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dbnightingale24 · 3 years

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Pick Me

Andy Barber~One Shot

So, the whoring in this story is really something else. I’ve truly outdone myself this time. I’m just gonna apologize now cause no one even asked for this. No one hinted that they wanted this. I’m just an asshole. I was in the middle of updating two of my stories, and then had to stop everything because I came up with this fucking novel. This could’ve been a story, but my brain said no. So, here we are. I am so sorry y’all.

Word Count: 24,416 (TRULY A FUCKING NOVEL)

Warnings: So many, MINORS DNI (I will snitch on you to your parents), so much smut, cheating, swearing, mild drinking (y’all should be so proud of me), so much angst, self hate, daddy kink, degrading kink, crying, arguing, family drama, slight age gap, Andy being a whore...it’s a lot y’all.

Song(s) That Inspired This:

Lovesong - Yuna

Just Be Good To Me - S.O.S

Summary: You’ve always done your best to make your family proud and avoid drama with men. However, Andy comes into your life and turns your world upside down. What happens when the sin is too tempting to resist?

I do not give consent for my works/stories to be posted elsewhere.

Part 2

“Fuck, Andy! Just like that!” you moan as Andy continues to furiously fuck you from behind.

“Need you to be a good girl and cum for me soon, baby,” he groans, his grip on your hips tightening.

‘There he goes breaking the rules again,’ you think to yourself as the word ‘baby’ falls from his lips.

You’ve told him a million times that in order for your little arrangement to work, there can be no pet names, no kissing on the lips (but you’re also guilty of breaking that rule), no hotels, and no sleepovers. It can only be filthy fucking: then you both get dressed and go back to your separate lives. You want to snap at him for breaking a rule again, but the pleasure is too much. You can’t focus on anything other than him and how he’s intoxicating you with every thrust. It’s the sheer amount of how much he always makes you feel.

“Andy...Andy, I...shit!” you mewl, your nails digging into his pristine mahogany desk.

“You made me wait all fucking week for this pretty little cunt! Do you know how hard it was for me to not bend you over your desk and fuck you in front of everyone? God, the fucking sounds you make for me...such a good little whore for Daddy, aren’t you?”

“Yes, yes!” you surrender as you feel that knot in your core tighten. You feel your knees start to buckle and you know that this will be the orgasm that finishes you for the night. “Needed to feel you! Fuck, I’m...I’m...”

“Fucking say it,” he grunts, roughly yanking back your hair, loving the way you clench around him.

“I’m sorry for making you wait!” you yell as your demolishing orgasm shatters you, legs giving out as Andy tightly wraps an arm around you, screaming your name as he blasts his load into you.

You both stay there for a moment, coming down from your highs, trying to catch your breaths. These are the moments you enjoy the most, even though you’ll never admit it to anyone. Not even yourself. It’s when he holds you close and rests his head on yours. It’s the quiet of the room when he rests his head inside the crook of your neck. They were intimate, personal; and just for a moment, you can pretend you’re not a homewrecker.

“Let me stay over tonight,” he sighs after a beat, breaking you out of your thoughts.

“Don’t start that,” you sigh, tapping his hand as a signal for him to let go of you.

“Why? You always do this and we both know-”

“Andy, you have a wife and son waiting for you. This is wrong,” you interrupt, waiving your hand as a gesture to his office as he pulls out of you.

“You know that with Laurie-”

“It doesn’t matter what you say,” you quickly snap as you look for your skirt, “she’s still your wife, this is still wrong, and I’m still a whore. We shouldn’t be doing this.”

“Don’t. This isn’t the same as it is with all the other girls.”

“Oh gee, thanks so much! I’m your special whore!” you smile sarcastically, finally rounding the desk when you spot your panties and skirt in a disheveled pile on the floor.

“Y/N, I haven’t been fucking anyone else besides you since we decided to keep this up.”

“Lovely, I’m your only whore.”

“Y/N-”

“It doesn’t matter, Andy. This is the last time we’re doing this,” you sigh, buttoning your shirt as you step into your heels.

“I’ve heard that before,” Andy scoffs, buttoning up his own shirt.

“I mean it,” you quip back, “I have a date tomorrow night and I’m not about to ruin things by continuing to play this fucking game with you.”

“What the fuck? A date with who?! Neal? The guy you told me you weren’t dating?” Andy demands after he finishes buckling his pants.

“At the time, I wasn’t! It’s none of your business anyway.”

“The fuck it isn’t!”

“You’re a married man! I’m allowed to date and not wallow in all of the misery of...this,” you say, motioning at the space between the two of you.

“You’re mine,” he warns defiantly as he his eyes sharpen on you.

“I’m not anyone’s. Don’t start this shit again. Just accept it and let it go,” you mutter, grabbing your jacket and purse.

“Who is it?” Andy asks again, ignoring what you just said.

“Neal,” you mumble as Andy laughs.

“Of course it’s fucking Neal. You told me there was nothing there.”

“Andy-”

“You really want to become the office slut, don’t you?”

“I became the office slut when I started fucking you!” you yell, venom dripping down your words as you turn to leave.

“Oh no you don’t!” Andy quickly taunts as he wraps his arm around your waist and pulls you close to him. “If this is really it, I think we owe it to ourselves to go a few more rounds,” he whispers seductively into your ear.

“Don’t do this Andy,” you whimper as his hand softly starts to travel up your thigh. “Where does she think you are?”

“Who gives a fuck where she thinks I am?” he groans as he pushes the thin material covering what he truly desires to the side. “What I want is you and that’s exactly what I’m going to have,” he huffs before starting to fuck you with two fingers.

“Andy,” you murmur, hating how easy it is for him to pull you apart.

“There’s my good girl,” he praises, picking up his pace. “My good girl alone.”

***

You started working for your Aunt Lynne 3 years ago. You weren’t even supposed to stay this long, but life has a way of making you rearrange everything. Your mother had set you up with a job because she was afraid that your life as an artist was going nowhere. Your aunt gave you the job for the same reason you applied for it: you both just wanted your mother to shut up and drop it.

However, you found yourself taking a liking to it and found it interesting. Even though you didn’t always agree with what was happening, you can admit that you never found it boring.

Then came Andy.

“Hey Lynne,” Andy smiled, stepping into her office and taking a seat.

“Andy,” she smiled sweetly before closing her laptop and focusing her attention on him.

“I see you have new help?” he questioned, turning his attention towards you as you continue to type up a statement release on your laptop.

“Oh, I’m nobody,” you mumbled, not even looking up as your fingers continued to dance across the keyboard. “Just think of me as an overpaid fly on the wall.”

“This is my niece, Y/N,” your aunt laughs softly. “Y/N, this is Andy-”

“Oh, I’m well aware of who he is,” you smile, finally looking up to meet his gaze.

That was your first mistake. You should’ve never made eye contact with him. You should have continued to work like he wasn’t in the room. You shouldn’t have engaged in conversation with him. There were so many things that should have gone differently that day, but you didn’t expect to stay for so long. Your plan was to be there for a year but something kept pulling you stay. You told yourself that you stayed because you really found yourself interested in the field you were working in, but in the end you knew it was him.

It had always been him.

You saw the different women leaving his office. You heard them while in his office, as you were sure the whole building had, but if your aunt heard it or heard about it and didn’t do anything, what business of it was yours to say anything?

Nevertheless, you minded your own business and kept your head down, keeping your thoughts to yourself. You saw the wedding ring on his finger, saw the pictures of his wife and son on his desk when your aunt would have you drop things off in his office, and you were disgusted. How could he be so heartless and careless? You remembered from your own childhood how much a cheating husband can disrupt a good and loving home. No, you didn’t know the condition Andy’s marriage was in, but there was still no reason to cheat.

However, you hadn’t noticed that Andy had taken a liking to you.

You hadn’t noticed that he paid close attention to the witty banter between you and your aunt, the way you chewed on your pen when you were trying to come up with the perfect word for a statement that you were working on, the way you’d laugh with whoever while you were making small talk in the break room; Andy noticed it all.

It completely caught you off guard when he started making advances towards you. He was subtle enough when he asked you into his office to pick up some papers for your aunt, but once you made your way inside, he made his point very clear.

“Before you go, I just have a few quick questions,” he stated, making eyes at you. “Are you seeing anyone?”

“Excuse me?”

“I’m sorry, let me be more frank. Are you fucking anyone?”

“Mr. Barber, I-”

“Don’t get all professional on me now, Sweetheart.”

“Andy, I’m not about to become one of your work place play things,” you warned lowly, finally meeting his gaze.

“But playing is so much fun,” he smirked at you.

“I could tell my Aunt, ya know.”

“Then tell her,” Andy shrugged as he leaned back into his leather chair.

“Is there anything else you need from me, Mr. Barber?” you questioned with your arms folded across your chest.

“I feel like I’ve made it very clear what I need from you.”

“Good day, Mr. Barber,” you snapped before storming out of his office.

When you were honest with yourself, it wasn’t hard to believe that he had been so open. He was so used to getting any woman that of course he thought you’d be an easy fuck.

You had hoped that would be the end of it, but as with everything else you had hoped for in your life, it didn’t go your way.

“I can’t rush the case, Lynne. We’ve been down this road before,” Andy sighed as he ran a frustrated hand through his hair.

“I know...with Jacob...that was different and you know how sorry I am about that, but we can’t go much longer without something concrete.”

“We can say that we’re still investigating but we’re sure we’re close to finding the abuser and bringing them into custody,” Andy suggested.

“Weak,” you scoffed, typing away and not looking up.

“What was that?” he questioned, irritation very clear.

“I said that’s weak,” you responded louder and firmer, looking up to meet his gaze. “It’s weak and it makes you look like you’re panicking. If you look like you’re panicking, then it looks like my aunt is. You can’t go out there and say that.”

“Then what’s your solution?” your Aunt Lynne questioned, trying to break up some of the tension.

“Do your damn job and research. Investigate. You said before that you’re positive that this Joshua guy is behind all of these attacks, right?”

“Correct,” Andy nodded, small smirk coming his face, surprised how bold you were being.

“Then nail him to the cross and burn him alive. Given his past, a warrant isn’t out of order. He beat his first two wives, the first one almost to death, he was charged with sexual assault when he was in college, and he works at a store that’s extremely close to where the last two attacks happened. Make it stick.”

“How?”

“That’s your job, figure it out,” you shrugged before going back to typing.

“I’ll get the warrant,” he smirked towards Lynne, “but I want her as my assistant for this one.”

“What? No! I don’t work for you!” you exclaimed before your aunt even has a chance to respond.

“Well...we can switch assistants for just the time being,” your aunt encourages.

“Lynne-”

“It’s only until the case is over,” she interrupted, giving you a stern look.

What could you do? If she wasn’t going to defend or protect you, what was the use in putting up a fight? “Fine,” you sulk, sinking deep into your chair.

Andy gave you the notes his assistant has been taking and you gave his assistant the tasks you had been working on for your aunt, and that was that.

You belonged to Andy until the case was over.

You told him the door had to remain open at all times.

“You really don’t trust me, huh?” he smirked, passing you a filing folder full of documents pertaining to the case.

“Can you blame me?” you questioned, taking a seat across from him, opening the folder and going over the documents that had already been marked up with red ink.

“I guess I can’t, but I want you on this case with me because you’re determined. I need someone focused and dedicated to this. You don’t want your aunt to be made a fool of, so I know you’ll focus on getting this right and getting it over with. However, if you wanna have a release during breaks...” he trailed off with a sinister smile on his face.

“Once we’re done with this case, Mr. Barber, things will go back to the way they were,” you say deliberately .

“Whatever you say, Sweetheart,” he smirked before logging into his computer.

From that moment on, Andy kept it professional. He didn’t have his fuck sessions in the office, he didn’t make too many advances towards you, and when he asked you to stay late it was truly just to work on the case.

That’s when you learned how attracted you were to him.

Obviously the man was gorgeous, that wasn’t lost on anyone. His perfectly shaved beard, broad shoulders and defined muscles, and you couldn’t help but imagine that underneath his shirt was a body sculpted by Michelangelo himself. In fact, on more than one occasion, the thought of Andy sweaty and on top of you made its way into your late night sinful activities.

Just because you were repulsed by the man didn’t mean that you were blind to his good looks.

But his looks only got him so far. What really turned you on about him was how dedicated and hard working he was to his job. Getting angry with himself over simple mistakes, how he went over every little detail of the evidence he had and compared it to new leads, how he would unbutton the first button on his shirt and take off his tie when you two were working late and he was getting deeper and deeper into concentrating, how he would furrow his eyebrows when was getting deeper and deeper into focusing...the best way to put it? Andy Barber was slowly getting a hold on you.

“You’re staring,” he smirked one night, eyes not leaving his computer screen.

“I have a question but you look pretty focused so I was debating whether or not to ask it,” you quickly lied.

“What’s up?”

“Are we eating at some point?”

“Shit, I didn’t realize it was so late!” Andy huffed, pulling out his phone and a takeout menu from his desk drawer. “Pick whatever you want and I’ll call in the order when I get back,” he sighed handing you the menu on his way out, closing the door behind him.

The door hadn’t closed all the way and you couldn’t stop yourself from listening. Your mind was riddled with what he would tell his wife, but she wasn’t who he had called.

“Hey bud...I know I messed up, I just realized the time....yeah, I’m still trying to get all the information together so we can bring this guy in...I know and I’m so sorry.... I promise I’ll make it up to you this weekend... We can go to the record store or something, sound good? Yeah, I’ll let you pick the music for the drive,” he laughed “how are things at home?...she does love you, stop it...she’s just trying to process...I know it’s been two years...your mother does love you Jacob, she’s just angry with me....it’ll get better, I promise...you know you’ll always have me, Jacob...it’s gonna be okay, I gotta get back to work though, okay? I love you and I’ll try not to wake you when I get home...okay, then I will wake you when I get home,” he chuckled softly. “Goodnight bud and finish your homework,” he told his son with a soft laugh before hanging up.

The second call was nowhere near as sweet or gentle.

“What the fuck Laurie?!...I don’t give a shit...I will speak to you like this when I talk to my son and he tells me he thinks his mother doesn’t love him! Listen, I don’t care if you hate me forever, I can handle it because you stopped loving me a long time ago, but he’s our son! You don’t wanna divorce? Fine, but don’t use him as an excuse to trap me to you then treat him like shit!... Laurie, you look at him like he’s a total stranger...he didn’t kill that boy and you know it!...Yes you do! You hang it over his head and he wears it like a fucking cross to bear! I’m not fucking arguing about this with you anymore, get your shit together or things are gonna change in a way you won’t like,” he warned ominously before hanging up.

He took a deep breath and waited a minute before coming back into the office and realizing the door hadn’t been closed.

“You heard that, didn’t you?” he questioned, not even bothering to look at you as he grabbed the menu and make his way back to his desk.

“It’s not any of my business,” you mumbled, going back to the pile of notes and police reports in your lap.

“So you did hear it.”

“Andy I-”

“No, it’s fine. There’s no need...it’s worst kept secret around here anyway,” he chuckled softly, circling something on the menu, “did you decide what you want?”

“Steamed dumplings and chicken low mein.”

“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me,” he laughed softly before dialing the number and placing the order.

The silence after that was driving you insane so you decided to break the ice.

“I know Jacob is a junior now, so this might be lame, but there is a father/son baseball game this weekend to close out the season...if he’s into baseball...it could be fun,” you suggested softly.

“Jacob is into girls, video games, comedies, and music. I’ve tried getting him into sports, but I’m on my own in that department. If he’s bored enough, I can talk him into watching basketball with me,” he laughed softly.

“Has he decided on college?”

“He was gonna go to Boston University but now...now he just wants to be as far away from home as possible, and I don’t blame him. He’s been thinking about NYU or Stanford. He was talking about Oxford for a while, but Laurie flew into a rage about how it’s too far, so he quickly let go of the idea,” Andy sighed.

“NYU, Oxford...he sounds like a fucking genius.”

“Eh,” he chuckled “when everything was going on with the case, he didn’t have much to do besides study and take private classes...he’s been getting into extracurricular activities but he feels out of place. Him and Sarah broke up again so he hasn’t been all that focused on his work. He still has a fair shot though,” Andy smiled to himself, thoughtfully.

“What do you want for him?”

“I just want him to be happy. That’s all I’ve ever wanted for him. If he needs to go to Oxford for that, then I’ll happily pay that bill for the rest of my life. I’m not upset that he wants to get the fuck out of this place, I want to get the fuck out of this place.”

“Why don’t you?”

“It’s not as simple...Laurie. She won’t agree to a divorce and after all Jacob went through with the trial, I wasn’t about to drag him through another long and drawn out battle. She loves the title and draw of my name. Andy Barber: DA, worked his ass off to clear his own son of a murder charge, and one of the best lawyers in Massachusetts. My name still has some pull around here and that’s why she stays. She doesn’t love me and barely looks at Jacob...this isn’t what we’re here for though,” he awkwardly laughed before clearing his throat.

“Families are tricky,” you started “I...with my aunt and my mother...you put up with a lot of shit when you truly love someone. With my mom and dad...Lynne advised her to leave him so many times, but my mom stayed because she felt I needed the both of them. I mean...I guess I did, but I didn’t need them together. If I could’ve had some part of my childhood that wasn’t chaotic...I would have gone through the long and drawn out battle.”

“You were never tried for murder.”

“True, but I did run away from home and I got myself into situations I shouldn’t have,” you sighed, kicking off your shoes.

“What’s so wrong with your family?” Andy scoffed, eyes drifting back to his computer.

“My dad cheated on my mom...a lot. There was a bit of abuse here and there, mainly directed towards me. That’s when my mom finally left him.”

“And that’s why you hate me?”

“I don’t...I don’t hate you, Andy,” you sighed “I just don’t think there’s ever a good reason for cheating. I don’t care how fucked up the situation is. In the end, they got the divorce and I see my dad from time to time, but the damage is there. She changed after all of it which is how I wound up here in the first place.”

“Well...what do you want?” he asked, finally looking up and meeting your gaze.

“I just want her to be happy...and proud of me,” you stated simply.

That night, you two bonded over family traumas and shitty relationships. You went back and forth between the case and personal stories. It was almost like you two were slowly becoming friends.

Almost.

“I can give you a ride home,” Andy offered as you two finally left his office.

“I’m fine. I can order a service-”

“It’s late and I’d feel better if I just dropped you off at your place myself.”

“I bet you would,” you smirked as you both made your way outside.

“My own selfish desires aside,” he smirked “I don’t want you riding with random men this late at night.”

“You don’t count yourself as a random man?”

“I’m a random man you know,” he scoffed. “C’mon, I’ll take you home and I’ll keep my hands to myself...for now,” he smirked before leading you to his car.

The drive was nice enough. You both had similar tastes in music, so it wasn’t hard to find something to fill the silence.

Then your phone rang.

“Hey ma,” you sighed as Andy pulled up to your apartment.

“Did you finish that painting for your Aunt?”

“I’ll finish it tonight,” you mumbled, leaning into the passenger seat of Andy’s Audi.

“You can’t have your toes half in and half out. You need to pick a career and stick to it,” she snapped.

“I picked a career. You don’t believe in me and sent me away to work for Aunt Lynne. Don’t act like I’m the one who made everything hectic.”

“You want to be a painter, Y/N! Do you understand that-”

“Just because dad failed as an artist and turned into an asshole doesn’t mean I will too.”

“I just don’t want-”

“I know, Ma...I know. Listen, I’m tired and I’ll talk to you later. I love you...goodnight,” you sniffed before ending the call.

You took a deep breath and wiped away the few tears that had managed to well in the corners of your eyes.

“Thank you for-”

“Y/N, if you need to talk...”

“I’m fine. I really am. My mother stopped believing in me when I dropped out of college my first semester,” you humorlessly laughed, “this is just a regular day for us. I believe in me and she doesn’t because of my father. Don’t worry.”

“Y/N-”

“Tonight was nice. It was nice getting to know you a little bit...I guess I’ll see you tomorrow,” you smiled, misty eyed, before getting out and making your way up the stairs to your apartment complex and going inside.

When you got inside, you quickly changed into your night clothes and put your hair up before starting on the final touches to the painting you were doing for your aunt. Painting really was your favorite way to unwind.

You were almost done when you felt your phone buzz.

AB: I know you said you don’t wanna talk about it, but if you change your mind, you don’t have to be alone.

Knowing Andy that could’ve meant a million things. You were thoughtful before you responded.

Y/N: I appreciate it, Andy. I really am okay. It’s nothing I haven’t dealt with before.

AB: Well, my door is always open whenever you want...for whatever you want.

After that, you did your best to keep as much distance from Andy as possible. He did make it a point to get as close to you as possible when pointing out new evidence and flaws as often as possible, and you really did your best to resist the urge to tackle him right then and there, but he also confided in you.

Because long nights meant texts and phone calls from Jacob asking when Andy would be home, and Andy feeling like a terrible father. They included him getting into multiple arguments with Laurie about multiple things; mainly the way she treated Jacob. Long nights also meant texts from your mother about how she wished you wouldn’t stay so late because she missed the “end of the day” phone calls you two would have. She hadn’t made much of an effort to start dating again after her and your father started dating again, and she made you her confidant. While it did make the strain on your relationship with her even harder, it was nice to have an escape for a while.

All of this led to deeper and more important conversations than you two ever meant to have, and sometimes a glass or two of the bourbon Andy kept in his lower desk drawer. However, you two were lonely and somewhat broken people that found solace in each other. There was no way for either of you to stop it. Tethered souls can only avoid each other for so long.

You did your best to keep your cool. All of it would be over soon enough and you would go back to life as you knew it before.

Then you made a break in the case.

“If you really think about it, Roe vs. Wade-”

“Wait...shut up,” you started as you both made your way down the steps.

“Excuse me?”

“Hush!” you snapped, trying to get all of your thoughts together. “During Joshua’s last interrogation he said that he was home by 8 that night, right?”

“Yeah, he lives 20 minutes from his job.”

“Didn’t his shift end at 7 that night?” you asked, finally looking up to meet Andy’s gaze.

“Mother fucker!” Andy yelled before heading back up the steps and pulling out his phone to call your aunt as you raced back up the steps into the building you had both just left in ball of frustration.

You both pulled up videos and files from both of his interrogations and his work schedule from that week and putting everything together. You both grunted in frustration at how it took so long to discover one small detail that would’ve had you both closer to the end of the investigation weeks ago, but neither of you could hide the pride you both felt at finally being able to bring in the man you both knew in their heart of hearts was responsible.

Your aunt brought in Joshua early the next day, and called for a press conference later that day. She wanted you to be there since Andy made sure to let her know that you were the one who connected the dots, but you told them both that you were more than happy to stay out of it. This job was only something to do keep your mother happy.

While the press conference went on, you had lunch at a local bar and indulged in a beer, while happily listening to press conference from the TV at the bar.

“I’m just happy that we were able to bring him in before he could any more harm to anyone else. The trial is set for Thursday, so we’ll be hard at work on collecting as much evidence as possible to keep him locked away for a while. Thank you,” Andy smiled with a small nod before turning to go back inside.

“Mr. Barber!” a reported yelled desperately “just one more question!”

“Sure,” he responded, turning around and looking for the reporter who had requested his attention.

“A lot papers reported that after everything that had happened with your son, you wouldn’t have the stomach for this job anymore. This has been your biggest case since everything happened, and you seem more at ease now then do you did before. How are you able to resume everything as if nothing ever happened?”

Andy was thoughtful before he spoke “I had help, simple as that. Getting back into this...it wasn’t easy and I had reservations about this case. It’s easy to rush to judgment when it looks like the evidence is there, but after going through everything I did with Jacob, I knew that I had to be sure I was bringing the right person in. It’s easy to miss things and overlook what you think or smaller details, but my assistant on this case has been very vigilant. She went over every line, every detail, every video footage...she was very thorough. We wouldn’t have made this break in the case without her. She’s asked to be kept anonymous so I will respect her wishes, but this is largely due to her patience and attention to everything instead of one thing. We wouldn’t be at this point in the case today without her,” he smiled softly. “Thank you, we’ve got a lot work to do now,” he smiled before he and your aunt rushed back into the building.

His words had you feeling...special. You knew how he liked to butter up women and you hadn’t forgotten the few words he’d spoken to the women that worked in the building, but something about that felt...different.

It felt real.

“Thanks for what you said,” you smiled, standing in the doorway to his office when you got back from lunch. “It was nice.”

“I meant every word, ya know.”

“I know you did...I could tell.”

“Come out to dinner with me tonight,” he stated simply.

“Dammit Andy!” you groaned, softly stomping your foot “every time I-”

“I can’t thank you enough!” your aunt beamed, coming up behind you, wrapping her arm around you, and squeezing you tightly. “Are you coming tonight?”

“Coming to what?” you laughed softly, wrapping your arms around her.

“We’re going to that bar you told me about a few months ago!”

“Who is ‘we’?”

“The whole department. We’re going out to celebrate the break in the case we couldn’t have made without you!”

“Aunt Lynne-”

“Come on! Even Andy is coming!” she smiled towards Andy who just nodded in response.

Between the looks on both hers and Andy’s faces, how were you supposed to say no?

That was the night that every thing changed.

“Why did you tell my mother?” you groaned as your phone rang for the millionth time.

Everyone had been out for a few hours and it was safe to say that you were all a little buzzed. Well, you were very buzzed. Your aunt was damn near wasted, along with Duffy, Neal and a few others.

“She’s happy for you!” Lynne damn near squealed. “It’s a big deal!”

“She’s gonna be up my ass even more now,” you sighed as your phone went off again.

“You know she’s never gonna stop,” your aunt laughed before finishing the rest of her drink “just get it over with and answer it.” With that, she was off to the bar for another drink that she really didn’t need.

You knew that she was making a good point so you took a deep breath and made your way outside.

“Hello?”

“Why are you avoiding me?!” your mom yelled, causing you to pull the phone away from your ear slightly.

“I’m not,” you lied, rubbing your temples with your free hand “the entire department is out to celebrate, it’s been a busy day.”

“And that’s all thanks to you! I’m so proud of you!” she beamed and you could tell she was smiling from ear to ear.

“Thanks mom,” you smiled softly, feeling a sense of pride in finally doing something right.

“You know, I’m sure if you talked to Lynne-”

“Please don’t start,” you scowled, hating being brought back to reality so fast “we were having a nice moment and I’m actually in a good mood.”

“Then don’t sour it by being stubborn!”

“Alright, I’m gonna go-”

“You’re not getting any younger, Y/N!” your mother snapped, cutting you off. “You need to start thinking like an adult before you ruin your life!”

“Well, this has been pleasant. Talk to ya later, love ya, bye,” you muttered before hanging up.

You were about to throw your phone, but you thought better of it at the last moment and decided to kick the stone building that was the bar everyone else was currently having fun inside of.

Leave it up to your mother to ruin a perfectly good day.

“That sounded like it was fun,” a deep voice taunted, causing you to jump.

“It’s not nice to listen in on people’s phone calls,” you snapped, turning your attention to Andy.

“I wasn’t. You came out just as I was finishing up my conversation with Jacob. It seemed rude to just walk by while you were being berated by who I’m assuming was your mother, so I just waited.”

“And they say chivalry is dead,” you mocked, rolling your eyes.

“You wanna talk about it?”

“No, not really. Just me being a failure again.”

“Well...you wanna get out of here and blow off some steam?” he smirked.

“I’m not leaving my drunk ass Aunt, your boss, here alone,” you scoffed.

“Well, my car is a block over. Wanna blow off some steam in there?”

You should have said no. You wanted to say no. But you couldn’t.

When you didn’t say anything, Andy let a cocky smile play on his lips before turning and leading the way to his Audi.

You knew it was wrong and that you’d hate yourself for it after, but you needed the release. It had been so long and it’s not like Andy was going to give up.

‘One time won’t hurt,’ you told yourself as you started to follow him.

Your feet felt as if they were being weighed down by cement bricks and your brain was screaming at you to turn around and go back to the bar. Every logical part of you was telling you to run, but you were done with being logical for the day.

Plus, you really wanted to find out if Andy was just as good a fuck as he was a lawyer.

That’s what you told yourself, but the tug on your heartstrings let you know it was more. Andy could never and would never be yours, so what was the harm in indulging for one night? What was the problem with pretending for a while? He’d go back to his life when it was all over and so would you.

By the time you two reached his car, your heart, head, and pussy were all at war with each other. However, when he opened the door to the backseat, you knew there was no turning back. You got in first, sliding over to the passenger, before got in behind you and closed the door behind him. The whole thing felt so high school, and if you hadn’t been so aware of the sin you were about to commit, you probably would have laughed.

“Before we-” was all you got out before Andy’s lips were on yours.

You wanted to tell him that it was a one time thing. That there were rules he needed to follow. You wanted him to know that it didn’t mean anything, but he never gave you a chance to get out things you needed to say and the the things he didn’t want to hear.

“Andy,” you moaned softly, too lost in the kisses he was burning gently down your neck, as his hands found their way under your skirt.

“Never knew my name could sound so sweet,” he groaned into your neck, as one hand gripped your panties and ripped them off.

In one swift move, you were on your back and Andy was on top you, your legs holding him in place. He quickly started undoing your shirt, as you untucked his and started undoing his belt buckle.

“Thought about nothing but having you under me like this for so long” he practically whispered, looking down at the sight of you desperate and needy beneath him.

His confession had you whining for him before pulling him close and crashing your lips into his again.

The only way your heart would escape unscathed was if you didn’t listen to what he had to say. What you knew he had been desperate to say. He started to trail kisses down your body again, this time kissing between your breasts, down your stomach, and in-between your legs after he hiked your skirt up.

“Andy!” you cried out, feeling his tongue torment your clit as he sucked on it.

The whole scenario may have felt like your junior and senior year in high school, but Andy wasn’t eating you out like either of the boyfriends you’d had in high school. In fact, you’re pretty sure that no one had ever come close.

“Pl...please!” you whimpered, clenching your eyes shut, tugging on his hair and pulling him impossibly closer to the part that demanded his attention the most. Andy removed one of his hands from around one of your thighs and before your brain could put two and two together, you felt two fingers push their way inside. “Fuck!” you screamed out, arching your back a little.

When you felt him smirk against your clit, you pulled his hair even tighter, but all that did was gain you a grunt of approval. It’s not like you could bring yourself to be ashamed or even care. He was making you feel everything and you didn’t want him to stop. You would never want him to stop.

“Fuck! I’m so...I’m so...fuck!” you moaned, grinding your pussy against his face. Andy gripped your thigh tightly and you could tell he wanted you to give him everything. “Shit!” you yelled, cumming hard on his tongue while he continued to fuck into you with his fingers.

He took his time cleaning you up, savoring the taste of you, before sitting up, pushing his pants and boxers down, and sitting down. The sight of him had you biting your lower lip in anticipation.

“Be a good girl and sit on Daddy’s lap,” he commanded breathlessly while stoking himself and watching you like a hunter watches its prey.

You hated the term ‘daddy’. In fact, on more than one occasion, you turned off whatever porn you were watching when the word was brought up. However, when Andy used it, you found yourself ready and willing to do anything he wanted. At that point, Andy could’ve told you to rob a bank and you would’ve asked which one.

You wasted no time pushing yourself up and straddling him. You dipped down to kiss him and his hands smoothed over your ass before gripping it tight.

“Such a pretty little whore,” he moaned, smacking your ass. That had you salivating and slowly sinking yourself down on him. You both moaned at the feel of him stretching you. “A pretty and good little whore, fuck!” he hissed, once he was completely inside of you.

“You feel so good,” you moaned, slowly grinding your hips against his as his grip on your waist tightened.

“This pussy is so much better than anything I imagined, and believe me Sweetheart, I’ve imagined a lot,” he huffed, looking up to meet your gaze.

“Fuck,” you hissed, placing your hands on each side of his shoulders and picking up your pace. “Wanted this...wanted this for so long,” you confessed.

“I know baby, take whatever you need from me. I’m yours to use however you want!”

“I’m so close!” you whimpered, your clit rubbing against his pelvis, causing your grip on his shoulders to tighten.

“Cum for me, baby. Cum hard for Daddy!” he huffed, his own breathing starting to become uneven.

“Yes!” you screamed, your release hitting hard as you threw your head back in pure pleasure.

You felt one of Andy’s arms wrap around your waist tight and you knew you were in for a ride. He didn’t even give you a chance to recover before he started violently upthrusting into you.

“You look so fucking perfect when you come apart for me, did you know that?” he questioned, his gaze on your face as you tried to come back down from your high as you did your best to fight off another. “I could watch you night after night. You’d love that, wouldn’t you?”

“Yes!” you whimpered, tears brimming your eyes from all of the pleasure running through you.

The women you heard screaming his name in his office hadn’t been exaggerating at all. Andy Barber was a roller coaster ride that you didn’t want to get off of any time soon.

“Fuck, I knew you’d be an amazing fuck, but I had no idea you’d be this amazing!” he grunted, his thrusts becoming more and more erratic.

“Want to feel you,” you moaned, clawing at him “want you to feel you deep inside me, Andy. Please! Give it to me!”

You sounded pathetic to your own ears, but you couldn’t stop it.

“Shit!”

“Andy!” you screamed, your orgasm powerfully washing over you.

“Holy shit!” Andy exclaimed, his hot seed forcefully filling you.

You both rode out your orgasms you (you mainly following Andy’s lead), before you leaned your forehead against Andy’s and the only sound filling his car were the labored breaths between the two of you. There was no way his car didn’t reek of sex. If Laurie got in it the next day, she’d have no doubt about what had taken place the previous night.

Laurie.

That’s when the reality of what you two had just done hit you like a ton of bricks and all of the guilt and shame you forced out of your mind, washed over you like a wave in a hurricane.

Andy could instantly sense the change in you and opened his mouth to say something, but the look on your face had him closing his mouth instantly.

You both got dressed in silence, the only sound leaving either of you was when you got off of him, you both groaning in frustration. When you went to grab the scraps of what was left your panties, Andy quickly grabbed them without even looking your way and stuffed them into his pockets, and you knew that you’d never see that flimsy material again.

You stayed two steps in front of him as you both made your way back to the bar. You wanted your steps to help you pretend, to help you lie to yourself. You were pretending every step forward helped you forget because it wasn’t eating you up inside, even though you still felt your insides being eaten and consumed by guilt. You moved while pretending you weren’t at war with yourself over the sin you had just acted upon. You pretend because anger only knows war, and you would rather lie to yourself for peace.

That weekend you ignored every text and phone call from Andy. You knew you were hurting him because you were hurting yourself. You gave into your thoughts at night however, when you were alone in your apartment and the memories of what happened played on repeat inside your mind. You’d quietly moan Andy’s name, vibrator as deep inside of you as it would go as you tried to recreate that night in the backseat of his car.

The only problem? Andy wasn’t there. He wasn’t there to tell you what you wanted to hear. He wasn’t there to tell you what you needed to hear. He wasn’t there for you to cuddle or rest against. No matter how many times you got off to the thought of what took place, he was still missing. Granted, he wasn’t there because you wouldn’t respond, but he also wasn’t there because he wasn’t yours.

You went straight to your Aunt’s office when you got to work that Monday. You stayed until Andy sought you out.

“Get lost on your way to my office?” Andy smirked, leaning against door frame.

“I was thinking that I could go back to assisting my aunt since we arrested the guy.”

“There’s still the trial and we agreed on you helping me until everything was over.”

“I really don’t think I’ll be much help with gathering evidence for the case,” you mumbled, refusing to meet his gaze.

“I know you’ll be a great help,” he smirked. You were disgusted with yourself at the double meaning.

“Y/N, that was the deal and besides, you two work so well together,” your Aunt smiled.

‘Too well,’ you thought to yourself.

“Oh, we’re going back to normal now?” Andy’s assistant, Michelle, beamed when she got to Lynne’s office and saw you sitting at what usually is your desk.

“No no, she was just having a quick chat with her Aunt,” Andy smiled, which made Michelle frown slightly.

‘Is there anyone in this place that he hasn’t fucked?’ you thought to yourself, watching the poor girl’s demeanor change.

“We should get going, lots of work to do,” he said to you, motioning for you two to leave.

You shot your aunt a look and she just shrugged as if there was nothing she could do about it.

She was his fucking boss, she could do whatever she wanted.

You rolled your eyes but got up nonetheless, giving Michelle a sympathetic smile, before following Andy to his office. Andy let you walk in first before following and closing the door behind him.

“Door open,” you snapped quickly, spinning on your heels.

“Then everyone will see,” he quipped, arms folded across his chest.

“There’s nothing to see because nothing happened.”

The flicker of hurt you saw in his eyes was quickly replaced by irritation. “Is that what you’ve been telling yourself all weekend?”

“Don’t. Nothing happened on Friday.”

“You forgot that fast? I thought I was a better fuck than that, but I’m more than happy to remind you,” he chuckled.

“Stop Andy. It didn’t happen and it’s going to continue to not happen. It’s wrong and it’s gross. Just stop,” you demanded, tone firm but your insides screaming. Screaming for you to run, screaming for you to kiss him, and screaming for you to get yourself out of the situation all together.

Andy was thoughtful before he spoke. “You wanna play the long game, baby? I have no problem waiting,” he smirked, opening his door before walking to his desk.

Andy wasn’t subtle about the fact that he wasn’t happy with you. He went back to fucking other women in his office while you were on lunch. He always found a way to make suggestive comments towards you. He purposely kept you late, and he made it a point to flirt with you in front of other guys so they’d know he was working on making you his.

It should’ve been easy to hate him. You wanted it to be easy to hate and be disgusted with him, but he had to go and make that impossible, too. Whenever you stayed late with him, you heard his phone calls with Jacob, his arguments with Laurie, and he opened up to you even more. Andy let you see a side of him that you were fairly sure he didn’t let anyone else see. In those moments, it felt genuine and you wanted to be there for him; you wanted to make all of his pain stop.

The fact that you couldn’t make heads or tails of Andy is what made the whole situation all that more frustrating. You couldn’t wait for Thursday, so trial would start and you would be that much closer to being done with him.

You showed up early Thursday morning and sat on the floor, going over all of the things you and Andy put together.

“You can sit on the couch ya know,” Andy smirked as he made his way inside his office.

“No thanks, I hear what happens, on that sofa and I’d much rather sit on the floor.”

“It could be you.”

“Fuck off,” you snapped, scribbling out a question he had written in red pen, writing a different question instead. “Why are you even here? It’s early as hell.”

“Whenever I have to go into a courtroom I come here early to think and prep myself. I clear my mind so I can focus on what I need to do.”

“I can leave if you-”

“No, this is nice. It’s not like I could ever ask Laurie to when things were different, and there’s no one that I’m...this is nice. Being here with you like this...this is nice,” he stated softly.

You both sat in silence with Andy’s gaze drifting to you every so often, before he decided it was time to head to the courthouse. You insisted on taking yourself since your car was finally out of the shop, but Andy made a good point that it was pointless since you both were headed to the courtroom then back to work. The car ride was silent, not even music playing, but it was comfortable. You knew the day was going to be stressful for the both of you and it was nice that you both had that time to yourselves.

When you got to the courthouse, you poured both yourself and Andy a glass of water while he got his papers in order. You didn’t miss his little chuckle at the question you put in place of his.

“ ‘Not enough bodies to work on at the gym?’ You think you’re so clever, don’t you?”

“He won’t be expecting it and it’ll throw him off,” you smirked, sitting back and placing a few pens on the table.

“Always one step ahead,” he smiled as the doors open and people started to file in.

From the moment the trial started, Andy was on a roll. He didn’t miss a beat with his opening statement and his questions were hard hitting. After the first hour, you were almost certain that the trial wouldn’t go into the next week. He was relentless and the way he was attacking the defense had you clenching your thighs together. By the time the judge said it was time for lunch, you were desperate for him.

You were ready to attack him by lunch time.

“His lawyer is already second guessing himself; he’s stumbling over himself, so we just need to keep up the same line of questioning. Both of them are unprepared,” Andy scoffed, turning down a street that was a block away from where the first sin took place.

“Don’t go easy on the co-worker, she may be timid, but there’s definitely more there,” you mumbled, looking out the window and trying to ignore all of your desperate and needy thoughts.

“You think there’s something there? I don’t peg her as the type-”

“Turn down this street,” you interrupted before you could stop yourself.

“What?”

“Turn down this street,” you repeated, palming him over his pants.

Andy caught on in an instant.

“Gonna need you to do more than that, Sweetheart,” he growled, knowing exactly where to go.

You wasted no time unbuckling his belt and undoing his pants, freeing and stroking him, before finally getting your mouth on him.

“Holy fuck!” Andy hissed, gripping your hair tight so he could guide your head to where he needed you most. He pulled into the parking lot you two fucked in less than a week ago. “Fuck, you’re amazing!” he moaned, pushing and pulling your head up and down.

You couldn’t bring yourself to care about your own self anger. All you cared about was pleasing him and bringing him off. Wanting to please him had become your new obsession in less than a week. You weren’t even ashamed.

He pulled you off of him almost instantly when he reached the back of your throat and you gagged on him. When you met his gaze, his eyes told you that he wasn’t fucking around. His ragged breathing and lust filled eyes let you know that he was as desperate as you were.

“Fuck me, now,” he commanded in a breathy and low moan.

You were straddling and sinking yourself down on him in no time at all.

“You’re all I’ve been thinking about since last Friday night,” Andy moaned as you ground your hips against his.

“Then why were you fucking everyone else?” you questioned, your pace quickening as his grip on you tightened, chasing the release only he could give you.

“Needed...fuck! Needed to make you want me,” he confessed, his upthrusts becoming erratic.

“I always want you, Andy...always,” you whimpered as you felt the knot in your stomach tightening. “So close,”

“You know what I need from you sweet girl,” he grunted while he thrusts, coming harder and harder.

“Fuck!” you screamed as you came undone all over him.

Andy followed soon after, yelling your name along with a million other obscenities. You both sat there, you leaning against him as he wrapped his arms tightly around your waist, trying to catch your breaths.

It was amazing how you could feel so terrible and so good at the same time.

“We need to get back,” you breathed after a moment, remembering that you both had jobs to do.

The drive back was a mix of silence, sexual tension, and desperate longing. You saw Andy move to grab your hand out of the corner of your eye, but, thinking better of it, he retreated and rested his hand on the console. You tried to make sense of all of it in your head, but kept ending up stuck.

It was wrong and you knew it. All of it was so wrong, but you couldn’t stop. You didn’t want to. Andy was fun (when he wanted to be) and made you feel things no one else ever had. You two could debate about laws and politics, laugh about the most stupid and random things, focus on silence on whatever you two were doing, and turn each other on with a simple glance.

That night, you two fucked for hours in his office, you both demanding control time after time, but Andy winning in the end. That’s when you told yourself that you would only keep it going during the trial. When all was said and done, you’d walk away from him and he’d go back to living his unhappy fairy tale.

The problem? You two didn’t stop after that.

When Andy won the trial, you both celebrated in the backseat of your car, drunk out of your minds, and your only thoughts were of satisfying each other. After all was said and done, you both agreed to stop.

However, that Monday night, Andy showed up at your Aunt Lynne’s office while you were working hard- and you didn’t deny him. You didn’t deny him the following night when you made an excuse to stay late, and you sure as shit didn’t deny him when you found him waiting for you by your car the next night.

Andy belonged to you just as much as you belonged to him.

So, you came up with rules to follow to make sure that it didn’t go past anything besides indecent fucking. The rules were easy enough to follow when Andy needed a mid-day release, but all of the lines became blurred during the late night sessions.

You’d always stay after and help him. Whether it was by helping him look through files of evidence or offering him a form of release. If Andy stayed late, you stayed late. The fact that you two didn’t get caught was a mystery to the both of you.

“I should get going,” you sighed one night, laying against Andy on his office sofa, “we both should.”

“Let me stay over tonight,” Andy said simply, finishing up what he was typing on his laptop while you rolled your eyes.

He brought up sleeping over at least once a week. “Don’t start-”

“Y/N, why not? We’re already sleeping together and there’s obviously something going on between us-”

“It’s just sex, Andy,” you quickly interrupted while pulling the blanket off of you.

“Is that what you tell yourself? With all your rules in place?” Andy smirked, cockiness in his eyes when he finally met your gaze.

“Can’t you just be happy that you got me on your office floor like every other woman in here?”

“No, cause you’re not every other woman in here,” he shrugged, following your lead and getting dressed.

“Don’t. We both agreed-”

“Things change Y/N.”

“Andy, this stays what it is or we have to stop. I’m not having this argument again.”

“Fine,” he huffed like a petulant child.

After that, he became even more demanding of your time and attention. It wasn’t enough for him to have you after hours and his temper was getting worse. Then Laurie stormed into the office day.

There wasn’t anyone in the building who didn’t hear that.

“What the fuck are these Andy?!” Laurie roared, storming into his office, slamming the door shut behind her.

“Don’t be surprised! I told you months ago that if you didn’t get your shit together-”

“We have an agreement! You fuck all your little whores and-”

“And what? Fucking say it! I wanna hear you admit it, Laurie!”

“Admit what?! You lied to me, Andy! Multiple times-”

“Because you couldn’t handle the truth! I told you the truth and what did you do, Laurie?! What?!”

“I told you I was sorry! That I didn’t mean it, I was just upset!”

“You shot first Laurie, not me! You have everyone painting me as the bad guy like I didn’t fucking try! You don’t love me anymore and I can deal with that! I’ve been dealing with it since that day, but I told you that when it comes to Jacob-”

“I’m not signing these fucking papers, Andy! This is bullshit!”

“You really wanna do this? You want to get into a legal battle with me?”

“Is that a fucking threat?”

“You tell me!” Andy snarled.

With that Laurie was swinging the door open just as forcefully as she shut it and storming out of the building. Ten minutes later, you received a text from Andy telling you to meet him in the parking garage.

“Andy,” you moaned as he continued to relentlessly fuck into you against the wall “someone could see!”

“Then let them. I don’t give a fuck, I just need to feel you,” he grunted, his grip on you tightening as your legs tightened around his waist “I always need you.”

After that day, Andy seemed to care very little about being caught. You weren’t sure if it was because he wanted to hurt Laurie or if he had truly just stopped giving a fuck about anything, but he didn’t do much to try and keep it secret. Parking lots, in the theater during empty matinee showings, public bathrooms, and in the parking lot of the park on weekends.

However, you also started thinking that he was doing it to hurt you. You were denying him what he wanted, and it was starting to feel as if he was reminding you that you could just be another object to him. Of course, it’s not like you ever stopped him. You could’ve stopped at any time but you always said yes. You always took whatever he had to offer, because you couldn’t stop.

You would never be Andy’s because too much had happened and you just couldn’t afford to be hurt again, but at least you could have him physically. That was better than nothing, wasn’t it?

At least, that’s what you told yourself.

You ignored the parts of you that were screaming and begging for more, the parts that hurt whenever it did feel like he was using you as an object, and the parts of you that told you you were just as terrible as all the women your father slept with behind your mother’s back. You mainly ignored the parts of you that were starting to hate yourself all together, because having just a part of Andy was better than having none of him at all.

No, you didn’t ever deny him, but you didn’t always give him what he wanted exactly when he wanted it. That would earn you a punishment.

AB: Meet me at my car for lunch.

Y/N: I can’t today, I have to work through lunch.

AB: Are you telling me no?

Y/N: I’m telling you you’ll have to wait until later.

AB: Okay.

Y/N: Don’t be mad.

AB: I’m not. You said later. Later it is.

That had your legs clenching together in want and your stomach churning with anxiety. When Andy punished you, he was cruel in the most pleasurable ways. Sometimes, it felt as if it might be too much, but he always knew when you’d hit your limit. While he might have pushed it a few times, he was never too terrible. However, the look in his eyes when you approached your car that night told you that might change.

“I had to work, Andy. I’m my Aunt’s assistant,” you sighed, fishing out your car keys from your purse.

“I understand that. Keep your keys in your purse, I’ll take you home tonight.”

“I can’t leave my car here over night,” you quipped, looking up to meet his lustful and domineering stare.

You knew it would be best not to argue anymore at that point.

He told you to walk in front of him and he followed close behind. The moment you were close enough to his car, he pressed you against it and forced your skirt up.

“Andy not here, please,” you moaned, embarrassed by how excited you already were for him degrade and pleasure you. “The night crew is here and they could see us.”

“Shouldn’t have kept me waiting then,” he grunted, before ripping off your panties off before starting to teasingly rub your clit. “Did you get all your work done?”

“Y-yes,” you moaned, wanting to ask for more but knowing he’d deny you.

“Do you need me to let you finish anything else?”

“No,” you whimpered.

“No who?” he grunted harshly, roughly pulling your hair with his free hand.

“No Daddy!”

“Good girl,” he muttered before starting to bite and suck on the hollow of your neck.

“Fuck...fuck please!” you begged, almost at your climax.

“I could, but then you wouldn’t learn your lesson, would you?” he taunted before removing his hand. He chuckled at your pitiful whimper as he undid his belt buckle. “You know better than to deny me, Sweetheart.”

Without any warning, Andy thrust himself into you and you let out silent cry. You had been dreaming about him deep inside you all day, and the feeling of him finally inside of you was enough to send you over that euphoric cliff already.

“Fuck, I’m so sorry!” you moaned, feeling yourself getting closer to the edge that only he could bring you to.

“Sorry for keeping me waiting? Or sorry for being a little fucking brat?”

“All of it, I’m so fucking sorry!” you whined, balling your hands into fists, as you felt yourself clench around him and readied yourself for a powerful orgasm.

“Not yet you’re not,” he grunted before pulling out.

“Daddy!”

“Get in the car and you better not fucking cum,” he demanded as put himself back into his pants.

“Please-”

“Don’t make this worse for yourself,” he smirked, buckling his belt.

You had no clue where he was taking you, but he was going painfully slow. He made you fondle and play with yourself while he was driving, and when you two were at red lights (which you were fairly sure he went out of his way to make sure he caught every single one) he would fuck you with his fingers hard and fast, pulling them away right were on the verge of sweet release. By the time you two reached your destination, you were on the verge of tears.

You looked out the window and instantly knew where you were.

“Andy, please not here!” you panted in a panicked voice.

“What did you just call me?”

“Daddy please, she could see us!”

“We can do that entire car ride again,” he chuckled darkly, as he took himself out of his pants “and this time with you choking on my cock the entire time. Choice is yours,” he grinned as he stroked himself. He saw you clench thighs together and his grin quickly went away. “You better not cum you little slut.”

“Daddy please!” you cried, desperate for release but also desperate to be parked anywhere other than outside his house.

“As you wish, open that pretty little mouth,” he demanded starting the car.

“Fuck,” you sighed before climbing over to the driver’s side and straddling him. You weren’t going to fool yourself into thinking that you’d be able handle any of that again. Besides, the desire you felt for Andy was bigger than the shame you felt for fucking him right outside of his house while his wife was inside.

“There’s my good girl,” Andy groaned as you slowly sunk yourself down on him “and you’re so fucking wet.”

“Please,” you moaned at the feel him deep inside of you “please let me cum, Daddy!”

“Not just yet, Sweetheart. You always say you won’t make me wait anymore, then you do. Gotta make sure you mean it this time,” Andy grunted as he gripped your hips tighter, thrusting into you harder.

“Fuck, fuck!” you cried out, gripping his shoulders and digging your nails into his skin. “I swear I won’t do it again, I promise!”

“Do you know how bad I wanna fuck you in my bed? Fall asleep next to you instead of her?” he questioned, completely ignoring your pleas. “I’ve thought about it so much. I’ve gotten off to it time after time...shit!”

“Daddy!” you cried, tears coming down your face, at both his words and your need for release.

“God, I love when you’re like this,” he moaned, looking up at you “a desperate little slut for me. Cause you’re my desperate little slut, right? Mine alone?” he questioned before planting desperate and feverish kisses all over your neck.

“Yes!” you cried out, too desperate to argue. “I’m all yours Daddy, please! I’ll be such a good girl, just please! I need to cum so bad! Need you to cum deep inside me!”

“Fuck! Cum for me right now!” Andy grunted, his grip becoming painfully tighter.

You screamed his name loud as the world faded around you. It may have been the most stressful and energy consuming orgasm you’d ever had, but fuck all if it wasn’t the best. You only started to come back down when you heard Andy yell your name while his hot seed spilled inside of you. Both shame and pleasure were running through you and you didn’t know how to deal with either.

“You took it too far this time, Andy,” you breathed after a moment.

“Did I hurt you? Are you okay?” Andy asked frantically, looking up and meeting your gaze as his hands traveled all over your body searching for any scratches and/or bruises.

“He could have been here. Jacob.”

“I wouldn’t do that to you, you know that. He’s with Sarah tonight.”

“He was here the last time and we almost got caught.”

“He wasn’t supposed to be here last time,” Andy sighed.

“We’ve gotta stop. This isn’t...we can’t keep this up.”

“Baby-”

“And I’ve told you a million times, no pet names. This isn’t working anymore-”

“We’re not gonna stop, Y/N,” Andy harshly interrupted, softly starting to rub your clit, as you felt him get excited again.

“Andy don’t,” you moaned, slowly grinding your hips against his.

“We’re not gonna stop because we don’t want to.”

“Yes I do,” you lied, placing your hands on his shoulders, picking up pace and clenching around him.

“Don’t lie to me when I’m inside of you,” he growled, harshly upthrusting into you. “We’re not stopping.”

“Andy!”

“You feel bad about fucking me outside of my house while she’s inside? Fuck her! It should be you in there, in my bed, in my house, in my life!”

“Andy please,” you moaned softly, a single tear leaving your eye. It was all too much and all too wrong.

“Tell me you really don’t want this anymore and we’ll stop. Tell me you don’t want me and I’ll leave you alone for good,” he grunted, his thrusting becoming harder and faster. When you didn’t answer, his grip on you got painfully tighter as he chased both of your releases. “Stop telling yourself this is wrong, because everything about this is right. Everything about us is right!”

“Andy please! I...I..shit!” you screamed, orgasm crashing over you hard as you leaned back against the steering wheel. The horn beeped, scaring you into a tiny leap even closer into Andy’s chest. He could feel your rapid heartbeat. He didn’t mind; he just took it as an opportunity to hold you as close as possible.

“We won’t stop because we don’t want to and we can’t. Stop denying yourself...the both of us, of what we really want,” he panted after a beat.

“You should take me home,” you breathed, wiping the few other tears that left your eyes.

Andy took a look at you and his face instantly went from calm and content, to heartbroken and defeated.

That night, the car ride to your place was silent. The drives were usually filled with discussions about work, weekend plans, or debates about about the movies you both loved and they were great or why they sucked. However, nothing felt carefree or innocent that night. You couldn’t ignore the feelings of shame and regret like you usually could, and Andy could tell that he was losing you. The hold that he had on you and your emotions was starting to loosen and he could tell it was a matter of time before you left him all together.

When he got to your apartment that night, he turned to say something to you, but you were out the of the car before he had a chance to even open his mouth.

As you cried yourself to sleep that night, you told yourself that was the last time. You couldn’t keep pretending that everything was fine and that the lines were blurred because his marriage was still in the shitter. Whatever the hell was or wasn’t happening in his marriage wasn’t enough to make him push harder for a divorce, so why the hell did you keep telling yourself that he’d choose you? No, enough was enough and you told yourself you’d be stronger. You needed to be stronger.

The next day you didn’t even bother to look his way. When he popped into Lynne’s office to ask her about a case, you didn’t even bother to acknowledge him when he said hi. You ignored his texts throughout the day and his phone calls later that night. It hurt like hell, but you told yourself it would be easier as time went on.

Only, it never did. Sex aside, you missed Andy. You missed laughing with him, you missed talking to him, you missed how thoughtful he was after sex and always making sure you were okay, you missed the way he looked at you, you missed the softness of his voice, his scent, the way he’d smile at you when no one was paying attention...you missed him. The fact that he stopped texting and calling as much only made it worse. Why was something that was supposed to be the right thing making you feel so terrible?

You two kept up the act for 4 weeks before Andy finally caved.

“Hey,” he said softly as he made his way into the break room as you made your coffee.

“Hi,” you responded quietly, keeping your eyes on the cup in front of you as you stirred the sugar you’d just added.

“Oh, you’re talking to me now?” he questioned, a hint of irritation in his tone. You looked up to see his gaze on you and he looked....hurt? Had you hurt him? Did he miss you just as much as you missed him?

There’s no way.

“There’s no harm in saying hi,” you responded meekly, turning your attention back to your coffee. “How have you been?”

“I miss you,” he all but whispered, slowly making his way towards you. Almost as if he was afraid you’d run away from him.

“Don’t do this, Andy. Not here,” you said, hands starting to tremor, but you didn’t move an inch.

“Then where? You won’t see me or return my calls or texts!”

“Because it’s wrong! All of this is-”

“Stop saying it’s wrong,” he demanded in a low growl “you know I don’t want to-”

“You’re still married to her, Andy. No matter how fucked up your marriage is, you’re still married to her. Besides, you can fuck anyone in this office. It’s not like you haven’t already.”

“You’re still going to say that this is only sex?”

You didn’t have to look up at him know that had hurt him. “Andy, what do you want me to say? What do you want me to believe?” You looked up at him, tears in your eyes.

“Y/N I-”

“Ahem.”

You both jumped and turned your attention to the entry way to see your Aunt Lynne standing there, stern look on her face and arms folded across her chest.

Fuck.

“I have to go,” you stated simply before grabbing your coffee and making your way out.

Your Aunt was on your heels and when she slammed the door shut behind her, you knew she wasn’t going to drop it.

“Seriously? After everything with your parents?!” she snapped, taking a seat at her desk.

“Nothing’s going on,” you lied.

“It didn’t look like nothing’s going on!”

“I told you I didn’t want to work with him and you practically sold me to him to keep him happy!”

“So this is my fault?”

“You know the kind of man he is, what he does, and how he acts. You know and you do nothing about it. Don’t point your finger at me when you’re partially responsible!”

Lynne was thoughtful before she spoke. “I let Andy act like that out of guilt. I’m the one who rushed to judgment and flipped his and his family’s lives upside down. The traumas he never wanted to talk about, the trouble in his marriage, the fact that Jacob hates to go anywhere....that’s on me,” she sighed. “So yes, I let him act like an asshole and do nothing about it, because I betrayed him. However,” she snapped, narrowing her eyes at you “I trusted you. You know everything your mom went through-”

“This isn’t the same!” you harshly interrupted, sounding like a whiny child.

“As long as the ring is on his finger, it’s the same damn thing!”

“He takes the ring off!” you yelled before you could stop yourself.

“Jesus Christ Y/N!”

You took a deep breath and wiped your eyes before responding. “I haven’t done anything with him in a month, okay? I haven’t returned his texts or phone calls and today’s the first time I’ve spoken with him since I broke it off. Your golden boy can go back to him only fucking people who aren’t related to you,” you cried, your tears coming harder at the realization of last part of what you said.

Your Aunt’s features softened at that. “Y/N-”

“Please just don’t, okay? I’m fine and everything is back to the way that it was. Excuse me.”

You got up and quickly made your way out of her office. You were so focused on getting to the bathroom to get yourself together, you didn’t notice that someone was coming straight towards you.

“I’m so s-sorry,” you stuttered as you collided with them.

“Hey, it’s okay. No big deal, I’m not dead,” a soft voice chuckled in response. You looked up to see Neal standing there with a small smile on his face. “You okay? That sounded pretty intense.”

“Yeah, it’s fine. I’m fine, family can be stressful sometimes,” you laughed softly.

From that moment on, Neal made it a point to greet you daily. The greetings turned into little conversations in the hall, conversations turned into eating lunch together, and eating lunch together turned into him walking to your car each night. You knew that Andy could see what was happening and he wasn’t happy about it.

AB: So you’re fucking Neal now?

Y/N: I’m not doing anything with anyone.

AB: That’s not what it looks like to me and everyone else.

Y/N: I don’t care what it looks like to you and everyone else. It’s not anyone’s business what or who I’m doing.

AB: It’s mine.

Y/N: No it’s not, Andy. I’m not yours and you aren’t mine.

AB: That’s not what you told me when were in front of my house.

Y/N: Don’t start that.

AB: Don’t start what? Reminding you of all the things you said when I was deep inside of you, or the way I had you begging for me?

Y/N: I’m going to bed.

AB: I’m coming over.

Y/N: What? No, you can’t come over!

AB: You can either meet me outside or let me up. Though, I’m really hoping you let me up, so I can finally fuck you like I’ve been wanting to.

You scowled in frustration because you knew he was serious. You slipped on a pair of pajama pants, a tank top, and pair of slippers before making your way outside to meet him. He was at your place in five minutes.

“Get in,” he growled as he rolled down the window.

“No, you need to go home to your wife and child.”

“Y/N, I swear to God I will make tonight a living hell for you. Get in the fucking car!” he demanded.

Oh, he was furious.

You rolled your eyes and got in the car, before Andy sped off, barely giving you a chance to close the door.

“Can you try not to kill us? Thanks.”

“Who the fuck do you think you are?”

“Andy, you’re the one demanding me to meet you and get in your fucking car like a spoiled little shit. Who the fuck do you think you are?”

“You wanna parade your relationship with Neal, of all people, around the office and you expect me to be happy about that shit?!”

“I’m not dating Neal!”

“You and I both know he’s a bad joke away from asking you out. Don’t play stupid.”

“I’m not fucking playing anything,” you snapped at him, finally looking in his direction. His hands were gripping the steering wheel tight and you knew he was doing all he could to not snap on you. “IF Neal does ask me out, I can say yes. You’re not gonna stop me from being happy.”

Andy chuckled at that. “You don’t really think that he can make you happy. Don’t fucking lie to me. We both know that you’re just using him to get over me.”

“Fuck you!”

“I wish you would,” he smirked before parking by the water front. “You’re not going out with Neal.”

“You’re not the fucking boss of me, Andy. I can sleep with whoever the fuck I want. I can date whoever the fuck I want.”

“What’s between us isn’t over,” he growled before leaning over the console and kissing you deeply.

You pushed him off of you and slapped him hard. “Fuck you! We’re not starting this up again!”

“You can’t start something you never stopped,” he smirked, a devilish grin on face.

You saw the look of love, lust, determination, and fear in his eyes. You wished it hadn’t meant anything to you, but it meant everything. Before you could talk yourself out of it, you were on him. Kissing him hard and desperately. You really had tried to be strong, but what was the point? Andy had still shown up at your place and you still ended up in his car. The two of you would always find your way back to each other.

“Get your ass in that backseat and take off your pants,” he breathed out, when you two finally broke apart.

“Andy,” you whispered, breathless. Trying to use the little bit of defiance you had left.

“You know how much I hate repeating myself,” he growled.

That was all it took.

You were laid across the backseat of his car in an instant, and wasted no time following you, spreading your legs apart and his fingers lightly tracing over where your body needed him most.

“Always so wet for me,” Andy groaned before dipping down and teasingly licking your clit. “Fuck, missed having you like this for me. Missed you so much,” he moaned before sucking on your clit while he fucked into you with his fingers.

“Fuck! Andy!” you cried out, gripping his hair and pulling him as close as you could.

He was relentless between your legs and you lost count of how many times he brought you off with his tongue, smirking each time he screamed out in pleasure as you coated his tongue with what he desired most. When he brought off for the final time, you pushed him away. You needed him. All of him.

“Take off your clothes and sit down,” you demanded breathlessly.

Andy did as he was told, keeping his eyes on you as you watched him while playing with yourself. “Someone’s needy tonight.”

“And you fucking love it,” you growled, sitting up and straddling him.

“I really fucking do,” he groaned as set yourself down on him slowly.

“Fuck!” you moaned softly, loving the feel of him splitting you apart after so long. “Andy!”

“Missed you so much, Sweetheart!” Andy moaned, his gaze intense on you while you rode him. “Thought about nothing else but being with you.”

“Yeah? Even while fucking other women in your office?”

“There hasn’t been anyone since you. There’s only ever been you for me,” he confessed breathlessly, before planting kisses all along your chest.

“Andy...please,” you moaned, tears filling your eyes.

“You’re all I want, Y/N. That’s never going to change.”

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” you whispered as you clenched around him, his confession making your heart bleed with all of the emotions you had been hiding from. “Andy..I...”

“It’s okay baby, I know,” he grunted, his grip on you getting tighter “not gonna last much longer, Sweetheart!”

“I need it, Andy...need to feel you,” you whimpered, feeling the knot in your stomach about to snap.

“Shit!” Andy cried out, cumming hard filling you with his hot seed.

“Yes!” you cried out as your own release hit hard, digging your nails into his shoulders.

You both just stayed there for a moment; breathing heavy and relishing in the comfort you two only found in each other. You didn’t need or want anything else. You were in heaven.

“Don’t go out with Neal,” Andy finally pleaded more than demanded. “Don’t go out with anyone.”

“Andy...just don’t.”

“What more do you want from me?”

“You to divorce her.”

“In a few years-”

“Years?! How is that fair to me, Andy? I know there are complications, but I can’t just be your fuck buddy for the next years and-”

“You know this is more than that. I just told you-”

“While you’re married, that’s all this is.”

“Y/N-”

“Just take me home, Andy.”

Andy stopped trying to plead his case to you and once again, the drive to your place was quiet. Two days later Neal asked you out, you said yes, Andy fucked you in his office, you told him the news, you two argued, you two fucked some more, and that was that.

It hurt like hell, but what else could you do? You refused to get hurt like your mother did, and if that meant staying away from the one man who could make or break you, then so be it.

Andy’s P.O.V

“Andy, are you okay?” Laurie calls from the other side of the bathroom door.

“I’m fine,” Andy grunts, eyes clenched shut as he continues getting himself off at the thought of you beneath him, begging him not to stop.

“Well, you’re gonna be late,” Laurie sighs, her tone brimming with frustration.

“I’ll be where I need to be on time,” he again grunts, trying not to lose his train of thought, and trying his best not to let Laurie ruin another orgasm.

“Whatever,” she exhales before Andy hears her steps retreating away from the bathroom door.

This was all Andy had now; sporadic moments in the shower or in his home office when he could think of you and get off to the thought of you. Neal and you have been dating for 6 months and every day that he’s forced to see you two together his rage ignites all over again. He was forced to be reminded daily of all the things he wasn’t and that you had: that you were now underneath someone else, that someone else was making you happy, making you laugh, making you feel special, feeling your warmth, knowing your kind and generous heart, holding your attention. To make matters even worse, he knew that someone undeserving had your attention. It’s not like he doesn’t know that he himself was undeserving, but that doesn’t stop Andy from loving you.

“Fu...fuck!” Andy moans, coming undone from the memories he has of you and him together in the most intimate of ways releases and paints the shower tiles.

He pants as he lays his head against the wall, water beads cascading down his back as the shower continues running.

He knows his misery is his own fault. All of this was his creation. He knows he should’ve stayed away from you, but he loves a challenge. He knows that he shouldn’t have approached you outside the bar that night, but he didn’t like not getting his way. He knows that one time should’ve been enough, but you were just too damn enticing.

You would be his and his alone if he hadn’t slept with every woman in the office, if he hadn’t been so cocky, if he hadn’t been so arrogant and prideful, and if he hadn’t been so cowardly.

It’s not even like he meant to fall for you. That was never a part of the plan.

The way you looked at him let him know that you wanted nothing to do with him. All you wanted was for him to let you go about your business and stay out of your way. Maybe that’s what drew him to you. Every other woman made it obvious how badly they wanted him, but you...you went out of your way to avoid him.

That’s when he decided the challenge was on.

It should have been enough when you were riding him in his car, begging and screaming for more, and it would have been if you were anyone else.

However, he hadn’t expected you to be as mind numbing and all consuming as you had been that night, and he needed more of you. You were the drug he craved, the reason he is a brand new fiend; and you not wanting him at all the next time he saw you? He hadn’t been expecting that. It was surprisingly, quietly, devastating.

When hes finally had enough of pitying himself, he cleans off his shower wall with his wash cloth before turning off the water and getting out of his shower. He looks himself over in the bathroom mirror as dried himself off as he shook his head. Even though seeing you at work made him miserable, it was the only time he could see you at all.

That was better than nothing at all.

He makes his way back into the bedroom and starts to get dressed, feeling a small sense of a dread at the day ahead of him. It’s not enough that Andy has to see you and Neal laughing with each other, Lynne had been riding him ever since she became aware of what had been going on between the two of you. He’s going to be stuck in meetings with the both of you all day, and he wasn’t excited about any of it.

Well, he is excited to spend as close to a full day with you as possible.

“Andy,” Laurie calls softly, interrupting Andy’s thoughts “why don’t we go out for dinner tonight?”

“What? Why?” he questions, disgust written all over his face.

“Last week...we made love and maybe-”

“I was drunk, Laurie,” Andy snaps, hoping she’ll quickly drop it. “Both of us were.”

He really didn’t want to sleep with her, but he was drunk and lonely. So lonely. Sex with random women was never the same after you, so he didn’t see the point in going out. Jacob wasn’t home and Laurie was in the master bedroom and on her third glass of wine.

Andy was hopeful that he’d feel something by sleeping the woman he once loved, but it was more empty than his office sexcapades. He truly didn’t love her and the entire time he was inside of her, he wished it was you. When all was said and done, she asked him to stay and he was kind enough to stay until she fell asleep.

That was the worst night of sleep he’d had in a while.

“There was still something there,” she quietly responds. “I know it’s been ugly between the both of us a for a while, but maybe if-”

“What about Jacob?”

“He’s going to be at Sarah’s tonight. Andy, there’s no harm in going out and trying. Remember the last time we went out?”

“In Mexico? Where you were happy to pretend until you weren’t?” he snaps harshly as he buttons his cuff links.

“Andy please, there’s no harm in-”

“Maybe. I’ll think about it and get back to you,” he sighs as throws on his suit jacket “I have to go. Talk to you later.”

Andy rushed out the door, giving Jacob a small kiss on the top of his head, before rushing to his car and speeding to work. He sighs in relief when he gets to work and sees that you aren’t there.

Watching you arrive at work had become one of his most favorite things.

Most of the time you’re alone. He likes watching you get out all of your nerves and jitters, before talking yourself into going into the big building which Andy has now become come to see as a big building of bullshit. He’s hopeful that you’ll be alone today, so he can take you in and remember you as his girl.

His girl and his alone.

However, his hopes are soon replaced by a scowl. Everything seems fine at first. Andy’s ready to get out of his car and storm into work until he sees you pull into a parking spot. He sees your hair whip violently as you turn towards Neal, a look of pure disdain etched into you.

That has him full of hope for something else.

You and Neal are clearly arguing and Andy wishes he could figure out what it’s about. Andy sees you pointing your finger in his face while yelling, and that has him twitching to life.

He misses how stern you can be about anything.

He watches Neal lean closer to you as he raises his voice. Andy instinctively clutches his steering wheel in an attempt to keep himself at bay as his blood pressure rises.

No matter what the argument is about, he has no right to yell at you that way.

A smile comes to his face when he sees you not backing down, visibly yelling louder. Neal tries to get a word out and you don’t allow it, clearly fed up with whatever he has to say. Andy couldn’t be more proud of you for holding your ground. Neal made a small attempt to say something else before surrendering and getting out of your car, slamming the door shut.

Andy’s happiness is short lived when he sees you start crying. He knows you’re only crying tears of frustration but it’s still enough to break his heart. In this moment, he takes a minute to wonder if he has ever seen you truly happy since you’ve called things off with him. Your smile’s been off, you look more tired than not, your hair seemed more out of place lately, and you never look happy to be alone with him when the two of you sit outside at the picnic benches for lunch.

Andy feels like a total moron when it dawns on him: you’re not happy at all.

You wipe your tears away and quickly reapply your makeup before giving yourself some sort of small pep-talk and getting out of your car. Andy watches as your pace quickens with every step you take toward the office, and he lets you get far enough away from him before exiting his vehicle inconspicuously.

Andy hurries, almost getting too close, when he lets a few people go in front of him before following you up the steps. He pauses a moment as you walk into your aunt’s office, following after.

“You’re here early,” Lynne snaps, looking at Andy with a raised eyebrow.

“You know me and meetings: it’s better to show up as early as possible to get them done as quickly as possible,” he sighs, taking a seat and opening up his brief case.

“That’s true,” Lynne sighs as she shrugs at Andy.

Lynne turns to you, handing you a stack of papers. “I need you to drop this off in Neal’s office.”

“Oh...I uh...I-”

“I can take them, I have to run to my office anyway. I left some papers in there,” Andy offers, standing up and reaching for them. He knows you’re still upset and he doesn’t want you crying anymore for the day.

“Okay...” Lynne agrees, looking from Andy to you.

“I’ll be right back,” he nods towards you before dashing out.

Andy takes his time walking to Neal’s office, telling himself that he needs to keep his composure. He’s well aware that going off on Neal will only make things harder for you, but he’s still upset over the fact that you were crying in your car only moments ago. He’s right outside of Neal’s office when he hears him in the middle of a conversation with a co-worker.

“Yeah no, she’s great about everything,” Neal snickers, “so I’m gonna take her out to dinner tonight as a little ‘keep up the good work’ incentive,” he chuckles, as whomever he’s speaking with laughs along.

Andy’s fighting the urge to storm into Neal’s office and punch him in the face, and he’s hoping that you can somehow feel his love for you in that moment.

“Dude, you’re so lucky. The only woman in this office who hasn’t fucked Barber is wrapped around your finger,” the other guy remarks between laughs. “Well, her, her aunt, and Duffy.”

“Yeah, so you know I had to make a move before I was only left with either her Aunt or Duffy,” Neal laughs.

“That’s a huge win,” the guy snickers, “where are you taking her tonight?”

“Buttonwood should make her happy enough,” Neal sighs as if it’s some big chore. “It’ll keep me out of trouble for at least another week or so,” he scoffs.

“Hey Neal,” Andy interrupts casually, masking the fact that he was ready to kill both Neal and his co-worker on the spot, “Lynne wanted me to drop these off for you,” he smiles, handing Neal the documents Lynne wanted taken care of.

“Thanks, ready for back to back meetings with Y/N and her aunt?” Neal smiles, but Andy doesn’t miss the cockiness in his eyes.

“Just hoping to keep them both satisfied,” Andy smirks as Neal frowns, “you guys have a great day though,” Andy smiles at the other guy before walking out.

Andy quickly makes his way to his office, before slamming the door shut and kicking his desk a few times to release some of his anger. He’s relieved that he was the one who delivered those documents and not you, because what if you had heard him? What if you had seen the smug look on Neal’s face?

Before Andy can stop himself, he’s pulling out his phone and texting Laurie that they have dinner reservations at Buttonwood at 7, before he calls the restaurant and makes the reservation. In the back of his mind he knows it’s cruel, but he can’t stop himself. He doesn’t want to.

He needs you to know how he feels. He needs his wife to know, and he definitely needs Neal to know that he’s just a rebound.

After getting himself together, Andy grabs a few random files and a pen before quickly making his way to back to Lynne’s office.

“Everything okay?” you ask softly as he takes a seat.

“It will be,” he smiles at you before opening up one of his folders.

Andy does his best to focus on what’s happening and being sad as the day drags along, but he’s finding it hard to pay attention to anything. He needs to figure out the right things to say tonight, as well as figuring out how the hell to navigate the aftermath.

Most importantly: he needs to figure out how to make you his once and for all.

Work comes to an end quicker than he expects and Andy finds himself constantly racing: to home, then to get himself dressed for dinner, then getting Laurie ready and out the door for dinner. The entire drive to the restaurant she drones on about her day and maybe taking a family trip soon. Once again Andy feels slightly terrible for what’s about to take place, but it’s not enough for him to back down.

Once they get to the restaurant, Andy scans the room until he finds you sitting with Neal. He sees the small scowl on your face. Andy asks the hostess for a seat next to the both of you before taking a deep breath.

It’s now or never.

“Andy? Hey!” Neal smiles, once Andy and his wife take a seat. “Oh wow! Didn’t expect to see you guys here tonight,” he smiles as you avoid his gaze.

“Hey!” Andy smiles, acting surprised to see the both of you as both he and Laurie take their seats. “Don’t mind us-”

“Sit with us!” Neal offers and Andy sees you roll your eyes.

“We don’t want to impose,” Laurie smiles kindly and Andy knows she’s trying to stay as far away from him as possible.

He can’t blame her for that.

“No imposition at all,” Neal replies, looking at both Andy and Laurie as if he’s begging for them to save him.

‘Maybe this won’t be as hard as I thought’ Andy thinks to himself. “Why not? We’re all friends here after all,” Andy smiles at you, and you sink into your chair slightly.

“What brings you two out?” Neal asks as Andy and Laurie pull their chairs over to his table.

“Jacob’s out so we figured we’d have a nice night out ourselves,” Laurie beams, squeezing Andy’s hand.

“Funny, we’re supposed to be doing the same thing,” you mumble before taking a sip of your wine.

“Yeah, but it’s always nice to see friends,” Neal snaps politely.

“Are you two celebrating anything special?” Andy asks, noticing you making little circles on the table.

It’s a habit of yours that only makes an appearance when you’re nervous or uncomfortable. For a moment Andy thinks he should call it off, but he can’t. Not when he’s so close.

“Y/N was asked to show some of her art at the upcoming art festival next weekend,” Neal beamed.

“That’s amazing,” Andy smiled, genuinely happy for you. He knows how hard you’ve worked for your art and how happy it makes you.

“It’s really no big deal,” you smile sheepishly, sitting up a little.

“Yes it is. You’ve worked really hard on your art and it’s about time your work got some recognition,” Andy smiles, as you both gaze lovingly at each other.

“I would love to see your work,” Laurie interrupts, clearing her throat and trying to pretend that she doesn’t feel the chemistry between you and Andy.

“The showing is going to be at the Rosenberg Art Studio,” Neal quickly responds as the waiter asks for both Laurie and Andy’s drink orders.

“That’s great! I remember you telling me about the Rosenberg studio when we...” Andy trails off remembering how you two had gotten on the topic and finished the discussion by fucking in his car in front of said art studio.

“When you two what?” Laurie smiles, but her eyes are screaming murder when they land on Andy.

“When we worked on the sex offender case. That guy Joshua,” Andy responds, meeting her gaze as the drinks are brought to the table, but his eyes showing her that she has every reason to feel hurt.

“That’s right! I forgot you two worked together on that case!” Neal recalls with a small laugh.

Andy can tell that Neal’s only laughing because he thinks that’s when he lost out on his chance with you and can’t stop his jealousy from getting the best of him. “Yeah, she’s the best assistant I’ve ever had,” Andy smiles deviously before taking a sip of his scotch.

Your eyes go wide before you scowl at him and Andy can tell that Neal has caught the double meaning.

“If you all will excuse me, I’m gonna run to the bathroom for a moment,” you mumble, getting up and practically sprinting to the bathroom.

Andy is at war with himself debating whether or not he should follow you, and the more he hears Laurie and Neal make awkward small talk, the more he feels the need to be with you.

He doesn’t even excuse himself before he gets up and rushes to the women’s bathroom.

“Get out,” you snarl at him as soon as he’s inside.

“Why are you here with him? Why are you with him at all?”

“Why are you here? Laurie is practically grasping for straws out there and you’re acting as if everything is fine.”

“So are you,” Andy smirks.

“Leave me alone!”

“You don’t even love him! What’s the point? There’s no reason for you to be with him.”

“Andy, I’m not in the mood to play mind games with you-”

“You’re the one playing mind games! Not me!” Andy quickly interrupts, frustration very apparent.

“You’re the one who won’t file for the divorce! You’re the one who insists that it’ll take a few years! You are the one who wants to fuck everyone-”

“You left me!” Andy snaps, “You left me for him, of all people!”

“So that means that you can break my heart?!”

“You broke mine first!”

“No, Laurie did and you decided to take it out on the rest of us,” you quip, tears welling in your eyes, “We have to get back, Andy.”

“No we don’t. We can go right now. We can just leave-”

“Andy, you made this our reality. You chose her over me and this is where we are. We have to get back,” you sniff, wiping your eyes before trying to leave the bathroom.

Without thinking, Andy wraps his arm around your waist and pulls you close. He takes in your scent and that’s enough to make him fall apart right there. Having you so close and in his arms makes him realize just how much he misses you.

How much he needs you.

“I’m so sorry, Y/N. For hurting you, for how I went about all of this, for not treating you the way you deserved to be treated...I’m sorry for everything, but please. Please,” Andy pleads softly, his own tears coming now.

“Andy please, I can’t...I’m not a fucking toy!”

“I know and I swear to God-”

“No Andy, you have your life and I have mine. We have to stop this because all we keep doing is hurting each other. Hurting you hurts me, Andy. This is why I made rules. This is why I wanted to stay away from you. I’m not strong enough for this. I’m not strong enough to be the other woman,” you sob.

“You won’t! I’m picking you! I will always pick you! Please!”

“Well, I don’t pick you,” you sniffle out, wiping your eyes and pulling free from Andy. “We have to get back,” you all but mumble before leaving the bathroom.

Andy just stands there, tears cascading down his cheeks like a waterfall. He can’t remember the last time he’d been in so much pain. In fact, he’s sure he’s never been in this much pain before, even when he realized Laurie didn’t love him anymore. Neither of them ever truly loved each other; they just loved the idea of each other.

That’s not the case with you at all though. Andy is so painfully in love with you, even though he’s tried to fake like he isn’t, he’s more sure than ever that he’ll never stop. But if you don’t want him, what else can he do?

He takes a moment to get himself together and wipes his eyes the best he can, before taking a deep breath and making his way back to the table. He can feel the change in the mood before he even reaches it, but he doesn’t care. He doesn’t care about much of anything at the moment.

“Everything okay?” Laurie asks, tone lacing with anger as she cuts her eyes at him.

“Fucking great,” Andy murmurers, taking a seat and instantly reaching for his glass of Scotch.

“You really know how to treat a woman,” Laurie whispers harshly, reaching for her glass of wine, “do you always have to go out of your way to make me look like a fool?”

“It’s not like you don’t do the same to him,” you all but whisper before reaching for your own drink.

That has everyone’s attention.

“Excuse me?” Laurie asks in disbelief.

“You can’t treat your husband and your son like shit then act surprised when neither of them want anything to do with you. This is a hole you dug for yourself. All either of them wants to do is love you and you won’t let them. Why? Cause Andy had a few secrets about his childhood? Cause Jacob wrote a story that put him in a not so decent light? They’re your family, Laurie. You can’t just decide to stop loving them when shit gets tough. For better or worse, till death do you part. Those are the wedding vows. If you want Andy to treat you better, maybe you should do better,” you huff before downing the rest of your drink. “I’ll be waiting for you by the car,” you mumble to Neal before getting up and making your way out of the restaurant.

Andy can’t stop the stupid smile that comes to his face as his heart swells with pride and love. You do care and even if you won’t admit out loud that you choose him over everyone else, you do in fact choose him.

You love him.

Neal is quick to apologize for your outburst before leaving money for the bill between the two of you before rushing out of the building. When the waiter comes back, Andy asks for the check and is quick to throw money down on the table. He practically pulls Laurie out of her seat and drags her out of the restaurant.

“I guess you feel like you’ve done nothing wrong since your little whore-”

“Don’t call her that,” Andy warned harshly as he drives both of them back to their house.

“Why not? That’s what she is!”

“She’s the farthest thing from that and way more than I fucking deserve,” he huffs through gritted teeth as he pulls up to their house. “You need to get out.”

“And where the hell are you going?”

“Where I should’ve been the whole time: with Y/N.”

“Andy-”

“I’m done, Laurie,” Andy states firmly. “I don’t want to live like this anymore and I’m not going to. Take the house, take the cars, take whatever is in our savings; I don’t care. I’m done doing this with you.”

“You’d do that to Jacob?” Laurie questions, tears coming to her eyes.

“No, you’d do that to Jacob. There’s no reason to put him through hell, it’s just your own selfish desires. Listen, you can tell everyone I’m the bad guy and that I never did anything to try and salvage this marriage, that’s fine, I don’t care. But if you try to keep my son away from me or turn him away from me, I will drag you through hell and I will win,” Andy warns, his tone menacing.

“You wouldn’t-”

“I will,” Andy warns darkly, “now get out of my car and figure out what you wanna do. There’s someplace I need to get to and I should’ve been there a long time ago.”

Y/N’s P.O.V

You furiously fold another shirt fresh from the laundry before throwing it into your drawer. You’ve been angrily fixing things and cleaning things for over an hour. You don’t know why you defended Andy...well, you do know why but you refuse to admit it.

Andy had no right to ruin your night like that, but it’s not like he needed to do much. If you’re being honest with yourself, arguing is the only thing you and Neal are good at. You could say it’s his fault, but you know that the real reason is because he isn’t Andy.

You find yourself comparing everything about him to Andy, and it’s really unfair. You keep waking up and expecting to be over Andy and in love with Neal, but it never happens. Your anger at the situation turns into anger towards Neal. Anger because he’s always half listening, anger because he doesn’t satisfy you, anger because he’s never thoughtful, anger because he talks shit about Andy, and so many other things. It’s not like Neal doesn’t try; it’s the opposite, and that’s what is so disheartening.

The sad fact of the matter is: you had more of a relationship with Andy than you’ve ever had with Neal.

Be that as it may, Neal definitely crossed a line on the car ride back to your place.

“So, are you gonna start the conversation or should I?” Neal asked angrily, slamming his car door shut before starting his car.

“By conversation, do you mean argument? You can start this time,” you replied lazily, leaning your head against the car window. You really weren’t in the mood, but you also knew there was no avoiding it.

“You didn’t think it would’ve been a good idea to tell me that you were fucking Andy Barber?”

“There was no reason for you to know about something that no one else knew about. I’m obviously not proud of it.”

“You obviously shouldn’t be. What were you thinking?!”

“And you wonder why I didn’t tell you,” you mumbled, starting to fiddle with your fingers. Neal had a habit of making you feel small and it was really starting to take its toll.

“It just would’ve been nice to know that I’m dating one of Andy’s...” he trailed off before sighing and turning the corner.

“One of Andy’s what?!” you snapped, turning your gaze to Neal, burning with anger.

“Nothing, I shouldn’t have-”

“No Neal, fucking say it! It’s clearly how you feel, so fucking say it!”

“Y/N-”

“SAY IT!” you roared at him as he pulled up to your apartment.

“One of Andy’s whores,” Neal muttered, knowing that he had gone too far this time.

“This is done, I’m fucking over all of this shit! You don’t wanna be with a whore? You got your wish!”

“Y/N-”

“Fuck you!” you spat before getting out of his car and slamming the door shut.

You knew a breakup was coming, but you wish it hadn’t gone that way. You stop and stand in your hallway for what feels like the millionth time, and wipe away your tears. Everything hurts and you just want Andy. No matter how angry you are with him, your heart still yearns for him.

A soft knock on your door has you getting yourself together and clearing your throat. You’re not gonna let Neal see how upset you are.

“Whatever you have to say, I’m in no mood-” you stop short as you open the door seeing the last person you expected. “Andy?”

“Why are you crying? What’s wrong?” he questions, worry written all over his face and concern in his eyes.

“It’s nothing, why are you here? You can’t be here.”

“Just hear me out, please? I knocked on 10 different doors until I found yours and I just...please?” he questions pathetically.

Even with your mind telling you to close the door in his face, your heart is begging you to hear him out. “You have 10 minutes, Andy,” you sigh as you avoid his gaze. It dawns on you that your nosey neighbor is probably listening from her apartment and the last thing you need is for her to tell your mother about the handsome married man that came to visit you at a late hour the next time she comes to visit you. “Come inside,” you offer, stepping to the side.

Andy makes his way inside warily, as if he’s afraid you’ll kick him out any second. “Your place is nice...it’s better than I’ve imagined,” he speaks softly, looking around at all the paintings, books, and pictures.

“Andy,” you say softly, tone firm but clearly frightened. You’re not going to let him suck you back into anything.

“I’m so sorry, Y/N. If you please just...I can do better. I will do better if you just-”

“No Andy. I’m not waiting and I’m not-”

“You don’t have to wait,” he interrupts desperately “I told Laurie tonight that I’m done for good. She can have whatever she wants, but she isn’t going to keep Jacob from me. I told her that I’m going to be with you, and that I should’ve a while ago. I was a coward and I’m so sorry about that.”

“...what?” you question in disbelief, eyes starting to fill up with tears, again. This day was really taking an emotional toll on you.

“There’s no one else. I’m done trying to be coy, fucking other women, putting you second, being a coward....it’s just you, Y/N.”

“Don’t. Don’t do this to me. I can’t even trust you!”

“Yes you can!” Andy almost cries, slowly moving closer to you. “I’m not that guy! You’re right, Laurie did break my heart and I let it bleed out onto everything and everyone else. That changed with you though! I never meant to get so attached, but now you are all I think about, all I want...Y/N, I-”

“No Andy, don’t say it. Please don’t say it,” you cry softly, as you back into a wall.

“You can trust me,” Andy pleads softly, caging you against the wall and looking down at you. “I love you. I love you and only you and I’ll never stop. Please.”

Before you can stop yourself your pulling him towards you and kissing him hard. You instantly melt into him, finally feeling like you’re home. It feels as if he’s set off a fire inside of you, as parts of you come alive again that you were sure died when you left him. Andy knows all the ways to love you which is something Neal could never figure out.

Andy places his hands on your lower back and they slowly make their way down to the curves of your ass until he’s firmly gripping it. He hoists you up and you instinctively wrap your legs around his waist, needing to be as close to him as possible.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so fucking sorry,” he repeats as he trails kisses from your lips to your neck. “I’ll never hurt you like that again,” he promises, grinding his hips against yours.

“Fuck baby,” you breathe, your eyes fluttering shut as you lean your head against the wall “just like that.”

Andy stops what he’s doing when he hears that.

You’ve never called him anything besides Andy, and you always get on him when he calls you anything but your name. He looks up at you and it’s as if he can read your mind. The rules no longer exist, and if you’re really honest with yourself, they haven’t mattered for a while. He loves you and you love him. You love him more than you’ve ever loved anyone.

You dip down slightly to kiss Andy again, but this time pointing to your hallway, you need him in the most desperate way and you’re done waiting. Andy eases down around the apartment, never breaking the kiss. His hold on you gets tighter as his kisses become more urgent. He’s letting you know that he needs you just as much as you need him, and you love the way he isn’t being subtle about it.

“Second door,” you mumble against his lips before breaking away and pulling your top off.

“Fuck,” Andy husks, looking you over as he makes his way inside your bedroom. “It’s been so long, baby.”

“I know, I know,” you agree, slightly out of breath as you look down at him, running your hands through his hair lovingly. “I missed you. I’ve missed you so much,” you all but whine.

“I’m gonna show you just how sorry I am,” he promises softly as he gently lays you down.

Everything feels different. Yes, you and Andy have fucked a million times, but this is so much more than that. This is so much more deeper and intimate than anything you two have ever done before. You’re so caught up in your thoughts about what all of this means, that you don’t notice him creep onto the bed, and you don’t feel his hand snake it’s way up your skirt.

“Mmm fuck,” you moan at the feel of his fingers softly tracing over the thin material covering the part of you that’s yearning for him.

“Be here with me tonight, baby. Let me take care of you,” he coos softly as he uses one of his fingers to push the flimsy material to the side. “Will you let me do that? Will you let me take care of you?” he asks as he pushes a finger inside your soaked channel.

“Mhm,” you moan, your eyes locked on his as you bite your bottom lip.

“Use your words, Sweetheart,” he demands softly, adding another before picking up the pace.

“F-fuck, yes baby,” you whimper, feeling your release coming on.

“There’s my good girl,” he praises, devilish smirk playing on his lips.

“I’m so close, Andy!” you whine, your toes curling, but you refuse to break eye contact with him. You know how much he loves it and you want to satisfy him as much as he satisfies you.

“Cum for me, baby. Cum hard for me,” he encourages, palming himself over his pants with his free hand, while continuing to fuck you with his other hand and using his thumb to tease your clit.

“Fuck!” you cry out, your release coats his fingers and you try to regulate your breathing.

“So good for me,” Andy smirks as removes his fingers. He lets out a low groan that’s almost a growl when he tastes the two fingers that had just taken residence inside you.

You need him and can’t wait anymore. “Baby please,” you plead pitifully, going to remove your skirt “I can’t wait anymore.”

“But you taste so good,” he coos, pulling your skirt down and throwing it to the floor. “I need more,” he growls, spreading your legs apart and laying down his stomach. “Missed having your taste on tongue more than you know,” he mutters before starting to lick and suck on your clit.

“Oh shit!” you cry out, arching your back before laying down. “Fuck baby!”

Andy doesn’t take it easy on you and you can tell that he wants you to know just how much hes missed you. Every part of you and everything about you. When he brings you off the first time, you try to push him away because it’s all so overwhelming. All he does is lay an arm across your waist to keep you in place while he continues his assault on your clit. When he brings you off for the second time, your eyes well up from all of the pleasure. You didn’t realize how unsatisfied you truly were until that moment. Andy works hard to show you just how much he appreciates your body.

How much he appreciates you.

When he brings you off for the third time, you’re pathetically begging him to make love to you.

“So needy for me,” Andy husks after cleaning up the mess you made. “Don’t worry baby, I told you I’d take care of you tonight and I meant it,” he promises as he removes his shirt and throws it down. “I’ll take care of you forever.”

He’s out of his jeans and boxers one moment and hovering over you the next. He kisses you deeply, the taste of you still on his lips, and you can feel all of the promises and apologies it holds. With one hand he’s cupping your cheek, while the other one is between your legs and massaging your clit.

“Please,” you beg softly against his lips.

“You’re here with me?” he questions, a hint of desperation in his tone.

“Nowhere else I’d rather be,” you respond breathlessly.

Andy takes himself in his hand and strokes himself a few times before aligning himself with your entrance and pushing his way in. “Fuck, I missed this pussy so much,” he moans, collaring your wrists above your head as you gasp below him. “Missed hearing you hearing you like this.”

“Fuck baby....fuck, you feel so good!” you mewl, wrapping your arms around his neck and digging your nails into his back.

“You’re so fucking beautiful, fuck I could watch you like this all day long,” Andy groans, his gaze on you loving as he starts pumping into you faster.

“I’ve needed you so much...I’ve missed you,” you whimper, your release coming fast.

“I’ll never leave you again, I swear,” Andy grunts and you can tell he’s trying to hold off his own release.

“I love you,” you moan, running one of your hands through his hair as your back arches, ready to give him everything. “I love you so fucking much, baby,” you breathe.

“Jesus, I love you too...need you to cum...right now, baby! Need this perfect pussy to...fuck!!” he groans, his grip on your wrists getting tighter.

“Jesus Andy! Fuck!” you scream, orgasm hitting harder than you expected. You clench around him tight, wrapping your arms around him as tight as you can, as you start to to fade out of consciousness and into what your brain can only describe as pure bliss.

This is what you need and what you waited for. To have Andy like this: all yours and as in love you with you as you have been with him.

Andy yelling your name as his own hot seed spills inside of you is the only thing that brings you back to reality. He erratically pumps into you a few times before he stills and rests his forehead against yours. You’re both in heaven in each others arms.

Andy opens his mouth to say something, but is cut off by a hard knock on your front door.

“Y/N, it’s me. Please answer,” Neal begs, his voice laced heavy with regret. “I was out of line and I’m sorry. I’m so fuckin’ sorry. Just open the door and talk to me, please. I...I love you so much and I’m so sorry.I had no right...my ego got in the way and....please, just hear me out. I’m so sorry,” he sighs, and you know he’s leaning against your door.

You two have done this song and dance so many times in the short time that you two have been together.

“We have to get dressed and you have to hide,” you breathe, meeting Andy’s stressed gaze.

“What? No-”

“Andy, I can’t just ignore him-”

“Yes you can,” Andy quickly interrupts, using one of his hands to cup your face. “You owe him nothing, just be here.”

“Andy-”

“Y/N, I love you and you love me. There’s nothing that needs to be discussed. I know I fucked up before but..” his voice trails off as Neal bangs on your door again.

“Please just talk to me,” Neal pleads from the other side of your door.

This is when it hits you. You have to make a choice: Neal or Andy. Neal is obviously the safer choice, but Andy is very clearly the love of your life. Andy is also a wild card that can break your heart at any time.

“Pick me. Please pick me,” Andy desperately begs.

As Neal continues to bang on your front door, you’re left with a choice to make: Do you choose the guy who will never hurt you, or the guy who will always be the wild card?

Happiness or security?

taglist: @fuckingbye, @whxre4cevans, @sweetflowerdreams

617 notes · View notes

aquagustd · 2 years

Text

hell is empty - JJK, KTH

📞 #2

↳ events a few days after part 06.2 - a week before part 07

✧ series masterlist ✧

pairing — drug lord!jungkook x reader, hotel owner!taehyung x reader

genre/rating — R | angst, smut, fluff, love triangle au

tags — strong language, parental conflict, unwarranted flirting, some arguing, single parent!reader, ceo!taehyung, dad!jk

a/n — important phone call between tae & oc (also jk & oc 🤚🏻)- which is relevant to the plot !! if you skip this you will be confused

You: Hello?

Jungkook: So you’re calling me now?

You: I just—

Jungkook: There’s only two reasons why you would call me this late at night. One, you want me to come over. Two, you want me to come over.

You: No. You idiot. I called to ask how long we’re gonna be staying at the resort? So I know how many sets of clothes to pack for Smiley and I.

Jungkook: …

You: Hello?

Jungkook: Pack for a week.

You: A week?! I don’t know if Yoongi will let me—”

Jungkook: Chill out babe. I already spoke to Yoongi about it, and he said it’s fine. You can have the whole week off.

You: Do NOT call me babe.

Jungkook: Whatever you say, love. Don’t forget to pack plenty bikinis.

You: Bikinis?

Jungkook: Yeah, you know. There’s gonna be pools and beaches and you wouldn’t wanna be the only one in a penguin costume.

You: Penguin costume?

Jungkook: You know what I mean.

You: No. I don’t. Are you trying to imply that I have no style? That I would show up covered in spandex while everyone else—

Jungkook: You have very sexy taste, love. Even better than when we were together.

You: Flattery will get you nowhere.

Jungkook: I’m not banking on it.

*beep*

You: Someone’s trying to call me. We’ll talk tomorrow.

Jungkook: Is it your sugar daddy? Tell him I said you won’t be needing his servic—

You: Fuck you.

Jungkook: Wouldn’t you like t—

You: Hello?

Taehyung: ___, hey. Good to hear your voice again.

You: Taehyung. Hi.

Taehyung: How have you been?

You: Fine. And you?

Taehyung: Alright. I miss you.

You: …

You: Hmm.

Taehyung: What? You don’t miss me too?

You: I’ve been trying to call you for days, Taehyung. You wouldn’t answer my calls and then I just gave up knowing that you’d call me if you wanted to.

Taehyung: I just…needed some time. I called you now.

You: After I got tired of waiting for you to.

Taehyung: What does that mean?

You: Nothing.

You: I miss you. So does Smiley.

Taehyung: Ah, I miss the lil guy. When is he coming over to visit? My mother wouldn’t stop pestering me.

You: She told you? We met her at the salon.

Taehyung: She did.

You: I’m sorry.

Taehyung: For?

You: …

You: Getting mad at you. Your mother told me…you…I just miss you so much. I’m sorry.

Taehyung: Stop apologizing. I get it, I should’ve called or texted you, but I guess I couldn’t pull my shit together fast enough.

You: It’s okay.

Taehyung: Nah, it’s not. I should’ve left you a message or something. So you have all the right to be mad at me.

You: I don’t think I can be mad at you for too long.

Taehyung: Why’s that?

You: …

You: Because I like you too much. And your stupid, handsome face.

Taehyung: *chuckle* I like you too. Way too much.

You: Are you sick? Your voice sounds a little weird.

Taehyung: Yeah, just a cold. I’ve been working from home these past few days.

You: Oh, you poor baby. Do you need me to bring you anything?

You: What? Why are you laughing?

Taehyung: Nothing, it’s just…I heard you talk to Junho like that.

You: Oh…I’m sorry.

Taehyung: No, I like it. A lot actually.

You: You do?

Taehyung: Mhm.

You: I see, you like to be babied?

Taehyung: Only when you’re babying me. It’s nice being the one who needs to be taken care off for a change.

You: I’ll take care of you. However you’d like.

Taehyung: However I’d like?

You: Hmmm…in more ways than one.

Taehyung: Fuck, I need you so bad…in more ways than one.

You: Me too.

You: I wish I could see you right now. But I have Smiley with me tonight.

Taehyung: Oh? He’s not with his father?

You: Nope. We’re actually preparing for our first, official vacation next week.

Taehyung: I know.

You: You know?

Taehyung: I stopped by your place earlier today, but you weren’t home.

You: Yeah, I was out doing some shopping.

Taehyung: And I met your neighbor, Seojoon, outside. He told me that you’re going on a trip with your ex.

You: That’s funny. I haven’t spoken to him in ages.

Taehyung: Hm.

You: But yeah, anyway, I’m not sure where exactly we’re going, Jungkook said it’s a surprise for Junho.

Taehyung: So, you’re actually going with him…

You: Yeah? What do you mean?

Taehyung: Did you forget everything we talked about? It’s not safe for you or Smiley, ___.

You: I only agreed to this because Jimin—

Taehyung: Jimin. He told me that you agreed to his plan. And I called to tell you that it’s not safe to follow through. There’s so many other ways you could do this, ___.

You: So this is why you called? To put me off this whole thing? Jimin told me you didn’t want to give him my contact details.

Taehyung: Because anything he wanted to tell you could’ve been sent to me first and I would convey the message.

Taehyung: And I didn’t only call to tell you this, don’t make assumptions.

Taehyung: You’re forgetting this is the guy who tried to kidnap and hurt not only you, but your son had he been there. By some miracle he wasn’t.

You: He was paid to do it, just like how you’re paying him to help me.

Taehyung: Exactly, I can easily pull my funding and you won’t have to go on this…holiday with your ex.

You: So that’s what it’s all about? You just don’t want me to go with Jungkook?

Taehyung: Yeah! Because it’s dangerous.

Taehyung: But I’m not gonna fucking lie and say that it doesn’t hurt knowing that you’re ‘working things out’ with him. When anything could happen.

You: You know that I have nothing left for him, he’s just Junho’s dad.

Taehyung: And you’re going on a trip with him. You’re forgetting all that we talked about ___. What it’s like when you’re lonely.

You: It’s not like that anymore.

Taehyung: Don’t go on this trip please. Forget my feelings and think about your safety.

You: Jimin said he has everything set up, so we’ll be safe.

Taehyung: …

Taehyung: I don’t want to fight or argue. I already miss you so fucking much and this bickering will only make me feel worse.

Taehyung: It’s your life after all.

You: Taehyung…

Taehyung: No, no. I get it. Do what you think is right for Smiley. And I hope you two have fun on your trip.

Taehyung: I’ll settle everything with Jimin’s agency, don’t worry.

You: Thank you but…Tae.

Taehyung: Let me know where you’re going when you find out, yeah?

You: Taehyung, I want you to know that we have means so much to me. In this time, these few weeks that we were apart, it had me thinking. I want us to work things out, more than anything in the world. Please don’t give up on us.

Taehyung: I can’t. Of course, I won’t. I want things to work out too. I’ll be waiting for you once you get back, yeah?

You: Yeah.

Taehyung: Okay. I can’t wait.

You: I miss you.

Taehyung: I miss you too.

You: I hope you get well soon, please let me know if you need anything. We’re only leaving on Friday afternoon.

Taehyung: I will.

Taehyung: ___?

You: Yeah?

Taehyung: I…nothing.

Taehyung: See you soon. Tell Smiley I said hi and I have a new TV in the lounge.

You: Will do.

Taehyung: Bye.

You: Bye~

Taehyung: Stay safe.

✉️

#taehyung x reader #jungkook x reader #taehyung smut #jungkook smut #taehyung series #jungkook series #bts smut #bts imagines #bts fanfiction #bts scenario #taehyung x you #jungkook x you #jeon jungkook fanfic #kim taehyung fanfic

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wizkiddx · 3 years

Note

hiii!!! omg please please pleasee do a part two of 3 hearts broken cus it fucking slaps miss girl

part 2 to 3 broken hearts!!! ive been so 🥺 at all the lovely comments+interest pt 1 had so thanku all !

summary: serious serious angst again will tom somehow get it back (unlike looking cos boy is a fool)

warnings: again lots of swearing (im British sorry not sorry) / wayyyy too much tea / slating Dom abit (obvs fictional but idk if I like the guy sorry his opinions are :/) / commitment issues

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

read part 1 here!!!!

That was three days ago now. Three days since you'd spoken to your boyfrien- well, Tom. It wasn't evident what the situation was.

The typical British weather brought with it the most ironic pathetic fallacy you could ever see. The clouds were dark and glooming, firing angry pellets of rain out as hard as they could. When you had pulled up on the roadside, it had just been a light drizzle but synchronised with your anxiety levels rising - so did the rain. When you finally opened up the car door, you threw your hoodie open with a sigh before running up the pathway to the front door.

It was the same burgundy red that you knew so well, but this time instead of just letting yourself in - you stood in the rain used the brass knocker thing twice. To be honest, you were hoping that no one was home - but in that house, it was pretty unlikely. After 30 seconds of getting drenched in the downpour, you were about to let yourself in with the spare key before the door swung open.

"Oh! Er Y/n?"

"Yeh um hi." You had to shout a bit over the sound of what must now be classified as a storm.

"Toms not-"

"I know. Can I come in?" As awkward and stunted as this conversation was, if you didn't get out of the rain asap you would literally end up drowned.

“Oh er yeh-yeh yeh come in.”

Harry stammered as he held the door open, gesturing for you to enter into the tiled hallway. Gratefully, you followed, throwing your sopping wet hood back down and wiping your feet on the floor.

"Sorry for just showing up, but I left some scripts here. My management are on my arse to read them and-"

"And you waited till Tom left for mum and dads?" The fluffy-haired boy has caught you red-handed; there was no defence, so you didn't even try.

Because yes, you knew on a Friday afternoon when Tom was home he would always, like clockwork, go to his parents just to kick back and watch gogglebox with both of them. It was only natural then that you chose Friday afternoon to come and pick up your stuff.

"I've been waiting in my car for half an hour till I saw him leave." Harry half laughed at that, still the two of you standing opposite each other in the hallway. "Um, do you… do you hate me Harry?"

Clearly, he hadn't quite been expecting your question going by the way his eyes almost bugged out his head.

"No, I-I, of course, I don't… look, I'm home alone so you fancy a cuppa?" Not being able to help the small chuckle, you nodded appreciatively, following Harry through the house.

"Your answer to everything is tea."

Harry had prepared the two mugs in silence as you sat at the table waiting patiently - if nervously too. You didn't miss how Harry had still used your favourite mug, having had to dig through the cupboard to find the weird square-shaped thing. Once done, he rounded the kitchen island and placed it in front of you, which you instantly cradled in two hands - for the hope of warming you up.

"You cold?" Obviously, it was pretty evident that sitting in your rain-soaked hoodie was not cosy at all. "Hang on a sec."

The boy sprung up again, returning moments later with a hoodie in hand, one he offered out to you with a little smile. The issue was that him and Tom shared clothes, so the hoodie he was kindly offering to you also had been worn by Tom before. Which made it hurt a little bit to wear. It was better than sitting soaked through though.

"How have you been then?"

"Not the best, to be honest, but uh… how about you?"

"Being with Tom while he's fighting with you? Oh, it's a barrel of laughs. You might've escaped it, but I haven't." He was trying to lighten the mood, and you appreciated it, offering him a half-smile that didn't really meet your eyes.

"Yeh sorry about that."

"Don't apologise; it doesn't sound like it's your fault Y/n."

That surprised you. Tom, especially when he was in moods like he was when you argued, wasn't one to admit when he was wrong. It was usually how the world was against him and how he was so hard done by. Accepting responsibility was something he hadn't said to you yet - but at least, small steps.

"He say that?"

"Pretty much… doesn't seem like he's angry at you, but-but he's still angry."

"At the world?" You rolled your eyes; this seemed to be the same old Tom through and through. Still immature. Still not with the right mindset.

"At himself." Harry countered, slightly entertained, when he saw the flash of surprise in your face as he sipped his drink. "And me… if I dare to so much as breathe this week."

This time you properly laughed, and Harry joined in too before the room fell back to silence - except the noise of the rain hitting the garden patio slats. You swirled the tea round in your mug, feeling the brunette's eyes on you. He'd always been your fake little brother too, since you'd met the Hollands way back 3 and a half years ago. Tom and yourself were barely adults, which meant the twins were still proper children. Harry had always been the one that understood you. Hollands, by nature, loved humans - loved to talk, to chat, to gossip. But sometimes, doing all that socialising got too much for you, as it did for Harry. He was the only one that seemed to understand social exhaustion. So when those moments had hit, you'd kept each other company in silence.

He got you, sometimes in ways your own boyfriend didn't.

"You know why he got so worked up, right?" You shook your head, looking up curiously. "Dad got under his skin on his birthday zoom thing."

Ah, now that did seem to coincide with the start of Tom's more petulant phase. To be fair, Tom had been asking to move in together for near enough a year now - but it was only in the past month it seemed to be the only thing you'd talk about and obviously only three days since the flight back. Dom's birthday barely a week ago, whilst you and Tom were both filming - except Tom had managed to get a day off where you hadn't. So you hadn't heard this conversation.

"What'd he say?"

"Was talking about how he and mum were settling down at Toms age, joked about how you rejected him, said maybe you were holding out for something better."

"Something better?" Harry sighed, leaning forward onto his elbows.

"He'd seen an article just off a trashy tabloid… it named you Hollywood's golden girl or something, said you could have the pick of any person on the planet…"

Of all the people in the world, why is Tom affected by shit journalism? He knows how much bullshit people write. He knows how it's all made up, exaggerated nonsense. And what he should know, completely and totally, is how much you love him. And if he didn't, was that your fault? Had you done something wrong, something to make him doubt you?

Harry seemed to notice the internal dialogue going on in your head, adding to the point. "It wasn't the article though, it was the fact dad said it."

Hmmm.

You and Dom got on; it wasn't like you hated the possible future father in law or whatever. Just…. you had very different outlooks. As much as Tom prided himself on how' grounded his family keeps him' -to you at least, they aren't entirely at sea level either. They'd never really had any particular struggles in life. They were the definition of middle class, and that's about it. They lived in a posh suburb of London, had all their family still around. It was the perfect family.

And whilst you were in no illusions about how privileged your life was now. It hadn't always been. You'd never had the 'nuclear' family. Instead, only your dad and a string of dodgy and fleeting stepmothers while struggling to make ends meet. So you were just always wary of Dom, of his opinions that so often his boys took for gospel. They always seemed pretty sheltered and close-minded.

And yet, Tom was a grown man.

"I get that, I just… Tom should know that we know more about our relationship than his dad. I mean,… have I done something wrong? Made him think I'm not in this for the long haul?"

"No nonono Y/n he's just… well he's an idiot, isn't he? I don't think he properly understands why you're cautious about moving and everything. He's just an idio- "

Harry was cut off for lightly insulting his brother by the sound of the front door opening, both of your heads swivelling towards the source. You then met Harry's eyes in a panic, to which he replied relatively simply.

"Just talk to each other. For my sake." You would've argued if it weren't for the fact you were so focused on Tom's shuffling around in the entrance hallway - back early from his parents.

"Baz? Where you at? I thought I saw Y/n's car and-"

"Kitchen!!!" Before Tom could say anything else, possibly landing himself in more trouble, Harry interrupted as his chair screeched while standing up. And then Tom was just there. Standing in the doorway, his arms dropping limply to his side as he noticed you. Everything about that moment seemed to freeze, when you locked eyes with him for the first time in three days. It didn't go unnoticed, the way his Adams apple bobbed, the way his eyes widen. The boy looked plain and simply terrified.

It was Harry who broke the silence, after giving you a stern look that said 'stay'. The younger Holland boy walked up to Tom and spoke.

"Try actually talking and actually listening about your problems with each other." And then he was gone, down the hallway and up the stairs.

For a few moments, Tom stayed absolutely stationary, now staring at where Harry had been when speaking to the both of you (but mainly Tom). Long enough to put your sense of unease at an all-time high, ready to make a break for it.

"If you don't want to talk, then I can leav-"

"NO!" Apparently snapping out of it, Tom exclaimed loud enough to make you flinch from your seat. "Sorry! I-I just… I wasn't expecting to… you know, to see you."

"Yeh I just uh- just came to pick up some scripts… Harry cornered me with a tea, though; otherwise, I'd be…."

"Baz thinks the whole world could be fixed with tea."

"that's what I said!" You instinctively responded, forgetting the fact you're supposed to be mad at him, and just for a second falling back into your normal flow.

Tom didn't even try to hide his grin in response, until you quickly corrected your face- then he did too. Turning around to put the kettle on for himself. Because right now, he needed to fix his whole world, and he needed all the help he could get. For a period, the only noise was the sound of the kettle boiling, then the teaspoon clinking against the mug as he stirred - until he padded over, taking the seat across from you.

"So."

"It's been a while," Tom stated the bloody obvious.

"You never called."

"Didn't think you'd want me to."

You thought that the early signs weren't all that auspicious. His ability to read a situation once again failing.

"I wanted you to say something."

"Say what?"

"What do you think Tom?" He replied to the sarcastic tone by sucking in a sharp breath, holding it for a second, before slowly exhaling. As if trying to compose himself, take time to think of a response - a mature move for him.

"Well, I think you want me to say sorry? For being so moody and not waiting for you and for upsetting those kids. And thanks too, for covering for me?"

You just hummed. Waiting for him to continue. Because yes, you did deserve all those things. But you also deserved more. An apology for, oh I don't know, saying he didn't think you loved him? It was a wait that never ended, he had nothing more to add.

"Going by your face, I take it I missed something?"

The bloody cheek of it.

"Theres nothing else? Nothing else at all? …" You gave him that chance, the opportunity but all he could respond with was a shake of his head. "You thought I was fine about you saying that I don't love you?" You hadn't intended on raising your voice, but really you hadn't realised you did till after the fact. To blinded by rage at his ignorance.

"You want to talk about this now?"

"When else Tom?" You sighed, realising he perhaps wasn't ready for this conversation. Maybe he needed more time to think things through, have sense talked into him by various wiser family members. Or maybe, he never would be. That was the worst-case scenario. But also… you're most likely prediction.

He shuffled in his seat, clearing his voice but not saying anything. Not a peep.

"I have spent three years of my life with you. I've had countless nights of too little sleep because that was the only time you could facetime. I've exposed my relationship to the world and people's opinions because you didn't want to hide. All I've done is love you. How could you even say that?" There might've been tears in your eyes, yet you were determined to keep them at bay. You needed to have this out, one way or another, to be clear and cohesive and logical. No time to cry.

"Y/n I know that, I…" He sighed, instinctively reaching for your hand, but you were quicker to pull it away. There was hurt in his eyes, but so there should be. "It just sometimes feels like that's it for you. That yeh you love me but you just want to standstill. That this is as much as it'll ever be."

Your emotions were suddenly uncontainable. Your voice croaked as you whispered, "Have I done something wrong?"

"No love, nonono if that's how you feel then that's okay. But it's something I'm not… shit this is hard." He took a pause to take a sip of his drink, your glazed eyes never leaving his. "I don't think I can stand still anymore. And yeh I was pissy and childish the other day because my dad got under my skin about the whole moving in thing… But these past few days, it just has got me thinking. Because I love you, so much."

This time when he reached out to grab your hand, you actually leaned into it yourself. Not because you were giving in, but because this hurt. This hurt so fucking much that you needed something to ground you, or else god knows. Because the way he was speaking, it sounded so finite.

"I love you too."

"I do know, which is…is why this is so hard." At the very least, Tom had conceded that.

The conversation ceased to silence yet again. The room felt so cold; even Tom/Harry's hoodie was doing nothing to keep you from the endless empty cold that seemed to be coming from within.

"When I re-registered my health card last month, and I made you my emergency contact on it. I-I made you my next of kin on everything actually. I didn't think about it twice. And-and this-"You pulled your phone out of your back pocket, immediately pulling up the app onto the open page. "This is my Pinterest board for our baby's nursery theme. I know-" You paused, to quickly wipe your cheeks clear of the tear tracks that may or may not have been there. "I know it's probably a long way away, but I just love the Scandinavian theme." You laughed at yourself, suddenly embarrassed at your blabbering and quickly pulled up a different app. "And this… this was from the other week when I was helping Y/bf/n start her vows." Hands trembling as you turned the phone around for Tom to see again. "She was finding it really tricky so she said, what would you say to Tom on your wedding, so-so I made this list." You only dared to look at him when you were sure he'd be reading through that note.

It was bizarre because he looked… well, he looked happy. Here you were feeling traumatised, showing things that you'd barely even deeped how committed they were - and he was pleased? Feeling the fire burn once again inside of your chest, you quickly swiped the phone away and back into your pocket. Only then did he look up, eyes widening - presumably at quite how psychotic you looked.

"So don't you dare say that I don't want a future with you."

You said it with such force, there was a pause. Tom letting those words sink deep into his brain. The way his expression flickered minutely gave you hope. You thought he got it. You thought he really understood now.

"But why don't you want to move in then?"

There it was again. He knew why. But he didn't get it. And, probably, he never would.

You were about to crash completely. So you ran. As fast as your legs could carry you, not even aware of your chair crashing to the floor in your wake. You ran out of that house and away from him. Away from who you had thought was the love of your life.

?give tom a final chance w one last part?

feedback is always v v appreciated <3

tom taglist : @lovehollandy12 @hollandlover19 @thefernandasantana @hunnybunimdun @hallecarey1@cedricdiggorysimpp @msmimimerton @hollandfanficlove @pandaxnienke @crossyourpeter @thegirlwiththeimpala @tom-softie @sunwardsss @spiitfiiires @radcloudenthusiast @ladykxxx08

people i think might be interestd in this (sorry if not just let me know and i'll remove the tag!!!): @obiwanownsmyass @wildxwidow @parkersvogue @coffeewithoutcaffeine @tomhollandlol @thefallenbibliophilequote @clumsymandu @hiraethenthusiast @mannien @abrielleholland @evermorehabit @niallberry @greatpizzascissorstaco @runawayolives @annathesillyfriend @letsgotothemoonlight @lovelybarnes

#tom x reader #tom holland fic #tomholland #tom holland #tom holland x reader #tom holland fluff #tom holland angst #famous!reader #tom holland x famous!reader #tom holland x actress!reader #harry holland

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xiaq · 3 years

Note

Hi, I have a question re:sex and Christianity. Small background: I still go to church, and I still live with my parents even though I'm not much younger than you, because housing is very very expensive where I live (pretty common here, I would say about 2/3 of my friends live with their parents and we are decently privileged kids)

Anyway. How does one get over purity culture? To be clear, I've never been told in church not to have sex, I've never gotten the gendered lessons that you got. But I am terrified of having sex. My first real, multi-year relationship just ended and while there was hand stuff etc, there was never any p in v sex (lol I feel 12). But I still had insane anxiety about being pregnant despite being on bc. And I think its because I know my parents would be so disappointed if I had sex. And if I was pregnant I could imagine all the gossip. And honestly I think im from a pretty open church, b/c one of our previous ministers kids recently got married at 8 months pregnant and lots of church people were at the wedding and supportive and her parents were there and everything.

I dont even think I particularly like sex, i might be on the ace spectrum, but how do I remove it from all the anxiety that's tied to it so I can even give myself the chance to find out???

(Asking because it seems like you've been pretty open about purity culture/removing yourself from it)

CW for sex talk (again)

How does one get over purity culture?

Oh man. That really is the million-dollar question, huh? Obviously, I can only answer re my personal experiences, and this is something you should talk to a therapist about, but I can tell you how I’ve tackled it with my therapist at least.

Purity culture is, at its core, an ideology that is perpetuated by shame. If you’re indoctrinated into purity culture when you’re a kid, the concepts become baked into the way you construct your identity, your perception of self, and your perception of your sexuality. It’s practically intrinsic, by the time you’re an adult, to feel shame any time you’re reminded you have a body, much less a sexuality.

According to the chapels I sat through every week as a kid, a girl's body could be 3 things: an intentional stumbling block for men, an accidental stumbling block for men, or unnoticeable. Women were to strive for the third option so as to keep their (and their male friends/authority figures) purity intact. After all, if a boy, or even your male teacher, had impure thoughts about you, it was your fault for tempting them (which, holy shit. I still can’t believe that was a thing I bought into for so long. If my 45 yr old grown-ass teacher had impure thoughts because he could see my 12 yr old collarbone, that sure as hell wasn’t my fault. But I digress.) The Only time a woman’s body can be something else, is when she gives it to her husband, at which point she must suddenly flip the switch in her brain that she is now allowed to be a Sexual Being and she must perform Sexual Duties despite living in outright fear of her own body and sexuality for years (decades?) up until this point. Jesus take the wheel.

Purity culture isn’t a thing you can just decide to walk away from if you’ve grown up in it. Because its ideology is insidious and internalized. So first you need to submit to the fact that you’re going to be fucked up about sex. It sounds like you’re there. Second, you need to interrogate what you believe. If you’re leaving religion behind entirely, you’ll approach removing yourself from purity culture differently than if you still identify as a Christian. It sounds like you might be the latter, which meant, for me, separating what’s actually biblical and what’s shitty, contrived, doctrine that I was told is biblical but is actually more political than spiritual. This helps you address the shame issue.

You need to throw away I Kissed Dating Goodbye and Lady in Waiting and all those ridiculous books you read and reread in the hopes of somehow obtaining impossible marriage perfection and look into actual scripture interpreted within its historical context. I could write a book on this, but the TL;DR is that the text of the Bible was written, translated, curated, and changed multiple times over thousands of years by human beings with human biases and, often, personal and/or political agendas. It contradicts itself! Reading it as it is—a flawed historical document—rather than some sort of God-breathed perfect document—is incredibly freeing. When you do, you’ll probably realize that purity culture is bullshit on a spiritual level. Which is a good start, if that matters to you. Because any time you start to feel shame or guilt you can ask yourself: does God actually care if I wear a bikini or touch a dick I’m not married to? Probably not. Wear the bikini. Touch the dick.

The most important therapy session for me was when my therapist asked what I would do if I got to heaven and God was actually the God I’d been raised to fear. What would I do if he condemned me for being bisexual and having premarital sex and becoming educated, for arguing with men, and failing to isolate while menstruating, and wearing mixed fabrics? If Montero had come out at the point, I probably would have said I’d pole dance down to hell. Instead, I said I would spit on heaven’s gates. If a god that cruel and that pointlessly demeaning really exists—a god who would create in me condemned desire—I won't worship him. The good news is, I’m 99% sure he doesn’t exist. At the very least, he isn’t supported by scripture.

Okay. The final thing you need to do is figure out what you actually want, sexually speaking. This bit is probably the hardest. I’m still in the early stages of this myself. You say: “I dont even think I particularly like sex, i might be on the ace spectrum, but how do I remove it from all the anxiety that's tied to it so I can even give myself the chance to find out???” Bro, I wish I had an easy answer for you. For me, whenever I’m feeling anxious about Sex Things, I tell myself: 1. My God does not equate my worth to my sexual habits. 2. My partner does not equate my worth to my sexual habits. 3. I do not equate my worth to my sexual habits. It seems silly, but reminding myself of those three things is massively helpful. If, after I’ve sorted through those, I’m still anxious or uncomfortable, I stop doing the thing. I evaluate. Am I overwhelmed and I need to try again some other time? Do I just not like the thing? Sometimes it’s hard to tell. Sometimes you change your mind. Sometimes you just don’t know. That’s why having a partner who you trust and who’s willing to patiently explore your interests (and respect your disinterests) is so important. Half the battle, for me, was having a partner who told me they’d be ok with no sex at all. Because that took the pressure off me. If the bare minimum they need is nothing, then anything more than that is a bonus! Hooray! This is maybe TMI, but let me tell you. I thought I was asexual* right up until I was able to have moderately non-anxious sex. Never in my life did I think I would initiate a sexual situation but… I do now. It’s a fun thing to do with a person I love and, holy shit. I am furious that I nearly missed out on it.

Finally, re birth control: I don’t know how you can approach that fear in a way that works for you. If you don’t want to ever have penetrative sex, that’s fine! If that’s a point of anxiety you can’t get rid of, then don't push yourself to do it. If you find out you like other sex things, do the other sex things! If you don't like doing any sex things, don't do any sex things! Also, have you considered sleeping with people who can’t get you pregnant? Always an option if it’s an option you want to consider. ;)

Okay. I hope this was even a little bit helpful. Sorry if it’s a little convoluted, I typed it up in bursts during my work breaks.

*This is not at all to say that asexuality can be “fixed." Rather, it’s to say that things like purity culture can drastically confuse your sexuality in general. If you’re asexual, then this process is still important to discover what you like/dislike. Then you can be explicit about those necesities and find a partner who’s a good fit (if you want a partner at all, that is).

#purity culture #sex talk #christianity #sex and relationships #sex and religion #mylife #answered asks #aspec #cw sex

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lexosaurus · 3 years

Text

Invisobang: Morge pt 2

It was a beautiful day outside. The birds were singing, the flowers were blooming...a corpse was found in the woods.

Or, Amity Park's local cadaver dog trainer was walking her dog in the woods when they discovered a little surprise waiting for them six feet under.

Pairings: none WC: 9886 read on: [ao3] part 2 of 2, read: [part 1]

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some amazing accompanying art by @ghostkiin

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“It’s like you’re not even trying!” Plasmius barked, throwing Danny an exaggerated yawn while blocking the ectoblasts thrown his way. “Really, Daniel, you were always woefully incapable compared to me, but this is just abysmal, even for you.”

Danny gritted his teeth and glared back, allowing his glowing eyes to glare to toxic levels. Plasmius picked the wrong week to try to steal blueprints from Fentonworks.

“What, are you going to hit me with a little ectoblast again?”

“Oh I’ll show you an ectoblast,” Danny growled, charging ectoplasm in his palms so concentrated that the green glowed a fierce white. He flung his hands out, releasing the energy with a venomous, “eat shit, Fruitloop!”

But just like the rest of his life, his attack was uncontrolled, wild. It flew several feet to Vlad’s side, nailing a road sign and burning it like acid until there was nothing left.

Plasmius grinned at its charred remains. “Was that supposed to hit me? My, Daniel, I’m quaking in my boots!”

Danny felt his aura increase.

This week had already been shitty enough, even without Vlad’s help. He felt like his brain was trapped in a hailstorm, with constant unavoidable attacks pelting him from all sides. His core was a ball of energy and anxiety, not allowing him to sleep or eat or even breathe without the constant fear about his body and how it was being messed with and he needed to protect it and how he’d failed so miserably at protecting it and now his secret was going to be revealed and he was screwed.

“Well? I’m waiting! Tick tock, Little Badger!”

Ancients, Vlad was such an asshole.

“Shut UP!” Danny yelled, releasing his ghostly wail.

Just as a pink blast slapped him across the face, sending him flying into a brick building.

Plasmius tisked, flying nonchalantly towards him. “We can’t have you using that particular power, now can we? Not while you’re so obviously in control of yourself.”

“Fuck off.”

The older ghost smirked and brushed dust off his red and white cape. “Teenagers. Always so hormonal. What, did a girl at school reject you?”

“What are you talking about?” Danny launched himself back in the air and powered an ice blast. “You know what? Don’t answer that. I don’t care what you have to say.”

“No, I’m sure you don’t,” Vlad said, releasing a plasmius blast just before Danny released his own. The pink blast travelled across the air like a bullet, punching Danny in the gut and sending him crashing back into the building.

Meanwhile, Danny’s ice blast flew a foot above Vlad’s head, webbing itself into a tree and coating the branches with thick icicles.

Danny tried to push himself back onto his shaky feet, only to be pushed back down yet again by another plasmius blast.

Brick tumbled onto his head, coating his vision with dust. His body ached, and his neck was sore from the whiplash.

From his clouded vision, a glowing white figure with red eyes and gaudy horn-like spikes for hair hovered closer to him.

“My, my. You really are out of sorts today,” Plasmius said. “This is almost too easy. I could just take you out right here and go take your parents’ entire spectre speeder straight from your lab.

“What do you even need a spectre speeder for? You can fly,” Danny asked, rubbing a lump from his skull.

“A simple minded teenager such as yourself couldn’t possibly understand my reasons.”

Anger flared through Danny. He gripped some wreckage next to him and forced himself back onto his feet. His legs shook and he felt something wet drip down his calf.

Great, he was bleeding. Just add that to the list of reasons as to why this week was the worst.

“Shut up. I won’t let you do that.”

“Oh?” Plasmius powered a pink blast in each hand. “Then prove it.”

Danny tried, but with each attempted blast, kick, or punch, it seemed like Plasmius was one step ahead of him.

And worse, it felt like he was reveling in the power trip.

A burn here, a kick there—everywhere Danny looked, there was Vlad, glowing fist at the ready. It reminded him of the first time he’d encountered Vlad, back at the mansion. Having Vlad so openly destroy him had been shameful.

Danny collapsed onto the pavement, heaving, his entire body searing in pain.

Plasmius paused to survey him up and down with suspicious eyes. Finally, just as Danny was one breath away from turning invisible out of sheer discomfort, did the ghost finally open his mouth. “Alright, spit it out.”

Anxiety gripped Danny’s stomach. “What are you talking about?”

“Something’s troubling you enough to make you pathetically weak. It’s honestly embarrassing. I can’t stand here watching my future ward make a fool of himself any longer.”

“I’m not moving in with you, creep,” Danny bit back.

“That’s what you think. No matter, tell your dear old uncle what’s troubling you.”

“Go play in traffic.”

Plasmius’ eyes narrowed. “I’d nearly forgotten what a brat you are. Now tell me before I take methods into my own hands.”

Danny sighed, and attempted to stand. But the moment his foot touched the ground, a sharp pain shot up his shin. He hissed, and lowered himself back to the pavement.

“Well? I don’t have all day.”

“It’s nothing,” Danny grumbled, glaring at the pavement. He felt small under Plasmius’ critical gaze. “Nothing at all.”

“It’s obviously something,” Plasmius said, landing in front of Danny. “Now quit wasting my time and tell me what it is before I—”

“Then why don’t you leave? If I’m just wasting your precious time, then go home! It’s not like you even care about me anyways.”

Vlad leaned in, flaring his aura. “In case it’s not clear to your simple teenage brain, your actions represent the both of us. You fuck up, I have to pay the consequences.”

“Who says this is even about ghost stuff?” Danny hissed. “For all you know, I got in a fight with Jazz.”

Vlad scoffed. “Do you seriously believe me to be that stupid? Of course it’s about your identity! Why else would your core be acting so wildly if its Obsession weren’t at stake?”

Danny flinched.

“You did something, and I want to know what it is so I can determine if I need to run damage control on you or not before you blow this for all of us.”

“It’s...” Danny felt his aura pull back. “It’s about...you know…”

“I can assure you I do not know.”

“I...I might have…the police may have found...it…’

Plasmius sighed and rubbed his forehead with his hand. “What did they find?”

“My—my, uh...body?”

“You mean your identity?” Plasmius’ eyes widened.

“Not exactly.” Danny felt his face burn. “You know...the body I left when I...after the accident.”

Plasmius reacted instantly. He shot up, glancing around, before grabbing Danny and pulling him through a hastily erected portal.

Danny felt his body squeeze through the portal and then seconds later, he was in Vlad’s study. The ghost threw Danny on his loveseat and heightened his aura. His brows creased, and his eyes glowed a dangerous shade of red. “What exactly do you mean when you say the police found your deceased body? How did this happen? What the hell did you do?”

“It wasn’t my fault!” Danny cried indignantly. “They found it with their freakish police dog! I swear I buried it deep in the ground.”

“Well not deep enough, apparently!” Vlad pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers. “Of all the stupid, childish things you could do!”

“It wasn’t my fault!”

Vlad ripped his hands away from his face, his eyes snapping back to Danny. He took a step closer to the teen, his eyes narrowing until a red glow peaked underneath. “Then whose fault would it be exactly, hmm? What, is this yet another piece of blame you’re going to cast upon my shoulders? Me, the halfa who has managed to keep this a well kept secret for over twenty years when you apparently can’t even manage to keep it to yourself for one?”

Danny let his own ghostly strength shine through his eyes. “Quit acting like I invited them all over. I didn’t, it was a coincidence. A mistake.”

“Oh, goodness me!” Vlad let out a sardonic laugh. “I guess when the Ghost Investigative Ward appear at my doorstep in a month, I’ll just tell them it was all a mistake. That’s sure to turn them right around!”

“Shut up.”

“No I will not.” Vlad’s face set back into a scowl. “You have proven yourself to be a liability again and again, and every single time it’s me who has to clean up your little messes. Messes that you don’t seem to realize could be the end of our kind!”

Anxiety shot through Danny’s stomach. He gripped the arm rests of the chair, squeezing them so tightly he heard the faint sounds of cracking in the wood.

“And now you mean to tell me that the police have your rotting, ectoplasm-drenched inhuman corpse in their possession?” Vlad yelled. “And you’re really trying to argue with me that it was just a simple mistake?”

Danny’s shaking hand slipped, tearing off a chunk of the armchair. It clattering to the floor. “I don’t—I didn’t mean for this to happen. I don’t…”

Vlad closed his eyes, but Danny could still see the wisps of red shimmering through his eyelids. “No, of course you didn’t. But that doesn’t mean we can let them keep it.”

“I’ve tried.” His voice cracked. “I keep trying to convince them to stop, but they won’t—”

“What, you actually thought they’d listen to you? A ghost? My boy, I know you were dim, but this is truly extraordinary.”

Danny sniffed, keeping his head down. He felt like an egg boiling over, the yolk just one jolt away from breaking.

“No…” Plasmius hummed. “What we need is to take it back by force.”

“We can’t, they have the whole morgue under a shield. We can get in as ghosts, and it’d look too suspicious if we showed up as humans.”

“Unfortunately, you may be right about us appearing as humans. We can’t do that. But,” Plasmius’ tone shifted, “one thing we can do is break the shield.”

Danny froze. He gazed questioningly up at the older ghost, who was facing the window with a renewed sense of determination. “Break the shield? How? We can’t touch it!”

“No, but the shield doesn’t exist on its own. It has to be generated from somewhere, doesn’t it? Do you see? We break the device, we break the shield.”

Danny wasn’t following, and he was sure his face betrayed that much.

“Listen, Little Badger. Ghosts cannot touch the shield or the device, but who says—oh I don’t know—maybe a collapsed ceiling might do the trick? Some torn cables, perhaps? After all, with no energy supply, how could it possibly generate the power necessary to produce a shield?”

Danny felt his eyes widen. Something icy settled in his gut. When he spoke, his voice was hollow. “You want to destroy the building.”

“Well I certainly wouldn’t be so crude, but perhaps a few colleagues of mine might be swayed—”

“No.” Danny stood automatically.

Vlad’s head snapped over to him. “No?”

He could feel Vlad’s confusion, and it blended with his own. Deep down, he knew he needed to stop at nothing to get his body back, but collapsing the building? Putting others in danger?

Putting his remains in danger of ruin?

What if something happened? What if a brick fell on his skull? What if a spike tore his abdomen in half?

No, he couldn’t do it. It wasn’t worth the risk.

This was wrong.

“We can’t,” Danny choked out. “You’ll hurt it.”

“I don’t think you understand, Little Badger,” Vlad hissed, leaning down.

Danny could feel the heat of his red eyes on his skull.

“With the position you’ve put us both in? You don’t get to decide what happens to your corpse now.”

“No, Vlad. I’m serious. You can’t—”

“And so am I.” Plasmius straightened, and his aura tinted to a dangerous pink. “You’ve put us at risk one time too many. Now I’m taking things into my own hands. And no amount of scary eyes is going to sway me.”

In one motion, Vlad ripped open a portal and pushed Danny through. Before he could blink, he was back in the damp alley they’d just been in.

“Good day, Danny Phantom.”

Plasmius shut the portal, and Danny was alone.

---

“Thank you for taking the time to come talk to us about this,” Mark said, opening the conference room door for the consultant before him. “This case is unfortunately a bit out of my expertise, and the lab results are even more perplexing. Hopefully you’ll be able to parse through the documents much easier than I.”

Dr. Maddie Fenton, dressed in her typical turquoise lab attire, stepped through the door and took a seat at the table. “Of course, I’m always happy to help Amity’s law enforcement protect its citizens against ghosts.”

“Well,” Mark pulled out a chair for himself, placing the manila folders against the table. “This is actually a bit more complex.”

“Oh?” Dr. Fenton reached for the folders.

“To bring you up to speed, I mentioned on the phone that we needed your assistance with a murder case involving a ghost. But there’s a bit more to it.”

She opened the folder and leafed through the files.

“The truth is the body we uncovered we believe to be Phantom’s body.”

Dr. Fenton paused, her eyebrows shooting up. She glanced up at Mark. “That’s a rather serious case. What evidence do you have to support that?”

“Well…” Mark started. “When we uncovered the body, Phantom appeared above it, and was acting rather erratically. Like a cornered animal, almost.”

“He felt threatened.”

“Right.” He nodded. “But it’s more than that. When we ran forensics on the body, we found that all our lab results were corrupted with ectoplasm. Ectoplasm that when we ran the ectosignature for, turned out to be Phantom’s.”

Dr. Fenton looked back down at the files. “That’s highly unusual.”

“Well we were hoping you’d be able to piece this all together.” Mark gestured to the files.

“I see…” Dr. Fenton’s voice trailed off. Her eyes scanned the page, hungrily soaking up each word. The silence stretched on for a few minutes as Mark awaited her opinion.

Contacting the Fentons had been something Mark had been pushing off for as long as possible. The Fentons were loud, boisterous, and not at all known for their professionalism nor tact.

But it was either they contact the Fentons or the Ghost Investigation Ward. And despite Phantom’s cold demeanor towards the detectives, Mark still had hope that perhaps he could gain the teen ghost’s trust. And to do that, the GiW could not be anywhere near the station.

Of the duo, Maddie Fenton seemed the most level-headed. And it had just been Mark’s luck that of the pair, she was the one with a doctorate in ectobiology. Which meant that it was perfectly understandable when Mark had requested that she alone come into the station to review the files.

“We’re trying to keep this on the down-low. If Phantom feels like we’re going to turn him over to the government, he’ll clam up. As it stands we’re only barely getting information out of him.”

“Well, I wouldn’t trust anything he says anyway,” she said, not looking up from the paper. “He’ll do whatever possible to keep himself safe. Ghosts are products of their Obsessions, and Phantom is no different. If he feels like this investigation is going to come in the way of him being able to feed into his Obsession, then he’ll do anything to stop that from happening. No matter who he hurts in the process.”

Mark felt a shudder creep up his spine. “Do you think he could be lying about this being his body? Maybe he could have been the one to kill this boy and is trying to cover it up?”

“Hmm…no, that doesn’t seem likely given the labs. And besides, it would be highly unusual for Phantom to be summoned to a body that wasn’t his. Although…” Dr. Fenton mused. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like this before.”

“Like what?”

“Well, when an animal dies near a cluster of ambient ectoplasm, their body runs the risk of forming a ghost. However, there must be a significant final moment for the neural pathways in the brain to bond with the ectoplasm. That moment translates into an Obsession, which forms the core that the ghost then forms around. If a human dies peacefully, there’s nothing to work with. But if the human dies violently, or if they die with unfinished business, that gives the ambient ectoplasm something to charge with.”

Mark nodded politely, not seeing where this was going. This was all common knowledge for the people of Amity, and Mark had certainly seen enough of the Fentons’ public speeches to understand these basics.

“The ambient ectoplasm comes from the electrical connections in the brain, unrelated to what’s happening in the body. It’s why a human can be paralyzed from the waist-down, but still form a ghost with functioning legs. Do you see what I’m saying?”

Mark nodded, then shook his head. “I’m sorry, I’m not seeing how this relates to Phantom specifically?”

“There’s no real reason that Phantom’s human body should have been corrupted by ectoplasm. In fact, there’s never been a case of a human body with an ectosignature embedded in its cells. It’s virtually impossible, in fact. Living cells are completely incompatible with ectoplasm.”

Mark stared down at his own copy of the reports, his mind reeling. “You’ve never seen this before?”

“Not in my twenty years in this field.”

“Do you have any idea what could have caused this?”

Dr. Fenton pursed her lips. “There’s one...it would explain a lot about him actually. Human experimentation.”

Oh.

Shit.

“You don’t think…” Mark’s voice trailed off, his tongue incapable of finishing the sentence. To think that some sick individual would even attempt such a thing.

“It’s the only logical explanation here.” Dr. Fenton gestured at her folder. “Or at least, the only one I can piece together given this information. Phantom would have had to have died after interacting with an intense amount of ecto-technology. Technology with the power to chemically alter every cell in his living body just before finishing him off with electrocution. Of course, it’s just a theory. Only Phantom knows the truth.”

“Right.” He could hardly process what was being said. “But he won’t tell us the truth.”

“Well, I’m not surprised. Ghosts run a different social hierarchy than humans, theirs is far more simple. It’s entirely based on strength. The stronger the ghost, the better they protect their haunt, the more respect they’re given within ghost culture. If Phantom shows weakness, then the other ghosts can use that to dethrone him as the human world’s great protector.”

“But we’re not ghosts.”

“But he is.” Dr. Fenton cocked her head. “This explains other things too. Like the fact that Phantom, a relatively new ghost, is already a level seven on the ectoplasm power scale.”

“I assume that’s unusual.”

“Quite. It would have had to require an extremely intense death at the very least. But human experimentation with ectoplasm, feelling your body reject itself from the inside out, every strand of DNA being corrupted by the essence of death—that’s not an end I’d wish on my worst enemies.”

“And now we have his corpse. Phantom’s going to feel incredibly threatened. He’s bound to lash out.”

Dr. Fenton nodded gravely. “Then you better wrap this investigation up quickly, because Phantom is still a young ghost. He’s impatient, like a child. The longer you take to solve this case, the more unstable he’ll get. And I wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end when he finally snaps.”

---

A dull unease panged at Danny’s core. It was calling to him, trying to goad him to his corpse.

Trouble, trouble, trouble, it seemed to whisper.

But he ignored it, just like he’d been ignoring it all this time. Because no matter how much he tried, he couldn’t get past the shields, he couldn’t get back to his corpse.

He was powerless. Alone.

Scared.

He tried to focus on his math worksheet, but the numbers blurred together and he couldn’t remember what eight times seven was. He had a calculator, but it was in his bag and he couldn’t remember what pocket he’d shoved it into, or even if he’d remembered to put it in his bag last night after staring blankly at the homework assignment for an hour without lifting his pencil even once.

No, his calculator was probably still on his desk at home.

Trouble, trouble, trouble.

The voices were louder now, and the pull was more desperate.

His throat hurt, and for a moment he was convinced his lungs were collapsing before he remembered that he’d forgotten to release the air trapped in his lungs and he couldn’t remember when he’d stopped breathing.

“Danny?” Mr. Falluca said from the front of the room. “Is everything alright?”

He commanded his head to nod, but he wasn’t sure if he succeeded. Maybe he did. He couldn’t check, he couldn’t lift his eyes from the desk.

The voices were too loud.

The dull pang wasn’t so dull anymore.

Trouble, trouble, go now, go now.

The pang was solidifying, taking shape. It was becoming sharper, more urgent.

Go now, go now, go now.

The pokes turned into pricks, threatening to rupture his organs, sending needles down the nerves in his arms and legs. A headache sparked before his eyes and his vision swam.

The voices attacked him from all angles, and fingers brushed against his skin, tugging the sleeves of his shirt towards the window, the ceiling, the wall, the door— anywhere so long as it was away from here. Outside. To the morgue.

Go to the morgue.

Ignore it, be strong. Just ignore it and it’ll go away.

Go now.

No.

Go now, go now, GO NOW.

No, he couldn’t.

The pinpricks finally morphed into one sharp, icy cold knife.

It stabbed his core.

Go now.

He stood from his chair, knocking it back.

Vaguely, he could hear the alarmed cries of his classmates, but he ignored them.

The only thing that mattered was his body. His corpse.

Protect.

A hand grabbed his arm, yanking him back, but he could feel the warmth of the human blood running under its veins and he couldn’t be bothered with human problems right now. Not when he was in danger.

He phased through the grip, and ran out of the classroom. He sprinted down the hall, tearing open the familiar looking door and transforming and taking off into the sky nearly as soon as the sun brushed his skin.

This was different than all the other times his core had tried to coax him to his corpse. Something was wrong. Really, really wrong. His body was in danger, and he needed to save it.

He heard an explosion in the distance, and he increased his speed, feeling his eyes sting as the cool air slapped against his corneas. The world blurred, but it was okay. His core was guiding him now, not his eyes. He didn’t need to see, he just needed to close off and follow his ghostly instincts.

“That’s right!” A deep voice yelled from across the way.

Danny pulled to a halt, blinking the sting from his vision.

Then a boulder flew past his body, hitting the wall of a disturbingly familiar building.

His core yelled in protest. The body was in danger. His body.

“You thought a pesky shield could keep me out? Me, Skulker, the Ghost Zone’s greatest hunter? I’ll show you!”

Ice filled his veins, freezing his aura and building in power around his hands.

Skulker hoisted a parked motorcycle from the edge of the street into the air. “Take this!” he yelled, hurling it into the air.

It was heading straight for the door. It was going to break it, it might break the window, it could damage the body.

An icicle stabbed his core, and before Danny could blink, his hands were raised and jagged blue ice was shooting from his palms, catching the motorcycle in midair and pinning it to the street.

“What is the meaning of this?” Skulker roared, whipping around. His eyes locked on Danny and his confusion melted from this face only to be replaced by a triumphant smirk. “Well hello there, ghost child.”

Danny’s palms burned an even brighter blue. “ Leave,” he hissed, the Ghost Speak slipping off his tongue like butter.

Skulker’s grin widened. “It seems I’ve touched a nerve. Fear not, child, I’m just here to procure your pelt. Well, your other pelt.”

He flashed his aura in a showcase of power that would send most ghosts running for the hills. “Leave.”

A look of contempt replaced the humor on Skulker’s face. His eyes narrowed, and his voice lowered. “I don’t take orders from you, child.”

There was a natural balancing act between his human brain and ghost core, one that ensured that neither half of him was in full control one hundred percent of the time. No matter how human he was, his core still lingered in the background, and no matter how ghost he was, his human brain still kept tabs on his movements.

But now, as Danny watched Skulker rip a slab of concrete from the ground, he felt something snap inside of him.

“Then I have no choice.”

Green overtook his vision, and Danny Fenton simply disappeared.

Time passed—or it didn’t—in swirls of blue and green. If he looked out, he could see the power released from his gloves, he could see the mix of ectoplasm and ice that he was hurling at Skulker, to protect the building, to protect his body, to protect himself from Plasmius.

That vindictive, lonely asshole.

Who was Plasmius to encroach on what was his?

There were flashing lights around him, but Danny paid them no mind. The only thing that mattered was protecting his body.

Protect his haunt.

Protect his people.

Protect.

He could feel the newly pointed teeth pinch his gums, and the ghostly wisps of his hair fizzle around him. But oddly these changes didn’t worry him, instead they made him feel safe, secure. Like a child clinging onto their blanket.

He launched another barrage of attacks at Skulker, tearing holes through his armor. Panic struck Skulker’s features, and all Danny could think of was, ‘good.’ If Skulker wanted to try to claim dominance over his body, then he would suffer tenfold.

And just before he was about to launch a blast at Skulker that was sure to disintegrate his armor, an amplified voice behind him called out, “PHANTOM!”

Danny flinched, his power leaking out of its concentrated ball.

Weak.

“Phantom, stand down!”

Not a chance.

“We have the area surrounded. Stand down or we’ll be forced to shoot.”

“Better listen to your human puppets,” Skulker said, his voice too shaken to sound mocking. “I know when I’ve been bested.”

It took everything in Danny’s power to not launch himself over to Skulker and tear off his head. “You tried to steal my body.”

“That’s a fight between you and Plasmius.”

“Don’t try to get out of this.”

“Phantom,” Detective Johnson said. “Final warning. Stand down.”

Ectoplasm surged throughout his body. “Make me.”

Multiple events happened at once. Skulker motioned to leave just as Danny raised his arms, blistering white light moments away from release. Then, pain seared through his torso.

Danny yelped, jerking his hand back and releasing the ectoblast somewhere off into the sky. He fell back and hit the ecto-shield, sending electrical warnings through his bones.

Memories of the portal, of the thousands of volts of electricity, of the feeling of his bones and muscles and tissues and cells being ripped apart and stitched back together flashed before his eyes. It was too much, all too much too soon too present. He tried blasting the portal but his gloves were splattered with green and oh no, not good, not good.

He was dying, wasn’t he?

Again.

Would he have a second body?

His vision tilted, and finally he managed to rip himself away from the shield. He collapsed onto the cement and stared up at the sky, chest heaving.

He was paralyzed. He knew he had fingers, toes, arms, legs—but they didn’t work. He couldn’t feel anything. Couldn’t fly.

He was dying.

“Phantom?” Johnson’s cautious voice sounded from somewhere off to the side. “Sit up, let’s talk through this.”

There was a pregnant pause, and then Danny finally managed to blink. The world snapped back into focus, and his surroundings came with it. He looked down at his torso to see a little hole in his side of his suit surrounded by a trickle of green.

“What—?” Danny gasped.

“I’m gonna put the gun down, okay?” Johnson said. “I just wanna talk.”

“No.” Danny slowly pushed himself up. He surveyed the damage along the walls, the falling bricks on the sidewalk, the shattered windows and bent door. “No, no, no.”

His body wasn’t safe. Not anymore.

“Phantom, come on. Work with me here.”

But he couldn’t. That detective and his partner were just human, they didn’t understand. This was his body and Vlad knew about it and was trying to take matters into his own hands no matter the cost to Danny.

This was a disaster. He shouldn’t have told Vlad anything. He was so stupid for thinking Vlad could help him. He should have known, should have known.

“Phantom.”

“No.”

The cloak of invisibility covered his body, and he shot up into the sky.

Towards the city.

He needed to end this.

---

Sarah felt the chill first.

“You have to stop,” Phantom’s voice echoed behind her.

She sighed and put down her pencil. “Phantom, I thought I explained this already. The police can’t—”

“I don’t care about the police!”

The room grew cold.

“I don’t...ugh!” Phantom floated around her desk, clutching his forehead with one hand and his chest with the other. Mark had just called her with a warning, saying that Phantom was unstable. Looking at the ghost now, Sarah had to agree.

Phantom looked awful.

Dark circles pooled under his eyes, his hair stuck up in all directions, and his face lacked the green blush that normally sat below his skin. His jumpsuit was burned and dried ectoplasm crusted around the torn edges. He looked every bit the image of someone quickly coming undone.

Except this wasn’t just some random person, this was a powerful ghost. This was someone who could easily kill anyone who wronged him.

Or who he felt wronged him.

Deep down, Sarah knew Phantom wasn’t a violent ghost. It didn’t line up with his ghostly Obsession, or the theorized one anyway. But this was his corpse they were dealing with, it was an extension of himself.

Sarah had never confronted a ghost who had lost possession of their corpse. She’d never dealt with a ghost who willingly protected the shield that kept him away from his body if only to make sure it stayed safe. She’d never seen Phantom look so rattled.

At this point, there was no telling what he was capable of.

“Phantom,” she tried cautiously. “You need to calm down.”

“No, you need to tell your buddies to call off this investigation!”

“You know I can’t do that. I have no control over the department, and even if I did, we need to follow the law.”

His eyes flashed dangerously. “Why, because I’m a ghost? Because my words mean nothing because I’m not human? I’m telling you that I don’t want to press any charges, I don’t get why that’s not good enough!”

The room grew even colder.

“We’ve been over this. Please, Phantom, sit down—”

“No!” he snapped. “I’ve been telling you guys since the beginning that this was a bad idea, that people are going to get hurt! And no, nobody listened to me because I’m a fucking ghost! And now look, the building was attacked! My body was attacked! Do you—” his voice cracked, and the glow on his eyes wobbled. He drifted closer to her. “Do you even understand? Do you get how dangerous this is? Do you understand the people you guys have pissed off? Who you’re playing with now?”

Sarah took a deep breath. Even as a human, the power Phantom was emitting was palpable. “What people? You mean the ghost who attacked the morgue?”

“Not him. He—he’s just a lacky. Just following orders.” He let out a bitter laugh, running his hand over his forehead and smearing green across his skin. “You guys have no idea, you really don’t…”

Dread crept up Sarah’s spine. If what Mark was saying was true, then this could run deeper than they thought. “Explain it to me.”

“I’m…” He glanced up, looking ill. “I’m not…normal. For a ghost, I mean. I can’t explain it. I really can’t. But the other ghosts...they consider me a liability. And now that you guys have my—my body, they’re afraid.”

“Why are they afraid?”

“Because…” His brow furrowed. “I can’t—I can’t…”

She tilted her head, watching the ghost choke on his words. “Can’t, or won’t?”

“It doesn’t matter. They’ll stop at nothing till they get my body back. They’ll kill everyone in that building if it means nobody finds out my secret.”

What secret? Sarah wanted to scream, but she held back.

“Phantom,” Sarah lowered her tone. “Are they the reason you’ve been so afraid of us finding out the truth? Have they threatened you in any way?”

“No!” He backed up in shock. “I—I mean, sort of? Listen, it’s not because of him—them, I promise. It’s more complicated than that. He’s just protecting me, you know? If my secret gets out, that would put them all in danger, but it would put me in even more danger. I wouldn’t...I’d have to leave. I’d be on the run.”

“Why?”

“It’s so messed up.”

“Then tell me.”

She already knew. She just needed him to confirm it for her.

He looked to her, his bright green eyes seemingly desperate for help. But he shook his head. “I can’t do this.”

“Wait—”

But he was already gone.

---

“I’ve never seen him look so scared,” Abrams said.

“So you think he’s right.” Crowley took a long swig of his coffee, “Course you do.”

“It makes sense,” Abrams insisted. “Why else would Phantom be so terrified of people finding the truth?”

“Oh gee, I don’t know, maybe it’s because he’s a teen who was playing with electrical equipment he wasn’t supposed to be near and even in death doesn’t want to get in trouble for it!”

“Yes but how would that explain all the ectoplasm in his DNA? That doesn’t come from just any electric shock.”

“Who knows,” Crowley said. “The Fentons have always been crackpots. Always have had ludicrous theories. Now suddenly when it’s convenient, you’re all running to their side?”

Mark rolled his eyes. “We’re not running to their side.”

“Then what do you call this?” Crowley gestured to the duo. “Sure looks like it to me.”

“You have to admit that it makes sense,” Mark said. “I mean, get real. Doesn’t any of this smell fishy to you?”

Crowley slapped his empty coffee mug on the table. “You know what smells fishy to me? The Fentons are the only known ecto-scientists in this whole damn city, the only people who have lab-grade ecto-equipment in Amity Park, and suddenly right when they were getting into some financial trouble, Phantom appears out of nowhere from a death that reeks of forced ecto-contamination. That smells fishy to me.”

Mark paused, but then shook his head. “If that were true, then why would Dr. Fenton even offer human experimentation as a possibility?”

“To gloat? Gain our trust? Test our intelligence?” Crowley threw his hands up. “Who knows? They’re crazy!”

“So you think we need to investigate them?” Mark asked.

“I’d be a damn shit detective if I didn’t. They have the means and motive to create a ghost like Phantom. It’s just like Maddie said.”

“I think he’s right,” Abrams said, nibbling on her bagel. “If this is actually a case of ecto-experimentation, then the Fentons should be on the list of suspects.”

“Finally, some common sense around here. Just about the only case of common sense these days…” Crowley grumbled.

Mark chose to ignore that comment, instead checking his phone. No notifications, damn. The entire department had been on high alert for Phantom ever since the attack on the morgue. Mark was just relieved that the new and improved ecto-guns had finally been issued that morning. If not for the updated technology, that incident likely would have ended far less smoothly.

Not that it really ended smoothly. Phantom had yet again escaped Mark’s clutches, free to run off and break into Sarah’s home.

Guilt clawed at Mark’s stomach, but he pushed it back. Phantom was a slippery ghost, one that had escaped all levels of ghost hunters from the Fentons, to the Ghost Investigation Ward. Mark knew it would take a lot more than a few words of peace and one ecto-gun to stop that kind of raw power.

“What do we even know about the Fentons?” Abrams asked.

“They’re ghost hunters and mostly make weapons now, but before that they dabbled in all sorts of ecto-based technology. The husband, Jack, is the engineer and the wife, Maddie, is the biologist. They have two kids, Jasmine and Daniel. Jasmine, or ‘Jazz’ is supposedly top of her class, likely to graduate valedictorian, while Daniel’s something else. Bad grades, skips class, all around a bit of a loner,” Crowley said, regurgitating information like he was reading a case file.

Mark glanced at his colleague, giving him an impressed smirk. “Did your homework early, eh?”

“I told you, something aint right here,” Crowley said.

“And? What do you think?” Mark asked.

“What I think is that I’m shocked their house is even coded to have a lab inside. I’d like to know whose ass they kissed to give them that permit.”

Abrams snorted. “Jesus, Jacob.”

“What? I’m right!”

“Fine, whatever,” Mark stood, collecting his empty coffee cup and paper plate. “I godda head home, my sister’s visiting this weekend.”

“Alright, tell Susan I said hello. And say hi to her little demon child too.”

Mark rolled his eyes. “She’s four.”

“What, four year olds can’t be demons? I should know, I had two of them.”

Abrams swiped her empty wrapper and tossed it in the trash. “Yeah, I have to feed Atlas. I’ll see you both next week.”

“Take care!”

---

“Well at least we know Phantom didn’t change anything about his facial structure when he became a ghost.” Crowley’s small eyes swiveled between the photo of Phantom in one hand and the new sketch rendition of his human identity.

Mark grunted and stared at his own copy of the photo.

The corpse had been too decomposed to be able to distinguish a face, and ghosts often change their appearance in death. Sure, Phantom looked like a regular human, but it was impossible to know that for a fact.

Fortunately, modern research and re-composition was advanced enough that they didn’t have to wonder for long. Especially with this being such a high-profile case for the city.

And as it turned out, aside from the hair, Phantom really didn’t look all too different when he was alive. He had the same sharp nose, the same angular chin, the same boyish face. The only thing that was different was his hair and presumably his eye color, although that was still a mystery due to the corrupted DNA.

Even though there was little change to Phantom’s appearance, seeing the black haired, brown eyed human boy staring back at Mark was rather shocking, if he were being honest. There was something off putting about seeing this enigma quite literally brought back to life. It took away that edge of lore that the heroic town enigma had.

Now Phantom wasn’t some wild mystery. He was just...a kid.

“This really is something,” Crowley said. “Guess we should put it to good use.”

Mark sighed, turning his attention back to his desktop. Sifting through missing person’s reports was never exactly a fun way to start the morning.

“You think you can handle it, rookie?” Crowley asked.

“Yeah, I got it. I’ll let you know if I find anything interesting.”

Crowley let the photographs drop to his side. “Alright, I’m going to continue doing some digging on our suspects.”

“Good luck.”

“And you.”

The work was tedious and depressing. Face after face of missing minors flickered across his screen. It was almost too hard to believe that Phantom was a part of this list.

Caucasian. Black hair. Eye color unknown. Five foot five.

That was all they had on Phantom. For all they knew, he could have been from another city entirely.

But hopefully Mark would find a hit, at least one kid from Amity who fit the profile.

And in fact, there were a few...sort of. Four teens who had black hair and were about five foot five. But none of them looked quite like Phantom.

Which meant Mark had to widen his search.

How wonderful.

He leaned back in his chair, stretching his arms out wide. It was nearly lunchtime now and he felt like he’d gotten no further than where he was before. Mark stood from his chair, feeling a bit defeated. Hopefully Crowley would’ve had better luck on the suspect list than Mark.

He strolled over to Crowley’s desk, only to find the desk empty. Crowley had likely already left for lunch, the bastard hadn’t even bothered to grab Mark on the way.

Not that Mark could really blame him. He doubted Crowley wanted to use his lunch break to talk about the case after the tedious research they both had spent their mornings doing.

Mark dug his phone out of his pocket, intent on sending the older detective an update, when he stopped. Out of the corner of his eye, a familiar face stared up at him.

Mark slowly lowered the device and crept toward the desk, as if his mere presence would disintegrate the paper on his desk.

Inside Fentonworks: the Fenton family’s home-grown anti-ghost business!

It was an article printed from some online magazine that Mark didn’t recognize. Slapped on the cover of the page, just under the title, was a photo of a family of four beaming, waving at the camera. One of the members was a young boy—about Phantom’s age—with black hair in almost the same haircut as Phantom, with that crooked smile that Phantom had been caught adorning all too many times.

Waving at the camera.

Skinny, short for a boy, son to two ecto-science parents who fill their basement with dangerous high-voltage and easily combustible ecto-technology.

His name was listed as Daniel.

Mark glanced at the two images in his hand, and then looked at the article below him.

Holy shit.

No. There was no way. Crowley had been suspicious of them, and he had good reason to include them on his suspect list, but this kid was alive. He wasn’t missing, he wasn’t dead, he was standing right there.

It just wasn’t possible.

His apple watch pinged, alerting him of a ghost attack nearby.

Mark hurried back to his desk, swiping his coat off his chair.

This was impossible.

The police sketch and the copy of the article pressed against his fist.

Phantom was a ghost. Ghosts will do anything to protect themselves. They would lie, cheat, and manipulate humans in order to stay on top.

Mark was just seeing things.

There was no way that this was him.

He beelined for the door, tucking the papers into his pants pocket.

It wasn’t possible.

The drive there was short, and the fight even shorter. It had just been the Box Ghost, so nothing that Phantom couldn’t handle. The ghost gave his little song and dance, captured the ghost, and waved brightly to the crowd. But Mark could see right through it, right past all the cracks in his façade.

Phantom was losing it.

And Mark could end this.

“Phantom!” Mark called out through his cupped hands.

The ghost flinched, his cheery face replaced with a scowl instantly.

“Another time,” he said.

But Mark didn’t have another time. He needed to know now.

Because Phantom could end this insane proposition. He could laugh heartlessly at the mere mention that he was this random living child. He was Phantom, protector of Amity Park, not some human experiment.

Not some impossibility.

Not some kid who’s been dead for a year and only pretending to be human for his family.

Not the greatest act of manipulation from a ghost that Mark had ever seen.

Mark yanked the papers from his pocket and unfolded them with shaking fingers. He held them up hastily, knowing that they were too far away for normal human eyes.

But this was Phantom. He wasn’t human.

Mark saw the exact moment that Phantom recognized the photos. The ghost’s eyes widened, his face paled, his aura dimmed. Then, in the blink of an eye, the ghost vanished.

Mark was right.

---

The air was thick, tense. Phantom slumped in his armchair, his body the equivalent of a white flag. Even so, his eyes were bright, charged with nervous energy.

He was terrified.

Atlas must have sensed this, because the dog had decided to break away from being Sarah’s shadow to lay against the ghost’s feet.

“I don’t know where to start,” Phantom admitted after a few tense beats of silence.

“The beginning, maybe,” Jacob said.

Phantom looked sick at the suggestion, but relented. “You’re right. Yeah...I…” he glanced up at the two detectives and Sarah seated across the coffee table on her dull green couch. Phantom had appeared in her kitchen not even an hour ago, looking like he’d just seen the personification of death itself.

And instantly, Sarah knew.

She’d tried to coax him to let her bring him to the station so he could come clean there, but he refused. He said the information was too sensitive and he didn’t trust the station to not have cameras recording every angle of every room.

And so they settled on her living room instead. Mark and Jacob arrived, seeming none too surprised by the arrangement, and more than willing to follow Phantom’s direction if it meant they would finally get the truth.

Which Phantom didn’t seem remotely ready to give.

“I guess…” He tried again, closing his eyes. There was another tense moment of silence before a pair of white rings appeared around Phantom’s waist, traveling up his body and leaving behind a skinny black haired teenager.

Phantom cautiously opened his eyes. And, to Sarah’s surprise, they were blue.

“You’re Daniel Fenton,” Mark said.

She heard Jacob suck in a breath.

“Yes. I’m Danny Fenton.” Without the echo, his voice sounded much closer, much more down to earth than Phantom’s. “And a year ago, I was in an accident.”

His voice, like the rest of him, seemed softer without the powerful aura of Phantom behind it. If Sarah had passed him on the street, she wouldn’t have blinked twice. Gone was the cocky personality, the perfect posture, the floating white hair, the bright, determined expression. Gone was the jumpsuit, the logo, the strong voice that seemed like it could project for a mile, the banter, the confidence.

It was just a kid. A kid with baggy jeans, dirty shoes, and a plain shirt. He didn’t seem lithe, he looked weak. The green undertone to his skin was replaced with red, and his shoulders hunched in a way Sarah had never seen on Phantom before.

“What happened?” Mark asked.

“When my parents first completed their interdimensional ghost portal, it didn’t work. I decided to—it was my fault. I just decided to go in it. I don’t know why.” He looked up to the ceiling. “It was a stupid idea. The portal was plugged in, but there was a switch inside that wasn’t turned on, and I tripped over a wire and turned it on. From the inside.”

Sarah felt a pang in her chest. “That’s horrible.”

“Yeah. It was,” Phantom agreed. “And then I guess the portal stabilized the connection between Amity Park and the Ghost Zone, because ghosts started appearing in town. So I decided that if it was my fault that they were here, I was going to protect the town. And that’s what I’ve done.”

That’s his Obsession, Sarah realized. It’s protection.

“Why not come out with it?” Jacob asked. “Why bury your body? Why still try to pass as a human?”

Phantom’s head fell into his hands. “I didn’t know what else to do! It—I...you have to understand, my parents would never understand. They think all ghosts are evil. I couldn’t just come out and tell them what happened, they’d kill me!”

“So you decided it was safer to play human,” Jacob said.

“Yeah. I guess I did. Especially since...I sort of still am?” He lifted his head and stuck out his wrist. “I still have a pulse.”

No one moved.

“You’re shitting me,” Jacob guffawed.

“No, I’m being serious. The portal killed me, but then it brought me back to life. Except by then my body was already altered from the ecto-electricity, so the working theory is that I exist in this sort of limbo state between dead and alive. Hence why…” He transformed into Phantom and then back to Fenton. “Hence why I have two forms.”

“And the body,” Mark said. “The coroner report said it only weighed a little over half the weight of a normal body due to all the ectoplasm. But if you’re half alive, how would you have a body?”

Danny shrugged. “I don’t know? To be honest, that day was such a nightmare that I’ve mostly blocked it out.”

Mark finally reached over and took the boy’s wrist. He pressed two fingers against the skin and waited.

“Damn.” His eyes widened. “It’s actually there.”

“No way,” Jacob said, leaning over to take Phantom’s wrist. A few seconds passed before he was joining Mark’s reaction. “It is there.”

“I know.” Phantom tucked his arm back to his chest. “I don’t understand it. I have a heart and also a ghost core. I can feel it all the time, even as a human. I have human thoughts and feelings and ghostly instincts playing constantly.”

As confusing and morbid as this was, it made sense in a sort of twisted way that Sarah only reserved for the rambling logic of her paranoid, senior grandmother. It explained why Phantom, a ghost, would willingly risk himself day in and day out over the safety of humans. Phantom was a ghost who was driven to protect his home, and he was also a human who wanted to look after those he loved.

He was truly Schrödinger’s cat. Dead and alive inside his little box, his little town, with no one able to measure him.

“That’s the thing that sets you apart from the ghosts,” Sarah said, tapping her knee with her finger. “That day when you came to my house saying that you were different, this is what you were talking about. You also said it would be dangerous if this information got out.”

The question was implied, and Phantom seemed to pick up on it, judging by his grimace.

“You weren’t talking about your parents.”

“No, I wasn’t.”

“So then who is it? Who was trying to destroy the morgue? Who are you hiding from?”

Danny crossed his arms and glared at the floor. “Isn’t it obvious?” he said bitterly. “The government. GiW, all of them. Think of what they’d do if they knew someone could be both dead and alive at the same time.”

“Well fuck the lot of them,” Jacob said.

“Yeah,” Danny agreed.

“And the ghost who was trying to take down the morgue?” Mark pressed.

“I…” Danny’s eyes shifted. “I can’t say. It’s a ghost thing. All the ghosts in the Zone know about me, they call me a halfa. Half alive, half dead. Honestly, I don’t think it took much convincing for them to want to protect me.”

“But you were fighting against them,” Jacob countered. “If they were really trying to protect you, then why not go along with them?”

Danny opened and closed his mouth, the words seemingly stuck in his throat. Words from Maddie’s ecto-biology papers fluttered across Sarah’s eyes, about how ghosts were evil, they were liars, they’d say and do anything to keep themselves safe.

But as Danny let out a defeated sigh, his arms uncrossing to dangle at his side, Sarah couldn’t help but see the face of a scared teen who was just doing his best.

“It’s a ghost thing,” he finally said. “I didn’t like what they were doing because...because I needed to protect my body. If the building collapsed, it would have gotten damaged.”

Sarah blinked, and her and Mark exchanged a glance.

“I see,” Mark said carefully. “So if there was a plan to recover your...body...safely, you would have gone along with it?”

“I don’t know. Ghosts are weird, they all have their own agenda. I’d rather if it were just...left alone. In the ground. Untouched. Like it had been.”

They were silent for a moment, and Sarah watched as Jacob and Mark stared at each other in silent conversation. One that only partners could properly understand.

Finally, Jacob relented. “Okay, here’s the deal. Say I go talk with Chief Davis and he agrees to keep your identity secret. In exchange, all you’d have to do for us is tell your parents.”

For a moment, Sarah thought Phantom was going to bolt out of the armchair.

“Why?”

“Because you’re screwing around putting your life in danger every day, kid,” Jacob said. “Not to mention, your parents’ house is a walking minefield for you. You godda protect yourself.”

“I protect myself just fine.”

“Doesn’t dismiss the fact that you’re running off getting in fights every day with ghosts, and then coming home to a house littered with ecto-weapons that could kill you. You know, all the way.”

“My parents will kill me if they find out though,” Danny said darkly. “You don’t know them.”

“Which is why you won’t be alone. Crowley and I will be there with you. And I know a woman in CPS who can keep this on the down low too. We won’t let anything happen, promise,” Mark said.

Phantom glanced between them, his wide blue eyes betraying just how fearful he was. “You promise?”

“Yeah kid, we got your back.”

---

“It’s going way better than I thought,” Danny said, throwing the stick up the path.

Atlas didn’t hesitate, bounding after the object with an enthusiasm rivaled by no one.

“I’m glad,” Sarah said. “You deserve a safe place to go home to.”

Danny cocked his head. “Yeah. I guess I do.”

Getting to know Danny these past few weeks was surreal. For a year now, Sarah had a set mental image of who Phantom was. The hero, the great protector, the thrill-seeker.

But now, as she got to know the quiet yet snarky kid who went to school and stressed over his math exams just like any other teen would, she’d gotten to appreciate the person that Danny truly was, the person he became when he wasn’t trying to hide his ghostly persona or playing the larger-than-life character.

Atlas pranced back, the stick held high like an Olympic medal.

“Good boy!” Danny praised.

At Sarah’s nonverbal command, Atlas dropped the stick in front of Danny, who was more than happy to pick it up and hurl ahead of the dirt path again.

“It’s weird. It’s almost like...I don’t know, it’s just kind of relieving? To not need to hide? Like don’t get me wrong, my parents are still kinda weird about it. I still don’t really use any of my powers at home because I just don’t think I’m ready. But the other day I used intangibility to get a cup out of the cabinet instead of just opening the cabinet door, and my mom didn’t even say anything. I remember back when I first got my powers and I couldn't figure out how to work them. I spent so long trying to hide any weirdness, and to think that now I can just do stuff and nobody cares.” A blissful smile dressed Danny’s lips. “It’s just nice, is all.”

“I bet,” Sarah said. “Must be a huge weight off your shoulders. And your sister’s okay with it?”

“Oh yeah. My sister actually already knew about it.”

“You’re kidding. Really?”

Danny threw the stick again. “Yeah, but I already knew about that. She told me a few months ago. But she’s been really helpful at home with trying to get everyone on the same page.”

“That’s good.”

“And my dad’s already been begging to take me out to the field with him.”

“Have you taken him up on it?”

“No. Not yet.”

Sarah peered cautiously over to him. “Why not?”

“I dunno.” Danny’s eyes tracked Atlas’ triumphant return from the woods. “It just seems a bit weird still. And besides, it would be kinda odd if my parents went from trying to kill me to suddenly Phantom’s new best friend overnight. For now they’ve agreed to a public truce.”

Ah yes, the truce. That had been all over the news when the Fenton’s announced it, citing new research into ghost psychology that showed instances of benevolent ghosts. The news had rocked the city, some calling the duo crazy, while others praising them for their growth.

Even though Phantom and the Fenton couple were still in the growing pains of their new truce, no one could deny how much more smoothly ghost fights had gotten since it began. There was less property damage, less citizen’s hurt, and overall the process seemed far more professional than it ever had.

“I’ve noticed a change,” Sarah said. “I really think it’s for the best.”

“So do I. Even though it’s still kinda weird.”

“It’ll get easier, just give it time.”

Atlas dropped the stick, apparently distracted by some scent on a bush. He stopped to sniff the plant before wandering behind it, his nose glued to the ground.

“Wait, Atlas—” Danny started, watching as Atlas disappeared into the foliage.

Hearing his name, the dog leapt back onto the trail and over to Danny, who paused to scratch him behind his ear. “Good boy.”

Sarah grinned down at the duo.

Who knew a cadaver dog and a half dead kid could make such a good pair?

---

Thanks for reading!

#danny phantom #my writing #morge #invisobang #invisobang 2021

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study-coffee-chicago · 3 years

Text

Seasons of Med: Season 2 and Seasons of PD: Season 4: Necessities, Love, & Care (A Halstead Brothers + Halstead Sister! Imagine)

Your age: 15

Jay's age: 29

Will's age: 31

You were currently sitting at the library, trying to figure out how you'd get food for dinner. It was January and you had run out of your Christmas money two weeks ago and you had burned through your money from helping with kettle corn at the beginning of December. Right now you were SOL: Shit outta luck.

Your mind wandered back to the last day you had helped working the kettle corn stand when it was a dreary late October day.

"We have kettle corn, caramel corn, cheddar, Chicago style, and a few other flavors," you explained to a customer. She picked up a medium bag of caramel corn. "That one?"

"Yes, dear. Me and my husband love this stuff," the old lady said.

"I'm sure. It's really good! It'll be six dollars." She pulled out a five and two ones. "I'll be right back with your change."

"Oh, no, keep the change, dear. Thank you for the popcorn."

"You're welcome. Have a nice day."

"Y/N," Emma said to you. "Can you grab me a lemonade from the cooler?"

"Just one?"

"Yup, just one."

You grabbed it from the cooler and were about to pass it to her when you saw who her customers were: Jay and Erin.

"Y/N?" Jay asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Working," you answered quickly. "Little bit of extra money never hurt anybody. The real question is, what are you doing here? I know Erin hates being outside when the weather is crappy."

"It's because he's annoying when he whines and begs to do something, so I figured it was just best to give in," Erin answered.

Jay rolled his eyes. "God, I can't win with either of you. Why do you always gang up on me?"

"Because, Halstead, us girls gotta stick together," Erin laughed.

"Okay, okay, fine. Y/N, what popcorn should I get?"

"First of all, it's kettle corn," you corrected. "And, I suggest the cheddar. Or, if you want a combination of both salty and sweet, then get the Chicago style. It's cheddar and caramel."

"Me and Erin like sweet, but I know you. You like cheddar. And you'll pick out the cheddar pieces when you're at my apartment, so I'll get the Chicago style."

"Or," Erin started as she picked up a large bag of caramel and a large bag of cheddar, "We could get this big bag of caramel, and then you could have this bag at your apartment for Y/N. That way the flavors aren't touching."

"Erin Lindsay and not liking her food touching. Fine, we'll take what Erin suggested and one lemonade."

"One or two straw holes?" Emma asked, picking up the lid-punching tool.

"One's fine," Jay answered.

"They swap enough spit as it is," you whispered to Emma, causing her to laugh.

"What'd she say?" Jay asked.

"I can't tell you. It's a secret."

He huffed. "Fine. Keeping secrets from your big brother? That's cold Y/N, that's cold."

"So you're saying you never kept secrets from Will?" Erin asked.

"I have the right to remain silent."

"Exactly," Erin said. "How much does he owe you?"

"Excuse me? I didn't know I'd be the one paying for all of this."

"You were the one who dragged me outside, so yes, you are paying, Halstead. Now, get your card ready."

Jay rolled his eyes and pulled out his wallet. "How much?"

You did the math in your head. "$23."

"Emma, can you check her math?" Jay asked and you rolled your eyes in his lack of faith in you.

"$10 for the cheddar and $8 for the caramel makes $18...plus $5 for the lemonade...yup $23."

You handed him the card reader. "And now it's just going to ask you a few questions," you told him after his card went through.

Without allowing him to read it all the way through, Erin hit the tip and no receipt buttons. "Hey!" Jay exclaimed.

"Don't blame me! You were the one who wanted me to come out here!" She turned to you and took the bag of kettle corn as Jay picked up the 32 oz lemonade. "Thanks, Y/N!"

"No problem! Just make sure he doesn't buy any more paintings of motorcycles!"

Man, how you wished you could work that job right now because it was only for a few hours on the weekends. But, it was winter now, so there were no street fairs, farmers markets, or festivals going on. Because of this, your money had run out. You'd have to do what you'd have to get yourself some food, even if it would leave you with a guilty conscience.

With that in mind, you got up and left the library.

***

"Pop's been complaining of chest pain and refuses to go to the hospital," Jay told his older brother as he walked through the front door and into the living room.

"Of course he did," Will grumbled. Then, he turned to his father. "This won't take long. Unless it's bad. Then you'll have to come with me and actually go to the hospital this time."

"You can't force me to do anything," he argued as he watched his oldest son open up his medical bag.

"Just let him do his job. He knows what he's doing," Jay agreed with Will. Then, he remembered something. "Where's Y/N?"

"At school."

"At school? At 5 pm?" Jay asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Sometimes she stays after school and does homework. She's always home before it gets too late so I don't ask."

It's not like Jay and Will could have known this, though. Yes, you would talk and they're obviously there for you because they're your brothers, but your dad's parenting skills--or lack thereof--hadn't ever come up. You'd get together with your brothers once a week, but it was usually at one of your brothers' places. They rarely came inside your and your dad's place.

"All units, we have reports of a robbery at 3020 East Main Street. Assistance requested," Jay's radio stated.

Jay looked to Will, silently asking if it was okay for him to take it. "I've got it from here."

"Thanks, man," Jay said, clapping Will on the back and leaving the house.

He drove to the small corner market that had made the call. It was only a block away from where you and your dad lived, but despite it usually being somewhat slow, today it was even slower. There was only one car parked in the lot, so Jay was confused as to who would even rob this place.

He put on his vest and walked into the store. "Got a call about a robbery," he said to the store manager as he entered.

"Yes, right over here."

He led Jay over to where a girl was sitting on a stool, tears rolling down her face. She held a box of pasta, a loaf of bread, and a small jar of peanut butter. Her coat was unzipped, revealing the tampons and pads she had stuffed inside her coat after she had ripped open the box.

"Y/N?" Jay asked in disbelief. "What are you doing? What were you even thinking?"

"I- I'm sorry," you sniffled.

Then he turned to the store manager. "You called the cops on a fifteen-year-old girl for grabbing what looks to me like necessities?"

"I've let her go the past two times when she needed things, but today she didn't have the money, so I couldn't let it slide."

Jay threw $30 in the man's hand. "There. Now it's all paid for." He turned to you and took the loaf of bread. "C'mon."

You followed him out of the store, waiting to be yelled at as you entered his truck, but it didn't come. He pinched the bridge of his nose as he handed you the bread. "Why? Why did you do this?"

"There- There's barely any food in the house. I was just hungry."

Jay looked you up and down. He hadn't been really looking for changes in weight like he told Natalie he would do six months ago. He kept it up for a few months and then winter came around and it was hard to tell because of bulky jackets and sweaters. But, now that he actually looked at your face and hands in an investigative manner, it was clear as day: You had lost even more weight.

"And the other stuff?" he asked.

"Dad won't buy them for me. Says that they're too expensive and to just use something else. He said that if he had had a son he wouldn't have to worry about it, like it's my fault. Usually, I take some from school, but I ran out and I needed them."

"And the food?" Jay asked as he started driving back to his childhood home.

"I get breakfast and lunch at school, but I have to eat dinner at home. And on weekends I just skip meals and eat breakfast and dinner."

"What? What about Dad?"

"He gets takeout or he goes to the bar and isn't home until late."

Jay sighed as he pulled into the driveway. "Go pack a bag, kid. You're staying at my place until further notice."

"Really? I thought you guys forgot about me?"

"We could never forget about you. It's just, work has been busy for both of us. So, sorry if these last few times we've all been together for dinner have seemed a little rushed. Now, go inside and grab your stuff while I have a chat with Will and Dad."

"Dad, Will," Jay said after you had run upstairs and they were sitting on the couch. "I need to talk to you. In the kitchen."

"Really, Jay. Why can't it be here?" your dad grumbled. "First he--" He pointed to Will. "Wants to take me to the hospital because he said I have a valve issue and now I can't even have a conversation with my sons while sitting down?"

"Just get up, dammit!"

The three entered the kitchen and sat down, but Jay stayed standing. "Jay, what's going on?" Will asked.

Instead of answering his older brother, Jay just opened the fridge. There was a half drank gallon of milk, a jar of grape jelly, and a can of pasta sauce, along with other condiments, and a lone egg sat on a shelf. "This? This is what you expect your daughter to eat? I caught her stealing from a store just so she could get food and tampons!"

"Well, I'm not gonna pay for it."

"Excuse you?" Will exclaimed, eyebrows raised in surprise. "What do you mean you're not paying for it? She's your daughter, isn't she? Then you have a legal responsibility to feed her, make sure she has shelter, clothes, and goes to school!"

"She can go get a job."

"She is fucking fifteen!" Jay yelled. "She doesn't need to be worrying about where her next meal is coming from! She's supposed to be worrying about getting a good grade on a math test or if that boy likes her or not, but not that!"

"She needs to learn to grow up someday. And she won't if you boys baby her like you always do whenever you see her."

"Baby her?" Will yelled, disgusted. "She's a kid. She needs to be babied sometimes. She needs fucking food and a nice home to come home to, not whatever the hell you think this is."

"It hasn't been a home since your mother died."

"Yeah, we gathered that," Jay scoffed. "But you don't have to take it out on her."

"Jay," your small voice said from the doorway into the kitchen. All three men looked over to you, your backpack on your back, a duffle bag slung over your shoulder, and your favorite blanket wadded up in your hands so that you could carry it without it dragging on the ground.

"Ready to go?" Jay asked, his voice immediately softening.

"Uh, yeah," you answered, unsure of how your dad would react.

"What do you mean ready to go?" Pat Halstead asked, standing up from where he had been previously sitting at the table. "She's not going anywhere!"

Will rushed over to you, placing a hand on your shoulder while Jay stalked over to be face to face with your dad. "She is coming with me until further notice. You're lucky I don't arrest your ass for child neglect!"

"You wouldn't do that to your own father!"

Jay pulled the cuffs out of his back pocket. "Oh yeah? Try me."

He sat back down and Jay turned to you. "Here, let me take that." You handed him your duffle bag and followed him and Will outside.

"Jay, I gotta go. I gotta get Dad to Med to get the valve fixed. And, I said one hour out of the hospital tops and it's been two."

Jay closed the truck door once you were safely inside with all your stuff. "Good luck trying to get Dad to go the hospital," he scoffed. "Get going. Don't give Goodwin another reason to fire your stupid ass."

"I'll call an ambulance if I have to." Then, Will smacked Jay upside the head.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"You know what it was for. And, I'm your older brother, it's my job."

"I'm your older brother, it's my job," Jay mocked. "But, in all seriousness, do me a favor and make sure Y/N's all caught up on her immune- immune--"

"Immunizations?" Will laughed.

"Yeah, those."

"I'll do that. And if she's not, I'll give them to her tonight when I come over to your place after my shift is done...which will be in like two hours...depending on how much of a pain in the ass he is to get in the hospital."

Jay nodded, and then got in the truck, both of you making your way to his place.

"I'm gonna go take a shower," Jay said after you had put your stuff down by the couch. "You have homework?"

"Yeah," you looked down, not wanting to even try and struggle through your homework...or have Jay sign the slip that said that you failed your last test.

Jay smiled. "I'll help you with it when I'm out of the shower, okay, kid?"

"How'd you know--"

"That is the universal facial expression of I need help, but I don't know how to ask for it. I'll be ten minutes tops."

And so, you tried to struggle through your homework for ten minutes. But, you ended up working and reworking the stupid algebra problem. Why did math need letters anyway?

"Okay, I'm back," Jay said as he pulled a chair out to sit next to you. "What are you workin' on?"

"Can you sign this first?" you asked, sliding the yellow paper over to him along with the pen. You hoped he'd just sign it blind, but as you saw his eyes skimming the page, you knew that wouldn't happen.

"Did you try your best?" he asked as he slid the piece of paper back to you after signing it.

"What? Yeah, of course, I did."

"Okay, then we'll figure something out. Now, how about we eat some dinner? I've got pizza in the freezer. That okay?"

"That's great," you answered.

Jay got the pizza in the oven while you went and changed into your pajamas. You decided it was in your best interest to have Will help you with your math homework.

***

"Ah! The man of the hour!" Jay exclaimed as he pulled out the pizza and Will entered the house.

You immediately noticed the red bag he was carrying over his shoulder and the two king-sized Twix bars.

"Why do you have your medical bag?" you asked.

"How did you know this was my medical bag?"

"I'm not stupid, Will."

"Okay, so you're all caught up on your shots, but I need to do a blood draw because I need to see if you're deficient in any vitamins and minerals. Have you been eating enough fruits and veggies?" he asked.

"Probably not as much as I should," you admitted. "They're too expensive unless I get the canned kind and I don't like those unless it's canned peaches. I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Short Stack. None of this is your fault. You hear me? None of it. I just need to take the blood and then get it sent to the lab to see if you need to get any specific pills to get your vitamin and mineral levels up."

"Okay. Does it hurt?" you asked. You knew what a shot felt like, but you'd never had your blood drawn before, so you didn't know what it felt like to have a needle in your arm for a long time, taking blood. You knew what it felt like to have an IV in from when you passed out at the movie theater, but you didn't know if this needle would be the same size or bigger.

"You just feel a slight pinch at the beginning."

"Like getting a shot?"

"Like getting a shot," he confirmed.

"Hey, I was thinking," Jay started as he reappeared from the kitchen area, "what if we have celery and carrots with ranch for dinner, too? You know, like when we eat chicken wings at restaurants and they bring you some veggies, except we'll have ours with pizza."

"Okay," you agreed. "I like ranch."

"So does everyone in the midwest," Will joked.

"What's the medical bag for?" Jay asked. "She needs shots? And, what's with the Twix bars?"

"No, I'm drawing her blood to see if she's deficient in anything. And, there's one Twix bar for her and one for you because we all know how you feel about needles, Jay."

Jay rolled his eyes. "We doing this before we eat?"

"Yes. And, I need you to answer some questions for me, Y/N. These are strictly doctor protocol questions, okay? You don't need to be embarrassed about any of the answers."

You nodded.

"Okay," Will started, "When did you last eat? Just need to write it down for fasting glucose levels."

"Um, lunch at school, so around noon."

"So, six-hour fast," Will scribbled down on a piece of paper. "Next one, are you sexually active?"

"Will!"

"It's just standard protocol, just in case I need to test for STDs."

"No, I am not. Next question."

"Okay, last one: When was your last period?"

"You've got to be kidding me. I'm not pregnant, I haven't had sex!"

Will chuckled. "It's not for that. Sometimes when people are deficient in vitamins and minerals, they can lose their period for months at a time, signaling that their body isn't healthy. The medical term is amenorrhea." But, what he wanted to say was that when girls are underweight, this can also happen. And, from seeing how baggy your sweatshirt and jeans were on you, he assumed that you'd lost ten pounds since last going to the doctor when you passed out in the movie theater parking lot, making your weight loss a grand total of 25 pounds, which would qualify you as being underweight.

"Oh. I started today."

"Okay, good to know. Any changes in length or heaviness of menstruation?"

"I swear, I'd rather have Natalie or April be asking me these questions," you grumbled. "But, yes, it's a lot lighter and it went from me having my periods for five days to two days. Can we please stop talking about this now?"

"Yeah, we're all done. Sorry about that, but it's protocol."

"Says the guy who's drawing my blood at Jay's apartment instead of in a hospital, where it should be done."

"Hey, I've worked in much worse conditions than this in Sudan. How much water did you drink today?"

"A lot."

"Okay, good." Will started to unzip his medical bag. He passed a Twix bar to Jay. "Here, eat this and focus on it so you don't focus on the needles and then freak out."

Jay rolled his eyes, but took the candy bar and unwrapped it.

"Do I get one?" you asked.

"Once I draw your blood, yes, the other one is for you. Now, right or left arm?"

You held out your left arm and Will moved to the other side of you so he had a better angle. He sanitized his hands and then snapped on a pair of gloves.

"So, what do you do?" you asked. "I've never had my blood drawn before."

"I just tie off your arm so that I can get the veins to show a bit better, wipe down the spot with an antiseptic wipe, stick the needle in, and then wait for the vial to fill up."

"That's it?"

"That's it. Can you make a fist with your left hand for me?"

You did as Will told you and then he tied a band around your bicep and started touching the inside of your elbow, trying to get some veins to show. He furrowed his eyebrows and moved down your arm, rubbing your forearm and then going back up to the crook of your elbow and gently pressing there.

"What's wrong?" you asked.

"You just have really small veins is all. I could take the blood from the big vein in your forearm, but I don't really want to do that one since it's so big. Can you squeeze your fist tighter for me?" You did as he said while he kept pressing on the crook of your elbow. "There we go. Got one. Now, turn and look at Jay while I get the needle ready."

You looked at Jay and tried not to laugh. "You okay?"

"Me? I should be asking you that," he replied. "You're the one who's about to get stabbed with a needle."

"It's just that you got some sweat on your forehead. You look nervous."

"They're needles. They're tiny little sharp metal objects and if one breaks off--"

"Jay, respectfully," Will started, cutting off his brother, "shut the hell up, so you don't scare my patient. You might just want to look away instead of watching me. Then you might feel fine." Then, he turned back to you. "Okay, Y/N, keep looking at Jay. Close your eyes if you want to. You're going to feel a small pinch."

You closed your eyes and took a deep breath. Then, you squeezed your eyes shut tightly and grit your teeth, trying not to yell out as the needle pierced your skin.

"Hard part's done," Will said. You nodded, still keeping your eyes closed.

"That was not a small pinch," you retorted about a minute later.

"Sorry."

You opened your eyes and watched as the blood flowed from your vein into the small tube that was hooked up to the needle.

"I thought you hated blood," Jay pointed out. "And here you are, watching the entire process."

"I'm fine when it's my blood if it's not a huge, deep cut," you explained. "It's other people's blood I don't like."

"Well, that takes any job in the medical field off your career choices," Will said.

You sat there for a few more minutes, waiting for the vial to fill up. Will pressed on your arm, close to the needle, to see if more would come out. "This vein is really small," he said.

You watched as the blood coming into the tube started becoming slower and slower, in what looked to be bubbles.

"Just a little more," Will muttered.

You started taking deeper breaths as you felt sweat start to bead on your forehead.

"Okay, let's see how much this gave me." He pressed his thumb above where the needle was and you turned back to Jay as he removed the needle.

Then, he got the blood into the vial. "Bad news," he started, "I might need to take more. Let's see how much extra there is." He put the extra into another, smaller vial. "Yeah, this one clotted too, so bad news, we need more."

You nodded and closed your eyes, feeling your face get hot and starting to feel lightheaded. You pinched the bridge of your nose, willing this uncomfortable feeling to go away.

"You doing okay?" Will asked.

"Yeah," you answered.

"Okay, I'm gonna do your right arm this time." You held your right arm out to him. "Make a fist for me." You did as he told you and he tied the blue band around your bicep.

But, you were getting even dizzier. "Actually, can I get some water? I feel dizzy."

"Course," Will said. "Jay, can you get her some water and juice if you have any?"

"Apple juice good?"

"That's fine," you answered.

Will untied the band from your bicep. "We're just going to wait a few minutes until you feel less dizzy before I take more blood, okay?"

You nodded and took the water from Jay when he came back.

"Let's have the juice after I finish," Will suggested after a few minutes had passed and you finished the water. "Feeling better, Short Stack?"

"Yeah, let's get this over with." Your forehead was still a bit sweaty, but you were a lot less dizzy.

Will repeated the same process as the last arm and it went a lot faster. Turns out he picked a bit bigger vein in the crook of your elbow of this arm than he did the other one.

"And, we're done," Will said as he capped the vial.

He handed you the juice. "Thanks," you said. "That was not fun."

"I bet. At least you didn't pass out. I've had a few patients do that when I went through my clinicals. That's why normally when someone gets their blood drawn, they sit in this chair where something is flipped down in front of them so they don't fall out of the chair just in case they pass out."

"Jay, do you pass out?" you asked.

He scoffed. "No. I don't even get dizzy. My body doesn't react like that."

"He just breaks out into a sweat whenever he sees needles," Will whispered, loud enough for Jay to hear.

"Hey! I heard that! Take one more jab at me and you won't be getting any pizza, Will. I mean it!"

Will held his hands up in a mock surrender while you finished up your juice. Then, Will started to pack up his medical stuff and Jay brought the pizza and veggies and ranch out, along with plates of course.

You ate your pizza while Will helped you with your math homework. Once you finished two slices of pizza and some celery and ranch, you said that you were done.

"You sure?" Jay asked. "You can have as much as you want."

"I'm good. Gotta save some for tomorrow." Your eyes widened as you realized what you had just said. "I'm gonna go take a shower. It's been a long day."

"Okay, clean towels are in the cabinet in the bathroom where they always are," Jay said, trying not to react to what you had just said even though he knew exactly what you were doing.

You were rationing food.

"Fuck," Jay said as he put his head in his hands when he knew you were in the bathroom and out of earshot.

"What? What did she mean by gotta save some for tomorrow?" Will asked.

"She's rationing it. I used to do it in Afghanistan. Save some of my MRE and put it in my pack to eat the next day if I was on a long trek and we knew we wouldn't get back to base. It would be cold and usually disgusting, but I'd choke it down because it was calories and I needed fuel to be sharp in case we came in contact with combatants."

"Poor kid. At least we had Mom."

Jay nodded. "What happened with Dad at the hospital?"

"Had to have a mitral valve replacement because his wasn't working properly. Told him over and over to get his checked regularly, but he didn't because he's stubborn. He went for the non-surgical option first, but then there were complications, so Rhodes performed surgery. He's fine."

"That's good... I guess." Jay glanced around and he saw your duffle bag sitting outside the bathroom door. You had grabbed your clothes to bring them into the bathroom and left your open duffle bag by the door.

Jay stood up and started walking towards it.

"What are you doing?" Will hissed.

"I need to see if she's got anything else in there that will help prove neglect. I'm assuming it needs to be proved...I only know criminal court cases, don't know much about family court cases."

"What do you mean family court? You're going to fight Dad to be able to take care of her?"

"Yeah, I'll fight to be her legal guardian. Unless you want to do it. My loan went through for a new apartment, which has two bedrooms, so I figured I might be better suited."

"Go ahead. You'd probably have a better chance anyway because you were around more when I was in New York."

Jay nodded and started to dig around your duffle bag. He chuckled and pulled out your Build-A-Bear. "She still sleeps with Beary," he said as he held up the stuffed bear. "Probably doesn't change his clothes anymore because she's too old for that, but he's in pajamas."

"Remember that military uniform you got for her bear? Mom said she barely took Beary out of that because she missed you so much."

"Yeah, and if she wouldn't have dropped him at the airport, I might not have met Mouse."

The two fell into a comfortable silence as he continued to dig through your bag. He got to a big zip-lock bag full of pieces of fabric that were stained light reds and browns.

"Will, c'mere," Jay said, waving him over. Will squatted down next to Jay. "You know what this is?"

Will sighed. "Unfortunately, yes. I saw a lot of this when I worked in Sudan."

"Well, what is it?"

"So, when girls don't have access or money to buy feminine hygiene products, they'll use scraps of fabric and wash them. Looks to me like she cut up some, um, she cut up some underwear and then used them as make-shift pads. If they aren't taken care of properly, she could end up with an infection. And, if she tried to use them as tampons instead of pads, it could lead to TSS, which stands for Toxic Shock Syndrome."

"We're gonna have to talk to her about this now, aren't we?"

"Unfortunately, yeah. She's not gonna be happy you dug through her stuff, so I'll let you explain why you were going through it. And, if she used them as tampons, I want her to get a pelvic exam, just to make sure she didn't get any infections. Much more likely to get an infection from tampons than pads."

Jay nodded. He hated having the current conversation and knew he was going to hate the next one even more, but he knew he had to do these things if he wanted to petition the court for legal guardianship.

Jay picked up your duffle bag and brought it to the living room and he set the zip-lock bag full of pieces of fabric on top.

"I can't believe we missed this," Will said. "I mean, we're both trained in how to spot abuse and we couldn't even spot it in our little sister."

"There weren't outright signs," Jay said. "No bruising, limping, cuts, burns, nothing like that. And, it's winter, it's easy to hide the weight loss. But, I still agree with you. If we would've spotted it earlier, we could've gotten her out of there."

"I'm pretty sure she's officially underweight now."

Jay ran a hand through his hair and then stood back up. "I'm gonna go put clean sheets on my bed. I'll let Y/N take it tonight so that we can keep talking out here when she goes to sleep."

"Good idea."

A few minutes later, Jay was back on the couch next to Will and you walked out of the bathroom, wearing a baggy t-shirt and some sweatpants that you had to keep pulling up because they were too big on you now, and a pair of fuzzy socks. You were cold all the time now and wanted your hoodie out of your duffle and wanted to put your dirty clothes in there, but when you looked down to the spot where you thought you had put it, it wasn't there.

"Guys?" you asked. "Have you seen my bag?"

You walked over to the kitchen table where your blanket was sitting on the chairs and wrapped that around yourself instead.

You furrowed your eyebrows as you saw your brothers on the couch, your duffle bag in front of them on the floor, and on top, your bag of ripped-up, old underwear that you used as pads when you didn't have any.

"You went through my stuff?" you asked, starting to become angry.

"Y/N," Jay started, "I know you're mad and it was me who went through it and not Will, so don't be mad at him, be mad at me. But, I went through it to see if anything was in there that could help me get you out of dad's house. Permanently."

"You- You want to have custody of me?" you asked.

A small smile appeared on Jay's lips and he nodded. "It wouldn't be considered custody because I'm not your biological parent, it would be considered guardianship, but yes, I want you to stay with me. And, my loan went through for a new apartment, so you'd have your own room and everything."

"Okay."

Jay looked at Will, not wanting to be the one to start this conversation. And, he figured Will would be the best one to start it because he was a doctor.

"Y/N, we need to ask you about these." Will motioned to the zip-lock bag on top of your stuff.

You sat in the loveseat across from them and looked down at your feet.

"It's okay, you're not in trouble," Will continued. "We just want to know how you used them in case you need to get a pelvic exam to check for infections in that area."

Your lip began to tremble as tears started to roll down your cheeks. "I used them as pads," you said quietly. "Dad wouldn't buy me any and I stopped getting them from school because I thought they'd suspect something was wrong if I- if I kept taking them."

"One more question," Will said softly. "I just need to know in case we need to take you in for this. I know you said you used them as pads, but did you ever try and use them as tampons?"

"No. I only used them as pads," you whispered. "I was scared to use them as tampons." You looked up at your brothers, who both had tears in their eyes. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," you rushed. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner I was just--" You let out a wail and Jay got up and knelt in front of you.

"Hey, hey, none of this is your fault. Do you hear me? Absolutely none of this is on you. It's all on Dad. Every single bit of it. You are not the one to blame."

You launched yourself into his arms, crying out every emotion you had felt these past few months: anger, frustration, fear, sadness, it was all coming out now.

And, Jay just held you and let you cry it out because that was what your guys' mom used to do for him. And, he knew it worked.

Twenty minutes later, your wails were just quiet whimpers and you pushed yourself back up onto the loveseat, where Will had moved to the spot next to you. He wrapped an arm around you and you leaned into him, craving the comfort that had been denied to you for so long.

"You still have that Twix bar?" you asked.

"All that crying made you hungry, didn't it, Short Stack?" Will asked as Jay got up to retrieve the candy bar from the table.

You nodded.

"Thank you," you said when Jay handed you the Twix bar. You unwrapped it and broke it into the two sticks. "You guys want any?" They both shook their heads: they knew you needed to get as many calories in you as possible.

Jay sighed, he might as well get this hard conversation over with you tonight as well. "Y/N, you can eat as much as you want. I won't say anything about you eating too much, okay?"

You looked up from your candy bar. "You won't call me a burden because I'm eating your food? Like Dad did?"

"He said that?" Will asked, giving Jay a look that read when I see him next, I can't be held accountable for my actions.

"Yeah. One time there were some leftovers he had gotten from a bar and I was so hungry and it was the middle of the night, so I took them out and heated them up. The microwave timer must've woken him up because he came out just as I was about to start eating and then he yelled at me for eating his food and called me a burden."

"Well, we don't think that. Neither Will nor me think that," Jay told you. "And you can eat as much as you want."

You yawned as you crumpled up your Twix wrapper.

"Tired?" Will asked.

"Yeah," you mumbled.

"It's been a long day," Jay said. "You can take my bed."

"Jay, it's your apartment, I can't--"

"Y/N, this isn't up for discussion. I already put clean sheets on the bed for you."

"Is- Is there a fan in your room? I can't sleep without white noise."

"There is. You want me and Will to tuck you in?"

"I'm too old for that." You stood up and Will did, too. "Jay, can you hand me Beary? He should be in my duffle."

"Here you go, kid."

You took your bear and held him loosely in your arm. Then, you enveloped Jay in a hug and did the same for Will.

"I love you guys."

"We love you, too," Will said.

"Now get to sleep. You've still got school in the morning. I'll be here when you wake up."

"Dad sometimes wouldn't be home when I woke up for school. He'd be at a friend's house sleeping off a hangover from the night before or just sleeping."

Jay furrowed his eyebrows. "Doesn't he have to work?"

"He does work, but only a few days a week. The other days, he stays out really late and then comes home either drunk or hungover."

"I see," Jay stated. "Well I won't be doing that, I can promise you that."

"I know. You aren't like Dad. Neither of you are." You yawned again. "I'm going to bed, goodnight."

A few minutes later, you were out like a light and Will was still at Jay's apartment.

"So, Abby called me the other day," Will started. "She's looking for you. Says she's in town for a few days and wants to meet up."

"Oh yeah? She say why?" Jay asked, wondering why his ex-wife--who was the result of a blackout drunk wedding in Vegas, a thing that lasted only 24 hours tops--was in Chicago and was looking for him of all people.

"She said you two are still married."

Jay threw his head back against the couch and closed his eyes. "You have got to be fucking kidding me."

***

"Morning," Jay said as he stood at the stove flipping some eggs. "Sleep good?"

"I slept really good. Didn't even hear you wake up."

"Fan did the trick then?"

You nodded and grabbed a mug from the cupboard and went to start pouring yourself a cup of coffee.

"Nuh-uh," Jay chirped, putting his hand on the handle of the coffee pot as well.

"Why not? I drank it at Dad's."

Jay raised an eyebrow. "You drank coffee at Dad's?"

"Yeah, on the weekends sometimes that would be my breakfast because it curbs my appetite and there wasn't a lot to eat."

Jay sighed. "Well, you'll have enough to eat here, I can promise you that. And, coffee stunts your growth."

"Jay," you groaned. "I haven't grown since sixth grade."

"Okay, well, then you don't want to become dependent on it at such an early age, then. Come talk to me when you're a legal adult or in college."

"Fine." You let go of the coffee pot and put the mug back in the cupboard.

"You can have juice though." The toast in the toaster popped up and Jay placed the toast on a plate and then put a slice of cheese on each piece and then an egg on top. He also put a small bowl of strawberries next to it. "I'm gonna go get dressed while you eat. And then, once you're ready, I'll take you to school."

"Okay, thanks, Jay."

"You're welcome, kiddo."

You rolled your eyes at the nickname and then went to the fridge to get the apple juice. When you opened the fridge, you saw a brown paper bag with your name on it. Curiosity got the best of you, so you took it out and looked at the contents while you ate your breakfast.

Inside was a ham and Colby jack cheese sandwich with lettuce, pickles, mustard, and mayonnaise, an apple, a coconut-flavored Greek yogurt, celery with peanut butter, and a chocolate chip granola bar. There were also two dollars at the bottom of the bag paperclipped together with a sticky note stuck to the top.

For chocolate milk. ~Jay was what the note read.

Tears sprung to your eyes as you continued to eat your breakfast. You don't remember the last time you brought a lunch to school; you'd always get your lunch for free at school. When you got the paper from school about the free/reduced lunch because teachers noticed you didn't have much to eat, you waited until your dad was hungover and it was early in the morning, and handed him a pen and he signed the paper blindly. And, that's how you got lunch and breakfast at school without any cost to you or your dad.

"Hey, I can just brush my teeth at the kitchen sink if you want the bathroom--" He cut himself off when he saw the tears in your eyes. "What's wrong?"

"You- You made me lunch?" you asked as you turned to face him.

He smiled. "Of course I did. I know how bad cafeteria food can be. And, if it tastes good, it's usually not very good for you."

"Thank you," you said as you wiped a tear away that had rolled down your cheek.

"Aww, hey, don't cry, don't cry. It's okay. You're safe now. You don't need to worry about where your next meal will come from. And, I'm going to petition a judge for legal guardianship in a few days. I just have to have a few conversations with some lawyers."

"Does this mean you have to move? I don't want to kick you out of your apartment."

Jay dismissed that with a wave. "I already put in a loan application for a new apartment. Two bedrooms. Really nice."

"Can you tell me about it? While I finish eating my strawberries."

Jay nodded and sat down in the chair across from you. "It's a two-bedroom, washer, dryer. But, I know you don't care about those things. There's underground parking. It's got a gym, a whole club level, with like a coffee lounge, and all this other stuff."

"That sounds really nice."

"Yeah, it is a pretty nice building. Coffee lounge would be perfect for you to get your homework done if you don't feel like staying in the apartment."

"I thought you said I couldn't drink coffee?" you asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I meant the caffeine in the coffee. Decaf coffee and lattes and tea lattes, that's a different story. I'm sure they have pastries there, too."

"Never pegged you for a coffee snob," you joked.

"You learn a lot about coffee and about a person when you have to get your entire unit coffee. I'll let you in on a little secret: Ruzek's coffee order is the most complicated."

"Really?"

"Really. Now, go finish getting ready. Don't want you being late for school."

***

"Hey, Er, can you meet me at the diner we usually go to?" Jay asked his girlfriend over the phone after he had dropped you off at school.

"Yeah, no problem. Give me fifteen minutes. We haven't caught a case yet, but we should keep our radios on just in case. Everything okay?"

"It's a long story. I'll explain everything in person, okay?"

"Okay," Erin answered skeptically. "I'll see you in a few."

Fifteen minutes later on the dot, Erin walked into the little diner and spotted Jay sitting in the corner booth.

"Alright, what's going on?" she asked after she had ordered her food and some coffee. "You sounded really stressed on the phone."

Jay sighed. "I'm going to fight for legal guardianship of Y/N."

"What? Why? What happened?" Erin asked as she widened her eyes.

"Our dad, he uh, he hasn't really been the greatest. Not keeping food in the house, calling her a burden when she tries to eat some of his food, not buying her products for you know...girl stuff. She's probably lost like 25 pounds since the end of last school year. And, I know that doesn't sound like a lot with the amount of time that's passed, but she's underweight. Will drew some of her blood last night to see if she's deficient in some vitamins or minerals."

"My God."

"Yeah, so, I know we were going to move into your place together, but I need another bedroom and my loan went through at that place I told you about, so I'm going to put an offer in there. You could always move in with me if you want, but I don't know if it would be a good idea for that to happen right away. I just want to get Y/N healthy again. I'm sorry."

"Jay, I get it. She's family. Do you know how you're going to go about this? Did you talk to Voight about taking any time off to sort this out?"

"Not yet. But, I think I'm going to call Antonio and see if he can help me out with getting a meeting with ASA Stone. I know he works criminal cases, but he's gotta know some stuff about family court cases. So, I figured he might be able to help me with this whole process."

"Good idea. If you need any help, just say the word and I'll be there."

Jay smiled. "Thanks, Er." He didn't want to have the conversation he was about to have, but he knew he had to tell her. "There's uh, there's one more thing I need to tell you."

"Okay, what is it?"

"About eight years ago, I was married."

"Excuse me, what? You were married and you didn't tell me?"

Jay knew this was a bad idea...which was why he hadn't wanted to tell Erin, but now that he wasn't officially divorced for whatever reason, he knew needed to tell her. "Just let me explain."

"Yes, please do," Erin sneered.

"Her name's Abby. She ran Cultural Support during my last tour in Kandahar. About a year after I came home, I saw her at a funeral in Vegas. Was... was a guy in our unit, he had redeployed, and, um, he didn't... Um, I was, like, blacking out most nights, and we were both pretty shook up. And, um, we got married." He chuckled at the thought of his twenty-one-year-old self thinking that marriage was a good idea. "It was, like, a 24-hour thing, it was a total joke, and it is long over."

Erin just stared at him, as he waited to be chewed out by her. "Jay, you married this girl. And you never told me, and you were never gonna tell me," was all she said.

"I know. And, I'm sorry. But, I'm meeting up with her in a few days to sign the documents that I thought I'd signed because she's getting married and we need to make the divorce official...even though, in my mind, it's been official for eight years.

"Er, please don't hate me, but with everything going on, with me trying to get guardianship of Y/N and me finding out that I'm somehow still married--"

"You want us to take a break?" Erin asked, finishing his sentence for him.

Jay nodded. "I'm sorry. I just don't think I can juggle a relationship with all this other stuff. And, it's not fair to you."

Erin swallowed. "Well, just tell me if you need any help with Y/N. I'll always be there for you. Relationship or partnership, I'll always have your six."

"And I'll always have yours."

Erin's phone buzzed on the table and she picked it up. "It's Voight. We caught a case."

Jay laid some bills on the table. "Then let's go."

***

"Got the results of Y/N's bloodwork back," Will told Jay over the phone while he had a quick break for lunch...even though it was four o'clock in the afternoon. But, that's the thing about the medical field: breaks are never regular.

"And? Any deficiencies?" Jay asked, walking into his bedroom as you were at the table doing homework and he didn't want to distract you.

"Yes, two actually. Iron and riboflavin. The low iron explains why her periods have become shorter and lighter, but that can also be attributed to how small she is now."

"How do we go about this then?"

"I'll send you a list of foods that have levels high iron and riboflavin. Oh, riboflavin's found in vitamin B by the way."

"Okay, care to tell me what iron and riboflavin do? I know iron helps with hemoglobin and red blood cells, but I have no idea what riboflavin does."

"You're right about iron. I'm shocked. Or, what do the kids say these days? I'm shook."

"I swear to God, please never use that phrase again. And, I know what iron does because I paid attention in high school nutrition class, thank you very much."

"If I remember correctly, I helped you with most of the homework in that class."

"Whatever, you helped me. Now, tell me about riboflavin."

"So, riboflavin just helps convert food into energy and is needed for healthy skin, hair, blood, and a healthy brain." Jay could hear a beeping in the background on Will's end. "Gotta go. I'll send you that list of foods right now, though."

"Thanks, man."

You looked up as Jay came back into the kitchen. "Everything okay?" you asked.

Jay pulled out a chair and sat across from you. "So, I just got off the phone with Will. He got the results from your bloodwork back."

"Is it bad? Am I dying?" You set your pencil down, bracing yourself for bad news.

"No," Jay chuckled, "you're not dying. You just don't have enough iron and riboflavin, which is a specific B vitamin. Will sent me a list of foods that have high levels of those in them. You up for some grocery shopping? We can also grab some multivitamins that have those in them, too, just to help your levels stabilize faster."

"Okay, we can go now. I'm due for a break."

***

"So, some foods that contain riboflavin include milk, eggs, cheese, yogurt, meats, green leafy vegetables, and riboflavin enriched grains and cereals," Jay read off his phone.

"I've had a lot of those today already," you pointed out. "Eggs and cheese with breakfast. I had that yogurt for a snack at school, and I had meat and cheese on my sandwich and I had chocolate milk with my lunch at school."

That was just standard, Jay thought. He wondered what you ate when you were at your Dad's. And, he knew that if he wanted to obtain guardianship of you, he'd need to know these things.

"What did you eat at Dad's?" Jay probed.

"I mean, I barely made it to school on time most mornings because I was trying to be quiet so I didn't wake Dad, which made me move slower when getting ready. So, I'd usually just grab a small thing of dry cereal when I got to school and eat it in my first class. I never checked to see if it was one of the enriched ones. I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize. There's no way you could've known. Now, what did you usually have for lunch at school?"

"I always tried to get veggies with my lunch, but most of the veggies were the gross canned ones, like canned corn or green beans. I don't like those. Sometimes, they'd have little salads as a side and I'd get those. Sometimes they'd have yogurt parfaits and I'd get those. But, I'd usually go for the pre-made subs, because at least those would have veggies on them...even if it was just lettuce and pickles. I'd usually try to get an apple or banana as my side, too." You paused. "If I was getting meat and cheese from the sub and milk from my chocolate milk, then how am I deficient in this?"

"It's probably because the meat and cheese schools use is so heavily processed that there are little to no vitamins left in it," Jay answered.

"And you know this how?"

"As you get older, you acquire a lot of knowledge and one of those things is that the more processed a food is, the fewer vitamins and minerals are preserved...and I watch a lot of The Food that Built America on the History channel."

"Oh, okay. What foods are on that show?"

"Usually it's about fast food. One episode I watched last week was about ice cream and popsicles and how they came to be in America. Pretty interesting."

"Can we watch an episode tonight? That show sounds good."

"Of course." He paused in front of the fresh produce. "Take your pick. But, just make sure you get some leafy greens for the riboflavin and some fruit and other green veggies for iron."

You picked up a few things such as more apples, a bag of Clementines, bananas, spinach, carrots, and celery, and then, you shocked your brother as you picked up a bag of kale.

"Kale?" he asked. "Didn't know you liked it."

You shrugged. "I heard it tastes kind of like spinach. And, I saw a recipe on Pinterest for a salad that has kale, lemon juice, and dates. Is it okay if we try that?"

"You know, I think that would be the perfect side for dinner tonight. I'll add lemon juice and dates to the list."

"I didn't grab too many fruits and veggies, right?" you asked, not wanting to waste food or your brother's hard-earned money. "I- I can put some back if you want me to."

"Nope, it's all good. We can always freeze the bananas if they go bad for smoothies or banana bread. And, we can always turn the apples into apple sauce. Spinach and kale freeze well, too and you can't even taste them if we put them in smoothies."

"How do you know this stuff?" you asked.

"I used to watch Mom cook a lot when I was little. And, when I moved out on my own, she gave me a copy of a cookbook she always used. Said the recipes at the beginning of the book were simple enough that I wouldn't burn my apartment down."

You laughed at the thought of your mom scolding Jay if his apartment got ruined from his cooking. "Do you still have it?" you asked. "The cookbook, I mean."

"I do."

"Can we make something out of it tonight?"

"You know, I think that's a great idea." He pursed his lips. "How about Mom's chicken pot pie? I think I have some frozen peas and corn in the freezer and we can use the carrots we just grabbed in it, too."

"That sounds really good. Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me." Jay paused. He figured now would be as good a time as any to tell you. "Uh, do you remember the day that we got ice cream and went and played soccer with Ben when you were little? The night that Mom went into the hospital?"

You nodded, swallowing the lump in your throat at the memory of that day.

"Well, she told me to take care of you. There's no way I would break a promise to Mom."

"She said that?"

"Mhmm."

"It's like she knew something was going to happen."

"Mom was a smart lady. Will had to have gotten it from somewhere and he sure didn't get it from Dad."

You laughed. "Hey, you're smart, too. Just not sciency smart. You're more puzzle smart because you put the pieces together of who committed a crime." Jay laughed at your description of his job. "Oh, is the recipe for Mom's garlic mashed potatoes in that cookbook?"

"It is. Want those as a side along with the salad you mentioned?"

"Yes, please...if it's not a problem."

"They're super simple and quick to make." He scribbled on a piece of notebook paper that he had written down a few groceries on, like the salad ingredients you had mentioned. "Alright, potatoes, a rotisserie chicken, and pastry dough have all been added to the list."

***

"I'll be back later tonight, no later than midnight," Jay told you two days later on Sunday night. "I know it's not ideal because you have school in the morning, but try and get some sleep while I'm gone, okay?"

"I'm used to being home alone at night, Jay." You shrugged. "I'll be fine."

"I know, it's just that not something I want you to get used to. Feel free to eat anything you want, cook anything you want. As long as you don't burn down the house, I don't care what you make. Oh, and remember to take your multivitamin before bed."

You rolled your eyes. "I'm fifteen, not five. Now, get going. Don't want you to be late to meet that lawyer."

"Love you. I'll be back by midnight. Lock the door behind me."

"I will. Love you, too."

With that, Jay left his apartment to go meet with ASA Stone and you locked the door behind him as he told you.

***

"So, Antonio told me you have some custody questions," Peter Stone said once he closed the door of his office.

"That's right," Jay replied as he took a seat in front of Stone's desk and turned his phone completely off and Stone took a seat in his chair behind his desk.

"Didn't know you had a kid, Halstead."

"No, I don't actually," Jay chuckled. "I have a kid sister. Name's Y/N and she's fifteen."

"Okay, and why do you want guardianship then?"

"When me and Will, my older brother, were kids, our dad kinda checked out on parenting us when we hit our mid-teens. But, we had our mom around, so it was okay. I went over there the other day because my dad was having some heart issues and I called Will. When I was there, I got a call of a robbery and it was Y/N. She was stealing food from a corner store because our dad wasn't feeding her," Jay explained.

"I see. So, other than her word and her stealing food, do you have any proof of this?"

"I know I should've called DCFS before letting her stay with me, but I couldn't let her stay there a minute longer, Peter. She's lost like 25 pounds in the past six months and she's deficient in both iron and vitamin B."

"Okay, what we have to do is petition for guardianship in front of a judge. I can help you with the documents and I can even represent you at the hearing if you want."

"Wow, yeah, that'd be great. Thank you."

"Anything else you want to tell me about your dad? Any physical or emotional abuse?"

"Not technically, but there is something else." And then Jay launched into all the information you had told him two days ago.

"Okay. And, you know your dad could theoretically press kidnapping charges against you because you took his kid without his permission?"

"I do. But he was basically starving her. No jury would find me guilty."

"I'm not going to argue with you about that one because I agree with you."

"So, do you think I have a chance of getting guardianship over Y/N?"

"In theory, yes. But, most judges like to keep the child with their biological parents. But, seeing as Y/N's fifteen, she does get some say in who she stays with," Stone explained. "When we have a custody or guardianship battle, we use the child's best interest standard. This means that you must prove that you are capable of providing food, clothing, housing, medical care, and a stable home life for Y/N. There will be one or two home visits before appearing before a judge, just to let you know."

"I'm aware of that. And, I just put an offer in on a new apartment with two bedrooms this morning and they're pretty quick in responding, so I should know in the next few days whether or not I got it."

"That's a good start. And you are financially stable to raise her until she turns eighteen, so three more years?"

"I am."

"Alright, let's start on those documents then. Unless you have any more questions for me?"

"I do actually. I, uh, I just found out that I'm technically still married. Something about me not signing the divorce papers even though I specifically remember signing them? And, before you ask, me and this girl served together, we were both twenty-one, going through rough patches and it was a Vegas wedding eight years ago. Lasted no more than twenty-four hours."

"It's really good that you told me this because any good lawyer would find that out when you file for guardianship. It's possible that she didn't co-sign the divorce papers. If that's the reason, I can help you draw up new divorce papers right now."

"Really? You'd help me with that?"

"Of course. A friend of Antonio's is a friend of mine," Stone said as he started typing on his computer. "So, what you can do is you can file for a no-fault divorce."

"You're gonna have to be specific, Stone. I know a bit of criminal law because I've had to testify in criminal cases, but like I said, I don't know family or civil law," Jay said.

"What a no-fault divorce is, Jay, is that you don't have to prove that either of you did anything wrong to get a divorce. All you have to do is state that your marriage is unsalvageable and continue filing for divorce."

"That's it? What if she doesn't sign it?"

"The divorce papers will be served to, uh...what's this girl's name again?" Stone asked.

"Abby."

"Abby. The divorce papers will be served to Abby and she has twenty days to file her response with the court. If she doesn't, then the court rules it as an uncontested divorce and then you're officially divorced."

"Me and Abby are meeting up to talk about all this tonight. But, can we just fill out paperwork for this no-fault divorce just in case things don't go as planned? I just really need to get guardianship of Y/N. The least amount of problems, the better."

"Of course. And if everything goes well with her tonight, then just give me a call and I'll shred the documents."

"Alright, just tell me where to sign."

***

"Wilson is running through the showers wearing nothing but a Kevlar vest, right?" Jay reminisced on the good parts of his Ranger days with Abby at a bar around 8:30 that night after his meeting with Peter Stone.

"Well, the lieutenant said, all outdoor activities to be conducted in body armor." Jay laughed at Abby's rendition of their lieutenant's voice. "Do you remember, he had his girlfriend's name tattooed on his ass?"

Jay set his empty drink down on the bar. "Did he tell you that was his girlfriend? That was his dog's name," Jay laughed.

"That actually makes more sense," Abby said. "I could go for another one of these."

"I, um, I shouldn't."

"Gotta get back to the barracks?"

"No, I uh gotta get back to my little sister, actually. I'm looking after her at the moment. It's a long story. Do you have the papers?"

"I, uh, I don't have them."

"Abby."

"It's just, I never told you. Even that crazy day we got married, I never told you that I loved you, Jay. It didn't feel right. But, I loved you, Jay. I do love you."

Jay sighed. "Abby, you deserve everything good. I'm just not the guy that's gonna give that to you." He brushed her hair to the side and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

After putting some money on the bar to pay for the drinks and tip the bartender, he left the bar. Guess he was going to need these no-fault divorce documents, anyway.

He was almost to his car when he heard someone calling his name. And, it was a voice he knew all too well.

"Erin?" he shouted as she came closer. "What are you doing here?"

"Would it kill you to turn on your phone? You need to get to the district. Now."

"What? Why? What's wrong?"

She got in his passenger seat. "Just drive. I'll explain on the way."

***

You were sitting on Jay's bed reading a book when you heard a knock on the door.

Slowly, you got off his bed and made your way out of his room. You took a knife out of the knife block, but you hoped you wouldn't need to use it. Jay would've told you if someone was planning on stopping over. And, if it was Will, he would've given you a heads-up.

The knocking got louder and more aggressive. "Jayson! Open this door! I have the right to see my daughter!"

Dad.

With the knife still in hand, you backed up and then, once on the carpet, ran back into Jay's room and quietly shut the door and locked it. You pulled out your phone and tried Jay. It went straight to voicemail. The pounding was getting louder. You tried Will. It went straight to voicemail because he was on shift. You thought you heard your dad starting to kick the door now instead of just pounding on it with his fists. You tried the last person you thought could help.

"Y/N?" Erin asked as she answered her phone and paused the tv show she was watching.

"Erin," you whispered. "I'm scared. I need help."

"You need help? Can you tell me why?"

"My dad, he's- he's here. He's looking for me." You heard a crash.

"Jay? Y/N? I know one of you is in here!"

"I- I think he just broke down the apartment door. Please help."

"Okay, okay, here's what you're going to do. I want you to hide somewhere and I'm going to call a patrol car over there right now. You're going to turn your phone on silent and I'm going to call you right back," she told you.

"Okay," you whispered as quietly as you could.

"I'll call you back in one minute tops."

You moved as quietly as you could with the knife and your phone still in your hands and opened Jay's closet door. You buried yourself behind the two garment bags that contained Jay's police blues and his military dress uniform, hoping against hope that your dad wouldn't find you.

Your phone lit up and it was Erin. You answered.

"Y/N, the officers will be there soon. I don't want you to talk. Just know that I'm on the phone with you."

At the same time, as she was talking to you over speakerphone, she was texting the team. She assumed you couldn't reach Jay or Will since you had called her. She told them what was happening and that a few of them needed to get to the district because they needed to find Jay's location. She also told Voight to get ahold of Sharon Goodwin so she could notify Will of what was currently happening.

"Chicago PD! Put your hands where we can see them!" you heard from your hiding place.

"See?" Erin said. "I told you that you'd be okay. I told them that you were hiding, so if someone opens the door, it's just an officer."

Just after she said that the closet door opened.

You squeaked.

"It's okay. You're safe," the officer said. "We're just going to take you down to the district. You're safe."

You peeked out from your hiding place and you saw the blues of the officers. You slowly made your way out and followed the officer out to the patrol car, the one that didn't house your dad for a breaking and entering charge at the moment.

***

"Where is she?" Jay yelled as he entered the district.

Platt just pointed to the bench next to one of the offices where you were sitting, staring at the floor, with a police jacket draped over your shoulders.

He sunk to his knees in front of you. "Are you hurt? Did Dad hurt you? Did he put his hands on you in any way?"

You shook your head.

"Oh thank God."

"I was so scared," you whispered. "When you and Will didn't answer, I thought he was gonna get me."

"I'm sorry. I turned off my phone when I talked to ASA Stone, and I forgot to turn it back on. I'm so sorry. C'mere."

You all but fell off the bench and into Jay's arms. "Is he going to jail? I don't want him going to jail."

"He was drunk out of his mind. I can ask not to press charges, though."

"Please. He needs help."

Although Jay didn't say it, he knew you were right. Jails and prisons didn't rehabilitate, they just taught criminals how to be better criminals. He knew that his dad needed rehab, a twelve-step program, anything.

"Okay, I won't press charges. But, I think we're gonna need to stay with Will for the night because our door's broken. What do you say we run home and grab some clothes to bring to Will's? And, since Dad will be here for a little longer, we can run to his house and get more of your stuff. Sound like a plan?"

"Can we get Dairy Queen on the way to Will's?"

"We sure can."

***

"I- I don't think any of these dresses will fit me anymore. They look way too big," you said to Jay as the two of you unpacked a bunch of your stuff in the guest room of Jay's new apartment. You wanted to think of it as the guest room for now instead of calling it your room just in case Jay wasn't awarded guardianship. You didn't want to get too attached.

Jay sighed. He figured you were right. He would see if Erin could take you, but their relationship was on the backburner right now. And, Erin had some stuff with Bunny she had to work out after she had brought her that pearl bracelet and said that she might be leaving Chicago. So, now wasn't really the right time for him to be bugging Erin about going shopping with you. And, he couldn't ask Kim because she was taking some furlough after finding her sister brutally sodomized after a night out.

He thought about asking Will if Nina could come, but he didn't think that those two were too happy with each other at the moment since Will hadn't told Nina about their dad being in the hospital and she had to find out from Natalie. Not Will's greatest moment.

He racked his brain for more women he knew.

Then it hit him: Gabby.

Yes, they had briefly dated, but that was five years ago. She was married now and his feelings for her were completely gone. They were civil with each other when they saw each other in the field and would chat when Gabby showed up at the district to pick up Eva or Diego.

"How about you try a few on after we finish unpacking, and then if none of them really fit, I can give Gabby a call and see if she'll take you shopping while I work on unpacking the rest of the house," Jay suggested.

"Okay. Will's gonna be over after his shift to help though, right?" you asked.

"He better be. He said he would. If he doesn't come, he better have a really good excuse."

"You can't unpack the kitchen without me," you told him.

"Why not?"

"I can't have you putting the glasses and other stuff on high shelves because I wanna reach them without having to climb on the counter."

"Okay, fine. I'll keep your short little height in mind while I unpack." He paused. "Do you want to get those fancy word stickers for your room for one of the walls?"

"Decals? And, it's not my room yet."

"Listen, after that stunt Dad pulled at my old apartment, Stone is 99.9% positive that I'll be granted guardianship. We just have to jump through all the hoops first."

"Like the home checks?"

"Like the home checks," he confirmed.

"What do I say in court?" you asked a few minutes later as you were putting the pillows on your freshly made bed.

"You just tell the truth," he answered.

"Will you be in there with me?"

"No, I won't. Stone said that usually in these cases you talk to the judge by yourself so that you can't be intimidated by either of the people who are fighting for custody or guardianship."

"So you won't be there? Will won't be there?"

"Will will be out in the hall and I will be in a different room. I'll be in like a witness room, where they make witnesses of a crime wait so that their testimony isn't swayed by what the other people are saying on the stand. But, me and Dad will be in the courtroom at the same time, just so I can see what he'll be saying."

"And, I'll be in there then, too?"

"Yes."

"What kind of questions do they ask me?"

"Stone said that since you're older, you get a say in who you stay with, so they'll ask you questions like who've you known the longest, who you feel safest with, who you want to live with, etc."

"Will they ask me questions about Dad? Like how he didn't give me food and how he broke into your apartment?" you asked.

"They will," Jay confirmed. "But, Stone will be in there for those questions just in case he needs to object to something."

"So the only time I'll be alone with the judge is when they're asking me the first few questions? Like who I feel safest with?"

"Exactly. Now, do you need help putting these books on the top shelf of your bookshelf?"

***

"Hey, how was your day?" Jay asked as he came home from work that afternoon. It was a shock that he was home by 5 pm, but you had a big day tomorrow. Not only was tomorrow Friday, it was the day you and Jay had to go to court to see if he would be awarded guardianship of you.

"We've got a problem," you stated.

"Um, I can try to help you with it, but let me go put my gun away first."

While he was doing that, you pulled out the slip of paper and the note that Gretchen Cunningham had written, saying that she wouldn't allow you to make up the test you would be missing because you had to go to court.

"Alright, what's the problem?" Jay asked as he walked into the kitchen.

"Cunningham. She's the problem...as always."

You handed him the papers and he read them over. "Yeah, this isn't going to fly. She doesn't need a judge's signature to allow you to take the test. I'll talk to the school tomorrow morning when I call to tell them you'll be absent."

"I hate her," you groaned. "She's so mean. And, I know what you're gonna say. You have to deal with people you don't like. But, she lost one of my assignments and told me I didn't turn it in and couldn't re-do it!"

"Well did you?" Jay asked. "Turn it in, I mean."

"Jay!"

He put his hands up in a sign of surrender. "I'm just saying, could be your fault."

"Yes, I turned in the stupid assignment. And, she paired me up with the stupidest kid in the class and told me to do well on this assignment because he needed a good grade to pass. It's not my fault he's failing! Don't put his grade on me, lady!"

"And she wouldn't let you re-do it?"

"Nope. But it's fine. I'm still getting an A. That might change if she doesn't let me take this test, though."

"It's like deja-vu from my freshman year all over again. Why doesn't she retire already? She's like 100."

"Or they could fire her," you quipped. "Or I could switch classes."

"I'll see what I can do. Who's the other history teacher?"

"Um, Miss Hedge."

"Hedge? As in Jayne Hedge?"

"Yeah, it's actually her. Why? Do you know her?"

"Yes he does," Will said as he entered Jay's apartment. "In fact, they went to freshman snowcoming together."

"How did you even get in here?" Jay asked, turning around to look at his older brother.

"For a cop, you're not that smart. You didn't lock the door behind you."

"I don't lock my door when I'm still awake. And, seriously? You just had to tell Y/N that, didn't you?"

"You guys can't just leave me hanging now. Tell me the story!"

"Fine," Jay grumbled and Will just laughed and sat down at the table, too. "I met her at school, obviously. She was on the freshman basketball team and I had winter weight training for the soccer team. I thought she was pretty and she was really smart, too. And, I knew that a bunch of the girls went to get Taco Bell after practice, so me and some of my friends decided to go, too."

"There used to be a Taco Bell close to school?" you asked. If there was, you'd never seen it before.

"It got torn down just after I graduated," Jay answered. "Anyway, we went to Taco Bell and I started talking to her and we talked a lot after practice. I'd walk her home sometimes. Then, I asked her to snowcoming and she said yes."

"So, why'd you guys break up? I know you dated Allie in high school."

"We realized we were better off as friends." Jay shrugged.

"And he realized he liked Allie more," Will added.

"Yeah, that too."

Will set a big bag of takeout on the table.

"Seriously?" Jay asked. "I thought we weren't going to do this that much anymore so we can get Y/N's vitamin and mineral levels stabilized."

"I'm sure she'd appreciate the break from your mundane meals," Will said. "And, I got us all side salads to go with the burgers instead of fries, so calm down." Jay gave him a look. "Fine, I got the side salads along with the fries. But, they're made out of potatoes, so they're technically a vegetable."

"For a doctor, you don't know much about nutrition, do you? And, my meals are not mundane."

"Dude, you'd have chicken, spaghetti, or grilled cheese every night."

"Not every night, just a lot of nights when I'd get home from the district late. I'll have you know me and Y/N have been making really good diners lately. Wanna tell Will what we made last night for dinner, Short Stack?"

"We made this really good pasta. We used Orzo, which looks like rice, but it's pasta. And we made a sauce out of tomatoes, onions, and orange juice. It was supposed to be lemon juice, but Jay didn't have any. We put chicken sausage in it for protein...and spices of course," you told Will.

"That actually sounds really good. Wow, Jay cooking every night, not something I expected."

"I like it," you said. "And, he lets me play whatever music I want when we cook."

Will rolled his eyes. You had Jay so wrapped around your finger that he'd do almost anything for you. Will didn't think he himself was that bad, but deep down, he knew he'd do anything for you, too...despite not being in Chicago as long as Jay had been.

***

"So I got a call from Stone this morning," Jay said around 11:30 that night when he and Will were sitting on the couch, each nursing a beer.

Will set his beer down on the coffee table in front of him. "And?"

"And, as of yesterday at midnight, I am officially divorced from Abby. Turns out, they served her the papers and, since she didn't sign them and it had been twenty days, it turned into an uncontested, no-fault divorce."

"Congrats, man. Might've been eight years too late, but you're a free man now."

"Amen to that. And it came at just the right time."

"Yeah," Will agreed. "You nervous for tomorrow?"

"Not really. More nervous for Y/N than anything. I've testified in criminal cases, so I kinda know how this goes, but she hasn't. And, before me and Dad go in to plead our cases, she has to talk to the judge all by herself. I just wish one of us could be in there with her."

Will nodded. "Know what they're going to ask you?"

"I know what Stone's going to ask me because we prepped, but I have no idea what Dad's lawyer is going to ask me. Pretty sure he's got just a public defender, though. Hopefully, that works in my favor."

"Not always, man," Will disagreed. "The public defenders who do these cases only do these cases. They've had a lot of practice."

"You really know how to make me feel better, thanks," Jay replied sarcastically.

"Rather have you hear it from me before the case than someone else after. Are you going to get cross-examined?"

"Probably. Don't know what they're going to ask me though because it's a cross. Stone set up some sample questions for me to answer with him to practice, but I'm going in blind. I'm used to it though because I've testified before. But, this feels like my biggest case."

"Because it probably is."

"Are you talking about tomorrow?" you asked as you quietly padded across the floor towards the living room.

"Y/N? What are you doing up? It's almost midnight," Jay pointed out.

"I- I know. But I couldn't sleep. I'm scared. What if I have to go back to Dad's? What if they find neither of you fit and I have to go into foster care?"

Jay patted the empty spot on the couch next to him and you sat down. "We just have to trust the system. That's all we can do."

"I know, but I can't sleep. And I'm so tired."

"I have an idea," Jay started and stood up, "stay here."

"I'm gonna go look for some melatonin," Will said after a few minutes of you two just sitting in silence. "I think Jay still has some for nights that he can't sleep."

Will was still rummaging around Jay's cabinets when Jay came back with a big black box with some cords and a cardboard box balanced against his hip.

"The hell is that?" You quickly covered your mouth when you realized you had sworn. "Sorry."

"It's okay. And, to answer your question, this is VCR. And, I have a bunch of videotapes in this box." He turned from you to face the kitchen, where Will was still opening and closing cabinets. "Will? What are you doing?"

"Looking for melatonin for Y/N. You got any?"

"First of all, it's so late that if you give it to her now, she'll sleep through her alarm and we can't be late for court tomorrow. And, second of all, I keep it in the medicine cabinet in my bathroom."

Will closed the cabinet and made his way back to the couch to sit next to you as Jay started to hook up the VCR to the tv. "Uh, Jay," Will began, "you know it's a little late for a movie right? And, I should get going in like half an hour?"

"We're not watching a movie. I recorded a bunch of the Blackhawks playoff games on one of these and I thought Y/N'd like to watch the 2010 Stanely Cup final series against the Flyers. Or, we could watch the final series against the Bruins when they won the cup last year."

"Let's watch the 2010 one," you said. "I don't think I watched it because I wasn't into watching hockey as much as I am now."

"And you have Jay to thank for that," Will pointed out.

"You can record things on there? Like an old-school DVR?" you asked.

"God, now I feel old," Will groaned. "Wait until she learns about floppy disks."

"Floppy what now?"

"Nevermind. Only 80s-90s kids would get it."

"We get it. You guys are millennials."

"Got it!" Jay exclaimed as he popped the videotape into the VCR and it started playing. "Now, shut up so we can relive this, Will."

You fell asleep before you even reached the end of the first period.

***

You rubbed your eyes and then looked around you to notice that you were still on the couch. You craned your neck to see the time on the oven on the other side of the open concept kitchen and living room and saw that it was 5:45 am. Jay was at the gym now. And, you knew you wouldn't be able to fall back asleep because you were already starting to worry about the rest of the day. You had to be in court at 8:30 and had to be talking to a judge at 9:00, the judge that would determine who you would be living with, which would inevitably determine your future.

God, you were thinking just like the teachers talked about the SATs, how if you didn't get a good grade on that standardized test that your future would be ruined.

You stood up and stretched and then went back to your room to grab the book you were currently reading. Then, you turned on a few lamps and grabbed a yogurt and fruit from the fridge, along with a glass of orange juice. After wrapping yourself in a blanket, you started to eat and read, hoping that that would keep your mind from wandering and worrying at least until Jay got back from the gym.

Half an hour later, Jay unlocked the apartment door and walked inside, confused as to why you were awake. It was only 6:15 and he had told you just to be up by 6:45.

"What are you doing awake, Short Stack?" he asked as he grabbed a banana from the bowl on the counter.

"I woke up at about 5:45 and I couldn't fall asleep. I'm sorry."

"Nothing to worry about. I just want you as well-rested for today as possible. You have your dress all ready? Know what shoes you're going to wear?"

"Jay," you whined. "I picked all of that out last night because you told me to."

"Just didn't want you to have to rush. I can turn the game back on for you so you can watch it until you have to start getting ready?"

You nodded and Jay came over and fiddled with the tv and the remote, going back to the middle of the first period where he thought you had fallen asleep.

"Okay, I'm gonna take a shower. Will said he'll be here around 7:45. Oh, and you can take that history test when you get back on Monday, in Miss Hedge's class."

You smiled. "Okay." Then, you turned your attention back to the hockey game.

***

You widened your eyes as you stood in the second bathroom getting ready. You had gotten dressed (into a navy blue, lacey dress that ended just above the knee that you had bought with Gabby a few days ago), washed your face, brushed your teeth, did your makeup, but now you were cursing yourself for being so stupid. You had no way of doing your hair. You didn't have a straightener here. And, your typical ponytail or bun wasn't going to cut it for court.

"Jay!" you yelled as you exited the bathroom and knocked on his bedroom door.

He opened it as he was tying his tie. "Yeah? Everything okay?"

"I don't have a straightener! I can't do my hair and if I wear my hair like I usually do then it will look bad on you and--"

"Hey, hey, calm down. We've still got over 45 minutes before we have to leave. I'll give Gabby a call and see if she's not on shift and can let you borrow hers."

You sighed the biggest sigh of relief. "Thank you."

Five minutes later, Jay knocked on the bathroom door as you were brushing your hair. "Gabby will be here in ten."

"Oh thank God."

***

"Thank you!" you exclaimed ten minutes later as you opened the door, revealing Gabby with her hair straightener. And, behind her, was Casey.

"No problem. Just tell me if you're not used to it and need help."

You took it from her. "No, I should be good. Thanks, though. C'mon in. I'm pretty sure Jay's around here somewhere."

They came into the apartment while you ran off to find Jay.

You knocked on his bedroom once more and he opened it, this time completely ready for the day. "Gabby and Casey are here," you told him.

"Casey's here?" he asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Yeah. I think he just came with Gabby."

"Okay. Go fix your hair. I'll go talk to them."

Twenty minutes later, you were finished and slipping your shoes on when you heard a knock on the apartment door. "I got it, Y/N!" Jay yelled.

Well, I hoped you would because you're closer to the door than me, you thought to yourself.

Jay opened the door, and since it was exactly 7:45, he was expecting to just see Will. But, what he saw both shocked him and made him want to cry from appreciation at the same time.

Standing next to Will was Natalie and behind them was all of Intelligence and Trudy Platt and Mouch, all of Squad 3 and Truck 81 (minus Casey because he was inside), Sylvie Brett, Chief Boden, April, Maggie, Dr. Rhodes, Dr. Charles, Reese, and Noah.

"You're all here for the court case?" Jay asked, stunned.

"Well, Natalie has to testify about Y/N's deficiencies and weight loss, but yeah. It's better if the court sees that the person trying to get guardianship has a ton of support. So, I figured I'd call in reinforcements...even though I'm pretty sure my big personality is enough."

Jay rolled his eyes. "Your big ego maybe." He paused, not knowing how he was going to fit everyone in his apartment even if it was bigger than his last one. "However many of you guys can fit inside, can come in. Um, some of you might just need to meet us at the courthouse--"

"Jay, they just came now so you could see how many people were behind you. They're just gonna meet you there. Except for me. I'm driving you two." Jay furrowed his eyebrows. They didn't talk about this. "I'll explain later."

"Gabby," you said as you walked out of the bathroom. "Can you--" you stopped as you saw everyone outside Jay's apartment.

"They're all here for you and Jay," Gabby explained as she stood up. "And, you can't cry because it'll smear your makeup, so hold back the tears."

You nodded as you held them back. "Can you, uh, check the back of my hair to make sure I got it all straight?" you asked.

"Two spots are still a bit wavy. Let's go fix it so you can get going."

A few minutes later, Gabby had fixed your hair and everyone besides Will and Jay had left and were on their way to the courthouse. You slipped on a pair of black ballet flats and your coat.

Will had explained that the reason he was driving was that if Jay didn't get guardianship, he didn't want him driving in such a distressed state. Will had worked on so many patients who were in car accidents due to their emotional state and he didn't want Jay to be one of them.

"Ready?" Jay asked you.

"As ready as I'll ever be," you said as you wiped your sweaty palms on your dress.

"All you have to do is tell the truth."

***

You thought you'd be comfortable inside a courtroom because of the crime dramas you'd seen. But, standing inside one was very different from watching a fictional tv show.

No one but you, the judge, the court reporter, Peter Stone, and your dad's lawyer could be in the room for this next part, so everyone was either in a witness room or waiting outside in the hallway for the go-ahead to be let in. You would be allowed to be in the courtroom while they were talking to Jay and your dad, but they wouldn't be able to be in the room when you talked to the judge...for obvious reasons, such as influencing what you would say.

"All rise."

You stood up next to Stone as the judge, who you now knew as Judge Callahan, entered the room.

Once you sat down, you were called to the stand. "Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help you God?" you were asked as you placed your hand on the Bible.

"I do," you answered.

"Alright, please allow Miss Halstead on the witness stand," Judge Callahan said. "Now, I'm just going to ask you a few questions. All you have to do is answer them. Do you understand?"

"Yes, I understand."

"Okay, first question: Has your father, Pat Halstead, ever hit you or physically abused you in any way?"

"No," you answered.

"Has he ever neglected to give you necessities, such as food, water, clothing, or shelter?"

"Yes."

"Can you please elaborate?"

You did. You explained how your dad never had food in the house and would yell at you and call you a burden if you tried to eat his leftovers.

"Is it true that your father tried to break into your brother's house to get you?" Judge Callahan asked.

"Yes."

"Who do you feel safest with?"

"My brother, Jay Halstead."

"Who would you prefer to live with?"

"Jay Halstead."

***

Jay sat on the witness stand. He had answered all of Stone's questions, including all of the questions about him finding you stealing, what you had been using for pads, and what he had been told that you had been eating at your dad's house. Natalie had testified about your physical well-being, weight loss, and iron and riboflavin deficiencies. But now, it was time for Jay's cross-examination. And, he sure as hell didn't expect this next question to be asked.

"Mr. Halstead," your dad's lawyer began, "you previously said, and I quote, that your dad clocked out on parenting you and your older brother, Will, when you were in your teens, around when you started high school. Can you elaborate on that?"

"Objection!" Stone yelled. "Relevance?"

"Speaks to a pattern."

"I'll allow it," Judge Callahan said. "Please answer the question, Mr. Halstead."

Jay nodded. "He clocked out on parenting me and Will because he said that were essentially grown men at this point in our lives, we didn't need him cheering us on or him helping us. He didn't come to a single one of my soccer games in high school. And, if by some miracle we went out for ice cream or something just me, my brother, and my dad, he wouldn't pay for ours. Said we were old enough to pay for ourselves.

"But, we had our mom. She came to all our games and school events. She made us breakfast, lunch, and dinner. If she wasn't there, I don't know what would've happened to me and Will. My dad didn't even want me to go into the military and didn't want Will to go to medical school. He said a real man went right to work. The only time I felt loved by him in all my teenage years was when I left for the military. It was like because he knew I might die over there that he figured he'd say he loved me one last time."

"Redirect, your honor," Stone said. Judge Callahan nodded at Stone. "You said that your mom made you and your brother lunch. Are you doing that for Y/N?"

"Objection! Relevance?"

"Speaks to Mr. Halstead's abilities as a parent."

"I'll allow it. Please answer the question."

"I actually do," Jay answered. "I make her a packed lunch to bring to school every day and I'm sure to add foods high in iron and riboflavin to help those levels stabilize quicker. The first time I packed her a lunch, she actually cried because she hadn't gotten a lunch from home in so long."

"Thank you."

"Mr. Halstead," your dad's lawyer started, "you were previously deployed overseas in Afghanistan for two tours of duty. While I thank you for your service, is it possible that you could have PTSD and hurt Y/N in the middle of the night?"

"I would never hurt her!"

"While you are fully conscious, maybe. But, while you are in a sleep-addled state, isn't it possible that you might think that the person waking you up is an enemy soldier and not your little sister?"

Jay sighed. No one knew this about him, not you, not Will, not his dad. No one. And now all of his family and closest friends were going to know since they were in the courtroom watching this entire thing unfold.

"I am on Prazosin for nightmares caused by my PTSD," Jay answered.

"And how long have you been on this medication?"

"For about two years."

"And this has helped you manage your nightmares?"

"Yes, very much so."

"No further questions."

***

"Jesus, Jay," Will said after you had watched your dad's testimony on why he should get to keep you. It was the usual: how he was your father, so, therefore, he deserved to keep taking care of you and it's what your mother would've wanted...despite her telling Jay to keep you safe before she died. They already had the responding officers testify about the break-in, so he couldn't deny that and he was under oath, so if anyone found out he lied, then your dad would be held in contempt.

"I'm sorry I never told you, man," Jay said. "I just, I thought of it as weak that I couldn't deal with my own shit." He grimaced when he realized he had sworn around you. "Sorry, Y/N."

"It's okay. I hear that stuff at school."

"I'm just upset you didn't tell me they were getting that bad, Jay," Will lamented. "I know I wasn't there for you a lot after Mom died, but I'm here now."

Jay nodded, and Will knew he didn't want to talk about the topic anymore. You looked through the little window into the courtroom and saw that the judge was coming back from her chambers.

"Guys, I think she's made a decision," you said nervously.

"Whatever happens, me and Jay will be there for you," Will promised.

All you could do at this point was nod, as a lump was forming in your throat from all your nerves.

Jay led you back into the courtroom and you sat at the front, between Jay and Will. You wiped your sweaty palms on your dress and Jay gave your shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

Judge Callahan stood up.

"By using the child's best interest standard of who can provide food, clothing, housing, education, medical care, and a stable home life for Y/N Halstead, I declare Mr. Jay Halstead the legal guardian of Y/N Halstead."

You could've sworn that you stopped breathing the second she said Jay's first name. You were so overwhelmed that you just turned to him and started crying as he wrapped an arm around you while he listened to the judge state your dad's visitation rights.

But, you didn't hear any of that. The only phrase that kept repeating in your head was I declare Mr. Jay Halstead the legal guardian of Y/N Halstead over and over again.

Now, you knew that you'd always have the necessities when you lived with Jay. You wouldn't have to worry about where your next meal was going to come from or if your dad would be out until 3 am drinking. You wouldn't have to worry about having access to tampons or pads and not be embarrassed anymore to ask for some from school if you forgot to put any in your backpack that day. But most of all, you knew that you would be loved and cared for.

A/N: Thank you so much for reading! Did I make anyone cry with this one??? The blood draw scenario was actually based on when I had to go and get my blood drawn the other day and thought I was going to pass out, which is why that scene was so long. Anyway, thank you again for reading, and please reblog/like and comment and tell me what you think! As always, if you want to be added to my taglist, just tell me and I’ll add you!

taglist: @theambracer88 @virtualreader @kelelas-life @celyndavies @brookerz122493 @musicismyescape27 @anotherfan07 @thexplosivegirl @dreamingwithlens @xoxmariaxox @onechicago18 @iamasimpingh0e

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maria-akira · 3 years

Text

good girls don't get used: michael langdon x fem! reader — PART 2

—♡—

READ PART 1 HERE

summary: michael langdon, your ex, falls into a bet wherein he needs to (fake) date you. if he falls inlove again, he loses, and doesn't get the prize.

warnings: making out, pre-smut???, michael as a tiktok fuckboy, + me not proofreading this hahah sorry

italicized bold words are direct lyrics from the song :)

please excuse any errors. enjoy!

—♡—

It had been a few hours since Y/N arrived at home. She changed into an oversized shirt and a comfy pair of shorts. To be honest, she has never tutored anyone before, except for her baby brother Aaron. With Aaron it was just 1+1 or 2x3, you know? The basics.

"Mom, someone's coming over tonight!" She called out from upstairs,

"Who will?"

Y/N didn't know what to say. Her parents knew about Michael, and how they broke up. She didn't want her mom to know that it was him who would be coming over. Why hide it? She'll see him anyways.

"Michael! Michael Langdon!" Y/N went downstairs to finally face her mom.

"Wait, your ex?"

"Yeah.."

Her mom laughed, "Oh my, looks like something's gonna happen~" She said in a sing-song tone while she prepared dinner.

Y/N rolled her eyes, "Oh my goood mom! That was 2 years ago, he just asked if I could tutor him. Apparently, he's failing."

"He's what? Failing? Isn't he one of the top students in your batch?"

"Yeah, I honestly don't know what happened to hi—"

Ding Dong!

Oh my god, She felt her heart beating fast.

Y/N walked to the front door and opened it, and there he was. Michael Langdon in his grey sweatpants and black hoodie.

"Hey, Y/N." Michael greeted, giving her a smile.

Y/N looked him up and down,

"Hi." She gave him a sarcastic look and stepped out of the way, gesturing him to come in.

Y/N's mom squealed, "Oh my, Michael! Look how you've grown!" She squeezed him into a hug and it made Michael laugh.

Aaron came down the stairs to see what the fuss was about. When he saw Michael, he rushed towards him and hugged his thigh.

"Michaeeeelll!! You're here!" Aaron giggled

Aaron loved Michael a lot. When Y/N and Michael were still together, he would always play with him.

"Hey, slugger! Now you've grown alot too, huh?" Michael kneeled down to his height and ruffled his hair, "Yup! I'm a big boy now." Aaron said proudly with his chin up.

Slugger. That was the nickname Michael gave him.

"Is Michael staying over?" Aaron pouted and gave her puppy eyes.

Y/N panicked. How was she gonna explain?

"Well, he actually came over to study for school, but he—"

"Of course I'll stay over! Anything for you, slugger." Michael cut her off. Y/N widened her eyes, making a 'what the fuck are you doing?!?!' expression at him.

Y/N faked a cough, "Aaron, go stay with mom okay? Michael and I will be studying now."

Aaron whined and crossed his arms. "But I wanna play with Michaaael!!"

"You'll do that later. After all, he said that he'll be staying over." She looked over to Michael and gave him a sarcastic smile.

—

After a few moments of arguing with Aaron, Y/N and Michael finally went upstairs. "Your room changed alot." Michael said as he looked around her room for the first time in 2 years. Once Y/N shut the door, she stormed over to Michael.

"Langdon what the fuck was that down there?!?! I only allowed you to come over, not stay over! Where will you even sleep?!"

"In a bed, duh."

Y/N slapped his forehead, causing Michael to wince at the pain.

"Are you that stupid?! Sleep on the fucking floor!" She hid her face in her hands out of frustration, then lifting her head again. "You know what? Fuck it. I don't care anymore."

—

"So if you move negative four here, what will you get?" Y/N asked, pointing her pencil on the equation. It's now 8PM, Michael and her were studying the last subject for the day, which was Math.

Michael analyzed the problem, then wrote down the answer. "Fifty.. three?" He slid the paper to her direction. While Y/N was checking his solution, he received a message from Duncan.

Dunc 🖕🏻: how's tutoring going?

Michael: its fine ig, lmao im staying over 😴

Dunc 🖕🏻: yooo what?? where you gonna sleep?

Michael: beside her? idk im still gonna play video games with her brother so i guess i'll sleep beside her 😶

Michael: brb shes done checking my solution

"Michael," She called for his attention, He let out a hum in response. "Your solution is correct.. But to avoid confusion, change this into an arrow instead of an equal sign, because it isn't the final answer yet." Y/N pointed out his mistake and circled it with a mechanical pencil.

Michael smiled. despite this 'trying to get her trust back' thing, he thought that Y/N was adorable like this. Focused with academics. He admired her alot.

Y/N looked over at Michael, "Langdon, are you even listening?" She snapped her fingers in attempt to catch Michael's attention.

Michael went back to reality, "Yeah. I get it now, thanks Y/N." Michael got his paper back and saw all the check marks. While Michael was distracted with his paper, Y/N stood up and streched. "They're all correct?" He looked up at her and asked in fake disbelief. Y/N rolled her eyes, "Duh, what are all the check marks for, dimwit?" She furrowed her eye brows and made her way to the door.

She glanced over at the clock beside her mirror, it was already 8:15 PM. "Hey, we have to go down for dinner now." She looked over to him and opened the door. Michael stood up and made his way to the door, stopping by the mirror, "Damn, I'm hot." Michael said as he praised his reflection in the mirror. When Y/N heard this, she furrowed her eyebrows and looked at him.

"Yeah sure, maybe in a different planet." She insulted, playfully hitting his arm.

"Oh c'mon Y/N, you miss me." Michael leaned on the wall with the support of his arm. Y/N shut the door.

"What makes you say that, Langdon?" She crossed her arms and leaned against the door.

"I've seen the way you look at me, baby. Admit it, you miss me, you wanna kiss me, you wanna be mine all over again."

"Don't hit me with your 'say you miss me, say you wanna kiss me.' shit, Langdon. I'm not that stupid," Y/N pulled on the neckline of Michael's hoodie, signalling him to come closer. Now, their faces were a few centimeters apart.

"Let's face the facts here, Langdon. Actually? you want me." She pulled him even closer, her lips ghosting over his. Michael moved closer in attempt to kiss her, yet to no avail. Y/N smirked and pushed him away. "You know, you're better than that." She gave him a little tap on the cheek and left the room, slamming the door in his face.

Michael was speechless. Y/N did change, a lot.

—

"So what brings you here, Michael?" Y/N's father asked, eating a slice of steak that was on his plate. "I'm currently failing some of my classes and I asked Y/N if she could help me. Luckily, she agreed." Michael looked over to Y/N and gave her a smile. She kicks him under the table, causing him to flinch.

"Will you be staying over, Michael? It's getting late." Y/N's mother asked this time, "If that would be okay with you, Mrs. Y/L/N." Michael replied, looking over to Y/N again.

Well, let's say that everyone looked at Y/N after Michael said that.

The silence made Y/N glance at them, "Why are you all looking at me..?" She said in a confused tone, her mom shot her a 'is it okay if he sleeps in your room' look. Y/N sighed, "Fine, he'll sleep in my room." Now, everyone went back to what they were doing.

After dinner, Y/N's mom called up Michael's parents to inform them that he would be staying for the night.

Y/N was washing the dishes tonight, and of course Michael volunteered to help her.

"Why did you even volunteer? You hate washing dishes, Langdon." She said as she cleaned a dirty plate with the soap filled sponge.

"Oh c'mon, Y/N. Can't I change?" He replied, rinsing one of the dishes that Y/N cleaned.

Y/N scoffed, "You? Change?"

Michael elbowed her side, "Hey, I did change!"

"Whatever." She went back to what she was doing cleaned the rest of the dishes, ignoring Michael's statement.

After a few more dishes, her hair started to slip away from the loose ponytail she made earlier. Her hands were slippery and full of soap, if she were to wash her hands and fix her hair, then go back to washing the dishes, her hands would be wet again. Plus, the drying towel was on Michael's side. So she asked for his help.

"Michael," Her voice was soft. Softer than usual. "Yea?" Michael replied, still rinsing the dishes.

"Can you please tie my hair up? It's slipping away."

"Hold on." Michael shook the water off his hands and dried it using the towel beside him, while Y/N turned her back over to his direction. Michael removed the hair tie and bit on it. He started gathering her hair from the top, combing his fingers through her soft, silky hair. He was very gentle. After he gathered her hair, he removed the hair tie from his teeth and tied her hair, careful not to tug too hard.

Y/N turned around to face him, "Hm, maybe you did change," Michael was curious when she paused. "Because you used to be so aggressive when you tied my hair." She joked and finished off the dishes that were left.

—

It's now 11 pm. Michael is in Aaron's room playing video games, and Y/N is alone in her room, doing some extra school work that was due for next week.

Like any other Friday night, girls like Y/N's age would be out partying like there was no tomorrow. After that one time she was really drunk and a guy touched her inappropriately, she never went out partying again.

Once Y/N finished her school work, she decided to take a shower. She wanted to take advantage of Michael's absence and stay in the shower longer than usual. Like a typical teenage girl, she would blast music in the shower, dancing and singing like she had a whole audience to perform for.

Y/N wrapped a towel around her body and left the bathroom to get her clothes from the dresser. Little did she know, Michael was back from her brother's room.

"I see you still have that body, huh?" Michael smirked and looked her up and down. Y/N turned around to see Michael on her bed. Her instincts told her to scream and throw an object at him, so she did.

"What the fuck are you doing here?!"

"Chill, it's not like you haven't sent me your nudes before." Michael dodged whatever she threw at him and laughed.

"Yea, and I regret sending those to your ugly ass. If I could turn back time, I would've sent them to your hot bestfriend, Duncan was it?" She turned around again to get her clothes from the dresser. Michael walked over to her and grabbed her neck from behind,

"What did you fucking say?" He growled in her ear. She smirked and bat her eyelashes innocently at him.

"I said, I would've sent them to Duncan. You should set me up with him, hm?" Y/N knew what she was doing, "Aww, is little Mikey getting jealous?" She mocked in fake sympathy. She removed his hand from her neck, turned around to face him and gave him a pout.

Michael was furious. What has gotten into him? He doesn't even love her. He just fell into a stupid bet just to fuck some girl's pussy after he fucks with her ex's feelings. But why does he feel like this? Like he needs to have Y/N only for himself?

Before Y/N went back to the bathroom to get dressed, she just had to get on Michael’s nerves again, as if she wasn’t already. At this point, she could literally see fire in his eyes. He was really mad. But why?

"Look at you, Mikey. You can't respond when you react." She giggled and gave him a quick nose boop as the cherry on top for her little act. But she wasn't getting away so fast. When she turned her back on him, Michael aggresively wrapped his hand around her neck and pulled her, securing an arm around her waist.

"Where do you think you're going, you little shit? You aren't getting away easily after that stunt." The grip on Y/N's throat slowly tightened. "W-Wh... Why are you so mah-d.. Huh?" She managed to choke out.

Michael left soft kisses against her neck, while slowly loosening the grip on her throat. "See, Mikey? You're the one who misses me." Y/N whimpered, using her free hand to pull on Michael's hair in hopes of prying him off, but he was stubborn. Y/N whispered in his ear, "Whatever it is you're trying to do, Langdon, I'll never give in." She pushed her elbow into his ribs, causing Michael to groan. Finally, Y/N goes back to her bathroom to get dressed.

Once she leaves, Michael punches the nearest wall in frustration. He hated rejection. The girls that he usually fucked with never turned him down, they always wanted more. Why wouldn't it work on Y/N?

Michael sat on the long side of her bed, still thinking about what happened earlier. He couldn't believe that she could play with him like that. It made him look like he was the desperate one, which he is.

He took out his phone to text Duncan about what happened.

Michael: yo dunc, something happened

Dunc 🖕🏻: what happened? slr i'm at a party

Michael: bro she's a tough little shit. i did the usual thing that i would do to another girl, she didn't give in at all. instead, she's playing with me.

Dunc 🖕🏻: lmao man step up your game, she isn't your usual girl

Michael: dumbass you think i'm not?

Dunc 🖕🏻: duh??? if you were actually stepping up your game then you would've fucked her there and then 🙄

Michael: whatever.

Once he heard her bathroom door open, he immediately hid his phone back in his pocket. He looked over his shoulder to see Y/N already dressed in her pajamas. Michael didn't know what to do. His angelic side says to 'go and say sorry', yet his devilish side says to 'try harder and fuck with her feelings even more.' Of course, it was obvious what is choice was.

Y/N plopped herself on the bed and grabbed her blanket that was near Michael. She then placed the blanket over her and locked eyes with him.

Michael crawled beside her and placed the blanket over him as well. They are a few inches apart. Y/N turned the TV on, clicking on Netflix. Though she tried her best to ignore Michael, she can't help but think about what happened earlier. She liked it. No, she loved it. She loved the fact that she was able to get on Michael's nerves, and how he reacted to it. It was hella attractive to her, and the smell of Michael's perfume wasn't helping her either.

Now, Y/N was watching some cartoon show that she loved. "Are you kidding? You still watch cartoons?" Michael complained, gesturing at the TV. "Yea? What about it? I bet you only watch porn." She shot back and pulled the blanket towards her, leaving Michael without it.

Michael laughed, "I just can't believe a girl like you would watch cartoons. I find it cute." He pulled the blanket towards him, sticking his tongue out to tease her.

A few minutes passed by and Michael was on his phone, scrolling on TikTok. The same sound that kept repeating for almost a minute caught Y/N's attention. Was he watching the same video?

Y/N paused the TV and looked over to Michael's direction, averting her gaze to his phone. She took a good look at the video. a shirtless boy with a gold chain, with LED lights in their room.

"You've been watching that video over and over again, Langdon. Do you like him or something?"

"Yea, I like myself."

Like myself? Oh my god, no.

"What do you mean..?" That can't be him in the video.

"That's me."

Y/N's mouth dropped, "Wha— huh? How? I mean, yeah.. but?"

Michael let out a laugh that he had been holding in, "But what? Look, I'll show you." He handed her his phone, which allowed Y/N to have a closer look of the video.

"So you're telling me you blew up on tiktok by thrusting a phone on your pelvis??" Y/N stared at the amount of likes, a fucking million.

"Uh, yeah? That's how TikTok works? Look at the comments." Michael tapped the comments icon and Y/N scrolled through it.

'yo im down bad 😫'

'can we keep him a secret pls'

'chill i have a bf..'

'break my back 🤪'

Y/N bursted out in laughter, "Oh my god, if only they knew." she gave his phone back and Michael looked at her with a puzzled look.

"Knew what?" He asked, "You couldn't even 'break my back' two years ago, Michael!" She said in between giggles. "That was two years ago, Y/N! Two fucking years. I was a virgin!" Michael defended himself, then immediately realizing what he said.

Y/N wasn't aware that she was Michael's first.

"Wait Y/N, the last part isn't tru—"

She smirked and grabbed her phone from wherever she left it. She opened Twitter and decided to tweet about what Michael said, just for fun.

just wanted to let yall know that @m_langdon admitted that 2 years ago he lost his virginity to me 🤩

"What are you typing and why are you smiling?" Michael asked with a hint of fear in his voice. He feared that Y/N would do something that would tear his reputation down.

Y/N gave him a mischievous grin, "Oh nothing, just tweeted about what you said."

Michael's face fell, and Y/N hit the tweet button.

"Did you twee—"

"Yeah, go check your Twitter. I tagged you too."

Michael shot her a slight glare and went to his Twitter.

Y/N's tweet already had 5 retweets, 14 likes, and 8 replies.

"You did not." Michael said, shocked at how she would do something like this. "Ooh sorry babe, I just did." She faked a pout and formed a letter 'L' with her hand.

Michael felt embarrassment fill him, he wanted to scream at her so bad. He never thought that she would go this far. She was never like this.

He took a deep breath, "Why did you tweet that?"

"And you have the audacity to ask why?"

"Delete that tweet, Y/N." His voice was demanding and dark.

"Or what?"

Michael slowly started to kneel on the bed and hover over her. "You don't want to know."

Y/N smirked and fixed her posture, "Infact, I'd like to know. Care to tell me?”

Michael clearly wasn’t having any of her shit, he was more than angry. He wanted to release all of his frustrations, and he was gonna do that.

He trapped her by placing a leg on each side of her left thigh. Surprisingly, Y/N did not shrink against the headboard of the bed. She remained in her place. Their faces are centimeters apart now,

“Now what, Langdon? Just gonna stare at me? Pathetic shit.” She cupped his face and stroked his cheek mockingly, then dragging her thumb against his bottom lip.

“Shut the fuck up.” Michael swatted her hand away and crashed his lips again hers. The kiss was so intense, Michael hasn’t kissed any girl like this, it was a foreign feeling for him, and especially for Y/N. Michael’s free hand started roaming throughout her body, tickling her soft flesh. Meanwhile, Y/N was tugging on Michael’s hoodie, “Take this off.” She pulled away from the kiss and gasped for air. Michael took off his hoodie and revealed his naked chest infront of her.

Y/N felt weak. She wanted to fight this feeling so bad, which was lust. But it was too late.

"Fuck me, Michael.." Y/N whimpered, ashamed of her current state. Michael ran his thumb over her bottom lip, "What was that? I didn't catch it." He pouted, teasing her. Y/N couldn't believe herself. She promised herself that she would never fall for any of Michael's antics, yet here she is— completely submitting to him.

Y/N cleared her throat, "Fuck me please.." Michael cocked his head to the side, amused. He was enjoying this. He loved it so much. He finally had Y/N where he wanted her to be, wrapped around his little finger.

Michael's lips ghosted against her cheek, his breath warming up her skin. "Gladly."

And it begins now.

—♡—

this took me like 3 weeks im sorry 😔 nonethelEEEESSSSS i enjoyed writing this despite some breakdowns here and there <3

tags (ily all sm <3): @kitwalker02 @angelicmichael @deademobitch @iheartfrogs101 @tatestripedsweater @mrs-march-ahs @no-mercy-bby @hawtghostgirl @vixemi @antichristwifey @bitchchatter @fallwiththesun @booksandfandomsarelife1 @roseelizabeth666 (im sorry if i missed anyone!!)

—♡—

#michael langdon imagines #michael langdon smut #michael langdon x reader #ahs smut #ahs imagines #ahs 8 #ahs apocalypse #american horror story #ahs 9 #cody fern #cody fern imagines #cody fern x reader #ahs x reader #xavier plympton smut #xavier plympton imagines #duncan shepherd smut #duncan shepherd imagines #good girls dont get used

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80s4life · 3 years

Text

The Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing

Word Count: 4,438

Status: Not Requested

Fandom: Back To The Future 1985

Relationship: Biff Tannen x Female Reader

Summary: As time is altered for a total of 2 weeks (I extended it slightly), you and Marty struggle to get his parents under control, having problem after the next. But, when an unexpected solution occurs, you find yourself willingly okay with it, soon finding the exact reason as to why.

Warnings: language, fluff, Biff being a dick, slight angst, cute Biff

Masterlist Back To The Future Masterlist

Prompts: (from this list @youneedsomeprompts)

Y/C/S= Your Choice of Sport/ Your Chosen Sport (you don’t have to honestly play one, just choose one you like or one that comes to mind)

{gif and prompts are not mine, gif credits go to @backtothefuturemovies and credits were given above for prompts!}

No one ever said time travel was fun. No one ever said the job was easy. And no one sure as hell told you the consequences that come with it. Well, at least not before you, and your best friend, Marty McFly, had gone dead-on through a barn, sacred a neighboring family of ‘alien invasion,’ run into younger McFly parents, and altered time just enough to fuck you over for a few days.

I mean, who would’ve guessed right? Your mom just so happens to be romantically interested in you, their child. Well, that was at least in Marty’s case. For you, you had just managed to run into the biggest dickhead of the century, Biff Tannen. Or so you thought?

Making your way out of bed, you automatically go to where Marty was sleeping in the garage, waking him along with Doc up. The go-to plan for the day was to go undercover as usual students in the 50′s, secretly following Marty’s parents around, finding out where they lie in this part of time, and try to find ways into manipulating them together once more in time for Marty and you to get back home. Easy enough, right?

Groaning, Marty goes to slap your hands away weakly, mumbling something along the lines of ‘Just a few more minutes.’ You giggle slapping his hands back in an attempt to wake him up cheerily. Mornings weren’t really your forte either, so any upbeat wake-up is better than a pissy, tired, horrible morning.

Doc, on the other hand, was happy to return the affection, getting out of bed to give a quick hug and kiss to the forehead. Then he makes his way over to the bed, going to tickle Marty’s feet as you go to tickle his sides. Finally, in a fit of laughter, Marty gets up and goes straight for the bathroom. You were going to argue him, having to use the bathroom first, but decide to just leave it be, heading for the makeshift kitchen instead.

You smile fondly as Doc and Marty play around a while later, wrestling about, cracking jokes. It was only just a few hours ago that you and Marty had witnessed the untimely death of the currently very lively man in the house. Witnessing the blood loss, the machine gun in action, and the bullets that whizzed pass with only one malicious intent: to kill. But he’s here now; he’s safe and sound, having many years until that date will arrive.

With the freshly cooked smell of eggs, toast, and pancakes, the boys straighten up, Doc clearing his throat in an attempt to organize himself, and Marty leaving his shirt ruffled as he follows the smell of deliciousness. You giggle as both men of different ages act exactly the same, piling their plates high and digging in, giving thanks through mouthfuls.

///LATER///

After breakfast had finished, you and Marty made your way to the school, not wanting to be late, and, quite frankly, not wanting to miss a second in the disaster we’re in, wanting to fix it as soon as possible. Upon entering, the building erupts in laughter, tears, screaming, perfume, cologne, aftershave, and lots and lots of both testosterone and estrogen. Fucking high school, you smile.

Going to “your locker” right besides “Marty’s,” you both place the books and supplies that are unneeded inside it and take only the things you need for the first two classes, somehow having those together. As Marty catches glimpse of his father, George McFly, he winks at you, moving to catch up to him. Rolling your eyes playfully, you turn back towards your locker, just barely missing a group of young men some ways down the hallway, locking eyes with a particularly taller man, towering almost everyone in the halls.

You pay no mind, however, being blindsided by three girls your age. Instantly, you recognize the one right in front as Lorraine, Marty’s mother. Smiling nervously, your cheeks tint only a little, being unprepared to see her so quickly, not yet having a plan made up on how you could help tackle the situation with Marty.

“Hiya! I’ve never seen you before, are you new here? I’m Lorraine Baines, and you are?” she asks cheerfully, her books clasped tightly to her chest.

Taking an obnoxiously long time staring dumbfounded, you finally realize you haven’t spoken, quickly recovering with newfound purpose and confidence, “Ah, yes! I am new here! Sorry, I’m just trying to get used to this place a tiny bit. I’m Y/N Y/L/N.”

“Well that’s quite alright, you can come with us!” she says once more in a cheery tone, taking you by the arm and lacing her arm around yours, locked elbows. You smiled, knowing exactly where Marty’s cheerful and people-person nature had come from. Walking down the halls, she had asked for my schedule, checking classes to see what we had together, “English, History, and Agriculture- Hey! You should try out for cheer leading!”

Shaking your head lightly, “Nah, I’m more of a Y/C/S myself to be frank.”

“But...We don’t have that sport here? There are no girls sports at all actually...” Lorraine says confused. You go to cover it up, choosing to say it was a sport you play for fun at home, in the backyard. However, a beefy arm separates you momentarily from her, as the owner of the harm moves to pin her to the lockers.

You were going to walk away, figuring it was some sort of make-out session in the works, but upon looking at her before going, you notice that the man was absurdly unwanted.

“Get your meathooks off me Biff!” she screams at the man, his huge form towering her much smaller one. Not taking the message, the pair continue to squabble, neither of them being successful in winning. The warning bell sounds over the halls and classrooms, alarming kids to get their asses moving, but it seems whoever this dick is, he feels he is greater than the school, and god forbid, knowledge.

“Hey, you do realize your not making a damn bit a difference, right? She’s not interested! And, quite frankly, it seems as if no one does! Now, if you don’t mind, could you please be kind enough to unhand her as some of us treasure a piece of mind and how to take a hint?” you finish, quite ticked off as the last bell warns, cursing under your breath as you already know your in for detention on the first day.

It finally seems that he’d caught a grip, thankfully, letting go of Lorraine’s arm and she quickly scurries out of his proximity, taking your hand to lead you to the class you both needed to be in. As you go to walk in, you are stopped by the teacher, scolding both you and Lorraine. Looking at her regrettably, she smiles defeated. So you decide to do what’s right, take the fall.

“I’m sorry sir, I didn’t know where to go as I was trying to find where all of my classes were before I ended up lost every time classes switch. I caught up to Lorraine here at some point, and as she was hurrying to this class, she was kind enough to show me where I needed to be,” you finish, sighing guiltily.

“Well, as you’ve taken acknowledgment to your mistake, then you’d be just as happy with detention. After school, on Friday, as the first week is extremely busy. As for you, Miss Baines, thank you for your help. You are off the hook for now,” the older gentleman finishes, nodding to each of you personally before turning around and beginning just one of the classes you’d have today. This is going to be fun!

///LATER///

Finally, after grueling hours of just a few of your classes, lunchtime had came round, giving you a slight break. Catching sight of Lorraine, you smile and wave, going in the direction of Marty, or Calvin Klein, as you’d heard Lorraine go on and on about. You’d known it was him the second she’d said it, the brand not yet known to man yet; or at least in this timeline, it wasn’t.

As time had went on, it was only natural for the peace to be broken, as a newly familiar face was starting to appear more and more, Biff Tannen, as you’d known his name by now. But, instead of heading towards Lorraine, he makes his way over to the table you were residing with George and Marty, sitting himself right beside you.

At first, you were trying to ignore him, knowing his presence was there, but keeping your eyes trained on either Marty or George, eyes dancing between the two. Biff, being the everlasting child he was, tried to catch you attention, trying stupid ass things after the other: kicking your shins, pulling your ears of hair, flicking your head, and even trying to tug on the 50′s style dress you’d been forced to wear to play your part.

Only when he goes to tug your hair once more is when you finally snap, turning a furious glare to the hulking figure beside you, shoving his shoulder in a feeble attempt to create distance. He giggles at this, his body not moving an inch at all. “You can’t be serious right now! You don’t know when to quit it, do you?!” you scream, fed up with his shit.

“Well, if you’d give me the human decency of turning your head when I’m trying to talk to you, then I wouldn’t have to pester you, now would I?” he asks in a teasing tone, no doubt taunting you, but all you do is stare him down, getting lost in a staring contest, daring him to say something again. “Alls I wanted to say was that we have detention together. Just thought I’d let you know since you got me in all that trouble this morning.”

“Why you-!” And with that, he gets up with a shit-eating grin plastered to his face, prancing out of view and back to the table he and his gang usually sit. Watching the whole interaction, George smirks at Marty, the pair giving an unspoken mutual agreement to whatever they had both caught on to, bursting into fits of laughter moments later.

“You have a longer tolerance than I do, I-I-I’ll tell you that much,” George says, his usual slight stutter back in place, Marty laughing once more. As George joins in again, you couldn’t fight it either, giving into the childish antics.

///LATER///

To say your week had gotten any better than the first day was a lie. It hadn’t gotten any better, and your meetings with Biff at lunch had only gotten all the more common and all the more infuriating. He’d made it his duty to agitate you in any ways possible, even resulting in whispering something nagging in your ear when you weren’t paying attention, usually doing something in your locker.

Either way, he was on the countdown to Friday, it being constantly on his mind, mentally counting down the days, hours, minutes, and even seconds until the two of you were locked in a room alone.

Unfortunately, that day had seemed to come way faster than you’d like, Friday rolling around quite quickly. School had finished, and you were making your way to the front office, awaiting a tiring 2 hours with only yourself and Biff as company for the time being. You hadn’t known where the room was, and instead of spending time looking for it, you gave up and looked for the office instead, the nice front desk lady leading you where you needed to go.

Upon entering the room, there was Biff in his prime, casually spread across his chair, legs crossed atop his desk nearest the windows. Sighing, you ignore him, deciding to sit on the opposite side of him, the front desk lady giving you a sympathetic smile before she closes the door behind her. You look at the wall, head turned away from him like the plague.

You knew it’d only last so long until he’d speak, the time coming way faster than you pleased. Given it was Friday, you couldn’t even do homework or even study in order to block him out as he started to blabber, running his mouth over stupid shit once more. Inhaling through your nose, and exhaling through your mouth slowly, you straighten in your seat, hands clutching the desk so tight, your fists turned white.

“Biff, Sweetheart, Baby, Doll Face, Hun. Please. PLEASE. Shut up for five god damn seconds. I know you truly have nothing to say, so why do you insist on speaking so much?” you finally say, hands prying off the desk to turn in his direction exasperated.

“Well, if you’d just talk to me, Shortcake, I wouldn’t have much to say at random,” he answers, copying your actions and posture. With this change in childish demeanor, you give in, laughing at him in an unexpected rush, running your hands through your hair tiredly.

Although you hadn’t seen it, he’d smiled in satisfaction upon seeing you laugh, the glitter in your eyes much more captivating than it ever was when he looked at Lorraine. He hadn’t barely pestered her since you’d barreled into his life. It was weird, but he welcomed it with open arms. And for the first time, he learned what it was like to have an actual, clammy-handed, closed throat, warm, cheek-tinted, teenage crush. A crush that left his heartbeat loud and fast, breathing ragged and uneven, and his behavior out of character and out of his control. Lorraine was way under whatever level he’d placed you on, holding you up on a pedestal like you were the sun or sky.

Of course, you hadn’t taken notice to his antics, just thinking he was annoying. Just Biff being his notorious self. But, as you finally calm your breathing down, the giggles fading, you decide to give him a chance, knowing that sitting in silence is just going bore you. Smiling warmly, you say, “So what do you want to talk about then?”

///LATER///

Grabbing your bag, you get out of your seat, giggling at a story Biff had told you. He follows your lead as well, getting his own as he lets out a bark of laughter at a certain part. You guys looked like idiots as you shoved each other down the halls, making your way out of the school as your detention had came to a close. Sighing as the warm sun radiated on your skin with the light, spring breeze, you stretch out any kinks the classroom chairs and desks had left. Biff watched you intently, your small body easily swallowed by his shadow beside you.

The sun was setting and it was getting late, although you weren’t concerned. The boys knew you wouldn’t be home ‘til late due to the detention you had initially despised. Now, you and Biff were side by side, walking peacefully to his car in the school’s parking lot. For once, he was quiet, great company to have. It was something else for sure, but you enjoyed it. As you came up towards Doc’s place, you’d realized that Biff had drove you home like a gentleman, too lost in the conversation to notice earlier on.

Sheepishly, you itch the back of your neck, realizing your mistake and feeling guilty for making him walk all this way to now have to walk all the way home. “Ah- Sorry...I didn’t realize I’d dragged you all the way out here. Now you have to drive all the way back.”

“It’s no problem, really. I liked it. It’s nice to talk to someone other than the guys every now and then. And to have A female speak to me instead of screaming,” he answers, now being the one who is a bit shy.

“You do know that you bring that on yourself right?” you say teasingly, now leaning your head on your hands, propped up on the passenger side door. “Not every girl would want to kick you in the groin if you showed a little more respect, “ you finish off with a smile.

“Yeah...Yeah I know. I’ll try harder, I swear.”

“That’s all I ask,” you say with a wink, drumming your hands on the door as you take a step back, waving as you start walking down Doc’s driveway.

“Hey!” Biff calls from the car, stopping you in your tracks to turn around, facing him with a smile. “Uhm- Well- The Enchantment Under the Sea Dance is coming up next week...Would you mind being my date?” he asks, stuttering as he feels his cheeks heat up, nervous as hell.

“I’d love to!” you answer, turning back around to walk into the house. Biff does a little fist bump as he puts the car back in gear, excited for what is to come.

///

Marty was a little less than amused with this newfound knowledge once entering the door and going over the events of the day. It was only when Doc had suggested that the date with Biff would keep him away from Lorraine, giving George the freeway to attract her long enough for their True Love’s Kiss. Then, and only then, did Marty give the okay, shaking his head, but liking the fact that it’ll give George some time, being the nerd that you know and love.

///Enchantment Under the Sea Dance///

Checking yourself over in the mirror for the final time, you let out a nervous yet satisfied sigh, feeling like an absolute princess. You never minded dresses too much, although you couldn’t deny the fact that normal pair of shorts, jeans, or even leggings were your first choice. All that mattered was that you liked the dress you were wearing, it fit you; it was your favorite color, length, and strap(less) type to hold everything in.

Walking out, you grab the pair of heels to match, knowing that you couldn’t get away with sneakers in this generation, painfully grimacing at the reminder. Finally standing, you recount when you had gotten the dress just a few days ago, having gone with Lorraine and the her two friends, Babs and Betty. They were very endearing and supportive the whole time, you not having to worry about being “to picky” as they were just the same. You ended up loving the dress given that you’d taken the time without pressure.

As you walked into the main room of the garage, you heard a low whistle of Marty, Doc slapping him on the back of the head for it. Giggling, you curtsy and spin in the dress. Doc, the gentleman he always was, compliments you, “You look amazing, my dear. Let’s hope this boy deserves it, hmm?”

As an answer, you hug him tightly, knowing that, by the end of the night, he will be nothing but a dead man at home, in a lonely, dark parking lot. Your eyes tear up just at the mere thought of it, clutching him tighter. Marty seems to be on the same wavelength, going to interrupt the moment with great urgency, trying to pass him a piece of paper.

“Marty, if this has anything that involves my future, do not. And I repeat, DO NOT try to hand it to me. Whatever happens, happens young man. That’s how the world works,” he says in a warning tone. You wanted to disagree, but you knew the truth that was laced beneath it, as if it was a punishment. You whimper instead, pulling him in tighter; Marty looking down in defeat, soon switching to anger. In the midst of it, he storms out of the garage, getting in the car to go pick up who you’d hope was Lorraine for the dance.

“Just let him go...” you start, sadness evident, “He’s just not very happy with the outcome of what the future has in store for you. Quite frankly, neither am I.”

“I’m sure whatever the outcome is, that I wanted to go with it, dear. I assure you, I’m fine,” Doc answers in a consoling tone, wiping the tears that had slipped from your eyes. You knew it was just a mask, no one wants death, but you knew he needed to go no matter how much you hated it. So you nod, not having to say much more as a honk sounds from outside.

“That’s Biff...”

“Have a great time! Make sure the McFlys kiss!” Doc screams, following out of the garage, scolding Biff from behind you.

“Yes sir!” you scream back, saluting him as you take a seat in the passenger.

///

“You look beautiful Y/N,” Biff says after a while, finally working up the courage to speak.

“Thank you Biff. And you look handsome yourself,” you giggle, the car pulling into the lot.

He shuts the engine, grabbing his keys from the ignition and closing the door, making his way around to you as you let yourself out to straighten yourself out. He takes your hand as he leads you to the entrance of the dance, you sighing in relief as you catch a glimpse of Marty pulling up in a car with Lorraine. Finally, you relax, grasping on Biff a little lighter and with more meaning now as you have the night to yourselves. He smiles down at you as you wrap your arm within his, something Lorraine does with you quite often.

With the party in full blast, you let loose with the music, dancing and joking around with Biff. At some point, however, he says he needs a drink and will be right back. Although, he doesn’t seem to actually come back. You’d thought you’d seen him spiking the punch just as few moments ago.

Just as you were going to in the direction of the hallways to the rest of the school, you notice Match, one of Biff’s friends, storming out of the gym through an exit. Taking your bets, you follow behind him, soon being greeted by a huge commotion of screams, all of them from familiar people. Biff was in a car with Lorraine, her dress pulled and taken off in parts. He was no doubt about to do something stupid, the fact pissing you off, saddening you in some ways as well.

The others that were screaming were also George and Marty, the pair trying to get Biff to stop before he regrets it. He doesn’t listen, unfortunately, until your voice booms over the rest, “Biff!”

His head snaps instantly in your direction, the situation dawning on him the instant he looks at your face. You hadn’t meant to portray your emotions so clearly, but your face had shown such distraught and hurt. He lied. He had gotten over Lorraine, yet the moment she was alone, he runs right back to her.

With his momentary change of focus, George finally steps in, “You get your filthy hands off of her!” finishing with a blow to the jaw that knocks Biff off balance.

Marty looks to you sadly, but tries to smile in cheers as George and Lorraine leave together, motioning that he was going to follow them just in case. You nod, looking down now as your play with your fingers. You didn’t know what to do now as the only reason you were really here was for Biff. You weren’t needed for Lorraine and George, you knew Marty had it.

You decide to make your way home then, as there was nothing else you could do. Dances were just drags anyway, nothing worth while. “Your just going to leave? Just like that?” asks a deep voice, his body having gotten back off the pavement and stood by the car he was pinned against.

Without turning, you answer his question with another, “Why not? There’s nothing left here for me is there?”

“And why wouldn’t there be?” Biff asks once more, no doubt ticking you off at his usual teasing tone.

“Well, let’s see. You. You asked me to the dance as your plus one. I came here as your date. We have a good time, we dance, we talk, and then you come up with an ‘Oh I need a drink’ charade, not returning. Then, I come to find my date in the parking lot, about to get his licks in on a woman he was apparently over with! So tell me, what is left here for men here, Biff?” you finish, tears pooling your eyes over the time, although you don’t let the fall, keeping them there.

He looks guilty, you can see it, but you don’t care. Your not in the wrong this time. But, as your blood starts to cool down, you do notice the look in his eyes, the change in his demeanor, and the utter remorse that has overcome him. He has his head down, fists clenched at his sides, body stock still. He doesn’t know what to do, all he knows is that he’d fucked up.

“Or was this your fabulous way of telling me that you love me?” you finally ask, eyes moving to look up at him in a teasing manner.

He hadn’t expected you to speak, head snapping up to meet your gaze in confusion. Being as you’d looked at him with a glint in your eyes, he finally lets everything click together; you’d forgiven him. His face heats up in bashfulness however, as your words resonated within him as well, hand going to itch the back of his neck again.

You giggle, walking up to him now, hands going to his collar. Pulling him down, he gazes at you in amazement, his own hands falling to rest on your waist. Then, you crash your lips to his, pulling him ever closer. It takes him a moment to get the hang of it, soon pulling you closer to himself as well. Lifting you slightly, he sets you on the hood of his car, the height difference a definite stretch for him. But he wouldn’t have it any other way, you were perfect. Just the same as he was perfect for you.

#biff tannen x reader #bttf #back to the future #biff tannen imagine #bttf imagine #back to the future imagine #thomas f. wilson #crispin glover #george mcfly #christopher lloyd #dr. emmett brown #doc brown #doc #michael j. fox #marty mcfly #lea thompson #lorraine baines

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