#i have been in bed for the past two days straight i told my mom i slept horribly last night and 11 hours the night b4??

[baby-yongbok]

𝘗𝘪𝘯𝘬 + 𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦

Hwang Hyunjin 𝗑 Afab!Reader

♡ Genre - Friends to Lovers

♡ CW - Explicit Sexual Content, Unprotected Sex, Nightmares, Alcohol usage by reader, Hyunjin calls reader rose as a nickname, One use of 'y/n'.

♡ Summary - Your avoidant tendencies have allowed the burn of pink and white to keep you Hyunjin at a safe distance until it all comes crashing down. Can the fire that kept you apart also be what brings you together?

♡ Word Count - 9.2k

♡ A/N - I went from not being sure if I liked this fic to being in love with it. I think that it's a very sweet fic and I loved writing it. I worked so hard on it and I'm so proud of it. The goal was for it to be 4k words.. then I almost posted it at 8k but now... yeah. I hope that you love this as much as I do!

♡ Playlist - Pink + White - Frank Ocean, Rainy Days - V, For Us - V, Beautiful Things - Benson Boone, Trajectories - Bruno Major

✧ Masterlist ✧

When you were six years old you punched a boy in the face on the playground. That was the first time that you ever felt the burn of genuine fear.

Your mom along with the many others came swirling around them. When your mother asked you what happened you cried. You clung to her running over to you and the crying brunette boy on the playground with a mix of emotions and explained the best you could through your tears that you didn’t like that he was chasing you, when you agreed to play tag you thought that you’d be the chaser not the one being chased.

That was the day that you learned two things about yourself, you have a habit of acting impulsively when you’re scared and you don’t like being chased. It's suffocating.

As you got older your friends described you as the avoidant type, especially in relationships. You developed a reputation for being an ice queen in your Sophomore year of university which led to you being one of the most sought after girls on campus. 

You’ve lost friends because of this. Their boyfriends saw getting close to them as a gateway to meeting you. Many guys took dating you as a challenge with an end prize of overnight popularity. Unfortunately, some of your closest relationships have been destroyed because of it. You learned not to be sad about it, you’ve come to terms with it, this is just the way that it goes. Of course your other friends were all important to you but you always told yourself that you’re alright with losing them as long as you have your best friend by your side. 

“More roses? Are you in love or something?” You weaved through the cluttered art studio that Hyunjin has claimed as his own. It’s on the dead side of campus on the second floor of a building that was abandoned last year. Your best friend refused to let the studio go when it was shut down, he says that it houses some of his fondest memories. 

“Always in love, never loved back.” He quips, eyes still trained on the canvas. “You’re early.”

You jump up onto one of the few clear desks in the room, right behind his easel. “Chemistry ended early.” Hyunjin stands straight, eyeing his canvas for a second before looking over at you. He knows that you’re skipping class. Your last hook-up is in that class and you're trying to avoid his attempt at getting you in his bed again. If you’re being honest, the decision to sleep with him was impulsive. You blame the beer, all eight of them.

“I thought that we could go to the exhibition early.” He starts another brush stroke and silence swallows you both. “I’m excited about it and if I’m being honest I just wanna spend time with you. I’ve barely seen you for the past three days.”

Hyunjin’s steady hand wavers and he thanks his lucky stars that you didn’t see it. “Aw she misses me. She loves me so much.” The sound of your feet hitting the ground as you jump off of the desk echoes through the dusty room of stacked chairs and forgotten storage items. 

Hyunjin stands and dips the paint brush covered in bright pink in the cup of water next to him. “You could’ve come to my place ya know.” You grab your stuff, swinging your bag onto your shoulder. 

“Your brother is there, you know how he gets.” You scrunch your face at the thought of Hyunjin’s step brother, Jeongin. The two of you get along perfectly, almost as well as you and Hyunjin until Jeongin starts flirting. He confessed to you on New Years and you’ve been avoiding him ever since. He’s too sweet for you, you’d hate to hurt him. “I’m gonna go change, I’ll meet you by your car.”

“You brought a costume change for an art exhibit?” He asks as he starts cleaning his space.

“Of course, I need to look like art too.” You smile at him but he doesn’t smile back, he rolls his eyes and turns his attention back to the mess of paints and rags on the desk in front of him. He waits until he hears the door open and close behind you to finally let the corners of his mouth turn up. He chuckles to himself quietly while his mind comes up with responses that he’d never dare to utter out loud.

“This one looks like you, rose.” The year old nickname slips off of Hyunjin’s tongue like silk. You’ve never fully understood how the name stuck. You figured that it’s because roses are his favorite flower and he thought it was cute. You’ve never asked for its origin but you don’t mind the name. It’s sweet.

You turn to view the series of pink, white and green dots making up a bouquet of roses on the framed canvas in front of Hyunjin. He studies it with smiling eyes though the neutral look on his face could fool those who haven’t experienced him like you have.

“It’s pretty.” You mumble as you lean your head on his shoulder. You wrap your arm around his and the sleeve of the brown oversized flannel shirt that you picked out a year ago rides up his forearm a bit, he blames the chills running up his spine on the breeze against the newly exposed skin. 

“I knew I’d see you here.” The voice of a woman next to Hyunjin startles you a bit. You stand straight and watch as Hyunjin smiles towards her. He’s cursing her in his head for interrupting the moment between the two of you but he learned a long time ago to just live in the moment when it comes to you.

“Of course, I had to see this exhibition.” He shakes her hand and you chalk it up to her being someone important though she doesn’t look much older than either of you. “You put it together beautifully.”

Ah, she owns the gallery. “Oh, please, it’s nothing. I just hope that you’re enjoying it. I actually thought about you when I put this piece up.” She motions towards the art in front of the two of you. The piece that Hyunjin says resembles you. “It looks like something you’d design. I’m still desperate to organize a local exhibition for you, ya know.”

Hyunjin laughs but it's stiff and polite. He’s being shy. He’s a very cautious person but he reaches a whole new level when it comes to his art. “I’m not quite on that level yet.”

“I disagree but I won’t bother you about it until you graduate. This is your final semester, right?” You can see her eyes smiling just like Hyunjin’s were a second ago as she checks him out. She’s shameless in her actions, the glint in her eyes is far from professional. 

“Yes, just three months to go.” She nods, dragging her gaze up from his lips with a smile. 

“Call me when you graduate, I’d love to have you working with us.” She pulls a business card out of her pocket and flashes one last smile before waving a reluctant goodbye towards your best friend. 

Silence settles between the two of you for just a couple of seconds before you break it. “She wants to fuck you so badly that she didn’t even look at me.” Hyunjin scoffs at your whispered words as he slips the card into his pocket. “Don’t tell me that you didn’t notice. How old is she anyway? She looks a bit young to be in charge of this place.”

“Her father owns it.” He mumbles as he grabs your wrist and leads you over to the next piece of art. 

“Oh, of course. She probably thought I was your girlfriend, ya know. She’s rude as hell for not even asking or looking at me. I know she saw me here, she’s clearly -” You’re pulled into Hyunjin’s side before you can finish your sentence. The sudden action cuts you off with a heavy thump of your heart and that painfully familiar burn rising in your chest. 

“Look at this one.” Your eyes are on him but his are on the art. “This one looks like you too.” You pull your gaze away from him to view the piece. The thumping in your chest doubles once your gaze meets your own. It’s a mirror with pink and white abstract designs floating around and over the glass. The paint is so messy yet strategic. It leaves just enough room for your reflection. 

“It’s messy yet elegant, don’t you think? You can’t help but to stare..” He’s visibly smiling now. The corners of his mouth turn up as he studies the art in front of him. As he studies you. “This one might be my favorite. It’ll be hard to beat it.”

“I don’t like it.” You mutter quickly, pulling away from Hyunjin and turning towards the next piece. You try your best to steady your breathing. You will your heart to calm down so that you can take a complete breath but it’s betraying you. “I’m gonna use the bathroom.” 

You’re walking away before Hyunjin can reply. He watches you with that smile in his eyes as you disappear around the corner. He knew that what he pulled would be a risk but it was one that he was willing to take. He doesn’t call you beautiful nearly as much as he should or as much as he really wants to. 

In the bathroom you’re slumped against the door of a stall while you try to catch your breath. You don’t like how Hyunjin’s words made that white hot burn in your chest kick up. You don’t like the way that his eyes being on you made you feel like you were the only two in the entire gallery. It’s suffocating. 

When you step out of the stall your fingers are busy on your phone screen. You find your friend Isa’s number quickly and take a sigh of relief when she answers on the third ring. You bypass reciprocating her kind greeting and get right to the point. 

“Get-together at yours tomorrow?”

You’re standing in the middle of the Pink and White art exhibition. Other viewers jumble together along the walls of the gallery and crowd the pieces. You can’t see anything but their blurred faces decorating the white walls. There’s a slow yet heavy beating in your ears but you’re comfortable. You’re alone in the middle of it all, watching everyone from a pleasant distance as you turn to study them all as if they’re the art on the walls.

 The beating in your ears skips as you turn and come face to face with Hyunjin. He’s standing in front of you wearing that brown hat that you love and the oversized flannel that he bought just to share with you.

 Suddenly the others in the room are quiet. All eyes are on you but Hyunjin’s gaze is the most piercing. His brown eyes are smiling at you with a softness that makes the flame in your chest burn brighter. 

“Why are you staring at me like that?” You look around at everyone else but they’ve vanished along with the art on the walls. The beating in your ears picks up, it’s deafening but Hyunjin’s voice can be heard loud and clear over the noise.  

“I like staring at you.” He takes a step towards you but you take two back. He frowns and steps forward again. You repeat the process until your back is against the wall. “Why do you do that?” 

“I’m not doing anything.” You swallow hard as you try to push him away but he’s stronger than you. As strong as stone caging you against the stark white wall. “I can’t breathe.” You’re pushing as hard as you can but it’s no use. You’re stuck under him.

“Why do you do this?” He’s still staring down at you, a burning gaze setting your skin ablaze. “Why do you keep running?” The beating in your ears drowns out all sensible thoughts. You can feel your veins swelling with fear and the blinding white burning in your chest puffs up with the crushing pressure of having him so close. Too close. 

“Back up.” You inhale the thick air, feeling dizzy. “Move.”

“Stop running.” You try to inhale but it gets stuck in your throat. You want to scream. You need to escape. You need to get out of here. 

You lift your heavy arm the best you can and pull back enough to punch Hyunjin. You aim for his face but your fist goes through him just as your lungs start to burn, you take one last look at him before the wall behind you gives out and you’re falling backwards. Hyunjin watches you, his eyes are void of that sparkling smile and guilt consumes you right before you hit the ground.

You jump up with a gasp as your eyes frantically search the room around you. Your chest rises and falls heavily and sweat beads at your hairline.

It was a dream. 

Friday is a late day for you with your last class ending at nine in the evening. Hyunjin always waits for you in the abandoned art studio, he waits for two hours just to walk you to your dorm across campus. It’s become a routine for the two of you but you told him not to wait up tonight. He was reluctant at first, he insisted on waiting for you but you were adamant about breaking your routine.

He agreed eventually but you could see the dejection in his eyes as he hugged you goodbye before your last class. He watched you walk away just like he always did but this time his heart was heavy in his chest. Did he do something wrong? 

That question haunted him throughout the day. It was loud in his head as he collected his stuff and made his way to the abandoned studio. It echoed in his ears as he tried to finish the painting of his vibrant rose that he’s added notes of dusty pale pink to. But it was the loudest when Jeongin called him to ask if he was going to the get-together at Minho’s place tonight.

He knows that you and Minho’s girlfriend Isa are close so you have to know about this, hell, you might’ve even helped plan it and you kept it from him. You’re avoiding him.

You skipped your class to head to Minho and Isa’s place. They share a small apartment right off of campus that you often use as an escape. Isa is one of the few friends that you still have from sophomore year since her boyfriend has never once tried to get in your pants. 

You sat on Isa’s bed clutching a bottle of soju that is not at all meant for one person while you laid your head in her lap. You loved being with her because there was never any pressure to fill the silence. She understands you in a way that other people just don’t. Not even Hyunjin. 

“So, he called you pretty?” You’ve been telling her everything from what happened at the art gallery to the nightmare you had last night. “And now you’re avoiding him?”

“I’m not avoiding him.” You take a swig from the glass bottle and gulp hard to rush the alcohol into your system. “I’m just being careful.”

“You’re being careful by avoiding your best friend… because he called you pretty and you had a nightmare about it?” You sit up with a groan, lifting the bottle to your mouth again with a sigh. She’s not getting it. 

“You didn’t see the way he looked at me. You didn’t feel the way he pulled me into him, his arm wrapped around my waist and he just stared at me with that smile in his eyes. You know the one that makes his eyes shine when he sees something pretty? He was looking at me like that and he told me that I looked elegant. Messy but elegant and that he couldn’t help but to stare. There was a softness in his voice, I swear, and he just wouldn’t take his eyes off of me. It’s like he was looking into me instead of at me it was… it was..”

“Sweet?” You tap the bottle in your hands with your nails. 

“Suffocating. It was too much. It made my heart skip and it made me feel hot.” 

“That usually means that you like him, ya know.” She takes the bottle from you, drinking from it a bit herself. “ You know that he’s a romantic and this isn’t the first time you’ve felt like this with him.” She hands the cold glass back to you while you think back to the other times that you’ve felt this. The latest being your birthday three months ago when Hyunjin whisked you away to the next city for a mini getaway. 

You stayed in the same hotel room and on the night of your birthday you had a bit too much to drink. He carried you up to your room since you were too out of it to walk but you weren’t too far gone to forget the way that he handled you with such gentle care.

He brushed your hair out of your face when he laid you on your bed and took your make-up off with such a tender touch that it made you want to kiss him. You almost kissed him. 

“I don’t like him like that.” You shrug and she sighs. 

“Whatever you say, ice queen.” That damned nickname makes you cringe but Minho is bursting through the door before you can rebuttal. 

“Jisung and Bin just got here, come on.” You stare at him with confused eyes and he crosses his arms as he stares back at you. “Well? Get up, you wanted to do this.”

“Do what?” You look over at Isa who’s already getting up from the bed.

“Did you not call her asking for a get-together? People are getting here so come on. I’m not hosting this by myself.” Your heart drops and you stare over at Isa who looks back at you with her own look of confusion until it all sinks in.

 “You meant for it to be just us, didn’t you?”

Hyunjin is a cautious person, anyone who knows him knows that about him. He doesn’t like when things go wrong because of him. It eats him alive until he can fix it and if he can’t he lets the anxiety consume him until a part of him dies with the memory of it all. 

His cautious nature is what prompted him to drive home after he got that call from Jeongin. It brought him right to his bedroom where he dropped his bag by the foot of his bed and laid back against the mattress with a death stare set on the dull ceiling. It stared back at him, reflecting his thoughts back to him for him to analyze. 

His brother left for the get-together as soon as he walked through the door and Hyunjin was tempted to follow him down to Seungmin’s car.

He was tempted to drop his bag and turn on his heels and come straight to you but he knew better. He knew you better than you knew yourself. If he shows up at that get-together you’ll avoid him like the plague. You’ll feel trapped by his presence and any hope that he has of fixing this situation will die right in front of his eyes. 

His cautious nature is what’s keeping him on his bed. It’s what’s grounding him to this spot and sating the burning desire to chase you. The problem is that the fire in his chest is bigger than he can handle. He’s seen how you treat the men you want to avoid on campus, he’s seen you take the long way home just to avoid a conversation and the thought of you doing that to him makes him wilt. He can’t let that happen. 

His feet are carrying him across his room before he can even fully process it. He opens his closet and pulls out the brown flannel along with his brown beanie. They’ve become comfort items for the both of you at this point, especially the flannel. It feels like a thread connecting you to him and him to you. He needs to save that connection.

 He sloppily throws on the items while he checks the clock. He’s nearly two hours late but there’s still time. 

Hyunjin has never gotten a speeding ticket but he was nearly positive that he’d get one tonight. He made it to Minho’s place in record time but he’s panting when he knocks on the door like he’s ran there. His heart is hammering when Isa answers the door and the look on her face when she takes him in only makes his heart beat faster. 

She forces a smile, inviting him in and telling him where everything is but he already knows all of that and she knows that he does. “She doesn’t want to see me does she?” Isa sighs, giving him a look that answers each and every one of his questions all at once. 

“Thanks for letting me in.” He walks past her with a nervous huff, making his way into the small party and searching for you immediately. He finds Changbin and Chan before he can find you and the two quickly drag him into a conversation about gods know what while wedging a glass bottle of mystery liquid into his fist. 

Hyunjin’s eyes wander in an attempt to find you as he ignores his friends' conversation. Luckily it didn’t take long for the sound of your loud laughter to echo through the room. His eyes were on you in an instant once he heard it. You’re right in front of him sitting in the truth or dare circle with a can of something strong in your hand. You’re always the loudest in the room but right now you seem to be the drunkest too, you shouldn’t be playing that game you’ll do something reckless.  

He wants to go over and pull you up, he wants to tell you that you’re going home and that you need to sober up. He wants to get you to talk to him but he ignores everything he wants and watches you instead. He stays cautious and keeps his distance. 

“Y/n, truth or dare.” One of your few girl friends, Harvey asks from across the circle. You answer ‘dare’ with a wide smile, it’s no surprise, you always pick that. The raven haired girl looks over to Mingi for assistance since she’s known for picking terrible dares. After a couple seconds of deliberation the blonde perks up with an idea.

“I dare you to kiss whoever this bottle lands on.” Mingi dares with a nonchalant smile and you shrug, the alcohol in your system is surely boosting your confidence but it’s not like you’ll remember any of this tomorrow so who cares, right?

He spins the bottle in the middle of the circle and everyone watches with quiet anticipation as it lands on the copper haired boy sitting three people away from you. It’s Jeongin. 

He stops in the middle of sipping from his cup and flashes you a small innocent smile but what you return to him is nothing less than a look of raw seduction. You’re on your feet in an instant, making your way over to him with low and hazy eyes. You straddle him swiftly, getting comfortable in his lap like you’ve done this a hundred times. 

“You sure about this, noona?” His hands rest on your thighs, he brushes his thumbs over the bareskin and you can feel a shiver down your spine. It almost reminds you of how Hyunjin touched you on your birthday. 

“Do you not wanna kiss me?” You tease him with a slight slur to your voice. You know he wants to kiss you, everyone does except for Hyunjin, right? 

Just as that thought passes your eyes flicker up and meet those of the very man on your mind. He’s watching you with an angry gaze as he fists the neck of the glass bottle in his hand. Your mouth goes dry as you take him in, when did he get here? You feel stuck staring at him, everything around you is suddenly muted and the people around you disappear. It’s only you and Hyunjin.

Both of your hearts are pounding in your chest. 

Both of you feel like you can’t breathe. 

Both of you are about to do something that you shouldn’t.

“Kiss her already!” Ryujin instigates from across the circle and you snap out of your haze and blink down at Jeongin. You both share a smile, one more genuine than the other, before he’s leaning into you. His lips just barely brush against yours before you’re interrupted.

A firm grip on your shoulder startles you and the man under you. You both look up to meet the eyes of the angry Hyunjin above you.“Get up.” He practically growls with a slight tug on your arm. You stare up at him with glassy eyes though you are feeling a bit more sober now. “Get. Up.” 

You’re being pulled up before you can process it. Your feet fight to keep up with him as you stumble towards the bedroom he’s leading you to. You can feel all eyes on you, you can feel the room getting smaller once he locks the bedroom door behind the two of you and pulls his flannel off to drape over your shoulders, something that he does to comfort you. 

“What the fuck?” That’s all you can manage to get out of your mouth as you stare over at him. He stares back with his arms crossed and his chest rising and falling with what you perceive as anger but he would describe as anxiety. Pure fear. 

“Do you understand what you were about to do?” Hyunjin tries to be mindful of his tone. He tries to limit the waver of his words and calm the frantic thoughts in his head. He’s trying. “Why would you kiss him?”

“I didn’t.” The alcohol in your system takes over again and you thank the ridiculous amount of soju you’ve consumed for coming to the rescue. You tug on the flannel resting over your shoulders, pretending that its warmth would protect you from the buzzing in your head and inevitable burning in your chest.

“You would’ve if I didn’t stop you. What happened to you not being into Jeongin? What happened to you not wanting to hurt him?”

You groan, stomping your foot like a child being scolded by their guardian. Like the little girl who punched the brunette boy in the face for chasing her. “Why don’t you mind your business?”

Hyunjin scoffs, his anxiety grows in his chest and he takes a step back. “You are my business.” 

It’s silent for one, two, three heartbeats before the dizzying emotions burning in your chest fill in the silence for you. “Well maybe I shouldn’t be. You’re way too attached to me.”

Hyunjin feels frozen even though he’s stepping back from you. He’s creating more space between the two of you just like you seem to be doing. What do you mean by that? You’re rambling on before he can ask. “You do all of these things that make me feel like I can’t breathe. You call me pretty and you touch me softly and you hold me close and… and you just make me feel hot. You suffocate me.”

Hyunjin whispers through the bubbles forming in his throat. He’s gentle with the way he speaks, he is a cautious person after all, especially when it comes to his art. “Is this about what I said at the gallery?”

His question goes in one ear and right out the other. Your brain formulates words quicker than you can process them, creating a violent episode of word vomit that threatens to spill over your lips and onto the carpet but you swallow hard and condense it all into one simple yet seering sentence. “You keep making my heart race, it’s not fair. You need to go, just go.”

Hyunjin’s blood runs cold and his temples throb like you’ve hit him. Like you’ve punched him in the face. Anxiety bubbles in his veins and swells behind his eyes. It’s his turn to ramble, the word vomit seems to be contagious. 

“I’m not leaving.” His gaze is frantic, cautious, scared. “I am too attached, you’re right. I have been for a while. I’ve loved you for a while and I tried to hide it but I shouldn’t have to. I shouldn’t be scared that I’ll lose my best friend if I tell her that she’s the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen.”

 “No, you are not confessing to me right now. Don’t you dare do that.” You pace to the left then the right in a hurried attempt to escape his words before they could reach you. He can’t be doing this right now. You needed to get out of here.

“I am. I am confessing to you. I need you to hear me say that I love you because I do and it scares me just as much as it scares you but you are the reason that it’s scaring me. Losing you is the reason that I’m afraid and I need you to tell me that that isn’t going to happen.” His voice is shaky just like your hands. He watches you like a dog being dropped off at the pound as you physically try to escape him. He knew this would happen, this is what he was afraid of. 

“Stop. Just stop it, Hyunjin. You’re doing it again, I can’t breathe when you’re this close to me.” He stares over at you from the other side of the room and you stare back at him. This doesn’t make any sense. He isn’t next to you but you still can’t breathe. It doesn’t make any sense. “I have to go - I have - just… just leave me alone.” You turn towards the bedroom door but he speaks up before you can make your escape. 

“I’m not going to chase you.” Hyunjin is unmoving. His feet are still planted to the floor like a statue as he slips his fists into his pocket. “I don’t want to push you further away but don’t you dare go home and convince yourself that I don’t care just because I let you go.” 

You listen to him over your hammering heart with your back turned to him and your unsteady gaze trained on the worn door knob. “I’m letting you go with the hope that you’ll come back. You know where to find me.” 

Your feet threaten to betray you, they try to turn you around and drive you over to him but your heart is screaming. That white flame is burning in your chest and begging you to run. Run as fast as you can and find safety, but your safety is standing behind you. It’s watching you with teary eyes that are desperate to meet yours. 

A tear slips down your cheek as you grab the doorknob and pull it with a quick twist. You follow your heart and rush out of the room with tears decorating your face and your hand over your mouth. You let the burning win again.

You rush past everyone, Isa tries to stop you and Minho even catches you for a minute but you fight him off of you and make your way to the front door. You don’t get too far before the last layer of your resolve snaps, You turn onto the next dark block and sink to the ground. Sobs rip through you as Hyunjin’s words hang in your head. He loves you. He wants you but you left him. You left everything you’ve ever wanted behind you. 

A heavier sob escapes you as the truth of it all comes crashing down. You love him too, don’t you? You’ve loved him for so long. Since your birthday and beyond that but you’ve been avoiding it. You’ve avoided your feelings just like you have everything else. You’ve punched yourself in the face, you’ve chased yourself into a corner and now you might just lose everything you have left. You might lose your best friend.

The storms over the next two days swirl the skies into mysterious clouds of pink and white as rain soaks the grass the same way that you’ve soaked your pillow for hours. You’ve opted to stay in, avoiding anything or anyone that could remind you of Friday’s catastrophe.

 You’ve debated texting Jeongin and apologizing for what you remember of the situation. You almost called Isa to spill the fears bubbling in your lungs to her so that she could help you sort through them but she can’t. This is up to you. You need to make a choice. Will you run away from the fire or towards it? 

On the other side of campus Hyunjin sits in the abandoned studio with paint stained hands and dried tears on his cheeks. He’s left his previous painting incomplete. The bright blushing rose sits across the room with the others just like it while he touches his brush to the canvas and smears a smoky mauve to the pristine white flesh. His lines are messy and uncalculated. Far from cautious. 

For a moment he considers that he was only ever careful because of you. Your lack of control over your emotions inspired him to fill in the blanks for you. Now there’s no need for caution without you.

The rain carried into Monday along with the emptiness in your chest. You’ve typed and deleted paragraphs to Hyunjin who has done the same as he sat on the studio floor.

He stayed in the dusty room until midnight each day that he was without you and you stayed up well past then. He poured himself into painting and you poured yourself onto the carpet of your dorm room. You made lists and mapped your emotions until it all started to make a bit more sense. Until the love that burned alongside your hot white fear was glowing pink in the mirror. 

You skipped your classes on Monday, your feet drove you over to the dead side of campus through the violent rain. You stood in the hallway outside of Hyunjin’s studio. The worn copper doorknob stared back at you like it knew what you were here to do. Like it was daring you to go inside. You suck in a breath as you grab the metal, you’ve never been one to back down from a dare.

The studio is empty when you walk inside. The fading warm light of the lamps that you and Hyunjin bought and snuck in illuminate the space the best that they can given the dull pink skies. Your eyes catch on the new piece sitting up on his easel. It’s dark and runny, it’s raw and it feels like it’s calling your name. 

“Hi.” Hyunjin’s voice snaps you out of your thoughts. His voice is small and surprised as he stares over at your frame clad in that famous brown flannel and sweatpants. 

“Hi.” You whisper back. He looks like a mess. Brown hat, pulled too far over his head and his hair spilling from every exit it can find. “More roses?” 

He stares passed you and over at the wilting petals on the canvas with a sad smile. “It’s like I’m in love or something.” 

Your guilt tinged heart beats a bit faster when he steps further into the room and closes the door behind him. He drops his bag next to the door and stares at the dinghy tile with his hands in his pockets. “I’m sorry. For everything, for the party and everything with your brother and for everything that I said.” 

The word vomit is back. It spilled over your lips before you could attempt to swallow it back but you’re almost thankful for it. You have no clue how you’d get your words out otherwise. “You just made me feel… I just felt..” You kick at the cracked tile as if it holds the answers you’re looking for but Hyunjin beats you to it.

“Suffocated.” His eyes are on you now, they’re low and shadowed in a longing sadness. “I’ve seen this happen a million times to other guys and I thought that I was being careful enough to avoid it.” 

“This is nothing like the other guys.” Your bag slumps off of your shoulder and you carelessly allow it to hit the floor. “Your confession just -” He cuts you off with a tight smile.

 “I know. It ruined everything.” He sighs, sad eyes examining the space between the two of you. “I ruined everything and I’m sorry for that, rose. I really am.”

“It didn't. It didn’t ruin anything, it just scared me. I felt suffocated, yes, but not by you. It was by what I felt for you. That’s why this isn’t like what happened with any of the other guys. I never wanted them. Avoiding them was easy but you… avoiding you..” Hyunjin watches your heaving chest with the caution that he thought had abandoned him. He’s quiet, allowing you time to gather your thoughts. He doesn’t want to corner you, he just wants to hear you. 

“Why do you call me that?” You whisper once your breathing has steadied. “Why did you start calling me rose?”

Suddenly he’s looking past you then down at the tile under his feet. He leans against the door behind him, a faint smile decorating his sad face. “You were wearing one in your hair on the day that I realized I love you.” He looks over to where his easel is set up. “We were sitting right there and you had a pale pink rose behind your left ear. You picked me one to match and I told you that it was my favorite flower because in that moment it was. It was beautiful but you…your beauty is hard to beat.”

Your heart is thumping in your ears, it’s a sound that you’ve grown comfortable with over the past few days. The clutter of the abandoned room almost seems to disappear as you process his words. The burning in your chest makes itself known along with the newly identified pink flame. The white walls of the studio almost seem brighter as you receive Hyunjin’s confession. You let it sink in and drown out the tension little by little. “So when you paint them…”

“I’m painting you. I’m always painting you.” The thumping is deafening but Hyunjin is clear over the noise. He has always been the only one who can cut through it all, even in your dreams. 

You can feel yourself falling just like in your nightmare only it’s forwards. You’re falling forwards as your feet carry you to him. You run. You run to him and you fall into his arms that have been desperate to catch you for months. The burn in your chest is paralyzing, it’s seering and fighting the pink flame for dominance. 

You cry into his chest, you sob as the pain of running into the fire engulfs you. It swallows you whole and you stand in it with him, you cling to him before you burn to ash and he holds you like he knows it all. He cradles the back of your head like he can feel the fire ripping your flesh apart. 

You’re flush against him, tears soaking his shoulder and burning all over until he does what no one has done before. He puts it all out. A simple kiss to the top of your head dowses the flame and reduces it to a measly spark of fear overshadowed by an uncontainable pink and white glow of love in your chest. 

You gasp at the cooling effect. Air rushes into your lungs and you can finally breathe, he’s the oxygen you needed. He’s everything you’ve needed but now you want to give your air away again. You want to give it all to him. 

You pull away from his shoulder in one swift motion, your eyes are shut tight as your lips find his and you pull him into a hard and messy kiss. The sound that escapes you both is desperate and beautiful. His lips move with yours in an uncoordinated rhythm that makes your lungs burn comfortably. They burn the way that they’re supposed to. 

Hyunjin cries into the kiss. Tears stream down his cheeks as he cradles you against him like you’d vanish if he didn’t. He drinks it all in, he allows himself to live in this moment that he’s been dying to have with you for what feels like an eternity before he reluctantly breaks the kiss. 

His eyes are still closed when he pulls away. He whispers to you, careful not to crack the shell of this delicate moment. “I thought you -” 

“I don’t want to keep running. I can’t, I need you. I can’t lose you.” Your eyes flutter open at the same time as his. He stares down at you with that smile in his eyes. That smile he has when he sees something beautiful, when he’s utterly enamored by the sight before him. “I don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t know how to do any of this, I only know that I want to do it with you.”

He’s quiet for a couple of seconds before a smile sneaks up on him. It fades just as quickly as it came and his eyebrows pinch together. “You want me?” You nod and the smile shows itself again. 

“I want you.” He leans back in, cupping your cheek as he kisses you hard. His body pushes against yours and you move with him as he walks backwards towards one of the few empty desks and lifts you onto it. 

His hands explore every inch of you that he can reach. He balls his fist over the baggy flannel hiding your body from him while your fingers tangle in his hair and scratch over his shoulders and up his arms.

 He breaks the kiss to run his lips over the flushed flesh of your neck, he whispers into your skin between each kiss “Tell me to stop.” He pulls at the collar of the flannel to kiss the curve of your neck. “I’ve waited so long for this, please tell me to stop. Tell me to wait.”

You push his head further into the crook of your neck as you tilt your head further to give him better access. “I don’t want you to.” He sucks a mark into the skin right below your ear and you pull his tucked in shirt from his pants with an elated moan. 

His clumsy fingers fight to unbutton the oversized flannel as yours attempt to unbutton his jeans. You reach your goal before he does and waste no time capitalizing on your victory. You dip your hand in just enough to fish his growing erection from his briefs and wrap your hand around it. 

Hyunjin moans at the stimulation, leaning his forehead against yours and squeezing his eyes shut as you stroke him slowly. “Fuck, please don’t, I wont - I can’t last.”

 You kiss his temple softly, whispering reassurance that you don’t care to have him last, you just want to have him. Once he’s centered himself again he continues his struggle to expose your body to him. The final button falls open like the curtain to a play and he stares down your scantily clad torso like an audience in awe. 

His hand moves on its own as he admires you. It dips into the waistband of your sweatpants and swipes over your clothed clit.

 Your head falls forward to rest on his shoulder with a quiet moan as he groans into the air. Your grip on his cock tightens a bit in response to the sensation and he hisses. “Please tell me I can feel you. Is it okay? Can I?” 

He doesn't want your first time to be here but he wants you. He needs you. 

Hyunjin hooks a finger into the damp gusset of your panties and pulls it to the side just enough to slip a finger into your waiting cunt. You pant in his ear, wanton moans bubble over the brim of your lips as his free hand cradles the side of your neck. “Look at me, please look at me, baby.”

 He runs his thumb over your cheek, brushing over the path of your dried tears. “So pretty, this must be a dream.” You shake your head. Speaking between moans. “Not a dream, baby.”

 He slips in another finger as you circle your palm over the head of his cock and you both moan. “Please tell me I can.” He leans his forehead against yours, his desperate eyes reflect the look in your own.

“You can. Please, I want you to.” 

“Have you ever thought about it?” He’s asking before he can process it and you’re shaking your head before he can even finish his sentence. A shy glaze washes over your desperate gaze as you watch him undress you.

 “You’re all I ever think about.” He whispers as he hooks his thumbs into the band of your pants. “You’re all I’ve wanted for the past year.” 

“I’ve loved you since my birthday.” You blurt out, vulnerable eyes peering into his. “Maybe even before that.” He runs a finger over your clothed cunt and you shudder under the touch.

“I wanted to kiss you the night of your birthday. You looked so beautiful but you were wasted. You wouldn’t have remembered. I just stared at you, I took your make-up off and I brushed the hair from your face and you stared back at me. I was just dying to kiss you. I was dying to confess.” Your hand runs slowly up his shaft and he swears that he feels electric. 

“I wanted to kiss you too.” He’s quiet, staring back at you with a smile. “That’s why I was staring”

“I kissed your forehead when you fell asleep.”  He pulls your panties down your legs, allowing them to pool at his feet with your sweatpants. “I knelt by your bed and whispered my confession to you.” 

His fingers are filling you again and you gasp while staring into his eyes. “I wanna hear it.” You whisper through a moan.

 “You want to hear my confession?” You nod, your gently fucked out gaze stares into his like your hypnotized by the moment. He scissors his finger into you, stretching you out just a bit before you’re gasping from the stretch of him replacing his fingers with his length. 

“Fuck, you’re inside of me.” Hyunjin stills with a groan. His forehead rests on your shoulder while he silently begs himself not to come undone just yet. He sucks in a breath before he recites all that he can remember. 

“You’re everything that I thought it would be to fall in love.” He whispers as he pulls back, thrusting into you slowly. “You really snuck up on me, I don’t know what I expected though.” He lifts his head to look at you as he sinks back into you. “You became my world so quickly. So effortlessly.”

 You cup his face with both of your hands as you bite back your moans. You want to hear him loud and clear. You want to remember every word. “I should’ve known that I’d fall in love when I first met you.” He picks up the pace, falling into a messy rhythm that’s accompanied by a fit of moans and grunts. 

He struggles to keep his eyes on you. They flutter shut with each thrust as he feels himself float closer and closer to his climax. “Baby, I won’t last.” You wrap your arms around his neck and one of his wraps around your waist while the other rests on your thigh before creeping over to softly pinch and rub your clit. 

“Hyune, you’re gonna make me - gonna -” He cuts you off with a sloppy kiss, his tongue brushes over your parted lips to request access before making room for itself against yours.

“If you tell me that you’re gonna cum I won’t last another second.” He whispers against your lips and you moan against his.

“What if I tell you that I love you.” Hyunjin’s eyebrows pinch at the confession. That’s way worse than telling him that you’re close. “I’ve loved you back for as long as - as long as you’ve loved me.”

“Rose, baby, you’re gonna -” It’s your turn to kiss him now, it’s a mess of teeth and tongue but you love it. You love him and him you.

 You both pull away in tandem, twin moans ripping through your chests as you both announce yourself to the other. 

“I’m cumming, I’m cumming.” Hyunjin pulls out of you, painting your thighs in his sticky white release while his fingers toy with your clit to ride you through your orgasm. It’s loud and messy and beautiful. A romantic elegance that you want to live in for as long as it’s available. 

Once you’ve both come down from your high Hyunjin kisses your sweaty forehead and you kiss his. He pulls his bottoms up before grabbing the cleanest paint rag he has to clean you up. A comfortable silence settles around you as you ground yourself and take in the space.

“You didn’t finish that one.”

He follows your gaze over to the painting of the pale pink rose. The middle of the canvas contrasts the rest with nothing but dull line art to show the completed picture. It looks like a work in progress. “I know, but I think I like it like that.” He looks back over at you and you at him.

“It looks like you."

It’s been seven months. Graduation has come and gone in the middle of your blooming relationship with Hyunjin and you’ve dedicated each and every second of your budding love to taming the flame. 

Each kiss from him has kept the spark of fear at bay and each touch has taught you how to stop running. It’s been a slow and cautious process that he is more than proud to be a part of. He takes pride in it. He takes pride in being with you.

The smooth breeze of late summer brushes against your skin as you step out of your car. The white dress that Hyunjin picked out for you sticks to you like paint on a canvas as you make your way up to the art gallery. 

It’s buzzing inside, people stand and stare in awe at each piece while whispering and pointing to their favorite details. You stop and stand in the middle of it all, taking it all in with a slow spin on the balls of your feet. You take in every corner until you turn around completely and you’re met with the face of the artist himself. 

“Hi.” Hyunjin smiles down at you, brown baggy flannel hanging from his shoulders. 

“Hi.” You stare back at him with a gleaming smile in your eyes. You take in every inch of him, scanning him like he should be framed and hanging on the walls around you. 

“Why are you staring at me like that?” Hyunjin wraps his arms around your waist, pulling you closer to him. “I like staring at you.” Your response makes him beam a shy smile. 

“You should be staring at the art. The artist might get sad if you don’t.” He kisses your forehead before letting you go. Some people around you stare over at the two of you with curious eyes. They’re eager to put a face to the muse of the showing artist. 

You take his hand and lead him over to the piece that a couple is walking away from. You stand in front of it hand in hand as you study it for what feels like the millionth time. “This one is my favorite.” The incomplete pale pink rose stares back at you.

“And why is that?” Hyunjin has that smile in his eyes as he stares up with you. The memory of this piece's origin plays behind his eyes like a memorized movie. 

“I’ve been told that it looks like me.” You lay your head on his shoulder and wrap your arm around his. A chill runs up his spine and he blames it on you. You and the love he feels glowing pink and white around you. 

“There you are.” History repeats itself as the lady that you’ve come to know as Dalia interrupts the two of you. “I wanted to check in with you, how does it feel to finally have your own exhibition?” 

Hyunjin smiles at her politely, turning towards her a bit with his fingers still threaded through yours. “It’s amazing. Thank you, you��ve done a wonderful job putting this together.” 

“Oh, please, it’s nothing. This is all you.” You watch her as her eyes smile just as they always have. Her hand brushes over his arm in a carefully calculated move. She’s still shameless and unprofessional. “This piece is my favorite. The unfinished look is unique and raw. What inspired this one?” 

You grin to yourself as you listen to her. She’s trying so hard that it’s difficult not to laugh. 

“Actually.” Hyunjin pulls your hand a bit, leading you forward so that you’re right next to him. It’s impossible for Dalia to ignore you now. Her eyes scan you reluctantly and the smile on her face falters for a second before she pulls it together. Gosh, that's gratifying. 

“My lovely rose here is the inspiration for it all.” Hyunjin looks over at you with a glow that is unmatched even by the largest of flames. “None of this would be possible without her.” 

It’s like Dalia disappears once Hyunjin looks over at you. You’re the only two in the room as far as you’re concerned. “Oh, well that’s just - that’s wonderful.” Her staggered speech pulls you both out of your loving haze. 

“Such a … sweet profession of love.” She glares over at you though you’re sure that in her head she’s doing a wonderful job at hiding her contempt. “I should make sure that everything is running smoothly. Please excuse me.” 

She clears her throat awkwardly before she departs, you and Hyunjin both bid her smiling farewells before turning to each other with wide smiles. “Show off.” You push his shoulder playfully and he laughs.

“I didn’t do anything.” You roll your eyes as you both wander over to the next piece on the wall. You stare up at the two pink roses in a lone vase, a shadow of sunlight casts down on them both as they rise towards its shining glow. 

A comfortable silence blankets the two of you while you listen to the soft buzz of the people around you. You squeeze his hand softly and he squeezes back just as you open your mouth to speak. 

“She still wants to fuck you.” He smiles 

“Shut up.”

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[sunnymarigolds]

i wish someone would just. realize that i feel like something is wrong with me lately. liek guys i’m not being normal compared to my usual self. please notice

[matryosika]

Incoming Call

Pairing — Hyunjin x fem!reader Wordcount — 3,394 words Genre — Smut (18+) Includes — Suggestive content. Smut warnings under the cut. Author's note — This honestly came out of the blue. I was just feeling like phone sex and exhibitionism and this is what I ended up writing, haha. I hope you like it, it's just a silly little drabble in which my writer's block didn't get the best of me. I am actually proud I could come up with something, but it's not as filthy as other of my works. Please remember that english is not my first language, so i apologize for any mistakes in advanced! If you wish to support my blog further, please reblog and comment, leave an ask and check my pinned post for my ko-fi!

Smut warnings — Dirty talk. Phone sex and exhibitionism if you squint. Masturbation (m), Hyunjin is kind of a perv but it's very very tame. Use of petnames (baby), mentions of creampies, and other sexual fantasies. Hyunjin is needy and desperate. Reader's mom interrupts the hated moment (not cool!).

Time zones. 

By far your most terrible enemies these days. 

It wasn't only the jet lag that threw you off from coming back home, but the abysmal time difference between you and your boyfriend —he goes to bed right before you wake up, and his most active time is when you are about to sleep. 

It has been a couple of days, but texting with him has been an absolute nightmare. 

“It’s only a week,” you reassured him as he waved you goodbye at the airport. His lower lip was slightly pouting, and his usually straight eyebrows were raised in a subtle furrow. “I’m sure you’ll live, Hyunjin”. 

“Yeah but I wanted to come with you,” there was genuine pity in his voice and you knew he meant it —he never misses a chance to join you on your trips back home, or meeting your parents.  

Because of how busy he has been, and the fact that this trip was practically nonexistent a week before, he just couldn't ask for a time off at work this time.

“We’re spending Christmas there this year,” you tried to cheer him up, rubbing his arm with solace, “time flies by, anyways”. 

Hyunjin nodded, resigning himself to the imminent struggle of being hours and miles apart from each other.

“Text me when you get there, yeah?” He planted a chaste kiss on your forehead and held you tightly. “Text me all the time, I’ll reply when I can, okay?”

You nodded against his chest, and kept his promise throughout the whole trip. 

You texted him when you got to your home country, and you also texted him a picture of your first meal there. You told him all about the weather, how happy your parents were to see you after a while and the things you missed the most.

He promised he would reply when he could, but you knew that wasn't going to happen any time soon. Or at least not for a couple of more hours, until he woke up.

And basically, that has been the whole dynamic all along —you text him everything about your day at a given time, and he texts you everything about his day at a given time as well. There's very little conversation happening in between, but it's understandable.

By day 3, Hyunjin learned to convert time zones. If it is morning for him, it is late afternoon for you. If it is his late night, you're probably just waking up.

He knows when to text you —if he is expecting a quick response— and knows when you're sleeping. Taking all that into account, Hyunjin tries to make the most of the time that's actually convenient for the two of you to talk.

[08:19 a.m., Hyunjin: Baby]

With furrowed eyebrows, your fingers type away faster than your mind can comprehend it. 

[08:19 a.m., You: Shouldn’t you be asleep?]

[08:19 a.m., You: Isn’t it like 11 p.m. in Seoul?]

He is a night owl. Always have been.

But he has been trying really hard to adopt a healthier sleeping schedule, so seeing him online past 10 p.m. it's unusual these days.

“Everything alright?” Your father asks, picking up on the subtle furrow of your brows.

“Yeah, I’m just talking to Hyunjin,” with your phone in one hand, and the other busy with a fork on your breakfast, you await his response. 

“It’s such a shame he couldn’t make it,” your mother adds, “it has been a while since we last met him”.

At that moment, when your mom and dad start talking about how great of a guy he is and how happy they’re to have him as part of the family, your phone vibrates yet again in your hand. 

[08:21 a.m., Hyunjin: Attachment: one image]

[08:21 a.m., Hyunjin: Can you see how much I miss you?]

If it wasn’t for the glass of water you smartly chugged down to hide your coughs, you would have choked on a piece of fruit. Inevitably, and after a failed attempt to conceal the embarrassing moment, your parents' eyes are fixed on you with concern.

“Sorry,” you excuse yourself, cleaning your lips with a napkin while you relentlessly try to put your phone away from anyone’s sight. 

“Are you alright?” your mother asks this time, softly hitting your back 

“Yes,” you nod swiftly. “I just- the food kind of went into the wrong pipe”. 

On your lap, your phone keeps vibrating —one after another, you lose count after message number 4.

[08:22 a.m., Hyunjin: God, I miss your body so much]

[08:22 a.m., Hyunjin: Just want you here for me. Don't want anyone else to have you right now] 

[08:23 a.m., Hyunjin: My hand isn't enough. It doesn't feel like your pussy does]

[08:23 a.m., Hyunjin: Can you come back to me now? Lay underneath me and let me have my way with you?]

[08:24 a.m., Hyunjin: You have no idea how fucking hard I am] 

You gulp loudly.

“What do you think?” It's only when your mother directs a question at you that you snap out of your trance. 

“Huh?”

“What do you think about spending Christmas in some beautiful cabins? They're like 45 minutes away from the city,” she continues, offering you some of the context you missed because of Hyunjin’s heated messages.

“Uh, yeah,” you reply with hesitation. Not because of the idea, but because you really can’t process anything other than the warmth between your legs. “I- uh, I have to go to the restroom”. 

For all he knows, you're lying comfortably in your bed as this is around the time you usually wake up. So damned you, for not letting Hyunjin know that today you are having breakfast with your family at a restaurant. And damned him for putting you into an awkward situation without even knowing of it.

[08:25 a.m., Hyunjin: Can I call you?]

[08:25 a.m., Hyunjin: Want to hear your voice]

[08:25 a.m., Hyunjin: Please, talk to me. Tell me anything you want. Just let me hear that pretty voice of yours]

[08:27 a.m., Hyunjin: Fuck it]

[08:27 a.m., Hyunijn: I’m calling you]

Good luck can’t be any more useful than right now, that you enter the restaurant’s restroom with your fingers crossed and an immense feeling of relief when you see every single stall open. 

And, as if on cue, the soft piano melody coming from your phone's speakers tells you that Hyunjin stuck up to his last message. 

“Are you busy?” It’s the first thing he says, with a hoarse voice and a hitched breath. 

“I’m at a restaurant,” you reply with just a little bit of shame in your tone. “With my parents”. 

Your boyfriend lets out an exasperated sigh.

“Shit I’m- I didn’t know, I’m sorry,” you can hear him panicking, maybe because he thinks you're upset. But in reality, it's all quite the opposite. “I’ll call you later just- forget I even- whatever, I’ll call you another time”. 

“No,” you rush to say, locking yourself into one of the bathroom stalls. “Don’t hang up, I can- I’m at the restroom”. 

There's a quick seconds of silence from the other line as Hyunjin gathers the remaining coherent thoughts after getting to hear your voice. “Is it- are there other people there?”

“For now it’s just me,” you reassure him.

“Just you?” He asks, and you hum in response. “I’m sorry for calling it’s just- God, I can’t spend another day without you”. 

The wet, sloppy slow sounds paired with the laziness of his voice can only give you a hint of what he is doing.

“Are you- masturbating?” 

It's not like you're a prude, but this whole thing is taking you by surprise. You're always together, so there's no need for phone sex or anything of that sort. Sexting isn’t unusual, but this is definitely a first.

“Yeah,” he replies with a raspy scoff. “Want me to stop?”

“No, I- no,” when you encourage him to continue, the lewd, wet sounds start to become more and more frequent —increasingly loud for you to hear them, “keep going”. 

Hyunjin lets out a deep sigh of frustration.

“Do you miss me too?” he asks, biting down his lower lip to prevent any whimpers from falling from them. 

“Yes,” with shortness of breath you admit. “I miss you too,”.

“Yeah?” He whispers under his breath, letting small grunts make their way to your ears. “I miss you badly. Can’t stop thinking about you- shit, can’t stop thinking about how pretty you look when you’re naked in my bed”. 

The compliments, all together, make your cheeks and body grow hotter. But inevitably, they force you to fix your gaze under the bathroom stall, in that little gap between it and the floor. There’s no sound nor signals of footsteps approaching, but the adrenaline of hearing him say such dirty things when you're out in public is definitely a new experience.

You can't say you hate it.

“Baby,” Hyunjin moans. And although you can’t see it, you can take a wild guess what he looks like right now: head kicked back, legs spread, his hand and dick glistening with lube, or lotion, or maybe spit. You can picture how pretty his face is right now, contorted in pleasure, with his lips all swollen from licking and biting them, eyes completely white while he bucks his hips up against his fist. “Talk to me, tell me about your plans for the day”.

You can’t help but laugh a little in the midst of the tension. 

“You want me to- talk about my day while you masturbate?”

“Well,” he scoffs under his breath. “I don’t expect you to say dirty stuff while you’re locked in a public restroom where anyone can walk in”. 

“Right,” you nod to yourself. “But I don't understand what that would do for you”. 

“I like your voice,” your boyfriend lets out a deep exhale of relief. “I can get off just by listening to it, doesn’t matter what you’re talking about”.

“You’re crazy,” a soft chuckle falls from your lips. “You’re not even going to pay attention to me”.

“Please?” you can hear a small whimper, and that alone convinces you. 

“Okay well,” you clear your throat before continuing, wondering how this could arouse him. But he is asking you something that is nowhere near difficult, so you comply. “I’m having breakfast with my parents right now”. 

“Aha,” Hyunjin hums, and if you play close attention you can hear his hand sliding up and down his cock. All you're left with is your imagination. “Keep going”.

“I will meet with a friend later, we’re going to grab some coffee”. 

Despite the weirdness of it all, there's something enticing about knowing he is using you, in some way, to get off. You're only talking about your day. But knowing your boyfriend is masturbating to the sound of your voice is arousing.

“Then I’ll go back home, get some work done,” you continue. “Think about you, think about how much I miss you right now”. 

The line goes silent, except for a mixture of gasps and groans. 

“You’re going to think about me?” Hyunjin asks, his silky voice sending shivers down your spine. “You’re going to touch yourself thinking about me?”

“Yes,” of course he doesn't expect you to talk dirty to him. But that never meant he couldn't say that kind of stuff to you. At that, you're at a disadvantage. No matter how turned on you're getting, there's nothing you can do about it and Hyunjin sort of feels thrilled because of it.

“You’re going to fuck my pussy with those fingers of you?”

God, how much you hate him for that. How he talks about your body as if it is his, reminding you that you belong to him and him only. 

You only hate it because it never fails to arouse you.

“Y-yes Hyune,” you reply, swallowing thickly. You're aware you can't say anything too obscene, but you still can engage in that kind of conversation without airing yourself too much. “Or should I- use something else?” 

“You packed your toys?” your boyfriend lets out a satisfied groan at your hum of agreement. You two are just so alike. “Which one are you using tonight, baby?”

“The transparent one”.

“The transparent one?” he thinks about it for a second, and immediately remembers which one you're referring to. “Thought you were going for the wand because it's your favorite, but I'm guessing you miss feeling full?”

“Aha,” you exhale. “Yes, I- miss it so bad”.

“You miss my cock stretching that tight pussy of yours?” At that, the wet movements become louder. “Stretch it nice and open for me baby, make sure to prep yourself every day for when you get back”. 

You bite your nails. “What’s going to happen when I get back?”

The answer is rather obvious, but you want to hear it from him.

“I’m going to make you come until you pass out,” Hyunjin bites his lips and kicks his head back, reminiscing all those times where you’ve come around his cock, fingers and tongue. “Make it up to you for all the days you've been away”. 

You can feel the pooling wetness in your underwear, the minimum squeeze of your thighs against each other is a constant reminder of it. 

“You miss my lips against your pussy like I do?” he asks, letting out a liberating gasp. “You miss tasting yourself off of me while we kiss?”

“You know I do,” you gulp loudly, caressing your lips with the tip of your fingers. God, how much you miss feeling his against yours.

They’re so soft, and velvety, and they know exactly how to kiss and bite you.

“I’m so close,” Hyunjin announces, and you feel your nipples hardening underneath your underwear at the despair in his voice. “I just- wish you were here, want to come all over your face, and body, make you swallow me full”. 

You want to say something, anything, but his words have much of a chokehold on you. You'll give anything to taste him, to kneel in front of him right now and open your mouth wide for him. 

You miss his taste, miss kissing him afterwards in between whines and grunts.

“I would grab your hair really tightly,” he explains, increasing the speed of his sounds. “I’d push my cock deep inside that pretty mouth of yours, have you gagging and drooling all over it”. 

Between his overwhelming words, and the loud sound of someone barging through the door of the restroom, you mutter a quick "can't talk anymore" before going completely silent.

“Honey, are you okay?”

Shit. 

You close your eyes, trying to focus on both parts: Hyunjin’s moans, and the way your mother is standing right outside your bathroom stall.

“It has been like 10 minutes, your father and I got worried”.

Your boyfriend lets out a teasing scoff, one that only you can hear.

“She’s asking you a question,” Hyunjin murmurs, still with a hitched breath. “Aren’t you going to answer?”

“I’m fine,” you rush to say. “Just- having a stomachache”. 

“Why didn’t you tell me? I’ve got some medicine in my bag,” of course she did. She always does, ever since you were little.

“Maybe you should tell her the truth,” the voice from the other line calls. “Tell her that you’re busy making me come”.

Immediately, your eyes open like plates and you wonder if the sound of the phone is too loud  for your mom to hear it inside the quiet restroom. 

“I forgot!” you snap, practically yell out loud. “I forgot you carried those with you”.

“Want me to bring them to you?”

You hear the faucet running, and Hyunjin chuckling slowly. At least she isn’t standing right outside the stall, but you’re still not at ease. 

“Y-yeah, please,” on the line, Hyunjin is waiting for the perfect moment to interrupt. 

Those two words are enough to send him to the edge. Despite the lack of sexual connotations, hearing you beg for anything it’s enough to arouse him.

“Ah, but I’ll have to bring you some water too,” your mother explains. “Maybe you can have it when you return to the table?”

“No!” You insist, all in an attempt to kick her away from the restroom. “Please, I need it right now. Please?” 

“Are you going to beg for me like that too?” Hyunjin groans through the line, not caring if anyone can hear him. Also not caring about interrupting your conversation. “Are you going to open your legs for me and beg for my dick like you’re begging right now?”

You almost choke on your own saliva, but the feeling quickly goes away when you hear your mother mutter an “okay, alright” before walking out the restroom door with a mission of easing your fake stomach ache.

“I almost get caught,” you gasp, only when a couple of seconds pass after she leaves. 

“Then hang up,” his shakily breath only tells you he is not that far from coming. Especially after hearing your voice again, pleading for whatever it was you were asking. 

“No,” you shake your head. “Want to hear you, please”. 

“Want to hear how I come for you?” he chuckles. “Want to her how I moan your name while I come thinking about how much I wish I was fucking you?”.

In a whisper, you hum quietly. 

“So dirty,” he is getting closer. “So, so f-fucking dirty. I can tell you’re enjoying this, even while you're out in public. Maybe you'll like it if i were to fuck you right there, while your parents wait for us at the table?”. 

You cover your mouth in surprise, trying to muffle a gasp.

“I would love to come inside you right now, pull up your panties and force you to spend the rest of the day with my cum leaking out of you,” he lets out another loud, choked groan before continuing to elaborate on the fantasy. “You'd be so wet, you wouldn't know if you're turned on or it's just my cum”.

“You’re insane,” you whisper under your breath.

“Yeah?” Hyunjin asks teasingly, slurring his words in between moans. “I know you are too, baby. I don’t even need to take a look at you to know you’re probably dripping just by my words, right?”

Damned him.

“And I know I’m not too out of my mind when I say you would let me fuck you right then and there, where everyone could hear you and anyone could walk in,” at that, the lewd noises increase. “Might even let me finger you underneath the table, right? Bet you would love to have my fingers deep inside you while you try to pretend you don’t”. 

“And I know I’m not too out of my mind when I say you would let me fuck you right then and there, where everyone could hear you and anyone could walk in,” at that, the lewd noises increase. “Might even let me finger you underneath the table, right? Bet you would love to have my fingers deep inside you while you try to pretend you don’t”. 

Oh you're definitely going to cancel all your plans for the day. Might even book an early fly.

Anything, just to see him soon.

“God,” Hyunjin exhales, and it’s between quiet moans that you realize he is coming. “F-fuck, ‘m coming so fucking much”.

You can picture it. His tone abdomen all glistening with sweat and cum, shining brightly underneath the dim light of your room. His cock is probably red, and swollen, and twitching while he overcomes his high.

Fuck, damned be Hyunjin for making you ruin your panties this early in the morning.

“So much,” he repeats, fingers trailing the lines of his abdomen as he collects his arousal off of it. “Too sad it went to waste, I would’ve preferred to fuck it back inside of you”.

“I hate you,” you finally breathe, both in relief and frustration. “I hate how much I miss you”.

“Then come home soon,” your boyfriend pouts.

And honestly? You might.

[differenteagletragedy]

swap au: the boy across the street is Baxter, the boy who lives far away but is still your friend is Cove, and the boy who comes for but one summer is Derek.

When I tell you the powerful and immediate urge I had to rewrite the entire dang game with this ... this is so much fun, thank you!!!

You could hear the new neighbors moving in at your spot behind your house. You'd thought about taking a peek to see what kind of people they were like, but decided to stay out of the way, watching clouds on the poppy hill instead. With how nosy your moms had been after the "for sale" sign disappeared, you'd be learning about them soon enough.

After a while, the clouds stopped holding your attention and you stood, looking for a new activity. Before you knew it, you were making your way to the shore -- there was always something to do there.

When you arrived, the typically empty beach wasn't quite as empty as it usually was. Up near the path, away from the water but still on the sand, was a boy. He looked to be your age, maybe a little older. He hadn't heard you approach, and was instead staring straight ahead at the ocean.

"Hi," you said, and you quickly broke whatever spell he was under. "I haven't seen you around before."

"That would be because I just moved here," he said. He pulled on the hem of his shirt, then smiled at you, extending a hand. "My name is Baxter Ward."

At the time, you thought it was weirdly formal, something grown-ups did to greet each other, not kids. But over time, as you got to know him and all his quirks, you looked back at the moment fondly.

That summer, he became your best friend.

You took to each other immediately, and if you had it your way you would've have spent every waking minute together. Sometimes Baxter couldn't hang out though -- he didn't talk about it much, but he seemed sad sometimes when he talked about his parents, and the few times you spoke with them you got the feeling they didn't like you very much.

But Baxter, as oddly formal as he was, wasn't afraid to break rules. And after a meeting between his parents and yours that didn't seem to go so well, your moms were quick to welcome him whenever he wanted to come over. You were able to get close.

By the time the summer was over, you could hardly remember what life was like before he came into it.

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

Five years later, you were 13, and Baxter was still your best friend. He went to a private school while you went to the public one, and from what little he told you about it, he didn't really have friends there. It was a boring place to be, he told you, and he'd much rather be spending time with you than with those spoiled rich kids.

He never bothered noting that he was also a spoiled rich kid.

One day, the two of you were in your bedroom, wasting away a day together. He was lying comfortably on your bed and you were sitting at the foot of it, leaned against the window he regularly used for secret visits -- when he didn't want to hear his parents complain about him spending so much time with you, he found it easier to just slip away unnoticed.

"There's a boy coming over today," he mentioned, ending a comfortable silence. "I think you'll find him interesting."

"If you think he's interesting, then I'm officially scared," you teased.

He smirked in response. He was proud.

Over the past few months, Baxter had started getting more experimental with his fashion. He'd always dressed a bit preppy, and that hadn't changed much, but now he was moving towards clothes that were only black and white. He'd shown you a few more alternative pieces he'd ordered, things that matched the color scheme but were a little more out there, but he hadn't had the nerve to wear them out yet.

"He's the son of a business partner of my father's," he explained of the mystery boy. "I've met him a few times before, he's very shy."

"Then why do you think I'll think he's interesting?" you asked.

"He's also very cute."

You blushed, and he laughed.

You'd had a crush on him for a while, and you couldn't tell if he knew, or if he might like you back, but it was certainly clear that he enjoyed teasing you about anything even remotely related to dating. It always flustered you, but he enjoyed that, too.

He opened his mouth to say anything else, but before he could, the door to your room opened and Liz popped her head in.

"Some kid is at the door asking for you," she told Baxter. "I didn't realize you'd officially moved in."

"Thank you for the warm welcome, sis," he said easily, then stood and looked at you.

"Let's go," he said. "That would be the boy of the hour."

He held out a hand to help you off the bed, and, blushing again, you took it. There was that smirk again, but this time he chose to let it go.

When you went downstairs and to the door, you saw the boy had retreated back towards the street, looking uncomfortable. He was tall and gangly with bright green hair and glasses, and Baxter had been right -- he was cute.

"Cove!" your friend called out brightly, leading you over for an introduction. The boy, Cove, held up his hand in a slight wave. He was nervous.

But as awkward as Cove was, he managed to work his way into your cozy little friend group of two, turning it into a trio.

At one point during the summer, you and Cove had exchanged phone numbers. His father -- his parents were divorced and he lived in another neighborhood with his dad -- was much more easygoing than Baxter's parents, so you were able to visit him quite a bit.

You were even invited over for a sleepover, which Baxter had been surprised about. He'd reacted strangely when you told him about it, it seemed -- you weren't sure if he was upset that his parents had never let you stay over, or if it was something about you getting close to Cove. But in the end, he'd put on his old friendly smile and told you to have fun.

When your moms dropped you off at Cove's house, he greeted you at the door and invited you in, as awkward as the day you had met.

"It was my dad's idea, to ask you to stay over," he explained as you made your way to his room to hang out. "Not that I don't want you to stay over! It was just his idea is all."

"Why would he want me to stay over?" you asked.

He turned to face you as you came to a stop in his bedroom, but he kept his eyes down. He started rubbing his arm, a nervous tick you'd picked up on pretty quickly.

"I don't ... I mean, I don't really have many friends, I guess," he said. "My dad wants me to have more. I think he worries about it."

"Why didn't you ask Baxter?"

"My dad doesn't like his dad," he said.

That made sense to you. You didn't like Baxter's dad either.

Cove didn't live in your neighborhood, but he still lived near a beach. You walked there together and spent most of the evening there, and when you went back, his dad had cooked you dinner.

Throughout the day, he had loosened up, but when it was time for bed, he started getting shy again. His father had laid out two sleeping bags side by side on the living room floor, and after you both got into them, he didn't say a word.

"Cove?" you asked.

He didn't say anything. You turned to face him, sure he hadn't been able to fall asleep that quickly. In the faint light coming in from the kitchen, you saw his eyes wide open, and maybe a tiny bit of color on his cheeks.

"Are you all right?"

He turned his head toward you slightly, not enough to make eye contact, and said, "Yeah."

It wasn't very convincing.

It was your turn to stay quiet -- you weren't sure what to say. Then, without further prompting, he turned to face you too. He met your eyes.

"I get nervous around you," he said plainly. "More than other people. That's why I don't say stuff sometimes."

"Oh," you replied. Then, "Why?"

He shrugged, a decidedly non-romantic gesture, but it still tugged at your heartstrings.

He ended up changing the subject, and you laid there together for a long time, whispering about what you'd done that day and what you wanted to do tomorrow, what you wanted to do with your lives. It was nice, and when you finally fell asleep, you thought maybe you could see Cove being in your life for a long time.

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

Five more years went by, and more big changes came with them.

Baxter was your best friend and still your neighbor -- for the time being. You'd graduated high school and were now adults, and you knew he was desperate to get out of his parents' home.

Cove was still important to you, though you'd been seeing him less and less. His father had cut professional ties with Baxter's, and there was a bit of bad blood there. He'd also decided he wanted to go to college to study marine biology, which was no big surprise, but it did mean that a lot of his free time went to studying.

You weren't sure what exactly you wanted to do, but at the beginning of the summer, an opportunity for a quick adventure before diving into real adulthood presented itself, almost literally on your doorstep.

Gossip spread easily in Sunset Bird, and your moms had heard that the newly vacant condo next door to Baxter's house had been rented. They were eager to see who was coming into the neighborhood, but because they had to leave for work before anything happened, they asked you and Baxter, who was almost always over, to keep an eye out.

Baxter agreed before you could say anything. He'd always done anything your moms asked. You thought it was because he was thankful that they'd unofficially adopted him as their third child.

The two of you settled outside on your front step, waiting and chatting idly about some nonsense he'd made up about who the new neighbor would be. He was really getting into the details when a cab pulled up across the street, and a guy who looked to be about your age stepped out.

"This is not what I expected," Baxter whispered to you before letting his mouth hang open.

You watched as the newest resident of your tiny town moved to the back of the car, opening the trunk and easily pulling out a suitcase. He was all muscles and tan skin and had such a big smile as he tipped the driver. The cab left, and the stranger must have felt your eyes on him, because he turned to you then and smiled even wider.

"Hey, neighbors!" he called out, sounding as friendly as he looked. He started making his way over, and you saw bright green eyes twinkling at you.

Baxter stood, sticking his hand out to help you up. You took it, and he used his other hand to smooth his black and white hair.

"My name's Derek," the guy said holding out a hand to you the same way Baxter had when you first met him ten years before. You shook it, and he smiled directly at you before moving to shake your friend's hand as well.

You and Baxter introduced yourselves, then Baxter asked, "So, Derek, what brings you into our tiny neck of the woods?"

"I'm on vacation," he answered. "Well, kind of. I play college soccer, and there's a coach in the city that's really good, I'm going to work with him this summer. My parents wanted me to have an actual vacation too though, so ..."

He finished his thought by gesturing to his condo.

"I see," Baxter said, and you could hear it in his voice already -- he was turning the charm on. "Well, you know what they say about all work and no play. If you ever feel the need to play, don't hesitate to find us."

Ten years of friendship, and Baxter could still make you blush. If Derek was taken aback by his forwardness, he didn't show it -- instead, he laughed openly.

"I'll keep that in mind," he said. You thought you saw him sneak a glance at you as his smile turned smaller, but you weren't sure.

You learned quickly that Derek was serious about his work. He left for long stretches to go into the city for his private training, and you frequently saw him out for runs around the neighborhood.

But he also, it seemed, had taken a liking to you.

One evening, he knocked on your door. You were home alone, so naturally you were the one to answer, and he was there, as always, with a big grin on his face.

"Hey!" he said. "I totally get if you have plans, but if not I thought I'd come check to see if you wanted to hang out?"

"I'm free," you told him.

"Cool. Do you wanna come over?"

When you paused, he quickly continued, telling you, "Oh no, I'm not ... I'm not trying to ... do you like video games?"

A few minutes later, you were sitting next to Derek on his couch, starting up a game of MarioKart.

His composure regained, he said, "I hope you know I'm not going to take it easy on you."

"Why would I think you'd take it easy on me?" you laughed, looking at the tv to choose your character.

"Pretty people always think they can get their way."

That stopped you in your tracks. You glanced over at him, and he was smiling at you.

"You would know," you replied, trying to return the compliment.

As you played, you both found little ways to get closer to each other. Once he scooted over to show you which button to press to do a certain move, and soon after you'd done the same, pretending like you'd forgotten.

After a particularly intense race, it happened -- you finally beat Derek. He'd stayed true to his word and hadn't taken it easy on you, beating you time after time, but now, you'd bested him.

You stood up enthusiastically, cheering for yourself, and ever the gentleman, he stood up as well to cheer along with you.

The next thing you knew, he had his strong arms around your waist, and yours had gone up around his neck. He leaned in a bit, then paused.

"I like you," he said softly, "and I think it would be nice to kiss you. But I'm going back to college in a couple of months, and --"

"A couple of months is enough for me," you told him.

He smiled again, then kissed you. It was gentle and sweet, and over far too soon.

"I'm thinking I should probably make a little bit more time this summer for playing," he said, giving you a smirk that could almost rival Baxter's.

[aonungyoufuck]

Runaway {pt 3}

Synopsys: You get a visit from Kiri and Rotxo, Ronal comes to see you. Ao’nung’s in trouble and you finally get to leave the marui for a bit. 

Parts: one , two , Four

DNI/BYF

“Wakey wakey” 

You groaned as the hard light of day reached your eyes. The only pain from your head as you felt numbness on your arm. 

“Rotxo i told you not to wake them like that” You heard Kiri say as she lifted your head up to get a drink of water. 

“It’s midday. They weren’t going to wake up if i didn't do anything” 

You could only roll your eyes. Head throbbing as last night's nightmare hit you. “Is everyone alright?”

“Alive? Yes. Alright no”

“What?”

“Rotxo!” 

He could only laugh as Kiri Slapped him “he means. Ao’nung’s in trouble for ‘being hostile’ with his mother”

“He was hostile? His mom?” you asked, feeling your chest. The now dried bandages proof that they have changed, if but the slightest. 

“Aside that. Everyone is well. Your parents said they’ll be coming to see you later” 

You gave Kiri a knowing look. One you were sure if you had been better. She would hit you too. 

“Come Sit down. I want to know of your days”

You watched as the two settled. Your eyes darting outside to peak a little not that you could head out if that. 

“Well your Brothers are staying out of trouble. As much as they can, that is. I think your Father has been doing well? He usually is around your mother or our Olo’eyktan.” Rotxo explained stealing your now empty cup of water.

Kiri watched as you groaned before seeing you plop back down. “Well what’s the matter now?

“I want to try to move, I swear my tails going to fall off if i remain sitting here any longer” you spoke kicking your legs. “Not like i cant i know but im suppose to be resting”

“And you are”

All three of you turned. Frozen in place as you watched Ronal come into your pod. 

“I suppose its been enough days of bed rest that you could move but the slightest.” Ronal watched the other two stand up straight beside you “You Two wait outside. Let me check on Y/n’s Wound” 

The two nodded bidding their goodbye’s for now before leaving 

“Come Sit up let me see”

You followed orders. Hearing the disgusting sound of cloth leaving flesh and took a whiff of the smell of healing skin. But you looked down. The wound looked closed. Almost but maybe the discharge of liquid and old paste. You felt her hit your head 

“It seem’s It is healing well. Any pain inside?” 

“Slight discomfort when I breathe in.” 

“Come take a deep breathe out” 

And you did. No pain but the smallest of sounds of gurgling “it seems inside needs more time. But you are well, Thank Eywa for that”

“I uh..” you muttered trying to find the right words “ i was wanting to ask you something Tsahik” 

“And that would be?”

“I wanted to know if there is anything i could do for you as a thank you. Help you in any way. Not Tsakarem But if i can help with your delivery, if any at all other help. I'm more than willing for. For helping me, and for helping my family” You asked closing your eyes and bowing your head a little. 

“ I think you are foolish to ask me such a thing. However.. As you know i only have Tsireya to fall back on.” She explained removing the rags and just applying a cream substance on your flesh. “I will take up your offer however”  

“Really?”

“Not Tsakarem. But I will teach you to help me when the time comes. And its coming by soon” She patted down the substance watching your reaction of a slight twitch of pain. “Now come, Try and stand up without using your arms too much alright?” 

You nodded. Relying on your legs to push you up. Ronal standing beside you gently tugging you up without moving your arms. Your Tail pushing yourself as well when you felt like you were about to fall. 

“You are free to move around. Be careful outside tho and make sure not to submerge this wound. Ill have Tsireya come by later to Fix up the Marui so you are free to roam about it much better”

“Thank you” You nodded flicking your fingers and extending them towards her. “And Ao’nung?”

“He is dealing with his punishment. I am not at all to please with his attitude as of late” 

You could only stand there. Watching her go. Didn't dare to ask further. This was a good amount of interaction that you didn't want to ruin with pestering and making her angry.

You began to move. Feeling a shooting pain go up your spine from laying down for a long time. Preparing yourself you went out of the marui. 

“So?”

“So what?” you spoke, rubbing your eyes. Getting use to day light. 

“So did you get a knot on your tail?” 

You didn't need to look to hear the hard ‘SMACK’ to the back of Rotxo’s head. 

“No. luckily for i. Eywa has blessed me with Ronal’s grace” You spoke squinting your eyes. Looking at them finally in light. It was nice to feel the warmth surrounding you. Ignoring the throbbing of your arm just hanging by the side. 

“So I take it you cant move too much right?” Kiri asked you. For once you were glad to talk to her more one on one. It was nice to be able to talk freely to your siblings Rather than having to constantly watch over them. Making sure they dont get in trouble and Mostly being their third Parent. 

Not that you minded it. You loved watching over them. Mostly watching over the grave they dig when they try explaining to your parents why they did what they did. It was your source of entertainment. 

“No. Or i would rather Face Eywa first before feeling Ronal’s rage if i open my wound up at all” 

You could only watch the two as they guided you towards the sand. You hadn’t realized how cold you were until you felt the sand warm up your feet. It felt nice to be touched by the sun. The air and the mist of the ocean right near you. 

“So…not to have been listening in on your conversation. But Your helping Tashik?”

You squinted. You knew That Rotxo wouldn’t have acted alone. So you ever so slightly gave kiri a side eye as she twirled her thumbs together. 

“Yes. If you must know i just want to help out as much as i can”

“Sure”

“And what is that suppose to mean Kiri?” 

You watched as the two just avoided your eyes. Watching as the two escaped to the waves of the water. Where you could not follow. 

“Y/n? What are you doing out here?”

You turned, Even if you didnt need to. You knew that voice after the past few nights. 

“Ao’nung. So nice to see you out in daylight” watching him rub the back of his neck as he looked out to see “but aren’t you suppose to be dealing with a ‘punishment’ or something of that sort?”

“Are you going to tell on me?”

“No whatever will i get from that?”

There was silence. The ambience of the living creature that was your home filling your ears. 

“Its uh” You turned to look at him watching as he tried to find the right words. “Nice er.. Good to see you out of bed you know?”

“Oh were you worried about me?”

“Nevermind go back to bed” Letting out the faintest of laugh. It was nice to be alive. At the expense at jokes of you from either Ao’nung or your brothers. 

“You better get going before they figure you are gone” you explained. Watching as he let out a groan. “Don’t worry we’ll talk once again. Hopefully on much better terms and when one isnt nearly dying and the other is in trouble” 

He nodded. Not even bothering to give you a goodbye as he headed off. Staying still. Feeling the breeze, Eywa had really blessed you, you began to think. Perhaps laying down on the sand wouldn’t be so bad. And that you did. Feeling her breathe. Hear heartbeat at one with you, this is what kiri had once told you about. And at peace in her arms and by her, you fell asleep. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gasping, choking on your own airway as you watched your brother’s dive. You didnt know when you got hit but you had gotten hit. Feeling your heartbeat increase. It pained you, the stinging feeling of the water on your now open chest. You Felt the entirety of the people around you. The chaos of the sky people above you. It pained you hurt you to even hold your breathe. And you wanted to scream when you felt yourself be tugged up to the surface. 

“Y/n?”

“Shit!” 

You couldn’t look or see, Everything had hurt so much but you could feel Tsireya hold your hand as you felt the surface of the water drag. You couldn't open your eyes. for the blinding pain wouldn't let you. 

“Is” it even pained to talk. To whisper to even breathe and yet you needed to know. Eywa Please have mercy on you. “Is Neteyam safe?” is all you could ask. For had it not been for you. It surely would have been him.

“I am here. I am here sister” 

You couldn’t really see. You just saw the blurriness but you could faintly see them.

Peace. And all you heard was your name being called repeatedly. You could almost hear the faintest of heart beats aligned with your own 

“y/n!”

“Y/n!”

“Y/n?” 

“Is it dead?” 

“Spider!” 

You took in a sharper inhale than you had intended. The Tide had come in and wet your legs but finally you had woken up. “What?”

“Your lucky that the water didnt take you out into the open sea” Spider commented. It wasn’t eclipse But you could tell you had been out here for some time. 

“Did no one bother to wake me up beforehand?”

“To be honest. Once i headed out with Rotxo i kinda forgot about you”

“Charmed” is all you could comment back. Sitting back up before standing fully. You had re-lived your near death. And you were ever so happy to be awake and See everyone alive and well. “I better get back to the pod. Im sure i only have maybe a few more treatments and ill be good as new” you pondered

There was a minor pain for sure and maybe more than two. But you were optimistic on the outcome. 

You couldn’t focus on what your siblings were saying. Not one bit. Too deep in thought. 

“Right Y/n?”

“Huh?” finally looking up you noticed Ao’nung in the pod alongside all of you. Spear in hand a basket of baked fish in another. 

“Ao’nung said he could be here. But we would like some time alone as family. Right Y/n?”

You silently rolled your eyes. “No Ao’nung is right. This is his mothers. Pod as well you know?”

Lo’ak could only huff and roll his eyes. Not that he didn't like Ao’nung. But he had hoped to have time with his family. Although probably just to talk about his progress with Tsireya. Of which you could just Roll your eyes at. 

“Fine But i am not at all too happy with you sleeping here with Y/n”

“You make it sound like we did more than sleeping”

Of which your tail smacked him at his knees 

“Will you two cut it out. Gimme that i'm starving”

Neteyam laughed besides you. “Figures as much. You were baking out in the sun for a long time” 

You didnt even bother to bite back. Too tired. Too exhausted. Watching as the rest of your siblings sat down around you Ao’nung besides you. You were sure at this moment. You looked like you were near death too. 

“Here let me fix your hair. Pretty sure you have some sand in here” Kiri spoke standing up as she started to let your hair go and shake it out. 

You could only continue to eat. Listening to their small talk. Lo’ak speaking to Ao’nung about how he would go about asking his parents to allow him to court Tsireya. You didnt particularly know why you had suddenly gotten so tired. Maybe it was Kiri massaging your head? The small hum of your siblings talking. Maybe Tuk muttered her song cord as she looked at the new bead added? 

You didn't know. But you just  let your eyes falter. Didn't even realize but you had laid your head on Ao’nungs shoulder. As sleep finally took you away once again.

---------

(oops forgot the tag list)

@simp-erformarvelwomen

@luvlykrispy

[fiveraccoonsinatrenchcoat]

Quiet My Fears (With The Touch Of Your Hand) Ch. 2

Steve Harrington x f!reader

Description: You have this amazing talent of knocking the wind right out of Steve's chest with words alone.

Warnings: pregnant!reader, mentions of being sick (among other scarier pregnancy symptoms), language

Word Count: 3614

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My Masterlist! - Series Masterlist!

Rain slammed against the window panes of the Harrington house like bullets. The cold seeped through the walls and ate straight through Steve’s pajamas, and the cup of coffee in his hands was doing little to remedy it. There was zero hint of sun in the sky, it seemed like there would be none all day, and Steve was really regretting coming out from under his covers. 

Steve had only slept in his own house three times over the past two weeks; he’d made quite the home for himself on your couch, living out of a backpack of clothes he’d stuck in the corner of your living room. You had asked him not to leave you alone, and what kind of man would he be if he had said no to that? He probably wouldn’t even have been able to, anyway.

He didn’t know if he would be allowed to sleep in your bed with you, and he had been too afraid to ask. 

While his father never really bothered to care where his son was, and his mother trusted him enough to let him do his own thing most of the time, he was still expected to show his face at home every once in a while. He’d been stuck with the closing shift last night (even though it was outside of his availability, so thanks for that, Keith), and he knew you’d be fast asleep by the time he made it back to your apartment. You’d called the store after you got home at the much more reasonable hour of six thirty. ‘I think I can live with being alone for tonight’ you’d told him. ‘I’ve got a paper to write, anyway.’ 

Fuck, Steve really needed a better job. Preferably one that paid him more and wasn’t open until eleven p.m. on a Thursday night. 

You worked a big girl job at the Roane County Historical Society museum. You were just a secretary, but you had a salary, insurance, and all that other grown up stuff. Nine to five, four days a week, and they helped with your college tuition, too. Come May, you’d have a History degree and a teaching certification, and word on the street said Hawkins Middle was about to have a need for a  new History teacher. Unlike him, you had the perfect five year plan laid out right in front of you. 

Y’know, as long as Steve hadn’t ruined it for you. 

By the time he woke up on Friday, his father was long gone. It was nearing one in the afternoon, and the big empty house felt extra big and extra empty today. Steve glanced out the window as he poured a second cup of coffee and saw the rain collecting in the bottom of the long-since drained pool in his backyard. A handful of stray leaves sat mixed with the rainwater, some stuck in a brown mass on the bottom, some floating lazily atop the puddle. 

He was startled out of his trance by his mother’s voice and nearly dropped his full mug.

“Morning, sleepyhead,” she said as she walked into the kitchen, heels clicking along the tiles. “Or, good afternoon, rather.”

Meredith Harrington was the opposite of her husband in more ways than anyone could count. She actually enjoyed spending time with her child, for one, but there had never been an angry bone in her body. She wasn’t immune to frustration, or worry, but it was never unfounded. Yet still, for every wild flame of rage that shot from her husband's mouth, she counteracted with calmness. Or, more accurately, quiet, fearful resignation. Her husband never put his hands on her or their son, but Steve could always tell that she had spent her whole marriage walking on eggshells, waiting for the terrifying moment that he did, as if it was a simple inevitability. 

Steve loved his mom, but fuck, he wished she would just stand up for herself for once.

“God, Mom, you scared me,” Steve responded, leaning against the counter. 

“I do live here, too, y’know,” she poked back with a smile. “When did you get so jumpy?”

If she ever found out the real answer to that question, she would probably never let her son out of her sight ever again.

“Haven’t seen much of you these last couple weeks,” his mother observed. “You alright?”

“Yeah,” he insisted. “Yeah, I’m alright.”

“Are you sure?” she asked. She put the pocketbook she was holding down on the marble countertop of the island and crossed the room to lean against it, opposite her son. “I can tell, there’s far too much going on in that big head of your’s.”

Steve snorted at the well meaning insult. 

“It’s nothing mom, I promise.”

“Come on now, you know I don’t buy that,” his mother asked with arms crossed. “Talk to me, kid.” 

“I-I don’t know.” Steve was absolutely, in no way, ready to talk about any of what was going through his head, especially to his mom. ‘You might be a grandma come September’ wasn’t really something he could just drop in the middle of casual conversation.

“Is it a girl, maybe?”

Steve’s quiet was proof enough that his mother was, at least partially, right. She gave her son a knowing smile.

“Tell me it’s not Nancy again, right?” she asked. Meredith was generally a pretty forgiving woman, but Nancy had really broken her son’s heart. So, while she would always show nothing but kindness to the eldest of the Wheeler children, she didn’t have to like her. 

“Oh, no. Definitely not,” Steve assured. “That ship sailed a long, long time ago.” 

“Good,” she replied. “Will I ever get to meet this mystery girl?”

Steve just shrugged, deciding it best to omit the fact that the “mystery girl” had lived across the street for eighteen years and swam in their pool every summer for a decade.

“You should invite her over for dinner some time,” his mother said. She leaned forward and pulled a piece of errant lint off of Steve’s shoulder with perfectly manicured nails. “I’ll roast a chicken. It’ll be nice.”

“She doesn’t eat chicken.”

“She doesn’t eat chicken?” she parroted back. “What kind of person doesn’t eat chicken?”

“She’s a vegetarian, mom,” he explained. 

“Ah,” his mom accepted. “Then I’ll make that broccoli cheddar casserole you like. You know, the one I make during Lent every year? Think she’d like that?”

“Yeah, I think she would.” Steve was trying his best to hide his smile, though he wasn’t doing it all that well.

“Alrighty.” She patted her son’s shoulder as she walked past him and gathered her purse. “Well, I have to go run some errands. You’re more than welcome to join me if you’d like.”

“No, thanks.”

“Right. You’re much too cool to tag along with mom to the grocery store. How could I have forgotten?”

“No! No, it’s not that, I-”

“I’m joking, Steve,” she assured with a smile. “Make sure that cup ends up in the dishwasher, okay? Not just in the sink.” 

“Dishwasher. Got it.”

“I love you! Don’t get into any trouble while I’m gone!”

With that, the heavy front door shut and Steve was plunged into the silence of deserted suburbia. 

You were at work, he had the day off with no plans, and the idea of being at all productive sounded absolutely exhausting. He finished his coffee in two big gulps and decided the best way to spend the day would be to crawl right back into bed and wallow in his feelings.

Steve had, very much on purpose, kept most of his thoughts about your current situation to himself. Partially because every time you two did start talking about it, you ended up a slushy pile of tears in his arms. The other reason, though, the bigger reason, was that he was terrified that you would put all of your own wants and wishes to the side and do whatever he wanted you to. The concept of you having a baby you didn’t want just to appease him made him sick to his stomach.

His parents only got married because his mom ended up pregnant at nineteen, and having a baby out of wedlock in 1967 was a social sin of the highest order. So they planned a wedding in two weeks time (a small family affair, exclusively to save face and avoid the questions that arise with courthouse ceremonies), and moved into a big, fancy house so that everyone knew the Harringtons were a normal, run-of-the-mill, perfect American family. His father loved to point out all of the things he didn’t get to do all because Steve came along and got in the way, and his mother. . . 

She loved him. He knew that. He also knew that she had to pack up her life to play house with a man she was always a little bit afraid of, all because of him. His father always resented him for it, but his mom never did. At the very least, she never told him she did. 

The thought of doing to you what his father did to his mom absolutely fucking terrified him, but ‘terrified’ had been his baseline state of being pretty much constantly over the past two weeks.

Steve was no stranger to fear. He’d had extensive experience with the feeling; that sharp heaviness that settled itself behind his ribs and sucked every drop of oxygen out of his lungs. When it came at him hard and fast, that was when he could handle it best. This was not that. This fear was slow and achy, all-encompassing. It sealed itself onto his bones, like some sort of emotional slime. Like a fungus.

And, honestly, most of that fear was for you, not him. The worst thing that could happen to him was that he could end up being a shitty father, and while he would hate that more than pretty much anything in the entire world, it did sort of pale in comparison to your worst case scenario. You could die.

Yeah, maybe he was being a little bit dramatic, but you still could. It wasn’t all that far outside of the realm of possibility. You were already horribly sick, you had been for the past few weeks, and while you had been taking the constant nausea and incessant dizzy spells like a fuckin’ champ, it wasn’t like a positive attitude would be able to save you if you started hemorrhaging. 

Steve really hoped, for your sake, that you had yet to go down this train of thought, but he knew you most likely had. As terrified for you as he was, he understood that you were probably feeling all of it tenfold.

And yet, behind all of that, he was having a very difficult time squashing that tiny inkling of reckless hope that had been planted in the back of his head. He was still a 21 year old dick-head who had zero business taking care of a baby, and he definitely wasn’t allowed to be excited about it. For, like, a million different reasons.

Eventually, he fell back into a heavy-limbed sleep, but was woken up however many hours later by the shrill ring of the phone. A bleary eyed glance at the clock on his bedside table told him it was just passed six o’clock. His mother should be back by now, right? He let it ring.

 A moment passed, and it rang once more. He debated for a moment if he even had the right to answer it anymore, but he begrudgingly pulled himself out of bed and picked it up anyway.

“Harrington Residence,” he grumbled, hoping whoever was on the other side could tell how frustrated he was to be awake. 

“Steve?” Your voice came through the line. It was strained, and he heard you trying your best to disguise the sobs coming from your throat. “It’s me.”

“Hey, woah, what’s going on? What happened?” he questioned, any annoyance gone. 

“Are you able to come pick me up?” you stuttered out between sniffles. “I’m at work. I-I have a flat tire.”

“Yeah, yeah. Of course I can,” he said.  

“Okay.”

“I’m on my way, alright? Five minutes, tops,” he told you. He had the earpiece of the phone tucked between his cheek and shoulder, and the cord was stretched as far as it could go to reach into his bedroom as he haphazardly swapped his flannel pajama bottoms for a pair of jeans.

“Thank you.” Another sob.

“You don’t have to thank me,” he insisted. “Hang tight, I’ll be right there.”

The rain had slowed back to a dismal drizzle that splashed into the puddles stretched across Steve’s driveway. The drive to the museum was usually short, but the evening rush (as if the barely-there Hawkins traffic could ever be called that) slowed him down just enough for it to be annoying. The museum had officially closed an hour ago, though stray patrons and evening administrative duties usually kept you back after hours. 

Steve saw you shivering underneath the awning that hung over the front doors, comparable to a lost kitten stuck in a thunderstorm. The shoulders of your sweater were soaked through, and as Steve pulled into the parking lot and stopped his car, he could see the angry black rivers of runny mascara that dribbled down your face. 

“What the hell are you doing waiting for me out here in the rain?” Steve asked as he jogged up to where you were standing. He removed his jacket and wrapped it around your shoulders. “Why aren’t you inside? It’s freezing.”

“That creepy research assistant is in there and I hate being in the same room as him when there’s nobody else around,” you choked out, syllables broken up by wracking sobs. 

“Alec?” Steve asked, and you nodded. He pulled you tightly against him before adding, “I’ll fuckin’ kill him.”

“Please don’t do that,” you squeaked. 

“Let’s change your tire, huh?” Steve said, though he made no move to let you go. “Do you have the spare?”

“That-” your words were cut off by a pitiful sniffle. “That is the spare.”

“Of course it is,” Steve sighed, though he most certainly should not have, because it just spurred on more crying from you. “Hey, it’s alright. I can take you home and we can get a new tire on it in the morning, okay?”

“I just had a really bad day,” you wept into his shoulder.

“I know, baby. It’s okay.”

“I spilled the hottest tea in the universe all over my legs,” you croaked. Steve winced at the image. 

“I’m sorry,” he said into the top of your head.

“And since it was so hot, I accidentally said ‘motherfucker’ in front of a tour group that consisted exclusively of second graders!” you added. Steve would have laughed at that if you weren’t so wildly upset. “And Creepy Alec was being creepy all day long-”

“My offer still stands.”

“And then I came out here and my fucking tire was fucking flat!” you exclaimed, punctuated by another bout of wailing, the kind that made your whole body shake and your voice stutter. Steve took it the best he could, petting the back of your head and holding you tight, wishing he could go into your brain and dig all of the bad bits out. 

“Let me get you home, and we can get you into some dry clothes and deal with your car in the morning, okay?”

“Okay,” you whimpered. 

Steve let you go, but when he went to pull you along to his car so the pair of you could leave, you stayed planted right where you were. You lifted your watery eyes to meet his, and he gazed at you from where he stood.

“Steve?” you quietly asked him. 

“Yeah?” Steve responded. A silence fell between the two of you, though the lazy rain and evening downtown traffic poked holes through it.

“I wanna keep the baby.”

You had this amazing talent of knocking the wind right out of his chest with only words alone.

“That-” came out of fucking nowhere, holy shit!, he didn’t add. “Really?”

“Yeah,” you muttered over a wobbly lip.

Steve was paralyzed. The soles of his shoes had been superglued to the pavement and his arms had been turned to stone. It was somehow both exactly what he did and did not want to hear all at the same time, because deep down in his gut he knew he wanted that too, but there was a laundry list of reasons why it was a bad idea, why it was irresponsible, why it was maybe everything he ever wanted, and- 

“Steve, if you don’t want to do this, that's okay, but I need you to tell me. Now.” Your voice, shaky and full of fear and yet so, so determined, pulled him up and away from his thoughts once again. 

“I do!” he exclaimed, maybe with a bit too much fervor. He regained his ability to move and closed the gap between the two of you in one wide step. “I do.”

You stood silent with your glassy eyes staring bullets into his. 

“Look, I’m gonna start talking, and I don’t know if I’m going to be able to stop, so if it gets to be too much, just shut me up, okay?” Steve said. He brought his hands up to grace your shoulders.

“What?” you questioned, confusion laced throughout your miserable expression.

Steve had spent the last three and a half years doing everything he could to drown out the sounds of his feelings for you, and Robin was right. It was destroying his brain. 

“I’m really, really in love with you,” he said. “And I have been for a really, really long time. Since way before this, fuck, since before Starcourt, and I’m so fucking sorry for not having the guts to say it until now. I’m the universe’s biggest coward for that-”

“You are not a coward!”

“-And I know you deserve better, but for some reason that still eludes me, you’ve stuck with me through all the bullshit, anyway. You could’ve run away whenever you wanted to, you could’ve gone with your parents when they left, but you didn’t, and that has to mean something, right?”

“Steve,” you wept.

“I promise, there is nothing in this world that I want more than to do this with you, alright? Not a single fucking thing,” he assured you. “I meant what I said. Holding your hand the whole time.”

Steve took your trembling hand into his own, fingers fitting together like lock and key. 

“If you’ll have me,” he added.

Your lips wobbled, you let out another shattered sob, and you kissed him like it was the only thing keeping you alive. Like you would drop dead right on the spot if not for his lips on yours. Steve kissed back, because he knew he would drop dead if he didn’t, and now he had tears to match your own.

“I’m really, really in love with you, too,” you blubbered after the pair of you pulled apart. You had a hand on either side of his face, fingers ghosting over the junction of his jawline and neck, and Steve had his wrapped delicately around each wrist.

“You really wanna do this?” Steve asked you. “You really mean it? You’re not just saying it?”

“I really mean it,” you said definitively. You were still very much crying, though you were infinitely less miserable than you had been five minutes ago. The pair of you stayed swaying in each other's arms, protecting each other from the cold.

“Good, because I really mean it, too,” he responded. 

The thick, foggy haze of emotion was beginning to dwindle, and despite the warm bubble of affection the two of you had created, you were still standing out in the rain. And Steve was pretty sure he could see Creepy Alec spying on them through one of the second story windows.

“Let’s go home. I’ll make you dinner,” Steve murmured to you, and you nodded in agreement. 

Steve drove you both back to your apartment and made a feast of plain scrambled eggs and buttered toast, because it was all your stomach could really handle right now. Turns out, he very much was allowed to sleep in your bed with you, and after he’d finished doing the dishes in the sink, he joined you under the pile of blankets that adorned your mattress. Your cat curled itself up at the end of the bed as you drew yourself into his side. He didn’t remember you being this cuddly, but it was a change he was more than happy to welcome.

After a few minutes, when he’d thought you had fallen asleep, your voice pierced through the quiet of your bedroom.

“You’re gonna be someone's dad,” you muttered into his pajamas. Fuck. He was, wasn’t he?

“You’re gonna be someone’s mom,” he shot back.

“Weird,” you responded. “I think you’ll be really good at it.”

“You think so?”

“Mhm. Definitely.”

And of course Steve was still fucking terrified. Terrified of the monsters, and of his dad, and of all the different ways this could go south, but he had you tucked up against his chest, and he was gonna be someone’s dad, and he couldn’t really bring himself to care about any of the scary stuff. In this moment, for the first time in as long as Steve could really remember, the underlying current of fear that ran along his thoughts was finally overpowered by just how much he fucking adored you.

Tiny Little Taglist: @sheisjoeschateau @hazydespair @damon-loves-pie @pariahsparadise @anislabonis-love @e0509 @alexa4040 @starsforviolet @jennaaaaaaaaaaaa @plk-18 @hoesbloated

[wyattjohnston]

playing house - jack hughes

series: we don't have no time to waste

summary: luke is staying with jack and daisy. daisy is equal parts excited and worried.

word count: 1,426

Daisy was bouncing on her toes at the front door.

There was an assignment waiting to be finished, due in less than twelve hours but she’d had trouble focussing since UMich lost their game—since Luke called Jack, half downtrodden and half ecstatic, to tell him that he was going to meet him in Boston.

It had long been decided that he would be in Jersey when his season ended and Daisy thought she was prepared for the day it finally came. But she’d yelled at both of them on the phone when it was clear Luke wasn’t coming straight to their place in Hoboken.

So, Daisy was waiting at the front door, barely keeping herself from opening it and staring out it, for Jack to arrive with Luke in tow.

The doorknob turned, Jack’s voice coming through with a “Honey, we’re—” before Daisy pulled it open the rest of the way, throwing Jack of balance, and then throwing herself at Luke and sending him off balance.

She grabbed onto Luke’s arms, spinning him around in circles as she shouted deliriously and nonsensically.

“Is Luke your favourite? I thought Quinn was your favourite,” Jack deadpanned.

Daisy stopped their spinning, took in Luke’s bewildered expression, before she shrugged and told Jack, very seriously, that she didn’t have favourites and that she loved the three of them equally.

“I already regret being here,” Luke chimed in, still stuck in place.

“You love It and you love me and you will love it here. If you don’t I will be very upset because I put a lot of effort into fixing up Ty’s old room and making sure you could make it your own and—”

“Breathe, Daisy,” Jack said behind a smile. “Let us inside.”

With one last squeal, Daisy gave Luke a proper hug before letting the boys lug Luke’s cases into the house.

Daisy appreciated that Jack kept his mouth shut as they walked further into the house—the level of effort she’d put into cleaning, and baking cookies, and clearly having down a full grocery shop, was something she only ever did for Ellen and Jim’s visits. It had been important to her that Luke walked in and felt welcome. It was also maybe a little important that he couldn’t report back about the heaping pile of clean laundry that substituted as their wardrobes, or the fact that at any given time there was mostly just enough food for Daisy to snack on and some assorted cereals.

“Rule number one is that you can’t complain about any noises you hear coming from our room,” Jack said while they were dropping things in Luke’s new room. “This is the furthest you can get from our room and Ty never said anything.”

“Ty was too nice.”

“Rule number two is no bringing random girls into the house.”

Luke scoffed, throwing his backpack heavily onto the bed as he said, “You’re such a dickhead.”

“You can bring home whoever you want,” Daisy said, elbowing her way past Jack into the room. “But no knocking anybody up—if you need condoms or lube or anything—”

“Jesus Christ, it’s like I moved back home.” He paused, thinking. “Mom and Dad might actually be less annoying.”

Daisy let out a muted, oh, and took a step back so that she was hiding more behind Jack. She felt her face fall and didn’t particularly want Luke to see. Jack knew it, though, looking over his shoulder as Daisy walked back.

Pointedly Jack said to Luke, “Rule number three is no upsetting Daisy.”

“Sorry, Daze, long weekend,” Luke apologised sheepishly.

“I can tone it down a notch. I just—I don’t know,” she shrugged instead of finishing her sentence because she was entirely uncertain of where it was going, anyway.

“Daisy wants you to feel welcome and like this is your home, too.”

“It is your home,” Daisy stressed.

“She’s just gonna be a lot nicer about it than I am. Which leads me to rule four—did I tell you you can’t bring girls home?”

“Fuck you,” Luke said, rather loudly as he started pointing his finger between them. “My first rule is that you guys keep your sex life to your bedroom.”

“One day,” Jack said sagely, despite the handful of Daisy’s ass he was grabbing, “you will understand what it’s like to have a smoking hot woman want to spend the rest of her life with you. She’ll never be the hottest woman in the room when Daze is around but she’ll be too good for you anyway so I suppose that doesn’t matter.”

Daisy rolled her eyes, chided Jack for comparing women even if the primary purpose was to poke fun at Luke and the second woman was hypothetical, and then pushed Jack out of Luke’s room so he could get settled.

When they walked past the kitchen, Jack backed Daisy up slowly into the counter, both to greet her properly and also, Daisy knew, to shove proposed Luke’s rule in his face if he wandered out of his room.

Any other day, Daisy would have kissed him back, would have let his hand wander up her shirt, would have happily been on the receiving and/or giving end of an orgasm or two but it was different with Luke in the house—it was different when she couldn’t wrap her head around all the effort she’d put in just for his arrival.

“I don’t really know why I tried so hard,” she said, mumbled against Jack’s neck as she buried her face. It was with total uncertainty that she said, “It might be about not wanting to disappoint your parents?”

Jack held her closer, his fingers only barely brushing the skin under her top. The undercurrent of laughter in his voice wasn’t directed at her when he said, “We’ve been living together for nearly three years now; been together for so long that I think that ship has probably sailed.”

“You’re so in love with me I could set this place on fire and you wouldn’t tell them,” Daisy said turning her face but still hiding in Jack’s chest. Jack hummed in agreement. “Luke, though… He doesn’t have anything to lose if he tells them that we had milk in the fridge that expired a month ago and neither of us noticed. I go to an Ivy League school, dude—I’m supposed to be smarter than that.”

“Babe,” Jack said, now laughing at her, even if it was light-hearted, “They weren’t even disappointed when I told them about the pregnancy thing. You couldn’t disappoint them if you tried. And, Luke will end up on the street if he tries. I’ve seen photos of his dorm and I will send them to Mom if I have to.”

Daisy had seen those photos, too, and the photos of the houses some of the other players on the team lived in—both Luke’s teammates and Quinn’s—and knew that Ellen and Jim were under no illusions about what went on in college. It was satisfying, at least, to know that Jack was willing to blackmail his own brother for her.

For something so minor, she also knew that he would have done it for fun, though.

“I just want him to be happy here,” she said, finally pulling her head away from his chest. “This whole thing is such a big deal for him and I don’t want to make it any harder.”

“He wouldn’t shut up the entire flight about living here. He’s fucking ecstatic.” After a brief pause, his face screwed up. “You don’t even drink milk. That one’s on me.”

She groaned, the memory filling her brain. “It was the grossest thing I’ve ever smelled in my life.”

“You smelled it? Daisy, babe, I think that’s enough to get you kicked out of Columbia. Even I know you don’t smell the expired milk.”

Daisy shoved Jack away, making various attempts to get him to stop talking—from telling him to shut up, to trying to get her hand over his mouth, to making loud noises to drown at the ensuing taunting.

She was making a break for it when Jack’s arms wrapped around her waist, her feet coming off the ground just enough that she lost all traction and hope of escaping. She shrieked—half laugh, half surprise—when she was caught.

Luke emerged from his room, didn’t even blink at what he was seeing, and bypassed them to get water from the filter in the fridge.

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[readychilledwine]

For Richer or Poor

Summary - Rhiannon and Rhys struggle with finding each other the perfect solstice gift

Warnings - smut, angst, virginity loss

A/n- this started as angst and fluff and kind of took on a mind of its own.. I apologize for the delay on getting it posted. Miss Sophia has had a mind of her own the past couple days so I've been a little busy forgetting to queue things ❤️ baby daddy's scheduling is now back in place, though.

Peep Requiem for a Dream here

“I don't understand why you are putting so much pressure on one gift,” Azriel stroked Rhiannon's back as she cried. “Rhys loves you, not any materialistic thing you could buy him.” Rhiannon broke down again, back shaking with each heavy sob.

That was the issue. She could not buy him anything. When her father had thrown her to Azriel's feet and abandoned her with her older Brother, he had left her with nothing but the clothing on her bloodied back.

She had no money.

No title.

Nothing she could gift Rhysand for their first Solstice together.

She couldn't even bake him anything nor cook him a dinner. Not unless the two young fae wanted to undergo a Mating Ceremony.

She had little to offer him while he gave her the world. Constsntly showering Her in gifts from Velaris and any court his father would force him to visit.

From teas and treats to lavish clothing, Rhiannon had it all, but she never had the ability to pay it back.

Rhys and his mother walked the Palace of Thread and Jewels. He was carrying the many bags she had accumulated as she shopped for him, Cassian, Azriel, his sister, and now Rhiannon.

Rhys was struggling with gifts for the latter. He had spoiled Rhiannon so much over the past year, and he was lost in what to get the female he'd hand the world.

“What about just something simple? A necklace? A bracelette?” His mother wrapped a Hand around his bicep. “She enjoys blankets. Perhaps a soft new blanket.”

Rhys stared straight ahead. “Nothing says I love you and want to spend the rest of my days with you like a shitty last minute blanket, mother.” He sighed, knowing what he wanted to do, but knowing his father would have his head.

He allowed his mom to pull him into the finest jeweler in the market. “Just do it, Rhysand. We will hide it until we can't anymore.”

Rhys held Rhiannon tight that night. Refusing to let Her go near the small tree his mother was placing presents under. They had been friends for 4 years now, knew they were mates for one year, and had spent that year courting. They had done nothing more but laid in his bed together, kissing and her hands slightly exploring at times while his roamed every inch of her frame like he was making a map.

He had never pushed her into sex, never asked for more than just her love and kisses, but he knew that small box under the tree would change everything. She had wanted to wait for marriage, a tradition drilled into her head through years of beatings from her step mother and Father.

And now, in just 12 short hours, after his Mother, Azriel, and Cassian left for the party being thrown in the Mead Hall, Rhysand would be asking her for her hand.

He placed a few soft kisses along her neck, smiling as she snuggled in closer to him with a small twitch of her lips. Just a few more hours, he told himself.

Solstice morning was filled with laughter and joy. The males having partook in yet another snowball fight as Rhiannon spent the morning in the kitchen helping with what little she could without triggering a mating frenzy.

She, Azriel, and Cassian had exchanged their homemade gifts without the presence of the High Lord's family, the three of them tucked into the boy's room as they exchanged homemade treats. They all couldn't afford much, so these small things had become their tradition. Something they could gather ingredients and supplies for a fairly cheap and make with love and effort.

They did the same for Rhysand's family, showing their gratitude for his mother's choice to pull the three of them into their home. Azriel and Cassian traded gifts with Rhysand while Rhiannon had to wait.

Anxiousness Had set into the pit of her stomach as she got dressed this morning. Rhysand's mother had taken gentle care, braiding her long dark hair, making sure her nails were trimmed and clean, that her hands were oiled and moisturized.

She had ensured Rhiannon had been gifted a fine set of oils and lotions along with a pretty lacy outfit she had hand made for “when the time felt right.”

The evening came quickly, prompting Cassian, Azriel, and Rhysand's mother to leave the cabin, heading to the Mead Hall for celebrations and leaving the two mates completely alone.

Rhys had her between his legs, Tucked into his chest tight and placing small kisses along her temple and hairline. “I'm sorry I'm keeping you away from the camp party,” Rhys tilted her head up. “I just wanted time alone with you.”

Rhiannon smiled softly. “If you think I'd rather spend a single moment in that hall with those males, you truly underestimate my love for you.”

“I thought we could talk about that,” Rhysand began softly. “About love and us.” Rhys sat her up, hiding the small black box behind him. “You know I love you, right?”

The falling look on her face had Rhysand back pedaling Watching in horror as she moved away from him and sat down in the opposite couch.

He moved to her instantly, grabbing her soft small hands. “I already fucked that up,” he muttered taking a deep breath. “What I mean is, I do love you, and I hope I have made that clear and obvious.”

He took a deep breath, pausing to kiss her left hand. “I have loved you long before the Bond snapped, and I would love you regardless of it being in place. From the moment Azriel carried you in the doorway begging mother for help, I felt drawn to you.”

Another long pause came as he kissed each knuckle on her hand. “I knew I loved you the moment you took down a male, not knowing he was one of Devlon's bastard Sons and beat the shit out of him for grabbing you. I knew I loved you when I pulled you off of him and went back to fight. I knew I loved you as you sat holding Ice to your lip getting lectured by mother and simply said, “let the camp lord know I'll do it again.” I knew I loved you because of your spark, your fight.”

Rhiannon looked away, hiding her amusement. “So you knew You loved me when it turned out I was violent.”

“You are a violent, murderous, little creature,” Rhysand purred softly, trying to hide the lust in his tone. “And I stupidly love every single ounce of it. I love your eyes when you see something that makes you happy. I love how you pout when I don't give you whatever you want-”

“I do not pout,” Rhys smirked at her, thumb going to her pouty bottom lip.

“Oh yes you do, Darling.” He kissed her gently. “I want to spend my life with you. Learning all the other things I can love. Growing to love the things I already do more.”

Before Rhiannon could respond and process what was happening, Rhys was on one knee before her, an open ring box in hand. “It would be a long engagement, Rhiannon Darling, but will you marry me?”

All she could do was nod, crying as she threw herself Into his arms, holding him tight. “I presume that is a yes?”

Rhiannon nodded before pulling him to her and kissing him deeply. It did not take long for that kiss to become more passionate. Rhys was on top of her in an instant, resting between her legs as they wrapped around his waist, hairs tangling into her long dark hair.

Her own hands found the buttons of his shirt, undoing them quickly and pushing it down his shoulders. Once the material was no longer there, Rhiannon began to run her hands over every exposed piece of skin. Nails and fingertips gently brushing some areas while other areas were squeezed.

The second those legs, those damned legs, wrapped around his waist, Rhys knew her intentions. He pulled apart from her, almost chuckled as she whined softly, “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” her voice was breathy as she tried to get him closer, nodding eagerly in confirmation.

Rhys got off the couch, lifting her With him as he did and carried her to her room. “I refuse to let your first time be on a couch instead of a bed,” he laid her down, smiling ferally as he did.

It was teasingly slow, removing her from her clothing, smiling as she laid Naked below him, dark hair spread out around her head like a halo. “So beautiful, darling.” Rhys placed soft kisses along her jawline, whispering to her as his fingers trailed every curve.

Her skin was on fire from every pass, every gentle caress, every touch she'd never experienced before. The second his tongue flicked Her nipple, a whine she'd never heard from herself tumbled from plush parted lips. “So sensitive,” Rhys muttered before licking and sucking her breast while his hand played with the other one. Once he was satisfied, he freed her nipple with a soft pop Before switching sides.

Rhiannons' back arched more cries falling from her lips as her hands tangled in his soft hair. “Please,” she whimpered, thighs clenching together as wetness and heat pooled between them. “Rhysand, please.”

He tutted her softly, mouth returning to hers. “You'll take what I give you, when I give it to you,” another harsher kiss had her whimpering. “Understood, darling?”

“Yes, husband,” the word spurred something primal in Rhysand. Eyes going dark with lust and need.

Since that bond had snapped, all he had wanted was to be hers, for her to be his in return, and now he was taking it. He was stealing this opportunity. Rhys kissed down her body again, growling when he finally hit her core. “So fucking pretty.”

He gave her no warning, diving into her cunt like a man starved. Rhiannon quickly became a mess of moans and cries. The foreign feeling he was bringing her was unmatched to anything she had made herself feel before.

She knew Rhysand was a talented lover, having laid in bed late at night hearing him with the few females he would bring home before they had gotten together, before the Bond snapped, but this was unimaginable.

It was messy. Tongue spreading and taking slick as he lapped at her entrance and clit.

It was hot. Sweat forming on both of their bodies as the room grew warmer and warmer, as panting took the place of stable breaths.

It was raw passion. Each lick, nudge, moan a measurement moment. Each tightening of her core, of her stomach twisting causing more drive as she pushed it down the bond to him.

It took minutes that felt like seconds for her to fall apart on his tongue, that coil snapping as she screamed his name and stars took place of her vision.

Rhys kissed her clit before moving back up her body, hand replacing his tongue and fingers running through her folds. “You taste divine,” his lips found hers, tongue going into her mouth to share his new favorite wine with her. “I could spend days between your beautiful thighs, Rhiannon.”

He was distracting her, praising Her with soft kisses and words. When he finally felt his finger was wet enough, he slowly pushed it in, watching her face as her breath hitched and eyes rolled back.

“Relax, little mate,” he whispered. “I have you.” He moved agonizingly slow, forehead resting On hers as her breathing picked up again. He smiled as her walls relaxed, Welcoming his finger deeper into her warmth. “There we go. Doing such a good job, darling.”

Rhiannon had her eyes locked shut, mouth opened to a soft o as she felt that coil begin to wind itself up again. She could feel Rhysand's eyes on her, his spare hand tracing her cheekbone As a second finger entered her, stretching her out more to prepare her for him.

Rhys seemed to be on a mission. His fingers were curling, scissoring, searching. It was obvious when he found what he was looking for. He watched as his mate took a deep breath, back arched again, and then a Loud moan of his name fell from swollen lips. He felt his stomach stirring with male pride as he Began to aim over and over for that same spot, feeling wave after wave of her arousal and pleasure shooting down the bond.

He had her pulled apart within seconds again. The pride of it all shot straight to his ego.

His beautiful little mate.

Folding for him Over and over again.

Rhys kissed her deeply, deciding she was ready and pulled his fingers out. “Last Chance to tell me to stop, Rhiannon.” Rhys' forehead found hers again, going into her mind to find any doubt. Instead he found love, contentment, need, lust. Her thoughts were clouded and occupied by him. His scent, his intelligence, his voice. His own clothes were long forgotten, slick soaked hand moving to coat himself before lining up with her. “Tell me it hurts and we stop.” She nodded, hands going to his biceps as her hazel eyes met his.

Rhys pushed in slowly, watching her like a hawk. Her nails dug into his arms, almost spurring him on As she whimpered softly underneath him. He stopped as she tensed up, gently stroking her hair, “You have to relax, baby. I don't want to hurt you.” Rhiannon, done with teasing and wanting this part over With, wrapped her legs Around his waist, forcing him in deeper with a gasp. Rhys growled, burying his head into her neck as his self control slowly began to disappear. He pushed in the rest of the way, groaning as her soft walls hugged him.

They sat like that for a few seconds, allowing her to relax further, to adapt to the intrusion. “Rhys, please,” she begged. “Gods please move.” He was lost in the haze of her, pulling out slowly before pushing back in and setting a soft rhythm. Their hands found each other, fingers lacing together as he made love to her, hitting that perfect spot every time he reentered her body. “I love you,” he whispered and smiled as she said it back.

“Faster,” she panted. Rhys felt his smile go feral. His speed picked up, watching as her breasts bounced. His free hand found her hip, squeezing the side of her ass as he took her.

Their joint pleasure was building quickly as they freely sent it to each other down the bond. Rhys could feel himself nearing that edge and brought his fingers to her clit. “Need you to cum, Rhi,” he almost begged her for it. His Fingers began to circle that bud, watching through heavy eyes as she began chanting his name over and over again, walls fluttering and clenching around him. “Need to feel you fall apart on my cock, little wife.”

That word.

That precious word.

The word that made this all okay in her mind was her undoing.

The idea of being his wife. His mate. His everything.

She shattered around him, crying for him and screaming his name as she came. She saw the heavens behind her eyes as she pulled him closer, mind lost in the feeling of him, the smell of him, the need for him.

Rhys tumbled over the edge seconds later, moaning her name loudly as did.

The room that had previously echoed with the sound of her slick, skin making contact, of their moans was now silent. Breathing the only thing indicating life was still there. Rhys pulled Out of her slowly, picking her up the second he was stable on his own feet and carrying her to the bathroom.

He bathed her as she slept in his arms, his own mind still processing that this had finally happened.

She woke up the next morning, ring on her finger to the sound of Cassian egging on a fight. Rolling her eyes, Rhiannon left her bed, Walking to the kitchen and joining Rhysand's mother at the table for coffee. “How long?” She asked.

Amara looked at Rhys and Azriel, watching as the shadowsinger landed another punch. “About 10 minutes. Should be done soon. Let's talk wedding dresses.”

Rhiannon smiled, leaning her head on Amara’s shoulder. “Happy solstice, mom.”

“Happy solstice, Rhi.”

[kairi101]

The Father and Father Figures (pt 2)

Pairings: Rafe Cameron x mom!reader, (platonic!topper x reader, platonic!kelce x reader in next part i promise)

Warnings: mentions of abuse, angst, fluff, brief smut so 18+ only, pregnancy, swearing

Summary: After your soon to be babydaddy left you, you returned to your childhood friend. But soon the past comes back to haunt you.

A/n: got a little carried away with this one it was supposed to be fluffy 😅 lmk if you wanna be added to the taglist. next part in a few days

Part 1

"Good morning sunshine" Rafe says as you sleepily open your eyes. "Did you sleep alright?"

"mhm" you responded groggily. It's been 2 months since you first moved in with Rafe, and him and his family have treated you like royalty. Partially because you and Rafe told them it was "our child," and they have no reason to believe otherwise.

Rafe kisses your forehead and says "I made you cinnamon rolls" as he pulls a strand of hair off your face.

"Since when did Rafe Cameron learn to cook?" you tease as you sit up slowly. The last time he tried to cook what was supposed to be scrambled eggs, he managed to light the frying pan on fire.

he smiles and responds "Sarah might have helped a tiny bit." By a tiny bit he means she did everything except stir the batter. "Anyways get dressed, we don't want to be late for your appointment" You groan in response because you totally forgot about your ultrasound appointment despite Rafe talking about it everyday for the past few weeks. At least one of you is super excited for it. You on the other hand are dreading the appointment. Today you most likely find out the gender, but you also find out if the fetus has any anomalies. Even though Rafe assures you your baby is perfectly fine and healthy, you can't help thinking about the worst scenarios possible, and your mindless scrolling through social media posts has certainly not helped.

You get out of bed, and Rafe leaves the room, letting you change out of your pajamas in private. Once you're dressed, you head downstairs for breakfast.

"Good morning Y/n!" Wheezie ran up to you and gave you a giant hug, Rafe watching closely to make sure she isn't squeezing too hard.

"Good morning Wheez," you say. She does this every morning, and every time Rafe is eyeing you down and sarah just sits, trying to hold in her laughter. "What time is the appointment again?" you ask, prying wheezie's arms from around your waist.

"10:15" Rafe responds.

"Shit I only have 30 minutes" You say, mostly to yourself. you grab a cinnamon roll, stuffing half of it in your mouth heading for the door, Rafe following behind you.

You arrive 15 minutes early for your appointment so you could fill out the necessary paperwork, but Rafe ended up doing it anyways as you were too nervous to even think straight. "Y/n" a girl slightly older than you who you assumed was the nurse called. Rafe stands up first, holding your hand as you stand up, being led to the room you'll have the ultrasound in. "Alright Ms. Y/l/n, as I understand from the paperwork, Mr. Cameron is not the father, what is his relationship to you?" She says as you sit down in the examination chair.

"Uh..." you hesitate, making eye contact with Rafe, giving him a sign to help.

"She's my girlfriend" You relax a little at his response but you also blush because that's the first time he's ever referred to you as his girlfriend. Sure you two were close, but you guys were so focused on the pregnancy (mostly just you) to even focus on the relationship forming between the two of you.

"Alright" she says jotting words down on her clipboard. "Im going to have you lift your shirt up for me" you do as told, lifting your shirt over your stomach. She puts cold clear gel on your stomach, and you shift a little at the strange feeling. "okay the doctor should be right in." She informs the two of you as she exits the room and Rafe squeezes your hand a bit.

"Everything is okay" he reassures you as a balding middle aged man comes through the door in the typical doctor attire.

"Good morning you guys!" he says cheerfully, making you feel slightly more comfortable. "Lets have a look shall we?" he says as he plops down in a rolling chair and grabs the ultrasound wand. He moves the wand around a bit to get different angles of the fetus. "Alright you guys ready to see her?"

"It's a girl?" you say rhetorically, tears of happiness in your eyes, looking up towards Rafe, who has a big grin on his face. He's quick to wipe the tears off your cheeks and kiss your forehead once he sees how joyful you are. Meanwhile the doctor shows you your little girl on the monitor, and it's the most beautiful thing you've ever seen.

"She looks good and healthy, I'll get you guys photos of her to show your family, and then I'll have y'all out of here"

"Thank you, sir" Rafe responds for you, as you were still a sobbing mess. Rafe picks up the pictures and grabs you around the shoulder to take you back out to the truck.

As soon as you get back to Tanney Hill, you jump up in Rafes arms, and he carries you inside. You can't tell if it's the pregnancy hormones or if it's permanent, but as he walks upstairs towards your shared bedroom you whisper into his chest "I'm in love with Rafe fucking Cameron" and he stops for a moment and smiles to himself. He sets you down on the bed and you pull him in by the neck, kissing him, but this time you felt butterflies in your stomach. He kisses you back and your kiss gets sloppier and your breaths heavier until he pushes his tongue into your mouth. You groan into his mouth and his hands begin to wander over your clothed body, removing your shirt. he leaves a trail of marks down your neck and you unfasten your bra and he pulls it off of you. "Rafe I need you" you say between moans, grinding against him.

He stops and looks at the mess he made of you but his lustful eyes quickly turned into something much softer. "I know baby, but I don't want it to ruin things between us" he looks towards your stomach "or for the baby"

Your half undressed self relaxes against the mattress at his words, no longer aroused. "I hate it so much that you're right" Rafe plops down on the mattress beside you and turns to face you, and you do the same.

He presses his forehead against yours "I love you so much y/n."

"And I love you Rafey" you respond, getting closer to him.

"I've waited years to hear those words come from you" he sighs and you giggle "What?"

You continue giggling for way longer than you intended just to respond "nothing" But rafe gives you the look that says he knows you're not telling the whole truth and you cant help but say "its just the kook prince fell in love with his childhood best friend and never bothered to tell her" He rolls his eyes at you.

"Hey! you were always talking to me about boys you liked, so i just assumed i wasn't in the picture"

"Maybe i did that to make you feel jealous"

"Jesus y/n I thought i was the toxic one in the relationship" he teases.

"That was four years ago in highschool!" you whine

"And before you know who" rafe adds

"yeah." you remember every horrible thing that man ever did to you, and you also remember your giant argument with Rafe when you started dating your ex. Again, Rafe was right. you lay in silence with rafe for several minutes before he finally asks "so you wanna call everyone over for a gender reveal tomorrow?"

"yeah that sounds great"

taglist: @mutual-mendes @i-love-rafe @dilvcv

[loving-and-dreaming]

like our father j.p

like our father j.p

James Potter x reader

A look at your relationship with James through the eyes of your daughter.

Word Count: 3.5k

a/n please be kind☺️ I’m trying to get better ❤️

James and you were sitting on the couch talking about how great your days have been. He worked and finished a big project with Sirius, and you got everything done off your checklist and aced your meeting. All of the happy talk stopped when the front door slammed open. In comes your little angel Noelle, and her bigger sister Maydalyin. In an instant Noelle stomps up the stairs and slams her door. James looks to you then you both look to May, hoping she has some answers as to why your little angel is clearly upset. “May, love, can you tell your mom and I what has made Noelle so clearly upset?” James asks in his normal soft and caring tone.

“Well at school today, she asked some boy to be her valentine with a note she worked really hard on. She even asked her teacher to teach her cursive to write his name. He said no and ripped up the valentine infront of her and threw it on the ground. It didn’t help that it was in front of everyone at recess. He also went back to his friends and they all started to laugh at her...” May sits down next to you and curls up into you, she may not be your little angel anymore but she will always be your angel, and explains with a sad look on her face. Your heart breaks for your little girl and clearly James' heart because he goes to get up. But May sat up straight, “dad could I try talking to her first. I think I know why all this happened and I think I know what to say.”

“Of course, bug. What makes you think you know why it happened?” You asked her in a soft voice as well, unsure of what she is going to say.

May sighed because she feels like her sister is her responsibility and feels like she failed her “Well she saw the valentine Jake got me, and asked me what it was. So I told her when you like someone on Valentine’s Day you give them a card and sometimes small gifts. She asked how you know what to do, and I just told her that you think of the person and what they like and that’s how you know. I didn’t think she was going to try it! She just seemed curious.” Knowing how serious May takes her older sister's responsibilities, you both decide to let her try to see if they can work through it without your help. Much like all older siblings, May likes to think everything is her fault, James and you make sure to tell her that’s not the case, but it’s something she enjoys doing. Her and Noelle are best friends even though they are 8 years apart.

May slowly walks up the steps, debating the two ways to go about this. Explaining how boys are gross and she needs to wait or explaining how to look for the right kind of boy. She really doesnt think the first one will be beneficial. So it looks like she is going to go with how to find the right guy(praying she doesn’t go looking anytime soon ). May takes a deep breath before knocking on Noelles door. Peaking in before she fully walks in, she hears no signs of disagreement and takes this as a good sign. Of course the first thing she notices is Noelle on the bed and gives her a small smile, she only gets a small hmmmm in reply. Looking around the room is a blast from the past everytime she comes in here. She and her sister are so close that a lot of Mays old stuff is now Noelles, not because they live off hand me downs but because that's what noelle wants. And in this house her parents make sure they know the value of something, not by how much it costs but by how much it means to you. Her barbie posters on the wall, her small vanity set where mom taught her learned how to do her hair for the daddy daughter dance at school, her old bed that she marked M+K for May plus ken from barbie, her old pink bedspread that the dog ripped but dad learned to sew to patch it back up because she didn't want to live without it. This room holds so much history, but also so many new things. The most important thing is her baby sister sniffling on her bed right now.

Out of nowhere Noelle cries “I just wanted a boyfriend like you! Jake is so good to you, he even takes care of me too and gets mom and dad presents all the time! I want that too!”

Once again taking a breath and sitting down next to her sister, “Woah noelle, when I was your age, I didn't have a boyfriend. But I also know how frustrating that statement is. So instead of just saying that, how about I tell you how I found the right one?” With a nod from her sister she begins to tell a story…

You just picked up May from school and were on your way home. James should still be at work when you both get home, so in the car you and her are making plans to surprise him. “Momma can we cook him smiley face pancakes, like you and daddy make on my birthday?”

“Sure bug, should we do it with chocolate chips or with blueberries?”

“CHOCOLATE CHIPS MOMMA, DUHHHH!”

“Okay chocolate chips, anything else?”

“Can I draw him a picture when the pancakes are cooking?”

“Of course you can, bug.” by now you both were pulling into the driveway to see James car already there. However this is not too unusual because at lunch, he and his best friend Sirius (who happens to be Mays Godfather along with his husband, Remus) come home and eat at the house. Then they carpool back together in Sirius’ car. After work he rides home with Sirius as well, because to get to his house, Sirius can drive the back way by your house. Therefore in both your head and Mays nothing was wrong. But when you walked in all that changed.

The smell of spaghetti(the family's favorite meal), the sound of music, and the sight of the clean laundry all put away and not on the couch where you left it shocked you. May took off to the kitchen screaming for James while you rebooted for a moment. Taking in the smell of dinner already cooking, the chores you knew you had waiting back at home already done, and most importantly your husband and daughter home and happy propel you forward. Walking past all the clean clothes, you take a look at the picture on the wall. It is your wedding day, little things like this remind you that on that day, even though you both were so young, you made the right choice. Being with James has never been a hassle, yes you fight but in the end he is your other half. Shaking yourself out of your thoughts you finish walking into the kitchen when May yells out for you to hurry. When you walk in the next scene almost brings you to tears, there in the middle of the kitchen is James holding May and May is holding a bouquet of red roses. She wriggles and turns clearly wanting down so James sets her down, and she runs to you as fast as her little legs can carry her. Squatting down to reach her level you engulf her in your arms and whisper to her that you might have to surprise daddy another day. She ignores your comment and proceeds to shove the roses in your face telling you they are from daddy, once you have them she takes back off to James. Just then you see her holding a smaller bouquet of pink roses and smile at James. Slowly walking over to James and your daughter you hug them both and say with a hushed tone “Thank you my love. I love you-”

“I love you too daddy!”

“Yes sorry May and I love you James. This is a wonderful way to come home. Thank you so much my love. This is exactly what I needed today. Thank you for dinner and for finishing the laundry and for the flowers! They are wonderful and we love them, right bug?” May nods really fast and tries to get into your arms wanting to smell both bouquets at the same time.  

“Well I know you woke up upset and still had all the chores to do when you were done with errands and picking May up from preschool so I wanted to remind you how much I love you and appreciate all you do around the house and for us on a daily basis. So you deserved to be spoiled and of course I couldn't forget my bug,” he leans in and kisses her face all over making her giggle. “I'm glad you like the roses and upstairs there is the stuff for a small spa time and I will finish dinner. I love you both and go have fun.” He leans in to kiss you and kisses your daughter's head one more time. Then he pushes you towards the stairs with one more I love you.

“Okay so dad got mom flowers, big deal.”

“You are missing the point Noelle. I knew what guy was the right guy by seeing how dad treats mom. Think about it, dad still surprises mom with flowers and spa days for us girls, and they have been married over 10 years and have two kids. He loves her and always surprises her with flowers and other things. What about the notes! I remember the first time I saw the note to her, I mean we always get notes in our lunch, but did you know they write notes to each other as well? Thinking back it was totally not appropriate but, like most things, it went right over my head,\.”

“No… what kinda notes?”

“All different kinds, some on post its around the house, others on the mirror after a shower or bath. One day…”

Making May and Noelles lunch is something you weirdly like doing. Knowing how similar but different your daughters are. However you never do it alone. James is always in there making breakfast while you make their lunches, both girls still asleep. Finishing up with the food, you move on to your favorite part. It is something silly you and James started doing when you were just dating. Leaving little notes in each other's lunches or frankly all over the place. Your personal favorite is the notes in the lunches. You always surprise him with a new note. In the middle of writing the last note James pulls you flush against him. Catching on to what he is wanting you start to sway in his arms.

In a soft voice you remind James that if he ignores the eggs they will burn and you all will be late to school and him late to work. “Eh, the girls won't care about a little black in their eggs, and the bacon will be a little crispy. Let me have a moment just the two of us.” Your kitchen is not huge by any means, but big enough to do a few circles in. Dancing is a huge thing in your house. It most likely stems from the fact that dancing is something James and you did all the time before the girls. Now that you have the girls dancing is still a huge part of your lives. Whether it's dancing in a circle, or dancing close with just one or both of the girls. For the record both of you love your daughters with your entire being, but you never really got to be a married couple before children. So these little moments where it is just the two of you are rare treasures. Just dancing close to each other without music, sometimes with music. Typically it will be early in the morning or late at night when you get these moments. Your house always has dancing(like we said it's a big thing in the Potter house), giggling, and sometimes music. Today however it was the quiet before the storm. No music. No girls. No crazy giggles. Just soft smilies and loving eyes. Closing your eyes and just feeling the moment with James, you know it will end soon so both of you just soak up as much of it as possible. The alarm goes off letting you know it was time to wake up the girls. With a groan you leave the comfort of your husband's arms to go wake up the monsters you call children. Walking back down the stairs you see breakfast is all done and James finished packing the girls lunches. Rushing over you want just one more moment in the comfort of James’s arms, giving him a kiss you quickly part when you hear the sound of little feet running down the stairs. With a look to James you both prepare for your calm morning to turn hectic.

Time skip to the end of the day

Getting home with both girls, one from school and the other from daycare, is in one word: crazy. May grabs her stuff, with your help, in the meantime you balance a baby on your hip while carrying in her stuff and Mays stuff she couldn't grab. May runs up ahead of you and makes her way up the steps. Not even a moment later she is hollering for you, you tell her to have patience and you are coming. When you arrive you notice a note taped on the door. May is already rambing and telling you all the possibilities of what it could be. She tries to jump up to grab it, but it is a bit too high,, so you pull it off to read, “I will always be by your side. Or under you, or on top of you, or behind you on my knees for you”, you go bright red at the note, of course you know who it's from and you understand the note, but you have a child jumping up and down wanting to know what it says. Before you could stop her, May quickly grabs the note out of excitement. You are not too worried, seeing as she can read but those innuendos are going to go over her head. In her mind her daddy just wrote a nice note to mommy and now she knows what she will be doing until dinner time. She is already listing off everyone she is going to write notes to: you, James, Noelle, her friend, her teacher, her babysitter, her two godfathers uncle siri and uncle us(this is what the girls still call remus because May couldn't say Remus so she settled for us and it just kinda stuck). Once you open the door she is off to go write all her notes.

“So you see Noelle, you can’t tell me you haven’t noticed how good dad is to mom.”

“You mean how he is always telling her that she's like wine, getting better with age? Or how he tells her every morning how hot she is. Which by the way is kinda weird…”

“Exactly! And you will get used to it, it is a daily occurrence. But also don't you see how he always kisses her on the forehead whenever one of them leaves a room. Their love started with friendship and that is how it lasted so long. I remember Uncle Us and Siri telling us all the funny stories from before they were even together!”

Noelle sits up feeling a bit better and mentions “Oh wait or how every Friday is date night, sometimes with us but sometimes on their own! And how on game nights he always lets her win, you think they'd let their children win, but nooooo it's always mom winning.”

“See you get it now. There is one more story I have to share with you and you should remember it because it was only two years ago!” Before May finishes her statement Noelle Leans up against her and they cuddle while May tells the story of their last road trip.

Planning a road trip when you have two daughters and pets is a hard skill. But James is such a big help. He got Sirius and Remus to watch the dogs and house while you both picked the different camp sites you wanted to stay at and all the attractions you wanted to see in the area. Now all that is left is packing. Which is where you shine and honestly take over, the one time he was in charge of packing he forgot all of the medicine and you had to turn back around. This is the first road trip since they were little little, and you hate to admit it but you are struggling a bit. Of course your lovely husband knows this and makes fun of you the entire time. He comes into the living room where you have everything set out and says with laughter in his voice “ you made fun of me when I forgot the medicine but how do we plan to eat if you leave all of the cooking supplies here! And not to mention the clothes, y/n we need more than two pairs of underwear for a ten day camping trip.”

“Oh hush James, I was on it. At least I didn’t forget the medicine that you know keeps us alive,” you throw one of the pairs of underwear at him and stick your tongue out at him. Being the goofball that he is, he sees an opportunity and takes it, he surges forward and bites your tongue then moves to kiss you. What neither of you realized is that the girls were standing on the stairs watching the whole thing.

Eventually everything was packed and everyone was safely in the RV. James is driving, you are sitting upfront with him trying to find some good tunes to listen to when driving while the girls chill in the back playing a board game. You find what you wanted and land on Billy Joel, both of your favorites and start belting out the lyrics together. The girls are horrified and call you both oldies and to play some real music. To which James and you both flipped them off and told them this is real music! The rest of the drive was filled with lots of singing and giggles.

Once you all arrive at the first campsite, everyone's a little tired. James pulls in and before anyone else can move he hops out to open your door and the girls door and bows like the weirdo he is. He helps all of you down while kissing all of your hands. You would think he would be upset being the only boy, but this man takes it in stride and treats all of you like royalty. He gives the girls the job to find some good firewood while the two of you set up for dinner. The first night dinner is going to be the classic hotdogs on a stick with marshmallows as dessert. After the good food and last laughs the girls call it a night and go to their bunk. James and you stay out cleaning up and just enjoying each other's company. Of course in the beautiful simplistic atmosphere of the campsite you have to do what you do best. Dance together with no music. Again this is not the dancing and laughter filled dance parties you have with the girls. No, this is simple and soft. He is swaying you two to the wind and humming softly in your ear. This quiet yet loving moment reminds you of prom and how you danced at prom together before you even were together together. Again you have some stinkers for children that like to get out of bed and spy on mom and dad. May and Noelle are watching you and James from the window by their bunk. Both of them wish for a relationship just like their parents.

“So here is the thing, Noelle. It took me forever to find Jake. But now that I have he treats me just like a queen and royalty. Not because I told him to but because I saw how dad treats mom and I found a guy that treats me the same way.”

James and you turned the tables on the girls and are now spying on them. Listening to May lay out your life like that has you leaning into James’s side and kiss his chest. You love your family. You love your husband. You love not only how treats you but how he treats your kids. He is your love and your heart is breaking for your baby girl, but you have a good feeling about the talk May and her just had. You are so lucky to have an amazing husband and even better children.

[joeys-babe]

Someday We’ll Be Together

Chapter 14: October 1st

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(y/n's pov)

Joe stayed at the house long enough to eat breakfast with my parents and me before he had to leave to set up for our date.

there were so many kisses shared that morning, it seemed neither of us could get enough of the other. my parents didn't seem to mind at all either, in fact, they thought the opposite. they could tell Joe made me so happy and that's all they wanted, to see me happy.

my parents, plus pretty much everyone around us could tell that Joe and I's connection went deeper than "best friends", that being said.. when they found out that Joe confessed and that we were more than friends they were so happy that it finally happened. it felt like a game to them, waiting to see who'd confess first since it seemed inevitable.

even though we had confessed to being "in love" with each other, "I love you" hadn't been said yet. That was going to be a separate occasion.

Joe and I had decided to not reveal our non-official relationship to his parents yet. We'd be doing that tomorrow night in a funny, quirky, very Joe Burrow-style way.

I had just told Joe bye when I walked away from the front door and towards the stairs, my mom was in the kitchen with a smirk on her face as she looked at me.

"He makes you happy, huh?" - your mom

"Extremely happy. My cheeks hurt since I've been smiling for the past 10 hours straight." - you

"That's the best type of pain, honey." - your mom

"I'm starting to understand that." - you

"Do you have any clue what the date entails? Or even where it is?" - your mom

"Uhm.. nope! I'm sure Joe has something nice planned though." - you

"Okay.. you better start getting ready, did Joe tell you what to wear?" - your mom

"You're starting to make me realize that I know nothing about this date." - you

"Then text him!" - your mom laughed

I felt like a teenage girl as I ran up the stairs giggling, and simultaneously pulling my phone out of my pocket.

Instead of texting Joe, I thought it would be easier if I called him so I quickly found his contact. Since last night it has been changed to "Joey💕". Crazy how the day before yesterday I had him blocked, and now there's a heart by his name.

Joe answered in less than two rings, his deep beautiful voice ringing through the phone causing a blush on my cheeks.

"Miss me already, baby?" - Joe

His cheerful tone of voice made it easy to picture the expression that was probably on his face right now. A war-ending grin on those perfect lips that I loved.

"That too. But, I was calling because I need to know some details about our date." - you

"Ask away." - Joe

"What do I need to wear? Where is it? What time-" - you

"y/n, sweetheart chill out. You can wear whatever, I'm wearing sweats. I'm picking you up so don't worry about a place and I'll prob be over at your house at 6." - Joe

"Okay sounds good. I can't wait." - you

"Me neither. I've been thinking about this night for probably a decade." - Joe

"Me too, I'll see you in a couple of hours?" - you

"Yup, I'll see you then. Bye, beautiful." - Joe

"See ya later, Joey." - you giggled

When the tone sounded through my phone speaker letting me know that Joe had hung up, I fell back onto my bed. Butterflies swarmed through my stomach as my cheeks heated up; feeling more loved than ever before.

*time skip*

"do I look okay??" - you

It was currently 5:55, just five minutes before Joe would be picking me up for our date and I was standing by the front door as my mom helped with any finishing touches.

For my outfit, I opted for a pair of baggy jeans and an oversized graphic sweatshirt. It was comfy but cute and chic at the same time.

"You look great sweetie. You need to stop worrying though, it's just Joe." - your mom

"Sure it might just be Joe. But I still want to impress him! I've waited so long for this night, Mom. I want everything to be perfect." - you

"Everything will be perfect if you stop stressing!" - your mom

I went to open my mouth to utter a rebuttal but the ringing of the doorbell beat me to it.

My mom gave me an encouraging smile as I reached for the doorbell but hesitated to open it.

"You got this." - your mom

I nodded and quickly opened the door, Joe's gaze lifted from his shoes to my face. As he did so, the large smile that I adored made its way onto his face.

Joe was wearing sweatpants and a sweatshirt; a simple combo that made him look so complexly handsome.

We just stood staring at each other for a few seconds, we didn't know what to do.

"Oh! Yeah these are for you!" - Joe

Joe moved his hand from behind his back revealing a bouquet of white roses. He handed them off to me as a blush of crimson flushed his cheeks.

"Aww. Joe, I love them. They're so pretty!" - you

"I'm glad you like them. Wanna get going?" - Joe

I nodded and my mom took the flowers from my hand.

"I'll put these in a vase then put them in your room. You two have fun!" - your mom

My mom practically shoved me out of the house before shutting the door behind me, Joe took my hand and led me to his car.

Before I could even reach for the handle, Joe opened my door and once he knew I was comfortably sitting he shut it back.

When Joe started driving a comfortable silence fell over us, our hands intertwined on the center console while music played through the speakers.

"So... where are you taking me??" - you

"It's a surprise. We've been here together before though." - Joe

"Oh really?" - you

"Yup, as kids. Don't look in the backseat by the way it'll give away everything that I have planned." - Joe

I nodded but when we were at a red light I couldn't help but peak. Joe immediately noticed and let go of my hand, he grabbed my chin gently and moved my gaze to him.

"No peaking!" - Joe

I laughed at Joe's pouty expression and before I knew it he was pulling me by my chin to connect our lips.

It was such a sweet kiss, Joe's lips were soft on mine with a hint of possessiveness. A silent promise that I was his.

The only thing that made us pull away from each other was the light turning green.

"I don't think I could ever get tired of kissing you." - Joe

"Good, because I could never get tired of kissing you either." - you

Ten minutes later Joe was pulling onto a dirt road that felt familiar but not significant.

"Backroads? Are gonna kill me?" - you laughed

"No ma'am. Not after I just got you all to myself. Maybe in a couple of months." - Joe joked

"Oh shut up!" - you

"I'm just playing, baby." - Joe

"I know you are Joey." - you

When Joe parked up in the grass and helped me out of the car, the sight my eyes landed on took my breath away.

"I hope you like it..." - Joe

There was a red checkered blanket laid out on this grassy hill that had a beautiful field view. A white sheet was hung between two trees and a mini projector was on this upside-down wicker basket. On the blanket was another folded blanket, two pillows, with candles scattered around the perimeter.

"It isn't the most romantic first date ever but I did try to make it something you wouldn't forget." - Joe

I felt tears well up in my eyes, happy tears of course. This was the sweetest thing a guy, or anyone really, had ever done for me.

When I turned to face Joe I watched panic fall over his face when he saw my teary eyes.

"Joe. It's perfect. I love it." - you

"Really?" - Joe smiled

"Yes, it's so sweet and so romantic." - you

Joe laced his fingers with mine and led me over to the blanket, my heart filled with so much love as we got closer to it.

"You can go ahead and get comfortable, I'm gonna grab the food from my car." - Joe

"Okay!" - you plopped down on the blanket

Joe had to chuckle, you looked so cute and he was oh so in love with you and everything about you. Being in your presence alone had him melting.

He returned shortly with the picnic basket of snacks, the pizza, and the cooler of drinks.

Joe spread everything out before sitting down beside me.

"Okay, so I tried to think about all your favorite things. Everything I thought of, I bought. We can eat the picnic snacks first then eat pizza." - Joe

"Sounds perfect!" - you

Joe grabbed the picnic and started getting things out. When he pulled out red grapes I decided to play a little prank on him.

"Uh Joe, I like green grapes." - you

His neck snapped so fast in my direction as a worried look appeared on his face.

"What? Since when? I was sure it was the red ones you liked-" - Joe

"I'm kidding Joey!" - you placed a hand on his shoulder as you laughed

"Oh. I was worried I messed something up already." - Joe

"I assure you that you won't mess anything up, we've been here five minutes and I've already cried." - you laughed

"Those were happy tears right?" - Joe

"Major happy tears." - you

Joe smiled as I leaned forward and pecked his perfect lips. When we pulled away he kissed my cheek and continued sitting everything out on the blanket.

"Hey, what's the projector for?" - you

"I planned to watch the sunset, but I was worried that the sunset might be underwhelming. So if it is, we've got a movie to watch instead." - Joe

"Woah, Joe you've thought about everything haven't you?" - you

"I've run every possible situation through my head and adapted. There is no way this is getting messed up." - Joe

"That's sweet of you." - you grinned

"I try." - joe smiled

"C'mere, lay with me. You should start the movie and we can eat our snacks." - you

Joe scooted over on the blanket carefully to not bunch it up and laid down next to me.

"What movie you wanna watch?" - Joe

"It's October so how about a Halloween movie? Not a horror movie of course since you are scared of them." - you

"I'm not scared of them, y/n! I just don't like them!" - Joe

"Sure, Joe." - you laughed

"I didn't come here to get made fun of." - Joe

I laughed as I laid my head on his shoulder and threw an arm over him.

"Sorry, babe." - you

"You know, I love when you call me that and baby." - Joe

"Well, I love calling you them." - you

Joe leaned down and pressed a kiss onto my lips before sitting up to open a box.

"Chocolate-covered strawberry?" - Joe

"Ooh! Yes, please!" - you

He leaned down on his elbow to where he was hovering over me and led the strawberry to my mouth. My hand found its way onto his chest, just wanting to remain in contact with him.

"Good?" - Joe

"Mhm, they're really good. Hand me one, it's your turn." - you

Joe handed me a chocolate-covered strawberry and I leaned up a little bit to guide it towards his perfect lips.

"Mmm, those are good!" - Joe

"What else do you have? I'm feeling something savory." - you

"We can have the pizza." - Joe suggested

"Oh yeah!" - you

Joe grabbed the two plates he brought and handed me one, along with a few napkins.

He was hesitantly reaching for the pizza box and for a second I wondered why he was seemingly nervous all of a sudden, he seemed fine up till now.

I watched Joe place the box between us before he slowly opened it. When he did his eyes immediately traced off to mine, and that's when I realized why he was nervous.

Written in pepperoni said, "Be My GF?" 

Joe was silently freaking out, scared he asked too soon, worried about what you're answer would be, or if it was a lame way to ask such a big thing.

You on the other hand felt like you were on cloud nine. This was such a Joe way of asking you to be his girlfriend and you found it sweet and so endearing. It was perfect and quirky, just like Joe.

While you were swooning over the proposal, answering the question seemed to have slipped your mind. When you're eyes finally met Joe’s and he seemed frantic you realized you hadn't answered his question yet.

"Of course, I'll be your girlfriend!" - you

Joe’s once-nervous expression turned lit up with excitement as he leaned forward to crash his lips onto mine.

My hand cupped Joe’s cheek as I held him as close as I could get him, his lips rough on mine.

When Joe and I pulled away from each other huge smiles were plastered on our faces.

“So, I'm your boyfriend…” - Joe

“I’m your girlfriend…” - you

We looked at each other for a second before erupting into nervous giggles. It was almost as if our teenage selves came back for a second.

A few minutes later we had calmed down and got comfortable on the blanket. Joe got Hocus Pocus playing and we were cuddled up eating our pizza, stealing kisses after bites, and feeding each other snacks now and then.

The sunset didn't disappoint and neither did the view of it.

It seemed as if life couldn't get any better than it was at that moment. I was watching one of my favorite Halloween movies, and eating my favorite snacks, all while cuddling up to my boyfriend.

“Joey?” - you

Still lying on his shoulder, I rubbed his chest to get his attention.

“Yup?” - Joe

“Thank you for all of this. This was the best first date ever and I've loved every second of it. I'm so happy to finally call myself yours.” - you

“You’re so welcome, baby. I'm glad you've enjoyed it because I have as well.” - Joe

Sadly once the sun had set and the movie ended shortly after, it was time for us to leave.

Joe told me to head back to the car while he gathered everything up saying he didn't want me to get cold without the blankets.

Even while I was alone and Joe was putting stuff in the backseat, I couldn't stop smiling.

Today had been so perfect; waking up next to Joe, having breakfast with him, and then having the best date possible to end the night.

I wasn't without Joe for very long and when he got in the car he slipped his hand onto my leg as he turned onto the main road.

“My girl.” - Joe squeezed your leg

You had smiled at the gesture just thinking he was reminding you of his presence but in all honesty he just wanted to say it out loud to see if it would feel any more real to him. He couldn't believe it, the girl he'd had a crush on since high school was his girlfriend. She felt the same way about him that he felt about her and it was so surreal to him.

It was silent in the car, not an awkward silence but a little too quiet for Joe’s liking so he went to shuffle his usual playlist.

“Aye! We listened to your music the last time we were in the car. It's my turn.” - you

“Whatever you want, babe.” - Joe laughed

I connected my phone and shuffled my everyday playlist, a content smile on my face when “we fell in love in october” was the first song that played.

It hit me that it was October 1st. This song felt a little personal now that Joe and I started dating in October.

“This is kinda our song now…” - you

“Well. We started dating in October, I don't remember what month it was when I fell in love with you a few years ago.” - Joe smiled

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Authors note: this chapter has me feeling REALLLLLLLL single.

Hope you enjoyed! ❤️

[chiefduckgarden]

The lady in red

Summary: After the events of MoM Wanda escapes from the destroyed temple and isolates herself from the world with the only person she knows will never judge her or be afraid of her: you. But the past always comes back to make people pay for their sins, and soon you'll need to accept that it's Wanda's time.

Words: 8791

A/N : Soo this is a big mashup of my imagination, the story from the Marvel Comic "Darkhold: Omega", and the final episode of Netflix Series: The haunting of Bly Manor. I took a lot of inspiration from these two works. I hope you like it! Happy reading :D

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The night she knocked on your door you were surprised to get a visit at almost 1 pm. You hesitated for a moment to open the door but the moment you heard her voice, your blood ran cold through your veins.

- Y/N, it's me, Wanda - she simply said.

You immediately opened the door, but the person you found on the other side was not the Wanda you remembered.

- Oh Wanda, what happened? - you asked - Come in.

She walked in front you and got inside the house.

You stared at her for a moment. She seemed weak, like some who's sick and is slowly deteriorating; with remarkable bags under her eyes and a strange darkness adorning her gaze. The last time you saw her was in Stark's funeral, and her red straight hair was now replaced with messy curls.

- Thanks for opening the door - she said - It's just that, I have no other place to go.

Then she broke down crying and you ran to hold her in your arms. You allowed her to cry and vent for as long as she needed without question anything.

- It's okay, I'm here now, you're not alone - you reassured her, stroking her hair and her back, rocking her body back and forth.

- I made horrible things Y/N, so many irreparable mistakes - she said sobbing.

Your white pajama shirt was covered with her tears but you didn't care, you only wanted to help her.

- Are you harmed? Did anyone hurt you? - you asked her.

She denied shaking her head.

- It wasn't me the one who got hurt - she said.

You simply nodded and stood up from the floor with the girl in your arms.

- It's late now, we'll talk about this tomorrow, okay?

She nodded and you cleaned the tears from her cheeks with your thumb.

That night you gave her a pajama and let her stay in the guest room. But before you could leave and turn off the lights she stopped you.

- Can you stay here with me tonight - she requested in a low voice - I just don't want to be alone.

So you got in the bed with her by your side, holding her close and giving her a quick kiss on her hairline.

That was the first night in a really long time that Wanda slept peacefully.

The first that night she didn't dreamt of her children.

But you, you stayed up all night, stealing glances from time to time to the girl laying beside you. You were so confused about her sudden appearance at your door, it had been a long time since you last talked to her and yet, she was still having the same effect on you. Your heart was still beating for the girl.

You met Wanda many years ago, when she joined the Avengers after the battle with Ultron and the death of her brother. You became close friends after some weeks and many sleepovers on your room, but then Vision came back to the compound.

It only took a few days of watching them together for you to realize that you were in love with Wanda, but she was falling for the android. And the night you have decided to tell her about your real feelings for her, she told you that Vision kissed her and they were dating.

Your heart broke with the news but you congratulated her and asked her more about it. You didn't mind on feeling fire inside your chest every time she smiled thinking about the android, for the first time you saw her genuinely happy and that was the only thing that mattered.

So time went on, and when the government split your team, you and Wanda were on the same side. You fought against Tony Stark, and for some days you felt hope on having a chance with her again, Vision chose the opposite team and you were there, by her side.

But you saw them after the battle in the airport, you ran to check on Wanda but she was in Vision's arms, so you took a step back and ran to help Natasha instead. You didn't want Wanda to see the tears pooling on your eyes.

Living on the run with Wanda only made your feelings grow. You were so obvious about it that you were almost sure that she knew it, but she never made a move. After some months she told you she would go to Scotland, and when you were about to tell her you'd go with her, she told you Vision was waiting for her.

And Wanda Maximoff broke your heart again.

It only went worse from that moment on, Thanos and the lost battle didn't only take your friends away, but also the love of your life.

Five years passed slowly, and when Natasha Romanoff and Steve Rogers knocked on your door telling you there was a way to bring everyone back you didn't hesitate on going with them.

The next events passed to the history as the time that the Avengers saved the universe. Tony Stark sacrificed himself and the day of his funeral you talked to her for the first time in almost five years.

- How are you feeling? - you asked, she was standing by the river and her face was expressionless.

- I'm alive - she said - I just wish that he knew that everything worth at the end, that we won.

You hugged her and she cried on your shoulder.

- I'm sure he knows it Wands - you told her.

- He didn't even got a funeral.

You gulped.

- I'm sorry about that, but when you disappeared after the blip I tried to take his body with me, but the government took him - you confessed her - I wanted to keep him safe, or give him a proper bury, but they didn't let me.

She only hugged you closer. Her heart warmed at your words. That's what she loved about you, your tenderness and how you always said the right things at the right time.

- I'm sure you did your best, thank you Y/N - she said and then she kissed your cheek.

You sighed.

- Do you want to come with me? I have a house, in Italy, it's a beautiful town and you're more than welcome - you told her, maybe this was your second chance.

But she only stared at you, and words weren't needed to know her answer.

- Vision bought a house for us before passing away, i'm going to visit the town and maybe live there Y/N.

You smiled sadly and took a step back.

- I'm sorry - she said - I love you Y/N, but not in the way you've always wanted.

- Just know that if you ever feel like visiting Europe, you can always come to my house.

And that was the last time you saw her. Until that night. You knew nothing about her life and seeing her again, in that state, was shocking for you.

The next morning you made her breakfast and she thanked you with a brief smile.

- Are you feeling better now? - you asked her but she shook her head.

- No.

- That's okay, we can have breakfast and then you can take a shower if you want.

She accepted and you two ate in complete silence.

That first day she didn't say much, and you didn't pressure her. Whatever happened to her you were sure it affected her like never before, not even after Vision's death she looked that devastated.

-I'm ready to talk to you - she said on the afternoon of her second day with you.

You nodded and followed her to the living room to hear what she needed to say.

- I made bad things Y/N, really bad things - she started - I am a bad person, I was cruel.

You shook your head.

- No you're not...

- Yes I am! I know it - she interrupted you.

You heard her story, she told you about Westview, her children, Vision, Agatha... the Darkhold. She told you about America Chávez, her battle with Strange and the multiverse. You listened to her without more interruptions.

You understood the reasons behind her actions, you always knew that Wanda Maximoff wanted to have a family like the one she once lost.

It stung a bit that her dream family was with Vision by her side, but you left the selfishness behind and you focused on what she felt.

- Wanda, you're just a woman who wanted to feel loved, maybe your actions were wrong but you did the right thing at end - you told her.

- That doesn't change what I am Y/N, i opened the Darkhold, I chose to be the Scarlet Witch and now she will live forever in me. I can still feel her - she said.

- Well, I can only feel you - you said and she started to cry at your words. You never knew why but she felt like going back in time hearing that phrase.

- I'm not the Wanda you remember Y/N, i changed...

- I can still see the sweet Wanda that I met years ago, the one who taught me how to cook Paprikash and loves to watch old sitcoms on Saturday nights.

She looked at you and decided to show you the real her, the Scarlet Witch inside her. So she broke the spell that hid her black fingers and the worn red suit.

You took a step back when you first saw it, but when she fell on her knees crying you immediately ran to hug her.

- I don't care about your past, you did the right thing and now I'm here for you, I will always be here.

- I'm sorry for breaking your heart in the past, if only I had gone with you that day...

- It's fine Wanda, you don't have to say anything, you're here and that's all that matters.

She smiled genuinely for the first time after so much, and she let you hold her. Maybe you were always the answer after all.

The first months were hard for her, readjusting to the society was kind of difficult, but the town where you lived was peaceful and small, and she found a home with you.

You never mentioned your feelings for her again, she never told you she was looking for you romantically, so you just were a good friend for her.

Also, you knew she was still missing and loving her family. From time to time you  caught her drawing two boys that you assumed were Billy and Tommy. She never drew Vision, or at least you never saw her doing it.

- I miss them - she told you one afternoon when you were staring at the sunset on the backyard.

You were laying on the grass with your head resting on a tree and she was sat next to you.

- Billy and Tommy? - you asked

She nodded and then she showed you her drawing.

- They were the most amazing kids- she said smiling - Billy was like me, he had my powers, a really shy and tender boy. Tommy was more chaotic, he had Pietro's super speed and sometimes he drove me crazy.

She laughed sweetly at the memory.

- If they were like their mother, I bet they were fantastic - you said.

Wanda couldn't help to let out some tears.

- You would've loved them - she told you - Especially Billy, he was like you too.

You looked at ceiling and just a gave her a shy reassuring smile. Without saying more, she laid beside you, resting her head on your chest and wrapping an arm around your torso.

You held your breath for a second, but then you rested your arm on her back.

- But I really love living here with you.

You smiled.

- I love that you live here with me too, it's nice having company - you said.

She smiled and you stayed like that for some minutes.

- Sometimes I think about how my life would've been if I accepted your invitation to coming here - she confessed.

- It's not good for you think about the what if's, maybe you needed to meet your family - you told her.

- It would've been less painful, for me, for Billy and Tommy... They were happy with their lives in that other universe, now they probably have nightmares about their own mother being a witch, and it's all my fault.

You remained silence unsure on what to say.

- Sometimes I dream about them - she kept talking - It's nice to see them at least in my dreams.

- I'm glad, keep them in your memory is a nice way to honor them - you say.

- No, I really see them - she says looking up at you.

You looked confused at her.

- When I was studying the Darkhold I learned about the multiverse, it said that our dreams are our versions from another universe, so everytime we dream we can see another version of ourselves - she explains - That's how I found them, because every night I used to dream about them.

You listened to her and try to understand what she's saying.

- Now, everytime I dream about my children I know that it's real somewhere.

You smiled.

- They're happy, and I'm happy now - she said.

Another moment of silence remained between the two of you. Wanda was fidgeting with the buttons of your sweater.

- Do you ever dream about us? - she asked.

- What do you mean?

- Have you ever dreamed about me? About us? - she asked again.

For sure you had, not always but some nights.

- Yes, sometimes... Mostly about our time together before the Sokovia Accords and the fight and everything - you said.

- So is it like reliving the past?

You nodded.

- I dream about us, but not in the past - she told you - Sometimes I dream about us being together, like how could have been our lives if I stayed with you and not with Vision.

Your chest tightened for a moment.

- That means that in some universe we are together - she finally said.

Your eyes met and before you knew it her lips were on yours. The kiss was slow and clumsy, but you felt your heart exploding of happiness inside your chest.

When you two separate from each other she smiled and you smiled too.

- Y/N... I want you, I love you, you've always been so good to me and stayed by my side, even when I broke your heart you were a good friend. You didn't even hesitate to receive me when I knocked on your door that night... - she said.

- Wanda I have always loved you, I never stopped - you admitted.

- I know, I'm sorry I'm telling you this now - she said.

- Don't be sorry, it's never too late. I love you, every part of you and that will never change - you took her hand and kissed her palm.

She smiled and kissed you again.

Life was sweet from that moment on, Wanda was by your side now and your life couldn't be happier. During the day you would wake up next to her and after some kisses go to have breakfast. You would paint, listen to music, dance or go to walk next to her; and she was starting to take care of a little garden on the backyard. At nights you two would take a shower together and after some goofy games you go to bed and cuddle with her until she fell asleep.

She never stopped loving her family though, but you loved listening to her whenever she talked about Billy and Tommy. She would tell you about things she lived in her short time with them, or about what she saw in her dreams. However, she couldn't help but cry sometimes at the memory of her children, but this time she had you by her side to cry her heart out and feel accompanied. And she loved you for that.

Six months of happiness preceded smoothly, just you and Wanda. Until one day she decided to show up, to never leave again.

Three weeks ago Wanda was doing the dishes after a tasty pasta dinner you two had whilst you were out buying some groceries that you would use the next morning for breakfast.

A sudden hard pain on her forehead made her drop the plate she was holding and touch her head. It was something she had never felt before. Her hands were feeling shaky and when she looked at them her slender fingers were black again, something she had been avoiding to happen. When she looked through the window to see if you were home already she saw her. The ghost of her past was in front of her, it was her reflection. The Scarlet Witch was in her window.

She screamed and threw a blast of power to the window breaking it. You opened the door in a hurry after hearing her scream and ran to the kitchen, you found her lying on the floor, her hands holding herself as she looked out the window and crawled backwards, as if she was running from something.

- Wanda are okay? - you said sitting on your knees to hug her. She jumped scared when  her back hit your body, but when she saw it was you the one behind her, she clung to you and buried her face in your neck - Baby what happened? Why is the window broken?

She was only sobbing and crying so you didn't pushed any further and just waited there, rubbing her back and hugging her until she was ready to talk.

- She was here Y/N, i saw her in the window - she said after some minutes.

- Who? - you asked confused.

She looked up to meet your eyes, sniffing her noise.

- The Scarlet Witch, she was in my reflection - she finally said.

You looked at her speechless. Wanda had told you about her version corrupted by the Darkhold, but you couldn't get it yet, she was the Scarlet Witch, she lived inside your girlfriend, but Wanda had her under control somehow.

- I'm scared, It has been so long since the last time I saw her... But this time it felt different, as if I had no control over her - she said with shaky voice.

You were lost for words, so you did what you always do, give her reassurance and stand by her side.

- It's okay now, I'm here and I will never let something happen to you.

She kissed you and you stayed like that for some minutes before standing from the floor.

- Why don't you go to get ready for a bath? I'll finish the dishes and cover the broken windows with a plastic for tonight, tomorrow I'll have it fix - you said and she nodded.

- I'm sorry Y/N, i didn't want to scare you - she apologized but you shook your head.

- You don't have to apologize my love, it's fine okay?

Kissing her hands one last time she left to go to the bathroom and you picked up the plate that was broken on the floor. You sighed and looked at the window, hoping for it to be the last time that Witch haunted Wanda.

But unfortunately that was not the last encounter of your beloved with the Scarlet Witch, in fact, it was only the beginning of her hunt.

Two days later you came home after doing some errands only to find water falling down the stairs, you quickly ran upstairs to the bathroom only to find Wanda curled up in fetal position, her gaze was lost and you could notice her whole body shaking.

- Wanda what happened? - you said running to turn off the water tap and to kneel on her side - Baby, are okay?

She denied with her head without looking at you..

- Hey whatever happened it's fine, I'm here, we're gonna be fine, just talk to me...

- I saw her again Y/N, she was on the water and I tried to make her dissappear but she only stared at me, I felt like she was analyzing me - she said looking at you.

She laid her head on your chest and some tears rolled down her face.

- It felt so real, she was here with me, I know it - she sobbed - I'm scared Y/N

You sighed and closed your eyes.

- I know my love, but I really don't know what to do - you said - Just know that, whatever happens I will always be by your side, no matter what.

She nodded and kissed you.

- I'm sorry about the water, I was so lost when I saw her and I didn't realized the water was...

- Shhh it's fine, it's just water - you told her and gave her a brief smile - Let's get you dry and then I'll clean this up.

Hours later when the both of you were cuddling on your bed Wanda made a decision.

- I want to go to see someone tomorrow, someone who can tell me what is happening - she said.

- Where? Who? - you asked.

- In Westview, I want to visit Agatha Harkness.

You remained silence.

- I want you to go with me, you deserve to hear whatever she has to tell me - Wanda told you, looking up to meet your gaze - Is that okay with you?

You smiled and kissed her forehead.

- I would follow you to the end of the world - you said.

She smiled and cuddle further on your chest.

- I love you Y/N.

- I love you too Wanda Maximoff.

After some seconds she spoke again.

- Agatha is now under a spell, tomorrow she will probably recognize me but I'll have to make sure she would be powerless to talk to her peacefully - she explained - I don't want you to be scared of me.

- I would never - you said firmly - I know I'm safe with you, I trust you.

- My powers are not same since the last time you saw them, they are different and stronger now, and so am I.

- I know but I'm not scared.

You kissed her hands and she fell asleep in your arms.

The next morning you were boarding a plane to America. You were unsure on what to expect, you knew what happened thanks to Wanda's explanation but now that you were a few hours from your destination your doubts increased.

What would you do If that Agatha witch tried something against Wanda? How could you possibly protected her?

- Baby are you okay? - Wanda asked you, taking you hand in hers and cupping your face with her other hand.

- Yeah, I'm just worried - you told her - I don't know how I would protect you if that woman tries to hurt you.

- Oh honey you don't have to worry, I promise I have it under control - she stroked your cheek - Believe me, you're doing a lot by coming with me, I don't think i would be able to come alone.

You sighed.

- Are you sure?

- Yes, I'm sure - she smiled and kissed you.

Your hotel was a few minutes away from Westview, so after arriving and rest for a bit you drove to the small town.

As you were approaching to the place you noticed how Wanda tensed and as soon as you drove into the town you understood why.

The local people looked curious inside of your car as you were a clear stranger, and you saw how their expression changed the moment their eyes landed on your girlfriend.

- They're still mad at me, afraid - she said.

After driving some more minutes you parked in front of an empty lot and Wanda indicated you that the house next door was Agatha's.

- Wait here Y/N, I'll handle her first and then I'll let you know when to come in okay? - she said and you hesitate a little but nodded your head.

Some minutes passed for you until you heard her voice in your head.

- Come inside, we're at the basement - she said.

You did as you were told and walked inside the house. When you made it to the basement the air became heavier and the lighting of the room turned red.

- So this is your new puppet - you heard a woman's voice talking as you got close to Wanda - A new toy to play dollhouse.

- Silence Agatha - your girlfriend told her.

Wanda looked at you and and held her hand out for you to take it, she pulled you close to her and give you a small kiss on one side of your forehead. But you were more focused on the kneeld chained woman that was in front of you.

- I have to say it, she's more attractive than the machine that you called husband - Agatha said mocking at Wanda.

- I told you to shut up - Wanda said aggressively throwing a blast of power over the woman to put on a magical spell on her mouth - We came here for answers, not to have a chat with you.

You were still complete silence, feeling suddenly so out of place between those two powerful women.

- Did you understand? - Wanda asked her and the woman nodded slowly, rolling her eyes.

Your girlfriend took your hand to feel your presence and the touch made you remember why you were there. For her.

So you held her hand and gave her a shy brief smile.

- It's okay - you whispered.

The magic spell disappeared from the woman's mouth and she took a deep breath in.

- What do you want from me Wanda? - she asked roughly.

- I want you to tell me why am I seeing the Scarlet Witch again... - Wanda said - It's been a long time and I always had her under control, but now I feel like she's haunting me.

Agatha stared at Wanda and laughed dryly.

- You think you have her under control? Oh sweetie, you don't have the Scarlet Witch, the Scarlet Witch has you - Agatha spilled bitterly.

- What do you mean? - she asked - I am the Scarlet Witch, I can control her.

Agatha smirked.

- You're the Scarlet Witch now, but you are not the only one Wanda, there have been others before you... But you seem to be the strongest and, ironically, the weakest out of them all...

Wanda seemed confused and you were too.

- So you're saying that there have been other Wandas? - you asked.

Agatha smirked at you.

- No darling, not other "Wandas" other Scarlet Witches - she said mocking.

- Don't you dare to talk to her - Wanda told her.

- She asked...

You took a step back and kept listening.

- It's something you inherited Wanda, probably your progenitor was a Scarlet Witch too...

- That's impossible, my mom was a normal housewife, she never had powers

- Not your boring human mom that gave you your last name, I mean your biological mother, the one that gave you birth - Agatha explained.

Wanda held your hand tighter and you put your arm around her waist.

- But there's more. .. You're not only a Scarlet Witch but you also contain the chaos magic... a gift from a demon, a monster....

- What... What monster? - Wanda's voice shook.

- I told you sweetheart, your destiny was to destroy the world - Agatha said, and after some seconds of staring at Wanda she smirked - But I have the feeling that you already did that, am I right?

- I asked you one thing Agatha, what monster? What are you talking about? - Wanda screamed.

- I told you that you would need me Wanda, and you decided to keep me trapped in here, in this fake suburban hell...

- Agatha...

- Now you think you have a second chance with her - the woman points at you - You're just another heart to break honey... Another puppet to ease her pain...

- Stop talking Agatha, just answer me - Wanda demanded and she threw another blast of power.

Agatha closed her eyes in pain for some seconds.

- Chton - Agatha said catching her breath again - His name is Chton, the original owner of the magic of chaos... He gave you his powers when you were a baby, before he was banished from earth, as a way to keep a portion of his power on here.... The Darkhold, it was written by him too, it's a testament of all of his knowledge in the arcane arts, but surprise surprise sunshine... You read that too.

Wanda and you froze for a moment, what the hell was that woman saying?

- I thought your powers came from the mind stone - you said to Wanda

- No, the stone only awakened my abilities but they're different, they're magical... - Wanda explained without looking at you.

- Not only magical, destructive, the demon of chaos himself gave you his powers, you and the Darkhold are his connection to this world and now... you have seen all of it.

- That can't be true...

Agatha stared smirking at her.

- Believe what you want to believe honey... But the power is stronger, even stronger than you... Do you think you'll be able to hold all of it... Now she's just haunting, testing you, but sooner rather than later she will reach you, and there'll be no escape.... For the both of you - she said looking at you too now - It will consume you Wanda, until there's nothing of you left.

You stared at the woman scared.

- Y/N wait in the car... I'll go in a few minutes - Wanda told you firmly.

- But Wanda... - you tried to argue not wanting to let her alone with Agatha, but she didn't give you room for it.

- Y/N please...

You sighed and walked to the car.

- You will not save her Y/N, don't even try... - that was the last thing you heard from Agatha before stepping out of the basement.

You waited for a couple minutes before seeing Wanda get in the car. You were expecting her to be cold or distant after everything you heard but the moment you looked at her she broke into your arms crying.

- I always knew I was a monster - she said.

You shook your head denying.

- No my love, you're not monster... What she said, it can't be true...

- But what if she is? What If the power takes control over me... What if I hurt you?

Wanda was shaking from head to toe, her voice was thin in fear and her tears didn't stopped from falling down her cheeks.

- You would never, I know it.

She remained affected for the rest of the day. In the night when you two were in bed and in the safety of each other's arms you had and idea.

- What if we go to see Strange? Maybe he can tell us if that whole Chton thing is real and if there's any chance for what Agatha said to be true?

She lifted her face to meet your eyes.

- You know, Strange and I are not in the best terms... I don't think he would help...

- It's been a long time Wanda, I'll go with you and we both will talk with him - you said - He's the only one I would trust to tell us the truth, and he's a smart man, I bet he knows by now that you did the right thing at the end.

She hesitated for a moment but then just nodded her head.

- Okay, maybe he could help...

Next morning you took a flight to New York City and walked to the Sanctum Sanctorum to look for the Strange. When you made it to his place you were happy because you were right about him already forgiven Wanda about the whole Multiverse thing, but your smile slowly faded away as soon you ask him about Agatha and Chton.

- I'm sorry Y/N... - he said - That witch, she's telling the truth.

Wanda paled after hearing him.

- Wanda is now a human vessel for all the power of chaos magic, and Chton is no demon to play with, he's one of the strongest, part of the big leagues of the universe...

- But Wanda is not a demon... - you said

Strange sighed.

- I know, but the power and her one day will become one, and in that instant there will be nothing left from Wanda...

Wanda walked out of the room with some tars falling from her eyes and you followed her.

- Darling, come here please - you asked once you were on the receiving room.

She didn't say anything for a while, just stayed there, you only seeing her back.

- We'll solve this Wanda - you told her approaching slowly - We're gonna be fine...

She turned to look at you and only then you saw her big puffy green eyes because of her cry.

- We're in this together, I'm not gonna let you deal with this on your own.

You wrapped her in your arms and she let herself fall in them.

- I don't want to lose myself Y/N, i don't wanna be that monster... - she said in a whisper with shaky voice.

- You will not baby, we'll figure this out, I promise...

She shook her head denying.

- No, it's not fair for you to go through this hell with me, you don't have to burn...

- I will not let you burn - you said looking into her eyes - And don't even try to push me away darling, I'll always come back.

- But Y/N you heard them, there's no solution on this, I will leave someday and... I don't want you to pay for the mistakes I made... I want you to be happy, that's what you deserve.

You hold her hand to kiss it.

- You are my happiness, and I don't care of how much time we have left, I want to spend it with you.

She gave you a brief smile but you saw the doubt in her eyes.

- Are you sure? - she asked you - You don't have to, I understand if you want to take a step aside... You don't have to worry.

You also smiled giving her reassurance.

- I'm sure my love, I would never imagine a life without you...

She smiled and kissed you deeply, letting you know how much she loved you.

You came back with Strange to talk about Wanda's future.

- I'm not sure about how many time there's left for you, it's all so uncertain, it can be weeks, months or years even... - he said to her - But it's going to happen, that's for sure.

- And when she possesses me, when the Scarlet Witch takes control of my body and the power blinds me... - Wanda said with trembling lips - What is going to happen?

Strange looked through the window thinking how to explain everything.

- Once she has you Chton will be able to return to this world, his exile will end and maybe he will try to conquer the earth... He will take the power in you to be complete again - he turned to look at you, worried - We'll have to be prepared if he decides to attack...

You felt your stomach flinch in scare for what might happen to Wanda, you can't let something so terrible happen to her. On the other hand she was thinking on how to avoid such a horrible event to happen.

- Is there any way we can stop this from happening? - she asked.

Strange sighed.

- There's one way - he closed her eyes for a second before talking - If we destroy his connection to this world and close the gates he left open before leaving... Maybe he'll not be able to return

You frowned.

- But Wanda is the connection...

He looked at you with sorrow.

You denied with your head and stood from the chair you were sat in.

- No, no, no... Don't even think about it.

- There's no other way Y/N, Wanda destroyed the Darkhold but she read it, all Chton needs it's her...

- Well, I will not let you touch her...

- Y/N...

She interrupted you and you turned to look at her, when your gaze met you knew what she was thinking.

- No Wanda, I'll not let you do it.

- Baby - she walked to you - I'm the one who started all this mess, I'm the one who has to finish it.

- But you can't, you can't leave me...

You started to sob just at the thought of living without her by your side.

- We don't have to say goodbye now my love, let's enjoy this time we have left... But it's something I have to do.

She also started to cry and Strange left the room to let you two talk.

- It's not fair, we should be happy, live a long peaceful life and grow old together... This is not how it's supposed to be...

She cupped your face, caressing your cheek.

- I known, life isn't fair, but I'm the happiest because you are the one I get to live with for the rest of my days, and then if I get to stop this I will go peacefully... I'll finally rest.

You understood Wanda had to do it to feel inner peace, to forgive herself for all the things she did.

You stared at her with tears rolling down your cheeks and her face full of tears too; and breaking your heart in the process you just nodded, accepting your fate.

- I'll be honored to accompany you.

She kissed you like it was the last time and your heart hurt knowing there would actually be a last time for you.

When you left Strange that day to return home Wanda told you to wait in the car one more time to have a quick chat with Stephen.

- I wish I could help you more Wanda, I'm glad you found happiness - he said.

- Thank you Stephen, but I have the feeling this will not be the last time we see each other.

He sighed nodding.

- I know, as I said I don't know when it's going to happen but the moment you feel like it's becoming too much, if you feel like no having control over your body, come here, we'll help you go to Wundagore to close the gate...

She accepted and shook hands with the man.

- Yes, I will.

He gave her a brief smile.

- I hope you don't have to come in a really long time... I wish you more years of happiness with Y/N, you deserve it.

Wanda smiled and said goodbye before returning to you in the car.

- Are you ready my love? - you asked her and hold her hand.

- Yes, let's go home.

The whole way back you felt a hole on your stomach everytime you looked at Wanda. When she fell asleep on your shoulder on the flight you stared at her peaceful features and you couldn't help to cry. The reminder that someday the woman you loved would be lost in pain was killing you inside, and you felt it so unfair, Wanda came back to your life only one year ago, your time together have been so short and they were taking her away from you, again.

- You know, I can feel whenever you're sad - she murmured with her head still laid on your shoulder.

- I'm sorry, I'm just... I keep processing everything...

She sighed and lifted her gaze up to you.

- I know it's scary, and it's fair for you to feel sad or angry, I'm not asking you to stop feeling and pretend nothing is going to happen...

You stroked her cheek.

- Thanks for understand, I don't want to feel like this for the rest of our time together, but I can't help it...

- Detka it's fine.. I feel scared too, more than you can think... But I also want to live happy, like I was before coming here....

- Me too, I wish we could go back to a week before...

- Let's do something, I know we both feel horrible now but what If we let all of this Chton thing here, in America. We can be miserable all we want during this flight, but then, when we land in Italy and arrive home let's live our life like there's no tomorrow, like there's no time clocking for us... Let's leave it all in America.

You looked at her big green orbes and smiled.

- Okay, we'll leave it all in America.

And so you did, for the next months Wanda and you lived in the fairytale you always dreamed about, loving each other like never before. And although you wished from the bottom of your heart for it to stop, the Scarlet Witch kept haunting Wanda. It wasn't  very often but when she did, she always left Wanda shaken and affected for the rest of the day.

Three months later you prepared a nice dinner at the backyard of your house that Wanda had turned into a beautiful garden. You put lights all around the flowers and bought a nice ring to propose to Wanda.

- I know out future is uncertain, we have no clue what it's going to happen tomorrow but I am sure of one thing, I love you Wanda Maximoff, I love you like I never knew I could love someone, you make me feel like I'm the luckiest girl on the planet, I would give you the world if you ask me to... Wanda Maximoff, would you marry me?

With tears of happiness on her face she said yes.

- Of course I will marry Y/N, i love you!

She kissed you with tender and two months later she became your wife on a special ceremony between only the two of you.

Now, after two years of full happiness and love you are laying on a sun chair at your garden with Wanda on your side, you right hand holding her left hand with the bright ring on her finger. It's been hard days for her, the encounters with the Scarlet Witch had been increasing and Wanda now see her on her reflection on windows, mirrors, water or in her dreams. You only want to help her, so giving her peaceful moments like this has become your priority.

- I really gonna miss this - she says - I love watching the sunset with you.

You turn to look at her confused.

- You don't have miss it already, I know we still have plenty of sunsets left to see - you tell her but her reaction it's not the one you expected. Instead of smile sweetly and look at you, she stays with her gaze on the sunset and instead of her smile, sadness is reflected on her eyes - Darling, is everything okay? - you ask stroking your thumb on her hand.

She takes a long breath, allowing the warm air of the afternoon fill her lungs, closing her eyes.

- This loving atmosphere we created, the home we built, it's something I never thought I would deserve - she murmurs softly.

You listen to her, not wanting to interrupt.

- After Westview, when my children disappeared I promised Vision we would say hello again, maybe in another dimension. But when I studied the multiverse and found Billy and Tommy, Vision was never there, they were my kids but he wasn't by my side. And in those universes where he was with me, we never ended up together... Like in this one - she remained silence before turning to look at your eyes - But you were there, always, sometimes as a friend, sometimes as my partner. You are the love of my life Y/N, it took me so long to realize it but I'm glad that we found each other again, you bring me love, peace and happiness; you gave me the life I always dreamed of; you are real Y/N, you loved me even before I loved myself, you held me all those nights when I cried for Pietro, you held me through my grief and grieve with me. You showed me true friendship, true love, made me feel trustworthy and special. And yet, I broke your heart so many times, I chose another person above you and even then, you only smiled and accepted without any complain. You were always what I was missing, the key to finally feel complete. I'm happy and honored to be the one you hold and the one that gets to hold you, thanks for all these years of bliss and love. I'm sorry I'll have to break your heart again by leaving, but I want you to always remember that I love you, if it were up to me I would stay with you until the end of our days, but I can't.... I'm so sorry Y/N, i have to leave you behind again...

At this point you're crying and sobing with her on your arms, what she said wasn't something you were expecting to hear. You're lost for words, so you just hug her close to you, not wanting to let her go, ever.

- I'm the lucky one here darling, I would always choose you, above anything or anyone... I never resent Vision, he made you happy and I will always be grateful with him for that, but the night you knocked at my door crying my heart skipped for seeing you again. Letting you get in my house was the best decision I've ever made, you're the love of my life too Wanda Maximoff, I love so much that sometimes it hurts.... But I know we still have more time together...

Her crying intensifies with your last words, and she hides her face in the crock of your neck.

- I don't think we have that much time darling - she whispers between sobs - These last few days I have felt her, she's stronger now, sometimes I don't even recognize myself in the mirror. I'm not even afraid of her anymore, I just stare at her for minutes, waiting for her to attack... I don't feel like myself anymore...

Your heart breaks the moment she says that, your bigger fear is finally materializing and you're not prepared for it yet.

- Strange told me to go to him the moment she takes control over my body, I don't know what she's capable of doing and don't want to put you in risk - she sighs - Maybe it's time for me to go, to close the gate...

You denied.

- No Wanda, you don't have to leave on you own, I'll go with you - you tell her - I'll never let you alone again.

- Y/N, i don't want you to go through this....

You don't let her finish.

- There's no discussion on this Wanda, tomorrow we'll go with Strange and I'll go with you, okay?.

She closes her eyes and nod, smiling briefly.

- Okay - That's all she says.

As every night you fell asleep with your wife wrapped inside your arms, expecting to travel the next day. But later that night Wanda had a nightmare.

She was in your garden, wearing the Scarlet Witch dress and the sky was red, just like when Strange looked for her help on the farm. The house and the garden was all burned out, and she was dragging your body through the ground, holding you with her hand on your neck. You were dead.

She wakes up abruptly, with sweat all over her face and her heart pounding very fast. She turns to look at you, and sees how you're sleep, running a finger over your features she knows she has to leave before something terrible happened to you.

She stands from the bed and, sobbing in silence she left the house, not without giving you a peck on the lips before and leaving a letter for you to find it later.

Next morning you wake up at 8 am, searching instinctively for your wife with your hand. But when you feel nothing by your side you open your eyes and sit on the bed confused.

- Wanda? - you ask outloud for her to hear you.

You stand from the bed and look through your window to see if she's down in the garden, but she's not there. You change your pajama and go downstairs to look for her in the kitchen, but she's no where to be seen.

You have a bad feeling growing on your chest, and after some minutes of thinking you take a sit on one of the chairs of the dinner room. Just then you notice the envelope on the table, a letter that has your name written on the front. And you understand everything, Wanda wasn't gonna return.

Immediately you take the letter with you and leave running to the airport to get to New York the soonest possible.

But Wanda had arrived to New York an hour ago, in the shadow of the night.

- It's time Stephen - she said to the man.

He stared at her and nodded.

- We have to get you ready before - he told her.

So the Sorcerer and the Witch prepared themselves to go to Wundagore.

Meanwhile you were traveling all the way to America. Having a close friendship with the wealthy widow Pepper Pots, allowed you to get there faster by flying in her private jet.

In the privacy of the airplane, you unfold the letter Wanda left for you. With shaky hands and tears already falling from your eyes you start to read it.

Y/N, my love.

I'm sorry for leaving without you, but tonight I had a nightmare about the Scarlet Witch hurting you, and I couldn't handle it anymore, I would never put you in risk and I feel like now it's the right time.

I know you wanted to go with me but I can't let you go through that pain again, but please know that I'm not doing this to hurt you, I only want to protect you.

I'm writing this to say goodbye, and thank you for everything, for giving me love and happiness; although last night I told you everything I wanted you to hear.

Darling please don't let this consume you, don't let yourself drown in pain and sadness; and as I said, I'm not asking you to not feel, just don't lose yourself in sorrow.

Live baby, don't let your life end up here, it's not the end of the line for you so please don't stop just because I'm gone, you're young and beautiful, so please enjoy life, do it for me.

And I know you my love, you probably will go to see Strange (if you're not in your way already) but please don't be mad at him, he's just helping me. I'm conscious that visiting New York will make you feel angry, so cry, scream, be sad, I can't stop you from feeling, I know I would feel my world ending if you were the one leaving, so grieve. But baby, leave it all in America, when you arrive to our home I want you to fell free, to have a happy memory of me, of us.

I love you Y/N, more than anything.

                                                           -  Wanda.

You hold the letter close to your chest murmur.

- I love too Wanda.

When you land in New York you take a cab to the Sanctum Sanctorum to look for Strange. But you only find Wong in your way in, and when he looks into your eyes, the guilt on his gaze let's you know that it was too late.

- Wanda is gone - he says.

Those three words resound inside your head and you fall on your knees, crying like never before. Wanda Maximoff broke your heart for the last time.

~▪️~

Wanda and Strange made it to feet of the mountain Wundagore.

- I can't go further than this, Wanda - Strange told her.

- I know, thanks Stephen, for being here.

He nodded and looked at the woman.

- I'm sorry you have to do this, it's gonna be painful, you'll feel like they're burying you alive, but it's gonna finish before you can notice. In that moment the magic of chaos will die with you.

She nodded nervous.

- Tell her how much I love her - she said and the man smiled sadly - Goodbye Stephen.

- Goodbye Wanda.

So she flied to the destroyed throne she once claimed as her own, and there she gave her body to the damned souls of the Darkhold, the only ones who could claim her.  She left this world with the image of her wife never leaving her mind.

The prophecy said that the Scarlet Witch was destined to destroy the universe. But the Scarlet Witch was now also Wanda. And Wanda wouldn't. Wanda would never.

[arlana-likes-to-write]

Can you write another big sister part where it’s one of their firsts nights reunited after the red room (could be days before or the day after her birthday party btw) where yelena has a nightmare and woke up startled so she remembers reader is there this time and goes to her bedroom like she used to do when they were kids. Natasha heard her waking up bc she used to comfort yelena so she goes to reader’s room too and they have a heart to heart moment kinda have a sleepover 🥰 thank you

I hope you enjoy this!

What if I'm not needed?

Warning: nightmare, angst with fluff, hand to hand combat and injuries

Word Count: 2.1k

Yelena woke up with a silent scream. Her breathing was erratic and her heart was beating. A layer of sweat covered her body. She threw off the blanket and placed her bare feet on the ground. The cold floor sent a shiver up her spine. It grounded her. It told her mind that she was in her room and not back there. Nightmares were rare for the youngest Black Widow but with everything that happened in the past few months, it was triggering buried memories. Natasha told her it was a possibility that it would happen. Yelena was annoyed that she was right. With a sigh, she walked to the bathroom and splashed the cold water on her face. It felt good. She dried her face and stepped out of her bedroom. The idea of going back to sleep didn’t seem appealing, especially alone. She could go see Natasha but it was always a catch if she was going to be in her room with Maria or be in Maria’s room. As much as Yelena liked Maria, she didn’t want to deal with her. She sighed, feeling defeated until she remembered you were still in the compound. You were returning to St. Petersburg in a few days to continue freeing Widows. Yelena smiled and headed to your room. 

*

A knock woke you up. You sat up slowly rubbing the sleep out of your eyes. You kicked the blankets off and walked to the door. You were surprised to see Yelena. “Hi.” She whispered. “I had a nightmare. Can I sleep in here with you?” You held open your door without a second thought. Yelena walked into your room and straight for your bed. It took you back to Ohio when she would come to you at night because she was scared. You smiled after all these years she still trusted you. You closed the door and joined her in bed. She was playing with the blanket. 

“I know it’s been a while,” you said. “But you can tell me what your nightmare was about.” She didn’t answer. You lay on your back, looking up at the ceiling. You started laughing. “Do you remember when we pranked Natasha by pretending that she was invisible?” It was after a night Yelena snuck into your room because she caught a glimpse of a horror movie Melina and Alexei were watching. You caught a glimpse of Yelena smiling. “She was so mad at us. I’m pretty sure mom had to get involved for us to stop.” Yelena giggled. You looked at her. Her smile was gone but she didn’t look sad, just lost in thought. 

“I was at Target Practice,” Yelena said. “They brought me into the room and there were two people with bags over their heads. A gun was put in my hand and they told me to shoot. So I did.” Yelena whipped a tear that fell. “But when they took the bag off it was you and Nat.” You frowned. You were no stranger to your mind creating false scenarios. Yelena looked at you. “Why did my mind show me something that never happened?”

“Your mind is your best and most powerful weapon,” you told her. “It can be an ally when you need it most but also your enemy.” You smiled, sitting up and placing some loose hair behind her ear. “You went through something traumatic at a very young age completely against your will. Your mind is going to take the people you care about and hurt them.” 

“Does your mind do that to you?” You nodded. 

“Yes,” you admitted. “They have you and Nat in them. But I’m going to give you a little secret, you control the outcome of the nightmare.” She looked confused. “It’s your mind, malen'koye solnyshko (little sun). They are gone and can’t hurt us anymore.” She nodded. 

“Thank you.” You smiled. 

“Anytime. Come on, we need sleep.” You both got comfortable and Yelena rested her head on your shoulder. You waited till her breathing evened out and she was asleep but you closed your own eyes. Your advice was easier said than done as you were struggling to get control of your mind. 

*

Natasha was surprised to find Yelena’s room empty. Her sister was not a morning person. She had to drag Yelena out of bed for morning meetings or training. “FRIDAY, where is Yelena?” She asked the AI. 

“Miss. Belova is in the kitchen.” Odd. Natasha thanked the AI and headed to the kitchen. Yelena was in the kitchen making a protein smoothie. 

“Morning, sestra,” Yelena said with a smile. “Your smoothie is in the fridge. I wasn’t sure when you’d be up.” She walked over to the fridge and took a small sip before putting it back. She liked to have something in her stomach before a workout. 

“I went to your room and I was surprised you weren’t there.” Yelena put her smoothie in the fridge. 

“I had a nightmare and went to see Y/n.” She said simply. 

“Why didn’t you come to me?” Natasha asked. 

“I wasn’t sure if you were with Maria or not,” Yelena shrugged. “Come on, let’s go for our run.” It felt off at Yelena’s confession. For the longest time, Yelena came to her when a nightmare happened. That's how it’s always been. Natasha was jealous. After all this time apart, Yelena still came to you. It took Natasha a few years to gain Yelena’s trust when they arrived in America. She pushed the feeling down and followed her sister outside. 

*

You’ve had enough. For the past 24 hours, you’ve been walking on eggshells around Natasha. Every time you walked into a room and she was in it she walked out. You’ve tried to make conversation but she only gave one-word answers. Even Yelena didn’t know what was going on. You were leaving soon and you were not leaving until you figured out what the hell you did wrong. 

FRIDAY told you she was in the training room. You changed into a workout outfit and found your sister throwing punches at a sandbag. The metal chain that held the sandbag to the ceiling rattled from each punch. You’ve been on the receiving end of her punches. The instructors of the Red Room loved making the two of you fight. “We need to talk.” You said, standing next to her with your arms crossed. 

“I’m busy.” She said. You rolled your eyes. 

“Let’s spar then. It’s been a while since we’ve fought.” She made no move to indicate that she heard you. “Come on Natalia. You aren’t one to back down from a challenge.” You knew what buttons to press. You walked over to the training mats. The sandbag stopped moving and you heard her footsteps joining you on the mat. Hook, line, and sinker. 

“Do we have any hard limits?” She asked. 

“I promise I won’t send you to the med bay.” You smirked. Natasha huffed and got into her fighting stance. She was off. Her mind was not in it. You were landing easy punches and taking her down. It was further proof that something was wrong. You kicked your leg out and Natasha became off-balanced. You grabbed the collar of her shirt, bringing her down to the ground. “Are you ready to talk?” She wrapped her hands around your waist and threw you over her. You landed on your back. 

“There's nothing to talk about.” She said. You got back to your feet. You dogged her first punch, and the second punch made contact with your stomach but you caught the third and twisted her arm around her back. You kneed her and she crumbled to the ground. 

“Are you sure, Natalia?” You asked. “Because your fighting says otherwise.” She swung her head back and hit your nose. You stumbled backward and felt the blood on your nose. You looked at her stunned. She seemed as shocked as you were. Your jaw clenched. “Fine.” You said, whipping the blood with the back of your hand. “If you want to fight like that. We will.” The air in the training room grew tense as you began to not pull your punches. Natasha had you pinned to the ground. 

“Wield.” She said. You flipped her over. 

“Not a chance.” You said. 

“Enough you two.” Yelena entered the training room. She ran over to you and yanked you off of Natasha. Yelena stood between you two to prevent another fight. “Go to your rooms and calm down before you kill each other.” You whipped the sweat off of your forehead. You sighed and walked to your room. 

*

The shower calmed your nerves. Your nose wasn’t broken and the serum was healing your wounds. You wondered if you sat in your room and if Natasha would come to see you. But your sister was prideful. You sighed and opened your door. Natasha was standing in front of you. “Yelena said if I don’t come to talk to you she is never gonna talk to me again so here I am.” You stepped out of the way. She walked into your room and sat on your bed. You closed the door and leaned on it. “How’s your nose?”

“Fine,” you said. “It’s not broken. How’s your shoulder?” You almost dislocated it. 

“So, are you going to tell me what your deal is?” You asked. She didn’t respond. “Because I’m tired of walking on eggshells around you.” 

“I got jealous because Yelena went to you instead of me when she had her nightmare.” You blinked at her slowly, letting her words sit with you. 

“Are you serious?” You questioned in disbelief. 

“It took me years for her to open up to me.” You laughed, shaking your head. “What?”

“Exactly, it took you years for her to trust you but at least you had those years with her,” You sighed. “I had to use a memory from Ohio to cheer her up but I bet if she went to you, you would have years of memories to choose from.” 

“That doesn’t matter,” Natasha said. She looked at the floor. “If she easily went to you then she won’t need me anymore.” All the anger left your body as you stared at your sister. You sat down next to her. 

“What do you mean?” You looked at your door. 

“I haven’t been in her life in 20 years,” The last time you saw her was when was ripped out of your arms as soon as the shipping containers opened. “16 for you. I’ve learned about everything you’ve done through news reports and stories from your team because I wasn’t there. I’m not part of this world,” You played with the ring on your finger. “So she will always need you. Me being here won’t change that.” Natasha gave you a smile resting her head on your shoulder. 

“I’m sorry,” she said. “It was stupid that I let it get to me,” you shook your head. 

“Your feelings are valid. Just come talk to me instead of almost breaking my nose.” Natasha laughed. 

“You got yourself a deal.”

*

You were up so the knock on your door didn’t wake you up. You opened it expecting to see Yelena but you were surprised to see Natasha. She was shifting her weight from side to side. “I had a nightmare. Can I stay with you?” You smiled, letting her into your room. She immediately went to your bed and climbed underneath your covers. You laid down next to her. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” You asked. You knew it was a long shot but you figured it would be good to ask. She shook your head. 

“Not really.” 

“Okay. Just sleep and I’ll be here when you wake up.” 

*

The next knock woke you up. You felt Natasha shift next to you but made no move to get up. You sighed and opened the door. Yelena was staring back at you. “Natasha wasn’t in her room.” She said. You moved out of the way and pointed to Natasha’s sleeping form. 

“It seems like that kind of night. Come on.” You closed the door as Yelena climbed into bed. She was going to be in between you and Natasha. You climbed into bed, which barely had enough room for 3 grown adults. Yelena rested her head on Natasha’s chest. You made a mental note to tell Natasha that Yelena looked for her first thing in the morning. 

“I’m gonna miss you when you leave,” Yelena said, her voice laced with sleep. 

“Me too,” Natasha admitted. Her eyes were still closed. You smiled. 

“I’ll be around. You guys aren’t getting rid of me that easily.”      

[artyandink]

we can be more | dean winchester | 9

Summary: Ivonne Rainer was practically a trained killing machine. Stripped to the bone then built back up by her father in order to become one of the best, like he was. She was forced into hunting when she was nineteen, having developed powers that couldn’t be explained. That is, until she was paid a visit by Azazel’s lackey. Her powers were gone, she needed help, and that’s when she found her father’s journal. Pointing to Sam and Dean Winchester.

SERIES MASTERLIST

CROSSROAD BLUES

ᴺᴼᵂ ᴾᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ :  CROSSROAD BLUES - ROBERT JOHNSON

“Hey, jellybean.” Dad smiled into the camera, sharpening his knife. “This hunt is pretty dangerous, I’ll have to admit. These vamps are beating the hell out of me.” 

“Hey, Mick!” A hunter yelled. “Are you talkin’ to your daughter again?” 

“Oh, come on, Ed, you’d do the same if you had one.” Dad retorted. “It’s a shame that no girl’s ever looked your way, huh?” He turned back toward the camera. “Y’know, I’d give anything to be home with you. I’ve been such a bad father these past few years. I missed your graduation. Your orientation day in Princeton too. You didn’t even go to prom because you wanted to see me come back from a hunt but I didn’t until a few weeks later. I think…” His voice broke off. 

There were happy shouts in the background, but Dad didn’t seem so happy. 

“I think that the last time I’ll ever see you is this picture I keep in my pocket.” He pulled it out, taking a look. “I keep you with me every day. I love you so much, jellybean, but I don’t think I’m comin’ back. I know I promised, I know, but I don’t think I am. I trained you to keep yourself safe. Keep your mother safe. And Lils, and Carter too, because if I don’t come back then I don’t know what sorta things will come after your blood and I know they will, so please, be safe. You’re a Rainer, Ivonne, don’t ever forget that. I love you more than life itself, sweetheart. Don’t come looking for me. I’m sorry.” 

I gasped once I saw the video message, immediately searching for my phone. I dialled my mom frantically, holding the phone to my ear. 

“Please, please…” I muttered, pacing and trying to keep tears from falling. 

‘Honey?’ My mum answered. ‘What’s wrong?’ 

“Mom, Dad’s in trouble. He sent me a message saying that this could be the last he sees me, but I…“

‘Did he tell you where he was?’ 

“No, he just told me not to look-“ 

‘Then don’t. He’s said it for a reason. The term’s almost over, wait for another message and if not, come straight home, ok?’ She cut the call, and I collapsed on my bed, hyperventilating. 

What if I never see him again? 

I can’t do any of this without him.

“So much for our low profile. You've got a warrant in St. Louis, and now you're officially in the Fed's database.” Sam sighed, checking the police database and showing us the mugshots of Dean. 

“Dude. It’s like I’m Dillinger or somethin’.” Dean grinned excitedly. 

“Mhmm.” I nodded. “You’re a wanted criminal in the FBI’s database, which is a huge drawback cause we travel everywhere, and you’re rejoicing. But hey, at least they got your good angles.” 

“Well, what do they got on you two?” 

“Nothing on me, cause James managed to clear me of all charges.” 

“You’re lucky your police boy could help out.” 

“Well, I caused no evident law breaking, so they can’t press.” 

“What about Sammy?” 

“I’m sure they haven’t posted it yet.” Sam muttered. 

“What? No accessory, no nothing?” 

“Shut up.” 

“You’re jealous.” Dean laughed. 

“No, I’m not!” Sam protested, giving Dean a look. 

“As if someone would be jealous of being wanted for murder, breaking and entering, escape and grave desecration.” I scoffed. 

“What do you got on the case there, you innocent, harmless young woman, you?” Dean grinned, so I looked at the case file. 

“Architect Sean Boyden plummeted to his death from the roof of his home, a condominium he designed.” 

“Hmm. Build a high-rise and jump off the top of it. That's classy. When did he call animal control?” 

“Two days before.”

”And did he actually say ‘black dog’?” 

“Yeah. A vicious, wild, black dog.” Sam nodded. “The authorities couldn't find it, no one else saw it; in fact, the authorities are a little confused as to how a wild dog could get past the doorman, take the elevator up and start roaming the halls of the cushiest joint in town. After that, no more calls, he doesn't show up for work, two days later he takes a swan dive.” 

“Do you think we’re dealing with an actual black dog?” 

“Maybe.” 

“What’s the lore on it?” 

“It's all pretty vague. I mean, there are spectral black dogs all over the world, but... some say they're animal spirits, others say death omens. But anyways, whatever they are, they're big, nasty.” 

“Well, it could be a death omen.” I suggested. “Spectral black dogs never attack without reason. We could be dealing with a Grim sort of thing. Like, you know, Harry Potter.” 

“You have… the Grim.” Dean mimicked, making us all laugh. 

“So, you and Sean Boyden were business partners for almost ten years, right?” Sam asked. We were interviewing his business partner. 

“That's right. Now one more time, this is for...?” 

“A tribute to Mr. Boyden. Architectural Digest.” The man laughed, drawing a weird look from us. “This funny to you?” 

“No, it... it's just, a tribute. Yeah. See, Sean always got the tributes. He kills himself, leaves me and his family behind... well, he gets another tribute.” 

“Right.” Sam nodded. “Any reason why he would do such a thing?” 

“I, I have no clue, I mean he lived a charmed life.” 

“How so?” 

“He was a flat-out genius. I mean, I'm capable, but next to him, I... and it wasn't always that way, either.” 

“No?” I raised an eyebrow, folding my arms. 

“You wanna know the truth? There was a time where he couldn't even design a pup tent. Hell, ten years ago he's working as a bartender at this place called Lloyds. A complete dive.”

”What changed?”

”You got me. But overnight, he gets this huge commission, and he starts designing... he starts designing the most ingenious buildings anyone has ever seen. It was like, the level of Van Gogh, and Mozart...” He trailed off. 

“What?” 

“It's funny. True geniuses, they seem to die young, don't they? To have that kind of talent? Why... why just throw it away?”

“So…” Sam drummed on the glove box. “Dean.”

”What about Dean?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

”You two care for each other a lot.”

“That’s natural.” 

“A lot.” 

“What are you implying?”

”That you and my brother could be a… a thing… someday.” 

“Keep dreaming.” I laughed. “Dean and I have a good thing goin’. Plus, he flirts with every girl his age he sets his eyes on.” 

“If you say so.” Sam grinned, nudging me. “In the meantime, you can flirt with James Rhodes. Keep your options open-“ 

“Shut up.” We started giggling, but then Dean came back.

”So?” 

“Secretary's name is Carly. She's twenty three, she, uh, kayaks, and they're real.” Dean grinned. 

“Spare the details of your latest hookup, Dean.” I sighed. “What did you get on the black dogs?” 

“Every complaint called in this week about anything big, black, or dog-like. There's nineteen calls in all. And, uh,” He pulled off a post-it note from his clipboard, “I don't know what this thing is.” I took it and raised an eyebrow, handing it to Sam. 

“I have no idea what this is.”

“You mean Carly’s MySpace address?” Sam chuckled. 

“Yeah, MySpace, what the hell is that?” Dean frowned. “Is that some dating site or somethin’?” 

We had been round most houses, but they were just cases of barking Pomeranians. Naturally, Deans as starting to get mad. 

“I swear, if this is another freakin' Pomeranian barking in the neighbour’s yard...” He knocked on the next door, and a lady opened it, looking nervous.

”Afternoon, ma’am.” I flashed my badge. “Animal control.” 

“Oh, someone already came yesterday.” She blinked, and we shared a look. 

“Oh, we're just following up.” Sam excused. “We're looking for Dr. Sylvia Pearlman?” 

“The Doctor, well, she, I don't know exactly when she'll be back, she left two days ago.” 

“Ok. And you are..?” 

“Ms Pearlman’s maid.” She stammered. 

“So where did the Doctor go?” 

“I'm not sure. She just packed and went, she didn't say where. That stray dog, did you find it finally?” 

“Oh, not yet. You know, you didn't ever happen to see the dog yourself, did you?” I asked, feigning concern.

“Well, no. I never even heard it.” Dean looked at a photo, analysing it. The maid continued nervously, “I was almost starting to think the Doctor was imagining things, but she's not like that, so...” 

“Hey, you know I read she was, uh chief surgeon at the hospital. She's gotta be what, forty two, forty three? That's pretty young for that job.” Dean  probed casually. 

“Youngest in the history of the place. She got the position... ten years ago?” 

“Ten years?” I raised an eyebrow. “An overnight success, too.”

“Yeah, we know a guy like that.” Dean nodded, gesturing to the painting. “And, look, Lloyd’s bar.” 

We pulled up at Lloyd’s bar, and outside there were yellow flowers growing around the door. I pulled out my pocket botany guide, flicking through it. 

“Yellow flowers?” Dean scoffed. “Wanna pick ‘em, Beanie?” 

“Not just any yellow flowers.” I replied, reading the page I’d found. “Yarrow flowers. They’re used in summoning rituals. Someone planted them here.” 

“So, two people become sudden successes about ten years ago. Right around the time they were hanging out here at Lloyd's.” 

“Where there just happens to be a crossroads.” Sam frowned. “You think?” 

“Let’s find out.” We went to the crossroads, taking a shovel and digging in the dead centre. We eventually hit something solid, and we shared a look. “Yahtzee.” I pulled out a box, opening it and checking the contents. 

“Graveyard dirt, black cat bone, all hardcore and unmistakeable methods to summon a demon.” I informed, tapping the side of the vial of graveyard dirt. 

“That’s serious hoodoo.” 

“No, not just to summon one.” I shook my head. “Crossroads are where pacts are made. These people are actually making deals with the damn thing. You know, 'cause that always ends good. These people aren’t seeing just spectral black dogs. These are hellhounds. Demonic pit bulls that guard hell’s gates and drag anyone who belongs there in if they’ve sold their soul or belong there.” You can bring people back by summoning demons. Bring anyone back.

‘Yeah, whoever this demon is, it's back and it's collecting.”  Sam sighed. 

“And that doctor lady?” Dean grimaced. “Wherever she's running? She ain't running fast enough.” 

“So it's just like the Robert Johnson legend, right? I mean, selling your soul at the crossroads, kind of deal?” 

“Yeah, except that wasn't a legend. I mean, you know his music. You don't know Robert Johnson's songs? Sam, there's, there's occult references all over his lyrics, I mean, Crossroad Blues? Me and the Devil Blues? Hellhound on My Trail?” Dean rolled his eyes when Sam didn’t follow. “The story goes, he died choking on his own blood, he was hallucinating, and muttering about big evil dogs.” 

“And now it’s happening all over again.” 

“We've gotta figure out if anyone else struck any bargains around here.” I resolved, dusting off my hands. 

“Great. So we've gotta clean up these peoples' mess for 'em? I mean, they're not exactly squeaky clean. Nobody put a gun to their head and forced 'em to play Let's Make A Deal.” Dean frowned. 

“They’re human. We can’t leave them to die.” 

“Somebody goes over Niagara in a barrel, you gonna jump in and try to save 'em?” 

“Dean.” 

“Fine.” He conceded. “Rituals like this, you've got to put your own photo into the mix, right? So this guy probably summoned this thing, let's go and see if anyone inside knows him. If he's still alive.” 

I was preparing for a big gymnastics tournament, stretching and testing my flexibility for the big moment. This could be my one chance to get to the Olympics. 

“Why so nervous, jellybean?” Dad was at the door, holding my bottle of water. 

“If I don’t get this, I don’t get the Olympics.” I sighed, taking the bottle. “Thanks.” 

“No problem, sweetheart.” He patted my shoulder with a smile. “You’re gonna be fine.” 

“How are you so sure?” 

“Because you’re Ivonne Rainer.” He smiled, bending to my height. “You’re the toughest girl I know. You take after your mother. She used to hunt, but after she had you she stopped. But I’ve never seen a lady like her until you grew up. You can load and shoot a gun faster than I can, so flying across that room should be child’s play to you.” He kissed my forehead, clasping our hands together. “So, who are you?” 

“I’m a Rainer.” 

“Who are you?!” 

“I’m a Rainer!” 

“I can’t hear you, solider! WHO ARE YOU?!” 

“I’M A RAINER!” He hugged me tight, patting my back. 

“Knock ‘em dead, tiger.”

We walked up the stairs in an apartment building, looking at a picture. 

“What's this guy's name again?” Sam asked. 

“George Darrow.” Dean informed. “Apparently quite the regular at Lloyd's. Though this house probably ain't up next on MTV Cribs, is it?” 

“Yeah.” I nodded. “So whatever kind of deal he made-“

”Wasn't for cash. Oh, who knows. Maybe this place is full of babes in Princess Leia bikinis.” We gave him a look, “No, I'm just saying, this guy's got one epic bill come due. Hope at least he asked for something fun.” 

“Look at that.” Sam pointed at a black powder outside Darrow’s door, and I recognised it from somewhere. I touched it, staring at it. 

“Is that pepper?” Dean scoffed. 

“I… don’t know.” I frowned. 

“Who the hell are you?” Darrow grumbled, the door swinging open. 

“George Darrow?” Dean asked. 

“I’m not buyin’ anything.” 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, looks like you went for the wrong shaker there. Usually when you want to keep something evil out you go for the salt.” 

“I don't know what you talkin' about.” 

“I’m talkin’ about this.” Dean held up a picture of a hellhound. “You seen this yet?” 

“Look. We want to help. Please. Just five minutes.” Sam begged. He let us in wordlessly, and we stepped in, cautious not to disturb the black line. “So what is that stuff out front?” I blew on the black dust, and then I got it.

“Goofer dust.” Darrow and I said at the same time, but Sam and Dean stared at us.

“What, you boys think you know somethin' about somethin' but not Goofer dust? Girl gets it.” Darrow lectured gruffly, tossing Dean a brown sack.

“Well, we know a little about a lot of things. Just enough to make us dangerous.” Dean replied casually. 

“What is it?” Sam asked. 

“Hoodoo. My grandma taught me. Keeps out demons.“ He waddled over to a chair. “Four minutes left.” 

“Mr. Darrow. We know you're in trouble.” 

“Trouble that you got yourself into.” Dean sniffed. 

“But there’s still hope, alright? There's gotta be something we can do.” 

“Listen. I get that you boys want to help.” Darrow sighed. “But sometimes a person makes their bed, they've just got to lie down in it. I'm the one called that demon in the first place.” 

“What d’you do it for?” I asked, gaining a stunned look. “You heard me. Why did you do it?”

“I was weak. I mean, who don't want to be great? Who don't want their life to mean something? I just... I just never thought about the price.” 

“Was it worth it?” 

“Hell no. 'Course, I asked for talent. Shoulda gone for fame. I'm still broke, and lonely. Just now I got this pile of paintings don't nobody want. But that wasn't the worst.” 

“Go on.” 

“Demon didn't leave. I never counted on that. After our deal was done the damn thing stayed at Lloyd's for a week. Just chattin'. Makin' more deals. I tried to warn folks, but, I mean who's goin' to listen to an old drunk?” 

“George, how many other people are there? Like you?”

“Uh, the architect, that doctor lady — I kept up with them, they've been in the papers. Least they got famous.” 

“Think, George.” 

“One more. Uh, nice guy too. Hudson. Evan, I think. I don't know what he asked for. Don't matter now. We done for.” 

“No.” Sam refused, “No, there’s gotta be a way.” 

“You don't get it! I don't want a way!” 

“Look-“

”I called that thing! I brought it on myself. I brought it on them. I'm going to hell, one way or another. All I want is to finish my last painting. Day or two, I'm done. I'm just trying to hold them off 'till then. Buy a little time. Okay, boys. Time you went, go help somebody that wants help.” 

“We can’t just-“ 

“Get out! I have work to do.” 

“You don't really want to die.” 

“I don’t?” He scoffed. “I’m… I’m tired.” 

“C’mon, Sam.” I gently took Sam away. “Thank you for your time, sir. It was good meeting you.”

“You too, girlie.”

We knocked on Evan Hudson’s door, and he opened it a small bit. 

“Yes?” He whispered. 

“Evan Hudson?” Sam asked. 

“You ever been to a bar called Lloyd's? Would have been about ten years ago.” Dean added, but then Evan slammed the door. “Come on, we're not demons!” I focused, forgetting about the rune etched into my arm, and my eyes momentarily glowed blue, but then I felt a searing pain in my arm and stopped, falling back against the wall. “Beanie! What happened?” 

“I’m fine, I just tried to use my…” I gestured to my forearm and he understood. “Got any bright ideas?” Dean reared up, then went to kick the door open, but I opened it just by pushing the handle down. Dean collapsed in a crumpled heap, and Sam helped him up with a smirk. “Evan?” 

“Don’t hurt me!” Evan whimpered, jumping out from behind a bookshelf. 

“You know, if we were demons, that’s a terrible thing to do.” I sighed. “We’re here to help, not hurt you. We know about that deal with the demon 10 years ago.” 

“What? How?” 

“Doesn’t matter.” Sam said. “All that matters is how we stop it.” 

“How do I know you're not lying?” 

Dean shrugged. “Well, you don't, but you're kinda running low on options there, buddy-boy.” 

Evan started pacing. “Can you stop it?” 

“Don’t know.” Sam frowned. “But we’ll try.” 

“I don't want to die.” 

“Of course you don’t, not now.” Dean smirked. 

“Dean, stop.” Sam hissed. 

“What did you ask for, Evan?” I asked intently, stepping forward. 

“My wife.” Evan gulped. 

Dean scoffed. “Right. Gettin' the girl. Well, that's worth a trip to hell for.” 

Sam glared at Dean, who, I’ll admit, was getting out of hand. “Stop, Dean.”

”No. He's right, I made the deal.” Evan nodded. “Nobody twisted my arm, that... woman, or whatever she was, at the bar? She said I could have anything I wanted. I thought she was nuts at first, but... I don't know how to— I was desperate.” 

“Desperate?” 

“Julie was dying.” 

“You did it to save her?” Dean frowned. 

“She had cancer, they'd stopped treatment, they were moving her into hospice, they kept saying... a matter of days. So yeah, I made the deal. And I'd do it again. I'd have died for her on the spot.” 

“Did you ever think about her?” 

“I did this for her.” 

“You sure about that? I think you did it for yourself. So you wouldn't have to live without her. But guess what? She's going to have to live without you now. But what if she knew how much it cost? What if she knew it cost your soul? How do you think she'd feel-“ 

“Will all of you just shut up already?!” I burst out, silencing everyone. “We’ll figure something out. Evan, keep a close watch, grab anything pure iron in your house and have it as a weapon. Boys, we need to figure this out.” Evan rushed to find something iron, while Sam, Dean and I talked. “Dean, are you ok?”

“Yeah, why wouldn't I be?” Dean shrugged. “Hey, I got an idea.”

”What is it?” 

“You throw George's hoodoo at that Hellhound, keep it away from Evan as long as you can. I'm gonna go to the crossroads and summon the demon.” 

“Summon-“ Sam scoffed, “are you nuts?!” 

“Maybe a little. But Beanie and I can trap it. We can exorcise it, and can buy us time to figure out something more permanent.” 

“But how much time are we talkin’?” I asked, folding my arms. 

“I don't know, a while. I mean, it's not easy for those suckers to claw their way back from hell and into the sunshine.” 

“No. No way.” Sam refused. 

“You’re not allowed to say no, Sammy, unless you’ve got a better plan.” 

“Dean, you can forget it, all right? I'm not letting you summon that demon.” 

“Why?” Dean challenged. “Why not?” 

“Because I don't like where your head is at right now, that's why not.” 

“What are you talking about?” 

“You know, you've been on edge ever since we found that crossroads, Dean, and I think I know why.” 

“We don’t have time for this-“ 

“Dad. You think maybe Dad made one of these deals, huh? Hell. I've been thinking it. I'm sure you've been thinking it too.” 

“It fits, doesn't it? I'm alive, Dad's dead. The yellow-eyed demon was involved. What if he did? What if he struck a deal? My life for his soul-”

“That’s enough.” I interrupted through gritted teeth. “Neither of your heads are in the right place at the right time and it’s frustrating because you’re meant to be here and now, not stuck in a decision that John made. Dean, you feel guilty about it and I get that feeling more than anything, and Sam, you want to keep everyone as safe as possible, but, right now, we need both of these things,” I tapped my head, “to be clear so we can actually pull off a plan. Sam, take the goofer dust and make a circle around you and Evan. Once it breaks, book it. Dean, you and I are going to summon the demon. Once we get it in the Solomon trap, I’ll exorcise it. We good with that?” 

“Yeah.” They nodded meekly. 

“I think I hear it! It's outside!” Evan called from inside. 

I turned to them both, taking out my book of exorcisms. “Keep Evan alive, Sam.” 

Sam frowned. “Ivy-“ 

“Just do it!” 

Dean placed his ID in George’s hoodoo box, burying it in the centre of the crossroad. I was in hiding, having already painted the Solomon trap. 

“So. What brings a guy like you to a place like this?” The crossroads demon was behind Dean as he stood up. He looked her up and down, and I studied the Latin I needed to read. “You called me?”

”I’m just glad it worked.” Dean smirked. 

“First time?” 

“You could say that.” 

“Oh, come on now. Don't sell yourself short. I know all about you, Dean Winchester.” She started circling him, almost like a panther prowling around its prey. The irony was satisfying, really. 

“So, you know about me.” 

“I get the newsletter.” 

“Well, don’t keep me in suspense. What have you heard?” I know you’re stalling, but, really, Dean?

”Well, I heard you were handsome, but ... you're just edible.” I gagged from where I was hiding. Who says that? “What can I do for you, Dean?” 

“Maybe we should do this in my car. Nice and private.” 

“Sounds good to me.” 

“So I was hoping we could strike a deal.” Dean offered as they strolled to his car,

“That’s what I do.” The demon smirked. 

“I want Evan Hudson released from his contract.” 

“Oh, sorry, darling. That’s non-negotiable.” 

“I'll make it worth your while.” 

“Really? What are you offering?” 

“Me.” WHAT THE HELL-

“I see. Sacrificing your life for someone else’s. Like father, like son, I guess. “You did know about your dad's deal, right?” She chuckled darkly, giving him innocent eyes, but I knew they weren’t as advertised. “His life for yours? Oh, I didn't make the deal myself, but... boy, I wish I had.” 

Dean opened the car door, teeth gritted. “After you.” 

“Such a gentleman.” She was about to get in, but stopped upon seeing an inscription poke out from under the car. “A Devil's Trap? You've got to be kidding me. You stupid, stupid... I should rip you limb from limb.“ 

“Take your best shot.” Dean retorted almost pleadingly, backing towards the actual trap. 

“No. I don't think so. I'm not going to put you out of your misery.” 

“Why not?” 

“Because your misery's the whole point. It's too much fun to watch. Knowing how your daddy died for you, how he sold his soul. I mean, that's gotta hurt. It's all you ever think about. You wake up and your first thought is, ‘I can't do this anymore.’” Keep with it, Dean. “You're all lit up with pain. I mean, you loved him so much. And it's all your fault. You blew it, Dean! I could have given you what you need.” 

“What-“ 

“You’re not the only one who feels this way. Imagine Ivy Rainer, forced to live the life her dear brother was meant to. You can make a deal on behalf of her, not Evan Hudson. Now those are terms I can negotiate. Your Beanie can be happy, Dean. Have her family back, and she can be whole.” I gasped silently, glancing towards where the box was buried.

“What do I need?” 

“Your father. I could have brought him back. Your loss. Seeya, Dean. I wish you a nice long life.” She started to walk away-

“Hold on.” She stopped, smiling. 

“You're lucky I've got a soft spot for lost puppies and long faces. I just can't leave you like this. Besides. You didn't call me here to bargain for Evan. Not really.” 

“Can you bring him back? My dad?” He asked. 

“Of course I can. Just as he was. Your dad would live a long and natural life, like he was meant to. That's a promise.” 

“What about me?” 

“I could give you ten years. Ten long good years with him. That's a lifetime. The family can be together again. John, Dean, Sammy. The Winchester boys all reunited.“ She walked towards him. “Look. Your dad's supposed to be alive. You're supposed to be dead. So we'll just set things straight, put things back in their natural order. And you get ten extra years on top. That's a bonus.” 

Dean turned and walked further away. ���You think you could...” He turned to face her, “throw in a set of steak knives?”

She advanced towards him, ”You know, this smart-ass self-defense mechanism of yours...” She stopped, noticing that she was in a Solomon trap. “Dean!” 

“Now you’re trapped.” Dean grinned. “That’s gotta hurt. Beanie, you can come out now.” I emerged, holding my book. 

“Let me out. Now.” She hissed.

“In a bit. Thanks for the consideration, but if I wanted to make the deal, I’d have done it.” I smirk. “Alright, here’s our terms, because before you walk free, we need to make a deal. Evan walks free, and you call off your hellhounds. Do that, and you walk too.” 

“I can't break a binding contract.” 

“There’s a difference between ‘can’t’ and ‘don’t want to’; it’ll do you a favour to learn it.” I retorted. “Last chance. Evan and his wife get to live to a ripe old age. Going, going...” 

“Let’s talk about this-“ 

“Ok, gone.” I pulled out a rosary, and she glanced at it. 

“What-what are you doing?” 

“You’re just going on a trip.” Dean grinned. “Way down south.” 

“Forget Evan. Think of your dad. Both of your dads-“ 

“Regna terrae,” I read, pacing around her. “cantate deo…” I continued reading, watching her shiver and cry out in pain. “in potentis magnife!” 

“Release!” She cried, and Dean and I shared a triumphant look. But then she cupped the nape of Dean’s neck, pulling him in for a kiss. I looked away, shutting my book with a snap as he pulled away. 

“What was that for?” Dean spat. 

“Sealing the deal.” 

“I usually like to be warned before I’m violated with demon lips.” 

“Evan Hudson is free. He and his wife will live long lives.” 

“How do we know you’re not lying?” 

“My word is my bond.” 

“Oh, really?” I handed Dean the Latin book and the rosary.

“It is when I make a deal. It's the rules. You got what you wanted. Now let me go.” Dean fiddled with the rosary, contemplating it. “You're gonna double-cross me? Funny how I'm the trustworthy one.” She scoffed. “You know, you renege? Send me to hell? Sooner or later I'm gonna climb out, and skinning Evan Hudson will be the first thing that I do.” Dean stashed the rosary, breaking the circle. She stepped out, giving us a look. “I gotta tell you. You would have never pulled that stunt if you knew.” 

“Knew what?” I raised an eyebrow. 

“About your dads. You should have made that deal. See, people talk about hell, but it's just a word. It doesn't even come close to describing the real thing-“

“Shut your mouth.” 

“If you could see your poor daddy? Hear the sounds he makes 'cause he can't even scream?” She sneered to Dean. 

He advanced on her. “How about I send you back there?” He growled. She screamed, ichor pouring out of her mouth and flying into the distance. The lady fell, and we caught her, but she looked terrified. 

“What... how did I get here?” 

“You take care of her.” I sighed. “I’ll bury the box where no one will find it.” 

“Sounds like a plan.” He nodded, and started to help the girl away. I looked at the box, digging it up and pocketing Dean’s ID. Then I took out my own, putting it in the box and burying it in the centre of the crossroads. 

“You called?” I turned, seeing a male crossroads demon this time, wearing a suit. He had brown hair and clever blue eyes, and he walked up to me. “Oh, I know you. Ivonne Rainer. You’re a celebrity back where I come from.” 

“Glad to know.” I retorted. “I want to get back to Sam and Dean before they get suspicious, so let’s get this over with.” 

“Damn, you’re more of a sexy woman than you were put out to be.” He smirked, looking me up and down. “If I was human, well, I’d have asked you out. Anyway, what can I do for you?” 

“Bring my father back to life. Bottom line. No reviving his corpse, actual, healed, human.” 

“I can do that.” He nodded. “Really simple.” 

“Good. How many years do you want from me, then?” 

“No years.” He glanced down at my neck. “I want that necklace.” 

“Why?” 

“You don’t need the burden of how many years you have left, you have enough of a weight on your back already.” I thought about it. “Necklace or no necklace?” 

I took it off and gave it to him, sighing. “Ok, now kiss me, but make it short and sweet.” 

“That takes the fun out of it, but ok.” He kissed me for a millisecond, then winked. “It was fun doing business with you.” He then disappeared, and I walked away, confused. 

My necklace?

I had made dinner for the boys, who were eagerly eating it with cups of cocoa by their plates. I sipped one myself, munching on the food. 

“This is the best pasta I’ve ever had, Beanie, dear God.” Dean praised through a mouthful of food. “This is heavenly.” 

“This is amazing, Ivy.” Sam grinned, sipping his cocoa. Then the doorbell rang, and I stood up, going over to the door while preparing to reach my gun from behind my back, tucked in a holster above the waistband of my shorts. I opened the door, and my heart almost dropped out of my chest. 

“Jellybean?” My dad stood there, ruffled hair and all, looking just like the last video he sent me eight years ago. He cupped my cheeks, looking at me with tears in his eyes. His index touched the gap between my eyebrow, complete with a scar in it. “That’s your scar. And your freckles. Yeah, it’s you. It’s really you. But you’re all grown up…” He laughed, wiping a tear off my cheek. 

“Dad…” I whispered, throwing my arms around his torso. “You’re here, you’re really here.” He hugged me tightly, smoothing down my hair. Sam and Dean came into the hallway, staring at Dad like they’d seen a ghost. I detached myself, hurriedly drying my tears.

”Who’re these two, jellybean?” Dad asked, looking confused. 

“O-Oh, uh… Mr R-Rainer.” Dean stammered. “We didn’t expect to see you here. At all.” 

“Come in, sir, make yourself at home.” Sam gulped, giving me a look. “Ivy, we need to talk.”

PREVIOUS | NEXT

[yume-tsuki]

Constantine and Tristan Several days had past since Tristan had come back from the jorney to safe his son and the other kids. But the fact his son was the only one who was heavily injured gave him a bad feeling. Also when they had returned Isolde was in her sickbed she had feld weak since a while. But started to recover when her husband and son returned. They sat together at Isolde's bed and listen to Constantine >>...then the man toss me in a hole without food for 3 days. I feld so depressed but then I heared a voice talking to me. And then I saw a real ghost! He told me he was ones a knight from Liones and a friend of daddy and you mommy.<< >> A knight? How does he had looked like sweety?<< Isolde's eyes start to get wet. >> I-I don't know anymore, but his name was Jade.<< Constantine saw his mother burst in happy tears. >>He safed our son, Tristan. I prayed that anyone should safe him and Jade came to help.<< Tristan needed a moment then he pulled Isolde on his chest. >>Maybe we should visit his grave tomorrow.<< >>Let's do it right now.<< >>But Isolde, you still weak.<< >>I can sit on a horse, you know?<< >>Fine, but when you feel bad we go home imidiatly.<< >>Ok, Pappi<< she grinned sassy to her husband. Together they visited Jade's grave, they builded it right infront of Liones so he could watch over the castle. It was already evening when Isolde walked into the little forest back home, before she looked behind herself, smiling proudly at Tristan and Constantine. >>Constantine.<< his father started. >> i was so worried sick, and when I saw your friends fine and you injured I feld so jealous. I'm sorry my son, I shouldn't have shown you this side of mine.<< Angsty Tristan looked at his son. >>Aren't you mad at your old man?<< Constantine looked from his father to the sinking sun, not knowing what to say. >>Percival told me not to feel this way, also your granddad. But it was difficult, I couldn't look my own son straight into the eyes.<< he then juggled >>When i listen to you before, I was so surprised. You were so brave. << He sighted and looked into his son eyes. >>I'm proud of you Constantine. And I'm not mad, that you lost an eye.<< He stroke through his sons face. >>Have i ever told you about the man you saw? Jade, the knight who safed your mothers live by sacrificing himself?<< >>You two can tell that later, come on it's getting dark soon.<< Isolde called them. >>I'm coming mom! Can you tell me later daddy?<< Tristan looked happy at his boy, Constantine was on distance to him, all the time since the jorney back home now they could talk to each other normal again. >>It seems I should have listen to my son way earlier... it would have been easier for both of us.<< he said to himself when his son joined his mother. Tristan turned back ones more looking to the grave.>>Thanks for safing my loved ones, ones more Jade. I will never forgett what you did. No one will; I promise.<<

[yoongisugaagust]

HOME: The Wedding

•Summary: Min Yoongi meets his forever.

•Warning: Smut.

“What time is it?” Yoongi groaned turning over in bed after you walk back into the bedroom.

“It’s 5,” you replied around your tooth brush rushing back into the bathroom after grabbing a hair clip off your dresser.

“In the morning?? Come back to bed,” he groggily pleaded.

“I’m already running late.” You quickly rinsed your mouth and grabbed your keys then made your way back to Yoongi’s side of the bed.

“Yoon,” you lightly shook his sleepy form. “We haven’t explicitly talked about this but you know my parents are attending, right?”

“Yeah,” he sat up.

“I can explain to them if you’re not ready to meet them.”

Yoongi grabbed your hand and gave a little squeeze. “I’m ready to meet them jagi. I know how much it would mean to you so it means a lot to me.”

“They’re saving a seat for you next to my mother. I’ll see you over at the venue. Please remember to grab my things with you?” A quick kiss and you were on your way to get glammed you for your best friend’s big day. Hair and makeup went by quickly and getting dressed was a breeze.

“Y/n?” Sara called for you to the she was getting ready in.

“You look so stunning,” you complimented. You have her an assuring nod knowing she had a lot on her mind.

“Remind me? You know..” looking right into your eyes she hoped you knew exactly what she meant. Of course you knew.

“Deep breath?” You asked and she obeyed. “You deserve good things. You are not your past. Your past will not determine your future. You deserve love. Can you repeat for me?”

Sara took a shaky breath. “I deserve good things. I am not my past. My past will not determine my future. I deserve love.” Sara exhaled deeply and collected herself. Coming from a broken home took its toll early in her life making her wary of being in serious relationships but she has come a long way.

“Are my girls ready?” Your father approached you. Sara shook her head giving a few more deep breaths before taking his arm.

————

“You’ll be fine Yoon,” you tried convincing him. “I’ve told them enough about you so they’re looking forward to this.” Yoongi found you after the ceremony You waited for your parents to be free after taking a few photos with Sara.

“And if they don’t like me?”

“They will,” you moved in for a kiss when you heard their voices approaching.

“Mom and dad this is Yoongi. Yoongi these are my parents Jonathon and Katherine.”

Yoongi bowed. “Very nice to meet you too.”

“You’ve been taking care of my daughter?”

“Y-yes sir. I’ve been doing my best to be a source of support for her.”

“Let’s talk over some drinks.” Your father sling an arm over his shoulder and walked him over to the bar.

“Should I be worried?” You looked on at the two men.

“No sweetie. Give them two to three drinks and maybe. It really shouldn’t be that bad since we can’t stay for long.”

“What? What do you mean I thought you guys were staying for a few days.”

“The office scheduled your father to perform a surgery in a few days and he has to be back home just in case there’s any sort of emergency.”

Dinner went by and the dancing started with the party going on well into the night. Your stepped in to fill the role of the father in the father daughter tm dance that finally had Sara shedding tears. There were even more tears between you and Sara when you had to say goodbye to your parents. Yoongi and Chungjae both stood to your sides waiting to comfort you.

“Come dance with me?” Yoongi urged you and you sullenly agreed. “Is there anything I can do?” You nodded your head resting on his chest for the slow song.

“I’m fine Yoon.”

“And you’re lying,” you felt the vibrations through his chest from his laugh.

“I’ll be fine. As fun as this day has been it’s been extremely, extremely long. I can’t wait to go home.”

“I can’t wait to take you home and get you out of that dress.” He pressed a kiss to your shoulder blade.

“Being home sounds amazing. A nice hot shower and getting straight into bed.”

————

“Yoongi,” you moaned at the feel of his mouth nipping along your neck. You felt his erection right against your inner thigh. His hand went from grabbing your ass to slowly making his way right to your center where he ran his fingers up and down your slit. He cradled your face with his free hand resting against your chin. His thumb caressed your lips when you greedily took it into your mouth sucking on it harshly. You loved the way his dick twitched in response.

“Fuck Y/n,” he took no time at all to turn you around and laid a slap against your ass cheek and you bit your lip in anticipation. “Is this what you want, hmm?” Another slap across your ass.

“Please baby I want to feel you in me,” you squirmed until Yoongi slid himself around your entrance. He smirked as he laid another smack to your ass.

“Work for your orgasm,” he breathed out huskily.

Without another moment going by you did as instructed backing up into him as you felt every achingly good inch go into you. Deciding to play his game you moved slow at first but didn’t take him in fully, always stopping shy of him bottoming out. You rolled your hips backing into him for a few minutes before he grew frustrated with your agonizing pace.

His left hand rested on your waist he grabbed your leg up and around him with his free hand and carefully but firmly thrusted up into you. “I’m close,” he croaked out. He didn’t let you reply when his hand came around to find your clit rubbing you into ecstasy. You were in the middle of your orgasm as you felt the tell tale signs of Yoongi coming.

Yoongi soon released you to turn you around to hug you once again. The shower stream gently hit his back as he left soft kissing in the crook of your neck.