#deep cleaned my room today and threw away a lot of crap

[mer-se]

my boy

[teletraan-meets-jarvis]

What I Want - Part 2

AO3 Link

Chapter Title: What I Need

Pairing: Crosshair x fem!Jedi Reader

Summary: Following the awkwardness of the night before, you go to an old friend to try and process your feelings for Crosshair.

Click here for Part 1

Warnings: 18+, a bit more frisky business but not full on so rated 18 just to be safe. Swearing.

Word Count: 2.6k

Author’s Notes: You ask, you get!! Thanks so much for all the support and love for part 1 ❤️. As a thank you, I bring you part 2, I hope you enjoy! If this one takes off a bit as well, I do have an idea for a little bonus chapter around the Bad Batches' reaction. As always, feedback/comments are massively appreciated along with reblogs. Fic is below the cut off, thanks for reading!!

Taglist: @aerynwrites @shannon-lynn-21 @saltywintersoldat @tired-night-owl @wille-zarr

A comm alarm beeped softly, slowly pulling you out your slumber. Giving the device a sleepy glare, you shut it off and huffed back onto your bunk. Wrecker’s snores were echoing off the small ship barracks, you rolled your eyes at his sleeping form across the room as you swung your legs over the side of your top bunk. Below you, Tech slept soundly, he managed to fall asleep with his goggles on which were now sitting wonky on his relaxed face. He also had a datapad clutched to his chest, almost like a teddy bear, which made you chuckle to yourself.

You’d barely slept after getting back from the mission but being a General stopping over on Coruscant meant rest would be a pipe dream. Your alarm was set to get you out of bed and ready for the first of what you were sure would be a hundred and ten briefings today. You were always happy to shoulder the politics for the team, removing that burden from Hunter so they could keep to themselves. But today, you could really do without it.

You looked over at Hunter and Crosshair’s bunks, the former sleeping up top with an arm over his eyes. Probably to block out the few small coloured lights on the ship that shone from critical systems, preventing the room from being truly pitch black. You didn’t envy Hunter’s enhanced senses, they seemed to cause him quite a bit of discomfort when they weren’t on missions. You should probably pick him up an eye mask one of these days.

Below him, Crosshair slept with his back to the open room. One of the few times you ever saw his body relaxed was when he slept. You cringed as you remembered yesterday’s awkwardness with the sniper and mentally cursed at yourself for causing, what was, an easily avoidable situation.

Shaking your head you jumped silently off of your bunk, mindful to not wake any of the batch. You gently removed Tech’s goggles, placing them in their usual spot before moving over to grab some fresh robes and head for the fresher. Today was going to be a real drag.

—————————————————

“Hey! Look what the Lothcat dragged in” someone called after you as you trudged up the steps to the GAR Headquarters. You turned around to see none other than Anakin Skywalker jogging up behind you.

“Nice to see you too Skyguy” he chuckled at the nickname as he threw an arm around your shoulders.

You fell into companionable chatter as you made your way to your first meeting, the dark halls of the military headquarters looking indistinguishable as you attempted to find the correct room. Members of the Coruscant Guard patrolled the halls, nodding politely to you both as you strolled past.

Eventually you found the room where Mace, Plo and Luminara were waiting, along with some clone and human high command. You stood outside the door for a moment, readying yourself to seal your fate of being talked at for a solid eight standard hours.

Eventually you caved, mostly as you were on the verge of being late if you debated standing outside any longer. Begrudgingly, you sat through briefing after briefing. All the voices and different rooms blending into one grey blur as you tried to take in what information you could, but your tired and stressed mind was having none of it.

While it was nice to catch up with some of the other Jedi, you always felt a bit out of place among the perfect members of the council. More so now than ever.

You ended up wandering back to the temple with Anakin where you both retired to his room and you flopped down onto his simple bed with a whine.

“Okay, what’s going on? You’ve been off all day” Anakin was the closest thing you had to a brother, you trained as Padawans together and due to your similar age you became fast friends. You knew about his marriage to Padme and decided that if you could offload your dilemma on anyone, it’d be him.

“I fucked up” you groaned out from behind your hands.

“What’d you do?” Anakin replied in a playful tone.

“I might’ve got a bit hot and heavy with one of the clones in my squad, led him on and then cut it off” Anakin raised an eyebrow at your confession. “And now he’s pissed at me”

“Why?” You weren’t entirely sure which part of that entire thing he was questioning.

“Because I started the whole thing, I wanted it. Then all of a sudden I did that whole guilty Jedi, must follow every word of the order thing, gave him some pathetic look which said really sorry I can’t have attachments mate, hope you understand. He called me out on it before I could even utter the banthashit excuse and then he stomped off and hasn’t spoken to me since.”

“In his defence, seems like he was probably wound a little tight” Anakin replied with a chuckle which you just groaned at.

“He has every right to be pissed. Hells, I would be if the roles were reversed. Whats with this whole self-righteous act us Jedi have going on?”

“Look, it’s hard being a Jedi at the best of times. It takes an inhumane amount of self-control, which is why its not a path for the weak. But being a Jedi while at war… it’s a lot. You’re emotions are running high, you’re forming bonds with soldiers on the battlefield that you shouldn’t be, but none of us can help it because it’s uncharted territory. Maker knows I’d hunt down anyone who hurt Obi-Wan or my Captain. Yes, It’s not the Jedi way, but neither is fighting a grand-scale war.” Anakin’s eyes were alive with emotion as he spoke, be he quickly caught himself and then it was gone.

“My point is, don’t beat yourself up so much. No one is getting kicked out the order or in his case reconditioned if that’s what you’re worried about. Figure out what it is you want, and then just be discreet about it” you looked at Anakin like he’d grown two heads, he just winked at your confused stare.

“Okay let’s keep it simple. Are you attracted to him?” You thought back to the night before and firmly nodded in response.

“Do you like him as a person?” You pondered his question.

“Well, it’s Cross. I wasn’t sure if he even liked me for a long time. He’s closed off, anti-social, but he’s also a good guy, cares about his brothers, has saved my ass multiple times, and he is kinda funny in his own, snide way” you rattled off with fondness in your words.

“Well then I suggest you go and talk to him.” Anakin replied, giving you a knowing look when he spotted the small smile on your lips as you spoke about the sniper.

You took a deep breath, glad to have finally gotten that off your chest and feeling content that you now knew what to do next. “Thanks, Ani”

“Ugh please don’t call me that” he moaned back, apparently only Padme was allowed to get away with that one.

————————————————

Your walk back to the Marauder felt like it dragged on and on. Your brain ran over a thousand scenarios of what to say, how he’d react and you were about to short circuit. There was so much risk, so much possibility, that you did your best to shut your mind off and let yourself handle it in the moment. These things never went as planned anyway, it was best not to guess.

The large door to the ship hissed open, your boots clanking on the metal surface as you cautiously walked into your home. It didn’t take you long to find Crosshair, he was sat in the main hull methodically cleaning his hand blaster. Everyone else must’ve been asleep. He was just in his blacks, the material hugging him in the most wonderful way, it’s like whoever designed those things was trying to trip you up. The contours of his arm muscles flexing as he worked, his strong chest looked practically chiselled at the heart of his lean frame. You had to force yourself to calm down a little bit.

“Uh, hey” you greeted awkwardly. “Mind if I join you?”

You took his silence as a well he’s not saying no. He didn’t spare you a glance as you walked in and took a seat opposite him. As a General in the GAR, you rarely got nervous. War, as a concept, was simple. You knew your purpose, your objective, you had a job to get done and you’d do it. The risks never stopped you, rather they fuelled you. Probably why you’re such a good fit for the bad batch.

But this right now, personal feelings, not knowing where you stand with someone you care about. Because if you were honest, you really did care about Crosshair, the same as you did the rest of the team. You’d only been with the squad just under a year but you’d gladly lay down your life for any of them in a heartbeat. If you could at least get back to where you were before the other night, you’d be over the moon.

You weren’t used to being so nervous, you let your hands fiddle with you dark Jedi robes as you readied yourself to speak again.

“Look, I’m not here to throw some crap about being a Jedi at you, I promise. And I’m sorry for trying it before” he still didn’t look at you, finding his blaster much more interesting. But you could tell he was listening, you had his attention. Might as well keep babbling.

“In terms of an explanation for what happened yesterday, well I guess I panicked.” You sighed as you tried to find the next words “The way you made me feel that night, I… I’ve never felt like that before and everything i’d been taught over the years screamed at me that what I was doing was dangerous and wrong. I now realise that I’m just an idiot. I make my own decisions and I… uh -well, I stick by that one, starting something that is.” Still nothing.

“I know this is probably a long shot. But in the interest of being transparent” you rambled “uh… if you want to go down that road again, I’m up for seeing what happens, can be as casual as we like. I promise I won’t freak out on you again.” You chuckled and thought you almost spotted a slight pull in the corner of Crosshair’s lips “But if you want to go back to how we were before, I’d also really like that.” You watched him for a while as he gave no acknowledgement of your words, his cleaning finished as he now gave the weapon a once over in his hands. Having said everything you needed, you got up from your seat, looking away from him.

“Well, if I can do anything else, let me know” you turned on your heel to leave, feeling slightly defeated but glad you’d at least made the first step.

“I could think of a few things” he finally spoke as he leaned back into his seat and continued to stare at his blaster, still not meeting your gaze.

Well that caught your attention, you turned back around to face him as he carried on ignoring you. While his tone was unbothered as he spoke, you knew him just enough to know his words held a meaning. He was playing with you, back to his usual teasing and you could’ve laughed at the relief that washed over you. This you could work with. A cheeky idea popped into your head and you’d decided to run with it.

“Oh really?” Throwing caution to the wind, you strode over to the sniper slowly. His gaze finally meeting yours after all this time, watching you as you got closer and closer. Practically drawing you in with his amber eyes. You pushed him back by his chest, creating enough room so you could straddle his lap. “Care to elaborate?”

He huffed out a short laugh at your words, his face overall unbothered but his eyes, they were burning into you. “You’re a smart girl, I’m sure you’ll figure it out”.

You hummed in response, deciding to kick things up a notch you wrapped your arms around his neck, bringing your faces just breaths apart. “Something like this?” You asked, pausing for another second before bringing your lips to his in a surprisingly soft and gentle kiss. You felt his hands come up to rest on your back, pulling you closer as you continued your slow dance. This was so different from the other night, where before there was desperation and lust, now there was something more… tender, passionate. You were quite glad you weren’t standing as the way he moved against you would’ve definitely made your knees weak.

Dragging yourself away from his lips, you searched his face. His mouth pulled into a barely there smirk “That’s a start.”

“Who said I was finished?” And just like that, the last few strands of tension between you both snapped and you relaxed in his arms. You fisted your hands into the front of his blacks and pulled him back to you, his tongue slipped between your lips, curious and demanding. He was everywhere again, filling your nose with the scent of the standard cheap GAR soap but mixed with something earthy, something so distinctly Crosshair and you couldn’t get enough.

You could tell why the Jedi order frowned upon such activities, kissing Crosshair was intoxicating. You couldn’t think of anything else other than the handsome clone in front of you and just how much you wanted him in that moment.

His hands wandered lower and lower down you back until they rested comfortably on your backside, pulling you further up his lap. Feeling mischievous, you started trailing kisses along his jaw. Setting a teasing, languid pace as you mapped out the spots that made him squirm. Crosshair was never a man of many words, so you made it your mission to see just how vocal you could make him.

As your lips met his pulse point, he gave a loud exhale and you smirked in victory against his skin as you continued the onslaught on his senses. You definitely seemed to be doing something right as his hands found themselves in your hair, clutching slightly and you couldn’t help the soft moan that escaped you. Even while trying to gain the upper hand in the situation, he always had some control over you. It was maddening in the best way, setting your veins alight with desire.

Determined to get another victory you traced your tongue against the base of the side of his neck and trailed it all the way up to the bottom of his ear, which you teasingly took into your mouth, teeth grazing the soft skin. A strangled moan escaped the clone and that was the moment where you knew you were hopelessly and utterly gone. Your mind filled with nothing other than wanting to be closer to Crosshair.

“Not very Jedi of you” he commented, slightly breathless when you finally stopped teasing him and came back up to meet his eyes. Looking down at where your bodies were pressed against one another, you chuckled.

“What exactly about this situation led you to believe I was ever a model Jedi?” You smirked, though it was only visible for a second before his mouth was back on yours, devouring you as his hands greedily roamed your body.

You continued making out like teenagers for most of the evening, taking the time to explore each other, enjoying the closeness. Contentment settled over your body, almost as if this was were you were meant to be. If Crosshair’s arms were where you belonged, well, you could think of worse places to be.

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[shyficwriter]

Temporary Home: Chapter 17

Guardians of the Galaxy fanfic | Reader x Guardians (With Yondu and Kraglin!)

Summary: Peter, grasping for straws to remain 'The Prank Master,' thinks he's found a way to annoy you into conceding. Unfortunately, and unbeknownst to him, what he's found is something much worse.

Previous Chapter here | Next Chapter Here Or click here to: Start From Beginning

Author’s Note: Content Warning for descriptions/mentions of PTSD and flashbacks. Also, for my records this chapter ends on day 34 of the Guardians living with reader. Enjoy!

Word Count: 6,761

Red covered your mouth and nose, all over your hand, and a bit on your sheets. You blearily tried to gather your senses, tried to open your eyes against the unforgiving light that blinded you.

Peter stood over you, laughing. Telling you that you got what was coming to you as you groaned.

That fecker had put ketchup in your hand while you slept and then tickled your nose with one of the fuzzy-tipped novelty pens on your desk. The dickhead.

"Ugh! Gross! Dude!?" you complain, sitting up and reaching over to grab the tissues off your desk so you could clean yourself up.

"Serves you right for what you did to me!" Peter countered, gesturing to the blue staining his body. He began to walk out of your room, making sure to let you know that you shouldn't expect the two of you were even.

You roll your eyes and continue wiping the ketchup-y mess off of you. You glance down at your sheets and realized you'd need to wash them today too. Great. Guess this is what you got for sleeping-in.

Once you had finally cleaned yourself up you gathered your sheets to take them downstairs to wash them, but not before making a pit-stop to Peter's room. Wanting to make the trip quick you grabbed the first thing you could find- his comb- and pocketed it. It was about to have a date with some jelly.

As you turned to leave his room you saw Rocket standing in the hall just outside the door.

With a knowing grin he asked, "Whatcha doin' there?"

"Nothing," you answer flatly, gathering your sheets back up.

He let you pass but said, "So I guess I didn't just see you steal Quill's comb, then?" There was amusement in his voice.

"He'll get it back," you answer, not pausing in your walk towards the stairs.

"What do you plan on doing to it?" he asked, intrigued. He had no intents to squeal on you. This prank-y-ness was a side of you he had been pleasantly surprised to see. Much better the the stiff agent-type you usually liked to display. Had he maybe misjudged you?

"The less you know the better," you answered, continuing down the stairs.

No witnesses. Rocket liked your style. Maybe you didn't have such a stick up your butt after all.

***

You threw your sheets in the washer and put the kettle on. It was time to make some jelly.

While waiting for the kettle you grabbed the packet of jelly from the pantry and something quick for breakfast. Deciding on a granola bar, you go to pull one from the box when you also notice that all your spices had been flipped upside down. Obviously Peter's doing. That's also when you remember that you had hidden the rest of the food dye behind the spices, prompting you to give a quick peek to see that the box was still there.

It wasn't.

Peter must have found it while setting up his prank and took them, intent on making the two of you "even."

Crap.

The kettle began to whistle and you pulled yourself out of your thoughts of doom to start fixing the jelly. You could think about the dye later. Right now you had mischief to make.

You mix up the jelly in a glass bowl, adding in an extra packet of gelatin to make sure the shape would hold later. Then, looking around to make sure no one was around, you take Peter's comb out of your pocket and drop it in. The bowl was just big enough for the comb to catch on the sides roughly about halfway deep in the jelly water, so that when you turned it out it would be nicely suspended in the green jelly. You then quickly take the bowl to the fridge to set, burying it in the back on the bottom shelf so it hopefully wouldn't be seen.

Then you simply went about your day as normal.

***

Other than several bad puns, Peter surprisingly didn't attempt much to annoy you that day, and you had no doubts that it was because he was confident that he'd be able to return the favor in dyeing you an odd color when you showered tonight.

Not if you had anything to say about it.

Too bad for him he had no way to know that you knew, and you were confident that you could deal with it when that time came if you paid enough attention. For now you were just going to act none-the-wiser, and accept his invitation to watch a show with the others.

You settled in on the couch and the episode starts. It's a title you haven't heard of before.

Watching it you gathered it was a type of mystery/detective/thriller type that was somehow also a comedy. A detective was accused of killing this old lady, and he was on the run to try and prove his innocence. Lots of action, a bunch of red-herrings, overall not a bad show so far if you had to judge by this episode.

Then there was the end-scene.

The detective finally found the actual murderer, the mayor, and after tricking him into broadcasting his confession over the radio in this abandoned radio station- where he somehow had managed to make a broadcast work- the two fight. Only the mayor has a gun, and the detective's fell into a storm drain two scenes ago.

Through his cunning the detective manages to escape alive, but not unharmed. He's got a compound fracture to his leg. Cops are on the scene and arresting the mayor after surrounding him at gunpoint, and ambulances can be heard in the background.

You feel the hair on your arms stand up.

The sound of the sirens just keeps getting louder.

You swallow, your throat suddenly dry.

They get louder. You look away from the screen into your lap.

All you can hear now is sirens. You don't realize they've already stopped on the screen. There's now instead dialogue, a conversation between characters, but you are unaware of it.

Your hands clench into fists, nails digging into your palms. You fight the images in your head. You don't want to see them. You hear sounds of tearing metal. Sirens. Screaming. Beeping. Your breathing gets shallow and you work to keep it quiet. You had to fight it back. Sirens. Bright lights. Glass shattering. Screaming. Sirens. You keep saying to yourself inside your mind that it's ok. You're ok. But what about-

Kraglin makes a comment to Yondu about something said on screen. You don't hear him. You only hear the sirens. God, why won't they stop? Screeching. Sirens. Blinding lights. Sirens.

Yondu turns to reply to Kraglin, but sees you looking strange. He raises an eyebrow, which Kraglin notices. He follows Yondu's gaze and sees you staring into your lap, body rigid, hands balled tightly into fists. Your eyes are wide, but unseeing. Your jaw is set.

Before either of them can say a word the buzzer on the washer goes off and you seem to jolt out of it, quickly hopping up and making your way out of the room.

Yondu and Kraglin share a look. What was that about?

***

You didn't return for another episode. Instead, you decided it was a nice enough day to hang your washing on the line. It hardly took you any time at all to finish, but you decide to stay outside for a bit anyways. Fresh air and all that.

Everything was fine. You were ok.

When you finally come back in it's well after a suitable lunchtime, and realizing that the only thing you had today was a granola bar, you decide to cut up an apple and sit at the table, scrolling on your phone as you eat.

Yondu comes into the kitchen for a drink and joins you at the table. "Where'd you go runnin' off to?" he asks, "Decide you didn't like the show?" What he really wanted to ask was what had prompted that look in your eyes earlier, but he knew better than to just come out an ask. You'd just deny anything had happened.

"Had laundry to dry," you answer, not looking up from your phone.

"Ya were gone an awful long time for laundry." Yondu said, not missing that you completely ignored his question about the show. But the question still bugged him. He recognized the look in your eyes back then. He remembered sometimes catching it in the eyes of some of the older battle slaves in the barracks when he was younger. It was the look one had when they were flashing back to something horrific they had been through. He and the other younger battle slaves were always told by other elders to leave those be when they were "stuck in it", as they would say. Don't disturb them. They'll come out of it. Nothing for it but to let it pass.

That never did sit right with him.

"It's a nice day. Thought I'd enjoy it," you answered.

Yondu hummed shortly. You weren't giving him anything, and he knew you wouldn't.

He decided not to press it for now, but he could tell something had triggered that response from you, he just didn't know what. He suspected it had something to do with whatever it was that you kept locked away inside. He had clues and suspicions as to what, but of course he couldn't be sure, though he was more determined now than he had previously been to figure you out. Only one thing was certain. You had pain inside you. A lot of it. No one should have to go through that alone.

***

Kraglin, unlike Yondu, wasn't nearly as subtle when he saw you next. However, he wouldn't get any further.

"Mind if I help?" he asked, joining you in the garden where you were pulling a few weeds.

"Go for it," you reply, barely looking up. There weren't many to pull, as it was starting to get cooler lately. You mostly just came out for something to do. Soon it'd be time to harvest the whole garden.

The two of you work in silence for a bit. Then, Kraglin asks, "So, um, was you alright earlier? I mean, saw that ya looked mighty shaken when we was watching that show."

"Don't know what you're talking about," you answer, standing up and tossing the weeds you picked over to the compost bucket.

Kraglin looked up to meet your gaze, frowning. He was about to say something along the lines that you were full of shit, but he stopped himself when he saw your stern expression. You weren't just denying it. With just those few words, combined with the subtly hard look on your face, you were outright telling him that he didn't see whatever it was that he thought he saw.

He exhaled out his nose and just gave you a look that said that he didn't believe you, but he wouldn't push it. He could see that you would just shut him out, and he felt like it wasn't his place to press it.

Suddenly a gunshot rang out, breaking the awkward silence and causing you both to jump.

You sigh, not appreciating the jolt, and said, "Damn hunters."

Kraglin nodded and tried to take this distraction as an opportunity to change the subject. If you wouldn't open up, maybe he could try and make you smile instead. "So... nice job on dyeing Pete blue last night. Real funny."

"I certainly thought so," you said.

He almost thought he saw you crack a smile. Wanting to bring about a full grin he decided to tell a story. "Yeah, it was just like this time Pete rigged a dye pack up in one of Yondu's drawers, I think he mentioned it last night. Anyway, so somehow Pete rigs it up, I think he got mad at Cap'n for making him scrub the grease traps or somethin', but anyway then Yondu goes to open his drawer one mornin,' yeah? And he's blasted in the face with this red dye. Ohhh boy! He was madder than a muzzled Flerken!!"

The mental image was enough to make your lips curl up involuntarily.

Kraglin noted this and continued, "What's worse is he had to meet with some lady client the next day about a job, and he couldn't get it off. He was this funny shade of purple for over a week!"

A short laugh suddenly breaks through your throat and you look at him. "Really?" you ask, mirth in your eyes. The mental image of the blue man looking quite cross and splattered purple while trying to commit space pirate business dealings was a humorous one.

"Yeah. He grounded Pete for so long after that." Kraglin replied, chuckling.

"I'll bet," you say as you stand up and brush yourself off, now finished with weeding and prepared to go inside. "Thanks. For helping in the garden, I mean." you say.

Kraglin also stands. "Not a problem, ma'am."

You wince and shake you head as you turn back to the house. You thought of telling him to knock it off with the 'ma'am' stuff, but you were concerned with what might replace it. So you left it alone for now.

***

You were on alert when you got ready for your shower that evening. You knew Peter had plenty of opportunity to have tampered with your bath products, but you played it cool. Acted unaware.

The plan? Beat him at his own game.

First you turned on the shower and let it run. You cupped your hands beneath the stream to make sure the water wasn't an odd color.

All clear.

You get into the shower, deciding to inspect your shampoo and conditioner bottles first. You felt it was unlikely he'd put it in those, as it would be unlikely to have a decent enough payoff for him, but you still checked just in case. Your shampoo bottle was see-through and the liquid inside clear, so it was obvious it had gone untampered. You went ahead and used it.

Time for conditioner. Unscrewing the top you look inside the conditioner. Completely white. Untampered. Good.

Finally you checked your body wash. It was a rose scented type and was already colored pink. If he was was going to strike anywhere, it would likely be there with the red dye. You squirted a little into a rag to test it on your hip, an inconspicuous area. You didn't even need to use it before you realized you were right. The body wash came out much darker than usual. It was like he hadn't even mixed it. Actually, that's likely exactly what he did. He probably wanted to make sure as much dye got on you as possible and so just squirted it right on top. Just out of curiosity, however, you still tested it.

Yep. It left a red steak right on your hip. You catch a glance at Peter's bottle on the shower shelf, and grin.

Silly Peter. He shouldn't have forgotten his bottle in the shower. Again.

You reach out of the shower for a new washcloth, and use some of his body wash instead. Of course, not before testing it on the first rag to make sure it wasn't left behind on purpose as a trap. It wasn't. The test proved it free of dye and safe to use.

For now.

Once you finished washing you then unscrewed the top off of Peter's bottle and carefully poured in as much of the dye from the top of your tampered bottle as you could without getting it on your hands. You had to sacrifice a little of the soap down the drain just to make sure it would come out clean the next time you used it.

Was he sure to notice? Probably, but you didn't care. You'd be just as happy with the message it would deliver if nothing else.

He was going to see that you were the Prank Master here.

***

Once finished with your shower you retreated to your bedroom. On the way you could hear Peter in his room asking Gamora if she had seen his comb, and you grinned. You sure knew where his comb was.

Mantis is gathering her own stuff together to take a shower when you enter the room. You glance at what she's carrying to make sure she has enough soap. God forbid she might run out and then use Peter's instead of yours. You actually would feel bad if the prank accidentally hit her instead of Peter. Satisfied that she does you shut your door behind her and wait, unable to keep a grin from splitting your face.

Perhaps half an hour later, a good bit after Mantis had returned from her shower, you can hear Peter shouting.

"Are you KIDDING me!?"

Mantis looks towards the sound in shock before turning to see you covering your giggles with your hand.

Now you can hear Peter cursing your name.

"What did you do?" Mantis asks, both intrigued and alarmed.

"He tried to get me back for turning him blue by putting red dye in my soap. I found out and turned it back on him," you answered, nearly stuttering over your giggles.

"How?"

"I just poured the tainted soap into his bottle. Now he'll have been dyed twice." You grinned, but it fell shortly when you heard the bathroom door slam open and heard his footsteps coming in the direction of your room. You jumped up and quickly flicked the lock just before he reached the door.

The knob jiggled and then he started to pound on the door, cursing your name and demanding you come out.

Feeling cheeky, you answered, "Nobody's home!"

From the other side Peter said loudly, "Come out here, you coward!"

"Do you need something?" you ask, your grin wide.

"You. Out here. Now."

"Whatever for?" You're have a real hard time biting back your laughter. Mantis is sitting on her bed, hugging her bear and openly giggling.

"You know exactly what for!"

You look to Mantis. "Should I?" you chuckle.

"YES! You should!" answered Peter from the other side of the door.

"Didn't ask you!" you retort. You look back to Mantis and she nods excitedly. She wanted to see what had happened to Peter.

"Alright," you answer, loud enough for Peter to hear as well. You unlock the door and slowly open it.

You tried to hold it in. Honestly, you did. But the sight of Peter standing there in his pajama bottoms, and now purple where he had previously been blue, and a pinkish-red just about everywhere else you could see, you lost it.

Your laughter, combined with seeing that you didn't have a spec of dye on you, made Peter cry out in frustration. "HOW?!"

"It-It's your fault," you laughed. "You left a trail!"

Peter narrowed his eyes. "I did not leave a trail!"

"You did! I-I saw you had taken the rest of the dye and I knew what you'd do with it. Dude, you- you really should have left the box behind. I might not have noticed then." It was all you could do to say the sentence coherently as you tried to hold back your giggles. "How did you not notice I turned it around and poured it back in your bottle? Don't you look??"

As Peter sputtered indignantly for a reply you noticed that you again had an audience. Yondu and Kraglin stood at the bottom of the stairs, grinning up at the scene and shaking their heads. Rocket and Drax were standing by their room, Drax chuckling with a giggling Groot on his shoulder and Rocket almost looking impressed. Almost. Gamora was standing across the landing, shaking her head, though it appeared more out of second-hand embarrassment for Peter rather than disdain for you.

"Don't I- You- I'm- UGH!" Peter sputtered in frustration. He had half a mind to tickle you until you peed your pants for this- Well, not literally, though he wouldn't be above threatening it. He may be an asshole, but he wasn't 100% a dick. Regardless, the other half of his brain was too busy trying to think of any suitable comeback... and failing. He was The Prank Master! How were you beating him at his game? He glared at you. He wanted to wipe that smirk off your face. "You think you're so funny, don't you?! Just wait. You better watch your back. I'm gonna... I'm gonna..."

"You're not going to do anything, Peter." It was Gamora who spoke now, her tone teetering somewhere between warning and exhaustion, with a hint of amusement buried somewhere in there. "She beat you at your own game. Go to bed."

You couldn't stop the grin that split your face if your life depended on it. You took a calculated step back, hand resting on your door. You put on your most innocent voice. "So..." you started. "Does this mean I'm The Prank Master, now?"

The look in Peter's eyes could have vaporized you. "That's it!" he cried, stepping towards you. He wasn't sure what he'd do when he got hold of you. Hold you in a headlock until you apologized? Wet Willie? Both? Neither? Didn't matter. All he knew was you were going to pay for this.

However, he'd never get the chance. You were too fast, slamming the door in his face and flicking the lock just before he could get near.

You and Mantis doubled over laughing and Peter sputtered some more empty threats before Gamora could be heard scolding him and telling him to go to bed.

It was even better the second time.

***

The next morning you were, dare you say, cheerful.

Peter, less so. He was still a bit cranky that not only had he been the victim of the dye prank twice, just one night after the first, but that it had happened because he tried to get you back and you turned the tables on him. Sure, he had cooled down a bit from last night, but he was still an uneven purple/pinkish-red mess and the others kept snickering at him. Even Gamora had been caught hiding a grin behind her hand a couple of times.

It wasn't fair. He was determined to get you back, but how would-

He spotted something on the kitchen table, interrupting his thoughts. Something shiny, and green, and was that...?

Oh you were going to get it.

***

You were minding your own business, walking over to one of the bookcases in the sitting room, when suddenly you were accosted.

Peter had pulled you into a headlock from behind.

"Hey! What the hell! Let me go!" you demanded.

"Tell me you're sorry and I'll think about it!"

You had a feeling what this was about, but you played dumb. "I'm not going to apologize for turning the tables back around on you! It was your own fault for trying."

"That's not what I mean and you know it!"

You started softly laughing despite the moderate chokehold. You couldn't help it. "Did you- Did you ever find your comb?"

Suddenly you feel something wet in your ear. You knew there was only one thing it could be. "Ew! No! Peter!" you squeal, trying to squirm away. "That's disgusting! Stop it!"

Peter was chuckling now, still giving you a wet willie. "Say you're sorry!"

You jerk against him. "Never!" You were laughing despite really only having one hand to fight him with. The limited range on your brace made it so you couldn't bend your elbow enough to grab his arm with that hand, and you were standing too close to the bookcase to throw him over you and get out of the headlock. Well, too close to do it without hurting him, or your books, that is. You were stuck, but you still weren't going to give in.

Turns out you wouldn't need to.

"Alright. Break it up," came Yondu's voice from somewhere off to the side. "What's going on here?"

Peter released you and you rubbed your ear against your shoulder to get the wet feeling out of it. "She put my stuff in Jello!" he complained.

Yondu gave you a weird, albeit amused look. "Don't ya think ya did enough to him already, missy?" He wasn't scolding you, but he actually was surprised you were still on the attack after having seemingly won the war last night.

Fighting a grin you reply, "In my defense, I'd already done that before the dye thing. I only found out he was planning that afterwards," Technically not the full truth- you actually found out during the setup of the jelly prank, not after, but it was close enough, "and what was I supposed to do, not turn the tables back on him when I found out?"

Peter punches you in the shoulder, but there was no anger behind it, just cheekiness. You stick your tongue out at like a child in retaliation.

Yondu grinned and shook his head. It'd been awhile since he'd seen his boy carefree and goofing off like this, even if he was bickering with you like the two of you were kids. Still, he should maybe try to persuade a stop to the prank war again before things escalated any more and you two killed each other. It'd be a shame to save him from Ego just to let him die in a prank war of all things, and bad form to let him kill their host. "Boy, I think ya might need to accept that she won this round." he said, a hint of teasing in his voice.

"I will do no such thing! She just got lucky." Peter replied.

You smirked. "Yeah. Sure. 'Lucky'," you taunt. "Just say it and I'll call us even."

"EVEN?!" Peter exclaimed. He gestured to the stained purple and pinkish red of the areas of skin you could see. "Look at me!"

Trying not to smile you slowly look down to the brace on your arm. Head cocked to the side your eyes look back to Peter. "You were saying?"

Peter bit his lip and narrowed his eyes. You could tell he wanted to retort with something, but he knew he had no leg to stand on. Eventually he settled for, "I'm still not saying it."

Yondu snorted a laugh. "Whatever it is, just be a man and say it, boy. Quit while yer ahead."

Peter looked at him indignantly. "I am not going to declare her The Prank Master."

Unable to suppress your grin any longer you nudge him in the shoulder and say in your sweetest voice, "It's ok, you don't have to say it," taking a few steps away you add, "We already know." You then jogged out of the way when he made a grab for you.

You made your way out the front door, but he didn't follow, instead just stood there pouting.

"Ya finally gonna give it up, boy? Take yer loss like a man?" Yondu chuckled, teasingly.

"Never." Peter responded, too busy plotting revenge to fully catch the "take it like a man" part as he walked out of the room.

Yondu chuckled and rolled his eyes as he went to take a seat on the sofa. It was nice to see that you had a goofy side, though he wondered if it was Peter rubbing off on you, or if you had just had it buried under layers of stubbornness and sass.

Either way, it seemed certain that the boy was gonna have to relinquish his self-proclaimed title of "The Prank Master."

***

Over the next couple days the pranks between you and Peter had slowed down. This was likely in part because of how you made Peter realize that he couldn't complain too much about getting even for the dye prank if he considered that you were still in a brace as a result from one of his previous pranks gone wrong, but also in part because the two of you had pulled so many pranks so far you were seemingly running out of ideas.

Peter moved the furniture in your sitting room 3 inches to the left, likely to get your back for putting his comb in jelly.

You retaliated by setting up some cling film up at head height in the kitchen doorway for him to walk into and then calling him into the kitchen.

He got back at you by swapping your salt and sugar out, thereby ruining what would have been a perfectly good cup of tea.

For this high crime, you decided to get him back by scrapping out a couple Oreos and filling them with toothpaste. He was most definitely not fond of that one. Called it a crime against nature, and he may have been right, but so was what he had done to your tea.

Other than that, nothing really escalated, well apart from the oreos and tea, that is. The two of you kept making little jabs at each other and annoying one another. Really bad puns, petty insults, that sort of thing.

You did assume, however, that Peter was just biding his time, trying to think of something big that he could spring on you that might make you give up the game and declare him The Prank Master, because gods knew he wasn't going to concede.

And you'd be right.

Peter spent a decent amount of time brainstorming ideas for a really good prank, or even just a decent way to annoy you, in between all the smaller ones, but he was coming up with nothing he deemed quite good enough.

He was about to consider throwing in the towel when you inadvertently provided him with the fodder he needed.

***

It was the fourth day since the first dye prank and most of the dye on Peter had worn off by now.

You were reading on the couch, little Groot was playing with the TV and flipping through random videos on the YouTube app with Drax, and Peter and Kraglin were in the middle of a card game at the table on the other side of the room.

In what you would chalk up to a cruel twist of fate, Groot managed to find his way into a video of ambulance calls.

Rudely and immediately torn from your book by the sound, your hand shoots out for the TV remote and you mute the TV, much to the dismay of little Groot, who had found the noise fun and had been cheering the siren on. As calmly as you can despite your rapid heartbeat, you ask Drax, who was confused by your behavior, to please tell Groot to find something else to watch.

Drax looks at you strangely, but translates for Groot anyway, which again, only sounded to you like he was repeating your words verbatim due to his translator. You still didn't know that the translators didn't actually translate into Groot, but rather Groot had just picked up and could understand a bit of Galactic Standard, even if he couldn't speak it.

Groots looks slightly disappointed for a second but agrees and switches videos and you unmute the TV.

You didn't bother checking what new video he had chosen. That had been a mistake.

After the ad finished playing you were jerked back into reality from your book by the sounds of now multiple ambulance calls going at once. You mute the TV once again and say, "I'm sorry. I should have been more clear. Anything else. Anything else except for videos of that sound."

Drax, rightfully confused, asks, "Why?"

"I do not like it." is all you offer, and you don't elaborate when asked.

Peter, of course, overhears all this, and thinks he's found his new way to annoy you. He of course had no way of knowing the reason you couldn't bare the sound wasn't due to annoyance. He had no way of knowing its effect on you.

***

He tested the waters the next day after lunch.

You were washing up the dishes with Gamora when the sound of an ambulance siren makes you freeze in the middle of drying a bowl.

Gamora turns her head towards the noise and wonders aloud what it was.

Without answering you take towards the direction of the sitting room to, gently, scold Groot for playing those videos again.

Of course, when you get there, you only see Peter, who pretended to be surprised to see you.

"Turn that off," you say sharply.

"What?" Peter asked innocently.

You didn't ask him again. You just grabbed the control and exited the video before throwing the control back down into his lap. "Don't play that again," you warn.

"Why? Does it annoy you?" Peter asked with a smirk. He didn't notice your hands shaking.

Your eyes hardened. "Just don't," you say, returning to the kitchen.

Peter grinned. He was going to have fun with this.

***

Peter would play that sound three more times that afternoon, each time eliciting a more irritated response from you until you finally ripped the plug to the TV out of the wall and turn to him to angrily yell, "Stop it!"

"What?" Peter asked, chuckling in surprise at your latest response. You must really hate that noise.

"You know exactly what. I'm seriously, genuinely asking you to knock it off," you reply.

Gamora, who could tell Peter was working your last nerve and who was also becoming irritated by the repeated playing of the sirens, nudged Peter and told him he had his fun.

Peter half smirked and seemed to relent, saying simply, "Okay."

You sigh. "Thank yo-"

"After you declare me The Prank Master."

Gamora rolled her eyes and propped her head up on the hand resting on the arm of the couch, not wanting to get involved, but inches from yelling at her boyfriend that she was ending the prank war herself.

You were seething. "You're a goddamn child!" you scold, leaving the sitting room and considering getting out some of the vodka you had in the freezer just to calm your nerves.

You had only just made it into the kitchen when the sound started up again.

You back against the wall and cover your face, inches from tears. Your breaths came in shallow gasps as flashes of bright lights and the sounds of tearing metal and screaming fill your senses. You tangle your hands in your hair.

"FUCKING STOP IT!" you scream.

Peter and the others in the sitting room, as well as those upstairs, all paused in shock at the sheer volume behind your scream.

They then heard the sound of the back door slamming forcefully.

Yondu, who had been at the table playing cards with Kraglin, had only been present for the second and last incidence of Peter annoying you with the sound, and it wasn't until now that he put the pieces together. That day when you acted strange and walked out on the show- this siren sound had been playing then too.

Shit.

He got up and scolded Peter, who in his shock still hadn't turned the video back off. "Turn that shit off now, boy! If I hear it again I'm gonna shove my arrow up your ass! You hear me?"

Peter, recognizing the tone in Yondu's voice as one that he had encountered many times as a child when he was in trouble, immediately switched the video off. He had to concede that perhaps he went a little too far this time, but of course he didn't actually understand just how true that sentiment was.

Yondu went to go see where you went, and he didn't need to look very far, which surprised him. He was for sure you would have taken off for the forest again, since it was kinda your thing.

Instead, you were sat with your back pressed against the stone of the house about a couple meters from the door, hand clamped over your mouth and eyes in that terrible 'wide yet unseeing' way. In the dim light provided by what shone out the kitchen windows from inside he thought he could almost see the remnants of fallen tears.

He tried to approach you slowly, but you caught him out the corner of your eye and jerked to a standing position.

"Hey, hey-" Yondu said, holding his hands up. "It's alright-" he started, but then found he didn't know what else to say. After a moment he settled on, "Ya wanna talk about what that was about?"

You don't meet his gaze. "Nothing. He just pisses me off. He's a damn child."

"While that may be true, yer still full of shit."

You glare at him.

He continues. "If this was just about Quill gettin' under yer skin ya wouldn't be shakin' like that, and I doubt you'd be crying neither."

"Am not," you mutter. You turn away, wipe your eyes, cross your arms self-consciously, and start walking away. "It's cold."

Yondu rolled his eyes. It was cool out, yes, but it wasn't that cold. "Ya wanna talk about why ya dislike the particular noise so much?" Yondu called after you. "Ya ain't got to, but I can tell somethin's eating ya. I might help to get it off your chest."

"It's nothing." you reply. "Just an annoying sound."

Yondu frowned. "Now listen here. I ain't gonna force ya to tell me, but I'll be damned if I'm gonna let anyone just flat out lie to my face, missy."

You turn to him, indignant. "I'm not-"

"Hell if ya ain't. I've seen that look before, I know what it is. Ya can lie to yerself, but ya can't lie to me!"

You glare at him. "Who the hell do you think you are? Coming in here acting like you know anything about me!"

"I'm the person telling ya that it ain't healthy to keep that shit bottled up inside ya. It'll eat ya alive."

You don't respond. Just roll your eyes and start walking away again.

Yondu threw up his hands. "To hell with you then!" He starts to walk back inside but stops at the door to speak again, this time his tone a little softer, "I have a feelin' no one's ever told ya, girl, but ya don't have to 'be strong' all the time. Sometimes it's ok to let people in. It don't make ya weak." With that he headed back in the house.

You lean your back against the cool stone and sigh in frustration. What did he know.

***

You head back inside a bit later, not feeling much better.

Peter catches you as you're about to head up the stairs. "Hey, I just wanted to say sorry for-"

"Don't." You cut him off, not stoping in your path. "I don't care. I'm going to bed."

Peter frowns, but lets you go. Maybe he could try again in the morning. He truly was sorry. It was just supposed to be a bit of fun.

***

You stared up at the ceiling from your bed for what felt like hours. You couldn't sleep, couldn't stop thinking about it. You knew Peter had no way of knowing why you couldn't stand that sound, but you still couldn't help but be unhappy with him. He just wouldn't stop.

You can feel your jaw clenching with each flash of horrific memory.

You were annoyed at Yondu too. Acting like he knew anything about you or some shit. What did he know? Not you, that's what. You didn't need someone acting like they cared. You didn't need anyone, really. People come, people go. No one stays forever.

You feel your chest clench. Your throat tightens and you sit up. You didn't want to cry.

A walk. That's what you needed. A walk in the forest would surely help wash the memories away. You could walk until you were too tired to think about it, then sleep it off. It would be better in the morning. You'd be ok.

You quietly slip on some jeans and make your way downstairs to put on your boots and grab a jacket. Choosing your thin leather one because it had been chilly when you were out earlier, you open the back door and head out into the cool night air.

You'd find out soon enough that you should have stayed in bed.

[eartht137]

FOR THE BETTER pt II

Hey curvies, glad you liked the first part of my story yay. I now bestow upon you part 2. I went a bit out of the way with this chapter, but I hope you like it. The singing part is something I did in class once on a whim, it didn't work as good as I described in the story, I still had to submit my work LOL. Enjoy my little curvies MMMMWWWahHHH!

Dark Clark Kent x (Black)!Plus Size Reader SUMMARY: Mr. Kent said friends til the end of the week right? Think again. Y/n, still getting used to having Mr. Kent as a friend, is trying to be a bit more bold. She's trying to adjust to change and even though sometimes he may seem a bit pushy, she doesn't mind, its all friendship right? He'll back off after awhile right?

You walked in class, no paper in hand and you refused to meet Clarks disappointed gaze. You weren't the only one without a paper but you were really nervous about the presentation you had up your sleeve. You just hoped it made sense. "Alright, looks like we're getting speeches today. Who wants to go first? Hmm?" He said with his hands on his hips. No one volunteered. "Am I going to have to voluntell somebody?" he gave you "the look" over his glasses. Your heart pounded in your chest, but you shakily stood as first volunteer. "Alright Miss Y/l/n, lets hear it." You could hear disappointment dripping in his voice, but you wanted to do this. You took a deep breath, and started to sing. 'Hello darkness my old friend, I've come to talk with you again, because a vision softly creeping left its seed while I was sleeping, and the vision that was planted in my brain, still remains. Within the sound!!!!!!!!! Of silence.' you ended making everyone freeze and stare. "My voice is pretty much the best thing I like about me. I-I didn't think a paper could put in words what my voice could. Th-that's my speech." You said awkwardly sitting down. You'd never sang in front of anyone like that before, you hadn't even joined the choir, so singing in front of everyone was a huge step for you. Just as you'd finished processing what you'd done, the classroom erupted in cheers and applause. You were shaking at how many people liked what you'd done. You really began to shake when you saw Clark clapping for you too. "That's my wife!" One of your classmates yelled across the room smiling at you. "Alright, alright. Miss Y/l/n," Clark started. "That's Mrs. Bankston to you." the same classmate yelled out making everyone laugh. Your face heated up a bit. "Miss Y/l/n thank you for the speech. It'll suffice this time, next time I want a paper. Okay, Bankston, you're up next." "Aw Mr. Kent for reals? Like how am I supposed to follow up an act like that? Besides we're duo. Like ebony and ivory..." He serenaded holding his hand out toward you, making you giggle. "Mr. Bankston Miss Y/l/n has fantastic gpa in comparison, so seeing as your such a duo I would've expected a lot better." Clark shaded calmly, "So unless you want it to suffer any further, I suggest you cut the crap and give your speech." Clark said a bit irritated. The rest of class was filled with boring speeches from classmates who weren't even prepared to do their work. When class was dismissed, you tried easing out of the room without being noticed. "Uh, Miss Y/l/n, my office please?" He said looking over his glasses at you. You inwardly groaned and went back to his office. "So, what excuse do you have for not doing your paper?" "I honestly couldn't come up with the words to describe how it felt to use my voice. I tried I really did, but honestly, I really just couldn't find the words to describe what I like about me when-I just couldn't find the words." "Y/n, you do not give yourself enough credit. You're a very good writer and obviously an incredible singer. You can be whatever-" "Clark, do I look like a singer to you? No I don't, that's why I write, I know my words have more impact behind the scenes." You said with strength. You didn't have to be seen to be heard. "You can be whatever you want to be and you'll have my support every step of the way. That's what friends, real friends do." "Clark we are not still friends, we said til the end of the week." you shook your head at him with a smile. He smiled and stuffed his hands in his pocket. "Sorry, I'm not going away." "Figures." You laughed a bit. "What are you doing tonight? We could have a movie night." "Will Lois be there?" You asked excited. "I can ask her if you want me to." "I guess it'd be cool, but for like 30 minutes though." "Y/n no movie lasts 30 minutes. Nice try though." he laughed. "We'll be over at 8." "'Kay bye!" You said rushing out of his office off to your next class. That night at 8 on dot a knock came to your door, you answered expecting to see the couple standing there but was a bit shocked to

just see Clark. "Hey, Lois coming by later?" You asked, the last you wanted was to cause drama. "No she's following a lead on a story for the front page. She says she's sorry and she'll catch up next time." He said walking past with bags of groceries. "Oh, well let me help you." You said motioning at the bags in his hands. "I've got it, its pretty heavy." "I swear I honestly thought you'd be bringing a pizza." you chuckled. "Where's your table?" "Table?" You asked head tilted to the side. "Where you eat, the dining table?" he asked sitting the groceries on your counter. "Haha, you have a table for guests. I never have anyone over, so I just sit in front of the tv." you said pointing at your couch. He rolled his eyes at you and huffed. "Oh come on don't look at me crazy, I warned you that I was anti." "That's no excuse." he mumbled as he opened your refrigerator. "Y/n, you don't have any food in here." He fussed. "I do, its in the freezer and the pantry." you defended. "Two chimichangas, a pint of ice cream, Nutella, animal crackers, soda, and ramen. That's not food." He fussed even harder. "Okay dude chill, I'm a working grown college student. I don't eat here much anyway I eat at work, and Nutella is sustainable to my everyday existence." You said yanking the hazelnut spread away before he threw it away. He shook his head as he put the food away. "How long has it been since you've had a hot home cooked meal?" "Last week at your mom's." you shrugged. "I'm glad I brought real food to cook." he fussed on. "Clark, we could've just ordered pizza." you said starting to feel a bit bad for not adulting enough. "We could've, but I wanted to cook for you." He turned and looked at you pleading. "Please tell me you have pots and pans." "God Clark I'm hopeless not an idiot." You joked laughing obnoxiously making him roll his eyes at you. You showed him where everything was and he started cooking. You offered to help, be wanted to cook for you. You sat up the snacks an pulled up Netflix so you could choose a movie. He made his way over to you with a glass of wine. You took a sip and dramatically fell to the ground, pretending to die by poisoned wine. He got down on the floor with you and you looked at the height difference of his head by your feet and your head at the middle of his thighs and started laughing making him laugh like you'd never heard. After you both calmed down you laid there staring at the ceiling like there were stars hovering. "You really do have an amazing voice." Clark said cutting the peaceful silence. You couldn't help but smile. "Thanks....friend." You said nudging him in his thigh with your elbow. You both stayed silent until you gasped making him almost jump out of his skin. "What?" he said worried. "Can I sing at you and Lois' wedding?" You asked catching him off guard. "Oh come on, you love her, I can see it, " You said sitting up and smiling down at him. "and you both look so beautiful together." You stood tall and put your hands on your hips in "Superman" fashion. "Since I'm your friend I give her the golden stamp of, put a ring on it!" You said holding out your thumb. "Okay, I'm picking gonna pick the movie." You said marching to the couch. "That's not fair, I'm cooking I should get to pick the movie." He standing to check on his food. "We could've ordered pizza." You rebutted. "I'm your guest." he shot back with a shit eating grin. "Shit! Fine, you get to pick the movie." "Well I'll pick it after we eat." "Aww what? The tv's right there." You pointed. He looked over his glasses at you. "I don't even have a table." you argued. "You've got an argument for everything don't you?" He said chuckling. "You've got a coffee table, we'll make it work. Do you have a candle?" He said looking around before looking at you. You were there with your hands on your hips, looking at him like-'you know damn well.' He shook his head at your for the millionth time making you giggle a bit. He set the table and poured you another glass of wine. "You know this stuff gets better the more you

drink it." You said gulping the glass down and holding it out for more. "Mm-hmm." He agreed taking a sip of his own while pouring you more. You took a bite of you food, you immediately stood and clapped. "You were right, this is way better than pizza, although pizza is still good, this is amazing. "So what genre do you like most?" He asked. "Horror, I don't know why I watch it though, I always spook myself afterwards." "Okay so no horror." "No, wait please? I won't get scared tonight I promise. I mean unless you want to watch cartoons?" "We'll watch something scary." "Yaaaaay!!!!" you cheered and went to reach for the remote to your tv. "Ah, after we finish dinner and clean up." "Deal!" You said a bit excited. Once dinner was done and you'd both cleaned, even though you told him you'd do all the cleaning, he still helped. Afterwards you both sat and watched a scary movie that had you stress eating and jumping every two seconds. After that movie ended, Clark suggested another movie to help you not feel so spooked. You'd lost count of how many glasses of wine you'd had and you were feeling tipsy and tired. "Hey friend?" You hummed. "Hm?" "I fuckin hate to admit this, but I'm drunk. I'm glad we're friends. You better be glad too." you fussed at him. "I am glad," he laughed, "I really am." He said staring at you. "Good, cause you're the only person I can tolerate. Oh, and Lois....oh and that your mom, I really like your mom....oh and that cute guy from class." you giggled making Clark roll his eyes in disgust. "Y/n please." "What? He's cute, he's an idiot, that doesn't change that he's cute." You said looking at your phone. Your eyes grew big as you saw the time. "Dude its past midnight. Don't you need get home and rest for lecture?" He stared at you for a moment and you could tell he didn't want to go home, but you both knew he had to. "Yeah I'm sure I could use some rest." He said getting up to leave. You tried to get him to take the rest of the food he'd bought with him, but he refused. "Well thanks for dinner's meals and be safe. Do you need me to walk you out?" "Absolutely not, how about I see you off to bed?" "I look five to you? Don't even answer that." You sassed. He laughed and gave you a long hug, telling you how proud of you he was for using your voice and for letting him be your friend. You squirmed out of his arms pretending it was burning you. He ruffled your fro' and you gave him a playful nudge out the door. That night as you laid in bed trying to fall asleep, you kept thinking about Clark and no matter how hard you tried to shake it you couldn't help but fawn over him and how close you both had gotten so fast. 'Girl puh-lease, he's got Lois, she's beautiful and thin. He's happy with her and there's no way he'd even bat an eye at you like that. Don't even get it twisted.' you scolded yourself internally. You couldn't allow yourself to catch feelings for him that way because you knew you'd only end up with hurt feelings. You also didn't want to break up a happy relationship. 'How'd he know I needed groceries though?' you thought to yourself, 'Maybe just a hunch.' you dismissed. Soon with your mind going in 50 different directions, you were tired enough to fall asleep. "Goodnight little bird." Clark said as he watched you finally drift off to sleep. He wondered what thoughts plagued your brain that kept you awake. He hoped you'd thought of him. After making sure every inch of you apartment was safe inside and out he felt satisfied enough to go home and get a bit of rest. 'No harm in making sure she's safe' he thought as he finally took off. 'I'll always make sure she's safe.'

[fatiguing-thoughts]

“Natural” - Chapter 13 - Embry Call x Reader

Movie Night

Waking up in the morning with Embry in my bed was a level of comfort and serenity that I don’t think I could ever describe. I look over at his peaceful form, the sun shining in through the fold in the curtain. 

I watch as his chest rises up and down, his slow, peaceful breathing accompanied by a very light snore. His black hair falling over his face that’s nuzzled deep into my pillow. His warm, russet skin shining in the sun beams. His warmth radiating against my colder skin. 

“Good morning.” His raspy voice mumbles against the pillow. 

“Good morning, Em.” I whisper. 

“What’re you looking at, beautiful?” He smirks.

“Just you.” I blush.

I don’t honestly believe that this is something I’ll ever get used to. Embry, and everything about him, felt like an absolute blessing. It felt surreal, really. 

“Awe, bean. You’re cute when you blush.” 

“Stop.” I whine, slightly giggling. 

“No, I like it. It’s cute.” He sits up, wrapping his arms around me. 

“I mean, thank you.” I look down at my hands. 

“So, I was thinking.” Embry begins.

“That’s a first.” I tease, poking his nose.

“Hah hah, very funny. Anyway, what if we went camping? Now that I won’t have to be here for patrol tonight or tomorrow. We can leave today and spend a night out, and come home for tomorrow. Then you can see your friend and Leah.” His vibrant smile beaming brighter than the sunlight. 

“I would love that. We can start packing now.” I shriek, having a difficult time to contain my excitement. 

“Of course.” He smiles, leaving a kiss on my lips. 

I practically spring up from my bed and begin packing my backpack full of any clothes I would need for tonight and tomorrow. I put on a pair of jeans and throw on a t-shirt. 

“Someone’s excited.” Embry chuckles. 

“We’ve always talked about camping together, and now we can.” I turn around, smiling. 

“I know, I’m so excited to go with you.” He smiles, pulling me close to him. 

His hands grab my hips, driving me nuts as usual. I trace my fingers up his biceps until my arms wrap around his neck, pulling myself up to kiss his soft lips once again. His hands tighten their grip on my hips as he deepens the kiss.

“We have to finish packing.” He pulls away breathlessly. 

“That we do.” I shake my head. 

“We can continue that later tonight.” He gives me a cheeky smirk. 

I nod as my cheeks are deepening to another shade of red. 

I grab some blankets, pillows, and search for sleeping bags in the closet downstairs. 

We pack some food for the small trip before heading over to Embry’s house to pick up his tent and clothes for him to wear. 

I look around for Tiffany while we were here, alas she had to have been working. 

“Have you talked to her the last few days or have you been completely MIA?” I ask as he packs a backpack for himself.

“She thought I was camping with everyone. We’re in contact.” He looks back at me. 

“Good. I don’t want her to worry herself to death.” I smile at him. 

“Me neither.” He sighs. 

We make our way back to my car and he leads the way to a site of his choice. 

“I’ll give it to you, Em. You know these woods better than anyone else.” I chuckle.

“I know, I’m basically a map now.” He laughs, pointing in the direction to turn. 

I follow his navigation and after an hour or so of driving, we eventually make it to a trail leading to a clearing, thankfully a bathroom within walking distance. 

We grab all of our stuff and begin our journey to the clearing. Embry and I set up the tent relatively quickly.

“I’m hungry.” Embry whines.

“You’re always hungry.” I giggle. 

“Yeah, and?” He laughs. 

“So let’s eat.” I smile, reaching into the food we packed. 

I felt my phone vibrate in my back pocket. I pull it out to see a text from Alyssa. 

“Hey (Y/N), are you free tomorrow?” - Alyssa

“Yes I am. Do you wanna come over for a pizza and movie night?” - me

“Sure, sounds good. Should I bring anything?” - Alyssa

“Nope. I can invite my friends, too. If you’d like. :)” - me

“That sounds fun.” - Alyssa

“Okay, come for like 6.” 

“Sounds like a plan.” 

I place the phone back in my pocket after sending her my address and take a sip of water. 

“We should invite everyone over tomorrow at seven. I told Alyssa there would be a pizza and movie night at my house, but she’s coming at six.” 

“Sounds fun, I’ll send a text in the group chat.” He says, pulling his phone out.

“Great.” I smile. 

We finished eating and cleaned everything up. 

“Can we go on a hike?” I ask.

“Of course, beautiful.” His large hand reaches out for mine, pulling me off the stump I sat on.

I follow Embry’s lead the whole walk, which took about an hour or so. We played a lot of iSpy on the way, though.

A chipmunk, the recycling bin, the bag of cheetos someone left on the floor (which I picked up and threw out), the trees, my backpack, and the dog poop someone didn’t pick up like they were supposed to. Those were the answers to the iSpy game we had. 

“Okay, we’re here.” Embry smiles. 

“Wow, it’s beautiful.” I admire the view.

We were in a canyon of sorts, admiring some of the beauty that the Olympic National Forest has to offer. I look down, noticing the drop off, my heartbeat beginning to race.

“I won’t let you fall, bean.” His arm wrapping around my waist. 

“Thank you.” I continue to look around.

Embry always washed my fears away easily. Being with Embry made me feel invincible. I felt all my worries melt away.

I look over at him, smiling at the beautiful boy. 

We sat there for a few hours, enjoying each other’s company as well as the view before heading back to the campsite. 

It was beginning to get dark and I heard Embry’s stomach grumbling. 

“I can start the fire and then we can eat.” I smile at him. 

“Sounds good to me, bean.” I felt warm, soft lips press to my temple. 

The light from the fire created cast orange all around it, the crackling soothing my ears. The smell bringing me a new sense of peace. 

Embry and I ate dinner and roasted s’mores. I sat basically velcroed to his side, just how I like. 

“Look at the stars.” He points up to the sky. 

“Wow.” I breathe out. 

“Come on, let’s stargaze.” He grabs my hand, leading me over to the picnic table at our site. 

We lay on it, both of us laying our heads on his arms. 

“I like that one.” I point up to the sky.

“Which one? There’s like forty in that direction.” He chuckles.

“That one, Em.” I point again. 

“Ahhh, nice. It’s pretty.” He agrees. 

“You don’t even know which one I’m talking about.” I giggle.

“I don’t have to. I know it’s beautiful, they all are. Just like you.” He presses a kiss to my cheek. 

I turn over to him and press my lips to his. His hands once again find my hips, pulling me into his side. 

“Maybe we should go into the tent.” I raise an eyebrow.

“I think we should.” His smirk sends chills up my spine. 

And so we did, we took it to the tent. 

Soon after, we fell asleep holding each other. 

In the morning, the smell of the trees pleasantly invaded their way into my senses. The heat from the sun invading through the polyester walls. 

“Good morning.” Embry’s raspy morning voice once again sending chills up my spine.

“Morning, Em.” I smile at him. 

“Let’s eat.” He smiles, springing himself up from the sleeping bag. 

“You got it.” I smile, following suit. 

I caught Embry staring at me, once again. Not something out of the ordinary, though I always wondered why.

“What’s wrong, do I have something on my face?” I ask.

“No, it’s just you. You’re so beautiful.” A blush finds its way to his cheeks, following an uncontrollable grin.

“Awe, Em.” I coo, walking myself over and sitting in his lap.

“I just feel so lucky.” He breathes into my neck.

“Me too. Like the luckiest girl in the world.” I smile, pressing a kiss to his warm cheek. 

Sitting in Embry’s presence felt better than merely being near anyone else. It was as if sitting in silence with Embry could beat any conversation with anyone else. I guess that’s a soulmate, though. 

“What time is it?” I ask him. 

“A little past noon.” He shrugs. 

“Okay. So who’s coming tonight?” 

“Well, Seth and Leah for sure. Jacob can’t because he’s basically broken in half for a bit longer. Quil said he would. Overall, the rest of them said they’re busy with their friends or families. Well, Jared said he’s too busy ‘doing hot girl shit,’ whatever that means.” 

“Alright. Good for Jared, I think that’s a tik tok thing. But Seth, Leah, Quil, Alyssa, and us sounds like a good group.” I chuckle. 

“It definitely is.” He laughs, pulling me closer to his chest. 

“Well, we should probably head home soon. By the time we got back it’s gonna be after three. And then cleaning all this crap up.” I sigh.

“We can do this again, whenever you want to.” He smiles at me.

“I would like that.” I press a kiss to his forehead. 

His warm chest felt like home, and maybe that’s why I always felt like Forks was my home. It was my ticket to Embry my whole life. 

We pack up the site and make our hike back down the trail to my car. The drive back once again blasting our shared playlist, revisiting all the feelings we held secret for years. 

Embry insisted we stop at his house first since his mother was at work. My heart ached for both him and his mother. Secrets like this are good for neither of them, I couldn’t imagine the pain it brought to them. 

The drive to my house was quick, and unpacking all of our stuff didn’t take too long. 

I check the time and see it to be after 3:30. 

“Well, what can we do now?” I look over to Embry. 

“Well, we could get stuff ready. Or we can make out.” He wiggles his eyebrows at me.

“I mean, one of those is far more tempting than the other.” I smirk, walking closer to him. 

Next thing I knew, we were on my couch, his warm body pressed against mine. His soft lips pressing onto mine with slight aggression. Embry drove me nuts, there was no denying that. 

Some time later, we pulled apart breathlessly. 

“Maybe I should get the living room ready.” I smile at him.

“I think so.” He kisses my forehead. 

I grab pillows and blankets, creating a comfortable area on the floor for whoever decides to take that instead of the couches. Also blankets for Alyssa and I, as most people who don’t run 108.9 like when they watch movies. I grab snacks and drinks from the latest grocery shopping trip and bring them into the living room, leaving them on the coffee table. 

“Alyssa should be getting here soon.” I say happily.  

“You excited to see her?” Embry asks me with a kind smile.

“Very. That was one of my only actual friends in Forks.” I return his smile back to him.

“That’s exciting. And now she gets to meet all your La Push friends.” 

“She does. And it will be great to finally have some merger there.” 

We sat back on the couch, chatting about more things to do on the next camping trip as we were much less limited than others in terms of safety and location. Discussing a group trip with our friends. 

Our conversation was interrupted by a knock on my front door. 

“Alyssa!” I swing the door open, smiling. 

“(Y/N)!” She laughs. 

“Come in, let’s catch up.” I pull her in for a hug.

“Yes please.” She giggles. 

“Nobody else is gonna be here for an hour, I left that for us to talk about life.” I chuckle. 

“Sounds like a plan.” 

“I’ll go take a nap, let you guys have your girl talk.” Embry says, kissing my forehead before waving and jogging upstairs to my room. 

“So… how is life? How is everything?” I ask.

“Well, my girlfriend and I broke up about a year ago. She cheated on me. So that wasn’t fun, but other than that I’m doing great. I got the program I wanted to a few months ago, I’m gonna become a teacher.” She smiled. 

“That’s incredible! Congrats. On the school thing. But as for Chelsea? Seriously? You guys were together from like freshman year of high school. What a witch.” I look at her with comforting eyes.

“Yeah, right? She’s not worth being sad about anymore, though. I’m ready to have fun again, I’ve been okay for a while. I go to school in the fall and I’ll be dorming. I’m quite excited. What’re you doing for school?” She smiles at me. 

“Well, I got into the program I want, too. I’m going to be going online, though. But I’m studying economics, I think I want to go to law school.” I smile.

“That’s great! Congratulations.” She beams. 

“Right. Wait, where are you going to school?” 

“University of Washington. I’m excited.” 

“No shot, me too.” I smile. 

“No way, you’ll have to come hang out at my dorm sometimes. You’re gonna need to make friends.” She encourages me. 

“That sounds like fun.” 

We catch up some more before I notice the time. I decided to call to order the pizza at 6:45, that way it would come shortly after people got here. I ordered five pies.

“Five pies? How many of your other friends are coming?” She asks. 

“Uhh, I think there’s gonna be like six of us all together.” I shrug.

“Don’t you think that five pies is a lot?” She asks me, raising her eyebrow. 

“Definitely not with them. There is no end to their hunger.” I laugh. 

“If you say so.” She laughs, doubting my words. 

“You’ll see.” I chimed. 

I tell her that I should go wake Embry up and begin my walk up the stairs.

I open my door and she his silhouette laying in the bed. The darkness of my room made it impossible to make much else out.

“Embry, wake up.” I say walking over to my bed.

“Already?” He laughs.

“Yeah, already.” I chuckle, placing a hand on his shoulder to wake him up.

“Alright, only for you.” He sits up, pressing a kiss to my forehead.

“Thanks. Let’s get downstairs.” I mumble, thankfully the darkness hid the reddening of my cheeks at his softspoken words.

“Good morning, Alyssa.” Embry yawns from the stairway. 

“Good morning?” She laughs at his goofiness. 

A knock at the door interrupts us. I walk over to see Quil, Seth, and Leah. 

“Hey!” I smile. 

“Hey, (Y/N)!” Seth beams with his contagious smile.

“What’s up, dork?” Quil laughs.

“Hey, (Y/N).” Leah says softly, smiling at me. 

“Come on in, the pizza should be here soon.” 

“Thank god, I’m starving.” Quil huffs. 

“I just watched you eat two big macs an hour ago.” Leah looks at him.

“Okay, and?” He laughs.

“Alright everyone, this is my friend Alyssa. Alyssa this is Quil, Seth, and Leah.” I smile, pointing to everyone down the line.

“Hello.” She smiles, waving at everyone. Looking at them as I point.

Though her face stopped at one. 

I look and follow her gaze, noticing it stopped at the last face. Leah’s.

Leah had a dazed look on her face, mouth slightly agape. 

My eyes widen, looking at Embry’s face that mimicked my shock. In fact, so did Quil’s and Seth’s. 

“Hey.” Alyssa exhales. 

“Hi.” Leah mumbled, her face quickly turning to one of confusion. 

“Oh, this took a turn.” Quil mumbled, in which Seth quickly swatted him with his arm. 

I gave Quil a glare, letting him know that now was not a time for jokes. 

“Alright, so let’s pick a movie. What movie?” I ask everyone, trying to break the silence. 

“Let’s watch The Cat in The Hat.” Quil chuckles. 

“It’s a true cinematic masterpiece.” Embry agrees. 

“What is wrong with you?” I laugh. 

“I mean, it is really funny. We used to talk about it in class all the time.” Alyssa laughs.

“You’re right. Is everyone good with watching that? I think we all need a good laugh.” I smile. 

“Yeah. That works.” Leah mumbles.

“Sure. I’m down to watch anything.” Seth smiles. 

“Great.” I turn the TV on and begin playing the movie. 

Leah takes a spot on the floor by herself, in front of Quil and Seth that took the couch next to the one that Embry and I sat on. Alyssa found herself a spot on the other side of me. 

About fifteen minutes into this nonsense, I hear knocking at the door once again.

“Do you want me to pause it, babe?” Embry asks.

“Please don’t.” I smile and walk to the door to get the pizza. 

“Your loss.” Quil huffs, laughing at the movie. 

I roll my eyes as I get the pizza from the door. 

“Let me help you.” I hear Leah say behind me, grabbing the pizza from me so I can pay the delivery guy.

“Thanks, Leah. You can keep the change.” I smile at him. 

“You got it. Where’s your bathroom? Also can I borrow a warmer shirt? I’m cold.” She asks, putting the pizza down next to the snacks on the coffee table. 

I look at her confused, as she knows where the bathroom is down here, also because this girl would never be cold. It’s then that I noticed the look in her eyes. She didn’t have to use the bathroom and she wasn’t cold. She needed to talk and she needed to talk now. 

“You can use the one upstairs, there’s one next to my room. I’ll show you where it is and I’ll get you a sweater.” I nod. 

“I’m kinda cold, too. Can I also have a sweater?” Seth asks, noticing the discomfort in his sister.

Quil and Embry look at Seth with a dumbfounded look, though I wave them off. 

“Uh, yeah. Come follow, too.” I manage to say. 

All three of us walk up the stairs and into my room.

“Are you okay?” I ask Leah, shutting my door. 

“I don’t know, I’m so confused.” She says softly, 

“I understand. That was a lot.” I lay a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Seth walks over and places another comforting hand on Leah’s other arm. 

“I just… Everything I saw felt so right. I just, I don’t know her. I didn’t think I would imprint on a woman. It’s not even that I’m mad about it, I always felt attracted to some women, I just never actually dated any. I just assumed I either wouldn’t imprint or I would imprint on a man, because none of the guys ever imprinted on another guy, even in the stories. But what do I make of it?” She asks me in a panic, speaking a million miles a minute. 

“I know, I know. Of course it feels right, it’s supposed to. But just remember, it doesn’t have to be romantic if you don’t want it to be.” I remind her. 

“It was in what I saw. I saw us together, I saw us happily holding hands. I saw us kissing. I saw us cuddling by a fire. I saw it all.” She looks at me with concerned eyes. 

“Leah, it’s okay. It’s all okay. That’s beautiful, if it’s what you want.” I say.

“Leah, if you’re afraid about imprinting on another woman, don’t worry about that. I don’t care. Mom doesn’t care. Nobody here would care. We love you for you and we want you to be happy.” Seth rubs her back comfortingly. 

“You mean that?” Her lip starts to quiver. 

“Of course. You’re my sister, you’re my best friend.” Seth pulls her into a hug. 

“Leah, I’m here for you every step of the way. We all are. I think that you should be her friend, see how that goes. If it develops further, then it does. If not, don’t stress. You’d then have another best friend.” I smile at her. 

“Thank you.” She smiles, nodding her head and hugging me. 

“Who knows, Leah? Take things as they come. We’ll be here every step of the way, okay?” 

“Okay.” She nods.

“Bring it in.” Seth grabs us both and pulls us into a huge hug. 

The crushing weight of his arms was one that felt really nice. I felt all the love in this hug. We stay like this for a few moments before I break the silence. 

“Let’s go get some pizza before Quil and Embry eat it all. Or torture Alyssa.” I laugh. 

“You’re right. We’ve been up here a little long.” Leah smiles softly.

“They better have saved us some pizza.” Seth huffs. 

“I’m sure they did. They might’ve killed two pies already, though.” I chuckle walking out of my room and down the stairs, Seth and Leah trailing close behind. 

“Welcome back, you missed a lot.” Quil chuckles. 

“Shut up. There better be pizza left.” I glare at him and Embry.

“There is, there is.” Embry defends, placing his hands up in surrender, chewing on his pizza.

“Good, I’m starving.” Seth says, grabbing two slices from the box. 

Leah and I both grab a slice before sitting back in our spots. 

“Where’s your sweater, Seth?” Quil teases. 

“They didn’t fit him.” I look at Quil with hard eyes.

“Yeah, it was a shame.” Seth laughs on the couch. 

The rest of the movie was filled with laughter. I sat in Embry’s lap, appreciating the warmth he brought me. 

“Next movie?” Embry asks. 

“We can watch Jackass.” Quil suggests. 

“Oh yeah, because you guys just need ideas. You, Paul, and Jared will be tearing up the town by tomorrow morning if we watch that.” I laugh.

“You got me there.” Quil laughs. 

“Great, it’s settled. We’re watching Mean Girls.” I announce.

“Oh god.” Quil whines. 

“It’s a great movie, you’re gonna love it at the end of the night. You’ll be quoting it, guaranteed.” I tell him.

“It is a great movie.” Alyssa agrees. 

So we watch it, and halfway through the movie I notice that nobody is more invested than Quil, Embry, and Seth. Causing the girls and I to laugh at them. 

After the movie ended, we all began to get up and stretch.

“Thank you for having me, (Y/N). I think I’m gonna get going now, though. I have work in the morning but I had fun, we should all hang out again some time. It was great to meet you all.” She smiles, hugging me goodbye. 

“Yeah, of course, we should hang out again soon. I’ll walk you to the door.” I smile, leading Alyssa to the door and watching her get into her car, noticing Leah do just the same. 

“Thank you!” She calls out as she gets into her car. 

I waved goodbye before shutting the door as she drove off. 

“Well, we should all probably get going soon.” Leah trails off. 

“Alright, I’ll see you guys soon.” I smile before I pull her into a really tight hug.

“Thank you.” She whispers in my ear before pulling away.

“Bye, (Y/N). Thanks for having us. I had fun.” He smiles before they take off.

“I mean, I should probably leave, too. I know you guys value your alone time, now.” Quil wiggles his eyebrows. 

“Shut up, dick.” Embry pulls him into a headlock, giving him a noogie. 

“That’s a weird way to say thank you for helping you not be a father at 18, but okay.” He laughs, wrestling Embry back. 

“Thanks, Quil. I thank you for your help. But Embry did say he would do this.” I giggle. 

“Fine, go get your own condoms from now on. I’m not taking them from Paul for you anymore!” He laughs as they roll around. 

“You stole them from Paul?” I laugh from the couch.

“Yeah, I hold you two with a very high value.” Quil tells me. 

“I see. Enough to risk a beating from Paul.” I laugh.

They both eventually tire themselves out and joining me on the couch.

“You guys done, yet?” I ask. 

“Yeah, I just had to kick his ass.” Embry kisses my temple. 

“Still a weird way to thank me.” Quil laughs.

I can’t help but laugh at my two goofy ass best friends.

“I should go, and you should go home for once before your mom has a heart attack.” Quil says, looking at Embry. 

“You’re right.” He sighs, standing up.

“You should, she probably misses you.” I encourage him.

“I know. I love you, bean. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He presses a kiss to my forehead. 

“Sounds good.” I smile, hugging him.

“Embry, you don’t talk to me like that. I’m hurt.” Quil places a hand over his chest, faking a pained face. 

“Oh shut it.” Embry shoves him, laughing. 

“Goodnight, guys. I’ll see you tomorrow.” 

I watch as they walk over to the treeline, knowing exactly how they were getting to their homes. 

I go up into my room and lay in bed, reliving the last few days of my life. 

How fuckin nuts that just two days ago I was face to face with vampires that wanted to kill me.

And tonight I watched The Cat in The Hat. 

Man, life’s pretty weird. 

I pick up my phone and sent a text to Embry.

I love you.

I put the phone on my nightstand, and drifted off.

_________________________ Word Count: 4371

 I  II  III  IV  V  VI  VII  VIII  VIIII  X  XIR XIE  XII  XIII  XIV  XV XVI  XVII  XVIII  XIIII

[wiypt-writes]

Stark Spangled Banner

Ch 4. Low Flying Stationery

Summary: Steve realises that the only way out of the seeming hole he’s dug himself into is to come clean about his feelings to Katie, only that’s easier said than done.

Pairing: Steve Rogers X OFC Katie Stark

Warnings: Language! Angst and a pair of total dumbasses in love… A/N: Once again, a huge thank you to @angrybirdcr​ for her lovely little edit.

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Katie Stark and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

Chapter 3

Stark Spangled Banner Masterlist // Main Masterlist 

   “I went under, the world was at war, I wake up and they say we won. They didn’t say what we lost.”

“Yeah, well we’ve made some mistakes along the way. Some very recently…”

Steve woke up with a start, taking a deep breath as he blinked, coming out of his sleep addled haze. It didn’t take a genius to work out why his mind had taken him back to that particular moment in time, and it wasn’t wasted on him either that this time he was the one who had made the big assed mistake the night before…

Glancing at his clock, he decided that 5:00 am wasn’t too early, so he changed and headed out for a run, pounding his frustration out on the wet ground beneath his feet. He was so annoyed at himself for simply letting Katie walk out with no protest at all. He should have stopped her, gone after her, he realised that now.

It was official, he was the world’s biggest moron.

He knew now that the only way to salvage anything from this mess was to be honest, regardless of how she felt or didn’t feel as the case may be. So, as he thundered round past the Lincoln Memorial for the fourth time, he started to plan out exactly what he was going to say. By the time he got home an hour and a half later, and climbed into a scalding hot shower, he was feeling slightly more positive. 

He just hoped she’d hear him out.

***** After a night of tossing and turning, alternating between being angry at herself and pissed at Steve, Katie had also been up at a ridiculous time, but unlike Steve she had curled up on her sofa with a film, counting the minutes down until it was an acceptable time to call her brother.

“Seven thirty AM?” Tony drawled as he answered. “You wet the bed?”

“Fuck off” She shot back “No, just had a shitty end to yesterday and thought I’d call to hear a friendly voice. Beginning to wonder why I bothered.”

“Bad day?” Tony’s voice softened “Ok Kiddo, I’m all ears.”

“Nah don’t wanna talk about it.” Katie said, and she didn’t. There was NO WAY she was telling Tony about Steve and whatever the hell nearly went down. That was a whole shit storm she didn’t want landing at Steve’s feet. “So what’s new with you?”

“Nothing much.” Tony sniffed.

“How’s things with you and Pepper? Still behaving?”

“I’m insulted you even asked me that.”

“I know you too well.” She chuckled.

“Well, if you really wanna know they’re going great. I’m thinking of taking her out to the Island in a couple of weeks. A dirty week away…”

“Ok too much information” she grimaced as Tony’s chuckle hit her ears “You’re nasty”

“I’m in love!” He said in a sing-song voice, making Katie roll her eyes.

“I never thought I’d see the day where you love someone more than yourself.”.

“What is this, Kiddo? Insult Tony day?” He scoffed making her laugh. “I love lots of things more than myself.”

“Yeah, like what?”

“You, Pepper…” the line was silent for a few seconds before he finished “Nope, that’s it.”

Katie laughed “I’m honoured.”

“So you should be, it’s a very hard list to make.”

They talked for another half an hour about all sorts of crap, Katie simply happy to hear her brother’s voice as it had been weeks since she’s seen him, far too long in her opinion. Eventually they both had to get ready for work so after breakfast and a shower she felt a little better although her stomach was still flipping slightly at the thought of seeing Steve. He’d messaged her a few times last night but she’d completely ignored him, and was feeling a little shitty about it now, if she was honest.

But, there was nothing she could do except apologise and hopefully they could move on and in time forget it.

When she walked into the Tactical Ops Office,  Clint and Natasha were already in there, eating a pastry each, both with a coffee in hand and she was touched, as always, to see one waiting on her desk for her. But not touched enough to let Barton get away with using her desk as a foot rest.

“Get your feet down…” Katie slapped at his legs.

“Rude,” he muttered, removing them and placing his feet on the floor. “I bought you coffee.”

“Which is both appreciated and needed.” she pecked him on the cheek. “Thanks Hawkeye”

“You look like you aint slept all night.” Nat eyed Katie shrewdly as she shrugged off her coat “Who is he?”

“I should be so lucky” Katie mumbled dropping into her chair. She didn’t tell them that the reason she hadn’t slept all night was thanks to a certain blue eyed super soldier, but not because he was in bed with her, more so because he wasn’t.

“Better take a nap this afternoon then.” Clint pointed at her. “Want you on good form for the party.”

“What party?” Katie frowned.

“Rumlow’s 40th…”

She groaned. “That’s tonight?”

“Yeah.” Clint nodded, before he let out a snort as he looked over his shoulder at Nat “Now this is gonna be interesting.”

“What?” Katie frowned

“He’s referring to the fact I’ve been planning an outfit for a few days…” Nat yawned, examining her nails.

“Yeah and seeing you try and figure one out in a few hours, Nova, is gonna be amazing…”

 “Not like I’m short of options,” Katie shrugged “I mean half the shit in my closet hasn’t seen the light of day in years.”

“You can always gift it to me.” Natasha quipped back

“Speaking of gifts, has anyone done a collection for dearest Brock?” Clint looked around. “I mean it is his 40th party after all, we should probably get him something…”

 “Like what?” Nat asked.

“I dunno. What’s he into?” Clint pondered.

“I know what he’d like to get into.” Nat responded with a smirk. “Nova’s pants…”

At that Clint let out a bark of a laugh just as Steve walked through the door, expertly catching the pencil that Katie threw at the Archer.

“Beware low flying stationery.” Steve quipped as casually as he could, tossing the item onto the desk in front of Clint who leaned back in his chair, putting his feet back on the surface. Steve locked eyes with Katie for a second and he saw her take a deep, steadying breath before she looked over at Clint as he responded to Steve’s joke.

“It wasn’t flying, it was thrown.” he smirked. “Just Stark here getting a little upset about Nat’s joke.”

“I wasn’t upset, it was just a shit joke.” Katie rolled her eyes

“But it’s true, that’s what’s so funny!” Clint snorted “Admit it, you know he’s after a bit…”

“Can we just change the subject, please?” Katie groaned, turning to the keyboard on her desk. She could feel Steve’s eyes burning into her back as she tried to concentrate on the screen, ignoring him.

“You coming tonight Cap?” Clint asked

“Rumlow’s 40th?” Steve asked and Clint nodded

“Did everyone remember except me?” Katie looked round.

“Pretty much.” Nat nodded

Katie scowled.

“You’re a proper little ray of sunlight today.” Clint snorted at the expression on her face.

“I told you I’m tired.”

“Try going to bed and sleeping.” Nat quipped and this time it was a highlighter pen that flew across the room.

“Carry on and it will be a stapler.” Katie frowned. “I was alone, thank you. Unless you count my pillow.”

Steve looked down at his feet

“Was the pillow good?” Clint asked, and she glared at him, picking up the stapler as he laughed, holding his hands up.

“Anyway, Romanoff…” Steve deftly changed the subject as Katie slammed the stapler back down.  “You ready for ops drill or…”

Nat groaned and pushed her chair back across the floor with a scrape. “Slave driver…catch you later Stark”

“Yeah see ya…” Katie didn’t bother turning round.

“I’m due on the range in 10 with the new recruits so…” Clint stood up and followed Nat before he stopped and turned back, glancing over his shoulder again before he spoke.

“Listen, don’t tell Widow I asked this but what’s the dress code for tonight? I better start sorting out what I’m wearing whilst I get chance…”

Katie stopped before she turned slowly in her seat and smirked up at him, raising an eyebrow.

“You hypocrite! It’s smart casual and if you don’t want me to tell Nat, it’ll cost you a beer”

“A beer for your silence… why haven’t we done this trade before?”

“Fuck off!” she flicked him the finger as he disappeared out of the office leaving Steve and her alone.

 “Hey.” He spoke gently, testing the water “You alright?”

“Yeah” she nodded, looking up at him and he smiled, that fucking smile again and she cleared her throat. “Honestly I’m just tired.”

“You ran out on me.” he pointed out, studying her face.

“You didn’t exactly stop me Steve.” she shot back and he sighed.

“I know.” he swallowed “But you could have messaged me back.”

“Sorry, I was just…” Katie ran her hand over her face. “Actually, I don’t know what I was to be honest.”

There was a pause, a little awkward silence filling the room before Steve took a deep breath.

“Listen.” he began, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. “About last night, what…well, what nearly happened. I err, I wanted to say that I-”

“It’s fine.” Katie cut him off quickly. “I get it, it was an emotional day and there was a lot for you to process and deal with. I mean, I was all over the place so I expect you were too. Guess we just…”

She trailed off and something inside Steve died a little. She’d felt sorry for him, that was the only reason they’d shared that moment.  He struggled to keep his face straight as he shrugged, looking down at his hands, all thoughts of his planned speech flying out of his head.

“We’re okay, right?” Katie looked at him, and he glanced up, smile fixed on his face.

“Sure” he nodded, hopping off the desk. “Listen, I need to…” he pointed to the door.

“Yeah, course. I have a tonne of stuff to do anyway. I wanna get home in time for a nap”

He chuckled. “So I’ll err, see you tonight?” he asked.

“Yeah, see you there.”

Katie watched him leave and as soon as he was clear of the room Katie took a shaky breath trying to stem the tears that were threatening once more to pour down her cheeks.

****** 

A wave of sound, both music and the noise of chatter hit Steve’s ears the minute he opened the door. He spotted Nat and Clint leaned against the bar and after saying hi to Rumlow and anyone else who greeted him he made his way over to the other two avengers and smiled.

“Hey Cap” Clint said, clapping him on his shoulder. “Beer?”

“Thanks Barton.”

Clint ordered his drink as Steve glanced around the room, looking for that familiar shock of brunette.

“She’s not here yet.” Nat drawled and he looked at her.

“Right.” He nodded simply, accepting the beer.

“Nice shirt” Clint grinned and Steve glanced down.

“Very modern.” Nat said,

“Romanoff,” Steve rolled his eyes. “You’re a pain in my ass…”

“She’s a pain in everyone’s ass.” Clint shrugged and Nat simply quirked an eyebrow at him as Steve gave a small chuckle, taking a slug of his beer.

“It’s one of my more endearing qualities.” she quipped.

Clint opened his mouth to say something but stopped as his eyes fell on someone and he smiled. Steve turned slightly to follow his gaze to see Katie making her way over towards them and boy, he had to stop his mouth falling open because she looked amazing. Tight black jeans, patent red heels and a sleeveless red top that plunged down her cleavage and tightened in to her waist before flaring out slightly. Her make up looked different, it was still light but she’d done something to her eye lids as they shimmered with a gold colour that made her eyes stand out even more.

Clint dropped a kiss to her cheek when she reached his side and Steve got a sudden hit of her perfume, the underlying floral tones that he associated with her, and he took a deep breath.

“About time…” Clint smiled at Katie. “We thought you had got lost.”

“Yeah, sorry I needed a nap.” she shrugged, nodding to Natasha and Steve.

“You want a drink?” Clint turned back to the bar waving at the tender.

“Yeah, I’ll have a gin thanks.”

“I like this.” Nat mused, her hand toying with the hem of her top. “New?”

“No, I dug it out from the doldrums of my closet.” she smiled, thanking Clint for the drink as he handed it to her. “I told you, I forget what’s in there sometimes.”

“Must be hard being so rich you can afford that many clothes you forget what you have.” Nat smirked, and Katie flipped her off drawing a snort from the red head.

 “Table over there.” Clint spoke, nodding over to the right. “Shall we?”

The four of them made their way over and settled into a comfortable conversation as normal, but both Katie and Steve were ridiculously aware of one another. The smells of cologne and perfume, the feel of his shirt clad arm as it brushed against hers when he moved, her laugh which rang out over the table…

It was torture for them both.

After four rounds of drinks however, Katie had started to relax a little, dare she even say enjoy herself, so it was bound to be a matter of time before something else went wrong.

And it did, in spectacular fashion.

“Who’s round is it?” Clint announced “I’m ready for some shots…”

“Mine, I think.” Katie glanced round for one of the guys who was providing table service, when someone talking to Rumlow caught her attention. Tall, short dark hair, dark denim jeans and a white shirt. To most of the people in the room, the back of that man could have been anyone. But to Katie, well, she knew instantly who it was.

And her good mood sank as fast as it had been rising.

“Oh you have got to be fucking kidding me.” She mumbled. Steve, who had felt her tense next to him, looked down at her as Natasha frowned.

“What?”

“Ward’s here…”

Clint’s hand slipped and he almost sent the remainder of his beer flying as he scanned the room, his eyes narrowing.

“Ward as in, your ex Ward?” Steve asked, feeling the heat rise in his neck. She nodded and across the table Clint started grinding his teeth in a combination of anger and irritation.

Katie watched the back of her ex’s head, and then he turned to look around the room and their eyes locked. His mouth fell open slightly before he composed himself, and turned back to talk to Rumlow, running his hand through his hair, the way he always did when he was trying to act cool.

Katie snorted and turned back to the table.

“Want me to go punch him?” Clint leaned over towards her. “Because I’d really like to.”

Steve found himself thinking that was a great idea but Katie shook her head.

“Just ignore him. I am.”

*****

After three further gin and tonics and two tequilas had worked their way through her system Katie excused herself and headed out to the bathroom. Once she was gone, Clint shook his head.

“I cannot believe that fucking prick showed up.” He growled, waiving the waiter over. “Damned it I hate him.”

“I gathered.” Steve smirked as Clint ordered another round of drinks.

“I mean…what the fuck…why is he even here?” the archer continued to rant and Nat gently laid a hand on hi arm.

“Clint, don’t you think you’re overreacting a little?” She soothed.

“You didn’t see her Nat, that night when she caught him…she was a mess.”

“So was his car.” Natasha grinned and Clint snorted.

“His car?” Steve asked.

“Yeah…” Clint gave a small laugh. “She smashed up the body work…and I left four arrows in his tyres.”

Steve felt a surge of affection the archer as he took a deep breath, looking around. There was no sign of Katie, or Ward. Something seemed a little off, like things weren’t quite right…

 “I’m gonna go check if she’s okay” he stood up, missing the glance that Natasha and Clint shared.

As it happens, Katie wasn’t ok. Nothing about walking out of the bathroom and bumping, literally, into your cheating fucker ex was ever going to be ok.

 “Hi K.” Ward said, as his hands gently grabbed round her arms steadying her, his familiar smell washed over her senses. She pulled back immediately, shaking off his grip.

“Don’t call me that.”

He sighed “C’mon…”

“What do you want, Grant?”

“Hey, you bumped into me.” He chuckled. “You look amazing by the way.”

She snorted, and looked away.

“Look, I just wanted to say, well, I hate how we left things, you know? And I…”

“How we left thigs?” Katie’s eyes locked back onto his as she let out a sarcastic laugh.  “The only thing I left was your apartment after finding you in bed with some blond bimbo.”

“The biggest mistake of my life.” Grant sighed, “I honestly mean that…”

“Is this the part where you say sorry for cheating on me and beg for my forgiveness?” Katie watched as the dark brown eyes that she had once found irresistible bore into hers and she felt the anger simmering again. She’d worked so long to get this man out of her system, but here he was, daring to try and smarm her into accepting an apology.  The sheer audacity of it was making her want to scream.

“I am sorry. I genuinely am…”

“You’re sorry you got caught. There’s a difference.”

“No, that’s not it.” Grant shook his head. “There hasn’t been a single day where I haven’t thought about you and how I fucked up.”

He ran his hand through his hair and Katie shook her head.

“Let’s be honest, she wasn’t the first was she?” She looked up at him. Grant dropped his head and that was all the confirmation she needed. “Our relationship, it was a car crash.”

“I loved you.”

“Seriously? You’re trying that one?” She looked at him, and then burst out laughing. “Oh Jesus…” She shook her head in disbelief and made to walk round him but he grabbed her arm.

“What’s so funny?”

“Let go of me.”

“I asked you a question…”

“And she asked you to let her go.” A familiar voice said and Katie looked up to see Steve stood in the corridor, hands on his belt buckle as the door to the main bar area swung shut behind him, causing the loud background noise to fade slightly. “She won’t need to ask again.”

“Sorry…I…” Ward, let go of her arm as he composed himself and extended his arm in greeting.  “Captain Rogers. We haven’t been formally introduced. I’m-“

“I know who you are, Agent Ward” Steve looked at him, not even moving to take the man’s proffered hand, and he saw Ward’s jaw twitch, as his arm dropped back to his side, fist balling and unballing.

“I see. ” Ward raised an eyebrow, looking from Katie, to Steve and he took a deep breath and nodded. “I meant what I said. I really am sorry.”

Katie didn’t reply, simply watched him leave as he brushed past Steve who moved to the side to let him pass, but only after shooting him one last contemptuous look before the Captain turned back to Katie.

“Are you ok? Did he hurt you?” Steve asked her, stepping forward, noting she was rubbing the place on her arm where Ward’s hand had gripped.

“Hurt me?” she frowned.

“Yeah, your arm.” He nodded to it.

“Oh, no.” she said, shaking her head as her hand moved. “That was just weird.”

“Weird?”

“Yeah, I mean, well for so long I thought about what I’d say to him when I eventually did see him again, you know, how much he hurt me, broke my heart, but right then when I got the opportunity, I realised I actually don’t give a shit anymore.”

Steve smiled. “Good, I’m glad he didn’t upset you.” There was a pause before he gestured over his shoulder. “You err, you wanna go back in?”

“Do you think anyone would notice if I left?” She shrugged. “I don’t wanna be here anymore and there’s a bottle of wine and a pint of ice cream at home with my name on it”

“What Ice cream?” Steve asked, looking at her, raising his brow hopefully and she shook her head, chuckling.

“Mint choc chip.” she looked at him, before she turned to head towards the door of the bar before she stopped, and spoke again, without looking back. “Suppose I can share.”

With that she pushed the door open and Steve grinned, following her out.

*********

“I don’t know why you wear shoes so high if you can’t walk in them?” Steve snorted as Katie let out a groan, kicking her shoes off as soon as they stepped out of the elevator.

“Because they look good.” She shrugged. “I’m just gonna get changed, won’t be long. Grab yourself a drink.”

Whilst she was in the bedroom Steve did as he was told and grabbed a beer for himself, and poured Katie a glass of wine before carrying them into the lounge and setting them on the coffee table. He had to stop himself from staring when she walked back into the room, all long legs and thigh tattoo, in a pair of denim shorts and a hoody. She dropped heavily onto the sofa besides him, taking her wine and gulping down a large mouthful.

“You sure you’re ok?” he asked, looking at her.

“Stop asking me that, Steve.” She snapped. “I’m fine.”

“Sorry, I didn’t…”

“No, I’m sorry.” She shook her head. “That was uncalled for.” She looked at him and gave a soft smile. “I’m fine, honestly. And thank you, for being there before.”

“You don’t have to thank me.” Steve shook his head. “I care about you Katie, you know that. And, well, frankly, when I saw him with his hand on you, I wanted to smash his face into the wall.”

Katie let out a huff of laughter as she glanced at her wine glass.  “You’ll have to get behind Tony in the queue.”

Steve looked down at his beer, before he took a deep breath. “The guy is a dick.” he said, tilting side on so his arm was over the back of the sofa behind her. “And I don’t mean that just because of tonight. If you were my girl I wouldn’t be looking twice at anyone else.”

Katie smiled, as she looked up at him. “That’s because you’re a gentleman.”

“No.” he shook his head, his blue eyes locking onto hers. “It’s because you’re worth so much more than that.”

“Sure.” she shrugged and Steve pressed his lips together in a firm line of frustration.

“Don’t…”

“What?” she frowned.

“Do that.“ he pressed.

“Do what?”

“Put yourself down. You do it all the time” he sighed.

“I don’t.” She swallowed, looking away.

“Yes, you do. You think so little of yourself but you shouldn’t. Katie, you’re the most amazing woman I’ve ever met” With that he took a deep breath, there was no going back now. The hand that wasn’t draped around the back of the sofa reached out and tangled in hers and as she raised her head to look at him, her eyes were filled with tears and he swallowed, his mouth feeling suddenly dry as the blood pounded in his ears, his heart beating so rapidly he thought it might burst through his chest.

He had to make her understand, just how deep his feeling went.

His right hand gently moved from the sofa back to the side of her jaw where he simply cupped her face and she closed her eyes, leaning into his touch. When she opened them again, it was just in time to see his gaze flicker to her mouth, before he leaned forward, a movement that was slow and seemed to take forever, until his lips met hers in a soft, sweet kiss that set every single nerve in her body on edge.  

Steve pulled away slightly, just enough so that he could look into her eyes, make sure she was okay with this, and finding nothing but eagerness on her part, he pressed his lips back to hers.

The entire world around them faded to nothing and they both relaxed as this time the kiss deepened slightly, his hand still cupping her cheek as he slid his tongue gently across her bottom lip. She obliged, opening her mouth slightly and at the touch of her tongue on his Steve felt a jolt of electricity surge up his spine.  Eventually they broke away and Steve gently slid his nose along hers unable to keep the smile off his face as their foreheads rest together.

“Where did you learn to kiss like that, Captain Badass?” She whispered and he gave a chuckle.

“To be honest with you…” he sat up slightly, his right hand returning to where it had been before, resting on the back of the sofa “I don’t think I have until now.”

She grinned and tucked her hair behind her ear with a hand that was trembling from nerves, adrenaline and absolute pleasure at being kissed by the utter God of a man sat on her sofa.

“So err…” Steve licked his lips. “I know this might be a little late, so to speak after, well, erm, yeah, but I’d really like to take you out, you know, on a date?”

Katie blinked as he stuttered over his words, and suddenly became aware she was chewing on her lip. She felt heat in her cheeks as she looked at him and nodded, smiling softly. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

That crooked grin she knew and had come to love spread across his face.

“You free tomorrow?” he asked before hastily correcting himself “It’s Saturday, or is that too soon? We could always go next weekend instead if you want or-”

“Steve,” she cut him off, gently squeezing her fingers round his, “tomorrow is fine.”

“Great, tomorrow…that’s…great…” He trailed off as Katie held his gaze.

The air between them seemed to crackle and this time it was her that initiated the kiss. This one was slightly deeper, the fire in her belly was hotter and that naughty part of her would have loved nothing more than to throw her hands round his neck and pull him down on top of her. But Steve Rogers was nothing if not a gentleman, and she didn’t want to rush into anything. She’d waited too long for this to fuck it up by moving too fast. With that in mind she willed herself to pull away.

“So err, you wanna watch a film or…” She glanced at the TV.

“Yeah…” Steve gave a little chuckle, his eyebrows raising a little before he took a deep breath. “You need another drink?”

Katiee nodded and he hopped up off the sofa, taking her empty glass to top it up, frankly glad of the chance to cool down. He’d had to stop himself then from pushing her down on the couch, but he knew that wouldn’t be the right thing to do. He wanted to do this properly, it was too special to risk.

Katie flicked through the android box, and with a grin found the perfect film, one that was a comedy, not romance or action, something easy.

“The Sandlot?” Steve asked as he handed her the filled glass, reading the title on the screen. “It’s about baseball?”

“More about kids having adventures over summer but yeah, baseball features a lot. It’s funny, you’ll like it” 

“Sure I will.” Steve said, as he settled down next to her.

She pressed play on the film, threw the remote onto the coffee table and lifted Steve’s arm, sliding into place beneath it, tucking herself in against his side with her legs curled up beneath her. It was something she’d done so many times before but this time, well it felt different. Steve pressed a kiss to her head before turning his attention back to the film, his arm draped over her shoulders, fingers gently tracing shapes on her upper arm.

They sat in the dark living room, watching the film, not another word shared. They both laughed, Steve grimacing at the Chewing Tobacco scene where the kids all vomited off the side of a fairground ride, it reminded him far too vividly of the time he had barfed after riding the Cyclone, and at the end when it showed one of the kids playing for the LA Dodgers Steve was the first one to break the comfortable silence, letting out a little snort.

“I still don’t like the fact they aint in Brooklyn any more”

“Really, you never mentioned it.” Katie said sarcastically, sitting up.

He rolled his eyes before he stretched. “I should be going.”

“Yeah, it is late.” Katie agreed, standing up as he did. “And I got a big date tomorrow.”

“Yeah” he asked, paying along as he walked to the door “Anyone I know?”

“Just some guy from work.” she shrugged. “He’s pretty hot but don’t tell him I said so.”

Steve laughed. “You’re a nightmare, you know that?” he smirked.

“Yeah but, you love it.” Katie shrugged as the elevator arrived.

“Yeah, I do.” Steve smiled softly, dropping a gentle kiss to her lips. “Goodnight, Doll.”

“Night Stevie.”

He squeezed her hand and stepped into the elevator and as soon as the doors had closed, a huge shit eating grin spread across both their faces.  

***** Chapter 5

**Original Posting**

[omiluvbug]

Office Hours (Nanami Kento x Fem!Reader oneshot)

This oneshot can be viewed on AO3 and Wattpad too!

You woke up at around 6:30 am as the sun's rays peeked through the shallow gaps in the curtains by your window. This created soft rays of light traveling through the room, basking the plain white walls in soft hues of orange and yellow. You patted the bed as you looked for your alarm clock which blared an overly obnoxious sound. 

Groaning, you got up, your hair a tangled mess as well as your patterned pajamas. You threw your blanket to the side as you stretched out her limbs. You contemplated on whether to stay in bed or go to work. You didn't really want to go to work today. Just the thought of you sitting down at your boring table for 8 hours doesn't seem that much exciting. You'd rather stay at home and curl up in your chair by the window, looking out to a nice view of the city. 

However, you couldn't really risk getting scolded so early in the morning in front of a lot of people. Just the thought of it deeply embarrassed you. Sighing, you got up and lazily fixed your queen-sized bed, throwing pillows on top of another and draping the blanket over the comforter.

You quickly did her morning routine—washing your face and brushing your teeth, then changing into your usual office attire and applying some makeup. Afterwards, you quickly fixed your hair before going to the kitchen to prepare a small breakfast. You scrolled through her phone as you ate, laughing slightly at ridiculous posts of some strangers on the internet.

You liked these kinds of moments; moments where you would usually be just by yourself in the morning, enjoying your breakfast as you looked through her phone, or listening to songs as you made food or cleaned the house. It was mundane for sure, just a normal day-to-day living, but it provided you a sense of comfort, even just for a little bit.

"Oh crap!" You quickly jumped to your feet as you noticed the time. You didn't realize that you were on your phone for far too long. If you don't get out of the house now, you'll miss your train. You hurriedly grabbed your bag and threw it over your shoulder as you wore whatever colored pump you could find. You then dashed through the door, making your way towards the train station which was a 10 minute walk away from home.

"Woah there, careful," Said a man with long hair tied into a bun and bangs perfectly framing his face. His hands were on your arm, preventing you from tripping on the boxes on the floor. He wore deep navy pants with the jacket loosely hanging from his arm. Two buttons of his white dress shirt were opened, making you look elsewhere.

"We don't want anyone tripping over these boxes now, don't we?" He implied, looking at you as if he was waiting for some sort of response. "You alright there, Y/N?"

"My apologies, Mr. Getou!" You said, your eyes wide open and your lips slightly agape. "I wasn't paying attention to where I was going and I—"

Getou chuckled, waving a dismissive hand in front of you. "It's alright, dear." He bent down to pick the stray boxes up before placing them on top of a random table. He then looked at his watch, his eyebrows rising. "You better get to where you're going if you don't want to be scolded. CEO's a handful when he's mad."

Flashing you another smile, Getou began walking away and disappeared into a nearby hallway. Suguru Getou is the operations manager of the company, responsible for hiring new staff members and training them, as well as monitoring personnel documentation, to name a few. He works alongside Satoru Gojo who deals with financial statistics of the company.

"Yuji! Hurry up!" You turned and saw three unfamiliar faces walking in the hallway. Two of them were boys, while one of them was a girl with orange colored hair and a frown on her face. She wore a pastel pink suit with a white dress shirt underneath. They looked young, and perhaps maybe a little bit out of place.

"It's your damn fault we're running late!" She hissed, glaring at the boy with pink hair and lightly hitting him with her bag. The boy stuck his tongue out like a little kid, causing the lady to scoff.

"Me? Blame Megumi! He's the one who stopped at a nearby park just to pet the dogs and won't leave until he called each one of them 'good girls' and 'good boys!'"

"Leave me out of this," the other boy said grumpily, shaking his head as he walked away and left the two. 

"Interns! Right here!" Ijichi called, calling the attention of the three. The three rushed towards the man, the girl's coffee almost spilling along the way.

Ah, so that's why they were unfamiliar to you, they're interns. You smiled a bit as you looked at the three playfully bickering while following Ijichi. It reminded you of your friends way back in high school. Suddenly, you wondered how they were doing. You're not much in contact with them these days as everyone is busy with their own lives. Besides, they weren't making much of an effort on trying to contact you anyway. 

"Get going, lady. These hallways are not the place to hang around, no?" said Satoru Gojo, who was followed by Shoko Ieri, the team's assistant manager. Shoko was quick to slap the man's bicep, scolding him for being so rude so early in the morning.

"Alright, geez. My bad." Gojo's hands were in his pockets as he walked, his head casually tipping to the side as he looked at the woman before her before paying attention to you. He was wearing his usual black sunglasses. Why he wore it inside the building was something you didn’t know the reason for. "Good Morning, Y/N."

"Good Morning," You greeted back, causing the man to grin and the lady to smile. 

"I see you're running late today." There was a teasing tone evident in his voice. He was going to say something more when Shoko tugged him closer, shaking her head and widening her eyes at him. 

"Right, well," Gojo stuttered, gently removing Shoko's hand from his bicep. "See ya around, Y/N!" They began walking away, muttering something amongst themselves. You even caught a glimpse of Gojo looking back at you and chuckling which left you confused. What was that about?

Perhaps everyone was running late today. It was quite understandable as it was Monday. You spotted a few people rushing inside the building as you clocked in. You placed your card back to the holder before making your way to the 5th floor, where you usually do her work. You were in the Public Relations Department, mostly coordinating public events for the company, helping in gaining favorable media coverage, and maintaining the company's relationship with investors among others. 

As you arrived at her floor, you quickly made your way towards your table and placed your bag on the chair before throwing away the crumbled paper you failed to discard the day before. You greeted your coworkers as you didn't want to seem rude.

The floor was brightly lit because of the huge windows that enabled natural light to pass through the transparent material. The floor was tiled and there were gorgeous wood accents plastered on the wall. Wood wall dividers were also used to separate the work space from the couch—where the employees would usually sit down during breaks to chat or wind down. And instead of cubicles, there were tables, allowing the employees to easily talk to each other when needed. 

"Good morning! Here's some morning newspapers, Y/N." The head of the PR Department, Iori Utahime, greeted you with a smile. "Morning assembly meeting starts in a few minutes. We're just waiting for the CEO."

"He's running late too, Ms. Utahime?" You wondered why, but then you remembered that the CEO had a very important business meeting to attend over the weekend in Osaka.

"Seems like everyone is. It's a monday after all." She clapped her hands behind her back, shifting her weight from one foot to another. "I almost missed my train earlier! I had to run out of the house with bread in my mouth  while  fixing my hair."

You looked at the lady before you. She doesn't look disheveled, infact, she looked presentable as always. Her hair was combed nicely and was in a half-up half-down updo—she even had a little bow tied on her hair which you thought was quite adorable. Her white dress shirt and red pencil skirt was tailored to her body perfectly, leaving no unflattering gaps in the material. 

"Good thing I made it in time though," she added as she mindlessly twirled a strand of hair on her hands. "I regret binge watching that drama last night."

You scrunched her face, knowing the feeling of staying up all night and regretting it the following morning. Utahime laughed, finding your reaction cute, before she patted your shoulders before bidding you a short goodbye. She went to the other's tables, greeting them a good morning and asking them about their plans for the day.

As you waited for the meeting to begin, you turned your desktop on and browsed through the emails. You frowned upon seeing some spam mails and quickly discarded them to the bin. You made a mental note to tell the head director that a certain investor wanted to make some changes with some of the deals. After that, you then skimmed through your newspaper, catching up on news that she might have missed over the weekend. 

 Soon, it was 9 am and the morning assembly meeting started. You stood up straight as their CEO, Kento Nanami, entered the floor alongside his trusty secretary, Yu Haibara, as well as a few other people. All eyes followed him as he walked towards the front of the room. You almost missed it, but the three interns were with them too, following Ijichi like they're lost puppies. 

The CEO's face was stern, yet he returned the smiles the other employees gave him. Your breath hitched when you two made eye contact, causing heat to rise to your cheeks. Nanami briefly smiled at you before turning his attention back to the other employees. However, the lingering feeling stayed with you. Oh my god.

It almost felt silly feeling butterflies over a brief eye contact. You were already an adult yet you still act like a lovestruck high school student whenever you meet eyes with your crush. However, you accepted the way you felt around Nanami. He was intelligent, polite, poised, extremely good-looking, and a gentleman. 

You couldn't help but to sigh. What was there to not swoon over for? He's literally the real deal. 

You noticed that he was more casual with the way he dressed today. Rather than his usual cream-colored suit paired with a blue dress shirt underneath and his partnered tie, he wore a black turtleneck with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, showing his expensive watch on one hand and toned arms. He paired it with a pair of off-white tapered pants. His hair was slicked back, with a few loose strands of hair he had to brush up every now and then. His shoes were perfectly polished too, clanking ever so softly as he took a step. 

Perhaps Kento Nanami was one of the reasons why you still chose to attend your job so early in the morning.

"Good morning." His voice was authoritative yet still soft and gentle. You even noticed the soft giggles some female employees let out upon hearing his voice. You chuckled as you shook your head. You couldn't really blame them for being giddy over him. Almost everyone is.

A chorus of hello's and good morning's were heard. Nanamin went through some announcements and important matters to discuss, mainly about increasing customer satisfaction rate and the like. He also talked about the short business trip he went to over the weekend and disclosed some information about future plans for a major project. At the same time, the department heads reported what plans they'll be doing for the rest of the day. Haibara happily took notes on his iPad, trying his hardest not to miss any important information. 

"Very well," Nanami spoke, the attention once again turning to him. He acknowledged the effort each department had and thanked them for their hard work. This definitely boosted the morale of the employee seeing the smile and grins on their faces. 

Nanami leaned a bit on the table, his arms crossed over his chests. He made eye contact with you one more time before turning his attention to the man beside him. "Ijichi, if you will. Thank you."

Ijichi nodded and walked forward, a kind smile evident on his face. A few coworkers giggled a bit, finding the man's actions kind of adorable. 

"Good morning," he greeted. "As you may all know, fall internships have already begun. Here we have three students from The University of Tokyo who will be seeking our guidance for the rest of the year."

He then gestured to the interns to start introducing themselves. The first one to do so was the lady wearing a pastel pink suit. She had a genuine smile on her face rather than the frown she had earlier in the morning. You thought that she was pretty—very fashionable too.

"Good morning! I'm Kugisaki Nobara and I'm 21 years old. Please take good care of me! I humbly seek your guidance!"

"Um." The next up was the boy with pink hair. He was quite charming to say the least; very bubbly and smiley much like the lady. "I'm Yuji Itadori. 20 years old, and I look forward to working with you all! Please go easy on me!"

Finally, the boy with dark hair spoke. He was quite shy and kind of stoic at first glance. "I'm Megumi Fushiguro. I'm 20 years old and I'm looking forward to working with you all too. Please guide us well… and I would like to apologize in advance for all the troubles these two might cause."

The two intern's mouth went agape and a few other employees let out a chuckle. The employees then politely clapped for the three. Even Nanami did too and you couldn't help to notice the small smile forming on his lips—as if he was already growing fond of the interns. This made you smile too. You had always liked having interns around. Just last fall, other students interned in this company as well and you could still vividly remember how rowdy and lively the lot were. Two of them were from UTokyo, while the others were from KyotoU.

 After the morning assembly meeting, the employees went back to their desks. You took a quick detour to the pantry to brew yourself some coffee before going back to her table. As you sat down, you folded the newspapers and kept them in your drawer as you were already finished reading them. Then, you went back to work.

The office was fairly quiet during working hours. Everyone was busy typing away on their keyboards to even spare the other employees a glance. It reminded you of libraries from school.

You reached out for your drink and frowned when you noticed that it was already empty. It was finished already? You didn’t even notice that the time was passing by so quickly. You contemplated on whether you should get up and brew some more, but you were already getting comfortable in your chair and didn't want to move an inch.

As if on cue, Gojo tapped your desk, making you turn to his direction. He had a cup of warm drink in his hands and grinned at her. You raised her eyebrow at him, confused with his sudden appearance. Usually he'll be on the third floor, supervising his department, or on the sixth floor, hanging out with other directors.

"A delivery for you, my lady." He put the warm drink down on her table and before you could even ask him why he gave it to you, he was already walking towards the elevator.

Frowning, you looked at the cup. Written on it was your favorite drink and a name that made your cheeks flush red. You covered half of your face, glaring at Gojo who was grinning as he waited for the elevator door to close. Grabbing your post-it from your desk, you covered the name written on your cup. Clicking your tongue, you went back to work and tried to bury the embarrassing feeling brewing inside you.

 When lunch time came, you decided to go to a nearby restaurant with a few other employees. You and your coworkers settled on a table near the door by the big windows. As you sat down, your attention was diverted towards the door, where the CEO and his secretary stood. They seemed to be looking for someone as their eyes trailed around the restaurant.

"Nanamin!" Gojo called, not even addressing the man properly. The white-haired man waved his arms around, catching a few people's attention. Getou, Shoko, and Utahime, who were with him, just shook their heads as they ate their food, as if pretending that they didn’t know him.

Nanami was about to approach them until he locked eyes with you once again. Your heart thumped loudly in your chest as you noticed him approaching your table, Haibara following behind him. Your coworkers didn't seem to notice the CEO until he cleared his throat.

"Ah! Mr. Nanami!" The man before you stuttered. Nanami just offered him a kind smile before gesturing him to sit down. 

"Is it alright if I ate with you today?" He asked and the others nodded. Well, they didn't really have that much of a choice—who would turn down someone like Nanami? 

It was as if the universe was in your favor. Nanami pulled the seat beside you and sat on it, your knees subtly brushing against each other as he fixed his posture. However, he didn't seem to mind as he conversed with your coworkers. Haibara, who sat at the head of the table, sneakily glanced between you and Nanami, biting his lips as he tried to hide his smile. 

The others then decided to begin ordering their own meals. However, you still don't know what to get. Maybe Nanami sitting beside you was a little bit distracting, and maybe he kind of knew it based on the small smiles he lets slip past his mouth every now and then.

"Ms. L/N?"

"Y-yes?" You turned to Nanami, heat rising to your cheeks. 

You stared into his brown eyes. It reminded you of autumn for some reason. It was kind of fitting for someone like him, you concluded; a bit cold, but still makes you feel comfort and warmth. Maybe one of the reasons why Nanami reminded you of autumn so much is because naturally, the autumn season has a kind of romantic aspect to it. Perhaps it was the scenarios you think of with him before heading to bed, or maybe because you were actually falling deeply for him, but you couldn't help but to think that maybe, Nanami has a romantic side to him too. 

You didn't realize that you were staring at him for far too long until you heard his soft chuckle. Looking away, you tried to compose yourself. However, the butterflies in your stomach seem to flutter more and more as they hear the wonderful song that is Nanami's voice. 

"Are you good to order? I can line up to the counter for you," he offered. 

It was embarrassing honestly, making a total fool of yourself in front of such a respectable man like him. "Um… no, it's fine, Mr. Nanami."

"Is [favorite food] and [favorite drink] alright?" He asked, standing up and grabbing his wallet from his back pocket. 

You could only nod as he made his way towards the counter, catching up to Haibara and a few other employees. You were the only one left on the table, which gave you a responsibility to secure it. Not that you mind. 

"So!" You nearly jumped when you heard Gojo Satoru beside you. How he managed to sneak up on you from the other side of the restaurant was something you don't know. He shamelessly sat himself on the chair beside you, which was previously occupied by Nanami. "You and Nanami, huh?"

"What?" You stuttered, completely baffled by his statement. The man just leaned back on his chair, causally tipping back a bit. "Pardon me but what are you talking about, Mr. Gojo?"

"Gojo is fine." The man scrunched his nose. "You're making me sound like an old man. I hate it."

You purse your lips, considering his statement. It seems like he didn't really mind dropping the honorifics that much. He leaned back further on his chair, propping his sunglasses on top of his head. 

"You know," he began, looking over at Nanami's direction. "Nanami usually never dines with employees. I know you saw me call him over earlier, but he didn't hesitate one bit on walking towards your direction when you made eye contact." He then clicked his tongue, raising an eyebrow at you. "Which makes me conclude that what I wrote on your cup earlier was true. Am I right?"

You honestly didn't know what to say. He had a teasing grin on his face, much wider than the one he had earlier in the morning. He crossed his arms against his chest, silently urging you to spill it out already.

"I believe that seat was taken." Nanami came back with a tray with both your orders in his hands. The others were still by the counter, waiting for their turn.

Gojo whistled before standing up. "My apologies," he uttered, patting Nanami at the shoulder. "Pardon me for intruding on your little date."

You were expecting Nanami to deny his claim, but the blond didn't say anything. Instead, he calmly placed your order in front of you before sitting down. It was evident that he was ignoring Gojo, which caused the white-haired man to chuckle and shake his head. Gojo then gave you a wink before heading back to his table.

"Was he bothering you?" Nanami asked and you shook your head. 

"No… not really." Nanami gave you a look, as if he wasn't buying it. "I'm fine really, Mr. Nanami. Thanks for your concern."

You gave him a smile and Nanami subtly returned one back. He was about to say something else when the other employees arrived, preventing him from doing so. Nanami cleared his throat and began eating, occasionally looking at you from time-to-time.

"Finally! I’m going home!" You yawned, stretching a bit on your chair. A few employees have already gone home as they finished their job a bit early. Breezily, you gathered all your valuables and placed them in your bag. Then, you decluttered your table before grabbing your coat and putting it on.

It was a 10 minute walk from the company to the nearest train station. The train was definitely cramped since it was getting kind of late. Students were seated on the chair, other employees were busy on their phones or reading a newspaper, and others were dozing off. 

You sighed, wanting to get home as early as you could so you could jump into a nice warm bath and maybe even make yourself a nice dinner and watch a good show. It was a bit chilly at night too, so you'll sure be snuggling up to your bed, with multiple blankets laid on top of you.

Even though all of these things sound amazing, there is something else that you're looking forward to. You covered your mouth as you tried to hide a smile—you didn't want to get weird looks from other people, thinking you're out of your mind or something. 

You unlocked the door of your apartment and made your way inside. You left your bag and shoes by the door as you took your coat off and hung it on the coat rack. You wore your indoor slippers before walking to the bathroom to take your makeup off. 

As you did so, you grabbed your phone and played some music. You then turned the bath faucet on and waited for it to be the right temperature before stripping off and lowered yourself in the tub. You then made sure to tie your hair up, preventing it from getting wet. 

The warm water soothed your sore muscles. You instantly felt at ease. This is exactly what you needed—a nice relaxing night after a long hard day at work. Humming to yourself, you sank further into the tub, letting the water reach up to your shoulders. You giggled as you played with the bubbles, making random shapes and drawing silly little soap faces on your legs.

Deep in your own moment, you didn't hear the opening of the main door nor the shoes being placed inside the shoe cabinet right beside yours. You didn't hear the leather bag being placed on top of the kitchen table nor the knock on the bathroom door. However, you did hear the door knob turning and the footsteps of the man walking towards you.

"Good evening, darling." Your husband, Kento Nanami, greeted you. He seated on the edge of the tub, looking at you with such adoration in his eyes. He looked tired, but still handsome. He tucked a hair behind your ear and you instantly leaned into his touch. He chuckled, holding your cheek, his thumb rubbing soft circles on your skin. 

"Welcome home, Kento." You smiled, making his heart swoon. Despite being with him for the most of the day, you missed him. 

Nanami placed a kiss on the crown of your head, making you sigh happily and giggle. "Would it be alright if I joined you?"

You nodded. Nanami had always been a man of consent. He always asks before approaching you. He had also always put you first before himself. He had always pampered you, cared for you, and made sure that you'll feel the love that you deserve. He was a very sweet guy, really—charming,  dreamy . Perhaps you were one lucky girl to have someone like him in your life.

"I noticed you wore our wedding ring to work today," he said as he took his shirt off. He then began unbuckling his belt, making you look away. You had already seen his body multiple times, but it still makes your cheeks heat up. Nanami chuckled as he saw your reaction. You were adorable.

He placed a hand on your back as he guided you to move forward, making some room for him. He leaned back as you settled in between his legs, letting you rest your back on his chest. He draped his hands around you, softly caging you in his arms as he leaned his cheek on the top of your head. 

"Well I liked the look of it on my fingers," you answered. "I noticed you wore it too… the other day."

Nanami hummed, placing a gentle kiss on your shoulder. It's not like you weren't proud of being married. Rather than that, it was merely just because Nanami wanted to see how long it would take for his employees to notice that he was, in fact, already someone else’s spouse. He had been subtly hinting it to others too—small bouquet of flowers on your table during special occasions (birthdays and anniversaries), simple random gifts at any time of the day, occasionally matching outfits with each other, and random lovesick post-it notes placed on your desktop monitor. 

You couldn't deny it but you were definitely hopeful to see the priceless reactions of the employees once they did find out. This little game than Nanami created made the office hours more exciting—for the two of you anyway.

"I think Gojo already knows," you said, intertwining your hands together. "He gave me coffee earlier with the writing: 'nanamin's wife'"

"Perhaps it accidentally slipped from my mouth when we were on a business trip over the weekend." Nanami turned you around so you were facing him, letting you rest on his chest. He let his hand rest on your lower back. "Getou knows too. I bet Gojo told him. Were they bothering you too much? I saw Gojo pestering you earlier during lunch and you looked kind of uncomfortable."

"Not uncomfortable, just surprised," you answered. "I just didn't know how to act. We never talked about how to react when they found out."

Nanami chuckled. He held your chin and placed a soft tender kiss on your lips. The action made you shiver, making him smile through the kiss. Even just for a short while, you felt breathless.

"Just let things happen," Nanami murmured as he rested his head on the crook of your neck. He placed kisses on your neck and shoulder too, making you giggle due to the tickling sensation. 

"You're being awfully clingy today, Kento." You brushed some of his hair away from his face, looking at his perfectly chiseled features. "You kept glancing at me at work and smiling at me, then you ate lunch with me, and now you're being so affectionate… not that I mind it though."

"I missed you, darling. That’s all." He placed another kiss on the corner of your lips. "I was in Osaka over the weekend, naturally, I would want to be around my sweet girl."

You laughed and nodded, feeling the heat rush to your cheeks once again. Nanami wasn't usually a touchy and a physically affectionate person, especially outside the house. He wasn’t a fan of public displays of affection, but he does make up for it whenever you two are alone.

Something you also noticed about him even from the first time you started dating, was that he was very subtle in the way he loved. He wasn't extravagant nor boastful with gifts. He was sure to keep it simple. Special occasions were an exception though.

You didn't mind it that much. You weren't a fan of lavish types of love and gift giving anyway—it's kind of overwhelming. The love that Nanami gives you was enough—not too less, not too much, it was the perfect balance in between. 

Both of you stayed in the tub for a while, just enjoying the moment as you two held each other. It was peaceful, with occasional innocent words of affection exchanged between the two of you. You were glad that office hours were over, enabling you to enjoy your time alone with your husband.

After a few moments, Nanami ushered you to stand as he rinsed the bubbles on your body with the shower head. You giggled as the water accidentally sprayed on his face, causing him to squint and lightly shake his head—like a dog. You grabbed a towel from the rack and gently patted his face. Nanami even sneaked a small kiss on your wrist, causing you to squeal and bashfully smack him on his chest.

"All these years we spent together and you're still shy whenever I shower you with affection." Nanami tugged you closer to him as he draped a robe over your body. You both wore matching classic white ones, small initials of your name imprinted in his.

"I don't know why I just can't get used to the feeling!" You said, huffing. 

"That's good. I like seeing your reactions." Nanami smiled, brushing your hair with his hands. There were some tangles in it, but he didn't mind. He liked brushing them away with his fingers nonetheless.

Nanami just stared at you, his heart thumping happily in his chest, butterflies fluttering in his stomach. He wondered what his life would be like if you weren't around. Shaking his head, he didn't want to think of it. You were there, in front of him, in his arms. It was enough.You were enough. Nanami couldn't bear living his life without having you around anyway. Perhaps you might have just bewitched his heart with your charms. But he was so in love with you that he didn't mind.

"You're as pretty as a flower, my sweet." He tugged you even closer to him, wrapping his arms around your frame and resting his head on top of yours. He looked at your reflection in the mirror. Your kind smile, your flushed cheeks—To Nanami, you were perfect. 

"Kento?" He hummed, still looking at your face through the reflection. "Would you watch [favorite movie] with me?"

He chuckled, patting your head. How could he say no to you? "Of course, darling. Office hours are already over, right?"

[thedeviltohisangel]

Hourglass//1//

Normally the sound of her voice brought, at the very least, happiness. It meant he could put down the walls and smile and laugh and not worry about someone judging him for every action he made. But right now he wasn’t in the mood. He wanted to be alone. He wanted to drink and wallow and feel bad for himself. She would never let him wallow. He splashed some cold water on his face as he heard her footsteps coming up the stairs.

masterlist is my url/writing

accepting requests for this pairing

“Nix? You in here?” Normally the sound of her voice brought, at the very least, happiness. It meant he could put down the walls and smile and laugh and not worry about someone judging him for every action he made. But right now he wasn’t in the mood. He wanted to be alone. He wanted to drink and wallow and feel bad for himself. She would never let him wallow. He splashed some cold water on his face as he heard her footsteps coming up the stairs.

“In here,” he called back. No point in trying to avoid her now.

“Hey. Just came to check in. Speirs said you looked a little...forlorn.” Ron had actually said Nixon looked like shit. “Jump not great?”

“I made it out. Two others behind me made it out. Others got blown up over Germany somewhere.” She noticed his hand was shaking as he poured another glass of Vat 69. 

“Sorry to hear that.” 

“Oh, well. Wasn’t me!” He threw the empty bottle into the trash then stalked out of the room. 

“Nix-”

“No, El, I don’t have the capacity for your psychological probing tonight.” Ella stopped behind one of the chairs around the table he was sitting at. 

“It’s either I do it or Dick does it.” She knew the man in question was on his way right now. Intending to tell Nixon about his recent demotion. Ella had asked Dick to let her go first. Maybe she could soften him up or help him anticipate the blow. Didn’t seem like she would be able to do either.

“I don’t want to see him. How about you leave and go tell him that?” She let him down two more glasses of whiskey before speaking.

“Please don’t speak to me like that. You’ve had a crap day and too much to drink but I deserve more than that tone right now.”

“Stop behaving like a fuckng princess or whatever it is you are. The world sucks and sometimes people don’t bow to you.” She swallowed the lump in her throat. She didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of seeing her cry and she didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of her leaving. 

“Why do you do this to me?” Ella was getting tired. Tired of Lewis Nixon and all the baggage that went along with him. Tired of long nights filled with whispers and gentle touches. Tired of those mornings being filled with him not remembering. Tired of having to remind him he was married and he shouldn’t tell Ella how much he loved her and wanted to marry her. Tired of Nix getting drunk and twisting the knife into her ribs she had trusted him with.

“Because you can’t take the hint that I don’t want to be around you. I don’t love you. Maybe I never did. Let me live out the rest of this war in peace, Ella.” Nix knew the only reason he held himself together while saying those words was because of the alcohol in his glass. Otherwise he’d be shaking like he did back in Bastogne. Would have shed more than a few tears. He knew, and she knew, that he didn’t mean those words anymore than he meant any words he said when he was drunk. But Nix couldn’t spend one more moment around her without wanting to burn the world down so they could be together. Pushing her away was the only way to put down the torch.

“Well, sadly, Lewis Nixon...I love you.” Her words hit him one at a time, each blow being absorbed individually, as she walked slower out of the house than she had in. Heavier footsteps followed her retreating ones. No doubt Dick had decided to make his entrance after seeing the woman with her head hung so low.

“Hey.”

“I told her I didn’t love her. Never did.” Dick didn’t even need to ask. 

“Was it you or the Vat 69 talking?”

“Both. I’m married, remember?” People in the Nixon family didn’t get divorced. People in her family didn’t marry men who had been married before. It wouldn’t have worked even if they tried.

“I thought we were all forgetting that,” Dick noted sarcastically. He had made that same point to his friend more times than he could count. Each time it was waved and explained away.

“It’s for the best we both stop seeing each other. In any capacity.” He took the last bit from the bottle.

“Maybe it’s for the best you stop that too.” Everyone had noticed that the drinking was beginning to be too much. That Nix was slowly but surely slipping away.

“At least now that she’s gone I don’t have to be ganged up on all the time.” Nix stood angrily from the chair and moved back towards his bedroom. What he needed was a nice long sleep. Maybe to never even wake up again.

“How long do you think that will last?”

“Excuse me?” Nix asked with an edge to his voice that was entirely on purpose.

“As soon as you sober up, you’ll be asking her to take you back.” He did it all the time. And every time he said it was the last time and every time Ella said next time she wouldn't take him back. Dick had watched the toxic cycle repeat over and over the past few months. Try as he might, he knew there was no stopping them. Maybe in a convoluted way, they were meant to be together. But this was no backdrop for it. This was no way to live or love.

“I’m so sick of people acting like they know me. Saying they know me better than I know myself. Ella and I are not meant to be together. We were not made for each other to have in this lifetime. I’ve accepted that, Dick. Watching those boys die today made me realize that I should stop trying to force my way into her life. Stop trying to force her into mine.” He collapsed onto his bed and hung his head. “We aren’t always meant to be with our soulmates. Sometimes loving someone isn’t enough.” Oh but Nixon knew it was quite the opposite. That he loved Ella too much. That is was all encompassing and sometimes suffocated him. That touching her was like touching a pan on a stove top. It burned and lingered. If he allowed himself to love her, truly love her the way he wished to, they’d burn out. And that would hurt even more.

“The press keep hounding me on when you’ll be in a safe enough place for them to interview you again. The magazines back home have you on every cover and they want more.” Ella rolled her eyes as she lit a cigarette and continued to stomp her way through the streets of Germany. 

“Can’t you remind them this is a war?” She was fully aware that the government had signed off on her trip to the frontline because of the glorified nature the coverage would take. The last name Ford meant cameras followed where she went. It meant she had had no problem procuring a lipstick or a clean dress. But the men around her had been unable to secure a hot meal or warm coat. It felt wrong. 

“No. I can’t.” 

“That’s an unacceptable answer, Mr. Perry. Either you manage the hounds on your end or I will light them on fire when they get too close. Is that understood?” She was in no mood to play politics with media magnates hundreds of miles away.  She didn’t want to blame her mood on Lew but she was. Fighting with him took so much out of her. His words also cut to a level where it felt like pieces of her were being removed. Right now she was like a wounded animal who needed somewhere quiet and dark to heal. 

“Miss Ford-” She shut the door behind her before her handlers could follow her into the building she had been using as refuge the past couple of days.

“How’d that go?” It was Ron, the reason she had found herself wandering Nixon’s way in the first place. She wonders if Dick was able to talk to him. How he was taking the news of his demotion. Then she remembered she didn’t care anymore and shook the thought from her mind.

“Nix and his jump or the demons that follow me around all day?” She flicked her current cigarette to the side and lit a new one.

“Both.”

“Well the jump was a disaster and Lewis Nixon wishes to never see me again-”

“El-”

“-and the papers back home want another interview and photo call with me but I just don’t think I can do that anymore. I don’t think I want to be here anymore. In fact, I think I am quite ready to go home.” It was as if saying the words out loud made them make perfect sense. That was that and her mind was made up. She would start packing her bag right now.

“I don’t know him that well but I doubt he meant what he said.” Ron followed her into her room and felt helpless as she started shoving things into bags.

“That’s the thing. I’ve had it completely backwards. I thought he was his most honest when he was sober but today I’ve realized that that is not when he is his true self. He is his truest self when he is drowning in whiskey. Those are the moments when he has lied to me. Today was his first time telling me the truth.” She felt unwanted. Like a scrap no one wanted. All she was good for was parading around in pretty dresses and smiling for the cameras. Everyone wanted a piece of her image but no one wanted the real her.

“If it’s any consolation, the rest of the guys like you a lot.” She had to smile at that. For some reason she had been drawn to Ron and the rest of Easy. She recognized the same outcast in them she had in herself. They were a band of misfits but that is what kept them so close together. Bonded them for life. She considered herself lucky to get to experience that if only for a moment in time.

“It is. Thank you, Ron.” She took one last deep breath, shouldered her bag and marched back the way she had come. The group of bloodthirsty monsters she had left were still there waiting for.

“Ma’am, we-”

“I’ve made a decision, Mr. Perry. I’m ready to go home. The press can feast on me from the states.”

Reading that Kathy wanted a divorce was harder to process than Nix thinks it should’ve been. By all accounts, it had been the news he had been waiting for. The puzzle piece he had only let him think would fall into place in his darkest moments. It was hard to be confronted with something you told yourself would never happen. He had no idea how to react. Who should he tell first? Ella? Well that bridge had been burned. Dick? No. He would tell Nix to tell Ella. But his inability to divorce Kathy had been one of the exact reasons he cited for her to never see him again. He wouldn’t be able to tuck his tail far enough between his legs.

“What’s that?” Dick noticed the look on Nix’s face. It was one that said he wasn’t really there. That is mind was so far away it might be worth trying to get it back. 

“She’s divorcing me. Kathy. Well, she wants one. And she’s taking the kid and the dog. Which doesn’t make any sense because it’s my goddamn dog and she hates that dog-”

“Nix.” Even though Dick loved him like a brother, he didn’t have all the time in the world to listen to his ramblings. “Are you going to give her what she’s asking for?”

“I don’t have a fucking choice, do I? I’m here and she’s there.” He ripped a cigarette from his breast pocket, the lighter needing some coaxing before it finally flared to life and gave him some relief. “Do I tell Ella?” Dick knew what he was really asking. After all the shit I’ve put her through, are we really meant to be together?

“Colonel Sink told me she’s being put on the first flight back to the states.”

“What? That’s not possible.” Nix knew for a fact she always said she wanted to be with the men when it all ended. Be with him. Celebrate with him. 

“Whatever you said to her the other night made her decision all the easier. Apparently, her presence is merely a distraction from the important task at hand. And she could better serve her country lobbying for war bonds back home than stealing rations from the soldiers on the front line.” Dick said the words in such a bland way that Nix almost wasn’t able to process them. All he knew was that she was leaving. She was leaving and it was because of him. 

“What do I do, Dick? Let her go or ask her to stay?” Nix knew it was love but he also knew that love wasn’t always enough. Ella deserved better but he was a selfish man. He needed her more than he ever had ever needed whiskey. There was no victory for him if she wasn’t there for it. The letter in his hands was a sign that there was a piece missing in his puzzle. He had forced his marriage to try and fit into it. But he had been wrong. It had been in his pocket this entire time. He just hadn’t had the courage to put it where it belonged. But now he did. He had no choice.

[atc74]

The Sharp Knife of a Short Life

Warnings: Fluff, parental crap, fluff, love,  scary situations, canon level violence, TW: Major Character Death

Summary: Y/N finds love with a young man who is new in town. Will their love last forever like she hopes, or will it end before it’s really begun?

Pairing: Lee Webb x Reader

Word Count: 4025

Written for: @amanda-teaches​ Amanda’s 2K Writer & Reader Challenge (“I can’t explain right now, but I need you to trust me.”), @alleiradayne​‘s Summer Shut In Challenge (“Can you please come get me?”), and @katymacsupernatural​ Katy’s Make Me Feel Challenge (”That’s...a lot of blood.”. Writing has been such a struggle that I combined them all!

Beta’d by: @crashdevlin​ and @dean-winchesters-bacon​. Thank you both so much for taking a look and being so supportive of a new character. Also to @dolphincliffs​ for continually supporting (and feeding) my Christian Kane fix. 

A/N: We all know the orgin stories of our favorite, and not so favorite characters. But when a new character is introduced in the way Lee Webb was, there is so much to learn. He is a blank slate, except for his ending. We really don’t know what is and what not is OOC for him, so this is going to be so fun. I was inspired to write this after listening to The Band Perry’s “If I Die Young”. I’ve always thought this would be a great intro for a hunter, and I finally found it.  I hope you enjoy the journey!

P.S. I am using my forevers and my Dean list, since he does make an appearance. Please let me know if you prefer not to be tagged, should there be future Leo installments. Thank you. 

Circa 2001 - Somewhere in Oklahoma

“Mama, he’s a good man,” Y/N sighed loudly as she set the table for supper. 

“He’s a drifter, Y/N. He’s only been in town a short time. And working at that place!” her mother, Ruth, spat. 

“Not everyone gets a good family upbringin’. He’s had a hard life and is trying to make it better. And it’s a bar, Mama, not the Devil’s playground.” Y/N protested, slamming the last fork down harder than she intended. 

“That’s exactly what it is! Nothing good ever happened in that place and you’re not going there!” It had been a long time since she had heard her mother raise her voice. 

“Mother, I am twenty years old. I am not a child. Lee is a good man and I’ve been seeing him for more than three months. He’s coming to supper and you’ll be the gracious hostess we all know you are. Please reserve judgement until you’ve met him. Isn’t that what Jesus would do?” Y/N smiled sweetly, knowing how her religious mother always followed the Golden Rule. 

“Of course I will, Y/N. I’m not a heathen!” 

“Supper was delicious, Miss Ruth. Thank you so much for having me. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a meal this good,” Lee smiled at her as he stood to clear the dishes. 

“Well, I’m pleased you liked it. I’ve got plenty left over. Would you like me to pack you some to take home?” Ruth blushed at the compliment from her daughter's boyfriend as she searched for a container for his leftovers. 

“That would be wonderful, thank you ma’am. Now, you ladies go enjoy your tea, I’ll clean up here,” Lee shuttled the remaining dishes from the table to the sink. 

“Nonsense! Guests don’t do my dishes,” Ruth swatted him away with her towel. 

“Then let me dry, please. It’s the least I can do after such a meal. I haven’t eaten that well in, forever I think,” Lee offered. 

“Mama, let him help.” Y/N’s  voice carried through from the dining room as she carried the platter of fried chicken to the kitchen. 

~*~

“He’s a good man, Y/N. I can see he cares deeply for you,” her mother told Y/N quietly that night after Lee had gone. They sat on the back porch, sipping chamomile tea, as the sun set.

“He loves me, Mama. And I think I love him, too.” She smiled ear to ear. “You changed your tune pretty quick, though.” 

“He told me a little about his life, ya know. How his daddy left and his mama got sick. That’s no way for a child to live. But he’s making something for himself, and for you one day,” she commented. “He looks at you the way your daddy used to look at me.” 

“Yes he is, but please don’t go putting a ring on my finger. I’ve barely started living. I won’t always be working at the library, content to stay in this town,” Y/N stated. 

“I know, baby girl. There’s big things waiting for you out there. But leave room for him, too.” 

“Mama, three hours ago you didn’t even like the man, now you want us to run away together and get married?” Y/N laughed.   

“No, baby. I want you to get married, then run away and live your lives. I don’t want you stuck here like I was after your daddy passed. It’s no life for a young woman so vibrant and with so much to give the world,” Mama sniffed slightly, running the crumpled tissue in her hand underneath her nose. She rose and kissed the top of her head. “Goodnight, girl. Don’t stay up too late.”

A pack of coyotes howled in the distance as Y/N thought about what her mama had said. “Goodnight, Mama.” 

~*~

“Lee, what are we doing all the way out here? Why did you bring me out here? It’s dark and creepy,” Y/N muttered as Lee led her away from his truck, the path dark and obscured by shadows from the ancient pines towering above them. 

“I have a surprise for you, darlin’,” Lee smiled, his dimples carved deep into his cheeks. “Ta da!” 

“What is this?” Y/N gasped seeing a crippled cabin in front of them. The porch steps sagging from years of rot, the roof following suit. 

“It’s ours...well, mine. I bought it from Ed for just the deed transfer fees. It’s going to be incredible,” Lee beamed at the compromised structure, then turned back to Y/N, his smile falling as he did. “Baby, what’s wrong?”

“Is it safe?” Y/N asked hesitantly, brows furrowed. 

“Not yet. It needs some work, but I’m gonna fix ‘er up real good. It’ll be a good home for us, darlin’.” 

They sat on the hood of his truck and Y/N listened as he told her his plans for the small two bedroom cabin, his thumb brushing over the knuckles of her hand folded in his. Y/N was content to stay tucked under his arm, his body fending off the chill of the night. Time passed as they talked about their future, laid out under the slivers of moonlight. “I love you, Lee.” 

“I’ll love you forever, Y/N.”

It wasn’t until the night air became too cool that they decided to head back into town. “Let’s get you home, darlin’.” As Lee opened the passenger side of his truck, the sound of breaking glass came from the direction of the small cabin. He pushed Y/N inside the cab and shut the door. “Get behind the wheel, if I’m not back in five minutes, leave! Call the sheriff.” 

“Lee, let’s just go!” Y/N shouted through the open window as he grabbed a two by four from the bed of his truck. He turned and winked at her, then kept walking, right around the side of the cabin. Four minutes. 

The night was too dark to see anything solid, the slivers of moonlight playing tricks on her eyes as she scanned the small clearing. Three minutes. 

Y/N slid across the bench seat and started the old beast, her engine rumbling to life. Two minutes. 

She heard nothing as she continued to search for Lee, her eyes darting back and forth, the headlights of the truck brightening the clearing. One minute. 

“Damn, baby, you smell so sweet!” A man jumped through the passenger window, breathing deeply through his nose. And then he smiled at Y/N. Only there were far too many teeth and they were all wrong. 

A scream ripped from her body as he grabbed her arm, pulling it towards him as he tried to shimmy further into the truck. He suddenly lurched backwards and Y/N heard a sickening crack as wood connected with his skull. Lee rushed around the side of the truck and wrenched open the door. Y/N scooched over to give him enough room to get behind the wheel. 

“What the H-E-double hockey sticks was that?” Y/N cried, noticing the tears on her face for the first time. 

Lee threw the truck in reverse and gunned it back down the dirt road to the main highway. “I don’t know, baby. Are you okay?” 

“Yeah, yeah, I think so.” 

“Something is going in this town. That man, and others have been squatting in our cabin from the looks of things. I’m calling the sheriff as soon as I get you home. He’ll figure it out. Maybe they have something to do with the two missing people,” Lee pondered as he slowed down as the highway came into his rearview mirror. He straightened the truck out and put her in drive, heading back towards town.

“Who’s missing? Why didn’t you tell me?” Y/N asked. 

“Coupla regulars down at the bar. I reported it to the sheriff. Not really the type of guys that people miss, but they hadn’t been in for a few nights and that’s not normal. Sheriff confirmed today, they just up and gone, or so he said,” Lee shrugged. 

Lee drove the last few miles into town silent with his hand clutching Y/N’s. He pulled into her driveway and cut the engine before getting out to open her door. Always the gentleman, Lee walked Y/N to the door, but this time he came inside. “What’re you doing, mister? My mama’s upstairs!” 

“Just checking that all the doors and windows are locked. Gotta make sure my girl is safe,” he winked at her before he went up to the second floor. He returned moments later. “All set upstairs.”

When he was satisfied with his inspection of the first floor, he came to a stop in front of Y/N. She was leaning against the counter, a cup of tea next to her. She pulled him tight to her, fingers trembling as she grabbed his shirt. “Don’t go.”

“I won’t. I’m here.” He pressed his lips to the side of her head, holding her gently, as if he was afraid she’d break. 

~*~

The library was empty the next day as Y/N settled behind the counter, her third cup of coffee in hand. She didn’t want to work today, but since Miss Birdie was out of town visiting her grandchildren there was no one else to open the library. It’s a library, so it is usually quiet, but it was too quiet. Even the online courses couldn’t drown out the quiet today as she followed along and took notes. 

Y/N was lost in the online lecture until the bell above the door dinged, reminding her she was still at work. A tall young man, dressed in a leather jacket walked through, smiling at her as he passed the desk. He headed to the back, where the periodicals are kept. Y/N returned to her laptop, but now unable to concentrate on anything for longer than a few minutes, her mind occupied with Lee, their “future” and the events of the last few days. She sighed and gathered the stack of books next to her, adding them to the cart for restocking.

It took less of her time than she hoped to return the books to their rightful place on the shelf. Y/N went back to the desk and closed her laptop, stowing it in her bag, when she heard a voice from the back. 

“Dad, I’m telling you, there’s nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch!” The young man was on his phone, waving his free arm in annoyance. “Yeah, okay. Bye.” 

Y/N looked at the clock, noticing the time. “Sir, we’re closing in a few minutes.” 

He was walking towards her, a confident swagger in his step. He winked at Y/N as he passed. “Thanks, Sweetheart.” 

She flipped the lights off and followed the young man out the door, locking the doors behind them. Y/N took a deep breath of fresh air and hooked her bag across her body, starting the walk home. It was just past five in the evening and the weather was perfect, not too hot yet, but warmer than it had been. She smiled, making her way down the street. She wanted to rush home and get supper ready to bring to Lee down at the bar. 

He was working so hard, for them, for their future, and he deserved home cooking more than he got it. Y/N swung left through the small forest in the middle of town. It would easily cut ten minutes off her walk and that was more time to cook for her boyfriend. Lee was indeed her boyfriend, and hopefully, with the way he talked, her future husband. Y/N smiled at that. Husband. 

~*~

Y/N had said she would bring him supper even after he told her she didn’t need to. She just said he needed to eat proper and if he was being honest, he liked it. He was in love with that girl. Lee wanted to make her his wife, provide a future for her, for a family. He wanted to make her happy, even if that was letting her bring him supper at work, for now. He was such a goner. And for the first time in his life, he was okay with that. 

The bar wasn’t busy being a weeknight and all, but it was still early, only a hair past nine. A few regulars at the bar, a couple new faces playing pool, and a handful taking up tables. Y/N should have been there by now, or at least called. Lee started to worry. He should call her and check in. He should have told her to stay home, with everything that was going on. He cursed himself as he reached for his phone. It started vibrating in my pocket. Y/N’s picture lit up the screen and he breathed a sigh of relief. 

“Baby? Are you alright? I was so worried!” Lee blurted out. 

“Can you please come get me?” Y/N sniffed and she sounded small, almost fragile. 

“Where are you?” He asked, signaling Ed he needed to leave. 

“I think I’m at the cabin. I don’t know. Someone grabbed me on my way home from work, and now it’s dark. I don’t know, Lee,” she was crying so hard, he could barely understand her. 

“The cabin? I’m on my way, baby. Hold tight!” Lee was already in his truck before the call disconnected. The cabin was only about ten minutes outside of town, but he wasn’t obeying traffic laws that night. Lee needed to get to her and now. 

The waning moon barely broke through the cover of the trees overhead as he eased his truck down the narrow drive. There were no other vehicles in sight, so if someone had brought her here, they had done it on foot, or left already. Either way, it didn’t sit right. What did someone want with her? Sure, Lee hadn’t always been a law abiding citizen, but he had done his time, made his peace with God, and changed his ways. Y/N made Lee Webb a better man. He wanted to be a better man for her. 

He killed the engine and slowly opened the door, trying to be quiet. Lee searched the bed of his truck, looking for a weapon of any kind, and all he could find was a length of rusty pipe. It would have to do. He slid around the back of the cabin, searching for any sign of movement or sound, but it was quiet. Almost too quiet. He crept up the back steps and the door was ajar. Someone had been there recently. Lee pushed it open and walked inside. Something fast moved in front of him and before he knew what hit him, he was flat on his back, the air knocked out of his lungs, his weapon rolling across the sagging floor.  

“I knew you’d come for me!” Y/N cried out, straddling Lee. 

“Y/N? Baby, what happened? How did you get here? Are you okay?” The questions flew from his mouth faster than he could process the lewd smile on her face. 

“I don’t know! One minute I was walking home from the library, taking the shortcut through the woods, when a man grabbed me. I think he knocked me out, or I passed out, I don’t know. But when I woke up, I was here. Alone. I don’t know what happened or where they went, but I knew you would come for me,” Y/N recounted the events since she left work rapidly. 

“Of course I came. You’re my girl and I’m going to protect you and take care of you. I’m so sorry I wasn’t there, but I’m here now, baby. I’ve got you,” Lee cooed softly, holding her tight to him, just relishing in her safety for the moment. 

“I was so scared,” Y/N sniffed, her face buried in the crook of his neck. 

“Shhhh, I’ve got you now. It’s okay,” he soothed before pulling back and inspecting her carefully. Y/N looked okay, a little disheveled, but she didn’t appear to have any injuries that he could see immediately. “What else do you remember? Anyone come into work today?” 

Y/N shook her head. “A few families came in for story time, Billy and his girlfriend, Jenna, to study for a couple hours.” Then she remembered. “There was a man, a man I didn’t recognize. He was tall, wearing a dark jacket, maybe gray. He had um, spiky, light brown hair, and was wearing a necklace, with a weird looking pendant on it.” 

“I saw that guy tonight. At the bar. He was with another man, an older guy. Thought they were just a father and son, having a beer and playing some pool. Son of a bitch!” Lee growled, knowing exactly the man she was talking about. “I’m calling the Sheriff.” 

“No, baby, don’t. We can do that later. Just hold me,” Y/N begged, putting her face back into his neck. 

He was angry and scared that someone took her, but his instincts to hold her won. Her body was warm against him and he let his thoughts linger over what she would feel like laid out beneath him. They hadn’t gone far in that department, as much as he wanted to. He loved her enough to respect her wishes and she wanted to wait until they were married. Lee thought it was sweet, and he did love her. He had been with many women who were quick to please, but none of them could hold a candle to the woman he held in his arms.

He felt her shift above him, slowly grinding her hips into his as she licked and sucked along his neck. Lee attempted to stop her. “Y/N, baby. This isn’t what you want. You’re scared and you need me to tell you you’re okay. I’m going to do that, but not like this, okay? I told you I’d wait for you and I will.” 

“I don’t care anymore about some stupid promise. I want you now,” Y/N bucked into him harder, and he responded in kind, despite how strong he thought he could be. 

“No, not like this. If we do this before we get married, we’ll do it proper, not on the floor of a dirty, run-down cabin,” Lee gasped, pulling back, but she didn’t loosen her grip on him. 

“No!” Y/N screamed, biting down hard into the meat of his neck. 

“Jesus Christ, Y/N! What the hell was that?” Lee screamed, pushing her back and jumping off the floor. 

“I’m the new and improved Y/N. If you won’t fuck me, maybe one of these men will,” Y/N smiled wickedly, Lee’s blood dripping from her lips, and that’s when Lee noticed they weren’t alone. Two men slinked from the shadows and stared him down. 

Lee looked around the room, gauging the distance to each of the two exits, when he spotted a body by the front door, slumped over. And another near the hall. “What is going on here, Y/N?” 

“Oh, we gave your girl here a makeover. Stronger, faster, better. We’re immortal and we’re going to live a long, bloody life with her by our side. Eat up, baby girl,” one of the men said, grinning as he took in the look on her face. She was hungry and he knew the feeling too well. 

“Come here, baby. I want a taste. It’s your choice. I change you and we live happily ever after. Or, I bleed you dry and my new friends here will be my first, and second. What’s it going to be, baby?” Y/N laughed maniacally as she advanced on Lee. “You want a real taste of this tight little body? Make me cum over and over for eternity?” 

“No, this isn’t you, Y/N!” Lee shouted, rounding the small table, trying to put a little distance between them. 

The front door blew open, wood flying through the small cabin. The two men from the bar entered, blades raised. 

“No, it isn’t Y/N!” the older one announced and the first two men advanced on the newcomers. 

Lee watched in disbelief, possibly shock as well, as the older man swung his blade, easily decapitating the first man as Y/N screamed, launching herself at him. The younger fought against the second guy, fists flying and grunts filling the small room. It was like a well choreographed fight scene from an action movie until another head rolled to a stop next to him. 

“What the hell is going on here?” Lee demanded. 

“We can’t explain right now, but I need you to trust me.” The younger man approached him, while his father restrained Y/N. 

“Trust you? You just killed two men and I should trust you?” Lee bellowed. “This is my house and you better explain yourself right now!” 

“Those were not men. They were monsters. They took your girl here and changed her. She’s a monster, just like them. And now, she’ll die, just like them.” The older one spoke, dragging Y/N to a chair and securing her tightly. He pulled his machete from its sheath and lifted it high, ready to swing. 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Just stop! What the hell are you talking about? Tell me now!” Lee demanded. 

“My name is Dean Winchester and this is my dad, John,” Dean said. He then pointed to the headless men on the floor. “Those are, were, vampires. And that is a newborn vampire.” He gestured to Y/N tied to the chair. 

Lee looked at the girl, the woman, he swore to love forever. Her teeth were bared, long blood stained fangs brushing against the soft pink of her lips he had kissed so many times. He looked down at himself, the front of his shirt bright red with blood. Then he remembered she bit him. 

“You bit me?” Lee asked her. 

“You are my first meal, or should have been, if these assholes hadn’t interrupted dinner time,” she laughed. “I was going to feed on you, then turn you so you were like me and we could live forever, fucking and killing, the way it should have been.” 

“What?” Lee asked, still reeling. 

“Vamps think they should rule the world. No cares, just living out their basics instincts, for an eternity,” John announced. 

“Feeding and fucking, “ Dean shrugged, a small smirk on his face. “Now, Y/N, sweetheart, do you have anything you want to say before we chop your head off?” 

“Fuck you!” Y/N spat at the two hunters. She looked to Lee, her teeth returned to normal and smiled sweetly at him, a small glimpse of the girl he loved. “Please don’t tell my mother. Tell her I’m in heaven, please. I’m so sorry, Lee. I really do love you.” 

Lee took one step closer, aching to kiss her once last time.  “Y/N, I’ll love you forever.” 

“Dean, son, take him outside, he doesn’t need to see this,” John ordered his son. 

“Come on, man. Let’s take a walk.” 

Lee hesitated, but Y/N just nodded and smiled. He turned and stepped out into the cool night, Dean by his side. He flinched when he heard a thump from inside the cabin. Their cabin. Where he planned to love her, start a family with her. Funny how forever can be severed by the sharp knife of a short life. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, before letting it out and opening them again. 

He looked down at his shirt with tears in his eyes before looking back up and meeting Dean’s eyes. “That’s...a lot of blood.” Lee dropped to his knees in the dirt.

“You’re going to be okay. Eventually,” Dean told him, pressing a cloth to the side of his neck. “I’m sorry this happened to you, to your girlfriend. Everyone has a story. This is how yours starts.”

~*~

Did you like it? The nicest thing you can do for a writer is reblog their work and tell them, and others, how much you like it!

~*~

The Whole Enchilada: @iwantthedean​ @dolphincliffs​ @mrswhozeewhatsis​ @flamencodiva​ @blacktithe7​ @evansrogerskitten​ @amanda-teaches​ @hannahindie​ @wotinspntarnation​ @winchesterprincessbride​ @winecatsandpizza​ @kickingitwithkirk​  @wi-deangirl77​ @hobby27​ @mogaruke​ @gh0stgurl​ @alleiradayne​ @idreamofplaid​ @manawhaat​ @crashdevlin​ @thoughtslikeaminefield​ @emoryhemsworth​  @imaginationisgrowth​ @babypieandwhiskey​ @deans-baby-momma​ 

The Dean’s List/Jensen’s Jamboree: @jerkbitchidjitassbutt @dean-winchesters-bacon @maddiepants  @adoptdontshoppets @supernatural-jackles @fandom-princess-forevermore @akshi8278 @thing-you-do-with-that-thing @deanwanddamons

[corpse--diem]

Haunted Hallways | Jasmine & Erin

TIMING: Current PARTIES: @halequeenjas & @corpse–diem SUMMARY: Jasmine shows Erin around a new apartment when they’re interrupted by an old friend.

It was interesting how time could keep moving and stand still all at the same time. Weeks had gone by since her world had all but gone up in flames but the world kept going. Still pushed forward. So Erin had to keep moving with it, and by the time the opportunity came to look for a new apartment, it made all the sense in the world to jump on it. Nic and Skylar had been more than gracious allowing her to stay with them as long as they had but she needed her space. Always had. Especially now, given that some lunatic felt comfortable just waltzing in and burning down buildings she frequently inhabited. The door was already open when she approached the apartment building her new realtor, a Ms. Jasmine Hale, had picked out. From the outside, the place seemed nice enough. Seemed like a place she could exist, at first glance, even if only temporarily. “Hello?” She called out, knocking on the open door before she saw the other woman. Greeting her with a smile, Erin reached out her hand. “Jasmine?” She asked tentatively. “Erin Nichols. It’s nice to meet you, finally! Sorry, I hope I’m not too late. The fog out there is extra wicked today. I had to take my time getting here,” she apologized with a crinkle of her nose.

As Jasmine had rushed up to the apartment she was showing her new client, she was grateful Erin had yet to arrive. One of the stupid floating fish had been circling her Jag and she wasn’t about to become some fish’s dinner. Being late was never a good look for a professional and she wasn’t in the business of wasting people’s time. Just as she was about to head up and place some wards around and scope out the scene, she heard her name. Crap. She threw on her megawatt smile anyway and extended her hand to shake. “Yes, it’s me. Good to meet you in person, Erin.” This fog did really put a damper on the whole driving thing and the fish were weird. With a laugh, she responded, “Oh yeah, the fog is a doozy. Really uncharacteristic for it to be this thick, but better to drive safely.” She kept her face bright and smile winning to not give way to the nerves that were boiling underneath. Larry Bob was likely to show his pathetic, scraggly face to blow this rental for her. She had to hide the horrified look on her face as she opened the door and saw the stripes. She could spin this. “As you can see, this place is really into modern decor, but I think the floor plan and price here is what the real winner is.”

Jasmine was as chirpy and bright as Erin expected any good realtor to be. Not unpleasantly, though, like how an overzealous salesperson could drown you in big grins and enthusiasm. Jasmine was teeming with all of that stuff too, that much was obvious, but Erin could still breathe. She appreciated that. “Good to meet you too--” Erin started, the smile she returned drooping into a slacked jaw she couldn’t stop. Black and white stripes. Everywhere. “Christ,” she mumbled under her breath, the unexpected bold lines making her squint. There was something innately familiar about this scene she couldn’t put her finger on. Probably saw something like it in a magazine at one point. “Modern decor is…” she started, shrugging when nothing positive came to mind immediately. “Well, it’s something, alright. Definitely not my area of expertise.” Didn’t find a lot of that in a funeral home, that was for sure. With a chuckle, she raised an eyebrow in Jasmine’s direction but slowed her movements until she came to a complete stop, gesturing towards the stripes that felt like they were swallowing them whole the farther they went. “I’ve got to be honest, if the apartment looks anything like this hallway, I’m going to save you the trouble and stop the tour right now. This is…” she grimaced, shaking her head. “Like, a lot.”

Modern decor was one of her personal areas of expertise, but this definitely wasn’t it. Still, Jasmine could spin this. They’d both driven all the way out here in the crazy fog and from the video tour, the apartment itself looked darling. “I’ll admit, the exterior is a little loud for my tastes, but that’s not where most people spend a lot of their time… well, unless you like hanging in hallways but that seems weird so,” she explained with a shrug as she led them to the unit in question. Internally, she pleaded that they hadn’t decided to redecorate the interior of the unit as well. As she opened the door to the apartment, she let out a breath of relief. Totally normal just as she had planned. “See, definitely different from the hallway. I think too many buildings are trying to be trendy nowadays, but the floorplan here is amazing. You’ve got all this open space, but let’s take a look around. I always like to end with the kitchen-- if it turns out they didn’t clean something right, you don’t wanna deal with the smell the whole time you’re perusing the place.”

Oh, thank God. This whole set-up was a temporary solution--somewhere to stay while Erin waited for the insurance to kick in and the (hopeful) rebuilding to start. But even temporarily staring at an apartment that looked like the hallway was absolutely out of the question. “Oh, no, you’re so right. This is great,” she exclaimed with genuine surprise and relief. Way better than the other apartments she’d found looking on her own, anyway. “I honestly don’t need anything too fancy. If everything goes to plan, this should be temporary. I should mention that, shouldn’t I? And it’s just me and my cat, anyway. Well, and sometimes my boyfriend, but I’m usually at his place. Indoor pool guy--need I say more?” She raised a playful brow, grinning. “Pets are okay too, right?” She asked, though her attention drifted to the windows in the living room. Not a great view she determined, but not bad either. Decent enough for temporary. What felt like a small gust of wind moved past her--barely detectable if it wasn’t for the temperature. Like someone had opened a freezer right in her face. “Oh, is it always this cold? How’s the heating?” she asked, turning to Jasmine again, following closely behind as she did her thing.

There was a bright smile on her face as she saw Erin look around seemingly happy. Jasmine knew this would be a perfect spot. Nice open floor plan, decent storage space, a nice view from the window-- and for a fair price? Who wouldn’t love this place? If she wasn’t already living in her perfect waterfront home on Harris Island, she’d have snagged this place up. “I do try to make it a habit of being right,” she joked although if she was being honest, she actually meant that statement. “I think this might be the spot for you then. Not overly fancy, but still very comfortable and a practical price. And wait… isn’t indoor pool guy the one who eats water with his cereal?” Men really needed to be stopped sometimes. Water in cereal when milk wasn’t even expensive. It was definitely gross and she definitely judged him a little for it. Still, she recovered with a laugh and said, “But indoor pool. Sure it makes staying there more fun.” She’d looked over the details carefully before showing this place even if she did somehow miss the striped hallway. “Yep, cats are totally welcome! They don’t even charge pet rent,” she answered as she felt a familiar cold sensation. Oh no. She swore she would throw Larry Bob out of existence as she cursed under her breath. She clutched the bag of salt in her purse and looked around carefully only to be shocked to find a ghost that was surprisingly not Larry Bob. “Oh my god, I totally have to show you the bathtub. It’s right over there,” she gestured and quickly threw a dash of salt at the tacky ghost in the Hawaiian shirt. Who dodged her. Of freaking course!

It’d been a few years since Erin had lived in an apartment on her own, and while the circumstances that had brought her here weren’t ideal, it was a little exciting. Something of her own again. Something that wasn’t passed down and filled with ghosts of a family that no longer lived there. This could be hers, for as little or as long as she had, and the thought was a welcome one. Jasmine’s upbeat attitude had a refreshing grounding nature to it. She liked her already. “Ah. You remember that, huh?” she laughed quietly, shaking her head. “The one and the same. Bit of a dumbass--I think the water cereal speaks for itself on that. But he’s a good one,” she said, a teasing fondness in her tone. Good. Betty could live peacefully here too no problem. At this point, she had little doubt about whether or not she would be taking the place. She could picture her curled up at the large window, Nic frying up eggs in the kitchen--oh, she wanted to see the kitchen next. God, it was freezing in here though. Holding her arms against herself, she followed Jasmine, turning her head sharply at the exclamation about the bathtub. “Oh, yeah. Sure,” she nodded, narrowing her eyes.

“Missed me, bitch.”

Was someone else here? A squatter, maybe? The familiar voice, that deep-throated chuckle shook her immediately. She knew that voice somehow. Her mind jumped to Roy and his goons. Was he seriously watching her this intently? How? “Jasmine?” She called out, slowly reaching for the knife in her purse. “Everything alright in--” She saw the bowl of fruit flying straight at them as she turned the corner to the kitchen. An apple smacking her shoulder when she turned and cowered away and that hearty laugh echoed through the apartment.

“Oh hell yeah. That’s what I’m talking about,” the voice boomed. Erin saw the loud Hawaiian shirt first, covered with dry blood that had soaked down from the side of his head. There was still a gash from the baseball bat she had nailed hi No, no, no. This--this wasn’t happening. Dale was dead. Dale was not standing there in her soon to be new kitchen. “...Dale?” His eyes turned dark when they fell on hers. “Miss me, sweetheart?” His grin was as sharp and vile as she remembered, and without missing a beat, he sent one of the pans hanging for show beside the stove hurtling their way.

If it wasn’t Larry Bob, apparently it was some other jackass in a Hawaiian shirt trying to crash her showings. Seriously? Jasmine was fuming now and wanted to smack this ghost into whatever ether it was supposed to be in. She had been pretty sure Erin went to go check out the bathroom, so she was surprised when he asked if she missed him. “I don’t even know you, you absolute creep,” she retorted with a glare on her face as she quickly reached into her bag for her iron rod. The familiar chill had never been comforting to her, but she wouldn’t lose her resolve to a ghost in a tacky shirt.

She saw him ready to throw and apple and her head whipped back to follow it. It clearly wasn’t aimed at her and she gasped when she saw Erin there. Shit. How was she supposed to explain this? “I’m so,” she started but quickly had to dodge a pan. There was a loud crash as it fell to the floor after colliding into the wall. “Oh hell no,” she grumbled, standing taller this time and charging toward the ghost. “You were not invited to this and I don’t know who the hell you think you are. I’d get out of here before I exorcise you out of existence. I know it must be hard to move on stuck in that awful shirt, but trust me, it’s better than what I’ll do to you.” She raced forward ready to whack him with the iron rod, but he dodged out the way, causing her to stumble forward.

Was Jasmine trying to apologize for the big ass bald ghost in the kitchen? Dale. Fucking Dale. Erin didn’t understand the how or why but there he was, and she’d be a liar if the word zombie didn’t cross her mind again. Because here he was, live and in color. She was still trying to wrap her head around it when Jasmine went on the attack. “Jasmine, don’t--” Erin started, but she was insulting the clothes on his back and charging at him anyway. Exorcise? Did she just say exorcise? Sounded like some Blanche-flavored ghost bullshit she wanted nothing to do with. “Don’t worry lady, you’ll have your turn,” he growled, giving Jasmine a good kick from behind after she stumbled forward.

Erin ran forward out of instinct after her, stopping in her tracks when Dale turned around only feet from her now. His smile wicked, verging into a sneer. “Been a while, huh?” He asked, reaching for anything close. Both of their eyes widened for different reasons when he managed to get a hold of a display knife out of it’s holding block. Erin stepped back with every step forward, shaking her head. “No, no, no--you’re dead,” was all she could manage. She was sure of it - she’d burned his body and that ugly blood stained shirt herself. This wasn’t possible. There shouldn’t have been a body to come back, even if this was some sort of zombie situation. But here he was anyway, swinging the blade at her. She stumbled on the pan that he’d tossed earlier, falling back when another swing of his arm narrowly missed. Grabbing it, she used it as a shield when the blade came down, leaving a dent. Fuck. Yep. Didn’t matter how at this point. He was very much real. “Jasmine!” Erin hollered for help, clambering backwards.

The kick in the back she got from this ghosty asshole as she moved forward hurt, but Jasmine wasn’t about to let this rando spirit ruin this showing. She quickly recovered and tightened her grip on the iron rod. A horrified look crossed her face as she realized Erin was charging toward the ghost who was clearly still stuck in a mid life crisis without any salt or iron. “Don’t,” she called out, but it was too late. She was already in range of the Danny Devito knock off and now he was picking up a knife. She swore she’d banish him from existence right now if he used that knife on Erin. That was a $400 chef’s knife and he’d ruin it. Or worse, it’d be stuck in evidence forever. “Hey, asshole, over here,” she called out as she reached out for the salt on the counter. “Maybe next time you choose to haunt a place, stay out of the kitchen you absolute buffoon of a ghost!” She threw a dash of salt at him, which had to sting, but he was still with them. Ugh. She tossed the salt to Erin and raised her iron rod, daring this jackass to take her on.

Salt? What the fuck was she supposed to do with this? Erin racked her brain, trying to remember something Blanche had mentioned about it -- but it seemed to work. His physical form wavered just enough for him to drop the knife and let out a hiss. “God, you fucking b--” He hollered, turning his head to Jasmine, the dried blood on the side of his head the most glaring thing. Erin kicked the knife down the hallway, scrambling to sit up before taking Jasmine’s lead. His fist missed Jasmine when another handful of salt burned his corporeal form and he flickered again, like someone trying to blow out a candle. “You both want to die today? That’s fine by me, chickadee. I’ve got all the time in the fucking world,” he practically snarled, grabbing for Jasmine once he got a hold of himself again.  

It seemed Erin didn’t hesitate too long on the salt. Small miracles were still miracles, but anger rose in Jasmine the moment he grabbed hold of her again. “Oh, hell no. Get your ugly ghost hands off my blouse,” she yelled as she kept her grip solid on the iron rod in her left hand and stabbed it through him. There was something nausea-inducing in the feeling of an iron rod going through his very much solid form, but she could feel that he was a ghost. Plus, the salt had worked on him. The iron did, too, and soon enough after some choice words he faded away. She let out the breath she had been holding before straightening her jacket and blouse and turning to Erin. “Okay, excuse my French here, but what the fuck,” she exclaimed. “It’s clear you know Mr. Wannabe Tommy Bahama over here, so what’s the deal?”

Ghost. Erin definitely heard the word ghost come out of Jasmine’s mouth. Fuck that. Fuck ghosts. Fuck Dale. Thankfully Jasmine shared the same sentiments. With wide-eyes, she watched as he practically dissolved before her eyes, gone as quickly and violently as he’d come. Something told her he wasn’t gone-gone though. The room was still as cold as it had been before, like a slightly wind chill nipping at her skin. Erin shifted uncomfortably, straightening her clothes as she tried to think of an adequate explanation. “He, uh--” Erin cleared her throat, shaking her head. “He was an old co-worker. It didn’t… you know. End well,” she nodded. That was all she needed to know, right? Her eyes narrowed at Jasmine. “How did you know he was a ghost? He was--” she held out a hand, tapping her forearm with her pointer finger. “Tangible. He could hold stuff. I thought they weren’t supposed to do that.”

It dawned on her that she said ghost outloud and Jasmine mentally cursed herself. Thankfully Erin didn’t find the concept to be too far fetched. At the mention of him being an old coworker, she immediately had a kindred feeling. Funny enough, they both had old coworkers as ghosts following them around. “Funny, I’ve got a pain in the ass coworker that’s a ghost, too. Normally, you wouldn’t be able to see yours. I just happened to be ‘blessed’ with the gift of seeing ghosts… and of getting rid of them. Since you’re not totally running for the hills, I’m an exorcist.” At the question of being tangible, she grumbled. She was thoroughly over this whole ghosts being solid thing. “I don’t know what’s going on there, but it’s a thing right now. Ghosts seem to be solid some of the time and I’m not loving it. So no, he’s not supposed to be able to do that and you shouldn’t have been able to see him.” Realizing this ghost had it out for her, she added, “Whatever place you move into, I’m throwing up some wards for you.” Talk about full service realty.

Jasmine’s words did little to comfort Erin, and it was even less of a relief to know that Dale was probably hanging around with her long before this. That cold feeling wasn’t entirely new--just something she’d shrugged off on more than one occasion. Awesome. Her heart was in the process of dropping to her stomach as Jasmine spoke, only perking up at ‘exorcist’. “Right,” she drawled with a hint of unintentional skepticism in her voice. “I hope yours at least shopped at places that weren’t tacky beach gift shops,” she murmured, trying to lighten the tightness suddenly enveloping her chest. Didn’t work as well as she’d hoped. “All I know is that they exist. I’ve never seen one before. Ever,” She said with a sigh, running a frustrated hand through her hair. Is that what Blanche had to endure on a daily basis? She couldn’t blame her for her freakouts if that was the case. “If he’s not supposed to be like that, then how is he like that? And do they always--uh, you know. Look like that?” She gestured towards her head, a reference to the bloody crack in his skull. The one Erin had put there months and months ago. Her heart beat hard again and she started to pick up the dented pan and knife at her feet, wincing at the scuff marks on both. Her eyes filled with fear, jumping back up to Jasmine. “He’s not going to come back, is he?”

It was evident to Jasmine that Erin wasn’t exactly comfortable with this news. Not that she could blame her. It was likely that this tacky ghost had been following her around for longer than she’d known which was far from comforting. “Worse, when he’s off work, he had crocs in 10 different colors,” she joked to keep the mood from getting too heavy. Of course Erin had never seen a ghost before. It wasn’t a gift that most people had and had to be alarming if you weren’t entirely used to it. Hell, even she was alarmed from time to time. “That makes sense, I’m not sure why people can see them now and why they’re solid. Probably some bigger White Crest bullshit like the fog and the mimes. But yeah, they do usually look like that. Well, not that specifically, but any injuries that killed them are still there as a ghost. Not always pretty, but to be fair, I don’t think your guy here was all that pretty to look at when he was alive either.” Jasmine started tidying up a little bit and put the knife back in its rightful spot. Dale had really come in and made a mess of the kitchen. At least no one was hurt. “The iron will have him gone for at least a few hours. Whatever place you pick, I’ll put wards up. Actually, wherever you’re currently staying should have wards, too. It keeps them out.”

Erin tried to laugh at the joke Jasmine volleyed back at her but it came out more like a stunted, heavy breath. “He sounds like the worst kind of person, honestly,” she said a bit distantly, her brow raised in harsh skepticism. Ghosts. Fucking ghosts. Dale’s ghost. It was hard to focus on anything else but those two things right now. How long had he been following her? How the fuck was he solid now suddenly? Skipping town and going into hiding, putting this place behind her just kept looking better and better every day. “Aren’t we just… super lucky to live in a town like this?” She asked, teeth tight against her smile and her fist slightly clenched. God, she was tired. But for all the nonsense they’d just experienced, this apartment fortunately looked just as good as it had before things got weird. “Oh, yeah, please. I’ll take all the wards you can possibly give me. Anything you’ve got. Like, I will personally pay you extra just for the wards,” she said, finally letting out a long breath, trying to think of anything but the sound of her baseball bat crunching skull bone or that toothy grin. He was gone. They were fine. For now. “But that asshole sure as hell isn’t going to stop me from missing out on a great apartment.” She paused a beat, nodding towards Jasmine, a gentler smile finding its way to the surface. “I’ll take it.”

[satonthelotuspier]

I’m not contributing to today’s wangxian week, and I’m doing a double day for spring fest with today and tomorrow’s prompts. Instead, today I offer you my “penance” for the wangxian week day 1 cliffhanger.

“Wei Wuxian, are you OK?” Jiang Cheng asked through the door, and he considered ignoring him like he had when the other had knocked an hour ago. “Wei Wuxian, shall I get A-jie?”

He stopped considering it immediately.

“It’s open, I’m sleeping” he groused, really, using A-jie as a threat to get him to respond was below the belt.

Jiang Cheng opened the bedroom door and walked into his room.

He snorted at Wei Wuxian lying, still fully clothed, dressed exactly as he had been when he’d walked into the house two hours ago, minus only his shoes.

He sat at the foot of Wei Wuxian’s bed and crossed his legs, meaning he was settling in for the long haul, and if Wei Wuxian tried to kick him out he’d just go telling Jiang Yanli on him.

The little snitch.

“So…” Jiang Cheng prompted.

“So what?”

“How did the date go?”

“Don’t you have something else to be doing Jiang Cheng? Seriously? Elsewhere?” he asked in irritation, couldn’t Jiang Cheng just let him lie here and torture himself in peace?

“Nope, I’m good” was of course the answer. Then he turned serious. “I’ll go if you really want Wei Wuxian, but was it really that bad? Did you start arguing again? Did you have a falling out and punch him?”

“I wish” Wei Wuxian exclaimed, but of course he didn’t mean that. He considered for a few seconds actually telling Jiang Cheng to leave, but really, people were going to hear about this sooner or later, better to get it out of the way and limit the damage by telling the story himself.

“It was going fine. I mean, it wasn’t flowing, Lan Zhan is a nightmare in one on one situations because he feels no need to keep his end of the conversation up, but we were muddling through”

“Alright, that sounds as expected” Jiang Cheng acknowledged.

“And then I...I asked him why he hadn’t given the tickets away considering he’s hated me forever” he pushed himself upright, leaning back on his hands.

“Fair question”

“He said he didn’t hate me. He said he’d liked me since we were teenagers. Said that he was in love with me”

Jiang Cheng was speechless, they stared at each other for fully thirty seconds, before he said, “Oh” then; “but that’s good, isn’t it? Surprising, because you always said he hated you, but its good. You like each other. So why are you lying here like someone told you that your fly was unzipped all the way through a court appearance?”

That earned a half-laugh half-grimace.

“Wei Wuxian, tell me you didn’t! You didn’t flash Lan Wangji?”

“What!? No!”

“Then what? What about this usually very good news has you acting like you spilled milk over his prized poodle”

“As if Lan Zhan would own a poodle”

“Rabbit then. It’s beside the point, get to it, Wei Wuxian”

He sucked in a deep breath and let it out on a long sigh.

“I was shocked, Jiang Cheng, really shocked. I’m not lying when I said I thought he’d hated me since we were five years old. So I...kind of said, Oh”

“Well you were shocked” Jiang Cheng soothed, “Then what did you say?”

“I didn’t. I didn’t say anything else. I sort of got up, and knocked the table. So the drinks tipped over and splashed onto him”

Jiang Cheng opened his mouth. Then closed it again.

“OK, that’s rough” he said eventually. “So you were a little embarrassed, but you’ll look back at this and laugh in a few years. Lan Wangji isn’t going to care about a little accident like that is he? You said he loves you”

“Jiang Cheng, I got up to run out. I left him there. I left him there with the fucking bill. And the clean up. And his feelings. Please, just kill me now” he felt the mad plummet of shame and embarrassment again and sat forward to drop his face into his hands.

It took Jiang Cheng a few minutes again, but then he got up, “OK, I think that’s for the best, how do you want me to do it?”

“Honestly there’s no need, I’ll expire soon from remembering what a clown I looked. I tripped over on the way out, to top it all off. I fell over someone else’s chair. I went face first, full sprawl, no disguising it. And he called my name, he sounded worried. Please can I just go back in time to nine months before my birth and tell my parents to use protection, and save the world from inflicting me on it?”

“That was pretty disastrous. But you panicked, right? You do actually like Lan Wangji still? We can rescue this, just talk to him Wei Wuxian”

“Really? Talk to him? Are you insane? Are you listening to the crap coming out of your mouth right now? How can I ever face him again? My only two options are a Face Off operation or just moving to Europe and becoming a painter, I’ll change my name to Jean-Claude and no one will ever find me again”

“Or you could stop being a dramatic bitch and just apologise to him”

“Oh really? And if it was reversed, and it was you who enacted such a blindingly good showing on a first date would you be all, Oh well, never mind I’ll just ring them and apologise”

“Fuck no, I’d have walked out into the rain and died”

“And I’m the dramatic bitch?” Wei Wuxian demanded.

“I was trying to be supportive, but yeah, you fucked up big time. I’m just so thankful I’m not you right now”

“Yes, I’m wishing you were, oddly” they paused as there was soft buzzing from the paper bin near the door.

“Is that your phone?”

“Yes, I haven’t had chance to smash the SIM to pieces yet to enable my escape to the banks of the Seine under my assumed identity”

“You threw your phone in the bin? You’re definitely the dramatic one” he moved over and fished the mobile out of the paper basket.

He looked at it, “Honestly, you’ve been laid there for two hours moping and you didn’t even need to” he tossed the phone across to Wei Wuxian, who caught it reflexively. Jiang Cheng walked to the door and paused briefly to toss over his shoulder, “Don’t screw it up this time. You are such a clown” before leaving him to it. He pulled his tongue out at Jiang Cheng’s retreating back. It helped a little.

Wei Wuxian looked down at the screen of his phone.

Seven missed calls on the quarters of the hour, and two texts.

Wei Ying, are you alright? and Please answer my calls, Wei Ying.

As if the other was psychically aware of the phone being in Wei Wuxian’s hands it began to buzz again.

He hesitated, really did consider leaving it ringing, but really it was grossly unfair to Lan Wangji, who he had already been grossly unfair to tonight.

He swiped the answer button, and pressed it to his ear.

“Lan Zhan?”

“Wei Ying? Are you alright?” he sounded concerned, and Wei Wuxian winced in guilt.

“Nothing but bruised pride, Lan Zhan” he bit his lip briefly, then; “are you in bed? Can you meet me?”

“Yes, please. Lets meet”

“Alright”

****

They had agreed on a meeting in a park located somewhere between their houses. Wei Wuxian found a bench next to the playground. It was eerily deserted being after midnight, and the moon, almost full, bathed the park in it’s soft, white light.

Jiang Cheng was right, he had to not screw this one up, this was his last chance.

He would tell Lan Wangji how he felt about him, and ask if he’d ever considering dating Wei Wuxian again.

What if he says no?

Well, that was possible, but considering what he’d been thinking for the past few hours what did it matter if he did? He’d imagined the other being disgusted at him since he ran out of the restaurant, so it didn’t matter.

“Wei Ying” Lan Wangji’s soft voice and softer tread drew his attention. He looked a little ethereal bathed in the moonlight.

Wei Wuxian stood up to meet the other, then took his hand and drew Lan Wangji to sit next to him on the bench.

“Wei Ying, are you alright?” he asked again, and Wei Wuxian nodded, feeling another twinge of guilt.

“I am, Lan Zhan. I am so, so sorry about how I acted tonight. I have absolutely no excuse, or any idea what came over me. I was supposed to be taking you on a date, and I ran out and left you with the bill and all the embarrassment”

“That doesn’t matter” Lan Wangji dismissed, “I’m sorry if I overstepped the boundary tonight, Wei Ying. I shouldn’t have said anything about how I felt, considering our past relationship, It was selfish of me”

Wei Wuxian was almost shocked speechless. He found his voice quickly though, “What?! No!” he shook his head and squeezed the hand in his, which seemed to surprise Lan Wangji, as if he’d forgotten they were still holding hands. “It wasn’t selfish at all, like you say, what were you meant to do if I never gave you chance to speak to me before? I really wish I had, though, Lan Zhan, because I’ve been in love with you for a long time. We’d have saved a lot of pining if I had let you talk”

That seemed to startle Lan Wangji even more, and he reeled back a little, “But...you said…”

“Yes, apparently it was always about trying to get your attention. Don’t you know that?”

“So why did you run tonight?”

“Shock? Stupidity? Panic? I genuinely did think you hated me, I wasn’t lying about that”

“I’m sorry”

“What for? If I didn’t give you the chance to say any different how can it be your fault Lan Zhan? I asked you here to ask for your forgiveness for tonight, not to guilt you about what happened years ago, so lets not worry about that OK?” Lan Wangji gave a single, affirmative nod.

“Wei Ying, do you really like me?” he asked eventually, and Wei Wuxian nodded too.

“Yes, I do. If I asked you seriously, would you consider giving me another chance to take you on a first date? I promise not to show you up again, if you do. Well, no more than usual in my company anyway. We can wait until you’re ready if you want…”

Lan Wangji suddenly cupped Wei Wuxian’s face with both of his hands, they were large and warm in the chill of the night air, “I’m free later” he said simply, then; “may I kiss you, Wei Ying?”

In answer Wei Wuxian leaned forward and initiated the kiss. It took Lan Wangji a little by surprise, but he relaxed almost immediately and allowed Wei Wuxian to lead, letting go of his face and resting his hands on Wei Wuxian’s shoulders as they tasted each other.

Wei Wuxian pulled back eventually, and Lan Wangji looked at him from under lowered lids, lips slightly parted and gleaming damply in the moonlight.

“Again?” Wei Wuxian asked, and Lan Wangji nodded.

“Again, Wei Ying” he agreed, and their lips met and clung a second time.

[soft-stormcloud]

Falling in Love [Royality]

They met outside of a dress shop.

Roman and his friends were passing it when Patton came out, arms full of shopping bags. He was a little flushed, barely noticing them as he started past.

And, of course, Roman had to ask, “Those for a girlfriend?”

Patton had stopped, looking back nervously. He knew he could lie, he knew he should tell the truth; He didn’t say anything.

Roman smiled as his friends rolled their eyes behind him. He shoved his hands in his pockets, his breath fogging against the cold. “They’re for you?” Patton nodded shakily. “Cool. I’m Roman. Want to get a hot chocolate?”

It was like this a lot, and Logan and Virgil never minded. Roman fell easily, and they liked watching it. So when Patton nervously asked about his friends, Virgil had laughed and said he planned on ditching him anyway.

Roman smiled as Patton whined over his burnt tongue in the café. He was so cute, golden hair sticking out in tufts under a white beanie, face still red from the cold. They spent a while talking and laughing, much after they’d finished their drinks, and made plans for lunch later than week. That night, Roman flopped back on the couch, groaning with his head in Logan’s lap, and giddily recalled every moment.

For their lunch date, Patton wore one of the dresses he’d bought- A white one, with black polka dots. He was practically shaking with nervousness as they walked into the restaurant, but Roman slipped his hand into Patton’s and grinned. Patton’s face flushed bright red.

They talked for a while; They talked about Patton’s brothers, and how he hadn’t visited his family in a while and he missed them; About Roman trying to turn his writing into a career, and he worked at a Barnes & Noble for now to keep things together; About their first boyfriends, and a few of Patton’s girlfriends; About Patton being gender fluid and that for him it meant he felt like a boy almost all the time but he still loved conventionally feminine clothes; About how handsome Roman looked; About No, Patton, you’re prettier.

They talked as long as they could, but eventually Roman had to go back to work.

Patton had groaned and complained, “I don’t want to wait another few days to talk to you! Can I have your phone number?”

What had started out as a text every half hour during work quickly turned into four every minute; Over a week, they evolved into phone calls on speaker because they couldn’t stop talking to clean or make food; Over a month, they sent regular videos and Roman spent half his time at Patton’s apartment.

One night, Roman wanted to spend a night in, so he invited Patton over to his apartment for dinner and a few movies. Roman had made a home-cooked meal that Patton adored, gushing over him the entire time, and they cleaned the kitchen together. Patton got soapy water everywhere and Roman kept slipping. Afterwards, they moved to the living room, where Patton begged for them to watch a horror movie Patton hadn’t gotten the chance to watch yet. Roman had been nervous, but agreed. He was never good with horror movies, but Patton had looked so excited.

Patton grinned proudly and made grabby hands until Roman settled on the couch next to him. As the movie played on, Roman got progressively nervous, until he was pressed right against Patton’s side. Patton cooed over him, kissing over his face and hugging him.

Roman ended up with his face pressed into Patton’s neck, giggling every time Patton kissed his head. When the movie was over, Roman peeked his head up and blinked around, disorientated. Patton couldn’t help but grin.

“Roman?” He mumbled, resting his hands on the sides of his neck. “Is it alright if I kiss you?”

Roman’s face had turned bright red, smiling uncontrollably. He nodded happily, and Patton leaned in, pressing their lips together softly. Roman let out a little whine and pulled Patton closer. Patton spent the night, Roman too afraid from the movie to be left alone, and they slept happily cuddled together.

When Roman woke up to the sun sneaking through the windows, Patton tucked against his chest and dressed in one of Roman’s shirts, Roman’s chest filled with glowing happiness.

The next weekend, Roman felt like he would explode if he didn’t dispose of some of his festering emotions- Both good and bad -so he threw a party. He invited Virgil, Logan, and Patton, told them he could invite whoever they wanted, and invited some of his artist and theatre friends. Patton was the first to show up, dressed in a pastel blue flare skirt and a pretty black sweater. He insisted on helping set up the party, and greeted Virgil and Logan when they later arrived with giddy happiness, bouncing on his toes and offering both of them hugs. He squealed in delight when Virgil accepted, tucking his head to his shoulder.

People began arriving fairly quickly; This wasn’t the first of Roman’s parties and people always tended to have fun. For the most part, Virgil and Logan would stick together, while Roman flitted around the room like an excitable butterfly, but Patton managed to keep them all together without anyone getting bored or uncomfortable.

Logan rolled his eyes as Roman set up the karaoke machine, a bunch of people cheering and rushing to get their place. Roman started them off, of course, but instead of flaunting in his usual spotlight for his newest boyfriend, he offered a duet, to which Patton happily agreed. Sometimes Patton was off pitch and Roman did tend to project just a bit too loud, but they were smiling the entire time and they occasionally blended flawlessly.

Logan, Virgil, Patton, and a few others stayed behind after to help clean up, and when Patton stepped out to take out the trash, Virgil and Logan immediately jumped on Roman. They gushed and gushed over how much they loved Patton; Logan pointed out precise actions, words, and characteristics that he found ideal; Virgil rambled and talked himself into corners, constantly using the word “perfect.” By the time they stopped, Patton was back, standing there with a huge smile and tears in his eyes.

Virgil flushed crimson and Logan stuttered a bunch, but Patton just rushed forward and planted a kiss on Roman’s lips. They laughed, and went back to cleaning.

It was a month later, in the thick of January, when they started leaving notes around. Roman had been having a rough day; He’d bombed an audition, run into a massive case of writer’s block, got an awful review on a short story he’d posted, and everything he tried to create turned out like crap. Patton came over, worried when Roman ignored all of his texts, to find him hunched over his laptop, on the verge of a panic attack.

Patton made him something to eat and dragged him practically kicking and screaming away from the laptop to cuddle and nap. Patton woke him up after an hour and had him tell Patton about his day, what was wrong, and how could he help? Patton stuck around for a little bit longer after Roman went back to work, in case he started to get overwhelmed again, but inevitably went home. Roman was about to make dinner when he found the note stuck to the fridge.

Hello, my prince! You better be about to make something to eat! I know today was hard but you’re still the bravest, smartest, most creative person I know and I love you! If you come over tomorrow, we can take a day off and watch movies and stuff. Please don’t work too late! Get some sleep!

<3 Patton

The next day, after hours of Disney movies and cookies, Roman went to hug Patton, only to stuff a note in his back pocket. Patton yelped, squeaking out, “Hey!” Roman had chuckled and kissed him softly, and Patton melted into it.

Patton texted Roman a few hours later,

Oh, I see! It’s on! >:D <3

From then on, notes were scattered everywhere. They sometimes found notes weeks old, but every time they got huge, giddy smiles and didn’t stop thinking about it for the rest of the day.

On Valentine’s Day, Patton woke up before Roman and slipped out of bed to sneak down to his car and retrieve Roman’s present. He hid it in the kitchen and got back into bed. Later, when Roman was fixing his hair and getting ready for their date, Patton presented the flower crown. It was made of deep, rich red roses. Roman lit up when he saw it; He changed his whole outfit to coordinate with it.

They spent all day out; Roman took him to the park to feed the birds, to lunch at a quiet restaurant, to an outdoor concert where they picked dandelions, and back to the park to stargaze with a picnic they packed together. Patton introduced Roman to everyone they talked to as his prince.

Patton slowly became more and more a part of the group. He lasted as Roman’s longest relationship and longer. He was able to give Logan attention on subjects the other two didn’t understand or weren’t interested in, and could comfort Virgil with anxieties the others couldn’t relate to. He made them all ridiculously happy, and he loved them just as much.

Roman fell easily; Logan and Virgil were both aware of this, and adored him for it. There was nothing sweeter than watching Roman fall in love.

If you like my work, please consider donating a few bucks to my PayPal (paypal.me/chemically) or Venmo (maxgraybooks)

[ohh-baekhyun]

Fallen too Far [M]

Foreword: I knew I wasn’t allowed to feel this way towards Baekhyun. He was my sugar daddy, while me? I was just his baby girl. But, when you spent nearly every day with someone like him, falling in love was inevitable. And now that my feelings were off and running, there’s no choice but to go along for the ride.

Genre: daddy kink, fluff, romance, one-shot.

[M]: whipping (ish), dirty-talk, rough sex, orgasm denial.

(gif credit : @/kamikoy)

I was in the middle of cleaning the dishes when their laughters entered the kitchen for the umpteenth time that night. My bottom lip juts forward in a pout, and I carried on scrubbing the dirty pan, more vigorously now.

Two days ago, Baekhyun’s best friend paid a sudden visit to surprise him for his birthday. Out of panic, he’d introduced me as his housemaid since he wanted to keep our ddlg relationship a secret. That was how I ended up here, in the kitchen, doing chores like a maid would.

I was hurt, of course. He could’ve introduced me as his girlfriend, or a friend at least, but a maid? Do I mean so little to him?

Sometimes, I wondered if I was still just the sugar baby to him. While he still had a headache from half the thing I did to get his attention, I knew for a fact that I made him happy, just as he made me happy too. And to me, he wasn’t just the Daddy anymore. He meant so much more than that. We’d been in this relationship for nearly six months, and when you spend that much time being pampered and coddled by someone like Baekhyun, falling in love is inevitable. No matter how hard you try to stop your feeling from growing, you just can’t, just like how you can’t stop your heart from beating.

I knew I wasn’t allowed to feel this way towards him, that was part of the agreement. If Baekhyun ever found out, my contract might be terminated and he would have to look for a new sugar baby to replace me.

Just the thought of losing him made me sick in the gut.

I suddenly felt angry at myself for letting my feeling build when there was clearly no foundation to stand on. More than that, Baekhyun had made it clear from the start that he wanted no emotional attachment between us. There was no way he’d let our relationship evolved into something more than what we had right now.

My mind was getting carried away by thoughts that I didn’t realize the plate had slipped off my grasp. Until the sound of breaking glass hit my ears, and I flinched backward in shock.

“Oh crap.” I muttered softly, my gaze dropping to the shattered glass on the floor.

“What the hell happened?” Baekhyun’s voice burst into the kitchen a second before he did. His brows furrowed when he found the wreckage I’d caused, then his gaze flew to me. “Are you okay?”

“I’m so sorry,” I said, and without much thought, dropped to my knees and started gathering the mess.

“Don’t touch that—“

Too late.

Just as the words fell from of his mouth, I felt a scrape on my finger that made me wince, and my hand drawing away in reflex.

“Shit. Are you bleeding?” Baekhyun asked as he hurried towards me. “Give me your hand.” He dropped to his knees and took my hand in his for inspection. There was a splinter of glass in my forefinger and I saw blood slowly trickling around the shard. He sighed, looking at me now. “See what happens when you don’t listen?”

This was the first time he talked to me since his best friend’s arrived. Part of me was glad to finally get his attention. I’d been so deprived of it these few days. But it irked me that he was looking so unhappy.

“Why are you getting upset when I’m the one who is injured here?” I protested.

If Baekhyun was surprised by my outburst, he didn’t show it, instead his eyes softened at me in such a way that melt me through and through. “Does it hurt a lot, baby?”

He called me baby in that voice of his, it was taking every ounce of restraint to stop myself from hugging him right there. If only we were alone...

“Baekhyun oppa, is everything okay?”

And there she is...

We brought our gaze towards the owner of the voice, Jisoo. She stopped at the doorway, glancing between me and Baekhyun before landing his gaze on our hands.

“Oh dear,” she grimaced at the sight of blood on my finger. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah.” I gave her a small, reassuring smile. “I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not.” Baekhyun opposed with such a firm tone that it startled me, and I caught the confusion in Jisoo’s expression as she watched us.

I gave Baekhyun a look, my brows drawing together as if asking What the hell are you doing?

Much to my relief, someone’s phone started ringing. “That’s mine,” Jisoo announced before dissappearing into the living hall, leaving me and Baekhyun behind.

“Are you trying to blow our cover?” I asked in a loud whisper, glancing furtively over his shoulder to make sure no one heard us.

“You need to get your hand treated.” He said, gently pulling me up to my feet. “Get in your room and wait for me there.”

“No need. I can handle myself.” I peeled my hand away from his grasp, only to earn a warning glare from him that made me swallow in retreat. “W-what about the dishes?” I gestured towards the sink.

“I said get in your room, do you hear me?” Baekhyun said, his voice exerting dominance; his expression so deadly serious that I had no choice but to submit.

“Yes, Daddy.”

While waiting for Baekhyun, I sat in bed and checked the payment statement I’d just receive today. Uni was reopening in three weeks time, which mean my tuition fee was due soon.

I reached for my phone and clicked on the ibanking app to view my account. Once the page loaded, I blinked and blinked and blinked, surprised by the increasing digits in my savings. I didn’t have to check my transaction history to find out who the sender was. Baekhyun must’ve read the letter before I did, seeing that the envelope was unsealed when I found it on the coffee table this morning.

I felt a mixed of gratefulness and unease in my chest. Ever since Baekhyun made me his baby girl, I didn’t have to worry about not having enough to pay for my bills, rent, or anything. He made sure I had everything I needed, even things I didn’t need—frivolous things. My monthly allowance was thrice as much as my earnings back when I used to take up three part time jobs. I’d resigned as per Baekhyun’s request since he wanted me available every time he needed me, especially during the weekend. He wouldn’t meddle with my uni schedule though. In fact, he was very supportive of my study, which was why this arrangement was beneficial for me. Because not only did I get focus on my study, I get to also spend more time with Baekhyun.

However, this arrangement was a temporary thing.

Sooner or later, as much as I hate to admit it, Baekhyun would get bored of me and leave, like he did to his ex baby girls. And when the day came, I would have to take up those jobs again to fund myself. Or maybe, looked for a new Daddy to sponsor me. Though I doubt I would get over Baekhyun so easily. I’d be so heartbroken for months, years or forever maybe.

I threw my phone along with the envelope across the bed and curled on my side holding one of my plush toys. Funny how heartache can make you feel so...lifeless.

A short moment later, I sat up at the sound of the door opening. Entering the room was Baekhyun, holding a first-aid kid in his hand. He was still wearing his work attire, minus the jacket, just a white dress shirt with the top buttons undone. We stared at each other, and the softness in his gaze told me he wasn’t as upset anymore. My lips stretched up into a smile, and as soon as the door was closed and locked, I rose from the bed and scurried towards him like a puppy would when their owner returned home.

“Daddy!” I called out sweetly, my arms stretching out to pull him into a big big hug. I heard his low chuckle sounding above my head as I nuzzled my face into his chest. Two days of being mentally apart had made me so deprived of his touch; his affection; him. “I really really miss you.”

His lips brushed over my hair and he pressed a long kiss on the crown of my head. “Come on baby girl,” he whispered, “let daddy take care of your wound.”

I glanced up at him. “What if Jisoo finds out you are here?”

“She just went out.” He said, and I can’t stop my smile from widening. He chuckled at my excitement before saying, “Get on the bed.”

Feeling mischievous, I buried my face in his chest and shook my head. “Don’t want.”

“What do you mean don’t want?” He said, to which I simply giggled. “Are you trying to be naughty again?” this time he was pushing forward so I was walking backwards with my arms clinging onto his waist. Our giggles filled the room and we drew to a halt when the back of my knees touched the bed.

“Sit down.” he ordered softly.

I peered up from his chest, smiling sweetly at him and asked, “Can I sit on Daddy’s lap?”

He raised his eyebrows. “Where’s your please?”

“Please?” I asked, tilting my head to the side.

Baekhyun eventually gave a mild nod in approval. I beamed as he lowered himself on the bed, setting the kit aside before tapping on his thigh to motion me to sit. But as soon as I sat my bum on his lap, he faked a low groan in the back of his throat. “Ugh, so heavy.”

“Daddyy!” I whined, pushing at his chest playfully. “You’re so mean.”

He simply grinned as he extended a hand towards me. “Let me see your hand.”

I gave him my injured one and he held it up to his eye level to examine. Though the cut was deep, the blood around the gash has dried up, so it wasn’t as painful anymore.

“I just need a plaster.” I told him.

He shook his head as he stared at my finger. “Daddy needs to clean your wound before it gets infected.”

My face turned pale at that. “Are you going to use that...uh...that liquid thingy that stings a lot?”

Baekhyun chuckled at my description, staring at me now. “Peroxide you mean?”

I made a pout with my lips. “It’s going to hurt so bad.”

“I know, baby.” He sighed, eyes filled with concern at my apparent distress. “Just bear it for a while, okay?” I gave a meek nod, and he smiled softly at me. “Good girl.”

I tried not to cower while watching Baekhyun dug into the first-aid kit as he gathered things he needed to dress my wound. He looked at me again once he was done soaking the cotton ball. I was already grimacing before it even started. His free hand came to rest on the back of my head and he caressed me there, “I’ll be gentle, I promise.”

With reluctance, I offered him my hand and looked away when I saw that he was about to start. Shortly after, I felt the cotton gently swapping over my finger. It didn’t hurt at first, but as soon as the liquid penetrated into my skin, I felt the painful sting that made me squeeze my eyes close and winced. Tears began to well in my eyes, and with another swap, they rolled down my cheek like a waterfall. I buried my face in his chest as I weep quietly.

“I’m almost done.” Baekhyun murmured, brushing of his thumb over my palm to soothe me. The pain was beginning to ease, and my crying was slowly drawing to a halt. I kept my face planted in his hard chest to hush my shuddering gasps. After he was done wrapping a plaster around my finger, his arms went around me and I felt his soft lips on my temple as he pressed a kiss there. “It’s okay now.” He whispered.

I lifted my head to reveal my tear-streaked face. He chuckled, shaking his head at me as he cupped my cheek with both hands, “You’re like a baby, you know?” he teased, wiping away the remnant of tears that lingered under my eyes.

“But I am your baby.” I argued lightly.

“You’re right.” he huffed with a soft smile on his face. “My naughty little baby.”

I wrinkled my nose at him without disagreeing because he wasn’t wrong. I can be very naughty sometimes.

Baekhyun continued brushing my wet cheeks with his thumbs, his warm eyes studying every inch of my feature. But later, as if something struck him, he narrowed his eyes at me. “You can’t be doing this deliberately to get my attention, right?”

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Did you hurt yourself on purpose?”

My frown deepened. “Why would you say that?”

He lifted his brows to his forehead, “You’ve pulled this stunt before, remember?”

Ah...right...

I’d once faked a sickness just so he would take the day off to take care of me. He had an important meeting that he cancelled because of me. I remembered how furious he was when he found out I was lying. My buttcheek paid a high price for that mistake and the lesson was received loud and clear.

Baekhyun tapped on my cheek to pull me out of my daze. I blinked at him, and presently, his expression had grown more serious. “Did you or did you not hurt yourself on purpose?” He asked again.

I sulked, looking away unhappily. Although he has every right to be suspicious since it happened before, my feeling was still hurt because he didn’t trust me.

At my prolonged silence, he grunted. “Are you going to answer or do I have to put you over my knees to find out?”

“I didn’t do it on purpose, it was an accident.” I mumbled reluctantly, still not looking at him.

“I can’t hear you, little one.”

In the heat of the moment, I threw him a glare. “I told you it was a fucking accident! Are you deaf or something?” I yelled, not realizing what I’d done until I saw the fierce, warning look on Baekhyun’s face. Oh God. I pressed my lips together and dropped my gaze submissively. The silence that stretched made my heart thrummed with fear. I felt his gaze on me even though I wasn’t looking at him. He must be thinking of a severe punishment for me, knowing how much he hated it when I cursed.

And I was right...

“Get up.” He ordered, and I scrambled off his lap in no time. Once I was standing up, he stared up at me. “Clothes off and stand against the wall. You have five seconds.”

Baekhyun began the countdown as I hurried to do as told. The second he hit one, I was already standing with my back against the wall, bare-skinned from head to toe. He pierced his dark gaze onto me as he bent forward to rest his elbows on each side of his knees. I gulped, and my fingers started to fiddle with themselves. The man might look calm on the outside, but the dark aura he exuded told me he was anything but. He was so fucking pissed, I can tell.

“Tell me what you did wrong?” He started gruffly, his eyes never left mine.

“I raised my voice at Daddy.” I admitted.

He raised his brows. “That’s all?”

“–and curse too.” I added.

He hummed. “Tell me how should Daddy punish you then?”

“You…” I hesitated, “you should spank me.”

Baekhyun chuckled humorlessly, shaking his head in disagreement. “I don’t think spanking works anymore.” He lift himself off the bed and stalked toward me. “You’ve been spanked so many times yet you never seem to learn your lesson.”

I gasped when he started unbuckling his belt in front of me. God, is he going to whip me with that? Although Baekhyun had always been strict with his punishments, he had never used a tool to hit me before. My punishment had always been a spanking, or sometimes he’d make me come so many times I had to beg him to stop because I couldn’t take it anymore—something he called overstimulation. I don’t know if I can handle being whipped.

“D-daddy…” I whimpered when he looped the leather around his hand. He looked at me again, and my heart rate accelerated in that second. “Are...are you going to hit me with that?” I asked timidly.

He hummed, and I let out a shaky breath when he swayed his hand back in preparation. “Next time you think about misbehaving again,remember this—” He grunted, whipping the leather strap across my thigh with force, causing me to cry out in pain.

His own breathing was heavy, and he had his lower lip caught in between his teeth as he daggered his dark gaze into mine. Is it wrong to think to think that he looked so hot when he is angry? Is it wrong for me to be turned on right now? I felt a little giddy inside, and I can’t help the growing slickness in between my legs.

“Does it hurt?” he asked me, and I gave a timid nod. “Good,” He said, swaying his hand back again. “That’ll teach you not to be so fucking rude to your Daddy.” He drew in a sharp breath before swinging his hand forward again. I shut my eyes close and whimpered at another hard slap that landed on the side of my thigh.

There’s a beat of silence afterwards, and I kept my eyes closed. But they flew open in a snap when I felt a rough grip on my chin. One blink at his handsome feature, our body collided and his mouth came slamming down on mine. His tongue swept into my mouth, and he made a low grunt in the back of his throat as he bit down on my lip. Hard. The pain made me whimper, and his grip around my chin grew tight. His mouth tugged at my upper lips, and he sucked on the flesh before thrusting his tongue through my opening to attack mine. There was nothing gentle about the kiss and as strange as it sounded, I was so immensely turned on by this. I grabbed onto his biceps, holding on for dear life as his mouth continued to assault mine.

Much to my discontent, Baekhyun broke the kiss and drew back to meet my eyes. We were both breathing heavily, and I watched him as he began unwinding the belt that was wrapped around his hand. Is he done with me? I thought to myself.

As if answering my silent question, Baekhyun seized my hand and began fastening the strap my wrists. “Lift your arms.” He ordered once he was done tying me up. I was puzzled, but I did it anyway. He then pushed his knee in between my thigh and nudge them apart, all the while staring at me. “I’m not done punishing you.”

I shivered at the way his gaze smoldered for me, like he was angry and turned on both at the same time. I expected my punishment to be a spanking, instead, he slipped a hand in between my legs and without warning, pushed two fingers into my wet cunt. “Daddy...” I moaned, my walls clenching tightly around his thick digits.

“Fucking slut,” He bit out harshly. “Did you enjoy being punished that much, huh?” He withdrew his fingers slowly and lift it up to show me his juice coated digits. “See how bloody wet you are?” I visibly blushed, and that made him sneer. “Open your mouth.” He commanded. And when I complied, he brought his fingers closer to my opening. “Suck it clean.” 

Like an obedient pet that I was, I did as he told me to. Tilting my head just slightly, I took his fingers into my mouth and flicked my tongue around them to lick away my own wetness. I felt a little scandalized at the fact that I was tasting myself, but I can’t deny how insanely hot this actually was.

Baekhyun gnawed on his bottom lip as he watched me, his pupils dilating at the sight of me sucking on his fingers so eagerly like they were his cock. His own breathing was growing heavier by the second, and as if his control snapped, he withdrew his fingers abruptly and dived in to kiss me again. Just like before, his kiss was rough and punishing. However it didn’t last long this time. I whined in protest when our lips detached, which resulted in a hard slap across my breast that caused me to yelp.

“Quiet.” Baekhyun growled, and I had to clamp my lips together to stifle my whimper. “I told you I’m not done punishing you.” He said. His other hand went to unzip his pant, pulling it down so his erection bobbed freely.

I gulped, my inner walls clenching and unclenching on its own accord at the sight of his thick cock.

“Eyes on me.” He ordered, and I lifted my gaze to meet his fierce one. He stepped closer and moved a hand up to rest on the nape on my neck, his thumb applying a light pressure to my windpipe. I choked slightly, and held my breath when he positioned his cock to my pussy, “You are not allowed to come unless I said so.” He said, rubbing my wet slit with the tip. “Do you understand me?”

“Yes.”

“Yes, what?” He barked.

I drew in a shuddering breath before muttering, “Y-yes, Daddy.”

With that, Baekhyun grunted and slammed his cock into me with such strength, my head flew back against the wall with a loud cry. He hissed through his clenched jaw at the way my walls squeezed tightly around his thick length. “Always so tight for Daddy.” He leaned in to press his lips against mine while his cock withdrew slowly. He gnawed on my lower lip, tugging at it before letting go and burying his cock deep in my pussy again. I let out a long moan, tears teasing my eyes at the sweet pain he was granting me.

“Tell me who’s this pussy made for?” He whispered huskily over my lips. 

“Daddy,” I whispered back in a shaky breath. “Just for Daddy.”

“That’s right.” He pulled out of me again. “It’s made just for Daddy to fuck.” He growled and thrust all the way in, filling my cunt with his thick shaft. I screamed in pleasure and my mind went blank for a beat. “Do you like having Daddy’s cock in your pussy like this?”

When I gave a jerky nod, his lips twitched into a dark smirk and he put more pressure to his grip around my neck. I gasped softly, and he began ramming his cock in and out of me, grunting hard with each thrust. My breasts bounced freely, and he dipped in to take my nipple into his mouth, sucking and flicking his tongue around my bud. It wasn’t long until my inner muscle started to throb around his dick at the heightened pleasure.

“D-daddy...” I moaned. “Can I–can I cum? Please?”

“Don’t you dare cum.” He warned, clenching his jaw tightly as he continued pounding into me mercilessly. The slick noises of his cock leaving and entering my wet cunt blended with the sound of our lewd moans. If someone was home, they’d be able to hear us loud and clear.

When my arms started to turn sore, I dropped them so they were circled around Baekhyun’s neck with my wrists still tied together. He bent down to carry my wobbly legs, wrapping them around his hips before pistoning into my wet cunt again. I cried out loud. This new position caused the tip of his cock to hit me precisely on my sweet spot. I was on the verge of my orgasm, I can feel it. And it felt like the knot in my stomach could snap anytime soon.

“Daddy, I-I can’t take it anymore, please let me cum...please.” I begged desperately, not able to withstand it any longer.

“No.” He rebuffed in a low growl, his length sliding out of me abruptly, causing the building pressure to fade away. I whined. “Only Daddy gets to cum today. That’s your punishment for being naughty.”

And Baekhyun meant what he said about not letting me cum. Over the next hour, he continued pounding his dick into me senselessly. I’d lost count of the number of times he orgasm inside me, and the number of times he denied my orgasm. My womb was so loaded with his cum, they were dripping out of my pussy and down my thighs. I felt full, yet unsated. It was frustrating. A damn torture.

We migrated to the bathroom once Baekhyun was done fucking my brain out without letting me cum at all. I sat on the toilet seat cover, facing him who was kneeling on one knee in front of me. He held a washcloth in his hand, and he glanced up at me while wiping away the remains of cum on my chest. I raised my brows at him because he was giving me a very long stare. Seemed like he was contemplating something in his mind, so I waited.

“I’ve been thinking,” He finally started, “Maybe you should go somewhere for a while.”

What? Go somewhere? I blinked at him, puzzled. And my mind went to the worst scenario. “Are you trying to get rid of me?” I asked in a frown.  

His brows furrowed. “Don’t be silly, little one.”

“Then?”

“I just thought you should go on a trip...enjoy yourself before uni starts again.”

“Where would I go?”

He shrugged. “Anywhere you want. Daddy will pay for it.”

“Will Daddy come with me too?” I gazed at him expectantly.

He shook his head. “I can’t. I have work to do.”

My shoulders deflated in disappointment. Why did I even bother to ask? The answer was always the same. I can’t. I’m busy. We can’t be seen together. He wouldn’t even go on a dinner or movie date with me. Our dates were always here, in his penthouse. It had been six months yet I still had no clue what Baekhyun did for a living. He could be a serial killer or a drug lord, who knows? He was very secretive when it comes to his personal life, and it sucks that he knew literally everything about me yet I knew almost nothing about him.

But who am I to complain? I am just his sugar baby, his toy to play with, nothing more. And it’s killing me that I love him, but I can’t have him. 

[nopantssaturday]

One Little Spark- Chapter 2

Chapter 1

A/N; Another day, another chapter!

Thanks again to @4ddictwithapencil for being my amazing editor!

Today, Fexa figures out a little bit of news! And she confides in the one man that can help her.

Pairing: Xigbar x Reader, Xigbar x OC

Word count: 3108 words

Warning: Pregnancy, swearing

Since that day, things have been a little different between Fexa and Xigbar. Not bad, per se, but different.

Fexa found that after their little bedwarmings, the sharpshooter liked to linger longer in her room. He would stay, often staring up the ceiling or other times the two of them would talk about some kind of deep thought. He would sometimes even play with her hair as she laid next to him, or even put an arm around her  and hold her close. These nights grew in frequency in the next few weeks.

The gentle caresses and the late night talks started to become Fexa’s favorite part of the evenings they shared. They would talk about their lives before the organization, and sometimes even share stories of their youth. The two would laugh into the night, joking about anything and everything.

The sex was different too. What used to be rough and almost assuredly to make Fexa sore every morning after, now became somewhat like a game. There was laughter and banter where silence usually stood. Sex was fun. How that particularly was, she was unsure.

It was as something changed them after that day. Something brought them closer together and neither were able to say. Sometimes the cool-guy even decided to sleep in her bed. Though he was never there by the time she awoke, there always was a note with some kind of reason; ‘You were snoring too loud, I had to use the bathroom, Late night training’. Fexa started to believe that these were just excuses, she was just confused as to why he even decided to leave notes at all.

But this kind of behavior made Fexa feel a strange uncertainty. Before, the two were just friends with benefits, and it was clear to see that. He was there for the sex and that was it. Easy. Simple. Clean. But now, there was something more between them than just the sex. But that something was a mystery. What do you even call that?

Whatever. This predicament was way too stressful. Every time Fexa thought too hard about what this ‘something’ was, she could feel her stomach doing backflips. It had gotten so bad that she actually vomited. This was too much. She needed to find out what this was, but couldn’t gain the gumption to do it because she were afraid of what it was.

The next few weeks were not much better. It was obvious that she was coming down with some kind of sickness on top of everything else. Feeling feverish, exhausted on missions and now, she felt like she couldn’t even keep food down. The scent of burnt coffee that permanently hung in the Cafeteria that Never Was was now enough to make Fexa want to lose her lunch. She would also suffer from dizzy spells often, once getting so woozy that she fell against a wall. Luckily everyone’s favorite Silent Hero, Lexeaus, was nearby to help her back to her room.

At least it was her day off. That was the one piece of solace she had on this crappy, crap day.

Fexa donned her usual coat and swiftly headed off to one of her favorite worlds; Radiant Garden, her old home. It was nice to visit the place she once cherished, even though the people she loved weren’t there any longer. There was an inkling sense of nostalgia and belonging as she looked  at the old shops and restaurants she once knew in another life. Of course it would feel like that, if she had a heart.

As Fexa walked down the street, she started to watch the people living their daily lives with such a peaceful joy. She sometimes wished that her life could be that simple again. Being a part of a dark scheme was just a major pain a lot of the time.

Suddenly as she was walking, Fexa started to feel another dizzy spell take her again. She moved over to a nearby bench near the fountain and sat down, unwrapping a sea salt ice cream that she bought at a nearby moogle shop from it’s wrapper. She always loved these, but it became apparent after one bite in when her stomach lurched that her body wasn’t going to allow her to enjoy the ice cream. Fexa let out an exasperated sigh as she threw the ice cream into the garbage can next to her bench.

Stupid stomach bug. Won’t let me enjoy anything Fexa thought angrily to herself. Leaning back on the bench, Fexa started to relax and look at her surroundings, hoping that the fresh air would settle her stomach. She took note of the people passing by; a man with his dog, some young children, one of those shopkeeper moogles.

Nothing really caught her interest, until a gaggle of young women gathered at the center of town by the fountain. Two of them carried pastel wrapped gifts and another carried balloons. They must have been celebrating something. They all laughed and smiled as they decorated the area around the fountain.

Not a second later, Another young woman walked towards the fountain looking around for something or someone. This woman however, was much… bigger. No No, not like she was fat or anything. No, she was just really, really pregnant. Like it was  a little surprising that she could walk. Oh. That’s what they’re celebrating, Fexa thought to herself.

As the woman approached the fountain, the others jumped up and all yelled out “Surprise!”. This must be the baby shower. Sometimes it was hard to remember that these kinds of things still happened. Parties. Celebrations. Being a nobody, it’s rare than anyone even celebrates their birthday anymore, let alone much else. Okay, the only nobody that Fexa knew that still celebrated their birthday was Demyx, and he was just a big child.He didn’t even know how old he was turning anymore, but that didn’t stop him. It also didn’t stop Xigbar from slamming the young musicians face into a cake at his last birthday. The goofy kid just laughed and smiled with his face covered in white frosting. It may have been the only time Fexa had ever heard everyone laughing in one place.

Fexa grinned to herself in memory and watched on as the young women laughed, smiled and opened gifts. She soon found herself sneaking closer to them, sitting on a nearby bench close enough to be in earshot. It was nice to enjoy their happiness and joy even though she couldn’t do it herself. Did it make her a creep? Kinda. But screw it, she was going to treat herself.  Her treat was originally going to be that ice cream, but now that went to shit, this was how she was gonna do it.

“So how did you know, Karen? Like, when did you really know?” One of the women asked.

“Well, actually..” The pregnant woman apparently named Karen laughed. “I had no idea at first! I thought I was just sick! Isn’t that funny?! I was like, feverish and exhausted for, like, a week. And then when I started throwing up all the time, Ryan was just like, ‘Are you sure you’re not pregnant?’ and I was, like, ‘whaaaaat’. And Then, like, I was! Isn’t that crazy??” All of the girls giggled at the story. Their laughter was actually kind of grating.

But Fexa . Fexa was totally not laughing. Not at all.

Have you ever just not put together the facts before until it was much much too late?

_______

Fexa ended her day trip in Radiant Garden early, returning back to the castle, but not before stopping by the hut of that moogle that she saw earlier. Fexa picked up a few things; another ice cream,some gum, but most importantly, a Lucky Emblem Brand Pregnancy Test.

This was so stupid. Nobodies can’t get pregnant… right? That’s what she assumed anyway. Honestly that’s probably what everyone assumed. There wasn’t any “Sex Ed For Nobodies” VHS tape that existed. Though, if it did, it should totally be called ‘Nobody Fucks’.  That would be an amazing title. Fexa snickered to herself at the thought of such a tape, but her laughter subsides as she remembered the seriousness at hand.

You’re probably just being paranoid. She thought. There was no way that this was true. Watching those girls at the park just made you think this was a possibilitiy. Nobodies can’t  get pregnant. This all seemed like some crazy nightmare. It can’t be true. At all.

But Fexa had a little stick covered in pee to tell her what was true and what was not.

And, wow, would you look at that. Three minutes later, the three circles forming a “lucky emblem”  in a classic pastel blue hue on the indicator of the stick. Pregnant. Fucking Great.

Welp. That was it then. Fexa, Number XV in Organization XIII, was pregnant and as soon as she wasn’t able to go on missions, she would be turned into a dusk. She has officially outlived her usefulness. Thanks to her, foolishness, she was now destined to a fate of doing stupid mundane chores around the castle for the rest of eternity. Can’t wait.

Leaning against the wall, she slowly slid her body down until her bottom it hit the floor. The gross, stupid, little pee stick sat in her hands, it’s dark truth blaring right in her face. She could always run away to escape the organization, but she knew that she would most certainly be found eventually. The boss didn’t like loose ends. That much Fexa knew.

It must have been a fluke. A fake. A false positive. There was no other way. But there wasn’t any other means to figure out the truth before the obvious signs. Well, actually there was one other way to find out sooner, but that was something Fexa really didn’t want to do.

---

After a couple hours of deliberation, Fexa decided that this ‘other way’ was a better idea than finding out the truth when it was too late.

It was a little late in the day, but the lights in the castle’s laboratory were still on, meaning that the organization’s resident genius was still hard at work. He normally didn’t like being disturbed, but maybe Fexa could catch him in a good mood. She slowly opened the door, peeking in. Inside stood Vexen looking down at what appeared like a microbe culture under a microscope.

“He-Hey Vexen. What’re you up to today?” Fexa asked as she entered the lab. Vexen looked up from his microscope and actually didn’t look as pissed off as he normally did .

“Oh, Hello Number XV. I was actually looking over some of the samples you procured for me last week. These fungal samples have been very helpful to me in the pursuit of knowledge on the regrowth of cells in an organism.”

Fexa often worked in the lab as Vexen’s assistant when there wasn’t as much work to do in the way of missions. It had luckily worked to her advantage here that because of the work that she did in the lab had a fairly low margin of error, Vexen went as far as to view her as a semi-competent person. That was an honor that few ever could dream to achieve, especially in this organization.

“Oh, well I’m glad I could help.” She tried  to be as courteous as possible, knowing how much she was about to ask of this man. Her hands slide down the front of  her coat, feeling the shape of the stupid pee stick through the fabric of the pocket. “I…uh ..  I actually came to ask you a question that I was hoping you’d know the answer to.”

For the first time, the scientist looked up to meet Fexa’s gaze and gave her a curious , yet deadpan expression, urging her to continue. You know, the classic Vexen look of ‘get on with it so I can do my work in peace’.

“So.. Uh… Do… uhh…. Do nobodies reproduce?” She asked nervously. Normally she was never this timid but this was a bit of a crucial moment. Vexen held his gaze another moment before giving an exasperated sigh and putting a hand to his temple.

“Oh, Number XV, Don’t bother me with such ridiculous questions. You and I both obviously know that when a person loses their heart to a heartless, the shell of the body that’s left becomes a nobody.. That’s how you got here, and that’s how I got here.” Vexen states, with a kind of annoyed tone as he starts to turn to his microscope.

“No-- No. I know That.” she replied, mildly embarrassed at the misconception.  He turned back to face the small woman, again. “Then why did you come all the way down to my lab to ask me a question that you already knew.”“Well, I meant.. Can a Nobody.. You know.. Get…. pregnant?”As the last word left her lips, Vexen looked up at woman and scrunched his face as if she said the most absurd thing in the world.

”Pregnant? Well…” he paused briefly to turn his attention to one of the books in the glass cabinet behind him. That cabinet was one of the few places that Fexa wasn’t allowed access to. Probably data sheets or something. “There are no recorded confirmed cases of nobodies ever reproducing by the way of.. Ahem… traditional methods...” He coughs, mildly uncomfortable at the thought of his lab assistant fucking anyone. He suddenly looked very tired “But why… do you ask?”

Fexa reached into her pocket, taking a deep breath before pulling the pregnancy test out and holding it up to him, the blue lucky emblem facing up. “Because it seems like I might be your first case.”

Vexen looked down at the strange thing in the woman’s hand. It looked like some crappy piece of plastic. Not at all like a proper instrument of science. Without moving his head, the scientist’s eyes glanced up to his assistant’s face.

“What is this thing and why are you showing it to me?”

Fexa looked back at him, deadpan. “Really?  It’s a pregnancy test, Vexen. I bought it in Radiant Garden. It’s blue which usually means pregnant. I have no one else that could possibly have any idea what to do with this kind of information. Can you help me or can’t you?”

Stroking his ego seemed to have helped his mood a little bit. It always did. Praise him for his brilliant mind, he was putty in your hands. He looks down at the piece of plastic again, and then back at her . The plastic, and then her again, the gears in his head clearly turning. After another moment of torturous silence, Vexen spoke.

“Alright, come with me.” He motions to the back of the lab, before walking back to a corner of the lab and motioning Fexa to sit on a metal medical observation table.

“I’ve always wondered this, but why do you have a medical table in the lab? You’re not a doctor.”

“Don’t ask me questions about my life XV,” he held  up the plastic stick in his hand, matter of factly. “and I won’t question yours, within reason.”

_______

“Well, I have tested your blood, your saliva, your urine and any other bodily fluid I could think of. I scanned the proteins and hormones in your body and compared them to any other human being with full heart. And from my deductions, it’s fairly obvious to say that, yes, you are the first recorded nobody to ever conceive. Congratulations, This is a great day for science.”

He’s a little too happy about this. Honestly, He sounded  like he was congratulating himself more than he was Fexa. But that didn’t matter now.. He looked up to her with a smile on his face that she rarely ever saw and a glint in his eye that meant that he was onto something.

“XV, with your permission, I would like to continue studying you, and this,” He gestured to her midsection. “to see where this gestation process ends up. I’d also like to monitor the fetus and see what we can learn from it. With your help, we can make amazing strides in discovery for Nobodies and for the Organization!”

Yeah. Way too excited. But he had an offer on the table. With it, Fexa gained a free doctor and someone to help her. Seemed like a good shot.

“Alright, Vexen, I am willing to accept your offer. But I have some conditions. The first being that NO ONE else finds out about this. No. One. This must remain a secret between us until I deem it right to reveal. This is my secret.”, Her mind then flashed to the thought of Lord Xemnas turning her into a dusk. “My second condition is that you tell the superiors that you need me in the lab every day. Do whatever you can that will keep me in this lab as much as possible. I can’t have anyone finding out the truth or finding out that my ability on missions will be affected.”The scientist pondered her counter offer for a moment. Not too long afterwards, he responded

“Hmmm.. Very well, XV, you have yourself a deal. You are officially my full time lab assistant. I will use whatever leverage I still have in this wretched place to aid you in this grand caper.” He looked at Fexa and gave her a soft smile. A genuine one. That was... new. She was a little perturbed, but the icy smile was mildly comforting. At least she  now had a confidante. She just never expected for that confidante to be Vexen, the Ice Queen.

So... What Now?

A/n: Thank you so much for reading chapter 2! I know Xigbar wasn’t in this chapter at all, but don’t worry, he’ll be plenty back in Chapter 3! 

[reallyautomaticvoid]

Calling It: Good Intentions: Chapter 5: Chats with Bats

Many thanks to my lovely beta reader, @Yumixusagi, who did a fantastic job editing this chapter!

*Slight spoiler/trigger warning* Here's the chapter that I've been worried about. It's heavy. Like, if you thought the last chapter was bad...yeah, sorry.

Anyways, angst ahoy!

It’s rare for Tamara Fox to get angry.  

Annoyed, sure, you would too if your ex-fake fiancé was your real boss who was never in the damn office when he says he was going to be.

But today, today Tam isn’t angry.  

She is furious.  

“How did you get into our office,” Tam asks, not looking up as she continues typing on her computer (emailing Conner and company to give them a heads up about this little turn of events).  “And how did you know that Tim was going to be here today?  I wasn’t even a hundred percent sure he was going to be here until last night.”

And she hadn’t been.  Conner had been cagey on the phone with her, so clearly whatever fresh crap had made its way onto Tim’s door had been bad.  She’d been planning on grilling Tim for the full scoop when he got into the office.  Not that Tam needs (or wants) the nitty-gritty of Tim’s…extracurricular activities, but she wants to make sure Tim is…well, safe is a bit of a stretch, but she’d settle for okay.

But, because, Dick, today of all day, had chosen to grace them with his presence, Tam knows one thing.  

Tim is not okay.

Which means her (and Tim’s) lives are going to be a lot more complicated.

Dick ignores Tam’s questions.  “What was that about, Tam?”

Tam looks at Dick, giving Dick one of her Dad’s most unimpressed, we aren’t doing that Bruce, looks.  She’d only seen it in action a few times.  It always works.

“What do you mean?”  

A high pitch sound, somewhere between a cry of pain and exasperation escapes from Dick.

Tam cocks an eyebrow before turning back to her email.

“Tim tells me he’s not my brother anymore and you seem more worried about his coffee than that.”  Dick wildly gestures between Tam and the now empty elevator.

Tam resists rolling her eyes, instead, sending off her email and pulling a stack of evaluation form the copier had failed to staple together.  

Usually, Tam would have gotten an intern to do this, but, right now, she wants to make a point.

“You ever dealt with Tim without coffee?”

Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Dick wince, because, yeah, point. “Only when he was fourteen.  It wasn’t that—”

“Yeah, it’s only gotten worse since then.”  

Slumping, Dick falls onto the couch opposite of Tam’s desk.

“I didn’t realize it had gotten that bad.”

Tam staples two sheets of paper together with a snap.  “No shit.”

“When did it get this bad?”  

Tam doesn’t immediately answer.  She doesn’t know know were this all started.  Tam's got a few guesses — none of which she’s in the mood to share with Dick.

Instead, Tam' mouth decides to say, “I’d say somewhere around Iraq.”

Dick’s head pops up.  “When was he in Iraq?”

Tam clenches her jaw shut because, shitshitshitshitshitshit, mouth: you weren’t supposed to say that!

“Tam,” Dick’s tone was low and warning.

“Yes?”

“When?”

“Previously.”

“To?”

“Today.”

“Can you give me a straight answer?”

“Yes,” Tam snaps the stapler around two more pieces of paper, “I can.”

Dick pinches the bridge of his nose.  “I walked right into that one, didn’t I?”

Tam’s lips twitch.  “Hook, line, and sinker.”

Dick sighs.  “Tam, you and I are friends, right?”

Tam snaps the stapler again.   Trying a different approach, huh?  “Correct.”

“And as friends, you want the best thing for me, right?”

“To a certain extent, yes.”

And she does.

Don’t get her wrong; typically, Dick is one of favorite people.  He’s smart, kind, and has a killer sense of humor (not to mention he’s not that hard on the eyes…).  

Unfortunately, sorting out the Wayne family woes is distinctly not part of her job description.

There isn’t enough money in the universe to make her willing to take on that job.

“Then, can you tell me what just happened?”

Tam stares at Dick for a long moment, considering her options.

She could lie, which would only end up with Dick camping out her all damn day, trying to get the truth out of her (or worst, Tim).

She could tell Dick the whole yeah, you fucked up your little brother up and I don’t think there’s anything you can do to fix it which would also end up with Dick here all damn day.  Except, he’d be trying to fix everything broken with him and Tim, which would end…badly.

Or, option three:

“Well, you did drop in on his work, unannounced, which by the way, don’t think I didn’t notice you not answering how you got into my office question, spilled his coffee, and call him Timmy. Everyone knows he hates that.”

“Yeah, but, he always, I don’t know, jokingly hated it.”  

Tam resists slamming her head against her keyboard. “You sure about that?”

“Yes.”  Dick pouts.  

“Uhuh.  Maybe you don’t know him as well as you think you do.”

Dick shot to his feet.  It would almost be intimidating, if not for the slight quiver of Dick’s lower lip.  “You don’t think I know him? I was there for him through the clench. I was there the first, the second, and the third time Jason tried to kill him.  I am always there for him.”

“Yeah?” Tam slams the stapler down, leans back in her chair, starting hard at Dick.  “Where were you last month?”

That makes Dick pause.  He blinks at Tam, like she asks him to solve string theory.  “What happened last month?”

Tam gives Dick a cold look that has been known to turn lesser men into ice.  “Jee, I don’t know, Dick. What did happen last month?”

“Jesus, Tam,” Dick tries, but Tam is done.

“No.  No, Dick.  You do not get to waltz in after years of not being around and pull the: I’m a good brother card.  Or did you forget?  I handle all of Tim’s calls in the office?” Tam gestures at the phone.  “Literally no one talks to Tim here without me knowing about it. Wanna know how often you call him?  Spoilers, Jason, you know the one who tried to kill Tim, calls more than you do.”

All the blood and anger drain from Dick.  

“That’s not his only—there are other ways to get in contact with him.”

“Sure,” Tam agrees, turning back to her work.  “But, how often do you use them?”

Dick lands face first on his bed.  Hours later, Tim’s words are still swirling around his brain.  “No, just Drake…I was just a substitute to make sure Bruce didn’t go off the deep end…I’m not your brother Dick…”  

Dick groans into his pillow.  How’d it gotten this bad? How’d Dick not seen any of the signs?  Dick had been the goddamn Batman.

How’d he missed something two inches from his face?

Jason and Dick’s last conversation of when he’d seen Baby Bird had bounce around Dick’s brain until, yesterday, when he’d finally broken down.  Using his connections at WE, Dick was ecstatic to learn Tim was going to be in the office the next day, his day off.  He figured that he and Tim could play hooky, just like when Tim had been Robin and Dick had pulled Tim out of school after a particularly rough weekend for the Titans.

Clearly, Dick had been wrong.

Dick feels a hand starting to stroke his hair.  “Hey, honey. What’s wrong?”

The guilt intensifies at the concern in Babs' voice.  “I fucked up, Babs. I really, really fucked up.”

Dick hears Barbara’s wheelchair squeak when she leans back.  “What did you do, Dick? I swear to God, if you and Damian got more puppies—”

Dick gives a weak laugh.  “No, no puppies. Nothing quite that fun.  I—I fucked up with Tim.”

Babs looks perplex.  “What are you talking about?  You haven’t done anything—”

“Exactly.”  Dick hops up, pacing around his room.  “I haven’t done anything and now—and now he saying he’s not—he’s not a Wayne anymore.”

Barbara snorts.  “Since when do you get to pick if you’re a Wayne or not?”

“You don’t get it, Babs, he legally dropped the last name.  Ages ago, apparently. And I didn’t have a fucking clue that anything was happening.”  Dick threw himself back onto the bed. “He said he wasn’t my brother. Said I never was.”  His voice is small and pathetic.

Sighing, Barbara carefully climbs out of her wheelchair and onto the bed next to Dick, snuggling up next to him.  

“Dick, you’re his brother.  You became his brother that day at the circus, and you've been his big brother ever since.  You’re also human. You make mistakes, and you fuck up. I’ve never seen you back down from a challenge.  Look at what you did with Damian and Jason. Look at how close you guys are now.” She kisses Dick’s forehead.  “So there’s been a bump in the road with you and Tim. So what? You’ll get him back.”

Dick puts his arm around Barbara and kisses the top of her head.

“Yeah, I’m sure you’re right.”

An hour later, Barbara and Dick head down to the cave.  Dick’s surprised but not displeased to find that the rest of the Bats were all down there.

Jason is at his workbench, cleaning one of his many guns.  Damian’s on the mats, practicing the newest move Dick had taught him yesterday, and Bruce was on the Batcomputer, typing away.  Dick’s eyes linger on Bruce’s back before approaching Jason.

Jason glances up.  “Big Bird.”

Dick didn’t flinch at the name.  Normally, Jason calling him Big Bird starts long prank war which always ends the same way: by Alfred’s raised eyebrow. This time though, Dick’s on a mission.

“You knew, didn’t you?”

“Knew what?”  Jason doesn’t look up from reassembling his 22.  

“You knew about Tim.  You knew that he—that we left him behind.”  Dick's tone is hollow.

Jason stops what he’s doing to squint at Dick.  “I had a few guesses.” Jason goes back to what he’s doing.  “What brings this up now, Big Wing?”

Dick notes the use of his rarely used old nickname.  It gives him a warm sensation in his gut to hear it after all this time.  “I went to see Tim this afternoon.”

Jason freezes for a millisecond before continuing on.

Dick’s well aware of the silence emanating from the Batcomputer and Damian has been stretching his right leg for far too long.

Jason hums.  “How’d that go?”

Dick has to fight the urge to slug his brother.  Or cry, he wasn’t sure.

“It went about as well as you expected I’m guessing.”

“Dick,” Barbara warns, putting a hand on his elbow.

Finally, Jason put his gun down, leaning back in his chair, and laces his finger behind his head.  “I think a lot of things in a day Dickykins,” they both ignore the snort that comes from Damian. “That doesn’t mean I’m thinking ‘bout you and Baby Bird.”

Dick’s fingers curl.  “Bullshit, Jason. You've been hinting at this for weeks now.”

“Welp,” Jason says, popping his ‘p’,  “if I’ve been hinting at it for that long, why are you just now figuring it out?”  

This time, Dick couldn’t help the fist that goes soaring towards Jay’s nose.  Barbara shrieks and Damian tuts. Luckily, Bruce is up and had pulls Jason’s chair backwards so Dick’s fist sails through empty air.

“Enough,” the voice coming out of Bruce’s is mostly Batman.  “Dick, what’s going on?”

Dick exhales loudly through his nose.  “Tim says he’s not part of the family anymore.  Apparently, he even dropped the last name ‘Wayne’.”

Bruce’s eyebrows shoot up before his face smooth over again while Jason’s mouth hung open.  

“I did not know that.”

“When did this happen?” Dick sees Batman kicking into high gear behind Bruce’s eyes.  

Gathering the evidence so he could come to a logical conclusion.

“Dunno.  Said he did it a couple of months ago.”  

Bruce turns to look at Jason.  “What do you know?”

Here comes Batdad, Dick muses to himself.

Jason shrugs.  “Not much. Figured somethin' was wrong when I hadn’t seen 'em around much the first few months I was back.  He pulled my nuts out of the fire a few time and talked me off da ledge once er twice, so I started ta keep track of him.  Noticed he was spendin' more and more time in San Fran. Dat’s about it.”

A tut comes from the mats.  

Four sets of eyes whip around to stare at Damian.

“Something to say, Little D?”  Dick is cautious.

Odds are not in Dick’s favor that whatever it is that Damian has to say, it will be helpful.

Damian and Tim had never gotten along...well.

“Tt.  You all are acting like this is new information.  It’s been happening for years.  Why are you all so shocked about it now,” Damian sneers.

Dick feels his heart drop before a sickening feeling wells in his gut.  Bruce and Barbara go unnaturally still. Bat still. Jason is staring at Damian like Damian’s a puzzle Jason’s trying to put together while blindfolded.  Damian—not uses to all of the Bat attention focus on him (unless he was in trouble)—squirms slightly.

“What do you mean, Little D?”    

What has Damian noticed that Dick hadn’t?

Damian surveys Dick, frowning at what he sees. “Tt.  It started when you won the cowl, Grayson, and you gave me my rightful place at Batman’s side.”

Dick flinches at the memory.  That had been more than three years ago.  The fight had been bitter between him and Jason only ending when Dick had beaten Jason and taking the Batman mantle.  At the time, he had been so overwhelmed with everything that being Batman entailed. He hadn’t had time to explain his decision then.  Why he’d chosen Damian, who Dick could see on the ledge.

And Tim…Tim was always, always, okay.  Dick loved his younger brother, loved working with him, but he saw Tim was rapidly growing out of the Robin suit.  Dick had known that if he had tried to boss Tim around, it would have wrecked their relationship. Plus, Dick saw Tim as an equal; not a sidekick.

Jason’s glare at Dick could slice glass.  “Ya told me he gave up the Robin mantle, on his own.”

Dick put his head in his hands.  He doesn’t have time to explain this all to Jason.  

“It was time, Jay, okay? He needed to grow up.”

“Who the fucking hell are you ta make dat choice for Tim?  You had no right ta force him out.”

Dick refuses to let his voice crack.  “He needed to grow up, Jay.”

Jason lets out a short, cold bark of laughter.

It makes Dick’s skin crawl.  

“Ya don’t get it, do ya, Dicky?  Ya chose ta give Robin up; ya weren't forced to.  How’d you feel if someone had taken it before you were ready?  Fuck, you were pissy at Bruce for months after he gave me the title and you quit.”

Dick winces.  

Giving up Robin had been one of the hardest decisions in his life.  He wasn’t sure how he'd feel if Bruce had taken it and given it to Jason without even talking to him about it first.

But—

“It was the right call,” Dick suborning repeats.

“How the shit can ya—” Jason starts before Bruce cuts him off.

“Boys."

Jason glares at Dick for another minute before mutter, “we ain’t done with dis yet, Grayson.”

Which—great, just, great.  

“Tt.  It didn’t help, Grayson, that you wanted to send him to Arkham either.”  The sinking feeling in Dick’s gut increases.

Did Dick let Tim fall through the cracks?  

Thinking back through the last three years, Dick realizes he hasn’t had a conversation with Tim that didn’t involve masks.  

Not since Tim had told him that he thought that Bruce was alive.  

Dick hadn’t believed him.  

Dick couldn’t believe him.  

Dick thought that all of the death that had surrounded Tim (Bruce’s, Conner’s, Stephanie’s, Jack’s) had made Tim crack.  So Dick suggested Tim go to Arkham.  The look of devastation on Tim’s face still haunts Dick.  

Especially since Tim had found Bruce alive.  

Whenever they talk now, it’s always been about the work.  

What could Tim do for Dick?  

Did Dick need data?  

Or did he need help with a fight?  

When the fuck did that start?  

Why did it take Dick so fucking long to realize that it had gotten this bad?

Dick felt a warm hand rubbing circles on his back.  He looks around and gave a half-smile to Barbara. She winks back.

“So, he gave up the cowl, I told him he was crazy, then what?  What happened then?” Dick falters.

Does he actually want to know?

“Tt.  You really are blind sometimes, Grayson.  I honestly do not know nor particularly care.  To my knowledge,” Damian began to tick things off like one would off a grocery list, “Drake moved out, got emancipated, became CEO, Grandfather kicked him out of a window,” Dick rubs his temple, trying to block the memory of seeing Tim’s crumpled form free falling, “he found Father, then later rejoined the Titans.  That’s not really what you want to know though, is it?”

No, it isn’t really what Dick wants to know.  He wants to know why Tim thinks he isn’t Dick’s brother anymore.  

That isn’t a question for Damian though.  That was a question that he was going to be pondering late into the night, perhaps with a bottle of scotch.  

Damian looks at Dick with a single raised eyebrow.  

It was incredible, sometimes, just how much the fourteen-year-old looked like Bruce.  

“Spit it out, Grayson.”

Dick sighs.  “Why didn’t you say anything?”

Damian rolls his eyes, like the teenager he is.  “Tt. Really, Grayson? It might have escaped your notice, but League is not a family.  The weak do not survive there. The Bats are my first relatively healthy, normal family.”  Jason snorts.  Everyone ignores him. “For all I knew, it was wholly expected for Drake to be pushed out of the way to make room for me.  It happens in nature. Why not here? None of you seemed to notice or care what Drake was doing. You did not object when he moved out or when he went looking for Father alone.  When he came back, none of you reached out to him.

“Not a word was said about him getting emancipated or when he became CEO.  I tried to kill him several times as did Todd. Yet, here we stand while Drake does not.  You and Father sought us out, and fight for us whenever we strayed off of the path. Yet neither of you did when Drake did.  

“Not you or Todd or Father went looking for him after he disappeared for those six months after I… teased him about losing Robin and his father’s death.”  

Bruce shifts uncomfortably.

It had happened shortly after Tim rescued Bruce from the time stream.  Dick was still wearing the Batman cowl. Red had stopped by the Batcave running a diagnostic on the Batcomputer for them.  Batman had sent Robin home early to do some homework.  

“I do not need to do a report on bugs.  I do not see how this will further my education.”  

“It’s your homework, R. Maybe you should ask Red for help?  He’s always been the best at school.”

"Tt."  

The tires on the Batmobile hadn’t entered the cave, but Dick could tell something was off.  When Dick finally got into the cave, he saw Tim and Damian fighting on the mats.

Not sparing.  

Fighting.  

Dick’s two little brothers were trying to kill each other.

Again.

After he separated them, Dick had laid into Tim pretty hard.

The anguish on Tim’s face was there, just hidden.  Dick didn’t think much of it at the time.

“But Dick—”

“No, it doesn’t matter, he’s your little brother.” Dick ignored the scoffing noises coming from Damian who was getting check out by Alfred, “it doesn’t matter what he says or does.  He’s your little brother. You’re the older one. You know better. Or at least, you should.”

Tim opened his mouth to say something before Damian’s squeal of pain distracted Dick.  Dick turned his back on Tim to check on the injured Damian. Damian’s hint of a smug, satisfied smile was the only thing that Dick saw.  He turned around again to check on Tim, but Tim had disappeared.

It was a month later, when Little D was riding the sleep-dep train he confessed to Alfred what happened.  

“Master Dick?”  Dick looked up to the Butler, smiling.

“Hey, Alfie.  What’s up?”

“I was wondering if you’ve heard from Master Tim recently?”

Dick felt his face darken.  “Not since his fight with Damian.  Why?”

Alfred hummed like he already knew that was what the answer was going to be.  “Last month, when Masters Tim and Damian got into their scuffle,” Alfred always had a way to undersell things, Dick thought, “Master Damian had been asking after Master Tim’s late father.”

Dick felt his blood go cold at the memory.  

Damian wouldn’t…. Before Dick knew what was happening, he had hopped to his feet and run down the stairs to interrogate a very sleep deprived Robin.  Apparently, Damian pushed Tim into the fight after being annoyed he'd been sent home early from patrol. Dick called Tim.

“I’m so sorry Tim, I didn’t know.”

Dick squeeze his phone, staring (glaring) down at the Batman domino.

“Water under the bridge, Dick.  I gotta get back to work, though.  See you around.”

The phone clicked before Dick could answer.  

“We do not answer Drake’s distress calls nor did you or Father object when Drake stopped filing reports on the Batcomputer.  When we know he’s in town for business, vigilant, WE, or otherwise, we don’t invite him for dinner. We don’t visit him in San Francisco.  We do not seek him out, and he stopped seeking us.

“You are a detective, Grayson.  I thought you would have detected something if it were amiss.  So, why did I not say anything?”  Damian’s green eyes meet Dick’s head on.  “I thought it was normal.”

Dick’s ears are ringing after Damian’s speech.  It’s clear Damian has been putting some thought into this.  Dick wonders, for a moment, how many sleepless nights Damian has experienced, waiting to be kicked out too.  Dick pushes that thought to the side for the moment. He can only worry about one brother at a time, and right now, it was Tim’s turn.  Tim, as Damian so painfully pointed out, has some excellent reasons as to why he doesn’t consider himself a Bat anymore.

Jason bends down, so he’s eye level with Damian.  In a soft tone, Jason says,  “You and me, we’re gonna work on teachin’ ya how families work.  You got me?”

Damian tuts.

Bruce frowns.

It has been over eight months since Tim had bothered upload a report to the Batcomputer.

Calling them barebones would be a kindness.  

Tim hadn’t put in any information that was not required.  He didn’t attach any images of the crime scenes. The data was there, however, it wasn’t up to what Bruce expected from Tim’s normal standards.  

Bruce sighs.  Sending Red Hood and Robin out on patrol might have been a mistake.  The pair had a habit of getting into trouble, but Hood especially had been too keyed up to stay in for the night.

Oracle returned to the Clock Tower to look into the last few communication Tim had sent out to the Bats for Bruce.  

Dick is impatiently hovering, waiting to talk to Bruce since the others had left.  Bruce’s trying to delay it for as long as possible. He’s sure that Dick’s going to come up with some harebrained scheme which will require Bruce to bail him out.  

And Bruce is really not in the mood to deal with six disgruntled A.R.G.U.S. and a bathtub full of Swiss chocolate.  

Again.

Unfortunately for Bruce, Dick has enough.

“We need to do something about Tim.”

Bruce doesn’t look up from the Batcomputer.  “What about Tim?”

Dick makes an irritated noise. “You know what, Bruce.  He’s been off our radar for what, a year? Two?”

Bruce leans back in his chair. “What do you propose doing? Kidnapping and locking him up? Forcing him to spend time with us? Hugging him into submission?”

“I don’t know B, but we need to do something!”  Dick was practically shouting at this point. Bruce turns his chair around to face Dick.  

“Why don’t I talk to him? See if he’ll come over for dinner?” Bruce suggests, trying to pacify Dick.

“I don’t think that’ll work this time, B.”  Dick before muttering. “I’m not sure anything is going to work.”  

It isn’t normal for Bruce to see his oldest son lost.  Dick’s always the one with a smile or a quick joke. He always knows the right thing to do.  Seeing him this hopeless disturbs Bruce more than he was comfortable with.

Bruce puts his best ‘dad’ face on. “Dick,” Dick doesn’t twitch.  “Tim knows you; he knows that you wouldn’t do anything to hurt him on purpose.  He’s just…a little lost right now. We’ll get him back. Don’t worry; you’ll be annoying your little brother in no time.  Honestly,” Bruce turns back to the computer, “I think you’re making mountains out of molehills.”

“Mountains out of— B, you weren’t there!  He wouldn’t look at me!”

“He’s eighteen," Bruce counters. "He's trying to find his way in the world.  Don’t you remember what you were like at that age? At least he’s not killing people like Jason.”

"Is that really the standard we're going with?"

"For now, yes."

"Bruce-"

"We'll monitor Tim closely, but unless he does something that warrants our intervention, we should leave well enough alone.  Don't worry Dick, he'll come back to us, just like all of you do."

“Yeah, okay.”  Bruce can hear in Dick’s voice this was not the outcome Dick had been hoping for.  “I’m going to go help O with research. See you, B.”

Bruce sighs as he watches Dick’s shoulders get lower and lower as he drags himself to the locker room. Bruce thinks he heard a faint dry sob before the door slams shut.  

He quickly dismisses this.

All of his sons, at some point through the years, drifted away from the family.  From him. Hell, Jason had died, but he’s back now.  Even if Tim dropped the Wayne name (which, frankly, Bruce isn’t even sure of…he could easily see Tim saying this to get a rise out Dick…Batman has some poking around at City Hall before he believes that one), it didn’t matter.  

Whether or not Tim considered himself a Bat (or part of the family), he is.  

At least, that’s what Bruce tells himself.

The Batcomputer chirps, calling Bruce’s attention to go back to it.  Typing a few commands into the computer, Bruce swears.

The Riddler has escaped from Arkham.  

Again.

Great.  

N is going to be off his game over this Tim issue, which means the rest of the team would have to pick up the slack.  He sends the file over to O so she can get the Birds started on it.

“Tea, sir?”  Alfred appears behind Bruce carrying a tray of tea and cookies.

“Thanks, Alfred.”  Bruce took the cup and blew on it.  

“I daresay, Master Dick seems rather upset tonight.”  

Hint, hint, Bruce thinks idly to himself.

“Dick had a rough day.  He found out some things that upset him.” Bruce stops, unsure of himself. When Alfred raises an eyebrow, Bruce continues, “Tim has—apparently—disowned himself.  Dick is blaming himself because he chose Damian to be Robin.”

“Hmm, that is rather upsetting, sir.”  Alfred puts the tray down next to Bruce.  

Bruce knew that all of the boys had a spot in both his and Alfred’s hearts.  Tim, however, held special meaning for the older man. Tim helped Batman (Bruce) after Jason’s death. That, if nothing else, had secured a place in Alfred’s heart for Tim.  

“If I might be so bold, sir, perhaps there is something else that’s is upsetting Master Tim.”  Bruce doesn't have to look to know he's getting one of Alfred’s all-knowing looks.  The one that always makes Bruce squirm a little on the inside, like when he was twelve and stole the last Christmas cookie.  “Something dealing with rooftops, boomerangs, and a case of mistaken identity perhaps, Sir?"

Alfred knows everything.

It had been a long day. Even after Tim got Dick out of his office (which he still isn’t sure how Tam did it), he couldn’t focus for the better part of the day.  

Miraculously, Tim managed to get through all of the paperwork.  Tim suspects Tam took pity on him and did some of it while he was at the board meeting.

When Tim finally gets home, all he wants is to crawl under the covers in his bed and not emerge for several weeks.  

However, Tim will settle for a full eight hours of uninterrupted of sleep.  

Or two.  

Whatever, no big diff.  

Punching in the code for his front door is the best part of his day.  Throwing his briefcase onto the coffee table before sinking onto the couch is the second.  

Tim closes his eye to enjoy the peace, wondering when his uninvited guest would break the silence.

Odd.  He didn’t know they knew where he stayed in Gotham.

Except for Jason.

Pity.  Tim had been looking forward to getting some sleep tonight.

Ah well, there’s always tomorrow.

Maybe he should order some dinner.

The deli around the corner makes a wonderful green salad.

He could go for a green salad.

It might be too late to order food though.

What time was it again?

His guest finally cleared his throat.

“You know, it’s illegal to enter a house without permission?”  

“This is an apartment,” the voice growls back.

Tim resists the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose.  “Same thing.”

It isn’t like he hadn’t been expecting another visit from the Batfamily today.  

He had hoped though.

“Can this wait until the morning?  I’ve had one hell of a day.”

“I have a favor to ask you.”

Tim sighs, because of course you do.  “Fine. How can I help you, Batman?”

Tim does not look at his former adoptive father.  

Former partner.

Former friend.

He does not want to see the cowl or face or anything having to do with Batman tonight.  He just wanted a salad before going to bed.

Petty?  

Sure…but whatever.  Crappy days lead to pettiness.

Batman shifts uncomfortably. Whatever Batman wants, he clearly isn’t comfortable asking for it.  “Come to dinner. At the manner.”

It isn’t a question.  

It’s an order.  

And, sure, there was a time period where Tim would have jumped at the invitation.

Jumped to follow that order.

Unfortunately for Batman, those days are long gone.

“Sorry, B, I’m busy.”

“Make time.”

What, no please?

“Can’t.”

“I didn’t even say when.”

“Doesn’t matter.  I’m heading out of town in,” Tim shoot a look at his clock before letting his head flop back down, “like six hours?  And I’d like to get some sleep before then.”

Hint, hint.  

“Breakfast then.  I’ll reschedule your flight.”  Batman’s lips thin.

If Tim didn’t know any better, he would have thought Batman’s begging.  

Tim knows that he’s dancing on a thin line.  There was only so much that Batman’s going to allow him to push before Batman would push back.  

Tim couldn’t bring himself to care.

“Can’t, it’s a breakfast meeting that I can’t miss.  Plus, I’ve got cases that I’ve got to get back to; another time.” He massages his eyes.

He isn’t going to get any sleep tonight, is he?

Goddamnit, the Titans won’t like that.  I’ll be on the bench for a month. Motherfucker, I just got off the damn bench.

“Tim,” it isn’t the use of his first name that caught Tim’s attention.  It was the slight crack in Batman’s voice, well, Tim was just going to ignore that, “Please.  Please come to breakfast. Dick’s worried about you.”

Tim suppresses a snort.  Sure, Dick’s worried about me.  And you’ve said please. Twice. Wonder if I’m dying.  Knowing my luck, I probably am.  Fabulous.  I wonder if that would get me out of Paperwork Hell…probably not.  Damn.

“Look, Batman, it’s been a long day.  If you don’t need anything,” Tim pauses for a second.  Batman does not look pleased Tim’s brushing him off.  “I really need to get some sleep before—”

“You dropped the Wayne from your name.”

Okay, so no sleep for tonight.

Splendid.  

“Yes.”

“When?”

“A few months ago.”

“Why?”

The number of reasons why Tim dropped Wayne flew through his brain.  

Because you didn’t want me. Because I’m the replacement. Because I almost died trying to save you and I didn’t even get a thank you or a good job sport.  Because after the hundredth time Damian said I wasn’t part of the family and nobody disagreed I got the message. Because when I fucked up and almost k—

Tim shuts that thought down hard. Batman being here does not mean he’s going to get bogged down in extra guilt.

Instead, he settles on the easiest answer.  

“Because I’m not a Wayne—or a Bat. I’ve been on my own since my Dad died. I stopped expecting any help from you or your family.  Don’t worry. I’ll still be your good little soldier when I’m needed. I’ll still run WE until you, Dick, or Damian decides you want it back.  The paperwork is all set up; all you have to do is sign on the dotted line. Then you’ll get the CEO title and all your shares back. Once the Wayne’s take it back, I’ll be out of your hair. Permanently.”  Tim stands up. Batman’s lips are almost invisible with how closely they are pinched together. “Lock up when you're done planting your bugs.”

Tim strolls by Batman’s unmoving body to his bedroom locking the door choosing to ignore the brooding Bat standing in his living room.  He collapses onto his bed. It takes him a full minute to realize his body is trembling.

It has been a while since anyone—outside of the Titans and Tam (and Ra’s, technically, but that was a whole can of worms that he doesn’t want to get into tonight)—had even faked concern for Tim.  Now, he’s getting it from not one but two of his former mentors in one day.

It had been hard, harder than Tim would have ever liked to admit, to walk away from the Bats.  Now he’s finally broken free of the Bats, the Bats decided to try and reel him back in.

What the actual fuck?  It isn’t good enough that I’m their fucking tech support?  Now, what?  Am I going to have to deal with Bats twenty-four seven or some shit like that?

Fuck.  That.

Tim groans before grabbing his laptop.  Well, if there isn't any way he’s going to get sleep tonight (thanks, Batman), he might as well do something useful.  

Plus, he needs to buy a plane ticket—or ten—for his invented breakfast meeting.  

Tam’s going to kill him for leaving so soon.  

He's going to have to get her a fruit basket.

Tam hates it when Tim does that.

Chocolate then?

Or would a bonus be better?

Tim hears the soft thud of a Bat existing through the fire escape.  A sigh of relief escapes his lungs when he clicks the order confirmation.

*nervous awkward wave*

Hi.

Congrats on making it through! This was one of the hardest things I've ever written so I can only imagine how difficult it was to read. It was also troublesome to edit which, again, thank you Yumixusagi for doing such a wonderful job with it.

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it!

AO3 link here:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/18106355/chapters/44344747

[dekudynamight]

Title: Surprise, Surprise

Rating: E

Pairing: Jon Kortajarena x OFC, background Bucky Barnes x OFC (yes you read that right lol)

Word count: 4.1k

Summary: While Russian mob leader Bucky is away on business, he sends one of his most trusted men to look after his wife while he’s gone.

A/N: This is a very belated birthday gift for @captainrogerrsbeard and I didn’t plan on posting because it doesn’t really make a lot of sense on the surface but I’ll try to explain: this is an AU of my Til Death Do Us Part AU and pretty much all you need to know is Bucky is a badass mob boss, Summer is his shy but badass wife, and Jon is an associate whom they’ve taken to bed together multiple times in the past. Oh and Bucky and Summer have a daddy kink that’s referenced once. This started out as a totally self-indulgent thing I just wanted to work out of my system but then it became my belated bday gift to my wife lol. Not sure who to tag because idk who’d wanna read but hopefully someone will like this random thing. Thank you in advance to anyone who reads :D and happy late birthday/merry Christmas to the beautiful and amazing @captainrogerrsbeard!!!

Summer stepped out of the steamy bathroom and into the cooler air of her and Bucky’s bedroom, clad in just a towel and feeling much better now that she’d washed her busy day off. Work had been long and she was tired and hungry for dinner, but at least now she was clean and feeling like a human being again.

She picked a comfy sundress out of her closet and tossed it on the bed, heading towards her dresser to grab a pair of panties when a knock on her door made her pause. Thinking it to be her mom or best friend, she called out a hang on and kept on her way. But then there was another knock, and then another, and with an annoyed scrunch of her nose she marched to the door and threw it open.

“What do you w- oh,” she blushed suddenly, looking up at the tall, grinning, pretty much physically perfect man standing before her and leaning casually against her doorframe. “Uh h-hi? I thought you were, um... on assignment in... uh....”

“I was,” he replied, deep voice and heavy Spanish accent making Summer even more instantly nervous than she already was. “But then your husband reassigned me to something more important while he’s away on his trip overseas.”

“Really? To what?” she asked, painfully aware that she was in only a towel and even more so aware when his eyes dropped down and slowly made their way back up to her own.

He licked his lips and smirked, “You.”

Her eyes widened. “Me?”

“May I come in?” he asked, looking up at her through long lashes and nearly making her whimper from that alone. “Please?”

She nodded quickly and opened the door fully, stepping aside and feeling her head spin as he walked past her. Bucky had told her that he was having some kind of surprise delivered to her today, and if this was what he’d meant... holy crap.

“So,” she said after closing the door and turning to face him, holding on to the towel to keep it firmly in place, “when you say assigned to me, what... does that mean?”

He lingered close to her, smiling and slipping a hand into his pocket. He made a simple t shirt and jeans look sinfully good, better than any man had the right to do. “He asked me to take care of you while he’s gone.”

“.... Take care of me?”

“Anything you might want or need,” he nodded, taking a step closer to her. “He said he trusts me to look after you and keep you happy in his absence.”

She swallowed hard. It was impossible to miss the meaning in his words. “Um...”

“You can say no, of course,” he added quickly. “I would understand if you did.”

“No, no,” she blurted entirely too fast for her own comfort. “No, I’m - I’m not saying no. I’m just surprised. I wasn’t expecting this or... you.”

“He wanted it to be a surprise,” he smiled, taking in the blush that had extended down to her chest.

“Yeah, well... you could have warned me,” she sighed, running an anxious hand through her long damp hair.

“Yes, but then I wouldn’t get to see you all flustered like this,” he noted with an infuriating little grin. “And you’re so pretty when you blush.”

She groaned and dragged her hand over her face, her heart racing and mind generally going haywire as she tried not to squirm under his gaze. “Oh God...”

He gazed at her with clear affection for a few quiet moments before asking in a much more serious tone, “What do you want, Summer? I can go if that’s what you want.”

She shook her head instantly. “No, I - no.”

He nodded lightly, taking that as an invitation to step closer and place his hand next to her head on the door that she was leaning against. He looked deep into her eyes and murmured lowly, “Would you like to know what we talked about, when he asked me to take care of you?”

She didn’t answer, finding it hard to breathe with him so close and sharing the same breaths as her.

“He told me he wanted me to keep you company, make sure you don’t get too anxious while he’s away. And to make you come as many times as you can handle until he returns.”

She let out a whimper on accident, unable to hold it in. That earned her another smirk and a long finger tracing her cheekbone as he spoke more.

“I told him it would be my pleasure to do this. Then I began to tell him all the things I planned to do to you.” His fingertips slid down her neck to her chest, brushing along the reddened skin sweetly. “How I would touch you, taste you, fuck you until you screamed for me... and I only stopped when it made us both come.”

She nearly fainted where she stood. “Oh my God, you and Bucky had phone sex,” she all but gasped, feeling like the room was suddenly 100 degrees hotter with his filthy words bouncing around her head.

He tilted her chin up, forcing her to look him in the eyes. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you. Having you all to myself for a week... I’m going to enjoy it too much.” He gently grasped the towel between his fingers and asked, “Can I...”

She nodded, staring at his lips in a haze until she felt the towel hit the floor around her feet. She shivered lightly, suddenly fully exposed before his hungry eyes. He looked over her like he’d never seen anything better in the world than her naked body, his large palm coming to rest on her belly and slowly moving up. Her skin was warm and still slightly damp from her shower, nipples hardened even before he gently cupped her breast and cursed in Spanish under his breath as he gave a light squeeze. She couldn’t take it anymore, a needy noise escaping her throat as she reached out and pulled him in for a desperate kiss.

It was hardly the first time they’d kissed but it was the first time that it happened while they were fully alone. Without Bucky there to watch and direct and call the shots it changed the dynamic between them completely, making the experience a new one as they devoured each other. Her arms wrapped around his neck while his pulled her close, her naked body pressed to his fully clothed one, and Summer forgot all about dinner and her evening plans when Jon picked her up and turned to carry her to bed, their lips never parting until her back hit the mattress.

Without his body against hers she suddenly felt cold and exposed, but it only lasted a beat as he pulled off his shirt and then climbed into the bed on top of her. His hands slid up her hips, his lips kissing her lower belly as she gripped his shoulders and watched with a dazed expression. It was surreal, being in her and Bucky’s bed with another man even if it was one they’d brought to that very bed multiple times before, but all he had to do was peer up at her with his pretty eyes and his messy hair and she was putty in his hands. She pulled until his lips were on hers again and the weight of his body was a comforting sensation on her own, making her feel safer than she ever did when she was alone.

Maybe she really had needed this in Bucky’s absence. Maybe Bucky knew her better than she knew herself.

“I’ve missed you,” he whispered against her lips, cradling her face sweetly as she opened her eyes to look into his. “You feel even better than I remember.”

Her still-present blush deepened, her fingers sliding into his thick dark hair. “I really have you all week?”

“All week,” he assured her with a smile. “Until you have your Daddy back.”

His choice of words made her almost moan out loud before she pulled him down for another deep kiss. She missed the hell out of Bucky and wished he was there in bed with them, but damn if this didn’t make it easier.

They kissed until their lungs burned for air and he broke away first, his lips tripping down to her neck and making her squirm with the attention he lavished on her there. But he was only getting started, moving further down with each kiss until he reached her chest and the swell of her breasts. She watched with anticipation as he inched lower, then moaned softly and let her eyes flutter shut as his tongue flicked gently at a sensitive nipple.

It reminded her of one night in the very same bed when she’d been caught in between him and her husband, their mouths on her breasts and Jon’s fingers inside of her, driving her to an orgasm that still made her stomach flip when she thought about it. This time was no exception, and he responded to her whimpering and squirming by sliding a hand between her legs and groaning when he found her dripping for him.

“Mi belleza,” he groaned, lifting his head as he stroked her gently, making her shudder and gasp. “You’re this wet for me?”

She nodded, moaning his name into a kiss that he laid on her lips as he continued to toy with her. The sound delighted him, making him grin against her lips and murmur as he pulled away, “Such a good girl.”

She thrived under the praise, his words amplifying her pleasure and making her head swim as he gave her one last parting kiss before sliding down her body. He nestled between her legs and gripped her hips, pulling her to his face and closing his eyes as he took a few seconds to breathe her in. She tried to ignore her instant rush of slight embarrassment, focusing instead on the way that he hummed and noted, “Still so sweet.” Then he dove in, the first touch of his tongue sending her back arching and body singing for him.

He was exceptionally good at this, and he enjoyed doing it as much as Bucky did... which was a lot. Summer could only wonder how she’d gotten so lucky, gripping Jon’s increasingly wild hair with tense fingers and trying to hold still as he tasted her but finding it next to impossible. But that was okay because he was happy to drop an arm over her belly and hold her in place, groaning into her wetness as he lapped it up and sending a moan she couldn’t hide flying out of her mouth. For a split second she wondered what some of the others would think if they heard, knowing that Bucky was gone and that whoever was making her moan like this was definitely not her husband, but she just didn’t care.

He was so good and so skilled that it felt like only seconds had passed when she felt herself nearing the edge, her legs starting to shake and breaths coming faster, and he knew she was close. He tightened his grip on her and redoubled his efforts with a low moan that she felt in her very soul, and just like that she came with a breathless cry of his name that she couldn’t restrain. He worked her through it and pulled away only when the last wave of exquisite pleasure had left her, lifting his head and panting with a self-satisfied grin as he took in the mess he’d already made of her.

She opened her eyes only after he’d slipped back up her body and kissed her, letting her taste herself and then drawing away to cradle her face and share a little smile with her. “You’re so beautiful when you come.”

Her blush returned tenfold, and she ducked her head to try to hide it. “Oh God...”

Laying next to her and pulling her against him, he lifted her head back up with a finger to her chin, pressing a short kiss to her lips. “Can I tell you the truth?”

She blinked, unsure of quite what to expect. “Yeah?”

“My plan wasn’t to get you into bed this fast,” he chuckled, and she had to admit, she loved his laugh. As unbelievably gorgeous as he was, his laugh was simply adorable and it just wasn’t fair. “I wanted to come by and tell you what Bucky asked of me, then take you downstairs for dinner. But then you opened the door in just that towel and...” He paused and licked his lips, shaking his head slightly. “You see what you do to me?”

She smiled at that, her eyes tripping down and seeing for herself just what she did to him with one quick glance at the state of his jeans. A surge of bravery spurring her on, she reached down and rubbed her hand over him through the denim, watching as his breath hitched and eyes darkened at the touch. “I did that?” she asked playfully.

“You know you did,” he groaned before she kissed him, the press of her tongue against his rendering him speechless until she pulled away. “I’ve never controlled myself very well with you. Or your husband.”

It was true, she knew as she took her hand off of him only to finally rid him of his damn jeans. From almost the very minute he’d swept into their lives he’d barely been able to keep his hands off of both of them, and the connection between all three of them had been so electric so fast it had taken them all by surprise. She was drawn to him like a moth to a flame and he to them, resulting in them falling into bed together the first night they’d met him. It was wildly out of their norm but it had worked out and he’d earned their trust over time as not just an occasional lover but a reliable and loyal comrade.

And if Bucky trusted him to look after Summer in his absence, it proved how incredibly deep that trust ran.

She pulled off his white boxers with his jeans, finally getting him as naked as she was and she couldn’t help but take a moment to appreciate the sight. He was lean and tall and strong and tan and everything about him made her mouth water, including the very hard cock she wasted no time in wrapping her hand around and stroking. She watched his mouth fall open and eyes roll shut under her touch, loving the effect that she had on him and letting it fill her with confidence.

“I’m really glad you’re here,” she told him sweetly, smiling as his eyes opened and met hers. He reached out and touched her hair, then ran his fingers down her arm and her side until they curled around her hip in a soft but firm grip.

“I am too, novia,” he murmured back, and then he watched as she lowered her head and closed her eyes before licking up the length of his cock. He cursed under his breath and watched through hooded eyes as she played with him, tasting and teasing before finally closing her mouth around him and sucking him down.

He was a little bigger than Bucky but she was a pro at this and knew just how he liked it, both herself and her husband well acquainted with how to properly suck this man off. One time they’d done it together, swirling their tongues along his length until they met in a sloppy kiss at the tip, taking turns sucking until he’d finally come down one of their throats - Bucky’s, as it had turned out. The memory brought a new gush between her legs and she started sucking longer and deeper, earning ragged gasps from Jon as his hand moved to her ass and gripped it hard. She liked the slight twinge of pain and it drove her on, losing herself in her task until suddenly his hand was tugging her hair and he was babbling at her in Spanish to stop before it was too late.

She couldn’t help but pout a little after pulling away. “But I wanted to -“

“I know, baby, I know,” he groaned, pulling her up so that she was on top of him, hips pressed to his as they kissed. “You’re so good for me. But I want to come inside of you.”

She whimpered at those words, wishing at that moment that he really could truly do that and that they didn’t need to use a condom, but it was non-negotiable. She knew why and fully agreed with the logic of it, of course, but she just wished that it wasn’t necessary and that she could truly feel him come inside her. It made her feel filthy to want that so bad but she just couldn’t help it.

Keeping that to herself, she kissed him a few more times before sitting up and reaching over to the nightstand. As she rifled around for a condom Jon reached up and cupped both of her breasts in his hands, gently squeezing and rubbing his thumbs over her nipples as she shuddered in response to the touch. Then he leaned up and brought his mouth to her, lips wrapping around her nipple just as she finally grabbed a condom and leaned back over his way. She gripped his hair in her free hand and moaned, rocking down against his hardness and giving them both a little friction as he drove her crazy with his mouth, switching to her other breast and making her yank a little on his hair in her fervor.

“So sensitive,” he noted approvingly, face still pressed to her breast. “I wonder if you could come just from this.”

Sometimes she wondered that as well, but tonight wasn’t the night to find out. She pulled his head away and held the condom out to him, all but begging, “Please, I cant wait anymore.”

He snatched the condom from her hand with a smirk, tearing it open easily and then reaching behind her to put it on as he murmured, “Do you need it, belleza?”

She nodded quickly. “I need it so bad, sir.”

“Then be a good girl,” he said, taking her hips in hand and guiding her until she was hovering over his cock, “and take it.”

She sunk down on him slowly, eyes closed and lips parted and head tilted back, every inch of her enjoying the intrusion and how overwhelming it was. She liked the fleeting almost-pain, the feeling of being pushed to her limits as her body adjusted, and most of all she loved opening her eyes and seeing the pleasure written on Jon’s face. The fact that they were alone this time and that this was just between them and every moan and furrow of his brow was because of her and her alone... it affected her far more than she ever would have expected.

She rose up and rocked back down slowly, her hands on his chest and eyes on his. He reached up and moved her hair over her shoulder, trailing it down over her breast and finally resting both hands on her hips as he laid back and watched greedily as she built up a slow but satisfying rhythm and rode him the way that she wanted to. It was quiet at first save for their increasingly heavy breaths, Summer biting her lip and closing her eyes when he hit that spot inside of her just right and sent a strangled moan flying from her lips. The sound seemed to change the atmosphere, his hands sliding to her ass and gripping hard as he groaned and cursed and only heightened her pleasure.

“Oh God,” she whimpered, lowering herself down to capture his lips in a hungry, messy kiss that he moaned into. She kept rocking and he met each roll of her hips with a thrust of his own, kissing her until the heat between them became too much. He cursed roughly and the next thing Summer knew she was on her back underneath him and he was holding her hands down above her head, seizing the control and hips snapping into hers as she happily let him take the reins and drive her pleasure. He felt amazing inside of her and on top of her, and she trusted him enough to let go and stop thinking and submit to him, not having realized how badly she’d needed this until that very moment.

He whispered words of praise into her ear, some she could understand and others she couldn’t, fucking her with a passion that was as mutual as it was exhilarating. The sight of him above her, beautiful face awash in bliss and unruly strands of hair falling into his eyes, was almost just too much. She sunk her nails into his back and urged him on, taking him deeper and harder until they were both on the brink and they both knew it.

“Now, mi belleza, now,” he demanded gently, lips pressed to hers but not kissing, simply sharing the same ragged breaths. “Come for me, Summer.”

She obeyed before he finished saying her name, tightening around him and letting go with a moan that would almost certainly be heard through the halls outside their door. He followed just after, not particularly quiet himself and not caring who heard, his whole world narrowed down to her and her alone as they shared their pleasure in that exquisite moment. By the time it was over and the last twinges of ecstasy had dissipated, his face was buried in her neck and she was simply done for, limp and boneless and absolutely happy beneath him.

Somehow, she loved her husband even more for letting her have this... indulgence in his absence. His ways of looking after her may have been unconventional, but they were exactly what she needed.

She could have fallen asleep there just like that, Jon still inside of her, but eventually he shifted and slid gently out of her and placed a sweet kiss on her lips. Then he slipped away to dispose of the condom, not gone long before he was back in bed with her and pulling the covers up as she snuggled into his arms. He knew she was cuddler and he was always happy to give her anything she wanted.

“Feel better?” he asked, both arms wrapped around her tight as he pressed a kiss to her forehead.

“Oh my God yes,” she smiled, looking up at him sweetly. “I can still hardly believe you’re even here but I’m so glad you are.”

He smiled back, raising his eyebrows playfully. “Have you missed me?”

“We both have,” she admitted, tracing nonsense patterns on his chest with her fingers.

His smiled widened as he reached down and took her hand, bringing it to her lips to kiss her knuckles. “So have I.”

“I’m sorry it’s just me,” she shrugged lightly. “I know I’m a little more... boring than Bucky, but -“

He cut her off with an unexpectedly deep kiss, the kind that took her breath away and made her feel like her world had shifted a bit. He pulled away and looked into her slightly dazed eyes and told her lowly, “The very last thing you are, novia, is boring. You are more than enough to satisfy me, I promise.”

Her cheeks heating with a slight blush, she smiled in a way that gave away how much he’d warmed her heart from those words. Then her eyes widened suddenly and she squeaked, “Oh! Can you hand me my phone?”

He nodded and reached over to the nightstand where her phone laid, handing it to her and watching as she pulled up the camera. She flipped it to face them and then snuggled in closer to him as she held the phone out, telling him, “Smile!”

He wrapped his arms around her and flashed a charming smile to accompany her more shy one, having a feeling what - or whom - this picture was for. And just as he suspected, she then pulled up her texts with Bucky and sent the picture with a caption of, Thank you for my ‘surprise’ :)

He chuckled as she then tossed the phone away, leaning up to kiss him as she began to climb back on top of him. “Are you hungry? We could go downstairs for dinner.”

She shook her head, content to stay in bed and sate her hunger in a much more fun way. “Nope. Food can wait.” Then she kissed him again, the kiss lingering and growing and slowly reigniting the need between them both.

Jon couldn’t protest in the least. “Anything you want, sweet girl.”