#friend said this was made by Iris and she is so right

[dottedmage]

Very serious post abt my very serious ocs

[minimomoe]

Not just Neighbors

Pairing: Logan Howlett (the worst Logan) x fem reader

Summary: Wade had a way of attracting the most unlikely people and keeping them around, but his newest roommate Mr. Tall, Dark, and Scowling is living with him until he figures out his way in this new universe. While Logan's come to peace with not dwelling on the past, the past always has a way of coming back to him.

Tags: MDNI!, Mutual Pining, Wade Wilson is a Little Shit, Next door Neighbors and roommate situation, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Smut, porn with some plot, unprotected sex, vaginal fingering, p in v sex, breeding (like a tad), oral (fem receiving)

word ct: 7.7k (get comfy)

song inspo: Iris- Goo Goo Dolls

AN: this could potentially become a throuple if you guys want. you just gotta let me know

You were there when Wade brought in his new flatmate for the first time. Wade had gone on and on about how he was akin to Jesus and how he managed to save you and everybody else in the goddamn world with the help of this newcomer and the rat of a dog he brought back home with him. You weren’t surprised at all. Wade had a way of attracting the most unlikely people and keeping them around. If you thought about it a little harder, it was one of the reasons why you were friends with Wade in the first place. His constant bouts of word vomit and funny quips annoyed you to no end but his kindness is what made you stick around. 

But as for Logan, Wade’s new friend, they were truly the most unlikely pair. You couldn’t wrap your head around how they had to work together for anything. You suppose the “how” didn’t really matter here with everybody smiling with the occasional conversation bursting with unadulterated laughter. Wherever Wade picked Logan up from, he fit in perfectly in the group. 

Somehow you got stuck with one of the newest guests at the get together, Mary Puppins, and you looked down at the mutt with a less than ecstatic grimacing smile. You didn’t like how naked she was, her skin only having matted tufts of fur in none of the places that mattered. 

“No no no, you can’t hold her and have that face. If you’re holding Dogpool you have to smile. She invokes happiness, like a vibrator,” Wade said. He took the dog from your arms and rubbed noses with her. “Who’s the prettiest princess in the world? Is it you or me?”

The floppy tongue of Puppins licked all around his face and you could barely hold back gagging. “Dude, that’s disgusting. Who knows what fucking diseases you just got.” 

“Not surprised that you find true love disgusting. You remind me of a snapping turtle with chlamydia. You got an itch you can never reach so now you have to make it everybody else’s problem.” 

“I just told you to stop tonguing down your dog, prick. I’d rather drink rubbing alcohol than do what you’re doing.” 

Your friend gasped loudly and clapped his hands excitedly. He pointed excitedly at Logan who felt the new pairs of eyes on him from across the room even though he was in the middle of a conversation with others. His eyes hardened on Wade, glaring at him before travelling over to you. You thought you had imagined it when he had first walked in, but Logan did not want to deal with you. His eyes softened marginally before sweeping back to the laughter that bursted in front of him, tilting into concerned territories instead of pure annoyance, but still paid you no mind. You had no idea what you had done to the man, but his adverse behaviour made you eye twitch. 

“He drinks rubbing alcohol! You two would get right along with your premature wrinkles from being sour pussies and the lust for emotionally reserved people. Actually, have you said hey to Logan, my newest roommate? Don’t worry, he bites. Once he sinks his teeth in you have to shake him off. I think we should get him a muzzle. I would show you the marks he left on me but they’re in places only my eyes can see.” 

He tucked the dog under his arm and dragged you closer to the other man hurriedly without asking if you wanted to say hey to Logan. He was just your type, dark eyes, dark hair, imposing stature, but totally and completely uninterested in you.

“If they’re for your eyes only, why show them to me?” 

“Because that’s what friends do! What are you, new here? You’ve helped me take some amazing nudes so don’t get all chaste on me,” Wade exasperated. 

Unfortunately he said that loud enough for Logan to hear, who lifted an arched brow at you and Wade’s locked arms. You were getting an eyeful of his chest that was unbuttoned in his blue flannel top that made it hard to drag your eyes back up at a respectable angle. 

“Logan, this is my bestie who is also the best damn cook this place has ever seen. She could cook cocaine from scratch if she put her mind to it like that one tiktok lady and it would be heavenly. I know you crazy kids will hit it off, but if you ever need a third,” he gave you a suggestive look. 

You jabbed your elbow in Wade’s side. “Stop that. And I have never made cocaine before and I will never do that,” you corrected. 

Wade had already left to talk to Vanessa and your irritation already ebbed away at the sight of the two of them together. You shook your head and gazed back down at Logan whose jaw was ticking and you guessed that you were the cause. You nervously shifted on your feet as you talked, not wanting to make the newcomer any more uncomfortable. 

“Look, I’m not gonna pry. I do want to thank you for whatever you did with Wade. I was getting worried about him but he seems genuinely happy as of late after knowing you,” you said sincerely. 

Finally Logan looked up to meet your eyes. He scanned your entire visage and something like pain flicked across his face. 

“Nice to meet you. You’re also one of Wade’s friends?”

“And next door neighbor,” you waved your hands. You received another thinly veiled grimace. “I think Al is calling me,” you muttered so you could leave this painful conversation. 

You couldn’t have known that Logan’s gaze stayed on you even after you turned your back on him to talk to Al. There was no way for you to know that Logan had met you before, in a different universe once upon a time, and you two were a lot more than neighbors. Seeing that you didn’t have an ounce of recognition for him was jarring but he couldn’t decide which one was worse. You having no memory of him, or you knowing just how low he got before finally getting his shit together. Whenever he caught your eyes across the room you quickly focused your attention elsewhere. As much as it bothered him, he thought it would be for the best to keep his distance. 

The night passed and you didn’t make another attempt to talk to Logan. In fact, he didn’t see you again until a week later when he opened his front door and you had your fist raised in the air ready to knock on the heavy wood. 

“Oh. Logan,” you drawled, dropping your hand. You were dressed for the heat in dark wash shorts that stopped high on your thigh with a cut up t-shirt of some new age tv show. Your hair was different from the last time he saw you. A million, tiny braids wrapped up in a knot on top of your head decorated with gold jewelry. Under your arm was a basket of clothes resting against your hip. You peeked over his shoulders, looking for anybody else in the apartment. 

“I wanted to grab Al’s laundry while I’m heading down there. You mind if I get it?”

This was his chance to try to set the record straight. Logan looked at you for so long you started to frown, wondering if you had said something wrong. 

“Your hands are already full,” he said without further explanation and you fell back when he went inside with the door closing in your face. The shock of his audacity is what kept you frozen in place, but not even ten seconds later it reopened with Logan holding Althea’s laundry basket. 

“You want to do it together?” You asked incredulously. 

Logan shrugged. “I got nothing else better to do.” 

You said nothing as he walked past you down the hall to the stairwell. All you could do is stare at his nice ass saunter away after you rolled your eyes. When down in the laundry room on the first floor you took the basket out of Logan’s hands, quickly sorted the clothes then placed them in the machine. You sat down on the bench, staring down at your hands, clenching your fingers into your palms before slowly stretching them back out. 

“What’s wrong with your hands?” Logan was still standing, leaning against a machine that wasn’t on as he looked at you with concern. You moved from stretching your fingers all at once to bending them one by one until they released a crisp pop!

“I feel like they're getting stiff. Gotta stretch so I can keep braiding hair for a few more years before the arthritis kicks in,” you sighed. “Sit down already. You’re making me nervous hovering over there like that.” 

He dropped himself on the other side of the bench you were sitting on, making it creak in protest. 

It wasn’t like you to fill the quiet with small talk but you didn’t know much about Logan and he seemed to be in an agreeable mood. After a few minutes of watching a video on your phone, you paused it to ask him a question. 

“So what do you do? You know, for a living?”

Logan slowly tilted his head to regard your inquisitive stare. “I work in construction.” 

You nodded, his occupation making total sense to you. He had the look of somebody who was blue collar. “I don’t know how it fully works but can you tell the city to fix the road on the bridge? It has holes bigger than a pornstar’s.” 

Logan chuckled at your choice of words and it made you grin. It dawned on you that it was the first time you have really seen a happy expression on his face and you wanted to see more of it. 

“I’ll move it up the docket,” he snorted. 

“I’m counting on you.” 

This was going much smoother than the first time you met him and you wondered if you had imagined the unsettling encounter in the first place. You wanted to test the waters without pushing your luck, so you went back to the paused hair tutorial on your phone and the quiet hum of the washing machines tumbling filled the empty space. You kept sneaking glances up at Logan who sat comfortably on the bench, taking up twice as much space than needed with his manspreading with arms crossed over his chest and his eyes closed. His chest rose and fell softly like he was sleeping. 

“You wanna say something, bub?”

Your cheeks flamed like you were caught doing something you weren’t supposed to. “Do you call everybody that?” 

Logan opened his eyes and looked at you from the corner of his eye.“I don’t bother myself too much with people’s names. It’s easier for me.” 

“So you can’t be bothered to remember my name, nice,” you snorted. Before he could respond you put your hand up. “It’s okay, I’ll forget yours so we’ll be even. I was just wondering if you styled your hair like cat ears or if you just woke up like that, but then again, it looks like that every time I see you.” 

He immediately ran his hands through his hair but failed to do anything about the style. You snorted then stretched your arm out to brush through his hair with your own fingers. The locks of hair were persistent in their upright position. You gave an amused hum before dropping your hand. “It’s pretty cute.” 

Logan bit his tongue from mentioning how the you from his universe always made fun of his hair. He couldn’t compare the two, it wouldn’t be right, but you were so obviously the same person he cared for without even trying. He abruptly got up, leaving you bewildered on the bench by yourself. 

“Call Wade to help you take this shit back to our place. I have something to take care of,” he said gruffly. Without another glance he left the laundry room. You watched his frame from the large windows walk down the street until he was no longer visible and scoffed. 

“Fuck you too, Logan,” you cursed under your breath. 

Your touch had ignited something in Logan, something that he needed to walk off lest he exploded. You had no fucking idea what you were doing to him and it wasn’t until Logan looked up and realized that he was about to walk into a new city limit that his feelings dawned on him too. You had left him in the previous universe, ending things with him before he was a full blown alcoholic because you didn’t want to be there when he self-destructed. It’s not that you had left without begging him to change, trying to help him get better, but he was too busy drowning in self pity to grab the hand that was reaching out for him. Seeing your expression full of hope and wonder in this world made Logan’s chest cave in from disappointment. It reminded him of a time where you loved him before he became The Worst Logan. He couldn’t find it in him to fully explain the turmoil that was going on with his mind and heart without it sounding utterly insane to you. The ghost of your fingers in his hair replayed in his mind for days as he kept himself busy with work and the gym, trying to minimize his chances of bumping into you to zero. The only problem was that it was an impossible task. You lived next door, and you were Wade’s friend. He could hear your voice through the drywall when he holed himself up in his room while you talked to Wade and Al. 

“Trust me, he doesn’t hate you. Unless you have a smart mouth. Then he might hate you a little bit.” 

“Is that really all the advice you can give me?” 

“He really likes Madonna?”

“Thank you. Thank you for absolutely nothing,” you groaned. 

—•—

Even though days have passed since his time spent in the laundry room with you, he was bound to cross paths with you again. He came home late at night at the same time as you who was having trouble with opening your door. 

“Shit,” he heard you mutter. “Fuck. Shit-fuck, where is my key?”

More rustling ensued as he came up the stairs to see you paw through your bag. You dropped your hand in futile defeat and pressed your forehead on the door with a soft thump. You then whipped around, making your way to his apartment, Wade’s apartment, and freezing like a deer caught in headlights when you see him down the hall. You started to backtrack but Logan called out your name.

“I was just gonna ask Wade to pick my lock again. I can’t get in,” you explained.

“Wade’s not in there. He went out with Vanessa,” Logan said. He took slow steps closer to you and you stiffened up. “I could open it for you.”

Your eyes widened at the offer, then you eyed him suspiciously. “Are you saying that but gonna fuck off to who knows where halfway through?”

Logan sucked his teeth in. “I’m sorry about that. I just— I needed to leave.”

You gave him a disbelieving stare. Even now with the tiredness of the day weighing you down you looked beautiful to him. You had your hair held back with a silk scarf that freed your face so your knitted eyebrows were showing clear confusion. Your full lips were hard pressed in a line with the corners tugging down.

“Fine. Whatever. Just open the door,” you scoffed. “Please,” you added after some thought. 

He would’ve opened it even if you yelled at him. You stood behind Logan, unable to see him extend a single claw to pick your lock. In no time you heard the click of your door being opened and you clapped in relief. Logan opened the door wide for you to step in, fully prepared to close it after but you took his hand to drag him inside.

“Thanks,” you muttered. “You’re coming home late too so you must be hungry. I doubt Wade got anything good to eat over there.” 

He watched you move around your space, kicking your shoes off at the corner and hanging your bag on some hooks next to the door. He did the same with his shoes, padding behind you in his socks as you walked over to your kitchen.

“Un-fucking-believable,” you scoffed. He looked at what you were staring at and it was your lanyard of keys sitting pretty on your countertop. “Well, is there anything you’re in the mood for?”

“Do you still have any of that lasagna you brought over last time? It was fucking amazing.”

“So you do eat my food,” you said bashfully. “Unfortunately I do not but I’ll make it again soon, buuut I do have spaghetti sauce with big ole meatballs leftover, so we can have that.” 

You gave Logan a hopeful look, silently asking him to stay for dinner. He didn’t know what else to do with himself in your tiny kitchen but he stuck around, scanning the walls and other surfaces for bits of you plastered all over the place. You had a little bit of everything tucked in all corners, books in haphazard stacks, miniature plants in colorful pots, and random trinkets tucked in corners. It wasn’t messy, but your space was lived in. It was a visual representation of your personality. 

In the same bowl you threw your keys in after you found them there was a large flat disc that he recognized. It was a token given to those who attended the same AA meetings he went to, the exact same design, that said “1 year”. You saw him eyeballing the coin and picked it up. 

“Oh yeah I don’t drink. Gotta keep my streak up,” you chuckled dryly. “It’s actually been three years but I don’t go as often as I should. I think I got a good handle on it now.” 

Logan’s brow raised up. He only recently started to go to AA meetings secretly on his own. While he didn’t have to hide it, having everyone close to him know how much he needed help made his stomach turn. The way you spoke about your past freely to him made him more willing to be open and honest with himself. 

“I’m trying to get better at that too,” he said in a steady voice, looking at you head on. You regarded him without any apprehension. “I go to the latest meetings of the night.”

“At the rec center on 5th?”

Logan nodded and you gave a soft smile. Your thumb brushed over the engraving on the token. “They’re good people over there. They really helped me get back on my feet.” 

You shuffled over to your pantry to pull out a pack of spaghetti, then to your cabinets to get olive oil and salt. 

You moved with ease in your kitchen like you could find all the stuff with your eyes closed and it reminded Logan of simpler times. Him coming back from a mission to you making a meal if it wasn’t the middle of the night. He’d stick to your side like a starfish, not wanting to let go until you started complaining about your dwindling range of motion. Then he’d pull you in his lap when food was served, having you sit and feed him until you slowly stopped bringing out two plates to just one so you could eat off of one together. This domestic scene that played in front of him was something that Logan thought that he had lost forever. 

“I grew up in Butt Fuck Nowhere, USA. All there was to do for fun was go to the liquor store and get drunk in parking lots until it wasn’t just for fun but a necessity to avoid everything. Over the years I just… wandered. When I ended up in the hospital and nobody came to check on me is when it really hit. I could’ve died and I wouldn’t have anything to show for my life.” 

Once you filled a pot full of water on the stove, you toyed with the token while leaning over the counter. You spun the coin around on the table until it reached the speed to where it looked like a transparent sphere. 

“I must’ve relapsed at least 50 times when I first started going to meetings. Hell, it took me almost two years before I even went to meetings regularly. I don’t mean to lecture you or anything. Lord knows I have no business giving advice to anybody,” you chuckled. The coin slowed and collapsed on itself. You flicked it over to Logan and he caught it under his fingers. “But I do know what you’re going through. So if you feel yourself slipping let me know. It would’ve been nice to have somebody to lean on back then.” 

The only noise that could be heard in your apartment was the soft bubbling of the pasta boiling. Logan picked up the coin that you slid over to him and turned it over in his hand. The timer you set for the spaghetti beeped so you went to tend to the pot, grabbing oven mitts for the drawer and prepped your strainer. You poured out the boiling hot water in the sink, hissing when the steam billowed in your face. 

“Careful,” Logan muttered behind you, his hand on the small of your waist. He took the burning pot out of your hand with no protection and placed it back on the stove. 

“It’s just a little steam,” you waved off. “You must’ve burned yourself. Here, run your hand under cold water first.” 

You took his hand to inspect it and saw the red welts and fingertips quickly disappear back into his normal skin color. You gaped at his hand, running your fingers over his palm like a psychic reader. 

“You’re like Wade,” you gasped in awe. “No wonder he brought you home.”

He carefully slipped his hand out of your hold and held it over the sink, exposing the claws that sprung from between his knuckles. When he retracted the claws you took his fist and inspected his knuckles, trying to find the exit point with knitted eyebrows full with concern. 

“Does that hurt you?”

“I barely feel it anymore,” he shrugged. 

“How much do you know about mutants?” Logan breathed out. This was the closest you've ever been to him. He could smell your shampoo wafting off of your hair and the slightest bit of your perfume. Just like his old timeline, you always favored vanilla and coconut scents. 

“Not much. Something, something, genetic mutation, the next step for human evolution, can be a variety of different powers or appearances. I know that a few of Wade’s other friends are mutants and I unfortunately have the base model human form,” you joked. “But it’s a good thing you’re not hurt.” 

You never stopped rubbing Logan’s hand and he never took it away. Instead he pressed his palms to yours then slotted his fingers in the available spaces until he was gently holding your hand. You nervously cleared your throat but didn’t say anything for him to stop. 

“I don’t know how much of the story you got from Wade, but I had my own timeline, my own universe, that I fucked up before he pulled me out of there to save this one. You were there.” 

That made your eyebrows fly up. “Holy shit— there’s another me? Or another variant of me. I think that’s how Wade explained it.”

“Yeah, another variant of you. And I let you down. I mean I fucking blew it at the time. So I see you now, knowing that I’m being given a second chance, and fuck I’m scared I’m gonna mess it up again.” 

All the agonizing looks and sudden disappearances finally made sense. You always felt like Logan had known something about you that you weren’t aware of, albeit you weren’t thinking it was this major. Still, the corners of your mouth curled up.

“Don’t go looking too far ahead in the future, Logan. You could start small by not running out of the room when you see me and you could always stop by for dinner.” 

Logan’s heart was drumming in his chest so hard he swore you could hear it. There you went again, bridging the gap between him and you like you always did. You stated things so simply because it was that simple to you. You went back to preparing dinner, dishing out plates of spaghetti for the both of you and diving into a story about the marital issues one of your clients were having. You were so animated when you talked, your eyes bright and hands waving, he held onto every single word. Before he knew it there was no food left on his plate and you two had been talking for nearly an hour. Once he saw you yawn he excused himself, taking your plates and washing them off, promising to see you the next day and you looked happy with his new attitude. 

So Logan started small just like you said to. There wasn’t a time when he saw you that he didn’t say hi, and your face lighting up made him want to say it again and again. He surprised you with compression gloves to help your hands and offered to do your grocery shopping whenever he could. You made good on your word by bringing twice as much food over to the apartment, going as far as packing him a separate plate with his name written on a neon post it note with your curly handwriting. You had no idea how long he kept one of the notes in his pocket, neatly folded until the corners were devoid of pigment. He would swipe over it while he went to his meetings and be reminded of your encouraging voice. 

When he felt himself itching for a drink, his throat feeling dry and the tremors in his hand returning, his first call was to you. It must’ve been almost 12 am when he called the first time, but you answered and talked him down out of the bar full of his temptations and into your apartment where you had two cups of tea and a listening ear. When he didn’t want to talk you offered a distraction, putting on the shittiest comedies you found and forcing him to sit on your couch and watch them with you until the tension in his shoulders melted away and he could finally hear the voices that were coming from the tv. By that time you were already in a deep sleep, your face peaceful and the most interesting thing to watch was you, not the screen. Movie nights became a normal, weekly occurrence for the two of you after that, something that Logan looked forward to. 

Even Wade and Blind Al noticed the change in the relationship. 

“It’s always ‘where’s Logan, Logan, Logan?’ with her. Soon she won’t even bother to cook for us anymore. I used to be the only person she’d make chimichangas for so why the fuck do you get a plate now? All she cares about is that slutty waist decorated with a big fat shiny belt buckle,” Wade complained. 

“Motherfucker, if that little angel stops bringing me her sweet potato pound cakes, I will drop kick you out of the window.” Al pointed her can in the middle of Logan’s chest. 

Logan’s phone buzzed on the coffee table and all three of them turned to face it. 

“Speaking of that gorgeous devil. Must be a slow day at work if she can be sexting you. Do you even know what that is or do you only send horny notes via quill pen and carrier pigeon?” 

“Mind your own goddamn business,” Logan said, snatching up his phone before Wade could reach it. It was a message from you, and it wasn’t a sexy message at all (to someone who isn’t attracted to you like Logan was). Instead you had sent him a picture of one of your client’s hair with an intricate braid design with only your fingers in the frame. You were wearing the gloves he gave you and he was too busy looking at that than the hair. Another message popped up. 

-took me only ten hours and she tipped the same amount as the price!!!

-finally gonna buy a new stand mixer

“Oooo she sends you hand pictures. I didn’t know you had a fetish for that, you freaky frogs. Cover your eyes Althea, they’re getting nasty.”

That earned Wade three stabs in his leg and Logan stepped out of the living room to call you back in peace.

—•—

Another night eating dinner together and you excitedly pulled Logan to the kitchen and made him cover his eyes with the palms of his hands so he wouldn’t peek. He heard the fridge open and close, matches being struck, and the soft ring of utensils being set down. Then you stood behind him, replacing his hands with yours. 

“Okayyy open!” 

Logan opened his eyes to a small, round cake displayed in front of him with a single candle lit in the middle. In elaborate cursive, “Happy One Month” was written in blue and yellow frosting. He had given you his token earlier this week from his meetings with a shy smile and you were ecstatic for him. He wasn’t expecting you to do anything more than that from you because he still had a long way to go. But you stood behind Logan, your hands resting on his shoulders while you peeked over his body to try to see his expression. 

“We need to celebrate things like this,” you said fondly. “You’re doing fucking amazing.” 

Your hands left his body and you went to get plates to serve the cake with. “I hope you like chocolate cake. You seem like a chocolate type of guy.”

Your knife was poised over the cake ready to slice down when you felt Logan’s heavy hands rest on your waist. You have been trying to be normal about him for weeks, not wanting to assume that he would be interested in you now because you looked similar to someone he knew before while your own attraction was off the charts. His body heat covering your entire back and circling around your abdomen made it impossible to make a steady cut in the cake and you pulled out a crooked slice. 

“Logan?”

You pivoted on your heels to face him. His arms never loosened around your body. His expression was dark and heady, ever so ready to eat you rather than the cake. Your gaze went from his eyes to his lips before dragging back up. Heat swirled in your stomach, one that has been growing since you met him but it was finally bubbling over. 

“Nobody else would think to do this but you,” he said in a low voice. It only sent tingles right down your spine. You ran your hands on his shoulders before hooking them together behind his head. Logan slotted one leg in between yours, his thigh pressing lightly on your sex, and your lower back pressed into the table. The cool tile barely soothed your sizzling skin.

“It doesn’t take much to do,” you shrugged. “I want to cheer you on.” 

One of his hands snaked up the front of your body until he cupped your chin, tilting your head back and you both shared open mouthed breaths. You combed his nape, watching his eyes roll back into his head and he cursed. Logan’s lips came crashing down on you with reckless abandon, his tongue making quick acquaintance with the inside of your mouth and you hiked your leg up his waist to lock him in closer. He lifted you up to sit you on the counter and the heights changed. You sat a little taller than him, controlling the kiss with just as much gusto and both legs around his waist. You pushed off the jacket he was wearing, not liking how many layers of clothing were separating you from him and his hands rubbed up your bare thighs till he was under your shorts. A moan that left you biting his lip escaped your mouth and Logan showed just enough restraint to say something. 

“Tell me you want this,” Logan groaned. His gaze was so deep, full of the regret of some other timeline where he had once failed you once before and he needed to know that this wasn’t some hyper realistic dream that he was letting himself get swept into. You cupped his face, kissing the stray tear that fell from his right eye before capturing his lips again. He was hungry for you, getting drunk off the salty kiss but had enough control left to pull away and repeated himself. “Say you want this.”

“I want this,” you nodded vigorously. “I want you. The Logan that’s here in front of me. I want all of you.” 

You were afraid that your answer wasn’t enough as Logan stared at you like he couldn’t believe that you were real. His head dropped to your shoulder and your hands made home in his hair. You gently scraped his scalp with your nails when you felt open mouth kisses on the side of your neck that shot electricity through your veins. You hummed quietly, sagging into his embrace and he continued his burning map of passion down your body. He heaved you off of the countertop, walking over to your sectional rather than your room because he couldn’t afford to waste any more time before settling into the soft cushions with you on top of him. Your mouths were back on each other, feverishly seeking what the other was offering in a desperate manner. Teeth clashing on each other did nothing to slow you down outside of giving you a moment to breathe before you could get lightheaded.

Logan’s large hands roamed over your body, nearly tearing off your shorts to feel the wetness of your pussy. You meweled when his fingers slipped past your folds and smeared the arousal he gathered from your entrance. Not wanting to be the only one feeling good, you worried his belt buckled, jerking the leather out of the way to free his length from the confinements of his pants. Your fingers wrapped around his cock strung out a long groan from Logan from deep inside his chest. You were equally as loud, whimpering whenever he circled your clit and clenching your thighs around his hips. 

“Holy fuck, Logan,” you shuddered. He inserted another one of his thick fingers, moving two in a scissoring fashion that made your vision hazy around the corners. You were tight and he wanted to take his time preparing you, but you were riding his hand and his palms were drenched in your arousal. You spat in your hand and pumped his cock faster, taking his mouth again for a dizzying kiss. 

“That’s enough,” he growled out. With a bruising grip he guided your hips to line up with his stiff cock. His tip nudged your oversensitive bundle of nerves and you hissed, your fingers digging in his shoulders. You sank down slowly on him, his cock splitting you open with a delicious stretch you had been imagining for weeks now. None of your toys could compare to the real thing. Logan coaxed you to keep your eyes on him while he fucked you from below. Your lashes were lined with tears as you slid down inch by tantalizing inch of his length. You still had your top on and that was a problem for Logan. He hastily pushed your shirt off of your body and was rewarded to your breasts falling in his face. If he could smother himself with them he could. Your nipples stood out, clearly begging for his attention, and he flattened his tongue to lap them up. 

You clutched him to your chest, gasping and writhing on top of him, still trying to get down to the base. He closed the gap, bucking his hips up with a satisfying slap to the back of your thigh.

“Yesss,” you hissed. “God yes.” Logan was fully seated inside of you, your velvet walls pulsing around him in an intoxicating rhythm. A sob of relief fell from your lips when he controlled the tempo from below. He could leave handprints on your ass with how tightly he was holding you, rolling your hips, hurtling you towards an orgasm. It was your turn to take off his shirts. You didn’t need anything to slow the large wave of pleasure ready to crash over you. Once you had a clear view of his top half, viewing his muscles that flexed from holding you up, you splayed your hands on his broad chest to steady you. His hands wrapped around your wrists, bringing one up to kiss the pulse point that was beating a hundred miles a minute, then drag his tongue over the vein. He left open-mouth marks up your arm, pulling you closer until it was your lips he was devouring once again. 

Logan’s thumb stimulated your clit and you whimpered in his mouth. You were forehead to forehead, eyelashes tangling with each other with each blink. You always broke contact first, too overwhelmed with the building pressure deep in your core and Logan would lure you back to him. 

“Don’t leave me all alone, pretty,” he moaned, and it was all it took to have you staring deep in his eyes again. 

You came crying out Logan’s name. You buried your face in his neck, rolling your hips feverishly against him to ride out the rest of your high. His arms laced around your back, holding you together as you fell apart. When you released the final heaving breath he flipped you on your back on the couch, slipping out of your sex to settle his head between your plush thighs. 

“Whaa–?” You were still dazed, floating in the cloud with slight tremors running through your body, only being brought back down to earth when you felt the brush of Logan’s beard on the inside of your leg. 

“You have no idea how good you smell,” he gritted out. 

He was practically salivating at the sight of your pussy, his hand cupping your ass and he spread your legs further apart so that no part of you was hidden. You rested on your elbows to watch him from down below, his hazel eyes blown wide at the feast presented to him. He dived in nose deep, messily eating you out, drenching the bottom half of his face from his spit and your arousal that dripped all over the couch. Your hands made a home in his head of hair, tugging him to and fro whenever you thought you were close. Arching your back off the couch offered you no break, Logan’s hands curled around you to keep you in place and firmly stuck on his mouth. He enjoyed the harsh pulls on his scalp, the way that you murmured sorry like you could actually hurt him. “Lo–logan,” you whined out. It was almost too much to bear. He was relentless, his oral fixation on your clit becoming numbing as your nerves were in overdrive. Your nails clawed his back, the tops of his shoulders, trying to find purchase in anything to keep from the mounting spiraling sensation that kept you crying for him. 

“Keep saying my name like that,” he commanded. It came out muffled, you didn’t actually hear a word that came out of his mouth, but you felt the vibrations of them and it made more tears fall from your eyes. 

He moved from fucking you with his tongue to slipping his fingers inside, crooking them up to your spot and keeping a tight seal on your clit. Your release hit you like a freight train. You clamped your shaking thighs together around his head, and Logan fucked you through it until you were sobbing, begging him to let you breathe. Every muscle in your body was trembling from the gratifying exertion. 

However, Logan was far from finished with you. 

His beard was slick with your second orgasm. He finally came up for air, kissing up your softness of your stomach, a slow trail through the middle of your chest.“You taste fucking amazing too.” 

“Let me see,” you crooned, cuffing the back of his neck to mash your lips on his. Both your arms and legs wrapped around Logan, containing his body in your embrace with the rest of the strength you could muster up. He slipped inside of your cunt in one fluid motion, fucking you to the edge once again. You fluttered and clenched around him, his strokes languid yet hitting your spot with precision. You were beyond fucked out, a blubbering mess that wanted him to finish inside of you. 

“Please, please, please give it to me. Come on– fuck, baby,” you begged. “Don’t you wanna come inside?” 

“Asking so nicely,” he gave a low chuckle. “How bad do you want it?”

Your hands squeezing his ass was all the answer he needed. Logan was notched deep inside of you, hips rolling and teeth bared over your skin. Desperation fueled him. The need to make you completely his, filling you up with his come. Your eyes wandered to between you, the point where you both were conjoined to watch the raunchy scene of his cock fucking your slippery pussy with amazement. You glided your finger over your clit for one more high with Logan’s filthy words in your ears. 

“Come for me, sweetheart. One more time and I’ll give you exactly what you're begging for. You already made a fucking mess everywhere–” 

You crested with a high keen that made everything flash white. The sheer force of your orgasm had you coming for what seemed to be a few long minutes. Words were useless to describe the lewdness of your moans accompanied with the final, sharp snaps of his hips on the back of your thighs. Logan couldn’t hold out any longer, finally spilling inside of you with a growling shout. His hands were sunken inside of a decorative pillow above your head on your couch that was ruined from his claws extending at the height of his peak. Ragged pants were shared between you, heart rates finally slowly. You locked your legs around his waist, wanting Logan to lay his full weight on top of your body like a stone press. You basked in the afterglow, grazing your nails on his skin, enjoying his body heat. He nestled further into your neck, breathing in your scent, content with your affectionate embrace. Logan could finally put all worries of ruining his relationship with you in this world to bed.  

—•—

You weren’t sure if you had slept for only a few minutes or hours, but you woke up feeling hungry, sore, and overheated.  It was all due to Logan, who was starfishing on top of your body. Only one hand was curved around your waist to ensure that you wouldn’t escape even while he was in the dreamlands and you chuckled. You took the liberty of touching him freely while he slumbered, craning your neck to skate your finger down the slope of his nose and cheek. His nose twitched, shaking off your finger to remain sleeping. You really had to pee but you didn’t want to disturb him. That’s when you realized that you were no longer on the couch like you were the night before. You don’t know how many times you did it, how many positions you went through with the insatiable man who craved you for hours. He must’ve carried you to the bed when you were too tired to walk on your own and when you ran you hand down on parts of your body that wasn’t buried under him you were clean. You thought about waking him up so you could convince him to take a shower with him when your phone rang on your nightstand. You felt your way to grabbing it, stretching your arm as far out as you could to snatch it off the table and read the caller ID. 

“Wade, this better be important.” 

“Good morning to you too, sunshine. I just wanted to say the headphones you got Al work great. After the third, or was it the fourth round, I put those bad boys on and couldn’t hear a thing. Send me the link so I can buy them for myself.”

You threw your arm over your eyes in embarrassment. “Fuck me, you heard us?”

“Oh yeah,” he snickered. “You two sounded like banshees fucking on a rollercoaster. Tell me, is he huge down under? I would take a hike down his happy trail any day.” 

“I’m hanging up now,” you said, and did just that. You tossed your phone back on your nightstand when Logan rustled. 

“Who was that?” His voice was even deeper than usual, hitting your ears with a delicious gravelly tone. You pressed your legs together at the sound of him. 

“Wade. Just know that he heard us and will be an annoying little shit about it.”

“Fucking great,” he groaned. You combed your fingers through his hair to soothe him. 

You were going to say something else when the state of your pillow caught your attention. 

“Holy shit,” you murmured, running your hand over the torn fabric. Three streaks sliced through it, exposing the soft down within. Logan tilted his head to see what you were looking at and winced. 

“I’ll replace that too.” 

You could only laugh in disbelief. His chin rested on your sternum and you held an amused expression, a small smile dancing on your lips. 

“What is it?” He asked. 

“My question is finally answered. You wake up with the little cat ears.”

Thanks for reading loves!! lemme know what ya think xx

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[inkskinned]

we were drunk off mezcal and my dog had his paws crossed like he was fancy and we were giggling about it and i told you that with the sun coming back i can feel my fingers again and you grabbed my wrist and jokingly shook my limp hands while saying i have you i got you and i wanted to tell you i love you in that moment but it's actually just that it's spring and love actually seems like something that i can afford once in a while so long as i'm not overwhelmed by the crushing weight of having to do my laundry

i don't get so sad on sundays anymore and part of that is you but also part of it is that i've been watching a bird melodrama in the tree outside my window - first the robins had the run of it, then the doves. most recently a family of sparrows came through. the sky was pink today like a kiss, and i felt the pastel wrap in a warm piebald snake around my chest and hum herself into my bones

thank god for every person that forgives me for the depressive spirals i go on every winter without-fail like i swear there are absolutes in this world and it's stuff like. stoats go white in winter. the sun comes over the east. when it gets cold all parts of my soul go numb and the light can't pass through my iris without a tattoo gun. how many times can i tell a friend i'm sorry i wasn't talking to you, i truly wasn't talking to anyone

thank god i can feel my skin right now and you hold my weak little hand in your hand and then you flip it over so you can read my palm and you're smiling while you run fingertips over lines and read out my fate like it says here you like a good grillcheese sandwich and admit it you make salads by buying the pre-made spring mix and i have all your astrology shit memorized and i read your horoscope first when i'm checking my own even-though-i-don't-believe-in-it (but just in case) and i want to kiss you just to watch the blush spread in a tulip from under your freckles in that way it does, how you pull back and wrinkle your nose in laughter

thank god but today for the first time in a month i finally texted my friends back and actually made plans to hang out (how's that! barring disaster!) and i let my dog put his big muddy paws on my nice sweater and yeah actually when it's bad i always think i can't do that again. i can't crawl back up that mountain

but the sun touched me on the face this morning and we had a nice long talk about it and i said i gotta go the long way again huh and she nodded and shook back her solarflare hair and looked over to her moon girlfriend and she said you can do it. better things on the horizon.

[too-deviant]

jackie and wilson.

previous | next series masterlist.

summary: you haven’t been given a quest, but you have made it your personal mission to make luke castellan smile.

paring: luke castellan x unclaimed!reader

word count: 4k

content: luke is still a moody teenager, reader is still the fly he cant get rid of. does he really want to, though?

notes: these first two parts feel very introductory but it gets juicy as we dive a little further in the next parts hehe. also who do we think readers godly parent is?

PART II — and lord, she found me just in time 

For a hotshot lawyer, your mom couldn’t lie for the life of her. Every time you brought it up, she’d always quip that she didn’t need to be a good liar to be a good lawyer, since all new evidence is legally required to be disclosed to both parties before they are presented in court. Therefore, there is no lying, only brief twisting of the truth. She was good at that — clearly. 

“You said you didn’t want me to leave you!” 

The wooden floor of Chiron’s office wasn’t the most comfortable of lounging places, but you’d accidentally kicked the radiator after tripping over a horseshoe and Mr. D — who had escorted you there when you’d asked about speaking to your mom — had just sighed and told you to use the mist currently spraying from it as a form of communication. The whole Iris Message thing was still unusual to you, but at the same time, you’d tripped over a horseshoe because the owner of the office was half-horse. Does it get weirder than that? Probably not. 

You leaned back on your haunches, disbelief written all over your face at the scene you…walked in on? Called in on? Iris Messaged in on? Whatever — you were more worried about what you were looking at than the right terminology to describe it. 

“Oh — sweetie!” Your mom was quick to hop down from the kitchen counter, pushing the man who had been standing between her legs away from her so forcefully he fell back into the living room. 

“What was that?” You heard him ask from afar. Your mom chuckled, buttoning up her blouse. 

“The answering machine.” She excused, “I completely forgot I was supposed to call back my daughter. Would you give me a minute?”

The man agreed with a huff and your mom pushed the kitchen door closed with a click before looking at you, narrowing her eyes and crossing her arms, “I didn’t. I sure do now!”

“I’ve been gone for, like, two days!” You exclaimed, “And you’re already inviting your boyfriend over? How old are you?”

“Oh, let it go.” The woman chastised, shaking her head and attempting to push down her amused smile. “I was bored.”

“Bored.” You chuckled, “Of course.”

“But I miss you.” She said then, smiling sweetly and leaning her hip on the island, “How’s camp?”

“It’s great.” You grinned, “The people are great, the food is great. Turns out, I am super with a spear.”

“A spear, huh?” Your mom nodded, “No surprise there, you’ve got a hell of an arm.”

You hummed excitedly, the previous event long forgotten as you filled her in on your first few days at camp, “One of my friends in cabin nine offered to make me a personal one.” Your mom furrowed her brows, “Children of Hephaestus. Blacksmith guy.”

“Right.” She nodded with a click of her tongue. “Well, I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself.”

“I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself.” You smirked cheekily, ignoring the scoff and evil look she sent you in response. 

“Alright. I best go.” She interrupted just as you went to make another comment about her guest, “I will see you at the end of summer. Okay?” 

“Okay. Love you.” 

Truthfully, you were happy to spend the rest of the day talking to your mom — it was so hot that morning that you’d thought about sacrificing your breakfast to Apollo in hopes that he’d ease up a little. You decided against it and just sent your prayers to each of them in general, hoping maybe your dad could fess up to actually being your dad. 

Clarisse had suspected you would soon join her in the Ares Cabin — something about your skills with a spear and the swift right hook you sent Chris when he made one too many comments on your form during your training session with her. You weren’t even sure why he’d been there, but you could probably fathom a guess if you judged by the looks he sent her whenever she wasn’t looking. 

After the exciting discovery that yes, you were good at something, Mr. D had come by to say you could either call your mom now or never. You chose the former option, obviously, and you only regretted it slightly as you heaved yourself up from the ground — already missing the sound of her voice. 

You didn’t let it linger, instead you pushed the creaky door of the Big House open as gently as you could, even though it still swung back against the wall, and nodded at the pair sitting on the porch, currently in a heated card game you couldn’t recognise. They didn’t look at you for long, Chiron muttering something about meeting the Demeter kids by the fields to test your gardening skills before putting down a card that made Mr. D grumble in his seat. 

You were trudging through the grass, huffing when the longer bits tickled your legs and made you go all itchy, when you spotted a body sat by the hearth in the horseshoe of cabins. You lit up, changing course and jogging over to them, “JoJo!”

Luke looked up at you, frowning, “What?”

His curls fell over his eyes and he shook them away, only to squint at the sun that shone into them. You sidestepped, your shadow proving ample shade so he could focus on you, and you stammered a bit when his face fell into focus. He was pretty. 

You let out a breathless chuckle, folding your arms, “From Horton Hears a Who.” He shows no signs of recognition, “You’ve never seen it?” Again, his face did little to answer you, so you shrugged, “Whatever. I’ll get an answer out of you one day, I’m sure. We’ve made steady progress.”

“Have we?” He hummed, picking at the worn sleeve of his hoodie. 

“Of course we have, ya’ nutmegger.” You quipped with a short chuckle, grinning when his eyes snapped back to yours. 

“You still haven’t told me where you’re from.” 

You tutted, “Where’s the fun in that? You gotta find out.”

He huffed, “Whatever.”

Since his outburst about New England the day before, Luke had done a considerable job at avoiding you. Well, you didn’t think he was doing it on purpose — he just wasn’t obligated to spend time with you anymore now that you were cleared to roam camp on your own. You’d seen him at breakfast, perched silently on the end of the bench and staring sadly at his soggy oatmeal, but then Clarisse had whisked you off to the training fields with Chris hot on her tail and you hadn’t seen him since. 

You weren’t completely sure why you were so determined to break his shell. Maybe it was because you knew he never used to be this way — that underneath the deep frowns and annoyed huffs, was a happy boy who would spend days in the sun with his teeth bared in a wide grin — and you yearned to get a peek of who Luke Castellan used to be. To bear your eyes on the side of him he kept away and to find out why he did so, to understand him on a level deeper than anyone around you did, or even deeper than you understood yourself. 

Or maybe because he’s hot. 

Either way, you weren’t letting him slide away that easily. No sir. You straightened your back, “Going to the gardens.” 

No reply, as usual. 

A huff, “Mind walking me? I don’t wanna get lost.”

He looked at you, brown eyes flitting over your expression, before licking his lips and standing, “Fine.”

You grinned then, wide and sunny, “Great.”

You knew where the gardens were — hell, you could see them from where you stood, the two teenage sons of Dionysus chasing each other with sticks while the Demeter kids scowled at them. But you were new, and Luke was ‘the guy’ for all the new campers, so really he wasn’t allowed to say no. 

You were desperate to know more about him; his favourite sport, movie, colour. Anything irrelevant that you could see in public and think: Luke. You just didn’t know where to start — he could shut down at any given moment, so which question was more fitting to ask before he built up his walls and fucked off? 

You settled for something easy — something subtle that wouldn’t hint towards you asking about him. An easy question that any reasonable tour guide would have to answer. 

“So, do you guys host any…mortal activities?” Looking up at him in question, brows raised as he once again made no indication that he’d even heard you speak. 

But he had, “Not usually. Sometimes on weekends we’ll play volleyball on the beach, and I think Lee Fletcher has a soccer ball he kicks around but…” He shrugged, “No. Not really.”

You hummed, “You said we. Do you play volleyball?”

Nice one. 

Luke stiffened a little, sort of appalled that you’d swerved the question on him so easily, but he answered with a grumble, “Not anymore.”

“Why?”

He shrugged, “Grew out of it.”

“Huh.” You said then, facing forward with a nod and continuing your trek through the long grass, occasionally reaching down to scratch your calves, “I don’t think I’ll ever grow out of baseball.”

Come on, Castellan, take the bait. 

“Baseball?”

“Yes!” You exclaimed, a little too excitedly for it to be a simple answer to a simple question. You lowered your volume and gave a more collected nod, “Yeah. Yes. I’ve played since I was old enough…little league.” You let out a weak chuckle, suddenly shy about the subject. 

Luke nodded at you, “First base?”

“Left field.” You corrected with a proud smile, “I got legs.”

“Oh.” He replied, a little caught off guard at that. Although, he was also caught off guard when you said you played baseball. 

You were debating whether or not to press when a gangly blonde boy with dark purple eyes jogged up to you and held out a wicker basket, “You’re the new kid right?” He didn’t wait for an answer before thrusting the basket to your chest, “I’m Pollux. We’re picking strawberries, c’mon, I’ll show you the best way to get ‘em.”

You weren’t sure there was a specific tactic to picking strawberries, but you stepped to follow him anyway. Turning your head to send a thankful smile to Luke for walking you down, you spotted him looking between you and Pollux with furrowed brows — then he noticed your stare and swallowed, nodding, “Uh, see you later.”

“Bye.” You replied, slightly starstruck. He walked off, but he did it slowly as if he was unsure of where to go next. You were positive he had somewhere to be — big shot counsellor and all — but as you stood, one foot in front of the other, face turned back to watch him go, he seemed to stutter in his steps at the top of the hill, deciding where to turn. His beaten converse led him west, and Pollux yelled you out of your stupor so you could help him and his brother pick strawberries. 

As suspected, your strawberry-picking skills were pretty much the same as everyone else’s — really, how can one person be any better at picking strawberries than another? It’s a very simple task. Either way, Castor and Pollux didn’t envision you as their long lost sister, and the Demeter kids apparently couldn’t smell it on you that you were one of them, whatever that meant, so you were back to your search for daddy dearest — at this point, you weren’t even sure if you wanted to find out anymore. All this hassle and for what? It’s not as if he was going to attend the daddy-daughter dance with you, no matter which god he might be. 

“So, do you, like, know Luke or something?” 

Henry Furstatt was a Demeter kid a couple of years younger than you, who had been set the task of walking you to the lake where you would rejoin the Hermes cabin on their canoe lesson. He wasn’t very talkative until you’d put some distance between yourselves and the strawberry fields, where he posed his question. 

You glanced at him with a thoughtful frown, “I mean, he’s been showing me around the past couple days, so…I guess —“

“I meant like,” He swallowed, waving his hands around, “from before. Did you know each other before you came to camp?”

“Oh.” You responded, tucking a loose hair that had fallen in front of your face away, “No. Why’d you think that?”

Henry shrugged, his loose-fitting camp shirt doing wonders to hide the movements, “Dunno. He just hasn’t talked to many people since he got back from his quest…but he’s talking to you.”

“Well.” You were suddenly a little sheepish — were you pushing Luke too much? Was your constant questioning making him uncomfortable? You were only on a mission to find out more about him because he interested you, but did you interest him, or was he ready to boot you as far as you’d fly? “He has to, doesn’t he? He’s still a counsellor, even if he does hate everyone here.” 

“True.” He settled with a nod, fiddling with a daisy he’d picked while you were walking. 

You breathed a content sigh when you finally stepped out of the grass — the summer blooming made it slightly unbearable to walk through, tickling at your legs the whole afternoon. The beating sun didn’t make you feel any nicer, but you just wafted your shirt a little as you walked past the Hermes cabin and towards the dock. 

Camp was always noisy; something you’d grown accustomed to the longer you stayed there. You never really noticed it until you were alone, but the chatter of the kids filled the air the whole day and only really faded out when they all went to sleep. It was slightly unnerving to sit in the silence, and the loud murmurs often comforted you — made you feel less suffocated as the new kid. Less eyes on you, the better. 

You were so used to the noise, in fact, that you almost completely brushed past the argument that was brewing outside the Ares cabin just a few metres away. Fortunately, Henry spotted the commotion, and pulled you to a halt in favour of staring at the ever-growing crowd. 

You followed his eyeline and spotted a burly looking boy with black hair — when he moved his head and the sun hit the right spots, you could see dark red highlights swimming in his locks. You thought that was a little bit much, but you forfeited commenting on it considering the giant machaira that hung on his back. 

The boy in question was sneering at someone in front of him, but the corners of his mouth were perked up in an amused smile that made you think he wasn’t angry yet, but he sure was getting there. You couldn’t see who he was talking to, but as Henry ventured closer, you were forced to follow and eventually his words reached your ears. 

“—big shot golden boy finally got himself a quest and doesn’t fancy sharing the details.” He laughed, deep and low in his throat. 

Henry patted someone on the shoulder, and they stepped aside to let him into the circle. You stayed behind him, watching over his head and finally checking out the opponent. Your eyes stopped on the familiar figure, and his familiar curls that hung over his eyes — eyes that were glaring daggers in the Ares kid’s direction, casting shadows over his cheekbones and making his scar look a little menacing. 

The boy continued after Luke showed no signs of replying, “We get it, Castellan. You failed, but that doesn’t mean you get to gatekeep the whole thing.”

“Dean, man.” You finally noticed Chris, standing off to the side of Luke and glancing at his brother in apprehension at the boy's words. “Back off.” 

Dean just snorted, “Don’t defend him, Rodriguez. We let him mope, now it’s time for him to spill the beans.” He took a step closer to Luke, “What happened on your quest?” 

You had only known Luke for two days. You weren’t sure if he was the type to fly off the handle, swing before reasoning, but you suddenly became aware that neither did anyone else. Sure, these people had known him for years — but you’d heard it from enough people to know that he was a different person these days. After his quest a couple of weeks ago, people had been walking on eggshells around the boy. Maybe a month ago, he would’ve calmly walked away and let Dean simmer in his anger. But now? Nobody could be sure, but judging by the look in his eyes, darkening by the second, you might be able to fathom a guess as to what he’s going to do with his hands now that they were rolled into fists. 

“I mean, is this about glory? Because you won’t exactly be sharing it — ya’ can’t share what you don’t have.”  Dean let out a chortle at his own joke, looking between his friends around him and grinning with them. 

Luke stepped forward. And — you couldn’t blame anyone, really. After that last comment, you were all expecting fists to be swung. It was only reasonable. Maybe the old Luke wouldn’t have done it, but this new Luke was looking increasingly more angry at the world as the days went by, so when he took one measly step forward, the crowd around him let out a collective woah! and put their hands out to stop him from lunging. Including yourself. 

Only he wasn’t about to punch Dean. His hand stayed dormant at his side, the only clear movement was the single step closer he’d taken to match the one the Ares boy had made earlier. He was only really stepping forward so his next words would hit harder — that’s all it was, words. They died on his lips when he realised the implications of his actions, looking between the outstretched arms and tense faces. 

He looked at Dean, “We can discuss quests when you get your own.” 

Then he walked off, past the crowd that didn’t bother stopping him. Looking around, you saw the looks on their faces — shame, from assuming Luke would evoke such violence off the sparring mat. You definitely felt it, but you didn’t stick around long enough to confirm that with anyone else. Instead, you left Chris to berate Dean in place of the head counsellor and followed the boy in question as he huffed up the hill towards the edge of the woods. 

“Hey!” You said, breathless (you were not an uphill climber). “Hey, Luke!”

He hesitated in his steps like he did earlier, but he didn’t turn around. His head twitched a little, like he wanted to look but was holding himself back, but you simply rounded him until you were face to face. The anger had long since dissolved from his expression, replaced with soft confusion. 

“Hi.” You huffed, still recovering from that incline, “Are you okay? That guy’s a dick.”

“I know.” He replied, short as usual. 

You licked your lips, still catching your breath, and nodded. He remained silent, looking around you like he was just waiting for you to leave. You decided to take the hint, muttering lowly, “Okay, sorry for bothering you.” 

But his hand reached out, circling your wrist just as you passed him. You looked at Luke, raising your eyebrows, watching as he stammered on his words, “I, uh, you aren’t bothering me. I just…”

He let go of you and you stepped back to your precious spot. Behind him, the crowd had dissipated, Dean long gone. Chris remained, staring up at the pair of you on top of the hill. You couldn’t pinpoint his expression, but he seemed to hesitate before turning his back. You looked up at Luke. 

“Why did you…come after me?” 

You scoffed a laugh, “What? Anyone would’ve, it’s like…common decency.”

He twisted his expression, looking amused and devastated all at the same time, “But they didn’t.” 

He was right; before you’d set off up the hill, everyone had just been watching him walk off. It seemed a little out of character, but then again, you didn’t know these people as well as you thought. Luke let out a sad chuckle, shaking his head, “Everyone’s sorta given up on me now that I’m…”

“Moody and depressed?” You finished, raising a single brow. You smiled at him, and it lifted into a grin when he smiled back, albeit only slightly. But you’d take it. “I just think that they’re a little unsure.”

“They’re scared, is what they are.” He said firmly, staring at the ground in mirth, “Their precious golden boy won’t clean up all of their messes anymore and they’re scared that they’ll have to start looking after themselves.”

“I don’t think that’s true.” You said, even if you didn’t believe it. How could you? You didn’t know these people, Luke did. “They’re just worried about you.” 

He scoffed, finally moving his head up and meeting your eyes. He went to say something, presumably another quip about the campers, but stopped himself. Backtracked. Instead he said, “Aren’t you angry that you haven’t been claimed yet?”

That was a deep question. You sat on it for a couple of seconds, reeling at the sudden shift of conversation, until you finally let out a low puff of air and shrugged, “I don’t really know how I feel. Why? Should I be?” 

“This camp, it’s —“ He huffed, “It helps you, sure. But it also forces you to…mould yourself into the perfect kid for — for a parent who doesn’t care enough to watch you grow up. Help you live, use their divine powers when a dragon is clawing your fucking face off!” 

He’d stepped closer to you, unknowingly, that final shout making you wince a little at the volume. He stopped then, evening his breaths and stepping back with an apologetic expression. You brushed it off. 

“A dragon clawed your face off?” 

“Yeah.” He chuckled weakly, “Tell anyone and I’ll kill you.” 

You smiled at him, shamefully admiring his face. Now that he wasn’t glaring in anger, and his face was more relaxed, you could see the whites of his eyes. His lashes, unreasonably long, and his lips that were so plush you were close to asking him if he took a trip to see Dr Miami while he was on his quest. 

“Gods.” You murmured under your breath, “You’re so pretty it sorta pisses me off.” 

Luke laughed then — a genuine chortle that shook his chest and made passers by glance in his direction. His grin was uncharacteristically wide and for a second, a brief moment, you saw it. Luke Castellan, the one everyone looks up to. The one they turn to in times of peril, the one they giggle and gossip about under the shade of the fir trees. 

Then you knew your answer to Luke’s question. No — you weren’t angry that you hadn’t been claimed. In fact, you didn’t think you’d care even if you were so long as he was smiling at you like that. 

He calmed down, catching his breath, his face relaxing back into that cool expression he’s always got on. Maybe your eyes were playing tricks on you, but you were sure he looked a little less tense than before. He nodded, waving a hand, “Alright, Sunny. Let’s go canoeing.” 

“Sunny?” You asked, walking alongside him. 

He clicked his tongue, glancing down at you, “If Apollo won’t claim you as a child of the sun, then I will.” 

“Alright.” You smiled softly, looking forward so he wouldn’t see it and run off. You picked at your nails, “So long as I can call you JoJo.” 

“Let’s watch that silly movie it’s from and I’ll decide if you can call me that.”

“Deal.”

🏷️ @katherines-imagines @lovingjasontoddmakemewanttocry @jennapancake @cobaltskiez @loveryoushouldcomeoverr @m00ng4z3r @mischiefmoons (comment to be added/removed!)

[bia-wayne-west]

Children of the future.

— Barry Allen X Reader

Synopsis : Barry Allen goes into the future by accident and finds out that in the future he is married to his best friend, Y/N and has two adorable children.

Characters : Barry Allen [Flash] and Reader [ You ]

Warnings: none.

A/N: I love reading imagines where Barry has kids and is married, so I decided to write another one. Hope you like. Reblog if you like.

Sorry for the writing errors, I'm not fluent in English.

Requests are open

Masterlist

Barry Allen was running like lightning. Cisco decided to test Barry's speed by making him run as fast as he could.

The leaves of the trees swayed as he passed, leaving everything in disarray along the way. Barry didn't care if he was going too fast, until a crack opened in front of him and he couldn't stop.

The speedstet was thrown to the wet grass ground. He quickly stood up and looked around, wondering if it was to the past or the future. Everything was normal.

Barry noticed that there were some buildings in places that were once houses and assumed that he was in the future. He knew he couldn't risk changing the future, but he was curious.

He was surprised to see the name “Allen” engraved on the mailbox of a large house. The house was white and had three floors. He approached, seeing that on the porch of the house there was a swing and a dog house with the name “Grant” engraved on it.

Barry questioned whether he actually read the right name on the mailbox. He didn't have much time to think before a big, fat dog ran towards him, knocking Flash to the ground. The dog caught him off guard.

The animal began to lick his face, making him laugh. Barry carefully pushed the dog away, standing up.

“Sit down!” He said to the dog and to Barry's surprise, the animal obeyed and sat down on the grass. The dog wagged its tail and seemed very happy.

Flash heard laughter coming from the door. He looked up and let out an exclamation of surprise when he saw that Y/N was standing in front of the door, arms crossed.

“I thought you wouldn't be back until tomorrow. Cisco called saying you had an accident in Star City.” Y/N said, walking towards Barry.

The man tried to find words to respond to his friend, but was petrified when he received a kiss from his childhood friend.

The woman ran her hand through Barry's brown hair and looked at him tenderly. Flash noticed that she had a beautiful ring on her fingers. She got married.

Y/N kissed Barry again, leaving him in a state of panic. The brunette never thought about kissing his friend, since he was in love with Iris.

“Let's go. Benjamin and Anastasia are alone long enough to set the house on fire.” Y/N said, pulling the speedster's hand to force him into the house.

“Benjamin and Anastasia?” He asked, frowning. Who were these people?

“Are you going to say you forgot your children's names?” Y/N asked in a playful tone. Barry opened his mouth in shock.

Flash barely had time to say anything. Two small and cute bodies collided with Allen. They were children.

Benjamin and Anastasia they are kids. Barry and Y/N's children.

Flash opened his mouth but couldn't say a word. He looked at the kids who had Y/N's hair color and Barry's green eyes.

The boy looked a lot like Barry and had a very sweet smile. The girl looked like a beautiful princess.

“Daddy!” The girl said, extending her hand for Barry to take it. The speedster wondered if he should pick the girl up, but after Anastasia pouted at him, Barry grabbed the girl and gave her a big hug.

Barry had children. He started a family.

It wasn't with Iris as he imagined, but Y/N seemed to love him so intensely that it was clear there was a lot of love.

“Daddy. Ben, my mom and I made chocolate cake.” Anastasia said. Her voice was soft and sweet. Barry almost cried when the girl laid her head on his shoulder.

“Mom let me make the frosting with the mixer.” Benjamin, who looked to be two years older than Anastasia said, smiling proudly.

“It must be delicious.” Barry said smiling at the boy. The boy hugged Allen's leg.

The two children dragged Barry into the kitchen and made the speedster eat many pieces of cake and a pitcher of juice that Benjamin prepared. It was sour, but Barry enjoyed every drop to make the boy happy.

The house was big and warm. Barry couldn't tell if it was hot because of the heater or if it was because of the family that lived there. The kitchen of the house had a large blackboard glued to the counter where it indicated what needed to be bought at the market and who would wash the dishes that day.

Barry loved everything. It seemed strange at first, but now it was an incredible future. For the first time in his life, Barry felt that everything would work out in the end.

He thought the children were normal, that they weren't speedsters. But the moment Y/N dropped a glass, Benjamin ran like lightning and didn't let the object fall to the floor.

“Are you a speedster?” Barry asked with a face full of surprise.

“Of course my love.” Y/N said, emphasizing “my love”. In the present, she always called Barry ‘Allen’ or some stupid nickname. Barry liked to be called ‘my love’. “Our babies are just like you. Even though Anastasia hates running”

“I prefer to walk.” The girl said. It was the cutest sight Barry had ever seen. The little girl had a teddy bear on her lap and used a toy spoon to give the teddy bear some imaginary food.

“You look strange, dad.” Benjamin said. The boy was focused on a portable video game and barely looked at the people at the table.

“Seriously, Barry. Are you well? “ Y/N asked her husband. She noticed that the speedster was dazed and looked strange. “Children, can you keep the cake in the fridge and then go play in your bedrooms?”

“Yes mom.” The kids said at the same time. Benjamin used his super speed to put the cake in the refrigerator and went to his bedroom. Anastasia preferred to walk like a normal human being.

Y/N took Barry to the living room. The fireplace was lit for winter and some toys were lined up in the hallway. The dog that Barry assumed was family was lying on the couch with its belly up.

“What happened, Barry?” She asked as soon as Barry sat down in the room. She noticed that her husband seemed to have never set foot in the house and was looking at everything like a curious visitor.

“Anything. It's okay, honey.” Allen tried to sound convincing.

“Barry, I wanted to tell you something.” Y/N sat on Barry's lap, leaving him perplexed. The speedster stood as still as a statue as the woman placed a long kiss on his lips. “Do you like having two children?”

“Obviously. Ben and Ana are amazing kids.” Barry said, trying to sound like the father they know.

“Then I think you'll love having three children even more!” Y/N said, with watery eyes. She took a box out of her pocket and Barry recognized it as a pregnancy test box. “I found out two days ago, but I was going to wait for you to get back from Star City.”

“Are you pregnant?” Barry asked.

“Yes. Caitlin thinks I have five weeks. It's still the size of a bean, but I already love it so much.” Y/N said, rubbing her belly.

Y/N was surprised to receive a hug from her husband. Barry was shaking and seemed surprised, something strange since he already has two children.

Allen had tears in his eyes and Y/N returned the hug, laying her head on his shoulder.

“Thank you, Y/N.” Barry thanked him. “Thank you for being my family and for giving me three incredible children. You are perfect.”

“You gave it to me, Barry. You played an important role in creating them.” She said laughing. Flash was thinking about how weird it would be to have sex with his best friend. Barry had known Y/N since elementary school and had never thought of her in a romantic way.

Now, Barry envied future Barry, who had perfect children and a beautiful woman who loved him. The Flash hoped this was his future.

“How did we start dating?” The man asked, trying not to sound rude and irritate the woman.

“You were almost killed by a villain and I realized I loved you. But Iris also realized that she loved you. It took a long time for you to decide that you loved me and ask me to be your girlfriend.“ She explained laughing. “You're always quick, but you read a lot into some things.”

“Funny.” He said, squeezing Y/N's waist. Barry's cell phone rang and the woman got up from his lap, letting Flash pick up the phone and answer it.

“Dude, where are you? You were running and suddenly disappeared.” He heard Cisco say. Flash's friend was nervous.

“I'm coming, Cisco.” Barry said, then hung up without letting Cisco answer. “Y/N, I have to go. Cisco needs my help.”

“Sure honey.” Y/N said, giving her husband another kiss. “Come back early for dinner. Ben's notes arrived today and he wants you to see them at dinner time.”

“OK.” Barry looked closely at the woman and the house before heading to the door. This was a perfect future. “See you later, Y/N.”

“Save the world, Flash.” Y/N said, while stroking her own belly. Barry took one last look at Y/N before running to go back to the past.

Tears streamed down Barry's face as he ran. Barry always wanted to have a family and in the future he did, with a pet dog and warm hugs.

As soon as Barry returned to the present, he went straight to Star Labs. He knew that back then you were helping Caitlin take care of the imprisoned metahumans .

“Hey man, where were you?” Cisco asked as soon as Barry stopped in the middle of Star labs.

“I fainted during the race.” Flash lied, knowing he couldn't tell anyone about the future. “Where is Y/N?”

“She's giving lunch to the imprisoned metahumans. She always does this.”

Barry didn't respond to his friend. He ran straight towards Y/N.

She had a tray in her hand and was walking towards a prisoner's cell.

“Hello, Y/N.” Flash greeted the girl. She just looked at him and smiled, walking again. “I was thinking. We've been friends for a long time and we've never gone out to dinner just the two of us.”

“Why should you go out with Iris, your great unrequited love.” Y/N replied, making Barry grimace.

“Do you want to go out with me on Friday for dinner?” Barry invited his friend. She smiled, stopping walking and looking at the brunette.

“Since you insist so much, I agree to go out with you, Allen.” Y/N said, running her hand through Barry's hair. He smiled, thinking that it wouldn't be so bad to marry you in the future.

[msbigredmachine]

3 Sluts (Jey Uso)

Jey got two of 'em spittin’ on that thang… 😈💦

Pairings: OC/Jey Uso/OC

Word Count: 1732

Warnings: Threesome, SMUT

Credit to the owners of the pics and gifs.

----------------

His dark eyes, hazy, fixated and awestruck; his long fingers quivering on the back of her head. The cool outdoor breeze wafted over his saliva-slick length each time it escaped the warmth of her mouth, making him tremble in his spot on the large patio chair overlooking the clear blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea. 

“Mmm…yeah, baby, I like that,” he drawled, watching her lather up her spit all over his dick with her hand before slipping him back in her mouth. He felt his body deflate with a low, satisfied moan as she sucked him thoroughly, her acrylic nails scraping his turgid flesh as they worked in rhythm with her warm, tight throat. Main Event Jey Uso was in Paradise, in more ways than one.

“Yeah, Lolo, get that shit.”

The familiar sultry voice prompted Jey to look up, his stare softening from lust to love as his girlfriend, Iris, stepped through the sliding glass door onto the balcony. Wearing a yellow string bikini that complimented her curvy body and brown skin, it was a welcome switch from the seriousness of the power suits she donned at work. Said power also allowed her to whisk him away to the sun-kissed climates of Mykonos on a private jet for some well deserved time off, much of which included getting tag-teamed by her and her best friend London. 

Dating the heiress to the world’s most valuable Black-owned sportswear company granted Jey access to many precipices of pleasure around the world, such as the palatial villa the threesome were currently isolated in and had christened multiple times in just a few days. To have two of the most beautiful women he’d ever laid eyes on sharing their bodies with him on the regular was quite the experience, and he loved every second. There was never a dull moment with his fun, sexy freak of a girlfriend and her even bigger freak of a BFF.

“Hey baby,” he greeted her, rolling the breakfast trolley aside so she could squeeze into the chair with him. “That sleep was good, huh? It’s nine in the morning.”

“Y’all can’t blame me, you two knocked me out last night. Woulda slept some more if it wasn’t for all the moaning and cheek-clapping going on here,” she laughed. “The windows are open so I can hear everything.” She bent low to accept his kiss and lovingly stroked London’s hair, smirking at the look of complete bliss on her man’s face thanks to her best friend's magic mouth. “She’s good, ain’t she,” she asked.

London released Jey’s dick long enough to brag, “I ain’t just ‘good’, I’m the fuckin’ best.”

“Um, not as good as me, bitch,” Iris argued playfully, eyeing up her boyfriend through her long lashes as she guided his face back to hers, “Ain’t that right, Daddy?”

Her kisses were the cure for every ailment, Jey had since acknowledged, as he kneaded the soft, plump flesh of her derriere, moaning into her mouth as her tongue circled sensually around his own. At the same time, he felt his dick slide deeper down London’s throat, short-circuiting his senses momentarily. Iris giggled and decided to ease up on him, grabbing the can of whipped cream off the breakfast tray. Spraying a generous amount on a large strawberry, she held it to Jey’s parted lips for a bite. He chewed on it with a happy sigh, making her smile. It was nice to see him relaxed after working so hard for so many months.

“Mmm. Tastes perfect, just like yo sexy ass,” Jey praised, gifting her with a smack on her backside, “Give some to Lo, too,” he instructed.

Iris did as she was told and fed London with another strawberry. London sat up and took a sloppy bite, causing the juice to trickle down her chin, past the column of her neck and between her bare breasts. “Ooh, I made a mess,” she commented, licking her lips and eyeing up her friend with a sly, dark expression. “Help me clean it off, babe?” 

Iris looked at her with a wicked grin of her own before leaning over Jey’s prone body to lap up the sweet juice that had dripped down London’s chin. London’s giggles dissolved to soft sighs as Iris used her tongue to trail the rivulet all the way down to the middle of her breasts, angling her head to suck her pierced nipple into her mouth. With a throaty moan, London sat up straighter, cupping Iris’s face and pulling her in for a kiss. 

Wrestling fans have described a lot of his recent content as cinema, but to Jey, nothing he did could ever compare to the visual of hot, sexy women making out. It was a joy to watch the two centers of his universe indulge in each other. London moaned with every sweep of Iris’ tongue inside her mouth, his sexy girlfriend taking charge like she always did. Her grip on London’s chin was firm as their kiss deepened and got hotter. When it became too hot and he started to feel left out, he cleared his throat to recapture their attention, prompting the women to pull apart and giggle mischievously.

“Looks like Daddy’s missing us,” London commented, coming closer to press her lips to Jey’s, sharing the joint tastes of strawberry and Iris with him.

“Mm-hmm, sure looks like it,” Iris agreed, sharing a devilish smile with her bestie. “Let’s give him what he wants, shall we?”

Iris slithered down her boyfriend’s muscled body and settled on top of London, the can of whipped cream in her grasp. With her breasts pressed against London’s back, Iris drizzled some whipped cream all over Jey’s dick, from tip to ballsac, smiling when he hissed from the cold dessert against the sensitivity of his groin. London was going in on his balls while Iris wrapped her tongue around his tip, teasing for a few seconds before taking him fully into her mouth. The pleasure was quick to engulf him, his body hypnotized by their warm, eager mouths. He glanced down at his two girls, one on top of the other, his lips parted slightly in a sex-induced stupor as they feasted on his dick and his balls; it was hard to determine whose ministrations he was enjoying more. 

“Fuck,” Jey whispered, his body melting into the chair, his hand coming up to cover his eyes. Head from London was already mind-blowing enough, but adding Iris to the mix took it to another stratosphere. His dick had not known peace since they touched down on the island, buried in either one of his girls’ holes at any given time. Not that he was complaining, not at all. He could feel the slow strokes of Iris’ thick lips up and down his dick, marking every inch of his sensitive flesh like a skilled painter working her canvas. Meanwhile, London’s mouth was stuffed with his balls. Her free hand was underneath him squeezing his ass, adding a new layer of sensation that caught him off guard enough to buck his hips suddenly, pushing himself deeper down Iris’ throat which made her gag a little. But she was never one to back down, coming up for air for a split second before going back in. His deep voice rattled with pleasure as he gripped her hair, desperately holding on as he lost himself to the wetness of their mouths and their sensual moans and sexy slobbers, intensifying the heat swirling in the pit of his stomach. 

Handing the reins back to London, Iris returned to Jey’s side and caressed his sun-bronzed abs, watching his eyes roll to the back of his head with a smirk. He was getting closer, she could tell from his breaths, shallow and erratic, his handsome features scrunched in painful pleasure as she and London drove him crazy. 

“Unnh, I’m gonna fuckin’ come,” he groaned, moaning again when Iris nibbled on the side of his neck, pinching with her teeth.

“Mmm, look at me, Daddy, you look so fuckin’ hot when you’re about to nut,” she cooed, rubbing her hand up and down his tattooed torso as he managed to drag his gaze to hers. She leaned down and kissed him, using her tongue to play with his mouth. In her peripheral vision she could see London cranking it up, her head and hands rotating ominously around his dick. “You gon’ fill up her mouth with your cum, baby? Cuz she’s been such a good little slut for you?”

Too wound up to speak, he could only nod his head with wide, glazed-over eyes. Iris plucked his nipple between her fingers, stimulating him some more. Her mouth and tongue loved all over the side of his throat, combining lethally with London’s deep throat soon plummeting him into that familiar abyss of ecstasy. 

“Oh shit, shit, fuck!” Jey moaned, tossing his head back as the powerful orgasm crashed over him. His entire body jerked as his cum shot out and landed all over London’s chin and lips. The more she jerked him off, the harder he came in mesmerizing waves. The creamy, white nut covered his dick and trickled down to his balls and London left none of it behind. He struggled to gather his breath, exhaling shakily as she ran her tongue all over his still-sensitive length with a sultry giggle.

“Good boy,” Iris praised him, running her fingers through his hair and kissing his temple.

“Damn, y’all gon’ be the death of me,” Jey breathed, staring up adoringly at his girlfriend.

After London had licked him clean, she stood up and adjusted her bikini top. “Well, this was fun. But it’s gettin’ kinda hot. Wanna take the party inside?”

“You sure?” Iris asked, as London rounded the chair, kissed both her lovers on the mouth and helped them to their feet. “Yeah. We not doin' nothin' all day,” she reminded them, “I don’t mind just layin’ back and watching y’all. You two are so hot together.”

“Now where’s the fun in that?” said Jey, throwing one arm around Iris and the other around London as they stepped back inside the villa. “When we get upstairs, gimme ten minutes to recharge. Then Lolo, you gon sit’ on my face. Baby, you ridin’ my dick. I wanna see that ass bounce on me…”

THE END

----------------

Random drabble, I know, lol. Thoughts?

🏷️: @wrestlingprincess80 @fame-ass-ers @southerngirl41 @alyyaanna @tribalhoochie @jstarr86 @murrylove @thewarlordsworld @mzv11 @cozyaliensuperstar7 @nayys-world @hunnidmilly @cyberdejos2 @papireigns-05  @harmshake @niknakbucks92 @captainwithoutmakingitlove @sovereigngoth @aisharmi @kennedi0818 @alichesmi @thesamoanqueen @herwickedlittlesins @questionable-behaviour @tribalchiefreigns @2-muchsauce @thatbxtchsblog @raya-hunter01 @marchi36753 @lovelysuccess @christinabae @wooahmiri @thatonecarebear @tabletheofhead @rheaanddamianfan @vebner37 @hanley1577 @princessesareforsuckers @-naturally @joannasteez @bbygirlky18 @lilucey @theninthwonder @melaninsugababy @chocovibesonly @msbluehaz3 @scarlettnoir01 @heerah34 @empressdede @tbmotw @darkangelchronicles @visionarymode @marasdeathnote @aintnorainbows @meggylynnloves @shantinextdoor @harlemblipster  @trc-punzel @afterdarkprincess @nbanenefrmdao @sassginaswanmills @purplehairgawdess @holisticcoach @girlwhogaf @royalkay23 @heyitsnajabrinee @stoner2k @reci1996 @catxo @iamimanim @lookmais @ts1mp0ne @lizzyd1ish @m3llowww @skyesthebomb @final1miya @kia1996 @randomuser0711 @yourtribalqueen @caramelcleopatraa @katymae12344 @that-one-anxious-mango @yana3sworld @ajenae @truefant4sy @thetribalqueen @bhjszsdxc @paigereeder @christinabae @justazzi @maknaehyucks @mindairy @headoftheetable @truefant4sy @mscarter213 @ariiaeltheedonn @sageispunk @xbriexx

[xoxo-sarah]

The Exit

Part 2

↝a/n: kinda based off the song. I wanted to write more but I was tired of seeing this just sitting in my notes. First love type shit edit: I took out the little bit of smut.

↝pairing:Steve Harrington x reader

↝ Warning: angst, not proofread, heartbreak, one-sided break up(?), arguing, Stancy

↝⎙ 9.3.23

"So, how long are you going to avoid me?" Shit shit shit.

You were doing fine with avoiding him, have been for 5 months. He just couldn't leave it alone.

Well, you suppose you'd be the same way. If he cut off all contact with you after you got a new boyfriend, you'd probably be a little pissed off and curious as to why, too.

"I'm kind of busy."

"I'm sure you have a minute." Steve leaned against the door frame, eyes flickering around your whole face, looking for any hint of what he possibly could've done.

The two of you have been friends for forever. You grew up together, went through so much.

He knew your tells, knew when he had disappointed you in some way. He had gotten pretty good at finding that one out in your young-love phase.

The classic friends to lovers teen romance. The kind that the neighborhood gossip would say "I told you!", "I knew it, they were meant for each other.", And the nosy "they're parents better watch them. They'll have a grandchild on the way before they can blink." That was something you both chose to ignore.

Like numerous other things.

•••••

You were both 15 when you decided to take it from friends to girlfriend and boyfriend. It's embarrassing how giddy you were after Steve had asked you out, kicking your feet and telling all of your friends.

It just felt right. He made it feel so easy.

The dates were nice. The way you acted didn't change, you just began to kiss and hold hands slowly after. And it eventually escalated.

~

Your chest heaven in pure bliss.

Reaching forward, you pushed some hairs out of his face. His eyes fluttered open for a split second, searching your own. His iris danced in yours, mapping out every speck of color.

"God, I love you."

His eyebrows furrowed.

You had whispered it so quietly. Maybe he heard you wrong.

Dropping beside you, he let you take his hand, rubbing your finger over his knuckles, your naked bodies beginning to intertwine in a new position.

You had this glow about you right after, you always did. He couldn't look you in the eyes right now.

But he couldn't help himself. He glanced up at you, seeing you looking at your conjoined hands. You looked as if you hadn't said those words. Maybe they just slipped out, you didn't mean to.

"I can't love you." He quickly added to that, after your head shot up to look at him. "I can't love anybody, I don't think. Y/n, I," he moved to sit up, you doing the same. "I like you, I really do. I have for a long time, and I intend to do it for much longer. Love just isn't something I have felt for anyone. I can't picture myself feeling a certain “love connection” to somebody. You know?" He really didn't know how to explain it. He had felt something with you. Something he hadn't felt with any of his other friends. He doesn't know if he'd call it love, though.

You couldn't say you didn't understand. What if what you thought was love, wasn't? You were kids, you most likely didn't know what love even is or what it feels like.

"Yeah- okay." Slowly nodding, you tried to find the words. "That's okay. You don't have to love me. What I feel for you is love, I think. We have plenty of time to figure it out, right?"

He nodded, his shoulders relaxing and a lazy smile making its way onto his face. "Yeah."

Everything was fine after that. Your feelings never changed.

It wasn't until Steve had run into this girl. You had seen her around school and around town. But you never talked too much.

She seemed to find him interesting. Who didn't? He had become popular in the early years of high school.

You didn't think anything of it. Maybe you should've.

"I forgot!" Steve threw his arms up in the air.

"For the third time? I reminded you." Your voice was louder than your normal tone. You were too exhausted to yell. Waiting at the little café for 2 hours the 3rd day in a row was embarrassing and tiring.

"Wha-when?"

You just looked at him.

"Before 1st period, Steve."

He threw his head back, looking back at you with a look of realization. He wasn't about to give in.

"I could barely hear what you were saying. You know how loud the halls get, c'mon."

"Or maybe you were too busy gawking at Nancy."

His head shot up to look at you in disbelief. "What does Nance have to do with this?"

"‘Nance’? Are you kidding me?" Didn't know they were in the nickname phase. He rarely used any nicknames for you. "You know what, whatever. I'm not arguing with you right now." You had to study and it was already late. You really didn't want to focus too much on how your relationship was slowly breaking to pieces along with your heart. There was plenty of work you could do to distract you.

"No, hey," As you tried walking away, Steve reached out, grabbing your arm and softly pulling you to stand in front of him. His hand moved to your face. "Let me make it up to you, yeah?"

"I have to study."

"I'll help you study after." His fingers caressed your soft jaw, waiting for your response.

You sighed, "Fine."

There wasn't a point where you two sat down and broke up. You just kind of grew apart. You were done trying to fix something he couldn't care less about.

Pushing the fork around your tray absentmindedly, you tried to ignore the high-pitched laugh of Karen and the stupid conversations that happened on that table. The table you once sat at with Steve, talking about anything and everything. When he got those remarkable friends of his, you stopped talking. A person can only handle so many interruptions and digs from Karen and Tommy before you just decide to keep to yourself.

Your chair didn't stay cold for long. Nance sat down, and it looked like she fit in nicely.

Nearly 10 years of friendship and 3 years of a relationship all down the drain. It hurt, It really did.

It didn't help when you ran into Nancy at the store and she was the sweetest thing. She had even asked you about how you and Steve were doing. You found it weird. How were you to respond to that? Choosing to shrug it off led her to ask Steve about it. And with the pity look she gave you when you locked eyes in the school hallways, you guessed he gave an answer you wouldn't like.

Why did he look at her like that? Did he ever look at you like that? It hurt your brain to watch them from across the room. You should keep your eyes away from them. But it hurt more to know they were having a great time-together while you were in a corner, alone at the party. Chugging the rest of your pungent beer, you beelined to the kitchen to get a refill.

"Y/n."

"Steve." You didn't turn around, instead pouring your solo cup to the rim.

"Enjoying the party?" He sounded like he was talking to a friend. Once he hadn't left to feel like shit.

"Yeah, fun. Real fun."

The awkwardness between you was obvious. If someone were to walk in, they'd know something happened. Something not so good.

"So-"

"Nancy seems nice."

After getting over the shock of you interrupting him, he smiled. Actually smiled. "Yeah, Nance is great."

Was he not seeing your hurt? How could he be so blind? Of course she's wonderful.

"Um, about us-" so he had thought about you, what you two were. Maybe he could actually tell you exactly what it is, what game you were unwilling playing.

"What about us?"

"We're cool, right?"

What? We're cool- how are we cool? Leaving someone without any explanation as to why doesn't make you two cool.

He must have seen the pure confusion.

"It was a mutual decision." It was more of a statement than a question. He seemed so genuine.

Choosing to just nod, you didn't know what else to say. It was over. It had been for a while. Perhaps you were the blind one.

A few drinks in, you two were leaning against the countertop, talking like friends again. Talking about everything and anything. Maybe it was the alcohol that made you feel so relaxed and calm to be around him. You were just two friends catching up.

"I think I love her." Steve hiccuped.

Suddenly you were sober.

He continued to hiccup nonsense as you got quite.

Your mind was running a mile a second. He can easily love her but he couldn't love you? Your eyes caught sight of Nancy in the crowded living room. She easily talked to the people around her. It was easy for her. Men could drop to her feet and she wouldn't be fazed. She carried confidence and beauty. You got it, you really did. She was Nancy Wheeler.

"I need to go."

"What? C'mon, y/n, don't go." Steve slurred, watching as you put your cup down.

"It's getting late." You were off before his intoxicated mind could register you moving through the people and out the door.

He shrugged it off, bringing his own cup back to his lips.

It took 3 weeks after that party for you two to talk again. He came knocking on your door, broken and confused. He didn't know what to do. You didn't have to help him. But he was your friend before your boyfriend. You'd always be there for him, no matter how much it would hurt you.

As he cried in your arms, you held him, soothed his sobs and told him everything was going to be alright. Something no one did for you while you sat, sobbing on your couch or in your bed, not knowing what you were to him.

And you continued to be there for him until he went back. They figured it out and it left you alone, again. But it was okay because he was happy again.

You two went back to not talking until they got into an argument or took a break. You were always there.

It was a constant back and forth. An emotional rollercoaster not only for them, but for yourself.

You were helping a friend, so why did it pain you so much? It shouldn't.

Steve's knuckles against the oak door faded to the back of your mind as you continued to read the same paragraph over and over. "Y/n?" He called out. Glancing back, he made sure he hadn't imagined your car in the driveway. "I know you're home." He hiccuped.

It pained you too, you know. As he was hurting, your mind and heart was too.

Choosing to ignore him would be the first, the hardest step to peace, to happiness. It was time to put your emotions first.

He wouldn't stop everything to make sure you were okay if you were in his position.

•••••

"Talk to me, y/n." The way he leaned against the door had you deeply inhaling. He looked different. His hair had grew, it laid messy on the top of his head. The eye bags under his eyes were more prominent. His dark eyes still held the same shine.

"Steve, I was literally about to leave."

The music from the party downstairs had your head aching with every beat. The sound of a party with your friends seemed fun, until it wasn't. They had left to do their own thing. Going back home sounded nice.

"Can we go outside then? I miss talking to you."

Your mouth shut in distaste. You didn't want to talk to him. All the progress you made would be thrown out the door with those puppy dog eyes.

Reluctantly, you stepped back to sit on the guest room bed. Steve shut the door, walking over cautiously.

After a long moment of silence, Steve spoke up.

"Did I do something?"

No? Yes? Fuck.

"You know I would never deliberately do something to make you upset. You're my best friend-"

"That's actually why I'm upset." You blurted before you could help yourself.

He looked beyond confused. "What?"

It was your turn to get everything off your chest. With a big inhale, you poured your heart out. "We were more than best friends. I don't know about you, but that time meant everything to me, you meant everything to me. Until Nancy came along. You just discarded me like I wasn't your girlfriend, Steve."

For once, he didn't know how to respond. Steve stood there, just staring at your face.

Having about of his silence, you got up and walked to the door.

"You asked. Having to put your feelings before mine when you broke my heart without knowing or caring, was too much. I hope you and Nance are good, really."

-------------

•2021-2024 by xoxo-sarah on Tumblr•

•My work is not to be translated, copied, modified, and/or reposted on any other site without my permission. [!I don't give permission!]

[guess-my-next-obsession]

Hey! I love your writing. Could I please request a fluff piece when Iris is till a baby and Joel is on dad duty? Idk just something really fluffy where he just enjoys being a dad and also Sarah helping?

Dad Duty

pairing: elementary!joel miller x f!reader

rating: F (no outbreak au, talks of diapers and poop because infants are a mess, elementary!joel being the best dad/husband in the world, talks of being drunk/alcohol consumption)

wc: <1k

a/n: sorry for the delayed wait on this, anon! i hope you enjoyed it nonetheless 🫶🏼

series masterlist | joel masterlist

“Are you sure you’ve got everything?” you asked, standing by the front door in a “going out” outfit for the first time since your daughter had been born six months ago. “I can cancel.”

Joel shook his head sternly as he and Sarah sat on the couch, Iris fast asleep in his arms.

“It’s your best friend’s birthday,” he said. “I won’t hear the end of it from her if she suspects you cancelled all because you don’t think I can handle a six-month old.”

“Of course I think you can handle it,” you said, offering him a sweet smile as you grabbed your purse. “I just feel guilty—“

“Baby,” he sighed, tilting his head at you. “Iris ain’t gonna remember you goin’ out one time when she was six months old.”

“I know, but—“

“No buts,” he said. “Get your fine ass out there, and take a couple shots for me while you’re at it.”

“Besides,” Sarah chimed in, pulling your eyes to hers. “I’m here as backup. Go have fun for once.”

Letting out a deep exhale, you nodded, agreeing to bury your guilt over leaving your daughter behind for the first time. “Fine. But if you need me—“

“Baby,” Joel chuckled. “We got it. Go get hammered.”

Walking over to him, you leaned down and kissed his cheek. “Thank you. I love you.”

“Love you more,” he said, tilting your chin so that he could steal a quick peck on your lips, careful not to smudge your lipstick. “Go on now before they start honkin’ and wake baby girl up.”

“Alright,” you said, walking over to the door. “Sarah, don’t let your dad try to cook anything. I’d hate to come back to ashes.”

“Already on it.”

“Sarah!” Joel called from the upstairs nursery, Iris on the changing table in front of him making the biggest and grossest mess he’d ever encountered in his tenure as a father. “We got any more wipes?”

Sarah was already laughing when she walked in, carrying a new pack of wipes in hand before she witnessed the scene in front of her and started to gag.

“I’m never having a kid,” she said, covering her nose with her t-shirt.

“This ain’t the usual,” Joel said, shaking his head as he tried his best to clean up his very wiggly daughter. “Stay still, baby girl. It’s—Jesus, Iris. How’d it get in your hair?”

“I’m not even sure a bath will fix this,” Sarah said, looking disgusted. “I think we have to take her back and get a brand new baby.”

“Your mom would notice,” he said. “Otherwise, ain’t too bad an idea.”

After a thorough cleaning that left Joel scarred, Iris was set down in her activity chair down in the living room, her favorite nonsensical cartoon on while Sarah helped Joel cook some mac and cheese for dinner, her babbles filing the home.

“And to think she thought the house would catch on fire if I tried to cook,” he said, smiling at the thought of you.

“Well, in fairness it has almost happened before,” she said, earning an offended look from her father. “You don’t remember the fork in the microwave incident?”

“Shit,” he cursed, shaking his head. “You’re right. But in my defense, someone left it in my takeout box.”

“Yeah, you.” Joel chuckled, amused by her wit. “But to pad your stats, we can lie and say you made dinner tonight.”

“No, she’d expect me to start cookin’ then,” he said. “I may have pulled a miracle tonight, but my battin’ average ain’t great. Do you want to take the chance of house burnin’ down?”

“Good point.”

“Exactly. You’re takin’ the credit for this work of art.” Joel pointed at the pot of artificial cheese goodness. “How in the world am I hungry after cleaning up Iris’s shi—“

“Dad,” she winced. “I just got the image out of my mind.”

“If I gotta remember it, you do too, baby girl.”

It was midnight by the time you stumbled in, waving your best friend and her designated driver-slash-husband goodbye as you cracked the front door open before heading inside. To your surprise, Joel was still awake and rocking Iris to sleep in his arms, though judging by the heavy blink of his eyelids, he was barely hanging on.

“Hey baby,” he said with a smile as you stumbled your way over to the couch as quietly and gracefully as you could to sit down beside him, pressing a kiss to his shoulder. “How was it?”

“I’m drunk,” you confessed, your voice raspy from singing along to the club’s music. “And hungry.”

“Well, lucky for you, Sarah made dinner,” he said, standing up with Iris and setting her down in her rocker before holding his hand out for you. “Come on, you drunkard.”

“How were the girls?” you asked, clasping your hand in his as he guided you to the kitchen table to have a seat while he warmed up tonight’s leftovers.

“A piece of cake,” he said, shooting you a smile from over his shoulder. “Iris had one very messy diaper incident, but besides that, she was an angel. Just like her mom.”

“Hey, I won’t be having any messy diaper incidents for another fifty years or so,” you joked, earning another grin. “You gonna love me when I’m wearing a diaper?”

“Baby, I’m older than you,” he reminded. “If you’re wearin’ a diaper, so am I.”

“Oh, I can’t wait,” you mused with a wide, drunken grin. “You can save your payback for then, have Iris see how it feels.”

“I like the way you think, baby,” he chuckled. “But I love her too much to make her go through what I went through earlier. I think I’m gonna need therapy after that.”

You stood up, finding your way over to him to wrap your arms around his waist and hug his back, too in love with him not to touch him.

“Thank you for tonight. I didn’t know how much I needed it,” you said, humming as Joel’s hand lowered from the pot on the stove to run over your forearm wrapped around his middle. “How about next weekend I watch the girls so you can have a night out?”

“Maybe one of these days we’ll both get to go out,” he chuckled. “Until then, I’m good stayin’ at home with my girls.”

[featherdixon]

high school sweethearts (iris)

young!daryl x fem!reader

second part. first part is here.

summary: you’re starring in a theater production of the phantom of the opera. just when you think everything’s going to fall apart because your co-star gets hurt, daryl steps up and decides to perform with you.

warnings: blood, evidence of violence, angst/comfort, fluff, sappy, dance, first kiss.

words count: 2019.

taglist: @negansbestie & @vaniniweenie / if you want me to add you, just let me know!

divider by @/phaea

Small drops of blood fell onto the wooden floor, staining it little by little. The darkness of the theater made everything feel more intimate and delicate. Your vulnerable eyes traveled to his sensitive ones, and you smiled sadly as you saw him bleeding out of his sleeve. You were sitting beside him, so you turned on your Walkman and shared a Radiohead song.

His blonde hair was so soft, and even more so were his eyes. You had never seen eyes with such a unique shape. Besides, there was something about him that pulled you in more than gravity. Your shy fingers traveled to his chin to make him look at you; he smiled, and you felt your heart skip one beat after another. You moved so quickly that you hid in his shoulder. He smelled like cigarettes, vodka, wood, and dreams shattered into a thousand pieces. His sweater could hold all of this.

"I want you to do it," you whispered as you lifted your head. The song had already ended, and you were just sitting in silence

You saw his lower lip tremble and wished your thumb could trace it.

"I want you to be the ghost tomorrow," you asked, and the boy blinked several times.

You left your Walkman in his lap, even though it was the only gift your father gave you before he died, and you saw he wanted to return it.

“Listen to the song; you can give it back to me later,” you said, and before getting up, you left a kiss on his bloodstained hand.

You saw him press his lips together, holding back tears that seemed impossible to stop.

"You’re the one," you confirmed, feeling your own heart in your words.

Daryl put on both earbuds from your Walkman and looked at you intently. He nodded, and you smiled.

A few hours earlier.

As you were plucking petals from a daisy, you thought about how curious it was that the most beautiful things happened without you noticing. Suddenly, your life changed without warning. The person writing your story changed the ink of their pen, and suddenly everything shined.

Ever since Dixon had fixed your Walkman, the two of you had been spending a lot of time together. You sat next to each other in class and talked about whatever silly thing came to mind. You had never imagined that someone who vibrated on such a low frequency could hide so many different rhythms. He had a wonderful sense of humor, always knew what to say and when to say it. You had always wanted someone who carried the right words on their lips.

You both went to theater together, and he would give you advice about the play. Even though he didn’t like to read, he had read the play several times and even remembered the lines. You loved that, and although you showed some surprise, you weren’t exactly caught off guard by his dedication. He had confessed to you that he was good at many things, though he’d said it without even realizing it himself.

One afternoon, he told you he was really good with a bow.

You called him Cupid. He gave you a gentle nudge with his elbow, laughing.

And you kept walking to your house.

Daryl walked you home every afternoon. At first, it was unexpected, but little by little, it became a habit, one of those you can't and don't want to escape.

“What are you thinking about?” your best friend Maggie asked as she sat next to you after getting a chocolate milkshake.

“Nothing.” Your little lie made Maggie let out a small laugh; she tapped your nose, and you laughed.

“Since you met him, you always laugh like that,” she said, taking a sip of her drink.

“Like what?” you asked, frowning a little and leaving a petal on the daisy unplucked.

“Like you mean it.” That made you rest your chin on your hand and cover your face with your fingers.

Maggie had been the only one to understand your closeness with Daryl. All your other friends thought you were making an unnecessary act of solidarity and that you’d end up worse off than you were. While you could easily ignore what they said, you stopped accepting their opinions about him because they didn’t know him at all.

They didn’t know the boy who was now tirelessly helping to make sure tomorrow's play went perfectly.

Your eyes drifted to Aaron, your co-star in the play. He was playing basketball with his friends. You had always thought he was a very nice and kind guy. You watched his movements, how he passed the ball to Glenn, Maggie’s boyfriend. However, your smile cracked when you saw him trip and fall flat because of a puddle.

Maggie got up quickly, and you saw Glenn rushing to help him.

You closed your eyes when you heard your best friend say he’d twisted his ankle. That put him out of commission, leaving the play without its ghost. You stood up, stomped on the daisy in sudden anger, and when you turned around, you saw Daryl watching what had happened from a distance.

“What happened?” he asked, arms crossed. You clicked your tongue and walked past him.

“Tomorrow's play is totally screwed,” you answered, your voice tight.

That’s when you felt fingers wrap around your wrist. You looked at him and saw it in his eyes.

“I got his lines down by heart,” he whispered, and your heart began to pound hard.

If he were the ghost, you would be his forbidden love.

You went with Daryl to his house to see if the ghost costume would fit him. It had already been discussed with the director, and she thought it was a good idea for him to play the role. She said he would bring personality to the character, even though she didn't let him say more than two words. Maybe it was putting too much faith in Daryl, but he had attended most of the rehearsals, and you were sure he’d do great. Or at least, that’s what you wanted to believe.

You entered through the back door and went straight to his room. There was no one else around, so Daryl seemed able to breathe a bit more easily. The house was tidy, but there were so many details that made your heart feel uneasy. Many broken pieces of furniture, many signs that warned that it wasn’t people who lived there, but monsters. When you reached his room, you sat on his bed, and when you realized where you were, nerves spread right down to your fingertips.

“Do you bring a lot of girls here?” The moment you asked, you knew you shouldn’t have. Daryl frowned while he casually took off his shirt. His bare chest made you wonder what it would be like to let your lips glide over every inch of him. You let out a small cough.

“Nah, not at all,” he said confidently as he finished undressing. You looked away, hearing your own thoughts calling you an idiot.

He put on the full costume, and when you were about to hand him the mask, you pulled his hand away.

“You look perfect,” you whispered, and his cheeks flushed with a special shade of red.

“Don’t be silly,” he said, reaching for the mask.

That’s when you stood up to be at his height. You gently brushed his hair back and carefully placed the mask on him. The part of his face still uncovered made you want to kiss him. There was nothing you wanted more in this world than a kiss. Than to end up on his sheets while he explored every part of you. You wanted to feel him; you were tired of these small, fleeting moments with him.

“Ya like it?” he whispered, his husky voice making you lose your grip on reality.

“I like how it looks on you, yeah,” you said, trying to break the tension as you looked at the Phantom of the Opera standing before you.

He moved closer to your face, one of his hands resting on your hips. Your body responded to him almost immediately, but then...

Someone entered the house.

Daryl pulled away from you and rushed to the door. He opened it carefully, and when he saw it was his father, he motioned frantically towards the window.

“What?” you asked, feeling your heart leap to your throat.

“Get outta here, we’ll meet later…” he whispered loudly, and you moved toward the window.

“At the theater?” you asked, needing to be sure, and he nodded.

“At the theater.”

You could still feel him on you. Like a ghost.

The Day of the Performance.

Daryl’s father had beaten him when he saw him dressed up, calling him a “faggot.” All his injuries were hidden beneath the costume, even one on the part of his mask. You felt a rage bubbling up inside you. He didn’t deserve that—no child does. You wanted to put an end to his pain, but there was nothing you could do. All you could do was go out to the theater and give the audience an incredible show. Your parents were there. However, not even Merle had bothered to show up. Daryl was alone. Yet he never took his eyes off you. Every time your gazes met, a smile curved his lips.

The audience was reluctant to accept him until they saw his first scenes. There was something captivating about him; his performances were intense and flawless. He was sublime on stage, and you wondered why he hadn’t landed this role before.

When it was your turn, you performed exactly as you had rehearsed a thousand times before. You moved across the stage with grace, and your heart swelled with each applause from the audience. Everything was going as you had hoped. The director was thrilled, and your peers had to bite their tongues after seeing what Daryl was doing.

But the most important part was still to come.

The final scene. A solo dance by you.

The song you had was the same one you had made Daryl listen to the day before.

It was a dance where the protagonist decides whether to kiss the phantom to save her beloved.

You started moving to the rhythm, and even though everyone’s eyes were on you, you forgot that the world was still turning. Only the movement of your legs and arms mattered, the way your arms flexed and your legs danced across the stage. The music made you travel far away.

Halfway through the song, you felt someone behind you. You were startled, but you turned around gently. Daryl had decided to end it with you. You started improvising on the wooden floor; he held your waist and complemented your movements as if you had rehearsed it before. His body swayed against yours until you felt like one. It was perfect and unusual, it was… magical.

When the music stopped, Daryl was leaning over you. Your mouths were inches apart. His arm held your waist tightly, pulling you close to him. Your body melted into his, and your breaths were intertwined.

You moved his hand to his face and removed his mask. You brushed your lips against his, and the next time you did, your mouths fit perfectly together. It was an intense, intimate, and even heart-wrenching kiss. You were performing, or at least, that’s what you were supposed to be doing.

“I’ve always wanted to do this since the first time I saw you,” you whispered as you gazed into each other’s eyes.

“You’re the closest to heaven that I’ll ever be,” he said against your mouth. You felt his words in your own throat and kissed him again.

Daryl was your first kiss.

The play was over, but another story had just begun.

[ohtobeleah]

Iris sends Hangman (Deadman) sexy pictures when she knows he’s with Maverick.

ANON!! DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS CONCEPT DID TO ME!? I DIED OF DEATH.

I.R.I.S Masterlist

***~***~****~****~***~***~***~****~****~****~***

Picture it with me guys. PICTURE IT. Jakes on his lunch break. He’s enjoying the nice sandwich he’d made himself because if he had to eat another protein bar from the vending machine because he snoozed his alarm for just a little too long, he’d have a mental breakdown. They sucked ass. 

“You coming to the Hard Deck after?” Phoenix was asking. She’d begun to grow a little suspicious of Jake and his sudden disinterest in the copious amount of badge bunnies that seemed to hurl themselves at him on any given night.

“Yeah, yeah I’ll be there—“ Jake replied with a massive mouthful of his sandwich. He obnoxiously overchewed just to annoy Natasha. 

“I think you’re beating yourself up about this a little too much Mav.” Bob smiled as he walked with Pete into the rec room. “These kids, they’re lethal weapons.” 

“Yeah, there’s literally guys in Fanboys advanced weapons systems lecture right now with callsigns like Mayhem and Chaos.” Rooster added. “So what if Iris got the drop on you old man? It was bound to happen.” It was the talk of Miramar, Y/n Iris Mitchell, only female TopGun student for this class, had gotten tone on her own dad, Captain Pete Maverick Mitchell in a basic Dogfighting maneuvers exercise.. “After all, she is the fruit of your loins.”

“Fruit of Mavs loins is still doing push-ups.” Payback chuckled as he looked out the window. “Can’t believe you have the only person that managed to get tone on your old ass doing push ups through her lunch.” 

Maverick just groaned as he sat beside Jake on the lounge across from Phoenix. 

“She won’t show off next time.” 

“Sore loser—“ Jake chuckled. 

“Don’t you have an ACM scheduled to teach after this? I wouldn’t speak so soon, Hangman—she might blow you out of the sky too.” 

“Imma pair her with P:E, she’ll be so busy watching his ass that she won’t be able to keep an eye on mine.” P.E. – Premature Ejection – pressed the ejection switch in an aircraft while it was still on the runway. How the hell that guy ended up in the top one percent Jake would never understand. “Plus, I’m a hell of a lot faster than you these days, pops.” Just as Jake is razzing on Maverick, his phone is buzzing on the armrest in the lounge. Unbeknownst to Jake, only seconds after Payback had said you were still doing push-ups on the tarmac, you’d been let go. You’d charmed Hondo into thinking you were actually a glutton for punishment and he got bored. 

Jake could’ve sworn he forgot how to breathe when he saw your name pop up on his lock screen, it was his fault really—he should have had the message previews turned on. But he didn’t. He walked right into your web. 

“Who’s texting you? All your friends are here?” Mav taunted as Jake shot him a look. 

“Do you even know how to text?” Jake snickered, swiping his thumb up the screen as his Face ID unlocked his phone. As Jake took another bite of his sandwich, he choked and coughed and splattered about in shock horror. “Fuck—“ Jake had never panicked so immediately before in his life. “Jesus Christ—“

There you were on full display, standing in front of your full length mirror, little emerald green set of lingerie on, obviously a pre taken, premeditated picture because you were just doing pushups out on the fucking tarmac. 

You were standing so close to the mirror that Jake could see your perfect nipples through the lace of the lingerie. You skin looked silky smooth and the hume of the dim lamp radiating behind you told Jake you took this last night when you decided on a night in. If he looked closely he could see the strategically placed vibrator on your bed and the not so inconspicuous H_NGM_N you’d written in the corner of your mirror. 

You were so hot it was a joke at this point.

“Here’s the deal, I get you on tone? you fuck me dumb, you get me on tone? I’ll do that thing with my thumb I know you like.” 

Jake locked his phone as quickly as he could, but he knew Mav had seen it over his shoulder. Holy shit. This was it wasn’t it? 

“What the hell's wrong with you?” Phoenix frowned as Jake coughed up his lunch, he could feel his heart pounding in his chest. 

“I’m fine, I’m fine—“ Jakes in denial as he catches his breath. He’s red in the face and he feels like he’s got fire radiating in his lungs. “I’m good.” He’s not good, he’s got a raging hard on and anger rushing through his veins. 

“He just got sent nude.” Mav chuckled. “That’s what they’re called these days right?” Pete had for a split second seen the photo, until he averted his gaze. Not realising it was you, his own flesh and blood. “Or have I missed something?” He asked with a questioning tone.

“Nah nah, you got it Mav—“ Bradley bit his tongue, shooting Jake a glare. “You’re not missing anything, well done, good job on the lingo man, gold star.” 

There’s a ruckus coming from up the hall, Bob's curiosity gets the better of him when he sticks his head out into the corridor. 

“Looks like Rebound and Krod are at it again.” That was enough to get the attention off of Jake and on the two aviators blowing up in the hall. Mav was on his feet in seconds, Jake was unlocking his phone to text you back to meet him by B Hanger. 

“Your dad was literally sitting right fucking next to me!!” By your reply alone and the smirk that plastered itself across your face Jake knew you were out to get him in trouble. There was no way you weren’t doing this on purpose now. You enjoyed the rush too much. “He could’ve killed me then and there Iris!? The fuck are you trying to do here?”

“And somehow you’re still breathing?” 

“Don’t you ever pull that shit again? Do you hear me, Lieutenant Mitchell?” 

“Is that an order?” You asked, reaching down to cup Jake's raging erection through his flight suit. “Because there’s a lot more where that came from.” You whispered in Jake's ear as you stood on the tips of your work issued boots. “I would’ve taken some in my red set but I left the panties at your place.” 

“Shame, I really like you in red.” Jake's voice hitched in his throat as you palmed him ever so discreetly. “Like you a hell of a lot better in nothing at all though.” 

“So do you accept my proposal?” You asked softly, pulling back from Jake as you left him harder and throbbing. 

“Nope—“ Jake replied, grabbing you by the forearm as he spun you around, pressed you up against the side of the hanger and kicked your feet apart enough that he had inches on you. “I’m gonna fuck you dumb regardless of who gets tone on who.” Jake smiled, sucking a mark into the supple skin of your neck as he ducked down. “Because that’s what you want me to do don’t you? Daddies little girl, fucked dumb.” Your mother used to tell you something growing up as a kid when you’d ask why she never married Pete. Her response was always different and age appropriate, but the sentiment was always the same.

You fuck dumb, you don’t marry dumb.

Jake left a mark so dark and angry in his wake that it was very much noticeable when you returned for Jake’s theory assessment a little over twenty minutes later. 

“Lieutenant Mitchell?” Jake called you out as you sat writing down what he’d just said. “Is that some sort of bruise on your neck?” 

“Oh damn Iris where’d you get that?” Trash asked as he peeled your collar back, getting a better look at it. You just rolled your eyes, annoyed Jake would stoop so low. But then again, you deserved it. 

“Your mum gave it to me when I was busy fucking her last night, White.” You replied, to which the other pilots responded in an uproar. Jake just smirked to himself when you sent him a wink. Smiling back. 

Hangman felt his heart skip a beat as you did so. Feeling a warmth radiate in his chest he'd never felt before.

Fuck.

***~***~****~****~***~***~***~****~****~****~***

[lucienarcheron]

Spirit Meets the Bones XXIX

Genre: Angst/Romance/Drama Warnings: Mentions of physical abuse. Author’s Note: In case you missed it, here's a little art I commissioned of my darlings <3

shoutout to @abruisedmuse for being on this journey with me <3

Tagging: @climb-the-mountian / @vanserrass / @zenkindoflove / @animezinglife / @readthelastpaage / @teddyhoneybear / @positivewitch / @clockwork-ashes / @carnythian / @secret-third-thing / @runningwiththeoceans / @readychilledwine / @goldenmagnolias / @that-golden-lyre / @thedarkinmansfield / @mali22 / @maidr-00 / @electromagnetic-waves / @eastofatlanta / @moobell55 / @bibliophiliaxvignette / @devilsfoodcake22 / @weesablackbeak / @ladywhilemia / @alohaangels / @feysandfeels / @corcracrow / @dawneternal / @gracie-rosee / @mage-neve / @queenoftheworld1998 /@wolvesnravens / @illyrianvalkyrie / @rainbowsnowflake

Find it all here.

The room was quiet as Iris lay on their bed, feeling a tad foolish for how clingy she felt waiting for her husband to return. She wanted to be embarrassed by it, considering she had only made fun of him for being the same way not that long ago, but instead, Iris only found herself embarrassingly eager to see his stupid face. 

Her eyes flickered towards the door, trying to sense any movement but it was silent. Eris had reinforced the wards for additional protection so Iris didn’t worry as much but…he was taking longer than anticipated and it made her a little nervous. The last time he had taken longer than she expected, it hadn’t ended well.

But she hadn’t felt any negative emotions — no painful tugs like that night. 

Iris sighed then turned over, Atlas shifting closer to her. “He would be so smug to know I’m waiting like this,” she said to the hound who whined sleepily in return. Iris chuckled, scratching behind the hound’s ear. “You’re absolutely right. I am too pretty waiting here for him.” 

And indeed, Iris felt very pretty. She had donned a satin baby blue nightgown with a side slit that made her giddy in anticipation for him to see. Even if she was currently covering it with a matching robe. 

It might be the acknowledgment of the mating bond or her head had finally caught up with her libido, but Iris found herself more and more worked up whenever she was around him and she craved his touch. 

Her husband. Her friend. Her mate. 

She bit her lip and flushed deeply. Who was she becoming? 

Every time she remembered her life before Eris, it came as a shock. The days had always blurred together, time passing her by with nothing to show for it. She had been suffocated. Isolated. So alone, it had been crippling. But in that loneliness, Iris had always kept hope tucked away, hidden so deeply that her father could never reach it. The hope that she would get out, that she would find a way to feel alive. To dream. Despite the struggle of being stuck under her father’s fist, she always yearned for the light at the end of the road. She had believed in it so desperately, it had been the only thing keeping her sane. 

Her father had gone out of his way to break her down and Iris thought back to her wedding morning, how she had believed getting married would be a death sentence, a way her father had won. That marrying her off to Eris was how he finally broke her spirit and took away any hope she had held on to.  But now…she realized how Eris had been exactly what she’d waited for. Everything Iris had been waiting for and yet, so much more than she ever thought she’d deserve. 

Things may not be perfect living with the monster of a High Lord now but…Iris was happier than she imagined she’d be with Eris. This dream was all sitting within the palm of her hands. 

Shifting again, she shook her head and Iris let her thoughts drift back to her time with her mother-in-law earlier and it had wrecked her to know how much Lady Enya had struggled; that she felt so comfortable to share with Iris meant the world.

She didn’t miss how Lady Enya’s hope and desperation to get out mirrored her own. It became exceedingly clear the more they had spoken and Iris marveled again, at the resilience her mother-in-law had to tolerate this life.

“My sons are the only reason I’ve been able to manage anything.” Lady Enya said quietly. “My flame would’ve long been extinguished had I not had them and the only way I can thank them is by taking so long to leave.”

Iris frowned. “I’m sure they’d be crushed to know you think of it that way,” she said carefully. “Eris…he loves you and wishes for whatever you want for yourself.”

Lady Enya smiled sadly. “He has carried so much on his shoulders,” she said and glanced at Iris. “How is he really doing? I know Beron had not held back that night.” 

Iris’s lips thinned, her expression troubled as she thought of a way to word it carefully. “...It was a hard night. I healed him as best as I could and he’s making good progress. I’ve tried to force him to be careful with his movement.”

Lady Enya’s smile brightened slightly. “Having a healer in the family is a blessing we didn’t know we needed,” she said and Iris flushed happily. “I daresay having a healer on the throne will be a soothing balm to this festering wound of a court.”

“Your faith in my abilities is very flattering, Mother.” Iris chuckled. “I have so much more to learn.” 

“And I’m sure you’ll do wonderfully.” Lady Enya said and reached out to squeeze Iris’s hand. “I have all the faith in the world in you, Iris and I am honored for my son to have you in his life. He’s needed you more than you know.” 

Iris flushed at the memory of the words. Her mother-in-law may think Eris needs her but she needs him just as much. If not more. 

Sighing, Iris forced herself to sit up. She was becoming restless with her wait. She wanted him to be home already. To sit with her. To talk with her. And maybe, to touch her. Maybe they could both be a little more brave.

She’d noticed his hesitation and blamed it on his healing back even with the scent in the room giving away his desires. It was almost too embarrassing how the tables had turned and now she was the one waiting for Eris to make his move. 

And it was almost as if Eris had heard her thoughts – his scent hit her as she sensed movement by the door and her husband materialized before her. She hoped it wasn’t too obvious how eagerly she’d been waiting for him, feeling herself perk up as his eyes quickly swept the room and landed on her.

Eris closed the door of their suite behind him and Iris watched his shoulders sag; she could feel the wave of anxiety and knew he’d been worried by the way his fingers flexed at his sides. His expression hadn’t eased until his eyes landed on her, clearly safe and sound. She knew the thread that pulled at her ribcage had told them both they had no reason to be so worried about the other and yet, he couldn’t relax until he saw her. The thought spread a warmth across her chest.

“You’re back.” she breathed with a small smile. 

“Do keep your disappointment in check.” he replied, the corner of his mouth lifting and Iris rolled her eyes, shifting off the bed. 

Iris could feel his gaze on her as she adjusted her robe and tried to be casual in the way she straightened – tried not to make it too obvious how she had felt herself brighten as his scent enveloped her. 

“How did the meeting go? You took longer than I expected.”

“Ah, you really missed me, didn’t you?”

Iris shot him a playfully chiding look, curling a strand of hair behind her ear. “Please don’t project your delusions on me.” 

Eris snorted as she moved towards him, his eyes cataloging the baby blue robe she donned. She’d been experimenting with more colors in her nightly clothing and whenever Iris picked a color she didn’t usually wear, it was always worth it for his reactions alone. 

“The only delusions here are your own, thinking you’re not obsessed with me,” he said, his mouth curling into a smirk. “What a beautiful little liar you are.”

Iris flushed and fought back a smile, pursing her lips instead. “I don’t even like you, let alone am obsessed with you.”

“Mm.” Eris hummed. “She says while she was just lying in my bed, hugging my hound.”

She crossed her arms, shrugging a shoulder playfully. “I’m only with you for the puppies,” she said. “I told you that from the beginning.” 

“Not puppies.” he corrected with an eye roll and Iris straightened, leaning forward until she was a breath away, meeting his gaze.

“One hundred percent puppies.” she enunciated slowly and Eris’s eyes flashed, his gaze locked on that pretty mouth of hers, her scent hitting him in full force. 

He had to hand it to his wife; the sheer magnetic force she possessed that had him so eagerly wrapped up in her always took him by surprise. He couldn’t resist her and didn’t know why he’d ever tried to. Slowly, he closed the distance between them, his eyes never leaving hers and for someone who called him out on his hungry eyes, his wife sure replicated it very well. 

The two watched each other and the bond between them pulsed, tugging them closer as they breathed each other in. The pleasant tension that sat between them always flared up so viciously whenever they were alone and at the same time, breathed a sigh of relief to be near once again. 

And then —

She was in his arms quicker than he could blink and Eris melted into her. He wrapped his arms around his wife and pulled her close as they kissed, her mouth as hungry as her eyes were.  Iris’s hands traced his biceps before wrapping them around his neck, letting out a small delightful sound when he squeezed her into him. Kissing him always left her breathless and Eris did not shy away from stealing every single breath he could from her.

His hands slid, squeezing and kneading her flesh as he walked her backward toward their bed, desire coating each brush of his tongue on hers, a melody of emotions crashing together. 

“Puppy –” Iris managed and Eris groaned against her mouth, pulling away for a moment.

“Atlas. Off the bed. Now.” Eris commanded sharply and in the same breath his hound moved with a whine, he had Iris flat on her back and settled between her legs.

The weight of his body on hers was delicious and so very welcomed, especially when his hardness pressed against her, and Iris could feel exactly how much he wanted her. Since she had pulled his body over hers that night, Eris did not hesitate to keep doing it. Even with her robe and his night clothes between them, every inch of him lined up with every inch of her each night, as if he no longer knew how to sleep without the heat of her beneath him. 

He rocked against her as his lips memorized hers and gods did she want him to press harder. A raspy moan slipped from her lips when his sinful mouth moved to her throat and her hands traced every inch of him they could find and Iris would’ve torn his shirt off and bitten whatever skin she could find – had he not stiffened — had he not paused with her hands digging into his back. 

Iris froze – suddenly remembering the sensitivity of his skin and guilt overwhelmed her as she slowly relaxed her hands with a swallow, gently sliding them down his arms. Eris’s face remained buried in her neck and they waited as his panting calmed. 

Slowly, Eris pulled back and Iris hated to see the slight color in his cheeks, his mouth a thin line of embarrassment at his own reaction. Her touch light as a feather, she held his face and pulled him down to give him a chaste kiss.

“Sorry,” she whispered against his lips. “I forgot myself.”

He gently shook his head in assurance. “It just goes to show how obsessed you are. Can’t keep your hands off me.” 

The humor in his tone eased her worry and she ran a hand softly through his hair. “I suppose you’re right.” she murmured. “It must be the witchcraft in your lips that’s causing this.” 

And Iris couldn’t help her smile at the way his whole face brightened when he laughed. 

“So alongside your lies, you steal the lines I use on you?” he said, his hands finding their way to the loose strands of hair again, brushing it gently out of her face.

“You’re so inspiring, how could I not?”

Eris shook his head with a low chuckle and leaned in to murmur against her mouth, “We haven’t even said hello and you’re already making fun of me.”

“You are very easy to tease.” she said with a coy smile and Eris’s smoldering gaze made her heart stutter, especially when he kissed the corner of her mouth and whispered, 

“Well, then. Hello to you too, mate.” 

The bond went taut as the word spread heat through his chest, especially when Iris flushed.

And it was like Iris was hit by the revelation of the mating bond all over again. Slowly but surely, she had been coming to terms that indeed, they would be tied together forever and again, rather than panic, Iris’s reaction bubbled between excitement and caution. Excitement because her mate was already her husband, someone she wanted, and caution because…well, there was still so much to navigate between them. 

But every time he called her that — every time he claimed her this way, Iris felt her heart want to explode. Eris had wanted her before any of this came to light and to go from having no one in her corner to having someone who wanted her so deeply…it overwhelmed her in the best way. 

“Hello…mate.” she finally replied and couldn’t look away from his reaction, the way his eyes honed in on her, the stupid male satisfaction of it, especially when her legs involuntarily squeezed him.

“You have very hungry eyes on you, wife.” he said and his voice had dropped low, the way it always did that made a heat pool in her body.

“I have no idea what you mean, husband.” 

Eris couldn’t help the smirk from forming on his lips at her typical response. His coy little wife. Was it normal for him to have missed her, even if they’d only been a few hours apart? Was he truly that pathetic? Probably. 

But beneath the slight patheticness,  he felt a sense of…giddiness? Excitement? Whatever it was, it pulsed beneath her skin too. He could almost taste it. 

“This is a very pretty blue you’re wearing.” he muttered and the tone went straight to Iris’s core. “I like it.”

“You think so?” she teased and bit her lips before she whispered, “I think you’d like what’s underneath it too.” 

Iris flushed deeply and held back a giggle when he dropped his head into the crook of her neck with a groan, his grip tightening on her.

“Do you…want to see it?” she asked in that whispered tone and Eris sucked in a breath, going silent at the invitation. 

Did he want to see it? Given his current one-sided and very stupid stance on holding back on their intimacy? 

“I think I’d die right here if I didn’t.” he murmured and lifted his head to meet her gaze. 

“Well. We can’t have that, can we?” she said and Eris shifted to slide next to her, giving himself enough space to take in the complete sight of her. She lay there, like a gift to unwrap and he couldn’t help but slip his hand down the silk robe, a smirk blooming on his face when he felt her suck in her stomach beneath his touch.

“Are you sure?” he asked and when Iris bit her lip, nodding, Eris had to remind himself that he was a very, very patient male. He did not lose control.

So very slowly, he pulled on the sash holding the robe together, and let the robe slide open, revealing the gown she’d hidden beneath it.

He had to suck in a breath of his own. 

Eris had played with silk before. He used it quite a few times over the years and while he’d tied partners up and blindfolded them with silk…he hadn’t anticipated that silk nightwear would be his new kink. 

Specifically on his very, very pretty wife.

His eyes traced every inch of exposed skin and like the morning she stood in their bathroom and showed him that gown, Eris felt his pulse skyrocket. She would be the death of him as she lay there, roses blooming on her cheeks, fidgeting just slightly as he licked his lips.

The material hugged her body so beautifully, tight in just the right places, the color doing wonders for her skin and if Eris could stop himself from losing his absolute mind, he’d lean in and allow himself to indulge in her. 

But gods, he would devour her. He would — he stilled when Iris shifted and the slit he hadn’t seen exposed more of her lovely legs.

Touch her. Taste her. Claim her.

The bond wrapped around his neck nearly choked him and Eris realized too late that the sound of a wounded animal he’d heard had slipped from his own lips. His hand slid on its own and traced the exposed skin by that tantalizing slit wondering if he just slid his hand further, what would happen?

What if he let his hand touch her most sensitive flesh? Allowed his fingers the blessing of being soaked by her pleasure? They’d both enjoy it. He could stop himself after. He could – 

Iris shifted and the scent of her arousal hit him like a sack of bricks, especially when it wrapped around his own shameless lust. Gods, every time he remembered that she wanted him as badly as he wanted her, Eris wanted to combust. 

To be wanted, in a way like no one had ever made him feel before…

“Wife.” he rasped, refusing to be embarrassed by how guttural he sounded. 

“Husband.”

“You’re getting too good at riling me up. I don’t like it.” he mused, narrowing his eyes at her and Iris gave him an innocent smile.

“Well. It’s not really hard when you make it so easy.” she said and patted his cheek. 

Eris shifted as he watched her and prayed to whatever gods were listening that he didn’t come from the way she looked at him alone. 

This flirting was going to make their conversation more difficult. He knew she would object to their separation and yet…Eris couldn’t bring himself to ruin the moment with serious conversation just yet. 

He narrowed his eyes at her again as she watched him and Eris couldn’t help but kiss her once more, sinking into the softness of her body beneath his, so much of her skin on display beneath his touch. 

Their lips met and it was soft and welcoming and Eris would love nothing more than to stay right here and fuck everything else. When her body turned pliable beneath his and the small sounds she made threatened to kill him, he forced himself to pull away.

He took in her flushed cheeks and swollen lips and nearly came undone.

“All was well in my absence?” he asked – if only to distract himself from launching himself at her again. “Nothing happened?”

Iris shook her head, her hands tracing his shoulders. “I spent some time with Mother, spent some time with the puppies, then finished my other duties. Nothing happened. All was well.” she answered and Eris nodded, willing his pulse to calm. He allowed himself to lean in and kiss the corner of her mouth, a finger playing with a strand of her loose hair and it took all of his willpower not to let his fingers shake. 

And as her heartbeat started to settle, Iris took the opportunity to blatantly drink him in, assessing his expression – his body language; she didn’t miss the irony of doing the one thing Eris had always done to her.

“So.” she said and tried very hard not to grin when he smirked down at her. 

“So.”

“How did your meeting go?”

“You’ll be pleased to know I only threw a punch.”

Iris tsked. “Only one? Don’t lie.”

Eris made a non-committal noise as she shifted beneath him and he tried very hard to stay focused. 

“Well.”

“Oh gods, what did you do?”

“Why must you assume I did anything?” Eris replied indignantly. “It’s not like I was the one who created this mess.” 

Iris gave him an all-too-knowing look and it made him want to kiss her senselessly. “Yes, but did you make it worse?” she asked and he pursed his lips.

“Well.”

“Eris!”

He chuckled at her outrage and slid his fingers between the strands of her hair, nipping at the corner of her mouth again. “Izak is a big boy. He can handle a few punches.” Eris said. “He’s lucky I didn’t snap his neck.”

“Causing trouble everywhere you go, I see,” she replied, shaking her head with a small smile. “Heathen.”

“Heathen, husband. Tomato, tomato.” he said with a casual wave of his hand. 

She couldn’t help the low chuckle that escaped her. “Did Lucien end up joining?”

“He did. It went better than I expected,” he said then pursed his lips before reluctantly adding, “They all send their regards. Though I wasn’t keen on passing it along.”

Iris rolled her eyes. “You can’t handle anyone being nice, can you?”

“Doesn’t really keep to the theme we have running in our family now, does it?”

“I can’t wait until everyone finds out you’re all just so nice.” Iris said, smiling knowingly and Eris immediately scowled. 

“No, we’re not.”

“Just the nicest young boys around.”

“I am not a boy. I am a grown male.”

“Are you sure? You sound exactly like a young boy with how defensive you got there.”

Eris squinted at her. “Wife.”

Iris’s smile was full of innocence. “Husband.”

“If you keep being a nuisance, I won’t give you any details and hoard all the information to myself,” Eris warned and proceeded to almost die when Iris immediately pursed her lips in a small pout.

“That’s not fair! I didn’t even get to ask about Helene.” she objected and Eris winced.

“About Helene…” His expression must’ve shifted again because Iris’s eyes narrowed. “I think first impressions could’ve gone better,” he said carefully and Iris’s brows shot up. 

“And what does that mean?” 

With a sigh, Eris forced himself to slide off his wife again and instead, lay next to her. The two lay on their sides, face to face, and the tone of their conversation shifted as Eris recapped the meeting, even as his hand traced her skin. Iris was an apt audience, her expression shifting as he explained things and while Eris had dreaded repeating things to his brothers, he enjoyed telling Iris things more than he’d care to admit.

It helped that she was just as interested in information as he was. 

It fell silent between them as Eris concluded and anxiety began to prickle at his fingertips, thinking about what else he wanted to discuss with her. He watched as she digested what was shared and when she met his gaze, her expression was serious as she sat up and he followed her lead. 

“The timeline makes everything so much more urgent.” Iris finally said quietly. 

“I know.” 

“I’m happy for Mother that she feels prepared to leave but…” she began and licked her lips. “I’m also worried about what that means for you. What that means for everyone.”

Eris’s mouth went into a thin line and he ran a hand through his hair. “Well.” he began and glanced at her. “It means the end is near. It’s either we finish him or…” 

He let the rest of the sentence hang in the air between them and Iris felt her heart stop at the implication of it. Before she could control it, her mind conjured image after image of all the things that could go wrong that night. Her face fell. 

“Eris.” 

His expression tightened and he hated that he could sense her distress so clearly. “I’m not saying that to alarm you, I’m preparing you,” he said. “I can’t guarantee anything. I know we will do everything to have all of this end that night.”

“I’m trying to imagine how badly it could go, “ she said, her hands clenched. “But I — my mind is having trouble limiting just how horrible it will be.”

“My mother is leaving Beron and the second she sets foot in Day Court, Helion is going to announce their mating bond, openly claiming her and Lucien,” Eris replied. “It’s going to be as horrible as you can imagine if my father is still alive to witness it.” 

Iris’s throat bobbed, her brows furrowed as she watched Eris. She knew this would be the deciding factor of things. She knew whatever happened that night, her husband would be a changed man and Iris prayed everything in her that it would be the night he wanted.

“What role do you want me to play during the ball?” she asked quietly. 

A muscle flexed in his jaw as he thought about how to carefully word this. He took a breath and steeled himself. “We will go to the ball and we will be presentable and have a great time.” he began. “Then you will leave and slip away with my mother.”

Iris nodded. “I can cover for her while she disappears.”

Eris ran his tongue over his teeth and then took a breath. “You misunderstand me, Iris.” he said, his smile thin. “You will leave with my mother.”

Iris blinked then blinked again. “What?”

Eris swallowed then nodded. “You need to leave with her.” 

A tense silence fell between them and Iris felt the happiness she had only just attained, slip right through her fingers. She shot up and stared at him in disbelief. “You want me to leave you? Knowing what will be happening?”

“Yes. It is the only way I can guarantee your safety.”

“What about your safety?” she demanded. “How am I supposed to go and be left wondering if you’re safe? Or hurt? Or even alive?”

Eris stood and gently, in the way he only was with her, held her face and pulled her near him. “My life has always been on the line when it came to this. I know what I’m walking into,” he said quietly. “You cannot be here in case things go wrong. The idea of him getting his hands on you makes me want to –” He forced himself to take a breath all while she stared at him, crushed. “I cannot risk it. You have to leave with her. You’ll be safe in the Day Court.” 

“That’s not fair.” Iris whispered. “You can’t expect me to let you face this and just leave, wondering what will happen to you.”

“Lucien will be waiting for any news and will inform you of any updates immediately.”

Iris looked at him in disbelief. Only moments ago, she’d been blissfully thinking about the happiness she felt near him, relishing in the weight of his body on hers and his touch on her skin – but with what he was saying – it seemed their life together was now a ticking time bomb. It would explode and no one knew what the damage would be.

“What if you get hurt and I could’ve been here to heal you?” she demanded again, pulling away. “We don’t know what kind of harm Beron will cause. I can help.”

“No.” Eris said immediately and his expression hardened. “That would leave you here, defenseless, and I will not allow you to be in that kind of position for him to take advantage of you.”

“But –”

“Iris.” 

His sharp tone startled her and Iris blinked at him, her expression crumbling at his gaze.

“We just —” she began again and waved a hand, trying to find the right words to express exactly what she felt while a boulder sat on her chest. “We just found out we’re mates. We’re still figuring out what that means for us. You’re my husband. My friend. You’re one of the few people I care about in this whole world. How can you expect me to be okay with leaving you?”

Eris had to swallow hard as he closed the gap between them again and grasped her hands in his tightly. “Do not think the idea of you being far from me during a trial like that would be anything but agonizing,” he whispered. “But it would be so much harder for me – so much worse if I knew you were within his reach. He will make you pay the price for everything we planned and hurt you to spite me. I cannot risk it.” 

Iris’s lips trembled and she blinked back emotions she wasn’t ready to release yet. Instead, she channeled all the anger she felt at this situation and glared down at their joined hands.

She wanted one blissful moment – one night they didn’t have to worry about what would happen. One occasion that wouldn’t be tainted. 

“I know it’ll be better for you if I’m not here when you all challenge him. I know it’ll let you focus more without having to worry about me. But…” she paused and bit her lip then continued in a whisper, “I…just got you and we may be slow and steady but you and I both know there won’t be anyone else. The idea of me pretending to have a great time at this ball while knowing I’m leaving you and having no idea if it’ll be the last time I see you or not…” 

She finally glanced up at him and Eris knew the sight of her panic could kill him before his father ever got the chance. “You’re asking for something too grand.”

Eris’s battered heart broke in his chest; he didn’t think there were too many pieces still held together but she was the reason he still believed in the beat of his own heart at all at this point. 

This would be the goddamn fight of his life and Eris will be damned if it didn’t end in a way for him to have her in his arms by the end of it. 

“I thought you didn’t even like me.” he attempted to humor her, squeezing her hands and Iris scoffed, shaking her head.

“I’m obviously obsessed with you.” she replied with a forced smile that fell quickly the longer he gazed at her.

Eris let go of her hands to hold her face once more and leaned it to brush a chaste kiss across her lips. “If it helps, I think I’m pretty obsessed with you too.” 

“I know it’s the safer option, to be farther away but…what if I don’t want to?” she asked, her gaze pleading and Eris felt his chest tighten. He had promised himself he wouldn’t let her plead for anything but this…this couldn’t be something he budged on. 

“I’m afraid what you want won’t be on the table for this one, wife,” he said, brushing a strand of hair back behind her ear with one hand, the other still caressing her face. “As I’ve told you before, your safety is non-negotiable.” 

Iris gazed at him silently for a moment, her mouth forming into a small pout, gazing at him almost accusingly. “You’re evil.”

His brow lifted and he gazed at her indulgently, curious. “How so?” 

“You made me fall —” she cut herself off, flushing deeply, and Eris’s heart lept into his throat at the almost confession, his pulse quickening. “You made me develop these feelings for you that aren’t hatred or dislike and now it’s all up in the air.” 

Eris’s expression softened despite his pulse still all over the place. They both knew where they stood, yes. It was hard not to be aware when being married and mated meant you had a bond that fed you the other person’s emotions. But with the way emotions had always been wielded against him before her – and the way she had always been forced to hide any feelings before him, Eris knew how much it meant for her to confess this here. 

His mother’s words rang in his head. 

“Watching you fall in love has been one of the highlights of my life, Eris.” 

This was what this was, wasn’t it? This thing between them, outside of any bond. This feeling that had bloomed with time. And he could deny it all he wanted, but with the risk of it being taken away from him…Eris could feel his resolve crumbling, especially as he sensed the slight embarrassment she seemed to feel at the confession.

“I apologize for my nefarious plans,” he said, the corner of his mouth curling up. “But I could say the same to you. You’ve gone and made me my father’s worst nightmare. Soft.”

“You’re everything he wishes he could be and more. Don’t you ever let him make you believe otherwise.” she said firmly and her immediate defense had Eris’s shoulders sagging, his hands dropping to his sides as he let himself finally give in to the stress of it all.

“I know the situation isn’t ideal but we will make the best of it and things will end the way we want them to.” he tried to assure her despite the tightness in his throat. “This won’t be some dramatic goodbye. Have some faith it’ll end in our favor.”

Iris assessed him. She knew the kind of strain he would be under the next three weeks would be like nothing he’d ever experienced before. She wouldn’t be an additional cause of stress for him, even if the idea of the next three weeks being a countdown of some sort did nothing to ease her concerns.   

Iris’s expression hardened into determination. “Of course, this isn’t going to be a goodbye. If anything happens to you, I will come back and kill you myself,” she said and Eris couldn’t help his strained chuckle. “I know you have it in you to finish this and while again, I hate the idea of not being around if you need me, I know it’ll be the safer option for us both for me to leave at that time. It doesn’t mean I like it and if you end up changing your mind, I will be happy to stay.” 

“You’re just itching to sink that blade into someone, aren’t you.” 

“I’m the wife and mate of the Autumn Court’s future High Lord.” she said and lifted her nose in the air. “It comes with the job.” 

Eris couldn’t help his smirk. “I look forward to having you by my side when the time comes.” 

And as they watched each other, Eris knew he would do everything and bleed as much as he had to, to give them that time together. He deserved it. His brothers did too. His wife hadn’t signed up to live half a life with him. His brothers deserved to live their lives in the sun and Eris would be damned if he let Beron snuff them out after all this time. 

Iris tilted her head as she watched him. “How do you want these next few weeks to go?”

Eris hummed and found himself pulling her back towards their bed, seating them both, her hand still in his. “Ideally, as smoothly as possible.” he said.

Iris sighed quietly and attempted some bravado when she spoke next, “I was hoping my first ball would be less dramatic but I suppose I married the wrong person for that.” 

Eris snorted. “The Vanserras are nothing if not dramatic.” he said quietly and Iris managed a small smile before it faded. 

She moved closer, reaching out to squeeze his hand once more. “Then I guess it’s time you taught me how to dance.” 

The corner of Eris’s mouth curled up. “It would be my pleasure.”

The weight of the impending events to take place hung heavily in the air and though it dampened the initial mood they reunited with, Eris felt stronger for it. He wished he could shield her from this all, from the chaos he knew this ball would ensure but he knew there would be no way around it and he didn’t think Iris would appreciate being minimized because of his fears. 

For now, he just wanted some peace. And for his wife to touch him.

“If you’d be so kind,” Eris began, tracing the back of her hand with his thumb. “I could use my wife’s healer hands before bed.” 

Iris squinted at him. “You messed up those bandages, didn’t you?”

“No rest for the wicked, as they say.” 

She rolled her eyes but went to get her materials nonetheless, trying to stay in the moment and not think about what was to come. Even if it was all happening so fast. 

When she finally turned back to Eris, she found him lying on his stomach shirtless with his arms crossed beneath his pillow, waiting for her. She didn’t take for granted how he trusted her to do this. To touch his scars and bring comfort to them. 

Iris began removing his old covers and gently cleaning and reapplying the balm. Not wanting to sit with her own thoughts and the confession she had released about her feelings, she filled the silence.

“Are these balls usually a big show?”

“It’s one of the fanciest parties of the year,” Eris said quietly. “Everyone is dressed their best, endless food and drink, dancing…it’s usually quite fun.”

“I sense a but there.”

“Nothing was the same after the war.” He murmured and winced when she touched a particularly sensitive spot he’d been ignoring all day. “We could dress up and pretend all we wanted but it didn’t erase how similar it was to Under the Mountain. We pretended a lot back then.”

Iris’s brows furrowed. “Mm. I suppose this event can be the one to reset things to how they once were.”

“One can hope,” Eris said then shifted to look at her. “Do you have any ideas for the kind of dress you’d like to wear?”

She shook her head with a frown. “Mother sent me some designs to look at though she made it seem like it wasn’t something to worry too much about.”

“Only because your dresses are prioritized by our seamstress,” he said with a chuckle. “People get very mean about their outfits for this ball.”

Iris chuckled. “Sounds like you were among those mean folks.”

Eris’s mouth formed into a smirk. “As someone who was always the best dressed there, I can’t deny I am always a little mean when it comes to how I look.” 

Iris rolled her eyes. “Spoken like a true princess.” 

He chuckled but gave her a pointed look. “You can and should make your dress however you’d like.” He said. “I want my wife looking the best.”

Iris’s hands slowed with a slight frown. “I…feel silly thinking about a dress when I’m really going to spend the time worrying about you.”

“Iris.” Eris chided and carefully sat up and Iris held up her hands before he could continue.

“I know we should focus on making the most of these next few weeks before everything goes to hell but I still…feel guilty. I don’t want to waste that kind of time with you putting yourself in danger. Who cares about a stupid dress?”

“I do,” Eris said and Iris’s frown deepened. “I care very much.” He paused for a moment, the tips of his ears heating as he glanced at his wife. “This will be our first ball together. You and I will be opening the event with the first dance and presentation is everything. We are a united front and this is the opportunity to showcase that, regardless of how it’ll end.”

He watched her as she processed what he was saying. Despite all the stress Eris knew he’d be under with this event, this was something he wouldn’t budge on. This day meant too much to him and maybe it was selfish of him to worry about something as minuscule as a dress but with it being Iris’s first ball…he wanted her to have that moment that every beautiful female deserved. And he wanted to be the one to give that to her. 

She narrowed her eyes at him. “It sounds like you’re the one with ideas about my dress,” Iris said and Eris really couldn’t help the corner of his mouth lifting.

“I may have an idea or two.”

“Oh my gods, you have entire sketches, don’t you?” 

Casually, he shrugged. “My designer is always on hand.”

Iris shook her head with a small laugh. “You’re unbelievable.” 

“Wait until you see some of the ideas then complain.” He argued with a huff. “Almost all of them have pockets and folds to hide your daggers.”

“Hide my daggers you say?” she asked and he gave a pointed look as she hummed in response.

Eris could tell he had piqued her interest but Iris only gestured for him to lay back down and he obliged, letting her quietly think. 

“Does this mean we will include some time for additional training in preparation for all this?”

“Absolutely.”

And so, he spent the rest of the evening explaining as much of the plan as he needed to. He wouldn’t let her go into this blind. When they finally laid to rest that night, her body tucked even closer than usual to his, Eris wondered how much longer he could keep his other thoughts about them to himself, especially when Iris wasn’t hesitant to let him slide his hand beneath her robe and caress her skin. 

The look in her eyes and the color on her cheeks told him he could slide his hands wherever he wanted and gods did Eris crave to. Though he didn’t need to use his aching back as an excuse when indeed, it did hurt – Eris wasn’t ready to let himself indulge in her just yet and he didn’t know exactly how he’d explain that to her.

“Is your back bothering you too much?” she asked quietly, attempting to shift again. “I can move for you to be more comfortable.”

Eris shook his hand, gently pulling her back down next to him. “There’s something else we need to discuss.” 

“Alright,” she said carefully, her confusion evident on her face. 

He swallowed, his gaze assessing her from top to bottom, and debated how to explain. How to tell her his thoughts on the matter of their bond. The conversation with his brothers had only solidified this stance in his mind further and despite his hands itching to touch her and his mouth to taste her, the urgency of the situation dampened the carnal desire that was always lingering in the back of his mind. His craving to claim her never went away and Eris knew she felt it, knew she also wanted it. But...

Eris met her gaze and his nerves made him ask a different question, “Do you want children?”

Iris blinked at him, her brows furrowing. “Oh. Um. This is an unexpected question.”

The corner of his mouth lifted as his hand gently traced the sleeve of her satin robe. “We are married. The conversation is inevitable.” 

“I suppose seeing Izak and Helene made it more prevalent for you.” 

He made a non-commital sound and watched as Iris sat quietly for a moment, her expression thoughtful. Considering they hadn’t gotten physical yet, he was jumping ahead with the question but Eris’s answer wouldn’t be any different from what he told his mother earlier; until Beron was dead and gone for sure, it would never happen. 

“I don’t think I’ve considered it as an option where my opinion mattered,” she said carefully. “I knew I’d have to get married and whether I consented or not, I would have to give this person a child. Especially a Prince of Autumn.”

“Ah yes. An heir to the bloody throne.”

Iris chuckled softly. “Yes. I was to be the incubator for your children,” she said and glanced at him. “So in all honesty…I’m not sure. Do you want children?”

Eris glanced at her and shifted slightly, his leg tangled in her own. “Much like you, it’s never been much of an option. It’s always been something inevitable because the Vanserra line must continue.” 

“Mm.” Iris hummed. “Well. If you remove that factor, does your answer change?”

Eris fell silent. Would his answer change? He wasn’t sure. If his father was gone and he didn’t have the pressure of the throne to worry about it, did he see himself as someone who could be a father figure? He had no role models that made fatherhood an enjoyable experience. In fact, from anyone he’d seen, the experience seemed dreadful. 

The only people he could think of who seemed to enjoy it were Rhys and Kallias. They were both mated and married so he supposed they had chosen to have their children rather than feeling forced into it. But how had they navigated that conversation with their wives? Where, whatever children they had would be targeted by people who despised them? 

He met his wife’s gaze and like always, Iris was patient with him. So in the end, he opted for what had always worked best between them, the truth.

“I don’t know,” he confessed quietly. “I hate the word father. I hate the sound of it. I hate the feeling of it leaving my mouth. It’s hard for me to picture being one that doesn’t cringe at the idea of being called that.” Eris licked his lips. “I feel the same way about the word son and I’d hate to think that I would react poorly if I did have a son of my own.”

Iris was silent for a moment before adding, “I hate the word daughter…He rarely used my name but always just called me ‘daughter’. I don’t know how I’d feel to use it.” Shifting beside him, her expression was serious as she continued, “I don’t know if I would be ready to have a child anytime soon.”

Eris shook his head. “As long as Beron is breathing, I will never let myself bring a child into this world so on that, we can agree.” 

“And once he’s gone?” Iris asked and Eris’s brows furrowed as he considered.

“Well. What would you like to do?”

“I think…that I would like us to live life together first. ” she began, her cheeks a lovely rosy color. “You and I both never really got a chance to do much without their influence. I’d like us to experience that before we think about having children.” 

His expression softened at her words and as he looked at his wife, it surprised Eris how the idea of becoming a parent wasn’t as daunting when he had a partner who understood him like this. 

“Do you think we could be good parents?” he asked so quietly, Iris had almost missed it. 

“I think…” she began and allowed a finger to trace his jaw. “That we know what it’s like being around parents who aren’t good examples and that means, we know how to be better.”

“You truly believe that?”

“Eris.” she started and shifted again, her hand now settled on his chest. “I think once the burden of all this is gone, we can do anything. And whenever we’re ready and agree on whether having children is something we want to explore later…I believe we could be great parents.” 

And before he could stop himself, Eris’s mind conjured images he had never let himself consider. Though Izak’s words rang in his mind and he couldn’t help but agree with his brother, about how he never imagined himself being a family man – suddenly, the image of a child – maybe two, of his own was something that sat there. Something he could, possibly, in the very far future…it was something he could imagine. If only because Iris was the one with him.

The corner of Eris’s mouth suddenly quirked up. “It’s strange but…” he glanced at her. “I can easily picture the kind of trouble a mini version of you would cause.” 

Iris snorted, her cheeks tinted pink. “Not as much trouble as a mini version of you would be.”

He chuckled and slid his open palm closer to her for Iris to rest her palm in his. “It’s a good thing we’re putting a hold on that until further notice then.” 

“True.” she said and narrowed her eyes at him curiously. “Is that all you wanted to discuss?”

A heartbeat passed and as his wife watched him, Eris realized he wasn’t as ready to discuss his thoughts on their mating bond just yet. He didn’t know how to tell her that despite craving her so deeply, he wouldn’t tie her down to him in that way just yet. That intimacy between them would have to wait. That while it was agony, it would be…for the best. Even with the bond chafing at his very soul, he was not one to be dictated by desire no matter how deeply he craved it.

And he hated that he wouldn’t bring himself to do more. To approach this better when he should be making the most out of the next three weeks with her. After the promise he had given her the night she found out, that she would be his and he would be hers forever. But he couldn’t bring himself to say anything else, to bring down this mood further, so he nodded tightly. “For now.” 

Her brows furrowed and Eris knew she had started to worry the moment the words left his mouth so before she could open her mouth further, he leaned forward and kissed her gently.

Iris hesitated for a breath before allowing herself to sink into his kisses. She knew he was holding back on something and even as he settled himself over her, his body aligning with hers and the weight of him on her welcome, in the back of her mind, she sensed that whatever the subject was, Iris wasn’t sure she was going to like it. 

[andreafmn]

Running in Circles | Chapter 11

Word Count: 3.5K Warnings: mentions of death and illness

Summary: (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?

A/N: slowly but surely rolling this story out... i refuse to DNF a WIP

<- Previous

David Rossi’s house had always been grand. At least for the better part of his life. But for (Y/N), it had always been massive. Even once she had grown up and moved out, she saw it as too big. She never had the feeling that she had imagined it bigger as a child. It had always been gigantic, and it would always be.

“You know, I made some fresh tagliatelle for today,” David smiled as he opened the car door for his daughter. “And I think it’s the best batch I’ve done in a long time.”

“It better be,” she teased jokingly. “Mom wouldn’t have accepted any less.”

“You’ve got that right,” he laughed. “She’d turn over in her grave if I ever made her pasta wrong.”

The Hotchner duo were already waiting by the front door when the Rossis arrived. Jack was the first to run into the house, claiming he was starving and needed to be fed. But as soon as the TV was on, it was like his hunger had vanished.

While the boy was entertained by some cartoon on the television, David ushered the other two outside. He took his cooking seriously and did not like much interruption when it was possible. So, with two glasses of red wine and a lit fireplace, (Y/N) and Hotchner sat on the back porch to talk.

“Morgan, Reid, and Prentiss are coming by later,” (Y/N) muttered out, trying to fill the silence. “JJ had a family thing, and Garcia is out of town.”

“I know,” he chuckled softly. “Dave told me when I was on my way to the cemetery.”

“God, I never want to think about today again.” Warmth crept up (Y/N)’s neck as embarrassment filled her veins. “I can’t believe I threw a tantrum like that at my age. I am absolutely mortified.”

“You don’t have to be, (Y/N). Grief isn’t always a pretty thing,” Hotchner said, taking her aback. “You’re allowed to feel what you feel, and sometimes it comes out in an ugly way. But it’s perfectly reasonable to have a break like you did. I mean, if it took this long, it was bound to happen sooner or later. And it was, in all honesty, not as bad as you think.”

“I yelled at my dad for simply being religious,” she sighed. “It was completely uncalled for. And I even did it in front of Jack. I can’t believe I did that.”

“I don’t think he’ll even remember after today,” he chuckled as he took a sip from his glass. “Seriously, (Y/N), it’s not something you even need to apologize for. I’ve seen and been worse than that.”

“I seriously doubt that,” the young woman snorted. “At least not the way I exploded today.”

“I’ve had my moments, (Y/N). We’re only human, at the end of the day,” the man shrugged as he absentmindedly slipped his hand over hers. “But you don’t have to feel bad for feeling strongly, and I know your dad definitely doesn’t hold it against you. All he cares is that you’re okay, and so do I.”

“I’m okay now,” she smiled softly, trying her best to conceal the red that was creeping up her neck. Thankfully, it was cold enough that she could blame the weather for her sudden change in complexion. “And I wanna thank you for coming today. I wasn’t sure you would.”

“Oh, Jack wouldn’t have let me live it down if we hadn’t gone,” he chuckled. His fingers interlaced with hers, squeezing softly and making her wonder. “He said we couldn’t leave you alone today. I mean, he was up long before I was.”

“God, I love that kid.”

“Yeah, he loves you too.”

There was a moment when their eyes met, and they couldn’t drop each other’s gaze. (Y/N) tried to find meaning behind the brown of his irises. Because he always left her wondering. Whether his lingering touches meant something more than comfort. Whether he showed his carefree side to her because he felt a different connection to her than the rest of the team. Whether stares like that one meant he was thinking the same way.

But the sound of David’s voice scattered the thoughts away, making the pair jump away from each other, their hands returning to their respective laps. “I brought some blankets to keep you guys warm,” he said as he placed the blankets on the arm of the couch and a tray on the edge of the fireplace. “I also brought you some cheese and crackers while we wait for the rest of the team to get here. They shouldn’t be long.”

“Thanks, dad,” (Y/N) smiled. “Did you have something to eat yet?”

“Oh no. I can’t spoil my appetite for later,” he chuckled. “I wanna make sure I savor tonight’s dish. I’ve been braising a chuck roast since this morning, and I can’t wait to sink my teeth into it.”

“Well, if there’s not much to do inside, why don’t you join us, Dave?” Hotch offered, much to (Y/N)’s dismay. “No point in you being by yourself.”

“As intriguing as that sounds, I’m not interested in spending my evening out in the cold,” the older man said before the sound of the door squeaked behind him. “But I think someone else might join you.”

“Hey, Jack. What’s up, buddy?”

00“I’m bored, dad,” the kid whined, draping himself between (Y/N) and his father. “And I’m hungry. I wanna go to (Y/N)’s house. She has toys there.”

“I’ll leave you to it,” David chuckled as he cheersed the man before disappearing back into the house.

“We can’t go to (Y/N)’s house right now, Jack. I told you we were gonna have dinner with David tonight.”

“But he doesn’t have any toys,” the boy complained. “His house is really boring.”

“Tell you what, little man,” (Y/N) interjected. “My dad may not have toys here, but he has a lot of stories about my mom, and today is about her, right?” The kid nodded eagerly. “Well then, let’s go invade his personal space.”

Jack grabbed (Y/N)’s extended hand, walking into the house with Hotch trailing behind with the platter that had just been set before them. They rushed through the kitchen and past the living room, looking for the one person who could talk about Iris’ past.

They had made it almost all the way to the man’s study before they found him in the hall, staring at a painting. Without turning his head, David started talking. “This is one of the first paintings Iris made in her garden,” he said. Before him hung a realistic painting of a small girl, a bird in her cupped hands, and an array of colorful flowers on the background. “I think it might just be my favorite.”

“Who’s the girl?”

“That’s me,” (Y/N) smiled at the boy. “When I was really, really little.”

“And your momma painted that?” Jack questioned excitedly. “It’s really pretty.”

“She did,” David responded with a sad smile. “She painted almost all the art in this house. She was a very talented woman, my Iris.”

“What happened to her?”

“Jack,” Hotch reprimanded his son. “I’m sorry, he…”

“It’s alright,” the man smiled. “She got very sick while she was pregnant with our little (Y/N). But the doctors didn’t catch it until it was too late because of that. After she gave birth, we started her on the most aggressive treatment we could, but it had spread too much, too fast. A little after (Y/N) turned three, she passed away.” “She was getting weak at the end, and a single painting would take her weeks,” he said. “You can see that they get smaller here by the end of the hall. But even if she couldn’t hold the brush for too long, she would…”

David’s voice drowned out as he continued walking with Jack, not noticing that his daughter stood frozen in her spot while he went on. There were things she knew about her mother’s past, but there were others he had kept hidden. Much like that one sentence, he had muttered absentmindedly to tell the tale of her mother’s demise.

Tears welled in (Y/N)’s eyes once more, this time sprouting from a deep well of emotion that she had trapped inside herself a long time ago. There was a part of her that always knew, that always felt as though she had been the reason her mother had died. But there had never been any confirmation, not a single word spoken to confirm what she had thought. All up until that day. Without even meaning to, her father had opened one of the deepest wounds she thought had healed.

She felt Hotch’s hands on her arms before she heard his voice, her mind hazing over as the thoughts flooded her head, making it close to impossible to focus on reality. “Hey, (Y/N),” he whispered as he cradled her face, bringing her back to the moment. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

“It’s my fault,” she whimpered, her eyes meeting his through a watery gaze. “My mom’s dead because of me.”

“Of course not,” he stated. “She was sick, (Y/N). The cancer got to her, and there was nothing anyone could do. That’s all that happened.”

“They would have found it sooner if she hadn’t been pregnant with me,” she cried. “She could have treated it earlier if it wasn’t because of me!”

Hotchner wrapped his arms around her before she could crumble to the ground, watching as her emotions overtook her. With an already overwhelming day, learning more about her mother’s death had tipped her over. It was then that he could see just how young she still was. As mature and intelligent as she was, she was still starting off in life—not even thirty yet.

“What happened to your mom is not your fault,” he said, his chin resting on her head. “Having you was the choice she wanted to make, and most definitely the right one. From what I can tell, she loved you very much, (Y/N).”

“You were her greatest treasure,” David added, startling the pair apart. “She wanted nothing more than to have you, mia bella. Iris would have given up everything so you were born, and I would have as well.”

“I’ll leave you two to talk,” Hotch whispered to (Y/N), motioning to Jack to get closer. “Let’s go see what’s on TV, okay?”

Once the Hotchner boys were gone, the young woman fell into her father’s open arms, resting her head on his shoulder and allowing him to comfort her in the way she so desperately needed.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” she whimpered quietly. “You always said she got sick after I was born, not while she was still pregnant. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t mean for you to find out this way, little bird,” he sighed, drawing comforting circles on her arm. “I never wanted you to feel guilty for your mother’s death. All I ever wanted was to protect you, sweetheart.”

“She would have probably been alive had she not been pregnant, right?” (Y/N) said. “You’d still have her if it wasn’t for me.”

“I carry a part of her with me every day of my life,” he smiled. “And neither I nor Iris would have it any other way. I couldn’t imagine my life without you, little bird. You are my entire life, just like you were hers.”

David gently led her to the other room as the doorbell rang, kissing her head softly before going to open the door.

Soon enough, the house was filled with more familiar faces sporting flower bouquets and wine bottles, saying hello because there were no other words on a day such as that. All they could offer was their presence and their love, and whatever else they could need.

And at that moment, what they needed was a warm meal and lighthearted conversation. Being with the team was enough to calm (Y/N)’s sadness. At least for the time they were there, she could pretend she was okay.

She sat between Morgan and Hotchner with a gorgeous plate of pasta and roast before her and no appetite. She had spent so much energy already crying that she had nothing left to eat.

“Everything okay, pretty girl?” Derek whispered to her as he noticed her demeanor. “You not gonna eat?”

“I’m not really hungry,” she sighed. “Can’t really stomach anything right now.”

“You wanna get some air?” 

“Maybe after. I don’t wanna interrupt everyone’s dinner.”

“If you’re sure,” he said, squeezing her hand comfortingly. “But you let me know if you need to step away at any point.”

“Thanks, Der,” she smiled. “I appreciate it.”

What neither of them noticed was the piercing stare Hotchner kept on their joined hands. He wasn’t sure where the feeling had come from, but he could feel it bubbling deep inside his gut. Without even thinking, he slipped his arm behind her chair, his fingers softly drawing circles on her shoulder.

“You doing okay?” he found himself whispering to her, his heart quickening as her eyes met his. “It’s been a hell of a day.”

“Yeah, I’m okay,” she smiled. “Just not very hungry.”

“Do you want something lighter? I can get you some crackers and cheese instead.”

“No, I’m fine, really,” she said. “I’ll probably just take this and eat it later tonight.”

“If you’re sure,” he conceded. “Just let me know, and I’ll get it.”

“Thanks, Hotch.”

“Don’t mention it.”

It didn’t go over anyone’s head that the unit chief had kept his arm behind (Y/N)’s chair while they finished dinner. But to them, it was simply a way to keep the grieving woman at bay. No one thought that he was staking a claim on her after that green emotion settled in his chest at Derek’s comfort. Not even he did.

Even after they had all finished eating and had gravitated to the backyard for the last glass of wine, Jack dead asleep on (Y/N)’s lap, Aaron remained close to her. Back on the couch they had been hours before, he kept a protective arm around her back. It didn’t mean anything, he told himself. He simply wanted to make sure she was okay.

Still, his eyes memorized the way the light of the fire danced on her skin, painting her with a warm hue that made her look heavenly. He felt it then, as he watched her take a sip from her wine glass, a smile on her face and his son asleep against her, that flutter in his chest he thought had died with Haley.

At that moment, he blamed it on the alcohol. Aaron couldn’t be feeling what he thought he was for (Y/N). Not only was she his subordinate, but she was the daughter of one of his oldest colleagues and friend—not to mention she was almost half his age. No, he had simply drunk too much, he told himself. His quickening heart rate and the flush that warmed his skin were because he couldn’t tolerate booze like he used to. Nothing more, nothing less.

Suddenly, David tapped on his glass with his ring, calling everyone’s attention and breaking Aaron out of thought. “Well, I want to take a moment to thank all of you for coming over tonight and celebrating Iris’ life with (Y/N) and me,” he said. “I know none of you got to meet her, but I can say with great certainty that she would have loved each and every one of you. Iris was an extraordinary and beautiful woman, and I am glad her legacy lives on in the form of (Y/N). “She was, in a way, the second greatest love of my life. And I say second because she gave me my first,” he said, smiling warmly at his daughter. “I am grateful for the time I had with her and I am immensely blessed to be able to have a piece of her with me for the rest of my life. But I will say, my biggest regret in life will always be not getting the chance to show her just how much I loved her in life and asking her to marry me. If I had to do anything over again, I would have married her the day I met her. I had already bought a ring by the next week, but somehow, I never got the courage to ask her. So, tonight, I wanna raise a glass to Iris Cassidy on the 25th anniversary of her passing. I loved you then and I love you still, mia fiore. Until we meet again, my darling Iris. Salut.”

Everyone raised their glasses, echoing the cheer before taking a sip of their wine. As they did, David pulled out his phone, and a minute later, colorful fireworks adorned the night sky. One after another, they illuminated the darkness in various shapes and colors, marking a true celebration of life.

It was at that moment that Aaron noticed the fresh tears falling from (Y/N)’s eyes. The lights of the fireworks reflected on the streaks of her cheeks, glimmering in an array of colors as she stared at the sky. But it was the first time in the day that her tears were accompanied by a bright smile. And when she found him staring, he couldn’t help but smile back as he hugged her closer to him. Completely ignoring the pitter-patter of his heart as he felt her warmness seep into his body.

The scene was almost like out of a movie. As the fireworks lit up the sky, gentle music played through the backyard speakers. The group talked amongst themselves quietly, engrossed in whatever conversation was important at that moment. It was almost as though the world had stopped. There was no evil lurking behind their doors waiting to be caught. There was only them and that moment in time—frozen, preserved.

But it wasn’t the team that caught the unit chief’s attention. No. It was the young woman next to him who had seemed to drift off to sleep just like his son. Jack had wrapped his arms around (Y/N), resting his head in the crook of her neck while she rested hers on his shoulder. Her eyelids fluttered as she slept, finally comfortable enough to rest—or too tired to stay awake. Still, she looked calm, at peace. And she looked beautiful.

They were thoughts that shouldn’t have been running through Aaron’s head. Not about (Y/N), at least. And definitely not while her father was only a few feet away.

“Guess the day finally caught up to her,” David whispered as he sat next to them. “When she’s like that, all I can see is the little girl that always asked me to read her to sleep. Granted, those days didn’t last long. She learned how to read on her own, and Good Night, Moon, and Oh, The Places You’ll Go didn’t cut it anymore. Treasure those moments, Aaron. They go quicker than you can imagine.”

“Thankfully, Jack has yet to grow out of his kid’s books,” he chuckled softly, highly aware that any move he made could wake (Y/N). “But one thing’s for sure, once they’re down, they’re down, huh.”  

“That’s true,” he laughed. “I want to thank you, Aaron, for being here today. She needed someone, and it wasn’t me. (Y/N) always seems so strong, but she carries her heart on her sleeve and so much hurt on the inside. She needs someone she can rely on.”

“Today was the least I could do after all she’s done for Jack and me,” Aaron smiled, looking down at the sleeping woman. “I owe her a lot.”

“What she does, she doesn’t do it for anything in return,” David said. “She got that from her mother. She’d give the clothes off her own back for anyone that needed it.”

“She really would.”

“I just wished she found someone who could see just how amazing she was. I know this job makes it hard to meet people, but she deserves someone who treats her as special as she is.”

The words made the man tense up, causing (Y/N) to wriggle in her sleep. If he hadn’t known any better, he would think David had read his mind. But coincidences, rare as they may seem, were real.

“You do too, by the way,” the man teased as Aaron thought of a good enough answer to give him. “It’s about time you start dating, too, you know.”

“Here we go again,” he chuckled softly. “I don’t need to date.” Which wasn’t entirely a lie. Especially since the one he was most interested in was not an option. “I’m just focusing on work and Jack. That’s enough.”

“For now,” the older man grinned. “But I guess you’re young enough to still take your time. Just not too much.”

“I’ll take it into consideration.”

“Good,” David said before taking a beat. “But you better leave (Y/N) at home. Looking at you two right now, anyone would think you’re a couple.”

“Yeah,” he chuckled awkwardly. “Wouldn’t want anyone to make that mistake.”

But oh, how he yearned for it to be his reality.

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[callsign-magnolia]

Love In The Dark // Ch. 4

Mature Content 18+

Summary: Iris never realized how much she truly depended on her eyesight until it was gone. But it never really stopped her, just another hurdle to jump over in life. Depending on people was never something she got used to, she still attempts to do things herself. Eventually, her roommate and best friend let's her down, but a tall, sandy brown haired aviator catches her.

Rooster x Blind!OC

Warnings: angst, alcohol, deception? I think that's it, if I missed any let me know!

Word Count: 3.5k

Chapter 3 | Masterlist

As the night wore on Iris grew more comfortable with everyone. She just felt bad because Jake was inside away from his own party when he should be enjoying himself. “Hey Bradley?” She asked. He leaned over from his conversation with Bob and smiled at her. “Yeah?” He almost said it in her ear, his breath brushing her neck. Her mind went fuzzy for a second before she remembered she said his name. “I feel bad that Jake’s inside. It is his party.” Bradley smiled, her kindness striking him in a way he’s never felt before. “He’s just upset.” He noticed Iris’ face fall and he quickly spoke up. “Not with you. Jake feels kinda foolish for not seeing through Mandi’s words.” He said and Iris nodded. “I just hate that he’s not having fun with the rest of us.” She said. “Do you want me to go talk to him?” He asked and Iris sat still for a moment. He could tell the gears were turning in her head. “Would it help if I talked to him?” She didn’t seem too keen on the idea. “No, I can do it.” With that he stood, sliding his chair back under the table. “I’ll be right back. Need anything while I’m up?” He asked, leaning down next to her. “No, I’m good. Thank you, though.” She said, turning her head up to look at him. Bradley was startled by her actions, her nose so close to his and she never even knew it. “Then I’ll be back.” With that he walked into the house. Bradley looked around, not seeing Jake so he made his way up the stairs. He crept down the hallway till he got to Jake’s room. 

He peeked his head inside and saw Jake sitting on the edge with his head hung low. “You okay?” He asked and Jake lifted his head. Dismay was written all over his face and it shocked Bradley a little. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll be fine.” He said. “I didn’t ask if you will be. I asked if you are now.” Jake took a deep breath, surprised by how abrupt Bradley was being. “I feel stupid.” Bradley nodded. “I can see why.” Jake glared at him. “She was so convincing, and then I made myself out to be a total ass to Iris.” Bradley chuckled. “Truth be told, I don’t think Iris actually blames you for that.” He said. “Don’t let it eat you up, Hangman.” Bradley said, getting ready to walk back downstairs. “Truth be told, and I can’t believe I’m saying this. You were too good for her anyway.” They both laughed as Bradley headed back downstairs. He made his way out the back door and chuckled to himself. "Coyote." Rooster said, staring at his friend and fighting the urge to chuckle. Iris was having an intense conversation with Phoenix and Bob, and poor Coyote was trying his best to offer her a drink. "Coyote, man. She can't see you. You're gonna have to tap her shoulder." Rooster said, and Coyote looked at him, brows furrowed. "Why?" Iris heard the entire conversation and chuckled to herself before turning around to face them. "Because I'm blind." Rooster laughed at the look of panic on Coyote's face. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't - " Iris just laughed at him, easing the panic in Coyote's chest. “It’s okay Coyote. I haven’t told you yet.” Iris said as she took the drink from him. “So am I the last to know?” He asked and Iris shook her head. “No, I think there’s one more person I haven’t told.” She said, trying to place who it was. “Mav. I don’t think we’ve mentioned it to him. Or Penny.” 

Iris realized that she hadn't actually told Penny, even though she may have figured it out. “I’ll tell them before it’s time to leave.” Iris said. The night went on and they she managed to tell Mav and Penny. “That explains a lot of things from today. But if you’re totally blind, why the sunglasses?” Mav asked. “The sun can still damage my eyes in ways I can’t notice, so I always make sure to wear them. Plus they can keep the skin around my eyes from wrinkling.” They nodded. Iris tried to hold back her yawn but it was no use, no one can really keep a yawn discreet. Rooster couldn’t help but smile at her as she took her sunglasses off and wiped the corner of her eyes. “Do you want to go?” He whispered to her and she couldn’t hold back her smile. “Are you ready to go?” She asked, not wanting to end his night early if he wasn’t ready. “I’m ready if you are.” He said, smiling at her as she turned to him. “Yeah.” He stood, gently taking her outstretched hand and helping her up. “Well we’re gonna go guys.” Bradley announced and everyone turned to face them. “I really enjoyed meeting you all.” Iris said, offering a wave. Phoenix stood and came over, slowly pulling Iris into a hug and she returned it. “We definitely have to get together sometime.” Iris smiled widely and nodded. “I’d love that.” She responded. “You can get my number from Rooster.” She nodded and everyone else came up to say goodbye before they walked into the house, passing Jake in the kitchen on their way out. “Leaving?” He asked, drying a glass. “Yeah.” Rooster said. “Thank you for the invite, Jake. even though the night kinda blew up.” He just gave Iris a tight smile and nodded. “You’re welcome, Iris.” 

Rooster led Iris outside and to his Bronco. “Careful.” He opened the door and helped her hop in. He stood and leaned over her, buckling her seatbelt for her. “I could’ve done that myself.” Iris said, a small smile on her face. “What kind of gentleman would I be if I let you do it yourself though?” She gave a small laugh as he closed her door gently, walking around and getting in on the driver’s side. Bradley backed out of Jake’s driveway, easing down the road. Iris had a wide smile on her face as he went down the road, the wind blowing through the Bronco had her hair whipping around. Maybe it was a good idea he took the roof off. Bradley turned up the radio, a station that plays mostly seventies and eighties and he was caught off guard as Iris started loudly singing. He couldn’t help but admire her for a moment before laughing and joining her. It wasn’t long before the sun went down and Bradley pulled into the driveway. He cut the Bronco off and sighed. “Mandi’s here.” He said and Iris just shrugged. “I don’t care. Everything is irreconcilable at this point. Our friendship has been going down the drain for a while and this was just the icing on the cake.” Bradley pursed his lips and nodded. “Want me to walk you in?” He asked and she flashed him a large tipsy smile. “Would you please?” He just chuckled and nodded. “Yes, I will.” He got out, coming around and helping her out. “Why don’t you come in for a minute? I’ll get you a water.” She smiled at him and he watched as she walked up onto the porch. He wasn’t thirsty in the slightest but he couldn’t say no. “Okay.” 

Iris punched in the code to the front door and stepped in. “Why don’t you have a seat on the couch and I’ll be back in a minute.” She turned and smiled at him and he agreed before closing the front door. As he turned back he saw Iris take a step and suddenly she was gone, a loud thud and a yelp replacing her physical presence. “Iris?!” He rushed over, finding her face down, attempting to push herself off the floor. “Iris.” He bent down next to her and watched as she lifted her hand to her face, blood covering it as she pulled it away. Immediately her body shook as she cried and Bradley could swear his heart split down the middle. “Oh, Iris.” He took her arm in his and attempted to help her off the floor. Thunderous footsteps shook the house as Mandi came down the stairs and started to laugh as she saw Iris. Bradley’s vision went red as he looked from Mandi out to the living room. “I know you know how to navigate the house but I never thought you’d run through here!” She laughed harder. “You rearranged all the furniture, Mandi! That’s a real shitty move.” Iris had calmed and shook herself free of bradley. “I want you OUT OF MY HOUSE!” Mandi jumped as Iris raised her voice. Mandi knew Iris could get angry but she had never been on the receiving end. “I’ll leave when I pack everything.” Bradley watched as Iris seethed. Even in the dark he could see her hands shaking and a vein in her neck standing out. What Bradley never expected was for Iris to lurch forward, reaching up the staircase and grabbing the back of Mandi’s hair. Bradley reached for her but before he could Iris had already pulled Mandi’s head back and punched her in the temple before letting go. Mandi stumbled back into the wall as Rooster gently laid his hands on Iris’ shoulders, her own hand reaching for his. “What the fuck?!” Mandi yelled, leaning against the wall to keep her balance.

“Get your shit and get the hell out! I don’t want to fucking hear you, and if I do you’re gonna wish all I did was hit you!” Bradley was startled by her reaction, even if it was valid. Mandi rushed upstairs and Bradley spoke up. “Iris.” She turned her head towards him. “Come on, I’ll help you get cleaned up.” Iris stood there for a second, thinking about how she didn’t need his help. But her eyes softened when she realized it wasn’t because he felt obligated, he simply wanted to. “Okay.” He took her arm, leading her to the kitchen. Iris immediately stuck her arm out, feeling around to make sure nothing else was moved in her way. “Is it okay if I help you up on the counter?” Bradley asked and Iris nodded. “Yeah.” Iris turned her back to the counter and Bradley lifted her to sit on it. “Stay there.” Bradley walked away and got a paper towel, soaking it under the faucet before coming back. “Sit still.” Bradley brought his hand up, resting it on the side of her neck before bringing the paper towel up and gently wiping under her nose. They sat in silence as Bradley cleaned her up, making sure there was no blood to be found on her face. When Bradley was done he looked up seeing the tears streaming out of her eyes. Her hands clenched the counter, knuckles white from her grip. “Iris-” “Sorry.” She said, wiping her eyes. “It’s ridiculous I know.” Bradley furrowed his brows. “It’s not ridiculous. It’s completely understandable.” His words made her cry again. Bradley grabbed her arms, slowly pulling her into a hug before she latched onto him. The contact immediately sent her into sobs. Bradley held her for a while, rubbing her back and rocking side to side till she calmed down. 

Mandi grabbed everything she could, setting it all on the couch and coffee table before moving it to her car. Bradley held on to Iris and listened to Mandi’s every move, making sure she only took what was hers and nothing else. Once she was done she walked into the kitchen, slamming her key on the counter. “Here’s your fucking key.” She started out the door and Bradley wanted to yell at her, tell her how big of a bitch she was, but it wouldn’t change anything and he couldn’t let go of Iris in her state. Bradley listened to Mandi’s footsteps listening to her leave and once she did, he turned all his attention to Iris. She continued to cry and Bradley felt for her, not knowing how this situation would truly impact her. After a few moments her crying calmed and she pulled away, wiping her eyes. “I’m sorry, Bradley. I shouldn’t have clung to you like that.” He shook his head, gently grabbing her arms. “Don’t apologize, Iris. This is stressful, I get it.” She sighed, hanging her head low. “Is she actually gone?” Bradley raised a brow and looked towards the dining room. “Sit here and I’ll go look.” She nodded and Bradley walked out, making sure all of Mandi’s stuff was gone and when he peeked out the front window, he saw her car was gone. 

“Yeah, she’s gone.” He said as he walked back into the kitchen. Iris nodded, slowly sliding off the counter. “Thank you for your help Bradley. It means a lot to me.” He nodded. “Do you need my help with anything before I leave?” She shook her head. “Uh no, I think I’m good. Thank you though.” She walked with Bradley towards the front door, hands out in front of her to feel for the furniture. “Do you want my help moving the furniture back?” She shook her head. “No, I’ll get used to it soon.” Bradley furrowed his brows. “Are you sure? I’d hate to leave you with this mess.” She nodded as Bradley opened the front door and she grabbed it. “I’m sure, Bradley. Thank you.” He stepped out onto the front porch as he smiled at her. “Goodnight, Iris.” She gave him a small smile back. “Goodnight, Bradley.” With that she closed the door gently and locked it, and once again Bradley waited till he heard the door lock before walking back to his Bronco. Iris sighed and leaned her head against the door.

 After the drinks she’s had she was sleepy and her nose was still throbbing. She wouldn’t be surprised if it was broken, but Bradley probably would’ve noticed if it was. Iris turned out of the foyer and immediately put her hands out in front of her, slowly walking around the furniture. She bumped into the love seat and a table before she made it to the stairs. Walking upstairs she walked to her bedroom and entered slowly, worried Mandi moved some stuff around in there too. Thankfully it was all the same so she gathered some pajamas for after her shower. The warm water eased her muscles and relaxed her body. Once she got out she changed and crawled into bed. “Alexa, what’s my alarm?” She asked. “You have one alarm at five a.m. and another at six a.m.” She nodded, sliding down into her bed. Everything played through her mind and tears flowed from her eyes. Iris had never been alone for more than a few days before. Now she was alone permanently and the thought was terrifying. A million things could go wrong and she’d be alone and vulnerable. Someone could break in, a fire could start in her kitchen. The thought alone scared her so she got up, making her way downstairs and to the kitchen. She hovered her hand over the stove eyes, making sure she felt no heat and touched the dials, making sure they were all pointed to off before taking a deep breath and going back upstairs. She laid down again, facing the window, moonlight showing on her face. “I’m gonna be okay. Mama always says I’ll figure it out, so I’ll figure it out.” With that she drifted off. 

Iris spent the next few days navigating and learning her living room all over again. Emily would pick her up for work, she’d come home and slowly walk around, figuring everything out. “Are you okay here alone?” Em asked as she helped Iris carry her groceries inside. “Yeah, I’m still adjusting to being alone, but I’ll get used to it.” They set the bags on the counter as Iris started unloading it all. “I’ll go get the rest.” Em said, walking out. Iris left out a bag of ramen for dinner before finishing up. “I can hang around for a while if you want.” Emily said once everything was put away. Iris gave her a small smile. “Thanks, Em. But I’m about to shower and then eat dinner.” Truth be told Iris just wanted to be alone. “Are you sure?” She nodded. “I’m sure. I’m really tired so after I eat I’m just gonna go to bed. I haven’t been sleeping well.” Emily nodded but eyed Iris anyway. “Well, call if you need me. I’ll be over in a heartbeat.” Iris nodded, pulling Emily into a tight hug. “I will, Em. Thank you.” Emily left and Iris did as she said, shower, eat then bed. When she woke up the next morning, the motivation to get up was not there, so she called Emily.

It's been weeks since Mandi moved out, and Iris felt an emptiness in the house she never knew could exist. It was quiet, the kind of quiet that could drive you mad. Iris was still so angry with Mandi, but she also mourned the loss of the friendship they had. Iris hadn’t properly been to work in a while, working the sporadic day here and there before not going for a while. “Good morning!” Emily was always so chirpy in the morning, Iris thought as she laid in her bed. “Hey, Em. Listen, I'm not going in for the next few days. I’m not feeling the best.” Emily furrowed her brows as she pulled her son from his high chair. “Are you okay? Do I need to take you to the doctor?” Iris shook her head and rolled onto her back. “No, I’m just not feeling myself. I think I just need a little time. We don’t have any meetings till next week, but if you need me feel free to call.” Emily nodded but worry settled. “You call me too if you need me.” Iris nodded at her words. “I will.” With that they said goodbye and hung up.  Iris sat on the couch, blanket wrapped around her as she just thought about everything. 

Her doorbell went off, and it tore her from her thoughts. She grabbed her phone, found her ring app, and pulled it up. "Who is it?" She asked. "It's Bradley. I just wanted to check on you." She cracked a small smile at the sound of his voice. She used the app to unlock the door. "It's open." He immediately stepped inside, locking the door behind him before stepping into the living room from the foyer. Iris just sat on the couch, and he just observed her for a minute. Her hair was up in a bun, and her bare legs stuck out from under the blanket she had wrapped around her. The room was dark. No blinds open, no lights on, no sound going. The room was an open expression of how Iris felt. "Hi." She said, and Bradley gave a small smile. "Hi." He responded, walking closer. "So what brings you to this side of town?" She asked, and he shrugged, sitting on the coffee table in front of her. The scent of his cologne and jet fuel invaded her senses, and it was a heavenly smell to her. "I just wanted to check on you. I've hardly heard from you, but I also haven't reached out much, and I'm sorry for that." She shook her head. "It's not your responsibility to check in on me, Bradley." He chuckled. "It's not. But I want to." She gave a half smile, nodding and keeping her head down. "How long have you been sitting like this?” Iris shrugged. “What day is it?” She asked. “Friday.” Her face fell. “Four days.” Bradley’s eyebrows shot up, concern lacing his features. “When was the last time you ate?” He asked. “This morning.” He was relieved to know she hadn’t just stopped eating. 

“Well, are you hungry now?” Iris blushed as her stomach rumbled. “A little.” Rooster smiled. “So am I. Would you wanna join me for dinner?” Iris furrowed her brows. “I appreciate the offer Rooster but I’m sure you can tell, I’m a train wreck.” A very cute train wreck. He thought. “I’m still in my flight suit, my hair is messed up from my helmet and I'm sure you’ve noticed but I reek of jet fuel. We can look like train wrecks together.” Iris fought back tears at his words. “Where would we even go?” She asked him and he smiled. “You like burgers?” He asked and Iris smiled. “Love them.” Rooster couldn’t help but do a little dance in his spot on the coffee table. “I know this great burger place on the beach, you up for it?” Iris thought to herself. She knew it wouldn’t hurt, it would probably do her some good but the thought of actually leaving the house in this state sucked. But her stomach ratted her out, growling again but twice as loud this time. “Okay, I’ll take you up on that offer.” Rooster grinned, gently taking her hand in his. “Then let’s go. I don’t want your stomach eating itself.” Iris laughed loudly as he helped her up. “You’re hilarious.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Taglist: @roosterforme @mygyn @kmc1989 @briseisgone @lyn-js @shanimallina87 @dizzybee03 @lilylilyyyyyy @a-court-of-roscoe-and-baby @jessicab1991 @hu-dk

[kekaki-cupcakes]

hello, are you still doing requests?

if so, could i have some sibling headcanons of nico with a hades kiddo that's really peppy and into colorful things and people find it hard to believe they're siblings at first because their personalities are polar opposites of each other?

thankyou!

Heya, I'm still doing requests but I have so many so it might take a while to get an answer, feel free to request something else though! This kind of went off track but oh well <3

Don't take it to heart---Nico/opposite aesthetics sibling!reader

»»————-　★　————-««

-The minute you skipped up to the porch of the Hades Cabin with your stripey rainbow leg warmers and a tote bag with a stupid pun about a show with something called ‘carebears’, Nico winced.

-He’d need sunglasses if he had to keep looking at you, but he didn’t really want to borrow the big yellow star ones on the end of your nose, so maybe that was a bad idea. Your first interaction went a bit like this:

You: “Heya, you're the emo kid, right? I’m new! So, where’s our cabin?” 

Nico: “Uh… you're supposed to go that way.”

You: “No, that’s the Iris cabin, at least that’s what Chiron said. I’m your new sibling, by the way. Chiron said we have one in Rome too! 

Nico: I- well, yes, I- we do.

You: Are they as grumpy looking as you?

-Needless to say you got off to a great start. Nico proceeded to dump your bags on one of the beds, which has a zebra print doona matching one of your headbands, and then left immediately. You shrugged it off, obviously, and started stacking your things on the coffin shaped bookshelves. You ignored the candle that was supposed to smell like ‘the souls of the damned’, and put your own flowery one next to it. 

-You found out you loved arts and crafts, where you made friendship bracelets with Lacy, as well as pegasi riding. You saw Nico once, and he waved awkwardly, but went back to the small child he was glaring at quickly. You quickly became attached to a creamy coloured mare called macaroni as well, but Butch wouldn’t let her sleep in your cabin. He did take a friendship bracelet, though. And he let you weave daisy chains into macaroni’s mane and tail, so you liked him. 

-You had brought a musty old record player with you after finding out that there was no wifi, but you had to pause ‘Washing Machine Heart’ [by Mitski, of course] when Nico came trudging into the now bright cabin. You’d opened all the curtains and taken the spiders that fell from them outside, dumping them in the bushes behind the Athena cabin. 

-Nico stared at the squishmellows on your bed and then the dreamcatcher by one of the windows, and the row of brightly coloured converse with striped laces lined up by his three different pairs of black Doc Martens. 

-He shrugged his jacket off and went straight into the bathroom, leaving a little trail of muddy footsteps along the heart shaped rug you’d put down.

-He was just adjusting to a roommate, you told yourself. It wasn’t anything to do with you personally. You hadn’t done anything wrong, maybe you should just give him a bit of space. That was a good idea. Leave him alone for a bit until he was used to you, and don’t take it to heart. 

»»————-　★　————-««

-You took it to heart.

»»————-　★　————-««

-Months had passed, and you were thankful for the Ipad Piper [she was so nice, and she let you borrow her Olivia Rodrigo records] lent you so you could facetime the family and friends you had left behind occasionally. They had seemed to adjust to you not being there anymore, now that you knew you were a child of Hades, the outside world was too dangerous to risk. You tried not to take that to heart either.

-Macaroni was getting used to the beaded bridle you’d made her, but you were still training her to get used to flying around while you used your new weapons.

-Nyssa had helped you make them, able to actually craft a design after glancing at you scribbled drawing with glitter gel pens that you really had worked hard on. Now you had a sparkly belt with three attachments, that you could click in your spray cans too. The cans were filled with different coloured paint, only the base liquid was melted down celestial bronze flakes, so when you fought a monster, which you were still learning to do, it would seep into their eyes and turn them blind, or crack through their skin and dissolve them. You loved the spray cans.

-Drew had warmed up to you as well, and you were even invited to Barbie premier night in Cabin ten. You got to wear your sparkly leg warmers and the cropped leather jacket in a light shade of pink.

-You were making your way to the arts and crafts center with a box of clay and little paint brushes in your arms to run the pottery class [you’d been elected as head of arts and crafts pretty quickly, shared with Elsa, one of the Athena kids who specialize in weaving and sewed the cutest pajama pants] when you bumped into Nico.

-Literally. 

-The box may have been a few heads taller than you, so it wasn’t really your fault, but Nico still snapped at you. 

-You gathered up the little tubs of paint from the grass and apologized quickly, your chest tight with anxiety. You hurried away after that, ignoring your brother as he tried to explain he hadn’t realized it was you when he hissed curse words Drew had started teaching Harley and Lacy. 

-The class went well, the scrunchies Elsa was making her girlfriend for her birthday went along well, and a few more kids than usual showed up, taking lumps of clay from the tray and working it into figures on their tables. You were making beads that you’d string onto a bracelet for Nyssa, because she always broke the plastic ones with hammers and drills accidentally.

-You thought back to your interaction with Nico and regretted it dearly. Maybe if you’d just heard him out or even apologized and blamed yourself, he might’ve come to your class to see your works, or sat with you at dinner, or even just waved from across the infirmary when you went to get panadol for your headaches. 

-You knew you got them from straining your eyes to read and draw in the dim cabin, but whenever you opened the curtains or switched on your blue lamp with a cloudy pattern that you hadn’t got to use yet, Nico cleared out completely. 

-It wasn’t your fault, you reminded yourself, you were just… too different.

-People started filing out after putting their creations to the side, you complimented each of their idea’s even though you felt like getting some Ben and Jerry’s from the camp shop and curling up in bed to watch ‘10 Things I Hate About You’ again. 

-The beads for Nyssa were nearly done, so you went to find a container to pop them in.

-When you got back, they had been ground into the bench until the delicate tracing of different things Nyssa likes were just shapeless brown blobs. An Ares kid, Grey, was standing with their arms crossed and a smirk on their face, which was mostly obscured by a nose that had been broken too many times.

-You stared down at the squashed clay and felt your eyes prickle with tears.

-Grey jeered at you, calling you things you’d rather not hear again, because they only made the tears fall. You rubbed your nose and smoothed the front of your tye-dyed camp shirt flat. Grey called after you, something about being a ‘rainbow prissy’. You stumbled out of the center.

-Nico wasn’t in your cabin when you slammed the door behind you, thankfully, and you hopped into bed, kicking your yellow converse off and pulling the doona over your head so you didn’t have to look at the skull filled walls around you.

-It was so dark, it was so dark and shadowy and there were bones you were too scared to ask about their origins lining the mirror in the bathroom you kept seeing things behind you in. Your crocheted blanket that used to sit across the black doona cover had been folded up a while ago and placed back in your suitcase, along with a few of the more multicolored posters and the fruity scented candles that seemed to annoy your half brother. 

-You rubbed your eyes with your sleeves and held your hand over your mouth so Nico wouldn’t hear crying when he would eventually come back a few hours later, late enough that you could pretend to be asleep. 

»»————-　★　————-««

-The infirmary was busy with bleeding and laughing demigods when you wandered in looking for some panadol. Your headache was making it hard to think straight, but whenever you cried too much you got one, so you knew what to do by now. 

-Will waved from over from where he was pulling a ruler, a stapler, and a glue stick out of the stomach of an Iris kid who was giggling the entire time, coughing up glitter. He grimaced when a chunk of glue hit his face. You waved back and turned the corner, heading to the rooms at the back where Austin would be. He usually had the panadol. 

-Someone groaned in the corner, and you spotted Grey. 

-They looked like a soggy bag of a human, their mauled nose the only definable shape. You couldn’t pull your eyes away from the grotesque demigod blob.

-Austin shuffled up behind you with a grimace, passing over a few pills and a glass of water without looking away. You gulped them down quickly as Grey let out another moan and rolled a bit on their hospital bed. Austin told you that he’d been spotted on the floor of the Arts and crafts center. 

-Apparently, every few minutes one of his bones would disappear.

-It was only a few fingers at the start, then most of his ribs couldn’t be found and there was something wrong with his mouth, which Austin found out meant his jaw had decided to not be there. 

-A screechy sound came from the front of the infirmary, and you both looked to the door, which Clarrise was dragging Nico through, holding him up by the back of his jacket. He pummeled at the chunky daughter of Ares, but couldn’t get out of her grip. Clarrise glared around at the staring demigods and snarled, “why is this little shit de-boning Grey?”

-You didn’t know who yelled ‘that’s what she said’ from across the room.

-”Because they deserve it.” Nico hissed a bit like a cat, glaring up at Clarisse with narrowed brown eyes underneath his floppy hair.  

-Will ran up to the pair, brushing glitter off his gloved hands onto his scrubs instead. He folded his arms and stared Clarrise down until she finally let go of Nico, who dropped to the ground and then sprung back up, wrinkling his nose at the daughter of Ares, who just stuck her tongue back out at him. 

-Will pinched his nose, “Clarisse, more people come in here because of you then Nico, so you don’t get to talk. Nico, just fix them, they’re too annoying to be kept in here.”

-”But people deserved to be punched by me,” Clarrise argued with a scoff.

-”And Grey deserves to lose their bones!” Nico shot back, glaring up at Clarisse and balling his fists, “they stepped on my siblings clay stuff!”

»»————-　★　————-««

-You yawned and stretched your arms out above your head, then blinked up at the roof with bleary eyes. The skulls were gone, now it was just black concrete. You rolled over a moment later and stuffed your head back into your pillow, pulling your crocheted blanket back over your head.

-There was a ‘shing’ sound as curtains were yanked open, and you just sunk further into your comfy bed, ignoring the bright beams of early morning sunshine that streamed in and lit up the dark cabin. It made the rainbow rug in the center of the cabin even brighter, and you groaned loudly in protest. “Whaddaya even doing up so early? Go back to bed you vampire!”

-”It’s only six am?”

-”You’re more of a psychopath then I thought before,” you muttered, but made sure you were loud enough that your brother could hear you as he padded round the cabin getting changed and ready for his much too early start to the day. 

-Nico huffed and the bathroom door shut as he completely ignored the hairbrush you’d given him to passive aggressively deal with his scruffy black hair. “Leo forgot the code to the safe in the big house that he changed when he was hiding those icey poles from Piper.”

-”And how are you supposed to help him remember?”

-Nico’s boots were loud on the floorboards as he trotted over. He kissed you on the forehead gently, “oh I’m not, I’m gonna go watch him suffer the consequences with Jason.”

»»————-　★　————-««

[sugawhaaa]

YEONJUN X READER

"I know that he's my ex, but can't two people reconnect?"

《Part. 1》

Pairing:: Yeonjun x fem!reader

Warnings::none

Based off the song "bad idea right" by Olivia Rodrigo

A/N::I've never made a fanfic quite like this and it's about to get GOOOD just keep updated bro

☆-June last year-☆

"Baby listen, please~" Yeonjun pleaded as he held your hands. You had just caught him cheating on you with a girl he told you "not to worry about" but oh this punk was hearing it from you. 

"No! You seriously hooked up with that whore?!" You shouted at him. "We're done." You said as you stomped to the door and went to close it before his hand grabbed it.

"Baby, please I can explain," he started with those big doe eyes. 

"Call me your ex." You shoved his hands off the door and slammed it. You got in your car and drove home. 

☆-September last year-☆

After a loser prom by yourself and a summer of deciding what to do with your future it was officially September. You were taking at least a one gap year before deciding your future. 

☆-December last year-☆

You moved into an apartment that was quite nice and all of your new friends lived in the apartments next to you and one lived right above you. All that considered, you still felt lonely. They all had partners but you were alone in your little apartment. But there was no way that you'd ever consider getting back with him. 

☆-May-☆ 

You were at a party in your friend's dorm for her birthday and there was a lot of boy gossip. You had told them about Yeonjun before but not the whole story. They were super into it and as you told them everything about him you felt yourself daydreaming all of the sudden…

"Wait, is this Choi Yeonjun?" Iris questioned.

"Yup that's the boy," you said as your feet swayed in the air. 

"Oh my boyfriend is friends with him! I have his number~" she grinned. "Wanna talk to him?" She said innocently.

"Girl what? Did you not just hear the story about him?" Your friend Tiamara spoke up.

"Yes, but he's so nice now! I think that break up really woke him up," Iris smiled. You thought for a moment before the rest of your friends shook their heads. 

The next day you asked Iris in private to give you his number. You unblocked him on all of his socials and he started liking your posts. You did the same, swiping through all the photos and double clicking the screen. He had a nice Instagram, it was quite the vibe. You then came upon a post of him crying with a song playing. You felt your heart shatter as you read the caption. The song that was playing was a song made about you. 

You clicked on the audio and found his Spotify. You followed him and looked through his playlists. They were all very calming so you played one. You went back and liked the post about you and went to his DM's and tried to decide what to say to him.

☆-June-☆ 

Today was the big day. The first time you'd be hanging out with Yeonjun since you broke up with him. He invited you to hang out at Starbucks nearby and of course you agreed. You took a deep breath and went out of your apartment. You crawled into your car and pulled out your phone. You messaged Yeonjun

"Omw over now ;)" 

You took another deep breath and started the car. 

You arrived at Starbucks and saw his car parked up at the front. You parked next to him and when you got out of your car you saw him standing by the door in a rainbow plaid shirt with black jeans. You walked up to him and he instantly complimented you. "Your hair looks so nice," he smiled softly and looked down at the ground with pink cheeks. "Your shoes are also really pretty," he rubbed the back of his neck and looked away. You smiled wide.

"Thank you, I got these recently," you said as you looked down at your shoes. You looked up again to see Yeonjun smiling at you.

"Shall we head in now?" He said as he raised his chin and put one of his hands in the pocket of his jeans. He opened the door for you and you walked inside the coffee shop. While waiting in line you thought to yourself "he has changed so much. Whatever could have happened? Or maybe he's trying to win me over again…"

"Y/N?" He spoke and it knocked you out of your thoughts.

"Sorry, yes?" You smiled. 

"What are you going to order?" He asked and you could see a lingering emotion in his eyes. What was that emotion? You couldn't tell.

"Probably a strawberry acai with either lemon or coconut water base," you explained and he nodded. 

"You always did order the strawberry acai," he said softly.

"What was that?" You asked.

"Nothing!" The two of you moved forward in the line and you continued the conversation.

"So what are you going to order?" You smiled as you looked at his puffy lips and big eyes that were scanning the room. 

"Probably an iced americano," he shrugged and you smiled.

"You always did order an iced americano," you grinned and he looked at you surprised before blushing and looking away. Just as he was about to speak, the cashier asked you for your orders. 

When it was time to buy, Yeonjun insisted on paying for your drink and he pulled out his credit card. Just as he was going to pay for both of your drinks you chimed in and said "if you're paying for me I'll pay for you." 

The cashier looked confused. 

"Too late," Yeonjun said before paying. He thanked the cashier and let you pick a seat. The two of you sat down and started some idle chat before Yeonjun's name was called out. He got up and returned with your drinks. "You know…there is another reason I invited you here," he sighed and looked at the table. You got intrigued and set your drink down, the cup escaping your lips. "I was an asshole to you. You were completely right for dumping me the way you did." He sighed as he remenced the memories of the day you broke up. "Basically I'm really sorry for the way I treated you, but don't take what I'm about to say the wrong way," he looked up at you with sincere eyes. You nodded and let him continue "you've also changed. For the better," he chuckled. 

"How so?" You looked confused.

"W-Well usually you'd um," he took a sip of his drink before continuing "You wouldn't offer to pay for my food, like the way you did today. You don't do your nails, or draw or something when we're on call. You know little stuff that means a lot to me," he blushed and took another sip.

"I guess I didn't treat you greatly either…" you said before taking a sip of your acai. "Senior year really wasn't the best time to date…"

"Well we have a new chapter to start," Yeonjun smiled and you found your eyes staring at him. "S-So what have you been doing the past year?" He smiled and leaned forward. You told him a lot about your past year and your future plans which were basically to make money. After a good 20-30 minutes you realized he hadn't said anything about his past year. 

"What's been up with you?" You smiled as you bottomed up your acai. 

"I started making music," he smiled. "I took some classes and got hired at a studio that my aunt works at. It's a pretty big place," he chuckled as your eyes widened.

"Wow you've been awfully successful!" You smiled brightly.

"I guess so, I haven't been making much," he sighed. "With no singing abilities it's kinda hard. I've only been making ost's for anime or video games," he shrugged and you looked up at him with a little idea sparking in your mind.

"That's understandable, but still! You're doing a lot better than me," you chuckled. "You know I was in choir and had some singing lessons for a few years. Maybe I could help you get a start?" 

After about an hour chatting the two of you went to get some breakfast wraps from Tim Hortons and said goodbye. "I'm happy we got things figured out and were able to get back a healthy relationship," he smiled and extended his arms out for a hug. "May I?" He smiled and you hugged him softly. He smelt so good, like Marshmallows. His touch was soft and his hair looked so smooth. You found yourself hugging him for a long time. 

"Are you wearing perfume?" You asked. 

"A little bit," he blushed and rubbed the back of his neck while looking away. You giggled at his cute reaction.

"That's new," you smiled and he looked at you shocked. Yeonjun stared for a moment before resuming. "We should do this again sometime," you smiled. 

"Y-Yeah totally! I had a great time sweet-" he started before looking down slightly shocked. You looked at him confused before sticking back some of his hair behind his ear. 

"Then I'll see you soon," you smiled before heading for your car, "honey," you said before hopping in your car. He looked shocked but he had a big smile on his face. 

[sleepy-sirin]

Incarnation (Honkai Star Rail x Child! Herrscher! Reader)

Summary: In which Y/n, the creation of Will of Honkai, successfully defeated her own creator with the help of her friends. After defeating the Will of Honkai, for using too much of her power she goes into a deep sleep.

Previous | Next Chapter

Chapter 8

Third POV:

Back in Era:ZERO

"E mi et escontina♪

O plenitas o colindia♪

Mi mortis sicle ha juus costro♪

Mawe Poco entalius♪

Gledis clant o pledistiant♪

Enti lai viginse lescayan♪

Mawe poco es vienticlo♪

Taan ma tai la la la♪

La la loo♪"

Y/n sing a song that she discovered and took liking to it. She was at the seashore singing while observing the "God of War" a stronger weapon against the Houkai proposed that Dr. MEI build, and a giant red sting ray (Y/n's real body) is attacking the "God of War".

"Are you still going?" Y/n asked Kiana who was beside her.

"Yeah, MEI is waiting for me." Kiana said to Y/n.

"Will you be coming back?" Y/n asked her.

"Don't worry, I will defeat the Houkai and come back to everyone." Kiana said.

"...... Is that so, it seems that you are still so stubborn......" Y/n watched Kiana walk away from her.

"Goodbye, my beloved Kiana...."

-

Years later

[Huge Houkai outbreak]

[Human civilization has been confirmed destroyed]

[Alaya]

"Begin to implement civilization amendment program..."

"First stage, begin calculations."

-

"E mi et le escontina♪

O plenitas o colindia♪

Mi mortis sicle ha juus costro♪

Mawe poco entalius♪"

".... Sigh. What a boring world..... Always in a hopeless cycle of reincarnation." Y/n said, as she stands up from the sand and went to dive into the deep sea.

"..... to see, an old friend ~" She said. as she made her way to the Stigmata Project.

"Long time no see, is the child ok?" Y/n asked the A.I hologram Infront of her.

"Terminal calculation is in progress, Do not approach." The A.I said.

"What an indifferent machine, it's merly a parasitic remant of human civilization that lives inside me... How ungrateful." Y/n said.

"We are symbiotic, that agreement is still in effect, you have no room for rebuttal." The A.I said.

"Ah... that's right, if it wasn't for that agreement with that child, there wouldn't have been so much trouble." Y/n said.

-

4???? Years ago on the moon

"Sure enough it still didn't work.... You couldn't change anything." Y/n said to Kiana.

"Weather it's humanity, or Houkai...." She said.

"Y/n.... Can I ask you for something...." Kiana said.

"Of course, I'll make all your wishes come true for you. Because that's what I was made for..... To become your lover." Y/n said.

"This time.... Stop joking...." Kiana said.

Y/n chuckles. "Haha, I'm being serious. To become a lover of humanity, to become a lover of Houkai, to become.... Deeply in love with your lovers. I will wait for you, Kiana."

"Whether you remember me or not, no matter what you become. I will keep it for you, the possibility of a future that you want...."

-

Y/n's POV:

Back in the present

"Y/n, will you help us?" Bronya asked me.

"Don't get me wrong. I'm only abandoning the side that will always lose. Lack of tact, that's one of  your human tricks of the trade, isn't it?" I said.

"You will always lose... You can't be the first-" Yssring said.

"I don't know, right?" I said.

"Not as the doomed dead, but as friends." Kiana said. She reaches out hand.

"Let's fight together, Y/n!"

I hold Kiana's hand. "Okay. That's not too bad."

-

"Phemie Iris and Y/n attack the Will's outer body from the outside. You all need to hurry up and destroy the Will's core!" Phemie Iris said.

"The Supervisor of Will has already assimilated the moon and sucked out the power of the Ruler of the End. Plus, there's still a "passageway" that connects the two universes. That allows us to take in an unlimited amount of collapsed energy from the collapsed universe. That Will's power is at its peak, so don't underestimate them." I said to the group.

"Thanks for the heads up, Y/n!" Kiana said.

"But in this realm of the human soul-" Mei said.

"There's no way we can lose!" All of us said.

"Y/n, Why betray us?" The Supervisor of the Will asked me.

"That's a really silly question. You've already calculated and derived the answer, haven't you? You are just like that kid Otto. You have been "rulers" too long. Your wills have been set long ago, you are doomed to defeat." I said.

"I have been waiting for this moment for a long time."

"Obey." The Supervisor of the Will tried to control Y/n but it didn't work.

"It's useless. In this realm, Y/n is not under your control. Now she is not a servant of collapse, she is my friend!" Kiana said.

"Lock on."

"All bullets fired!"

The Supervisor of the Will's tentacles attack at the group. All tentacles were easily obliterated by the attack of mechanical wings and heavily armed rabbits. The power of the attack was far beyond the power of the soldier gods. Ninti became a galloping golden lightning bolt, breaking one by one through the defenses built by the Supervisor of the Will.

"We are nothing but stupid creatures repeating the same mistakes." The Supervisor of the Will said.

"Seele and Sin, their actions actually proved it. People can grow! We will not allow them to be slandered!" Bronya said.

"Humans have been fighting creatures since ancient times, but human history is a history of progress. It's you who don't see it. They really are stupid creatures!" Yssring said.

"The future of our world is full of endless possibilities, but your world is already rigid. Even with the Sacrament- We kept going with our burdens and arrived at this moment of triumph!" Ninti said.

The "black flame" gathered in Kyuushou's hand and became a huge sphere that slammed into the Supervisor of Will. Compared to it, the controller of will looked obviously small.

"Don't screw with humans, overseer of wills!" Kyuushou said.

"Don't make me laugh!" The Supervisor of the Will said.

The destroyed body of the Supervisor of Will was re-built. At the same time, a golden light, similar to that of the law of the end, was emitted from its body, the same golden light as that of the law of the end.

"This guy is till going strong!" Kyuushou said.

"It's just a bluff." Kiana said.

"It's a pseudo-created emotion, but it sounds like the real thing." Mei said.

"Behind me, the energy life forms of the entire collapsed universe are waiting! There is no way we can compete with a mere earth civilization! I will make you regret it from the bottom of my heart!" The Supervisor of the Will said.

All of us attack the Supervisor of the Will with all of our strengths but the Supervisor was too strong to be taken down. The firepower of  Phemie Iris and Y/n is not strong enough.

"Let's just block the "passageway" between the two universes so that guy can't use the disintegrating energy. Because then that guy will be nothing more than a lump of meat the size of the moon." Y/n said.

"How can we do that?" Mei asked.

"It's the opposite of the way the Supervisor of the Will opened the "passage" and sent the first disintegrating energy, me and the first Kiana into this universe. Besides, the distance between two universes is closer now than it used to be so we don't need to start a big war like before to block the "passage"." I said.

"But this knowledge exists only in my main body and in the consciousness structure of the "first you". The "first you" is already gone, and the power of the law giver of the end has been absorbed. So-"

"No, you can't!" Mei said, already know what I was planning to.

"If you do that, Y/n-" Kiana was about to convince me, but she was stopped by me.

"It's okay." I assured Kiana and Mei.

"I've known for a long time... That "Kiana" I am looking for is long gone. I was looking for a version of "her". I also know that I wasn't "special and unique" to you from the beginning." I said. I approache to Kiana.

"But I couldn't ignore my feelings." I put my hand on Kiana's cheek.

"The only one who knows this knowledge, all the power involved in it. Take all of me Kiana." I kissed Kiana gently on her forehead.

Both Kiana and Mei looked shocked at what they saw, seeing me and my main body scattered, glowing with light.

"And this is not a "fusion" mission given by the collapse. It's not due to some meaningless sinecure, either. Just of Y/n as a human being. A final, selfish "love" for you." I said.

"Y/n... You are so selfish, Y/n..." Kiana smiles at Y/n.

Mei chuckles. "Hah... Kiana, you are really loved by everyone. But she saved the day." Mei hugs Kiana tighter, feeling jealous.

Taglist: @starxao