#feels like forever since i worked on them but I have been busy 😅

[dawn-moths]

there’s a lil noe one shot coming tomorrow for my blogs 2 year anniversary ☺️

[canirove]

My neighbour Rúben | Chapter 21

Author's note: And we've made it to the end 😔 Hope you guys have enjoyed this story even if it isn't the very best out there and the plot isn't groundbreaking 😅 But sometimes you just need to read something cute and simple, and that was my aim with this. As always, thank you very much for reading and all your support. It means a lot 💜

Previous chapter

Masterlist

It had been a month since my fall at the Etihad. Since I had made it to the news because someone had reported that the woman rolling down the stairs was Rúben Dias girlfriend and that that was the reason why he had run to her aid half way through the team’s warm-up. Turns out that I wasn’t dreaming when I thought I had heard his voice.

And, of course, after being on tv now everyone knew about us, my parents included. After a few calls from my mum asking me how I was, she had finally convinced my dad to come visit me in Manchester, see with her own eyes that I was actually ok and that I wasn't lying every time she had called me, and also meet Rúben.

“Can you please stop? You are making me nervous” he said.

“I can’t. This is huge, Rúben. Like… huge” I said, dramatically lifting my arms in the air. “It’s not just that my parents are coming back to Manchester after ages and the possibility of us fixing things, but also ruining them forever. They are coming to meet you too. My boyfriend. The first I’m introducing them to.”

“Hopefully the last one too” he replied with his usual smirk.

“God, I hate you” I said, back to pacing around the living room. 

We were meeting at Lucy’s apartment since she and Julia were out with Rodri getting to know each other a bit more. Though Julia was already as in love with him as she was with Rúben.

“I love you too” he chuckled, those three words being something I still hadn’t been able to say despite being what I felt. 

“Urgh, that’s them” I said when I heard the door’s bell. 

“Relax, it’s gonna be ok” Rúben said, putting his hands on my shoulders. “I’ll charm them the same way I’ve done with your whole family.”

“Yeah, sure” I said, with a nervous laugh.

“I will. This is gonna work, ok?”

“Ok” I said, taking a deep breath.

“I love you” Rúben said.

“I love you too” I replied, not realising what I had said until I saw the smile on his face. I loved his smirk, but this one… This one had just become my new favourite smile.

“C´mon, let’s go meet my in-laws. We don’t want to keep them waiting” he said, taking my hand and walking towards the door.

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

And all that, takes us to the present day. 

"Do you know what day it is today?" Rúben asks me as we walk towards our apartment. Because his apartment, is ours now.

Lucy and Julia have moved to Rodri's house, where she is loving having a huge garden to play football with him. Though what she is loving the most, is the idea of becoming a big sister in just a few months.

"It wasn't planned, it just happened" Lucy shrugged after sharing the news. "But I know he is the one, and not because every single person that knows me has said it. It is because I can feel it. It is different to what I've felt with all the other guys I've been with before, my ex included. He is the one."

After they left, Rúben asked me to move in with him, and I obviously said yes. Now I still take care of Julia from time to time when both Lucy and Rodri are busy, but I am not her nanny anymore.

"I'm 6 now! I don't need a nanny, that's for babies" she said one day. 

What I keep doing tho, is being her piano teacher. Hers, and a bunch of kids from her school. We’ve kept the piano at Lucy’s apartment, only going there for my lessons so we don’t bother Rúben. But besides teaching, I’m also playing at events and weddings all over the country. It doesn’t matter if they are posh or tacky, if they have a low budget or lots of money. If I like the people I’m playing for, I say yes. 

My dad didn't like the idea at first and said that, of course, I should focus on teaching. But when he saw how much I was earning by playing on those events, he changed his mind. And I want to think that the fact that he was seeing me enjoying playing the piano for the first time in my life, also had something to do with it. 

And things have also kept getting better and better between us. He has joined grandad and I at some Arsenal games, and Rúben got to charm him just as he said he would. Though I must confess I still am getting used to how well they get along. Seeing them laughing together feels so weird… 

"Do you remember or not?" Rúben asks me again when we make it to the front door, the new doorman opening it for us. Roger retired and he is now living in the countryside with his wife.

"Wednesday?"

"That's now what I asked. The number."

"Eh… 10th?"

"Urgh" he says, rolling his eyes. "Today, three years ago, we met for the first time. And it happened here, in front of this lift."

It had been three years already. Three years since I met Julia at the shopping centre. Since Lucy asked me to work for her. Since Rúben and I crossed paths on this same spot and I just froze in place. He was the most handsome man I had ever seen, and he still is. 

"I remember the way you looked at me" he chuckles. "You couldn't stop staring."

"I probably looked like an idiot. Or a creep."

"You looked very cute" he says, calling for the lift. "I couldn't stop thinking about you, about who you could be."

"Really?" I ask. He had never told me about it, about what he had felt when we first met. In my case, I didn't have to tell him. As usual, my face had said it all.

"Really. I don't know what it was, but there was something special about you. It felt... Different."

"Lucy would call that the one feeling" I chuckle.

"The what?" 

"The feeling you get when you meet the right person. The one" I say, walking into the lift.

"Interesting… But you know," Rúben says, walking behind me and pressing our floor's number. "This lift isn't just important because we met here for the first time. It also is important because it brought us together again."

"Oh, please. Don't remind me of that day."

"It wasn’t that bad" Rúben says with that smirk of his.

"The beginning was really bad. The end, not so much" I say, mimicking his smile.

"That's what I thought. And here is the thing" he says, stopping the lift.

"Rúben, what are you doing?"

"Listen to me" he says, taking my hands on his. "You just said it yourself, that what I felt when I first met you was because you were the one. And it's the truth. You are my one. The one I want to spend the rest of my life with. I had a list of things I wanted to tell you, but I’m too nervous and I've forgotten most of them, so I'll keep it simple" he says, letting go of my hands and getting on one knee. "Will you marry me?" 

"Rúben, I..." I mumble, watching him get a small box from his pocket and opening it, the most gorgeous ring I had ever seen inside it. "Are you sure?"

"I've never been more sure or serious about anything in my life. So I'll ask again, here, on this lift that brought us together. Twice. Will you marry me?"

"Yes" I say, my voice shaking. "Yes, Rúben, I will marry you."

I barely give him any time to get up, throwing myself at him and kissing him. A kiss, that three years later, keeps feeling and being movie worth it.

"I love you" he whispers, his lips still on mine.

"I love you too" I reply.

"But before we keep making out, can I put this on your finger?" he says, showing me box.

"Yes, of course."

"I hope it fits" he chuckles. "Lucy said it was the right size."

"She knows?"

"She knows" he smiles. "And she was right. Perfect."

"Wow" I say, inspecting it closer. "It's beautiful, Rúben."

"Do you like it?"

"I love it. Though not as much as I love you" I say, kissing him again.

"We should probably go home, don't you think?" he says. "Continue with the celebrations there."

"I like how that sounds. Very very much."

But the moment the lift's doors open on our floor...

"Congratulations!" our friends and families scream.

"What the..." I mutter, my heart on my throat. "What is this?"

"A surprise party to celebrate our engagement" Rúben says, hugging me from behind.

"So… they all knew?"

"Yep" he replies, kissing my neck.

"What if I had said no?"

"Oh, c'mon, that was impossible" Lucy says, coming to give a hug. "He is your one, remember?"

"He is, yes" I say, looking at him while Rodri and Ivan congratulate Rúben, a big smile on my face. "He is the one."

━━━━❃━━━━ FIN ━━━━❃━━━━

[im-a-marvel-ous-hoe]

Secret Santa | Bucky Barnes (5th Day of 🎄)

(Credits to the owner of this pic!)

We’re almost half way there! I hope I’m not boring you guys 😅 ya girl had a lot of fun writing this one!

Christmas Masterlist <- check out my other holiday fics!

~~~~

Christmas is one of the most wonderful times of the year. It’s a time to be with family, friends and the people who love you. It’s a time where people give back to those in need. It’s a time where the world seems like there’s magic in the air.

It’s also a time where one can express their true feelings towards a special someone.

Though that seems like it’s easier said than done.

My fear of rejection has always held me back ever since I first met you. You have always been so constant and loyal and patient and loving… It's no wonder why I fell for you. You are a true beauty, anyone with common sense could see that. I’ve been waiting for the perfect opportunity to tell you how I feel ever since I realized how important you became to me.

Every year, Tony likes to throw a big Christmas party filled with multiple people who I don’t really care so much for, if I’m being completely honest. Soon right after that event, he’ll throw a small one reserved for family and friends only. There, is where we have our annual Secret Santa and every year I’ve been waiting to draw up your name.

This year, I finally did.

I held onto your box carefully in my hand, making sure I don’t accidentally misplace it while I anxiously fidgeted with my free one as I looked for you in the small crowd. I spotted Steve and Nat chatting at the mini bar while she served him a drink. Bruce was too busy talking to Tony about some new science experiment he’s been working on and wanted his input. Sam chatted away with Thor while playing a losing game of darts against Clint. Why he chose to go against him, I’ll never know.

It seemed like everywhere I looked, the one person I wanted to see wasn’t there. I bit my bottom lip as my eyes continued to search around the room.

“She’s not here yet.”

“Yeah, I know I just – …” I looked to my right and saw Wanda standing next to me, a knowing smile on her face. “Who are you talking about?” She just chuckled and raised a quick eyebrow. “You know who.. Sorry, I couldn’t help it. Your thoughts were just so loud and I had to come over and help quiet them down.”

I bowed my head in embarrassment. “Sorry.” She shook her head. “Don’t be. It’s kinda cute seeing the White Wolf fawn over a girl.” My head lifted back up quickly as she continued. “We never get to see this side of Bucky. It’s a nice pace from the constant brooding and staring contests you and Sam get into.”

“We do not – ”

“Yes you do, but that’s besides the point. Your girl isn’t here yet so I took the liberty of calling her and asking where she was before coming to talk to you. She’s a few minutes away.” She gave me a small smile as I returned one back to her. “So um with that being said.. how long have you..?”

She held her hand up to stop me from talking. “A while. You’re not exactly quiet or subtle with your thoughts.” My face must’ve been crimson red as she just laughed. “Oh my God..” I covered my face with my hand and shook my head. “I am so sorry about that.. um.. you – you haven’t – ”

“Don’t worry, Bucky. I haven’t told anyone, so your secret is safe with me.” She made a motion of locking her lips with her fingers and throwing away the key. “It’s not mine to tell anyway.”

“Thank you.”

She glanced around the room and softly hummed to herself. My thoughts must’ve been too loud and now I’m just paranoid at how long she has heard me. “I didn’t say anything before because one, I wanted to spare you the embarrassment and two, I was too busy freaking out about the fact that you’re in love with my best friend and I’ve been wanting you two to get together since forever.”

I laughed at the absurdity and held your gift close to my chest. “I’m not sure what to say. I’m embarrassed either way.” She turned her head towards the entrance and smiled. “You should fix your tie, Mr. Barnes. Ms. Y/L/N is straight ahead.” I followed her gaze and felt the literal wind get knocked out of me.

There you stood in a dark red dress that hugged your curves perfectly. The v-neck accentuating your assets in the best way possible and the way your hips swayed side to side as you walked more confidently my way made my brain short circuit. You look absolutely breathtaking. “You got this, Bucky. I’m rooting for you.” Wanda spoke as she left my side to meet you halfway to greet you in a hug.

I watched as the two of you started a short conversation. My gaze drifted up and down your figure. You seemed to outshine all of Tony’s expensive decorations as you chatted away with your friend. I guess you seemed to notice the way my feet were glued to the floor and you suddenly made your way in front of me.

“Hey, you.” You smiled and opened your arms, your gift bag swinging back and forth in your hand. “Hey, doll.” I smiled and embraced you in my arms, your perfume overwhelming my senses and becoming intoxicating. I want to dive my face deeper into your neck until I can figure out that sweet scent of yours.

God, what is it you wear that makes you smell so heavenly?

Pulling away, I noticed the gift in your hand. I motioned over to the bag and asked, “Who’s it for?” You lifted it up and proudly smiled to yourself. “Okay, don’t tell, but it’s for Thor. For a guy who’s so easily amused by everything, it was surprisingly difficult to find something.” You looked down at the box in my hand and pointed. “How about you? Who’s your secret Santa?”

“Uhh haha it’s.. It’s a secret.” I watched as your mouth hung open in surprise and couldn’t help but chuckle. “What? That’s not fair! I told you who I got.”

“That’s on you for answering! The whole point of a Secret Santa is to keep it a secret.” You rolled your eyes and crossed your arms above your chest. “I can keep a secret!” I hummed and shook my head. “Apparently you can’t.” I laughed and looked down at the box in my hand. “And besides, this gift is going to someone really.. special.”

I missed the way your face slightly fell by me being too busy looking at the gift that’s actually meant for you. “Well, I’m sure whoever it is, will love it.” Noticing the slight change in your tone, I glanced up and saw you smile up at me. “I know I would.” I could feel my heart wanting to beat out of my chest at the thought of you opening your gift and you finally realizing how I feel.

I quickly glanced at the box and debated if I should just tell you that it’s yours, before Thor made his way over to us and greeted you in a giant bear hug. “Miss Y/N! You finally made it!” You laughed in his embrace as you hugged him back. “I was beginning to think you would be too late to try any of the Asgardian deserts I brought with me. The tiny human of ants seems to enjoy them.’

“Oh, well if Scott is eating, I better quickly grab something before it’s all gone.” You smiled as you turned your attention back to me. “I’ll see you later?” I nodded and smiled, raising my hand up as if to say ‘go’. “Yeah, sure. Of course. You’ll know where to find me.” She nodded and followed after Thor. “Of course, I can’t help myself too and have eaten more than I’d like to say.”

“Okay, now I definitely need to grab something before you eat the rest!” Your laughter faded away as I stayed rooted in place. I know you’re friends with everyone here and I would never tell you who you can and can’t hang out with, but a selfish part of me just wanted one evening where we wouldn’t be interrupted and I could just tell you everything. The weight of the box in my hand suddenly felt heavier than before.

I sighed and made my way over to the mini bar. I sat the present on the counter next to me and looked up at Nat. “What’ll ya have, soldier?” She asked and raised an eyebrow. “Just a beer, thanks.” I leaned my head against my hand as I kept my gaze on the counter. She placed the opened bottle in front of me and I reached for it and took a swing.

“You doin’ alright there?” She asked once I placed the glass bottle down. “Mmm..”

“Very talkative tonight, are we?” She sighed and placed her hands on the counter, leaning forward. “What’s up?” I met her gaze and sat up. “Nothin’. Nothin’ I just.. it’s nothing.”

“Doesn’t seem like nothing.” She stated and tilted her head to the side. “Does your brooding have anything to do with a certain long red dressed girl sharing a whatever that is Thor brought?” I pinched my eyebrows together. “What are you talking about?”

“Your crush on Y/N.” She said simply as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “How do you know about that? Wanda swore she wouldn’t tell anyone!”

“She didn’t.”

“I didn’t.”

I heard two different voices at the same time as Wanda sat down on the seat next to me and Nat stood, smirking. “I figured it out on my own.”

“Oh c’mon..” I groaned and took another gulp of my beer. “You, sir, outed yourself.” Wanda spoke while holding her hands up as if to say it’s not her fault.

“So, now that that’s established, I’m gonna go out on a wild limb here and say that based on how close you’re keeping that gift box of yours near you, she’s your Secret Santa?”

“Nat, please, don’t overanalyze me. It’s bad enough Wanda knows my exact thoughts on how I feel. I don’t need you to tease me about it.”

“Hey, I’m not Tony or Sam. I won’t tease you about it ‘til the end of the earth” She joked. “I know how to keep my mouth shut.” I looked to my side and saw Thor’s arms around you, clearly enjoying and thanking you for your gift as you smiled against him. Seeing how happy you looked with him made me second guess if I should just quickly run out to go find something else to give you.

What if my gift was too personal?

“You have nothing to worry about, Buck. Trust me. Because it’ll be from you, I just know we’ll be hearing about it for weeks.”

That’s kind of what I’m afraid of.

Wanda nudged my shoulder and smiled. “C’mon Barnes, Steve told us how much of a charmer you were back in the days. You tellin’ us you can’t sweet talk our Y/N and show her your fun flirty side that I know is deep down inside?”

I chuckled nervously and shook my head. “Heh I – I don’t know. It’s been a long time since I’ve asked someone out on a date.”

They both shared a look that made me feel like I was out of the loop on some kind of inside joke. They seemed to be having a whole conversation in their heads as I sat in between them. Nat's eyes motioned over to me as Wanda tilted her head at me and I suddenly felt like I was being watched and very much exposed.

“You know, you’re both acting as if I can’t tell you’re talking about me.” I raised an eyebrow as Nat waved me off. I chuckled to myself and brought your present closer to me. I know my gift isn’t much and I might make a fool out of myself, but it was give me so much pride to see you show off –

“She won’t reject you.” I looked up at Wanda and furrowed my eyebrows together. “Just.. trust me. She won’t turn you away, in fact she might be very flattered and is dying for you to do something and, oh I don’t know.. make a move?” My eyes slightly widened as I looked back and forth between her and Nat as she just nodded her head.

My gaze found you leaving Thor’s arms and walking over to the back door, opening it and disappearing behind it. “Merry Christmas, Bucky.” Wanda said as I stood up, getting ready to go towards you before stopping my movements as something clicked in my head.

“You..?” She nodded her head. “I couldn’t figure out what to physically give you and I couldn’t go another day hearing you two pine over each other. So I thought of the next best thing, giving you the confidence to go get your girl is the best gift I could give you.” I gave her a smile as she swatted her hand back and forth as if to push me away and laughed. “I can’t wait another minute. Go!”

I quickly grabbed your present and started walking backwards. I couldn’t wipe the smile off of my face. “Thank you, Wanda! I owe you big time!” She waved me off as I turned around and made my way towards the door you just walked out of a few moments ago.

I firmly held the box in my hand and took a deep breath. I reached for the door handle and opened it, leaving the warm atmosphere of people chatting away while soft Christmas music played in the background and followed you outside.

The sound of the door opening and closing caught your attention as you quickly turned to see who now stood out here in the open with you. “Bucky.” You smiled at me. “What are you doing out here?”

“I could ask you the same thing..” I slowly walked closer and noticed small goosebumps on your skin as you tried to ignore the cold air. You hugged yourself, trying to keep warm as the wind blew your hair away from your face. “.. Coming out here without a jacket. Don’t you know how cold New York gets during winter?”

I unbuttoned my jacket as you shook your head, holding your hand up as if to stop me. “Bucky, no. I’m fine, really.” I slipped off my sleeve and switched the present to the opposite hand to slip off the remaining sleeve. “Mm-mmm, if my momma could see me now and see that I didn’t offer up my jacket to a beautiful girl to keep warm, she’d smack me on the back of my head and tell me off.” I chuckled and placed my blazer on top of your shoulders.

You brought it closer to your body and softly smiled at me. I can’t quite tell if the pink on your cheeks is from me or the cold, but I’d like to think it had somethin’ to do with what I just did. I couldn’t help the giddy feeling I had in the pit of my stomach of you wearing something of mine. “Thank you, but you didn’t have to do that.”

“I wanted to.”

“What if you get cold?”

“Doll, don’t you worry about me one bit. I’ll be okay, I promise you.”

We both smiled at each other as you gripped onto my jacket to help shield you from the cold. “By the way, you didn’t answer my question earlier. What are you doin’ out here?”

“Well, Thor suggested we bring out the karaoke machine and I needed to find a way out from embarrassing myself.” You laughed as you turned to look out at the night sky. The moon seemed to shine against your skin, highlighting how soft your features are. It makes you look like a goddess, that you’re too beautiful to even look at.

“Ahh, we wouldn’t want that, now would we?”

“Tony would’ve recorded it and had blackmail over my head for years! Poor Thor, doesn’t realize what he’s gonna get himself into.”

I laughed and wondered if anyone is tipsy enough to join in or if it’s gonna be a solo concert by our one and only God of Thunder. Here’s hoping he at least has a decent voice. “Ahh, he’ll be okay. He’ll have fun regardless.”

You softly hummed as you took a quick peek at my hand and noticed the present I’ve still yet to give. “I um.. I actually saw you walk out and was wondering if I could steal a little bit of your time? Without any interruptions.” You looked up at me and smiled. “Well… it looks like it’s just the two of us out here. I don’t think anyone is gonna come outside into the cold.”

“You did.”

“That’s besides the point.” You laughed and subtly glanced down at the present once more before meeting my gaze. “Somethin’ you wanna talk about?” I cleared my throat and raised my arm up to scratch the back of my neck. “Yeah, actually um.. I’d say it’s pretty important considering it’s about you.”

“Oh? Okay uh.. what’s goin’ on?”

I took in a shaky breath and held up the box in my hand, extending my arm towards you and watched your eyes slowly widen. “Merry Christmas, doll.” You hesitantly reached for the box and looked down at the pretty wrapping before tilting your head and meeting my eyes.

“Me?”

I nodded.

“You.”

You softly smiled and started unwrapping your gift, the sound of the paper ripping made me hold my breath in anticipation as I watched your reaction once you popped the small box open. Your lips parted as you took in my gift and I waited for any sign of discomfort or disappointment. You reached in and pulled out my dog tags, your thumb running along the metal engraved with my name.

“Bucky..”

“You’re always playing with them whenever I’m not wearing it and.. and I saw you slip it on once when you thought I wouldn’t notice. I just thought.. I thought that maybe you’d like to keep them safe for me.”

You stayed silent as you continued looking at my necklace in your hand. I tried analyzing your reaction, but my nerves wouldn’t let me be rational and my mind went straight to you not liking your gift. Suddenly feeling very exposed and cold, I quickly tried to rush out apologies if your present wasn’t something you would want.

“I’m sorry if it’s kinda shitty. I just figured you’d want it since.. I can just take it back and get you something else if that’s what you – ”

“No!”

I went to reach for the necklace but stopped in my movements at your sudden exclaim. My necklace held tightly in your hands against your chest, your body slightly turned away as if to protect it from being taken away.

“I – I mean..” You looked down at the piece of jewelry in your hands and held it up so it now dangled in front of the both of us as I waited to see what you would do. “I’m known to keep things safe..” You bent your head down and slipped the necklace on, as it now lay nestled against your chest.

You looked down and reached your hands up to it once again as you smiled. “Especially when it’s something as special as this.”

I smiled, finally feeling a sense of warmth spread across my face as I watched you admire something of mine and wearing it with pride. I slowly walked closer to you and lifted my left hand up, reaching for the necklace. My fingers ran through my engraved name, metal meeting metal, and softly smiled looking up at you.

“It looks better on you.”

I watched as your eyes crinkled with happiness in them and your smile continued to grow as I let it fall back against your chest. I reached up and pushed a strand of your hair away and placed it behind your ear as your head tilted towards my hand. I hesitantly held it centimeters away from your cheek as you lifted your hand to place on top of mine, bringing it down so I could feel you against me.

I watched you hold onto me and close your eyes, sighing in content. I slowly rubbed my thumb against your cheek as I studied every feature on your face, not sure when or if I would get this opportunity again. We were standing so close that I was almost so sure you could hear my heart beating erratically against my chest. “If you’re gonna kiss me, Barnes, you should do it before the moments’ gone.”

My lips parted in surprise as your pretty little eyes opened and met mine. I saw you glance at my lips for a moment as you slowly leaned your body in closer towards mine. I bent my head down and brought your face closer to mine. Your breath fanned against my cheek as you fluttered your eyes closed, letting out a soft, “Please..”

Who am I to deny you a kiss?

I closed the distance between us and connected our mouths together, your cold lips finally meeting mine and everything felt like it was slowly falling into place. Your body fit so perfectly in my arms and your perfume engulfed my senses once again. My shoulders raised up slightly in surprise once you brought your hands up to the side of my face and reached behind my neck, bringing me closer to you.

“Mmm..” I moaned against you when I felt your fingers comb through my hair and gave it a slight tug. You smiled into our kiss and held me there, as if there was any other place I’d rather be right now. I slid my hands down to your back and felt the fabric of my jacket you still had on.

I couldn’t feel the cold breeze blowing against me or hear the music coming from inside Tony’s house. I couldn’t focus on anything but you. Now that I finally got a taste of your lips, I knew I was in trouble. You slowly pulled away as my lips chased after yours, not wanting this moment to end just yet. You let out a giggle and pressed one more kiss before leaning back so you could look at me.

“Wow… merry Christmas to me.” You laughed and rolled your eyes. “Oh my God..”

I looked at your lips and felt myself wanting to go in once more so I could feel you again, but before I could lean in, you lifted your hand up and placed your finger against my lips. “We should head back inside. You may be okay out here in the cold, but I am not.” You chuckled as I lifted my hand up to grab yours and puckered my lips, giving your finger a little kiss.

“I could always find a way to keep you warm.”

“Bucky..!” You blushed and turned your face away from me as I laughed and held you close to me. “Okay, okay, okay..” I smiled and held your hand in mine, intertwining our fingers together as I looked down at my dog tags around your neck. Warmth spread all over my chest at the thought of you walking back in and showing off your gift to everyone. “C’mon doll, let’s head back inside.”

You held onto my jacket tightly against you as we both walked back inside, hand in hand. “In case I wasn’t clear earlier about my gift..” You spoke right after I closed the door behind us. “I really love it.”

“And in case I wasn’t clear about my intentions earlier..” I smiled and brought your hand up to my lips, placing a sweet kiss on top. “I would love to be able to call you mine..”

You smiled back at me and nodded.

I don’t care how much teasing I’ll get from Sam or Tony because in the end, I got the best gift I could ever get.

“I would love that.”

I got you.

~~~~

I hope y’all liked it! Please let me know your thoughts! Likes, comments and reblogs are very much appreciated!

[marvelmaniac2000]

Hi! I adore how you wrote Riddler and the reader in the Fluff + Smut fic! I was wondering could I request a fic or some headcanons about Edward and Fem! Reader’s first time together, maybe with a little bit of soft dom Eddie please!

thank you so much! 💚✨

Thank youuu anon!!! 😘 I love writing about Eddie more than any other character tbh 😬 😅.. 💚 I'm so in love with him 💚

Love at First Sight -----------------------------------------------

There's so many different headcanons about him but here's the first few that come to mind.

Subject: Pure fluff, pet names, soft! dom Eddie, kiss maybe?, flirting, (sorry for misspelling and grammar)

Words: 400+

just major cuteness to go around UGH

Side notes: all of the possibilities are endless, where do I even begin?

*sobbed uncontrollably in a corner*

This handsome man can't keep his eyes off of you.

he will constantly tell you how absolutely pretty and beautiful you are.

He wants to hold your hand and brush it against his lips.

chivalry is NOT dead when it comes to Eddie. He will hold the door open for you, give you his jacket when it's raining, constantly walking right beside you to make you feel protected.

He will look deep into your eyes and hold eye contact to let you know how much he's listening to you.

He has a bad habit of brushing your loose strands behind your ears.

He loves sitting next to you and swinging his arm around any sofa/couch/chair you guys are sitting in.

SUPER controlling and protective of your relationship.

He insist in paying and he never wants you too. It's just in his nature duh.

some of the nicknames he will give you: love bun, sweet heart, honey, baby girl, princess, pretty girl, cutie pie, Ms.beautiful, mama,

He's so proud to call him his, he super affectionate in public with you

You both do everything together

He lets you borrow all of his hoodies and sweaters

YOU'RE his everything <3

. . .

"I can't believe we are finally together" you cling on to his arm. You walk with him down the street of Gotham with the biggest grin on your face. After all of the bad exes in your life you finally met someone who would do all of the things you wanted in a boyfriend.

"I believe it, I knew eventually you would come to me" he had his hands in his loose jacket with a sheepish smile. He was so cute and wholesome as he stayed close to you. It felt so good knowing you had someone to trust. You never wanted to leave his side, he meant to so much to you now. Is this what being in love felt like? Many cute plans and fantasies flooded your mind. You couldn't wait to do so many things with him. To show everyone the sweet guy you were with. Why didn't you approach him sooner?

You both just wandering around the mall but (actually he was just following you around) he could care less about anything beside just spending time with you. The sun was setting and you grew tired from today. "You ready to go home baby?" Eddie absently offered to hold your bag as you stopped mid stride to looked at the time on your phone.

"yea, I work tomorrow unlike you" you peck a kiss on his cheek. both of you worked at the same place, but opposite ends of the building. You always miss him dearly when you guys get busy with other tasks.

"Just call in I want to lay in my bed with you it's been forever" his clingy demeanor kicked in realizing how long it's been since he had you in his arms. He needed you now and tomorrow. You were the only person who understood him and loved him for who he was. He didn't want to lose the happiness that kept him alive.

"Don't worry about them babe, you're always working extra days. We still have so much stuff we need to do at home" he caressed his rough hand on your cheek. His thumb gripped your chin. "You promised me you would cuddle and lay in bed with me right?" his soft deep voice became persuasive drawing you in like smoke. Eddie leaned in to kiss you slowly making you moan. " I promise" you peck his lips again. Eddie felt like he was on cloud nine, finally having the girl and life he dreamed of.

Likes/comments/reblogs/requests & asks

much love <3

[kndrules]

Could u tell/show us more of ur hcs for Abby? She's always been one of my favs

YAH!! I really have to sit and think about this, because sometimes I have headcanons that I forget are Headcanons, you know what I mean?

(haha this turned out to be extremely long so I'm putting in a read more)

Okay- so I think her dad is originally Canadian and is half Cree. Since Cree is named after her voice actress, and her voice actress is named Cree because she is Cree, it makes perfect sense to me. Her dad was living in France for some kind of medical residency situation when he met her mom and they started their family. We know that Abby moved to the United States when she was a couple years old, like Nigel did. The only reason I can think that cree doesn't have a French accent would be that she tries really hard to fit in. But with one north American parent, she probably spent a decent amount of time in the states growing up too.

I think her family is a comfortable upper middle class. I haven't decided what I think her mom does for work. I have a very specific headcanon about her family having a nice finished basement that has gym equipment in it, cuz that's where Abby and wally work out together. Sector V will often have movie nights in Abby's basement too.

This is clear in canon, but she has a great relationship with her parents. Cree does too. Their family situation is complicated since the sisters have so much animosity towards each other but so much respect for their parents and their family in general

Abby IS fluent in French, the whole family is. They visit France to see family about once a year. Abby isn't close friends with Angeline, but because Angeline knows Creole French and has a girlfriend who lives in France, the two have kind of taught each other how to speak the others native dialect of French.

As an adult, Abby is going to start wearing glasses full time. This is a headcanon I forget to implement when I'm drawing her though 😅

In middle school and high school, Abby is an expert at floating around different social circles. She's tight with the popular kids but still has no issues being best friends with the nerds and weirdos (sector v, basically)

Her and Rachel end up becoming close, but in a way that still feels vaguely like a professional relationship. This is because they were both soopreme leaders at certain points and they both deal with a lot of social pressure. As adults, they have a new kind of professional relationship because they both become the core of Nigel's support system when he's in prison. Rachel becomes his lawyer as soon as she's able to and she works closely with Abby, since she's his best friend and a social worker (not HIS social worker, but she still brings her knowledge to his case)

After turning 13, Abby and Nigel become teen operatives. When Abby is soopreme leader, she abolishes decommissioning. In my adult AU, the divergence point is the teen-kid treaty from operation TREATY. Basically, the treaty goes well instead of...going horribly. As a result, the GKND doesn't target earth in the same way, and decommissioning becomes unnecessary. The hard line between kid and adult was a huge reason that "adulthood" was such a problem on earth. Wally, hoagie and Kuki stop being field operatives as teenagers (they still do some stuff for the knd, but to a lesser extent), whereas Abby and Nigel become a hardcore undercover duo.

Abby is very busy during her teen years. Shes in the top of her class and does a few extra curriculars. She also tutors Wally and is the biggest support he has in terms of school. She gets into a good college and pursues social work. I don't think she stays in that career forever though, because she needs to chill out at some point.

There's eventually a huge scandal regarding Father's business practices which culminates in his arrest. When this happens, the DCFDTL enter the foster care system and Abby takes on their case personally, feeling a sense of obligation to help them. As I've said before, I headcanon that the DCFDTL cannot age. At this point however, I haven't worked out the kinks yet, but they're able to start aging again. For reasons.

Abby has a tumultuous relationship with Henrietta in middle and high school that ends with a very messy break up. While I'm grad school, Abby and Hoagie become each others biggest support and hang out all the time, which is how their romantic relationship develops. They get married and have two kids, Naomi and Hogarth (Garth) the Third.

I HAVE MORE TO SAY BUT Y'KNOW WHAT...this is getting out of hand so I'm going to stop. If anyone has more specific questions about Abby feel free to ask!

[bananashemmo]

Hi Julie!

I can’t believe you’re still here!!! I think last time I read your blog was in 2017, I miss those times. I was feeling nostalgic so i came to check your blog, so happy that you’re still here. 🥰 How are you, what are you doing these days? I think if I remember right you graduated high school, did you study anything after that or are studying something? I’m glad i found here back and even after all these years it’s fun to read your writing and they still gives a little bit comfort🥺💖 when i read your writing it’s like going back in time🙈 Did you went to see 5sos on their last tour?

T: Anonymous reader since 2014🫶🏻

omg????? This message, I feel like I wanna cry 😭🙈🫶🏼

2017 was such a good year, dammit. I cannot believe it is 7 years ago. Like what the freak happened? I must say, things aren’t the way they were back then, the 5sos fandom is withering … but I like to come back here once in a while to reblog stuff and keep up with what’s going on. ✨ also just reading all the messages people have sent me. I somehow can’t wrap around my head that 30.000 people wanted to follow me, hear me talk about period squad and read my stories 😅

Yes, I graduated high school back in 2016 and had two gap years where I was a part of Wattpad futures, getting paid to write fanfiction. Then I went to college and got an ap degree in multimedia design and since then, I’ve been working as a graphic designer. Still writing romance novels, just no longer with 5sos. I’m currently rewriting The Math Teacher on Wattpad, it’s called Forever Could Be Ours. Thinking of self publishing it once it’s done.

I sometimes do read my own writing too, because it’s been so long and I’ve honestly forgotten half of it. I’m sometimes like where did I get come up with all this creativity, it was like a full time job and I was in high school most of my writing process??? I get why my grades sucked, I was too busy with fantasies and being on tumblr 😏

5sos, those freaking rude asses, haven’t planned tours in Scandinavia since the pandemic happened. So I haven’t seen them since 2018 which is driving me nuts. My boyfriend has promised me next time they go to Manchester, we’ll go to their concert ( in favour of watching a Manchester United game with him, haha)

Can i just say thank you for taking the time to write me this message, it has been the highlight of my fucking week. I felt like all of you were like my friends and it's definitely been sad to see the fandom leave for other interests 🤠🌻

[steamworksfairy]

hi fae! i AM curious about your ideas about verde and especially about how you felt he was forshadowed if you feel like elaborating? 👀

(also yeah, team forever and ever taking their sweet time zesrdfcgf!! 😌🥰)

Hi Hope!

So, I only know of one point of foreshadowing for Verde specifically. I haven't reread the manga in a while (a few weeks to a year to not at all, depending on the arc), and I haven't really rewatched the anime since I first saw it around 2012. (However, I do rewatch the Verde episodes sometimes.) So this won't be as comprehensive as I'd like. (Sorry) Also note that this whole thing will be full of my own interpretations and theories on the manga (and a little of the anime). So some things may be biased,etc. Also, manga spoilers!

Now then, what makes me think he is foreshadowed? Chapter 53 of the manga.

In this chapter, Verde is mentioned by some of his hired assassins to have sent them to target Tsuna. He apparently has been going after bosses and their successors. (I assume this is because he was hired by another person to do this in order to make some side money for his experiments as well as test out those camouflage suits.) The attempt fails, and Tsuna tells the defeated assassins to send Verde his reguards.

Now, what's interesting to note is when any form of plot goes out of its way for an "antagonist" to send a minion after the main character, this serves as a setup for a later encounter.

Another thing to note is that at least two of the three Vongola successors, Timoteo's sons, were also assassinated near the beginning of the manga. (One was shot in a feud, but that could potentially be seen as a cover-up. The other was drowned and another reduced to nothing but bone.) As well as the fact I-pin seems to have been sent to kill what looks like another boss during her introduction chapter, all of this points to the fact that someone was hiring assassins** to take out mafia bosses. Which, I believe this was a plot point hinted at, but it never seemed to have come into fruition. (Unless I'm forgetting something 😅)

**I know Verde isn't an assassin, but he seems to run some type of business or side business where he leases out assassins who work for him and use the gear and weapons he's invented.

It should also be noted that I don't think that Verde had a hand in any of Timoteo's sons deaths. His method seems to be hiring assassins to inject poison into his targets.

So yeah, I kind of think there is some sort of hinted at future plot point that would have involved Verde. I don't know if he would have been a major antagonist or not. However, I can't help but note that up until Verde was mentioned, both Colonnello and Skull made full appearances. I don't think any other Arcobaleno were mentioned before that, and if nothing was being set up, then it would make more sense for him to make an appearance. Yet, he didn’t. Which further makes me think something was being set up, but it was scraped or forgotten.

Another interesting thing to note about chapter 53 is how unphased Reborn is by that, but in anime (I think in the filler), Reborn does explicitly state not to trust Verde. Yet! During the Rainbow arc, they seem more like typical anime rivals---minus all the fighting, of course. What I mean is, when you read their interactions during the climax of that arc, when everyone has gathered together to defeat Bermuda, they seem a little more friendly towards each other than what the anime has lead me to believe. In the anime, I'm sure Reborn states a few times not to trust Verde. Or that he doesn't.

However, in the manga, right before Verde activates his boss watch, they have a moment where Reborn is like, "But, Verde! You don't fight!" And just does the typical anime rivals scoff and is essentially like "I have an ace up sleeve!" It's very subtle, but oh my gosh, it reads so much like this for me! And of course, when Reborn activates his boss watch on that final fight, Verde just stands next to a robot version of Reborn. Like Verde didn’t have to pretend to TALK to Reborn. He didn’t have to keep up the act. But he did so Tsuna wouldn’t catch on to the fact that "Reborn's friend" was just Reborn's uncursed form. Which is sweet, and they are totally frenemies and---

I'm gonna leave it at that. Hopefully, this all makes sense. I might have a habit of over reading all the Verde parts in the manga, lol 🤣

(Usually, yes!!! But the chance to talk about Verde was dangled right in front of face! So I took it 😊💚)

[wolfman-moony]

Hello, hello!

I'm here to put in a request, and also a tip, make some rules on what you're willing to write, so it's easier for people to put in request on what they're looking for, and maybe make a masterlist with the stories that the characters are attached to so it's easier to navigate, for you and the readers.

On with the request can you make a Harry Hook x Plus size male reader, maybe angst and fluff, where the reader is struggling with his body imagine ever since they got to Auradon, not because people have been making fun of him because he just feels like he isn't as pretty or handsome as everyone else, and it just makes him insecure about his image and Harry finds out so he cheers him up by pampering the reader with bringing him food, staying in to watch movies and all that fun fluffy stuff!

-🪼❣️

Thank you so much for the tips. I’ve been trying to work on some of that stuff. I’ve just been really busy and just really exhausted lately to the point where I haven’t even been working on any of the projects I am writing especially because I recently started writing on Tumblr so I’m still working out some things, so I really appreciate it.

If anybody has any more tips how to work this app, please give them to me because I don’t know how to work this app. I don’t know how to tag stuff I don’t know how anything works.



About the plus size reader sorry I do not think I am fit to write a story like that because I don’t have a body shape that is considered plus size so I don’t know really how it’s like to be considered plus size, so I’m sorry but I will not be able to write a story like this 

Ps sorry this took forever to get out. I’ve been busy and sort of forgot about posting it. 😅

[otomesakura20]

Hello! Hope you’re doing well! Hey do you do commissions or requests? If so can I ask for one? Also I’m SO LOVING your story and your oc Harumi is absolutely gorgeous I love her so much and her relationship with Inuyasha is so sweet and cute. 🥰 I’ve got to say no other oc has impressed me as much as yours and honestly no other oc is just as sweet and cute as Inuyasha and Harumi are. So I was wondering if I can ask for a drawing of Inuyasha and Harumi? I know you always do so many couple images of them together but I want to request one. Also keep up the amazing work! I actually follow you on deviant art and I want to give my response to your question about Harumi. In my opinion I absolutely love her the way she is! She’s definitely an improvement and what Inuyasha needs. Those other people that say you could do some changes or that she needs something more blah blah blah don’t listen to them they’re trying to get you to change everything you’ve worked hard on and devoted your life to to get them up to their standards and so they’re perfect of being imperfect if you get what I’m saying haha? They want you to change her completely and make her based on reality and you know what they should realize that Harumi or any other oc is a MADE UP CHARACTER and don’t exist so they don’t need real qualities! You keep doing what you’re doing hun and ignore those people! They can’t and won’t be impressed by anything and I say stop trying to do that you keep Harumi beautiful as she is! You keep doing it for you and for your TRUE fans. I’ve seen your following in the places you’ve posted your beautiful work and you have A LOT of people that support you all the way and are absolutely in love with your story and Harumi and Inuyasha’s relationship. So keep doing you hun and don’t let anyone get you down and tell you otherwise. InuHaru forever!!❤️ Anyway haha thanks a bunch and I hope to hear from you soon! See ya hun have a good day/night!

hello! Thank you so much I’m very happy you like my work.😊 well first off yes I do do commissions and requests. It just so happens I’m going to open them today and I’m currently getting things ready to open again. I’ve had them closed because I don’t work on them while I’m busy with my own projects and mainly my story. Anyway of course I’ll accept but did you want something specific or does it matter? As you said I already do a lot of Inuyasha and Harumi artwork and I don’t know what you’re looking for. And thank you for your opinion on Harumi. I’m happy you like her so much.😊 Don’t worry I really don’t plan on changing her since she’s been with me since 8th grade when I started this “adventure” lol. She’s my pride and joy and honestly I know I won’t always impress everyone but I’m mainly doing this for myself because it makes me very happy and of course for those that actually like her for herself. Yes I understood what you meant lol. Honestly I didn’t see it that way but maybe you have a point.🤔 also yeah it’s big but perhaps some people aren’t very observant and can’t tell that Harumi isn’t Kagome (even though I explain and give warnings explaining) might be the reason I have so many.😅 I’m kind of tired of doing that so when I feel like it I’ll do the explaining but I just doesn’t register and some people don’t know about fan fictions and OC’s and have to have the main actual characters. They obviously can’t see past their nose and look outside the box at everything. I’m seriously not the only one to create OC’s for Inuyasha. There’s a lot of people that do it not specifically Inuyasha but for other anime as well. Or they take another existing character with another existing character and make them a pair. Some people are just oblivious I guess and honestly can’t really do much about that.🤷🏻‍♀️ And no worries I’m gonna keep on doing what I love even if I get revolting against me lol. People stick to what they love and I’ll do the same.😊 also if you have a specific request for Inuyasha and Harumi let me know. Thanks again and hope to hear from you later.👋

[iamfebruaryfour]

I LIIIIIIVE!!!

Okay so if it wasn't telling enough, I have been (and I think still am) in a book reading hiatus 🥹 I'm sorry!! But life just got... so busy. But recently, life has been, well, fairly interesting.

So okay before that, HELLO!! I haven't been on tumblr since FOREVER!! My last post was 4 years ago omg! I deleted the app, and stopped going on tumblr for a while, but I redownloaded it just now cause I have soooo much to talk about. Yes it's still about books, but there's another factor added: BTS.

Yes I am ARMY now 😂 I tell you soooooo much has happened!! But i'll fast forward.

Okay so it was about sometime after i've posted my last book summary that i felt a change in me. Suddenly I was too tired to read. My eyes would fail me everytime I open a book. 5 minutes in and I'm too sleepy. It doesn't matter what genre, what kind of book. I don't know then what happened but as I looked back, I concluded that it was because of my work. I had change jobs that time and suddenly work increased, and became more challenging that I didn't realize that it sucked all the energy out of me. Slowly i stopped altogether. Even my instagram and goodreads are all still in cobwebs.

The I met the men who would ✨literally✨ change my life. There were only 3 things that made me fangirl this hard and that was Harry Potter, Taylor Swift and ARASHI, and even these three didn't compare to how i've fangirled with BTS (though i still am a potterhead, a swiftie and an arashist at heart).

Skip to the point it's getting long!! --- So as all armys know these men are hella poetic in their lyrics, especially the rapline, especially namjoon, and I truly believe it's because they love to read. I believe that, cause when I was in my bookworm era, i'd use words I never thought i'd use, and I was more confident in using them, compared to now, I really felt that I'm always short of words to use that I more often black out when I speak in english.

Okay okay so BTS, they love to read. And they have ✨book recommendations✨!! And there's so many!!! I've kept the lists and wanted to go back to it when i'm ready to read. But still, I hadn't had the will to start. Until...

Hello, Beyond the Story: 10 Year Record of BTS.

So yes I am currently reading it now and savoring EVERYTHING. Though I still feel that tiredness I was talking about, but this time I have sheer will. The need to finish this book AND read the tagalog version (which I heard and saw was really really good) is very strong.

I plan to make a post about it after I finish them, but wait, this isn't even what this post is about!!

So remember the ✨book recommendations✨ list?

Book reco list 1 (twitter)

Book reco list 2 (goodreads)

There were some titles here that I knew I already had. Some I already read, but most of them just gathered dust in my shelves (don't worry I cleaned them!!)

What I found so far that I already have, plus The Alchemist aaaand Fahrenheit 451 -- two of which I've already read so it's not currently here on my shelf, but i'll have to look for it anyway. Ah I know I have Metamorphosis somewhere here too.

The I Decided to Live As Me I bought cause of them, and I just bought The Midnight Library but I don't have it now. I read parts of it via pdf but again I hadn't finished it!! I hope I finish it now, now that I have a physical copy. Am also planning to look for Almond, the Magic Shop book and the Omelas. After that i'll stop buying and finish everything 😅

I had Me Before You but i sold it!!! Why 😩

What's funny here is as I was laying these books down to take a photo, I realized that three of the books here have bookmarks 😂 it means that I was able to start it, but hadn'd finished it.

So what does this mean for me? Am I going to be back from hiatus? 😂 To be honest I really don't know 😂 But i'm really happy that i've found a new reason to pick up a book again after so many years. I wanted to read so much, I just feel like I can't, but now i'm reading again!! Even though it's because it's about or related to BTS (though don't get me wrong i'm happy it's about BTS!), it's still something! And by seeing these laid out books of mine, i just wanna read them now.

*just adding this gif cos i miss them hahah 🥹

[erin-bo-berin]

Could you please write something where Steve and reader broke up and she finds out she’s pregnant with his child?

Ooh I love some breakup tension! I might tweak it a bit (I hope you don’t mind) to where they run into each other after she’s already found out and she starts showing. The tension is just gonna be intense 😅

Breakups are rough.

In fact, they’re awkward, disorienting and miserable, along with being rough.

What people don’t tell you how to deal with, is awkward run ins with your ex. Especially when you still have feelings for them.

Especially when you also found out you were pregnant with their baby—after you broke up.

You knew coming to Family Video had been a mistake, but you were sure Steve didn’t work on Fridays.

You didn’t see Robin either, just waved at a high school looking boy behind the counter, out of politeness.

You were browsing the aisles of movies, trying to decide what you were in the mood for, when a familiar voice stopped you in your tracks.

“Here you go, Ken, I got these from the back for you to put out, I’m going to add these to the used movies for sale.”

You hadn’t seen Steve Harrington in six months since your breakup. But the sound of his voice had memories flooding to the forefront of your mind.

You cursed yourself for not wearing your jacket or a baggier shirt because if he noticed you, this was going to be a very, very awkward encounter. You were nearly six months pregnant, though your belly didn’t show it. It was noticeable, but to the passing eye could look more like four.

Maybe if you could just hide before he saw you…

“Y/N?”

Your breath caught, the slight tremor of surprise and apprehension evident to you in his voice. Even after half a year apart, you still knew him so well.

“Y/N?” his voice sounded closer now.

You knew you couldn’t avoid him forever.

You turned and saw him standing in front of you.

“Hey, Steve,” you smiled nervously.

And that’s when it all went to shit.

His eyes fell to your bump, an array of emotions flooding them. First shock, then hurt, then sadness before last landing on neutrality, trying to conceal the whirlwind of his emotions.

“Oh,” he breathed, “Wow. Congratulations. I was going to ask how you’ve been, but I think I can tell.”

Your laugh sounded forced to your own ears.

“Yup. Um. How have you been? I thought you didn’t work Fridays.”

“I didn’t. But with extra time to kill, I decided to take Friday shifts,” he said, stuffing his hands into his jeans pockets.

You noticed that he hadn’t answered your question about how he’d been. Noticeably that he didn’t immediately try to convince you that he’d been great, fine, doing well.

After all, he was the one who had broke up with you.

He didn’t believe you deserved him and nothing you could do changed his mind. So you’d been miserable for the last six months. Miserable, missing Steve and pregnant with his baby.

Needless to say, there had been many nights with hormonal breakdowns. Your heart felt like it had been ripped from your chest and trampled, sliced and left open and wounded by an ice skate. As hurt as you’d been, as much as you still were, you’d willingly give your injured heart back to him in a heartbeat, you’d loved him that much. You still did.

“So,” he hesitated, nodding to your belly, “You’re going to have a baby, huh?”

“Yeah. I am,” you nodded.

He cleared his throat, swallowing hard before voicing his question.

“So who’s the lucky father?” he asked, gaze boring into yours.

You could never lie to him, you’d never want to. Even if you did, he’d be able to see right through your bullshit.

You bit down on your thumbnail, something you only did when you were nervous. He watched as you’d lifted your thumb to your mouth, teeth sinking into the pad of it and against the nail.

“You-You don’t have to tell me, if you don’t want to. I realize it’s none of my business but I just wanted to make sure you’re okay and being taken care of and—”

“You,” you whispered.

He looked stunned, like he’s sure he didn’t hear correctly.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“It’s your baby, Steve,” you dropped your hand from your mouth, gaze falling to your feet.

You hadn’t told him because after a week of calling, crying and begging for him to change his mind, he’d gently asked you to stop calling him. He wasn’t going to change his mind.

You didn’t want to bother him with this if his mind was made up.

You didn’t even see him approaching as he wrapped you in his arms, pulling you close.

He felt the same as he always did, hard chest under your head, strong arms around your body, soft to cuddle into. He smelled like his usual cologne and it smelled like home. Being in his arms was home. Steve was your home.

“I think I have a lot of apologizing to do,” he whispered into your hair, “Starting right now.”

[girl-of-many-fandoms]

Last Call

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: Bucky’s still struggling to adjust to his new normal and takes his therapist's advice on opening up to someone.

Warnings: none

I'm attracted to broken men 😅

MASTERLIST

---

"Hey buddy, can I get you anything else before we close up for the night?" Bucky looked up from the rim of his long empty bottle to the bartender who was busy wiping down the counter top. 

“Uh, no thanks, I think I’m good.” 

“You sure? You look like you could use another.” Y/N offered the sulking man sitting across from her but he held his hand up and she shrugged. He’s been a Friday night regular, each week he comes in looking more miserable than before and he’d stay until she’d announce that she’s closing up for the night.

The bar was relatively empty at the moment with only three customers inside of it aside from the man at the bar. Throwing the towel over her shoulder Y/N leaned against the counter, sneaking a couple peeks at the handsome stranger. Bucky could sense her staring at him but instead of looking right back at the attractive woman he continued to stare at his gloved hands.

“You’ve got a name? I can’t keep calling you Last Call forever.” Bucky smiled at the nickname she’d conjured for him in the short space of time he’d been coming to the bar. 

“James, you?” 

“Y/N.”

The woman smiled at him, quickly excusing herself from their conversation to attend to another customer. While he sat there watching her work, he clearly heard his shrink’s voice playing on repeat in his head. “You need to open up some more, let somebody in.”

Easier said than done.

“Alright James, do you want to talk about whatever’s been bothering you or are you just going to keep sulking like that?” 

“Sulk, I don’t want to burden you.”

“Suit yourself but people say I’m an excellent listener. I’m closing up in a few.” She placed the bottle of tequila back in it’s rightful position on the shelf behind her as she began to tidy up her work station. She gestured for the empty bottle and he slid it over to her.

“Nice gloves.” Bucky knew she was teasing him about it since he has them on every time he leaves the confines of his apartment. He inwardly kicked himself for not speaking to the pretty dame in front of him. If it was nineteen forty-three Bucky would’ve been sweet talking to her effortlessly but it’s a totally different century and he had no idea how to flirt in the modern world.

“Thanks, they’re vintage.” Y/N laughed at James’ pained look on his face. Bucky knew that he would have a hard time trying to do things like this but he hadn’t known just how poorly he had gotten when it came to chatting up a beautiful lady.

Y/N rounded the bar with a towel in hand as the rest of patrons staggered out the door, it’s one in the morning; closing time. Bucky didn’t want to leave yet after all, he had just begun to like her company. He pushed out of the stool catching Y/N’s attention from across the room where she was wiping down the table.

“You can stay if you want.” Y/N bit the inside of her cheek as she waited for him to either walk out the door or plant his butt down on the stool. To her surprise he walked over to her and held his hand out.

“What?”

“I’m only staying if you let me clean up.” Y/N scoffed, swatting his hand away, returning to the task at hand.

“You’re crazy if you think I’m going to let you, a customer, clean this place up.” 

“Come on doll, you’ve been mixing and pouring drinks all night on your feet. It’s the least that I can do.” Her heart skipped a beat at his nickname for her and Bucky triumphantly smiled at her because he could hear the increase of her heartbeat in her chest. Y/N gave in and passed him the towel, watching in awe as he took over from her. 

Not wanting him to feel weirded out by her staring she busied herself with the broom and dustpan, sweeping the floors to help cut their cleaning time short since he probably has other better things to do than help clean a bar he didn’t dirty.

“If your offer still stands, I’d like to talk.” 

“Of course.” She swept the remnants of dust into the pan before joining him at the table he was propped against. Bucky nervously rubbed his hands together, mentally preparing himself for this conversation.

“For a while now I’ve had this feeling like I don’t have a sense of belonging. I mean, I was born and raised right here in Brooklyn until…” He cleared his throat at the brief memory of him wearing his uniform for the first time at the beginning of the war.

“Anyways, I um..most of my life I’ve been doing what other people told me to do, following their orders-”

“You sounded like a military man when you said that; following orders.”

“I was actually for a while but then I fell off a train and well, life as I know it was gone. Things happened and many years later my best bud, Steve found me. Then that purple giant idiot came to earth and erased half of the damned population for five years; I was also one of those that vanished.” As Bucky went on, Y/N found herself mesmerised by his story telling. She could see how much this was bothering him and she didn’t dare to interrupt him.

“And when I returned, my friend left. I mean he did leave to be happy but it still hurt you know and the fact that he left me with the most unbearable human being on the planet only made it worse.” 

“What was he like?”

“Determined as hell to do what was right no matter how many people were against him and he was very hard headed at times. Loved that giant metal frisbee of his also.” He mumbled the last part but Y/N picked up on it and then it hit her.

“You wouldn’t happen to be talking about Captain Steve Rogers would you?” He nodded and Y/N could’ve sworn her jaw had fallen to the floor.

“Then that would mean that you're Sergeant James Barnes, the Winter Soldier." Y/N gulped as she connected the dots. Bucky mentally hit himself upside the head for bringing up Steve's shield in the first place. His steel blue eyes were trained on the dame's face, gauging her reaction.

"I was but I'm not anymore. Crap, maybe I shouldn't have said anything, now you're terrified. I shoul-" 

"I'm not terrified, I mean I should be but I'm not. You haven't given me a reason to be so why should I?" The corners of her lips turned up into a smile and Bucky felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. 

"Whatever happened to America’s golden boy anyways?” 

“That’s classified, doll.” 

“You said he left so I’m going to assume that he’s somewhere out there.” Y/N frowned slightly at the thought of Captain Rogers leaving his best friend behind after everything that happened.

“Wait, how old are you?”

“One hundred and six.”

“You’re a walking fossil James.” Y/N couldn’t pass up the opportunity to crack that joke, cracking them both up. The corners of Bucky’s eyes crinkled as he smiled and Y/N mentally took note of that cute detail.

“I guess I am.” Their loud laughter reduced to silence as they both stared into each other's eyes. In this moment Bucky was fully relaxed, the beautiful woman across the table took a sledgehammer to the wall he’d built in the span of the two hours and he was finally starting to feel like his old self again.

“You’re staring..”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean too.” His eyes dropped to his gloved hands; his heart fluttered in his chest when she placed her hand on his.

“It’s okay, really. Now that I know you were around when dinosaurs still walked the earth-”

“Ha ha, very funny.”

“What was 1940s James Barnes like?”  The soldier found himself holding onto her hand a little tighter once he realised that she had no intentions of pulling away from him.

“For starters I knew how to actually talk to a beautiful dame when I saw one.” She chuckled at his obvious dig at himself. 

“You had your way with the ladies back then.”

“It’s safe to say that I did.”

“You know what we call men like that in this generation? A player, you were a player back in your days.”

“Yes doll, I was. Life was better before I got this.” He let go of her hand and inhaled deeply as he removed the glove that covered his vibranium arm. The dark grey and gold reflected under the light above them immediately gaining her attention.

Bucky wasn’t expecting her to remain this calm, he was anticipating her backing up a couple feet but instead she asked him if she could touch it and he nodded. Y/N reached out to trail her fingertips against the cool metal palm, tracing the ridges of the metal in fascination. Bucky couldn’t believe what was happening right now.

“Does it feel weird?” 

“Thankfully it doesn’t, I got used to it. It’s part of who I am.” Y/N straightened herself on her feet and took hold of the broom again.

“Good and if I’m being honest, I like this one better, it suits you.” He smiled to himself as they got back to finishing clean up which surprisingly got done in record time. Bucky stood a few feet away from her as she locked the doors for the night, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his black jeans.

“Can I walk you home?” Bucky didn’t want the night to end just yet and he most definitely wasn’t going to let her walk back to her place at the dead of night, what kind of man does that anyways.

“I’d like that, I only live four blocks away.” He offered her his arm and she held onto his elbow as they started walking to her place.The streets were relatively empty, every couple minutes a car would drive by as well as a  couple teenagers who were drunk off their asses would stumble along the sidewalk.

“Tell me something about you, you’ve spent quite some time listening to me talk.” He looked down at her and she shrugged.

“There’s not much to know. My dad died when my brother and I were kids and we recently lost our mom, that’s how I ended up with the bar in the first place. My brother, Gabe, he’s in the military currently stationed overseas, we talk whenever he has the chance.” 

“I’m sorry to hear about your parents.”

“Thanks I guess.”

“What do you like to do when you’re not mixing drinks?”

“A whole lot of reading and listening to music. Once I get into a good book I can’t put it down.” He asked her about the last book she read and she gladly told him about it. Bucky’s smile never left his face as she expressed the different emotions she felt when she read the book. 

“This is me.” They both came to a stop in front of a three story apartment building and she looked up at him. 

“Thank you for being such a gentleman and walking me back.”

“You’re welcome.” 

The both of them stood in place under the streetlight staring at each other, both of them waiting for the other to make a move and walk away. Y/N pushed up on her toes to kiss his cheek, stunning him completely. She pulled away and made her way to the door to head in for the night.

“Goodnight James.” 

“Bucky, you can call me Bucky.” She smiled back at him with her hand on the entrance.

“Goodnight Bucky.”

“Goodnight Doll, see ya around.”

“See you next Friday, last call.”

---

MARVEL Taglist:

@dorks2022 @sophiaedits @peakascum @anonymoustip217 @iiddaaa @panaitbeatrice @n3ssm0nique @mintphoenix @inas-thing @sketch-and-write-lover @friskae @bernthalbabe @trinkets01 @blackcat420 @justreadingficsdontmindme @bakingpotatoes21 @hardcoppizzasludge @tanyaherondale @creatingjana @calimoi @rootcrop @louisianalady @chrisfucksblog @thummbelina @vicmc624 @leyannrae @janaev4ns @queenofkings1212 @believinghurts @poor-unfortunate-soul-85 @stumbleonmywords

[my-misplaced-soup]

Can you make a fic with Legoshi, Louis, Riz and Pina receiving a secret love letter from a male carnivore and then they try to figure out who it is and once they do figure out who it is they’re shocked cause it’s the person they have a crush on and yada yada they go on a date and become like a power couple or something that’s all 😅💕

Legoshi, Louis, Riz, and Pina finding a love letter from their crush

I really like this one! This is gonna be a long one

Extremely sorry this took so long to get out

Legoshi

He wasn't expecting to receive a love letter

He thought that no one could love him enough to send him a letter confessing their love

Time for him to put those detective skills to work

He studied the handwriting and decided a process of elimination was easiest

He had to sneak a look at people's papers during class sometimes which lead to people thinking he was trying to cheat

You had to take matters into your own hand and had to sit next to him so he could study your handwriting

He told you to meet him after class

Which of course you did

He pulled out the letter you gave him to kind of say "I know its you"

You admitted to it and said that you didn't want to confess in front of others so you wrote a letter

You admired his dedication to finding who wrote the letter

Being the polite wolf he is he asked you on a date that week

You accepted with a giant hug

The date was for that weekend, since both of you weren't busy

You went to a nice cheap restaurant since neither fo you had to much money at the time

You stayed there for a good 3 hours before deciding to head back to the school

During those 3 hours you learned a lot about each other and decided to officially say you two were dating

Legoshi was fairly open about the relationship, telling the drama club about his lovely boyfriend

You were also open about the relationship, telling your friends and a few other but nothing big

Eventually the majority of the school knew about your relationship with Legoshi

Louis

It wasn't that surprising for him to get a love letter

But this one stood out compared to the others he's got

It was by a male carnivore he knew

That caught his attention pretty quickly

So now te search for you had started

He had decided that studying his classmates behaviors around him would be easier

Luckily you told him that you are 1. a guy 2. a carnivore

It didn't take long for him to find out it was you

He talked to you before class to tell you he would like to go on a date to talk more

He gave you his number and went to class

In all honesty you were shocked at how up front he was about it

He texted you saying he would like to meet up at the park nearby to talk

You went a little bit early so you didn't have to keep him waiting but you found him already there

You walked and talked with Louis, discussing about your feelings and how it would work if you two did decide to date

After a few hours Louis and you cam to the conclusion that you two would date in secret, only telling a few select people

After you got back all your friends were asking where you went so suddenly

You told them that you went on a date and now you have a boyfriend, but you refused to tell them who

Louis on the other hand, just said that he went on a date but never said anything else

Rumors started but no one peiced the puzzle together correctly

Riz

He didn't expect to see a love letter in his locker after he got done with practice

In all honesty he didn't know how to find you

So he decided to ask everyone he knew if they wrote the letter

It was pretty funny watching him ask random people is they wrote the letter you gave him

You figured that it had been long enough and you would tell him you wrote it

He was glad you told him soon because if you waited any longer he would have started asking random strangers before asking you

You arranged to meet him for lunch in the cafeteria later that day

The day seemed to go on forever till lunch

You got there first so you could wave over Riz to where you were sitting

You choose somewhere with less people around so you didn't have to talk so quietly

You didn't have much time since the lunch period wasn't long but it was enough time to talk about hat you needed to say

Riz was ecstatic that you liked him too

He didn't expect to start a relationship with someone as handsome as you, but here we are

The drama club could tell something good happened to Riz considering how happy he's been

They did eventually figure out that he started dating someone, but Riz never said who

They figured it out when Sheila and Els caught you on a date together

Pina

It wasn't al out of the ordinary for him to find a love letter

He didn't think of anything unusual until he realized that it was from someone in the drama club

He knew exactly how to find who wrote it

All he needed to do was read out the letter to the entire club and you would weed yourself out

But he would never actually read it

He would just say he was going to read it then wait for you to stop him

Later that day while they were cleaning up he announced he found a letter addressed to him, and that he was going to read it

You quickly stopped him, saying that it was probably personal

You whispered to him to meet you in the storage room later

You got there the same time as Pina did, but you both had to make sure no one was listening

You told him that you liked him more than a friend and that you wanted to start a relationship

You weren't sure how the relationship would work since you were a carnivore and he was a herbivore

He reassured you that if you did start a relationship with him he would make sure to keep it a secret

You gave him your number and told him to text you plans for a date

He admired your boldness, so he decided to give you a chance

He told you to meet him in a cafe that hardly got any customers

At least it would make it easier to talk to him with no on around

You told him that you wouldn't mind keeping it a secret with him if you did start a relationship

He liked you too for a while now, that's why he took a break from having so many girlfriends

He gave you a quick hug before heading back to the school, confirming that he's your boyfriend now

When you got back to school the drama club could tell something happened to you and Pina

All he said was he's started a much more permanent relationship

All you said was that you got some good news

[andreafmn]

Running In Circles - Chapter 8

Word Count: 4.2K

Story Description: (Y/N) Rossi is following in her father’s footsteps by joining the BAU team as a profiler. The girl genius knew almost everything but she could have never predicted falling for Aaron Hotchner, her boss and her father’s friend. in their world mutual feelings are not enough to push them together. Will all the adversities and obstacles they face pull them together or push them apart forever?

*DISCLAIMER* I do not own in any way Criminal Minds, all credits of the pre-established characters, script, and storyline belong to Jeff Davis and CBS Network.

The only thing I own is (Y/N) Rossi, any upcoming characters, and her storyline, as well as her effects in the others’ story line.

Chapter: 9/?

WARNINGS: mentions of blood and death

A/N: Welp, this was long overdue. I can't believe I haven't updated since November last year. I love this story and I have a couple of chapters written but I need to get through this middle part to get to them and I've been struggling 😅 I've also found it hard to find the time to write due to personal circumstances but I'm on break for a month and hopefully the creative juices start running.

Follow 😊 -> TikTok • Instagram • Business

Let me know if you’d like to be tagged or if you have any requests! My inbox and comments are open. Remember that to be tagged you must allow tagging on your settings.

<- Previous | Next ->

Two mornings had come and gone before Friday rolled around and it was time to go back to work. I awoke to the smell of breakfast cooking. I couldn’t decipher whether I was still asleep or Hotch had woken up to cook. Considering the latter, I took my time getting dressed and ready before heading downstairs. I was already heading into work later than usual, wanting to at least have one last breakfast with the Hotchner boys.

“Morning, Hotch,” I announced my presence to the back-turned agent. “Having fun there?”

“Hey, good morning,” he laughed. “Figured I could make your morning easier today.”

“Sounds good. What’s on the menu?” 

“French toast and fruits?”

“Coffee too?”

“Always,” he chuckled. Hotch placed a plate in front of my seat and one next to it for himself as I served two mugs of coffee. “Jack’s gonna be mad I didn’t wake him up to eat with us. That boy really loves you.”

“I mean, I am quite lovable.” My mind quickly registered the scene that unfolded before me. Whoever looked through my window would think we were a couple with years on our backs, a steady routine implemented into our daily lives. I knew there wasn’t a person that saw us that wouldn’t believe we weren’t a family — that between us only friendship was capable of brewing. “But it’s better if he sleeps in. Yesterday was a lot. He must be pretty tired.”

“Yeah. He was out like a light since I put him down.” 

“How did you sleep?” 

“Good enough,” he sighed. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and sat next to me, sipping on the piping hot coffee in his hand. “Still feel guilty that I’m not as sad as I should be for someone that lost his wife a year ago.” 

“Hotch, there are no rules to grief. There is no way to measure how much or how little you should feel.” I put a comforting hand on his forearm, rubbing circles on it with my thumb. “Don’t punish yourself for not behaving in the way you think you should — no one is judging.” 

 “We do, (Y/N). We judge people who don’t grieve normally.”

“I don’t know about you, but I normally don’t keep tabs on a killer’s grieving process a year after.”

“No, I guess not,” he laughed dryly. “I guess I’m just being hard on myself.”

“The best thing you can do is be there for Jack and feel whatever you feel when it comes.” We shared a smile between us. A quiet stare into each other’s eyes. Moments like these were the ones I fooled myself into thinking there was a glimmer of love behind his eyes — that maybe, just maybe, he shared the sentiment.

But it never lasted long enough. My phone buzzed inside my pocket, bringing my attention to the fact that I was late for work. The screen flashed Derek’s name, and I knew I was in for an earful.

“Hey, Der. I know I’m late. I’m on my way to the office now. I’m…”

“I need you to meet me somewhere else,” he interrupted. “It’s Sanderson.”

“What happened?”

“He killed someone.”    

“Send me the address, I’ll see you there,” I hung up. “I-I’ve gotta go.”

“Is everything okay?” 

“Don Sanderson, the man Derek advocated for to be released, just killed someone. I’ve gotta go meet him there.”  I rambled as I gathered my things, my head spinning from the news I had just received.

“You’re feeling guilty.” The sentence sounded like it was meant to be a question, but it came out as an observation. “You shouldn’t, and neither should Morgan. You both made an informed decision based on the facts you had at hand.”

“Would you have vouched for him?”

“(Y/N)…”

 “Exactly.” I grabbed my things and headed out the door, speeding to the location Derek sent.

The house was riddled with police. The haunting yellow tape separating the living from the dead. I got there at the same time the team and Morgan were exiting their van, their sights set on a handcuffed Sanderson being taken into a police car. Reid, Prentiss, and Seaver entered the crime scene as I made a beeline for Derek.

“Hey, do we know what happened?”

“They think he did this to go back to jail,” he sighed.

“He didn’t?”

“Claims it was self-defense.” Derek crossed his arms and leaned on the hood of a car. His eyebrows furrowed and his eyes trained on the car that Don was in. “I mean, he called the paramedics. Even performed CPR on the guy. He’s looking for something.”

“Alright, then. Call Strauss,” I recommended. “Let’s get this case and find out what he really wants.”

Words of encouragement wouldn’t work at this moment. The sooner we could get answers, the quicker Derek could determine is his decision had been the right one. Anyone that looked at the angered mask he wore could understand the guilt he was carrying. The ‘what if’s plaguing his mind had to grab hold of his deepest insecurities. I knew because that is how I was feeling, and I had merely lent an understanding ear and endorsed that he’d be let out.

A call of a few seconds and Don was released to our custody. I decided to stay with my father and Derek, giving the keys to my own car to Reid before leaving the scene.

“You woke up a free man and decided to kill Tom Whittman,” my father spoke. “You gotta help us out here. It doesn’t look good for you.”

“It wasn’t supposed to be like that,” Don defended. As he spoke, I studied his face. It was clear there was no deception. The man had been free for fifty-one hours and rushed to find Wittman – why? “He came at me.”

“I get it that you don’t trust anyone right now. But this man is the reason you’re free.”

Derek stopped the car abruptly, turning to face Sanderson. “Did you find your son?”

“No.”

“Did you even look?” Derek seethed as Don remained quiet. The one thing Sanderson had claimed he wanted more than anything was to reconnect with his son. If he hadn’t done it yet – instead went to find this man – the reason to see Whittman had to be with his case.

“Der,” I called his attention. “Drive.”

Driving back to the office, the air was choking. The anger and disappointment filled the car with pressure, and I was sure everyone felt it. Occasionally, Derek would glare at Don through the rearview mirror, and all the man could do was stare sadly back. The man looked truly distraught – if he was pretending, he was a damn good actor.

In the briefing room, the rest of the team had set out the details of the Sanderson case looking for a clue as to why this attack. Derek didn’t spend much time in the room before being called away Strauss. Everyone kept talking, but my brain felt scrambled, and I couldn’t focus right. I stood up suddenly and left the room, trying to escape the stuffiness from those four walls. ‘

“Are you okay, (Y/N)?” Spencer asked, placing a hand on my back.

“I can’t think straight, Spence.”

“Why? If anything, I understand why Derek would feel like this, but not you.”

“Monday night, Derek called me asking for advice on the Sanderson release. He was leaning into not releasing him, going against his gut feeling just in case. And I told him that Sanderson had done the work, proved that he had changed during his time in prison and was no longer a threat to society. The man’s blood is in our hands, Spence.”

“Future telling is not part of your resume, (Y/N),” he chuckled softly. “Given the evidence and the interview Derek made, anyone would have been fooled by him.”

“But we’re not anyone, Reid,” I exasperated. “Our job is literally – and I’m correctly using the word here – to judge people’s behavior and make the right decision so no one else gets hurt. Today someone died because we chose the wrong one. I helped Derek advocate for a killer.”

“No, you didn’t. (Y/N), you and Derek made an informed decision from the pattern of behavior Sanderson exhibited from years in prison,” Spencer comforted. “What we have to do now is determine the reason as to why this is all happening and how it’s connected to the Sanderson case.” 

“I guess,” I sighed. “I’m gonna go with Derek. Make sure he doesn’t blow up during the interrogation.”

“Are you sure you’ll be okay, (Y/N)?”

“I’ll be fine, Spence.”

I followed the trail Derek had taken and slowly entered the interrogation room. From behind the glass, I could sense the irritability and despair that filled the small space. Sanderson was spilling every bit of his story – Wittman’s possible connection to his case, what he recalled from that night.

“So Tom Wittman was the only link you had to figure out who was in your house that night?”

“And now I’m back to nothing,” Don affirmed.

“Not necessarily.” Derek stood, excusing himself as he exited the door. “(Y/N), hey.”

“You want to take him back to his house, right? See if he can recall any more memories from that night.”

“When did you add mind reader to your list of talents?” Derek chuckled. “He needs to figure out who else was there that night.”

“It’s the only way we can corroborate his story,” I finished. “Let’s get him cleaned up first.”

We didn’t spend much time in the house. Don Sanderson remembered the night vividly as soon as his foot passed the threshold. He recanted the cold and rainy night, the screams from his wife and daughter, the helplessness as he lay on the floor after he was bashed on the head. And he remembered the woman – she wanted to keep his son. Although he couldn’t describe her face, we were sure if we found out who she was Don would be able to recognize her.

“That’s her,” Don answered as we presented him the possible suspect Garcia, Prentiss, and Seaver were able to draw out back at the office. She was the key to unlocking this puzzle of a case, and hopefully the thing that subsided my guilt.

“Go,” my father instructed Morgan and me. He could tell there was desperation behind our eyes – the need to maintain our reputation as agents. And if the guilt I was feeling was gut-wrenching, I could only imagine how Derek was feeling.

A quick and quiet car ride and we were at the address for Mary Rutka.’

But we weren’t the only ones looking for her. Rutka’s front door was open, and the apartment had been ransacked. With our guns in hand, Morgan and I scanned the room, our eyes quickly falling to Mary’s body on the floor.

As I checked that she was alive and startling her, stumbling resounded from behind the fire escape behind us.

“Derek, go,” I spoke as he sprung to action, running for whoever had beat us to Mary’s home and wanted her to keep quiet.  “I need an ambulance and backup at 751 Hindry Street, Northeast, Apartment 402.”

I stayed behind and kept the woman company as her panic-filled eyes looked up at me. I put pressure on her wound, trying to stop the bleeding that was coming from her throat.

But it was too much. Her eyes had begun to flutter closed. And no matter how much insisting I did to get her to keep her eyes open, she succumbed to the wound, dying before the paramedics had a chance to do anything.

Soon thereafter, the apartment was swarmed with police and forensic staff, doing everything they could to preserve the scene and any evidence Mary had on her person. I quickly shook away the nerves that coursed through my veins after holding the woman’s hand and throat as she died. There were certain things that I had yet grown used to – one thing was looking at a dead body, it was a completely different thing to be with a person as they passed away.

In the floodgate of people coming in and out of the apartment, Detective Bill Codwin joined my side. Noticing my bloodied hands, he handed me a white handkerchief to use whilst he painted the picture of what had gone down in apartment 402.

As I spoke with the detective, Derek walked back in, and I was sure that he noted the anxious chills in my hands – his eyes fell directly on the over-wiped digits. Thankfully, he didn’t mention anything while we were still inside the place and we were able to go through it, finding an integral piece of the puzzle. A dusty videotape hidden on top of the kitchen cabinets. There was no doubt that was the reason Mary Rutka was killed, what she was using to blackmail whoever it was she had done that horrible crime with over twenty years back.

“Hey, Rossi, you okay?” Derek broke the silence in the van as we rode back to the office.

“What do you mean?”

“You’re still rubbing your hands, (Y/N),” Morgan pointed out. “There’s only so much hand sanitizer in that little bottle. Talk to me, kid.”

“I know what she did,” I started. “But she was still a person, you know? And I watched her eyes full of panic as she succumbed to her injuries.”

“You know there was nothing else you could do, right? The guy came to get a job done, and he did.”

“It’s just such a devastating feeling of uselessness,” I sighed. “I’m so used to dead bodies that when I witness someone actively dying in front of me, I just get this weird feeling that I can’t shake off.”

“I can’t tell you that you will get used to it, but you learn to manage it. But you’ll get through it, baby girl. You’ve got us.”

“What about you, Der?”

“What about me?”

“Don’t play coy,” I chuckled slightly. “We’re gonna catch this guy. You made the right decision, Morgan. And now we’re gonna catch the guy that’s been able to elude the law all these years and took so much time from an innocent man. You’re doing that.”

“This day sure didn’t start with me believing that,” he sighed. “I just want to get this over with. This guy can’t continue getting away with this bull.”

“We’ll get him, Derek.” I gave his free hand a comforting squeeze, providing as genuine a smile as I could. “We’ll get him.”

Before we knew it, we were in Penelope’s office dishing out a VCR player to see what was on there that cost a woman her life.

The first image that appeared was Carrie, Abbie, and little Tom Sanderson in bed during Mother’s Day, a breakfast tray across the mom’s lap. It was a beautiful home video that was suddenly cut off by an over-taped recording of the night of the crime. As the image distorted, Penny turned covering her ears and closing her eyes. If there was anyone that deserved to keep her sanity, it was her.

But the video didn’t narrow our search down. The man was wearing a cap and a hoodie, his face completely hidden from the camera. Only the people there would know who it was. All we could do was continue to theorize as a group to restrict the massive list we had.

“Start with men who grew up in the district, came from nothing,” Emily suggested to Penelope.

“His ambition will define him,” Spencer added.

“Whoever did this enjoys taking power away,” Derek pointed out. “He’s been way too smart to keep on killing. So what would satisfy a guy like this?”

“Well, he’s manipulative but trustworthy,” I commented. “Two other people witnessed that murder and they never turned on him.”

“Guys, so we have to think of this city as the unsub’s comfort zone. He didn’t leave for a reason.” 

“A target-rich environment,”  my father stated. “ The damage he’s done and continues to do is right here in D.C.

“Politics?”

“I think it’s more intimate than that, (Y/N),” Morgan retorted. “He needs victims who suffer directly from what he’s doing.” 

“Ok, I’ll cross the politicians off my list,” Penny commented.

“Look into asset-based lenders,” Emily listed. “Uh, big money-making ventures where people would be left in his wake.” 

“Corporate takeovers.” 

“Businessman as psychopath?” Seaver questioned.

“They have the same characteristics,” Emily explained to the younger agent. “They just use their skills differently.”

“They both have narcissistic traits such as a grandiose sense of self-importance, deceptiveness, lack of remorse.” 

“Hard-core businessmen,” Penny spoke. “36 and counting.”

“That’s way too many,” Derek complained.

“We can each take six and look for connections.”

“No, no. Wait a minute.” I could tell Morgan was putting his brain to work on overtime. The more time we spent in the office, the farther our unsub would slip away. “If we had this case 25 years ago, what would we have seen? How would we fight the physical evidence.”

“We’d look at what the unsub did the moment he arrived at the house,” Ashley perked.

“They broke into the basement.”

Spencer quickly added, “Through a window with rusted-out bars.”

“Garcia, who lived at the house before the Sandersons?” I questioned, instantly knowing the others would follow in my line of thought.

Penny then cross-referenced the few owners to the 36-person long list, hitting a dead-end. Until she looked at the longer list. And bingo. The family of James Stanworth had lived in the house just before the Sandersons before they lost it and had to move to the outskirts of town. The story made sense. In the video, he sounded jealous. He knew the house inside and out, and he knew the family that had moved in. The icing on the cake, a native Washingtonian running for congress.

Now, all we had to do was convince Erin Strauss to allow the arrest of a possible future congressman for Washington D.C.

We were talking about taking into custody someone that was part of the government body to someone that worked closely with people from the government. And I hoped that after we made the compelling case, we’d get the approval.

We didn’t.

But that wasn’t at all surprising.

What struck me odd was the energy exchanged between my father and Strauss. As he and Derek presented their case, my dad pushed the boundaries. Granted, he’d always been this way, but her physical reactions were different. There was a glint in their eyes that had not been there before. Maybe I was reading too much into this because it was my father, but if nothing had happened, something probably would.

“So, there’s nothing we can do?” Penny asked. “This guy’s gonna get away with it?”

“Absolutely not!” I exclaimed, my gaze falling onto Derek’s pacing form. One thing I was sure of was that Morgan would rather lose his job than let someone like Stanworth continue to walk free.

“Garcia, find me James Stanworth right now,” he commanded. “Another hour passes, he’s that much closer to hiding his true self.” 

“Mary Rutka is his third murder,” I added. “He’s now officially a serial killer. What do you wanna do?”

“I wanna expose that son of a bitch,” Morgan gritted. “If he did kill Mary Rutka, he’s gonna have cuts on him somewhere. We match that DNA, we’ve got him.” 

“Guys, he’s having a fund-raiser at his house in McLean,” Penelope interjected.

“When?” 

“It started an hour ago.”

Derek quickly turned and headed to the van knowing that at the very least I would follow him.

“What is we’re wrong?” Emily stopped me.

I could see doubt clouding everyone’s faces. We had motive, we had a fitting profile, and we had enough circumstantial evidence that this was our unsub. “We can’t be.” 

After hearing my dad ask Emily to accompany us, I took off on a small run to catch up to Derek who was almost at the elevators. As I reached him, he gave me an appreciative smile. Derek knew that we were both putting our jobs on the line by going after this man, but we needed to take him down.

The four of us piled into a van and sped off to Stanworth’s mansion. We called Detective Codwin to meet us at the house to crash the party and have our killer arrested.

We entered right as Stanworth was finishing his speech, the room full of influential and wealthy people erupting in applause.

“Ladies and gentlemen, congressman, Mr. James Stanworth,” Derek led us through the crowd, calling the attention of the room by slow clapping and using his booming voice. “You sure have a way with words. It’s mighty impressive.”

“Thank you. May I help you?”

“My name’s Derek Morgan. I’m with the FBI.” He walked closer to the man, continuing to close the gap between them. “Do your friends here know that you’re a closet psychopath?” 

“Excuse me?” James questioned offended as murmurs resounded through the room.

“Don Sanderson knows,” he jabbed. “Do you remember him? I’m sure you do. You murdered his entire family and got him put away for twenty-five years.”

“Well, agent, if you’ve got anything on me…” James walked forward, holding his hands out to be cuffed.

The man was cocky, indicative of his personality. James knew there was little to no evidence against him. He was an important man and nailing him almost seemed like an impossible task.  

“No,” Derek didn’t back down. “James, it’s not on you. It’s inside you.”

“Killing Mary Rutka really got you going, didn’t it?” I spoke up.

“I’m afraid I don’t know who that is.”

“Jim, what’s going on?” Mrs. Stanworth asked her husband, just as confused as the rest of the partygoers. But was shut down by her husband. “But I don’t understand…”

“Don’t worry,” he exasperated.

“He’s good at that. Anger,” Derek kept poking. “He’s dismissive by nature. Can’t show affection, though, can he?” 

“You walk on eggshells, you and the children,” my father chimed in.

“Jim…” the woman continued meekly.

“Shut up!” James’s mask was breaking, all in front of his constituents. That perfectly crafted façade was shattering quickly.

“Here it comes,” Morgan taunted.

I joined in his game saying, “Where was your husband today at 3 o’clock?”  

“These are ridiculous fabrications.”

“It doesn’t matter,” I continued. “We know where he was. I held the hand of the woman he murdered.”

“James, whoever did kill Mary left some DNA behind, under her fingernails.” Another crack to the mask. “What’s that?”

Derek held James’s right hand up, revealing red slashes on the top of his hand. “Well,” James answered. “That would be a cut. I cut myself on broken glass.”

“No. Mary Rutka did that to you trying to defend herself,” Morgan corrected. “You knew Don Sanderson was out after twenty-five years. He got to Tom Wittman, and you were afraid that if he got to Mary, he might find you and bring you down for what you did to his family all those years ago.”

“You’re delusional, agent,” he stammered.

But Derek continued. “You panicked and you killed Mary.”

“I don’t panic,” he stated.

“You did panic. You’re a killer. It’s what you do. You destroy people’s lives.”

“I destroyed no one.”

The back and forth went on for a couple of more seconds with Derek stating the facts of the case and pressing the open wound of panic in James’s head with the man continuingly denying it. Until an outburst made it evident that he’d been caught.

“They’ve got nothing,” he presented as a last resort of salvation.

“We found the tape,” I mentioned.

That sentence had the man’s face completely fall. Codwin took him under arrest, and we were back to the office, to finally give a tortured man his first day of peace.

I didn’t stay long at the office afterward deciding to finally head home and wash away the pains of the day – probably drink them down too. It had been a stressful day and at the very end, I was sure we would have had a killer walking free due to governmental bureaucracy. It was a part of this job that made me feel completely useless.

The house was empty when I got there. No sign of the Hotchner boys in sight. I could tell Hotch had cleaned up, the smell of sweet lavender danced into my nostrils as soon as I walked through the doors. In the kitchen, a glass container rested on the island with a note that read,

Hope you don’t mind I took the liberty of cleaning up a bit. Also made you some dinner since I’m sure you’ll forget to eat. Heat it up at 350 for around twenty minutes and enjoy. Let me know how the case went. And, again, thank you for everything you’ve done for me and Jack.

-Aaron

I was sure that Hotch only cared for me as nothing more than a friend, but it was moments such as these that my heart could not determine where the line between care and love was. And I wondered if Hotchner had those doubts too.

Next ->

Tag list:  @wanniiieeee  @obsssedwithjustaboutanything  @ssamorganhotchner  @catgirlpwr @sapnapsbandana @sunsetcurvej @Valejewel @bluetreecloud20 @sirenheadenby @cevans-winchester @DyslexicCatterpillar @zheezs14 @winter-soldier-101 @infinitedrawing

[lovelyjasmari]

Twisted Wonderland Reaction Part 14 ~ STOP PERCIEVING ME Edition

Hello everyone!

So I debated on weather to make a post abt this part of book 5 but I decided to anyway cause I have some kinda strong emotions abt it that I have to get out, preferably soon before the  en discourse begins to set in and I risk being nuked off the internet. Next reaction post will be 90% blind so there’s that. 

Warning: Pic heavy, swearing, emotional musings, slight Epel slander,  Vil simping and mention of my ocs (I try to keep it at a minimum). Also TW: Slight mentions of homophobia and my personal experiences with gender dysmorphia. 

Bonjour Honey!!! If you understand that reference, congratulations!! You have unlocked level 200 friendship access to me, please DM me to claim your prize~

Seriously are there no ad-blockers in Twisted Wonderland?!

I’ll say it once, I’ll say it again, Disney missed a huge opportunity playing it safe with Neige’s design and I hate them for it. Especially when we get to his SDC song. No spoilers but it’s pretty bad and I’m not just saying that cause I’m a Vil simp. 

Rook, sweetie, I usually love everything that comes from your mouth but this instant, kindly shut the hell up. You always struck me as someone who would appreciate beauty that is more dynamic and compelling and not so transient, please don’t fail me! 

And this right here, this is the seed Vil planted resulting in me really respecting and admiring him as a character. Carry on, my Pomefiore queen, crush Epel’s toxic way of thinking. We stan. 💙

Uhhh...it’s sounding like you wouldn’t mind that. Not that I’m judging. We don’t kinkshame in this house, for the most part. 😅

Ohhhh Kalim, my sweet sunshine, nice save cause Vil was really about to dropkick you here. And I’d probably let him too...

You truly are the fairest one of my heart. Now and forever. 💙

But seriously, these chapters really made me feel for Vil. I can appreciate the frustration he has of the world perceiving him in a certain way and then punishing him for those false assumptions. Especially since he seems not to be truly cruel, just incredibly tenacious. I’ve been suffering from people’s false assumptions of me for most of my life and I’ve yet to find a way to make people see who I truly am. But I think I could learn not to care about what they think, if I could one day be as radiant as Vil. 

More character development for my sunshine child! And for personal reasons that I’ve mentioned before, this moment made me even happier because it shows that even Kalim is capable of this level of introspection. It really makes me curious and excited for how his and Jamil’s relationship will develop in the future. 

Shut the fuck up Grim! Before I beat your ass with a stick! Christ, we’re having a deep moment and you had to ruin it with your fucking one track mind! You are seriously the worst! (half serious, half affectionate)

This cannot end well...

Your gluttony will be the doom of us all...

Everyone’s gansta ‘till Vil pulls out the ara ara~

👀👀👀 *bonks myself with my own stick* 

YESSIR!

OH FUCK NO! I CHANGED MY MIND VIL! I’LL SLEEP ON THE LOUNGE FLOOR WITH THE IDIOTS! THE SLEEP PARALYSIS RAT IS BACK!

Yes I can but I really wish I wasn’t. Also, Mickey having his OG design really throws a wrench in my Unreality theory I was working from for Yuulan’s storyline...not that I’m gonna fix it at this point though. 

Okay, WHO THE FUCK designed this new twistune?! Cause I’d like to have a word with them! No anger, just wanna talk cause I can usually SS most twistunes on easy and normal but this?! I JUST WANNA TALK

No not really, he was too busy pissing Danica off and she finally had enough...

Okay, so this was the moment that made me REALLY wanna punch Epel in the face and lowkey why I’m not pulling for him this week. The translation is also toned down some so if you understand what he’s saying, Epel comes off as VERY misogynistic here. It’s clear he’s dealing with some serious homophobia and by homophobia, I don’t mean hatred of gay people, I mean actual fear of being perceived in a feminine way which is just as bad (is there a word for that?Cause I know homophobia isn’t the one I’m looking for). Especially since some of his personal stories have shown that Epel does genuinely have some more feminine-perceived interests like embroidery, apple carving, etc. 

Once again, Vil is the right one in this situation. He can see Epel’s potential but because that potential is tied to society’s narrow perception of weakness and strength, Epel himself does not see it. Oddly enough, this is an issue that many of my female ocs deal with. Many of my main girls are very feminine and charming but they also posses incredible strength in various ways. Most of their stories focus on them balancing their strength with their femininity without forsaking their femininity all together. I don’t often see these kinds of stories in media but since I've struggled with my womanhood for so long, my characters are all the more important to me. Because strength is not mutually a masculine trait and there is power in grace. 

And I know some people have interpreted Vil’s actions and words towards Epel as harsh and even abusive but I don’t really.  As someone who has dealt with some serious gender related trauma and dysmorphia in the past, I really take issue with Epel’s comments here. Frankly, I feel like these ignorant societal notions cause as much dysmorphia in people as anything else. So I really cannot tolerate it. What’s more, I don’t really think Vil is trying to force Epel to change how he is, nor does he have contempt for Epel as he is, but he is trying to change his narrow way of thinking which is what’s REALLY holding Epel back. I’ll explain this further in a moment. 

I actually like blastcycle better than magic wheel, every now and then EN makes a translation choice that isn’t totally out there.

Awww, Ii really love Deuce and Epel’s interactions. There’s nothing heterosexual about them but that’s okay! ❤

DISNEYLAND!!!

Dumbass (highly affectionate)

Sweet, filthy farm child (also highly affectionate)

Another reason why I really haven’t taken issue with Vil’s actions yet. Even though he is harsh, Epel isn’t all in the right either and has some serious prejudices against certain types of people. Even after Vil vibe checks him more than a few times, he still hasn’t gotten what he’s trying to convey to him. He’s pretty hardheaded and sometimes gentle guidance doesn’t remedy that. 

If I’m being truly honest, out of all the boys who have OB so far, Vil IMO has been the LEAST problematic. I probably would not be saying that if it weren’t for some of the very specific experiences I’ve had in my life but really, Vil doesn’t seem genuinely cruel or malicious or even sus. Even Jamil was just a little sus though his grievances were equally as justified as Vil’s (but he went about things not in the best of ways). Now that may change since I stopped reading Book 5 at a certain point but as of now, if Vil is wrong for how he’s treated Epel, then Epel is just as wrong for his hardheadedness. 

But I want to make it clear I DO NOT DISLIKE EPEL AS A CHARACTER. His way of thinking is pretty common in more rural and conservative areas bible belt states and its only when some people grow up that they take on a different POV. And Epel probably has the same issue as Vil, being perceived a certain way by society and being punished for it. Hopefully with what Vil did for Epel’s family, he will soon understand what Vil has been trying to teach him. 

SEE?! HE IS LEARNING!!! 💖💖💖😊😊😊

OH GOD! FUCKING JUMPSCARE! They’re so sorry, Vil-san! Please don’t be too hard on them! They’re knuckleheads but they know better now! Have mercy!!

Ahhhhhhh, ahhhh, ahhhhh, oh god, is that who I think it is?? Does this mean...

MY DARLING DRAGON HUSBAND!! I squeezed my Malleus plushie so hard when he appeared! 💚

Really, if Lilia hadn’t run off so fast at the end of Book 4, I would have invited him to our holiday feast too! But concert tickets will have to suffice for now, please come over for ice cream when it gets warmer! 

Awww, he wanted to see us perform, he really is simping hard for MC and it’s adorable!

Goodnight, sweet prince. And with that, we conclude Book 5 part 2. Next time shit will likely hit the fan fast and hard and from what some of my friends playing JP have told me, it will hurt. So let’s enjoy this sweet reprieve for as long a we can. After the emotional roller coaster I’ve just had, I’m so happy I was able to make Malleus smile like this. 💚💚💚

[jehovahhthickness]

Hi so I love you. Like you're beautiful, you're hilarious, you get the coin all while handling the trials & tribulations that comes with being 46. I just really admire you bc I've been actively working on myself lately & doing my best to love & celebrate me fully & to see you going on ur journey inspires me. It makes me happy to see more black women prioritizing ourselves & our happiness & growth bc we're encouraged not to do so & we're shamed for it.

Recently a lot has happened but considering my past I think I'm dealing w/ it all so much better. I'm 95% sure my childhood best friend & I aren't really friends anymore which I've accepted bc I realized she was treating our friendship as something that only worked if it was on her terms. Like I did whatever she'd ask me to do bc I loved her but then I'd want to hang out & it's (y'know I've grown now & I don't really need ppl like tht anymore) 🙄 ok but you still hang out w/ ur other friends....like bitch just say you don't care about me 😅 but your posts has helped me realize that it's probably for the best that she stays out of my life. I'm happy with the ppl I have in my life right now that make an effort to have a genuine relationship w/ me.

The fact that y’all think I’m really 46 brings so much joy to my heart 😭😭😭😭

You know this is a concern I had with a friend I’ve had since middle school for the past year and a half but it turns out he felt the same exact way about me too.

We met up, talked and worked it out. It’s crazy how a 2 hour conversation cleared the air like that because the air was murky and dark for a long ass time.

Relationships are a two way street, that need to be maintained. You see how they shut down a street every so often to repair any damages? The same goes for your relationships

Just because we’re adults, that doesn’t mean you don’t need people. We are social creatures, we need people … I don’t care how much of an introvert and lone wolf you are, we need to a few friends, lovers and whatnot in our lives!

Anybody that knows me, know that I’m very into my solitude but my friends give me a purpose and they make me so happy.

Having beautiful spirited people who enjoy being around you makes this shitty experience we call life great!

Yes, we are busy and we have our lives, our mental illnesses are beating our ass every day and we are all going through the motions. But you still need to reach out to your friends, show them love and spend time with them. We do not have forever on this earth so you need to enjoy people while they’re here.

Clearly, shorty don’t feel that way about you and I’m thrilled you clocked that as early as you could.

You deserve to have fulfilling friendships with people who are loving, thoughtful and positive.

She didn’t fit the description and I’m glad you are letting it go.

Happy holidays, babes!