#imagine going to stay at like a motel 6 and when you try to leave the old security guard who never moved from that weathered leather chair-

[keeps-ache]

hotel california playing on repeat in my head, :)

[yourwitchmama]

My boyfriend and I were traveling across the country late 0ctober 2015. We were going through a lot of life changes, and our romance could definitely be described as a "whirlwind." We had only been together for 2 months at this point. We stopped in Baltimore, Maryland first. Then we decided to drive to Las Vegas, Nevada, 2000 miles away. We made many night stops at motels between. We arrived near the end of Kansas after driving for about 12 hours from our last motel. A Motel 6 was calling our names.

This is when I experienced déjà vu and visions for the first and last time in my life. This is where everything gets a little confusing.

As I am speaking to the clerk, he handed me my key card. My boyfriend and I both read and heard the clerk say the room number was 242, so we went to that room. Our key didn't work. We finally reread it as 212. That room worked. This we dismissed as confusion and tiredness. But behind that, I felt something under my skin; a sense of familiarity that I shouldn't have. I had never been to this town or hotel. Why was I getting a creeping feeling up my spine that something bad had happened or was about to happen? Why did I know that place? Those feelings were barely registered in my subconscious.

We entered the room. The stars had come out and the sun had just set. BF took a shower. I stood in the other room looking through my bag when I heard BF giggle and say "what are you doing?" I answered him, and he got real quiet, hopping out of the shower quickly. He asked me "you weren't in the bathroom?" He said he thought he saw my shadow behind the curtain. A small hand pressed against the curtain, pushed until it touched his side. That was when I heard him giggle. He thought I was messing with him.

The bad feeling came fitfully to my conscious mind. I no longer felt dull paranoia. Pictures began to pop up in my brain. Visions were very different than I had imagined. I wasn't sucked into a movie in my head. The pictures were of burned humans. Charred black flesh, but somehow it felt like I was that person. I was... pregnant? Dead? Both? I was scared and beginning to panic. The images would come and go in vivid, bright flashes like a camera. I wanted desperately for them to go away.

BF and I considered leaving, but we decided to stay despite the tension and creepiness. It was almost involuntary, like we were compelled to stay.

We did what new couples do in bed, trying to ease the fear. We would later tell each other that those moments felt like we were in a trance. Like something wanted or needed us to have sex. But we couldn't finish the act. BF had nightmares all night. I felt as though I was going to die in a fire.

Looking back, I always feel like I may have stumbled across a past life experience. It definitely felt like me in those images. BF mistook the ghost for me. Maybe I died there? No matter what, that was the creepiest experience of my life. I had never felt that way before, and I haven't experienced anything like it since.

Honestly, I would need therapy after that experience. I’m sorry you had to go through that… and the mechanical, almost orchestrated sex adds to the overall unsettling vibe. It sounds like an awful nightmare

[strawberry-jammers]

One Year

a dreamsmp x reader where a young (y/n) wants to rebuild an old old kingdom before they have to be crowned to rule over their parents kingdom. with the help of their friends and a couple of servants, they hope to rebuild it all with out their parent knowing about it.

part 1 part 2  part 3 part 4

part 3/?

masterlist

unedited, so their will be parts that are off

actual story ooooo

word count: 4247

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Nikki and (y/n) have been riding their horse for over an hour. It started to get a bit painful so they decided to take a break in a small clearing in the woods. 

They set up a small picnic filled with baked goods, bread and sandwiches. They had plenty of water and hooked up thunder in a tree not far from them. 

"How are you not tired? We all wake up at ungodly hours in the castle." (Y/n) asked, taking a bite of their sandwich. Nikki giggled. "I've had to stay up for days to get orders done for some clients. What about you?" (Y/n) sighed. "Slept for awhile before we left. I can't stay up like you can." They laughed, setting their sandwich down. "Thats fair, will you be able to stay awake before we get there?" Niki asks, drinking some water. 

"Mm Idk, might sleep on you while we travel." They both laugh a bit. "If you do, I'm kicking you off." (Y/n) dramatically gasps. "You wouldn't!" They jokingly say, making Nikki giggle slightly. "Oh i would! Watch your back (n/n)." (Y/n) smiled.

"Aww we are friends!" The two of them continue to joke like this, occasionally eating and such. 

The sun continued to rise as they talked. Birds chirped and flew above them, some even trying to eat some of their food. The breeze was nice and soft, the air warmer than it was when they first left. Flowers flicked softly as the wind pushed them, along with the grass around them. It was a peaceful morning, two newly made friends chatting and enjoying eachothers company.

The two of them soon finished up, packing up and hun hooking thunder to the neighboring tree. They made sure thunder was well fed and such before getting on him. They made sure to leave nothing behind.

“Ready nikki?” (y/n) asked, hopping on the horse. Nikki nodded, getting on as well. “Don't fall asleep on me, okay?” (y/n) rolled their eyes. “Wouldn't dream of it.” Nikki smiled. “Good, cause your not gonna be dreaming on my watch.” they both laughed, starting up their journey once more.

It took a couple more hours and some stops, but they finally made it to the neighboring village to the arctic kingdom. The drastic weather change hit them harshly, having to grab the coats and appropriate clothes they packed for this weather. “I forgot how cold it was around here. I wonder how they even manage to have a garden in their castle…” (y/n) says, hugging onto nikki more so than before. “I've never even been here before. Never imagined how could it would be..”

They stopped at a random motel esc thing in the village. They hooked up thunder in the horse pen nearby, grabbing their bags and walking inside. Ordering a room threw niki, the two of them got into their room and collapsed on the bed there.

“Oh god i forgot how tiring traveling was. You good there niki?” (y/n) asked the pinkett, rolling over to face her. “Everything hurts.” she says, muffled by the blankets beneath her.she laid face down so it was a bit hard to hear, but they managed “Yeah i get that. We should get a bit of sleep before going to the castle.'' Nikki nodded, rolling onto her side instead of the uncomfortable position she was in before.

They fell asleep quite easily, having been up for longer than they were used to. Niki slept soon after, snoring softly. It was peaceful, for a bit, but they had to get up eventually. 

It was past noon when they awoke, groaning softly. Nikki was still sleeping, drooling a bit. (y/n) shook her awake. “Come on get up!” niki sat up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "What time is it?" She asked, her voice slightly hoarse. "A bit past noon. We should buy some things at the market out of town, sense We've run out of food." Nikki nodded, looking down at her cloths. "Oh god i slept in my shoes…" Nikki says, slipping off the soft mattress. (y/n) nodded, getting off as well. “Yeah we both did. Thank god we didn't get the bed all messed up. Come on, we need to a market.” niki nodded, readjusting her clothes. “Let's go then!”

The market wasn't too much to brag about. It was small and selled the basic things any market would. When they two of them got back, it had reached around 6 pm. (y/n) opened the door to the room they were staying in, sitting in one of the chairs. “Can't believe we had to travel that far to get to the market outside of town.” Nikki nodded, sitting on the bed, taking off her shoes this time. “Yeah, the snow didn't help either. Thunder wasn't having a fun time with that one.” (y/n) nodded, looking out the window of their room. It was nearly dark.

“How do you think we're gonna get into the castle without them thinking we're gonna kill them or something?” niki said, getting up and slowly walking up towards (y/n). “I don't know, if tommys room has changed or he isn't there, we might have to go to techno.” niki nodded. “Getting caught will make things messy.” (y/n) looked at their bag of stuff, the letters nearly falling out the bag. “This better go well. Tommy should be back from his trip with their army, there's no threat of war, everything should be okay.” niki nodded, looking out the window. It had gotten dark, the only light there was came from intown or their room. “We need to wait till midnight.” she said, plopping on the bed. “Yeah, midnight is always the best option. Wanna read till then? I brought a book or two.” niki nodded while (y/n) whent to their bag and grabbed the book in question. “I'll read to you! I like telling stories so..”

(y/n) climbed into bed next to their friend, opening the book. They start to read, niki reading along as well.

This went on till it had reached around midnight, the book being forgotten about and the both of them being fully dressed and prepared to get to the castle.

“We shouldn't take thunder, he could be more trouble than good.” niki says, lacing up her boots. “Yeah, you're probably right. Got your stuff?” she nodded, having reduced her bag to only things that would help with them sneaking into the castle.

“Alright, let's get going then!”

Niki and (y/n), making sure thunder wouldn't leave, left the small hotel for the arctic kingdom, wearing appropriate clothing for the harsh arctic weather that happens in the night. The kingdom was pretty lively at night, cloaking the two of them. Reaching the outside of the castle, they noticed no one was guarding the gate. (y/n) thought for a second, then remembered a secret entrance they and Tommy used when they were younger. 

“Niki, follow me.” she nodded, walking with (y/n) to the side of the castle. They noticed a window with a light on, one of the few ones on this side of the castle. (y/n) looked down, seeing a crack in the big wall that surrounded it. It was made of iron bars, one of which had been broken for years. They walked through, trying not to get hurt by the metal. (y/n) looked at niki. “This isn't a crime right?” they asked. “Breaking and entering? Definitely not.” she joked, looking up at the castle. “Which ones the right window?” (y/n) pointed to one of the windows. “The one to the left of the lit one. That's a storage room, so we can enter and sneak towards Tommy's room.” 

Niki nodded, looking into their bag. “Wait how are we going to get up there?” she asked, looking back at their friend. (y/n) pointed towards the vines leading up to the window. “Vines. They should be sturdy enough to still go up. If not...we’ll be in a lot of pain.” niki sighed. “So reassuring.” they laughed, starting to get onto the vine. “It should be fine.” 

They climbed up the vines, their breath being shown in the cold air. The vines were pretty sturdy, being thick enough to hold them up. Niki stayed behind, waiting for (y/n) to get through the window. (y/n) looked at the window, it being closer to them now. They noticed it was opened slightly, the room letting hot air escape. They climbed up a bit more, latching onto the window. They looked inside, seeing the door open to the small room. They sighed, opening the window and climbing threw. Once landing onto the floor of the castle, they looked out the window towards niki, waving her up.

“WHO’S THERE!?!??” (y/n) jumped, looking towards the person who just yelled at them. 

They saw wilbur holding a lantern in his hand, taking a look at the person who had just broken into his home. “Oh goddamnit..” wilbur lowers the lantern, looking at the disappointed person. “..wait (y/n)?? what are you doing here?” they sighed, stepping away from the window. “Heyyy will. This isn't awkward at all.” they sighed. “Please don't arrest me and my friend.” will, looking towards the window. “You brought a friend?” (y/n) looked at the window, seeing niki latch onto it. They helped her up. “Okay now we-AHH PRINCE WILBUR!” niki shouts, hiding behind (y/n). Wilbur laughs slightly.

“Yeah, we got caught right away.” (y/n) says, looking at the pinkett. Niki moved out from behind them, waving shyly at the prince. “Hi...im niki.” wilbur smiled. “Nice to meet you niki. Now, what are you two doing sneaking in here when you know you can just enter like you normally did.” (y/n) and niki look at each other. “That's a long story that you can tell phil.or my dad.” Wilbur sighed, moving away from the door. “Come on, we’ll go to my room. This better not be illegal.” (y/n) chuckled. “Trust me, it already is.” 

The three of them walked threw the castle, noticing just how dark and lonely it can be at night. Wilbur turned the corner heading towards the last door in the hall. He opened it, letting the two of them in. It was of decent size. The room was covered in papers, the walls being barren while the bed and desk covered. Some had ink spilled on them, either as a mistake or out of rage. (y/n) looked towards the prince. “What's all this about?” they asked, pointing towards his untidy desk. He sighed. “Tell my why your here first.” he moved the papers from off his bed so the two of them could sit down. “Fine fine.” they said, sitting on the bed. Niki followed. Wilbur closed the door, deciding to just lean against the wall.

(y/n) looked into their bag, pulling out the paper on the old kingdom of lmanburg, handing it to wilbur. “A few days ago I found this in one of my parents' history books. It had fallen out so I read it. It's about an old kingdom destroyed by a group who didn't like its ideals, probably anarchists or something. Since I wanted to get out of the castle for a while, I decided to go see it, rebuild it if you will. When I told father he didn't let me, however, niki and another friend, Karl, helped me out. I wanted to rebuild the kingdom with tommy and tubbo, so me and niki whent to see him and give him the letter i was originally just gonna send him. Now here we are, in your room.” 

Wilbur was reading over the paper (y/n) had given him. He smiled, handing it back to (y/n). “I could maybe help out. Tommy just got back so he's in a deep sleep right now. I'll hide you here till the morning when I'll bring him in here. There's one condition though.” Wilbur states. Niki nodded her head. “What is it?” 

“I help rebuild lmanburg. I like its past ideals and wanna help out. I've been wanting to get out of here for awhile, Phil leaving everything to me has been taxing. I won't be king for a long while, so I've got time.” (y/n) stood up. “Do you have a year?” the young man nodded, stepping forward off the wall. “Yeah i think so, do we have a deal young one?” he asked, holding his hand out. (y/n) looked towards Nikki, who nodded her head. (Y/n) turned back, smiling. They took his hand. “We have a deal, also I'm not that young.” he chuckled, ruffling their heads. “Sure kid.” They laughed together.

The three of them talked the rest of the night, none of them really getting tired. It was light out when someone knocked on wilburs door. They opened it without any warning, scaring the three of them. (y/n) accidentally fell on the floor while niki grabbed a carrot from her bag as a weapon.

“Heh? Wait (y/n) why are you on the floor.'' They looked up to see an unimpressed techno at the door. Wilbur rushed towards techno, shoving him inside and closing the door behind him. He made sure to lock it this time.

“Heeeyyy techno.” they said, getting up. Niki shyly put away her carrot weapon. Techno sighed. “What are you doing here?” he asked, standing next to will. “Well firstly, please dont tell Phil or my dad, secondly it's a long story.” they said, gesturing to the bed. Techno sighed, sitting down. The three of them told him what was going on, and why they had to stay a secret. Techno looked at the three of them.

 “Fine i won't tell phil, but in turn you have to braid my hair like you used to.” (y/n) smiled, nodding. “I won't be able to put any flowers in it though.” techno stood up, shaking his head. “When you're talking to Tommy, I'll get the flowers. I'll go distract Phil while you three head to Tommy's room though. I woke him up before i got here so.” (y/n) nodded, thanking the immortal man. He nodded, walking out the room.

“Why does lmanburg sound so familiar?” he said to himself, walking through the halls. 

Wilbur turned to niki and (y/n). “That went well.” they both nodded, speaking agreements to the man. (y/n) grabbed their bag. “Yeah, it went pretty well. Now, let's head to Tommy's room. Gotta complete our mission.” 

"We didn't break in here for nothing." Nikki said, following (y/n). Wilbur nodded, walking behind the two and closing the door. They looked around, making sure no one was around to see them. They walked back down the hall towards the teens room, praying no one would spot them.

They reached the door, wilbur knocking on it. An angered tommy opens it, all of them being able to feel the air from the door. “What will happen!? Can't you see I'm busy??” (y/n) steps out from behind wilbur. “No your not. Let us in.” tommy stared at them for a second. “Wait (y/n)!?” they nodded, smiling. “Mhm, now let us in.” they said showing a deadpan face. Tommy gasped, letting them all in, noticing niki as well. Wilbur closed the door, staring his younger brother down. “Tell father these two are here and where we’re going i will murder you.” tommy rolls his eyes. “Like you could kill me.” 

“Boys boys shut up your both stupid. Ugh this is gonna be a long year.” (y/n) says, turning to niki. “Why can't it just be us two.'' She laughed at this. Tommy gasps dramatically. “I am not stupid! Wilbur is though.'' Wilbur glared at tommy. “I am so gonna kill you when we leave-” “okay okay, calm down.” (y/n) says, interrupting the older man. Wilbur sighs, slumping. 

“Anyways, tommy, we snuck in here to recruit you for something!” (y/n) says, leaning against tommys bed posts. They were on both ends of the bed. Tommy stared at both niki and (y/n). “Well first who's this?” he said, pointing to the pinkett. “I'm niki! It's nice meeting you! (y/n) told me alot about you, they even told me you used to braid technos hair and put flowers-” “OKAY I DO NOT LIKE HER!! SHUT UP BITCH!!'' Tommy shouts, interrupting the smirking girl. “Yeah yeah, you hate everyone.” (y/n) says. “Now you know niki, we wanna talk to you about something we had planned.”

(y/n) then told tommy all about the kingdom, and how they missed hanging out with him and tubbo. They wanted to see them again, so they snuck in here to get him to come with them. Tommy processed all of this, thinking if he should go with them. “What ideals did it hold? How long will it be? And can i be the president?” (y/n) handed him the lmanburg paper. “Independance, freedom and others listed there. Up until i get crowned to rule the uranian kingdom so like a year. No not in a million years.” tommy ponder for a second. “Alright I'm in. I will be president one day though.” (y/n) patted his head. “Sure buddy. Sure you will.” (y/n) looked into their bag, handing him the letter they wrote to him. “This might go into a bit more detail. Now if you excuse me, im gonna sleep on your bed. “Hey hey no your not! I have more questions.” (y/n) nodded. “Alright fine. What is it. “

Tommy looked at the letter. “How are we gonna get to tubbo? He's never had a concrete place of living, how will we find him?” (y/n) thought for a second. “No idea. Might ask Jack for help since he runs the only train system in the smp...i'm really not sure though.`` Tommy just stared at them. “Wow, amazing. We’re actually gonna have to do work to find him.” tommy complains. Wilbur shuckled. “Like youre gonna help.” tommy glared at him. “Why are you even coming along anyway?? You have things to do here you know.`` Wilbur smacked Tommy's arm. “So do you! You literally lead our military tommy. We can just leave it to phil and techno sense they do absolutely nothing.”

“What do you mean i do nothing? I have to deal with you two everyday, that's enough.” techno interrupted the two's conversation, standing  in the doorway. Niki and (y/n) laughed at this. “I bet their a handful.” niki said. “Oh yeah, tommy especially. The childs really annoying and hard to deal with. Nearly strangled him once or twice.” the pink haired man said. Tommy glared at him. “Dad would kill you before you could.” techno laughed, sighing. “I'm not scared of your father, I could totally win against him in a fight.”

“Do they always fight like this?” niki asked me. “Yes they do. It gets annoying real fast.” they both laugh together. Techno turned towards (y/n), gesturing towards the basket in his hands. “You, braid, now.” (y/n) chuckled at this. “Alright alright. Sit on the bed.” techno follows this, sitting down on the side of the bed. (y/n) got behind him, grabbing the flowers and sectioning his hair. Tommy saw this and sat next to them, wanting to help out like he used to. Niki and Wilbur smiled at this, Wilbur grabbing his guitar and looking towards niki. “Do you know any songs you could sing?” he asked, sitting down on one of tommys chairs just after closing and locking the door. Niki responded, smiling softly. “I know i few.”

(y/n) and Tommy braided and placed flowers into technos hair like they did when they were kids, while Wilbur and Niki played a few songs together to add to the peaceful atmosphere. It was a nice, calming experience the five of them needed. It was peaceful, and held a bit of nostalgia for some of them. When (y/n) and Tommy finished up technos hair, they still stayed like this, quietly playing a few songs and just catching up with one another. Getting to know niki while she got to hear some funny stories about the two brothers and a young (y/n) was a nice experience. It was nice knowing they would be close friends.

They noticed how it had reached mid day by the time they had stopped telling stories. (y/n) had gotten a bit tired while Tommy got quite bored or distracted. Wilbur suggested that they had lunch together, since Phil had left that morning for a week-long trip. They all agreed, and went off to their kitchen to make a real quick meal for the five of them.

Tommy and (y/n) were in charge of setting the table, since Tommy was banned from the kitchen and someone needed to keep him in check. Niki and Wilbur made the main part of the meal, along with some treats, while techno made tea and other drinks for them all. He helped make some of the food though.

Once finished up, they all ate together at the big table in the dining hall. (y/n) and niki talked of their adventure here, how they had a horse that they needed to return to jack soon and how they had nearly gone the wrong way at some point.

Once finished, Wilbur and Tommy agreed to pack up since they had to leave to give back the horse. Wilbur and Tommy said they had their own so they did have a way of transportation. Techno, (y/n) and niki sat in the dining hall, waiting for the two of them to be done packing.

“So, i've been thinking about this lmanburg place.” techno says, messing with one of the glasses at the table. “I think that place has a lot more significance than you think.” (y/n) looked at techno. “Hm? What do you mean.”

“Well for starters, I think yo-” “WILL DONT PUSH ME DOWN THE STARS!!!! I WILL STAB YOU IN AN ALLEYWAY WITH A KNIFE!'' Tommy Yelles from upstairs, interrupting techno in the process. 

Wilbur came running into the room, being chased by an angry tommy with a knife in hand. Niki got up from her seat and tackled tommy. “GIVE ME THE KNIFE!!” she shouted, trying to get the knife from his hand. “LET ME GO BITCH!!!'' Wilbur stood near (y/n) who was wheezing in laughter.

“GIVE.ME.THE.KNIFE!!!!” niki said, trying her best to grab it. Eventually, tommy gives up and hands niki the knife. She smiled “good. No more knives okay?``Tony nodded, grabbing his bag which had fallen by the entrance. He sits next to where niki sat, who soon stood next to him. “Are we all ready to go?” (y/n) asked, standing up from their seat. Everyone nodded, techno getting up as well. “Might as well actually get stuff done instead of what normally happens.” he said, walking over to (y/n) and hugging them. “It was good seeing ya.” he says, letting go. (y/n) smiled. “Yeah, it was nice braiding your greasy ass hair again.” techno rolled his eyes. “It's not that bad.” “Sure, sure it isn't.”

Everyone said their goodbyes to techno, Tommy opting to try and stab him (he somehow got another knife). He didn't stab techno.

They 4 of them left the dining hall, opting to just walk out the castle since no one would see them today. They went to the stable, grabbing two horses for the trip. When leaving,  (y/n) and niki told them they needed to go back to the motel to get anything they left behind, plus the horse they needed to give back to their friend. They nodded, walking to the village to grab thunder and anything else.

“Thunder, I know you were alone all night and morning, but you gotta come with us man!” (y/n) said to a sluggish thunder. He didn't want to get out of the stable. “Hungry? Thirsty?” thunder seemed to respond to that, so (y/n) gave him what he needed and he finally agreed to leave. They met back with niki, wilbur and tommy, who were in front of the hotel. “We’re do we go from here?'' Tommy asked, eating a cookie he snatched from a market aways back. “We’re going to the arctic kingdom trainstation to give thunder back to jack, maybe ask him if he knows where tubbo lives nowadays.” they said, hopping on the horse niki was on. Wilbur nodded, looking down at Tommy who was the only one not on a horse. “Gonna hop on?”

“I have my own horse, dick head.” Tommy says, hopping onto the said horse. “Well i didn't say you could ride with me now did i?” “you literally did!!” the two bickered a bit, niki and (y/n) just 

leaving them behind. After they noticed the two had started to leave, they stopped fighting and followed the two of them.

They headed to the train station that was a bit out of town, hoping Jack would be there. If not, this plan got a bit more complicated.

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series tag list, ask if you wanna be added!

@xx-smiley-xx @darkqueenhyde @livinevi 

[harryspet]

a long way down [1] b.barnes & s.rogers

[Warnings] dark bucky x reader, dark steve x reader, dominant/submissive, thoughts of suicide, lots of violence, death, heavy angst, zombies, the walking dead au, noncon/dubcon sex, light bondage (handcuffs), reader is a little (very) helpless, spanking, breeding kink (wear protection please)

A/N: This is for @darkficsyouneveraskedfor​ ‘s title prompt game!! As you can see, my title was “a long way down”. This gave me the opportunity to write the apocalypse au I’ve been putting off. It was supposed to be a drabble but I apparently can’t read because this turned into a long ass one-shot. TRIGGERING CONTENT AHEAD

In which the dead are walking, you belong to Bucky, and you stumble upon Steve’s settlement.  

series masterlist

word count: 6k

The first time you met Bucky, he saved your life. He saved yours and then made you take another. 

You had locked yourself in an abandoned gas station for the night. You had spent so many days running, walking further and further from your home. It was the first night in weeks that you let your guards down a little. The station had been ransacked completely but you managed to scrape a small meal of what people left behind as undesirables. It tasted heavenly. 

You had actually fallen asleep knowing you weren’t going to die. You fell asleep knowing you could sleep the full eight hours. 

When you awoke on the surprisingly comfortable tile floors, your worry returned abruptly. You could see through the windows that they had gathered in the parking lot. You slowly approached the windows, holding a kitchen knife tightly in your hands. 

You were still wearing the blue sundress from the family barbecue you were attending before the world ended, a combat jacket you found tied around your waist. The knife belonged to the Robinson’s, a family of four, that you watched all die before your eyes. 

They were the tip of the iceberg. You watched your own family die in the next few weeks and then all the members of the small group you were a part of. You should've known better than to stop running. Everyone you knew died because they got pinned somewhere and the walkers overtook them. 

One of the walkers noticed your slight movement and focused on you. It limped towards the window of the front of the store and you took a cautious step back. You kept still for a moment, hoping not to attract anymore but the one walker seemed to signal the rest of his friends. 

This entire town was deserted of walkers when you arrived yesterday and now it seemed to be overrun with them. You had a feeling that a herd might be passing through. You ducked behind one of the many food shelves and kneeled down. You were going to wait it out until they passed through town and realized there was no one here for them to eat.

That was the plan until more started to swarm the gas station, their moaning and groaning became even louder. Your hands were shaking as the sound of the pounding began to deafen you. You couldn’t help but consider what you would do if they broke through the glass. If you slit your own wrist and bled out then you wouldn’t feel them tearing you limb from limb. 

The back door had been barricaded too heavily for you to get through. Besides, you’d most likely meet another crowd of walkers going that way. 

You held the knife shakily, beads of sweat dripping down your forehead, as you tried to stop yourself from thinking that way. 

Abruptly, your eyes shot open as gunshots rang in the air nearby. One pierced through the front window, sending glass shattering to the floor. You didn’t recognize them as gunshots at first, you thought walkers had finally broken through but, as you peaked around the shelf, you found yourself dead wrong. 

Through the window, you saw a man moving like a shadow, firing his pistol and precisely hitting several of the walkers through their skulls. He was mesmerizing, a killing machine, and a force of energy that was foreign to you. He moved swiftly enough to dodge the blood-hungry demons that lunged for him and strong enough to knock them down and stab them through the skull before they could stand again. 

He was killing them all. 

You noticed the glint of a metal-like substance as your wide eyes admired his left arm. You were staring so intently that you hadn’t noticed a walker had crept its way inside and set its sights on you. 

You scrambled backward, fumbling with the knife in your hand as you struggled to point it at the monster. You stood, still backing away, as he moved closer. She was an elderly woman, her body decayed, and carrying a horrible stench. The necklace around her neck was shaped like a heart. It looked like the kind that contained pictures of a loved one. 

You couldn’t help but sympathize, couldn’t help but make up excuses for why you couldn’t do it. Why you couldn’t be brave. Before you could hesitate any longer, a sharp knife pierced through the woman’s skull and she collapsed before. 

You stared at the shadow of the men, his towering figure, and, although his eyes were a blue crystal, they were dead.

“Are you blind or deaf?” He asked you, his voice as dark as his appearance. 

You only shook your head, words not daring to leave your mouth. The man looked around the rest of the rest stop, probably noting there were barely any supplies before he sighed. He didn’t understand how you could let yourself get in such a sticky position and then not even be able to handle yourself against one of them.

“Do you have supplies?” He asked next. 

You hesitantly raised a finger towards your backpack resting beside one of the shelves, “Not … not much. I just … I-I just wanted to sleep,” He noted your appearance, the insufficient and dirty clothing as well as the bags around your eyes. You were a suburban girl who was clearly out of her element, “Thank you,” You added quickly. 

He didn’t acknowledge your gratitude, “I need medical supplies,” He stated firmly. 

“I, uhm, I have some alcohol and bandages-”

“Grab your bag, let’s go,” Your eyes seemed to widen even more as the man turned away from you. 

“W-What?” You stuttered over your words, “I don’t  … I don’t know you. I’ll give you the-”

Bucky turned back, clearly annoyed, “You want to stay alone when you can’t even properly use a knife?”

You looked down at the knife in your hand. It was clean of any blood, “I was going to use it ... “

He scoffed, “What's your name, doll?”

“Y/N,” You answered, still trying to keep calm. 

“Bucky,” He stated, making a move to leave once again, “You coming or not?”

You had to make a decision then. Risk life in the apocalypse alone or hope this man could protect you. What he wanted in return other than bandages, you weren’t sure yet. You huffed, deciding to grab your backpack and follow him outside. 

You had to admit that you weren’t cut out for this life. You weren’t even sure how you had made it this far. 

You stepped over the bodies of at least ten walkers as you stepped into the parking lot. Bucky walked toward an abandoned red truck sitting by one of the gas pumps. You watched him curiously as he discovered a walker strapped into the passenger seat. It couldn’t untangle himself from the seatbelt and was trying to throw itself out of the window. 

It started to moan and growl as the two of you approached. You thought he was pulling out the pistol to put it out its misery but Bucky turned to you, holding the gun out to you, “Take it.”

“I don’t want-”

“Take it,” He stated more firmly, little patience in his eyes. You raised a shaky hand, taking it into your grip, “Hold it tight.”

To your surprise, the man came behind you, gently grabbing your arm as he showed you the proper way to hold it, “W-Why do you want me to do this?” You asked shakily. When you tried to lower it, you pushed your arms up.

“You’re going to kill it,” You turned your head, your eyes wide, “I’m not bringing you with me if you can’t even kill a walker.”

You looked at the walker again, noting the uniform he was wearing was that of a mechanic. He used to have a job, a life, probably a family, “I can’t,” You protested, “I can’t.”

“You can do it. You will do it. No one is in there, Y/N,” Bucky spoke calmly, his voice lower than you expected, “You’re doing him a favor. At least let the man’s body be free.”

Bucky let go of you after your hands were in the correct position. He noticed your shaky grip, the fact that your body was clearly going into panic mode. You hoped he didn’t notice the tears stinging in your eyes. You imagined the man’s wife and the man’s family. Would they care that you didn’t leave him be? 

Bucky’s voice snapped you out of your trance, “Do it.”

You closed your eyes and fired. Silence echoed around you like the force of the gun knocked you back a step. When you slowly opened your eyes, the man’s brains were splattered on the back of his seat. 

“We’ll have to work on keeping your eyes open when you fire. You got lucky,” Bucky grabbed the gun from you, holding it down by his side. 

All you could do was stare at what you’d done. You shouldn’t be able to play God in this way. Monster or not, it all felt wrong, “ … I’m sorry,” You whispered to the man and to whatever family that was out there.

Bucky looked you over. He’d never met someone so afraid of killing. He was a killing machine before and after the dead rose from their graves. He saw your heartbreaking as reality was finally hitting you after all this time. You were realizing that you were nothing special, that this was your fate and everyone was eventually going to end up like the man in the truck. 

“Oh, doll,” Bucky sighed, his lips pressed into a thin line, “I’m afraid it’s a long way down from here.”

+

Bucky’s latest homestead was a Motel 6 more than forty miles away from the gas station. Your mother had warned you about guys who rode motorcycles and you imagined she was rolling over in her grave now that you were on the back of Buckys. Luckily, you didn’t encounter any more packs of walkers but Bucky insisted you hurry because a pack was sure to follow after all the gunshots. 

“The shower works,” Bucky spoke absentmindedly, setting a duffel bag on the single bed. He seemed to have collected a lot of supplies before he even ran into you, “Water’s cold but you can still use it.”

You nodded, clutching your backpack tightly, as you crossed the room. Bucky watched your backside as you slipped into the dirty bathroom. 

What the hell were you doing? You were in a tiny motel room with a complete stranger. Now you were getting naked behind a door and you had no idea of his expectation especially since there was only a single bed. 

You shook your head, setting your bag down on the sink. You pulled off your jacket and then lifted your dress above your head. You looked over your body, your sunken in features, and your shrinking figure. You reached to touch your face only to jump at the sound of a knock at the door. 

“Do you need a change of clothes?” He asked you and you froze for a moment. You looked at your tattered blue dress. “A verbal answer, preferably.”

“Y-Yes, please,” You answered, cracking the door so he couldn’t see you in your underwear. Bucky handed you the pile of cloth and you gave a weak smile as you closed the door back. Looking back in the mirror, you let out a breath of air you didn’t know you were holding. 

You set the clothes down before turning on the shower. You took the time to clean yourself and some of your items as well. You thought maybe you could get the blood and dirt out of your dress and it would remind you again of happy times. You set it out to dry on the towel rack. 

The clothes he gave you consisted of a plain black t-shirt that fit way too big for you. As you searched for more, you realized that it was all he had given you. It fit like a dress but you couldn’t help but wonder if his mind was elsewhere. You grabbed your backpack and jacket before exiting the bathroom. 

You found that he had made himself comfortable, the gray shirt he was wearing was tight enough to illuminate his muscles as well as the metal arm. He was cleaning his knife when he looked up to see you standing awkwardly. 

“Come here,” Again, he spoke like you were a minuscule thought in his mind. You took a few steps closer. “Are you going to prance around me like a baby doe for the rest of this relationship?”

You scoffed this time, “I’m sorry … this is new.”

Bucky didn’t seem like he was willing to wait for you to catch up to him. Things were now or never with him, “Set your things down,” For a moment, you questioned why you were following this man blindly, and then another part of you remembered what he was capable of. 

Even without a threat of violence, Bucky noted your submissiveness. Your innocence could be a burden but maybe a blessing in disguise as well. 

He grabbed your hand, pulling you in between his legs and you looked down at him with frightened eyes. He stilled your shaking hand with his strong one, “Should we go over how things are going to work between you and me?”

It was rhetorical but you nodded slowly. 

“It’s simple. You do as I say and I won’t leave you for dead,” You understood but it was much harsher when he put it in his own words. Looking at him, you couldn’t help but notice his handsome features. The killing had blinded you to it before but now you could see it with full exposure, “You use that gun when the time comes and it will come. I don’t want to have to put you out of your misery if you get bitten.”

“I don’t know how-”

“I’ll teach you, doll,” He declared. You yelped as he suddenly grabbed your waist, flipping you onto the bed and pinning you beneath him, “A helpless thing like you should know how to protect herself.”

Bucky searched your face, calculating before his head dipped into the crook of your neck. His beard scratched your skin as he placed kisses along the sensitive skin. 

“Bucky!” You struggled beneath him but you felt the strong metal of his hand press you further into the mattress, “Bucky, please.”

You felt so weak beneath him and you hated that warm feeling he sent through your body. You gritted your teeth as he kissed your chin and then his lips grazed yours, “I saved your life, Y/N, it’s the least you could do.”

You shook your head as he pressed his lips to yours. The kiss was hard, desperate, and you felt all the pent up frustration in his body. You could finally breathe when he pulled away, only for him to take soft bites of the skin on your cheek and then your ear. 

“Bucky,” Your voice came out in a whisper. 

“I’ll be gentle,” He assured you, “It’ll feel better if you don’t struggle.”

He was right. As soon as you stopped trying to push him away, your tired body thanked you for it. 

Your first night with Bucky, he made sure to lay down his claim. He saw no use in trying to get to know you. You were his and you’d learn to like it. He saved your life after all. 

Bucky lifted your shirt, pulling off your panties. He stilled your shaking leg and a shiver went through you as the weapon he called a hand, wrapped around your thigh. He kissed down your body, over your stomach before his head dipped between your legs. 

You didn’t expect to cry out in ecstasy that night. You didn’t expect to feel anything at all but, although Bucky didn’t give you a choice, you started to feel human for the first time in a while. This sort of intimacy and pleasure was a rare commodity and part of you wanted to welcome that comfort.

You gripped the motel sheets tightly as he brought you over that cliff. He seemed to savor your pleasure and you expected him to force himself inside you next but he simply told you, “Go to sleep, doll.”

The dark stranger held you tight the whole night. 

+

The next few months passed quicker than you expected. Every day you were alive was a blessing but you couldn’t help but think that you didn’t deserve it. 

You traveled the country with Bucky, finding homestead after homestead to stay in. Inevitably, a crowd of walkers would ruin your plans or you’d run into groups of scavengers, humans who killed just as much as walkers. 

Bucky taught you how to properly use a gun as well as a knife. You practiced aiming in forest clearings and pretty soon you could handle your own. You considered leaving him but the stranger seemed to open up to you more as the weeks went on. You learned he was in the military and that was how he lost his arm. You figured he was some type of government agent before the dead rose. That was the only way you could explain the arm. 

You let yourself grow attached to him and you assumed that he did too. 

You told him about the small town you grew up in and your privileged life in suburbia. You had traded your sundress for jeans, a band t-shirt, one of Bucky’s combat jackets and black boots. 

You enjoyed the wind in your hair as you rode together with Bucky across the state lines. You were meant to be his extra eye but you couldn’t help that your mind wandered sometimes. Dreams of a better world comforted you. 

You were on a long road, traveling through an evergreen forest when Bucky’s motorcycle abruptly skidded to halt. You looked ahead and, fifty feet ahead, was a makeshift barricade of rusted cars, “What is it?” You asked in a whisper and Bucky shushed you. 

He dismounted the bike and you did the same. You took a small glance around the eerily quiet forest as Bucky approached the group of cars, “All the cars are dead. We can’t go through here,” You sensed the frustration in his voice as you pulled the map from your jacket pocket. You found the pen mark you last left that marked the area you two were trying to reach. 

“We can go back ten miles east and try a different road,” You spoke swiftly and Bucky nodded, turning back towards the vehicle. 

The scavengers came out of nowhere, several four-wheelers emerged from the tree line with armed men riding in them. They pointed their guns at the two of you as  A giant truck pulled into the road, causing you to be blocked on each side. 

Bucky was quick to grab his rifle, stepping in front of you and you pointed your pistol at one of the many scavengers. You heard Bucky curse under his breath as your panic began to set in. You glanced down at your feet and realized there was dry blood decorating the cement. This group used the blockade to ambush survivors and inevitably kill them. 

“Drop the weapons!” Shouted one of the burly men with his rifle pointed at us, “You’re outnumbered. Don’t make this hard!”

Bucky let the silence set in for a moment before letting his words cut through the thick tension like a knife, “Over. My. Dead. Body.”

Over yours too apparently. 

“Suit yourself,” The man agreed, his mouth opening to order his men to fire. 

He was interrupted by another voice though. One that clearly held more power than the man. He stepped out from the passenger side of the truck, jumping down with a revolver in hand. You noted his muscular stature and the fact that his long hair and beard reminded you of Jesus himself. 

“Hold your fire, Sam. Hold your fire!”

You noticed then the clothing of the men was way more decent than you expected. You noted bright colors and a lack of wrinkles. Clearly where these men came from there were heavy supplies. The man who looked like Jesus, who was clearly their leader, stepped forward with his revolver at his side. 

You noticed Bucky start to lower his rifle and something even more unexpected happened, the leader smiled at Bucky. His eyes wandered to you and the man’s smile widened even more, “Bucky,” The man spoke as if he couldn’t believe his own words.

“Steve,” You looked to Bucky with wide eyes. 

They knew each other?

You still held your gun tightly, your eyes darting around at the group of scavengers who had now lowered their weapons. 

“Bucky, what’s going on?” You asked him.

“Lower your weapon, dollface,” The man named Steve said to you, “Your pal Bucky here is an old friend of mine.”

You looked to Bucky for permission and he slowly nodded. You lowered it at his command which Steve watched with a raised eyebrow, “This is your strategy, Rogers? Killing innocents and taking their supplies?”

“A lot has changed since we last saw each other. This is called adapting, my friend. Besides, we haven’t hurt you, have we?” You could tell there were years, perhaps decades, on their relationship. Steve looked at you and noted how you hid halfway behind Bucky, “Who’s this?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Bucky said quickly. 

Steve only raised his hands in defense, chuckling, “Fine, fine. You two look like you need some help.”

“We’re fine, just let us pass.”

“How much gas do you have left?” Steve asked like he knew something that we didn’t, “I can tell you now that my group has collected every drop of it in the surrounding hundred-mile radius. I wouldn’t want you guys to get stranded somewhere.”

“We have enough,” Bucky stated firmly though you knew he was lying. 

Steve sighed, “C’mon, Buck, I’m extending an olive branch. I control this area, traveling on it without my permission is just a guaranteed death sentence. We have a sanctuary nearby with lots of food, water, and shelter. Come with us.”

Bucky was silent for a long moment. You knew he was pretty much a lone wolf and disliked the idea of having to trust others with his safety. 

“We won’t stay.”

Steve slowly nodded, “Fine, then give me time to catch up with my friend. We’ll need your weapons for the time being. I have to look out for the safety of my people.”

+

“Welcome to Liberty.”

Bucky refused to give up his weapons until they actually arrived at the settlement. You both noted the impressive nature of the area Steve controlled. The area consisted of a suburban neighborhood surrounded by a tall, metal wall. They called it Liberty. 

You noticed the watched towers that held snipers who killed the walkers in the path of the trucks we were traveling in. The gate to the settlement and all of the cars filed in before the doors were shut. Bucky helped you out of the truck and you got a good look around. 

It was a complete Utopia. They had large fields for farming, their own source of water and electricity. You didn’t even think something like this was possible. 

You passed a few people and they looked at you like outsiders while they smiled and acknowledged Steve as their “Captain”. 

Steve offered to show the two of you around but Bucky only wanted to see where the two of you would stay. If Bucky was impressed by everything, he didn’t say anything, “As a sign of good faith,” Steve said, “You two are staying in my own humble abode.”

Humble was the wrong one. Steve had the biggest house to himself at the center of the neighborhood. It was two stories, a calming blue, and looked like it had at least five bedrooms. Steve showed you around the nicely furnished house and introduced the two of you to a blonde woman named Sharon. 

She offered the two of you sandwiches and Steven explained that Sharon worked in the infirmary. They didn’t seem to be affectionate but it was easy to assume that they were romantically involved. People took comfort wherever they could nowadays. 

Steve showed you yours and Bucky’s room on the second floor and he left the two of you to settle in, “How do you know him?” Was the first question that left your lips. 

“We were in the same unit overseas. Last time I heard of him, I was being discharged after losing my arm and he was being promoted.”

You felt he was leaving out details but he answered more than you expected anyway. 

The two of you were able to clean up after two weeks of traveling and no showers. They even had hot water here which you hadn’t felt since life was normal. They also left you new clothes and you were surprised to find a dress for yourself. 

You felt the fabric of the floral pattern and it reminded you of happier times. You liked it, you wanted to feel feminine after months of being covered in dirt and gunshot residue. As you slipped the dress on and finally drove a brush through your hair, you gazed at Bucky. He was buttoning a red flannel and you noticed how you could really see his face now that he had a chance to trim his beard. 

He looked … clean. Maybe a little more innocent than before. 

He slipped on his own jeans and boots before saying to you, “Stay here,” You grabbed his hand before he could walk out the door. 

“Do you trust him?”

“Enough,” He answered simply, “I trust him enough.”

He kissed your forehead before leaving you alone. 

+

“Have you fallen in love or something, Buck?”

Bucky paced the length of Steve’s office, his mind all over the place, “No,” Bucky answered, “Our relationship is just … mutually beneficial.”

Steve leaned back in his chair, his fingers running through his beard, “That’s how it is nowadays. I’m sure Sharon’s motivations include me being a better option than those savages who do my dirty work. And I’m not ugly, either.”

As Bucky didn’t respond to his humor, Steve continued, “What’s the nature of your relationship with Y/N? What’s in it for her?”

“I keep her alive.”

“And for you?” Bucky was silent because Steve already knew the answer, “Our relationship could also be mutually beneficial. As you can see, I have a lot to offer. I have a fucking empire, Buck. Weapons, land, you name it. If I don’t have it then surely one of my allies will.”

“And what can I offer you?”

Stever smirked evilly, “Her.”

“No.”

“I saw the way she looks at you. She’d do anything you said if you asked.

“Why?” Bucky asked, his muscles starting to tighten as the anger boiled inside of him, “You have women here, don’t you?”

Steve shook his head, “Not enough that are childbearing age,” Bucky understood. His friend was developing some sort of king complex, “I’ve been trying with Sharon for a while now and nothing. My allies refuse to trade theirs.”

“You want to bring a life into this world?”

“This is the safest place in the entire country. There has to be a point where we rebuild.”

“... Steve,” Bucky rubbed his temple. 

“I’m not trying to steal her away from you, Buck. She just has something I need. Something I would pay you handsomely for.”

+

“You’re very pretty,” Sharon said to you as she served another serving of salad onto your plate. She sat in front of you at the square table and the four of you ate dinner together, “Bucky is lucky to have you.”

“Thank you,” You smiled back at her, “Your home … your home is very beautiful.”

Sharon smiled, sipping at her cold glass of water. She looked to Steve who said, “We’ve made it our own, haven’t we?” He asked Sharon rhetorically, “We’d love it if you stayed a while, Y/N.”

Steve watched as you immediately looked to Bucky. After spending the day here, you did think it would be nice to stay but you were loyal to Bucky, “Well … I don’t think Bucky likes to follow other people's rules very much.”

Bucky was silent as he cut his steak, not even bothering to look at you. 

“That might be an understatement,” Steve chuckled, trying to break the tension, “You could always stay anyways … and we’d let Bucky come and go as he pleases.”

Your eyebrows raised in confusion. You had the feeling again that Steve more than you. What made it worse was now you suspected everyone at the table knew more than you. 

You desperately wanted Bucky to say something. Anything, “I don’t know what use I’d be around here.”

“You could always help out in the infirmary,” Sharon said happily, “Our guys are always getting hurt out there.”

“I appreciate the offer but …”

“You’ll stay here,” You looked to Bucky with wide eyes, “You’ll be safe here.”

“And where will you go?” You asked quickly, your world starting to fall apart once again. 

“I have business elsewhere,” Was all he said. You could deal with his secretiveness before but not now, “I’ll be back when I’m done.”

Silence fell over the table for a moment before Sharon attempted to comfort you, “We’ll take care of you here, honey. There’s no need to worry.”

You shook your head, “No, I’m going with you. I don’t want to stay.”

“Y/N-”

Bucky was interrupted by Steve, “You will stay. The decision has already been made.”

You stood up abruptly, shaking the table, “I don’t even know you people!” You yelled back, turning to Bucky, “Please take me with you.”

“What did I just fucking say, Y/N?” 

It felt like you were being rejected. Like you were losing yet another person, “This is what you want, Bucky?” You crossed your arms, “You swear?”

“Yes, doll,” He reassured you, “This doesn’t change anything.”

You pushed your chair back, “This changes everything and you don’t even care,” You spoke, not bothering to look back, before storming out of the dining room. 

+

Bucky wasn’t telling you the truth, that much you knew. You sat on the bed in your new room with a heavy weight on your shoulders. You untied your hair from its ponytail and ran your fingers through your hair, trying to relieve some stress in your body. 

When the door opened again, you immediately said, “I’m sorry for yelling-” You stopped as you realized that it wasn’t Bucky who had followed you up. You stood up, noting how Steve’s body basically took up the entire door frame. If he was attempting to be less threatening, it wasn’t working, “What do you want?”

“I can tell Bucky loves you very much, you know. And I don’t think he’s loved a lot of things in his life.” You thought about it for a moment. You never thought what Bucky showed you was love. He was cold and unforgiving most of the time. Steve stepped into the room, shutting the door behind him, “He cares for you but there are still some things he can’t give up yet. He’s a soldier. He’s always going to crave another mission and he knows he can’t bring the ones he loves into harm's way.”

You thought there was truth in his words. Perhaps you just didn’t want to lose your trust in Bucky. 

“What do you want from me?”

Steve sighed, “Well, I suppose you can’t just use my resources and offer me nothing in return.”

“Sharon said I could help her-”

“Yes,” Steve agreed, closing the gap between the two of you, “You’ll help her and you’ll help me.”

“With what?” You asked, and before he could grab you, you kicked his shin. Hard. 

Steve grunted in pain and as you tried to run past him, he grabbed your leg. You fell to your hands and knees abruptly, still trying to pull away from him, “Where are you going to run-” You kicked your leg out, nailing the Captain in his nose. 

Now, you had really made him angry. Steve groaned, still not letting go of your leg, “He taught you a lot … but don’t be delusional, sweetheart.”

Steve pulled you into his body, grabbing your arms and pinning them behind your back. You heard the jingle of metal before you heard it click around both your wrist. Steve pulled you up from the ground, bending your body over the bed. You tried to kick but he spread your legs with his feet. 

He pulled your dress up and easily ripped off your underwear. 

You screamed, calling for Bucky, “Bucky told me where you come from. Think about it, I’m offering you another chance at your old life. White picket fence, kids running around in the yard,” There was a sudden slap to your behind and a tear slipped down your cheek.

Steve thought you were gorgeous. A baby was not the only thing he wanted from you. He wouldn’t mind having a face like yours walking around the settlement. 

The blood from his nose dripped down to your bottom as he undid his belt and unleash his member. It was already hard, the excitement of the situation having caused it. 

He licked his hand, reaching down to fill between your legs, “Already wet. He didn’t tell me that you liked pain,” Steve landed another, harder slap to your bottom and you cried out. 

“Steve, please,” You begged, “I’ll do anything.”

“You will. You’re going to give me a baby, gorgeous,” He hit you again and you felt his tip press against your entrance. He impaled himself inside you, holding onto your cuffed wrist as he moved in and out of you. Your eyes were wide, your mouth agape, as you felt him take you over. 

As his pace quickened, you bit down on the comforter to keep the moans from escaping your lips. His hands move to your waist, pulling your body back against him, so you couldn’t escape his assault. The position you were in seemed to allow him to hit a very sensitive spot, one that had you gasping for air and crying out at the same time. 

Steve could tell your body like it. You were squeezing his cock hard and your body was writing on the bed before him. He felt it when you tightened around him as you reached your climax, “What a needy. Little. Thing,” He grunted before flipping your body over. The handcuffs dug into your skin but all you could focus on was him. 

His thrusts became even deeper as he leaned over your body. He kissed your lips, his tongue exploring your mouth before he made his final thrusts inside of you. The Captain moaned into your mouth as warmth filled you. 

He breathed heavily, emptying himself inside you as he kissed your tears. You were still shaking when he pulled out of you. As he let go of you, you weakly tried to crawl away. Steve walked around the bed, watching you like a predator watches its prey. 

He flipped you back over, grabbing your wrist as he pulled you further onto the bed. After that, he placed a pillow beneath your hips, elevating you. 

He leaned down to where your face is, brushing your hair away so he could see you clearly, “You learned to like Bucky, you’ll do the same with me.”

You had no words left for him. Your fate was sealed from now. 

In this new world, there was little room for compassion. This was what Bucky must’ve meant. This was the long way down. 

+

I hope you enjoyed this, I know it was long!! Part two is out!!

[horansqueen]

New Angel - Chapter 33

story masterlist [x]

chapter 1  ☆ chapter 2  ☆ chapter 3  ☆ chapter 4  ☆ chapter 5  ☆ chapter 6  ☆ chapter 7  ☆ chapter 8 ☆ chapter 9 ☆ chapter 10 ☆ chapter 11 ☆ chapter 12 ☆ chapter 13 ☆ chapter 14 ☆ chapter 15 ☆ chapter 16 ☆ chapter 17 ☆ chapter 18 ☆ chapter 19 ☆ chapter 20 ☆ chapter 21 ☆ chapter 22 ☆ chapter 23 ☆ chapter 24 ☆ chapter 25 ☆ chapter 26 ☆ chapter 27 ☆ chapter 28 ☆ chapter 29 ☆ chapter 30 ☆ chapter 31 ☆ chapter 32

NOTES

☆ written from Niall’s pov ☆ i don’t proofread, I never do, I hate it. ☆ AU comedy/fluff/smut/romance ☆ 2.5k ☆ i accept requests and ideas for this story, so message me in my inbox! Pretty sure no one will by now but its alright :) ☆ if you want to be notified when this story is updated (or be taken off the update list) CLICK HERE

NIALL

Leo barked and I jumped slightly, my eyes leaving Millie's body for a few seconds only to look at the dog still laying on the bed. My eyebrows raised and I shook my head slightly as Millie chuckled.

"Boy, you need to let me have a nice chat with that half naked girl, alright?" I let out, half-joking. "I'm trying to get laid here."

Leo barked again and I chuckled but when I turned around, I noticed Millie had taken a few steps closer and a bigger smile was spread on her face. She moved her tongue on her bottom lip and I groaned very low despite myself.

"Tell me, Niall, if you would fuck me right now, how would you do it?"

"What are you trying to do?" I whispered, my lips staying half-opened. "Turning me on?"

"Tell me." she insisted in a low tone.

I blinked a few time and cleared my throat, trying to imagine getting her naked again and touching her. I had no idea how exactly we ended up here, half naked and wet in this motel room so far from home, but I enjoyed the closeness and not only the physical one. The fact that we were away and far from home brought us even closer and I was not sure why but it didn't matter : i loved it.

"I would lay you down on that bed and just push myself balls deep inside you."

My eyes never left hers as I talked but when I felt her hand on my dick over my wet boxers I held my breath. Her hand was surprisingly warm against me and I felt my cock swell at her touch. My whole body started throbbing but I couldn't focus on anything else but the way her fingers moved against my length very slowly

"Mm, you know I'd love to feel you wreck me." she said in a mix of a whimper and a whisper.

I wanted to tell her that I didn't want an other fuck buddy, that I wanted more from her, that I couldn't just shag her and then go back to being only her best friend, but the way her fingers pressed around my cock was making me speechless, like the words were stuck in my throat as my mind was begging me to shut the fuck up.

I knew it was not having sex that would end up ruining this friendship. We did a few sexual stuff before and it didn't make things bad between us. In fact, I even felt like it brought us closer. What would really ruin this was the inevitable discuss we would end up having at some point where I would tell her that I wanted more with her, that I wanted to be official, that I wanted to give us a chance. That, if she didn't want the same, would be what would tear us apart, and it scared me. I knew she was not ready, she made that clear, but would she ever be? And did she know that I had real feelings for her? Was I clear enough that I wanted something with her, something deeper than just a sex story?

"I love how hard you got when I took your cock in my mouth." she added, taking me out of my thought. "I want to feel how hard you'll get when you'll be deep in my pussy."

I wanted to kiss her, push her on the bed and hold her down while I'd get her naked, but her words paralyzed me and my lips parted slightly, making her smile more.

"What? You didn't expect me to talk like that?"

"You've got a filthy mouth, you know that?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.

"Mmhm, and you better get used to it."

I was not sure what she meant but she chuckled and I couldn't resist anymore. I took a few steps closer to her and felt Leo jump out of the bed and Millie fell on it. I quickly moved on top of her just as she was laying better and I crashed my mouth against hers so hard that my teeth hit her bottom lip but she didn't complain. She just spread her legs more and ground hard between her legs.

"You said you were a sub, but you never mentioned you were a tease." I pointed out as my lips quickly reached her neck.

"I'm not gonna tease tonight, I want you too much."

I ran one of my hands gently on her arm and stopped on her hip, bringing my other hand and snapping the side of her panties to rip it off. I knew I shouldn't have but I could barely control myself. My brain was not much in control anymore and I felt my whole body vibrate in a way I couldn't seem to understand.

"You're just gonna bury your cock inside me yea?" she asked in a begging tone, pushing on my boxers quickly. "No teasing, no touching, nothing. Just your cock inside me, I need it now, so bad."

I was getting dizzy, almost drunk of her words, of how bad she wanted me, and how intense this whole thing was becoming. Just a few minutes earlier we were joking together and now we were about to do something we said we shouldn't do. I don't even know how we had resisted so long, and I closed my eyes as I started seeing stars behind my eyelids.

"Fuck yes." I replied low, bringing my hand to the other side of her panties. This time, it was harder to rip and I groaned low. "Stupid fucking knickers."

I thought she'd chuckle but instead, she whimpered and moved her hips up to meet mine. I finally teared the other side of her panties and pulled on them, throwing them on the floor. She moved her hips again and I felt my tip slip inside her. Without waiting, I just pushing myself hard and fast until I was balls deep in her pussy and the moan she let out turned me on even more, if it was possible. Her back arched and I remained motionless, feeling my cock throb inside her... or maybe she was throbbing around me.

Millie started moving her hips to feel me as deep as possible and I just moved my upper body, holding myself with my hand, before pulling her shirt up with my other one. I wanted to see her, I wanted to remember her, to engrave every single part of her body in my brain, but I was so horny I could barely think. I bent down to reach one of her nipples with my lips, kissing it gently before taking it between my lips, but I felt her hands in my hair as she moaned again.

"Niall please fuck me." she begged again as I brought my face closer to hers. "I just want to cum all over your cock, I want you to cum deep inside me, I don't want to wait."

I moved back down, holding myself on my elbows, and intertwined the fingers of both my hands with hers. She squeezed my fingers when I moved my hips back and thrust inside her again hard.

"You're so wet..." I whispered, brushing my lips against hers. "How are you so fucking wet?"

"It's your fault." she let out, her lips curling in a smirk.

"Yea?"

I let go of one of her hands and brought it to her neck, pressing my fingers slightly on her throat as she moved her chin up to meet my eyes with hers.

"I take all the blame, little one."

Her lips parted and I could read in her eyes how turned on she was. I started fucking her again, still slow but very hard, pushing my cock as deep as I could with every thrust. Her hand reached my wrist and she held it so hard I could feel her nails dig in my skin.

"I want to watch you cum, pet." I whispered, staring in her eyes. "Your pretty little cunt is so wet, I bet you're close."

She nodded quickly and I had to blink a few times to push away the dizziness. I finally started fucking her harder and fasted, but just as I thought I was going to cum before she did, she started shaking beneath me, her hand squeezing mine so hard I knew there was no blood anymore running through my veins. Watching her was intoxicating, and when she started moaning, I loosened my grip on her throat.

"Oh fuck, oh fuck Niall!"

The way she trembled under me made me reach an orgasm too and I pushed myself hard and unsteadily inside her before I went limp on top of her, hiding my face in her neck.

"Jesus Christ." I murmured near her ear, making her chuckle. "Can you believe we just did that?"

I turned my head slightly, rubbing my nose gently on her jaw before leaving small and slow kisses on her neck. I moved my hips slightly to take my dick out and when I felt her fingertips brush on my back, I closed my eyes again.

"I should take a shower."

My eyes fluttered open and I nodded slowly, peeling myself off her and laying down next to her on my back. She didn't say a word, she just got up and walked to the bathroom before closing the door behind her. I sighed when I heard the shower start, realizing I had held y breath the whole time, and sat up, searching for my boxers. I found them at the edge of the bed and put them back on, noticing Leo was laying on the carpet near the door, and thankful he had kept quiet the whole time, even if I knew it hadn't been very long.

"Come here, boy."

Leo moved his head up with a hopeful face and I smiled, tapping the mattress next to me. It took him half a second before he was laying down next to me and I chuckled, grabbing my guitar. I started playing and was so focused on what I was doing that I didn't notice the shower had stopped. Millie walked back in the room wearing one of her own shirts and I glanced at her, feeling my heart skip a beat at her sight, but kept playing.

She got on the mattress on her knees and walked to me, leaning her chin on one of my shoulders from behind. I stopped playing and she kissed my back and my neck gently before sighing.

"I'm sorry." she whispered, kissing my ear and making a shiver cross my back. "It's not that I regret it, because I don't. But it scares me. I'm so scared, Niall."

I held my guitar neck harder, and my fingers against the strings made a weird noise. I put it away and turned a bit in Millie's direction to look in her eyes.

"I'm scared too, you know." I admitted, shrugging a shoulder. "But there's no rush. We can just go day by day."

I knew saying that would mean I risked getting hurt but not doing that could just result in her running away. We stared in each other's eyes for a while and she finally just nodded and licked her lips. We ended up under the covers with Leo sleeping at our feet, and when I finally turned off the light, I knew It would take me a while to fall asleep even if I was exhausted.

"How do you feel about Louis leaving?" I asked, not ready to let go of this moment.

"I think it was the best thing to do." she let out, shrugging slightly. "I'm okay with it."

"Should we... get a new roommate or something?"

I turned my head her way and felt my heart jump in my chest when she moved closer and cuddled my side. I brought my hand around her and kissed the top of her head. It felt so natural to have her in my arms, it always had, even the first time it happened, and I couldn't help but think it was some sort of message from life.

"No. I mean if you want, we could move in something smaller."

It made me wonder if we could just have one bedroom and sleep together every night, but I didn't dare asking. I didn't want to rush her or make her uncomfortable.

"Maybe, yea." I nodded slowly. "We both need a new start, what do you think?"

"We really do."

Leo moved her head up and we heard a short whimper coming from him, making both of us chuckle.

"No worried, Leo, we'll find a place where they accept dogs!"

Millie laughed and moved even closer to me, her leg over one of mine and a part of her body laying on my chest. I pulled her closer but we remained silent for a while. I thought she was asleep but when she started talking again, her voice was soft.

"I told you this motel was not that bad."

My lips curled and I licked them. "You did and you were right. In fact, this is my favorite motel, my favorite place, my favorite day."

"Because we had sex?"

I stared at the ceiling, watching the lights from car outside moved slowly. "Because you opened up, you allowed me in, you trusted me." I whispered. "Because we shared something intense. It's more than sex, don't you think?"

"Yes." she admitted in a breath. "It's always been more than sex between us, ever since we accepted to really get to know each other... it's always been more than sex, more than lust... more than friendship."

I thought my heart would stop at her words but instead, it started beating so hard and fast that I was sure she could hear it with her ear against my chest.

"Yes. A lot more." I agreed, turning my face her way and leaning my chin on her head. "And it will always be more than that."

"You don't know that."

I shut my eyes tight and pulled her closer without thinking. "Mill, I've never been more sure of something."

I knew it was hard to believe, and I knew she didn't really trust my words, but I grabbed her hand and brought it on my chest, near my heart. I breathed in and out a few times, my eyes still closed.

"It's true. I'll prove it to you." I added, pressing my lips and wondering if I could add more without scaring her. "My heart beats for you, it had since that first time we kissed, petal."

"I didn't know you were romantic like that."

I could almost see her lips curled, even in the darkness. I knew it amused her a bit, but I was serious and I wanted her to know.

"I'm just saying how I feel."

[the-hidden-writer]

And Into The Fire

Chapter 6: Robo-bonding

Summary: Months after the Mitchells saved the world, Linda gets a phone call asking if she’s seen two defective Pal MAX bots. Powerful people are after Eric and Deborabot 5000, and it’s up to the Mitchells to protect them.

Check reblogs for AO3 link!

Robo-bonding

Rick usually loved the sound of crickets at night. On camping trips, he’d make it his mission to get his family to sit outside and appreciate them for at least one night. Truly, the aura of peace and serenity they brought was unmatched.

But now, he’d give anything for them to shut up and stop adding to the awkward atmosphere.

It was their first stop after a full day’s worth of driving. The route to Silicon Valley would take at least two days and the Mitchells had decided to break the journey.

Usually they’d stop at a motel for the night, but ever since they’d technically been harboring fugitives that was no longer an option. Or at least that was the case for the moment, since Rick was happy to leave the bots in the car overnight as long as they were both awake and feeling responsible.

His wife and son were currently in the backseat together, curled up closely against one another as they slept. Monchi was snoring away on his back beside them. Rick had quickly pulled out his camera and snagged a quick photo of the heartwarming sight.

They’d put Eric (actually, Deborahbot had since he was much too heavy for any of them to lift) into the trunk. Deborahbot himself had sat in silence next to his robot friend for most of that first stretch of the journey. He’d only spoken when Linda had asked him directly if he was alright, and once again when the family were saying goodnight to each other.

But when it was clear that Deborahbot wasn’t going to sleep (or go into rest-mode or whatever those robots did) when everyone else was, Rick had listened to his inner Linda and asked him to join him in the front.

Even without his wife’s guidance, Rick knew deep down that it wasn’t healthy to not take a break from watching his brother like a hawk.

So that’s where they were. Rick sitting in the driver’s seat, Deborah sitting in the passenger’s seat, and between them only the crickets had something to say.

“So, uh,” Rick eventually began in a low voice, knowing that the android wouldn’t start a conversation himself, “this is all kinda sudden.”

Deborahbot didn’t reply.

“...Right.” Rick was at a genuine loss for words. He’d obviously talked to the bots before, but never really talked to them. They came as a pair and were always sort of doing their own thing. You could guide them and give them instructions and stuff, sure, but they only really got into deep conversations with each other or maybe sometimes Linda. And even then, it was Eric that tended to do most of the talking.

“It must be hard, huh?”

Deborahbot did not lower his voice when he replied. “What do you mean?”

“SHHH!” Rick pointed at his sleeping family.

Deborahbot 5000 hung his head slightly. “Apologies, Mother’s Husband.”

“No no, you’re good.” Rick wished he’d stop calling him that, though he couldn’t think of an alternative.

“But I mean, um…” he continued. “You bots never leave each other’s side. It must be tough with him gone.”

“But he is not gone.” Deborah said. “He is in the trunk.”

Rick sighed. “That’s not what I…”

The problem with robots is that they weren’t great with picking up on subtext. But to be fair, neither were the Mitchell family.

“Still, you’re worried, right? About him? Heck, even I’m worried and I barely know you guys. I can’t imagine how you must be feeling. If you do... feel.”

There was a short pause. Rick had never realised that robots needed thinking time. Or maybe it was just a defective robot thing.

“I am worried about us, yes.”

Us..?

“Aw shoot I totally forgot they’re after you too!” Rick exclaimed quietly. “Have you had any more attacks since, or..?”

Deborahbot turned his head to face forward before answering. As far as Rick could tell, he didn’t have any cameras on the side of his head so the gesture must have just been for dramatic effect. “Not since this morning. Now that my brother is turned off, they can access him without resistance.”

Deborah said it so casually that Rick almost missed the implication of the words.

“Wait, wait wait wait, hold on,” he said as he shuffled to face Deborahbot better, “what does that mean? You mean they can still get to him when he’s like this? They’re, what, doing stuff to him as we speak?”

“Yes.” Deborahbot answered bluntly.

This was bad. All this time, Rick had assumed that the reason Eric was switched off was to stop Pal Labs from hacking him (or whatever the technical term was). But if that just made it easier for them…

“So then why are we even doing this?” He asked, his voice raising a little. “If he’s just gonna get mind-controlled anyway, why are we taking you guys right to them?!”

Deborahbot’s head turned to face him again. “We are going to ask them to stop.” He said it firmly but there was an edge of doubt creeping into his voice.

“But that was to stop them before they took over Eric, wasn’t it? What if they can’t change back what they’ve already done or something? It might already be too late- I don’t know how this works!”

“Wh-What if…” Deborahbot’s voice was barely audible.

“Yeah, man, what if?!” Rick whispered angrily. “You should’ve thought about this beforehand! We should’ve thought about it before we went along with this spontaneous plan!”

“What if…”

It was then that Rick realised what he’d said and who he’d said it to.

“Oh, Deborah, I-”

“What if they delete his memory?” Deborahbot started to speak faster. “What if they reset him? What if they fix him? What if they break him completely? What if-”

“Deborah…”

This was a mistake. Rick shouldn’t have brought it up, or at least not in front of the poor android. The two were like twins, practically joined at the hip, and were so childish at times that catastrophizing in front of one of them regarding the other was probably the worst thing he could've done. Even though his own concerns about Eric were very real and genuine, Deborahbot didn’t need to hear them.

It had taken 18 years to start getting things right with Katie. He wanted to have another chance to get it right with the bots.

“Listen, that’s not what’s happening.” Rick said, putting a lot of effort into sounding as convincing as possible. “They probably just want you guys back. But once we get there and show ‘em you’re harmless, they’ll let you go! Don’t listen to what I said, you know how I get angry for no reason, haha.”

Deborahbot seemed to think it over. Sometimes, Rick wished that they had proper faces so that he could gauge their expressions properly. It would make his life a lot easier.

At some point during that conversation, the crickets had stopped chirping. He hadn’t even noticed.

“...Do you really think so, Mother’s Husband?”

Rick smiled reassuringly. “‘Course I do, Deb.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Rick sincerely hoped that he’d mended the pit of fear he’d opened within Deborahbot. It was funny, the rift that had once been between him and Katie was caused by technology. Now he was trying to fix a rift with a piece of technology itself.

Deborahbot seemed content to just sit in silence like that for the rest of the night, but Rick wanted to get some sleep.

He nodded toward the trunk. “Hey, you might wanna get some rest. Don’t stay up all night thinking about this.”

“But-”

“Ah ah, no buts.” Rick waggled his finger. “That’s an order.”

“Ok!”

Dangit, for a moment there it had felt so much like he was talking to another human being that he’d completely forgotten to mind his language. He didn’t want it to seem like he was forcing him.

Deborahbot had already opened the door to move back into the trunk with Eric. "Goodnight, Mother's Husband."

“Deborah! Before you go-” Deborah stopped mid-motion to listen to him- “maybe cut it out with the whole ‘Mother’s Husband’ thing.”

Rick couldn’t believe he was about to do this. It was a step that Linda wanted him to take but he’d never quite felt ready for. But the bots needed family now more than ever, and who else was going to give it to them?

“Just call me ‘Dad’.”

Deborahbot cocked his head for a second (long enough for Rick to consider backtracking) before he exited the car and stood up straight.

“Goodnight, Dad.”

Comments make my day! :)

[wefoundloveunderthelight]

Waterfall Memories by GleefullyCaptainSwan Chapter 7/9

Read on AO3: | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7

Or on FF

Stacy's Tortured Crew: @teamhook @kmomof4 @stahlop @lfh1226-linda @ilovemesomekillianjones @itsfabianadocarmo @mariakov81 @qualitycoffeethings @zaharadessert @jrob64 @jonesfandomfanatic @natascha-ronin @tiganasummertree @xarandomdreamx @therooksshiningknight @batana54 @superchocovian @onceratheart18 @ultraluckycatnd @snowbellewells @karlyfr13s @the-darkdragonfly @xsajx

Chapters titles are based on the lyrics from “Stubborn Love” by The Lumineers

Chapter 7: I Never Trusted My Own Eyes

The days came and went in a blur, busying themselves with mundane chores and simple meals spent dining by candlelight. Killian would tell her tales of the sea, his time as a Lieutenant in the Navy. Sometimes he would sing her a song, a soft melody that would make her heart flutter and her heart ache for a future with him. Each day the moisture would recede into the dirt, drying the roads and carrying them closer to the end of whatever it was they were doing.

And yet with each morning, there would be another excuse as to why it wasn’t a good idea for him to drive into town. Sometimes he would determine that the roads out of the forest were probably still too wet, other times she would tell him she felt too ill to be left alone. But they knew that eventually they would both run out of excuses. She could see it in his eyes each time he lied or made up a reason to stay. She knew they were living on borrowed time. Making memories that would soon be just that.

A memory of the past.

She was sure she would never forget the care he took with her or the way he pleasured her in their bed, his body claiming hers as she sang his name every night. For she was his. At least for the moment.

She’s sure the look of disappointment is heavy in her eyes when he announces suddenly that today is the day he needs to go to town. They are low on supplies since he had only purchased enough for one person. Feeding two of them had quickly eliminated his stock. He kissed her forehead, not making eye contact as he climbed into the truck, pulling away from the cabin before she could run out and beg him to stay. They had run out of time.

~*~

Killian didn’t look back as he pulled away from the cabin, leaving her behind. He knew if he saw her standing there in the doorway he would turn around and never leave her. He needed to do this, for her. He needed to find her home, where she belonged, who she belonged to.

They always knew this was temporary.

The roads were more than dry, he was aware he had delayed for many days, knowing that she had done the same. She was quick to make an excuse to keep him there, with her. But when he woke up, her fingers tangled in his chest hair, her blonde locks across his neck, his heart told him that he couldn’t delay any longer. She needed to go before he gave into his darkness and refused to allow her to leave. She wouldn’t become his hostage and he wouldn’t allow her to choose to live in his prison.

He reached the town, pulling into the parking spot in front of the store he frequented. He would go in, purchase his supplies, listen for any buzz about a missing woman, and if there was nothing, he would return home knowing that he tried. If nothing were to come of his trip, then maybe it was fate that she was to stay another month.

Gathering his supplies, he kept his head to the ground, not making eye contact with anyone in the store. He listened as they talked about their day, apparently a deer had caused some havoc at the town hall, stomping rose bushes and eating the honeysuckle trees. It was strange hearing such normal life going on around him, realizing that he had been enjoying his own mundane life back at the cabin with her. He approached the register, smiling at the woman who knew him as Rogers.

“You’re back sooner than usual.”

He nodded, “Aye, figured with the storm it was a good idea to stock up.”

“That was a big one. Glad the rains have finally stopped, maybe now they can resume that search.”

Killian’s heart stopped. “What are they searching for?”

“Some rich guy’s fiancé disappeared up here a few weeks ago. They dragged the lake but haven’t found her yet and then the storm hit. Been stuck for days just waiting it out. The whole family’s been holed up in the motel at the end of town. Sad. She’s probably dead.” She whispered at the end.

“Who’s the lass?” He questioned, trying to control the pitch of his voice. “The one who’s missing? You know in case I see anything near me.”

She pointed to the door, “Emma Nolan. Her pictures posted outside on the window.”

“I’ll keep my eyes open.” He said as he passed the money to the woman and gathered his bags. He tentatively approached the window, hoping that the picture was some other woman, not his Swan. But the moment he saw the flier, the blonde hair displayed with the large smile on her face, he knew it was her.

Emma Nolan, fiancé to Walsh Oz. She was getting married. The man in the photo stared back at him in a three-piece suit. He looked stuffy and obnoxious, and not the kind of man he imagined his Swan being in love with. He tried to feel shame for taking this man’s beloved, but in the moments when he was inside her, when she was staring at him like he was the most amazing man in the world, she was his Swan. Not this Nolan woman.

“Sad tale.” He jumped at the voice behind him, turning to see the Sheriff approaching him. “Beautiful woman on a weekend trip with friends falls over the old waterfall and disappears without a trace.”

“I heard.” He offered flatly. “Sad indeed.”

“You wouldn’t have seen anything down your way, would you? We haven’t been able to reach your neck of the woods due to the storm. Perhaps you’ve noticed something?”

“Wish I could say I had.” He lied. “But I’ll keep my eyes opened.”

“It would be a shame if that woman’s family didn’t get her home to marry her husband. He has a lot of money he’s paying this town to find her. I’m sure she comes with a hefty reward.”

“As I said, I’ll keep my eyes opened.”

The Sheriff turned away from him, “We’ll be by your place soon, for the search.” He warned and Killian sighed. Time’s up.

He ripped the flyer off the window, pocketing it as he returned to his truck. Depositing his groceries in the back he climbed into the front seat and pulled the flyer from his pocket. “Dammit.” He cursed. The photo of her was a happy one. She appeared to be out for the evening, a bright smile across her face. The photo of her parents portrayed a loving couple, who were most likely going mad without their daughter.

One good deed, he thought.

~*~

Emma swore she wasn’t checking the road when she passed the window. She told herself she wasn’t waiting anxiously for him to return home. But she knew she was. She wanted to know what he had found, hoping that his search was fruitless, and he would return to tell her that they would search again in a month. She wanted nothing more than to stay here in their happy little fairytale. She didn’t need to know who she was. She was happy here. She could be happy here.

She knew it was her fear of the unknown. What if she had a life that wasn’t all she had wished for. He had found her in some trashy lingerie, naked and alone. Not knowing, not being able to piece together the puzzle was frustrating to her, it was part of the reason she gave up trying to remember. It made her angry to be so close to seeing a vision of her past only to have it disappear in a haze of nothing.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to know her name. She had come up with all kinds of names for herself. She thought she might be happy being called Evelyn or Elizabeth. Maybe she’d even learn to love her new name more than whatever her own was.

She heard the truck door slam shut and she hopped to the window, watching as Killian gathered the bags from the back of the truck. He had a frown on his face which gave her pause. When he opened the door, she stared at him anxiously. “How was town?”

“I found everything on the list.” He said, ignoring her question. He set the bags on the table, and she walked over to them, taking things out to help him put them away. She reached in and pulled out the bread and a handful of cheese slices packed in a plastic sleeve. He knew how much she loved grilled cheese. She found additional cocoa and a packet of cinnamon at the bottom of the bag; she couldn’t stop the smile from creeping on her face.

“I was thinking I’d make grilled cheese for lunch.” He said softly.

“That sounds lovely.” She felt like skipping to the cold box to store the food but stopped when he spoke.

“Emma…” She turned to face him, unsure why the name fell from his lips.

“Excuse me?” She asked confused.

“Emma Nolan.” He said as he shoulders slumped. “That’s your name.”

“Of course, it’s not. I don’t recognize it at all.” She turned back to the food, depositing the items in their places.

“Well, it is. I’ve seen the photo.”

“Well, I don’t care, I don’t know that name, so you’re wrong.” She was agitated, angry at him for not listening to her.

He fished into his pocket, yanking a crumpled paper out of his pants, and unraveling it near her face. “That’s you. Emma Nolan. And that’s your parents, David and Mary Margaret.” He paused. “This is your fiancé, Walsh Oz.”

She tore the paper from his hands. “Walsh Oz, what a ridiculous name, there is no way I would marry someone with the last name Oz, it’s too…” She shook her head staring at the photos in front of her. She didn’t recognize the people on the flyer, only her face. The people who were supposed to be her parents might as well have been anyone else on the planet. Imposters. The man, Walsh, she was sure there was no way she would marry a man who looked like that. This wasn’t her life, it couldn’t be. She tossed the paper onto the table.

“I don’t believe you. I don’t care what that says.” The tears welled up in her eyes and she hopped to the bedroom, slamming the door behind her, and throwing herself on the bed.

“Swan, I’m coming in.” His voice was shaky, uneven, almost like he was ready to break as much as she had. The door opened and she looked up from the bed.

“Don’t call me Emma.” She warned.

“Fine. But we need to talk.” He sat on the bed, taking her hand. “I called them.”

“What?” She yelled, yanking her hand away from him. “Why? Why would you do that without talking to me?”

“Em…Love, they are your parents. They have a right to know that you aren’t dead. They were very worried about you.”

“It wasn’t your decision.” She cried.

“You were on a trip. A lovely trip with your best friends, I believe it was a girl’s trip before your wedding. You were supposed to have gotten married the weekend you disappeared.”

“Emma Oz.” She blurted out. “It’s preposterous.”

He reached for her hand again. “I told them I would bring you to them this evening. Once I had the chance to talk to you, to prepare you. They know you don’t have your memories.”

“I don’t want to go.” She cried, leaning into his neck, and sobbing against his collar. “I don’t want to leave you.”

“Emma, I wish to tell you something. Something that I believe will help your decision to return to where you belong.”

~*~

She sat up, staring into his uneasy blue eyes, he wiped the tears from the corner of her lids, kissing her forehead before turning away from her. “I’ve told you that I have done things in my life that I’m not proud of. I was not a good man, Emma.” He gulped. “Years ago, after I left the Navy, I found myself struggling to make ends meet for my wife and baby daughter, Alice. We were living in a bad neighborhood, Milah was getting hassled by some of our neighbors, men who were not the sort who backed down when confronted.” He stood up from the bed, pacing in front of the window.

“My brother always told me I was stubborn, that I didn’t listen to reason. He was right of course, and because of that, because I didn’t listen to him, I lost everything.”

“The explosion?”

“It was more than that. I bought a gun, I stood up to these men, told them to leave the neighborhood. They did for a time. And then I met a man, Neal Cassidy. His father was the head of the Gold Mafia. He had heard about the stand I took with the men in our apartment. They were from a rival gang that his father was looking to snuff out. He offered me some jobs. His father paid me well. It started off simple, a few snatch and grab’s, small time theft. But I didn’t realize that the further I went, the more I was getting into the dirty side of their business.”

He felt his chest contracting with each word. Afraid to carry on but knowing that she needed to hear the truth, she needed to understand why it was better for her to go. To get as far away from him as possible.

“I tried to get out, God knows Milah begged me. But I was suddenly bringing in money, I was able to provide for my family and it felt good to be that man. Then Gold picked me to go on a job with his son. No one was supposed to get hurt. That was my rule, I would take things, but I never hurt people. But Neal, he operated differently. He didn’t let anyone get in his way. And on this night, someone fought back, they wouldn’t give up the treasure we had come to seek. I walked away, but Neal, he shot the man.”

“Oh my God.” Emma’s hand went to her mouth, and he turned away from her before he could see the disappointment in her eyes.

“The man died; he was supposed to be alone. Neal told me he had no one with him. The boy came out of his bedroom, he couldn’t have been older than 6. He was crying, calling for his father. I told Neal we needed to leave, but he said we couldn’t leave any witnesses. The moment he pointed his gun at that boy’s head, something inside me snapped. I shot Neal.”

“You didn’t have a choice.” She said, her voice wavering.

“I killed him, Emma. In cold blood. I murdered Neal Cassidy and left him there. I called 9-1-1 and ran.”

“What does this have to do with the explosion?”

“When Gold found out about Neal, he knew I was the one on the job with him. It didn’t take long for his goons to find me, they roughed me up, wanted me to admit I was the one who killed Neal. I refused. And then Gold threatened my family.”

“Oh Killian.”

“I thought if I talked that he’d just kill me and move on. But instead, he wanted me to suffer.” He bowed his head. “He followed my brother one evening, shot him in the head and left him in an alley to bleed out. He called me on the phone, told me that I still had time to save him. I raced to the location, even found him, he was dying, unconscious. When my phone rang, I heard his voice. He was laughing, he told me that I would feel the same pain he did. My blood ran cold, as soon as the ambulance arrived, I raced home only to find the cops waiting, fire burning outside my building. They were already gone.”

He leaned against the wall, daring to glance at her. “I turned state’s evidence on Gold. In exchange for my testimony, I only had to serve a 5-year sentence and I then was free.”

She stood up and walked toward him. “Killian, I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t. Don’t give me your pity. I don’t deserve your sorrow. I deserve what happened to me. But you don’t deserve to be trapped in my pain. You have a home, a life. You look happy in that photo. You’ll find that again. Once you go back, you’ll remember who you are.”

“I don’t want to remember. I don’t want to be this Emma Nolan or Oz or whatever they expect me to be. I’m not her. I want to be with you.”

He sighed, pulling her into his arms. “Swan. You can’t stay. You don’t belong here.”

“You don’t want me.” She sobbed and his heart broke.

“Look at me.” He hooked his finger under her chin, pulling her tear-soaked face toward him. “I never thought I'd be capable of letting go of my first love, of my Milah... to believe that I could find someone else... that is, until I met you.” He kissed the bridge of her nose, peppering soft touches across her cheek until he brushed against her lips, kissing her mouth. He felt his knees threatening to buckle under him, the weight of the moment pulling him under. “But alas, it was but a dream. And with all dreams, you have to wake up.” He whispered.

“I don’t even know them.”

“But you will.”

“You’ll go with me?”

“Aye.” He said sadly, reveling in the fact that she needed him with her, but knowing he would have to leave her all the same. He pulled away from her, walking to the dresser to pull out new clothes for her to wear. Setting them on the bed and patting them with his hand. “You can keep these until you get something more acceptable that fit you.”

He tried to smile in her direction as his heart broke into a million pieces.

“For the record, you’re still my hero. I don’t care how much you want me to believe otherwise, what you did is your past, and I am going to choose to see the good in you.” She took her clothes and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind her as he dropped to his knees and cried.

[dean-you-assbutt-cas-loves-you]

I saw in your tags that there’s some old destiel fic you like on ffn. Do you have any recs ? :)

omg I haven’t been on there in years! like last time I read anything on there was like in 2014 lmao xD

32 fics total - I just checked and all of them are still up...there’s like 30+ more that I bookmarked that isn’t on the list cuz I’m not sure if they’re destiel fics or not so I gotta re-read them

all the ones below are fics that I’ve recced before in the past

1. All Angels Need Their Wings - RATING: NC-17 | LENGTH: 29,784 (2012)

Dean never thought that Castiel would ever return. And when he did, he came in a very unexpected way, a very horrifying way. SLASH Castiel/Dean. Wing-Kink. Takes place in season 7. AU.

2. Heart Trouble - RATING: NC-17 | LENGTH: 74,320 (2011)

Dean's having a harder and harder time of denying what he feels for a certain blue-eyed friend of his. And it's making him a little ornery, and a lot confused.

3. It Hurts - RATING: NC-17 | LENGTH: 29,963 (2013)

Inspired by the S9 Trailer Cas had watched the angels fall and with them, his self worth. Now human facing the challenges of navigating mortality he also tries to find a place for himself in this new world. It is a hope he has to find without the Winchesters, without Dean. So now he runs, from both Heaven, Hell and from Dean. 

4. Small Problem - RATING: NC-17 | LENGTH: 13,310 (2011)

A cursed artifact has made Castiel miniature, it's amusing for the Winchesters at first until they realize he might stay that way forever. Slash Dean/Castiel Please R&R

5 My Broken Angel - RATING: M | LENGTH: 24,999 (2010)

When Castiel disappears from his vessel, Dean is concerned. But when Castiel reappears and seems to avoid him, Dean is heartbroken. Set mid-season 5. 

6. A Hand - RATING: M | LENGTH: 23,474 (2010)

Dean/Cas, multichapter, slight AU. Dean's busy trying to re-soulify his brother, but Cas needs help. Maybe it's time Dean gave it to him. Ch. 15: Dean glared indignantly. "I find the term 'lovebirds' to be offensive. We prefer to be called 'sex-falcons.'" 

7. Saving Grace - RATING: PG-13 | LENGTH: 38,602 (2010)

With everything that was going wrong in Dean's life, it took him a while to realize that the person close to him that really needed the most help was Castiel. 

8. Candy - RATING: PG-13 | LENGTH: 98,068 (2013)

The Fall from Heaven changed everything. The supernatural no longer hidden. Angels roaming the planet. Sam and Dean's immediate concerns were on a smaller scale. What do you do with the former King of Hell? Where is Castiel?... Destiel/Mute!Human!Cas/Angst!Dean

9. Dude, Dean Looks Like a Lady - RATING: M | LENGTH: 20,774 *gen/pre-slash* (2013)

Sam's good, Cas has been found, and demons everywhere seem to be on hiatus. Seems like things are looking up for Team Free Will that is until Dean wakes up with his very own vagina anyway. Warnings: Fem!Dean, Destiel, female masturbation and S8 spoilers.

10. Evil Intent, Trials of Love, & Finding My Angel - RATING: NC-17 | LENGTH: 36,729, 70,453, & 59,941 *rape, graphic torture, violence* (2009)

Anna rapes Castiel and uses a method that torments him more than anything imaginable. WARNING: Rape and Castiel/Dean makes sense when you read it . If you don't like then don't read!

11. Cascade - RATING: PG-13 | LENGTH: 44,626 (2013)

"And if you fall as Lucifer fell, you fall in flames!" An 8x23 coda. 

12. Count The Cracks, Hear The Shatters, Feel The Insanities - RATING: PG-13 | LENGTH: 44,626 *gen/pre-slash* (2013)

They've walked miles on gravel roads that led to hell and back but the journey never quite ends. This is the story of Castiel and the Winchesters after the angels fell from heaven. Post Season 8. 

13. Damn Straight & Wait Wait Wait - RATING: PG-13 | LENGTH: about 21,000 (2010)

Humorous Cas/Dean, with multiple POVs. Slight AU. Fluffy. Ch. 5: Sam sat in the Impala in the motel parking lot, praying that three and a half hours at the library had been long enough.

14. Entertaining Angels - RATING: PG-13 | LENGTH: 43,659 *gen/pre-slash* (2008)

A strange boy shows up at Dean and Sam’s motel room. Maybe he needs help, or maybe he’s there to help them—they can’t quite tell. Spoilers through 4.10. Not an OC. 

15. Happy Friggin’ Valentine’s Day - RATING: PG-13 | LENGTH: 22,771 (2010)

SLASH. It all started with Dean's perfectly healthy hatred of frivilous holidays and a much-coveted sack of dust. Poor Castiel doesn't fully understand 'romance' to begin with, and this crash course is most unwelcome. 

16. I’m Just a Love Machine - RATING: PG-13 | LENGTH: 29,200 (2011)

The Impala finally gets the chance to love Dean back. The problem is, Castiel seems to be in its way. 

17. It’s The Great Destiel Shipper, Sam Winchester - RATING: PG-13 | LENGTH: 49,641 (2012)

What's Sam really doing all that time on the computer? Fangirling. Over Chuck's Supernatural books. Now Wincest might be a bit too much to deal with, but Destiel he might be able to get on board with... Especially after being around the two people involved for three days straight. 

18. Pain in the Head - RATING: PG-13 | LENGTH: 78,771 *character death* (2011)

It started out slow. "Since when do angels have headaches?" "Since they become human." Established Dean/Cas. Sort of AU. PG-13. Complete. 

19. Sleep in Heavenly Peace - RATING: PG-13 | LENGTH: 45,517 *christmas fic* (2013)

Dean wants to have a nice, peaceful Christmas for once, but it seems like the universe won't let him. Dean/Castiel. Post-8.08 (Hunteri Heroici) AU. First in "Holidays With the Winchesters are Always Fun." 

20. The Shattered One - RATING: PG-13 | LENGTH: 94,021 *grace mpreg* (2012)

When it struck Castiel, it dropped him out of the sky. He set down the first place he could find. He stood in a field in Switzerland, swaying on his feet and staring down at his body, dazed by what it had just done.

21. This Cupid Isn’t Stupid - RATING: PG-13 | LENGTH: 41,572 (2012)

Dean receives a shock when he wakes up to discover Castiel has returned. Why is the angel suddenly back? Why have his powers dimmed? And.. Why are he and Dean joined together by an invisible rope!

22. Wild Horses, Cas - RATING: PG-13 | LENGTH: 23,505 (2013)

(S8 Spoilers (story is set in S9), Sickfic! Destiel, Minor Sabriel). When Cas comes down with a bad case of Pneumonia it leaves Dean feeling more protective over his friend than ever, but will it also lead to Dean's admittance of his feelings towards his friend? 

23. Wrong - RATING: PG-13 | LENGTH: 51,384 (2010)

Angels are not supposed to drop out of the sky into motel rooms, broken and beaten. They're not supposed to bleed like that. It was all wrong. 

24. The Reluctant Contestant - RATING: PG-13 | LENGTH: 50,502 (2012)

AU When Gabriel is hired as a new host for a dating show, Cas has no choice but to follow his brother along as part of the camera crew. Forced at the last minute to be a contestant, he is shocked when Dean Winchester continually refuses to eliminate him. 

25. The Ugly Duckling - RATING: PG-13 | LENGTH: 81,676 (2012)

Castiel: a nerdy, skinny thing with a crush on the the most popular guy in class. Being unpopular isn't easy and it's worse when the homophobic school figures him out. A small struggle to be noticed by his crush is turned into a huge struggle for himself and his dignity. But bullying can get the better of anyone. Slash. Destiel rated M for later chapters. 

26. Nameless - RATING: PG-13 | LENGTH: 77,882 (2013)

AU. Everyone has the name of their soulmate written on their wrist at birth. Well, everyone except Dean Winchester. Complete. 

27. Cufflinks - RATING: M | LENGTH: 61,845 (2012)

The world is full of creatures that prey on humans. It is up to 'Hunters' to fight against the dark. Lucky Hunters rely on the help of angels they have bound to their service. Sam and Dean may be good Hunters, but they have yet to capture an angel. One day, Sam finds an angel and seizes the opportunity to bind the angel to himself. Little did they know what they were getting into. 

28. Angel Training - RATING: M | LENGTH: 95,700, Angel Training 2: Save Us - RATING: M | LENGTH: 76,888, & Angel Training 3: Uprising - RATING: M | LENGTH: 89,512 (2011)

In a world where angels are common and the most privileged or skilled people are able to own one; the world's angelic hierarchy is about to change when Dean Winchester receives a wild and recently caught angel.

29. Chasing Your Shadow - RATING: M | LENGTH: 92,077 (2012)

The prophecy says that when Castiel turns twenty-three winters old, a stranger will come into his life and bring a lot of suffering. But do prophecies always come true? Demon Dean/human Castiel AU 

30. The Holiday - RATING: M | LENGTH: 32,088 (2011)

Castiel and Sam are unlucky in both life and love, so they swap houses for the holidays. Both find the experience highly...interesting. Dean/Castiel Sam/Gabriel

31. And In Your Arms I Shall Find Shelter- RATING: M | LENGTH: 33,824 (2012)

Dean Winchester is a long forgotten painter who suddenly receives an order for a painting from a rich man - Crowley. He is about to start painting when Castiel - his personal reaper visits him. The main question is: Will Castiel give Dean enough time to finish the painting? 

32. Jar of Hearts - RATING: PG-13 | LENGTH: 127,192 (2013)

February being the supposed 'month of love' people seem to forget that it's also one of the coldest times of the year. Valentine's Day themed events in a cafe turned bar is how Dean managed the courage to speak to the locally famous singer and somehow score a date, a relationship, and a man he didn't deserve out of the deal. Destiel college/uniAU some Sabriel 

[whocalledhimannux]

@peregrer the What. 👀👀👀 *insert John Mulaney gif of "say more right now"*

ok so when I say "the extent to which I've fleshed out the QT GBBO AU in my head is getting to be embarrassing," I truly and deeply mean it, please enjoy 1,900 words of utter ridiculousness.

first, our competitors:

Legarus - performs so poorly that viewers are a bit confused how he got on the show in the first place, a la Jamie (series 10) or that one guy who made a lime and chocolate cake in the first week.

Chloe - nice flavors and good ideas for decorations, but pretty sloppy. was up for elimination in the first week but came back with a great showstopper.

Melheret - good but not as good as he thinks he is (hence his bread week elimination because of sloppy technique), heavy-handed with the alcohol flavoring

Agape - solid competitor, not flashy but tasty + pretty results. I haven't worked out exact week-by-week themes (that would indeed be Too Much) but I imagine this is something like "Dairy" or "Caramel" or "Vegan," some particular element she just happens to not be strong on. viewers are disappointed by her early elimination

Teleus - Dad contestant. brings in a bunch of weird pans and gadgets he made up himself, does pretty well until it comes to Fiddly Foreign Foods he doesn't know (probably eliminated in French or Patisserie week)

Laela - typically has good flavors and pretty designs but technical knowledge is a bit lacking, so there are usually some flaws in the execution and she's often in the bottom half of technicals

Phresine - Grandma contestant. nails the classics but ultimately isn't creative enough to make it further.

Magus - the "Ian (series 6)" flavor of Dad contestant, often brings in foraged ingredients or eggs from his own chickens or whatnot and revives old recipes/flavor combinations no one else knows about. one week, some of those turn out to just be too weird, leading to his elimination.

Sophos - pretty elaborate decorations and good flavors (on the border of classic and new), but he tends to try a million different embellishments on everything and struggles with timing, occasionally to the detriment of technique.

Kamet - always has really interesting and different flavors and tends to do well in technicals especially, assuming he doesn't get overwhelmed. which is... an assumption (Finalist)

Costis - leans towards classic and indulgent flavors, although sometimes a bit sloppy--the kind of contestant where the judges look at his dishes and say "it's a bit of a mess" and then Paul Hollywood starts laughing because it still tastes delicious (Finalist)

Irene - absolutely stunning visually, queen of the technicals, occasionally gets the "style over substance" warning (Winner)

more details below the cut

I've gone back and forth on whether Eugenides should be in it but ultimately I decided no because I wanted to maintain a pre-show relationship between Laela + Kamet (I thought otherwise at first but then I realized I hadn't left Kamet any longterm friends or family for his finalist video and that's depressing af) and Irene and Sophos which to my knowledge hasn't happened once on the show so far? so having a married couple on top of that seems like it would be a stretch, and also then I think I'd need to make Eugenides the winner on principle and you know what? he can stand to be second fiddle to his wife for a little bit. My alternate backstory for him is that he was actually the winner of MasterChef one year (good with knives), so in the first episode Irene's first little chat to camera is something like "my husband's been bugging me for years to try out and I keep telling him he's got a skewed perspective on cooking competitions, finally I applied just to shut him up... and here we are." Her little video introduction is about how baking is a stress relief from her bigshot job. Her decorations tend to be abstract and gorgeous rather than cutesy.

Kamet, likewise, was nagged into applying by Laela, but she very cleverly framed it as she wanted to apply and wanted him to do it to for moral support. both were confident the other would get in and surprised that they did themselves. This is one of those series where everyone's friendships are immediate and obvious and super adorable (cast of series 10 my beloved...), and in particular these two are holding hands in episode 1. Laela's deep blue robe from TaT sticks in my head for whatever reason so I imagine her making an elaborate blue peacock cake or something one week that wins her star baker. somebody always does a peacock something and it's always impressiev.

Phresine is cool as a cucumber under pressure, always has lovely things to say about everyone else's bakes, and is the go-to last-minute helper because she usually comes in under the time. Irene starts out similar but as the weeks go by she starts to feel the pressure a bit more and cuts it a bit close. Sophos is the worst on timings, and mentions his wife at least once an episode. (I also played with him being single on the show and meeting Helen later through Irene and Eugenides, but this idea is too cute to pass up tbh.) Teleus lives with Relius, a fact that isn't mentioned until a few weeks in when he comments that Relius likes a recipe or gave him an idea for a flavor or something (Relius does not bake himself but will happily sample practice bakes), to the surprised delight of every viewer whose favorite contestant is the oldest gay in any given series (me, me, that person is me).

Costis tends to use a lot of chocolate and, as I said, pretty "classic" flavors--one of those people who makes a full English savory bake at some point. He's usually in the top half of the competition but doesn't get the top until one of the later weeks in the competition, which is a Honey themed week, and he absolutely nails it. The delicate decorations of his honey nut cakes and his use of honeycomb are particularly praised and that's the week he gets star baker. One of those bakers who flirts with elimination the first few weeks but noticeably improves over the course of the show.

My most, like, plot-y ideas are about Kamet (SHOCKER). I imagine he was born in Setra (I usually make Setra a non-autonomous region in my AUs) but arrived in Britain as a child due to [Unspecified Crisis] and ended up with foster dad Jeffa, who was roughly from the same region but not Setra itself; whenever Kamet wanted Setran food as a kid, Jeffa would take him to the library to find recipes and that was what sparked his love of baking. He's well-read on the subject and knows about foods from a lot of different cultures, so he's usually heard of the technical challenges even if he hasn't made or eaten them. He does a lot of fusion flavors, and is ALL ABOUT bread week.

I don't usually make the his-relationship-with-Nahuseresh-is-romantic leap in modern AUs but I think it works for this one because of the nature of the format--Nahuseresh doesn't actually appear on camera but is alluded to once or twice, ends up being Very Displeased that Kamet is doing something for himself, and during the week following Laela's elimination they have the fight that makes Kamet realizes this is actually a terrible relationship and he needs to leave now. He calls Laela to let her know what's up and mentions that, since he'll need to stay in a motel and has presumbly lost his job as a secretary (yeah working for your boyfriend is Bad, he's realized that now), he's going to have to drop out of the show. Laela, despite living in a studio flat without room to host him, immediately thinks "um fuck that" and calls Costis, and within an hour Costis and Aris and a few rugby buddies have moved all of Kamet's things into Costis and Aris's flat, where Costis insists that he'll squeeze into Aris's room (they've shared before, it's fine) and that Kamet gets first dibs on the kitchen for all bake off practices.

None of them actually reveal any of this to the show's producers. Kamet gets a little overwhelmed the following week and nearly walks away from the tent, but Costis jumps in to keep his bake from being ruined, and some soothing words from Irene + the hosts calm him down and he returns to finish. The only mention of the Drama comes in the finale, during the longer video clips they do on each of the contestants. Kamet is deliberately vague about the details of the situation, but Aris shows up in both Costis's and Kamet's videos and references the fact that having TWO flatmates in the bake off is a bit difficult because they only have a standard size kitchen, so he hasn't cooked for himself in a month and has been living off cake and savory breads. one of the hosts talks to Kamet in the tent after that clip is shown and he still won't talk about it in more detail, but says that he wanted to tell people so they could appreciate why Costis hasn't practiced as much the last few weeks (the judges scolded him for winging it a couple of times), and admits that he totally copied some of Costis's techniques for honey week based on watching him at home.

I imagine the finale task is something like an illusion cake--probably with a bunch of additional required elements because the show has been going bonkers with the finale showstoppers in the newer seasons--and Irene wins with a jewelry box containing, among other things, ruby earrings made out of candy. Kamet does a stepwell, and Costis does something architectural (I was thinking castle but something visibly Greek-ish so maybe a temple or a megaron? idk). Irene wins but they're all BFFs and that's obvious, so everyone's delighted for her. The little montage at the end reveals that Irene + Gen are expecting twins, that everybody hangs out all the time, and that Costis + co recently helped Kamet move into his own flat where he's now working on a novel (Immakuk and Ennikar inspired, obvi, leaning heavily on the honey-shared-on-the-road thing and including some recipes that actually work in the narration, albeit still written in an ancient-novel-like-way).

[Obviously not part of the show, but when Kamet mentions that it's time for him to look for his own place, Costis tries to v awkwardly invite him to stay forever and Kamet is like "nope I've got to try this on my own but yes we will go on a date once I've moved out and see how it goes from there."]

[This is so far beyond the scope of the show but also several of them go on to have more baking-related careers and have active social media presences and at one point they're all hanging out and Eugenides pulls out a camera and demands they all produce baking pick-up lines. Teleus refuses and also doesn't believe anyone knows baking pick-up lines off the top of their head or could make them up on the spot. Sophos sort of proves him right by coming up with "you're the apple of my pie," which Eugenides instantly mocks because Sophos's three greatest loves are baking, Helen, and poetry, and that's the best he can do? Helen comes up with "I like my cake the way I like my men--rich, sweet, and bright red," to which Sophos blushes on cue. Irene's is "when I'm with you, I feel like chocolate heated to 50 degrees--I struggle to maintain my temper." Eugenides protests this is more like an anti-pickup line. Irene insists this is the most accurate marriage-related baking pun anyone could ever come up with.

[Laela's is "You and I are like custard--I hope we never split." Kamet's is "You remind me of bread, because I knead you." Costis freezes for a minute and finally comes up with "Fancy a cream horn?" which produces a lot of giggling and makes Kamet slap his arm in such a way that, hen Eugenides posts this video to instagram, fans of the show all go WAIT ARE THEY DATING NOW] [by this point, yes they are] [I didn't even have to google baking pickup lines for this, guys, I legit came up with them on my own, please clap.]

am I obsessed? I might be obsessed

[snapplejaxs]

Locked The Door Behind Him

Dean Winchester x reader  SUMMARY: Dean accidentally wakes the reader, trying to sneak out of her apartment. smut, fluff // 3k wc. 

*a/n - (y/f/n) = your friend’s name 

♡︎  •  ♡︎  •  ♡︎  •  ♡︎   •  ♡︎

The loud sound of Bucky's picture frame hitting the wooden floor shakes you out of sleep. You open your eyes to a dark apartment and a dim light reflecting from the half pulled curtains. You blink, trying to adjust to the sudden awaking, but your eyes are heavy and your thoughts are confusing. You give in to the drowsy and shut your eyes. You didn’t need to get up and investigate the noise. You can recognize that sound in your sleep. Literally. You know it's that old photo of your departed dog because it's always falling off your nightstand. You keep making a mental note to upgrade the frame to something new and sturdy but it seems like the least important thing to do during your busy day. But tonight, the damn thing sounds like an old civil war cannon it's so loud.

“Shit.” You hear Dean whisper to himself.

Your consciousness returns. Along with a shudder up your spine. You lay perfectly still and keep your eyes closed. You can't see him, not in the dark anyway, but you know he's looking at you. The room got dead silent when Buck's frame fell. You imagine him pausing in one spot, watching you to see if you move. It's what you would do if you were in his position of trying to sneak out of some stranger's apartment at 4am after a bar hookup.

When you don’t respond to the loud slam, Dean continues dressing. You hear the quiet sound of denim sliding over skin. You picture him balancing on one of his, surprisingly smooth and hairless, legs while trying to get his jeans on as silent as possible.

God, this is not how one night stands are supposed to go. You were meant to thank him for the great time, made sure he got in his car safely, lock up your apartment, and then go to sleep. Not fall unconscious next to some man you don’t know. Sure, you might have just fucked him but that doesn't mean you know him.

What if he's stealing your expensive jewelry? Or digging around in your drawers for panties to take home because he's some weirdo, like that guy from that episode of SVU you saw the other night. That woman got murdered by her hookup. Maybe you should get up. Dean could be in your kitchen looking for the biggest knife right now.

Peeking an eye open, you look and see Dean’s silhouette thrashing around inside his t-shirt looking for armholes. There's no knife or panties in his hand. You feel a little better at that. You open both your eyes to try and see better in the dark light. But still, you barely see him.

Your apartment got pretty dark at night. And you made sure you turn off all the lights before you left to meet up with (y/f/n) to go drinking. You didn't plan on tonight going the way it did, bringing a man back to your place and all. You just wanted to put on a little tight dress and enjoy your weekend off with your best friend.

But then you saw Dean.

Or more like, Dean saw you. You and (y/f/n) were on stage, in the middle of tipsy karaoke when they started poking at your ribs and signaling at the bar. You looked over and saw Dean. Turned around in his chair, eyes glued to yours, and nursing a bottle of beer. He stared at you like you were a Super Bowl game. Like if he turned away for just a second, he’d miss something he didn’t want to miss.

When he brought his beer down from his mouth, he gave you a toothless smile and a wink. Ho-lee-fuck was it the hottest wink you have ever seen. He never took his eyes off you as you stood on stage singing off-key. He licked his lips while looking straight at you. He made you feel nervous. An entire room full of people and just one person made you feel nervous.

When the song ended, you didn’t know what to do with yourself. Of course, (y/f/n) whispered nothing but the dirtiest advice in your ear. 

'You’re a single and sexy adult.'  'You make your own rules.’   'It's been months, and you need to get back out there.'

And then there was the one that sold you.

‘It’s just one night.’

You bought all the naughty advice from your friend. Took a shot for good luck, And approached the winking stranger. You thought he was sexy from across the bar with stage lights burning in your eyes, but nothing compared to when you stood face to perfect face with him. He had gorgeous green eyes, flawless freckly skin, and a flirty smile. He introduced himself in a gravelly old movie narrator voice.

"Dean."

You couldn’t believe he was an actual person speaking to you in a small town bar and not some actor on TV. Dean unmistakably had a face for the cameras. But he told you he worked a regular nine to five and was just in town on business.

(y/f/n) made an excuse to leave and you stayed behind for a few drinks with Dean. The two of you drank and flirted for about an hour, before talking turned into a public makeout session in a secluded booth near the bathroom. There was some under the table leg touching and lots of tongues. Things got so heated that the bartender had to hit the table and tell the two of you to, 'take it to Motel-6.'

Not ready to say goodnight, you boldly suggested an after party back at your place. And Dean wasted no time. He grabbed your hand and dragged you to his car.

The kissing only intensified when the two of you were alone. His hands massaged at your knee. Then crept up to squeeze at your thigh. When you felt his hand crawl up your leg even further, you didn't argue. Instead, you found yourself spreading your legs to welcome him under your dress. He rubbed the outside of your panties until you were damp and swollen. It felt damn good. But you needed more than his soft little circles. His hand went lower, sliding over your clothed opening. You moaned into his mouth, and wrapped your hand around his neck, stroking his soft hair. His finger slipped inside your panties. You gasped and broke the kiss.

"Dean, my place." You remind him.

He nodded. "Which way?"

"S-swain." His finger roamed up and down your swollen lips. "Take Swain un-, until Courtland Ave." You reached down and guided his finger inside of you. You felt his thick fingers stretch you. "Just don't stop."

Dean started his car. A loud rumble came to life. His headlights lit up the parking lot. It excited you. Hearing his car, seeing the lights, it all made you realize how real it was. You were really leaving a bar with a man who didn't even know your last name. He knew nothing about your job, your family, your breakup a few months ago - nothing. And yet, he was knuckle deep inside of you.

You heard the wet sounds as he slid them out and rubbed your wetness all around you. He teased at your clit with his slow circles and then sped up his movements. After a few minutes of his little pattern, he dipped back into you again. You purposely clenched down on him. Dean curled his finger and went faster.

"Shit." You threw your head back against his seat and cried out. "Fuck." You held his wrist. You could have cared less about keeping quiet or cool, your body was on fire. You had never done anything like that in your life. You got fingered by a guy after you shakily gave him directions to your apartment. The same apartment you were about to fuck him as soon as you got there. So scandalous and out of character for a working girl like you.

Dean suddenly stopped his thrusting. You felt his hands pull away from you and it made your eyes open. You look around confused about why he stopped. You were so close.

"Is this it?" Dean asked nodding towards your building.

"Yes." You panted. "You can park here. It's fine." It was your turn to grab and pull. You yanked Dean out of his car, into your building, through the elevator, and into your apartment - kissing and grinding the whole way through.

The thought of fucking a stranger made you so eager to hop in bed that the lights were the last thing on your mind. No, 'take your shoes off' or 'get comfortable.' You kept everything the way it was as the two of you tangled each other and raced to get undressed while walking towards your bed.

You kicked off your pumps and slid your drenched panties down to toss away in the darkness and sat on your bed to watch Dean's shadow outline drop his pants and boxers. You had no idea what to do next.

"I've never done this before." You confessed. There was a small pause.

"I know." He snorts. "Do you want to stop?"

"No."

Dean stepped back to roll on a condom. You didn't even notice he had one in his hand or saw where it came from. This might have been your first one night stand, but something told you he knew his way around these pretty well. You laid back and let him take the lead. And he did.

Once he was secured, Dean hovered above you. He dipped down and placed a single kiss on your lips. Re-positioned himself. Then kissed you again as he slowly pressed himself down on top of you. He balanced on his elbows and deepened the kiss with a lip bite. You invited him in. His tongue was warm and active. He rolled himself into you, his tip hitting you just right as his mouth explored yours.

He slowly slid himself inside, inch by thick inch. He was big, and your body knew it. There was some natural resistance. Dean brought a hand down to massage you, his way of saying 'relax' without speaking words. Dean kept massaging until he was able to keep pushing through. It was a painful stretch, but at the same time felt good. Feelings you haven't felt in months.

Once he was fully in, he pulled away from you to breathe. “You okay?” He whispered. His voice was close. You liked that he was so close, it sent shivers down your spine.

You responded with a nod, then remembered he couldn’t see you in the dark, so you hummed out, “mmhm.”

Without another word, Dean reattached his lips to yours to continue where he stopped. His hands floated up and down at your sides, then rested at your waist to hold. He pulled out almost entirely, only to slide himself back in with more ease. You whined into his mouth. You wanted to scream, but he wouldn't let go of your lips. He felt good sliding in and out of you. He was hard and warm.

Dean continued rocking, nice and slow. His hands left your hips and found yours in the dark. He laced his fingers into yours and held them as he kissed you. You wanted to feel more. You wrapped your legs around the middle of his waist and pressed him in even further. Trying to give him the hint.

Dean pulled his knees up and picked up his movement by only a little. He slid your hands up as far above your head as they could go and you used the opportunity to lift your hips to push yourself against him.

"More," you spoke against his lips. "Please. More."

Dean let go of your hands and wrapped around your lifted waist and hosted you up with him as he sat on his knees. You gripped his shoulders and threw your head back to cry at the ceiling. He felt so much deeper in you. Dean attached his lips to your exposed neck. He wrapped an arm around your bare waist and pulled you close. You placed your legs to his sides and straddled him, starting your own rhythm as you rode him.

Dean separated from your neck and hissed into the darkness. You wrapped a hand around his neck and squeezed, choking him. He cursed in the darkness and you felt his arms hug you tighter, he liked what he was feeling. You rode faster. He felt so good. Each stroke made you crave for the next, deeper and harder.

The room filled with your in-sync heavy breathing and moans. You dropped your head down, in an attempt to look at him in the dark, but met his lips. You let go of his neck and dug your nails into his back, scratching and pinching. He grunted inside your mouth.

You smelt the cologne melt off his sweaty body that rubbed against your layer of sweat. You were high off of him. Your clit rubbed up against him in just the right way. You could feel your body building an orgasm from deep within you, and slowly rising up. You pushed away from Dean.

"A..ah...aah..." You sing into the air. "Dean," you squealed out at the intensity of your orgasm traveling throughout your body. You fell limp on his shoulder and let heat and pleasure overcome you. “Holy fuck.” Escaped your lips in a whisper as ecstasy ripped through you in waves. Dean pecked kisses at your shoulder.

After your twitching stopped, Dean carefully lowered you down on your back and planted himself back on top of you. He kissed your jaw, your neck, your shoulder, and moved down to take one of your nipples into his mouth.

"Hmm." You arched up. He sucked and nibbled, starting a slow thrusting pace. He pulled off one nipple and moved to kiss and suck the other. His hand rested on your waist and held you gently as he started speeding up. You hugged his sweaty back, lazy running your fingers through his hair as he chased his own release.

"Dean." You turned your head towards him and his lips collided with your swollen lips, that he loved to kiss so much.

Dean's hips stilled. He drew his lips away and let out a shaky breath. He buried his head on your shoulder as he jolted, and bucked into you. No words came from his mouth but breathless grunts, whipped against your neck, before a sigh of relief.

He came.

He kisses your shoulder once more. You feel a wet residue as he lifts his head to find your lips. Dean kissed you a lot. You didn't expect that from him.

You weren't expecting some rough hookup, but you weren’t expecting him to be so tender either. He was a tall guy with a deep manly voice. So where did the vanilla come from? Dean didn’t fuck you like you were the chick at the bar he just winked at and fingered in the car. His touches were soft, his kisses were sweet. He even held your hand at one point. Was it you? Did you put out the vanilla vibe? Not that it bothered you. You weren’t complaining because it was still good sex. Amazing sex.

Even after he finished in his condom, he kept a slow pace of thrusting. Like he couldn't get enough of you. It made you feel good. Not just physically but mentally and emotionally good. You’ve been in actual relationships with men and no one fucked you like Dean Winchester.

When he finally stopped shuddering, he rolled off of you. Not far. You felt his hot arm next to yours. Still physically touching you.

It was silent. But a good silent. A bittersweet silent. A silent you were gonna miss when Dean was gone. And the silent is still there. And more lonely.

"You sure you've never done this before?" Dean laughed in the dark.

"Haha." You chuckled. "I'm sure." You could have attempted to joke back to him, but you didn't want to hear whatever he had to say in return. You knew this wasn't his first time. Not with the way he acted. Dean was too comfortable with a stranger's body. He came prepared for it. There had to be other girls. You weren't his first and you aren't gonna be his last. As soon as he leaves here. He'll be in another town. At another bar. Winking at another girl. And you'll still be here. In the silent.

Your stomach started to hurt. But you're 99% sure it's from the stretching Dean gave you. You rolled over to the side, looking for some type of relief. your arm stopped touching Dean's. he said nothing. made no attempt to get up and leave. He just laid there. the two of you did. That must have been when you fell asleep.

You didn’t remember falling asleep. But obviously, you did. Because here you lay now. Pretending to be asleep while watching Dean tiptoes around your studio in the dark, holding his breath, and collecting his clothes one after the other like an arcade game. It’s late. Maybe you should just tell him to stay for the night? Would he if you asked?

Abruptly his cell phone starts ringing.

You slam your eyes close when you hear Dean’s feet patting across the floor. His ringer shuts off and the room instantly falls quiet. You don’t have to see to know Dean is, once again, stuck in place and staring at you for any type of movement.

With your eyes still closed, you reposition yourself and tuck further into your blanket with a sleepy sigh into your pillow. Just to sprinkle a little Meryl Streep into your fake sleep performance. He must buy your act because you hear the wooden floor creak as he starts to walk again.

You peek an eye open to see where he is. You catch Dean slowly pulling the front door open with one hand and holding his heavy boots in the other. He slides out of your apartment, reaching around the door to lock it behind him, before closing it little by little. He was gone just like that. Your apartment falls silent.

_________________________

Likes, re-blogs, and feedback are encouraged.  Plagiarism is not. Please don’t. ♡ 

[luci-in-trenchcoats]

2020 Fics

Hi ya’ll! I took some inspiration from my girl @supernatural-jackles and did a round up of all the fics I posted this year! Anything from 2020 is below and organized by pairing. I never realized I did so many oneshots this year until now. I’m looking forward to what 2021 brings!

Dean: 78 Fics (35 oneshots, 32 imagines, 10 series, 1 drabble)

Sam: 6 fics (4 oneshots, 2 imagines)

Jensen: 20 Fics (16 oneshots, 3 imagines, 1 series)

Jared: 4 Fics (3 oneshots, 1 imagine)

No Pairing: 3 Fics (3 oneshots)

Poly Pairing: 3 Fics (2 oneshots, 1 imagine)

Other Characters: 1 Fic (1 oneshot)

Total 2020: 115 Fics (64 oneshots, 39 imagines, 11 series, 1 drabble)

Dean x reader

Out Of The Way (Part 2) (Bartender!Dean x reader) - The reader has been working at the bar for a while and things seem to be running smoothly as she and Dean continue to grow closer.

Creep (Dean x reader) - The reader runs into an old flame at the bar.

Girl’s Trip (Dean x reader) - Dean wakes up the reader and her friends after the reader’s bachorlette party in Vegas.

Quarantine (Doctor!Dean x Nurse!reader) - After an accident at work leaves the reader exposed to a dangerous virus, she has has to spend two weeks in quarantine with her ex-boyfriend, Dean.

Not Stupid (Dean x reader) (11x17 Rewrite) - After a hunt goes wrong, the reader and Sam are injured and it only gets worse from there.

Rough Ride (Dean x reader) (smut) - The reader gets in trouble with Dean on purpose but he’s going to make her work to get off.

Stranded (EMT!Dean x reader) (smut) - After a car accident, the reader and Dean are stranded on the side of the road in a storm and begin to bicker. When Dean nearly leaves, she incentivizes him to stay.

Anything For You (Michael!Dean x reader) (smut) - The reader has another one of her control lessons with Michael.

My Oh My (Alpha!Dean x omega!reader) (smut) - The reader and her next door neighbor Dean have an arrangement to help one another through heats and ruts or just to fool around when they feel like it. When the reader’s heat hits though, things go differently this time around.

Omega Mine (Omega!Dean x omega!reader) (smut) - After a long hunt, Dean’s heat hits him full on and triggers the reader’s as well. But Dean needs to be taken care of first, the reader has just the trick.

Hot Pink (Dean x reader) (smut) - After a hunt, Dean needs an extra roll of bandages and finds something intriguing in the reader’s bag.

Harder (AU Dom!Dean x sub!reader) (smut) - The reader has a bad day at work and needs Dean to help her unwind, even if she might take it too far.

Natural (Dean x reader) (smut) - After sharing their feelings for one another, the reader and Dean are finally about to get intimate. Only the reader gets nervous about how she might look downstairs.

The Game (Dean x reader) - After Dean’s death, the reader isn’t in great shape and would prefer to stay home and be miserable. But when she gets a letter from Dean, she soon starts playing a game he created for her in the event that he died to help her try to get the closure she needs.

Can’t Stand The Heat (Cowboy!Dean x reader) (smut) - After a long day at work, Dean comes home to a very warm reader in very little clothing.

Dry Spell (Dean x reader) (smut) - When Dean is cursed on a hunt, he discovers a few things belonging to him may be missing. It may be some time before they find a cure but the reader doesn’t see a problem with this.

Five Times I Fell For You (Dean x reader) - Five different times Dean has fallen in love with the reader over the course of their relationship.

Blank Slate (Actor!Dean x reader) - After losing her memories of her life with her family, the reader has to try and piece together what exactly happened to her with her husband’s help.

Mateless Mate (Alpha!Dean x Human!reader) - The reader moves into her new apartment and meets her Alpha neighbor, Dean. He seems friendly enough but he’s very adamant that he and the reader are going to be something more.

Mated For Life (Alpha!Dean x Omega!reader) - It’s not a good night when Dean’s father comes over unannounced to try and drag Dean on a hunt. Unfortunately, things go from bad to worse fast.

A New Kind Of Misery (Part 1) (Soulmate!Dean x Actress!reader) - After a night out, the reader wakes up the next day to discover her soulmate mark is now on her body. Except she has no idea who they are.

A New Kind Of Misery (Part 2) (Soulmate!Dean x Actress!reader) - After a night out, the reader wakes up the next day to discover her soulmate mark is now on her body. Except she has no idea who they are.

Somebody I Used To Know (Endverse!Dean x reader) - Months into the end of the world, the reader helps out a mysterious man she’s never seen before. He asks her to meet up with him where she learns she used to know him better than anyone.

One Room Left (Dean x reader) - Dean and the reader find out their motel room only has one bed. This ends up being a very good thing.

Roommates (AU!Dean x reader) - The reader’s roommate, Dean, is looking a little worse for wear after work one night. When he passes out on the couch, she knows something needs to change.

Snowed In (AU!Dean x reader) - The reader is staying over her best friend Dean’s house for the weekend due to a nasty winter storm. During a game of truth or dare, Dean makes an unusual dare that will make serious changes to their friendship.

What You Wish For (Prince!Dean x Princess!reader) - Princess Y/N isn’t pleased to have to attend a boring business dinner with the royal family of the neighboring kingdom. When she complains to her fairy godfather about it, she and a certain young prince get a lesson in being careful what you wish for.

Memories (Dean x reader) - When Dean discovers the reader has abilities she’s never told him about, he breaks things off. But when she wanders back into the Winchester’s lives a year later, he starts to realize there’s more to the situation than just a few lies.

Three’s Company (Dean x reader) (smut) - The reader discovers that the AU Dean that’s been living with them lately may have a thing for her. Dean’s known for a while though and is okay with letting the reader play out a certain desire of hers with the alternate Dean.

Change Of Plans (Dean x reader) - As the reader and Dean begin their romantic weekend away, mother nature decides to visit the reader a week early and throw off all of their plans. Dean however is intent on making sure the reader feels okay and is still enjoying their time together.

15 x 20 (Dean x reader) - This is a semi-rewrite of episode 15x20.

The Boss From Hell (Demon!Dean x reader) (smut) - After Hell rose up under the rule of Boyking Sam and took over the earth, the reader has found herself working for Hell Corp and trying to be as productive an employee as possible to save herself from death. When she gets a call to meet with Sam himself though, he has a new job for her, one involving seducing his demon brother.

Unspoken (Dean x reader) - Dean is cursed with the inability to speak unless a cure can be found. It begins to wear on him in more ways than one.

Pajama Man (Dean x reader) - For their first holiday season away from hunting, Dean decides to get everyone some Christmas themed pajamas and something a little extra to celebrate Hanukkah too.

Good Point (AU!Dean x reader) - The reader isn’t too happy when the number on the scale has gone up during quarantine despite their best efforts to be healthier recently. Dean however has a different viewpoint that helps put things into perspective.

Imagine…Demon Dean Catching You (Demon!Dean x reader)

Imagine…Secretly Dating Dean (Dean x reader)

Imagine…Meeting Your Online Date In Person (Dean x reader)

Imagine…Dean Debating Asking You Out (Dean x reader)

Imagine…Dean Noticing When You’re Down (Dean x reader)

Imagine…Meeting The Other Winchesters (Dean x reader)

Imagine…Running Into AU Dean (AU!Dean x AU!reader)

Imagine…A Day On The River (Dean x reader)

Imagine…Dean Being Cursed To Only Tell The Truth (Dean x reader)

Imagine…Counting Dean’s Freckles (Dean x reader)

Imagine…Dean On Game Night (Dean x reader)

Imagine…Dean’s First Sleepover (Daddy!Dean x reader)

Imagine…The Power Going Out (Dean x reader)

Imagine…Getting A Sunburn (Dean x reader)

Imagine…An Accidental Kiss (Dean x reader)

Imagine…Working Out With Dean (Dean x reader)

Imagine…Warming Up With Dean (Dean x reader)

Imagine…A Nighttime Hayride (Dean x reader)

Imagine…After A Bad Hunt (Dean x reader)

Imagine…Touch Football (AU!Dean x reader)

Imagine…Taking A Midnight Swim (Dean x reader)

Imagine…Sam Teasing You About Dean (Dean x reader)

Imagine…Nesting With Dean (Alpha!Dean x omega!reader)

Imagine…Running Into Your Ex (Dean x reader)

Imagine…Dean & His Babies (Daddy!Dean x reader)

Imagine…Dean Replacing Your Jacket With You Knowing (Dean x reader)

Imagine…Dean Teaching You To Drive Baby (Dean x reader)

Imagine…An Elf On The Shelf Following Dean (Dean x reader)

Imagine…Decorating The Bunker (Dean x reader)

Imagine…Getting A Card From Dean (Dean x reader)

Imagine…Dean Liking Harry Potter (Dean x reader)

Imagine…Dean Shoveling Snow (Dean x reader)

Not Losing You (Mechanic!Dean x reader) (Completed)

-The reader is pulled over on the side of the road when a man suddenly appears and proceeds to collapse in front of her. Little does she know, that may be a good thing for them both…

Make It Through The Night (Apocalypse!Dean x reader) (Completed)

- One year into the apocalypse, the reader finds herself in some trouble when a mysterious stranger shows up. When she finds out what exactly was the cause of the end of the world, she agrees to help him make things right…

The Shallows (Wildlife Agent!Dean x reader) (Completed)

-A few months after moving to a quiet little lake town on the edge of the state park, the reader has a near death experience and is saved by a man close by. When the police don’t take her seriously, he does and the pair stumble onto something bigger than they imagined…

My Little Secret (Mechanic!Dean x reader) (Completed)

-When a tragic accident happens, Dean takes a drastic measure in order to save the person he cares about most…

Still The One (Mechanic!Dean x reader) (Completed)

-When the reader’s childhood best friend, Dean, shows up at her door one night after a fight with his roommate, she invites him to stay. But things aren’t as simple as they seem…

The Wedding Date (AU!Dean x reader) (Completed)

- When the reader is in desperate need of a date to her sister’s wedding, she calls a service to fulfill the need and ends up meeting Dean Winchester…

A Nightmare In A Dream (Serial Killer!Dean x reader) (Completed)

- Six months after reuniting with the Winchesters and her brother, things are going good for the reader. She and Dean are happily together and occasionally stay with her brother, Matty, and Sam, who has been getting him used to normal life. Life appears to be heading in a good direction when the past has a way of creeping up again and dropping a bombshell on them all…

Strangers (Doctor!Dean x patient!reader) (Completed) - While getting a snack out of the vending machine, the reader bumps into a frustrated doctor who’s having a bad night and helps him get some perspective on things…

Home Bound (Dean x reader) (Dean’s POV) (Completed) - After defeating Chuck, Dean wakes up in the middle of nowhere Colorado four months after dying. He has no idea why he’s alive again or what’s going on. All he knows is his family is gone and he needs to get back home to figure out what brought him back to life and why. It’s easier said than done though in the middle of a brutal ice storm with Dean’s grief threatening to consume him every passing moment. Dean knows if he can just make it home, he’ll be okay again or so he hopes…

Soldier Boy (Superhero!Dean x reader) (Completed) - When the reader is saved by Soldier Boy, she isn’t all that happy with him. She makes an impression on him though which is perfect for her plans. But her simple job of getting Soldier Boy to fall for her for a little revenge isn’t so easy when she starts to see the man behind the mask…

You Ever…

_______

Sam x Reader

Heir To The Throne (Boyking!Sam x reader) (smut) - Sam’s had a hard day at work and needs to unwind.

Let Go (Dom!Sam x sub!reader) (smut) - The reader and Sam are beginning their new relationship but the reader has a few things to learn about being a sub.

Say It (Sam x reader) (smut) - The reader brings her bar hookup home and discovers that permission turns him a whole lot more than she thought it would.

Surprises (Sam x reader) (smut) - The reader has a few birthday surprises for Sam.

Sam’s Self-care Routine (Sam x reader)

Sex In The Impala (Sam x reader)

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Jensen x Reader

Breathe (Jensen x reader) (smut) - The reader is having an off day and wants to be left alone. Jensen on the other hand comes up with the perfect plan to make the reader feel wanted.

Twisted (Jensen x reader) - The reader goes to a sleepover at her boyfriend Jensen’s place but the night doesn’t end well when she starts feeling insecure.

Unexpected (Jensen x reader) - The reader and Jensen discover their odds of having children are low and look into adoption. When they end up fostering a teenager though, they realize what they thought they wanted might be right in front of them.

Mardi Gras (Jensen x reader) (smut) - A year after Jensen’s reign as King for Mardi Gras, the reader has a surprise for him. Only he has one for her as well.

Wrong Number (Jensen x reader) - An accidental text message leads to something more between Jensen and the reader.

Mated (Alpha!Jensen x Omega!reader) - The reader discovers that her old school classmate is in fact her true mate and she’s not sure how to feel about that at first.

Best Laid Plans (Jensen x reader) - When Jensen starts acting strange around the reader, she has a talk with Jared to ease her worries. In doing so, she reveals a secret of her own and may just put an end to her friendship with Jensen for good.

Love Notes (Jensen x reader) - After the show has finished filming, Jensen’s returned home and is feeling a little off. The reader decides to make a scavenger hunt to cheer him up with a fun surprise waiting at the end.

More Than Words (Jensen x reader) - The reader and her boyfriend Jensen have been together for years but she feels him slipping away when the physical distance between them starts affecting their relationship. She decides to end things for both their sakes when she feels him stop caring and tries to move on with her life. But an afternoon get together is going to change hers forever and she now has to figure out what that means for both her and Jensen.

Dark Little Places (Jensen x reader) - The reader makes an out of the blue comment about being happy which concerns Jensen that she might not be as happy as she seems to be.

All The Friends With Benefits (Jensen x reader) - The reader and Jensen are attending their friends Halloween party when they start flirting a little too hard for their own good.

I Got You (Part 1) (Jensen x reader) - The reader is celebrating her two year anniversary with her fiance when her best friend from childhood, Jensen, calls. Something’s wrong with him and he tries to play it off once he remembers what night it is for her but the reader isn’t budging and that may be a good thing for the both of them.

I Got You (Part 2) (Jensen x reader) - The reader has a quieter morning with Jensen while trying to convince him that he needs to talk to his family sooner rather than later if he wants to start feeling better.

The One Who Got Away (Jensen x reader) - While out with friends one night, the reader bumps into her old high school best friend, Jensen. They always had a will they, won’t they relationship but the reader finds things with Jensen don’t seem to be going as well she thinks they are.

Honey & Sweetheart (Jensen x reader) - The reader talks to Jensen and a special friend about struggling with parts of the finale.

Christmas Card (Photographer!Jensen x reader) - The reader and her family are getting some Christmas photos done when the reader inadvertently leaves her phone behind. When she goes to retrieve it, she gets to talking to the photographer.

The Glitter Prank (Jensen x reader)

Meeting Jensen Grocery Shopping (Jensen x reader)

Imagine…Jensen’s Self-care Routine (Jensen x reader)

Won’t You Stay (Jensen x Director!reader) (Completed)

- Having grown up with Ethan Y/L/N, one of Hollywood’s biggest and most loved stars, as a father, the reader is following in his footsteps and is directing her first movie. Even better, it’s the story she wrote and published years earlier, The Dark Woods, and her dad is set to play one of the leads. On the surface, her life seems perfect, even while she keeps the truth hidden. When the other lead actor drops out the first day of filming, they’re forced to find a replacement and fast. Jensen Ackles is an up and comer and seemingly knows the character inside and out. But he has a past too and the last thing either one of them wants is to get involved. But if they can get over their fears of being hurt again, they may find that they’re exactly what the other needs…

________

Jared x Reader

Saxx (Jared x reader) (smut) - The reader is determined to have Jared bottom for her tonight but first, she wants a special strip show from him.

A Texas Dream (Jared x reader) (smut) - After a shopping trip, Jared finds out the reader purchased a pair of her first authentic cowboy boots while the reader discovers that Jared really has a thing for them, even if he doesn’t want to admit it at first.

Reflect (Jared x reader) - Jared notices the reader shying away from him and suspects something serious with the way she views herself is going on.

Jared’s Self-Care Routine (Jared x reader)

_________

No Pairing 

Seeing Double (Part 2) (Alpha!Dean x Jensen) (platonic) - After the Winchesters show up at Jensen’s apartment, they discover getting the boys home may not be possible.

Beg For It (Lucifer x Michael) (smut) - Michael wants it again and Lucifer knows that. Tonight though, he wants to hear his brother beg.

Baby Brothers (Dean x sister!reader) - Dean shows up at the reader’s doorstep injured and looking for help. Little does he know, the reader is going to do more than fix up a few cuts for him.

________

Poly Pairing

Jared x Reader x Jensen

Silver Lining - After poor weather cancels their flight into Vancouver, the group rents a car in hopes of driving into town before filming is set to start. Unfortunately for them, their bad luck follows them and their car breaks down in the middle of nowhere.

Jenneel x reader (Jensen x Reader x Danneel)

Photos - The reader and Danneel have a small fight over a present for Jensen that leads to his intervening and a small confession.

Sam x reader x Dean

Imagine…Telling The Boys You’re Pregnant (Sam x reader x Dean)

_________

Benny x Reader

Dangerous (Benny x reader) (smut) - The reader gets injured on a hunt and gets in idea have some fun with her favorite vampire.

_______

[thedumpsterqueen]

Standards of Performance, Chapter 8: Heartbreak and Lattes

From the Beginning,  Previous Chapter

AO3 Link

Only announcement for this week: I've started a new job, and my schedule is such that a weekly update is unlikely without the quality being verrrry questionable. Therefore, I've decided to move off a set schedule, but I PROMISE I will update at least twice a month. Thank you for your patience and understanding; I know a set schedule is preferable but I wanna make sure this doesn't go to shit. Also... apparently this isn’t showing up in the tags I use, which sucks - so reblogs help a lot if you’re able. I love you guys <3

Summary: You’re the BAU’s newest intern, desperate to prove yourself amongst an established team of much more experienced profilers. Agent Hotchner, the seemingly infallible team leader, sets strict expectations for your performance. He commands your respect without even trying, but is there something more to your relationship than a simple desire to impress your stony-faced boss?

Chapter Summary:  In which decisions are made and overturned and many cups of coffee are drunk.

Words: 2666

Rating: Explicit, 18+. Warnings on AO3.

Pairings: Hotch x Reader, Hotch x You

You were sulking.

Not enough to affect your work - you’d have to go through something much worse than heartbreak before you risked your internship. But your home life was beginning to resemble a timelapse straight out of an overdramatic teen movie wherein the protagonist’s crush asks someone else to prom. Your apartment was a pile of half-done laundry, takeout containers, and case files; your evenings filled with sad Spotify playlists and too much red wine. 

And work? Not much better. Seeing him stride into the office every morning, filled with power and purpose and completely oblivious to the fact that he had shoved your heart into a metaphorical blender with a simple response to a seemingly innocuous question was really starting to wear you down. You had been so sure, that was the thing - so convinced by the team’s reaction to your story that it had all meant something. And maybe it had. But he had looked you in the face and told you it didn’t, so that was the answer that mattered.

So maybe sulking was the wrong word. ‘Spiraling’ was more accurate. A controlled spiral, mitigated only by the fact that 1. you had appearances and responsibilities to maintain and 2. Aaron Hotchner wasn’t actually the reason you showed up to work every morning, despite what it had seemed lately.

And it had seemed like that. You remembered getting the phone call that you had been accepted for an interview for the BAU internship, and the phone call that you made it to the final round, and finally the phone call that you had gotten the position - each more exciting than the last. You remembered meeting him, shaking his hand, completely oblivious to how much he was about to fuck up your life. Even when you first started to feel something for him, you convinced yourself it was nothing - a harmless crush wrought from your veneration and respect for one of the best in the field. Someone you admired. Someone you wanted to be one day. But then he’d made the unfortunate move of revealing bits and pieces of himself to you, exposing tiny slivers of humanity and emotion you were convinced didn’t exist, until you realized he was a person, an incredible one, and it wasn’t just admiration you felt anymore. It took all of a few months and a handful of genuine conversations until you were this far gone, and after he made it clear that your pining was one-sided, you knew you had to stop your fall there. 

So you tried.

You kept your conversations strictly professional. Avoided driving with him or sitting next to him on flights whenever possible. Disallowed yourself lingering glances. But it was still too goddamn much. He was still too goddamn much.

The next case pushed you over the edge. It was bad (not just normal bad, BAU bad), and it was no one’s fault, not really. You got called in late, the evidence was shoddy at best, and when all was said and done, you caught the unsub, but only after he’d killed 4 women. The last one died moments before you arrived and apprehended the killer, and despite the delay of those few minutes being, again, no one’s fault, the team was at each other’s throats the whole trip home. 

You were slouched in the corner of the plane trying to avoid getting caught in the crossfire. Morgan and Reid were sniping viciously about something completely unrelated to the case, because despite everything they’d just endured, they would never outright blame each other for what went wrong. Hotch, deciding he’d heard enough, raised his head slightly and said quietly,

“They’re not always going to end the way we want. We did all we could.”

And you were just done. You couldn’t stand to be around this pillar of strength and compassion and resolve. You needed to hate him for rejecting you, and you couldn’t. So you marched over to his seat, and, steeling yourself, you said what you’d been wanting to say since he broke your heart:

“I need a day off.”

It had sounded more dramatic in your head.

“A day off?”

You nodded. Hotch gathered himself, seeming to realize that such a request wasn’t unheard of (though perhaps in his department it essentially was) and nodded. 

“This case was difficult. I wish I could say exceptionally so. Get me your paperwork by tonight and take tomorrow off.”

You went back to your seat, relief overshadowed by disgust that it wasn’t, in fact, the 4 deaths you’d just been privy to that had broken you - it was the crush on your boss. You’d handled this case like a champ, in fact, because you were so absorbed in self-pity that you couldn’t feel anything else.

You needed to fucking recalibrate.

***

You were determined to make the next 24 hours the most self-indulgent, healing 24 hours you’d ever experienced. Quiet breakfast at a cafe? Planned. Self-improvement books? Downloaded. Vibrator? Fully charged. 

No man was going to keep you from focusing on the internship you’d been gunning for for years. No man was worth that. You were going to cry, you were going to journal, you were going to masturbate, and you were going to get him out of your head.

You were going to march into the quaint little coffeeshop two blocks away that you’d Googled last night, you were going to order the cinnamon spice latte that an indie food blog had called “the epitome of fall,” and you were going to go for a nice, early morning walk.

Except you weren’t. 

Because the next morning, when you turned to leave after grabbing your drink from the barista, you saw Hotch sitting at the table by the window. And Hotch saw you. And you weren’t equipped to handle this situation, because you were only 4 pages into your self-help book so far and honestly, the smile that lit up his face when you made eye contact would’ve broken you even if you’d read all the ‘how to move on’ manuals the literary world had ever produced.

So you obeyed his beckoning hand and sat down. 

“Thought you’d be up to something much more exciting on your one day off.”

You smiled wryly. “This is exciting. I haven’t had coffee that wasn’t made out of an ancient breakroom pot or a hotel carafe in months.”

Hotch chuckled. “I’m afraid you’ve made a mistake by coming here. Breakroom coffee is going to be impossible to tolerate now.”

“That good, huh?”

“Better. Try it.”

His eyes on you, you took a sip of your latte, and swallowed the most delicious concoction you’ve ever tasted in your life.

“Holy shit.”

“Indeed,” Hotch confirmed, ignoring your vulgarity. “I’ve been coming here before work for years.”

“I hope you don’t mind if I impose on your hangout,” you laughed. “I haven’t tried many coffee shops around here, but I imagine this is hard to beat.”

“Not at all. But just know - this is my table.”

You grinned. “Understood.”

You still went on that walk. Still read that book. Still spent the day trying to think about anything else but the softness of that moment - you and Hotch sipping lattes, bathed in the light of the early morning sun.

But on Thursday, the next day, bright and early, you found yourself at that coffee shop again. This time, you took a seat at the table adjacent to his. He looked up and smiled.

“Glad you heeded my advice.”

You smiled back and gestured to the heaping pile of files in front of him. “Not like there’d be much room for me anyways.”

You finished your coffees in relative silence and left at the same time for the office.

Friday, you learned Hotch’s coffee order: flat white with an extra shot of espresso. 

Saturday, you happened to arrive before he did, so you ordered his drink and set it on his table. Ten minutes passed and you thought he wasn’t going to show up, but he soon bustled in looking frantic. You waved him over, and he smiled when he saw the coffee waiting for him.

“Sorry, got stuck on a phone call,” he apologized. Like you were expecting him. Like this was something you guys did now.

You supposed it was.

Sunday, you got called for a case before you even made it to the coffee shop. You sat down in the conference room at 6 am, groggy as all hell. Hotch entered after you and handed you a mug, saying nothing before moving to address the team.

There was a small sticky note attached to the mug that read, “It’s no cinnamon spice latte, but it’s caffeine just the same.”

You fought to keep a grin from splitting your face, and ignored the team’s knowing smirks.

The case was in a small town in Colorado. The motel the team was staying in was less than ideal because of the location - bare bones, broken heaters, probably had the same bedsheets since its opening over 50 years ago. There was a small coffee pot in your room, and after you arrived Sunday evening, you walked down the street to the small convenience store and bought a bag of ground coffee.

When you handed him the cup Monday morning, he looked at it like it was salvation itself. Which, judging by the dark circles under his eyes, it may well have been.

“Long night?” you asked, loading into the back of the SUV. 

“Always,” he responded from the front seat. He took a sip of the coffee. “I don’t mean to offend, but this is terrible.”

You gasped in mock indignation. “I’ll have you know that is genuine Folgers pre-ground gas station coffee.”

“It tastes like it was made in a toilet,” he grumbled. He took another sip and smirked at you in the rearview mirror.

You’d long stopped trying to get over him.

 After the case in Colorado, the team was given a merciful break from the rapid-fire calls they’d been caught up in the last few months. 

You and Hotch continued your pre-work ritual, showing up to the coffee shop earlier and earlier each day. For you, it was a conscious attempt to spend more time with him. He didn’t acknowledge the extra 20 minutes that had worked its way into the morning routine, but you could only hope his intentions were the same.

One particularly chilly fall day, you burst in the door 10 minutes later than your unofficial meeting time. Hotch shot you a patented raised eyebrow as you unwrapped your scarf and took your seat. 

“Overslept?”

“No,” you retorted, “I was trying to make breakfast and my stove stopped working. Again. Maintenance can’t come fix it for two days.”

“Did you eat?” he asked.

“No, I was just gonna grab a muffin or something here.”

He nodded and went back to his laptop.

The next day, you sat down to a metal thermos on your table.

“What’s this?” you asked him.

“Oatmeal,” he responded without looking up. “You said your stove was broken.”

You opened the thermos to a puff of brown sugar-scented steam and the feeling that your heart was going to burst out of your chest.

“Thank you,” you whispered, afraid your voice would crack if you spoke any louder.

He looked over at you with an expression softer than you’d ever seen him wear. “You’re welcome.”

 A week later, you’d miraculously worked your way through the backed-up deluge of paperwork from the last few cases, and after clicking through the morning’s emails, you slammed your laptop shut.

“We should go for a walk,” you said to Hotch, who somehow still had a stack of files in front of him that was threatening to surpass the table’s weight capacity. 

“A walk?” Hotch asked, looking at the aforementioned files as if he were afraid they’d hear him considering the idea of a break.

“Yeah,” you responded. “Come on. It’s so pretty outside, and it’s gonna be too cold soon. Besides, we’re more caught up with work than we have been in months.”

“Speak for yourself,” he quipped, but he packed his briefcase just the same.

It really was beautiful outside. As soon as you stepped out the door, a gust of wind sent red and orange leaves skittering across the sidewalk at your feet. You wrapped your scarf tighter around your neck and motioned to the park across the street.

“Want to walk through the park?”

Hotch shrugged, a noncommittal ‘yes’, and followed you.

The park was sprawling, packed with massive trees in the midst of displaying their autumnal colors. Despite the early hour, there were joggers and dog-walkers populating the dirt path that meandered through. You strolled side by side, making idle chat about the weather and the holidays coming up, until you came to a bench set beside a pond in a small grove. Hotch took a seat and you followed his lead.

Reclining your head against the back of the bench, you exhaled. “This is the closest I’ve come to being out in nature in forever. I need to do this more often.”

Hotch murmured his agreement. “I’d apologize for the lack of free time, but I’m afraid it only gets worse.”

“When you officially join the team, you mean?”

“Yes.” He cleared his throat. “Assuming that’s something you’re interested in.”

“Of  course I am,” you said, “but I didn’t think it was really up to me.”

“It’s not - I give the final recommendation.”

“Better start buying you more coffees then,” you teased, looking over at him.

“Unfortunately, as Unit Chief, I have a responsibility not to accept bribery.” He smiled back.

For a moment, neither of you spoke. You studied his face - the stern curve of his brow, the carved structure of his jaw, the stress lines set in from decades of sleepless nights and unspeakable losses. Despite the increasing time you’d been spending in close proximity, you were mesmerized, as always, by the stormy intensity of his eyes meeting yours. You were close enough to smell his cologne, and you were reminded of the night in his apartment when he told you about his family. If you thought you’d fallen for him then, it was nothing compared to how you felt now, after starting each morning sitting beside him in the quiet peace of that downtown coffee shop.

“We should get going,” he murmured, not checking his watch, not shifting his gaze from yours. You nodded, not fully comprehending his words, feeling dazed at his nearness.

It was impossible to tell who made the first, imperceptible shift. All you knew is you scarcely had time to think before his hand was on your jaw, cradling the back of your head, bringing you to him. His mouth met yours and you closed your eyes instinctively, melting into his warm body beside you, fisting the front of his jacket in your hands.

You couldn’t remember ever having been kissed so decisively before. His fingers gripped into the base of your skull, his forehead nearly pressed against yours, and despite the chastity of your closed mouths, you whimpered into his. He stiffened at the sound and pulled back, still holding you, inches away.

You saw the shift in his eyes before he moved. It was as if he consciously closed some gate, walling himself off. His pupils, blown, started to retract to their normal size, frown returned, hand drew back. You watched, heart still racing, unable to speak as he turned to grab the briefcase sitting at his feet. Only then did he look back at you.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, and if his low voice was meant to betray any hint of emotion, you didn’t hear it. 

He stood, walked around the back of the bench towards the path, and paused.

“I’ll see you at the office.”

You were too shell-shocked to reply.

[justatiredghost]

Living for the Moment Ch19

A series of glimpses at Klaus’ life if he’d met Dave in his mid 20s. His life isn’t magically transformed, love can’t fix either of them when they’re both homeless and in a bad place. They’re not even really ready for a relationship yet. But maybe a supportive friendship can set them on a better path, the two of them inspiring each other to take care of themselves. It’s going to be a long and bumpy ride, and the question is, when will they actually admit to themselves that they have feelings for each other? Read More AO3

-

The problem with coming to a sudden stop after burning himself up the way Klaus had been lately was the loss of adrenaline. That had really been the only thing keeping him going. Well, that and the drugs. Thankfully he still had some of those in his system so the ghosts were leaving him alone, because the inevitable crash wiped him out completely. He didn’t have the strength to keep his eyes open anymore let alone enough to hunt down another contact to resupply.

There were a lot of things Dave had said that he wanted to comment on, mostly to ask what was wrong with him, but he just couldn’t right now. None of this felt real. He’d never had someone so determined to stay in his life, and all he could do was wonder how long until he came to his senses. But that was a problem for future him. As most things were. Right now, Klaus just wanted to sleep.

Not that he got much before they were both jolted awake by a car backfiring. The early commuters were likely out, so they had to leave, but Klaus felt so much worse than he had before. The exhaustion, the aches and pains, the ugly bruise welling up on the side of his face where he’d been punched, and to top it all off, he was pretty sure he had a fever.

“Hey, you okay?” Dave asked when he noticed, and of course he had to be all sweet, rubbing his back and everything.

“Oh yeah, sure, all good here,” Klaus said, trying to suppress a violent shiver at the early morning wind icy cold now that Dave wasn’t pressed up against his side.

“Shit, I didn’t give you my cold, did I?”

“What can I say? Petty theft is one of my charms,” Klaus joked, because he didn’t like how worried he looked.

“I wish I could repay the favor and find a place for you to warm up and sleep it off, but— hang on, I have an idea. Come with me?”

Dave stood and offered his hand, and Klaus considered it. He thought about trying to ditch him again, or just refusing to move. But he was too tired to be stubborn and petty, so he decided it would be easier just to go along and he let himself get pulled to his feet.

Usually, Klaus would be more nosey about this, but when Dave left him outside the shitty motel, he just stood there and waited while he went inside to talk with someone. He surprised himself, honestly. He must be really bad off. At least Dave didn’t keep him waiting long.

“Wow, you really do look like shit,” Dave said when he returned, actually able to get a good look at him now that the early morning sun was starting to make its appearance.

“Still hot though, right?” Klaus said.

“Mmm, feverish and attractive,” Dave joked. “You might be overdoing it a little, might want to tone it down a bit.”

“Have you met me?” Klaus replied.

“Well,” Dave continued, unlocking one of the motel room doors on the first floor. “The good news is, a buddy here owes me a favor. She said we can have this room, but gotta be out of here by tomorrow evening.”

“She is a saint,” Klaus said, stumbling inside after him. “I am going to take a 6 hour long bath, so if you need to pee, you better do it now.”

“No, go ahead,” Dave laughed. “I’m actually going to step out for a bit. I have some other stuff I need to take care of. But I look forward to seeing what you look like all pruny.”

Klaus waved him off with an annoyed sound. He turned on the water as hot as it would go and was ready to soak up all that warmth and wash away the grime. By the time he finally climbed out of the bath, he didn’t feel so frozen. Sure, he still felt like shit, but it was better than nothing.

-

For once, Klaus slept like a rock, so he wasn’t all that surprised when he came to, desperate for a glass of water, to discover Dave was asleep in the other bed by the door. On the way back from the bathroom with a cup, he had the sudden impulse to crawl into Dave’s bed and join him, but tried to block that out and just go back to sleep.

The next time he woke up, it was to hear the shower running. Dave was no longer in the other bed. A midnight shower wasn’t all that strange, though, so he let himself fall back to sleep. But when he woke up again a little over an hour later and the shower was still going, Dave still missing, he started to get a little worried.

Well, more curious than worried. Yes, this definitely wasn’t worry. These types of places weren’t really known for having unlimited hot water and he actually wondered if Dave had been the one to ditch him this time. Curiosity getting the better of him, he stumbled out of bed, pausing at the bathroom door to knock.

“Dave? You alive in there?” he called, but didn’t get a response. “I’m coming in. I swear I’m not doing this just to check you out naked.”

As he slowly opened the door, he noticed that there wasn’t as much steam as he thought there would be. The mirror wasn’t even fogged up. When he turned to the tub, the curtain was pulled back just enough that he could see Dave sitting there, letting the water fall over him, still wearing boxers and a t-shirt. His arms were raised as if to protect his head, fingers digging into his hair.

“Dave,” Klaus called again, concerned now.

Dave flinched as soon as he spotted him, but at least he relaxed when he realized it was just Klaus. Then, he scrambled to turn the water off before sitting back, out of breath and just trying to regain his bearings.

“Hi,” Dave said guiltily. Then, he looked down at himself and sighed heavily, picking at the way his shirt stuck to him uncomfortably. “Aw, man. We have got to stop meeting like this.”

“Would it help if I also got in with my clothes on?” Klaus offered.

“No, no, it’s fine,” Dave sighed, not completely able to stop himself from smiling despite everything.

“Your loss,” Klaus said with a shrug. “I’m not exactly one to judge, I was in here for a criminally long time earlier, but typically I don’t think showers are supposed to last very long. I’m surprised you haven’t run out of hot water.”

“Ah,” Dave said, looking away. “I think I may have, actually.”

“May have what?”

“Run out of hot water,” Dave said, and as if to prove his point, a particularly violent shiver ran through him.

“What the hell?” Klaus said. “You should probably get out of there. Only one of us is allowed to be sick at a time, and I already called dibs.”

He passed Dave a towel as he clambered out of the tub. Then, he left him so he could have a little privacy to change while Klaus wandered around the room in search of any extra blankets stashed away. Dave was already back in his bed when he returned, so he unceremoniously dropped his spoils on top of him before selecting one to unravel sitting on the edge of the bed.

“I swear I don’t take all my showers clothed,” Dave said, forcing a chuckle as he followed suit, no doubt trying to lighten the mood.

“Hey, whatever does it for you,” Klaus shrugged, and Dave smacked him playfully with one of the folded blankets.

“I really am sorry about all this,” Dave groaned after they finished with their work, burrowing deeper into the pile of blankets, still shivering.

“What, hogging all the blankets? I guess I can forgive you.”

“Well, yeah, I guess there’s that now, too,” Dave chuckled. “But I more meant, just, all of this-- my little breakdown. It doesn’t happen as often as it used to, but I still get flashbacks and nightmares sometimes. Showers help, they can kinda ground me I guess, this one was just particularly bad, I guess.”

“Oh,” Klaus said dumbly, not really sure what to do with all that openness. Except run, but he’d already tried that and failed.

This all hit a little too close to home; the nightmares and the flashbacks, the whispered confessions in a moment of vulnerability. In Klaus’ experience, it never went well. He knew Dave was just like this, so much more open than Klaus could ever imagine being, but it still sent a chill through him.

As irrational as it was, he didn’t want Dave to learn the same way he had. At least Klaus didn’t have any plans to betray him, so he might as well encourage him to let it all out now.

“Do you, like, what to talk about it or something?” he said uncertainly. “I heard it’s supposed to help. I mean, I know that’s rich, coming from me of all people.”

“It’s nothing, it’s stupid,” Dave said quickly, waving a hand dismissively. “You’ll laugh at me.”

“Okay, well, now you have to tell me,” Klaus said, climbing onto the bed so he was laying on his stomach, leaning on his elbows, head in his hands.

“I, uh, went to talk to someone today,” Dave said slowly. “About getting support. For vets.”

“That’s good, right?” Klaus said, trying to be encouraging.

“I guess,” he said, eyes sliding to the side, avoiding Klaus’ gaze. “It’s just frustrating, it feels like admitting defeat. But I can’t even hold down a job, something’s gotta change.”

“That’s the spirit?” Klaus said uncertainly. It wasn’t like self-improvement was his specialty. But he could definitely understand the guilt that went with asking for help. Which is why he never did.

“Unfortunately, it’s bringing up a few too many memories. And, when I’m stressed, I have nightmares, so that doesn’t help,” Dave added lamely, trying to laugh a little.

“There, there,” Klaus said, sitting up so he could reach out and pat his shoulder. Taken by surprise, Dave burst out laughing and Klaus couldn’t help but grin, pleased he could still make him laugh, even when he was upset. “If it helps, wearing clothes in the shower is nowhere near the top 10 weirdest things I’ve found people doing in the bathroom,” Klaus said unhelpfully.

“Still,” Dave said, before changing the subject. “But enough about me, how are you feeling? Sorry again for giving you my cold.”

“I might learn to forgive you one day,” Klaus said dramatically, hand on his forehead.

“Hey,” Dave said. “I was thinking, and I realized that I just kinda made you come with me here, sorry about that, too.”

“Yes,” Klaus said, again playing it up. “How dare you force me to sleep in a proper bed for a change?”

“You know what I mean,” Dave said with a weak smile. But then his voice turned serious. “I know I was probably a bit too much before, probably creepy too, tracking you down like that. I just want you to know that, if you really don’t want to be here, I’d understand.”

“What’s the matter, starting to have second thoughts?” Klaus asked. “I am a handful. Being friends with me is gonna be a nightmare”

“Seriously,” Dave persisted. “How about we meet up in a few days and talk it out? I’ll have at least a few more answers once the VA get back to me. I know everything feels impossible right now, but being your friend is worth it, to me. But if all of this has put you off, then feel free to make a break for it. I’ll leave you alone.”

“Sure,” Klaus said distractedly.

Dave nodded and turned away, pulling the blankets up nearly over his head.

Klaus had never been told he was worth it before. He’s never been worth anything and he didn’t know how to feel about all of this. He thought he could feel something melting in his core, a warmth reaching him that he never expected to feel. But there was guilt, too. So much guilt.

How was this even happening? Dave was a pretty smart guy, but he just seemed to be ignoring all the warning signs. Maybe Klaus had tricked him into this somehow. He was very good at manipulating people. But, for some reason, Dave kept coming back, there was no denying that. He wanted to trust him, to believe in Dave even if he couldn’t believe in himself, but he knew how dangerous that was.

Klaus felt cold, again, when he went back to his own bed, moving automatically. Mostly he just felt numb, completely drained. And he was more lost than ever. Maybe he was just too sober, maybe drugs would wipe it all away and remind him who he was. Or, maybe it wouldn’t, and he’d wake up one day and hate himself, wondering what would have been.

Hating himself wasn’t anything new, but when he glanced over his shoulder to see Dave’s curly hair sticking out between blanket and pillow, he so desperately wanted to give hope a try.

[fandom-hoarder]

listen I have so many questions about Stanford Sam, like this kid who was raised in the wild, barely aware of acceptable social conduct arrives with his 2 ectoplasm stained t-shirts at his dorm and like ????? is he very aware of it at first? or does he think he's hiding it well? and like moving in with Jessica?????? he doesn't know how to water plants and that you have to pay electricity bills ??? Like obviously he's not stupid, we know that!! But there are certain things about ordinary everyday life that are just impossible to pick up when you're raised like that. And this is just surface-level stuff, like I feel overwhelmed just thinking about how many tiny things I do in a day, just normal life stuff that I've always done, that Sam would be like ???? so weirded out by, or maybe creepily fascinated ??? Would he try and copy everyone around him maybe??? and then all the odd things that he'd probably do !!! like just basic marine survival nonsense he's dad probably taught him applied in mundane life situations that would make him stand out and he wouldn't even notice !!! And he thinks he's doing fine, people seem to accept him, but then suddenly someone mentions like... TRL or something and he's like ??? and then Dean picks him up and it all falls to pieces, because it's so EASY and ingrained and he doesn't have to pretend and it puts it into perspective how not okay he was doing at Stanford even when it felt like he was ?? god I'm just rambling, like I barely even have headcanons, I'm just so overwhelmed by all the possibilities of how this would play out !!!!

Holy crap, first I wanna apologize if this has been sitting here awhile. The Ask notification location in settings instead of notifications on the app is so weird and I get them so rarely I don’t think to check. (and the website shows that I have 4 but this one is the only one it’ll show? How does tumblr work? Oh yeah, it doesn’t lol.)

Anyway, I have so many thoughts on this! But they’re not necessarily cohesive?! Like first we all know Sam is super smart. He’s curious. He’s inquisitive. But he’s also sheltered in weird ways. There are things he’s known about the world that most people would never know about, let alone kids his age at any given time; yet the existence of those things--and the understanding that therefore potentially anything could be real--also lends itself to keeping him childlike--he had an “imaginary friend” at age nine and believed in the Easter bunny through age eleven, which is much later than the average probably???

By middle school, he definitely would’ve been feeling the strains of his otherness around his classmates, even if they weren’t constantly moving around, but of course the nomadic lifestyle just makes it even harder.

I think Sam is a very observant person, though. He figured out something was up with their dad and The Truth at age 8! So people watching is Sam’s saving grace for getting along in the mundane world. He definitely learns to mask his otherness by mimicking mundane people.

And I get sidetracked here because then I start thinking about exactly how their childhood went. We know John used Pastor Jim and Bobby as childcare/parenting support to some degree. I don’t think we really know anything about Caleb, maybe I’m forgetting something, but my headcanon is that Caleb functioned as a “fun younger uncle” type to Sam and Dean: cool, responsible in a pinch, but mostly not given childcare responsibilities because of his wilding tendencies. (they learn swears accidentally from Bobby and John, but Caleb TEACHES them.) Sam and Dean didn’t even know about Missouri until s1, so she’s off the caretaker list. They had that babysitter they met up with in uhh... Swap Meat! But largely we assume that Dean had a lot of the caretaking responsibilities; maybe with temporary babysitters in other places the same as Swap Meat.

And lbh you just can’t expect well-rounded, informed child-rearing from a kid only four years older. There’s a reason I associate a lot of weechester flashbacks with Sammy watching TV like in Something Wicked, because literally little siblings are A LOT and sometimes you just want them to sit still and quiet and leave you alone for a bit omg.(wait, give me a minute, I’m imagining little 6 year old Dean on the phone with Bobby because John ran out for food supplies and isn’t back yet and Sammy is still asleep but Dean’s creeped out in the longterm room they’re staying in because he KNOWS about the supernatural already. but then bobby gets on John’s case about it--and instead of never leaving Dean alone with baby Sam again, Dean learns from John’s belt not to call anyone when he’s left alone unless it’s an ACTUAL EMERGENCY. Or maybe, because marine, John doesn’t use his belt; maybe he uses PT instead and every time Dean thinks about calling Bobby for that reason again, his abs ache from the memory of punishment situps, or his arms get suddenly shaky thinking about doing pushups til he just couldn’t anymore.)

I haven’t read all of John’s Journal, and I know it’s not actually canon, but IIRC the bits that I’ve read from the wiki show John and the boys staying with a family friend in Lawrence for a few weeks, MAYBE a few months before John visits Missouri and everything STARTS. I think if he hadn’t picked up and left with them then, the family friends would’ve been contacting CPS because they’re starting to think John’s grief is making him unhinged. (I really want to read the journal tbh--there are bits I’ve seen that make me fantasize even more about boyking!sam storylines... but I’m getting even more off track.)

So we’ve got this weird/interesting dichotomy of kids that are groomed with these hyperspecialiizations, too weird to really fit in with other kids but sheltered from the actual hunter life also--like the fact that there ARE other hunters, like as a THING, not just their dad’s rando friends that, as kids, they may just assume know about the supernatural because their dad told them! (jfc they’re SO PRIMED to be each other’s entire world omg I’m gonna die)

So like, by being quiet and observant (an imaginative kid, by nature and by nurture as John starts to take Dean out more and leave Sam alone with his own thoughts), Sam would pick up a lot of things. But they’re never anywhere long enough for him to fully grasp everything and he would definitely suffer a bit from the Dunning-Kruger effect--not having enough knowledge about a thing, but having just enough that you don’t realize you don’t.

Let’s say Sam observes and picks up some things about normal residential life by being around a few mundane babysitters. The nature of John’s “work” would mean that, even if they were in a more in-home-daycare-like situation, they’d be likely to be the “after hours” kinds of kids that are still there when everyone else is picked up and the babysitter would normally be doing their normal life stuff: changing clothes, cleaning up from the daycare kids, making dinner, etc (sam and dean would definitely help, either out of kindness or duty or because it’s agreed that if they help out John will get a discount on their care costs--don’t mind me, just projecting my childhood onto the winchesters hahh. I’m NOT going to go off on a tangent about Dean already having so much experience caring for babies cuz of Sam. He definitely doesn’t have all the under-4s following him around begging for attention while he burps one of the three babies their babysitter cares for after a bottle. it DEFINITELY didn’t make Sam (age 4, 5, 6 maybe) jealous enough to repress the memory so that over a decade later he would claim that Dean doesn’t even LIKE kids.)

Uhh... what was I talking about? Oh yeah, Sam. Observing normal life. Anyway so maybe after things settle for the day, sometimes a babysitter will sit at the dining table with the weekly bills and their checkbook and do the bills. And Sam kind of loves things like this: it feels like something important; it feels like playing school before he was old enough to go (quick aside here: John totally enrolled Sam in school early, both because that’s the only way his age works with canon timeline and because it would make life easier if Sam was in school just like Dean--more cost-and-time efficient.) And maybe Sam goes and sits at the table and just. Watches.

And then he asks questions. When he’s curious, he doesn’t keep his questions to himself as a child (unless the subject is expressly forbidden: see Dean’s reaction when Sam brings up Mary). But his age would inevitably limit the scope and understanding of those questions. Adults are generally disinclined to fully explain the adult world to children, especially when it comes to finances, and in the 80s and early 90s?? With most of the adults of that time that I knew, those kinds of questions were considered rude and nosey. He might understand that adults have to pay bills; he may even understand something about utilities; but he wouldn’t necessarily understand all the requirements and frequency.

Though their nomadic lifestyle wasn’t stable by any “normal” definition, one thing to be said about mostly living out of motels is that your power is never cut off, or your water, or your heat. There’s always television, usually with cable. And the only form of payment you see going on is dad handing over cash or plastic at the front desk--one and done. My headcanon usually disallows the idea that they would’ve squatted in empty houses when Sam and Dean were kids (John makes plenty of bad decisions but I just don’t see him staying in a place without power or water with CHILDREN. Teenagers? SURE.) They would learn how to clean house and make proper beds even when it wasn’t always necessary with housekeeping available--both because of John’s military parenting style and because John would be most likely to opt out of daily housekeeping to lower the risk of having people ask questions.

So yeah, there are so many little intricacies of the mundane world that Sam wouldn’t be conditioned to even think about. Even the realization that he doesn’t know enough about regular life, as he grows up and longs more and more for that very thing because he’s never had more than a glimpse of it, wouldn’t necessarily be enough.

Would his natural curiosity lead him to ask those questions? He can’t ask John because he already asked Dean and got a dismissive answer because ‘what does any of that matter, Sam? we’ll never have to worry about that shit.’ and if Dean seems borderline offended by the sheer audacity of the questions in the first place, he knows John will be worse.

In the 90s, life skills were still kind of a thing in most U.S. schools. But in a really inconsistent way. Sometimes it was in health class curriculum; sometimes your math class would actually do a short focus on balancing a checkbook and banking if there was a chapter, but a lot of times those parts get skipped. You never use the whole textbook. Sometimes life skills was only in Home Ec, but H.E. was completely elective in my area when I was in middle school (the same exact years Sam would’ve been in middle school) and I’m assuming the same for most of the U.S. Sam may have taken it, or he may have taken something else instead (wood shop or computer class were the alternatives in my area). Maybe the nature of school hopping meant that he HAD to enroll in Home Ec, because resources for the other electives were finite, but somehow always managed to miss the bills and budgeting portion. Maybe he couldn’t even take Home Ec due to class size or resources and they just put him in a study hall for that period. (Maybe they put him in the computer class, where he mostly does book work until he gets a turn on the PC he has to share with his classmate.)

As an observant person, Sam totally would’ve known about TRL, I think. There’s no way at least one group of kids in the halls or lunchroom wasn’t talking about it every day in high school, especially with the advent of Britney Spears and Eminem and Jesse freakin Camp. Maybe he goes to someone’s house to try to hang out or to study and they turn it on and Sam watches raptly because it’s such a strange phenomenon and he hardly ever gets to hear new music, much less watch the videos. But he can’t actually get into it because the fangirls are annoying and his analytical mind won’t let him suspend his disbelief about how the voting works. (Maybe he tries giving it another shot in their motel room sometimes, but Dean vetoes that bubblegum pop shit IMMEDIATELY--no Sam, look, that shit isn’t REAL music; most of them don’t even play instruments. And it’s really not fair because Dean TOTALLY watched MTV’s The Grind in the early 90s for his fix of suggestively gyrating bodies before he figured out how to access porn without getting caught.)

Sam and Dean actually make a LOT of pop culture references, which always fascinates me. I imagine they did a lot of TV watching and VCR/movie renting in the times they weren’t working on a case with/for their dad (projecting again; my dad’s house was a very boring place on his weekends). The nature of Dean’s idolization of John and disinclination to let Sam have his own separate likes means they have a mix of age-appropriate pop culture knowledge and a lot of Boomer-era TV and movie knowledge--Dean more than Sam, maybe when it comes to things like cowboy movies and TV lol.

Anyway, as the realization that he doesn’t really know how anything works crept in, maybe Sam would try to lowkey create situations where he could ask his friends/his friends’ parents those normal life kind of questions. But maybe after his first few tries, he’s become so uncomfortably aware of how weird he is to even need to ask that he stops asking. Maybe he starts to tap into his specialized skills and starts snooping/creeping around their houses to try to glean knowledge. Maybe he scours the library for books on ‘what you need to know for life’--I have the urge now to do a google search on actual titles of books on this subject that may have existed at the time, but I’ve already spent a lot of time on this without going into research spirals. lol Maybe he can’t find exactly the things that are pertinent--still doesn’t fully realize that, though--and in the meantime his cache of esoteric knowledge continues to build.

So he gets to Stanford and he mostly understands how the financing works; enough to get by with enrollment and stuff. He understands that he’ll need to get a job of some sort to make ends meet because he’s there to be normal and normal people don’t pay for everything with scammed credit cards and billiards money; he knows that much. But he doesn’t really know about wages, minimum wage, freaking payroll taxes, etc. (I feel like Dean would’ve had odd jobs as a teen, some legit some under the table, but that the nature of John (and Dean) wanting to keep Sam home and safe would’ve made the subject of Sam working through high school a banned topic. And anyway, much as I’m not a fan of the characterization in Drag Me Away (From You), what Dean said to Sam about the impossibility of getting into college with the way his academic career would look is accurate. So Sam would’ve probably spent most of his free time on academics so he could get the fuck out, rather than trying to get a job.

Maybe having to buy his textbooks would be a surprise? John probably always qualified for Sam and Dean to be on free lunch/free book programs in public school, not to mention the likelihood of the records being at least partially counterfeit. But at the same time, John was probably very hands off with their school enrollment crap once the boys were old enough to handle it themselves, so Sam would at least have an inkling.

Sam would be a weird mix of no-boundaries and too-secretive, and his first attempts at acting normal would be a bit too put-on. He’s got experience acting per 1x16 (oh, maybe he did drama instead of home ec somewhere lol), but acting on stage is so much different to acting in a more personal setting. On stage you have to exaggerate your movements to project all the way to the back. Early-Stanford Sam, I guess, is a bit like Soulless Sam. He knows there’s something off about him compared to the people around him, and he just does his best to pretend he’s the same as them without calling attention to his differences, which ends up coming off robotic. A little Stepford. A little uncanny valley. He learns to bite his tongue every time he’s about to let something normal only to his family roll off it; learns to be even more vague than he used to be, because now he’s around strangers ALL THE TIME.

At some point, Sam has a little-but-big breakdown about a payment he missed or the fact that he had to steal shampoo because he didn’t even have toiletries in his budget and couldn’t even afford a bottle of White Rain or Suave, so since he was stealing anyway he got the special brand he really likes and then feels too awful to even use it and doesn’t wash his hair for a week. Brady takes pity on the cute but hapless puppy-boy who is a physical and academic behemoth but has obviously been living off-grid on some kind of militia commune for the past forever--at first the rumor was that he was Amish on rumspringa but the amount of times Sam has busted out some supremely random survival knowledge in casual conversation changes that rumor quickly--and has no understanding of the world. And by the time he moves off-campus with Jess, Sam has this masking thing down pretty well; he can almost forget he’s not normal sometimes and Jess only knows about his previous helplessness in a cute, anecdotal kind of way.

And then Dean comes and gets him and Sam’s all “you and Dad still doing credit card scams?” and Dean’s like “well hunting doesn’t pay the bills.”

AND SAM’S LIKE, NEITHER DO YOU DEAN! DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT BILLS ARE?! BECAUSE I DIDN’T AND IT WOULD’VE BEEN NICE TO KNOW!

[fandomout]

Dean Winchester Imagine/Preference - After he left you stranded Part 2

Part 1 Dean Winchester Imagine/Preference- He leaves you stranded (Gender Neutral Reader)  

I don’t own this gif, but all I know is it’s from tenor.

This takes place a around season 5 and 6 just for reference as to some things said and Castiel makes appearance. Angst/Fluff.

“You fucking asshole! You fucking suck!” Although you felt a little better, you looked like a crazy person to the people passing. You covered your shoulders in hopes to lessen the bumps that textured your skin. You were lost in your thoughts when you collided into a body. You looked up to see, but you were barely able to make out their face. Tears were blurring your vision. You wiped one of your eyes, which gave you enough visibility to make out Castiel. You didn’t even bother wiping the tears and simply asked him, “What are you doing here? Did something happen? Are you okay?”

“What I am doing here is that I heard your cries of distress. Also, I was wondering who you were referring to.”

“Don’t worry, I wasn't talking to god, or you, or some angel...just the world...Me and Dean got in a fight.”

“I did see a glance of that interaction, my apologies.”

”You didn’t mean to...Wait, you came because I was crying?”

”Yes. I was wondering what trouble there could be that would make you cry. Through most of our encounters, you’ve seemed very level headed and calm, so it had to be of importance...Well, I assumed.”

“Sorry to disappoint. It’s just relationship drama.”

“Disappointment doesn’t correlate to me and your situation. It wouldn't make sense.”

“I don’t mean it literally.”

“Ah.”

“I’m sorry. You came for nothing.”

“He left you here. Why?”

“Cleary, he doesn't care...enough...if at all.”

“But, you are in a relationship. Are you not? Why would he leave you here if he cared?”

“Hell if I know.”

“Anyway, it is not for nothing that I came. I can provide comfort.”

“I really don’t need it. There’s nothing you could say.”

“But, you need it.”

“There are more important things...you probably need to get back to your war, right?” He replied with a heavy sigh and the words, “I could use the break.”

“Let’s talk about you. It would make me feel better if you felt a little better.”

“How can I feel better?”

“Just tell me how you feel about the war. How’s the war going? I’m sure that’s a stupid question, but I thought it was better than not asking anything. I know we don’t pay enough attention to you on the personal level...I’m sorry we haven’t been able to help you. I’m sorry you have to kill your brothers and sisters…”

“Thank you...You are the only one whose expressed concern to me…It’s simply terrible at all times.” You put a hand on his shoulder and keep walking. ”So, where are you going?”

“I don’t know.”

“I can take you back to where you were residing.” Castiel reaches forward to take your shoulder, but you move back from him before he gets the chance. He furrows his brows and tilts his head at you. A look of pure innocent confusion.

“No. I will tough it out. If he’s just gonna leave me here, I’m gonna make my own way. I refuse to be helped.” 

“Why?”

“For some dignity or pride with a hint of stupidity because it's cold and gonna be a long walk.” 

“I could take you to the motel, and you could call it your way. You are exercising your resource, i.e me.”

“No, Cas. I don’t want to take the easy route. He thinks he can control me and make me feel worse? Nope! I’m gonna get there on my own, and he can't say anything. He doesn't deserve the satisfaction. I walk for me and me only.”

“I do not understand. I do not understand your desire to take the difficult path.”

“Sometimes it’s...it’s worth it. The hard way has its moments. Plus, Cas, you shouldn't have to take me.”

“I want to.” A blast of light strikes before it starts pouring rain. You continue on your pace, unwavering. 

“Has your plan changed?!” Castiel yelled over how loud the rain was.

“Nope! Well-I think I’m just gonna walk all the way to the motel we were at! Get my things and get out of there!”

“That’s a bad plan!”

“Best one I’ve got! I only have $20 on me, and I left my stuff in Dean’s car!”

“You’re going to get sick!” He says, but it gets muffled by the sound of thunder. 

“What?!”

“I said you’ll get sick!”

“So be it! I’ll live!” 

“I should head back!” He looked regrettable because he doesn’t want to go. You give him the best smile you can muster and give him a hug along with the words, “Thank you for being here for me although unintentional!”

“I express my appreciation to you asking about me. Hope you have safe travels; however, unlikely I think it is right now!” You laugh a bit at his words. You weren't sure how to respond, but it didn't matter. You never got the chance to as he flew away. You feel a bit better having talked to Castiel. You're thankful for the rain sympathizing with you, and you think you’ve stopped crying. Determined, you walk all night until you get to the motel at about 6:30 am. You were lucky enough to find someone to check you in. With a very hoarse voice, you say, “Can I get the room key for 321 B? I lost mine.”

“I can't just let you in, lady.” He says firmly.

“You saw me come in with those two big guys.”

“Oh. Yeah.” You leave your hand out ready, but he continues to say, “Still...I can't just give it to you.” You reach forward frustrated and grab him by the collar. You take out the $20 from your pocket. 

“Listen, bud-You either take my $20 and give me the key, or I take the key, forcefully. Your choice.” He reaches for it desperately and hands it to you. You open the door, and you see both Sam and Dean still asleep. You quietly get your things, and you head back to the clerk. He moves to the wall, scared. You put money on the table. 

“Give me a room for one.” He taps uneasily, but does as you say quickly. 

“Thank you.” You go to your new room. Immediately, you head for the water and chug it down earnestly. You sneeze three times in a row and wipe your nose. You change your clothes into warmer attire, which ends in pj’s. You get over to the bed and cover yourself in the blankets. You feel some kind of warmth reach your body, but you can't help still feeling cold. You grab tissue next to yours and have to keep blowing mucus out of your body. 

“Gret.” You said nasally. “I’m fucking sick.” You shrug and close your eyes as your weak and tired body won’t allow anything else to happen.

No One’s POV

Dean wakes up to being shaken harshly. He pulls out his gun from under the pillow and says, “What?” His eyes meet Sam’s, and Sam asks, “Where’s Y/N?” Dean puts his gun down; After sitting up, he tries to respond before he cuts himself off and remembers everything from last night. “They’re somewhere...”, He says pursing his lips and starts putting his clothes back on. 

“Somewhere?”

“Yeah.” He says and puts on his boots.

“What happened?”

“Why are you asking?”

“Clearly, something happened because you won’t give me a straight answer. Where are they?”

“I don’t know.”

“What?!”

“We got in a fight...”

“And?!”

“And I...left them.” He said softly that Sam couldn’t hear.

“What?”

“I left them at the bar.” He said firmly.

“You’re such a dick! Fucking asshole! They're not here! Something could have happened to them!”

“I know! I know…” Dean stood up and looked around the room. His eyes landed on the couch where their bag should be. His mouth became very dry, and his heart panged. “Oh god…” He whispered. 

“What?” Sam asked as he looked in Dean’s direction. As Sam came to the same relaxation, he clenched his jaw, and said, “You really fucking suck!” Dean just walked over to his keys on the counter and headed out the door. Sam hurriedly got his jacket and followed after. “Where the hell are you going?”

“The bar.”

“I doubt they're there.”

“What makes you say that?”

“It’s not like they can stay there all night. It was raining last night too. They can't just sit outside the bar like they’re living there.”

“You don’t know. They could've stayed put.”

“They didn’t get fucking lost! And they’re not some child! You left them there! Left your s/o there!” Dean can only clench his jaw and start the car. As they arrive at the bar, they ask anyone around, but no one knows where they’d gone. Dean got back into Baby and he jerked the steering wheel angrily. “Dammit!...” He let out a breath. “Where would they go?”

“Somewhere to sleep?” Sam tells him with a shrug.

“How’s that work?”

“What do you mean?” Dean gestures to the back where their jacket was. Sam picks it up and looks inside of it to see their phones and wallet. “Great! Just great Dean! You left them without anything! There is no way of finding them.”

“Sam, can you shut the hell up?! I know I messed up! I know I'm the fucking asshole that left his s/o stranded in the rain! I’m fucking selfish!-” He stopped for a moment and his eyes became teary. He looked out the window for Sam not to see him, and in a weak voice said, “Something could have happened...” Dean held the steering wheel until is knuckles turned white. Sam looked at him sympathetically and said, “I’m glad you know. Look, Let’s head back to the motel.”

“What?! We can't just-”

“If you were upset enough to leave them, I know they're more upset. They didn’t try to contact me or anyone, so chances are they figured it out...I mean if nothing happened...They’ll probably be stubborn enough to get back on their own. The bar is far from the motel on foot, but they probably walked, D.” As Sam and Dean pull into the motel, Dean paces around in nervousness. Having done so for about 2 minutes, his eyes end up landing on the small frame of someone by the vending machine. He looked down to their shoes to see the wrecked combat boots he’d been seeing for the longest. He basically jogged up. Sam followed slowly in confusion. Dean’s eyes met their face, and he fully ran over to them. He scooped them in his arms. His arms wrapped over their waist. 

Your POV

Dean let out a shaky breath and smiled. With teary eyes, he reached to cup your face. You moved away from his touch and took yourself out of his embrace. 

“Y/N-”

“Sam, how are you this morning?!” You asked. You were not going to just let him off the hook. While he looked worried, you remembered how unimportant you seemed last night, so you ignored him. In your peripherals, you could see Dean licked his lips nervously. 

“Better. Now, that you're no longer missing. We-” Sam replied and was cut off by Dean saying, “Where the hell were you?!” You ignored his worry and responded, “Sam, you didn’t have to worry. I just got another room for myself this time around.”

“We went everywhere looking for you. Glad you're safe.”

“Than-Achoo!” You put your nose on your sleeve. Dean reached over in calmer composure to grab your arm and tell you, “Come on, red nose, we’ll get you better.” You pulled away from him. You looked toward Sam and said, “I’m gonna get myself something warm and sleep a bit more. I had a loooong night.” You couldn’t help being a little shit since you felt it was owed to you for the shitty night you had before. You padded Sam’s shoulder and told him, “I’m gonna head back to my room see you later.” before you left towards your room. With a heavy heart and footsteps, you were in the need to feel some kind of better since being sick didn’t help.  When you got into your room, you went into the bathroom to take a look in the mirror. “Oh. I do look terrible.” You turned on the showerhead and walked back into the main space only to see Dean. You gave him one more second until you averted your eyes and resumed ignorance of his existence. You were getting clothes when you heard the shower turn off. You rolled your eyes and were making your way back to the bathroom when Dean blocked your path. You sighed heavily and threw you clothes on the couch. You walked back over to your bed, curled into the blanket and tried to get back to sleep. You felt his eyes on you, but you refused to look at him. You felt the bed starting to dip, and you couldn’t help state, “Don’t.”

“We’ve got to talk…” He said delicately. You sat up and looked at him as he shifted nervously in a way that made you just want to go hug him. Instead, you stayed put and found the words, “Talk.” slipping past your lips.

Part 3  Dean Winchester Imagine/Preference - Making up after he left you stranded (Gender Neutral Reader) Part 3

Hope your day got better

[pi-cat000]

MSA time travel idea (part 40)

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Vivi POV, 8, 9, 10, Lewis POV, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, Lance POV 18, 19, Lewis POV 2, 21 , 22, Vivi POV 2, 24, 25  Lewis POV 3,  Mystery POV , Vivi POV 3, 29, Lewis POV 4, 31, ViVi POV 4 , 33, 34, Lewis POV 5, Mystery POV 2, Lewis POV 6, Vivi POV 5, Lewis POV 7

Part 41: here

. 

VIVI POV

It is weird visiting the Pepper’s Diner without Lewis. Vivi has never been the friend with the car so Lewis or Arthur had always picked her up whenever she visited, meaning she’s never been here without at least one of them present.

Now, Vivi stands in the empty car park, trying not to look at the spot on which Arthur had been shot and Lewis had almost bled out. The memories of trying to frantically to help them both while knowing she would only have time to save one come unbidden, crowding at the forefront of her mind. She swallows, trying to shake the image and focus on locating Arthur’s van instead. Even as she scans the empty lot, her thoughts turn away from the task and back to that night.

Lewis had told her to help Arthur. Those had been his last words to her.

Vivi had already been in the process of helping Arthur so it was logical for her to continue.

Arthur was the less injured of the two, so had a better chance of survival.

Arthur was the rational choice.

If her dad hadn’t arrived when he did, then Lewis might have died, blood slowly spreading across the concrete, staining it red. If Mystery hadn’t done whatever weird supernatural thing he’d done to slow their blood loss...she doesn't want to think about it. 

/The rain has washed away any remaining scent. We will have to do a visual search./

Vivi blinks and there is no blood, no Arthur, no Lewis. There is only the silent structure of Pepper Paradiso, windows dark and lifeless. She rubs her hands together to rid them of the sudden chill creeping through her limbs, before folding then under Lewis’s borrowed jacked and hugging her chest.

“Ye…” She takes a shaky breath, “Yeah. I figured. The van can’t have been parked too far away though. It would have been pretty hard to walk around all these rocks and cactus in the pitch black even with a lightning storm overhead.”

/ A reasonable assumption. / Mystery is eyeing with something akin to worry, head tilted to one side.

She ignores him, walking past to scan for any sign of the van. Unlike that night, the sky is clear with a half-moon just peeking above the horizon, casting a faint grey light over the flat landscape. A gentle breeze tugs gently at her hair. The body snatcher wouldn’t have come from the westward side of the diner because she’d been looking out that way at the time, talking on the phone with her dad. Surely, she would have noticed its approach between all the lightning strikes.

“You head that way…maybe thirty feet or so. We’re going to search in a grid around the diner,” She points out to the main road adjacent to the diner, tracing it in the air with a finger to what she thinks is thirty feet, “We’ll work our way out from the road, moving in opposite directions away from the diner. Let me know when you find it.”

Mystery nods a confirmation but doesn’t move off immediately, opting to instead watch her with increasing concern. Vivi deliberately turns away from him, moving out from the building and off the concrete, picking her way across the uneven landscape, pulling out her phone for additional light.  Eventually, she hears the click of Mystery’s claws as he begins his search, jumping from rock to rock and disappearing amongst the low desert shrubs. Vivi lets her shoulders slump, all the stress and activity of the past few days finally catching up to her, weighing on her.  She shakes herself and pulls the jacket tight. With her phone’s dim flashlight barely providing enough light to see her own feet, it’s hard to avoid tripping over rocks and dips in the ground. It may look flat, but the desert is full of indents and holes. On the bright side, the rough terrain meant the van was probably closer to the road because there was no way anyone could drive very far across this. 

If the van is even out here at all. 

Doubt curls in her gut. 

What if she’d wrong about this too?

Across the darkened landscape the moon finally makes it fully over the horizon line. A new chill descends as the last of the day’s heat evaporates into the night. Vivi persists, continuing until the diner has faded into an outline. Nothing jumps out at her as being strange. It’s just empty in all directions.

/I have found it./

When Mystery finally calls an end to the search Vivi’s eyes are hurting with the strain of squinting.

“Where?”

Mystery’s telepathic projections don’t have a huge range so he must be nearby. She turns, twisting around to scan the darkness. A flash of white fur catches the moonlight. Mystery nimbly leaps over an outcropping of cactus in her direction, pausing to motion with a paw back the way he’d come.

/This way./

They make their way slowly back in the direction of the highway before turning to walk parallel to the road. A car flashes by, momentarily blinding her and she stops to blink away the bright splotches which briefly overtake her vision. The walk feels doubly long with how tied she’s becoming. 

Finally, Mystery turns back into the desert, following a sloping incline downward into a ditch where she spots a familiar orange rectangle. No wonder no one had found the van yet. Unless you were searching specifically for it, it would be almost impossible to see from either the diner or the highway.

Vivi exhales a long, hard breath of pure relief, hurrying to overtake Mystery.

Slowly, she circles the van, stretching up to shine her phone-light through the front window and into the shadowed interior. The seats of the van appear normal. There is an empty fast food bag and it looks like someone has tipped the glove compartment onto the ground. She peers further in, noting that their camping gear is no longer in neat piles but messy and scattered about. Nothing stands out as human-body shaped. She steps away.

“No dead bodies,” She tells Mystery, watching him finish his own circuit of the van, sniffing, eyes narrow.

/I smell blood. Quite a bit of it. The stench of that abomination is also strong./

“You can smell the body snatcher? Wouldn’t it just smell like Arthur?” Vivi questions even as she begins trying all the van’s doors in the hope that one is unlocked.

/These creatures are unnatural and they always leave behind aberrations. I suppose ‘smell’ is the wrong word. It would be more akin to recognising energy residue. Most spiritual energy does not originate from the physical plane. Thus, it always leaves behind some sort of stain./

Vivi rubs her forehead. She has questions. Of course, she has questions. Anytime Mystery says anything related to the supernatural she is left with only questions. Vivi files the information away for future contemplation, distracted when the van’s back doors open unexpectedly.

Both her and Mystery pause and glance at each other. 

Cautiously, she pulls it fully open and peers in. The first thing she notes is Arthur’s keyring, sitting discarded atop a mess of upturned boxes and camping gear. It looks like it had been tossed aside without thought or care. Arthur always took good care of the van’s keys, carrying them on him at all times, so it immediately strikes her as odd. But then, it isn’t only Arthur that they're dealing with.

“Weird,” She mutters, reaching to pick them up.

/Do not touch that./

She freezes, hand hovering. Mystery leaps up into the van, knocking over an open container of cooking utensils which rattle out onto the rocks, clanking off the hard surface. He sniffs the keys, huffing with disgust.

/It is covered in blood. It has a similar scent to that car. Also, I fear I smell Lance’s blood here as well…/ Mystery flicks the keys with his nose so they clatter to the ground at her feet, turning to clamber around the van, snuffling as he goes.

“Lance’s blood…” Vivi repeats, stomach sinking. There’s a lot of dirt -which probably isn’t dirt- covering the pocket knife Arthur has attached to his keys. Blood.

/Hmmm…this does not appear promising./ Mystery pops out of the van again, holding a piece of cloth in his teeth. He jumps free and drops the fabric onto the ground next to the keyring. She bends to pick it up, pinching a corner so she can lift it without touching anything. It’s one of Arthur’s shirts, apricot in colour, and splattered with darkened brown stains. More blood. She thinks she recognises the shirt as the one he had been wearing at the motel.  

/Whoever this second individual is, their smell is all over the van./

Vivi frowns, clenching her fist. “Do you think they’re dead?”

/Most likely./

“…Shit…”

She tosses the shirt back into the van, bending to pick up the keyring, carefully detaching the keys before throwing the pocketknife after the shirt. She slams the doors, breathing heavily, hands resting on the metal. She rides out a sudden wave of nausea threatening her merger lunch. So there had been a third person involved. Probably, this person was someone Arthur knew. Arthur had most likely been an unwilling accessory to the murder of someone he knew. That's not counting being forced to attack his uncle. Poor Arthur. She can’t even imagine what it must have been like. If only she’d got to him faster. If only she’d gone out to help him after Arthur’s fight with Lewis back at the motel. If she’d been with him that morning then she could have stopped him from running off to check his uncle all alone. Instead,  she’d decided to stay and console Lewis first. The wrong decision. She’d failed them both.

/Arthur would not have been able to stop this violence. These parasitic creatures are masters of all forms of manipulation./

“I’m not…I wouldn’t blame Arthur. Never,” She hisses.  Herself on the other hand….

/Neither is it your fault./ Mystery continues as if reading her mind /You could not have known. I should have been the one to act. I suspected foul play long before it was confirmed./

“You’re the family pet. I’m his best friend. I should have done something sooner.” Her voice sounds uncharacteristically hash even to her own ears. She ignores how Mystery grimaces.

“Whatever. Doesn’t matter now. I need to get rid of this evidence or Arthur’s going to get caught up in whatever ongoing investigation spawns when the police realise that whoever owned that other car is missing.” She still doesn’t know who this person is, and she doesn’t particularly care. Arthur would care probably. She didn’t.  Whether they were an employee of Kingsman Mechanics, a friend of Lance’s, some Tempo resident, it didn’t matter. All that mattered now was keeping Arthur as safe as possible with what little ability she had and if that meant destroying evidence then so be it.

She takes a breath, energised now she’s sure of her next move.

“We can’t leave the van here. Luckily, no one’s found it yet but we can’t count on that to continue.” As she speaks, she walks back around to the front seat, key in hand. Mystery follows. “There’s a ton of evidence here. Blood splatters, hair fibres, fingerprints. That’s not including Arthur’s pocketknife as a possible murder weapon.”

/You plan to hide the van./

“No. Not good enough. I don’t want this to come back and bite us later.”

She’s done making bad choices. Vivi starts up the engine and the van jerks rattling like it needs some proper maintenance. Arthur would have never let it get into such a state. She ignores the pang of guilt, driving recklessly over the rocks, dirt and sand and back onto the road. For what she has planned, the van wouldn’t need to be in any sort of drivable condition for much longer

“We’ll burn it,” She elaborates once they are back on the highway.  “That way, even if it is found, no one will be able to tie it to any missing person case resulting from that thing controlling Arthur. In theory anyway...”

She knows a place that is secluded enough that she would probably be able to get away with setting the van on fire and not draw a ton of attention. A place where she could leave it and not have it immediately discovered. Somewhere that wasn’t so far away meaning it would be possible for her to walk back to the diner with Mystery after she was done.

“Can you cast an illusion big enough to hide the flames?” She is sure she’s acting overly paranoid now but better safe than sorry. Though secluded, the area she’s thinking of is still in view of the road.

/I will have to transform to expand my illusion's range./

“Right.” Vivi glances at Mystery who’s taken his usual position beside her in the front. The concern is still creasing his expression and she quickly refocuses on the road. The last time she had seen Mystery’s kitsune form had been that night. Not a pleasant memory. The sight of Mystery looming over Lewis, all teeth and raw natural fury, glowing bright against an almost black backdrop, had been a constant in the recent spate of nightmares which had spawned from the event. Not that she had slept enough to have many nightmares.

The rest of the trip is silent and, in-between bouts of nervous energy, Vivi can almost pretend she is back with Arthur and Lewis, checking out some new local ghost sighting, laughing and joking. It is a short-lived reprieve as she is quickly turning into the small clearing, sandwiched between rock formations and overlooking a three-meter drop into a small ravine. Supposedly, the area was haunted by some disgruntled cattle rustler, run afoul of the law, chased into the ravine during ye-oldie times.  She feels silly thinking back on how serious she’d taken that investigation. 

“Was any of this stuff anywhere near real?” She asks, driving the van as close the edge as possible.

/ I believe most occurrences of the supernatural, as humans understand it, are merely echoes of past interference./  Mystery scans the cliffs, /If there was any otherworldly influence here, it has long faded./

“I guess that makes sense.” She mutters, distracted as she eyes the vegetation around her. It is sparse, so she doesn’t think it’ll be much of a fire hazard.

“You’ll be able to stop this from spreading and starting any other fires, right?”

Mystery hums to himself and begins to glow. Particles of light cling to his coat like dust motes, fading into the air around him. Unlike that night, the transformation is smooth, air shimmering and flowing over his physical form like water as he expanded to take up more space. Five tails fan out, splitting away from each other, opening like the petals of a flower before swaying languidly from side to side in an almost hypnotic pattern. 

/In this form I can stifle the flames if they become too much or contain the fire within a barrier./

Her breath catches and she nods stiffly, barely hearing him, too focused on how Mystery’s eyes flash bright red when he speaks. Bright, brilliant, red. Her hesitation is spotted and Mystery lowers head and tails, making himself smaller.

/I frighten you?/

Maybe it’s the lack of life-threatening conditions but Mystery's presence is not as dominating as it had been that night. There is less force behind his voice. Less raw anger. Even his tails seam to sag like they are taking on too much weight.

/I am sorr…/

“Save it…” She interrupts what was sure to be another in a long line of empty apologies, “Just… stand a bit over there, okay.”

Mystery seems to deflate further, wilting like a dying plant wanting for rain. The anxiety in her chest loosens ever so slightly.

With only the slightest hint of further hesitation, she begins riffling through the van's camping gear, pulling out a small jerrycan of fuel and dumping it out over the vehicle's interior. Next, she’s digging around for the fire starters and any spare lighter fluid to increase flammability. Out comes the blue zippo lighter with cool snowflake patterning.  She holds it indecisively, flipping it open. The small flame dances, bright in the night-time. Funnily, this will be the first time she uses this lighter. First and last.

This was it. Goodbye van. The van that had been a feature of her friendship with Arthur and Lewis for almost as long as she’d known them.

"Sorry Arthur.”  Another apology for the collection.  

She throws the lighter through the van’s open back doors. The fuel catches and flames spring up, spreading quickly. Soon, long tongues of fire are licking at the windows. A series of small cracks appear in the glass, spiderwebbing out. The heat is intense and she backs away so as not to accidentally burn herself. Sounds of snapping and popping echo in the ravine, the noise trapped by the rocks and cliffs.  Vivi watches the interior of the van blacken, metal reddening and warping. Dark smoke twists upward and disappears into the night.

.

Note: An update in honour of the new MSA: Future :) Enjoy!

Part 41: here