#i was trying to fix it for 2 hours straight and i gave up

[everyoutfitsailormoon]

Usagi adult musician outfit

[lauraneedstochill]

My first choice (part 1/2)

summary: Aemond thinks you are way too good to be Aegon’s best friend. But you are enough for the one-eyed prince to fall in love with. pairing: Aemond Targaryen and F!Reader words: ~ 5500 warnings: friends to lovers, slow burn (with very obvious mutual pining), angst, Aegon is a sad boy (but ends up being a pretty good wingman!) author’s note: this is inspired by “Little women” and Amy March in particular. I took the liberty to rewrite some plot lines because to me Aemond is nothing like Laurie (Aegon is ;) and I hate love triangles so we are not having any of that sorry. it’s a bit of a roller coaster so I divided it into 2 parts: the first one explains Aemond’s feelings, the second one is about hers. ✨ part 2

Part 1. How could you be so blind. Aegon knows he’s supposed to be relieved — he never wanted the crown and now that Rhaenyra is the Queen and a feast is arranged in her honor, he should be celebrating. And he may have been hitting the wine way too hard for the past couple of hours, but he can’t pretend to be happy, and he gave up trying to force a smile. It’s ridiculous that he is upset over this, and yet he can’t help but feel horribly useless. The prince drinks one cup after another until the room starts spinning and he can’t even sit straight — and then he suddenly finds himself propped against the wall, sliding under the table instead of sitting at it. Aegon catches a few judgemental glances but at this point, he couldn’t care less. There is only one person whose judgment he is afraid of — and it’s not long before he’s greeted with a displeased remark:

“When I asked you not to swoop too low, I couldn’t imagine you would literally lay on the floor.”

He looks up — and here you are, staring down at him, not even trying to cover up your disappointment. At any other time, Aegon would’ve at least tried to sober up, but today he’s disappointed in himself, too, so he doesn’t make an effort. Instead, he reaches out an arm to you with a lax smile.

“Would you like to join me?”

“I didn’t get the invitation to this pity party so I will pass,” your tone suggests you are not in the mood for jesting. “Now that you’ve succeeded in making a fool out of yourself, would you mind getting upright?”

“I think I like it here,” he retorts, shamelessly staring at the legs of the maids passing by. 

“You like wallowing in misery for all to see?” you huff. “Aegon, get up.”

He fakes a whine. “My legs gave out, I’m afraid!” 

“You would need to drink all the wine in the castle for that to happen, and I doubt you managed to do that,” you roll your eyes, taking a step toward him — but pause upon hearing a voice behind your back:

“You underestimate my brother.”

Aemond has a habit of sneaking up on people which often startles you yet right now you are too angry at Aegon to be bothered. You throw Aemond a glare over your shoulder but your eyes soften when you see the apologetic look on his face. It’s not the first time that the two of you find yourself in this situation — throughout the years you learned to work as a team: you bring Aegon back to his senses while Aemond helps to physically bring him to the nearest flat surface. You have never asked him for help — and yet he’s always there.

Aemond is about to lean down to help his brother up — you stop the one-eyed prince with your hand, your palm inches away from his chest. Anyone else would’ve thought twice before standing in his way but you don’t hesitate.

“He is perfectly capable to get up on his own,” you reject Aemond’s attempt, your eyes fixed on Aegon. “He can hold onto the wall shall he feel unable to stay on his two feet.”

There is something in your gaze that makes Aegon uncomfortable, piercing him to the bone. You are never downright mean or rude but with just a few words you can easily unmask his feigned recklessness. The prince stands up, tottering and feeling a little light-headed.

“Are you happy, now when I’m in the standing position?”

“If you cared about anyone else's feelings but your own, you wouldn’t be in this position,” you scold him while Aemond takes his brother under the arm to guide him out. Aegon tries to grab another cup of wine but you slap his hand.

“Do you ever get ashamed of yourself?” you hiss at him.

“Let me think... No, why would I?” he sounds sarcastic.

“You should be,” you whisper scream at him. “You can find nothing to do but dawdle and make a mockery of yourself!”

Aemond feels his brother shuddering at your words, and he tightens his hold on Aegon.

“Well, what else am I to do,” his voice is bitter. “Since I am not an heir and serve no purpose to the realm nor do I have any taste for duty.”

You slow your pace, and a sigh leaves your mouth.

“I feel sorry for you, Aegon, I do. I only wish you’d bear it better,” you reach out to stroke his arm but the prince bristles.

“You don’t have to feel sorry for me. Your duty is to marry, and we will see how that goes,” he mutters before he can stop himself — and regrets it the very next second when you swiftly turn to him.

“At least I would be respected if I couldn’t be loved,” your tone hushed but sharp.

Aegon stops dead in his tracks, his wide eyes meeting yours. You moved away from the crowd into the hall, and it becomes silent. And then his lower lip quivers.

“But I thought that you loved me,” Aegon whimpers, his assumed nonchalance instantly gone.

“Oh, Aegon, how much did you have to drink?” you come to his side, lending him a shoulder to cry on. While he’s aggressively sniffling, you look at Aemond and quietly mouth “How many cups?”

“Way more than usual,” he gives you a wan smile, and you groan at his answer, taking Aegon by the arm.

“Alright, you can lean on me. But don’t get handsy or I will push you down the stairs,” your remark earns a weak laugh from the older prince, and the three of you head toward his chambers.

Aegon doesn’t talk much but his mood softens and you exchange a few jokes before finally reaching his room.

“I can take it from here,” Aemond suggests but his brother eagerly protests.

“No, I want to be tucked into bed! And definitely not by you,” he sticks out his tongue, and you chuckle at his whim.

“Aemond, I can handle him.” 

The one-eyed prince shoots you a knowing glance and holds the door open for you and Aegon to walk in. You slowly move to his bed, making sure he doesn’t stumble on his way — and then, with a sudden boost of energy, the prince flops down on the fluffy blankets, letting out a satisfied moan. You hold back a giggle and wait for him to crawl under the covers.

“Should I call for the maid to help you undress?”

“No, I am way too comfortable like this,” he pulls the blanket up to his chin, and you sit on the edge of the bed.

“I am sorry for the way I behaved,” he reveals, frowning. “I did not mean to, truly.”

“Aegon, you know I’m not the one you should apologize to,” you take his hand in yours, and he squeezes it with childish eagerness. “You left Helaena all alone. And you promised me you would make an effort.”

“I know, I know,” he yawns. “I was doing better until today, I swear, you should ask her,” his speech becomes incoherent as he is already too drowsy to talk, his cheeks flushed from the wine and the heat of the blankets. As you stand up to leave, Aegon mumbles:

“I fetched you a book... the one you were looking for,” he sloppily points to his table by the window before dozing off.

There is only one book so it’s easy to find — and when you do, you can barely contain a sound of surprise: it’s the complete history of Westeros, heavy and hardcover, decorated with gilding. You glance at Aegon but he looks fast asleep so you cautiously get out of his chambers.

If you were to turn around, you would’ve noticed that he kept an eye on you with a grin on his face.

When you walk out, you see Aemond still standing there, his gaze landing on the book and then immediately on you. It takes you a minute to figure it out and then you smile at him:

“Even though I appreciate the gesture, it is hard to imagine Aegon in the library.”

“He asked me to help him find the book you wanted. I did,” the prince explains as if it isn’t that big of a deal. But to you, it is — although you think he only did it out of politeness.

“Thank you, Aemond,” you enthusiastically turn your attention to the book, flipping through the pages in awe. He watches you, feeling the warmth in his chest at the sight of your joy.

“You know that you bring out the best in him?” Aemond says in a low voice, and your heart skips a beat at his comment. You are thankful for the dim lighting that makes your heated cheeks less obvious.

“You overestimate my influence,” you say, then dither before admitting, “I’m afraid I was too hard on him today.”

“Someone has to do it,” Aemond objects, and there’s something in his tone — sincere and soft, that makes you look at him again. At this moment, away from the prying eyes and the pressure of everyone’s expectations, you can see the side of him that people rarely get acquainted with.

“I think you are doing a pretty good job, too,” you tell the prince, finding his presence ever so calming. You could never understand why would anyone call Aemond intimidating when he’s been nothing but kind to you ever since you two met. Whenever you have a chance to be alone with him, his company always brings you comfort, and that feeling is so rare, you want to chase it.

But then you remind yourself of the harsh reality, and your smile falters.

“I’m sorry you had to get involved,” you look down at the book. “I wouldn’t want to distract you.” 

“You need to elaborate on that,” Aemond says uncomprehendingly.

“I’ve heard that you were courting lady Baratheon,” you explain casually, avoiding his gaze.

He hesitates before answering.

“Well, I only plan to,” the prince clarifies. “If she accepts my advances.”

“It would be silly of her not to,” you blurt out and, while you can’t see it, Aemond gives you a quizzical look.

“She may have her reasons —” 

“I can’t come up with a single one,” you tell him with so much confidence, Aemond’s heart flutters at your words but you continue without a second thought. “You are intelligent, good-hearted, handsome — and a really skilled swordsman. Not to mention you have the biggest dragon in the realm, which does sound like a reasonable perk.”

The prince is glad that you’re too preoccupied with the book to see his stunned expression. It’s not just the fact that you compliment him so easily — but also the way you do it. When other people try to, they usually start with Vhagar as if the old grumpy creature is the main good thing about Aemond. But you only bring up the dragon at the very end and in passing, instead keeping the focus on the prince. He is silent for a moment, letting your words sink into his memory.

And then Aemond persuades himself that you only said it out of politeness.

You notice his lack of response — and you are about to question it when a maid comes to you in haste:

“Lady Y/N, your presence is needed. Your father is looking for you.”

“Better not keep him waiting,” the prince encourages you with a grin. “If he finds Aegon, he might hug him to death.”

You playfully elbow him and turn to follow the maid but then stop to say. “Please make sure your brother stays in bed.”

“Will do,” Aemond looks at you walking away, clutching the book to your chest as if it's the most precious thing in the world.

To this day, it is truly a mystery to him how Aegon managed to befriend someone like you. You met the Targaryen brothers when your family was invited to one of the royal feasts. You were ten-and-three, the middle one of three sisters. Your oldest — Elaesa — has been the center of attention, beautiful and graceful, but while everyone’s eyes were on her, you looked a little bit disoriented. It was the first feast that you’ve attended, and maybe you got too agitated or overwhelmed — or both — but soon you ended up lost in the castle, and somehow ripped the hem of your dress in the process.

Aemond was the one to find you. The prince has never been keen on taking part in celebrations, often sneaking away from all the noise. That’s when he saw you — fussing with the dress, your sobs echoing through the hall.

“Are you hurt?” he rushed to your side, and you looked up at him with blubbered eyes.

“Why do you have so many halls? You should hand out maps so people can find their way back,” despite being clearly upset, you sounded unusually serious, and Aemond fought back a smile.

“I can help you find your parents without a map,” he suggested, and for a second it seemed to lighten your mood but then your pout worsened.

“I cannot go back,” you gestured at the dress. “I am in such trouble!” you whined, the tears threatening to spill out of your eyes. 

Truth be told, Aemond didn’t have much experience with ladies back then nor did he know a thing about dresses but your distress seemed so genuine he couldn’t leave you be.

“It is not that bad,” he pointed at the ripped material. “I can ask our seamstress to take a look.”

You studied his face for a second, then glanced back at the dress — surprisingly, that was all it took for you to stop crying, and no other coaxing was needed. You wiped your nose and fixed your hairdo, smoothing the damaged hem the best you could.

“I’d appreciate it if you help me find my way back,” you said, your face seemingly more relaxed.

Getting you to talk was pretty easy, and Aemond shortly discovered how open-minded and outspoken you were, using your quick thinking to compensate for your timid personality. When you returned to the hall of the Iron Throne, he was reluctant to let you go but promised to come back with the seamstress. The task only took him about ten minutes, but when he did reappear, you were not alone — Aegon was standing next to you, making you laugh so hard, it looked like you forgot about the dress already. Aemond didn’t mean to interrupt as he suddenly felt very out of place, uninvited in his own home, so he abandoned the idea of helping you and just left.

At first, he thought you fell for Aegon’s flirtatious charms but soon learned that, as much as you did like his brother’s humor, his charms had no effect on you. On the contrary, you often chided him for hitting on young girls and openly condemned his affection for wine. Your honesty set you apart from all the ladies Aegon was surrounded with — and that was the reason he came to enjoy your company as much as he did. Despite the three years age gap, you were the one who told him the truth, no matter how ugly it might’ve been, but you did so without prejudice or any ill intentions. You would usually follow your critique with advice or a solution of some sort to keep the prince away from unnecessary trouble. That is why you were on friendly terms with Helaena, too, and your influence was also welcomed by Alicent, the then Queen. She liked that you were straightforward with your remarks and often said that you were wise beyond your years. Although, as much as Aemond agreed with it, he suspected there was a reason you had to grow up early.

It happened the same year you met — your older sister, with all her grace and beauty, ran away from home to elope with some unworthy beggar. Your mother was inconsolable for at least a week, saying that Elaesa brought shame upon her family. Your father, the kind man that he is, forgave his daughter fairly quickly and tried his best to restore peace. And yet, you came to realize that Elaesa’s vagary did cast a shadow over your House. Your youngest sister, Alyna, was a fragile little thing, frequently sick and tacit — which left you to be the one representing your family in the eyes of society.

Within a few years, there wasn’t a thing you weren’t good at: lords lined up to have a dance with you, ladies admired how well-spoken you were and shared a laugh at your florid sarcasm, and you learned to embroider, to ride a horse, to walk exquisitely dressed and with impeccable posture. But while for everyone else it was a reason to compliment you, Aemond saw the underlying cause of your diligence — the corrosive desire to prove one’s worth which was something he learned to live with as well. And which led him to think he understood you better than anyone.

More often than not he found himself watching you as if he had the need to make sure you weren’t in harm’s way. Helping you with Aegon was a part of that routine but it also gave him a chance to be alone with you. You talked about everything and nothing in particular, and he would catch glimpses of you — the real you, shy and emotional at times, but still understanding and perceptive. He cherished every opportunity to steal you away from the never-ending chattering, from lords ogling at you, from Jason Lannister whose interest in your company should’ve been concerning. Aemond has gotten so used to observing you, so enthralled with your covert conversations, he didn’t realize that a particular feeling was creeping up on him. But there was one person who turned out to be more observant than Aemond has been. Aegon was the mere reason why his brother ended up at your door a few days later. Aemond’s been to your place a couple of times and he promptly memorized the way to the farthest room of the house — the one you used to paint in. It was the only thing you truly allowed yourself to enjoy, an unexpected talent of yours which you soon perfected, too, except it wasn’t meant for the others to marvel at but plainly for you to keep your head occupied, to have some quiet time.

He walks in when you are already painting the finishing touches. When you turn to greet him, you stop mid-sentence, seeing that it’s Aemond instead of his brother who you were waiting for.

“He overslept,” the younger prince shrugs. “It isn’t a bothersome task to come pick up the portrait of my nephews.”

You point in the direction of the painting with the brush in your hand. Aemond admires your work — as he always does — while you try to shake off your confusion. There is another reason you did not expect to see Aemond today. You tarry with voicing your concern but eventually glance at him with empathy.

“I was sorry to hear about lady Baratheon’s decision.”

“I was not,” he’s quick to retort.

“I cannot imagine agreeing to marry a Stark,” you say, dipping a brush in a jar of water.

“Is it the cold weather?” Aemond grins knowingly.

“Yes! Gods, just thinking about it makes me feel uneasy. All the layers you have to wear to keep yourself warm, barely being able to move, getting no sunlight...,” you ramble, making sure to wet all the brushes before lining them up on the table.

“Some say they’ve got quite a beautiful scenery,” Aemond tries to object although he knows his argument doesn’t stand a chance.

“I wouldn’t be able to enjoy that,” you huff. “How am I to capture the beauty if my paint freezes?”

He only hums in agreement, watching you busy yourself with your supplies. You go through the brushes, delicately cleaning the bristles with a cloth. Your fingers carefully take one brush after the other, and Aemond silently admires your love for neatness and order.

“You are staring,” you say without turning to him.

“Where do you want me to look at?”

“Aemond, you are in a room full of art!” you chuckle lightly. “Surely, enough options to land your eye on.”

The prince lets his gaze go around the place, and it takes him about a minute to quickly examine all the paintings. And then he inevitably looks at you again. Aemond thinks he likes this view the most.

“When do you begin your next great work of art?” he asks, hoping to distract you. 

You halt movement, then force out glumly:

“Never.”

“What do you mean?” he’s taken by surprise.

“I’ve come to realize that I’d never be a genius,” you reluctantly explain. “So I’m giving up all my foolish artistic hopes.”

“You cannot be serious. You have so much talent and —”

“Talent isn’t genius!” you throw up your hands in defeat, and he can sense your frustration from a distance. “I may be talented in other things, but when it comes to painting, I want to be great or nothing. And I am only of middling talent,” you scoop up the brushes, give them a quick look and place in another jar to dry.

Aemond wants to argue, he really does — but he also knows better than to try and persuade you when you are like this: firmly standing your ground, exuding nothing but stubbornness. In any other situation, he would’ve found it endearing but it’s upsetting to see you downplaying your brilliance.

“Hm, may I at least ask your last portrait to be of me?”

You instantly turn to him, taken aback. Throughout the years you’ve known him, he clearly expressed that he did not like being painted, and you only could make a quick sketch or two, at best, when he wasn’t paying attention.

“Alright,” the long-awaited opportunity makes you smile. “Next time I come for breakfast, I will drag you into the garden to pose for me,” you give him a pointed look, and Aemond humbly nods.

Your smile grows wider but you try to tone it down, afraid to spook him, and focus on wiping the nearest table.

“What are you going to do with your life in the meantime?” he changes the subject.

“Polish up my other skills and become an ornament to society,” you sigh, putting the cloth away.

There’s a brief pause before he says, his voice a bit strained:

“Here is where Jason Lannister comes in, I suppose?”

You say yes but the answer comes a little bit too fast, and Aemond notices that the topic makes you uncomfortable.

“But you are yet to be betrothed to him,” he clarifies, gaze fixed on you.

“I will be if he proposes,” your eyes meet his, and you are sure that there’s a shadow of disapproval on his face that only spurs your stubbornness. You fully turn to the prince to say: “I always knew I had to marry well, I do not feel ashamed of that.”

But Aemond isn’t looking for a fight — he swiftly corrects himself:

“There is nothing to be ashamed of. As long as...” — he can barely bring himself to say it — “As long as you love him.”

For the reason unknown to Aemond, his statement brings a bleak smile to your face.

“I believe we can have some power over who we love,” you object, lowering your gaze for a second as you start absentmindedly twisting the ring on your finger.

“I think the poets would disagree,” he chuckles, trying to defuse the unexpected tension. 

But when you look up at him, your glare is as obdurate as ever.

“Well, I am not a poet, I am just a woman,” you rebut crisply. “And as a woman, I have no illusions about my prospects which do not include me earning a living to support my family. And my parent’s fortune has its limits as I’ve come to learn. Hence why, if I want to have children — I do — and be able to provide them with everything they wish for, I must rely on my husband,” that last word is pronounced with disappointment. “So don’t stand here and tell me that marriage isn’t an economic proposition, because it is. It may not be for you but it certainly is for me.”

Had he not known you, Aemond would’ve been very impressed — with how blunt and witty you are, you are very good at delivering speeches. But as he’s standing in front of you, watching your face, he senses that your determination is akin to despair. Aemond thinks he might take a chance at arguing with you, after all — but you’re both startled by a knock on the door:

“Lady Y/N, Ser Lannister just arrived.”

You look baffled for a second, your confidence crumbling.

“Why would he — I, I didn’t expect him today,” you mumble, almost ashamed of his arrival.

Yet you pull yourself together faster than Aemond can come up with a reason for you to stay. You remove your apron and quickly examine your dress, then move to put on a cape.

“Did I miss any paint stains?” you ask Aemond in a haste.

“No,” he looks over the flowing material of your neat dress, your hair knotted up high — and then, “...Wait!”

You stop abruptly while he grabs a clean cloth.

“There is something on your cheek,” he says as you both step toward each other — and in the next second you are suddenly standing too close. 

You turn to him and shyly shut your eyes, taking a deep breath. Aemond is frozen for a moment but then carefully wipes away a slight smudge of green from under your cheekbone. His hand unwillingly lingers as he examines the delicate features of your face. You open your eyes, looking at the prince questingly. His facial expression is unreadable but it makes you wish you didn’t have to go.

You brush away that silly thought and stand back, fixing your cape.

“How do I look? Do I look alright?”

“You look beautiful,” Aemond says with no hesitation, taking you in — with your cheeks a bit flushed, lip parted and eyes shining. “You are beautiful.”

You seem a bit bewildered at his words but then a smile grows on your face — and in a blink of an eye, you’re gone. The prince is left standing there, staring at the spot where you were just now. The room suddenly feels so empty without you — and so does his heart.

The realization strikes Aemond like lightning: he wants to be the one you come to, at all times. The one holding your hand, watching you paint, or read, or dance — watching you do whatever your heart desires. Because his only desire is to be with you. That thought puts down roots deep into his chest, and he doesn’t know how to pluck it out.

Nor does he want to. It’s all he can think about for the duration of the week, until you come to the castle — with canvas and supplies, not hiding your excitement. He almost forgot about his promise but follows you into the garden without objection. You sense a slight change in Aemond’s behavior, him being more quiet than usual, but decide not to push the prince so he won’t reconsider.

“I will start with a sketch and then we will go from there. Alright?” 

He just hums in response while looking at you but you are unaware of the meaning behind his gaze.

“Take any pose you like, I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable,” you suggest with a half-smile, knowing full well he will probably remain standing.

And he does, arms clasped behind his back, his eye never leaving your face. You immerse in the process too quickly to be bothered, the piece of charcoal in your hand sliding over the paper, leaving lines and shadows. Drawing Aemond is an effortless task, and you can only enjoy how easy it is to sketch the sharp contours of his face and his lean body. The simplicity can also be explained by the fact that you've already memorized all the details by heart: the curves of his cheekbones and his lips, the flow of his silver hair, the shape and cut of his eye.

When you are finally satisfied, you can’t tell if it’s been an hour or three, and the prince, as it seems, hasn’t moved a muscle. At this point, Aemond’s demeanor does worry you yet you blame it on his nervousness.

“Want to take a look?” you hand him a few sketches. “Mind you, I’m not finished so please don’t judge too harshly —”

“I could never,” his hand brushes yours when he takes the drawings.

Aemond has seen your works before but it’s a whole new experience when he’s the one being portrayed. He almost doesn’t recognize himself — you didn’t miss a single feature of his yet somehow this version of him looks too beautiful to be real. He is at a loss for words until he spots that there's another drawing hidden underneath. It’s a sketch of him sitting, both arms on the table, his face looks like he’s deep in his thoughts.

“When did you do this one?”

“After the coronation,” the memory makes you smile. “Made my poor father lug around with charcoal in his pockets while he was trying to keep up the conversation with Ser Lannister.”

It was the day you got introduced to Jason. You were supposed to be by his side, with your charming smile and polite talks, yet you spend your time drawing Aemond. He can imagine your gaze focused on the piece of paper, the way you must’ve been looking at him to capture every detail and movement — all of that without him asking to, without him even noticing. There is so much care in that act, he is unexpectedly moved by it.

The words leave his mouth before he can think them over:

“Don’t marry him.”

His request makes your hands tremble, and you drop the piece of charcoal, slowly looking up at Aemond, the smile disappearing from your face. He did not mean that, you must’ve misunderstood.

“...What?”

Aemond turns to you, looking you straight in the eyes.

“Don’t marry him,” he repeats, helplessly and desperately.

“Why?” you ask in disbelief, suddenly having trouble breathing. The only reason you can think of sounds delusional, close to impossible. You wait for him to come up with some clever explanation — instead, he comes closer to you, his gaze so warm it makes your cheeks burn.

“You know why,” Aemond says and his hand gently lands on yours. You look down at it, perplexed, your mouth opening and closing, heart rate speeding up.

He keeps his eye on your face as he waits for your reply. You are not repulsed nor angry — which is supposed to be a good sign — but the reaction he gets is actually worse than that. Because when you finally glance at him, you look hurt.

“No,” you yank away your hand as if his touch stung. “No, Aemond, you are being mean, stop it,” you take a step back, your eyes glossy and lips tight. The look you give causes him physical pain — while you are trying your best to fight back the tears.

His intelligence clearly fails him because Aemond has no clue what’s going on. He feels like there is a deeper meaning to your words but he does not get it.

“Why am I being mean?” he asks incredulously as you slowly continue putting more distance between you two.

You don’t even realize you are doing it — it’s almost an urge to not be in his presence, for the first time ever. The weight of his words feels suffocating and merciless. How easy it is for him to toy with your emotions, you think, and that cruelty of his — as you see it — wounds you so deeply, he might as well put a torch to your heart.

“I have felt like everyone’s second choice my entire life,” you bemoan, not being able to keep your agony bottled up any longer. “In everything, no matter how hard I’ve worked to be better. I thought you out of all people would understand that,” you sound raspy, trying to swallow the lump in your throat.

“So I will not be the person you settle for just because your first marriage proposal was turned down,” only when your voice shudders, Aemond finally understands how wrongfully you interpreted his intentions.

But you are out of his reach already — at least ten feet away from him, and the distance separates you like a giant chasm.

“No, I won’t. I can’t,” you are hurting so much, your feelings spill out like blood from a wound. “I can’t do it. Not when I have spent years loving you.”

His breathing hitches as your confession pierces through his chest — and he is left speechless, deafened by it. The moment slips through his fingers with unforgiving pace: you were standing so close only a minute ago — and now you are turning your back to him, rushing away. The last thing he sees is how broken you look, your shoulders slumped and eyes brimming with tears. 

Aemond stands, shocked and paralyzed until it’s too late — the garden is silent with your absence and the only evidence of you being there is your supplies scattered on the ground. Your words are ringing in his head, his heart heavy with a dreadful feeling.

He was afraid he would never have you — but he actually could have.

If only he wasn’t so blind.

➡ Part 2

yes, this is me blabbing again: I’ve watched this movie an embarrassing amount of times, and I’ve wanted to write a fic based on it for a few months. I did rephrase a couple of quotes but still tried my best to do the story justice. my apologies for the angst — just so you know, it was painful to write. also, will I ever stop using friends to lovers trope? only time will tell! (I probably won’t, though) I know there is a very heartwarming fic by aemonds-war-crime that was also based on “Little women” and it’s only fair that I link it as well!

tagging @greenowlfactif because you asked 💙 comments and opinions are VERY welcomed! 🥺 🎨 my masterlist English is not my first language, so feel free to message me if you spot any major mistakes!

[arch3ontumbl]

World Bearer Part 1

Bearing his child as he was fighting in Shibuya

It wasn't intended neither it was accident, the child you caress in your womb, it was the result of love. A couple of days earlier barely even recalling the dates, news came unto you as Shoko informed you of Gojo captured, impossible..

He promised

He always promises y/n, you thought to yourself having filled with worry and doubt this time the result would be different, this time he wouldn't be able to be by your side, the last smile he gave you, the last kiss, it floods all to your every bit of sanity left.

You wept unsure of what to do, this is bad for your child. It's stressing you out knowing you can't do anything and you can't ask anyone about it. It pains you that you cannot be beside him nor come to his rescue, you carry the world inside you and you can't risk to lose any of which.

Your whole relationship with him was hidden deeper than 6 feet graves could even speak, only Shoko were informed and were supposed to be the only person besides him to assist you on giving birth.

'missed a call from Shoko'

You missed her first call as you were to focused on picking up some shards of glass, you dropped the mug you and Gojo share for every morning coffee.

Broken. You struggle to bend down as your belly bump is clearly on the way, you stood up and checked your phone to your surprise

Is it finally good news

You called back as she picked up in a hurry, she seemed to hesitate to tell, she hesitated to cause anymore stress than to bear the very weight of the next possibly most powerful sorcerer to mankind in the next generation. Even the weight of the child causes a wave of imbalance in the world between curses and the burden of being expected to be the sword and shield for the most dangerous circumstances awaits your child if his birth were to be exposed and known to the world.

It's what Gojo went through afterall

"y/n listen, Gojo is out now and currently facing curses and possibly Sakuna. I am called for support for the sorcerers in Shibuya—" she paused for what seemed eternity, fueling my anxiety and worry.

"y/n I just wanted to tell you to worry a bit less, he told me to relay you his message: I'd win, I'd be there when our son is born. I'm the strongest afterall" Shoko whispered to the phone as I let out a little chuckle still with a hint of nervous yet comfort. Atleast feel a little ease for the child you bear, for the child you birth with Gojo beside you.

"Thank you Shoko" I whispered back, your voice crack and break devours the silence of the room.

2 hours pass, and shit you feel building up contractions, painfully telling you your world is about to arrive. You rush to get some lukewarm water, a damp towel, quickly sterilize some scissors and a warm blanket

Yet he is not here, he's in battle, fighting

Unable to contact anyone else you try to reach for Shoko again. Afraid, you're just straight up afraid. Your timing your contractions yourself as you lay down your soft bed sheets, slowly painting it with blood. Gojo is in his battlefield and so are you, you combat the pain as you try to push harder and harder not trying to pass out on the way.

One

Two

Three

You push, again

One

Two

You push, you can't stop here. Your child needs to get out now

You gave another hard push screaming your lungs out, cursing, fist balled in the sheets as the other scratched the bed board.

Finally, a cry

Don't faint, don't faint

You pick yourself up, positioning yourself to sit back at the bed frame for support. Picking up your child and expertly cutting his umbilical cord before you could finally fix your eyes on your child you made sure to hear his heart beat, your scared you did a step wrong.

But his heart beat as loud as he cried, you admire your child clearly reassembling your husband. His hair and the same goes for his eye lashes, white as snow, his eyes with a hint of you a hue of purple and mainly the blue skies, high and mighty, adding the captivating and deep capture of the ocean you admire from Gojo.

You cried, as your child slept in your arms. A call notifies your phone enough for you to immediately answer before it wakes up your son.

"He's here" you said as Shoko could picture your smile from the phone call before she could even speak a word, her seconds of silence sends you a break of her heart like she's about to break another bad news for you.

[project-sonadow]

happy hour drabble # 2

Sonic had been dragging his feet all day. It was Monday again, which meant there wasn't much to do at Speedy's. Count the change, polish his roller skates, clean the fryers. That was his routine. By the end of his shift, it felt like there were lead blocks stuffed in his socks.

One of his coworkers gave him a strange look when he hung up his hat. "What?" he asked.

"Nothing," the girl replied. For some reason, her eyes looked sad. "Get some rest tonight, won't you, Arthur? We can't have you calling out; you're our best skater!"

Sonic raised an eyebrow, but before he could ask what she meant by that, she disappeared out the back door. Though her voice was muffled now, he could still make out her last request: "And don't forget to lock up!"

Rolling his eyes, Sonic twirled the keys in between his fingers and shook his head. This wasn't his first rodeo! After switching out his skates for his regular, non-wheeled shoes, he left the restaurant with his laces still untied. The door closed behind him, and he locked it with a soft click.

Shadow was waiting for him in his usual spot. The headlights on Shadow's motorcycle illuminated the dark parking lot with warm yellow light, and its engine filled the air with a weighty hum. Sonic hopped onto the back of the bike in one swift motion, and then wrapped his arms around Shadow’s waist like he'd been waiting to do it all day.

"No detours tonight," Sonic said. "I'm bushed!"

Shadow glanced back over his shoulder and was greeted by a mess of wild brown-and-blue quills. "Fine," he said. "That disaster you call a coat would give us away in an instant. Save your strength so I can fix it before bed."

If Sonic replied, it was drowned out by the sound of the motorcycle's engine as it roared to life. Sonic rested his head against Shadow's shoulder as the dark hedgehog drove them back to their apartment. The cool air felt nice against Sonic's fur as the wind whipped through it.

Soon, they arrived. Shadow parked the motorcycle in front of their apartment building before the two of them got off. Only then, under the bright white streetlights, did Shadow see the red flush on Sonic's cheeks. Without so much as a word, Shadow stepped forward and pressed the back of his hand against Sonic's forehead.

"Uh?" Sonic blinked. "Sh-- Lance? What're you...?"

Shadow dropped his hand from Sonic's forehead. "You're burning up," he said matter-of-factly. Then, he took Sonic's hand. "Come. Let's go inside."

Sonic let Shadow lead him up the stairs as he processed what he'd just said. "Wait," Sonic said as Shadow pushed open the door to their apartment. "I'm sick? But it's Monday!"

"Correct."

After both of them were inside the apartment, Shadow shut the door. Now, Sonic's face was screwed up like he was trying to solve a difficult math problem. "That doesn't make any sense," Sonic was saying. "I wasn't sick last Monday, or last last Monday, or--"

Shadow interrupted, "It's possible our minds aren't the only things that remain intact throughout time."

Sonic frowned, "So, someone's germs from the last loop are making me sick in this one?" He paused to think about that for a second. "That's not good, dude. That means..."

"Any consequences will persist regardless of our current place in time," Shadow finished. He was frowning now, too.

"Great," Sonic said, even though nothing about this was great. "Well, there goes my Plan A."

"And what was that?"

Sonic grinned, "'Run straight at the bad guy and hope for the best'!"

Shadow pursed his lips and sighed. Loudly. With agitation. "That's always your plan."

Sonic opened his mouth to reply, but a sneeze cut off whatever snarky remark he had prepared. His grin faded as he remembered how tired he was. Talk about a buzzkill! Next time he saw Tails, he'd have to ask him to make a shrink ray, so he could fight off germs with his fists.

Shadow shook his head as he watched Sonic's ears droop. "Go. Sit," he said. "I'll take it from here."

Sonic wanted to argue, but Shadow’s stern brown eyes made him feel funny. “Whatever,” Sonic muttered as he averted his gaze. “Just don’t take too long. I can’t promise I’ll stick around if you do!”

In truth, Sonic wasn’t going anywhere. Now that he was free from the constraints of his 9 to 5, and the horrors of capitalism were held back by the immutable strength of their apartment door, he was left with nothing to distract him from his fever. He shuffled into the bathroom and plopped down on the stool, waiting for Shadow to come in with the dye.

He sniffled. His bones hurt. He scratched his head, irritated. This never would’ve happened to world famous superhero, Sonic the Hedgehog. It was only because he was disguised as some random punk that he’d gotten sick.

“I seem to remember your fox friend recounting a tale to the contrary,” Shadow suddenly said. He’d appeared in the doorway, dye in hand. “Something about you and Arabian Nights…?”

Sonic waved his hand. “That was different,” he said.

Shadow popped the lid off a bottle of brown dye. “Oh? Is that so?”

Huffing indignantly, Sonic replied, “Yeah. That time, my worst enemy was a super powerful genie. This time, it’s customers!”

Shadow lowered his head. Sonic could’ve sworn he saw him smile. “Hold still,” Shadow said, his hands freshly gloved up and covered in dye. “I’ll be quick.”

Regardless of the truth of that statement, Sonic was physically, mentally, and emotionally incapable of holding still. He tried. Of course, he didn’t want to squirm around like a worm in the rain. But he couldn’t help it! Just like he couldn’t help but tap his foot against the linoleum, his claws clack-clack-clacking against the tile as he did so. That was, until one of Shadow’s hands moved to the back of Sonic’s left ear, and Sonic froze.

Sonic felt Shadow rub the dye into his fur. He felt his claws brush gently against the softest part of his ear. And Sonic stopped thinking about how lame it was to be sick. He didn’t worry about holding still. His heart fluttered in his chest and his eyes closed, totally focused on how good it felt to have Shadow’s fingers in his fur.

Shadow paused, having noticed the strange shift in Sonic’s behavior. But there was no time for him to lean forward and investigate, because a gentle pressure was now pushing against the palm of his hand, urging him to continue. 

It was Sonic, leaning into Shadow’s touch. 

Shadow nearly choked, but he managed to keep his composure. He isn’t feeling well, Shadow reminded himself. That’s all this was.

And yet, when Shadow resumed styling Sonic’s quills, he wasn’t thinking about covering up all the blue spots anymore. Instead, he focused his attention on just that one spot behind Sonic’s ear. He didn’t know why. Maybe he pitied Sonic. As the Ultimate Lifeform, he would never know how it felt to be ill.

Sonic leaned deeper into Shadow’s touch. His tense shoulders relaxed. His job, their mission, the time loop–none of that mattered anymore. Somewhere inside his chest, next to his heart, a soft rumbling began. Purring.

Sonic was purring.

Abruptly, Shadow stood. He turned away from Sonic, so he didn’t see him blink his eyes open sleepily. 

“Shadow…?”

“That’s all for now,” Shadow said stiffly. “Count yourself lucky. If not for your… illness… you would’ve been sitting there for much longer.”

And then he exited the bathroom, leaving Sonic sitting there as the last of his purrs quietly faded away.

[oldstateofmind]

nobody else can heal it (but you) [part l]

➜ pairing: miguel o’hara x fem!reader ➜ warnings: spoilers from ATSV, a bit of angst cause i’m human, violence, torture, hanahaki disease but make it nightmares instead. english is not my first language. ➜ words: 4.3k ➜ a/n:  I’ve watched this movie 3 times by now because I’m obsessed with Miguel. His character is so interesting and captivating, he’s so grumpy and sad and that just makes me wanna fix him. Ugh, I have a soft spot for anti-heroes. And being voiced by Oscar Isaac is the icing on the cake. This first part sets the tone because I just can’t jump straight to smut, but I promise I’ll compensate next chapter.

chapter l. bad disease

For too long, you've been yearning for Miguel; only to be trapped in an endless nightmare. While awake, you had to live with the fact that he was out of reach – tearing your soul apart. While sleeping, violence and death had his face – tearing your whole being apart. No matter when or where; you were maimed by the same man.

Ao3

l.

It starts with a hiss; then a shadow moving in the corner of your vision.

In the dark, cold envelops your body; chilling to the bone. It’s awfully quiet besides the continuous dripping of water in the distance, the echoes of each drop remind you of a ticking clock; counting the time you’ve left – for what, however, you’re not really sure.

You rub your arms in an attempt to bring a bit of warmth back to your skin, and as always, it’s useless. It seems like a forever winter inside the place you’ve found yourself in for the past 2 weeks. 

What once started as a nightmare that made you wake up in the middle of the night, now plagues your mind every time you close your eyes. There’s no escape from it, no matter how hard you try. You’re more than tired, it’s exhausting not getting more than 3 hours of sleep when your job requires attention and disposition.

Even the pills Lyla gave you last time you were at the HQ didn’t work – actually, they made it even worse. Because then, your body was completely knocked out while your mind was terribly awake, reliving the scene over and over again. You threw them down the drain once you woke up. Never again.

And even though you already know what happens by now, it is still dreadful to wait for the nightmare to unfound. Your senses are hyper-aware of every single tiny sound, every movement in the dark. 

There’s something poetic in the way you can feel him move even with your eyes closed; the way you could recognize the pattern of his breathing in the distance even when fear creeps into your brain. Your spider-sense tingles as his heavy steps are headed toward you, it screams danger. Goosebumps break out across your body, sending a small, cold shiver through your spine. 

Red is the first thing you see. And also the last.

-

“...to Y/N.” Someone is calling you in the distance, but the hazy feeling of the nightmare still lingers within you. It’s hard to focus when your brain still hasn’t turned off properly for weeks, still trapped in whatever curse this is.

“Earth to Y/N, is anyone there?” There’s a snap in front of your eyes, and you suddenly flinch with the unexpected sound. The touch on your shoulder grounds you a bit.

You blink your eyes, rubbing them in an attempt to brush off the dreadful feeling still creeping into the back of your mind. As your eyes adjust to reality, Gwen’s face is filled with concern.

“I’m sorry, guys.” It’s the only thing you manage to say, how could you possibly begin to explain what’s been happening?

“You’ve lost your cue twice now, what’s happening with you today?” The girl presses, still holding onto your shoulder. And for that, you’re grateful. 

Not getting enough sleep has been causing you to lose grip on reality – and that scares you the most. Not being able to tell if the sounds are coming from your head or from somewhere else. Or worse, having to avoid him because it’s unbearable the feeling that eats you from the inside out; the sense of fight or flight kicking in every time you hear his voice. Not tolerating being in his company as shadows follow you around like a ghost, tormenting you into remembering.

And it’s just not fair. 

“Nothing!” You say, adjusting the bass strap on your shoulder. Hesitating on letting you go, Gwen squeezes your arm before retracting her hand. You try to smile, “I’m good. I…I’m good.”

The smile stretched for too long, awkwardly pulling your face into a grin rather than a genuine beam. The avoidance of looking at the member of the band doesn’t really back you up on your lies. You hear Hobie huff in annoyance, while Gwen’s piercing gaze still hasn’t left your face. You feel slightly guilty about keeping your nightmares a secret, but it’s not like they would understand, would they?

After all, Miguel O’Hara was a difficult subject for you to talk about.

“I know that look, I have seen it in the mirror quite a few times,” The girl admits. And you knew it was true.

When Gwen joined the Spider Society just a few months ago, the melancholy gloom that followed her was palpable. The teary eyes whenever someone asked about her life, the avoidance of returning to her world, always crashing at yours or Hobie’s. Her father was a tough subject on which she never really dwelled, too painful to remember.  

However, even if she could relate to the feeling of losing sleep over someone, she wouldn’t understand how it felt to be torn apart by your own brain, to have precious memories distorted in a sick and twisted nightmare that was a culmination of your worst fears. To know it was coming and having no power to stop it. And all the while having the face of the person you cared about the most in the world, in all universes.

No, no one could begin to understand. 

You bit your lips, signing in defeat, “I’m just tired, that’s all.”

“That’s rubbish. Is that what the kids are calling it nowadays?” Hobie chimes in, crossing his arms over his chest. He raises his eyebrow, seeing through your facade without breaking a sweat.

“You’re not even glowing like you usually do!” Pavitr shouts from the audience, waving his hand toward you. Sometimes he would come by to watch the band practice, but today you had not even seen him coming, which was a terrible sign because Pavitr always made an entrance when he stopped by.

“I thought you would be grateful for that.” You scoff.

“Hey, you can’t blame me! My eyes are sensitive.”

The typical headache starts to pound in your head like a thousand bells ringing directly in your ear. It’s disorientating the way your senses feel out of place – like a fish out of the water. Not even having superpowers was helping you stay afloat. 

You took pride in being a Spider Woman, doing your job as best as you could so that at the end of the day, Miguel would see you. Your talent, your dedication. But lately, you feel yourself falling further down in his list. And it hurts.

“It’s just that–” You sigh, rubbing your eyes again, foolishly trying to make the pain go away. The ache in your head was bad, but the one in your heart could bring you to your knees. “I’m not getting much sleep these last few weeks.”

Gwen snaps her fingers excitedly, “You should try one of those pills they hand over at the–” 

“No!” You shout before you can stop yourself; memories flood your troubled mind. The blood, the screams. Talons ripping flesh, pain consuming your body and soul. But the worst of all; his words. Gwen stops in her tracks, caught off guard by your sudden outburst. The guilty eat you away. 

“I mean, I–I’ve tried it,” You whisper, the lump forming in your throat makes it hard to say a single word, “but they… didn’t work for me.” 

The trembling of your hands caught everyone’s attention. And It’s just too much.

“I’m sorry.” Whispering, you turn around to hide your face. You take the bass strap from your shoulder and place the instrument in its case. “Let’s just wrap this up, I don’t want to waste anyone’s time.”

“Oi, Y/N,” Hobie calls for you, but you’re already grabbing your coat and heading toward the door. “We are here to help you, it’s what a band is about, innit?” 

You look over your shoulder at them, heart aching at the thought of leaving them with no explanation – as a frightened animal, cornered with nowhere to run, all bite and no apologies.

“Right,” You agree but vanish in thin air seconds later.

ll.

Time becomes its own entity when you lose track of it. It’s another late hour, probably somewhere between 3 AM, and the coffee you got from your favorite spot in town is hot against your cold fingers. You dangle your feet at the edge of a building, admiring the view of a sleepy neighbor – no matter the time, New York is always full of light. 

It’s been a few days since you left the rehearsal in a hurry, the band has been trying to get in touch with you but you’ve been avoiding taking their calls and answering their texts – you’ve been avoiding a lot of things lately. 

Like swinging in the middle of the traffic, as an example. Something that came naturally, but now it has become too dangerous. The notion of space and distance have been lost days ago together with the full awareness of your surroundings. You’ve been trying to do your job, but it has become almost impossible to pay attention to your movements when the heaviness of your limbs begs for you to slow down.

There’s also Lyla, who you've lost count of how many times she chimed in while you were working, telling you about a meeting that you had missed out on. Not that it was totally required to be there, but if once you counted the days to be in the same room as Miguel, just so you could see him, now you avoided it like the plague. 

You haven’t heard from him ever since you disappeared – only stopping by the HQ when extremely necessary – so you might not be in that much trouble. However, it definitely did some heavy damage to your heart noticing how O’Hara didn’t really need or wanted to see you in the first place. Not even a call, not even a message.

And that was devastating. 

For too long, you've been yearning for Miguel; only to be trapped in an endless nightmare. While awake, you had to live with the fact that he was out of reach – tearing your soul apart. While sleeping, violence and death had his face – tearing your whole being apart. No matter when or where; you were maimed by the same man.

Blowing out your coffee, you sigh. The lack of sleep has been taking a toll on you. It started off as simply missing the timing from one building to another, and now you can feel the nasty bruise forming on the side of your hip. Actually, your body now looks like it has been painted black and blue with the number of bruises it’s collecting. 

And you still can’t find the answer, nor any clue on how to make them go away. It will kill you eventually, you’re sure of that. It was just a matter of time now. Maybe then you could finally rest.

The bitter taste of the coffee spreads in your tongue and you welcome the caffeine with open arms. You’ve been trying to stay awake for the most part of the day, only hitting the bed when you’re completely and absolutely worn out. It does give you a few more minutes, but as the sun comes down and another moon appears, you can feel yourself slipping away, getting fewer and fewer hours of sleep, and slowly descending to madness as the nightmares start to feel more vivid, clouding your judgment.

Maybe you should ask for help, after all. 

As a result of a very slow mind, it takes you more than it should to sense a new presence on the rooftop with you. Startled, the hair on the back of your neck stands up. You quickly throw away the coffee, lamenting not being able to finish it. 

You pull your mask down; if it was another one of those villains of the week the guy was fucked because you had run out of patience. “Honestly, I’m in a really bad mood today,” You say to whoever is hiding in the shadows, your senses tingling as the figure slowly walks towards you, “No tricks, please. Let’s do this quickly.” 

The movement stops, and you roll your eyes in annoyance. Another guy who thinks that making a scary little entrance will impress you. You’re about to make a joke when the shadow speaks, making your heart stop for a second.

“Y/N.”

The cold creeps in underneath the flesh, freezing your blood and yourself in place. All the hair in your body stands up as your body tenses with trepidation and fear. There it was again, that voice that haunts you night and day. 

No, please. I’m awake, aren't I?”

It was hard to tell, as your surrounding started to blur; the sound of the street and surroundings go silent, as the only focus of your mind is the man in front of you and the way his eyes glow scarlet against the dark of the night. Your heart hammers your chest so furiously you’re afraid it might break free. 

“Y/N.” 

Miguel calls out for you again, his tone nothing more than a whisper. But you have seen this scene before; a hundred times you’ve heard those same words roll out of his tongue as if it disgusted him – as if you didn’t deserve to be mentioned it.

You flinch as he steps forward, memories of talons ripping your skin apart make you fight against the rising panic; the outcome of the nightmare is inevitable, you’ve tried to change it, but the aftermath was always the same; killed by the man you loved the most.

“Stay away from me,” You warned him. It was useless when fate seemed to have your lines already written, with no chance to change the full stop by a coma. “Please, stay away from me.”

Miguel stops, the glowing of his suit hurts your eyes. You can’t see his expression, there’s a dark shadow covering his face, but the red tint gives his demeanor a haunting feeling – another shiver runs down your spine. Your vision starts to blur; the fine line between reality and dreamland crashes together in your mind. Nothing feels real, the foggy state of mind wraps around you, gradually taking over your sanity.

So you flee. Or at least you try. 

Before you could jump from the building, Miguel’s strong hand wraps around your wrist, pulling you directly in his direction. Adrenaline pumps through your veins, and quickly you are able to untangle yourself from his grip, kicking him in the process. 

“Y/N.” You know it’s his voice, but at the same time, it doesn’t feel like it. It’s disconnected from the man you’ve grown to love. Dread gnawed at your insides as the nightmare turns into another torture section. His mouth is moving but you can’t make up the words; every sound gets lost in the loud rush of blood in your ears.

Not that you need it, anyway. You’ve been living the same dialogue over and over again to know like the back of your hand.

“Don’t hurt me again,” You plea, raw panic in your voice. Your mind is erratic, coming up with ideas on how to escape, but your body doesn’t follow the same line of thinking, “Please, I’m so tired.”

But it’s all in vain; the man bolts in your direction like an animal ready to devour its prey. You find yourself half mad with terror – your throat tightens as anxiety eclipsed your thoughts. 

Before Miguel can get to you, you attack. 

It never works as the man is way above your abilities, but you try – anything to be freed from having another slow, painful death. Gathering the last of your strength, you shoot a web that miraculously lands on his foot and it sticks to the ground. Quickly, you jump from one wall to another, landing a kick on his chest. 

It doesn’t do anything more than startle the man, but it gives you enough time to soar across the night sky, landing on another rooftop. The glowing of your watch catches your attention. Usually, you don’t have it with you, nightmares don’t really give you the option to flee. 

But it seems this one does. 

“Y/N!” Miguel roars. In the slip second your eyes had darted toward the gadget, the man had torn apart the single web holding him in place. He huffs, shoulders hunched forward as tension grows between you both. 

Against your better judgment, you shot him a glance. And like magnets, his eyes find yours in mi the sea of lights that only New York could offer.

You press the bottom, eyes fixed on the man coming towards you like a bolt. His talons cut the air in front of your eyes – almost like a kiss – the petrifying realization makes you fall on your back towards the portal. 

Then everything turns black.

lll.

When you open your eyes again, you’re absolutely and awfully exhausted. The weight of your body holds you down against the cold floor, almost as if it didn’t belong to you anymore. You had lost ownership after not taking care of it. Your eyelids are heavy, and for a moment you consider just going back to sleep, finally giving in to the sweet taste of relief. 

But then, the warnings in the back of your mind start to go off, and you remember why you can’t. Grunting, you take off your mask and pick yourself up. There was no rest for you, not until you find out what the hell happened. And if it was all in your mind, of if Miguel was there. 

Because that definitely didn’t feel like a dream. The phantom feeling of his fingers wrapped around your wrist still lingered, and the intensity of his gaze still made you shrink. A chill runs down your spine in trepidation. If he was really there were the nightmares just a premonition of the future?

No. Miguel would never do that. 

Even though he didn’t… like you as you liked him, the man didn’t have a single motive to want you dead. Miguel was many things, but mostly he was righteous. Dedicated to his job in an unhealthy, and obsessive way? Yes. However, he still had kindness hidden underneath his scowl, and even though his heart was mostly painted black by the loss of his old life, it still beat for the new ones the Spider Society protected. Besides, he still had some humor in him; a completely dated and cringe type of humor, but there.

And every time it made an appearance, you would find it adorable. A tiny smile appears on your lips. How could you not treasure every moment with him when it was all so rare? 

“Y/N?” Someone calls for you in the distance. You are still picking yourself up from the floor, the sudden movement makes you dizzy, and nauseous. You’re pretty sure you hit your head. 

“Oh my god! Are you okay?” Margo comes into view, she quickly puts one of your arms around her neck and helps you get up. “You look terrible.”

“You should see the other guy,” You try joking around. And even though the blue avatar softly huffs, her expression of concern is serious. You must look worse than you thought. 

Margo helps you get into a chair, gently holding you until you’re comfortable in your seat. “I’m sorry for barging in, I honestly didn’t know where I was going.”

“Where you running from something?” She jokingly asks. She grabs a tablet, reads something on the screen, and goes back to work.

“Yeah,” You groan, running your hand through your hair, “You could say that.”

The room was as quiet as it always was, the only sound coming from the girl who was softly humming a song. Looking around, you notice there was no one around, only the machines as a company. You wondered if Margo ever feel lonely here; the place was big enough to fit a few dozen Spiders, however, it was always deserted. The truth was that no one actually liked to be around villains after they were captured, and sending them home was a dreadful job. Margo was definitely a viable asset to the team. 

You can feel your senses start to relax, the darkroom was a perfect invitation for a well-deserved rest. But with the sleepiness came the loss of concentration, and the last time you let your guard down, you fled from a very real Miguel. 

Small talk would be, then. “So… who’s next?”

Margo picks up her tablet, tapping a few things before showing you a picture. “She calls herself 'Torment'. But you’re probably familiar with her. After all, you and Hobie caught her a few weeks ago.”

Wait. A few weeks ago? That's exactly the time when the nightmares started to occur.

Suddenly, a flashback hits you like a bullet. A purple and blue cloud, the touch of a finger. The laugh.

“Margo, I need to talk to her,” You demand, getting up from your chair as if you had been electrified. The pieces fall into place and make a clear picture. How could you have let this fly over your head? Of course, the nightmares weren’t something normal! It had to be a product of something, or someone. 

“Y/N, I need to send her ho–”

“It’s urgent,” Holding the girl’s hand in yours, you squeeze them in a silent plea, “Please, Margo. Just give me 5 minutes.”

Margo presses her lips together; you must look desperate because she sighs, defeated. Then nods, “Make it quick.” 

“Thank you.” 

-

The Send Home Machine had come out of its cocoon, and now sat atop a circular base; waiting for the command to start the process of pulling the strings to weave the portal back home. You always thought the whole mechanism was a bit too much, but if it worked, then who were you to complain?

Margo brings Torment in, and she immediately recognizes you. 

“Oh, I knew I would see you again!” The woman’s face lights up like a Christmas tree – that couldn't be a good sign. She claps her hands, bouncing on her feet. “Looking for answers, darling?”

A cold shiver runs down your spine, but it’s not fear that spreads through your veins. It’s anger. “What did you do to me?”

The woman laughs, throwing her head back. You can clearly see she was having too much fun with you. “Now you’re interested in what I’ve to say? You didn’t seem that excited when I first came to you and your little friend.”

Your blood boils. If she wasn’t already locked up and ready to be sent home, you would definitely teach her a lesson or two. Your knuckles go white as the woman stares, the smile on her face is disturbing. How could she find pleasure in tormenting someone like that?

The sound of the engine turning startles you, Margo sends you an apologetic look as the machine descends from its place atop the base. You’re getting out of time.

“What do you want?” You shout, desperate. You can’t imagine going another week, another day haunted like this. “Tell me!”

Torment’s stare is piercing, a shadow crosses her face when the smile fades into a thin line. The silence was agonizing, and with each tread of the web, you felt your sanity slipping away. This was your last chance.

“I’m so fucking tired!” You cry out, hitting the glass so hard it almost cracks. “Do you know how it feels to not get a single hour of sleep because your nightmares are too fucking real? Do you have a single idea of how torturing it is to have him, of all people–” Margo was listening, but you didn’t care. You wanted answers and you would get them. “Why him?”

“Poor little thing. You haven’t figured it out yet?” she hums, furrowing her eyebrows. And you hate the look of pity she has on her face. It was her that did this in the first place! “That must be tough, to keep all of that to yourself.”

No one knew about your feelings for Miguel. Well, you had a slight hunch that maybe Peter B. Parker might have noticed it. But otherwise, you kept all to yourself. Treasuring little moments as precious jewelry.

He was your boss! And besides, he was still too caught up in his late family. He would never open his heart again after the tragedy bestowed upon him. You couldn't blame him; a man forever stuck in the past, reliving each moment when he was happy.

However, sometimes, you would catch him looking. Exchange glances in a crowded room; during meetings. You would spend time with him alone; in a comfortable silence hard to find, or in an easy-going atmosphere that left you smiling like an idiot. 

But that was what they were, fleeting moments. And even though sometimes you dreamed about a future where you could give him all the love he deserved, they were just that; silly dreams. There was no space for you in his life. You had accepted that long ago.

“You see, my abilities are a gift,” Torment simply says, still unphased at your suffering. “They search deep in your soul for what you seek the most. The nightmares are just an incentive to make you finally take the big step.”

“What?” A memory comes to the forefront of your mind; a finger touching your forehead, the slight shock that sent you back a few steps. Miguel’s face appears right after the electric feeling dissipates. “What do you mean?”

“You know very well,” There’s some sort of twisted kindness when her smile appears again, it irks you profoundly, “Take care, darling. You can thank me later.”

The machine finishes threading the web, encapsulating the woman inside a honey-colored web. The last thing you see is her waving at you before disappearing into nothing.

Outraged, you punch the glass again, and again. No, no, no. This can’t be happening! That woman must be lying, there’s no way the cure to this torment is–

“Calm down, Y/N!” Margo holds your wrist before you can land another hit. She’s saying something but you can’t hear it. Anxiety takes over your body as you crouch on the floor, hiding your face in your arms. 

You will have to tell Miguel. 

And that was worse than any other nightmare. 

[hearts4golbach]

The Night Shift.

Johnnie Guilbert x Fem!Reader.

chapter 13.

it was another night in the cafe, the same routine seemed to be never ending. as i scrubbed the counter down after spilling my own drink, i thought about Johnnie. i didn't want to have my hopes up that he'd continue to come and see me every night, so i had myself convinced i'd only see him a couple times this week, if even at all. i scrubbed the counter until it sparkled, wanting to keep myself busy with anything i could. if Johnnie was up, he would've texted me. and if he is up and didn't, then that's fine. i kept telling myself the same thing to try and quiet my mind, but i gave in and just put in one of my headphones.

it was around 11 pm when a trio of girls stumbled into the cafe. 2 of them were very obviously under the influence while the other must've been the designated driver because she had a miserable look on her face. the sober girl shooed them off, telling them to go sit somewhere. she walked up to me with an exasperated smile. "you seem like you're having a great night." i say sarcastically, trying to lighten the mood.

she sighed, "yeah. so sorry if they cause any trouble." she says shyly.

"all good, what can i get for you?" the bell on the door rings as someone else walks in. i didn't glance over while i was listening to her order. whenever she was finished ordering snacks for her friends, she thanked me and went to sit with them.

johnnie walked up after her with a tired smile. "hey."

i tilted my head and smiled softly. "why don't you take melatonin or something? your sleep schedule must be shit if you come and see me every night." i tease

"i mean, it's worth it. in the day you're usually asleep." i looked at him, confused, "so i can't see you." he explained further, lightly laughing.

"well, i'm so glad you come see me so often," i smile, but my mood immediately flipped as someone else walked in. a sweet looking old lady stood behind johnnie in the line. "you ordering anything?"

"probably not tonight. i just planned on seeing if i could talk to you for a bit." he moved out of the way and went to sit at his usual table. after i served this customer, i planned on going to sit with him.

"hello, ma'am. what can i get for you?" i repeated the words i had at least a hundred times in the past month. as she went through her order, i took a couple glances around the cafe. johnnie sat on his phone, leaving back in the chair lazily. meanwhile, one of the intoxicated girls was really eyeing him. it looked as if she was undressing him with her eyes, and i hated it. i watched as she turned to her friend and whispered before smiling and blushing and looking back at him. i think i visibly rolled my eyes.

"that'll be all!" her bottom lip slightly quivered as she smiled.

"i'll have that right out for you." i walked over to our case of pastries, occasionally taking glances back at the girl. she seemed to be scheming something. i collected her two cheese danishes before going off to make her vanilla latte. i set her things on the counter in front of where she was standing before telling her the total. she paid and went on her merry way.

i exited from behind the counter and sat across from johnnie. whenever he realized i was done, he shut off his and fixed his posture to face me correctly. "seems like a busy ass night."

"yeah, i mean, luckily i get off at, like, 3." which was about 3 hours before the day shift started. johnnie nodded. i watched as the same girl walked up behind johnnie. she had long, red, pin straight hair and the cutest freckles i had ever seen, which almost made me mad. she was beautiful, and if she was about to hit on johnnie, i didn't stand a chance compared.

she tapped on his shoulder while staring me dead in the eyes. " hi, i'm amelia." she smiled sweetly, sticking out her hand to johnnie.

"hi," johnnie replied, sounding confused but not taking her hand. him not taking her hand made me want to smile, but it was such a small gesture, i convinced myself it was nothing.

she cleared her throat as she put her hand down. "well, i think you're really cute," she blushed, "can i get your number?" her hand grazed his shoulder.

he slightly furrowed his eyebrows, glancing towards me before turning back to her. "i'm not looking for a relationship right now, no thanks." he said nonchalantly before turning back to me. she opened her mouth to say something but ultimately walked back to her seat without saying a word. "did i ever get your tiktok? i wanna send you shit." he immediately changed the subject.

"no, one sec." i pulled up tiktok and showed him my username. as he was looking me up, o began to spam text jake.

me: jake

me: jakeee

me: jake!!!

and so on for at least 30 seconds before he texted me back.

jake: whaaat why can't i sleep D:

me: because this girl was tryna get his number but he said he's not looking for a relationship is that true???

jake: i can't say much but that is not the case for that inbred

me: well damn good but what 😭

jake: is that it

jake: can i sleep now 🙃

me: yes get your beauty sleep cause you need it lol

jake: girl have you seen me?? gn

me: lol night

i turned off my phone and looked at johnnie, feeling much better. "you find it?"

"damn, sorry, i'm slow." he smiled awkwardly, a blush growing on his face. i smiled back.

[yuhzz]

movies, deals, and feelings - k.ch x fem!reader

summary: what started as a deal, (almost) ended with a kiss.

warning: fluff. angst.

word count: 4.8k words

==============

Chaewon sighed before taking her shoes off and heading straight to the living room. Her phone made noise alerting that someone had texted her. She grabbed it from her pocket and deleted a certain contact without even bothering to look at the message that's been sent to her.

"God, all I want is to spend my summer peacefully, why the hell can't anyone understand that?" she grumbled and plopped herself down on the couch.

For some unknown reason, she felt like something was missing--more like someone? Chaewon thought of it deeply until suddenly, a specific person came to her mind.

"Y/n, I should call Y/n" She smiles. "Oh! Chaewon-ssi!" Chaewon's smile grew bigger as she heard the enthusiastic voice of her dear temporary lover - you.

"Can you come over and stay the night here?" Chaewon pouts.

"Our deal hasn't even started and yet you're already inviting me over to your house" you chuckled. "Well, now that you mentioned it, it is a great deal after all" Chaewon shrugged.

"It'll really help me get my chance with Yujin" She mumbled. You, on the other hand, became silent. "Hello? Y/n?"

On your side, you blankly stared at the floor. Of course, right, what were you thinking? All of this is to simply help Chaewon have her chance with Yujin.

Ahn Yujin, a person you don't even know. Well, that is until 2 days ago (Friday).

You first met Chaewon at a bar, all drunk and wasted. With the alcohol taking effect, she ended up (unknowingly and unwillingly) informing you about her oh-so-sad life where she likes this girl who doesn't even like her back.

Simply put it, is an unrequited love that hurts so badly.

So! You took her to a hotel, booked 2 rooms, and talked to her the day after. At first, she was suspicious of you. Don't worry, nothing transpired though.

Well, Chaewon did actually throw things at you but that was not really a big deal.

After quite a while, she had calmed down then and you took that chance to explain everything that had happened.

Chaewon felt guilty after that, of course. One thing eventually led to another and both of you agreed to a deal.

A deal where both of you will date temporarily.

The deal was supposed to end when summer is over (about a month and a half) but Chaewon needs to go back to Japan in 3 weeks.

So you agreed to a date for 2 weeks and a half.

The remaining days of Chaewon's stay, you will spend it cutting the ties you had with each other. Though, something tells me that wouldn't be the case for both of you.

Anyways!

Today is the day before the deal starts but Chaewon just felt like she needed some company.

"Y/n?" she got worried. You snapped out of your thoughts and replied, "​​​Alright alright" Chaewon smiled widely.

"Okay, I'll wait" 

==============

Half an hour has passed and you still were not there. So, she wondered. "What's taking her so long?" She asked herself.

*Ding Dong*

She snapped out of her thoughts as soon as she heard the doorbell ring. Chaewon smiled and ran towards the door. She ran in so much hurry that her hair was all messed up.

"Chaewon? Did something happen?" 

She heard your voice from the other side of the door.

"Nope! Nothing happened!" she replied while trying her best to fix her hair. Suddenly, the rain started pouring.

"Omo- Chaewon-ah! It's raining, can you please let me in now???"  "Ahhh shoot" she sighed and gave up on fixing her hair to let you in.

"Hehe" She welcomed you with a giggle and oh boy did it make your heart skip a beat. Because of that, you held your heart dramatically while saying "Stop- I'm going to die because of your cuteness- Noooooo!!" 

Chaewon laughed.

"Noooooo stop it! God forbids what could happen to me! I'm too young to die you cute kid!" you continued joking.

"Stop that you idiot" She playfully hit you on your shoulder. "Alright alright- Oh! By the way, I got us pizza that's why I took too long to get here" you smiled apologetically.

"It's fine. Tell you what, why don't we eat the pizza you bought while we binge-watch Harry Potter?" Chaewon offered, trying to lighten up the mood a bit.

"Harry Potter? You mean to watch all 8 movies? Together?" you asked.

"Yeah, is there something wrong?" The latter asked, worried that you would rather do something else than watch her favorite movie series with her.

"No, not at all! I've been wanting to actually watch all 8 movies again, it's merely that I didn't have enough time back then" Chaewon sighed in relief and invited you over to the couch.

And just like that, you spent the whole night watching Harry Potter concurrently.

Fast forward to, let's say, numerous hours later (about 5 hours), Chaewon insisted that you stay.

"Why don't you stay here for the night? I mean- It's already 8pm and it's still raining outside. B-Besides! Don't couples u-usually wake up next to each other in the morning-?" Chaewon stopped ranting when she felt your teeny-tiny hands hold her shoulders to calm her down.

"Calm down, I'll stay"

============

The 1st Week

============

"Y/n-ah, wake up, hey" She shook you. No~" you complained. Chaewon sighed.

"Yah, wake up" She shook you again and again until you sat up with a grumble.

"But I still don't want to" you mumbled. "Oh, just get up, you're already awake anyway" you sighed and obliged.

After that, you talked about how you'll spend the day together, no wait.

Never mind, you actually started planning how you should spend the week together.

"How about we spend time today watching TV and ordering food and then, tomorrow we'll roam the city?" You suggested.

"Sure, I'd love that" 

After a little conversation, both of you finished planning about what to do for the rest of the week.

On the 1st day, which is today, you're going to stay home and rest to gather all the energy you need for the activities you're going to do tomorrow and the following days.

Tomorrow, you decided to roam the city whilst telling each other about your personalities, personal interests, etc. Basically, tomorrow is for introduction in order to know each other better.

On Wednesday, Arcade.

Thurday, Arcade.

Friday, Arcade.

Saturday...still Arcade.

And finally, Sunday, theme park.

Yes, you spent 3 hours planning what to do for the rest of the week and ended up with 2 days reserved for "Who" "what," "where," or "when" questions, and then 4 days for arcade, and then lastly, 1 day for theme park.

Your schedule for next week's still yet to be decided.

"Harry Potter?" Chaewon asked you.

"Eh? Again???" you were baffled.

"Why? It's fun to watch after all" She shrugged.

You sighed.

"Nope! Not Harry Potter again" You shook your head in disagreement. "What??? What are we going to watch then?" she asked, her mouth slowly forming into a pout.

"How about something funny? Kevin Hart's movies maybe?" you suggested.

"Kevin Hart? Who is he?" you couldn't react as you couldn't believe the words coming out of Chaewon's mouth.

"Seriously? You don't know Kevin Hart?" 

"Well, I did ask who he was" 

"Kevin Hart's by far one of the best actors out there! He legit rules comedy!" 

"Okay, so we're watching Harry Potter?" Chaewon easily shrugged the topic off, completely shocking you.

You, then, feigned a fake hurt expression.

"No way. We're going to watch Kevin Hart! Each and every single one of his movies!" 

"What the-! How many movies does he have anyway?!" The latter asked.

"About...50?" 

"Wha- How the heck are we supposed to finish all of that???" Chaewon asked you who got your phone out to search for something.

"Oh, don't worry about that, we can continue watching the rest tomorrow" 

"Huh? What about the schedule we planned???" 

"Oh! Right!" You exclaimed.

"See? There's no way we can finish it all-!" 

"Correction about the 50 movies, he actually has 63"

"Thank Go- Wait, what??? But-"

"Oh and don't worry about the schedule, we can do the rest of it next week or next, next week!" You exclaimed - leaving Chaewon on the couch to go fetch your laptop.

"63? How are we going to finish that? It's too impossible!" Chaewon whispered to herself. Even though it may sound too impossible, just seeing you feeling all giddy, excited, and worked up like this makes her happy.

A few minutes later, you came back with your laptop in your hands. After that, you started watching Kevin Hart's movies which started with his first one, Paper Soldiers. Every now and then, both of you would laugh out loud. There were also times when you just couldn't stop smiling until their jaws hurt.

Today sure was a happy day.

Tuesday came fast and just as promised, you continued your marathon.

Yesterday, you finished 5 movies. Today, you aim to do the same.

After your 3rd movie though, both of you agreed to watch something else. Of course, Chaewon requested to watch a Harry Potter movie to which you had no other choice but to agree (it's not like you could refuse her anyway).

The rest of the week passed by just like this.

Just the 2 of you spending your time together - side by side.

============

The Half of 2nd Week

============

"Y/n-nie" Chaewon shook you. "Wake upppppppppp! We only have 20 more of his movies to watch left" she urged you.

"But I thought you didn't like watching his movies" You mumbled sleepily.

Chaewon held your wrist and nudged you - the atmosphere suddenly getting all serious.

"Look, I really like watching Kevin Hart now, and your in-between fun facts about him but, don't you think that we might run out of time? It's the second week and yet we did nothing else but stay here and watch movies" she frowned.

"Even a day's enough for me to make your time worth a while but...if you want to, then we can do something else. Say, how about we go to the arcade today?" You wondered without having a single idea about how your words affected Chaewon.

"Oh, Chaewon-ah, why are you blushing?" You asked.

"N-Nothing. The arcade's a great idea, I'll just take a bath" And just like that, Chaewon stormed off - her cheeks as red as a tomato.

"Cute" you mumbled.

Not too long after, Chaewon finished taking a bath and was already dressed up. She wore a beige-colored oversized tee and tucked it in her ripped jeans.

"Let's go!" She exclaimed happily.

"But I'm not ready yet..." you trailed off.

"Eh?"

"Yeah, I'm not ready yet since you used the bathroom..."

"Oh"

"Don't worry though, I'll be ready in a moment" you reassured her.

"Alright"

Not too long after (again) you came out of the bathroom, you finished taking a bath and were thinking about what to wear.

"Maybe beige too? To match her shirt?" you contemplated. "Or maybe a shirt that'll contrast what she's wearing...?"

"Lemme search" you mumbled.

"Black and warm white? But I don't have any warm white colored shirts and I don't really feel like wearing black today..."

"Y/n-ah, why are you taking so long? Did something happen to you?" The worry in her voice was too evident.

"I'm fine! It's just that I...I don't really know what to wear...?" Chaewon giggled. "Just wear anything Y/n-ah, you look pretty no matter what the outfit is after all," she said.

And your heart fluttered and your heart beat faster and you blushed madly and- "O-Ok" you stuttered.

10 minutes later, you finally finished dressing up. You wore a mustard colored tee and white shorts.

"Seriously? Shorts?" Chaewon chuckled.

"Why? What's wrong with it?" You furrowed your eyebrows.

"Nothing, it's just that I'm afraid you're too pretty in it" she said which made you sigh. "You're unusually cheesy today Ms. Kim. What did you eat to end up saying things like that?" you joked but when your eyes turned to Chaewon, the latter seemed a bit serious.

"Well, today's our first date as a couple after all," Said Chaewon. You were cut short on your breath after what she had said.

Oh, just why the hell are you too sweet to her today, Chaewon? She's about to die from you!

"How about we just go? I cannot take your cheesy lines anymore" you sighed. She ended up laughing.

As planned, or as decided, you went to the park first, you know? To know each other better since last week all you did was laugh while watching movies.

"So! What's your favorite color?" you asked first. "Me? Maybe pink? I don't know...I'm not really sure" Chaewon said, completely unsure.

You continued asking each other questions. Sometimes it's all about nonsense, but there were times when those nonsense questions actually made sense. You did everything to keep the interest in the air going.

But after a while, you eventually decided to call it a day after asking each other too many questions.

You went to the arcade (as scheduled) the day after. You had fun and were happy so when the clock struck 6, you had dinner and went back home.

Wednesday came and instead of spending your time in the arcade again, you went shopping.

In the midst of it though, someone came up to the two of you. A woman who looked like she was about your age too.

She first looked at Chaewon who had her hands intertwined with you. The stranger then moved her gaze to look at Chaewon's hands.

"Y/n-ah, it's done" The woman spoke and looked up to meet your eyes as if she has known you for years.

"Thanks" You mouthed. The latter nodded. You smiled before looking at Chaewon.

"Let's continue our shopping spree," you said and looked at Chaewon who looked back at you. "Okay," She said and left the woman standing in the middle of the grocery store.

"I hope you won't have your heart broken because of this, Y/n" She mumbled as she looked at Chaewon who was looking at you - eyes smiling along with her lips.

============

"So who was she?" Chaewon asked you for the hundredth time.

You just got inside Chaewon's car and were getting ready to leave after putting all the boxes filled, with what you bought, inside the car's trunk.

You sighed and said, "Do you really want to know who she is?" Chaewon nodded eagerly.

"She's my ex" Her shoulders dropped and her eyes lost their energy. "Her name's Yunjin, we broke up last year. The decision was mutual though since we both agreed that it'd be better for the both of us" You said and drove off the parking lot.

The rest of the ride was silent.

After getting back home, Chaewon went straight inside the room and you spent your time putting, all the things you bought, where it's supposed to be.

Chaewon, on the other hand, doesn't know why she feels like this. She feels like she's mad or something. Maybe jealousy?

The rest of the day passed by with both of you ignoring each other.

And truth to be told? In such a short time, you miss her already - all the while, silently hoping that she feels the same.

Thursday! A big day for the 2 of you.

Somehow in some way, both of you managed to act like nothing happened and put everything that happened yesterday behind you. You managed to (with the help of Yunjin) reserve yourselves a theme park. (This is the reason why she approached you yesterday inside the grocery store)

It'll just be the 2 of you alone inside a big place. Today, you'll have all the time in the world to enjoy each other's company.

You first started with the rollercoaster despite the fact that both of you are (obviously) scared of it. From there, you wasted no time enjoying the other rides as well.

The day eventually came to an end (sadly) and before saying goodbye, you decided to ride the Ferris Wheel where you'll share everything that you loved and hated throughout the week and a half that you spent with each other.

Both of you sat in front of each other.

"I'll start," She said. "I gotta be honest right?" She asked and you nodded.

"Oh, ok then..."

"...let's see. I'll start with the things I loved first"

Chaewon started sharing the things she loved, starting with how she really really loved pinching your cheeks whenever you were sleeping up until all those lovely times you spent today.

"And then, the things I hated"

Only one word - name rather - came to her mind.

"Y-Yunjin" Her cheeks turned red as she tried to avoid your teasing look. "Hey! Stop looking at me like that!" She pushed your shoulder lightly.

"Alright alright!" you laughed.

After the laughter had died down, you took the chance to say a short sentence - enough to explain what you liked and disliked.

"I loved you and hated nothing else about everything" 

*Badump* Chaewon's heart went. *Badump* Is what her heart only knows during that moment.

Right after you finished talking, the ride was over. Both of you got off and walked towards the exit. You stood right in front of each other.

Time check: 11:56 pm

'Just in time' you thought.

The remaining 4 minutes are the time that's left for you to say your goodbyes and maybe something else. Inside that 240 seconds, only you can decide whether you'd like to spend the rest of eternity together, or not.

Just 3 words are what you need to forever feel each other's warmth.

But of course.

"Thank you for everything Y/n-ah, goodbye" 

You had no other choice but to watch Chaewon's back fade away from your line of sight.

A bittersweet goodbye it is.

You both knew you needed each other - or maybe it was only you who did.

To others, it may seem like both of you met the wrong person at the wrong time.

But to you and Chaewon, you were the right person at the right time.

So, there it goes.

Another story that meets a sorrowful ending.

============

The Other Half of 2nd Week

============

This is it.

After 3 days, Chaewon's soon going back to Japan.

It's Friday today.

After she woke up, she immediately went straight to the living room to watch. Hopefully, maybe this will help her forget you.

But just as she opened the TV, a Kevin Heart movie showed up. Memories suddenly showed.

Dejavu started hitting her.

Laughter in the living room, tears of joy - you.

Chaewon ended up turning the TV off immediately. With a sigh, she went back inside her room. She was about to lie down again when she remembered your sleeping figure on it.

"Damn it" she cursed.

Gosh, she sees you in every single corner of the house. House...she used to call it home, a place where she's comfortable.

A place that used to keep her warm during the cold.

But why does it make her feel lonely now?

What have you done to her, Y/n?

Well, since this house did nothing else but remind her of you, why not go outside and take a walk? So! She did and took her jacket before going outside.

Chaewon let her feet take her anywhere.

Just anywhere but the places you both visited together. Just not somewhere she'd be reminded of you.

"3 days..." she mumbled while walking on the side of the road. "In 3 days, I'll be leaving" she sighed.

As much as she hated to admit it, she's been thinking of the life she had to return to, how she'd spend her days, how life would feel if she didn't have anyone to binge-watch movies with - a life without you.

"Well, that would suck!" she exclaimed and stretched her arms. "Gosh, where do I go?" Chaewon pondered.

She continued walking, turning right here, turning left there - it was evident that she had no clear destination.

But the moment she stopped, Chaewon found herself standing in front of the place she least expected to go to.

"Y/n's?" she mumbled as she stood still.

Why is she here? Why was she standing outside your house?

"Damn it, you're in too deep, Chaewon." She cursed and shook her head. Deciding to leave again, she gave your door one final look before taking a step away.

However, before she could even take another step, your door suddenly opened. You walked out with the plastic bag of trash in your hands, your hair tied in a messy bun, and you were wearing your pajamas still despite the time being afternoon.

Chaewon couldn't take another step. She stood still - frozen.

Though you looked least presentable in other people's eyes, for her, you were pretty.

And for just a short moment, Chaewon wanted a life filled with laughter, a life where she'd all day (every day) be watching reruns of Harry Potter and Kevin Hart movies.

For just a short moment, Chaewon wanted a life where she has you.

"You know you can't, Chaewon..." She lightly slapped herself.

"You know you can't" she sighed and walked away.

Just then, you look her way, eyes lighting up from excitement. You raised your hands to wave at her. "Ch-!" But when you were about to shout out for her name, your hands slowly dropped, your smile disappearing.

You saw the way she looked. She was frowning and her head was down.

You wanted to be there for her. You wanted to comfort her.

You wanted to run after her - hug her tight.

But something was stopping you, and you didn't know why.

==============

2 days went by fast.

Chaewon's getting ready to leave. She's been packing up since 10 am and has been making sure that she leaves nothing behind. It's currently 12 noon.

Her flight is in two hours.

"Socks, check. Shirts, shorts, pants, jackets, all that yada yada, check. Let's see...Have I forgotten something?" She mumbled and stood up from the floor to roam the house again.

While she's doing that, you (back in your house) were feeling uneasy. "She's leaving tomorrow, what do I do?" you sighed and moved around your bed.

"Goddamn it!" You screamed on your pillow.

With a frustrated sigh, you shot up from your bed and bit the insides of your mouth.

"Maybe I should tell her about what I feel"

Yeah, you should.

"But does it have to be now, though?"

Yes, it has to be.

"Won't she reject me?"

I doubt that.

With one last sigh, you stood up from your bed and started getting ready.

After taking a bath, you wore the fanciest clothing in your wardrobe that you could find and wore it. You sprinted down the stairs and left your house in a hurry.

You ran to the nearest bus stop and got on a bus that drives along the block where Chaewon lives. In just 10 minutes, you've arrived.

Your legs were trembling and heck it became very hard to breathe!

You walked slowly towards her doorstep, breath hitching when you realized you were only moments away from knocking and meeting her face to face again.

"Here goes nothing" you breathed and knocked.

You stepped back after that and readied yourself. You waited.

And you waited...and you waited...and you waited.

But damn it she's taking too long.

"Huh..." You trailed off.

At this point, there are only two things that could possibly be happening. It's either Chaewon's not home, or she's ignoring you.

Or maybe you're just overthinking and she's busy packing up.

"Okay, let's not jump into things, maybe she's just not home" You sighed.

You continued waiting until suddenly, the door busted open revealing Chaewon who was breathing heavily and was carrying 2 suitcases. "Woah, you ok?" you asked.

"Y/n? What're you doing here?" She asked you, immediately composing herself in front of you.

Right, why are you here?

"I..." you came here with a clear purpose.

"I like..." You came here to profess your feelings.

"I'd like to see you off" but why didn't you?

"Oh...I thought it'd be something else but, thanks" she smiled at you, feeling a bit disappointed. "I'll uhh...I'll just get my stuff out here and I'm good to go. Do you want to wait for me inside or...?" She said, trying to look everywhere but your eyes.

"No! No...I'm good out here" you said and shook your hands.

"Alright. Uhm, can you please look after my stuff while I finish things up inside?" She asked you.

"Sure, sure." You shrugged and nodded your head.

"Thanks" she mumbled and fiddled with her fingers before going back inside.

Well, that was awkward.

While waiting outside, Chaewon was panicking on the other side of the door. "Calm yourself down, Chaewon. Calm yourself down" she whispered to herself and started gathering the rest of her stuff.

She spent another 20 minutes inside the house before going back outside again.

"You good to go?" you asked her. She nodded her head.

"I just have to wait for my taxi now."

"When is it arriving?"

"About 5 minutes and a half?"

"Oh."

Silence engulfed the two of you.

"You know, Y/n...I'll remember you," she said out of nowhere.

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"My life was mostly dull. I'd focus on nothing else but work, and I still should be doing so right now if only my boss didn't suggest I take a break for a little while."

You listened to her intently.

"And you...you certainly made my vacation better. So I'll remember you, Y/n. I'll remember you whenever I feel down because you make me smile. You'll always cross my mind whenever I see a Kevin Hart movie. I'll remember you whenever I feel cold because you make me feel warm. I'll always remember you because you touched my heart." She smiled warmly.

"I'll remember my feelings for you because I don't think I could ever find someone else like you in my life"

Your cheeks started getting warmer.

"Wha..."

Did she just confess?

Words were caught up in your throat that not even a simple 'I like you too' could come out of your mouth.

Looks like you're in too deep too, huh?

"I thought Yujin was your crush...?" You mindlessly asked.

She laughed wholeheartedly. "Pabo" Chaewon smiled and just then the taxi arrived. You stood still in your spot, observing Chaewon and the taxi man put her luggage inside the trunk.

Once finished, Chaewon hurried back to you. "'Till next time, Y/n" She mumbled.

Chaewon seemed to want to do something but hesitated at first. Slowly, she leaned in and kissed your cheeks.

"Goodbye," You watched as she got inside the taxi.

"W-Wait! Chaewon!" You ran after her.

Before she closed the taxi’s door, she raised her eyebrows and looked at you. “Yes?” she murmured.

“Will...will I ever see you again?” you questioned her. A subtle smile appears on her face. “Well, it depends. Do you want me to stay?” she uttered and got off the car, facing you with hopeful eyes.

“But I don’t wish for you to postpone your work because of me,” you spoke lowly, your breath hitching when you noticed her eyes drift down to your lips and back to your eyes again.

“I’m sure my boss will allow me to extend my vacation.”

“Still,” she sighed.

“No, it’s too impossible for us to see each other again. There’s no telling when I’ll be able to spend time off work. Besides, we’re from 2 different countries” Chaewon looked away from you.

“Then, let’s have a deal.” you proposed.

She looked back at you, slightly intrigued. “What deal?”

“I’ll find a way. I will come to you. Tour me around Japan. Let’s have fun together. We’ll go shopping, we’ll go to the amusement park, we’ll eat together, wake up next to each other - let us be us forever. I will stay and I will go wherever you will go. I want to be with you.” you held her hands.

“That is if you want to do the same.” you shrugged.

She laughed. “What kind of deal is that? Is that even a deal?” she giggled.

“I also don’t know. Just had to find a way to be dramatic, get what I mean?” you smiled.

“Alright then, I accept your ‘deal’.” Chaewon circled her arms around your neck.

“Can I kiss you? I wanna kiss you” you told her.

“Woah, calm down your horses. Let’s take it slow”

“But-”

“No buts, Y/n. Now get off me ‘cause I have to leave so that I could clean my house back in Japan before you arrive”

“Can’t you stay for a little while?”

“Can’t. My flight’s in 20 minutes, gotta leave.”

“Chae-!”

“Start packing up! I better see you in 3 hours!”

She got in the cab and left - leaving you smiling in your spot.

Looks like you’ll be able to continue your Kevin Hart movie marathon with her.

This time in Japan, of course.

[haveatthee83]

Under My Skin (Monkey D. Luffy/Reader) 4/7

Inspo: Under My Skin by Jukebox the Ghost

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7

Word Count: ~7.5k

Warnings: Fluff, cursing, emetophobia (brief mentions, no graphic descriptions), discussion of death and dead relatives, very brief descriptions of violence.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

You stirred in your bed, blinking away the sleep in your eyes, “Come in!” you mumbled. The door creaked open as you sat up, light streaming into the room. You rubbed at your eyes, “Who is it?”

The light flicked on, “It’s me,” Luffy muttered as he shuffled into the room, taking a seat at the foot of your bed. Your heartrate picked up and you felt your breath go ragged, but you tried to appear calm, but you were unable to stop wringing your hands. “I’ve got a couple things to talk to you about.”

You swallowed dryly, trying to fix your hair a bit to distract yourself, “We’ve got to stop meeting like this,” you tried for a laugh, but neither of you could find it in yourselves to huff out any laughter. “Sorry.”

“It’s alright,” Luffy assured, thinking you were talking about the bad joke.

You shook your head, “No, really. I’m sorry for stepping out of line, I’m sorry for being insubordinate, and I’m sorry that I misrepresented you. It wasn’t okay.” You went on, giving Luffy no time to cut in, “I just-I’ve always been in a place where it’s them or me. It starts to feel normal after a while. Like it’s not…horrible and weird that you’re running for your life and trying to take people out before they can get to you, but it’s not. Obviously, it’s not. It’s fucked up and I’m kinda fucked up and…I’m so sorry.” You rambled out, keeping your eyes on your hands in your lap.

Luffy sighed, fiddling with his hat’s chin string, “I understand. And you’re right, it wasn’t okay,” he started, noting how you tensed, “and it’s not going to magically be alright, but I’m gonna give you another chance. You can stay.”

You sat up straight, eyes wide, “Really? You mean it?”

“You can stay, but-” he said, holding up a finger, “you have to prove to me that I’ve made the right choice every day. Don’t make me regret keeping you around.”

You felt overwhelmed again, this time with happiness and hope, pure optimism seeping into your brain, “Thank you!” you exclaimed, and without even thinking, you threw your arms around Luffy’s shoulders, taking him into a tight hug.

Luffy’s heart skipped a beat, and he found himself holding his breath, frozen in your arms. The hug couldn’t have lasted long, ten seconds maximum, but to him, it felt like hours wrapped in your warm embrace. ‘She’s warm like Ace.’

Quickly, you realized what you’d done and pulled back, sitting back onto the mattress with a bounce, both of your faces warm, “Sorry! I just got excited and I-“

“It’s okay.”

You smiled a little, fiddling with your fingers again, “So, um-you-you said you had more to talk about?” you asked, clearing your throat.

Luffy did the same, reaching into his pocket, “Robin found this in your house, it was under one of the top bunks.” He said, holding the envelope out to you, “It’s from Ace.”

Your eyes went wide, and you quickly snatched the envelope out of Luffy’s hands, turning it over in awe and confusion, “How did I never see this?” you muttered. “Oh, it’s for you! Wait, why are you showing me this?”

Luffy shrugged, “It was in your house,” he hesitated but said, “And Ace was your friend.”

You gave your captain a sad smile, opening the envelope and beginning to read the letter. Luffy watched your smile grow as you read on, turning to a little laugh, he was sure at the part about your brother, a bit of a flush coming to your face when you got to the part about you, your eyes flitting up to Luffy’s. You finished reading and sighed, “That’s some of the dumbest shit I’ve ever heard.” You insisted, “He kept such a massive secret from you because my brother thought we’d fuck?” you asked incredulously.

Luffy shrugged and nodded with a laugh and a blush, “I guess so. It is pretty stupid, but…Ace always was a loyal friend.” You shook your head with a smile, “If you want to see something real weird, look back in the envelope.”

You quirked a brow but reached in, grabbing out the photo of you, your whole face dropping in shock, “Why the fuck does he have that fucking picture?” you stammered, “That fucker took pictures all day that day and I didn’t know why until he got this one. He was trying to get a picture for you! I thought I burned this thing! Portgas you fuckin perv.” You pinched at your brow.

Luffy chuckled a little, “He really wanted us to date, huh?”

“I told you; he had our whole lives planned out,” You giggled, “we’d meet, date for three years then get married while we sailed the whole Grand Line, and when you found the One Piece, we’d settle down a bit and have our three kids.”

“Ruby, River, and Rocky right?” Luffy chuckled.

You beamed, “You remembered!” you exclaimed, dissolving into giggles.

“Why did all of their names start with r’s?”

Your smile turned soft, “He said it was a little homage to Roger.”

Luffy beamed, “That’s nice.”

Outside the women’s quarters, Robin and Zoro listened into your conversation with soft smiles. “How long until they’re dating?” Robin whispered.

Zoro laughed silently, his shoulders shaking, “With that kid? Could be tomorrow, could be a decade.”

A little shy of a year went by rather unspectacularly as far as you two were concerned. You kept your nose clean and listened attentively, helping anyone who asked any time you could. Luffy still felt odd around you, but as time went on, it mellowed into more of a background thought. You both stayed in your own lanes, not crossing paths very often, and especially not for very long.

Of course, things change, and fate has a fun little sense of humor.

You all were stopped at a pirate friendly, populated autumn island with cobbled streets and taverns on every corner. You all returned to the ship after a night of celebrations, full of food and drink and laughter. You and Luffy both avoided alcohol that night as you had night watch, and he simply just wanted more room in his stomach to eat. This was unfortunately relevant. Something was wrong with the alcohol at the tavern you had gone to.

The whole crew was out of commission, laid in their beds with pounding headaches, nausea, and fevers. You, Luffy, and Chopper were running all around the ship taking people water, medicine, dry foods for their stomachs, and just generally trying to help tend to them all.

When things settled down a bit, Chopper decided to go back into the infirmary and take stock of things he had and needed since you had just had to raid the place for your whole crew. So, you and Luffy were left alone on the lawn deck, laying on your backs, staring up at the stars.

“How long do you think they’ll be like this?” you asked, craning your neck to look at the man next to you.

“Probably only a day or two.” He guessed, looking back at you for a moment.

A thought popped into your head, “Hey, do you know the date?”

Luffy chuckled, “You don’t?” you rolled your eyes and huffed, “It’s May fourth.”

You gasped and popped up into a sitting position and shuffled to be sitting right next to Luffy, his head next to your hip, “Your birthday’s tomorrow!” you exclaimed, “Oh no! Everyone’s sick!”

Luffy shrugged, putting his hands behind his head, “It’s okay. I just want them all to get better.”

You stubbornly shook your head, “Absolutely not, you deserve a good birthday!” you insisted, “You’re turning twenty! That’s a big deal!”

Luffy swallowed dryly, looking into your eyes, “I’m gonna be the same age as Ace.” He whispered, your heart wrenching. His eyes hazed a bit as he looked at you, “How did you deal with it?”

You pursed your lips and gathered your thoughts. When you found your words, you gently laid a hand on Luffy’s arm closest to you, “I didn’t at first, which wasn’t good. Then I went and I got my bounty raised over the million line by taking out that Admiral. Which also wasn’t good.”

Luffy huffed out a laugh through his nose, “You’re not very good at this.” He chided, nudging your hip with his elbow.

“Well, that was just at first,” you said, “That night, I was in my house, and I was going through my scrapbook. I was all sad and blubbering and I was really mad at everything,” you went on, subconsciously running your thumb up and down Luffy’s skin, “And then it hit me. I was looking at that picture of us I showed you. The one where we snuck into that Marine ball? And I remembered something.”

“What?”

“My brother wanted me to be happy. He’d be proud of me for making it longer than he did. He had literally been trying to make me laugh when he died. And here I was, crying and pissed off instead.” You explained, eyes glued to the stars, “He would have kicked my ass for spending my birthday upset. So,” you paused for a little laugh, making a small smile pull at Luffy’s lips, “I went and found my suit from the picture, I put on some insane makeup, did my hair, and I went out and club hopped until the sun came up.”

Luffy smiled a little wider at your admission, nudging your hip again so you’d look at him, “Your brother sounds cool.” He said simply, noting the soft glimmer your eyes took when you talked about him, “I can see why he and Ace were friends.”

A sly grin spread across your face, “Wanna hear an embarrassing story about ol’ Portgas?” you asked.

Luffy chuckled, “Of course.” He scoffed, sitting up next to you, only a breath of space between you, “I’m always down to hear about the stupid shit he did with you two.”

You chittered, “So, it was my brother’s seventeenth birthday, and Portgas was determined to find my brother a girlfriend.”

“Oh no,” Luffy huffed with a grin, taking one of his knees up and laying his cheek against it.

“Exactly.” You affirmed, “So, we were on some South Blue Island, and we were all going to go dancing, and Portgas kept like froofing up my brother, you know, spraying extra cologne, helping him gel his hair, telling him what to wear, it was insane.” You started, and Luffy found himself watching you tell the story as much as he was listening to it. “Well, we finally found a good-looking dance club and we were starting to get into it, right? We were having fun, my brother was a horrible dancer though, so it was pitiful trying to watch him. Next thing we know, Portgas has a dance partner! We were confused cause it was supposed to be like all three of us hanging out, but okay, man’s a flirt and lord knows he won’t stop for anything.”

Luffy hugged his knee and laughed a bit, “He ditched you guys?”

You snorted out a laugh, “Not exactly. All of a sudden, Portgas spins this pretty girl with practically no clothes on into my brother’s arms and naturally, he has no damned idea what he’s doing. I swear I thought he was gonna combust.” you started talking with your hands more, properly illustrating the story for him, “It was like he had steam coming out of his ears! He froze up and the girl was weirded out and left. Portgas was so confused he went up to my brother all like “How’d you mess that up dude? You just gotta try.” He was insistent that my brother could have pulled her if he wouldn’t have frozen up. One problem,” you cut yourself off with a laugh, unconsciously putting a hand on Luffy’s shoulder, “my brother hadn’t ever been around girls other than me and our crew ever. He didn’t know what to do!”

Luffy smiled and bumped your side, “Then what happened?”

“Portgas tried again! And again, over and over again all night! Half of the girls were sad cause they wanted to dance with him, not my brother, and the rest were just confused what they were supposed to do with this dude that was basically short circuiting. After a bit of that, Portgas got annoyed and insisted on helping my brother learn how to dance! Portgas is almost a half-foot taller than my brother and trying to teach him how to dance, trying to get my brother to lead. He got so frustrated, I remember him shouting over the music, “Fucking woo me, Cap! Damn!” but it was no use, my brother had two left feet and no user manual.” Luffy barked out a laugh at your poor imitation of Ace’s voice, “Eventually I got fed up just waiting around with those two, so I went and got some water, and I started talking to some nice girl at the bar. She was a little down and she wanted to try and meet someone but was having no luck. And me being the natural wing woman I am, I pointed out my brother and explained what was going on. She was his age and thought it was funny, so I encouraged her to approach him. Your brother,” you said, poking Luffy’s side, “thought she was flirting with him and was trying to shoo her away. Eventually she got fed up with his bs and just grabbed my brother’s wrist and walked away. Portgas was so confused, he found me, and I had to explain to him what was going on. And long story short, that’s how I got my brother his first girlfriend.”

“How long were they together?” he asked.

You squinted in thought, counting a bit on your fingers, “Two months. He broke up with her when she tried to get him to stop sailing and join the Marines.” You explained.

Luffy frowned, “Why would she try and make him give up on his dreams?”

“Some people think safety and normalcy is better than dreams and such.” You guessed, poking your hat back on your head a bit. “Some people don’t dream big at all; they just want to live as comfortably as they can until they die.”

“I’ve never understood that” Luffy stated, straightening his legs in front of him and crossing his arms, “It’s like people are afraid of what might happen if they actually succeed.”

“Some people are.” You muttered, “Some people are afraid of success even if they don’t know it. I think more people are afraid of success than failure.” Luffy quirked a brow and looked over at you, “We all know failure. We don’t all know success.” You said firmly, “And there’s nothing scarier than the unknown.” Luffy shrugged, “I like the unknown,” he said, “it makes me excited.”

You smiled and brightly said, “That’s why we’re pirates. But” you paused, “the fear of the unknown can still sneak up on us. Don’t count it out.”

Luffy wanted to protest, but quick flashes of when you two met went past his eyes, all the questions and confusion. “I guess so.”

You hummed a little, “What do you want to do for your birthday?” you asked.

“Probably eat some meat, help the crew, and sleep in.” Luffy sighed.

You frowned, “Uh-uh. I want proper birthday plans, sir.” Your captain just shrugged, “You better tell me, or I’ll do it myself and if it’s something you don’t like then it’s your fault.”

Luffy felt a grin pull at his lips without him meaning to, “I’m serious, I’ll be alright.”

“Bullshit.” You hissed, but you dropped it. With a sigh you admitted something, “I really don’t want to sleep in the girls’ room tonight.”

Luffy was puzzled, “Why?”

You rolled your eyes, “Do you particularly want to sleep with a bunch of people puking all night?” you asked sarcastically.

Luffy grimaced, “Maybe not.”

You sighed, lying flat on your back, “Where should we go?”

Wait. You wanted Luffy to go with you? The thought made Luffy’s brain fry for a moment. He stammered for a moment, and if you noticed, you didn’t acknowledge his struggle. Finally, he was able to spit out, “The aquarium has comfy booth things.”

You smiled at the thought and nodded, “Wanna have a sleepover in there?” you chided, pinching his leg. Luffy thought for a moment but nodded, “Great! Grab your blanket and stuff and meet me in there!”

Pillow and blanket in hand, Luffy stood in front of the door of the Aquarium Bar and took a deep breath. Luffy didn’t know how to categorize the pull of anxiety in his chest, he wasn’t afraid, and he wasn’t upset, after all you two had been on good terms for months. Even still, he found himself clutching his pillow a little too tight, his skin itching, and his hand shook every time he went to open the door.

Just when he was finally getting up the nerve to open the door, his fingertips brushing the handle, you swung the door open, running straight into Luffy without looking. You two flinched and scrambled, ending up with your arms around his shoulders and his around your middle, his stuff on the floor. You tilted your head up a little, making you realize how close you were when the brim of your hat hit Luffy’s nose, making him laugh. You both felt heat rush up into your faces and you found yourself thinking about how lovely Luffy’s eyes looked this close, him thinking the same about you.

“Wanna get to bed?” you muttered, slowly untangling from Luffy’s hold, bending to pick up his dropped bed supplies. Luffy nodded and flushed, watching you walk back into the room, his eyes unconsciously falling to your hips, “I was just about to go look for you, you know, see if you had gone and raided the fridge or something.” You called over your shoulder.

Luffy followed behind you, letting the door shut behind him. When he got around the mast in the middle of the room, he saw where you had set yourself up and where you were putting him. He put your pillows to where you’d be laying head-to-head. You carefully fluffed up the pillows and laid out Luffy’s blanket with care. When you were done, you smiled and plopped your hat onto the table in the middle of the room and slid into your bed spot, snuggling deep under your fluffy blanket.

The pirate captain looked you over in the blue glow of the aquarium, entranced by the way the waves of light rippled over your soft smile and serene expression. You looked up at him, confused, and it hit Luffy in that moment how the light caught in your irises sometimes made them look like fire. You were about to ask Luffy what he was doing when he quietly put his hat beside yours and flopped into the makeshift bed you had set up for him. You let out a shocked laugh as his dramatic flop made the booth bounce you up, flailing to catch yourself. Your hands finally found purchase on a positively cackling Luffy’s shirt. “You fucker!” You spat out, turning over onto your stomach you hovered over Luffy’s head, holding yourself up with one hand on his pillow and the other still on his shoulder. Luffy looked up at you with a cheeky grin, and he enjoyed the way your hair pooled downwards, the aquarium light making it look like a halo, “I could have fallen off!”

“But you didn’t.” he chuckled. Your face scrunched in annoyance, going to retort when he stopped you, “And if you did, I would catch you.” Luffy smiled and reached a finger up, poking the tip of your nose, and he relished in the embarrassment that flooded your features.

You rolled your eyes and smacked his hand away from your face. He tried to put it back, just to mess with you, but you huffed and grabbed him by the wrist and pinned it to his pillow, “Stop poking my face.” You giggled. Luffy could have gotten out of your hold if he wanted to, but he was shocked to find that he wanted no such thing. “Come on, Birthday Boy. You gotta get some sleep so you have energy for what I have planned for you, alright?”

Luffy raised an eyebrow, “What’re you talking about?”

You smiled wide, raising your hand off of his shoulder, gently poking the tip of his nose, “You’ll see.” You whispered before sliding back into your space and back under your covers. “Get some sleep.”

Luffy blinked up at the ceiling and furrowed his brow, “What’re you planning?” You simply stayed silent, unnerving him, “Should I be scared?” You gave no reply, and a shiver ran up Luffy’s spine.

The next morning, you woke up early, the sun barely cracking over the horizon. You were going to make your captain massive, delicious birthday meals all day, three of em. Maybe four if you had time for dessert past the cake you planned to bake.

You hurried right into the kitchen, getting to work. You whipped up eggs, pancakes, bacon, sausage, and potatoes, setting them up piping hot before coming to wake Luffy up, padding up to him, sound asleep on the cushioned seat of the aquarium.

You giggled quietly and stopped just short of where he laid, the sight of his hat giving you an idea! You quickly brought your fist to your lips and blew out a bit of yellow glass, quickly shaping it round and round in your hands, keeping it as perfectly circular as you could, forming a dome and the brim before forming one of your fingers into a red strip of glass, wrapping it around the base. You meticulously picked at and prodded every little corner and edge until you were satisfied. You had made a tiny glass version of his hat that could fit in the palm of his hand.

You let it cool and rushed to wake up Luffy, shaking him with your free hand, “Wake up, Birthday Boy! C’mon!” you exclaimed, only receiving a grumble and him turning over. You sighed and set your gift down next to his real hat before trying again. You shook his shoulder again, and he responded with a slow swat to get you to go away. “Uh-uh” you chided, “I woke up early as hell and made you food, you’re waking up!” Luffy roused a bit at the mention of food, but his eyelids were still heavy. A devious little idea popped into your head, “Luffy!” you sing songed. He blinked at you blankly. “If you don’t get up right now, I’m dunking you into the aquarium.”

Luffy laughed and tried to sit up, sleep still holding fast with its claws, and the next thing either of you know, he’s dosing off again. You sighed and shook your head, but ever a woman of your word, you quickly gathered the sleeping man into your arms, hoisting him over your shoulder. You climbed up the ladder attached to the tank and opened one of the hatches. “Last chance!” you called, receiving only sleepy blinks and confusion. You beamed as you quickly dunked Luffy’s head under the water, holding onto his torso around his middle for stability. Immediately you ripped the sputtering man out of the cold water, and man, he was awake!

Luffy spat and spluttered, running his hands over his face as he cackled, and you still held onto him so neither of you would fall, laughing at his reaction. Luffy put his hand out to hold onto the aquarium roof for a bit more stability and slipped, scaring the shit out of both of you. Luckily you held on tight, and the pirate captain instinctively wrapped his arms and legs around you, making you readjust your hold to under his legs.

You chuckled into his damp shoulder where he held you, “Luffy?” you asked, muffled by the fabric, “If you let me go, we can get down and eat.” You said, face still shoved into the red fabric of his shirt.

Luffy’s face ran hot as he realized what was going on, “Sorry, I didn’t want to die.” He exaggerated, slowly unraveling himself from around you, taking a seat on the aquarium’s edge before slapping the lid shut, all with a little smile. “I would’ve saved you.” You said nonchalantly, beginning to descend the ladder, “I can’t fuckin swim but I’m stubborn and I’d find a way.” You chuckled as your feet hit the floor.

Your words might mean very little to someone else, but a lot of things that you do mean a lot to Luffy. Luffy felt a weird pull in his chest again, not a bad one though, but he didn’t know what to call it. You looked breathtaking to Luffy in that moment, beaming up at him, hair a bit messed up and wet from his antics, with how bright your smile was, it was positively blinding, but he couldn’t bring himself to look away.

“Oh! And I made you something!” you chimed, breaking his trance. Luffy quickly hopped off the aquarium to the floor, confused when you came up to him holding his hat. You placed his hat onto his head with care before saying, “I just couldn’t help myself.” You chuckled as you handed over a little glass sculpture to Luffy.

His whole face cracked into a huge smile, and he snatched the miniature hat from your hands. He held it up to the light in awe, “I will never get over how cool this shit is.” He muttered.

You felt heat creep up your neck, and you started nervously fiddling with your hat strings, avoiding his eyes, “It’s not very much, but I promise that I’ll get you something better later today!” you assured, feet kicking at the nonexistent dust on the ground.

“What do you mean?” Luffy asked, flinching back in surprise, “You literally gave me a piece of you made to look like something very sentimental to me, and you’re saying it’s not much?” He scoffed, wagging a finger at you in shame, “You shouldn’t do that.”

“What?”

“Value yourself so lowly.” He chided, poking your side before walking out of the aquarium toward the dining hall, “You said you made breakfast?” he asked over his shoulder, leaving you behind for a moment, speechless, your mind taking a moment to catch up before you were able to run after him.

After you ate-you brought a plate to Chopper in the infirmary-you and Luffy were left helping your crewmates, getting them food, water, the works. You both caught each other’s eye from across the way coming out of the women’s quarters and men’s quarters respectively, and you sent him a wide grin, waving with the hand that wasn’t taken up by the load of laundry you had to round up for the girls. Luffy smiled right back, giggling a bit as he resumed his chores.

A new smile found itself on your lips as you recalled the first time you two had to do chores together, and a warm, fuzzy feeling settled in your chest at the difference.

Come lunch time, you quickly whipped together a massive portion of rice with fish, something simple so the crew could eat a bit too. Luffy was happy to eat his large plate, your cooking making him feel warm all over.

As the day went on, a little thought kept bugging at Luffy, you said you were doing more stuff for his birthday, but what? Luffy didn’t even know what he really wanted to do, too focused on good food and helping his friends. The thought dug deeper into his skull when he noticed that you were MIA after lunch. Luffy sat up on the figure head of the Thousand Sunny, watching the horizon and kicking his feet. The sun was about to set, the sky lit up in bright oranges and yellows. The sight made him smile, the warm sunlight made him feel like his brother was there, just for a moment, that he was wishing him a happy birthday.

Luffy was fully spacing out, eyes hazed and unfocused when he heard the loud SMACK of the kitchen door against the wall. He whirled around to see that was going on, and he could barely see you behind a giant stack of bowls that you expertly maneuvered into the men and women’s quarters. When you were done, you dashed back into the kitchen with a wide grin. Luffy was intrigued, slipping down off of the lion figurehead and making his way over to the kitchen door.

Before he could make it, Chopper came at him and tried to push him away from the door, “No way, Luffy! You gotta wait!” he hollered. Luffy shrugged and tried to move past the small reindeer but was stopped when he felt the undeniable pain of a set of antlers digging into his stomach. Luffy doubled over and fell to his side, “Oops! Looks like you need to go to the infirmary, huh?” Chopper said cheerily, carefully dragging Luffy around the ship to the infirmary.

“Why’d you do that?” Luffy groaned, flopping onto the bed in the room. “It hurts.”

Chopper shrugged cheekily, grabbing out an icepack with a little smile, “You need to wait. I’m making you wait.” He said, slapping the icepack onto Luffy’s stomach.

“Oof!” Luffy whined, “So mean! It’s my birthday you know?”

Chopper nodded, “I know. Happy birthday. Stay here.” He said simply, glaring when Luffy started trying to stand, “Lay down until one of us gets you or else I’m gonna introduce my antlers to your head.” He threatened, shaking a hoof in anger.

“I oughta tell Robin about this.” Luffy mumbled.

“You can, but she’d be fine with it.” Chopper said, blowing a raspberry before leaving Luffy alone in the infirmary, stuck staring at the paneled walls and the little supplies around the room. After a moment, the captain found himself dosing, his eyes heavy and his breath slow.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

Luffy jolted from the infirmary bed, feet on the floor in an instant, “C’min’.” he slurred, rolling out his sore neck. The tiny figure of Toni Toni Chopper looming in the crack of light. Luffy shivered, clutching his middle, “What do you want?”

Chopper just smiled and gestured with his little hoof for Luffy to follow him. Luffy rose, stretching with a yawn and trudged out, looking out at the water on the back of the ship, the newborn night sky twinkling with stars. Chopper reached up and waved his hoof around to get Luffy to hold it, the pirate complied and grabbed the little not-a-hand. The little doctor eagerly led Luffy toward the lawn deck, and the moment it came into view, Luffy’s eyes lit up and sparkled, his jaw dropping a bit in awe.

You had set up a table in the middle of the lawn deck, covered in massive amounts of delicious looking food, all different types of meats, fish, veggies, fruit, and rice. The whole deck was strung with simple, colorful glass sculptures between string lights, making the space twinkle with rainbows of colors. You were bent over your record player, set up on the bench of the table, spinning a record you thought Luffy’d like from your home island.

“Holy shit,” Luffy muttered, trying to find his breath as he slowly stepped onto the grass.

You turned around with a beaming smile, “Happy Birthday, Captain!” you cheered, Chopper echoing you. Your smile never dropped as you came up to Luffy and grabbed his hand, dragging him to the table, sitting him down on the bench, “I know it sucks that it’s just us, but I hope we can still have some fun!” you exclaimed, plopping next to him. Chopper climbed up onto the bench on the other side of Luffy and started to dig in. Luffy looked to you, you thought for permission, with wide eyes, “Eat as much as you want! I’ll make sure me and Chopper are fed, and the rest of the crew has already been taken care of!” you insisted, stabbing a fork into a large piece of meat, holding out in front of Luffy’s face. “Go ahead!”

Luffy’s heart swelled in his chest, and he felt completely and truly overwhelmed by how happy he felt. With a smile, Luffy reached out and grabbed the meat off of the fork with his teeth, relishing in your giggles. As the food positively melted in his mouth, he somehow felt even more giddiness flow into him, and he was practically bouncing as he started shoving piles of the delicious food into his mouth.

You felt positively delighted as you saw him and Chopper enjoying the food you’d made. You quietly slid a bit of food your way and had your fill around what Luffy was barreling through. While you ate, you watched your captain mow through the food, occasionally thrusting a glass of water or milk in front of him so he’d take a damned second and breathe. When you saw how close to finishing he was, you hurriedly got up and started clearing empty plates, consolidating any food left onto a single plate in front of Luffy. When you had them all you rushed back to the kitchen, placing all of the dishes into the sink. You wiped off your hands on a towel and started grabbing trays of desserts and taking them out to the table. You made three trips with arms full of cookies, pies, and cupcakes, each time you saw Luffy’s smile get bigger and bigger. Then you came out with the cake.

You started softly singing ‘Happy Birthday’ as you set it down, lighting a few candles with your finger. Chopper joined in enthusiastically.

“Happy birthday, dear Luffy! Happy birthday to you!” you two chimed as you sat back down beside the beaming captain. “Make a wish, Birthday Boy!” you exclaimed, bumping your shoulder with his.

Luffy was just overjoyed with all of the wonderful things you had gone out of your way to make for him. He took a second and watched the way the candlelight flicked over your face, the colorful glints of light around you, and he soaked in your soft smile and gentle eyes.

Finally, Luffy knew what to wish for, he blew out the candles to cheers from your and Chopper, “What’d you wish for, Luffy?” the little reindeer asked, pulling a few desserts onto his plate.

You chastised the doctor, “You can’t ask that, Chopper! If he says it, it won’t come true!”

Luffy just smiled and started grabbing at the sweets, “This stuff looks great!” he exclaimed.

“Eat up! It’s all for you!” you said, “Happy birthday!”

Luffy rolled his eyes and plopped a cupcake onto your empty plate, “You can have some too, you know?”

You and Chopper froze, ‘Willing sharing? It’s not meat but still.’ The two of you shared a look around the pirate captain, but ultimately just broke out into smiles as you started unwrapping the cupcake.

“Thank you, Luffy.” You said between bites. Luffy waved you off without much thought and kept plowing through all of the sweet treats. Chopper started yawning, and you quietly told him to go to sleep, and no, he doesn’t have to check on the others first, you would before you went to bed. So, he begrudgingly trotted off to sleep in the infirmary where he’s been sleeping while the men were all sick.

When you saw him go, it reminded you of something. You sat up straight as a board before reaching under the table and grabbing out a little rectangle wrapped in simple newspaper with a ribbon. You held out the present with shaky hands, “I have another present for you.” You said quietly, a little shocked when Luffy stopped shoveling the delicious sweets into his mouth and wiped his hands on his pants before taking the gift from your hands.

“Thank you!” he exclaimed, ripping into the paper. When enough of it was revealed, he pulled it completely out of the paper. “Woah!” he awed, taking it in. It was a glass picture frame with orange flame designs all along it. Inside the frame was a worn picture of Luffy, Sabo, and Ace when they were younger, Luffy was on Ace’s shoulders, pointing to where he wanted Ace to take him, and Sabo was trailing right behind, all three of them with wide, toothy smiles. “How did you-?”

“Portgas carried that picture with him everywhere for years,” you started, watching Luffy trace his fingers along the glass, “He accidentally left it at my house the last time he visited. It fell out of his pocket in my workshop.” You explained with soft eyes and Luffy felt a huge wave of emotion wash over him, “I thought I’d lost it in the move onto the ship, but I found it in an old jacket pocket last week. I thought you should have it, but I wanted to wait until it was a good time to give it to you, and when you said it was your birthday…” you trailed off, resting a hand on his bicep with a smile, “I hope you like it.”

“It’s-it’s great!” Luffy exclaimed, wrapping you in a tight hug, “Thank you so much!” he called out. When he pulled away, he set up the picture frame right on the table and resumed his eating with a beaming smile.

When you finished what you wanted to eat from the spread, you got up and moved to the other side of the bench, sifting through your records, looking for a specific one. “Aha!” you cheered when you found it. You quickly swapped out the records and set the needle, stepping back with a bob of your head, your hips shifting a bit with the rhythm.

Luffy shot up in his seat, the last of the cake in his mouth. “That’s Ace’s favorite song!” he exclaimed.

You grinned, “Really? That basic bitch.” You laughed out as you spoke, approaching Luffy, “This is like the most popular song from my island! This band used to perform for Gol D. Roger back in the day. He’d come and visit our island a lot when he was king.” You stood in front of Luffy, hands out. “C’mon, lemme show you how we celebrate birthdays where I’m from.”

Luffy was confused, but he turned in his seat and took your hands, yelping a bit when you yanked him up, pulling him into the middle of the lawn deck, “What are we doing?”

You smirked, “We can’t exactly club hop right now, but we can dance.” You said, placing his hands on your hips. Luffy’s ears burned but he kept his hands where you placed them. Then you reached up and wrapped your arms around his neck, “Follow my lead.” You muttered, stepping to the rhythm. Luffy was watching his feet, trying his best to copy your fluid movements. You couldn’t help but giggle a bit when he’d step on your toes, “It’s okay, my boots are steel toed.” You said with a smile, “You’re supposed to look up at me,” you said, nudging his chin up with your finger. “Eyes on me, Birthday Boy.”

Luffy swallowed a lump in his throat and tried to hold your mischievous gaze. “I didn’t wanna step on ya,” he explained as you returned your hand back around his neck.

“I’ll be okay.” You chided, “Hey, lemme show you something else,” you said, moving to grab his hands. Luffy was confused but was trying to keep up. You kept your feet moving, not skipping a beat as you twirled in his arms, putting your back against his torso, your hands still connected. “Now, you can stay like this or turn me back out and go back to what we were doing before!” you chirped, smiling up at him over your shoulder.

Luffy swallowed down the part of him that was telling him to keep you there and twirled you back out because he wasn’t sure he could bear how much hotter his face was getting by the second. You held onto his hands with a smile that never fell, and continued stepping in and out, guiding his hands with your movements.

As the song came to a close, you twirled Luffy in your arms like before, his back connecting with your front. You set your chin on his shoulder, “Wanna keep dancing? The next song’s slower.” You asked innocently, not noticing the heat droving off of Luffy’s face in waves. Luffy nodded and you beamed, twirling him back out and stepping closer. As the next song started, a beautiful melody of different horns and guitar, you returned his hands to your hips and your arms around his neck, slowing down the rhythm of your movements, “I love this song.” You whispered, holding Luffy’s gaze, “Apparently my mom used to sing it to me and my brother when she was alive,” you smiled as you continued, “It’s about this man who’s so in love with the most beautiful woman in town, but she won’t give him the time of day. So, day after day he sits under her window and sings a love song so beautiful that she slowly starts to fall for him too.” You explained, relishing in the heat of his hands against your skin. “It ends with her singing the song with him, showing that she finally loves him just as much as he loves her.” Subconsciously you felt your finger wrapping around one of his curls at his neck, “People play this song at weddings for good luck.” You said, laughing a bit at the superstition.

“It’s a pretty song.” Luffy muttered, “Your island is really cool. You are too.” He said with a smile, enjoying the way your eyes gleamed at the compliment. You giggled a bit and carefully hit your forehead against his chest, your hat hanging off your neck. And there you stayed for the remainder of the song, one of Luffy’s hands venturing up your back, rubbing it soothingly.

Sanji sat up from his sleep in a panicked, cold sweat. The other sick men in the room groaned and stirred at the sudden movement, “Today was Luffy’s birthday!” Sanji exclaimed, trying to scramble out of his hanging bed.

The other male Straw-Hats all sat up in a panic, joining Sanji in his snail race to the door, “How the fuck did we forget?!” Zoro growled, being the first one to the door.

“We were a bit preoccupied, marimo.” Sanji said back, “I gotta at least make him a damned cake!” He exclaimed, dragging himself to the door handle, forcing it open with as much strength as his sick little muscles could manage, which wasn’t much. When the door swung open, all of the men’s eyes landed on the decorated lawn deck, confused hum’s and hah’s coming from the pirates, until they noticed the large table set up with the now empty platters of sweets and such, the sound of soft music filtering into the room.

“Holy shit.” Zoro muttered, “They’re dancing.” He almost hissed, pointing at where you and Luffy stood so close together, arms wrapped around each other. The male Straw-Hats’ eyes all slammed open wide, scrambling to get a better look from the door.

“They are.” Usopp whispered, “Are they like…dating now?”

Sanji rolled his eyes with a smile, “With how dense they both can be? Probably not,” he said, “They look so happy.”

Franky smiled wide and started trying to usher the other men back to bed, “She has it handled for now,” he said, “Looks like he’s having a super time.”

Slowly the sick men all crawled back to their beds, happy that Luffy was at least having a good birthday, with or without them.

“Happy birthday, Captain,” you muttered as the song came to a close. You pulled back a bit and smiled at him, “Hope it was an alright one.”

Luffy barked out a laugh, his hold on you tightening a bit, “It was better than alright!” he chided, “It was great! Probably one of the best birthdays I’ve had in a while.” Luffy assured, eyes running all across your face as he took in your bashful expression.

“I’m glad.” You said, pulling Luffy into a hug, “I can’t wait till you’re king.” You whispered in his ear, ignoring the way his shoulders tensed, “You’re a great man and I know for a fact that Portgas would be proud of you every day.”

Luffy smiled wide, pushing back the little tears pricking at his eyes. And as he held you tight to his body, he found himself thinking about his wish.

‘I wish…I hope I can make her smile like that forever.’

[thevelria]

Blood and Poker - Call me when you are ready to date me (SFW/mafia!Gojo x pokerplayer!fem!reader)

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

Summary: You and your friends go to a casino to have some fun. Since you used to be a pro player you keep winning at the table which gets the attention of the owner. He tries to find out that you are a cheater or a genius.

Author's note: I love poker, I love casinos, I love mafia and I love Gojo. Simple as that lol

Warnings: no warnings.

WordCount: 1.9K

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

Sliding into your black heels and fixing your tight, mid-thigh long dress before you actually stepped out of your apartment. “I’m on my way, Shoko.” you clicked your tongue. Your childhood friend sometimes was a bit too much but you loved her anyway. “Yes, exactly. I’m literally opening the door downstairs. I already see you.” you started to wave while canceling the call. 

“You are late.” she rolled her eyes.

“Oh, c’mon… 3 minutes.”

“You are still late.” she teased. “Nah, get in the car. Utahime and Meimei are already waiting for us.”

“What about the boys?” you asked as you buckled the safety up. 

“Nanami picks Haibara up and they come with Kento’s car.” 

And what is all the fuss about, you may ask? It was a tradition. You’ve been friends since high school and stuck together even if you grew up. Even when you were at different unis and started to work at different workplaces. All of you gathered in the town twice a year. Once for a nice dinner before Christmas and once for a wasted gambling night in the Spring. Since it was April you were eager to meet your friends and let out all the stress, get wasted and probably win some money. 

It’s been a few years now that you stopped your career as a professional poker player. On a night like this you were able to feel the tension once again, to feel the adrenalin crawling up in your body and you let it spread in your veins. You had a perfect, so-called poker face. No one could read your emotions and you made advantage of that skill whenever you needed to. 

All of you met in front of the entrance, between kisses, hugs and howareyous you looked up for a blink and saw the big neon letters “GOJO”. This casino entered your town not long ago and you were more than happy to give it a try. 

As soon as you stepped in the girls aimed for the bar. 

“The usual?” Utahime asked you.

“Yes, honey. Thank you. I’ll be over at the…”

“Poker table.” Meimei finished your sentence giggling. 

“You know me too well.” you laughed. 

 Yu joined the girls, while Kento decided to escort you to the table you just picked randomly. 

“Tonight is my night, girl.” he leaned closer to you as soon as you took a seat. “I’m gonna win all your sweet money. It will be a perfect revenge for last year’s disaster.”

“You wish, sweetheart.” you petted his thigh. “You wish.”

Round after round you won the pot and kept gathering Kento’s chips, just as the other two player’s, too. Your friend was getting more and more impatient and probably irritated. 

“Fuck…” he hissed. “I’m out.” he rolled his eyes the second you raised the bet on the river. After an hour or so Kento was lacking his chips, maybe they were enough for 2 or 3 more rounds. 

***

“Boss, I need you to come with me please.” Yuuta bowed slightly before Gojo.

“What’s the matter?” he frowned. The head of security called him only when there was something off.

“I think there might be a cheater at one of the poker tables.” he sat down in the security room in front of the countless screens which gave them access to see everything in the casino. “Look! Do you see it at table 7? She keeps winning for one and a half hours straight. There’s no way she doesn’t count the cards…” he shook his head irritated. “Do you want me to kick her out?”

Gojo stepped closer, rubbing his thumb and index finger up and down on his jaw. “Hmm…” he growled as he stared at you. “I will handle her myself.” he spun on his heels and left the room. “Let’s see if you are a cheater or a genius, darling.” he smirked as he hurried his steps towards your table. 

***

“Oh, c’mon!” Nanami threw his hands into the air. “I know you’re bluffing, girl. I’m sure!”

“Am I?” you poked your tongue against your inner cheek. 

“Go, sweety, go!” Yu cheered for you from behind, sitting at a normal table, sipping his drink. He and the girls took a break and decided to watch the painful execution of Nanami Kento’s wallet. 

“Shut your mouth, Haibara!” hissed the blonde haired man, as he pushed his glasses back up on his nose. 

“Show me what you got.” you smiled after the river. At this time only you and him stayed at the table, everyone else gave up and left. 

“I win this. I know I do.” he smirked and flashed a full house with Aces full of Kings.  

“My sweet, Kento, my sweet sweet Kento.” your voice sounded warm and nice which sent shivers down his body.

“What?! WHAT?!” he clenched his jaw. “If you dare to tell me that…”

“Four of a kind…” you revealed your cards “Queens.” you chuckled a bit as the dealer repeated the result and pushed all the chips to you.

“Fuck off! Seriously, just fuck off, girl!” he took a desperately huge breath. 

“Good evening.” a husky voice interrupted the little act at the table. “May I join? It seems this pretty lady is getting lucky, so I would like to try mine, too” the snow white haired man said politely. You missed the quick glance the dealer gave to his boss.

“There’s no luck in this, sir.” you rolled your eyes offended. “I’m simply good at this game.”

He raised his index finger as he took a seat, signing he wanted to join the game anyway.

“If you are an enemy of your own wallet, you can join us.” Nanami hummed.

The cards were dealt and everyone made the bet. You tried to read your newest opponent but him wearing dark sunglasses gave you a hard time. 

“You’re staring.” he smirked.

“I know.” you raised one of your eyebrows.

Kento wanted to show off, even if he was terrible at any card games. Everyone knew it except him. He clicked his tongue, so you already knew he actually had something in his hand. You were holding a 7,2 off, so you dropped them without hesitation. There was no way on Earth you would try anything risky with the most horrible combination you could get.

As you kept staring at the handsome man next to you, he slightly pulled his sunglasses off, flashing his mesmerizingly blue eyes. “Holy fuck!” you thought to yourself. 

Kento wasn’t paying attention, he was sure this time he was going to win the pot. So he of course missed the cheeky wink his opponent gave you before pushing the glasses back up. You bit your lower lip, because even if it was clearer than the sun you couldn’t say a single thing. You rather tried to find out what he could hold. According to the cards on the table after the river you had two possibilities in mind.    

“All in.” he pushed all his chips to the middle of the table.

“Call!” snapped Kento without even thinking for a second. 

“Fuck, Nanami!” you shook your head angrily. “How can you be this stupid!”

“Easy, girl. I got this…” he smirked, flashing his cards. “Four of a kind, Aces.” he kept raising his eyebrows up and down. But the fact his opponent pulled a tiny smile told you more than enough. 

“He has a fucking straight flush, Kento. Why can’t you read the freaking cards?” you hummed a bittersweet laugh.

“How did you know…” he frowned as he showed the Queen and King of hearts in his hand. The dealer placed them right next to the rest of the cards in the middle of the table and called him the winner. 

“Don’t worry.” you turned to Nanami. “I’m gonna win your money back.” you winked at him.

“Will you?” your opponent chuckled. “By the way I’m Satoru.” he offered his hand for a shake. 

“Nice to meet you.” you nodded. 

“It’s my pleasure to play with a woman like you.” he tried to smooth talk.

“Stop flirting and make the bet.” you pretended to yawn. 

Gojo pulled his hand back and slightly smiled. Your cheeky attitude amazed him. 

As you promised your friend after a few rounds you had all the chips. 

“Your girlfriend is very very talented.” he turned to Nanami.

“Girlfriend? Her? I would never ever date her…” he bursted out in a loud laughter.

You punched him hard in the shoulder. “Asshole.” 

“You see?” Nanami tilted his head a bit.

“Only a fool wouldn’t date a beautiful lady like her.” he looked you in the eyes. That was the moment he got your attention. 

***

Gojo had no intention in telling you he was the owner of the place, rather he invited you for a drink at the bar. You stepped to your friends and promised them you were going to be back soon.

“Girl! Don’t be ridiculous!” Meimei chuckled. “This guy is hot as fuck. Go get him.”

“A Gin-tonic, please.” you sat down at the bar.

“Actually, two.” Gojo took a seat next to you. 

The second you wanted to pay for your drink the bartender smiled and said “It’s on the house, miss.” 

You were surprised but didn’t turn down the free drink. Satoru started to ask you questions about your skill and you ended up telling him your story.

“I used to be a pro player.” you pulled a painful smile. “But I had to quit and since then I rarely play.” 

“You are full of surprises, I am honestly amazed.”

The hours flew by and even if you had fun it was time to end the night. 

“The casino has hotel rooms as well.” Gojo offered it smoothly.

“Thanks.” you stood up and placed your palm on his shoulder. “But I don’t do one night stands anymore.”

He smirked at your comment and grabbed a business card in his pocket, handing it to you as he stood up as well. “I’m not interested in one night stands either. Call me when you are ready to date me.” he gave a quick kiss on your cheek and left. 

You stared at the card in your hand and frowned, because you were sure you'd seen his name somewhere. As you walked out of the building and turned around there it was. The huge neon letters “GOJO” right above the entrance flashed into your face. You grabbed your phone right away and sent him a text message.

“Why didn’t you say you own this whole place?”

“Does it matter?” he texted you back almost immediately. 

You hummed a laugh, because he made a point. “No, actually it does not matter.” 

***

The next morning you were woken up by your ringing phone. 

“Yeah?” you picked up, being barely awake.

“So, are you ready to date me, yet?” Gojo’s husky voice made you smile. 

“Uhm…” you had no idea what to say.

“I’ll pick you up at 7 sharp.” he hung up. 

“Well, it seems I’m gonna have a date tonight.” you blinked a few times before a question popped in your mind. “Wait! How the hell does he know my address?” 

You had no idea that Gojo Satoru wasn’t only an owner of a casino. No. He was the head of one the biggest mafia families in the whole country. 

[marvelwitchergilmore]

Bloody Pardon 2

Summary: Anthony Lockwood x Fe!Reader -> Part 2 of Bloody Pardon. Aunt Violet and her friend June has come to visit and you're still married to Lockwood.

Disclaimer: Not proof read, fluff, angst, descriptions of panic attacks, talks of love, falling in love, pain of love.

“I beg your bloody pardon?”

You practically chased Lockwood down the stairs of the house. 

In his hand, he was looking through more newspaper clippings George had found. You’d originally found him in the Library, his shirt sleeves rolled up and his tie thrown across the back of the sofa. 

He’d been rambling things about the case and what he needed you to find out whilst George and Lucy headed out into town to collect extra equipment. 

You’d asked what he would be doing. (collecting his aunt and her friend from the train station)

That was when he told you.

“You heard me.”

“Lockwood, I might be married to you but I am not your wife. I thought I had made that explicitly clear to you.”

“You have.” Lockwood agreed, leafing through the mail at the bottom of the stairs. 

Sometimes you wondered whether he had any perception of anything else in his life. 

“But, my Aunt is also bringing her best-friend who just happens to be…”

“A posh twat?” 

You turned and found Lucy standing, eating a Digestive by the bottom of the stairs. 

Lockwood gave her a short smile. “Highly opinionated, to put it nicely.” 

“Still doesn’t mean we have to act like a married couple.”

“Yes, it does.”

“Why?”

“Because if we don’t, the night will only become more excruciating than it already will be. And I know for a fact nobody in this house wants that. Ever.”

“I thought she was coming down for the weekend?” Lucy asked. 

You could kill Lockwood.

Maybe Kipps would still be your clean-up-crew.

An hour more of arguing and you finally gave in. You and Lockwood would act like the happy couple, Lucy and Kipps would join for the first evening meal and, since George would be visiting his parents for the weekend, that left a room open for his Aunt. 

“If you’d like, I can sleep in the basement. Your Aunt’s friend can stay in my room.”

“Lucy!”

“Oh, sorry.”

You slammed your hand against your head before Lockwood thanked her and agreed with her. 

“I do have one question though,” Lucy stated. 

“Oh, you have one question.”

“If your aunt is staying and she thinks you're married…where will you two sleep?”

“In my room.”

Part of you felt Lockwood had answered way too quickly. 

“And I suppose you feel safe sleeping next to me, inches from a pillow I could use to smother you in your sleep?”

Lockwood smiled and your stomach flipped - out of feeling or anger, you didn’t quite know. 

“I trust you with my life, Darling.”

You narrowed your eyes and picked up the paper in front of you on the kitchen table. “Don’t push your luck, Sweetheart.”

After that, you moved out of the kitchen and went straight up to the attic before collapsing onto your bed and trying to drown both the light and your thoughts out with your pillow. 

“It shouldn’t be that bad.”

Lucy must have followed you up. 

“You’re not the one who’s married into the family involuntarily, might I add.”

Lucy laughed and made her way over to your bed before sitting down on the edge. “Come on, it’s not that bad.”

Swiftly, she pulled at the pillow until you let go and she placed it beside you. From there, she pulled at your hands before you sat up. 

“Hey, at least you get to embrace your feelings towards Lockwood.”

“If, what you mean by feelings, is the capability to brutally murder him every hour then, sure. I’ll help add to the marital murder rate in this country.”

“That’s not what I meant and you know it.”

“No, I don’t.”

Lucy simply said your name and kept eye-contact. 

Trust her to be the one to figure it out. 

“I can’t like him, Lucy.”

“But you do.”

“But I do.”

“Why are you so fixed on not liking him?”

“Because in this world, liking someone puts everyone in danger. I don’t want to do that.”

“The only person you are putting in danger is yourself. You don’t think me and George don’t notice how you look at him or, better yet, how he looks at you?”

“He doesn’t look at me.”

“For the love of-” Lucy rolled her eyes and said your name again. “The pair of you are idiots.”

“Lucy, I trust your judgement of character but you’re all off for this one.”

“Bloody hell, alright. Fine. If I’m wrong-”

“You are.”

“I’m not.”

“But you are.”

“But I’m not.”

“What are you two arguing about?” George asked from the top of the stairs.

“She doesn’t believe Lockwood loves her.”

“Whoa, hey! No, I never said anything about love.”

“No, but your eyes do.”

“George.”

“Don’t look at me, I’m with Lucy on this one.”

“For the love of-”

“Tea’s ready!”

Despite your feelings of wanting to murder Lockwood, right now you could have kissed him. 

A week later, George had left for his parents and whilst Lockwood cooked dinner back at Portland Row with the help of Kipps and Lucy, you were trying to clear your head from all the thoughts about what was or could possibly happen in the next couple of days. 

You and Lucy had already spent all of the day before moving your stuff into Lockwood’s room to make it look more believable that you both were actually a married couple. Meanwhile, Lockwood and George covered the house in different photos of all of you from day’s out to “the wedding day.”. 

And yet, despite all of this, you couldn’t seem to wrap your head around it. 

Yes, your feelings towards Anthony Lockwood had been, in the past, less than professional. But, you had gone to great lengths to hide those particular feelings. And, so far, you’d done a good job. 

Except, for the following few days, you were going to have to spend most of your time acting on or, at least, around those feelings all the while sharing the same bed with him. 

Still, you didn’t exactly know when you had begun to walk back home but both too slowly and too quickly, you found yourself entering your key into your front door as the snow outside just began to clump on the street and the steps. 

Entering, you were hit with the hot air from the house along with a mixture of smells from Lockwood’s cooking. 

It was rare he ever cooked since George was always the better one, but - after finding out when you were sick - Lockwood could have been a close rival if he wanted to be. 

You could hear laughter flowing from the living room and kitchen before you heard someone speak. 

“So, is this her?”

The voice wasn’t anything like you had been expecting but then a second voice came from the kitchen. 

“Oh, my, Anthony. You didn’t tell me she was this beautiful.” 

The second woman pushed past the first with a smile on her face and she came straight over to you and you couldn’t help but mirror her own smile, it was that infectious. 

“Hello, my darling. I’m Violet, but please, call me Vi.”

“Okay.”

You were still spinning a little so it took you a moment before introducing yourself. 

“Quick, let's get that coat off you.” Violet started to help you remove your coat before walking you towards the kitchen with her. “This is June.”

You shook her hand but, compared to Violet, June  seemed…you couldn’t tell. Just…not as warming. 

“Now, I want to get to know my new grand-niece. Tony tells me you're the best swordswoman he’s ever seen.”

The ‘getting to know you’ conversation was split between Violet asking her questions to which Lockwood would manage to answer most of them and June asking her but Violet completely ignoring her. 

Until the BIG question. 

“Why did you two get married?”

June was rather harsh in her asking but Violet just smiled joyfully and turned to you. “Oh, yes. Tony, I’m still upset about that. I, at least, deserved an invite to your wedding.”

As Lockwood began to reply, you shot out of your seat to help him save what he had been cooking in his pan as it started to boil over. Taking a tea towel, you wrapped it around the handle and turned down the heat at Lockwood reached above you for a lid, handed it to you and reached for the seasoning. 

You replaced the pan onto the stove, holding onto the lid. Lockwood found certain seasonings before asking you if you’d seen the Rosemary. 

“Top shelf.”

“Ah.”

The pair of you worked in sync until you placed the lid on top and turned to face him only to find the pair of you closer than you’d ever been when stood in the kitchen together. 

“That’s why, June.”

You both turned and found the two older women watching you both like you were their favourite soap opera. 

“Look at them, how they move together. You know, my Frank and I were like that when we were younger.”

As much as the following conversation had stemmed from the way Violet viewed yourself and Lockwood together, it gave you enough time to distract yourself from the fact that you and Lockwood were standing closer than you had agreed with before you walked back home. 

Dinner passed by easier than you expected, but you still thanked the heavens for Lucy and Kipps who managed to distract Violet and June into either reminiscing about the past or thinking about the future of couples such as Lucy and Kipps. 

Until June asked her questions again. 

Lucy- well, Kipps was half way through talking about Lucy and their first date when June turned to you and Lockwood who were sitting shoulder to shoulder and asked; “How did you know you two were in love? After all, you both are a little younger than some to get married in this day and age. How did you know he was the one?”

You sat there, food half chewed and you shared a slightly panicked look with Lockwood who, despite all the questioning, somehow still managed to keep his cool. 

“Erm, well…”

Think of something, think of something, think of something, think of something, think of something, think of something, think of some-

“It shouldn’t be that hard, dear. He is your husband after all.”

Husband. 

That word echoed over and over in your head. 

Lockwood is your husband. Shouldn’t you have a story? 

“Oh, June. Leave her alone. She’s had a busy day, I’m sure she’ll tell us later.” 

“No, Vi. We’ve come to see the newly wedded couple, haven’t we?”

It felt like the walls were closing in on you and the room was slowly starting to fall onto an axis. Slowly, the voices began to muffle and before you knew it, you pushed your chair back and excused yourself.

“I’ll be right back.”

In the distance, you could hear Lockwood apologising for you. Something about work and a brutal interrogation not that long ago. 

Pulling yourself up the stairs with the bannister, you eventually made it into the bathroom and shut the door behind you. 

Usually, anytime you looked at Lockwood, you got nervous. But, like, happy-nervous, butterflies forming a tornado in your stomach nervous. 

Only, with the questioning and feelings and the having to act like you loved Lockwood with all your heart whilst also making sure that the real feelings were kept at bay and the feelings of annoyance remained and the fake and real feelings didn’t get mixed up; that happy tornado now felt like a washing machine that had come off its hinges and was beating against your lungs. 

It took a while before you realised Lockwood had been standing outside the bathroom door almost the entire time and had been calling your name. 

Meanwhile, you had turned the tap on and off twice, splashed your face twice and by the time you felt ready to open the door and head back downstairs, Lockwood pulled you back. 

“Hey, you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah. Sorry.”

“Don’t apologise. You don’t have to apologise.”

“Christ,” that feeling was coming back. 

You pressed your hand to your stomach, trying to focus on your breathing. 

Lockwood’s gaze scanned your face. You were growing paler by the second and your breathing was just like how it used to be when you had a horror movie night with Lucy and George and you knew something was coming - you just didn’t know what. 

“Alright. You’re alright.” Lockwood’s hand came to your shoulders, looking around before finding his room and leading you inside. 

From there, Lockwood sat you down on the bed before closing the door and coming back and kneeling in front of you. 

“I don’t know if I can do this. I-I can’t lie to your family, Anthony. I can barely lie to myself.”

Lockwood continued to study you before bringing your hand to his chest. 

“Can you feel that?”

“Feel what?”

“My heartbeat. Can you feel it?”

Lockwood pressed your hand closer to his chest until he saw the small flicker of recognition in your eyes. 

“Okay, I want you to count. I want you to count the beats until you can breathe again. Okay?”

“Okay.”

You were on track for a while until your mind started floating again. 

“It’s just me and you. Nobody else. Just me and you, counting the beats.”

You nodded and started counting again. 

You didn’t know how long had passed. No-one came to find either of you and Lockwood never made a move to get out or apologise to anyone for taking so long. 

It was just you and him. 

He didn’t care if it took all night to make sure you were okay. He would kneel on the floor with you and for you, holding your hand against his chest, counting his heartbeats until you finally were able to breathe. 

“I don’t know if I- I don’t know how to do this. I don’t know how to be…with you.” 

Without being with you, you wanted to add. 

“Then just be you.” Anthony told you. “Just be you. Lord knows Barnes already calls us an old married couple anyway.”

Lockwood’s statement made you smile, and only when you let out a soft, quiet laugh, did he fully smile, too. 

“I’m sorry,” Lockwood apologised, gripping your hand in his a little tighter. “If I’d never picked up the case-”

“Then Faye would have never have gotten the answers about her brother and would still be spending every night wondering what happened to him,” you told Lockwood. “I know why you did it, Lockwood. I don’t blame you for doing what you did, even if you did sign real papers rather than fake ones.”

Lockwood nodded, waiting for you to continue.

“But…I guess we could skip over the newly wedded bliss and go straight to an old married couple?” 

Lockwood looked up to you for a moment, both delighted and unsure on how to react. 

“I mean, when have we ever done anything straight forward in this house?”

Lockwood smiled, and let out a small sigh of relief before lowering his head and bringing your hand to his lips and kissing your palm. 

“Thank you.” Lockwood then held your hand in both of his. “For everything. And, if it helps, we’re only gonna be married for a few more days.”

“What?”

“I finally got a call back from the solicitor.” Lockwood told you. “He did say it’s the first case Miss Kirk has ever had where fake and real documents have been mistaken in a marriage contract, but she’s taken our case and she’s drawing up all what needs to be signed. Everything that we each own will remain with ourselves. It’ll be as if we were never married.”

It took you a moment before you realised what this meant. 

No more husband or wife. 

It’ll go back to the way that it was. 

Just friends and coworkers. 

Feelings could be hidden again and you would never have to talk about them, ever again. 

“Well…good. Thank you, Lockwood.”

Lockwood nodded, slowly letting your hand go as he stood. “I-I should go and check on everyone. Make sure they haven’t killed Lucy and Kipps yet.”

“Yeah, you better. And, Tony?”

He looked back from the door. 

“Thank you.”

Lockwood nodded with a smile in response before leaving the room and closing the door behind him and the moment he did, you felt your heart shatter. 

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to you, Lockwood’s had done the same. 

Downstairs, Lockwood told everyone you were okay and had just eaten something bad earlier that day. You had thought the walk would have cleared your head but it didn’t so you just needed a little time. 

June’s reaction didn’t go unnoticed by Lockwood either. 

She either didn’t like you and therefore didn’t care, or she didn’t believe a word he said. 

Maybe both. 

But when you came down ten minutes later, Violet hugged you and had you sit down. 

She had noticed you hadn’t finished your tea since June’s grilling had sent your stomach beating against your lungs so, whilst Lucy, Kipps and Lockwood entertained June in the living room - helped with Violet’s excuse of wanting to get to know her grand-niece better - Violet made you a cup of tea and some dry toast. 

“I always wanted another girl in the family. Ever since me, there hasn’t been another girl born. All boys.” Violet smiled, pushing the toaster down. “So when I heard Anthony had gotten married, I was over the moon. I would have liked an invite, but it was rather short notice.”

“You have no idea,” you laughed a little. “Listen, Mrs-”

“Please, call me Violet. Or, Vi.”

“Violet,” you smiled.

In all honesty, you were a nervous-wreck. You pressed your hands between your knees as you turned to look at her as she finished stirring the two teas she’d made. 

“Oh, thank you.” She handed you your cup. “Violet.”

“Yes, my dear.”

“You have to know, I do love your nephew. We’re both young and it was quick but I do love him.”

Violet smiled. “I have no doubt about that, my dear. And, please, ignore June. She really is a nice woman. When I first met her, she didn’t believe that me and Frank were a couple and were rather two undercover agents.”

“Oh,” you laughed. 

“Yes, oh.” Violet replied. “She’ll warm up to you eventually. Just give her time. And tea. She loves tea.”

“Noted.”

“But I would like to know something,” she added. “When did you know?”

“Know what?” you asked, a little weary. 

“That you loved Anthony. People will dispute young and first love also being your forever and last love, but I don’t. I’d just like to know. It’s been so long since I've seen a love story play out and, just when did you know?”

You smiled, placing your hand over her’s as she held your other hand. 

“I’ll tell you, but I have to warn you, it’s not exciting.”

“Any tale of love is exciting at my age, my dear.”

With a smile, you then told her the truth. 

You told her about the day you knew you had fallen in love with Anthony Lockwood. 

You’d known you liked him ever since you’d been arguing with him when fighting off level two spirits in a building just outside of Guildford. 

You’d been annoyed at him for a couple of weeks since he’d been reckless too many times to count and it was only when you yelled at him, not noticing the spirit behind you and he pushed you onto the ground to save you, did you speak to him in a normal voice. 

“Why are you so bothered about this?”

“Because if something happened to you, what do you think I’d-” you’d panicked for a moment but kept your cool. “We’d do? What do you think we’d do if something happened to you, Tony?”

It was a while before you told him you loved him (at least, that’s what you told Violet.)

But the day you fell in love with him, and you admitted it to yourself, was the day he had just come home. 

He’d been out most of the day and Lucy and George had gone to pick up some take-out when you stood in the kitchen doorway and saw him hang up his coat, remove his tie and walk inside. 

It was nothing spectacular. It was just a small “I love you” that you said in your head. In fact, it took you a moment or two before you even knew you’d said it in your head. 

“And what about Tony? When did he-”

“When I saw her teach George how to dance in the living room one day,” Lockwood said from where he was leaning against the door frame. “Though I didn’t know it at the time.”

“Just as bad as your uncle.” Violet said. “You know, it took me hitting him over the head with the morning newspaper for him to tell me he loved me. A man of very few words, but also a man of great action.”

Lockwood smiled at you and you smiled back as he pulled out a chair and sat beside you with his arm across the back of yours. 

Lockwood then sat there as Violet told both of you the story of her and Frank and how they met and fell in love and got married and despite how much they tried, they could never have children. 

But it was okay. 

“We spent all our free time helping out other families, helping lost children find their families when they’ve been separated by lost spirits.”

It wasn’t until June, however, came inside telling everyone she was going to bed that you had noticed you’d seemingly moulded yourself into Lockwood’s side as Violet had been telling her story. 

All that came now was sleeping in the same bed as Lockwood. 

Maybe you could build a pillow wall.

Tags: who asked for a part two

@locknco

@nothing0075

@wordsarelife

@cassiopeiia24

[domainedewinter]

A night to learn - Part 1/2

Summary: Aemond woke up in the middle of the night to hear his brother running from the house, again. He found him and decided to give him what he needed to keep him with him.

Warnings: DUBCON, TYPICAL TARGARYEN INCEST, profanity, innuendo, he/him pronouns, , fingering, oral m receiving, toxic behaviour, SoftDom!Aemond, MxM, begging, nsfw.

Rating: 18+, MDNI

English is not my first language.

Like many nights, Aemond had heard the front door close, trying to be discreet, and while it worked with their parents, it didn’t with him. 

Their mother, Alicent, must have been in a deep sleep after drinking several glasses of wine to help down the sleeping pill—the only source of sleep—she took every night, and as for their father, he was too sick to notice anything, delirious in the medical room allotted to him on the other side of the enormous Targaryen estate.

Aemond hated knowing his brother had gone out again, ready to mess around; he would drink too much, sleep with anyone, and be rude to far too many people. 

Aemond stared at the ceiling for a moment before sighing and extricating himself from the welcoming warmth of his duvet. If no one else could keep his brother on the straight and narrow, he had to do it. It wasn’t his role as the younger brother, it wasn’t his role at all. But the jealousy and hatred he felt at the mere thought of foreign hands on Aegon’s body were enough to make him get up.

He dressed quickly, all in black—as almost always—pulled on his boots, and started their father’s car, driving to the city center. Finding Aegon wasn’t difficult since he had recently installed a small, invisible, yet effective piece of software that gave him his brother’s precise location at any time of the day or night.

A nightclub- Of course-, built on two floors. That’s where Aegon had been for almost an hour now, and even in such a short time, Aemond was convinced he’d had enough time to drink or consume some substances capable of altering his faculties and his already poorly sharpened reasoning. 

He entered the establishment without any problems, the bouncers stepping aside when they saw him arrive; if his appearance wasn’t enough to get him in, his name was. 

Targaryen was a name as feared as it was respected, and Aemond had no qualms about using it, mainly to fetch his brother.

After wandering through several rooms—the GPS location was precise but not to the point of indicating which floor he was on—Aemond finally saw him; he was dancing among other people, his skin glistening with sweat and his eyes closed as his body swayed to the repetitive rhythm of the entrancing music. Aemond should have gone down, cut through the crowd, and taken him away in a minute, but he found himself momentarily paralyzed, hypnotized by what he saw. His elder brother danced with disconcerting ease, moving to the notes as if they were part of him, something Aemond was utterly incapable of doing.

But seeing the many other pairs of eyes fixed on his brother, he frowned and approached. Another was quicker, and before he could grab Aegon, a boy with brown hair was dancing with him, his body pressed against his brother’s. 

His brother. 

Anger electrified his being, setting his blood on fire and burning his whole body. 

Without warning, Aemond seized the other boy and punched him in the face. A fight broke out, and Aegon stepped back, watching the scene as a confused and almost amused spectator.

When the other stopped getting up, simply raising a hand in a sign of surrender, Aemond looked up at his elder brother, his gaze on fire.

“Fuck, Aem, you should relax and... what are you doing here?”

“Shut up and follow me. We’re going home.”

“Home? You must be kidding, I just got here! You don’t like this kind of place, fine, go home and read and forget about me, I won’t be bored here, someone else will take care of me...”

The insinuation behind his words only sent Aemond to another level of anger, and this time he grabbed his brother with force, by the too-large and open collar of his T-shirt, pulling him violently against him. He could smell the vodka and peach, the syrup Aegon preferred with alcohol, he was so close to him, and it made him want to taste his lips. 

Not now, he reprimanded himself mentally, not here.

“If you think I’m going to let the first jerk who comes along put their hands on you, you’re delusional. So now you’re going to do what I say and follow me.”

Even if Aegon had wanted to argue and refuse, he had no choice, dragged by force into the cool air that hit him. He was thrown by Aemond onto the back seat before shivering, looking up at him. But the little pill he had taken and the alcohol didn’t allow him to be lucid, not even conscious during the long minutes the return journey lasted.

“Get up. Follow me.”

The voice of his brother pulled him from the thick, cottony sleep he had sunk into. Blinking several times, his bewildered gaze landed on Aemond, who lost patience and grabbed his wrist. He pulled him out of the car, and Aegon, nearly falling, caught himself as best he could, almost ending up in Aemond’s arms.

“Take it easy, I didn’t do anything, no need to be mad...” he mumbled before meeting Aemond's single, furious eye, so angry it made him look away. 

He didn't like how his younger brother managed to make him feel so vulnerable, inferior, and powerless. He had been the one to frighten him when they were children and now felt that the tables had turned; Aemond no longer feared him in the least, and worse, Aegon now felt a certain fear in return.

The younger's hand grabbed his face, forcing him to look at him.

“I am the only one to decide if I’m angry about having to search the whole city for my idiot brother who doesn’t have enough sense to take care of himself,” he began, whispering menacingly, pinning him against the car. “I get to decide if waking up in the middle of the night to babysit your sorry ass is a valid reason to be pissed.”

Faced with Aegon's feeble, uncertain growl, his eyebrows shot up in surprise.

“So now you're going to follow me, and we’re going to settle this once and for all.”

Aegon didn’t know what his brother meant by that and could only nod painfully before being roughly released. He did as he was told, following Aemond with minimal stumbling, guessing it would only anger his brother further. Once at his bedroom door, he reached for the handle, but Aemond was quicker. He grabbed his hand.

“Tsk tsk,” Aemond hissed, tilting his head to the side. “In mine.”

It wasn’t the first time Aegon had gone into his room—he would even come directly to Aemond's bed when too drunk after a night out—but the tone with which he ordered it sparked a strange feeling of unease.

“Listen, Aem, it’s fine, we’re home, you don’t need to take care of me and—”

This time, Aemond’s patience seemed to evaporate; his long, slender fingers tangled in Aegon’s messy hair and dragged him to his room. He threw him onto the floor, starting to remove his leather jacket, smiling slightly at seeing him on the ground, a flash of fear crossing his eyes.

“What’s the matter, brother, is something scaring you?” Aemond knelt to his level and placed two fingers under his chin. “Is it me you’re afraid of?”

“Wh- Don’t be stupid, I have no reason to be afraid of you,” Aegon replied, lifting his head as much as he could but still trying to back away as much as his uncomfortable position allowed.

“I’ve been taking care of you in many ways for a long time, my dear brother, but it seems I’ve missed the best way to do it. Because that’s what you’re looking for every night, isn’t it?”

Not understanding where Aemond was going with this, Aegon furrowed his brows, unable to tear his eyes away from his brother’s too-bright eye, hanging on his words, what he thought he knew about him, understood about him. 

Because usually, no one understood him. Why would it be different coming from his younger brother? 

How could this calm, composed, attentive, and studious young man, loved by their mother in a way Aegon could only envy from a distance, even begin to imagine what Aegon felt and desired?

Kneeling between his older brother’s legs, one hand firmly gripping Aegon’s tousled hair and the other sliding down his back, Aemond leaned in until their lips barely touched, then slowly let them glide to his ear.

“Attention. You waste your nights roaming these empty, meaningless places, hoping someone will give you that; attention, the very thing you can’t find here. And you hope one of those beings will take an interest in you, see you, maybe even understand you, but I think that desire is a bit too utopian—even for you.”

A shiver ran down Aegon's spine, momentarily stealing his breath, only to return in rapid, jagged gasps. His heart pounded so loudly in his ears that he feared Aemond might hear it, and if not already, the sound it made against his chest would betray him.

Aemond's sharp and angular face reappeared before his eyes, sharper than ever, more alive and burning than anything Aegon could recall. “You know I’m right, and it’s such a shame. None of them deserve your nights, your time, your energy, and... your body.”

As he said this, he pressed Aegon closer, causing Aegon's cock to harden involuntarily as Aemond's body nestled between his legs. “But don’t worry, I’ve found the solution. You won’t have to desperately seek attention from strangers anymore. You won’t have to because all my attention will be on you.”

Usually so eloquent and talkative, always ready with a stupid or hurtful remark, Aegon found himself speechless. His lips were parted, his eyes darting between Aemond’s single eye and his thin, moving lips. But before he could make a move, the pale pink lips he was staring at pressed against his. 

The kiss was wild but not clumsy; Aemond knew exactly what he was doing, devouring him and claiming his mouth as if it was his due—which he probably thought it was.

Initially letting Aemond lead, Aegon eventually clung to the back of Aemond’s neck and his long, silky hair, groaning and moaning against his lips, letting his tongue dance with his.

He lost all sense of time when Aemond pulled back, his breath also a little short, his features adorned with a more serious expression than ever, like a predator. 

Aegon had never seen him like this; he hadn’t realized his brother had grown so much, had changed, gained confidence and maturity, become so attractive and more self-assured than he had ever been. It unsettled him, but he didn’t have time to say anything as he was violently flipped over, ending up still on his knees but bent over the bed, his face on the soft sheets smelling of linden and mint.

In less than a second, Aemond was behind him, his own hardness rubbing against Aegon’s ass, making Aegon bite his lip to stifle a moan. Aemond's mouth attacked his neck, probably leaving purple marks, maybe even bloody ones at times, but Aegon didn’t care; his mind was lost somewhere between desire and shock, still not over what was happening.

“Since you often tell me about your nights of debauchery, I know exactly what you do to others, but, Aegon, I have a question that’s been bouncing around my head for a while.”

While one of his hands was on Aegon’s, the other began its descent along his ribs to gently but possessively caress his stomach under his T-shirt. Aemond felt a distinct shiver on Aegon's soft skin and smiled against his neck, biting again. The moan it elicited from his brother was his reward, prompting him to repeat the action several times.

His wandering hand brushed against Aegon's needy cock but denied him that pleasure, opting instead to grab his ass with force.

“Are you a virgin... here?” he asked, running his fingers along his brother’s ass, leaving no doubt about what he wanted to know. “Has anyone ever taken you? Has anyone ever claimed you? Tell me, Aegon, have you given your pretty little ass to a man?”

At first, Aegon refused to answer, biting his lip harder, but when Aemond's hand caressed him more intimately before moving to his belt, Aegon tried to stand, only to be pinned back against the bed.

“Answer me.”

Aemond's voice was cold and authoritative—just like him—but his body was so warm and desirous, the contrast nearly made Aegon tremble.

“Why do you want to know? It’s none of your business, I—”

Aemond bit him again, all the while stroking his brother's hard cock after unzipping his pants and slipping his hand inside; of course, Aegon hadn’t bothered with underwear, and Aemond found his warmth unexpectedly, to his delight.

“It is my business. You are my brother. So if someone has defiled you, I want to know.”

His strokes quickened, but when Aegon's pleasure was about to burst in his hand, Aemond stopped all movement, smiling sadistically against his ear.

“Answer me.”

Aegon groaned, collapsing helplessly against the bed as he tried to move his hips for any contact with Aemond's hand.

“No.”

“You’re being very stubborn for someone in your position.”

“No, I mean... no, no one has ever fucked me.”

“Oh.”

This revelation stirred a strange sensation in Aemond’s lower abdomen; he had never been harder than at this moment, thinking of his brother's virginity.

“Well, that’s very good. Something in you remains pure and untouched... and since nothing seems to calm or reason you, nothing is ever enough for you, it’s my turn to try and channel that overly fiery spirit in you.”

Aegon was about to turn his head to respond, to try to understand, mostly to try not to understand the implication, but two fingers entered his mouth before he could do so, moving in and out against his tongue. Docilely, he began to suck them, Aemond's other hand resuming its gentle, languorous rhythm on his painfully aroused cock.

His younger brother knew exactly how to play with him to silence him and bend him to his will, and even though the alcohol had numbed his thoughts earlier in the evening, Aegon now found himself sober from any substance since Aemond had started tending to him, and worse still, he felt he was becoming drunk on his brother’s ministrations.

[underhousearrestblog]

All I See Is You | J.M.

(summary) after Joel brought you back to Jackson, you’re forced to play house with your captor (this is part 2 of this fic)

(warnings) death of a creep (is it really a loss?), blackmail, forced captivity/ proximity, physical violence (reader hits Joel but he kidnapped her so...?), sexual harassment

(pairings) Joel Miller x reader

(reminder) Y/N – your name

(genre) dark romance

(trope) enemies to lovers

(word count) 6.1k

(also) holy shit I’m actually doing it – I’m finishing a started project!!!

(also) she/ her pronouns used

HAPPY READING!

- I want a separate room, Joel! – you demanded, trying to keep up with him. – I demand a separate room!

Joel laughed under his breath. It was cute how you thought he would just let you sleep anywhere else other than in his bed.

- It’s funny how you think you’re in any position to demand anything, - he threw you an amused glance.

You breathed heavily, trying to keep up with him. You wouldn’t have been able to walk as fast as him even before the whole apocalypse thing but after QZ rations, you had lost some of your weight, muscle mass and a good amount of your stamina.

- Could you at least slow down? – you asked. – What’s even the point of walking as if somebody’s chasing us?

Joel fixed the rifle that was hanging over his shoulder and turned to look at you.

- Tires you out, - he shrugged. – Makes you more clumsy. Less likely to attempt running away.

You ground your teeth together. Bastard.

It turned out that Jackson was around an hour from where Joel had kept you. You probably would’ve either accidentally ran into the woods to be eaten by wolves or cluelessly stumbled onto Jackson, unaware that you’re walking straight back into your captor’s arms.

It was close to evening when both of you finally reached the town. Joel waved up at the armed men that were standing guard and they, recognizing him, gave command to open the gates. You watched the town that stood before you in such an awe, that only after a moment you realized Joel had said something.

- What?

- Hands behind your back.

When all you did was stare, Joel roughly turned you around and grabbed your wrists. You felt handcuffs being slapped on them before Joel turned you back to face him.

- Is this really necessary? – you asked in a low voice, trying to make your eyes tear up on command. – Please, Joel.

For the first time he looked a bit conflicted, looking in your glassy eyes.

- Sorry, baby. This is the standard procedure for all newcomers.

- Where would I even run?

- Didn’t stop you before.

A man and a woman came to great you. A man and a pregnant woman.

This must be his brother and sister-in-law, you decided.

Joel’s lips touched you ear, as he leaned closer. His breath tickled the small hairs, as he lowered his voice to say:

- Don’t try anything. Your freedom is given. It can just as easily be taken.

At this point, even though you were still very much a captive, you had become aware of few things. For one, the effect you had on Joel was much stronger than the one he had on you. You could use that. And you planned on using it.

Two, trying to escape right after getting here would be pointless. All it would accomplish would be Joel paying even more attention to each step you took. You had to make him feel safe enough to lower his guard. You had to make him pliant.

You rested the back of your head against his neck, turned your face towards him and gave Joel a lopsided smile.

- I’m not trying anything, - you lightly brushed the knuckles of your tied hands over his thigh. – I plan on making your life so miserable you’ll beg me to leave.

His eyes found yours. He looked a bit surprised by the sudden change in your behavior. That lasted for only a second though. Joel laughed and placed a kiss on your right temple.

- I’ll only ever beg you to cum, - he objected, - not go.

You withdrew your hands from him and turned back towards his approaching family.

- But please, - he lightly pushed you forward, - by all means, make me beg.

After Tommy and Maria had lightly interrogated you with questions that were answered mostly by Joel, he had taken off the handcuffs. Both the sheriff and her husband seemed to believe the story that you had returned on your own, by your own wish and had only ran into Joel outside of Jackson.

- I think we have an empty room with Josie, - Maria had suggested, while she packed some clothes for you.

- She’s staying with me, - Joel left no room for arguments. – I have the whole house to myself. She’ll be very comfortable there.

Three pairs of eyes looked for your reaction. Maria and Tommy seemed to look for your objection so they could step in and make Joel back off. Joel’s eyes glistened with challenge, as if saying, I dare you to put up a fight.

- Y/N? – Maria asked carefully. – You okay with that?

But you were not interested in a fight. For this to work, you needed to convince Joel that you were not a flight risk.

Your own eyes met Joel’s in challenge.

- Of course, - you tilted your head in what probably looked like flirting to Tommy and Maria. – I’m looking forward to sharing a house with you, Joel.

When neither one of you broke eye contact, Tommy cleared his throat and Maria placed some clothes in your hands. When both of them stepped aside, you turned to see Joel’s eyes still firmly glued to your form.

I’ll fuck your life up, you mouthed.

All you received in answer was silence, as he shook his head laughing.

Joel unlocked the door of his house and opened it, stepping aside and letting you in. When you silently watched, refusing to go in, he took a step forward and wrapped an arm around your waist.

You expected him to lift you up and force you inside but all he did was lean into you and whisper:

- They’re watching, - he said in a low voice. – How will you make my life a living hell if they’ll make you stay at Josie’s?

You glared at him and turned towards the door, making sure to flick your hair in his face as you turned. All the reaction you got was a light chuckle behind your back.

You wasted no time, heading straight for the kitchen. It was spotless which was of no real surprise to you. Knowing Joel, his house would probably look like a furniture magazine. You turned to face him, leaning against the kitchen island and placed your hands against the cool marble counter top.

Joel left your bags in the hallway and followed you inside the kitchen. He leaned against the door right in front of you.

Even though there was a lot of space between you, you could’ve sworn you felt his heavy breath against your face.

His eyes burned your skin, as they shamelessly roamed over your body, examining every inch of your skin. When he reached your face, they were already much too dark to be considered grey.

- Welcome home, sweetheart, - he said darkly. – Feel free to make yourself comfortable.

- Okay, - your shrugged and lifted your hand to the small cabinet above the stove. – Whatever you wish, darling.

Your fingers lightly caught the top of one of the mugs placed there and you flicked it forward in a manner you had only ever seen a cat do.

It broke into dozen pieces on the floor.

Before Joel could do anything to stop you, you reached for your next victim. A crystal vase that was placed in the corner of the island. You lightly pushed it over, and it shattered on the floor.

Then you reached for a kitchen knife, dug it into the beautiful pearly countertop and, pushing it in with all the strength you got, dragged it over the shiny top. The knife left an ugly scar with a horribly sounding shriek.

When you pushed your hair away from your eyes and lifted you head to look at Joel, all you were met with was silent amusement. He slowly pushed away from the door frame and approached you, walking over the shattered glass on the floor. When he was close enough for you to touch, you suddenly pressed the knife against his throat, making him tilt his head back.

Before you had a chance to even utter a single word, the knife had already left your hand and was thrown on the floor. Joel’s right hand wrapped around the back of your neck, while the left wrapped itself around your waist, lifted you up and placed you on top of the ruined counter, making you both the same height.

He smiled, as he leaned in to place a kiss on your throat, while drawing circles on the back of your neck.

You sighed involuntarily.

That was all you got before he removed his hand and cupped your jaw, turning your eyes on him.

- God I wish you would just take your frustrations out on me, - his eyes looked over your glossy lips. – Just ride out your attitude and be done with it.

You tilted your head.

Was he even mad about the ruined counter top or the smashed items laying on the floor?

How far could you take this before he was done with you?

- You want me to take my anger out on you? – you asked innocently. – Make you suffer? That’s what you want?

His pupils dilated so fast you had to blink to convince yourself you hadn’t imagined it. Was he really getting off on you being violent?

Both his hands traveled up your thighs and ended up on your waist. His throat worked as he gulped.

- Yes, baby, make me pay for taking you, - Joel encouraged. – Show me how angry you are.

You could’ve sworn roles had suddenly switched.

Before you had a chance to reconsider your actions, you raised your hand and slapped him across the face. His head swung to the side but his hands tightened around your waist. He was breathing heavily.

For anyone else it would seem like Joel was angry. But it was quite easy to mistake anger for arousal.

- Do it again, - he said in a hoarse voice that dripped with lust.

You were tempted to comply. But then you remembered your one goal.

Make his life miserable.

This was not making Joel miserable. He was enjoying himself.

So instead you leaned closer, lightly blowing some air against his neck, letting your lips almost touch the skin beneath his ear. Then you looked him in the eye and asked in your normal voice, devoid of any traces of seduction or flirtation.

- Are you sick in the head?

- Are you? – Joel asked, as his fingers pulled your thighs further apart where you were sitting. – I haven’t even touched you and I can smell your wet cunt from here. You’re enjoying this just as much as I am.

- Next time I’ll take that knife and cut your dick off, - your eyes glowed and you were breathing just as heavily, as you threatened. – Let’s see how hard you’ll get with no dick.

- That’s it, baby, keep talking dirty to me, - Joel placed another wet kiss on the side of your neck, his teeth slightly nicking your skin. – God the sex is gonna be amazing once you stop being a brat.

His nose brushed against your neck as he drew in a quick breath. And then he just stepped back as if nothing had happened and turned to clean up your mess.

While picking up the bigger pieces of glass, he glanced back to you where you were still sitting on the table.

- There is this ugly painting in the living room that I always disliked, - he motioned towards the door to the rest of the house. – Why don’t you use that anger of yours and destroy that piece of shit?

You groaned and jumped down from the table, admitting your defeat, and left to explore the rest of the place.

That’s how things went on for about three days. You hadn’t left the house and the only people you saw were Joel, his brother and sister-in-law, no doubt coming to check if you hadn’t hanged your mind about leaving.

You still hadn’t given up on your plan to make Joel’s life miserable but somehow your plan backfired every time.

Every evening you would change into your pajamas and then, while Joel was showering, left to sleep on the couch in the living room, hoping that he would be too tired to argue with you. And every evening, with no exceptions, he came into the living room, picked you up and brought you back to his room, threatening to tie you to the bed if you left again.

Every evening you would build a fort of pillows between the two of you in the bed to avoid accidentally touching him. And every morning you woke up with his chest pressed against your back and his arms like vices around you, his face buried in your hair.

Even destroying his things had backfired. When you cut up some of his clothes and used them to light up the fireplace, after the initial laughter and congrats on your originality, he had brought the clothes Maria had given to you and burnt them too, leaving you with no clothes to change into.

- When is Maria coming over? – you asked, walking into the kitchen in one of his shirts that was long enough to reach the middle of your thighs.

Joel stopped cooking to look back at you. After he had taken his revenge on your clothes, you were forced to wear his, as you didn’t have anything else as of right now. Safe to say, he was enjoying this much more than you were.

His eyes greedily sucked in your half-naked form.

- Not for a few days, baby, - he turned back towards the stove after he had gotten his fill. – She left yesterday to run some errands.

You huffed out a breath. You wanted to stomp your foot on the ground like a child.

- Get me some new clothes, Joel! – you demanded.

He carefully placed the spatula on the counter and turned towards you. After a minute of consideration, he shook his head.

- No, I’m quite enjoying seeing you in my clothes, - he decided and went back to cooking. – Besides, I thought we had enough to burn.

You wanted to pull out your hair.

- I need some new clothes, - you insisted. – And some new underwear, - you added more quietly. – Come, Joel, you promised you’d take care of me! – last sentence sounded like a whine.

That got his attention.

He turned back towards you and crossed his arms.

- What will you give me for that?

You raised an eyebrow.

How about I only shoot you in the leg when I leave and let you survive? That’s good enough?

- What do you want? – you took a step closer.

- I’ll take whatever you’re willing to give, - Joel’s voice was raspy and his hands seemed to be lightly trembling, as you placed your palm against his rapidly beating heart.

- How much worth is my kiss? – you asked, standing up on your toes to get closer to him. – Can I get some new clothes for that?

If something was cooking in the pan behind Joel’s back, it was probably already burnt.

Joel looked at you with clouded eyes. For just a second, you let doubt creep into your mind. Would he really go for it?

- Fine, - he accepted. – You get your clothes, I get my kiss.

Your smiled. Genuinely. Maybe for the first in months.

- Thank you, - your smile turned mocking. – And here’s your kiss, - you grasped his chin in between your fingers, turned his face to the side and placed an innocent kiss on his cheek. – Pleasure doing business with you.

Then you turned on your heel to leave. His hand grabbed your elbow, refusing you.

- The fuck you think you’re doing? – he looked almost bewildered. – That’s not a kiss.

You peeled open his fingers and backed away.

- It is in my book. Should’ve specified what kiss you wanted, Joel, - you smirked. – Will you be a dear and get me some khaki pants if they have any? Thanks.

In day five, Maria had come back and suggested that Joel brought you to the movie night. You had agreed so enthusiastically that Joel objecting would’ve raised suspicions so he was forced to accept as well. He probably was suspecting for you to run.

You had no such plan.

In order for this game to work, he had to be properly lulled into thinking you had abandoned all wishes to leave. Which meant – you couldn’t just run first chance you got. That would only make him keep up his guard more.

That didn’t mean you wouldn’t keep Joel on his toes. So that evening, when both of you had arrived to an already full room of people, you had quickly chosen a seat where there were people already sitting on both sides of you. Joel had no choice but to sit in front of you.

That had its pros and cons. For one, he couldn’t keep such a close eye on you and constantly turning around to make sure you were still there would look weird. Cons? At some point he had developed a different tactic, reaching his arm back in the dark, wrapping his fingers firmly around your ankle and pulling you a bit closer to him. That made you drag your chair closer to where he was sitting if you didn’t want to slouch and not be able to see the screen.

But was there really any point in watching the screen when all you could feel was his fingers constantly drawing figures on your skin?

After around the half-hour mark, you had already gotten bored when you suddenly felt a hand on your thigh. You immediately stiffened and Joel, whose hand was still wrapped around your ankle, sat up as well. Even if he did turn to look at you, the room was so dark that he wouldn’t have been able to see anything.

When you felt the hand on your thigh starting to creep up, you harshly grabbed the stranger’s wrist and twisted it, earning you a pained groan. That only lasted for a moment though because the man on your right leaned closer and whispered:

- Don’t cause a scene, babygirl, - even his voice felt disgusting in your ear. – Nobody’s gonna believe the newbie anyway.

You felt bile rise in your throat.

Joel’s fingers had stopped drawing circles on your skin. In fact, he had removed his hand altogether.

Dammit.

You gulped and quietly stood up. You didn’t want to stay here. Staying here would mean being harassed even more. Even though it was already late, there were still people outside who hadn’t come to the movie night.

Safety in numbers.

Surely somebody would step in if they saw you getting harassed out in the open, right?

Here’s to hoping...

The cold evening air hit you as soon as you stepped outside. Disgust had made you forget your whole plan about lulling Joel into safety. Right now you couldn’t care less if he thought you had ran...

There were people outside, you had been right. The problem was – they were far too few and far too distant. Recognizing Tommy in distance, you had already taken a step forward when somebody yanked you back by your hair and pushed your back against the wall hard.

Your breath left your body when your eyes were met with those of man in his early thirties. He looked young. Definitely younger than Joel. His hand wrapped itself around your throat, keeping you pinned against the wall. Whenever Joel did this, he wouldn’t cut your air off, just firmly keeping you still. This asshole had no problem cutting your airways.

- What a nice pet project Miller’s got himself, - the asshole tutted. – Everybody’s afraid to even utter your name here, thinking Joel’s gonna carve their eyes out in their sleep.

Your fingers desperately tried to peel off his hand from your throat.

- But I know better, - he didn’t let up. – You’re just some slut that he found. Joel’s a changed man now, - the asshole said the last words mockingly. – That’s what we’re all been told. And let me tell you, he wouldn’t dirty up his hands over some bitch he just met.

- Y/N? – you could’ve sworn somebody was calling your name but you also were in early stages losing consciousness so you couldn’t be sure.

Your attacker backed away, and you realized he had heard it too. Then he suddenly leaned closer and whispered:

- Utter a word to Miller about this and I’ll end your pathetic life, - he lightly slapped your cheek. – Joel’s going away tomorrow and you’ll have nobody to protect you. So be nice if you want me to be nice.

Joel was going away tomorrow? There was no doubt he wasn’t planning on taking you with.

Would he, though? If you asked?

Somehow spending the day with Joel seemed better than whatever this asshole had in mind.

When Joel rounded the corner, his eyes immediately searched for yours. You looked down. So instead he looked the man next to you up and down.

- Dan.

- Joel, - the Dan, apparently, responded. – I’m just introducing myself to your...? Are you his ward or something? – he laughed as he asked you.

- She’s my wife, - Joel responded in your place.

You definitely weren’t going to correct Joel in front of this fool.

Dan nodded. Then he extended his hand for you to shake.

- Nice to meet you, Joel’s wife, - he was still smiling that disgusting smile of his.

When you didn’t move to take his hand, he chuckled and turned to leave. Joel didn’t move either and so the boy was forced to squeeze himself through the small opening that led back to the porch.

When he had left, you finally met Joel’s gaze.

- Something you want to tell me? – he didn’t sound jealous or anything.

He sounded calm. Eerily so.

Joel’s gonna be gone tomorrow. And you’ll be stuck here with the creepy asshole. Even if you could tell Joel and even if he would do something about it, these people didn’t seem like they allowed their own to be killed. So, at best, he gets a beating. And then he’s gonna be even angrier.

And Joel can’t protect you forever.

And you can’t even aim well enough to shoot someone.

And-

- Sweetheart? – Joel’s voice brought you back. – Did he really just wanted to introduce himself?

You didn’t trust your voice so you just nodded.

For a second, Joel looked disappointed.

Looking back, you had thought it was because he was probably craving to take his frustrations somewhere. On someone.

Definitely nothing more.

- Wanna go back? – he offered.

You shook your head. That’s the last place you wanted to be at.

- I’m tired, - you tried to sound as bitchy as you had sounded this morning but it came out rather empty. – I’d rather go to sleep.

The house had never been this quiet. You were the one who usually started fights and threw tantrums and, because you did none of that this evening, nobody was screaming and nothing got destroyed.

Joel probably was thanking every god for some peace and quiet.

You quietly showered, changed into his t-shirt and were already sleeping when he had returned to the bedroom.

You slept like knocked out and surprised discovered that you had slept in. You were a light sleeper so on most days you would wake up even just by Joel placing a kiss on your neck first thing in the morning. Today, however, you woke up when sun had blinded you and forced you to roll over just to discover Joel already gone.

You had never been this unwilling to leave his house. His room. Even his bed. Even though you had no plans to run, you had to get up and get yourself among people. Somewhere with lots and lots of people.

Only then you noticed a piece of paper being left on the nightstand for you.

The guards are instructed to not let you out. If you try, they will restrain you. And then I’ll restrain you. So don’t waste your energy trying.

Be a good girl and I’ll bring back a gift for you.

You crumbled the paper.

The only gift you wanted was to be left alone.

You showered and ate in an extra short time, too afraid for certain someone to show up at your house. When you left Joel’s place, you almost ran where you knew Maria would be. Just to be in close proximity of anyone, really.

After half an hour of nervously flicking eyes towards the door while trying to plant some tomatoes in the greenhouse, you had actually let your guard down a little and started to join in the conversation.

- Joel told us you were in a neighboring QZ, - Maria asked. – What was your job there?

Back in real world – before this whole thing with the virus went down – you had been a full-time student. QZ didn’t allowed people your age to continue studies in anything, so you had to find something you were good at.

- I was mostly assisting doctors, - you threw out and then tried to shift your voice from nervous to careless and cheerful. – Hey, have you seen Dan anywhere? We met yesterday and-

- He left with Joel and Tommy this morning, - one of the other women explained. – One of their crew had gotten sick so they needed a replacement.

You had never relaxed so quickly. He wasn’t here. Dan was not here. You were safe.

Motivated by the sudden freedom and safety, you had spent most of the day in the greenhouse. You liked it. Maybe even more than being in the infirmary. When Maria left to greet Tommy, you had almost went with her, deciding against it at the last minute.

Greeting Joel would possibly make him think you’re easing into this life and thus would help your plan to dip but seeing Dan might make you throw up. So instead you stayed behind in the peace and comfort of the greenhouse.

That was until a loud scream pierced the air. Your hands slightly shook, as you stepped outside.

There, laid on the ground, was a body that the group had brought in from outside. The body – you couldn’t assign the word ‘person’ to the atrocity that was laid before you – was missing one of its legs and a good chunk of his left arm. There were bites from the infected all over him. His throat was littered in what looked like bites too, except it also looked like he was missing his vocal cords that seemed to be ripped clean out.

And then there was a bullet right between Dan’s eyes.

- Jesus, what happened? – Maria asked Tommy.

- Got himself bitten, - her husband explained. – Decided to show off by getting a close-shot. Wasn’t quick enough to pull the trigger.

Maria nodded. Probably this wasn’t as rare as you had thought. It was probably in human nature to get cocky.

- Yeah, at least he didn’t suffer, - Tommy threw a blanket on top of the body, hiding it from the view. – Too much. Thankfully, Joel was there to end his misery.

At the mention of Joel, your eyes searched for him. When you came up empty, you felt almost disappointed before feeling his arm sneak around your waist. He pulled you back by his hand on your stomach until you were firmly pressed against him. When he buried his face in your hair, you felt him breathe in your scent.

- How merciful of me to let him die, - Joel whispered with his lips ghosting over your hair. – Too bad he had to get his leg ripped off and throat ripped out before I could get to him to end his life. What a pathetic death, don’t you think?

You couldn’t muster the courage to do anything other than breathe in and out. Then he rested his chin on top of your head, both of you eyes still glued to the dead person in front of you.

- Almost as pathetic as his life.

Then he simply stepped back and casually throwing out “see you at home, honey”, left.

That evening you tried to keep yourself busy doing everything and anything possible before you went back home. But at some point Maria had to throw you out, saying she can’t allow you to fall asleep in the greenhouse. So when you finally returned, it was around eleven in the evening. Well past dinner and well past your usual bedtime.

The house was quiet. When you turned on the light in the kitchen and Joel was still nowhere to be found, shivers ran through your body. As usual, you felt him before you saw him. He was casually sitting on the sofa and reading one of what looked like books you had on you when he had kidnapped you. It was a mix between history and fantasy. You weren’t a fan but reading materials were hard to come by so you couldn’t be picky.

- Did you let him get infected or did he do that on his own? – you weren’t sure why you were even asking.

- Does it matter? – Joel casually skipped a page.

No, not really.

- Kinda, - you confessed.

Maybe a little. Understanding how far Joel would go might help you weaponize the people here. If he wasn’t ready to kill someone just because, you might be able to use other people as an emotional shield to blackmail him and make him let you go.

- Okay, - he closed the book. – Then no. He didn’t get infected on his own. He was a coward. So why would he ever attempt a close-shot?

You nodded. You felt no remorse for Dan’s death. Why should you? He was a despicable human being.

- Then how did-

- I gave him a gun with no bullets. The moron never even checked. All he could do was beg for mercy when he came across one of the infected.

When Joel stood up, you took a step back. At this point, it was a choreographed dance for the two of you. Joel tilted his head and regarded your stiff posture with a small smile.

- So then yesterday... when he went over, you-

- I heard everything, yes, - Joel nodded. – Would’ve preferred to hear it from you but beggars can’t be choosers, I guess.

- How chivalrous of you, - you gave him a lopsided mocking smile. – What a gentleman, huh?

- Let’s not pretend that the thought of me killing for you doesn’t turn you on, baby, - Joel placed his hand around your throat and used it to pull you closer. – I think we both know you would’ve loved to watch that creep die. Even better, you probably wouldn’t even object if I demanded you pay for his death with your body, right?

You felt a tingling sensation spread throughout your body from where his hand had grabbed you by the neck.

This doesn’t mean anything, you tried convincing yourself. This is just a physiological reaction to close proximity to an attractive man and his words, nothing more.

And you knew that was a lie as soon as you thought of it.

- And are you? – you challenged. – Are you demanding a payment?

He released your neck and you slumped against the wall.

- I don’t want a pity fuck from you.

- What about a thank you fuck? Would your highness accept that?

- My highness would accept anything, and you know it, - Joel motioned towards the bedroom. – If you want to show me your gratitude, you could at least get yourself off and let me watch. There’s no point in both of us suffering and trying to-

- I’m not suffering, - you argued. – I couldn’t care less if you go insane from staying celibate. You could just let me go and find someone who actually wants to fuck you. But suit yourself, I guess.

Joel hooked his fingers on the belt of your pants and slowly and torturously pulled you away from the wall closer to him.

- I guess we’re both staying celibate then, sweetheart, - he unhooked your belt, - because if I find out you let some other guy even touch you, I’ll dig them a nice deep grave right next to Dan’s. With a cross and everything.

He unbuttoned your pants and slid his hand inside your panties. Exactly no one was surprised when he found you hot and wet.

- Feel free to tell me to stop at any point, baby, - Joel encouraged with a smile. – You don’t need this, do you? I’m just delusional, right?

You whimpered and wrapped your fingers around his wrist, fully intending to withdraw his hand. Then his other hand wrapped around your wrist, keeping it firmly placed there.

- No, no, no, - he tsked. – Ask for what you want like a big girl. You want to cum? Have you earned the right to cum? Beg me for it.

He skillfully slid two fingers into your wet cunt, while keeping his thumb on your clit. Drawing circles painfully, torturously slowly.

- Come on, where’s that sharp tongue of yours, huh? – Joel’s eyes glistened in amusement, keeping the stimulation on your clit as light as he possibly could. – Need some help there, baby?

You shook your head in a petty refusal to give in. If he let you cum, that would mean that even after all the mocking about him not being able to stay celibate, you would be the one proven to not be able to withstand celibacy.

- No? – he tutted, as he leaned closer to your ear. – Just imagine how difficult it will be for you to take me if you’re a shaking mess from just two of my fingers.

A whimper left your lips and you rested your head against his shoulder. Drawing in a quick breath, you were almost on the edge.

Just few seconds more and-

- Does that feel good? – he asked.

All you could do was nod.

- Take a deep breath and give me a proper answer, - Joel urged you.

Now or never, your clouded, deprived mind decided.

- This is gonna feel even better, - you whispered in his ear and dug the needle into the side of his neck.

Wrapping your fingers around his wrist, you pulled out his hand from your panties. And, just as a gift to celebrate a proper goodbye, you slid his index and middle fingers into your mouth, sucking them clean. Tasting yourself. Then you let go of his hand and watched him fall to his knees in front of you.

You pulled out a needle that contained a very, very light dosage of the tranquilizer that was usually used on horses. The very same that you had stolen this afternoon from the cupboard that contained medicine in the infirmary.

It wouldn’t kill him but the hangover’s gonna be a bitch when he’ll wake up.

- You kidnapped me but you also killed a creep for me so – let’s call it even, sweetheart, - you mocked, using his own nickname.

Joel’s hand grasped yours. You expected some swearing... maybe threats... something... Instead, his lips pulled into a smug smile, as he slowly lost all consciousness.

- You better pray I’m merciful when I catch you, - he promised darkly. – There’s not one place in this entire world where I wouldn’t be able to find you. And when I do, you’ll pay for this.

He lost consciousness shortly after.

- We’ll see about that.

You had one place in mind where Joel’s authority wouldn’t mean shit. The QZ you originally came from.

[lilbabydilljr]

Bee[more]hyped!

Hi! Okay! So I’ve hidden details below, but if you just want the download link here you go.

Download (SFS)

Requires: UC, Easy Inventory Check

Alright, so a while back I found this lovely beehive conversion from Foresty, which was based on Untidyfan’s 3to2 conversion, which is in turn based on Gwenke’s functional beehive. What a way we’ve come! Believe (bee-lieve) it or not this is actually the object that got me interested in modding.

What I didn’t like about the original object was that it used 2 different objects as the honey, and the overload of effects. Lots of lag. So I’ve made a few tweaks!

The first 2 are cosmetic, I’ve moved the hive from the gardening section to Hobbies.../Misc, and the default texture is yellow, but the original green is still available. Bees are yellow, duh.

Sims now harvest honey directly into their inventory, which they can drink or stock the fridge with. This is a 4to2 conversion of the honey, which I thought was neat.

The hive now only displays the bee effects when open, or when a sim angers the bees. It produces a jar of honey every 18 hours, and Gatherer sims have a 50% chance of harvesting an extra jar each harvest. Lucky sims have about a 5% chance, and these can stack. A Lucky + Gatherer sim can harvest 2 extra jars, potentially.

Sims will autonomously harvest honey and occasionally inspect the beehive, please let me know if these values seem off to you I wasn’t super sure on them. Cowards will never harvest honey. Too many stingers!

The hive now builds nature enthusiasm when it’s used, and sims can harvest multiple jars at once. I’m not sure if there’s a limit to how much honey the hive can hold? I guess just keep an eye on it.

There’s two 2 new memories included as well. If you’re not comfortable with custom memories in your game please leave them out of your downloads folder, the hive seems to work just fine.

Caveats

Bee-cause of course there are. I might work some of these things out, but right now I’m done with this project.

My beehive and Foresty’s share the same GUID, and my jar of honey does as well. I’m not sure if that’s shared across all these hives or not. But you can’t have both in the game.

Children can not harvest honey, I didn’t feel like working on the animations.

Sims can’t drink the honey straight from their inventory, it must be placed first.

The animations and tool used to grab the honey are a bit off, but not enough that it actually bothers me right now.

Finally, the jar of honey itself.

As you can see the textures aren’t great? But I don’t know enough about objects to get it right. I’ll put this out there, if someone wants to help me fix this I’d be forever grateful.

I also wanted to edit the anger bees interaction, but I couldn’t get the chased by bees interaction to work? So I gave up. I do think there should be more ways for sims to die by flies anyway, but it’s not my ideal interaction.

Lastly, I wanted to convert the Honey Cake from 4, but food again proved challenging, and when I got to trying to do the coding so it requires a Honey in the fridge, it looked like a LUA script to me? So I backed off. Maybe one day. Not today.

You might be able to get away with not having the UC for this, but I think at the very least you’ll need BV. I can’t support any installations other than the UC though.

Anyway, thanks for reading! I hope you guys enjoy this as much as I am! It’s just a fun silly little thing, but our sims need bees right???

Credits/Thanks: Foresty, Untidyfan, Gwenke. Your original objects and coding are amazing, I hope I’m not stepping on any toes here! I did DM Foresty, but I figured since Gwenke’s code has been reused a couple times now I thought I’d be fine.

Edit: 04/30/23: Moved honey jar out of the catalogue. Whoops. Had it in there for testing.

Edit 05/08/23: Bees no longer accumulate inaccesible honey in the winter.

[neurodivergentbraingoblins]

Story time about how being "inclusive" is often used as pretty jewlery to make workplaces seem less shitty than they are.

So I used to work for a place that did workers compensation claims. I was a data entry worker - essentially my job was to processes all incoming and outgoing documents and make sure they digitally got attached to the correct claim so other people could do their job.

I had been working at this place for about 6 months, and we had a MASSIVE turnover in people. Like over half my team/coworkers quit. Well, I just happened to be really, really good at data entry work. My pattern recognition skills and OCD compulsions were a perfect fit for this job. Even management constantly would say how impressed they were with the amount of work I could get done.

Here's the problem - the 2 other people who didn't quit during the turnover were my superiors. They had problems with the way I communicate (AuDHD). So instead of dealing with it, they openly harassed me in group chats. Our boss would see the chats and then call them out on it and tell them to stop.

Fast forward a few months later. Shit is getting crazy for our company as we were expanding. I'm getting harassed constantly by all my "teammates" and from higher ups. I go to HR about the concern and they decide to have me just directly report to our boss. But the problem wasn't solved. I still had to work with and ask questions to the team who obviously hated me. Simply because I communicate and work differently than I do. I was always willing to help them get caught up on work, but never the other way around.

So I've been at this place for about a year now and I'm testing a brand new method of cataloging data to the correct files. (Example- adding medical records for a specific person to their specific digital file so the adjuster assigned to the claim can review it). Turns out something broke with the process and over 700 files were lost.

So I get pulled into a very sudden meeting with me, the 2 teammembers who were my superiors and my boss. They are freaking out trying to figure out how to fix this. When I could finally get a chance to speak I told them I had backups of most of the files. They all went silent and just stared at me.

I explained that the way the process worked gave me anxiety because of this very potential issue. Once the files were uploaded to the claims, they were deleted from the storage location. Gone permanently. I didnt want to be the one responsible for losing important documents if something when wrong, so as a precaution (and a newly developed OCD compulsion) I would save most files to a different folder as a backup (usually just the files I had to convert from one format (ex: word doc) to a PDF).

Turns out I ended up saving the company thousands of dollars and thousands of work hours. My boss literally said to my face "your OCD saved the day! You're a hero!". The very next day everyone was back to being upset at me for how I did my job 😅

Well, over the course of my year there, management put together a COMPANY WIDE MANDATORY meeting about inclusivity and anti-discrimination. Of course I attended and I was having to hold back tears and laughter as everyone made all these promises to not judge people and to be open to "other working styles". The meeting was a 5 hour long meeting with different games and activities. You could tell the company execs were so proud of themselves for the meeting.

The very next day I received the perfect example of what NOT to do from my own boss who helped lead the company meeting! Essentially she heard a rumor that I was setting up meetings with other departments to work on things that hadn't been approved through the proper channels. She pulled me into a virtual meeting and, I kid you not, lectured me for 5 minutes straight about how that wasn't allowed. When I finally got a chance to speak I calmly told her I'd never done anything like that before. I admitted that occasionally I would ask someone else questions in a random email here or there when it related to what we were talking about. But I had never done any of the things she just accused me of and lectured me about. She was "assuming the worst and the negative instead of something positive" which was one of the core values we had spent almost an hour on at the meeting the day before.

I immediately went to HR crying. What was the point of that ridiculous mandatory meeting if the company superiors were still going to discriminate against me??? Well after a year of putting in hard work for them, fighting against all the harassment they threw at me, and doing my best to advocate for myself I ended up quiting. It was an amazing paying full time (40hr) job that fit my skills perfectly. But I had to quit because I couldn't stand listening to them say "we love your OCD and it really helps the company, but you need to stop doing things that way. It is really annoying and takes too long. Plus your coworkers don't like it. But keep giving us those same results! You really are our best worker!"

My OCD was turned into a joke. Something that was only okay when it benefitted them, but a disgusting trait to hide away when it didn't.

Tldr: I gave a year of my life to a company that outwardly toted being "inclusive" while simultaneously being harassed for my OCD and AuDHD symptoms. All while being told my "OCD saves the company money but like, can you please stop doing things that way? Thanks!"

[soapyghostie]

Hello!

Can I have Thomas Hewitt x male reader where Male reader makes him a prosthetic arm? If you watched the 2003 Texas chainsaw massacre, Tommy got his arm cut off and to use a chainsaw properly, you have to have 2 arms🫢 Tommy is also the only one person who provides "food" for the family, so... without him they will be dead as fuck lmao

Have a nice day 👋

This was a fun one. Hope you enjoy!

Thomas Hewitt

The Hewitts weren’t accepting of you at first; they are extremely traditional. They wanted Thomas to fall in love with a woman, not a man. How was Luda gonna have grandchildren now? 

The family will soon come to appreciate you when they found out you were a biomedical engineer and an experienced one at that. Good thing because the Hewitts have a serious problem of lost-limb-itis. Maybe you can make Monty two new limbs so Hoyt doesn’t have to push him around in that wheelchair. Seriously, it frustrates him to push that old fart around. 

You make over $100,000 a year? Damn! To the Hewitts, you're hella rich. Why don’t you make good use of that money and use it to help provide for your family huh? 

Anyways, remember when Erin Hardesty cut off Thomas’s arm at the end of Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2003? Alright, flash forward, Thomas returns home, having lost a lot of blood. He’s weak and Luda is absolutely freaking out. Her baby boy’s arm had just been cut off for Christ sake! That’s where you come in.

You took measurements of his arm so you could create a new arm that perfectly fits comfortably on his shoulder. Once you got all the measurements, you went straight to work. You took out your special blueprint paper and skillfully sketched the prosthetic to look almost identical to Thomas’s existing arm. 

It took several weeks to actually construct the arm. The Hewitts had none of the parts you needed laying around the property; you’d have either Monty or Hoyt go fetch the parts from the local junkyard. You’d spend long hours attaching and welding the parts together until you’ve got the arm exactly how you wanted it.

Once the arm was finished, Luda and Thomas were amazed. It looked just like Thomas’s arm, but metal! Thomas was reluctant to try it on. When you strapped it on his shoulder, he tested it: swinging his arm back and forth, moving his forearm up and down, wiggling his fingers, and any other stuff you can do with your arm. 

Thomas was so thankful. He gave you the biggest hug and didn’t let go for a long time. You fixed his arm and now he can provide for his family again! He wants to return the favor for the kindness you’ve shown him. After all, you could've just got up and walked out on him, but you stayed and helped him.  

Thomas wants you to teach him how to construct prosthetics and anything else that you do. He thinks it would be a good skill to learn. Thomas is a pretty fast learner so it won’t be too difficult to show him the ropes. 

Overtime, not only is he a master chainsaw-welder, but he’s a master engineer as well. It’s his side hobby that he does whenever he has free time. He creates all sorts of stuff that helps the family with catching ‘food’. Also, he never comes to you when he needs to tweak his prosthetic: he does it all himself. He even upgrades it every once and awhile too. 

[leviathansshadycorner]

Rope Him In ( Cato x District 10! Reader x slight! Marvel) Pt. 7

Summary: Interview

A/n: Sorry for any inconsistencies and spelling errors, enjoyyyyyy!

Pt.6Pt.5 Pt.4 Pt.3 Pt.2 Pt.1

____________________________________

Chapter 7: Interview

The games were Tomorrow. Today was your last day of peace and possibly life. Most of the time today was supposed to be spent preparing for the interview, however, Dolly and Rasmey gave you two or three hours of bliss before having to prepare. 

You were positive Buckley was out in the rose garden with Dolly. It was only natural for him to want to be outside instead of cooped in like you. Ramsey had come in to check on you twice but eventually stopped when he assumed you were sleeping. In reality, you were crying. Crying the whole two hours mourning the fact that you’d never get to see the faces of your family again. 

You remembered Amaranto and how the two of you would’ve been having breakfast together at this time. Or how you would have packed your Pa a lunch to take to work. You thought about those Sunday afternoons spent sitting on the dry grass with a blanket, just the three of you talking about life and reminiscing about your mother, occasionally eating something special when they’d work overtime. 

You thought about the times you spent with Clarabell in the angry rivers, scared out of your mind that a peacekeeper would come and hurt you both, but having so much fun in the water that you forgot that they even existed in the first place. 

Your mind went to Buckley. It was crazy how you went from greeting each other in the morning at school to being with each other every day. He looked out of place in the Capitol, and so did you. It was odd seeing someone from home on the screen, but you guessed that’s how he felt about you too. The two of you had grown closer than you would have ever at home. That’s when you started realizing that you should’ve appreciated everything you had at home instead of slowly isolating yourself as you grew up. 

Wiping the snot from your nose you decided to get up and wash your face. The clock read 12, and that meant it was time for your mentors to get you interview-ready. The actual interview itself was to start at 6 pm. However, you still had to practice your speech and what you were going to say to several different questions. The whole point was to make you appealing to not only the sponsors but the Capitol as a whole. After all, the sooner the tributes get used to the Capitol’s mannerisms, the better the victor will adapt. 

“Alright, let's try this again.” It had been thirteen minutes and Pradain was still struggling to get you to sit up straight. 

“Come on, we started an hour ago, I’m sure they can learn how to sit up straight later. What’s important is that we get them to speak clearly and with charm.” Dolly protested as Pradain pressed a hand to your back to get you upright. 

Pradain’s outfit consisted of satin gloves, and a matching dress that towered to his ankles, his feet adorned with five-inch  platforms. It was beyond you how he had learned to walk in those. 

“Don’t be ridiculous Dolly, this is a must when it comes to Capitol mannerisms. Now up!” Groaning you forcefully sat up, your shoulders still drooping.

“Ah! See- I thought you were shaped weird, but you’re just not lifting your shoulders.” He clasped his hands onto them, bringing them up and fixing your head’s posture. “See? That wasn’t too bad. Now let’s do it again.” He instructed, 

You looked over at Buckley- who had a scarf tied around him and the chair, propping him up straight. “I think I got it.” The poor boy pleaded to be untied. 

“You stay. And you,” He pointed at you, “Up!” 

Ramsey rolled his eyes. “Alright well, I’m just gonna go ahead and start reading these questions. Ramsey was already dressed in his suit claiming that he didn’t want to put it on later, so he decided to put it on now. 

He shuffled through some cards with common interview questions. “Alright, Buck-o this one’s for you. How would you describe home?” 

Buckley perked up, “Easy- Home is-” 

“AH! This isn’t a test, it's an interview. Tell them why you like home, what makes it special. Start with, ‘Well, home to me is-’” Pradain scolded Buckley. 

“Right, ok.” He nodded and looked at Ramsey to reread the card. 

“How would you describe home?” You looked over at Dolly, your face bored and uninterested. She noticed it and ushered you to pay attention to Buckley, sitting up straight which reminded you to sit up as well. Your back was on fire, you always thought you had an okay posture, but only now knew that it was too forward leaning. 

“Home to me is..” He stopped to think, his nose twitching as he was lost in thought, “Home to me is the yellow sunset, the dirt on my boots after a long day of work, the voices of my siblings arguing over a small toy, the pretty girls fluttering their eyelashes at me, the way their hair falls on their shoulders, and how round their-” 

“Okay, no stop- you’re getting distracted.” You laughed at Buckley’s response, starting nicely but going off-topic. 

“Alright then, at least you’ll make them laugh. You’ve got a good voice too Buckley, nice start.” Dolly tried making the best of things. 

“Same Question for you (Y/n). How would you describe home?” Ramsey put the cards down, his tired eyes looking at you as he waited for your response. 

“Any time now.” Spoke up Pradain. 

“Home to me is…Home to me is.” There was about a three-second pause, “My Brother. My Pa. Our little house by the wheat fields, and the river that runs through 10.” It wasn’t much, but it’s all that could come to mind. 

“That’s a start.” Dolly smiled. 

“We need you to say more, and don’t be afraid to get emotional, the Capitol loves that. They eat it up.” Ramsey crossed his legs. “We’re gonna have a long day.” He sighed. 

4 pm came quicker than anticipated. In the period you’d been practicing you were able to learn to project your voice, and Buckley learned how to be quieter. The two of you learned some fancy words, though you doubted you’d use them in a genuine sentence. 

Sashay and the rest of the stylists waited for you down at the stylist quarters where you were ready to get replucked like a chicken. It didn’t hurt as much as the first time, but the stinging feeling was still there. After you got bathed, they began working on your hair. Its (H/c) color being amplified and made brighter as they put some chemicals on it. It smelled foul, far worse than the cow poop at home. 

Your nails were painted black and white, You mentally groaned knowing where this was going. When your hair was finally dried they worked to braid it, putting some turquoise accessories on you before handing you to Sashay. 

She smiled brightly at you and kissed your cheek, “My my don’t you look beautiful.” She complimented taking your hand and leading you to the hanger where a long sleek cow print dress hung. It looked to have fur on it, and you assumed it’d come from home. 

“You’re going to look amazing.” She said excitedly as she instructed you to take your robe off. Sashay herself was dressed in all black, contrasting with what Dolly was wearing- white. You assumed the whole theme surrounding 10 would be cow print, and you were right. She helped you put the dress on, making some adjustments while it was on you so it would hug your figure better. It draped down longer on one end, the other end having a slit and exposing much of your leg. Below you wore some high-heeled boots that you thought looked ridiculous, but Sashay seemed enamored by them. She adjusted a belt on your hips- also containing hints of turquoise, and finally a necklace on you, tying the look together. 

“Oh!” She sighed clasping her hands together, “(Y/n), when you go home I guarantee you every man will want your hand in marriage.” She cooed as she circled you. “Perfect, now all we need is makeup.” The lady sat you down for another hour and a half of makeup application. You liked Sashay, she was more level-headed than Pradain and had such eloquence to her, however, the mix of having to speak in front of millions, and the games being tomorrow was not settling in right. Ramsey had to ask Pradain for a pill that would calm down your stomach. 

Sashay was escorting you out to the backstage area where Dolly and Ramsey were waiting. Ramsey was wearing black, Pradain opting to wear white, both of them sticking to the theme Pradain and Sashay had planned. You looked around for Buckley but he was nowhere in sight. 

“Wow.” Ramsey let out a long whistle, “You do not look like yourself at all.” He said admiring Sashay’s work. 

“(Y/n), you look stunning.” Dolly’s mouth was agape as she went to hold your arm and observe you. Your hair had been taken out of the braids, leaving behind curls in its place. 

“I can’t walk in these.” You whispered to her frantically. You didn’t want to fall on stage, but that seemed like something that would happen in your near future. 

She laughed, her smokey eyes closing making it look like she had hollowed eyes, “It’ll be fine, just try not to think about it.” She assured you. 

The stage was light as people began to flood the venue. There were stagehands all over the place, getting things set and ready. More tributes flowed in, you shrank back when you realized how extra Sashay had been with your interview gown since the others looked to be more playful and simple. People kept staring at you as they walked in, and that was a bad thing in your book. Eventually, Buckley came in. His stylist next to him as they chatted about god knows what. When he spotted you he froze slightly, keeping his gaze on you as they made their way to the group.

His hair was slicked back, his face looking more square but in a good way. He had some makeup on, but it was only to even out his tone, his freckles had been redrawn over his real ones since the base of his makeup had covered them. He wore a black suit, with hints of cow print on the inner side and flaps that poked out towards the neck of the suit. His boots matched yours, and he had a belt as big as one of the screens on. The two of you looked like you ran some sort of Texan Casino. 

“(Y/n), You look beautiful.” He complimented, his hands taking yours as he made you spin. “I almost didn’t recognize you.”  He said light-heartedly. 

Buckley’s attention made you flustered and you felt the room get warmer, “I could say the same,” You smiled, “Have you seen your hair?” You asked carefully, poking his gel-held hair. 

“Alright well, we’ll be out in the front row. Look for us alright?” Sashay excused herself and Pradain, leaving the two of you with Dolly and Rasmey. 

“They’re gonna line you up again, two lines- boys and girls.” Ramsey explained, “There’s a screen back here so y’all can watch but don’t miss your cue alright?” He ordered. The two of you nodded. 

“(Y/n), remember what we went over alright?” Dolly caught your gaze. 

Previously you’d spent time with Dolly going over some things you could do to emphasize your image as the Capitol’s cowgirl. Dolly had instructed you to speak with more southern twang than usual, keep a smile and hospitable personality, and speak on the livestock and ‘ranch life’ back at home. All things that would make a District 10 resident roll their eyes, but a Capitol citizen clap and shout. Unfortunately for you, you knew that this whole act would blow up in your face. You wouldn’t get taken seriously by the tributes, and if the small chance of you winning existed, you’d have to keep up the stereotype. 

Your mentors left you to take their seats. There was about an hour until show time, and some makeup artists stuck back to touch up some of the tributes. You and Buckley paced around the backstage, practicing lines with each other, and working on pronunciation. You hadn’t even noticed that the careers had flowed in. Glimmer was wearing a pink poofy dress, far too short for her. The only thing that distracted from her body was her giant blonde hair that cascaded perfectly, but even then she wore body glitter that made her shine. Clove on the other hand wore an orange dress and a hairdo that puffed the top part of her hair up. The two looked at you and laughed, making it obvious that they were laughing at your gown. You couldn’t blame them though. You would’ve laughed at yourself too. Buckley defensively went to stand in front of you to block their view, but it didn’t do much since they’d have to walk past you anyway. 

Behind them came Marvel and Cato. Both their faces were serious as always as they discussed something about weapon quality. You paid no mind to them, knowing that if you did they’d find a way to cause a scene. You weren’t sure why you were their favorite tribute to a bug, but you blamed it all on your stunt on your first day here. As they walked closer Marvel patted Cato on his chest, and the taller male turned to look at where you were standing. 

“Damn, never knew the girls from District 10 could look like that,” Cato said as they walked past the two of you, pretending to be nonchalant although you knew he had purposely said it. 

“Nice dress 10,” Marvel said, eyeing you as he trailed behind Cato. The two of them shook their heads and laughed as they approached the front of the line. 

“If I were a career I think I’d go after those two first.” You told Buckley who gave you an amused smile. 

“If you were a career you’d be with them.” He corrected. It wasn’t far from the truth. In almost every game, the careers were quick to form alliances with each other, alienating the weak from the strong. 

“You ready for the spotlight?” Talking was something you’ve come to realize that you did when you were nervous. Your hand practically shook, and you wore a nervous smile on your face. It was involuntarily there, however as much as you tried you couldn’t get rid of it. 

“No.” His simple reply. “Not too thrilled about it.” He exhaled. He had been holding a straight posture, his shoulders up, turtling his neck. 

“They’ll love you.” You reassured, but it only made him smile, his nerves still present.

 “Just don’t want to be laughed at.” He mentioned. 

The lights were beginning to flicker, meaning that it would soon be time for the show to start. 

You thought about what he had said. “Trust me. No one’s going to laugh at you.” Dolly and you had trained for your interview. Everything you were instructed to say made you look like a country bumpkin. If anything Buckley would be District 10’s saving grace- and you its fool. 

“Wow. You look beautiful.” Came the voice of District 12’s Katniss. It sounded rehearsed, void of any emotion. The same went for the smile she threw at you. 

You returned it and bowed your head. “Please, you’re the one who deserves such praise.” You guessed she was only saying that because her mentors wanted her to make allies in the arena since her high score presented a problem. 

That was the entirety of the exchange. The stage managers lined everyone up in order of appearance, hushing them as the presentation started. Once again you found the insides of your palms to be sweaty. You tried everything to ease your beating heart, deep breaths, pinching yourself, thinking of other things. However, none of them got rid of the sensation in your stomach. You felt like throwing up. 

Up on the screen Caesar Flickerman’s silhouette appeared, his signature ponytail obnoxiously hanging from his head as he leaned back on the chair. His theme song played, the bass so loud you could feel the floor rumbling. Cheers from the crowd erupted. Buckley stood attentive, watching the screen with his hands on his belt, his stance wide to keep himself in balance. From where you stood you could see Marvel and Cato hyping each other up, Glimmer joining in to fix Cato’s neat suit. 

“Let’s bring her out!” It had been a good couple of minutes, though it seemed like seconds as Caesar called out for Glimmer. She was the first one to go. Leaving about 19 people ahead of you. You watched as her clear, shimmery dress bounced as she stepped onto the stage with a huge smile, waving to the crowd. Her hair effortlessly dropped into place, making her look all the more attractive. The crowds were loud. Your eardrums could only handle so much before you reached out to cover them. 

Eventually, it was Marvel’s turn. He seemed so confident in everything he said, you learned just how charismatic he could be. Clove went next, her interview only made you more cautious of her. Soon after it was Cato’s turn. Unlike Marvel, he gave off boisterous energy. Almost as if he was too good to be there. However, the crowd was eating it up. He ended his interview with a hollar and returned backstage. It was almost the two-hour mark, some interviews taking longer since he wanted to give the tributes who didn’t stand out some limelight. Eventually, it was your turn. 

The stage manager came back to look for you, their hand on your shoulder as they walked you up the stairs. You glanced back to catch the reassuring gaze of Buckley, but instead found Marvel’s. He gave you a wink as a token of good luck, and off you were. 

“Now I’m sure we all remember our next tribute from the tribute parade. I mean how could we forget after the thrilling act she performed!” Flickerman emphasized his words, stretching them at the appropriate time. 

A couple of ‘woos’ and whistles came from the crowd as the anticipation built up. “From district 10- (Y/n) Cuernos!” He announced your cue to cross the stage. The lights were extremely bright, you had to look down as you stepped onto the stage. The crowd cheered at your out-of-place attire, it being one of the most unique (and ridiculous) outfits of the night. Shyly you put on your best smile before catching a glimpse of Dolly in the crowd, making gestures for you to smile bigger. 

You cringed when you thought of your family back at home watching this. Saying a silent apology, it was as if a switch turned on in your brain. Suddenly, your teeth shone as you stretched your lips into a smile, fluttering the huge eyelashes your makeup team glued onto you. With a hand on your hip, the other one waving, you swayed like you saw glimmer doing, your dress’ fabric swishing in the gap your legs left as you strode. 

“(Y/n)! My, my, how you clean up!” Flickerman commented, standing to greet you. 

“Thank you, Caesar.” Your eye nearly twitched at the forced southern twang in your voice. It was a whole lot more than Buckley, who had a natural southern accent, you had close to nothing of an accent. Even when it did slip, it sounded nothing like this. “My stylist purtied me up didn’t they?” 

He looked to the crowd, “Indeed they did.” He motioned for you to sit. 

It helped that the stage lights practically blinded you. You could see that people were sitting in the stands, but you weren’t able to make out distinct features- save for the front row where the mentors sat. 

Remembering what Dolly had told you, you sat up straight, teeth-baring into a cheesy smile. 

“Did that print you’re wearing come from a cow you raised?” The presenter’s teeth glinted in the light as the crowd erupted in laughter, “Oh! ‘course not- just inspired by them.” You giggled back, hating yourself even more. Your heart was beating hoping the president would accept your performance. 

Flickerman adjusted himself in his seat, “Now, I was going to leave this question for last- but I just know the audience has been anticipating the answer, am I right?” He turned to the audience who were cheering blindly. 

Like a doll in a box you smiled stationary, waiting for him to ask the question, but of course, he needed to prolong it for suspense. “What was going through your mind when you rode that steed?” There were some woo’s from the crowd, and you watched yourself on the screen as they replayed the moment. That clip gave you an ego boost each time you saw it. Giggling a bit too nervously you shook your head. “Nothing.” That earned a laugh from the audience. “I just remember wanting to ride it- couldn’t help myself I guess.” You gave a small shrug. 

“What a wildflower this one is.” Caesar made some amused faces. 

The interview lasted for another couple of questions, he seemed to have a lot for you. He asked you about home life, your loved ones, Buckley, and about skills. You didn’t have as many questions as the careers, but it was more than District 8’s tributes who had the least. 

“And do you have a strategy to win the games?” His tone was more serious now. 

Here it was. Your closing line. The one that took you and Dolly two seconds to come up with, but would echo in the minds of the audience. 

“I’m from District 10. I’m a born and bred cowgirl. I have to win. ” 

Cato couldn't help but smirk at your response, crossing his arms and leaning on the wall, he watched with attentive eyes as your interview continued.

His open mouth smile followed by “woah woah woah!” made the stadium rumble. You smiled and waved out to the crowd, Dolly giving you a thumbs up. 

“That’s an ambitious statement! I love it!” He did a little kick, “Well, you go out there and rope them in (Y/n) Cuernos! District 10’s very own cowgirl!” 

If only you could see Cato’s pissed-off face next to Marvel’s smug one. 

As you walked backstage again you were greeted with a bone-crushing hug from your fellow tribute. “Hey, that was good! Though you were a little strong on the accent.” Buckley patted your back. 

“Yeah, I had no idea you had one.” Glimmer teased as she and the other careers leaned against the wall. “Stop trying to win them over, I’m already the Capitol’s sweetheart.” The tall girl crossed her arms, the jewels in her dress reflecting. 

Marvel came around you, making space between you and Buckley who knew better than to cause a scene. “Did they make you skin that cow yourself?” His fingers scraped the waist of your dress, he let out an “O” when he realized it was just fabric. 

Cato gave him a look, causing him to back off. “You have to win huh? How do you think you’re going to do that?” 

“Don’t worry about it.” You refused to look at him. 

“Oh, I’m not worried. You see if anyone should be worried about you.” He sneered, his gaze getting darker. “Save yourself the disappointment, enjoy your time in the Capitol, and accept your fate. I’m winning this one.” 

“As if.” Clove rolled her eyes. 

Buckley and you both stared down Cato. 

He snickered, “And don’t go around thinking your friend here is going to help you. If you’ve been doing your research you know that there’s no such thing as friends in the arena.” 

That irked Buckley, “So who’s to say your little posse won’t turn on you and gang up on you in the arena?” 

“Pft, then let’s hope they can outrun me.” His response made the careers shift uncomfortably.

“We knew what we were doing when we signed up.” Marvel spoke up,” It’s our job to ween off the weak ones, so the strongest can prevail.” He said looking at you. 

“So is that what Cato’s going to do to you?” You didn’t mean for it to be a comeback. It just came out that way. The careers looked pissed now, but a stage manager came just in time to lead them back to their mentors. 

“Watch it 10.” Cato’s wild grin didn’t deter you, you continued to stare him down.  

Just like that, your time at the Capitol was coming to an end.

____________________________________

Tags: @randomgurl2326