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a-simple-gaywitch · 2 years

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Amidst the Chaos

Spencer Reid x Reader

Summary: Spencer and (Y/N) didn't get along, and it annoyed the whole BAU. But when a traumatized (Y/N) shows up at Spencer's apartment late one night, their whole relationship shifts

Warnings: PTSD, trauma, references to torture, other canon-typical topics

Word Count: 3827

Author’s Note: not necessarily my best fic, but i’ve been working on it for over a year so... here it is

Orpheus - Sara Bareilles

AO3 Link

“Don't stop trying to find me here amidst the chaos. Though I know it's blinding, there's a way out.” ~ Sara Bareilles, Orpheus

“Guys, I want you to meet our newest team member,” Hotch said to the BAU as they settled around the table. “This is Agent (Y/N) (L/N).”

You gave a shy wave to the group in front of you, but your smile was bright enough to light up the entire room. “Hi.”

“She’s coming to us from Organized Crime. I trust that you’ll all welcome her to the team.”

“Honestly, I’m just happy to be given a chance to work with all of you. It’s been my dream to work at the BAU for years.”

“We’ll have time to get to know Agent (L/N) better on the plane. But for now, we have a case,” Hotch said. “JJ?”

“So,” Derek said, taking a seat next to you on the jet. “What was Organized Crime like?”

“Honestly? Boring as all hell. It was mostly stopping money laundering and drug cartels,” you said. “Not as glamorous as Goodfellas makes it seem. Besides, the BAU was always my end goal anyway.”

He chuckled a bit. “Yeah, I get that. We’re glad to have you on our team. ” The conversation between you and Morgan flowed easily and before you knew it, you had become like brother and sister. The rest of the team grew to love you too. Well, most of the team.

Spencer seemed icy and cold toward you, and no one could offer a valid explanation. By all accounts, you should have gotten along. You loved Halloween just as much as Spencer did and you always had at least 3 books on your person at a time. You had a borderline unhealthy addiction to caffeine and sugar and spent more time in the office than your apartment. But for some reason, you and Spencer just seemed to constantly be at each other’s throats.

In your defense, Reid had started it.

For whatever reason, Reid disliked you right out the gate. He tried to be civil toward you, but something about you just bothered him.

He originally just tried to avoid you when he could, but with the nature of the team’s dynamic, that didn’t work out well.

Spencer found himself doing small, petty things to annoy you, like putting your favorite mug on the top shelf where you couldn’t reach it or borrowing your pens and “forgetting” to return them. Something about seeing you mildly inconvenienced and annoyed as opposed to your normally happy and bubbly self made him feel better. He knew it was fucked up of him.

Eventually, the animosity became mutual. You and Spencer were rarely paired together on cases because Hotch couldn’t stand the constant arguing between the two of you. Mostly, Hotch tended to pair you with Derek who you began to see as a brother.

Spencer would never admit it, but seeing you and Derek be as close as you were stirred some kind of jealousy in him. He figured it was just because he had been friends with Morgan first, that was all.

Local cases were always extra stressful on the team. Something about unsubs being so close to home made the cases more personal. As such, tensions were running high and no one had slept in over 24 hours as the team worked to nail down a profile.

“This doesn’t make sense,” you muttered as you looked over the crime scene photos. “The crime profiles as disorganized but the victimology and timeline profile him as organized.”

“How you doing there, Pretty Girl?” Morgan asked, setting down a carrier of coffee cups.

You sighed and picked up the cup with your name scrawled on it. “There’s discrepancies in our preliminary profile and I can’t…”

“Did you try comparing notes with Reid?”

“Derek, I love you, but are you insane?”

“I’m serious, (Y/N).”

“So am I. Any time I try to have any kind of civilized conversation with that man he turns it into an argument.”

Thankfully, Hotch came into the room at that point, stopping the conversation. “We have two potential leads. Morgan, you’re going with Blake to the first address. (L/N), you and Reid are going to the second.” Hotch tossed you both keys for SUVs. “Reid and Blake have the files. They’ll fill you in on the drive.”

“Yes, sir.” You grabbed your coffee from the table, along with Reid’s, and headed out to the car. When you got to the parking lot, Reid was already leaning against the car, flipping through a file folder. “Reid. Here.”

As you handed him the coffee, he said, “What, was everyone else busy?”

You rolled your eyes. “I don’t know. I’m just following Hotch’s orders.” You unlocked the car and climbed in. “Where are we going?”

“21 Rock Creek Road, Somerset. We’re interviewing Linda Walsh, the neighbor of our first victim, Savanna Curtis.”

“Great. Can you type it into the GPS?”

“Why? I can just give you the directions.”

“Because the GPS is more accurate.”

“(L/N), I have an eidetic memor-”

“Eidetic memory, I know. But you’re telling me your memory can predict traffic patterns? I don’t think so. Just use the damn GPS.”

“Fine.” Spencer typed the address in, muttering under his breath.

“Thank you. What information do we have on Walsh?”

“72 years old, she was reportedly in the house when Curtis was attacked and taken to the secondary location. Hotch wants us to interview her and see if she noticed anything that might help us with the profile.”

Soon enough, the two of you pulled up to the witness’s house. Before even getting out of the car, you felt like something was wrong.

”Wait, Reid.” You grabbed his arm as he reached for the door handle. “Something about this doesn’t feel right.”

“What do you mean?”

“Look at the windows. All of them are dark. Not even a television glow. Something’s off.”

“I hate to say it, but you’re right.”

You hopped out of the car and pulled your gun from your side, following Reid up the path to the house. He knocked on the front door.

“I don’t hear anything from inside.” He knocked again. “Go around the back, see if you can get in that way.”

You nodded and walked around the house. You could hear Reid continuing to knock as you went around. As you rounded the corner, a sharp pain entered your shoulder. You yelled and turned around, but not before a blunt object hit you in the temple and your vision faded.

Spencer was panicking. You were missing, and it was his fault. He was pacing in the front yard of Walsh’s home while the team and the local authorities worked to catch up.

“Reid, what happened?” Hotch asked. “We need everything.”

Spencer relayed every detail from the moment the two of you pulled up to the house, still pacing. “I shouldn’t have told her to go off on her own, it’s my fault-”

“Kid, breathe,” Morgan told him. “You didn’t know this would happen. What’s important now is finding her and bringing her home safe.”

The team did a thorough inspection on Mrs. Walsh’s home and learned a good deal. Mrs. Walsh wasn’t home, as was reported. However, her son, Devin, was clearly staying with her. It didn’t take the team long to figure out he was the unsub.

When you awoke, you were in a secondary location. Your head was throbbing behind your eyes and your shoulder was in agony. Your arms were tied behind your back, but that was the only restraint to your mobility. You looked around, trying to figure out where you were. It was a large, open space, you guessed a warehouse, probably abandoned. It was dark, except for the glow of the streetlights outside and an industrial lamp in the center of the room. You didn’t have much time to assess your surroundings, though, because Walsh was waiting for you to wake up.

You knew the facts of the case. You saw the photos. He kept the women for 24 hours, torturing them until their bodies were barely recognizable. Then, he’d kill and dump them.

But you also knew your team. They were relentless. And they would save you.

“We’ve seen what he does to his victims. We’re in a race against the clock here,” Morgan argued with Hotch.

“But we still have to keep our heads and follow the law. If we don’t get a warrant, any evidence we do find goes right out the window.”

“Guys, Garcia found something,” JJ said. She put her phone on speaker. “Go ahead, Garcia.”

“So, Walsh’s dear old dad was the owner of a warehouse in the 80s. The warehouse is still in his name but has since been abandoned. And before you even ask, yes, I sent you the address.”

The SUVs pulled up to the warehouse and the team jumped out. The plan was to enter the building slow and quiet, but that changed when they heard you scream, followed by a gunshot. Then, everything went silent. Completely silent.

Everyone rushed into the building. The team was terrified of what they were about to find. What they saw, no one could have expected.

You were lying unconscious on the floor, in a pool of blood. Also on the floor, with a bullet hole through his forehead, was Devin Walsh. Standing with a gun in her hands was 72 year old Linda Walsh, tears running down her face.

“I had to,” she said, looking at Hotch. “He was gonna kill her.”

“We need a medic!”

The team was sitting around your hospital bed. The doctor had said you probably wouldn’t wake up for a while, but they were determined to have someone there with you when you did.

“We should take shifts,” JJ suggested. “That way there’s always someone here and the rest of us can get some rest, too.”

“That’s a good idea. Dave and I can take the first shift,” Hotch said. “We’ll do four-hour rotations in pairs.”

They talked through who would pair up and take what rotations before Rossi shooed the rest of the team out.

Eventually, Reid and Morgan were on their “shift.” Morgan glanced over at Reid, who was staring at the same page of a book.

“You ever gonna flip that page?”

“What if she doesn’t wake up?”

“Kid, you heard the doctor. She will.”

“But what if she doesn’t? It would be my fault. I’m the one who made her go off by herself. We were supposed to be a team and I couldn’t see past-” He cut himself off, shaking his head.

“Hey,” Morgan put his hand on Spencer’s shoulder, “it’ll be okay, Reid. I’m gonna go grab a coffee. Want one?”

“Sure.” After Morgan left, Spencer looked at you and sighed. Your body was wrapped in casts and bandages. “Hey, (L/N),” he said, reaching out and resting his hand on top of yours.

One thing you didn’t expect about being in a medically induced coma was to still hear everything going on around you. You could hear the doctors and nurses moving about your room. You could hear your teammates. You heard Hotch and Rossi talking about the paperwork they’d have to file on the case because an agent had been seriously injured. You heard the music Penelope insisted on playing, and you heard Spencer.

“Hey, (L/N),” you heard him say. “I don’t know if you can hear me but,” he took a deep breath, “I’m sorry. Not just for this. I mean, obviously for this. I never should have split us up, I never should have sent you around the back of the house, I never should have-” he stopped himself. You could hear the tightness in his voice. Was he crying? No, Reid wouldn’t be crying over you. Would he? But he continued. “I was awful to you. I mean, I was an asshole,” he said with a dry laugh. “There’s no other word for it. I was an asshole to you and there was no excuse. I’m so sorry, (Y/N). I-”

“One cup of sugar with a splash of coffee,” Derek said, coming back into the room.

“Thanks.” Reid took the cup in both his hands, grateful for a distraction from his guilt.

“Any change?”

He shook his head. “None.”

Derek sighed. “You know, part of me was really hoping she’d wake up in the five minutes I was gone.” He gripped your hand that wasn’t casted up. “We miss you, Pretty Girl.”

Your coma lasted for about 3 weeks. The doctors kept you in the hospital for observation for another full week before finally letting you go home.

During your recovery, your apartment was practically a revolving door. Just about the entire team came by to check on you and keep you company, with the exception of Spencer. You couldn’t say you were too surprised. However, something about it upset you. Hell, even Hotch and Rossi took the time to stop by and check on you.

Derek and Penelope were probably your most frequent visitors. You were honestly grateful for their visits, and for the help it brought. With your injuries, simple day-to-day tasks were more difficult for you, and Penelope and Derek were more than happy to help you out. Derek took your grocery list and all your other errands while Penelope helped around your apartment. You were even more grateful when they forced you to attend a dinner party at Rossi’s. Penelope was at your apartment, helping you pick out a dress for the event.

“I don’t know, Pen.”

“(Y/N), I’m telling you, purple is your color.”

“Yeah, but I don’t want my dress to match my bruises.”

Penelope just rolled her eyes and tossed the dress on your bed. “Do you really think I’d pick out a dress that didn’t make you look good? Let’s go, you haven’t had a proper shower in a week.”

Penelope helped you get ready for the dinner party before getting ready herself. She helped adjust the strap of your brace when your doorbell buzzed.

“That’ll be Derek,” you said. Penelope answered the door to Derek standing outside, leaning against your doorframe.

“Well, look at these pretty ladies. You ready to go?”

“Yeah, I need to get out of this house,” you said. “I haven’t seen anything but these walls in weeks.”

When you pulled into Rossi’s driveway, you were more than excited to see the team. The team, in turn, was excited to see you. You were smiling and laughing, more and more of your normal self.

When Spencer saw you walk through Rossi’s front door on your crutches, a lump formed in his throat. Ever since seeing you in the hospital, he’d been wracked with guilt. It was the main reason why he hadn’t visited you like everyone else. He tried to avoid you the whole night. Thankfully, you were so happy to be with the others that you didn’t seem to notice. But Blake did.

“Okay, what’s going on with you?” she asked Spencer, handing him a drink.

“What are you talking about?”

“You’re avoiding everyone tonight. Why?” When Spencer stayed silent, Blake followed his line of sight. He was watching you talking with JJ. “Ah. Why don’t you go talk to her?”

“I can’t, Alex. Believe me, I’ve tried. For months. Any time I try and have just a normal goddamn conversation with her, what comes out is sarcastic and cruel. I-I don’t know why it happens.” He ran his hands over his face and groaned.

“You’re in love with her.” Blake wasn’t saying it as a question. Seeing the panic in his eyes, she said, “Don’t worry, it’ll stay with me.”

The heavy sheets of rain outside pounded against the apartment windows. It was the kind of cold rain that seeped into your bones, despite a warm home. It was late, but Spencer was still awake, reading. He couldn’t sleep, which wasn’t unusual for him. He heard a knock on his door. Spencer set his book down on his coffee table before walking to his door. He glanced out the peephole and took a step back in shock. Spencer opened the door to see you standing there, soaked and visibly shivering, in only your pajamas. Your eyes were bloodshot and you were sniffling.

“(L/N)? What are you-”

“I’m sorry. I know you probably don’t want me here and I don’t even know how I ended up here, I just started walking and-”

“Wait, wait, you walked here? In the torrential downpour?” When you nodded, Spencer opened his door wider. “Here, come in. You must be freezing. What happened?”

You stepped through his door and began to ramble, “I don’t know. I woke up from a nightmare and I knew I-I couldn’t stay in my apartment alone so I just started walking and somehow I ended up here and I’m sorry.” Your teeth were chattering as you continued to shiver.

Spencer grabbed a blanket off the back of his couch and draped it around you. “No, no, it’s, um-” Spencer cleared his throat. “Do you want to talk about it? I’ve found that sometimes just saying it out loud helps.”

Once you nodded, Spencer held his hand out and led you over to his couch. You were silent for a few moments, staring out the window at the rain streaming down.

“I was back… there,” you said when you finally started talking. “In the dark. I-I couldn’t see anything but I knew he was there. Then I felt his hands on my throat and-” You cut yourself off, shaking your head. Your whole body was shivering, but Spencer didn’t think it was from the cold anymore.

Spencer moved to put his arm around you but stopped, dropping his arm back to his side. “I know how you feel,” he said. “After Hankle, I couldn’t handle looking at the crime scene photos because I knew what the victims were thinking right… you know… right before.”

“Do they ever stop? The nightmares?”

“I don’t know. Mine haven’t.” When he saw the defeat on your face, he added, “But it does get easier.”

You nodded, still staring out at the pouring rain. You cleared your throat. “Well, uh, I’ll, um, I’ll call a taxi and get out of your hair.”

“You don’t- uh, you can stay, um, if-if you want,” Spencer said.

“Reid, I don’t want to impose-”

“You wouldn’t be!” Spencer assured you. “I could use the company, actually. I’ve been trying to find someone to watch Stardust with me. Penelope says I need to watch more pop culture and I know you’re a fan of Neil Gaiman.” He gave you a soft smile. “Please, (Y/N), stay. I promise, you’re not imposing.”

When he saw your face crack into a small smile, he felt a swarm of butterflies rise in his stomach. “Okay,” you said.

About halfway through the movie, Spencer felt you slump against his shoulder. Before he knew it, you were fast asleep. He was frozen there, not wanting to disturb you. He knew how rough the past few months had been, and it was obvious to everyone you weren’t sleeping. Maybe it was the guilt, maybe it was more, but Spencer felt like it was now his responsibility to take care of you, if you would let him.

The whole team noticed the shift between you and Reid. Where you would previously stay as far from each other as possible, you were now actively seeking each other out. You chose to sit next to each other in the briefing room and on the jet, something you had never done before. On the trips back from cases, you would rest your head on Reid’s shoulder and sleep while he read a book. But, no one said anything about any of it. No one wanted to burst whatever weird bubble was surrounding the BAU team.

That was, until Blake, Derek, and JJ spotted you knocking on Spencer’s motel door one night during a case. The two were sitting up in the lounge going over the case files yet again when they spotted you, in your pajamas, sneaking out of your own room.

After watching you slip into Spencer’s room, JJ said, “You don’t think they’re…”

“Reid and (L/N)? No, there’s no way. They can’t stand each other.”

“Well, they do say there’s a thin line between love and hate,” Alex noted, turning the page in her book.

“I don’t know about you two, but I need to know what’s going on,” Derek said, getting up from the couch.

“I’m coming with you!”

“Guys, I really don’t think that’s a good idea,” Alex warned. “Just talk to them about it in the morning.”

“Do you know something, Alex?” JJ asked.

“Even if I did know something, it wouldn’t be my place to tell you.”

The next morning, you felt eyes on you as you drank your coffee. You looked up from the case file to see Derek staring at you.

“What?”

“Were you going to tell me about you and Reid or…”

“What are you talking about? Me and Reid?”

“(Y/N), come on. You two are practically attached at the hip when just two weeks ago you couldn’t fucking stand each other.”

You shrugged. “We worked out our differences, I don’t know what to tell you.”

“Alright, what about you sneaking off to his room last night?”

Your face paled. “It’s not what it looked like.”

“Care to explain then?”

You sighed, looking around to make sure it was just you and Morgan. “You know I haven’t been sleeping since, well, everything.” Derek nodded. “Well, a few nights ago I ended up at Reid’s apartment in a panic. It was pouring out so he let me just stay and I slept better than I had in years. And, you know, he’s not too bad to hang out with either,” your face flushed with your last statement.

“You’re not too bad to hang out with either.”

You jumped, turning around to see Spencer in the doorway with cups of (good) coffee in his arms.

“Spencer, when did-”

He handed you a frappuccino. “Just now. I take it you weren’t as sneaky as you thought?”

“Shut up,” you whined, nudging him with your arm as you stuck a straw in your drink. Spencer just laughed and took a seat next to you.

“So, you’re just, like, friends now?”

You and Spencer looked at each other, seemingly having a conversation without speaking.

“I mean, I’d say we’re a bit more than just friends,” you admitted, smiling at Spencer. He kissed the top of your head.

“Damn, I owe JJ 10 bucks,” Derek muttered before saying, “But seriously, I’m happy for you two. It’s about time you realized you were perfect for each other.”

#spencer reid x reader #spencer reid #x reader #criminal minds #criminal minds x reader #bau x reader #em's fics

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butcherlarry · 5 months

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Weekly Fic Rec 48

JFC IT'S COLD! At least where I'm at (negative degrees Fahrenheit). If it's cold where you're at, stay inside, get cozy, and read some good fics! Here are some recs!

First time for everything (or the time when Batman slept on the job) by PinkGold - Superbat, complete. A lovely fluffy fic about Batman being sleepy and Superman taking him to bed.

sever the blight by TheResurrectionist - Batfam, complete. The JL and Batkids get stranded on a planet with little to no food. Bruce gives his food rations to his kids. Much angst, especially for Superman :(

Patchwork Pod by Ktkat9 - Superbat, wip. More mer Bruce fic! More adorable sheep!

Broken Bones by Elegitre - Batfam, wip. Wing fic! Baby stalker Tim gets and injuried wing when stalking his favorite vigilantes. Luckily, Batman and Robin are there to help.

A Brief Respite by teeslover - Superbat, complete. Another eepy Batman fic, this time Robin is there!

Emergency Contact by Elegitre - Batfam, wip. An update of the fic where Tim lists Bruce as his emergency contact and gets injured. Bruce forgor to tell Jason about Tim. Angst ensues.

Mission: seducing Superman by Speechless_since_1998 - Superbat, wip. Bruce has acquired a Cass and is getting ready for a date with Clark. Talia has also entered the chat.

Coffee Mugs by Ktkat9 - Superbat, complete. Clark breaks his favorite mug :( Bruce finds him a new one :)

Double, Double, Toil and Trouble by HummusandPeeta - Superbat, complete. Bruce gets cursed by a witch, and for some reason, Clark starts to get sick.

reap what you sow by ShowMeAHero - Superbat, complete. Clark gets kidnapped and ransomed. Bruce (not Batman) saves the day.

Just A Little Bit... by HaleHathNoFury (My_Trex_has_fleas) - Superbat, wip. An update to this Alien Clark and Eldritch Bruce fic. The batfam is reunited, but Clark finds out Lex has been doing some Shenanigans.

gentle but overwhelming by OkayAristotle - Superbat, complete. Bruce gets severely injured, Clark goes a little overboard with the "Get Well Soon" flowers.

we shall be free; we shall find peace by mediant - Superbat & Superfam, wip. Clark and Kon have a talk, Lex sends Clark on a mission to bug Bruce Wayne's computer. I am chewing on my nails, I'm so nervous (and excited!!!) to read what happens next! :D

The Brothers Wayne by HaleHathNoFury (My_Trex_has_fleas) - Superbat & Batfam, wip. Bruce is still freaking out about his brother (Wade Wilson) visiting the manor. Kate stops by to (not) help, heehee.

The Big Night by Elegitre - Batfam, complete. Bruce finds toddler Tim wandering around alone at a gala. He falls in love with this lost child instantly. But where are Tim's parents?

Happy Reading!

#weekly fic recs #fic recs #fanfic recs #fanfiction reccomendations #superbat #batman #bruce wayne #superman #clark kent #batfam #fic rec #holy moly it's cold here!#but I still went out birding #like a crazy person #saw some neat birds tho!

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yelenasdiary · 27 days

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Forbidden || Chapter III Stranger

Pairing: Yelena Belova x Bishop! Reader.

Summary: Just outside of the small town of Blisswater, lives two young sisters, Kate & Y/n Bishop. It's hard not to know who the Bishops are, Kate is the eldest by a year. She is a beautiful young woman, smart, protective and is known to have a talent in using a bow. Y/n, she is shy but quiet as some would say but nevertheless, she holds her own talents and can often be seen tending to the animals of Bishop Ranch. One evening while Kate is out hunting to make some money, Y/n is surprised with an unwanted guest, Yelena Belova. A bounty Hunter from Drybellow who has taken shelter in the young Bishop's barn after being wounded from a gun fight.

Struggling to keep money following, Y/n has no choice but to take the bounty hunter's offer of $5 a day if she is able to help the woman recover. During Yelena's stay, the two grow closer, a little too close if the wrong pair of eyes were to see them.

Warnings:Homophobia (given the time setting, reader believes same sex relations are wrong), Mentions of sexism, Mentions of arson, Parental Death (Wanda’s), Mentions of Guns, Mentions of Murder, Unwanted Male Attention | 3.2K

Forbidden Masterlist

The sun ever so slightly peaked over the open land telling me I had woken up earlier than I normally would. It was still dark out, the dark clouds covering the sky as rain continued to cover the land. I assumed it was the deep fear of Kate stumbling into my room and seeing a complete stranger in my bed that I had woken up earlier, I knew I had to be up before her and keep her from finding out. I sat up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. I'm still so worried about Yelena, she looked so peaceful sleeping but still wasn't out of the woods. Wanda should hopefully be back from wherever she has gone tomorrow, I wish had given me a rough time as to when she'd be stopping by.

I quietly crept out of my room to get Yelena's herbal tea ready before she woke up, placing it on the small wooden bedside table. She turned in her sleep, slowly opening her eyes, she greeted me with a soft smile that made me feel warm. I smiled back, "good morning" I whispered, "I didn't mean to wake you. I just brought in your morning tea. Wanda should be back tomorrow so only 2 or 3 more mugs of this tea!" I assured her. She made the effort to side up, taking the mug to warm her hands.

The weather was a little on the colder end, the storm last night hasn't ended. The sound of rain drops falling on the wood roof was one of my favorite sounds, I wasn't prepared to see the mess the wild wings had caused.

"You know, I'm surprised this tea seems to be working. I don't feel like my temperance is a high today. Who is this magical woman with the herbal goods?" Yelena replied in a whisperer.

"Most people around her actually believe she's magical. She's lovely and I hope you get to meet her one day"

"Wait, you go this tea from a witch?" Yelena asked, cocking her brow.

"She's not a witch. She's misunderstood" I correct her, "before she moved her, she used to live in a large city well over the Grand Point Mountains. She grew up there with her parents and twin brother. Her parents owned one of the smaller post offices just outside the city and on weekends Wanda would help her mother while Pietro would be off doing something with their dad. Wanda's mother let her sell stuff for a few cents, but people believed she was experimenting in witchcraft and began to harass her family. One night before closing, her parents were locked in the build as it was set on fire. Her parents died in the flames, leaving Wanda and Pietro to leave the city" I explained.

"What do you think? Do you think she's a witch like everybody else?" Yelena asked after a moment of silence. I shrugged, "what she is and what she isn't has no effect on me. She's kind to me and has never given me a reason to be cruel to her. Word travels and now the people in Blisswater treat her with no respect"

Yelena hummed at my reply before she took a mouthful of her tea, "you're a very interesting person, Y/n Bishop" she spoke after letting the tea warm her insides.

I'm not sure why but the way she said my name made my stomach flutter and I found myself unable to look her in the eyes. "Well, I could say the same about you, bounty hunter Yelena Belova" I replied.

"I'm not near as interesting as you are" she said, taking another mouthful of her tea. I looked at her, "I'm not sure what you find so interesting about me, I've never done anything as cool as you. I mean, you get to be a bounty hunter! You're free to travel the land for free, you can handle yourself in many situations but me? All I know is Blisswater and it's surroundings"

Yelena placed her mug back on the wooden table before she looked up at me, "that's how you see things? I haven't seen much, but I've heard enough" she says, "that peter boy, he's head over heels for you and he's not a bad looking guy. But you don't look twice at him, why is that?" she asked.

"Peter has been in love with me since he learned the word love. I don't know what love feels like when it's not for your family, but I know that what he feels for me isn't what I feel for him"

"Are you to marry him?" Yelena asked. I shook my head, "my father thinks he's a wonderful young gentlemen and would like to see me marry him, but he always says he just wants me to be happy. My mother says that one day I will have to find somebody because this world isn't made for women on their own" I replied.

Yelena cocked a brow at my last sentence, "but you are clearly proof that a woman can do just fine on her own" I quickly added. She chuckled lightly making my cheeks once again have a warm sensation to them. "Is there anything else I can do for you?" I asked to break any silence that may have come next.

"You know, you should probably tell your sister that I am here, it might make things easier for you" she chuckled lightly once more, "I need to use the toilet, so I guess, whenever you think it's safe, let me know" she added.

"Of course, um, Kate and I are probably going to make a trip to town to sell the elk meat so we'll be gone for a little while" I replied, "but I can't tell her about you, not until I find the right time to explain things" I added with a nervous smile. Yelena took another mouthful of her tea before giving me a nod, "yes ma'am" she said.

I smiled softly just before I heard Kate letting Lucky out the back door, "and on that note, I'll be back when I can" I said in a whisperer before leaving my room, greeting Kate with a stretch. "Good morning" I smiled.

"If you say so" she replied, she was never much of a morning person until she'd had a coffee to wake herself up a little. I followed her into the kitchen and took a seat at the dining table as she began to make her coffee. "So, did you want to get lunch at the saloon today? Something different for once" I suggested, wanting to earn Yelena some extra time to relax without worrying.

"Sounds good to me, doesn't look like the rain is going to let up anytime soon. We'll sell the elk meat to the butcher and grab a few things from Mr Barton then we can get some lunch"

"Maybe we could even stop by the post office and see if there is anything from mom and dad" I added. Kate turned and smiled softly to me, almost as if she didn't want to make me worry but I knew deep down she had her own theories about where our parents were.

"Sure, won't hurt to check" she replied, pouring her hot coffee into a tin mug.

"I'll go get dressed and feed Arrow and Lucky while I wait for you" I said, excusing myself from the kitchen and returning to my room.

"Why the long face?" Yelena whispered. I opened my dresser and began to pick out my outfit, trying not to let my mind think about how much I missed my parents. "I wouldn't want to bother you with my problems" I replied as I grabbed a top.

"I'm pretty sure I would win that argument but it's okay, you don't have to talk about it, I am a stranger after all"

I couldn't help but sigh, I wasn't sighing at Yelena or her comment but because I missed my parents. How could they have just disappeared? Deep down I know something has happened to them, but I try my best to ignore that thought and think maybe they are just so busy, and father is caught up on a business deal. I turned to Yelena, my shoulders felt heavy, and I could feel tears trying to break their way through.

"My parents have been missing for months. Not a single letter in the mail from them. I'm just worried about them is all" I whispered, fighting back my tears.

There was a brief moment of silence before Yelena spoke again, "How about when I'm better, I'll see what I can find out" she offered. My eyes widened at the offer but quickly remembered to keep quiet. "Would you? I mean, I wouldn't want to put you out in any way, I just" I paused for a moment as my mind flashed back to the last memory I had of my parents. Father helped mother up onto the wagon before loading the last of their luggage, a smile from mother as she waved goodbye, reminding Kate and I to be safe.

I remember the night before they left, father came into my room and told me how he was going to bring me back some paint that would last me a good few months. He said he missed my paintings and wanted me to paint him and mother something wonderful to hang up in the living room.

"I miss them so much" I finally added.

"Then I must recovery quickly then" Yelena threw me a playful wink. Her gesture made me smile softly before I turned to close the dresser, "do you mind?" I asked kindly. Yelena nodded and pulled my bed cover over my head to allow me to get dressed, I got dressed as quickly as I could just so I could spare a few small minutes with Yelena.

"Do you think maybe a little later you could share some more of your bunty hunting stories?" I asked in a whisper as I fixed my hair in the mirror. Yelena slowly pulled the covers off her head and looked at me through the mirror, "I think I could do that" she smiled softly.

"Y/n, are you ready?" I heard Kate call.

"Coming!" I called back, "I'll see you later" I said quietly to Yelena before leaving the room and meeting Kate in the kitchen again. "It looks like the rain is starting to pick up, I'll go feed Arrow, you feed Lucky and then we'll go" my sister said, downing the last mouthful of her coffee before placing her mug in the sink.

---

We sold the elk meat and made $8 but the butcher, Mr Austin always likes to give Kate a little extra. You'll find that almost everybody in Blisswater is generous and friendly, we all help each other out. It's almost like we are one giant family! After that, we made our way to Mr Barton.

"Good morning girls!" He greeted us with a warm smile.

"Morning!" Kate replied shortly after me.

"What can I do for you this morning?" Mr Barton asked, putting away a revolver in the lock up behind him. "I just need some new arrows, went hunting the other day and lost a few" Kate replied as she made her way over to the arrows. "Catch anything worth it?" He asked.

"An elk, not bad skin but could've been better" Kate said.

These two always bond over their hunting skills and love for hunting, he's taught Kate a few tips and tricks when it comes to using a bow. Usually, I just stand in the background and wait for their conversations to be over with but this morning, Mr Barton's daughter, Lila, was helping him today.

"They talk a lot, don't they?" She smiled at me. I chuckled, "they do"

"Is there anything I can do for you?" She asked me, I shook my head, "I'm just here with Kate, she needs new arrows! How's Cooper?" I asked, that's her older brother.

"He is fine, he's was supposed to help father today but mother needed a man's help back home so I swapped" she explained, "hey did you hear about the gunshots the other night? People are saying the infamous Loki, and his gang are hanging around town" she added. I wondered if this was how Yelena got hurt.

Loki and his gang are basically famous for their crimes of robbing banks, sometimes even killing people in their homes. If he and his gang are hanging around, it won't be ideal for Kate and I to be seen at home without our parents.

"No, I mean, I heard the gun shots, but I didn't think it had anything to an outlaw gang" I replied.

"Father and I saw some men come out of the saloon earlier, not faces I'd ever seen around here before" Lila said, "best to be extra careful" she added. I nodded at her words, "Thank you for the heads up. Kate and I are headed there for lunch after they stop yapping" I replied making her chuckle. "It might be a while; you know these two" she joked. We both chuckled, making Kate and Mr Barton turn around to look at us.

"What's so funny over there?" Mr Barton asked.

"Oh, nothing father, just get back to your hunting talk" Lila teased making her father playfully shake his head at us.

While I was waiting for Kate to finish her hunting topics with Mr Barton, an unfamiliar face entered the store. He was tall, maybe six-foot! His hair was dark brown and he had green eyes, his coat brushed ever so slightly against the floor.

"Oi, gunsmith! Can I get some service around here?" he demanded as he made his way to the counter.

"Of course, I'll be right there" Mr Barton replied. Kate looked over to me and nodded towards the door, suggesting it was time for us to leave. "What can I get for you?" Mr Barton asked. The tall man placed a shotgun onto the counter and demanded that Mr Barton clean the weapon while he stocked up on ammo and gun oil. As Kate and I walked out of the store two other men that didn't look very happy were waiting outside.

"Well, aren't you a pretty little thing" one man said as he looked my sister up and down. I noticed Kate rolled her eyes at his comment, it wasn't flattering, and Kate didn't seem to like it. "Give us a smile doll" he added.

"Get a real job, loser!" Kate muttered, pulling me close to her side as we walked.

"Oh, come on sweet thing, don't be like that. Come play with a real man" we heard the guy call out.

Once we got to the saloon, we took a seat near the window. "I don't want you hanging out town by yourself right now" Kate said as she took off her coat and hung it over the back of her chair. "You don't have to tell me twice, Lila told me all about it" I replied. Kate nodded before she took a seat, "what can I get you ladies?" Mr Barnes smiled.

"Surprise me!" I smiled back, I wasn't sure what I felt on the menu, and it was always fun when Mr Barnes would surprise me. "You got it, Kate, what can I get you?" He asked. I watched my sister's eyes scan the menu of three options while the drunken men by the bar caught more of her attention then the menu did, "what's the story there?" Kate asked.

"Just another gang rolling through town, heard a few of them talking about plans to head north, I wouldn't worry to much about them" Mr Barnes assured us, but I could tell that Kate wasn't assured at all. "Roasted catfish and veg will be fine" Kate smiled but her eyes drifted back to the men.

"I bet mother and father's letters are just travel as much as they are" I joked in hopes it would lighten the mood, but Kate looked at me, smiled softly and let out a light sigh. "Y/n, I know you don't want to face the reality of this but I thin-"

"Kate, please don't say it" I cut her off, "I know you think I'm too scared to admit but I know okay? I know they are probably lying face out in the ditch somewhere, but I still think there is hope! Even if we never see them again, they could've sent a letter!" I snapped, storming out of the saloon.

"Y/n, wait!" I heard Kate's voice not far behind me. I don't like making a scene, but I wish Kate would be a little more understanding of my feelings, she acts as though I am supposed to be like her and act like our missing parents have been dead for many years. "Would you just wait up a second!" Kate ran up to me, gently grabbing me by the arm.

"I didn't mean to upset you" she said, looking me in my eyes while I fought back tears, "I just don't want you to keep being disappointed when there isn't a letter. I miss them too, I wish they never left but it's just you and I for now, okay?"

I nodded before she pulled me in for a comforting hug, "let's have lunch, check the post office and head home then we can do whatever you want, sound good?" She spoke. I nodded once more before the two of us walked back to the saloon to enjoy lunch.

----

"We'll try again next week" Kate smiled softly as we walked out the path to our home, I gave her a fake smile in reply. I really hoped that this would be the day that I'd be walking this path reading aloud a letter from our parents, it gave me something to look forward to. "Here, I got you something to cheer you up" Kate spoke, handing me a candy bar, "thanks!!" I smiled as I quickly ripped into it.

"You were supposed to save it for after dinner" she chuckled, opening the front door. My eyes widen when I saw Yelena standing in the hall with a cup in her hand. Kate quickly grabbed the closest thing to a weapon, "who the hell are you?!" She said sternly. I dropped my candy bar, "Kate, it's okay!" I said, standing in front of her. If it were possible, you'd be able to see the steam coming from Kate's ears.

"Y/n, why is there a stranger in our home?!" She asked.

"I can see you're mad, but I can explain everything!" I replied but she ignored me, "you, outside, now!" Kate looked through me to Yelena who didn't say a word but followed Kate's instructions meanwhile I did my best to try and calm my sister down. "Who are you and what do you want?" Kate asked sternly.

Yelena looked directly into Kate's eyes, suddenly it was like I didn't even exist in the moment. "My names Yelena. Yelena Belova and your sister here has been helping me, I took cover in your barn after being shot, as you can see. I've been paying her $5 a day for her troubles" Yelena explains. Kate turns to look at me, eyes full of anger, "you have a lot to explain" she muttered.

If you want to be on the taglist for this series, please see the masterlist. It's linked at the top of this post.

#fanfiction #yelena belova #marvel #Kate Bishop #Yelena Belova x reader #forbiddenau

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wordy-little-witch · 2 months

Text

Okay CoraBug hours where we look at canon, go HAH No, and carry on bc I Do Not See It

Buggy and Cora being absolutely the schmooziest, goofiest couple ever.

Cora and Buggy experimenting with makeup looks together.

They each have an Egg Each, but they have each other's eggs, or they both make two each so one can have the second egg on hand for long distance stints.

Long denden calls and writing letters to each other.

Sengoku having several attacks of just as many varieties because his son is dating a pirate and it's THAT pirate as well and he's So Fucking Angry bc Buggy isn't even all that bad, he HATES it-

Uncle Garp. The shenanigans there. Need I say more?

Shanks telling Buggy about Luffy and it goes "my brother adopted the grandson of my boyfriend's honorary uncle" and you can see the smoke coming from his ears.

Cora and Buggy were childhood sweethearts, and Shanks ABSOLUTELY gave Cora a shovel talk. Roger also gave Cora a shovel talk. Rayleigh played psychological warfare as a test (Cora passed).

They do shows together and their favorites are acrobatics and aerials.

Buggy has forbade Cora from fire stunts, so Cora simply watches Buggy do them and drools respectfully. (In his defense, Buggy is VERY skilled with batons and dragon staffs.)

Devil Fruits have something they need to Feed or things that Feed the fruits. For some, it's foods, some it can be abated with tobacco. Cora uses his cigarettes and Buggy runs on sugar.

Cora is actually a very clean person and prefers unscented soaps, he just has a skill for always looking freshly mugged in an alleyway. Buggy meanwhile is a neat freak who changes up his soaps frequently, but always within a certain brand/maker rotation bc he has sensitive skin.

Drawbacks Of Devil Fruits My Beloved - they're both more lethargic in highly humid weather, or in the rain. Cora's sleepier overall when stuff gets to that point, but Buggy runs a higher risk of getting sick as a result.

Buggy sometimes has Bad Brain Days, be it an episode or he's overstimulated. Regardless, when he needs Space, he'll shimmy under Cora's feathered coat and Cora will cast a bubble for them with just enough muted input to calm Buggy down but not trigger his intrusive thoughts.

Likewise, when Cora is in Cover And Perform Mode, Buggy will gently lead him away and pull the other down to his chest, ear over his heart, and will just... talk. Random, unimportant things like "Oh I heard dinner will be this tonight" or "I've been thinking of getting x, y, z tools for the ring". Just stuff to ground him, she he isn't alone, that things are okay and fine and safe.

They have prank wars. Ritchie always wins. Nobody knows how.

Cora will straight up scruff Buggy like a cat when he gets angry and stabby.

Buggy will climb Cora like a tree when he feels playful.

<><><><> Bonus Incorrect Quotes <><><><>

Buggy: They call it committing murder because it's a commitment. It's stronger than marriage.

Cora:

Buggy:

Cora: babe, no-

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Cora: I could kill you if I wanted.

Buggy: Yeah? So could any other human being. So could a dog. So could a dedicated duck. You aren't special

Cora:

Buggy:

Cora: I love you-

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Buggy: *banging a pen on the table out of frustration*

Cora: Stop that. How would YOU feel if I banged you on the table?

Buggy: I—

Buggy: I don’t know the correct answer to that question.

Cabaji, who just wanted to eat his lunch in peace:

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Buggy: BE A BETTER PERSON!

Cora: WHY?!

Buggy: BECAUSE SOMEONE NEEDS TO HAVE MORALS IN THIS RELATIONSHIP, AND IT SURE AS FUCK AIN'T GONNA BE ME, SWEETHEART!

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Cora: *sighs*

Buggy: You bored?

Cora: Yeah.

Buggy: Wanna start drama for no reason?

Cora: I thought you’d never ask.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Cora: I truly go into housewife mode when I'm someone's soulmate- like, I'll make you pancakes and bacon every morning.

Buggy: This is a lie.

Buggy: I'm literally dating them. This is a lie.

Buggy: THEY DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO COOK A PANCAKE, WHAT IS THIS.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Buggy: What’s your favorite color?

Cora: Stop asking stupid questions. Ask me something logical and mature.

Buggy: How many moles of sodium bicarbonate are needed to neutralize 0.8ml of sulfuric acid at STP?

Cora: My favorite color is pink.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Context: Roger and Garp having a play date, Shanks and Mihawk are sitting to the side while Buggy is doing smth mundane across the beach when Cora descends on the swordmen

Cora: Wait, what's going on? Are we all talking about how hot Buggy is? Because Buggy is a straight up sexual fox riding a red-hot nuclear bombshell right toward the yowza plaza in the heart of Babe City, Assachusetts, U S A. The last A just stands for more ass.

Mihawk:

Shanks:

Cora:

Mihawk: wh-

Shanks: YEAH!

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Buggy: I'm very scary.

Cora: You're about as scary as a wet kitten.

Buggy: Wet kittens are cute, at least I've got that going for me.

Cora: And small.

Buggy:

Buggy: ...Yeah, yeah. I guess.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Buggy: Live fast, die young, leave behind a pretty corpse! That’s what I always say!

Cora: You should say something else.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Cora: What’s your body count?

Buggy: Do you mean sex or murder?

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Cora, carrying a box: What would you say if- if I, hypothetically, came home with several kids one day?

Buggy: …

Buggy: What’s in the box?

Cora: What woul-

Buggy: Cora, what’s in the box?

Cora: I think you know.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Buggy: Hey, wanna take a shower with me?

Cora: I have a gun in that nightstand beside the bed. If I ever say no to that question, I want you to take it out and shot me because I’ve obviously gone crazy.

#corabug #buggy the clown #corazon rosinante #donquixote rosinante #clown on clown kissing #incorrect quotes

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miller-n-morgan · 2 months

Text

And I Feel Fine (.i)

Joel Miller x Jackson!Reader

18+, mdni

Summary: Random selection on weekly patrol is a completely normal occurrence. A coincidental raid on the Jackson dam generator by Tommy’s older brother (and a little stranger) is absolutely not.

Warnings: there's a lot to unpack here, bear with me; mentions of death, violence, gore, blood, mentions of sex abuse and trafficking. Mentions of teenage pregnancy. Mention of drugs and substances. This one literally has ✨️the works.✨️

Word Count: 5.7k

Hi everyone! Thank you guys for the likes and shares and encouragement of my work before I even posted it! I appreciate you guys so much and I hope you enjoy (if that's even possible yet this is so messy for a first chapter)

Series Masterlist

The man is tall, his face looks worn and tried by the tests of time. It’s not a bad face, you reason. It’s just older, seen more things. You recognized him, though he doesn’t look the same now as the source material from which you know him. He used to wear a smile, you’re pretty sure. “Have we… met?” He seemed confused, trying to meet your wandering stare. Tommy stepped in, thinking he’d better introduce you both. “This is my brother, J-” “Joel,” you nodded, turning back to Tommy for only a second. “I remember from those pictures you brought back.”

Fall leaves are on the ground, on your front porch, and practically everywhere you look this morning. Other houses wear the orange and red upon their rooftops and over their outdoor furniture. It’s your favorite season while it’s in motion, while the leaves are still falling. It’s romantic somehow, after waking up from the nightmares. The rainbow after the rain, or something like that.

In a few weeks, you know the best of it will be over, and the wind will carry the leaves to the middle of the street, into the town area, and it will be impossible to see anything else but the dead color bursts. That is when you hate fall, when its leaves need to be raked up and out of the way. By then they are crisp and dry beneath your feet, a reminiscent sound of something else that isn’t as pleasing. You will be loathing when that time rolls around, but for now you are at peace, and savoring the momentary beauty. Nothing is permanent, including your ability to sit in the warmth of your house, sipping the hot coffee you’d brewed before patrol.

You’ve only rotated twice in two weeks, which doesn’t make a damn lick of sense considering you are one of only three people that knows the western route.

Tommy’s put you on for this morning, he and Maria are to accompany you and a few others around the power plant by the dam. There’s been some noise going on the past few weeks, and with the livelihood of the commune on the line, it’s best to sort these things out, nip them in the bud.

You take your mug to the kitchen sink and give it a quick rinse, grabbing the two lonely carrots in your fridge on the way out, stuffing them in the pocket of your jacket.

By the time you’ve actually laced up your boots, and tripped on your doorway’s crooked ridge - a morning tradition, no matter how many years you’ve lived here - the sun is cresting over the mountains, the light barely shining over the homes and their leafy crowns of orange and red and yellow and brown.

It’s still only seven-thirty by the time you reach the stables. You know Maria’s probably got something to eat packed away for later, you never got too hungry in the morning anyways. Tommy un-hatches the gate for you, walking up with half a smile on his face.

“Provoker is living up to his name just now, kicked my ass right out of his stall,” he shook his head, throwing an annoyed hand behind him to spite the horse. “And here I was tryna do somethin’ nice for ya.”

You huffed a laugh, trying to seem apologetic for your stallion’s bad behavior. He always teased you, ‘your old horse wasn’t like this,’ and ‘maybe I’ll shoot him and claim self defense.’ But of course, Maria wouldn’t stand for that. Casper, or as Tommy so lovingly has taken to calling him, ‘Provoker’ was found several miles south of the commune, just a scared and hungry horse. He was strong and sturdy and learned the routes quickly. Tommy was just an ass because the horse didn’t seem to like men.

“What did you do this time?”

“Ain’t done nothing, swear it. Keith saw me, was just passin’ through,” he defended, his hands in the air.

“With you, that can be enough,” you shouldered passed him into the stables, hearing him follow on your trail.

“You callin’ me fat?”

“Absolutely.”

He rolled his eyes, grabbing his bridal from the wall and handing you yours. The horses are usually saddled early in the morning, all except for Casper. Maria does good with him, and when you get to his stall you can see she’s already prepared the tall stallion for the ride.

“Good mornin’, handsome…” you pulled a carrot from your pocket and fed it up to the horse, his grateful blow of air a signal that he was in a better mood now.

“Can’t believe you’re rewardin’ his bad behavior.”

Tommy’s voice is not upset, but vaguely annoyed over your shoulder.

“Maybe I’m rewarding his good behavior,” you say it smugly, giving him a narrowed gaze as you turn your head. “You’re higher in rank than me, if I dispose of you I get all the power.”

Maria heard you from the next stall down, snickering under her breath.

“Oh, so that was an assassination attempt, then?”

“No, you have to be someone of high importance for it to be considered an assassination,” Maria replied, leading her bronze mare from the stalls. Elsie, the horse’s name was.

You were still fixing the bit for Casper before adjusting the bridal.

“She just admitted I was higher in rank,” he argued, pulling his own horse forward now, leaving only you to catch up behind them.

“Still lower in rank to me, bud,” she teased, nudging his shoulder and smiling in his direction. He smiled back, and by witnessing it alone, you mirrored both expressions.

You’d been here since before they were even together. Almost ten years since you’d met Tommy, and eight since you’d met Maria. You saw them meet each other, saw them interact before this was ever the norm. You swore back then they hated each other’s guts, hated whatever one had to say to them. With time the hatred melted to a dull dislike, and by the time the Jackson commune was established, they seemed to have forgotten any ill feelings they ever had. It was like watching a movie over the span of four years, the personal threats and arguments turned into strange and somehow meaningful compliments or encouragements. They were married three years ago, and it was the first wedding you’d ever attended. You remember it so well because you imagined that maybe someday you’d get a shot. You would have a chance at loving someone the way Tommy adored Maria, heart and soul.

“There’s a few boys still stationed out at the generator. I reckon they kept clear any danger during the night, but we should still be vigilant.”

Tommy’s warning brought you back, allowing you to pick up time from where you left it. The three of you lined up in front of the commune’s entrance point, mounting your horses and waiting for the go ahead from the men guarding the gates. It’s been a rough season, dealing with raiders, hunters, and even on the odd occasion, children in need of shelter.

Casper took off before you even had to tell him, because he’s gone out enough times to know the drill. Maria follows closely behind, with Tommy lagging slightly. His horse, Dakota, was an old girl… probably one of the oldest in town. But she was smart, reliable, and got where she needed to be… eventually.

The ride was quiet this morning, no animals in the trail or clickers wandering the premises. It was actually nice and serene, matching the beautiful scenery of the fall ambers.

It wasn’t long before your horse’s legs slowed, trotting to the checkpoint and coming to a halt when the watchers spotted you.

You recognized one of the guys in the tower, Billy. He was a little younger than you, but closer in age than most of the company you keep. Nice guy, but not a thought behind those eyes.

“Top of the mornin to ya,” he called out, leaning over the edge of the rail with a cheesy grin.

“Morning,” you called up, dismounting Casper and leading him around the wall now. “Heard you boys had some trouble last night.”

“Nothing we couldn’t handle. How about you, princess, you sleep okay?”

You snorted, looking up to him with a bright expression.

“Like a baby.”

You tied the reins by the makeshift trough that had been half assed and reconstructed over the years, looking out over the dam where the checkpoint sat upon. Everything was running smoothly, so either they actually did dispose of last night’s threats, or they were keeping them hidden extremely well. The water flowed, the power ran.

You weren’t really paying attention to what Tommy said when he came around the corner, just hummed along to his words and hoped he didn’t notice.

You liked this checkpoint more than the rest. The water was beautiful, the nature around it even prettier of a sight. You wished you could have seen it under better circumstances, without a gun on your hip and a knife in your pocket.

You wish that in another life you could come here, lay a picnic blanket down, and just sit by the water and the trees behind it in the distance, the mountains over and above framing them like a painting. What a shame for something to lose its beauty on the technicality of implication. The men stationed at every point on the river implies it isn’t safe. The weapons in their arms imply that the dangers are not few, and the way they look to each other implies they would rather not be here, with Jackson’s commune being the only place they can really feel at home anymore.

“Hey,” Tommy’s direct call to the back of your head made it turn. “You listenin’?”

“Huh?”

He sighed heavily, rolling his eyes as he repeated his words.

“Can you go check the bridge and see about damages?”

You nodded, a small ‘yeah’ rolling off your lips when you started into that direction.

You passed by Billy going up the stairs, giving him a small smile and a nod before turning the corner. You liked him, really, you did… but you were too tired and too hungry to interact with a guy who thought a great point of conversation was mentioning the different soups of the week in the dining hall.

“Come to inspect my handy work?” Terry, an older man with a strange wit about him, had been waiting for you on the bridge when you got there.

“Yep, Tommy just wants to make sure all the bases are covered.”

You peeked around one of the smaller generators, seeing the body of a dead raider that had been dragged aside from the walkway. He was already starting to smell, the rotten odor making you scrunch your nose in disgust.

“You just left him here all night?” You asked, kicking the boot of the stiff, cold man. He had a bullet hole in his neck, and you figured, Terry was awfully proud of putting it there. The man had a good aim, one of the better shots in town.

“Didn’t know exactly where to put ‘im until the shift was over. Guess that’s your job, now,” he grinned devilishly, jabbing you in the ribs with his elbow. You tried to get him back but he just caught your arm and left it loose. “Easy now, don’t hurt your arm… gonna need it to carry him.”

You sighed, walking around to where you could get a good grip on his boots, picking them up one by one before dragging him from that corner.

“Was he the only one?”

“As far as we know, we called it in as soon as we shot him. There haven’t been any other surprises since then.”

“Good to know,” you let out, getting him around the corner and to the stairs. Billy didn’t seem to be as chatty now that you were accompanied by a dead body, but he stared the entire time you got him positioned at the staircase.

“Need some help?” he finally offered, but at this point, you had it covered.

“I’m good.”

You kicked hard enough to roll him over, letting his body topple over the stairs until he reached the bottom. Years ago, doing this may have bothered you. Disrespecting the body of someone who died in this cruel world would have turned your stomach. But again, that was years ago. Now, this body was just some jackass who tried to ambush your family of survivors, and you had to dispose of him.

“Well that looks… fun.”

His dry attempt at humor made you huff a single laugh through your nose, following down the stairs a moment later. You got back to the work of pulling the guy’s tattered boots, dragging him through the dirt and leaving a muddy trail of blood from where it seeped out his neck.

Tommy was coming around the corner with some tools, probably on his way to fix something important, but he stopped a moment to watch you and your unfortunate task.

“Gonna lend a hand?” You asked him, the pace of your backwards steps slowing when you passed him.

“No, I think you got it,” he joked, moving on with a smile the next moment. What an ass. He was like a big brother that you never had. You knew that man would kill for you, and has before, but still found every opportunity to mess with or tease you. What an ass.

Just wait till Maria hears about this, you think. Then he’ll be in for it.

You roll the body into the river once you get far enough away from the dam, making sure he won’t cause any harm to the flow or energy. Once you’re sure he’s completely out of the way and taken care of, you turn back to the checkpoint, walking over to Maria as she finished speaking with the main watchguard from last night. You figure you should blame him for your task, since he could have done it… but that’s petty, and you only have room to be petty when you know it’ll get you somewhere.

“Guess what I just did?” you asked in a mocking tone, a fake smile plastered on your face as you crossed your arms.

“Probably something to earn the sandwich I brought you,” she returned, knowing you well enough by now to recognize your sarcastic behavior.

“I dragged a body from the bridge to the river, it better be a fucking good sandw-”

“Turkey and cheese.”

“God bless you,” you folded, following her to her backpack inside.

As soon as the food was in your hands, you gave her a genuine smile, sitting down at an old abandoned desk almost immediately. The woman chuckles under her breath. She remembered too many times you’d skipped breakfast before a patrol… it was by now a part of the routine to make you something to eat when she got scheduled alongside you.

“Save some for later, we might be here a while.” She pat your shoulder, leaving without a response from your end. You were far too occupied to give her one, anyways.

The town’s butcher was a nasty man, but everyone loved him dearly, and this was why. You imagine that before the outbreak he was probably some big time deli owner, one of the best around. It’s just a fucking sandwich, you think… but it’s so damn good.

You saved about half, knowing that now you were fed, you could tie yourself over until the next meal in the hall this evening. It was Wednesday, so the menu would probably consist of soups and salads.

You get a bit caught up in wrapping your leftover food until you hear a bit of confused banter from outside. It sounds like Maria, but you can’t be sure. Whoever she’s just finished yelling at isn’t an imminent threat, you can tell that much, but you still worry. You take enough time to put the sandwich away and start to leave the warehouse, pulling the gun from its place at your hip. You don’t raise it, but having it close is better, you’ve learned. The noise outside has ceased but after a moment, the door opens.

“Maria?” You don’t even make it out of the hallway when you bump into Tommy, side by side with a stranger. He catches your eye in a familiar way. “Hey, I know you.”

“Have we… met?” He seemed confused, trying to meet your wandering stare. Tommy stepped in, thinking he’d better introduce you both.

“This is my brother, J-”

“Joel,” you nodded, turning back to Tommy for only a second. “I remember from those pictures you brought back.”

“Right,” Tommy mumbled, stepping closer to you. “He’s brought a girl with him. Maria took her to get some of those rations in the back section, but I think you still have the keys on your chain. You might wanna head over there.”

“Alright,” you started in the direction of the exit, walking backward to give Tommy a warning. “I left half a sandwich in there, don’t touch it.”

You stood outside of the Boston QZ, fourteen years old and scared as hell. It was hard enough to get in without being caught, but once you were inside, you’d have to remain invisible for the next month, or at least, until you could settle your predicament.

“This way,” echoed a voice in your head, the young man that accompanied you, trying to sneak you under the city tunnels. You followed him until you were in a sewer, having trouble making your way through given that your body specifications had changed over the last eight and a half months.

The man ahead of you didn’t bother to help or to make the path easier, but kept yelling for you to keep up.

“I’m trying,” you trudged on, your swollen feet making you stumble along the sludgy water. “It’s really hard.”

He huffed, his face invisible to you as you blocked it out of your mind. “You have to move faster, we can’t get caught down here.”

Your eyes formed tears at his flippant tone, impatient and completely ridiculous about how fast you were moving when you clearly could only strain yourself so much. You let a hand fall subconsciously to your swollen stomach as you climbed out of the sewer, following the man ahead at an impressive speed given your condition.

You hated him, wanted to leave him… but you knew you would die without his direction.

“Alright, coast looks clear. If we linger around here a while we can blend with the crowd as we move down.”

He didn’t pay any mind to your state, the tears streaming down your face or the pain in your back and hips. The way you waddled just to meet him around the corner, watching for people passing by.

“Once we find the contact, you know what to do.” Flat tone, flat words, unfeeling. You still couldn’t see his face, but his voice is strong. It plagues you.

“Yes…” and you turn to the dirty window beside you. Your appearance is appalling at best, scruffy and unbrushed hair pulled back in a ponytail, tear stained cheeks. Your torn jacket and ripped pants barely cling to you, now wet and sagging around you from the water in the sewer. The only thing left to stare at is your too thin body, struggling to hold the weight of what grew inside you. The face that looks you back in the eye… it’s young, too young for this. It has a dark history, and doubts about the future. It wants more than anything to be at peace, to relax and be settled… but it looks to you as is, not as it should be.

“Are you okay?” Maria asks, taking the key you were about to give her, your hand now frozen in mid air as you stare down the kid before you.

“Yeah, I’m good I just-” You can’t seem to move, breathing out shakily. You manage to lift a finger in her direction. “Who is-?”

“Ellie. She’s with Joel, they’ve been traveling together.” She finishes unlocking the storage base, shouldering the door open. When she turns back you haven’t barely moved. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“No…”

And finally you beg your muscles to move, to turn your head away. Your eyes moving from the girl’s face causes a chain reaction, and you regain full motion again. You wait for Ellie to follow Maria, make sure there’s a good chunk of distance between you, then walk into the building, your head to the ground in deep thought. That face, it’s you… no. It’s her.

“What’s wrong with her?” Ellie whispers to Maria, turning back to watch the way you struggle forward, trying everything in your power to avert your eyes from her, but she’s still there.

“I don’t know,” Maria puts her hands on her hips, genuine concern arising. “What's wrong with you?”

Give an answer. Give a realistic answer that doesn’t raise more questions. Not the truth, though.

“She just reminds me of someone, that’s all.”

The girl seems angsty given your state and how shaken you seemed. Like you saw a ghost. You still aren’t sure she isn’t one.

“A dead someone?” She asks, louder than her last words.

“No,” You shake your head. Not a lie. You’re not dead yet, and you don’t think she is. Can’t be a ghost, especially not mine. Maria wouldn’t see her. “Sorry if I’m bein’ weird, you just… how old are you?”

“Fourteen... And a half.”

Fourteen was bad enough, but the little witty ‘and a half’ gave you a very good estimate of her birthday, or at least, birth month. You gasped lightly, whatever air you could take in was coming in small doses. You suddenly can’t take a deep breath, your head running in circles and repeating dates, times, names, places. Faces, even.

“Maria, I think I’m gonna sit down a while.”

You fell against the closest table, scooting back on it until your back hit the pole it was against.

“Take your time,” She muttered, nodding and pulling Ellie along to the lockers.

She pried one open, pulling a few cans of food from the containment and giving them to her. Peaches, baked beans, chicken soup, all were pretty good options in comparison to the hunted and gathered rations she and Joel had been surviving on. She would have been far more excited had she not been focused on the woman sitting down, her eyes closed and hands raised to her head from the other side of the room.

“Does this happen to her a lot?” She couldn’t stop staring either, the fear about the woman lingering as something familiar.

“Never.”

Maria wasn’t sure what had gotten into you. She had to look through the files of her mind to try and come up with an answer to your madness. The most stoic and brave faced person she’d come across, now sitting in shambles of thought.

“Do you know who I remind her of?”

Maria shakes her head, handing Ellie a can opener and a spoon. “No.”

For a moment she thinks that maybe it could be your sister, deceased… but you said the specific someone wasn’t dead.

“Her whole family died a while ago, and I don’t know anyone back home that looks like you.”

“She’s on her own?” Ellie dug into the chicken soup can first, her hunger now distracting from the conversation.

“She’s got us, but yeah I guess so.”

All alone. No family left, all gone to cordyceps and raiders. Mother, Father, young brother, baby sister. No one made it.

“That’s sad. I hope I don’t make her upset or anything.”

Maria shook her head, sitting next to the girl. This poor kid has probably been through a lot. Knowing what she does of Joel, she thinks he can’t be a pleasant traveling companion. Ellie doesn’t need anything else to worry about, least of all a total stranger.

“No, that’s not it. I think she might just be remembering someone she forgot about. Life’s been tough on her.”

The girl nodded, spooning into the can of soup now that it had finally been opened.

The woman was tall, dark hair cropped higher than her shoulders, her face was stiff and unexpressive, like most people in this QZ.

“You got the pills?” She asked, her voice low as she looked around to make sure no one watched on. No Fedra officers or anything of the like.

“Yeah,” the faceless voice spoke, a hand reaching out with the pill bag. It was half full, probably more than one bottle. “Vicodin, hospital standard. You can try 'em, they’re still good.”

“Alright,” she took them, inspecting the sides of the bag. She’s done this enough times, she can tell they’re real. “I found a family that’s willing to take another baby. Had to pull some strings, but they’re open to it.”

“Where are they?” he asked, and you turned to him, the forceful tone he had made you jump a little. The woman before you noticed, and didn’t seem thrilled about it. She turned to you, slightly more compassionate than when she was scowling at the man by your side.

“How old are you, kid?”

You looked to him first, and he looked apprehensive. You needed an out, this is it. “Fourteen.”

She took a sharp inhale, turning to the man, her arms crossed. Her face was again ruthless, the glare she sent him was unrelenting.

“And how old are you?”

He didn’t answer for a moment, feeling cornered. “That’s not really your business. You got the pills, just tell us where to go.”

The woman shook her head, dropping it as a chuckle escaped her.

“I’ll take her,” she answered, eyes flitting back and forth between you. Your body language when she spoke told her you were relieved.”Without you.”

“That wasn’t part of the deal.”

And before you knew it, she pulled a gun from the back of her pants. You gasped, standing back, and the man grabbed at your arm, but you shrugged it away. This is where you get off the train, away from the way it’s been carrying you along the long and winding tracks, only making stops in the most complicated of stations.

“The deal is I find a safe place for her to have a kid, and someone to hand it off to. Those are the terms, and I intend to keep my end.”

You stepped closer to her, watching as she placed her finger on the trigger. “I didn’t agree to what I didn’t know.”

“Look, I know where to find more pills, just take us where you’re supposed to and I can get you more,” he raised his hands, trying to beg, trying to argue, but the woman didn’t budge. She knew that you’d either been forced into this companionship, or trafficked into it. She wasn’t a good person by any means, but she wasn’t going to turn a blind eye to something she wouldn’t condone herself.

“I’m about to ask her a question, and if the answer isn’t no… you’re gettin’ your head blown off, ya hear?” She turned to you, looking you up and down. She wants to be wrong, wants to find out this guy is just a nice companion that happened to be helping you out of the kindness of his heart. But she’s doubtful, call it an apocalyptic mindset. “Is that his kid?”

You chanced a look at the faceless man, feeling his eyes on you though you could not place them. He was expectant, waiting for you to lie so that he could go back to being your keeper, telling you what to do.

“Yes,” you nodded, the tears from earlier returning to your eyes and making the stains on your cheeks even darker than before.

“Just stop, I can get you more!”

The woman raised her gun more steady, her finger beginning to pull back on the trigger before you stopped her, a hand at her arm.

“Wait,” you breathed, the rapid inhales were evening out as you asked her: “Can I do it?”

“Honey, you don’t know what you’re doing, don’t do this,” he begged, the reverberation of his words like a whirring siren in your head. You remember sirens, from before the outbreak. Cops cars, ambulances, fire trucks. You remember them. They always signaled help was on the way, and that’s what this felt like.

The woman was shocked, but didn’t hesitate to hand you her gun. You’d been through hell with this asshole, and you couldn’t let someone else have the satisfaction of dealing with him. She understood your mindset well, as others in her past brought about the same feelings.

You raised the gun to him, and heard one more cry of your name pass from his lips before pulling the trigger. The tears stopped flooding your cheeks almost instantly, and you breathed out in relief. The woman didn’t wait for you to hand it back, she took the gun from you and placed it back in her pants.

“You okay?” She asked.

“I’m better…”

And then she nudged you out of the alleyway, beginning to lead you in the direction of your next steps. You weren’t out of the woods, yet.

You don’t even know what happened during the attack, just that you went into autopilot and started shooting from the first sign of intruders. It was more of those fuckin hunters. The ones who killed whole groups of people at a time in order to steal the most trivial items off their bodies. Too bad not one of them survived.

You tossed up a look and your eyes met the familiar stranger. Joel, Tommy’s long lost brother. Your head was foggy, but you’re pretty sure he just saved your ass from getting shot. Not like it was your fault, you weren’t at your best, and you probably wouldn’t be until you figured shit out.

“Are you alright?” Tommy came up beside you, his arm on your shoulder, sleeve torn where the bullet just missed.

“Physically.” You turned to see Ellie run up to Joel.

“What’s that s’posed to mean?”

You froze again, watching how she interacted with the older man, the way she was so expressive. Tommy hadn't ever seen you like this. So… affected.

“Means I’m all over the place. Not really sure what’s real right now.” You turned back to him, following him around, trying to find Maria.

“Well, maybe you should ride back with Billy, he’s about to head out. You can go home, rest.”

“No, I don’t-” You cut yourself short, trying to recouperate your words. “I don’t need rest, I need some clarity.”

“On what?” His exasperation was not due to annoyance, but rather the fact that he knew… it had something to do with his brother and Ellie.

“Where did Joel find that girl?” You crossed your arms, trying to broach the subject without just telling him yet.

“Probably back in Boston, why?”

You’ve known Tommy for ten years, since right after he left his brother. Since he’d gone off on the trail of the fireflies, a trail you’d gone down a while, too. He knew practically everything about you. Knew about your family, about the hunters you used to run with as a kid, the guy who basically kidnapped you… and yeah, he knew about the baby you gave up.

“You remember that one story I told you? From when I was younger?”

He stopped in his tracks, not turning around fully, but tossing a look over his shoulder at you. It was unsettled and confused, but not upset. He knew you had good reason to believe what you did… but still. It was a one in a million chance, right?

“C’mon… you can’t possibly think that’s her.”

“Tommy…” you knew he was trying to keep your hopes down, that he didn’t want you to over excite yourself on a whim… but what if? You’d prayed for this day, to find her again. You went back for her once and she wasn’t there, neither was the family you left her with. You hoped she was alive, but until now you were never sure… you’re still not sure but you hope, you hope.

“There could be a hundred other kids out there that look a bit like you, you know that.” The chances are a million to one… but he can’t stand to look at you, your eyes so full of something he hasn’t seen there before. Not just hope, but something else, something full of a happiness that is only at its most basic potential, unknowing. “Did you ask her anything? Check for the birthmark?”

You shook your head, arms tightening as you looked back to Ellie in the distance.

“No, I was terrified. Kept thinking I was gettin’ haunted by the ghost of my past self.”

It was meant as a joke, but it was partially serious.

He sighed, following your line of sight and tilting his head. Yeah, he saw the resemblance. He’d met you at age eighteen, but he pictured you younger. Cheeks still a little puffy from the unlost baby fat, eyes still bright and twinkling despite the things you’d seen. Probably quite a bit shorter, too. He figured that she’s the spitting image of you from that age.

“You really think it’s her?”

You threw your hands up in the air. How many times did you have to say it? Try to convince him? No, you weren’t sure… but you had every reason to believe it.

“Same age, same face, same QZ-”

“Look… talk to her. Ask her some questions. See if anything matches up.” He ran a hand over his face. He’d made up his mind about something only a minute ago, and it was plaguing him even more now that you came to him. “Now, I gotta go talk to Maria, and after that I’m gonna take her off of Joel’s hands. She’s gonna go to the fireflies. You’re more than welcome to join me, I’ll need the help.”

You used to make runs with Tommy all the time. No problem… but this also meant more time with Ellie, possibly your Ellie. You could ask her more, find out the answers you’ve been longing for since you left her.

“Okay…”

Tags: open

#joel miller x f!reader #joel miller x you #joel tlou #Joel #joel miller x reader #joel miller #reader insert #the last of us

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thiswaytwoinfinity · 21 days

Text

moonstruck • rhett abbott x fem!reader, perry abbott x fem!reader

I wrote this for @sorchathered’s birthday rom com celebration! Happy Belated Birthday! Thank you for letting me combine two of my favorite things: Lew and ‘Moonstruck’. I know it was your celebration but that was a gift to me 😉

Warnings: alcohol consumption, implied smut, impure thoughts about rhett abbott, being engaged to perry abbott (if you’ve seen the movie, you’ll get it)

Note: I adore this movie with all my heart so I tried to fill this with lots of nods to the iconic moments. But it also means that characters might be a bit less true to their Outer Range selves in order to make the story work.

Maybe it should have been a red flag that you hadn’t met Perry’s brother until after you were engaged.

But then again, the whole thing had been a bit of a whirlwind — and you had met Amy. Sweet, smart, beautiful Amy who had been the main reason you said “yes” when Perry had surprised you with a ring at dinner just a few months into your relationship.

“I can’t imagine anyone who’d be a better stepmother to Amy,” he’d said at the time and how was anyone supposed to say no to that?

And if you were a bit hesitant about the whole thing, your mother had done her best to reassure you over steaming mugs of tea at her weathered kitchen table. “You love his daughter, and that’s the important part,” she had said, rubbing her thumb gently over the back of your hand. “It’s better to be devoted to your family, rather than any man. Especially a cowboy.”

You sighed. “He’s not that kind of cowboy, Mama. He works with his dad on the family ranch.”

“Good,” she responded decisively, standing up to make some more tea. “Cowboys are nothing but heartbreak. They’ll always love the rodeo, the animals, the adventure, the life more than they’ll love you.”

And so that was that. You focused your energy on building a relationship with Amy, got to know Royal and Cecelia and went through the motions of starting to plan a simple, courthouse wedding.

Perry didn’t have strong feelings about the big day, having done the whole song and dance once before, but two weeks into planning, he surprised you with the announcement that he had to go away for a while on business — and he had one big favor to ask.

“It’s been tearing me up inside,” he said, arm a little too tight around your waist as you sat on the couch, TV on mute in the background. “I just can’t get married without my brother standing up with me.”

“So why not just invite him?”

Perry scoffed. “Rhett is … real fucking stubborn. And he decided a long time ago that he didn’t care about anything I had to say.” He paused, tightening his rip just a fraction before letting you go and dramatically sighing, leaning back into the couch cushions. “But maybe if you were to ask him to come … explain that you want this to mark a fresh new start for all of us, as a family. As Amy’s family. Maybe he’d be willing to listen.”

It was the promise of being Amy’s family, of giving her the happy ending that had seemingly been ripped away from her when her mother disappeared that brought you to the Abbott ranch, eyes squinting against the harsh sunlight as you approached Rhett Abbott to ask for forgiveness on behalf of his brother.

Now this is a cowboy, you thought to yourself as you watched his broad shoulders flex under his tee shirt as he worked on repairing a broken section of fencing. The back of his neck was turning pink and the ends of his hair curled with sweat under his cap, but he seemed unbothered as he continued working, big hands moving quickly and competently.

“Rhett? Rhett Abbott?” you asked, and when he wheeled around and those blue eyes landed on yours, it felt like your heart stopped for a second.

“Can I help ya?” he drawled, pulling his baseball cap off his head and wiping the sweat off his forehead with the back of his muscled forearm. He was all golden skin and sharp cheekbones, cheeks flushed pike from the heat and exertion and a smirk that was designed to give women the naughtiest of thoughts.

Stop it. You’re engaged. To his brother. Behave yourself.

You must have taken longer than you realized to reply, because that smirk turned into a grin as Rhett leaned forward and offered out his hand. “Nice to meet you. Now, what can I do for a beautiful woman such as yourself?”

Your face felt like it was on fire as you shook his hand, warm and calloused and completely dwarfing yours. When he didn’t seem to recognize your name after you introduced yourself, you continued, “I’m uh … Perry’s … fiancée, I guess.”

“You’re engaged to Perry?” he asked, arms crossing in front of his chest and you weren’t sure if he was insulting you with his tone of shock.

“Yeah, I mean, it’s pretty recent. The whole thing’s been kind of … fast. But we’re planning the wedding and he wants you to stand there with him, be his best man —“

“And why isn’t he out here askin’ me this?” Rhett interrupted sharply, eyes stormy under the brim of his cap.

“He, um, he’s out of town right now … and anyway he said …” you paused, somehow sensing that the truth — he said you’d be more likely to say ‘yes’ if I asked — wouldn’t go over well. “And well, I wanted to meet you and everything. Get to know the whole family before I become a part of it.”

“Well, we’ve met now. Congratulations on the wedding.”

With that, he turned his back on you, returning to the fence and summarily dismissing you. Once again, you weren’t sure if you should be offended by his actions, but clearly you had accidentally stumbled into some kind of family tension that Perry had not warned you about.

“So that’s it?” You asked, taking a step closer to him. Rhett grunted as he continued working on the fence. “What, you’re just going to brush off your brother’s request? Shouldn’t a wedding bring family together and not tear them apart?”

“You don’t know anythin’ about me and Perry,” the cowboy said, his voice cold and his eyes not even looking up for a second.

“So tell me,” you pleaded, making your way closer to him and oh, that might have been a mistake. You could smell him at this distance, the faintest hint of his woodsy body wash, the scent of sun on skin, the tang of sweat.

It almost made you salivate with want — your body had never reacted this way to a man before, and you quickly stepped back and put some space between you two. A safe, platonic distance. “Is … is there something I should know before I marry him? Don’t you think it’s only right that I know the man I’m marrying?”

Finally, Rhett huffed out a sigh and turned around and you were struck again by how blue his eyes were underneath that hint of annoyance.

“Look, you really should be askin’ Perry all this, not me,” he bit out. “I’m not staying here much longer anyway, so you don’t even need to get to know me. You’ll only ever see me at holidays and shit like that.”

“Where are you going?”

“Rodeo circuit,” Rhett responded, a hint of pride in his voice. “Got a spot on a semi-pro tour, so I’ll be on the road soon enough.”

You congratulated him faintly, images of this gruff, gorgeous man on the back of a bull filling your brain and making you a bit weak in the knees.

“Yeah, so it’s all good. I’ll be outta your way soon enough and you and Perry can have your wedding with no issues,” Rhett concluded.

He started to turn back to his work and you felt a surge of panic run through you, like if you didn’t manage to convince him to stick around right this second, you’d never have the chance again. (And you could unpack why, exactly, it was so vital for you to have your fiancé’s brother around as much as possible later, in the shaming quiet of your bedroom.)

“Well, how about this then,” you start, enjoying the way Rhett’s brows lifted under the brim of his cap, his eyes dancing with a mix of amusement and exasperation. “Spend some time with me and Amy before you go — just to help me get to know her better. I want to build a strong relationship with her, she’s my number one priority in all this. And I know she adores her Uncle Rhett. So maybe you can just … help us bond?”

The cowboy hesitated a moment, his eyes roaming all over your face in a way that made your cheeks heat up. He must have found what he was searching for because he ultimately pulled off his work glove once more and held out a big, calloused hand.

“For Amy,” he said and you felt your face split open with a bright grin.

“For Amy,” you agreed, grasping his hand. And yet, despite the warmth of his hand engulfing yours, despite the fact that you managed to convince him to give you a chance, despite the fact that you should have been pleased with yourself, you felt a sinking feeling in your stomach.

Oh, I’m in trouble.

That sinking feeling only got worse the more time you spent with Rhett, the more you got to feel the full weight of his attention on you, the more you saw the way he lit up around Amy, always willing to go out of his way to make her happy.

Unfortunately for you, what would make her happy right now was to go for a ride with Uncle Rhett and you — a Wyoming native who had, shockingly, never been on the back of a horse before.

“How did you grow up here without ever ridin’ a horse?” Rhett asked you incredulously when you confessed your lack of experience after Amy dragged you to meet him in the stables, all wide, pleading eyes. “It makes no sense.”

You shrug uncomfortably, staring at the horses relaxing in the stables with a critical eye. “My dad was a cowboy but he died when I was little. My mama grew up Cheyenne, so we moved back there for a long time and only came to Wabang when my granddaddy left her the bakery. So I just … never learned.”

You wrapped your arms around your torso as you spoke, curling in on yourself in embarrassment, eyes self-consciously locked on the far wall so you could avoid seeing the judgement on Rhett’s face. It was why you startled slightly when you felt Amy’s little arms hug you out of nowhere, the feeling of her tight squeeze making you let out a deep breath of relief.

“Don’t worry! Uncle Rhett can teach you, he and dad taught me and he’s really good!” she assured you and you laughed softly.

“Thanks, Ames,” you said, softly brushing some of the hair that escaped her braid back from her face. You cast a tentative look up at Rhett, who was smiling softly at you. “Whaddya say, Uncle Rhett? Willing to take on a new student?”

The cowboy said nothing, though his eyes were bright with amusement as he made his way over to one of the stalls to start getting one of the horses ready for you, Amy bounding behind him.

You couldn’t stop smiling as the 9-year-old narrated everything her uncle was doing, beaming brightly when he praised her for remembering certain tidbits that he had shared with her over the years. Her enthusiasm went a long way towards making you more comfortable, as did the teasing words and glances that Rhett shot your way the whole time.

But that smile was wiped right off your face, when he held out his hand and beckoned you over. “C’mere, I’ll help you get into the saddle,” he said softly and you felt all of your blood rush into your face.

“Aren’t there like, stairs or something I could use?” You asked, knowing that the second you put your hand in his, all of the tempting thoughts about him that you’d successfully shoved down would come rushing back into your head. His blue eyes shone as he shook his head, explaining that they put it away somewhere and it would take too long to find right now.

“I won’t let ya fall,” he said, those beautiful eyes locked on yours. “Promise.”

As Amy urged you along from the back of her own horse, you tentatively reached forward and took Rhett’s big hand in yours. It was like you could hear your heart beating in your ears as he tugged you over and instructed you to put one foot in the stirrups and your free hand on the saddle horn.

“I can give you a boost if ya need,” he added, his voice low and grumbly and far, far too close. You must have nodded absently, because the next thing you knew, Rhett placed your second hand on the saddle horn and moved around to lightly grasp your waist.

Your skin burned where you felt those hands on you and even though he kept them in a perfectly respectable place — perfectly polite for someone who was engaged to his brother — you couldn’t help but imagine the heat of them in other, less savory places on your body. The way those calloused palms would feel brushing over your lower back, how his hands would span the entire distance of your neck, how those long fingers would feel filling up your —

“Ready?” he asked, hot breath against the back of your neck.

“I think so,” you responded weakly, and you felt him chuckle. He murmured a low countdown and at the number “three” you hoisted yourself up and swung one leg over to the other side of the saddle, feeling a little lightheaded at his little grunt of effort as he helped lift you up off the ground.

Once you were in and settled, you expected him to back away, but instead, Rhett leaned over your lap to gather up the reins and hand them to you.

“There ya go. You’re a natural,” he said, voice still gritty enough to feel like a gut-punch when it was paired with the heat of his gaze on your face. He was so close and so beautiful and you could catch the faintest whiff of that intoxicating, woodsy scent if you just leaned a little closer —

“Let’s goooooo,” Amy called, wiggling a little impatiently in her saddle and effectively startling your out of our fantasies.

You’ve gotta stop this. You’re engaged, for chrissakes.

“We’re comin’, we’re comin’,” Rhett grumbled, heading over to his own horse and swinging into the saddle with grace. “You gonna be late for some cartoons or somethin’?”

The pair set out, with you slightly behind them, head still swimming with shameful thoughts of your fiancé’s brother and face still burning. It took a while for you to let the pair’s teasing distract you from the feeling of guilt that had made a home in your stomach since the day you met Rhett, but eventually you were able to let go and enjoy your time on the trail.

And if you stared at the ceiling later that night, mind replaying the way Rhett’s eyes darkened and his lips turned up into a little smirk when he helped you down off the horse at the end of your outing, well, nobody needed to know about that.

The air at the rodeo was electric, the excitement infectious and the smell of fried food making everyone salivate as they made their way to the stands. You hadn’t been to the rodeo since high school, more interested in chatting with your friends or trying to spot your crush than in the actual events, but this night was making you regret all of those years you ignored its presence.

It helped that Amy was practically vibrating with excitement, tugging you around by the hand as she babbled on and on about her favorite food stalls and rattling off stats about the various bull riders. Of course, none of them compared to Uncle Rhett in her mind, but her knowledge of the sport was truly impressive.

“— but the bull they gave Uncle Rhett that time was a bad one, everyone knew it, and anyway he got another shot and that time he came in first place because he’s the best —“

“Amy, Amy, slow down,” you chuckled, head spinning as you tried to both keep up with the conversation and keep her from crashing into anyone at the same time.

“Come on, we have to get popcorn before the bull riding starts, I’m always in the stand for Uncle Rhett,” she powered on, not even pausing for a second as she continued on her mission, a crisp five dollar bill in her hand, courtesy of Cecilia. “There! Come on, come on!”

You could feel the heels of your shoes practically skid in the dirt as she took off towards the line and you had to stop short when she finally, abruptly stopped walking to join in. You took a deep breath, relieved to be able to pause for a second and take in the atmosphere, when you hear her shriek beside you.

Your heart stopped for a second as you wheeled around to spot her, only for it to skip a beat for a completely different reason when you realized that Rhett had snuck up behind her.

His grin was blinding as he picked her up and swung her around in a tight circle, her delighted squeals flying through the air. It only got wider and more brilliant when she began playfully hitting his chest after her put her down, and he pretended that her blows were about to knock him down.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist,” he got out between laughs, and you couldn’t stop your own smile from breaking out across your face.

“I almost had a heart attack when she screamed like that,” you admitted and his cobalt eyes moved from Amy to meet yours.

“My apologies, ma’am,” he said with an exaggerated drawl, playfully tipping his cowboy hat at you in mock apology. You had to fight the urge to duck your head as you felt your face heat up at his actions.

What was this effect that he had on you? You had never been the type to giggle and blush at any guy before Rhett, but there was something about him that just made you feel like a teenager with her first crush all over again.

“Apology accepted, cowboy,” you managed to get out and his eyes danced with mischief. “Shouldn’t you be getting ready for your big ride?”

“I was, I just had to come say hi to my favorite lady,” Rhett said, giving a gentle tug to the end of Amy’s ponytail. She looked up at him with a giant smile, clearly pleased to hear that she was her uncle’s “favorite,” and your heart melted at the sight. He gently pushed her along when it was her turn to order popcorn, and you stepped out of the line as she made her way up.

“So, you’re sticking around for my ride?” he asked.

“Of course,” you responded, a little surprised that he thought you weren’t here to watch him alongside his family. “Wouldn’t miss it. I haven’t even been to the rodeo in years, it’s really exciting to know one of the competitors.”

“Well, hopefully I manage to make your return to the rodeo an exciting one,” he said, hands settling on his waist, right next to his big, silver belt buckle.

You were grateful that Amy bounded back over to the two of you then, effectively preventing you from all of the dirty thoughts that you were about to have about what might rest behind that gaudy buckle. Rhett gave his niece another hug — and sent a wink your way that you were definitely not going to spend the night thinking about — before you went your separate ways.

By the time you made it back to the Abbotts in the stands, you were just as excited for Rhett’s ride as Amy was.

Your heart was in your throat for the entirety of the bull riding competition, because of course, Wabang’s hometown hero had to go last. When it was finally his turn, Amy gripped your arm tightly as you both watched, unblinking, for them to open the gate and begin his ride. You weren’t sure you took a single breath for the entirety of his time, those 8 seconds feeling like an eternity as you watched Rhett hold onto that bull for dear life.

When the buzzer finally sounded and he was back on his feet, it was like all of the blood in your body came rushing back into your veins, heartbeat thumping in your ears.

And then, there it was, right at the top of the leaderboard: R. Abbott.

Amy’s excited cheer was more like a shriek as the four of you jumped up and down in the stands, popcorn trampled below your feet as you celebrated with his family. With your new family.

And if you wanted to believe that Rhett was looking at you, in particular, as he pounded his chest with pride, well, you allowed yourself that one, tiny indulgence.

You were still breathless as you made your way out of the stands a little while later, following Royal, Cecelia and Amy as they made their way to find and congratulate Rhett in person. The four of you were almost at the riders’ entrance when you heard someone call your name from the crowd.

“Evening,” Royal said, tipping his hat at Joy Hawk after she managed to get everyone’s attention.

“Hi there Royal, Cecelia,” she said, nodding at them both in turn before turning to Amy. “Hi Amy. How’re you doing, sweetie?”

The 9-year-old excitedly told her all about Rhett’s ride as she smiled and agreed that it had been “one heck of a ride.” After a minute, she turned to you and said you name again. “Could I speak to you for just a moment? One-on-one?”

“O-okay,” you agreed, confused as to what she could possibly want.

After giving you a look that you translated to “we’re here if you need us,” Cecelia explained that they would go and wait for Rhett while you chatted with the deputy sheriff. “I’m sure you’ll just be a moment,” she added, before taking Amy by the hand and leading her away with one last look.

“Is … is everything okay?” you asked tentatively as Joy sighed deeply.

“I would have preferred not to be the one to tell you this, but, well, I can’t seem to get ahold of Perry —“

“He’s out of town,” you said quickly. “Is he okay?”

“Far as I know he is,” she reassured you before taking another deep breath. “I saw you two had filed for a marriage license and well, the thing is, he’s still married. To Rebecca.”

“But she … left. She’s not part of their lives anymore. Not part of Amy’s life,” you said, not quite following what she was telling you.

“Right, right. She’s a missing person. But see, the thing is, as long as she’s a missing person — and we don’t know that she died, god forbid — Perry is still legally married to her. Their marriage is still valid until either they manage to file for divorce or she’s declared … dead.”

“Oh.”

The news hit you like a ton of bricks. What did this mean for you? For your relationship? You had been planning a wedding and this whole time, Perry was still married? So what was the point of all of it?

“Now, you two can still have a wedding, I’m not gonna stop you from that,” Joy continued, her tone soft and comforting. “Y’all just won’t be legally married until this all gets sorted out.”

“And … how long would that take?”

Joy sighed heavily, her hands coming to rest on her hips. “I don’t know. Depends on whether or not Rebecca … comes back.”

You nodded absently, feeling your whole world tilt on its axis. You hadn’t even considered the possibility that Rebecca would be found or return of her own volition. If that happened would you just be pushed out of the family again? Would you still be able to see Amy?

Did that mean that the best case scenario for you was that this precious little girl’s mother was dead? How could you hope for something like that?

“I’m real sorry to break the news to you like this. Like I said, I’ve been trying to get ahold of Perry, but he and I can go over everything when he gets back,” the deputy sheriff said, patting you kindly on the arm.

You murmured your thanks before spinning around and making your way over to the Abbotts, head still swimming with questions.

By the time you made it there, they were chatting with a grinning Rhett, who was carrying Amy on his back. His smile faltered when he saw you and the dazed look on your face and you did your best to paste on a smile of your own. It must not have been totally convincing, though, because he let his niece slide down off his back as Royal and Cecelia exchanged looks.

“You look like you could use a drink,” Rhett said, his blunt words making you huff out a laugh. “I’m going to celebrate at the Handsome Gambler — come with me.”

The last thing you needed to do was be alone with Rhett Abbott, especially if alcohol was involved. But the world had just thrown a huge wrench in your plans, so you weren’t even thinking about it being a bad idea when you agreed.

“You ready to tell me what’s got you so spooked?” Rhett asked, leaning across the table so you could hear him over the music. You were both a few beers in — though Rhett had also enjoyed a handful of celebratory tequila shots that some of the locals had bought for him — and his cheeks were flushed pink from laughter and booze.

You contemplated telling him for a second, letting all of your frustrations and anxieties spill out (it turns out that Perry is still legally married so this whole engagement is more of a farce than it seems and if she comes back she’s probably not going to let me see Amy which is the main reason I said yes in the first place) before you remembered that he and Perry still had a complicated relationship.

As torn up as you were, you didn’t want to do anything to damage that bond even more.

“It’s nothing,” you said, shaking your head and taking a swig of your beer as if you swallow your words back down. “Anyway, we’re not done talking about that amazing ride of yours, cowboy.”

You attempt at distraction clearly didn’t work; Rhett just leaned further across the table, those damn blue eyes roaming all over your face.

“Somethin’s clearly up. Is it Perry’s fault?”

“Why do you assume it’s something Perry did?” you fire back, less out of a need to protect your fiancé’s feelings than to try and get Rhett off the track.

“Perry’s always doing something,” he replied, shaking his head. He stared hard at you for a moment longer, setting off a wave of butterflies in your gut, before grinning and sitting back down in the booth. “Okay, clearly we need another beer and then you’ll talk.”

“Rhett —“ you began, but you cut yourself off with a laugh as you watched him make a goofy, exaggerated motion to the bar’s sole waitress. “You think you can just get me drunk and I’ll spill all my secrets?”

“Oh, so you have secrets, do you?” He asked, raising one eyebrow in mocking curiosity. “Tell me a secret.”

“No,” you responded, but you were laughing still. “You don’t get to demand a secret.”

“What if I’m just so charming you can’t help but tell me?” You snorted and took a sip of your beer to cover up the fact that you did, in fact, find him charming. “Here, I’ll make you a deal: I’ll tell you a secret if you tell me one. Something you’ve never told anyone else,” he said, smiling slyly at you.

I like you so much. I can’t stop thinking about you. It makes me feel so guilty.

The words came to your brain before you could stop them. You definitely weren’t going to say them out loud — you weren’t sure you had even admitted them to yourself before this moment. But you knew, deep in your gut, that they were true.

That realization was almost more shocking than learning that your fiancé was still legally married.

“I gotta —“ you began, jumping up from the table and almost bumping into the waitress as she dropped off two new beers. “Bathroom. I’ll be right back.”

You rushed off before Rhett could stop you, weaving your way through the crowd at the bar and a few dancing couples before you found the blissfully empty bathroom. After locking the door behind you, you landed against the sink, taking a few deep, steadying breaths as the bass from the music echoed through the wall. You stared at yourself in the mirror, a long, hard look.

I like him.

I like Rhett.

I have feelings for him.

He’s my fiancé’s brother.

I’m crazy about him.

You shook your head, as if you cast those thoughts out of your brain. “Snap out of it,” you muttered to yourself. “You gotta snap out of it.”

Frantically, you turned on the water, yanking the faucet all the way to cold and ran your wrists under the stream of freezing water in an attempt to shock your system. You let out a long, slow exhale, allowing the cold to bring you back to yourself.

You’d just go back to the table, tell Rhett that you were tired and go home. Perry would be home in a couple of days and you could put the whole thing out of your mind and just focus on him and Amy. And then Rhett would be on the road soon.

Ignoring the small pang of of sadness that passed through you at the thought, you turned off the faucet and dried off your hands. Taking a moment to swipe away any mascara that had smudged under your eyes, you braced yourself and exited the bathroom determined to stay as far away from Rhett as possible.

So naturally, you barreled right into him as you turned the corner to make your way back to the table.

“Hey, hey, sorry about that,” he said, big, rough hands holding you steady. “I didn’t mean to walk right into ya, I was just coming to see if you were okay. You took off kinda quick.”

Did he know his thumbs were gently rubbing against the bare skin of your forearms? Because you did. It was all you could think about.

“I- I’m fine. Thank you,” you said, and even though you knew you should pull away from him, you made no move to do so. “Just needed some quiet for a second.”

“Alright, as long as you’re okay,” he said, giving your arms a brief squeeze before letting go. You immediately missed the warmth of his hands on your skin. “You thinkin’ ya wanna head out?”

You nodded absently and he smiled before turning around to lead you out the door. Just as you started to take a few steps, though, the song changed, an old Linda Ronstadt song that your mother used to sing along to as you both cleaned the house on a Sunday morning.

“Oh, I love this song,” you said, not realizing it was loud enough for Rhett to hear until he turned around with a smile.

“Yeah? I think my mama used to play this one in the truck sometimes,” he said, before taking a step back and holding a hand out toward you. “Dance with me? Just for this one song and then we can go. Seems a shame not to since you love it so much.”

You couldn’t resist. His eyes were shining too brightly, his smile revealing small little dimples that you had never noticed before, Linda’s voice calling for you to spin away on the dance floor. You took Rhett’s outstretched hand and his smile widened, brilliant and completely intoxicating.

The pair of you kept a respectful distance even as he spun you around, though he kept your hand in his the whole time. He laughed as you sang along to the song and then the next one and the next.

You lost track of how long the two of you had been dancing until he tugged you a little closer when a ballad came on, Hank Williams crooning low and slow as you breathlessly wrapped one arm around his shoulders.

Your actions seemed to embolden Rhett, who dropped a hand to your waist and pulled you in even more.

You could see every freckle on his face, every shade of blue in his eyes, how the pupils dilated as the two of you swayed together, lost in the moment. You licked you lips unconsciously and you watched his gaze dart down to your mouth before he purposefully looked back up, into your eyes.

“I like having you ‘round, you know?” he murmured and your heart began pounding erratically. “You make things brighter. And I like seein’ Amy so happy.”

“I like being around you, too. All of you,” you said, feeling a little dizzy as his words echoed around your brain. “Feels like I … fit. I’m not used to that feeling.”

Rhett smiled at that, so you continued. “And I don’t think I’ve laughed this much in a long time. With Amy, with you …”

“Happy to be of service,” he chucked. “You have a great smile. Real pretty."

Your face felt so warm, it had to be obvious to everyone in this bar just how much this cowboy was making you melt. “You’re not too bad yourself, Rhett Abbott.”

He dropped your hand for a second to tilt his cowboy hat up so you could see his face more clearly, before sliding it back around you, warm and possessive against your lower back.

“It’s a real shame Perry met you before I did,” he murmured. “Kinda wish it was the other way ‘round.”

Oh.

Oh, no. That was the wrong thing for him to say to you. This was only going to make your little crush on him worse. Because sometimes you felt the exact same way.

Because sometimes as you drifted off to sleep, you imagined what would have happened if you did meet Rhett first, if you were engaged to him instead of his brother.

Your shock — and maybe guilt — must have shown on your face because Rhett quickly let go of you and stepped back.

“Sorry. I’m sorry. Shouldn’t have said that,” he said quickly. “I’ve been drinking — let’s just blame it on the tequila, okay? I say dumb shit when I’m drunk.”

“It’s fine, it’s okay,” you reassured him. “We’ve both been drinking. It’s fine.”

“Lemme — we can just head home, okay? We’ll just get out of here and forget about it,” he continued, already making his way back to the entrance.

But you weren’t sure you’d ever be able to forget it, even if you wanted to. The low, soft way he spoke, the way his eyes were locked on your face, the shape his lips made as he said it. I wish it was the other way ‘round.

It was everything you wanted to hear. It was the absolute worst thing he could have said.

You kept your distance from the Abbott ranch in the days after the rodeo, buried in work, in cleaning your little apartment, in helping your mother around her house, at the bakery, anything to keep yourself from thinking about Rhett’s words.

By the time Perry was home from his trip, the guilt was eating you up inside.

You couldn’t even bring yourself to be excited as you drove over to meet him and Amy for dinner, stomach churning with doubt and confusion and guilt. How could you sit down with this man — this man that you were engaged to for chrissakes — when you couldn’t stop thinking about his brother? How could you pretend that you were a happy family when you wanted to play house with Rhett instead?

Your thoughts were swirling like the dust under your tires as you pulled up to the Abbott ranch to see Perry sitting on the porch. He smiled an waved as you parked the car and pulled you into a hug as you stepped up to meet him.

“How was your trip?” You asked, swallowing around the lump in your throat.

“It was … good. Yeah, it was good. I needed it,” he said.

“Your … business trip?”

He shrugged a little sheepishly, before gesturing to the rocking chairs on the porch. “Yeah. Yeah, lemme — let’s talk for a second.”

He knows. Rhett told him.

Fighting the urge to puke over the porch railing, you gingerly sat down next to Perry, who pulled your hand in his and absentmindedly rubbed his thumb along the back of it as it spoke. You didn’t want to admit it, but it felt wrong when he did it, as opposed to the thrill that ran through you when Rhett touched you.

“Is everything okay, Perry?” you asked softly.

“Yeah, yeah. Look, I should — I wasn’t totally honest with you before I left. I didn’t go on a business trip. I went to … well, I went to try and find Rebecca one last time.” He grimaced slightly as you gasped softly. This was not what you expected when he asked you to talk. “I couldn’t stop thinking of this one place we used to go before Amy was born, this little hiking trail out east. We’d stay in these cabins for the weekend, just the two of us.”

“Oh…kay?” you said, confusion evident in your voice and on your face. Perry took a deep breath, and when he let it out he looked … tired. A little defeated, a little sad.

“She wasn’t there, obviously. But when I was there I realized … I realized I’m never going to stop waiting for her to come home,” he said, the last bit coming out in a rush. “I’m not over her. I thought I was ready to move on, move forward, for Amy’s sake but I just … I’m not there.”

Though he hadn’t made eye contact with you the whole time he was speaking, he gave your hand a gentle squeeze and turned to look you in the eye. You could see the discomfort, the heartbreak swirling in his eyes. “It’s not fair to you. To be married to someone who’s always going to be waiting for someone else. And then when Deputy Sheriff Hawk called me —“

“To tell you about the license?” You asked and he nodded, looking uncomfortable.

“I promise, I didn’t know about it before then. It didn’t even occur to me that Rebecca would have to be … well, you know, before our marriage would be dissolved. I wouldn’t have proposed if I knew. Hell, I wouldn’t have even asked you out that first time.”

Perry sighed again, before continuing, “It just made me realize that I’m still married to her in my heart as well. And I just can’t do that to you. I’m sorry, sweetheart.”

You nodded absently, letting his words wash over you. “What about Amy, though? She and I have gotten so close —“

“You can still see Amy! Of course you can, she adores you. And I know how much you care about her,” he reassured you.

You felt a rush of relief. Amy was the reason you said yes to his proposal in the first place; it was almost as if the knowledge that you could still spend time with this brilliant, special little girl that you had come to consider family had outweighed any potential heartbreak from Perry ending the engagement.

But then again, maybe ending the engagement was exactly what you had been hoping for since the moment you laid eyes on Rhett.

You have to tell him. It’s only fair.

“I understand, Perry,” you said and you could see the relief visibly wash over him. “I do, I completely understand. Thank you for being honest with me.”

Before he could speak, you continued, wanting to rush the words out as quickly as possible, “I guess … I guess if I’m going to be honest with you too, I’ve been having second thoughts myself. I … I started to have feelings. For someone else. And I felt terrible about it, the guilt has been eating me up.”

Perry swallowed hard. “Did you — while I was away did anything —“

“No!” you rushed to explain. “No, nothing happened. I didn’t do anything with anyone else I just … just having feelings for someone else made me feel guilty enough. I couldn’t do that to you. But I think it’s clear we’re just … not ‘the one’ for each other.”

He surprised you by standing up abruptly and pulling you to your feet as well, before giving you a tight hug. It felt good, like a fitting end to your amicable relationship to part ways amicably.

Of course things got a little less amicable later that evening when, after you handed back the ring and enjoyed a pleasant dinner, you both sat down with Amy to break the news. She seemed a little confused at first, but brightened when she learned that you would still be around for her.

“Okay,” she said after a minute, when you had explained the situation as best as you could to the 9-year-old. “That’s okay. You can date Uncle Rhett instead! I think he likes you.”

Perry’s face turned a bright shade of red. “What?!”

Despite Amy’s permission, you didn’t start dating Rhett after that.

In fact, you were continuing to avoid him, maybe out of lingering guilt or maybe out of a fear that he didn’t actually mean those words he said that night at the Handsome Gambler.

It had been nearly two weeks since you had laid eyes on that handsome cowboy when you suddenly had a knock on your door on a late, sunny Sunday morning. You turned down the music you had been playing while you cleaned — Linda Ronstadt, of course — and opened the door, only to come face to face with the man you had been trying you best not to think about.

“Hi,” Rhett said, a little shy as he ran his fingers nervously through his hair. You could see his ball cap tucked into one of his back pockets and a small bouquet of wildflowers in his other hands and butterflies erupted in your stomach at the sweet, gentlemanly gestures.

“Hi,” you responded, a smile growing across your face before you could contain it. “It’s good to see you, Rhett. Do you … do you wanna come in?” He grinned at your words; clearly he was a little nervous that you wouldn’t be as excited to see him on your doorstep as you hoped.

He pressed the flowers into your hands as he made his way into your apartment, his big hands wrapping around yours and his shoulders taking up almost the entire doorway. After you closed the door and turned to face him, you both stood there, smiling a little giddily at one another, though neither of you moved. The tension was broken when you both tried to speak at the same time, tripping over your words as you both tried to break the awkward silence.

Laughing, you gently placed the flowers down on your coffee table and took a step closer to Rhett. His big blue eyes were fixed on your face, bright and shining and hopeful. You gestured towards your couch, silently inviting him to make himself at home, but he just ran his hands through his hair again and continued standing.

“I know it hasn’t been very long since you and Perry … ended things,” he began and your stomach swooped like you were on a roller coaster. “But well, I talked to him a bit, and he’s not the biggest fan of the idea, but I think he’ll come around and … listen. What I’m trying to say. Can I take you to dinner?”

“What?” You asked, a little incredulous that Rhett Abbott, the guys of your dreams, was standing in your living room and asking you on a date.

“Let me take you to dinner. I can’t — I can’t stop thinking about you. I’m crazy about ya,” he said, grinning as he watched a small smile break out across your face. “We can take it slow if you want but I just — I meant what I said. I wish I had met you before Perry. That I had a chance to ask you out first. But asking you out now is the next best thing.”

“I’d love to go to dinner with you, Rhett,” you said softly, smile growing bigger and brighter as you watched his eyes light up with excitement.

“Yeah?” he asked, hopeful and puppy-like.

“Yeah,” you breathed, taking a step closer to him and breathing in the scent of his body wash, taking in the freckles across his nose and the dimples hiding next to his smile. “I’m crazy about you too. You remember when you asked me to tell you a secret?”

He nodded, one gorgeous, beefy forearm wrapping around your waist and tugging you even closer.

“That was my secret. That I couldn’t stop thinking about you,” you ran your hands up Rhett’s broad chest, feeling the muscles that lay under his soft tee shirt. “I still can’t stop thinking about you. I … I’ve never felt like this before, about anyone. Just you.”

Rhett didn’t respond. Instead, he held you close, slid his free hand up to cup your face and kissed you. And you there your arms around his neck and kissed him back.

It was like every moment, every bump in the road, every teasing glance, every little joke, every whispered confession was leading to this kiss. Rhett held you like you were precious and kissed you like it was the last time he’d ever get to do so.

But it wasn’t the last time. It was far, far from the last time if you had anything to say about it.

You felt his tongue brush against your lips and you opened your mouth to let him in, head swimming as he gripped you tighter, breathed a little heavier, kissed you a little dirtier. A little more passionate, a little more intense — a little more like you had dreamed about all those late nights when you were still pretending that your feelings for him didn’t exist.

After he pulled away, chuckling softly as your lips chased his for a moment, Rhett rubbed his thumb against your cheek, sparking a wave of goosebumps down your arms. He grinned, panting a little, those blue eyes bright and staring right back at you in adoration.

“Wait a second,” you said, a little breathlessly as one more thought occurred to you. “Aren’t you leaving soon? You have a spot on a tour.”

Rhett shrugged like it was no big deal, but a feeling almost like panic was starting to grip you. “I have a couple of weeks. We can see where this goes and maybe if you want … you could come with me?” he asked tentatively.

You didn’t respond; you just pulled him back in for another heart stopping, mind melting kiss.

Much later — after the hours of kissing in your living room, after a first date where you spent so long talking and laughing at the diner that you were practically chased out by the staff, after a night of stargazing in the back of his truck, after those blissful first weeks of a relationship, a month of painful long distance and three more of you joining him on the road, after you both settled back in Wabang with another tour on the horizon, after Perry finally came around to the idea of you two being together — you sat in your mother’s kitchen with Rhett by your side and his grandmother’s engagement ring on your finger.

She had just broken out the old bottle of whiskey she kept on top of the fridge for special occasions, when she asked you the same question she had asked a little over a year prior, when you were talking about your engagement to Perry.

“Baby, do you love him?”

You looked at Rhett, took in his beautiful face, his beaming smile, his hair, a little mussed up because he couldn’t stop running his hands through it on your way over here, and the way those blue eyes always made you feel like the most beautiful woman on earth.

“Yes, mama. I love him awful.”

#outer range fic #outer range #rhett abbott fic #rhett abbott x reader #perry abbott #amy abbott #Perry abbott x reader #moonstruck au #based on moonstruck #my fics #my writing #i love one (1) cowboy #sorry this took so long #sorry this is so long #outer ranger fanfic #sorchasromcombirthdaycelly

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opossumloverr · 1 year

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✪ RAPHAEL HAMATO DATING HEADCANONS ✪

Summary:

Just some silly lil headcanons to start of the summa❗️🫶🏾

Warning(s):

None! all fluff up in here

A/N:

OKAY GUYS ITS SUMMER VAYCAY, IM BACK AND HAVE NOTHING TO DO FOR 75 DAYS, IM A FREE MAN, SO LET'S START IT OFF WITH MY FAVORITE BOY (Gender-neutral reader!)

I would like to start by saying this man loves you very much and would drop almost anything for you

You need help with a school project? Big red is on his way, you don't know what shoes will match the outfit you picked, oh what a coincidence! he just so happens to have a matching pair of shoes that fits you perfectly, you just want cuddles? lock and loaded baby, come at him

I think I can speak for everyone when I say we all need a Raph in our lives

He protects you from his brother's teasing, even if it's just playing or goofing, he is NOT taking any chances.

He loves to scoop you up randomly, you'll get used to it don't worry

Very cautious when picking you up though, doesn't want his spikes to hurt you, he will feel mad guilty if he was the one who caused you even a little bit of pain, even if it wasn't attentional (please comfort the man)

Appreciates the little moments he shares with you, oh my gosh I actually have the perfect scenario, just imagine...

After a long day full of fun cahoots and mysterious adventures, you two finally decided to go home, you usually go your separate ways after a day like this one, but it was rather late at night, and New York lets the creeps roam at this time, so he offered to ride the subway train with you, even though you were a bit hesitant but agreed cause there's no way your gonna allow yourself to get mugged in the middle of the night and like I said it was late at night so the subway cart that you guys were on was empty, he did wear a Hoodie and mask, just in case, the ride was silent, no noises but the constant screeching of the train tracks, but other than that it was just comfortable silence, Raph was lost in his thoughts, thinking about how the next day will be and how it will end, will it be a good or bad day? or something in the middle; what's the meaning of life? and what happens after death? Where does your soul go to, to heaven? or is it just pitch black forever, will today be his last day-- suddenly, he felt a lightweight on his shoulder, the thoughts that were coming in like a rapid wave started to smooth down to a calm stream of water, he glanced down at your sleeping figure, apparently you thought it was a perfect time to take a quick power nap, how cute! he coos softly at you, loving how you're so comfortable and calm around him. god, he loves you so much ♡,

"I promise I will always be here when you need me, you're my everything, sweetie"

Sorry guys I just felt a little kooky at the moment

If you like to play fight he's totally down, doesn't fight too hard obviously, and lets you win all the time, what a gentleman

He'll hold doors open for you, push your seat out, and then push it back in, hell, he would even do that thing where a guy puts his coat on a puddle so the lady could walk through it even though she's fully capable of walking around it

Takes so many pics of you and him at places, and has a particular folder on his phone with pictures of you guys

When it's family game night or movie night, he always invites you, you are practically a part of the family so why not? (The others don't mind)

It's so common to find you in the lair with how much you go down there on a daily basis

Yall have to do lovely dovey things in a private area cause of his brothers (mostly Leo, his bitchass) constantly changing the mood

Likes it when you watch him workout, it motivates him so much, sometimes he uses you as a weight

Loves to give you piggyback rides for some reason

He likes pickles, LISTEN LISTEN, if you don't like pickles in your burger you'll pick them out and give it to him cause you know he loves em (THE OLIVE THEORY ♡)

I GOT SOO MUCH MORE BECAUSE OF HOW MUCH I LOBE HIM BUT ILL KEEP IT INSIDE, FOR NOW, CAUSE ITS 5:08 AM RN 💀 sorry for being dead for 5 months, AGIAN, but imma be back on my grind now 🙏🏾 and I'll try to complete all of my 15 drafts 😓 and if you see any grammar mistakes, no you didn't.

#rottmnt #x reader #raphael rottmnt #rottmnt x reader #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #tmnt #tmnt x reader

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nobodiesheartlessshitblog45 · 4 days

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Ghost Of Men: Call Of Duty Fanfic Prequel Part2

Simon 'Ghost' RileyOCWife

Trigger Warning: War, Vilence, PTSD Mention Child Abuse, Anxiety

Here's part 2.

It took a bit, here it is. I wanted to make sure that it was good before posting. I will start part 3 as soon as I can. This had been one favorites stories to work and thanks again for the likes and all the likes.

So once again thank you all taking the time to this and enjoy.

It had been a cold mislabel morning the rain was still coming with mixed of snow, in his. Ghost sat his desk that sat in the far corner of the room. It was a fairly large with black tile flooring plain weight walls, and large windows that sat was next to the desk, two old looking filing cabinets on the other side of the room where the only door way. Ghost sat his desk looking over some paper that Kyle did ask him to sigh before heading to John. He was looking through the pages making sure that paperwork he was about reach for his phone that on right side right to his phone. His eyes looked over to it and stair at it for a moment. He was about to reach it, then paused. "Now hold, Simon. Ya texted about 30 minutes ago. She's fine. So she's fine." He sit back his chair taking a few deep breaths. "She's fine. The baby's fine. There both fine." He picked up the pen and began writing down a few things. He spent 20 minutes doing that then his eyes landed on the phone again. He drops the pen and began reaching for his phone the stops. He began taking a few deep breaths. "Steady on, Ghost. Jus' relax." he thought to himself. "She's fine. The baby's fine. They're both fine. Okay? There's no reason to worry." He once again picked the pen and began working again, and after another 15 minutes. He leans against his chair and looked up the ceiling. "It's fine. They're gonna be fine. It won't be like last time..." As soon as he thought crossed his mind went back to the haunting night on Christmas Eve. He saw the bodies of his mom, his brother Tommy is own wife and son... Then saw Ellie getting shot the sound of gun fire clean as bell that ring is mind then his eyes snapped open. Ghost stood up breathing his heavy, and looking around his desk and grabbing his phone and began calling Ellie. After a phone rings she picked up: "Hey, sweetheart. What's going on?"

He felt his heart felt a lot more has soon as he heard her voice. "Nothin', Lovie. D-Doin' some paperwork." Hiding the shakiness of his voice. "Meetin' went on longer than I thought." "I figured." said Ellie. "I been watching HunterxHunter and I can't believe how good it is. I just fine Heaven's Arena arch. Tell Kyle he's good great taste." "Heh. Copy that." said Ghost. Then heard the door of his office being knocked. Ghost looked up at the door and said: "Ellie, I'm sorry but gonna have to call ya back." 'That's fine. Love you. Tell everyone I said hi." "Sure thing. Love y." said Ghost, hanging up his phone then called out:"... It's open." The door open and Kyle Gaz Garrick pop his head. "Is this bad time, Sir?" "Heh. Not at all, Kyle." said Ghost, with an amused tone. "Yar not Johnny. C'mon in." Kyle walked into the door and closed the door behind, and walked over the desk. "Luka ask me give this to you." He held up a vanilla folder. "Jus' put on my desk." said Ghost, as picked up the paper that he was working and put them in green that was laid open and put the papers in it. "By the way, Kyle, your timing is in impeccable as always." said Ghost, closing the green fold. "Got the paperwork ya ask me to look is done." "Oh, great." said Kyle, as he took the green folder for him. "Thanks doing that for me. You save my sink, L.T." Ghost nods. 'I heard your wife wasn't feeling to well. How is she?" Kyle asked. "She's doin' fine. Just a some bad mornin’ sickness and headaches, Gaz. Another she’s doin’ grand.” said Ghost, reaching for his mug and saw it was empty. "By the way she's been enjoyin' HunterxHunter. She just the Heaven's Arena, the YorkNewCity arc. The best one." "Yep. Not as good as the Chimera Ant arc." said Kyle. "Bloody hell. I know, mate. That arc is a fuckin' masterpiece. I love YorkNewCity more." said Ghost. "And Kurapika in an absolute legend." "... Okay, yeah, you make a good point.” "Heh. Anyway, how about we both get a cuppa, yeah?" "Sure. I could use, sir." Ghost stood up from his chair and he and Kyle walked of the office and began making their down the hallway. "Have you told Ellie about up coming mission?" asked Kyle. "...Not yet. Plan to when I get home." said Ghost. Kyle then looked at him, he knew that his Lieutenant was man of words and didn't like to talk about himself that much, Kyle then clears his throat. "I was wonder, Ghost, do you wanna go to the pub with me and Soap after work?" asked Kyle. "Sorry. Can't." "Oh. You sure? Seems like ages since all went all hung out together." "I know. But I did promises the missus I would be home after work." "... Alight, mate." It was huge room with blur flooring, and had about up too 20 tables that was spread out across the, with chair that were pulled in. With large glass windows that looked in the took up most the walls. The rain had stopped and the was thick fog was began covering haft the training grounds. There were few fellow solders that were sitting scatted around. Some were talking, playing a few bored games or read books.

In the far of the mess hall was sitting alone was Luka who reading a book he had his glasses on.

Just then his phone was ringing, and he looked up and saw he got a text. He reached for it and check to see who texted him.

(Text From Kyle)

*wanna coffee? ☕️🙂*

Luka then began texting and sent it.

(Text Sent)

*that would be nice*

*thanks*

Just then an arm came out no where in from Luka pulling a plain white mug of coffee in front of him.

"Here ya go, mate~." said Kyle, with beaming grin.

"AGH!" Luka jumps and looks up to right and there stood Kyle who laughing at him. As Ghost pulled a chair and sat down.

"... Jeez, Kyle. You scared the hell out me." Luka snapped.

"Sorry. But it was his idea." said Kyle, looking over Ghost.

Luka turned his head to him and glared.

"Wow. You suck."

"Need to be more alert, Lu." Ghost amused, as he took a sip of his tea.

"He's not wrong." said Kyle sitting next to Luka. "How's goin'?"

"It was rather pleasant..." Luka said, closing his book and placing it the table. "... But then you two jerks came here to annoy me."

"Jus' showin' how much we respect you." said Kyle.

Luka looked at him for a moment, and nods. "Fair enough. Anyway thank you for the coffee, Kyle."

He picked up and took a sip and asked: "How was the meeting?"

Kyle's face fell and lean against his chair. "Too. Fuckin'. Long." Then he grits his teeth. "Hearing Green's voice makes my ears bleed."

Ghost lets out low agreeable grunt.

"Yep. He's a jerk." Luka said. "But what about the mission you guys have to on in next few weeks."

Kyle was taking a sip of his coffee and then eyes widen, then looked at Ghost was staring at his mug of tea.

Luka sat there looking from to the other.

"... U-Um... Guys? Is there something wrong?"

Kyle looked him then at Ghost who asked: "Ya should let Price fill ya in."

Luka felt his anxiety.

"... H-How... bad is the next mission?"

"... To say, Luka." Kyle said. "It's... a very dodgy."

"Sergeant Garrick." said Ghost in a low voice.

Kyle felt his body tense up when he spoke, then fell silent.

As the 3 men sat there, Johnny came walking over he was about to say something when saw that they looked tense.

"Creepin' Mary and Joseph. What's got ya lot all gloomy?"

"Hm? Oh, hey Soap." said Kyle, with wave.

"Hello, Soap." said Luka.

"Luka." Johnny said, looking at him fondly and ben over and have him a bear hug.

Luka catch of grade, laughs a little began patting his back upper.

Ghost looked from mug watched them.

His teammates...

His brothers...

He watched for a moment, then said began reaching into his breast packet.

"Well, since you muppets are here. Attention."

The looked at him as he slide something onto the table in front of them. The 3 men looked at the ultrasound.

Ghost there looking at them.

"Since you're gonna be uncles I want you ya to know we're expecting a lit' baby girl." He said, leaning against his chair arms crossed.

The 3 men looked at him in shocked for a few moments and Johnny began grinning and said: "YES!!! I FUCKIN' BLOODY CALLED IT! I KNEW IT WAS GONNA BE A GRIL!!" Then looks Kyle. "YA OWE ME AND REST OF THE LADS DRINK, GARRICK!"

"... Damn it..." Kyle groans, rolling his watching at Johnny giving a smug look. "I was thought the baby was gonna be a boy."

"Hahah. Like I told ya months ago: Intuition."

"You're a git."

"Aye! A Git who's gettin' free drink~!"

Luka sat there watching with a disapproval annoyance and shook his head, turn to face with a smile."That's wonderful to hear, Ghost. I'm very ha---." He felt his stop a chill run his as Ghost at there across the table a dark ominous expression in his eyes as he looking at Johnny and Kyle. "... You. Muppets. Made. A. Bet. On. Gender. Of. My. Kid?" said Ghost in a low voice.

As soon as they both heard him speak Both Johnny and Kyle felt their body tense up as they both sense an overwhelming sense of ominous doom coming over them.

Then month cleaned their throats, both put a mature adult act.

"That's great news." said Kyle. "Very happy for you and Ellie."

"Aye. A blessing for sure, L.T." said Johnny.

Ghost just him both his famous haunted 'Ghost' look. His dark brown eyes, then picked his mug of tea taking a sip.

"My heart almost stop..." Luka thought. "I... I forgot how terrifying he can be..." Kyle thought. "... How can be so bloody scary...!?" Johnny thought.

Just then someone was walking over to them, a woman who looked looked to be in her mid two 20's, slightly tall, with short blondish hair tan skin. She was wearing a light green scrubs black and white sneakers and white doctors coat. Rebecca Jose was making over and said in a slight southern accent "Mornin' y'all." Both Johnny and Kyle jump a little and looked. As soon as Kyle saw he felt his face heat a little and his hearting a little faster. "O-Oh! D-Doc." he said, with a smile. "H-Hi. aftermoon?" "Hi, Gaz. How are you?" the woman said, giving him a sweet smile. "Well. Very well. Heh." said Kyle, shyly. The rest of the men looked over and Luka said: "Hello, Becca." "Good afternoon, lass." said Johnny. Ghost nods and took a sip of tea. "What' going on here? You 4 up to something?" Rebecca said "Not really. Just waffling about."said Kyle. "That's good to see. I think y'all could some down time, been workin' yourself to death." Then Rebecca looked over at Ghost. "Speakin' of death. Hey, big guy," Ghost looked up her. "I order the medicine you ask, it's in my office." Ghost nods and stood up he picked up ultrasound and his mug of tea. "I'll see ya lot in tick. That will be." "Roger, pops." said Kyle. "Take it easy, da." said Johnny. Both Luka and Rebecca both tried not laugh has Ghost gave them a look, and walked pass them. As soon he left Luka stood up himself. "I get back to work myself." He picked his mug and book. "I'll see ya two later, okay?" "Right. Ya coming with us too the pub, yeah?" said Kyle. "I'll stop by." said Luka, walking away, living the two younger men at the table. Kyle looked over Johnny who looked to be deep in thought. "Something on your mind, mate?" Johnny looked at him and thought. "Nah. Nothin' really Thinkin' about babies for L.T. and Ellie's girl. I was thinkin' Bridget or Abby." "Heh. I think that's up to both Ellie and Ghost." said Kyle, with small laugh. Then thought to himself. "... All though, I think Sara or Ester." "Ooooh, Ester is a grand name, lad." said Johnny. "I like Josephine. We get call Jojo!" The two kept on talking Ghost had fellowed Rebecca to her office. It was like Ghost's but slight larger a still desk in the far corer two ver large book shelves, a pulled out cot that far life corer of the room, with small bedside table and lap on. Ghost looked the cot and said: "See ya added table." "Heh. Yeah." Rebecca said, picking small white bag that was on her desk and walked over the him. "I think it makes the office way more cozy.." She held up the bag to her him. "Here's the meds for Ellie." "Thanks, Doc." Ghost tokk the bag. "How's her headaches? Any better?" "Yeah. She said so at least. She did have wake up in the middle of the nigh' got sick." said Ghost. "Not sure what the bloody fuck she ate. This mornin' she put peanut butter on her eggs. ... I-Is that normal?" "Oh, yeah." said Rebecca. "Sometimes pregnancy make women eat some crazy shit. It's out there, for sure and gross. But normal." Ghost just looks and just hums. "Ooookay... Well, thanks again. Doc." "Pff. You don't have to thank me." said Rebecca, she then walked reached for her phone and pulled out. "Let's see... I think Ellie's next appointment is---." "March 2nd. 10:20 am." said Ghost. Rebecca looked at him a bit shocked. "... Really?" "Roger." "... Did have written down on your phone." "Negative, Jus' got a good remember." "... Uh... Huh..." Rebecca than thought. "... That's... oddly cool." Ghost was about to walk out when Rebecca said: "I gotta say Ghost you got this whole dad thing nail." He dead and looked down flooring. He... wasn't sure say but said: "... Still tryin' to learnin', Doc." "Hump. Well, you're doin great I think." He didn't say anything again just. "... Thanks again." And he walked out the office, closing the door behind him. He thought about what Rebecca had said to him. Was she being honest with him? Or what she mocking him in somewhere?

He looked down at the small bag in his hand before makig his away down the hallway.

#simon ghost riley #cod ghost #ghost cod #kyle gaz garrick #cod gaz #gaz cod #johnny soap mactavish #cod soap #soap cod #call of duty #cod modern warfare #female oc #call of duty original character #call of duty oc #male oc #call of duty fanfic #cod fanfic #dad simon riley

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rebelwrites · 11 days

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Twenty Eight: Till The Wheels Fall Off

Charles Leclerc x Nova Teller (OC)

Till The Wheels Fall Off Masterlist

Small town meets the fast lane. What happens when two souls meet? Will it end in happiness or will they both crash and burn?

A/N so this is it, this is the final part of this series 🥺 I put so much of myself into this story and kinda sad it didn’t get more love but hey what can you do! I hope you have enjoyed following the journey of Charles and Nova!! They will forever hold a special interest pace in my heart ❤️

As always reblogs and feedback is highly appreciated ❤️ if you want tagging in future parts let me know ❤️

Christmas was now only three days away, it had always been my favorite season. Everything about it made me feel like a child again. The excitement of getting gifts, the ambiance of the tree lit up, the warm fuzzy feeling on the cold winter nights wrapped up with a large mug of hot chocolate. The whole festive period was full of magic and I couldn’t get enough.

But everything was different this year.

It was coming up on three months since we lost Pops and I was struggling to see the magic in anything, everything just reminded me of him.

Walking into my bedroom I found Charles routing through my wardrobe, tossing items of clothing at the open suitcase that was placed on top of my bed. “You won’t find anything in there that's your size,” I chuckled, shrugging off my dressing gown, hanging it on the back of the door.

“Haha, very funny,” Charles laughed, spinning around holding a very sparkly red dress. “Why have I never seen you in this before?”

“Because it was banished to the back of the closet for a reason,” I huffed, grabbing the dress from him, placing it back where it belonged. “I fell in love with it when I brought it but it just makes me feel so self conscious, plus I’ve gained weight since I brought it so I doubt it would fit me anymore.”

Charles slowly nodded at me, wrapping his arms around my waist. The smirk on his face was telling me he was up to something. “Can I ask why you are raiding my clothes and why is my suitcase on my bed?”

“It’s a surprise,” he winked, turning back to the task he was doing when I walked in. “I’m nearly done anyway so make sure you are wearing something comfy and meet me downstairs in ten.”

“You know I hate surprises right?” I huffed, folding my arms across my chest.

“Quit moaning, Sunshine and get your ass dressed.” he hummed.

“Fine, but if this is a shit surprise I will -”

“Rip my limbs off, I know that seems to be your go to punishment at the moment,” he laughed, finally closing my wardrobe.

Rolling my eyes at my boyfriend I pulled what I needed from my drawers before slipping into the bathroom to get ready. It didn’t take a genius to figure out he was planning some sort of trip which was why I found myself putting a bit more effort in my appearance knowing that wherever we were going there would more than likely be press hanging around.

I could hear everyone moaning at the bottom of the stairs as I made my way down.

“I hope your time keeping is better when you are working,” Charles hummed, cocking his brow at me. “because Fred will skin you alive.”

“Baby, you are forgetting Fred loves me, I’m the favorite. He would cover up a murder and help me hide the body if I asked him to.” I smirked, poking my tongue out at him.

Hours had passed and no one was telling me where we were going, looking around the cabin of the private jet I realized both Charles and Elenor were asleep but there was the soft glow from a phone coming from where Jax was sitting. Kicking the blanket off my body I pushed myself up to my feet making my way over to my brother.

“What’s up Squirt?” he asked, pulling out his headphones, pausing whatever movie he was watching .

“Just thinking about the future,” I whispered, settling on the seat next to him, resting my head on his shoulder. “I haven’t told Charles yet but I am actually nervous about starting with Ferrari at the start of the season.”

“Kiddo, you are gonna do amazing,” Jax whispered, gently squeezing my hand. “I don’t know why you kept your talent of photography a secret for all these years. Plus everyone already loves you.”

I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at my older brother, “you are just saying that because we are family.” I scoffed.

“I am being serious and obviously Fred loves your work otherwise he wouldn’t have hired you.”

“I guess you are right,” I shrugged, trying to hide the yawn that escaped my lips.

“Squirt, I’m always right,” he smirked, pressing a kiss to the top of my head. “Why don’t you try and get some sleep.”

I was going to fight it but my body was screaming at me to get some rest, I had no idea what Charles was planning so decided Jax was once again right. Soon enough I found myself next to Charles, automatically I snuggled into his warm body letting his heartbeat be the soothing sound I needed to finally drift off to sleep.

Charles was a sneaky devil, the first thing I was surprised about was how I had no idea how he managed to plan a trip to Monaco to spend Christmas with his family without me realizing anything was going on, but it was like he knew what I needed. As much as I loved Charming and it would always be my home I needed to get away from it for a bit, in fact we all did, especially with it being the first Christmas without Pops. The second thing was he had packed the red dress that I told him had been banished to the back of the closet for the rest of eternity.

I couldn’t believe I agreed to try it on but the moment he slowly fastened the zipper on the back I was shocked. The dress fitted better now than it ever did when I first brought it. I was adamant this would never fit me again but one look in the mirror and I was practically reduced to tears. The moment I locked eyes with Charles through the reflection I finally felt beautiful, quietly and without me even realizing it the man I called my boyfriend had single handedly rebuilt my confidence bit by bit.

“Come on then, Sunshine, let's go for a walk,” he hummed, pressing a kiss against my cheek.

“Don’t you think we are a bit overdressed for a walk?” I questioned, spinning round letting my arms wrap around his neck.

“We are in Monaco, some people might think you are under dressed.”

“And what do you think, Mr Leclerc?” I purred, brushing my nose against his.

“Absolutely radiant,” he whispered, his lips gazing mine and his eyes darkening slightly as he spoke. “If I didn’t have plans for us I would be tearing it off with my teeth.”

Leaning up so I was on my tiptoes I brushed my lips against the shell of his ear feeling him shiver under my touch, “If that's the case I’d rather stay right here.”

“Stop being a tease, Teller,” he growled, tightening his grip on my hips. “I have something special planned so get that ass moving.”

The streets of Monaco looked absolutely stunning under the moonlight, I was slowly starting to feel the magic of Christmas returning. For once in my life I didn’t care if the press snapped a picture of me and Charles, nothing mattered at that moment.

Soon enough we came to the sea front and Charles came to a stop, swiftly kicking off his shoes and socks, “fancy a walk on the beach?” he asked, for some reason he was nervously looking around but I didn’t think anything of it

“Why not it’s a beautiful night,” I beamed, taking his hand as I pushed my heels off my feet.

There was no one else around making everything feel more romantic, like there was no one else on the planet and it was just me and Charles.

As we were walking across the sand I let my mind wander. The past five months had been an utter whirlwind, never in a million years did I think I would end up dating someone, let alone Charles Leclerc. I always refused to believe in soulmates, to me it was something companies made up to get money out of gullible couples but that all changed the moment Charles came speeding into my life. He caused my world to shift on its axis, he was the one who made me love again and if anyone asked if I believed in soulmates my answer was yes because Charles was mine. There was something about our connection that I couldn’t explain, it was like our souls had danced together in a previous lifetime.

Once again Charles came to a standstill, dropping our shoes onto the warm sand. “Nova Teller,” he whispered, taking my hands in his.

“Charles Leclerc,” I giggled, causing a large smile to appear on his beautiful face.

“The moment you came crashing into the bar reciting the Monza commentary I was drawn to you, I couldn’t get you out of my head. That night I found myself watching you move gracefully around the bar, laughing and joking with everyone.”

My heart started pounding against my chest as I realized what he was doing, this was the reason he wanted to dress up, why he wanted to go for a random walk on Christmas eve. Tears threatened to spill over my lash line as I found myself biting my tongue wanting to let him finish.

“I never thought I had a chance with you if I was being honest, but here we are spending one of many beautiful nights together. I have never loved anyone as much as I loved you. I made a vow to myself that I was never going to let myself fall in love again but that all changed the moment I laid eyes on you.” His eyes were glistening from unshed tears in the moonlight, his movements were slow as he dropped to one knee, pulling out a red velvet box from his jacket pocket.

My hand flew to my mouth as the tears started to fall. Never in a million years did I think I would get a moment like this and here I was experiencing it with Charles Leclerc.

“I couldn’t tell you at the time but this was the reason I had a call with JT, I didn’t want to do this without his blessing and Sunshine the first words out of his mouth was ‘it took you long enough to ask’” he chuckled, as he finally opened the box to reveal the most stunning ring I had ever seen. “So I’m not going to make you wait any longer, Nova Teller, will you be my wife, will you marry me?”

It was like the words got caught in my throat and the only thing I could do was nod my head like a madwoman. After what felt like an eternity I finally found my words. “Yes Char,” I whispered, tears streaming down my cheeks as he slid the ring onto my finger. My heart was bursting with love, especially knowing that he rang Pops to make sure he had his blessing.

Once the ring was sat in the right position Charles pushed himself to his feet, pulling me in for the most passionate kiss we had ever had. I felt like I was in one of those cheesy rom coms, but it was perfection, better than I could have ever dreamt of. Slowly I pulled away from Charles resting my forehead against his, giving myself a chance to catch my breath from the kiss.

The man standing in my arms was the one who never stopped believing in me, and I was proud to call him my fiancé “Thank you for being here and not giving up on me,” I whispered, letting my eyes flutter close.

“Sunshine, I’m not going anywhere, plus you have said you will be my wife so baby you are kinda stuck with me now,” he hummed, running his fingers through my hair. He paused for a second, pressing a tender kiss to the top of my head. Nothing could match this feeling. For the first time in the past three months I realized there was light at the end of the tunnel. I knew I was going to be alright, as long as I had my family behind me and Charles standing by my side. I couldn’t prepare myself for the next five words to pass his lips, but it was the words I needed to hear from the man I loved.

“Till the wheels fall off.”

@withmyteeth @chibsytelford @stillbreathin @danzer8705 @keyweegirlie @burningcupcakefire @dragon-of-winterfell @ohthemisssery @a-distantdreamer @sgkophie @angywritesstuff @enchantedbytomandhenry @scribbuluswrites @dangerouspursepeachbear @buendiabebeta @ferrarifwendvale @theplobnrgone @charlesleclercje @queenslife @panicforspec @justme2042 @liv67 @derpinathebrave @clcspeonies @pleasantducktimetravel @raaaaabzzz @mehrmonga @sbgal @fangirl-lb @pitconfirmbutton @oslokij @tall-tanned-tattoo @bigcreatorwombatdreamer @pumpkin-spice-hate @talicat713 @band--psycho @little-diable @i-love-scott-mccall @fourthwallhateclub @theysayitscrazy @rosieposie0624 @choochoo284 @meteora-fc @beeroses @darklydeliciousdesires @the-jer-bear @extraneousred @youflickedtooharddamnit @babypink224221

#Charles Leclerc #charles leclerc x reader #charles leclerc imagine #charles leclerc fanfic #charles leclerc x female reader #sons of anarchy #jax teller #jax teller x reader #jax teller imagine #sons of anarchy imagine #sons of anarchy x reader

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painedpen · 7 months

Note

Tell me anything and everything abt your headcanons and stuff for Mondo Owada, I'm all ears! He's one of my favorites so I'd love to hear what you think‼️

Thank you very much but you have no clue what you’ve just unleashed.

Fluff:

- Mondo’s maternal family originated from France, so French is his and Daiya’s first language. Of course, Mondo has never met his mother’s family… yet.

- Speaking of maternal family, anyone wanna take a guess as to what his mother’s maiden name is? Anyone? Too late, it’s Akamatsu.

- So yeah, Kaede is Mondo and Daiya’s little cousin. Kaede is about two or three years younger than Mondo, and she’s delighted to find her long lost cousin at her new high school.

- Due to having to fend for themselves at a young age, both Mondo and Daiya are really good cooks. The difference between them is that Mondo refuses to allow anyone else in the kitchen when he’s cooking. Think Gordon Ramsey but somehow even worse.

- Mondo will never admit to anyone that he likes to cook. God forbid you ask him to cook for you. Unless you’re sick or like really sad. He’ll tell you to never tell anyone though.

- Physical affection is not only his love language, it’s his way of life. Every time you see him, he’s leaning on or hugging one of his classmates. He’s like a really big cat.

- When he was a kid, Daiya couldn’t leave him alone for a moment, cause every time he came back Mondo would have befriended some random animal of prey. Daiya turns around and Mondo is cradling a Great Horned Owl in his arms like a baby.

- Mondo hasn’t been able to bring himself to have another pet since Chuck, so instead he co-parents everyone else’s pets. He’s already won over Celeste’s cat.

- Most of his childhood was spent around a pack of stray animals. One day, a cat curled up on his lap and started purring, and Mondo was like “heehee funny noise” and started mimicking it. Long story short, Mondo purrs as a stim.

- He’s the best adoptive big brother ever. Are you an only child, or just temporarily sad for some reason? Boom, Mondo’s your big brother now. No, no, don’t fight it.

- After befriending Kiyotaka, Mondo went to his French class for the first time in his school career. (He picked it because it was an easy A.) Listening to his teacher, he realized very quickly that she was not a native speaker, nor had she learned from a native speaker. He was quiet for a solid five minutes and then said, in perfect French, “What the fuck are you talking about??”

- Dyslexia makes it so that letters and words are hard for him to understand. But numbers? Ohoho he knows all about those little bitches! Because of this, he’s shockingly good at subjects like Algebra and Calculus.

Angst: (CW: Abandonment, dissociation, child abuse, neglect, violence)

- Mondo’s dad was a real piece of shit to both his wife and kids. Unfortunately, Moselle, his mother, could only find one way to cope with it. She dissociated to the point where she couldn’t recognize her children.

- Daiya and Mondo didn’t know what was wrong with her, so they always said that “Maman is just away.”

- While Daiya was busy trying to take care of his little brother, Mondo dedicated himself to taking care of their mother. Despite Moselle not being able to do much more than basic self-care, Mondo was convinced that she was just sick, and that they needed to help her get better.

- I won’t go into heavy details, but Mondo and Daiya ended up homeless. After the trauma of what he went through with his parents, Mondo went entirely nonverbal for several years.

- One day, while Daiya was away looking for a source of income, Mondo was mugged while alone. A shot through the shoulder left him on the floor looking for help. No one bothered until Officer Takaaki Ishimaru came along. He got Mondo to a hospital just in time.

- Because of nights spent outside, Mondo tends to get Wind Anxiety. When the wind blows fast enough to be heard from inside, Mondo automatically starts shivering. It doesn’t matter if he actually feels cold or not, it’s just an unfortunate muscle memory.

- Mondo doesn’t remember a lot about his childhood, but he finds he can’t forget what his mother’s face looked like just before her death. He refuses to sleep most days because his dreams are full of her eyes looking directly at him.

- Daiya doesn’t remember a thing, but Mondo refuses to remind him. He’d rather Daiya live in blissful ignorance than have him suffer the way Mondo has.

- Mondo still goes nonverbal sometimes, so he likes to wear a face mask. He looks intimidating in that, so no one tries to talk to him when he’s wearing it. Win-win.

- While the Crazy Diamonds is genuinely fun, it’s not a healthy environment for Mondo in the slightest. There’s a large minority of members who still think he’s too weak to be in the gang. They constantly try to pester and bully him into retiring early.

- It was even worse when Daiya was still in charge. Almost everyone hated him. He would get into fights, people would tell him that he should get into a crash and die so that they wouldn’t have to deal with him anymore. It was rough.

- Even so, Mondo stayed quiet about it. These people were like family to Daiya, and Mondo didn’t want to be the reason Daiya lost any more family. When Daiya asked why he’d come home with bruises all over, Mondo would blame it on a rival gang.

- The first time Hiroko met Mondo, she gave him a hug. She did that thing moms do, cradling the back of his head and neck with her hand protectively. Mondo absolutely melted.

Platonic Pairings:

Mondo + Kyoko:

- These two mean. So much to me.

- They are both black cat coded but in completely different ways. Like Kyoko is a mysterious and dark Witch’s Familiar, and Mondo is a moody dumbass who likes snuggles.

- Kyoko’s love language isn’t physical affection. But she spontaneously decides to cuddle with Mondo for an hour and a half to the second, and then silently leaves.

- Mondo joins Kyoko on her murder investigations sometimes. He contributes practically nothing, he’s just here to hang out. Kyoko appreciates his presence anyway.

Mondo + Chihiro:

- Okay this one’s just obvious.

- I don’t even think I need to say anything about this.

Mondo + Toko:

- Mwah. Delicious.

- I think that Mondo would hate the way Byakuya treats Toko, and would start aggressively defending her.

- He starts “training” her in order to try and get her confidence up.

- Like, Toko wears a rubber band around her wrist that Mondo snaps every time she self-deprecates. Pavlov her into positive self talk, y’know?

- Toko tells Byakuya to go fuck himself and Mondo stands in the background, wiping a tear from his eye.

Mondo + Celeste:

- Sibling energy frfr.

- They scream at each other in French, but would go to war for each other no questions asked.

- They shit-talk other people together.

- Celeste forces him to wear his hair down every now and again because “The big hair distracts from your pretty face!”

- Mondo points out that she’s a hypocrite. Celeste doesn’t care.

- These two fight so much but there’s no real animosity behind it. Not that anyone around them can tell. Everyone else thinks that they just plain hate each other.

Mondo + Gundham:

- Childhood friends. Hear me out.

- Mondo found a really sick stray puppy when he was little and rushed him to the vet. The vet said that since Mondo didn’t have any money, there was nothing they could do. Mondo was really upset.

- Baby Gundham came up behind them like “You foulest of fiends! It would seem your soul has been buried under stone, if you have it in you to turn away a creature in need. Worry not, mortal, for I, the great Gundham Tanaka, will help you restore this dark beast to its rightful glory!”

- Baby Mondo was like “Okay lol” and they both left.

- That’s how Mondo got Chuck.

Mondo + Mikan:

- Hoo boy!!

- Mondo is in the infirmary a lot due to obvious reasons, so it’s only natural that he would be friendly with the nurse.

- Every time Hiyoko or someone else tries to come in and bully Mikan, Mondo picks them up by the neck and throws them out.

- It’s gotten to the point where, even if Mondo isn’t there, Mikan will just tell people “If you won’t leave me alone, I’ll call Owada!” No one fucks with that.

- Overall, having Mondo’s protection is a huge confidence boost for her.

Kay there you go.

#danganronpa #danganronpa trigger happy havoc #mondo owada #trigger happy havoc #mondo oowada #headcanons #fanfic #fluff #angst #kyoko kirigiri #chihiro fujisaki #toko fukawa #celestia ludenberg #gundham tanaka #mikan tsumiki #mondoblr

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whoahoney · 1 year

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hey!! could i request some fluff with josh kiszka? i'm going through a tough time and i would like him to lay on top of me while we watch his favorite weird artsy films and he enthusiastically explains what makes them so special <3

Ugh I’m sorry you’re having a rough time, my love! I hope this helps 🤍

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

It hadn’t been long since you and Josh Kiszka started spending more alone time together, a few weeks of late night calls, sporadic text updates about your days, and generous amounts of spotify recommendations exchanged and discussed.

Every moment you managed to snag alone with him, time seemed to stop as you fell deeper and deeper into conversation and your fascination grew into deep admiration.

It began with Sam introducing you to his older brothers, a smug smirk on his lips as he watched Josh take you in, appraising you like his newest fixation as you spoke with an unmatched shine in your eye.

That very same night, Josh managed to find you alone—and without a drink! Which he fixed right away.

You’d sat outside beneath the stars and listened happily as he talked about what began as his influences, then quickly evolved into his inspirations, his passions and then never ending questions about everything that ever had to do with you.

The reasons you wake up in the morning, the songs that turn your day around, the foods that make your tastebuds sing, and your family and their whereabouts.

Soon you were the one caught up in a monologue about why your time in school was hard and how it affected your outlook on relationships of any kind, about how Sam was one of the first friends you’d made when you’d moved to town out of pure luck. The guy had really pulled you out of your shell and is a big part of the reason you have friends here in the first place.

Josh would be a liar if he said he didn’t worry about his chances with you based on how you spoke about his brother, but was quickly assured that you hadn’t found him to be romantically interesting, but a close platonic bond.

Before you parted for the night he was prompt to ask for your phone number, and you’d been talking ever since.

He’d invite you on late night drives, or hikes before brunch at his house, sometimes calling you up in the morning to make a spontaneous plan that almost always began with him fondly greeting you by name, melodic and mischievous, “… You got any plans today?”

And today was one of those days.

The sky was a calm downpour. The clouds a wool blanket of gray, and the lightning lit up the sky to amethyst purple with a mighty crack every now and then.

Josh’s living room had a perfect view to his backyard, a rolling green hill with spectacular trees fringing the area. The spring blooms had just blossomed and the grass was still long and thick from the lack of yard work done for the sake of the butterflies. He’d decided that morning when he opened the curtains that he needed to spend the day with you on the couch.

And who were you to refuse?

“I can be there in 20 minutes?” You offered.

You could practically hear the smile in his voice as he says, “Perfect, drive safe! And wear your coziest clothes.”

You hadn’t bothered with makeup or changing out of your pajamas, truthfully, before you shoved your socked feet into your rain boots and snatched up your keys.

You’d barely touched the doorbell when Josh appeared, beaming and reaching out to bring you inside. He didn’t hesitate to push the hood off your head and pull you in for a hug even if it meant getting his shirt a little wet.

He quickly got you settled on the couch, tucked into the best corner with a pillow and blanket draped over you. He busied himself in the kitchen with the kettle as he explained the plethora of dvds on the coffee table, “I’m still moving stuff out of my parent’s house, so when I go back they send stuff with me to bring here,“ he set down a ceramic mug that steamed with peppermint tea on the table before you and gestured to the piles, “I most recently received the treasured collection of dvds that changed my life.”

He sat down next to you, leaving a safe distance between you even though he wanted nothing more than to pull you close and hold your hand.

You’d yet to cross that line.

“Oh my gosh! Are any of these why you wanted to direct?”

He nodded and tapped a stack before picking it up, “Oh yeah, Monty Python and the Holy Grail inspired me to make my first film with my friends. It’s when I learned I liked satire! Well, that, and SNL….” He began rambling about his favorite cast and seasons, and then remembered himself before setting five movies in front of you to pick from.

“I want you to pick the first one.” He smiled and placed a hand in the middle of your back. Warmth consumed your skin in raised bumps all across your body. His touch had that effect on you sometimes.

You scan the options with difficulty, landing on a familiar favorite, “Fight Club?” You hold it up with a hopeful grin, one that Josh answers with his own, “Okay, but after we watch it, we can never speak of it.” You shoot him a weary glance, “It’s the rules.” He shrugged.

He stood to put the disc inside the ancient dvd player as thunder cracked and lighting broke the sky open for a moment. You jump, right as the flash lights up the room. Josh seems amused with this as he flops down next to you, closer than before. “No need to fear, darling.” He reminds in a transatlantic accent, throwing an arm around you. “It’s just a storm.”

You lean into his side as he presses play, chuckling and blushing at how this dork has you wrapped around his finger. He taps your nose and you reach up to interlace your fingers with his that dangled over your shoulder. He absentmindedly runs his thumb across your knuckles as the intro begins.

Josh can’t help but talk all through the movie, sharing his thoughts and opinions on the plot, frames of certain scenes he loves and hates, little bits of trivia no one else would ever know that you now know too because he shared it with you.

You revel in it all, learning about him—being here with him. It’s everything you’ve wanted since you met him. Josh never failed to make you feel special—just like Sam!

Except maybe a little bit different than Sam.

Okay, a lot different than Sam.

You’d wondered often where this was going between you two, getting teased relentlessly by Sam to thank him at the wedding someday but also never bothered to bestow upon you any information he may have about his brother’s feelings toward you.

Stupid brothers and their stupid code of conduct.

But it was moments like these, the ones where you keep getting closer and closer that make you wonder if it isn’t teasing at all from Sam. That maybe Josh really had his sights set on you and that maybe you weren’t too far off from—

“Hey, you still awake?” Josh asks quietly after a long silence. You’ve found that your head is on his shoulder and the movie is near over.

You raise up slightly before you feel his fingers curl around your shoulder in a light grip, as if asking you to stay.

So you did.

“Sorry, I didn’t even know I—“

“It’s okay! You could-uh, you could lay your head back down—if you wanted! You don’t—“ you interrupt his rambling as you laid your head down again, snuggling close to him with your knees almost in his lap. He sighed contently and placed his other hand on your knee. “Better?” He asks after a moment, and Brad Pitt slams his fist into an unsuspecting face on the screen.

You nod, “Mhm, thank you.” You can smell the lingering bergamot soap on his skin, fighting the urge to bury your nose in his neck and inhale before pressing a kiss to it.

“Thank you for coming over on such short notice.” He said quietly, his head laid over on yours.

You smile, “Of course. I… really like hanging out with you.”

Josh chuckled, his chest bouncing with it, “I like spending time with you too, doll.” He said fondly, bringing his hand up from your shoulder to stroke your hair. The affection had you stifling a sharp breath with a swallow.

The silence was thick after he spoke, your eyes glued to the TV and bodies unmoving though the energy passing between you was humming. It felt like something was about to happen.

“Y’know, when Sam told me about you I didn’t know…” he paused in thought before you lifted your head from his shoulder in question. Josh looked uncharacteristically somber, pondering his words carefully as they formed in his mouth. “I didn’t know you’d be so… beguiling.” He shrugged.

You chuckle, “Yeah, I’ve been told I’m a little weird.”

Josh smiles softly and shakes his head before finally looking at you with a tender caress of his finger down your cheekbone. “Sweetheart… I’m crazy about weird.” He smiles knowingly at your lips. “My day doesn’t feel complete anymore if I don’t hear from you.” He tsks, “It’s almost kind of ridiculous, I might even kinda resent you for it if you make me go a day without speaking to you!” He jokes.

You smile at him and lean into his touch. “I know what you mean, Kiszka. If I haven’t had my morning song rec I might as well have skipped my coffee, since I met you.” You bite the inside of your cheek as he appraises you, similarly to the night you met, the adoring smile he had on his face fading as he worded his next sentence carefully.

“They way I feel about you…” He sighed and shook his head, as if at a loss for words, “I think about you. All the time.” He whispers as if it’s a secret he’s afraid to tell.

Your eyes widen before you slowly nod, “I… I think about you too, Josh. Way too much for my own good, I think.” You admit just as softly with a glance to his lips. You have the urge to brush your thumb against his bottom lip, to take his chin in your hand and—

Josh smiles and tugs you closer, “Am I reading this wrong, or do you want me to kiss you?” He teases just as your noses brush, and instead of answering, you connect your lips to his, just as the final gunshot of the film fired.

It could’ve been seconds or minutes later when you stopped kissing, only pulling back an inch or so to linger as his eyes slowly opened. He smiled at you and swiped his finger along your cheek again, “I really like you. And I wanna do this with only you.” He said easily.

You can’t help but smile and nod before holding his face in your hands and kiss him again, “All of my kisses are yours.”

Josh’s eyes brightened at that and leaned in for more kisses, taking greedy pecks before your giggles melted into moans of content, the other movies long forgotten. You spend the rest of the afternoon laying on Josh’s chest, the windows open to listen to the pattering of the rain against the ground, and Josh’s heart beat beneath your ear, more than enough to kill you to sleep.

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

You didn’t leave Josh’s house after that day, three days later you were clad in his clothes and still on his couch, watching Josh’s picks no matter how gory or off-kilter they were. His commentary was your favorite part of every film, the bender filled with his laughter, critique, and praise.

You were picking the next dvd, replacing the one you just finished back into the sleeve of the book when you saw a disc labeled “Josh and Jake -2001”

“What’s this?” You ask as you hold it up.

Josh looks up from his phone as you approach, squinting as reads it before smiling fondly, “Oh, this is fantastic, put it in! You’re gonna love it.” He taps his hand on the table enthusiastically before rubbing his hands together and bouncing in his seat.

“Okay! Okay!” You giggle as you bend over, catching Josh’s intent lean forward in the black reflection of the TV, getting a full view of your ass before you straightened and pressed play. Josh held open his arms for you just as you flopped onto the couch and loud voices and a glitchy hole video filled the screen.

Two little figures stood in the middle of the grass, their hair short and their matching smiles just as large as they were today. They were shirtless, clad in denim shorts and barefoot as they sang into a small broom stick together, belting James Taylor as their family joined in.

“Oh my gosh!” You mused quietly, watching their little wiggling limbs as they danced similarly to what you’d seen on stage. Josh blushed as he watched you watch his childhood.

The next clip was the two of them standing in their kitchen, their little feet wanting to flee so badly but kept still to look into the camera lens. Their father spoke in the background, “Hi boys!”

“Hi daddy!” They chorused enthusiastically.

“Okay, so I’m gonna ask you guys some questions, and you’re gonna tell me your answers so we can remember them forever!”

“Yeah!” One of the twins yelled as the other nodded. “That’s me.” Josh pointed out, as if you thought any different.

“How old are you?”

“Five!” They said almost in tandem.

“What’s your favorite color?”

Jake shifted on his little feet as Josh began to bounce, “Purple!” He shouted.

“I like blue.” Jake added, nervously running his tongue over his lip as you’d seen him do just last week when conversation was turned to him at dinner.

“I like-I like red, daddy!” Ronnie yelled from across the room, sat at place at the dinner table.

“And Sam likes green!” Josh insisted as he pointed at the bald baby sat on their mothers knee, bibbed and slobbering with a smile as he bounced.

Kelly laughed behind the camera, “I think so too! What do you wanna be when you grow up?”

“I wanna….” Little Josh rolled his eyes as he trailed off with a gaping mouth as Jake perked up, “I wanna be a rockstar!” He said with light in his eyes and a smile on his face that Josh mirrored, “Yeah! We’ll be rockstars!” He agreed.

You giggled as they commenced their air drumming and mimicked screeching guitar riffs, finding Josh’s eyes on you as you turned to look at him, noting the warmth in your chest that grew when he smiled. “You always knew, huh?” You ask.

Josh chuckled dryly and shrugged, “Well, not always. I’ve always known I wanted to be with my brother. That he’s my partner in all things and I would do anything to make his dreams possible. Especially if I can have this much fun doing it.” He chuckles for real. “I think I’ve ended up here because I surrendered to the journey—the flow of the waters of life, if you will.” He gave you a look your quite familiar with, one he uses as he usually monologues.

“You go where life takes you?” You ask.

He nods insistently, “Absolutely. And I’m very happy with where I am, and where I’m going.” He smiled and took you in again, similarly to the night you met, “even more so, now that I can enjoy it with you.” He took your hand tenderly and squeezed it.

You can’t help your smile, and words fail you. You can only nod and press a deep kiss to his perfect lips, ready to spend this night and many more just like this.

A/N: I kinda hate this but also simultaneously love it, it’s my first time writing for Josh so I apologize if it feels out of character for him 🥲💖

#greta van fic #greta van fluff #Greta Van fleet x reader #josh kiszka fluff #josh kiszka x reader #Greta Van fleet fluff #greta van fleet fic #Greta Van fleet imagine #josh kiszka x you #josh kiszka x y/n

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sopfiista · 2 months

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Perfect Ending

WARNINGS!! -- Angst (not like Gege), mentions of death, death, mentions of depression, kinda just sad all over

Life seemed to flash before your eyes. Cold winter months with Geto, mugs full of hot chocolate, bundled up in thick blankets as you two chatted away, remembering the old times when you first started Jujutsu High.

Beautiful spring mornings with Shoko, online shopping for pretty floral dresses for Instagram photos you two could post with one another, finding the cutest sandals and big bows for your hair.

Summer months spent with Gojo as the two of you played with water guns and threw water balloons at each other. As Geto and Shoko watched, laughing loudly as you screamed, Gojo’s water balloon splattering all over your favorite shirt.

Those were the days. You missed them so dearly. You wished you could go back. A small smile tugged on your face. How could you forget?

Last fall- the fall you met the wonderful trio. Megumi, Nobara… and Yuji. Yuji was like a little light in this horrible world, yet he doesn’t know how destructive he is. Like a ticking time bomb. Yet, he was confident that he would be okay.

And that same fall, your life seemed to break apart. That fall, you went on a mission, being wished good luck from friends and off you went, with Nanami, to go and figure out the disruption a few cities away.

That was the day you lost your last string to stay in this world. The things you’ve seen that day- it still made a shiver go down your spin, sprouting goosebumps over your skin. The day you lost mobility.

Blood, crying, and searing hot pain in your legs was all you really remembered… and a small part of you breaking. You couldn’t go on from there.

You had already spiraled into some sort of depression, ever since around this time last year, but you kept a high head for your friends, family, and for your own sake. You couldn’t carry the burden of this anymore.

How sad. It was horrible to know that he was going to be the ending of this earth. You sighed, pulling a hand through your messy hair, pulling through the small tangles that had accumulated.

Your pen made neat writing onto the small slip of paper on your desk. Not too far stood a gun. It was soon to be your demise.

Why were you doing this? Why did you have to come to an end?

You felt a tear slip down your face and drop onto the paper. Why were you crying? There wasn’t a reason to cry… you were finally getting your release. You’ve already had a bounty over your head for millions of yen… Why should you be crying?

You read through your note, each paragraph specifically for each person. You sobbed softly, reading over Gojo’s little letter, separate from him…

You glanced at the gun a few feet away from you, your hands shaking as you wheeled yourself to the dresser, a large mirror covering the doors of your closet. You wanted your last vision to be yourself.

As you glanced over your face, a small sprout of joy seemed to bloom in your chest. You were pretty. Who knew you were pretty? Why did you care for your looks so much? You were gorgeous- almost too stunning for anyone to say otherwise. Your skin was perfect, your eyes were pretty, your cheeks seemed to mold perfectly with the shape of your face…

You were stunning.

Sighing softly, you glanced at your letters.

Gojo’s sat open on your desk. You knew he would be arriving soon.

I’ve never been more proud to consider you my only family in this cruel, fucked up world. I hope you live your best years after this. I love you, brother.

Pulling the gun to your head, you felt the cold steel of the barrel touch your temple.

You took a deep breath in, feeling your heartbeat rapidly.

You could hear soft footsteps come your way, the normal coo of your name making your head fog. He was here already?

3… you sighed softly

2… the steps came closer, the normal sing-song voice of Gojo making you smile

1… maybe he was the perfect thing to look at last. Maybe he was your last look on earth before you left it

“Hey, are you gonna answer me, stupid?” The normal tuft of white hair came into view, looking at you with those pretty diamond eyes. He had made that promise- to never wear that stupid headband over his eyes… just for you.

BANG!

Hopefully, he wouldn't hate you for this.

#gojo satoru #jjk gojo #gojo x reader #jujutsu gojo #satoru gojo #jujutsu kaisen #angst #jjk angst #geto suguru #geto x reader #jjk geto #tw death

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gettingfrilly · 9 months

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Let's talk about Eddy's family

Out of the three boys, I feel we know the least about Eddy's family. We may have met his brother, the only adult to ever have a role in the show, but of the Eds, he talks about his parents the least. And I refuse to believe his brother is just Like That all on his own. Something happened to that guy and I wanna know what.

So, let's look at what we know:

Eddy was physically abused by his big brother. On the flip side, his big brother also passed his knowledge onto him, the show implying that his bro took on the role of a mentor in Eddy's life. Eddy also inherited a lot of his brother's stuff from him; whether Eddy's brother had a choice in that matter or not is unknown, since Eddy could have simply taken the items out of his brother's room after he was gone.

Bro is much older than Eddy, though we don't know exactly by how much.

in the episode 'Ed... Pass it on...' we learn that the older boys in the neighborhood (Kevin and Rolf), who would have clearer memories of him than the other kids, are terrified of bro.

Eddy idolizes his brother. He pulls his pranks, wears his clothes, and speaks his praises any chance he gets.

Eddy's dad is most likely a homophobe judging by the implications of the only direct description we get of him in the bible. He doesn't want his son to be gay and worries that he is.

Eddy's mom thinks Eddy can do no wrong. Now, I've seen a lot of people interpret the line about Eddy's mom as a continuation of the line about his dad, and that she, too, is homophobic but doesn't believe Eddy is gay. However, I think they're separate statements. Eddy is a guy who gets in a lot of trouble, and usually when a kid gets in trouble, their mom is the first to be told. I think what the bible is communicating to us is that Eddy's mom flat out doesn't believe the stories about the trouble Eddy gets up to. It's probably one of the biggest reasons he keeps making trouble without fear of consequences.

Here's where things get a little more up to interpretation-y:

Here we have Eddy throwing a mug that says "#1 son" out of his closet. So. Yeah. He's the favorite child and his parents aren't afraid to say it out loud.

Eddy's dad, like Eddy, seems to have a short temper and isn't shy of getting physical with people, including his own children (important to keep in mind that this is a hyperbolic, slapstick cartoon, and not any sort of canon proof that Eddy's dad is abusive.)

Then there's the way Bro is talked about in the bible. "Before his brother went... away," why the ellipses? Was there something else to be said other than just "away?" I think the hint here is that Eddy's brother didn't just grow up and move out. There was some sort of inciting incident that lead to him living on his own. There's also the fact that Eddy has no idea where his brother lives in BPS, and that when he does show up, the first thing his bro asks is "Do mom and dad know you're here?" Eddy answers "AS IF!" which tells me that Eddy's parents would not approve of Eddy being around his brother, and both brothers are aware of that. This is followed up by bro asking "Does ANYONE know you're here?" Which. Big scary imo. Really fucking weird thing to ask your little brother before you start beating on him. Like he wanted to know what he could get away with.

So with all that in mind, here's my own personal headcanon that is not in anyway present in canon this is just what i like to imagine happened:

Eddy's brother was the family's scapegoat, whereas Eddy (in his mother's eyes, at least) was the golden child. Extremely rarely do children grow up to be violent just because. I think bro learned that behavior at home. I've discussed before that I think Eddy has ADHD, and that shit hella genetic, so I think his bro has it, too. Their mom and dad were new parents when they first had bro, and probably knew squat about raising a neurodivergent kid, and neurodivergent children are more likely to be victims of abuse. When corporal punishment didn't end up working out so well on bro, I think his parents changed tactics for Eddy. I also personally think that his mom felt guilty for how bro was raised, which is why she's so lenient with Eddy. So now, bro is jealous of Eddy and bitter about his own abusive upbringing, and he takes this out on Eddy by being exceptionally cruel and violent towards him.

This led to bro eventually doing something bad enough to get his ass sent to either juvie or prison, depending on how old he was at the time. This was hidden from Eddy, who adores his older brother, and was told that his brother had simply moved out. And that's how things ended up how they are in the show and how Eddy's brother ended up the way that he is. Again, this is just my own imagination. While it makes sense as something that could be true when you look at canon, I don't think canon actually props it up as accurate in any way. Anyway, I'm curious to hear what you guys think of bro and Eddy's family!!! especially if any of you know what the hell "Eddy's genes are working the fastest" means.

#eene #ed edd n eddy #gettingfrillyspeaks

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jillsandwhichs · 10 days

Text

➤ cleon fic , chap 2 , being a good girlfriend

masterlist

pairing: claire redfield & leon kennedy

summary: claire drops of leons lunch to him at work

status of their relationship in this oneshot: dating

wc: 2.6k

type: sfw

a/n: hi. this was the 2nd chapter to my cleon fic. if you wanna read all the chapters (it's still ongoing) check my pinned post.

Claire was standing on the white, decorated balcony, her fit arms resting on the railing as she sipped her sweet jasmine tea. Gazing off into the distance, and listening in on the sounds of nature, Claire felt at peace. Seeing the birds fly on by, along with their adorable chirping noises. Even hearing the cars in the distance go by at a rapid pace. It all felt so lively.

The sky seemed gloomy today, full of clouds with a grey, dark tint to it, it wouldn't be a stretch to assume rainfall was on it's way. The contrast from the breezy cool air to the emitting heat radiating off of Claire's mug, due to the tea, was relaxing as well.

It wasn't very often Claire was able to enjoy the little things in life. Her entire life was based around Terrasave and everything that comes with it, but being able to take time off for herself was important, and she knew that. Claire is very into self-care and the benefits that it provides.

A clearer mindset, a better headspace, positive attitudes and all the goodies it comes with, and right now, Claire felt calm, content and overall, just happy. It wasn't just due to commiting to self-care, it was also the people in her life.

Sherry, Chris, Jill, and everyone else, they all meant so near and dear to her, it's a shame it has been so long since she last seen them, especially her brother, Chris, he's always off doing his own thing with the BSAA, he never has time to spend with Claire or anybody for that matter.

But best of all, Claire's most favorite person, is her boyfriend, Leon. He was one of her main sources of motivation. He provided her that stride she needed to accomplish each goal that came day by day. He was her reason to wake up and get out of bed each day. Leon is and always will be her everything.

The mere thought of Leon made Claire feel elated.

Turning around, and sliding open the screen door that lead back into the apartment, Claire wandered back inside, sipping the last few drops of her tea before carefully placing the mug into the empty sink, water droplets still visible on the sides and bottom of the sink from when Claire did the dishes earlier that morning.

The apartment was silent, minus the distant sound of the fan in Leon's bedroom and the small drips of water occasionally hitting into the sink. Claire doesn't like silence, she doesn't feel safe when it's this quiet.

Grabbing the TV remote, Claire turned it on and began to scroll through channels before landing on some random reality show, she turned the audio up and tossed the remote to the couch, walking into the kitchen again.

Candle light emitted from the kitchen, the scent was 'Mahogany Wood', one of Leon and Claire's favorites, they always had it lit. Inhaling the nature-like smell, Claire walked towards the candle and picked it up, the heat instantly burning her soft-touched finger tips.

"Fuck... I'm stupid." Claire sighed to herself, shaking her hand, as if to shake away the sting.

Ambling to the refrigerator, Claire opened it and began to eye down the produce and protein within it, wanting to make herself a quick and easy lunch. She contemplated making avocado toast, or maybe even oatmeal, but she was never to sure and besides, she's indecisive.

Whilst looking though, Claire realized something. Leon had forgotten his lunch, and his break was soon. The man didn't even eat his breakfast, so he's bound to be starving. "Why are you so forgetful." Claire giggled to herself, grabbing the tub from the fridge and placing it on the counter.

Leon packs his own lunches, and in his, he put a sandwich, an apple and for some reason, doritos, he was so random. "None of this is really even healthy, why do men just toss things in a container and call it a meal?" Claire groaned aloud, tossing the doritos to the side, along with the sandwich, but left the apple in there, she wouldn't completely ruin his 'masterpiece' of a lunch.

Turning around from the island counter, Claire re-opened the fridge and grabbed out some strawberries and a banana, putting them on the counter. She then strolled over to the sink and grabbed a knife from the strainer. Claire made the decision to cut up some strawberries and bananas for his side dish, along with making him a much more healthy sided sandwich.

Placing the banana onto the chopping board, Claire began to fully cut the fruit into thin slices, once she finished off the banana, she dropped the fruit into a container. Cutting the strawberries next, she threw the leafy tops off into the trash bin and made sure they were pristine without any bugs or dirt.

After she finished up with the side, she grabbed out some turkey slices and whole wheat bread, and made a quick sandwich, but it was made with love, of course. Leon always preferred turkey over ham, so Claire is happy she remembered that minute thing about him, maybe it was important after all.

"There, he'll like that." Claire mumbled to herself, pulling her flip phone out and shooting Leon a message, letting him know she'll be on her way to drop off his lunch.

"Hi! I seen you left your lunch here at home so I'm gonna come by and drop it off, okay? Love you!" Claire messaged, sending it after typing it out. It took a moderate amount of time to do so though because of how texting works through a flip phone.

Grabbing the tupperware, Claire shoved it into her red leather purse, clipping the bag shut. Whilst walking towards the door, Claire turned off the smart TV. She then opened the black door, locking it behind her. The apartment complexes hallway was compact, multiple doors on each side of it. It is the most pricy complex in the city so it makes sense it's so packed full, but Claire didn't mind, wherever Leon goes, she goes.

The elevator doors slid open and Claire stepped in, standing beside a man who was in a black and white suit. The apartment complex was full of business men like himself, it's part of the reason Leon lived here, it was near his work, and it's near a few multi millionaire companies. Although, the D.S.O is most likely worth the most, hell, you're working for the President of all people!

The elevator dinged as the doors opened up completely, Claire convoying out of them and heading out of the building and to her car. Claire spotted her small, grey car, it was parked on the side of the road, beside the crowd filled sidewalk. The neighborhood felt safe enough to leave it there, little to no crimes happened around here.

Claire clicked her keys, her car beeping then unlocking. Leon actually helped Claire pay for her car, since she can't get everywhere with just a motorcycle, although she wishes she could. Plopping down in the driver's seat, Claire put her purse down in the passenger seat, making sure it was tucked in enough to not fall off onto the floor of the vehicle.

Sticking her key into the ignition, the girl started her car up, heaving out as she heard it start up so cleanly. Her motorcycles were a lot louder, and much more sketchy to start up due to how old they were, she fears someday they'll stop running and she'll have to buy, or make a whole new one. Claire has somewhat built her own motorcycle, it's more complex than that though.

Once Claire was officially on the road, she turned the radio up, the song 'There she goes' by the La's began to play, it was one of Claire's favorite songs. Her brother, Chris, introduced it to her, he had impeccable taste in music.

He was also the reasoning behind Claire learning about the band, Queen, her and Chris have matching Queen jackets. In a series of unfortunate events, Chris did lose his. Claire still has both of hers though, she wears them on occasion.

Whilst driving, droplets of rain began to fall, hitting the windshield at a rapid pace. "I knew it'd rain." Claire muttered to herself, firmly tightening her grip on the steering wheel. Leon's place of work wasn't to far from the apartment, it was about ten minutes away, but with this traffic, it could take even twenty.

It looked earthy out. The dark green grass, fresh cool wind, and the misty air all came together and the rain blended in perfectly. Fall time was the best time, it was Claire and Leon's favorite. Leon had actually asked Claire to date him last fall, their one year anniversary was right around the corner. The girl had pondered on what they'd do for the special day.

Hearing a ringtone sound coming from her phone, Claire shot her head towards the passenger seat and began to dig her hand through her purse, needing to fetch it out in order to see whether it was Leon or not. She knows it's illegal and highly unsafe to use a phone while driving but in this case, Claire was willing to break the law for him.

Stopping at a red light, Claire opened her phone up and gave a content look at her phone when she seen the message, it read, "I hadn't even realized, thank you, my sweet girl. Love you too." Leon was the best. Claire closed her phone and tossed it back into her purse, gandering back up at the road.

Officially, Claire reached Leon's workplace, and parked her car in front of the building. The establishment had high security but Claire's already visited Leon at work countless times, so the more she visits, the less precautions the security tends to take.

"I'm here! Where are you? Come out to my car." Claire messaged Leon. Whenever she'd visit him on his lunch break, they would just sit in her car and chit-chat, it was the only way they could spend time together when he's working.

She pulled out his food from her purse and set it up on the dashboard, waiting to see him walk out of the double doors that lead to the exit. She had hoped he'd enjoy what she packed for him, deep down, she knows he will but even so, it's not what he had packed.

Claire still had the radio up, the song now playing was called 'Coney Island Baby', which is a pretty old song, but it's a goodie. Claire is a musical enthusiast, she wants to learn guitar someday just like her brother. Although, he can't play any other instrument, he can't read music...

As she was in her head, she didn't realize Leon had walked out until she heard a knocking sound on the passenger side window, turning her head, she seen Leon, a slight smile on his face. "Unlock the door." Leon spoke, his voice muffled due to him being outside.

Chortling, Claire hit the unlock button on her door and let Leon climb into the car. His hair and outfit was somewhat damp from the down pouring rain. "Hey." Leon whispered. "Hi." Claire smiled, leaning in to kiss him. Leon brushed his veiny hand against her cheek, giving her a quick smooch before pulling away. "Thank you for bringing me my lunch." "I'm not gonna let my boyfriend go hungry at work." Claire retorted.

"You're a good girlfriend." "I know." The girl snorted. Leon grabbed the plastic, clear container and placed it on the center console, unclipping it and seeing what was inside. "This isn't what I packed." He stated, confusion in his tone. "Yeah, sweetie, I hope you don't mind, your lunch was uh... Something else." She teased.

The man looked up with a smirk, "Thank you." Leon chuckled, kissing his cheek briskly before taking a bite of the turkey sandwich.

They sat in silence for a couple minutes as Leon ate, but Claire didn't mind, she was happy he was eating. The man needed to fuel his body, especially considering his line of work. "Is it good?" Claire questioned. "Very much so." Leon responded. "Good, good." Claire said, whilst rubbing his tense shoulder with her delicate hand.

The way Claire showed her affection was through actions and physical touch. It kind of all adds up. She brought him a lunch, her action, she's being physical with him, physical affection. Leon definitely shows his through words and physical affection. They're both very into physical touch, especially Leon.

"Looking back on it, packing dortitos and a sandwich like that wasn't even a lunch, thank you for this, sweetheart." Leon spoke, enamore in his voice. "You're welcome, Leon." Claire replied, drawing her head towards him and pushing her lips upon his, the passion between the two was noticeable. Leon breathed deeply as he pulled away, gazing into Claire's divine eyes.

"So, for dinner tonight, what would you like?" Leon asked. "I can swing by somewhere after work. Whatever you want, I'll get." He spoke again. Claire sat in thought for a second, before her lips curled into a small smile. "Chinese food... More specifically, orange chicken and lo mein!" She giggled. Chinese food was one of her favorites. "Your wish is my command." Leon laughed, finishing off his last strawberry.

Taking a strawberry between her fingertips, Claire put it up to Leon, trying to hold back her snickering. Leon smirked and bit the strawberry, maintaining eye contact with the woman just in front of him as he did so. "You're cute." Claire spoke with an honest tone. "Says you." Leon retorted, causing Claire to roll her eyes.

Leon placed his hand on Claire's before speaking, "I have to get back to work." The man sighed, clearly dreading that factor. "I know." The girl expired, leaning her head onto the head rest of the driver's seat, staring into Leon's eyes. "I'll see you soon, ok?" He added, brushing some of her brunette hair behind her adorable ear. "See you sweetie." Claire mumbled.

"Don't be such a downer." Leon whispering, giving her one last final peck on her forehead before opening the door and stepping out, the rain had let up a bit. "I love you." He spoke. "Love you." She replied.

Claire studied Leon as he strided off, heading back into the building. Claire missed him already.

Divider Creds: animatedglittergraphics-n-more

#resident evil #tumblr fyp #claire redfield #leon kennedy #ship post #fanfic #re death island #cleon #resident evil fanfiction #cute #romance #driving #lunch #chris redfield #jill valentine

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