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hxzbinwrites · 8 months

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Vox x Emotionless! Reader | Ignorant In Love

(Lovestruck Part 2)

Warnings ⚠️: Cussing, Violence, Vox being annoying

————

4:30am

Vox woke up, yelping as he sprung out of bed. Not a great decision for his sore back as his clawed hand immediately went to brace it. Groaning, his eyes fluttered, attempting to recall what got him in such a tizzy waking up

Right. Another dream.

Vox had been, haunted, by that humiliating event last week. Even more so that he finally realize how incredibly enamored he was with her.

His screen flushing red at this realization of his current situation, Vox decided to rise out of bed. What good was sulking going to do?

Since that day, (Y/n) hadn’t smiled once more at him. Oh how he craves it. Vox acts like he doesn’t care, but he’s aching for another fix. Another high of seeing that smile. He would do anything and everything just to experience that euphoria one last time, just one drop of it.

Getting dressed for the day, Vox was looking at his bow tie collection, seeking out one of his favorite ties before realizing it had been ruined from the coffee.

Frustrated, he grabbed a random one from the pile, not really thinking too much about it as he put it on.

He stomped out of his quarters, his heels dramatically clacking against the floor as he made his way to his office. It was far too early in the morning for anyone to be active, too late for Val to be doing work (at least IN the office, and not at the club), so the quite walk gave his ever-running mind more time to think

What the hell has gotten into him?! He’s a VEE, THE VEE. If anything, this is woman should be loosing sleep and foaming over him!

‘That’s what I like most though’, He thought to himself,’She’s real. She doesn’t tell me just what I want to hear, or cause problems for me, she’s just…her, and she simply does it best.’

His internal conflicts were brought to an end once he finally sat down in his chair. Cracking his sore, aching joints, before booting up his monitor system.

————

8:30am

(Y/n)‘s heels clacked against the tiled floors, making her way to her desk. Her desk was one of those circular desks that curved around the middle and touched both sides of the wall. There was a small door on the side that she could enter from, but it blended in seamlessly with the black desk, so it would be hard for someone who didn’t work here on a daily to find.

Once she entered her cubicle-like desk, she logged onto her monitor, clocking in. 8:30am sharp, as always. She began to work on her boss’s meetings, but her eye caught a certain one for today “errand.”

This caught her eye, as Vox always made her run errands during work hours. Mostly for coffee, but she’s ran to the convenience store in the lobby for strange things as well.

“Hmm” she mumbled, before printing off the schedule regardless and putting it in her folder for later at 10.

That was her routine, print off the original schedule for the day, present it to him at 10, and if edits are needed, she’d come back and re-arrange some things, and repeat the process until it was to his liking.

(Y/n)‘s hardest part of the job was the PR portion of it. Normally, it’s for the PR team, but they got sick of the Vees tantrums and the entire department up and quit. Now, (Y/n) handles Vox’s PR, Velvette’s assistant handles hers, and Vox handles Valentino’s himself.

Speaking of PR, she was in for a doozy today. Last Friday, when the coffee incident took place, apparently Vox said some…choice words…to the Radio Demon, and Alastor relayed that information back to his listeners on his radio show.

Sighing, (Y/n) began typing a public rebuttal, going for the “deny and victim blame” strategy, as Velvette called it.

‘Why does Vox have to act so…stupid’ (Y/n) thought, her stoic face staying steady as her fingers flew across the keyboard,’For someone so smart, he sure acts dumb. Maybe he should just be a model for Velvette instead, he’s sure got the looks for it, but he doesn’t have the social skills for a public viewpoint like this-‘

“(Y/N). MY OFFICE. IMMEDIATELY.” Vox yelled.

Her eyes flicker up from her monitor, which was now adorned with two clawed hands gripping the top of it. Vox was leaning over it, his tall, slender frame allowing his screened face to intrude (Y/n)’s personal space, but it’s not like that hasn’t been done the before the weekend.

Locking eyes, he saw the flick of emotion run through her, he almost for a moment let his anger go, almost. He could hear her mumbling those things about him. About how “stupid” he was, his “dumb actions….how “he’s got the looks”….never mind that last part.

“Sir..?” She said, her face immediately turning back cold. Ah, there it goes again, fleeting like time itself.

“Don’t sir me,” Vox said, shoving the monitor who knows where. He crawled on the desk towards (Y/n), before grabbing her chin, pulling her towards him. The force from his arm made it where she was on her feet, but she was now hovering over her chair. Vox cocked his head at her, narrowing his eyes and he whispered towards her.

“I heard you mumbling about me over there. Insubordination will not be…tolerated, at this company. If you want to keep this job, and your soul, I suggest you meet me in my office.”

He let go of her chin, before sliding back off of her desk, and walking towards his office. Vox’s hands were clasped behind his back, as he glanced over his shoulder one last time to look if she was following him.

(Y/n) got up and started walking behind him, her face not giving away any emotion.

‘DAMN IT.’ He thought, his mood growing worse,’That whole little stunt was just to get a rise out of her. To get something!’

————

10:00am

Once they arrived in his office, the door slammed shut behind them. Vox’s electrical bolt from his fingertip locked the door, as he walked towards his chair, took a seat, and swiveled it around to see an unamused (Y/n) awaiting his words.

“So, (Y/n)” He started, his claws tapping against one another, “Would you like to repeat, word for word, what you were mumbling about me, or should I repeat it for you?”

“Okay, I asked myself why you acted so stupid. Your actions are ignorant and your social skills need heavy improvement.” (Y/n) said,”also, for your schedule today you have a meeting at-“

“No no no sugar.” Vox said, smirking as he crossed his legs,”Tell me everything you said.”

“I did” She lied, standing her ground.

“Ah, so Im not good enough to be a model anymore? That’s a shame, I would’ve loved to give you a show, but alas.” He sneered, trying to desperately to get a reaction out of her, but failing miserably.

“Ah, a shame indeed.” She said, deadpanned,”Now, todays schedule consists of one meeting with Valentino at 7:30pm and during your 3:30 slot all it says is ‘Errand’? Sir, I’m confused about that portion, don’t I normally run your errands..?”

Vox gritted his teeth, his hand now clenching the sides of his chair. This was getting ridiculous, no emotions out of this one. God, he should just pour an entire mountain of coffee on himself, muck up his PC and everything just to see her smile.

“I was originally planning to get my clothes back from the dry cleaners myself, but I see that as punishment enough for today. Do it and get out of my office.”

“A-Alright sir.” (Y/n) said. They locked eyes, and Vox immediately regretted pushing so far for a reaction. Her eyes showed hurt in them.

Vox couldn’t bring himself to say anything, his face contorted with many emotions. One side of him was over the moon, he made her show something! The other side was in immense regret, he didn’t want to hurt her, that was by far from the plan.

Once she left the office, he started throwing monitors again in frustration.

————

10:30am

(Y/n) didn’t even return to her desk, instead opting for a little stroll down to the convenience store down in the lobby. She picked up a drink and a candy bar to take back to her desk as a little pick me up

Well, she attempted to go back to her desk, she ended up just going to a secluded corner in the building, only adorned by a lonely bench, a plant, and a security camera in the hallway.

(Y/n) sat there on the bench, sighing from stress and she took a chunk of her candy bar.

Sitting there, she replayed the interaction in her mind once more. The way he was so, powerful, it made her cheeks dust pink, with equal parts admiration and humiliation as she smiled to herself, lowering her head. She softly chuckled before taking her wrapper of her snack and going to seek out a trash can.

Little did she know that Vox was watching her every move on his monitor, stalking every security camera that tipped off her motion. He was nearly short circuiting at her little smile. Vox noticed how her shoulders bounced as she chucked slightly. He really wished he could just call her into his office, but it was already time for her to pick up his dry cleaning. Sighing to himself, he adjusted his bow tie.

Out of his entire collection, he just had to pick the most irritating one out of all of them. It was entirely too tight and the material was so unpleasant.

Sighing, he just untied it and threw it on his desk, reveling a small sliver of his skin beneath it.

————

3:45pm

“I’m here to pick up Vox’s clothes.” (Y/n) said, making the worker scramble to go retrieve the Overlord’s clothes.

“H-Here you go ma’am! Do you mind checking to see if everything is in there? We don’t want to forget any article of our valuable costumer’s clothing!”

“Sure” She replied with her signature neutral expression, opening up the box of neatly folded clothes to see his entire wardrobe from that day, except something was missing…a key part of his ensemble.

“Ah, where is his bow tie?”

“Oh, did he not tell you? We had to return it to him, the fabric of it was too thin, it would’ve burnt up in the dryer.”

“Oh, well thank you.” (Y/n) said,”everything looks like it’s in order.”

“Have a good day!” The worker said, earning a nod from (Y/n) as she walked out of the dry cleaners.

‘He wore that bow tie often’ (Y/n) thought to herself,’ Maybe since I pissed him off earlier today, I can get him another to make it up to him.’

She strolled by the clothing district before entering the tailors shop, browsing the different selection of items for a while before the clerk cleared his throat.

“Ma’am, is there something I can help you with?”

“Ah yes, I’m looking for a bow tie with a certain fabric to it. It’s rather thin, I need a replacement.”

“You? A replacement?” The man chuckled, looking over at her,”I think I know which one you’re talking about, but I dare say I don’t think you’re in the tax bracket to be purchasing that.”

“I’ll purchase what I please.” (Y/n) retorted, her dead eyes looking into the man’s cocky ones

“Oh really? And who is this for?”

“Vox.”

The man started howling in laughter,”YOU?! FOR THE TECH OVERLORD?? OH PLEASE I-“

(Y/n) briskly walked over and slammed the man’s head down on the table.

“Yes. I suggest you make it quick due to your little interruption.”

“And why should I?”

(Y/n) gripped him by the hair, making his eyes meet hers,”Vox is my boyfriend, and so help me I’ll let him tear you limb from limb just because I said pretty please, now fucking do it.”

“Y-Yes ma’am.” He said, as she let go of his hair, he scrambled to the back room to give her a lavish tie. Instead of the navy blue one he had previously, it was near black with bright blue strips adorning the sides of the fabric where it curved in on itself.

“Hmm, this will do.” (Y/n) said, snatching the box before walking away.

“W-Wait, aren’t you going to pay?”

“Pay? You should be dead where you stand for messing with me today. This is your pay.”

And with that, she walked out of the store, leaving the man shocked.

————

8:00pm

Walking into Vox’s office, (Y/n) looked around to see Vox nowhere in sight.

“Ah right,” (Y/n) muttered to herself, despite the fact that very action got her in a tight situation with her boss earlier that day,”Meeting with Valentino. I’ll just set his stuff down here.”

(Y/n) looked around once more, before setting his clothes neatly on the desk. Patting it down to remove it of any lint that couldn’t accrued on the bag, before setting the nicely wrapped gift atop of it, adorning it with a letter signed to him.

————

9:00pm

Vox groggily walked back into his office, after his “productive” meeting with Valentino on his public image. Not a word went to that moth’s head. One ear and out the freaking other.

He closed his eyes, plopping down unceremoniously into his chair, not even bothering for the brooding dramatics this time.

Rubbing his eyes, he really contemplated calling it quits early tonight. But alas, Vox never does, that’s the mantra of a workaholic.

His digital eyes fluttering open once more, he gazed upon the clothes neatly laid there for him. Smiling he looked at it before his smile turned into confusion. Why was there a box? Wrapped with a ribbon…?

He slowly and gently grabbed onto the small box, unwrapping it like an inpatient child on Christmas morning, only to reveal a new bow tie, the one he ached for the entire day.

This one was nicer though, how she scrounged up some money to “buy it”, he didn’t know, but he was eternally grateful.

His eye caught the letter that was now sitting beside where the box was, it fell off when Vox took the box. He held the envelope and slit the seal with his claw like a letter opener.

“Dear Vox,

I sincerely apologize for this morning. I was out of line. I just don’t really know how to process everything. I feel like you’d understand being mechanical and all, but I don’t know how to process emotion.

Normally, I feel nothing towards anyone, but there’s something weird going on. This strangely warm feeling in my chest and my face, I feel clammy around you, and you specifically.

Feel free to ignore this, but here’s my number. Contact me if you are willing to help my predicament. Enjoy the gift regardless, you deserve it. Also, stop coming to work at 5 in the morning. You’re not sneaky, I see when you’ve clocked in on your schedule.

-(Y/n) (L/n)”

Vox was beaming, a pure genuine smile. He might be a lovestruck fool, but she’s ignorantly in love.

————

Word Count: 2,540

(Part 3?)

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miss-oranje-disco-dancer · 8 months

Text

you had me at 'hello'

the sequel to daddy all along

pairing: dbf! leon x f! reader

cw: alcoholism, p in v, masturbation, oral sex

word count: 10k

a/n: "when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible" <3 (quote from when harry met sally, title from jerry maguire)

thank you to @thevirgincherry for your feedback!

Leon remembers when you used to call him on the phone as a child. You’d interrupt his work, and Hunnigan would tell him to hang up, but he’d ignore her for a few minutes. You were too important. You’d pace around the living room, telling him about your day at school, what you did at recess with your friends and the art project you’re working on. He loved to hear about it. Most days, it was the only good news he’d get.

It pained him to hang up, but he promised you he’d call to say goodnight, and he did. Even when he drank, he stepped outside the bar and tried his best not to slur his words.

“Do you have a daughter?” A woman he’d go home with would ask.

“No,” he’d say, but it felt like it.

When FaceTime was invented, it became your favorite activity. Leon would pay extra for an international phone plan and for wifi in every hotel room, so he could talk to you. He kicked a woman out of bed once to speak to you. He never saw her again and hasn’t thought of her since.

“It’s an important thing for work,” he told the woman.

She knew he was lying when she heard a little girl’s voice on the other end while she was putting her clothes back on. He didn’t bat an eye at her expression - confusion, distaste, bitterness, who cares? Not Leon.

You’re his favorite girl, the only girl he’s ever cared about.

The morning after your 21st, Leon gently shrugged you off him. He washed his face in the mirror, hoping to wipe away the previous night’s mistakes, but he was still the same old Leon. A fuck-up, an idiot, a pervert who slept with a girl he’d known since she was a baby.

When you woke up, he was in the shower. You’d go on to ask him if he jerked off, and he’d say no, but he did. It wasn’t lust, it was procrastination - five more minutes before he’d have to face you. He tried to think about Ada with one hand on the wall and the other on his dick. Your name slipped out when he came, and it felt like another violation, in addition to lying and then cumming down the drain with your shampoo bottles - the ones containing the sweet scent of you - scrutinizing him.

A long time ago, Leon promised he’d never lie to you. It was the one promise he’d kept - until that morning when he told you ‘something important came up, and he had to leave ASAP’.

You could see it in his eyes, but you took out your anger on your father, who deserved it more after he came home that afternoon with an obvious hangover. You screamed at him until he told you to go upstairs. You were already on your way.

Leon only knew how to deal with his problems in three ways: call his therapist, drink, or fuck. That day it was either drink or fuck because there was no way he could tell his therapist that his mental crisis was caused by fucking his friend’s daughter, a girl who was decades younger than him. It wasn’t an illegal act, but he still felt like he deserved to have the cops called on him. I should get the death penalty, he thought. Unfortunately, capital punishment was not allowed in D.C., but Leon considered the fact that his actions may have been heinous enough for him to be granted an exception.

He decided on alcohol. He went to the ABC store, bought a handle of whiskey, got home, and dumped it down the kitchen sink. Nope. He promised everyone he was done with that. His therapist, Hunnigan, Claire, Chris, himself, and most importantly, you. He promised you.

Sex it was, then. He never promised anyone he’d be celibate. Leon was well over 40, so he didn’t use Tinder - though he had heard of it. He looked through his contacts list like a little black book, and his thumb hovered over a few names. He debated and picked Claire. Another idiotic decision.

“Hello?” Her voice already sounded suspicious. He didn’t call Claire on the phone often. They usually stuck to emails and texts.

“Hey, how are you?”

“I’m okay, Leon. Why are you calling?”

“I just wanted to talk. Do I need another reason?”

“Are you drunk?”

“No.”

There was a long pause until she said,“If I promise not to bring it up again, will you admit that you’re trying to get me to hook up with you?”

“Is it really that obvious?”

“Goodbye, Leon.” She hung up on him. He should’ve expected it. He texted her an apology later, which she accepted.

Soon after, before he could make another mistake, he received a text from a number he hadn't saved. “Are you in D.C.?” It read.

“Who is this?”

“A.W.” She wouldn’t even sign her full name - didn’t want a paper trail. Classic Ada.

“Yeah, I’m home right now.”

“I’ll be there in an hour or so. I have some things to finish up.”

“K” Leon texted and left the door unlocked.

He knew it was her by the click of her heels.

“In the bedroom,” he called.

“Perfect,” she said when she reached the threshold, “Nice of you to be ready for me.”

He shrugged and smiled because he was tired and had been in that position for hours, but he’d pretend like he’d done her a favor by getting down to a pair of sweatpants before she arrived.

She worked on getting out of her dress. “Not going to help?” she asked, annoyed.

“Thought you could do it yourself,” he said, teasing her.

“Thought you treated your guests nicely.”

“I’m about to.” And he did. At least, nice enough. They didn’t talk during sex because they never do. They’d worked out the logistics of their arrangement long ago. It was a pretty sweet deal, especially since there were never any condoms involved. Leon didn’t mind paying the 40 or so for Plan B in the morning. He couldn’t give less of a fuck what the cashier at the pharmacy thought of him.

“Can I talk to you?” he asked after round two. He used to have more stamina.

“About what?” She was slightly more interested and less suspicious than Claire was when he’d called her earlier that night.

“I need advice.”

“That’s new. I’m flattered.”

“You know that girl, my friend’s daughter?”

“The one you’re always gushing about? She’s practically your daughter.”

Yeah, you really were his little girl, considering even Ada had heard about you from Leon.

“Don’t say that.” His defensiveness was a confession in and of itself.

“You slept with her,” she said, matter–of-factly.

“How’d you know that?”

“I can see the guilt in your eyes. She’s an adult, right?”

“Yeah, just turned 21.”

“Okay. Nothing illegal, then. Just… an interesting situation.”

“Yeah, I fucked things up pretty bad.”

She hummed in agreement. There was no pity, but no ridicule either. She cared enough not to laugh at his idiocy.

“What do you want me to say?” she asked.

“Whatever you’re thinking.”

“Either be with her or don’t. Don’t string her along.”

“You’re one to talk,” he mumbled. He wanted the remark to pass through the air as a bit of his dry wit and not his eternal bitterness.

“I’m not stringing you along. You know that this is all we’re ever going to be.”

“That’s what I told her.”

“But she’s 21. You’re much older, and if you can’t wrap your pretty little head around this arrangement yet, then…”

He was 21 when he met Ada. And she broke his heart without giving him any reason to think whatever they had was more than a kiss. Ironic. He wondered if she knew the way she was playing with his head at the time. He’d always liked to believe she had a good heart, it was just deep, deep, deep down under all the layers of mystique and her cold disposition.

He was supposed to be the good man, the hero, a beacon of morality, of all things just. But he was on Ada’s level now. Ada the heartbreaker.

“Can you just tell me what to do?” He asked, pissed off at his own indecision.

“Why? So you can blame me later when you don’t like the choice you make?”

She knew him well. He stayed silent.

“I’m not going to be your scapegoat,” she said.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but thank you for your honesty.”

She laughed - almost, but it was genuine amusement because, despite it all, she did care. People never really stop caring do they? She left in the morning and didn’t need an excuse, not like Leon did with you.

You told yourself you wouldn’t call, but weeks went by, and you hadn’t heard anything. You were wondering if was alive at that point. And you missed him. So you called.

His phone vibrated on the bedside table; he picked it up, looked at the caller ID, and saw your name. A part of him still got that same warm, fuzzy feeling that he always felt when you called, and the other part was full of dread and guilt.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hi,” you said.

There was a lull. Dead air, not peaceful silence.

“How are you?”

“I’m okay. How are you?”

“Doin’ fine.” It was a lie. You missed him too much to be considered “fine.”

Your hands should not have been traveling downward, but they were. They had a mind of their own that lived between your thighs. You couldn’t help the fact that his groggy voice made you ache.

“What are you doing right now?” You suppressed the urge to ask him what he was wearing and where he was. You imagined him sprawled out in bed, naked and ready for you.

“Nothing. I was lying in bed, nodding off when you called.” He wasn’t nodding off, but he was in bed, mind filled with memories and stress per usual.

“Sorry to interrupt your relaxation, then.”

“It’s no big deal.”

He told himself that he’d keep one hand on the phone and the other fidgeting with whatever he could find so as not to reach any lower than his waistline. But there was something about your voice, the way you were talking - it was different than usual. He was probably just imagining things, but it sounded like you were touching yourself.

He was getting hard already, and it was distracting. He had to do something about it. It was either jerk off to the sound of your voice or think about something horrific and grotesque to make his dick go soft. He spent enough time thinking about dead bodies and parasites, so he indulged himself and decided to worry about the consequences later. It’s not like you’d know anyway. Leon could be stealthy.

“What are you up to?” he asked.

“Calling you.” Your little laugh was light and airy, and maybe he wasn’t just imagining things. It was the voice you used when you asked him, so coquettish, to kiss you.

You thought you heard him moving around, and then he dropped the phone. He was trying to hold the phone between his ear and his shoulder while taking his pants off.

“Sorry. Dropped you,” he said when he retrieved the phone.

“How’d you do that? It just slipped out of your hands?”

Fuck. She caught on quick. Too smart for her own good.

“Guess so.” He didn’t have an excuse. All of the blood that was supposed to be in his brain was in his cock, which was now painfully hard.

“What have you been doing these past weeks?”

“Work mostly.” Thinking about you. I can’t get you off my mind, no matter how many other women I sleep with.

“Anything fun?” your question felt pointed even though it wasn’t.

“A little bit.”

“Like what?”

“Some things should stay a secret. I’ll tell you when you’re older.” He would never tell you about his escapades with Ada.

You thought you knew what he meant. You couldn’t decide whether to be jealous or not. You were too focused on remembering what he looked like during sex, and it was a glorious sight. Someone should paint him, sculpt him, anything to preserve his beauty, you thought. It was worthy of a new renaissance.

“Have you been up to anything fun?” he asked, not sure whether he wanted to hear about any of your sexual escapades or not.

“No. Just lounging around the house mostly.”

“Hangin’ with your dad?”

“Can we not talk about dad right now?” Your dad really kills the mood.

“Are you guys not in a good place?”

“It’s not that, I just don’t wanna think about him right now. I’d rather think about you.”

The words came out more suggestive than you intended. You could hear his breath hitch, and it might have been arousal, or it might have been surprise, but he knows.

“Oh? You’re thinking about me?”

“What else would I be thinking about?”

“I don’t know.”

He coughed to hide a groan that wanted to leave his mouth while you were biting your lip to hold back any moans.

“Leon…” you said, and it was the same voice you used to call him daddy the night he found out what it felt like to be inside you.

“Uh-huh?”

“How do you feel about me?”

I love you. “You know how I feel about you. I think you’re great. You’re a great girl.”

“A good girl?”

Fuck it. He’ll take the bait. “Yes, you’re a good girl.”

“Even now?” He could hear your pouty lips and dewy eyes. He could see the image of you coming undone beneath him. Angelic, soft, heavenly, ineffably so.

“Why wouldn’t you be? Are you up to something… naughty?”

“Maybe. It depends. Are you?”

He didn’t answer because you both knew that you were in the same state - naked and needy.

“Where are you?” he asked.

“In bed.”

“What are you wearing?”

“Your shirt.”

The one he left there. It only aroused him more. It was a white t-shirt, and the fabric was thin enough that if Leon were there, he’d get a peek of your nipples hardening through the fabric. He could slip his hands under your shirt and play with your tits. He could, if only things were different.

“What else?”

“Nothing.”

Nothing. You are naughty.

“Nothing?”

“Are you wearing clothes?”

“Barely.”

“Why did you drop the phone before? Taking your dick out?” You were so flippant and crass that it should’ve sounded ridiculous, but Leon was too hard to care.

“Might have been.”

“Did I catch you while you were already jerking off or…?” Or was it me?

“No, I wasn’t when I picked up.”

“But you are now.” It was not a question.

He took a deep breath. “I’ll admit it, as long as you admit you’re touching yourself too.”

“I am.”

“Is that why you called?”

“No, I wanted to check on you.” It was true. At least, in your conscious mind, but maybe your subconscious always knew that you wanted to do this.

“And what? You like my voice that much?”

“Yeah.”

Leon closed his eyes and allowed it to happen, giving himself this one little sin because he’d been good for so long, more than good - heroic.

“What are you thinking about, baby?”

“You, Daddy. I told you.”

Daddy? Jesus Christ. Leon was sure he was pushing his luck with God. He was getting more than he deserved in this bargain. Honestly, he never deserved anything you gave him. You were so perfect and he felt like he was ruining you.

“Be specific, princess.”

“I wish you were touching me.”

“Yeah? How so?”

“I want your fingers inside me.”

“My fingers, huh?”

“No, more than that. I want your mouth, too. I want all of you.”

Your voice faltered mid-sentence like you were getting closer to your peak, but by the end of your statement, your confidence overrode anything else. You didn’t just want his fingers, his mouth, his dick; you wanted all of him. You wanted his fucking heart and soul.

“You have me.”

“I want you here, inside me.”

He needed to be inside you. Fuck his dignity, fuck his sensibility, fuck his morality. He needed to feel your warmth around him again.

“I want that too.”

“Did it feel good for you? Did you like the way it felt with me?”

You were begging for a yes, and it was easy for him to give it to you. The truth is easy.

“The best. You’re the best I’ve ever had.”

“You’re lying.”

“I wish I was lying, princess.”

“Leon,” you whined, and it didn’t matter that you weren’t physically there; the sound reverberated through his dick, and he was dangerously close.

“I know,” he said, “Me too.”

“Can I? Please?” You didn’t have to ask, but it was hot when you did.

Leon wanted to make you beg, but he needed you to come first, and if he heard you say please again, he’d risk coming before you - no, he would come before you. He was already teetering on the edge.

“Come for me,” he said.

And you did. You were muffling your moans with your hand over your mouth, but you were close enough to the phone that Leon could hear it. He was lucky he was alone because he didn’t hold back when he moaned out your name. He shouldn’t have done that at all, though. Just another tally to add to the endless list of sins.

“Thank you,” you said.

“Don’t mention it,” he said, meaning it two-fold. Please do not mention this.

“Am I going to see you again?”

“Yes, you’ll see me again.”

I’m never going to leave you, and you know it.

The next time you two saw each other, Leon picked you up from the hospital. You were not the patient, thank God. It was your dad. Drunk driving accident. Leon was more pissed than anything else.

The nurse asked if they should call your mom, and you laughed. Dare you to try, you wanted to say. They understood.

“Is there someone you can call?” They could see the loneliness behind your stoic facade.

“I can try.”

You called Leon.

“Hey,” he answered, not knowing his nonchalance was inappropriate for the circumstances.

You didn’t cry when you drove to the hospital. You’ve been your father’s emergency contact since you turned 18. Your heart was beating out of your chest, but no tears fell. You didn’t break until you heard Leon’s voice.

“I need you,” you cried into the phone.

If it weren’t for your tone, he’d think you meant, “I need you in my bed,” maybe even, “I need you inside me.”

But you were crying. He could hear the tears before they’d fallen.

“Where are you?” He masked his panic with sternness.

“Hospital,” you managed to say through your sniffles.

“Are you okay? What happened?” Leon was already grabbing his keys and jacket, imagining the worst.

“It’s not me, it’s dad.”

Leon was only slightly relieved. He doesn’t want your father dead, but you’re his girl; you can’t die on him.

“I’ll be right there.”

Leon didn’t drive fast, he drove safely.

“Name?” The woman working at the front desk asked.

“Leon Kennedy.”

“Relationship to the patient.”

“A friend. His daughter called me. I’m here to come get her.” He knew they’d want more of an answer than ‘friend’, and he was more than just a friend. He spoke with such conviction as if it were his right to be there as if they had to let him see you.

You didn’t talk on the way home - not to your house, but to Leon’s apartment. You insisted. You couldn’t be in that house, and Leon knew precisely why.

It was over a decade ago. You were at least 6 or 7, but no more than 10. It was one of those things that Leon tried to forget.

You called him on the landline and gripped the phone with both hands, slippery with sweat.

“Leon, I need you.” He swore he could hear a whispered ‘help’ at the end of your sentence, or maybe it was just his instinct.

Thank God you called his cell. He talked to you while he drove.

“What’s going on, sweetheart?”

“Dad. I don’t know what happened.”

“Is he okay?”

“No. He’s in the kitchen. On the floor. He’s not moving.”

“Is he breathing?”

“I think so.”

“Did you call 911?”

“No, I called you.”

I can be your father figure, your guardian, or the one who tucks you in at night, but I am not a paramedic.

“You need to call 911. Tell them what you told me.”

And you did. Leon got there after the ambulance arrived.

“Sir,” they stopped him before he could enter the front door, “we’re dealing with an emergency. We need you to wait out here.”

“I can’t.” He brushed them off and called your name. You came flying out the front door.

“Who are you?” One of them asked.

“Leon,” he said because that was the only answer.

He slept on your bedroom floor that night.

No, he didn’t sleep. He watched you sleep, constantly checking to see if you were breathing.

“I can sleep on the couch,” Leon offered.

“No,” you said.

“No? I don’t have a guest room.”

“I wanna sleep in your bed with you.”

Do you want to sleep with me? Absolutely not.

He raised an eyebrow, not daring to say the words aloud lest he put them into your mind.

They were already there, and you both knew it.

“Not like that. I just don’t wanna be alone. And I don’t think you wanna sleep on the floor.”

“No funny business.” He held out his pinky finger for you to take.

“No funny business. Serious business only.” You took his pinky and cracked a smile that mimicked the one he was holding back. You shouldn’t be laughing at a time like this, but you have to if you want to avoid crying.

Leon let you wear his clothes to sleep because you didn’t bring a change of clothes. You didn’t stop at home. It wasn’t the same as last time.

He was about to turn off the lamp on his bedside table when you said, “Leon?”

He turned to see you lying on your side, facing him.

“Yeah?”

“One kiss?”

“I thought I said no funny business.”

“I’m not trying to be funny at all.”

“I know,” he breathed the words into your mouth as he accepted his fate.

You gripped his shirt for dear life and wrapped one leg around his hip. He expected your tongue to be in his mouth and your hands in his pants soon. But he was wrong. It didn’t go any further than that. Your lips left his, but you never entirely pulled away. You clung to him.

“I just want to feel loved,” you whispered, answering questions he didn’t have the words to ask.

“You are,” he said confidently.

You fell asleep on his chest. This time, he did sleep because he could feel your steady breathing.

You found him in the kitchen, making breakfast in the morning.

“I have good news,” he said.

“Pancakes?”

“No. I mean - yes, if you want, but that’s not what I meant. Your dad’s awake.”

“Really?”

“Really. You wanna stop by your house on our way over to the hospital? For a change of clothes.”

“I can’t wear this?”

“I don’t think the hospital staff would appreciate you not wearing pants.”

“Why not? They make everyone wear those little hospital gowns anyway.”

“You’re not the patient. Plus, I think your dad would prefer you in pants, too.”

His expression told more than he was willing to say. He’ll think we had sex. We didn’t. But we did.

“I was kidding.”

“I know you were.”

“I’d like to see you in one of those hospital gowns.”

“I hope you never have to.”

“We could play doctor and patient.”

He turned to face you, mouth agape in surprise but holding back his laughter.

“If we did - which we won’t,” he held out a finger as he spoke, “you would be the patient.” Joking is a slippery slope.

Your dad went to rehab. Finally, it was a win in everyone’s book. Leon moved into your guest room during the months that your dad was away. It wouldn’t be fair to leave you alone when your life had been shaken up like that. Leon made it clear from the beginning that you would be sleeping in separate beds. He loved you, but not like that.

“You don’t wanna do it again?” You asked one night.

“Do what again?” Leon was tired from work. You were used to seeing the good version of him. He can’t hide behind the facade of the happy-go-lucky, charming guy 24/7.

“Have sex,” you said, making sure to enunciate, “with me.”

“No. We’re not doing it again.”

“Why? You said it was the best ever.”

“Why? Because this,” Leon gestured between the two of you, “cannot get more complicated than it is. I cannot take care of you and fuck you at the same time.”

You’d never seen him get so serious. Even on your 21st, when you were flirting with him, and he tried to brush you off, he was still being playful, still willing to let you try to win him over.

Your lips parted, but no words came out. You stood still until Leon grabbed the remote control and un-paused the TV. Then, you turned on your heels and walked upstairs. You put yourself to bed that night.

You hadn’t realized the possibility that you were anything but an angel in Leon’s eyes. You were a burden to your father, a bigger burden to your mother - enough that she packed her bags and left, but being a burden to Leon - you’d never imagined it. Maybe he was just strong enough to carry the weight of you. Maybe your problems were too heavy for him now.

You didn’t cry. The wells had dried up. You cried them out over your parents. There weren’t any left for Leon. You fell asleep to the sound of the fan overhead.

You and Leon didn’t speak about it. He wanted to say, “I’m sorry for talking to you that way,” but he didn’t want to open the door for you to proposition him again. Maybe you’d just forget, he hoped.

Leon continued to be distant, and you had no one else you could talk to the way you did with him. You had no one but a few friends from high school who were home from college. You loved them, but you couldn’t relate to them a lot of the time. You knew they would accept you if you talked to them about your dad and his situation, but it always felt like there was some sort of wall between you and the rest of the world. One that was never there between you and Leon. Sometimes your dad managed to break through it, too. Sometimes.

As your father progressed in his recovery, you allowed yourself to let optimism back into your life. You went to visit him one weekend and ate lunch out in the yard.

“How’s Leon?”

“He’s fine, I think.”

Your father could see your attempt to evade further discussion.

“Is that it? You used to talk about Leon all the time when you were a kid,” your dad smiled as he spoke, “I’d come home, and you were always blabbing on about ‘Leon, Leon, Leon’.”

“Not much to blab about. He’s just Leon.”

Your dad accepted whatever you were willing to say and whatever you weren’t. He asked you about your friends, too. You’d spoken to him over the phone, and for the first time in a long time, he’d remembered what you spoke about. You didn’t have to retell the same stories because he was sober now. Your dad was drunk so often you thought you hated him, but sitting next to him on that sunny afternoon, you remembered why you loved your dad. He didn’t mention the tear that slipped down your cheek when he pulled back from his goodbye hug. He just gave you an extra “Love you, Kiddo” with a smile before sending you off.

Leon lived in your guest room, but emotionally, he was miles away. He had always been a workaholic, but it felt like he managed to spend even more time at the office than usual. One afternoon, when Leon was at work and you were sulking in your room, you got a call.

Leon used to schedule his lunch breaks around you. When you were in middle school, struggling to make friends, you sat at a picnic table out in the courtyard on the phone with Leon. You cried on your first day. Your voice shook with every word, “I can’t do this.”

“You can do this.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because you’re you. You’re my girl.”

You told the mean girls who bullied you that you were talking to your boyfriend who went to a different school and they were stupid enough to buy it. Leon made you promise to stop, threatening to spill your little secret.

One time, you went to the nurse after having a shitty third period, and subsequently getting cornered by the worst of the bully clique. They told you that you had to call your parents if needed to go home or you had to go back to class. You called Leon and lied, saying you felt too sick. He knew you were lying and he didn’t have to call you out on it for you to see that you’d been caught. You climbed into the passenger seat and he flashed you a look.

“So, what’s really going on?”

You dished out the gossip over milkshakes. You sang Sheryl Crow on the drive from the Burger King drive thru to the pond just far enough away from the school.

“This is a one time deal,” he said, “or Hunnigan will take the stick out of her ass and make me into a kebab with it.”

You laughed so hard that vanilla milkshake came out of your nose. At your expense, Leon laughed so hard he had tears in his eyes.

“You better not tell your dad about this either,” he said.

You pinky promised on it.

Middle school was long gone, but the days of you needing him were not. He was the one to break first. He needed you, too, it seemed.

“Hello?”

“Hey, princess. I have an important question for you.”

“Shoot.”

“There’s a thing I have to go to for work… that I completely forgot about until Hunnigan reminded me… it’s an event with a bunch of diplomats and shit - point is, they’re sending me as the rep for the DSO and I need a date.”

“What’s your question?”

“Will you be my date?”

“When is it?”

“Tomorrow night.”

“Tomorrow? How formal is it?”

“Black tie-ish, maybe, I guess. I don’t know that much about dress codes. Hunnigan usually helps me with this.”

“I don’t have anything that formal.”

“That’s why I’m giving you advanced notice. So you can get something.”

Fuck it. “Okay,” you said.

“Okay,” he said, “I’ll be home early tonight and we can figure out the plan for tomorrow.”

You were not Leon’s girlfriend, not his wife, not his daughter, but you were his date for the night.

This wasn’t the first time you and Leon had danced together. He’d gone to a father-daughter dance with you when you were in kindergarten. Back then, you wore a little pink dress, cheap tulle fabric, and a tiara atop your head. Tonight, your gold dress was form-fitting around the hips with a tailored hem so you could dance without tripping over your feet. It didn’t quite brush the floor, the fabric stayed clean. The slit halfway up your thigh could only be seen when you moved. The classiest tease.

“Dance with me?” you asked with your hand out as an invitation, already inching towards the dance floor.

He thought about it for a good moment, and with an eye roll, he took your hand.

“For you,” he said.

It felt like prom night, in the awkward ‘where are we supposed to put our hands’ way. There was a novelty about it. Your arms around his neck and his carefully placed at your waist, no lower. You swayed back and forth, and Leon felt at peace for the first time in a long time. There was no pressure to be the father you never had and no expectation of the two of you sleeping together. It was just you, beautiful as ever, smiling as you swayed back and forth in time like you’d practiced.

“Did you take dance classes?” you asked him.

“No, why?” he asked.

“You dance effortlessly.”

“It’s not hard. You’re doing it too.”

“But you’re leading.”

“It’s simple,” he says, counting each step 1-2-3-4, slowly leading you through a box step.

Your smile made Leon smile. You made him giddy like no one else.

“Can you twirl me?” you asked because you knew he could unless he’d somehow forgotten how to in the years since he’d done it when you were a little girl.

“Of course,” he said with an unwavering grin as he spun you around, and to your surprise - and delight - he dipped you, too. He even dared to press a kiss to your cheek when he pulled you back up.

I love you. It was on the tip of your tongue, but you kept your mouth closed. Your smile said enough.

You and Leon made the mistake of getting tipsy on champagne, but the open bar was too tempting for either of you to refuse.

“I usually leave these things early,” Leon said to you around midnight.

“You usually don’t invite me.”

“I should more often because you are a great dance partner.” It became effortless once you got the hang of it, so you both danced until your feet hurt, and then you danced a little more.

“I’m glad you’ve enjoyed my dancing because I’ll probably never walk again after tonight,” you said, leaning onto him for support, “I need to get these shoes off.”

Wait until we get home, he tried to say, but what came out was, “Did I tell you how beautiful you look tonight?”

Leon had complimented you a thousand times. This should not have felt so novel. You were always his pretty princess, right? But his smile was not light and playful like it usually was with you. The look on his face was so sincere. The redness rising in his cheeks was the confession. It was real.

“Should we go home?” You asked, secretly hoping you could get him to crawl in bed with you when you got there.

“We have to wait until one of us sobers up enough to drive unless you want to get a cab…” he said, “or, we could get a room.”

Leon’s face lit up, almost like he was proud of himself for coming up with the idea - a little giddy about it, too.

You had an even better idea to accompany his genius plan. “Can you hold the glasses while I get us a bottle?” You whispered.

“What?” He whispered back.

“Here.” You thrust your champagne flute at him after you down what was in it. “I’m going to go grab us something.”

“Wait,” Leon said, stopping you.

“It’s not like they’re going to miss it.”

“I didn’t say ‘no’, I said, ‘wait’. Let me book us a room first. Then, we'll come back to conduct your little ‘operation’.”

Leon made mistakes, but he wasn’t completely careless. He flashed you two room keys a few moments later.

“Take this,” he said, handing you one, “and go up to the fourth floor, room 405, take the glasses. I’ll get the bottle.”

You nodded and snuck out. You were lucky that no one was in the elevator to catch you with stolen goods since you didn’t have a jacket or a big enough purse to hide them in. You opened the door to find a lovely room with only one bed for the both of you to share.

“Perfect,” you said to yourself. You stepped out of your shoes and slipped off your dress. You were down to only a thong, no bra. Seducing Leon was a secondary motive. You really just wanted to get out of your clothes.

You covered yourself with the sheets before Leon walked in. You wanted it to be a surprise, and you were freezing your ass off. He swallowed hard when he saw your dress pooled on the floor.

“So?” He asked, holding up the bottle. “Want me to do the honors?”

“Yes, please.”

He poured one glass for each of you and said, “A toast?”

You nodded and held up your glass, giving him the go ahead.

He hesitated. “A toast to you,” he said, “for being the prettiest girl in every room.”

You clinked glasses with him and tried not to look too emotional.

“Like Celine and Jesse, right?”

“Hm?”

“Stealing the champagne. In Before Sunrise they steal a bottle of wine and wine glasses.”

“Yeah, I forgot about that. I think I’m Celine and you’re Jesse, though.”

“You do? Why?”

“I don’t know. It’s just a feeling I have.”

You put your glass on the bedside table while Leon took off his shoes and his jacket. He left his glass sitting on the dresser next to the TV. Every rational part of his mind would be telling him not to do this, but they had all been lulled to sleep by the alcohol.

He didn’t climb into bed next to you. He leaned over and kissed you. It was better than you remembered. You reached out and pulled him in again when he pulled away to take a breath. This time he didn’t argue, he leaned into the kiss. It was more passionate than the last time you’d done this.

Leon murmured something about taking his pants off and you made no effort to stop him. The room was quiet minus the clinking sound of his belt buckle and then the pop of a button and the pulling of a zipper. You’d seen Leon’s dick before. You were eager to see it again, and yet, waited patiently while you watched him undress. His calloused hands ran down his torso, taking his shirt off button by button. He hung up his clothes in the closet, though he’d send them to the dry cleaners regardless. He wasn’t sexy, hot, DILF-ish. He was beautiful. You pretended you were watching your husband take off his suit after a long day at work. A familiar man, one you’d chosen to lie down next to every night. You longed for that choice.

He returned to you in nothing but his underwear, matching you in his state of undress.

“Wanna let me in?” He asked.

You lifted the covers. When he got under the sheets, he lay down on his side facing you. Your bodies drifted closer to each other until your skin was touching his. His lips were on yours again. You weren’t sure whether or not to ask. You didn’t want to shatter the delicate moment.

His hands roamed your body, ending up on your waist.

“Can I touch you?” you asked.

“Mhm,” he said. Not a reluctant yes, but a guilty one. If he didn’t say it, maybe it wasn’t so bad.

He watched as you palmed him through the fabric of his underwear. His breath hitched, and you asked, “Can I go down on you?”

He didn’t respond at first. “Please?” You asked.

“Yeah,” he said. His gaze was hazy and warm despite his icy blue eyes. He changed his position so that you could be on top of him. You kissed down his stomach, making your way down to the v-line of his hips. He pulled the covers down before you could dip your head below them. You thought it was a courtesy. So you could breathe.

He said, “I wanna see you.”

You were slightly nervous for your performance, but he looked pleased with the show by the time you’d gotten his dick out of his pants. You licked a stripe up the side while you looked into his eyes. He rubbed your cheek and smiled.

You took him into your mouth, slowly easing yourself down so as not to gag. You couldn’t go all the way down, but he didn’t mind at all. He was focused on trying to keep his eyes from closing and his head from lolling back.

His breath was ragged and his hands ran through your hair. He didn’t dare move his hips.

“Fuck,” he said, “C’mere.”

It was clear he was getting close. He pulled you up so that you were on top of him, your noses touching. He asked in a whisper, “Do you wanna do this?”

He was nervous. You could hear it in his voice. You’d had sex before. It wasn’t your first time doing this with each other. But, it was your first time making love. Something Leon hadn’t done in so many years it felt brand new to him, too.

You nodded and he swiftly flipped you over, so he was on top. He was going to take care of you. He always took care of you. That was the one thing that never changed between the two of you.

He kissed you with such a passion that every other kiss you’d shared before that was put to shame. Every time he touched you, he did so with reverence. The last time you were naked and entangled, it was morally dubious at best, a cardinal sin at worst. This was something holy.

He slipped your thong down your thighs and you kicked it off, letting it disappear somewhere in the sheets. He’d peeled back the final layer that stood between your skin and his. Leon paused. Everything paused. All that was left was your heavy breathing, matching his, and the thrum of your heartbeat, hard, but steady in your chest. Sure of its own existence more than ever at that moment. Leon ran his hands over your entire body, making sure to learn the way every atom made up your physical form. He understood you more than ever when his hands grazed your inner thighs. Your breath hitched when he brushed his fingertips over your clit.

Then, he began to finger you, getting you ready for him - which didn’t take very long.

You felt the head of his cock prodding at your entrance, and he asked, “Are you sure you’re okay with this?”

It took you a moment, but you realized what he meant: I don’t have a condom.

“Yeah,” you said, confidently as the thought of feeling him inside you without any barrier made you more aroused.

He began with slow thrusts. He kept his body close to yours. He didn’t increase his speed, but you could feel him deeper inside you. When he was finally fully encased by your warmth, he groaned. You could feel his cock pulsate and it made you moan. He never pulled all the way out, he stayed deep inside you for as long as he could, rocking his hips slowly. You wished for your bodies to melt into one. This was the closest you’d ever get.

It didn’t make you scream or cry or swear, but your breath quickened and your legs trembled. You got close to the edge faster than the last time. It took all of Leon’s willpower not to come when you did. You didn’t warn him, though he saw it coming. You arched your back and dragged your nails down his back. You could apologize later if you even remembered. He pulled out just in time to paint your thighs with thick white ropes.

There was the briefest moment of clarity. The duality of ‘this was a mistake’ and ‘I love you’ was at the forefront of both your minds.

“Don’t think about it,” your eyes said when he returned with a wet washcloth to wipe you down.

He got into bed beside you and pulled you close.

You didn’t talk about that night, but things got marginally better. In some ways, it was like the sex had smoothed things over. You noticed the creases forming next to Leon’s eyes when he smiled at you - it wasn’t forced anymore. But that was all it was. When you brushed up against him in the kitchen, he walked past you, not thinking anything about it. You wanted his arms encircling your waist, his face in your neck, pressing kisses to your skin. Since that night, your thoughts were filled with wedding bands, baby clothes, watching Leon get dressed every morning from your shared bed. You wondered sometimes how well he remembered that night in the hotel. His credit card sure did.

You started spending time with friends. You needed to get out of the house before you made yourself crazy. When you did go out, you stayed out late, and Leon gave you the typical “if you’re going to drink, don’t drive,” which was all too pertinent given your dad’s situation.

You didn’t drink that night, so you did drive home. Your friend had a family obligation the next day - oh, what it would be like to have one of those, you thought.

You got home around midnight after having been out since the afternoon. You walked inside, took off your shoes, and planned to go to your room until you heard rustling coming from the living room. You walked into the living room, your living room, your father’s living room, to see Leon balls-deep in some woman you’d never seen before.

With messy hair falling upon his forehead and sweat beading on his brow, Leon locked eyes with you. The mystery woman was facing away. You could only see her brown hair on the throw pillow and her legs wrapped around Leon’s hips. You bolted upstairs, worried you’d be physically ill if you stayed in that room for one second longer.

This time, you did cry - after screaming into your pillow. This was worse than leaving you. There was no contract between the two of you about being with other people; rather, he’d specifically told you to find someone else the first time you’d had sex. It was a one time thing. But it was a one time thing that happened twice, more than twice if you count the time over the phone. Every act of love you shared, no matter how right it felt, was still a broken promise, still a foolish decision, just kicking more dents into your fragile relationship.

This was the greatest violation in all of human history. You wanted to tattle to your father, but what would that do? Yeah, fucking on his couch would get Leon a read of the riot act, but to truly explain the severity, the double backstabbing that he’d done, you’d have to tell your father that you’d slept with Leon. And you sure as hell weren’t going to tell him about that.

There was a knock at your bedroom door.

“Go away,” you yelled.

“Open up,” Leon called back.

“Go tell that to the stupid whore downstairs! I don’t want you anymore!”

She can have my sloppy seconds, you thought. But, in reality, weren’t you having someone’s sloppy seconds the whole time? Leon was your first, your only, but you were a notch in his bedpost.

Leon could scold you about calling the woman a whore, but he didn’t. “She’s gone. I kicked her out.”

“Pumped and dumped her, too?” Just like you did with me, Leon. Only you can’t leave physically.

“Excuse me?”

“Come and go, blow your load, and hit the road; how else would you like me to say it?”

“Open the door,” he said again, but you could hear the smile forming on his face. At least you were funny, even if you couldn’t be good enough for the true once-in-a-lifetime love you wanted from him.

You opened the door, dressed in your PJs, which consisted of a tank top and a pair of panties. He didn’t deserve to look at you like that. You covered yourself with the door.

“What do you want, Leon?”

“To apologize.”

“For what?”

“For having sex in the living room.”

“Why?”

“You know why. All of the reasons why.”

He knew you about as well as you knew yourself. He knew all the ‘whys’ even if he couldn’t verbalize them.

You remember when you were little and got in trouble for a stupid thing you did as a child. You disobeyed Leon in some way - secretly ate a cookie while he wasn’t looking, snuck out of your room to watch TV, messed with his paperwork, etc. You drew him an ‘I’m sorry’ card in crayon.

He wasn’t going to pull out the crayons.

“What can I do to apologize to you?”

“Nothing. There’s nothing. It’s all wrong. It’s all gone. Everything.” Everything we were, everything we could’ve been.

When you were a little girl, you thought you were going to marry Leon. He and your dad both thought it was funny, so you had a fake wedding ceremony. It was innocent at the time. You had ring pops instead of wedding bands, and he kissed you on the cheek, not the lips.

You were going to be ‘Mrs. Kennedy’. Your brain persisted, and Leon only solidified the idea in your mind when he took your virginity. It was the last piece of you that you held from him. He had your soul but never your body. Now, he had that, too. You had an old t-shirt of his and tainted memories. Nothing more.

“What do you mean?” He asked. There was a partial understanding. Everything between the two of you was always going to be different. He’d warned you before you had sex with him. But there was more to it than that.

“I just saw you with that woman. I can never unsee that.”

“You’ve seen me naked before, and you know I’ve had sex with other women.”

And I promised you nothing.

“But, it’s like, you’re totally different now.” You gestured vaguely at his body, something that now held more meaning, a complex layer of disgust covering him.

“How?” I’m the same man I’ve always been.

“Not to me.”

He sighed and held the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger.

“I think you see me as someone I’m not, someone I’ve never been.”

“That’s not true. You’ve always been good to me.”

“But you only know what I show you.”

“So you’re a dick to everyone else? You’re a fucking asshole every moment I’m not in the room with you?”

“I don’t think I’m that bad, but I’m not anyone’s knight in shining armor.”

“You were mine.”

“No, I wasn’t. You thought I was. I didn’t want you to see the bad parts of me. I still don’t. I’m sorry you had to see that.”

“Goodnight,” you said and closed the door in his face.

There was nothing you could do to forget. You felt something you’d never felt before. You wanted your mom - a woman you had no memory of, someone you’d never known. She left when you were a baby, but your dad never talked badly about her. His words were rare but had a nostalgic sweetness. You’d heard Leon say a few nice things about her over the years, too. You had a picture of her in a drawer in your bedroom. You pulled it out and looked at a face almost identical to yours. You wished, in some way, that both your father and Leon had left with her. Surely she wasn’t perfect - in fact, you should resent her for leaving, but you’d never heard anything to taint your image of her. She was just a woman who made a bad choice once, but you weren’t attached enough to be angry, and no one had cracked the facade you put up around her image. If you had her phone number, you’d call.

Leon was in the next room over, and somehow, he was further away than her and more absorbed in mystery.

Your dad came home. He came home sober with suitcases in hand, holding his arms out for you. You ran into them. You sobbed harder than you ever had. Happy tears flowed easier than sad tears. There wasn’t anything holding you back from crying.

Your dad’s hand held the back of your head while you buried your head in his chest. You ate dinner at the kitchen table together. You felt lost without Leon. He left your house, you stayed, and yet it felt like you’d woken up in a completely different place than the one you’d fallen asleep in. It wasn’t bad, just different. You wished there was a way to put all of the parts of your life together. You’d have to put super glue on mismatched puzzle pieces. It would always be a futile effort. You had Leon, you have dad, you’ll probably never have mom.

“What are you thinking about?” Your dad’s voice called you back to the present.

“Nothing,” you said, faking a smile.

“What are you really thinking about?”

“Mom,” you said. You were, you always got stuck when you thought about her because you were trying to imagine a woman who was a stranger to you.

“Mom? Why?” You expected him to be somber, maybe bitter even, but he was intrigued, it seemed.

“She’s been on my mind recently. I’ve been thinking about you, my dad, my parent, and- and I don’t want to sound greedy because I’m lucky to have you here, but I wish there was more than just us.”

“You’ve got Leon,” he offered.

You scoffed, waving it away with your hand. “Don’t bring up Leon right now.”

“Is there drama between the two of you?”

“No, I wouldn’t call it ‘drama’.”

It’s way, way worse than that, you thought.

“You’ll get over it, he’ll get over it. It always works itself out.”

“Who are you and what did you do with my dad? What’s with all this optimism?” You playfully nudged his shoulder.

“What can I say? This whole therapy thing has given me a new outlook on life.”

He paused before taking on a more serious tone. “And, a near-death experience gave me a new appreciation for life. I didn’t care much about my own life. I could take it or leave it.”

“Dad…” You couldn’t find the right words.

“No, no, let me finish: you are important to me.” He put his hand on your shoulder and locked eyes with you. “I remember going in and out of consciousness the day of the accident, and seeing your face. I hate to see you cry like that. I didn’t realize how much the things I do affect you.”

You raised an eyebrow. I’m your child, you thought, how would it not affect me?

“I’m serious. It sounds stupid. I was being selfish, and I always knew that, but I didn’t realize how much you needed me. You had Leon, and you always liked him better anyway. I figured you didn’t mind being left alone with him sometimes.”

“I don’t mind seeing Leon, but I still need my dad.”

“I know. I was making excuses for my own behavior. I know it’s a little late to say it, but I want to be a good father.”

“Better late than never. Better than mom…”

“No,” he said, “you don’t know your mother’s reasons for leaving. It wasn’t you. She loved you.”

“She left because of you.” You were blunt with him. You usually were.

“She couldn’t take the drinking problem, my constant working. If she could’ve taken you with her, I think she would have.”

“If she wanted to, she would have.”

“No, babies are expensive, and I was always the breadwinner. I think she hoped it would be a wake-up call and I would get better. She thought it was the right choice for you.”

You sighed and tried not to roll your eyes. You wished he’d get angry at her for leaving. Shouldn’t that be easy? Shouldn’t that be right? Whatever, you thought, maybe he’s like you - good at making peace with people leaving.

“I know it wasn’t due to my parenting, but you turned out pretty darn great.”

“I’m kind of a disaster, actually.”

“Blame the ‘disaster’ parts of yourself on me. You’re kind, you’re funny, you’re smart-”

“I’m not that smart, trust me.”

I’m such an idiot. You have no idea.

“I’m not going to ask because somehow I feel like whatever you’re up to, it’s something I don’t want to hear about. Just promise me you’ll be safe, okay?”

“I promise. As long as you promise, too.” You held out your pinky.

“Promise,” he said, interlocking his pinky finger with yours.

You let yourself believe him. You decided to take a dose of his optimism, irrational as it seemed. At least let yourself fantasize, right? You’ve got something. Maybe not everything, but something. Maybe not Leon, but you’ve got dad, and isn’t that what you wanted the whole time?

That same night, Leon went out with a woman he’d been casually talking to - it was time to move on from you, at least in the romantic way.

You’d always have some sort of bond.

Leon sat through dinner, dissecting his steak out of boredom. It wasn’t worth the price. He could cook a better one himself. The woman sitting across from him was talking about something, but he wasn’t quite sure what due to the fact that he wasn’t listening.

“Leon?” She said, irritated.

“Yeah?” He said with the least fake-looking smile he could muster.

“Are you even listening to me?”

“Yeah, why? What did I miss?”

“I asked you-”

“-have you seen the movie ‘Before Sunrise’?”

“Yeah? I never really understood the hype.”

“What? It’s a great movie. The sequel is great, too.”

“I didn’t see it.”

“You should. Maybe it’s unrealistic to think about that once in a lifetime love, but don’t you think we should try to find that? No matter how irrational it seems?”

“You do realize you’re on a date right now, and you’re talking about love and romance like it’s this lofty, unattainable concept.”

“I see your point.”

The waiter comes by with the check and Leon thanks him, and thanks God silently, too.

“I don’t think you’re ever going to find it if you can’t even pay attention to a woman. I like you, Leon, and I’d ask you to come home with me, but-”

Leon knew he shouldn’t see you again, but when he got his credit card out of his wallet to pay for dinner, he saw your picture. He’d always kept it there. He’d change the photo about once a year and keep the others in his bedside drawer. It’s a picture of you in your cap and gown. He was so proud of you; he is so proud of you. He loved you then; he loves you now. The problem is that he’s falling in love with you now. It’s not just familial; it’s not lust, either.

He thought about When Harry Met Sally, which is your third favorite movie after Jerry Maguire and Before Sunrise. The woman asked him if he wanted to take this back to her place, and he was barely paying attention when he said ‘no.’ He gave her a half-assed excuse and dumped tic-tacs in his mouth so he didn’t have wine on his breath because he knew you hate the taste of red wine. He wasn’t drunk, though. If he were, he wouldn’t drive. Leon’s an idiot, Leon’s a fuck-up, but Leon knows he’s a shitty driver. He won’t risk his life on his way to you. This isn’t a tragedy, he hoped.

He forgot your dad was probably home, but fuck it. If he’s really in love, he’ll confess it in public.

“I’m in love with you,” he said when you opened the door. It wasn’t ‘Hello’. You couldn’t say, ‘You had me at hello’ because he began with, ‘I’m in love with you.’

You stared at him long enough that he started fumbling through apologies and excuses. You didn’t say anything. You pulled him into a kiss, which was to say what he should’ve known all along.

“I’m in love with you, too.”

#leon kennedy smut #leon kennedy x reader #leon s kennedy smut #leon s kennedy x reader #leon kennedy #leon s kennedy #miss oranje fics

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lynnbanks · 4 months

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Luke was too rough

Her hands grip the sheets beside her desperately looking for an anchor to earth. Luke has her legs spread as far as they can to fit himself between them trusting hard and deep “Feel that baby?” he asked as he pushed on her lower stomach causing her head to roll back as well as her eyes “That is me mh fucking you so deep.'' They haven't seen each other in a week with him going to see his friends and y/n visiting her family and it has only made everything more intense and rough just like it always is when they are away from each other.

Until Luke thrusts a too-deep hitting her cervix “Luke stop stop stop!” she squeals out pushing on his lower stomach to get him to stop before turning over onto her stomach with her knees to her chest “What happened baby did I hurt you?” Luke is panicked. It all happened so fast y/n couldn't do anything but nod her head face still on the mattress.

“I'm so sorry, how can I make it better?” she shook her head not being able to talk yet, and grabbed his hand. She sat there for 5 minutes before she could talk without it hurting. Luke was getting really worried “Do we need to go to the hospital?” trying to catch her breath “Just- went too deep Lu that's all I'm okay,” she said gently turning on her back to look at him

“It's not ok I hurt you I'm so sorry.” he sounded mad like he found out some guys pushed you or something but the anger was directed at himself “I'm ok now Luke it's fine.” he shook his head before pulling on some sweats and walking into the bathroom for a rag to clean her up.

“Luke.” he doesn't look at her just continues to clean between her legs so she grabs his wrist stopping him “Look at me Luke.” he does and she sees the look of guilt on his face “I'm okay You have always been big we just got carried away you don't need to worry about me.” he lets out a deep breath “I am worried about you and I feel like a piece of shit for hurting you It won't happen again.”

He said the last part more to himself to y/n “I want you to see a doctor just to make sure everything is okay.” y/n pulled him to lay next to her so she could cuddle up to him “ I will call them tomorrow please don't beat yourself up about this Luke.” he drew patterns on her back staring into space “ I won't I promise.” and he was lying through his teeth.

The next day y/n woke up very sore with some lower back pain and had breakfast in bed from her still very guilty boyfriend. After breakfast, she gave her ob a call just to see what she had to say. After her call, Luke hounded her about everything she was told: “She said that it happens to women everywhere all the time and to not do any sexual activities until it heals.” Luke looked happy enough with those answers and she thought they would move past this whole ordeal.

She was wrong, it had been two weeks since they last had sex and Luke hadn't so much as cuddled with her for more than five minutes at a time he barely touched her, and every time they kissed she initiated it. When she sat on his lap to watch a movie with him she could feel him tense up “Luke you know you can touch me right?” He looked at her like she was crazy. “Of course I know I can touch You just pulled me from my train of thought is all.”

They were about 30 minutes in when Y/n started kissing his neck she started small and worked her way up getting more and more confident especially when he let a groan slip “Baby we are getting to the good part.” y/n didn't stop her kisses just turned his head to plant one on his lips he tense before giving in and kissing her back. It got pretty heated and y/n moved to be sitting straight up on his lap and tugging at the bottom of his shirt.

That pulled him from his love-drunk daise “Stop trying to get undressed we aren't having sex.” he said it so straightforwardly that it took her by surprise. “Um, right, sorry, I thought we had something going there that is my fault for assuming that boyfriends and girlfriends have sex or can stand to be around each other at all,” she said with tears in her eyes before getting up to go to their room “y/n wait. I didn't mean it like that." She ignored him and ran up the stairs. She wasn't normally this emotional but then again Luke had never denied her of anything.

Luke had no idea what to do of course he wanted to have sex that wasn't the issue he just couldn't do it if it was going to hurt you and he promised he would never do that. After letting her cool off for a while he knocked on their door before letting himself in. “ go away” she had been crying and that broke his heart “ I just want to talk about it. I love you and I don't want to see you cry.” y/n sat up and looked at his dead in the eyes “ then leave.” and flopping back down on the bed.

She knew she was being childish but she was upset and pent-up “Just listen to what I have to say please. when I saw you in pain knowing that I caused it I didn't know what to do with myself and I never wanted to cause you pain ever again. I'm sorry I was scared and upset that I hurt you and I hurt you again by not giving you the attention you deserve.” y/n sat up and pulled him into a hug “ I'm sorry if I made you feel guilty. It's just that we already have so little time to be together during the session I got into my head and we both work well with clear communication so we should stick to that next time we are feeling some type of way.”

“ I completely agree and just so you know whenever you are ready to finish what we started downstairs I am totally up for that.” y/n tackled him to the bed before he could say anything else

#luke hughes #luke hughes blurb #luke hughes x reader #luke hughes x you

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b4tracha · 9 months

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Brat (Lee Felix FF)

I am sorry for not being active like I said I would. I went through a really bad depression when I came home from university and it was a struggle to write. I am still recovering right now. I hope you all forgive me with this fic. I love you all <3

(You are an 01 liner, so you call Felix Hyung)

Sometimes it was hard being in a relationship with an idol who was constantly busy with schedules and having to keep up with an image their company created. It made you want to give up at one point, but your love for Felix always made him change his mind. Even if he couldn’t be open with dating you, especially since you were both men, it was ultimately worth it.

What people didn’t know was that Felix was a dom. Felix enjoyed torturing you in ways he didn’t know was possible, yet he made it feel like heaven. When he wasn’t busy, he would come over and make up for all the time he missed with you. This time, he was allowed to bring you to the dorm for once. You don’t come over often due to his fear of others figuring out the relationship, but the members always keep everything secret. They were the most supportive group of people you have been around, and you always felt safe around the other members.

As much as you enjoyed spending time with Felix, laying around, and being lazy, you didn’t want that right now. You needed something else. To receive what you needed, you had to plan. Before you headed over, you worked yourself open and inserted a plug so you didn’t have to waste time prepping for too long. You were going to let him play his game, and then you were going to bother him until he fucked the brattiness out of you. You needed him to ruin your hole until it was the shape of his dick.

But that also meant you had to wait. You decided to take a nap. Felix would get immersed in the game before you ripped the older right from it. It was going to be perfect. When you woke up, all you could hear was the rapid clicking of his keyboard. You opened your eyes, letting them fall on the older boy before you. He didn’t even know you were awake, his game loud in his headphones. The scenario almost felt like he was a lonely gazelle and you were a lion, ready to pounce.

You slowly took off your clothes, leaving you in your boxers. You fell on the floor, crawling toward the unknowing male. You touched his thigh softly, causing Felix to jump in surprise. He relaxed once he realized that it was just you. He pulled off his headphones to speak.

“Baby, what are you doing?”

“Nothing..” You hummed before pulling the male from his desk. You moved under the desk right between his legs and right in front of his crotch.

“M/N.” A shiver ripped up your spine. You loved it when Felix did that. It was something about how Felix would lower his voice when he dominated you. The way he would say your name could make you come by itself. However, you wouldn’t let it deter you from your mission. You needed to finish it and get what you wanted.

“Yes, Hyung?” You started to rub on his clothed crotch. You slowly looked up at him with a slight smirk on your face. You and the blonde were having a staring contest, his eyes dark and heavy. You only see that when he was ready to leave you shaking on the bed. He was slowly hardening underneath your hand under the soft surface of his sweatpants. However, his blank stare gave the illusion he wasn’t affected by your teasing. The way he didn’t stop you gave you the green light to pull down his pants. Once you pulled them down, you realized that he was wearing nothing underneath.

“Oh? Just for me?” You showed him your pearly whites. Felix simply grunted and folded his arms across his chest. You simply shrugged before shuffling closer to the man and taking hold of his half-hard cock. You licked your lips and finally took your eyes off of him. You spit on his cock before using the liquid to have a better grip. You slowly jerk him off, watching him harden within your hands. His tip was pink and wet, ready for any action.

“Should I put it in my mouth? It’s been so long since I have blown you.” You licked his tip, feeling him twitch in your hands. He was slightly salty, yet he tasted so good. When you didn’t get a reaction from him once more, you decided to suck on the head. Then you finally felt a hand in your hair. You couldn’t help but smirk in your head about the situation.

Suddenly, the hips of the man above you jerked up into your mouth.

Felix held you down, a dark chuckle ringing around your ears. Finally, he gave you what you have wanted since you got here. You started to tear up and gag on his hard, thick cock. The drool from your mouth poured down, leaving Felix wet and sticky from the liquid. His sweatpants were stained from the amount of it.

“Is this what you wanted? You wanted me to ruin you like a brat like you deserve?” His voice dropped, deep and heavy from the lust he was feeling. You couldn’t answer his question, but a soft moan slipped from your throat. “Answer me.”

“I-” You choked on him as soon as the words attempted to leave your throat. However, that was exactly what he wanted from you. He wanted to listen to you choke on your own words. He needed to get back for the teasing he had been dealing with since you woke up.

“You don’t have much to say now, do you?” Felix growled. He pulled your head back up until you only had his head in your mouth until he forced you to deepthroat him once more. “Say something, brat. You wanted me to retaliate. You wanted this. Now take it like a good little brat.”

Felix stood up from his chair and adjusted both of you. He glared down into your misty eyes. If he kept this up, he was going to make you cry on his cock. That’s what you wanted. He gave you one more look before he began fucking your throat. The roughness of his thrusts causes you to shake and buck your hips. His grunts and the feeling of him hitting the back of your throat made your head spin. It felt like heaven and hell mixed in your head. If he kept this pace, you would faint.

Like he could hear your thoughts, he pulled you off of his cock. Your spit webbed and connected your lips and his dick. It eventually snapped as you doubled down on yourself, coughing heavily. You could barely breathe because of Felix. He must be more pent-up than you thought because he has never been this aggressive with you before. Although, you enjoyed it way too much to ask the older male to stop what he was doing.

“Color?” The hard facade he put on fell for that moment. As much as he enjoyed ruining you, he didn’t want to hurt you. He was worried that he went too far with what he was doing with you. “Are you okay with what we’re doing right now?”

“Green.” Your voice sounded foreign to your ears. It was so raspy and harsh from the treatment it just finished dealing with. “Keep going, hyung. I can take it.” You gave a small smile from where you were. That seemed to satisfy the blonde because his facade reappeared as soon as he heard you were okay.

“Are you done? Get up. You didn’t even make me cum yet.” He grabbed you by your hair. You were back right in front of his crotch. He was wet, hard, and twitching. His pre-cum was leaking from his pink tip. If you didn’t drool so much before, you would drool right now at the sight in front of you. You took your hands, wrapping them around Felix once more.

“I’m sorry..” You pouted up at him. You weren’t sorry and he knew that too. However, you wanted to play up the innocent look for him.

“No, you’re not. Now do as I said before I leave you here like you deserve.” He took your jaw and squeezed it as a warning. You could only barely nod before opening your mouth. The gig was up for you, you needed to make him cum. The game was over.

(I wrote too much. 50 likes for part 2?)

#stray kids #skz #stray kids x male reader #lee felix #kpop x male reader #kpop x reader #kpop #stray kids x reader #stray kids smut #lee felix smut

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lilacxquartz · 4 months

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Don't Make Me Feel Alive I Chapter 3

Kenjaku (Pseudo-Geto) × Fem!Reader

[This fic contains Shibuya Arc spoilers and is updated every Saturday.]

ABOUT: Diagnosed at an early age with an illness that slowly deteriorated your body; you went from being a promising sorcerer to a retired husk of your once former self until he found you, offering you an opportunity to live instead—not that you had a choice to refuse.

CHAPTER SUMMARY: You are taken out on a little field trip that could have ended better, despite not knowing exactly what you did wrong.

TAGS/THEMES: (in the future chapters): »yandere, chronically ill reader, forced dynamic, non-con, dub-con, violence, caretaking, unrequited feelings, sorcerer reader, dead-dove, mixed pov, potential interpretations of dubious sorcery«

< Previous Chapter • Next Chapter >

Side Note: reminder, this is currently pre-shibuya arc, so some characters will still be present in his alliance. also more dubious sorcery up ahead.

3. Outing

Come the next morning, he was already long awake before you woke up. His gaze fixated on the pendant that rested around your neck, finding its low pulsating hum to be quite soothing as it echoed through the otherwise quiet room.

“I adjusted it for you overnight,” he began, patiently waiting for you to fully awake before continuing, “this time it should use less energy for the things you actively do like walking, but the energy cost will remain the same should you choose to use your technique.”

You furrowed your brows in response, seeming a little confused, “So, I can’t use my technique in the end anyway because it uses up too much energy… or?”

“That’s not what I said,” he corrected you with a slight laugh, “we can train it, the better you get at harnessing your technique, the less energy it will drain.”

“But would that really work…?” you asked.

“Think of it like working out a muscle,” he explained, trying to compare it to something you could understand, “it’ll get easier to manage over time.”

He then stared at you for a long moment as he ensured you kept up with his explanation before having a different thought enter his mind.

Thinking of something new, he broke the silence again, changing up his neutral demeanour to something much more energetic, “I want to test your ability to keep up with me.”

“But,” you halted, feeling still so cautious, “what if it’s like last time?”

“Ah, but I don’t think it’ll be,” he replied, his tone filled with optimism, “besides, what good is it if I trial things on you without you testing them?”

“…Fair,” you sighed, choosing to trust him for now as you sat up from the bed, “So… keeping up with you?”

“I have a meeting of sorts today to oversee some plans in the future, I’d like for you to attend this with me and see how the battery is spent during social settings, if at all,” he explained calmly, his tone sounding suddenly a little clinical despite his relaxed demeanour.

You found him difficult to read as his tone often overrode the look he had in his eyes as well as the smile that he constantly wore. Something about this whole thing felt unsafe, but you had no choice but to go along, so you might as well go along with what was thrown at you.

Meanwhile, his intentions weren’t as terrible as he simply just had an idea to see if the battery drain was strictly physical or if mental stress negatively impacted it as well.

You slowly nodded in understanding, “Also… what do I call you exactly?”

“Anything you’d like,” he replied bluntly. He had so many identities at this point that he didn’t care. Regardless of what name you could conjure up for him, he’s likely lived under that identity for at least a little while.

“Okay, but really, what do you prefer?” you persisted, not quite accepting his answer.

A pause followed as his smile returned, finding the insistence amusing.

“You can call me Kenjaku.”

“And that’s your real name?” you asked.

He nodded in confirmation, “But you can call me anything, however, for the meeting,” he paused for just another moment, “Maybe it’s best for you to call me Geto, instead.”

“Wait, so your allies know you as something different…?” you asked, reading maybe too much into the suggestion.

“I will go as far to admit that this isn’t my true body, so feel free to interpret that as you will,” he continued to say, “I’d prefer if this particular alliance stays in the dark about it”

“Is there a reason why you’re lying to your allies?” you asked as though to recycle your question, unsure why he was avoiding giving you a proper answer. Maybe you shouldn’t have been asking somebody you didn’t really feel too safe around so many questions, but also you wanted to understand who exactly you were working with.

Kenjaku himself didn’t actually mind your relentless curiosity, as he always found people the most interesting when they want to learn more about what’s around them, rather than just accepting things at face value. The only time he felt that people, including sorcerers, were boring, was when they were a little too content with their position in life.

“The alliance is a group of special grade cursed spirits,” he spoke up again after a hot second, studying your reaction as he next considered his tone, “but being what they are, I can’t trust them.”

“Because they’re not human?” you asked once again, trying to keep up.

“That’s not the only reason, but it’s one of them,” Kenjaku confirmed, his expression remaining unreadable.

“So you don’t trust them but you trust me?” you asked, not following along again.

“Who said I trust you?” he smiled.

“D-do you?”

“If I’m being honest, I don’t truly trust anyone,” he replied in a sudden serious tone before it faded away immediately, a wide grin following after, “but that’s enough about me, you’re going to follow me along aren’t you?”

“You’re not giving me much of a choice,” you sulked. You could walk, but you didn’t feel great doing it.

“Correct, but you are free to fight back, you know,” Kenjaku teased, knowing you wouldn’t tempt it.

“Wouldn’t you just stop me?” you warily asked.

“Also correct, so why don’t you behave for now and follow me anyway, unless you’re prepared to find out what happens if you refuse to do so?” he sang almost, still wearing his smile.

Albeit reluctantly, you chose to go along with his request, pressured by what he was doing for you. His vague threat lingered in the back of your mind, reminding you that he wouldn’t let you refuse, wondering exactly what that had truly meant. While his threat remained empty, you couldn’t deny that there was danger behind his words and you weren’t in a shape to find out.

As you walked alongside him too, you couldn’t help but admit that there was a difference in your stride; the adjustments that he made proving seemingly beneficial.

The meet with his alliance proved however brief as he quickly determined that certain aspects of his plans shouldn’t be shared with you, wanting to keep you in the dark about the darker parts just to keep your willing participation—understanding that if you knew the true extent of it all, that you wouldn’t be so keen to help him.

Which would be a problem. For most things, he preferred a willing cooperation, which was what he was aiming to achieve by tricking his other allies too.

This was simply how Kenjaku worked though; he would be selective with his plans and how he chose to tell it and to whom. He told you that he would restore you in return for your cooperation and he told Mahito’s alliance that he’s on their side in exchange to bend them to his will.

Therefore, he decided that your role wasn’t to directly talk just yet. It was to be in the midst of a social setting, humans or cursed spirits be damned—either were draining enough, so he simply just kept you present as a shadowing ally knowing that the alliance wouldn’t care much to ask.

For now given your condition, your use was limited anyway. Even if you did return to your peak condition, he would likely just utilise you in combat regardless since that was his initial plan to exploit your technique.

As such while the discussion happened off to the side, your matters were turned elsewhere—towards a person that didn’t quite seem human but not like the cursed spirits up ahead either; seeking comfort within his company, feeling bored out of your mind.

Initially, Kenjaku paid very little attention towards your interactions with one of his creations, believing that your communication with him would be limited at best. However as you continued to speak with the death painting, he felt something stir deep within him that he didn’t quite like—let alone understand.

You continued your exchange with Choso either way, oblivious to his observations. You somehow got into the conversation about emotions with him.

“I’m sorry, I’m just curious,” the death painting mumbled, hoping to not scare you away—he liked humans and wanted to learn about them, but his opportunities were limited.

“You’re fine,” you tried to reassure, “I’m just a little lost on how to answer that question,” you added with a polite, albeit strained smile.

“Sorry,” he repeated again, his face looking at you with a sat yet fascinated gaze.

“I suppose that it feels a little chaotic, maybe?” you mused, considering his question with more thought. “I think humans tend to be emotionally driven, so maybe to be human is to be unpredictable.”

You paused, trying to determine if your words were even coherent.

“Does that make sense?”

Choso nodded as he processed your answer despite feeling still just a little confused by it—he also had emotions but he didn’t feel motivated by them but maybe he was also missing something.

“A little,” he replied.

He wanted to continue the conversation but the meeting seemed to have been concluded which meant that you were reunited soon with Kenjaku, who chose to move onto the objective of continuing the practice of your technique.

With surprising patience, he encouraged you to release small bursts of your technique as you learned to regain control of it, finding that there was progress to be seen already, causing him some relief as you continued to demonstrate what you were currently capable of, meaning come autumn, you probably could prove useful. With each controlled movement, you proved that the energy handled by the pendant was becoming more and more efficient, which is exactly what he wanted.

“I know you can do better than that” he teased you, wanting for you to increase your output.

You nodded as you then attempted to do just that, finding that you still didn’t have a proper handle of your technique as you were simply too out of practice. As a result, you ended up accidentally sending over a surge of energy far greater than anything you should have been capable of—at least currently.

Kenjaku’s eyes widened slightly in response while maintaining his relaxed posture as he watched you completely drain the pendant of energy once again but in a much greater amount, thinking that luckily you were stood over grass, since the fall wouldn’t be so bad this time.

And then, to his slight annoyance, Choso was the one who caught you mid-fall, leaving him confused as to why the death painting, usually so aloof and distant, suddenly seemed to intervene.

However, he didn’t let his annoyance show at all.

Not once.

He instead continued back with you completely alone, leaving the cursed spirit alliance to their own hideouts, wherever those currently were and even though they didn’t suspect a single thing, he still felt off about something to do with you.

Then there was you, who on the other hand, couldn’t quite shake the feeling that he acted strangely colder towards you as he guided you back, finding that despite his continued silence, there was something different about his overall demeanour.

Feeling confused and weary from what had happened overall, you reluctantly went off to sleep even though there was an unrelenting nagging confusion lurking in the back of your mind, failing to understand exactly why he treated you so well just yesterday ago and why you were now otherwise reduced to barely dirt.

Initially, you wondered if it was because the technique had failed you again.

However, you also found that after you had accomplished a full night’s sleep, that he seemed completely back to normal again.

In fact, he seemed to be over the top thrilled about something.

So what was that really?

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ofliterarynature · 24 days

Text

TBR TAKEDOWN: Week 14 (September 1)

TLDR: I have too many unread books, and I’m asking tumblr to help me downsize. Pick one or none, comment if you have opinions, and please reblog if you can! Book descriptions below the cut, see my pinned post for more info.

The Ladies of Mandrigyn by Barbara Hambly

The City of Mandrigyn was conquered, and its men enslaved in the foul mines of the evil Wizard King, Altiokis. Now the women of the city, led by Sheera Galernas, have come to hire the mercenary army of Captain Sun Wolf. But Sun Wolf was too wise to become involved in fighting against wizardry…

...Until he woke to find himself kidnapped and offered a grim choice by Sheera. He could train and lead the ladies of Mandrigyn against Altiokis - or he could die in lingering agony from the anzid they had given him and for which only they had the antidote.

There was more to the ladies than Sun Wolf could have guessed. There was also far more to the evil of Altiokis then anyone knew.

But above all, there was a great deal more to Sun Wolf and his destiny then he had ever dreamed.

Gideon Smith and the Mechanical Girl by David Barnett

Nineteenth century London is the center of a vast British Empire. Airships ply the skies and Queen Victoria presides over three-quarters of the known world--including the East Coast of America, following the failed revolution of 1775.

London might as well be a world away from Sandsend, a tiny village on the Yorkshire coast. Gideon Smith dreams of the adventure promised him by the lurid tales of Captain Lucian Trigger, the Hero of the Empire, told in Gideon's favorite penny dreadful. When Gideon's father is lost at sea in highly mysterious circumstances Gideon is convinced that supernatural forces are at work. Deciding only Captain Lucian Trigger himself can aid him, Gideon sets off for London. On the way he rescues the mysterious mechanical girl Maria from a tumbledown house of shadows and iniquities. Together they make for London, where Gideon finally meets Captain Trigger.

But Trigger is little more than an aging fraud, providing cover for the covert activities of his lover, Dr. John Reed, a privateer and sometime agent of the British Crown. Looking for heroes but finding only frauds and crooks, it falls to Gideon to step up to the plate and attempt to save the day...but can a humble fisherman really become the true Hero of the Empire?

The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths

Forensic archeologist Dr. Ruth Galloway is in her late thirties. She lives happily alone with her two cats in a bleak, remote area near Norfolk, land that was sacred to its Iron Age inhabitants—not quite earth, not quite sea. But her routine days of digging up bones and other ancient objects are harshly upended when a child’s bones are found on a desolate beach. Detective Chief Inspector Nelson calls Galloway for help, believing they are the remains of Lucy Downey, a little girl who went missing a decade ago and whose abductor continues to taunt him with bizarre letters containing references to ritual sacrifice, Shakespeare, and the Bible. Then a second girl goes missing and Nelson receives a new letter—exactly like the ones about Lucy.

Is it the same killer? Or a copycat murderer, linked in some way to the site near Ruth’s remote home?

#tbr takedown #bec posts #poll #polls #book poll #booklr #bookblr #bookish #books #the ladies of Mandrigyn #Gideon smith and the mechanical girl #barbara hambly #David Barnett #the crossing places #Elly Griffiths #Ruth Galloway #one of these was pretty terribly reviewed by an author I like so we'll see what y'all have to say lol

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jackmanbj · 10 months

Text

single

AN: this is my first angst fic, enjoy, also this has two parts.🫀

summary: jack has been telling you to wait for him to be ready in a real relationship but likes to fuck other girls and gets mad when you talk to another dude.

you and jack had just got back to the hotel after his performance.

jack was beyond exhausted, he just wanted to lay down in your arms and fall asleep to you whispering sweet nothings in his ear.

jack got into the shower with you following behind him.

“jackie, when are you going to commit to me..?”

“baby please, you known i love you, we can talk about this tomorrow im so fucking tired i can barely stand up..”

“ok baby i dont want to stress you, lets just go to bed, ok.”

you both finished washing off and went to lay down.

you laid on the bed while jack climbed on top of you.

jack didnt take long to fall asleep, you sighed feeling lonely, sure you were seeing jack, but it didnt feel like it.

jack would go out to clubs every other night and be kissing girls, hell sometimes maybe even fucking them, you never knew when it came to him.

you let your mind shut off as you fell asleep scratching jacks hair with your acrylic nails.

the next morning by the time you woke up, jack was gone.

you sighed and checked the time before getting up and heading to brush your teeth.

you found jacks dirty clothes on the floor by his bag, you picked then up getting a plastic bag and placing them in until you could wash them.

you heard your phone ringing and went to go answer it.

*incoming call from stinka💕*

you answered and heard urban in the background taking to what sounded like ace.

“yea jack?”

“im so sorry i left before you could wake up, the boys wanted to go out and i didnt want to wake you, i just wanted to call and let you know where i was.”

“its fine babe, have fun”

“thank you mamas, love you.”

“love to too.”

jack hung up and started cuddling up to the girl who obviously knew he was talking to someone, but didnt care as he talked to his friends.

“dude you gotta either commit to y/n or break it off with her, you’ve been leading her on for the longest.”

“urban just give me time.. i want her i just dont know when i want to commit.”

“their is no way you want her honestly, you have been with two other girls since the one from last night!”

“fuck i just need time, im going see y/n.”

urban looked at jack with nothing but disappointment, jack had always claimed he didnt like toxic relationships, he just wanted one girl to love on forever.

it was all for an image, jack wanted anybody who would fuck him.

jack loved you though, he knew he loved you, you knew he loved you, hell everybody knew.

well everybody who wasn’t the public.

jack didnt hide the fact he was actively going in and out of relationships or getting ready to commit.

he loved the attention he would get from women wanting to get under your skin, even if they didnt know you, they wanted you to know jack was cheating on you and he loved the adrenaline it gave him, hell if it was up to him he would date you in an one way open relationship, he could fuck whoever while your the house wife of the decade.

jack pulled up to the hotel and went in to find a not with your handwriting on the island that said

“im going treat myself, i went to get my hair done, nails done, and i might go to hang out at a club or something. i dont know if you’re going to be back before me so i wrote this. love you lots see you later.”

jack sighed knowing you probably took his card and there would be a lot less money from before.

jack called you and it went straight to voicemail, he went to text you and seen you were ok dnd, he texted you and pressed noti anyway.

stinka💕- call me back love

you huffed and looked at the message and seen jacks name, you were getting your toes done so your hands were free and you called him back.

“yes babe?”

“did you take my cards?”

“yea, of course.”

“you didnt even ask me what the fuck.”

“jack baby, i just wanted to have time to myself, all i did was get my nails done so far, i can cancel everything else if its that big of a deal.”

“its fine i just..never mind, have a good day my girl, enjoy yourself.”

“thank you jack.”

you finished your nails and went to the store to grab some snacks for while you get your hair done.

while you were in the store a man with freeform’s approached you

“hey ma’am you mind if i pay for your things?”

“uhm thanks but you dont have to really!”

“please?”

“yes sure, thanks so much.”

“no problem.”

the man paid and as you were walking out he stopped you again.

“hey uhm, i was wondering.. can i have your number.”

“yes sure.”

the man quickly took out his phone and saved his number as ‘Warren’

you took your phone back and headed out the store walking to your car getting ready for the appointment.

you started driving and jack called you.

you answered the phone through the car screen not wanting to pick up your phone.

“yes jack? im driving, cant really talk.”

“why were you at the store so long? you ok?”

“yes im fine this dude asked yo pay for my things thats all.”

“did you let him?”

“yes why wouldn’t i?”

“man what the fuck? your out with my card and letting another man buy your shit? i bet he was just trying to get your number.”

“her put his number in my phone, im probably just going to be his friend dont want to lead him on.”

jack didnt say another word, he just hung up and your music started blasting.

you knew the phone didn’t disconnect because jack let out a puff before hanging up.

once you were done with all your appointments and having your day out you went back to the hotel with a few shopping bags hanging on your arm as you sucked your strawberry smoothie.

you dropped your bags off on the island and went to the bedroom ready to show off your hair and nails and make it up to jack.

when you walked in jack was making out with another girl who simply smiled at you before rubbing jack through his pants.

usually you had the mindset “its almost never the secret girls fault, if she didn’t know. if she did, beat that hoe ass.”

and thats what you did.

you set your smoothie down acting calm and went to the bathroom.

jack not knowing what you were going to do, he continued wanting to get under your skin.

you walked out the bathroom with your hair in a bun and immediately ran to punch the girl in the face.

she tried her hardest to fight back while you just were beating on her.

jack let you get your anger out on her so it wouldn’t be as bad on him but after about forty seconds he pulled you off, she girl not wanting to fight back.

jack told the girl get out while holding you to his chest.

“what no! you love me! you told me that jack!!”

“ok i lied, get out. i have to take care of my little princess.”

“fine.” she tried to put her clothes on but you picked up her shirt and got out of jacks grip, she ran after you for her shirt and you threw it out the door.

“fetch.”

the girl groaned and put her shirt on in the hall and waited for jack to bring her phone ect out.

jack placed it into your hands to give to her and you threw her things on the ground.

you slammed the door and all your anger now went towards jack.

you started walking up to him and were about to punch his face but he caught your arm.

you couldn’t help but get so mad to the point you cried, you were sick of getting treated like this, you were sick of getting humiliated, sick of jack saying “i loved you” to three different people other then you in one day.

jack pulled you to his chest and let you cling to his while you let it all out.

jack led you to the bedroom as you stopped crying.

“i love you baby..”

“no you dont.”

“if i didn’t i wouldn’t be with you, i love you.. just need time to express it and get ready to commit because i only want you.”

“jack i cant do this, im getting a plane ticket home for tomorrow, im not moving out but ill be in the guest room, until you can prove to me that you love me and stop bring all these women in your life. i cant, i love you but i cant.”

you started packing your things while jack couldn’t help but watch and cry.

he did love you.

but he loved to many other people to commit to you.

you left the room not sure where else to go except urbans room.

urban let you in with warm hugs and let you stay in the main room while he took the sofa.

you flew back the next day and jack wouldn’t stop texting you.

stinka💕- text me when you get home love, have a safe flight.

stinka💕- its been 4 hours, i know your home call me please.

stinka💕- mamas, i know you’re extremely upset with me and so exhausted because of everything i’ve put you through this year, but i love you. even if i cant show it right now, ma i love you. you know i do, i’ll be better for you i promise i will but i need you to call me so i know your safe, or text me even just a period. something please i need to know your okay. i know i messed up but i need you.

you- im fine jackman.

you turned your phone on dnd and laid down and started to watch childhood shows.

there was a knock at the front door, you took the blanket off yourself and went up to look out the window.

there was no one but flowers on the floor.

you huffed and went to get the flowers already knowing who sent them.

you put the flowers in a empty vase and read the note.

“y/n, i love you so much you dont even know. im so sorry for all the pain i’ve caused you, i just want you to forgive me. i’ll change my ways all the way, i want you to be happy and i haven’t been making you happy its my fault, instead of talking things out with you i go see other women and leave you alone to sleep by yourself, i’ll see you soon though my love♥️”

you kissed the note and brought it to your bedroom and put it on your nightstand.

you took your phone off dnd and called jack.

jack answered on the first ring and you immediately heard a sniffle when he answered.

“jack baby are you crying?”

“no.”

“jack baby face time me.”

jack pressed the face time button after wiping his face trying to look as presentable as possible.

you answered and could immediately tell he had been crying.

“jack babe, dont cry. i love you so much you’re stuck with me. you just have to stop acting the way you are, its hurting me really bad and its pushing me from you.”

“i promise to stop, mamas i need you..”

“ok babe, its not very smart for me to fly back out right now because i just left so maybe in like a week ill come back.”

“what no, come back tomorrow im getting your ticket right now.”

“jack-“

“i already brought it, you’re coming.”

“alright babe..”

“no ones going to get in the way of us anymore, we’re together forever. i love you.”

“forever and always?”

“forever and always, but you need some rest, goodnight my love the flights for 7:30.”

“ok goodnight jackie.”

jack hung up and cuddled with his pillow wishing it was you.

#Spotify #jack harlow x reader #jack harlow #jack harlow fanfic #jack harlow x you #jack harlow x black reader #jack harlow imagine #jack harlow angst

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marymary-diva17 · 2 months

Text

He your son you idiot (6)

The saying the apple does not fall from the tree, and you are your father son had deeper meaning long ago. It seems like those phases were either still there but no longer the same, as the one child who was labeled a “bad child” had become their own person. Far from the image and reputation everyone else had placed on them, based on events that were out of their control.

Loak “ …….” Loak had woken up early and went for a walk before breakfast will be served, you had offered to come with him but it seems like he need time alone for a bit.

????? " hey kid you are out here early" lo'ak had turned his head a bit and saw Jake standing there.

lo'ak " hello sir"

Jake " so what are you doing out here already"

lo'ak " I woke up early and decided to go for a walk, mama had volunteered to come with me but I said I was good"

Jake " oh that good so we get some father and son time"

lo'ak " sure until anyone else shows up"

Jake " so what are you into these days seeing how much you have changed, and it been a long time since we seen each other"

lo'ak " wel I'm still into the same hobbies I was in before I left home, but I have tried out some sports meantioned from dinner and some school actives as well"

Jake " amazing"

lo'ak " I have done some actives with my friends from school and other with grandpa"

Jake " that great you are keeping social while being away from home"

lo'ak " yeah mama said it will be good if I made some friends when, I was at my school and it worked perfectly"

Jake " that is your mama has she meet them"

lo'ak " yes she has meant them they think she a cool mom"

Jake " so how was living at home I mean your mama home"

lo'ak " living at home is good she had some of my stuff waiting there for me, so that made coming back good and loved"

Jake " we are sorry we weren't there if we knew ...."

lo'ak " it okay you were busy with your lives and getting on this trip"

Jake " yeah busy but I think this trip will help bring our family closer once again"

lo'ak " yes it will be good"

???? " good morning you two" the father and son pair had soon looked back to see you standing there. You had seem to take a picture of them.

lo'ak " hey mama"

y/n " hey kiddo I had saw you both over here and thought it was good photo opportunity, as I have been taking pictures of everything else"

y/n " when I look at this pictures there still some similarities between the both of you, along with differences as well"

Jake " oh yes those old family photos of our boy and he looked so much like me"

y/n " yes but it seems like lo'ak it growing into his own person, and that makes me so proud"

lo'ak " I do my best"

y/n " oh yes your grandafather said he will be calling he will love to speak, with all his grandchildren"

tuk " wait grandpa is calling when when"

y/n " hello baby girl and it good to see you are hyper already"

tuk " yes mama so when is grandpa calling"

y/n " he said sometime this afternoon when we dock at first stop"

tuk " yeah grandpa is calling I can tell him about our days so far, and what I learn in school"

neteyam " so we hear grandpa is calling from tuk cheers and her dance"

kiri " it woul be good to speak with grandfather"

neytiri " yes it always good to speak with grandparents even, your grandmother will be calling as well we can do a group call'

y/n " yes that's sounds like a good idea"

Jake " well we can talk more about it later on maybe during breakfast or after"

tuk " come on lo'ak you can sit by me"

lo'ak " sure anything for you tuk tuk" the kids had wonder off leaving their parents standing there, looking at each other as the cruise ship sailed on the water.

y/n " it warms my heart and makes me happy to see the children getting along, after so long apart"

neytiri " yes it good we are a big happy family again after being away, with our lives"

Jake " you know we can be a big happy family again at home maybe, you and lo'ak can move home for some time and everything can be good again"

y/n " we can speak more about that later Jake some words had been said, painful ones that will not be easy to fix right away but that can be dealt with later the kids wiat for us"

Jake & neytiri " yes" you had walked away of them and soon had been followed by neytiri. As Jake looked at an old photo of him and lo'ak where had, the time gone for the father and son pair. When did Jake truly lost the last image that he had of his son, and did he still have his son after all that had happened.

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justabigassnerd · 2 years

Text

Hangman Junior

Pairing - Jake 'Hangman' Seresin x daughter!reader

Word count - 2,212

Warnings - swearing, angst (it's me, what do you expect?), mentions of death, alcohol, mentions of Hangman having shitty parents

Summary - Before training begins for the uranium mission, Dagger Squad meets Hangman's teenage daughter. And she's a carbon copy of her father

A/N - another request lads! This was a fun one to explore and write! We all know I'm a sucker for Hangman so anything I get to write for him is fun! I'll stop rambling now but as per y'all, please send in requests, feedback and enjoy!!!

When those called back to Top Gun walked through the doors of the Hard Deck and saw Hangman leant against the pool table, chatting with Coyote their hearts sank slightly. Those who trained with Hangman knew how he flew and how he’d leave his wingmen behind in a heartbeat. Those who hadn’t just knew of his reputation to leave people behind but also that he’s one of the only naval aviators on active duty with a confirmed air-to-air kill which earned him a slither of their respect.

What all those naval aviators didn’t know, except for Coyote, was that Jake Seresin had a teenage daughter who was relying on him to come home every time he went away. He knew it was selfish of him, to leave others behind knowing they had loved ones too, but he needed to make it back to you every time because you had no other family.

He had always had a rocky relationship with his parents growing up, feeling pressured to be the ‘perfect’ son who would take over the family ranch when the Navy had always been his dream. He ended up getting a high school girlfriend pregnant halfway through their senior year which really tipped his parents over the edge. He was forced to move out and found a cheap apartment he could rent with his girlfriend so they could live somewhat comfortably until the baby was born. The day his daughter was born was the best day of his life, miles high above days like graduating from the academy or coming first in his class at Top Gun. However, one day, not long before Jake was due to head out to the naval academy for his basic training. He woke up to find his girlfriend gone, leaving behind nothing more than a note stating that she was sorry, that she didn’t want that kind of life and had left you in his care ever since.

“How’s the kid, Hangman?” Coyote asked as the two played pool and Hangman’s eyes flicked up to where the rest of the team were conversing amongst themselves, not listening to what Coyote said.

“She’s doing good. You can come over tomorrow if you want. I’m sure she’d be thrilled to see her favourite uncle is also in town.” Hangman says with a smirk as Coyote rolls his eyes jokingly. Since Hangman and Coyote had become friends when you were little, you had taken to calling Coyote your ‘Uncle Javy’ and it simply never dropped as you grew into your teens.

“I’m her only uncle she better be happy to see me.” Coyote responds, his tone teasing as he takes his next shot at the pool table. Coyote would never admit it to anyone, but he secretly loved that you considered him an uncle. It meant he was a trusted person in both your and Hangman’s lives. It also somewhat reassured Jake that there would be someone to look out for you if something were to happen to him. Just as Hangman went to reply to his friend, he caught a glimpse of a familiar Hawaiian shirt which brought a grin to his face.

“Bradshaw. As I live and breathe.” He calls out to the taller pilot, straightening up from where he’d been lining up his next shot.

“Hangman. You look… good.” Rooster replies, barely glancing Hangman’s way as he speaks. The two had a rivalry when they went through Top Gun together. Both were competitors for the top spot but had vastly different flying styles. Rooster was careful, he stuck to the book and would overthink what he was doing. Hangman was fast and would always strike first and ask questions later.

“I am good, Rooster. I am very good. In fact, I am too good to be true.” Hangman gloats as he approaches his rival. The two bicker back and forth before Jake decides to get himself another beer from the bar. He returns to the group of aviators and goes back to talking with Coyote. Eventually, the scattered groups all come together to ask if anyone knows who’s going to be training them for the missions considering every pilot who has been called back is the best of the best. They debated for a while before Coyote leaned close to Hangman’s ear.

“What’s y/n doing here?” He asks, making Hangman immediately scan the bar before he saw you approaching with a cheeky smile on your face. Hangman clenched his jaw slightly and moved to meet you in the middle.

“y/n, what are you doing here?” Hangman asked the second he reached you, trying not to let his annoyance show.

“Hello to you too, dad.” You say, rolling your eyes. Behind the two of you, the naval aviators heard you and started whispering amongst themselves, confused as to what the hell was going on.

“You can’t be in a bar. You’re too young.” Hangman scolds, staring down at you with a raised eyebrow.

“I can be in this bar. Penny said so.” You retort, folding your arms across your chest as you remember the day Penny first found out that Jake was a single father and said you were welcome to come in the bar as long as you stuck with your dad and didn’t cause trouble.

“You’re a pain in my ass. You know that, right?” Hangman laughs as he shakes his head.

“Yet you still love me.” You grin, moving to walk past your dad when you notice Coyote.

“That I do.” He mutters to himself when you reach Coyote, allowing him to pull you into a hug as your dad watches on with a soft smile before moving to join the two of you.

“Hey y/n/n.” Coyote greets you happily as he releases you from the hug.

“Hi, Uncle Javy.” You reply with a smile as you step back.

“Dad? Uncle Javy? Is anyone going to explain this to us?” You turn around to see a man with a moustache in a Hawaiian shirt glancing between the three of you with a confused expression.

“Was the fact I’m calling him dad not obvious enough for you, Rooster?” You retort, watching Rooster’s face shift to a face of shock while your dad bites back a laugh beside you.

“How did you-”

“Dad could never stop talking about you when the two of you were in Top Gun. He was even talking about the chances of seeing you before he left the house earlier. It’s also easy to put a face to the name when dad’s mentioned things like you always wearing Hawaiian shirts.” You shrug after finishing your explanation. You hear Coyote snigger beside you which makes you smile.

“Oh, she’s definitely Hangman’s kid.” You look over at the brown-haired woman who said that, and you nod proudly.

“That I am.” You say as your dad wraps an arm around your shoulders and tugs you into his side.

“And with that, let’s stop bothering my kid.” Hangman says, a glimmer of protectiveness rising within him. He glances between his new teammates and sees that they’re itching to ask questions.

“y/n, why don’t you head on home?” He asks you, looking down at you.

“No. I’m happy to hang out here. It’s kind of depressing sitting alone in an empty house.” You say, making Hangman’s face soften. The team watched curiously, having never seen any softness come from this man before. They could only assume this was Jake Seresin and not Hangman. He was your dad before he was Hangman so his priorities would always be you.

“Okay fine. But you’re to always stay in mine or Javy’s line of sight. Got it?” He says, a slight sternness sneaking into his tone.

“You got it, dad.” You reply, earning a nod from your dad as he returns to his pool game while you find somewhere nearby to sit. You were quickly approached by some of your dads’ new teammates, all gagging to know more about you and your dad. You listened to all their questions and gave them answers. You had to admit that these new teammates were nice, and they seemed like people you could trust to make sure your dad came home during this secret mission. Even Rooster seemed like a nice enough guy despite your dad doing nothing but bitch about him when they went through Top Gun. You enjoyed getting to know his teammates, and they could keep up with your sass quite easily, with Phoenix saying you were a nicer version of Hangman.

“I’m calling it now. y/n is now a part of our team from here on out.” Fanboy says, slinging an arm around your shoulder and jostling you as you laugh.

“Guys, can you promise me something?” You say once the laughter dies down. The mood suddenly becoming serious at your words.

“What is it?” Bob asks, placing his cup down on the table as all eyes are on you. You glance over at where your dad and Javy are still playing pool, chatting to each other happily.

“Promise me that you’ll make sure my dad comes home. Uncle Javy too. They’re the only family I have, and I can’t lose them.” You admit, eyes lowering to stare at the floor of the Hard Deck. The naval aviators exchange looks with each other. They had all only known Hangman, the cocky naval aviator who would ditch his wingmen in a heartbeat and they weren’t keen on that. But now they had met you and discovered a new side of him that they had never seen before, and they were all willing to make this work with him for your sake. But they also knew they couldn’t make a promise like that. With a mission so secret that they hadn’t even been given the brief for yet was only flashing warning signs to them about how dangerous this mission could be.

“We promise we’ll do our best to bring them home to you.” Rooster was the first to speak up. He knew the pain of losing a parent and he’d be damned if he let you go through the same thing. He was more than willing to put his rivalry with Hangman to the side for you. He could only hope that Hangman would extend the same courtesy to him. You shifted your gaze to Rooster as he spoke, a small appreciative smile on your face at his words. You knew it was a big ask but you decided it was worth the risk.

“Thank you, Rooster. You know, you’re not as bad as dad made you out to be.” You say, your smile growing when Rooster rolls his eyes at your words.

“And you’re not as bad as I thought you’d be Hangman junior.” He replies, making you scoff jokingly, easing the tension that had just been created. You continue to chat with the team, laughing as your dad, Javy and Payback chucked some random guy out of the bar when the bell rang, even joining in when Rooster began to play ‘Great Balls of Fire’. As it began to get later, your dad approached where you were sitting and rested a hand on your shoulder.

“Come on y/n/n. We should think about heading home. You’ve got school and I’ve got an early start tomorrow.” Your dad says, making you groan but still get to your feet, bidding everyone goodbye before following your dad out to his truck.

“I like your team. They seem nice.” You say with a smile as you get settled in your seat, plugging in your seatbelt.

“Even Bradshaw?” Jake replies with a raised eyebrow as he starts the engine.

“Yes, even Rooster. They’re much nicer than your last team. Those guys were dickheads.”

“Hey, what have I been saying about language?” You roll your eyes at the light scolding, uttering a quiet and insincere apology as you settle back in your seat as you begin the journey back to your house.

Back in the Hard Deck, the team had watched both you and Hangman leave the bar and the second they saw the two of you leave their line of sight they fell into discussions once more about how they couldn’t believe Hangman had a daughter, except Coyote who just watched and laughed.

“Guess we’re all watching out for Hangman on this mission then, huh?” Payback says, leaning back in his chair as he sips from his beer bottle.

“For the kid's sake.” Rooster swoops in quickly, drawing the line about why they were doing this in the first place.

“Oh, sure Rooster. I bet this has nothing to do with the obvious crush you have on Hangman.” Coyote teases, making Rooster’s face flush deep red as he scrambles to deny the blatantly obvious fact that was just stated as everyone laughs.

None of the team could have anticipated that they were going to end today knowing that Hangman is a father and that the whole team would now go to the ends of the earth to protect his daughter despite her being a carbon copy of her dad. All they could do now was accept the fact and do what they could to watch out for the Seresin father and daughter duo.

#justabigassnerd #justabigassnerd writes #top gun #top gun maverick #top gun fic #hangman top gun #hangman x reader #jake seresin x reader #jake seresin #hangman x daughter!reader #jake seresin x daughter!reader #jake 'hangman' seresin x reader #jake 'hangman' seresin #jake 'hangman' seresin x daughter!reader #x daughter!reader

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skzimagines · 2 months

Text

Dearest Desires

Part 23

Genre: | Polyamory!relationship |

︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿

"Well now what?" Minho asks.

I wake up the next day, very early in the morning to an empty bed, I sit up and stretch, looking around the room, not seeing anyone. That's until I hear a light shuffle coming from the patio. I look outside and see Hyunjin sitting at the patio table with his drawing book and pencils, next to that a cup of coffee. Seeing his like this reminds me of why I fell in love with him in the first place. I'm taken out of my thoughts by the sound of the hotel room door closing. I look over and see Minho walking in with bags and drinks. "I got us breakfast!" He says happily. I give him a small smile and watch as he gets plates out and makes up all of the food for us. "Is he okay?" I ask, gesturing toward Jinnie. "I think so? He woke up and went straight out there, he hasn't said much." He replies. I get out of bed and slide on one of Hyunjin's shirts. I walk over to the kitchen and take a sip from one of the drinks Minho has brought for us. I grab another to bring to Hyunjin. I walk around to the other side of the counter where Minho stands, getting things ready and plant a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you" I say with a smile. He plants a loving kiss to the top of head and lets out a 'hum'.

I make my way to the patio, sliding the glass door open and then shutting it behind me. "Good morning fiance." I smile, placing his cup on the table next to him. He mumbles out a quick thank you while focusing on his drawing. "You guys are up early." I state. “Had a lot on my mind…” he says, not taking his eyes off his drawing. “Are you okay?” I ask, running my hand up his arm gently. He finally puts his pencil down and looks at me. “Let’s get married..” he says. I let out a small chuckle. “We are!” I say. “No.. let’s get married tomorrow.” He states. I look at him confused. “Shouldn’t we plan it? I mean… it’s a big step.” I say. “What do we have to lose?” He asks. “I’ve already talked to Minho. We both think it’s a perfect idea.” He states. I look through the window of the door, spotting Minho and giving his the death glare, he chuckles knowing that I found out he lied to me. “Is he okay with it?” I ask. “He’s going to be apart of it.” Hyunjin states. “Oh! So is he going to be your best man or?”

“No… we’re all getting married y/n.” He says looking into my eyes. He’s looking for a reaction. “Like.. all three of us? Is that even…” I begin, but he cuts me off. “It is a thing.. I called around this morning and I found a guy who will elope us all.” He says. “Are you sure about this?” I ask. Thinking back to all of the problems that arose before. “I’ve never been so sure about something in my entire life.” He grabs my hand in his. “What does Minho think?” I ask quietly.

“I think… I love you, and I love Hyunjin. And I don’t want to picture a life without either of you ever again.” Minho says, standing behind me. I turn around to look at him, there’s tears welling in his eyes. “Don’t cry Lee Minho… you’ll make me cry!” I say with a pout, holding back tears myself. I hold out my arms to him and he engulfs me into a huge hug.

“One thing though.” Hyunjin says. “We have to tell everyone.”

A few hours after our breakfast and marriage talk, Chan texted and told us to meet them in the lobby in an hour to go out for lunch all together.

“I’m going to take a shower, I’ll be right back.” I tell Hyunjin, who’s currently relaxing on the bed. “Okay, I love you.” He says, sending a kiss from across the room. I pretend to catch it with my hand with a smile before heading to the bathroom.

As I reach the door I hear the shower already running. Assuming it’s Minho, I slowly turn the knob and make my way in. I set my things on the counter before taking my clothes off.

I make my way over to the shower and slowly pull the curtain back to reveal a perfectly sculpted, head thrown back, eyes shut under the water, Minho. “Can I come in?” I ask softly, failing at trying not to scare him. “Jesus baby.. you scared me.” He says with a jump while holding his hand to his heart. I mumble out a quick sorry. “Of course you can.” He pulls the curtain and holds it open as I step into the tub.

I step in and he lets go of the curtain. I suddenly feel his arms wrap around my waist from behind. He lays gentle kisses along my shoulder. "You're so beautiful." He whispers. I lean into his touch, closing my eyes. He plants a kiss behind my ear before pulling away to grab the shower hose, running it over my head, soaking my hair. He carefully runs his hands through it, softly pulling out the knots. He then grabs the shampoo bottle, squirting some into his hand and lathering it into my scalp. He massages it in slowly. "In less than twenty four hours I get to finally call you my wife." He says in a soft tone, once again planting a kiss to my shoulder. He rinses out the shampoo and does the same all over again with conditioner. Once he's done with my hair he squirts body wash onto his hand, rubbing his palms together before rubbing my shoulders with it. He makes his way down my arms and around my neck, before softly going over my breasts. He takes each nipple between his fingers, rubbing them gently. They harden at his touch. A soft moan leaves my lips. He slides his hands down my sides before lathering the soap across my stomach. "Everything about you is so perfect." He continues down, cupping my heat in his right hand. "Wouldn't change a thing about you." He whispers. My body jerks as he begins to rub small circles against my sensitive nub. He holds me still by wrapping his left arm around my torso. He continues to rub at my bundle of nerves, bringing me to the brink of my high.... that's until there's a knock at the door.

"Are you guys ready?!" We hear Jisung yell from the other side of the door. Minho lets out an aggravated grunt before pulling his hand away, causing a whimper to escape my lips. "We'll finish this later baby." He says with a sweet smile as I turn around to face him and he plants a loving kiss to my lips.

We reach the restaurant that Chan has reserved a table for us at. We all gather our things from the van and head inside. No one knows what has happened between the three of us yet, but I can take a guess that Jisung has an idea considering he caught Minho and I in the bathroom together. Thankfully he knows how to keep a secret, being Minho's best friend and all.

We make our way to the table and all sit around it, Minho on my left and Hyunjin on my right. We all take about a half hour to order what we want. Everyone's talking amongst themselves. We're sat at the back of the restaurant, in a private room. Again, the thought of how much money Chan has to afford this, blows my mind. My mind then drifts to the fact that we're about to confess our three way marriage to everyone at the table tonight. Here everything has been going sos perfectly, Hyunjin has gotten the help he's needed, Minho has taken the time he's needed to pull his brain together, I have figured out my life as far as the two of them go... or at least that was up until I laid eye's on Minho again. I don't want anyone to think we're making a mistake. "Are you okay?" Hyunjin asks, taking me out of my thoughts. I give him a small smile and nod. He knows me too well by now to know that I'm lying. But he doesn't say anything, he just grabs my hand in his, bringing it to his lap and rubbing circles on the top of it with his thumb.

"Dessert anyone?" The waitress asks, smiling toward Minho. I notice it right away. A hint of jealousy forming in my chest. He gives her a polite smile before looking to everyone around the table for an answer. Chan lists off a few items from the menu. She writes them down before ripping off the end of the paper, folding it a little and handing it to Minho before walking away. Everyone cheers at him, cracking jokes and laughing. Minho opens the paper, only to reveal her phone number written with a small heart at the end. "You totally need to call her tonight." Changbin says. "You'd be dumb not to." Seungmin agrees with a laugh. "I think I'll be okay." Minho chuckles, crumbling up the paper and throwing it to the middle of the table where we've pilled all of our dirty plates and trash. He then turns to me with a smile and wraps his arm around my shoulder. Hyunjin and I's eyes go wide, and give him a look as if we're asking him 'What are you doing?' with our eyes. This is not how we planned this. The plan was to wait until after dessert. "What's going on?" I hear Ash ask from across the table. I'm to scared to look at anyone, so I keep my eyes on Minho. "We have something we need to tell you guys." Minho starts. "Minho.. this isn't how we were goi..." Hyunjin starts, but Minho quickly cuts him off. "We did a lot of talking last night, and the three of us have come to the conclusion that..." He looks at me, his eyes are a deep brown. Taking me into the world behind them before continuing his rant. "That, life wouldn't be the same if we weren't all in the picture. That, this summer has taught us three more than our entire lives have taught us. I can't imagine living without this girl, and as much as we have gotten into it this summer, I can't imagine living without him either. They wanted to wait until after dessert to tell you guys. I know I should have waited.. and I'm sorry if I ruined dinner, but I just couldn't hold it in anymore." He finishes.

The entire room is silent. You could hear a needle hit the floor if I had one to drop right now. "You all are getting married?" Ash asks, pointing to the three of us. The three of us nod in unison. "That's where you were all night?" Changbin asks Minho, to which Minho nods. "Is that even possible?" Chan asks. "Hyun already called a place that will do it." I say. Ash gives me a small smile from across the table. I don't know whether it's disappointed one, or one of reassurance. "So when is all of this happening?" Chan asks. "Tomorrow." Hyunjin states, as if it's the simplest thing he's ever said. Chan nods "Tomorrow..." It's quiet for what seems like an eternity, but really only a few seconds.

"So we should start planning!" Chan says in excitement.

It feels like a boulder has been lifted off of my shoulders when everyone agrees and cheers for us. Ash and Felix agree to go dress shopping with me, Chan, Minho and Hyunjin agree to pick and plan the place and the rest agree to pick up decorations and such.

"And I will be paying for all of it." I hear a voice boom from behind me. I turn around in my chair and see my dad standing behind me with a huge smile plastered on his cheeks. "Dad!" I say excitedly, before standing up and engulfing him into a huge hug. "How? When did you get here?" I ask. "Well, Hyunjin called early this morning and we had a very long conversation, then Minho and I talked for a while. And we all made a plan for me to be here. Their parents are flying in tomorrow." He says. "That's great! Let's get back to the hotel and get to planning!" Chan says excitedly. "Chan, we have desert coming." Han says with a chuckle. "Oh, yeah."

︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿

To be continued…

Tag list: @greysweaters-blog @mimihwang248 @armystay89 @berryberrytan @multeciahucho @poetrycassie @nobody3210 @straykids5star @mabysblog @yaorzu-blog @elizalabs3 @lyracarvahall @silencionyx @aznstoner

#hyunjin x reader #hwang hyunjin imagine #lee know x reader #lee know imagine #hyunjin smut #lee know smut #bangchan #lee know #hyunjin #han jisung #felix #seungmin #jeongin #i.n #stray kids smut #stray kids imagine #stray kids

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stupendousfoxthing · 2 months

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So there’s something that has been bothering me for a little bit and it might be because I see alot of jokers and antis saying it but why do you think Jk is never as loud about Tae the way tae is loud about him? I know they are two different people who do things differently but the thing is, Jk can be loud about others when he wants to be but it just seems like when it comes to Tae, he just hardly ever feels the need to be. I’m thinking about him posting a picture of Tae for his birthday back in 2021 where he cropped himself out and Tae was the one who posted the full picture and later mentioned the trip. Why did he feel the need to crop himself out only for Tae to post the full pic? Jk also mentioned going Sky diving abroad but didn’t mention Tae at all and we only found out it probably happened in Hawaii thanks to Tae. I still remember how jokers dragged Tae because after the dream premiere Jk went live and spoke about the premiere but didn’t even mention the fact that he attended it with Tae even though we all knew they were there together but Tae woke up the next morning and mentioned Jk even though his Live was just about 3 minutes long. These things bother me a little bit because I know that Jk can be loud about people when he wants to be I mean he took a trip with Jimin back in 2017 and made a whole video about it but when RM asked him to make one of Tae too, he didn’t. We also saw how supportive he was of Jimin’s album in chapter two even though he was silent about tae’s but we all just had to be ok with the fact that he helped tae in private even though he does that for pretty much all the members or how he made that “thirst trap” birthday video for Jimin on his birthday but cropped himself out of a picture with Tae. He could also openly tell everyone that his mom made seaweed soup because it was Jimin’s birthday and all that so it’s not that he naturally just doesn’t show much because we know he is capable of showing off when he wants to but it just seems like he never wants to when it comes to Tae and Tae keeps being called a liar and worse because he is the only one saying things.

Shouldn’t things be more mutual? Tae says all these things but when Jk comes forth to speak about them he downplays them and yes maybe this is me letting jokers get into my head but I can’t help but wonder at this point. Jimin talks about how he is boxing with Jungkook and tell tae to try it too and Tae says he learnt boxing from Jk and Jk says no he didn’t learn it, it was just fun for him. Tae says he used to share a room with Jungkook in their old dorm and Jk makes sure to add that there was a divider in the room which separated the spaces, tae starts a Live in Jk’s house and immediately he leaves Jk comes back on Live to explain that he was bored at home alone and just texted the gc to ask who wanted to come and Hobi and Tae showed up. Why did he feel the need to explain this like he didn’t want people to get the wrong idea? He spent time actively promoting Jimin and said nothing about Tae’s album until much later and he didn’t bother to give any explanation (he shouldn’t) but when he liked Jimin’s CTT tiktok video months after it was posted, he liked it and then came back an hour later to explain that he just saw it, why? Even when Tae mentioned that he had recorded at Jk’s house, Jk answers a question and said how Tae “suddenly” contacted him to record at his place, but he had no issues being on insta stories answering questions about holding jimin even if people are jealous or talking about going to hug jimin in his room. I think the loudest Jk has ever been about Tae is when he went on for about 30 seconds talking about how handsome tae is but then again, who doesn’t call tae handsome? I’m probably just letting the haters get into my head alot but I cannot help it because when you see things like this too much it makes you wonder. What was up with him also constantly hanging out with Tae and then going back home to start Lives like he wanted to make sure everyone knew he was back at his own place after seeing him out with tae and did he also have to mention that he was left alone at a ski resort? Again just another instance of him unintentionally giving jokers a reason to drag taekook and Tae. I cannot help but feel sad about these things because I hate that Tae gets called a liar and I cannot even trust that if Jk actually ever gets to talk about this Hawaii trip jokers wouldn’t get more reasons to call tae names because Jk would definitely say something that takes away how sweet the whole thing is or that jokers can twist to drag tae.

It feels like Tae is so eager to show off Jk while Jk is so eager to take away the idea that himself and tae are more than friends. Liking a taekook flirty edit doesn’t cut it for me and neither does following a taekook fan artist. People could say he liked the edit cuz he thought it was funny and he followed the artist because the person draws pictures of him. I don’t know but it just gets a little exhausting whenever I try to genuinely enjoy taekook moments but the haters are so loud. I cannot even enjoy a Taekook moment that comes from tae anymore because I just know what the haters are going to say and it doesn’t help that the hate isn’t only coming from jokers but also from so called ot7s as well as solos. I saw a post on twitter with more than 50k likes from a Jk focused account of a list that they made of Jk’s fixations and Jimin was one of them, went through the quotes and saw so many people agreeing that Jimin was indeed one of Jk’s fixations because of how much they saw him talk about Jimin in the solo era. Taekook spent most of their time together in chapter two and Tae speaks about Jk alot so if a list was made like that for Tae, i have no doubt that Jk will be in Tae’s list but no one outside of taekookers would think of putting Tae in a list like that for Jk. So it’s like, Tae fixates on Jungkook, Jungkook fixates on Jimin and Jimin fixates on Yoongi/ Hobi lol. It just gets me so mad.

Sorry for the rant.

I know they are two different people who do things differently

There's your answer right there at the beginning of your essay. They don't owe us anything, and it they are in a relationship we're not actually supposed to know about it. They can have very different approaches to how they deal with their feelings about this, and that's fine. It's none of our business and it's not our place to criticize them for not doing enough for *us*.

We also saw how supportive he was of Jimin’s album in chapter two even though he was silent about tae’s but we all just had to be ok with the fact that he helped tae in private even though he does that for pretty much all the members

What are you talking about. I don't vibe with people who keep score like this, and I honestly don't think being a Taekooker is for you. I don't have anything else to say about this. If you feel this way, you don't have to be here. I am nowhere near this headspace and I don't understand it at all. So I'm going to leave it at that because I'm trying to be nice.

#asks #taekook

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d1xonss · 10 months

Text

Desert Rose

Chapter 14 ~ Thank you

✧ Pairing : Daryl Dixon x Rose

✧ Era : Season 2

✧ Word Count : 3.7k

In this chapter ~ Rose's boredom grows to be unbearable as she is advised to lay in bed and rest by the older man Hershel. However, it doesn't last as long as she assumes when she receives quite the unexpected present, and from the quiet archer no less.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ ROSE POV *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I woke up the next morning with a lingering sting still present near my stomach, sore to the touch. But I quickly reminded myself that I had dealt with much worse in the past. This surely wasn't the first time I've been shot; being a cop clearly had its ups and downs. But all I wanted was to finally get up and out of this bed to help look for Sophia, however the pain in my side was surely preventing that much to my dismay.

Rick kept the promise he made and came in early this morning to check on me, and after reassuring him about fifty times that I was okay, he left to plan another search for Sophia. I knew in the back of my mind that he probably felt that he was to blame for what happened to me, so now he was trying to make up for it in every possible way. But in all honesty, it was just my dumbass standing too close to the animal. Still, I would much rather be in here rather than Carl who only stood inches away from the whole scene.

A sudden knock came from the other side of the door, snapping me out of my thoughts once it reached my ears.

"Come in." I called out softly.

The door opened, seeing Hershel pop his head in with a small smile, "Good morning. I just wanted to check a few things and give you these." he said holding up what looked like painkillers.

I smiled gratefully and took them, "Thank you."

He nodded before moving around to the other side of the bed, checking everything under the sun. My middle that was still bandaged up, my pulse to see if it was getting stronger, my head to see if I had a fever, and about five other things I didn't understand. He worked thoroughly and quietly, making sure everything was feeling okay by me before nodding silently to himself.

"Well, it seems like you are doing a lot better. I can go ahead and take this IV out of you now." he said as he carefully moved towards my arm.

"Thank God. Can I finally get out of this bed?" I asked him.

He chuckled a little to himself, "You act as if you've been in this bed for weeks."

I scoffed a little, "Yeah, well that's what it feels like. I am not the type of person to sit still." I replied.

"Well, let's just wait until the painkillers kick in. Your body went through a lot the past few days and you need time to heal. But later in the day if you're feeling up to it you can go outside, but don't do anything too active." he advised, removing the small needle from my arm.

I tried not to uncomfortably squirm as I looked away from the area, "I'm telling you right now, being in this bed all day hurts worse than the actual shot."

I felt him place a small bandage over the spot where it started to bleed, looking back up at him in time to see a thin lipped smile cross his face, "Rick mentioned you were stubborn."

My mouth dropped slightly. What an asshole. But the older man didn't say anything else as he quietly left the room. So, Rick was talking some shit about me behind my back to people that I hardly knew. Awesome.

I sighed and leaned my head back to stare at the ceiling, counting the small specks of paint that made little patterns in different places. This felt like torture. I hated feeling trapped and I was itching to go outside and feel the sun on my skin. Getting some fresh air would be nice and it would also be nice to know actually where the hell I was instead of being briefly told that I was on some farm.

But I found myself just sitting alone in the silence with nothing to do because I forgot to ask Glenn to grab my stuff when he was here last night. The last thing I needed right now was more sleep, and all I really wished for was something to keep myself busy if I wasn't allowed to leave for a while. What I would give right now for my notebook.

I was then pulled out of my small trance once more when another knock came, revealing Daryl as he slowly entered the room. Though I couldn't help but notice he obviously had something hidden behind his back.

"Hey, yer up." he stated while lingering near the door.

"Wow, thanks Captain Obvious." I replied, smiling sarcastically.

He gave me a small glare in return, still just standing by the door shifting uncomfortably like the thing in his hands was weighing him down heavily.

"I don't bite," I said jokingly, "Come over here."

His eyes met with mine again as he nodded small, hesitantly making his way over to me once he knew it was okay, sitting down on the edge of the chair with his hands still behind his back. He looked nervous, so I immediately assumed something was wrong.

"You okay? What are you hiding from me?" I asked to try and lighten the mood.

He cleared his throat, "Well, I uh...I brought ya some stuff." he admitted quietly.

My eyebrows raised in amusement, "More flowers?" I asked.

His cheeks instantly flushed red while he avoided my eyes yet again. I hadn't forgotten the conversation we had before Carl came into the room yesterday, but I didn't want to bring it up again. He seemed to not be completely comfortable talking about it, so I just let it be.

"Nah, some other stuff." he said while pulling something out from behind him. I instantly recognized this as two of the books I took from the CDC, feeling myself smile warmly at the sight.

"I noticed ya didn't have anything in here to keep ya busy while you rest so...yeah." he spoke.

I took them from his hands, "Thank you, that's very sweet of you." I said before putting the books down on the nightstand, right next to the Cherokee rose that now stood tall in a glass of water.

Turning back to face him again, his hands were still behind his back, "You have something else?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.

"Uh yeah...it was something I found when we were lookin through them cars on the highway. I didn't know when to give it to ya, but I figured you'd be bored in here so..." he trailed off.

I waited patiently for him to reveal whatever he had to show me with a smile on my face. I couldn't bring myself to understand why he was so nervous. I thought it was about the sweetest thing in the work he thought to bring me things while I was stuck in here.

He then slowly brought his hands out from behind his back to reveal a real sketchbook. My smile disappeared from my face as I stared at it with wide eyes trying to figure out how he managed to find one. I had been looking for one since the beginning and couldn't seem to find one anywhere because apparently, they're scarce in the apocalypse or something.

I slowly took it from his hands as I examined the cover of it thoroughly, running my hand over the smooth surface. It looked almost brand new.

"I also found these," he said as he handed me a fresh watercolor palette, "I found em in the same car, they must have liked to draw and shit too." he finished while I slowly took the paints from him as well.

I almost couldn't believe the things he sought out just for me, truly at a loss for words. But I could easily tell that my silence was starting to worry him, because he then began to ramble.

"I just uh...thought...you would like em. If ya don't like it, it's okay, I can take it back. Glenn said somethin bout how ya said you were lookin for a new sketchbook or somethin and when I saw it, I just grabbed it in case ya wanted it but-"

I then quickly cut him off and discarded the new things, wrapping my arms around his neck and bringing him into a hug. He was clearly shocked at my actions because he stopped talking completely and his muscles tensed like he had just been burned. But then he soon started to relax after a few long seconds and began to hug me back, placing his hands hesitantly around my waist.

Not letting go of him, I whispered, "Thank you, thank you, thank you." however many times I could. Wanting him to know how much I truly loved it.

Eventually I let go of him after giving him one final squeeze, pulling away to see his face. He was smiling shyly, with his ears turning a bright red as he huffed out an awkward laugh.

I looked back down at the supplies once more to admire them, "I love them Daryl, thank you so much." I spoke gratefully.

He smiled even wider, "No problem." he muttered.

I paused as an idea suddenly came to me, "Well now, since you got this for me you have to tell me the first thing I paint in here."

He sat there for a minute thinking before shrugging as if it was too hard to decide, "I dunno, yer the artist." he smirked.

"Just whatever comes to mind." I replied.

He thought about it again as he rubbed his hands together nervously before an idea came to him, "How bout the house?"

"Yeah," I nodded, "I could do that later when Hershel actually lets me leave this room." I joked.

He chuckled before nodding his head, "Alright, well...I gotta head out and look for Sophia some more, but I wanted to see ya before I left."

"Oh yeah, yeah of course, just be careful out there okay?"

He gave a small smile, "Always am."

Nodding my head, I watched him get up and begin to head towards the door, stopping once I called his name just one last time. "Thank you again, it really means a lot to me." I told him.

He winked back at me before turning to head out of the room, shutting the door quietly behind him. I let out a breath of air I didn't realize I was holding in, flopping back on the bed as my heart raced in my chest. I lifted my left arm up to check and see if I was having a heart attack. I wasn't. It might've just been a certain man making me feel all giddy inside like a goddamn teenager.

But I merely scoffed to myself at the thought, knowing there was absolutely no way he felt the same.

My eyes flew through chapters and chapters of books but nothing was curing the utter boredom that I was feeling inside this stuffy room. I placed the book down with a slam on the bedside table before swinging my legs over the side of the bed at an attempt to stand. Hershel didn't give me the okay, but hours had passed and the painkillers were working, leaving me feeling much better for the most part so fuck it.

Slowly and hesitantly walking outside past the screen door, I tilted my head up and let the sunshine hit my face, it felt nice, refreshing after not being able to get out. My eyes then opened and gazed upon my surroundings, the acres of land, noticing this place was really beautiful. I would have a lot of fun painting this. The ideas only flowing the longer I stood on the porch.

But my attention was quickly drawn to my left after a moment or two, noticing Maggie and Glenn having a quiet conversation together. Their hushed whispers seemed almost harsh, but I couldn't make out what they were saying from where I stood. Though it didn't last long before Maggie started to walk away towards me, with Glenn looking defeated from behind her.

Her expression seemed to brighten when she caught sight of me out and about, a smile forming on her face as she approached. "Hey, you're up! How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Painkillers really work wonders." I replied.

She laughed at that and nodded her head, "Oh I bet. But actually I'm glad I got a chance to see you. I gotta run and finish these chores, but when I'm done do you want to maybe...hangout?" she asked me.

I smiled at her and nodded, "Yeah, yeah I would like that."

She smiled back, "Great, I'll see ya later." she said before walking off towards the barn.

Turning back to look at Glenn, he had a confused and upset look on his face as he followed Maggie's retreating figure with his eyes. His eyebrows were furrowed in concern as he was clearly replaying the conversation over and over again in his mind.

I found myself walking over and taking a seat next to him, nudging his shoulder with mine. "What's wrong?" I asked.

He looked over at me and gave me a small smile before shaking his head, "Nothing."

I narrowed my eyes at him, "Don't lie to me."

He sighed, "Okay...okay. This is what I was going to tell you last night but everyone was there so I couldn't... so you know how Maggie and I went out on that run?"

"No, I think I was still unconscious for that part." I deadpanned.

"Oh right, sorry." he muttered before continuing, "Well, Maggie said that they needed more medical supplies because they were running low, and so she asked me to come into town because Rick recommended I go with her. Anyway, we get there, and everything is going fine, and I pick up something that I needed but she came around the corner and I panicked. So I dropped the thing I actually needed and picked up condoms on accident." he rambled.

I was silent for a few seconds as I stared at him, "Okay, I'm really confused as to where this is going."

"Oh, I'm getting to the weird part don't worry. So, I'm holding the condoms and then she asked me if she was sure, you and I weren't together since I was getting the condoms-"

"Woah, what?" I asked.

"Oh yeah, she asked if we were together because I came to see you when you were still passed out. Anyway I said no, that we were just friends and then all of a sudden, she offered to have sex with me."

I waited for him to say more as he gestured wildly with his hands, but I got nothing in return. "So...did you have sex with her?" I asked him.

"...Yeah," he responded.

"Okay, you got laid. I'm failing to see the problem here." I said.

He sighed, "The problem is, she doesn't actually like me. We just finished talking about it when you came outside."

My lips pulled together in a sympathetic smile as he just hung his head, "Glenn, I'm sorry." I said while wrapping one of my arms around his shoulders, pulling him into a side hug.

He hugged me back tight, squeezing me slightly before I hissed out in pain the minute I felt an excruciating pain in my side. He let go of me immediately and looked at me in shock, "Sorry, shit I'm sorry." he apologized quickly.

I waved him off, "No, you're good." I breathed while gently smoothing my hand over the bandage.

He sighed again and let a few moments of silence pass us before shrugging, "I just don't know what to do."

My eyes glanced back towards his face, seeing how much this was truly affecting him. "...Just give it time hon, I'm sure she'll come around." I assured.

He gave me a small smile and nodded before the conversation ventured off to talk about some other things to get his mind off of Maggie. I hoped they could work it out because I could see how this was slightly hurting him. Even though he didn't know her very well, he still had some feelings for her while she claimed to have none whatsoever.

Although the longer we spoke, the more I could tell he had something else on his mind, something else that was bothering him. I didn't ask though, if he wanted to tell me, he would when he was ready. That is one thing I didn't like to do to anyone. I absolutely hated to pry. If the person truly wanted to tell you, they would when the time was right. All I could do right now for him was listen, seeming to be the one thing he needed from me the most.

Though after a little while we split off as I eventually ventured further away from the house to start working on the painting that Daryl suggested. I walked a little further out towards the tents where everyone was staying at the moment to get a better full view of everything, briefly seeing Lori standing there hanging up some laundry to dry. I smiled at her as I passed, but then stopped myself and backtracked, wanting to properly do something I should've done last night.

"Hey Lori?" I said as I walked back over towards her.

"Yeah?" she responded as she hung up another shirt, clipping it in place.

"I never got a chance to say thank you."

Her brows furrowed, "Thank me? For what?"

"For giving me that blood transfusion," I said simply, "I know it was really important, and...I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you."

She stopped there for a second as her expression softened, before walking over to me and giving me a hug. I almost didn't expect her sudden actions, but smiled a little to myself as I wrapped my arms around her.

"You're welcome honey. I'm so glad I could help you." she said while pulling away. "It's good to see you up and moving already." she pointed out.

"I was going stir crazy in that small ass room." I joked, "But hey, if you see Hershel, you didn't see me out here at all." I finished with a wink.

She nodded as she raised her hand up to zip her lips shut without saying another word. I smiled at her again gratefully before heading back to the perfect spot to start on my painting.

This seemed to be the exact moment I realized how truly beautiful this house was, the way the sun was hitting it was making it even prettier. I started with a sketch of the structure to get the basic idea and started painting the plants around the exterior first, adding different shades of green to the grass below. The light purple flowers popping up around the area gave the whole thing an even more perfect effect as I added those in as well.

I even made sure to add the line of fences in the background, not wanting to miss a single detail as my eyes glanced back and forth between the page and the surroundings. Feeling myself get lost in focus only made me remember how much I loved to do this. It was a good distraction and something I would surely love for the rest of my life, calming me in a certain way I wasn't able to explain.

I was working for a good long while before I felt someone walking up to me, looking back up to see it was Maggie coming at me with a smile on her face.

"Hey," she greeted while taking a seat next to me, "What are you painting? The house?" she asked, looking over my shoulder.

"Yeah, Daryl gave me the suggestion and I thought it was a pretty good idea." I said as I turned the paper so she could get a better look.

She smirked and nodded her head without saying anything, though I quickly noticed the look on her face, "What?" I asked.

"Nothing," she shrugged, "He's just so soft with you."

My eyes narrowed, "Huh?" I asked as if I couldn't understand.

She laughed at my blank expression, "I said he's soft with you. Just today he was snapping at people and telling them off, but when he's with you he smiles, he actually laughs, and gives you presents..." she trailed off.

My eyes glanced down at the sketchbook before turning back to her, "So you were eavesdropping?" I asked.

"No, not eavesdropping." she quickly defended, "I just happened to be passing by." she said, smiling innocently.

"Uh huh." I muttered, going back to painting as I attempted to ignore her suggestive eyes.

"I'm just saying, when you hadn't woken up yet, he was real worried about you. We all saw it." she said.

"You're preaching to the choir, believe me," I stated, "But everyone was kind of worried, I don't plan on reading too much into that."

"Okay that's fair...but I personally think it was something a little more than that." she told me.

"Whatever you say."

I then seemed to quickly change the subject, getting to know her more while I continued to paint the house. Although, I was a little surprised when she told me herself about what happened with Glenn, but I pretended I didn't know a thing as I listened to a different perspective. She then told me that the whole experience was eleven minutes of her life she was never going to get back, and that made me laugh louder than it probably should.

I knew this was hard for Glenn but for some reason I had a feeling it was all going to work out okay. She was actually very sweet, and I knew she would come around and love Glenn just like the rest of us did.

But after a while she then had to go off with her sister to do some more stuff around the house, and told me we would talk more later which I was looking forward to. I liked her, and we already got along much better than I ever expected.

Though after she left, my mind seemingly wandered back to Daryl. I couldn't help but think about how nice it was of him to get me these things just because he figured out how badly I had been wanting them. And if that wasn't bad enough, Maggie's words also seemed to replay a bit in my mind no matter how much I didn't want them to.

I had to agree, he was a little different around me then he was with anyone else, but I always assumed it was because I actually knew how to talk to him and when to give him his space. But I liked the kind of relationship we had; he was just a great person to have around I've come to find out. I just really hoped he was being safe out there.

~ Thanks for reading!

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