#but that felt like more of like. a story beat used to drive home how bad this dude really is

[sillayangel]

wait. was "The Galaxy" even in any direct danger in gotg vol 3? was that actually the LOWEST stakes out of the three guardians movies??

[itneverendshere]

I love pogue!reader and rafe sm. I’m so excited every time you post them ❤️ what if reader realizes she’s really falling for rafe and it’s getting serious so she’s tries to self sabotage and end it. She’s thinking he’s THE kook and she’s a pogue. It can’t last and she won’t survive that heartbreak. so rafe starts to panic but then realizes what’s she’s doing by ending it so he’s just like lol no nice try I’m not going anywhere

 i would follow you home - r.c

pairing: rafe x pogue!reader (bartender!reader universe) word count: 3.1k

hope you enjoy, i love them too 🩵

It was mid-afternoon, that quiet lull between lunch and dinner when the regulars started to trickle in. And like clockwork, you were wiping down the bar, mindlessly watching the condensation drip from a glass of iced tea when you saw Rafe strolling in.

He always had that cocky walk, shoulders rolled back like he owns the place, which, you guess, technically he kinda did, or at least his dad did. Cameron Development Group practically built the country club.

He spotted you and the corner of his mouth lifted in that way that made your stomach flip. God, you hated how it still got to you.

After months of this—him swinging by the bar at the end of his golf games, lounging against the counter like it was no big deal, driving you home, saving you from the storms, letting you kiss him—your heart should’ve calmed the hell down. But no, here you were, butterflies fluttering in your chest, fingers tightening around the rag you were using to clean.

You tossed it on the counter and busy yourself with stacking glasses.

“Hey, stranger.” His voice was all smooth like he knew exactly what effect it had on you. And he did. You were still a shitty liar and he learned that fast. 

You glanced up, trying to keep things cool, casual. “Hey yourself.”

He settled into one of the barstools, leaning forward, his blue eyes locking on yours. “You off soon?”

You shrugged. “Depends. Why?”

The truth was, you knew why. You knew exactly what he was asking.

He was wondering if you would have time after this—time to sneak off to that little spot by the docks where you'd been meeting up, where things between you had been getting more…a little complicated?

And that’s exactly why you needed to end this.

It’s not like you hadn’t seen it coming. You’d known for a while that whatever this thing was with Rafe, it was headed in a direction you couldn’t afford to follow. He was the poster child for Kook royalty. Born with a silver spoon and all that. Meanwhile, you were still just the bartender, a Pogue, barely scraping by. 

It started simple—quick conversations after work, long talks on the drive home, those random texts at 2 a.m. that turned into hours of you two confessing things you’d never say out loud to anyone else.

You din’t know when it shifted into this—this weird gray area where everything felt more intense. Maybe when you all but kissed him when he picked you up after the storm. That had to be it.

Because you knew how this story ended. You knew what happened when a girl like you fell for a guy like Rafe Cameron.

Heartbreak.

And you wouldn’t survive that.

“I’ve been thinking,” You blurted out, suddenly very aware of the way his eyes were still on you. Too aware. You reached for a clean glass, filling it with soda water to distract yourself. “Maybe we should… I dunno, cool it for a bit.”

His smirk faltered. “Cool it?”

“Yeah,” You shrugged again, trying to seem nonchalant, even though your heart was hammering so loud you were sure he could hear it. “I mean, this was fun and all, but let’s be real—”

“Be real?”

You nodded, not daring to look up from the glass you were holding.

“We’re not exactly from the same world, Rafe. It was bound to end sooner or later. Might as well rip the band-aid off now.”

Silence. For a beat, he doesn’t say anything, and for a second you wonder if you had done it—if you’d actually convinced him that this wasn’t worth it, that he should’ve just walked away and left you with at least a sliver of your heart intact.

Then he laughed.

It wasn’t like a mocking laugh, but it was still a sound you weren’t expecting. Your eyes snapped up to his face, and you saw that damn smirk was back. Only this time, there was something softer in his eyes, something almost… amused?

“Oh, I see what this is.” He leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest, looking way too pleased with himself.

You frowned, instinctively grabbing a towel and wiping the counter again, trying to distract yourself from the way his eyes were making you feel seen. Too seen. 

“What?”

“You’re scared.”

Your stomach dropped. “I’m not—”

“Yes, you are,” he interrupted, standing up and rounding the bar until he was way too close, until you could smell the cologne clinging to his skin and the fresh grass scent of the golf course. He caged you in with his body, one hand gripping the counter behind you, the other reaching up to tilt your chin so you had no choice but to meet his gaze. “You’re trying to push me away because you’re scared. But newsflash, sweetheart—nice try. I’m not going anywhere.”

You swallowed hard, throat tight, because damn it, he was right. He was completely, 100% right, and you hated it. You hated that he could see right through you like that, see all your fears, all the things you’d been trying so hard to bury.

You opened your mouth, but nothing came out.

You didn’t know what to say because, deep down, you didn’t want to believe that it mattered to him. You wanted to believe that he saw you for more than just the girl behind the bar. But every time you let yourself get close, that voice in the back of your head reminded you that this wasn’t some fairytale.

“Rafe, you’ll get bored,” you mumbled, barely able to get the words out. “You’ll realize this was just… a phase. I mean, we’re friends, right? We can just… go back to that.”

“Go back to that?” He repeated your words slowly like he was testing them out. And then he laughed—this short, disbelieving sound that made your stomach twist, “You’re trying to run.”

“Am not.”

“You are.

“There’s nothing to run from,” You snapped, though even you didn’t believe that.

He was close enough now that you had to tilt your head almost all the way back to meet his eyes, and there was something so raw, so real in the way he was looking at you that you couldn’t breathe.

“Nothing, huh?”

“Nothing,” you managed to repeat, but the word came out more like a question than a statement. The self-doubt you’d been trying to ignore bubbled up, and you hated yourself for it. 

He leaned in closer, and you could feel his breath against your skin. “If you think there’s nothing between us, then why does it hurt so much to even think about letting it go?”

His words hit a particular soft spot, and you had to bite your lip to keep from gasping. You wanted to argue, to tell him he was wrong, that you could walk away and be fine.

But the truth was, you weren’t fine. You weren’t even close to fine.

The whole time you’d been telling yourself this was just a fling, some wild phase that would burn out eventually—because that was what made sense. You weren’t supposed to fall for the guy who came from money and lived in a mansion on the hill, while you were still sharing a room with your sister in a run-down house, after yours got destroyed, on the wrong side of the island. 

This was never supposed to be real.

“You don’t get it. You’ve never had to worry about—about someone like me not fitting into your life. You don’t have people looking at you and thinking ‘what the hell is he doing with her?’”

Rafe’s eyes softened, and his thumb brushed a light circle against your waist, sending a pleasant shiver down your spine. “Who cares what people think? I’m not with them. I’m with you.”

You shook your head, more to yourself than to him, stepping back just enough to put some space between you.

"No. No, it’s not that simple. You don’t get it. You don’t get what it’s like to always be the one left behind. You’ll get bored, and then what? You just walk away and I’m the one left picking up the pieces."

He opened his mouth to argue, but you weren’t done.

"And don't say you won’t, because everyone does! I’ve seen this before. I’ve been through it. I don’t survive guys like you." Your voice cracked, and damn it, you hated how vulnerable you sounded, but it was too late. It was all spilling out now, all the fear you’d kept bottled up.

Rafe’s jaw tightened, and instead of the cocky smirk you expected, there was something different in his eyes. Anger? No, frustration maybe. But not at you.

He ran a hand through his hair, clearly trying to keep his cool. “You think I’m just some guy playing games, huh? That I’m gonna wake up one day and decide you’re not worth it?”

You crossed your arms, hugging yourself as if that would protect you from the way his words were hitting you too hard. “Isn’t that what happens?”

“No. Not with me.”

“You don’t know that!”

“I do know that!” His voice rose, and you flinched a little, caught off guard by the intensity.

He noticed and apologized immediately, stepping closer, his hand reaching for yours but stopping just short. "I’m here, with you. Because I want to be. Don’t you get that?"

You hated the way he was looking at you, the way his words hit with brutal honesty you weren’t used to—it made you pause. Your eyes fleeted away, focusing on the floor because looking at him was too much.

"Just let me go," you whispered, "It’ll hurt less now."

A muscle in his jaw twitched, and before you could pull back, he stepped forward, closing the gap between you in one swift move.

His hand cupped your face, forcing you to meet his eyes, and there was no escape from the intensity in them.

"No," he said, firm but quiet. "I’m not letting you go. You’re not pushing me away. I’m not leaving, no matter how hard you try to sabotage this."

Your breath hitched in your throat, and you shook your head, trying to argue, but then his lips were on yours, cutting off whatever weak protest you had left. The kiss wasn’t gentle or slow—it was harsh, like he was trying to make you understand something without words. 

 And damn it, you kissed him back. Because of course, you did.

Because despite everything you said, everything you feared, you wanted this. You wanted him. But the second you felt yourself giving in, you pushed him back, your hands pressed against his chest, trying to regain some control. 

"Stop doing that," you snapped, breathless.

"Doing what?" He sounded just as breathless, but he didn’t step away.

"Kissing me like you can fix this. Like—like I’m just gonna believe you."

He exhaled sharply, his hands gripping your waist, keeping you close. "You don’t have to believe me now, but I’m not going anywhere. I’ll prove it to you, okay? Just stop trying to run every time it gets hard."

"I don’t know how to do this," you admitted quietly, your hands still resting against his chest, fingers curled into the fabric of his shirt.

"I’ll show you," he whispered, his forehead resting against yours, his breath mingling with yours. "Just stop pushing me away."

For a moment, you let yourself just be there with him, your defenses crumbling piece by piece. You didn’t know how long it would last, or if you could even survive it, but maybe… just maybe, he was worth the risk.

But still, you couldn’t help but mutter, "You’re so stupid, you know that?"

His lips twitched into a smile. “And you’re still kissing me, again, so what does that say about you?”

You rolled your eyes, trying to hide the way your lips twitched with a smirk of your own.

 “Says I’m just as stupid as you,” you muttered under your breath, but the words lacked bite. Your hands stayed on his chest, fingers still gripping his polo like you were afraid to let go, like maybe if you held on tight enough, you wouldn’t fall apart, “Do you always go around kissing the saff?” You mumbled out.

Rafe’s hands moved from your waist to your back, pulling you in closer. His forehead still rested against yours, and you could feel his breath, warm and steady, brushing against your skin. It was infuriating how easy it was to melt into him.

He raised an eyebrow, his lips twitching with the start of a grin, “Only the ones who can’t seem to stay away from me.”

You groaned, shoving him in the chest with just enough force to make him stumble back a step. “God, you’re insufferable.”

He caught your wrists before you could pull away completely, his grip gentle, keeping you close enough that you could still feel the warmth of his skin through your clothes. “Yeah, well, you seem to like insufferable.”

“Do I though?” You quipped, trying to sound indifferent, but your heartbeat was giving you away. You could feel it hammering in your chest, “Because I feel like this whole thing is a bad idea. You know, like ‘kiss the rich guy, ruin your life’ kind of bad idea.”

Rafe’s expression softened, and the teasing glint in his eyes faded. “Why do you always do that?”

“Do what?” You tried to play dumb.

“Talk like this doesn’t mean something. Like I don’t mean something to you.” His voice was low, but there was a seriousness in it that made your stomach flip. “We’ve been doing this dance for a while now, and every time it starts to get real, you act like it’s just… casual.”

Your throat tightened, and you tried to pull your wrists free, but he didn’t let go, making it clear he wasn’t letting you run again.

“Maybe it is casual,” you said, even though the words tasted like a lie. “Maybe we’re just two people having a good time, and that’s it.”

He shook his head, the corner of his mouth lifting in that way that made your chest ache. “Nah. You’re not fooling me anymore. You don’t kiss someone like you kissed me just for fun.”

You blinked, your breath catching in your throat. “Rafe…”

“And you don’t look at me like that when I walk in unless there’s more to it.” His voice softened as his thumb traced light circles against your skin. “So stop pretending it’s nothing.”

“I should be working.”

But Rafe wasn’t letting you off that easy. “Yeah, you probably should,” he said, but his hands didn’t move, and neither did his eyes.

“So you’re gonna let me go?”

“Why’d you kiss me that day?” he asked, "I’ve been wondering.”

You blinked up at him, caught off guard by the question. He was so close, and it was hard to think, let alone answer something that felt so…disarming like everything you’d been running from was waiting in his words.

"I don’t know," you groaned, suddenly feeling like a cornered animal. "I wasn’t thinking straight."

His fingers traced a slow line down your arm, sending shivers through you. "You sure about that?" His voice was quiet, like he already knew you were lying, knew you too well for you to hide behind that excuse. "Because it didn’t feel like just some random kiss."

You scoffed, trying to laugh it off, trying to keep your cool, but the sound came out shaky.

"It was— I don’t know, Rafe. It was just the heat of the moment, okay? The storm… everything." You bit your lip, avoiding his gaze because you knew he wasn’t buying it. "You saved me, and I guess I was—"

"Grateful?" he interrupted, his brow arching. “Is that what you’re trying to say?”

You winced. "I didn’t mean it like that."

“Yeah, well, it sure sounds like you’re trying to make it seem like it meant nothing. Like you didn’t feel anything when you kissed me.”

You swallowed hard, the lump in your throat making it impossible to respond right away. He wasn’t wrong. That kiss had meant something—maybe more than you were ready to admit to yourself, let alone to him.

“You can’t keep acting like you don’t care, because I know you do. You wouldn’t have kissed me if you didn’t.”

The way he said it, so certain, so sure of himself—it made your heart race even faster. 

“Why do you care so much?” you whispered, the words slipping out before you could stop them. “Why does it matter?”

He frowned, like you had just asked the stupidest question in the world. “Because it matters to me.”

Your chest tightened at that, and you hated how much you wanted to believe him. "I don’t want to get hurt, Rafe."

"I’m not gonna hurt you." His voice was low, serious, like a promise, but you’d heard promises like that before. "I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t care. I’m asking for a chance, just one chance. I’m not going anywhere.”

Your chest tightened as you stared up at him. He was serious. Like, really serious. And you were scared out of your mind because you wanted to believe him so badly. But trusting someone, letting them in? That was terrifying.

“I’m scared,” you whispered, finally admitting it out loud.

“I know,” he murmured, his forehead resting gently against yours. “But I’m scared too, okay? I want to be with you. So, please, just… give us a shot.”

You closed your eyes, breathing him in, your mind racing a hundred miles per hour.

You could still feel his lips on yours, the way he made you feel like maybe, just maybe, you could let your guard down for once. And the truth was, despite all the reasons you’d been telling yourself to walk away, your heart was telling you to stay.

 “Okay.”

His breath caught. “Okay?”

You opened your eyes, “Yeah, okay. I’ll give you a chance. Don’t screw it up.”

Rafe’s lips curved into that stupid, cocky grin, “I won’t. I promise.”

You wanted to roll your eyes at him, but instead, you found yourself smiling back. 

Maybe this was crazy, maybe you were setting yourself up for heartbreak or maybe you’d really found yourself a soulmate.

[somethingvicked]

Forget me not pt 2

An Eddie Munson story.

warnings: female reader, memory loss, talks of injury, angst.

Y/N’s mother brought Eddie out into the corridor. “This is why I didn’t want any of you to visit her yet, Eddie. The doctor’s told me that it’s very common to have memory loss when you’ve gone through that kind of head injury, but that it usually is temporary. If there was a possibility of her regaining the memory without having to go through another trauma – meeting people she doesn’t remember that clearly remember her – I wanted to spare her that.”

Eddie nodded, understanding. When Y/N’s mom told him that it could be temporarily he felt a flicker of hope.

“So, there’s a chance she will be okay, maybe tomorrow or so?”

Y/N’s mom smiled. “Maybe. We can only hope. If she does, I will let you all know. But now I must ask you to let her rest.”

As Eddie walked out of the hospital, his own memory replayed the moment when Y/N looked at him as if he was a stranger – because that was what he was to her now –  he ran into Gareth.

“What the hell, man,” Gareth said, stomping up to Eddie. “How could you not call us and let us know Y/N’s been in accident? She’s our friend too!”

Eddie rubbed his forehead. “I’m sorry, dude. It’s all been so…” he couldn’t finish the sentence.

Gareth’s face softened. “Is she okay?”

“She… she punctured a lung and broke some ribs but it’s… they say she’ll be okay eventually.”

“That’s a relief,” Gareth exhaled and then frowned. “Then why do you look so… “

Eddie looked away. “Her mom hasn’t told anyone yet, because there’s a big chance it’ll go away, but…” he swallowed ,”she… Y/N doesn’t remember me. I visited her and she… there was no recollection. She didn’t know who I was.”

Gareth’s eyes widened. “Damn!” he cursed. “Shit man, I’m so sorry. She doesn’t remember you… and you’re her best friend!”

Eddie felt tears burn behind his eyelids. Gareth patted his shoulder and led him toward his van, telling him that he shouldn’t drive being this upset.

Eddie couldn’t compel himself to tell Gareth the whole truth about why he was so troubled. The last conversation he’d had with Y/N, what he had told her:

“I wish you could forget you’re in love with me too, Y/N. I wish we could forget about this whole conversation! It’s ruined everything.”

 Just remembering those words made him feel like someone had punctured his lung too.

The next day Y/N’s mother called and asked for them all to meet her in the hospital cafeteria. She didn’t want to be away from Y/N too long, so that was the best place.

Eddie felt cold dread creep down his spine when Y/N’s mom explained to the others about Y/N’s memory loss, but that they weren’t certain how far it went.

Y/N had recognized her parents without a beat but she had no memory of the accident or the hours before that.

“When the doctors asked her what the last thing she remembered clearly was she told them that it was coming home from school and practicing the violin,” Y/N’s mom said, and Eddie gasped.

“But… she quit playing the violin years ago!” Before they became friends.

“Exactly,” Y/N’s mom nodded. “But we have to be patient. The doctors tell me that when she’s well enough to go home, to the house she grew up in and with her own room, surrounded by the things she’s seen daily it will probably help. And until then, I need to ask you not to visit her. She’s got enough on her plate.”

Eddie swallowed, looking down into his lap.

“When… do they know when she will be able to go home?” Robin wondered.

“They’re going to do some more tests and another MRI on her brain – just to make sure there isn’t some small bleeding that they missed which will cause trouble. If there’s not she will probably be able to go home at the end of the week.”

There was nothing to do but wait. At the end of the week Y/N was allowed to go home, and her mom let the gang know that she recognized her room. A happy surprise was that she also recognized Robin from a photo, so Robin was allowed to visit her and talk to her.

Robin told the rest of them that Y/N seemed to have grasped that she wasn’t thirteen anymore, and that she also seemed to remember some songs and movies she had seen and listened to after middle school, even though she didn’t remember the moment she had experienced them.

Y/N’s memory was jumbled but she was making progress.

In all this time, Eddie didn’t spend any time with Chrissy, not even in school. Somehow, it felt like a betrayal to Y/N. Even though Y/N didn’t even remember he existed.

Chrissy was patient at first, but when  two weeks had come and gone she took Eddie aside to talk to him.

“I understand you’re upset about Y/N. But… there’s nothing you can do for now. I know she’s your best friend, but I’m your girlfriend. If you can’t even spend time with her because she doesn’t know who you are, what is stopping you from spending time with me? Not even talking to me?”

Eddie became furious with her and accused her of being insensitive. When he barked that Y/N was the most important person in his life, and how did Chrissy think it felt when that person didn’t even remember you? – Chrissy shook her head and walked away.

Eddie deducted that this was most likely the end of them but he couldn’t bother to care. The fact that he had called Y/N the ‘most important’ person in his life didn’t slip by him. Or that Chrissy had said exactly the same thing that he had told Y/N that day.

Now he knew that Y/N was in fact the most important person in his life and he felt guilty as hell for how he had treated her. A flirt with a popular girl had made him forget her.

And now he’d gotten his karma. Y/N had forgotten him. Completely.

Another week passed and Y/N’s recovery went well. From photos she had been reacquainted with more of her friends, and her mom had told Steve and Eddie they were welcome to visit, to see how she would react, if she remembered them. 

Steve still seemed angry at Eddie, but he didn’t bring it up at least, and Eddie was grateful for that. He hoped that Y/N would remember something, anything about him and their friendship.

As they were let inside Y/N’s room, they saw she was sitting by her desk, looking through some photos.

She raised her gaze and smiled politely at them. “Hi,” she said and Eddie and Steve greeted her.

Steve sat down on Y/N’s bed and Eddie sat down beside Y/N but made sure to give her space.

“You are… Steve, right?” Y/N said, pointing at Steve and Steve nodded excitedly.

“Yes, that’s right. You remember me?”

Y/N brought up a photo of him and her from a pool party. “A little,” she told him. “But it kind of clashes… I remember you in school… being… well, quite a jerk,” she admitted with blushing cheeks and Eddie snickered, “but I also remember you being really nice, and something about… ‘always being the babysitter’?”

Now Steve laughed and nodded. “Yes, that’s correct. In high school I was quite a jerk but… I grew up quickly the last year and after I graduated – and not getting into college. Made me realize that peeking in high school was not something to be proud of.”

Now Y/N laughed too and Eddie couldn’t help but feel left out.

Then Y/N’s eyes widened. “Wait… I remember now. You were called… King Steve!”

Steve groaned and rubbed his neck. “Damn. I really hoped you wouldn’t remember that!”

Y/N laughed again and even though it was nice to see her laugh, Eddie looked down into his lap, almost regretting that he had come. But that wasn’t right. Y/N couldn’t control what she remembered.

Now she turned toward him, and tilted her head. “I remember you from the hospital,” she told him and then looked through some photos, finding one of Eddie and her with the Hellfire group. And another of him and her, at the Hideout, Eddie, sweating after a performance and Y/N looking so proud.

Then another, from a Halloween party… there were so many of them, Eddie realized. Even though they hadn’t gotten to know each other until junior high, there was practically a whole lifetime’s worth of photos of them.

And it all came back to him, things he had all but forgotten, getting lost in Chrissy. He had never been more ashamed of himself.

“Were… were we a couple?” Y/N wondered when she came upon one where they hugged in front of a Christmas tree in her living room.

“No,” Steve replied, before Eddie could answer and Eddie glared at him. “No, but Eddie was… is, your best friend.”

“Oh,” Y/N said, and the way she said it, like she wasn’t disappointed at all that they hadn’t been a couple… it felt like someone had drove an ice pick into Eddie’s heart and the cracks spread by the second.

“You don’t… you don’t remember any of this?” he wondered carefully, not wanting to stress Y/N.

“No,” she said, shaking her head, looking frustrated. “No, I’m sorry. When I look at Steve, I remember bits and pieces. It’s like a puzzle – pieces fits together but it’s not a complete image. But with you… I’m so sorry, but I don’t remember anything, except from when you came to visit me in the hospital.”

She looked really apologetic for that and Eddie felt even worse because now he had made her feel bad.

“It doesn’t matter. Take your time,” he assured her.

They didn’t stay long after that. Y/N got tired rather quickly and her mother shooed them out, saying she needed to rest.

Eddie expected that Steve would say something like ‘serves you right’ when they left but he didn’t. Not even Steve seemed to want to kick Eddie when he was already broken.

And it just continued. Y/N kept making progress with the others. She remembered funny moments hanging out with the kids, teasing Dustin, helping Max and El with clothes and make up, supporting Lucas about basketball, talking to Nancy and Jonathan about the school paper, even cheering for when Hopper and Joyce finally got together.

But she still didn’t remember anything about Eddie. He tried to help her remember, with photos of his own, tapes they had switched, playing his guitar for her…

He refused to give up, even though he felt more and more and despair from the lost look in Y/N’s eyes.

And each and every time he tried to help her remember, he had to remember. How much they had meant to each other, what Y/N had meant to him.

And how he had thrown all that away for Chrissy. A girl he couldn’t even imagine a future with.

He was living with the constant regret of it, practically crying himself to sleep every night.

One day Steve took him aside, looking worried. “Look, man… I understand what you’re doing. But maybe you should stop.”

“Stop what?” Eddie wondered.

“With Y/N. I see how hard you try, but… there’s a possibility she might never remember you, have you thought of that?”

Eddie swallowed. “That… no, that can’t be…”

“It’s possible,” Steve continued, “there are people that has had memory loss that never regain every detail of their life. And… while I think what you did to her was shitty, I’m worried about you. This… it’s not healthy for you or her. Maybe… maybe you should just accept what it is and move on.”

“I can’t do that!” Eddie gasped. “I can’t! She...”

“Eddie… you were ready to cut her out of your life just a couple of weeks ago – for Chrissy. And now… she doesn’t even remember you doing that. I understand you feel guilty, but…”

“You think I’m doing it because I’m feeling guilty?” Eddie hissed. “Well, I do! But it’s not that… I… even before she crashed into that tree… I tried to imagine a life without her and… I couldn’t,” he admitted, wiping his eyes.

Steve was quiet for a while. “Maybe… maybe she doesn’t want to remember you.”

Eddie gasped, staring at Steve. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Steve said, rubbing his forehead. “Maybe… her subconscious is trying to protect her from a painful memory – what happened between you two.”

Eddie’s eyes widened and his mouth turned into a small O.

“But… what do I do then? Should I bring it up… what happened?”

“Not sure,” Steve said. “I don’t have any answers, Eddie. Is there something you haven’t tried? Something that might give her a push to remember?”

Eddie honestly wasn’t sure. He felt like he had tried everything possible and then some.

One thing he had noticed, was that Y/N had become more at ease with him. She didn’t shy away any more, even though he was respectful of her space and never touched her like he used to do before; putting his arm around her, or throwing her over his shoulder and carry her somewhere, or had tickle fights with her.

That, too, made him realize how much she meant to him and how much he now missed touching her like he used to.

But despite the fact that Y/N didn’t remember their shared past she seemed to have taken a liking to him anew.

Her face lit up when he came over and she was interested in hearing him talk about his day, his life or something that had happened. It felt strange to tell details of his life to the one that used to know him about as well as he knew himself, but he did so without complaint because it seemed to fascinate her.

But he missed the old Y/N, he couldn’t lie and say he didn’t. This… this was just a shell of the girl he used to know.

And as the days passed, turned into weeks he was starting to fear that he would never get her back.

But he wouldn’t give up on her. Or leave her. He would never do that again. If this was some kind of karmic punishment for what he had done to her… consider him chastised.

He would only leave if Y/N herself told him to.

The next day Y/N called him, asking if he could come over. “I have a favor to ask you,” she said, “I can’t ask anyone else.”

Eddie got excited, wondering what it could be and immediately drove over to her place.

“What can I do for you, sweetheart?” he wondered and she smiled, blushing at the nickname. Even though he missed the old Y/N he had to admit it was a delight to see her blushing at the old nickname.

“I… I wonder if you could drive me to the scene of the accident,” she said, looking into his eyes. “My mom doesn’t want me to see it, but… I think it might help.”

Eddie wasn’t sure if it was a good idea – not to mention that going behind the back of Y/N’s mother scared him a little bit; she had become something of a mother bear since the accident, not that he blamed her.

But of course he couldn’t say no to Y/N. So they got into his van and drove there.

The car wreck had been towed of course, but some of the glass was left, glittering in the sun. There were two deep dents in the bark of the tree she had collided with, but other than that the tree seemed to have gotten out more unscathed than Y/N and the car.

Y/N was quiet, going up to the tree, the glass cracking beneath her shoes. She put her hand on the dents, as if she was waiting for the tree to start whispering secrets to her.

Then she frowned, bending down. Eddie looked down and his eyes widened.

Beside the tree there was a single blue little blossom. It had dried, but it wasn’t withered. He squatted beside Y/N picking it up.

It was one of the few flowers he recognized – Forget-me-nots.

He smiled and gave it to Y/N. “Almost seem like a sign, don’t you think?” he wondered but when Y/N suddenly clutched her head he immediately got worried. “Sweetheart?”

Y/N didn’t reply for a few seconds, but when she looked up… there was something new in her eyes that hadn’t been there before.

“Eddie?” she questioned and… he could see it. The recognition.

“Y/N?” he said, his voice trembling.

“I remember now,” she said, her voice devoid of emotions, and Eddie got cold all over. Because if she remembered, then she also…

“I remember everything.”

taglist: @ali-r3n @quinnyficsy @animechick555 @h-ness1944 @eddie-is-a-god

@megatronmunson @melodymunson @rainybloo28

@daisy-munson @bartkevicius03 @stylesxmunson @ziggeddie @ali-in-w0nderland @up-l4te-4t-n1ght @fireeyes-on-teller-dixon-grimes @duncanhillscoffeecups

[playgrl0]

it's always been you / hanma

wc: 2,533

when hanma picks up his phone and hears your sniffles at the other end of the line, he knew right away what the reason for your tears were. he tells you to send him your location and stay where you are and that he's gonna pick you up. with a deep sigh he grabs his zip up hoodie and leaves to come and pick you up.

you went on a date with this ´funny looking´​ guy, as shuji would say. he has no idea what you see in him and he doesn't like that you hang out with him. at all.why? hanmathinks that he makes it pretty obvious that he likes you romantically. he doesn’t hide it at all, he constantly flirts with you and is extremely touchy, just like a boyfriend would be.

but hanma is your best friend, not your boyfriend. he never told you straight up that he's in love with you though. and you’re probably the most oblivious human on this planet, which is pretty amusing to him, so he wants you to figure it out yourself. when you first told him that you're talking to and hanging out with another guy that isn't him, he felt like committing arson. you told him that the reason you started talking to him was because you wanted to get over another guy that you were crushing on, and forget about him. so, you're using a guy to get over another one, and none of those boys are him? committing arson wouldn't be enough at this point.

about ten minutes after your call, hanma finally arrives at a bus station a few houses away from where that boy lives. you’re sitting on the bench, face finally dry from the few tears that were streaming down your face not too long ago. the sound of hanma’s bike catches your attention and you watch how he parks the bike, gets off, walks over to you and sits down next to you.

“d’ya want me to beat the fuck outta him?” he speaks up and takes off his zip up hoodie, “i think he’d look better with a few bruises and blood streaming down his face. that fucking asshole.” he mumbles as he puts the hoodie over your shoulders and then pulls out a cigarette and starts smoking. you only shake your head no as you put the hoodie on properly and keep staring straight ahead, which hanma finds weird. it's so unlike you to be quiet, even when you’re upset. that guy must've really hurt your feelings and hanma plans on hurting him way worse once he took care of you. “you wanna tell me what happened?” he asks and takes another drag from his cigarette. you sigh, “long story short, he said that i'm not good enough and he prefers a girl he's been talking to behind my back.” you quietly answer him. oh how hanma would love nothing more than to beat this guy unconscious. not good enough? you? the most amazing person he has ever met? and he knows, hanma knows that he should comfort you right now but since he's hanma, he cant help himself and let out a comment he's been waiting to say to you the second you called because he knew this would happen.

“i told you he's an asshole but you didn't listen.” he shrugs and earns a slap on the back of his shoulder. “thanks for nothing. drive me home.” you grumble and get up from the bench and walk over to his bike. he follows you with a smirk gracing his lips. “the fuck are you smirking at?” you ask pissed, arms crossed over your chest. he chuckles as he puts the helmet he specifically bought stole for you on your head. he makes sure it's secure and chuckles. “you’re not actually pissed at me and i'm not taking you home. you’re sleeping at my place tonight. hop on the bike.” he gets on and waits for you to get on as well. you sit on the bike behind hanma and wrap your arms around his middle. once he feels your arms holding tightly onto him, he starts driving you both to his place. you lean your head against his back, as good as the helmet allows it, close your eyes and think about everything that has happened. you knew from the beginning that dating this guy wouldn't end well. you knew that he was an asshole, shuji was right. fuck, you dont even have feelings for that guy, at all. you only wanted to distract yourself. at this point you’ll try everything to forget about him. to forget your feelings about shuji. right now it's hard to ignore those feelings. your stomach is filled with butterflies as you hold onto your best friend. you shouldn't feel like this about him. you shouldn't feel your knees weaken every time he smiles at you, your heart beating faster every time he touches you. it's so wrong. he's your best friend and that's all he’ll ever be.

“we’re here.” hanma's deep voice pulls you out of your thoughts. he stops the bike in front of his apartment building and gets off. he turns to you and gently removes the helmet from your head, then holds your hand to help you off the bike. and once again, your heart beats faster at his touch. you finally make your way into his apartment where you remove your shoes first and then walk into his bedroom where you flop face down onto his bed. you hear him chuckle behind you and he lets himself fall beside you. he's laying on his back and staring up at the ceiling while you're still on your stomach, face buried in his pillows. “how’re you feeling? wanna talk about it?” he breaks the short silence. you turn your head to look at him, his beautiful side profile makes your heart flutter, and you feel yourself starting to grow frustrated once again. why is he so handsome? you turn away again, “i'm pissed but i'm okay. i'll just find another guy. no problem.” you mutter into his pillows. hanma turns to look at you and is met with the back of your head. without realizing it his hand travels to your head where he starts to comfortingly scratch your scalp. it's something he’s always done to you, ever since you two were little. he does it when he knows you’re not feeling well, it helps you calm down and feel better. you turn your head back to him with a smile. “if you keep doing this i'll fall asleep.” he removes the hand and grins back at you. “you’re not going to sleep until you tell me what's going on with you.” “what do you mean?” you frown. a sigh leaves hanma's lips, “i mean, what's up with with you and wanting to desperately date someone? you never cared about relationships like that and it's so unlike you to just go out and date random idiots.” you turn to lay on your back as well and stare at the ceiling. fuck, what now? do you tell him the truth or should you lie? lying to him wouldn't even work anyway. he knows you too well and he knows when you’re lying. you suck at it. “earth to y/n?!” hanma pulls you out of your thoughts once again and pushes your shoulder with his. “c’mon, talk to me.”

you sigh deeply and sit up, leaning against the headboard of his bed, he follows your moves and looks at you, waiting for you to finally speak. "okay,” you sigh again. “i've been dating all these boys because i thought i could find the right one and that he would help me forget about my feelings that i have for someone else.” hanma hides his disappointment really well. it’s been hard for him to see you dating one guy after another and then telling him right into his face that you have real feelings for someone else. someone that isn’t him. fuck. but this isnt about him right now, its about you and he needs to make you feel better. if there’s one thing in this world that shuji hanma hates, it's seeing you upset. “oh. well, why do you want to forget about that other person so badly? why not just confess to them?” he casually speaks up. “yeah, no! i’m going to stop you right there. i definitely won't do that. it’ll ruin everything.” you mumble the last part quietly but he still hears it. “ruin what?” he frowns. “ugh, our friendship! it’ll ruin our fucking friendship!” you burst out, feeling super frustrated at this point. and what does hanma do?

he fucking laughs.

you look at him with the hardest death stare. “what’s so fucking funny?” you huff. hanma finally calms down and wipes an imaginary tear from under his eye. “a friendship? i’m literally the only friend you have. you have no friends other than me, idiot.” he finishes his sentence with a small chuckle and lays back down, both arms resting behind his head. your face heats up at his words. no, its fucking burning. you feel like your skin is about to burn off your bones. did you say too much? does he know now?

“i do have other friends, bastard!” you stutter over your words. “the sweet old lady that lives across from you and the little boy from the playground dont count. i’m your one and only.” he has the most proudest and widest shit eating grin on his face. “fuck you!” you throw one of his pillows at him and press another one on his face, trying to not actually suffocate him. he easily snatches the pillow from you and throws it right back at you. you catch it and bury your face in it. when you don't remove your face from the pillow again and don't say a word for a while, hanma grows nervous. did he say something wrong? he softly pinches your leg, “what’s wrong?” you finally remove the pillow and lay down next to him with a deep sigh. “you caught me.” you mumble defeated. “what do you mean?” he is more than confused right now. “that i like you.” the words leave your mouth faster than you wanted to. they just slipped out.

the both of you are staring at each other now, both of your eyes wide open and in shock. “shut the fuck up! i’m the guy you've been trying to forget about?” you dont think you’ve ever seen him so shocked at something before. “no! fuck! i didnt mean to..ugh! no, yes! yes, it's you. it’s always been you.” you ramble on while hiding your face behind your hands. hanma is a smiling mess right now. he just watches you being all flustered and listens to your rambles. he didn’t think it would be impossible for you to catch feelings for him, he just never thought that it would actually happen and he is more than fucking happy right now.

he quickly rolls on top of you and removes your hands from your face. he is met with your beautiful eyes that are staring right back at him in shock. this isn’t the first time in your friendship that he's on top of you or that you've been on top of him, but you just confessed your love to him and now he's laying right on top of your body and you feel like you might explode from feeling so embarrassed. you wish you could just sink right into the mattress and then disappear completely.

“cat got your tongue? what happened to your rambling?” he breaks the silence, smirking. “fuck off!” you whine, turning your head away. you know him too damn well so you know that hes gonna tease the fuck out of you now and hes going to have the time of his life with this. he suddenly grabs your chin and turns your head back to look at him. “i know you’re fucking embarrassed right now and i find it hilarious,” the smirk never leaves his lips and you roll your eyes at him. “but, i like you as well. i’m pretty sure you knew that though.”“shuji?? i did not know that?!” you squeal. “oh? i thought i was being pretty obvious. you’re just blind i guess.” he chuckles. “but anyway, i do like you as well. and now that you know that, please stop going out with other men before i end up murdering them all.” you both break out into a fit of laughter. hanma lets his head fall into the crook of your neck and you wrap your arms around him.

the laughter dies down after a short while and he mumbles against your neck, “please be my girlfriend?” he asks a bit careful and removes his head from your neck to look at you. “yeah,” you answer, smiling like an idiot. “i’ll be your girlfriend, yes!” you happily pull him into a hug, his head buried in your neck again. “thank god you said yes, i would've actually went on a murder spree to get rid of every single man.” “i know you would.” you laugh again as he pulls his head away from you again, his hand softly brushing over your warm cheek. “so, i can kiss you now that you're my girl, right?” he grins. “of course!” he wastes no time and presses his lips against yours and in that moment you feel like this is not only the happiest moment of your life, but also the most beautiful one. you thought and dreamt about this very moment so many times more than you would like to admit to yourself, but the reality of having his lips move softly against yours is a million times better than any of your dreams have ever been. his lips are surprisingly soft and warm and they're moving perfectly against yours, his tongue brushing over your bottom lip every once in a while. you don’t want this moment to end, ever, and neither does hanma. he’s kissing you gently but with a small hint of desperation and his big, calloused hands cupping your cheeks. he deepened the kiss and you pulled him as close to your body as you possibly could and both of you wanted more, more of each other, but your air is ran out so you finally pulled away and now you’re looking into each others eyes again while panting softly.

“fuck, if i knew kissing you would feel this fucking good, i would’ve hoped ​one of those guys you dated would hurt your feelings way sooner.” he earns a slap on the back of his head for that. “you could’ve confessed as well, why’d you wait so long?” you snap back. “ah, that’s a story for another time. i want more kisses.” he wastes no time and presses his lips against yours again.

he kisses you over and over and over again. throughout the entire night. “you’re mine now. forever.” he said.

he’ll never let you go.

tags: @ranscutedoll @bertholdts--butt @zazcie @getcozylove @hoshiko @nanaosaki3940 @nanamikentoseyebags @sin-and-punishment @peachebmad @wakashawty @shamelessperfectionhideout @vmlnrz @saintokkotsu @satanlovesusall666 @kiirsteinn @noritopia @gothamgurl2024 @unknownspecies

<3 @ playgrl0

[waywardnerd67]

Cowboy Chasing

Title: Cowboy Chasing Summary: Chasing storms was simple. Chasing the tornado chasing cowboy was a whole different story. Main Characters: Tyler Owens, Reader Pairing: Tyler Owens, Reader Rating: E - Everyone Warnings: Fluff/Angst Word Count: 2481 A/N: My first fic in over a year thanks to a certain tornado chasing cowboy :) I used my taglist from over a year ago. If you don’t want to be tag please let me know (no hard feelings, I totally get it).

“Are you sure?” Her best friend asked as (Y/N) continued to pack her duffel bag.

She sighed, “Yes, I’m sure. When he left we had a fight and I can’t live with myself if anything were to happen to him.”

“How long has it been since you’ve been chasing?”

Flashes of that last night played in her mind, “A few years…”

Her best friend took her hands, “Promise me you’ll be careful.”

“I promise.” (Y/N) smiled.

“Also, tell Boone he still owes me a dance.” They started laughing as (Y/N) zipped up her bag.

“Will do. I’ll call you when I get to Enid.” (Y/N) hugged her friend then made her way out of their apartment.

(Y/N) knew the drive to Enid, Oklahoma like the back of her hand. Every storm season that is where the chasers would gather to prep for the first chase. Checking the forecasts, she knew there was a chance the Wranglers would already be out on the road heading south towards Oklahoma City. She pulled out her phone, hitting Dani’s number and sending her a voice memo.

“Hey, I’m heading out to you guys. If you leave Enid, could you let me know. I appreciate it. Oh and don’t tell Tyler. Love ya.”

Dani’s response was immediate, “As I live and breathe, (Y/N) (Y/L/N). Girl, it’s been too long. We’re heading south on the 81 towards Kingfisher in the morning. Miss and love ya.”

Another voice memo came through, “Also, your secret is safe with me. Does this mean you’re back?”

(Y/N) shook her head. The thought of chasing again was exciting and terrifying. There was no way she could go back. Not after all the time that had passed and not after the last chase. No, this trip was for closure and nothing more.

Between several cans of Monster and singing to the top of her lungs, (Y/N) made it to Enid by one in the morning. A soft smile spreading across her face seeing all the cars, vans and rigs of fellow chasers. Two groups stood out the most. The pristine white trucks and van of Storm Par were parked all by themselves. Javi must have gotten more money from Riggs noticing their team now having a fourth truck code name Toto.

Then there was the all too familiar red Dodge Ram parked in the middle of the lot. (Y/N) couldn’t believe they still had the beat up camper and van. With their YouTube channel taking off, she figured they would have at least updated the camper. Knowing Tyler, he probably used any money to go to helping the families and loved ones after a tornado. Humanitarian was one of the qualities that had attracted her to chasing with them and following Tyler Owens wherever the wind blew him.

“(Y/N)?” A familiar voice called out.

“Hiya Boone.” She turned around to see Boone, Dexter, Lilly and Dani all walking back from the small 24 hour diner.

“‘Bout time you came back out with us! We missed you!” He pulled her into a hug before everyone else surrounded her.

For the first time in years, (Y/N) finally felt at home again. The years she spent chasing storms with her Wrangler family were the best years of her life. Until it all went to shit.

“Well, well, who do we have here?”

His southern drawl never failed to send goosebumps over her skin, “Hey Tyler, how are you?”

“I’m good, (Y/N). I’m very good.” He smirked.

Dani smacked his shoulder, “Don't mind him, he’s been watching Top Gun Maverick on repeat.”

“You look good, Tyler.” (Y/N) couldn’t help her eyes from traveling down the length of his body.

There was nothing noticeably different about him since she last saw him a year ago. He still wore the same blue jeans, brown boots, Wrangler belt buckle and dark button down. The only thing missing was his Stetson and she knew exactly where it would be.

She noticed he was taking inventory of her as well as those dark green eyes gave her once over, “You look good too. So, what brings you out here?”

“I was hoping to talk to you before you went out tomorrow, if that’s okay?”

Tyler motioned for her to follow him to his motel room. (Y/N) waved to her family when Boone stopped her.

“You’re not staying, are you?” He asked with dark chocolate puppy eyes.

She shook her head then said, “Annie wanted me to let you know that you still owe her a dance. You should come on by and square your debt with her after this storm season.”

His smile was infectious, “I will. It was damn good to see ya, (Y/N).”

She turned around to see Tyler leaning against the door frame of his room. She stepped inside, chuckling to herself seeing some things truly would never change. He had clothes laid out everywhere drying. An empty pizza box and three beers out of six left sitting on his table. The TV was on showing infomercials until the morning news came on.

“Ya know, if you’re wanting to head back out I don’t know if we have room for you. We have a big shot British reporter going out with us this year.” Tyler offered her a bottle of water which she accepted.

“Reporter? Wow… you’ve really hit the big time.” She didn’t mean for it to come out as snarky as it did, “Hopefully, they knew what they were getting themselves into.”

Tyler flopped down on the bed, crossing his ankles and resting his head on one of his arms. Seeing his body stretched out brought up older memories of their early chasing years. The thrill of getting close to a tornado and the adrenaline they would need to work off when they got to a motel for the night. (Y/N) knew that body as well as she knew her own and now she could feel her cheeks flushing.

“So, what did you want to talk about?” He asked, a knowing smirk on his handsome face.

She rolled her eyes, knowing she played right into his little trap. He knew she would think of the good times seeing him stretched out like that. Knowing she couldn’t help to be nostalgic and remember the good ole days. As well he could read her, she could read him. (Y/N) sat down on the opposite bed taking a long drink of her water.

“The last time I was with you, we had a huge fight.” She looked over at him as he moved to mirror her sitting position.

He leaned forward on his elbows, clasping his hands together, “Mmhmm.”

“We both said some hurtful things and I wanted to clear the air between us.”

His green eyes locked onto hers, “You’re wanting an apology.”

She sighed, “No. I want you to know that… that I care about you and the team. I didn’t want you leading them into unnecessary danger for more followers or views.”

“If I remember correctly you said that I was and I quote, A reckless tornado chasing cowboy with a death wish.”

She flinched, “I know. I was frustrated and we had just lost…”

Tyler stood up, running his hand through his golden hair, “Theo knew what he was getting into when he started chasing with us. Hell, he had watched you chase well before he joined us. We all know the dangers of this job, but it’s worth it if we can help the people here.”

It was the same speech Tyler had given her a year ago. She clenched her fists on top of her knees, unable to keep the anger from flooding her system.

“Damn it Tyler, he should have never been in your damn truck! He should have been with Dex and Dani in the camper, but you wanted him to experience the real thing. What did that get him?”

She covered her mouth as Tyler’s eyes widened, “Tyler, I’m… I didn’t…”

He stormed over to the door, “If you think that I don’t spend every moment of every day not blaming myself for your brother’s death then you never knew me.”

He was gone with the door slamming shut. (Y/N) punched the bed beside her to release some of the rage overwhelming her.

“Fuck!” She yelled out before the tears started to fall, “This was not how I wanted it to go.”

After an hour, (Y/N) left the room in search of Tyler. She knew exactly where he would be heading towards his truck. He was sitting up on the roof tinkering with some the gauges.

“I’m sorry.” She said, climbing up onto the bed of the truck, “I really didn’t come here to fight again.”

“Then why did you come here? It’s been a year since you told me to get out of your life for good. Why now?” He never looked up at her.

She carefully sat up on the roof, “I hated the way we left things. I would never be able to live with myself if anything happened to you and the last thing I had said to you was I hate you.”

He glanced up at her, “You don’t hate me?”

“I think you know that I don’t. I… I never could hate you.” She sighed, “Tyler, what we had was special. We both shared the same goals in life and careers. We were good together, but losing my brother changed me. All I could think about was I couldn’t lose you the same way I lost him.”

(Y/N) looked up when she felt his hand cover hers, “I’m sorry.” he whispered.

“Me too.” She squeezed his hand and a spark ignited in her chest.

“Come on, I need a few hours of sleep and you can stay in my room on the extra bed. I’m sure you need some sleep as well.”

He jumped down onto the bed of the truck helping her down as well. He jumped down from the truck holding out his arms for her. His hand gripped her hips and he lifted her from the tailgate setting her on the ground. Her body slid down his and once again her body flooded with heat.

“You know I could sleep in my car or get my own room.” She said softly, looking up at him.

“Scared something might happen?” He smirked, making her roll her eyes.

Pushing him gently, “Nope. I gave up chasing cowboys a long time ago.”

“Really? Yet, you drove nearly eight hours to talk with me. Sounds to me like you might still be chasing cowboys.” He leaned down, “Or am I wrong?”

His soft lips were close to hers and his woodsy cologne filled her senses. Her knees were going to buckle if she didn’t step away from her and she would fall right back into oblivion with him.

“We can’t.” She whispered, “I can’t stand back and watch you drive into tornados not knowing if you’ll come back to me.”

His eyes softened as he backed away from her, “I understand. You can sleep in my room and I’ll sleep in my truck.”

“Tyler, there’s two beds. We can share the room.” She caught his arm and felt him flinch.

He never turned to look at her, “You were always the strong one. I know I won’t be able to keep myself in control. Goodnight (Y/N).”

He walked to the driver’s side, getting in his truck. (Y/N) stood there for a moment before retreating into his room. She sat on the bed thinking about everything they had said and everything that was left unsaid between them. She loved him. She had been in love with him for nearly a decade and still was. She wanted to be by his side, but that fear of not knowing if he would come back to her kept her from doing what she wanted. The sun was peeking over the horizon when she heard the door open to the motel room.

She turned around to see Tyler staring down at her. Since she hadn’t grabbed her bag, she had opted to wear one of his white t-shirts for a night shirt. (Y/N) stood up grabbing her clothes that were on the small table.

“Sorry, I will get dressed and let you get ready.” She mumbled.

His hand grabbed her elbow, spinning her towards him, “Fuck it.”

His lips crashed to hers. Immediately, the stress and tension in her body melted as he wrapped her legs around his waist. Her back hit the mattress as Tyler began a hot trail of kisses down her neck.

“Ty-Tyler…” She moaned.

He lifted himself up, “I know, I know. We shouldn’t do this, but there is nothing in the world that I need more than you. Not storm chasing or anything. All I want is you and if this is the last time I get to be with you then so be it.”

Her heart was thumping rapidly against her chest, “You still love me?”

“Seriously?” He scoffed, “You think one little fight was going to erase you from my heart? Sweetheart, there is only one other woman I spend my time chasing other than you and that’s mother nature. There’s no one else in the world worth chasing other than you.”

She couldn’t help the grin spreading across her face, “For the record, I love you too.”

His breathtaking smile appeared and (Y/N) knew she was right where she needed to be. Tyler leaned down kissing her slowly, passionately. She was pulling his shirt off when there was a knock on his door.

“Go away!” He yelled, kissing her inner thigh.

“Tyler, we got a storm brewing just outside Bartlesville. If we hit the road now then we can beat Storm Par.” Boone’s voice was barely audible as Tyler groaned.

“Alright, we’re leaving in fifteen.” He rested his cheek against her thigh, “You think we could finish in fifteen minutes?”

She giggled, “It has been a while for both of us, but no I don’t. However, after chasing this storm we could pick up where we left off at another motel. Like the good ole days.”

“You’re staying?” he asked, helping her up and sitting her on his lap.

She nodded, “Cowboy, there’s nowhere else I would rather be than by your side.”

He kissed her again, gripping her hips tight. She moaned against his lips as she rolled her hips against him.

Tyler growled when Boone banged on his door again, “Be out in five!”

“Come on cowboy,” She kissed him, “I’m feeling it, so let's go chase it.”

“Yes ma’am.” He smacked her behind before they both got up gathering their stuff and heading out to the truck.

-----

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[purplelupins]

Salvador

|Better Call Saul|

Part I Part II

Word count: 17k

Lalo Salamanca x Fem!reader

Summery: Reader just wanted a fresh start, but when she starts working in a care home, it seemed that she bit off more than she could chew when she meets a member of her clients family.

Warnings: (this story has smut but not in part 1), slow burn, age gap, mentions of past domestic violence/toxic relationship, manipulation, intimidation, pet names (niña, niñita, princesita, Cariño, Ratoncito) Spanish (have a translator ready),Lalo kinda comes with his own warnings,

Notes: this is dedicated to my dear friend @mandowifey who was a massive part of the creation of this…couldn’t have done it without you🤍

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Even with a world on fire, we often dare to place our faith in the hands of someone who we hope we are not naive to trust. It is perplexing just what desire and blind devotion will drive a person to do. Even in our wildest dreams we cannot imagine what our actions will bring us, or who.

It is a daring game of chicken, so to speak. Seeing who will break first- you or life. Who will bend. Who will be kinder. Who will show love.

Love in and of itself is a treacherous thing. It’s beauty when it is alive and blazing, and the sorrow it brings when it whithers and putrefies.

And you knew it all.

All too well.

There was something comforting in standing under the baking sun of the southern state of New Mexico. With just a suitcase that held a toothbrush, bandages, $3026.50 and a change of clothes, you felt like a little waif from a book published centuries ago. Malnourished, exhausted, nerves shot half way to hell, and bruises still healing. You hoped there was a childish charm to how you looked, but you knew that hope was silly; you resembled more of a drug addict than a stubborn child that wouldn’t come home for supper.

“-miss?”

The first half of whatever had just been asked of you was lost on you; after you had nearly frozen to the spot after exiting the airport, numerous strangers had stopped to ask if you were alright. You forced your eyes to refocus, and found that you were being spoken to by an older woman who looked half irritated and half perturbed. Despondency had that effect on people.

“…I’m- I’m sorry…what?” You managed. Perhaps the Albuquerque sun had begun to bake your brain.

The woman sighed. She was decidedly more irritated. “Christ, I just asked if you were taking this cab!” She said, nodding to the yellow vehicle that was just several feet from you.

You stared at her, then offered her a small smile and shook your head. “It’s all yours.”

There was an uncomfortable lightness to your voice as you fought to stay connected to your body and not float away to Mars. Even you knew it. You didn’t sound like you. Hell you didn’t even look like you.

The woman said something about you taking long enough to answer something simple, but if you were honest you were proud of yourself for even being able to answer her. Just 10 hours ago you had been unable to even form a sentence as your body was plagued with panic; frantically packing what you needed in the span of 5 and a half minutes while your boyfriend - now ex- had been on the phone in the other room. You could still hear the sound of him yelling your name as you jumped in your car and peeled down the street before he could hurt you anymore.

Your heart still hurt from how hard it had been beating.

The taxi pulled away and you watched it go. A warm breeze slipped up your legs, and once it brushed your finger tips, you felt as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped from a hundred feet above you with you as it’s sole target.

Your eyes stung.

Your fists clenched.

But you had no more tears. Not for him anyway.

You might morn the death of who you used to be…the bright young girl who had a sparkle in her eyes and had yet to see the devil. Your heart broke when you thought of her.

But there was no blood…no body…nothing left to even hint that she was there to begin with. And there was nothing you could do about it.

•Three months later•

“Mrs. Creaner, I know the water tastes funny but I told you- you can’t keep asking your granddaughter to smuggle in alcohol now hand it over.”

“This is supposed to be a free country…” she grumbled as she rooted around over her thigh in her wheel chair, and produced the flask.

You suppressed a smirk at her antics, and held out your hand.

“Ma’am your granddaughter is 7 years old.” You sighed, handing her a styrofoam cup as she begrudgingly handed you the little metal flask.

“Smarter than a lot of you in here too.” She folded her arms and slumped in her wheelchair, “If you’re going to take that from me at least do your job and take me to bingo.”

You nodded and took the handles of the chair and began to push.

The job opening at Casa Tranquila had been a godsend to you all those months ago. Living out of a cheap motel was not ideal, and working in a comfortable retirement care facility on the outskirts of Albuquerque was just what your nerves needed. It certainly came with its difficulties, namely mediating your emotions and avoiding getting your ass pinched, but it paid your bills and gave you a great sense of purpose. In some way it made you feel as if you actually had a family that cared about whether you woke up in the morning.

It was no dream job, but it was what you needed. It kept you occupied and kept the heavy sense of loneliness at bay.

“- we do have to move you. Hector come on now, it’s just like everyday.” Came the voice of one of the senior nurses, Ellie.

You glanced over your shoulder and watched as she wheeled a very displeased elder man in the same direction as you were walking Mrs. Creaner. With careful steps so as to not trip, you turned and cast the man a greeting glance.

“Good afternoon Hector.” You said simply but cheerfully, then nodded to your co-worker in acknowledgement.

The man’s permenant frown twitched.

Hector Salamanca was a fairly new addition to the home, having been emitted just two months after you had started. And if you were honest, he was disliked; staff and patients found him difficult to deal with- which you found unfair. It wasn’t his fault that he could only communicate via the tapping of a single finger, blinking and limited facial expressions. It wasn’t as if he wasn’t coherent too, you knew very well that whoever Hector was before his stroke, he was still very much present behind those greying brown eyes. Certainly he was a grumpy old man, but if you had been in his position you were certain you wouldn’t exactly be a peach.

If anyone took a moment to watch most of the residences, they’d see just how alive most of them were despite their aging bodies; Hector was no different. He had fellow patients who he disliked; enjoyed knocking various objects over to make nurses have to bend over; he had his specific things he liked and didn’t like.

He was still every bit a red blooded man.

And while you weren’t one to play favourites, he was probably the closest thing to it.

You liked that he didn’t hide himself away. He was brash and blunt in his ways- non-verbal or not. Then there was a loneliness in his life that reflected your own; kindred spirits in a way. It pained you to see it at an old age like his. He had very few visitors, aside from when he had initially been dropped off by two men who must have been identical twins. You knew he couldn’t be all bad, and knew that a great deal of his anger must have come from his lack of contact to what family he had, and his inability to communicate. He was only human.

Just as you had expected, Hector made no move to acknowledge that he had heard your greeting. As per residence policy, each client was called by their first name, but since the first day you met that man, you had noted that he seemed more displeased by the informality. He looked furious when he had been wheeled around that first day and introduced as Hector; corners of his mouth pulled tight and down to his chin, eyes wild, nose twitching. Irate.

Your suspicions were only reinforced when you “accidentally” called him Señor Salamanca; he had actually looked you in the eye. A rare occurrence.

With that level of pride, you pondered that he must have been respected or feared before being placed under your care…or simply had a massive ego. And if he wasn’t around for that much longer and was barely existing, you saw little issue with making him feel like his old self by addressing him more formally.

Hector didn’t like a lot of people. Didn’t tolerate them. But he liked you.

Plus you gave him the best jello flavours.

Once the senior nurse placed him in the spot she deemed appropriate, you watched her walk away before dipping your head down to his level, like you always did.

“Buenos días, Sr. Salamanca.” You said, and smiled when you saw his head twitch ever so slightly in your direction. And that smile only grew when you saw him tap his finger. You hoped it was his way of returning the greeting, either that or he wanted to tell you to shove said greeting where the sun don’t shine.

You hoped he was saying hello. You hadn’t accomplished a great deal in your short life, and you liked to think that making the grouch at work a little happy could be added to your list.

Your days looked very much the same. A nightmare would wake you up at 5am almost every morning, as much as you hated to admit it. You hated how small you felt. Visions of being back with him, under his thumb and living to please him with no favour returned…no love to feel. His voice in your head…his manipulations. You often awoke with your stomach in knots.

You could never get back to sleep after.

By the time the alarm you set sounded at 6am, you would be ready to leave your small apartment. Then it was a half hour drive to work. At Casa Tranquila, you would check in, bring your assigned patients their morning medication and start their routine. The same faces came and went, it was almost a blur some days. But you loved the blur. You needed it. Your mind had only started to heal once your days became blurs that bled into each other, and you were uncertain of what might happen if you changed that.

You pulled your keys from the ignition, and took a long breath deep into your chest. You felt an ache in your chest with how full your lungs were, and only released when you began to feel lightheaded.

Another day.

Having finished with the lunch duties, you took a moment to stretch your back in the nurse’s station before squaring your shoulders like you were tougher than you were. You began your rounds, checking on each elder during visiting hours, and went to enter the main seating area when you stopped short of the simple room.

Your feet ceased to move.

Your eyes went wide.

For the first time since you had met Hector Salamanca, there was someone sitting with him that wasn’t paid to.

A man, to be specific.

He was knelt down in front of Hector with his back to you, and spoke with an almost child-like glee to him. A ringing formed in your ears, and it took you a long minute to finally realize the ringing was not just in your ears at all; the crisp sound of a service bell rang out in the room, and as you stared, you came to find that the sound was coming from…Hector.

Indeed there was a small bell catching the sunlight on the arm of his chair right where his mobile finger usually sat.

You felt happiness fill you as the initial shock subsided. It was a mutual loneliness that had made you take interest in Hector to begin with, and you foolishly hoped that perhaps someone would cure your solitude like this man cured his.

You were staring.

Evidently too long as well, as another harsh ring snapped you out of whatever trance you had been in. Now, however, you could see Hector’s harsh gaze on you- his mouth twitching as he rung the bell again. Clearly having Hector not fully pay attention to him made the man pause whatever he had been discussing. He murmured something to the elder man, and Hector rang his bell again.

You told yourself to just keep walking. But you couldn’t.

The man sat before your patient seemed to catch on, and followed his gaze, which lead to him turning his head, and finally seeing you.

It was his eyes that struck you first.

They glittered like warm honey.

The man looked between you and Hector and murmured something to him, which was met with the usual verbal silence, then he muttered something else and it resulted in a ring. You hoped to God that meant something positive because you had just noticed yet another man standing who you had never seen before standing just a few feet behind the crouched man. He looked very much like some kind of body guard, rather than a friend or family; your heartbeat picked up and you began to wonder just who Hector was. Certainly you had thought he must have been the head of a family and perhaps a business owner, but there was something so militant about the way this man standing there was guarding them.

It couldn’t have been longer than 7 seconds since you had become rooted to the spot, but it certainly felt worlds longer. Once you realized you had frozen, you blinked and forced a polite smile onto your face as you continued your path.

“Buenos días, Sr. Salamanca.” You said as casually as you could, hoping your nerves didn’t seep through. You hoped you would be able to make it past the men without incident, and you thought you had…but then another ring struck your nerves. There was a pause followed by murmuring, which you didn’t understand but went something along the lines of:

“¿Me estás diciendo que te las arreglaste para que esta linda niña cuidara al tío? Creo que pronto tendré que retirarme y unirme a vosotros, ¿sí?” then another few rings followed by a laugh.

His laugh- the man with the glittering eyes.

You had no idea what he had said, but something about the way he said it made a warmth creep up the back of your neck, and spread to your cheeks at the sound-

Snap

You stopped.

Snap

You turned far more jerkily than you wanted, and to your horror, the man crouching was now staring back at you intently with that smile still on his face, albeit more curt. He held his hand out and beckoned you over with two fingers. You swallowed, but fought to keep your face pleasant. Visitors didn’t usually interact with staff unless they needed something, or it was time for them to go…and you hoped this was one of the two.

You came to stand a few feet from the men, wanting to remain respectful, “Hola gentlemen, it’s nice to see Sr. Salamanca having some visitors.” The professional grin on your face didn’t reach your eyes. You were too nervous for that.

“My tio was just talking about you.” He told you brightly, “Says you’ve been looking after him, hm?” The kneeling man seemed to have no issue with dominating a conversation; you chanced a glance at the bald man standing, but he barely reacted. Goosebumps sprang up on your arms when you looked back at Hector’s nephew; unfamiliar with the direct attention.

“Well I…it’s what I’m here for, Señor.” You managed. There was something about this man that made it difficult to look away. The way his dark hair was combed neatly, and how the stripe of grey on the crown of his head swept into a curl that barely stayed back; how his brown eyes looked black in the shadows, and how the deep lines on his face made his expressions so defined; how his smile stretched so charmingly; how when he stared at you it was like only the two of you existed.

He scared you.

And he could tell.

He wagged his finger at you, “Ahh a humble girl, eh? If my tio likes you that’s good enough for me, niña…but you know- this is perfect!” He smiled even wider as he spoke almost animatedly, but you noted how the smile failed to reach his eyes now. “‘Cause now I’ll know just who to come to if my tio needs anything.” The man’s smile fell to rest as he blinked up at you, speaking so casually, yet you couldn’t help but note the menacing undertone of his words. Your brain was working overtime as you tried to piece things together; all you could come up with was that you didn’t want to upset anyone or say the wrong thing. You were certain these men were not your ordinary visitors, and you didn’t want to find out anything beyond that.

“Consider me accountable, Señor.” You heard yourself say.

A moment passed, and you so desperately wanted to break the stare he gave you, but then it as if nothing had happened when his stellar grin returned. He barked out a laugh at you.

“Esta niña, lo juro...” he said to the man standing, then turned back to you, “Eduardo Salamanca, but you can call me Lalo.” He beamed. His smile was infectious and you found the corners of your mouth tugging up a little, despite your nerves.

Like a wolf lulling a lamb into false security.

There was something expectant in his gaze as he told you his name, and you assumed it was him waiting to know yours. Tit for tat. The theatrical, charming nature of him coupled with whatever made his smile resemble a predator’s made your stomach flip. He was both sides of a coin simultaneously, and you struggled to process it.

“Y/n…y/n l/n.” You replied to him. Lalo repeated your name a few times, rolling it around in his mouth. Your eyes felt glazed over as you listened to him; like he was hypnotizing you. You hadn’t even noticed how you were wringing your hands, nor how you hadn’t torn your gaze from his.

Lalo patted his uncle’s arm after a moment, “You said no one’s visited my Tio?” His face turned inquisitive and concerned, though almost cartoonish. Like there was a joke you were missing.

You shook your head as you snapped back to your body. Somehow your anxiety was starting to fade, and you chalked it up to having a name to put to his face- it made him feel more human to you, “No. I- I almost started to wonder if- if he had family, Señor Lalo.”

He nodded, which caused the curl of grey in his hair to finally fall over his forehead. Your eyes instantly latched onto it.

He was handsome.

Then faster than lightning, Lalo turned and shot a look to the man standing, then nodded his head understandingly. Almost as if to check with the man to see if what you said was true.

“That will change…you know, you should see us Salamancas- we breed like rats.” He said proudly, and chuckled.

He had a nice voice. Rough and low with an easiness to it.

You felt your cheeks warm at his statement, then nodded and remembered to blink. “Well…I’m happy to hear that- that people will come t-to see him that is.” You murmured, stumbling to correct yourself.

You watched his smile pull into a boyish smirk and you looked down to wipe away a nonexistent fluff from your uniform.

“I promise, you’ll have to smoke me and Nacho outta here. I’m looking after the family business so you’ll see lots of us.” He laughed, and nodded to the man behind him.

You looked at the other man, and smiled a little as if to aknowledge his presence. The stare he gave back to you was…bordering on sympathetic. Not what you expected.

You suddenly felt as if you were bordering on something you shouldn’t, despite your softness for the elder Salamanca.

You decided to trust your intuition.

“Well…I don’t want to intrude on your visit anymore. I’ll leave you gentlemen to it…Sr.Salamanca’s nurse should be by to take him in a little while.” You gave both men a small smile and nodded to Hector, who frowned deeper at the mention of his caregiver.

Lalo seemed to notice the change, and his smile dropped a little in curiosity. You sighed, and came a little closer to Lalo so no one would hear, “Sr.Salamanca doesn’t like her…and between you and me I think he’ll be even more Uh…vocal about it with this beautiful bell.”

Lalo’s eyes went comically wide, but the smile tugging under his moustache betrayed him. He was ecstatic. “Really? Will that be an issue?”

You noticed he didn’t clarify if he was talking about the bell or the nurse.

His charisma began to draw you back in, and you shook your head, “There won’t be an issue.”

He nodded and clapped his thigh, “Excellent!”

His reaction seemed to put you at ease, not that it should have. This man was playful in a very odd way and you didn’t know if feeling comfortable around him was a good thing. But you weren’t sure how long you would keep up with his banter, so you excused yourself.

“Right, well…enjoy the rest of your visit.” You smiled slightly again at both men, and backed away before turning and walking quickly out of the foyer. Your hands were shaking- you weren’t used to such direct conversation- with a stranger at that.

You heard Lalo say say “Adios!” to you, and you cast a quick smile back, but you didn’t stop. Panic began to rise in you as you recalled the last time someone had shown you such an amount of charm…the bastard had eaten you up and you had had to crawl out of his stomach. And there you were: hiding.

As soon as you were down the hall and out of view, you gasped and braced against the wall; your heart was working over time.

“You alright sweetie?” One of the male nurses stopped next to as you as he passed. A nice older man named Jim.

You sucked in a breath and forced a smile, “Y-yeah, thank you…just one of those days.” You reassured him. The man pursed his mouth, but didn’t press anymore as he nodded sympathetically. It was was well known that you were a private person, and you appreciated when someone respected that.

As your chest slowly unclenched, you felt your head grow light. Your poor nerves were so shot that you truly were unsure as to whether that man was just charming and witty, or if he was just trying to get in your head. You couldn’t tell the difference between a genuine interaction and a narcissistic one anymore.

You rolled his name over in your head, and found that you enjoyed how it sounded.

Lalo…

You found yourself mentally throttling your brain over how it began to assume the worst. That you had chosen to lightly insert yourself into an old man’s life when you shouldn’t have; that you were being selfish. Stupid. Dependant. All of the above. You felt the weight of your guilt strain on your shoulders, and you let it.

You were being selfish and childish. You didn’t have a family, and you needed to stop pretending you did just because an old man didn’t hate you.

A little over a week passed since you met Hector’s eccentric nephew, and you had to admit that he had entered your mind a few times despite you actively not trying to think of that family. You felt a pang of hurt in your chest every time you did. You had no business envying them- it wasn’t your place.

That Wednesday was a very pleasant day; there was a light breeze that cooled the air and dried the sweat that gathered on your brow. You rounded the corner of the main living area that fed out into the patio, and as you stepped out, the fresh air made you inhale deeply. As you looked up and down the outside area, you felt yourself pause. He was back. You were met with the amusing sight of Lalo Salamanca retrieve a flask, pour out the jello vitamin mix that sat in front of Hector, and pour a hefty serving of liquor inside the cup. You almost laughed. These elderly people loved their alcohol.

For a couple seconds, you allowed yourself to take in Lalo’s appearance. You knew he was handsome since you first saw him, but you felt as if you could appreciate just how well he cared for himself now. A rich purple polo that pulled tight around his biceps…neat hair and moustache, a polished gold necklace just peaking out against his chest-

Stop it.

You shook yourself and forced your mind to push any thoughts of him out. Your trust in your ability to judge a character was under great scrutiny every since…since you got away.

This man was charming, and that was it.

It was company policy for no alcohol to be on the premises, but instead of making Hector’s day even more miserable, you let him have a few sips as you stayed just out of their view until Lalo hid the flask. Once you stepped out, you let your professional smile settle onto your tired face.

“Good afternoon Señor Salamanca, Señor Lalo.” You greeted them; your nerves were already starting to amp up in his proximity, but you managed to speak with a little less discomfort than last time.

As if to return the greeting, you heard Hector’s bell sound just as the younger of the two turned to you and smiled, “Ahh the humble señorita.” Lalo leaned an arm over the back of his chair- opening his stance. His voice was a pleasant rumble in the back of his throat. You noted that he appeared to be far more at ease this visit. First visits were often the hardest for family- seeing their loved ones in a nursing-home could be a difficult pill to swallow.

Lalo continued, “You got a pretty sweet deal here.” He look at around appraisingly as he took in the patio. Admittedly it was one of the more favoured sections of the home and recently renovated. But he was right, it wasn’t that bad of a facility.

“I can’t complain too much.” You agreed, and folded your hands in front of yourself as you stood between the men. Lalo’s personality was far louder than what you were used to, and the part of you that craved human connection urned to keep up with him; once upon a time you might have had the ability…but not anymore. You admired how quick and bright-burning he was- like a firecracker.

Lalo smiled. “Polite.”

Your brow furrowed, “Sorry?”

He shook his head- smile growing- and looked at Hector then back to you, “Hey there’s nothing wrong with it- you’re humble too…you some kinda saint? You gotta be to work in a place like this- I’d lose my mind.” He laughed and leaned more into his chair.

His statement made you pause for a moment. It wasn’t that far off from the truth- the need for patience that is.

“Taking care of someone can mean accepting them like a part of your family…there’s a real selflessness that you have to find in you, Señor Lalo. For myself it’s a bit easier than most…I-I don’t exactly have much of a family, so Hector fills a pretty big void at the moment.” You said simply. It was the honest truth. You shared your patient’s happy moments and their worst moments; they trusted you with their well-being, so it was only fair that you cared for them blindly- job or not.

It was no small admission- to say that you were isolated- but Lalo had a way about him that loosened your tongue.

He stared up at you for a moment, then huffed out a laugh, “Be careful with a Salamanca, we bite.” He pointed at you playfully, though you gathered that while he was indeed teasing, there was a more serious connotation to his words.

Lalo’s dark eyes glittered with mirth as he regarded you.

“Even you, Señor Lalo?” You tilted your head to the side slightly, and watched him shyly.

The older man’s smile formed into an amused smirk, “Klah- me? Never.” He scoffed, but his bright eyes betrayed him.

This man was trouble.

Your lips tugged upwards as you nodded to both men; his jest was not lost on you. It was as if he wished you would ask him how hard his bite was, but you knew that would likely be a poor choice on your part. “Prey can bite too, Señor,” you quipped.

Evidently your response surprised the man as his thick brows rose up. You felt regret pull at you for engaging in his game, but you didn’t want to immediately back down. Shock was a nice expression to see on a man so sure of himself. You nodded to both men, and took a step back, “Enjoy your visit, Señors.”

You continued your route, and made your way onto your next check-up; the feeling of eyes burning into the back of your skull followed you as you went, and a few eager dings from Hector’s bell rang in your ears.

When you finished with one of your oldest patients, Thomas Lee - who did not get along with Hector at all- you tentatively looked back at the far table; it was empty now. Even Hector was gone. You sighed and pursed your mouth, knowing you were playing with fire with this man. A part of you hoped that he would stop coming, or visit on your couple days off.

Stupid.

You were being stupid, and that was that.

The day ended like every single one before that. With you and your coworkers exhaused, hungry, covered in sticky grime, and back sore. You stood in front of your locker, taking a drink from your bottle when another attendant you knew walked to hers. Samantha…yes, her name was Samantha.

“Hey.” You greeted her, smiling sympathetically at eachother.

“Going home too?” She asked as he took her hair down from its curly bun.

You nodded and retrieved your bag, hoping you had something in your fridge to eat. “Sure am…”

She unlocked her locker and smiled a little, “Saw you talking to that visitor of Hector’s today…he’s not bad on the eyes hey?” She smiled.

You felt your cheeks flush, “Oh, yeah…hes nice.” You replied, not wanting to get into it…but then a thought crossed your mind. “Sam?” You asked her.

She turned to you and nodded. “Mhm?”

“Do…do you know anything about Hector? Ab-about his family?” You murmured, looking up at her.

Her brows hopped up and she shuffled a little closer to you, “Mr. Salamanca?” She confirmed.

You nodded after a moment, not fully certain you were ready, but your curiosity was too strong.

Sam looked around briefly, “Well…I mean you know we’re not supposed to really ask questions or anything…” she began, “…but…I’ve heard a few things.” Sam nodded her head and you noticed her playfulness lessened.

You turned to her fully now and gave her your full attention…she seemed to understand that you were curious. That, and she had been trying to talk to you properly for months and was likely over the moon that you weren’t being skittish.

“I- I’d like to know…” you said a little more gently than you usually did.

She sighed, and nodded. “Apparently…those guys that dropped Hector off were really strange…didn’t speak, and just gave Ronny- the reception guy, remember he quit last month? Yeah him, anyways…they gave him this folder with all of Hector’s information and there was no spot open for the old fart…but after a few phone calls, there was suddenly a spot open. It was so weird, but- I don’t know…” she stopped her speculation but you wanted to hear more.

“Please- it- it’s okay, this is between us.” You reassured her, and you meant it. You had expected her to just brush you off or say no, but now it was as if the name Salamanca was a curiosity to you all.

A beat passed before Sam finished with her locker and shut it. “It just…I don’t speak much Spanish but they always speak so secretively…just…I don’t know they might just be talking about family gossip but sometimes it’s fun to imagine they’re actually some…I don’t know a mafia or cartel family or something.”

As the words left her mouth, you felt the blood drain from your face. Everything that struck you as strange flashed before your eyes and it began to make sense-

“But honestly they’re probably just weird- you should see my folks, they’re nuts. I just like to make stories up for everyone to make the days go faster! See you tomorrow.” She smiled and walked past you, leaving you there with this new possibility weighing heavy on you.

Once you finally pulled yourself from the locker room, and waved a few dazed goodbyes to the staff you saw, you stepped outside and walked out to the parking lot. Your car keys caught on your nurse’s mask as you pulled them from your bag and you tsked them. You were preoccupied with the task as you made your way in the direction of where you parked, and once you freed them and looked up, you froze in the middle of the parking lot.

You knew that curl of grey anywhere. Lalo stood leaning against your car, with his hands in his pockets and a friendly smile on his face pointed at you. Since meeting him, You had yet to see him stand up, and now at his full height, his sturdy frame overpowered you even from a few meters away. He was tall and broad and confident, and you felt very small all of a sudden.

“So! Where are we going?” He said. His smile didn’t reach his eyes and he didn’t even try to hide it.

“Wha-?” You asked as you managed to go closer.

He rolled his eyes “C’mon- you hungry? I’m famished.” He stood away from the hood, and his tone was so persuasive you almost forgot about what Sam had said.

Almost.

You shook your head and tried to be as friendly as you could in an effort to hide how your hands shook, “Really it’s alright, I’m —“

His smile finally dropped. “Get in.”

His statement made you contemplate running. Getting back inside the retirement home and locking yourself in a closet, but you had a sneaking suspicion that it wouldn’t end well. Hell you doubted you’d even make it a few paces from him before his big hand grabbed your hair. So against your better judgement, you nodded and wordlessly handed him the keys.

“There she goes, Atta girl.” He smiled again, and accepted the keys joyfully; this time the creases around his eyes deepened. Lalo slid into the drivers side and started the car. As he went to back out, he cast a look around the inside, and seemed to note that you didn’t take the best care of the car.

“You need a tool box?” He asked.

You buckled yourself in and barely caught what he said as you mentally screamed at yourself for getting in the car. Were you really that stupid? “Wha- huh? Oh-“ you caught where he was looking and cursed yourself for being so sloppy.

You backseat housed several materials you carried with you in case you car broke down -which it had the tendency to do. A pair of wire cutters wrapped in duct tape and some pliers to match, a lug wrench, a jack and a pylon…not to mention a first aid kit and a blanket. “I’m…I uh…just haven’t had the time.” You murmured, “Sorta new here.”

The older man frowned exaggeratedly and rose his brows as if to say “Alright then.” And silently put the car in reverse. He backed out with one hand on the wheel and the other on the back of your seat, and you had no choice but to smell his scent…you didn’t know if it was cologne or something else but he smelled of smoke and whiskey…and something sweet like syrup. Like he had been sitting in front of a fire drinking after dessert.

“So! Why don’t you tell me about yourself.” Lalo navigated easily through the streets, and looked over at you like you were old friends.

You thought for a moment, having taken an interest in a hangnail on your thumb. “Not much to tell, Señor.” You said as you looked up. It wasn’t a lie. Your story was a sad one and not a terribly interesting one at that.

“Cmon.” He dragged the word out, “You said you count my Tio as family…any normal person wouldn’t say that in a million years.” The older man laughed and tilted his head to chase your gaze a little when you averted your eyes.

“Why do you say that?” You asked as you looked down again.

Lalo gave you a pointed look. “Smart girl like you can figure that out, niñita.”

You sighed. It wasn’t as if you could just walk away from the conversation…he had you. Regardless of his motivations, Lalo was undoubtedly protective of his uncle…and you had to respect that. You wished you knew what it was like to have someone so protective, but you could imagine it was liberating.

“You think I have some kind of alterier motive behind my kindness to your uncle.” You said simply, trusting your intuition.

Lalo looked out the window, and you wondered if he had even heard your answer.

“You hungry?” He asked, pointing to a burger joint as he already turned his indicator on to pull in.

The sudden change in topic made you blink, your brain lagging. “I-…sure. Don’t stop on my account though I have food at home.” You squeezed your hands out of anxiousness, but he was already going to the drive thru. You had completely forgotten about how hungry you were for the last hour when you saw him in the parking lot. Now seeing the menu, your stomach growled.

“Whatdya want?” He asked expectantly.

It felt so…domestic. You had gone from being certain you might end up being interrogated in a warehouse to him taking you for food in a matter of seconds. You felt your stomach tighten with unease at the memory of the last person who had taken you through a drive thru; that time however you had been disassociating so badly you didn’t even remember ordering nor eating. Ungrateful he had called you.

Snap snap

Your eyes refocused and saw a large hand in front of your face having just snapped a couple times to get your attention.

You swallowed and sighed to steady yourself.

“What’s good here?” You asked, turning to him.

One of his full brows was raised at your odd behaviour, but his face went back to his playful demeanour instantly. “Depends…but their number 2 and number 8 are good.”

You nodded thoughtfully, “What do you get?”

He held up two fingers, pulling the car up through the drive thru to the speaker, “I’m from the south though so I like to add extra spice. Burns your mouth right off but god it’s worth it, you know?” The lines around his mouth and eyes deepened when he smiled and spoke.

Your couldn’t help but return the smile a little at him. You gathered he could probably befriend anyone he set his sights on. A people person…regardless of how intimidating he was.

“I’ll get the same…but um, I think I’d like to keep my mouth.” You said the last part a little shyly, hoping he wouldn’t take offence.

Lalo laughed, “Too bad, I was looking forward to seeing how red your pretty face would get!”

You…were not expecting that. You didn’t have time to reply or ask him to repeat himself before he was leaning out the window and adding extra fries to your order.

“You ever been to Mexico?” Lalo asked as he started driving again up to the window.

You shook your head, “No…haven’t been to a lot of places.”

He gasped, “No! Really? Ahh man, you’d love it. Best food in the world.”

When the window came into view you instinctively reached for your purse when you saw Lalo already producing a $20, and re-pocketing a wad of cash. He tsked you when he noticed you.

The woman at the window handed him the two bags of food and drinks and he smiled charmingly. “Gracias!” Lalo beamed, depositing your order in your lap, then began his way through the city again.

“Plain number 2 for you and fun number 2 for papi, you like orange? I got you an orange soda, you’re gonna love it. Used to smuggle these bastards when I was a kid…my Tio beat the shit outta me for it.” He laughed as he handed you the drink; shaking his head as he steered the car one handed and rifled through his paper bag with the other.

You accepted the orange coloured soda, brows shooting up. He was…generous. The smell of the burger hit you, and you felt your mouth water. It had been ages since you had a proper meal, even if it was take-out. You tentatively took your food out, and took a bite. You swore stars erupted in front of your eyes as the taste filled your mouth; pleasure sensors in your brain lighting up.

The older man beside you watched you out of the corner of his eye as he ate and drove. A proficient multitasker. You were hungry. Seemingly non-threatening…skittish…but you weren’t off-putting. Tired. Definitely tired.

Lalo pulled off the main road and began the drive into the neighbourhoods; he continued to take the occasional bite of his food as he drove. You wondered how he could be so relaxed constantly. You wondered if he had a single tense bone in his body. He was always at ease…like he was always 10 steps ahead of everyone. He was handsome, and you wondered if he used that as a distraction for what lay underneath; perhaps he was a calculating, plotting and scheming man under all the smiles and goofy theatrics…

Your food was gone within 5 minutes.

When Lalo finally looked over at you, he barked out a pleased laugh when he saw the empty wrapper and your last few fries in your hand.

“Shit, I’d better be careful or you might eat me!” He joked, and took a sip of his soda.

You hadn’t realized it but your shoulders had dropped and your fists had unclenched. You were relaxed.

And the older man beside you knew it.

“Tell me…what do you know about us Salamancas.” He said as if he was commenting on the weather.

You knew the question was coming, how could he not ask?

You put your drink down, and thought carefully. “You’re all very…intense.” You replied.

Lalo laughed, “Good one. What else?”

This time you fiddled with a napkin still in your lap. You didn’t want him to think you actually knew anything, because you honestly didn’t. You used your brain and speculated and observed, but you didn’t know much at all. You knew Hector likes grape jello more than raspberry and that Lalo’s necklace was that of Saint Anne- the Mother of Santa Maria…but that was the extent of what you knew for certain.

“You run some kind of business…here in Albuquerque…and I…I think you’re not just some nobody with an uncle in a nursing home…” You murmured almost to yourself. You half hoped he would ask you to repeat yourself so you could come up with something else…but his ears were as sharp as a fox.

“Ahh see, clever girl. I thought so.” His smile slowly faded into a calm line. “Why do you care for my Tio? Don’t tell me he’s your type- you’ll break my heart.” Lalo’s cheeky grin came back.

The jest did lighten your anxiety a little, just as the food had, but you noted that he ignored the mention it the business. He was evasive. And he was charming while he did it.

You knew Lalo had his doubts about you…even if it was for the home itself and not just you, you were th# lucky bastard who he had chosen to interrogate. If you wanted him to understand exactly why it was that you were so at ease with caring for grumpy elderly people - specifically Hector- you needed him to see your perspective. If this was any other relative of a patient, you would have jumped out of the car or booked it before he could have even gotten you inside…but you had a nagging feeling that the only way this would end well was if you saw it through. No matter how painful it was.

“You didn’t see him for the last 2 months, Señor…” You said gently, “He’s…he’s been alone. Completely. No visitors, no friends amongst the other patients…he’s- well non-verbal patients have a difficult time as it is…but paralysed one’s have it even harder…and I- well…I don’t exactly have anyone…at all really. Don’t have contact with anyone so…I think there’s just a certain level of recognition between people who are alone. I’ve been looking after Hector for two months now…you don’t know how hard it is to see him sit alone during visiting hours- for any of my patients that have to do that for that matter. I wouldn’t wish loneliness on my worst enemy, Señor. He didn’t have anyone and if he died tomorrow I wouldn’t sleep knowing he didn’t at least think someone cared enough to look after him, blood related or not.”

You meant it. You knew your fate was likely destined to be a lonely one, but if you could change that for someone else, then you were going to do your damned best…of course you had to chose a more complicated person but it wasn’t as if you were a terribly lucky person.

Lalo didn’t take his eyes off the road, and it wasn’t until the car stopped that you realized you were outside your little apartment building. Lalo tapped on the steering wheel for a moment, then he turned in his seat to face you.

“You mean that?” He asked, turning his gaze to you.

You went to open your mouth but he gave you a look that pinned you to the spot. He didn’t need to say anything for him to convey “don’t fuck around with me.”.

“You seem to be a busy man, Señor…maybe a wife or even a family,” You mused aloud while you ripped a piece of napkin. Your distracted gaze meant you missed how Lalo’s nostrils flared when you mentioned him having a family, “You must have a comfortable life…one way or another. But not everyone has that. A lot of people don’t. I…I don’t have much…my work is my life right now. Sure they’re not the most lively people to engage with but my patients mean a lot to me…because they take up a lot of my life…and after- well…right now I don’t mind it.” You said with conviction, then sighed, “Sounds sad now that I say it aloud…but don’t doubt me.” You turned to look at Lalo in those dark eyes of his, “Don’t you dare doubt me.”

As you spoke, Lalo’s mouth faded into a firm line under his moustache. But even then, his eyes glittered. He was quiet for a few moments, then he hummed.

“You got a mouth on you, kid.” He rumbled.

You held his stare for a moment. You were certain you had crossed a line with telling him off.

Then, just when you were certain he might jump on you or worse, he broke out in a laugh and smile, smacking the wheel in amusement, “I see why Hector likes you. You got a bite for being a ratoncito…I’d hate to see someone knock your teeth out.” He dropped your keys in your hand and in one fluid motion opened his door and stepped out.

His sense of humour was borderline morbid, but seeing him smile while saying it more reassuring than him not.

You followed suit, and stepped out of the car; Lalo joined you on the sidewalk as he seemed to inspect the neighbourhood. Then as he stood there with his hands at his sides, you remembered that he had no way of getting back to his own car at the nursing home.

“I- Thank you for driving me home, Señor…can I- can I call you a cab?” You didn’t know what else to say. This man had practically interrogated you, bought you dinner, and drove you home. You didn’t know what to do with an interaction like that; we’re you supposed to run and hide or thank him?…or both? You didn’t know why, but regardless of his intentions, you couldn’t quite bring yourself to be scared of him…not really. He was intimidating and imposing, certainly, but it wasn’t as if he was threatening you.

You hated that you couldn’t come to a concise evaluation of the man.

Lalo shrugged and looked down at you. “Nah.” He said playfully.

Your brows scrunched up in confusion and you were about to protest, but then a red car pulled up almost directly behind him with the same man who had been standing with him that first day. Nacho? Nacho.

“Señor Lalo?” You called as he opened the door. The older man turned to you and looked at you expectantly.

“What, still hungry?” He replied.

You forced yourself to look him in the eye.

“If you insist upon giving Hector alcohol…I suggest the second to last table on the patio towards the west. Much fewer eyes.” You said simply.

Lalo smiled widely and pointed his index finger at you. He did that often, you noticed. “I’ll pour you one next time, eh?” He laughed.

You smiled a little. “I don’t think that would end well.”

“I look forward to it!” He smiled even wider and you pursed your lips to keep from returning it. You didn’t want him to know that he was wrapping you around his finger whether you liked it or not.

Lalo sat in the the car, and he waved briefly before they pulled away and left you there with your head still reeling. You didn’t even remember walking up to your apartment or undressing or getting into the shower…but there you were under the warm stream of water trying to understand and rationalise what had just transpired. You were frightened, then at ease, then thankful, then suspicious, then open, then…you head spun. You had become to accustomed to your little quiet bubble with minimal interactions outside of it…and this man had forced his way through it like a freight train.

And what frighted you the most was that you didn’t want him not to.

Your hands shook as you remembered the last time someone had seemed so charming and sweet. You rolled your eyes.

Arms length. You would keep this man at arms length- just like you did with almost everyone else.

Three weeks passed before you saw Lalo Salamanca again.

It wasn’t as if you expected to see him often, or even at all…but the man had a certain way about him that made you miss his presence. He was so all-consuming and confident that it was noticeable when he wasn’t there. You also noticed how Hector’s mood began to drop again. You didn’t blame him.

In an attempt to make the man a little easier to handle, you started teaching yourself some simple Spanish when you had the time. It helped greatly that several clients and staff members spoke it well, and they humoured you in teaching you a few things each day. You supposed they were mostly taking pity on you, but you didn’t mind too much.

You started to feel a little more normal since coming to the scorching city…like you were starting to grow away from where you had run from. You even made a joke that made Jim laugh.

In the back of your mind, you did feel something odd though. Like there was something in your peripheral that you just couldn’t catch. You had sworn that you’d seen the same car on your route for a few days…but you also knew that your paranoia was still very present.

By the second week, you begun to notice how much the language helped around the home. Staff taught you basic things that you said day to day, and your patients helped with more conversational language…your empty head was thankful for the distraction and soaked it up like a sponge. You were tired of the nervous and stressful thoughts that usually occupied the space.

It was early on a Friday when you heard the unmistakable sound of Hector’s bell ringing. You hoped it was that he had gotten his favourite breakfast and not that he had been seated beside someone he didn’t like- you gadnt had enough coffee yet to deal with angry seniors.

There was very little to do following breakfast as the clients enjoyed some free time before activities started; you indulged your curiosity and followed the ringing sound. You sought it out until you came to the patio, and you felt a tiny smile on your lips when you looked past the array of wheelchairs and nurses; there at the second to last table sat two very engaged Salamancas facing away from the entrance you came from.

You saw Lalo give his uncle the occasional sip from the styrofoam cup on the table, and you already knew that was no vitamin mix in there. As you inconspicuously made your way over, checking on a few clients as you went, you began to notice just how tense Lalo seemed from behind. You didn’t want to think that you knew he body language perfectly, but for someone who was usually aloof in his mannerisms, having tight shoulders was far more noticeable.

You slowed your steps once you got closer; they were in conversation. A one sided one but you knew they communicated regardless of Hector’s muteness.

Then you made the poor decision to listen. Your Spanish was very juvenile, but you had come to pick up on a lot - especially phrases and words that were similar to English. Which was why you started to realise that what you were listening to Lalo say was not meant to be heard by anyone but his Tio.

With what you knew and could piece together, you heard a few words that sounded familiar enough; secreto, hombre pollo, establecimiento, restaurante, and quemar. The last one you knew very well thanks to an elderly woman named Pricilla pouring hot tea into the lap of an elderly man named Jerry -evidently his admission of love to her was false and she found out- and his cries of “Quemar!” still rang in your ears. Your mind worked to add everything together and from what you could gather was that there was a restaurant of some kind that could very well end up burned to the ground…and you were fairly certain that Lalo disliked the owner or manager.

Hector’s dinging continued, and you could almost taste the tension growing.

You were about to take the last few strides right up to them, but one word stopped you.

…Cártel.

Every muscle in your body froze simultaneously.

It was no confirmation, but it might as well have been.

It fit.

The respect Hector seemed used to, the rumours, Nacho standing like a guard dog, the lack of visitors, the sudden admission of Hector into the home, the low conversations…you thought back to when he had driven you home and added intimidation tactics to the list. The wad of cash in Lalo’s pocket too.

Then, you felt yourself unclench and a morbid sense of peace washed over you. It wasn’t as if you were reassured; it was that you were still alive. It didn’t mean a lot, but it meant that they either liked you, or had a better use for you…and by god you hoped that use was simply to look after Hector and not to swallow baggies of drugs to smuggle across the border.

And of all people, you had chosen them to befriend.

“There she is!”

You refocused your eyes and as your gaze landed on the man with the skunk stripe on his temple, you let a polite grin grace your features. He was half turned in his chair to greet you- that smile already pulling under his groomed moustache.

“Señor Salamanca, I see you’re enjoying your special juice.” You gave both men a knowing look, then turned back to Lalo, “Señor Lalo, it’s been a little while since I saw you last. I hope you’ve been alright.” You heard yourself say.

You supposed there was no point in trying to run. They had you, and you had let them reel you in; there was no reason to be cold to them. It wasn’t as if you were a cookie cutter Mary-sue yourself.

“Ahh you know how it is…la vida es una locura.” He waved his hand aloofly, resting his arm over the back of his chair. You noticed that he did not elaborate nor answer your query.

“I think I have an idea.” You confirmed both his English and his Spanish.

The easy smile on Lalo’s face seemed to go still. It no longer reached his eyes, and you took a little reckless satisfaction in that.

“Really?” He asked with a prodding tone. You had a feeling he was quick to catch your double meaning.

You smiled tightly, adjusting Hector’s chair since his nurse hadn’t. “Truly.” You replied. “You must be busy…Business doesn’t run itself, I’m sure.” You were walking on ice, and you knew it…but you enjoyed poking at the beast a little.

Lalo’s lips parted at your quip, then he barked out a laugh and pointed at you, “You got some eyes on you.”

You couldn’t remember the full story of Icarus, but you knew he died because he flew too close to the sun regardless of his fathers warnings…and you felt very much like that foolish Greek man. Lalo was a scorching flame and you were standing far too close.

“Always good to see you, Señor Lalo…enjoy your visit.” You nodded to Hector who had been watching the exchange between the two of you, and he dinged his bell at you once.

“Adios.” Lalo gave you a two fingered wave, and you excused yourself.

As soon as your back turned from them, your hands began to shake; adrenaline moved through your blood like a poison or antidote. You didn’t know which.

Jim passed by you with a greeting smile and nod, and you schooled your face quickly. “Could you take Thomas into the bingo room? It’s 2:30.” He said to you, and you welcomed the task to ground you.

“Sure thing.” You murmured.

You didn’t fully remember the rest of the day- you were too busy trying to remember everything you had heard Lalo say to his Tio…jotting things down on sticky notes with poor spelling and guessed words. You almost felt…responsible for what you heard. You knew you were in deep, and you knew that by being curious you were digging yourself even deeper, but somehow you couldn’t stop. It was a sick need to know exactly what you were dealing with.

The day ended like every single one before it; you were exhaused and aching and only had a few thoughts in your head and most of them were of how comfortable your bed would be once you got home. The only difference that day was your anxiety over the notes you had made that day- hoping you didn’t forget any.

You swore under your breath when your keys once again were caught on something in your bag-

“Fancy seeing you here, niña.”

Your head snapped up despite you trying to keep yourself as calm as possible. You swore the older man just liked making you jump.

“Do you practice those lines in the mirror Señor Lalo?” You asked softly, tilting your head up to look at him; Lalo was leaned against your car just as he had taken to doing now.

“You wound me!” He gasped, placing his hand on his chest.

“How long have you been out here?” You asked, standing almost toe to toe to him as he refused to move from his place.

You knew he likely wanted something, and he was using his perfected charm and relentlessness to get it. You internally braced yourself for him to tell you to get in the car again…that he knew you knew more than you let on…and that you should make peace with whatever god you had before putting an extra hole in your head. You didn’t want to think the worst of him and his family, but if that did indeed happen, you wouldn’t be shocked.

But Lalo didn’t move, and he didn’t say anything at first. His smile didn’t falter, though it did lower a little to sit comfortably under his moustache. You watched as he unfolded one of his arms from across his chest and extend his hand to you- what was in it more specifically. There was a little yellow piece of paper folded between his forefinger and middle finger.

“No bedtime stories alright?” He pointed at you with a teasing and cheeky grin on his mouth as he winked down at you.

You took the paper, and felt his skin brush yours for half a second- he was warm. You chose to ignore that, and you focused on unfolding it. It was just a number. His. He had given you his phone number. A cartel phone number. Your brain started reeling again. Then, as you looked at it, you make a mental note that the writing was slanted the opposite way than you usually saw, then you thought for a moment.

He was left handed.

You grinned to yourself at the realisation. You didn’t know why you saved that information, but it made the enigmatic man in front of you seem more human- like knowing he had a belly button or that he had baby teeth that fell out at one time. It was perhaps childish but you liked knowing more about him.

“I-…Thank you.” You said as you placed it neatly into your purse. Once upon a time you would have refused the number and told him it was alright- that you didn’t need it, that if he wanted to get in touch with Hector he could go through the home….but you supposed you knew better now. You knew he didn’t take no for an answer, and you supposed you should show some respect to him for giving you something so personal.

“Atta girl. Don’t work too hard, eh?” He finally moved out of your way and began back to his own -much nicer- car.

“Likewise!” You called to him and he seemed pleased with your answer as he smiled.

You watched the older man get inside his Monte Carlo, and you mirrored him. Your car was hot and the seat radiated unwanted warmth into your back, but you could barely focus on that. You pulled out, and passed his as you went to the exit. Lalo watched you go, and while you waved, he returned it with two fingers extended up from the wheel.

You knew you had errands to run, but you simply couldn’t bring yourself to. The notes you had made yourself were burning holes in your pockets, and your want to know what they meant was outweighing your need for groceries and laundry detergent.

In fact, you were so preoccupied with getting home that you didn’t even notice the car that was following you; just as it had been for weeks.

The sticky notes sat arranged neatly on your floor, and your computer stared back at you as you considered your options.

Option 1: try to find proper translations of what was said and risk knowing too much and possible death.

Option 2: tear the papers up and pretend you heard nothing and act like the Salamancas are just an honest business owning family…and possible death because you were naive and didn’t know what you were getting into.

You felt your eye twitch.

Both such tempting options.

But the more you thought, the louder that one word became.

Cartel.

You really know how to pick ‘em y/n…

You sighed and rolled your shoulders as you began typing. You knew that whatever translator you could find wouldn’t be perfect, but you just needed enough to understand. The English to Spanish dictionary you had bought two weeks ago sat open beside you are you poured over the notes you had made. The more you typed and searched and double check, the more your mind began to race- evidently there was indeed more to that family than you had anticipated when you initially befriended their patriarch.

You stared at the translated sentences now, and heaved a sigh.

“We need to burn that restaurant to the ground. I’ll burn it like last time, uncle.”

“I’ll take care of it.”

“The chicken man’s establishments are blinding him, can’t see past his greed.”

“He thinks his secret is so fantastic.”

You knew they weren’t perfect translations, but you got the message. There was unrest, and Lalo was sent to deal with it. Whoever this “chicken man” was, he was causing problems.

You let your eyes glaze over as you started to think.

A restaurant.

You checked your notes.

“Restaurants.” Plural.

So a chain of restaurants.

With chicken?

Chicken was a code name? No…Lalo wouldn’t do code names…he mocks people and pokes at their weaknesses, but he’s not the CIA or FBI. He was being literal when he called him the “Chicken man.”

Did he smuggle drugs in chickens? Use it as a cover?

Chicken is their speciality?

You stared at your original note with Spanish.

“Los pollos” …you had seen that somewhere before. You felt your brain stretch as you tried to recall. A restaurant…Los pollos…you started to run the two ideas around in your mind.

Restaurant…Los pollos…restaurant…Los pollos-

Your head snapped up and you frantically scrambled over to your pile of spam mail that you had been ignoring. You knew that name. You did.

You grabbed a chunk of the mail and started sifting through it carefully, scanning every new cellphone, ever greasy pizza place, every-

Your hand gripped blue and yellow ad a little tighter.

The two chicken logo stared back at you.

Los Pollos Hermanos.

No. There was no way.

You couldn’t help the little laugh that came from your chest- either from stress or shock, you weren’t sure. Perhaps a mix of both.

You had driven past it a few times. It was always so clean looking, and you remembered the nice smell you always caught through your window when you passed by it.

You were about to tell yourself that you were being delusional, and that you were too invested in this…but then you supposed the saying of “it’s always the quiet ones” could apply to more than just people. Nice, cookie-cutter restaurants could perhaps be fronts for a drug dealing cartel.

The initial shock began to wear off, and you slowly started to look over what else you had translated.

“I’ll take care of it.” Lalo had said.

Burn the restaurant down, more like…

You wondered what he was capable of. Had he killed people? How many?

Your thoughts strayed to the man himself.

Trouble. That was what you first thought of him.

You thought about his charm and charisma…how he carried himself. He was a confident man in every sense. He adapted his tactics to fit the people he wanted something from…you knew he used it on you too. He was kind and a little pushy but not enough to scare you. He bought you food and drove you home with no immediate expectation…he made you smile and welcomed you. He made you feel seen. Criminal or not…he saw you.

A stupid idea crossed your mind. You knew you were in deep already, and with each passing day it was as if you took a shovel and continued to dig deeper. The thought you had was fuelled purely by your own involvement with the Salamancas and juvenile selfishness.

A stupid impulse to help the two people who made you feel like a human.

Without another thought, you grabbed your bag, checked the stove clock, and were in your car within 5 minutes. You didn’t even bother the change. The route that took you by Los Apollo’s was almost muscle memory, and you were able to let your mind wander as you went. Anything to keep you distracted from what you were doing.

It was closing time once you reached the restaurant. Lights were being shut off, and you could see several workers leaving, and a few more mopping the floors. As you pulled into a parking spot across the street to watch, you noted that there was a level of order to the way duties were carried out. It was methodical and you wondered what kind of training these kids went through…

Every so often, you would see an older man come out to the front and inspect something. His back was straight was he moved just as carefully as the staff cleaned; he was in a yellow dress shirt and tie- nothing significant. The manager or owner you assumed. Your interest was peaked.

You sat there for two hours until almost every single person left. Almost. You waited an extra 20 minutes before leaving, and you were glad you did. If you had left after that those two hours, you wouldn’t have seen that same older man you have observed off and on for 120 minutes exit the building, only now he resembled almost an entirely different person. He was in a sharp black suit, and the change had you so distracted that you didn’t even catch the bulky, black SUV pull in around where the man stood off to the side of the building. Of course, it could have just been nothing- it wasn’t up to you to judge what someone looked like or did after work…but things were clicking together far too easily for you to just gaslight yourself into thinking everyone was Mr.Rogers.

After what you heard Lalo say, you felt your gut sink as you decided that you were indeed not looking at an average business owner. Your I tuition had let you down before, but something about the heat of Albuquerque had you seeing people much more clearly…and if Lalo wanted this man gone, then you had a sneaking suspicion that was a big deal.

The black SUV drove away with the man in it, and you decided that was enough for one night. All at once, your suspicions and thoughts and curiosities were all but confirmed; all you needed was a sign on that man’s back that said “You were right”. You drove home, and welcomed the sight of your small apartment. A morbid part of you half expected someone to be waiting for you when you got back…someone who saw you watching…or perhaps even Lalo himself- perhaps you had become a loose end? But there was nothing. No one waiting for you…just your quiet 400 square feet. Your thoughts were whirling, and sleep seemed like a far away fantasy as you sat on your couch and stared at a crack in the paint.

You had indeed gotten mixed into something far bigger than you- there was no denying that anymore. However, now that you had very nearly completely solidified everything you had wondered, you knew there was no chance in backing out now. You could certainly play dumb for a while…but Lalo was so smart it scared you, and he would figure it out sooner or later.

So you kept digging.

Against your better judgement, you repeated your stakeout the following night. You sat there with a container of takeout, and watched closely. Just like the night before, the business ran, closed, was cleaned and shut up like clockwork.

Methodical.

Careful.

It was fascinating.

This time, however, that older man you had watched last time left in a car already parked there, and it looked far more civilian. You supposed it would draw suspicion if he constantly left work in a black suv. You almost laughed. It was all so ludicrous.

You felt like you were having a strange dream instead of your more constant nightmares. It was far more enjoyable but no less concerning. Where you usually woke up with a tight chest and heart beat so fast it hurt; sweat on your skin and hair sticky, you hope that perhaps if this was a dream that you might wake up and laugh at the idiocy of it all. How silly you were in it. But the more you sat there in your car, and as you drove home, and showered and ate and stared out your window…you started to realise that you were in no dream.

You really were being an idiot. A stupid, impulsive traumatised idiot.

Two days went by after your last visit to the restaurant. Two days of contemplation.

You knew why you were doing those things. You did. But you still found yourself asking yourself why. It was like you craved the anxiety or the adrenaline that came with doing something you know could end badly. What did that say about your mental state?

The file in your hand sat open as you stood behind the reception desk. You had been trying to focus on reading it for two minutes but your eyes repeatedly unfocused as your mind strayed. You just needed to check one of the client’s family member’s number, but you couldn’t seem to even pull yourself together enough for that. You blew the strand of hair that had come free and hung in front of your eyes for the fifth time; you had given up trying to move it.

You heard the main door open and you briefly looked up out of habit, but you took a second glance when you saw that familiar face walk through.

“Good morning Señor.” You said, brows raised in surprise as something stirred in your chest at the sight of his confident strides. This was the first time you had actually seen him enter- most of the time it was like he just materialised out of nowhere.

Lalo rounded the desk to where you were coming out and leaned against it. “Do you know that they’re charging 25¢ more for parking here? It’s criminal, man.” He shook his head.

His statement made a little smile escape you but you schooled it fast.

“I apologise, would you like a word with the owner?” You asked with a little sarcasm, “I’m sure you could talk some sense into him.”

He nodded as if weighing the option, then waved it off and looked around the foyer. “How’s my tio?” He asked calmly, “The old dog up yet?” Lalo looked back at you and flicked his gaze between your eyes. You couldn’t look away. Caught.

You finally tried to tuck the stay hair away again to no avail, and swallowed, “He’s in the activities room. He tipped two full cups of juice over this morning already to look at nurse’s asses when they bent over.” You said as straight faced as you could, though the image had made you giggle to yourself earlier.

Lalo chuckled, “Ese perro viejo no cambia...no harm done, eh?” He reached out and tucked the piece of your hair back behind your ear, then casually started to walk in the direction of the activity room and you took that at your cue to follow him. You had gone still when he had touched you, and you did your best to not let on how shocked you were by the gesture.

Lalo was speaking about something, but while you wanted to listen, you couldn’t quiet find it in you to pay attention. It wasn’t that he wasn’t interesting, or that you didn’t care…it was that you had a startling realisation. You had missed him. That was what you had felt when you saw him…it was happiness. The pleasure of seeing him again. Then when he had moved you hair, you realised how badly you had wanted to lean into his palm.

It startled you.

You scolded yourself. It was a a fantasy. That was it. You were just latching onto him because he spoke to you…hell you might have done the same to the greeter at a supermarket if he was nice enough. It was silly. Just like you.

You walked quietly until you came close to the door, then you stopped and let him go ahead. “Disfrute de su visita, señor.” You said, and the older man paused. Lalo turned to you, but you were already starting to walk past him.

“Gracias, Niña.” He called and you turned and nodded.

You didn’t turn around again, but Lalo watched you walk away for a moment. You didn’t need to see him to know it- his gaze burned. The older man stood there for a moment longer and flexed his hand. You were trouble.

That night, you sat in your car, parked on the street just out of the ring of the fluorescent street lamp light; eyes unfocused, medical mask in hand. It was 3am, and you hadn’t slept a wink. All you could think of was what you were very ready to do.

Another ten minutes went by before you refocused your vision and blinked. You looked across the street, and stared at the empty restaurant. It had been vacant for hours- the only movement you saw were the odd couple pulling into the parking lot for a quick drunken blowjob. Besides that, it was just you and the task you had given yourself.

Breaking and entering wasn’t a skill you appreciated having…but thanks to your ex, you did. He had taken to harvesting copper wires when money got tight…and he had always coerced you into coming with him despite your discomfort and anxiety. “You n me, baby, c’mon.” He would say as he dragged you out of the car. But you always had the sense that it was only you and him until you got caught. Asshole.

You sighed and threw your door open. You might now have known a lot, but you knew how to open a lock and mess with wiring without getting yourself fried in the process. That was enough.

With those old wire-cutters of yours in hand and mask on, you threw up your hood, and moved with the shadows. You rounded the restaurant, and snuck to the back where the staff entrance was locked up well. You half wished that the lock would have been enough to deter you…that you didn’t know how to pick a lock at all. But it didn’t, and you did.

You reached into your pocket, and took a couple small gadgets that you still had from the asshat, and began fiddling with the thick padlock. Your heart was thudding in your ears while you worked away.

What are you doing?

You screamed at yourself mentally, wishing you had an answer to your internal question but you came up with nothing. Only that you needed to do something.

Click

A sigh of relief huffed from your mouth when the lock popped open. Your shaking hands quickly slid it out of place, and you were about to push on the door when you wondered if they had a security alarm set in place. It was entirely possible. But you knew you had your hands covered in gloves and your car not too far if the cops were alerted.

You decided that even if there was an alarm you had enough time to run. With another deep breath, you tugged on the handle of the door, and pulled. To your good fortune, there was indeed no additional alarm.

Once the relief faded, and your focus returned, you made quick work of finding the electrical box. It was on the wall just down from the back door. You thanks god that it was small. You carefully opened it, and stared at the web of wires and switches that greeted you. You groaned a little, and looked at the pliers in your hand, then back at the wires. Your hands trembled more now than you recalled they used to. You supposed your body was forced not to show weakness in front of him…

You shook your head. “Focus.”

Just to be safe, you flicked off a few of the switches that looked to be connected to the wire sets you were eyeing as your target. The last thing you wanted was to get zapped and pass out. It wasn’t as if you were going to clip any…you didn’t want things to completely stop working. Just a few mistakes that would cause a big enough issue for the restaurant.

A half hour passed before you were finally content with the work your had done. Indeed, the web of wires before you now had exactly three faults that would slowly weaken and cause issues throughout the restaurant. Machines not working, and if left long enough they would likely cause a fire. It would mean a plethora of further issues too if an anonymous tip was called in regarding a poor and unsafe work environment.

With a deep breath and a few prayers, you flipped the power back on. The emergency light turned on and the box in front of you fizzed for a moment with the newly damaged wiring, but to your relief nothing exploded.

Your nerves started to come back now that you were finished. You flicked your eyes around and patted yourself down to ensure you left nothing behind, but just as you were doing so, you heard voices. A shot of fear surged through you, and your fight or flight kicked in. The latter won. You were out the back door within seconds and snapping the lock back into place as your mind went into hyperdrive. Your blood ran cold as you heard footsteps rounding the building; you breath felt too warm against your mask and your fingers barely managed to get the lock in place before you had to bolt. You hid in the shadows and crept along the side of the building until you could see your car and you ran. Your heart beat as fast at your legs were moving, and you didn’t stop until you were behind the wheel, and driving away. You felt like you were missing something, but you couldn’t stop to check even if you wanted to.

The sun had risen long ago, and you half wished you had to get ready for work…anything to get yourself busy and distracted from what you had done that night. It was a warm afternoon, and your hands were clammy as you sat on your couch with your phone sitting in front of you and the thick Albuquerque phonebook beside your thigh.

Just pick it up. Pick. It. Up.

Pick it up.

Pick-

You sighed and scratched your head before snatching the receiver up dialling the number you had your finger on in the phonebook.The ringing set your nerves alight as you waited. The monotonous tone lulled your for a moment, so when someone picked up, you almost jumped out of your skin. The person greeted you and introduced themselves with a name you didn’t hear. “How can I help you?” They asked.

You swallowed, but you had to do this unless you wanted the problem you had created to get even worse. “Hello, I-I’d like to make a complaint regarding unsafe working conditions? No, I’d like to remain anonymous please…Yes…yes that’s right. Huh? Oh, at Los Pollos Hermanos.”

“BELOVED LOS POLLOS HERMANOS UNCOVERED”

It was on the front page two days later. Evidentially a tip had been called in that there was severe malpractice in the restaurant, and after a health inspector had been sent…they had found exactly that. Issues with basic wiring- a truly unsafe working environment. Due to something so simple being so wrong, every other aspect of Los Pollos was thus being investigated, and the business had been shut down until further notice.

It was the talk of the nursing home when you came to work, and you forced a look of surprise as people groaned about it. However, while you did feel a small sense of guilt…you couldn’t hide the creeping satisfaction that began to settle in you. It had worked.

There was the tiniest secret smile on your face that got you a few strange looks, but you brushed it off with a “I just slept well.” A part of you was mortified that you had done such a thing…worrying that somehow they knew it was you and that police officers would pull up at any moment to arrest you…but it never happened.

You carried on your day like any other, and you began to seek out Hector in hopes that he had somehow heard what had happened…or perhaps that you could tell him yourself. Then as you walked, you began to feel worry creep into your thoughts.

What if I crossed a line?

What if I ruined one of their plans?

What if Lalo had wanted to be the one to take care of the restaurant?

You started to wring your hands as you walked out to the patio, but your head snapped to a table where you heard a laugh you knew very well. There was no coincidence that Lalo was sat there with his uncle that day- you knew that. And judging by the ringing of Hector’s bell, he was in a good mood.

You weren’t sure that you were ready to speak to him after what you had done…you were filled with so much uncertainty. If he didn’t like what had happened then he would likely track down who had done it and when he found you…that would be it.

You took a deep breath and went to walk back inside, but you were stopped short when a whistle caught your attention. You hated how fast you stopped and turned to it.

Sure enough, that man with the devious smile was staring at you openly with a friendly wave. You hoped to god that he was genuinely happy and not just luring you in. With one last internal whimper, you began across the patio and came to the two men.

“Buenas tardes Sr. Salamanca…Señor Lalo.” You nodded to them both, but you noticed that Lalo simply refused to take his glittering eyes off you- mirth swimming in them.

“Beautiful day, no?” He beamed mischievously, gesturing to the cloudless blue sky.

His charm was still very much in place, and you counted that as a good start, but you knew his mood could change on a dime.

You looked out at the saturated sky, “It is. You seem to be in an extra good mood today, Señor.” You said, then bent down to Hector to gently ask him if he was comfortable or needed water. He didn’t ding he bell, so you assumed Lalo had already done those.

“You ever see what a mouse can do in a house, niñita?” Her asked, still smiling.

You thought for a moment, “Y-yeah I have.” You said, recalling when mice got into the basement of your childhood home and ate through the Christmas decorations.

“They scurry around and get into everything but you never fucking see them. Fast, y’know? Chew through everything…pequeños bastardos destructivos…” he chuckled and shook his head, “I have a…very strong sense that there is a little mouse…right here in this city.” Lalo leaned forward on the table- his forearms flexing. “Causing some serious damage too.” His gaze was heavy and intense. You found yourself starting to feel afraid, but you did your best to keep it at bay.

“A- a mouse, señor?” You asked.

He hummed, “You know what the thing about mice is though, niñita?”

You tentatively shook your head.

“They make tremendous pets.” He grinned.

“I-I suppose you’re right.” You hoped your skin blanching wasn’t as visible as it felt.

Lalo chuckled and leaned back again, and you released a breath. “Someone made a fool out of some competition of ours…their tactics reminded me of a pequeño ratón, you know?”

“Oh?” You asked as casually as you could.

“Yep.” He popped the “p”, “There’s this restaurant which, admittedly is pretty good,” he began joyfully, “And you’ll never guess what happened to it.”

You shook your head and shifted a little.

“Tell me.” You said, hiding your shaking hands behind your back.

“Got shut down.” He said like it was a huge secret, “Yeah, something about a wiring issue. Morons,” he shook his head, “Crazy eh?”

“Yeah…who would’ve thought.” You agreed, mirroring his shock.

“Yeah. Bonkers.” His smile faded from his eyes, but remained on his lips. But there was no anger there, which you counted as a positive thing.

Silence settled over you and you started to squirm. “It’s a good thing though…isn’t it?” You couldn’t help yourself from asking. You needed to know what he thought…whether you should say your goodbyes to this world or if you could actually breathe.

Lalo smiled again. “Sí, algo muy bueno.”

Your ears started ringing as his words settled into your brain.

He wasn’t furious.

He wasn’t vengeful.

You nodded, trying not to show how relieved you were. “Well…it might be unfortunate for that business but I hope your family does well in the meantime.” You sighed as calmly as you could, and picked up an empty cup on the table- anything to hide your trembling hands. “It’s always good to see you Señor Lalo…until next time. Sr. Salamanca your nurse will come get you in twenty minutes alright? Please don’t try and make her deaf this time…” you added after having the memory of the woman yelling every time she spoke for three hours following Hector ringing his bell non stop for 15 minutes. Poor thing could barely hear.

“Adios, niñita.” Lalo murmured just loud enough for you to hear it, and you cast him one last look before you left. You were certain you would never get accustomed to his stare.

The remaining part of the day passed in a blur. Before you knew it the next shift of workers were signing in and you were signing out. The receptionist on that evening bid you goodnight, and you finally felt yourself fall back into your body.

You said a few goodbyes on your way out the door, and you absentmindedly played with your keys. You ran the day over in your head, and while you did feel relieved that Lalo wasn’t angry…you couldn’t help but feel uneasy. You swore you forgot something when you had …when you had gone to the restaurant. You hadn’t had the wits to look over everything when you got home, so you were hoping it was just some remaining guilt in you still festering.

There was a light breeze that night. It crept up your spine and tickled your cheeks. You breathed it in as you climbed into your car, and you let yourself relax a little as you pulled out and drove home.

Your building came into view but just when you were climbing out, a body came right up in front of you- caging you between your door and the sidewalk.

“Hola pequeña!”

You stared up, and felt your cheeks warm at the proximity to the older man - his grey streak prominent in the golden setting sun. You felt your skin prickle with goosebumps and your fingers tingled as you fought to find something to say.

You forced a small smile despite how flustered you were, “H-hello Señor.” You said softly.

“Just the person I was looking for. How lucky am I?” He smiled- one arm over the open door and the other on the roof. You were stuck.

“Oh I- r-really?” You hated that you couldn’t stop tripping over your words.

His grin only deepened, “Yeah, you know…almost as lucky as I was when a little mouse decided to meddle with that restaurant, hm?”

You stared at him, not knowing what else to do or say. Your anxiety began to creep back as you started to think that the joy he had shown in front of Hector was just an act after all.

“If you say so Señor… I hope no one was hurt.” You managed to say as his warmth and scent radiated into the air around you.

He laughed and shook his head. “Nah not this time…but I will say that whoever did it was a little nervous I think.” He said as if it was a conspiracy, tilting his head just so.

“Oh?” You asked. Not your most genious of replies but your brain was starting to turn into white noise.

Lalo nodded, and you could tell he was feigning concern; his mouth was in a frown but his eyes were filled with amusement. He was playing with you. “Yeah they left their shitty wire-cutters behind.” The older man reached into his back pocket, and you felt yourself blanch.

“I went by there you know…the day after to give my condolences on the unfortunate findings…And I just so happened to find these. Such an amazing coincidence too.” He smiled, wagging the cutters at you as he spoke.

You continued to stare, as if you moving would cause him to blow your head off; you still couldn’t tell if he was pleased by what happened, and each passing moment didn’t seem to help clarify anything.

“Coincidence?” You asked a little breathlessly.

He nodded brightly.

“Yeah, I mean don’t you have a busted pair like these in your car?” Lalo pointed the metal at your vehicle.

He knows he knows he knows he knows-

“I-I I did…been donating some things though I think they were in the last l-load I did. Haven’t seen them for weeks.” You felt your brain working overtime as you fought to find something to convince him with; you were fine with him not knowing it was you even if he was happy about it…but you weren’t leaping at the chance of telling him that it was you and him not being pleased.

But then, Lalo tsked and leaned away, “Too bad…here I was thinking I might owe you a favour. Guess not.” He shrugged and tossed them into the window you now saw was open. You didn’t remember opening it, and you realised he must have opened it when you were working to check if your wire-cutters were missing.

Then you felt your heart sink. He knew you were lying.

You sucked in a breath and shrugged.

“Even i-if it was me…you wouldn’t owe me anything.” You said, holding your ground as he towered over you.

His brows rose comically.

“No? Some say a favour from a Salamanca is as good as gold.” He rumbled. His breath fanned across your cheeks and he readjusted his hand by your head. You felt yourself almost gravitate towards it.

You nodded and tried to ignore how you couldn’t feel your fingers.

“I’m sure you’re right, señor…” you replied, “Tu tío no me odia y has sido generoso…that’s enough for me.”You watched that mirth return. An morbid amusement.

You watched something in his head click ad he pieced things together in two seconds.

“Ah, ella ha estado aprendiendo... Una chica muy lista.” He winked and wagged a finger at you as he stepped away from you and onto the street.

You might not have gotten every word…but you knew there was a little bit of pride in what he said. Like he was amused by you learning and speaking his native tongue.

“My apologies for interrupting your evening. Adiós!” He was out of your space and walking to his Monte Carlo that you somehow missed when you pulled in.

“G-goodnight, Señor.” You watched him walk. There was a certain carefree confidence to the way his arms hung by his sides. You wondered what that was like.

He drove away with a two fingered salute, and you returned the gesture with a little wave. There was a surge of turmoil coursing through you as you pried yourself away from the sidewalk. On one hand, you hoped against hope that he wasn’t buttering you up only to turn around and end your existence…and the other part of you was trying to stop the first part of you from being so naive.

You strode into your apartment like you had soggy socks- slowly and uneasily. You sat on your couch and stared at the wall.

You fell asleep that night just like every other- suddenly and not knowing that you were being watched. Not that you would ever notice. Hector’s men might now have been as intelligent and inconspicuous as Lalo’s own back home, but they did the job. Every night like clock work; they followed you home, watched your window, and stayed quiet about it. It had been months now. At first it had just been to see if you were an informant or a plant…but after a few weeks, some uneventful phone taps and 24 hour shifts later, it was clear that you were just…alone.

Lalo knew your routine better than you did. Knew that you often sat for stretches of time on your bed or couch upon getting in the door…usually not even doing anything. He knew that you only ordered a full meal from a restaurant once every two weeks. He knew that you had nightmares too- sudden crying or screaming in the night had spooked the men stationed outside your window at first…but after a few nights they got used to it. He could still remember his mother having them when he was a boy and his father would disappear for days…her cries from her room. He knew the sound all too well.

You weren’t a threat. Not really. Lalo was still trying to work out how you had managed to get under Hector’s skin…but he had a feeling that your respect for him gave him a familial sense about you. Like a niece. No…no Lalo wouldn’t get rid of you any time soon, not while you still pleased his Tio, and now apparently looked out for the cartel.

When the men had told Lalo about your late night escapade, he had indeed paid a visit to Los Pollos Hermanos…and he admittedly hadn’t laughed that hard in a long time when he found those old shitty wire cutters of yours. He knew you had spirit but he had to admit that he hadn’t expected that of you.

You were this skittish little thing , but the older man couldn’t help but feel entertained at your antics. You were juvenile and fearless despite your anxious nature. So eager to prove something.

So they watched you.

The following few nights after your impulsive crime, the men had taken to start making little bets. Would you do something else crazy? Was it a one time thing? They kept busy.

You were dull, but you were cute, and they didn’t mind.

They knew you never had visitors, so a week later, when they saw a taxi pull up, and a man get out in front of your building they didn’t perk up. They watched him enter, and lazily observed him; it wasn’t until they noticed how he loitered outside the front door until someone left and he caught the door that they looked at him a little closer.

The man disappeared inside, and they were begining to grow bored of waiting to see if anything if happened until your apartment light turned on.

They watched what they could see of you move through your apartment. One of the men had his binoculars in hand, pressed to his eyes to see more, but all he could make out was your door being flung open, and your home going black.

That was enough for them.

One of the men pulled out his phone, and pressed a speed dial, and waited as it rang.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

[little-diable]

Twin Flame - Dean Winchester (smut)

Inspired by the song "Twin Flame" by Brennan Story. I love love love this fic, and I hope y'all will love it too. Please like and reblog if you enjoyed reading this, your comments keep us writers motivated! Enjoy my loves. xxx

Summary: Months ago Dean had broken the reader's heart, a desperate try to protect her. But he no longer manages to stay away, needing to find his way back to her.

Warnings: 18+, smut, unprotected piv, slight breeding kink, makeup sex, some heartbreak in the beginning, a very very happy end

Pairing: Dean Winchester x fem!reader (2.8k words)

Well this road don't get no shorter, I would've drove the whole thing for you, my tank down to a quarter, and it'll be gone soon

„What is up with you lately, Dean?” Sam’s voice filled Baby, worried eyes watching his brother. No reply left Dean as he kept driving on, caught in his memories like a fly trapped in the web of a spider set to kill. He was stuck, without a way out, and yet, deep down inside he prayed that he’d never be able to leave those memories behind. 

Whenever he got a moment to let his thoughts wander, he had to think of her, the one who still holds his heart in her hands, even after all these months. Being with her had been something he had never experienced before, a new sensation he longed for like a man dying of thirst dreaming of any water he could drink. Loving her had been everything Dean wasn’t, it had been sweet, easy, it had been too good to be true. 

Whenever he was lying awake at night, eyes staring at the dirty ceiling of the motel rooms he and Sam found shelter in, he imagined her laying next to him, head resting on his chest, listening to his calmly beating heart. Dean still felt her weight on him, if he closed his eyes he could feel her right there with him, murmuring sweet nothings into his ear, words that had been etched into his mind. 

“Dean?” Sam tried again, worried eyes flickering back to the dark road ahead, knowing that it would take them at least a couple more hours to make their way to the bunker. “Hey man, c’mon, talk to me, I can tell something is going on.” 

“It’s nothing, Sammy.” His voice told Sam everything he needed to know, exposing the hurt, the sadness flushing through Dean’s system. Dean’s green eyes were hazy, no longer filled with that special glint spurring him on whenever they were on a hunt, it felt as if he was no longer in the car with Sam, just a body without a soul tied to it. 

“Is it about her? Dean, you should just call her, reach out, it’s never too late.” A sharp inhale of cold air was forced into Dean’s lungs, teeth grazing his lower lip to stop his angry words from rolling off his tongue. He couldn’t reach out, couldn’t call the one whose heart he had broken, leaving her behind without looking back once, choosing the life with his brother over her, a hunter just like him and his brother – a woman Dean wanted to protect from being hurt because of him.

The cold words he had spoken to her were still ringing in his ears, how he had pushed her away, nothing but a stupid spiel Dean stuck to, in order to save her from a life filled with uneasy times, with hunts that would leave their marks on her. Dean Winchester would do everything to keep her safe, even if it meant breaking (y/n)’s heart, and his own. 

And my drink been feelin' lighter, 'cause I'm a lover not a fighter, and I seen that you caught fire, when you put me out

“Sammy, wake up, we’re home.” Dean’s rough voice filled the dark night, hand shaking his brother’s shoulder. It took Sam a moment to wake, hands rubbing his tired eyes. Slowly did the younger Winchester brother undo his seatbelt, halting his movements as he noticed that Dean wasn't moving. 

“What’s wrong?” Worry dripped from the tip of Sam’s tongue, watching his brother’s gaze flicker between the steering wheel and the phone Dean kept clinging to. 

“I have something to do, I’ll be gone for a few days.” Silence filled Baby, a silence so loud, Dean started to shuffle around in his seat, waiting for his brother to speak up or to start moving, already annoyed with the time they kept wasting just now. Dean was feeling antsy, nervousness filled his system, a sensation so unfamiliar he couldn’t help but curse it. 

“Dean,” Sam whispered his brother’s name, hand finding his shoulder. “Get her back, stop worrying about dragging her down with you, she’s stronger than the both of us combined, she’ll do just fine being around us.” 

Dean couldn’t reply, throat too tight, mouth too dry to produce any sounds, unsure what to say to the brother of his that looked at him with so much hope swimming in his pupils. Sam didn’t know much about the night where Dean had left her, he didn’t know of the words he had spoken, hurtful words that have left their scars on his and her soul, it’d be a miracle if she’d take Dean back. But he couldn’t breathe without her near, couldn’t live on without her by his side. 

……

“Absolutely not.” (Y/n)’s eyes met Dean’s desperate ones, body turned from him as she tried to close her door, without any luck, wood caught by the boot he had pushed past her entrance. A string of curses left her, jaw ticking in anger as her eyes found their way back to his, reading the pleading swimming in his pupils before she slowly took a step back, inviting him back in. 

Dean followed her through the all too familiar four walls he had once started to call his new home, the house they should grow old in, the house they should raise their children in, nothing but mere dreams that have evaporated into nothing but a hazy dream both could no longer recreate. 

“I always knew you’d step low, but turning up here is ruthless, even for you, Dean Winchester.” (Y/n) had her arms wrapped around herself, eyes not daring to leave his once. Slowly he sank down on her couch, right next to her, not giving (y/n) a chance to move away. Without thinking he reached for her hand, moving faster than she had anticipated, catching her fingers before she could move them away as if he was a flame she burnt herself on. 

“I wasn’t planning on coming here, hell, I wasn’t planning on ever setting my foot back in this house.” His whispers were torn between sounds reminding one of cries for help and a voice so quiet one could have problems understanding what he was saying. An angry huff left (y/n), glassy eyes focusing on the calloused fingertips stroking the back of her hand, pushing an all too familiar sensation through her body. She was trembling, begging for whoever was listening to relieve her from the pain she had never been able to let go of, and yet she had tried to keep on moving, without looking back once. 

“You broke my heart, you left me without an explanation, just your awful words. One day you were here, and the next you were suddenly gone. It took me a while to give my life a new meaning, to adjust to hunting on my own, but I managed just fine for the past months, Dean. Why do you have to return the second I’m finally okay on my own?” Her tears started rolling down her cheeks, dripping from her chin like a once dry waterfall regaining its impressive strength. With his other hand finding her jaw, Dean started drying her tears, heart clenching in his chest as he was once again reminded of the pain he had pushed her through. 

“I know, and I’m so sorry for being so fucking selfish, but I can’t stay away. Every second without you by my side is pure torture, you’re the only thing I can think of, no matter when or where I am. I’m sorry sweetheart, I really am. All I ever wanted to do was keep you safe, after watching you getting hurt because of me, because I couldn’t step back from a hunt we should have called backup for, I knew i had to get away from you. I can’t be the reason you get into any more danger. But as much as I hate myself for saying it, I can’t live without you, not any longer.” A heavy sigh left (y/n) as she looked at Dean, focusing on the pain filling his green pupils, on the lifeless expression tugging on his features. He was no longer the Dean she had once been with, no, he had changed, their breakup had left its marks on him, as much as it had left its marks on her. And yet she still longed for him, after all the sleepless nights she had cursed him for. 

“I need time to think this through, you have hurt me so much, Dean, so much. But I still love you, a lot. You can sleep on the sofa and we can talk in the morning.” Slowly Dean let go of her, pulling his hands away to give (y/n) enough space to rise to her feet. With one last glance thrown his way, she disappeared down the hallway, letting the door to her bedroom fall shut with a soft thud. 

And as Dean sat on the sofa he had once put together with (y/n), he couldn’t help but give into the tears welling up in his eyes. 

And I'd set fire onto, these boots running from the hard truth, that you don't need me the same way I need you

……

Dean woke with a groan leaving him, back aching from the uncomfortable position he had been sleeping in. It took him a few seconds to remember the past hours, how he had turned up at (y/n)’s place, how he had cried into his hands as she had parted from him. His green eyes shot open, finding a pair of all too familiar eyes already staring at him. (Y/n) was sitting on the edge of the sofa, wearing the same shirt she had worn hours ago. Only now did Dean realise that the shirt had once belonged to him, pushing a very welcomed heat through his aching body. 

“I made some coffee.” Her soft voice left his heart skipping beats, needing to cherish these moments should she ask him to leave in the upcoming minutes. Slowly did Dean sit up, stretching his neck and arms before he murmured a “Thank you, sweetheart”, taking the cup of warm coffee (y/n) pushed into his direction. 

“I didn’t catch any sleep, but I got enough time to think.” Dean braced himself for the words she was about to speak, teeth grazing his lower lip. His heart was racing way too fast for the early hour, and yet Dean didn’t manage to calm his system, palms growing sweatier with every second. He struggled to look into the eyes he’d see whenever he closed his at night, desperate to feel her close, pupils that were once so familiar, so loved, pupils that felt like nothing but a fever dream now. “I love you too much to push you away, but it’ll take me some time to trust you again, Dean. You have to accept that we’ll both get hurt on hunts, with or without Sammy. And you’ll accept that I’ll join you on all hunts I want to join, you won’t get a say about my decisions. Are we clear?”

He looked at her for a few more moments before his hand found the back of her neck, pulling (y/n) in for a bruising kiss. With a gasp leaving (y/n) she moved closer, arms finding their way around his neck, allowing Dean to pull her into his lap. The kiss was fuelled by their longing for one another, hearts begging them to never part ways again, unable to endure another wave of heartbreak. 

“I’ll do whatever it takes to get you back, whatever you need. I love you so much, sweetheart, I don’t want to live another day without you by my side.” Dean murmured his words against her lips, pulling her in for another kiss as his hands disappeared underneath the comfortable shirt of his she was wearing. Her breath hitched in her chest as Dean shuffled them around, pressing (y/n) against the sofa with him nestling between her thighs. Moans clawed through the two as Dean began to roll his hips, rubbing his hardening bulge against her damp panties. 

“Been dreaming about you touching me, as much as I hated myself for it, I couldn’t help but miss you, your lips, your fingers.” A soft, throaty laugh rumbled through Dean as he pushed her shirt up to expose her chest to his hungry eyes, lips finding her hardening nipples almost instantly, leaving his marks on every inch of her warm flesh. 

“Fuck, no matter what I tried, my mind always wandered back to you. I imagined the words you’d moan, how you’d wrap your fingers around my cock. Can’t believe I’m getting another chance to love you.” No longer could she reply to his words, (y/n) had almost forgotten the loving words his mouth and mind were able to create in moments like this one, set on making her feel the love his heart pumped through his system. “I need to be inside of you, it’s been too fucking long. Do you have a condom?”

“No, but I’m clean, I didn’t sleep with anybody but you.” She was almost scared to ask Dean if he had touched another woman, struggling to form the question that now rang through her mind, leaving her breathless. Dean pushed another kiss against her lips before he shuffled out of his clothes, exposing his twitching cock to her wandering eyes.

“Good, you’re mine to touch only, forever mine. I didn’t touch anybody else, just the thought of it made me sick, no matter how much alcohol I needed to try and forget about us.” With her hand finding its way back to  his neck, and with her legs slowly wrapping themselves around his hips, (y/n) chased his slightly swollen lips.

The sound of their moans leaving them in unison was drowned by their kiss, Dean moved slow at first, needing to hold back before he’d cum right there and then, no longer used to feeling her tightness wrapped around his cock. Both clung to one another as he fucked her into the sofa, with one hand placed on the arm rest and the other on her waist, leaving marks with his fingertips digging into her skin. (Y/n) arched her front against his, trembling legs not daring to loosen their hold on his waist, wondering if she was only stuck in a dream, or if Dean was truly fucking her, reminding her that she was his.

And no matter how hard I try, I'll never learn to say goodbye, you say it's okay to cry, baby that river done ran dry 

“God, how I missed feeling you, feels so perfect, so fucking perfect.” With his forehead pressed against hers, Dean added more speed to his thrusts, growing rougher as her walls fluttered around him, tensing every now and then. Dean had lost count on the amount of times he had dreamt of feeling her again, of loving her just like he had always promised he would. 

“Same, fuck, don’t ever leave me again, Dean.” (Y/n) choked on his name, hand disappearing between their bodies to circle her sensitive bundle of nerves. Both knew  that they wouldn’t be able to hold back for much longer, it felt as if they hadn’t been able to let go for months, unable to touch themselves without thinking of one another. But both had tried to make themselves cum for weeks on end, unable to do so, since their minds painted pictures too painful, pictures they could now finally leave behind.

“Where do you want me to cum, sweetheart? Fuck, I won’t be able to hold on for much longer.” Another moan left (y/n) as Dean’s lips found her jaw, kissing their way down her neck. It took her a moment to reply, choking on her breaths, unable to think clear with her thoughts growing hazy. 

“Inside of me, please, Dean, fill me up.” She felt his cock twitching inside of her, forcing her to add more pressure on her clit, crying his name as she came. Dean followed her down the edge, eyes rolling back into his head as he came with a “Fuck” leaving him.

Both were heavily breathing, not daring to part with their bodies still joined, just like their jumping hearts. (Y/n) murmured his name as she combed a hand through his hair, eyes finding his, “I love you Dean, no matter what will happen between us, I belong to you, as much as you belong to me.” 

[deonsx]

If They Cheat On You Revenge

Part2!

Feat: Dazai, Chuuya, Fyodor, Nikolai, Jouno

Content: Cheating Revenge

Not:You have a chance to choose the next story below, don't forget to vote

Dazai Osamu

After that incident, everything became worthless to you. You were afraid that the man you valued more than yourself would betray you and drive you to suicide. How could he do this to you? You were still in the same house because Dazai said that he would leave that house and at least he wouldn't be able to take the house full of memories from you. A week has passed since this incident and now Dazai was only coming home to take his clothes, he was taking his memories at home to erase them more and more day by day

One day you decided to go out. You wanted to give yourself what you needed to get yourself out of this darkness. Of course, you didn't decide to do this alone. Chuuya-san, Osamu's closest partner, heard about your incident and called you

You met and talked for a long time, Chuuya was really interested in you, he was always Dazai and your closest mutual friend, you used to meet, but now the wheels have changed and the man you thought you would marry and live with forever..he touched the skin of a another woman

"Why don't you leave that house, s/o? There's no point in being in a house full of bad memories anymore." When he told you this, you thought he was right and you decided to go home together and collect your belongings. As you were taking your steps towards the house, you saw your door open and heard a woman's voice. "My love, Should I take these too?"

You saw a woman right in front of the door, she was taking your belongings and throwing them away one by one. "How dare you put your hands in my house!" You looked at the woman who quickly dropped the frame in her hand with your shout. You looked at your ex and the woman he cheated on you with. "I-I just.." she try to talk, Chuuya stepped into the house and gave the woman a hard look, "I see you have your eye on my relationship with s/o, chuuya" Osamu was hateful but tried to stay calm, Chuuya just chuckled "Shame on you..you prefer silver to gold, Don't you even dare talk to her”

Chuuya Nakahara

After that day, everything changed. You left the house you lived in to never see his face again. You came across your old friend Osamu. "My my! This beauty? Why does Chuuya leave you alone? Is he still at work like this?" You were in the agency's cafe and suddenly your eyes filled with tears as if it hurt you. When you saw this, the brunette's face became serious. "What's going on, s/o?"

You felt a lump in your throat and you couldn't stop crying. Osamu narrowed his eyes as he gently held your chin and wiped away your tears. "I understand..so he chose another woman over you." Even though you were amazed at his intelligence, you felt very helpless and continued to cry on his chest

You spent your days talking to him and he made you feel good. One day, while you were laughing with Dazai about something, you heard the sound of the door opening behind you, but since your back was turned, you didn't feel the need to look. "So I guess I wasn't the only one who was behind someone back all this time." That familiar voice.. for months. The voice you didn't hear rang in your ear. You were afraid to turn around, but Dazai's voice protected you

"Who is this pathetic man? It's doubtful that you can even talk yet" Dazai grinned and mocked the red haired man "So you've had your eyes on my girlfriend all this time? I should have guessed" Chuuya got angry and the force of gravity covered the surroundings "You're the one who cheated and you're still so daring? Try and Beat me if you dare"

Fyodor Dostoyevski

After everything you've been through, you didn't want the fraud committed on you to go unanswered, so you did the only thing that could hurt your lover... you decided to expose his plans, you took all the documents, messages, records and foiled Fyodor's plans one by one

Fyodor trusted you very much even when he was cheating on you.. you gained his miraculous trust, you took every penny of the money in his bank and gave the crime documents and plans to the Detective agency, that is, his enemies, of course you did not leave it like that, his current biggest enemy "Dazai Osamu, you are finally here" everything in one day you did

You met him in one of the back dark alleys "These documents..why are you giving them to me? What do you want in return" You gave a deep breath and shook your head "the best thing you can give me is Fyodor's collapse Osamu" You grinned and just winked and left, Your phone start ringing after couple hours, you knew this sound, Fyodor Dostoyevsky

You answered your ex's phone with a look of happiness on your face "You..What the hell are you doing s/o?" You heard the tense voice coming from the other end of the phone, seemingly calm but eating at you inside, "What have I done, dear?" The phone hung up on you as soon as you asked this, his next move was obvious, he was coming for you

Finally a black silhouette appeared at the door and opened it quickly "Very rude Fyodor" You spoke to him mockingly "How long have you been on the different side s/o" you squinted your eyes as you looked into his purple irises he still thought he didn't know what he was doing "Ever since my beautiful lover held someone else in his arms"

Nikolai Gogol

Even if you found out that he was cheating on you, you did not want to abort your child, the fruit of your relationship and love. You were very indecisive at first, but now you had a due date and were waiting for the day to come. You did not leave the house during your pregnancy, you were all alone except for your friends who visited you

At the end of 8 months, at the insistence of your friends, they took you to a nice restaurant a few days before the birth to celebrate it in advance. "I can bet that she will look like her aunt!" Your friend said, laughing and looking at the others, Your daughter was going to be your daughter, but she would grow up without a father

"I bet he will look like me the most " You made a bet with your friends and it was a night you had a lot of fun. Your friends offered to take you home, but after a long time you wanted to walk by yourself and now you were walking alone on the street, accompanied by a white street lamp that turned on from time to time, towards your house

“S/o..?” That familiar voice that made you freeze where you were.. you wanted to turn around but at the same time you didn't want to see his face. When his hand touched your shoulder, you quickly backed away. "Don't touch me." When you turned towards him, he looked at your swollen belly. "Is this baby.. our child?" Silence surrounded you, you did not answer him, with the sudden tension, you were about to fall to the ground in pain, Nikolai quickly held you

Your birth had started, Nikolai quickly took you in his arms and brought you to the hospital, and now you had your child in the hospital, whom you had been waiting for 8 months. She looked like his father with white hair and colorful eyes. He looks like his father. There is a Nikolai looking at her longingly, but you were not going to let him touch this child. "Go away." you protected her from his as you hugged him "S/o...please let me love her" he said with his eyes narrowed and his voice trembling "Just the fact that you looked at her is a blessing I gave you, don't come near us again”

Jouno Saigiku

You couldn't believe that the love you had given for years was so simplified. He had been cheating on you for 5 months, and while looking into your eyes, "It's been 5 months, s/o." What he said pierced your heart with a sharp arrow

You quickly slapped him and let your eyes fill with tears "You fucking! How could you do this to me!?" you kept hitting him and your eyes were burning in pain, "Get out of my house right now! GET OUT!" You quickly kicked him out of the house and vowed to end him

You tried to get yourself together for 1-2 days and then you went to your rivals' agency. When you entered, everyone took cover. "I came here to do something important..detectives agency." You gave all the information you could about him. It didn't take long for them to trust you of course, it took them months. A total of 1 year later... Your big plan was ready, finally the agency decided to raid their headquarters and you were going to kill him there

Everyone dispersed as planned and in the end you trapped them all but you did something that wasn't included in the plan and locked you in the same room with him "You are finally here...finally" you spoke as you walked towards him. When he tried to use his ability you quickly drew your sword and caught him at his weakest point..you always knew him. you learned everything and now you were his rival

You put the gun to his head.. But you didn't, you couldn't pull that damn trigger. Your hand shook. In the face of the man you believed would make you happy for the rest of your life.. That person wasn't the person you wanted anymore. "I'm not someone like you, Jouno, I won't kill you like you killed me”

Enjoy!

[writtenobsession]

Next Time

Modern AU Halsin x GN Tav/Reader

Summary: A morning after a hook up with Halsin. (Fluff?/ mentions sex)

A/N: This is based off of a post by @magicislikelove about Halsin sending a Survey about how sex was with him. It lived in my brain for the whole day and wrote this in a few hours when I should’ve been asleep. (Please forgive any mistakes 🙏🏼)

Word count:3,405

It wasn’t everyday you head go out with your friends after work to grab a few drinks and it definitely wasn’t everyday you go home with a man twice your height and with muscles that would make the gods jealous, yet here you are with those strong arms wrapped around you as you enjoy being the little spoon.

What was more surprising waking up the next morning to the smell of food wafting into the bedroom. After throwing on a T shirt that was way too big for you, you slowly walk through an unfamiliar hallway, you mange to find your way to the kitchen where a mostly naked man, besides his apron and boxer briefs, standing in front of his stove flipping pancakes. Looking at his broad back and the few scratch marks you left, you could feel your cheeks warm. It wasn’t long before he turned around and noticed you leaning against the doorframe. A breathtaking smile spread across his face, “Good morning, I hope you slept well.”

Thoughts of last nights activities rushed back before you replied with cheeky little grin, “I slept just fine. Waking up is a different story. Some of us will be walking a little stiffly for a while…”

He lets out a chuckle, “You rode out the storm most admirably. Come, let’s enjoy the food before it gets cold.” He gestures towards a small table in front a window that looked out into a forest with the morning sun peaking through branches above. Taking your seat, as the man brings over plates pancakes, salmonberries, and bacon. You stare at him with awe at all more the food he brought out. Normally with any one nightstand you’ve left before your partner woke up, but having someone up before you and with food is a first.

You look up at him and express your gratitude. Both of you talked over breakfast about life, interests, and hobbies. Talking with him is easy, even without a drink or two in your system. You almost didn’t want to leave, but you have responsibilities outside of your current bliss. After helping him clean up, you mention need to head out and pick up our car from the bar’s parking lot. He offered to drop you off since he had some earned to run in town. Going back into the bedroom and finding most of your articles of clothing, you’re escorted by the towards his old pickup truck. Sitting in silence for a moment never felt awkward between the two of you. Something about being near him felt right. Pulling up next to your car, you almost hesitate to leave. You look at him for a moment before exiting the vehicle, “Thank you for an amazing night, Halsin.” You get into your car and turn towards him. You give him a small wave as he pulls away. Sitting alone while your car heats up, you say his name again. You could hardly forget his name since it falling from your lips all night like a prayer. You bite your bottom lip at the memories of being below him flooded your mind. You drive home in silence, but not alone since the thoughts of your night with Halsin kept you company. Arriving home, you cleaned yourself and performed your daily tasks in a fog. Settling for a lazy evening, you hear your phone ping on your coffee table to find a text message that made a smile creep across your face. A name that you are all too familiar with sent you a silly text message. It read like a questionnaire about your night with him, from the conversations to the sex. What made your heart skip a beat was when he mentioned, “Is there anything you want to try for next time?”

[milaisreading]

Hiii good morning i was reading ur manager series and am totally in love with it specially the scenes where rin and reo decide to use their captain and rich-boy powers (the plushie one is my absolute fav) and i was wondering if i could request shidou and sae/kaiser/ness reaction to yns plushie or keychain? More than anyone else i wanna know shidous reaction🤭

Author : I didn't expect that story to be so popular since I came up with it at like 3 am☠️ but I hope you like this and thank you for the request🩷

Warnings ⚠️: Reader uses she/her. Requests are open

⚽️Blue lock belongs to:Muneyuki Kaneshiro and Yusuke Nomura⚽️

Shidou:

"Blue Lock is really that big now?" Loki commented as him and a few of his teammates were in the changing room of PXG, looking at a phone.

"Yeah! My sister wanted to buy one of the plushies and the site crashed like 3 times."

"Geez. Blue Lock 11 have boy group level fame." One chuckled as Shidou walked in, confused with the commotion.

"What are you guys looking at?" The blonde asked as he walked up closer, with the teammate showing him his screen.

"The guys who beat you, Blue Lock have now merch. Every girl or guy I know won't stop talking about them. My sister ordered like a collection of these plush toys."

"Haha my brother ordered all the keychains." Shidou was amused at the revelation, taking a mental note to tease Rin about it later.

"My sister has been complaining how hard it was to get the (Y/n) plush toy version. Every time there was a restock it got like sold out in a matter of minutes."

Now that was something Shidou had great interest in. The manager of Blue Lock has plushies? Shidou wanted to laugh.

'Hah! This is gold! But why would anyone buy that? A smaller version of (Y/n)? The whole replica? Small and soft...' Shidou's thoughts wandered off and he felt giddiness the more he imagined the item.

"Shidou, where are you going? We still need to train?" Loki called out as the taller walked out.

"I need to make fun of Rin for that plush toy of his!"

"Not again." Loki sighed and facepalmed.

The same night Shidou went on the Blue Lock website, where he found the said plush toy of the girl, and with absolutely no 2nd thought bought it.

'So adorable~' The boy grinned.

'I think 10 of these are a reasonable number.'

Sae:

Once in a while Sae would travel back to Japan to visit Blue Lock and his brother. Although he spent most of the time around (Y/n), trying to get her to join Madrid as their manager. The idea itself would be shut down by not only (Y/n), but also by Rin, who by now wouldn't leave the girl's side if he was around. This visit was a little bit different though. Since it was holiday season, Ego and Anri has sent everyone home and Sae was bummed a little. His brother wouldn't tell him anything relating to (Y/n).

'Brat.' Sae would roll his eyes at Rin's glares and him telling the older how his manager was none of Sae's business. The two weeks in Japan went by pretty quickly and it was Sae's time to go back. His mom, dad and Rin would drive him to the airport.

"It's in Rin's room?" Sae asked as his mom nodded her head.

"Yeah, I left your scarf there on accident, can you please get it? We need to hurry up to the airport and Rin is already outside."

Sae sighed and nodded his head, walking to the familiar door.

Opening it, Sae immediately spotted his red scarf and went to take it, only to freeze up when he noticed something on Rin's bed. On it was a smaller and softer version of (Y/n) staring up at him. Sae stood there for a moment and then quickly walked to the bed, picking the item up.

Sae stared at the soft toy in awe, astonished with how detailed it was.

'She looks adorable... nearly as adorable as the real (Y/n)? Where did Rin even find this? And why us he so reckless with it...' Sae sighed, patting (Y/n)'s head over and over.

"Sae! Hurry up!"

He turned to the door as his mother called for him. Sae shook his head and put the plush toy in his backpack and then took his scarf.

"Since you refused to tell me anything, I am taking (Y/n) with me. She is too adorable for Rin, anyways."

The next day, Sae was in his room and hugging the plush toy, enjoying the softness.

'So cute... so soft... I wonder if the real (Y/n) is even better to hug.' Sae's moment of peace was interrupted by his phone ringing.

"Hello." He said, already knowing who it is. He has been ignoring Rin's calls ever since he landed in Madrid.

"You thief! Did you take her?!" Rin yelled, obviously upset that his plushie was missing.

"Yes. She is really soft." Sae taunted.

"You bastard! I will come to Madrid and beat your ass!" Rin threatened.

"Do it and I will tell (Y/n) you had this thing to begin with. Imagine how much easier it will be to get her on my club then." Sae smirked as he got no answer in return and ended the call.

'Mine.' He thought as he hugged the plushie closer to himself.

Kaiser:

"What are you even looking at, Ness?" Kaiser raised his eyebrow as he saw his teammate and close friend smiling down at his phone.

'He looks like a child in a candy store.' Kaiser thought as Ness looked up at him in surprise, before showing him his phone.

"My package arrived today! I can't wait till I pick it up." The boy admitted as Kaiser went over the tracking history.

"From Japan? What did you even get there?"

"Huh? You didn't see it?" Ness wondered, making Kaiser even more confused.

"See what? Stop talking in circles."

"Blue Lock just released new merch and restocks-"

"Ness... please don't tell me you bought merch from THEM?"Kaiser asked in disbelief. As far as he knew, the only person in Blue Lock Ness liked was (Y/n).

'But there is no way they made merch of her. It's always about the players, not managers.' Kaiser thought.

"There was a cute plushie of (Y/n) and her figurine as well as a keychain... I had to get it!" Ness defended with an embarrassed look.

"Hold up... there is merch of her?" Kaiser wondered as Ness nodded his head.

"Yes! The plushie looks so adorable, I can't wait till I hold it." Ness cheered while Kaiser went to look at the item.

"Hmmm..."

A few weeks later...

It was late at night in Japan as (Y/n)'s phone rang. Panicked and still dizzy from her sleep, she took her phone and answered it.

"Helloo?" She slurred out, wondering who it could be.

"What a day to be alive, you never told me you had merch!" Kaiser laughed from the other side.

"Kaiser? Do you even know how late it is here? And what about the merch?" (Y/n) asked, a little annoyed but she was too tired to argue.

"It's kinda cute that my little Liebling is a star now. Don't forget about me when your merch sells out." Kaiser laughed.

"Shut up! I want to sleep!" She yelled but Kaiser kept on going and (Y/n) was forced to listen to his talk for another 10 minutes.

Kaiser on the other hand was sitting in his living room as the (Y/n) plushie sat on his lap, getting headpats from time to time.

Ness:

Ness was honestly not expecting to fin anything interesting the evening after a training. It was honestly normal, he showered, ate his dinner and went on his phone, to see what Blue Lock were up to. In all honesty he just wanted to see if there were any pictures or video clips with (Y/n) in them. But instead of that, he found an announcement on new merch.

"Huh? Plushies, keychains and figurines?" Ness mumbled and opened the link, boredly scrolling down the site as all of them were from players.

"Boring-" Ness stopped himself as he saw a familiar shade of (h/c) hair and stopped. Blinking at the items that were displayed, Ness took in the plushie, keychain and figurine that was displayed of (Y/n), all tiny and adorable.

"I need this. I don't even know what I entered this site for again." Ness mumbled as she put the items into the cart.

"You bought it?!" (Y/n) yelled from the other side of the phone. Ness giggled and hugged the plushie of the girl.

"Yeah! You have no idea how soft it is! I have been hugging it ever since it came hours ago." Ness said as the line went quiet for a moment.

"...and what do you think? How is the merch of me?" (Y/n) asked nervously as Ness looked down lovingly at her plushie replica.

"It's cute! Very soft and I love how well detailed it is. It's nearly as cute as you."

"A-ah?! You think so?! I... I need to go now and talk with Ego-san over something! See you, Ness!"

"See ya~" Ness said and ended the call, then looked down at the plushie again.

"So cute..." He smiled, giving a small kiss to the toy's forehead.

[bullet-prooflove]

A prompt please for Terry Silver, 30-Darling you deserve more than just these roses.

Tagging: @volumesofforgottenlore@kmc1989@somethingdarkside17@noonee333

JP doesn’t get the message that you’re not interested. You realise this when a bottle of ridiculously expensive champagne is delivered to the art gallery where you work.

Darling, you deserve more than just roses. – JP

It’s a dig at Terry, the bouquet of red roses he gave to you during your art show a few nights ago.

Love and admiration, the colour represented.

And you felt that in every single part of your being when he leaned in close and kissed your mouth. That’s the thing with Terry, he makes you feel like you’re the centre of his world, that there isn’t a part of you he doesn’t cherish.

JP, he can’t even remember that you dislike champagne, you have ever since the evening you got drunk off on an empty stomach and spent the entire night throwing it back up again. You’d told JP that story several times during the course of your relationship and here you are with a ornate box of Moet.

You try to send it back but the courier refuses to take it. You end up setting it on the shelf  behind the desk so you can turn your attention to the more important tasks you have to do throughout your day.

“He’s persistent isn’t he?” Terry remarks that evening when he picks you up from the gallery. He’d been helping you collect some of your paint supplies for a project you want to start at the house when he’d come across the champagne box.  “He doesn’t even remember how much you hate the taste.”

“It’s not really about me.” You tell him as you take the box from his hands and drop it into the garbage can with the rest of the trash. “It’s about the competition, the fact I’m with someone else, that I’m happy with them. He never thought I would accomplish anything like this.”

He’d said that to your face, Terry recalls. He’d told you your paintings were reductive, stupid simple things that couldn’t stimulate even the most stupidest of children.  

I didn’t paint for almost a year after that, you’d told Terry. It was why I took the residency in Paris, I needed a change of scenery, something to remind me of the joy in it.  

He despises the other man for that, for ruining something that had brought you so much pleasure.

“I want to hurt him.” Terry says quietly, his hands coming to rest on your hips as he draws you close. The scent of your perfume floods his senses, tones of amber, wild berries and rosewater. It’s dark and sensual, just like you in this clinging black dress. “For doing that to you back then, for trying to do it to you again now.”

“Beating the shit out of him isn’t going to help either of us.” You remind him, your fingers lacing at the back of his neck as your body presses against the length of his.

“What if I didn’t beat the shit out of him?” He negotiates, his forehead coming to rest upon yours. “What if I did to him exactly what he did to you back then?”

It wasn’t just your confidence JP had destroyed, it was your actual paintings. When you’d told him you were leaving him he’d hosted a bonfire party, used them for fuel.  You’d come back to the house to pick up your stuff and found them burning in the back yard.

“Weren’t much good for anything else.” He’d told you as he took a sip from his beer.

You’d cried the entire drive home.

“I’m going to buy his paintings tomorrow, every single one of them.” Terry tells you as his thumb ghosts over the curve of your cheek. “And then me and you are going to take them over to his house and we’re going to have a bonfire of our own.”

“I love you.” You say fiercely. “For understanding how much this means to me.”

“He took something from you.”  Terry whispers against your lips. “Nobody gets to hurt you and walk away.”

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[asilentandkindersea]

beautiful stranger — c. berzatto

𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠(𝐬) : carmen ‘carmy’ berzatto x blackf¡reader

𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠(𝐬) : needle, blood, kind of ooc carmy.

(+𝟏𝟖) bear and berry au, where carmen get a tattoo on a whim, only to develop a precious friendship with his tattoo artist.

hi, welcome in the land of imagination and alternative universe. today, you are going to explore the stupidity of my brain and my overwhelming load of ideas. i’m very new in the xreader writing lore, first time i’m not writing an oc story so have as much fun as possible, like and reblog, it means a lot to me. kisses on the nose. <3

tw : not proofread, written at 2 am and clearly sleep deprived, appends a few years before the tv show, when carmen was being treated like shit in new york, english isn’t my first language !

the art of eye contact was something you mastered at. the depth of your irises staring down your interlocutors’ eyes for the time being. at first, carmen thought it was intimidating, and with time, while his cerulean eyes no longer fled from the hold yours had, he found out. noticing at first when the light of this small studio hit your irises that they held an hint of gold inside of them. it was more apparent during sunny days, when the ball of flame carefully lightened up your face.

your dark lashes battled softly every two seconds when you were focused, maybe more if he dared to look away for the spit of a moment. darting his eyes from your lashes to your nose, drawing the curves of your face, memorizing each of these part only to doodle them later on when shame was no longer in order. maybe it was the pinkness of your lips that captivated his sense, or it was probably the way you bit your bottom lips trying to focus when there was no sound other than your beating heart and his ragged breathing.

it was most definitely the way your nose crunched when you were showing a proud expression, seeing as the drawing on his skin only looked like you imagined it. he had to fight the urge to press a soft kiss on the wrinkles of your nose more than once, during the first few months. probably coming back at the studio was the worst idea, considering he was no longer focused on his cooking but mostly on the lock falling in front of your face. he might have pushed it a few times behind your ear while you where so focused drawing your next flashes.

was he always this pathetic before ? or was it the first time his focus had shift so intensively?

the first time he came at the tattoo shop was months after coming back from noma, and working in new york. he don’t really know how he managed to find the shop, to be honest, maybe it was while looking online, or while walking home after a boring day off. yet, even tho he never truly cared in the higher power, not once hadn’t he thanked the universe for making him walk into the shop.

new york always felt like home to you, only when it came to tattoos and illegal drawings at night in those dark alleys you so often found yourself in. maybe if you hadn’t taken a break from college after an injury you wouldn’t have met his ocean eyes, the kind of blue you only see in summer when you are in your hometown. nonetheless, you loved new york for the small aspects, and he was one of those.

it was a saturday, usually you were off the weekend, but the quietest of your apartment was driving you insane, and the walk from your place to the shop was short. your very much used converse on and a redbull in your hand, you found place in that room you secluded yourself most of the time. the light pink color emitting from your neons, the oh so many plants hanging around and an old frank sinatra vinyl playing, you were drawing a new flash.

something you loved doing, doodling tattoos no matter how silly they could be. fingers moving across the screen, feet tapping in rhythm to the music, and eyes focused on the drawing, nothing could’ve made you look up from that piece of art you were making. and yet, the ding of the bell announcing a new client made you jolt from your red seat, closing the ipad in a second before walking out of the small room you found comfort in.

a not-so-tall man was standing in front of the counter, a jacket thrown over his white t-shirt, and his curls disheveled — had he messed with it ? — his eyes beamed upon seeing you.

“hi. . . sorry. i—“

he was shuttering like a pre schooler, — that was cute— his hand moving to his curls only to nervously mess them.

“hello, do you have an appointment ?”

in his ears, your voice sounded sweet like honey. entrancing like the sea monster, the sirens pulling him towards the depths, enchanting him in a way that caused the tip of his hears to flush pink for a second. you were showing this infamous smile people would go to war for, and carmen berzatto was a goner.

“i don’t— sorry i saw the sight ‘bout the non appointment thingy and. . . i can come back another time or—“

“no it’s okay, my colleague is busy, and i’m not, what are you here for? a tattoo. . . a piercing perhaps?”

your irises staring down his cerulean one, he almost felt like drowning only to be trapped in the depths of your eyes.

“a tattoo, if possible.”

“m’okay pretty boy, i’m gonna need you to sign the consent form and then we’ll talk in my studio.”

his fingers lingered a second too long on yours, while grabbing the pen you were giving him. an electric shock went through your body, making your eyes go wide, only to bend over, searching for the consent form. the paper on the counter, only the sound of the pen scribbling down his information was heard. usually, you weren’t that shy, and yet… there was something this man had that made your heart run a marathon.

“alright, do you have an idea or something you wanna do?”

once again, your voice made his entire world shatter.

the studio was small, a faint smell of cigarette lingering the fake leather seats, covered with thrown pillows. posters, canvas, were on the wall, many were signed with your name, while others had name he couldn’t make out from where he was seating. carmy admires the decoration, in all honesty, he thought the room would look completely different, and yet…

“i got some you might like, but if you have an idea you can doodle it or describe it to me and we’ll go from there.”

it took you at least half an hour to decide on the tattoo. his shoulder falling in a relaxed manner each passing second, while his eyes wondered on the screen you were making what he had in mind, real. he noticed the way your eyebrows furrowed in focused, your feet bouncing in rhythm with the single playing over and over again, before you lifted your head with a soft smile filled with pride.

looking back at the drawing, he felt understood in an odd way. perhaps it was how you made his thoughts appear on the screen, or probably the way you were explaining the reasoning behind your choices. he clearly wasn’t paying attention to this part yet, far too focused on the black design to say anything.

lifting his head only when the vinyl was heard and your voice had disappeared, he finally snapped out of his daze, he found the strength to answer this silent question your eyes were asking him.

“i like it, yeah.. it.. yeah. that’s what i had in mind. can we.. like do it on my arm, right here?”

showing the top of his forearm, and the empty space, you nodded.

to be honest, the time to prep felt like a blur, as the conversation flew awkwardly at first, before the cooking subject came by. the fact that your parents had a cabaret intrigued carmen, and made him ask so many questions all at once. if there was one thing that never changed about him, was his insatiable curiosity, and knowledge. new kitchen, new food, new restaurant. always the first thing on his mind, and as you were moving toward the leathery table, the tray with your torture equipment (he clearly didn’t know the names of every stuff present on it) moving along.

he knew it was also time for the permanent drawing. from the moment the frank sinatra vinyl was changed for a the weeknd one — making your shoulders move at the first few notes while putting on the latex red gloves.

“why red ?”

he asked, the last time he had a tattoo done, the artist had black one.

“why not ? red is my favorite color.”

your chuckles made his shoulder drop, relaxed in this unfamiliar and warm room. his arms shaved, cleaned, the needle was right above his skin. your face close to his skin, dreadlocks pulled in a high ponytail, glasses on your nose and that little wrinkle of focus, he felt a pinch in his skin.

“hey, stand still pretty boy, m’kay ?”

and he did, ignoring the way his skin turned red each time the needle was piercing his flesh, only nodding and chuckling as the conversation goes on. surprisingly, he felt at ease under the sharp machine, and your — very — shitty jokes. he noticed the tissue used to clean up the tony drop of blood that left the open wound, noticing how you asked him if he was in pain each passing minute. even once you finished the masterpiece, he stayed on the table laughing at your stupid attempt to make him laugh — which worked because he was complaining of tummy aches with a smile on his lips —, you stayed in your studios even after closing hour, forgetting the existence of your colleague in the room next door, his cerulean irises fixated in your comforting eyes.

he didn’t know that entering this shop with the idea of marking his skin permanently with two angels and a sun, would give him someone to talk to for hours without catching a break.

© 𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐚

[chrollosbm]

Sunflower Fields: a Choso Love Story Chapter 5

You're broken from a past relationship, thinking you only deserve the worst. Choso comes along, making you realize you deserve the world and more. Will your ex-boyfriend let you go without a fight? (Choso x black!reader, yandere Choso)

art cr: einruji__ on x

pls support me on ao3, it would mean the world to me

previous chapters

It had been a week since your first date with Choso and you were still over the moon, thinking about what an amazing time you had in his company. The entire time, even after he drove you home and dropped you off at your doorstep with another kiss, he had you smiling from ear to ear. It sincerely was the best date you had ever been on, so of course, when Choso told you (more like demanded) there was going to be another date a week later, you had absolutely no problem with complying. In fact, you were thrilled he planned another one so soon. 

The two of you didn’t even leave the fair before he told you to be ready the following week at two PM, seeming too impatient to wait until he at least got you home. You weren’t complaining though, it felt great to be courted with such eagerness. It’s what you deserved after dealing with your ex and his lazy-ass date planning. Towards the end of your relationship, he stopped planning dates anyway. You cringed whenever you thought about the fact that you used to beg him to take you places, instead of just sitting in your apartment together, watching TV and fucking all day. Now, you didn’t mind doing just that sometimes, but it came to a point where it felt like he just didn’t care to go out and do things with you.

Choso had been texting you more, sending you both a goodnight and good morning text everyday now, with the occasional texts throughout the day to see what you were up to and inquire on how you were doing. Your face lit up with excitement every time you saw his name pop up on your screen, your heart skipping a beat in exhilaration. Starting something new with someone who actually seemed to put in the effort to take initiative felt incredible. It all felt so exciting and so natural at the same time.

You currently had no idea what you were doing today. Choso didn’t let you in on anything, as a matter of fact, the only thing he told you to do was to wear something cute and yellow. You didn’t mind that he didn’t tell you what you were doing, in fact you kind of loved it. You loved being surprised and considering your last date with Choso, you knew you were in for a good time. You trusted that he would plan something just as exciting as before. 

Your heart raced with thrill each time you thought of the complex man who seemed to be giving you a stun as he opened up more. He was letting you in slowly, allowing you to access a hidden side of his personality, his competitive nature coming out and his love for games catching you by surprise. At the time you had no idea what to think of him, and it was something you didn’t expect. It made you feel amazing knowing that he was comfortable enough to show that side of himself to you. He also made you feel safe enough to share things with him, despite his intimidating persona. After learning he was secretly a big nerd, his hardened shell began cracking slowly, and you were happy to see his soft interior, even if it was only a fraction of his personality.

 His request (demand) for you to wear yellow prompted you to wear a tight mustard yellow maxi dress that showed off your curves. The weather had been flipping from hot to cold every other week, and luckily the day of your date was supposed to be pretty warm. You loved how the dress’s snug material made your body look, how it clung to all your curves, specifically your ass. You knew it would probably drive Choso wild, which was the plan, anyway. You paired your outfit with a pair of white sandals and a small white shoulder bag as your accessory. You had on gold of course, and your knotless braids were left falling down your back, still looking fresh due to your efforts in taking proper care of it. 

You heard a knock at your door and checked the time on your phone, seeing that Choso was on time once again. You appreciated his promptness, him clearing having respect for your time.  

You practically skipped to your front door, excited to see the strange, yet exciting man on your doorstep. You opened the door and as expected, there he was. He was matching you, dressed in the same shade of yellow with medium wash jeans for his bottoms. His t-shirt was short sleeved, showcasing his tattooed sleeves and muscular arms. His hair was down today, falling just above his shoulders, and his diamond earrings were shining through his jet black hair. 

You felt like you were going to pass out, your body felt hot all over and it felt like you were having a hot flash. Your stomach was twisting, the sight of him made you burn up like you had a fever and you wanted so badly to fan yourself, in fear of sweating your makeup off your face. You didn’t of course, that would be too weird.

He stood there with a comically large sunflower in his hand, staring at you as well, mouth slightly agape. His eyes scanned you up and down, having no shame at all and when his dark pools reached yours, there was nothing but desire in them, with yours surely matching his.

You started to feel self conscious, almost going to cover your body with your hands, afraid he would find a flaw, but you decided against it. Even if you weren’t as confident with Choso’s eyes raking over you (over and over again, at that,) you had to fake it until you made it.

As if he could read your mind, he looked back into your eyes and reassured you, making all your worries disappear. “You look fucking amazing.” The desire in his eyes didn’t go away as he continued, with a straight face, as serious as ever. “You’re glowing in this color, Sunflower.”

There goes that nickname again. Sunflower. It was growing on you.

You finally cleared your throat to speak, realizing you have yet to say a single word to him. “Thank you, Choso. You look really good too.” You told him, honestly. He looked fucking delectable. You wanted to take him inside, keep him all to yourself, and never let him leave. 

Kidding. 

Maybe.

You grabbed the flower from his hand and smelled it with a sigh, the scent fresh and earthy. You could get used to getting sunflowers from him every week, the plants were growing on you. Your flowers from the previous week were still thriving, as lively as ever.

“You alright?’ He asked, taking you in, with an eyebrow raise as your nose was still in the flower, your sniffles abusing the aroma of the plant. You snapped out of it and nodded, embarrassingly, so engrossed in thinking about flowers that you almost forgot Choso was there.

“You’re a strange one.” He said, giving you a small laugh and grabbed your hand with his soft one. You were the strange one? Yeah, sure. 

You rolled your eyes playfully as he began dragging you out of your apartment with the flower still in your hand, careful not to pull you too hard, and waited for you to lock your front door. He led you to the passenger seat of his car and opened the door, waiting for you to take a seat. When you were sitting, he reached over to buckle your seatbelt for you and you felt your heart start to melt at the extremely sweet gesture. As he leaned over, you smelled his familiar aroma, laundry, mint, and that mystery cologne. You had to know what scent that was. You were going to make it a mission to find out. When you heard the click of the belt buckle, he came to face you with a smile on his face. His face was so close to yours that you could see the glow of his skin and the birthmark that stretched across his nose up close. It was so perfect, adding a unique element to his face that you’d never seen before. You gave him a big grin, which made his eyes soften at the sight of you.

He gave your cheek a small and sweet kiss, then lifted himself from you, shutting the door soon after. The feeling of his lips lingered on your skin and you never wanted it to go away. Your cheeks were hurting from how hard you were grinning, your cheekbones high with glee.

He hopped in the car soon after and looked at you with a close lipped smile on his face and excitement in his dark orbs. “You ready?” He asked.

“Yes.” You answered, nodding excitedly. “Can you tell me where we’re going now?” You asked, getting impatient. You liked surprises, but now you just wanted to know what you were doing, especially since he showed up at your door with yellow on, as well. There seemed to be a theme to today’s date, but it still gave you zero hints.

He began pulling out your driveway, arm on the back of your seat, a concentrated look on his face as he backed out of your driveway. You waited patiently on his answer, enjoying the view of his biceps flexing in your face while his other hand was on the steering wheel, thick, pale fingers and silver rings gripping lightly. 

Your mind somehow drifted to a place you had thought of many nights before. These scenarios consisted of you sitting on Choso’s lap, hands gripped on his broad shoulders as he thrusted those thick digits inside of you with a vigor. His lips would be whispering filthy things in your ear, all while telling you how pretty you were, just as your legs twitched and you came on his-

“We’re going to a sunflower field.” He cut off your dirty thoughts with a smile and you were both grateful and disappointed. That was your favorite daydream these days, with you using your vibrator to bring you to an intense release at the thought of it. You needed to be in the present, though. Especially with the news he just let you in on.

Realization snapped onto your features and that grin you always wore around him returned. Enthusiasm filled your voice, and you didn't hold back. “Cho!” You all but shouted, causing him to jump slightly.

“What, baby? I’m right here, no need to yell.” He laughed and grabbed your hand, soon interlocking fingers with yours. Your cheeks warmed and you squeezed his hand tightly. His hand was soft, large, and warm. The cool rings on his fingers cooled your digits as you were gripping him. 

“You’re taking me to a sunflower field?” You asked loudly and you knew you were being dramatic, but you didn’t care. It was such a pleasant shock. 

“I am.” He answered, eyes remaining on the road, but you saw the smile on his face, anyway. His dark eyes were twinkling, giving you small looks every now and then, glad to have you so merry at what he planned for the both of you. He was surprising you again with how romantic and slightly cheesy he was.

You loved it.

He brought a single giant sunflower to your house, ordered you to wear yellow to match him, and is now taking you to a sunflower field. How corny. 

You adored it. 

“Wow…” You responded softer this time, deciding to tease him. “Who knew you were such a romantic?” You smirked and he turned his head to you briefly to give you a bewildered look.

“You just now realized that?” He asked, his cheeks reddening in the process and you narrowed your eyes at his sarcasm, not ignoring the way you obviously just made him blush. “Did winning all the stuffed animals currently renting out my backseat not already prove that?” His tone was playful and you saw a smirk tugging from the side of his lips. You turned to the backseat and saw he was indeed telling the truth. There were a plethora of stuffed animals in the backseat, all sat upright, with Choso Junior directly in the middle.

Oh, right.

The sunflower field was large and seemed never ending. The yellow flowers came in a variety of different sizes, with some reaching the height of Choso and some towering over him. The two of you laughed when he stood head to head with some of the large plants, being surprised at the heights of them all. You never knew they could grow that large to begin with, so seeing how some of them were reaching the heights of ten feet tall, astonished you.

The air smelled crisp and fresh, the plants creating a slightly fragrant aroma around you. The sun was shining down on the blossoming plants, making the view absolutely beautiful. The dirt paths were being lit with its shine, creating a trail of yellow and orange as the two of you walked hand in hand, taking everything in.

Your excitement never faltered as the two of you walked through the field of never-ending sunflowers. It seemed to go on for miles, with you never getting tired. Your hand held his the entire time, his large, warm palm squeezing yours every time you were audibly excited, and when you looked at him, he would have a smile of adoration on his face. It was hard to not notice the way he was looking at you, even when you were dragging him behind you with intense glee. His patience never broke, even when you stopped to gaze at said plants for long periods of time. His eyes would read nothing but joy the entire time, seemingly happy watching you have a good time. He observed you as you stopped and smelled almost every flower in your path and convinced you to pick out as many as you wanted. Everything was being paid for by him, he assured you. 

You were looking at a small bush of them in awe when he basically ordered you to get as many as your heart desired. You tried to interject, telling him he already showed up to your house with one, in which he responded, “I would single handedly pick every sunflower grown from this Earth if it meant I got to see you this happy.” 

You swore your heart almost dropped out of your ass hearing that sentence fall from his lips. Tears almost welled in your eyes, but you held them back, afraid he would think you’re insane for crying over that. He was just so sweet, you couldn’t help but get emotional. You instead gave him a grateful smile, in which he pulled you towards him by your hand and gave you the quickest peck on the lips, leaving you with sorrow when he pulled away so soon.

You were having such a great time with him again, as expected. You wanted to punch your past self for ditching him at the club that night, but you also knew the time wasn’t right at that moment. You didn’t believe you would be here with Choso, with his jet black hair blowing in the wind, and his dark orbs brightening in the sun, turning to pools of chestnut instead of its usual almost pitch black color. They were warm and inviting, staring at you with admiration and warmth, rather than their usual intensity. You loved the intensity of his eyes, but this was a welcomed change, as well. His pale skin had a red tint to it and you weren't sure if it was from the sun, or something else. Either way, he was the most gorgeous man you had ever laid your eyes on. 

The two of you spent more time at the sunflower field, holding hands and enjoying the view. At some point during the date, Choso began (and wouldn’t stop) taking pictures of you. Everytime you looked up, his cellphone camera was on you. You yelled at him playfully every time he didn’t tell you to pose, claiming he wasn’t getting your angles. He reassured you that every angle of yours was perfect, not forgetting to add a borderline hostile tone to his encouragement, which only made you laugh and feel that familiar twinge in your heart. Choso was definitely a romantic, but he couldn’t help but add a bit of aggression to the mix. 

The sun was barely setting and you felt sadness creep up on you. You didn’t want the day to end already. The date today felt shorter and in all honesty, you wanted to spend more time with him. You knew you would see him again soon, the day seemed to go by too fast for your liking. The two of you just pulled in your driveway, and the Weeknd was playing in the background, again.

“Did you have fun?” He asked you, and you turned to look at him, trying to hide your disappointment. 

You nodded your head quickly. “I did. Thank you so much for today.” You said in an excited way, maybe too excited. You might have given yourself away. 

You seemed to be correct with the way Choso began observing your sudden change in behavior. He tilted his head and a look of concern covered his features. “What's wrong, sunflower? You can tell the truth, did you not have a good time?” He asked you, confused.

You quickly shook your head and reassured him. “God, no! That’s not it. I had an amazing time, it was one of the best times I’ve ever had, don’t worry.” You said way too quickly, but he seemed to understand with the way his face softened. “I’m just sad that the day is ending, is all.” You admitted, looking down at your nails, deciding to just tell the truth so Choso wouldn’t think he did something wrong. 

As quickly as you put your head down, his hand was there, lifting your chin up to look at him. You weren’t sure what to expect, but you weren’t expecting him to have a smug smile on his face. You were about to make a smart comment, thinking he was laughing at your sudden neediness, but he pulled you closer, enveloping you in a kiss soon after. 

Your full lips seemed to be a perfect match for his. His soft pillows moved against yours in a slow, intense, intoxicating way. His hand moved to your cheek as he deepened the kiss, slowly adding tongue into the equation. He still tasted like mint, and his scent soon entered your nose, making you sigh softly. Your cheeks were burning hot again and your stomach felt that same temperature and intensity, wanting to stay in this moment forever. His lips on yours, your heart filled with emotion, and your mind filled with delirium, lightheaded and lost in the kiss. Your tongues continued moving in sync, and it was suddenly burning up in his car, and you wanted nothing more than to take him into your apartment immediately. Your core was swirling with desire and your panties for sure had a wet spot in them at this point. 

You pulled away and pressed your forehead against his, breath heavy and looked to see his dark pools were full of desire and anticipation. He was breathing in your face harshly as you were sure you were doing the same to him when you finally spoke.

“Did you want to come inside?” You asked and it seemed like relief washed over his face as he nodded urgently. Before you even had a chance to respond, his keys were out of the ignition and he was at the passenger side, opening your door and helping you out the car with urgency.

“Choso! My sunflowers!” You pouted as he quickly led you to your front door. 

“Fuck the flowers.” He said darkly, seduction laced in his voice. “I’m starving and I want to eat.” Your core burned with desire at his words and retrieved the apartment keys from your purse, unlocking your door with a purpose. You were glad you decided to wear panties today, or else you would be dripping onto your living room floor. Choso’s sudden demeanor change was both scaring you and turning you on.

As soon as you shut your apartment door, you were scooped into Choso’s arms bridal style, causing you to let out a surprised yelp. You looked up at him to already find him staring down at you with hunger in his dark orbs. “Where’s your bedroom?” He asked, but it somehow sounded like a command. 

You quickly gave him directions and he seemed to have you there in a flash. The door opened with a small kick of his foot and Choso walked to the corner of the room to your made, queen sized bed, placing you gently in the middle. He was soon on top of you, careful not to crush you with his entire weight, lips locking with yours quickly. You kissed him back with urgency, your tongue finding his easily. Your tongues moved in sync as he explored your mouth with ease.

His groin was on top of your clothed pussy and you felt him press against you. The sudden movement caused you to gasp, the small sensation making your thighs stick together, with both sweat and wetness from your core. Your heart was pounding in your ears and you wanted nothing more than to feel his bare cock on you, which was currently rock hard and poking you with each grind of his hips. 

Your desire was becoming way too much and you felt like if you didn’t do something about it soon, you were going to lose your mind. The wetness in your underwear was becoming unbearable and you wanted nothing more but to be cleaned up. You needed to feel something, anything. The pit in your stomach was driving you absolutely feral.

You pulled away from the kiss and breathlessly called his name. “Cho…” You whined, as his lips moved down, finding your neck, giving you kisses and sucks that were causing goosebumps to form on your brown skin. You were filled with chills and you were hungry, craving him, needing him. He hummed against your neck as a response, his tongue currently working on the sweet spot of your neck as you tried to find the words you wanted to say. “I-I want you to touch me.” You stuttered, having trouble with words, the simple feel of his lips on was making you tongue tied.

“Touch you where, baby?” He asked as his fingers were rubbing small circles into your hips now, his lips getting dangerously low on your open chest. You felt his growing erection on your leg and it felt like a fucking brick at this point. You couldn’t wait until it was inside you, filling you up, hitting that special spot inside of you, over and over again.

Your back started to arch slightly. “Please…” You whined.

He sat up slightly, lips removing from your body, causing you to let out a disappointed sigh. His dark orbs, full of an intensity that almost gave you a fright, found yours, causing you to moan softly at the sight. So fucking sexy.

 His fingers were still rubbing into your hips slowly, softly. “Tell me exactly what you want. I’ll give you anything you want in this world, baby. You just have to ask.” He encouraged you, that look remaining in his eyes, causing your breath to become more shallow. He was causing this reaction just from the way he was looking at you, his eyes burning fires into yours, and yet you couldn’t look away, feeling hypnotized by those dark, haunting orbs of his.

Desire swirled in your stomach and you reached up to touch his face. “Touch me everywhere. Baby, please.” You practically begged him. Your heart was racing at an impossible pace, just wanting him to touch you, to make you feel good, to make your daydream become a reality. You’d never needed something, someone, so badly.

He tilted his head, feigning confusion, a small smile on his lips, obviously in love with the sound of you pleading for him, desperation in your voice. “Everywhere?” His hands lowered ever so slightly, touching the fabric on top of your pussy and your breath hitched in your throat. He seemed to notice your reaction and quickly moved them back up to your hips causing you to let out a louder whine this time, tears welling in your eyes.

He was fucking teasing you. He knew how bad you wanted him, yet he was getting off on you whining and begging for him. It was pissing you off, but at the same time making you wetter by the second. It confused you.

“Choso, touch my fucking pussy!” You finally let out in frustration and he smirked, rubbing his thumbs into your waist harder, causing your face to scrunch in pleasure and pain.

“That’s not very nice now is it, baby?” His smirk left as soon as it came, and amusement was no longer in his voice. His eyes were now fixated on you and the sight of you begging from underneath him was making his cock impossibly hard. You saw it, it was fucking huge in his jeans. Tears began to spill out your eyes as he continued to pester you. Your desire was becoming too much and you needed to release. His lips slowly turned back into that smirk as soon as tears spilled from you, a lustful gaze in his dark eyes.

“Choso, please…” You basically sobbed. “I need you.” His eyes were low as he took you in, desperate for him, and finally seemed satisfied enough. 

“Okay, baby, okay.” He said, nodding softly as his lips touched yours once more but he quickly pulled away, beginning to kiss away the salty tears from your face. He then slowly started to move down to your chest, eventually reaching your breasts. He pulled your dress down until it sat on your hips and his breath hitched as he stared at you in delight.

 “So beautiful.” He said to you, eyes gluing to yours then quickly to your brown nipples, standing up straight and rock hard, waiting for attention. He wasted no time, not wanting to make you wait any longer.

You moaned softly as his warm tongue swirled around one of your swollen buds, and he played with the other with one of his hands. He squeezed your other nipple lightly with his fingers, causing you to let out a groan, a tingly feeling shooting up your body. It was both pleasurable and painful, the theme for the night, it seemed. Your nipples were extra sensitive, being that they were under the fabric of your dress for so long, aching for attention. With his free hand he slowly started to drag your dress down further, until it landed at your feet, which you quickly kicked off, along with your panties, all in one go. You weren’t waiting any fucking longer if you had a say in this. You needed him. You don’t remember the last time you longed for someone the way you longed for Choso’s touch.

His mouth switched nipples and he showed the same attention to your other breast but was quickly cut off as you were tugging at the bottom of his shirt and he took the hint to pull his shirt off with ease, his arms flexing unintentionally as he removed it. You were faced with a rock hard stomach that included a full six pack of abs and more tattoos on his chest. You were sure you were leaking at the sight of him right now. You thought he only had sleeves, but this man was tatted everywhere. His silver chain was shining as it laid on the tattooed skin of his chest, and you bit your bottom lip, absolutely pleased at the sight of him. He was truly your dream man, in terms of both looks and personality. You were so damn lucky. 

It seemed like he was admiring you in the same way you were with him. His lips were parted as he scanned your body. “You are so fucking perfect.” He said in a serious tone, his eyes full of hunger meeting yours, which you were sure were full of the same intensity. You were starving for him, starving to feel him in any way possible. Your pussy was crying for attention at this point, just as you were not too long ago.

Your face got hot at the sudden praise he’d given you. It turned you on to another level hearing compliments and words of approval from Choso and he knew it. He’d known since the night at the carnival, you figured. Your eyes suddenly snapped down to where his cock was currently rock hard in his jeans. It looked like a damn rocket and you were worried about how that was going to fit inside of you if it looked like this while it was constricted.

He seemed to read your mind and reassured you. “You don’t have to worry about that right now. I’m going to focus on you today, baby.” You were slightly disappointed at those words, your face telling on you again. You were both excited and scared, but you wanted, no, needed, to feel his obviously large cock inside of you, filling you up whole. 

You opened your mouth to protest but you were suddenly distracted by his lips reattaching to your body, slowly going south. His full, pillow soft lips were leaving wet kisses down your stomach with leisure and you whined in frustration. He was moving too slow, teasing you again. You sat up on your elbows to watch him with your breath caught in the back of your throat. Shivers ran down your entire body in anticipation as his lips eventually landed on top of your pussy, where he continued to leave wet kisses. You needed him lower. You needed to watch as he slurped you up, like he hadn’t had a meal in days. You wanted to see him drenched in your juices, it was a need. His lips traveled to your inner thighs and he began leaving small pecks on them, raising goosebumps all over your entire body.

He was so close to your dripping core, so, so close.

His warm breath was dangerously close to your opening and you let out another whine, lips twisted into a frown. His eyes shot up to yours and you could see him smirking at you. “You’re so fucking wet, baby. You smell so good too.” His breath was heating you up, the wetness of your pussy now becoming full blown drips down your leg. The moistness of his breath caused a shiver to go down your body, causing your hips to jolt slightly.

“Choso…” You whined his name again, tears brimming in your eyes, threatening to pour out, again. He was teasing the shit out of you, once more. And once again, it was driving you crazy and turning you on at the same time. 

His eyes had a glimmer in them, clearly enjoying this. He seemed to have a sudden hunger in his eyes and needed no further encouragement. His tongue plunged into your pussy, licking up your slit slowly, finding your clit almost immediately. You moaned out in surprise and he moaned back, using your name with a curse, causing a vibration to come from his already vigorously working tongue. He was giving you what you wanted, finally, after making you cry and whimper, and it was oh so worth it.  

His tongue seemed to never slow down, never giving you a break, working you like a vibrator never could and you were losing your fucking mind. Your back was arching and Choso held his hands tightly on your hips to keep in control. That pit in your stomach was becoming undone slowly, but surely, causing you to try to rock your lower body on his face, and he granted your wish, his hands loosening their grip on your waist. You gasped as you began rubbing your cunt on his face, and he was below you, kneeling like he was at an alter, worshiping your pussy and lapping you up greedily, as if he were malnourished.

Your breathing was getting ragged just as you felt a very thick finger at your entrance. He plunged it into you, the juices of your drenched pussy making sloshing noises as he started to move his finger in and out, incredibly slow, watching you from below, knowing he was the cause of your undoing, wanting to drag this out. It seemed to motivate him, causing him to add another and switch his movements to curve his digits deeply inside of you, prompting you to pant heavily as he stretched you out with ease. He was hitting your g-spot with expertise and you suddenly felt dizzy, breathless. Your mind was going blank as his tongue was still on your sensitive bud, moving dangerously fast, and his thick digits continued hitting that spot over and over again, faster this time.

His dark eyes met yours again and groaned into you at the sight of you falling apart because of him. Your eyes locked onto his, tears brimming yours once again and you knew your face was twisted as you let out a sob. You were so close to the finish line, feeling that knot in your stomach build and that lightheadedness returning. Your legs began locking up on his shoulders and you were grabbing onto his dark locks, needing something, anything to hold on to as you felt yourself nearing the end. He seemed to notice you were close and lifted his mouth from your cunt, causing you to let out a pant and a whine. 

The bottom half of his face was covered in a mixture of your juices and his saliva, with some of it currently dripping down his chin. He was staring at you with a slightly opened mouth and dazed eyes, looking absolutely pussy drunk and you audibly moaned at the sight before you. You swore you were going to cum just by looking at him intoxicated off of you, face covered with your essence. Your blood was rushing to your head, giving you that familiar build up again as his fingers were still hitting that spot deep inside of you with a purpose, your soft walls tightening around his thick, long digits, getting you closer by the second.

“Need those pretty eyes on me while you cum. You hear me?” He demanded you with a tone of authority, his warm breath on your core, forcing you to do nothing but nod, unable to speak anyway, needing to cum right fucking now. You were feeling that tingle in your stomach, a warning that you didn’t have much longer until you released right onto his pretty face. His swollen, wet lips then reattached to your sensitive bundle of nerves, using sucking sensations this time and you let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding. Your eyes remained on his as promised, and it all started to become too much. 

His fingers were hitting your g-spot, your clit was being abused, and his dark eyes were burning fire into yours. Your thighs were tight around his head, but he didn’t seem to mind, in fact, he seemed to take it as encouragement as he continued attacking your pink button, wanting to complete his mission. Tears were now streaming down your face at a rapid pace as your breathing became ragged once again, finally seeing those stars you craved so badly. The feeling of relief washed over your entire body as you came all over his beautiful face with a rock of your hips, your body shaking and your moans loud enough to be heard on the street. 

He lapped up your juices slowly, still looking into your eyes with seduction and you winced from the overstimulation. He eventually released you, seeing your body twitch, and kissed up your body slowly until he reached your lips. They landed on yours and you tasted yourself as his tongue entered your mouth.

“You did so good, baby.” He wiped your tears with his soft hands, then began giving you small pecks all over your face. You smiled widely at the praise. “My good girl…”

He then rolled off your body, but stayed close and pulled you towards him with ease. He then pulled the sheet on your bed up to cover the two of you (mostly you.) You rested your head on his chest and he kissed your forehead causing you to smile into his hard pecs. His free hand grabbed yours and you lifted your head to look at him. 

The bottom half of his face was still wet with your juices and you smirked at the sight of him. You wiped your hand down his face softly to clean him up and his eyes looked at you with adoration. “Do you want me to help you?” You asked, looking down at his very obvious erection that showed through the sheet and he gave you a small smirk back.

He shook his head. “I told you, today was all about making you feel good.” He pulled your head down to his bare chest again, not explaining himself any further. You wrapped your leg around his waist, too exhausted to argue with him on the issue.

The two of you fell into a comfortable silence and you felt his fingertips run up and down your back. He was so warm, your own personal heater. You fell into a deep slumber shortly after. 

Chapter Six is Posted

[n-agiz]

FALLEN ANGELㅤ step brother! choso kamo x fem! reader — smut [ 1.1k+ wc ] cws stepcest + corruption/innocence kink + body worship + praise + oral (f) + (mentions of) creampie ! MDNI

ㅤchoso had sinned a fair amount throughout his life — the worst one being the lust he felt towards his step sister, his crave for her love.

what choso was about to do was beyond wrong, and it wasn't that he didn't know that, he simply didn't care enough anymore to actually attempt to stop himself.

he moved slowly, fingers cautious as they moved up your exposed thigh, riding up the flimsy material of your pajama shorts until it rested scrunched up around your hip, the band of your soft panties showing under it. the small lace that ran across it, and that choso knew would lead towards a little bow at your middle, drove him insane. you seemed so pure, too angelic for him to mess with, but he just couldn’t help himself anymore, his attraction towards you too obvious and his will to control it too insignificant.

choso liked to think he was like a fallen angel — he was once wholesome too, but slowly got corrupted enough to be expelled from whatever heaven could have awaited him at the end of his life, now seemingly characterized by nothing more than his sins, and shamelessly enough, he was ready to take you down with him, your innocence too appealing and your lack of experience too infatuating.

"what if someone walks in?" you asked, eyes focusing on the door behind your step-brother for a second before redirecting back to him. your words were unsure, but your actions told a different story, they way your fingers gripped choso’s forearm and brought him closer contradicting whatever doubts you seemed to have.

"no one will be home tonight, princess, so there's no need to worry. besides, your big brother is here, i'll take good care of you, nothing bad will happen to you as long as i'm with you"

choso's words made heat run up your body, your middle burning harder and your cheeks warming up, your flustered expression making choso's cock ache in his underwear, begging to slip inside you while you too wished he could just fuck you, the way he seemed so keen in taking his time with you only driving you madder, only making your heart beat even harder than it already did, all thanks to the anticipation.

the minutes felt drawn out, each movement that choso made too slow, too calculated — all because he wanted everything to be perfect, wanted you to feel so good that you would never think of going to another man whenever you were needy, your step-brother the only one that would pop up in your mind in those moments. it took him a while, but eventually choso started undressing you, removing each piece from your body with care, appreciating every new curve that revealed itself and kissing each bit of skin he could reach. you were beautiful, too beautiful, and he wanted to make sure you knew just how ethereal you were in his eyes, how flawless you were.

“so pretty… so, so pretty…” choso mumbled against your tummy, his fingers digging into your waist after having just thrown your last piece of clothing — your shirt — into a random corner of the living room. he kissed up your stomach, licking the valley between your breasts and pecking your collarbones right after. his eyes were blown out with lust, and as if you weren’t already drunk enough off of your own lust, you could feel yourself get even dizzier whenever you looked into them. “how could you keep all of this away from me for this long, sweet baby? that was pure torture, it was too mean of you”

“‘m not mean” you muttered in the same groggy tone choso used, barely capturing anything he said. you closed your eyes for a second before looking down again, watching as he went lower down your body again, kissing your hips attentively, before pressing his lips tenderly against your thighs, kneading the soft flesh attentively, groaning against their skin before finally laying his eyes on your soaked pussy, letting out a full blown moan at the sight of it, the way your wetness coated your lower lips so prettily truly maddening.

“‘course not, i didn't mean it like that. you’re my pretty, perfect baby. too perfect for anyone else but me” choso said, licking his lips before pecking your inner thighs, cock aching so bad between his legs he couldn’t help but hump against the sofa under him, physically having to force himself to not just devour you all in one go.

“are you saying i am meant only for you, ‘cho?” you asked in your usual sweet tone.

“i’m saying just that, pretty baby”

everything felt like a blur after that, but at the same time, you could recall every single detail as clear as day. choso’s tongue felt heavenly when running up your slit, the way he curled it when he forced the pink muscle into your hole enough to drive you crazy. you felt stars burst inside you with each movement he did, and whenever his lips wrapped tightly around your clit, you felt yourself physically get closer to insanity, each stroke and swirl pushing you closer to the abyss — until you finally fell over it, and you swore you had never felt anything as good as the first orgasm choso gave you, the way he touched you incomparable to the way you touched yourself, the self-pleasure you could reach meek when put against the one he gave you. even with how intense your high was though, lust still incinerated every corner of your body it could reach, and so insured your begging, your shameless pleading to finally feel your step-brother’s cock ram against your insides.

“please, ‘cho, please! i want you to fuck me, i swear i’ll be good, but please just fuck me!”

“i know, baby, i know…”

and finally, in a stark contrast to the slow pace he had been advancing at before, choso pulled his sweatpants down, the soft material resting just low enough around his hips for him to be able to pull his dick out, pushing the thick length into you in one go, groaning when he felt his leaking tip kiss your cervix, the way your walls clamped around him so good choso almost came right away.

“i’m gonna fill you up so good, pretty baby, you’re gonna look so beautiful stuffed with my cum”

and as usual, choso kept his promise, once more fulfilling his role of being your older brother perfectly and making you feel better than anyone ever had, and ever will, fucking another orgasm out of you before finally filling you up to the brim, painting your fluttering walls white with his seed, steadily bringing you down to the hell that now awaited you both with each harsh thrust he plunged into you.

N-AGIZ '22ㅤ REBLOGS ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED !

[incorrect-jojolands-quotes]

some interesting things to consider with chapter 13

Spoilers below and I might add more to the list soon.

Dragona's mispronounced name is a play-on Dragona's name and the word for trash. In Kanji, the first part of Dragona's name can be reinterpreted as JoJo (do-ra) and the term used for trash (gomi) is often used as an insult to call someone useless, shit, worthless, etc. So, Dragona is basically called "JoJo trash/useless JoJo" under the guise of mispronunciation. If we were to translate this into English, Dragona would be miscalled "Crap-ona" since Ds can be misread as Cs and Gs as Ps.

A popular drama known as "The Glory" became popular overseas around 2022 due to its story about a girl severely bullied by rich students ultimately gaining revenge. It was praised for the rawness of the bullying portrayed and it was based on a real life situation in 2006 where the victim of bullying experienced what was portrayed in the drama. What was not portrayed (I think) was the experience of the real life victim having their chest mutilated to the point of scarring.

Dragona mentioning about not wanting to live due to the circumstances reference Bruno echoing similar sentiments to Giorno before passing away. Both felt like they have nothing left to live until the Joestar gave them hope due to their actions.

Jodio's thoughts on why things happen reference Pucci having similar sentiments after Perla's death-- which leads him to reunite with DIO. While Pucci wonders why the knowledge he was forced to take in hurt him, Jodio wonders why the knowledge he was denied to have hurt him instead. We see how his quality of being methodical also has a flaw that explains him mentioning in chapter 2 how the "unfairness" of the world drives him mad.

To be blamed for the insurance payout and Barbara Ann being mostly a stay-at-home-mom means Jodio and Dagona's father must have been very high ranked to end up in such a situation while serving as a breadwinner of the family before his abandonment. Jodio and Dragona's father leaving is similar to Jotaro abandoning Jolyne for their safety. Both had to leave their children behind because otherwise their children will be harmed.

Meryl Mei's detail about school tuition is interesting due to McKinley High being a public school and initially thought to be an error. Remembering how Barbara Ann mentioned Jodio's academic performance earlier, she could have put him in a private school intended to bring his performance up, and that's why Barbara Ann mentioned school tuition. It makes me wonder if Jodio had just started going to public school; did he actually improve, was tuition ultimately too much, or did Meryl Mei manipulated things to put him in her high school so she could keep better watch on him?

Howler references King Crimson song "The Howler", which comes from an album trilogy (Discipline, Beat, Three of a Perfect Pair) that came out after the band's hiatus and known for introducing a brand new sound. Discipline features the song "Matte Kudasai", Beat has "The Howler", and Three of a Perfect Pair is yet to be referenced. There's a song in Beat called "Requiem", which caused the group to break up due to creative differences but later reconcile.

Three of a Perfect Pair has exactly 9 tracks with one side representing the New Wave style that Beat introduced and the other side representing the Industrial style that Discipline introduced. I got a whole post made about the albums here.

As a infrastructure group worth 50 billion dollars, they may have great influence over the community similar to that of Meryl Mei and branches that hire people for contract and whatnot. Is it possible that Usagi's father used to work for them? Is it possible that Jodio's father has some sort of connection to the insurance payout that Usagi's family currently live off?

Howler could be a play-on the Hawaiian world Haole, which is used to describe something not native to Hawaii, particularly foreigners. There are a few irl construction/infrastructure companies called Howler that are notably not from Hawaii. Given rich corporations' histories with exploiting resources such as land, Howler could be a company with malicious intentions towards Hawaii's lands.

The Japanese term used for "absurdity" can also be translated to "illogical", "nonsensical", and interestingly "unjust". When we see the characters mentioning absurdity, they could just not only be saying things don't make sense but things aren't fair or equal. It makes a callback to Chapter 2 more interesting.

ABSUЯD is a song written by Guns N Roses from their album Chinese Democracy, which was known to take a long time to come out and a rather very unpopular album due to how different it sounded from Guns N Roses' previous music.

[anangelinthepit]

Baby, you're the right kind of Wrong

Hello sweet face! Please enjoy my new series. Please be advised that there are tiny amounts of smut and innaproriate language in this story. ⚠️ if you're new, part One and Two are here. Thank you so much. Leave a comment and let me know what you think. As always with love

-Magenta 🌹

🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵

Part 3

Noah’s POV

“I’m going to kill every single one of these fucking idiots “

All the guys including Ana fumbled into my room. When I tell you this room isn't big enough for 8 people I fucking mean it. Nick and Matt fell on me while Ana and Jolly were interrogating Y/N. I looked over and saw she was so embarrassed by the questions they were asking her. She began to blush and that made my heart skip a beat. She’s so beautiful and I almost wrecked all of it by being an asshole to her.

“So what were you two planning on doing ?” Jolly said in a slurred speech

“Oh, nothing at all Noah was just showing me his music,” Y/N said

“Is that a new lingo for eating pussy?” Matt said quietly to me.

I shot Matt a glare that said “Say something else and I’m gonna slit your throat.” Matt reassured me he was just joking. Nevertheless, I didn’t like the way they talked about Y/N. There was something about her so pure and innocent, and hearing them say that stuff made me feel so disgusted. Seeing her in such an uncomfortable space made me want to grab her and hide her away so that nothing could hurt her again.

“Matt if you open your mouth one more time, you will be unloading and loading all the equipment by yourself on our next tour,” I said glaring at him. He thought I was kidding but I was 100% serious

“Um it’s kind of getting late, we should probably head out soon,” Y/N said to Ana

“Girl I am in no shape for driving,” Ana claimed slurring her words just like jolly.

“It’s okay I can drive,” Y/N said

“Girl with what license? Remember? Mommy and daddy don’t want their little girl driving.” Ana said while making fun of Y/N

“I can drive, loser I just don’t have a license.” Y/N protested

As they were arguing back and forth I almost wanted Y.N. to give up and just stay here tonight. I had a taste of what she was like and my mind, heart, and soul wanted more. Needed more. Even though it was a hard decision, I had to put aside my selfish ways and offer to take her home. I know she wouldn’t be comfortable in this house, especially with all these drunk assholes.

“Are you sure Noah? I don’t want to take you away from what you’re doing.” Y/N

“Trust me the only thing I’m going to be doing is taking care of these slobs,” I said

Y/N tried to get Ana to come back to her house with her but her friend decided to hook up with my guitarist. Good luck my guy she seems like a handful.

Letting out a frustrated sigh at the sight of the girl who was suppose to be her best friends Y/N looked at me anodded giving me the signal she was ready to go. As we made our way out of the car, I could hear Ana and the guys shouting obscenities at us

“REMEMBER TO PROP HER LEG UP IN THE CAR FOR AN EASIER POSITION!”

“HEY! CHURCH GIRLS ARE FREAKS YOU SURE YOU CAN TAKE HER.”

“I swear to God every single one of them will owe her a huge apology in the morning.” I thought to myself

We got in the car and drove off into the night. Things were awkward in the car ride, to say the least. I wanted to strike up a conversation but didn’t know how to anymore. I just met this girl a few hours ago and she already has my heart beating a mile a minute. I had to say something or this ride was going to become uncomfortable for the both of us.

“So church girl is an interesting nickname. How did that one get started?” I asked

Out of all the things you could have asked you asked that one stupid thing

Y/N sighed, almost like she knew this question was coming. She didn’t wanna look at me and probably didn’t want to answer. Part of me felt bad that I asked but the other part of me needed to know if I'm falling for a fucking holy roller. Finally, with hesitation, I got the answers to my question and realized a few things

“My parents are huge religious freaks. I’m talking old fashion, “going to hell” for every little thing.”

She's not religious

“I love them, but sometimes they take things too far.”

She needs to break free but can't do it on her own.

At that moment, I looked over to see what kind of expression she had on her face after this hard-to-swallow conversation, I just needed to know if I should change the subject now or keep pushing the topic. Y/N was looking down at her arm and rubbing over the scars that covered her beautiful silky sink. Self-harm? No. Scars from those fucking monsters she calls her parents.

She needs me to save her

“OH MY LANTA” y/N yelled almost jumping out of her seat

“What happened ?” I said concerned

“I can't go home like this! Look at me, I'm dressed like a freaking hooker!” Y/N said, showing me with her arms open.

“So what do you want to do?” I asked. Hoping and praying she would realize staying with me was her safest bet.

“Damn um just drop me off by the graveyard. I'll have to sneak in. Hopefully, Papa has already finished his bottle of Jack.”

Jesus, fucking Christ a bottle? What does this girl witness day in and day out?

“Have you lost your mind? Asking me to drop you off at the graveyard, is like saying “Hey world, I wanna be in the next 48 hours” I protested

“I don't know what else to do,” Y/N said with her fingers, pinching the bride of her nose

“Okay look, if I promise to be a gentleman and keep the drunkassholes away from you. Can you just stay at my place for the night? I can give you clothes to sleep in. Not to mention a shower

“Dang I stink that bad?” she chuckled

“Well, the perfume is giving off French whore vibes,” I said jokingly

“Oh shut up,” y/n said as she playfully elbowed my arm and laughed

“Well, your room was extremely comfortable. I guess just this one night. It is almost midnight anyway.” Y/N said, checking her watch. I love it when she gives into me.

“Gotta be somewhere, Cinderella?”

“Just be quiet and drive.”

We got back to my place and met with everyone still sitting in the living room. The only people we didn't see were Ana and Jolly, they must have taken the party elsewhere. I grabbed Y/N’s hand and guided her back upstairs to my room. I didn't want her around the others for two lng especially since they're all still very drunk. She got settled on the bed, and I went digging through my clothes to make sure I could find her something comfortable. I came across a black T-shirt and sweatpants. This was better than nothing.

“Here you go hun, the bathroom is just one door down. If you need anything, just yell.” I told her

She smiled and thanked me. I showed her exactly what door I meant then it dawned on me. What if one of those fuckers were in the bathroom?

Fuck that.

I ran to the bathroom door and threw it open making sure the coast of clear of any drunk perverts. Y/N gave me a concerned look and asked if everything was okay.

“Oh yes just wanted to make sure everything was clean. 5 guys in this house, sometimes isn't the most pleasant surroundings.” I joked

Again, she blessed me with her cute smile and said thank you. I left the bathroom and had the strong urge to wait outside the door for her.

“Yo snap the fuck out of it dude. This isn't your girl, you can't just claim her.”

“Fuck.” I whispered under my breath.

I went back to my room and was trying to figure out the sleep situation. I could take the couch, but all those motheruckers were still down there, and there's no way in hell I'm letting her sleep in the open like that. Maybe I could bunk with Matt tonight. He's drunk as hell but easier to deal with. I must have been lost in my train of thought because Y/N walked past me with just a t-shirt on. I felt my heart skip a beat. The sweatpants I gave her sat on my nightstand neatly folded like Joe they were in my drawer. It's almost like she didn't even bother to put them on. Y/N sat on my bed, and all I could see were her beautiful legs exposed up to her thigh.

My imagination along with my eyes started to wonder about the girl who was half naked on my bed reading a book. The only thing that I can imagine right now is dragging my lips up against her inner thigh, taking in her scent as I hear her sweet moans. Finally, she was able to pull down her panties to get a taste of her honey. I wanted this girl bad, but I promised to be a gentleman. Oh, if only she knew how feral she made me.

“Noah, are you alright?.” she asked,

“Um yeah, sorry, so I was thinking you can take the bed, and I'll just bunk with Matt,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck.

“Oh no, please, I don't want to kick you out of your room,” she said

“It's no problem at all, I used to hop from couch to couch when I was a teenager so this isn't anything new. Besides, I don't want you sleeping down there with them. They’re not bad guys under any circumstances. They just sometimes make bad decisions.” I said

She gave me a weak smile and accepted my hospitality. I began to make my way towards the door after shutting the light out when Y/N spoke up.

“Noah, wait.”

I stopped and turned to be met with the moonlight shining down are her. God, she is so fucking beautiful.

“I don't want to be alone right now. I'm alone every day and just this once, I wanna know what it feels like,” she said looking down

“What do you mean by it ?” I asked standing by the door.

She was hesitant about what she wanted to say next, but with her eyes lighting up like the stars in the sky. She confessed

“What it feels like to be held by someone so gently. To fall asleep in their arms, knowing you're safe there. I felt safe with you tonight, and I don't want to lose that just yet. Please. Please just give me one night of feeling protected and cherished.” she begged with sweet tears in her eyes.

I've been with a lot of girls in my life, and none of them were ever able to fill this giant hole I have. I was always left starving for more, craving more. Tell me

how those girls always fell for me but this one is different. This is the only girl I know who can make me weak in the knees and soften my heart. I'm falling for her. I took my glasses off, and without saying one word, I began to walk over to her. Caressing her face, I promised her with my eyes that I would keep her safe no matter what. With a gentle kiss on the forehead, I pulled her down on top of me and held her in my arms. Within minutes, she was out. Was I her safe space now? She fell asleep so easily and peacefully, almost like I was the only one she could trust. It says a lot when someone you just met is willing to give you their trust from the start. Maybe she was naive? If that is the case I wanted to protect her even more now because this world is full of weirdos who will take advantage of her. As I lay here watching her sleep I can see the dark circles that accumulated around her soft glistening eyes. More than likely because she hasn't slept well in so long. What kind of hell has the girl been through to the point where she found comfort in my kindness and peace in my presence? She doesn't even know who I am.

I gently lifted her off of me and decided it was time I got some more answers. What her friend tells me is gonna determine my next move. I make my way downstairs, shushing the nosey ass animals that are still in my home.

“Seriously guys, it's too late for this bullshit,” I said, annoyed,

“Hey come on, dude, you put your church princess to sleep. Now it's time for you to party like the rockstar you officially are. Look at all these tours we booked, and the girls are fucking going ape shit.” Matt said as he swung his arm around me

“I'm not a rockstar dude, I make music people like it. That's it.” I said

Matt and Nick rolled their eyes, while Folio and Jolly mocked me.

“While I have all of you here, I hope you know every one of you owes Y/N an apology. Also from now on, no more church-girl bullshit. Her name is Y/N got it?” I said glaring at all of them while crossing my arms

“Why should we apologize to a groupie?” Matt asked

“Because if you value your job, you will. And that goes for everyone.” I said while facing the entire group.

A silent agreement was made amongst themselves, I wanted to deal with them right now, but I had more important things to handle. Ana came down the stairs and was in shock since I didn't have Y/N next to me.

“Dude, is he okay? You didn't take her home, did you? Her parents will kill her if she dresses like that.” aka said in a panic

“Now you're concerned? Anyway, no, she realized it when we got two minutes down the road and decided it was best she stayed here. While we’re on the topic, though. Do you wanna explain to me the scars on that girl's arm.” I said, pulling up a chair

Ana looked down and fiddled with her thumbs. Now is not the time to be shy. I need answers, and I need them now.

“It's a long and sad story, Noah,” she said

“I got time.”

Y/N’s POV

“Papa and Mana are gonna kill me,” I said, looking at my watch that read noon. The following day

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Enjoy lovies

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