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hbyrde36 · 11 months

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Life is a Game (and True Love is a Trophy)

Chapter 10

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CW: Smut/NSFW

*Steve*

Sometimes in life there are people you just click with. Within hours of meeting them you know you’ll be friends for life, and it feels like you’ve known them forever.

Steve had a feeling that was exactly what happened between him and Robin during their insane car ride back to the trailer park.

She wasn’t the type of person he normally gravitated towards, not that normality held any sort of meaning in his life these days. Robin was blunt, with no filter to speak of, all the while being just a little bit awkward. She didn’t care that Steve had been missing, apart from the fact that she wanted all the gory details, for curiosity’s sake of course. Not in a cruel way, by the end it was clear that she had sympathy for all that he and the others had been through, but she was the first person to hear his story and not look at him with some level of pity. Even Eddie, who had been so great to Steve even as his own world began to come apart at the seams, had given him the look once or twice.

It was a little harder to concentrate on The Talk while he was driving, especially when he was so woefully out of practice after not having been behind the wheel of a car for so long. At least with Chrissy he’d been to give her his full attention, but Robin didn’t seem to mind the rambling way he explained things, and seemed to follow his off-the-track train of thought just fine. She poked fun at him whenever it was appropriate, and even once or twice when it wasn’t (though somehow Steve knew she meant no harm), and it made him feel wonderfully human again, and a little less broken.

“Jesus. You’re nothing like you used to be are you?” Robin said at one point.

“How so?” Steve asked, a little amused.

“If someone had tried to tell me that Steve Harrington, the same douchebag who asked dumb questions and dropped bagel crumbs on the floor in Click’s class every single fucking morning, would give a shit about some girl he found in the woods, I would have told them they were crazy.”

Oh.

He didn’t remember sharing any classes with Robin, but obviously they had. Maybe he was a douchebag.

Steve shrugged. “I guess…people change.”

“Clearly.” Robin said, huffing a laugh.

She paused for a moment and he glanced at her, noting the way she narrowed her eyes at him before continuing on. “But I'm not sure that’s it. I think maybe you’ve always been a good guy, it's just that no one ever expected you to be so they didn’t think to notice, and maybe, neither did you.”

Steve didn’t know what to say after that.

It wasn’t long before they were nearing the entrance to the trailer park, the car quiet for the moment save for the dulcet tones of top 40 radio coming from it’s speaker system.

“So, Eddie just happened to be the one to find you, huh?” Robin said softly, almost conspiratorial as he made the final turn into Forest Hills.

She nudged his shoulder with a knowing look in her eye. Steve wasn’t all that surprised that she had picked up on the energy between him and Eddie. She'd seen up close the way he had rushed to Eddie's side, maybe even clocked the way their touch had lingered as they stood there in the yard talking to her.

He’d certainly noticed the very not-straight way in which Robin had perked up when she spotted Chrissy Cunningham in their midst, and then immediately agreed to go with them.

Something else they had in common then.

Steve felt his face grow a little warm and glanced in the rear view mirror to see if any of his other passengers were listening in. They seemed to be otherwise occupied. Max was tucked into Chrissy’s side, listening to Lucas talking softly as he held her hand. Chrissy herself was staring out the window seemingly lost in thought, and Billy was unlikely to hear anything from where he was, locked in the trunk.

The urge to spill his guts to Robin about his feelings for Eddie was strong. It was miles ahead of where they should be as acquaintances go, and if that level of trust felt a little unearned, well, Steve would just roll with it anyway. Eddie had, in his way, predicted this budding friendship and Steve couldn’t help but trust in that. He had been right about far too many things thus-far not to. They had all accepted the bad premonitions without blinking so why not accept something good too?

Unfortunately, opening up to Robin would also mean outing Eddie without his permission, and Steve would never want to hurt him or anyone else like that. He and Eddie needed to talk anyway- about what they were to each other now, if anything, and how comfortable each of them was with others knowing. Steve decided that if Eddie gave him the greenlight he would tell Robin everything, but for now he would keep it to himself, mostly.

“I like to think we found each other.” He replied, unable to keep from smiling like an idiot at the memory.

In more ways than one.

She didn’t seem offended that he hadn’t confirmed or denied her subtle implication, and, as though she perfectly understood why he hadn’t, she didn’t push. He loved her a little bit for that, this girl he had only just met. It wasn’t often that people understood him like that, took the time to see past the packaging and really look.

“I don’t know what me and El would have done if he hadn’t been out there in the woods. We probably would have been caught and dragged back to the lab by now.”

She stared at the side of his face for a long time. It wasn’t until he parked in front of the Munson trailer and the others started to climb out that she spoke again, placing a hand on his arm to stop him from moving just yet.

“Why did you risk it tonight- being seen?”

Steve blinked at her, confused because, wasn’t it obvious? “We knew Max could be in trouble…it…we had to do something.”

Robin shook her head. “Even from what little I've seen and heard I know the others could have handled it without you. You could have stayed behind, safely hidden at Castle Munson with your magical little sister. Why did YOU risk it?”

He shrugged, not quite knowing how to answer, not that she waited for him to give one.

“I’ll tell you what I think. I think you’ve got a self sacrificial streak a mile wide.”

“I don’t…” He started to protest.

“Listen, Steve. It's shocked me to my core, but I like you. I really like you. I don't know how much I truly understand about what’s happening here, or what the future is going to bring if this Vecna creep really exists, but…try not to get yourself killed, okay? I think we could be really good friends, if you can manage to stick around long enough.”

They left Billy in the trunk.

Sure it was dark enough out to obscure their faces, but Steve knew that if anyone in the park did happen to look out their window it wouldn't be hard to make out the shape of two guys dragging a body out of a trunk. Also, with Hopper having arrived while they were gone and the addition of Max, Chrissy, and Robin to the party, they were honestly running out of standing room inside the trailer.

So, Billy could stay where he was for now, and at least this way they could feel Hopper out before making him aware of their latest crime.

Steve walked over to the van just as Eddie was getting out of it. He smiled broadly and it warmed Steve down to his toes. He wanted to kiss him, to brush lips over each of his dimples in turn before focusing his attention on that mouth.

Nancy and Jonathan came spilling down the front steps of the trailer, just in time to bring Steve back to his senses.

The couple’s eyes settled on Max, taking in her pale face and the way she clung to Lucas and Chrissy.

“Was it?” Nancy gasped, looking to him for answers as she wrung her hands.

“Henry, yes. We- we got there just in time.” Steve said.

She nodded, looking a little like she was in shock until Jonathan took hold of one of her hands and the two of them began to try and wrangle their brothers and the other kids.

“Hey guys, I'm sorry but we have to get you all home.” Jonathan called out.

Mike, Will, and Dustin all erupted into a cacophony of whining and complaints. Lucas was too focused on Max and she was watching the entire scene unfold with wide eyes.

“C’mon Will, you know how mom gets when you’re gone for too long.” Jonathan said, which quieted Will and Dustin pretty quickly. They all knew his mom had never quite been the same since ‘83.

“You too Mike.” Nancy added. “Do you even know what time it is? It’s a school night. Mom will freak out if we don’t get you home soon.”

“Oh please.” Mike spat. “Who cares about shit like school right now?!”

“Mike!” Nancy shouted

“What? It's bullshit Nancy! We’re just supposed to go on like everything is normal? When-”

Mike glanced around and lowered his voice, at least having the wherewithal to be quiet as he continued to argue with his sister.

“- when Eddie has fucking powers now and Steve is- I don’t know what the hell, and Eleven is real, and in danger, and there’s some evil wizard out there trying to kill our friends?!”

“That's exactly what you’re going to do. For now.” The booming voice of Jim Hopper came from behind them and the whole group turned as a unit, only just noticing that the man had stepped out onto the front porch and had been listening in.

Shit.

They were definitely not being careful enough.

Hopper shook his head at all of them as he tapped his hat on his leg.

“Anyone who’s staying, get inside. The rest of you- go home, and for the love of god keep your mouths shut about all of this!” He turned, grumbling, “There’s too many of you involved already,” to himself as he went back into the trailer.

“Who put him in charge?” Mike sneered.

“He’s a cop, I think they’re just wired that way.” Dustin said.

“He’s actually not a bad guy once you get to know him.” Max cut in, speaking for the first time since they’d left her house.

Everyone stared at her in surprise and she crossed her arms over her chest, a little of the attitude Steve had heard the boys talking about beginning to break through as she spoke again.

“Between Billy and Neil you don’t think we have the cops coming to our door every other weekend? Please...” She rolled her eyes. “Hopper might sound grumpy but he’s really just a teddy bear.”

“I heard that Mayfield!” Hopped bellowed from inside the house.

Max giggled as the rest of the group continued to look at her in amazement.

“What?! He takes me to the diner sometimes for milkshakes when things get bad.” She said with a shrug.

Everyone said their goodbyes and the remaining members of the party paraded inside.

Eddie went right to his uncle, whispering something in the man’s ear that made him drop his head into his hands and give the most long-suffering sigh that Steve had ever heard. Wayne walked off towards the hall closet a moment later mumbling something under his breath about a tarp.

Hopper was oddly subdued as Steve, Eddie, Chrissy, Robin and Max piled into the living room. Although, upon closer inspection Steve realized the man was trembling with anger. He was just on that level of angry where he was very fucking quietly seething and even Max was eyeing the man warily.

Wayne quickly found what he was looking for, which appeared to be a medium sized blue tarp and headed straight back out the front door. Steve and Eddie shared a look, rushing to follow behind the older man.

Steve popped the trunk to reveal Billy, staring up at them, eyes shining with rage and struggling against his restraints.

“Oh. He’s alive.” Wayne said, and began unfolding the sheet of plastic.

Eddie bent down so he could get his face as close to Billy's as possible and whispered threateningly in his ear. “You can keep struggling while we carry you inside if you want, but don’t be surprised when we drop your ass and you get hurt.”

Billy continued to glare but seemed to see the wisdom in Eddie’s words and stopped flailing, at least for the time being. They laid the tarp over him, tucking it under loosely to make sure he could still breathe and then together they awkwardly carried the bundle inside.

Hopper stared as the three of them reentered the living room and dumped the lumpy blue package unceremoniously on the couch, quickly unwrapping it.

“Jesus Christ! ...What? ...Why?” Hopper shouted as he began pacing around the small space. ‘You know what, no. I don't even want to know.”

He stopped in his tracks suddenly and growled in frustration. “No… no. Fuck. God damnit. I need to know. Spill.” Hopper stood in front of Eddie and Steve with his hands in his pockets and waited for them to explain.

As they did, with Eddie doing most of the heavy lifting, El appeared holding a stack of comic books she must have borrowed from Eddie's room. She took hold of Steve’s hand and smiled up at him. He could see the relief on her face that he’d returned safely and he felt a new surge of guilt for leaving her. He squeezed her hand to say he was sorry, to say he loved her, and she squeezed back.

When it was all done Eddie plopped down on the couch as far from Billy as he could manage. Everyone present ignored him as they continued to discuss things.

Hopper sighed. “I can’t say I'm happy about this, and I'm sure there were better ways to go about dealing with Hargrove here, but I'm glad you were there to help Max.” He admitted.

“Exactly Jim, that’s what matters here.” Wayne agreed, earning himself a little side eye from the Chief.

“Alright, so it sounds like she’s safe enough for now, assuming this music business keeps working but what’s the plan? Do we wait for this guy to attack again or are we going to try and take him on his own turf?” Hopper asked.

“We tried that already, in the game. Some of the party went into the Upside-Down while others tried to distract him. It, uh, didn’t work.”

“It didn’t work AND you died.” Steve corrected, taking the seat right next to Eddie. He wanted to take the other boy’s hand but settled for sitting closer than what might be considered strictly friendly.

“But if our only other option is to wait until he starts picking us off, then…” Eddie began to argue, but was interrupted by a frantic woman’s voice calling out over Hopper’s police radio from where it sat on the kitchen counter.

The chief lunged for it and quickly responded. “This is Hop.. Slow down and tell me what’s going on, Flo.”

“Hop?! Thank god. It’s the lab! There’s a huge fire over at Hawkins lab and they need all hands on deck over there.”

“Shit.” Hopper cursed, casting his eyes to the ceiling before clicking the button to respond. “Who’s been called?”

Flo’s voice came cracking over the radio again. “Hawkins Fire is on site now and they put a call in to Cartersville for back up. I sent Powell and Callahan over too but they need you on site to manage everyone.”

“Tell them I'm on my way.” Hopper said, signing off and slamming the radio back down.

Eddie must have sensed the tension growing in Steve as they listened to the call, he tried to hold on to him but Steve was out of his seat like a shot. “You gotta let me come with you.” He said to Hopper.

“Steve!” Eddie yelled at the same time Robin and Chrissy both shouted “No!”

“No, Christ, especially not you! You're in hiding, Steve! You have to stay here!”

“But what if it’s him, Hop?”

“I know, but..”

“It can’t be a coincidence!”

“I know!”

“You might need my help. Even if it’s not Henry, you don’t know what they’ve done, the things they have in that lab!”

“I KNOW!” Hopper shouted, loud enough that Steve flinched and El put her hands over her ears.

Hoper took Steve by the shoulders, the look on his face was still intense but his touch was gentle. “I know. Okay, kid? I get it, but I won't risk you going back there. I won’t risk any of you. I promise I'll come back as soon as I can and I'll tell you all about it.”

Steve nodded, a little dumbfounded that the man seemed to care so much. Then he remembered someone else who cared, if only a little and he stopped Hopper just before he had made his way out the door.

“There’s someone who works at the lab,” Steve began. “A Dr. Owens. He’s…he helped us. He saw me and El escaping and he let us go. I think he might be a good guy.”

“Owens. Okay, I’ll keep that in mind.” He gave Steve an awkward but well meant pat on the shoulder, and then he was gone.

Steve stood by the door staring, mind reeling wondering how the hell this could have happened and what could it mean? He wanted to be thrilled at the prospect of that hellish place burning to the ground, it was a thing he’d dreamed about doing himself dozens of times since he and Eleven had met. Now though, he couldn’t shake the feeling that this couldn’t be good news.

A warm hand landed on Steve's lower back. The touch was firm and grounding. He knew by the scent of leather and denim and just a hint of cigarette smoke that it was Eddie.

“You okay?” He said softly, and for Steve’s ears alone.

“For now. I should check on El though.”

“I think she’s doing just fine.”

At that Steve finally turned around and saw that El had walked up to Max. It sounded like she was introducing herself. She took the redhead’s hand, urging her to follow her into the kitchen. Max looked back at Chrissy as though she were asking if it was okay. Chrissy smiled and gave an encouraging nod.

As the two girls walked off to the kitchen, they could hear El saying. “Come on, Mr. Wayne makes the best hot chocolate.”

Steve wasn’t fooled into thinking she didn’t care about what was happening at the lab, but the girl had a remarkable way of carrying on through the bad shit. Helping Max feel better would make her feel better too, and it seemed like both girls could use a friend so Steve didn't want to interfere.

He and Eddie made their way back to the couch and the girls, Eddie’s hand remained a steady presence on his back. He wasn’t sure if Chrissy noticed but Robin clearly did, and sent him a smirk to prove it.

“Looks like Red imprinted on you like a baby duck, Chris.” Eddie joked, though Steve knew he meant it.

“Yeah, I think she sees you as the person who saved her.” He added.

Chrissy frowned. “But, I didn't do anything. You…”

“You caught her.” Eddie interrupted. “You held her hand and told her it would be alright. She feels safe with you.”

“Oh, I don't know if I…” Chrissy trailed off.

“Listen, Chrissy, you don’t have to stay involved with this if you don’t want to. You’re a target, there's no changing that but we’ll do our best to shield you even if you want no part of this.” Steve bit at his lip, he couldn’t help offering her an out. They’d told everyone the truth to keep them safe but he knew how overwhelming it all must be. “I know what it is to get pulled into this stuff, to find yourself feeling responsible for someone you didn’t expect. It’s a lot.”

“No, I want to help. For the two of you, for Max and for myself.” Chrissy said, sitting up a little straighter in her seat. “You can’t get rid of me that easily. I do have to go home soon though, or my mom will worry and she can be a lot.”

“Same!” Robin said abruptly and a little too loud. “I mean, uh me too. About the staying involved thing. Also the home thing because gotta tell you- my dad? Craaaazy conspiracy theorist. He’s the one you can thank for me believing you about all this crap by the way. Unfortunately that also means I can’t just disappear or he’ll panic.”

As her ramble came to an end Robin’s cheeks reddened. Eddie was staring at her, in his defense he hadn’t yet been exposed to Robin's particular style of speaking yet since they’d ridden in separate cars before, but Steve didn’t think his attention was the reason for Robin’s sudden flush. Chrissy was smiling at her widely and leaning into her a little, amused by her speech and Robin was panicking.

She was saved by a knock on the door. Three sharp raps from god knew who. It was far too soon to be Hopper coming back, and they certainly weren’t expecting anyone. Eddie moved to answer and Steve followed, hiding behind the door so as not to be seen.

Eddie tried to open the door just a crack but the person on the other side forced it wide and suddenly Jason Carver stumbled inside screaming for Chrissy.

“Where’s Chrissy? I know you’ve got her here, Munson. Chrissy!” Jason shouted, any remaining words dying on his lips as he took in the odd gathering he’d just crashed. His eyes fell on his girlfriend first, well, ex-girlfriend now from what Chrissy had told Steve. He moved towards her but stopped, eyes growing wide as he spotted Billy all tied up, who’d started struggling again with renewed enthusiasm now that there was someone new in their midst.

He backed up, unfortunately bumping into Eddie in the process and he jumped, screaming again. Steve watched him take it all in, Robin, Wayne and the girls in the kitchen, and then finally Steve himself.

“Harrington?” He mumbled stumbling to the side. He took one last look at Chrissy and then he bolted. He was out the door and in his car before any of them could react. Steve still had Billy’s keys and so he ran out after him, but Jason’s car was tearing down the road before he’d gotten halfway to the Camaro.

“Don’t worry about it, son.” Wayne said as they regrouped.

“He’s gonna be a problem.” Eddie insisted.

“Not much he’ll be able to do in one night. Hopper will handle it. Go on and get those girls home so we can all get some sleep. We’ll figure it out in the morning.”

Steve had offered to stay behind and help Wayne keep an eye on Billy, as well as Max and El while Eddie drove the older girls home, but Wayne insisted they stick together.

Robin was dropped off first, they watched her stumble into the house half dazed after Chrissy had given her a hug goodbye. Steve caught Eddie’s eye and they shared a look, knowing they had both seen the same thing.

Chrissy was next, and In the back of Steve’s mind he knew they would have to pass right by his old house to take her home. They were neighbors. He just hadn’t thought about what it would be like to see the place again or how the sight of a for sale sign in the front yard would make him feel more abandoned than ever.

He didn’t say any of that out loud of course but he should have known that Eddie would sense something was up anyway.

Once Chrissy was safely inside, Eddie pulled away, turning in the opposite direction from the trailer park. Before Steve could form the words to ask what he was doing, Eddie was parking the van along the side yard of a house where the bushes were thick enough to hide the vehicle's presence from anyone who might be home.

Eddie turned in his seat, facing Steve. “It’s totally up to you, but do you want to go back to your old house? Just to see the place or maybe to get some of your old stuff?”

“Won’t someone see us?”

Eddie pointed out a path he couldn’t quite see and explained. “Through those trees and two backyards is the back of your place. I snuck in before, I can do it again.”

“Didn’t you get caught last time, sort of?”

“Technically, but I think Hopper is a little busy right now so we should be fine. We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to. We can just go back, as long as you don’t mind borrowing my old sweatpants, ripped jeans, and worn out band tees.”

Steve ran his fingers absently over the faded Iron Maiden logo that was plastered across his chest. He was still wearing the clothes Eddie loaned him the night before.

“I think they look better on you, but kinda like wearing your clothes. I like that they smell like you.”

Eddie squeezed his eyes shut and curled his fingers tightly around the steering wheel. “Steve, you can’t just say shit like that.” He groaned. “And you're wrong. You have no idea how good you look, what it does to me to see you in my clothes. I would have thought that was obvious with the way I embarrassed myself when you stepped out of the bathroom last night.”

“I thought you were looking at me like that because of how much of a mess I am.” Steve admitted, running a hand through his hair self-consciously.

Eddie took Steve's other hand and laced their fingers together, eyes full of sincerity as he said, “Sweetheart, I was looking at you like that because I had to physically stop myself from jumping over the counter to eat you.”

Sweetheart.

“Oh.” Steve breathed.

“Yeah.”

“I would have let you.”

Eddie grinned. “I think I’m starting to get that.”

Steve leaned in and Eddie met him in the middle, rubbing his thumb over the back of Steve's hand as their lips met. Steve melted into the kiss, he had been wanting to do this for hours but the two of them hadn’t really been alone since Eddie had left to pick the kids up from school. It was an effort to keep himself from climbing over the center console and straddling the other boy’s lap. He could have stayed there with their lips locked together for hours but as hidden as they might be it still wasn't a good idea for them to linger for too long.

Steve pulled back from the kiss reluctantly and let his forehead rest against Eddie's while he considered what he wanted to do.

“I think I want to go in.” He said, finally.

“Okay.” Eddie said, pressing a kiss to the back of Steve’s hand before letting it go.

As they snuck through trees and backyard shadows Eddie whispered to Steve all about how he had snuck into the abandoned Harrington house the first time by crawling through the laundry room window, shedding layers to fit through the small opening which was how Hopper had found him out.

When they finally made it to Steve’s backyard, Eddie headed right for the window again, not noticing that Steve had broken away and was no longer following him.

As much as Steve would get a kick out of watching Eddie pull himself up through the small opening, he recalled that when he was younger his mother used to keep a spare key to the back door hidden in a flower pot so that he could let himself in after school. Sure enough, the second pot he checked had a small rusty key sitting under it.

Steve smiled to himself and jogged over to where Eddie was. He’d already removed the screen and was starting to push at the glass. He stopped as Steve dangled the key in front of his face. “I thought maybe you’d prefer using a door this time so you don’t risk losing your vest again.”

“Where did you? …How?” Eddie sputtered.

“Did you even try to look for a hide-a-key the last time, Eds?” Steve said, laughing a little at the incredulous look on Eddie’s face.

It was downright eerie inside the house. Steve had been home alone a lot growing up and It had always been a little creepy and quiet. He was used to it. Sometimes he’d even play a little game with himself, a challenge where he’d see how long he could stand the silence before giving in and turning on the television or radio for company. What he wasn’t used to was the way his and Eddie’s footsteps echoed now in the empty space.

There was something about the lack of stuff, or maybe the sheets covering the few remaining pieces of furniture that made Steve want to crawl out of his skin.

“Is it all like this?” Steve asked.

Eddie hesitated for a beat but answered. “Pretty much, yeah. Except for your room. I…I don’t know why, but they left it all the way it was.”

“If they thought I was dead they probably just didn't care. Would have let whoever bought the place chuck it all out, or keep what they wanted.”

Eddie was quiet, likely not knowing what to say but began rubbing soothing circles into his back.

“It’s okay. I’m… I know I should be numb to it by now.”

“Hey, Stevie no. You’re allowed to feel however you want to feel.”

“Could you…” Steve trailed off, biting nervously on the inside of his cheek.

“What is it, what do you need?”

“I don’t want to see anymore, do you think you could just grab some of my clothes for me? There should be an old gym bag in my closet.”

“Of course.” Eddie said quickly, leaning in to kiss Steve on the cheek. “I'll be right back.”

Eddie was fast. He was back within 5 minutes carrying a small duffel bag that looked full to bursting. He took Steve’s hand and squeezed. Steve squeezed back as Eddie pulled him out the door.

“Come on.” Eddie said. “Let’s go home.”

When they got back Uncle Wayne was sitting on the couch, newspaper held up to his face reading, while a sullen looking and still tied up Billy was sitting on the other end looking half asleep.

“I tucked the girls into my bed for the night. They wanted to wait up for you two, but little Red was pretty tired so it wasn’t too hard to talk them into it. I’ll be alright out here, I assume you boys don’t mind sharing Ed’s room?” Wayne said with a pointed look.

“Yeah, that’s… we’re fine.” Eddie muttered, blushing. “What about him?” He asked, gesturing to their captive.

“We can’t keep him like this, and we don’t know how long Hopper is going to be or if he could even come up with an excuse to hold him.” Steve said.

“We already tried to reason with him once.” Eddie argued.

Steve hadn’t even realized that Wayne had left until suddenly the man returned, marching back into the room with a shotgun held loosely in his hands. The older man walked straight past them and over to Billy, shoving the barrel of the weapon right in his face.

“Okay boy, I hope you're listening because I'm only going to say this once. If you do or say anything that might remotely expose or endanger either of my boys or their friends, I will personally see you dead, do you hear me?”

Wayne paused, waiting for some signal from Billy that he was listening. He gave a small almost imperceptible nod. Wayne lowered the shotgun and harshly ripped the tape from Billy’s mouth. He winced but didn’t cry out although it had to have hurt.

“I ain't afraid of your piece a shit father either so don’t even think about getting him involved in this.”

Billy grit his teeth but nodded again, looking off in the direction of Wayne’s bedroom where they could all hear Max and Eleven still awake and giggling together.

“The girl stays.” Wayne said, interrupting before Billy could even ask. “In fact, consider that part of our agreement letting you leave here with your balls intact. You cover for that girl with your parents, make up whatever story you have to but she’s staying with us until this mess is over with. My boys are the only ones who can keep her safe now.”

Billy agreed to their terms and with no better options they cut off his bindings and let him go, though it pained Steve to return the keys to such a beautiful car.

It wasn’t as awkward as it probably should have been, climbing into bed with Eddie for the first time, each of them wearing nothing but boxers. It probably had something to do with how exhausted he was, the need for sleep overpowering any anxiety Steve would have felt in the situation under normal circumstances.

He still wanted to talk with Eddie about what they were doing. He was trying not to get too hung up on labels, and he knew in reality it had only been one day of them kissing, one day of them knowing that they liked each other, and there were so many bigger things to be worried about. But life was unpredictable, you could never truly know what was coming next or how much time you had. Wasn’t that the whole reason Steve had thrown himself at Eddie that morning in the first place? But now just didn’t seem to be the time. He didn’t want to risk popping their delicate bubble just yet.

They both layed down on their sides, the bed too small to allow for much else. With Steve facing Eddie's back and no more than a few inches separating them. Steve tried to just go to sleep but it felt wrong to be that close to Eddie and not be touching him. He slowly eased his arm around Eddie's waist and scooted closer letting his chest press up against the warmth of Eddie's back.

“Is this okay?” Steve whispered.

In response Eddie took hold of Steve's arm and pulled, wrapping it even tighter around himself as he leaned back into his hold. Suddenly Steve’s cock was pressed firmly against Eddie's ass and he began to grow hard almost immediately. He buried his face in the back of Eddie’s neck, embarrassed, and took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down but it only made things worse. It was all he could do to keep from grinding against him.

“Sorry.” Steve whispered again and tried to back away.

Eddie chased right after him, turning so they could face each other and pulled Steve back into a tight embrace. With their fronts pressed so firmly together there was no hiding that he was hard too. Steve groaned and captured Eddie’s mouth with his own, their tongues finding each other quickly as the kiss became messy and desperate. Steve found himself whining into Eddie's mouth as the other boy slotted his thigh between his legs, providing pressure and friction in the place he was most desperate for it.

For a moment his entire world narrowed down to nothing but Eddie. The feel of his lips, the way his arms fell around Steve's body, the way they shared breath, It all felt so good.

Too good, actually.

Steve froze, afraid of ruining their good time before it had even begun.

Eddie stilled too, breaking their kiss. He brought a hand up to caress the side of Steve's face, pushing a few stray hairs out of the way as he looked deep into his eyes.

“Do you want to stop?”.

“No.” Steve admitted, softly. “It’s just that I’m… a little out of practice.”

“It’s okay. I mean, I…” Eddie trailed off.

Steve nuzzled into Eddie's touch and closed his eyes. He couldn’t believe he was about to admit this out loud, but he had to say it. “No, I…Eddie, I haven't even touched myself in two years.”

“What?”

“The lab…there were cameras everywhere, even in my room. I mean, the shower was private I think but…”

“You didn’t feel comfortable.”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, so how about this. Why don’t you just lay back and let me take care of you.” Eddie’s hand disappeared from his face and began to slide down his chest leaving behind a trail of tingling skin.

Steve made a noise low in his throat “Eddie, I…”

“I promise I'll be gentle.” Eddie teased.

“That’s not what I'm worried about.” Steve gasped as Eddie’s hand moved lower, thumb pressing into the dip of his hip.

“And what are you worried about?”

“That I'm gonna cum the second you touch me.”

“I think that would be pretty fucking hot.”

Steve whined again and Eddie leaned in, kissing a wet line up Steve’s neck and taking his earlobe between his teeth.

“Can I touch you?” Eddie asked, his hot breath in Steve’s ear making his whole body break out into goosebumps.

“Yes.” Steve breathed.

Eddie pulled his leg out from between Steve’s and gently urged him onto his back. He ran teasing fingers up and down each of Steve’s thighs, getting closer and closer to his groin with each pass.

Finally, finally, Eddie dipped his hand into the waistband of Steve's borrowed underwear and wrapped his hand around his leaking cock. The simple touch drove Steve wild, his entire body growing impossibly hot with desire. Eddie stroked him slowly, it was dry save for the small amount of precum he was dripping, and a little bit clumsy, as though Eddie was as nervous and unsure as he was, but none of that made it any less earth shattering.

Tears streamed out of Steve's eyes as he bucked his hips, thrusting up into Eddie’s grip. He was overwhelmed and so close already.

“It’s okay baby, just let go. I've got you.” Eddie soothed as he kissed the tears away and continued to pump Steve's length.

He came with a soft cry and stars bursting along the edges of his vision. He surged up to crash his lips into Eddie’s, wanting to taste his mouth again as he worked him through his release.

Steve barely gave himself a moment to recover before attempting to return the favor. If he was honest he couldn’t wait to get his hands on Eddie for the first time. He hadn’t been with another guy before, not having discovered himself until he was locked away, but he knew what he liked and he thought it wouldn't be too hard to translate that to touching someone else.

He tried to reach for Eddie and found the other boy scooting away.

“You don’t have to…” Eddie started.

Steve was confused for a moment, almost hurt, until Eddie sighed and explained.

“I, um, came when you did.”

He sounded embarrassed, which was crazy to Steve. “That’s..”

“Sad?” Eddie said.

Steve couldn’t help it, he rolled himself half on top of Eddie, uncaring that they were both a bit wet and sticky and all but jammed his tongue down Eddie's throat.

He eventually broke the kiss, both of them panting. “That’s so hot, just like you said. That’s really fucking hot, Eds.”

“Oh.”

Eddie shimmied himself out of his boxers and helped Steve out of his own, both wanting to get them off before the mess could dry further. They didn’t bother putting anything else on, what was the point when it felt so good to be skin to skin. They continued to make out as they settled back under the covers, but It wasn’t long before long their kisses turned lazy, the day catching up with them as well as the afterglow.

Steve was almost asleep when the worry started to creep back into the back of his mind, and he couldn’t help thinking out loud. “Do you think the kids and everyone will be okay?”

Eddie, who had his arms wrapped around Steve, tightened his grip and dropped a kiss to Steve's temple as he replied.

“Yeah, they know what we’re up against. Red’s got El with her, and her headphones. Chrissy promised us she’d get hers on too as soon as got inside. The boys will take care of eachother, and they have Nancy and Jonathan too. Lucas lives right next to the Wheelers so he can sneak over there if he’s afraid to be alone. They’ll be alright.”

There was still plenty that could go wrong, Steve knew, but for tonight he let himself believe that everything would be okay.

Chapter 11

Thank you @penny00dreadful 💜

Taglist: @newtstabber @goodolefashionedloverboi @adaed5 @buckleybarnes @soaringornithopter @eddie-munsons-lunchbox @bestwifehaver @5ammi90 @sofadofax @ellietheasexylibrarian @manda-panda-monium @hardboiledleggs @mentallyundone @epiclazershark @herebedragons404 @estrellami-1 @paintsplatteredandimperfect @the-s-is-silent @brbsoulnomming @goinsteddie @steddie-there @yeahhhh-suga

#steddie fanfic #steve harrington #eddie munson #stranger things #steddie #steve harrington/eddie munson #steve and el sibling supremacy #good uncle wayne #chrissy cunningham #max mayfield #robin buckley #canon is just a crazy game of d&d #sort of #ao3 #steddie fic #steve x eddie #fanfic

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mcufox123 · 3 years

Text

Table 5

Summary: You are a 5-star chef. What happens when two avengers enter your restaurant.

WandaxFemReader

AN: this is going to bea multichapter series.

Warning: Slow burn

I do not own any of the marvel characters.

Chapter 2. Chapter 3 Chapter4 Chapter5 Chapter6

Hiss. You heard as you dropped a piece of halibut into the frying pan. You had ten order fires for your famous white fish dish. You sauteed the veggies and spinach that went along with the dish. It was hot in the kitchen, but you kept your head down and just kept working. It was a busy Saturday night at the 5-star restaurant you worked at. the kitchen was on the floor so all its patrons could see you hard at work.

You loved your job. You threw everything you had into the prep work during the day and the excitement of 10 order fires at a time at night. You laid the plates out and set them up so all you had to do was place the fish on top. Your eyes never left your station to look at the patrons. With your rough hands that had suffered many burns and scars, you placed a dish on the table to be taken out when you looked up momentarily and was completely caught off guard.

You looked up to see one of the most beautiful women you had ever laid eyes on. Her reddish hair fell perfectly around her face which held the most beautiful emerald eyes. You watched as a tall man pulled out the chair for her as she went to sit down. Your trance was cut off by Bill asking if the dish was ready to be taken out. You nodded as you wiped your hands on your towel.

“Bill keep me updated on what table 5 orders.” You said giving him a stern look at turning to finish the other 9 halibuts on the stove. Every time you put another plate on the table your eyes went to her.

“You know we have two avengers in here tonight?” Bill asked as up put up another fish.

“We do?” you asked interest peaked, thoughts drifting from table 5 for a moment.

“Yeah, Vision and the Scarlett witch. Vision told the hostess that he was going to propose here tonight. They’re over at table 5.” You looked over and your stomach dropped. The women who you had stolen glances of was about to be engaged, not to mention she was one of the most powerful beings in the world.

You covered up your disappointment as you told Bill to keep you posted on their order. Ten minutes later he informed you that they ordered a fish and a steak.

“I’m going to run their platters; you keep an eye on the fish when I do.” You informed Gerry who was working at the station next to you. You plated the fish and waited for the steak. When both were ready you wiped your hands, brushed down your hair and made sure you looked somewhat presentable.

You grabbed the platters and made your way across the restaurant. The servers were eyeing you suspiciously. You never leave your station; the governor even came to dine at your restaurant and requested to see you and you turned him down choosing to continue to cook. The only other time you left your station was when your mom was in town and decided to eat at your restaurant. You set the meat in front of Vision eyeing him up. He looked like an alright guy. Then you turned and put the fish in front of the Scarlett Witch.

“I am Chef Y/N, welcome to Contento. I hope you enjoy your food and if you need anything I will be working right over there.” You said talking mostly to the women glancing at the man occasionally.

“Thank you, Chef Y/N.,” Vision said trying to get your eyes off his girlfriend. The beautiful women just kept smiling at you.

“Enjoy!” you said while backing away from the table. You made your way over to your station picking up where you left off with the fish you were cooking. You glanced up at table 5 when you put another dish up.

Vision was on one knee and the Scarlett Witch had her hand to her mouth. You could see him talking and you could see tears form in her eyes. You became extremely uncomfortable at that moment and seemed to hold your breath.

Vision stopped talking and you could see the woman shake her head no as he got up off the ground. Then an argument between the two seemed to start. Vision held his hand up before walking out of the restaurant as the woman sat back in her seat with her head in her hands.

She sat there for the rest of the night. She ordered the chocolate cake and a bottle of wine. All night while you were working you continued to glance at table 5 to see if she was there. Usually, you would tell the servers to kick people like that out but when your most trusted server asked if you wanted her out you shook your head no. You finished up for the night and cleaned up your station. Instead of doing your normal prep for the next day you decided to pour yourself a glass of wine. You watched as the woman continued to sit at table 5.

“Should I tell her to leave or just start wrapping up the night?” Bill asked you.

“Just start wrapping up, I’ll take care of her.” You assured him. You stood behind your station continuing to drink your glass of wine trying to figure out the woman who sat in your restaurant. The servers and staff finished up for the night and one by one waved at you as they left through the back door. You waved back and finally decided to make your way to table 5.

“You have officially been the customer to stay the longest at my restaurant.” You say walking over to table 5 with the bottle of your best wine and wine glass in hand. You take a seat across from her

“Oh, I am so sorry! I didn’t even realize. Wow where did everyone go?” she said looking around the restaurant now realizing it was empty.

“The restaurant officially closed an hour and a half ago and my staff just left about 10 minutes ago.” You informed her.

“Oh my gosh its midnight.” She said now finally looking at her phone then at the dishes on her table. “And I left a mess, I can clean this up just let me know where it goes.” She said while stacking glasses and trying to brush up the crumbs. You put your hands on tops of hers to stop her and feel warmth spread throughout your body. Your eyes meet and you gave her a little smile.

“It’s totally ok just leave it. You are more than welcome to stay; I saw what happened tonight. I just wanted to let you know that I will be over there cooking.” You said as you picked up your wine glass leaving the bottle behind.

“Would you mind if I came over there and watched?” she asked hesitantly. You glanced back and saw hopeful eyes.

“Not at all Scarlett Witch.” You saw her flinch at the name.

“Please, call me Wanda. Scarlett Witch is just for the media really.” You smile and nod. You pulled up a barstool where Bill usually stands on the other side of the station, while you grab some veggies to cut. You had decided to make your own dinner tonight instead of eating a bag of chips.

“What are you making?” she asks as she sits on the stool and watches you curiously.

“I’m not sure yet, but whatever it is it’ll be my dinner.” You said honestly.

“Come here.” She instructed you and you don’t know why but you listened. You made your way around the station and saw her stand up from her seat and pointed for you to sit. “You have been working all night, you let me stay way past close, and you gave me a $500 bottle of wine to drink. Get off your feet drink some wine and let me cook.” She informed as she made her way around to where you had been just seconds before.

“Thank you, not many people are willing to tell a head chef to chill.” You said to her. You watched her as she pulled her hair back and began to expertly cut the vegetables. “And you know your way with a knife, remind me not to cross you.” You chuckled.

“Well, I like to cook myself. I try to cook something new whenever I can. I started cooking when I was young with my family in Sokovia.” She said as her cutting slowed obviously lost in a memory.

“I can relate to that; I grew up in an Italian family. I started when I was old enough to hold a knife.” You said adding to the conversation.

The conversation continued to flow as she began to throw them in a sauce pan. She searched your station for her next ingredients. Usually no one was allowed to go through your station, but you were curious to see what she was making.

“So, I know it is absolutely none of my business but are you ok?” you asked full of concern. You saw her freeze her search on a momentary pause before she continued to look pretending as if she didn’t hear you. You decided to keep talking.

“I was almost engaged once. I have been in this industry since I was 15. I have thrown everything I have into becoming the best. Two years ago, I started dating this girl. We dated for a year even moved in together. She tried to rush everything, like she was trying to prove something to herself. So, when she proposed I had to decline. Instead, I moved out and opened this restaurant. Hurting people is hard but sometimes it’s for the best.” You said trying your best to comfort her.

She seemed very concentrated on the chicken she was now expertly filleting. “We weren’t in love love. He’s my best friend and we do everything together, but I was never attracted to him. When he asked me out, I said yes and now it’s been two years. All because I was scared, I would lose him if I didn’t. Now I ruined everything.” She said turning from you to put the chicken in the pan.

It was quiet for a minute before you heard a sniffle. She turned around wiping her eyes and trying to pull it together.

“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to unload all of this after crashing your night. I should probably just leave you be.” She said while wiping her hands on the towel and turning to leave your station.

“Hey its ok, you’re ok. I enjoy your company.” You said while reaching out for her hand. She turned and looked at you curiously.

“Why are you being so nice to me?” she said looking in your eyes for any trace of insincerity.

“I, I, I don’t know, but I feel like, like you can be good to me. That maybe you’re the one who can teach me something. What that is I have no idea, but I want to know. And I want to do the same for you.” You said knowing that you probably sound like a mad idiot to this strange woman who you have only known for an hour.

She continued searching your face. “Your strange and bold. I like that.” She said while squeezing her hand before going back behind your station.

You sat back down and continued to watch the woman who piqued your interest continue to cook.

#wanda #wanda maximoff #wanda marvel #wanda maximoff x reader #wanda x reader #vision #marvel #Avengers #The Avengers

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3rensgf · 3 years

Text

rent a gf - two eren yeager x reader

word count: 2.9k

warnings: mentions of sex, talks about "getting bitches", eren is an idiot, fuckboy!eren implied, tatbilb mention, uhh fluff idk theres not much to warn abt in here, not beta read

notes: chapter two is out! i'm really glad a lot of people are enjoying rent a gf. it really means a lot! i see some people commented on the previous chapter, and i would love to reply to them, but i'm not familiar with tumblrs commenting system D: if you wanna leave a comment for me to just read, that's fine you can still keep commenting here on tumblr. but if you would like me to reply to it, you can comment on ao3, and i will reply! happy reading :) p.s, waffles w whipped cream r so much better

[ read on ao3 ]

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In the early hours of Saturday morning, you felt a hand shaking your shoulder to wake you. Groaning and mumbling, you sleepily swatted the hand away and pulled the covers over your head. No one should be forced to wake up early on the weekends. It was Saturday, for fucks sake. Not to mention your hangover due to last nights mistakes was making your head throb.

The hand rested on your shoulder once more, shaking you gently. “(Y/N),” Mikasa said softly. “Your alarm has been going off for the past 10 minutes. Wake up. I have water and Advil.”

“Nooooo,” you moaned, snuggling deeper into your bed. “Don’ wanna.”

Mikasa stopped bothering you for a moment, and you let your guard down. Finally you could sleep. When it was time to wake up, you’d wake up.

Right as you were about to pass out again, your blanket was roughly tugged off of you. “Mikasaaa!” you whined, covering your face with your hands. “What was that for? I was trying to sleep.”

“Get up. You have to shower and get ready for lunch with Eren today. Breakfast is almost finished,” she explained, setting down the pills and water on your bedside table. “Go brush your teeth and wash your face so you can eat. Now,” she instructed sternly, moving to your window to open the curtains. The bright sunlight hit your still half-asleep face, making you hiss quietly.

She left the room moments after, probably to check up on breakfast. Honestly, you didn’t know how she could function this early in the morning despite having partied all night last night. Curse her and her inability to get hungover.

Grumbling to yourself, you adjusted your sleep clothes that had gotten disheveled overnight to make sure you looked decent. Your sleepy gaze wandered over to your nightstand to see two Advils on a napkin beside a glass of cold water. Thanking every higher power for sending Mikasa to you, you downed both pills and the glass of water. Even though you might bitch and moan to her constantly, you really weren’t lying when you said you’d die without Mikasa.

After sitting down at the edge of your bed for a few moments, you eventually shuffled into the bathroom to brush your teeth and do your morning routine. It took longer than usual thanks to your sluggish and tired movements, but you got done nevertheless.

A wonderful aroma came from the kitchen when you left, stomach grumbling in anticipation for the wonderful food you were about to scarf down. Mikasa was in the process of setting down both your breakfasts on the island, sitting down on the stools when you walked in. “Morning, Sleeping Beauty,” she greeted, resting her chin on her hands.

“Morning, sweet angel,” you replied, sitting at the stool beside her. In front of you was a plate of Funfetti pancakes with whipped cream instead of maple syrup (syrup was for pancakes only). There were a couple of cut up fruits beside them, too. “Where did you get these?” you asked, picking up your fork to take a bite of your breakfast.

Mikasa dug into her own breakfast of oatmeal as soon as you started eating. “Went grocery shopping and saw the mix in the baking aisle. I thought you’d like it,” she explained, taking a bite of her food. “Good?”

Your response was a moan, tilting your head back as you chewed. “Insanely,” you said, cutting up another bite. You stabbed the piece with your fork and guided it to Mikasa, keeping your hand under it to catch anything if it dropped.

She finished her bite and leaned in to take the bite, humming in satisfaction at the taste. “Good,” she nodded.

“They put like crack ‘n this shit,” you said through a full mouth, shoveling forkful after forkful into your mouth.

You could feel Mikasa's judging gaze for eating like a pig, but you didn’t care. All you cared about was eating these crack laced waffles as greedily as possible. “What time are you supposed to meet Eren today?” she asked to make conversation.

You remember drunkenly slurring to her that Eren was supposed to take you out for lunch today while she was trying to put you to bed. All she did was nod and dodge your flailing limbs while she tried to change you into your night clothes.

“Uhhh,” you trailed off, “I dunno actually. I think he’s gonna text me when.” The familiar notification from your phone indicated you had a text from Eren. “Right now.”

ren ᕙ(`▿´)ᕗ - 9:04 AM picking u up at 12 dont be late

you - 9:04 AM k

ren ᕙ(`▿´)ᕗ - 9:05 AM dont use k with me that makes me sad :(

you - 9:05 AM k

“He says 12,” you told Mikasa, setting your phone back down on the table. You went to go take another bite of your waffles, only to be met with stray bits of whipped cream and waffle crumbs. How disappointing.

“You have time to get ready then,” she said, finishing up the last bit of her own breakfast. Holding her plate, she got up to go put it in the sink, taking your plate for you as well. Literally an angel.

Suddenly, she leaned in to sniff you like the weird English professor you had your freshman year and cringed. “You’re gonna need all the time you can get. You stink.”

Never mind, not an angel.

Grumbling and cursing under your breath, you got off the stool to go take a shower. “And here I was about to offer to get you something for lunch while I was out.”

“A burger from the joint I like would be nice. So would a Coke and side of onion rings.”

“Size?”

“Medium for both.”

You would’ve caved in and bought her something, anyways. Might as well know what she wanted in the first place.

Showering took longer than expected. Most of your time got wasted by you standing under the shower stream and soaking in all the warmth. It wasn’t until Mikasa knocked on the door asking you not to use up all the hot water that made you actually start going through your routine.

The clock read 10:09 when you got out. You still had more time to kill until Eren came, so you elected to sit on your bed in your towel to scroll through social media. At 10:45, you started to get ready for real now.

Your makeup was just enough to cover any imperfections on your face, and your outfit cute enough for a lunch outing with your friend-fuckbuddy.

At 11:50, you stepped out into the living room with your belongings in hand to lounge around while you waited for Eren. You would’ve gone to bug Mikasa, but she had just stepped into the shower minutes prior.

12 on the dot, a rhythmic knocking was rapped on your door, meaning Eren was finally here. Skipping over to the door, you opened it to reveal him while slipping on your shoes.

“Hey,” he grinned when the door opened. He leaned in to give you a kiss on the lips after you’d straightened up from putting on your shoes.

A grin found its way on your lips during the kiss. It only lasted a couple of seconds, ending with you pulling away with a quiet smack. “Hi,” you greeted back.

“Ready to go?” he asked, one hand leaving his jacket pocket to jut his thumb down the hallway towards the elevators.

“Yup, ready,” you said. Over your shoulder, you yelled into the apartment to say goodbye to Mikasa and locking the door once you closed. “Okay, ready for real now.”

There was a new hot pot restaurant near campus, Eren told you, that he so desperately wanted to try. He overheard some people talking about the place in his Stats class, and he’s been wanting to go ever since.

“So, about what I told you last night,” he said, leaning on the table close to you after giving your orders to the waitress. “You said you would help me get Mina.”

“I said it was a bad idea,” you countered, taking a sip of your drink.

“But you said you would help me. For a price.”

“That I… did say,” you sighed. “What’s your plan?”

Smiling, he opened up his jacket and dug into the inner pockets, getting out a small notepad and a pen. Your eyebrows raised at the sight of them. “Okay,” he started, flipping through his notepad. “So I was thinking about it this morning, and this is what I have down so far.”

Sliding it towards you, he waited impatiently for you to read what he had.

Your lips pursed to prevent giggled from leaving your lips. Well, it was a plan, alright. Written in Eren’s chicken scratch of handwriting were a few very simple steps.

eren yaegers fool proof plan to get bitches get mina aka operation rent a gf by eren yaeger 1. talk to mina to get her interested in you ✓ 2. get hot girl ((Y/N)) to pretend to be your gf and show you can be a good bf 3. get mina jealous so she wants you even more and not poopy thomas wanker 4. “break up” with (Y/N) and pretend to be sad 5. get mina to comfort you 6. get bitches make mina your gf 7. pay (Y/N) for her services 8. ta-da!

When you looked up from the notepad, you saw Eren waiting for your answer. “Well? What do you think? Is it any good?” he asked.

“Were you high when you wrote this?” was the first thing you asked him. Eren shook his head innocently. “You’re 100% serious?” He nodded.

You bit your lip, deep in thought about Eren’s supposedly fool proof plan. “What makes you think it’s gonna work?”

“I know girls and how they act. If Paradis University let me major in women -- don’t get smart with me I don’t mean Women Studies -- I would be passing all my classes with flying colors. I know it’ll work, trust me,” he said cockily, leaning back in his chair.

“No you don’t.”

“Yes I do. I know you. I know everything about you, (Y/N). I even know how to make you scream my name in--”

“Okay!” you cut him off, not wanting the strangers around you to know the intimate details of your sex life with Eren. “Okay.”

“I knew you were gonna do that. See, I do know women.”

A moment or two passed, both of you staring at each other. You with a deadpan expression, and him with a proud one. You were the first one to break the silence with a heavy sigh. “Okay, say I agree to this. What do I get in return?”

“Anything you want,” he said. “Within reason, of course. Please don’t ask me to like, hide a body or something.”

Ignoring his last comment, you continued speaking, “You’re not allowed to back out of whatever I ask you to, right? If this plan fails or succeeds, you still owe me whatever you promised.”

Eren nodded. “Of course. I swear on it.” He shifted a little so his elbow was on the table, holding out a pinky. Instinctively, you held out your pinky as well and intertwined the both of them. Pinky promises were something you and Eren had been doing for years now. It meant that the other was dead serious on their promise.

The waitress came back with your broth and dipping ingredients, setting them on the table for you right when your pinkes left each other. Thanking the waitress, the two of you talked some more while you waited for the broth to heat up.

“We should make it official. With a contract and set of rules,” he said. “Like that one movie you forced me to watch with you. The Boys I Loved or some shit like that.”

“To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before,” you corrected.

“Yeah, that. They’re kinda doing something like us, yeah?”

“Guess so,” you shrugged, picking up your chopsticks and a sice of pork belly when the broth started to boil. “After we eat though.”

Idle chatter was shared between the two of you as you ate. Even though you saw each other nearly every day, you never ran out of things to talk to. You could be talking about complete nonsense or how quantum physics made no sense, and you would still have the best time of your life.

By now, the broth had been drunk up and the table had been cleared out to be replaced with banana milk and ice cream. Eren brought out his notepad again to write down the set of rules for your fake relationship while enjoying your desserts.

Good progress had been written so far on the notepad. Both of you had given input and criticism on each rule made. In the end, you finally had a good set of rules written down.

(Y/N) and erens contract and rules for eren yaegers fool proof plan to get mina aka operation rent a gf by eren yaeger 1. act normally. eren and (Y/N) act like a couple already. just double the pda a little more 2. don’t tell anyone about the deal. the more people who believe in the relationship, the more likely it is for the plan to work 3. post each other on ig a lot. maybe add names and a date to bios to make it more believable 4. date night every saturday (go out or just hang out) 5. go to parties together 6. walk each other to class if you can 7. call each other cute pet names 8. after breaking up, the couple act has to stop including the sex 9. DON’T SLIP UP

payment for (Y/N):

Eren tapped a beat on the notepad, reading “payment” over and over again. Eventually he looked up at you, deep in thought. “Have you thought of anything so far?” he asked, clicking the pen to write what you wanted.

This was a tough decision. Eren was ready to give you anything to help him get Mina. You had to be wise and pick something big to take advantage of him. Something you were sure you wouldn’t ever regret getting.

“How about,” you started, trailing off, “you do my laundry for the rest of our time at ParadisU, buy me lunch every Wednesday even after we break up, recommend that godsend of a tutor you keep gatekeeping to help me too, and…”

“And?” Eren asked, looking up from his writing, waiting for your next words.

“All the orgasms I want during our relationship,” you finished, satisfied with what you chose.

“Is that all?” he asked, writing down the last of your words. “That’s a lot.”

“How about I let you know if I wanna add more,” you said. Eren nodded in response. His head hung to look at the notepad again, writing something down. Once he was done, he plaed the pen on the pad and slid it to you.

“Sign it so it’s official,” he instructed.

There were two lines beside each other, one already with Eren’s signature. Without hesitation, you signed your name neatly on the paper, giving the items back to Eren once you were done.

payment for (Y/N): eren has to do the (Y/N)’s laundry for the rest of university, buy her lunch ever wednesday, get tutor to help her and give her as many orgasms as she wants during the course of the relationship

signed x eren yaeger x (y/n) (l/n)

The two of you shook hands when Eren put away his things, to seal the deal again. The waitress came by again to give you the bill and collect your dirty dishes. Eren set down the cash needed to pay along with a tip in the check presenter before the two of you left.

You walked hand in hand back to Erens car before you realized you missed something. “Wait. What do we tell people when they ask how we got together?” you asked, pausing in your tracks.

Eren stopped with you, turning to look at you. “Um, you can say I confessed after lunch, and that this is technically our first date,” he suggested, tugging your hand to walk back to the car.

“Huh. Okay. That works,” you nodded.

The two of you got into the car a little bit past 2:30 in the afternoon, ready to go home. “Wait,” you said again, making Eren pause. “Mikasa wanted a burger from that one joint near our apartment. Could you take me there first?”

Eren smiled and nodded, starting the car. “Of course. Burger with medium Coke and onion rings?”

“How did you know?”

“She always gets that when we go there.”

“Huh… I guess you’re right.”

“When am I not?”

"Always."

taglist - @thestrugglesofateenagedirtbag , @lazalee , @countthemoons , @se-va-muriendo-mialma , @liaxxx109 , @prxttyguardian , @jeansbabycake

italic names, it wouldn't let me tag you!

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justthehiddleswrites · 4 years

Text

Accidently Married | Tom Hiddleston x OFC | Chapter 3 | And Miss Out on Mum Meeting the Girl You Married Without Telling Her? Not a Chance

A/N: Tom makes certain comments about an ex (who is unnamed). It is a fictional girlfriend, take from it what you will. Keep your hate to yourself.

SERIES MASTERLIST HERE

Pairing: Tom Hiddleston x OFC (Molly Bishop)

Summary: Tom is stuck in a news cycle from hell; Molly is stuck in the dead end job of bartending with a pile of student and credit debt. Tom has an idea to solve all their problems. Get married, get the paparazzi off his back, divorce after a year and Tom pays off Molly’s debts. Tom has everything figured out, that is until he sees Molly as more than a just a friend and so does someone else. In this vying for affections who will win, the handsome Brit or the boy from Boston?

This Chapter: Molly finally gets to meet Luke and they try to convince him that this marriage is not some elaborate plot to manipulate the press. And Tom makes a critical error. We learn more about Molly and her past.

Warnings: fake marriage, smut (vaginal sex), mentions of: child abuse/neglect, foster care, substance abuse, cheating.

TAGLIST IS OPEN! PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU WANT TO BE TAGGED! THANK YOU FOR READING!

–

Tom regretted drinking two cups of espresso the next morning before heading to Luke’s. He definitely regretted not eating anything more than a piece of toast with butter and marmalade. Even after Molly offered to make something for him.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to make you eggs, an omelette? I could probably manage some French toast before we have to leave.” Molly sipped her tea as she ate some oatmeal.

French toast sounded divine at the moment as Tom’s stomach did somersaults. Molly’s knee bounced in the passenger seat on the way to the Prosper office.

“Do you think Luke will yell at me?” Molly asked. “I don’t do well when people yell at me.”

Tom’s head snapped over at her. She sighed.

“Foster parents are not always kind. Bio parents can be worse.” She wrung her hands.

He reached over and squeezed Molly’s knee. “I promise I won’t let him yell at you.”

“Thank you, Tom. Are we telling him the truth?”

“Only if necessary.”

“Then what are we telling him?”

“That I went to Vegas, and I fell madly in love with you and on a whim we got married.”

“A fanciful tale.” Her head dropped to her chest.

“Oh, I don’t know, darling. You sell yourself short. You’re bright, funny, caring and dare I even say easy on the eyes.”

Molly blushed. “Thank you. You are not so bad yourself. Although I seriously question your dietary habits.”

Tom chuckled. “I’ll work on it. And I hope after all of this we will be good friends.”

“Me too.”

“Looks like we are here.” Tom parked the car on the street. He hustled around to open Molly’s door and help her out. “Time to face the firing squad.” Her eyes widened. “Kidding!”

By the time the meeting was done, Molly wished it had been a firing squad.

“Luke, this is Molly Bishop, now Hiddleston.” Tom wrapped his arm around her waist. “My wife.”

“My condolences.” Luke shook Molly’s hand.

Molly’s brow furrowed. “I…”

“Of all the stupid shit you have ever fucking done—” Luke started in on Tom.

“Luke, watch your tone.” Tom jabbed a finger in his publicist’s face. “You are not to yell at Molly.” His bright blue eyes flashed and his fists clenched.

Luke took a step back. “Right. Take a seat and let’s see if we can straighten this out.”

They sat next to each other. Molly reached for Tom’s hand and he took it. Luke sat down behind his desk, staring at the two of them. Luke pinched his nose hard and took several deep breaths. Before speaking, he poured a glass of water and dropped two Alka-Seltzer into the water. Molly stared at the whole thing. Tom leaned over.

“For later. Luke says I give him indigestion.” he whispered.

“And headaches.” Luke added.

“I can understand the feeling.” Molly muttered under her breath.

“I beg your pardon!” Tom twisted around to face Molly. “Et tu. Is this about the vegetables?”

“It wouldn’t kill you to eat one every so often. You’re not 21 anymore.”

Tom gritted his teeth. “I said I would work on it. Can we not talk about this right now?”

“You’re the one who brought it up. I was just making a comment.”

Luke’s head bounced back and forth like watching a tennis match, a smirk growing on his face.

“You two are good. Really good. Damn Tom, the lengths you will go to… hiring an actress to pretend to be your wife, that’s—”

“We got married, Luke. In Vegas.” Tom retorted. “Darling, do you have the copy of the license?”

Molly grumbled. “I do, but we are not done with the whole diet thing.” She rummaged through her purse and produced the folded piece of paper. “Show him the photos.” She whispered to Tom as she handed over the license.

“I’m not showing him the photos unless I have to.” Tom hissed.

“Show me the photos, Tom.” Luke beckoned him.

Tom side eyed Molly and handed over the license and his phone. Luke glanced at the license and then scrolled through the photos, eyes growing wider. He zoomed in on one and squinted.

“Is that a spider ring?” he asked.

“His name is Clive.” Tom deadpanned.

Luke cuts his eyes at Tom. “Of course, you named it. You wouldn’t happen to have the ring, would you?” He turned to Molly.

She let loose a breath, exasperated. “Honestly,” she jabbed a finger at Tom and then Luke. “I was not expecting the Spanish Inquisition.” She dug through her purse again. “You are both lucky that I planned ahead.” Molly slammed the two Tiffany boxes on the desk. “There, here is your pound of flesh.”

Luke opened the boxes and found the spider ring and plastic gem ring. His eyes went to their proper rings and then ran his hands through his hair.

“Holy shit, you got married.”

Tom rolled his eyes. “I have been saying that for the last 24 hours, mate. Can we move on?”

Molly giggled.

“I… I… apologize. Sorry.” He sputtered, he turned to Molly. “I’m sorry, Molly. You have no idea the things this man has put me through.”

“I can imagine.”

“Hey! I—”

“Not talking to you, Tom.” Luke held up a hand. “I am talking to your bride. Clearly the reasonable one. Although she did marry you, so…”

Tom slumped in the chair. “Two of you. I thought you were on my side.”

Molly reached over and rubbed his arm. “I’m always on your side, honey.”

Tom smiled and leaned over and kissed her cheek. “Thank you, darling. Do you believe me now, Luke?”

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but yes, I do.” He slammed his hand on his desk, rattling his water. “Now let’s talk about these.” He held up several newspapers.

Forty-five minutes later, they finally ended the meeting. Tom was starving. Luke grilled Molly about her background. By the end of everything, Tom now knew that Molly spent the ages of 12-18 in foster care, went to college where she worked two jobs to make ends meet, and has no contact with her younger brother who was adopted. Tom felt a twinge of guilt listening to Molly tell her life story. He never really bothered to ask.

Luke led them to the door but stopped short.

“How did your mom take the news, Tom?” Luke asked. Tom froze and paled. Luke leaned in. “You did tell her?”

Molly glanced between them. “I thought you called her when we got home.”

Tom ran his hands through his hair. Little bits stuck up. His mouth fell open and his eyes widened. “I forgot. I was distracted by someone yelling at me.”

“You haven’t told your mother about us?!” Molly screeched.

Luke chuckled, which soon turned into a full belly laugh. “You are so dead, Tom.” Molly gasped. “You will be fine, Molly, but pray for your husband. There is nothing scarier in this world than Diana Hiddleston mad at her only son.”

Molly gulped. “I will keep that in mind. Now if you excuse us, we have some calls to make.”

Tom nodded, still reeling from the fact he didn’t tell his mum, or his sisters, that he got married. Fake or not. He hoped she hadn’t seen any of the photos yet. But knowing Emma and Sarah, they sent her the links. “Right, calls.”

Molly pushed Tom out of the office and towards the elevator. She waved bye to Luke as the doors closed.

“That went better than expected.” Molly shifted her weight from side to side.

“Yeah, yeah!” Tom blinked and came back to reality. “You were brilliant. What made you think to bring the rings?”

“People have the tendency to believe you when you can present physical evidence. That, coupled with the photos, lends credibility. I mean, who gets married with a plastic spider ring?” She laughed and Tom joined in.

“Genius, really. Luke would have never—” Tom’s stomach rumbled. He blushed. “You were right I should have eaten something.”

Molly stretched to reach his cheek and gave him a quick peck. “You will soon learn I am always right. Let’s find you some food and then you call your mother.”

“Fine.”

They found a place for Tom to grab a sandwich since it was too late for breakfast and not quite time for lunch. Molly stared on as Tom inhaled the sandwich, a bag of potato chips, and a bottle of water.

“Did you taste any of that?”

Tom glanced up at her as he poked the last bit of the sandwich into his mouth. “Yes.”

She shoved a napkin towards him. “You have crumbs on your face.”

Tom swallowed. “Thanks.”

“Call your mother.”

Tom slouched. “Can’t we wait until we get home?”

“No.” She stared him down. “If you don’t do it, I will.” Molly lunged for his phone, but Tom was too fast and grabbed it first.

“I’m calling her right now.” He held the phone to his ear, praying it would go to voicemail.

“Tom!” Diana’s warm voice filled his ear. “How are you doing, love?”

“Doing good. A bit of jet lag, I was in Vegas over the weekend.”

Diana hummed. “And how is Luke?”

Tom chuckled. “Angry at me as always.”

“If you would just listen to him…”

“I like her.” Molly popped in.

Tom waved her off.

“I know, Mother. Listen,” He fidgeted with his hair again. Molly realized it was an absolute tell when Tom was nervous. “I was wondering if you might like to grab some lunch this week. We can catch up. So much as happened since I last saw you.”

“I would be delighted, Thomas. Why don’t you come up to the house? Does Wednesday work for you?”

Tom mouthed “Wednesday” to Molly, who shrugged her shoulders.

“Like I’m doing anything? You and Luke are the only people I know here.”

“Right.” He returned to the call. “Wednesday is perfect, mum. Noon?”

“It’s a date. Don’t forget to bring that wife of yours, Thomas. I am quite keen on meeting her.”

All the blood drained from Tom’s face. “I… I… can explain—”

“I’m sure you can. On Wednesday. I have to go, love. It was good to chat.” The line went dead.

Tom stared at the phone. “I’m so dead. She knows about you.”

“Oh, she knows. You are her son. And didn’t you mention having sisters? They totally ratted you out.” Molly smiled at him.

Tom had some appointments on Tuesday which kept his mind occupied from seeing his mother the next day. Molly took some time to figure out how to change her name, get a new passport, and figure out how to maneuver life in a foreign country. Tom took her to get a phone that would work.

“Here you go.”

The first thing she did was snap Tom to add to his contact list. He was laughing in the photo.

“Don’t use that one!” Tom pouted. “Let me pose.”

“But I like this one. It captures your essence.”

But now it is Wednesday morning. Tom woke up early to go for a run. Molly was already up, sipping tea in the living room.

“Can I join you?” she asked upon seeing Tom in workout gear.

“I run about three miles…”

“Sounds perfect. Give me two minutes.” She bounded off the couch towards her bedroom.

Tom fiddled with his headphones until Molly emerged in sneakers and workout leggings. Over the ear headphones around her neck.

“Ready to go.” She tucked her phone into a pocket. “I will just follow you.”

“Let me know if you need to turn around.” Tom winked as they set off.

They returned home about thirty minutes later.

“Sure you don’t want to go another mile?” Molly bounced on her feet.

Tom breathed hard. “Maybe another time. I’m a bit out of shape. You run?”

Molly nodded. “Most days I run. If I get up in time. I miss the gym.”

Tom chuckled. “We need to get you a membership. And I need to ..get into shape myself. Can’t let my wife show me up in paparazzi photos.” he half-joked.

Molly coughed. “They take photos of you running?!”

“Sometimes.” He took a sip of water, his heart rate going back to normal. “Definitely now with you in the picture.”

Molly raised an eyebrow, stepping towards him, grabbing the water bottle from him. “Think they are out there right now?”

Tom glanced around and sure enough, he spied a few cameras with zoom lenses down the street.

“Yup.”

Molly wrapped her arms around his neck. “Maybe we should give them a more scandalous photo.”

Tom leaned down. “What did you have in mind?” he smirked as Molly tugged his head towards her and her lips crashed against his. She sighed and Tom slipped his tongue into her mouth. Molly did the same. As he fisted the back of her shirt, Tom noticed one of Molly’s arms moving.

“AH!!” He screamed as the cold water poured down on his head and Molly jumped back laughing.

“I thought you needed a little cooling off.” she laughed.

Tom lunged for her with a smile on his face, droplets of water falling from his hair.

“You’ll pay for that!” Tom gave chase, while Molly dashed into the house, screaming and laughing.

She made it as far as the living room before Tom’s long legs caught up with her.

“Got you!”

Tom grabbed her by the waist to pull her towards him, but their feet slipped and they ended up on the couch. Tom on top of her. Their eyes locked for a moment before Tom scrambled to his feet.

“I’ll get you all wet.” he commented nervously. “I should…”

“Right.” Molly nodded, sitting up. “I’ll make some breakfast. Eggs and toast. I don’t know what your mother is planning on for lunch.”

“A light breakfast would be best.” Tom shook out his now soaked t-shirt and Molly caught a glimpse of his abs.

“No problem.” She smiled.

They both headed off in different directions. When it was time to leave for Diana’s house, Molly fidgeted with her casual dress and knee-high boots.

“Do I look okay?” she glanced at Tom in jeans and a sweater. “I’m overdressed. Look at you, casually gorgeous. I’m going to change. I have nothing to wear. Nothing to wear…” Molly’s face broke down.

Tom wrapped his arms around her. “What’s going on, darling?” She buried her head in his sweater. “You didn’t freak out like this when we went to go see Luke.”

“That was business. This is your mother. I don’t do well with families, particularly mothers. What if she hates me?”

He kissed the top of her head. “First off, you look beautiful. Second, if my mum hates anyone between the two of us, it will be me. She is going to love you, darling.”

Molly sniffled and dabbed her eyes with the back of her fingers. “Really?”

“I am 100% certain. Now let’s get on the road.”

Molly smiled and nodded. The fear wasn’t gone, but she felt better knowing Tom would be there with her. That fear came rushing back as they stood on the front step of the house of Diana Hiddleston. Tom reached for Molly first.

“I’ve got you, darling.” He leaned over and kissed her cheek right as the door opened.

“Gross, Tom. And at Mum’s house no less.” Emma gagged.

Tom’s cheeks turned a bright pink. “Emma! I didn’t expect you to be here.” He leaned in and kissed her cheek. “What a surprise.”

Emma rolled her eyes. “And miss out on Mum meeting the girl you married without telling her, not a chance.” Emma turned to Molly. “Emma.”

“Molly B… Hiddleston.” She smiled and extended her hand. Emma shook it with a firm grip.

“The papers didn’t give a name. She seems nice, Tom. Clearly she doesn’t know the real you.”

Tom continued to blush. “Thanks for the vote of confidence, Em. Can we come in or are we eating on the front step?”

Emma held the door open wide and stepped aside. They stepped inside. “Mum’s in the kitchen.”

As if on cue, Diana’s voice rang out. “Is that them, Emma?”

“They just got here!” she yelled before turning back to them. “She’s been cooking all day.”

Molly gulped. Tom squeezed her hand. An older woman with grey white shoulder length hair. She came up to Tom's shoulder, if that.

“You were supposed to tell me when they got here.” she scolded Emma.

“I was on my way to tell you.”

“Go take the food out of the oven.”

“But…” Emma protested.

“Go, child. You’ll have the entire meal to listen to me yell. Right now I need a word with your brother.”

Emma pursed her lips as she walked into the kitchen but made a slashing throat gesture, mouthing the words “you’re so dead” at Tom before disappearing.

Diana wiped her hands on her apron. “Now where is my new daughter-in-law?”

Molly raised her hand. “That would be me. Molly, ma’am.”

Diana held open her arms and wrapped them around Molly tight. She realized where Tom got his hugging skills.

“You are just a doll. Is my son treating you well?”

Molly nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

“So polite and much shorter than the last one. Right at eye height for me.”

“Mother…”

Diana waved Tom off. “And please call me Diana or Mum or Mom. I promise I don’t bite.”

Molly giggled. “Yes, ma.. Diana.”

Diana hugged her again before spinning to face her son.

“Tom.” She crossed her arms.

“Mum.” Tom grew very interested in the rug on the floor.

“Do I get a hug?” Diana smiled.

Tom looked up and grinned. “Always.” The two of them hugged tight, Tom bending at the knees to wrap his arms around her. “I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too.” Diana pulled back.

Her hand reached out and smacked Tom right upside the head. Tom cowered, covering his head.

“Mum!” he howled.

“You got married and didn’t tell me!”

“I was getting around to it. Luke distracted me!” Tom explained.

Diana smacked his arm. “Do not blame Luke for this, he is a saint! You were keeping this lovely girl away from me.”

Molly beamed as Diana smacked Tom one more time.

“You think I’m lovely?” she asked.

Diana turned to Molly. “Oh dear. You are perfectly charming. Unlike my wretch of a son.” Another smack to the chest.

“Really, Mum? In front of our guest?” Tom flinched.

“Molly is family.” Diana stopped, took a deep breath, and smiled. “Now with that sorted, let’s go eat.” She spun on her heel and headed back to the kitchen.

Tom hooked his arm with Molly’s. “My mother.”

“I like her.”

Emma and Diane pumped the two of them for every detail about this abbreviated courtship.

“A chapel in Vegas, Tom? Romantic.” Emma sneered.

“I thought so.” Molly added.

“Thank you, darling.” Tom leaned against her.

“Awww.” Emma commented.

Diana stood to clear the dishes as Emma examined Molly’s ring.

“Let me help you.” Tom rose to help, taking the rest of the dishes. Diana grabbed his arm when they reached the sink.

“I really like her, Thomas. You did well.”

“Thank you. She is something.” Tom smiled.

“Much better than the last girl you brought home.”

Tom frowned. “Mum, I…”

Diana held up her hand. “I know. Don’t mention her. But I will say this. There was something about her that didn’t sit right with me.”

“You never said anything to me.”

Diana smiled softly and cupped Tom’s cheek. “You seemed so in love and happy. And all I have ever wanted for all my kids is to be happy.”

“Oh.”

“But none of that matters. You have Molly now and the two of you have years of happiness ahead.”

Tom glanced over to where Emma and Molly hunched over Emma’s phone. Tom’s heart twinged with guilt.

“Right. Of course.” He smiled.

Molly burst out in laughter.

“What is so funny over there?” Tom called out, heading over to the table.

Emma giggled. “Just some old pictures.”

Tom’s face fell. “No, you didn’t…”

Molly giggled. “You were so skinny and that hair!”

The two girls fell into a fit of giggles as Diane placed a hand on Tom’s shoulder.

“Yes, I like her very much.” she whispered. “Why don’t we pull out the old picture albums?”

Tom groaned.

#tom hiddleston #tom hiddleston fanfiction #tom hiddleston fanfic #tom hiddleston x ofc #tom hiddleston imagine #tom hiddleston fluff #tom hiddleston smut #tom hiddleston angst #accidently married

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babyjamiebarnes · 4 years

Text

Build-A-Bear

Part Two

Featuring: Bucky x Stark!reader, dad!Tony, Peter Parker (platonic), background MCU characters

Warnings: [chapter] language; [series] language, smut, violence

Summary: The only people who knew she was actually a Stark were her dad, her step-mom Pepper, and her “uncles” Happy and Rhodey. A promotion within Stark Industries takes her from an already-sought after position in the Weapons Anaylsis Unit straight to the Avengers as a Weapons Enhancement Specialist... which means her dad is her new boss. There’s only one rule at work: no fraternizing with coworkers. There’s one more rule at home: no dating any Avengers. So what is she supposed to do when a grumpy super soldier becomes not-so-grumpy around her? At 25, do her dad’s rules still apply? Or is her entire livelihood at risk?

Author’s Note: This one was gonna be super short but I felt bad so it’s super long instead lol. I originally planned on posting shorter chapters more frequently so it might be closer to 3-4 days between parts now that I’m posting longer chapters. Let me know if you want to be added to the tag list! I’ve never done a tag list before so I’m going to keep the limit pretty small. And if you want, you can buy me a coffee! ❣️

(Part One)

Tags: @kennedywxlsh

About an hour later, a light knock on the lab door drew your eyes from your work to Bucky as he walked in. Peter’s eyes darted up but immediately looked back down when he realized the visitor was for you.

“Hey Bucky,” you smiled. He smiled back and shoved his hands in his pockets.

“So… you wanted to see my arm?” he said, more as a question than a reminder.

“Yeah, if you could sit right here, that’d be perfect.”

He did as you asked and took a seat on a lab chair, letting you lean across the lab table toward him so you could fiddle with his prosthetic arm. You quickly grabbed your magnifying glasses, flipping the magnifiers up so you could examine him at face value first.

After a few minutes of looking at the outer plating and sensory receptors, you pulled away.

“Can you feel with this arm?” you asked.

“I can feel pressure but I can’t actually feel with it.” You gave him a confused look, only sort of piecing together what he meant. As he fumbled over his words to explain again, you put your glasses to the side, running around to Bucky’s side again to stand in front of him.

“Okay, this might be weird but it’ll really help me. Hold your hands out, palms up.” He did as you said. “I’m going to do the same thing to both arms and then I want you to show me, using just your right arm, how it felt on each one, okay?”

Bucky nodded and watched as your fingertips gently glided over his forearms, leaving goosebumps in your wake. The second time, you brushed your palms against his skin, as if you were brushing away crumbs. The final time, you scratched your nails down his right arm, making him take in a sharp breath as he watched the skin of his arm turn a pale pink. His left arm, however, kept catching your fingernails between the plates so you resorted to scratching across instead of down.

“Okay, now show me.” You flipped both of your arms over, palm up.

Using just his flesh arm on your right arm, he grazed his fingertips over your skin, admittedly sending a shiver down your spine. You didn’t even consider how weak that touch usually makes you, especially from someone who looks like that. And you’d be lying to yourself if you said you didn’t find him attractive before you even graduated college. You and your roommates were guilty of many nights of fuck-marry-fight with the Avengers as your victims.

When your gaze moved up to meet his, he brushed his hand over your arm, then delicately scratched his nails down your arm.

If it hadn’t been for the slight hum of machinery across the room, you’re sure Bucky would’ve heard your heart beating out of your chest.

Dad would literally kill me if he knew the thoughts going through my head right now, you thought.

“Okay,” you started, pausing briefly to clear your throat. “What about what your left arm feels?”

This one made him furrow his brows, either in concentration or confusion. He pushed his fingertips against your skin harder than before and moved them down your arm. He used more pressure again with the second movement, then went back to heavy fingertip pressure for the scratches.

“Hm,” you said simply, letting your arms drop to your sides again. “So you feel the weight of the touch but not the sensation that comes with it?” The confusion in his eyes made you rephrase. “So this on your right arm —“ you ran your fingers down his flesh arm again, “gives you goosebumps, but this on your metal arm —“ you repeated on the left, “is just a weight, no shiverbugs?”

“Shiverbugs?” he repeated with a barely noticeable smile.

“Goosebumps! Sorry. Shiverbugs is something my grandma used to say. Sometimes I slip into the family slang,” you chuckled. Bucky’s smile grew a bit at the sound of your laugh.

“Yeah, I only feel that on the right arm. No shiverbugs with the left.”

You jokingly scrunched your nose at him before returning to your previous seat. He stood there as you scribbled down notes on how he feels things and your immediate thoughts on how to make it more real for him.

“Is there anything you want done to your arm?”

Bucky seemed slightly taken aback at the question, but quickly steeled his expression. “I know Tony wanted to make it quieter,” he said.

You pushed your glasses up your nose and leaned your elbows on the table between you. You could tell he was still pretty reserved, either because you were new and he didn’t feel comfortable around you, or because he didn’t feel comfortable in the tower as a whole yet.

“I know what Tony wants,” you said gently. “What do you want?”

He frowned at this, turning his eyes to the floor as he thought. After a beat, he finally said, “I just want it to feel real again.”

And you could’ve cried right then and there. You knew the story of the Winter Soldier. You had heard what Bucky had been through. You couldn’t imagine going through anything close to what he experienced, and you’d be damned if you let him down.

But you couldn’t cry in front of him on your first day, so you smiled at him softly.

“That’s not an easy feat but I’ll do what I can, Barnes.”

He smiled briefly before frowning again. That frown seemed to be his default expression.

“Is there anything else you need?” he asked.

“Not right now. Thanks for helping me out,” you replied. He just nodded before walking out. Your eyes stayed on the door for an extra couple seconds before you spun around on your seat and scurried across the room to plop down next to Peter, who was packing his stuff to head home for the day.

“Hey, Boy Wonder, question.” Peter looked at you with raised eyebrows. Nicknaming ran in the family. “Want to use that biomolecular engineering and help me with something?”

•••

Nearly every day when you stopped in the kitchen for lunch, you’d run into Bucky. Sometimes he’d be with Sam, sometimes Steve, sometimes on his own. But almost every single day, he’d be in the common room chatting or the kitchen eating. For the first couple weeks, he was a little tense when you were around. You’d hear him and Sam bickering as you approached, just to see him quiet down once you entered the room. It was a bit disheartening at first, but when it was just the two of you, he always engaged.

You’d called him into the lab a couple times to look over his arm again, but you always felt bad taking him away from whatever training or cases he was working on. The digital renderings were always there, and you spent plenty of time digging into those and running simulations of the different ways you could muffle the wiring. And it’s a good thing you ran the simulations, because a couple of them would’ve fried his whole arm and then some.

Peter was a great help too. When he wasn’t working on his own projects, he’d poke his nose into your work and throw out recommendations. Robotics may have been your specialty, but the kid knew his stuff. He’s the only reason you finally figured out the perfect combo to quiet Bucky’s arm without knocking him out.

Nearly four weeks after your first day — and a week after Peter went back to campus, leaving you alone in the lab — you cornered Bucky in the communal kitchen again and turned on your classic Stark charm.

“Hey Bucky,” you said sweetly, leaning over the counter across from him while he tossed fruit into a blender.

“Hey [Y/N].”

You’d grown a bit more comfortable with each other, mainly from when you two were left alone. He still was a bit quieter with one of his friends around, but he was growing more talkative in general. You felt comfortable tossing nicknames at him; he felt comfortable saying “hey” instead of “hi” and once gave you your own nickname. Since you called him Bucky Bear a time or two, he called you Build A Bear. He almost looked panicked when it slipped, but your initial shock was quickly followed by giggles, easing the tension in his shoulders. But the feeling that name sent to your stomach felt more like bats than butterflies. He even joked with you now.

“So I’ve been looking at the blueprints we have for your arm and I was wondering — I know this is a lot to ask — could I maybe spend some more time digging around in your arm?” You flashed him a hopeful smile, even propping your chin on your hand to look cuter.

Before he answered, he put the lid on the blender and started it, staring at you blankly as the sound filled the entire room. You just sat there, continuing to smile at him. And the more you fluttered your lashes while he let the blender run, the more you could see his frown-y facade start to crack.

He finally broke into a smile when he shut the machine off.

“You don’t have to ask, [Y/N]. I mainly train in the mornings so my afternoons are free. As long as I’m here, you can call me in whenever.”

You jumped up and ran around the counter, giving him an unexpected hug, made obvious by the way he tensed up. You elected to ignore it.

“You’re the best, Bucky Bear.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” he said, gently pulling away from you to pour his smoothie into two glasses. “I just have one stipulation.” You looked up at him expectantly. “Take the rest of this? I, uh, I made a bit too much.”

With a laugh, you grabbed the nearly full glass and led him down the halls to your lab. Since Peter was only coming back one weekend a month, you had kind of taken over the lab, adding some color to make your workspace a little less drab. Your guilty pleasures playlist — aka your favorite middle school dance songs — played quietly over the speakers as you directed Bucky to sit down.

Getting into his arm wasn’t the easiest task. You had to pry off the opening of each individual outer plate, then unscrew — yes, with a screwdriver — the covering on the inner plates to actually see the wiring inside. Fortunately, Bucky brought his phone with him so he could occupy himself and let you focus. You were a bit surprised at how easily he understood modern technology, but he wasn’t quite the old man Steve was when it came to the changing times.

After spending a solid 10 minutes leaning over the lab table to open Bucky’s arm, you poked around inside for a while, jotting down notes as you went. Shuri had sent Tony quite a few notes for you to reference, but seeing everything firsthand and taking your own notes always helped.

Unfortunately, Bucky had two removable sections in his arm: one on his forearm, one in his bicep.

“Scale of one to ten, how comfy does the table look?” you asked.

Bucky looked up from his phone and gave you a confused look. “Uh, maybe a two? Why?”

“Well, Buckaroo, I need to get to the top plate too so you’ll have to either hold your arm up for me to get to it or lie down somewhere.”

He glanced back down at the table, then looked at you in confusion as he voiced his own suggestion. “What about the couch in the common room?”

You tapped your nose and pointed at him with a smile, gathering your supplies and the rest of Bucky’s arm. He led the way, lying flat on the couch and raising his left arm over his head.

“Is it okay if I play more music out here?” you asked as you unloaded everything.

“Sure. I should probably catch up on modern music anyway,” he said with a soft smile. You had Friday play your guilty pleasures playlist again while you got to work on opening up the top of Bucky’s arm.

You’d been poking around for almost 20 minutes when the silence was broken.

“Music nowadays is so sexual,” Bucky said suddenly.

“Hm. What makes you say that?” you asked, only half paying attention as you drew up more stream-of-consciousness notes on the coffee table beside you.

“This song.” You paused and immediately recognized the beat for “Candy Shop” by 50 Cent.

“Oh come on, as if you didn’t have any inappropriate songs in the ‘40s,” you scoffed.

“Of course we did but it was never this blatant! We were more subtle back then,” Bucky defended.

“Bro,” you deadpan. “If you think ‘Candy Shop’ is obvious, you have way more catching up to do. Friday, play ‘WAP’ by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion.”

You watched Bucky react as the song started. Even the initial “there’s some whores in this house” made his eyes go wide. At “wet ass pussy make that pull out game weak,” he turned to you, beet red in the face.

“What kind of music do you listen to?!”

“This is a popular song!” you laughed. “We have some obviously sexual songs that aren’t quite as… vulgar too. Friday, play ‘T-Shirt’ by Thomas Rhett.”

Bucky eyed you cautiously this time, not quite sure if you were actually playing a more censored song. He visibly relaxed when he heard the first lyrics, “Get off of work and we meet down at our spot. We got a patio with a view of a parking lot.”

“See, this is already so much better.”

“Don’t act so innocent,” you smirked, rolling your eyes at him.

“That sounds like an accusation,” Bucky laughed.

“Oh, it is.”

“Yeah? What’s that supposed to mean?” He sat up to face you directly, one leg landing on each side of your body sitting on the floor. His posture combined with his playful conversation had you wondering where this confidence came from. Because you definitely liked it.

“Come on,” you scoffed. “You can’t convince me a face like that,” you pointed directly at him to emphasize your point, “wasn’t making panties drop left and right back in the day.”

He shook his head and laughed to himself, leaning back on the couch, yet made no move to deny your accusation.

“Who would’ve known my sweet little Bucky Bear was a player?” you joked.

“Oh, like you’re not the same way, Build A Bear.”

“Excuse me?!” you squealed. “I’ll have you know I’m a good little Christian girl and I’m saving myself for marriage,” you said with a grin, maneuvering from sitting on your butt to kneeling and clasping your hands together like you were praying.

“You’re a lot of things, [Y/N]. A good liar is not one of those things,” Bucky smirked.

Your mouth fell agape. You liked this confident, playful side of him. You’d only seen glimpses until now.

“What’s your number?” you asked, dropping your hands to your sides.

“Uhh… My phone number?”

“No, your sexual body count,” you laughed, making sure to clarify; former assassins probably have a different interpretation of ‘body count.’ “How many people have you slept with?”

You knew it was a personal question but given the topic of conversation and casual tone you’d both taken on, it didn’t seem totally out of bounds.

Bucky thought for a second, slowly counting on his fingers. Your eyes watched as the slender metal digits flicked up: one, two, three... “Four.”

“Yeah, okay,” you scoffed.

“Why is that so hard to believe?” Bucky said with a laugh.

“Because that’s my body count.”

“Doll, I took plenty of dames out on the town, but I’d leave the night with a kiss and nothing else,” he said, that old school Brooklyn lilt sneaking up on him.

You sighed and shook your head, still not believing him but choosing to let it go for now.

“Give me your arm,” you said, holding your hand out. Bucky let his arm drop into your hand while you picked up a microchip with a needle-thin pair of tweezers. “This will adhere to the vibranium and essentially act like a pillow to muffle the sounds of your arm. So it’ll still make noise — I can’t just get rid of all sound — but it’ll be notably quieter.”

You tucked the chip under the inner plating of Bucky’s arm, watching as it sparked over the metal to let you both know it was working.

“Now lie back down so I can put you back together, Humpty Dumpty,” you said.

Bucky let out a quiet chuckle, but leaned back on the couch with his left arm over his head. After 15 minutes of angling the plating just right so it would fit back together, you climbed off the couch, distancing yourself from Bucky for the first time in nearly four hours.

“Anything else I can help the mad scientist with today?” Bucky asked. He had moved to rest his elbows on his knees, looking up at you from his spot on the sofa.

You checked your watch to see how much time you had left in your workday. 4:15. Forty-five minutes until you can clock out for the weekend. Not quite close enough to bullshit through some dumb side project so you don’t get too invested. But there’s one thing you wanted to check out to improve the feeling in Bucky’s arm.

“Can you take your shirt off?” you asked plainly.

Bucky’s eyes went wide for half a second before he slipped back into his playful demeanor. “Shouldn’t you take me on a date first?”

“Shut up,” you giggled. You giggled. “I just want to see how the arm is connected to your torso.”

Without pause, Bucky leaned forward, grabbed the back of his shirt, and tugged it over his head to let it fall to the floor. Unfortunately for you, you didn’t consider what he’d look like underneath his clothing, so it took you a second to gather your bearings again. You couldn’t help yourself. How could you not admire the slender lines of his collarbones, the thick layer of muscle covering his chest, the distinct ridges on his abdomen speckled with scars, the very tip of what you could only assume were two tantalizing depressions leading right to —

“Like what you see, doll?” he smirked.

Your eyes met his, reluctantly pulling away from what you knew would be the source of your dreams tonight.

“Four, my ass,” you mumbled in fake annoyance, kneeling between his thighs again to get a better look at him. Your fingertips trailed along the smooth line of scarred skin bordering the harsh metal of his arm. It took all your willpower to focus on work instead of the heat his body was radiating being so close to each other. “Was this how, you know, they put your arm on?”

Bucky shook his head, his expression growing sullen at the indirect mention of his tormentors. “They just kind of dug away at it. The Wakandans actually cut away a bit more of my skin to allow for healthier healing.”

You could tell it was carefully done, judging by the faint discoloring and thin ridge alongside the metal, as opposed to angry red lines that protruded out like the photos Shuri sent.

“Does this area hurt?” You pressed your hand flat to the scar; Bucky had to try to reign in his heartbeat. You had leaned in close to see his arm, leaving you close enough for him to just dip his head down and —

“What’s going on here?”

Both of you whipped your heads to the side to see a very confused — and slightly annoyed — Tony standing in the entrance to the common room, clearly just passing by and stumbling on a somewhat compromising situation: his daughter on her knees between a shirtless Winter Soldier’s thighs.

Without taking your eyes off your father, you reached around on the coffee table and grabbed your notebook.

“Research! I promise!”

“Research that couldn’t happen in your designated lab?” You could tell there was so much more he wanted to say, but had to keep it to himself for now to avoid telling Bucky who you really were.

“I had to open the compartment in his tricep area and didn’t want to make him lie down on the lab tables for three hours.” The accusatory glare from your dad made you shrink into yourself, your voice growing quieter as you spoke. Fridays were family dinner night, and you already knew you wouldn’t hear the end of this.

“Uh-huh,” he said slowly, still eyeing you and Bucky suspiciously. “And why did he need to be half naked for that?”

“Da — Tony,” you said, barely catching yourself. “I mean, Mr. Stark. I was examining the scar tissue and spinal connection to determine how to enhance the sensory receptors currently embedded in the vibranium.”

Tony’s eyes flitted between you and Bucky. Your eyes were wide, clearly nervous as he grilled you. Bucky, on the other hand, was flushed pink and leaning a little too close for Tony’s comfort.

“Keep this PG from now on, okay? And no working outside of the lab. This is Stark Tower, not Bezos Tower. We’re not gonna work you to the bone.” He started to walk away before stepping back and adding, “No fraternizing with coworkers, remember?”

With a quick nod, you stood abruptly and gathered your things to take it back to your lab for the night. Bucky was quick to slip his shirt back on and followed you with his head down to avoid the burning gaze of your father — or as far as he knew, his boss.

You didn’t expect Bucky to go back to your lab with you, but part of you was glad he did. Being around him brought you a sense of calm and comfort, even after what just happened. If he had just walked away, you’d assume the worst: that an accusation like that was far from what he wanted to hear.

You set all your things back on your table to start putting them away when Bucky shoved his hands into his pockets and cleared his throat.

“Sorry about that,” he said. You spared a quick glance at him, seeing the tension in his shoulders as he chose his words carefully.

“Why?” you asked, genuinely confused on how that situation was somehow his fault.

“Tony… he doesn’t really like me much.”

“Yeah, I know,” you laughed. “But that was way more of a me-problem than a you-problem. We’ll just have to work in here from now on.” You shrugged and went back to putting your tools in their respective drawers.

Bucky still stood right inside the doorway, the door shut behind him so no one outside could hear you two. He rocked back and forth on his feet, trying to force himself to follow through with at least mentioning what he planned on asking you.

“I was actually gonna see if you wanted to get dinner together sometime until Tony gave us that speech,” he chuckled.

You slid the final drawer shut and turned to Bucky. You knew you two were getting closer and you couldn’t deny feeling an attraction to him, but you never expected him to feel that same pull. The thought made you smile back at him while he cracked his knuckles, most likely from nerves. What happened to that fun and flirty attitude he had just a few minutes ago?

Your grandma always said to never date a man who wasn’t nervous about asking you out...

“I’m pretty good at keeping secrets,” you said quietly.

His eyes stopped darting around the room to find your gaze. You stepped closer, taking slow steps as you crossed the room to him until you were toe to toe. He didn’t take his eyes off of you until you held your phone out to him.

“I won’t tell if you don’t,” you said with a small smirk.

His lips curled into a small smile as he snatched your phone and entered his number.

“I’ll text you my address. Does tomorrow night work?” you asked, unintentionally biting your lip but not missing the way Bucky’s eyes followed the movement.

“Tomorrow sounds great,” he replied.

“Okay. See you tomorrow, Buck.” You took a bit of a risk and stood on your tip toes to give him a kiss on the cheek, his face immediately flushing red. Your own cheeks grew warm when you stepped back, tossing Bucky a quick wave as you turned back around and hoping he’d leave before you started screaming.

#bucky x reader #bucky barnes x reader #bucky x Stark!reader #bucky barnes x Stark!reader #Stark!reader #bucky barnes fanfic

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rosyfingereddawnn · 3 years

Text

That’s The Way (Chapter 5)

Pairing: Jimmy Page x Reader

Word count: 4.3k

Warning(s): Nothing! This is such a sweet chapter :)

Author’s notes: Another sweet little chapter with Jimmy and Y/N, with a guest appearance from Lillian, everyone’s favourite rascal ;) This chapter was honestly such a joy, and my partner in crime @rebel-without-a-zeppelin is so amazing as always!!! As usual, please enjoy, happy reading, and send us messages if you have theories, comments, music recommendations for the playlist, or if you want to be added to the tag list :)

Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

——

Y/N was in the kitchen, washing the dishes as she hummed to a tune she had just heard on the radio. She had just spent the morning baking biscuits, brownies, and all sorts of homemade goodies, and everything was still warm and cooling on a plate on the counter. Lillian’s loud footsteps reverberating through the house signalled that these delicacies wouldn��t be there for much longer.

“Y/N! Y/N!” she shouted in her high-pitched, innocent voice, as her footsteps grew closer. She scurried through the kitchen to stand at her sister’s side, looking up at her with her big eyes.

“What is it, Lil?” her sister responded, still scrubbing a bowl with a soapy sponge.

“I need you to braid my hair,” Lillian replied softly, her smile glinting in the afternoon sun.

“What for? What’s the occasion?”

Lillian’s lips pursed into a grin that she was trying to hold back. “Nothing,” she said in a sing-song tone, her head curling into her shoulder bashfully, “I just like the way it looks.”

Y/N huffed. “I’m kind of in the middle of something here,” she motioned towards the sink with her sudsy gloves; it had been filled to the brim with dirty dishes, though the mountain of tableware was lessening by the minute.

“Pretty please? I just want to feel beautiful like you,” her little sister whined, tugging on Y/N’s clothes.

Overcome with empathetic emotion, Y/N conceded, removing her gloves and turning the sink off. Crouching down to Lillian’s level, she held her hands, gazing into her eyes.

“Lillian, don’t say that about yourself. You are beautiful, truly,” Y/N coaxed earnestly.

“But when you braid my hair, I feel my most beautiful,” Lillian frowned.

Y/N couldn’t argue with Lillian, because she herself had bouts of self-consciousness and low self-esteem. Oh, the joys of being a young girl, Y/N thought, a wry grin on her lips. Ruffling her sister’s hair slightly, she replied, “Go sit at the counter and grab yourself a biscuit then.” Lillian giggled as she scurried over to the counter, reaching to grab one of each baked good from the three plates.

Y/N ripped off a piece of paper towel and handed it to Lillian so she wouldn’t leave any crumbs in her wake, as Lillian swung her feet as she sat atop the tall barstool chair and munched on her biscuit, a mischievous look on her youthful face. Y/N stood behind her, putting two elastics around her wrist.

“What kind of braids do you want, Lil?” Y/N asked, grabbing a nearby pencil to separate a perfect middle part down the back of her sister’s hair then tying off one side.

“I quite like Dutch braids,” Lillian said cheerfully.

“Okay, Dutch it is.”

Just as Y/N separated three strands of Lillian’s hair, the phone began to ring. Oh come on! Y/N thought with a huff. “Hang on a minute, Lil, let me answer this.”

“Hello?”

“Hey Y/N, it’s Jimmy,” a familiar voice echoed through the phone. Y/N’s eyes widened at the sound, a smile creeping onto her lips. There was a part of her that hadn’t expected him to call, though the way her heart skipped a beat at the sound of his voice only confirmed how happy she was about it.

“Hey Jimmy, how are you?” she replied, leaning against the wall in an attempt to look composed, though she was twirling the cord around her finger nervously, almost combusting from excitement.

“I’m well, love, how about yourself?” he asked, his soft voice coming across as calm and casual, though he was, in fact, not calm at all, unbeknownst to Y/N. His sweaty palms readjusting their grip on the phone every few seconds as they spoke would have been a dead giveaway.

“I’m doing well, thanks.”

“JIMMY!” Lillian squealed from the background, “Tell him I said hi!”

Y/N laughed, “Oh, and Lillian says hi.”

Jimmy chuckled, “I heard. A very enthusiastic little one. Tell the sweet girl I said hello, if you don’t mind.”

“I will,” Y/N giggled before a pause, “What’s up?”

“Well, I have a day off today, you see. I’m going book shopping, and I was wondering...if you’d like to possibly come along...” he trailed off, almost unsure of his invitation.

Y/N’s stomach dropped at his invitation. He wanted her company?! As much as she wanted to jump for joy and scream, she had to suppress her emotions as best she could. Lillian was sitting right there after all, and if she caught wind of her small crush? Y/N would never hear the end of it. All of St. Albans would know, given how enthusiastic Lillian can be. She cleared her throat, recomposing herself before answering, “I’d love to come along! Thank you so much for the invitation,” Y/N gushed, “What time were you thinking?”

“How about twenty minutes?” Jimmy asked, “I’ll have my driver take us, so you don’t have to worry about transportation.”

“Perfect! See you then.”

“See you soon, love.” With that, the phone clicked, signalling the man’s departure.

“What did Jimmy want?” Lillian asked as Y/N walked back over to behind her chair.

“Oh nothing,” Y/N replied, taking three strands of her hair, “just asked if I would come shopping for books with him. He’s picking me up in twenty minutes.”

“Oh, that sounds like so much fun!” Lillian said cheerfully, genuinely happy that her sister was spending time with her friend. She was not at the age to assume any type of budding romance or feelings between the two, much to Y/N’s relief.

“Yeah, I’m excited!”

“Maybe you should give him what you baked,” Lillian offered, “I think he’d like them!”

“That’s a good idea,” Y/N agreed. “Since I’m not going to be home for a while, can you help Mum with the dishes? I feel bad I didn't finish them.” Lillian nodded with a hum as she quietly munched on her biscuit and a comfortable silence settled between the sisters.

Oh, to be that young and naïve, Y/N thought as she finished braiding Lillian’s hair, no stress, no problems, no worrying about boys...

~~~~~~~~

Just as Jimmy had said, his driver was in front of Y/N’s front door in exactly twenty minutes. She put a biscuit, brownie, and oatmeal cream pie into a plastic bag and tucked it into her purse before walking out the door. Butterflies erupted in her stomach as she walked towards the car, seeing Jimmy in the back seat with an open spot next to him.

“Hello Y/N, love,” Jimmy greeted jovially as the girl slid into the seat next to him. The smile on his face felt warm and welcoming to the young girl, easily returning a smile with the same emotion.

“Hi! Thanks again for inviting me to join you,” Y/N replied as the driver smoothly pulled away from her house and started down the road.

“Oh, no problem! I was hoping that I didn’t have to go alone, so I thought of you,” Jimmy grinned. Y/N couldn’t help but notice the way he fidgeted with his fingers nervously while he spoke. Could he actually be feeling as nervous as she was?

“That’s so sweet, thank you,” Y/N responded bashfully, smiling from ear to ear.

An unsettling silence diffused through the car, the only significant sounds being the radio playing softly in the background and the occasional bump in the road. The two, sat close to one another, felt so far away, as the cavernous quiet settled over them.

With a clearing of his throat, Jimmy spoke up, “Did you know that this is the first piece of vintage clothing I ever bought for myself?” he asked, showing off the navy blue military jacket he was wearing, adorned with several ornate gold buttons.

Y/N turned her head to look at his jacket with a grin, “That?” she answered, trying to sound serious in an attempt to tease him.

Jimmy frowned. “Yeah, you don’t like it?” he asked, slight panic bleeding into his voice at her teasing.

“Did you get it at the Embassy or something, to go off to war? Are you assuming the position of a Revolutionary War general, because I’m afraid you’re in the wrong country. And century.” Y/N said, a smile creeping past her lips as she failed to contain some of her laughter.

Jimmy huffed and rolled his eyes. “Okay, it has a lot of buttons,” he admitted defensively.

“Yes it does,” Y/N chuckled. Then after a few moments of silence, she concurred reluctantly, “I like your jacket,” she said with a smirk.

“I knew it, I knew you did!” Jimmy laughed triumphantly, “It’s so cool, right?”

“It is pretty cool, I admit.”

“There’s also a bunch of pockets, so you can fit all sorts of bits and bops in there too. You wouldn’t even know,” Jimmy said with a wink.

“I can only imagine what you keep in those pockets,” Y/N grinned mischievously.

Jimmy’s jaw dropped in feigned shock. “What a naughty mind you have, Miss Y/N! How can you assume such a thing about me?”

“I’ve heard a few whispers about you and Jackie in my day,” Y/N giggled, “things I wish to not get into at this particular moment in time.”

“What did you hear? Who told you?” Jimmy said, an air of panic in his voice as he straightened in his seat.

“I can’t tell you that!”

“It was Jeff who told you, wasn’t it? The bastard.” Jimmy scowled, turning away from her to run his fingers through his hair. The slight tremor that rushed through them made the young woman smile. He was nervous.

“I said I can’t tell you! That’s for only me to know,” Y/N giggled.

Jimmy paused for a second, contemplating his next sentence before piping up, “Well, I should say that Jackie and I broke up actually,” he said quietly, his panic now overcome with sadness.

Y/N frowned, feeling bad for her friend. “Oh Jimmy, I’m so sorry. I can only imagine how difficult it is for you right now.” She draped her arm on Jimmy’s shoulder, hoping her physical touch would comfort him in any way. Jimmy leans into her touch, a sad smile settling on his lips.

“Thank you, love.” he nodded.

“When did it happen, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“A few days ago,” Jimmy continued, “I’m actually in the same boat as you.”

Y/N cocked her head in confusion. “In what sense?”

“Jackie was married the whole time, and I had no idea,” Jimmy replied solemnly.

“Oh my gosh, that’s awful!” Y/N said, “I can’t believe she would do that to you. You don’t deserve that.”

“I guess we were both someone else’s second choice.”

Y/N’s lips downturned into a frown, “Yeah…” she trailed off, “it’s the worst feeling in the world.”

You’ll never be my second choice, Y/N thought, I’ll always choose you, Jimmy.

“I might have a temporary remedy, though,” Y/N quipped as she opened her purse to retrieve the biscuits she had packed for Jimmy. “I baked these earlier, and Lillian said that you might enjoy them.”

Jimmy smiled as she handed him the bag. “Thank you for this, I really appreciate it, love.” As little as the words were, there was a tone of genuine appreciation in his voice. He really must have been going through a dark time. If there was a way she could help, no matter how small, Y/N would take that chance.

“You’re welcome. A baked good always makes me feel better, so I hope it does the same for you.”

Jimmy smiled down at her, his heart warming at her unbelievably kind gesture. Before he could say anything else, though, the driver had pulled up to the book shop; flicking hazard lights on so the two could get out right in front. They thanked the driver and walked into the store in tanduum, arms linked.

“What were you thinking about getting?” Y/N whispered as the smell of aged paper and freshly-cut wood greeted them.

Jimmy gave her a look that screamed did you really have to ask?

“Oh, okay,” She says, drawing out the first word with a subtle laughter in her voice. “Nevermind, stupid question.” Crowley manuscripts and textbooks. She knew that. She cursed herself for not thinking before she asked.

“You’re not stupid, don’t say that,” Jimmy said gently as he rubbed her arm soothingly, walking with her deep into the shelves and stacks of books. They were so close, her physical proximity and presence taunted him, and her scent dizzied him.

Their eyes scoured through the various titles, seeing if anything caught their interests. Y/N saw the trademark bright orange spine of The Catcher in the Rye, and quickly pulled it out. She never had the chance to read it whilst at school, but it was on her mental reading list.

Jimmy watched her intently as she read the synopsis on the back cover, her irises twinkling in the golden light that shone through the store. Her lips, her beautiful lips that he dreamed about kissing one day, were pressed together in concentration. She must have just put some lip balm on, because even they were twinkling. They looked like little pillows, so soft and supple and warm…

Y/N’s face now looked at the shelf once again before glancing at Jimmy with a grin. He prayed that she didn’t see him admiring her. Jimmy simply smiled back as if nothing had happened.

“The Catcher in the Rye, I see,” he initiated.

“Yep. I never got to read it in school, and it’s on my little mental reading list. I heard it was really good,” Y/N shrugged.

“What else is on your mental reading list?” Jimmy asked, “I can help you look for those, too.”

“Hmmm,” she thought aloud, “Marjorie Morningstar by Herman Wouk, Middlemarch by George Eliot, and Summer Crossing by Truman Capote. I also want to get The Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl for Lillian. I loved it when I was little.”

“You’re a woman of good taste,” Jimmy grinned, feeling himself falling for her even harder. He had thought it impossible, yet he was obviously proven wrong by the feeling of contentment that settled over him whenever he so much as looked at her.

“Thanks,” she said, blushing as she sheepishly chuckled at the compliment.

The two slowly walked through the aisles trying to find the titles Y/N had mentioned. Jimmy found Marjorie Morningstar and Summer Crossing, and Y/N loved the way his face lit up when he finally found what he had been looking for. Y/N was able to find Middlemarch and The Fantastic Mr. Fox herself, as Jimmy practically drooled upon sight of her when she wasn’t looking. His personal thesis of Y/N being an angel had been proven correct many times that day, but these rather intimate circumstances really pushed it (and himself) over the edge.

Crushes are so foolish, he thought, why am I acting like this?!

~~~~~~~~

Jimmy invited Y/N to go to his Pangbourne boathouse for some tea after their shopping excursion, for a chance to talk in a more private setting and scan through their purchases. He showed her around his house, since it was the first time she had been there since they had met; it was a Edwardian-Pre-Raphaelite hybrid dream, and Y/N found herself amazed with every nook and cranny.

“Next summer, you’ll have to come up so I can take you out on the boat,” Jimmy said as he showed her his boat and the view from the dock.

“That would be so fun,” Y/N smiled, “how often do you take it out?”

“Not too often, unfortunately, with all the travel and studio time.”

“Ah, I’m sorry. I’m sure that will pick even more now that the Yardbirds will be traveling more.”

“Yes, you’re definitely right. But I’ll make time next summer for that boatride,” he grinned as he led Y/N back into the house and into the living room. She pursed her lips to hold back a smile full of gratitude, but to no avail.

His housekeeper must have just put a tray of tea and biscuits on the coffee table, because it was still steaming.

The two sat opposite of one another, taking things off the tray as they pleased, silence hanging in the air. Once they were situated, Y/N daintily crossed her legs with a smile as she held the cup on top of her clothed thigh.

What a sophisticated lady Y/N is, Jimmy thought as he looked at her, I wonder what she would be like in a more intimate setting…

Shaking the dirty thought from his mind, he rambled, “So I’ve been thinking about something...the other guys in the band know about it, and they agree with me...actually, it wasn’t my idea, it was Jeff’s…”

It wasn’t Jeff’s idea. He lied.

It was Jimmy’s idea.

“Oh! What is it?” Y/N asked as she tilted her head in confusion, “It sounds bad, should I be scared?” she ended with a giggle.

“Oh no! Of course not. You see, there’s so much to say, and not a lot of time to say it, so I have to go big.”

Oh my God, Y/N thought, what if he asks me out? Jesus Christ. I hope he does. But he probably won’t. He doesn’t like me. What can this mean? Jimmy, you’re killing me! However, she sat with an expectant look on her face, trying to accurately anticipate the information.

“I was wondering...if um, if you—Oh, Christ, I’m horrible at this,” he chuckled embarrassedly with a shake of his head, a pink flush dusting his cheeks.

Oh fuck, he’s gonna do it! Y/N thought excitedly.

“Oh gosh, don’t be afraid! It’s just me! Really, what’s the worst I can say?” Y/N joked, hoping to ease his obvious nerves.

But it’s not just you, Jimmy thought, you’re so pretty and nice and smart and funny...you don’t know half of the things you do to me…

“Well, I suppose you’re right,” he said, humouring her, “The Yardbirds are leaving to go to America within the next few weeks for the Dick Clark tour, and I—I mean, uh, we, would love it if you joined us.”

Y/N’s breath rushes past her lips with a surprised, almost unbelieving gasp. They wanted her to go on tour with them?! She again had to fight the stupidly giddy smile that would find its way on her lips.

“I would love to! That is so generous of you, thank you so much! I feel like I’d cramp your style though...I wouldn’t want you lot to lose women because of me,” she laughed.

“Most of those birds are nuts anyway,” Jimmy laughed with her, “They’re too caught up in themselves to notice the other people around them. Honestly, in theory, you’d probably attract more women to us.”

“I’m that bad, huh?” Y/N smirked.

Jimmy’s face became even paler than it already was. He didn’t mean that at all.

“Oh no! That’s not what I meant at all! Sincerest apologies, Y/N, I feel terrible. You’re so beaut—”

“I’m kidding, it’s okay,” she cut him off with a lighthearted chuckle, “I know where you’re coming from.”

“Okay, good,” he sighed, relieved. Y/N smiled before an awkward silence settled over the gorgeous tea room.

“So when is this tour happening?” she asked.

“End of October.”

“Wait, shit...I’m in university right now…”

“Oh, you’re right, fuck…” Jimmy muttered, his lips pursed in a pensive line, until he almost jumped out of his seat with excitement, “Wait! I have the perfect excuse for you.”

“Really? What did you have in mind?”

Jimmy smirked. “What if...you said you were participating in a study abroad-internship-sort of program for the fall semester?”

“I’m listening,” she said with a light giggle.

“Say that ‘it’s an opportunity to explore the depths of the cultural renaissance that is the British blues scene, which has indefinitely flourished over the past few years, as well as utilizing communication and leadership skills in a practical environment.’”

Y/N raised her eyebrows in surprise. “Oh, that’s good,” she nodded her head, “that’s really good. I love that.”

“Then all you need is for myself and Simon Napier-Bell to sign off on it, as well as your dean, and you’re good to go.”

“That’s genius, Jimmy!”

“Why, thank you Miss Y/N,” he said with a joking courtly bow.

~~~~~~~~

Y/N, with much pushback from the dean at her university, was able to acquire course credit for going on tour with the Yardbirds. Simon Napier-Bell, as well as other members of the Yardbirds administration, had to come into the dean’s office to fight in Y/N’s favour. All she had to do was take photographs and write a paper on it for the end of the semester.

Not too bad.

The week preceding the beginning of the tour, Y/N was so full of nervous excitement that she could barely sleep. By the time her brother dropped her off at Heathrow airport, people had taken notice of the dark circles that hung around her tired eyes.

“Y/N, you look like hell,” Jeff exclaimed as Y/N got out of the passenger seat of Tommy’s car.

“Thanks,” she deadpanned as she shut the car door, walking to the back to grab her luggage.

“My God, you have to pull yourself together,” he added as he walked with Y/N, “you look like a raccoon.”

“He doesn’t mean that,” Chris called hopefully.

“Well, I’ll sleep enough when I’m dead,” Y/N smiled as she walked over to the group at the sidewalk with her suitcase, “and I guess you’ll have to play ‘Rocky Raccoon’ to serenade me then.”

“If Y/N did, in fact, have to ‘pull herself together,’ she wouldn’t be wearing a floral dress and a jumper to an airport,” Jim said.

“Thank you Jim,” Y/N smiled, “but I do look like hell though. He’s not wrong. I’m really tired.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Why’s that?”

“I didn’t sleep this entire week,” she chuckled, “My excitement for this day got the better of me.”

“Why don’t you take a nap on the plane then, love?” Jimmy asked, “You can get sick from lack of sleep, and we can’t have you sick when we’re abroad.”

“I brought my melatonin just for sleeping on the plane,” she smiled, “and I just took a shower too, so I’m ready to go to bed.”

“Lads, we have to go now. The security line is already awful,” Simon called as he rallied the boys and Y/N together to enter the airport.

Everyone obliged, groggily entering the airport as the road crew pushed heavy baggage carts of encased instruments, monitors, and other electronics behind them. The security line was dreadfully long, but they made it through and boarded the plane with little time to spare.

As Y/N was walking on the tarmac to board the plane, Jimmy caught up to her.

“Where are you sitting? What does your boarding pass say?” he asked, out of breath from running.

“I’m in 10C,” she laughed at his disheveled state, “what about you?”

“10B.”

“Oh, looks like we’re sitting together then,” Y/N smiled.

The two entered the plane and once they got to their seats, Jimmy realized that he had the window seat.

“Uh, Y/N?” he asked, shifting his weight between his feet anxiously.

“Mmhmm?”

“Do you mind if we switch seats and you take the window seat?” he inquired, a sheepish countenance flooding his face.

“Oh no, I don’t mind at all,” she smiled as she sat down in Jimmy’s original seat, “Why do you ask? I think the window seat is so cool.”

“You see, I’m afraid of heights,” he explained as he sat down in the aisle seat, “not to be dramatic, but all the air travel has me fearing for my life.”

“Oh, I see. That’s valid,” she understood, “Planes can be uncertain.”

The two engaged in quiet conversation before the plane engine started with a roar, and the aircraft started to make its way down the runway. Once the speed accelerated and the wheels rumbled, a telltale sign that the plane would be leaving the ground any minute, Y/N noticed how Jimmy’s leg started bobbing up and down uncontrollably.

Hoping to sooth his worries, she intertwined her fingers with his as the plane ascended, sending him a gentle, comforting grin. Jimmy squeezed her hand to reassure her that what she was doing was helping. His spirits were automatically lifted, and his entire body felt bubbly as heat invaded his cheeks.

About a half hour into the flight, Y/N’s eyes were starting to droop, but she was desperately trying to fight off the sleep. She had to stay awake and not look stupid sleeping in front of Jimmy.

Jimmy took notice of her drowsiness, seeing her lightly dozing against the window, as he put a fragile hand on her shoulder. The girl woke up with a deep inhale, lightly grinning at him as if she weren’t just asleep.

“Y/N love, why don’t you take a melatonin now and try to get some sleep?”

“Yeah, you’re right,” she admitted self-consciously, “I have to give into it now.”

She took the melatonin with a few sips of the water one of the stewardesses had given to her.

“Put your head on my shoulder so you don’t wake up with a sore neck from the window,” Jimmy coaxed gently.

“Thank you,” she said with a stretch, placing her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes, “‘night.”

“Sweet dreams,” he laughed.

Next to Jimmy, the soft motion of the plane lulls Y/N closer and closer to sleep. Head on his shoulder, inhaling the scent of his aftershave, and something that was so uniquely him, Y/N slept the best she had in weeks.

————

Taglist: @blood-on-blood @reincarnated70sbaby @jonesyjonesyjonesy @jimmys-zeppelin

#that's the way #jimmy page #led zeppelin #jimmy page fanfic #jimmy page fanfiction #led zeppelin fanfic #classic rock fanfic

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dayscrazed · 4 years

Text

Chain of Iron “Table Read”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLkmUgnZ8w4&feature=youtu.be

Cordelia is looking over at her brother. Alastair looked expressionless, or he would to someone who didn’t know him. Cordelia knew by his posture- he was nearly sliding down the pilar- and his tightly fisted hands, he was quite upset.

“I know you read mundane papers too. I wondered if you’d noticed the recent murder in the east end. It’s the sort of thing that seems as if it shouldn’t interest us, but on closer examination-”

Cordelia stepped up to Alastair, blinking demurely. She knew people were watching. She wanted to give them no reason to talk. “Charles, I believe you agreed to stay away from my brother.”

Charles raised a superior eyebrow. “Cordelia, dear, men have disagreements among themselves sometimes. It’s best to leave them be to sort it out.”

Cordelia looked at Alastair. “Do you wish to converse with Charles?”

“No.”

Charles flushed. “Alastair, only a coward needs to be rescued by his little sister.”

Alastair’s expressive eyebrows flickered. “And only an ass puts people into situations in which they need to be rescued at all.”

Charles took a deep breath as if he were about to shout. Cordelia moved swiftly between him and her brother. Her smile was beginning to make her face ache. “Charles, go away now. Or I will tell everyone how your aunt and uncle must go rushing off to Paris to rescue the Clave from your blunder.”

Charles’ eyes narrowed. And somehow in that moment Cordelia saw Matthew in him. She could not imagine why. There could have been two more different people. If only Charles was more kinder, understanding and perhaps Matthew would not-

Cordelia blinked. Charles had said something, undoubtedly something cutting, and stomped off. As he did, she noticed they were indeed being watched by Thomas. He was gazing at them from across the room, seemingly arrested in mid-motion. Behind him James had rejoined his friends and was chatting with them, one hand lightly on Matthew’s shoulder.

Several things happened at once. Thomas, seeing Cordelia looking at him, blushed and turned away. The music ended and the dancers began to stream off the floor. And Grace left Toby without a word and came up to James. Matthew and Christopher had been laughing together. Matthew, stopped, staring as Grace said something to James and the two of them stepped a bit apart from the others. James was shaking his head, the silver bracelet glimmered on his wrist as he gestured.

“Want me to go over and break James’ legs?”

“He can hardly run away screaming if Grace approaches him. He must be polite.”

“As you were polite to Charles?” Don’t take it the wrong way, Layla, I’m grateful, but you don’t need to-”

Out of the corner of her eye, Cordelia saw James break away from Grace. He came toward her. He was white as a sheet, but otherwise his mask was firmly in place. “Alastair, good to see you. Are your parents well?”

Alastair had told her she didn’t need to be polite. But politeness had its uses. James wore his manners like a suit of armor. A suit to match his mask.

“Well enough. The Silent Brothers recommended my mother rest at home given her condition. My father didn’t want to leave her.” Some of this was doubtless true, and some of it wasn’t. Cordelia didn’t have the heart for investigation. She no longer had the heart for the party at all. James hadn’t betrayed their agreement, but it was clear that it caused him pain to be in the same room as Grace. The worst part was she could sympathize. She knew what it was like to be near the person you loved but feel like you were a million miles away.

“James I find I have a rather desire to play chess.”

That brought a smile from James, but only a slight one. “Of course, we shall depart at once.”

“Play chess, how thrilling.”

Cordelia kissed Alastair on the cheek as James went to offer the necessary excuses to their hosts. They collected their things in silence and soon found themselves on the front steps of the Wentworth’s house, waiting for their carriage to be brought around. It was a lovely night.

Grace had watched them go, a thoughtful expression on her face. Cordelia could not help wonder how much she concealed. It was not like her to approach James. Perhaps she had felt desperate. Cordelia could not blame her if she did. But she could not ask James because they were not alone on the steps.

Tessa and Will were there. Tessa was smiling up at Will as she tucked her hands into fur-lined gloves. He bent to brush her hair from her forehead. James cleared his throat loudly. “Otherwise they’d start kissing. Believe me, I know.”

Tessa seemed delighted to see them. She beamed at Cordelia. “Don’t you look lovely. Dreadful we have to leave the party so early. Fortunately, Miss Highsmith has offered poor Filomena the use of her carriage later. But we’re meant to portal to Paris early tomorrow morning.” She did not, Cordelia noted, mention Charles.

“We tried to approach you inside but were cut off by Rosamund chasing Toby around because their ice sculpture had mented. What does it mean for the youth of today that they don’t know that ice melts. What are we teaching them in the schoolrooms?”

“Is this another youth-of-today speech?” He dropped his voice into a passable imitation of Will’s. “Running about, no morals, using ridiculous words like ‘barmie’ and ‘brinkets’!”

“Even I know ‘brinkets’ is not a word.” He and James bantered back and forth as the Institute’s carriage rolled around the corner and stopped at the foot of the steps driven by a skinny footman in silver and ivory. Cordelia could not help but think how different James’ relationship with his father was from Alastair’s with Elias. She wondered sometimes what Elias would say if he knew about Alastair and Charles. She wanted to think he wouldn’t care. Months ago she was sure of it, now she was sure of nothing.

Her reverie was broken by a sudden shout. The skinny footman had leapt to his feet, looking about wild-eyed. “Demon! Demon!” Cordelia starred. Something that looked like a spinning wheel covered in wet red mouths shot from under the carriage and rolled about in a circle. She reached for Cortana and flinched, her palm stinging. Had she cut herself on it somehow? That couldn’t be possible.

James laid a hand on Cordelia’s shoulder. “It’s alright, there’s no need.”

Will was looking at Tessa, his blue eyes wide. “Can I?”

Tessa smiled indulgingly as if Will had asked for a second helping of cake. “Oh, go ahead.” Will made a whooping sound. As Cordelia starred in puzzlement, he leaped down the stairs and raced off chasing the wheel demon. Tessa and James were both smiling.

“Should we help him?”

“No. That demon and my father are old friends. Or rather old enemies, but it amounts to the same thing. It likes to chase him around after parties.”

“That is very peculiar. I see that I have agreed to marry into a very peculiar family.”

“Don’t pretend you didn’t know that already.”

Cordelia laughed. It was all so ridiculous and so very much the way James’ family always was. She felt as if things were almost normal again by the time their carriage came around and they clamored into it. As they rolled off into the night, they passed Will brandishing a seraph blade as he happily chased the wheel demon through the Wentworth’s rose garden.

-----------------

Let’s Discuss!

1. Cordelia & James aren’t married yet, but they are still engaged.

2. Elias is home and with Sona who seems to be on bedrest during her pregnancy.

3. The two above points suggest that James and Cordelia’s wedding was postponed (the released first chapters reveal that they take place the night before the wedding when Elias has not arrived yet)

4. Charles made a “blunder” in Paris and so Will and Tessa are portaling there presumably to fix it.

5. James and Cordelia have some sort of an agreement that he will stay away from Grace.

6. Charles is being an ass. (After sending Alastair multiple unanswered letters, he’s still trying to strike up conversations, so he clearly is in denial/not moving on)

7. Thomastair crumbs.

8. Will Herondale being Will Herondale.

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slytherinbarnes · 4 years

Text

Seasons Change [3]

iii. the summer will warm the coldest parts of your heart

pairing: Steve Rogers x reader

word count: 3.3k

warnings: smut, language.

summary: a mission throws you and steve together, bringing a new sort of revelation to your relationship.

a/n: okay, yes, I know this is late, but listen, I couldn’t find my laptop amongst all the moving boxes! good news is that I did find it though, so here is seasons change part 3 (my favorite part!), one day late!!! the taglist for this series is open!

previous chapter // series masterlist // full masterlist

June 20, Rome, Italy.

You walk out of the bathroom of your hotel room, your final belongings gathered in your arms. You dump them into your open suitcase, not bothering to organize them since you’re finally flying home again, before zipping the suitcase closed and plopping down beside it on the bed. You stare out the window of your room, admiring the Sydney skyline outside, though you’re glad to trade it for a familiar skyline in just a few short hours.

As you stand to grab your suitcase, your phone rings, and your stomach drops with dread, already aware that this phone call is not going to be one that you like. You grab your phone from your pocket, eyes scanning the familiar number on the screen before you answer with a sigh, “Hill, this better not one of those calls.”

“It’s just recon!” You sigh again, and you can practically hear her cringe though the phone, “I know you haven't been home in months, but you’re our best agent. And you know I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important.”

“Who gave the orders?”

“Fury.”

Not optional then. You nod once, even though she can’t see it. “Where?”

“Rome.”

Your brows lift slightly, “Italy?”

“You know any other Romes?”

You deadpan, “Yeah. Georgia, Alabama, Illinois.”

Hill lets out a short laugh, “Okay, okay, I get it, smartass. Yes, Rome, Italy.”

“Just recon, huh?”

“Just recon.”

You sigh, knowing you can’t say no if it’s from Fury. “Alright, send over the file.”

“Already done.” You can hear the smile in her voice when she adds, “Oh, and you’ll have a partner on this one.”

You groan, “You know I do better solo.”

“You’ll like this one!”

“You said that about the last one.”

“Who, Franklin?”

You hum in acknowledgement, “He talked too much. And he ate way too much garlic for someone sharing a tiny room above a church.”

Hill laughs again before she mutters, “Well, I mean it this time.”

“Who is it?”

“Can’t say. Classified.” You let out a sound of frustration, and you can hear the amusement in her voice when she reassures you. “You’ll meet him in the safe house.”

“Fine.”

“Don’t forget that you’re my favorite agent!”

“Yeah, yeah. Talk to you soon.”

Shield sends a Quinjet to fly you to Rome, which you suppose is the closest thing you’ll get to an apology for not getting to go home. Still, it’s better than flying commercial, so you accept the gesture, and your flight passes uneventfully, which you’re grateful for.

The safe house is close to your landing spot, so you decide to walk, thinking the fresh air will be good for you. Unfortunately, you underestimated just how hot it would be beneath the Italian sun, and by the time you arrive at the safe house, you’re sticky with sweat. You walk inside, the apartment pretty small as far as safehouses go, but you’re used to sharing close quarters with other agents, so you aren’t worried about it. You drop your bag on the floor in the living room, heading towards the kitchen and calling out as you move. “Hello? Anyone here?”

As you step into the kitchen, you find it empty, save for a note on the table, along with a small brown paper bag. There’s a delicious smell wafting towards you from the bag, buttery and warm and full of cinnamon, and when you pull it open, you see a fat cinnamon roll staring back at you. You get an idea of who your partner is before you even read the note left beside the bag.

Went to grab a few things, be back in a bit.

-S

You roll your eyes and mutter under your breath, “God damn it, Hill.”

You knew you’d regret telling her about your arrangement with Steve, but she was suspicious after he called her in Japan, and she pretty much pieced it together on her own. All you did was confirm the details for her. Still, it felt nice to talk about it with someone. Not as agents, but as friends. You work so often that you don't have a lot of opportunities to get close to anyone, and besides Steve, Hill is the closest thing you have to a friend.

You shake your head, sure that she’s laughing her ass off at HQ, before you settle into one of the chairs at the table, pulling the bag with the cinnamon roll towards you. You pull a copy of the file out of your bag, given to you by the pilot in the Quinjet, reading through it again as you eat the cinnamon roll left to you by Steve. And that’s where he finds you later, sitting at the table and popping the last bite into your mouth, and he says from the doorway, “Where does it rank on your list?”

You look up in surprise, so engrossed in the file that you didn't hear him come in, and he smiles as he walks into the room and sets two bags of groceries on the table. “So?”

You shake your head at him, not understanding. “So, what?”

“The cinnamon roll, where does it rank?”

You smile and wipe your hands clean, looking down at the crumbs scattered on the table. “Oh. Definitely not as good as my mom’s, but it’s one of the better ones I’ve had, so maybe a 7?”

Steve’s brows lift and a playful smirk settles itself on his face. “A 7? It’s at least a 9.”

“There’s isn't enough icing for it to be a 9.”

He smiles and nods, taking note of the criticism. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

He starts to put the groceries away, and you stand to help him. “So you’ve read the file?”

“Simple surveillance, in and out in a few days. Intel says Alexandrei Ivanov has been scoping out tourist traps to test Hydra weapons at.”

You nod, both of you on the same page, before you ask, “So how are we gonna play this?”

Steve grabs a different file, turning to hand it to you as he grabs the last few groceries. “Newlyweds Victoria and Logan Jones. Honeymooners happily in love, hitting up all the best tourist spots and snapping plenty of pictures for their family back home.”

You feel your cheeks heat up a little as you scan the file, realizing that you’re gonna have to pretend to be married to Steve for the next few days. And everyone knows that you have to stay in your cover at all times, because you never know who’s watching. This should be fun. You take a deep breath and look up at him with a smile, feigning a confidence you don’t quite feel. “So, when do we start?”

It turns out that you’re starting right away.

You freshen up from your flight and change clothes into the ones Steve brought for you, a bright yellow sundress; both of you looking incredibly average when you reveal your outfits to each other. Preparing to be tourists, you both don sunhats and grab a camera, and with your cover in place, you head to the Coliseum hand in hand, playing the part of a couple in love.

It doesn't take long for you and Steve to spot Ivanov, as most of the Hydra operatives tend to stand out in a crowd. Steve squeezes your hand when he spots him first, and he turns to you and sweeps you in for a kiss, whispering softly against your lips, “Ivanov at your 3 o’clock.”

You feel your skin heat up with his touch, and you tell yourself that it’s the Italian sun, because you’re an operative and this is just work. But Steve seems to notice the effect he’s already having on you, because he smirks, and you repress an eye roll as you turn away and look around for Ivanov. When you spot him, you turn to your fake husband and exclaim, “Let me get your picture, love!”

You see his cheeks tinge pink, and now it’s your turn to smile, the nickname clearly something he enjoys. He passes you the camera and stands in line with Ivanov, and you point the camera at Steve, pretending to snap pictures of him, when in reality you’re capturing Ivanov in the background. Once you get the shot, you smile at Steve, waving him back over. “Oh my god babe, you look great! Come see!”

Steve walks over and checks the pictures, smiling his approval at you. “Wow, you really captured my good side!”

You lean into your cheesy role, beaming up at him. “Every side is your good side!”

“Baby, c’mere.” He pulls you in for another kiss, this one more passionate than the last, his tongue instantly slipping into your mouth. You have to work hard to remind yourself that you’re in public and this is a job, so you need to keep your composure. Every move the two of you make needs to be calculated, it needs to serve a purpose.

Steve’s mouth moves over your jaw and down to your neck, his mouth pressing kisses and love bites into the skin there. You automatically tip your head to the side, giving him better access, and you hear him whisper against your throat, “Think you can get his phone?”

He lightly nips the side of your neck, and despite yourself you let out a soft moan, unable to hold it back. You feel Steve smile against your neck, and you clench your fists hard, pressing your nails into your palms, trying to calm yourself down again. You nudge Steve back up to your mouth and pull him close, running your tongue over his bottom lip, sinfully slow. You hear Steve’s breath hitch in his throat and you smile before whispering, “Phones are my specialty.”

You pull away from him, stepping back and smiling at his expression, Steve clearly getting into this just as much as you are. You’re slightly relieved that you aren’t the only one affected by his presence or his mouth on yours. You’ve seen each other a few times since Japan, quick flings on your way to other cities and missions, but each tryst never feels like enough. You feel yourself wanting to spend more and more time with Steve. Not just for the sex though. The sex is great, but you’re starting to enjoy just being with Steve.

You try not to think about it too much, focusing instead on your arrangement. No strings attached, just hook ups. No feelings, no relationship. That’s it.

You shake your head to clear your thoughts, returning to the present and your need to lift the phone off Ivanov. You carefully evaluate him; where’s he’s standing, where his phone is most likely to be on his body, what’s the best way to get it off him. And as you watch him standing near the railing, a thick crowd of tourists moving past him, you decide that the best method is to slip it from his back pocket as you move past him with the crowd.

You blend in with the families and couples moving through the attraction, and when you get close enough to him, you deftly slide the phone from his back pocket, quickly switching it to your other hand, held out of sight. You wander over to an area with brochures and pamphlets, grabbing a few and using them to further hide the phone, before making your way back to Steve, the phone hidden in your hand. When you reach him, you give him a smile, passing the brochures and the phone to him. “Look at all these places we need to visit here! So many exciting things to see!”

Steve beams at you when he feels the weight of the phone, and he quickly slides an SD card into the phone, transferring whatever he can as he chatters away about what cafes look best and what attractions you absolutely need to see before your honeymoon is over. When the transfer process finishes, he pulls you close and whispers, “Now how do you get it back?”

“Bumping into him is best, he’s less likely to feel it sliding into his pocket that way.”

Steve smiles at you, “I have the perfect idea then.”

Your brows furrow together, wondering what he has in mind as he pulls you towards Ivanov, talking excitedly the whole way. When the two of you get close, he holds up the camera. “This looks like a good spot, babe! Let’s take a few selfies here.”

“Good idea, love.”

His eyes cut to yours, and you confirm the nickname is one he really likes as he lifts the camera and pulls you close. He snaps a few of the two of you smiling before he leans in and kisses your cheek, snapping a few more. Finally, his lips find yours, and you hear the camera snap a few more times before his arm lowers and his kiss grows more passionate. His tongue slips into your mouth again, and you feel one of his hands slide down to your ass, the phone hidden beneath his hand, pressed against your butt.

You feel a spark of arousal as he shifts you backwards, his mouth moving to kiss your neck as he bumps into Ivanov, quickly sliding the phone back into his back pocket. Steve’s hand quickly returns to your ass, squeezing lightly as Ivanov turns to look at the two of you with disgust. “Watch where you’re going!”

“Sorry man, it’s just hard to keep my hands off her.”

Another squeeze to prove his point, and you close your eyes, steadying yourself as Ivanov retorts, “Maybe you should take her home and fuck her then.”

“Maybe I should.”

You look up and find Steve’s eyes, and the look in them is enough for you to know that he means it. You both mumble another apology to your target before Steve takes your hand and leads you through the crowd, the two of you heading back to the apartment you’re sharing. But it’s like the walk cools Steve off or something, because when you arrive back at the building, he drops your hand and steps inside, awkwardly rubbing his neck as you lock the door behind you. “Good grab back there.”

“Yeah, you too.” You shake your head, your mind too focused on his hands on you, before you amend, “I mean, thanks.”

He holds up the SD card and the camera, “I should get these sent over to Fury.”

“Uh, yeah. Of course.” You glance towards the bedroom door, thinking there’s only one thing that’s gonna cool you down at this point. “I’m gonna shower, try to wash off this sweat.”

“Enjoy it.”

You swear you can see Steve physically cringe at his response to you, and you nod once, grabbing your bag as you head into the bedroom, closing the door behind you. You move straight to the bathroom, switching the water to cool, hoping you can shock your arousal out of your system. You strip quickly and step under the cool stream, the water shocking the heat that seems to linger on your skin. Goosebumps lift on your skin, chasing away all thoughts of Steve, and when you feel calmed down enough, you switch the water warmer, intending to wash up before you get out.

You wash your hair and body quickly, wondering if you can claim jetlag and pretend to go to sleep early to avoid any more awkward interactions with Steve. But as you stand beneath the warm water, letting it wash over you and relax you, you hear the bathroom door swing open. Confused, you turn to see who it is, surprised to see Steve striding towards you and pulling the shower door open. “Steve, what are you-”

The rest of the questions dies on your lips as he pulls you towards him, crashing his lips onto yours. His tongue slips into your mouth and you moan into his touch, hoping he won’t pull away from you this time. You tug him closer and he steps into the shower fully clothed, moving beneath the stream of warm water with you. His hands start to roam over your body, and your lips move together frantically.

You reach up and unbutton his wet shirt, pushing it off his body and onto the shower floor with a wet sound before your hands find his pants and belt, undoing them too and pushing the fabric down to join his shirt. His boxers are the last to go, and as you nudge them down his legs and grab him, his hand slips between your legs, expertly moving against you. The two of you stand pushed together, water running over you as you bring each other to the edge, ridding yourself of the tension that’s been building all day between you.

Steve is the first to pull away, muttering “bedroom” against your lips. You nod and reach behind you blindly to switch the water off before allowing him to lead you into the bedroom, both of you dripping water across the floor. He leads you to the bed, still wet, and you lean back into the sheets, too aroused to care. Steve follows, and he’s inside of you in seconds, both of you moaning as you climb towards your highs together. It doesn't take either of you long to reach the top, and stars explode across your vision as you tip over the edge, Steve’s name coming out of your mouth as you finish.

You fall asleep almost as soon as Steve rolls off of you, exhausted from traveling and spying and being with Steve. You wake a few hours later, when the moon is high in the sky, and you roll over to face Steve, only to find that he isn’t there. Curious, you slide out from beneath the sheets that Steve tucked you into, and you pull on your discarded sundress from earlier before wandering out into the living room.

There you find Steve, sprawled out on the couch, fast asleep. You smile when you see him, wondering why he’s out here, until you see the sketchbook in his hand. You move closer to him, grabbing the book to close it and set it aside, and as you do, you spot the drawing half finished on the page.

It’s of you, fast asleep, sprawled out on the sheets, a soft smile on your face. You flip to the page before it and find another picture; you in Japan, eating across from Steve, and the one before that is you at the holiday party a few months ago. You look at Steve in surprise, still sleeping, unaware of what you’ve seen, and you smile as you close the book and set it on the table beside him.

You hear your phone ring in the other room, and you head back to the bedroom, scooping it from your suitcase and answering without looking at the screen. “Hello?”

“Good job in Rome. We’re running the data from the phone and already getting hits on other locations, which means we need you somewhere else.”

You wander to the doorway between the bedroom and the living room, looking out at Steve as he sleeps on the couch, and when you do, you suddenly become aware of the intimacy of all of this. The playing pretend, the cinnamon roll, the notes, the sketches, it’s a breach of your arrangement. No strings attached, no feelings. You shake your head at yourself, wondering if you’ve managed to ruin a good thing, and at the same time, Hill’s voice comes through the phone, soft and concerned. “Agent, are you there?”

“Yeah, sorry.” You look at Steve one last time before turning and heading to your suitcase, already starting to pack up. “Where do you need me?”

This time when Steve wakes up and looks beside him, there is no note.

#steve rogers x reader #steve rogers smut #steve rogers x reader smut #steve rogers fanfiction

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acourtesanofedgewater · 3 years

Text

Open Heart 3 Ch. 8 SPOILERS for Bryce/Raf/Jackie Stans

I know I'm one day late. Blame PB for releasing the scripts so late. Why they even did that? Idk. It's not like this chapter is good.

Oh, here we are again. Honestly guys? I'm pissed off lmao. And you will be too when you're done reading this. But enough talking, let's begin. Beware, spoilers below the cut

Let's start with Bryce

•He DOES make an appearance this chapter AND has a diamond scene. Should we celebrate? Nah. It seems the only options with characters who-are-not-Ethan in this book are not having appearances at all or having mediocre little plots when they do appear. He makes his cameo at the begging. He's in the lobby with a friend of his, who's sick and wants Bryce to operate on him but Bryce seems reluctant to do so because it's a dangerous surgery. Does it have anything to do with his failed surgery? We won't find out, because instead of his premium scene being about... idk, having a coffee while he tells us about the consequences of his mistakes (not only at work, but also mentally), it is about... visiting a Escape Room with him and his friend? Um, ok. Should I mention that Bryce's pal call MC his 'friend' twice? Yep, PB still refuses to acknowledge MC's relationship with Bryce, even though they've been together for two years and shared a tender moment when MC was about to die. When I was reading the scene, I was like "uuugh, let me guess? we get this corny funny scene and near the ending Bryce and MC find a hideout to make out". Turns out I was wrong lmao. I expect nothing and I'm still let down. They just share a little kiss I front of Bryce's friend when they are leaving the Escape Room. It is mentioned they all are gonna have dinner after this, but we don't get to see that because that would mean PB has to actually write interesting dialogue and develop Bryce and that's sacrilege.

Ok, Jackie's turn.

•She doesn't show up in this chapter. She's not even mentioned. Silly us, Jackie already had her crumbs of development last chapter, there's no need to give her more screentime this chapter lmao. Not when that screentime can be used developing Ethan.

And lastly, Raf.

•He turns up too, but it's a situation similar to Bryce's. He's rehabilitating a little boy who's sad because he will miss his birthday, so enter the bonus scene where MC has the idea of recruiting Sienna too and organizing a surprise party for the kid in the Pediatric Ward. It's actually a cute scene, and spending time with Sienna is always good, but that's the problem. The scene is about the little boy, zero Raf development or plot, and I even feel he wasn't even needed here. We know Sienna visits the PW every once in a while so they could've made her be the one who came to us with the little kid situation and everything would have turned out to be the same, except for some dialogues. Then, near the end, Raf and MC share some flirting words and a little kiss, but everything is in front of the kids, so it's over pretty quick.

And... that's it for our LIs. It sucks, but it's not the worst thing abour this chapter. I'm gonna leave some spoilers of the general plot here below so you can be as angry as me.

•MC confronts Ethan about the trial thing. You can choose to go soft on him or be outraged and point out he's a piece of shit. I recommend the second option. Anyway, if you end up agreeing with him about his decision, he says something like: "I knew you'd understand me, you care about these patients as much as I do" which, for me, given the fact he's older than MC and their boss (and being a victim of grooming myself by someone older than me and that was kinda in a position of power above me too) IS FUCKING GROOMING. If you had any doubts the lead of this book is a creep.

•Yadda yadda, we get Bryce and Raf's mediocre scenes, and back to the main plot, MC and Tobias have to diagnose a patient together. The patient is the most annoying character on this series, only below Ethan. Seriously, she's worse than that Nigel guy from Book 1 who called Bryce "Ken doll". Tobias is kinda shady with her (but... light and funny shady. He's never mean or anything) and we're supposed to be like "ugh, Tobias is the worst" but the patient is annoying so yeah, I loved Tobias' actitude.

•There were lots of Tobias moments this chapter, and he's honestly really nice. I hope we can keep him in Edenbrook. We could even kick Ethan's ass out in order to raise his salary❤.

•Ok, and now the cherry on top of a shitty chapter. Do y'all remember how we were afraid PB was gonna make Harper MC's rival? It seemed like they had dropped that plot and we were safe... but it turns out they haven't. Harper finds out our patient has cheated their way into the trial and while Tobias and MC are bonding in the DT' office, she comes in furious as hell, and starts blaming the MC and insulting them, assuming they're the one who did the trial thing. Harper' screams are so loud that Ramsey, who was in the hall, listens and comes in running. Harper explains what "MC" did and we have three options: blame Ethan, insist we're not guilty but not blame Ethan, and ignore the accusations. Either way, Harper keeps on with the accusations (she's even more enraged if you blame Ethan)

•Ethan lets her mop the floor with MC a bit more before stopping her and admitting he's the one who cheated. Harper is shocked and Ramsey HAS THE AUDACITY of angrily leave the office. He really thinks he's the one who should be outraged in this situation. He's the most childish character PB has ever created. (Props to Tobias for being the only decent character in this situation, asking Harper to calm down because she couldn't know for sure it MC was to blame in this situation).

•MC runs after him. And sure, irl I'd run after him too, but to confront him and complain about all the mess his shitty behavior has caused (or, how we say in my country, putearlo. I wanna clarify to my fellow Latinoamericans, "putear" has a different meaning in Ecuador than in the rest of Latam lmao for us is similar to "mandar a la verga" JAJSJAJAJSK). But no, MC fucking goes to see if he's alright. And cue to the most ridiculous scene in this series:

•Okay, I know we all made fun of the BDSM outfits when the assets came out, and yeah, they're cringey af, but I was curious to see how the story would develop towards these outfits. Everyone guessed they meant kinky time with out LIs. Wrong again. Ethan is so mad about... well, idk why he's so mad, he's just facing the consequences of his actions, but anyway, he needs to release that frustration and that's when we're offered the kinky outfit. Yep, the kinky scene is Ethan-exclusive. It was so fucking easy to include the other LIs in this. Bryce could be frustrated because he's not the same after his failed surgery, Jackie because she has to lead the interns and Jade keeps screwing up, and Raf... well, he should be mad because PB tried to kill him and then decided not to but kept sidelining him and can't even give him a decent storyline could be frustrated because it's exhausting to try to help the patients when they make little progress and become disappointed. PB just was lazy and didn't care.

•Don't ask me about the BDSM scene, nothing in this world will make me read a sex scene with Ethan. I kept scrolling until I was sure that abomination was over. Although I caught the word "safe word" somewhere there so... yeah.

•The next day after that heated discussion, MC enters the DT' office. Harper doesn't even offer an apology for treating MC like shit, she acts like nothing happened. MC notices there's this peace in the air and there's no whining, so they ask where's Ethan

•Turns out, Harper reported MC to their superiors when she thought it was them who messed up the trial and now Ethan had to turn himself in and is meeting with the board. Then, she blatantly admits that if she knew Ethan was the one who did it, she would have talked to him first. She says she regrets telling the board, although, as she doesn't offer MC an apology, it seems she only regrets getting Ethan in trouble, not her awful attitude. Tobias is named the new leader of the DT, and that's the only highlight in this mess of a chapter.

I have more thoughts about everything, but I'll post them tomorrow, when they can reach more people. And I'll catch up with this shitt book just so I can join the mob law tomorrow lmao. See you then.

#playchoices #choices #choices stories you play #open heart #open heart 3 #open heart third year #oh 3 #choices oh #bryce lahela #jackie varma #rafael aveiro

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jobean12-blog · 4 years

Text

Top Shelf: Chapter 9- Pour it onto the Page

Pairing: Bucky x reader (Bookshop/Bartender AU)

Word Count: 1,812

Summary: You plan a special night out for Bucky and it turns out to be more than you could have hoped for.

Author’s Note: Thank you all for continuing on this journey with me! I really appreciate all your kind words and support. It keeps me going and makes me so happy! This chapter is mostly flufftastic before I get into them figuring stuff out! :)

Warnings: slight tiny angst in the beginning and the super fluffy love fluff :)

Previous Chapters

Chapter 1: Enchantment

Chapter 2: Cookie Crumble

Chapter 3: Sweet Anticipation

Chapter 4: Read Between the Limes

Chapter 5: Secrets on the Shelf

Chapter 6: Love Between the Covers

Chapter 7: Love Lines & Soul Finds

Chapter 8: Drunk in Love

Your eyes search his, the sadness you see making your heart hurt. Running your fingers along his jaw you brush your nose to his, “we’ll figure this out, Bucky. Don’t worry.” He crushes you to his chest and buries his face in your neck, his deep inhales shaking your whole body. You rub up and down his back, squeezing him back as tight as you can.

When he finally pulls away his eyes are misty but there is slightly less pain. “Thank you. I’m sorry to drop that bomb on you. I’ve been so happily distracted lately that it just hasn’t seemed real. Grandma kinda dragged it all up again at dinner, though.” You give him a small smile, “it’s ok, I’m glad you felt you could talk to me. Why don’t you tell me what’s been going on so we can figure this out together?”

Bucky throws his arm around your shoulder and starts to walk, resting his head on top of yours. “It just seems like we are getting fewer and fewer customers. People aren’t looking for actual books anymore. They use e-readers and listen to audio books and all that nonsense.” You giggle at this last words. “You know baby, it’s not nonsense, some of it is good. I mean I always prefer an actual book myself. We need to think of a way to get more people into the shop!”

As you continue to walk back to Bucky’s apartment the conversation takes a turn toward your mutual love for books and you’re reminded of Betty’s story of meeting James. “Hey Buck, do you think you should talk to your grandma about this? Maybe she can offer help since she has been a part of it for so long.” Bucky looks down at his shoes, kicking a rock away before his eyes meet yours again, “I’m afraid. She already lost grandpa; I can’t stand to see her in more pain.”

You rest your head against his chest and wrap your arms around his waist, “I know. We’ll think of something.” The two of you walk back to Bucky’s apartment slowly, mostly chatting about his grandparents. When you learn he hasn’t been to Coney Island since he was in his teens, you’re shocked but a plan forms in your head, one that gets you overly excited.

The next work week comes and goes with only one thing different than the last. You finally admit to yourself that you are totally and completely falling in love with Bucky. “And now I’m telling you because I had to tell someone, and I can’t tell him! It’s only be like two months!” You give Nat an exasperated look and sink to the floor in the kitchen, cookie in hand.

“Wow,” Nat says through a mouthful, “these are amazing! What kind did you say they were?” You pin her with a glare before yelling, “I just told you I’m in love with Bucky and you’re asking me about the cookies!!!” She laughs! A real loud and boisterous laugh that causes her to snort some cookie and start to choke. “Jeez, Nat, be careful,” you chide, standing and rubbing her back.

When she finally calms down and catches her breath, she pins you with a look, “I could have told you that you were in love with him after the first week. I was just waiting for you to admit it. Now. What kind of cookies are these? You have to add them to your book!” With a loud sigh you say, “double chocolate peanut butter.”

Nat rests her forearm on your shoulder, licking her fingers clean of crumbs, “listen y/n, he feels the same way. It’s written all over him. Just give it more time.” You grab another cookie from the plate, taking a bite and nodding your head in agreement. “I’m really excited about surprising him with a trip to Coney Island. I hope it makes him happy.” Nat takes the cookie from your hand, finishing it in one bite. “He’s gonna love it! And I’m gonna be sure Sam gives him the night off,” she winks through her mouth full.

Saturday arrives and you can’t control your excitement, bouncing around on your feet while making breakfast. “Doll, what is with you? Did you eat cupcakes or something while I was in the bathroom?” Bucky asks, grabbing your waist to hold you still. You turn in his arms and say, “nope,” popping the p. “Just happy it’s Saturday is all.” He reaches around you and grabs the eggs, smiling before walking to the table.

Just as he sits his phone dings with a message. “It’s early for anyone to be up and texting me other than you. And you’re here,” he says, confusion etched on his face. “It’s Sam.” You try to act surprised and maybe even a little worried, rushing over to wait for him to explain. “Oh wow!” Bucky exclaims, his smile wide, “Sam gave me the night off! He said Peter wanted to pick up an extra shift just for this week.”

You do a little happy dance, “that’s great! Now we have the whole evening free!” Bucky looks up at you, unable to stop smiling with how happy you are. But just as quickly as it comes his smile disappears and his lips turn down into a small frown. “What babe, what’s wrong?” you ask quickly, sitting next to him. “Maybe I shouldn’t take the night off, I kinda need all the money I can get right now.”

His eyes search yours and your stomach turns, cursing yourself for not thinking that he might feel this way. “I understand completely. If you feel you need to work, then you should. Definitely do what you’re most comfortable with.” His smile returns and he leans over to kiss you before saying, “you know what, fuck it. I haven’t had a Saturday off since the bar opened and I wanna take my best girl out on the town!”

You instantly feel better and give him a sly smile. “I have the perfect idea if you’re up for a surprise?” you ask, batting your lashes. He pulls you into his lap, whispering against your lips, “I’ll do whatever you want tonight, baby, I’m all yours.” You wiggle in his lap, your excitement infectious as he laughs along with you. Suddenly he still your hips, letting out a low growl, “listen beautiful, if you’re gonna continue hopping around in my lap like this, I’m gonna be late for the bookshop.” Raising your eyebrows, you slowly turn to face the table, grabbing the fork and eating a mouthful of eggs. “Sorry,” you mumble, but not before one more good wiggle.

You meet Bucky at the bookshop at closing. He’s in the back when you walk in, so you sit yourself on the counter and wait. He walks out in a tight blue tee shirt and jeans, your eyes wandering from his head to his toes. “Is this ok for where we’re going? I didn’t know if I needed to be more dressed up, so I brought a button down.” Sliding off the counter you walk around it and say, “it’s perfect.” He grabs your hand and gives you a twirl, your light cotton dress skirt floating up and around your legs as you giggle. “You look amazing as always.”

You had an uber ready and waiting for you outside the shop and Bucky gives you a surprised smile. “Riding in style tonight, huh?” You giggle, sliding inside the backseat while Bucky holds the door. The whole ride over you keep him engaged in conversation, hoping to divert his attention from where you are going. You make as far as the tunnel before Bucky says anything, his face lit up by the overhead lights.

“Are we in the battery tunnel?” he asks, his tone laced with excited surprise. “Mayyyybbbeee,” you say, shrugging, “just shush and enjoy the ride.” Raising a brow, he puts his hands up and replies, “ok, I promise to just go with it. I won’t ask questions.” You scoot over so he can wrap his arm around you. “So, tell me more about how you met Steve and Sam?”

Bucky tries so hard to keep his eyes on you for the entire ride but as you take the exit to Ocean Parkway, he can’t help but look out the window, his whole face lighting up as he spins around in his seat. “You’re taking me to Coney Island?!!?” he shouts, whipping back around to smush you to his chest. “Does that mean you’re happy?” you ask, your voice muffled in his shirt. “Yes,” he whispers, lifting your face to his, “so happy.” He kisses you before you can reply and you melt against him, forgetting all about your surroundings.

The uber pulls to a stop on Surf Ave, the cool ocean breeze hitting you as soon as you open the car door. You inhale deeply, the salty air filling your lungs and bringing you peace. You sneak a look at Bucky, his eyes wide and bright as he takes it all in. Before you can ask where he wants to go first, he grabs hold of your hand and starts walking toward the Wonder Wheel.

“Will ya go on with me doll?” You couldn’t say no to him even if you wanted to, nodding your head vigorously as you get closer. “I haven’t been on here in…shit, probably over 12 years!” After getting your tickets you get on the line, Bucky’s arm draped over your shoulder as he tells you about his Coney Island memories.

He helps you onto the car, sitting next you and pulling you close. “Oh man, I can’t believe it,” he says, looking out over the park. You watch as the bright and colorful lights dance in the reflection of his eyes, your mouth opening to speak as the wheel starts to turn. “Y/n! Look!” he shouts, pointing out toward the water just as the fireworks start. You pull yourself away, looking out over the ocean as the sky explodes into a rainbow of colors.

As you stare at the bursts of light your mind races over the words you’ve been harboring for weeks. The words about to explode off your tongue louder than the fireworks. His name comes out as a whisper as you turn your head toward him, finding that his eyes are settled on your face. “I love you.” He says the words and they ring out over the booms; louder and clearer than any others you’ve heard before.

You can feel your whole face light up and your heart swell before you repeat the words back. “I love you, Bucky.” His smile matches yours as he dips his head, kissing your lips and pouring everything into it, the bright lights and loud sounds fading away.

@aesthetical-bucky @auro-ora @azurika-writes @bugsbucky @buckys-broody-muffin @book-dragon-13 @eurynome827 @hiddles-rose @hailmary-yramliah @hawksmagnolia @ikaris-whore @itsunclebucky @jhangelface0523 @jewels2876 @loricameback @littledarlinhavefaithinme @littleredstarfish @mushyjellybeans @marvelgirl7 @marvelandotherfandomimagines @nano--raptor @nerdypinupcrystal @moonybarnes @nordlysinthewoods @randomfandompenguin @sallycanwait68 @softpeachbarnes @scarletsoldierrr @the-wayward-robot @when-the-hell-is-bucky @rinthehufflepuff @irishflutiegirl @jamesbarnesappreciationclub @fireflv @nd1998sc @captainchrisstan @vherriepie @godofplumsandthunder @amandatar-06 @throwmyheartawayagain @flyawaybay

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3pirouette · 3 years

Text

Fic: The Honey Trap (6/?)

Title: The Honey Trap

By: TriplePirouette/3Pirouette

Disclaimer: They're not mine.

Distribution: AO3 Anyone else please ask first :)

A/N- Again, thanks for your patience. I'm not sure what's going to happen with this story come Steggy Week as I plan on posting something for every day that week, but it's not being abandoned.

Quite the opposite. Once again, I've managed to write a good chunk of the end before I've finished the middle.At least I know where it's going.

Enjoy!

Chapter Summary: Peggy meets Steve at the Pub, and everything changes.

Chapter 6: With My Life

January 2, 1945, 7PM

Peggy could feel their eyes on her. It wasn’t her normal Hydra handlers she’d spotted weeks ago, but they stuck out to her anyway.

She idly wondered, as she moved through the chilled street, if anyone else noticed people who didn’t belong, or if it was something that caught her eye because of who she was and what she did, just like her Mum could spot rot on the tomatoes two days before the black spots showed up in the garden. It felt like she could always just see things and people who stood out, who didn’t belong, little clues plastered here and there that others didn’t.

The thought kept her occupied, able to keep her face blank as she moved to the pub. It wasn’t the pub Wallace took her to, which thankfully made it just that much harder for the men watching her. With a pub or the equivalent on nearly every corner, London was a haven for a spy like her. She turned the corner, only a block away, and started to review the codes in her head. Words they’d used, phrases they’d said that she might be able to slip into conversation to let him know what she knew. She’d been trying to avoid thinking too much about her cover being blown and what that could potentially mean, but the thoughts still simmered deep in her brain.

It made everything more treacherous.

It made everything just a little more fun.

She’d been feeling that things were going sour, and she could kick herself for not trusting her gut. She’d known for weeks something was off with Wallace, but she’d gone along because she knew she didn’t have all the information.

She was about to, and it gave her a little thrill to know she was going to finally have the upper hand and a chance to use her skills to make a real difference.

As she neared the Pub, she realized this must have been what Steve had felt so long ago: the dancing monkey, left with nothing but the crumbs that others would toss his way, so close yet so far from his goal. She didn’t like the feeling, and suffered a deep pang of regret for him.

The warmth of the pub was a welcome change from the biting cold outside, and she spotted the Hydra agent at the bar with no more than a glance. No, she didn’t care very much for the man at the bar, but rather she cared about the man trying desperately to make himself look smaller in the back corner, dressed in civilian clothes that he must have pieced together from the men at the base based on their ill fit. She moved towards him slowly and sat, working hard to keep her face a blank slate as she took off her coat and slipped it around the chair.

Steve’s jaw twitched with the effort it took to hold back his smile, but she could also tell he was fighting to avoid looking concerned and serious, the downturn of his eyes spoke of the danger she was in. “Peggy,” he whispered, somehow making the word full of excitement and fear and pain all at the same time.

“Steve,” she replied, her voice just as heavy with emotion. She took a deep breath and blinked twice, waiting for his answering double blink before speaking. “You should buy me a drink, or three, just for coming out tonight.”

She saw his eyes dart to his 3 o’clock: the code sent and received. His gaze fell right back to her, and his lip curled up. “I think I knew that all along,” he replied, sounding conversational but letting her know he’d clocked the agent long ago. He sighed and reached out over the small table, taking her hand in his and twining their fingers. “We need to talk about us, Peg.”

Peggy took a moment, acting dramatically. To any bystander, they’d see a woman avoiding the stare of a former lover while still preening her hair and trying to catch his eye. Steve, while appreciative of her form, caught the way she played with her earing for just a second longer, how her fingers covered her lips in what was supposed to look like a moment of indecision. “I just don’t know, Steve.”

He nodded, eyes bright up close, letting her know that he understood: she didn’t know how much they could hear, or if they could read lips. “Are things all that different?” His tone asked a lover if she was still in love with him, but his words enquired about the state of Hydra’s spies.

“I’ve been away,” she answered, “far away, and I just don’t know the answer to that.” She sighed, trying to figure out how to tell him more, how to let him know that Wallace hadn’t just been secretive, he’d shut her out of all the decisions and the planning of what they were doing. It was looking more and more that defecting had been his plan all along.

A waitress stopped by their table, and they spent a moment ordering food that she knew would be dry and tasteless and beer that would be flat and warm. Once upon a time, she and Steve would have remarked about that, talking about all the things they’d do once the war was over, once he could take her to the ballpark and out to see the Brooklyn Bridge, and once she could get a descent full English for breakfast somewhere. Those plans seemed so small now, so inconsequential, but she desperately wished they could talk of them, that they could have just one more minute—

“Remember how we used to talk about after the war?” Steve started, as if he’d read her mind. He squeezed her hand tight, smiling. “When we could have a chance to just… just be people?”

Her breath seemed to slowly deflate from her lungs. It’s was such a simple sentiment, but to know that he shared it, in the face of everything, made her heart pound just a little faster. “It used to be all I held on to, that one day this would be over.” Still do she tapped out furiously on his wrist with her finger in morse code.

He smiled as she tapped, nodding his head, but she could still see how he was coiled tight. They paused again, waiting as the waitress dropped their beers on the table. Steve waited, but didn’t pull his hand from hers. “I want you back, Peg.” He said sharply, eyes and lips tight and serious. “I want you to come back.”

She took a deep breath, knowing things were about to escalate. “I left for a reason, Steve.”

He held her gaze, didn’t even blink as he spoke. “It was a mistake. I know it. You know it. Even Phillips sees that now.”

Peggy pulled back her hand just in time for the waitress to return, their plates in her hands. Peggy busied herself with her napkin in her lap. She finally looked back up when the waitress left. “I think I should stay.”

The corner of his lip turned down. “I didn’t come all the way out here—"

She stopped playing with her napkin and set it back on the table, standing. “I need to go wash my hands.” She stood and started to move past him to the back of the building where the bathrooms were, but he stood and caught her arm. He held her gaze for a long second before leaning forward, his lips covered by her hair to keep the Hydra agent from reading them, his words barely a whisper to be picked up even if there was a microphone somewhere. “I’m here to pull you out.”

Peggy stepped back, eyes flat and serious. “And that’s exactly why I should stay.” She pulled her arm from his grip and moved past him, to the back of the restaurant and the little hall that was out of sight from the rest of the bar.

She slipped into the small bathroom and immediately began to look it over, running her fingers under the sink and checking along the light switch to see if the cover had been tampered with and a bug hidden behind it. She turned over her shoulder as there was a knock on the door. “Peggy!”

She shook her head and nearly laughed at Steve’s theatrics. While he was passable, he certainly was no spy. “Don’t you dare!” She called out, leaning over and running her hand over the back of the toilet. She didn’t find a bug, but immediately shoved both hands under the faucet, turning on the water as hot as she could get it.

Steve remembered enough to at least pretend fighting with the door, though she’d left the lock undone. He slipped in, filling much of the available space, and pressed himself against the back of it, turning the lock with a sift flick of his wrist. Clear? He mouthed.

“As far as I can tell,” Peggy whispered, drying her hands. She took no time in closing the space between them, pressing her lips to his. Steve lifted her from her feet as he deepened the kiss, turning them to press her between the door and his body. “Good lord I’ve missed you,” she whispered against his mouth, her hands running through his hair.

He pulled back, pressing his forehead to hers. “I have to get you out.”

“And that’s exactly why I have to stay.” She gently pressed her hands against his cheeks, pushing his head back. “Quickly- all that you know.”

“Wallace has been pulling information, hiding things. We haven’t gotten one of your communiques in over a month. Phillips has been suspicious for weeks now, but last week he gave us a false lead on a Hydra camp. It was a set-up and if we hadn’t done our own recon it would have been…” He trailed off shaking his head. He looked back at her, blue eyes sad and pleading. “Whatever he originally told us, it was a lie. He hasn’t been sharing anything of value, and we’re starting to see his name pop up in places it shouldn’t be. We don’t know what he’s trying to lure us into.”

“So, no immediate danger,” Peggy whispered with a smirk.

Steve stepped back, letting her feet touch the ground, hands holding tight at her hips like he wanted to sling her over his shoulder and run for it. “Yes, there is. If he knows he’s been found out—”

“We don’t let him know,” she whispered, taking his hand in hers. “This gives us the upper hand. He thinks he’s in control, but we are.”

“That will make him desperate,” Steve pleaded softly. “Desperate men do desperate things.”

“Desperate men are also stupid and miss things right in front of them.” Peggy leaned up and kissed him softly. “I know how we’re going to do this. And it’s going to be us. You and Me. There’s no one I trust more than you, Steve. Do you trust me?”

“With my life,” he answered without hesitation.

She smiled, running her hand over his cheek. “Then you’re going to go back to the table, and in full view of the Hydra agent wipe that lipstick off your mouth.” Peggy stilled his hand before it got to his lips. “We’re going to have an affair right in front of Hydra, and I’m going to find a way for us to win this war by giving them false information and stealing everything we’re going to need while using that as a cover.”

Steve pressed forward, kissing her desperately and quickly. “I can’t just leave you here.”

“You’re not.” She let her hands run through his hair gently. “You’re trusting me, and we’re going to come out on the other side of this, just like we planned.”

“I’ll take you on a real date,” he whispered, gathering her tight in his arms.

She laughed. “You can date me properly once we’ve finished our affair.” She pulled herself out of his arms. “Now get, I’ll be right behind you.”

He kissed her one last time, deep and intense. He smirked as he pulled away. “How’s this color look on me.”

His joke hit her in such a way that she wasn’t sure if the sound that came out of her was a laugh or a sob, but she had to bite her lip to keep more from erupting. “Go!”

The rest of dinner passed by both too fast and too slow. The codes were done with, the important information exchanged, and what was left was little more than an emotionally and sexually charged date, shared by two people who missed one another but couldn’t do anything about it.

She kept catching his eyes on her lips, and she kept finding herself drawn to his fingers. She couldn’t quite remember eating at all, but the food was tasteless, anyway, and the waitress took their payment far too soon for her tastes.

Peggy bit her thumb, looking at him from across the empty table. She moved as soon as she made the decision, standing and taking his hand, pulling him quickly and decisively out of the pub and around back to hide by the trash cans. She pushed him up against the bricks and he didn’t fight back. Instead, he pulled her to him, curling down to kiss her with all the fire she remembered.

The trash cans around them clattered as they moved, ensuring two things: they were going to be found, and that no one could sneak up on them.

“Quickly,” she whispered, biting at his earlobe, “something that can prove to Hydra I’ll have information but that won’t hurt anyone.” Steve stopped kissing her and pulled his head back. He started to ask her what she meant, but she shook her head. “Now, and loudly.”

She began kissing down his neck and he could do nothing but close his eyes and comply. “There’s an empty allied base six clicks south of the Nazi hold along the French border.”

“We could go there,” she stage-whispered loudly, turning his head to look at just her with her chilled fingers. “Meet there.”

Before he could even think to tell her no, the trash cans to their right clattered. They both turned to see the Hydra operative, eyes wide and surprised that what he thought was a sturdy hideout had collapsed on him. “Just uh…” He cleared his throat and shrugged. “Just gonna take a piss.”

“Take it somewhere else,” Steve replied harshly, holding Peggy tighter to him.

Peggy turned her head away, pretending to try to hide, “afraid” she’d been caught, but she hid her smile against Steve’s chest. She’d seen the man stand and start to follow them long before they’d even been out the door of the bar. If she’d tipped some of the rubbish bins just a little as they’d made their way out, made them just that much easier to push over, well, maybe Hydra should get some better spies.

The agent looked the couple up and down and smirked. Peggy risked a “fearful” glance that lasted just a second too long, a second long enough for the Hydra agent to be able to positively identify her. They stood quietly, listening as his footsteps echoed away.

Steve slowly dropped his forehead to hers, smiling as he whispered. “How did you know he was coming?”

She smiled and pecked his lips, whispering back. “Spy, darling. It’s what I do best.” She interrupted his little chuckle with another kiss. “What’s the base disguised as?”

He shook his head. “It’s not. Just a shell from earlier in the war. Phillips wanted to use it to stage a push forward.”

Peggy snuggled in his embrace, the chilled wind finally breaking through the heat of the moment. “Would Wallace know about it?”

“No,” Steve pulled her coat from where she’d slung it over her arm when they left and wrapped it around her shoulders before cuddling her back close. “Only Phillips and the commandos.”

“Phillips may have my head, but we need a bit of proof of concept here.” She took a deep breath and looked at him seriously. “Tell Phillips that plan is out. I’m going to slip the existence of the base past Wallace in conversation tomorrow. Monitor the base. If Hydra comes running for the empty base, we’ll know we’ve got him hooked.”

“I’m less worried about the hooking and more concerned about the reeling in.” Steve mumbled, rocking them gently. “I don’t like you staying out here.”

“And I don’t like you going off and getting yourself shot at, but here we are.” She pulled back. “Talk to Phillips. Get him to pull in the Commandos and Howard, and anyone else at the SSR he trusts. We’ve got a rogue agent and that’s more dangerous than we were prepared for.”

“If. If I manage to get them on board?” Steve asked cautiously, not even bothering to finish the sentiment. “I was supposed to be bringing you back with me tonight, you know.”

Peggy hummed a sad, frustrated note. “While heading back with you tonight sounds just about the most wonderful thing I could think of, we can’t waste this opportunity.” She smiled up at him, “We engage in a salacious affair, which won’t be difficult as I quite miss you, and we use that to plant what they will believe is real information for Wallace to find.” She kissed him softly. “We get Wallace.” She kissed his cheek. “We get Hydra.” She snuggled herself under his chin. “And we end this damn war so you can take me on a proper date.”

She felt more than heard his chuckle as it rumbled in his chest. “A suit, flowers, and everything as soon as we get leave,” he whispered.

“Until then, we’ll have to set up trysts. Exchange information as best we can.” She sighed. “Without a clear line of communication with everyone, the best I can do is feed him information, I can’t help you create the scenarios.”

“I’ll hold up my end, Peg.” He let his cheek fall against her forehead. “You just stay alive. Deal?”

“Deal.”

“One week from now. Same place, same time.” Steve wasn’t asking, he was telling.

Peggy smiled. “I won’t be late.”

“Don’t you dare.”

#Steggy Fic #Steggy Bingo Bash #3P's Fic

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tsukkiscake · 4 years

Text

what goes on || tsukki x reader || ch. 11

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During your middle school years, you were always in advanced classes. This meant being in class with some of the same kids every year. Tsukishima Kei was one of them. You guys had been in the same class for all of middle school. At the end of your last semester of middle school, you hear Tsukishima and another one of your classmates, Yamaguchi Tadashi, discussing their plans to attend Karasuno High School. Looks like another year of Tsukishima for you. This year, you were determined to become at least his friend. This was proving to be a lot harder than you originally intended.

Chapter Eleven: Adore You

It was finally the first day of the Inter-High Tournament. You woke up with fond memories of the night before when Tsukki had come over. You smiled and glanced out your window at the street painted blue with an early morning glow. You stretched your arms and yawned, not wanting to get out of your comfy bed but knowing you had a train to catch soon.

You climbed out of bed and dragged yourself to the bathroom to begin getting ready. You went through your usual morning routine but decided to change up your hair for the day. You opted for a half-up-half-down hairstyle with little clips adorning your hair. You took one final glance in the mirror, happy with how you looked.

Though the summer heat was in full force, the evenings and early mornings in Sendai could get chilly, so you opted to wear a pair of high-waisted, blue paperbag shorts with a white t-shirt. You grabbed a cardigan to wear in case the cool air was too much. You grabbed the bag of clothes you had packed the night before, along with your phone, headphones, and wallet. You pulled up your messages with Ichiko and sent a short message telling her you were about to leave for Sendai.

Ichiko had promised to meet you at the train station and walk you to the Sendai City Gymnasium, however, she couldn’t stay for the matches due to having piano lessons on Saturdays. You walked out of your room and to the kitchen, grabbing the bentos you had made the previous night to bring today. You made two, one for breakfast on the train and one for lunch at the gym. You tucked them neatly into your bag and grabbed your house keys before getting ready to leave. You slipped on your white trainers and left the house, locking the door behind you.

Your train was due to leave in forty-five minutes and you were a twenty minute walk from the station. You put on your headphones and shuffled your favorite mix to get ready for the day ahead.

You arrived at the station with plenty of time to spare, but it was too early for many of the shops to be open so you pulled out your phone and decided to send Tsukki a goodmorning/good luck text.

New Message

To: tsukki

good morning tsukki! be sure to eat a healthy breakfast! i’m rooting for you today!

You took a photo of yourself doing peace signs to send with the text message. You smiled at your phone screen and sent the message before mindlessly scrolling through different apps, waiting for the train to come. You sat contently as Adore You by Harry Styles rang through your headphones.

Honey

I'd walk through fire for you

Just let me adore you

___________________________________

After the forty-five minute train ride, which you fell asleep on, you were in Sendai. It was currently 8:30 in the morning and the matches weren’t due to begin for a couple of hours. You looked around the Sendai station, searching for any signs of Ichiko. You had texted her before leaving but never got a response, hopefully she remembered the time of your train.

After searching for a couple of minutes, you were about ready to give up and walk to the gymnasium on your own, but you saw Ichiko running at you at full force. Her hair was in a messy bun and it looked like she was still in pajamas.

You laughed slightly as you removed your headphones to greet her.

“Did you just wake up?”

Ichiko kneeled over, hands on her knees as she took heavy breaths. “Yes, you should’ve CALLED me when you were getting close to Sendai, you know how I always oversleep,” Ichiko whined and stood up straight, regaining her composure only momentarily before tackling you in a hug. “It’s so good to see you again, I missed you.”

You laughed and returned her hug. “I’m glad to see you too, it would’ve been better if you had been on time to the station but it’s okay, I’ll forgive you, because I love you,” you smiled as Ichiko finally released her grip on you.

She smiled and poked your cheek, a gesture you guys had started when you were both young that never went away. “I love you too, (Y/N)-chan,” she looped her arm through yours and began to walk you in the direction of the gymnasium. “I’m starving, do you want to get something to eat before I drop you off at the gym?” Ichiko asked.

“I had a bento on the train, but I could go for some tea!” You smiled at her and she smiled back.

“Great! I know this adorable little cafe on the way to the gym that serves tea and breakfast,” she laughed and sped up her walking pace, essentially dragging you alongside her.

“Okay, okay, don’t tug my arm off Ichi-chan.”

___________________________________

You and Ichiko were sitting outside of a small book cafe, you had ordered a hot green tea while Ichiko ordered two pastries as well as a smoothie. You were sipping your tea while Ichiko slurped down her smoothie, watching the people of Sendai walk by. It was so nice being in a cityscape. Everything near your house was just the boring old countryside.

“So which boy on the volleyball team do you like?” Ichiko asked.

You felt your cheeks heat up immediately at her question. “W-why do you think I like any of them?” You wanted the question to come out as offended and strong, but it came out sounding embarrassed and shocked, like she knew something you didn’t want her to. You didn’t like anyone on the volleyball team, but for some reason your thoughts wandered to how you and Tsukki had hung out last night.

“Why else would you come all the way to Sendai for a volleyball game? It’s not even an interesting sport to watch,” Ichiko scoffed and laughed. She figured she had struck a nerve with her question.

“For your information, volleyball is very fun to watch. This isn’t my first time watching the team, plus I help out at practices sometimes,” you tried your best to avoid her initial question.

“Stop avoiding my question (Y/N)-chan, I know you too well for you to try,” she laughed again.

“I don’t like anyone on the team, I’m just friends with them. Two of the first year players are in my class at school, that’s how I got to know the team,” you shrug, trying to be nonchalant.

“Hmmm, okay. But I don’t believe you. Guess I’ll have to figure it out at tomorrow’s match, if they make it that far,” Ichiko took a bite out of her chocolate pastry.

“You’re coming to the match tomorrow?” You asked, not expecting Ichiko to want to come. She just said volleyball was boring and her schedule was usually extremely busy.

“Well, duh. I gotta meet this boy you’re in love with and I wanna spend more time with you!” She laughed and shoved your shoulder. “If you’re here to watch volleyball games, I’ll be there with you. Other than today of course, my parents won’t let me skip piano even though I don’t need lessons anymore,” she sighed with exasperation.

“Your parents don’t want you to forget you’re a prodigy,” you laughed. Ichiko had been an extremely talented piano player when you met her and she only got better through grade school. You watched her win awards and play recitals all over the country. “Also I’m not in love with anyone on the team, I just told you that,” you sighed with frustration, but you could never stay mad at Ichiko. She was just too lovable.

“We’ll see,” she laughed and finished her second pastry. “Come on, I’ll walk you to the gym before I go to my lessons,” Ichiko stood up, dusted the crumbs off of her pajamas and offered a hand to you. “Lets go, (Y/N)-chan.”

You smiled up at her and grabbed her hand. You guys walked like that, hand-in-hand, for the majority of the way to the gymnasium. You noticed some funny looks from passersby, but didn��t mind. Ichiko made you feel like everything was okay, and you didn’t want to let go.

You guys approached the gym and she finally let go of your hand.

“Okay, okay, do you have an estimated time of when you’ll be done? I’ll try my best to come pick you up so you don’t get lost,” Ichiko smiled at you.

“I’m not really sure, I think the afternoon games start at 1:30 so if our team gets to the second game they should be done around 3:30 or 4:00 I think. I’ll text you updates,” you smiled back at Ichiko. Being around her made you forget the loss of your mom. It made you feel like a child again.

“Hmm, okay I’ll try to be here at 3:00 and if they’re still playing, I can stay and watch with you. Now I gotta run, I’ll be late to piano if I don’t. I love you, (Y/N)-chan. Root for your team for me!” Ichiko wrapped you in a bear hug before running off the way you had come.

You watched her leave before approaching the gymnasium. There were so many teams milling around the outside of the gym, your eyes began to scan the crowds for a certain lanky, blonde male.

Once you spotted Tsukki, standing out above the crowd, even in a sea of tall boys, you smiled and began to walk towards the team. Hinata was the first to notice you.

“(Y/N)!” Hinata yelled and ran over to you, jumping like a maniac.

You laughed and patted his orange hair. “Hi, Hinata. It’s good to see you too.”

The rest of the team began to approach you as well. You smiled at everyone and greeted them.

“Thank you for the treats, (Y/N), the entire team appreciated them. But how come you weren’t able to give them to use yourself? Yamaguchi said you weren’t in school for the day either,” Daichi gave you his concerned dad look. You smiled at his kindness.

“I wasn’t feeling too well yesterday, I think I stayed up too late baking,” you laughed and quickly glanced at Tsukki. You were glad he hadn’t told anyone about your argument yesterday.

“Well we all really liked the melon bread, especially Tanaka, he kept raving about it,” Daichi laughed.

You glanced over at Tanaka and saw his cheeks were pink. “Melon bread is my favorite food and it was a nice treat, what about it?” He yelled and you laughed.

“I’m glad you liked it Tanaka-senpai. I’ll be sure to make extra for you next time,” you smiled at him and he looked like his brain had short circuited.

Daichi laughed and gave you another small smile. “Alright everyone, let’s get inside and get checked in. The first match is in forty-five minutes.”

You watched as Nishinoya and Ennoshita pushed a broken Tanaka towards the doors and Hinata and Kageyama tried to race. As everyone else began to walk towards the doors, you caught up with Tsukki and tried to walk next to him, his long legs allowed for lengthy strides, however, and you struggled to match his pace.

“Will you slow down you idiot bean pole? I’m trying to walk with you,” you huffed.

“I don’t walk next to runts,” Tsukki said, as he slowed his strides to match your pace.

“Whatever, softie. You love to walk with me,” you smirked in victory up at him. He glared down at you, but his eyes were soft.

“Whatever,” he huffed.

You smiled and walked with him in a comfortable silence. While Ichiko made you feel like a child without any problems, Tsukki made you feel like you weren’t alone in dealing with them. Being around him made the burden feel so much lighter, as if the load was being shared by the two of you.

“You better win today, I’m counting on being able to come see matches today and tomorrow. My friend Ichi-chan might even come so you guys gotta be good,” you shoved him slightly as the two of you walked behind the rest of the team.

“Well now that I know some random friend of yours is coming, we’ve gotta win huh?” He shoved you back, harder, making you stumble as you walked.

“Hey! I just thought I’d give you more reasons to want to win, no need to shove me,” you huffed and turned your nose up at him. “If you’re gonna be like that, maybe I’ll just root for the opposing team and hope they beat you guys into a pulp so I can go hangout with my friend for the day,” you let out a dramatic sigh before laughing.

“Whatever, I don’t care what you do,” he stated, before looking at you with kind eyes. You noticed that in public, Tsukki only seemed to smile with his eyes, not letting the uninterested look on his face change all that much.

“Sure you don’t,” you smiled and almost walked into Nishinoya who had stopped short in front of you. You glanced around Nishinoya, trying to get a view of what made the team stop. Up ahead, in teal and white tracksuits was a school you didn’t know about. “Who’s that?” You whispered to Tsukki.

“Aoba Johsai High School. One of Kageyama’s upperclassmen is on that team and he’s apparently a really good setter. We played a practice match against them and won but I think we won because Oikawa, the good setter, wasn’t there for the majority of the game.”

“Oh, so you guys are like rivals?” You asked him.

“I guess you could say that. But they’re almost always the second best in the prefecture. They have a way better team than we do, I don’t know if we can beat them and Oikawa,” Tsukki said, looking over the crowd towards the other team.

“Well you don’t know if you’ll lose until the final ball touches the ground,” you nudged him softly. “Don’t get all scared now, you guys are gonna kill it.”

“I’m not scared, there’s no need to be. What happens will happen,” Tsukki shrugged.

“You should be more enthusiastic than that Mr. Apathetic,” you sighed and shook your head at Tsukki’s disinterested attitude. Daichi clapped his hands to get the team's attention.

“Okay guys! Official warm-ups start in 30 minutes, I want everyone stretched and loose, ready for the first game. Remember, focus on the opponent at hand before you start worrying about the next opponent!” Daichi pulled everyone into a huddle for a pre-warm-up chant. You stepped back, not wanting to intrude on their team traditions.

You watched as everyone put their heads together and yelled “Karasuno, FIGHT!”

___________________________________

The second set against Tokonami High School was currently underway and you were watching intently. You cheered each time Karasuno scored and gave them waves when the boys glanced up at you. Tsukki had been adamantly avoiding your gaze which made you feel frustrated, but you still continued to cheer extra hard for him. You watched as Karasuno increased their lead against Tokonami.

You admired the boys of the volleyball team, they gave one hundred percent effort in each of their plays.

Before you knew it, the second set was wrapping up with Karasuno winning 25 to 14. It was before noon, so you knew the boys had some time to cool down and eat lunch before their next game at 1:30. You smiled down at the team before grabbing your things and running down to meet them in the gym lobby.

You jumped off the last stair and began running through the crowds of people to the doors to the court. You stopped and watched the boys walk through the doors, an air of victory surrounding them. You smiled to yourself and you could just tell how proud they were.

You walked over to them with the widest smile on your face. Nishinoya and Tanaka were there to greet you first. The two boys jumped towards you to give you high-fives. You used both hands to give each of them a high-five while praising them on a game well played.

“You guys were so awesome, you did so well!” You gave them a big smile and they both looked ready to pass out from receiving praise from you. They smiled sheepishly at one another and wandered off.

You greeted and gave congratulations to each player. After having attended so many practices, you were getting used to all of the team members and they were all getting used to you. Tsukki and Yamaguchi were the last two to walk through the gym doors and you gave Yamaguchi a high-five and congratulated him, even though he hadn’t played in the game.

You stood in front of Tsukki, looking up at him, and gave him the biggest smile you could muster.

“Good job, Tsukki. I’m proud of you,” you gave him a thumbs up.

He scoffed and walked around you. “I don’t need praise from a runt,” even though his words were laced with their usual coldness, he put a hand on top of your head and ruffled your hair slightly.

You giggled softly at how he ruffled your hair. “Fine, if you don’t want praise, I’ll make sure to tell everyone, except you, that they played well,” you turned your nose up at him and began to walk towards Kageyama and Hinata, who were having some random competition in the middle of the walkway.

Tsukki stopped you by putting his hand back on your head. “I was kidding, you loser,” he said. He leaned down so his mouth was close to your ear and whispered, “Don’t stop. You help me play better.”

You could feel your cheeks heating up at his words. You couldn’t manage to form any words so you just nodded and mumbled something incoherent.

Why did Tsukki have that effect on you? Why was he able to scramble all of your thoughts with a simple seven words?

Tsukki removed his hand and began to walk towards his team, leaving you frozen. You shook your head, trying to get rid of the lingering feeling of Tsukki’s breath against your ear.

You sighed and then took quick steps in order to catch up to Tsukki. You walked by his side silently. Thoughts of Ichiko’s questions about who you liked on the volleyball team suddenly filled your mind. You glanced up at Tsukki and thought about how he made you feel versus the rest of the team.

Everything with Tsukki could be so complicated though. Just yesterday morning he was upset with you but by the end of the day he was at your house eating dinner with you. You thought about the emotional rollercoaster your friendship was with Tsukki. It made you smile, though, thinking of the moments you two had shared.

But that didn’t mean you liked him. Tsukki just knew how to press your buttons in the right way. That’s the type of person Tsukki was, he loved to press the buttons of the people around him.

You sighed, frustrated by your feelings. You definitely didn’t like Tsukki.

Right?

✰ I AM SO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING FOR SO LONG I HAVE BEEN SO BUSY AND HAVE HAD NO MOTIVATION IM SO SORRY ⊙﹏⊙

✰ but here’s a nice long chapter for your enjoyment 😌

✰ thank you so much for 167 followers on here and over 1200 hits on ao3 im so soft i’m so glad you guys like the story so much,,, again im so sorry for not updating for so long i’ve been in a not so good head place recently and this story was not my top priority for the meantime

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percabethfangirl · 4 years

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Percabeth College AU: Chapter 3

Ch. 1 Ch.2

_____________________________

It was Friday a month or so after the skateboard incident. Percy had sat next to her every government and politics class since then. He had this habit of biting his lip, bouncing his leg, and tapping his pencil in class. Not that she was complaining, no quite the opposite really. He was so cute when he did that. Not that Annabeth noticed. Of course not. She was completely focused on the lesson, straight A student that she was. 100% absolutely focused on the professor.

Oh who was she kidding. She totally noticed. Actually, that was the only thing she noticed, really. She took notes on auto pilot, but when she went back to study, she didn’t remember writing down any of it. All she could remember was Percy. It was becoming a problem. Not only was there the possibility of her grades dropping, Piper might catch on. If that happened, she was screwed. She loved Piper, she really did, but she was so over the top when it came to things like this. It would inevitably end with Percy finding out, and Annabeth being embarrassed and probably rejected.

Percy was a really nice guy, that’s why she liked him, but despite Piper’s reassurances, she didn't understand how Percy would like her like that. She was the nerdy nobody who had about 1% of the social life he did. Plus, she-

“Annabeth!” her teacher called.

“Uh- sorry, yes?” Annabeth stuttered. She had totally zoned out.

“That’s the third time I’ve said your name. Talk to me after class.”

“Yes sir,” she mumbled dejectedly. This was exactly what she was afraid of. And if it got any worse, if it actually affected her grades, she could lose her scholarship. And she couldn't lose that. Not when it was all that was keeping her out of her dad’s house.

But she refused to go down that mental rabbit hole. It wouldn’t happen. Not if she could help it.

And she could. She just had to try harder.

—————————

The weekend came and went, and Annabeth realized there was only a week until Christmas.

She hadn’t gone home for the holidays in previous years due to her awkward family situation, but knowing Piper, she would probably get dragged to some party or another this time. They had given almost an entire month off this year, which didn’t leave Annabeth any excuses for staying holed up in her dorm. For once she was dreading her weekly coffee date with the other girl.

Monday second period came with the usual butterflies and mindless notes. She would sneak a glance over at Percy every so often. Sometimes he saw her, sometimes he didn’t. Either way, Annabeth would quickly look back at her notes after just a second. She didn’t want to seem like a creep or a stalker, but Percy drew her gaze like a magnet. Annabeth struggled to keep her eyes on the teacher and her notebook, but they always ended up back on Percy. Hopefully Piper wouldn’t notice her randomly zoning out to think about Percy tomorrow. She really would try to listen to her, but once she started rambling about Jason, Annabeth would inevitably zone out. It was now her default state of mind to think about Percy. She really hoped Piper wouldn’t notice.

—————————

Piper noticed.

She had been talking about Jason’s soccer practice, and how good he looked when he was playing. Annabeth had been paying attention, but at some point, her mind had drifted to imagining how Percy would look in a soccer uniform. That had sent her spiraling into what she now liked to call ‘Percy-land’.

After a couple minutes, Piper realized she wasn’t paying attention anymore, and abruptly stopped in the middle of a sentence. “Annabeth! Hello? You in there?” She snapped her fingers in front of Annabeth’s face as she came back to reality. “Oh, sorry, um you were talking about Jason?” Piper ignored her attempt to bring the conversation back on topic. “What were you thinking about?” Piper asked suspiciously. “Oh uhhhh nothing...” she stammered out, slightly blushing against her will. “You’re thinking about Percy!” Piper crowed triumphantly. Trying to regain control and dignity, Annabeth brushed a few nonexistent crumbs off her lap and said, “Of course not! I was thinking about.... Christmas break.”

But it was too little, too late. Piper knew she didn’t like thinking about the holidays due to her family situation. She would never have fallen for that, and Annabeth should have known better. “Ok, that has to be the worst lie you’ve ever told,” Piper laughed. Annabeth frowned in annoyance at her inability to think of a better excuse, “Ok, yes, I was thinking about Percy. Are you happy now?” “I KNEW IT!” Piper yelled.

The majority of the cafe gave the two girls strange looks as Annabeth buried her face in her hands. “Could you be any louder?” she groaned. Piper didn’t seem to mind the stares, and cheerfully continued. “So how are things going with Percy? Has he asked you out yet?” “Oh my gods Piper! He probably doesn’t even like me, there’s no way he’s gonna ask me out! And wouldn’t I have told you if he did?” Still smiling, the other girl shook her head, “For one thing, you don’t tell me anything, I have to force everything out of you. Secondly, there is every chance Percy likes you, but doesn’t know if you like him. You can be very stoic, Annabeth Chase.” Annabeth laughed sarcastically, “Yeah right. That’s totally what’s going on here.”

Piper let the matter go, seeing that she wasn’t making any progress in that area. But little did she know, Annabeth kept thinking about her comment for the rest of the day. And night. And the rest of the week. It soon became all she could think about. Annabeth resolved to be less stoic around Percy. She didn’t think Piper was right, but if there was any chance that she was, Annabeth had to do something about it.

______________________________

Thanks so much for reading!! I know its not that long, and kinda boring, but it's setting up the next part. Chapter 4 will be much more interesting, I promise :P

Tag list: @deathbyathousandfucks @technicallyburninggarden

DM me if you want to be tagged for the next chapter! :D

#percy jackson #pjo #hoo #annabeth chase #percabeth #piper mclean #jason grace #nico di angelo #frank zhang #rick riordan #percabeth au #percabeth fic #rose writes #mine

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justthehiddleswrites · 4 years

Text

Forever Hold Your Peace | Tom Hiddleston x Cumberbatch!Reader | Chapter 3 | The Bachelor Party

Pairing: Tom Hiddleston x Cumberbatch!Reader

Summary: Tom Hiddleston dated Benedict's little sister (reader) back at Cambridge, after a bad breakup Tom and Benedict are now friends. The reader is now engaged to an American who Benedict does not trust. Ben turns to his good friend Tom to help break up the wedding and win back the girl he never truly got over.

This Chapter: Tom keeps running into you as wedding preparations kick into high gear. An incident at the bachelor party resolves Tom to join Benedict of this plan of wedding ruin.

Warnings: Fluff, angst, slapping, cursing.

The wedding preparations moved fast over the next two weeks. You had time no to stay mad at Ben. You needed the help.

“Why isn’t what’s his face here to pick out a cake?” Ben grumbled as he took a bite of white cake.

“He needed to take care of some things at work, but he is meeting me at the florist at 3 to pick out the flowers.”

“How convenient.”

“I thought you would be nice.” you snapped as crumbs fell from your mouth.

“This is me being nice. Pardon me for thinking the groom should take part in the details of his own wedding.” Ben rolled his eyes.

You pushed away from the table. “This visa thing has stressed him out. And I would expect my family to be supportive!” You stormed off to get some fresh air. As you pushed the door open, you ran into the gentleman entering the shop.

“So sorry.” you muttered.

“My apologies.”

“Tom?” you asked as you spied familiar blue eyes staring at you.

“It’s nice to see you. You look fantastic.“ He pulled you into a hug. You held him just a second too long.

“You too. Why are you… My brother called you, didn’t he?”

Tom laughed. “He asked me to meet him here to go out for a drink. But it looks like I am a bit early.”

“Nonsense. We were wrapping up.” You fidgeted with your hair, flustered.

You opened the door and the two of you stepped back in. Ben’s face lit up when he noticed Tom walking with you. Now there was a brother-in-law he could live with.

Tom hugged Benedict. “Dirty pool at giving me the wrong time, mate.” Tom whispered.

Ben smiled wide. “Just reminding her of the options.”

“I’m not an option.“ Tom turned to you. “Where is your fiancé? I was hoping to meet him before the bachelor party this weekend.”

You swallowed. “You’re going to that?!”

“At your brother’s request. Now where is the man who swept the most beautiful girl I ever dated off her feet?” Tom winked at Ben. You didn’t notice because you were too busy hiding your embarrassment.

“He had work stuff. Something to do with his visa.” You made excuses. “He’s stressed what with the wedding and all.”

Tom gave a soft smile and kissed your temple. “Of course. I can only imagine. Well, let me take your brother off your hands and let you get back to planning the big day.” Tom saw the worry on your face. “I would suggest a simple vanilla cake, if it were me.”

You nodded and gave both of them quick hugs, but your eyes filled with sadness as they left you alone in the bakery.

Once Tom and Ben walked out of sight, Tom punched Benedict hard in the shoulder. “Next time give me a little warning.”

“And where would be the fun in that?” Ben laughed. “It is so rare I catch you off guard. And if it must come at my sister’s expense…”

Tom scowled. “Speaking of your sister, where is the infamous Billy Bob?”

Ben groaned. “Working, but I have my suspicions he is othwersie occupied.”

Tom furrowed his brow. “Why?”

“He is never around. All the big events of this wedding he has missed. No one works that much. Not even you.”

Tom frowned. “Have you talked to her about it?”

“She doesn’t take me seriously. I’m just the annoying big brother. Now if you…” Ben looked at Tom with hopeful eyes.

“Oh no,” Tom backed away as they reached the pub. “Absolutely not. I will not ruin your sister’s wedding based on your paranoid suspicions.”

“I thought we were friends.”

“We are but I am not willing to die for that friendship. And your sister would kill me.”

“Coward.” They sat down in a booth.

“To want to continue living. Yes I am a coward.”

Tom’s look said to drop the subject, which Benedict obliged and they enjoyed the rest of the meal. They parted making plans to meet for the dreaded bachelor party that weekend.

“Please don’t leave alone during this horrid affair.” Ben pleaded.

“I promise I would come didn’t I?

“True but…”

“Then I will come.” Tom assured him. “And I will get to meet the infamous Billy Bob.”

“Indeed. And you will then understand why this wedding must never happen.” Tom raised an eyebrow and Ben held his hands up. “Apologies.”

“Goodbye Benedict. Good luck on your hairbrained scheme. Try not to make your sister cry.”

“That’s your job, Tom.”

Tom laughed it off as they parted, but Ben’s words stung his heart. He hoped to never make you cry ever again.

You answered the door of your brother’s home to find Tom standing in jeans and t-shirt. His blond hair tousled in curls.

“We have to stop meeting like this.” He winked at you.

You bit your lip. “We do. Although…” you glanced over your shoulder. “… I suspect my brother may have something to do with that.”

Tom laughed. “I suspect you’re right.” He shuffled his feet out of nerves. “Listen… I know it’s been years but I’m sorry.”

Your shoulders slumped. “It’s fine. I’m over it.” You stepped outside to leave. Tom grabbed your hand.

“No, it’s not fine. I behaved like a right bastard and no one deserves to be treated less than.”

Tears pricked at your eyes. “Thank you, Tom.”

“And look at you now, successful and getting married in two days to the man of your dreams! I wish I could be there to see it.”

You nodded as his words hit your heart. Was William the man of your dreams or just the man you said yes to? You pushed the troubling thought aside.

“I’m sure Ben will share pictures.” You wanted to get out of there. Away from Tom’s charm. You stepped down the stairs.

Tom gave a killer smile to hide his heartache. “I won’t keep you any longer. You must have lots to do.”

You nodded. “It was good to see you, Tom.” You lied.

“You too.” He kissed your cheek. “Good luck tomorrow.”

You hustled away before you cried in front of him. Ben came to the door just as you disappeared from view.

“Still hitting it off with the ladies, I see.” Benedict teased.

“Weren’t you the one who forbade me to date a member of your family?” He raised an eyebrow as they got into the car.

“A position I am reconsidering. Thank you for accompanying me to this thing.”

“Why did you invite me, anyway?”

“You mean I can’t enjoy the company of one of my best friends for an evening?”

“No.”

“You’re right. I need a second opinion on William. And a second pair of eyes—”

“— to spy—”

“—to observe.” Benedict shot daggers at Tom.

“Another word for spying.”

“Are you going to help?”

“I intend on enjoying myself tonight.”

“Then we agree.”

“Not at all.”

This continued until they pulled up to the club. It was the sort of place Tom and Benedict would never frequent of their own accord. Too trendy, too loud, too bright.

It’s the “classic bachelor party” William explained to Benedict who later relayed that to Tom.

“In other words, too much booze and too much boobs.” Tom commented.

“It’s that rather crass. On second thought, that’s probably what he thought.” Benedict quipped. They grabbed drinks at the bar. “Oh shit, here he comes.”

Benedict hooked his chin towards a sweaty and smiling man.

“Holy fuck! It’s Loki!” William screamed over the loud club music.

Tom nearly spit out his drink. He hated him already. “In the flesh.” he choked out as William took his hand into his meaty paw and shook it hard, squeezing.

William punched Ben in the shoulder. “Bro, you never told me you knew Loki!”

Tom giggled behind William’s back at Ben’s discomfort. “You never asked.” Ben scoffed.

William spun to speak to Tom and Benedict pulled faces behind, mouthing “wanker” at Tom.

“Dude, do you know Arnold Schwarzenegger? He is my favorite.”

Benedict rolled his eyes.

“I’m afraid not, William.” Tom gave a tight smile. “But Ben you were at that BAFTA event last week…”

That was all it took to send William talking a mile a minute. Tom smiled at Benedict as he walked away to leave Benedict to fend for himself for a bit.

“Serves him right.” Tom muttered to himself as he went off to find a dark corner.

Ben didn’t resurface until 30 minutes later.

“You’ll pay for that.” Benedict cursed as he sidled up Tom at the bar.

“Fair is fair.” Tom smiled. “How is Billy Bob?”

“On his third cocktail and even more insufferable than usual with his mates by his side.” Benedict’s voice dripped with disdain.

“Shame. Here’s to getting out of here unaccosted.” Tom raised his glass.

A heavy hand hit Benedict’s shoulder.

“Onto our second stop for the night.”

Tom and Benedict furrowed their brows.

“I beg your pardon?” Benedict questioned.

“This was just the appetizer, bro. Onto the entrée. Zander will give you the address.” He walked away but not before shooting his fingers at the two men.

A tall thin man with slicked down black hair, who was Zander, gave them the address to a private residence. Benedict called the car.

“Do you have any idea where we are going?” Tom asked.

“I wasn’t consulted on the party plans. It’s probably a stripper popping out of a cake, judging by this crowd.”

Tom buried his head in his hand. “God, I hope not.”

The private residence was the rental for the groomsman. Everyone else headed to the parlor while Tom and Benedict wandered to the kitchen to see if there was anything edible in this house. They found only beer in the fridge.

“William! We are going to grab some food and be right back.” Tom yelled.

“Whatever, dude.” William yelled, his voice coming from the crowd of his friends.

Curious, they took a step into the parlor. The men hooted and hollered as rock music played from an unseen sound system.

“I’m afraid you were right.” Tom pointed towards the center of the room. All he saw was a buxom woman wearing little more than a thong and pasties.

Both of them moved out of the room after getting an eyeful of flesh. They sighed as they stepped out into the cool London air.

“That was awkward.” Tom commented.

The two laughed at the absurdity of their situation as they walked towards the nearest store.

They returned thirty minutes later to a very different scene. The rock music still blasted throughout the house. However, most of the guys were passed out on the furniture or playing video games.

“Where’s William?” Benedict asked a guy name Ashton.

The blond guy just shrugged his shoulders.

“What do you think?” Tom questioned. “Do you want to take the food home?”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Tom handed the bags to Benedict. “I am going to the loo first.” He turned to Ashton. “Where’s the bathroom?”

“Upstairs, second door on the left.”

“Thanks.”

Tom shuffled off.

“I mean right!” Ashton yelled after Tom.

Tom headed upstairs and opened the second door on the left, which led to a bedroom. A bedroom occupied by the stripper and one gentleman from the party, in a state of undress.

“Terribly sorry to interrupt,” Tom apologized. “I was looking for the restroom?”

“Second door on the right, dude.” a familiar voice answered.

“William?” Tom squinted at the man whose neck was being sucked on by a nearly naked woman.

“Loki?”

Tom’s vision flashed white as his hand balled into a fist and it connected with William’s face.

“The name’s Thomas, Billy Bob.” Tom shook his hand out as William laid sprawled unconscious on the bed. He pointed at the stripper.

“He said he was one of the groomsman!” she screamed.

“Your name?”

“Diamond.”

“Diamond.” Tom resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “Party’s over. Get dressed and get out.”

She nodded, too scared to ask questions.

Tom stomped down the stairs and found Ben leaning against a wall.

“I’m in.” Tom grabbed his arm. “I’ll explain in the car. Just tell me when this wedding is.”

Benedict couldn’t help but smile.

#tom hiddleston #tom hiddleston fanfiction #tom hiddleston fanfic #tom hiddleston x reader #tom hiddleston fluff #tom hiddleston imagine #tom hiddleston angst #forever hold your peace

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