#my niece just asked him who his best friend was and he quietly points to me 🥺

[oddishblossom]

cute thing just happened. so i’m at my nephew’s birthday party. little guy just turned 5. he sits next to me to quietly watch something on his ipad.

my older brother shows up so i move to sit next to him and his gf. so the little guy pulls his chair next to me! he’s not much of a talker but he mumbles to me what’s going on in his game like a mini lets player 🥺💖

[justabigassnerd]

Overprotective Aviators

Pairing - Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell x daughter!reader, slight Bradley Bradshaw x Mitchell!reader at end

Word count - 3,873

Warnings - creepy teen boys staring, swearing, overprotective Mav & co

Summary - when your dad and his team catch sight of a group of teen boys staring at you from across the beach they shift into overprotective mode

Sequel - 'The Talk'

A/N - hey y'all it's ya girl back with another request! I had a lot of fun writing this fic. I always enjoy writing the dynamics of the '86 characters (even though I may not be the best at it). Anyways I won't ramble. As per y'all, please send in requests, feedback and enjoy!!!

“y/n/n, come on! We don’t want to be late you know what they get like!” Maverick calls through the house, pulling his aviators out of his jacket pocket and sticking them on his face. It takes you but a minute to come down the stairs putting your own sunglasses on as you pick up the bag of things you were going to be bringing with you to the beach.

“I’m here, cool your jets dad.” You laugh as you walk past your dad as he rolls his eyes, grabs his keys and follows behind you. The two of you walk to the beach, chatting amongst each other until you reach the beach.

“Who did you say was coming again?” You ask as you scour the beach for your dads’ teammates.

“Goose, Ice, Slider, Wolfman, Hollywood, and their families of course.” Maverick replies as he looks around for his friends, a grin crossing his face when he catches a glimpse of his RIO waving madly in their direction. Maverick points Goose out to you, and you make your way over to him. Goose is quick to drag you into a hug, ruffling the top of your head as you groan and swat at his hand jokingly.

“You’d think you hadn’t seen me in years, Uncle Goose.” You laugh as you’re finally released from the hug.

“Forgive me for missing my niece after I went away for a week.” Goose says, a mocking sarcastic tone to his voice as he places a hand on his heart.

“I missed you too. But just between us, I think dad missed you most. He seemed pretty lost without you.” You say quietly, eliciting a laugh from Goose as he throws his head back. Goose had gone away for a week with Bradley and Carole to visit Carole’s parents and Maverick had moped around without his partner in crime.

“I better go say hi.” Goose says with a grin, patting your shoulder before crossing to Maverick, allowing Carole to sweep you up into a hug.

“Hello, sweet girl! How have you been?” Carole asks sweetly as she hugs you. When she pulls away, her hands remain on your upper arms as she smiles at you.

“I’ve been good Auntie Carole. It’s summer so there’s not been much to do, especially when the Bradshaws are out of town.” You shrug with a soft smile. Carole nods with a smile of her own as she releases you, allowing Bradley to greet you.

“Hey y/n/n.” Bradley greets, waving slightly as your jaw drops in mock offense before tugging him into a hug.

“Don’t you tell me you’re that after a week away you’re too grown up to hug your best friend?” You ask teasingly as you hug him tight.

“Never.” Bradley replies, wrapping his arms around you and reciprocating the hug. Bradley’s hugs always felt safe, his height meant you were perfectly cocooned in his embrace, and it felt like nothing could hurt you.

“Let’s get this party started!”

“Slider, it’s not a party.” You and Bradley break apart at the familiar sound of Iceman and Slider’s friendly bickering. You turn to see the two men approaching your dad and Goose with their wives following behind. Slider had recently married his long-term girlfriend Jessica whereas Iceman had been married to his wife Sarah for a couple of years and was expecting their first child. You went over to greet them happily, hugging each person with a smile as you greeted them.

“Wolfman and Hollywood aren’t here yet?” Slider asks as he glances over at Goose and Maverick who shake their heads with a laugh.

“Those two are never on time.” Your dad laughs as he thinks about how Wolfman and Hollywood would always turn up late to any meet up the team organised. Those of you who had just arrived began to set up the stuff you’d bought. You laid out a towel while your dad set up his beach chair. As you plunge the sun umbrella into the sand to cast a shadow over your dad’s beach seat, you hear the familiar voices of Wolfman and Hollywood as they approach with their wives in tow. Hollywood had his young daughter in his arms while Wolfman was chasing after his rambunctious twin boys. You greeted the aviators and their wives before returning to Carole to help her and Bradley set up some more beach chairs alongside where you’d set up stuff for you and your dad. Once everyone had set up their beach things, you pulled your shirt and shorts off, leaving you in a bikini as you kicked your flip-flops off. You wanted to get some tanning time in, and you figured you’d go for a swim at some point as well. You sit on your towel, at first reading your book while the adults chat amongst each other. The wives took to gossiping amongst each other, wanting to know the ins and outs of what was happening around town while the men talked about how things were going at work. Iceman talked about how he was put forward for an early promotion and was working as hard as possible to get it. You tried to focus on your book, but it became a near impossible task when Bradley sprawled himself across half across your towel, half across his own as he grinned up at you with that lopsided grin you loved so much.

“Can I help you, Bradshaw?” You ask teasingly as you glanced over the top of your book, seeing his large smile which made you smile too.

“We’re at the beach. You don’t need to be reading.” Bradley insists, reaching up to take the book out of your hands, making sure to put the bookmark in for you before tucking the book back in your bag.

“What if I like reading on the beach?” You quip, raising an eyebrow at Bradley who shrugs shamelessly.

“Well, I must be doing an awful job at being an entertaining friend. C’mon, let’s do something fun! I think dad bought a football.” Bradley says, grabbing you by the hands and pulling you to your feet. Once you’re on your feet, Bradley digs around in the bag his parents had bought before triumphantly pulling the football out and holding it above his head.

“Are the old timers joining in?” You ask teasingly as you glance at your dad and his friends.

“Old timers?”

“You’ve got some sass, Mitchell.”

“You asked for it, kid.” Your words sparked mock outrage within the group of aviators as their wives laughed at their shock. All the aviators scrambled to their feet, Wolfman snatching the football out of Bradley’s hands before moving to a clearer area of the beach so you could toss the ball to each other. The group of you pass the ball to each other, laughing as the women call out to their husbands in an attempt to distract them.

After five minutes of playing catch, Slider looks over to where you were laughing and exchanging a high five with Bradley when he caught sight of a group of teenage boys a little way down the beach staring at you, clearly admiring the sight of you in a bikini. Clenching his jaw, Slider gestured for his teammates to join him.

“Sorry kids, the old timers need five minutes.” Slider laughs as the rest of the team approaches him while you and Bradley roll your eyes, content to toss the ball back and forth between yourselves for a bit.

“What’s up?” Hollywood asked, folding his arms across his chest as he approaches Slider, all of them wondering why they were called over.

“There’s a group of boys eyeing up mini Mitchell. They’re just staring right now but I thought we should keep an eye out.” Slider says lowly, just in case either you or Bradley overheard what was being said. When Slider noticed all of their eyes widening, he quickly shushed them before the outbursts could begin. Goose was quick to grab Maverick before he stormed across the beach to give them a piece of his mind.

“Why are teen boys so gross?” Maverick grumbles, quickly locating the group of boys and hating the way they were staring at his little girl.

“Mav, you were exactly the same when you were that age. To some extent, you still act like that.” Goose says, raising an eyebrow and chuckling when Maverick glares over at him.

“Goose, not the time.” Maverick hisses over at his best friend who simply lets go of him and holds his hands up in defeat.

“Alright, we’ll keep an eye out. Just don’t tell her what’s going on. We don’t need to freak her out.” Iceman says, cool and calm as ever but everyone could hear the tension in his tone. He hated when guys would shamelessly stare at women and make them uncomfortable. And he knew that Sarah was pregnant with his daughter, and he hated the thought that she’d be born into a world where men acted like that. The team of aviators share a knowing nod with each other before breaking apart and returning to the game. They play catch with you and Bradley for a little longer until Wolfman’s twin sons decided to start clamouring for ice cream, which causes Hollywood’s daughter to beg for ice cream too. Eventually, the whole team buckled and decided to go and get ice cream. You and Bradley elected to stay with all the beach stuff to ensure nothing was stolen. You kept a vigilant eye on everyone’s belongings while Bradley laid on his back, a pair of Goose’s aviators on his face as he soaked up the sun. Before too long had passed, you heard the familiar voices of your dad and his team as they approached. Wolfman’s twins immediately came rushing over to you and Bradley, proudly showing off their ice creams while Hollywood’s daughter was more content to stick by her mum’s side, shyly offering the two of you a wave that you both returned.

“Isn’t it crazy that it used to just be us two kids? And now Hollywood and Wolfman have kids, and Ice is expecting his first. We’re the oldest kids here now.” You say, glancing over at Bradley who props himself up on his elbows.

“Technically speaking, I’m the oldest.” Bradley says with a smirk before you shove his shoulder, causing him to fall flat on his back.

“Only by a year.” You say, laughing as he reaches out to flick your arm.

“That’s a whole year of life experience I have that you don’t.” Bradley teases, sitting up properly.

“Oh, I forgot. Being fifteen makes you a pro at life.” You say, rolling your eyes as you laugh. As you and Bradley talk, Hollywood decides he’s had enough of the boys staring at you from afar, so he enacts his plan to try and get you to change. He pretends to trip and drops his ice cream all down your front.

“I’m so sorry, kid. Do you have some clothes to change into?” He asks sheepishly as the rest of the team laughs at his mishap.

“Don’t worry. I’ll just go for a swim. That’ll help wash it off. C’mon Bradley.” You say dismissively to Hollywood before grabbing Bradley’s hand and starting off towards the sea.

“Well, that didn’t work.” Hollywood mutters, dropping down into his beach chair and watching as the teen boys were watching you drag Bradley down to the sea. Seeing you and Bradley going towards the sea, Wolfman’s twins started saying that they wanted to go in the sea too.

“Alright boys, I’ll take you down there.” Wolfman says, gaining cheers from his kids. As Wolfman’s wife gets the boys ready, smearing them with suncream the second they took their shirts off leaving them just in swim trunks, Wolfman turns to Maverick and asks for your spare towel, an idea formulating in his head to get the teen boys to stop their hopeless staring. Wolfman then got up from his seat, slinging your towel over his shoulder as he leads his kids down to the sea, laughing to himself as they barrelled in, both immediately being knocked over by a wave. He shot a glance over at the teen boys and he noticed they were now pulling their shirts off and heading into the sea. He noticed how they didn’t make a move to come any closer, maybe the presence of the aviators and Bradley was enough to keep them at bay but not quite enough to stop their stares. Wolfman moves his attention back to his kids and smiles as you and Bradley let them hop on your back letting them splash sea water at each other, laughing as you and Bradley get caught in the crossfire. When the boys tire of the sea, they wade back to the shore and approach their dad.

“Dad, I’m hungry.”

“Dad, I’m starving.” Both boys complain the second they reach Wolfman who rolls their eyes, it had been not even fifteen minutes since they finished their ice creams.

“Let’s go to your mum, I’m sure she packed something for you.” Wolfman urges, guiding his boys back towards his wife so they could dry off with a towel and get something to eat. When Wolfman turned his head to see you and Bradley exiting the sea, he came barrelling over to you, wrapping you up in the towel as you laugh at Wolfman’s sudden appearance.

“Uncle Wolf, no offence but what?” You manage to say through laughter as you’re swaddled in the towel.

“Don’t need you getting cold.” Wolfman says as he takes a step back, happy with his handiwork.

“And you don’t care if I get cold?” Bradley asks, a raised eyebrow as he laughs.

“Just teaching Mitchell junior how a man should treat her. As her uncle it’s important she knows how she should be treated. Take notes Bradshaw junior.” Wolfman says before heading back up to his wife.

“Does he know that your parents are the literal definition of romance? Any girl would be lucky to have you, Bradley.” You grin as you unravel yourself from the towel cocoon that Wolfman had trapped you in. Bradley watched as you walked further up the beach towards your dad with a slight blush on his cheeks. He had been harbouring a crush on you for a while now and he was still working on the courage to ask you out. As Bradley glances around the beach, he notices the group of boys staring and narrows his eyes. He didn’t know who they were but their unashamed staring and jostling of each other made them public enemy number one in his eyes. He chased after you and went to join you again when Wolfman’s twins came darting over to him, now full of food and energy and demanding he plays fighter pilots with them. Bradley looked over at you, seeing you sat on your towel with Hollywood’s daughter in your lap, sunglasses atop your head as you read her the book, she’d brought with her before turning back to Wolfman’s twins and agreeing to play with them. When you finish reading the story to Hollywood’s daughter, you noticed that she was starting to get sleepy and you figured it was time for her nap.

“I got her.” Hollywood says softly as he lifts his daughter from your lap, smiling softly at the feeling of her winding her arms around his neck and snuggling closer. You glanced over at Bradley who was currently pinned down by two hyper boys as you chuckled lightly to yourself but not caring to get involved. As you move to grab your book, Goose, who had been returning from a nearby shop after Carole realised she’d forgotten a water bottle, chose to accidentally trip over Maverick’s beach umbrella. The pole missed hitting you, and the umbrella shielded you from the stares of the teenage boys who groaned and exchanged looks with each other at not being able to see you anymore. Using the opportunity they had, Iceman and Slider glared over at the boys, hoping their joint cold stare would be enough to get them to back off.

“I’m so sorry y/n. I didn’t hurt you, did I?” Goose says quickly and apologetically while you wave him off with a laugh, shifting to be sat on your knees so you could get the umbrella upright again.

“All good, Uncle Goose. No harm done.” You grin up at your uncle who ruffles your hair with a smile before moving to sit with Carole. He looks over to where the boys were and they were still looking, not as much as before but still obvious enough to anyone.

“How have these idiots not got the hint yet?” Goose mutters to himself, being overheard by Carole who chuckles and grabs his hand.

“They’re teenage boys, Nick. Boys do stupid things like stare at pretty girls. Our Bradley’s been doing it all day as well.” Carole says, gesturing lightly with her head towards their son who had just been freed from the clutches of Wolfman’s twins and he was immediately looking over at you with a grin.

“We love Bradley. We want Bradley to admit his painfully obvious feelings. It’s different when it’s a bunch of teen boys we don’t know staring from across a beach.” Goose grumbles as he looks from his son to the boys across the beach.

“Aren’t you cold?” Your dad's voice pulls you out of the focus you had on your book, making you raise an eyebrow at him.

“What?” You ask, shocked that question had left your dad’s mouth at how hot it was outside.

“I was asking if you were cold, it’s a little chilly, don’t you think?” Maverick then says, grabbing his jacket and holding it out towards you with an expectant look.

“Dad, respectfully, it’s summer in San Diego and you’re asking me to put a jacket on?” You ask, wondering what on earth got into your dad for him to be acting this way.

“I’m just looking out for my daughter. Don’t need you catching a cold or anything.” Maverick replies, returning his jacket to the bag and leaning back in his beach chair. You rolled your eyes and returned your attention to your book as Maverick muttered under his breath about how annoying those boys were, all unheard to you. Once again, you were torn away from your book by Bradley snatching the book out of your hand, putting the bookmark in and closing it once more.

“I’m letting the team down again. Come on let’s do more beach shit.”

“Bradley Bradshaw!” Bradley was cut off by Carole who was glaring daggers at him for his choice of language.

“Sorry, mum.” Bradley apologises with a sheepish tone, his hand reaching up to rub at the back of his neck as he shrunk further under his mother’s gaze.

“Look at what you men have done to my sweet Bradley.” Carole tuts as the aviator's exchange looks with each other.

“It’s what happens to military brats, unfortunately. y/n’s just as bad.” Maverick shrugs unapologetically, looking over at Carole with his signature flashy smile.

“Let’s escape this conversation.” You whisper to Bradley, getting up and walking away from the conversation with Bradley hot on your heels. Bradley glanced over in the direction of the boys and when he saw them jostling each other and laughing as they stared at you, he instinctively wrapped an arm around your shoulders, tugging you into his side. He felt a sense of triumph when he looked across the beach and saw the boys finally leaving, all glaring at Bradley who simply gave them a shit-eating grin.

“Is this your idea of beach shit?” You ask, a raised eyebrow at Bradley’s actions as you hoped he didn’t notice your now flushed cheeks. Bradley remained silent, his brain short-circuiting at the way he was holding you. He could handle a hug, holding your hand would cause a slight blush but having you tucked into your side was causing him to stop functioning. He thought about how he had asked his dad for advice on how to ask you out and the only help Goose provided was saying to just ask, that the worst that could happen was you saying no.

“Hey, y/n. Can I ask you something?” Bradley asks, releasing you from his embrace and turning to face you.

“Of course.” You say, a gentle smile gracing your face as he takes your hand carefully.

“Do you think… I could take you out on a date sometime? Maybe that old diner along the beach?” Bradley asks an unusual shyness sneaking into his voice as he looks down at your hand where your fingers interlaced with his.

“I’m free after school on Friday.” You say, your smile widening slightly as Bradley looks up at you. His smile grew ten times larger when he locked eyes with you from behind his sunglasses. He lifted his free hand to set his aviators on top of his head so he could make proper eye contact with you.

“I think I can arrange something.” He says teasingly, making you laugh before he tugged you into a hug.

“Seven o’clock at the diner sound good?” He asks as he squeezes you slightly.

“Sounds like a plan Bradshaw.” You agree.

Further up on the beach, Goose had been watching the entire interaction from afar. He didn’t know what words had been said but he knew that from the shy smiles on your faces that Bradley had said something of significance regarding his feelings.

“Honey, look, I think our boy finally did it.” Goose says excitedly to Carole, drawing her attention to you and her son.

“Oh, look at them. It’s about time.” She gushes, grabbing Goose’s hand as her smile grows.

“Hey, Mav. Looks like we’ve got a wedding to plan.” Goose says over to his best friend, getting Maverick to look at where you and Bradley were now heading down to swim in the sea again.

“Absolutely not.” Maverick says, cringing at the thought of his daughter marrying anyone.

“Maverick, you know better than anyone that our Bradley is perfect for your daughter. She lights up around him. They’ll get married, mark my words.” Carole says, making Maverick shake his head with a chuckle before focusing his attention back on you and Bradley, where you and his best friend’s son were in the sea. He’d never admit it to anyone, maybe to Goose if he was drunk enough, but he knew Bradley was the guy for you. He saw the way you looked at each other and it was exactly the kind of pure love Goose and Carole had. He wanted nothing but for his daughter to have someone who could keep her safe when Maverick couldn’t, and Bradley seemed to step into that role without a hitch.

“I’m making a bet. Fifty bucks says we have a Bradshaw-Mitchell wedding in our future.”

Maverick couldn’t even begin to argue with that and so silently prepared himself to be giving Goose fifty dollars in the future.

[kitchenisking]

Day 6

No Refunds or Exchanges by badwolfbadwolf  - (Rating: Mature, Words: 18,916, sterek)

Stiles is the newest deputy in the Beacon Hills Sheriff’s Department, and has maybe just been a little in love with Derek Hale since Stiles had made a fool of himself in front of him at the SD summer picnic a few years ago. Being married to him—only for the sake of not getting deported—is going to suck in new and unusual ways.

Survival of the Species by Lissadiane  - (Rating: Explicit , Words: 19,370, sterek)

“I think I’m dying.” Nothing makes sense – and now Derek has left him.

“No, Mr. Stilinski,” Deaton says grimly, rooting around in his special cupboard of herbs and remedies. “I’m afraid not. You’re merely suffering from a biological imperative to bear your alpha’s children and strengthen the pack.”

Stiles considers that for a moment, as best he can with his mind a hazy mess, and then he says quietly, “I think that might be worse.”

“So, so much worse,” Scott agrees. * In which Derek's pack is apparently stable enough to begin planning for the future, and somehow, the universe has decided Stiles is the perfect candidate to bear his alpha's children.

Imagine Me And You by callunavulgari, hiza-chan (callunavulgari) - (Rating: T, Words: 16,080, sterek)

“My name,” the kid tells Derek, sounding amused. “It’s Stiles. I figure if I’m going to wrestle a complete stranger for a pumpkin the least I can do is offer my name afterwards.”

“Stiles,” Derek tries, testing the way the name sits on his tongue. “I’m Derek.”

“Derek,” Stiles breathes, like he’s testing the weight of the name too. He grins, bright and blinding, which Derek guesses means that he likes the sound of it. “I’d offer to shake your hand, but since we almost got to second base a minute ago, I’d say we’re past that point.”

Bitten Saved Pack by TheRealDanniX - (Rating: T, Words: 7,488, sterek)

Gerard didn't just rough Stiles up. He was aiming to kill. Derek can't take that. Scott doesn't like how Derek fixes it.

*nobody dies

All Coming Back, Like It Was Never Gone by LadyDrace  - (Rating: T, Words: 2,756, sterek)

Stiles and Derek spend a summer looking for Boyd and Erica. During that summer they're... something. Something that never becomes much of anything.

But then, years later, it all comes back.

Point me where my life begins by Gotta_seduce_the_Rainbow - (Rating: Explicit, Words: 39,430, sterek)

When Derek wakes up without his memory, he is left with nothing but a note he wrote himself. He no longer remembers anything personal, not himself, not anyone else.

The note is pointing him towards the town Beacon Hills and once he is there, he is greeted by strangers telling him “Dude, I didn’t know you’re back in town”, which is confusing. Apparently, he grew up in Beacon Hills, but left a few years ago without telling anyone about it.

There is this one stranger, who calls him dude and has the most amazing scent. Derek might just want to start his new life here. With this person.

Stupid Over You by Wolfspurr - (Rating: T, Words: 10,461, sterek)

It's a Friday night, and instead of enjoying any of the numerous things he'd rather be doing, Stiles has been roped into dinner with his dad at the Hale's. On the plus side, Derek Hale will be there. On the minus side, Derek Hale will be there, and Stiles already has a hard enough time not making an ass of himself in front of the hottest guy in school. There's no way this can end well.

the shape of my heart by Winchesterek - (Rating: Mature, Words: 4,807, sterek)

Stiles never thought he'd meet someone like Derek. Someone that was in a similar situation as he was - raising kids that weren't biologically his. It was even wilder because Derek was his god daughters first grade teacher and she was best friends with Derek's niece and nephew.

And Derek was hot. So hot that Stiles couldn't help ogling him every time they spent any amount of time around each other, including play dates and lunch in the school cafeteria with their kids. So Derek asking him out for Valentine's Day? That was just icing on the cake. Plus, Stiles was already head over heels for him.

My Wolf by Dexterous_Sinistrous - (Rating: T, Words: 7,654, sterek)

“If he wants to mate Stiles, why not let him?” Jackson asked, ready to part with Stiles if need be.

“Because if I did that, I’d be demoting Lydia,” Alpha Stilinski replied.

“We don’t even know how good of a Beta he is,” Lydia countered, bristling some that her status was being challenged.

“That’s because he’s not a Beta,” Alpha Stilinski stated. “He’s an Alpha.”

A Divine Move by alikatastic - (Rating: Not Rated, Words: 2,138, sterek)

After Derek died, Peter was the one to let Stiles know. Stiles rushed to Beacon Hills to attend Derek's funeral and take care of Eli. When Peter takes Stiles to the Nemeton to show Stiles what happened, they make a discovery. Derek was trapped in the nemeton. All they had to do was pull him out.

[stray-kaz]

Quality Over Quantity : a Billy Russo x reader FF : ONE

You stood in the middle of Maria and your niece and nephew, shuffling between smoothing Frankie’s tucked in shirt and your own skirt. Your sister scoffed fondly at you and tugged you back over to her side, holding tightly onto your hand.

“Calm down” she told you, squeezing gently. “It’s just Frank. There’s no need to look fancy and all put together, hon.”

“But there will be soldiers, Maria!” you replied, bouncing on your toes to get a better look as the plane door eased open.

She rolled her eyes, but couldn’t help the smile unfurling across her mouth like a flag as her husband stepped into view, lugging a heavy army issue duffel on one shoulder. She, too, began to bounce a little in excitement, and you grinned, waving at your brother-in-law. He gave you a broad smile and waved back, two stepping it down the foldout stairs.

Then another man sauntered down behind him, and your mouth went dry. You quickly elbowed Maria in the ribs and she glanced at you, eyebrows raised.

“What?”

You had just enough self control to not point like a middle school girl; you were thirty, after all.

“Who is that?” you whisper demanded.

Maria snorted.

“That’s Billy Russo” she informed you. “Frank’s best friend.”

“And?”

She rolled her eyes again at your bare faced enthusiasm.

“And” she continued. “He’s a real ladies’ man, so watch out.”

Stepping off the plane, Billy tapped Frank on the shoulder and indicated his waiting family with a jerk of his head.

“Who’s that?” he asked him, curious.

Frank didn’t even need to check twice to know who he meant.

“Maria’s younger sister” he answered.

“Huh. I didn’t know she had one of those.”

Frank snorted.

“That’s because we kept her away from you” he retorted. “And she’s only just moved back from Miami. She’s staying with us while she looks for a place.”

“What does she do?”

“She’s a midwife.”

Their strides ate up the concrete between them and Frank’s waiting family, so Billy stopped talking and just drank you in as he closed the gap.

There wasn’t time to say anything else as the two men were too close already, so you waited until it was your turn to hug Frank and stretched up on your tiptoes to look over his shoulder at his friend. Billy. Must be William. You held onto Frank longer than necessary as Billy eyed you back, smirking a little.

“You are about as subtle as a brick to the face, lil’ sis” Frank murmured in your ear, amused.

You let him go and stepped back.

“I know” you told him. “It’s a gift.”

He snorted and manouevred around you to take his wife’s hand. You turned to fall into step and felt goosebumps shiver up your arms as someone took up the space next to you, heat radiating.

“I take it you’re the little sister” Billy said, his voice smooth and soft as silk. “I saw you lookin’ at me.”

“The whole runway saw me looking at you” you replied, covering your nerves. “I don’t really do subtle.”

“Do you do soldiers?”

You tipped your head back and shielded your eyes so you could see his face without being blinded and falling over. He was even better looking up close. Almost black hair, eyes to match and a smile to melt the sun.

“I’ll let you know.”

You pivoted on the spot and began walking backward, keeping him in your sights as you looked him down and up, from the tops of his highly polished black boots to the name patch on his jacket.

“I do like a man in a uniform.”

You heard Maria call out your name and you turned back around and sprinted to catch up, your skirt fluffing out around your thighs.

“Baby girl!”

You spun, cheeks flaming and eyes wide. Billy was grinning, his gaze cocky.

“Frank has my number!”

You bit your lip.

“Okay” you said quietly. “William.”

Something flashed in his dark eyes but it was gone as soon as it came and you thought you might have imagined it.

You caught up to your family and Frank tossed a seemingly casual arm over your shoulders.

“Be careful” he warned in your ear. “He’s pretty, but he sleeps around.”

You shrugged.

“I can tell that” you replied. “I’ll be careful, Frank. I won’t let him get under my skin.”

He sighed and ruffled your hair.

“It’s not your skin I’m worried about” he muttered, releasing you.

You looked over your shoulder to see Billy still watching you from a distance. He gave you a quick smile and you turned back, mind whirring, echoing his name over and over again.

Tagging: @karamelcoveredolicity​

[mydarllinglover]

Alone || Sharing Stories

Previous

"Circle around. Don't let them slip by." Voices whispered, filling the air.

Dog barked at the noise, Natalia grabbed hold of him, keeping him close to her as they tried to find the unknown sounds.

"Keep them together."

"You die now."

Walkers loomed towards them through the rain and fog.

"Go. Now." Michonne ordered, quietly.

A woman with a bandage around her head picked up the mask, whilst Aaron and Daryl lifted Jesus's body, to take back with them to be buried.

Natalia attacked the walkers that got too close to them.

"Go. I'll cover you." Michonne told her, as the others left.

An walker with a knife went to sneak up on Michonne, but Natalia got there quicker, stabbing the female walker in the head.

They both peered down on the "walker." Before meeting each others eye, nodding.

"Come on! Let's go!" Daryl called for them, he then locked the gates of the cemetery behind them.

"So you managed to climb over the gate, huh?" Natalia spoke to Michonne, as they walked, the sun was up, it was the next morning.

"See you managed to find your way back home."

"As you can see, it was a short stay."

"I saw them, the kids, hear Evie's gonna become Enid's second."

"I didn't know that."

"She's a good kid, they all are." Michonne spoke. "The baby, is that..."

"Yep. Archie, Archie Carl, he's ours." Natalia answered.

"Oh, so you guys were busy, in the woods." Michonne smirked at the woman.

"Who are these guys?" She pointed at the two women ahead.

"Yumiko and Magna." Michonne interrupted their muttering to each other.

"Ah, part of the group that my niece brought back."

"You the famous Aunt Nat who would've fought for our stay?" Magna looked over her shoulder at the woman.

"Who the hell would even think about doing this?" Yumiko rambled, passing the mask thing to Magna.

"I suspect some vessel filled with a chunky salsa of abnormal impulses and metastasized rage." Eugene gave his input, as Michonne and Natalia helped him walk.

"It's full on bat-shit." Magna shook her head.

"You think there's more?" Aaron asked.

"Yeah." Daryl nodded, looking around.

"So, what do we do?" Yumiko asked.

"Right now, keep moving." Michonne told her.

Once they got to the horses, they were able to put Jesus across it, to get him back with them.

Daryl looked back at the two women, who were riding the other horse.

"Judith vouched for 'em, so do I." Michonne spoke.

"All right." He grunted.

"It's gonna mean a lot to them." She continued. "Bringin' him back. Burying him."

"Sorry I couldn't do that for you." Daryl apologised, even though Natalia had been pushing onto him that that wasn't his place, and he didn't need to, he never listened.

"I'm sorry I couldn't do it for all of us." Michonne said. "Thank you, both of you. For trying to find him. And... for after."

"What matters now, is that we're together, now, that you were there." Natalia told her.

"Thanks for saving my ass back there." Michonne smiled.

"Just paying back the favour, 'Sides, I wouldn't let my best friend go like that." Natalia returned the smile, holding hands for a brief moment.

Dogs barking started again.

"We got some tails." Magna said.

"The living kind or original recipe?" Eugene asked.

"Let's find out." Daryl decided. "Good Dog."

They had got to a bridge.

Walkers were making their way towards them.

Daryl had shot at their legs, working out which was a walker and which was pretend, he found out as the man let out cries, the walkers quick to take him down for them as they tore the man apart.

A few turned away as others continued forward, then one man brandished his knife, running for Michonne, who sliced off his arm, stabbing him in the chest.

Natalia went for the girl who attempted to walk away, knowing she wouldn't get out of this, she dropped to her knees, hands up in the air.

"Nat! Wait" Daryl stopped her from killing the girl, ripping the mask off, revealing what looked to be a teenager with long dark hair.

"Please..." She sobbed. "Please don't kill me. Please."

Natalia dragged her knife back with her boot, slowly crouching down to pick it up without taking her eyes off the girl.

"How many?" Michonne asked, catching the mask Daryl tossed her.

"Please... you killed them all. It's just me now." The girl cried.

Natalia held her own knife to the girls throat.

"I don't believe you." Michonne spoke for her.

"There ain't no time. We'll take her with us." Daryl spoke, spotting the herd closing in on them.

"Get up, slow." Natalia breathed, grabbing the bit of rope that was handed to her, tying the girls hands together behind her back.

"Hey, you try anything, you won't have to pretend." Michonne threatened.

"Let's go. Come on." Daryl encouraged, taking the girl from his wife's grasp.

They soon made their way back to the Hilltop, the girl had a white bandana around her face, blocking her view as she sat on top of the horse.

The people of Hilltop gathered to welcome their leader back.

Tara and Enid left the house, with the twins following behind the young woman, Archie was on Tara's hip. 

Daryl, Yumiko and Magna helped get Jesus down, as Michonne and Natalia yanked the girl off the horse, dragging her towards the cells.

"This who did it?" Tammy- Rose asked, once the people of Hilltop had realised Jesus's fate, their relief and happiness quickly vanishing

"No. One of her people." Michonne answered.

"You locking her up?" She continued to pester with questions.

"We're getting answers." Tara told her.

"And then what? Tara, Jesus trusted you, so we're all lookin' to you now. But people are gonna want justice for this. And when that time comes, we're gonna look to you for that, too." 

"I know." She promised, following the pair, Daryl had also caught up with them.

"Evie?" Natalia gasped, spotting her daughter in one of the cells, Henry was in the other.

Daryl opened the door, pulling her out.

"Get inside." He told the other girl, pushing her in.

"Daryl?" Henry called.

"Evie, what the hell are you doing here? What are the both of you doing here?" Natalia looked at Henry through the bars as she assessed her daughter.

"Drunk and disorderly, you can either bunk her up with Henry, or call her sentence." Tara told her.

"What's going on?" Henry continued to look for answers.

"Jesus is dead." Daryl spoke, glaring at Evie, she was supposed to be babysitting, and now she's being sentenced for drunk and disorderly, with Henry of all people.

Tara and Michonne dealt with the other girl as Daryl unlocked Henry's door, pushing Evie inside.

"Both of you shut up, we'll talk about this later." He growled, as they turned to watch the interrogation.

"How many more of you are there?" Michonne pressed, when she kept bullshitting.

"They're all dead." She cried. "My family's dead. Please just stop."

"Not until you start answering our questions."

"Your name. Start with your name." Tara said.

"I told you, I don't have one." She answered. "None of us do. None of us did. That's not how it worked."

"How did it work?"

"Why do you wear their skins?" Daryl asked. "Answer!" He demanded, when she was quiet.

"They were good people." She sobbed harder. "We were good. It's what we did to live. That's-- That's all we wanted to do. Live."

"Bullshit." Natalia scoffed.

"Oh, you're saying you had to do this?" Tara asked.

"You wouldn't understand." She shook her head.

"Then make us understand. What the hell were you doing?" Michonne tried again.

"We, we were just trying to see if they were good people, too. But then you attacked us, and now they're dead."

"We attacked you?" Natalia took a step forward. "Sweetheart, we were tryna find our friend, and you and your "good people" ambushed us." 

"They're dead. They're all dead. And I don't have anything." She cried for herself, but no one was buying it.

Michonne clamped a hand on the back of her chair, stopping her from rocking backwards.

"What did your people know about us?" She asked. "Do they know about this place?"

"I don't know."

"Huh?"

"I don't know. I don't know anything. They didn't tell me anything. Please stop asking me. Just leave me alone, please. Please just leave me alone."

They sighed in defeat, leaving the cell's.

"I don't trust a word coming out of her mouth." Michonne started.

"She's a good actor, I'll give her that." Natalia sighed.

"We'll get it out of her." Daryl promised.

"We try again in the morning." Tara decided.

"You'll have to do it without me." Michonne told them. "Taking my people back first thing. Can't risk them not knowing about this back home."

"Okay." Tara nodded. "Thanks, for being here and for helping. That group you brought in, I'm gonna let them know that they can stay. I guess that's my call now. That's what he would've done."

"Thanks, Tara."

She nodded, heading off to go deal with her duties, and to probably go check on her girlfriend.

"Keeping her here is a risk." Michonne told the pair who were still there. "You both know that."

"Yeah, I know."

"Her people, you reckon they'll come for her, I mean, she looks Evie's age, think she's got a parent, someone looking after her?" Natalia asked.

"That's what I'm worried about." Michonne admitted.

"I'll get her to talk." Daryl nodded.

"If she doesn't... You know what you have to do."

"We'll get her to talk." Natalia stepped in. "I'm gonna go check on the kids, you find out what the hell Evie and Henry did last night." Natalia told Daryl, hugging Michonne.

"On it."

"Hey, come meet, Archie, officially." She smiled at her friend, pulling her away.

Rosita had been watching the twins and baby, whilst Siddiq fixed Eugene's knee.

"Mommy!" Daisy called, spotting her as her and Michonne walked into the infirmary.

"Mommy!" Bambi repeated as they both swarmed to hug her.

"Hey, hey guys, hanging out with Aunt Ro and Eugene and Siddiq?"

"Mommy, Siddiq popped Eugene's knee in and it went phew and it cracked and it was so gross!" Daisy smiled excitedly.

"Glad I could be of service of entertainment to your younglings after saving my life, today." Eugene nodded at her.

"Oh, wow, so having fun, then?" Natalia laughed, taking the baby that was handed to her. "Thanks, Rosita, Thanks Eugene."

"'Course, anything for these lil guys." She patted the twins heads. "And that bundle of cuteness."

"Hey, Bam, Daisy, I want you to meet another one of Mommy's friends, this is Aunt Michonne."

"Hi." They waved at her.

"Hey, guys, I used to know you when you were this big." She smiled at Archie.

"Oh, yeah, I remember that." Daisy lied.

"No, you don't." Bambi scowled at her. "Mommy, Daisy's telling fibbers, again."

"Hey, guys, why don't you go find Uncle Aaron, ask him to show you the animals." Natalia told them.

"Okay!"

"My kids, everybody, you gotta love them." Natalia commented, when the girls ran out the door. "Anyway, this is my favourite child, because he can't walk or talk yet."

"Awe, come here, Archie." Michonne let out a sigh, taking the baby, who apparently loved cuddles with everybody, something they discovered very quickly, after getting to The Hilltop.

After Daryl and Natalia left to go rescue Eugene, Tara had begun passing the baby around as though it were a meet and greet back in the day.

"I didn't even know you guys would ever have another kid." Rosita folded her arms across her chest.

"We didn't think we would either, it was an accident, y'know what I mean. But I'm grateful, because of you." She kissed Archie's cheek.

"I think after the third kid, you gotta stop using the accident excuse." Rosita chuckled.

"It was, I swear." She put her hands up. "Y'know, I thought he was a girl the whole time, until I gave birth, the lil sneak."

"How did you and Daryl manage that, that's really dangerous, Nat." Michonne told her.

"Oh, Daryl wasn't there, just me, I was in a cabin, so it was fine, and Evie left to go find him and the twins, but it was fine, we're both alive, and I've dealt with worse, it was a piece of cake."

"Have yet to work out if you are terrifying or truly an amazement." Siddiq shook his head.

"I prefer being acknowledged as both." She shrugged.

"Neither of 'em will talk." Daryl told her, catching up, after putting the two teens back in their joint cell.

They were watching Aaron show the twins the horses, Natalia hugged Archie to her.

"Really?" She asked.

"Yup, won't give me names, where they got it from, but they're real sorry, think Henry's more sorry than Eve, she was more pissed at him."

"Good to know, we really gonna leave her in there?"

"Rules of the Hilltop, she wanted to come here and get lit first chance she got, that's her problem."

"Yeah, you're right, I just, I can't believe she would do something like that, y'know? We didn't raise her like that, hell, I think the last time I had alcohol, was the day before I met her."

"You mean, when we had spaghetti instead of going to that party, an' you got hammered."

"In my defence, it was my birthday." She ignored Daryl's furrowed brows at her confession, changing the topic, quickly. "What are we gonna do about that girl? The other one."

"I'll talk to her, find out what she knows." Daryl shrugged, taking Archie out of her arms. "And if that fails, thinking maybe you could. You're the best judge of character we got."

"I don't want to trust her, I don't want to figure her out and find out why she's walking around with walker faces on, unless it's something that's gonna harm us or our people."

"But you do want to." He finished her train of thought. "She's a kid, and something's nagging at you, I know."

"I think you know me a bit too well." She folded her arms across her chest. "It kinda bugs me actually, If I'm being honest." 

Jesus's funeral was held the next day, it was a tough conversation to have with the twins, especially considering they would have to explain that the man they met with the funny name, just the day before, had come back dead, and what a funeral even was.

But for two five year olds, they had managed to stay very respectful, listening carefully and being quiet throughout the whole sermon, even though Daryl and Natalia were mourning their friend, they were both very proud of the twins, they just hoped this was the last funeral they would be attending.

After, Daryl had left to go deal with the girl in the cell, to get some answers.

After setting Archie down for a nap, and giving the girls an activity, she found Daryl sat outside the cell window.

She took a seat beside him, hearing three voices talking.

"I'm Henry, she's Evie."

"Henry, my dad's seriously going to kill you if you don't shut up." Evie's voice hissed.

"Evie relax, he's not here. No reason to be rude to her." Henry told her.

"I'm Lydia." The girl ignored her worry.

"My parents, they don't wanna hurt you, they're good people too, but, your people gave us a reason to feel threatened, just be honest with my dad, and it'll turn out better for you." Evie told her. "If not, then it's only self defence."

Daryl and Natalia silently low-fived, that was their girl.

They had sat out there most of the day, listening to the three teens talk, how Lydia opened up, told them her story.

When Natalia returned from checking on the kids, Daryl would quietly fill her in on anything important, but only when he felt he had to.

"I remember that look in his eye. Still see it. How cold it is. Was." Lydia corrected herself, telling them about her father. "Why am I even telling you two this?"

"Beats the quiet. Beats being alone."

"Alone, seriously?" Evie scoffed.

"I've never been alone." Lydia continued. "My people travelled in groups with the dead. I miss the sounds... the smell..."

"Not gonna lie, walking around in dead people's skins is pretty messed up."

"I've been covered in guts of the dead, and I would still prefer that over wearing their faces." Evie kicked something as she sighed.

"Thinking this place isn't gonna fall like every other place... that's messed up."

"It's not, because it won't, these people worked hard for this, they didn't take any easy routes out." The blonde got defensive, She had also dealt with shit during the war, things she couldn't forget.

"Evie, chill out." Henry told her.

"Your dad's an asshole like mine." Lydia spoke up. "All you did was sneak out. Is it even that hard? Are there a lot of guards posted here?"

"We're not dumb enough to fall for that." Evie raised a brow. "And my dad's not an asshole. You're just a stranger, he's an actual good person."

"Your dad doesn't even wanna be here, he's only doing it for your mom and my mom." Henry told her. "That's why he had you living in the woods for years, with your sisters and brother."

"That's not why." She scowled at him again.

"I thought you said both your moms died." Lydia stood up, looking at the pair as they sat on opposite sides of the small bed.

"Second mom, I mean." Henry corrected. "They're both tough. Not somebody you want to mess with."

"I used to call mine my back up." Evie scoffed, "She's been my mom longer than my real mom was, same with my dad, I barely remember them, my first dad, he used to have a crush on my mom, and so did my second dad, guess he got it in favour that the first died in her arms." She laughed.

"Hey, what happened to your dad?" Henry asked Lydia.

"My dad was a stupid man. My mom, though, she kept me alive. Kept me safe. She's a lot like your mom's. You don't mess with her, either."

They had no choice but to interfere when Henry started talking about the Kingdom, even when Evie kept telling him to shut up.

"Hey. What's going on?" Henry asked.

"You been pardoned." Natalia told him, unlocking the door of the cell door. "Both of you. Let's go."

"Mom." Evie started.

"Let's go." She pushed both of them forward.

Daryl was waiting for him at the top, grabbing hold of the boy and yanking him forward.

"What the hell's wrong with you?" He circled the boy. "Huh? Telling her about the Kingdom? What if there's more of her people out there? You got family at the Kingdom."

"I'm sorry. Okay? I didn't think that it would..."

"I told you!" Evie yelled.

"Wait. You were listening?" He caught on.

"Yeah, of course we were, me and Nat, few of the others, we've been switching off, seeing what she'd say to you."

"You were using us."

"Yeah and it was workin', too." Daryl stared coldly at him.

"She's a good person who got messed up out there. And she's right about you. You know that? You're an asshole."

"Henry, shut up." Evie pushed him back. "You were being stupid, what for some girl that you just met? What happened to Enid?"

"Oh, yeah, that's why you were sucking faces with Gage. I told you we should've stopped drinking, but no Evie never wants to listen." He pointed at her, who's face had got completely red, as she backed down. "You want answers, get 'em yourself." He looked back to the girls parents, before walking away.

"Evie? Who's Gage?" Natalia demanded.

"No one, just.. leave it alone." She scampered as well, before her parents could interrogate her too.

Daryl was even more angry, when he went down to talk to Lydia.

Natalia decided to spend the remainder of the day with Archie, taking him in, appreciating him, soaking up how little he still was, and when the girls were done with their chores, they joined in, she gave the teenagers their space, knowing they needed it.

At night time, Archie was kicking up a fuss, whilst the twins were trying to sleep, Natalia guessed he was missing his dad, considering he'd barely seen him for the past couple of days.

She left the trailer, the one her and Daryl had got married in when they escaped all those years ago, to get some fresh air, trying to soothe her sons cry's.

"It's alright, shh, lovey, it's okay." She tried, bouncing him as she went in search for her husband.

When she had found him, he pulled her to a stop, covering her mouth as he pointed ahead, three people were scampering around, whispering, Evie, Henry and Lydia, until Lydia demanded to go back to the cell.

"If my dad catches us, we're all gonna be in so much trouble." Evie complained, as they rushed past, not even catching the two adults.

"He's not gonna catch us, we're putting Lydia back, so it's fine, right Lydia?"

She didn't give a response.

Natalia was the one to give the girl her breakfast, finding the two other teens right where she expected.

She had moved silently in order to not wake them. She noticed how Henry and Lydia were holding hands, and Evie curled up by herself, away from Lydia's cell.

"Ahem." She cleared her throat.

"Mom." Evie gasped.

"Mrs Dixon, this was my idea, she didn't wanna be alone, so we were just keeping her company." Henry sat up.

"Go." She nodded her head. "Go help your father with the kids"

"Will do, sorry mom." Evie kissed her cheek as she scrambled past, Henry followed.

"My ear hurts. Everything hurts." Lydia told her. "Does Daryl still have those pills?"

"You should know something, my husbands the soft one, after what you tried with him, I'm not falling for your bullshit." Natalia sighed, setting down the tray of food, grabbing a seat to sit down in.

"My mom's not coming for me." Lydia said. "None of them are. If someone dies or gets taken or whatever, they move on. Like they never existed. That's how it's always been. They don't come into contact with big groups unless they don't have a choice. That's why I-- I was trying to find out everything I could about you. 'Cause then when I escaped. I'd have something to give them. A reason for them to take me back."

"Your mom needs a reason to take you back?" Natalia asked, tilting her head.

She looked down.

"Think our moms would've got on pretty well." Natalia commented. "Except, my mom was clean, very clean, she wouldn't of been walking around with masks of dead people. She would've washed her hands with me if she could. She never hit me, never often, only when I deserved it, to make me better, she hated it too, because she loved me, and it hurt her more to cause me pain, but, she was mostly the type of parent that liked to pretend her kid didn't exist, unless it was something she could shove in other people's faces, prove to them that even as a single mother, she was better than them."

"What about your dad?" She asked.

"My dad was my best friend, and I was his, until he died, when I was four, allergies of all things, sometimes, I used to wonder if my mom did it, if she killed my dad just to get rid of him, but she loved my dad more than she liked me."

"Did she make it?"

"I don't know, she went on a cruise, with my step-dad, right before shit hit the fan, she's most likely dead, or she could still be on that boat, just sailing around the world, avoiding all this shit." Natalia finished talking about herself, opening herself up had done the job, she could see it on Lydia's face. "Where are our people, and don't bother lying to me, I can tell."

"If my mom found them... I can't think of a reason she'd keep them alive. Sorry." She sighed.

Natalia caved, tugging out the bottle of pills Daryl had handed her when she left, moving to drop them in the girls hand, then grabbed a spoon full of water, handing it to her.

The girl graciously accepted it, throwing the pills back.

"See what happens when you co-operate, you earn things." Natalia took the spoon back. "She got a camp somewhere?"

"Near the guard bridge. Maybe a mile east. But we don't-- They don't stay in one place for long."

"What you told my daughter, and Henry, about your family, were you telling the truth?"

"I thought all of it was." She answered honestly. "I needed it to be. But I had it all mixed up. It was a lie, but... the lie wasn't mine."

"Your mom told you it all, like she was the good guy, right? Until you believed it."

"Deep down I knew, I knew what she was. I knew what she did." Lydia agreed, sadly. "My dad was my best friend, too. But then, he was against the wall, scared. And my mom was there. Had that cold look in her eye. Then she-- She got her knife. And then she-."

"I know." Natalia sighed gently, soothingly. "It's okay. I know what you mean, that's alright."

"I'm sorry I couldn't help you." She apologised. "I'm sorry I wasted your time."

"You've done more than enough, Lydia, don't worry about it. Eat your food. Evie is a talented doctor, get her to check you over, considering you seem to know her quite well, on your midnight strolls."

She then left the cells.

"So this whole time. Lydia's mom made her think it was her fault her dad died?" Henry badgered her, as soon as she left the cells. "Why would a mom do that to a kid?"

"Sometimes, people end up with kids when they shouldn't, just how it goes."

"So what happens now?" Henry asked. "Can she stay here with us?"

"It's not up to me, come on, get Lydia some fresh clothes, I'm gonna report back to Daryl and Tara, see what we can do about scoping out that camp. Maybe after you can point out to me who this Gage person is."

"He's an asshole." Henry gave his opinion as he walked the other way. "I told Evie she could do better."

Next

[parttimepuff]

What do you mean “if you were smarter” we love the bird brained bird man as he is

Pretty sure everyone around him does too

However yeah that problem isn’t gonna be solved easily either way//

"yeah no shit." Beep responded quietly, but with restrained force. Thought her father was kinda flattered, and maybe a little insulted, there was a far more pressing issue. "…u-um, do you know exactly, who it was in the photo?" Magolor spoke up with great hesitation, not sure if knowing would help much. "He wasn't that forthcoming about the details." Gremlin replied, shaking his head. "nothing at all?" His niece pressed.

"Just that he had a photo and he knew it was real. So, I'm not sure what all he does or doesn't know." Gremlin explained. "That's… I get why you didn't look so great when I left." Reverie expressed, wondering if he should have stuck around against his wishes. Seeing as they couldn't be sure who it was in the photo, Beep clung tightly onto the shred of hope it wasn't her. Just as tightly as she held the Lego in her hands.

"So, is he gonna have Leo follow you again? What happens now that he has a picture…" Beep asked. "He couldn't really pin me for anything. Was only calling 'cause anons told him I knew something." Gremlin elaborated, his mirror frowning. "Of course." He muttered under his breath. "And he thought maybe I could, 'track' Matters. Which I could truthfully say I couldn't do." The Dream Demon added, clearly uncomfortable mentioning it.

"Geez…" Magolor murmured, unable to verbalize what was going through his head any other way. Anons being involved in this made Beep feel even worse about the situation. But with everything laid out... "So just, stay the same? Hiding?" She questioned, looking drained. "Well, for now. Unless he pushes me a lot more, or finds something else. He's, gonna be paranoid." Gremlin figured. His brother shook his head, lamenting yet another complication. "…yeah. Do you, think he'll start looking more?" Reverie asked.

"I don't know. But I needed to make sure you all knew, so that we're ready if we need to be." Gremlin replied. He certainly hoped he'd gone about this the right way. "does this mean we can never go see him?" Beep whispered. She was practically curling in on herself, the weight of everything feeling like too much. "N-no, it's just, gonna take more caution." Her uncle assured her with what confidence he could muster.

His brother seemed less convinced, though he wished otherwise. "Move slower when he might be speeding ahead?" Reverie pointed out. Gremlin's expression fell. He had to at least share his idea. "…we… It might help, if you met him sooner. Proved you were trustworthy." He suggested. The Dream Fae's feathers bristled instantly at the thought alone.

They weren't really getting anywhere other than upset. Trying to calm everyone down, Magolor took over. "Guys, we shouldn't jump to anything. I'll just keep my ears open, ok? See how Deeds is doing and make sure not to push him." He planned, making sure he had their attention. And it did seem to help, Beep taking a deep breath. "y-yeah, thanks wiz…" She muttered. Much as she wanted to push forward, to prove she wasn't a force of evil, if the others weren't ready, she would wait.

Her friend could tell she wasn't having an easy time, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Of course, Beep. I get that this has set us all on edge, but we don't know if it actually means anything for us yet. So… we just need to, keep doing our best, yeah?" Magolor hoped. Calming down again, Reverie nodded. "y-yeah… Yeah, ok. Um, thanks for coming to tell us anyway, Grem." He said.

Gremlin paused. Maybe he had, entirely overrreacted and just made everyone feel worse. The guilt weighed on him, but he pushed it aside. "Oh, well… shouldn't keep it to myself." He responded. "yeah." Beep agreed, strained as she sounded. Pulling himself together, Reverie came over and patted Beep's back with a wing. "We'll get through it together." He assured her. "together…" She mumbled. As of today, she had more people to be together with. "…we will."

[itsallyscorner]

hey love ❤️ i hope you’re doing good and healthy but i was wondering if you could do a little mix!reader after she gave birth to tom and her’s child. maybe when the girls meet their niece or nephew

💌

The World’s Greatest Aunties

Pairing: Tom Holland x fem!reader, Little Mix x fem!reader

Summary: The girls finally get to meet Baby Holland for the first time.

Warnings: none, spelling errors?

A/n: Hey darling! Thank you so much for the request, I’m so sorry that it took so long. I took a small break from writing Tom fics and writing in general because I needed to recharge the author part of my brain😭😂 I was lacking motivation to write but I’m back now! Thank you again for the request and I hope you like it!💞

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

(Pinterest)

✧───── ･ ｡ﾟ★: *. ☽.* :★. ─────✧

Five pairs of eyes peered over the bassinet, a twinkle of admiration in each one. The house was quiet except for the low hums of the music that played softly in the living room. Occasionally, they would hear the light clicks and taps of Tessa’s nails against the floors. The five of them were quiet, letting out a little coo here and there when the tiny bundle in the bassinet fidgeted.

“I can’t believe you actually made a baby.” Leigh-Anne whispered, cautiously steadying her voice at a quieter tone. You all nodded, agreeing to her comment.

You glance at Tom, who was stood beside you, “We weren’t even planning on having a baby. Someone’s pull-out game was just very weak.”

Tom’s mouth gaped at your statement, a false offended look on his features. “Well, you weren’t complaining while it was happening.”

“Did you really think I’d be in the right headspace to realize how bad your pull-out game was after being railed to the bed?” You quizzed him, standing up straight and placing your hands on your hips.

Jesy’s eyes shifted between you and Tom, “Are you two really talking about how irresponsible you guys are at sex in front of the baby you both made—because of irresponsible sex?”

“But isn’t she the cutest outcome of irresponsible sex?” Perrie cooed, leaning closer to the opening of the bassinet. Tom smirks at you before slinging his arm around your shoulder, “We made a beautiful baby, didn’t we?”

“Don’t flatter yourself Thomas, I’m sure Amelia’s 90 percent (Y/n) and 10 percent you.” Jesy comments, earning her some chuckles from the rest of you except for Tom. Though they’ve know each other for years, and he’s proved himself worthy of you, that still didn’t stop Jesy from giving him a hard time. Of course, all the petty arguments were all in good fun. He’s been slowly growing on her anyway.

“Well she’s definitely got (y/n)’s lips.” Leigh-Anne observed, admiring the sweet baby from above. You leaned your head on Tom’s shoulder as you watched Amelia scrunch her tiny nose.

“But her nose, without a doubt, is Tom’s.” You point out, watching your baby snuggle into her blanket.

“Honestly, you know how some babies are just not cute when they’re first born?” Jade began, voice remaining in a whisper. A few sounds of agreement were heard amongst you all. “Amelia’s probably one of the most cutest newborns I’ve ever seen, and she’s only a few weeks old.”

Tom’s lips morph into a soft smile as he leans back down towards Amelia, “She’s gorgeous isn’t she?” His large hand creeping closer to his daughter to brush his fingers along her chubby cheeks. Though the contact of his cold digits made her jolt, causing a sob to bubble out her small body. Tom gasped, turning around to give you an apologetic look. Before the girls arrived, you had put Amelia down for a nap so she wouldn’t be fussy once the girls were over. You were planning on waiting till she woke up to properly introduce her to the girls, but things don’t always go as planned, do they?

“Oh no!” Perrie cried, moving out the way so Tom can gather Amelia into his arms. Tom held her against his chest, shushing her and slightly bouncing his body to ease her wailing.

“I’m so sorry, sunshine. Daddy didn’t mean to wake you.” He apologized, genuinely feeling bad for waking her up from her nap. He whispered comforting words into her ear, not phased by the fact that she couldn’t even understand him yet. He pressed kisses on the crown of Amelia’s head, trying to calm her down.

“Look at that, she even got your vocals too.” Jesy hummed, smiling at the crying baby against Tom’s chest. You laughed, stretching your hands out towards Tom. Just by the gesture, he knew what you meant. The two of you have only been parents for almost a month now and every single day it seemed like you were both picking up new habits—specifically parental ones. It was like the start of your relationship again, you were leaning new things about each other, but this time as parents.

“Aww, c’mere darling, momma’s got you.” You cooed as Tom helped you place her against your chest. Her tiny head was snuggled into the crook of your neck, the warmth coming from your skin soothing her. You had a hand under her bum while the other was rubbing circles onto her back. Slowly, her cries softened until they were replaced by her cute baby gurgles.

“Are you crying?” Perrie asked. You turned around to see who the question was directed to. Only to find Jesy wiping her eyes and fanning them with her hands. She shook her head trying to brush off Perrie’s question.

“Babe,” you called out to her, “Why are you crying?”

You body gently swayed side to side, trying to entertain Amelia. You all looked at Jesy, an amused yet concerned expression on all your faces. When she felt like her tears weren’t about to spill from her eyes, she tilted her head to look at you again.

“I’m just—you’re an actual mother. Like look at you, you’re so grown up.” She sniffed, eyes watering up again. Jesy and the rest of the girls were just a few years older than you. Being the youngest of the group, they’ve always been protective of you and viewed you as their younger sister. They watched you grow up into an amazing woman, watched you fall in love with Tom, and now here you were—as a mother. The sight was quite emotional.

“Aw Jess.” You walk closer to her, using one of your arms to embrace her. Jesy chokes on her laugh, “No! Don’t hug me, you’re gonna make me cry even more.”

You ignore her protests and continue to wrap your arm around her neck. Jesy allows the hug to happen, wrapping both her arms around your waist.

“It’s okay, I cried a few times too.” Tom tells her comfortingly, handing her a tissue from over your shoulder. She takes it, thanking him quietly, and dabbing her eyes. You hear some more sniffles around the room. Breaking your hug with Jesy, you look around to see Perrie, Jade, and Leigh-Anne with glossy eyes.

“Guys...” You sigh.

“It just sunk in that you’re a mum now. Like you need to take care of another human being and help them become a person and all that.” Jade summed up, blinking away tears. Tom took it upon himself to wordlessly pass around tissues to the four women in the room.

Leigh-Anne came up behind you to move your hair over your shoulders, “You’re gonna teach her so many lessons about life. You’re gonna be the first person she’ll always look up to and her first best friend—I’m so excited for you.”

“I have life lessons too, ya know.” Tom interjected, slightly raising his hand. Jesy glances at him and scoffs, “You have the body of a twelve year old and you cry in movies for a living. What could you possibly learn from that?”

“I don’t cry in all my movies.” He defended himself.

You move your head to look at Tom, “Darling, you’ve literally cried in four out of the five Marvel movies you’ve been in. That speaks volumes.”

Jade’s eyes shifted between Jesy and Tom, “I thought we were having a sentimental moment, how did we go from that to hating on Tom.”

“Because, he’s Tom.”

Tom crossed his arms, squinting at you all, “You know, I thought having Amelia would make you guys like me more—but no, I just can’t catch a break from you lot.”

A joyful sound emitted from Amelia, catching everyone’s attention. The girls cooed and awed at the new member of their little family.

“Oh hello precious!” Perrie squealed leaning down beside you so she can see Amelia’s face. Your baby’s eyes were wide as she stared at the faces crowding above her.

“D’you guys wanna hold her?” The girls eagerly nod, bodies filling with excitement. You handed Amelia to Jesy, showing her how to properly hold your newborn baby. With her new niece’s head resting against her shoulder, she feels her heart swell with joy.

“Oh my, she’s lovely.” She whispered softly, her hand cradling Amelia’s head. She ducks her head to get a closer look at her face, chuckling when she sees the combination of you and Tom on Amelia’s features. Jesy catches a whiff of the newborn baby smell radiating off of her—you know, that light weight baby powder-ish smell?

“And she smells so good!” Jesy announced enthusiastically. Perrie frowns, “I wanna smell the baby.”

“Too bad, you can’t.” Jade teases, poking fun at Perrie’s inability to smell. Jesy passes Amelia to Perrie, who makes grabby hands at her before wrapping her arms around Amelia’s tiny form.

“I’m so sorry for exposing you to the media.” She tells the baby, a chorus of laughter following her apology. Perrie gently pokes Amelia’s cheeks with her finger, “Your cheeks! I just want to squish ‘em and smother you with kisses!”

“I think you’ve had enough time with the baby, my turn!” Leigh-Anne jokes, holding her hands out for Amelia. Perrie carefully hands her to Leigh-Anne, who instantly melts once she holds Amelia against her.

“I want one now.” She whines.

“Ask Andre, I’m sure he’ll give you one in no time.” You wink at her, gesturing to the ring on her left hand. You honestly wouldn’t be surprised if she became pregnant anytime soon. Leigh-Anne took her time holding Amelia, basking in the cloud of baby fever she was currently experiencing. Your daughter was then passed onto Jade, who was thrilled to show her niece all the gifts she had bought her.

You all watched as Jade ventured towards the couch, kindly asking Tom to fetch the large bag that was at your entrance alongside the piles of packages from your family and friends. Ever since you and Tom brought Amelia home, there has been a never ending amount of gifts being delivered to your home. The items ranged from clothes, toys, to diapers, and baby bottles. Your house was practically filled to the brim with baby supplies.

Jade settles on the couch; adjusting Amelia so she can cradle her with her arm and using her free hand to pull out gifts from the bag. You and the rest of the girls sit around her, while Tom looked over the couch behind you.

“You guys really didn’t have to get us anything, just being here and letting us share this moment with you is enough for me.” You expressed, Tom agreeing with you. Jade simply brushed you off, “Oh hush up, let us spoil Amelia. She’s going to be the sixth member of our band, so we need to make sure she’s got the best clothes to look like her mummy and aunties.”

Jade proceeds to pull out a bunch of Disney themed items out from the bag. “Oh you’re gonna love this, I found a bunch off onesies that were princess themed—look!” Jade held up the hanger of multiple Disney onesies for your daughter. “Look Amelia, there’s one for every princess!” You couldn’t help but let out a laugh when Jade began to show every item she bought for Amelia.

Your and Tom’s jaws dropped when she pulled out a Minnie Mouse headband made for babies.

“That is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen, lemme see.” Tom held his hand out towards Jade who handed him the headband. You watched adoringly as Tom inspected the headband, looking at it with fascination. He caught your stare and proudly held up the head band, “Baby, we’ve gotta take her to Disney.”

“Oh, we definitely are, don’t worry.” You assure him, making him proudly fist the air. Without any of you noticing, Jesy slipped out the room to get the gift bag she left out at the entrance.

“I’ve got something too!” She sang entering the living room. She sat back on the couch, Jade passing Amelia to her once she was comfortable.

“Alright, ya ready precious?” Jesy asked Amelia, who grabbed at the bag with her hands. Jesy took her hands in hers and helped Amelia ‘take out’ the tissue paper from the bag.

“Since I know your parents are two of the biggest Harry Potter nerds, I decided to get you this because I know they’ll flip.” She explained before pulling out a baby Hogwarts costume.

“Jesy!” You gasped, leaning in to get a closer look at the clothes.

“They have Harry Potter merch for babies?” Tom exclaimed, rushing to stand behind Jesy’s part of the couch. He began to ramble, asking her where she bought the clothes and if there were more.

Jesy held her hand out to stop Tom from talking, “Wait, wait—WAIT, Jesus Thomas, you’re more excited for these clothes than your daughter.”

Tom shrugged, “Well she can’t express any feelings yet, so I’ll do it.”

“Here.” She passed the costume to him making him cheer. “The costume came with another thing actually.” Jesy took out a baby Hogwarts robe, making you gasp again.

“It comes with the robes too?” You asked in disbelief.

“Yeah, it was an entire set!” Jesy proudly answered. Tom ran his hand along the robe, touching the soft fabric. He let out a squeal, “I love it!”

“Tom darling, the clothes are for Amelia, not you.” Perrie teasingly reminded him. Tom brushes off her comment, “(Y/n), we could all dress up as Hogwarts students for Halloween! We could match costumes!” Tom was practically buzzing with excitement, not allowing you to give him a response.

“Thank you Jesy, it’s nice to know that you have a soft spot for me.” He bumped his fist against her shoulder, which she glared at.

“I don’t have a soft spot for you, twit.”

“Yes you do, you knew I liked Harry Potter.” He held up the Hogwarts costume, “And you got Amelia a baby Hogwarts costume. You went out of your way to give us this gift. It’s enough proof, Jes.”

“I got it for (Y/n).” Jesy argued.

Tom crossed his arms, “Just admit that you like me.”

“No, you’re a menace.” You all watched the exchange between the two. A goofy grin was on his face as he spread his arms out, “I’m gonna hug you now.” Before Jesy can respond, Tom had wrapped his arms around Jesy. She groaned, squirming in his grip.

“Thank you Jesy!” He sang, taking the piss out of annoying her. She smacked his arm, “I get it. Now get off, I’m holding your child!”

Tom lets go with a smile on his face.

“She likes me.” He mouthed to you, motioning to Jesy. You shook your head at him, chuckling.

The girls continued to give Amelia their gifts. Perrie got her a bunch of classic children’s books and some toys. Leigh-Anne had given you a diaper bag and a “mommy and me” set of clothes. You were instantly obsessed with the matching sets, now you and your baby girl can have matching outfits. The night was full of the girls passing Amelia around and playing with her. She hadn’t cried for a single second, happy with the attention she was getting and constantly being held. There was no doubt that she would sleep soundly tonight, much to your and Tom’s content.

You watched as the girls circled around Amelia in the living room. Perrie was currently holding her, talking about how she couldn’t wait to spoil her with all the cutest baby clothes and toys. You overheard them talking about all the things they wanted to teach her; like how to sing. A smile had crept its way onto your lips without you noticing. Suddenly a pair of arms wrap around your waist.

Tom presses a kiss onto your shoulder and rests his chin on it, “You know she’s the luckiest baby in the world? And I’m not just saying that because she’s our child, but she’s really lucky. We’re very lucky.”

“We are, aren’t we?” You hum, leaning your weight against his chest, something he happily welcomes.

“She’s got two amazing parents. That’s us.” He squeezes you and continues his list, “She has grandparents who already love her, a bunch of protective uncles, and the world’s greatest aunties in her corner.” He finished, gesturing to the women in the living room. Yeah, you guys were lucky.

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

🏷Tags ↴

*if there is a cross through your username, tumblr won’t let me tag you:(*

Little Mix!Reader tags

↪︎ @waxingmoonwrites @slutforsebstan @starslazyandcosy @xkonpinkx @dummiesshort @gypsystuf @kielemarie @wroetospidey @thatgirlangelb @have-aheart @adayasgeorgia @xeniarocks @just-here-to-escape-from-reality @agustdowney @itssmadelyn @imthebadguyyy @tomsirishgirlx @roseke @kaylans-imagines @bi-lmg @holsj2411

Tom Holland tags

↪︎ @lovableparker @aprettyfleur @sunwardsss @dummiesshort @thotforcriminalminds @cuddlykoala101 @itstaskeen @whoslili @white-wolf1940 @tomsirishgirlx @roseke @kaylans-imagines @spideyspeaches @slutforsebstan

General tags

↪︎ @quxxnxfhxll @just-here-to-escape-from-reality @thegirlwiththediary @agustdowney @bi-lmg @rqmanoff @sesamepancakes @stardustofreading @dracoswhore007 @amourtentiaa @alyssathesoftie

[letarasstuff]

Too itchy, too loud, too bright

(A/N): This was not requested but I had to get this one off my chest, it started to bug me in my sleep (like Hamilton did to LMM).

Summary: How fast is Spencer able to connect the dots when his daughter complaints about the feeling, loudness and brightness of everything?

Warnings: Descriptions of sensory overload (I described like I feel when I get them and what the internet gave me)

Wordcounts: 1.1k

✨Masterlist✨ ________________________________

When Spencer starts his day, he never expects it to have this outcome. He wakes up his daughter, like every time he does when he is at home and not away on a case. Breakfast, brushing her teeth and doing her hair goes also uneventful. The young doctor likes to get her ready in the bathroom before dressing the girl in order to avoid toothpaste stains. The first mishap happens when the father wants to dress her.

“No Daddy”, (Y/N) screams and throws the shirt he put on her away.

“But Baby”, he tries to console her, “You need to wear a shirt. Or something else. What about the fluffy hoodie with the TARDIS on it?” Spencer hopes she agrees to that, because if not his options are running out.

Luckily for him she nods and lets him change her into the aforementioned clothing article. This is until she begins to whine again. “Daddy, it ITCHY!”

Patiently he asks: “Where does it itch? Is it the sweater or is there something inside that itches.” (Y/N) points to where the label inside the hoodie is. Spender sighs in relief. Finally he is getting somewhere, he thinks while cutting the label off. The father makes a mental note to do the same with all of her shirts.

Because of the whole clothing debacle the small family is running late, which results in them power walking to the train station. “Daddy, loud!” The girl stops and looks up to him. Given their small time window Reid just picks her up and starts walking faster. “Sweetheart, I know the streets are loud, but they are every morning. It will be quieter on the train.”

It seems like anything he does just upsets her further. “NO DADDY! YOU NOT UNDERSTAND” After her outburst, (Y/N) puts her head into her father’s shoulder and her hands over her ears. Only now Spencer connects the dots. The sudden realization makes him mad at himself, he deals with the human psyche on a daily level, but can’t see the symptoms in his own daughter?

“Oh Baby, I think I do now. Let’s get home, where it’s quiet, alright?” While screwing her eyes shut and clamping her little hands over her ears, she nods. As they find their way back with him carrying (Y/N), Reid shoots a quick text to Hotch saying he can’t come in today, because his child isn’t feeling well.

After he shuts the door quietly, he sees an answer from the Unit Chief telling him he hopes that she gets better soon. Spencer nods to himself at that, sure that Hotch thinks something different is wrong than what the case is.

“Ok Sweetheart, what about I shut the blinds on your window and change you out of your hoodie and leggings? Then I’ll wrap you into a little burrito with the soft blanket you got from Auntie Emily and I can read to you while you try to take a nap. You can even wear Daddy’s eye mask, if you want.” Worn down by even the short amount of time she was awake the little girl nods tiredly. “Yes please”, she says in a small voice.

Just like he said, Spencer dims all the light sources in her room, undresses her except for her underwear to reduce any kind of irritating material and swaddles her with the rather heavy blanket in order to make her feel warm and secure.

While reading a cute book named “Rumple Buttercup” by a guy that looks oddly familiar to him (gifted by Garcia for exact that reason), (Y/N) dozes off fairly quickly to Spencer’s relief. He takes a hamper he left next to her closet and takes all of her clothes out laying them in it.

While cutting off all the labels in them as he watches old reruns of Doctor Who on a low volume, a phone ringing startles him. “Dr. Spencer Reid”, the young agent answers it without looking at the caller ID.

“Woah, since when are we this formal? Do you want me to introduce myself with Supervisory Special Agent Derek Morgan or is Derek fine with Mr Three-PhDs?” Though Spencer knows his friend is just joking, it kind of ticks him off.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know it was you, but next time I’ll make sure to take your call with ‘Yo, what’s up man’.” “Wait, what got your panties in a twist, Reid? I just wanted to check up on you. Hotch said (Y/N) doesn’t feel good and I wanted to know if I can swing by on my lunch break?”

Spencer now feels bad for snapping at him. “Morgan I’m sorry. It’s just- yeah. When you get here, can you get milkshakes? I’ll prepare lunch, if you are fine with dinosaur shaped nuggets and french fries.” With a laugh the older one takes the order and confirms the menu.

Not long after this Reid opens the door, he texted Derek to tell him when he gets there to avoid ringing the bell.

“Uncle DEREK!” An excited toddler greets him by the door, a blanket around her neck like a cape. “Woah, hey there my little hero”, he picks her up while getting into the apartment, “You feeling better?”

With a solemn face she nods. “I felt really overwhelmed, everything suddenly got really itchy and was loud and sunny. But Daddy helped me, he read to me and let me wear his cute eyes mask. I looked like an alpaca. Oh, Daddy said you got a surprise?”

After a sweet lunch with a very energetic (Y/N), who is afterwards sent to play in her room, Morgan sits with Spencer down. “You do know, what happened, do you?”

“I-I do. (Y/N) got a sensory overload and I tried to guide her through to the best of my abilities. I think it was mainly sparked by the reasons that she slept bad for a few nights in a row and my mom is not doing good right now and (Y/N) always kind of feels it when something is off. I also assume that the labels on her clothes ends the whole ordeal off. But I know how to prevent them and what to do when she has one. You don’t need to worry”, the father rambles.

After making sure that both of them are fine, Derek plays for a bit with his favorite (and only as of right now) niece before going back to the BAU. The rest of the day for the Reid family is filled with watching several Disney movies, reading books together and color some in. In other words: A day off in the Reid household.

Taglist: 

All works:

@agentshortstacc

Criminal Minds:

@averyhotchner @mggsprettygirl

Spencer Reid:

@calm-and-doctor

x child!reader:

@ilovetaquitosmmmm

[ragingbookdragon]

Nightwing & The Niece Of Midnight

Dick Grayson x Reader One-Shot

Word Count: 1.9K Warnings: Explicit Language

Author's Note: Aye, look who's back with a Dick fic? Get it? Dick fic? Cause I wrote Dick Grayson. No? Alright...enjoy! -Thorne

She glared at the tall man as she leaned against the pillar, her arms tightly crossed over her chest. “I don’t trust him,” she muttered. “I don’t trust him one bit.”

the man next to her glanced out of the corner of his eye and asked, “Who? Nightwing?” She nodded, causing him to laugh. “And why not? Everyone trusts Nightwing. Even the supervillains, sweets.”

She turned her glare from the said man to the one next to her and bit, “That’s the exact reason. Who the fuck in their right—well, right might not be the word to use—mind trusts someone like him?”

He crossed his arms, turning to her. “What’s ‘someone like him’ mean?”

(Y/N) grunted, glowering at Nightwing, who was now laughing and leaning on the speedster that had tagged along on the mission. “Someone who goes around grinning like an idiot all the time. He’s too happy. Too…nice.”

“So, you don’t like him because he’s nice to everyone?”

She eyed him and muttered, “I don’t like or trust someone who’s not selfish in some way. Everyone is selfish. It’s in our DNA.” (Y/N) paused, looking back at the onyx haired man. “Besides, he’s annoying to look at.”

The man beside her hummed in amusement, quipping, “I don’t know about that…he’s very pretty.”

(Y/N) blinked, glancing at him, and deadpanned, “Lucas. You’re married.”

He grinned, pearly whites flashing her way. “Andrew thinks Nightwing is good looking too.”

(Y/N) exhaled through her nose and griped, “I hate you both.”

Lucas barked a laugh, and threw an arm around her neck, pulling her close to him. “Well, that hurts my feelings, niece.”

She yelped, trying to pull away, but he held on, nuzzling the side of her face. “Ow you asshat! You’re scratching my cheek with your scruff!”

“I know!”

“I’m gonna tell Uncle Andrew if you don’t let go!”

“Ooo like I’m scared of the man I sleep next to at night!”

“I’m gonna plant my foot so far inside your as—”

“Hey Midnighter! Athena! Are you gonna keep fooling around or are you gonna join the mission briefing?”

(Y/N) turned her gaze to Nightwing, who wore a grin, and her lips tugged downwards as she shoved against Lucas.

He got the hint, letting her go, and turned to Nightwing, a smirk on his lips as he replied, “Who needs a mission briefing when you’ve got the two best mission wingers on the team?”

“Because of that exact point, Midnighter.” Nightwing waved them over. “Come on. We’ve got work to do.”

(Y/N) felt Lucas nudge her back and she begrudgingly moved her feet, muttering, “I hate him.”

Lucas hummed, fiddling with the royal blue cape she wore. “You’ll live. He’s not that bad, (Y/N). He really is a good person.”

She yanked the cape from his grip and swished it around her body. “I’ll be the judge of that one,” she declared.

***

The two crept along the hallway, (Y/N) leading, Nightwing following close behind. She felt along the wall and murmured, “I’m not feeling any type of vibrations, so it’s safe to say that the rooms are empty.”

“Can you hear anything?”

She rolled her eyes, adjusting the spartan helm she wore. “I don’t have super-hearing, Nightwing.”

“Really? I thought that because your powers were so similar to Apollo’s, that you would. What differences in his and your powers are there, (Y/N)?”

She whirled around, faster than he could react, shoving him up against the wall; his eyes widened behind his domino mask, whereas hers narrowed behind the golden helmet. “I don’t know how close you are with your other teammates, but rest assured, you and I aren’t. Don’t ever use my name during a mission. That’s how people’s identities get discovered and that’s how people get hurt. During missions—you know what, during anytime you see me, it’s Athena and that’s it. Do you understand?”

He blinked in shock, then nodded quietly. (Y/N) stared at for a moment, then released him, turning on her heel and continuing down the hallway.

He walked behind her, staying silent for a few minutes, then he quietly asked, “Why don’t you trust me, Athena?”

(Y/N) grunted, opening a door, and slipped inside. “The reasons for distrust are irrelevant.”

He cast a quick glance down the hallway before leaning against the doorway, watching her survey the room. “I think in order for us to work together, we need to trust each other.”

(Y/N) barked a laugh and turned to face him. “Is that what you think?” He nodded, making her laugh again. “Nightwing, trust is an overrated commodity…so long as we can agree to not let each other die, then that’s all we need to understand.” She walked past him, stopping until they were side by side. “Trust that.”

Nightwing once again followed her to the end of the hallway, then said, “Your uncles trust me…actually, now that I think about it, most people do. You seem to be the only one who doesn’t.”

“My uncles are their own people. I can’t make them believe what they want or don’t want to.”

“Did I do something to you that I’m unaware of? If I did, let me know so I can try and make it right.”

“No.”

“No, I can’t make it right or no I didn’t do anything?”

“You did nothing to me.”

“Then why don’t you like me?”

(Y/N) rolled her eyes as she fiddled with a control panel. “Will you shut up and stop asking questions, Nightwing? I’m not here to play twenty questions with you.”

He glared at her back, crossing his arms over his chest; he was getting irritated with her. “Then what are you doing here? If you don’t like me or the team, why are you on it?”

“Because my uncle asked me to come.”

“Did he want you to make friends with the other kids because you don’t have any of your own?”

(Y/N) clicked her tongue, turning around to face him, a glower in her eyes. “Have you ever been thrown through six consecutive cinderblock walls? Because if you keep babbling, that’s exactly what’s going to happen.”

He leaned forward, getting in her face. “Do I look like I’m scared of you?”

“Can I ask you a question, Nightwing?” He blinked, not expecting her question, but waved for her to continue. “Do you know why they gave the name ‘Apollo’ to my uncle?” He shook his head. “Apollo is the sun god. He’s strong and powerful, something my uncle is. I mean, just look at the feats he’s accomplished. But do you know why they’ve named me, ‘Athena’?”

(Y/N) leaned in closely, the faceplate barely brushing his skin as she whispered, “Athena is the goddess of wisdom, war, and military victory—something I like to refer to as, strategy. There’s a reason I’m referred to as one of the deadliest anti-heroes alive. No one escapes the battlefield alive when it’s under my control.” She searched his hardened blue eyes and questioned, “You’re not scared of me?” (Y/N) hummed, then she threatened, “You should be.”

She pulled away and hit the blinking panel, watching as the door opened before them, then slipped inside, leaving him standing there stunned.

***

She hissed curses as she slipped down the snowy hillside towards the edge, the sounds of her uncle’s screams in her ears. “Shit-Shit-Shit!”

Her hands fumbled in the snow, grasping at anything to stop the sliding, but she grabbed nothing. Her gaze darted over her shoulder a moment, taking in the cliff and the drop below, and as she reached the edge and slid over, time seemed to slow down. Her heart pounded in her chest as her body went light, and she began to drop. As she began to drop, a hand shot out over the edge, gripping her wrist guard.

She gasped in shock, looking up to see Nightwing leaning over the edge, his eyes wide as he exclaimed, “I’ve got you!”

(Y/N) nodded breathlessly, grabbing at his arm with her other hand, her feet pushing against the cliff wall. He strained, a grunt passing his lips as he pulled hard, tugging her over. They collapsed into the snow, (Y/N) resting against his chest, his arms wound tight around her.

One of his hands caressed the exposed skin on her back, and he comforted quietly, “It’s alright…you’re okay…you’re safe.” (Y/N) stayed silent, her heart still pounding against her ribcage at the scare; he leaned back a bit, a hand coming up to cup her cheek. “Hey, Athena…are you okay?”

She met his eyes, and nodded, whispering, “…Thank you, Nightwing.”

He flashed her a smile, murmuring, “Dick.”

(Y/N) recoiled, anger flashing in her eyes as she fumed, “Excuse me?!”

Recognition shot across his face, and he shook his head, stammering, “N-no! My name! It’s Dick!”

She paused, rage dissipating as she remarked, “Oh…oh, that’s what you meant…I thought you were insulting me.”

He chuckled and nodded. “Don’t worry, you’re not the first who’s reacted like that.” (Y/N) hummed, and he looked back at her, smirk dropping into a small smile. “You know, you hide a beautiful face behind that Spartan helmet you wear.”

Her hands shot up to her head, and she grimaced as she realized her helm was gone. “Motherfu—that was the only helm I had.”

Dick tipped his head side to side, helping her to her feet. “You know, I’m friends with an Amazon who’s probably got an extra set of Greek armor stored away somewhere…if you’d like to come with me?”

(Y/N) tugged at the cape she wore, curling it around her body, lips pulling a frown. “If I didn’t know any better, it seems like you’re trying to be my friend.”

Dick grinned, nudging her arm. “I’m just trying to prove I can be trusted…is that such a bad thing?”

(Y/N) walked off, her feet sinking into the snow as she climbed. “No…it’s not.”

When she hit the top of the hill, she was pulled into a hug by her uncle, and she grunted as he squeezed her. “I’m fine, uncle.”

He shook his head, squeezing her tighter. “Nope! I watched you take a dive off a cliff, we are hugging!”

(Y/N) inhaled, patting his back. “There, there, uncle…let go.”

After a moment, he did, holding her face in his palms. “You scared me.”

“Sorry…I slipped.”

Before she could say anything, a smirk worked onto his lips and he quipped, “But Nightwing saved you. See…told you he’s a good guy.”

(Y/N) grunted at him, flipping her cape as she walked off. “I’m leaving.”

“You swoon! You sigh! Why deny it oh-oh!”

“I hate you.”

“Now don’t be proud! It’s okay, you’re in love!”

“I am not, and we’re not discussing this anymore.”

“I wonder what Apollo will say?”

“Shut the fuck up.”

A ways back, Dick stood there, a smile on his lips as he watched the two family members go back and forth; he raised a hand to his ear, speaking quietly, “Hey B? You there?”

A moment later, a gruff voice sounded over the comm. What?

“Is there a regulation for Midnighter and Apollo’s niece in Gotham City?”

…Why?

Dick glanced back at (Y/N) who was holding Lucas in a headlock, humor across his face as rage flashed on hers. He chuckled and replied, “Because I’m thinking about inviting her over for a while.”

[snelbz]

Life As We Know It {Chapter One}

Summary: After the sudden deaths of Nesta’s sister and Cassian’s best friend, they gain guardianship of their nephew, Nyx.

Based on Life As We Know It (2010) and a prompt sent in by anonymous for our Nessian fanfic contest. This is a modern au.

Instead of doing a tag list for this story, we have decided to have a set posting schedule. Chapters will be posted weekly on Mondays and Thursdays. Chapters will be posted on both my and Tara's blogs! >> @tacmc.

Life As We Know It Masterlist

Shelby's Masterlist

Tara's Masterlist

5 years later….

Nyx looked at his birthday cake and the lone candle that was lit atop the icing before looking up at Feyre with a confused expression on his beautiful, little face.

His mother laughed, quietly, before leaning forward and taking out the candle. She had just blown out the flame when Rhys barely pushed the cake closer to Nyx, who put his chubby, little hands smack-dab in the middle of the icing and dug in.

Everyone had come to celebrate, and even Nesta couldn’t stop her smile from showing. At least, she let it show when she was on the opposite end of the house from the one and only, and massively self-centered, Cassian Nazari.

Of course, he would be at Nyx’s first birthday party. He was Nyx’s uncle - maybe not by blood, not that blood mattered when it came to Cassian, Rhysand, and their other lifelong friend, Azriel.

He, too, stood across the kitchen, watching as Elain snapped picture after picture of the jubilant baby, the mess atop his high chair the largest Nesta had ever seen. She knew Elain was taking notes for their own daughter’s birthday party, though she was barely three months old.

Rhysand’s smile was as big as Feyre’s as they watched their son, listening as his giggles filled the kitchen. Nyx realized quickly that the cake was for him alone and after smashing it for a few moments, he lifted a large handful to his chubby face and took a bite. His eyes lit up and that started the giggling anew.

Nesta loved her nephew and niece, had loved him since the day they were born, but she didn’t envy her sisters and their happy families. Unlike them, she had remained perfectly content on her own, especially after the endless string of disaster dates she had been forced to sit through throughout the years.

And children? It wasn’t that Nesta disliked kids. Not all kids, at least. She loved her nephew and niece, anyway. Having one of her own, though? Having to be around one every day? Every night? Having to constantly try and make a tiny person content?

No, thank you. That was a challenge she had little interest in.

A deep rumbling laugh came from across the house and Nesta looked up to find Cassian entering the kitchen, still chuckling at something Mor had said.

As hard as she tried, she couldn’t keep her lip from curling slightly as she looked at him. It only infuriated her more when he caught sight of her as he raised his beer to his lips and winked.

He was absolutely insufferable.

After their catastrophe of a date years ago, which Nesta had made Feyre promise was a stunt she’d never pull again, she had only been forced to be around Cassian Nazari a handful of times.

One of which was during Feyre and Rhysand’s wedding, only months after their date.

“You only have to walk with him for thirty seconds,” Feyre had sighed, while Mor continued to pin and curl her hair into place. “You don’t have to be happy about it.”

“Good,” Nesta said, draining the glass of champagne in her hand. “Because I’m not.”

As Feyre’s maid-of-honor, it was customary that she was supposed to walk out of the wedding arm in arm with Rhysand’s best man. She wished that he’d picked Azriel, but since it seemed the Cauldron hated her, it had to be Cassian.

Elain, who was harboring the world’s most obvious crush on Azriel at the time, was thrilled with how they’d be exiting the wedding. Nevertheless, she said to Nesta, “I think you two got off on the wrong foot. He’s a really good guy, Nes.”

Nesta shot her youngest sister a look of pure annoyance through the mirror’s reflection. “Have any of you ever been on a date with the guy? And not only a date, but the worst date of your life?”

Feyre snorted, fully aware of where this conversation was headed. “No.”

“Then you have no room to talk,” Nesta snapped, admiring herself in the mirror. “Mother’s tits, Feyre, he wore jeans to the nicest restaurant in Velaris!”

“At least he didn’t wear his boots,” Mor muttered, then she caught Nesta’s glare in the mirror. “Really? He wore his boots?”

“He was dressed for an all-night, summer bonfire,” Nesta said, shaking her head. “And he’s completely full of himself. And, he forgot his wallet!”

“Not like you can’t afford dinner,” Feyre said, and Nesta’s lips snapped shut. She was fully aware that the conversation had somehow become a let’s-pick-on-Nesta session.

Feyre added, “You have to walk back down the aisle with him, share an entire table during dinner, and that’s it. No one is asking you to dance with him, but be nice.” Nesta met Feyre’s eyes, her jaw set. Feyre sighed, “Fine, be civil.”

She scoffed, but nodded. “Fine.”

The ceremony itself went off without a hitch. It was beautiful and elegant and the perfect wedding Rhys and Feyre had always wanted.

She ignored Cassian’s unending looks the whole night, managed to give her maid-of-honor speech without snarling at him, and after that, took advantage of the open bar her sister and new brother had so kindly provided.

She was coming out of the bathroom, a glass of wine still clutched in her hand, doing her best not to trip over her own feet when she walked into a wall.

A wall of solid muscle that turned out to be Cassian’s back.

When he turned around and she looked up at him, his eyes were nearly as glazed as hers.

“Hello, Nes,” he said, smirking down at her.

She bit out, “Don’t call me that.”

“That was a pretty, little speech you gave,” he said, leaning against the wall. “I know true love exists cause I’ve seen it first hand. Poetic.”

Nesta scoffed, brushing off the skirt of her dress as if he had tainted it. “Don’t flatter yourself. I wasn’t referring to you. I was talking about Feyre and Rhys, in case you thought otherwise.”

“Oh, I didn’t,” he promised. “Honestly, I didn’t think you were talking about anyone. Just some fluffy shit that sounded sweet. Unless it’s that guy that showed up at the restaurant and ruined our date. Oh, wait,” he began, tapping his chin as if in deep thought, “You dumped him though, right? Poor bastard.”

“You’re a prick,” Nesta bit out. She refrained from saying that Tomas hadn’t ruined their date. It was sad that seeing her ex was one the bright points of her night, rather than seeing the Greek god standing before her. The pretentious, cocky asshole of a Greek god.

He only grinned. “But am I a liar?”

Nesta’s jaw locked. She eyed his tux. “I’m just glad you decided to clean up for your own brother’s wedding. No jeans?”

He scoffed. “Is that the worst you’ve got?”

“Do you prefer me to give you my worst?” she asked, brows furrowing. “If so, you may want to be careful what you wish for.”

Cassian said nothing, just lifted the beer she hadn’t noticed in his hands to his lips.

Nesta rolled her eyes, brushing past him, and made a move to head back into the reception.

His voice called out behind her, “You don’t have to be such a miserable bitch, you know?”

She froze, looking back at him. He was no longer smirking at her. Instead, his eyes were intense. “Excuse you?”

“You’re so miserable that you won’t allow anyone else to have any fun, won’t allow yourself to either,” he said, still leaning against that damn wall. He crossed his arms over his muscular chest, his dress shirt tight and loose in all the right places. “You want everyone else to suffer, just because you’re forcing yourself to, for whatever reason.”

“You don’t know a damn thing about me,” she bit out, stalking back over to him. She was so close she had to look up into his face.

“I don’t,” he said, words clipped. “I tried, but you didn’t seem very inclined to let me get to know you during our date. You were more concerned with my attire and your ex than you were with me. You thought all I wanted to do was fuck you.” His eyes, still glassy and glazed, dragged down her body and back up again. “Besides, you’ve got that damn stick shoved so far up your ass, there wouldn’t have been room for my cock even if I’d really even tried.”

A blink was Nesta’s only reaction. Then her hand was moving of its own accord, splashing her full glass of wine directly in his face and all over that pretty, white shirt.

“Go fuck yourself,” was all she’d said before she walked back into the ceremony, leaving him there to drip on the venue’s fancy carpet.

“Nesta!”

She blinked, Feyre’s voice drawing Nesta out of her memories, looking over at her sister. She stood next to Rhys and Elain, who had her camera in her hands, and Cassian stood behind Nyx’s high chair.

“I want a picture of him with his godparents, come here,” she beamed and Nesta tried not to cringe.

She had been so proud, her heart feeling like it would burst when Feyre and Rhys had asked her to be Nyx’s godmother. There was no hesitation when she said yes, tears lining her eyes as she’d hugged both her sister and brother-in-law.

She tried not to think about the fact that when they’d told her Cassian was his godfather, she nearly asked them to give the distinction to Elain.

But she hadn’t, wouldn’t. Despite what others, especially Cassian, thought of her… Nesta loved her nephew.

She loved her family.

With a sigh, Nesta meandered over to Nyx’s high chair. “Alright.”

“Closer,” Feyre ordered, gesturing Nesta to move in closer beside Cassian behind the high chair.

Nesta’s lips pursed but she took another step toward the boys for her sister’s sake.

“I’m not poisonous, Nesta,” Cassian muttered, smiling at the camera as he spoke. “You won’t burst into flames if we brush arms.”

“You’d be so lucky to brush arms with me,” she muttered back, hoping the smile she was giving her sister was convincing - and knowing full well that it wasn’t.

Without another word, Cassian tossed his arm around Nesta and said, “Cheeeeese!”

Nyx was giggling, looking up at his godparents behind him. There was so much joy and adoration in those big, beautiful eyes that Nesta didn’t have the heart to storm off, leaving Cassian in her dust, no matter how much she wanted to.

The camera’s flash went off and Nesta pushed Cassian’s arm off her shoulder.

The rest of the party was perfect. Feyre took Nyx up to the bathroom to clean him off, while Rhysand, Azriel, and Cassian hauled his many gifts out into the living room. Feyre opened them one by one, despite everyone knowing Nyx had no clue what was going on, though he did clap his chubby little hands and giggle at a few particular items. Nesta stood off to the side with Elain, holding a milk-drunk, sleepy Seph in her arms.

Azriel and Elain’s little girl had been a surprise, neither of them planning on Elain getting pregnant so soon after they got married. They both fell into the role of parents so seamlessly though, that Nesta knew another baby would be in their near future. They adored the baby girl, and she was the most perfect baby Nesta had ever seen.

Persephone hardly cried, only doing so when she was hungry or needed to be changed, and once whatever wrong was taken care of, she became a happy, smiley baby again.

Nyx, on the other hand, had been a hellion as a baby.

Which was to be expected, considering who his father was. Although responsible when necessary, Rhysand was just as much of a madman as Cassian...especially when infused with alcohol.

“You look good with a baby,” Elain crooned from beside her sister.

Nesta rolled her eyes. “You can keep trying to push me down the marriage-baby road, but I just won’t take it. Wasting your time.”

Elain sighed, dramatically, with that little grin remaining on her soft pink lips. “As long as you stay such a good auntie, I suppose I can’t complain.”

Nesta looked down at the sweet, sleeping infant in her arms. She didn’t mind those little snuggles.

She did mind the diaper blowouts, constant spit-ups, and loud crying, though. That’s usually when she gave Seph back to her parents and blissfully enjoyed her independent life.

Feyre gasped and Nesta looked up. She was holding a little guitar that had Nyx’s name and the night sky engraved into the dark-stained wood.

Nesta’s eyes snapped to Cassian.

Cassian smiled, fondly, at Feyre. “I know he won’t be able to start messing with it for another few years, but I couldn't help myself.”

“He made that himself, you know.” Nesta’s eyes shot to Elain, who was watching the scene before them. She whispered again, “He doesn’t do it for a living, of course, but it’s a hobby of his, making guitars. He’s really good.”

She blinked, the information catching her off guard for whatever reason. But all she said was, “That’s nice.”

She spent the rest of the afternoon, ignoring the man as much as she could, as she always did. But as the guests began to dwindle, as Nyx and Seph went down for their naps, the three sisters gathered in the living room, while Rhys, Azriel, and Cassian went out back to inspect the small jungle gym Rhys was building for Nyx. Again, he was too young to use most of it, but the tiny swing and slide would be hours of fun for the little man.

Feyre brought two cups of coffee out to her sisters before collapsing next to Elain on the couch. “That could not have gone better if we tried.”

Nesta leveled her a look and raised an eyebrow.. “If we tried? You had a minute-by-minute itinerary for a one-year-old’s birthday.”

“Everything was perfect,” Elain smiled, cutting off Nesta, blowing on her coffee gently. “Nyx had a good time, neither he nor Seph had a blow-up, Cassian and Nesta managed to be in the same room without stabbing each other. All in all, a good day.”

Nesta rolled her eyes before throwing a vulgar gesture towards her sisters, who were both laughing.

“Fine, new subject,” Feyre grinned. “Oh! Before I forget, Rhys and I are going out of town for our anniversary in a few weeks. I was hoping you could watch Nyx for a few days.”

It took Nesta a moment to realize that Feyre was talking to her. She froze, having been blowing on her own hot coffee. “I’m sorry, what?”

Feyre laughed, quietly. “I was hoping that you could watch Nyx while Rhys and I go away for a long weekend. We’re going to the mountains for our anniversary. To his family’s cabin.”

“Oh, that sounds nice,” Elain said, looking at Nesta.

Who blinked, having only unfrozen to set her coffee down on the table between them. “You want me…to watch Nyx…for the weekend? Alone? By myself? Just me and him?”

“That’s what I was hoping for, yeah,” Feyre said, nodding as she sipped from her cup. “You can come here, where all of his stuff is in one place, and make yourself at home.” She shrugged. “I’ll leave money for takeout and the key to the wine cabinet.”

Nesta hesitated. “I’ve only babysat Nyx a couple of times…all for, like, an hour each.”

“It will be fine,” she said, a genuine smile on her face. “It will only be three nights, really. We’ll leave after work on Thursday and be home Sunday evening.”

Nesta stammered and shook her head. “I have to work on Friday, the restaurant-.”

“I’ll keep him during the day on Friday,” Elain offered. “I don’t have any shoots that day, so he can spend the day with me and Seph.”

“You could keep him the whole weekend,” Nesta tried, looking at her younger sister hopefully.

“Seph is enough of a handful,” she chuckled, glancing at Feyre, who was nodding as well. “I don’t think I can handle two at once for an entire weekend.”

“Please, Nes,” Feyre said, drawing her eldest sister’s eyes to her. “I know you can do it and it would be nice for you to spend some time together, just you two.”

“And you can call me, if you need anything,” Elain added.

Nesta looked from Feyre to Elain. “You two already planned this.” They at least had the wherewithal to look guilty. She sighed, closing her eyes and shaking her head. “Fine. But I’ll probably end up calling both of you every thirty seconds.”

“I can work with that,” Feyre said, just as Elain said, “Then it’s settled!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Nesta snorted, shaking her head. “But, I hope you know that I wouldn’t do this for anybody else.”

“Oh, I know,” Feyre grinned, “which is what makes you such a wonderful, wonderful big sister.”

“I am pretty damn wonderful,” Nesta agreed, grinning as she sipped from her mug.

As she drank, she peeked out the window, where the boys were putting together the playset. Once she did, only one thing caught her eye.

Cassian was already watching her.

And when he caught her gaze, that stupid little, cocky-ass grin appeared.

She hated that grin, hated it with every ounce of her being.

And she wouldn’t feel bad for it, no matter how much her sisters adored the guy.

She hated him, hated Cassian Nazari.

And she always would.

[softspideys]

The Perfect Date

summary: tom makes it his mission to take you on the perfect first date. the only problem is, you have no idea. 

warnings: none

word count: 3.6k

pairings: tom holland x reader

a/n: this was supposed to be a valentine’s day fic but then I forgot about it. oops. plz enjoy anyway

Tom had just started the last lap of Wario’s Gold Mine when he heard Zendaya ask, “Got any plans for Valentine’s Day?”

He tried not to pay attention to your answer, focusing on keeping his lead, but he couldn’t help it. His eyes flickered over to where you were sitting at the kitchen table, absently circling your finger around the rim of your wine glass.

You straightened up at her question, scoffing. “Are you kidding? When’s the last time you saw me date anybody, Z?”

“Hey,” she said, pointing at you accusingly. “Don’t even start with me. I set you up with people all the time, it’s not my fault you’re so picky.”

“It’s called having standards,” you fired back. “Sorry I’m not interested in pretentious jerks who insist on mansplaining Tarantino films to me over their venti-soy-no-foam latte with a triple shot of espresso.”

Zendaya cackled, and though he couldn’t see your face, Tom could tell you were smiling too; your words had no real bite to them.

“Seriously though,” you continued with a sigh. “I think I might just give up dating for a while. Lately it feels like my only options are either crappy blind dates or going through a sleazy hookup app for some mediocre sex. I can’t remember the last time I got properly asked out and went on, like, a nice date.”

As soon as you said that, the gears started turning in Tom’s head. And then he got an idea so good he almost forgot about the race entirely, until Harrison hit him with a red shell and passed him, sailing over the finish line in first place.

“Yes!” Harrison cheered, causing you and Zendaya to look over, startled. “Finally, I won!”

“Wow,” Zendaya said, amused. “I think that’s the first time you’ve ever lost in Mario Kart, Holland.”

“Yeah, what’s gotten into you?” you asked teasingly as Harrison got up and did a victory dance.

Tom normally hated losing, but he was too preoccupied at the moment to care. “Nothing,” he said quickly. “Just . . . a little rusty, I guess.”

You raised your eyebrows, but then Zendaya challenged Harrison to a rematch, and the two of them immediately started a new grand prix while you called dibs on the winner. With the distraction in place, Tom had plenty of time to come up with a plan.

The four of you had been friends for years, but he’d always harbored something of a crush on you. He’d never tried to push the boundaries or pursue you because he liked your relationship as it was already, and didn’t want to make you uncomfortable. But this would be different. This was harmless. He was simply going to show you how you deserved to be treated, give you a good date to remember among the bad ones.

Nothing else. Right?

* * *

You eyed the huge bouquet of roses your coworker had on her desk and tried not to feel too envious. She’d made a big show of bringing them in this morning and inviting everyone who walked by to smell them, going on and on about how her girlfriend had surprised her for Valentine’s Day yesterday.

So what, you thought to yourself. I can get myself flowers whenever I want; I don’t need a holiday to have an excuse to do it. It really didn’t make you feel better though.

“Hey,” a familiar voice said, making you jump a mile. You looked up. Tom was peering over the wall of your cubicle, which was . . . unexpected. He hardly ever visited you at work.

“Oh, hi,” you said. “I didn’t even see you come in.”

“Yeah, you were totally zoned out,” Tom said. “Good thing I brought caffeine.” He placed a to-go cup from your favorite coffee shop on your desk. You saw the order written on the side; he’d gotten it exactly right.

“Wow,” you said, surprised but grateful. “Thanks.” You’d already had coffee this morning, but clearly it was shaping up to be a two-cup type of day. You took a careful sip and felt better already.

“No problem.” Tom followed your line of vision to your coworker’s desk. “Pretty flowers.”

“Yeah,” you agreed, a little quietly. You cleared your throat. “So, what’s up? Did we have plans today or something?”

“Oh, no,” he said, shifting from foot to foot, “but that’s actually kind of what I wanted to talk to you about.” He seemed nervous, which in turn made you nervous.

“Okay,” you said, giving him your full attention.  

“So . . . are you doing anything this Friday night?”

It was only Monday. You thought for a second before shaking your head. “I don’t think so.”

“Would you like to have dinner? With me?”

You furrowed your eyebrows. That was it? “Oh. Sure.”

You could’ve sworn you saw his eyes widen the slightest bit. “Really? I mean, great. Cool.” He scratched his nose. “So, Friday at six o’clock, then? I’ll text you the name of the place?”

“Sounds good,” you said. He seemed excited, though you couldn’t figure out why. You got dinner with him, Harrison, and Zendaya at least once a week.

“Alrighty,” Tom said, swinging his arms a little and nodding. “Well, I’ll let you get back to work. See you Friday.”

“See you,” you said. Did he really come all the way to your office to ask you this in person instead of just texting you like he normally would? Maybe he’d been nearby or something. You watched him leave, mostly confused but also kind of endeared.

“Was that your boyfriend?” your coworker asked, subtly adjusting her flowers again.

You quickly shook your head, turning back to your computer and taking another sip of your coffee. “Oh, no. Just a friend.”

As Tom left your office, he allowed himself to do a small fist-pump. Getting you to agree was the hardest part. Now came the slightly-easier-but-still-hard part: making sure he gave you the best first date ever.

* * *

Something strange was going on with Tom. You first realized it when you brought up the dinner on Friday to Zendaya and she had no clue what you were talking about.

“Tom didn’t invite you?”

“Nope.” She popped the “p.”

“Huh.” You chewed your lip. “That’s . . . weird. Maybe he figured I’d just tell you about it. And I guess you don’t really need an invitation anyway . . . do you think he invited Harrison?”

“I don’t know.” You were on the phone, so you couldn’t see Zendaya’s face, but it kind of sounded like she was trying not to laugh. “Maybe he wants it to be just the two of you.”

“Maybe.” It was rare, but it wasn’t like you never spent time with just Tom or Harrison.  You couldn’t remember the last time you had dinner with either of them one-on-one, though. This seemed . . . different. “But I’m sure he won’t mind if you guys show up,” you said with a shrug.

Now Zendaya did laugh. “No, no, it’s fine,” she said. “I think I’m supposed to babysit my niece and nephew anyway. You guys have fun.”

Then there was Tom himself. You hadn’t seen him in person since Monday, but he’d been texting you random questions all week:

Do you prefer a casual or an elegant ambiance?

How many candles on a table is too many? Or do you think overhead lamps are better?

Oyster bars . . . yes/no?

You answered all of them with increasing bemusement, but any time you asked why he would mysteriously change the subject. You couldn’t help but feel like there was something you were missing here.

Finally, he sent you the name of the restaurant on Friday morning: Soul & Persona.

You’d never heard of it, so you decided to look it up. One glance at their website told you this place wasn’t like the casual restaurant-and-bars you and your friends usually frequented. This was fancy. Clicking over to the menu, you inhaled sharply at the prices written next to the items. Luckily, today was payday.

You arrived at the restaurant shortly before six. Another person was already standing outside, and as you got closer you realized it was Tom. Two things about that were already weird: one, he was normally notoriously late to everything; and two, he was holding a bouquet of roses in one hand that were so big they nearly obstructed his face.

He didn’t notice you approaching, busy frowning at something on his phone. “Hey,” you said at last, making him jump.  

“Oh! Hey!” He cleared his throat, shoving his phone in his pocket. “I mean—good evening.” He did a strange little bow before thrusting the flowers at you. “These are for you.”

“Wow,” you said, taking them carefully. “They’re beautiful. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. You look really nice.”

You were glad you researched the restaurant in advance, because the jeans and t-shirt combo you’d originally planned on wearing would definitely not have been appropriate here.

“So do you,” you said. He did: he was wearing slacks and a nice dress shirt under a jacket, his hair neatly combed.

“Thanks. Should we go in?” he asked. You nodded, and he hurried to open the door, ushering you inside. It was crowded, which made you a little worried. How long would the wait time be?

But Tom went right up to the hostess stand. “Hi,” he said, “we have a reservation for two at six; the name is Tom?”

She looked at her book and nodded. “You can follow me right this way.” She led you to a quiet corner of the restaurant and seated you at a table by the window. “Enjoy your meal.”

“Here,” Tom said, pulling your chair out before you could sit down. Again, you couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.

“This place is crazy nice,” you said, looking around as the hostess placed a wine list on the table.

“Yeah,” Tom agreed, a little distractedly. “Um. So. Do you prefer to work in a team or alone?”

You blinked. “What? Where’d that come from?”

He shrugged, fidgeting with his collar like he was nervous. “I—I dunno. Just making conversation.”

“Oo-kay,” you said with a laugh. “Well, I haven’t seen you since you blessed my office with your presence on Monday. How was your week? Didn’t you have to give a presentation yesterday?”

“Yes, and one of the board members literally fell asleep during it,” Tom said, wrinkling his nose.

He seemed to loosen up after that, and the conversation flowed naturally from then on as you talked about your plans for the weekend, your friends, your families, and any other random thoughts that occurred to you.

For dinner you tried a pasta dish while Tom got steak, and you each had the soup of the day for an appetizer. Your knowledge of wine was limited to whatever was cheapest when you went to the liquor store, but Tom had apparently become an expert overnight: he asked the waiter all kinds of questions about their reds vs. their whites before finally ordering a bottle for the two of you to share.

All in all, it was an enjoyable dinner. You always had fun with Tom, of course, but you rarely got to spend time with just him. And though you normally stayed away from expensive places like this one, you had to admit the food was delicious and the ambiance made you feel very sophisticated.

“Can I get either of you some coffee or dessert?” the waiter asked as he cleared your plates. You’d never been one to say no to that, but Tom jumped in before you could open your mouth.

“No thank you,” he said quickly. “Just the check please.” Then he looked at you. “I thought maybe we could walk to that bookstore you like? The one with the bakery in it? We could—we could get dessert there and browse.”

“Oh,” you said, surprised. “Yeah, that sounds great.”

“Cool.” He sounded relieved.

The waiter brought out the bill and Tom grabbed it as soon as he set it on the table. “What are you doing?” you protested. There was normally an agreement among your friends that everyone paid for their own meals when you went out to dinner.

“I’m paying,” he insisted, waving you off as you fruitlessly tried to put your own debit card down.

“At least let me Venmo you for my half.”

“Nope.”

“Tom!”

“Seriously, it’s fine.” He wouldn’t even let you see how much the meal cost.  

You could tell he wasn’t going to budge for whatever reason, so you had no choice but to relent. “If you’re sure,” you said, watching him smugly sign the receipt. You made sure to grab your flowers before you got up and followed him out of the restaurant.

The bookstore you liked was a few blocks away, but you didn’t mind the walk. The air was warm but balmy, refreshing on your face. “That was amazing,” Tom said.

“It was,” you agreed. “I’m convinced they put actual crack in that pasta sauce. It was otherworldly.”

He laughed before he asked, a little hesitantly, “So are you . . . having a nice time?”

You looked over at him questioningly. “Of course I am. But I always have a nice time with you.”

“Good,” he said quietly, nodding. “Good.”

“Are you?”

“Yes,” Tom said immediately. “I just wanted to make sure. So, what are some of your pet peeves?”

“What is it with you and these questions?” Thankfully, you arrived at the bookstore and were spared from answering.

One of your favorite things about hanging out with Tom was that you didn’t necessarily need to be attached at the hip or in constant conversation in order to have fun. As soon as you entered he made a beeline for the True Crime section while you went to look at the new releases.

It was nice to just browse on your own for a while, and you ended up buying a book you’d been wanting to read ever since it came out. Tom was still perusing the shelves after you checked out, so you sneakily went up to the bakery counter and bought some dessert.

He found you sitting at a table in the cafe, reading your new book. “What’s this?” He gestured to the two pieces of cake and cups of decaf coffee on the table in front of you. “You should’ve let me pay!”

You’d been anticipating this, so you merely rolled your eyes. “Cry about it. You paid for dinner; it was the least I could do.”

“That’s not how this works,” Tom objected, but he reluctantly sat down and pulled his cake towards him anyway. The two of you discussed your books while you ate, and you tried not to act like you were eyeing his slice the entire time.

He noticed, of course. “You wanna try?”

You nodded sheepishly. You expected him to push the plate towards you, but instead he scooped a piece up onto his fork and held it out. “Here.” A little surprised, you opened your mouth and allowed him to feed it to you. For some reason it felt oddly intimate.

He was watching you expectantly as you chewed. “Good?”

“Yeah,” you managed to say, swallowing. “Really good.”

It was getting late and the store was closing soon, so you left after finishing your coffees. Usually this was when you’d call it a night and go home, but this time you felt no strong desire to. So when Tom started walking along the river instead of heading back towards the restaurant, you didn’t mind at all, falling into step beside him.

The night sky was clear, giving you a breathtaking view of dozens of stars. Hardly anyone else was around, and the river below was quiet and calm. It was like you were suspended in time. You couldn’t remember ever feeling so peaceful.

Tom’s hand bumped yours as you walked. You didn’t think anything of it at first, but then it happened again, and this time he laced his fingers through yours.

For some reason that was what made everything suddenly fall into place, for you to finally put two and two together and realize what was going on.

Oh my God.

“Tom,” you said hesitantly, shattering the comfortable silence between you.

“Yeah?”

“Is this . . . a date?”

He stopped walking, forcing you to do the same. Under the soft glow of the streetlights you could see he was staring at you. “Wait,” he said slowly. “This whole time . . . you didn’t know?”

Now that he’d basically just confirmed it, everything started to make sense: coming all the way to your office just to ask you to dinner, bringing you coffee, making reservations at a fancy restaurant, paying for the meal—

You were on a date and you hadn’t even realized.

“Oh, God,” was all you could say. You almost wanted to laugh, though nothing about this was even remotely funny. It was like you’d been hit over the head with a brick.

How could you not have known? It should’ve been obvious when he paid for the meal; no, when you realized you’d be eating at such a fancy place; no, when he showed up randomly on Monday, brought you coffee, and fucking asked you to dinner.

You both seemed to realize at the same time that you were still holding hands, and he quickly dropped it and stepped back. For the first time since you’d met, the air between the two of you was awkward. “I—I’m so sorry. I thought you knew.”

“I should’ve known,” you said, shaking your head. “I’m so stupid, I just didn’t think—” You didn’t finish your sentence. You honestly couldn’t figure out why you didn’t realize it sooner.

Because he’s your friend, a voice in the back of your head reminded you. He’s your friend and he’s never expressed any interest in you before, not like this.

That was true. You’d always thought Tom was handsome, and maybe early on in your friendship you’d fantasized about him once or twice. But he always treated you normally, never outwardly showing any sign of wanting more.  

“You’re not stupid,” he said immediately. “I should’ve made it more clear.”

“I’m just confused, I guess,” you said carefully. “I mean . . . why now? And why . . . me?”

He exhaled. “I overheard you the other day when you and Z were talking, and you were saying something like . . . you hadn’t been properly asked out and taken on a nice date in a while. So I guess I just wanted to do that for you. Make you happy.”

Your brain felt like it was short-circuiting. You didn’t know what to say to that, but he seemed to take your silence as a cue to keep going.

“That’s why I came to your office, to ask you in person instead of doing it over text or whatever. And I saw you looking at those flowers your coworker had, so I bought you some. And I picked this restaurant because it was nice but also because it was near the bookstore. And I memorized some first-date questions in case our conversation got boring, but I think that probably wasn’t necessary.” He sucked in a deep breath. “And now that I’m saying all of this I realize how weird it sounds. I’m sorry. I’m really sorry if I made you uncomfortable.”

“Oh,” you said dumbly. His previous words were still echoing in your head. I guess I just wanted to do that for you. Make you happy.

He’d taken the time to think about all the things you liked and used that knowledge to plan the Perfect Date. You couldn’t remember the last time anyone had done something so kind, so thoughtful, so . . . romantic. Did this mean what you thought it meant?

Of course, the only way you were able to translate all of this was with, “Wow.”

But then he added, “And—and I didn’t do all of this because I thought it would lead to a second date or anything like that. I only—”

“Wait,” you interrupted, your stomach plummeting. This conversation was giving you whiplash. “So you . . . don’t like me?”

“Huh?”

“You did all of this . . . just because? You don’t actually want to go on a date with me?” Now you were more confused than ever, and a little hurt beneath that.

Tom’s eyes widened. “No! Well yes, but . . . no. Wait.” He took a deep breath. Now or never, right? “I do like you, but this was separate from all that. I only meant that I wasn’t expecting anything from this. I just wanted you to have a good time.”

You nodded slowly, exhaling. “Okay. So . . . what if I told you that I did have a good time, that I like you too, and I want go out with you again?”

Tom blinked at you owlishly for a second before his face split into a huge grin, one you were sure your own was mirroring. “Then . . . I’d say . . . same. To all of it.”

“Good,” you said, stepping closer. “In fact, I think this has almost been the perfect first date.”

He paused. “Wait, almost? What would make it perfect?” He furrowed his eyebrows, looking a little panicked. You laughed, reaching up and cupping his jaw.

“It has to end with a good-night kiss, doesn’t it?”

Tom relaxed, his hands finding their way to your waist. “Oh. Yes, you’re absolutely right.”

The two of you were still smiling as you kissed, and Tom lifted one of his hands to do a silent, sneaky fist-pump. 

Mission: success.

[rayslittlekitten]

You Got This - Part 2

I recommend reading Part 1 first if you haven't.

Plot: After having a heart to heart, you and Jax re-live your youth.

Pairing: Jax Teller x F! Reader

Contains: a lot of fluff and fluffy sex, also a shit ton of Jax smoking porn, and you see his butt 🙃

A/N:  Thank you Anon for this request.  I hope you and the other readers enjoy this (if not more) than the first part. This took me longer than I expected to write this, but it's finally done.  I kept going back and forth on trying to decide what to include and what not to.  Also, had I known I was going to be writing a part two for this, the beginning of this would have been at the end of part one, but hindsight is 20/20. I actually did already write out most of the beginning but decided to leave it out of part one because I thought where I left it was a good place to end it. I also thought about eliminating it completely but I really like the interaction that happens with Gemma.  To me it's like a beauty shot. Is it necessary and does it move the story along at all? Not quite, but it looks good so let's just leave it in there anyways. Also to squeeze a little bit more angst out of Jax.

Also, I had a bit of trouble writing this as well because as strange as this sounds, I couldn't find the perfect song to pair with this.  Sometimes I need music to help me get into the mindset and mood.  I was going for like a nostalgic summer love kinda thing. I had actually thought to use a song form the mid-90s because to really make it feel nostalgic and Shanice's "Saving Forever For You" was the winner for that but I decided it was not right for this. Maybe their actual first time, yes.  Then it was a toss up between "Honey Whiskey" by Satica and "Take Me Away" by Sinead Harnett/EARTHGANG and the latter won given the situation. I'd recommend giving it a listen below (or any of the songs listed) to get the mood I was going for while writing the sex scene. I really thank you for reading my ramblings if you've gotten this far. I just want to give the readers the best experience to my stories and how it was intended when I wrote it.

A loud commotion outside interrupts the moment and you both realize you need to get dressed before someone finds the both of you.  He pulls out of you and you both quickly get yourselves together. You hop into the bathroom inside the bedroom to clean yourself up. When you walk out, you see Jax sitting on the bed smoking a cigarette with all his clothes and hair in place, like he had been sitting there this whole time and didn't move from his spot when you first walked in.  He glances over to you and you're reminded of how his handsome charming face is something you miss so much.

"I should probably go before someone starts looking for either of us." You walk out of the bathroom and towards the front door.  Jax grabs your hand and pulls you back to him.

"Hey." He stands up, cups your face and looks at you. "It's really good to see you again."

Suddenly you both hear the door knob rattling and then a knock following it.

"Jax, are you in there, honey?" You both hear Gemma on the other side of the door. 

You both separate and smooth yourselves out and Jax walks over to open the door. 

"Honey, what are you doing in here? Tara--" Gemma's facial expression shifts when she spots you. She looks at the both of you suspiciously. You both thought you were so slick when you were younger but if there was anyone who knew what you both were up to, it would be Gemma. Nothing slips past her. In fact, she’s always secretly hoped you two would get together. You were born into SAMCRO, making you MC royalty. The Princess of Charming.

"Oh, I didn't know you were in here too. I'm very sorry about Opie, sweetheart." 

"Thank you, Gemma." You walk closer to the door and Gemma pulls you in for a tight hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Where's your fiancé?" Gemma asks curiously.

"Fiancé?" Jax glances over at you.

"I came by myself this time," you answer. "We're kind of on a break." You wrinkle your nose.

"I'm sorry to hear that too. Must be one hell of a break." Gemma's knowing eyes are boring a hole into you. "Lyla tells me you're staying a while?"

"Yeah, I'm gonna help her out with the kids for a week or so until she can figure it out.  I know you and the club will be a big help, but with everything going on, I think her and the kids can use another familiar face."

"Family is important and I'm very happy to see you here." Gemma's eyes shift to Jax with the same knowing look she gave you. "Well, whenever you're ready, Tara's looking for you."

"Thanks, mom." Jax runs his hand over the top of his hair. Gemma glances at you both again once more before she walks away.

You start making your way out the door when Jax pulls you back in.

"You're engaged?" Jax asks with wide eyes.

"Was," you reply. 

"Was it to that pretentious English prick you brought back with you last time?" Jax snarls.

"Ray is a good guy and he treats me really well. We're just going through a bit of a rough patch right now," you tell him. "Also, the last I heard, you're married with two children, Teller."

Jax just looks at you, knowing he has no right to be upset about you being with another man.

"And I believe your wife is looking for you," you say before walking away from him as you see your nephews and niece running up to you. "Hey guys!"

Jax takes a drag of his cigarette while he continues watching you as you kneel down to greet the kids.

A few days later...

The sun is beginning to set and Jax is at the clubhouse. Most of the people have already left. He needs some quiet and alone time after spending a few days earlier in the week not just watching his best friend get killed, but also saying goodbye and laying him to rest. He climbs up the ladder onto the roof of the clubhouse, one of his favorite places to think and reflect quietly while smoking.  What he didn't expect to find is someone else had beat him to the spot.

"I didn't know you were here," Jax says as he walks over and sits next to them. "You've been avoiding me like the plague all week."

"I miss watching the sunset," you reply without looking at him.

"The sun doesn't set where you are?" Jax asks as he lights up a joint.

"It's not the same."

Jax takes a long drag and then offers it to you. 

You look at it for a moment and form a small smile before taking it from him.  The roof was also a place you both frequented in your youth to smoke pot, away from your parents and the adults. Eventually they figured out your secret spot, but it didn't stop you guys from coming back. You take a pull and hand it back to him.

"I also miss this.  There is nothing like California-grown weed."

Jax takes a hit and blows out the smoke from the corner of his mouth.

"Do you ever miss me?" Jax looks over at you and passes the joint back to you.

You look over to him and squint an eye to prevent the sun from blinding you.

"Yeah, sometimes I do."

"Does your English weed taste like fucking tea and crumpets?" Jax jokes.

"Oh, I get the best shit there is over there. Trust me." You chuckle. "But... it's not home."

"So why don't you come home?" Jax looks back at you with the same squinty face.

You look at him for a moment deciding what you want to say. "You know, that's the reason why Ray and I put the engagement on hold. With everything happening here, I wanted to be closer to family. Figure my shit out." You take another drag and return the joint back to him.

"There's more than family that would love to see you back home too." Jax reaches for your hand and squeezes it.

"Jackson, what happened the other day, we both acted out of impulse. We were both just... vulnerable.  I'm sorry if it gave the wrong impression."

Jax shakes his head, then takes another long pull of the joint. “Ope was like my moral compass, kept me grounded and always pointed me in the right direction, and now he's gone, because of me."

"Jackson, you can't--" You start shaking your head.

"You’re the closest thing I have left of Ope. I need you." Jax holds your hand.

"Jackson, in your heart, you always knew what was best. You don't need me." You push a loose chunk of his blonde hair away from his face and tuck it behind his ear.  "I know you're hurting, but I can't fill the void that Opie left. Nothing ever will. Just focus on what's important to you and you'll figure it out.  You always did." You smile at him while caressing his cheek with your thumb. "You got this." He closes his eyes and leans in to your hand, soaking in your touch.

"You still have too much faith me." He turns his head slightly to kiss the palm of your hand.

"Yeah, maybe. Besides, our boat sailed a long time ago," you add, pulling your hands away from him and looking away. Jax takes the last drag of the joint and tosses it off the roof.

"Maybe that boat can make one last stop before sailing away for good?" Jax gently grabs your chin and turns your head to him to look into his slightly droopy eyes.

Even all this time, it's still hard to not get lost in his baby blues. It's even harder with the perfect setting: the firey orange sky, the slight California breeze, the clubhouse rooftop. Maybe it's the weed, but it feels perfect in the moment. It's all taking you back to the summer when you were 14, when the only care in your worlds were right in front of each other. It's also the perfect setting for cruising around. Jax use to "borrow" one of the bikes from the clubhouse and take you on joyrides, basking in the sun while the wind hits your faces.

He slowly leans into you, and you close the distance, pressing your lips against his. Jax immediately responds and kisses back, his tongue slipping between your teeth. You can taste whiskey mixed with a faint linger of cigarettes and marijuana. Jax cradles your neck and pulls you in closer to him.

The loud roar of a motorcycle driving by and backfiring breaks you up.  You both are brought back to reality that you are both still on a rooftop and a bit baked.

"Come on, let's get inside." Jax jerks his head towards the latch.  Jax helps you down the ladder first and he follows behind.  He quickly makes a sweep and doesn't see anyone except for a few guys at the bar with their back turned towards the both of you.  Jax grabs your hand and leads you back into the spare bedroom you both were in earlier in the week. This definitely feels like you both are hormone-driven teenagers again, sneaking around the clubhouse. 

Once Jax closes and locks the door, he turns his attention back to you but he stops in his tracks to really look at you. All of you. He never thought he'd ever be with you or see you like this again.  What happened the other day was different.  Like you said, it was a moment of weakness, an impulsive move on both of you because of shared pain.

This time, there is no urgency, there is no hurt, just the two of you re-living a moment the two of you wish you had the opportunity to experience over and over again. This time it's intentionally and purely for the most selfish reasons. He walks over to you and presses his lips onto yours, taking his time to actually taste and feel your soft lips on his.  He pulls you in close to his body as his hands explore yours.

As the both of you continue to deliberately and slowly make out, Jax grabs your ass and presses himself against you, feeling his erection through your clothes. Jax pushes you backward towards the bed and you fall back when you feel the edge hit the back of your knees. He falls on top of you and expertly starts disrobing you while making out with you.  In one quick swift, Jax pulls your shirt over your head, leaving you in a satin black bra.  He takes his time with you, starting with his lips on your neck, licking and kissing it, even nibbling at it.  He's always wanted to leave a hickey on you, letting all the guys know you're taken. He then makes his way down to your collar bone, the top of your chest and then pulls down your bra on one side to reveal a nipple.  He puts his mouth over it and swirls his tongue around it.  Jax looks up to see your reaction and find you looking back biting your lower lip. He smirks and pulls down the other side of your bra and gives that nipple the same attention, making you arch against his mouth. 

"Oh, Jackson," you moan.

He lets out a low growl.

"As much as I want to hear all the sexy noises coming out of your mouth while I'm pleasuring you, you gotta keep it quiet, darlin'." He kisses you while he unhooks your bra and tosses it aside. He then unbuttons your pants and backs himself off the bed. He slowly slides your pants and thong off your hips and down your legs. He licks his lips, excited to unwrap you like his present. You watch him as he lowers himself to his knees and kneels at your feet to help you with your boots and removes the rest of the clothes off your body.  Suddenly feeling a bit exposed and shy like it's your first time with Jax, you keep your legs together. Jax places his hands on each of your knees and coaxes them open. He looks at his gift and licks his lips.

He dives in between your legs while looking up at you. His soft lips and warm wet tongue are licking and sucking you on all the right places and his beard tickling your inner thighs.  That's new to you.  He barely had peach fuzz in his teens. You feel him slip a finger inside you as his lips are pulling at your clit.  Your breathing is getting shorter and more shallow.  Jax inserts another long finger in you and finds your g-spot, rubbing circles on it.

"Jax, I..." Feeling your orgasm building, you are rendered speechless. Jax continues sucking and stroking you until you come undone into his mouth and on his fingers. He watches you squirm and thrash as you scream quietly in ecstasy. He doesn't stop until you are sensitive to his touch and you push him away.  He wipes his beard and smiles at you, proud of his accomplishment. Jax surely still knows his way around your body.

You glance up to him as he gets to his feet.  You watch him strip his clothes off, first the kutte, then his shirt pulled over his head.  He kicks off his sneakers as he takes his time unbuckling his belt and unbuttoning his jeans.  You're glad he's taking his time though because it allows you to soak up and remember every second you have with this gorgeous man in front of you.  He finally pulls his jeans and boxers down.  Besides from the other day, the last time you and him were this intimate, the both of you were shorter, slimmer and clearly less experienced.  Now you’re both grown, gained curves and muscles and are far more seasoned in the bedroom.  He's also certainly grown in other places as well.

"Back up," Jax nods his head as he climbs onto the bed and  hovers above you.  You scoot back so your whole body is on the bed.  Jax lays on top of you and smashes his lips against yours again, cradling your neck and grinding against you.  You can feel the head of cock teasing your opening.

"Maybe we should use a condom this time," you tell him in between kisses.

"I'm not gonna lie.  You did feel amazing without one the other day," Jax admits.

You and Jax had always been careful and taking the right steps when you were younger, using condoms at all times so that time was the first time you both had sex without one. Thankfully you are on birth control and both are STD-free, but you know you shouldn't take any chances.  

You give him a knowing look.

"Anything for you, darlin'." Jax gives you a kiss on the cheek before getting up to put on a condom.  He climbs back on top of you and looks at you as he caresses your face, still not believing that you're beneath him.

You gently grab his face with both hands and kiss him deeply. You then feel him slip inside you. All of him.  You moan into his mouth and move with him, both of your hips slowly thrusting in unison. Jax grabs your hands and brings them above your head. He intertwines his fingers with yours and thrusts deeper into you.  He watches you while you relish in the moment, as he pulls these lost emotions from you with each deliberate push.  You wrap your legs around his waist and it encourages him to pick up the pace.  You try to do the same and meet his rhythm.

Jax releases your hands and reaches for your legs behind him and brings them in front of him to rest on his shoulders, deepening his access to you.  His hand reaches up to cradle your neck as he pounds into you. You then feel his thumb slide over the front of your throat.  You start to feel his fingers tighten slightly around your neck. This is also new for you and Jax, but you're loving it.  You can feel yourself getting closer to achieving another orgasm.

"Jackson..." you pant.

"Come for me, darlin'.  I know you're there," Jax grunts.

You close your eyes and feel bliss as you let yourself go, letting your body take over you.  After your orgasm subsides, you open your eyes and find Jax is no longer making love to you, but just smiling at you while still inside you. Now it's time for you to show him a few tricks you've learned.

"Get on your back," you tell him.

Without any protest from Jax, you both switch positions.  Jax lies on his back with this hands behind his head, waiting for you to take the wheel.  You straddle him and take your time sinking yourself onto him.  You feel a lot more confident about being on top than you did when you were younger.  You were shy and inexperienced.  Now? You're going to ride him like the sexiest Harley you've ever had the privilege of sitting on. You slowly start riding him, rocking back and forth, grinding on him and teasing him. You enjoy the feeling of him filling you up to the hilt as you push down on him.

Jax looks up at you, watching you take charge and own his dick.  He definitely notices you're a lot more comfortable in this position than he remembers.  He reaches up and runs his hands over your breasts, massaging them and caressing your nipples as you enjoy the ride. He's certainly enjoying the view.

"You are still as fucking beautiful as the day I fell in love with you," Jax says, mesmerized by the image in front of him.

You smile and then lean back, placing your hands behind you on his thighs. Jax looks at you curiously. You roll your hips and start sliding up and down on him, giving him a clear view.  He looks down and watches himself disappear in and out of you.

Jax groans and runs the palms of his hands over your thighs and settles on your hips.  One of his hands then slides over between your legs and he starts rubbing circles on your clit with this thumb. You moan and gasp. You then lean forward, placing your hands on the pillow of each side of his head and lean down closer to him.  You start bouncing your ass up and down as you look down on him, your hair forming a curtain around your faces.  Jax grabs your ass and starts thrusting up to meet your movement. The only sounds echoing in the room are your pants and your bodies slapping against each other.  Jax speeds up and watches your face as it distorts.  He knows you've got another one inside you and you're very close.

"Come on, darlin'. Let it go." Jax coos.

You let out a loud moan as your legs shake and feel like a firecracker exploded inside of you.  Jax clamps a hand over your mouth as he continues to drill inside.

"There you go, Y/N." Jax smiles watching you fall apart on top of him.  He then swiftly flips you onto your back and roughly drives into you a few more times until he finally gets his own release.

As he slows down, you both look at each other, savoring the moment and then kiss softly.

Suddenly the door knob starts to rattle and the person on the other side is banging on the door.

"Yo, hurry it up! I gotta take a shit!" an unrecognizable voice shouts.

"Hey asshole, the bathroom is further down!" You both hear Chibs shouting. You place your hands over your mouth as you start to laugh.

"Shh!" Jax puts a finger over his pursed lips as he tries to suppress his own laughter.

SMASH CUT TO BLACK

A/N: I never put notes at the end but I figured I'd let you enjoy the fic first before mentioning I currently don't have plans to expand this story. I might in the future, but not in the near future.  I originally intended the first part to be short and be a one off, but I just kept writing and writing and there were so many places and opportunities to keep expanding. Same for part two.  There were so many directions I could have gone. I had a bit of struggle with this for some reason. It's not quite exactly how I pictured it ending but it works for what it is.

If you haven’t read it yet, I wrote two short scenes titled “Carry Me Home” and “Joyride” which are like flashbacks in this universe.

undefined

[runabout-river]

Follow up to the typical Jetko au where Jet is fed up with fighting against Zuko's advisors about their relationship and thinks that a temporary break will clear his (and Zuko's) head. But on his way to the Earth Kingdom he has this ridiculous and insane idea about solving all his problems.

So he bullies the captain of the ship he is on to go further south till he sees a ship of the Southern Water Tribe. Then he bullies them to go back to the SWT right now because he needs to talk to Sokka and Katara immediately.

Once there he tells his friends of his fool proof plan to get a ring on his lover (and finally stop feeling like a mistress)

1.) Get himself adopted by the Earth King;

2.) Get officially married to Firelord Bitch Face as Earth Prince Whatever (because he knows that realistically no one would allow him to keep the name Jet, but he doesn't care)

Katara is baffled that someone would come up with such a stupid idea, Sokka is rolling on the floor and can't stop laughing, only Hakoda constructively contributes to Jet's call for help by saying that, as far as he knows, Earth Kingdom royalty actually does adopt children, and even adults, as princes and princesses into their families.

Yes. Jet totally knew that one. That's why he was here after all, because his idea had precedents to work with... not because he has a problem with ambition.

As it turns out, Sokka is completely behind Jet in getting royally adopted, so the siblings agree to help and the best way to do that is by bringing in reinforcements. Aang because avatar and Toph because intimidation.

So they're in front of the Earth King now and the guy is all "Wow, is that a thing? Oh right, all my great aunts were adopted," so he is actually okay with adopting the Freedom Fighter much to Jet's delight, (though he would only have limited inheritance rights, which, fair.) His new father King Kuie would be six years older than him.

But the Earth advisors and military officials have other plans. After grumbling about not coming up with this idea themselves they advise the King to adopt and marry off someone to the Firelord who is known to the court and absolutely loyal to their ideals and cultural institutions. Meaning they want their own children, nieces and nephews adopted and not a peasant commoner.

The Gaang starts protesting and an argument ensues which Jet shuts down by reminding everyone that there is only one person on earth that the Firelord fucks and no one else. The Earth court quietly concedes the point and a week later Jet is now a prince and non of those fire fuckers can get in his way now.

He wants to tell Zuko of the good news immediately but Sokka takes his painstakingly written letter from him and rips it up because Jet is apparently doing this wrong. (Jet nearly strangles Sokka to death because it took him the whole night and two dictionaries to write that letter.)

No, what Jet actually needs to do is send a near anonymous marriage proposal to the Firelord without mentioning who the Earth Prince really is to make Zuko question his life choices after not completely committing to Jet. And Jet is... absolutely in favor of making Zuko's life miserable for a few weeks. So they do exactly that.

In the following weeks Jet is instructed to learn the entirety of proper Earth Kingdom royalty etiquette which nearly makes Jet throw himself off of the carriage on their way to the Fire Nation. He survives.

Finally back at the palace, Jet can't wait to meet Zuko again because now nothing is going to stand in their way. He exits the carriage and walks towards the stunned crowd full of ugly old men he despises and one young man he loves.

"Miss me?" He asks Zuko who, in a totally undignified manner, can't seem to close his mouth which Jet tells him immediately with some extra profanity and sexual suggestions thrown in. Everyone behind Jet groans in frustration, everyone before him in anger. Zuko just now seems to get his brain back in working condition.

History textbooks will describe the reunion that took place after that in as much of a romanticized fashion as possible because in reality a half an hour fist fight broke out which all the gathered nobility of both sides desperately tried to ignore and erase from their memory.

(Toph of course helped everyone out by pushing the fighting duo down the street and out of eyesight. She also convinced Katara to throw some water at them so their fist fight turned into a mud fight. Those two were never prosecuted for crimes against the Earth and Fire Crown.)

[believinghurts]

Their Daughter

Relationship: Regulus Black x niece!Reader, Remus Lupin x Black!reader, Severus Snape x Black!reader, Sirius Black x daughter!reader

Warnings: Insecurities 

Summary: What would have happened if Regulus hadn’t died and Sirius had a daughter whose the same age as Harry? What if Regulus raised her with the help of some friends? What when Sirius comes back from Azkaban and Harry shows up to live at Grimmuald Place? This is the story of Alianova Jane Black.  Voices coming from downstairs stirred Ali from her peaceful sleep. Glancing at the clock on her nightstand she saw that it was only 9am which was pretty early for her and everyone else that lived in her house. Normally her Uncle Reg would be awake, but would be quietly reading till she came down later in the morning since she didn’t have school due to it being summer. Summers were Ali’s favorite time of the year; she got to spend time with her Uncles Regulus, Remus, and Severus. They had raised her since her father was shipped off to Azkaban for the murder of his best friends. They normally didn’t talk about her father in the house since her grandmother hated him and Regulus and him didn’t get along. Uncle Remus didn’t say a lot about him either. She knew that at one point they were best friends in school. 

Although they didn’t talk about him a lot Aunt Cissa often said that Ali looked a lot like him with her dark brown hair and grey eyes. No one knew who her mother was since she left Ali at her fathers doorstep when she was six months old. According to Grandmother she was the product of a one night stand, she never said Ali was an accident unlike how she had heard some of the other parents call their children. She often said she was a blessing when she was alive. Grandfather died before her dad went to Azkaban, and Uncle Reg almost died from an Inferi attack caused by the Dark Lord. She went to live with her Uncle when she was one and a half. Her Godparents oblivious couldn’t take her seeing as they were dead. And Remus needed help with her due to his monthly problem which was how she ended up here. Grandmother died when Ali was five, but we weren’t around her a lot to begin with. Regulus didn’t want my views on life tainted by hers, so he often kept Ali out of the house we shared with her or just with him in general. Her portrait still hung in the hall, constantly talking to whoever would listen. 

Unbeknownst to anyone else Ali knew that her father had escaped his prison last year. She also knew that he came to Hogwarts and sought out her Godbrother Harry instead of her. She knew her Uncle Remus, who was working at Hogwarts during the time, tried his hardest to make sure she didn’t know. Ali had not only overheard the Golden Trio talking about it as well as Regulus and Remus’s conversation about it during one of his visits. No one had mentioned it, but if they did she wouldn’t lie and say that it didn’t hurt. Why wouldn’t he seek her out? She was his daughter, not Harry. Wasn’t I what he wanted? She thought time and time again. She heard a few stories from Remus, the few times he talked about Sirius, that he loved her a lot when she was a baby. Constantly doting on her and playing with her, she even slept with him as a baby. So why not me? She couldn’t help but wonder.

Shaking herself from her thoughts, she hopped out of bed slipping her feet into her fluffy socks to rid the chill of Grimmauld Place floor. Athena was bouncing around in her cage begging to be let out. The commotion downstairs seemed to be getting louder the longer it went on. She quickly opened the cage and window letting Athena be free knowing she would probably be back with a letter from her best friends Draco, and Theo at some point in the day. Once she opened her door she realized that all of her Uncles were downstairs as well as someone else whose voice she didn’t recognize. The talking didn’t stop once she got the door opened so she decided to tiptoe down the stairs in hopes of catching what was being said. Her plans were ruined once Grandmothers portrait caught sight of her; she just had to talk. 

“Good morning, my darling girl. How did you sleep last night? You’re Uncle has been making such a ruckus, and in my house of all things.” 

She rolled my eyes, praying that the people downstairs were too busy yelling at one another to notice the noise coming from the hall. But Ali was wrong. 

“Alianova, I know you are not trying to eavesdrop are you?,” Remus said causing the others to fall silent. 

She pasted the most innocent smile on her face that she could muster up before continuing down the stairs. “Me? Eavesdropping? Of course not, Uncle Rem. I was just- just talking with Grandmother.” 

She moved to him as he rolled his eyes at her oblivious lie before pulling her to his chest in a hug. “I missed you, Ali.” He whispered into her ear. Remus and Ali had always been close. Grandmother didn’t like him coming to the house much, though she allowed once in a while if Ali asked nicely enough, but Regulus always made sure that Ali would get to see him at least once a week. After Grandmother passed Remus started to come over more often taking her to the book stores in Muggle London. She knew that as children there had been a tension between Regulus and Remus, but over the years it seemed to have vanished leaving the two to have a friendship of sorts that was even present while Ali was at Hogwarts. “I missed you, too. Why haven’t you been coming around? I’ve been out of school for three weeks and this is the first time I’ve seen you…” 

After everything that happened with her father it deeply hurt that Remus hadn’t come to see her. She frequently wondered if he had decided that Harry was better than her as well. She saw his eyes glance up to the third man in the room before answering, “I had a few things to take care of. I’ll be around a lot more, promise Ali.” 

He gave her one more squeeze before passing her off to Severus who was looking rather annoyed by the fact that he was being ignored by the only child he could stand. Like Remus, she was also close to Severus. She knew that most people saw him as cold and mean, but that was only the front he put up to the outside world. Around her he was talkative, and another father figure. Since he worked at Hogwarts she could be found in his office in some of her free time working on homework or helping him with potions for Madam Pompfrey. He was there for her when she came to Hogwarts nervous to be around some many people at once. He watched her get sorted into Ravenclaw and cry when she thought that she was going to be a disappointment to Remus for not getting Gryffindor, and Regulus for not getting Slytherin. He was in no way the “fun” Uncle, but he was a big support in her life. 

Severus patted the top of her head as she hugged his torso. He wasn’t a touchy feely person though he made exceptions for Ali. “Good morning, Alianova.” 

He was the only person who called her by her full first name. Most called her Nova with the exclusion of Remus who called me Ali, and Regulus who called me A, Al, or Ali Jane when she was in trouble. Ali rolled her eyes up to Sev’s face with her nose scrunched up to show that she still despised being called that. She saw his lips quirk a little on the sides in response knowing that if it was just him and Ali he would have smiled some. Deciding to play dirty right back Ali uttered a  “Good morning Uncle Sevvy.” 

His normal scowl fell back into place upon hearing his hated nickname she had given him as a child. Remus chuckled hearing it while the other man in the room stared at them with what appeared to be disbelief etched on his features. She cocked her head looking in his directions trying to think of where she had seen his face before. It wasn’t hard to place it. It was Sirius Black. His face was plastered all over The Daily Profit last year, and she had also seen a few photos of him in the attic. His eyes took in all the features on her face as if he was analyzing her. She shifted uncomfortably on her feet from the attention. Behind her Remus and Severus shared a look while Regulus stepped back into the room. 

Noticing the tension that had fallen he decided to speak, “What, princess? Everyone gets a good morning but me? And to think I had Kretcher make you pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream for breakfast.” 

Ali moved to the man who had been her father for as long as she could remember. She never called him Dad, but it was what he was. He was only twenty when she was thrown into his life, but even then he didn’t let Grandmother do a lot for her. She learned as she got older that he was part of the Death Eaters as well as Severus. They didn’t hide it from her explaining what it was and how they came to be them. According to her Uncles and Aunts, Regulus changed when she came into his life. He was static, showed little emotion, and never smiled. That was the side to Regulus Black that she had never seen. He smiled, was often goofy, and openly expressed his love for her multiple times throughout the day. She knew that this was because he didn’t want her to grow up how he and his brother had, with no love shown. Which was why he was the only to get up with her when she was a baby and let her sleep in his bed after nightmares. Some said that Grandmother raised her till she died and she just had nowhere else to go which couldn’t be further from the truth. Regulus had raised her from a young age of twenty giving his life to make sure hers was perfect, often going against what Grandmother wanted of Ali. He fed her, taught her to read and play piano, let her cuddle in his bed and watched Muggle telly on Sundays, called Narcissa when she had girl problems, and altogether just loved her, often not caring who saw that side of him. 

Ali kept her eyes trained on the man who was supposed to be her father while tucking herself under Regulus’s arm. Sensing that she knew who Sirius was, Regulus pulled her tight, pressing a kiss to her head before speaking, “If I’m correct you know who this is right, Al?” 

She nodded her head, unable to speak, afraid that the tears she was holding would come through. At her nod Sirius stepped forward slowly as if she would be frightened like an animal. “Hi there, sweetheart. You really do look like me, uh?” 

Gulping slightly she nodded once again. She wasn’t sure what to do. Does she introduce herself? Does she say hi? She looked up at Remus and Severus who were both watching the exchange, the latter more like glaring at Sirius whereas the former was ready to step in at a second notice. She turned her head to look at Regulus next, hoping he would give her directions on what to do. He tilted his head to the side letting her know that it was okay to speak. “H-hi. I’m Alianova. Alianova Jane Black.” 

The man before her smiled brightly. “Hi, love. I’m Sirius, your dad. But I think you already knew that.” She nodded again. Tears were swimming in her eyes again because she knew that this shouldn't have been the first time she met him. She should have met him months ago when he came for her instead of Harry. Harry; the golden boy with his golden friends; who had enough family issues that he gets pity while her family who was also torn apart that night gets nothing but looks of disgust all for being a Black. She caught herself wondering at times if her life would have been different if she was a Lupin or a Snape or maybe even a Malfoy. And it made her angry standing in front of the man who not only brought her into the world as a Black, but also left her that fateful night in order to pursue revenge without even thinking about what would happen to her. 

Her sniffle caught the attention of the room, “Why?” Ali needed to know. She needed to know why he left her that night and why he didn’t come for her when he escaped. Panicked by her question Sirius glanced at Remus then Regulus, not sure what to do. 

Regulus took the intuitive to figure it out, “Why what, princess?” 

Her eyes flickered to my Uncles tall figure, “Why did he leave me that night? But more importantly why didn’t he come for me like he did for Harry when he escaped? I was in Hogwarts too. He knew I existed and he knew that I more than likely went to school there. So why Harry?” Ali turned to look back at Sirius who was shocked by the sudden confidence in her voice, but she was a Black, a short temper was to be expected. “Was I not enough? Did you not want me in the first place? I mean I know you didn't. I was the product of a one night stand, so it’s not like I was planned or anything. So why? Why couldn’t you come to me? Why couldn’t you stay for me?” By the time she was done tears were coming down her cheeks and Sirius’s mouth was opening and closing like a fish. 

“I-I” Sirius stuttered trying to find the right words to explain all his actions. Ali could tell by his actions that he thought she didn’t know that he came to Hogwarts for Harry. It wasn’t public knowledge, and according to the other men in the room faces they didn’t know she knew either. She never believed that he did the crime. From the few stories she was told she knew that he loved James and Lily like family and wouldn’t have turned on them which was why she wasn't afraid of him in the first place. She just wanted to know if they were more important than her, if Harry was more important than her. “I know that you probably don’t remember much from that night if anything at all, but when my best friends, your God parents, were taken from me I was angry. So angry that I couldn’t think straight so I left. I took you to the neighbor who watched you a few times for me and went to go take down the man who did it. It was stupid. I should have waited for Remus, but I didn’t. I wanted nothing more the past twelve years, but to get Harry and for us to be a family. As for not seeing you at Hogwarts, I didn’t know you were there. I wasn’t sure who you were staying with so I knew you could have been there or Dumstrang or Beauxbatons. I didn’t have a lot of time to hunt for people. Once I knew where Pettigrew was I had to get to him. I’m sorry, Alianova. For everything.” 

One thing that often got her in trouble was that she was a very forgiving person. She often forgives anyone who apologized for whatever wrong they did. But this was the one time she wasn’t sure. He apologized, but it didn’t feel authentic. It was like he didn’t even believe some of the words he was saying. She looked around the room again trying to read everyone's faces. Remus looked like he was slightly mad, but when he caught her looking at him his features soften like the times she was hurt and needed him. Severus was still glaring at Sirius, and didn’t notice my scrutiny, and Regulus had now joined Severus in glaring at Sirius which concerned her. He smiled down at her a little when his eyes moved to her face. She looked back at Sirius who was looking at her with what could only be described as puppy dog eyes. Ali took in all his features noting how his brow furrowed, his lips turned down lightly, his eyes big and pleading into hers.

“I-I understand.” Ali couldn’t forgive him yet. She needed to trust him first. She understood what he was saying, and that he was sorry, but it wasn’t okay. And he needed to know that. His face fell slightly at her words, turning his handsome features into a small frown. 

Before he could say anything Regulus intervened, “Alright how about breakfast, love? I know you’re hungry.” Ali giggled as her stomach grumbled in response. “It’s on the table. Muggle way just the way you like it. Go on and we’ll be in shortly.” 

Ali kissed his cheek in thanks, sparing a look around the room before heading down to the kitchen. Knowing that the reason they weren’t joining her right then was to talk about something Regulus obviously didn’t want her hearing she came back up the stairs after opening and shutting the door to the kitchen making it seem like she was in there. Carefully avoiding the squeaky stairs she crouched down to peer around the corner to see the men still standing in the same spots all looking rather annoyed with one another. 

“She understands? That’s all she had to say?” Sirius seemed frustrated and slightly angry if the look on his face said anything. “How is that all she had to say? I apologized. I’m her father. She wouldn’t even hug me.” He threw his hands up while plopping down on the chair before running his hands through his hand, something Ali noted her Uncle Regulus did as well when he was upset. 

“Sirius, you have to understand that she doesn’t know you. She has maybe three photos of you, and has rarely heard stories. Mother loved her, but didn’t like to talk about you very much even when Ali asked. It hasn’t been easy on her. She is ridiculed for her last name constantly; people often judge that before getting to know her. She has no friends in her house really; choosing to spend her free time with Severus, and Remus when he worked at Hogwarts. You can’t just expect her to welcome you with open arms especially after knowing that you went for Harry and not her. Which for the record I did not tell her.” 

“Oh cut the bullshit, Regulus. You told her you know you did. You can’t stand me. You wanted her to hate me. I may have been locked up, but I know that Mother controlled you and probably my daughter till the day she died. She probably filled Alianova’s head with lies about me from the beginning. Bloody hell, you probably did the same!” Sirius exclaimed while getting in younger brother faces. Remus and Severus looked ready to pull the duo apart at a moment's notice. 

Ali could tell from the twitch in her Uncle's eye that he was trying to hold his temper. She had seen it before when someone had made a snide remark about her in Diagon Ally when they went for ice cream her second year. She didn’t want to be the cause of a fight, but she knew better than to intervene. All she could do was sit and watch wide eyed as the potential fight stirred. 

“No. No, Sirius. I have never told that little girl, my little girl mind you, a single lie about you or me or anyone for that matter. After the Inferi incident I never went back to my Dark Mark ways. I acted as a spy for the Order. Dumbledore knew which is part of the reason why I have Ali. He knew I would protect her when he told me what happened. I didn’t know what to believe when he told me that, and she knows that. I never told her you did or didn’t do it. None of us did. Mother rarely mentioned you, and when she did it was because Ali brought it up first. She was five when Mum died, she doesn’t even remember her very much. Mum may have been horrible to us, but the moment I brought Ali here she changed. She loved Ali more than anything. She treated her nothing like how she treated us.” Ali saw her Uncle take a deep breath before continuing. “Ali may be your daughter, but she's mine too. You left HER to go pursue revenge for James. YOU weren’t there all the night she woke up crying wanting to know why not only her Mum left her, but you did too. You weren’t there when she questioned everything about herself when she was ten because she felt inadequate due to someone at school bringing up the fact that she didn’t have parents. You weren’t there when she skinned her knees falling off a broom at Andromedas, and Remus and I had to talk her into getting back on it. You left her; she owes you nothing. And as for me not being able to stand you; I wouldn’t let you in this house if I couldn’t stand you.” Regulus ran his hand through his hair before looking at Remus and Severus who nodded. “Now, she is probably wondering where we are. If you want to join us for breakfast you can. Maybe it will give you a chance to get to know her.” 

Sirius was speechless. Remus thought it was hilarious as the man who couldn’t keep his mouth shut before was just schooled by his younger brother. 

If he can’t handle Regulus he won’t survive Ali, Remus thought. Although Remus wouldn’t admit it out loud Ali acted a lot like Regulus in her wits, sarcasm and charisma. As everyone turned to go towards the stairs Remus stayed back to say something to Sirius. “I know this isn’t easy on you. But Ali is different then you. She takes a while to warm up, and trust people. Keep that in mind. No matter what you think everyone in this room loves her. We’ve watched her grow into who she is today. Just keep a level head about it.” Remus patted his shoulder before heading down the stairs. Yes, Ali was Sirius’s child, but whereas he was loud and outgoing she was more quiet and reserved. Remus knew Ali liked to watch and learn rather than doing which was why she was such good friends with Draco. More times than not Ali was the one who thought out the plans while Draco executed. Remus could only hope that Sirius didn’t shove Ali away when it came down to Harry. Remus was mad when he found out that Sirius hadn’t contacted Ali knowing that it would hurt her if she ever found. 

Ali scurried down the stairs as quietly as possible before sitting in her seat to hopefully looking like she had been here the whole time. She opened the first book she saw on the table right as everyone else entered. Severus gave her a skeptical look when he saw her smile at him, and she knew that she had been caught. Always the observant her Uncle Sev. “Not eating yet, Alianova?” 

“Oh, um no. I was just waiting for all of you of course.” Everyone filed to the table; Remus sitting to one side with Sirius while Regulus and Severus sat on either side of Ali. An awkward silence ensued while everyone piled food onto their plates. Ali kept her eyes firmly on the table, but she felt at least two gazes on her. Risking it she looked up to see Sirius and Remus looking at her. 

Remus cleared his throat breaking the silence, something that Ali was incredibly grateful for, “Ali, how was the rest of your school year?” 

“Oh um, it was fine. I actually hung out with Cho Chang towards the end. It was nice. We helped each other study for Transfiguration, then went to Hogsmeade for Butterbeers with Theo, Blaise, and Daphne.” Ali knew that those at the table who knew her well knew that she didn’t have a lot of friends besides those that Draco hung out with. Being a Black meant a lot of people didn’t trust her unless they were a Slytherin, which was something Ali was not. “I got pretty good scores on my OWLs. I got the highest score out of my whole year in Potions.” 

“I’m so proud of you Ali! I knew you could do it! What about Transfiguration and DADA? I know you struggled some when I was still there.” Remus had turned his attention fully on Ali, but he could see Sirius watching with peak interest wanting to ask questions and he could only hope that Sirius did so. It would make Ali trust him a little more if he showed interest in her life and Remus knew that. 

Ali beamed up at her Uncle, glad to know that he still cared about her life even after Sirius came back, “I got an Acceptable in Transfiguration and a Exceeds Exceptions in DADA. Honestly though if it wasn’t for Draco I wouldn’t have gotten that good in DADA. I swear on Merlin I lived in his dorm the whole two weeks before exams.” 

Her over exaggeration caused Remus and Regulus to chuckle while Severus scowled, “I am going to pretend that I did not hear that since you know you are not supposed to be in there.” 

“Oh calm down, Sev. She wasn’t in there alone I’m sure, and besides it got her a good grade.” Regulus exclaimed wrapping an arm around Ali hugging her while she stuck her tongue out at Severus. 

“I wasn’t in there alone. Blaise, Theo, Pansy, and Daphne were with us and besides that's my cousin, practically my brother gross. I know we’re purebloods, but yuck.” Her comment made everyone at the table break out in a smile. Finally Sirius decided to quit staring and talk to his daughter. He couldn’t hold his tongue any longer after the word cousin left her mouth. He could only hope to be Andromeda's child. 

“Cousin? Which cousin?” Sirius asked before taking a bite. Ali felt Regulus tense slightly at her father's question. Was she not supposed to answer? 

“Draco. Draco Malfoy. He’s Narcissa’s son,” She answered honestly. Ali didn’t see the point in lying. Draco was her best friend, they did almost everything together. 

Sirius was stunned to know that not only had Regulus, who claimed not to be a Death Eater, hang out with a Malfoy, but also Remus who knew better then anyone that is was a stupid thing to do. The Malfoy’s were nothing but Pureblood supremacists with a breeding problem. He opened his mouth to speak, but quickly closed when Remus kicked him under the table. Sirius knew that Remus didn’t want him to say anything about it and from the look on Regulus’s face he didn’t either. He decided that it could wait till the adults were alone, or just Sirius and Remus were fine with him, so he could get some answers because any child of his was not going to spend time with Lucius Malfoy's child. The silence filled the room again making Ali squirm in her seat til Sirius spoke again, “Um, what- what house are you in, Ali?”

 This question caused Ali to tense up. She knew her father was in Gryffindor and she assumed her mother was as well. Her father was known for bashing Slytherins which was what most of her friends were. Even the Sorting Hat debated for five minutes over whether she was a Slytherin or a Ravenclaw. 

Gulping she answered, “I’m a - a Ravenclaw.” 

“Really?” Ali nodded. “Do you like it? I mean I didn’t know a lot of Ravenclaws when I was in school.” 

“Oh um yeah, I guess. I like to read so the common room is always quiet which is nice.” 

“You must have gotten that from your mum. I wasn’t much of a reader, preferred Quidditch,” Sirius let out a laugh. He was trying but it was hard to talk to a fifteen year old who you didn’t know a lot about, but was also your daughter. “Do you play?” 

That caused Ali to laugh. She was a lot of things, but talented at Quidditch was not one of them. She knew that her dad was a player back in the day, a beater if she remembered correctly, but there was honestly no point in her even trying she could barely fly a broom; that alone took a lot of practice and help from her Uncles and friends. “No. Honestly it would be easier for a Niffler to play then me.” 

“Godric, Ali is horrible at flying. I think it might be her downfall one day, literally she's falling off the broom more than flying usually,” Remus chimed in. 

Laughter was heard around the table then, and even if it was at her expense Ali was glad for it. The tension that was surrounding everyone seemed to leave the air and easy conversation flowed after that. Sirius asked Ali more about her interest and school while Remus and Regulus cleaned the kitchen up; something that shook Sirius to his core was seeing his little brother clean things the Muggle way. Severus had to leave to pick up a few things for some potions he was working on which led to Ali hugging her Uncle goodbye and him actually smiling, and judging by the look on Sirius’s face that was something he was not prepared for. 

“Did he just smile? Like openly? And HUG her?” He practically shouted after Severus had left, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him smile even in school.” 

Regulus scoffed lightly at that, “Well you would have seen him smile in school if you wouldn’t have tormented him all those years. But yes, he did and does hug Ali. She is probably the only one he will ever hug, but it is something.” 

“Sirius, something that you don't know is that Alianova was, and frankly is, the light of a lot of people's lives.” Ali blushed at the comments being made about her from Remus. “She was brought into Regulus, and your mothers lives when she was still trying to get over the loss of your father and Regulus almost being killed. I know your mum was a mean old bat.” Ali let out a string of giggles at that, making Regulus look at her with his eyebrow raised; she quickly looked back down at the table while her Uncle shook his head amused. “But she wasn’t mean to Ali. She loved her to pieces. Yes, some of her views were wrong still they were never shoved down Ali’s throat. Not only did she bring light to their lives, but also to mine and Severus’s. After everything that happened I didn’t even want to stay in London. I had lost everything. Then one morning there is a knock at my door. I debated opening it, but I am immensely glad that I did. I’m gonna be truthful here and this is stuff that Ali and Regulus haven’t heard, but I was scared when he showed up with her. I didn’t know what had happened to her. Harry was shipped off to the Dursleys, and her Godparents were dead and no one would give me much information about her. I had simply given up on the Magical world. Then I watched them play on the floor of my living room and I knew that no one could raise her better than Regulus. He asked me to help of course, and the same goes for Severus. He had lost the one he thought he loved and needed a new outlook on things. He got that from Ali.” Remus placed his hands on the girls shoulders when he noticed she had tears in her eyes. “And I can guarantee that she will be your light too if you let her, Sirius.” 

No one said anything for a few minutes. All were taking in the words Remus had just said. Ali wasn’t used to being talked about like that. Yes, she got praise for school or piano, but no one called her their light before. Regulus stood thinking about the things Remus had said knowing that it was nothing but the truth. He isn’t sure what would have happened if Ali hadn’t come to him, but the outcome would not have been a good one. His self destructive actions stopped the day that baby was placed in his arms. He loved Ali like his own and would protect her from the world. He could only hope that Sirius wouldn’t make the same mistake that he did with him and push her away.

[hyukmoon]

moon. | l.sy x gn!reader

lee sangyeon x gn!reader

word count: about 4.01k

to put it short: congrats! Something you should actually say, right? Your best friend and crush is getting married in two days and you feel,... well, not very good about it. So, wait... he's returning the feelings? Damn.

content warning: ANGST in capital letters, I would add lots of exclamation points but im lazy. So yeah, hella angsty. Some good old making out, it's kind of heavy at some point but no smut at this point lol. I don't condone any of the done actions, so yeah, I would've personally handled everything differently, but you know, y/n is kinda wild. Very awkward sometimes, but that's more the situation in itself. ALSO, NOT PROOFREAD

taglist: @loki-in-hogwarts

note: the second thing i wrote and im somewhat excited!!! Yes! Exclamation points. So,... thanks for reading :)

It was a great day. Well, at least seemingly for everyone but you. Your best friend in this world Sangyeon was about to get married to the love of his life, who is notyou and now you just stand in the hotel lobby waiting for it to happen. Funnily enough, the crushing feeling of desperation and fear didn’t seem to set in yet.

The hotel lobby was filled to the brim with acquaintances and other guests possibly confused by the uproar of the wedding guests. So, who were you specifically waiting for? The rest of your friend group, the ones who will most likely clean up after the wedding whatever will be left of you.

A nervous smile swept up to your lips, casually just avoiding every sort of tension that could come across you. Just with the luck of this entire occurrence an older woman started to approach you, demon alike features spreading around her face almost like she knew you were apparently the only single person here. An aunty, that wasn’t even related to you but had all the business to judge.

“Are you here for the bride or the groom?”, her sweet voice rang a familiar feeling in your stomach. Almost too sweet, making you suspicious of her intent. “I’m here for my best friend, Sangyeon. So, yeah, for the groom.”, you hesitated a second, “What about you though? Do you know the bride?”

“She’s my youngest niece, the only one that still visits, her sisters don’t even care anymore…” You nodded politely, not wanting to anger her now and stepped towards a different direction.

“So, my dear, are you here with anybody?” You already feared that question, the same as always. The eyes of yours started with a panicked expression searching through the room a familiar pair. “No, I am here on my own. I kinda wanted to focus on getting Sangyeon through with it, being there for him.” As a friend.

Possibly this was the first part of feeling despair and fear. People at this wedding were really waiting for them to get married. They weren’t joking, this would change everything.

“Ah, I see. You know, get over him. Well, it is time for you at least, you’re not getting younger. There are quite few handsome men here. I remember the names Juyeon and ah yes! Kevin, get over here!” As far as you were concerned, your facial expression couldn’t possibly look more stunned than a moment ago, yet another one of your good friends appeared, seemingly just as confused.

This only held on for a good second, Kevin knew exactly what to do. “Oh hi, I’m so sorry to steal [Y/N] away from you, but I actually need to talk to them on my own over a gift we both prepared for the couple!”, he grinned at the lady, who was obviously smitten with him. “Yes, of course, hun. Take your time.” She finally hushed into a separate direction.

“So, how are we doing? You seem kinda… stressed.”

“You don’t say”, you sighed, “if I have to go through a conversation like this again today, believe me I’ll-. “

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure I get the sentiment. Even though I meant more the other situation. Like in, Sangyeon getting married and you sitting here all grumpy because of it.”, Kevin was already aware of your “small” infatuation with your best friend, a man too far out of your reach also funnily enough, the man’s wedding you’re attending. However, your friend in front of you didn’t seem to mind talking about it out loud in a place like the hotel lobby. Your lips tightened up into a fine line.

“I’m not grumpy! I just…I don’t really know what to do. I mean, I know I’m going to be there for him but yeah, okay, I might feel a bit grumpy.” The lobby did clear up a lot now.

“Okay, oof. There’s this dinner with everyone in the evening today, do you think you can get through that?”, Kevin asked hesitantly just as stressed with this additional complication.

“I mean, I probably have to, don’t I? This makes me so sick, ugh. Not gonna lie, my stomach feels like a laundry machine.” You laughed quietly and drifted off again into a place where you didn’t need to think about this.

“What did you really expect though? You know I love you, respectfully, but like, this feels like an incredibly bad move to do.”

“Don’t you think it would be worse if I didn’t show up at all? I’ll just need to go through this weekend and I’m outta here. No one will know anything.” It might feel like a nightmare but at least a nightmare you can actually run away from and not actually have to face at some point.

“Well, I hope you’ll keep your confidence. Because imagine I saw the person, I love getting married to someone else. Oh my, believe me, you wouldn’t find me for the next three weeks.”

“Not very helpful, a good three out of ten. I guess, I’ll just stick to sulking around then.” A dead smile crept up your lips following a stern look from your side at your opposite.

“Seems like a good plan, just stick to me, maybe we will find someone to take your attention away from this, huh?” A sly grin was visible on Kev’s face.

“Ughhh, of course. Let’s do this. It can’t get much worse than that”, you cleared your throat, “thanks, though. You actually make this here somewhat bearable.”

“Awww, come on. We should pack out our suitcases.”

No one can really prepare someone for a moment like this. Most older folk turned into their hotel rooms which left you in a party like situation seeing your closest friends turning it up in a huge pavilion while the future groom sits comfortably on a velvety sofa hand in hand with his fiancée.

The air was quite warm even at this time of the evening, not humid, just warm enough for everyone to taste the end of this era with nostalgia and a slight feeling of energy to experience what’s to come afterwards.

You as well sat down, continuously processing your environment. With a cup of your favorite drink, you felt invincible, nothing able to shake you down.

Now while this wasn’t a preferred environment, this was manageable; you could look your best friend into his eyes and proudly congratulate him on his wedding. You would be able to get over this and continue to be a great friend. Black hair with an intense facial expression made its way into your viewpoint along with a somewhat tipsy Kevin. Simultaneously the lighter hair of your best friend fought his way through the crowd.

Lee Sangyeon, the man lighting up your mood with simple touch of his fingertips was now signalizing for you to head outside towards the veranda of the pavilion. He exuded patience, yet clearly waiting for a response of you. You nodded and brushed cautiously over your evening attire.

“Hii, [Y/N]! Can I introduce this someone to you? This is Juyeon, he might look a bit intense, but he’s really nice to talk to! So, I’m gone for a sec then!” Kevin started drifting off into a different direction where you stopped him in his tracks.

“Could this wait? Sangyeon needs to talk to me. I think it’s important, I’ll come back though in a bit!” You gifted both of them an apologetic face and made your way around the men towards the going to be groom.

Surely it wasn’t exactly clear why he wanted to speak to you, especially on his own. He was still waiting for you after all.

“[Y/N]! What has it been? Like three? Four months? I missed you so much.”, Sangyeon pulled you into his chest abruptly and sighed softly into your shoulder. Engulfed entirely in his figure you never wanted to wake up from this again. Was it now 10 seconds? 15 seconds? Neither he nor you really seemed to let go, taking in all the scents of his that were formerly familiar to you.

“Yeah, I think so. You were probably busy planning this all and I just had to work, I guess.” Trying to keep it short was your main goal, appearing distant maybe. He didn’t mind at all though. Not discouraged from continuing this conversation Sangyeon pointed at the veranda, showing the only speck of space with little to no crowd.

The veranda was close to closed off to the party. Non distinguishable palm trees in the far distance were playing right into your cards for not having to look into his eyes. Magnetically glowing, that’s how he appeared. All happy and smiley about the obvious luck he was experiencing. Now again, he sat down with you in the beach chairs without loosing a word.

“The palm trees are so pretty. You remember me wanting to buy some new plants?”, you tried to invite him to the conversation.

“You always want to buy new plants, which time do you mean?” Sangyeon grinned to himself. “You know what? It’s so weird. Everything feels still so unreal. This wedding, also you at my wedding… So weird.”

“I am literally your best friend, where else should I be? Your funeral? At home? Who else is going to charm the hotel staff for some free capri suns and new towels?” Your mouth crinkled up and you let out a soft laugh.

“[Y/N] … You know exactly what I mean!”

“Noo, not at all. I’m so confused right now, not gonna lie.” Your face finally moved towards his direction, seeing his gentle gaze resting on you.

“Do you remember when we were still in school, and we promised each other we would marry each other if we didn’t find anybody else?” His gaze got more intense with each sentence.

“Yeahh, kind of. I was probably tired and it’s like ten years ago. I’m not really sure what you’re trying to tell me.”

“I really thought I was going to marry you. For several years, actually.”, he laughed. “I had such a crush on you and then you met your s/o and all that. Ughh, it seemed so complicated back then. Kind of weird to think about what could have happened if I did ask you out or something.”

“True.”, you turned away again standing up and resting against the wooden railing of the pavilion. “But you didn’t so, let’s just drop it there.” The weather as well started rebelling a bit, the wind hugging your figure slightly too tight for your taste.

“Why are you so cold all of a sudden?”, he whispered closely behind you.

“Well, you’re getting married tomorrow. And you’re telling me about a crush you had on me?”, you croaked.

“I was just being nostalgic, I thought this would be fine with you.” Sangyeon appeared now next to you on the railing, waiting for you to face his concerned dark eyes.

“It isn’t for me. It just feels wrong.”

“What feels so wrong about it? It was a long time ago.”

It is here, the bitterness. Bitterness shouldn’t even be the correct term, the pain of your heart going into a slump didn’t feel like a fitting word. Being reminded again that you will never have a chance again.

“Wait or is it not a long time ago for you?”, The voice of his tried to word his next sentence very carefully.

“I went out with them because I thought you were joking. Then when I thought about you, it was always different. It was too late though, you met her.” Only the close ocean along with the wind were hearable, neither you nor he were able to form another thought put into a sentence.

“You could’ve told me. I would’ve-.”

“Broken up with her?”

“No, I-.”

“Then what could you have done?”, you interrupted Sangyeon’s rambling, trembling while speaking. Terribly spiteful with a bite that wasn’t too often dripping down your lips.

“This.” Sangyeon pressed a fluttery kiss against your lips. Slender fingers tapped onto the skin right under your chin, signalizing you to look at him.

The now much calmer atmosphere made you snake your arms around his torso. Heat rose towards your head, longing after a second out in the cold again just to see his lovely facial expression. Your lips broke off and touched once more in an almost hypnotic fashion.

His hot breath started sliding downwards your cheek to your neck, physically making you unable to resist his entrancing presence. Also his hands broached over from your face down to your waist, holding you with the lightest touch.

Sangyeon’s lips darted away from yours, catching you staring deeply into his eyes. The silence felt warm now as well, filled with the slow and recovering breath of the participants.

“[Y/N], I think I still feel that way.”, a rosy blush swept over the man’s face you wanted to hear say these things so many times and so long ago.

“No. No. No. You shouldn’t! I shouldn’t either! I have to go.” The reality of the situation caught up to you. This was bad. Incredibly bad. Still the disgusting feeling of hope within this made its way up to your head. Stinging alongside the feeling of remorse, you didn’t think clearly, especially now, next to him.

You darted in the fastest way possible from the pavilion up to the hotel to your room, leaving him there.

Today should be the final day. The hopes that already should have been buried a long time ago, crawled up again and clawed its way into your mind. What if he leaves her for you today? Like in those unrealistic rom coms. Yes, again, it was unrealistic.

Leaving her at the altar and running after you. While all those thoughts of hope and wishes came together you found yourself with a stomachache. His fiancée was an incredibly nice person, sweet and kind along with being a beauty. You shouldn’t even dare to think about Sangyeon that way anymore, she deserved a lot more. Quite honestly, you felt pathetic. Who were you to run into their possible future?

Just because of a simple brush over the lips, his eyes staring into yours like no one else existed but you and his soft hands delicately touching your waist. A tap on your shoulder put you out of your trance, “[Y/N]? Can you go up to Sangyeon’s room? He asked for you.” Kevin’s eyes glanced at you with uncertainty. Neither you nor he knew why he wanted to see you.

Even more importantly, why did he need to see you alone? This seemed like dangerous territory after, basically yesterday. Agony rose again, what if he really was going to leave her?

“Sure, I don’t know why he wants to see me again though.”, you said and left to see the groom’s room. You stumbled more and more over every step closer to the door of the man who’s going to rip your heart and air out of your lungs. The normally soft laid out carpet felt in this moment like you were stepping barefoot over glass. There was the door, brightly painted in eggshell paired with the digits of the hotel room.

Before you could reach the door to knock on it, light brown waves greeted your overtly surprised face.

“You clean up well.”, Sangyeon’s rang in your ears clearer than freshly hung-up laundry in your nose. His previously concerned face curled up into a faint smile.

“Same goes for you”, you tried your best to hide the very apparent frog in your throat, “So, why do you need me?”

“Just needed to see you before going out there, I guess.”, his voice got a lot quieter. It got silent.

Not sure if a said word was necessary, you plopped down on a small, velvety stool. Every whisper was to be heard. An otherness surrounded Sangyeon, like he wasn’t there anymore, and his thoughts took over his being. You scooted closer towards him, just wanting to see him up close for the last time like this, smelling his earthy cologne from this distance.

“Why are you doing this to me?”, your voice went close to hoarse after the question. He was just as silent as before. No sound, nothing. This torment of a weekend was supposed to end with no gratification, not feeling free from this feeling on your chest? Your hand slid over his, the most desperate attempt to get his attention while also experiencing his touch again. Sangyeon jerked his hand back and returned to his absent posture.

“Why do you want to hurt me like this? I am your best friend, and you use me like I’m nothing.” The lack of power you had now made you sink down to the beige teddy carpet. Small tears started swelling up in your nearly dry eyes, kind of contradictory, yet the more tear drops rolled down your cheeks the rottener and hollow you felt.

“You were my best friend until you-.”, he stopped midsentence, “made me feel things again I didn’t need, I didn’t want.” Also his face was wet, ridden with tears making his usually calm and cheerful persona look like a painful insult.

“You asked me here. It hurts, Sangyeon. I can’t make it stop hurting, I don’t know what to do”, you reached for him again, “Could I ever be enough for you?” He returned your former attempts to stroke your face. Cornering both of you, the air trapped you in the toxins of heartbreak and hopelessness.

Once again, Sangyeon’s hand glid over your soft skin and halted on your face. Glaringly staring into each other’s eyes, you were there again. The day before, yesterday. Close to baring the soul of each person present.

“[Y/N], it’s not about being enough. It never has been. I have made a commitment I already broke, I…I can’t do this”, he sighed, “you know I love her.”

“I thought you loved me as well.” Overwhelming nothingness overruled you, almost scaring you about this reaction. You weren’t crying, yelling nor having any physical reaction at all. It was convincingly numb; the resting hurt would come later. Sangyeon’s head dropped in the dip of your shoulder and neck.

This sort of closeness would never happen again. You feeling him breathing into you while having his comforting heartbeat close to yours.

“I do, but I can’t do this to her. I would never do this to her.”, he whispered into your shoulder. A sigh came from his side.

“Then, please. Kiss me, for the last time.” The last part of the sentence left a disgustingly bitter taste in your mouth. This was over, right? His head, which was formerly resting on your shoulder, drifted up and towards yours. Also his expression blank and hollow, like he didn’t know anything.

For the last time, his hands cupped your face in a comfortable manner. As always, he felt homely, but he surely wasn’t yours ever. Not even waiting a good second or two, the light brunette’s face came closer to yours. With no hesitation both of your lips touched tenderly, releasing every sort of affection that could be expressed at that second. You inhaled again his intoxicating scent, in the hopes of having him all over you. His now reddened lips moved closer towards your jawline making you gasp for air.

Also, you weren’t completely still, constantly shifting your hands up and down over his torso upwards his neck, desperately feeling everything, you can for the last time. Sangyeon’s locks tickled you softly while he suddenly latched his mouth onto your neck right below your ear.

“No. Please, I just want a kiss on my lips.”, you said lowly, closely resembling a whine afterwards. He complied pretty quickly, leaving you with no thought but him tickling your bottom lip with his warm tongue. With him being this fast, you didn’t want to keep him on his toes. Entirely engaged in this moment, hands surprised you again on your waist, wandering closer and closer under the blouse you were wearing. You moaned into the kiss, making him take the opportunity to maneuver his tongue into your mouth.

Similarly to you, he was also stunned for a short moment when you grabbed up onto some strands of hair. A sigh left his now plump lips, a need of fresh air arrived onto both of you. Yet this was short lived, his hands captured your chin and attached his lips again onto yours in a matter of mere seconds. A bell rang, close footsteps to be heard across the floor reminding you of the situation you were in.

“Why am doing this? I am so sorry.”, you broke off his lips and took a step backwards at the door.

“[Y/N], we both did this, and it won’t happen again. We just need some time without each other. I think it would be for the best if we don’t spend time together alone anymore.”

“Are you doing what I think you’re doing? I don’t know what to say. I-.”, His lips captured yours again fast with a lot more force behind his kiss.

A strong arm shut the about to be opened door again and hovered over your head. The other one caught grabbed your chin with an almost contradictory feeling to it, the lightest touch just to shove you into his direction. You sighed into his lips, waiting for him to commit with his tongue one more time. Buttery lips pressed against yours and clang inside your mouth. Fiercely did your tongues meet, ending with him sucking on yours. Wet cheeks batting against each other with no intent of separating, your movement still came to a halt.

“You know what? I hate this. I want you to be happy, then if it is with her, I will just y’know…go or uhm mind my business.”, you slurred the last part. It wasn’t really one of your most prideful moments. Still flushed with tears and embarrassment you dropped again against the room door.

“I ask for one condition though,” incredibly hearse was your voice after the crying and even more so because of your follow up, “I do not not want to see you for some time, I don’t want to have to see your face ever again.” Tears weren’t anymore swelling up in your eyes, they never seemed to stop running down with no chance of leaving this conversation with an ounce of self-respect and pride.

It wasn’t even really much of a problem to leave him behind for a bit, it most likely would be for the best anyway, yet while his words should only leave a small mark and feel like a ripped off band aid, you felt alone. A sense of loneliness crept stealthily into you leaving you with nothing but a severe feeling of dread.

“If that is what you want, I’ll respect that.” The room got quieter till you heard the last of his words: “Of course, I still want you in on my wedding though, you’re still my best friend.” Sangyeon’s usual soft and kind smile appeared on his face, seemingly reaching you an olive branch. The former assertiveness and confidence drained through the conversation; you were nothing but a wreck.

“Alright, I’ll be there.”

The ceremony was beautiful. Fairy like flowers were hung all across the beach space, making the place more surreal than it was to begin with. Everything light with a hint of light green and an even lighter lavender tone. The air seemed to have evaporated all the tension and sadness from your face. All across the seats were relatives and friends sitting with a nervously happy face. Ironically, he really thought it was going to be you someday.

“You’re [Y/N], right? Everyone always tried to introduce me to you. Now we’re sitting next to each other at Sangyeon’s wedding together! I’m Juyeon by the way.”

[writingtoforgetreality]

I Remember (Malcolm Bright x Reader)

Request: uM hi saw ur request post while i was scrolling through malcolm bright x reader tag lol so may i request an x reader w malcolm where reader's gil's niece or smth so she and mal know each other before he joined the team- and one day where mal was being a dumbass and reader was told to drive mal home and when she was securing his restraints he jokingly asked her to sing to him aNd she did sing and fell asleep on the bed by opposite mal aND he got a good amount of sleep like no night terrors and next day he accidentally slipped that reader ''slept'' w him and gils just like excuse me wtf?? Djkdkdlsjsjs idk i got this idea when i was staring at the ceiling at 4 am instead of doing my essays that were due in the morningxD sorry its p long. Thanks and have a good day/night (by @iwillboilyourteeth), [Prodigal Son-Masterlist]

Summary: Malcolm got hurt again. What a surprise. And, as always, you were right there to take care of him. Tonight, though, things took a turn. For the better or for the worse? Only the future would tell.

Words: 2,142

Warnings: language, love me some sarcasm, fluff, so much fluff, I love writing for Prodigal Son (keep the requests coming)

Song used: “I Remember” by Jason Manns

If you like my work & wanna support me: a coffee would be highly appreciated ❤

You were sitting in your apartment when your phone started ringing loudly, interrupting your movie marathon. Sighing exaggeratedly, you checked who decided to annoy you at this time. It was not too late but you liked your alone time a lot. Gil. Oh no. That could never be good.

“Uncle Gil. I hope whatever you’re about to tell me is more important than Harry Potter.” pausing the movie you were currently watching, you did not even give him enough time to greet you. A loud sigh could be heard over the phone. One, that made you laugh.

“(Y/N).” his voice was stern & you knew better than to mess with him. Yet, you could not help yourself.

“Yeah, that’s me. You called me, after all.” joking to ease the tension, your giggling was cut short by his next words.

“Malcolm is a dumbass.”

“What a revelation.”

“He’s hurt.” Gil stated. Throwing your head back in frustration, you knew he only called you if he knew it was not too bad. But bad enough to need your help. “I need you to come get him.” it was not even a question, more like an order. Immediately, you grabbed the stuff you needed & headed out of your apartment towards your car.

“Can I yell at him for being reckless?” opening the door, you got inside but before you started the engine, you waited for the call to end. Could not risk getting youself hurt. Malcolm was the stupid one, not you.

“I already did that but I’m sure he’ll appreciate to hear it again.”

“Good.”

“Drive safe.” Gil noted.

“See you in ten.” & with that you drove to the precinct where he would most likely wait for you.

Growing up, you spent a lot of time at Gil’s. Malcolm was there almost always, so you got to meet each other pretty early on. Deep down, you cared for him. More than you should care for a friend. And because of him being a profiler, you were sure he picked up on that as well. Malcolm was just nice enough to not comment on it. Besides, he would tell you that he was too broken anyway. The thing was that it never scared you away. It did the exact opposite, actually. It only made you want him more.

Did you ignore almost every speed limit? Possibly. Your knuckles were white because you had gripped the steering wheel so tightly. One of these days, you would kill Malcolm. He kept getting himself hurt & you were tired of being the one to drive him home afterwards. Of course, you knew Gil only called you because Malcolm trusted you enough but that did not change the fact that you were exhausted.

“What happened?” approaching Gil, your eyes looked around for a sign of Malcolm. “And where the hell is he?”

“Bathroom.” his finger pointed over. “He didn’t call backup & thought dealing with it alone would turn out fine.” Gil was, you could tell, almost as tired as you. Not only of Malcolm acting recklessly but also because of a long day at work.

“What a surprise.” your sarcasm got the best of you. But it helped you coping with your feelings sometimes. “Uncle Gil?” his head snapped up when you said his name.

“Yes?”

“Go home & get some sleep. I got it from here, promise.” your sweet smile was convincing enough & with a nod, he turned around & walked away.

“(Y/N)?” Malcolm noticed you when he walked out of the bathroom. His face was covered in bruised & by the way he was limping, you were sure that his entire body had to be sore. “Where’s Gil?”

“I sent him home.” shrugging as if it were nothing, you gave Malcolm a look. He knew what it meant but apparently, he wanted to play dumb.

“What?” his head tilted slightly & if it were not for his damn puppy eyes & for the fact that he was hurt, you would be the cause of his bruises. Not quite literally but still. Rolling your eyes at him, you crossed your arms over your chest.

“You’re stupid, I hope you know that.”

“I do, but we caught the killer, so it was worth it.” he casually stated.

“Is it really worth risking your life, Mal?” shaking your head shortly, you were not in the mood to discuss this any further. A simple gesture of your hand was enough to show him that you wanted to get going. “Come on, I’m gonna bring you home.”

“You’re mad.” Malcolm noted when the both of you walked outside back to your car. Sighing loudly, you stopped for a brief moment.

“Yes. I’m mad because I can’t even count how many times we’ve been in this exact situation anymore. And it sucks. Because every single time Gil calls me, I think he’ll tell me that you didn’t make it out like you always do.” Malcolm’s eyes widened when you explained how you were feeling. Your body brushing past his made him turn around & follow you without another word. It was silent between you two until you arrived inside Malcolm’s apartment.

“I’m sorry, (Y/N).” he spoke up, his voice much softer now. When you saw him struggling to pull off his coat, you walked over to him to help him out.

“You don’t owe me an apology, Mal.” your back faced him when you went to put his jacket away.

“I do. You always take care of me when shit like that happens. And I wanted you to know that I don’t take that for granted. If I were you, I would’ve stopped caring a long time ago.”

“You know as much as I do that this won’t ever happen.” & it was true. Malcolm could mess up over & over again. Could get himself hurt & all that. But you would always be here to catch him, no matter what.

“I don’t deserve you.” his eyes bore into yours & by the look he gave you, you knew he was not talking about you taking care of him when he was hurt. He was referring to you as a person. Basically, he wanted to make you understand that he was not worthy of your love. Which was bullshit to you.

“You deserve so much & it hurts that you don’t see it.” the conversation dropped for the time being. Navigating your way through his apartment, you looked for something he could wear to bed. Soon enough, you found something suitable & when you walked back into the room ,you found Malcolm already sitting on his bed, head hanging low. He stopped you when he noticed your hands grabbing the shirt he was wearing. Sending him a confused look, your eyebrows raised in question.

“I think I can handle it from here on.” taking the clothes from you, he went to strip himself out of his workwear. Surprisingly, he could not move his body enough to achieve anything.

“Yeah, I can see that. Come on, don’t act like that, Malcolm.” it was not the first time you had helped him undressing. As mentioned earlier, the two of you had been in this situation too many times to count.

It did not take long & he was wearing comfortable clothes. After asking if he needed anything else, you went straight to his restraints & helped strapping him in. It amazed Malcolm how you were not weirded out by the fact that he had to be held down in order to have at least a few hours of sleep.

“(Y/N)?” his voice was barely above a whisper but your humming let him know that you heard him. “Can you sing something for me?” it was meant to be a joke, he simply wanted to ease the tension between you guys. Thinking about it for a second, you came to the conclusion that it would not hurt to do that. Maybe it would help him fall asleep? Malcolm eyes widened when you actually started singing quietly. It was soothing & he closed his eyes to focus solely on your voice.

Hey you, when I saw you walk in there

And I couldn’t help but stare

At the way you move your hands

‘Cause it’s the little things you do that drive me crazy

And now, let’s forget about the crowd

And just concentrate on us

So that you can know what I want you to know

 I remember how it started

You had everything I wanted

I was helpless to resist

But I didn’t want to

 Only if you would hold me tight

As we talked all through the night

About those things you won’t tell no one else

I know that we’ve got long ways to go

But I want you to know

That I’ll be there till the end, so don’t you worry

 I remember how it started

You had everything I wanted

I was helpless to resist

But I didn’t want to

‘Cause I fell in love with you-ou-ou

 After you finished, Malcolm still had his eyes closed, he just laid there for a while, recalling the words of the song. He knew what you were trying to tell him but if he had to be honest, he was scared. If the two of you were to try something, he thought you would leave him the moment you realized his demons were too much for someone to handle. Malcolm did not hear you leave his apartment, neither did he feel a movement. Opening his eyes slowly, he found you sound asleep right next to him. Your peaceful form made him smile brightly. Contemplating if he should wake you up, he decided against it in the end. Deep down, he knew you would not judge him he if he had a night terror next to you. And if he were honest, having you with him made him incredibly calm. That night, he fell asleep almost immediately, without any nightmares invading his dreams. The reason for it was you. Only you.

Malcolm woke up early the next morning. Work called. Okay, maybe Gild had told him to take a few days off but everyone who knew Malcolm, knew that he did not listen to such orders. Or any orders, in general. You were still asleep when he loosened his restraints. He left you a note behind before leaving his apartment for work.

“Didn’t I tell you to stay at home?” Gil questioned the second Malcolm entered the office where the rest of the team was already up & working.

“You did but I’m fine.” Gil rolled his eyes at his words. Usually, whenever Malcolm insisted on being fine, he was everything but. Examining his face closer, Gil was shocked to see him so…well rested?

“Wait. How much did you sleep last night? You look unusually awake.”

“Oh, yeah. That’s because I slept with (Y/N) last night.” Malcolm spoke casually & went to examine the pictures that were displayed on the table in the middle of the room. Gil’s eyebrows raised at that. Dani only sent him a weird look & JT almost choked on his coffee at Malcolm’s confession. There were some things he did not want to know & his love life was one of it.

“Excuse me, what now?” Gil was the first one to press the topic further. Everyone knew how protective he could get when it came to you, his niece. When Malcolm turned around, he found three pairs of eyes looking sternly at him. Wait, what did he say? Realization washed over his face & he only now noticed how wrong his words sounded without any given context.

“No, wait…That came out wrong.” closing his eyes briefly, he prepared an explanation for his confused co-workers. “(Y/N) drove me home yesterday & she helped me with my restraints & all. She fell asleep & I didn’t wanna wake her up.” Malcolm’s hands gestured wildly, not wanting to give them the wrong impression of last night’s events. JT pretended to understand what he explained even though he had no idea & frankly, he did not care too much. Malcolm had lost Dani’s interest a while ago, she continued working on the next case. Only Gil was left. He gave Malcolm a knowing look, went over to him & patted him on the shoulder.

“You better take care of her, Bright. Or you have to deal with me.” his threatening smile creeped Malcolm out but he knew Gil was only trying to keep you safe. Maybe you were the right one for him. Last night was proof enough. It was scary to take that next step but on the other hand, he wanted to take that risk. He wanted to give it a try. For the both of you.

Published (04/20/2021) by Cathy

Tags: @octopus5555 (thanks for your support <3)