “No, you’re not allowed to do that.” He moves his hands to his eyes, pretending to wipe his tears. “So mean.”

“Do you want this deal? Are you into it… like, at all?” Roman asks next. You’ve moved a bit from your area at the pool, following Matsson as he slowly circles the water. 

“Yeah, I am. I’m just a little Swedish, you know? I’m.. into equality.” He moves nonchalantly, like this deal isn’t as serious as it is. “I like getting into bed with people, but I also like to share it equally.”

“More of a merge than a takeover.” It isn’t a question, and it isn’t directed at Lukas. You turn to Roman as you say it, verbalizing what you both were thinking. Lukas just hums, doesn’t articulate a response. Even though you all know what it would be. 

“Okay. We’re just… heading to Milan to lock things down with our Dad and the bankers. And the tweet- it just didn’t feel great. If you’re hoping to blow this whole thing up, just tell me, okay?” Roman’s anxiety is back, you can see it in the tense way he’s started to move, in the higher tone of his voice.

“I just want to get myself the best. Of everything.” Lukas looks at you when he says it, darts his tongue out to lick his bottom lip. Roman’s too lost in his own head to notice it, or notice the way your breath catches in your throat. 

“Yeah, I fucking get that. Definlety.” Roman moves to pull out his phone, cursing under his breath when he reads a notification. “I uh- have to take a call really quickly. I’ll be in the boat, it shouldn’t take too long. Okay?” 

“Yeah, I’ll give her a tour.” Lukas shrugs, sounding indifferent. Rome nods at him, then you, and quickly takes off towards the dock, already lifting the phone up to his ear as he walks. 

You watch him leave, round the corner and leave your line of vision before turning to Lukas, face neutral save for a hint of a smile. He’s less composed than you, smiling broadly and staring into your eyes. He walks closer to you, wraps his arm around the small of your back.

“Wanna show me around?” You raise your eyebrows in question, slightly rocking back and forth on your feet. He sighs quietly, nods, and moves to extend an arm for you to hold. 

“There’s really not much to see. Your average rich person house.” You hold his arm, walking with him into the villa as he speaks. 

The interior is nice. Well, you’re sure it cost several million dollars to furnish, but that was the standard you were used to. It’s Italian inspired with a few modern elements. You take note of the high end appliances everywhere you go. A thousand dollar air purifier, a ten thousand dollar toilet, a hundred thousand dollar refrigerator. Lukas really did want the best for himself. The downstairs looks strangely perfect, like there wasn’t really anyone living there. Everything is clean and immaculate, no traces of human life. This trend continues into the upstairs, only stopping when he shows you the primary bedroom. His bedroom.

It’s simply decorated, a bed, desk, dresser. A large TV mounted on the wall across from his bed, nightstands, some artwork on the walls. There are a few large windows on the farthest side of the room, offering a view to the lake. Most things are black, or gray, with a few navy blue accents here and there. You had slipped off your shoes when walking around the house, now you let the fall to the floor from dangling on your finger. Stepping into the room, you walk until you round the bed, seeing a camping sleep matt rolled up and leaning on a wall. The sight brings a little smile to your face before you turn to Lukas’s desk, fingers grazing softly against the wood of it. 

He has a Macbook laying on it, a pair of over-ear headphones sitting next to it. There’s a cup with a few pencils and pens, a box of tissues. It’s not much, but it’s something. Above his desk sit a few wall mounted bookshelves, made of the same wood. The books on them are mostly motivational, shit that he definitely hasn’t read. One thing does catch your eye though, an older coding textbook written in Swedish. It looks worn, the spine cracked and the pages wrinkled. Your fingers move to trace along the row of books, following them until the shelf ends and you meet the wall behind it. 

“I like it. Very you.” You move your gaze back to Lukas, who’s been leaning in the doorway, watching you explore.

“Very me?”

“It’s exactly what I pictured.” You walk up to him as he steps inside, right at the foot of the bed, just a few inches apart. “Have you really been sleeping on a mat on the floor?”

“Yeah…” You wrap your hands around the back of his neck as his sentence trails off and he moves to grab your hips, closing the distance between you.

“Lukas, just sleep on the mattress. Your back is gonna get all fucked up.”

“Probably. I just- I don’t trust it. I want something I know is good, you know?”  His reasoning makes you roll your eyes.

“It’s better than a camping mat.”

“Hey- that’s the best camping mat money can buy.”

Your hand moves to cup his face, bringing him to you and planting a light kiss on his mouth. He tries to deepen it, follows your face when you pull away, looks like a sad puppy when you deny him.

“So you haven’t used the mattress at all…?” You smirk, quirking your eyebrows teasingly.

“Not yet…” Lukas grins, his eyes traveling from yours to your lips. “Why? Do you wanna help me break it in?”

You don’t answer, just smile, roll your eyes playfully, and move away from him. You turn so your back is facing the bed, and with all the drama you can muster, flop down onto the mattress. It cushions your fall nicely, though you do get left a bit breathless and giggly. Your knees dangle off the side of the bed, feet almost grazing the ground as you kick your legs. 

“It’s really not bad.” You don’t bother raising your head, just direct your words to him knowing he’ll hear. “Not the best, but definitely ‘trustworthy.’” Laughing when he sighs in response, you throw your arms up and stretch theatrically.

You feel a hand on your knee, spreading your thighs wider apart. He slots himself between your legs, moves his hand to your waist, and pulls you quickly to him. The bed is high enough that your hips meet each other roughly, a gasp escaping your mouth at the sudden pressure on your vulva. Lukas is already half hard, and making the most subtle movements to grind you perfectly against his cock. 

“Lukas… Roman is just outside…” You’re already a bit breathless, still allowing him to rub against you as you speak. He leans close to you, tall frame bending at the waist to brush his lips against your ear, still keeping his hips flush to your as he moves. 

“I guess we’ll have to be quick then.” He places a kiss to your jawline, starting a messy trail down your neck. Lukas pauses to nip the slope of your shoulder. “And you’ll have to be quiet.”

He lifts his head, eyes staring straight into yours, and waits for your response. Your lips are already parted, breath coming quick and cheeks flushed with desire. The lust clouds your judgment, as it always seems to do with Lukas. Impulse takes over and, with a hand threaded into his hair, you pull his mouth to yours roughly.  

It’s rushed and powerful. All teeth and tongue, no time for being gentle, no time for romantics. You bite his lip, he groans into your open mouth. Your legs move around his hips, keeping his body close as he ruts against your clothed core. His movements started soft and teasing, but now he’s fully thrusting against you, rough and wanting. It feels hard and hot, has your eyes shutting and your mouth whimpering. You love being close to him like this, hearing his panting in your ear, his lips on your throat, his chest pressed to yours. But it’s not quite enough. 

“Fuck Lukas, I need more.” He pulls his head from his attack on your throat, looks at you with a grin on his face.

“You need more?” You nod, a little frantically with a small hum. “Look at you, asking for things. Tell me what you want.”

You’re a bit hesitant, cheeks still red from the vulgarity of your situation. Your mouth opens and then closes again, biting your lower lip as you try to find the right words. His hand comes to your chin, fingers pressing into your cheeks as he forces your eye contact with him. 

“Tell me what you want.”

“I just want to feel you- really feel you.” Honestly, you don’t know exactly what you want. You’re so needy, you can feel how uncomfortably wet you’ve gotten and just need some kind of satisfaction. “You can fuck me.”

He shakes his head, still smiling. “No, not yet. I have plans for that, it’ll be special.” His words are a little shocking, but turn you on even more.

“Please Lukas. I need you.” Your voice is barely a whisper, laced with want. The motion of his hips has stopped and you feel yourself desperately grind yourself against him for some relief. His hands move to your hips to hold you in place, releasing the grip on your chin.

“I’m not taking your virginity in a quickie where I can’t even get you naked. And you need to be able to walk after this.” He moves and pushes your dress up, exposing the lower half of your body. “Here you’ll like this.”

 Your panties are soaked. His gaze moves down and he notices, gives a small chuckle, runs a finger up your clothed slit. It makes you shudder and whine deeply in your throat as a response. Hooking a finger around both sides of your panties, he pulls the fabric off with one quick motion, dropping them to the floor when he’s finished. He moves from between your thighs briefly, causing you to instinctively shut your legs. Lukas pulls down his pants then, just enough to expose his cock, hard and leaking already.

He moves back, uses a hand to gently spread your legs as the other grips the base of his cock. He’s so close, his dick hovering just above your cunt. Your eyes go wide with anticipation, a light gasp escapes from your lips. Then, Lukas moves. His hips angle downwards and, using his hand to guide his cock, he gently rubs his length over your slit. The feeling is immediately intense. It’s wet and strong and burning, and when his tip touches your clit you swear your vision goes white. You really can’t help the moan that escapes you, it’s Lukas that caused it. 

“Shhh… I know, I know. But you don’t want someone to hear.” He leans over you, presses a light kiss to your mouth and grabs one of your hands. Moving your hand over your mouth, he helps you press your palm to your lips, muffling the noises coming from your lips. You nod in response, keeping your hand there when he moves his away, gripping back on to your hips to hold you in place. “Don’t want everyone to know how I’m corrupting you.”

Another moan leaves your mouth at that, luckily much quieter due to your palm. Your free hand flys down, grips over his on your hip. He keeps moving, parting your lips and spreading wetness across your pussy, hitting your clit perfectly with each thrust. A curse leaves his throat when your back begins to arch, the white hot feeling in your cunt growing fast. You can almost feel the restraint leaving his body, feel the roll of his hips getting heavier, harsher. A tear rolls down your cheek, your eyes wet with the sheer strength of this new pleasure you’re experiencing. 

“Fuck, you’re doing so good, so quiet for me.” Lukas’s accent is thicker now, his head tipping back in pleasure as he ruts against you with abandon, chasing his climax. “So fucking beautiful like this.”

That’s all it really takes for you to fall apart, cumming on his cock. Your orgasm hits in a wave, making your thighs shake and eyes squeeze shut in ecstasy. You’re incredibly glad for the hand on your mouth as it muffles the high moan that leaves your lips. You don’t see him with your eyes shut, but the groans you hear let you know that Lukas is not far behind you. A few mascara stained tears run from your eyes when you open them again, your gaze being met with Lukas’s head tilted toward the ceiling, his mouth open in pleasure. 

His cock moves from your cunt, positioning over your lower stomach. His hand moves, jerking himself roughly as he looks down to meet your eyes. Your hand moves from your mouth, and you sit up a bit as you reach for him, fingers coming to rest on his hip to keep him close to you. Another low curse falls from his mouth, and with a gravely groan he cums. White ropes shoot across your stomach, resting on your skin warmly. You whimper in sympathy, watching as he twitches and bucks against his hand recklessly. 

Lukas’s chest rises and falls quickly, breath coming fast and deep as his orgasm washes over him. When his eyes reopen, he’s quick to pull you up to meet his mouth with a burning kiss. The kiss isn’t long, but when you pull away he rests his forehead against yours, eyes shut and breathing slowly returning to normal. You stay that way for a while, just close and quiet. A few moments pass, and when he moves to stand back up you take the time to dart your hand down and gather up some of the cum on your pelvis, licking it off your finger as you raise it to your mouth.

He quietly laughs, blissed out and smiley. “You love that, don’t you?”

“Mhm. I don’t know- ‘just makes me feel close to you.” He kisses you again, softly this time, almost proud.

“I’m making a monster. First you ask me to fuck you and now you’re swallowing my cum.” He moves to his dresser, retrieving a hand towel as you sit on the bed, careful to not let any of his spend drip onto the sheets. 

“Why didn’t you fuck me?” Your head tilts as you ask. He moves to kneel in front of you, gently wiping the cum from your skin as he answers.

“I told you, I’m gonna make it special for your first time.”

“Bold of you to assume I’ll even let you be my first time, now that you’ve rejected me.” It’s playful and he knows it, grinning up at you as he moves to wipe the wetness from the inside of your thighs.

“It wasn’t a rejection, it was a postponing.” Lukas stands, quickly cleaning off before tucking himself away and turning to look for your panties. “And who else would it be? Are you cheating on me?”

“No, but I can’t cheat on you if weren’t not together.” He pauses at that, head cocking as he makes eye contact with you.

“We aren’t together?”

“You haven’t asked me!”

“I thought it was self-evident. You don’t need to ask if it’s already obvious.” Lukas stoops to grab your panties from the floor, moving to hand them to you. 

You accept the fabric in an outstretched hand, setting it on the bed next to you. “Well, I would like you to ask. Make it official.”

He gives a dramatic sigh, reaches out and grabs your hands to pull you to standing. Lukas holds your hands, smiles and looks into your eyes. “Will you date me?”

You think about teasing him, making him wait, but your excitement gets the best of you and you release your answer quickly. “Yes, I will date you, Lukas Matsson.”

Your kiss is domestic and cheesy, after you separate he pulls you back into his body, rests his chin on your head for a while while he holds you close. You end up leaving your panties with him, they're still too wet to wear comfortably. Lukas helps you fix your makeup and hair, and you check to make sure your lip gloss isn’t all over his mouth (it was). He fastens your shoes back on for you, kneeling in front of you so you don’t have to bend over with your still shaky legs. He holds your hand until you reach outside and you put some space between yourselves as you enter public once more.

Roman is just finishing his call when you get back to the boat, waving at you as he quickly hangs up. You give Lukas a handshake, Rome just shouts his goodbye from a distance, and you quickly speed off again across the lake as soon as you enter the boat. Once again separated, you swear you immediately feel heavier without Lukas’s presence.

Your brother thinks the deal is fucked, he makes that clear when you’re alone again. He half blames you, half blames himself. Either way, he’s scared shitless to tell your dad about Matsson’s merge idea. So it’s a major shock when you arrive in Milan and Logan is receptive to the proposal. He praises Roman openly for once, and even commends you on your role in negotiating the deal.

But good things don’t tend to stay good for long in your family. You know something’s wrong when Logan calls you and Shiv into his office abruptly, right before your meeting with the bankers is supposed to begin. It honestly doesn’t surprise you as much as some would think to learn Roman had been sexting Gerri. You try to defend him against Shiv’s attacks, but it doesn’t do much good, not when the evidence is sitting in front of you. At the very least, you make some kind of progress covering for Gerri, reminding your dad of her loyalty. 

Things are weird and fucked the next day. The night before Comfrey had texted you to let you know that Kendall was in the hospital. She wouldn’t say what happened, just that they were keeping him overnight and he was okay. You texted your siblings but everyone was skirting around the answer with you. They knew you cared about Kendall, maybe too much, and that telling you he had nearly drowned (possibly by his own doing) would set you off like a firework.

You wanted to go visit Kendall the next day, or be there when he arrived at the villa, or just do something to help him out. But he didn’t answer your calls and all the information you were given was extremely vague. You weren’t invited to Caroline’s wedding ceremony, so you planned on staying in bed and Facetiming with Lukas all day, waiting for a response from your brother. Your day starts off that way, sleeping in and chatting with your boyfriend into the late morning, but then Lukas tells you about Gojo’s market cap. You knew he was good, you knew he was doing all he could to get the market in Gojo’s favor, but you never expected it’s worth would surpass Waystar’s.

It’s no surprise that your dad ends up calling you, recruiting you to join him on a trip to Matsson’s. When he tells you he’s considering not inviting Roman, you manage to convince him to bring him too, citing his friendship with Matsson as a cause. So you head to Lake Maggiore, again, and arrive at Lukas Matsson’s villa, again. The excitement you feel when seeing him is shrouded in the anxiety of the sudden meeting. 

You feel like every glance between the two of you is obvious. The way he parts his lips, the way your eyes drift across his frame, it’s all unmistakable of two lovers. 

Lukas leads the three of you to an outdoor area on his grounds and when the conversation starts, his intent is clear. He didn’t tell you he wanted to buy Waystar, well he may have hinted at it, but it still feels like a bit of a betrayal. Like a shock. Even worse of a shock, Logan doesn’t immediately hate it, not in his usual way.

“Yeah. This is not happening.” The rage isn’t there behind Logan’s words. His gaze drifts to Roman, then back to Matsson. Lukas raises his eyebrows.

“Okay, I see that. Understood. But, you want to stick around? See if the old deal still has shape? Side snacks?” Logan smiles, he actually smiles, at Matsson’s offer. “You have that Israeli AI operation I might like. Maybe an asset swap sort of thing?”

“Why not.” The eye contact between Lukas and your dad is never ending. The tension in the air could be cut with a knife. “Rome, you should head back. For your mom, and everything.”

“Yeah, sure thing.” Roman looks to you, motions with his thumb in the general direction of the dock. “Do you wanna…?”

“I’m not going to the wedding. Not invited.” You offer a small smile, look to Logan for reassurance. 

“We’ll catch up with you later, Romulus.” 

Roman is dejected. An intruder, again. An outsider in the deal he’s worked so hard on, the deal he partially started. “Alright. Hate to miss the big nuptials! So… yeah. I’ll just go do that then…” He’s hesitant to go, pats you on the leg as he leaves, Dad on the shoulder.

They wait to start speaking again until well after he’s left, and when they do it’s straight to business. Your dad wants to sell. Lukas wants to buy. You’re the reluctant bridge between. Things move inside, to a formal dining room, and the real discussion begins. Numbers start to fly, calls get made, lawyers begin flying out. You end up doing more work than you meant to, arguing for both GoJo and Waystar. Trying desperately to keep all the men in your life happy. At the same time, you’re conflicted. You know your siblings will hate this deal, you know how badly they want to inherit the company, how hard they’ve worked for one of them to eventually be CEO.

But the thing is, you don’t hate the deal. You were never going to lead Waystar, never going to be more than the founder’s child. You’re the youngest Roy sibling, a woman, and from a different marriage than the others. There was no chance of you ever being number one, and you knew that from the day you were born. So why not sell the company? You don’t want to dedicate your entire life to this soul crushing work. At the same time, you care so much for your family, more than you do for yourself. This would wreck your siblings, they wanted Waystar more than they wanted life itself. Even if being family owned fucks you, it means the world to them.

 When you finally leave Lukas’s, it’s well past the wedding ceremony, and it’s clear Dad doesn’t intend on joining the afterparty. The operation moves to Logan’s villa. The cavalry marches in, dressed in designer suits and holding briefcases stuffed with Macbooks. There’s dozens of people you’ve never even met swarming around a huge table. It doesn’t even feel real, like you’re watching a dream, or a nightmare, play out in front of you. You retire to your dads private office, curl up on a leather upholstered couch and just think. You know you should tell your siblings. Siobhan and Roman have been blowing up your phone for hours, you haven’t had the heart to answer. Your dad would kill you if you reached out. Ostracize you like Roman, or disown you like Kendall. Your brain feels like a whirlpool, your thoughts flying around enough to give you a headache. You turn to the only person you can think of.

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

“...”

“Are you okay?” Lukas’s voice is genuinely worried, silence isn’t normal in the conversations between you two. You hear a rustling on the other line like he’s stood up.

“I don’t really know. I wish you were here.” 

“What’s wrong? Talk to me.”

“I feel like a traitor.”

“Why?”

“My siblings… you know they will hate this deal.” You stress the word hate, voice a little bit breathless with anxiety. 

“I do.” His voice is quiet, almost whispering as he speaks to you.

“They would rather die than sell Waystar. But I-” You sigh, swallow thickly. “I almost agree with Dad. I think this is a good move for us. Not just because I’m fucking the guy who’s buying the company.”

“Well then, why do you agree?”

“If we don’t sell, we’re gonna get swallowed whole. All we have is the content, not the platform to back it up, not new technology to keep us relevant.”

“That’s all true.” Lukas’s voice gets a little louder, his sentences trailing off a bit as he prompts you to keep talking.

“But even if we had that, even if we were doing better, we were more stable…”

“You still would want to sell?” He already knows what’s on your mind. Of course he does.

“I think so… I mean, I will never be CEO. Not if we’re family owned, not if we’re owned by GoJo, never. And I don’t want to spend my life in this company, especially if I’m not running it.” Your head tips back against the wall you’re leaning on. You’re hiding away in a bathroom, your voice echoing a bit as it bounces off the marble walls. “This work… it fucking destroys people.” 

“It sounds like you already know what you think.”

“But Shiv and Roman and Kendall… They want the company so badly. They’ve been prepped to run it since they were kids. Even if they kill each other for CEO, at least one of them would get what they wanted.” You’re louder now, voice still stressed but frustration peaking through.

“You need to stop wasting your life making other people happy. You would do anything for your family, and they wouldn’t do shit for you.” Lukas’s tone isn’t angry or yelling, it’s stating a fact.

“That’s not true-”

“Is it? I see you go above and beyond for them every single day, and they never spare you a second glance.” Lukas’s voice is almost pleading when he speaks next. “Think about yourself, for once. Please.” 

“Thank you.” Your eyes are brimmed with tears, your fingers coming up to brush them away quickly. “I will.”

There’s a small pause before he talks again. “Are you mad I didn’t tell you about buying Waystar?” You laugh, breathlessly, at the simpleness of his question after all you’ve just talked about.

“No, I’m not mad. I was shocked…but I think it’s worn off. You’re just doing what’s best for you.”

“Yeah, yeah I am.”

“I think you’re really smart actually. If I was in your position I’d do the same thing.” You move from your stance against the wall to look in the mirror, checking to fix any smudged mascara.

“That’s what I thought. I asked myself what you would do.”

“No, you did not.”

“No, I did not. I did think about how it would affect you though.”

“Thank you for that.” It’s half sarcastic, but you know he really does care for you. 

“You’re welcome.”

“I’ll talk to you later today.”

“Okay. Come visit soon.” Lukas ends like he always does, asking for your presence. 

“I’ll try.”

It takes you a minute to compose yourself. Fix your hair, wipe off some of your fucked up concealer, blow your nose. You exit the bathroom, walk down the hall and down some stairs, finally arriving in front of the massive wooden doors leading to your dad’s office. Your brain is finally quieter now, thoughts forming clearer and headache fading quickly. You slip a small smile to the bodyguard, Colin, who opens the door for you to enter. 

Your three siblings are there, backs facing the door as they stare down Logan, who’s just moved to press a button on the phone resting against his desk. Their heads snap to you. The door shuts behind you. Siobhan opens her mouth, but you speak before she does.

“What’s going on? When did you get here?”

“What’s going on? You know what’s going on, Dad is selling and fucking our entire lives up.” Shiv faces you, her eyes are daggers and her body is a rocket about to explode. “And you didn’t tell us.”

“No, he’s not fucking your lives up. It’s not the end of the world, Shiv.” You approach them, eyes wide and pleading. 

“So you do know. You knew he was selling the company and you didn’t think ‘Hmm maybe I should tell my siblings this, you know, since they’ve spent their entire lives thinking they were going to run Waystar!’” Roman throws his hands up, his jaw is clenched and his eyes are watering.

“Do you think it would’ve made a difference?” Your voice drops, both in tone and volume. “Do you really think I have any sort of control? Any say in what happens?”

Everyone is quiet for a moment, Kendall won’t make eye contact with you. Logan is watching you intently before gazing at his other children’s faces.

“I have never, and will never, be number one. I will never have control over the company, I will never even have control over one branch of the company. I will never be CEO, I won’t even make it to CFO, because I will always be lower than you. And I will always be there for you to yell at and use and manipulate. You already fucking do!” You’re more angry than sad now, maybe it’s misdirected, but you’re too wound up to care. “For once in my life, I’m thinking about myself. And I will not let this shit, this work, destroy me like it has destroyed you.”

A few tears spill from your eyes, you don’t bother to wipe them up, just continue your eye contact with your siblings. You’re right and everyone knows it, from Gerri and Karl sitting on the couch to Logan in front of you. Shiv can’t hold your gaze anymore, she drops her eyes to the ground. Roman turns to your Dad, his eyes are wide and desperate.

“Please?” His voice is meek, barely a whisper.

“‘Please?’ You bust in here with guns, but now that you find they’ve turned to fucking sausages, you want to say ‘please?’” Logan moves from where he was half-sitting on the arm of a couch to stand in front of your siblings. “You should have trusted me.”

“Dad, why?” 

“Oh you need me to tell you why? Like your sister didn’t already? But your too fucking ashamed to admit she’s right.” He begins walking to the door, past your siblings, pausing at you to put a hand on your shoulder. “Because it works. I fucking win. Now go on, go on, fuck off you nosey fucking pedestrians.” 

The doors open, Logan is immediately tasked with papers to sign and business to attend to. Roman moves to Jerri, asks her something you don’t quite hear from the blood rushing in your ears, before moving back to the crowd of your siblings. Roman crumples to the floor, Kendall with his hands on his shoulders, Shiv next to them. You turn to see Tom entering, him offering you a weak smile as he passes.

“I’m glad you’re okay, Kendall.” Your voice is monotone. Ken looks up at you, opens his mouth to say something, then decides against it. Tom starts speaking to Shiv, but you don’t hear what he says, already turning to walk out the doors, to head back to your hotel suite, to head away from your family. 

You stay on the phone with Lukas the rest of that night. You can’t sleep but you don’t want to be awake. He eases the pain. He says he’s proud of you. He cares more than anyone you’ve known. 

When you finally fall asleep in the early morning hours, you dream of space. You’re a cosmonaut, dancing on Saturn’s rings, playing baseball with meteors. The darkness is liminal, and pure, and calm. And the constellations are breathing around you, lighting your lawless orbit. You break the trail of a comet, its fire dotting the sky like a stitch on black cloth. Venus is a stray dog, following you wherever you lead it, spinning for attention and praise. Stars flicker like faces, you can’t recognize who they are anymore.

 When you touch the Earth, everything sings.

© secondhand-snow 2024

[wynnyfryd]

“Stee-ee-eeve,” Robin groans miserably into the Family Video countertop, voice muffled by her folded arms. “I’m gonna get fired.”

“What? Why?” Steve gives her a sharp look, because Robin just came out of the back office after a private conversation with Keith and oh god, if Robin gets fired then Steve will have to quit, and he hates job hunting, man, he really—

Robin lifts her head, leans forward on her elbows, and says in a rushed stage whisper, “I cannot stop being a total asshole to Keith!”

Steve huffs a laugh.

“It’s not funny!” she hisses. “Our very jobs are at stake!” Her hands reach up to tug the ends of her hair into two tight fists, and her eyes go wide with worry.

Okay. Steve can be a good friend. “What happened?”

“He pulled me back there to tell me that he’s- ugh” —Robin’s face looks like she just bit into moldy leftovers— “that he’s going into his dad’s insurance business and would I like to go to lunch with him to talk about insurance? Long term care insurance, Steve!”

Steve’s cracking up by the end of her rant, because her voice has cranked up to full volume and her hands are flapping all over the place like her wrists aren’t totally screwed on right and he really just loves his best friend so much.

“Yeah, yeah, keep laughing, pal.”

“Pal?” Steve laughs.

“Whatever! Anyway, so he says all of that to me, and my stupid brain-to-mouth filter just evaporates, apparently, because I look at him and suddenly cannot contain the PFFFT noise that wants to come out of me. Only I squeeze my mouth shut too tight, so instead, I end up making this high, crunchy snort sound like kkkrkrkrht to his face!”

Tears. There are tears pouring out of Steve’s nose. He’s doubled over laughing with his hands braced on his knees, and Robin whines “oh, my god!” and thumps him right in the middle of his spine.

“Ow!”

“Stop laughing and tell me what to do!”

“Okay! Jesus! Stop thumping me!”

“No!” And now Robin’s laughing, too, unleashing a flurry of blows all over his arms and ribs with her freakishly long fingers.

“Excuse me,” the stern, quivering voice of an old woman cuts through their slap fight. They turn in unison to see a mop of tight gray curls barely peeking over the candy display. (Oh, god. Robin’s gonna spend a whole week now talking about how Sophia Petrillo came in to return a video, he just knows it.) “Are either of you two going to assist me?”

[ash5monster01]

Learning to Love Part 1

Pairing: Rafe Cameron x FemReader!PlusSize

Warnings: 18+, langauge, angst, fluff, mentions of bullying, body image issues, fat shaming, fake relationship, eventual smut, minor enemies to lovers trope.

Summary: It's not uncommon for you to be shamed for your size, it is however uncommon to be told that no one would ever date you because of it. Rafe on the other hand is used to being called a jerk, that is until he is accused of seeing people for only what's on the surface. It's purely coicidental you two meet right after these accusations are thrown your way. So even though you two don't know each other, and probably never would've looked the others way before this, now you're both going to prove a point. It's simple really, prove others wrong and don't fall in love. Easier said than done.

word count: 3.2k

Intro ←→ Part 2

Masterlist

It’s not until you’re opening the bar the next day you finally receive a text from your fake boyfriend. You had spent most of the night confused how this had all happened. You blamed it on how worked up you were after the beach, letting yourself get carried away. You couldn’t back out now, you had signed a contract. Hell it might be on a napkin but it was right there, evidence that you had made an agreement with a perfect stranger and now had no way out. A part of you wanted to do this too. Prove something to others you still weren’t sure of yourself. You just prayed you wouldn’t get too attached.

unknown number

You wanted to keep that same confidence you had yesterday. A coolness that you had maintained while getting into a fake relationship. Thing was your heart was already starting to thump over him texting you. You weren’t strong enough for this, you knew you would fold in seconds. Your only priority now was making sure he didn't know that about you. That was why you had limited PDA because you knew one touch from him would be your weakness. You weren't blind, he was gorgeous. He had every right to be cocky and you had no right to be. You save his number anyway despite desperately wanting to block it and pretend none of this happened.

Rafe

You were screwed. Totally and utterly screwed. You had googled him, you weren't no fool. All it did was intimidate you even more. CEO of one of the largest companies in the area, articles about his dead Dad and all the trouble he had gotten into when he was younger. He was tough, cold, and you were anything but. Now you had to act like you loved him. Someone who had become cold towards the world and you who still was on somewhat good terms with it had to learn to love him. Well fake love him.

"What's with the look?" your friend Mila asks. You look to her from across the bar where she dumps ice to prepare for the long shift ahead of you both. Mila was one of the few people in this world you had known all your life and had always stuck by your side. She was the only oen to ever really tell people off when they were mean to you. Which was half the reason you always kept her around. Even now as roomates and your employee. She would always take care of you and you would always take care of her.

"A boy" you find yourself saying. She is the last person on earth you would want to admit this mistake to but you realize you can also get her advice without having to tell the full truth.

"A boy, do I know this boy?" it's the soft shake of your head that has her abandoning the ice buckets and walking over to face you. You never talked about boys so whatever this was deseved her undivided attention.

"No, I met him here yesterday" you don't miss the way her hands fall on her hips instantly, a stern look coming your way.

"Want to explain why you were here on your day off?" Mila didn't like how you overworked yourself. You were the owner, she was the manager, you didn't have to do any of the work that you did around here. So when she catches you putting in time when you deserve a much needed break she's the first one ready to fight you.

"I came for a drink, I promise I didn't step behind the bar once" you say raising your hands in defense. She studies you for a moment to make sure you're telling the truth before removing her hands from her hips and leaning forward.

"So you met a boy while getting a drink yesterday?" she questions and you nod. She pushes her curly brunette hair back from her face and grabs the hair tie on her wrist and secures it all behind her head while awaiting your answer.

"Yes and he gave me his number" as her arms drop back down to her sides her dough eyes widen in surprise. She knew you deserved the world but she also knew how people treated you. She knows because they're the same people she had been shoving on the playground as kids and flipping off in public as adults.

"Have you texted him?" she asks, trying to not act to excited on your behalf. She knows you want to be cool and collected about this. To not get your hopes up because you're prepared for the worst. You always are.

"He actually just texted me" she nods, waiting for you to give more about how you are feeling so she can determine whether to be excited or worried for you. "He is extremely intimidating"

"Are you gonna go on a date with him?" she asks as she pushes up the sleeves of her shirt, dark amber skin on display. It reminds you of how you always wanted to be her growing up. Perfect body, perfect face, the prettiest smile. Boys always turned their heads when they saw her and when they saw you they would turn back away. Mila was a beautiful light skinned Goddess and you were just you. Plain jane.

"I might, I just don't want to get attached" she didn't have to ask to know this and you both don't miss the way your phone dings again.

Rafe

The text has your heat doubling in speed. Mila watches you with concentration, Randy now joining you btoh behind to bar to finish the job Mila had started. She waits patiently like always, waiting to see if you'll tell her what he just said. She really wants to rip the phone from your hand and read for herself but she knows you better than anyone. This needs to be just for you right now and as long as she knows you won't get hurt she is okay with it.

"He wants to have dinner" you speak after a beat and before she can say anything Randy butts in while polishing the crytal glasses at the other end of the bar.

"Pretty boy from yesterday?" Randy's comment has Mila raising her eyebrows and looking back at you.

"You never said he was a pretty boy" you don't have to answer before Randy does.

"Yeah the dude was hot. I'm straight but if he asked me out I would say yes in an instant" this has Mila turning towards you with a questioning look. You know she has hundreds of things running through her head that she wants to say but she is nearly bursting with excitment and you don't want to hold out on her.

"This is not in a mean way but was he genuine? Not like the guys I have to kick the shit out of?" she asks above everything else and again you are cut off by Randy.

"Based on the way he was devouring her with his eyes I'd say he was genuine. When she leaned over the bar I thought he was going to take a bite out of her ass" Randy says which causes Mila to snort and you to glare at him.

"I can answer these questions myself Randy and need I remind you who can change the status of your employment in a second?" you tell him, arms crossing over you chest and he chuckles as he set's the last of the clean glasses down on the bar top.

"I'm just saying, about time someone noticed how cool you are" you roll your eyes even though your heart soars over how genuine he is. You could never fire Randy, he was one of your best bartenders and over the years a close friend.

"Well are you gonna go?" Mila interrupts and you look at her confused before you realize what she is asking. It's then your phone dings with a new message again.

Rafe

Sighing you look up at two of your closest and dearest friends before droppign back down to the message on your phone. They don't know it isn't genuine, that both you and pretty boy are aware of how fake this relationship is, and is only meant for personal gain but you don't want to disappoint them. So you force a smile on your face and look to them both hoping they can't read the lies all over it. "I guess I’m going to dinner"

"Yes!' the pair cheers before chest bumping each other and you roll your eyes before typing a response back to Rafe.

Rafe

Shaking your head you realize exactly what kind of trouble you're in. You no longer have to lie to yourself about your feelings towards the boys now you had to lie to everyone else that's important in your life. You just prayed in wouldn’t blow up in your face.

You were still praying when the clock hit seven o’clock on the dot. There was no hiding the fact you had just worked a whole shift so you stopped yourself from any attempts at looking presentable. You didn’t have much time anyway since Rafe walked through the door right on time. When Mila realized that he was the boy her jaw dropped, which had you blushing a deep red. You tried to get your face back to normal before Rafe stood in front of you, a grey suit draped across his form, looking handsome as ever. Even with his hair falling onto his forehead he was still just as gorgeous.

“You promised nothing fancy” you tell him before he can say anything and he grins, hand reaching for your own.

“I just left work doll, I’ll change into a trash bag if you need me too” sighing you place your hand in his anyway and allow him to guide you out from behind the bar.

“Text me if you need anything guys” you call out to Mila and Randy who have more drink orders than they can keep up with.

“Text us if you need anything” Mila said in a suggestive way and you shook your head while throwing your purse over the shoulder of your free arm. You tried to act like his hand locked in your own didn’t make you as nervous as it did. This was fake, all show. You could do this.

You’re met with one of the nicest trucks you’ve ever seen still running outside. He opens the door and helps you climb inside before jogging to the other side. The smile he sends your way is a knees weak type of smile. You just know how many girls probably melted for that and a part of you feels bad for him. That he never could actually love someone the way he wanted because of material things. You knew what it was like to be on the receiving end of that. That’s why you were doing this, for both you and him.

“I figured we could eat at my place, take that for nothing fancy” he says as he pulls out onto the road.

“Is this the part where I find out you’re an axe murderer and fake dating is how you lure people in?” you question, heart racing over the idea of already being alone in his apartment with him. You don’t miss the way his hands tighten on the steering wheel but he still sends a smile your way.

“Not an axe murderer. I just want to get to know you, get our story straight” and you nod as he finally reaches a condo building. You wish you had known how rich he was before agreeing to fake date him. Yeah you owned a bar but that didn’t mean you were racking in big bucks. You still had a roommate after all. “Plus I’m a good cook”

“Poison, I knew it” you tease and he genuinely laughs before shaking his head and getting out the truck. You don’t miss the annoyed look he gives you when you pop open your door before he can. He helps you down anyway before guiding you inside.

You’re practically on the top floor by the time you get there. When he opens the door to his apartment it looks as if you could fit three of your own in it. You try to not let this intimidate you, the space still practically open. You can spot his bed in the corner and you quickly push away the thoughts of him sleeping in it every night. The kinds of girls he might bring back to it. Girls who would never ever look like you. You an exception just to prove a point because the truth was Rafe Cameron would never date a girl like you for real.

“I’m gonna change, feel free to make yourself at home” he tears your attention away from the bed and you nod as he starts walking towards his room. You realize this open concept leaves you both vulnerable to eachother so you choose the living room chair that has its back towards his bedroom. Distracting yourself you pull your phone out just to see a text from Mila.

Mila 💜

You can’t help but laugh lightly at the message on your phone which is when Rafe returns to the room now clad in grey sweats and white T-shirt that strained across his pecs perfectly. You hated him. He knew exactly what he was doing putting that outfit on. “Something funny?”

“Just my friend Mila, when I told her I was going out with you I guess she didn’t really expect you” he snorts as he sits on the couch kiddie corner to your own seat. You don’t miss the way he spreads his legs apart and gets comfy as if he hasn’t sat all day.

“I assume that was the girl behind the bar?” he says and you nod, shoving your phone back into your pocket. “So we’re not telling anyone then?”

“I guess not, I was too embarrassed to tell my friends it wasn’t real” you tell him and he nods before sitting up.

“It’s better that way anyway, less chance of getting caught” he says and you agree. If anyone found out you’d be mortified and you’re sure Rafe would be too.

“I told them we met at the bar, so if you tell your friends we should probably stick to that story” you tell him and he nods, hating that this felt awkward.

“That bar, you have a waitress. Red head, green eyes” and you hate the way your heart thumps in your chest. You had liked so many boys your whole life and every time you had been looked over for someone else, one of your friends. You hated that it was happening now with your own fake boyfriend.

“Callie, yeah. She’s a sweetheart” you nod as normal as you can but you couldn’t even hold a candle to that girls beauty. She’s 20, skinny, beautiful.

“Can you apologize to her for me? My friends were assholes the other day and I know she over heard them. I’ve felt guilty about it since” Callie had told you about this today. Two assholes saying she was unattractive. You remembered thinking if they found her unattractive imagine what they thought of you. Now knowing Rafe was at that table you felt even more nervous about this agreement between you two.

“Yeah, I’ll tell her” you agree with a forced smile and he nods before standing up.

“Well, let’s get cooking” he says with a clap of his hands and you give him a confused look.

“I agreed to dinner, not cooking it” you tell him and he laughs as he helps you to your feet.

“You’ll like this, promise” he tells you which is how you find yourself at his kitchen island making your own pizzas. You laugh each time he attempts to throw the premade dough and you put more pepperoni than physically possible on each slice. You do it just to annoy him though which you learn is really fun. Once you’ve destroyed the kitchen you’re both laughing at each other’s stories while sharing a bottle of wine and the messy pizza you both had made.

“How’d you get into owning that bar?” Rafe finds himself asking, noting how you picked at the slice of pizza on your plate. He knew it was because you were nervous to eat in front of him. That someone had probably made fun of you for eating and now to eat in front of others needed trust.

“Fate. Sort of. When I was twenty I graduated with my associates in business and I was searching everywhere for a manager position. That was when I found the bar. It was a hot spot and the owner didn’t feel like running it anymore. He liked that I was young, a fresh face. He sold it to me for practically nothing and now it’s basically my home” you briefly tell him the story and Rafe nods, soaking in how different your story was from his own. You had grew up practically on the same island as him and you had never known him.

“So you’ve been there ever since?” and you nod, pressing the rim of the wine glass to your lips. Reveling in the fact that is was the only thing keeping you calm in this handsome man’s presence.

“Yeah, and I really love it. I meet so many new people and work with my best friends everyday. I get to sleep in too” Rafe laughs as you say this, somehow figuring it made sense that you weren’t a morning person.

“Have you ever been in love?” the question catches you off guard and Rafe doesn’t miss the way you suck in a sharp breath at the question.

“I’d like to think I have, but I’m not so sure anymore” you say and he nods, deep in thought as he sips from his own wine glass.

“Same” he tells you and just as before you realize you and Rafe are two sides of one coin. Probably doomed, to torn up from the cruel world around you. Your worlds were two different places and maybe that’s the way things should be. Doing this was stepping into enemy territory and at the end of the day maybe you weren’t proving anybody, just proving something to yourselves. Either way, you didn’t want to leave him behind now.

Taglist: @sublimepenguinpeach-blog @fishingirl12 @houseofperfecttaste @kisstaya @abbybarnesstuff @carma-fanficaddict @jjmaybankisbae @exhaustedbutelated @diagnosedpsychosis @daivny @drewstarkeygf

Comment if you want to be added to the tag list :))

[humblequestvinyl]

growing sideways

GROWING SIDEWAYS, FISHER BROTHERS X SISTER!READER

APART OF THE ‘WE’LL ALL BE HERE FOREVER’ SERIES

SUMMARY: when the unexpected happens and laurel shows up at the summer house, y/n fisher is confronted with more than just trying to keep the summer house from being sold.

inspired by growing sideways by noah kahan

◀ ⏸ ▶

lowercase is intentional! wc: 1.8k

warnings: mention of underage drinking, deep grief, mentions of not eating, swearing, depression, throwing up & broken promises (literally just sibling banter but you know!)

a/n: guys i got accepted into college who cheered. anyway i have been grinding on school work i promise i didn’t forget about this series & my tumblr account! i also didn't proof read this sorry

WAKING UP IN THE MORNING WITH A MASSIVE HANGOVER WAS SOMETHING Y/N WAS QUICKLY BECOMING ACCUSTOMED TO,

and she wasn’t sure if she liked it or not.

except this morning, she woke up to a quiet knock on her door, and the h/c laid still hoping whoever it was would just go away.  however, she knew she was screwed as soon as the door opened, and her bed dipped.

“n/n you’ve gotta get up.”conrad told the girl, seeing her breathing still for a moment before trying to go back to normal, “i’m serious y/n, laurel’s here and she wants to talk to you.”

it was silent for a few moments before y/n made slight movement, curling up into a ball, not really wanting to leave her spot for the day unless she had to, “why is laurel here?”

“apparently you were so drunk that you called her and left her a voicemail sobbing about how dad was selling the house, how you fought with emerson and how i was going to miss my exams.”conrad explained, and everything from the night before had hit y/n all at once.

the fight with emerson, the call to laurel, the endless amount of alcohol she had, and the fact that they were about to lose the house she called her first home.

“i’m gonna be sick.”y/n muttered before rushing towards the bathroom where her eldest brother held her hair back, with a frown spread across his face knowing everything was about to get a lot worse.

one she was finished, jeremiah walked in with a bottle of water for the girl. she took slow sips, quietly thanking her brother for the bottle before jere leaned up against the door frame of the bathroom, watching his little sister with slight worry.

“is dad down there too?”y/n questioned, and the two shook their heads, “good, i don’t have the energy to fight with him today.”

“he left about an hour ago.”jere told her, and she hummed, leaning her head up against the wall, wanting nothing more than to go back to sleep.

“c’mon, if you go talk to laurel, you, jere, belly, steven and i will go to denny’s after to get breakfast.”conrad told the girl hoping it would at least get her willingly downstairs, “it’ll help with the hangover.”

“you promise?”y/n questioned, staring up at conrad with slight hope he’d actually take her.

“have i ever broken a promise with you before?”conrad questioned with a slight chuckle as he helped his sister up, and the fisher brothers walked the girl downstairs, making sure she wasn’t going to fall.

“when i was eleven you pinky promised you’d get me cotton candy on the boardwalk but that never happened.”y/n told him with a slight frown as they finally made it to the bottom of the stairs, and into the kitchen where they sat laurel cleaning up the breakfast that she had made for their father.

“i’ll get you some the next time we’re there.”he told her, guiding her towards one of the barstools, and the two brothers gave laurel a smile, “she’s all yours.”

y/n watched as her brothers walked outside before her eyes drifted back to laurel who had a soft smile spread across her face, placing a glass of orange juice in front of her. she watched as laurel sat across from her, and she studied the woman who she considered like a second mother to her. the bags under her eyes were darker, and stress radiated off the woman but she still looked calm as ever.

“how are you doing?”laurel asked the girl, breaking the silence between the two as y/n gently sipped on the orange juice, glancing up at laurel, “is that a rhetorical question?”

“no, it’s a serious one.”

“well, i’m sitting here at the beach house trying to cope with the fact that we’re losing said beach house and my mom is dead.”y/n stated plainly, before plastering a sarcastic smile across her face, “how are you doing laurel?”

“well for starters i’m worried about you.”laurel told the girl in front of her as she continued to sip on the juice, “you scared the shit out of me with that phone call.”

“i’m sorry.”y/n mumbled as she finished the juice, and placed the glass into the sink, “i won’t call when i’m drunk.”

“it’s not even that kiddo,”laurel turned towards the h/c girl, trying her best to keep the situation calm, “connie texted me a few weeks ago saying they couldn’t find you for a bit, and then to get the voicemail you left last night, i’m worried about you.”

“well you shouldn’t be because i’m fine.”y/n stated as her lips pressed into a thin line, leaning up against the counted to look at laurel to try and convince her that everything was fine, “i’m breathing, i’m eating-”

“but you’re not.”laurel cut her off, catching y/n by surprise, “conrad and jeremiah don’t remember the last time you willingly ate without them having to force you to have something, and they’re telling me you’re not sleeping unless you’re drunk.”

“this isn’t healthy y/n.”she told the girl who looked at her in shock, not knowing that laurel had known, “you and i both know it.”

“but it works.”y/n whispered, knowing laurel was right. it wasn’t healthy but it was the only aspect in her life she had control over right now, and if she had her way, it was going to stay exactly like that.

“it doesn’t work y/n! if you seriously don’t stop drinking soon and eating more you’re going to end up in the hospital!”laurel exclaimed, and y/n watched her as she stood up and walked towards the girl, “i’m serious y/n this has got to stop.”

“this is the only thing i have control over right now.”the h/c girl admitted as tears brimmed her eyes, “the only fucking thing i have control over right now.”

“and it’s under control.”she lied, trying to keep her tears at bay knowing as soon as they slipped out, she’d completely break, “if you guys want me to start eating more then fine, i’ll start eating more.”

“but for fucks sake laurel, let me have this one thing.”y/n begged and laurel shook her head and she wrapped the girl in a tight hug, and she completely broke.

“i can’t kiddo and you know that.”laurel told the girl softly, her heart breaking for the girl she watched grown up come crashing down right in front of her, “you can do this n/n, you’ve got connie, jere, your dad-”

“but i don’t!”y/n spoke in between sobs, clutching onto the woman like she was the only person she had left, “dad hates me, connies at college, i can barely even talk with jere anymore since mom died and i pushed emmy so far away i doubt she’ll want to talk to me.”

“i’ve got nobody laurel.”

laurel pulled back from the hug, cupping the h/c girl cheeks, wiping away some of the stray tears that fell as y/n tried to hold off her sobs as long as she could.

“you’ve got me.”laurel told the girl, and y/n started to shake her head before laurel stopped her, “i know i’ve been absent since your mom died and i’m sorry for that. but i promise you y/n you’re never losing me.”

“and if that means you need me to come stay for the weekend or call me at midnight about something then do it.”the woman explained, and y/n nodded slowly, “but seriously y/n, you’ve gotta stop doing what you’re doing because it’s not healthy.”

“promise me you’ll at least try to stop.”laurel begged, and y/n nodded as her lip wobbled, threatening to unload more tears, “i promise.”

“and if you need anything i need you to call me.”she reminded the young girl, knowing there had been so many instances within the last two months that the girl didn’t call when she should’ve, but she also knew that laurel was graveling with her grief as well.

it was a few moments before either of them spoke up, having no words to be said before a thought popped into the h/c girl’s head, “what are we going to do about the house?”

laurel gave the girl a soft smile, one that instantly gave the fisher girl comfort, “you’re going to do absolutely nothing. it is all taken care of.”

“connie and jere will talk to you about it when you all go out to breakfast.”the woman told the girl just as they saw belly stick her head into the doorway with a slight smile on her face.

“you guys okay?”the girl asked, and y/n nodded, wiping away the remaining tears that streamed down her face, “if you’re all set we’re about to head out for breakfast.”

“go.”laurel told y/n, before the girl walked towards belly, and belly had the widest smile she had seen in awhile.

“almost ready to grab some breakfast?”belly questioned, and y/n nodded before the two walked out to conrad's car, leaving the girl replaying the entire conversation in her head.

the five split up into two cars, with belly going with jeremiah and steven, while y/n and conrad had gone in another. 

as they drove off, taylor swift played softly in the background as y/n had her back turned to conrad, not really wanting to talk about anything in that moment after the emotional turmoil she had just went through.

when they finally arrived at dennys, they were the first ones there, and conrad shut the car off before turning to where y/n had been curled up.

“dad’s not selling the cousin’s house.”conrad finally spoke up, causing the girl’s head to whip around to look at her brother, “we’re keeping the house.”

“how?”y/n questioned as shock filled the girl, and she could see the smile spreading across his face, “laurel’s a miracle worker.”

“dad is going to sell the house in boston and you guys are going to move into the cousins house.”he explained, and conrad could finally see some sparkle come back into his sisters eyes.

“we’re staying in cousins.”

[eddiemunsonswhxre]

Hi! I crave Eddie angst so bad but I suck ass at writing, so here’s an idea, reader has verbally abusive parents who are nice to everyone so Eddie doesn’t notice and reader is ashamed to say anything because they feel like Eddie has it worse so it doesn’t matter (totally not projecting at all/sar) Anyway one day Eddie yells at them for something stupid and they just like shut down because that’s their trauma response and he freaks out cause they aren’t responding to anything. I need to read something gut wrenchingly devastating right now. Love your writing <3!

i feel this one too babe, love you the most <3

they're so nice / eddie munson

masterlist

one shot

cw: verbal abuse, genderneutral!reader, cursing, fighting, disassociation, ends with comfort

after a long time of dealing with your parents alone, you finally let your boyfriend in on what really goes on at home.

an: please be kind, some of this is pulled directly from personal experience. just because things seem unrealistic or too much for you, doesn't mean no one deals with things like this. if you are someone who has to put up with this terrible behavior, just know that i love you and you're nothing like what they try to tell you you are.

-

"I cannot believe this," your mother yells, throwing the report card down on the table. you flinch, knowing she wasn't going to lay a hand on you but each words hit like an axe.

your lip quivers as you open your mouth to respond. "i tried my best-" you were cut off.

"obviously not. a b, y/n, a b?! are you trying to embarrass us?" she scoffed, hands landing on her hips.

you sniffled. "the class was really hard and-" you tried again.

your mom was livid. "i bet chrissy and jason and nancy all got a's, didn't they?" she retorted.

"i-i don't know," you stuttered. she rolled her eyes, picking up the report card again as if it would've somehow changed.

you wiped your eyes. "jesus, y/n, i raised you to be better than this," she groans, taking a breath. "stop crying, you did this to yourself," she says once she notices the tears streaming down your face.

~

your dad scans your outfit as you stand by the door. "you need to go change," he mumbles finally and your eyebrows screw together.

you look down to your outfit, trying to see what was wrong with it. "why?" you ask and his face floods red.

"did you just question me?" he asks and you pale.

"i-i,"

he stands up from his chair. "i am so tired of you disrespecting me and your mother. it's ridiculous how incompetent you've become within the past year. i said change, so change," he yells, pointing up the stairs.

you stand there, trembling as you watch him. he scoffs, turning to his wife. "i told you, hun, our child is going down hill constantly. you wouldn't even know we raised them," he says.

~

"i can't believe you embarrassed us like that," your mother sneers from the front seat as soon as you pull out from the parking lot.

you just looked down to your nails, picking at them. responding would only do more harm than not. "that was downright terrible, y/n, i didn't pay hundreds of dollars for singing lessons for you to get third place," your dad snaps.

your eyes begin watering as you continue looking at your lap. "you are not my child," your mom snips, looking at you through the rearview mirror. the tears spill from your waterline at her words, heart tearing in two.

~

"thank you so much for having me, dinner was delicious," eddie smiles, shaking the hands of your parents. you smile from his side, glad this went well.

your mom gives him a big smile. "thank you, darling, you're welcome anytime," she says as he wraps his arm around your waist.

your dad gives him a nod of approval. "great to meet you, son," he says. your parents walk inside and eddie turns to you.

he raises his brows and places a kiss on your lips. "i don't know why i was so worried, your parents are so nice," he breathes a sigh of relief.

you force a fake smile on your face and nod. "yeah, they are," you whisper. eddie looks at the door, making sure they're no longer in view and pulls you in for a kiss.

this one lasts longer, more passion being poured into it. eddie finally pulls away and rests your heads together. "i'll see you tomorrow?" he questions, causing you to nod.

you head back in with a smile on your face, closing the door and walking to the living room. "eddie is such a sweet boy," your mom observes and you nod, happy they actually liked him.

"he's way too good for you," your dad comments and your smile falters. "and could you have dressed up any nicer, at all? i don't see how he'd want to be your boyfriend when you dress like that all the time," he points out, gesturing to your clothes.

"you could put in a bit more effort, y/n. someone like him has to have people all over him constantly, if you don't try harder, i wouldn't be surprised if he left you," your mom adds, sipping her glass of wine.

you blink as tears fill your eyes. "he-he loves me," you whisper. your parents look at each other before bursting into a fit of laughter.

~

your father slams the door behind him as you make a bee line for your room. "don't you walk away from me!" he yells, grabbing your mom's attention. he'd just been called to pick you up from school for being in a fight, you were suspended for two days. he grabbed you harshly by your shoulder, whipping you around. "what the hell is wrong with you, huh?" he asks and you just close your eyes. go to your happy place, go to your happy place.

"what happened?" your mother asked, crossing her arms.

your dad explained, yelling and jabbing you in the chest for emphasis. "do you have anything to say for yourself?" he yells in your face, spit flying. i did it for eddie, you say to yourself. people were making fun of eddie.

"how could you do something like this? be so stupid? you know what people will think of us because of you, right?" your mom yelled, coming over to join the yelling. when you don't respond she just glares. "i regret every second i wasted on trying to raise you," she grumbled. your heart was in pieces, but you were only half there.

your dad was fuming so bad he could have steam coming from his ears. "now you can't even talk? i can't believe you anymore. you know you were a mistake right? you are the worst mistake i've ever made, you know that? your mom and i could've had such a better life if you weren't here! you ruined it, you ruined it!" he screams at the top of his lungs.

your mom grabs him, feeling his pulse. "his heart is racing, you know how bad his blood pressure gets. you're going to give him a goddamn stroke and kill him. go to your room, i don't even want to see you," your mom hisses, pulling your dad away from you.

~

you and eddie had gotten in a fight. it was over something completely stupid, and you don't know how it even got this bad. but when he raised his voice causing your heart to drop, you shut yourself down like you've trained yourself so well to do.

"you want to make me the bad guy? fine. go ahead, y/n, go right the fuck ahead," he yells, spit flying from his mouth and making you flinch as he puts his finger to your chest. he doesn't jab, doesn't hurt you and pulls it away immediately to turn around and run his hands over his face. a chill runs down your spin at his tone, and something tells you he's not done. your eyes un-focus, everything going blurry as you seclude yourself to inside of your head. nothing can hurt you in here.

he turns to you, seeing you just standing there with tears in your eyes. "what? no response? you just gonna go quiet? well, i don't care. i don't fucking care!" he screams in your face but you don't even flinch. he lets out an unamused chuckle, rolling his eyes as you don't move.

he crosses his arms, watching you expectantly. "i'm waiting," he says, raising his brows at you. you slowly blink, but say nothing. he squints, looking into your eyes. he then realized they weren't even focused on his, they really didn't look focused on anything. he took a step towards you, following your eyes but you were just looking towards the blank space on his wall. "baby? hey, hey, look at me, please," he says, panic settling in his chest.

your focus doesn't change and you don't even acknowledge that he's next to you. "baby," he says, making himself eye level with you. he grabs onto your shoulders and shakes you slightly but still nothing. he feels his breath catch in his throat as panic spreads through his veins. what did he do to you? "hey, baby, come back to me," he says, shaking your particularly hard. "you're scaring me," he says, as he watches tears fall freely from your eyes but you are still unresponsive.

eddie moves his hands to your cheeks and begins stroking the tears away. "sweetheart, please, i-i don't know what's going on," he says, searching your eyes for answers. what the fuck did he do? he lightly taps your cheeks, trying to bring you back to him. "snap out of it," he grumbles in frustration, his own tears starting to build up.

"y/n, sweetheart, please," he begs, holding his forehead to yours. you hear his voice distantly calling to you from inside your head. "i don't know what to do," he says, a tear falling from his eye. you follow the sound of his voice and then you're blinking a couple times. eddie lets out a breath when he sees you finally look into his eyes.

you take a step back once you realize he's in front of you and wrap your arms around yourself, scared he was going to start yelling again. "s-sorry," you muttered, looking around in order to ground yourself again.

eddie looks at you, face full of concern. he walks up to you again and wraps his arms your waist. you go rigid and he pulls back slightly, more worry flooding his face. "what was that?" he asks softly.

your mind registers his tone and you immediately begin to relax into his touch. "what was what?" you mumbled, letting him rest his forehead to yours again.

"sweetheart, you just left me for a minute there," he says, trying to seek an answer from your widened eyes.

you blink, trying to come up with an answer. "you yelled at me," you whisper weakly and avoid his gaze.

eddie's heart stings at your words. "i-i know, baby. i'm really sorry and we'll talk more about that later but... that doesn't explain why you completely zoned out just then," he says, brining one hand up to push up your chin.

you close your eyes, beginning to shake slightly. eddie loved your parents. everyone did. if you told him, would he even believe you? "hey, hey, take a deep breath, y/n. please, calm down, it's okay, i've got you," he says, speaking quickly when he feels you trembling.

you remove your forehead from touching his and instead bury yourself into his neck. he holds you tightly, resting his chin on your head as he rubs your back. you take a few moments to gather yourself before responding. "it-it always happens when people raise their voice at me," you say into the juncture of his neck and shoulder.

eddie furrows his brows. who yelled at you so much that it forced you to start shutting down like that. he knew it wasn't him... you guys barely fought and it never resulted in him yelling like he had tonight. "who yells at you, baby?" he asks, bringing up a hand to pull you from his neck. you shake your head as you meet his eyes. "baby, you can tell me. i promise whoever it is, i'll beat their ass," he says, being completely serious but masking it with lightheartedness to make you more comfortable.

a small whimper leaves your lips. "you won't believe me," you cry and eddie frowns.

"sweetheart, yes i will," he says, bringing his hand forward to rest on the side of your face and wipe away some tears. you shake your head again and more tears spill from your eyes. "baby, tell me," he begs.

you sniffle and look away from him. "my parents," you whisper, closing your eyes as the aftershocks of you admitting it for the first time roll through you.

eddie freezes his movements and examines you. "your parents?" he asks, wanting to know how he never noticed. you nod, reaching up to wipe your nose. "they act so nice i-" he starts and you let out a sob. you knew he wouldn't believe you. eddie pulls you to him again. "baby, no, i believe you, i promise i do," he says, rocking you side to side.

"you do?" you ask insecurely and it breaks eddie's heart.

his hand holds the back of your head as he continues rocking you. "of course, i believe you. it's just a little hard to digest right now but i know you'd never say that unless it was true," he says.

you grip the back of his shirt tightly as you continue crying. "why didn't you tell me sooner?" eddie asks quietly.

"i didn't think you'd believe me, and i didn't want to worry you. you-you have enough going on," you admit and eddie presses a kiss to the top of your head.

you close your eyes, so glad to finally put it out there. "baby, i always want to know if there's something going on with you. i tell you everything and i want you to tell me everything too. i believe you and i'm going to be honest, i'm really really upset right now. fuck, i don't even know what they've said but i don't want you going back there," he says, tightening his grip on you.

you nuzzle into him but shake your head. "i have to go home," you whisper.

"not if i can help it," he says, causing you to let a small smile spread across your lips. finally, someone knew.

[dirtytransmasc]

I've been thinking about what it might have been like if blond Peter Parker didn't die, like, if he got to mentor Miles, cause screw canon, I do what I want. (context; everything else happens, Peter B, Gwen, Noir, Penni, Spider Ham still show up. Goober still breaks. Rush to shut down the collider, etc. all that still happens, Blond Peters still there though)

the thought first and foremost in my mind, is that while in a playful manner, he is very protective and almost possessive of miles, in the "this is my kid from my dimension, I'm his mentor, he's my responsibility, I've had him for five minutes, but so help me god, anything happens to him I'm killing everyone here and than myself, look at him wrong, I will fight you" type of way, all the while keeping a friendly smile on his face, even if its slightly unnerving.

teases Miles about Gwen and his little crush on her, while also not exactly playing match maker cause he knows they're gonna be separated shortly. its a bittersweet thing for him.

he praises Miles so so so often, like, whenever he does anything, cause he knows Miles is scared and a kid and he needs to know he's doing a good job.

tries to protect his childhood and innocence, not wanting him to feel like he has to take up the mantle of spiderman just yet. always telling Miles that he "always gets up" cause he doesn't want Miles to feel like he has the responsibility of replacing him on his shoulders. this comes up more and more as they set out to destroy the collider.

always has a hand on Miles, mostly on his shoulder, so he knows his kid's fine and his kid knows he's not alone. he also does the forehead stroke, where he rests his hand on Miles's head and strokes his thumb over the center of his forehead. also also, he rests his elbow on the kids head, I don't know why, I just know he's that type of guy.

they hug a lot, mostly in the moment, when neither of them are really thinking. he just pulls miles into his side and squeezes him, which Miles ends up turning into real hugs after a while.

does the worried dad "check over" every time they escape a conflict. always asking if he's ok or just staring at him, trying to make sure he's ok. basically, he's a big worry wart.

"kid/kiddo" and "punk" are go-to's

when Miles is anxious, he stands closer to him, only touching when Miles leans into him.

held Miles when his uncle died, not letting him go through it alone.

gives him the "leap of faith" talk, alongside many other pep talks, cause the guy is good at those, before the collider, and gets to watch from a distance as Miles comes into himself as a spider man.

tries to keep Miles from the collider anyway, cause the stakes are too high, and he wouldn't be able to live with himself if anything happened to Miles.

isn't surprised when Miles shows up anyway.

still has a near-death experience, leaving Miles to be the one to take down Kingpin, send everyone home, and shut down the collider. He wants to give up, badly, he's tired, but Miles needs him, is begging him to get up, just this one last time, and then Miles would be spiderman. Miles has to half drag him out to the streets.

he'd bring him to his dad, cause he's a kid, and the one person he's been able to lean on in this shitshow is half dead, and he's scared, so he finds his dad and comes clean out of desperation, begging him for help.

is one of the only people Peter actually wants to see while recovering, he stays at the hospital night after night just so he can be there for Peter, like Peter had been there for him, not letting anyone drag him out until after he's woken up, and even then, it's like pulling teeth to get him to so much as go to the caf to eat.

he spends whole days with Miles teaching him to cope with his spidey sense, use his webs, etc.

keeps him away from the big things, but lets him help out on patrol to give him a taste of the action.

takes hits for him, even if Miles tells him not to, cause that's his kid, and that's just what "dads" do.

when Miguel tries to recruit Peter, Peter is extremely protective of Miles, especially when he finds out he's technically an anomaly, making sure no one hurts him or undo any of the work he's done in terms of making Miles confident in himself and his abilities.

is in support of trying to save everyone, no matter what canon says, as he's literally the parental/mentor of a whole-ass anomaly and knows Miguel's theory is crap or at least mostly crap.

once everything sorted out, Spot and Miguel and Earth 42 wise, he ends up taking Miles 42 in as his own as well, and sticks around with Miles as (at least in my head, cause I say so) he stays with Miguel and HQ to be recruited.

Miles tells Miguel that Peter will ignore his own well being and pushed himself past his limits to protect Miles, because he thinks if he shows Miles weakness, the kid will feel like he has to replace him and will get stressed out/abandon what remains of his youth. he makes Miguel bench the two of them when Peter's not doing so hot so he can recover physically and emotionally.

Peter eats over at the Morales household once a week, assuring Miles's parents that he's safe with him every time.

insists on making Miles a suit for the colder months that's a little more cold resistant and when they're not in the suit, he's literally throwing coats at him.

kinda takes up the place in Miles's life that his uncle once held, being his safes pace, the person he turns to when it all goes to shit.

goes to Miles's school events.

if Miles falls asleep somewhere, like at HQ, Peter goes on guard like any dad, putting himself between Miles and the people around them so his sleep goes undisturbed.

do y'all want more of this, I might go somewhere with it if it does well.

[astral-mariner]

so there's shots in the saiyan saga of bulma futzing around with raditz's scouter and i'm like "MISS BRIEFS, I do not BELIEVE that a piece of alien tech can reasonably be taken apart with a FLATHEAD SCREWDRIVER" so it is a firm headcanon of mine that she had to resort to flathead screws to put it back together after she mangled the original ones by not having the correct weirdo alien screwdriver. AND OF COURSE vegeta brings like half a dozen of them back with him because they're like the spaceman equivalent of like a bicycle repair kit but bulma is DELIGHTED with them anyway and vegeta does not understand what this fuzzy warm 'i did a good' feeling is that is happening underneath his ribcage.

Oh my god, I love this! If someone writes a fic of this, I'd be all about it. That's so funny that she'd use an Earth screwdriver.

Everyone knows I already have a million headcanons about Raditz's scouter too. Like, Bulma and her dad were smart enough to figure out a Namekian ship. So she'd definitely be able to hack Raditz's scouter for whatever data might be left on it. I bet she learns a TON about how the Planet Trade works just from the interface and being able to browse some of its "Internet." And my long ass fic is literally her reading through Raditz's private stuff.

It's such a cool plot device to use---Bulma learning about stuff in space and perhaps other things she shouldn't even know about via the technology she's literally seen with in canon.

I really do think that was a big thing that brought her and Vegeta closer---them talking about things out in space. She'd be curious, of course, and it would come up naturally as she's doing tech repairs for Vegeta. How he trained between missions, what tech he used, what might be useful to adapt (as she makes her own version of Vegeta's PTO armor). And Vegeta might be his usual brusque self and give only perfunctory details... But even the way he talks about things, what he avoids talking about, and what little slips of personal details come out would tell Bulma quite a bit about him and would leave her wondering about more. Of course a genius scientist is going to take every opportunity to interview a humanoid alien that could tell her all about life in space.

And Vegeta might act like he merely tolerates her because she provides his training equipment, but you know for a fact that man is lonely, and he'd secretly enjoy when they end up talking for more than a few minutes. Finds excuses for it even. Finds little things wrong with the gravity simulator, finds little reasons to start a fight with her. Because gods know he could never just...go and visit and talk to her because he enjoyed her company or anything.

[ametrictonofaudacity]

Yan!dad platonic Stucky w/ a telekinetic reader? They can move small stuff with their mind!!

Absolutely!!

Steve and Bucky would definitely be an interesting couple to have as dads, much less yandere dads lmao

Warnings: kidnapping, reader has trust issues and is a former expirement,restraints , gaslighting and themes of obsession. Steve is also an ASSHOLE in this

The window had been screwed shut. Not an impossible obstacle to get past, you were far more than capable of getting rid of some measly screws, but it did complicate things. Both of your captors routinely checked the state of your room, but Bucky was far more discerning when it came to things that could possibly aid your escape. You would have to get it out tonight.

You stare at the screws, and slowly, begin to unscrew them. They had been stripped, probably deliberately, so there was no possible way you could do it with a tool. And, thankfully, you had been smart enough to keep your powers hidden. They didn’t help you in a fight, so keeping any tool that could aid your escape hidden was important.

The four screws drop to the floor, and you kneel, scooping them up and tucking them into your pocket. You can’t hear anything, nothing that would let you know that your captors were getting closer, but that didn’t mean anything. Steve was pretty quiet, but Bucky was as silent as the wind, and the door of your room was well oiled.

You sigh in relief, and then tense when you hear a door close. Someone was home.

The screws in your pocket are a damning weight. You quickly take them out, knowing that both Steve and Bucky would notice them, and lunge under the covers, pulling the blanket up around your shoulders. You had the habit of napping during the day anyways, so they shouldn’t be too suspicious.

The door clicks open, and the only sound is the air that’s displaced by the door.

Your heart drops. Steve wasn’t nearly that quiet.

You turn over, pretending to blink sleep out of your eyes, and Bucky -who insisted you call him Dad, which even if you had to out loud, you refused to in the privacy of your mind- gives you a small smile, long hair brushing his shoulders when he sighs.

“Taking a nap during the day again, kid? Thought Steve already got after you for that.” It’s a relaxed chuckle, and he buries a hand in your hair, gently playing with the strands. It had gotten longer in the months since you’d been home. So long you would have to cut it when you finally managed to escape.

“S’not much else to do around here.” You grumble, and he huffs a laugh, shaking his head.

“You stop trying to sneak out and maybe we can talk to Steve about un-grounding you. Might even get your phone back.” You nearly shoot up in excitement, eyes wide as you prop yourself up on your pillows.

“For real?!” You blurt, and grin, eyes wide. That was an opportunity to escape, to get away and go home, and you refused to let that slip away.

“Don’t get too excited. You’ve got a while before we activate it, but we can put some games on there, give you something to do while you wait for us to get home. I know you get pretty damn bored waiting for us. Bored enough you tear up your room.”

It’s teasing. A gentle jibe at every time you’d torn up your sheets, broken your window, torn apart your cell disguised as a room.

That doesn’t stop you from tensing. It doesn’t stop the panic, the adrenaline, doesn’t stop you from nearly throwing yourself away from him. You had gotten better at hiding your reactions, sure, but not good enough to fool Bucky.

His hand draws back, and when you look at his face, it’s downturned into a sharp frown. You swallow around the lump in your throat.

“Whatever you did, fess up, and I won’t tell Steve, kid.”

You weigh your options. Bucky was the better of the two, regarding punishments. Steve made your life hell when he was mad. He would be cold days after your punishment was over, if he thought you weren’t in enough trouble. Which was often, given that Bucky often talked him down from the more extreme punishments.

You glance at the window, sigh, and then reach into your pocket, taking out the screws. Bucky would find them anyways, and tear apart your room to find them if he had too. You rather liked the few possessions you were allowed.

“I was gonna sneak out the window. His the screws.” You mutter, and it’s his metal hand that takes the screws out of your hand.

“These were in your pocket?” He asks carefully, turning each screw over carefully. It makes your heart thump in your chest anxiously, because even though he had never been physical with you, you were more than aware how much damage a simple screw could do in his hands.

He did more with less when he rescued you from the facility.

You nod, and he frowns, glancing at the window.

He closes his fingers over the handful of screws, and squeezes, and you cringe at the sound of rending metal. You knew he was strong, of course you did, but seeing him so casually display that strength was a harsh reminder of your place as a captive.

You can’t tell if he means for it to be.

“We’ll replace those later tonight. Come on, Steve needs to know about this.”

Your heart leaps into your chest, and you shake your head, to which he frowns.

“Kid, you tried to sneak out again. And if you weren’t sneaking out, than you were hiding a weapon, and you know the rules. Nothing you can use as a weapon.”

“What am I gonna be able to do with a screw?! Y’all are super soldiers.”

Your bitter mutter is met with a hard glare, and you duck your head, wincing. Not only had you managed to piss Bucky off, you had managed to do it so spectacularly he might not defend you against Steve, now.

“Can’t we just not tell him? He’s still mad at me for last time.” You mutter, and Bucky sighs, crossing his arms.

“He should be. You’ve tried this nearly fifteen times by now. Now up, we’re telling him.”

“Telling me what?”

You freeze, and your heart drops to your stomach, before you look up. Steve is standing in the door way, leaning against it casually, and his frame is so massive that it completely fills the doorway, making escape impossible.

You feel your eyes fill with tears. You can’t think, not with both of them here like this, glaring at you, sharp and dangerous. You can’t do anything but duck your head into your knees and try to do anything but think about how terribly this was about to go.

“You can tell him or I can, kid. He needs to know.” Bucky’s voice is almost gentle, and you cringe, before you clear your throat. He definitely saw you crying.

“I was.. trying to sneak out again. I unscrewed the window, and hid the screws.” You remind yourself sharply not to say escape. Escape implied you had been kidnapped, even though you had, and it would only upset Bucky enough that it made Steve mad. It would only make things worse.

“Why did you hide the screws?” You cringe, because Steve’s voice is cold, sending shivers down your spine. It makes you want to curl up under your covers and never come out.

“I thought B-Dad was going to see them. I didn’t want to get in trouble.” You choke out, and wipe at your face as discreetly as you could. You didn’t want to be accused of being manipulative, and with how mad Steve was at the moment, he just might.

“Look at me.” He demands, and you look up. Your face is teary, and red, and he sighs, dragging a hand down his face.

“We can’t keep doing this. We can’t watch you, all the time, it’s just not possible, you know that. We need to be able to trust you not to run off every opportunity you get. There are people looking for you, who want to hurt you, we can’t risk you getting hurt.” He lectures, and you keep your eyes trained on him, lip trembling. You hated when Steve did this. Acted like he was doing you such a favor for kidnapping you.

“Is it really so hard, kid? Just stop trying to sneak out.” And there came Bucky, with his soft touches and gentleness. You had thought, based on their pasts, that Bucky would be the harsh one. The one to fear. You had been wrong.

“Apparently.” Steve’s voice is sharp, and when he steps toward you, you try not to tense up as he crosses the room. “You’re sleeping in the living room tonight, get your bedding.”

You blink. This was new.

You gather up your blanket, and pillows, and when one falls out of your grasp Steve catches it, before ushering you out of the room.

There’s a mattress in there already and you freeze, glancing from Steve to Bucky in confusion.

“We knew you tampered with the window the second you did. Your Dad was just giving you a chance to come clean. Be glad you did.” Steve says, taking your bedding and beginning to make the bed. “Since we can’t trust you to behave, you’ll be sleeping out in the living room with us. I’ve tried everything else, and since that hasn’t worked, you’ve forced us to do this.”

“Forced you?” Your voice cracks, and there’s an ugly nasty mess of emotions in your chest that you can’t make sense of.

“What other option do we have? Lock you in a closet while we’re gone? No. From now on, me or your Dad will be at your side until we feel we can trust you. We’ve already gotten it arranged so that we can do this for as long as we need to. If we aren’t here, you’ll be in bed.” Steve shoves the mattress besides the couch, and your stomach drops when you see the gleaming loop it was attached to.

“Pops, I don’t- please don’t, you don’t need to do this.” You beg, and your eyes are fixed on the silver chain, which was attached to the table. You were willing to bet it was bolted down, too.

“Dad, please don’t let him do this. I can’t be chained up, please. I’ll behave, I’ll be good, I’ll stop trying to sneak out, I promise.” Your confusion had vanished, replaced by tears and begging, and finally, Steve softens, hard blue eyes turning gentle.

“I know you don’t think it’s fair. But until we think we can trust you, that’s how it’s going to be.” He murmurs, and when he reaches for you, you don’t even fight, instead clinging to his chest. If you could do something, anything, to avoid this, than you would.

“Pops, please, you can, I’ll be good. I won’t run away anymore just don’t chain me up, please.” You beg, and he wraps his arms around you, holding you close. You are by no means small, but he towers over you, and you feel horribly fragile being held like this by the man who had kidnapped you.

“It’s only for when me and Buck are gone. It’ll be over before you know it, I promise.” He murmurs, and you sob, shaking your head. He sighs, and another pair of arms circles around both of you, one arm colder than the other.

“It’ll be over before you know it, kiddo. Just hang in there.” Bucky murmurs, and your muffled sob is lost in their embrace.

You wish they had never rescued you. At least in the facility they hadn’t pretended to be your friend. They hadn’t pretended that their cruelty was a kindness.

“We’ll get through this, kiddo.” Bucky murmurs, and presses a kiss to the top of your head, gentle in the way only he seemed able to manage. You cry, clinging on to him and Steve, and your tears are brushed away from your face, and you can’t tell who’s doing it but you wish they would stop.

“This will all be over once you learn your lesson, promise.” Steve kisses your forehead once, gently. “I know it’s hard, especially after what they did to you, but once this is over you’ll finally stop trying to sneak out.”

You don’t tell Steve that’s what you were afraid of. You don’t tell Steve anything, instead staring up at him mutely with teary eyes.

By the time you finally are able to think, there are two sleeping bodies beside you, wrapped around you like you are a small child. They shield you, warmth radiating into your bones, and even though you fight it, eventually exhaustion drags you into a fitful sleep.

You don’t dream, but waking up is it’s own nightmare, and you are grateful.