#from the prompts list I reblogged earlier!

[mrsjellymunson]

KNOCK AT THE CABIN | Part Two

Pairing: Eddie Munson x fem!reader

Written for @bettyfrommars, @allthingsjoeq and @somnambulic-thing ’s excellent Stranger Prompts challenge - thank you for this, friends!

Series Summary: After the events of the previous months, everyone is shocked by the unexpected return of an old friend. But how much has he changed?

Chapter summary: Some answers, more questions 😉

WC: ~8.5k

C/W: 18+, MDNI, NSFW, series CW for eventual Eddie Munson x fem!reader smut, post-S4, Upside Down exists, dark/supernatural themes, emotional scenes, eventual friends-to-lovers, descriptions of minor injuries, food/eating, mentions of canon-typical torture/experiments.

A/N: This series contains a lot of themes and scenarios that I haven’t written for before, I’d love to know what you think! Please comment and reblog, it means the world to writers, and reblogs mean work gets seen. Abundant thanks to @the-unforgivenn for beta-ing and playing The Thesaurus Game 😛 This series has a taglist so if you’d like to be on either it or my general one just lemme know in a comment, ask or message, I’d love to have you on board 🙏💙

Prev: Prologue Part One

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You wake earlier than they do, shards of sunlight peeking through Steve’s pathetically thin and badly arranged curtains hitting you straight in the face.

You don’t move initially, enjoying the sound of both boys’ soft, rhythmic breaths, grateful they’ve both had the opportunity to rest and sleep.

You use this moment of stillness to allow the events of the previous night to filter through your consciousness. Eddie’s still here. He’s somewhat warmer than he was, and is still breathing. You’ll take all of those as a win.

His arm is still wrapped around your ribs, his chest against your back. During the night, one of his thighs has made its way between yours, and his hips are now pressed up against the swell of your ass.

You suppose that if you look at it objectively, he’s in a pretty good approximation of the Recovery Position. Good for him. Promoting healing, aiding recovery, and all that.

And you suppose that if you look at it subjectively, having the entire length of Eddie’s body squashed against the entire length of yours, and having his leg pressed against you just there, stirs feelings that are inappropriate for you to be having right now. Such as how much you’re enjoying it. How safe you feel. How much you wish there weren’t even these small, thin pieces of fabric separating you from him…

He snuffles behind you, groaning softly, and his arm contracts, pulling you even closer to him. You’d much prefer it was more than just the involuntary tensing of a waking man that’s causing him to do this, but push that thought to the back of your mind.

You slowly turn your head as far as you can, only able to see a little of him out of the corner of your eye. His hair is fuzzy as hell, but that’s the least of your concerns right now.

In what you hope is a soft and comforting voice, you ask,

“Morning, big guy. How’re you feeling?”

Eddie’s voice is cracked and broken, like he hasn’t used it in a while. It’s gravelly and low as he mumbles,

“Mmf. A little sore, but warm. God, it feels so good to be warm…”

His arm clenches around you again, and he pushes his face into the back of your neck.

Trying to cover an unbidden moan, and inject some levity, you reply,

“Well, thank goodness for that, otherwise all of mine and Steve’s efforts last night would’ve been for nothing.”

Eddie shifts, starting to get a sense of where he is and the situation he’s found himself in. It causes Steve to stir behind him and let out a little groan of his own, and you feel Eddie freeze.

Trying to calm him and keep this obviously bizarre situation simple and light, you mumble,

“Yeah, body heat seemed to be the best way to keep you warm. I don’t suppose waking up naked between me and Harrington was on your bucket list, right?”

Eddie’s cheeks don’t exactly flush (going from pale grey to pale pink far too much of a gradient to be entirely achievable right now), but you do notice a little warmth appear in them.

Eddie jests, at least you think he’s jesting, as his grip around you tightens again, stronger this time as his muscles wake up, and he chuckles lightly as he smooshes his face into your hair,

“Well, it's definitely not the worst place I’ve ever woken up.”

This rouses Steve enough that he’s now fully awake, and he seems to remember where he is too. He moves away from Eddie and sits up, rubbing his eyes and yawning. Glancing over, he mumbles,

“Hey, man. So, there’s literally hundreds of things I wanna ask you right now, but I guess I’ll start with, uh, how are you?”

Steve’s face contorts with a mix of incredulity and embarrassment at the utter banality of the question he just asked.

Unfazed, Eddie replies,

“Honestly, dude? I’m not entirely sure…”

He tries to shift his legs to sit up, but realises how enmeshed they are with yours, and inadvertently pushes his thigh up even closer to you.

Steve continues, unable to stop himself.

“What happened? Where have you been? How did you even get here?”

Eddie lets out a long, low exhale.

Finally picking up on how tired Eddie still is, and how tangled your and Eddie’s limbs are, you guess Steve decides he doesn’t want to get into any of that right now and declares,

“Y’know what, I’m gonna go make coffee.”

He grabs some sweats and a crumpled tee, and heads out towards the kitchen, leaving you and Eddie alone.

Fuck, this is awkward.

After a short pause, you mumble,

“Yeah, I suppose we should get up too. The kids are gonna be beside themselves, I’d prepare yourself for a barrage of questions if I were you.”

Exhaling, you somewhat reluctantly extricate yourself from Eddie’s embrace, sitting on the edge of the bed and reaching for the pile of clothes you’re grateful you had the foresight to put out last night.

Pulling on jeans, a worn t-shirt and a woollen jumper, you sit back down and turn to Eddie, who’s now leaning up against Steve’s battered headboard, sheets bunched around his waist.

You notice his eyes are still sunken and red-rimmed, but he’s lost some of the sallowness that he had last night, and his features are significantly more relaxed.

As he sits up you have the chance to observe his torso properly. He’s thinner, and much paler, than the boy you remember. The odd appearance of his musculature that you could see last night is still abundantly present.

And there are scars. Lots of scars. They vary in appearance and colour, rough slashes and violent starbursts, in silvery white, muted pinks and shades of angry purples and reds. Some look smooth and well-healed, whilst others are raised and jagged. Some transect the inked designs you came to know so well, and it looks like he might’ve lost a nipple.

Realising you’ve been staring, you tear your eyes away and move them instead to Eddie’s face. He looks terrified, like he’s worried you’re going to find him abhorrent and run away screaming.

He starts to reach for the covers, to cover himself, but you lunge forwards and grab one of his hands in yours. You don’t break his gaze as you tell him,

“It’s okay, Eddie. You don’t have to hide yourself from me.”

His face softens, but his eyebrows remain pinched and his lips are still pressed tightly together.

Finally looking down as you stroke over his hand with both of yours, you notice that the wounds that you bathed and tended to only a few hours ago are practically healed, only a few areas of redness remaining where there were bleeding gashes and scarlet grazes. Some have almost disappeared.

You decide not to focus on this and concentrate instead on the fact that your friend, your best friend, the one you all thought was dead, is back with you here, right now.

Grasping his hand in both of yours, you murmur,

“However it happened, it’s really, really good to have you back, you know.”

He smiles then, and although it reaches his eyes, it does little to lift the grey pallor of his face.

He brings his other hand over, and as he rubs his thumbs over your knuckles he notices the ring on your thumb. He runs a pad over the contours of the skull.

“You- You kept this?”

“Of course! I wear it every day. It helps me remember my best friend.” Your voice gets quiet as you add, unsure whether you’re overstepping.

“It helps keep you close to me.”

You hold each other's gaze for a beat too long, and Eddie’s lips open as if he’s going to say something.

Before he has the chance, a ball of anxiety rises in your throat, and you decide you can’t take the risk of him… what?

Telling you you’re stupid? That it doesn’t mean anything? That he wants his ring back?

You know none of this sounds like anything Eddie would say, but in your fragile, exhausted state you need to protect yourself from the risk of emotional harm, no matter how small.

You remove your hand from his and bend to retrieve the clothes Steve left for him, reasoning with a small smile,

“We don’t want you getting cold again, right?”

Eddie starts to dress, grunting a little as his limbs start working again. He only has time to pull on the worn sweatshirt when the door bursts open and the kids rush in. Dustin first, swiftly followed by Mike and Lucas, whilst Will and Jane hang back in the doorway.

The three teens leap, grinning, onto Steve’s bed, whooping and hollering and rolling around. They’re full of questions and theories and tales of what they’ve been doing whilst he’s been gone, all talking over one another.

Whilst Eddie is smiling and laughing and you can tell he’s buoyed by their love and exuberance, you also know he still needs to recover from last night, let alone whatever else he might have been through these past few weeks. So after a few minutes you shoo them out, instructing them to go help Steve make breakfast.

Dustin’s the last to leave, pausing in the doorway as he turns back, running his hand down his cheek and saying, with an infinitely adoring expression on his face,

“I can’t believe you’re here, man. It’s so good to have you back.”

They share friendly smiles before Dustin turns on his heel and follows the others, his voice decreasing in volume as he heads down the hallway yelling,

“I’m on toast duty today! You guys ate all the good peanut butter last time…”

You both snicker at their antics, Eddie shaking his head a little.

You want to say more, but settle for,

“They missed you. We all did.”

Eddie furrows his eyebrows and rolls his lips inwards into a tight-lipped smile, and you sense that he’s just as emotional as you all are.

He continues dressing, and you’re relieved the kids didn’t see Eddie’s scars, for all their sakes. You’re not sure whether they’re ready to revisit what happened in the Upside Down, and you don't want Eddie’s first day back with you all to involve him having to uncomfortably explain where they all came from.

He dons the rest of the unfamiliar clothing, and eventually stands, facing you. He spreads his arms wide and pulls a goofy face, raising his eyebrows high and flattening his mouth into a thin line, knowing how unlike ‘him’ he must look right now.

You never imagined you’d ever see your favourite black-loving metalhead in an oversized heather grey Hawkins Athletic sweatshirt, worn navy sweatpants and fluffy white sports socks, but needs must, and at least it’s all clean and he’s staying warm.

There’s a crash in the kitchen, startling both of you, but it prompts you to suggest,

“Come on, let’s go see what chaos those guys are causing.”

You direct him to the front of the house, and as Eddie shuffles into the kitchen all eyes turn to him. You see the kids take in his fluffy hair and new garb. He notices and, preemptively gesturing to himself and in a very close approximation of his Dungeon Master voice, says,

“If anyone says anything about this, I swear I will kill you. Got it?”

Mike and Lucas try to act like they weren’t even looking, and Dustin raises his hands in supplication. Jane laughs at the boys’ responses and Will smirks at the shenanigans, and you’re certain he and Eddie are going to get along just fine.

The kids have made everyone a simple breakfast of boiled eggs, toast and fresh oatmeal and they bring it to the large farmhouse-style table as everyone gets situated. Craving his proximity, you take the chair next to Eddie. Steve’s made a large pot of hot coffee, which is swiftly devoured by the four adults and almost instantly requires replenishment.

The kids want to fill Eddie in on, well, everything. Over breakfast there’s much chatter about what’s been happening in town, how the three of you ended up staying here, how kind and supportive Wayne and Owens have been, even a somewhat discombobulating discussion of what Eddie’s funeral was like. Plus there’s tales from the boys about D&D and stuff that’s important to the teens, most of which you zone out of.

Eddie is also properly introduced to the two he doesn’t know. He greets Will with a broad smile and claps both his hands around the boy’s slender one, a symbolic gesture full of characteristic Eddie warmth, welcoming another sheep even though this particular one has known the others for many years.

You don’t think anyone else notices, but you don’t miss the moment of extended eye contact and tiny nods that are exchanged between him and Jane, as they are introduced and shake hands.

Eddie seems to have a good appetite, devouring four warm, runny-yolked eggs, three slices of toast slathered with butter and jelly, and two large bowls of oatmeal with honey and syrup in rapid succession.

There’s some syrup on his chin when he’s finished. You want to clean it off with your thumb and suck it into your mouth, but you resist the urge.

The food cheers him, even seems to put a little colour in Eddie’s cheeks. Well, perhaps not colour exactly, but a move from grey to white is certainly progress. It’s hardly Cordon Bleu cuisine, but Eddie’s hoovered it up like it’s the best meal he’s ever had. You wonder what he’s been surviving on all this time to make such simple stuff seem so luxurious.

Coffee mugs are refreshed, the table is cleared, and there follows a semi-formal exchange of the personal items of Eddie’s that are in the cabin. Lucas returns his pocket knife, which Eddie thanks him for with a bro handshake and a half-hug, and Dustin gets down on one knee and presents him with his wallet chain on outstretched hands, as if he’s presenting a weapon or battle trophy to his commander. Eddie ruffles his hair and brings him in for a crushing bear hug.

Robin and Steve return his crucifix and boar’s head rings, which he dons, and you can’t help noticing that they’re slightly looser than they used to be. You’re grateful nobody questions why you don’t return the skull ring to him, or seems to notice the knowing glance and small smile that he gives you.

Dishes are cleaned and yet more coffee is brewed, and you head to the utility room to see how Eddie’s clothes are doing in the (noisy, and possibly unsafe) drier. As you return there’s a lull in the conversation.

Ever the direct one, Robin can’t stand the not knowing any longer, and as Steve pours the next round of coffees she blurts,

“So, what the fuck happened? We thought you were dead. You were dead. They fucking buried you!”

The kitchen falls silent for a moment, nobody sure how much Eddie wants to divulge or relive.

He wraps his palms around his steaming mug, and takes a long, slow, deep breath in and out before he starts talking.

“I don’t remember much after that night with the, uh, Demobats. I kinda remember being jostled into a van, or a military-type vehicle maybe? And tubes, bright lights, people shouting…

“The next thing I know, I’m in some kind of lab, a poky room with a tiny cot and metal furniture, and people coming in at all hours to prod at me and stick me with needles. They did all sorts of tests and injected me with shit, and they wouldn’t tell me what any of it was.

“I’m not sure whether it’s a good or a bad thing that I can’t remember a lot of detail. It’s mostly just pain, agony, and being either chained or locked up. And screaming, so much screaming... Whether that was me or the others, I don’t know.”

You interject,

“There- There were others?”

He nods slowly.

“Yeah, definitely more than just me. I have no idea how many, who they were, what happened to them...”

His hands start trembling, and he lets go of the mug that’s started to shake in his grip, quickly putting his hands in his lap.

“I think the injections they were giving me were concoctions made from the… things they found… down there.

“Owens visited me a couple of times. He said he didn’t like what was being done to me but he wasn’t able to change anything. The last time I saw him he told me he was being transferred to a different site and didn’t think he’d be able to visit again, but he wanted me to know there was someone on his side.”

There’s a brief pause before he continues,

“The last, uhh, experiment was the worst-”

Eddie screws up his face and clenches his teeth at the memory, and balls up one fist, bringing it up to his pursed lips. He squeezes his eyes closed, and a tear appears at the corner of one eye.

You don’t know whether it’s the right thing to do, but you grab his other hand under the table, hoping it’ll give him comfort but fully expecting him to flinch away.

He doesn’t, and his hand clamps around yours in a fierce grip, almost crushing it.

Voice trembling and breaking, he continues.

“It was- Jesus H Christ- it was like liquid fucking fire. All I remember was feeling like they’d injected me with molten lava, and then there was so much shouting, and hands holding me down, and then everything went black...”

He pauses, and nobody else speaks.

Steve swallows, the tap drips into the sink and Robin’s rings clink softly against her coffee mug as she turns it anxiously.

“And then… And then the next thing I remember is coming to, and feeling cold, so- so fucking cold. And darkness, absolute darkness. And I was so scared, and I just started scraping and scratching at whatever was over me, and just kept scrabbling and digging until… there wasn’t anything over me anymore.”

You’re all stunned.

Someone says a quiet ‘fuck’, and you think you hear a sob, perhaps from Dustin.

Steve remains silent but runs a hand through his hair, palm coming to rest over his mouth, and Robin mutters a soft,

“Shit, Eddie.”

You all realise that Eddie wasn’t lying on a slab at all for these past two months, but was being experimented on, and it takes a long moment to sink in.

Eventually, Eddie says,

“Fuck. They really buried me, huh?”

To illustrate his point and as an attempt to inject some humour into the moment, he loosely combs his fingers through his fluffy locks and asks, “When I got here, did I have stuff in my hair?”

There are a few chuckles, and someone throws a balled up paper napkin at him.

There’s another short pause where nobody says anything, but then it’s like a dam breaks and everyone starts talking at once. Robin and Steve make comparisons with the Russians, the kids offer D&D analogies and half-baked scientific theories, and people ask Will and Jane what they think.

For the rest of the morning much discussion ensues, as well as the consumption of store-brand cookies and even more coffee, and you all try to fill in the blanks. Whilst some of the kids interject with ideas and suggestions, others sit quietly, mostly listening. You wonder quite how much secondhand trauma this is going to cause all of them.

As a group you eventually surmise that some shadowy branch of the military was battering Eddie and the others with all sorts of tests, and injecting them with unknown substances, goals unknown and refusing to tell anyone what they were.

Owens clearly never agreed with their approach, and it sounds like he tried to distance himself as much as possible.

The military finally took their experiments too far. Thinking they’d killed him, they eventually released Eddie’s body to his only family, Wayne, and allowed him to be buried.

Unbeknownst to them, their final experiment was the most successful, it just took longer to manifest than the others. Weeks, in fact. Just long enough for the scientists (if you could even call them that) to lose any expectation of a recovery, and for Owens and Wayne to organise a funeral.

Eddie had awoken, dazed, trapped and freezing and with no idea where he was, and had somehow managed to smash the lid of his coffin and scramble his way to the surface. On a rainy night, miles from anywhere.

Finally, Mike is the first to ask the question you think most of you have been contemplating.

“Dude, how did you even find us?”

At particularly painful points in his oration, Eddie has looked to you, seemingly finding comfort in your face, and his gaze doesn’t leave yours as he replies,

“Honestly? I don’t really know. I just had this… feeling… that I needed to come in this direction. And the closer I got, the more certain I was that this is where I’d find you.” Hurriedly, he looks around the rest of the group and adds, “Find you all.”

He carefully lays the hand not holding yours flat onto the table, and, eyes fixed on the faded floral tablecloth, he chokes back a sob as he asks a question that he’s clearly been holding back.

“Why didn’t anyone- Why didn’t you come find me?”

Robin grabs his hand across the table, wrapping it in both of hers, holding it tightly. There’s a beat of silence before she speaks.

“W-we didn’t know! They didn’t tell us anything about any lab. We thought you were dead. Eddie, that first night? They told us you’d died!”

Her voice cracks on the last word, and you see tears start to slowly run down her cheeks.

Eddie chokes, and his eyes lift to the ceiling.

Dustin’s the first to move as he scrapes his chair back and sprints around to Eddie, enveloping his shoulders and neck in a clumsy but aggressively enthusiastic hug as he mumbles into his friend’s shoulder,

“But you’re not dead. You’re not. You’re here, with us, now. You’re back, Eddie, you’re back...”

Lucas stands too, ruffling Eddie’s hair and half-hugging the top of his head with one arm, leaning his cheek against Eddie’s curls, and you lean into Eddie, placing your forehead against the side of his bicep.

Steve turns from where he’s been brewing even more coffee, and moves to place his hand on a patch of shoulder not covered by Dustin or Lucas, patting softly. As he turns back to the stove he comments,

“Yeah, man. D’you really think we wouldn’t’ve come got you? Fuck those guys and all their crappy experiments. No one does that to a member of The Party.”

You simultaneously feel Eddie’s grip on your hand tighten, and the rest of his body relax. Many of you are crying, the sleeves of Eddie’s sweater darkening in patches from the wet plops of Dustin’s tears.

Will and Jane are affected too, and you see their faces soften as they clasp each other's hands under the table.

Eddie’s breath deepens as he absorbs the love and affection of his friends. You guess he’s not used to this much positive attention, and has clearly received even less over the last few weeks.

You all sit in silence for a few long moments, allowing all this new information to sink in and emotions to settle.

Eventually the noise of the stove and the clattering of coffee supplies, together with a strong gust of wind and the increased pattering of leaves against the window, brings you all back to the room.

Eddie seems to have processed everything faster than the rest of you, his emotions shifting, and as Steve pours more coffee he becomes agitated, slamming his fists on the table, startling all of you with the ferocity of his movements.

You guess he’s angry not only at the testing he underwent, but that they lied to all of you, and let him feel hopeless, like nobody cared.

The kids move back as he stands and starts pacing, running his hands through his already-frizzy hair and shaking his head.

“FUCK! Those bastards! Not only did they use me as some kind of twisted lab rat, but they didn’t even tell you guys I was alive? And they let me think that none of you cared enough to come find me, visit me, get me out? GODDAMMIT!”

He slams a palm into the doorframe, and you all jump a little.

Turning back to the room, Eddie notices the effect he’s having on everyone, and, rubbing the back of his neck, says,

“I think I’m gonna go take a walk…”

He moves towards the back door, the expanse of the disused field behind the cabin seemingly the ideal place for him to get his head together.

But, spying the large axe leaning against the frame, he has a better idea.

“Hey, uh, do you guys have, like, logs ‘n’ shit that need chopping? I really need to, um, work through some stuff. Besides, it’s probably the least I can do, given how much heat and hot water I’ve already cost you all.”

He gives a sheepish snort and brings his hand to his face again.

It’s you who speaks first.

“Are you sure, Eddie? I mean, it’s been a stressful few days. Are you okay to be doing something so… physical?”

“Yeah, yeah… I’m feeling a little… pent up. Could do with working some of it off, y’know?”

You nod, figuring all of you are going to need different ways to process this whole bizarre and unsettling situation.

Dustin and Mike find some old tan workboots in a closet, presumably left by the previous owner. They don’t fit perfectly, and it looks like something may have nested in one of them at some point, but they’ll do for now. Eddie pulls them on over his loaned sweats and socks, leaving them unlaced.

Robin offers him his leather jacket. She’s obviously had a go at cleaning off as much of the mud as she can, but you can all tell it’s never going to be quite the same. At least it’s dry now, and Eddie takes it gratefully.

He grabs the old axe and the small hatchet that you use to chop kindling, unlocks the back door and steps outside, closing it behind him.

Dustin wants to go out to him, but Robin grabs him and holds him in a tight hug, explaining that he needs some time to process stuff.

The others give him space, some staying at the kitchen table to process their thoughts, others retreating to the living room and diverting their thoughts with the crackling cartoons that break through the terrible TV signal.

You choose to keep an eye on Eddie, staying back a little from the back door so as not to alarm him, but keeping him within your eye line.

You see Eddie pace a little, muttering to himself, then he shakes his head as if to clear it.

He turns to the log pile and hefts the axe a couple of times, getting the feel of it. He lifts a couple of modestly sized logs onto the stump, wielding the axe above his head and splitting them easily. Almost… effortlessly.

He chops a few more, flinging them into a pile with ease, then moves to lift a few larger ones, breezing through them with the same ‘hot knife through butter’ nonchalance.

It’s the most physical activity you’ve ever seen him do, aside from lifting the odd amp or two, which always left him puffed out. But he’s sailing through the woodpile with barely any exertion.

You can see he’s still processing the contents of your morning, as his features screw up occasionally and grumbled words and what are probably profanities spill from his lips.

As he hefts the axe through the tough logs you can see his eyes are getting redder, and his skin appears paler. You can’t see his body, but the tendons on his hands and neck are popping starkly underneath his translucent skin. And, the wind has picked up considerably since he’s been outside, whipping loose leaves and twigs around the cabin just like it did last night.

Eventually, he starts on the biggest, gnarliest logs. The ones you guys would only attempt when you really, really needed the firewood.

You hear grunts, muffled by the back door, as he works the tougher wood.

The axe gets stuck partway through a particularly thick log, and with an animalistic grunt Eddie yanks the blade from it. Easily lifting the log in his arms, he notches his long fingers into the groove and, in a move that startles you, he rips it into two pieces with his bare hands.

By the back door you suppress a gasp, your hand flying across your mouth and your eyes going wide. You’re not sure whether you should go to him, try to comfort him, or leave him to work through this in whatever way he needs to.

You don’t get the chance to decide, as he finally gets to a particularly old and knotty log that none of you have been able to get anywhere close to splitting. As Eddie slams the axe down into it with a ferocity you didn’t think was possible, he gets it far further than any of you have so far, but again, the blade gets stuck.

The wind picks up even more, as Eddie picks up the axe, log attached, and heaves it around his head, sending it spinning across the back field as he lets out a loud, feral and painful-sounding yell.

Breathing deep for a couple of moments, he runs a hand down his face and begins to trudge across the bumpy earth to retrieve it, coping easily with the rough and uneven ground of the ploughed field and his ill-fitting boots. You can see he’s still yelling expletives and occasionally waving his arms and shouting up into the sky.

The distance that he’s managed to throw the axe is substantial enough that he shrinks in your field of vision by the time he reaches it. You can no longer make out his expression, but as he comes to a halt you do see him bend over and place his hands on his knees, watching his back heave as he takes a few more deep, steadying breaths.

He lifts the axe and heaves both it and the attached heavy log easily over his shoulder with one hand. You consider that you’ve never seen him lift anything with such ease, save maybe his leather jacket, flung over his back, dangling it from one finger on a hot day.

As he turns and starts making his way back to the house, you notice that the wind has started to die down and is whipping less of Eddie’s hair around his face, and leaves and twigs begin to fall to the ground.

You hadn’t realised Jane had come to join you at the back door. Despite not directly knowing Eddie before, she says, in her characteristically deadpan voice, “He is… different now. Isn’t he?”

You purse your lips and nod, quick and small, and find it remarkable that this seemingly awkward young woman, who’s endured so much at the hands of so many, has developed such insight and tenderness.

After removing the axe from the gnarly chunk of wood and placing it by the back door, Eddie spends a few minutes arranging the logs he’s split into neat piles beneath the small shelter. The skin around his eyes is less red now, and his general demeanour seems more relaxed, controlled. Perhaps this has helped after all.

He takes a couple of breaths and composes himself before he heads back towards the door, holding the axe in one hand and a stack of logs atop his other arm.

Bashful, and conscious that you’d rather he didn’t know that you’ve been watching him the entire time, you take a few steps backwards and make like you’re just now coming to the door, opening it for him with a broad smile and directing him to the place in the living room where you store the wood for the fire, thanking him for his efforts.

As he places the last of the wood and starts to take off his jacket, you notice that his hands are again torn and bloody, splinters sticking out every which way and an angry-looking blister on one palm.

You assume that he’s reopened his wounds from last night, but the positions and patterns don’t match up. Everything from last night has almost completely healed, and these are all new.

Regardless of the peculiarities, they need attention, so you instruct him,

“Come with me, let’s get you cleaned up.”

You send him to your bedroom as you grab some washcloths, a bowl of warm water and the first aid kit from the bathroom.

You sit him up against your headboard, setting up your supplies on the comforter. Figuring it’s the most practical position for you to be in, you straddle his knees and begin dabbing at his cut and splintered hands with antiseptic. Realising there’s too much debris in the way, and wincing at the sheer size and quantity of them, you grab some tweezers, removing the splinters of various sizes that have embedded into his fingers and palms.

As you swap back to using the wet cloths and begin cleaning the blood from his skin, you’re perhaps less surprised than you should be to find that the new injuries have already stopped bleeding, and some of the smaller ones even appear to be closing up, apparently heading the same way as the cuts on his face and feet from whatever happened last night.

You work quietly for a few moments before your curiosity gets the better of you.

“Eddie?”

“Hmm?”

“What was that? Outside, just now? You seem…”

“Different? Yeah, I know… Don’t ask me how it happened, but I feel different too. Stronger, faster…”

He glances at you through his bangs.

“Less in control…”

His brow is furrowed as he holds your gaze, and you guess he’s waiting for you to back off. You don’t.

“I guess they… changed me.”

You move to touch his chin gently with one hand, wanting to reassure him. You realise that by telling him this you’re going to reveal that you were watching him, but you forge ahead anyway.

“Listen, I’m not gonna pretend that whatever it is that I just saw wasn’t a little… unnerving. But I’ve never felt unsafe around you. Quite the opposite, in fact. And that hasn’t changed. I don’t think it ever will.”

He refuses to meet your gaze, and twists his battered hands together in his lap, seemingly fighting with himself.

“I should go. Leave you guys. You’re not safe with me here.”

A vice grip seizes your chest. All logic leaves you, and the only thing you can think about is never letting him go again.

“Eddie, no!”

“I don’t really know what their plan was, but I’m guessing they were trying to make me into a super soldier, or something. They’re not gonna stop. As soon as they find out what happened at the cemetery, they’re gonna try to find me. And if I could find you, they can find me.”

A ball of anxiety forms in you. You can’t let him go. You just can’t.

“I thought you were dead, we all did. I’ve only just found you again, after I thought I’d lost you forever. Please don’t say you’re going to leave?”

Your voice cracks and you swallow back a sob. You lurch forward and grip both of his hands with all the strength you have left, not caring that you’re getting his blood on you, and might even be hurting him.

If Eddie feels any pain, he doesn't flinch. But the sight of you falling to pieces in front of him, because of him, is apparently something he can’t bear.

“Okay, I won’t. I’ll stay tonight, at least. Then we’ll try to figure something out. Maybe contact Owens, see if he knows anything. Alright?”

He raises his head and looks into your eyes now, as you snuffle a little and manage a small smile. He’s yours for tonight, at least.

No, not exactly yours, you have to remind yourself. He’s safe, with all of you, for tonight, at least.

Something else decides to jostle for prominence in your mind, and you ask him, quietly,

“How did you find us? Really. How did you know where to go?”

Eddie takes a deep breath before shifting slightly, and he returns the grip on your hands.

You think you hear a little trepidation in his voice as he speaks.

“I don’t know if this is going to sound crazy, but… what doesn’t these days, right? It’s like- Even before… everything, it’s like every time I left you I left a part of my soul with you. And… it would stay with you all the time we were apart. And then whenever I was with you I’d find it again. That’s how I found you. It was like I was searching for a piece of myself, and somehow I just knew where to find it.”

He goes quiet, dropping his chin to his chest again.

His words play on a loop in your head. Even before… I left a part of my soul with you… and whenever I was with you I’d find it...

You shift forwards even more, closing the gap between you, and the movement makes you become acutely aware of your proximity. You become conscious of the feel of his firm thighs between yours, how good it feels. How, for the second time in less than twenty four hours, you wish there weren’t these thin pieces of fabric between you.

Something sparks in your chest: Could he feel the same way as you?

Your voice trembles as you practically beg him,

“I don't want you ever to leave, Eddie. I don’t want us to ever be apart, and always be there for each other. I don’t want you to ever be missing a part of your soul again. I want to be with you, always.”

Eddie huffs out a sob of his own, lifting your hands to his and nuzzling his face into your knuckles. He takes one and slowly turns his head until his round nose connects with your curled fingers. And then, ever so slowly, he connects his lips with the soft, sensitive skin on your palm.

Tentatively, he moves a little and purses them against the inside of your wrist, lightly pressing them there, inhaling deeply and his breath shuddering slightly as he inhales your scent.

You notice both of your breathing has quickened. You can feel Eddie’s as it passes over your skin, and you feel your heartbeat in your throat.

Eddie looks over at you. His body may have changed in myriad ways, but his eyes remain the same. They’re still the huge, beautiful, warm pools of cacao that have drawn you in since the moment you met. It’s the tether that makes you realise that no matter how else he might’ve changed, deep down he’s still Eddie. Your Eddie.

You move your other hand, gently taking his wrist, and move his free hand up to your face. You close your eyes as you softly kiss his palm, and then move his hand to cup your cheek.

Gently, almost imperceptibly, Eddie moves his thumb and touches it to the very corner of your mouth. You feel a heat in your belly and you turn your head towards it, skimming it over your lips.

Your eyes flick between his chocolate orbs as Eddie bends his thumb ever so slightly. The pad of it pulls at the plush of your lower lip a tiny amount, but it’s enough to create a gap.

Without thinking you start to open your jaw, and he begins to move forwards. As he pushes into your waiting mouth all you can think about is tasting him, and your tongue starts to move. Just as the tip of it is about to make contact with Eddie’s thumb, there’s a jarring yell.

“Hey, everybody! Grub’s up!”

You pull apart with a start, both inhaling sharply.

It’s Robin, calling from the kitchen. Of course you’re grateful that the mums never allow the kids to arrive empty handed, but a large part of you wishes that you and Eddie could’ve had just a little more time to explore… whatever this is.

You let out nervous chuckles as you smile softly at one another, and hold each other’s gaze for probably little longer than is strictly necessary before you gather up the medical supplies and you both stand.

You can’t help but take Eddie’s hand in yours as you pull him towards the kitchen, encouraging him to follow lest he misses out on the delicacy that is Dustin’s mom’s substantial contribution.

“C’mon, Claudia’s lasagnas are totally legendary. It may sound simple, but combined with Mrs Sinclair’s recipe for garlic bread, I promise you, you’re about to have a near-spiritual culinary experience.”

Still feeling the heat of what just occurred in your room you busy yourself with packing away the first aid kit, and then elect to sit across the table from Eddie. You convince yourself that you’re not avoiding him, simply allowing the kids the chance to get close to him for a little while.

As if reading your mind, Dustin immediately plants himself in the chair next to Eddie, swiftly followed by Mike on his other side. Lucas sits next to Dustin, and Will slides in next to Mike. They chatter excitedly about campaigns and creatures and characters, and to see Eddie flanked by his adoring sheep brings a different kind of warmth to your chest.

The conversation remains light over dinner. Jokes are cracked, teasing occurs, and you’re pleased everyone’s getting a break from the tension and horrors.

The culinary delights are as good as you’d promised, and Eddie hums and moans at the delicious bounty before him. He remains pale, but he’s definitely regained some strength, vigour.

He glances over at you after taking an especially large mouthful of the meaty dish, and after you stop giggling at his uncouth antics he grins at you, tomato sauce staining his lips and the sides of his mouth, confirming,

“You’re right, this is goddamn heavenly!”

At another point he takes a particularly large bite of some soaked bread, and herb-flecked garlic butter oozes all over his thumb. Your eyes are drawn to it as he brings it to his mouth and presses it between his plump lips, and your eyes connect across the table as he sucks it off, twisting the digit and temporarily giving himself the most salacious pout. He spots you looking, and leaves his thumb in his mouth for what you consider is altogether too long before pulling it out with a pop. You gulp audibly and shift in your seat, grateful for the general clamour disguising your arousal.

You haven’t discussed as a group whether or where Eddie’s going to stay, though it seems to be unspoken between all of you that of course he’s going to remain here until you can all figure out what to do next. You decide not to raise the earlier conversation you had about him possibly leaving.

Dustin’s the first to broach the subject, asking,

“So, where’re you sleeping tonight, Eddie? You wanna come bunk with us in the warmest room in the house?”

He wiggles his eyebrows, attempting to extol the virtues of the open fire. His excitement is palpable, and you envy the optimism of youth that can make even the least appealing flat surfaces sound like an enticing bedspace.

You interject on Eddie’s behalf, suggesting,

“Hey guys, I know it would be the coolest sleepover ever, but I think Eddie might’ve earned the luxury of an actual bedroom after what he’s been through recently, don’t you think?”

Dustin looks crestfallen, but recovers quickly, agreeing with an only slightly pouty,

“I suppoooooose…”

Without looking at the others, you turn to Eddie and proffer,

“You’ll stay in my room, right?”

Eddie nods, his curls bouncing, as he agrees, perhaps a little too quickly,

“Of course, yep, that sounds… entirely fine.”

You miss how Robin and Steve glance at each other, Steve raising an eyebrow as Robin smirks at him.

There’s a quick clean up as dishes are done and pans are left to soak. Craving normalcy, you pile into the small living room and manage to make it through about two thirds of another of Keith’s loaned films before blinks get longer, eyes start to close and heads start to loll.

Robin chivvies the teens to get their sleeping bags set up, and there’s the typical grousing and bickering as everyone tries to use the bathroom at the same time. You think at one point three of the boys are trying to use the sink simultaneously, jostling each other and spitting far too enthusiastically in an effort to spray their compatriots. It’s a small nugget of frivolity that makes you consider the possibility that you might just all be okay.

Steve moves the small electric heater from his room back to yours, and you retrieve Eddie’s clothes from the drier. He slips into his Hellfire shirt and clean boxers as you change into your Garfield nightshirt, and then starts to grab blankets from beside you.

Confused, you question,

“What’re you doing?”

“Oh, uh… I just thought I’d sleep on the floor, y’know, give you the bed.”

You’re aghast.

“Don't be silly, Eddie. There’s plenty of room. Sleep up here, please? I mean, it’s not like we never have before. All those nights in the trailer when I got too baked to make it home, or you got too baked to drive me, or both…”

You both chuckle at the fond memory. You wonder whether you’ll ever let on that sometimes you were faking it, or deliberately took too many drags from the last blunt, just so you could spend the night with him, in his bed.

He throws the blankets back over and, smiling, climbs in beside you.

Turning off your bedside light, the room becomes bathed in the low, pale blue glow of the moonlight.

You both lie on your backs, staring at the ceiling. Somehow it’s easier to talk like this.

Thumbing the skull ring on your hand, you want to talk about the… other thing that happened, but have no idea how to bring it up.

As you’re ruminating, Eddie beats you to it.

“I hope it wasn’t weird? Earlier, I mean. It was…”

Your thighs clench a minuscule amount as you recall the feel of him between them, and the lightest brush of your lips on various parts of each other, and you finish his sentence for him.

“Nice. It was nice.”

Shit. It was so much more than nice, you think to yourself.

“I don’t want you to think I’m taking advantage of you, or anything. I guess I’m just a little touch-starved, y’know…?”

“I don’t. Honestly, I’m just glad to be close to you again. And if I made you feel uncomfortable then I’m really sorry…”

You can tell by the minor shifts in the covers and from his general demeanour that Eddie’s fidgeting with his hands.

“You didn’t, I promise.”

There’s another pause, and Eddie huffs out another small breath before he continues,

“Listen, I know the past twenty-four hours has basically been weirdness personified, and I don’t want to make it even weirder, but…can I… maybe… hold you?”

“I think weird is probably the understatement of the century, but it’s okay. And… I think I’d like that.”

You shift closer to one another under the covers, and you turn onto your side as Eddie moves himself to spoon behind you in an echo of your position last night.

He tentatively drapes his arm over you. He feels warmer than when you last did this, and more relaxed, and you press slightly backwards towards him as much as you dare, letting out a heavy, relaxed sigh.

You take Eddie’s hand in yours, threading your fingers with his, running yours over and between his digits and turning his forelimb this way and that. He hums into your hair and lets you move his arm however you like.

But you stop when you glance down in the dim light and spot a small tattoo on the inside of his wrist that you’ve not seen before. It’s definitely new. You know this because you’ve spent hours tracing over every inch of his inked skin, fantasising about following the images with more than just your eyes, imagining using your fingers, your hands, your lips, your tongue…

But this one’s not like any of his others. This one is small and simple, and looks like the outlines of two soft-cornered rectangles with a blocky W between them. It takes you a moment to process what you’re looking at, realising it looks a lot like one you’ve seen before. She’s had it covered with a delicate floral design (having connections in government really can get you anything, including underage ink), but you remember what it looked like.

Jane’s was a rectangle stacked on top of two horizontal lines, but when you looked at it from a different angle it became numbers: 011.

Looking at Eddie’s, you move the position of his arm. It turns the image a little, suddenly giving it more meaning, as you see it depicts a different number: 030.

Quietly, you croak,

“Eddie, what’s thi-?”

You don’t have a chance to process what any of it could mean as Eddie suddenly tenses, his head lifted from the pillows and his face flicking towards the window and back to you.

His brow furrows as he murmurs,

“Do you hear that?”

You strain your ears and hear nothing at first. But then, gradually, and from far away, you hear the disturbingly familiar sounds of flapping, shuffling and screeching.

Goosebumps appear on your arms and the back of your neck as you abruptly recall the only things you know of that make sounds like these:

Creatures from the Upside Down…

Prev: Prologue Part One

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A/N 2: Did anyone spot the LOTR, Captain America and/or Make Up references? 🧝‍♂️🪓👍 (Also, completely by accident, AQPDO too 😜, and ETA: this and THIS 🫠)

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[inlovewithpandora]

ੈ✩‧₊˚ — Summers Of Pandora ᝰ Day 1 - Age Gap

Artists — Tonowari x fem!Sully!reader

Lyrics — After a long day of Olo’eyktan duties, you help Tonowari unwind by giving him something special and a little thank you for allowing you into the clan.

Music Advisory — nsfw content, porn w/ plot, implied secret relationship, implied age gap (reader in early 20’s / Tonowari in late 30’s or early 40’s), handjob & blowjob, p in v, Sully!reader (oldest daughter of Jake and Neytiri)

Duration — 2.3k words

Index — Yawntutsyìp - Darling • Olo’eyktan - Clan Leader • Yawne - Beloved

Words from Artist — July 1st first is finally here and I’m so excited to share my contribution to me and @neteyamsoare’s event with you guys! I hope all of you enjoy me and Sia’s event and I can’t wait to read everyone’s creations! I haven’t written smut for Tonowari since I first started my blog so I really enjoyed writing this fic because I’m truly a Tonowari girl! Always feel free to comment and reblog, I love reading y’all reactions! I hope you enjoy!!

Current Platforms — event m.list・main m.list・event taglist ・prompt list

You can feel Tonowari’s eyes burning a hole into your head as he looks down at you sitting beautifully on your knees as your hands are exploring his lower region and your lips are pressing soft kisses along his meaty thighs. As your dainty fingers start untying the man’s loincloth he can feel his heart about to jump out his chest, his breathing starting to become irregular, and his eyes begin to widen and his pupils start to dilate as his animalistic urges start to arise.

“Yawntutsyìp,” his voice is soft and breathy, you can hear the desire that quivers in his tone which stems from the trail of reddened hickeys you're currently leaving along his skin. “W-What are you doing?”

Seeing how this big powerful man is practically like putty in your hands and you’ve barely done anything yet makes a cocky smirk spread across your lips. You lift your head up a little and gaze into his blue eyes while you toss his loincloth to the side and guide him from his wooden chair to the woven mat on the floor. Once he’s comfortable you get back in your earlier position, on your knees and you finally give his cock the attention it’s begging for. It’s rock solid and ready to be touched, his tip is oozing with precum and you notice it twitching with anticipation every few moments.

“I’m taking care of you, Tonowari. You’ve worked so hard today so I want to help you unwind.” Before he has a chance to respond you stick out your wet tongue and give his tip a little lick, letting the salty beads of precum settle on your tastebuds. The intense gaze you’re giving him along with the feeling of your hand moving up and down his lengthy shaft makes his body tremble.

“You d-don’t have to-”

“But I want to, consider this me showing my appreciation for accepting me and my family into your clan.” Ever since you and your family came to Awa’atlu months ago you've had eyes for the mighty Olo’eyktan. It was easy for you to get close to him since he was friends with your father and once you had him hooked on your personality, charisma, and beauty he couldn’t let you go no matter how much he tried to turn the other way due to your age difference. It started off innocent in the beginning and recently it’s turned physical which leads you to this moment, you giving him the pleasure he deserves.

The veins on his underside are prominent and throbbing, you can feel how defined they are becoming with each stroke. Tonowari shudders at the sudden sensation of your pretty plump lips wrapping around his tip and making its way down his shaft, making it your mission to take all of him. The older man’s eyes widen as he watches his cock disappear into your warm, wet mouth. His tip continuously hits the back of his throat and when you gag softly around him a low groan escapes his lips. You begin to move your head up and down, sucking him off just the way he likes and swirling your tongue delicately around his tip, making Tonowari’s soul feel like it’s leaving his body.

“Eywa, woman.” He curses through a whine, throwing his head back and closing his eyes while he moves his hand to the back of your head and tangling his fingers in your hair. You hum around his cock in content, loving the sounds you’re hearing come out of him. Using one of your unoccupied hands you start caressing his balls, slowly and softly massaging them to give him a new form of pleasure. The feeling of your voice vibrating makes his body spasm and his hips buck up and force his cock deeper down your throat, causing you to gag again. “Fuck…” The foreign word slips off his tongue, something he learned from you after you taught him human words and how they can be used.

You can feel him swell and throb in your mouth, that along with his choice of wording tells you that he’s close but you’re not done with him yet so you pull away, allowing his cock to slip out with a soft pop. When Tonowari opens his eyes and notices you trying to untie your loincloth and having trouble loosening the strings he uses his large hands and strong muscles to just rip the loincloth in half and toss it to the side. “Eager, are we?” You say with a little laugh, thinking it’s funny how impatient he is to feel you around him.

“I am always eager when you are the prize.” His comment causes a purple hue to tint your cheeks, making you feel special that he feels that way about you. You climb on top of him, straddling his hips before slowly lowering yourself onto him. Tonowari takes the lead and aligns his tip against your dripping entrance and slowly fills your hole with his length. When you feel him slide into you an unexpected gasp comes out, loving the way he stretches you out.

A mixture of a whine and growl fills the room from your partner, loving the wetness of your core, the tightness of your pussy, and the sweet smell that's emitting from your slick. All of these elements combined are causing the older man to see stars. This is the first time both of you have engaged in sexual intercourse together and he assumed that your pussy would be great because you were so skilled with oral sex but he didn’t know that pussy would be this amazing, it’s practically sucking him in and he’s loving every second of it.

After a few minutes of getting adjusted to Tonowari’s girth you decide to take things up a notch, wanting to rock the Olo’eyktan’s world and make him realize that you’re the only girl he needs. You lean forward slightly and place your hands on his broad tattooed chest, finding the perfect balance before lifting and lowering your hips, allowing his cock to slip in and out of your hole. His thick tip deliciously hits your cervix, making a series of moans fly out your mouth from the wonderful feeling Tonowari’s providing.

“Oh—” Tonowari groans while placing his hands on your hips, forming a tight grip on your soft flesh, not wanting the pleasure to stop any time soon. “J-Just like that.”

“Am I making you feel good, baby?” You ask in a teasing and sultry manner, wanting to make sure he feels taken care of but you already know the answer by the way his face screwed together.

“So good, yawne.”

A deep heat spreads through your core, sending shivers up your spine, causing you to increase your tempo so you can chase your high. While you’re riding him at a steady pace, head thrown back and mouth slightly agape, Tonowari’s mesmerized with the sight of you that’s presented before him. The sweat that glazes your body, the way your breasts are moving up and down in his face, how your folds are kissing his groin— Eywa, it's driving him crazy. Tonowari starts bucking his hips upward to meet your movements, causing you to squeal from the unexpected sensation and feeling like the air has been knocked out of your lungs. “Ah— Ton-Tonwari!”

“Taking me so well, little one.” He praises while removing one hand from your hip and placing it on the bright colored bud that lies hidden between your folds. The older man knows exactly how to make your body tick, how to make your orgasm crumble at your feet, which is why he’s circling the pad of his fingers around your clit, wanting to give you the best experience possible. He knows you’re loving the new stimulation because he can feel your walls repeatedly clenching around him and the moans that were spilling from your parted lips are quickly turning into sweet and desperate whines while curses rapid fire from your mouth every so often when the tip of swollen cock hits your pussy at the perfect angle.

“Fuck— feels so good, feel so full.” His cock was undeniably big, the biggest one you’ve ever seen or taken. He fills you up beautifully, you can feel him all the way in your stomach, you can almost see the imprint of where his cock reaches each time he thrusts in and out. Sex with Tonowari is amazing, being this close to him is amazing, knowing he’s the only one on this whole island that can provide you with such pleasure makes this whole experience so much better. Hearing all the grunts, groans, and moans that are coming from the older man is making your core tighten, and the way he’s increasing the speed on the circles he’s making on your sensitive bud has your brain turning fuzzy.

“I-I’m close!” Tonowari isn’t far behind you, his body is tingling with electric shocking pleasure, the way your riding him as if your life depends on it and how your pussy in devouring him, trying its best to milk him for everything he has in his upcoming load is enough to have him ready to give all to you and fulfill your desire. “I’m co-coming— shit!” Your walls spasm around and your legs begin to shake as you choke on your words, your body bucking in reflex a few times as your mouth hangs open in ecstasy. Your juices coat the Olo’eyktan’s cock and start oozing out of your stuffed hole and smear the inside of your thighs, pushing him over the edge and causing to cum right behind you. With just a few more hard and long strokes you feel spurts of warm, thick seed paint your velvety walls.

Once both of you allow your highs to run their course and allow your heartbeats to settle to resting pace, you slowly move from your current position with Tonowari’s help to make sure you don’t fall due to your weakened legs and lay down next to him. Your head finds comfort on his pecs and your arm wraps around his torso while his hand glides down your back and softly rubs your ass. There’s a comfortable silence between you, the sound of the waves crashing a few feet away from Tonowari’s dwelling plus the tiredness that’s lingering your body due to all the work you just put in during sex causes your eyes to become slightly heavy.

Tonowari knows you want to sleep and of course he won’t deny you your much deserved rest but first he has to tell you something. “You will have to leave soon, your father is supposed to be arriving in a few hours.” Jake wants to discuss war tactics and how they’ll fight against the RDA when the time comes so today is the day for their meeting. Your boyfriend definitely doesn’t want to kick you out but he also doesn’t want your father to come and find you here lying naked next to him, especially since he doesn’t know anything about your blossoming relationship.

You hear what he says and sit up so you can face him, bending your arm slightly and putting it on the floor and allowing your head to rest in your hand. You don’t want to leave Tonowari, the time you’ve spent together today has been far too good just to stop now, good thing you already had a plan in motion. “Actually, I won’t be needing to leave.”

“Why not?”

“Because when he told me at lunch today he was planning on meeting you here I told him that I saw you while I was fishing earlier in the day and you told me to tell him that you’ll meet him at the communal hall instead.”

Tonowari can’t help but let out a little laugh at what you just said. Here he was worried about Jake coming and you, his gorgeous partner with a brilliant mind, has already taken care of the situation, even though he didn’t know it would need to be arranged until you made a surprise pop up at his mauri with eyes that were glazed with lust. Now that he’s thinking about it, how did you know to avert your father coming here? Were you planning for this to happen the whole time? He doesn’t mind nor care if you did, he loves spending time with his yawntutsyìp but he just wants to know what was running through that pretty head of yours at that time. “So you planned this whole thing, huh? Changing me and your father’s plans so you could come here and have your way with me?”

It was true, you did in fact plan this whole thing, coming over in something more revealing than what you usually wear, enticing him with sway of your hips and other features while forcing him to sit in his wooden chair so you can begin the first piece of the seduction plan that’s been playing in your head for the past few days. You needed him today and you couldn’t wait a day longer so you pulled a few strings to make it happen and it did and boy did you enjoy every second of it, there’s not one regretful bone in your body. “I did but it was only because this was important, I needed some personal time with the mighty Olo’eyktan.”

“Well, you have me now. We should put this extra time we have now to good use, shouldn’t we?” Before he allows you to answer, his free hand lands on your cheek and pulls you in for a kiss while he tightens the grip he has on your waist and turns you both over, putting you in the position of laying flat on your back and him shadowing over you. The way his tongue swirls around in your mouth and the feeling of his hardening cock resting on your stomach tells you exactly what he means by his previous statement, round two, and you’re more than ready to give him what he wants.

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[niki-phoria]

WE WERE ALWAYS MEANT TO BE DESTINY / I HOPE YOU FEEL THE SAME WITH ME

pairing: sick!zhang hao x gn!reader (no pronouns used) genre: fluff/comfort word count: 550

notes: returning to my sickfic roots !! barely proofread, pls forgive any mistakes <33, inspired by this prompt list from @delusionisaplace, title from bts - trivia: love

ZHANG HAO is less of a man and more of a mound of blankets when you enter his room. you’re greeted by a series of coughs and a slightly delirious hao as you close the door behind you. a small sliver of sunlight breaks through the closed blinds, illuminating your path. 

he winces slightly as he pushes himself to sit up, squinting at you through tired eyes. “what are you doing here?” he sniffles. 

“hanbin called earlier,” you murmur, reaching up to brush a stray strand of hair back into place. “he asked me to stop by to take care of you for the day.”

“i’m sorry,” he whispers. his voice cracks a little with each word he says; his throat scratches from the effort. “you don’t need to. i’ll be fine on my own.” 

“i want to.” you softly smile as you reach up, carefully resting the back of your hand against his forehead. hao’s eyes flutter closed at the contact, relishing in the feeling of your cool hand resting against his overly warm skin. a slight blush spreads across his cheeks, staining his ears a light pink, though neither of you comment on it. “you’re burning up.”

hao hums. he lets his head collapse back against his pillows with a quiet sigh and another string of coughs. “i think i have a fever.”

you can’t help the way your lips fall into a sympathetic frown. his normally pale skin has become overly flushed. his hands feel clammy whenever they brush against your skin. he occasionally wheezes as he struggles to breathe correctly through a stuffy nose and sore throat. it wasn’t often that you saw hao so affected by an illness.

the edge of the bed shifts when you stand up, alerting hao of your movements. his hand catches your wrist before you can leave, gently tugging you to take a step back towards the edge of the bed. “where are you going?”

“to get you some medicine. jiwoong said it’s in the kitchen.”

hao’s lips pull into a slight pout. he pushes his body to the side of the bed before pushing the covers out of the way. “stay with me?” he mumbles. 

you chuckle beneath your breath. “you know i’m gonna make you take the medicine when you wake up, right?”

“i know.” hao’s thumb brushes against your knuckles; his fingers follow the ebbs and flows of your hands. against your better judgement, you slip beneath the covers to lay beside him. his arms snake around your waist almost immediately, tugging your body closer to his own. hao shifts closer to you until his head rests against your chest, just above your heartbeat. 

“get some rest,” you murmur. your nails gently massage against his scalp as you tangle your fingers into his hair. leaning down, you press a feather-light kiss against his forehead with a soft smile. “i’ll be here when you wake up.”

hao sighs as he nuzzles himself further against your touch, accepting your affection with the ghost of a kiss pressed carelessly against the column of your neck. “i love you.”

“i love you too, hao,” you whisper. tucking your chin over your forehead, you allow your worries to be forgotten as you slowly fall asleep to the steady hum of hao’s breathing. 

if you liked this fic, please consider leaving a like, comment, feedback, or rebloging !! and if you want to support me, check out more of my fics here <33

[whumptober]

FAQ

Please read this post before you send an ask!

TIMELINE

July: Trope voting form released. Late August: Prompt list is released for at least four weeks of preparation time. Prompts cannot be posted earlier than August 25th because of Moderator obligations in real life. (But, you know, go ahead and start writing/drawing, and add the themes in later, if you want!) September: Do as much or as little on your works as you want. You can prepare everything in advance or let September go by with vibes and start working in October. It’s up to you. October 1st: Challenge begins! A storm of whump breaks upon us all! During this time, some posts will be reblogged to the whumptober archive blog. We open the yearly AO3 collection for posting (optional). November 1st: The challenge is officially over! Completionist form opens for those who want to be included in the hall-of-fame. Early November: We release completionist and participant badges, solicit feedback, and post a hall-of-fame list of completionists by the 10th.

PARTICIPATION AND COMPLETION

Q: What counts as participation? Create or continue at least one work inspired by one of this year’s prompts. Q: What counts as completion? Creating work(s) inspired by at least one prompt from each day (or alts), for a total of 31 unique prompts. Q: Do I need to create 31 works? No. You can, if you want. Or you can create one work that you add to every day with a new prompt. Or several works that combine prompts. You can also update an existing work by adding new material with the current prompts. Q: Do I need to post my works somewhere to be a completionist or a participant? No. Q: How do you know I actually completed the challenge? We’ll take your word for it! Q: Do I have to finish my work(s) to be a completionist? No, you can post WIPs. And you’re not obligated to finish them in October, but if you want it to count towards being a completionist, you must have completed 31 prompts by the end of the month. So for example, if you’re writing a long fic and you fit 31 different prompts into the writing you did in October, it’s okay if that fic isn’t finished by the time October ends, you’ll still be a completionist. Q: Is co-writing/illustrating allowed? Yes, absolutely, and it would count towards being a completionist for both/all of you. Q: Is there a min/max limit on word count for written works? No. Q: Is there a min/max limit of quality for art? No. Q: Do I have to do something each day to be a completionist? No. You can skip days whenever you want, and as long as 31 daily prompts (or alts) are in your works done in October, you can be a completionist. For example, if you wrote a 1000-word ficlet that covers prompts in days 2, 3, and 17, you can check all three days off your list even though it’s only one work. Q: Is this challenge just for fics? No! Artworks, GIFsets, headcannons, rec lists, poetry, moodboards, or any other creative work is encouraged. Q: Can I combine Whumptober with other creation challenges? Absolutely, as long as the other challenges allow it too.

PROMPTS

Q: How do the prompts work? There are FOUR prompts per day: a theme and three ideas. You can use one, two, three, or all four prompts for each day. If you don’t like any of the daily prompts, you can substitute one of the ALT prompts instead. Q: How strictly/literally should we interpret the prompts? As literally or as figuratively as you want. For example, if the theme is WATER, that could mean drowning, waterboarding, raining, swimming, take place underwater, be lost at sea, construct a metaphor about a character’s mood that changes like a flowing river, crying, or whatever else you can think of that fits that theme. Q: Can I combine prompts? Is there a limit on how many? No limit and combine as many as you’d like. If you create a work that checks off multiple prompts, that work will count for a fill of multiple prompts. You need to address 31 different prompts to be an official completionist, but you don’t have to produce 31 separate works.

WORKS

Q: What’s whump? Hurting a character, whether that’s physically, emotionally, intellectually, psychologically, or any other way you can think of. Comfort afterwards is optional. Angst is emotional whump, so it counts. Q: How do I know if it’s whumpy enough? If your character is just mildly inconvenienced, it probably needs more whump. However, no participant has to prove whumpiness to the mods. Whatever you write is up to you. Q: What kind of characters can I create for? Anything. Generic “whumpee,” OC, PC, NPC, major characters, minor characters, or whatever you want. There are no limits. Q: Does it have to take place in a specific fandom? No, you can create works for your own worlds or for fandoms or for both. You can also create more generic or pan-fandom works. You can do cross-overs or use OCs, whatever you want. Q: Can I create AI-created works? No. We will not reblog or promote any works we know to be generative AI-created. Q: Is there anything we’re not allowed to write? As long as it contains whump and is based on our prompts, it’s fine. Please courtesy tag your works if you post them so people who follow the #whumptober2024 tag can filter according to their preferences. Q: What about sex, minor characters, and potentially disturbing content? You can create whatever works are legal in your country and post them accordingly. Please courtesy tag anything you think might be objectionable if you post to Tumblr so people who follow the #whumptober2024 tag can filter according to their preferences.

POSTING

Q: Where can I post my work? Post where and how you want. You don’t even have to (cross)post it to Tumblr. Just keep in mind if it’s not on Tumblr we will not be able to add it to the blog archive. There is an AO3 archive for Whumptober 2024, as well as the parent collection for works completed outside of the event. Q: Can I start posting early? You can, but this is an October event and wouldn’t it be more fun with everyone doing it at the same time? We won’t be reblogging any work predating October 1st. Q: Can I post late? Yes. For the sake of our hardworking Post Fairies, only a day’s themes will be reblogged to @whumptober-archive each day of October. But you can post whenever. Some of us are still working on and posting Whumptober fics from years ago. Q: Do I have to use your tags? Only on Tumblr and only if you want us to reblog your work on @whumptober-archive. Q: How do I have my works reblogged to the archive? Properly tagged posts will be reblogged to @whumptober-archive. If you want the official archive blog to reblog you, post on Tumblr and tag correctly (see this FAQ link for more info on tagging). Please note not all posts will be reblogged each day. Q: Can we @ you? For questions and comments, of course. We’ll be getting a flood of notifications, so if you really want us to see something send an ask. Q: Can I cross post on other blogs? Yes, multiple platforms and blogs are perfectly acceptable, as long as they allow cross-posting (to us). You can also post different works to different accounts under different names, without posting them everywhere at once. If you post some works under your main and others under an alt blog, that’s fine for completionist purposes. Q: Can I upload/repost my Whumptober content to other social media platforms? Of course! We’ve created an AO3 Collection to archive any fics posted there, which can be found here. The blog is the official archive, so please respect the personal boundaries of any whumpers in your social circle (don’t out anyone as a participant who would prefer not to be outed).

[mr-sadman]

Hello wonderful people! 

We are back again this year with our wonderful Dreamling Week, which will be taking place from June 2nd to June 8th this year!

Our stance on plagiarism and AI 

We do not accept nor condone the use of plagiarism, including the use of AI, whether in writing or art. If you are caught using either, you will be disqualified from the current event and barred entry for the other events the Mr. Sadman team puts forward.

Disclaimer : all images used in our graphics come from the Unsplash Archive (https://unsplash.com/about) which are free to use.

General Rules and Information

Being a server member, while strongly advised, is not mandatory for this event. Our AO3 collection will be entirely open and unmoderated for everyone to post. We will be accepting late submissions, so fear not if you don’t have time to post everything you wanted to post! Additional events, such as watch-parties, fic read-alongs and game nights, will be held on the server.

The official tags for this year’s edition are : #Dreamling Week 2024 and #Dreamling Week

For reblogging purposes, make sure your tumblr blog is visible in searches and don’t be shy to tag our account (mr-sadman)! Unfortunately, despite our vigilance, some posts can evade our attention, if that’s the case, please DM us and we will rectify the situation.

Official AO3 Collection : Dreamling Week 2024 [link]

If you are under the age of 18, you will not be able to create explicit content for the event. Just to reiterate, Mr. Sadman is a 16+ server.

The Mr. Sadman Modteam is a firm believer of “ship and let ship” as well as the kinktomato (https://fanlore.org/wiki/Kinktomato). In accordance with the Server’s existing rules, we will not tolerate any discrimination and harassment in any forms whatsoever. This includes: queerphobia, homophobia, racism, content policing, hate speech, doxxing, shaming, etc, as well as hostility towards organisers and fellow participants. 

Since the event is a few weeks away, what can I do now?

Spread the word and the joy! We have decided to post the prompts earlier this year to give more time for people to get creative!

Without further ado here is this year’s prompt list : 

Sunday 2nd Hunt Body swap Indulgence [First Time] Monday 3rd Pirates Hourglass Flowers [Exhibitionism] Tuesday 4th Steampunk/Solarpunk Painting Meet cute/ugly [Massage] Wednesday 5th Shapeshifter Storm Finger food [Dirty] Thursday 6th Soulmates Lecture Midsummer [Friends with benefits] Friday 7th Through the ages Nightmare Monochromatic [Hate sex] Saturday 8th Assassins Memories Sunrise/Sunset [Roleplay]

FAQs/TLDR

FAQs : 

When is the event ? From June 2nd to June 8th! While you should post the prompt for each day it is associated with, we will also be accepting late submissions, so have no worry!

Can I combine prompts? YES!! Be sure to indicate which days and prompts you are using in your description, otherwise, go free! You can post on either days associated with your prompts, or, if it’s a multipart work, on each corresponding day!

Is there any content restriction ? We accept all  works of all mediums - writing, art, collages, playlists, podfics, translations, video edits, etc. - , whether they are SFW, NSFW and/or triggering. Writers and artists- tag appropriately ; Readers and viewers - be mindful of tags!

Where should I post my work ? Anywhere from Tumblr or AO3!! We have accounts on both platforms and we also have an AO3 collection : Dreamling Week 2024 [link]!

What tag should I use for visibility ? We recommend using both #Dreamling Week and #Dreamling Week 2024 as well as tag our account (mr-sadman) ! We will try our best to reblog every entry but if you see that we haven’t reblogged/retweeted your post yet, don’t be afraid to DM us! Make sure your blog settings are set so that your posts appear in searches - otherwise we might not see them!

Are polyamorous ships accepted ? Yes!! As long as the focus of your entry is Dreamling, poly-ships are absolutely accepted!

Do I need to be a part of the server to participate? Absolutely not! Dreamling Week is open to all! Although some additional events (such as a watch party, game nights and fic read-alongs) will be held on the server, submissions do not need to come from server members only!!

I need help, how do I reach a mod?

If there is something that is not covered by our rules masterpost and/or FAQ, you are very free to reach out to us in the Discord server’s dedicated channel or in Tumblr DMs! 

Keep on Dreamling!~ <3

[steviebbboi]

Hi love love your work ❤️ I was wondering if you’d be open for a request on Good For It Ari? Was wondering if there was a chance they get pregnant eventually? 😊 Would love a one shot about that if you’re open to it :)

Hi hi! <3 omg, thank you sm for sending in this ask!! I love this prompt too. Hope I did it justice!~

Pairing: Lumberjack!Recluse!Ari x F!Reader (Good For It)

Word Count: 1k~

Summary: The multitude of ways that Ari continues to care, love and protect you during your pregnancy. 

You could read the original fic here.

Disclaimer: ***I don't give any permission for this to be reposted anywhere! Pls do not steal work, plagiarism isn't demureeee***

Reblogs help writers reach more readers who may also enjoy our work. As you like, kindly reblog~ <3

Warnings/Triggers: reader is pregnant, pregnancy hormones, negative intrusive thoughts surrounding body image.

“Love, what do you think you’re doing?” 

You turned at hearing Ari’s deep baritone voice questioning you by the doorway. A soft, teasing smirk on his handsome face as he leaned against the doorway, just watching you. 

“The light was hitting me in the wrong spot.” You pouted while sitting pathetically down on the floor. 

Ari chuckled, “So you thought that you would try to move the armchair, on your own?” 

Releasing out a huff, “I’m pregnant, Ari. Doesn’t make me weaker or less capable.” Your pout only deepened as your face formed an annoyed frown. Looking at the unwavering soft smile on his face made you harumph, turn away from him to cross your arms childishly across your growing belly.

Ever since you got pregnant, you felt so incapable of doing the things that you wanted to do. You would waddle over to the couch and need to grip Ari’s tree trunk arms for support. Or, if you wanted to reach for a plate on the high shelf, your belly just pressed onto the counter uncomfortably as you would attempt to reach for it until your efforts could be heard by Ari, who would come over to get it for you in a second. 

In other words, it was exhausting to rely on Ari all the time. 

It’s not like you weren’t grateful for his presence, you were! You always love feeling cared for by Ari, and certainly since you told him that you were expecting, he has been so loving. ‘Love’ was his endearment on a daily basis now, and was freely said in every space. No longer was Ari, Mr. Gruntle Grumps (well, -ish. You just got exclusively better at learning how to speak ‘Ari’).

But you also loved the independence that existed in your relationship before getting pregnant. You miss the freedom of going anywhere that you wanted, the ability to get out of bed without assistance, or like now– being able to move your armchair that always seems to be a degree off center and because of that, the sun would annoyingly hit your face.

You moved it back after every use because the room felt so asymmetrical when it wasn’t in a certain position. But when you would sit in your comfy armchair for your daily read, you would either always forget to move it yourself (however greuling the task is to do), or ask Ari to move it forward before you started reading. 

Henceforth, we get situations like now where you try to deep squat (and fail), attempt to pull the chair forward (unsuccessfully) and then flail back to catch yourself and pout on the floor. You used to be able to still pull it forward yourself in the earlier stages of your pregnancy, but it's become increasingly difficult by the day as time goes by.

Nowadays, you still try to do it yourself, but you quickly give up, and eventually just practice sucking it up and suffering in the shine of the sun, less you get caught by Ari trying to lift heavy things. 

So stuck in your frustrated pouting, you finally got caught by Ari today and could almost feel the silent judgment from your position on the floor. 

Feeling tears brim to your eyes, you sniffled silently as you tried to wipe them away before he could see. You felt so irrational and your hormones just went haywire all the time. 

Suddenly, you feel a hand stroke the back of your head affectionately and you look up to see Ari kneeling over you with an empathetic look on his face. 

“You miss bein’ able to do stuff, huh.” Ari said compassionately, that soft smile not budging from his face as he continued stroking your hair. Tears fell over as you put a fist to your eyes to wipe it away.

Another thing that you have appreciated about Ari is that he doesn't judge you. Not ever, not once.

It seems like he understood how you were feeling without you having to even say anything. It was unlike you to not communicate, but Ari took the brunt of it effortlessly. He bypassed your own criticisms on his sense of judgment, he merely noticed, and just observed.

Sometimes, you would feel insecure in your body as you would notice a stretch mark blooming here and there. Or looking at how disproportionate your body was as your tummy grew.

It was a beautiful process to go through, and you so wanted this with Ari, but every now and again, your brain would tell you all of these harmful and intrusive thoughts that just seemed to eat at you the further you were along in your pregnancy.

Your brain would criticize and tell you that even Ari is burdened by you, or that he would judge you for your looks or incapabilities– even if you knew that he would never treat you that way.

Though, in a way, Ari seemed to be well-versed in protecting you even from yourself. 

Even now as he waited patiently with you on the floor, just stroking your hair and over your hunched back, he never complained. He only waited for you to sniffle your last sniffle, to look up at him with a pout as he helped you off the floor, and put his large arms around you to form a protective support and embrace. 

The next day, you saw translucent curtains hanging from the windows. That way, the sun wouldn’t hit you as harshly whilst you got to enjoy reading your book that was now comfortably lit by a dimmed, warm glow.

You cried when you realized Ari did that for you too. He kissed you on the forehead and whispered promises of adoration. The clarity of his love was so tender as he simply laid a giant hand on your stomach. 

“I got you, love.” Ari said with the same reverence of love during that time at the bar. He’s shown you time and time again how much he cares and loves you – how your comfort and safety was the intention behind everything that he would do.

He was good for it. 

A/N: lil drabble, lil drabble there 🥹 hope you enjoyed the snippet of their life. thank you again for sending in the ask!

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[yanteetle]

if you’re planning on doing requests, what about something donnie related? (or potentially a follow up to the first piece 👀)

Tw: Needles, kidnapping attempt

Donnie’s kidnapping attempt goes slightly out of hand, and unfortunately for poor Y/n, so do his emotions...

Thank you for your patience! This was a much harder challenge than expected, but I think I somewhat managed to show Yan!Donnie’s more delusional side :) I took inspiration from animeyanderelover’s prompt list (link!) to draw this! I enjoyed the idea of him being a very entitled and delusional yandere, so I took the opportunity to give a small insight to his delusions! Aside from that, the other Donnie WIP I teased several days ago will be completed soon, so please look forward to it!

P.s: Please check the reblog notes for an earlier draft without the dialogue balloons if you'd like to see it! Have a nice day!

[hanleiacelebration]

Han/Leia Appreciation Week 2024

WE'RE BACK, BABY! "Wait, what's happening, wasn't this in August??" you might wonder. Based on your feedback, we decided to host this and (probably) future editions of Han/Leia Appreciation Week earlier in the year. July seemed like the better choice, given that it's a vacation period in both hemispheres!

This year we're also giving you the prompts over a month in advance, so you have plenty of time to plan and create!

Han/Leia Appreciation Week was an event originally hosted at @han-leia-solo between 2016-2019, but for the past three years, we've taken up the mantle here at @hanleiacelebration 😊

💖 How does Han/Leia Appreciation Week work?

The event will run from July 14th to July 20th, and there will be two different prompts each day that creators can fulfill with: fanfic, fanart, gifsets, graphics, fanvids, headcanons, crafts, playlists, rec lists. You’re encouraged to tag your posts with #hanleiaweek2024 so we can reblog them! After the week is over, we’ll share a masterlist with links to the works.

You can show your appreciation in many ways; however, please keep in mind that it has to be a creation of yours of some sort, e.g. don’t repost other people’s fanart, gifs, or unedited pictures. Rec lists should include a link to the original source both for fanfic and fanart (more on this after the cut).

🎆 The prompts

Sunday 7/14: Tradition / Ceremony

Monday 7/15: Braids & Bloodstripes (hair or clothing) / Home planet

Tuesday 7/16: AU / Canon divergence

Wednesday 7/17: Force / Belief

Thursday 7/18: Favorite scene / Favorite quote

Friday 7/19: Meeting / Escape

Saturday 7/20: Free day!

You can use only one of the daily prompts, combine both, reinterpret them, or skip the day if you can’t think of anything. If you’re not able to post on the same day for a prompt, you’re still encouraged to share it through the week—just don’t post works for a certain prompt before the day corresponding to that prompt.

💠 💠 💠

FAQs and Rules under the cut - please read!

💕 Can I post my work to another site and share the link on Tumblr?

Yes! This is a good option for people who might want to create explicit art that could be taken down on Tumblr, write a long fic or multichapter, or make videos or playlists.

💕 Does it have to be a new creation? Can I finish and post a WIP?

It has to be something that has never been posted anywhere else before, so finishing and sharing a WIP is okay! If it doesn’t fit any of the prompts, you can share it on Free Day.

💕 Is this event open to all ratings?

Yes! Just remember to use a “Read more” cut if you’re posting the whole work on Tumblr, and to add a note at the top if your work is rated Mature or Explicit, as well as if it has any major trigger warnings, so all folks can safely browse through the entries.

💕 Are there any length or quality requirements?

There’s no min. or max. length for fanfic or quality level for art, but please note that AI-generated works won’t be accepted. For gifsets, there’s a minimum of two gifs (that must be made by you!). For playlists, there’s a minimum of five songs. For rec lists of fic or fanart, there’s also a minimum of five recs. Some more questions you might have about rec lists:

- How do I share someone else’s art without posting a picture? You might post a thumbnail that crops a preview of the piece; if the piece has a title, you might use that; you might describe it; or you might say something like “this piece by [artist]”, and link to the source.

- What if I found a fanart on Google? Try to find the original source using reverse search image.

- What if I can’t still find it, can I just say “credit to the artist”? In that case, please just don’t share the piece.

- What if I know the artist but don’t have a link to the original source? Naming the artist and linking back to where you found it is okay, in that case.

💕 Can I write for canon/Legends and include other pairings?

All canons, time periods, headcanons and AUs are welcome, and you’re allowed to include side pairings, except for R*eylo. However, keep in mind that this is a Han/Leia appreciation week - at the risk of sounding repetitive, works should focus on appreciating Han and Leia’s relationship!

💕 What’s the time zone for the event?

Please don’t worry too much about time zones: when we say “day”, we always mean “whenever that day is for you in your part of the world”. IE: if it’s Monday for you, you can post your work for the Monday prompt.

💠 💠 💠

Do you have any other questions? Don’t hesitate to send us an ask or to message one of the mods: @lajulie24 @hanorganaas and @otterandterrier

We can’t wait to see what you all create!

[emberfrostlovesloki]

The Cat's Out of the Bag [Hotch x Reader]

Photo credits: Left (@flowersforfrancis) Center (@hotchs-big-hands) Right (@grapeperfume)

Prompt: Aaron accidentally lets slip that he and the reader are together when the reader takes him home from the office while he has a cold. The team has a range of emotions about the news and Aaron and the reader go back to the office to face the music together. 

Pairing: [established relationship] Aaron x BAU!reader. The reader uses she/her pronouns. 

Category: fluff/comfort 

Word Count: 9.7K

Content Warnings: Sickness [cold/fever], headache, mention of abuse and beatings [in the past (Hotch)], minor mention of intimacy. Relationship reveal. If I missed any, please let me know. 

A/N: Hi loves! If you are headed into Spring Break this week have fun and please be safe. If you don’t have a break this week, please don’t let the Sunday scaries get to you. Be kind to yourself today. This fic is based on my March CM Prompt List (linked) The prompt is, “A character manages to catch a cold in the middle of Spring.” I hope you like this little fluffy fic. It was really fun to write. If you enjoy this fic, likes, comments, and reblogs are appreciated! I hope you’re having a great start to your week and thanks for reading. Love Levi - ❤️

List with all stories 

y/n = your name 

_y/f/r/a_ = your favorite relaxing activity 

_y/c/h_ = your color hair 

Aaron liked to have control over most things. Even in things he couldn’t or perhaps shouldn’t control, he still tried to. This could include running on an injured ankle, or going out even though he knew it was too hot for his liking in an outfit that didn’t suit the heat. Half of this had to do with the fact that he could be stubborn, and the other half was a bit darker. The times that he went over these limits had often to do with his ability to endure. He knew a good deal about endurance from his work as a prosecutor, the leader of the BAU, and most impactful to him, from his childhood. His father had often reminded him that he wasn’t strong or a man with his fists, or a belt, or bottle, or anything Mr. Hotchner senior could get a hold on, and Aaron had endured it. He’d lived beyond it. Even with that being the case, and him trying to work through his questions about inadequacy, he still pushed himself too hard sometimes. It was a sort of naturally ingrained response unless he caught it early on. 

y/n had noticed this trait in him and had brought it up a few times when they were more stable in their relationship. It hadn’t exactly been an easy topic, as y/n wasn’t sure why Aaron, who cared about his health and ability to perform in the field would seem to hurt himself by doing something reckless by his standards. One afternoon, when he’d limped toward her, y/n tilted her head and said, “Hey, how was your run?” y/n had stayed behind to play with Jack on the swings and playground while Aaron got in his long Saturday run. He and y/n would normally go early, but they had both slept through their alarm due to a long case earlier that week, a swamp of paperwork when they got back and some mandatory training on Friday. All in all, it had been too long a week for anyone to like, and they needed the rest. Thus, the plans for the day had been postponed. 

Aaron wiped a hand over his face and then over his shirt. y/n looked at Jack who was now on the slide and then back to Hotch. y/n noticed how he was favoring one foot. She knew his gait better than anyone and it was easy to tell that something was up. Aaron could see it in y/n’s face -- the concern. He tried to brush it off by saying, “It was fine. My time was slower than normal, but I’d say that it was because I was so tired.” What Aaron had said was a lie. His ankle had started to hurt about halfway through his run, but he’d ignored it and pressed on anyway. By the time he’d gotten to the last mile, his right ankle was throbbing in pain. He’d fixed his expression to the best of his ability when he rounded the bend where he’d see y/n. He didn’t want her to be concerned.  His faking a normal expression and lying didn’t stop y/n from seeing that something was wrong. y/n was about to ask him to clarify because she didn’t have to tell him that he was lying to see that something was wrong. However, Jack came and hugged the back of her legs, looked up at his dad, and said, “Hi Daddy!” Aaron smiled and replied, “Hey Buddy. Did you have fun on the playground?” Jack nodded his head enthusiastically and said, “Mh hm, I made new friends.” This fact warmed Hotch’s heart. Jack could struggle sometimes in meeting new people. Aaron said, “That’s great, Jack. Now I hear that it’s going to get hot in a few minutes, so how about we head home?” Jack and y/n nodded, and y/n watched as Jack scrambled into his dad’s arms. Again she noticed the brief flash of pain on his face as they moved to the car. 

y/n waited until they got to Aaron’s apartment and Jack was tucked in for a nap that y/n moved to Hotch’s bedroom to ask him what was up. She didn’t hope this ended in an argument, but it seemed like this was something he was keeping from her and Aaron could be so closed off about his personal life sometimes. But if he was hurting, y/n wanted to know about it. She moved into Hotch’s bedroom where he was taking off his shirt and getting ready for a shower. y/n stood in front of him as he was sitting on the bed and leaning down to take off his socks as y/n said, “Aaron, what’s going on? You looked like you were hurting back there in the park. Also when you picked up Jack.” 

Aaron tried one last attempt to avoid this conversation as he said, “Well, my ankle is acting up a bit, but I’m sure it will be fine.” y/n blocked him from standing and took both of his large hands in hers. His fingers were calloused in the same places as hers from holding a gun or a pen in a grip that was probably too tight from stress. It was comforting to feel the thickness of his skin mirrored in her palm. y/n looked down at him and said, “Aaron please be honest with me?” Hotch looked down at their entwined hands and then back up at y/n. He didn’t like lying. So much of their relationship had been built on trust. They’d gotten together a few months after Haley had called their marriage quits. If Aaron was being honest, he’d loved y/n for a while before his union with Haley dissolved. But Hotch was a man who believed in his commitment to his wife and he’d never done or said anything to y/n, his newest agent, until long after he had his wife split. He loved Haley dearly and he’d never hurt her by cheating. And y/n loved Aaron and his commitment too, so they were willing to give up any hope with a man she had slowly come to admire more than just a boss, fellow agent, or friend. y/n fully holding herself back had been one of the reasons Hotch had liked her so much. He’d seen women fling themselves at him while he was fully with Haley. Before their relationship got rocky. Even when Haley was pregnant with Jack women had tried to woo him. But never y/n. Even when she knew that he and Haley were struggling she never made a move. She had distanced herself more from him. Had supported him and let things play out to their natural conclusion. 

As Aaron thought about the kinds of sacrifice y/n had made for him, he squeezed her hand and said, “My right ankle is hurting me pretty badly actually. It started in the middle of the run. I think it’s from when I had to dodge that bullet in the last case. I tweaked it a bit then, but it didn’t hurt much so I ignored it. But today on my run it really started acting up.” As soon as y/n heard this, she dropped to her knees next to the bed and gently pulled off his right sock. She didn’t care about how the sock or his feet smelled. If Aaron was in pain, y/n needed to make sure he was okay. By the look of his swollen and slightly bruised ankle, it didn’t look great. y/n gently caressed the spot on his foot and Aaron flinched instinctually even though y/n hadn’t hurt him. She looked up at his dark brown eyes and asked, “Sweetheart why did you keep running on this? It must have hurt you. You could have called me and I would have brought Jack and helped you?” y/n had never seen Aaron hurt or allow himself to be hurt like this. Sure, she’d seen him overwork himself, but this was different, this was physical more than mental.” Aaron bit the inside of his cheek before putting his arm under y/n’s arm and guiding her to sit beside him. 

Once she was seated next to him and looking at him with the same concern, he heaved a small sigh before saying, “I felt like I had to I guess. Sometimes I get that way.” y/n tried to understand why he’d feel that way and said, “Why, you’re hurting yourself. I wouldn’t see you as weak if you needed a break. You’re the strongest man I know. You don’t have to prove that to anyone.” Hotch closed his eyes and leaned his head into the crook of her shoulder smelling the slightly floral scent of her perfume. He didn’t want to be seen as he replied, “It’s not about proving it to anyone else, it’s about proving it to me. My… my father always said I was weak. He tried to break me and he never did, but sometimes I can’t push those thoughts out of my head. I know it’s juvenile to explain it like that, it was so long ago, but it still happens sometimes.” y/n turned to him, wrapped him in a tight hug, and stayed there for a minute to let the words sit around them. To give them the time they deserved. y/n pulled away and looked at Aaron saying, “It’s not dumb and it makes sense. Your father treated you horribly, so it makes sense that that would stick with you. I just don’t want you to hurt yourself. I want you to know that you are good enough. I’ll keep telling you that until you believe it.” Aaron nodded slightly and gave y/n a soft smile. He should have known that y/n would understand him. It wasn’t easy for him to have these conversations. To open up. He knew he was lucky to have y/n in his life who knew him so well and could tell that he needed some help sometimes in dealing with his thought process. 

y/n stood up and said, “Now, we can talk more about this later, but I want you to stay right there, No moving around and no shower. Just hang tight.” Aaron smiled and said, “Yes ma’am.” y/n chuckled at his tone but got up and moved first to the hallway where they kept a basin to clean Jack’s shoes in when they got muddy at school. y/n then got a glass of water and added ice before turning the tap to hot. Once the temperature was warm, but not scalding, she filled the basin. y/n then grabbed some Epsom salt from under the sink and added a fourth of a cup to the warm water; she stirred it with her hand until the salt began to dissolve. When y/n was happy with the mix, she carried the basin with two hands into the bedroom and carefully set it down on the carpet without spilling any of the liquid inside. She moved Aaron’s injured foot into the water and as soon as his ankle was submerged, he sighed with how good it felt. The sound made a rush of warmth rush through y/n, but she ignored it. Instead, she moved back to the kitchen and grabbed the cup of water and then some pain meds from the bathroom. She handed both items to Hotch and he took them with a smile and said, “Thank you sweetheart. How do you always know what I need?” y/n smiled and moved behind him on the bed gently messaging his neck and shoulders. He leaned back into her touch with another little groan and y/n felt that same rush again. At this point, she wondered if he was messing with her. For now, she just kept relaxing his stiff muscles and said, “I think I learned from the best because you take such good care of me. I think today I get to return the favor.” 

Aaron and y/n didn’t speak much more about what he had said, but they both knew it was going to be a conversation they would have again soon. Instead, y/n just made him relax and stay off his feet for the rest of the day. She took care of Jack and dropped him off at Haley’s while Aaron slept. Even though y/n and Hotch had been dating for a good while, and they were very committed, two things hadn’t yet changed in their relationship. The first was that y/n and Aaron still hadn’t moved in together yet. They both found comfort in having their own space for themselves. It was good that after a case they had a place to relax and unwind alone if they needed it. There was a comfort for them in space, though y/n mostly spent her time at Aaron’s

apartment. The second constant, which was harder to maintain, was that the team didn’t know they were seeing each other. There had been multiple times that members of the team had almost caught them, but shockingly it hadn’t happened yet. Aaron assumed that Dave knew and Hotch had spoken to y/n about it, and she said it was fine. If Rossi brought it up, then Aaron could tell him. There wasn’t a reason to directly lie to the team, they just hadn’t explicitly made it a point to tell them either. At the start, they had kept it a secret to protect themselves. It might not have been strictly against the rules of the FBI employee handbook, but at the same time, it was easier to just keep it to themselves. By the time that y/n and Aaron had become fully committed, they had just gotten used to having it be between themselves. It felt like something they could have outside of work, even though work did come into it often. Keeping it a secret worked for both of their personalities. For Aaron who was a rule follower, it just made sense, and for y/n, who was a bit shy about her personal life, it allowed her to not have to have ten thousand conversations that could be intimate with the team. However, that would all change a month or so later. 

It was early spring and the weather had changed to the warmer side instead of the cold Virginia often saw into late February or March. When Aaron woke at his normal 5:00 a.m. He felt a bit colder than normal as he got out from under the duvet. He assumed that it was because it was one of the rare nights when y/n was over at her apartment and not in bed with him. He also felt a bit foggy as he got up, brushed his teeth, and shaved. He didn’t think much of this either as he made his coffee and then headed to the office like he usually did when a case didn’t take the team away from Quantico. Aaron and y/n usually ended up getting to the office an hour early so they could have some time to themselves in the morning. They used to spend that time in the evenings after five, but as they continued to attempt it early in their relationship, it turned out that the team was much more likely to stay late in the office to finish up work than come in early. The only people who sometimes saw Aaron and y/n come in together or even enter Aaron’s office together were the janitors and now and then, Dave. They didn’t do anything inappropriate in the office, just work or talk on his couch. Hotch didn’t allow for hardly any outward signs of their relationship at work. However, he was looking forward to seeing y/n. It always seemed to set them up for a good day. 

When Aaron arrived at the office, he felt that same chill run through him and his head started to ache a bit. He felt hot under the collar and as he got up the stairs and to his office, he just now considered that he might be sick. He hadn’t been sick yet that year but it happened to him at least once annually. He hadn’t expected it to be in March. And because he hadn’t expected it, he chose to believe it must be something else like his allergies kicking in. He’d arrived early even for his standards, and he sat down and pulled out his briefcase and laptop. After he did this, he realized that he wasn’t feeling that good and he moved to his couch to just close his eyes for a minute to try and collect himself for the day ahead. Aaron was startled awake at the sound of tapping on his door. He sat up and the room spun in front of his eyes. The lamp by his desk particularly blurred his vision as he stumbled to the door. He felt hot all over and as he stood, a few beads of sweat moved down his back making him shiver. He hadn’t realized that he’d fallen asleep and was surprised to see y/n outside his door. He felt disoriented and said, “y/n? What are you doing here?” 

y/n looked at him concerned and said, “I’m here to hang out before work like we always do. Sorry I’m late, something came up at the apartment and I had to deal with it. Are you okay sweetheart?” y/n observed Aaron with a careful eye. He looked flushed and his eyes seemed slightly glazed over. He was also perspiring even though he must have had his office thermostat down to its lowest setting. Hotch nodded and said, “Yeah just a little tired I guess.” He stepped farther back and couldn’t believe he’d forgotten about the fact that y/n was coming early. y/n slipped past him into the dim office. She was only a few inches away from his body when she noticed just how warm he felt, even from a distance. Once Aaron had closed the door with a soft click, y/n turned to face Hotch and placed a hand on his forehead. She could feel him burning up and was sure he was running a fever. She led him back to his couch and he sat down with a little grunt as y/n took his hand and said, “Aaron, you’re so warm. You can’t be feeling good right  now.” Hotch tipped his head back and half closed his eyes and in his normal, stubborn fashion replied, “I’ll be fine y/n. It’s just allergies or something. If I drink some cool water and just sit for a minute I can make it through the day.” y/n frowned at him and his antics before saying, “Aaron, you run warm, but you don’t run that warm. Also, your shirt is sticking to your chest because you’re sweating from the heat, so unless you’re planning on staying cooped up in your office all day, everyone else is going to know how you feel too.” 

Hotch groaned as he realized that his body was giving away with how bad he was currently feeling. His headache was back and he was longing for y/n to put her cool hand on his head again. y/n could see the look of defeat on his face. Ever since they’d had the conversation about his ankle and subsequent discussion about Aaron’s need for care just like everyone else, he’d started asking her for more help when he needed it. Today was another reminder that he could still feel the need to perform, even when he was sick, but that it was okay that he treated himself well too. That he wasn’t letting anyone down by needing some rest. y/n moved over to his desk and started neatly packing his things back into his briefcase and bag. By the time y/n was working on gathering his belongings, he was back on the cool couch and his heavy eyes were closed again. y/n pulled his suit jacket and tie up from the floor, it was the last thing she needed of his. y/n was grateful that she had brought all of her things up to his office. That meant that they could go straight to the car. When y/n had all of their things by the door, she moved back to the couch, gently touched Aaron’s shoulder, and said, “Aaron, can you get up? I’m gonna drive you home.” Hotch grumbled something that sounded like, “Just five more minutes,” and y/n huffed at how this sickness was making him feel. With a firm voice, y/n said, “Not five more minutes. If we play that game we’ll be here all day and then you’ll try and do work again or something. Now stand up for me.” 

Hotch gave a slight groan but slid his feet to the floor and pushed his body off of the couch. y/n could see a sweat stain where his back had been and hustled him out the door before he could see it and made a fuss about germs or something else to keep him in the office. y/n was sure she looked funny with her bag and purse, plus Hotch’s suitcase along with her boss leaning into her slightly as she wrapped an arm around his back to take him down the short flight of stairs and toward the elevator. Again y/n was grateful that Aaron was slightly out of it as Rossi exited the elevator bank on his and Aaron’s floor. The older man looked over at y/n and mouthed, “What’s wrong with him?” y/n mouthed back, “He’s sick and throwing a fit. He wants to stay.” Dave nodded, rolled his eyes, and pulled out his phone, indicating that she should check it when she was free. y/n nodded and kept moving Aaron toward the exit. 

The pair just missed the entrance of Emily, Derek, and Spencer which was a stroke of luck. y/n helped Hotch into the passenger seat of her car and dropped all of their things in the back then y/n slid into the driver's side and started the engine. Aaron had perked up once he was outside and he looked over to y/n and said, “Listen, sweetheart, I can drive myself. Really, I’ll be okay if I just get an hour or two of sleep.” y/n threw him a warm smile while looking up from her phone and said, “Aaron. Somehow I feel like if I’m not there watching you, you’re going to be working or trying to be productive. Now, to avoid that and you being sick for longer, which I know you hate, I’m going to take you home and watch after you. You’re running quite the temp and I want to take care of you, remember.” Aaron turned to y/n and smiled at her. He remembered in a hazy kind of way how much y/n cared for him in times when he could be stubborn and try and push himself. He’d ended up being much kinder to himself in the last month thanks to y/n’s care. That didn’t mean he didn’t still fall into his old habits, like today, but he had y/n to look out for his best interests, even if he didn’t always want to admit that in the moment. y/n heard her phone ping and she pulled it out of her exterior purse pocket. It was a message from Rossi that simply stated, “Take care of him. I’ll let an admin know that Aaron’s out with a cold - Dave.” y/n chuckled at how old school Rossi could be by signing his texts with his name like his contact wasn’t in her phone already. He was being helpful,  however, by telling Patricia in admin about Hotch’s absence for the day. That ensured that she didn’t have to go into his computer and file a report for him explaining why he’d be out of the office today. From the way Hotch was lightly snoring in the seat next to her, y/n highly doubted he’d have the energy to request time off when he got home, and even if y/n had picked up on Aaron’s password for his state-sanctioned computer, it would be a high-level breach of protocol on her part to go anywhere near the device. y/n could only imagine the intel on the computer in Hotch’s briefcase behind her, and in some ways was happy not to have such a burden of knowledge on her shoulders. 

The pair made it to Hotch’s apartment in good time despite the morning rush into town. y/n grabbed all of their things first and moved them inside Aaron’s first-floor apartment. If he was in his full faculties she knew he’d throw her a stern look and go back for their work things first and give some comment about the safety of sensitive information if she tried to get him inside first. He would be correct of course, but it was always funny that Aaron’s mannerisms had started to rub off on her with time. y/n wasn’t complaining. It made her a better and safer agent. She was surprised that the team hadn’t picked up on it yet though. After y/n dropped their things off inside the door, then turned to go back to Aaron. Hotch had woken from his light sleep when y/n gently closed her door. He had gotten out of the car and was walking down the sidewalk. His muscles were slightly achy as they always did when he got sick. He lifted his arms above his head and y/n flushed as his shirt revealed a small stripe of his tummy. The trail of hair that led from his belly button down to his nether regions was on clear display. It looked pressed down from his shirt and the sweat on his body and the sight had y/n sigh. She wished more than anything to just have it be the weekend and be laying next to Aaron with her hand under his sleeping shirt trailing her fingers through that strip of hair from his belly button and lower. Aaron noticed y/n freeze and he lowered his arms. He still wasn’t feeling good at all but couldn’t help but say as he stepped next to her, “Now looks who looks like they’re warm?” Hotch watched as the blush only worsened on y/n’s face and she said, “Ha ha. Now let’s get you inside and in bed, Sir.” That comment had Aaron’s eye widen and he sighed, putting his warm hand on y/n’s back leading them to the door. 

Once inside, y/n took the lead and took Aaron’s hand in hers, a classic gesture that they had become accustomed to in either of their homes. At the beginning of the relationship, Aaron was so used to not touching in the office or on the plane that he would take his hand away out of instinct. But over time he got used to the feeling of their hands conjoined. After a long case or a hard or boring day in the office which was most of them. Aaron could hardly wait to feel the comfort and grounding presence of y/n’s hand in his. They would hold hands whenever possible at home, even if it was impractical. y/n took him into his room and Hotch sat on the cool bed. y/n moved her hand to his shirt and started to unbutton it for him as he unbuckled his belt and pulled it out of the loops of his pants. This was the kind of soft intimacy that Aaron loved with y/n. She stripped his shirt from his body which was sticking to his skin slightly. When this was done, Aaron stood and slipped out of his pants. Now that he was home and he was in his room, the bed called him and he pulled the covers aside and dipped down to the cool mattress letting out a sigh of relief. He closed his eyes just as y/n leaned down, picked up his clothes, and moved to the laundry hamper to put them there. She then moved into the bathroom and grabbed a few towels. Two she dampened with cool water and wrung out and the last she kept dry. y/n moved back to the bedroom and sat on the side of the bed. Aaron was shivering slightly and y/n assumed it was because of his sweat cooling him off. He usually kept it pretty cold in his apartment. y/n gently pulled the covers off of him and used the dry towel to wipe off his sweat. Hotch didn’t open his eyes as y/n did this. He was so comfortable around her. He used to feel like he needed to look a certain way and act a certain way even outside of the office like with holding hands, but now he could do or act anyway around her, and she could do the same. Aaron’s eyes fluttered open when y/n placed the cool towels on his forehead and chest. y/n smiled at his half-lidded gaze and brushed his hair back with her hands and he murmured, “Thanks sweetheart.” y/ns smiled and said, “Of course love, now just rest.” 

Once Aaron fell back to sleep, y/n got up and went back into the main room. She pulled out her laptop and sent in a request for a day off citing personal reasons as the cause. This wasn’t wholly a lie as taking care of Hotch was a personal reason to stay home for the day. y/n didn’t think about texting the team as she noticed some dishes in the sink and as she passed Jack’s room it seemed like it could use some picking up. y/n worked on the dishes first and then moved to the toys over the floor and bed of Jack’s bedroom. y/n knew that doing these small tasks would take a load off of Aaron’s shoulders later. These chores took about an hour and as y/n was walking out of Jack’s room, she got a call from Emily. y/n answered her phone and said, “Hey Em. How’s everything at the office?” Emily replied, “Well quiet for starters. You and Aaron are both out today. Apparently Hotch has a cold or something? Did you catch it too?” y/n thought quickly and pretended to not know that Aaron was sick and said, “Aaron is sick? Has that ever happened before? I swear he’s always in the office.” y/n heard Emily chuckle on the other end of the line and said, “Tell me about it. But anyway, what’s you’re excuse?” y/n through of a lie and said, “House problems. That drip in my ceiling from the workman redoing the unit upstairs turned into a river. I’ve been on the phone with maintenance and insurance for the last two hours.” There was a brief pause and Prentiss said, “Damn. Listen y/n, you’ve gotta get out of that place.” y/n laughed. She was happy to hear Emily and didn’t notice as Aaron moved out of his room. He’d taken Asperin which y/n had left on the table for him if he felt like he needed them. He was still very tired as he moved behind y/n with an empty glass and asked loudly enough for Em to hear Hotch ask, “Who’s on the phone, sweetheart?” 

There was a heavy pause on the other end of the line before Emily said, “y/n, are you with Aaron. Did… did he just call you…” y/n quickly said, “Hey, gotta go Em. I’ll talk to you later” before quickly hanging up the phone. y/n turned to look at Aaron and his face took on a sheepish look as he asked, “I take it that was a member of the team?” y/n silently nodded before bursting out into a laugh and saying, “Aaron, how have we kept this a secret for so long and you’re the one who goes and says something about it? On the phone nonetheless?” Hotch couldn’t help but chuckle too as he placed his head in the crook of y/n’s neck. He inhaled her scent and said, “Can you blame me? I’m sick after all.” y/n scoffed; she could still feel the heat radiating off of him, and if he wasn’t so warm to the touch, she might have thought that he was doing this all to get them alone and out of the office. But Aaron would never do that. He was a great partner but also a workhorse and a dedicated employee. Aaron simply did not miss work, which was why y/n had to pressure and make sure he got home and rested. He’d be itching to get back to the office by tomorrow but he’d be out for longer if he overdid it now.  y/n would have to think about his response about the team finding about them. She’d also need to think about her reaction, though y/n was sure most of that would depend on how the team responded. For now, y/n turned to Hotch and asked, “What are you doing up out of bed? You’re supposed to be resting.” Aaron stood back and replied, “Just getting some ice and another glass of water.” y/n smiled at him and said, “Okay, I’ll grab it for you. Now, you go lie down. I’ll be right there with some cold water.” Hotch nodded and walked back to his room. y/n moved toward the kitchen with a smile on her face. She wasn’t happy that Aaron was sick, just that he was so willing to let her help him. He was used to the notion that he needed to take care of everything himself, so letting her help him in these small ways was a big deal to y/n. 

While y/n and Aaron were talking after y/n had hung up on Emily abruptly, Emily was standing in the center of the bullpen near her desk with her mouth slightly ajar and eyes wide with shock. Prentiss wasn’t even sure how to process what she had just heard on the phone. Em didn’t stay that way for long as Morgan came back from grabbing a cup of coffee and noticed her stunned state. Derek moved forward and said jokingly, “Well this is a rare sight. What’s got you all tongue-tied?” Emily gained her composure and said, “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you?” Now Morgan’s interest was piqued and he raised an eyebrow stating, “Alright, try me, girlfriend.” Emily rolled her eyes at his nickname and said, “Well you know how Hotch is out sick today?” Derek nodded and Em continued, “Well I was just on the phone with y/n who is also missing…” Derek’s eyes widened as his brain connected the dots and he froze also. All the strong agent could say was, “No way,” Em nodded and said, “Well unless I have Hotch’s voice very wrong he just said ‘who’s on the phone sweetheart,’ to y/n.” Emily watched as Morgan’s eyes danced around for a second before he shook his head. Derek finally said, “Are you sure? What did y/n say?” At this point, Prentiss was smiling with the idea that y/n was seeing Aaron, just for the scandal of it all. She responded, “Not much. She said something came up, and she’d call me later, and then she hung up. If that’s not her trying to hide something then I don’t know what is.” Morgan let out a whistle and said, “Do you think she’s at his place or is he at hers?” That had Emily roll her eyes and say, “Well I’m not going to speculate about that right now. What I am going to do is go tell JJ about this. She will freak out.” Morgan agreed and said, “Do you think Rossi knows.” Prentiss replied, “Well we might just be freaking out. It could be something else you know. I might be reading into this.” Derek leveled a glare at her and Emily laughed, “Alright, you’re right. Listen, we can ask them tomorrow. Now, let me get to JJ and Garcia.” Derek let Emily past him. 

Once Prentiss was gone, he crossed his arms over his chest. He considered that Aaron was dating y/n and took the concept a bit more seriously than Emily. He wanted to make sure everything was okay with that. Not only for Hotch and y/n but for the team. He knew from his time as a beat cop that interdepartmental relationships could get messy if and when things ended. The team had worked well in taking y/n into the fold and he didn’t want to see that ruined for a romance that was technically against the rules. Apart from the team dynamic, Derek was scared for Aaron who had been under some heat from the director. But his concern was more for y/n who was new. If she got caught up in something she could easily be transferred to a small department in West Texas somewhere where prostitution, cattle, and oil are the only things there. Morgan closed his eyes and took a breath and tried to put things in perspective. When he opened his eyes Rossi was looking down at him with a knowing look. The older profiler had heard Emily and JJ’s excited conversation in the next room over. Morgan just rolled his eyes. There was nothing for him to do now, so he went back to his desk and got back to work. 

The rest of the day passed uneventfully for the team and y/n and Aaron. At 3:30 y/n went and picked up Jack and they had dinner in the kitchen while Hotch stayed as far away from them as he could while still keeping up some conversation. Jack was excited about the school play of Peter Pan that was coming up and y/n encouraged him in all things. Aaron couldn’t help but smile as he watched y/n and his son talk animately about what the play would entail. y/n opted to spend the night at Aaron’s the evening just in case he needed anything or his fever got way worse. That would also ensure that she could drop Jack off at school before heading to the office. That evening after Jack was in bed y/n attempted to climb in with Aaron but he sat up and said, “y/n if I’m sick and you sleep with me, then I’m going to get you sick sweetheart, and I promise you don’t want to feel like this.” y/n gave him a small pouty face. Although he looked much better than this morning he was still flushed and warm and he did look tired. y/n didn’t want him to worry about her, so she kissed his forehead, got him another towel for him to place on his face, and moved to the couch in the living room. She pulled a pillow and blanket from the closest and settled in for the night. y/n quickly fell asleep not aware of what was coming tomorrow at the office. The fact that Emily had heard what she heard had slipped out of her head as she had spent the rest of the day taking care of Aaron and Jack along with filling out some forms at Hotch’s desk in his home office. 

The next morning came with soft daylight drifting into the living room where y/n was lying. She was woken by Aaron who ran his hand down her face and gently shook her shoulder. y/n smiled at him and noticed he was in his slacks and another white shirt. She stretched out her arms and legs and asked, “What time is it?” Hotch placed his hand on her shoulder and leaned down kissing her before saying, “6:25.” y/n hummed in response. She could feel that he was no longer warm. She could also smell his shaving cream which meant he’d gotten up early and got ready so she’d have time to use the shower and bathroom. y/n sat up and could also smell coffee. y/n leaned into Aaron and kissed him a bit more fervently, winding her hands into his short hair. When they pulled away he was flushed again and she ran a hand down his strong jaw as she moved to his bathroom. As y/n took a cool shower to wake herself up for the day, she considered just how kind Aaron was to her. The kindness she showed him he showered back on her in equal measure, if not more. Not on the field or in the office of course. There was never any favoritism, but outside of work they were there for each other and it felt so nice to have someone to fall back on on the hard days and someone to celebrate the good ones with. 

y/n realized that her plan to drop Jack off was infeasible as Hotch had left his car in the Quantico lot yesterday as she drove him home. That meant that they both dropped Jack off and went to work together. This was a fact that wasn’t missed by Spencer or JJ who arrived at the office at the same time as them. Aaron moved up to his office like normal to see all that he’d missed while he was gone yesterday. y/n had asked him if it was a good idea for him to go back to work if he was possibly still sick, but he really felt like what he had yesterday was a twenty-four-hour bug, so y/n didn’t try and stop him. He mostly likely had a say in the sick day policy and y/n knew that she’d come in feeling lousy before, so to not be a hypocrite, she didn’t say much, just that she’d be looking out for him in case he started looking bad again. While Aaron went up to his office, y/n moved to her desk and she could feel a strange atmosphere in the air. There was a kind of excitement that she hadn’t expected coming back to the bullpen. Emily and Spencer seemed to look at her differently as she waved at them and said, “Good morning! I missed y’all yesterday. Did I miss anything good?” Spencer chuckled and said, “Oh yeah, you did. I’m sure Em will tell you about it later.” y/n smiled, she loved drama, but she didn’t realize that she was at the center of this one. She moved to her desk and wrapped up the last file she had been working on at Aaron’s yesterday. When she was finished with that, she moved to the staff room to refresh her coffee. y/n heard Emily and JJ come in behind her laughing and y/n turned around and said, “Hey, JJ, Em. Spence said that I missed some drama yesterday. Who was it? Is it Janet and Brandon again?” y/n sounded so excited and the two other agents in the room looked at each other and burst out laughing. y/n tilted her head and said, “Wait. What’s so funny? What’s going on you two?” The slight exasperation in y/n’s voice had Emily laugh even more and then the brunette replied, “Well does, ‘who’s on the phone sweetheart’ sound familiar?” 

Once the words were out of Prentiss’s mouth y/n flushed deeply. y/n stammered a bit and that had JJ laugh and say, “I knew it! How long have you and Hotch been together?” Emily leaned against the counter and said, “Please, y/n. Spill the beans.” y/n had to let out a nervous chuckle and couldn’t believe that she had forgotten this was coming. y/n looked at her hands for a second and then back at her friends softly saying, “Almost a year now. We started considering ourselves official last April.” y/n’s statement had her two friends fall silent. Emily looked at y/n with surprise. Prentiss had expected it to be a few months, maybe four or five, but nearly a year was not what she’d assumed. JJ echoed the surprise and said, “That long? Where you planning on telling us?” y/n looked at their disappointed faces that had shifted from mirth to confusion and potentially hurt so quickly. y/n gave a small sigh and said honestly, “I never meant to keep it secret for so long. I don’t want to hide things from you guys.” Emily responded, “Well this was going on for a pretty long while y/n,” y/n nodded and replied, “I know. I know it has. When we started dating it was pretty soon after Haley. Aaron and I were good with it. But we didn’t want drama or blowback from everyone else. Not the team but the other departments. So we decided to just keep it between us for a while. And then I guess we just kind of fell into that pattern. It was nice. It was nice to have something just for us. I love you both. I love the whole team, but we know each other so well and so intimately. This gave us a place to just be us. But you and the whole team have supported me and Aaron so well. Always. And if you’re willing to support us in this too we’d be so happy. I can’t believe it took me so long to say something. I have so much to tell you both about us.” 

Once y/n used Hotch’s first name in that tone, with such care and softness, JJ and Emily softened immediately. They hadn’t seen her look or sound that way before. As y/n spoke her words resonated and Emily stepped forward and asked, “Does he make you happy? That’s what’s most important to me. Because I’m sure you make him happy. He’s a lucky guy that he could get you. But are you happy with him?” y/n’s face broke out into a smile and replied, “I’m happier with Aaron than I’ve ever been before. You have no idea how good he makes me feel.” Hearing this, Prentiss and JJ smiled and moved forward to give y/n a hug. JJ said, “Well then I’m happy for you. But you better be ready for a lot of questions from us and Penelope over a few bottles of wine, y/n.” y/n smiled and replied, “You got it!” 

While the ladies were chatting, Aaron got to his office and sat down. He, unlike y/n, was aware that he would have to explain things to the team. Or more like a certain member of the team who had shot him a disappointed look once he’d gotten into the office. When Aaron had his laptop out and had answered two of the most pressing emails the knock on the door shifted his attention. Hotch didn’t even say, come in, Derek just entered and stood at the door for a second before he closed it behind himself. Hotch looked up at his agent who stepped forward and placed his hands on his hips. Hotch pressed his lips together in a firm line as he extended the greeting, “Morgan.” Derek nodded and said, “Hotch.” Derek spent a moment testing out what he wanted to say, but finally just came out with, “What are you doing Hotch? What were all those trainings and mandatory workshops on professionalism about if you’re going to get into a relationship with not only the newest agent in the department but the youngest agent in the BAU? Explain the logic of that to me because it feels pretty hypocritical.” Hotch did his best to hold back the sigh he wanted to let out. This type of reaction was the exact reason why Aaron had been hesitant to let the team know in the first place. He understood that he was going against all of the things he had said and tried to demonstrate. 

However, Aaron truly hadn’t meant to fall in love with y/n like he had. He’d tried to stop the feels at every turn. Hell, when y/n had joined the team he hardly believed in the concept of love anymore with how it had ended with Haley. But slowly, over time, the way Aaron had left about y/n shifted. There was a love there unlike any he’d ever seen before. It wasn’t anything dramatic. Not a damsel in distress or that a lust had come over him. It was in the little things y/n did for him and the team. y/n not only looked out for people in small ways but understood that she needed to take care of herself too. She personified not trying to pour from a cup half empty. It was rare to see someone be so aware of what they needed and when they needed to step away. Aaron thought it was very attractive that y/n knew herself so well. At the end of the day when the team asked each other in the elevator what they were doing that night, y/n would always confidently say, “Oh you know, _y/f/r/a_. How about y’all?” When y/n quickly realized that Aaron didn’t even seem to have any coping strategies apart from staying late in the office, she slowly started inviting him to join her for things she liked that helped her unwind. She never pressured him into anything. She never analyzed his patterns or made comments, and slowly Hotch had started to agree and had relaxed a bit. That was when he first realized his feelings for y/n might be deeper than just a simple affection. 

Of course, explaining this all to Morgan didn’t feel appropriate or practical. It was he and y/n’s relationship and he didn’t feel like he had to justify it, although he could see where Derek was coming from. The best Aaron could answer Morgan’s question with was, “I didn’t intend it to be like this. And you see us in the office. We don’t flirt or act any differently than normal. And if what y/n and I have together started to affect how we act on the field then I would end it immediately. You can’t judge us on that. And it’s my private affair, Morgan.” The word came out hotter than Hotch intended, but he stood by them. Derek let out a huff and said, “Well it’s not your private affair anymore. You’re setting up rules that you get to break and we don’t? Well, y/n gets to break them too I guess. You might be our superior, but not in this Hotch. If those rules exist then they apply to you as well. And have you thought about y/n? Her role in all of this? You’re her boss whether you’re in a relationship or not.” Aaron flushed, suddenly angry that Morgan wouldn’t think that y/n was in the forefront of his mind at every moment. In every choice, he made going forward. Hotch was about to stand when the door opened again. 

While Aaron and Morgan were having their argument upstairs, back in the breakroom y/n had honestly asked what she’d missed, and JJ and Emily had filled her in. Much to y/n’s joy there had been gossip about Janet and Brandon and she listened with rapt attention. While they were laughing about the antics in the department, JJ’s phone pinged and she pulled it from her pocket. JJ’s face dropped immediately when she read the text and y/n and Emily shifted their demeanor as well. y/n asked, “What is it, JJ?” The liaison looked up from her phone and said, “New case. This one seems urgent. It’s directly from the DA. A senator's daughter is missing and he’s running for re-election this year. The DA thinks there might be some connection. I’d better run up and print these files. Em, could you get the rest of the team, and y/n can you tell Hotch?” The two agents nodded and the trio left the break room with determination in their stride. It was fun to talk and chat, but when work needed to get done, they all switched to a serious mood. 

Derek didn’t even need to turn around when someone else stepped into the office. From y/n’s distinct tread, he knew it was her. The exasperation that Morgan had been feeling seemed to slip away as he noticed the way Aaron looked at y/n. y/n stayed quiet. She could sense the tension in the air, and that it might be surrounding her. The silence lingered and Derek realized how Aaron looked at y/n. The look on Hotch’s face was one he hadn’t seen in a long time. He looked, happy. Not in a childish “I have a new toy kind of way,” but in a deeply contented and loving way. Morgan dropped his arms and stepped aside, that look on Aaron was enough for him to move aside. y/n stepped forward. She gave Derek a small smile and then looked at Hotch seriously as she said, “We have a case. An important one it seems. JJ is printing the files and we need you in the briefing room.” Aaron nodded and replied, “Okay. I’ll be there in a minute.” y/n nodded and Derek followed her out of the office, but not before giving Hotch a small nod. Not that he was fully onboard, but he could understand better now how much y/n meant to Aaron. Perhaps not only that, but how y/n had helped change Hotch for the better like she had helped the whole team with that. As the pair moved out of the office and toward the briefing room, Derek looked at y/n and asked, “So, how have you been?” y/n tucked a strand of her _y/c/h_ behind her ear and said, “I’m okay. It’s been an interesting day and it’s not even 11:00 yet.” Morgan chuckled and said, “Well, I think it will be okay. You’re a good person, y/n.” y/n smiled and replied, “Thanks, Morgan. You’re a good friend to me.” 

Upstairs, Aaron secured his computer and grabbed a legal pad and pen. He and Rossi moved down the hallway together. Dave, whose suspicion had very much been proven correct jokingly said, “So, do you get her home by midnight every night?” Hearing Dave’s joke, Hotch froze. He knew Rossi was just being silly. It was part of his charm. Hotch scoffed and replied, “Maybe, maybe not. What about it?” Rossi moved forward, placed a hand on Aaron’s shoulder with a pat, and replied, “Well just let me know if you need a chaperone for your next date.” Aaron could only roll his eyes and say, “You’re as bad as Morgan, just in the opposite way.” Dave removed his hand and said, “Don’t worry about Derek. He’ll come around. I think we’re all just happy for you. Even if we won’t say it yet. Now, let’s get in there.” When Aaron walked in the room he felt like he was in high school for a moment as all eyes turned to him. He stopped in the doorway and flushed for a second. Emily and Penelope threw him grins but when his eyes landed on y/n he came to himself. y/n was giving him that soft smile that said, “Everything’s going to be alright.” Hotch took a breath knowing that it would be. If not what had they been working toward over the past few months of building a life together? Hotch moved forward, cleared his throat, and said, “This doesn’t seem to be our normal case. So let’s over over the information we have so far together then we can look at the information more closely before having another debrief. 

The beginning look over the case information and lead so far was full of ideas and notes and the team did what it did best. After a few minutes, everything settled into its routine like always, and only when Hotch looked over at y/n did he feel himself flush a small bit, but it wasn’t unpleasant. The case so far, was. It dealt with children and a prominent political figure, so the pressure was on the team to solve this quickly. That on top of the mixed reception for the team to his and y/n’s relationship had Aaron feeling a bit antsy. When it came to looking at the files for a few minutes, Aaron moved to the table. It wasn’t a coincidence that the only open chair was next to y/n. Hotch sat down and pulled his chair into the table. He opened his file. y/n, as always, could tell that he was on edge. She took his hand under the table and gave it a soft squeeze. She kept her hand in his, and after a moment, Aaron took both of their hands and set them on the table. Now that the cat was out of the bag it just felt more comfortable that way. y/n took a second to smile at his actions and give his palm another squeeze as her eyes moved back to her file. The cat was out of the bag and Aaron didn’t mind or fear it now that it had happened. The BAU was like a family. They supported each other through life and changes including relationships. And with y/n beside him, he knew that they could make it through anything together.

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[dancinglikebutterflywings]

Lee Know: Prompt 04

-> Pairing: Lee Minho x Fem!Reader -> Requested by: Anon -> Prompt: 04 - "Are you okay?” “No. Everything is a mess right now.” “What can I do to help?” “You’re already doing it.” -> Warnings: Reader having a bad day from the moment she wakes up. -> Word Count: 545 -> Request: Closed.

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The moment Y/N walks into their apartment, Minho can tell that something is wrong. It's not just the tear stains on her face or the redness and swelling of her eyes. Her whole demeanor seems different. She's not her usual cheerful self. Instead, she looks sad and defeated.  

He turns off the TV, moving Dori from his lap and gets up, going to her. He opens his arms as he reaches her and pulls her into a hug without saying anything. He can hear her trying to hold back her tears as her body trembles. 

Are you okay?" he asks, rubbing her back in an attempt to comfort her.  

"No," she sniffles, fresh tears streaming down her face and wetting his shirt. "Everything is a mess right now."  

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asks. She shakes her head in response. 

"What can I do to help?" he asks.  

"You're already doing it," she tells him. Despite the tears, her body starts to relax as she feels the warmth of his body against hers. His familiar scent lulls her into a sense of ease. Feeling the weight of her troubles start to lift she whispers, “I’m already starting to feel better. I just need you to hold me for a little while.” 

“Let’s move to the couch,” he suggests so they could be comfortable and he can hold her for as long as she needs him too. She nods in agreement. He lets her go, taking her hands and leading her to the couch.  

As they sit down, Minho pulls her back into his arms. Dori joins them, pushing his way in between them. They sit in silence, until he breaks it. “Are you sure you don’t want to talk about?” he asks again, letting her know he’s all ears if she does want to vent. 

She thinks about it for a moment before she answers. “I just don’t know where to start,” she says with a sad sigh. “It feel like everything went wrong today.” 

He gently rubs her back, his full attention on her as she continues, “My alarm didn’t off this morning and I couldn’t work out why until I realized I set it for pm not am. Because of that I was late for work.” 

“I had a feeling I should have woken you up before I left,” he admits. This morning, he had to leave their apartment earlier than usual. When he went to leave, he debated whether or not he should wake her up so he could tell her he was leaving and that he’d see her later that evening and of course get in a kiss before he goes. He ultimately decided not to and let her get that extra hour of sleep.  

“That wasn’t even the worst part of the day,” she assures him and goes on to tell him about every bad thing that had happened, from her supervisor reprimanding her for being late to reprimanding her for not having her part of the new project done, even though she hadn’t been told that the date had been brought forward. 

The whole time, keeps mostly quiet, offering reassurance when she needs it, as he listens to her rant and rave about her bad day.  

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[gcslingss]

hello👀👀 kinda nervous sending this bec idrk how you send prompt asks but.... for the gentleness prompts that you reblogged, would you like to do recovery with luke glanton, or breathe for officer k?

thank you for this request omg ive been wanting to write for k for so long

i havent watched place beyod the pines yet, so i went with option 2 :)

hope you enjoy!!! <3

real | officer k.

prompt: breathe (find the prompt list here)

summary: he wishes he could tell you all the things you made him feel, but there just weren't enough words for it.

pairing: officer k x gn!reader (slightly inclined to fem but maybe it's just me)

warnings/content: swearing, weapons (gun), gunshots, death of an animal, death of a character, slight violence, kissing, lots of touching, albert camus mention, so many thoughts :)))

word count: 895

notes: ngl this stuff hits hard, even if I do say so myself - k just needs some love poor guy :( also thank you @laff-nelson for requesting, i really enjoyed writing this! hope you like ittt <3

“Don’t - you don’t have to do this, I know you can-“

“I’m sorry.”

There was a void look on Officer K’s face when he shot the old replicant down, and watched his body thud on the floor. 

The chained dog on the side started to howl, scratching at the floor to get closer to its dead owner. It was thin, barely skin and bones, but it seemed loyal.

He has a pet, I’ve gathered, he remembered Lt. Joshi saying. If you see it, kill it.

The dog seemed to know it’s end was near. It ceased to bark and looked up at him. It looked as if it was begging.

He raised his arm with practised aim.

If you see it, kill it.

K didn’t mean for his eyes to close when he shot the animal.

_______________

“Your baseline is admirable, but not your best, K.”

K lowered his head. “I apologize, ma’am. I-“

“Was it because of the dog?”

There was silence. K looked up, only just meeting Joshi’s eyes. He opened his mouth to reply, but she spoke before he could.

“You’re a fucking Blade Runner, K,” she said, staring rather uninmpressedly at him. “This is pathetic.”

K’s skin prickled. A heavy feeling of guilt weighed down in his stomach. He didn’t divert his gaze, but only because he was far too ashamed to do anything.

He didn’t like being disappointing her in any way. It hurt. That was the only way he could describe it.

For a moment, he felt like the dog he killed.

Obedient. Loyal. Docile.

At the mercy of his owner.

“I apologize, ma’am,” he said again, but quietly.

Joshi waved a dismissive hand. K nodded, and exited the office.

________________

K was tired.

Tired of what, he wasn’t sure. But he could feel the exhaustion heavy on his shoulders, in his mind, his synthetic joints sore.

K unlocked the door to his house and stepped in, noticing only the dining area’s lights were switched on. He peeked, and saw you sitting at the table, reading something.

You looked up from the book and when your eyes met his, your face lit up in a way that caused his heart to flutter, his shoulders to relax, lips automatically pulling into a smile that spoke to yours.

“Hey,” you said, keeping the book aside and walking over to him. 

“Hi.”

You observed him for a moment, and he knew nothing escaped your scrutiny, but he hoped you wouldn’t say anything.

And you didn’t, only reaching to remove his coat, placing it on one of the chairs, before giving him another one of your lovely smiles.

“I’m not hungry today,” he said, glancing at the utensils on the table. “Is that alright?”

You looked taken aback, but nodded. “Yeah, of course.”

“I’m gonna get a shower.”

“Okay.”

He kissed your temple, before walking to his room.

_________________

When K stepped out of the shower, he felt bad.

He’d gone over the conversation he’d had with you earlier, and he was sure he’d been unnecessarily rude, and crisp.

You were always there for him. It wasn’t fair for him to do that.

He could see you sitting in bed, still reading the plainly covered book, and his breathing eased.

K removed the towel round his waist and threw it on the bed, before changing into his clothes that you had got him a few days ago, telling him it would be comfortable to wear while sleeping.

He crawled into the covers beside you, hand instinctively taking yours.

You squeezed it and leaned into him, placing your head on his shoulder.

“You seem to really like the book,” he said. “What is it?”

“The Stranger, by Albert Camus,” you replied, as you closed it and kept it under your pillow. “It’s an old book.”

“Hmm.”

You got closer to him, sitting up straighter, letting his arm rest on the covers over your thigh. 

You seemed to be drinking him in, your gaze drifting over his face. 

“You alright?” you asked casually. 

K nodded, managing a smile.

You smiled back, but your eyes were still concerned.

I don’t think you are, they seemed to say.

K couldn’t help but wonder at times like these how you ever ended up here, with him, in his house. He wondered why you loved him so much, a replicant with bloody hands, a synthetic being made to obey. 

How you, a human, ever found him, a skinner to be enough for you.

But then your hands glided across his cheek to stroke his hair so lovingly, so gently, and every such doubt disintegrated, his mind only aware of your touch, your affection.

“K,” you whispered, a soft plea. 

Things like this made him feel real.

When his fingers found purchase in your hair, pulling you close enough that your bodies were pressed against each other, he felt real.

When his mouth pressed against yours in a soft yet feverish kiss, his lips tingling with heat, he felt real.

When he heard you mumble "oh," and clutch onto the neckline of his shirt, head tilting into the kiss, nails faintly scratching against his skin, he felt real.

When he felt your arms wrap around his back and embrace him like he meant the world to you, he felt real.

Every fibre of him felt real.

And he could never thank you enough for that.

tagging: @laff-nelson @hollandstrophyhusband @hollandsbabygirl @zsuo @bimbocoreblonde @barbiehandlrr @fleursial @officer-kd6 @webbo0

[wildsupernova]

too sweet.

summary: she was too sweet for him, everybody knew that. still, he couldn’t stay away, and neither could she, even when the sugar made his head spin and the bitterness burned her throat.

pairing: steve harrington x reader

warnings: brief mentions of sexual content, nothing too serious really

word count: 900

a/n: hey! just wanted get something up while i work on some longer pieces. i’m currently finishing up my second semester of my second year of college, so i haven’t had time or energy to write much of anything lately. figured i’d write a little blurb when i got the time to keep the content coming for you guys. anyway, hope you enjoy! hopefully new longer content will be coming soon. if you enjoy, leave a like, reblog, or a comment, whatever, any little bit of engagement helps. :)

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She was too good for Steve, everyone knew that. She was a delicate, well groomed rose bush and he was the patch of weeds that grew in her planter box, stealing every last bit of water from her until her leaves turned brown and fell from her stem. He wasn’t someone a girl like her should ever be associating with, but something kept him coming back to her, and her to him. 

They didn’t speak in school, sharing stolen glances from across the hall, soft stares that turned desperate when they were filled with memories of two nights ago. To Steve’s friends, she was nothing more than a conquest, and to hers he was nothing more than a walking red warning sign telling her to run the other way. To each other, they were something they couldn’t quite name, unsure if it was love or boredom or something else entirely. But boredom wouldn’t have you running back to someone like this, wouldn’t have you lying awake thinking about them and your heart racing every time you shared a glance. 

He was the type to fall asleep when the sky was dark and wake long after the birds had already started singing, and she never crawled in or out of bed any later than the sun. He’d tried to see her once, crawl through her window after every streetlight had flickered on, but she hadn’t answered his taps on her window, duvet blocking out any sound that might disturb her early sleep. Two mornings later and he’s woken from his own sleep by the ringing of his phone, her sweet voice begging him to watch the sunrise with her at Lovers Lake. He had complained and told her it was far too early, but when she told him she got up that early everyday he simply laughed and grabbed his keys from the bedside table.

He asked her once if she’d ever thought about sleeping in, or staying out late to watch the stars around a bonfire. She’d shook her head, told him routine was what she needed, that she could get the most out of her day if she went to bed early, but that same night she’d made it back home long after the moon took its place in the sky, hair frizzy and skirt twisted sideways. 

She reminded him of when he’d drank a Screwdriver for the first time, far too sweet for him to handle without his head spinning, but giving him enough of a buzz that he couldn’t stop sipping it. He reminded her of the single sip of her father’s whiskey spiked coffee, the kind that turned her tongue bitter and burned her throat on the way down, but had her heart racing all the same. 

He always laughed at the way she’d scold him for his dirty mouth. He didn’t think he’d ever heard a single ‘bad word’ come out of her, and everytime one came out of him, she was quick to smack him on the shoulder and tell him off like a mother. She kept her body guarded, rarely letting his hands wander too far until it was two hours later and she was desperate for them to be anywhere else but on her face. He started to wake up earlier just to hear the birds sing about her. 

He started seeing her in everything. In the rainy days where the sun was still in the sky, the soft patter of raindrops hitting his window sounding more and more like her laugh every time. He saw her in the wisteria vines that climbed the trellis in his mother’s garden, in the sip of wine he stole from his mother’s glass. He told himself he could wait a few years until he didn’t burn so much, until he became a better man who could handle how sweet she was. She told him she didn’t mind the burn, didn’t mind the bitterness, but if he wanted to wait until he was smoother for her, she could do that. She could wait.

2 years later and she's still just as sweet, smooth like an aged bottle of wine but with that small bitter hint you don’t really notice until you’re two glasses in. He’s smoother, like the shot of bourbon sitting next to her on her kitchen counter, but he still burns just enough for her to recognize him. She downs the amber in the glass and tells him she can handle the burn, and he tells her that sweet still makes his head spin, even after all this time.

Suddenly he’s the one waking before the sun, slaving away over an oven and a glass of wine left out from the night before, birds singing the same song they used to years ago. He’s in bed by sunset because she’d pulled him to the bedroom by the arm, lips lingering on his skin in the same way he used to linger on hers. He finds himself watching his language and she lets a few dirty words slip now and then, and her hands move his lower when she gets tired of them on her waist. He still sees her in the rain and the roses outside of his apartment, down to the small thorns hidden just beneath the beautiful crimson petals. She sees him in the thunder storms and the dandelions, beautiful and dangerous all the same. 

Suddenly, Screwdrivers aren’t too sweet for him anymore, and whiskey doesn’t burn her throat quite like it used to.

[e-dubbc11]

Leavin’ Early

Photos are not mine. They are courtesy of Pinterest/Google

Pairing: Billy Russo x F! Reader

Warnings: SMUT! 18+ please! Or I’m telling on you! I mean it! Let’s see, there’s a little bit of everything in here…fingering, oral (F! Receiving) unprotected P in V sex (just cuz, the end 😉) Billy being in complete control of you

Word Count: 3.1K-ish

Summary: You and Billy leave a wedding early because, well, you want him. In every which way you want him and you want him now and he wants you too.

A/N: This is for my lovely friend Lisa @music-indie-tv who sent in this ask from a smut prompt list I reblogged a few days ago. I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again, smut is NOT my wheelhouse but I wanted the practice, so please be gentle! The prompt was:

'take control of me, I trust you' With Billy sounds really hot 🥵

Thank you again for sending this in. I hope you like it! 💜

As always, thank you for reading!  I appreciate it so much and comments, reblogs are welcome and encouraged. Don’t be shy to tell me your favorite part. 💕💕 💕

“Can we go? My feet hurt.”

Batting your eyelashes, you looked up at Billy to watch a sly smile appear across his handsome face. Never breaking eye contact, he took a sip of his bourbon and let it swirl around his tongue, you could tell he was really tasting the smooth tones of maple, oak, and nutmeg.

His top lip retreated back to reveal clenched teeth as he swallowed, watching as you took a sip of the same bourbon from your glass. The medium amber liquid had a gentle spiciness and a sweet oak aroma with a complex taste. Hints of vanilla and honey sprinted across your tongue before a long and smoky finish had your taste buds begging for another sip.

“It’s your friend’s wedding, baby. We can go if you’re ready though, just don’t let that bourbon go to waste. It’s pretty good for not being what we usually drink.” He said, raising his eyebrows, still gazing at you as he took another sip.

With one hand wrapped around his glass, the other pulled you in close by your waist, taking you a little by surprise. His expensive cologne floated past your nose as he leaned in to whisper in your ear.

“You have any idea how hot you look tonight, my love?” He asked.

Billy’s warm breath grazed the top of your ear while his crotch pressed gently against your core, causing your stomach to drop and the hair on the back of your neck to stand up on end. Your panties already had a wet spot on them from the wink he gave you across the room earlier tonight.

He always looked incredibly handsome. His suit always tailored to perfection, not a hair out of place, and his crisp white dress shirt was hugging his tight body in all the right places.

But there was something about the way he looked tonight that was driving you absolutely insane, like you wanted him to do whatever he wanted with you. If he wanted to fuck you in the bathroom or the elevator, you’d be more than willing to let him.

Red hot heat expanded across your cheeks and an intense shudder raced down your spine. The sharp tingle spread throughout your core and he only had a hand on your waist. Billy wasn’t even touching your skin when a low guttural moan escaped your mouth. Slowly, your tongue skirted across your top lip followed by a gentle hum.

“Hmmmmm…oh really?” You asked, shyly.

Billy brushed your collar bone with his long slender fingers as his gaze raked over you filled with concentrated desire. The primal need for him was becoming stronger as his half hard cock twitched in his pants against your black velvet dress.

He had been staring at you possessively since you started to get ready for the wedding. Leaning against the door frame and with a wide smile across his face, he stared while you sang along to the Rolling Stones in the shower.

The steam from the hot water fogged up the glass but he could still make out your silhouette, dancing seductively like no one was watching covered from head to toe in a rich soapy lather.

Billy let out a little chuckle but you couldn’t hear him over the music, so he gently cleared his throat.

Not bothering to turn around, you continued to dance while asking him “You see somethin’ you like, handsome?”

“Oh I always see somethin’ I like when I’m lookin’ at you, baby.” He said, stripping off his t-shirt and jeans to join you in the shower.

“You’re gonna make us late, Billy!” You said, laughing as his lips collided with yours and pressing you up against the shower wall. “My dress is open in the back, I can’t have tile marks on my back!”

He traced his kisses down your neck, to your breasts and making you whimper as he lightly flicked his tongue against your nipple. You didn’t want him to stop but there was no way you’d be ready for the wedding in time if he kept this up.

Billy watched intently as you put the finishing touches on your makeup and hair, while he adjusted his tie. He was so proficient at it, he could tie it with his eyes closed. It turned you on and made you so needy for him, watching him as he shined his shoes, adjusted his cufflinks, and combed his hair.

The same hair that had been in between your fingers an hour ago in the shower as he captured your mouth over and over again, your leg wrapped around the back of his thigh, making sure that you held him as flush as you possibly could to him because Billy loved your touches, he craved them like a man starved.

Physical touch was Billy’s love language and you made sure to always show him physical affection whether it’s lightly raking your nails against his scalp or aggressively digging your nails into his back while he fucked you.

He just loved being touched…by you and only you.

But right now, it was you who desired to be touched by him.

“Yes, my sweet girl. I’ve been eyeing you since you were singing in the shower.” He said. “Here…” Looking around, Billy guided your free hand down to his crotch. “This is what you do to me.” He was getting harder by the second. In the dim light of the ballroom, no one seemed to notice.

Billy took the final sip of his bourbon and set the glass on the high top table next to you. Again, you watched as his Adam’s apple moved up and down when he swallowed, and desperately wanting to taste the leftover bourbon on his lips.

He pinched your chin in between his thumb and forefinger and tilted it up to meet his stare, his eyes intense and dark like a dolls eyes but they were so beautiful.

His slightly wicked smile was all you could see right before he kissed you. Billy’s lips were soft, warm and tasted like vanilla with a little bit of honey.

“Well then take me home, Billy.” You whispered in his ear and taking the final sip of your bourbon. “Take control of me, I trust you.”

He barely let you put the glass down before whisking you out of the reception hall and out to the car he had waiting to take the two of you home.

The brisk autumn air brushed against the bare skin of your shoulders. He pulled you outside quickly after retrieving your coats and frantically looked for the car he hired for the night.

“Don’t you dare put that on.” He said firmly, extending his index finger to point toward you.

Billy practically had you naked in the car on the way home except for your thigh highs and heels. He hovered above you, gingerly brushing the hair away from your eyes, and cupping your cheeks as his lips crashed onto yours. He peppered kisses from your forehead, down your stomach to your knees which trembled at his gentle touch.

His proficient fingers teased your entrance as you arched your back off of the leather seat. One finger pushed inside you, hooking at just the right spot that caused you to sharply inhale and moan into his mouth as he fucked you with just one finger.

You were dripping down his hand as he inserted a second finger just as your walls started to tighten around him, your orgasm slowly building while he finger fucked you in back of the town car.

Each time he pushed his fingers inside, it brought you closer and closer to your release, but he was teasing you on purpose. He was controlling you, just as you had told him to do.

“You’re soaking my hand, baby. You wanna come, don’t you. But I don’t want you to just yet.” He said with a sly smile.

“B-Billy, please!” You choked out with a hitch in your voice.

He was enjoying this as he did every time you wanted him to take control of you. It made him so hard that his cock was straining against his suit pants, begging to be released.

“Ah, ah…not yet sweet girl. We’re not home yet.” He whispered harshly against your mouth with the sweet smell of bourbon on his lips and the fingers of his free hand ghosting over your lips. “Who’s in control here, me or you?”

“Y-you are, Billy.” The words stumbling out of your mouth like you had no control of what you were saying because you were unable see straight.

Moving rhythmically, his fingers felt amazing as you rocked back and forth against them but he stopped you when he felt what you were doing.

“Stop that or I’m taking my fingers away.” A devilish grin stretched across his face.

Through a soft whine, you pleaded with him not to.

“B-but feels so good, baby.”

His dark chocolate eyes stared intensely at you. “You gonna be good for me?” He asked, licking his thumb before drawing circles on your clit. “Or do I have to keep teasing you like this?”

“I’ll be good, Billy.” You whined.

He pushed his fingers inside once more. “That’s my good girl. We’re almost home and don’t put your dress back on when we get there…just your coat.”

You were thankful that your coat was long.

Billy was always very attentive to your needs, the man was not a selfish lover but you made sure to give him what he needed also because he always left you more than satisfied.

So it wasn’t a surprise that as soon as the elevator doors closed, he was on his knees in front of you, your body pushed into the corner of the elevator, and one of your legs draped over his shoulder. He didn’t waste any time parting your folds with his tongue, wanting to devour and taste you so badly, and enjoying every last drop.

A tremor of pleasure shot through your body when he began to suck on your clit. His once perfect hair tumbled into his eyes after you gently pulled on it, and scratching his scalp with your nails. The gradual intensity of your release building again as you pleaded with Billy to let you come.

All he said to you was “Soon…”

He rose to his feet and crushed his lips down against yours, pressing you so hard against the corner of the elevator you thought you might end up on the other side of the wall. The impressive bulge in his pants showed you how badly he wanted you.

With his eyes firmly locked on yours, Billy pulled you into a tight embrace that caused all of the air to escape your lungs while his rock hard cock compressed against you, which soaked the front of his pants.

Your feet still hurt from the shoes you were wearing.

“Billy.” You gasped against his lips. “My feet still hurt. Can I take my shoes off…please?”

“I do love hearing you beg, sweet girl…allow me.” He said sweetly.

Billy kneeled down in front of you, unfastened the straps on your shoes and slid them off your feet just as the elevator reached the top floor. Even though Billy was in complete control of you, he was still sweet, considerate and he would do anything for you.

“I want you to beg some more when we get inside, baby.” He said with a slight smirk.

As soon as the door closed behind you, the dress and shoes in your hand dropped to the floor along with your long wool coat. The only pieces of clothing you had on were your thigh high stockings. Still fully clothed, Billy threw you over his shoulder, carried you to the bedroom and gently put you down on the side of the bed.

The feral look in his eyes said he wasn’t going to make you wait much longer. You had been dying to have him since this afternoon in the shower and he had been teasing you ever since.

“Roll those stockings down and I’ll let you take off my tie.” He whispered in your ear.

“But Billy—“ You started to say when he interrupted you.

All teeth and tongue, Billy kissed you hard. “Roll…the…stockings…down, my love.”

You did as you were told, your hands trembling slightly as you rolled the stockings down your leg and pulled them off.

By this time you were overstimulated. You wanted him badly and you would do anything to get it. No one besides Billy ever made you feel like this, the flutters in your stomach were constant and never went away.

Every time he looked at you, delectable sparks ran along your spine, and your insides crackled with warmth any time he would flash that perfect smile at you.

“Need you, Billy.” You mewled.

He licked his bottom lip. “Help me undress, baby. And I’ll give you what you need.”

You loosened his tie first and unbuttoned his dress shirt, revealing the white undershirt. Slowly pushing his dress shirt off of his shoulders, you bit down on your bottom lip trying to stop yourself from ripping his clothes off of his tight body. Billy really was the sexiest man you’ve ever laid eyes on and sometimes it was still hard to believe that he was all yours.

Reaching for his belt, your fingers were wiggling impatiently. He could tell you were overstimulated so he eased back and softened his voice for you.

“Relax, sweet girl. It’s ok. Get in bed, I’ll do the rest.” He said.

Easing back onto the bed, you watched attentively as he removed his pants and boxer briefs. You could see his scars even in the dim light of the bedroom, remembering the night he told you about all of them even the scars that he didn’t get from being overseas.

You loved him even more for having the courage to tell you about them.

“Lie back, beautiful…and don’t move. It will just delay what you want most.” His stern tone was back.

Billy loved to tease you but you did ask for it. He would have fucked you hard and fast in the car on the way home but you told him “take control of me.” And that’s exactly what he was doing. He was controlling your actions, telling you what he wanted you to do, even telling you when you could come. You hated it and loved it at the same time. It just made your orgasms that much more intense.

He hungrily attacked your body like a wild animal attacking its prey. At times, his onyx colored eyes were locked on you, stalking you, figuring out where to tease you next. His lips and tongue painted your body like it was a canvas and you were a priceless work of art.

To him, you were priceless, you were perfect, and you were all he had ever wanted.

You reached out to graze his beard with your thumb and pull his face close to yours but he grabbed your wrist and pinned it firmly above your head.

That made you pout. “I wanna touch you, Billy.”

“No, baby…not yet.” He growled.

He leaned down to touch his forehead to yours, it was something that he always did to show you how much he loved you before his lips collided with yours. A loud guttural moan escaped your lips as he left little love bites down your neck and gently bit down on that spot on your neck that made you see stars.

For being as touched starved as he was, Billy really did have willpower when it came to him telling you “no” until he was ready. He loved having your hands all over him and you were very gentle when it came to touching his scars.

He loved your desperate, hungry kisses but when your lips would come in contact with his scars, those kisses were tender and comforting and he loved those too.

He was safe with you.

Gazing down at you, he released your wrist and you pulled down on his lower lip before brushing your knuckles across his cheek. His warm skin felt so good against your fingertips and you could almost hear his heart beating out of his chest.

The anticipation was almost painful, he was desperate for you too and knew you had been patient long enough. Using his knee, he pushed your legs apart and lined himself up before slowly pushing against your entrance.

Every cell in your body was on pins and needles, ready for him to move but he waited so he could easily stretch you out and completely bury his cock inside of you.

The noises he pulled from you as he began to move were sinful and became louder when he picked up the pace. Billy’s mouth slanted over yours, preventing the gasp that wanted to flee from your lips. The pleasure wound tighter and tighter inside you as his thrusts became faster and you pulled him in deeper.

Even though he had been controlling you, he was also controlling himself. He lived to please you and hated depriving you of anything especially an orgasm. Those sounds of pleasure were music to his ears and a smirk played across his lips every time he felt your walls flutter around him.

He was close, and felt the contractions in you core one last time before spilling into you…hard, still moving in and out to make sure he filled you up before collapsing on top of you. The sweat on his brow trickled down his temple as you brushed his hair away from his eyes, trying your best to catch your breath.

Billy’s lips found yours for a romantic kiss, his fingers winding around strands of your hair to move them away from your face.

“You alright, sweet girl?” He asked.

Your knees were shaking a little. “Y-yeah, Billy. I’m fine…well more than fine actually.” And you started to laugh.

“It drives me crazy to do that to you, y/n but it feels so good.” He said.

“Yes it does…I love you, Billy.” You said, lightly scratching his scalp.

He gazed down at you with his million dollar smile and said “I love you too, baby. Hey, do you think your friend will mind that we Irish-goodbye’d her wedding?”

You pulled him in for another soft kiss.

“Well it’s only fair, she Irish-goodbye’d ours.” You said with a warm smile.

See…sometimes it’s worth it to leave the party early.

Tag List: @mindidjarin @saintmurd0ck @wheresthesunshinesblog @rafaelakelley @idaoftheburningmind @snowkestrel @xdervyxccgh @mattmurdocksscars @fakehappy27 @music-indie-tv @fictional-hooman @kayhi808 @munsonownsmyass @gijos @celestialams @idek-what-to-put @anastasianeedstoread @ratsys @k-marzolf @nutmeg17 @rosaleenablack @vaguekayla @qu1etwolf

Others that might enjoy: @itwasthereaminuteago @fluffyprettykitty @jvanilly @simple-lovebot @russosafehaven @mrsbillyrusso @imagine-a-fictional-boyfriend

If you’d like to be added to (or removed from) my tag list(s) for the ever so handsome Billy Russo, just let me know and thank you again for reading! 💕💕💕 If I tagged you but you didn’t want to be, just let me know and I’ll never do it again.

[masterjedilenawrites]

All I Want for Christmas

Clone x Reader Life Day Exchange 2023

My gift is for the lovely @anxiouspineapple99! Hope you enjoy, and have a wonderful Christmas! 🎁❤️💚

Please go check out the @cloneficgiftexchange blog for all the other contributions to this great event! Fics are being posted all throughout today (12/16). Spread the love for fandom writers/creators by reblogging!

Fives x fem!reader | 2.8k words

Content: fluff, Christmas themes, snuggling for warmth, confessions, friends to lovers

Prompts: "Keep doing that and you'll end up on the naughty list." & "All I want for Christmas is you."

It was a crisp and windy night, though you wouldn't feel the effects of the cold right away. Your eagerness for the evening's activities would fill you with enough warmth for a short while, as would the enjoyable company of your best friend, Fives.

You were surrounded by many friends and clones, a group of you who tried as often as possible to celebrate the year's holidays together. This year, not everyone would be on planet when Christmas Day came around, but you'd all managed to find a night earlier in the month to come together and exchange gifts, share good food, and, as you were about to do now, walk around the neighborhoods to admire the lights.

And while you loved all your friends dearly, it was Fives who you'd been most eager to see. You felt closest to him the most. You seemed to understand each other so well, falling into step right where you'd last left off, as if he hadn't been gone for the past several months. As if there hadn't been whispers that his unit had fallen under attack and may not be coming home this time, leaving you numb with worry. As if you hadn't realized you were in love with him when you heard he would come back after all, safe and sound.

"What the hell is that?" he laughed beside you as you passed by a house that seemed to be quite normal.

"What's what?" You gazed around but could only see the standard set up of dazzling lights and festive lawn ornaments.

Fives wrapped an arm around your shoulders and pointed to two reindeer decorations... that were stacked rather suggestively on top of one another. "That."

You could only momentarily process how close he was, how warm you felt being held like that, before you fell into sync with his laughter. It was a pretty funny thing to come across, especially as Fives began to muse whether the owners of the house set it up that way on purpose or if they were pranked. Either scenario was humorous. He then insisted on taking a photo of you with the indecent display in the background.

Though your laughter over the reindeer had warmed you up, the moment you two spent over it caused you to fall behind the rest of the group. You could no longer see them on the street, nor could you hear their lively sounds of chatter.

"They must have turned that corner up there," Fives said as you two started walking again. He was no longer holding you but was walking alongside you a little closer than before. Or, at least that's what it felt like. Maybe you were just imagining it.

There was a little bit of silence as you passed by the next brightly lit house and admired it. But Fives wasn't one to keep quiet for too long.

"So, what do you want for Christmas?" he asked.

You forced your gaze away from the pretty lights to look at him, noting a flush in his cheeks but deciding it must be the wind.

"What do you mean?"

He chuckled a little. "What do you mean? It's a simple question. What's on your wishlist this year?"

"I just thought... never mind," you shrugged, having thought he wanted to know what to get you, which of course was silly since your group was doing a white elephant exchange this year. "Um, I don't know. There really isn't anything I want, to be honest."

Fives knocked his shoulder into yours, accompanied by a dramatic gasp. "You don't want aaaa-nything? Impossible."

You just smiled and shook your head. "Yeah, not really."

"So you're good? You're perfectly content? Everything in your life is amazing and you're in need of nothing more?"

Of course the answer to his questions was a lot more complicated than the simple "Yep" you responded with. You were content in this moment, walking alongside your best friend, enjoying the festivities of the season in his company. But before this moment, you hadn't really been happy. You'd been worried sick by his absence, impatient to see him again, doubting that he'd be as thrilled to see you. You'd been nothing short of lovesick and you had no idea how to admit such a thing to him now.

"I don't buy it," he said, bumping playfully against you again. "There has to be something."

You finally came up to the corner you assumed your friends had turned down. You took it without thought, knowing it would loop back around to your friend's house. A house that was starting to sound really appealing given that a chill was settling back in.

"Clothes?" Fives asked.

"Huh?"

"Like a nice scarf or a dress or something?" Oh, you realized he was still trying to figure out your Christmas wish list. "Or fuzzy socks?"

"I have plenty of fuzzy socks," you said. And with that thought, you realized your toes were getting rather cold, despite being wrapped in thick socks and boots. That then led to you recognize just how cold you were all over: your nose, your hands, your knees....

"Okay, then how about jewelry? Girls always like jewelry, right?"

You rolled your eyes as you dug your hands deeper into your pockets, searching for warmth. "I don't really need any more jewelry."

You weren't paying much attention to the lights anymore, instead picking up the pace so you could get back to the warmth of your friend's house sooner. Fives didn't seem to care about the lights, either. He was still trying to figure out your supposed Christmas wishlist.

"What about a box of chocolates?"

"I buy enough chocolate as it is."

"A candle?"

"Pretty sure half of the white elephant gifts in there are candles."

"Hm... You like games right?"

"I have enough games."

"Nonsense, you can never have too many games."

"Well, when your friends aren't around to play them with you, you can."

Fives was silent. You looked over to find he was watching you with a sort of sadness in his eyes. No, not sadness... guilt.

"I'm sorry," he said after a beat. "I wish I was around more..."

"No, no," you were quick to jump in, not wanting him to feel that way at all. "It's fine. It is what it is. We all know that."

Fives nodded but didn't seem convinced. He looked away, stared straight ahead, as you passed by the last house and arrived at your friend's. The change of course up to the porch seemed to snap him out of his mindlessness and bring him back into better spirits.

"A puppy!" he declared as you approached the door. Both of you were stomping your shoes against the wood of the porch to dislodge any dirt you'd picked up along the way. "No one in the entire galaxy could say no to a puppy."

You huffed out a laugh of defeat. "Okay, sure, I'll take a puppy for Christmas."

He laughed with you as you opened the front door. You expected a wall of warmth to hit you, accompanied by smells of food and chatter of friends. Instead you were met with dim lights, silence, and a cold that almost rivaled the frigid air you'd just walked in from.

"What the..." Fives joined your confusion in the entry hall, and then snapped his fingers as he realized something. "Kix said he knew someone in this neighborhood. They all must have gone there. We beat them back."

You vaguely recalled passing by a house with loud voices from inside, surely including voices from your friends, but you were too busy trying to warm your hands now to dwell on it further. Fives placed a gentle hand on your back as he scooted past you and down the hall toward the thermostat. He messed with it a bit as you shuffled into the little den off the entry. You were reluctant to remove your coat and scarf when it was still so cold.

"Hm," Fives frowned, joining you a few moments later. He flicked on a lamp on the table beside you. "Heat's not coming on. Something's broken."

"Can you fix it?" You tried not to let your teeth chatter.

"Yeah..." he trailed off and you followed his gaze to the fireplace on the opposite end of the room. His lips quirked, a sign he was going to get up to something. "Or... we could have ourselves a cozy little fire instead!" 

He shuffled around the sofa and started investigating the decorations on top of the mantle.

"What?" you asked as you stepped around the sofa as well.

"Ah ha!" He opened up what had looked to be merely a decoration of an old fashioned truck, but apparently doubled as storage for some matches. In no time, Fives had started a humble fire amongst the wood in the fireplace and was stepping back toward you.

"Take your coat off, get cozy!" he laughed in delight, sitting down on the sofa and patting the cushion next to him.

You reluctantly shrugged off your coat. You could feel little puffs of warm air from the fire but the room overall was still too cold to be comfortable. You let out an involuntary shiver as you joined Fives on the sofa.

"Uh oh," he teased, scooting closer. "Need to cuddle for warmth?"

You knew his offer was in jest, but you couldn't resist the thought, especially when your cheeks were already heating at an alarming rate just by sitting this close. Fuck it, you decided, and promptly slid your arms around his middle and pulled him close.

"Well okay then," he laughed in amusement, wrapping his own arms around you in return. He wasn't angry, which you took as encouragement and buried your frozen nose into the crook of his neck. You felt one of his hands come up to rest on the back of your head, keeping you in place for a wonderful, peaceful moment.

You warmed up fairly quickly, though your fingers still felt numb. Without thinking, you shifted a bit and slid your hands underneath Fives' shirt, seeking the warmth of his skin. His muscles tensed in response.

"Whoa there," he chuckled lowly. "Keep doing that and you'll end up on the naughty list."

The heat from the blush on your cheeks immediately shot through the rest of your body. You were mortified. Fives was your friend, what were you doing?

You detached yourself quickly and mumbled an apology. He was still laughing a bit so you joined in nervously, but not daring to meet his eyes. Not when you were this flustered. He relaxed back onto the sofa and draped an arm along the backside, just beside your head.

"So, um, what do you want for Christmas?" you asked, trying to get past your awkwardness and back to the easygoing state of your friendship, despite the ache deep within your chest that yearned for something more.

"Me? Oh, nothing much."

Now you looked over at him, balking. "Fives!" 

"What?" he grinned.

You swatted at him. "You just gave me shit for not wanting anything!"

"I said I didn't want much, not that I didn't want anything at all."

You huffed. "Okay, then what is this 'nothing much' that you want?"

His smile didn't completely disappear, just settled into something a little softer, more pensive. He cocked his head a bit as he looked at you, considering what to say.

"Would you be mad if I said that all I want for Christmas is you?"

You blinked at first, unable to come up with an other reaction. How could you? How could you process such a confession? Was it even a confession? Or was he just being cheeky?

You forced yourself to clear your throat. "Mad? Confused is more like it."

"Confused?" He smirked for only a second before settling back into that strange and soft look. "What's so confusing?"

"Uh... I mean..." you stammered through an awkward laugh. "What does that even mean? You want me... to do something? To... to... see me? You're seeing me right now..."

Your skin was still alight with a fire that seemed to burn brighter than the one in the fireplace. You were so flustered, and Fives was getting a real kick out of it.

"Calm down, cyare," he laughed, scooting a little closer and taking your hands into his. "I want you, as in, I want to... you know.. be with you."

He was starting to get a little shy himself, though you weren't really paying attention. Your heart was threatening to beat its way out of your chest, so you instead focused on the feeling of Fives' hands wrapped around yours. So warm, so firm. They grounded you just enough for his words to sink in. He wanted to be with you.

Now you felt like you were floating. That nasty knot that had settled into the pit of your stomach, back when you'd thought he wasn't coming home, was finally coming undone. Freeing you from its weight. Letting you soar with hope for a different kind of future with your best friend.

When you finally brought your eyes back up to meet Fives', you could finally see the blush in his own cheeks, the way his eyes searched yours for validation. He'd made himself vulnerable in a way he'd only ever been a handful of times with you. Like when he'd confessed how frustrated he was about the war, how angry it made him sometimes to think about it, how he secretly held dreams of one day escaping and living a normal life somewhere. You thought back to those conversations now, viewing them in a different light. You'd always wondered what his idea of normal was, if it included anyone else... anyone like you. And now you were starting to get an idea that it did.

"I'm sorry if this is sudden," he said quickly and quietly, filling in the silence you didn't mean to leave. "It's just... you know this last mission was... well, it didn't go very well. And it made me reevaluate my life. What I really want. And honestly, I couldn't stop thinking about you."

He gave a bashful smile and you returned it, easing his nerves just a little.

"I was really worried about you," you confessed, giving his hands a reassuring squeeze. "I didn't just want you to come back, I wanted you to come back to me. And I'm so glad you want the same."

You both laughed once more, though more out of relief than nervousness, and ended by resting your foreheads against each other. Fives then let go of your hands so he could bring his arms back around you and pull you close again. You let yourself rest against him with a contented sigh... and then bolted right back up as a thought occurred to you.

"Wait, you said you want me for Christmas?"

"Yeah..." Fives' eyes were wide with alarm.

"Just for Christmas? And that's it?"

The tension immediately left his shoulders as he realized what you were doing. He gave you a look and you used all your willpower to hold back your amusement.

"So when Christmas is all over, you'll be done with me?" you pushed on with the bit. "You won't want me anymore?"

"Ugh, cyare, please," Fives rolled his eyes and tried wrapping his arms around you again.

"I just want to be clear about this." Your voice was breaking, as was his own act to be annoyed. The two of you could never hold it together for very long.

"Of course I'll want you after Christmas is over," he said through a chuckle. "I'll want you for Valentine's and for your birthday and all the solstices..."

"So you only want me on holidays?"

"You're killing me here, you know," he grumbled into your shoulder.

You would've continued with your teasing, but just then the front door opened behind you, letting in your missing friends. Even if you and Fives had tried to act innocent, you wouldn't have been quick enough. Whatever they'd been talking about on their way in immediately changed into a chorus of gasps and cheers.

"Well it's about time!"

"Oh my god!"

"Finally!"

"I knew it!"

You snuggled closer to Fives, in part to hide your embarrassment, but also to escape the wisp of cold air your friends had let in with them. Fives laughed along with the commotion while holding you, and it felt like the most natural thing, being in his arms like this.

"For the record," he later whispered into your ear, when things had died down with your friends enough, "I want you every day for the rest of my life. If you'll have me."

You smiled into his chest and held him closer.

"Of course. You're all I want, too."

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[dailyrebelcaptain]

Welcome to the Valentine’s Day Fest!

It’s February and love is in the air! 💞 To honour the spirit of the season, we’ve put together the Valentine’s Day Fest, an event to rec your favourite Jyn/Cassian content! 💗

💕SCHEDULE

Rec lists posted: Feb 14-21

Details on the Valentine’s Day Fest event are below!  If you have any questions, send us an ask!

💘 What type of works can I include on my rec list?

Any medium and type of fanwork can be recommended (ex. fanfiction, fanarts, gifsets, etc). Remember to include trigger warnings if they are not included in the work. The content featured on your list can be hosted on a website other than Tumblr (ex. you can share a list of links to AO3)

💘 Is there a maximum of works I can recommend?

Not at all! We encourage you to recommend works from different creators so we can share the love with as many Rebelcaptain artists as possible! If the rec list is long, please use a Read More.

💘Do you have any prompts to help put our lists togther?

Yes! We want to give every Rebelcaptain creator a chance to get a boost, so we have come up with prompts that will hopefully inspire your lists. You do not need to follow these prompts, they are suggestions.

fanworks with less than 50 notes/kudos in Tumblr/AO3/other site

fanfictions with less than 5 reader comments on Tumblr/AO3/other site

fanworks with less than 25 reblogs on Tumblr

fanart, gifsets, edits, and other visual fanworks

fanartists you recently discovered or new to the fandom

fanworks posted over a year old (ie. January 2023 and earlier)

Remember to tag your posts with #dailyrebelcaptain, so we can track and reblog them. If you add an external link, you can also mention the blog (@dailyrebelcaptain) in your post. You’ll be able to find all content related to the event under the tag #drcvalentinescelebration!

[seeingstarks]

spooky delights

summary : reader is feeling quite low, her husband has just the thing to turn that from upside down. pairing : jon moxley x afab!reader (husband!wife dynamic - fluff) cw : fake blood, blood licking (but reader thinks it's real at first), implied smut/nsfw if you squint - referred to mox as "your treat" in descriptions, nicknames (babygirl/lovely/baby), neck kisses/general kissing/slight french kissing. a/n: wanted to whip up a lil' something for halloween & this came to mind with prompt inspo from here. reblogs are very much appreciated! if you want added to the tag list send an ask but my writing updates are all over the place! word count : 712 words tag list : @harmshake gif credit : @allelitewrestlings

trick or treaters knocked on the door all evening long, being home and in the comfort of your dog was the only company you had for the time being as you awaited your husband to arrive home.

you hadn't felt like moving an inch from the sofa, only doing so to put out a bowl of candy earlier with little motivation to do much else as you went back under the covers, your dog hopping up on the sofa as you gave him a few pets.

ever since moving in with jon, you were fortunate to have snacks all around the house, however as you reached down and rummaged through the snack drawer below, you only managed to find those of the salty variety.

with a sigh, you rolled over to your side and snuggled up against your furry friend who was more than accepting of the ear scratches you provided.

after an hour or so passed by, the lights began to flicker off outside and chatter of kids on a sugar high dampened down as the night grew darker.

still no jon. you wondered what he had been up to this late. he was only supposed to be grabbing pizza and a few groceries but your sweet tooth grew stronger and the candy was bound to be gone by now.

the cincinnati native came with pizza in one hand and in the other two brown paper bags which seemed to be filled.

throwing the covers off, you were careful not to wake the sleeping pup as you stood up and greeted your husband, worry washing over your face as you saw the crimson liquid rolling down his forehead.

"is that real? here let me help you get that off-" you licked your finger, stepping up on your tippy toes and pressed a finger to jon's head, swiping the blood away with ease before going to lick it.

jon couldn't keep his eyes off you, simply chuckling at himself and your actions, adoring everything about you. "ohh, that's not- how you replicate fake blood so well amazes me." you shook your head at him and he pulled you in for a hug, feeling his arms wrap around you in a warm embrace.

you could stay this way forever, in the comfort of your lovers arms, head buried in the crook of his neck. it felt safe with him and despite living together he was your home.

"i got you a suprise baby." he reached into the bag pulling out an assortment of halloween candy, along with some frosting and gingerbread.

"we're gonna make spooky gingerbread houses?" you asked him in an excited tone, ready to rip open the bag of skittles, one of your many favorite treats besides mox.

"i know how much you love halloween and haven't been feeling your best lately.." he walked up behind you wrapping his arms around your frame, "so i figured this would help cheer my babygirl up." he nuzzled at the crook of your neck before placing a soft kiss on it.

"i love it, jon. you're the greatest husband ever." you smiled up at him starting to rip open each of the bags filled with sweet treats.

"i'll be right back, lovely." he hummed to himself and grabbed bowls for the food setting them on the counter and pouring it in.

the night was full of laughter, wandering hands, but most importantly you got to spend time with the person you loved most.

making a mess of the kitchen, frosting was spread over the counter and your face, basically anywhere but the gingerbread house.

"save some for our spooky masterpiece." jon shook his head with a chuckle watching you lick frosting from your finger.

"mm, how about nope." you turned to face him and spread some on his cheek causing the man to pull you into a heated kiss.

"tastes like mm-orange.. my favorite, unlike someone else." you shushed the man through closed lips as you opened your mouth and slipped your tongue into his, knowing full well he was talking about james. even in moments like these he was thinking about opponents but was there when it mattered most, with you. the spooky treats could wait just a little while longer you thought.