#just been standing next to his body for the past 5 minutes cuz I feel bad

[kittlyns]

Just did a war crime against a guy called baelen bonecloak. Rip Mr. Bonecloak

[mcverse]

ꨄ︎ Paring: Neteyam x Avatar! F! Reader

ꨄ︎ Requested: Yes/No

ꨄ︎ Type: Part 2 out of 5 (Previous/Next)

ꨄ︎ Word count: 4.4K

ꨄ︎ Warnings: Mention of death, angst, mean Neytiri & Neteyam, Lo’ak may have a slight one sided crush on reader but this isn’t a Lo’ak x reader, injured Kiri, Tiptoeing feelings, not proof read or spell checked :) switches from present to past and vice versa cuz again it’s not proof read >.<

ꨄ︎ Side Bar: Long awaited. Enjoy! Finished this with a headache >£<

please keep in mind that all characters in my stories are always 18+

“Again.” 

“No, your stance is wrong.” 

“Have you even been paying attention?”

You huff in frustration, lowering your bow to hold in one hand as you exam the other hand littered with blisters. It’s been hours since you’ve been at, trying to learn how to shot an unmoving target but it hasn’t been going well. 

Jake said that Neteyam was a great teacher, that you would learn fast with him. It’s been 3 months and you only just got off hand to hand combat two weeks ago. You’re starting to think Jake has too much fate in his son. 

“I need a break,” you whine, looking at him standing there tall and devilishly handsome with his broad shoulders and chisel chest, hidden behind crossed arms. It wasn’t a lie, you really needed one, his comments were starting to annoy you again. For your sanity, a hour apart would be good. But he wasn’t giving in. 

He shakes his head, uncrossing his arms and walks over to stand next to you, “We continue, you get done quicker.” He says it like it’s the most obvious thing—and it was but you were tired, “Again.” He gestures with his head towards the target. 

Sighing deeply, you get back into position. Parting you legs, raising your bow and pulling back the string, ready to let the arrow fly free. You hear him before you feel him, smacking his teeth as he circles around you to stand behind you. 

“Your feet need to be wider than your shoulders,” he grumbles, using his foot to push yours further apart. Your breath hitch when his palm touches your upper back, “And your back needs to be straight,” with light pressure, he glides it down your spine and rests briefly on your lower back, right above your tail, “Hips need to be centered,” he slides his hand to your hip, firmly gripping it and putting it in the right position. 

His touch leaves your body for a moment, allowing you to breath correctly for a few inhales, then returns with his body closer than he’s ever been, well, if you don’t count that one spar moment... Both his hands are on you this time, one on your hip and the other on your bicep, raising it so the bow was chest level, “There.” He whispers, “This is the proper form.” 

It was hard to hear him or was it hard to focus? Either way the sound of your heart beating wildly in your chest was making it difficult. It was uncomfortable, you’ll much rather welcome deafening silence than this. Anything would be more welcoming than clammy hands and a flushed heat spreading throughout your body. 

His breath fans your neck, causing goosebumps to form and you couldn’t help but to slightly turn your head to peak at him. No surprise his face was as serious as he took this training. You wonder what he looked like when he smiled? Then that made you wonder if he ever smiled and if he didn’t, would it kill him to do it once? 

Doesn’t have to be at you. Though, lately you wouldn’t mind… but in general, he was so uptight. 

Neteyam could feel your eyes on him, with one small turn of his head, he could be staring into them. The thought alone makes him queasy, so actually doing it might make him feel worse, “Shoot the bow.” He forces himself to focus on the training, albeit he was probably a little ahead of himself when he touched you a little more intimate than necessary minutes ago. 

“Okay.” You whisper, sweeping your eyes over his face one last second before looking at the target too. You suck in sharply, exhaling in a chuckle. You will never get used to be able to breath without coughing, never. Quickly, you let the string go and time slows between you both, his hands gripping you on impulse then releases. 

A loud thud echos around the area, and you stare at the target in disbelief. It hit dead in the center, you had to be hallucinating. Dropping the bow, you turn abruptly, smiling so wide your cheeks start to hurt just a little already, “Did you see that?!” your hands find placement on his shoulders as you peer up at him. 

There it was, a silver of a smile. It wasn’t much, but it was proof that he could be anything but mr. stick up his ass. 

“Good job,” he praises, face free of any stress he’s been holding, “Now you may rest.” He steps back from you and head in the direction of Hometree. 

You cheer at that, quickly picking up your bow and chasing after him. The soft ground against your feet and the soft wind grazing your skin was two of the things you loved about pandora. It filled you with joy, never really having the chance to experience it before. 

Gazing at his broad back, an overwhelming desire consumed you—to have a conversation with him, not just about your training, but to truly get to know him. Despite having train with him over the months, he ensures a distance remain, intentionally keeping it that way.

Feeling a sense of detachment and longing to understand the ways of the Na'vi, it becomes challenging when your teacher and his mother consistently give you the cold shoulder. Perhaps that is why it feels even harder for you, knowing deep down they are silently judging you, assessing your worth, and viewing you primarily as one of the sky people, failing to see your true potential.

It kills you. These are the only two individuals within the Sully family, along with a few other Na'vi in the clan, who have not yet to warm up to you. You often find solace in seeking out Jake since he relates the most and when he is not available, Kiri, as she understood you first.

The most interesting fact wasn’t even that. It was that Mo'at has gradually grown closer to you. She finds you bearable and recognizes your potential in healing after discovering you engrossed in a sky person's book one day. When you explained its contents and significance, she actually encourages you to learn healing in the ways of the Na'vi—to become adept like her people.

Since that important moment, your excitement has been growing stronger. In addition to your regular training with Neteyam, you eagerly look forward to immersing yourself in the fascinating world of Na'vi healing techniques. Understanding how Na'vi bodies work is something that truly captivates you. Sometimes you turn to Norm for guidance, even though he doesn't know everything. It makes him feel good when you include him in your learning process. 

He jokingly mentions that you could be an amazing doctor if you were back on Earth.

Just the thought of becoming a doctor fills you with immense happiness. It feels like a dream come true, something you can't quite believe is within your reach. People even started calling you "Doctor" as a playful nickname, and it always brings a blush to your cheeks and a smile to your face.

However, as you approach Hometree, your spirits momentarily dampen. You witness Neteyam walk away quickly, leaving behind a lingering sense of sadness. It hurts to think that he wants to distance himself from you immediately. You weren’t a disease, at least not anymore. And even if you were, you still had feelings. 

Before you have the chance to dwell on these emotions, you jolt when someone playfully jumps on your back, nearly causing you to lose your balance. The familiar laughter that follows is contagious, and you instantly recognize the source: Kiri. You return her excitement, "Kiri, you nearly knocked me off my feet," you tease, gently shrugging her off to face her directly.

"Sorry, doc. I haven't seen you since this morning," she apologizes, linking her arms with yours in a comforting gesture. "I think you called it separation anxiety before."

You nod, a small smile playing on your lips as she gives you a playful shove before pulling you closer. "You're not supposed to agree!" she pouts, her eyes filled with mock disappointment. You can't help but laugh at her adorable expression. "But how was the training?"

Her question sparks excitement within you, and your face lights up with joy. "I actually think I've discovered a hidden talent for archery. It seems I'm more skilled with a bow than in hand-to-hand combat," you share enthusiastically. As she guides you towards her home, a mix of anticipation and unease settles in your stomach. You know that entering her family's hut means facing her mother, and your relationship has always been strained. "Wait, Kiri," you try to pull away, but her unexpected strength surprises you, despite her smaller frame.

"That was quick. So, does that means you will learn to hunt now?" she asks, holding the flap of the hut open and leading you inside. As you step in, your eyes meet Neytiri's, who sits at the center of the hut, skillfully folding meat into leaves. She acknowledges Kiri's presence with a nod, her gaze briefly shifting towards you, filled with curiosity and a hint of skepticism. Neytiri questions Kiri about the meaning behind her statement as she continues with her task.

"Doc over here has shown great skill with the bow. It looks like Neteyam and her will hunting next," Kiri proudly announces your progress, a sense of pride evident in her voice as if you were her own kin. "No surprise!" she adds, unable to contain her delight.

Neytiri lets out a dismissive scoff, her face revealing a lack of amusement. She averts her gaze, refusing to acknowledge your achievements. "She's no doctor. She's not Na'vi. Her skill is nothing more than luck," she grumbles, returning her focus to the meticulous task of folding meat, seemingly unimpressed.

You tighten your hold on Kiri, your eyes locking in a silent plea for her to leave, but she remains rooted in place, visibly displeased by her mother's words. "She is a doctor. She possesses knowledge and skill like one, and if you took the time to know her instead of judging her, you would see it too." Kiri's voice carries a rare heat, her glare burning with determination. "Why can't you learn to accept her, just like you did with Dad?"

After Kiri expresses her frustration, she pulls you away from the hut, leading you back in the direction of the lab. It before the transfer, you still spend your days at the lab, as your connection with the native Na'vi remains unchanged. The realization saddens you deeply. Eywa has granted you a remarkable opportunity—a chance to immerse yourself in the ways of the Na'vi. 

However, their resistance and unwillingness to embrace you weigh heavily on your heart. It doesn't matter that Eywa herself played a role in your presence here; the history of conflict between the sky people and the Na'vi still lingers with animosity towards the sky people that taints their perception.

“I’m sorry bout her…” Kiri breaks the silence you didn’t know blanketed you both, apologizing again on her mother behalf, which she does more often unfortunately. She’s ahead of you by a few feet, back turnt so you can’t see her expression but her ears flat against her head told you want you needed. She felt bad, possibly for putting you in that position again or could be something else, “I—“

You interrupt her, firmly holding her hand in yours. "I understand, Kiri," you respond, the lab coming into view. However, what truly matters to you in this moment is acknowledging your best friend's feelings. "I hate to admit that I've grown accustomed to it, but I'm grateful to have you looking out for me."

She releases your hand and playfully pushes you. "As if that's even in question. Now come on, I want to say hi to Mom," she urges, hastening towards the lab door. You both wait for a moment as Norm and Max navigate their way inside before entering. Kiri goes straight to Grace, while you settle down at one of the large computers, clicking on a simulator application.

Throughout the years, Max had been kind enough to develop a simulator of sorts, primarily for medical purposes. It allows you to practice and train, given that you can't directly attend to humans or the Na'vi. Some individuals, especially pregnant Na'vi whose anxiety is heightened due to hormonal changes, still maintain a level of caution around you, even when you're in the presence of Mo'at.

You played through 3 simulations successfully and as you were on your 4th, a voice behind you spoke, “That’s gross.” Instantly you recognized the voice to be Spider, and where spider was, Lo’ak was too. 

Shaking your head, you pause the pregnancy birth simulator to spin around, looking at him tauntingly, “Then you can relate.” smiling, you get up from the chair, “except birth is beautiful and you’re just gross, now that I think bout it.” 

Spider blinks before opening his mouth, about to reply but Lo’ak stops him, patting his chest with smirk on his lips, “Take the L, bro. You won’t win.” Spider slumps his shoulders at his comment, frowning as he looks off with a defeated expression.

You humph at Spider, then look at Lo’ak, “What trouble are you getting into today?” You ask, already knowing how Lo’ak and Spider worked since before you got your avatar. The could definitely get into it by themselves but the more the merry was much more fun. Your hunch was correct when a wicked smile spreads across his face, looking at you with mischief. 

“You haven’t had the chance to really explore pandora life yet,” he starts, only to be cut off by a laughing Spider, grin matching Lo’ak’s,

“You saw only a small portion of pandora when you transferred, we thought you might want to come along to watch some animals for the first time?” He adds, waiting for your reply, briefly looking off to the side when Kiri comes along. 

She strides over to you, leaning back onti the table of the computer and frowns with a shake of her head, “That doesn’t sound like a good idea,” she explains to them, looking at you, “This is dangerous.” 

And you considered her words. You did. But only shortly. Spider and Lo’ak were right. You’ve been so busy with training with both Mo’at and Neteyam that you neglected actually exploring pandora when you now could. So it may be dangerous, but it was a chance you needed to take before being thrown back into more teachings. 

“Okay. I’ll be down.” You turn back to the computer to shut it off and jump happily from your seat. Giving Kiri a an amused smile, you decide to ease her concerns. A worried expression doesn’t look good on her, “You can come along, yknow? To look out for me.” 

Kiri scoffs off to the side with an eye roll, pushing herself off the table, “As if I was going to let you go by yourself to begin with.” She gestures with her head to Lo’ak, “Go on, lead the way.” 

The trek to where ever they were leading you was amazing. Being stuck inside almost all your life have been nothing compared to what was outside all this time. Pandora was beautiful, you kept giving distracted and sidetracked, wanting to play with the fauna on the way. Like a toddler getting to explore for the first time , you eyes blown wide in adoration. You wanted to see everything! 

“Keep up, [Name],” Lo’ak reminds you, a good five meters away, “We’re almost there!”

“Okay! I’m coming.” You get up from your crouch position, jogging over to Kiri, who is waiting for you. Giving her a smile, you grab her outreached hand and let her drag you to where the others have finally stopped, “Are we there?” You ask, letting go of Kiri's hand and brushing past Lo’ak's large frame to enter a clearing.

“Not yet,” Lo’ak grumbles, walking over to you and pointing to a large tree, “We have to start climbing now. The animal we’re going to see is dangerous. High ground is safe.” He stalks towards the tree, Spider in tow.

You don’t budge from your spot as you eye the intimidating tree, chewing on the inside of your cheek. There is only one time you have had to climb a tree, and that was when you first transferred. 

It’s safe to say it didn’t end well. You didn’t break anything, but the fall was deep and you’ve been dreading having to do it again. Especially with the knowledge that it is common among forest Na’vi, who do it almost daily.

Kiri sees your dazed expression and she can’t help but chuckle to herself before clapping in your face, successfully grabbing your attention, “Baby steps, you got this.” She walks away, easily climbing the tree. 

You feel like you're going to regret this as you watch her move gracefully, but you had brace yourself mentally when you approach the tree. Looking up it at the others, even Spider as they all look down at you in wait. 

Quickly you inhale sharply and exhale slowly more slowly to calm your nerves and soon start to climb, struggling due to the thick width of the tree. But by Eywa, you make it to where the others are, and they smile at you proudly. Your face flushes at the attention, "Would you guys cut it out!"

The trio says nothing, only rolling their eyes before jumping to another tree branch with such speed and grace that you momentarily forget you're now part of their world as you stumble to keep balance. You know better than to look down, as you're still getting used to your new body and don't want to experience the same vertigo you felt the last time.

To your surprise, you managed to keep pace with the agile trio, gradually finding your rhythm and becoming more at ease with your movements. It was an exhilarating experience to effortlessly match their steps and mimic their fluid motions.

Amazement washed over you as you reveled in your newfound abilities. The ease with which you moved and the unhindered breaths you took left you in awe. Moving through the environment felt natural and effortless, as if you were born to be part of this world. It was a sensation that surpassed any dream you could have imagined, a reality more enchanting than your wildest fantasies.

Again, you find yourself in a precarious situation as the three of them come to a sudden halt just as you hop onto the branch they're perched on. Before you can utter a word, Lo'ak silences you with a gentle press of his finger against his lips. He motions for you to draw nearer, and you cautiously comply. 

As you stand beside him, he crouches down low, his hand pointing downwards. Your breath catches in your throat as you contemplate the daunting task of looking down. However, you muster up the courage, knowing that if you were to slip and fall, they would make an effort to catch you.

You gaze in awe at the majestic Hammerhead Titanothere, a name coined by the sky people to describe these magnificent creatures. Everything in Pandora seemed to be on a grand scale, and it fascinated you. While you had some understanding of this before your transfer, experiencing it firsthand as an avatar made it even more astonishing.

Eager to get a closer look, you inch your way along a slender branch, oblivious to its slight bend under your weight. "They're so adorable!" you exclaim, your voice filled with admiration as you watch the playful antics of the baby Titanothere.

Suddenly, Spider appears behind you, and a loud snap reverberates through the area, sending shivers down your spine. Within seconds, Spider is calling out your name, but it's Lo'ak who acts swiftly, grasping your arm and knocking Kiri off balance, forcing her to cling desperately to the branch for dear life.

"Kiri!" you cry out, realizing that the attention of the Titanothere has now shifted to the four of you. Their heads lower menacingly, ready to charge. "Pull me up! Pull me up!" you plead, reaching out to grab Lo'ak with your other arm. Your priority is to reach Kiri. Although Spider is helping, the weight difference between him and Kiri makes it impossible for him to lift her to safety alone.

Finally, with Lo'ak's assistance, you regain your balance on the branch. Without wasting a moment, all of you rush towards Kiri just as the Titanothere relentlessly ram into the tree. "Shit!" Spider curses, clutching your shirt with one hand while trying to support Kiri with the other.

Kiri winces in pain as she's yanked up, her leg scraping against the rough surface in the process. Holding onto her tightly, the three of you scramble down to the base of the tree, seeking shelter from the thunderous blows reverberating through the air.

Spider's face contorts with fear as he points out the deep gash on Kiri's calf. Panic surges within you as you realize the severity of her injury.

"Kiri's hurt!" Spider exclaims, his voice trembling with concern.

Your mind races, desperately searching for a solution. "We need to get back to highcamp," you say, your voice laced with urgency. "Maybe if we wait there, the Titanothere will lose interest in us." You glance at Lo'ak, seeking his agreement. He clings to the tree, his expression cautious. 

"I've never been the target of a Titanothere before," Lo'ak whispers, his voice barely audible amidst the chaos. "Let try it…" Another resounding impact shakes the ground, emphasizing the imminent danger that surrounds you.

After what feels like an eternity, the relentless assault of the Titanothere subsides. The massive creatures gradually retreat, their thunderous footsteps fading into the distance. Exhausted and relieved, you and your companions make your way back to highcamp, treading carefully through the dense foliage.

Entering the familiar hut, a wave of unease washes over you as you find Neytiri, Jake, and Neteyam gathered inside. Their expressions reveal deep concern as they take in the sight of Kiri's injured leg.

Jake's voice carries a mix of worry and authority as he demands an explanation, his arms enveloping Kiri gently as he eases her down onto a comfortable mat. His eyes search for answers, and he turns to Lo'ak, his gaze filled with expectation. "Tell me what happened," he implores, his tone urgent.

Lo'ak takes a deep breath, feeling the weight of responsibility, and proceeds to recount the events. "We thought it would be a good idea to show [Name] a Titanothere from a safe distance," he explains, briefly glancing at Neteyam, who shoots him a disapproving look, "[Name] lost her footing, and I rushed to help. Then Kiri slipped and got her injury while we were trying to help her."

Neytiri, having heard enough, rises from attending to Kiri's wound. Her gaze locks onto you, her expression of anger as she confronts you with a sharp hiss, baring her teeth threateningly, "So, this is your doing?" she accuses, her voice filled with frustration.

"Neytiri!" Jake's feeble attempt to diffuse the tension only adds to the chaos, as her fury distorts her gestures into confused jabs.

"No! A demon like you has no place near our children! It was a mistake to trust you!" Neytiri inches closer, her piercing gaze penetrating your very being. Lo'ak steps forward, assuming a defensive stance, ready to shield you from the torrent of her wrath.

"But that's not true!" Lo'ak's voice rings out with defiance, his unwavering loyalty burning bright, while you stand there, your heart pounding in your chest, aching with a mixture of guilt and despair. It feels as if the fragile bond your tried to build is quickly crumbling into irreparable pieces, and the weight of it all threatens to consume you.

"What were you thinking?!" Neteyam's voice reverberates through the tense silence as he took a bold step forward, his eyes fixed on you. The usually calm and composed warrior now leaks of an intensity that caught everyone off guard.

Stunned and at a loss for words, you stood frozen in place, your heart sinking with each passing moment. How did the situation escalate to this point? It felt as if the entire weight of Pandora's disapproval was bearing down on you, even though you were not the originator of the ill-fated idea.

Neteyam's voice carried a hint of accusation as he continues, his words laced with a mixture of anger and concern, "You're untrained. Your recklessness could have gotten her killed—all of them killed!"

Lo'ak interjects, cutting off Neteyam before he could say more, “She could have been killed too! Be thankful that neither of them are.” 

Neytiri scoffs dismissively, rolling her eyes at her son's defense, "She is not part of our family. Her life holds no significance to us."

Gasps are heard all around the room, faces morphing into expressions of anger and sadness, while yours is filled with mortification at the notion of your insignificance. You didn’t matter to them. The realization that you are deemed disposable by those you hoped to gain acceptance from sends a wave of terror coursing through your veins, shattering any remaining illusions of belonging.

Lo'ak and Kiri immediately protest against their mother's callous statement. Their impassioned words, however, fall on deaf ears thanks to Neytiri's indifference. The ringing in your ears grows louder, pulsating with the ache in your chest.

Spider's firm grasp anchors you, pulling you back from the tumultuous emotions swirling around the hut. His expression reflects the gravity of the situation, mirroring the somber atmosphere that hangs heavy in the air. In that moment, you find solace in his presence, yearning to seek refuge within his small, comforting frame, away from the chaos that surrounds you.

Jake's voice breaks through the tension, "Alright, that's enough. Spider, [Name], why don't you both head back to base? I'll come visit you later." His furrowed brow reflects his dissatisfaction with the current situation, yet he takes the lead in guiding you out of the hut, despite your weakened state.

As you slowly retreat, Kiri's voice pierces the air, carrying a palpable sense of worry and remorse, "[Name], Spider," she calls out, her eyes fixed upon your diminishing figures, her voice a whispered plea for understanding and reconciliation.

Lo'ak emits a low growl from deep within his chest, his gaze locked on your form. Frustration and anger course through him, fueling his resolve to challenge the injustice of the moment. He lets out a a resounding declaration when you both disappear behind the hut flap, "This is bullshit."

Part 3 sneak peek

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[peachmango-kombucha]

My First Indie Show :D

Hello everyone!

I went to my first indie show last Sunday (3/19) and had an awesome time. Create-A-Pro held one not too far away from me. I wanted to go for two reasons: 1. I missed the previous one back in February (the one where Caster and MJF were on commentary) and 2. I wanted to go to an indie show for once and support local wrestlers. Plus, the tickets were affordable!

I didn't really know what to expect besides knowing the action would be way closer than I'm used to. I sat in the second to last row just like a shy college student on the first day of class. I didn't want to be too close to the action. As the seats filled up, everyone else stood around us.

But I was close enough to see wrestlers and their family members walk past me. Brian Myers' wife and two daughters walked past me a few times and so did a couple of other wrestlers. I even saw Tommy Dreamer signing autographs and selling merch in a separate room where merch tables were set up.

The bumps sounded brutal and I mean *brutal*. I wasn't the one taking bumps but I could feel the pain from hearing bodies hit the mat multiple times.

The crowd was super hot for all of the matches on the card. A couple of fans yelled at the wrestlers and the wrestlers responded back with their own insults or responses. During one match, a kid yelled out "no one likes you" to one of the wrestlers. That wrestler turned around and was like "who said that?!" Everyone pointed at the kid who crossed his arms and looked very proud of himself. The wrestler then told the kid, "how about I go over there and eat your family?!" That shit was hilarious.

There was a 15 minute intermission to give fans some time to breathe after going crazy for the first half of the show. This was also a great opportunity to meet and buy merch from wrestlers.

The signing/merch room was packed with people. I squeezed my way through to get to B3cca's table. I really wanted to meet her after seeing clips of her perform at 16 Carat for wXw. I was starstruck and my anxiety kinda got the best of me lol All I could say was "It's so nice to meet you! I saw you in 16 Carat and you were awesome!"

She was super sweet and told me wXw was great to her. I bought a t-shirt, a scrunchie, and a picture from her. And this is when it gets even more embarrassing. She asked who should she make this out to and I said "Chloe". "Chloe" is a new nickname of mine I started using on Discord recently but my stupid ass forgot how to spell that shit. I showed her the name on my Instagram profile and she was able to spell it correctly. I apologized and told her it's a new nickname I've been using recently.

And here is where it gets even worse and served as a reminder for me to bring cash to the next indie event I go to. The room where wrestlers were selling merch had terrible service so I wasn't able to send B3cca the money I owed her through Venmo. I apologized profusely. She sent me an Instagram request to follow me and I accepted her request just so she could DM me a screenshot of her Venmo QR code. I told her I'd step out for a few minutes to send her the money and with a smile she was like "it's okay, I trust you."

Finally, I was able to send her the money I owed her and left her a message saying "for the merch. Thank you!" That shit was nerve-wracking omg. This ordeal prevented me from wanting to get merch from Brian Myers cuz I wasn't trying to embarrass myself again.

The rest of the show was even more electric leading up to the main event. And seeing the wrestlers who performed in the previous matches stand along the wall and watch along with us was cool to see.

After the show ended, I went back to B3cca to buy a sticker from her. Thankfully, I had a $5 bill I found in my pocket during the show to give to her. I thanked her again for all the merch.

By the end of this show I told myself that I needed to seek out more indie shows in my area. I may not be able to see AEW or WWE whenever they come around because of ticket prices but I damn sure would be able to afford going to an indie show. And I'll get to discover up and coming wrestlers, too.

100/10, would highly recommend.

[ohworm-writes]

hello! :) so u know how kuon has a crush on sniper right ? can i get an imagine where reader is jealous bc of kuon, cuz u know, her crush on sniper etc etc (sorry i'm just vv lazy at typing), and how sniper reacts to it ?? can u make it like they're still friends but have mutual feelings for each other as they hang out as a unit, and they get together in the end bc sum confessions happened !! sorry if u don't get it i'm rlly bad at explaining but thank u in advance if u do this !! <33

High-Rise Invasion/Tenkuu Shinpan: Sniper Mask Boyfriend Imagine

high-rise invasion/tenkuu shinpan masterlist

‼ Jealous Reader (over Kuon) + Make up + Confession ‼

Featuring: Sniper Mask, Yuri Honjo, Mayuko Nise (implied), Kuon Shinzaki (implied)

Warnings: frustrated Y/n, crushes, jealousy

a/n - good GODS this has been in my inbox for a while and i’m so so so sorry for not posting it way sooner! hopefully you see this anon, and i hope you enjoy!

content below the cut!

you had developed a crush on the man in the mask ever since you first joined Yuri's little group

you couldn't really tell what it was the drew you to him

he was silent, dismissive, and he was a Mask for goodness sake!

but none of that deterred you from the attraction you garnered for him

you always found yourself trying to interact with him

whether it was offering your help with something that he was doing, or simply keeping him company

most times he brushed you off, walking away and not giving you an answer

other times he silently accepted your offer

those times the two of you would sit in comfortable silence, just enjoying one another's presence

you cherish moments like these for a very specific reason

Kuon

now you had nothing against the girl!

... at first

she seemed nice enough, always eager to help, and full of ignorant innocence

but then you realized her (very obvious) crush on the masked man

the way she got flustered around him so easily

the way she clung to him like a lost child

at first, you thought maybe she saw him as a parental figure, seeing how young she was

but that thought was (very) quickly thrown to the wind when you saw her wrapped up in his jacket, blushing like the schoolgirl she was and giggling to herself

so what she liked him? you liked him too, maybe the two of you could bond over that!

that's what you told yourself

of course, you never acted on it

it was simple, you were too jealous to do so

you noticed how Sniper Mask welcomed all her little instances without a care in the world

not giving a damn when she clung to him

or batting an eye at her obvious fangirling

it pissed you off

naturally, you began to avoid Kuon

and Sniper Mask simultaneously

you avoided the two of them whenever you could

when you saw them walking towards you, you kept to the opposite side of the wall and walked quickly past them

when you all usually ate together, you picked up your food and ate outside

you were simply, undeniably jealous

you didn't think Sniper Mask cared about it, not that you could tell under his mask

but in actuality, he was confused as to why you avoided him all of the sudden

so, he opted to ask you one day

You shut the door to the dining room rather aggressively as you exited, but you couldn't care less. You let your body slump against the adjacent wall, your plate of food resting on your lap.

Today had been... exhausting, to say the least. Kuon was on her usual actions of pining over 'Mr. Mask', crossing your way a few more times than you would have liked. During your meeting earlier with her and Yuri, your fellow mouthless masked allies, she had the gall to talk on and on about how much she adored him.

You hated it.

You looked down at your food, a scowl finding its place on your features. You glared at it, pushing the pieces around with your fork, not noticing a door open and close right in front of you.

"Jesus, if that food was alive, it would be 6 feet under with the glare you're giving it." You hear a gruff voice call from in front of you. A voice you would rather not be hearing right now.

You continue to move around the food, staying silent as the man awkwardly stands in front of you, unsure of what to do with himself in this situation. "Is it, uh, okay if I sit here?" He asks, which finally makes you look up.

He had a plate of food between his own hands, his jacket gone and sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His mask covered his face, per usual, but it seemed much more lopsided than usual.

You give him a shrug in response, looking back down at your food again. He stands there for a moment, before taking a seat right next to you, your knees almost touching. "You don't mind if I eat with you, right?"

His question makes your eye twitch. Was he seriously trying to be all buddy-buddy with you now? You shrugged again, not giving him as much as a single word.

You heard him sigh, setting his food to the side before he speaks again. "Alright, what's going on?" He asks, making your body tense up. "Nothing." You shoot back, scowling.

"What happened to the Y/n that stayed up and talked about their life for hours? What happened to the Y/n that told me horrible jokes to try and get a reaction out of me? Huh? What happened to them?"

That broke you.

You were angry, furious even. Was he trying to blame this on you? You didn't do anything wrong! If it wasn't for Kuon, maybe you would still be that person! If it wasn't for her, you could still be friends with him! You could be-

"What?" You hear him say softly, much softer than his previous tone. Shit, did you say that out loud? "Yeah, you did." He says again, looking at you with a concerned expression on his face, not that you could tell.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to lash out. I just- I’ve been-" You stutter, trying to find the right words. He laughs at that, actually laughs at it.

His laugh is hearty, warm, almost inviting you to laugh along with him. You don't, but he quickly composes himself, making your head turn towards him.

"Why on Earth were you jealous of Kuon?" He asks honestly, watching at how the invisible gears turn in your head, searching for an answer. You sigh heavily, running a hand across your face as you shake your hands while you speak.

"I just- she’s always there with you. She's latched onto you 24/7! I can't get 5 minutes alone with you before she comes barging in." You rant, frustration evident in your shaky voice.

"I just wanted to be your friend, be close with you. I can never do that because she's-she's there." You groan, hugging yourself with your arms. "I sound like a selfish idiot now, huh?"

You laugh dryly, frowning. He sighs, but a smile plays at his lips. "Y/n." He begins, his hand resting you your forearm. "You know she would never purposefully do that. She just, she has an infatuation with me I guess."

He sighs dramatically, earning a chuckle from you. "But." He tells you, watching your eyes as he speaks. "That doesn't mean I didn't miss you."

Your heart skips a beat at his comment, face flushing softly. "Kuon also misses you. You might not have caught onto it, but she looks up to you." He explains, smiling at how your expression softens, mumbling a soft 'she does?' to him.

He nods, laughing once more. "Come on, have dinner with the rest of us. We can't have you sitting alone out here anymore." You roll your eyes, but take him up on his word. He leads you back to the other, Kuon frantically waving over to the two of you the second you pass through the door.

"Y/n! Come sit with me!" She yells excitedly. Maybe you were wrong about her.

after that interaction, the three of you were all on much better terms

yes, kuon still had her habits, but he toned them WAY down after you explained to her how it made you feel

she teased the hell out of you for it too

you, of course, shrugged it off

but you never told her that she was wrong

you were happy to be on good terms with Sniper Mask again

he made a lot more time for you

your old interactions coming back at full force, and some new ones

he loved to take you on little walks on the high rises

he also made it a point to teach you how to shoot his rifle

which was terrifying, but exhilarating

you fell for him harder and harder every day

one day, you ranted your feelings out to Kuon

and while she wasn't surprised, it warmed her heart to see how much you loved him

yes, she crushed on him too, but that didn't take away from the obvious connection she saw between the two of you

unbeknownst to you, Sniper Mask had come to her about the same things

his usually cold demeanor broke whenever he talked with you

he genuinely enjoyed your company, he wanted more of it

and then some

so, she put a plan together

operation "get Mr. Mask and Y/n together" is a go!

she took it all very seriously

making sure you guys get paired together for scouting missions? that's all her

convincing Sniper Mask to get you little gifts and things? of course

overall, the best wing-woman you could ask for

however, the one thing she didn't have anything to do with was his confession to you

he could have used her help with it, that much was clear

but he wanted to tell you how he felt, no help necessary

Sniper Mask had told you earlier this morning to meet you at his room when the sunset before he rushed to get out of your vicinity like you were a plague. Granted, it hurt your feelings, but you couldn't stand him up.

You knocked gently on the wooden door, stepping back and waiting patiently for it to open. After about a minute, while you had heard nothing, you went to knock again.

Your efforts were proved useless as the door swung open hastily, revealing a disheveled Sniper Mask. His usual blazer and fedora were long forgotten, his hair messy, strands pointing this way and that. His mask sat lopsided on his face, still covering it fully.

"H-hey Y/n." He mumbled out, you offered him a wave as he awkwardly shuffled to the side, opening the door as an incentive for you to come in. You stepped inside, walking to the center of the room as you heard him close the door behind you.

You turned to speak to him again, but those thoughts were cast aside as you felt his hands settle onto your cheeks and his lips molding with yours. It startled you, you're eyes open in shock as you looked at him. His mask was completely off, thrown somewhere in the room, but he didn't seem to have a care in the world.

You quickly melted into the kiss, bringing your hands up to gently hold onto his forearms. He hummed, taking a moment before pulling away, leaving the two of you to gasp for air as he rested his forehead against yours. You opened your eyes to meet his, full of adoration.

"I, uh, I think I'm in love with you?" It was more of a question, but you took it happily. You laughed softly, your fingers rubbing small circles in his forearms.

"Was that what that was?"

[fictionalabyss]

Mated : You were dead.

Pairings : Alpha!Dean x Omega!Reader, Alpha!Sam x Omega!Reader (mentioned), Alpha!Dean x Omega!Reader x Alpha!Sam

Word count : 2,834

Written for : @spnabobingo​

Square : Multiple Alpha claims

Warning : Angst ahead! a/b/o dynamics, character death talked about, depression, sickness mentioned,  guilt, pissed Dean, defensive Sam, brothers be brothers.

Masterlist • Patreon • Ko-fi.

The final part of Mated.

SPN A/B/O Bingo Round 5 Masterlist.

The knock on your door had been unexpected, but not as unexpected as what you found waiting on the other side.

Sam. You hadn't seen him in months, but while him being there surprised you, it wasn't what made you step back in shock. It was the man standing a half step closer than he was. The man smiling at you with so much love and adoration. "Hey, baby."

"Dean?" You wanted to run. Run towards him, run away. He couldn't be real, he couldn't be here he was DEAD. He was dead, for months. This had to be a trick, a monster, or… you looked to Sam who just gave you a nod and tilted his head to his brother. His way of assuring you it was Dean.

As soon as his arms opened to you, you ran to them, throwing yourself at him and he chuckled as he caught you. You latched on, holding him tight, terrified if you let go he'd vanish, and you cried against him. The feel of him against you again, the way your body reacted to him, you thought it was lost to you forever.  "It's okay, baby. I'm home. I'm not going anywhere ever again. I’m home.” As you cried against him, Dean ducked his face into you, his nose brushing across the mark he’d left on your skin long ago, and he breathed in deep.

The action had your eyes opening and from over his shoulder seeing Sam, who stood quiet and patiently behind him. Sam’s eyes met yours, but whatever he was feeling, he kept it hidden away. You let your eyes fall shut again and tucked your nose into Dean before bringing your feet back to the ground and removing yourself from his grasp.

“You smell a little different. I wasn’t gone that long, was I?” he teased as he started past you and into the house. You swallowed. “What?”

“You were dead.” you whispered, closing the door after Sam headed in and towards the kitchen.

“Yeah I know.” Dean watched you for a minute as you heard cupboards open then close. “Wait… You meet someone else?”

“You were dead.” tears filled your eyes all over again, and you saw how his jaw ticked.

“I came back.” he snapped. “I came back to you!” he pointed at you as he stepped closer. “Who is he?” he growled. “Another fuckin’ Alpha?”

You were biting your bottom lip and looking down. He yanked at the collar of your shirt, giving him a good look at his mark still intact, and that made him furrow his brow until he saw how you tried to hide the other side of your neck from him. He wasn’t harsh, just.. forceful as he exposed the other side and took in another mark.

“You were dead.” you cried, afraid to look up at him.

“Barely in the grave by the looks of the claim.” he snapped, moving away from you with a look of disgust. “Who the fuck is he? I don’t fucking smell another alpha here. Just me and-” He stopped when he noticed you were looking past him. Dean turned and saw Sam at the end of the hall, glass of amber liquid in his hand as he watched the two of you. “You?” Dean snarled.

“Dean-” Sam started, putting his hands up, but Dean was quick to rush forward, grabbing his brother’s collar and slamming his back to the wall. The glass fell from his hand, spilling whiskey across the runner as the glass rolled to a stop about a foot from where it dropped.

“You fucking claimed her!?”

You rushed forward, trying to pull him off his brother. “Dean, stop!”

“What’d you do, Sammy? Tell her I was dead and take her in the next breath?” Sam didn’t answer, just looked at his brother with an equally hard look.

“Dean stop!” When pulling at him didn’t help, you tried to work your way between them, tried to push him off. Your heart was being pulled apart, wanting to protect Sam, but also Dean. You needed him to stop, needed him to understand. “It’s not his fault, Dean! Please!”

His hard glare was now on you as you stood between them, a few inches of space between you and either brother, but you stood your ground despite the look he gave you. “So, what? You went to him?”

“It’s not-”

Dean cut you off with a scoff. “Of course you did. You always wanted him.” he gestured to Sam, a cutting glare sent his way with the motion of his hand. “What the fuck was I? Just a bed warmer until-”

“You were dead!” you shoved at his chest. “You were fucking dead! You were all I had and you were dead!”

“Clearly not all you had. You had Sam.” he spat, and you flinched.

“No, I didn’t. Sam left. He told me you died, didn’t tell me where or how or- and then he fucking left. You were dead, Dean. I didn’t have a service or grave where I could go, I didn’t have a body to cry over I just.. I was alone. I-”

“She was dying.” Sam piped up from behind you when it was obvious that you couldn’t talk through the tears anymore. “I got a message one day, she’s crying. Only reason I came was because she said-”

“Funkytown.” you whispered. “You told me if anything happened, if anything went wrong, call Sam and say Funkytown. I did..” you shoulders were shaking with how hard you cried. “I did. I did what you told me to do.”

“What the fuck do you mean she was dying?” Dean demanded

“When I got here, you could smell it. Whole fucking house reeked of it.” When Sam put a comforting hand on your shoulder, Dean's lip curled up with a low growl, but Sam’s hand didn’t move. “I got her cleaned up, got her in a clean bed, called in a doctor.” Dean looked down at you, but you were looking down as you cried. “He said she had 48 hours at best.”

“For what? What was wrong?”

“To find a mate.” you whispered. “Heat was so bad. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t get out of bed, hadn’t eaten for days..”

“So you make her fucking eat. You take care of her.”

“I did.” Sam pointed out, fingers going from your shoulder to trace over the claiming mark he’d left on you. “Doctor said she needed a mate for her best chance of survival. So I gave her one.”

“I’m sorry.” you cried. “I’m sorry I wasn't strong enough.”

“Then why the fuck were you with some other bitch in a motel room?” Dean's tone was hard and threatening. “You have a mate at home, my fucking mate at home, and you go off to fuck someone else?”

“Because I’m not you.”

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

“She didn’t fucking want me, Dean! She begged me to let her die, then she begged me to save her. And afterwards? She cried. She turned away from me and she fucking cried and I could see the guilt eating at her because I’m not you. So as soon as I knew she was well enough, I left. Why the fuck would I stay?”

Deans hand shot over your shoulder grabbing at Sam’s collar again and slamming his back against the wall once more, sandwiching you tighter between them. “Because you fucking claimed her!” Dean screamed at him. “You’re her alpha you piece of shit! You stay and take care of her!”

“Dean-” you tried to push him back, but you couldn’t, you weren’t strong enough.

“I told you! I told you to fucking take care of her and you left her! Twice! What the fuck, Sam!”

“Stop! Please!”

“You don’t fucking deserve her.” Dean spat. “You never did. You treated her like shit in college, you treated her like shit when you found out I knew her, and you treated her like shit after I died. I thought you had grown up, I thought I could fucking trust you. I thought she meant something to you.”

“She does! Do you think I’d fucking claim her if she didn’t!?” Sam snapped back, getting in Deans face just as much as his brother was getting in his. “I love her!”  Your head snapped to look up at him over your shoulder in surprise. “Dying or not, Dean, if she didn’t fucking mean something to me I wouldn’t have done it.”

“Then why’d you go?” you whispered. “Why’d I wake up to you gone?”

“Like I said, I’m not Dean.” He pushed Dean away from him before slipping out from behind you and walking out.

You stood there, stunned and unsure what to do. A part of you wanted to run to Sam, hold him, soothe him, tell him it would be okay. But the other part? The other part had Dean back. It wanted to be in his arms and to never let him go again. “I don’t.. I don’t know what to do..” Dean was running a hand through his hair, teeth biting into his bottom lip with anger as he paced in the hall.

“Go to your mate.” Dean answered, not bothering to look over at you.

“Which one?” That made him turn. “The one I couldn’t live without, that I finally have back? Or the one who refused to let me die? Who do I comfort, Dean? Who do I hold and promise that everything will be okay? Because right now, my heart is being ripped in two and it hurts so fucking bad.”

Dean just shook his head, a slight roll to his eyes as he turned away. He needed to get his thoughts together, he needed to to process what the fuck was happening. He’d been so happy to come back home to you, and now he felt like he didn’t have that home anymore. Like Sam had snatched it out from under him.

“Maybe he should have just let me die.” Dean spun around, eyes wide. “If I was dead, I wouldn’t have disappointed you and you wouldn’t be fighting with your brother.” You turned and quietly walked away, Dean watching you go.

Dean stared at the space long after you were gone, and then he looked over to the front door Sam and stormed out of, then down to the glass still laying on it’s side on the carpet. As pissed as he was, as much as he wanted to tear his brother apart for touching his mate, Dean only had two important people left in his life. He had to somehow live with what had been done.

With a sigh, Dean started for the door first and was surprised to see Sam just sitting on the curb outside. “Here to punch my teeth in? Cuz I won’t let you do it easy, Dean.”

“No.” Dean answered, dropping to sit next to his brother. “Here to thank you.”

“For what?”

“For not letting her die.” Dean’s head fell forward and he looked down at the ground. His hands were clasped, forearms on his knees and he shifted his hands a few times before he spoke again. “I’m pissed, Sam. I’m pissed you claimed her, she was mine. But I can’t be mad at you for saving her. There was no other way?” he looked to Sam who shook his head.

“No. I wasn’t even sure that would work. But I had to try.”

Dean nodded and looked down again. “What do we do here, Sammy?”

“She wants you.” Sam licked his lips and looked out across the street. “So it goes back to the way it was.”

“Can it, though? She’s your omega, Sam. I wanted to rip your throat out for touching her. You telling me you won’t feel the same?”

“Don’t have much of a choice, do I?” Sam looked to his brother again, the two of them watching each other for a minute.

“There’s a choice.”

“She doesn’t want me, Dean.”

“She does.” Dean nodded, looking away from his brother, part of him hated that he was about to admit this. It could be the end for him. “She wanted to chase after  you, comfort you and tell you everything would be okay.”

“But she didn’t.”

“Because she doesn’t want to hurt me. She’s being pulled two ways, Sammy. I hate that it’s hurting her, I hate that I’m hurting her.” Dean was quiet for a moment. “She-” Sam watched him, waiting. Dean licked his lips, tilted his head and sighed. “She said maybe you shouldn’t have saved her.”

“What?”

“That if she was dead we wouldn’t be fighting.”

“We’re brothers. Brothers fight.”

“Mhm.” Dean nodded. “She thinks she disappointed me.”

“I told you the guilt was eating at her.” Sam mumbled. “I couldn’t stand seeing that look in her eyes.”

“So what do we do, Sammy? Me and you, I mean. Can we get past this?”

“I don’t know, Dean. Can we?”

There was a knock on your door, but you didn’t say anything. You sat on the floor, back against your bed, knees tucked into your chest as you cried. The door gently opened, and soon someone was walking in. “I’m sorry.” You knew who it was before he even sat on the floor in front of you. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Dean reached out and pulled you against this chest. “It’s going to be okay.” he soothed.

“How can it? You’re brothers, and I-”

“You lived.” he cut you off, a hand rubbing up and down your back. “You did what it took to live. I’m not mad at you.”

“You’re disappointed. I wasn’t strong enough.”

“I’m not. I promise, I’m not. I’m sorry, okay.” he pulled back just enough to get you to look up at him. “I’m sorry, too. I reacted badly, it was just a lot to take in. I was so fucking happy to be getting back home to you.” he smiled softly at you. “You were right, I was dead. I shouldn’t have held that against you. I’m sorry.”

“I don’t know what to do.” a fresh round of tears stung at your eyes, and when one fell, Dean wiped it away with his thumb.

“We’ll figure it out.” Dean promised.

“The three of us.” You turned your head to look to the door and found Sam standing and leaning on the frame. “And you’re right. I do kind of want to rip your throat out for touching her. But just a little.” he teased with a smile.

“I don’t.. I don’t understand.” you looked to Dean again.

“I’m not letting you go.” Dean promised. “You’re my mate and I’m never letting you go. But you’re his, too. We’ll figure out a way to make it work.”

You looked back to Sam who gave you a shrug. “It’ll take some time to figure out, but.. It’s not impossible. You aren’t the first Omega to have multiple claims.”

“We had a little chat before I came up.” Dean leaned his forehead against your temple and breathed you in. “I missed you.” he whispered out with his breath. “If I need to accept Sam to keep you, I’ll do it. I’d do anything.”

You nodded with a soft smile before addressing Sam again. “What about the girl you were with?” you asked, hoping he didn’t hear the bite in the words. The truth was, even with him having abandoned you more than once, the mere idea of him with another woman made you want to rip someone apart, he was your mate, your alpha.

“No one important.” Sam brushed it off. “I’ll let her down easy.”

Something in you told you there was more to it, much more to it, but Sam wasn’t saying anything else. “What do we do now, then?”

“How about dinner? I’m fucking starving.” Dean chuckled. “Then,” he whispered into your ear, “I’m going to eat you.”

Sam growled at that, and Dean’s eyes shot to his brother, both of them glaring daggers at each other. “Guys, come on.” you groaned, pulling yourself from Dean’s lap and standing. Dean was quick to follow, putting you once again stuck between the brothers and their anger. “How about Dean gets me while I get Sam. Then we switch.”

“Deal.” Sam answered, eyes still watching his brother, waiting for his answer.

“Only if I get two rounds.”

“Dean!” You shot him a look of disbelief. You were trying to keep them from killing each other and he seemed to be going out of his way to provoke Sam.

“What!? I was dead! Don’t I deserve a little extra love?” he pouted. And at that exact moment, you discovered where Sam had learned that puppy dog look he always used to get his way back in college. You rolled your eyes and his pout turned into a shit eating grin.

*If you like this, please consider supporting my work*

Tagging :  Mated -  @vicmc624​

Dean - @akshi8278​  @adoptdontshoppets​   @evyiione​ @karikatz12481​ @idksupernatural​  @deandreamernp​

Sam -  @evyiione​  @hoboal87​

SPN -  @sandlee44  @just-another-busy-fangirl  @mrswhozeewhatsis   @deanandsamsbitch  @deans-baby-momma  @thebescht @67-chevy-baby @supraveng   @musiclovinchic93 @holyfuckloueh  @ksgeekgirl   @hobby27 @maddiepants  @roxyspearing @onethirstyunicorn​    @fandom-princess-forevermore     @kalesrebellion   @deanwanddamons​   @thoughts-and-funnies

All tags - @sorenmarie87 @artemisthebadger @winchesterprincessbride @iflostreturntosteverogers @akfonkin @rebelminxy @foxyjwls007 @onethirstyunicorn @shaelyn102 @supernaturalenchanted  @kazkingdom   @babypink224221  @emoryhemsworth    @ilovefanfic86  @pie-with-hunters   @anaelsbrunette​ @lazinessisalliknow  @feelmyroarrrr​  @letsdisneythings​   @cdwmtjb8​   @notyourtypicalrose​  @xostephanie​ @ilovedeanspie​ @defenderrosetyler​ @amandamdiehl​

[kentos-filmcamera]

10 times, 1 occasion - Inumaki Toge

5. Misunderstanding

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Even with your victory at the last event of the exchange and your stellar participation in it, you were angry. Not angry, confused. Toge had not spoken to you all morning. He either said his usual words to Maki and Panda or texted them. With you, however, every time he was about to talk to you, he regretted it and turned away. Have you done something? Said something? You spent yesterday and the day before that so well. He never once looked concerned or had given you the cold shoulder. Frustrated, you took off your personalized dirty jersey, only leaving you in the navy protective tight shirt underneath, and cleaned your pants from the orange dirt of the baseball field while walking away behind Maki, Inumaki, and Panda, and in front of Yuuji, Megumi and Nobara. You were almost given an out, but you slid in to secure the second base.

“Calm down” Fushiguro held your wrist down, stopping your aggressive movements. “You guys go ahead,” He told Nobara and Yuuji, who were both staring at you with light concern. When they didn’t move, he ushered them away with his hand.

“I’m fine” You persisted, trying to remove your hand from his grip. He stared you down with severity, as you stared back sternly, trying to take your hand away.

Coming from a community up in a mountain, both Jujutsu schools were far away. However, sorcerers in your family were unable to train you by their amount of occupation on the field or just because they were in retirement. Or dead. So, you were sent to Tokyo every summer to train. You and Megumi were raised in the jujutsu world side by side, so there was an unspoken, true trust between the two of you. You cared for him, he cared for you equally. You knew he was pretty reserved about his feelings, so it wasn’t like he was your personal therapist, or likewise. He noticed right away you were angry and came quickly to your aid when Toge didn’t. Nobara was pretty… observant, to put it kindly, of other people’s businesses. She realized right away when you walked into the common room how Toge looked away when you sat in front of him. Or when everyone’s phone vibrated on the bench except for yours. Or when you hit the ball perfectly for a homerun and Momo didn’t get a chance to catch it as it hit her in the head on its way down, he didn’t cheer for you to catch second base like the others did. Considering the mental shutdown he saw Toge having, Megumi decided it was best to approach you, as you became more visibly upset with each altercation.

“You’re upset” He deadpanned, and all the tension from your body disappeared as you slumped, your head looking directly at the floor. With a sigh, Megumi released your wrist.

“I don’t know what I did, he just won’t even look at me, I’m so scared... '' You sighed, looking up and throwing your arms out in frustration. Fushiguro’s lips tensed even further into a line, a bit sad to see you so frustrated. “Does he not like me anymore? Is it the scarring? Does it make me uglier? I-I-” You started spiraling, pacing around impatiently. Once again, he held you down, your panicked face meeting his neutral expression.

“I think he’s scared,” Fushiguro said plain and simple. Your face contorted from panic to confusion in a few quick seconds. “But you have to talk to him about it”

“If he wants to…” You sighed and shrugged. You gave him a sad smile “Thank you, ‘Gumi-kun”

“You’re welcome, senpai” He nodded solemnly.

“How about a hug?” You stretched out your arms like a child. His face dropped in disgust and began to walk away. “Oh c’mon! Give me the honor of receiving a hug from you, Fushiguro '' You jogged after him. He only picked up his pace, running towards the dorms. “C’mere, Fushiguro-kun!” You ran after him and he started to run faster.

“No!” He shouted back to you, but you could see the smile trying to creep from behind his eyes. Gojo was sitting on the stoop outside the first year’s dorm. Watching you chase after each other in circles, he laughed loudly, snapping a video and a picture, where you had tears on the brim of your eyes from laughing and a huge smile, with Megumi next to you a few steps ahead, with half a toothless smile that was more than enough for you.

Toge looked outside the window to hear all the clamoring, to find you on the floor squeezing Megumi to death in a half hug, half headlock, laughing like there was no tomorrow. His heart skipped a beat but his face turned sour as he squeezed the chest of his top. He closed the window and laid on his bed, collar down, facing the ceiling quietly. His phone soon vibrated in his pocket.

[ Maki Zen’in: tf is wrong with you? ]

[ Inumaki Toge: wym? ]

[ Maki Zen’in: why are you ignoring them? ]

Toge sat up, tense. The truth is, he didn’t know. He could have all his internal conflicts while still talking to you. But he was scared. You had never defined labels, so maybe you didn’t like him that much for you to consider your boyfriend. He was scared. Very scared. Scared that you had an awkward conversation that would end it all, scared you didn’t like him that much and had to say it to his face.

[ Inumaki Toge: i’m scared ]

[ Maki Zen’in: ? ]

[ Inumaki Toge: kugisaki said i was their partner. ]

[ i just, i don’t know if i am. ]

[ i don’t know if they like me in that way. i’m scared to lose them ]

[ Maki Zen’in: god, you’re an idiot ]

[ just talk to them soon, okay? ]

[ Inumaki Toge: mkay ]

He yawned and stretched, but when he looked outside, you were nowhere to be found. He plopped back into bed, and when he realized it, he had fallen asleep. He panicked and looked around for his phone, realizing it was a bit past 5 PM. He jumped off his bed and crossed to the women’s dorm room block, standing in front of your door. He waited there for a few seconds. Seconds turned into minutes. But he couldn’t bring himself to knock or open the door.

“Toge?” He heard a quiet voice coming from down the hallway. You stood there, wearing sweatpants and a large shirt. You looked distraught at his presence.

“Kelp” He greeted as equally quiet before taking out his phone.

[ Inumaki Toge: can we please talk ? ]

“Sure” You nodded and approached him, opening the door for your room “After you”

The two of you sat silently on the bed for more than a few minutes, not a word in place, basking under the golden beam of light the sun produced at that hour. That was until you decided to speak “Why do you hate me?” You mumbled.

His eyes widened as he shook his head and his hands, saying no incessantly without any words at all. He stammered, trying to contain his words and finding a way to explain as quickly as possible before the water brimming your eyes fell down your cheeks. His eyes landed on a small whiteboard and a neon green marker you had in the corner, and while standing up, he started to write. His handwriting was adorable, with perfectly round letters, balanced curves, and straight lines. ‘ I don’t hate you '

“Then why have you been ignoring me all day?! I don’t know what I did, if I did anything at all, and it hurts!” You exclaimed, standing up to face him. His heart skipped a beat in all the wrong ways. He hurt you?

‘ I’m scared ’ He wrote and you sighed, just like Megumi said. But still, you didn’t understand. Your mouth pushed further into a line, which then started to tremble. “Why?”

Once again, he wished to speak to you and say everything that went a hundred miles per hour, but couldn’t. He just couldn’t. Then, he realized Maki was right; he was an idiot. The biggest idiot in the whole wide world. It was a stupid reason to neglect you like that. To make you so concerned, you were softly crying.

‘ Do you like me? ’ He wrote instead of giving you a clear answer. Your expression turned sour as you laughed “I thought I made it clear enough. I like you. So, so much. It’s okay if you don’t”

“Okaka” He shook his head before he started writing. ‘ I’ve always liked you. I just thought you didn’t. Nobara said I was your partner, and I panicked, cuz I thought you didn’t want to be ’ You stayed still but cracked a broken smile. He erased the message quickly and wrote an ‘ I’m sorry :( ‘

“You’re very silly, Inumaki-kun” You laughed very lightly, a tear escaping your eye. “I was really scared to lose you… again” A few more tears squeezed out of your eyes. Parting from your friends was hard, but having someone like Toge, who always looked out for you, ripped away was hard. Really hard. You cursed the damn mountain you lived on for not having any signal. You didn’t know anything about anyone, might as well think they’re all dead.

He just sighed “Tuna mayo” He comforted you simply, letting the board down on your bed before carefully wiping your tears away with his thumb. After you gazed into each other’s eyes for a second, the message was clear; you were never going to lose him again. Toge pulled you in for a hug. I love you.

[another-tmnt-writer]

Congested and Contested

Donnie x Reader

Author: Admin JemPrompt: Hello! May I request a Image where the reader, (Donnie’s GF), is sick but denies it until she gets her butt kicked by the guys at training, almost faints, then confesses she that she is ill and Donnie cares for her? Thank you!!

Note: I am under the weather a bit so this really made me feel all happy and wanting a turtle to take care of my sick college bumm. 

Warnings: Being sick? Undereating? Close to fainting? Honestly pretty chill.

Word Count:   2.1K

When you woke up for the day you could immediately tell something was off. Your eyes were so heavy and it felt like someone had shoved cotton balls into your skull, and left some plugging your nose. You couldn’t breathe except through your mouth which was so dry that you could barely take a breath without feeling like each inhale was a barbed wire being pulled down your throat then back out again. You groaned when you found your limbs were jelly. Everything felt disjointed and heavy.

You forced yourself upright and could feel your nose alleviate some of the blockages before coming back full force with a new friend- a pounding headache. Oh just great. I love a double whammy. Not.

When you heard the knock on the door and the bright light of the hallway invade your senses, it felt like your head would explode.

“You’re up- good. We have breakfast ready.”

You squinted at the large figure in the doorway, seeing enough features to determine it to be Donnie, with his bo staff strapped to his back and glasses being adjusted by a three-fingered hand. He smiled as you just groaned.

“Can I just stay in bed today?” You croaked, placing your head in your hands and gave a sharp sniff, trying to breathe easier.

Donnie moved towards you quickly and sat next to you. He moved your hair from your face and placed his lips against your forehead. You sighed as his cooler lips came into contact with your overheated body.

“Sweetheart,” He pulled away, “you’re burning up.”

You pouted as he got up and began walking the space of the room and began mumbling to himself on what your symptoms were. You sighed. You knew he would work himself into a worried frenzy and work until he was able to get you better. He had already been in his lab so much trying to find Shredder and what he was planning, you couldn’t put more on him.

You shook your head, “Don’t worry, love, I’m fine.”

You pushed the blankets off of you, shivering as you crawled out of your warm cocoon. Your headache began again with a vengeance. Taking a moment to recuperate, you pretended to look around for a clean shirt, when in reality you didn’t want to drop to the floor.

Donnie remained on the bed watching you with a crease between his brows. He knew you weren’t feeling well. He knew how stubborn you were. He also knew if he pushed the issue too far you would go silent and walk around the lair anyways. As long as he kept an eye on you today, Donnie could help when you were ready to ask.

When you were finally dressed- who knew trying to put on a sports bra when sick could be so freaking difficult??- you shot Donnie a smile and took his hand before leading him from the room. Donnie kept your hand in his and kept himself close to you the whole way. You just shrugged and let him have his moment of being protective. You couldn’t handle an argument very well with your nose running a mile a minute and your brain trying to replicate a whole drumline in your skull.

As you walked into the kitchen you were hit by so much noise and chaos you debated on turning around right then and there. Mikey was blasting “Wap” from the speaker April had gotten him- the same woman who introduced him to TikTok- while tossing a pancake onto a plate periodically. Leo sat with a smile, occasionally mouthing the lyrics and bobbing his head with the beat. Raph had resorted to banging the cutlery on the table in an impromptu drum session and was catching a pancake as they flew past him. Splinter merely sat reading a novel as he cut his pancakes into precise pieces.

Donnie nudged you towards a chair next to Leo before grabbing the two of you some plates. As he set one down in front of you you saw that Leo had been staring at you.

“What’s up, Fearless?” you drawled.

He just smiled softly and passed you some orange juice.

YES! Vitamin D to help take away some of the grogginess. When you were younger your mom would always make you a grilled cheese sandwich with either tomato or chicken noodle soup with a glass of orange juice. She always said it would help cure three parts of a cold. The hunger, the frowns, and the sleepies. It always cheered you up and never failed to make you feel like a little girl again when you got orange juice or grilled cheese.

You nodded gratefully before filling the glass and taking a big gulp. The cool drink on your dry throat felt amazing and you could feel your headache abate a bit. Well until Mikey walked up to you and decided to scream, “HOT PANCAKES!” before plopping six on your plate.

Your eyes widened. You were a food lover for sure, but there was no way you were going to be able to eat all of those. You raised your eyes to see Donnie smiling softly as he put four from your plate onto his. You nodded in thanks and started to nibble on what was in front of you. You weren’t even that hungry but you knew that if you didn’t eat at all then you would drop halfway through the day from malnutrition. That wouldn’t help your case of not being sick. 

The boys were done eating in record time while you struggled to eat even half of your food. They shot looks at each other while Donnie’s eyebrows furrowed at your attempts to finish off your plate.

“Love?” 

You looked up to see 5 pairs of eyes on you. You chuckled, “Guess pancakes aren’t the move for me today. Sorry, Mikey.”

“It’s all good, sweetcheeks,” Mikey took your plate and began eating what was left, “You feeling okay?”

“Of course. Fit as a fiddle.” You bluffed. 

Donnie shook his head at you and stole a glance at Splinter, who nodded back.

You narrowed your eyes at them. What on earth were they concocting? 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You were stuck on the side of the mat as the boys trained. Splinter would ignore your attempts to jump in to spar with the boys and passed over you on all the demonstrations. It was infuriating. You had been training for months with the boys, proving you could handle yourself despite your smaller size. A stupid cold wasn’t going to keep you from training. Raph had the flu and still got to fight and go on patrol, but you couldn’t even train? No way.

You looked onto the sparring mat to see Raph on the ground, pissed as usual that he hadn’t beaten the leader in blue.  He ignored Leo’s hand and stood up by himself. Leo shook his head and went to where Splinter was working Mikey and Donnie through some movements. 

You smirked. This was your chance.

Snagging some water you strode over to Raph. Sniffed before getting to close so he wouldn’t hear your breaths ratting as easily. 

“Hey Red,” you offered the bottle to him.

He took it with clenched hands. “Hey Y/N. How ya feelin’?”

“Fine,” you said through clenched teeth.

Raph raised an eyebrow.

“wanna spar?” you shot out before he could begin to ask further about how you were doing. Honestly standing and talking was wiping you out and your head was pounding. 

“Nah I can’t fight ya when you’re like this. I would-“

You cut him off. “Scared you’re gonna lose again? I’m sure Leo would be willing to spar- more of a challenge anyways.”

You turned around but paused when Raph grabbed your elbow and whipped you back around. 

 “Let’s go.” He growled. He tossed the water bottle to the edge of the mat before backing away to get into his stance. So predictable. 

As you lowered yourself into a stance, he pounced at you. You had to duck and weave to avoid his offensive approach. You were hardly able to take in a breath and all the jumping around was making your head spin. Raph landed a blow to your shoulder and sent you back a good 2 feet. You could hardly breathe anymore. Your vision started to get darker spots on the edges of your vision. Raph stopped and called out for Donnie. You crouched down when you began to sway. Your breath came in shallow gasps and it felt like there was fog in your ears, your eyes, and your tongue felt so heavy. 

“Y/N?” you felt a cool hand press itself to your clammy forehead. “Love, you’re burning up”

Just as your vision faded completely you managed to get out, “It’s cuz I’m so hot.” Then it went dark.

When you woke up later, it was very quiet except for the mild hum of a diffuser on the table next to you. As you tried to sit up you found there was something heavy on your head. You lifted your hand and removed the damp cloth from your forehead to see that you were in a cocoon of blankets, head propped up by a pillow. As you shifted, you saw that someone had changed you out of your sweaty clothes into a clean T-shirt. You sniffed it and determined it was Donnie’s because of how big it was on you and the light scent of motor grease. You sat up quickly and took another deep breath. You could smell again! You smiled and saw a glass of ice water on the table. You gulped it down quickly and sighed as the cool liquid soothed your dry throat.

The door cracked open and Donnie popped his head in. He smiled and opened the door further when he saw that you were awake. He carried a tray with a bowl and toast with him, which he sat on the table next to you. He placed his hand on your forehead. 

“Hi love,” he took out a thermometer and turned it on, “How are you feeling?”

“Better,” you opened your mouth and he placed the device under your tongue. 

“You scared me back there. Why didn’t you just let me take care of you earlier? You could’ve gotten seriously hurt.” He looked at you in concern. You knew you worried him and it wasn’t fair. But you don’t want to be the weak link in his family. He was always so strong and took care of everyone else. You wanted to show him you could be strong too. 

Instead, you pointed to the thermometer in your mouth. 

He chuckled and nodded. “I’ll wait.”

The thermometer beeped and Donnie read the temperature. 

“99.7. Still a little high but better than before.” He said.

You looked down at your hands. “I’m sorry I worried you. I didn’t want to upset you.” You explained how you felt and Donnie remained quiet until you were finished. He pulled you into his arms and stroked your hair from your face. 

 “You are the strongest person I know, Y/N. You fight every day for us and you support me in so many ways. You always help patch up the boys after a patrol, staying up to help us talk through our problems. You always are so positive and push us to do better. You make me better every day and I am so grateful I get to have you in my life. You are so wonderful and giving and strong, it makes me want to be worthy of you.” He placed a kiss on top of your head. “You don’t need to be strong all the time. I am your partner and it’s my job to take care of you. I love getting to take care of you.”

You sniffled into his chest and wrapped your arms around his neck. 

“thank you.”

“of course.”

You both sat there for some time, simply taking in the other's presence. It was quiet and peaceful. Well until your stomach grumbled. 

“Hungry?” Donnie chuckled.

You nodded and took the bowl from him. Tomato soup and grilled cheese. Yes! You loved this turtle. You offered him a bite of the grilled cheese, then hunkered down into the blankets as he turned on Star Wars. He crawled in next to you. Wrapping his arm around your shoulders, your head against his chest, and your favorite movie marathon in front of you, you knew you could stay here forever. With Donnie, you were happy and content. Maybe having him take care of you wasn’t as bad as you thought. 

[kitkatd7]

What Could’ve Been; Broken Hearts & Whiskey Pt. 2

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: Bucky finally starts trying to get his shit together but when you show up with another man it throws everyone for a loop.

Warnings: Angst! Overprotective Bucky, Pissed reader, Threats, womanizing character who gets what he deserves, Talk of the breakup, Cursing that Steve would be ashamed of, Tiniest bit of fluff but not really.   

Word Count: 3,331

A/N: I’m finally backkk!!! I’ve been wanting to work on this series for some time now and I’m finally getting a bit of motivation to do so! I hope you enjoy it!

A/N 2: Entire paragraphs of italics are flashbacks, single sentences of italics are internal thoughts, Bold italics are song lyrics.  I used lyrics from the song What Could’ve Been by Gone West for this story.  

Masterlist of Masterlists || Marvel Masterlist || Series Masterlist || Part 1

-----------------------------------------

**2 Months After Breakup**

Waltzing into the living room of the Avengers tower, you're met with a chorus of greetings from your adopted family. Despite you and Bucky being over you still spend time with everyone else- just when he isn’t around. 

You haven’t seen him since you broke up and you’d like to keep it that way. Seeing him would just be more than you could handle; you already lost him so why remind yourself of it more often than you already do? But at the same time his absence from movie night is just as painful of a reminder- like a puzzle with a lost piece. 

Snapping back to reality you give a halfhearted smile, joining Steve and Sam on the couch as Natasha hits play on ‘John Wick’.

----------------------------------------

2 hours later you’re standing in the kitchen making snacks with Sam before the next movie starts. “That’s ridiculous, Sammy!” You giggle, watching the microwave timer count down until the popcorn is ready. “Bacon does not belong in ice cream.”

You hear him chuckle behind you as he empties M&M’s into bowls. “Bacon belongs in everything, sweetheart. You're gonna try it sometime or else...”

“Or else what, Sa-” You cut off as you turn around, frozen on the spot as you peer over 

Sam’s shoulder.

“Hey, y/n,” Bucky whispers. Your gaze travels up and down the man you used to know, but he’s different. His eyes have bags beneath them from lack of sleep, his hair longer and more unruly than it was the last time you saw him. The stubborn jawline you remembered was replaced by a nervous clenched jaw. His eyes once so bright were now timid and dull; no longer holding the same sparkle that used to make you smile.

In an instant your expression went from a carefree woman with her friends to the girl who’s heart was shattered by the stranger before you whose face you used to know so well. 

“Can we talk?” Bucky asks gently, his expression hopeful yet dreading. 

“What are you doing here, James?” you whisper, wrapping your arms around yourself as Sam looks between you both carefully.

“I live here,” Bucky nearly scoffs. 

“Barnes,” Sam warns, his shoulders tense as he glances at you worriedly.

“I don’t want to talk to you, James. I have nothing to say.”

“All you have to do is listen. Please, doll.” 

Despite your best efforts to appear unbothered, the nickname shatters your false bravado. “Don’t call me that,” your voice breaks as tears cloud your vision.

“Excuse me,” you whisper, rushing past both men, ignoring Bucky’s call of your name and attempt to stop you. 

“Let her go, man. You’ve done enough,” you hear Sam say as you flee down the hallway, slamming the bathroom door behind you. 

Locking the door you turn on the faucet as the tears begin to fall and the suppressed memories rush back:

**2 Months Before Breakup* Flashbacks*

“It’s midnight! Where the hell were you?” You yelled, tears pricking your eyes.

Bucky sighed in defeat, his expression resigned and cold. “Can we do this in the morning?” His tone more of an order than a request as he turns his back on you and begins to walk down the hallway of your apartment. 

“No, we can’t do it in the morning. You owe me an explanation. You were supposed to be here when my parents got here. You promised.” You sniffled as Bucky’s shoulders stiffened. “I’m sorry. I don’t have a good enough reason,” he mumbles before walking away. 

I haven't stopped thinking about you

Has it really been this long?

Two years and an ocean between us

And I don't know where it all went wrong

I know I coulda kissed you harder

And yeah, you coulda followed through

Shoulda talked a little bit softer

But we meant every "I love you"

**1 Month Before Breakup**

Glancing around the restaurant you see no sign of Bucky. Checking your phone for the 8th time in the past 10 minutes, you sigh. Where is he? You’ve been here for an hour; waiting in your new dress for the man who hadn’t bothered to show. You’re getting tired of the pitiful looks the waitress and the other customers are shooting you. Polishing off your second glass of wine you open your phone: no new messages.

You’ve already sent Bucky 5 texts and called him 4 times; you're done.

Paying for the wine quickly you all but flee the restaurant, trying to hold back your tears. If you weren’t so upset you would probably laugh; laugh at yourself for being so naive to think he would keep his word. But you can’t bring yourself to laugh, not while your heart slowly shatters at the hands of the man who swore never to hurt you.

I don't know what this is or what it isn't

But it feels like we've got unfinished business

**2 Months Ago; AKA Week of Breakup**

“Hey this is y/n, I can’t come to the phone right now cuz I’m out livin my life! Leave it at the beep.” He hears your all too familiar voicemail through the speaker. He had helped you come up with it, you hadn’t known what to put on it. He kicks himself, knowing you weren’t actually out living your life, just dodging his calls. Not that he blamed you- He deserved it and he knew it. Calling again, he’s not surprised when he hears your voicemail again.

“Hey… Um, listen, I know I was supposed to be at your place after the mission… I just wanted to unwind with the guys and- Shit. I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t think you would mind that much, I’ll be over in a bit to make it up to you, okay?” He leaves the message and ends the call before starting his car and driving towards your apartment, guilt heavy in his stomach.

You listen to his voicemail over and over, a strange mix of rage and sorrow weighing on your heart.

Tears roll slowly down your cheeks silently as you lay curled up in a defensive ball on your bed, trying to block out the unmistakable sound of Bucky begging you to open the front door; “Babe, please open the door,” He says, fist resting gently against the frame. “I’m sorry- really, really sorry. Please let me in and we can talk about it,” He sighs, resting his head against the door in defeat. He could break the lock and go in. You both know that. But he wouldn’t do that to you- All that would do is make you fear him and that’s the last thing he wants. He slides his back down the wall til he’s sitting on the floor next to your door, his elbows on his knees and his hands in his hair; Tears gathering in his lashes. He really messed up this time.

The next day you drag yourself out of bed, trying to forget last night and all the tears you shed. After a shower and breakfast, you head out the door for a coffee run before work. You stop in your tracks when you see Bucky still sitting there, eyes red from lack of sleep and regret written all over his face. He jumps up when you walk out, keys in hand, the door closing behind you. “What are you doing here?” 

“I- I came to apologize,” he murmurs, looking in your eyes.

“I don’t want to hear it,” you bite, moving to step around him but stopping when he steps to block your path.

“Bucky, I’m going to be late for work,” you say coldly, glaring at him. “Move out of the way.”

“Please doll, just let me explain-”

Huffing, you roll your eyes. “I understand perfectly, James.” You watch as he flinches a little at the use of his first name. You only use it when you're really mad or really happy, and it isn’t the latter right now. “You were too busy with your beer buddies to come see your girlfriend after being gone for three weeks, but what’s new? It’s been like this for months. I guess it was naive of me to expect something else this time.” 

'Cause we left blood the on the tracks

Sweat on the saddle

Fire in the hills

A bullet in the barrel

Words never said in a story that didn't end

Looks like you're on the mend and I'm on the bottle

We folded our hands with money on the table

**Present Day**

All the broken promises, nights alone and tears came rushing back as sobs racked your body. Sliding down the door you rest your head between your knees, eyes screwing shut tightly in a useless attempt to stop the bittersweet memories and tears. 

Little do you know that outside the door sat a man with tears clouding his vision as he listened to your muffled sobs on the other side of the door. In that moment he wanted nothing more than to turn back time and undo all of the agony he caused you and hold you like he's been wishing he could for the past 2 months. You were just on the other side of the door, separated from him by a few inches of wood and yet you had never been farther away. What did he do?

Tried moving on, but I keep coming back again

To what could've been

What could've been

Oh, what could've been

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

-------------------------------------------

Stumbling into your apartment you all but throw your keys and purse down before shuffling into the bathroom and turning on the hot water for a shower before turning back to the mirror.

The person you see looking back at you in the mirror isn’t who you remember- or at least not who you thought you were. The person you remember was carefree and happy; living in a dream with the love of their life. You don’t recognize the girl in the mirror with swollen, bloodshot eyes and shoulders that hold the weight of the world. What happened to the girl you used to know?

A single tear rolled down your cheek, leaving a mournful trail in its wake. Bucky. Bucky happened to that girl. 

There had always been doubt hidden in the back of your mind; doubt that your beautifully woven reality would become nothing more than a tangled web of what once was and could’ve been, but you never thought it would end like this. You had imagined it being another girl that came between you, or perhaps his self loathing or the inadequacy you felt. Never did you think it would be the unexplainable, cold, unfeeling resentment that had taken over the gentle, sweet man you thought you knew.  Where did it go wrong?

A couple more simple, "I'm sorry's"

A little less tryna be right

I wonder how many good mornings we wasted

'Cause we didn't say goodnight

One touch before we fell asleep

Just before our love was out of reach

Coulda been enough, coulda saved us from this loneliness

------------------------------------------

“Steve?” Bucky calls out as he strides into the training room, the door banging shut behind him. Whirling around Steve clutches a hand to his chest. “Jesus, Buck! You scared the hell out of me!”

“I need your help,” Bucky demands, jaw set in a firm line and his eyes glittering with determination. 

Steve runs a hand over his face, letting out a sigh. “Is this about Y/N and the other night? Because if it is I am not apologizing to the poor girl for you, so you can just-” 

“I want her back.” 

“You what?!” Steve exclaimed, his jaw dropping.

“I want her back- I need her back. And I need you to help me.” 

“Damn it, Bucky. It’s been 2 months and you saw how she still feels about what you did. How are we gonna fix that?”

“I don’t know yet, Steve… But I have to try. Please.”

-----------------------------

Strolling into Tony’s party happily, you smile up at your date, your arm linked with his.

You greet Tony with a warm smile and a kiss on the cheek before turning towards the sound of Natasha calling your name. Sashaying towards her you give her a hug before turning to give Thor and Steve one as well.

“So, who’s this?” Nat asks, gesturing towards your date who’s eyeing her unabashedly, his gaze dropping to her neckline.

“Oh, sorry! This is Jordan!” 

You roll your eyes as Thor begins lightly interrogating him, but he doesn’t pay much attention, his gaze fixed on Natasha’s retreating form.

“Can we talk?” Steve asks, his hand resting gently on your forearm. Following him into a nearby corridor you give him a puzzled look. “Is something wrong, Steve?”

“Um, not exactly…” he murmurs, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Well, what is it then?”

“It’s about Bucky.” Seeing your irritated expression he holds up his hands innocently. “Wait a minute. Just hear me out, okay?”

“Fine.”

“Look, he’s been spiraling since you guys broke up; not eating, always working and out on missions constantly, and his nightmares are getting worse again.”

“Why should I care?”

“Don’t do that. Don’t pretend like you don’t still love hi- Actually, fine, Y/N. If you want to pretend that you don’t care then that’s your problem. Just know that seeing you the other night? Changed something. He’s trying again, and I don’t want to see him lose that. So even if you want to tell yourself that it doesn’t matter to you, at least think about it for me.” Steve turned away, pausing for a moment. “Oh, and by the way? Seeing you here tonight with someone else isn’t gonna be good for anyone… But why should you care, right?”

Taken aback by Steve’s lack of usual patience, you can only watch as he walks off, disappearing into the crowd and leaving you with mixed emotions and a hard decision ahead of you; what were you gonna do?

No matter how hard you tried to block out thoughts of Bucky they always managed to slip back in between the cracks in your shattered heart. Steve was right; you did care. But what were you supposed to do about it tonight? Especially about Jordan. Were you supposed to walk up to him and say ‘oh, by the way you have to leave because my ex is here and he may or may not rip your arms off? No, that wouldn’t work.

Racking your brain for a solution, you snag a glass of champagne from one of the passing trays, downing it in the hopes of drowning your mixed emotions - it didn’t work. Taking a deep breath, you start weaving between the sea of bodies towards where you left Jordan.

Spotting Thor and Tony you make your way towards them, smirking when you hear Tony arguing with Thor over… something. 

“Where’s Jordan?” you ask, joining their small circle and trying to shake off your conversation with Steve.

“He was here a minute ago… I’m not sure though, kiddo,” Tony says, giving you a puzzled glance. “Speak of the devil, here he is!” Tony exclaims as you look over your shoulder to see a slightly ruffled Jordan walking towards you, his eyes holding an unnatural hazy look.

“Where were you?” You ask lightly, gaze raking his bedraggled form; his shirt slightly untucked, hair mused and lips pink. 

“Oh um, nowhere. Just the bathroom.”  

Accepting another glass of champagne, you push down the fury in your chest. You’d just taken a sip when an all too familiar figure came to stand beside you; a scotch glass in his hand and clad in an unfairly attractive black suit. “Hey Y/N, who’s this?” 

Nearly choking on your drink, your eyes widen. “Bucky! What are you doing here? You hate these parties!” You say before you can stop yourself. Stupid. The offhanded statement would seem innocent to most, but to you- to you it was a reminder that you still knew him better than anyone else did, a reminder that you remembered all the nights alone together instead of at the noisy parties, a reminder that you still cared enough to remember. 

You could see that he was thinking the same thing. “This is Jordan. My…” you faded off, not quite sure what to call him.”

“Date,” Jordan finishes for you, wrapping his left arm around your waist lazily, his hand traveling slightly further than appropriate for the first date. “But we’re keeping things loose, isn’t that right?” Jordan asks, glancing at you but not waiting for an answer. “And who the hell are you?”

Your eyes widen in shock, glancing back and forth between the two men; taking in Jordan’s cocky smirk and Bucky’s knowing look. 

Bucky extended his hand, a malicious smirk on his lips and dark glint in his eyes as he took in the unprofessional state of Jordan- including the lipstick stain on his white button down- and the uncomfortable shift of your weight, leaning away from your sorry excuse of a date. 

Jordan accepted the outstretched hand, wincing visibly and paling at Bucky’s iron grip.  “Bucky Barnes,” Bucky offered, enjoying as the other man wriggled uncomfortably in his grip, his arrogance forgotten. His gaze lighted on Bucky’s metal arm, his eyes lighting with recognition and terror. 

“Holy- you're the Winter Soldier! God man, I’ve heard so much about you-”

“An honor, I’m sure,” Bucky drawls, looking bored, his voice dropping an octave in warning. “Now get lost.” 

You sputter defiantly as Jordan scurries off, his tail between his legs. 

“What was that for?!” you fume,a fire burning in your eyes as you turn on Bucky.

“Oh c’mon. The guys’ been eyeing every other woman in here! He’s a douche! What was I supposed to do? Just let him feel you up after sneaking off with who knows what girl?”

“Who ‘feels me up’ is none of your concern anymore!” 

“Come off it, Y/N! You didn’t even want him touching you! I was protecting you, so your welcome,” he huffed.

“I don’t need protecting, and I sure as hell don’t need you to protect me. So you can go fuck yourself, James. You can’t treat me like shit for months and then get mad when someone else does the same thing!” you snarl, spinning on your heel and storming off as Bucky watches you. 

Bucky stalks across the floor, the crowd parting before him; not willing to get in the way of the 6 foot man on a mission. Locating his target- dancing with another girl no less- he grabs him roughly by the collar before pushing him against a pillar.

“What the hell, dude?” Jordan fumes, eyes locking on Bucky’s before he goes slack, his eyes widening in horror when he recognizes the former assassin.

“Every single thing you’ve ever heard about me is true, so shut up and listen closely,” Bucky growls, his arm braced against Jordans chest forcefully, a murderous glint in his eyes. “I expect you to do exactly what I say, and if you don’t, I’ll know. First, you are going to get your sorry ass out of here, and then you are going to send Y/N an apology text, telling her what an asshole you are, and that you don’t deserve to even look at her. Then, you are not going to get within 1,000 feet of her, and you are not going to text, call, or even think about her ever again, or I swear to God I will hunt you down, cut your balls off and shove them down your goddamn throat, got it? Nod if you understand. Good. Now. Get. Out.” 

Releasing Jordan, Bucky watches as he falls to the floor before scrambling towards the door with the fear of God instilled in him. 

“What the hell did you just do, Bucky?”

-----------------------------------

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[queenofspades20]

My Hero

Synopsis: Reader gets stood up, Sam saves the day.

Pairings: Sam Wilson x Reader

Word count: 1,700

Warnings: Slight angst, mostly fluff

Just wanted to give Sam Wilson some love. And yes, I've actually gotten the excuse used as a reason when stood up before. (I can laugh about it now). Hope you enjoy!

The clinking of cups could be heard throughout the coffee shop. There was a warm smell of coffee and sugar that filled the air. Y/n was at her favorite spot, waiting for her date. They had met through her friend, Wanda, and made plans for coffee and then maybe a walk in the park. Y/n had been hesitant to make a date as she had been stood up for all her prior attempted dates for the past few years, but Jonathan had seemed like a nice guy.

“Y/n, you have to put yourself out there. Eventually, you’ll meet the right guy. But you won’t meet him if you don’t try.”

“Wan, I want to put myself out there, but I’ve been stood up so many times already. I can’t take another one.”

“Jonathan is nice. He’s joined me and Nat a few times during lunch break. You seemed to get along with him when we all went out for trivia night last week.”

Y/n felt a pressure on her chest, her anxiety making itself prevalent. “Yeah,” she said hesitantly.

“Y/n, if he pulls anything, Nat and I will kill him and no one will find the body. He knows that.” Wanda smiled.

Y/n felt her lips pull into a small smile. “You two can be quite scary when you want.”

“See? Tell him yes.”

Y/n sighed and texted Jonathan that she would meet him Saturday afternoon at her favorite coffee shop, which was close to both their places. “Okay. It’s done. But if he stands me up, I’m done. I’ll just die alone, with at least 5 dogs and I’ll be the fun vodka-aunt to your kids.”

“It won’t happen. I promise.”

Jonathan was meant to be there about 15 minutes prior. Y/n felt the pressure building on her chest. She had ordered a [your favorite drink] and sat at a table where she could see the door. She quickly checked her phone and didn’t see any notification from Jonathan. Her leg started bouncing and she looked again at the door.

She fired off a text to Jonathan. “Hey. I have a table in the corner when you get here.”

Y/n didn’t want to come off too strong as this was technically a first date and figured that would get the point across. After another 15 minutes and no response, Y/n decided to call Wanda. As she dialed the number, she felt tears gather in her eyes. While she didn’t think anyone was watching her closely to see that she had just been stood up, she still felt miserable at being stood up yet again.

“Y/n? Aren’t you supposed to be…”

“Thirty minutes and he’s a no show. No texts or calls from him either. I should’ve just said no. I’m done, Wanda.”

“Y/n, maybe something happened to him.”

“Yeah, he decided I wasn’t worth it, like every other guy.” Y/n was in full self-depreciation mode. She was trying to not cry, but it was getting harder and harder. She pulled her phone away from her ear and pulled up the texts. She saw that Jonathan had read her text, but no response. So she decided to fire off one more text.

She could hear Wanda’s voice from the earpiece. “Y/n, let me try to find out what happened. Don’t do anything rash.”

“Seriously, Wan? Even if something came up, at least have the courtesy of shooting off a quick text. Being treated with courtesy is not an unreasonable thing to ask for.”

“No, but he may not be able to respond.”

As Y/n was about to respond to Wanda, a text came through from Jonathan. Y/n saw red.

“Wanna hear his excuse, Wanda? It just came in.”

Wanda hesitated. She could hear the anger in Y/n’s voice and knew it couldn’t be good. “What did he say?”

“’Hey, sorry. I fell asleep. I just woke up.’ That’s it. That’s the text. No, Wanda.”

“I’m so sorry, Y/n. I’m gonna kick his ass on Monday. I’m sure Nat will help me. I can’t believe he did that to you.”

Y/n sighed and quickly wiped away a tear that had fallen, hoping no one had seen it. “It’s par the course for me. I told you. I give up. I’m gonna head home. I’ll call you later. I’m not really up for talking right now,” she said miserably. As she was gathering her things, someone approached the table.

“Excuse me, is this seat taken?”

Y/n shook her head, not looking up. “No, actually, you can have the table. I’m leaving.”

“Oh, I was hoping to join you.”

At that, Y/n looked up and saw an extremely handsome man in front of her. He was tall, wearing jeans and a leather jacket, and had the kindest brown eyes she had ever seen. “Me?” she asked incredulously.

The man seemed a bit nervous. “I saw you sitting here alone and you’re really beautiful and I was hoping to get to know you.”

Y/n blinked a few times. “Is this some kind of prank? Cuz it isn’t funny if it is.”

The man seemed taken aback. “No! I wouldn’t do that. I really am interested.”

Y/n stared at him for a moment. He really seemed sincere. She sighed. “Sorry. I just got stood up. I’m a little…yeah. I’m sorry.”

The man sat down in the chair across from her. He had a kind smile. “No worries. I’m Sam.”

Y/n smiled and gave her name.

“So, what idiot would stand up a beautiful woman like you?”

Y/n shrugged. “Coworker of my friends.”

“Well, his loss.”

“Agreed. Still hurts though, not gonna lie.”

Sam leaned forward on the table, resting his weight on his elbows. “So, Y/n, what do you do?”

“I’m a lawyer. And I’d ask what you do, but, correct if I’m wrong, you’re Sam Wilson, one of the Avengers, right?”

Sam let out a little laugh. “Yeah.”

“Thank you for keeping the world safe.”

“Well, I’m not always successful,” Sam said, thinking of Lagos. Thankfully, the PR team had prevented a major disaster, though there was some tension on the team for a while.

“But you try and you do more than most people,” Y/n countered. “You’re a hero to me.”

Sam smiled. They continued to talk for about an hour when Y/n got an idea.

“So, there’s this really good ice cream stand in the park. Would you maybe want to walk over and get some? Something tells me you have a bit of a sweet tooth.”

“That sounds perfect.” Sam stood up and held out his hand. Y/n slid her hand into his, feeling electricity run up her arm. She shyly bit her lip and stood up. Sam intertwined their hands and they made their way to the park.

They walked hand in hand, enjoying the late afternoon sun. After getting their ice cream, they walked until they found a bench in a quiet area of the park and sat down. Sam leaned back and had one arm along the back of the bench. Y/n could feel the heat from his arm along her shoulders. She wanted nothing more than to lean into his arm, but she didn’t want to be presumptuous.

As if he read her mind, Sam moved his arm and put his hand on Y/n’s shoulder. “Is this okay?”

Y/n smiled up at him and moved a little closer to him, so she could cuddle into his side. “As long as this is okay.”

Sam pulled her close and smiled down at her. “It will never not be okay. I know we haven’t said goodbye yet, but, would you maybe want to go on a planned date with me?”

“Really?”

“Yes, really. Why do you keep questioning me like that?” Sam was genuinely curious why Y/n didn’t seem to think much of herself. From his time spent with her, he thought she was smart, funny, sweet, and beautiful.

Y/n looked down at her lap, contemplating how much detail she wanted to give away. “I’ve never exactly had good luck with men and someone as amazing as yourself? It seems too good to be true. You’re gorgeous, I can get lost in your eyes and smile very easily, you’re kind, and definitely smart. I don’t understand what you see in me.”

Sam hooked his finger under her chin and lifted her face up to look at him. “You’re pretty amazing yourself. You’re smart, funny, sweet. Please go on another date with me?”

Y/n bit her lip. She nodded, smiling. “Okay. I’d really like that.”

“So, tonight? I take you out to dinner?”

Y/n laughed. “Wouldn’t that just be a continuation of this date?”

“Nope. And before you ask why not, Counselor, it’s because I said so.” He booped the tip of her nose, already knowing what she would have asked.

“Okay then.” She looked at her watch. “So, at what point does this date end and the next one begin?”

Sam seemed to contemplate his answer. “Right now.” He took her hand and kissed it softly. “I had a really great time today. I look forward to our next date.”

“I had a really great time, too, Sam,” Y/n said, playing along.

They stood up and Sam gave Y/n’s hand one more kiss. “Until our next date.” Sam took five steps away from Y/n and then quickly turned around and walked back.

“Y/n, you look even more lovelier than the last time I saw you.” He pulled her into a hug and kissed her cheek.

Y/n couldn’t contain her smile. “Laying it on kinda thick, aren’t ya?”

“Well, I can’t help myself.”

Y/n linked her arm through Sam’s. “So, where are we going to dinner?”

“There’s a good pizza place down the street if you’re game.”

“For pizza? Always.”

As they made their way down the street, Sam suddenly stopped and looked at Y/n. “Even though it’s not something I would normally say, I’m glad that jerk stood you up. Because I might not have met you and I can already tell that his loss is definitely my gain.”

Y/n smiled. “I never thought I would say it either, but I’m glad I got stood up, too. I wouldn’t have met my hero.”

[glenncoco4]

You Can Count On Me

A/N: Chapter 5

••••

She steps off the dirt path and onto the small dock. Her presence doesn’t even effect him, which is concerning. “I thought I’d find you here.”

He doesn’t have the energy to respond, his thoughts are swirling and the anxiety he’s been having about this situation is bubbling to the surface more and more each day, especially because of her. His cerulean blues stay focused on the ripples of the water surrounding his feet.

Kicking off her flip-flop, the brunette takes a seat next to him on the old dock, putting her bare feet in the cool pond water right along side his. She turns to look at him, wondering what’s going on inside his head and for a moment as the sun illuminates is silhouette, something inside her heart shifts. “Why’d you run off like that?” 

“I guess I just got a little bit overwhelmed by it all.”

“All of what?”

“The thought of going off to college and making something of myself.”

She huffs a laugh, shaking her head in disbelief.

Marty quickly whips his head around, affronted by his best friend’s reaction. “I’m glad you’re enjoying my misery.”

She scoots closer to him, encircling his forearm with her own arms. “No, Marty its not...I’m laughing because you obviously haven’t been paying attention to what I’ve been saying for the past 7 years.”

“Enlighten me.”

“Don’t you realize what you mean to your mom, to my parents...to me? Marty, you’ve already made something of yourself. You are the kindest, funniest and best person I know. You changed my life; you’ve changed so many people’s lives.”

“Really?”

A soft smile crosses her features at the childlike hope in his cerulean blues. “Hey, have I ever lied to you before?”

“No.”

“Exactly. And I never will.” She states matter of factly before leaning her head against his shoulder, soaking in the beautiful glow of the setting sun cascading across the water with the person who makes her feel so safe it’s kinda ridiculous. 

The tension in his body slowly ebbs away at his best friend’s words as the scent of lavender beautifully assaults his nose. Taking a deep calming breath, he leans his head against hers, knowing that whatever life throws at him, she’ll be there. He can count on that. “I know.”

••••

Stepping of the dirt trail and onto the old dock like she’s done so many times before, the brunette takes in the picture before her. There he is, clothes tattered, scars across his beautiful face, but he’s alive and that’s all that matters. 

He turns around already feeling her presence ease the tension away from his battered body. His sorrowful blue eyes meet those of sweetly intense brown and the shine that glistens in them. Shaking his head in defeat, he realizes how close he had come to never seeing her again. 

Kensi doesn’t give him a chance to say anything before she’s closing the distance between them, throwing her arms around him, she’s able to relax for the first time in four months. “You’re safe.”

His body clings to hers, hands grasping at her shirt feeling as though they can’t get close enough. That lavender scent that is so uniquely her fills his nostrils, immediately bringing him a sense of self. She’s here. He’s here. They’re here together and that’s all that matters. “Yeah, for now.”

“I thought you were dead.”

“Not yet. Maybe tomorrow.”

She pulls back, a cross between anger and hurt written across her features. “Don’t.”

“Sorry.” The blonde apologizes, regretting his words the moment they left his lips. 

Without thinking, her finger finds the red scrape on his cheek. “Are you okay?”

The feel of her skin against his brings back memories of that night a few months ago. He wants that again so bad. So bad he can almost taste it, but there’s something he has to take care of before he can even think about moving forward with her. “I’ll be better when I catch Lazik.”

“Woah. Woah. Woah. What do you mean when you catch Lazik?”

“I have to finish this, Kens.”

Seeing the determination set in his soulful blue eyes she knows there’s no stopping him, but she’ll be damned if he thinks she’s going to stand idly by. “No, we have to finish this.”

“I suppose I could use some backup.” He smirks, earning a playful nudge from his partner. 

••••

A resounding gasp fills the agents ears as the tech operator discovers who the third vehicle belongs to. “Car’s registered to Dale John Sully.”

Kensi tilts her head back against the head rest in exasperation when Eric confirms that her best friend’s undercover persona is indeed inside the warehouse, putting his life in even more danger than before. “Callen, that’s Marty’s alias.”

The team leader shakes is head wondering why he’s so surprised that the detective is indeed in another sticky situation. “Your boy just loves trouble, doesn’t he.”

She stares at the roof of the car for a minute, thinking about Callen’s words. “It’s funny, cuz when we were growing up, it was always the other way around.”

“Kens, I’m not so sure this is a good idea.” Marty looks around the backyard nervously as his best friend pulls out the power saw from her dad’s tool shed. 

“What are you talking about? It’s just a little tree house.”

“Yeah, but what’s your dad gonna say when he catches us with his power tools?”

The brunette begins to pull out the sawhorse before turning around to meet the 13 year old’s worried eyes.“He’s not gonna catch us and you’re not gonna tell him either.”

He feels a unfamiliar thud in his heart when the challenging spark in her mismatched orbs meet his.“Has anyone ever told you how cute you are when you’re homicidally angry?”

“In fact they have and he was never seen again.” 

Taking a deep breath, Kensi focuses on the here and now. Rescuing Marty’s ass, just so she can kill him herself for going in alone. “So what’s the plan?”

••••

The bald man turns to meet Dale’s eyes, a dark smirk playing at the corner of his lips. “You are surprised I have a wife?”

A shiver runs down his spine. “Everybody’s gotta have somebody, right?” The blonde answers as a sense of warmth and dread swarm through his body at the thought of his person, his somebody, his Kensi and how close they are to having at what he hopes will be forever. 

••••

Callen watches as the shaggy blonde, presses the muzzle of the gun forcefully against the dirty cops jaw. “Deeks, look, he’s not worth it.”

Marty ignores the team leader’s statement as his anger continues to take control of his body. “Ask me again. Ask it again!”

Kensi watches on as a side of her best friend that she’s never seen before takes over. Thinking of how he would deal with this situation if their roles reverse, she does the only thing that would certainly bring her out of her rage. “Marty. Marty, put it down.”

As soon as his name leaves her lips a calmness washes over him and it suddenly hits him that she was there to witness what just happened. He empty’s the camber of the gun handing it off to the guys before looking for the nearest way out. 

Seeing the frantic look of turmoil in her best friend’s eyes, Kensi places her hand against his chest, trying to bring him some sort of relief. 

He shakes his head, trying to school his features as much as he can and does the one thing that never seems to work when it comes to her, not that he would want it to. He walks away from her without a word. 

Finding a clear spot against the ally wall, Marty leans against the brick, sliding down until his ass his the hard concrete. He brings his knees up to his chest, burrowing his head into them as he finally lets his tears fall. The anger he’s been holding onto for so long, the pure shit that was this case and the most beautiful moment he’s ever experienced in his life all swimming around in his head. 

He’s not sure how long it is before the familiar sound of her footfalls hit his ears. He doesn’t look up, doesn’t acknowledge her presence.

“Hey, are you okay?” She chastises herself for asking such a stupid question. Of course he’s not okay. She’s seen him come out of some pretty deep covers, but this one seems to be affecting him more than any other. Kneeling down in front of him, her hands find his, trying to once again comfort him the way she always has. 

“I’d be better if everyone just left me alone.”

The bite in his voice tells her one thing, his walls are up and considering the emotional state he’s in right now, they won’t be coming down any time soon...even for her. She stands back up, shaking her head in frustration. “Understood.”

The sound of her footfalls getting further and further away finally draw him out of his “cage,” realizing that she’s not going to fight him right now even though she knows its what he needs. He can feel the strain in his throat as her silhouette gets smaller and smaller. “Kens...” He sighs in defeat as she quickly turns the corner. 

This day keeps getting shittier and shittier. 

••••

He brings his fist up to tap on the piece of wood once more, but just as he does it’s pulled open. A set of mesmerizingly mysterious eyes are suddenly staring back at him, leaving him at a loss for words. “I-“

“I thought you wanted to be alone.”

“I did, but...”

“But what?”

She’s upset, actually upset doesn’t seem to be the right word for what he sees staring back at him. Ever since they were kids he’s imagined this moment in so many different ways, this wasn’t really one of them. “I-I wanted to tell you that after that night we had...I never meant for it to happen.”

Kensi can feel her heart split into two at his words. The thought of this...them..of what they could be, it’s all suddenly gone. All the fight she thought was inside her has dissipated. She won’t let herself cry. She won’t. “O-oh, yeah, right. I-I understand.”

“You do?”

“Yeah, you were probably just in the heat of the moment and didn’t want to hurt my-“

Before she can finish her sentence, his lips are on hers, cutting her off. His hands come up, cradling her face, kissing her with such passion and reverence that it would put a Nicholas Sparks movie to shame. 

Their tongues duel as if its their last moments on earth and this is goodbye. It’s a few minutes later when they have to pull back, both panting as the rise and fall of their chests brush against each other. “What was that?” 

“It seems as though I’m not so good with the words, so I had to resort to other tactics.”

“Not that I didn’t enjoy those tactics, but you know you can tell me anything, Marty.”

“I know. I know. It’s just, laying it all there and saying the words out loud...to you, I-“

“Deeks, what is it?”

At the sound of his last name leaving her lips, he knows he better get to the point and stop being circuitous. It’s now or never. Chips on the table. All in. Taking one last calming breath, his hand finds itself back on her jaw, the feel of her skin against his sends a shock wave through his body. Conveying everything he possibly can in his eyes, he says what’s been sitting on the tip of his tongue and in some part of his head for 20 years now. “I’ve always wanted this one specific thing in life and I didn’t realize until recently what it was. I want you, Kens. I want you and me...I want us. You’re so much more than my best friend. You’re everything to me, Kensi and I’m so far past being in love with you.”

As his confession washes over her, everything stands still as her broken heart slowly mends itself together. This is so not what she was expecting tonight. “You-you love me?”

“I do.” His lips rise into a small smile. “I think the night we made love made me realize it even more.”

He watches as an unreadable look crosses her face as if she’s trying to size him up before turning around and walking further into her apartment. Seeing as though she doesn’t slam the door in his face, he follows her in, quickly shutting the door and becomes confused when he doesn’t see her sitting on the couch. 

The brunette follows his movements as he walks further into the living room before she makes her next move. Coming up behind him, she spins his body around and pushes him onto the couch. Straddling his lap, she presses her heat against his. His arms immediately wrapping around her waist loving the feel of her body against his as her movements quickly bringing his member to life. 

Slowly moving in, a soft blissful smile spreads to her face as her intense mismatched orbs dance with passion. “I’m in love with you, too.”

[darksapphire29]

Imagine #5

Peter being afraid of needles.

Warnings: blood, needles, inaccurate description of wound-fixing (basically; don't copy how the reader fixes Peter cuz idk what I'm doing)

You pumped your legs harder, faster. Your heart pounded in your ears. Your limbs ached with every swift movement and you had a stitch in your side. Your pursuers followed with an energy you had left in the camp.

“This way!” Peter hollered from in front of you. He turned suddenly, your exhausted brain making you nearly ram into a tree. Luckily, Peter had slowed to grab your hand. He dragged you along through a thicker and darker part of the forest. After a minute, he pulled you around behind a tree. He pressed his back into the bark, his arms wrapped over your stomach as he clutched you to his body.

The two of you stood immensely still, huffing and puffing, sweat dripping down your back.

The pirates ran right past you.

The stupid men hurried off into the woods, and when their grumbles were out of earshot, you slackened against Peter. A relieved laugh bubbled up in your chest. Peter’s chest shook behind you. His angelic giggles filled your ears, and soon you were both trembling with mirth.

Not 10 minutes earlier, that codfish Hook had somehow found his way into camp. But it didn’t matter. You and Peter and the Lost Boys were prepared and hungry for a fight. Before you ran off to play tag, half of them were bleeding on the ground. It was grand fun. It still baffled you how they ever thought they could win.

“How many… did you get?” He gasped from behind you. You were still laughing, ignoring your ever-worsening stitch.

“E-Eleven.” You turned to face him, and he was grinning, his eyes sparkling with joy. It was a rare and beautiful sight. But then, he winced, and your laugh caught in your throat.

“You alright?” You took his hand, feeling familiar tingles from his skin on yours. It gave you butterflies, but something was wrong.

“Yes, I’ll… I’ll just walk it o—” He cut himself off, collapsing into you. You caught him, you hand touching something warm and wet on his side. He cried out.

“Peter! H-Hang on, we need to get you b-back…” You looked around quickly, trying to remember where you were. You had never been to this part of the forest before. You looked back down at Peter. The side of his shirt was soaked in his blood, and some of it dripped onto the leaves.

You lowered him onto the floor, peeling back his shirt to look at it. A long line of his skin was split open, blood leaking down the sides and staining his paling skin. It wasn’t too wide, but it was deep. You guessed he had been sliced by a sword. It was a clean cut. Easy enough to fix. But that didn’t make it easy to look at. Against your wishes, you started to tear up.

“Oh my gosh…” You whimpered, staring down at the red in shock. “A-Alright. L-Let me see if I h-have anything…” You searched your pockets. Normally, you would bring supplies for something like this. You were basically Neverland’s doctor. But you hadn’t, this time.

“Peter, I-I don’t have anything!” Your hands were shaking. Peter grabbed them.

“(Y/n), it’s okay…” He croaked. He closed his eyes, frowning a little. Suddenly, he was lying on a cot, and you were kneeling beside him in your healing chambers.

“Oh, Peter, thank you.” You scrambled to your feet and ran to the cupboard. Gathering ointments and disinfectant and stitches and bandages while Peter groaned in response. You placed everything on the table beside the bed, gathering some cloth and a bowl of warm water.

“Okay. This is gonna sting, so, on three?” Peter nodded; eyes squeezed shut. You breathed out slowly. “One…” Peter’s breathing sped up a little, and your chest tightened. “Two…” You got some scissors and cut open his shirt so you could get to the wound. “Three.”

You dabbed gently on and around his cut. You swiped away any dirt and washed the cloth in water a few times when it filled with blood and grime. All the while Peter squirmed and grunted and whimpered. It broke your heart to know you were causing him this pain.

"For Neverland's sake, Peter!" You grumbled, washing out the cloth for the third time. "Were you running even... even with this?"

How could the poor boy even move with such a wound, let alone run around in the forest?

Peter shrugged while lying down, which you weren't afraid to admit looked really weird.

"What could I say?" He smirked. "You were having such a good time, after all. It was fun... you don't smile like that often." You shook your head.

"For the record, Pan, you hardly smile at all." He laughed, but his eyes showed his pain. Both physical pain and emotional.

There was one speck of dirt that wouldn’t budge, you using the corner of the cloth to try and move it. Peter squeezing the mattress, you finally got it out.

When you finished cleaning, you rinsed off the cloth again. Your hands were a little red. You gagged at the sight. There was so much of Peter's blood; on your hands, in the bowl, on his shirt, on his skin, on the cot... it worried you. And it had to be fixed up before he lost any more.

“Peter.” He groaned again, opening his eyes to look at you. There were swollen and misty. “I’m going to need to stitch it together.” Peter’s eyes widened. He recoiled into the bed.

This was always the part you and every Lost Boy hated most. You just hoped Peter wouldn’t kill you; on purpose or accidental.

You’d had stitches before, and it sucked. The only difference here was, you were all out of poppy seeds, and Peter wasn’t about to fall asleep any time soon. Besides, he was the lightest sleeper on the whole of Neverland. So, you were going to give him a needle.

He seemed to read your mind, and you saw he was trying to prepare himself. You gathered your things, dabbing disinfectant around the wound. But when you brought out the needle, he was stiff as a board. “You okay?”

“Of course.” He said a little too quickly. You giggled.

“Are you afraid of needles?” He glared at you, trying to look intimidating. You waved the needle in his face. He flinched.

“Aw, Pan, it’s alright. (Y/n) will be gentle with the scary needle.” You teased.

“Just get it over with.” He growled. Your gaze softened.

“Really, Pete. It’ll be alright. Loads of people are afraid of needles.” You tried calming him down, the playful mood dissipating faster than it appeared. Peter scoffed.

“I am not afraid of needles.” You smiled softly. It was cute that the tough and intimidating Peter Pan was afraid of needles, but it was a pretty big needle. You weren’t about to mock his pride. Not again, anyway.

“Wanna hold my hand?” You held out your other hand for him to take. He looked away from you before he (somewhat begrudgingly) grabbed it. You smirked.

“Shut up.”

You positioned the needle over his skin, and he looked over into your eyes. His gaze steering clear of the small but sharp object.

“Ready?”

“No.” He grinned sheepishly, before it was replaced with a look of fear. He gulped, clutching your hand. Just before you pushed the needle through his skin, a vase nearby exploded. You and Peter jumped, a few shards of glass flying across the room. One of them nicked your cheek while another got your arm.

"(Y/n), I'm so sorry! Are you alright?" You shook a little, the needle still in your hand. You looked over to where the vase used to be, little pieces all over the table and ground. Some were even sticking out of the wall behind it.

Lucky for you, th vase was on the other side of the room. So aside from a scratch here and there, you were fine.

You looked back down at Peter. "Uh... yeah! Yeah, let's just finish this."

He didn’t move while you injected him. And to your relief, nothing exploded this time. He watched you with guilt in his eyes.

He fell asleep almost right away, and you went to work sewing him up. When it was done you washed the blood off his and your skin, taking off his shirt completely and putting him in a fresh one. Then, you sat in a chair with a book and waited for him to wake.

When he finally stirred, the first thing he searched for was you.

“(Y/n)?” You heard, and you put the book down.

He was looking around the room for you, eyes blinking slowly and his arms stretching above him. It was adorable.

“I’m here.” You smiled. His head turned slightly to the side, finding you. He smiled lazily.

“Come here.” You sat on the bed beside him, he not even bothering to sit up yet. Which was good, since it would ruin your human needlework. He grabbed you shirt and tried pulling you down. But he was still weak from sleep.

“Oh, stop it, Pan.” You giggled, taking his hands away. He just linked his fingers with yours. “Your still injured, and there isn’t enough room, anyway.”

Peter pouted. “You know you… want to.” He tried, but then yawned slightly. You laughed at his attempt to seduce you. He frowned.

“You’re tired. Get some rest.” You kissed his forehead, standing up to walk away. But his hand was still holding yours.

“I just was resting.” He argued, going to sit up. You quickly grabbed his shoulders.

“Don’t!” He stopped. “You’ll hurt yourself. Pop the stitches I was working on for hours.” He chuckled.

“My hero.” You ignored the sarcasm, forcing him to lie down.

“And as your hero, I am ordering you to go back to sleep.” He rolled his eyes, letting go of your hand and sighing (rather dramatically).

“Only if you stay with me.” You thought about it for a second, biting your lip. You weren’t a sound sleeper. What if you touched his stitches? Or took all the blanket? Or rolled on him? Or pushed him out of bed? Or—

“Just get in, (Y/n)!” He laughed at your thoughts, and you gave up. You climbed under the blankets next to him.

He went to roll on his side to face you, wanting to hold you. But then he winced and stopped himself. Instead, he put his arm under your neck and tucked you into his side. You laughed at the awkwardness of it all.

“Happy, now?” You giggled. He smirked at you.

“More than happy.”

***

“So, All-Powerful Pan… wanna talk about your fear of needles?”

“Shut up.”

You laughed.

[jungshook69]

Love is a myth :: 01

DISCLAIMER: This doesn’t represent the members’ actions or the army’s actions in any manner it’s pure fiction. This is an original work, do not copy. The taglist is open if you want. Taglist is now closed.

WORD COUNT: 4.1K words

MAIN PAIRING:  musician! Yoongi X waitress! female reader

SIDE PAIRING/S: Jungkook X female reader ; Taehyung X female reader

GENRE: FWB! au ; Strangers to lovers! au

WARNINGS: Implied smut (Forgive me cuz I suck at writing it, no puns intended) ; Mentions of alcohol and smoking (I do not condone smoking) ; Profanity ; Mentions of infidelity ; Heavy angst ; Self loathing (Namjoon’s about to wack me in the head with his slipper) ; I apologize in advance if there’s any spelling errors.

SUMMARY: "You covered your bare form with the silk sheets beneath you, as you watched him walk out your door without a word." // "Love is a myth. All that existed between you two was pure lust." // "The last rule was if anyone of the two of you caught feelings for the other, the deal would be off."

SERIES MASTERLIST: Trailer » Meet the cast » Chapter #1 » Chapter #2 » Chapter #3 » Chapter #4

STATUS: Complete

You lay on your bed, chest panting, as you tried to catch your breath. Your hooded eyes fluttered open to meet the familiar sight of a white ceiling fan rotating at a painfully slow speed. Your forehead and bare chest were lined with beads of sweat as you felt the mattress dip beside you. You turned your attention to his presence, as you were met with the sight of his bare back sitting upright, his hands working hard to put his white t-shirt back on. You watched as he pulled on his boxers, followed by his jeans and walked over to your side of the bed.

You covered your bare form with the soft silk sheets underneath you as you watched him come closer to you. No, he did not lean in for a passionate good bye kiss. No, he did not bend over and embrace your petite form against his warm chest, and run his calloused fingers along your naked back. None of that was part of what you both had come to terms with. Your curious eyes followed his movements as he bent down to grab his beanie off of the floor next to your side of the bed.

He slipped on his beanie and his jacket which was strewn across your chair, not moments ago. Without a word, you watch as the man’s dark figure retreated from the shadows of your bedroom. You let out a deep breath you weren’t aware you were holding, as soon as you heard the front door click. Being too tired to get up and wash up, you let your tired eyes take control, as you drifted into a deep slumber.

//

You awoke to the sound of a woman’s high pitched voice yelling, contrary to most people waking up to the sound of a disturbingly loud alarm. You immediately recognized the voice to be the sound of your neighbors engaged in a routinely loud domestic argument. Maybe this time her husband accidently burned an egg on the stove, or maybe this time her toddler broke a vase, the possibilities were endless. In your time living in your apartment, you had heard your neighbors engage in a variety of arguments. The daily bickering of your neighbors, your parents’ marriage, and a certain someone from your past, were the exact reasons why your take on love was the way it is now.

 Was love overrated according to you? Nope, that wasn’t the case. You just didn’t believe love existed at all. You believed that love is a myth.

 You had higher priorities in life, like maintaining a proper work ethic, to earn for a living. You were one of the lucky ones whose day didn’t start at 6 in the morning. Instead your job required for you to be present quite later, at around 11 in the morning. But, to be fair, your job extended further into the next day, as far as 2 or 3 in the morning sometimes. But you did prefer your current work schedule better, as you were kind of a night owl.

 You freshened up, and had a hearty breakfast composed of a buttered toast and some chai tea. Yes, unlike the people around you, you were one to prefer tea over coffee. You couldn’t count the number of times you’ve had this discussion with your colleagues. You soon got dressed in your uniform consisting of a tight white blouse, a black pencil skirt that hugged your curves, paired with classic black pumps. You didn’t forget to put on your silver ring with a black J carved into it, the one you’d taken off the night before, when you were engaged in a scandalous activity with a certain someone. You grabbed your purse and your warm grey winter coat, as you stepped out the door, ready to start your day.

 //

 The bus ride wasn’t too bad, although you wish you had enough strength to pull the window which was stuck, close, to stop the cold winter breeze from grazing your bare calves. But as soon as you entered the warm ambience of your workplace, your coat long forgotten, your mind focused on getting the job done. You walked across the rows and rows of empty tables and chairs, your heels making minimal noise against the rich carpet, as you made your way through a pair of steel doors, tying your apron around your waist. You grabbed a checklist attached onto a clipboard, and detained your responsibilities as the senior head waitress.

 “Okay, do we have the 5 kilograms of sundried tomatoes from Tony’s farm?” you’re sharp voice rings through the hustling and bustling of your colleagues. “Yes ma’am!” you here a response over the ruckus of boxes being unloaded. Doing inventory was a hassle, but you were determined to complete the responsibility laid on your shoulders. About an hour of screaming later, you were wiping off the sweat that had accumulated across your forehead. “Good job today guys, we did inventory, 30 minutes early.” You said, a small smile tracing your thin lips. Although you were stern, you knew how to appreciate your colleagues work. They all gave you small smiles as they headed off to freshen themselves up, to get ready for opening up for business in 30 minutes.

 You were in the washroom, touching up your deep wine lipstick, when the door flew open, followed by the click of heels against the marble floor. You caught her reflection in the mirror as you turned around and greeted her. “Hey Maria…” you said, not a trace of enthusiasm in your voice. If there was one person who you could stand the least in your workplace, it was Maria. Contrary to you, she was born with a silver spoon. She was the restaurant manager’s niece, and had been given a job here, despite her inexperience. You never had a problem with that, but it’s when she ran against you for the post of senior head waitress, you grew envious. But fortunately, the manager saw beyond just blood relations, and fairly granted you the promotion, as a result of all the blood and sweat you had put into it.

“Hey…” she mumbled, plainly as courtesy, and no real kind intention, as she walked towards the mirror and began brushing through the strands of her short black bob. Unbothered by her presence, you began to tie your long brown locks into a low braided bun and brushed your outfit free from any existing wrinkles. Your eyes drifted to the adjacent female’s form and you couldn’t help but feel a twinge of envy. You were pretty proud of how you looked. It’s just that you failed to be confident about your body, unlike her, who flawlessly flaunted her curves. Before you could overthink you left the washroom.

 //

 10 minutes left to opening time, you were setting folded napkins down by the pristine glassware and silverware on a table, when you heard the small bell chime, alerting you of someone entering the restaurant. You look up and immediately lock eyes with a man with deep brown feline eyes, his hair a pale mint green, contrasting with his all-black attire. Min Yoongi. The same man who was hovering over you last night, the same man whose throat was voicing your name out loud, the same man whose teeth had left evident marks on your body, multiple times in the last 2 months. You shifted your gaze onto the butter knife in your hand, and all you could think about was stabbing the man in front of you senseless, and then stabbing yourself, for doing what you did. But then again, lust was a dangerous greed in your mind.

 You walked away to a table farther away from the entrance, while your eyes carefully watched as he uncovered his guitar from the case, and began setting up a mic on the center stage, right under the spotlight. “Hey, do you need help setting up?” you heard Maria ask him. You caught from the corner of your eyes, her figure bending over to his seated one on the chair, her hand landing on his shoulder. You were pretty sure his unwavering gaze was fixed down her shirt. “No I’m good.” He huffs and gets back to working on the speaker settings for his performance. You let whatever feeling was building up in the pit of your stomach subside as you left the two, making your way back into the kitchen.

 //

 Before you knew it, the whole day had gone by with you running in between tables, jotting down orders on your little notepad, and running back and forth between the loud and chaotic kitchen and the quiet and luxurious ambience of the seating region. This was your life, maintaining a calm composure, fit for a classy 5-star restaurant accompanied by casting several missed glances at a certain musician playing a beautiful rhythm.

 You placed a martini at a table with a family of 4. You observed the man to be wearing a rich tuxedo finished with a neatly tucked pocket square, the woman was adorned with elegant pearls and dressed in a midnight blue gown, a small girl, embezzled in what appeared to be her mother’s gold jewelry and dressed in an obnoxious pink frilled dress. A small boy of around the age of 5, who was seated right next to where you were standing, cast you a nasty glance as you watched his hand topple the glass, spilling all the contents onto your skirt. You audibly gasped, but remembered to lower your voice and not make a scene, luckily your skirt was black. The woman at the table said nothing, her eyes fixated upon her rich manicure, while the man glanced your way and muttered a small “sorry”.

 You were used to being treated this way. You were used to seeing families like this, all adorned with a picture perfect image on the outside, while you knew that their souls were writhing on the inside. You whispered a small “its okay sir” and worked on cleaning up the mess at the table. The small girl reached out to pick up a napkin and just as she was about to hand it to you, probably to help dry your skirt off, you felt her mother’s cold glare harden on her daughter, as the small child dropped the napkin and sheepishly returned her gaze back onto her lap. You sympathized with this little girl you barely knew, because you too were once in her place.

 Your parents were just like the many families you had encountered at your job over the years. They maintained a perfect image on the outside while no one knew the hell they put you and themselves through inside the doors of your home. You remembered every time your mom had scoffed at you for helping someone with a lower status than yours. You remembered those endless nights of bickering when your mom and dad had lectured you on how you couldn’t let your proper image waver when you had told them that you wanted to pursue your true passion of playing the piano. You remembered the night that you watched your father slap your mother across her face in his study, the talk of divorce ensuing. You remembered being frightened and packing your bag, stuffing a roll of cash in it, and jumping out the window and escaping.

 You were jolted back to reality as you felt a pair of hands grab your shoulders. Maria’s disgusted face appeared as she whisper-shouted in your ear, “What do you think you’re doing? Stop day dreaming and get back inside the kitchen, I’ll take their order!” You were about to correct her for the manner in which she talked to you, her superior, but decided to do yourself a favor, and leave the room before any more humiliation could follow. Although you remained unaware of a certain pair of eyes sharply watching your movements.

 You entered the bathroom and worked on getting the stain off of your skirt. As soon as you were done, you looked at your reflection in the mirror. Your attire still remained remarkably presentable, but the dark circles etched below your eyes, were beginning to uncover from underneath the heavy concealer. Your eyes drifted towards the empty bathroom stall behind you, and you couldn’t help but form a tiny smile. You remembered the time, a week ago, when you and Yoongi had occupied the stall in a very risky endeavor in between his 10 minute break, and had almost been caught by the head chef, who had come in there looking for you.

 You knew what you and Yoongi had was toxic, but so was your whole take on love. Everyone from your parents to your neighbors and just about everything in your life had convinced you, that true love didn’t exist. You only believed that a greed called lust existed. And all you thought was that you needed relief for the same. About 2 months ago, when you were getting drunk off your ass for getting promoted, you had run into Yoongi. He had been playing at the restaurant, alternating between piano and guitar, for just as long as you had been working there. He had always caught your eye, and if you were being brutally honest, you loved watching him do something that you couldn’t do, play piano.

 No sooner had the words “Wanna get outta here?” been spoken, you had ended up, about 20 minutes later, squirming underneath him, grasping his shoulders and moaning shamelessly, your cries contained inside the walls of his bedroom. What was commendable though was that you both had managed to keep your word so far. You both had devised a set of rules, no cuddling, no sweet goodbye kisses after doing the deed (making out before doing the dirty wasn’t counted), no going on dates, consent was always necessary, no leverage, meaning you both were free to engage in personal affairs with other men/women as long as you promised to remain safe, and the last impending rule being, if anyone of the two of you caught feelings for the other, the deal would be off. You knew these rules sounded ridiculous, like you were writing your own constitution, but it was necessary for a relationship, where you both were doing this purely for relief, for lust.

 You shook off your smile, and headed out of the washroom. You continued doing your chores, till it was finally closing time. The rest of the hour until midnight passed by as you and your colleagues worked on going through the gigantic pile of dishes. Of course it wasn’t part of your job but you’d rather spend time here with your colleagues than sit alone in the darkness of your humble abode. You also didn’t want to deal with any sort of unnecessary feelings arising, when you saw Yoongi leaving the room, Maria clinging by his side.

 “Hey wanna join us for a beer?” said Mark. He was one of the few kind friends you’d made at this job, along with his girlfriend Jackie, and another girl Maya. “Sure what have I got to lose?” you say, grabbing your coat. Before you knew it, your 3rd beer bottle was hooked to your lips, as you gulped the liquid down, drowning your worries.

 “Man, Maria’s a bitch huh?” Jackie spoke up. You loved her spunky personality, and she was straight forward like you. “Yeah lol” you say.

 “Don’t be so mean Jackie…” Maya speaks up, only halfway through her first beer bottle. She was shy and timid, contrary to Jackie, but she was too pure for this cruel world.

 “You’re just saying that because she’s never been mean to you.” Jackie stated matter-of-factly. “Amen” her boyfriend Mark said clinking his bottle with her’s.

 “I never saw her be rude to you though” Maya says innocently. “Does her shoving her chest into my boyfriend’s face on purpose in front of me count?” Jackie says rolling her eyes and scoffing.

 “I swear I was so freaked out.” Mark said laughing. “If it weren’t for Jackie ‘accidently’ shoving her face into the cake, I don’t know how far she would’ve gone to seduce me.”

 “That was the best day of my life.” I said laughing. “Guys don’t be so loud, she’s right there” Maya whisper-yelled.

 Everyone’s eyes turned to follow Maya’s line of sight and the image before you made your heart clench involuntarily. You watched with disgust, as you saw Yoongi’s tongue literally down Maria’s throat, his hands running up and down her form.

 “She won’t be able to hear us bitching about her over the loud music anyways so it doesn’t matter…” Jackie said breaking your gaze away from the pair. “By the way, guitar guy is hot innit?”

 “Yeah he’s pretty cool, he has good taste in music based off of the songs he plays” Mark says. You were not surprised to see that Mark didn’t get jealous over his girlfriend calling another man hot. You only wish you were so secure about your relationships.

 After a moment of silence excluding the loud club music you spoke up, “I think I’m gonna head home now guys” you said looking at your watch. “It’s 2, holy shit!”

 “Yeah we should get going too actually…” Mark said, getting ready to lift Jackie up. “Maya how’re you gonna get home?” you ask, genuinely concerned.

 “Oh actually… my boyfriend is gonna pick me up…” she said timidly. “You have a boyfriend?” Jackie yelped.

 “Yeah… see you guys…” she said rushing out of the place before any questions could follow. You bid Mark and Jackie goodbye, not wanting to wait for the war of tongues that was yet to ensue. You glanced over once again only to find a certain pair missing. You tried to suppress the unbeknownst feeling bubbling inside you, as you headed home with a heavy heart.

 //

 You weren’t too drunk as you had a high tolerance for beer. You decided since your apartment was only a few blocks away, you would walk. You were used to walking on the streets alone at night, as your job required for you to stay back quite frequently.

 Along with the familiar click of your heels on the concrete, you heard a periodic scruff of shoes on the concrete behind you. You turned around to see a man, head hung low, hood covering his face walking at a pace similar to yours. To be honest, you weren’t afraid of things like these. At least that’s what you told yourself to brace your inner coward self. But living alone all these years, basically living with just scraps from when you were 16 years old and had escaped, had prepared you for a lot of conditions for the best. You decided to walk faster, the streetlights casting a warm yellow light across the two of you, highlighting the game of cat and mouse you were playing.

 About a minute later, the steps of your apartment came into view, which gave you some new found confidence. You halted and turned around swiftly and yelled, “You gonna follow me up to my apartment or are you gonna make your move any time soon?”

 The man walked a few steps forward and uncovered his hood, revealing his pale face under the moonlight, his shocking green hair catching your eyes. “Min Yoongi…” you said rolling your eyes.

 You ignored the man and went up to the steps leading up to your building and took a seat. You watched the man linger not far behind you and finally make it to you, as he stood beside you, laying an arm on the rails. “Why were you following me?” you said, obvious annoyance laced in your voice.

 “It’s 2 in the morning… I felt like taking a walk…” he said nonchalantly.

 You huffed and fished out a cigarette and a lighter out from your purse. Lighting it, you brought it up to your lips and took in a huff of smoke. You leaned your head back, letting out the puff of smoke into the night sky, your head feeling light. “Seriously why’re you here? Do you want sex?” you said rolling your eyes.

 “Not everything is about sex Y/N…” Yoongi spoke up, his deep raspy voice sending an untimely shiver down your spine.

 “Between us it is…” you say softly.

 “It doesn’t have to be…” Yoongi replies almost too immediately.

 “We made the contract mutually you dumb fuck” you say huffing in another breath from the cigarette in your hand.

 He walked around you and took a seat next to you on the cold steps his hand extending forward. “Who said we can’t talk like normal friends?” he says as you knowingly pass your cigarette into his willing hand, watching him, as he took a puff too, before crushing it underneath his boot.

 “Sure” you say sarcastically rolling your eyes. “I’m sure you have your hands full with a certain friend already” you scoff.

 He raised his eyebrow at you only to have you roll your eyes again. “Maria seems like a pretty good friend… ya know how she lets you shove your tongue down her throat, anytime you want.”

 “Ahhh… So you were at the bar huh?” he says, although you remain suspicious of the fact that he knew of your presence beforehand.

 “Yeah, and I for a fact know, that no one can be friends, without any pure intentions of lust hidden behind it.” You state.

 “Then what about Mark?” he says looking at the empty street before you both.

 “Yeah he’s the only male friend of mine, without any intentions.” You scoff.

 “You never know…” Yoongi murmurs.

 “He’s dating Jackie for Christ’s sake!” you say annoyed, clearly understanding his tactic.

 “Oh…” he says an unnoticeable trace of guilt hidden in his voice.

 “Were you seriously trying to make me jealous by hooking up with Maria in front of me, just because you thought me and Mark had something going on between us?” you ask in disbelief.

 His silence confirms your suspicions. “Oh lord! Were you dreaming when Jackie and Mark got caught making out in the store room?”

 “Hey, I don’t know what the hell goes on beyond those steel doors okay? I get in, play music, and get out… I don’t have a social life at my job like you do!” he huffs out.

 “I’m sorry…” you say, although it hurts your pride.

 “I’m sorry too, for the whole Maria thing… call it even?” he says giving you a small smile.

 “You don’t have to be sorry… it’s part of the deal… you can engage in personal affairs with anyone else, it’s your choice… I have no say in your life…” you say staring at the ground.

 “Well I’m sorry for following you like a creepy stalker… I was just making sure you got home alright… call it even now?” he says a small giggle leaving his throat.

 You didn’t try to question why he was worried about you walking home, because you knew that argument wouldn’t lead anywhere sensible. “Call it even.” You respond looking into his eyes, returning his smile.

 The gaze grew uncomfortably long before you spoke up, “I should get going…” You stood up brushing your skirt. You didn’t know whose cursed soul possessed you, but your heart took control of your actions before your head could stop you, and your hand landed on his shoulder before you pulled him in for a short kiss. You backed away to meet his wide eyes, which was expected as you, the strict rule enforcer, had gone back on the rule, ‘no sweet goodbye kisses’.

 “I-I’m sorry I’m drunk…” you blabbered.

 “No it’s okay… I didn’t mind…” he mumbled out the last part, too soft to hear.

 You panicked and immediately tried to draw attention away from your actions. “Eeeww I just indirectly kissed Maria.” You whined.

 Yoongi broke into a loud laugh “Ayy I made sure to rinse my mouth off before I followed you here”.

 “Oh… were you expecting to sleep with me?” you ask confused.

 “N-No not at all… I know you’re tired tonight.” Yoongi said rubbing his neck and backing away. “Well I should get going… friend” he said smirking.

 “Alright, see ya… friend” you said returning his devious smile with a smirk of your own. With that you went up to your apartment and went to bed with a not as heavy of a heart as you expected.

«Previous :: Masterlist :: Next»

A/N: Don’t forget to follow @jungshook69​ for more content:) You can check out more works of mine here. Have a great day:)

TAGLIST: -

[mrsbhandari]

wish you were sober

a/n: hey its a random ajay fic no one asked for fjkdlkjf;lskdj;f ANYWAYS im still working on that athlete au cuz its a BITCH but thats fine. i hope you like this one, it turned out way longer than i wanted it to oop--

words: 4k

warnings: underage drinking, swearing, light sexual harassment (brian crandall aka asshole of the year), like kinda suggestive if you squint

summary: ajay getting roped into the bullshit(tm)

tagging: @rulesofthebeneath, @theeccentricbibliophile

#

It was near midnight when she called, voice loud over the speaker of his phone and face lighting up the screen. He blinked blearily, unsure of what was really happening and what he should specifically do about this girl who called him and expected him to...what? Drop everything for her? Race over to Brian’s house and bring her home? 

I hate my fucking life, he thought as he pulled on some jeans and grabbed his keys. She looked crazy over the phone, speech slurring and loud laughs directed at something off screen that he wasn’t sure he really wanted to see. She yelled that he needed to get over there and hung the phone up abruptly, not allowing him to get any words in before she left, making his heart beat at the possibilities of what might happen if he didn’t pick her up. 

When he pulled up to the large mansion overrun with rowdy high schoolers, he couldn’t hold in his sigh. He was really traipsing into the lion’s den, looking for a fellow mouse that liked to wear a predator’s pelt, ignoring the looks of hunger pointed his way by the big dogs of both Hearst and Berry. He figured Skye would be upstairs in her room or sleeping over at someone else’s house, so being saved by her was out. Erin was on a trip with her family and Rory was practicing lines at their house, so he was sure that if Ajay was going to get Bailey, it was going to be by himself. 

He didn’t even know why she was here, and why the hell is he supposed to come get her? She probably tagged along with Casey, so why shouldn’t her own brother get control of her? She doesn’t even like me, he thought, grimacing and ignoring the odd stares at his behavior. He seemed to be doing well at hiding his crush on her in favor of the play, but no one told him how hard it was going to be with her! She smiled so easily, and he was just supposed to act like it didn’t make his hands shake and his heart beat faster and his mind race with thoughts of her lips on his and and and…

I hate my fucking life, he repeated to himself, making his way out to the backyard and the pool, keeping his head down to avoid any unwanted contact with people who could most definitely snap his spine in half if they wanted to. His eyes ran over the different sections of the backyard, focusing on the beer pong table that a certain blonde ponytail was near, making his heart skip a beat. He walked over, silently waiting for her to finish her turn and standing awkwardly until she did. What’s the etiquette for this kind of thing? He didn’t have to worry about it long because she sunk her shot and raised her arms up in a high V, shouting and laughing her elation at almost winning the entire game. He let out a small oomph! when she turned to him and wrapped long arms around his neck, seemingly noticing him for the first time. 

“Oh! Ajay!” Her breath stank of cheap beer, but she was so close to him and her body was so warm that he couldn’t find it within himself to care. “I’m winning!” She drew out the word, yet he hung onto every syllable like it was his lifeline, finding it to be the only thing keeping him from pressing his lips to hers, party be damned. A curse from her beer pong opponent brought him back to reality, making him pull back from her but keep a hand on his waist to ensure she didn’t fall drunkenly. 

“I’m here to take you home, Bailey. You called me?” He had to contain himself when she pouted, finding it to be the cutest expression ever, but she quickly turned away and slammed back the shots in the cups on the table. “Bailey, what the fu--” he began, but she let out a loud, giddy laugh. 

“I haven’t even gone for a swim yet?” She took a few uncertain steps, stripping her shirt off and then shimmying her skirt to the grass. Ajay shot glares at a few Hearst football players who whistled and catcalled her before following her protectively, hiding her body from the group of boys. “Ajay, join me!” She was painfully drunk, stumbling and moving far too loosely to be considered sober or dignified. 

“No, we can swim when you aren’t wasted, c’mon…” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a few girls filming them, so he turned his body towards their camera to hide her again. She had been dressed for it, a cute black bikini accentuating her curves, but there was something inherently sweet yet dirty about how exposed she was. He knew it would sound selfish if he ever said it out loud, but it didn’t sit right with him, the fact that she wasn’t only doing this for him. She was drunk, and she barely even noticed him there, and even if she wasn’t drunk, she would never look at him the way he wanted her to. “Bailey, seriously, let me take you home.” 

“I’ve got laps first!” She walked over to the diving board and carefully stepped onto it, almost losing her balance at its wobble. 

“Hey, this chick is gonna jump drunk!” Brian yelled, laughing cruelly at the crowd of other high schoolers who meandered over to the side of the pool to watch. Ajay wanted to yell at how they should be focused on helping her instead of going viral, but he knew it would fall on deaf ears, the predators too preoccupied with the smell of fresh blood. He turned his attention back to Bailey, who was posing for a dive, which she didn’t quite follow through on as she made her leap from the board. Before he could catch her, she was in the water with a splash, providing lovely entertainment for the top of the food chain guffawing at her jump. 

“Bailey!” he yelled, leaning forward as much as he could without falling in after her. She rose to the surface, but was struggling, splashing the water and taking gulping breaths that never seemed to be enough as she kept slipping under. Shit shit shit! He thought, quickly ripping off his shirt and jacket and dropping his pants, disregarding the suggestive sounds falling out of his classmates’ mouths. Right now, he needed to help Bailey; he would deal with his pending payout from the possibility of a Buzzfeed article later. He threw his glasses on the small pile of his clothes as he jumped.

The sudden feeling of the water enveloping him was a shock, but he ran entirely on adrenaline to get over it quickly and swim over to Bailey, wrapping an arm around her waist and hugging her close in the water. She was still struggling against him, unable to stop the panic that was taking over her heart, but he found the edge of the pool and the ladder next to the diving board, quickly pushing her to sit on one of the metal steps. When her fingers wrapped around the rail, she calmed down quicker than expected, allowing him a moment of relief to catch his breath. 

“Aw, damn, I was hoping I would have to administer some CPR!” Brian whistled, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively at the pair in the pool. Suddenly, Ajay was hit with the realization that he was here...with Bailey...at a party...with a shit ton of high schoolers...in his underwear...sopping wet. 

I hate my fucking life. No matter how many times it ran through his head, a gorgeous face would pop up in his mind shortly after, making his features soften and his breathing slow. With a jolt, he felt her moving in front of him and opened his eyes just in time to watch her ass pass directly in front of his face, making him blush and look away. He climbed out after her, the reality of just what he did hitting him as he looked around at the other teenagers, all staring at him and Bailey like they were the only food available for miles. He found a towel on a table and handed it to her, but she offered it back to him with a flirty smile. 

“I think you need this more than me,” she whispered, eyes glancing downward for a split second before meeting his once more. He let out a cough and wrapped the towel around his waist, secretly happy he wore black, not-embarrassing boxers today. Collecting his pile of clothes from the side of the pool, he sneers at Brian when the boy stopped in front of them. 

“You think you can just make a mess at my party and leave without paying an exit fee?” He turned to Bailey, a sickly smile showing too many teeth and only making Ajay hurry to reach for his jacket and wrap it around her shoulders. “A kiss from the party girl?” 

“I think the fuck not,” Ajay said, tone low and threatening as he zipped up the thin layer over Bailey’s half-naked body. His arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her close to him and willing her to stop shaking at his side. She was suspiciously quiet, but he didn’t have time to worry about her; he needed to get her out of this party. 

“Oh, c’mon--”

“You lay a hand on her and I report you for sexual harassment, which will go down even worse when the cops look at the evidence of underage drinking. I’ll say it one time, and one time only: Fuck. Off.” He hid his satisfaction at the way Brian gaped at him and stepped out of the way. They silently walked off, Ajay’s hands full with his clothes in one hand and a drunk girl that he was secretly pining after in the other. He looked down at her briefly, eyeing her through her thick lashes that nearly closed over a sleepy gaze. Before he stepped back into the house, he looked over his shoulder to see Brian glaring after them. “Take that ‘exit fee’ and shove it up your ass!” With a resolute nod, he made his way through the house and to his car, surrounded by teenagers that he shooed away. 

“‘Jay…” she drawled, the first word she said in the past 5 minutes making him flush. “Where are we going?”

“Well, my house is closer, so I’ll text your brother and call your mom to say you’re staying over at my place.”

“Hm…” was all she hummed, allowing herself to be strapped in by him. He stayed outside the driver’s side to pull his pants on, but stopped with his shirt in his hands when she reached over and rolled the window down. “Leave it off!” She sounded like a child and he wanted to laugh, so bad, to just laugh with her and not worry about what the hell this party was and what the hell was going to happen in the morning and what the hell he was going to do when she was spending the night in his bed. 

But he couldn’t. 

“Sorry, Bailey,” he said, slipping the shirt down and smiling at her pained whines. 

“Such a Debby Downer,” she slurred. She looked back out of her window, pouting and ignoring him when he offered his phone, opened to Spotify for her. 

“I’ll make it up to you. Pick some music.” That seemed to distract her enough for him to get going, flinching at the volume she played WAP at and screamed the lyrics to. There was something intimate about this as well, and he couldn’t shake the feeling of how sweet it felt, wafting over his senses like being down the street from the bakery. You knew that the closer you got, the stronger the smell, and the more at home you felt amidst the warm pastries that lined the window. The closer he drove to his house, the more inevitable being close to her was, and he couldn’t get it out of his head as he switched his attention from the road to her hand movements as she rapped the lewd lyrics, fueled entirely by the alcohol. 

She whined more when he turned down the volume as he turned into his neighborhood, but he managed to convince her to be quiet with a single finger to his lips, something she seemed to focus on for far too long to even be attributed to the alcohol. She luckily kept this behavior up when he ushered her inside and to his room as quickly as possible while still keeping her from falling into several of Mohit’s loud toys and the large furniture that seemed to be ten times as dangerous at night. 

“I felt like I was on Wipeout,” Bailey gasped when he closed the door, voice entirely too loud for the quiet stillness of the room. He was about to scold her, but then she collapsed on the bed, making it creak and add to the genuine noise she brought everywhere she went. His heart decided that he liked the noises that were associated with her before his mind ever caught up, something that was happening a lot more nowadays when he saw her walk into the auditorium, ponytail swinging and smile wide. 

“Uh, here,” he said, offering a large t-shirt and some old pajama pants that were too small for him to her before turning around and covering his eyes. He heard the unzipping of his jacket and the ruffling of clothes, keeping his eyes shut under his hands as he waited for her with bated breath. He hated how his mind wandered to her even when he didn’t want it to, his eyelids seemingly tattooed with her bright eyes and curious gaze, always finding his glances with pinpoint accuracy that left him stuttering and looking away. She was here, in his room, drunk. Just a few feet away and he could reach out his hands to touch her, feel her skin under his palm, run the pads of fingers over her collarbone, the scar on her shoulder, the freckles on her cheek. His touch could linger for as long as he wanted it to, because she’d be looking forward to it as much as he was, and she would pull his face down for a kiss that knocked the breath out of his lungs. 

“You can look now,” was what a tentative voice behind him said, jolting him out of his fantasy and making him turn around. No matter how much mental preparation he could put his mind through, he never could fully be ready for the sight of the sight of his large shirt slipping off her shoulder, revealing the collarbone he had just been thinking about a few seconds before. She sat cross legged on the sheets, making her seem smaller than she really was. 

“You must be tired.”

“I’m not.”

“You looked ready to pass out at Brian’s, don’t bullshit.” He sounded unnecessarily harsh which made him feel even worse than he already did for her as she cast a glance down at her hands. He sighed. “Sorry, I was just worried.”

“About me?” 

“Well, you almost drowned, so yeah. I was worried.” Her gaze was still on her hands and she hummed, too full of thoughts for someone who probably couldn’t keep them straight. 

“Was that the only reason?”

“You talk too much. Aren’t you supposed to be passed out by now? I’ve never dealt with a drunk person before.” He saw her cheeks grow bigger and figured she was smiling; it made him smile, too, an indicator that he was too far gone to ever deny feelings for her that flitted around his mind like cobwebs. He shook them away to force himself to listen to her speak once more.

“I just…” She trailed off but stopped herself from releasing anything else, lips tight and silence awkward. 

“It’s fine.” His voice was too hurried, he sounded too panicked, and he cringed to himself when he got the simple words out. Damage control. “You don’t have to say anything you don’t want to.” She just hummed again, and he hated the way he analyzed it, searching for the hidden meaning as if the vibrations would unlock some new achievement, leaving a letter in his pocket that would lay out all the things felt between the two. The more he thought about it though, the more he realized he would be afraid to read it. “You take the bed.”

“What? Why?” Her voice raised unexpectedly, enough so that even she seemed surprised by the sudden raise in volume that was met with another finger to his lips. 

“It’s polite, I’m not making you sleep on the floor drunk.”

“Just sleep with me.” The alcohol was clouding her mind, letting more pass through her filter without a second thought. 

“I can’t do--”

“Why not?”

The challenging tone made him pause, unsure if she really meant anything by the insistent way she clenched her fists and stared up at him, nose scrunched in an adorable pout that made his heart melt. He could feel his resolve crumbling, which is surprising since he was always seen as one of the most stubborn students in the theatre department. Someone shouldn’t be able to wear him down this much unless they were holding a gun to his head. 

Or maybe they were just looking at him with such a determination in their eyes that it made him stop and consider the options for once. 

“If I do this, you’ll sleep?” 

“Yes,” she sighed more than spoke, scooting backwards on the bed and edging over to leave room for him. He wondered if she could already hear the beating of his heart, loudly rushing into his ears as he tried to calmly walk over to the side of the bed. It all felt domestic, like they were husband and wife, but he felt too loud to be considered casual. His feet pounded the wood below him and his large hands scraped against the sheets. He left a layer under him so as to separate him from Bailey, but it proved unsuccessful as she just climbed (stumbled) back out and then got back in on top of the same layer, getting rid of his barrier and only making him sweatier. He was still in jeans, they noticed at the same time, and she looked up at him expectantly. 

“You can change your pants you know.” She raised an arm to her eyes, closing and covering them. “I won’t look.” 

You can if you want to. 

The sentence was on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn’t find it within himself to say it, opting instead to just silently get up and change, slipping his legs into pants that he only realized matched hers when he climbed back beside her. When he settled with his back against the headboard, he nearly yelped when her hand found his thigh, running her fingers over the soft material. 

“We match.”

“Yeah. Unintentionally, I swear.” He stiffened when she nudged closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder. 

“I don’t mind. I think it’s cute.” 

He never expected that “Bailey Called Something I Did Cute” to be written on his tombstone, but here he was: murdered by the shape of her mouth forming a word like that in reference to him. 

“Can I kiss you?” The question was unhurried and whispered in his ear, but it hit him like a bolt of lightning, sending tingles over his entire body as he flinched away from her. 

“What?” Half of his body was off the bed as she leaned closer to him, cupping his right cheek in one hand. She still smelled like shitty beer and chlorine, a combination that should’ve made him gag, but she managed to make seem like the highest priced perfume. It made him want to lean in right back, slot his lips against her plush ones and just accept that it happened, but he also knew that going back on his word to the rest of the theatre department was an awfully shitty move. 

“I want to kiss you.”

“You’re drunk.”

“What’s the saying? ‘Drunk words are sober thoughts’?”

“You want to kiss me when you’re sober, too?”

“All the time.” His breath hitched; Wasn’t expecting that development. “I wish I didn’t have to kiss Rory in the play. I think they like me and I don’t want to lead them on, but it’s so hard when the kiss is so anticipated. It’s especially hard when I have a crush on my director. ” 

Ah, the kiss, Ajay remembered, slightly ashamed at all the times they’d rehearsed the scene but he would always call for them to stop just before the climax of it. He knew it was kind of pervy, but he really only wanted to watch his crush kiss someone else the minimum amount of times he was required to: the four times they were performing the show, nothing less and absolutely nothing more.

“I don’t know what you want me to say.”

“Say you’ll kiss me.” 

“What about the play?”

“It’s your rule. You can decide if you want to break it with me.” She didn’t know he had already decided months ago when he saw her at auditions that if the opportunity ever made itself known, he would break a thousand rules just to feel her skin against his one time. And now he seemed to be giving in, leaning in closer and closer until her breath was hot against his, shared between the two like a secret. 

“I’ll kiss you,” he decided, finally closing the gap between them and kissing her. His lungs and chest felt tight, but any concerns about the play, the party, or the bitter taste of beer on his tongue melted away as she kissed him back fervently. He figured he should be impressed with how good she still was at kissing despite being wasted, but his thoughts were cut off as she pulled back. He was suddenly self-conscious, concerned about how good he was and the line of spit that still connected them. “What--”

“I’ve wanted this for so long,” she breathed, chest heaving with the excitement and the alcohol still in her system. “I’ve wanted you for so long, Ajay.” 

Ajay loved music, but he decided that if he had to give up every single record he owned just to hear his name fall out of her mouth again, he would hand them over in a heartbeat. Despite the way his heart was beating out of his chest, he forced himself to sound casual as he looked down at her. “Oh, yeah?” 

“Yes, you dork.” A drunken smile that stopped his heart and made his mind click trying to story it in his memory slipped onto her face, and she dropped her head back on his shoulder. “A long time,” she repeated softly, and before he could respond, she was asleep. 

He gently lifted her up and laid her down flat on the bed, making sure to keep close to her and her warmth. Just before he turned the light out, he pressed a kiss to her head, savoring the picture of her sleeping so soundly next to him, clutching his arm and one leg thrown over his waist. 

“Me too, Bailey.”

[hamanuelton]

my favorite parts of hamilton:

- “I imagine death so much it feels more like a memory.”

- every time Leslie Odom Jr. as aaron burr begins another part with “how did a bastard, orphan-“ or like in that same way ‘cause he doesn’t always start it that way but you know what I mean

- the way Leslie Odom Jr. as My Boi Burr™️ says “well, the world got around, they said, ‘this kid is insane, man!’”

- also when Leslie Odom Jr. as A. Burr says

“WHAT’S YOUR NAME, MAN?!”

- “our man saw his future drip-dripping down the drain, a pencil to his temple, connected it to his brain”

- “Alexander Hamilton. My name is Alexander Hamilton. And there’s a million things I haven’t done, but just you wait, just you wait...”

- background “just you wait, just you wait”’s as hammy’s putting on a new jacket and ensemble is praising nyc

- “and me? i’m the damn fool that shot him.”

- “Burr, sir” + the continuation of this all throughout

- “If you talk you’re gonna get shot” / FORESHADOWING WOOOEEEEWOOOOO

- “i’m John Laurens in the place to be”

- Lafayette’s fuckinf accent

- “BRRRAH! BRRAAAH! HERCULES MULLIGAN UP IN IT LOVIN IT”

- “if you stand for nothing, Burr, what’ll you fall for”

- “‘Onarchy?”

- hey, yo, i’m just like my country, i’m young, scrappy, and hungry—

- the way Odom Leslie Jr. as The Hamburrglar™️ says ‘shot’ and they all take a shot

- this ⤵️

- Hammy getting //flustered// about friendship

- WHEN ARE THESE COLONIES GONNA RISE UP

- Angelica’s face when Burr is tryna tell her bout herself and she shows him up and ships him out

- Act 1: 6. Farmer Refuted

- honorable mention: “my dog speaks more eloquently than thee!" "but strangely, your mange is the same." "is he in jersey?”

- King George pouting

- Jonathan Groff’s overarticulation of each syllable as King George is a work of art

- “♪ Da-da-da-dat-da-dat-da-da-da-dai-ah-da! ♪ Da-da-da-da-dai-ah-da! ♪

- “Everybody! —“

- “We keep meeting.”

- “i imagine death so much it feels more like a memory. when’s it gonna get me? in my sleep? seven feet ahead of me?”

- “See, I never thought I’d live past twenty.”

- “this is not a moment, it’s the movement”

- “I’m laughin’ in the face of casualties and sorrow, for the first time, I’m thinkin’ past tomorrow!”

- “dying is easy, young man, living is harder!”

- “i’m being honest. i’m working with a third of what our Congress promised.”

- “you need all the help you can get. i have some friends. Laurens, Mulligan, Marquis de Lafayette, okay, what else?” — “we’ll need some spies on the inside, some king’s men who might let some things slide.”

- “watch this obnoxious, arrogant, loudmouth bother be seated at the right hand of the father.”

- “Martha Washington named her feral tomcat after him” — “That’s true.”

- “Yo, if your marry a sister, you’re rich, son!” — “Is it a question of ‘if’, Burr, or which one?” and then the little ‘hey’ ‘hey’ thing they do gets me every time

- literally the use of yo throughout the production fucking gets me every single fucking time

- “i’m writin’ a letter nightly. now my life gets better, every letter that you write me. — THE PURE UNBRIDLED SENSE OF FORESHADOWING IN “laughin’ at my sister, cuz she wants to form a harem” — ft. “i’m just sayin’, if you really loved me, you would share him!”

- the irony in “Eliza, i don’t have a dollar to my name”, you’ll be on the $10 bill, my man

- top-notch brain

- Angelica TRIED TO TAKE A BITE OF ME

- the way Anthony Ramos as John Laurens says “alright, alright. that’s what i’m talkin’ about!” and also the face that he makes

- hunger-pang frame

- “You strike me as a woman who has never been satisfied.” — “I’m sure I don’t know what you mean. You forget yourself.” — “You’re like me. I’m never satisfied.” — “Is that right?” — “I have never been satisfied.” — “My name is Angelica Schuyler.” — “Alexander Hamilton.” — “Where’s your fam’ly from?” — “Unimportant. There’s a million things I haven’t done but just you wait, just you wait...”

- tbh the way ‘Schuyler’ is spelled is oddly satisfying to me

- honestly just the way LMM says Alexander Hamilton+/ my name is Alexander Hamilton, and there’s a million things i haven’t done, ‘just you wait, just you wait...’ throughout the production

- “i’m the oldest and the wittiest and the gossip in new york city is insidious”

- “You are the worst, Burr.”

- Act 1: 12. The Story of Tonight (Reprise)

- “love doesn’t discriminate, between the sinners and the saints, it takes and it takes and it takes”

- “love doesn’t discriminate, between the sinners and the saints, it takes and it takes and it takes and we keep living anyway. we rise and we fall and we break and we make our mistakes. and if there’s a reason i’m still alive when everyone who loves me has died—“

- “Chick-a-plao!”

- the way they say ‘raise a glass’ is both elegant and (appropriately) reverent

- “i go back to new york and my apprenticeship” — i shouted MY BOI HERCULES MULLIGAN UP IN IT LOVIN IT DID NOT JUST SAY THAT, IF HE ACTUALLY LEFT AND ISN’T JUST UNDERCOVER OR SOME SHIT IMMA WRITE LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA A STRONGLY WORDED LETTER

- the minute General Charles Les came into the picture i hated him so hard, even though his literal first word was ‘Whee!!!!’, though i can appreciate the sentiment and what LMM was tryna do there

- “Washington cannot be left to his devices indescisive, from crisis to crisis” — sweet baby jesus that alliteration, and jon rua totally pulled it off (i hate General Charles Lee not the person who played him, i can also appreciate the fact that as an actor it takes a lot of talent to be able to make you hate a character so easily, also shoutout to Jonathan Groff as King Georgey-Boy™️, Sydney James Harcourt as james reynolds, and the general way LMM somehow made me fed up/turn on Alexander with the whole scene with him and Maria Reynolds — and not only that but somehow redeemed himself to me which is easier said than done for characters and people alike.. i’ve been hurt too much to play like that.

- Act 1: 15. Ten Duel Commandments

- honorable mention: “if you don’t reach peace, that’s alright. time to get some pistols and a doctor on site. you pay him in advance, you treat him with civility. you have him turn around so he can have deniability.”

- Act 1: 17. That Would Be Enough

- honorable mention: the melody that LMM went with for that turn of phraseis a truly beautiful thing

- “Immigrants:” — “We get the job done.”

- THE FACT THAT MY MAIN MAN HERCULE MULLIGAN WAS ON THE INSIDE NOT ONLY DID I CALL IT BUT DAMN HE REALLY GOT THAT GOOD HOT TRIBUTE HE DESERVED

- “To my brother’s a revolutionary covenant! I’m runnin’ with the sons of liberty and I am lovin’ it! See, that’s what happens when you up against the ruffians. We’re in the shit now, somebody gotta shovel it! Hercules Mulligan, I need no introduction, when you knock me down I get the fuck back up again!”

- Act 1: 21. What Comes Next

- honorable mention: “i’m so blue” — the little squat that Groffsauce does as the light turns blue really got to me

- Act 1: 22. Dear Theodosia

- Leslie Odom Jr.’s voice is so ding dang delightfully airy

- honorable mention: “You have my eyes. You have your mother’s name. When you came into the world, you cried and it broke my heart.”

- Act 1: 23. Non-Stop

- as someone with siblings i can appreciate that they’re bickering like that’s just what they are

- “I was chosen for the constitutional convention! *squeal*”

- “Burr, we studied and we fought and we killed for the notion of a nation we now get to build. For once in your life, take a stand with pride. I don’t understand how you stand to the side.”

- Act 2: 1. What’d I Miss?

- honorable mention: “But the sun comes up and the world still spins.”

- Act 2: 2. Cabinet Battle #1

- honorable mention: “DOIN’ WHATEVER THE HELL IT IS YOU DO IN MONTICELLO!”

- tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow

- “Daddy, daddy, look.... My name is Philip. I am a poet. I wrote this poem just to show it. And I just turned nine. You can write rhymes but you can’t write mine.” - “What!” - “I practice French and play piano with my mother.” — “Uh-huh!” — “I have a sister but I want a little brother.” — “Okay!” — “My daddy’s trying to start America’s bank. Un deux trois quatre cinq!” — “Bravo!” — “Hey, our kid is pretty great.”

- as much as i hate Act 2: 4. Say No To This (because for some reason i though Alexander Hamilton was better than that) Jasmine Cephas Jones sings in it is like a hot knife through butter — namely; “My husband’s doin’ me wrong beatin’ me, cheatin’ me, mistreatin’ me...”... I guess maybe I understand it ‘cause damn Jasmine Cephas Jones is so ding dang pretty and ding dang talented and wow what a remarkable person

- the way that Lin says “And her body’s saying, ‘hell, yes’ is um.. 😓

- “You see, that was my wife you decided to” — “Fuuuu—“

- Act 2: 5. The Room Where It Happens

- honorable mention: “Bros.”

- “Talk less. Smile more.” LMM being a dramatic bastard

- Act 2: 6. Schuyler Defeated

- Act 2: 7. Cabinet Battle #2

- “revolution is messy but now is the time to stand."

- honorable mention: “Ooh!!”

- “We signed a treaty with a King whose head is now in a basket. Would you like to take it out and ask it? ‘Should we honor our treaty, King Louis’ head?’ ‘Uh... do whatever you want, I’m super dead.’”

- Thomas Jefferson all like “but sir do we not fight for freedom” MY BAD SIR YOU ARE A SLAVE-OWNER HOW ABOUT YOU NOT

- mentioning Lafayette because apparently LMM has no problem with breaking the fourth wall

- “Daddy’s calling.”

- “I’m in the cabinet. I am complicit in watching him grabbin’ at power and kiss it. If Washington isn’t gon’ listen to disciplined dissidents, this is the difference. This kid is out!”

- “Southern motherfuckin’ Democratic-Republicans!”

- “The emperor has no clothes.”

- “Sir, I don’t know what you heard but whatever it is Jefferson started it.” — “Thomas Jefferson resigned this morning.” — “You’re kidding.” — “I need a favor.” — “Whatever you say, sir, Jefferson will pay for his behavior.” — “I’ll use the press. I’ll write under a pseudonym, you’ll see what I can do to him—“ — “Yes! He resigned you can finally speak your mind!” — “Ha. Good luck defeating you, sir.” - “I’m sorry, what?”

- Act 2: 10. I Know Him

- “—Vice President.” — “— No more Mr. Nice President.”

- “Sit down, John, you fat motherf—“

- Act 2: 12. We Know

- honorable mention: “You see that was my wife you decided to—“ — “WHAT—“

- Act 2: 13. Hurricane

- Act 2: 14. The Reynolds Pamphlet

- honorable mention: *DEEP VOICE* “DAMN”

- Act 2: 15. Burn

- i’ll be the first to say i wasn’t a huge fan of Eliza at first aside from Phillipa Soo’s killer voice

- this gave me a lot of respect for her

- honorable mention: “You have married an Icarus. He has flown too close to the sun.”

- Act 2: 16. Blow Us All Away

- i would like to point out that tweet where someone @‘s LMM about not mentioning Philip’s hot and he responds “I’M FAIRLY F**CKING SURE I DID”, y’know ⤵️

- “The ladies say my brain’s not where the resemblance stops.”

- “God, you’re a fox.”

- Act 2: 17. Stay Alive (Reprise)

- The ‘I know, I know. Shh.’ and the full circle back to his mom teaching him french on the piano really got to me for the beautiful artistry in it but also damn them feels

- Act 2: 18. It’s Quiet Uptown

- “I spend hours in the garden. I walk alone to the store and it’s quiet uptown. I never liked the quiet before. I take the children to church on Sunday, a sign of the cross at the door, and I pray. That never used to happen before.”

- “Philip, you would like it uptown. It’s quiet uptown.”

- “You knock me out, I fall apart.”

- “Eliza, do you like it uptown? It’s quiet uptown.”

- “There are moments that the words don’t reach. There is suffering too terrible to name. You hold your child as tight as you can and push away the unimaginable. The moments when you’re in so deep it feels easier to just swim down.”

- “There are moments that the words don’t reach. There is a grace too powerful to name. We push away what we can never understand. We push away the unimaginable.”

- “Can you imagine?”

- Act 2: 19. The Election of 1800

- honorable mention: “And they say I’m a Francophile: at least they know I know where France is!”

- “You used to work on the same staff” — “Whaaaat.”

- “Honestly, it’s kind of draining.” — “Burr...” — “Sir!” — “Is there anything you wouldn’t do?” — “No. I’m chasing what I want. And you know what?” — “What?” — “I learned that from you.” / this moment made the blow that he voted for Jefferson like a damn hole in my chest and i actually really felt for Burr. i get Hammy’s reluctance, i think if anything he was hoping voting for Jefferson would give Burr the chance to have experience as VP and then the next election he might vote for him then depending

- Act 2: 20. Your Obedient Servant

- A. Burr

- A. Ham

- “I just need to write something down.” / really resonated as one of the last things they showed him doing before going off to the duel, his life really was writing and that was the perfect way to say that in a very subtle sort of way. i really appreciate it artistically, whether it was intentionally so or not.

- Act 2: 22. The World Was Wide Enough

- okay but first of all i would like to comment on the fact that Ariana DeBose PLAYS THE GODDAMN BULLET, I JUST

- THE FACT THAT THE BULLET HAS A PART

- “This man will not make an orphan of my daughter.” / this made me really sympathize with Burr, as well as when he tries to go towards Hamilton (at least in the play but I sincerely hope that was historically accurate) / but also that fact that Theodosia Burr was lost at sea at 29 makes me sad because Hamilton’s life was taken to give her one and then she just up and disappears in a freak accident

- Act 2: 23. Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story

- the orphanage got to me

- i loved that he (LMM) didn’t end it with himself or anything

- he let Phillipa Soo tear my heart out

- it killed me but i died quite happily

- and really what more could you ask for.

[morphituu]

Milagro

Chapter 17: Summer Showers

Ch: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16

Oh, how he loved her like this.

It wasn’t just the way her mouth hung open in constant, delicious moans, nor was it the way her breathing hitched, a wide smile meeting his when hitting a favorable spot. Not even how fucking wet she was; he could hear everything happening.

It was the way she looked at him. Like he’d been the one to choose the colors of every sunset painted across LA every night. He felt like a masterpiece when she looked at him like that.

She absolutely fucking adored him and it showed in the way she secured his massive hands over her misty skin, bringing him along for that blinding race of euphoria that riddled her body with juicy shudders, her eyes cutting down to find his as she came upon the crest of her orgasm. The breathless shouts in his name, barely able to get out that she was cumming until she was crashing down all around him.

“Fuck, Callie,” he’d pant, her thighs twitching under his palms and breasts trembling.

Loud, throaty moans broke past his jaws when she pulsated around him, her smile growing wider and her fingertips ghosting down his thick, chiseled chest, continuing to ride his rigid cock.

Callie knew how close he was by the way his arms grew weak, his head raising off the pillow weakly, yet his eyes remaining shut tight.

A few more smooth rolls of her hips and some encouraging whispers later, and the grip at her sides was enough to make her whimper, a few languid pumps of his hips slapping softly in the stuffy room. He whimpered in time with the thick shots of cum shooting into her, the severity of his hold lessening when his stomach unclenched and wide shoulders lowered back into the sheets.

She rode out the last of him slowly, kissing his palm that reached blindly to touch her face. He cradled her cheek as her cunt massaged his slowly shrinking dick, the small bursts of tenderness making him twitch under her.

There was a low purr that mingled with the deep breaths he exhaled, his chest slowing as hers did. Sweat clung to both of them, her sloppily pinned hair even messier around her sticky shoulders and neck.  

Callie ran her nails upwards along her scalp, holding the loose hair atop her head. “Esta bien?”

Nick nodded without opening his eyes, his wide hand dragging in a slow circle across her round stomach. “You?”

She nodded, reaching for his hands to lean into as she lifted off him. Nick tensed and whined as he slid out, his heavy dick falling onto his lower stomach.

Callie leaned over her stomach for a quick kiss before waddling to the bathroom, her last steps rushed when the extra weight of Leo pressed on her already touchy bladder.

The locks of hair that had fallen around her face were pinned back up as she relieved herself, in addition tenderly checking her sore earlobe after Nick had accidentally yanked when he hooked a finger in one of her hoops. She cringed, expecting a torn lobe but was relieved to find only minor swelling.

 No more hoops during stripteases. Callie was mid-wipe when something felt… unfamiliar.

Her brows furrowed as the bizarre sensation of what she expected to be able to clean up quickly prompted her to look down, and gaze curiously at what she’d… produced?

“Is this from me?” she mumbled, holding the tissue at arms length.

Her eyes flickered to the door. “Nick?” she called out.

Her eyes followed every pass he made, from bedside table to sliding door, but just because she sat calmly at the edge of their bed with the phone pressed between her ear and shoulder did not mean her outward appearance accurately portrayed how she felt. It had only been about forty-five seconds she’d been on hold but Callie was certain something closer to ten minutes had in fact passed.

“Do we even have a hospital bag ready?” Nick asked out loud, suddenly looking in all corners of the room. “Does Leo!?”

Callie didn’t stop him when he suddenly zoomed from the room, surely scouring Leos’, in search of the bag that too did not exist. The receiver picked up, and Callie snapped her fingers fervently. “Hi Doctor Sangui!” she said louder than necessary, and Nick was near tripping into the room half a second later.

“Yes- yeah, I’m calling because um- well me and Nick had just… finished, and I went to use the bathroom and this mucousy clot came out of me,” Callie reiterated flusteredly, scowling at her poor elaboration.

Nick stood anxiously, his arms crossed and rocking side to side as he listened.

“Uh-huh, yes. Yeah it was,” she spoke, eyes jumping here and there. “Nope those haven’t been consistent at all. Nope. No I’m good right now, no pain,” she answered, and then there was a long pause as she listened intently, but the more her face soured as the seconds ticked by, the more unease grew in Nick’s stomach.

“Speaker phone! Speaker phone! ” he tried hissing, but was silenced.

“So I should be alright then? No need to go in?” Callie verified, giving Nick the thumbs up to rest some of his worries she could see immediately fall off his shoulders. “Okay, thank you so much! We- yes next week, yep, you too, thank you, bye.” She finished, ending the call.

“It’s all good?” Nick still asked.

“It’s called a mucus plug,” she cringed, and although just the sound of it was off putting, his curiosity was greater.

“Plug?” he repeated.

“She said it’s like a barrier from the outside to keep infections out, and when it falls out it’s a precursor to birth,” she brought her hands together, her lips pursed as she too absorbed that vital, terrifying, exciting little piece of knowledge bestowed only moments ago, but she was far more concerned with Nick’s subtle signs of distress.

It was how he looked down at her stomach, then crossed his arms tight- like they suddenly felt empty. There was a weak smile, then in a few blinks she could’ve sworn his color was paling.

“Baby? You need to sit down?” she asked, almost about to stand when he waved his hand.

It was a few beats later before Nick could ask without feeling like he would vomit, “How- how soon, is um… soon? How now- um, soon?” he struggled, suddenly flustered and clasping his hands to keep their shake out of Callie’s sight.

“She said it could be hours or weeks,” Callie exhaled, her toes curling when he held his head and spun away, ambling into the hallway. “Are you breathing?” she called, watching him lean against the wall adjacent to the open door so he could still look at her.

He patted his chest, shaking his head. “ Hours? ”

“It’s either or baby,” she tried to comfort him, but the anxiety was rising in her like water coming to a rolling boil. “Is- is this too much? Is it finally hitting home?” she asked in a panic, her hands fisting at her sides.

“What- no!” he exclaimed, honestly taken aback. “Baby, baby no,” he had her face in his hands once coming back to her, leaning down to press loving kisses to her lips. “I just didn’t expect hours to be an option,”

“Me too,” she half laughed, holding onto his wrists. “Do you still wanna go today?”

“Do you? Are you feeling okay?” he checked, angling her face up so the light revealed her glowing skin that had come back after another bout of morning sickness.

“I’m good, first time all day I haven’t had any cramps actually  and I don’t want to sit around here just waiting for something to happen if we do still have weeks,”

“You better not be lying just to avoid the hospital,”

“I like hospitals, mensito,” she clarified, gripping his hips to hoist herself up. “It’s the pelvic exams I’m trying to avoid,” she kissed his chin.

“ Calista ,” he barked.

“You know I’m joking, calm down daddy,” she patted his chest while waddling back towards bathroom, leaving Nick to chuff and glare at her backside.

“Why don’t we have bags packed?” Nick called, leaning in the doorway of the bathroom as she undressed with the shower already on.

“Cuz we’re waiting to see what we get at the shower today, remember?” she reminded, suddenly groaning and holding her stomach.

“What!? Whaav whaav !?” he panicked, rushing to her side.

She pouted up at him. “We’re hungry,”

It took a moment before Nick could calm down enough to chuff angrily at her, stomping out of the bathroom.

“Nick it’s a joke!” she laughed, leaning out of the doorway to watch him trudge into the bedroom.

“It’s not funny!”

She rolled her eyes while stepping back to the shower, cranking it to near boiling temperatures.

“No lava showers or I’ll hide all your maternity jeans!” Nick yelled on cue. Callie rolled her eyes again, adjusting the levels ever so slightly.

↠

Nick turned his jaw side to side to carefully observe his reflection, more so the deep scars that at last were fading into a less prominent tone across his brows, cheek and chin. He tilted his head and flicked his half severed ear; he’d surely never grow completely used to that, just like his filed tusks. His yellow eyes moved down to his chest in the foggy reflection of the mirror, and before he grabbed the damp towel to ball into the crook of his arm, he wiped the mirror down in the steamy room to better see how his image changed.

No matter how at ease he tried to appear holding the mock baby, he still found himself feeling awkward and stiff, even with both arms cradling the balled up towel.

He tried to imagine Leo there, with no idea how he’d look or how he’d react to his father cradling him despite the more than lively response he always received when whispering softly to Callie’s stomach.

But this just didn’t feel right.

 Cuz you’re holding a towel, dumbass. Don’t overthink it. Nick tossed the towel into the hamper and with a few small spurts of his cologne across his chest, he walked out of the steamy bathroom.

“Hey you almost ready?” he peaked in the room, but didn’t find her there.

“I’m reh-ee,”

 Ahh, kitchen. Nick grabbed his shoes before heading across the house, stifling a snort once coming upon her with both cheeks full of food. “Are you breathing between bites?”

“Fuh you,” she glared, chewing forcefully.

“Do you not want any of the food there?” he asked, ripping off a small piece of the kimchi she already had wrapped around a bite of rice.

“When he’s hungry there’s no waiting,” she better spoke this time, rocking side to side as she took the next hearty bite. “This is his favorite,” she noted, her eyes fluttering in pure delight.

Nick nodded, he too wrapping his own little bites up as she went on to dance goofily beside him, picking up small pieces of pork leftover from the previous nights dinner. The prior motive to leave was momentarily paused as they snacked, Nick wrapping little bites and feeding them to her as she loosely braided her long hair over her shoulder.

“Do you have a bathing suit packed?” he asked, but she shook her head.

“Wearing it underneath,” she chewed, and he spotted the bikini ties at the back of her neck. “I don’t even know if I’ll swim, honestly,”

“What, why?” he exclaimed. “If I have to swim you have to,”

“Do you have a globe attached to your stomach? I look like a planet,” she grumbled, sucking her fingertips clean.

Nick sucked his teeth clean, his eyes dragging up from her painted toenails and over the spaghetti strapped, navy blue sun dress that flowed gently down to above her knees, continuing on to her bare face that was grinning up at him with a cocked brow, her own pink scars now a part of the smooth plain of her face.

“If you were a planet you’d be the moon cuz you’re glowing,” he professed lovingly, and even though the comment on her size ruffled her feathers some, she couldn’t be mad at him. She felt like a star he’d talk to secretly every night, professing his love tenderly in ways that still surprised her.

Instead, she lightly punched his chest, finishing the last of the kimchi and rice.

“Ready then?” he asked.

A few more well balanced spins and the salsa’s she’d made were out of the fridge and added to the other items they carried in a couple beach bags hung on Nick’s arm, then coming to steady herself against his shoulder as she slipped her sandals on. With a few quick taps to their security system, he was walking slowly after her, swallowing low chuckles when watching her waddle side to side. From behind she was still small and curvy; it was fascinating when she’d turn to reveal that pregnancy swell that was quickly becoming the culprit of a few tip overs in recent days when her little legs couldn’t keep her upright.

Nick wouldn’t let her even attempt climbing into the truck until he had hands on her frame, ready to catch her if she tumbled back despite the low protests.

“Baby I can do it myself,” she grunted, but he scoffed.

 “Just wait a second-” Nick called, struggling to pull his jeans up whilst Callie was already grabbing her keys.

“I’m fine, I need to get out of the house,” she waved him off, slipping out the front door after looping her purse onto the crook of her arm.

“Cal!” Nick called, growling when the button to his jeans didn’t agree with him. “Callie!”

“I’ll bring back snacks!”

“Stubborn-” he grumbled, hastily pulling his shoes on. “Brat!”

He was across the house- without his phone, but whatever- in two seconds, throwing the door open and gliding across the patio and down the stairs just as she’d hoisted herself up onto the running board of the truck.

“Callie c’mon,”

She only turned enough to look at him, but that small shift threw off her balance. Her grip was neither strong or prepared for her center of gravity to swing, and her own stomach flung her back onto the hard concrete below.

Only a semblance of her name was punched from him before bolting to her side in panic.

“If you hadn’t distracted me…” she murmured, but he pinched her thigh.

“If you would’ve kept your ass on that couch, you mean?” he corrected, but she stopped him.

“How do you expect me to be okay sitting around all day?”

“The same way I expect you to ask me to take you somewhere, anywhere you want as long as it means you’re not doing things that are gonna put you and Leo at risk,” Nick spoke vehemently, stifling Callie’s quick remarks.

She stared irritably, fingers drumming against her stomach. Her Orc only moved to lean against the door so he could keep looking at her, his amber eyes calm, yet resilient.

Callie sighed. “You don’t get it,”

“I get it to an extent. I was holed up in there for two months once,”

“I took you everywhere with me!”

“And I loved that but yeah, there were times when I wanted to do things on my own. I get it, Cal. I do,” he held her hand in her lap. “But you have this little boy attached to you. Just one more month you have to put up with me and you can go off wherever you want, but for now please just let me help,”

Callie scoffed, unable to pull from his pleadful pout. “You’ll let me run off with Leo in my arms but not in my stomach?”

“You’ll be able to run again with him in your arms,” he grinned. She smiled, caressing his cheek. It was times like these she tried to remind herself to be thankful he was so attentive and concerned with her well-being when he could’ve been the type of man who showed no interest at all, even when she was feeling crowded.

“One month and not a day more,” she played.

“Deal.” He even held his forearm up to bump hers, making sure she was tucked in before closing the door.

He already had his Clubmasters on by the time he climbed in beside her, forever adjusting the seat back to his settings before backing out of the driveway.

The cool breeze that tossed loose flyaways around was a welcome sensation over her invariably flushed skin as the sun hit her side of the car. Nick glanced over when she let out an audible moan of relief, her head leaned back and arm stretched into the forceful wind. Although it would’ve spoiled the shower they’d both been looking forward to for weeks, inwardly, Callie wished the rain that had blessed LA a couple weeks ago was still falling. She could stand warm weather, even the humidity that made her hair stand on end, but the white hot sun glaring down at her was just aggravating.

“At this rate I’m gonna spend the day in the pool,” she groaned.

“I think everyone else will too, honestly.” Nick nodded; he was already over the heat and they still had the second half of summer to make it through.

Thankfully Rosie’s wasn’t a trek across LA like everyone else seemed to be, but Callie was still eager to get inside once turning into her long driveway that was lined with baby blue and gold balloons, lines of sparkling raindrops hanging over the entrance of the wide patio.

“Wow,” Nick marveled, taking a moment to stare.

“Rosie goes all out for parties,”

“Yeah she does,” he intoned, quickly exiting the truck to help her down from her seat.

She gently ran her fingers across the decorations they walked under once before the door, letting themselves in.

The foyer was also covered in the shimmery balloons leading down past the staircase and into the wide family room where the furniture had been moved aside for fold out tables with snacks covered with baby blue table cloths and chubby star and cloud table settings surrounded by candles.

“Oh thank goodness she didn’t do the lions,” Callie mumbled, smirking when Nick elbowed her.

Everywhere they turned was some kind of explosion of cuteness, whether it be little golden star sprinkles littered across the breakfast bar where the booze was chilling or tissue paper ruffled and taped to the rim of the bucket that held all the ice. Everything was adorned and beautiful, the summer light coming in bouncing off the shimmery surfaces.

“Ah, mija! There you are!” Luciana came from Rosie’s wide kitchen holding a heavy pot filled to the brim with marinated chicken ready to grill.

“Where’s Rosie?” Callie asked, waddling over to give her mom a quick peck on the cheek as Nick took the pot for her.

“She had to run to the store for more plates,” she cooed, leaning down to pat and rub Callie’s stomach until she was chased away. From outside, Callie could hear that Dyani and Joaquin had seen Nick and were likely glomping him; often they’d use their towering uncle as a jungle gym, but Nick had just as much fun tossing them around like ragdolls.

“What can I help with?” Callie asked, her purse set down beside the bags Nick had stashed against the back of a couch.

“Nada, go sit somewhere ,” her mother ordered as she turned her daughter to push towards the backyard.

“Ma not you too,” Callie whined, reluctantly waddling towards the glass double doors that lead to the sprawling backyard.

“ Me and Trish have it under control ,”

Callie planted her feet, turning to face her mother. “She came ?”

“Hey,”

Just a moment she took to close her eyes and mentally prepare herself before turning to face her sister, but her determination to remain cold and calculated faltered when two big, dark eyes looked up at her from Patricia’s arms.

Callie’s heel started bouncing. “She’s getting big,”

“So are you,” her smile was guiltless; it made Callie want to slug her.

 You’re lucky you have that baby in your arms, you witch. “That often comes with pregnancy, thank you for pointing it out,”

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Patricia rolled her eyes.

“Think before you open your mouth then,” Callie smiled, again moving to leave.

“Wait, can we talk please?”

“You gonna tell me how fat my ankles are too?”

“Callie,” she touched her arm, prompting her to turn. “Please?”

Luciana had already left, eager to give her daughters the space they needed to make up, but Callie saw it as abandonment. How many times or different ways would she have to voice that she didn’t want to make up when there was nothing she’d done wrong?

Yet here she was again, cornered. With a low groan and tilt of her head, she nodded. “Can I at least meet my niece?”

Happily she handed Yareli over  and despite following Trish into the kitchen with the ominous presence of dread, she smiled lovingly down at the baby girl that peered curiously up at her tia, a wide smile curling her gummy face when Callie pressed kisses into her cheek.

Oh how she’d fought the urge over the past few months to call Rosie and set up a secret meeting with the beautiful little girl in her arms, and now she found herself bubbling with love, and even some hot tears burning her eyes.

In addition to just meeting her, she hadn’t seen Tomas in almost a year…

Trish turned to face Callie once they were stood at the far corner of the kitchen, pushing loose strands of hair behind her ears. “How’ve you been?”

“Keeping busy,” she answered, swaying side to side with Yare sat on her stomach.

Trish nodded. “Still have a couple months left before he pops?”

“Only a month,”

Her brows furrowed. “I thought-”

“He’s a halfling, they grow fast,”

“I didn’t know-”

“He’s half Orc, it’s kind of obvious,” Callie snapped knowing it wasn’t common knowledge, but she couldn’t keep her temper in check.

“Calista,” Trish exhaled, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“ Patricia ,”

“I’m trying  here,” she implored.

“You think showing up and helping out is gonna fix everything? Do you remember what you did?”

“Does it matter if I’m trying to apologize?” she rolled her eyes.

It was a moment that Callie could only stare at her, her heart plummeting into her stomach. “You went out of your way to remind me more than once that it was solely my fault every time I had a miscarriage,”

“That was-”

“When I didn’t want to talk, because you were a monster, you made it your personal goal to remind me that I was dead to you,” her voice shook now, handing Yare back to her sister.

“There was a lot going on you don’t know about,” Trish sighed, wincing when Yare grabbed a fistful of her hair.

“Bullshit. Everyone has shit to deal with but family- my own fucking sister shouldn’t do that over something you never had any business weighing in on in the first place!”

“You were making a mistake and didn’t see that- you always do this,” Trish battled, her viper side coming forth.

Callie’s eyes narrowed. “Nick wasn’t a mistake,”

“That’s not what I meant-” Trish tried, but Callie’s hand rose.

“I’m done, Trish. I’m done, just… you get on with your life and I will with mine.” Callie ended the brief, heated exchange, realizing as she stepped away to head into the backyard that it would likely be one of the last times she saw or held Yareli; there was no knowing if she’d ever see her nephew again and that there’d be no returning to happier days with her sister she formerly looked up to for her strength. It wasn’t just ending it with her sister, but a portion of her family, but she wouldn’t allow herself to be smothered beneath her thumb anymore.

Callie was a little winded by the time she made it into the backyard and had found a seat at the patio set, slowly lowering onto one of the cushioned benches.

A robust flush coated her skin, the ire that spoiled her mood matching its power. It tingled in her toes and fingers; had she not been swollen with pregnancy, Callie could confidently say she would’ve momentarily reverted back to her more fiery, high school mindset and decked her sister right in the fucking-

“Calista?” Luciana’s soft call came, and Callie looked up just as her mother had sat beside her, her aged eyes finding the despair in Callie’s.

“ Why did Trish leave ?” she asked.

“ Why else, she didn’t get her way ,”

“ Calista ,” her mother exhaled.

“Don’t,” Callie held up her finger, fed up and unwilling to be the one everyone looked to blame. “Do not . It’s not my fault she’s such a-”

“ She was trying to fix it ,” Luciana pleaded, but Callie pulled her arm from her mother’s touch, looking out to Nick who was still swinging the kids off his arms.

“No she wasn’t. She wasn’t going to apologize,”

“Mija-”

“Ma please!” she snapped.

Nick slowed, squinting past the sun at his lover. Something wasn’t right.

“I’m done trying to get back in her good graces when she does nothing to fix what she did. I know she tells everyone her side of it but there’s two sides. My side that no one cares about, and if you’re at all interested in it then I’ll tell you another day, okay? Can it just end at that for now?” Callie urged, ready to leave if her own mother didn’t grant her this one small request.

It was clear Luciana wanted this to be settled now rather than later judging by the way she reluctantly nodded, but her agreeing was all Callie wanted. At this point the entire issue at hand could never be revisited and she’d be content with that, but life just wasn’t that easy. She knew it would come back around at some point when Trish started to stir again.

A lingering kiss was left on Callie’s head before Luciana stood creakily to move back into the house just as Rosie and Daryl had returned, leaving her to lean back on her hands and stifle a low groan when a roll of sharp cramps fired up her belly.

“Of course,” she ground out, her head dropping back.

“Braxton’s or Leo?” Nick asked, and she peered over to find him leaned against a beam without kids climbing all over him anymore.

“Braxton,” she frowned.

He hmm -ed, finding a spot next to her. His cheek rested at the top of her head when she leaned into him, counting between long breaths that did little to ease the cramps but were favored over just sitting and suffering through. A quick glance down revealed Leo was kicking, likely bothered by his already cramped home tightening around him.

“Do you wanna talk about it?” Nick asked, bumping his knee into hers.

She shook her head. “The problem left so let’s leave it at that,”

 Ahh. “At least she left all the food she bought,” he said below his breath. Only when she chuckled did he, his thick arm coming to hang around her shoulder whilst placing a few kisses on her cheek.

“You two are neverending with the cuddling,”

Callie spun- as best she could- in her seat and gasped. “Hey!” Callie exclaimed, grunting as she stood to meet Morn who held her one year old on her hip.

“Hey, baby,” Morn smiled, hugging Callie tightly around the neck one-armed and giving her a quick kiss on the cheek.

“Hi mamas! Que paso hermosa?” Callie went on to sweet talk, lifting the beaming, kicking little Orc from Morn’s arms to hang off her own hip.

“Munguz!” she moved to Nick next, their forearms bumping before they exchanged quick hugs. “How’ve you guys been?”

“Good, same old stuff, how about you and this little one?” Nick asked, leaning down to smile at the pretty eyed girl who was the same hue as Morn and whose little tusks were starting to peak from behind her lip.

“Lots of Yo Gabba Gabba and chewing,” she sighed, evoking a giggle from Callie. “Won’t be laughing when your own is gnawing on your tit,”

“S’that why yours are deflated?” Callie smirked.

Morn grinned. “Bitch,”

“Bith,” the little girl repeated, tugging on Callie’s necklace.

“Oh no, no no ukour, Dejza, don'av ukaausan avhaav,” Morn frowned and smacked her own mottled hand despite Nick and Callie turning cheek to laugh.

“Yeah don’t listen to mama, she foul mouthed,” Callie whispered. “Que asco,”

“You wanna call me foul mouthed when your nickname for this dude is tall boy ?”

“Both of you are foul,” Nick hissed, snatching the little girl from Callie’s arm and moving inside to find her snacks. Dejza was already excitedly switching between hitting and biting his shoulder, giggling when he growled at her.

“Munguz is adapting well it seems,”

“It helps having an army of kids around a lot,” Callie let out a pleased sigh, tugging on her wrist towards the tables lined with snacks and massive, golden balloons spelling Leo.

“At least there’s hope for him,” Morn intoned, her painted nails dancing over the elegant champagne glasses and bottles of beer.

Callie looked at her. “Things aren’t any better with Tandzh?”

The double set of silver hoops hanging from her pointed ears chimed when she shook her head. “I haven’t heard from him in a few weeks,”

“Not even to see Dejza?”

There was a pause before she scoffed lowly, grabbing a bottle of tequila by the neck to poor into a solo cup. “Why would he come see her when he didn’t even want her?”

Callie looked down at the swirling her drink. “He said that?”

Morn nodded, throwing the booze back with ease. There was a slight grimace, but with a slow exhale, she poured herself another. “I thought I could change him, but I was wrong,”

There wasn’t much of anything Callie could’ve offered to alleviate the harsh reality her beloved friend was living, but there was at least the repeated promise of everlasting help and support she could again present and offer, plus the arm around her waist with her head against her shoulder. To most it wasn’t much, but to Morn the hug meant everything when she’d so silently yearned for support.

“Anyways,” she cleared her throat after unwinding her arm from around Callie’s neck and pouring another slug. “Cut me off after this next shot,”

“We’re having a party, don’t worry about it. There’s a whole nation of people coming to help watch Dejza,”

Morn grinned around her ivory tusks that had newly been treated with gold carvings, matching her molten eyes beautifully. “Thanks, lambchop,”

Callie’s buoyant smile was interrupted by another sharp cramp; one that pinched an eye shut and called for a hand to the achy crook of her back.

“Someone’s close to comin’ out,” Morn pursed her lips in a quirky smirk, gently drumming her fingers against her stomach.

Callie blew a raspberry. “Please, I still have a month left,”

“Baby you got two weeks at most left, look how low your belly is,” she observed, and Callie looked down in wonder.

“Is it?” she muttered, but from her vantage point, it looked like any other day. Not even a few far leans and trying to observe her silhouette in the reflection of the windows did her any good.

“What’re you doing?”

They both turned to find Nick standing at the entrance, Dejza in the crook of one arm and his other hand holding a popsicle up for her to gnaw on, small grunts and chuffs slipping past her busy jaws.

“Does my stomach look lower?”

“Nah,” he shook his head, but upon a longer look, his brows pulled together in thought, his head slowly tilting. “Well actually, you do look a little deflated. Do you feel okay?”

“Yeah,” she nodded, rubbing her stomach. “It’s a little easier to breathe, actually,”

“Told you,” Morn smiled.

“What? Told you what?” Nick asked, the alarm rising.

Just as her mouth had opened, a loud collection of loud welcomings coming from inside caught all of their attention, and soon came cousins of Callie’s that Rosie was ushering outside. It appeared to be only a handful of individuals, but if there was one thing Nick had come to learn about her family over the years, it was that the way they clustered was much like that of an iceberg: the majority of their mass was hidden from plain sight.

They all took turns hugging Callie and greeting Nick, most of them even sweet talking the little girl in his arms he wouldn’t openly admit he was using as a shield. Morn scowled at him, but Nick dished out a cheeky grin.

After the first wave, Morn finally snatched Dejza back, hissing in Orkish at Nick who was more upset over losing his little buddy.

“Oh I’m already over-heating,” Callie fanned her face. “We should go hide in the pool,”

“There’s already a game a’chicken going on,” Nick pointed out.

“And there goes my hiding spot,” she unenthusiastically smiled, further deflating.

“You’re the star today,”

“Leo is, I’m just the middle man,” she sassed, chuffing- which was actually just a forceful exhale through her nose- back at him. “That’s gonna be the first thing your son learns,”

“It’s gonna be so cute,” he lamented, blocking a swift slap to his arm. It ignited a small mock fight, one that Nick found himself having to refrain from picking her up and tossing her in the pool.

“Assault on a pregnant woman is a class A felony,”

Nick spun. “Hey, partner!” he called happily, moving to greet Ward alongside Sophia at the door.

His friend had since shaken the hard edge to his shoulders, the deep glower that warded off most replaced with a drowsy grin, and had even packed on a few healthy pounds. It hadn’t been long ago that Daryl had suffered through a period of sleepless nights and deep paranoia that had severely impacted his health, so to see the color had come back to his face and scent of illness was gone brought great relief to Nick. All he wanted was peace for his best friend.

They exchanged brief hugs, but Daryl’s hold on his shoulders stopped him once Nick was at arms length. He clapped his hand there, further confusing Nick.

“It’s hard to believe I’m attending your baby shower when it wasn’t too long ago you were a lonely virgin,”

“Oh shut the fuck up,” Nick shoved his hands back, shooting Callie a look when she laughed. “‘Bout to ask how you’ve been but now I don’t give a shit,”

“Good, cuz nothin’ is new,” Ward explained. “Get so bored now I actually consider comin’ back to work,”

“Mama said you’re gonna move into the guest room if you do that,” Sophia piped, looking at her father with her hands over Leo who’d woken after hearing Nick speak.

Callie pulled her lips in to hide her smile, but it didn’t do much to actually mask it.

“Thank you, sweetie,” Ward intoned, slugging Nick on the arm when he too did little to mask his own amusement. “Don’t you go actin’ like Callie wouldn’t do the same thing,”

“There’s more effective methods than that, your wife is just cruel,” she countered, a sharp brow cocking.

Even Morn snorted that time, pretending to be deeply enthralled with the sparkling streamers Dejza’d had her eyes on.

Ward’s sour-puss stare was comical, but Nick decided he’d had enough and ushered him towards the table lined elegantly with lush choosings all glistening in full bottles. Somehow Nick convinced him to throw one Orkish vodka back, promising a quicker buzz. It was sharp, almost freezing with the slightest trace of teaberry, but after he took a few breaths to cover the burning across his tongue, Ward was impressed that his cheeks felt rosy  right away.

Callie had warned Nick to not find himself completely wasted and face down in the water seeing as this celebration was equally his to be had, but she blessed him with one of her Long Island iced teas he absolutely loved, the Orkish vodka and rum of course taking it’s tame competitors place.

He kissed her on the cheek before running off with Ward, likely to further heighten their tipsiness under one of the umbrellas perched at the rented tables covering the expansive yard.

“You want the shade?” Nick asked behind a chair, but Ward waved him off.

“Nah the sun feels good. Been cooped up for weeks,” he exhaled as he melted into the padded seat, sipping generously on his drink.

“Want me to bring you on a ride-along?” Nick poked, pleased with his own joke. “Sherri couldn’t hate you for that, could she?”

Ward looked down at his drink, swirling the cup so the ice chattered. “F’not that she’d find something else to hate me over,”

Nick halted his teasing, overlooking the somber tone of his face. “How’s Sophia managing it?”

A long sigh. “She doesn’t know I’ve already been livin’ in that guest room,”

Nick nodded, looking to Callie who was hugging a friend that had come with her own teens that’d found the shady, quiet corner of the yard with the other ones their age. She waved secretly to him once she had the moment, motioning that she had her eyes on how much he was drinking.

“Don’t fuck it up with Cal like I did Sherri,” Ward said into his cup, but Nick scoffed.

“If we’re at this point, I don’t feel bad saying that Sherri was just a bitch,”

There was a pause, but Ward eventually nodded. “Not all her fault though. Maybe I’m just not made for marriage,”

“Ahh it’s only your second one,” Nick reasoned.

“Should’ve only ever been one,”

The Orc shrugged. “Third times the charm.” He grinned toothily, but straightened up when more family was directed towards his table.

Callie juggled greeting all of the family and friends, but just as she directed them towards Nick, she equally enjoyed watching the impressive tower of diaper boxes people brought under their arms growing by the gift table. At the rate they were going, Leo would be covered for a few months at the very least.

Sergey and Dura popped up soon enough, and when both Callie and Dura found difficulty in hugging one another because of both their bulging bellies, they both questioned why they hadn’t just thrown a joint shower.

With a quick hug around Callie and a cautionary glance in Morn’s direction- who he could’ve sworn he’d seen at a Fogteeth brawl at one point- he was off jogging to Nick and Ward, wiggling between them to dive in on the drinking and gossip.

Dura was just as eager to find a seat as Callie did after Morn insisted she keep her ass parked in a seat and let people come to her, but she only settled after convincing the both of them to strip down to their bathing suits with her and stick their feet in the pool.

Biting down the greater majority of a spiteful glare was near impossible on Callie’s part; Morn had snapped back to her slim figure after having Dejza, and there Callie was feeling like a watermelon with arms and legs as she waddled beside them to the pool.

Yet even as she worried people would tease her size, she couldn’t help but laugh as Dura did when they both struggled to help one another down.

And as people found their way over for hugs and smiles, despite even being beside the pool, it did work out better because the men eventually followed them over, but their rambunctious sides were coming out with every finished drink. They flung themselves into the pool, yelling like barbarians and Ward even mimicking Nick and Sergey when they flexed their arms and biceps, hollering in typical war Orc stances.

But soon more kids started to pile in; her endless list of cousins all had kids, not to mention some of the older tias and tios who still had some coming. Soon enough it wasn’t just the two grown Orcs and human thrashing like wild animals in the pool, but a swarm of little ones that drove them back to the steps where the girls sat soaking in the sun, their shades pulled down. It was near perfect timing, too. They’d started to worry one of them wouldn’t come up from beneath every time they were thrown aside, the beer cans piling beside the pool.

Nick wiggled back between Callie’s knees, his arms hung over her thighs and the cold skin of his back pressed against her stomach. It was a pleasant sensation on her part. He nudged his head back against her until she finally stuck his Clubmasters on his face, but he caught two familiar silhouettes coming their way.

“Look who’s here,” he jerked his chin in their direction, already grinning.

Callie looked over and gasped. “Matuk!” she joyfully exclaimed, pushing Nick forward so she could struggle onto her feet.

Her silent, lumbering friend simply opened his arms with a half hidden grin, leaning down to hug her tightly when she finally made it upright.

“Sorry we’re late,” he apologized, moving to bump forearms with Nick and shake hands with Sergey and Ward. Daryl stared up at him suspiciously, instantly recognizing the silver chains hanging around his neck.  

“I’m just glad you made it. Hi Lala!” she smiled, moving to embrace Matuk’s much slimmer and smaller boyfriend.

“Oh my god the last time I saw you there wasn’t even a bump yet!” he declared, holding her hands up once they’d unwrapped from one another.

“Has it been that long?” Nick asked, squinting up at Matuk who shrugged.

“He doesn’t take me anywhere anymore,” Lala pouted, but Matuk reached over to wiggle his chin.

“Ah he’s busy Lala, hush up,” Morn rolled her eyes, having drifted from her conversation with Ward once they’d showed up.

“I’m gonna start making lunches at home instead of sending them so he’ll visit me,” Lala went on, smirking up at Matuk’s dark blush.

Callie had used Nick to sit back down where she once before, and it was then being at eye level with their feet did she spot something rather surprising.

“Are those Gucci slides, you boujie bitch?” she pointed, glancing up at him.

“Oh!” Lala posed, a gentle hand on his own thigh. “Yes, daddy bought those for me,” he suspired, an arm securing around Matuk with his cheek against his shoulder.

Nick and Sergey both choked on their drinks, but the girls could only cover their faces in laughter, leaving Matuk to quickly stomp away towards the drink table, his ears red hot and Lala trailing behind innocently until he caught his hand.

Matuk still hooked an arm behind his neck, people parting as the two Orcs strode over to the drinks.  

It wasn’t until the chit-chat between Dura and Callie had died down that Nick nudged her silently, motioning in Ward and Morn’s direction. Callie found them chest deep in the water and hidden in the shade, lost in conversation that had only grow more enthralling as the minutes ticked by. Callie had always figured Ward would have difficulty speaking to any other Orc besides Nick and Sergey, but now he was being almost charming , which was something not commonly witnessed coming from such a normally salty individual.

And Morn looked just as glamorous, her witty remarks and gift at keeping conversation rolling no matter what direction it took more than enough to hold Ward’s attention.

“I feel like I should give him a heads up,” Nick mumbled, meeting Callie’s confused expression. “He doesn’t know how Orcs are in bed,”

Callie smacked the back of his head with a wet hand, but before Nick could retaliate with a splash of water, everyone scattered about the yard was called in once the food had finally finished cooking just as Nick’s parents and more extended family had arrived.

They brought with them their own unique feasts: marinated, smoked and shredded pork, the mountains of sides like potatoes and grains and pastries, and of course what Oleg started offering generously to the other fathers of the family: robust shots of Orkish whiskey that guaranteed to turn eyes red.

After helping Rosie finish heating up the last of the tortillas and bread, Dinara came out to keen lovingly over Callie, who in agreeance with Morn, insisted she didn’t have much longer judging by the state of her dropped belly.

The massive mob of family and friends all piled the selections high on their plates, moving to one of the many tables laid out or even sitting on a tossed towel under the shade of the few trees in Rosie and Daryl’s backyard.

The kids were ordered to keep out of the pool until they’d finished eating, but were free to take bites between sprinting games of tag, some of the young Orkish children teaching smaller ones how to wrestle.

Another majority had formed around Nick and Callie where they’d chosen to sit at the main table, the topics of conversation flipping as fast as the flip of a coin.

They at one point even demonstrated how lively Leo became when Nick talked to her stomach but then having to waddle around for a while to settle him back down. Yet as long as she kept piling the food, unable to resist dipping her hands into all the savory, delicious options, Leo would keep jumping in joy.

Just before everyone had began to clean up their empty plates and most of the kids had exhausted enough to lay in the cooling grass at sunset with popsicles, Callie silently, and with a coy smile, watched Morn nervously invite Ward along in tow of Rosie when Daryl and herself offered anyone to ‘partake’. Where she’d expect hesitation, Ward looked starry eyed when he nodded and stood to follow her,Callie happily accepting Dejza and winking up at her friend who wore a bright smile around her tusks.

“Am I the only one seeing that?” Sergey leaned over towards Nick, pointing obviously at Ward and Morn’s departure. “Isn’t he married?”

“Barely.” Nick scoffed, in addition laughing at Sergey’s perplexed expression.

After some maneuvering of the tables and Callie’s mock throne covered in balloons and more sparkly streamers was dragged over, she was sat before the impressive pile of gifts and literal mountain of diapers she insisted Nick take a photo of her beside.

Neither of them were really given a chance to change out of their bathing suits before having the first of the gifts dropped in their laps or the photos that began to flash as they graciously opened them all, one by one.

From Dura and Sergey they were gifted a homemade thick woven blanket for Leo, painted in soft tones of earthy reds and browns, some splashes of gold here and there. Callie held the blanket close to her chest, thanking them lovingly.

Morn had found the bag Callie had dubbed impossible to find: a diaper bag that wouldn’t sit bulkily under her arm nor a backpack that looked like a turtle shell. Somehow, with that vague yet steadfast preference she managed to find a messenger bag that could hold plenty in it’s divided main compartments but wouldn’t puff up like a pillow if all the items were lined up correctly.

Callie winked at her once spotted how closely she sat to Ward, Dejza sleeping peacefully against her chest.

Matuk saw it and shuddered.

But his displeased expression was squandered once they moved onto the gift he and Lala had both bought together, and the one Dorghu had personally sent along with them when his attendance wasn’t expected.

Nick waited to open the bag in his hand, much more curious as to what was inside the small, teel box tied elegantly with a white ribbon Callie carefully unfolded.

Her eyes softened once the light from the hanging lamps above them shined down on the golden bracelet showcased softly in the box, Leonardo engraved into its face.

It hit home for Callie then. Why this bracelet and not the already building pile of onesies or little booties her cousin had gifted them was the thing to bring clarity to the thought that soon Leo would be laid in her hold was unknown, but she blinked back hot tears, keeping the small box close to her side.

Nick was earlier instructed to open his half of the present in private, but he almost buckled until both Matuk and Morn shook their heads. Nick chuffed, setting the box aside.

Callie was lost in a stream of squeals whilst opening Oleg and Dinara’s gift. The same winter sweater Nick had worn as a baby was clutched in her arms, wailing hysterically at the significance and cuteness of it despite Nick trying to get a look at the small article of clothing he couldn’t believe he once fit in. That too was kept close to her side, clutching Dinara’s hand thoughtfully.

And on it went, bag after box after wrapped gifts that would secure Leo’s wardrobe and toiletry needs for a solid six months at least, not to mention a few of those gifts given to Callie; a few sleeping gowns that were baby friendly, some gift cards, things she’d put into good use.

Although most of them were stuffed, most found room for a slice of the round red velvet cake with small candied jewels shaped like raindrops gleaming around it, a small standing moon and stubby stars sat at its base, but not before Callie took a photo from every angle, marveling at its beauty.

Only when she’d convinced Nick to let her take a photo of him cutting it did she ease up, threatening to behead anyone who tried smashing cake in her face.

Her warnings were well respected, and after everyone had been served a slice, they at last settled into their spots to run out the remainder of the party, but with the barbeque still warm and reheating food, it looked like it could go well into the warm summer night.

A stool had been slyly stolen from under a few kids who they tricked into jumping into the pool so Callie could keep her feet up, and thankfully Nick’s beefy shoulder was there to lean back into after he looped an arm behind her shoulders.

With Dyani passed out at her side and Nick lost in a cloud of chatter with his dad and Sergey, Callie once again had her sights set on Morn and Daryl.

She thought by now Morn would’ve noticed her staring and shot her a look, but her pretty amber eyes were trained on Ward, their proximity continuing to close ever so slightly as the night drew on. At one point she could’ve sworn she saw Ward take a half step closer to brush his knuckles against hers, but it was hard to tell if Morn’s tusked smile was that of bashfulness, or trying to pull him in closer.

“What’re you staring at?” Nick whispered against the shell of her ear, and she inconspicuously used her raised pinky to point at them when she sipped her drink.

Nick’s coordination wasn’t as graceful as he swung his head in their direction. “Where’s Dejza?”

“You mom snatched her a while ago,”

He snorted. “Figures,” Nick took a hearty gulp of his beer. “If I hear those two end up dating I’m gon’ give him the same shit he gave me,”

“He didn’t give you shit,” Callie snickered.

“Defending him now?” he snarled quietly, but she jabbed his side.

“They look like they have good chemistry, don’t ruin it for him,”

Nick took another hard look, noting the relaxed manner of his friends shoulders. “Yeah I guess you have a point,”

“What if we just set up soul mates?”

Nick’s chuckle was low. “We didn’t set them up,”

“In a way we did. Third times the charm,” she whimsied.

“Morn’s been married twice?” he asked, and she nodded. “Poor thing,”

“She always did come off a little more human tempered than Orc,” Callie observed.

“Ward’s got a mouth like an Orc, they even each other out,” Nick said into his cup as she giggled. “He found the Callie to his Nick.”

Her smile up at him was dazzling, her big eyes catching the lights above them and twinkling beautifully. He kissed her cheek before she snuggled tight against him, a lopsided smile remaining as she looked down at Leo’s soft bumps.

It took a few trips between the truck and their house before all the gifts were at last piled haphazardly in Leo’s room, ready for organization some other day, but definitely soon.

Morn’s words had hung in her mind the remainder of the day, bringing her anxiety up a notch, but this would’ve happened eventually as she approached her due date. But as the days went from a month down to a mere fourteen days, maybe seven- a week, Callie couldn’t help but feel like she needed to start organizing promptly despite the exhaustion and slight burn across her shoulders urging her to lay on the cold sheets of their bed.

In greater caution she stepped carefully, taking her time to stand from a seat or asking Nick to pick up objects she’d drop, going out of her way to make sure her body had no extra reason to rush in labor early.

 Maybe a couple more weeks would be better.

Peeling off the cold bikini and slipping into one of Nick’s big shirts sent goosebumps all over her skin, her damp hair falling around her shoulders so she could scratch her scalp. The sunscreen that did little to help was washed from her face, and with a gulp of water went her final vitamin of the day.

She padded quietly from the bathroom to find Nick’s back to her at the dinner table.

“You okay?” she asked, walking around his arm.

In his hands was a brand new, glossy Fogteeth jersey he’d pulled from the gift Matuk and Morn had told him to open in private, and now the two understood why.

 Munguz was embroidered in Orkish across the back once Nick lifted it clear from the tissue paper, a breathless scoff punching from his chest.

“My mom would’ve fainted if she saw this,” he realized, studying the silky material just as Callie did.

“Your captain would, too,” she added, both of them chuckling. Surely one of the other officers at the party would’ve let it slip he’d been gifted an official jersey, and they didn’t need that kind of heat falling on them. “Do you not like it?”

“No, I really like it, actually. Just caught me off guard,” he explained.

Callie looked back to the box, and upon pulling back the tissue paper found a small note card scribbled in Orkish. “What’s this?”

Nick took it, his eyes scanning over the words. “From my clan to yours. We take care of our own and theirs,” he read. Callie grinned when she understood it’s meaning.

“You should try it on,” she suggested, holding his shirt when he pulled it off.

It was snug around his biceps and chest, but Callie wouldn’t outwardly express that as an issue, even when he swung his arms in mild discomfort.

“I think they’re supposed to be like that,” she made up, ogling.

“Matuk’s wasn’t like this,”

“I’m sure he got to pick his own size though,”

“Ehh, true. Look good?” he posed, catching her heavy eyes moving up and down his frame. “Are you undressing me with your eyes?”

“Trying to but you’re still fully clothed,” she frowned.

Nick’s ears flicked, but just as he’d motioned to remove the jersey, she stopped him, her small palms sliding into his.

“Leave it on, munguz,” she breathed against his mouth. Nick’s brows raised, carefully kissing her parted lips before his mouth wandered to her neck with another step closer. The smallest of breaths blew past his ear when he leaned slightly forward to hold her, his mighty grip landing on her ass.

“You’re into costumes now?” he groused, his heavy touch dragging up her hips under the shirt.

“I’m into you,” she mumbled, kissing him when his lips sought hers. “So I’m into this,” she moaned as her hands slid up his broad chest, his fingers digging into her sides as hers hooked around the collar.

Nick chuffed softly, appreciatively when she stroked him through his trunks, already warmed up and ready to roll.

She gasped when he suddenly dipped down to scoop her up bridal style against his chest, her arm securing behind his neck and her other hand holding his jaw so she could kiss him. He briskly stepped into their room, kicking the door shut behind him all with his mouth still locked against hers.

↠

It was some time before he decided to open his eyes after waking but remaining still, enjoying the soft humming of their fan and the breeze gliding across his bare form. The room was dark when he dared a glimpse; still nighttime.

With an arm tossed back, he quickly assessed Callie wasn’t there, but the lack of heat on the sheets told him she hadn’t been there for some time.

Nick rolled, sitting up on an elbow and searching blindly under the pillows for his phone.

He squinted at the bright screen; it was two AM. A look at the door revealed the light coming from the other side, and with a grunt he sat up, taking his time to yawn and try to reach the itchy, fresh scratches covering his back but went ham on the ones across his chest.

Maybe smacking her hand when she bit her nails wasn’t the best idea, afterall…

 A quick step into his sweats and a few wobbly steps later brought him into the hallway, looking with narrow eyes at the illuminated kitchen.

His sleepy steps had gone unnoticed until he rapped his knuckles softly against the kitchen entrance, grinning when he found her in a sports bra and tights, a couple gallon bags opened with spoons dipped into the food.

She looked at him with round cheeks, her messy hair pinned into a bun. “I got hungry,” she admitted shyly, taking a bite of a rolled tortilla.

He nodded with his arms crossed and leaned in the entryway, a smirk teasing her.

“Want some?” she offered, but he shook his head, choosing to shuffle over and wrap his arms under her bust from behind, kiss landing behind her ear. Callie giggled, trying to pinch her shoulder in before finally dropping it and holding his strong arms, her cheek pressing into his kiss all with a bitten slice of cheese held up.

“It’s gonna be common soon seeing you up at this hour,” he said quietly.

“Midnight snacks with Leo?”

“Well you’re his snack,” he teased, hiding his smile when she smacked his arm playfully. He found himself consumed by sleepiness the longer he swayed back and forth, his face pressed into her neck as she nibbled the selections before her.

Soon their home would rarely be silent, yet at the same time he couldn’t imagine it growing any more lively compared to how silent it was a few years prior.

“You’re almost there.” Nick reassured her, holding tighter when her head leaned against his.

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did we just slyly progress leo's birth by 2 weeks? i think we did 😨

[dayasbun]

Fame - Angus Cloud (3)

Summary- a luckily timed audition leads to you falling for your new and unexpected co-star.

Warnings- okay HI welcome to my first multi chapter series woah?! this is actually so exciting for me like wow especially since angus doesn’t have any fics yet im just really really excited- so warnings! smut for sure, bad words, lotsa fluff, angst- everything in one basically. here comes a ride and I hope you enjoy :)

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3 {reading now}

-

Well, needless to say you got the role.

The final run through with Drake was successful, he started spewing off about how talented you were. You did your usual which was smile and nod, and Angus told you to "Stop being so shy mamas. You gotta get used to this."

Time flew as you turned in forms, focused on moving closer to set, and grew your social media audience. It was all exciting but also overwhelming, however you already loved it.

You and Angus seemed to be getting more comfortable with each other, the tension was wearing off and a simple friendship was forming. The luxury apartment you were moving into for when filming ceased was conveniently just a few doors down from his apartment, you two were going to be in the same complex. You talked quite often and filming hadn't even started yet, and you almost felt silly for feeling intimidated, if that was even the word, by him before. He'd offered to come over to help you move in- and even though the tension had faded, your {sometimes} inappropriate thoughts of him hadn't.

But today was the day everything kicked into gear, because today was the first day of filming.

You and Angus decided to meet up at a small, locally owned coffee shop before heading to set. You could both go together, and since he offered to drive, you could save some gas.

You got there early, you two were to meet at 7:30 am, you were there at 7:25 due to leaving time to dodge the traffic. Angus came through the door yawning at 8:17- due to oversleeping.

"Do you always do this?" you laughed sliding a donut over to him as he sat down across from you in the booth.

"Do what?" he asked, eating half of the donut in one big bite.

"Are you always late- like on set? Because most of my scenes are with you and I-"

"You think ahead a lot, I just like sleeping, you should like it too you feel what I mean? Sleep is just that bitch...if there was a girl like sleep then I would have a girl."

Half of the time the things Angus came up with made zero sense to you, but you always just agreed and moved along. For example, yesterday night he called you at 12:32 am just to let you know that the Frosted Flakes box had 'of corn' in small writing under the bold logo. You said you'd never noticed that- which was the truth, and then that led to him telling you the complete history of Mandela effects. You didn't get back to bed until 1:54.

"And to be fair Y/N, you kept me up last night with that Mandela effect shit." he said with a smirk as he finished off the donut.

Your mouth fell open as you rolled your eyes "Boy as if! You wish I-"

"So you quoting 90s movies now? That's new, don't really know how I feel ab-"

"Lets go," you shook your head standing up and tossing your coffee cup into the garbage.

You two walked out and into the warm LA air. "You read the scripts at all?" He asked you as you headed to his car.

"I did! We have a lot of scenes...some are quite different."

"What you mean? Not boutta lie I didn't read anything past the first episode cuz them other shits too far away."

"Well, sex is always a given in Euphoria."

"Yeah them nude scenes finna make me feel a bit violated if you know what I mean."

"You'll be fine, all you show is your ass but I have to-"

"Oh shit I gotta show my cheeks? For real? On television- aw nah I gotta talk to somebody about tha-"

"I have to show everything except my baby maker so...who really has it worse?"

"Yo' baby maker? Is that them gorgeous eyes cuz it sure does make me want to make a baby wit' you."

Was that a joke-

He did this alot. You never knew if he was actually flirting or if it was just him joking around, but you always assumed it was the latter.

"Was that a...was that a joke from you Angus? How rare!"

He flipped you off with a goofy grin at the next red light and you laughed. "No all jokes aside though Gus, I gotta show my whole body, titties and all. Like my parents are going to watch this how do I? Explain?"

“Well we can fuck wit’ all that when we get to it.”

“Oh baby...” You said sarcastically. “You didn't actually read the first episodes script did you?”

“What you mean?”

You pulled the script from out of your tote, clearing your throat before you started to read. “Jess looks at Fez with a gleam of interest in her eyes. ‘Its been awhile tiger’ she says in a certain way, a way that makes Fez adjust his- yeah I’m not reading that- ‘It has’ Fez says biting his lip. He wants her, but he doesn't know if she wants him too...he thinks she doe-”

“We gotta have sex the first episode? Nah you lying.”

“Episode 1, 3, 5, 7 and 8.”

“Holy shit what?! Aint nobody have that much sex last season...”

“Yeah but its because of our storyline. Jess and Fez constantly want each other and they think the only way to let it out is through sex- they are both terrible with commitment and Jess is afraid of Fez’s dealing; even if she wants to be with him that's keeping her away.”

“Damn, my manz Fez gettin’ the short end of the stick.”

“Jess is the only one getting a short stick Angus.”

It took him a minute to understand what you said, but as soon as he comprehended it his eyes widened. “Girl no you didnt- you know I’m packing- how you gon’ do me like that?!” he said defensively as he parked. You couldn't help but to laugh as you hurried out of the car. “Imma get you back for that!” He yelled after you. You shook your head and walked to the main trailer where everyone was to gp.

Walking in you saw only Z and Storm, Queen Bey played softly in the background showing the girls in front of you were in their element. “Hey girl!” Z said giving you a quick side hug. “Dont worry about being late, its all good. You came with Angus didn't you?”

You nodded whilst rolling your eyes and took the key she was holding out, walking back out and to your trailer.

The trailer was cozy, comfortable and not too small. It had quite a modern look to it, and the look on the outside didn't match the inside at all. You smiled as you sat on the sofa, seeing a white envelope on the glass table. On it was scribbled ‘Angus and Y/N’. Before you could get up to go over to his trailer, he walked in- no invitation, no knock, no anything. “Gee!!!! Good thing I wasn’t naked!” You said sarcastically as you glared at him.

“Yeah whateva. We gotta read this letter together I guess.” He said plopping down beside you.

“Yeah yeah okay, I can read it out loud.” You said cracking open the envelope and pulling out the bright white printer paper. “Okay here we go...it's from...Drake?”

“Ah shit.”

“Don’t worry yet, it's probably just- let me just read.”

Angus nodded and got more comfortable on the sofa as you started to read. “Angus and Y/N. On behalf of your upcoming roles I wanted to tell you guys to loosen up. Theres alot of sexy time to film, and I don't want the viewers to feel the sexual tension from Angus and Y/N, I want them to feel it radiating from Jess and Fez. Make kissing casual, make being naked around each other casual too. Don't make that shit weird. And Angus, make sure you can get it up. If it takes...oh-” you stopped for a moment.

“What?” Angus looked at you and you cocked your head to one side still inspecting the letter.

“Okay- here, he said: If it takes walking around each other unclothed then do it, take care of that tension between you two. I could feel it in the final run through, meaning that the viewers would be able to sense it as well. I'm only saying all this cuz its your first time filming together. I need art, not high school production shit. You guys have the passion, and you click. But there's something missing. Make the fuck out and get this show on the road. I'm always a call away if its not working out-- Drake.”

“Well damn. What he tryna say?”

“Angus it's clear what he's saying- I mean come on I feel the tension between us too, and I don't know what it is but hes right, whatever it is we need to get over it, and move on from that. This is business- an art form we have to work through. Ight?”

“Ight. So what I’m hearing is we gotta make out and get naked.”

“We aren't doing anything until ya girl takes a nap.”

“How you sleepy we just got here and you woke up 3 hours ago?”

“Listen man it is not my fault I only got 4 and a half hours of sleep-”

“SO you tryna say it’s mine?!” “It is! With your mandela effecr loving ass.”

He chuckled under his breath. “Okay okay, fair. But lemme sleep wit’ you.” “What? Why?”

“You the one that read the letter, we gotta drop this tension lil mama. And if we legit just sleeping, ion see nun wrong wit’ it, do you?”

You thought it over, and he had a point. There was nothing wrong with it, sleeping is sleeping...and besides, you two would have to do much worse.

“Whatever, come on.”

“Let’s go to my trailer though.”

“What? Why? Ion wanna walk come on Angu-”

“I can carry you then. But my place more homey, you just got here and your bed ain’t even got sheets.”

Damn, why is he always right? “Okay fine but carry me.”

He hunched down in front of the sofa “Get on my back and we can go.”

You grabbed your phone getting onto his back and holding on tight, your arms around his neck and your thighs squishing his sides. “Go go go!” You giggled, feeling safe as you rested your chin on the top of his head.

He ran to the trailer, causing you to laugh and hold on even tighter. Dropping you onto the bed, he looked around the small trailer-bedroom for more covers.

“You know girl,” he said looking into the closet “You kinda cute. How you was laughing out there had my heart beating fast and shit.” He found a throw and turned back around to ask you if it was good, but you were already out, completely sound asleep, and cuddled into a pillow. “Damn so you ain't hear none o’ that huh?” He sighed. “Probably better on my end. Can’t be catching feelings and shit.” He covered you over and lay beside you.

In your sleep your body detected the body heat, so you unknowingly turned over, cuddling into his chest. A smile formed on your lips as you moved closer, practically wrapping yourself around him.

The man sighed placing his lips to your forehead and leaving a light kiss. “Yeah. No catching feelings.”

-

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