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pellucid-constellations · 2 years

Text

Undisclosed - Nine

Pairing: Lumberjack!Bucky x Reader

Summary: Desperate to outrun a secret that could cost you your life, you seek refuge in a small mountain town. Its deep forests and small cabins make it the perfect place to hide, but the travel website hadn’t mentioned anything about the quiet, burly lumberjack that wouldn’t leave your thoughts. No one had warned Bucky about you either.

Word count: 5.8k

Warnings: Angst, cannon level violence, injury, major protective bucky, crime

a/n: Thank you to everyone that’s been so supportive recently! These last couple weeks have just been thing after thing and I’m really grateful that I get to share my writing with everyone :) Feedback is always appreciated!!

If you enjoy my writing, consider checking out my ko-fi♡

Series Masterlist // Main Masterlist

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Everything hurt.

It wasn’t a sharp pain. It was an ache that spread through your entire body, licking down to your toes and blooming across your head in the type of headache that seemed to linger days after it passed. A ringing in your ears followed your eyelids as they struggled open like weights being dropped to the bottom of the ocean.

It took you a moment to remember everything that had happened. And then a moment later, you were thinking of Bucky.

You were going to die, and he was going to think that you left him. You thought you were going to die before, but it was somehow worse now. Because Bucky—sweet, loving Bucky with the smile that made you melt—was going to be heart broken.

You knew you were being irrational.

Lying in some grimy cabin, your nose caked in dried blood and your face throbbing with a bruise you couldn’t see, you were worrying about breaking your boyfriend’s heart. But you remembered all too well the look on his face that day you ran from the Christmas party, and the thought of him feeling that way again sent a pain through your gut.

You rolled over on your side, inhaling deeply through your nose. Wherever you were it was dusty and unkempt; the wood under your cheek had no carpet to cover the logs, and every time you cracked your eyelids open you could see dust floating past the light of the fireplace.

At least Beck didn’t want you to freeze.

No, he probably had other ways of doing this. Whatever ‘this’ was.

You assumed he was going to kill you. That’s what his goal seemed to be when you ran from that old warehouse back in New York. His eyes were filled with rage while he chased you down the rickety old stairs, menacing promises preceding a sharp stab in your side. But if he wanted to just kill you, why didn’t he do it in the car? You were completely helpless in the backseat for the entire drive down the mountain—the perfect victim.

And yet, here you were, broken and bruised on the floor in the middle of nowhere.

“Waking up then, sleeping beauty?”

You almost wished he would have just finished you off in the car; hearing his voice had always been enough to set your nerves on edge.

“You can pretend not to hear me, but you and I are about to have a lot of time to chat, so you better stop being a bitch before I get pissed off.”

You let out a dry cough and shakily raised yourself up on borrowed arms. It had only been hours maybe, but you felt as if you had been deprived of so much for so long. Food, water, soft hands that caressed you to sleep when your eyes wouldn’t stop moving under sealed shut lids; you had gotten too used to the comforts that came with Bucky Barnes.

“What do you want from me?” you croaked.

He laughed. You were getting so sick of the sound. It already grated on you when you thought he was a good guy back in New York. But knowing what you knew now, and feeling the ache throughout your body that was caused by him, the throaty sound made you sick to your stomach.

Beck crouched down in front of you, taking your battered chin between cruel fingers. “I don’t want anything from you, dearest.”

“Kill me then,” you seethed, and your eye contact never wavered. “Stop with this game you’ve been playing with me since we were teenagers and get it over with.”

They were empty words. The last thing you wanted was to die. Not after meeting Bucky and not after this wonderful life that was offered up to you in the form of Stowe Mills. No, for the first time in your life, you had something meaningful to live for. Not the aspiration of attention or the desire for approval; you had a family.

Beck’s eyes went wide for a fraction of a moment as if imagining such an offer. He let his tongue dart out to wet his lips as his gaze tracked over your face with the blankest expression you’d witnessed on him. And maybe you’d be scared if it wasn’t so obvious that he was going to keep you alive.

But you didn’t take a moment to consider what that all would entail.

You just wanted to get him as far away from Stowe Mills as possible.

“I’d like that,” Beck whispered, voice hidden behind a man you had never encountered up close. “But unfortunately, people have been asking questions. It’s one thing to take the rich with no status—barely anyone knows what they look like. But when someone like you goes missing, there’s… talk.” He released your chin with a snap. “That, and your silly mother started to get sentimental after you left. Struck a deal with me that would benefit both parties.”

Beck started to pace. It was a habit he’d picked up from his father. With your face free from wooden floors and punishing grips, you finally had enough strength to sit against the wall of the cabin. You watched as the man that planned on ruining your new life, your favorite life, thought up another grand lecture for you to sit through.

“What was the deal?” Through dry, cracked lips, you played into his narcissism. The man loved to hear himself talk, and as long as he wasn’t touching you, you could handle that. You had handled that. For years.

Beck smirked as if he was sharing an inside joke with himself. “We’re getting married. You, me, and all our secrets. I keep you alive, and if you try anything, little miss y/n becomes America’s most wanted. It’ll all be on your head. Your father helped us stage the evidence.”

There was a type of dryness in your throat that you hadn’t felt since that one winter when you needed your tonsils removed. You tried swallowing a few times, but the distinct patch in your airway refused to find comfort. You briefly wondered how long you would have until your body succumbed to hypothermia if you simply ran for it, but then the voice that kept chipping away at you added another addition to the heaviness in your heart.

“Say no, resist in any way, and that burly idiot back in that stupid town bites it.”

Your mind went into a frenzy. Nothing hurt anymore, but you simply couldn’t breathe. Up on shaky knees you begged with unpracticed words, “Please, anything but that. Just leave him alone and I promise I’ll do anything you want. I didn’t tell him anything. Please, Beck—”

A flash of white light that tasted like heavy iron cut off your rambling. The assault was jarring, but this time, you stayed awake as you were knocked back against the wall that kept you upright just moments before.

“Your mother said alive,” Beck hissed. An unwanted sob broke past your busted lip. “She didn’t specify that you had to be unharmed.”

Silent tears mingled with the blood on your face, and silent you would continue to stay. Beck never liked when you shared your opinion, or when you spoke at all for that matter. But he was now free to act on that distaste, and for the sake of your already battered appearance, you would try to avoid those actions as much as possible.

You could feel the panic begin to bubble up in your chest like a weight dangling by a thread; one wrong move, and it would all come tumbling down, ending you, ending everything. You had to keep it together, because there was no other way for this to go. You had to go with Beck willingly and you had to accept this life that you had run so far away from.

God, you missed Bucky already. With Beck now angrily typing away at his phone that he kept smacking against his hand as the service failed, you ached for the sweetness that you had grown so accustomed to. You let your head roll to the side and imagined the softness of the touch that juxtaposed Bucky’s calloused fingers running through your hair, catching your tears, brushing past the angry red marks on your face.

Bucky would lose it if he saw what you looked like right now.

You remembered the look on his face when you fell down that icy hill all those months ago and the care he put into his words when you showed up at his door in the dead of night. You could distinctly remember Bucky’s reaction that one time you went rooting around in his attic for some snow equipment Sarah insisted was up there, the horror in his eyes when he noticed that your head was bleeding.

“Oh my sweet girl, let me take a look at that. It hurt at all? God, I wish you wouldn’t do this kinda stuff when I’m not here to help you out. What if it knocked you off your feet and I was stuck at the office?”

Cold hands that felt like home tilted your head from side to side.

“Buck, I’m fine. Just a little bump on the head. You know how much worse these things can look. I just need to clean it up a little and it’ll be good as new.”

“I get home and see my girl bleeding and, I’m sorry, but I’m not gonna believe that you’re fine.”

If you thought hard enough, you could feel the imprint of his soothing hands on your face. The coldness after he got home from work that didn’t leave your skin prickling, but instead reached through you and trickled into your bones in the most comforting way possible. It felt like a gentle sort of reminder that he was there, that he was the feeling you would never be able to experience without him. Your next breath burned.

“Brock sent the private jet, so no one has to look at your… state other than the pilot.”

You were numb to his words, still reminiscing on Bucky, trying to feel him when he wasn’t there. Maybe you had enough memories to last you a lifetime. Maybe you would be able to live out this awful, angry life solely on the thought of him, on the way your skin replayed his touch.

“You’ll speak when I talk to you,” Beck sneered. It was beginning now, it seemed—the new normal. “I don’t care if you don’t love me. I expect you to play the role of the good little wife, or I’ll be sure to live up to my promises.”

Your resolve was slipping. “Yes, Quentin.” He always liked when you called him that in public. It kept up the appearance of a relationship with secret intimacies and love. Nothing like when you called Bucky James. Tired tears lazily fell down your cheeks at the thought.

He finally looked up from his phone, taking a moment to size up your broken frame as you cried silent tears against the wall. “Good.”

And then he went right back to typing.

Your head was beginning to throb, an unkind accompaniment to the sharp pain that began to form when Beck struck you again. You focused on the rhythmic nature it had, the way it followed the beat of your heart and sunk into the crevices behind your eyes. Your eyes were closed now.

Beck finally stopped pacing and took a seat on the dusty couch in the living room. The silence that followed was a welcome one, and the stillness under your fingers as you pressed them to the wooden floor allowed you a wicked sort of peace, because at least he was settled and not looming over you as he would be for the rest of your life.

And it was almost imperceptible, but a humming vibration began to replace his once unbearable footsteps. For a moment, you thought the feeling was something your groggy mind had conjured up, but then the feeling started to visibly shake your fingers as well, and you knew you weren’t that far gone.

The vibrations were soon paired with the sound of an engine, and stones took the place of your stomach. You could taste the dread on your tongue like a sour balm that assaulted each one of your tastebuds, and your mouth twisted up at the phantom taste. You would take endless brutal words and heavy-handed touches if it meant you weren’t able to recognize the engine that was closing in on the cabin at a pace that was slowly killing you.

That engine was usually associated with gas station food and Bucky’s hand on your leg as he drove you to some town in some state that you barely paid any attention to. When you heard that low rumble it was right after the man in plaid that you loved so much had tugged on the tough-palmed gloves and hauled out lumber with men you would never meet. It meant a kiss before he backed out of the parking lot and a sweet, well-meaning arm helping you down from the tall seat before he ushered you home for the night.

It meant Bucky.

And in this moment, you never wanted to hear something less.

“What the hell is that?” Beck muttered under his breath, unaware of the panic you attempted to hide behind shallow breaths. He whipped his head to you when the sound of a car door echoed past thin-paned windows. “There was nothing on you in the cab. How is someone here?”

Bucky. Get him away from Bucky.

“I don’t know,” you stammered. You garnered the strength to stand, using a wooden beam for support. “But—but we can hide. There’s probably a back door we can slip out of. Whoever it is, they’ll think it’s abandoned.”

“There’s a fucking cab outside, y/n. It’s obvious—”

“Hey! Anyone in there? I just wanna talk!”

Oh.

Bucky wasn’t just here. He was looking for a direct confrontation. You eyed the pocket knife sticking out of the waistband of Beck’s jeans and bit the inside of your cheek until you tasted a coppery twang.

“Beck, c’mon. We can—” But instead of leaning into your grip as you tugged him toward the hall of the cabin that’s walls seemed to be closing in on itself, his eyes flashed with a dangerous rage, a recognition you so desperately did not want to see.

“That him?” he spit out, fingers prying your vice-like grip from his arm. “That your little boyfriend?”

Your response was a panicked mess. “No—I don’t know. Couldn’t be. There’s no way he would know where we were, just like you said.”

A frustrated sound ripped from the back of his throat, and you were shoved behind the wall between the front door and the window. “Stay. here.”

Chest rising and falling with a rapidness unfamiliar to you, you pressed against the ridges of the wooden wall and watched as Beck threw on a fake smile and opened the door. Bucky would know it was him immediately; you’d shown him a few pictures of Beck from the articles on your family’s fundraisers. But maybe Bucky would be smart about this and pretend not to know him. Maybe Bucky would save your heart some pain and return back to his truck in one piece.

“Oh, hey man. You new to this area? My dad owns the land a few miles down and we haven’t had anyone occupy this house in years.”

Lies, lies, lies.

Bucky’s dad hadn’t owned any land at the bottom of the mountain. What was his game here?

Unknowingly, Beck fell into it. “Nice to meet you, buddy.” With one foot out the door, Beck offered Bucky his hand. You could hear the way Bucky’s boots scuffed on the porch. “Yeah, I bought the place off of my aunt’s family. Thinking of turning it into a nice winter home.”

You held your breath. Bucky was so close to you; you were just a single step away from falling into his arms and listening to the sweet way he would whisper in your ear. You caught a reflection in the metal of the knife on Beck’s waist and let that thought dissipate in the warmed air.

“Nice, nice.” Bucky didn’t sound like himself. “Hey, look. I got an issue with my truck and I don’t think it’ll make it all the way back up the mountain. Think you could give me a hand with that?”

Beck’s posture shifted. What was once a feigned confidence crumbled in on itself, just slightly, until you caught an almost invisible twinge in his right shoulder. You bit the other side of your cheek. No blood this time.

“I don’t know, buddy. I’m not really one for cars. Never been much good at fixing them up. I’ve been to more mechanics than I can count, if I’m being honest.”

You heard a creak from the porch, and then Bucky’s voice sounded deeper. “That why you took a cab?”

Within a moment, the air felt colder. You were facing the fireplace before, your panic heated by the crackling logs surrounded by dusty bricks. It was a small living room, so even as you stood prone to the far wall by the front door, the heat sunk into your skin.

But then you were pulled, then spun, then pressed against someone at an uncomfortable degree, and the air felt cold.

Even colder was the sharp metal held at the soft skin of your neck.

The coldest thing was the feeling in your chest when you pried your eyes open and saw the devastation and fear on Bucky’s face.

He was wearing his plaid overcoat today. You had missed it at the diner earlier, the material most likely thrown in the corner of the booth or tossed carelessly over a chair. Thinking about him putting his arms through each sleeve and fixing the collar before he came to save you made a simple kind of joy inch its way into your heart. It wasn’t the time for that, but it would be something you could hold onto later. Once you were miles and miles away from Stowe Mills and Bucky was safe.

Lips by your ear made you recoil, but the action only pressed you further into the knife. You reared back just as quickly. “I took a cab because I needed a reason for this pretty thing to get in my car. Figured with a brooding hunk such as yourself as her constant shadow, I’d need a decoy. Bucky.”

You opened your mouth before anyone else could. “Beck, we don’t need to do this, okay? If we just—”

“You don’t speak unless I tell you to,” he grunted at you, yanking your hair back to expose your neck fully.

You couldn’t see Bucky very well, but you heard him as he rushed forward and demanded, “Don’t do that to her. I swear to fucking god, you keep touching her like that and you’re gonna wish you were a dead man.”

There was a struggle occurring on the porch that wasn’t tangible. Like two of the same poles of a magnet repelling each other the more they came together. Bucky would inch forward, and Beck would press the knife at a new, intimidating angle. So Bucky would step back. His hands were always raised, as if that would be the reason why Beck didn’t just kill you now. His hands had solved many of your life's problems, but this would not be one of them.

Beck’s chuckle rumbled through your back. A tear escaped the corner of your eye. It felt warm when paired with the mountain breeze.

The deep vibrations turned into words. “You think I’m scared of some small town boy with too much time on his hands? I’ve got some news for you, buddy—this girl right here?” A tug at your hair. Another reach from Bucky. “She’s not the type you do all this for. Little y/n is the type you use. She’ll do anything if you tell her you love her, won’t you, honey?”

A sob fell from your lips when Beck's nose brushed your cheek. You’d do anything to make this be over.

“Don’t—” Bucky started through gritted teeth, but he seemed to correct himself. He calmed down. You blinked another tear away and finally met Bucky’s gaze through a deep breath. His jaw ticked. His eyes looked fleetingly down at your neck and you could see the breath he let out from his nose.

Bucky placed a relaxed hand in his coat pocket.

“You noticed that too?”

What?

The grip on your hair loosened for a fraction of a moment. “What the fuck are you talking about?” Beck questioned, and you could tell by the inflection of his voice that he had no idea what his next move was.

Bucky rolled his shoulders back. “I thought it was just somethin’ she did for me, but now I can see it’s a pattern for her. Probably has to do with her parents, right?”

It felt like getting punched in the gut. Beck had a knife to your neck and your hair in a vice and somehow Bucky’s words hurt more. You furrowed your brows and blinked impossibly fast to clear your vision.

Bucky looked back at you—directly in the eye. His fingers twitched at his sides.

From beside you, Beck let out a whistle. “Well, I’ll be damned. Weren’t you just begging on your knees for this guy a few minutes ago? And look at him now—making fun of you right to your face.”

You struggled against his hold, the embarrassment and the fear and the agitation of the knife against your skin all becoming too much. You just wanted this to be over. Why couldn’t Bucky just stop this ploy, whatever it was.

“Ah ah ah,” Beck reprimanded. “You think just because your little boyfriend admits that you’re annoying I’m gonna let you go? I wasn’t born yesterday.” He smiled up at Bucky. Bucky looked strained. “Do go on.”

“Well I mean, she told me that everyone kept that big secret from her forever. Said that her parents were never really interested in anything she did until you came along.” He bounced on the balls of his feet, just once. “So I figure, maybe she just latches on to whoever… does that for her, you know?”

“Interesting theory, but you just about bought yourself a death sentence, Buddy.”

“No.” You fought harder against him now, pushed at his arms and kicked your feet back until his wrist ricocheted back and the corner of the knife nicked your neck. The pain was imperceptible, but Bucky’s reaction wasn’t.

At the first sight of blood, all nonchalance was erased from his demeanor. Bucky surged forward, thick arms jutting out to rip you from Beck’s hold. You didn’t have time to question why he didn’t do that sooner; the sound of bodies colliding into the rickety cabin only registered once you’d hit the ground where Bucky once stood.

“Fine, you wanna do this the hard way?” Bucky seethed. “You touch my fucking girl and I’m gonna have to do this the hard way.”

The size difference between the two men was jarring. Bucky towered over Beck, yes, but it was the sheer space that Bucky took up that shocked you. He reared back and slammed Beck against the wall of the house again, pure fury in his gaze that you could not see.

And it must be terrifying—the look Beck was witnessing. Because for the first time in your life, you saw fear on Beck’s face. It was quickly masked with an indifferent arrogance once Bucky stopped his assault, but you saw right through it. “You wanna kill me, Bucky? Go ahead. Kill me. There’s about fifteen other people in New York City alone that want that girl dead. I’m the only chance she’s got at living past 30. We’ve had her general location for months, we were just waiting on a pinpoint—a confirmation. We’ll always find her. And now we’ll find you, too.”

Bucky hauled Beck’s unwilling body to the outer rim of the porch. From your place on the ground, you could see their side profiles as silhouettes, backed by the headlights of the lumber truck. Puffs of white breath billowed out between them. Bucky gritted his teeth and laughed.

“You? You really expect me to believe that you’re the leader of somethin’ like that? Must not be a very good leader if you’ve spent months searchin’ for one girl. Kinda pathetic when you think about it.”

The fear on Beck’s face was replaced by rage. A clatter left you breathless as the pocket knife went clattering to the ground. You stumbled forward to grab it and shuffled back just as quickly. He was disarmed, as easy as that. Beck never was one to keep his head when he was insulted; a man of pride, through and through.

“You’re a fucking dead man, Barnes,” Beck struggled through an uncomfortable grimace. He pushed harder against Bucky’s hold, but to no avail. “They’re going to hurt you worse than anyone we’ve dealt with. And they’re gonna do it to her first. Make sure you sit through it all. She’s real pretty when she screams, promise.”

The sound of air being forced from his lungs was audible as Bucky knocked Beck harder against the railing of the porch. “No one’s gonna touch her. You don’t have that kinda pull anyway. I know a weak man when I see one.”

Bucky’s plaid coat was ripped. Beck gritted out, “I’m the fucking leader, you prick. I want someone dead and I got half of New York asking me where to do it. I know just where they’ll do it to you, too. Have them take you both back to the place I almost finished that one off.” Beck nodded to you on the ground.

“You don’t look at her,” Bucky commanded. He sounded eerily calm.

Beck simply laughed. “I spent years looking at her. Trust me, I’m done with it. But I’ll have the entire mob breathing down her neck in just a few days.”

With that, Bucky released Beck. He pushed him away and left him toppling over the three steps that lead up to the porch, and he simply watched as the other man fought for his breath in the wood chips below the awning.

“What?” Beck huffed, still with that arrogance as he struggled to remain collected. “Finally decide that she wasn’t worth it?”

“No.”

Bucky took a single step back when Beck stood, as if making sure that you were securely behind him. He let his right arm fall back and positioned his body so that you were completely out of view.

“No,” he reiterated. “You just finally solved the Cold Case. And on video too.”

The beaming headlights that had illuminated the struggle up until now increased tenfold. They were blinding, washing out Beck’s desperate move to cover his eyes and his jerky movements as he panicked. If someone was in the truck, he was completely outnumbered.

As expected, Steve and Sam slammed the door to the front just moments after the lighting changed. And then the back opened as well. And then there was shouting.

“On the ground, now!”

It startled you, the yelling and the commotion on the ground below the porch. Your mind was still in a daze and your fingers were still shaking around the cold, rigid pocket knife and you weren’t sure, but you thought you might’ve been going into shock. You felt cold, but your skin was growing clammy. Breaths got harder to take in, until they didn’t, and then they breezed through your lungs too easily and at a pace you didn’t find pleasant. You were trembling, the lights were too bright, nothing made sense—

“Hey, sweet girl. Hey.” Bucky. You blinked, and the hands you had been aching for delicately brushed across your cheeks as a soft voice assured you, “You’re safe now. Look at me, y/n, I’m right here.”

You could definitely be imagining things. Beck had hit you in the head quite a few times and you remembered how badly you wanted this exact moment as you lied on the cabin floor breathing in old dust. Maybe this Bucky in front of you wasn’t real. Maybe you were dead and this was—

“Look at me, baby. Please. It’s me, it’s James. I’m gonna keep you safe now, okay? I just need you to tell me you’re alright.”

Imagination or not, the sadness in Bucky’s voice was too gut wrenching to not listen to him. So you shifted your eyes away from the man in your nightmares being hauled away, and you looked at your Bucky. He had a bruise forming on his right cheek and a cut just above his eyebrow and you were suddenly very aware that you must’ve missed a lot of the fight from earlier as your body went into a state of panic.

“I don’t understand,” you croaked. The first words you had spoken in forever. In years maybe.

Bucky’s expression crumbled. “I know. I know, I’m so sorry, y/n. But I had to say those things. They were part of the plan, originally, to get him to talk sooner but I’d already screwed it up when I threatened him right off the bat. I was just losing it seeing you there like that. I shoulda known I couldn’t switch gears on the guy.”

He was talking too fast and his fingers were too gentle on your face. Your eyes drooped a few times and you struggled to keep them open long enough to get out, “Not… that. I don’t—I don’t understand what’s going on. Who are those people?”

Bucky sat back on his calves and tugged you into his lap, encasing you in his arms, holding onto you as if it was the only thing keeping him grounded. His touch trailed down to your neck where he brushed over the cut there, and then they came back up to feel around at your head.

Taking inventory. Making sure you weren’t about to go limp in his arms.

The sound of tires on loose rocks didn’t make you raise your head from Bucky’s chest.

“Steve got mad at his Ma one summer after we graduated. Left to join the army for a while to prove some point like the punk he is.” His hands stopped assessing you. He dropped a lingering kiss on your forehead. It hurt less. “He made it big time over there. Became a captain and gained a lot of connections. Like big connections. Let’s just say there are people above the police that’ve been looking into this for a while.”

He began rocking you when the shock started wearing off, when the tears stuck in the back of your eyes thawed and the pain in your body bloomed.

“All they needed was a lumber truck dashcam and someone threatening my girl.”

You wept. Burrowed into Bucky’s chest, rocking in his arms, you wept and you choked on air and you cried so hard that you couldn’t even register the comfort that his scent would usually bring you. Bucky shushed you almost instantly, cooing words of love and adoration into your hair as you released every emotion you’d ever felt into his plaid coat.

You were happy, and then you thought you were going to die, and then you thought you were living through hell, and now you had Bucky. And Bucky had fixed everything. He had fixed everything and then he had apologized for words spoken to a man that held a knife to your throat.

You could live a thousand lives, do a thousand good deeds, and you would never deserve him.

“My sweet girl,” Bucky sighed. You thought you heard a siren in the distance. Sirens were unnecessary this far up the mountain. “You’re okay now. I got you. I love you and I got you. Always.”

“I’m so sorry, Bucky. I didn’t want to leave. He just said that he was going to hurt you and I thought that if I—”

Bucky gripped your chin softly between his fingers, eyes boring into yours with a fierceness you were sure Beck witnessed earlier. “You don’t apologize for anything you had to do today, or any day, when it comes to that man. You hear me? You being alive is the only thing I care about. We’re gonna get you checked out at a hospital and then we’re gonna get that man put in prison and then it’s me and you.”

“Me and you,” you repeated, simply because that was the one thing you could hold on to.

He kissed you before the ambulance showed up. He kissed you as you sat in his lap and the tears on your cheeks wet his skin when he held you even closer.

He didn’t leave your side when the paramedics checked you out in the back of the van. Bucky held your hand when the flashlight was shoved in your eyes and he squeezed your fingers when they told you that you had a concussion. When your words got lost behind tears, Bucky spoke them for you. And when the men in suits rounded the ambulance with notepads and stern faces, Bucky told them no, they could talk to you after you had some time to yourself.

Steve was needed for that conversation. The men in suits listened better that way.

The men in paramedic uniforms did not listen to Bucky when he told them they didn’t need to stitch up the cut on his face. The interaction almost made you laugh. Almost.

When the ambulance shut its backdoors with you inside and Bucky sitting on the bench that was much too small for him, you closed your eyes. “Y/n, you can’t go to sleep.” Calloused, familiar hands ran up and down your arms. “Baby, you gotta keep your eyes open.”

You briefly wondered if the concern in Bucky’s tone would be permanent. You opened your eyes just in case it would be, lashes fluttering until his beautiful face was all you could focus on.

“There’s my girl,” he smiled. It was a sad smile.

But despite it all, everything felt okay.

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky x reader #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes x y/n #bucky barnes x female reader #bucky barnes imagine #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes au #bucky barnes #marvel imagine #sebastian stan #lumberjack bucky #modern!bucky #undisclosed

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justanotherstarlightmonger · 2 years

Text

Make it right (2)

SUMMARY: A playful Friday night with her best friends leads to a steamy night, that shows her certain sides of her best friends she hadn’t expected to see.

CAN BE READ AS A STAND ALONE OR AS CONTINUATION OF PART 1

Pairing: Non idol Yoonmin x fem!reader

Trigger warnings: SMUT!, Consensual derogatory sex, slight impact play, pushing boundaries, oral (M) receiving, Yoongi goes slightly feral, only fair for Jimin to match, nothing too crazy, I hope I didn’t miss much. In any case, minors dni.

Author’s MASTERLIST

Taglist: @jooniekoorec @jiminieology27 @sophiemaxim @joyfullycrazypuppy

@princessgraphic

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"You know... I really think that little kid was being a tad bit dramatic. I mean it was just a little juice." You waved a breadstick at Jimin who sat across from you.

"Y/n!!" Jimin fake gasped. "Clearly you've never had your omma warn you about staining a new shirt. I'd cry if I spilt juice on a new shirt too"

"Well maybe that's because you're just a scaredy cat." You countered playfully.

Both of you were in your usual table near the window at the restaurant Yoongi was a chef at, as per usual waiting for him to get off his shift so you guys could make your way to your respective homes. Though the fact remained that you three had been having sleepovers much more frequently, and more than half of those times you had woken up cocooned in both Jimin and Yoongi's arms, but they hadn't touched you sexually after that night.

A fact that you were thankful for.

Though you trusted these two more than you could say for any other individual from the male specie, you still had rigid mental boundaries, which were softly being attacked by both the men.

They had taken it upon themselves to basically treat you like a doll and pamper you like a princess.

And they were really subtle about it too, so you couldn't even resist much.

And of course you were still their best friend. Nothing could change that

It wouldn't be too big of a statement to say that your life had been going pretty good.

"Chef Min says he'll be out soon." A friendly waiter informed you as he brought you a new glass of chocolate milkshake.

Jimin frowned, "Where's mine?"

"Chef Min says that's quite enough sugar for you, and that he wasn't even in the favor of sending this one out but miss yn has a habit of becoming an exception." The waiter's eyes twinkled in mirth.

Your cheeks flushed red as Jimin scoffed at the waiter's treating back.

"That's just Yoon's way of saying he can't say no to you, the whipped bastard."

" Are you jealous Jiminie?" You teased, taking a sip of the milkshake tantalizingly slow.

He caught your eyes and caged your legs between his in a swift move. "You wish" he said, before lunging forwards and catching you unaware, snatched the straw from your hand, taking a big sip of the milkshake.

You swatted his hand, pissed. "That's miiine." You pouted.

"That pout doesn't work on me princess. I have nerves of steel." He said blankly.

"Mr. Nerves of steel, why are you bothering my kitten?" Yoongi's familiar deep voice sounded from behind you as he patted your head fondly.

You blushed.

The terms of endearment had stuck since the first night, and you absolutely adored them.

You loved being Jimin's princess and Yoongi's kitten, and your core tightened deliciously when you remembered them moaning your name as 'angel' while pounding into you. You'd take all such names, however sappy they may be.

Jimin giggled. "Should've sent me a separate milkshake if you wanted me to be good to her."

Yoongi shook his head. "I swear you're worse than 3 year olds when it comes to sweets. Both of you." as he dragged a third chair and sat with you, taking a breadstick from the basket.

"What's the plan for tonight?" Yoongi asked after a moment of peaceful silence.

It was a Friday night.

"Wanna go clubbing?" You suggested.

"Get wasted?" Jimin added.

You nodded, eyes lighting up.

Yoongi laughed. "Yn is the only one who ends up drunk."

You shrugged. "It's not like I'm in any danger with both of you breathing down my necks at all times."

" You should be thankful for that missy. " Jimin tutted, though his heart had swelled thinking you considered yourself safe in their company.

" Yeah I'm thankful Ahjussi" you mocked.

"So clubbing it is. " Yoongi decided, pushing his chair back and rising to leave.

Draining your glass and taking two more breadsticks for good measure, you rose and the three of you made your way out of the restaurant.

" Ok kitten you have half an hour to get ready, Jimin’ll pick you up then. Ok? " Yoongi announced, pulling up to your driveway as you jumped out the backseat and shouted a "Yeah yeah" over your shoulder as you rushed in, heading straight to the shower.

After you had done your makeup and had styled up your hair, you stood pondering what to wear.

Realistically you weren't exactly dressing to impress and could throw on anything yet something in you told you that it was finally the weekend again and the week had kept you three quite busy, and you'd be lying if you didn't hope that the events of the last weekend would repeat to some extent.

Your cheeks heated up as teasing flashbacks washed over you and you decided on a cute pink mini dress.

The neck line wasn't too revealing and it could deceive anyone into thinking it was quite modest, but the back was where the allure was. The dress was completely back less, and hugged you in all the right places.

You hadn't ever worn it, yet had bought it since it was too pretty to pass up. You paired it with a pair of nude heels and a coat and you looked absolutely decent, the secret of the backless dress hidden away under the coat.

Jimin's face lit up your phone and you rushed out, seeing him pulling up in your driveway in his own car. You settled into the back seat, leaving the passenger seat for Yoongi, who you still had to pick.

Jimin was dressed quite well. Both Jimin and Yoongi had a way of dressing expensive yet nothing about them was flashy. Except Yoongi's silver rolex, that had diamonds shining in it. But he rarely ever wore it.

For now, Jimin was wearing a black button up under a dark grey waistcoat which he had buttoned to hug his slim waist and some black trousers to go with it. He looked perfectly balanced between elegance and the mute black rolex on his wrist screamed his expensive side.

"You look good princess" he was quick to compliment you. You smiled to yourself, wondering what his reaction would be to see the dress without the coat.

By then Jimin had pulled upto Yoongi's house and honked his horn.

Yoongi stepped out in a white turtleneck and black jeans, a black hoodie swung over his arm, white sneakers matching his turtleneck and you had to reign in thoughts of how his turtleneck sat snug on him, revealing the contours of his toned strong chest.

Were these two always this goddamn hot?

Yoongi settled in, looking over both you and Jimin and nodding in approval at both. In his own quiet manner, that was his way of telling you you looked good.

Parked outside Jimin's favorite club, you looked at the line and rolled your eyes.

You hated this part. But luckily, Yoongi knew people. And those people knew people, who happened to be bouncers. And that's who Yoongi was on the phone with right now.

Jimin turned to you, "Go easy on the drinks princess. Don't want you getting sick so early in the night."

You scoffed, "Jimin... You two are the ones who are literally downing that strong ass whiskey like it's water."

Yoongi, who had arranged hassle free entry now ganged up with Jimin," Yet you're the one I have to carry out."

" Goddddd I get it. Your both have alcohol tolerance of Dionysus. All hail Jimin and Yoongi."

You said irritably and stepped out the car, taking off your coat to put in the car.

Yoongi's breath hitched as he looked at Jimin, who also had a similar reaction, admiring your soft skin exposed to the chilly air.

You raised an eyebrow impatiently at them. "Well? Are you coming?"

"You know," Jimin said in a low tone, "let's just jump the whole getting drunk part and skip to the part where we carry you to bed in that dress. "

Suddenly the cool air had no effect on you and it was Jimin's words that were leaving goosebumps on your skin.

" I wouldn't mind that. " Yoongi seconded.

" You guys are hopeless. " You shook your head. "Yoon, could you still bring your hoodie though? "

Yoongi smiled at you, " Of course. " He said as he stepped out. " Come along Jimin, the quicker we get in, the quicker we can get to the fun part."

"Shameless bastards..." You mumbled, following Yoongi inside.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You were on your second round of shots with some girls you had made friends with at the bar and made you way to the dance floor, the loud rap music welcome to your ears after the monotonous week at work.

Jimin was nowhere to be seen and Yoongi was sitting on one of the couches, his arms relaxed at his side and his eyes observing many people, always coming back around to check if you were still in sight.

One of the girls pulled you deeper into the throng of dancing people. "Come onnn, you should meet someone."

Swept up in the motion, you were led straight to a tall, handsome man who had smiling eyes that almost reminded you of Jimin's eyes.

"Hey! This is yn, my new friend" the girl introduced you.

"Hey yn! Wanna dance?" The guy asked you. You shook your head and loudly announced, so as to be louder than the music, "Im here with someone."

The guy nodded, "Cool, cool. No beef here" he raised his arms and you giggled, making your way to the bar again.

"I'll have a mojito this time." You kindly asked the bartender.

"Let's make that a virgin?" Jimin's voice sounded from behind you.

"Jimin noooo." You whined.

Jimin smiled slightly as he pulled you closer. You placed your arms on his shoulders as his hands came around your waist, bending down to softly peck your forehead. Heat rose up your cheeks.

"Why are you always so adamant on getting drunk?" He asked

"I like it... And besides, Im safe. You're here, so is Yoongi. I can get drunk and get home safely." You played to his nurturing side.

Jimin smiled at that. "Sure thing princess. Have that drink."

You grinned widely and happily received your drink. "Wanna dance?" Jimin offered.

"I'm gonna rest actually. Catch up with you in a while?"

Jimin nodded as he headed off to the dance floor and you made your way to Yoongi who was as usual casually ignoring the blatantly flirtatious looks girls in his vicinity were throwing him.

"Hey kitten." He smiled as you sat down beside him, much to the dismay of the onlooking females.

"Hey Yoon." You eyed the three shot glasses in front of him, "Are you drunk?"

Yoongi snorted. "Not in the least "

You giggled.

"Are YOU drunk?" Yoongi asked you.

"A lil tipsy..." You pinched your fingers together to show him how much. His smile softened and grew as he wiped the flyaway hair from your forehead.

You took another sip of your drink.

"Y'know... I've always wanted to do something..." You ventured.

Yoongi raised a brow, looking straight at you.

"Ahan..." He prompted kindly.

You took a big sip from your glass, nearly emptying it as you put it on the table and swung a leg around Yoongi's thighs. His eyes widened in surprise and he looked at you questioningly.

"I've always wanted to sit here." You finished, pulling yourself onto his lap successfully.

"On my lap in particular?" He chuckled.

You contemplated.

"On an insanely handsome man's lap" you informed him.

Yoongi's cheeks flushed pink slightly.

"I'm insanely handsome?"

You nodded confidently, placing both hands on his chest, feeling his heart racing away.

"Well thankyou kitty, you made me feel really good."

You nodded, hugging him. You softly kissed the side of his neck. "You should feel good all the time Yoon. You make me feel so good." You squirmed slightly, causing Yoongi to suck in a breath.

"Easy there..." He warned you.

"Oops... Sorry." You giggled.

"You're precious when you're drunk." Yoongi cooed.

"I'm always precious."

He laughed. You pouted. "Agree with me. Say I'm right."

He laughed some more. "You're always precious my little kitten." He patted your head as you lowered it back on his chest.

"The music's too loud Yoongi, I can't hear your heartbeat!" You screamed over the beat a few minutes later.

"Kitten, if you wanted to cuddle we should've stayed home. Go dance with Jimin and have some fun."

"Why won't you dance?"

Yoongi shrugged. "I don't dance."

"Harabuji..." You mumbled.

Yoongi lightly spanked you. Very lightly, yet you turned very red. "What did you call me?" He growled.

"H-harabuji." You ventured.

"This harabuji isn't afraid to wreck you well and good right here." He said darkly.

You squealed and jumped off his lap, running to the dance floor, leaving a laughing Yoongi behind.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Yoongi's being meeeeeaaann" you complained to Jimin as his arms easily came around your waist to steady you as you almost crashed into him when you had made a beeline towards him as soon as you spotted him on the dance floor.

Jimin chuckled, "Is he now? I thought he was your favorite."

You looked up at him, your eyes adorably round and bright as the ever changing lights lit up your expression of horror. "Why would you say that? I don't have favorites." You scolded.

Jimin tilted his head, moving you along with himself to the rhythm. "But doesn't he buy you chocolates and cheese burgers whenever you ask him?"

You considered this for a long moment with a serious expression. Then you looked up at him again, "Would you be mad if he was my favorite?" You asked meekly, genuinely afraid of upsetting him.

Jimin threw his head back and laughed with all his heart, instinctively pulling you closer and tighter. "Why are you so precious when you're drunk?" He cooed.

You smacked his chest, cheeks flushing red. "That's literally what Yoongi said."

Jimin allowed the comfortable silence to drag for a bit, also because he was focused on not letting you stumble over your feet as you danced against him.

That's when one of your newly found friends brought another shot of tequila towards you, clearly drunk and screaming something along the lines of this being the strongest tequila the bar had. You graciously accepted it and before Jimin could even reach for the shot glass and ignoring his glance telling you to do better, you had downed the hard liquor, face scrunching up as it burnt your throat.

"Woooo... That was disgusting." You announced.

In a few minutes, you were feeling quite lightheaded and your vision was blurry. Stumbling backwards, you held on tightly to Jimin's hand as you almost lost your footing.

"Come here." He said simply and lifted you easily, navigating the crowd to a less dense area near a window. "You good?" He asked.

You shook your head. "Think that last one was a bad ideaaa" your speech slurred.

"Wanna get some fresh air?"

"Will you come with me?"

He laughed taking your hand and leading you outside. That turned out to be a bad idea though because as soon as the chilled air touched your skin, you started shivering.

Being drunk and being cold was not a good combination. You suddenly felt miserable.

"Jiminnn." You moaned.

"I know princess." He was already taking off his waistcoat and draping it around your shoulders though it wasn't much of a protection.

"Yoonie had a hoodie." You said, teeth clattering.

"I'm not going in leaving you out here by yourself." He said decisively. "Come on, let's get to the car. I'll turn on the heat."

Slamming the car door behind you, you huddled into your coat in the passenger seat as Jimin ran to the other side to get in and turn on the heating for you.

For a while, the only sound in the car was the sound of your teeth chattering, slowing down over time and both your calm breaths.

Jimin's phone rang.

"I saw you both run out. Have you deserted me here?" Yoongi's voice sounded from the speaker.

You both giggled.

"Mayyybeeeee..." You drawled.

"Hmm... Too bad I'll have to walk home now. All alone at this hour, in the cold air. I might catch a cold and be so so sick. " His tone was dead serious. Jimin shook his head incredulously as he saw your eyes shining with tears.

"No." You whispered.

"He's kidding you yn-ie" Jimin laughed, trying to ease you up.

"No, no. Yoonie we're outside in the car. Come out, let's go home." You pleaded.

Jimin's heart felt like it'd burst at how absolutely, devastatingly precious you were. Cheeks flushed with the alcohol rush and nose red with the cold, eyes wide and teary at the notion of Yoongi getting sick and petite frame huddled into the car seat covered by a coat to gather warmth. Everything about you pulled his heartstrings and he couldn't help but lean over and kiss you passionately.

Surprised at the sudden kiss, you closed your eyes against Jimin's gentle caress on your cheek, unshed tears falling past your lashes as your heart hammered at how perfect his lips felt against yours.

When he pulled away, he booped your nose. "Were you always this cute?"

You giggled and hid your face in your coat.

By then Yoongi had reached the car and settled into the back seat. "Yn-ie, were you crying kitten?"

"Nope." You popped the p and turned back to face him.

Yoongi smiled at you and looked at Jimin, "How much has she drunk?"

"Alot. For her." Jimin replied teasingly.

"You guysss, Im right heerreeeee."

"Oh, I know princess." He retorted and started the car. "Who am I dropping off first?"

"What do you mean?" You gasped.

Yoongi laughed. "Don't tease her so much Jimin-ah she might cry."

"Yeah Jimin-ah, I'll cry." You nodded solemnly.

"Aigoo, you'll be the death of me." Yoongi announced.

"I mean if I have to cry to get you both to come home with me, I'll cry." You clarified.

Both boys shook their heads at that. It was understood that they'd be coming to your place, since you were most comfortable in your own home when you were drunk.

"Oh high and mighty princess, may we stop at our own places to grab some spare clothes? " Jimin mocked.

"Yes, you may, since I'm feeling generous." You muttered, settling into the seat, feeling very drowsy suddenly.

"Cutie." Jimin cooed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By the time you pulled into Jimin’s parking area, you were deep asleep in the front and Yoongi was casually reclining in the back seat, a small overnight bag of his belongings beside him. Jimin turned back to look at him, “I’ll just be five minutes. If she wakes up and feels sick, just bring her up, we can take her home later.”

Yoongi hummed in reply, scrolling through his phone.

Jimin rushed upstairs, throwing his essentials in a backpack when he zoomed past the kitchen and wondered if he should bring some snacks, too.

As Jimin stood contemplating which crisps to pack, in front of his pantry, you stirred and grumbled. Yoongi leaned forward, observing your changing expressions.

“We’re here?” you said, still not opening your eyes, as your hand went to the handle to open the door.

“Y/n, hey!” Yoongi grabbed your hand, bending his arm at an awkward angle to reach yours, wincing slightly. The cold feeling of his hands forced you to rip your eyes open, hissing.

“Why do you have such cold hands?”

“Why are you getting out of the car without opening your eyes? Do you wanna die? Or be kidnapped? What if I wasn’t in the car hmm?”

“I’m sorry.” you said meekly.

Yoongi sighed. “How are you feeling?”

“I don’t think hangovers happen this quickly Yoon.”

He cracked a smile. “Yeah, but no nausea?”

“A little. But you know what’ll fight that?”

“What’s that?”

You smiled mischievously. Yoongi knew you were up to no good when you didn’t answer him, rather leaned back waiting for Jimin to get back.

Presently Jimin came back with two bags, one with his clothes and toiletries, the other one full of snacks. He jumped in, blowing warm air on his hands.

You turned to him, “Jimin...” you began, voice sweet as honey.

Jimin immediately suspected something, looking at Yoongi through the rearview mirror, to which Yoongi shrugged cluelessly.

“Yes?” he ventured.

“Would you be willing to spoil me a little bit?”

Jimin blinked. “What do you want princess?”

“Soju.” you stated simply.

“What the fuck?” Yoongi breathed from behind you.

“I don’t want the night to be over yet, you guys. And you both haven’t had anything to drink all night. Let’s go home and drink huh?”

Yoongi chuckled. “We’ve been drinking, though.”

You looked at them questioningly as Jimin pulled out of the parking, finally heading towards your house. “Wh-when?”

Jimin shrugged, “Same time you were.”

“So,” you crossed your arms, trying to pull out your most cross expression, “we aren’t getting soju?”

Jimin shook his head. You turned away from him, facing outside, pulling your coat tighter around you.

As soon as he pulled up to your door, you jumped out of the car, slamming the door behind you. Stumbling slightly, you made your way to the door while Jimin was still parking, punching the security code and pushing the door open.

You kicked off your shoes, and flew to your room, slamming the door behind you.

Slightly amused and mostly shocked, Jimin and Yoongi made their unsure way inside the house, locking the door and arranging your berserk heels and placing their bags on the couch.

Jimin nodded at Yoongi who was heading to the bathroom down the hall and came to knock at your door, which was actually unlocked. He turned the knob and was met with a comical sight.

You had fallen onto your bed face first, discarding your coat on the floor. Your dress was clumped over your thighs, exposing more than 3/4ths of your legs. The angle and the fact that the dress was backless left not much to the imagination. Jimin made his way over to you, realizing your were grumbling into the mattress.

“Princess...” he cooed.

You felt a slight touch on your thigh and twitched, not acknowledging him more than that.

Jimin cocked a brow, sliding two fingers up your thigh, amused at the way your breath hitched and muscles contracted under his touch but you weren’t looking at him.

He moved his hand towards your back, caressing the delicate straps that were wrapped around your lower back, patting you softly.

You didn’t respond.

“Y/n-ieeee.” Jimin whined a little.

Nothing.

You felt his warm breath fanning the small of your back. You swallowed in anticipation, the sensation cutting through your hazy brain like a hot knife through butter.

“Baby?” Jimin spoke into your skin.

You bit back a groan, still not moving.

That’s when he started leaving soft kisses along your backbone. It was getting really difficult being nonchalant now, despite the fact that you were biting your lip as hard as you could.

His gentle hands came to rest on your shoulder blades as he continued his kisses, softly caressing your shoulders, kneading the muscles as if to release the tension you had stored in there.

“Jimin.” you gasped.

He smirked against your soft skin, ever confident in his convincing abilities.

You flipped over, half onto his lap, giving him an annoyed look.

“Are you mad at me?” Jimin asked playfully.

“I’m mad at both of you.” you folded your arms against your chest.

Jimin laughed, pulling you up to sit, “Because we didn’t let you get more alcohol in your system?”

“Precisely.” you countered.

You shrugged, pushing him away and getting up to gather your coat, and moving to the closet to pull out your pajamas.

Jimin immediately wrapped his arms around you, softly tickling your ribs, making you squirm.

“How can I make it up to you?”

Jimin’s arms were around your waist again, as he waddled behind you, holding onto you as you walked outside towards the bathroom.

“Yoongi’s in there.” Jimin whispered in your ear.

“Ugh!” you made your way to the couch, trying to fall down next to the overnight bags, but Jimin was there before you. With a grunt, he pulled you down on top of him, gripping onto you tightly making escape unimaginable.

“You look so pretty tonight baby.” he praised you, kissing your neck.

Involuntarily leaning back into his kisses you smiled softly.

“There’s the smile I love.” Jimin cooed, caressing your cheek, his thumb finding the edge of your lipstick adorned lips. “I love your smile, I love your words, I love your kisses. Anything to do with your lips, honestly.

“Yeah?” you whispered.

Jimin nodded. “Infact, if anyone should be cross, it’s me.”

Curiosity overtook you as you twisted back, “Why’s that?”

Jimin looked dead into your eyes and said, “You’ve not given me a single kiss all week.” It was his time to pout, much more devastating than yours, and if his hands weren’t still firm on your waist, you were sure you’d be a puddle.

But his statement was untrue. You had been pressing kisses on his cheeks, his forehead, even his nose. ”I’ve been kissing you, liar!” you giggled.

He shook his head, leaning slightly into you. “On my lips.” his pout remained, tantalizingly close to you, perfectly kissable. The butterflies in your stomach were having their own rave.

Your gentle breathing teased Jimin, half convinced he should drop being gentle and grab you and kiss you till you couldn’t breathe. But your shy gaze on his lips stopped him. The way your lashes hugged your cheeks as you looked at his lips shamelessly yet your cheeks burned red.

“Can I kiss you?” you whispered, gaze raising to meet his.

“I thought you’d never ask.” Jimin sighed, moving closer as a sign of consent.

Wasting no more time, you closed the distance between both of you, catching his lips in yours as he smiled happily. Still kissing him, you twisted in his lap, now straddling his thighs, as your hands found a way into his hair

You heard the bathroom door unlock, and pulled away, both your cheeks flushed, giggling slightly. You pushed yourself off his lap and collected your pajamas, heading to the bathroom to freshen up, as you met Yoongi at the door, pressing a sweet kiss onto cheek, leaving him a little confused.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You slipped out of your dress, standing in your undergarments, as you lathered your cleanser onto your face, removing your makeup busily. You felt a slight tingle in your limbs and felt slightly more daring than usual, other than that you were relatively sober.

Cleaning your face with a washcloth, you poured some serum into your hands, rubbing it in gentle circles onto your face, smiling at the calming feeling you got from the simple act of skincare. The phantom sensation of Jimin’s lips on yours lingered tantalizingly on your lips and you felt heat course through you at the thought of his body pressed against yours, this very instant.

You smiled faintly, slipping into your pajama pants and t shirt, ready to step out.

A wave of arousal crashed on you out of the blue.

Really y/n?

Just a kiss had you this turned on?

Well, to be fair, it wasn’t just a kiss, if it came from Park Jimin.

And immediately you were met with Yoongi’s voice, before you could slip into your room. “Y/n, we’re out here.” he said, under the assumption you thought they were settled into bed or something.

You tossed your dress onto the bed from the door, and walked into the living room, where Jimin was manspreading on the couch and Yoongi was fiddling with something, with his back turned to you. Presently, he turned around handing you some paracetamol and a whole bottle of water.

“Get some water in your system before you turn into a groaning mess tomorrow morning.” he said, once again hitting you with the full force of just how caring he was in the simplest of things. But ofcourse Jimin had to pipe up and ruin the sweet moment.

Well, not exactly ruin.

“I wouldn’t be opposed to the idea of her being a groaning mess, right about now.” He said, the inappropriate play of words, sliding off his tongue like second nature. Sometimes you really did wonder how he taught preschool kids.

Yoongi’s eyes twinkled as he regarded the change in your stance at that. “Me neither.” he said, agreeing with Jimin like he had just talked about the weather, and not a grown individual standing in front of them.

The thing was, neither were you. You liked the way they felt, against you and inside you. Somehow, despite being terrified of sex, you wanted to have sex with them. You grabbed the bottle from Yoongi’s hands, pushing him slightly so that he sat on the couch, gently sitting on his lap. You seemed to be enjoying doing that tonight, despite there being ample space on the couch now that the bags were removed.

“Neither am I.” You half whispered to them.

Jimin’s giggle was excited, as his confident hands roamed your back, tickling slightly. You smiled at the welcome sensation, relaxing your frame into Yoongi’s chest who easily collected you in his arms that came to rest at your waist, his thumb making little circles under your shirt.

“I can finally hear your heartbeat.” you said to him, making him chuckle at the joy you found in such a simple thing. He swooped down capturing your lips in a long awaited kiss as you molded against him.

One thing about Yoongi’s kisses was that he was the one in control. Never, for a second would he relent or let you take charge. His tongue was so confident in it’s approach and skill that he always had you breathless within a few seconds. And that led to the next point. His lung capacity. You strongly believed that if you let him, he’d make out with you till you passed out from lack of oxygen.

Luckily though, when your grip on his bicep tightened uncomfortably, he pulled back. You gasped, face flushed and breathless, calming your racing heart as if you had been on a deep sea dive. Yoongi pressed his nose against yours, a calm smile adorning his face as he slightly bucked his hips up into your core, giving you clear initiative to to start grinding yourself onto him.

His reaction was instant and gratifying. He leaned his head back, groaning in satisfaction as you felt him hardening under you.

You looked over at Jimin, who was uncharacteristically quiet. He was mesmerized by the sight in front of him, absentmindedly palming himself from above his trousers.

You lifted slightly to readjust your position, as Yoongi grabbed your trousers, slipping them off, leaving you in your panties. He grabbed a handful of your ass cheeks and squeezed it fondly, gently continuing your earlier grinding motion.

You reached out to him, as he fondly took your hand, kissing your knuckles.

“Let me help you with that.” you asked him, trying to replace his hand with your own. Jimin was happy to oblige, moving slightly closer as you felt his length under your palm.

Now that you were in a more comfortable angle, you unzipped Jimin’s pants, sliding them down his thighs as his hardening cock sat snug in his boxers, your mouth watering at the sight.

You couldn’t help it. Jimin had a really pretty dick. Great length and almost scary girth. The tip was a pretty pink and was currently leaking precum, making a wet spot in his boxers.

Not wanting to cause anymore suffering to something you loved, you lowered his waistband and immediately, his cock sprung out. Placing a hand around his base, you began pumping him all the way from the base to the tip, spreading the precum with your thumb, as the turbulent expression on his face gave way to a content one, and he too closed his eyes in pleasure.

For some time, there was a content peace over the whole setting. Yoongi was breathing heavily, and Jimin eased occasional moans from his lips, as you had found a very comfortable rhythm between the two. Suddenly though, Yoongi grabbed a handful of your hair, shocking you as he pulled you back to him, kissing you roughly as his fingers found their way to your core.

He sighed into your mouth, as he felt the excessive wetness from over your panties. “You’ve made a mess kitty.” he purred, teasing your clit. You whimpered, the friction of his big calloused hands was very welcome.

“Yoongi...” you moaned his name, your fist clenched tightly around Jimin’s dick.

“I’m right here, baby. Tell me what you want.” he kissed the apples of your cheeks, as you hopelessly grinded against his fingers that refused to please you.

“You- I want your fingers please.” you asked him.

“Yeah? You want my fingers all up in your pussy? You want me to ruin that pretty pussy?” he egged, sliding your panties off your hips as his index finger collected your slick and spread it all over your lips. You nodded, too lost in the pleasure to hear Jimin’s grunt and uncomfortable shift beside you.

“Kitty, ease up on Jimin’s poor dick. Look at it.”

You gasped, opening your eyes and immediately withdrawing your hand. “Oh my God Jimin I’m so sorry.” you whispered, aghast at how red and angry his dick looked.

“It’s ok princess.” Jimin’s soft voice soothed you, as he ran a hand up your back, turning towards both of you as Yoongi slipped a finger into your pussy.

“Ohhhhh...” you gasped at the sensation, immediately bucking your hips towards him.

“So reactive.” Yoongi praised, teasing your entrance with another finger.

“Do you feel good angel?” Jimin whispered in your ear. Your core clenched around Yoongi’s finger.

He chuckled darkly. “Oh Jiminie, she liked it when you called her that.”

“Such a good girl.” Jimin was quick to praise, kissing you as Yoongi began pumping his fingers in and out. You closed your eyes, humming happily into the kiss. You loved how they made you feel.

Jimin was surprised, looking down at where Yoongi was easing his second finger into you. “Is that so angel? You like it when I call you that?”

You nodded happily, partly content with the fullness of your core currently and partly by the butterflies you got when Jimin called you angel.

“Jimin...” Yoongi groaned, shocking both of you to pull away from the kiss.

“Yeah?” Jimin asked amused at Yoongi’s scrunched up face.

“Get your finger in here.” Yoongi said, shocking you.

Jimin raised his eyebrows, looking at you. “Is that okay princess?”

“I-I guess...” you said, stomach flipping at the prospect of both their fingers stretching you out.

Jimin’s hand joined Yoongi’s as his thicker index finger teased your entrance.

“O h... p-please put it in” you arched your back, readily.

The juices you were leaking out made it easy for Jimin to slip in easily, stretching your walls further.

The feeling was euphoric. Just the thought that two people had their hands up your vagina was immensely hot to you. But then they did something even more unexpected and started slipping in and out in alternating rhythms. You threw your head back and moaned loudly, your legs trembling beside Yoongi’s thighs.

Your breathing became shallow as their pumps became more forceful. Jimin’s thumb teased and flicked your clitoris and the knot in your stomach tightened.

“I-I’m so close... I’m gonna cum.” you whispered, your whole body being jolted by the thrusts they were coordinating.

Jimin took that only as a sign to increase the torture on your clit and you felt yourself losing whatever control you had over your body.

You were tight around their fingers, as Yoongi scissored his fingers inside you, rubbing against your g-spot.

“OH GODDDD, right there.” you nearly screamed.

Yoongi loved how vocal you could be when it came to pleasure. And he loved to force more sounds out of you. He looked at Jimin, signaling him to add another finger.

Wide-eyed and compliant, Jimin eased another finger into your cavern.

You lowered your head into the crook of Yoongi’s neck, whispering gibberish into his ear, interrupted by moans of “so good, so goddamn good.”

“You wanna cum for us, princess? Cum all over our fingers and make a mess of Yoongi’s pants?” Jimin spoke into your shoulder blade, where he was busy kissing red marks into your skin.

“Yes please please please please.” And then your moans became a sequence of pleases to let you cum.

Yoongi felt you grind against his bulging cock, seeking release. “You can cum angel. Cum for us, go on.” he grunted, barely holding himself together.

You nodded, breath hitching as Jimin vibrated your clit and you came hard. The orgasm was marvelous. Your moaned into Yoongi’s neck as your body shook in his arms, his fingers still pumping in and out of you, making a squelching sound, as Jimin rubbed your back as you gasped and shuddered, “So goddamn good, fuuuck.”

Removing their pruned fingers from your pussy, Jimin raised his to your mouth, as you eagerly licked them clean, tasting the salty release on his fingers.

When you were done, he licked them once, for good measure. God, how was he so sexy?

“Let’s take it inside?” Yoongi said questioningly, as you noticed he had finally slipped off his pants and stood only in his boxers, hands out to both of you.

Jimin stood up, pulling you with him, steadying you in his arms. “Up you come.” he grunted, lifting you clean off your feet, as you wrapped your legs around his waist, as he rushed to the bedroom.

Somewhere along the way, you had captured his lips and Yoongi had to gather both your wits, and lead a completely blind Jimin into the room. Pulling away, you looked into his eyes, seeing the fire burning clearly in his.

“I want more. I want your cocks.” you said, somehow your tone was soft and contradicting what you had just demanded.

Yoongi laughed behind you, wrapping his arms around you, as you slipped off Jimin. His hand came and rested on your sensitive, engorged clit.

“Greedy are we?” his voice was deep and gravelly, making you clench around nothing.

“Oh yeah she is,” Jimin’s teasing tone joined in. He tucked your flyaway hair behind your ears. “She wants two hands to make her cum, and two cocks to stuff her. Isn’t that right angel? Aren’t you a greedy little slut?”

You nodded, palming both of them. “Yes, I am. Please sirs can I have your cocks?” you looked up to them as you kneeled on the ground between them, eye level to both their crotches.

“Of course baby girl.” Yoongi cupped your cheek, leading your mouth to Jimin’s waiting cock. Easily taking him in your mouth, you pulled off Yoongi’s boxers, freeing his dick that stood erect against his abdomen.

Pumping Yoongi with your hand, you busied yourself with sucking Jimin off. Sure enough you felt his tip throbbing against your tongue, as you licked the vein on the underside of his cock, making him moan in pleasure.

Switching to Yoongi, you took him in your mouth, trying to take him all the way down as Jimin petted your head. As yoongi’s cock hit the back of your throat, you swallowed around him, as he hissed in pleasured surprise. He pulled your hair behind your back, as you bobbed your head up and down on his dick. He pulled you away presently, as Jimin helped you up, kissing you again as Yoongi’s rushed out to grab some condoms from his bag.

Coming back, he tossed one to Jimin, who ripped the paper and began sliding it onto his length. Somehow that simple precautionary sight, turned you on immensely. Turning to see Yoongi following suit, you moved to make your way over to the bed, when Jimin grabbed your hand.

“Uh, where are you off to?” he tsked

“The- bed?” you asked, confused.

Jimin pulled you strongly, as you stumbled back into him. “I wanna try something with you.”

But your curiosity was piqued. “What?” you asked him.

Jimin looked down at his erection, then eyed you all over, making your whole body heat up. “Can we take you here?” he asked.

“Um...” Yoongi seemed unsure about it, worrying you would be uncomfortable with too many experiments too soon.

“H-here...like right here?” your eyes were wide, and though it was a new idea, it excited you.

Yoongi on the other hand had picked up on another word. “WE?” he asked. “Both of us?”

Jimin nodded at both of you, placing a calming arm around your waist. “It’s okay if you don’t want to babe,” he assured you.

You thought about it for a moment. Given the hungry looks in their eyes, they really wanted to try it. You weren’t opposed to trying new things before. You knew you should push those unnecessary boundaries you had set upon yourself. So you tried trusting them.

Shakily, you nodded your head, “We can do that.” you said. Smiles immediately adorned their faces and Yoongi cupped your cheeks, kissing you sweetly. “I’m proud of you.” he whispered.

Heart swelling, you stood between them. Jimin’s erection rubbed against your ass teasingly, as his arms wrapped around your midriff and he lifted you up, Yoongi immediately coming forward to hold from the front. You readily wrapped your legs around him loosely. That’s when you felt his dick pressing against your wet folds, and the arousal came back tenfold. You hummed softly as he teased his tip at your entrance.

Your breathing became shallow as you felt Jimin tighten his hold on you, trusting these two with your entire weight. Slowly Yoongi slid into your pussy, making you moan at the heavy sensation. Yes, you had had four fingers inside you, but this. This was something else entirely. This feeling came with the surety that he felt as good as you did. “Ohhhhh” you said contently, leaning your head on Jimin’s shoulder.

“You ready for me angel?” Jimin asked you.

“Uh... Yeah, but I’ve... I’ve never done this before.” you said meekly.

Yoongi stopped his movements, looking over at Jimin’s reaction.

“That’s okay princess, i’ll be gentle. I promise.” he kissed the tip of your ear as he guided his dick towards your asshole.

When his tip touched the puckered hole, the condom leaving some lube there, you gasped, clenching around Yoongi’s dick that sat half sheathed in you. Jimin lowered his thumb to your hole, massaging it gently.

“Relax baby.” he whispered, signalling to Yoongi to distract you. Despite Yoongi being absolutely fascinated by what Jimin was doing, he continued his slow movement inside you, effectively distracting you. As you lost yourself to Yoongi’s lust, as he bottomed out and pulled out, going in immediately afterwards, you relaxed. Slowly, Jimin inserted his thumb into your hole, making you squeal at the foreign sensation, as you consciously tried not to clench too much.

“It’s okay... you’re okay.” he assured you, massaging you from the inside. It felt so foreign yet so good. You moaned, and immediately Yoongi was ravishing your mouth. And again, you were lost to him, leaving Jimin to his own devices.

As he pulled out his thumb, he teased the tip of his dick against you once more. This time your body was more willing to accept him. The lubed condom helped him enter smoother. Soon, half of him was sheathed inside you.

“Oh my goooooddddd.” you whined into Yoongi’s mouth.

“How do you feel?” Yoongi asked, kneading your breasts.

“I feel so good. I- I’m so full fuckk.” you gasped as Jimin moved slightly, grunting at how tight you were.

Yoongi fastened his pace at that, the darker parts of his soul coming out as he pinched your nipples, and pounded in and out of you, leaving you breathless and incredibly wet. In both holes.

“Stuffed with two cocks, still you have the audacity to look at me with those puppy eyes?” Yoongi growled as you helplessly squirmed, Jimin holding you up strongly.

Soon enough you realized that the sheer force with which Yoongi was fucking you was making you bounce up and down on Jimin’s dick.

“Yoongi pleaseeee.” you moaned.

“Please what slut?” he barked.

“I don’t know!” you cried, making him growl and spank your pussy.

“Is this still not enough for you? Two cocks in you and you still want more? Greedy little bitch.” he said with clenched teeth, as your juices flowed down both theirs thighs.

Yoongi pushed into you exceptionally forcefully, making Jimin stagger backwards, still holding you to his chest, half protectively since he wasn’t sure what Yoongi was doing.

Yoongi grabbed Jimin’s shoulders, making the younger boys’ eyes widen questioningly, as Yoongi wordlessly pushed both of you backwards, till the back of Jimin’s thighs hit the bed frame.

“Fuck, Yoongi what?” Jimin was cut off as Yoongi pushed him back on the bed, as he let go off you, falling back onto the bed, as Yoongi grabbed you, not letting you fall.

“Back on him little slut.” he pushed you backwards, as Jimin’s hands guided your hips back to your original position.

You groaned as he entered your ass again, and the breathy moan from behind you told you Jimin still felt how tense you were. Yoongi pushed you backwards, lowering over you, till you were leaning back over Jimin, as he tapped his dick on your pussy.

You spread your legs for him, and he readily slammed back into you, causing both you and Jimin to cry out. Yoongi chuckled darkly, lifting your hips in his hands as he began fucking you hard and fast at the same time making you bounce up and down on Jimin, who soon enough lost himself and bucked his hips up into you to meet Yoongi’s motions.

Your legs trembled as you held them up, sweat trickling down your forehead as the pleasure overrode your brain and you felt them borderline abuse both your holes.

“Let me hear you, y/n.” Jimin called out from behind you, as you let your moans fall freely.

You felt Yoongi’s cock throbbing against your sensitive walls.

“I’m gonna cum.” Yoongi’s whisper was hoarse as you he looked into your eyes.

“Inside.” you told him, pulling him with one hand to kiss him, trying to express the mad feelings that had taken over your body. The kiss was messy, just like what your insides felt like. Somewhere in the kiss, Yoongi stilled and groaned into your mouth as you felt him filling the condom with his seed.

“Fuuuuuck.” he groaned, as his form trembled slightly at the force of the orgasm.

“It’s okay... i’m okay.” you whispered in his ear, reassuring him as his concerned eyes searched yours.

Jimin on the other hand, was still thrusting up into your ass, that Yoongi held strongly. One of Yoongi’s hands travelled southwards, his length still sheathed in you as he began stroking Jimin’s balls.

“Ah Fuckk!” Jimin yelled out at the sensitivity.

“That’s right Jiminie, finish inside her. She likes that. Don’t you like that kitty?” his voice had lost the violent growl and was now deep and drawn out, sensual in a whole different way.

Jimin let out a mewl at how incredibly turned on that made him, and ofcourse Yoongi felt you clench around him.

“I like that. Please cum in my ass Jimin.” you whispered.

“Oh god, you both tyrna kill me or what?” Jimin growled, somehow he pushed you off him, as you flipped onto the mattress, Yoongi’s now soft dick slipping out of you. Jimin grabbed your hips, pulling your ass into the air as he entered you from behind, pushing you into the mattress.

“So fucking tight even after I’ve been fucking you so long. Such a greedy brat, every hole of hers craves cock.” Jimin spanked your ass, the resounding slap sounding in the room. Now it was Yoongi’s turn to get shocked.

He collected his wits soon enough and reached down to your clit, fingering your leaking hole and stimulating you further.

“Ah...oh god too much!” you gasped into the sheets as Jimin held you out.

“I wan you both to cum together.” Yoongi ordered, somehow still incharge of the whole situation.

“Hear that princess?” Jimin spanked you again. “You better catch up.”

“I’m so close already.” you let him know.

Yoongi looked at Jimin, a smirk on his face, as Jimin matched with one of his own. “You close?” he asked him.

“Yeah.” Jimin breathed, pounding into you with whatever strength remained in him.

“I’m gonna...” he began.

“Oh fuck I’m gonna cum!” you said louder.

Yoongi chuckled. “Cum then, both of you. Cum for me, good girl.” he vibrated your clit, sending you off the edge again. And as you spasmed around thin air, Jimin released his load in your ass, groaning both yours and Yoongi’s name, much to his surprise.

As Jimin’s shaking and spent form fell onto you, caging you in his arms, Yoongi ran his fingers through Jimin’s hair. “Good boy.” he cooed to him.

“That was explosive.” you half whispered from beneath him.

Jimin grunted and pushed himself off you, sitting up to take off the condom. You noticed Yoongi’s shaky hand as he reached down to ease the condom off himself too, and sat up, scrambling to reach the dustbin for both of them.

Disposing off the condoms, Yoongi groaned tiredly and laid back, his arms tucked behind his head.

He looked ethereal. You got butterflies as you remembered what side he’d shown just a few moments earlier.

You fell back onto the pillows, slightly leaning on his arm. Jimin, who had left the bed to place the dustbin back in it’s place, looked back at both of you and smiled.

“You both are so fucking gorgeous.” he said proudly.

“Look who’s talking.” you and Yoongi said, in surprising synchronization.

You both looked at each other and giggled, as Jimin threw himself onto the bed, on Yoongi’s other side snuggling into the crook of his elbow.

Endeared at the sight as you were, you couldn’t help but tease. “That’s my place, Min!”

Yoongi’s hand was quick to come pinch your cheek. “I thought I fucked the greedy out of you?”

You blushed crimson. “The fuck?” you mumbled.

“Aww she’s a shy one.” Jimin teased.

“I think you might need to read what shy is, Mini.” Yoongi said straight faced, his eyes twinkling in mirth.

“Ugh fine! I’ll let up my space for one night.” you conceded. “But I love having your cuddles all for me.” you pouted.

“There’s enough of me to go around.” Yoongi patted your hair as he sat up to reach for the covers. Laying back down, he tucked Jimin into the blanket with a tender kiss on his forehead.

Both yours and Jimin’s eyes shot open, as you both gasped.

“Stop being so fucking dramatic, god!” Yoongi scolded as he settled you in, sealing your lips with a kiss of your own, before lying down between you two.

“Now sleep, both of you weirdos.”

“We’re weirdos?” Jimin fought.

“Godammit Yoonie, your harabuji is showing.” you said, loving how that word rolled off your tongue and seemed to fit right on Yoongi.

“Listen to me you brats, I can turn around and fuck both of you senseless this very instant, if sleep seems to have abandoned you. Your choice.” Yoongi said simply.

“I’ll sleep.” Jimin mumbled.

“Likewise.” you grumbled.

“That’s what I fucking thought.”

261 notes · View notes

strangelysamantha · 3 years

Text

cheerleader ❀

rafe cameron x plus!reader.

warnings: swearing, flirting, slight angst in the beginning (barely)

words: 2,365.

summary: rafe was intrigued by you, he wanted to get to know you. he thought that task would be easy, but your distaste for him was apparent. despite the overwhelming amount of setbacks, he knew he would get you to crack.

request? no :)

a/n: please like and comment if you enjoy! thank you, ilysm <3

my masterlist

part two

——————————————————————————

most things rafe wanted, he easily got. it was a known fact. his parents were financially stable so they could afford to throw money down the drain for useless items that wouldn’t be used more than once. his popularity and name allowed him to get away with most things. except you. you seemed to not care about his wealth or his looks. you didn’t even care to give him the time of day. he took this as a challenge. he was destined to get you to like him if it was the last thing he did.

the first time he talked to you was during school. he thought his charm and popularity would make you swoon. instead, it was quite the opposite. he approached you at your locker, his smile bright. “hey. i’m rafe.” he extended his hand out to you. “hello, rafe.” you shake his hand back, before retreating your hand to your side. you stare at him in confusion. “uhm am i in the way of your locker?” you question, he shakes his head. “oh no, actually. i just wanted to introduce myself to you.” you nod your head. “well rafe, it was nice to meet you, i guess. but i’m running late for class.” you shut your locker, speeding off to class.

rafe stayed by your locker in awe. you really thought rafe was just waiting to get to his locker? it’s halfway through the school year, if his locker was by yours, you would have known by now. he embarrassingly walked away, heading to his first class. that awkward moment was lingering in his head, stuck on replay. your facial expression that showcased confusion stayed still in his mind. by third hour he was over it, not as embarrassed. he shrugged it off, excited to try again.

rafe actually didn’t know that much about you. he saw you in the halls occasionally. his interest in you peaked when he saw that you talked to topper a lot. since you were heavily associated with topper, he believed that it would be easy to befriend you. it’s clear to him now that isn’t the case. he can’t help but feel surprised at your lack of knowledge for him. everyone knows of rafe, and you should especially know because of how well you know topper.

regardless, rafe knew what he had to do. he needed to see topper, and investigate him. rafe pulled his phone out, texting topper to meet him.

topper met rafe in the boy’s bathroom before fourth period. they scoped the bathroom, ensuring to themselves that they could openly talk since they were alone. rafe didn’t hesitate, he immediately bombarded topper with questions about you. “what’s with the sudden interest?” topper asks, confused.

“i don’t know, i keep seeing her in the hallway and she stares at me.” topper nods, “well she does good academically, i know her because her family is friends with my family, she’s on the cheerleading team, i don’t know man. what info are you wanting?” the cheerleading team. rafe smiled to himself, you are a cheerleader. “that’s good enough, i just needed some info so i could know if i want to meet her or not.” topper laughed, “alright man. i gotta go.” rafe nodded, “see you later.” topper fist bumped rafe before walking out the bathroom.

you were a cheerleader? he had no clue. it dawned on him, if he had no idea of who you were, why would you know who he was? he shook his head at the thought, instead heading to class.

on the other side of the school sat you, fidgeting with your pencil as you struggled to keep up with the current notes. the interaction you had with rafe was confusing you. why did he suddenly want to meet you? it didn’t make sense. the whole class period you tried to wrap your brain around his actions, trying to figure out what his intention was, but you fell short.

at lunch time you sat at a table, you usually sat with friends but they were absent. it didn’t help they were absent the one day someone popular randomly takes an interest in you. you sit on the chair, pulling out your math homework. if you knocked it out at lunch, you had a high chance of not having homework. you start the first problem, but immediately halt when your family friend, topper, taps on your shoulder. “hi tops.” you smile softly at him, setting your pencil down and turning your attention to him. he smiles at you, “hey.”

you pick up a goldfish, plopping it into your mouth. “how have you been?” you question topper. he shrugs, “same old same old. family is still upset with me, per usual.” you nod, soaking up what he said. “dang, that sucks. it’s so annoying how people hold grudges. they don’t know how to forgive and forget.” you shrug, smiling up at him. he returns the smile, “i know right.” you place your homework back in your bag, assuming you wouldn’t be able to finish it during lunch.

“what did you even do?” you ask him. he smiles, “uh i accidentally pissed a pogue off so they got revenge by sinking my new boat.” your eyes widened, “what! holy shit you must have fucked up bad.” he frowns, “i didn’t really want to do it, you know how tricky it is with our reputation and who we have to associate with.” you laugh, “oh i know all too well of what that’s like.” topper rolls his eyes, assuming you’re talking about him.

“hey! i’m not too bad.” you laugh, “it wasn’t about you. you aren’t bad at all.” you look up, seeing rafe take his backpack off. you glance at topper to see he is confused as well. “hey rafe, what’s up?” topper questions rafe, who had just sat down at our table. “nothing much man, saw you over here and decided to join.” you laugh sarcastically, “inviting yourself to our private party?” you question, slightly joking. rafe felt an unexpected twinge of jealousy when you grouped yourself and topper together.

“i’m just kidding rafe… kind of.” you grin, topper joining in by chuckling with you. rafe awkwardly laughs along. he pulls himself together, thinking of things to say. “are you going to the football game tomorrow?” rafe waits for your response. you smile slightly, “yeah, but i’m a cheerleader so i’ll be on field.” he nods, “oh, that’s cool.” you nod awkwardly. “yeah.” he smiles subconsciously, excited to see you in a uniform. his smile disintegrates when topper confronts him. “what are you smiling for bro?” rafe stared at him, unamused. “nothing.” topper scoffs, “alright then.”

you steal looks between rafe and topper, still confused. you don’t ask any questions, you just continue eating your food. the bell rings, indicating that lunch is over. you gather up your trash, standing up. you notice rafes eyes lingering over your body. his eyes fixating between your thick thighs, and hips. you feel self conscious under his stare, so you quickly stand up and walk to the trash can. rafe follows after you, quick on his feet. he comes up to your side, much to your dismay.

“will i see you at the game tomorrow?” you turn your head to the side, “are you going to the game?” you return. he nods, “yeah.” you smile, “then you’ll probably see me.” he grins, “okay, cool.” he quickly turns around, leaving you by yourself. you were confused still, but hey, maybe having rafe as a friend would be good.

you got through the day quickly, heading immediately home. you work on homework, chores, and finally get ready for bed. before bed you prepare your uniform. you set it out, along with a jacket so you weren’t on full display at school. you wake up the next morning, putting on your uniform, along with a bow in your hair. you head to school, slightly nervous for your possible interaction with rafe.

when you arrive at school, you don’t see rafe. you only saw topper, who was eagerly heading in your direction. he smiled, standing still in front of you. “hey, good morning!” you smile, “hi tops.” the two of you talk for a bit, him walking you to class. “can i pick you up before the game?” topper asks. “sure, it has to be a little earlier than the fans. i have warm ups and stuff i have to do before the game.” he grins, “okay! just text me tonight when you want me to pick you up.” you put your hands in your jacket pocket. “okay, thanks topper!”

he walks away, and you walk into your first hour class. you go through your classes as usual, rafe not showing up. you couldn’t tell if you were disappointed or relieved, but either way it didn’t matter, you had a game you had to prepare for. you do your make up, and touch up your hair. you chug water, and began stretching. you text topper, saying he could pick you up now, if he still wanted to drive you. his response was quick and enthusiastic.

topper pulls up to your house, his music loud, and a large smile plastered on his face. “game day!!” you laugh along, repeating his words. “game day!” you open his door, hopping inside. “let’s go!” you playfully roll your eyes at his eagerness, “to the school!” topper smirks, stepping on the gas, and speeding out your driveway.

the two of you sing along to the songs on the radio, before it abruptly ends due to you two arriving at the school. he decides to stay in his car, planning on joining right when the official game starts. you skip down the field, joining your teammates. you stretch with them, before you practice the chants and dance numbers.

at six thirty, they start allowing people in. you immediately see topper hunched over the fence, him waving frantically at you. you wave back, jogging over to him. “you ready?” he asks, you bite your lip, “i guess.” he laughs at your nerves, excited for you. you glance over and see rafe. he hadn’t seen you yet. your breath gets caught in your throat, slightly scared and self conscious to see him.

topper gives you reassuring words, and out of the corner of your eye, you notice rafe had found you. rafe slowly makes his way towards topper, keeping his cool. rafe stares at you in your cheerleading uniform. his breath gets heavy, he stares, watching you talk to topper. jealously fills his chest, of course topper was here first. rafe quickly approached the two of you, eager to break the conversation up.

“hi rafe.” you smile softly, looking up at him. he smiles, “hey. good luck today.” you fiddle with your fingers, “thank you.” rafe stays silent. you hear the coaches whistle. “i got to go, i’ll talk to you when i can!” you quickly turn around, jogging back to the cheerleading circle.

rafe watches as you jog away, hes mesmerized by how well the uniform fit. he knew you would look good, but damn. he looks over at topper, who makes eye contact with him. “what’s up rafe?” topper stares at rafe, waiting for an explanation. “she is so hot.” topper scoffs, “bro, already whipped?” rafe rolls his eyes, but grins. “for her, yeah. i’d willingly be whipped.” the two boys sit on the bench, topper watching the game, and rafe watching you.

after sitting in silence, rafe speaks up. “do you think she likes me?” topper quickly glances at rafe, trying to see if he was joking or if he was serious. when topper saw he was serious, he genuinely contemplated it. “id say maybe, i mean she doesn’t shrivel up in disgust when you are around. that’s a pretty good sign.” rafe shook his head, “that’s true. that is a good sign.”

rafe admired you, you getting his full attention. on break you rush to the fence, excited to see rafe and topper. “hey!” you look up at them, “you are doing great!” topper reached down, highfiving you. “thanks!” you look over at rafe, something took you over because he actually looked hot. you bit you lip slightly, you were going to say something, but rafe beat you to it. “you look good.” rafe smirked slightly, causing heat to rise to your face. “thank you, rafe.”

you return to the group again, your heart racing. the idea of rafe made your breath heavy. you continue to chant, and preform. you occasionally looked up rafe, his eyes always focused on you. you had a low chance of being able to go to the fence again, so you focused entirely on perfecting the choreography. the crowd was cheering loudly, your hometown winning the game.

at the final quarter, your hometown won by one point. your team jumps up and down, ecstatic. you preform a final show, before you break apart. you chug water. you rush in line with the other cheerleaders, going in a straight line to high-five the football players. you smile brightly at them, telling them congrats for winning the game. most of them returned a smile, and thanked you.

after the bleachers started to empty, you decided to meet up with topper, and possibly rafe. you look around for topper but he was gone. you turn around, accidentally bumping into rafe. “oh i’m sorry.” he stares at you, “hey, by the way topper left, said he was going on a date with a girl from the cheer team.” you frown, “oh. he was my ride.” rafe smiles, “you can ride me- i mean ride with me.” you laugh lightly at his switch up, “okay. i’ll ride you.” your heart is racing, the after game adrenaline flowing through your veins, which was causing you to be bold. he smirks at you, “okay, i’d enjoy that.” you mimic his smirk, following him to his car.

he turns around, “are you sure?” you nod, “i’m sure, are you?” he is shocked by your question, “so fucking sure.”

part two will be steamy <3

175 notes · View notes

linkemon · 3 years

Text

Night of storm and rain (Sano Manjirō x Reader)

Friendly reminder that English is not my first language. You can check my Masterlists both in English and Polish here. Consider supporting me on Ko-fi. You can also check out my commissions if you're interested.

Other oneshots can be found here.

"— ɪꜰ ᴋᴇɴ-ᴄʜɪɴ ꜱᴀᴡ ʏᴏᴜ ɴᴏᴡ... — [ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ] ʙᴇɢᴀɴ.

— ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ʏᴏᴜ ᴅᴀʀᴇ... — ʜᴇ ᴘʀᴏᴛᴇꜱᴛᴇᴅ ᴡᴇᴀᴋʟʏ.

ꜱʜᴇ ʟᴏᴏᴋᴇᴅ ᴀᴛ ʜɪᴍ ꜱᴏ ᴘɪᴇʀᴄɪɴɢʟʏ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ʜᴇ ᴡᴀɴᴛᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴛᴜʀɴ ʜɪꜱ ʜᴇᴀᴅ ᴀᴡᴀʏ.

— ʜᴇ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ʙᴇ ᴀꜱʜᴀᴍᴇᴅ ᴏꜰ ʏᴏᴜ — ꜱʜᴇ ᴇɴᴅᴇᴅ ꜰɪʀᴍʟʏ."

ᴀᴅᴅɪᴛɪᴏɴᴀʟ ɪɴꜰᴏʀᴍᴀᴛɪᴏɴ: 1. ᴏɴᴇꜱʜᴏᴛ ᴛᴀᴋᴇꜱ ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛɪᴍᴇʟɪɴᴇ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴛᴀᴋᴇᴍɪᴄʜɪ ᴘʀᴇᴠᴇɴᴛᴇᴅ. ᴀꜱ ꜱᴜᴄʜ, ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ᴀʀᴇ ꜱᴘᴏɪʟᴇʀꜱ ꜰᴏʀ ᴛʜᴇ ꜰɪʀꜱᴛ ʜᴀʟꜰ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀɴɪᴍᴇ ꜱᴇᴀꜱᴏɴ.ᴛʜᴇ ᴛᴇxᴛ ɪɴᴄʟᴜᴅᴇꜱ ꜱᴄᴇɴᴇꜱ ᴏꜰ ᴠɪᴏʟᴇɴᴄᴇ (ɴᴏᴛ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ʙɪɢ ʙᴜᴛ ꜱᴛɪʟʟ). ᴛʜᴇʏ ᴍᴀʏ ɴᴏᴛ ʙᴇ ꜱᴜɪᴛᴀʙʟᴇ ꜰᴏʀ ꜱᴏᴍᴇ ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀꜱ. ɪꜰ ᴛʜɪꜱ ɪꜱ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴛʀɪɢɢᴇʀ ɪɴ ᴀɴʏ ᴡᴀʏ ᴛʜᴇɴ ɪ ᴅᴏ ɴᴏᴛ ʀᴇᴄᴏᴍᴍᴇɴᴅ ʀᴇᴀᴅɪɴɢ ɪᴛ.

Manjirō stretched lazily, staring at the view outside the window. He yawned ostentatiously so that everyone else could see how much he didn't want to sit at school. Outside, spring was in full bloom waiting for him. It attracted with its warm rays of the sun and the blue of the sky. The greenery encouraged him to go out. A gentle breeze moved the curtains, brushing the boy's cheeks. At least he had the best possible seat. The kids themselves gave him that chair so he wasn't going to say no. They should know who was really in charge. If they respected him, then it was good.

— He really did it? — Sano heard a fragment of the conversation. — If so, he's an asshole! — Some girl said.

— Shhh... or he will hear you, [Reader]-chan. You could be in trouble. — The nervous voice belonged to another person.

Mikey at first thought it was about him. Reluctantly, he lifted his eyelid, ready to say anything so that his reputation would not suffer. Before he could do so, however, he realized it was not about him. Someone was taking money from classmates. He had no idea who, because he attended school only when he had to. He tried to keep the attendance high enough not to be expelled but nothing else. He snorted dismissively under his breath. If the kids couldn't take care of themselves, they were to blame. They should follow his example. Strength was what mattered in life.

He looked at the blackboard full of mathematical formulas. He had no idea what he really needed all this knowledge for. Anyway, he didn't understand much of those stupid symbols. Knowing that he had wasted the last two hours on such unhelpful things pissed him off a lot. Out of boredom, he began to scribble in his notebook. The miniature of his bicycle in the checkered page only reassured him that he would be better off outside. He could take his collapsible bicycle and then he and Ken-chin would go somewhere nice. Maybe to the park or the playground. To kick a few junior high school students or a new gang around their area would be awesome.

He glanced at the cork board. The lesson plan announced three more hours of Japanese. He could already imagine the mean, old hag's face when she will decide to question him again. Usually, reprimands went one ear, out the other. However, this woman was especially getting on his nerves. Somehow, she always found a way to made fun of him or mock his ignorance.

The clock ticked softly amid the murmur of class conversations. The hand of the clock moved relentlessly slowly, counting down the minutes to the next torment.

Manjirō slammed his hand on the table top. He ignored the frightened glances of the students. He was heartily fed up. He was already tired enough today. He will come in a week, and his presence will be evened out. Or so he kept telling himself.

He quickly put things into a backpack. He didn't have many of them. A thick notebook was enough for all his classes. In his pencil case he kept only a pen, pencil and eraser. He borrowed books from others. There was no point in buying them. He was a rare guest at school.

He walked slowly towards the exit. As soon as he left the classroom, he hurried down the hall. He jumped over the threshold, smiling widely. That was how freedom tasted.

He decided to take shortcut. There was a small path behind the building. Much faster than the main one and he didn't have to pass the nosy janitor. Almost no one ventured there. Usually, it was a place reserved only for elderly students. They liked to smoke here. Sometimes they also sneaked out to eat somewhere in city. Sano didn't have the same problem as everyone else. The classes above were simply afraid of him. So he could use as much as he wanted.

— Hey, new missy! You probably don't know how it all works here! — The loud voice must have belonged to someone in the boy's class. But he didn't really remember to whom. — We'll explain. You apologize to us, return your wallet and we will leave you alone.

Mikey paused to tie the laces of his sneakers. The shoes were falling apart completely. He will have to buy new ones. He kept telling himself he wasn't interested in the situation at all. He didn't have to interfere. After all, it was none of his business. However, he had honour. People shouldn't fight girls. They were delicate and needed to be protected. So he peered around the corner, cracking knuckles. He was going to kick some asses and then go back to truancy.

— What should I apologize for? — The girl was surely the one he had heard earlier in the classroom.

She did not stand out too much in appearance. Average eyes, ordinary hair colour. The school uniform completed the whole thing. She seemed to be screaming boredom with her whole body! Or so he thought, until he saw her expression. There was something intriguing about her. The way she lifted the corner of her mouth slightly. As if she was enjoying the whole situation. She didn't look terrified at all.

— You called us thieves and assholes! — The boy's tone spoke of danger.

— I wasn't mistaken. I give you three seconds. Get out of here or we'll talk differently.

Manjirō had not expected such an answer. Neither did the pursuers. Their cackles echoed in the spring air. They didn't take her seriously. After all, what could they expect from a much younger student?

[Reader] muttered dissatisfied as she saw that none of them had left. She took a swing and hit the leader of the group right in the face. He staggered on his feet, grabbing his bleeding nose. Nobody has humiliated him so much so far. There was pure fury in his eyes.

— You bitch... — the boy began, confused.

The girl completed her work with a kick in the groin. The attacker curled up as the toe of her shoe touched his belly.

Sano considered for a moment whether to step into action. However, it quickly turned out that there was no such need. He watched with a feeling of satisfaction as his friend massacred group of older students. And he must have admitted that she did it in a really awesome style. She didn't care about the red droplets dripping to the ground from her badly battered fists. She pounded where it hurt the most with quick attacks. She avoided all the blows. The opponents tried to stop her but unsuccessfully. They screamed insults, trying to just touch her. It was in vain. It was evident that this was not her first time. She had experience. It looked a bit like mixed martial arts, though the boy couldn't tell which ones. He had learned from a young age but had never seen anything like it.

The girl looked critically at her work. The pile of battered students looked strange to say the least. She searched the things lying on the grass. She took out a roll of banknotes. It had to be money that was stolen from the students. She slipped her bag over her shoulder, intending to leave before the teachers arrived.

She turned back. To her surprise, she came face to face with the blond stranger. She looked at him uncertainly. As if she didn't know if she should run away before he will take her to the headmaster. She completely did not expect his words:

— [Reader]-san, right? I'm Mikey. — He held out his hand. — Let's be friends!

She shook his hand in surprise. Her hand still ached but the fingers that wrapped around it felt pleasantly warm. A bit rough, but nice to touch. She looked at the boy more closely. It must have been the school freak everyone was talking about. But it did not quite match the description she had heard. Golden rays of the sun danced in his hair, illuminating his entire body. He was very short but there was something in his posture that prompted her not to underestimate him. She looked up at his face. She thought that she had never seen anyone smile so widely before or after.

***

Sano sped on. He loved moments like that in his life the most. He and his faithful CB250T. The perfect duo. He stepped on the gas, feeling the air lash his face. He was sure he had lost the hair band somewhere because the wind was playing with the strands of his hair. The world has blurred to just a few colors. The black highway seemed to encourage a wild race with himself. Above it was a palette of pink and orange. He would manage to make it just in time for the sunset.

— Where are we going? — The girl asked insistently.

Her fingers pressed tightly around his waist. The warmth of her body reminded him that she was with him now. She participated in celebrating the moment. This ride, that tasted like freedom. If it were someone else, Mikey would be angry. Because he wouldn't want anyone to disturb his silent celebration of life. But she was the exception.

— If I tell you, it won't be a surprise! — Manjirō tried to shout over the wind.

Draken was right. His friend always had it. Even if he didn't admit it aloud often.

Leader of Toman liked [Reader]. The thought appeared in his head more and more often. It was insistent and had no intention of letting go. Like an opponent who could not be defeated. There was nothing he could do about the rapidly beating heart. It rattled like a broken engine in her presence. One that should be repaired as soon as possible. He wondered how long it would take for his systems to overheat.

He turned his head back. She was sitting right behind him. She screamed for him to look at the road, which he only laughed at. He was so close their faces could touch if he wanted to. He saw every detail. Small wrinkles from so many smiles flashed at him. Eyes squinting from too harsh light. Even a bruise and a scratch from their last fight. Just at the thought of how she kicked her opponents he felt warmth rise to his cheeks. She didn't need him at all but he was standing next to her all the time. He felt better knowing he could save her at any moment. At the end, she muttered that she didn't need him at all. And yet she kissed him on the cheek. To this day he brooded over that moment. It wasn't a big deal. His friends also got a kiss on the cheek from time to time. She was like that. Still, he felt jealous. He loved the boys but knowing he wasn't special to her was a pain.

He shook his head. He had to get rid of this frustration somehow. So he did the first crazy thing he could think of. With a wild cry, he let go of the handle bar.

— Mikey, you idiot! It's not a bike! Do you want to kill us ?! —[Reader ]'s grip tightened around him.

He loved the way she said his nickname. Somehow it came out of her mouth beautifully. Even if she screamed in anger. She never used his full name.

He didn't have to see her to know she closed her eyes. She held him as if he was her whole world. Perhaps at that point it was exactly like that. After all, the space seemed to shrink only to themselves and the motor racing through the streets of Shibuya.

— Here we are — Sano announced, taking his foot off the throttle.

The girl looked around the area. There was nothing interesting on the river bank. The water flowed lazily under the great bridge they had just passed. Ducks were swimming in it. They moved their feet cheerfully, every now and then diving into the muddy bottom. The grass could barely cope with the summer heat that had recently hit the area. Dry and damaged, it prickled her legs. She was sure it was swarming with insects. The chirping of the crickets made her sure of it. She turned to shout at her friend. Why would he even take her to a place like this? Before she could do so, however, Sano appeared, with a blanket in one hand and a wicker basket in the other. He proudly began spreading food and drinks on the checkered surface. He patted the seat next to him, biting into the taiyaki. The large supply of fish stuffed with bean paste made the girl eagerly join him. She bit into the cake, feeling the familiar taste.

— Whose idea was that? — She asked with her mouth full.

— Mine, od course. — The boy was spreading crumbs around him.

— I don't believe you. — [Reader] pointed her finger at him accusingly.

— Ken-chin helped me a little... — Manjirō admitted, looking away.

Ryūguji knew many things. But Sano never took him as an expert on women. After all, Emma had been waiting for him for years and he seemed to be blind to her interest. He may have general knowledge but zero experience.

— It's very nice and all but... — the girl hesitated. — What's all this for?

He didn't want to answer that question. Mainly because it touched the bottom of his tangled feelings. But there was an insistence in her gaze. As if she was forcing him to respond by sheer willpower. It felt strange being under someone else's control. Usually, he had the advantage. He was giving orders. He did not give in to anyone or anything. Yet this restriction of liberty felt like a pleasant bondage. One that you don't want to run away from.

— I overheard your conversation with Emma — he admitted.

He earned a punch between the ribs for that. It hurt but it was a friendly nudge. He allowed it because he deserved it. However, he did not regret his act. If he hadn't been standing right behind the store yesterday, he might never have known what [Reader] really wanted. The girl turned her back to him, embarrassed. She hoped the hair would at least partially cover her face. She felt stupid. Mikey always saw her as a tough and strong person. What will he think about her? She voiced her concerns once and now she will pay for it. She wanted to find a second half. With envy, she glanced at her friends. They were doing so many things that she couldn't... She wanted to dress up too, go to the coffee shop and hold someone's hand. Maybe even kiss if the date will be fun. Only her friend made her realize why nobody was interested in her. Everyone in and out of school was afraid of the Tokyo Manji gang. Even if she didn't belong, to outsiders she seemed to be part of it. People were simply afraid to approach her.

— Mikey — she sighed, opening a can of Sangaria. — I was thinking about a date...

She took a sip of the soda, hoping the topic would cut itself off. After all, what else could she say?

— Nobody said it wasn't a date — Manjirō whispered.

His voice, however, was lost in the sound of an ambulance riding with the siren next to them. He was partially happy that it had turned out that way. He did not want to confront his feelings. Not yet. He will do it in better style. Some other time. When he's ready.

— I've got something for you — he said, pulling a plastic bag out of his Honda bag.

He hesitated for a moment. Maybe something else should have been chosen. Draken had advised him flowers, chocolates or jewelry. It seemed too easy, however. Besides, it would have exposed his intentions at once.

[Reader] carefully took out the gift. The black fabric gave her hope. She unrolled the clothes. It was a coat. Her own. Tailored. His sleeves flapped in the breeze as she held it in front of her, trying to make sure it wasn't a dream. The red manji mark stood proudly on the front, embroidered with a strong thread. The golden letters gleamed in the evening light.

— Thank you, thank you, thank you — she repeated again and again, smiling.

He didn't expect she would embrace him out of joy. He almost fell over, unprepared for the sudden impetus. He accepted it, however, deciding to indulge in the feeling that poured out of him with great power for a moment. He embraced her. The touch of her skin, the scent of her hair, the sparkles dancing in her eyes. Is it wrong that he wanted to have it all to himself, forever?

— We're officially accepting you into the gang at our meeting tomorrow — he said.

Little did he know that she had felt so sidelined until now. She was part of it all. They were a big family. He thought she was aware of being a member of it. Only yesterday did he open his eyes. He didn't want to hurt her. Never. He swore to protect her. He was going to make each of her dreams come true. As long as they were within his reach.

[Reader] put on her coat, still smiling. She looked cute. She pulled out the dorayaki and was eating, forgetting the earlier conversation.

He stared at her silhouette against the setting sun. Pink reflections danced across her body. The orange glow seemed to melt her in a strange light. It was as if she belonged to some painting. So he tried with all his might to imprint this moment in his memory. He did not know when an opportunity like that would arise again.

— Beautiful view — said the girl, wanting to fill the silence.

— You're right — he nodded.

His eyes, however, were on her the entire time...

***

[Reader] entered the hangar. The familiar smell of exhaust fumes enveloped her at once. Loud conversations from motorcyclists echoed across the room to the accompaniment of the screeching tires and the whir of engines. Several groups of her subordinates smoked cigarettes, filling the air with clouds of smoke. They were underage. She will have to punish them. She wondered if she still had the strength to deal with them. Maybe she should just leave them alone. After all, she wasn't their mother.

— Captain. — Hige bowed stiffly.

A short, full-bodied boy with dark hair and honest eyes. She liked him. With a little discipline, he could turn into a decent human being. Had he only joined a few years earlier, he would have probably gone far in the hierarchy. But now times have changed. Real Tokyo Manji was past.

She stared at the people she commanded. At her division. But was it really her division? She shook her head. Taken together, they weren't worth even one real member of Toman. When did it all go in such a hopeless direction? The answer was obvious. August 3rd. The day Draken was stabbed in the temple parking. To this day, she remembered a pool of blood in the warm rain. His dead eyes fixed on the direction where his friends had just fought. Late ambulance, funeral and all that happened after that. From that moment on, everything fell apart like a house of cards. Kisaki joined their ranks, slowly increasing his influence. Then Baji went to Valhalla, thus dealing a painful blow to everyone. Some did the same. Others left or tried to escape, for which they were punished. Mitsuya stood up first, seeing what was happening. He couldn't bear Sano's indifference. After that quarrel, Manji gradually began to empty at an alarming rate. Nobody stopped anyone anymore when every commander except [Reader] was gone. Tetta began to introduce his people gradually, often with a dubious moral compass, under the pretext of filling in the void. Manjirō didn't care. At first he became dull and retired. It was the only way he dealt with grief. He did not allow anyone to come to him. He recovered shortly after but came back changed beyond recognition. That funny, youthful spark was gone. Instead of a boy, he became a man. Cold to the bone. The subordinate shook her shoulder slightly, breaking her out of her thoughts.

— There won't be a meeting. We have an order to attack — he announced.

She looked at him. The words rang loudly in her ears. He couldn't do that to her... He promised they wouldn't take this action. She forced it on him. She was stupid for even deluding herself. Nobody had anything to say anymore. Another thing that has not been in the gang for a long time. She walked to the back of the building. Two big bodyguards tried to stop her. She gave them a long look.

— Get the fuck out of my way! Now! — She screamed.

They stepped back reluctantly. The boss ordered no one to come to the back of the hangar. But they knew what the captain was capable of so they let her pass.

He was standing there, leaning against the side of the building. He smelled of nicotine and blood. The cigarette in his hand was barely smoldering. The cold, november rain was pouring down mercilessly. The black cloak fell from the water. The man didn't mind. His hair stuck to his face. Dark eyes stared blankly ahead.

— What are thinking? — She grabbed the cigarette end from his hand.

— It's nice to see you too, [Reader]. — Sano lifted the corner of his mouth.

— When did you become Kisaki's dog? You promised me we would cancel the action.

She looked in his eyes. These two cold pupils. She looked for whatever was left of an old friend in them. Where was the man she fell in love with?

— I'm not his dog — Manjirō growled in a low voice. — Remember that. And the action must take place. So much for the topic. — He turned on his heel, intending to walk away.

— Innocent people will die. — [Reader] grabbed his wrist. — You don't care at all?

He did not answer. He pulled his hand away and took a step towards the hangar.

— I'm leaving. That sentence made him stop. He focused his eyes on her. For a moment she thought she saw sentiment in them. Some remnants of attachment. Memories from the past. Rides on bicycles. Learning to ride motorcycles. Team laughter and their jokes. Their fights. Bandaging wounds. Early truancy. Afternoon meetings on the riverside. Doriyaki eaten from street booths in the evenings. All of this strange relationship consisting of people, places, colours and smells.

— You can not leave — said the leader of Toman.

He felt a shiver run down his back. He kept telling himself it was water pouring down his collar. It couldn't be fear. He hadn't felt it in years.

— I can…. I can because my Mikey left a long time ago. Only Sano Manjirō remained. Leader of Tokyo Manji — she replied quietly.

He heard her words amid the sound of the rain. Quiet but so loud at the same time. He knew they would resonate in his mind for a long time to come.

— If Ken-chin saw you now... — [Reader] began.

— Don't you dare... — he protested weakly.

She looked at him so piercingly that he wanted to turn his head away.

— He would be ashamed of you — she ended firmly.

The air in his lungs stopped for a moment. He couldn't let it out. Just like a hit to the stomach. Nobody has dared to touch him in a long time. Yet the feeling has been the same. Words piercing his heart. As if something long dead had flared up again with a bright flame inside him. Fury hidden for a long time. Claws tearing where the heart should be. He swung and struck. She could have blocked it. He knew she could. And yet she did not. Did she need this to make a final decision? Or maybe she just didn't believe he was ready to do it? He was breathing unevenly. He looked down at the still throbbing hand, realizing what he had done. He promised to protect her. A long time ago. And even that he failed. He slapped her. Even worse. He had been hurting her regularly for a long time. Who was he? Why had he not noticed how he was becoming everything he had always hated? [Reader] grasped her cheek. Disappointment. He saw it when he looked at her. He was torn apart by the thought that he deserved it.

— I'm right. You know it.

She returned her coat to him. The one which he once gave her. The gold inscriptions have rubbed off from frequent wearing. The manji mark was barely visible. Sano pressed a dark, faded cloth against his chest. He felt as if he had all their years together in his hands. He looked up. The dark sky hung low over his head. As if it wanted to crush him on the night of storm and rain. He was glad it was raining. Just like when Draken was dying. Cause when it rains no one can see your tears...

#sano manjiro x reader #mikey x reader #tokyo revengers x reader #Tokyo Revengers #oneshot #baji keisuke #takashi mitsuya #draken #ken ryuguji #angst #spoilers #Character Study

165 notes · View notes

inkandpen22 · 3 years

Text

The Princess and The Pogue (pt. 3)

Pairing: JJ x Female!Reader / Topper x Female!Reader

Warnings: underage drinking, mild swearing, mentions of drugs

Words count: 2k (it’s short but the next part is long)

Part Summary: As the night dwindles away, JJ feels pressured to secure a place in your life. His chances grow times ten when Sarah arrives with some interesting news.

Masterlist

You and JJ share a log around the fire. His arm rests over your thigh, his hand gripping your knee slightly. Your chin rests on his shoulder as you two exchange whisper back and forth, making the Pogues sick with how lovey-dovey you two already are becoming.

“What are you doing tomorrow?” JJ asks, kinda hoping he could ask you for real date but he’ll understand if you already have plans.

“Hanging out with you,” you cheekily answer, earning a blushing grin from him.

“Oh! cool, cool...” He presses his lips together with a faint laugh, finding it hard to hide his childish grin.

You giggle at his bashfulness. He’s so shy around you and you can’t help but find it adorable.

"Here comes Sarah!" Kiara announces as he spots their friend's car rolling up the drive.

You and JJ finally break your hype-focused attention away from each other. Almost to make up for the lack of verbal communication, JJ shifts closer to you and plants a quick peck to your temple.

"Hey! Sorry for the delay!" Sarah announces as she walks over from her car. John B rises from his position, trying to intercept Sarah before she sees you and JJ. Once she reaches John B, she notices how you and JJ are sitting. Her brows scrunch together, but she does her best to mask her confusion. "My parents were having a hissy fit about me borrowing the car. I told them and Y/N's parents that we were staying the night at Kiara's since she doesn't feel well. I hope that's okay, Kie," she asks as she gets closer to the bonfire.

"Yeah, no problem!" Kiara waves her hand, not caring at all.

"Wait, so what's the game plan?" You ask Sarah, but also everyone else for their input. You're thankful for the group's help, but weren't exactly prepared for an overnight stay. You understand why Sarah did this nonetheless.

"You all can stay here tonight," John B shrugs as the Pogues do it all the time.

"Your parents believed it," Sarah assures you. "I would just text your parents to help it seem more legit."

"Okay! I'll text my mom," you comply with enthusiasm.

Hey, I told Sarah to tell you but in case she didn't, we're staying over at Kiara's tonight. I had to drive her home in her dad's car because we think she got food poisoning or something. I'll text you when I'm heading out in the morning. Sarah can drive me home or something :)

"Finally! It'll be nice not being the only girl! I was kinda hoping you and Sarah would stay over anyway," Kiara adds, offering you a kind smile.

"That makes two of us," JJ whispers for only you to hear.

"My folks were pretty pissed about me ditching on the party, so I feel no urge on going home," Sarah huffs, right as John B asks for her to help him inside real quick.

You and JJ watch as John B escorts Sarah inside by the arm. They try to be nonchalant, but it's so obvious they're freaking out. Sarah's whispers aren't exactly quiet and John B's doing his best to fill her in on what he knows.

JJ turns his face toward yours with a smirk, suppressing his laughter. "They're definitely talking about us."

"Oh for sure!" You nod slowly with a snicker.

You two share in your amusement as your friends slowly lose their minds. A Pogue from The Cut was caught kissing the Princess of the OBX. If your friends from the other side of the island found out they would have an even more dramatic reaction.

Your phone buzzes in your lap and it's from your mom.

Ok. Text me when you wake up.

"All set!" You voice to everyone remaining around the fire. "I doubt they'll even care since "I'm still on the Figure 8,” you make air quotes.

"Yay!" Kiara claps her hands.

"I say we watch a scary movie tonight!" JJ suggests beside you.

"The Conjuring!" You vote swiftly, earning a laugh from JJ.

"No!" Pope instantly refuses. "Nope! Last time we watched that you guys made me sleep on the porch and I heard creeks all night!"

"Aw, I'll stay with you tonight Pope," Kiara offers, reaching for her friend's hand with a pout. "I'll keep you safe from all the ghosties."

JJ leans in brushes his lips against your ear. "You gonna keep me safe?"

You smile softly, turning your head toward him as you nod slowly. "I'll have your back if you have mine."

His beautiful eyes meet yours in the gold flickering light of the fire. "Always, Baby." He plants a kiss to your lips, this time slow and comforting, as though you two have been doing it forever.

___________________________________________________________

All six of you are gathered in the living room, watching The Conjuring. John B and JJ insisted that all lights in the house must be off, much to Pope's dismay. Kiara and Pope are positioned on the carpet, their backs against the couch. Pope has been hiding in a ball with his face behind the blanket he shares with Kiara. Sarah and John B are sprawled comfortably on the couch, well invested in the movie. You and JJ share the old red recliner, tucked close in a ball under a comforter. Right before the movie starts to get interesting, you shift forward in your position. JJ whines, disappointed in the loss of contact. His pouty face makes you giggle and he playfully tries to keep you close by holding onto your wrist.

"I need another drink, anyone else?" You offer quietly, making sure not to step on Kiara or Pope on the floor on the way to the kitchen. You receive various forms of declines as you do your best to navigate your way through the dark and unfamiliar house.

Finally finding yourself in the kitchen, you make yourself a glass of water. The moonlight shining through the window over the sink acts as your saving grace. Suddenly, you feel a pair of arms slip around your waist, causing you to jump.

"Hey, Gorgeous," the blonde whispers against your neck.

"JJ!" You gasp your heart racing.

"Did I scare you?" He chuckles quietly to not alert the others.

You spin in his hold and nudge him on the shoulder playfully. "You did that on purpose!"

"Not really but-" In one swift motion, JJ picks up and places you on the counter. He parts your legs to stand between them. His palms glide up and down your thighs. "That I did mean to do," he smirks, biting down on his lip.

"JJ! Y/N! You're going to miss the wardrobe part!" Pope shouts, his voice shaky with fear.

"I wish I had spoken to you sooner," JJ confesses abruptly, completely his friend in the next room. All he cares about right now is you.

"Dido," you smirk, placing your arms over JJ's shoulders.

"Really?" He voices in disbelief. Despite how much you've reassured him or have reciprocated his affections, he still isn't convinced that you truly like him.

"That first time I saw you at the Cameron's?" You recall with raised brows. "Um, yeah! You looked hot in that pale green Ron Jon shirt."

"I can't believe you remember that," he shakes his head, leaning in closer to you. I thought there was no way you'd know who I am."

"JJ," you say his name in a mild groan with a toss of your head. How can this boy not see how amazing he is? "You're definitely worth remembering."

"It was at the Boneyard," he states a matter-of-factly.

"What was?" You grin.

"The first time I ever saw you," he tilts his head back slightly, relieving his sharp jawline. "You were dancing with Topper on the wall. The fire made your skin glow and shimmer like bronze. You wore a navy blue bikini with ripped white booty shorts. Your hair was half up and all I could think about was how much I wanted to run my fingers through it. You were the most beautiful girl I had ever seen," he tells you, never once breaking eye contact.

"That was last summer!" You can't believe he remembers that.

"I know," he replies as though it's completely ordinary.

Your jaw drops, "you're saying you've been waiting to talk to me for a year?!"

"Okay well, when you put it that way," he tries to play it off and be cool now.

"Aw JJ!" You express a little too excitedly, bringing your hands to his cheeks.

JJ is quick to press his hand over your mouth. "Shh, Baby. Before you alert everyone in the living room!" Mischievously, you plant a kiss on his palm, catching him off guard. JJ swallows hard, peering down at you with hooded eyes. "Okay, now you're just teasing me."

You place your hand over his and remove it from your mouth. "You make it too easy," you giggle in a whisper.

JJ simply stares down at your lips as he bites down on his own. Before you have a chance to react, he hungrily presses his lips to yours. Ever kiss up until now has been gentle, new, and hesitant. Now, JJ is forgetting his nerves and is acting on impulse. He breaks away from you and moves his assault to your neck. You comb your fingers through his thick blonde hair, gripping the strands on the back of his neck.

"JJ," you pant breathlessly as your eyes fall shut. "What are you doing?"

"Making up for lost time," he breathes against your neck. I'm really kicking myself right now."

"It's my fault too," you try to speak as JJ makes a track down your neck to your collarbone. "I could've at least said 'hi' instead of smiling like an idiot."

"At least you were nice," JJ mumbles against your chest. "I was a statue. Plus, I always thought you and Rafe may be-"

"Ew! Don't even finish that sentence," you scoff in disgusts.

"You were always at the Cameron's. He's always on top of you and watches you like a hawk," JJ explains as he pops up for air.

"He's had a thing for me for a while now. I've turned him down," you inform him.

JJ frowns in confusion. "Why?"

You figured it would've been obvious, especially considering how much JJ hates Rafe. "He's an arrogant ass. He thinks he's invincible and I hate people like that."

"Well, you can tell him you're taken now," JJ grins, leaning in to kiss you.

"Oh, I am?" You question playfully against his lips.

"Yep," the boy nods as he begins to glide his lips across your jawline. "You're mine... and only mine..." He whispers, making you bite your lip with anticipation. Boy, this kid knows how to get you turned on. "I'll make sure everyone in the OBX knows it too," he declares as he starts to suck on the sensitive skin on your neck. At the rate JJ is going, he's certain to leave a mark or two, just as he wanted.

"You guys!" Kiara calls this time.

JJ huffs with annoyance as he appears out from your neck. "Coming!" He shouts, completely unfazed by what he was just doing. "Got you're so sexy," he plants a quick peck to your lips. "I hope you know I'm going to be dying through this entire movie."

Ever the gentleman, he grips your waist and helps you down from the counter. He slips his hand into yours and grabs your water with the other before leading the way back into the living room.

"She couldn't find the sodas in the fridge. I had to grab a new box from the back," he conjures up as you two cross the living room toward the recliner.

"Sureee," John B and Sarah say in unison with amusement.

"Sorry guys, what did we miss?" You ask while you and JJ get settled.

After you take a quick sip from your water, you place it on the side table between the recliner and the couch before getting comfortable again with JJ.

"Nice water, Y/N." Sarah giggles as she peaks over from the couch at your hand, earning an eye roll from JJ.

"The crazy demon lady jumped on the daughter. I hate this!" Pope rushes out to answer your question.

"Oh my God! You're fine, Pope!" Kiara groans, not hiding her annoyance.

"I wish it wasn't so dark in here!" Pope shouts dramatically.

"I kinda like it," JJ purrs in your ear.

You turn your head to the side and he plants a kiss on your lips. As the others watch the movie, you and JJ spend most of the time whispering back and forth or too caught up in each other physically to talk at all. Of course, you two are respectful of your friends and keep it PG. Yet, you can't get enough of each other. It's all so soon, energetic, and freeing. As the thought of tomorrow morning lingers in the back of your mind, you’re starting to dread the idea of parting from JJ.

__________________________________________________

Masterlist

Tags: @starkeythinker @bethii1 @thegunnerkelly @cc13723things

#jj maybank fic #jj mayback x reader #jj maybank imagines #jj maybank fluff #jj #john b routledge #sarah cameron #rafe obx #pope #kiara #topper obx #obx jj #obx #obx fanfiction #outterbanks #outer banks #topper outer banks

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horansqueen · 2 years

Text

Headlines - Chapter 8

Story Masterlist ✨

❤ chapter 1 ❤ chapter 2 ❤ chapter 3 ❤ chapter 4 ❤ chapter 5 ❤ chapter 6 ❤ chapter 7 ❤

NOTES ❤

❤ written from both Niall and Ophélie’s POVs ❤ i don’t proofread, I never do, I hate it. ❤ OU comedy/fluff/smut/romance ❤ 3k ❤ i accept requests and ideas for this story, so message me in my inbox! ❤ if you want to be notified when this story is updated (or be taken off the update list) CLICK HERE

so sorry it took me almost a month to update this!!!!!

Ophélie

I woke up and groaned, turning around to press my face in the pillow. I didn't want to get up, scared of what this new day would bring after the fiasco from the radio interview. The truth was, Niall and I were not prepared. We didn't know anything about each other, and even if we were not interested in spending time together and getting to know each other, we really should do it. It was not part of our jobs, and pretending we could make people believe we loved each other clearly needed effort for us.

The only thing Niall and I seemed to have in common was the fact that we were not used or good with this PR thing. At least, he had an excuse, he was not an actor. Me, on the other hand, had no reason not to be able to make everyone believe I loved him.

I grabbed my pillow roughly and put it over my head, groaning louder in it to muffle the sound. I was mad at myself for letting my feelings for him get the best of me. He was annoying and I was letting him get on my nerves in a way no one else did, and I didn't even understand why.

If I wanted to be honest with myself, I also hated that he was so good looking and kissed so well. Couldn't he just be like Viktor? An average looking guy with an ugly personality who kissed like a horny fifteen year old?

But I was not going to be honest with myself, and I sure as hell was not going to be honest with him. So I had a slight and stupid attraction for Niall Horan who also happened to be my fake boyfriend... so what? It would certainly be brief and I will definitely end up being ashamed when I'll look back at this day.

I sighed and threw my pillow on the floor before forcing myself to get up with a groan. I rubbed my eyes and yawned, stretching myself before grabbing a blanket and putting it over my shoulders. I was always cold when I woke up at Niall's and I wish he would turn up the heat a bit but I didn't want to ask him. I didn't want to rely on him for anything.

"'Morning." he said, glancing at me as I entered the kitchen. "I made coffee."

I didn't answer. I just grabbed a mug and poured coffee in it before adding sugar and cream without looking at him. I was still pissed because of the radio interview, and I was still a bit shaken but the conversation we had had after. I had felt some sort of connection with him and it bothered me. I didn't want that, I didn't want us to be close, even if I knew it would make everything easier, and I was pretty sure I had no legit reason to want to keep my distance. It was probably out of pride, simply.

"Look, I know you'll be pissed but, you should know there’s a few articles about us online."

I kept the mug in both hands, trying to warm myself up as I leaned against the counter. It hid my chin and I took a very small sip of my beverage before looking up at him. I could read in his face that he felt guilty and I just blinked a few times without answering.

"Do you... wanna read it?"

My instinct told me to say no, but I knew I'd have to face it at some point and I just shrugged. Niall breathed deeply and grabbed his phone before handing it to me. I knew he was expecting me to take it but I just let my eyes roam on the words. There was no way I would put my warm mug away.

'Niall Horan doubts his feelings for new girlfriend.' I read, feeling my heart skip a beat before sinking low in my chest. 'Is Niall Horan really in love with his new girlfriend Ophélie King? In a radio interview from yesterday...'

I quickly looked away and sighed before finally closing my eyes. There was no reason for me to read more. I knew what had happened, I was there, and even if reading it from someone else's point of view could be different, I knew it would hurt too much and it was not necessary. I also didn't want to find out if they thought he should be dating Ruby instead of me.

I wanted to get some sort of revenge on Niall but I decided to wait. I tended to be quite impulsive and most of the time, I regretted it.

I watched Niall slide his phone on the counter and waited as I kept drinking coffee. I didn't know how we'd manage to make people believe about this relationship now and I was wondering if our managers would decide to stop it immediately. I couldn't pretend it wouldn't be a relief to get out of this contract but ending it right now would result in me being humiliated again. First Viktor, now Niall.. what kind of person would I be portrayed as?

"What are you gonna do to fix this? I asked calmly, still staring at him from behind my mug.

"I already posted a tweet but I don't think it'll be enough."

This time, he was not looking at me and for some odd reason, I felt my heart jump back up in my chest. I was curious to find out what he had posted but I didn't want him to know. Instead, I just grabbed my mug tighter and pressed my lips together.

"Let me meet you family." I let out, making him quickly turn to me and frown.

"What?"

"Let's go meet your mom." I repeated with a shrug. "Nothing can make this relationship seem more serious than you presenting me to your mama."

He scoffed and shook his head quickly, without sending me a glance. "No fucking way, no way I'm lying to my mom."

"But-"

"Do you know how sad it would make her to find out we're just a PR stunt? Especially after I said I'd never do that. And also..." he stopped himself and finally his eyes met mine for a few seconds but he looked away before he finished his sentence. "I hate admitting that, but I'm pretty sure she'd love you."

I felt my lips curl despite myself and even if my mouth was hidden by my mug, I knew he could see I was smiling with my eyes. He sighed and rolled his eyes, making me chuckling without thinking. It was cute, and it made me want to meet his mom even more.

"I think you're in no position to bargain." I pointed out. "We're in this mess because of you, Horan."

"I said we're keeping my mom out of this. End of discussion."

He put his mug in the sink a bit roughly and rushed out of the kitchen. I waited a few minutes and when I heard the sound of the shower, I relaxed and put my mug away. I glanced at the hall before quickly taking his phone, feeling my heart beat so fast I was scared it would just escape from my chest. I was surprised there was no password on it and searched his contacts, quickly finding his mom under 'Ma'. I bit my bottom lip, trying not to smile too much at how cute it was, and walked to the living room slowly, letting myself fall on the couch. I shouldn't check on his phone, I knew it was wrong and that I was invading his private life, but I wanted to get back at him for the radio interview and if he didn't want to help me fix it, then I would have to do it by myself.

The last text message was from his mom and I noticed he hadn't replied. I started nibbling on my bottom lip as I read over and over the short 'pet, haven't heard from you in a while'. I knew I had to be quick and I glanced up at the hall before quickly typing. 'haven't seen you in a while, ma.'

I could feel my heart beat hard all over my body as guilt invaded my insides and quickly, I deleted the message I had just sent so he wouldn't see it. I put his phone back on the couch and quickly got up, walking back to my room as I kept playing with my ring. I heard his phone beep, telling him he had a new message and I almost threw up. I knew how wrong what I had just done was and I was not even sure it would work, but it was too late anyway.

I got dressed quickly and when I walked back to the living room, I noticed Niall getting out of the kitchen with a frown.

"Have you seen my phone?"

"Uhm yea, it's in the living room, I heard it a few minutes ago."

He rushed to the couch and grabbed it as I leaned against the wall to watch him. I saw his face twist suddenly and I swallowed hard, hoping he would share what he had seen but knowing he probably wouldn't.

"Everything okay?"

Niall

I could have sworn I had left my phone in the kitchen but I was a bit absentminded these days and I was not sure why. This whole stunt thing was keeping me up at night and whenever I had a discussion with Ophélie, I would end up being confused for a few hours. I didn't know how she felt, and I didn't know how I felt either, bu the worst was that it seemed like every time we were getting closer to each other, she would back away and do something mean to me. I wanted to let go, and I normally would just brush it away, but there was something about this whole relationship that I was started to obsess on.

It was true, at first, i couldn't stand her and she was annoying me, but I think it came mostly from the fact that it's how she felt for me. Now that I spent time with her, I was getting intrigued and curious about her. Who was she really and why did she hate me so strongly? What have I done or said that could make her dislike me enough to be rude to me and try to piss me off any single way she could?

It was true, I had fucked up a few times, but I didn't feel like it was a reason to hate on me the way she did. Besides, she never gave me a chance. She's been disliking me since the first minute we met.

'you should come home this weekend with your girlfriend!'

I blinked a few times, staring at my mom's message, and held my breath. My mom was a smart woman and I knew that she'd quickly find out this was all fake when she'd see us act around each other. The fact that she'd find out was not what was bothering me, but like I had told Ophélie, lying to my mom was something I just couldn't get myself to do, especially not when it was something to important.

I wanted to tell her that I was busy but that too, was a lie. I looked up at my fake girlfriend who just raised her eyebrows at me and I nodded.

"Yeah, no problem." I lied, raising my nose up slightly.

I didn't know what I could tell her and I also had no idea what I would answer my mom. I needed time to think about it to take a decision and I threw my phone back on the couch before turning to Ophélie, sending her a small smile.

"Anything planned for today?"

"We have a few scenes to shoot tonight." she told me with a shrug. "I just hope Viktor didn't see that article you showed me."

"I don't think he'll say anything, not after the tweet I made." I explained, my lips curling slightly on the left. She looked up in my eyes and frowned, making my eyebrows raise. "You didn't check?"

She shook her head and we remained silent for a few seconds before she finally turned around and walked back in the guest room to get her phone. I watched her eyes roam on the words I had written and slowly, her traits softened and her lips parted. She looked up and even if she obviously was trying to hide it, I noticed a small and fond smile appear on her mouth.

She licked her lips and quickly looked back at her phone, typing something and when she started nibbling on her bottom lip, I got a notification from twitter. Right under the short message I had written where I had also tagged her, she had left a reply, tagging me at her turn.

'@niallofficial, i love you more 💖' was written right over my tweet. 'I'm the luckiest man in the world, I love you @ophelieking'

"It's just twitter but, I thought it could help a bit." I added, noticing her smile was growing.

"Thank you, Niall." she let out in a very low tone. "Hopefully, it'll make Viktor and everyone else shut the fuck up."

"I owed you that."

She took a step closer and her smile faltered a bit. "I know you never do that, not even for your real girlfriends, so thank you."

I wanted to ask her how she knew that but I didn't want to ruin the mood. Perhaps, her manager had briefed her a bit about me and it made me wonder why mine didn't do the same. Maybe it would be easier to understand each other if we knew about our past, our experiences and our lives.

I sent her a smile and nodded slowly. "You're welcome, petal." My voice was softer than intended and I noticed she seemed to tense suddenly.

"Okay well, I'll go back home to get changed. I need to get to the studio in only a few hours."

She turned around to get back in the guest room but I heard my own voice call her name and she stopped moving immediately.

"Ophélie, wait, please." I waited until she'd turn around but she didn't and I took a step closer. "I have a deal for you."

I watched her hand grip the door frame tighter before she just sighed low and turned around, her eyes getting slightly bigger when she realized I was closer.

"Okay, what is it?"

"Couch?" I proposed, raising my eyebrows again.

She finally nodded and we both walked slowly to the couch. I sat down and it seemed like she was waiting to find out where I would sit to make sure she wouldn't be too close to me. She sat far enough to make sure we wouldn't touch, not even accidentally, and turned to face me, crossing her legs on the couch, her back straight as she stared at me.

"You... want to meet my mom, right?"

She tilted her head a bit but frowned, sending me a suspicious look. "I mean, yeah, I think it could help this fake relationship to be more credible, why?"

I leaned my elbows on my knees and turned my head to look at her. "What I think would help our fake relationship is to get to know each other." I pointed out, ignoring her question. "I know, you're not too keen on that, and I can't say I'm excited about it either... but we clearly know nothing about each other and it's hard to play this and make it convincing."

"Okay, what's the deal?"

"We'll spend time together, do stuff together, and get to know each other... and when we know enough about each other, I'll arrange a weekend at my ma's."

Her eyes roamed on me and I could swear I saw an amused smile draw itself on her lips but it disappeared quickly and she nodded, moving on her seat.

"Alright, that's a good deal." she agreed, making me smile. "So you think your mom will like me?"

I looked at her, letting my gaze run on her face, her lips, and down her neck. She had a strong character and she knew what she wanted, but she managed to be polite, professional and even funny when she wanted. Those were all qualities I knew my mom would appreciate, and if Ophélie was sweet and kind with my mom the way I had seen her be with other people (but not me, of course), I knew for sure that my mom would love her.

"Yeah, but don't let it get to your head." I added with a bigger smile. She laughed and shook her head, making me frown, my lips still curled. "Why are you smiling like that?"

"I don't know, it's just a bit weird, you know?" she shrugged, looking away. "The mom will love me while the son hates me."

My smile fell slowly and when her eyes finally met mine, I couldn't seem to decipher how she felt. Did she think it was funny or did it make her sad? She waited for my reaction and I was not sure what I should do. Should I tell her that I didn't hate her, at least not anymore? Should I tell her it was not in my nature to hate someone anyway? Should I tell her that I felt like hating was way too consuming and ended up eating you inside, and that for me, there was no real reason to spend time focusing on someone you hate? Should I tell her that with time, she was becoming endearing to me, and that even if she tried to piss me off constantly, I thought it was cute to some extent?

Instead, I decided to shrug a shoulder and look away, too.

"We'll make this work, I'm sure we can."

#niall horan #niall horan fluff #niall horan smut #niall horan fanfic #niall horan fan fic #niall horan fanfiction #niall horan fan fiction #niall horan love story #niall horan story #niall horan enemies to lovers #niall horan ou #niall horan fake dating #niall horan writing #my fanfics #headlines

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wiypt-writes · 3 years

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Guilty As Charged

Guilty As Charged: Bucky Barnes One Shot

Summary: Defence Attorney James ‘Bucky’ Barnes is the absolute bane of your life…

Pairing: Lawyer AU Bucky Barnes x Reader (Frenemies!)

Warnings: Bad language words.

Word Count- Under 2k

A/N: This was originally posted on my old blog ages ago, but I’ve just given it a little polish and thought, seeing as I’m on the Bucky Train at the moment, I’d bring it back. Also, my knowledge on US Criminal Law is sketchy at best, so humour me…

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this bar reader and any other OCs that may or may not be mentioned. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

Bucky Barnes Masterlist // Main Masterlist

*******

In God We Trust, the words set about the Judge’s podium were fixed in your vision, motes of dust moving freely in the rays of sunlight which were streaming through the large, ornate windows of the court room and you took a deep breath, letting it out slowly, concentrating on expelling the nerves you were feeling with the air that left your mouth and lungs.

No matter how many times you were in this position, the reading of the verdict still got to you. Your gaze turned to the jury, as the judge did the same, that all important question ringing across the room, the air stiflingly tense.

“On the charge of murder in the first degree, do you find the defendant or not guilty"

“Not guilty.”

Fuck.

Cheers from the defendants family drowned out your loud groan as you rubbed at your temple. Looking over at your colleague, Sam, you shook your head in utter disbelief.

The judge continued through the remaining charges, second-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter, and your despair grew as the same verdict was returned for each.

You’d lost. And it stung, not merely because of your near perfect conviction rate, but for the family of the victim you were one-hundred percent convinced the accused.

"Y/N this wasn't your fault.” Sam stated in a low voice but you simply sighed again and shrugged.

"I was sure they'd see through his lies,” you glanced over to your right where the defence team, headed up by James Buchanan Barnes of Barnes and Rogers Law firm were shaking hand with each other and their defendant. Barnes' face was arranged in the usual smug look that you always had the urge to slap right off it. His partner, Steve, glanced over at you and gave you a genuine, sympathetic smile.

He’s always the most courteous out of the two, the one you actually didn’t mind dealing with when it came to cases.

"He fucking did it Y/N," Sam's voice was almost a growl, "I know he did."

"Well in the eyes of the law he didn’t." You stated, standing up.

The commotion continued behind you, as the defendant was told he was free to go. Making sure to keep your head down, you hastily shuffled your papers back into their respective files and packed your briefcase up. Picking up your jacket, you shrugged it on, smoothing down pencil skirt before you head to leave the courtroom before Barnes can pipe up with his usual smart ass quips. But you're not quite fast enough. "Commiserations Miss Y/LN, can't win em all." The familiar Brooklyn drawl hit your ears.

"Buck," Steve sighed "c'mon pal..."

You grit your teeth. You know you shouldn't rise to it, but you just can’t help it. The man is an utter jack ass in the courtroom. Spinning to face him, you shot him your best contemptuous glare, the one you always reserve for those people you really cannot stand, and looked at him like he was something you'd just trodden in.

"You know Barnes, there is such a thing as being gracious in victory as well as defeat." "Defeat?” He asked, looking at Steve with a puzzled expression on his face, “no, not sure what that is." "Eat shit.” You mumbled before turning to Sam who was stood behind you, watching the exchange. You nod to him and the two of you continued up the aisle towards the exit. The victim's family were congregated outside and all at once the start barraging you with questions.

"How did that happen?"

"You said it was a cert he would go down!”

"What about a private prosecution?”

You sighed and turn to look at them, you were exhausted. "I'm sorry.” You shook your head. “That new evidence that his attorney submitted, it was just threw too much of a doubt into the juries mind..." you held your hand up to gently silence them. “If you're serious about a private prosecution then I can meet you next week to discuss and put you in touch with a few people but I’m sorry, as far as the State’s involvement goes…I can’t do anymore."

Escaping as quickly as you could, you and Sam headed back to your office. After a short meeting with your boss, the District Attorney, who was as pissed as you were that the prosecution had failed, you emerged feeling twice as tired and battered as you had when you’d left the courtroom.

As Sam stated, there was only one thing left you could do. Drink alcohol. A lot of alcohol.

It was a short walk to your preferred bar, having decided to abandon your car and collect it in the morning. You were going to get drunk. Really drunk. "Hey Y/N, hey Sam." Clint, the bar tender greeted you. “I hear it wasn't a great day.” You looked up and saw he was pointing to the TV behind the bar. It was on a news channel, focussing on a report from earlier that afternoon which wasn’t surprising. The case had thrown up huge public interest ever since the body of the teenage girl has been found in the alleyway in Queens. The defendant confessed but somehow, the new evidence submitted was an alleged recording that the defence had gotten their hands on as proof the confession was taken under duress. If you were being totally honest, you had to admit that it didn't sound great, the officer did seem to be leaning heavily on the defendant, but the other evidence was, no, IS overwhelming.

But all it needed was that little seed of doubt, which the defence sowed expertly, and the jury couldn't convict. And now, thanks to Barnes and Rogers, specifically Barnes, in your mind a dangerous killer was walking free. As you stared at the television, you saw Barnes on the screen with the defendant, all smiles and Steve at his side. Barnes greeted the press with a raised hand. "Clint turn it over man." Sam almost pleaded and Clint shot you both a sympathetic look, before he pointed the remote at and flicked the report over to a mundane, late afternoon game show. You ordered 2 beers, and then settled at the bar on one of the tall chairs, crossing your bare, heeled legs as you and Sam began to dissect the case. You couldn’t help it, you always did this, analyse where you went wrong or right.

The pair of you got that enthralled in your discussions, that before you know it, it was an hour lager and you're now four beers deep... and Sam was fielding an angry phone call from his wife, Natasha. "I gotta go, boss." He sighed, apologetically, “it’s my little girl’s dance recital at six and if I miss this one, Nat’s gonna hang me out to dry!” You waved his explanation off. “Its fine, Sam. Oh, and take the morning tomorrow. That case has had us working all hours and I don’t intend on being there till lunch. Clint, gimme a bourbon please?" "Don't let Barnes get to you.” Sam sighed. “You know what he is like" "Smug, arrogant and annoyingly self-righteous.” You nodded. “Yup, I got it.” Sam smiled and dropped a friendly kiss to your cheek. "See you later." Clint slid the glass of bourbon over to you and you smiled before pulling out your phone to check a few emails and your social media. You were just reading through an article about a Billionaire in Manhattan who had designed some kind of metal suit that allowed him to fly (because that's gonna end well), when a familiar voice broke your concentration. "Can I buy you a drink?" You rolled your eyes and looked up at Bucky Barnes as he leaned on the bar, still in his suit, although he had dispensed of his black and white tie, and opened his top button. This was another thing you hated about him. He is utterly gorgeous. Like GQ cover gorgeous, especially in his sharp suits and silk ties.

And he fucking knows it, too. "Depends." You shrugged, throwing back the remainder of your bourbon. "Does it come with a side helping of irritating smugness?" He chuckled. "I'm off duty, Doll so no."

"In that case I'll have another Monkey Shoulder." You slid the empty glass back to Clint. "Take it you're not driving home?" Barnes asked, his azure eyes running over your bare legs. "Well if I do and I get caught, I'm sure you can get me off any charges.” You replied sharply, shooting him a look that made it clear you caught him eyeing you up. And it isn't the first time either. That's another reason you clash so much in the courtroom. Sexual tension. Fucking jerk. He barked out a laugh "You're really not happy with me are you?" "Not particularly." You shook your head, thanking Clint as he pushed the now full glass back to you, with a small wink. It's a double, you noticed. That should set Barnes back a bit. Bucky reached for his beer and after a pull he looked directly at you. "Come work for me." He said and you groaned.

Not this again. "I'm a prosecutor." You rolled your eyes. "Not a defence attorney. I told you that last time you asked. And the time before, and the time before that." "I'm nothing if not persistent." He winked, turning in his stool so he was facing you. "Besides, I can teach you the ways of the dark side." "You’d love that wouldn't you?" You snort. "Oh, Sweetheart you have no idea." He leaned forward slightly, his elbow on the bar and this time he is blatantly staring at the flash of skin that was showing above the buttons on your blouse. "My face is up here, ass hole." With a smirk he raised his deep, blue eyes and they locked onto yours. Despite yourself, you feel your breath hitch slightly. Dammed him and his sex appeal. "Why are you always this insufferable?" You eventually tore your gaze away from his and picked up your drink, glancing up at the TV as an excuse not to look at him. "Ah come on Y/N, don’t be like that." He reached out to squeeze your hand which was resting on the back of the tall chair you were sat in. "We could make a great team..." You raised an eyebrow and looked at him. "Professionally.” He added, his eyes not leaving yours as he took another large drink of his beer, and you pulled your hand away from under his. "I'd kill you within five minutes of us being in the same office." You glared at him as you took another sip from your drink. He chuckled and eyed you again, “to be fair I'm not sure Stevie would be able to function with a beautiful dame such as yourself in close proximity. He still flusters around any woman that isn’t his Peggy.” "That's because Steve is a happily married man." "So am I." He shot back. Ah yes, Mrs Barnes… "Your wife deserves a medal. She must have the patience of a fucking saint to put up with you." You said into your glass. "I have other hidden qualities which mean she's prepared to overlook my slightly less favourable personality traits." He quipped, and you looked back to see that lopsided grin on his face that flips your stomach. Behave Y/N. "They must be very hidden." You mused, and he let out another loud laugh. "You're killing me, Doll.” "Good." You drained your glass. The liquid burnt your throat and you could feel the effects of the alcohol from the last few hours as your brain started to hum. You looked at Barnes who was watching you, his eyes shining with all the cheekiness of a teenage boy and you know you need to leave before you do something stupid.

Like snogging his dumb, handsome face off. "I think it's time I got going." You said simply, standing up. Barnes gave a nod, draining his bottle. “Yeah I should be making tracks too. Wife to see to, you know how it is.” You stood and he did the same, and you realised he was holding up your jacket, ready for you to slide your arms into. Narrowing your eyes slightly at his sudden chivalry, you couldn’t help the small smile that flickered across your face as you turned and allowed him to help you into it. His hands dropped to your shoulders and he span you round gently and smiled with those perfect teeth, a smile that lit up his beautiful face, his eyes crinkling in the corners. "Lead the way Mrs Barnes.” He instructed softly, dropping a tender kiss to your lips. "You know it's a good job I love you,” you smiled, sliding your arms up round his neck. "Yeah, I know." "Although right now I'm struggling to remember why." "Well, when we get home I'll just have to show you some of those hidden qualities I was talking about, see if they help jog your memory.” You bit your lip slightly at the dark flash of desire that flit across his eyes, and you leant up to brush your lips across his stubbled jawline. "Unanimous verdict,” your voice drops slightly as you pull back and he smirked again, “guilty as charged.” You tossed Clint a good bye, linked your hand into your husband’s and he walked you outside into the brisk wind, his arm pulling you close, his lips pressed a soft kiss to your temple. Yeah, James Buchanan Barnes might be an insufferable, arrogant ass hole in the courtroom, but outside it he's simply your Bucky.

#bucky barnes #buck barnes fic #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x you #lawyer au

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live-the-fangirl-life · 3 years

Text

The Last One

The Court - Throne of Glass x FRIENDS - Fic Series

S10, E17/18 : Rowan, after realizing he's still in love with Aelin, chases her down, refusing to let her go. Meanwhile, Elide and Lorcan welcome their baby...or babies, into the world.

Episode chosen for Rowaelin Month 2021. Day 12: Delayed Love Confession

Fic Masterlist | Main Masterlist | Read on Ao3 | Rowaelin Month Masterlist

Warnings: Language, Mentions of Sex, Mentions of Birth

7860 words

*******

Rowan woke up to the bed shifting. He cracked an eye open, still cloudy with sleep, and watched Aelin sit on the opposite edge while she pulled her shirt over her head, concealing the bare expanse of her back.

“Hey.” He croaked, voice still rough.

She turned and gave him a soft smile, whispering, “Go back to sleep, I have to go home.”

Rowan wanted nothing more than for Aelin to never leave his bed, but he knew she had things to do so instead he said, “Oh, okay.” He reached a hand across the sheets and grabbed hers, “Last night was amazing.”

She finished putting on one of her shoes and looked back at him with that same soft smile, “It really was.”

Rowan tried to read the emotions that flashed across her face but then she was standing and bending over to draw him into one last kiss. Her palm rested on his cheek while his gently cupped the back of her head before they pulled away. Rowan kept his eyes on Aelin as she left his room and he didn’t fall back onto his pillow until he heard the sound of his apartment door clicking shut behind her.

***

Elide was scared. Scratch that—terrified. Elide was terrified, but she kept her calm as best as she could while she held Asterin’s hand.

Elide had thanked all the gods she could name for Asterin coming into her and Lorcan’s lives. After getting married and enjoying the first few months of bliss, she and Lorcan decided to try having a baby, but after months of negative pregnancy tests and too many doctors visits, they were told it likely would never happen for them. Devastated, they thought through their options and settled on adoption. But even then, they knew it would take some time.

Elide remembered some afternoons spending hours sitting by the phone desperately hoping it would ring and be someone from the adoption agency to tell them they’d been picked. When they’d finally gotten the call and met Asterin, a young woman who was looking for the perfect parents for her baby, they knew it was meant to be.

Now, standing in the delivery room, Elide held Asterin’s hand as the woman powered through another contraction.

“Breathe, breathe, breathe,” Elide coached encouragingly, “good.”

“Are you fully taking over, or do I get to say breathe?” Lorcan asked as he walked to Elide’s side beside the bed.

She scoffed and tilted her head to meet his eyes. “No. Last time, you said it like a sociopath, and it creeped her out.” She turned back towards Asterin who looked tired, “Can I get you anything? Ice chips?”

“No,” Asterin shook her head, “I’m okay.”

Elide nodded and smiled, “Alright, I’ll be right back.”

As she started to walk out of the room, Lorcan’s hand shot out and gripped her elbow, stopping her.

“Where are you going?” He asked. She could almost detect a hint of nerves as he spoke.

Elide raised a brow, “To the bathroom.”

Lorcan lowered his voice so that only Elide could hear. “You can't leave me alone with her.”

“What?” She asked incredulously.

Lorcan ran a hand through his long hair, and now she could definitely see nervousness etched across his face. “This is exactly the kind of social situation that I am not comfortable with” he grumbled.

Elide snorted, “What kind of social situation are you comfortable with?”

He leveled a stare at her. “It's just that we've never spent any time, you know, alone together.”

Elide rolled her eyes at her husband, “You’ll be fine,” she took a step and turned back, giving him a small smirk, “No, you won't, but I'll be back in two minutes.”

Lorcan sighed but grumbled okay.

He walked back over to the woman lying in the hospital bed, trying his best to seem calm, but by the grimace she shot him, he wasn't doing a very good job.

“So, uh,” He grasped for something to say, “any plans for the summer?”

“I don't know, maybe travel? I wanna do some flying again.”

Lorcan hummed, still not sure what to say. If Elide had still been in the room, she’d have laughed at how ridiculous he looked. Standing well above six feet, with his hands fidgeting and swaying on his toes from being so uncomfortable in the moment.

“So, you ever wonder which is worse, you know; going through labor or getting kicked in the nuts?” Lorcan asked the first thing that came to mind and immediately regretted it. He should've just kept his mouth shut.

“What?” Asterin asked, her eyebrows scrunching in disbelief.

“I mean, uh,” He rubbed the back of his neck, “One of life's great, unanswerable questions. I mean, who knows? Maybe there's something even more painful than those things?” Lorcan cringed and suggested, “like this.”

***

Lysandra walked into Fenrys’ apartment to see him holding two small fuzzy animals.

“Good morning,” She said hesitantly.

“Hey!” Fenrys grinned, lifting up the creatures.

“What's that?” Aedion asked, following Lysandra into the room.

Fenrys grinned, “It's my house-warming present for Elide and Lorcan.”

Lysandra and Aedion shared a look.

“It's a baby chick and duck,” Lysandra said, unnecessarily. “You know they’re living in the suburbs right?”

“Uh-huh,” Fenrys nodded, “And I named them Chick Jr. and Duck Jr.”

Aedion snorted, “I didn’t see that coming.”

“Yeah, I figure they'll love it at the new house, you know?” Fenrys set the animals down, “It has that big backyard. And then, when they get old, they can go to that special farm that Lorcan took the other chick and duck to.”

Lysandra raised a brow at Fenrys and hummed, unable to say what she actually wanted to say.

Aedion barely held in a grin as he nodded sagely to Lysandra and mocked, “Yeah. It's a shame people can't visit there.”

Fenrys was cut off as Rowan showed up and joined them in the apartment,

“Guess what?” Lysandra whirled on Rowan, smiling, “we’re almost all aunties and uncles!”

“What?” Rowan asked, confused.

“Yeah,” Fenrys said, “Asterin went into labor last night. Elide and Lorcan are at the hospital right now!”

“Oh, my gods.” Rowan grinned at the thought of a massive Lorcan holding a tiny baby. He shook his head, glancing around, “Is Aelin here?”

Fenrys glanced towards Aelin’s room, “Uh, I think she's still asleep. Hey, how did it go with you guys last night? She seemed pretty pissed at you.”

Rowan couldn’t—wouldn’t—suppress his smile as he thought about the night before. Being with Aelin again was better than he remembered, and he cursed himself for all the time they’d missed out on.

“Yeah, we, uh, we worked things out.”

Lysandra’s eyes widened as she watched him, “What's that smile? Did something happen with you two?”

Rowan chuckled, “Hey, I'm not one to kiss and tell,” then he muttered, “but I'm also not one to have sex and shut up.”

Apparentally, his last words weren't as quiet as he thought.

Aedion groaned, wincing “Dude, that's my cousin.”

Rowan ignored Aedion as Fernys laughed, “Oh my gods, You and Aelin?”

“I know, it's great.” Rowan didn't think his grin could get any wider.

Lysandra hugged him, squealing, “So what does that mean? Are you guys getting back together?”

“I…” He trailed off, frowning. They hadn’t actually talked about it before Aelin had left earlier that morning. “I don't know. We didn't really get to talk about it.”

“But do you wanna get back together?” She pushed.

Rowan didn’t hesitate as he said with certainty, “Yeah, I do. it just felt so right. When I was holding her, I mean, I never wanted to let her go. I want to be together.”

Lysandra, Aedion, and Ferys all had matching smiles as they listened to Rowan.

Then Fenrys spoke up and Rowan felt himself deflate.

“So is she still going to Paris?” He asked, still holding the small animals.

Rowan had been so caught up in the happiness of last night and that morning that he’d completely forgot the reason why he and Aelin had been so emotionally worked up their argument caused the tension to finally snap, leading them to spend the night together.

Aelin had been offered an amazing job. A perfect job. Perfect, except for the fact that it was in Paris and not New York

She'd had said goodbye to each of their friends. Except him. She’d cried and laughed and reminisced with all of them. Except for Rowan.

He’d been so upset, so angry. How could Aelin not have anything to say to him, after all these years, after all they’d been through?

When he’d confronted her, she’d told him, devastated, “If you think I didn't say goodbye to you because you don't mean as much to me as everybody else, you're wrong. It's because you mean more to me.”

He’d stopped her, not needing to hear anymore as he grabbed her shoulders and pulled her in for a searing kiss. She’d been shocked, unprepared for Rowan’s actions. She’d stepped away, searching his face, before pulling him towards her and kissing him again.

Gods, how could he have forgotten that she was leaving?

“Wow, I hadn't thought of that. I hope not.” Rowan didn't know how he would deal with Aelin leaving now. He’d just realized that he still loved her, and now he might lose her. But how could he expect her, or ask her, to stay? What kind of person would that make him? A desperate one? A man in love? Or an overreaching, entitled one who thought he could step in the way of one of the best opportunities she'd ever been given?

He would have to talk to her before he spiraled any further.

“Oh, this is so great!” Lysandra exclaimed, unaware of Rowan’s churning thoughts, “You guys might get back together, Elide and Lorcan are getting their baby, and there are chicks and ducks in the world again!

They all looked towards the sound of a door opening to see Aelin emerge from her room.

“Good morning,” She smiled at them and ignored the pointed looks and wiggling eyebrows of her friends.

“Hey,” Rowan smiled at her.

She walked up to him and greeted him quietly, “Hey.”

“How’d you sleep?”

She smiled, “Good, you?”

He matched her grin, “Good.”

Fenrys snorted, “I bet you did!”

Aelin flipped him off, shooing him, Lysandra, and Aedion away. Once they’d left, Rowan cupped her face and swooped down to kiss her. It felt like coming home.

When they broke apart, they both wore soft smiles.

“Last night was wonderful,” Aelin told him, rubbing a hand down his arm.

“Yeah, it was.”

She kept her eyes on his as she told him, “I woke up today with the biggest smile on my face.”

He tried to keep the satisfaction off his face but failed and she huffed a laugh, rolling her eyes before softening her features again.

“I know, me too,” Rowan told her, moving one thumb to brush along her cheek. “It was...you know, it was like one of those things you think is never gonna happen, and then it does, and it's everything you want it to be.”

She nodded, “I know,” Aelin leaned up to press another soft kiss to his lips before pulling him into a hug to say into his ear, “it was just the perfect way to say goodbye.”

In that moment, at her words, Rowan felt like his heart shattered into a million little pieces.

***

The hospital room buzzed with excitement.

“It's just a little bit more, honey.” Elide held Asterin’s hand as the young woman pushed again.

She sobbed, more in frustration than anything else “Help me! This hurts!”

Lorcan stood a step back and asked, “Is it really that bad?”

Both women glared at him with a ferocity that made him want to be swallowed up by a hole in the ground.

“Yeah,” Asterin answered through gritted teeth, “I think it's time to kick you in the nuts and see which is worse!”

Elide sighed as she was reminded of the words Lorcan reluctantly relayed to her earlier. She looked back at him, “No tact.”

The doctor cleared his throat, drawing all their attention towards him, “The baby's head is crowning.”

“Oh my God!” Elide cried, walking around to see, “That is the most beautiful top of a head I have ever seen! Lorcan, you have to see this!”

Lorcan had never looked more uncomfortable. “I'm okay.”

Elide whirled on him, “Lorcan, you don't wanna miss this. This is the birth of your child!”

His child. The words rang through him and sparked some sense of resolve. He shook himself of his discomfort, outwardly at least, and stepped up behind Elide to see what she was seeing.

“Wow.” He murmured reverently, “Disgusting.”

Elide scoffed but Loracn gripped her shoulders and kissed her forehead.

“Here we go,” The doctor said, glancing back up at Asterin “Start pushing.”

A shill cry broke through the air and Elide and Lorcan watched as the doctor held up a beautiful little baby. When Elide ripped her eyes away from the infant as the nurses cleaned it, she looked up to find Lorcan already staring at her with tears in his eyes. They didn’t have to say anything, they both felt the same overwhelming sense of love.

“It’s a boy.” The doctor said, leaning back and adjusting his gloves.

“A...a boy!” Elide beamed at Lorcan as he stood open-mouthed before showing her the widest smile she’d ever seen on the man.

“A boy.” He breathed.

“Oh, you did it!” Elide went back to Asterin’s head and wiped the sweat from her forehead. She leaned closer to the girl and whispered, “Thank you. Thank you so much.”

Asterin smiled at them both, “I'm really happy for you guys.”

“How do you feel?” Lorcan asked.

She sighed, “So tired.”

The doctor sat back into position, saying, “Well, you don't have that much time to relax. The other one will be along in a minute.”

The hand Lorcan had been rubbing down Elide’s back froze, as did both of their breathing as they slowly turned to face the doctor with eyebrows up to their hairlines.

“I’m sorry,” Elide said slowly, aware that Lorcan hadn’t resumed breathing yet, “who should be along in a what now?”

The doctor gave them a weird look, “The next baby should be along in a minute.”

“One.” Lorcan finally regained his ability to speak. “One baby. We signed up for one baby.”

“You know it's twins, right?” The doctor asked slowly

Elide laughed hysterically, “Oh, yeah! These are the faces of two people in the know!”

“I…” The doctor trailed off, “I can't believe you didn't know it's twins! This has never happened before.”

“Oh wow,” Loracn snorted incredulously, “That makes me feel so much better.” He ran an agitated hand through his hair.

“Wait,” Elide faced the doctor, “did you know it was twins?”

He nodded slowly, “Yeah, it's here in the paperwork we got from the clinic.”

Elide then spun around to Asterin, “Anybody tell you?”

Asterin furrowed her brows, “I don't think so. Not explicitly.” she insisted. “they did mention something about two heartbeats. But I thought that was just mine and the baby's. They kept saying both heartbeats are really strong, and I thought well, that's good 'cause I'm having a baby.”

Elide let out a shaky breath trying to wrap her mind around what was happening. “This is unbelievable.”

Lorcan gripped Elide’s arm and tugged into the corner of the room. “Can I see you for a second?”

Elide had never in her life seen Lorcan look more unsure of what to do. His hands were shaky as he gripped hers. “What do we do?”

She took a deep breath and looked directly into his eyes. “What do you mean what do we do?”

“Twins.” He stated urgently, “Twins!”

Seeing Lorcan so frazzled oddly calmed Elide down. “Lorcan, you’re panicking.”

“I sure as fuck am, join me!”

She cracked a half-smile, “Lorcan, take a breath, it’s going to be okay.”

“Elide, we are not ready to have two babies!” his eyes were still wide in shock and fear.

“That doesn’t matter!” she hissed, grabbing his arms and making him focus on her. “We have waited so long for this. I don't care if it's two babies. I don't care if it's three babies! We are taking them home because they are our children!”

Lorcan’s face softened and she watched as a steady resolve found its way across his face and through his body. They took a breath together and he pulled her into a hug and kissed her forehead gently. When he pulled away, he had a small smile reserved only for her. “Okay.”

“Okay,” she repeated, her arms still wrapped around him.

“Okay.”

“Okay!”

“Okay!” he laughed, and this time it wasn’t fear clouding the sound, but joy.

“It looks like we're about ready over here.” the doctor called, and Elide and Lorcan walked back towards Asterin.

When another cry sounded, the doctor lifted the second baby, declaring, “It’s a girl.”

“A girl?” Lorcan asked quietly, a smile growing.

“Indeed.” The doctor replied, passing her to be cleaned up.

Spinning towards Elide, Lorcan said excitedly, “Well now we have two different ones!” then he whirled back to the doctor and put on his stoniest glare, “And that's enough!”

***

Lysandra, Aedion, Fenrys, and Rowan sat in the coffee house, Cadre Coffee, as Rowan told them what Aelin had said earlier.

“And then she hugged me and said it was the perfect way to say goodbye.” Even repeating it now, felt like chewing on broken glass.

“What did you say?” Fenrys pried.

Rowan sputtered, “Nothing. What do you say to that?” What could he say to that?

“Rowan,” Lysandra pleaded, “you've got to tell her how you feel.”

“I can’t do that to her.” He sighed, defeated. “I can’t lay that on her right before she’s supposed to leave.”

“Rowan,” Aedion leaned forward, making sure he held the silver-haired man’s attention, “Aelin doesn't know that you wanna get back together. If she did, she might feel differently. She might not even go.”

“You really think so?” he asked, trying not to sound too hopeful.

Just then, Aelin breezed into the coffee shop.

“Hi, guys!” She waved before walking up the counter.

Rowan watched her a moment. “Alright, you know what? You're right. I should at least tell her how I feel.” He could do that. He had to do that.

"Rowan, wait!" Fenrys called from behind him.

Rowan spun around, "What?"

Fenrys grinned, "Can you get me a muffin?"

Rowan gave him a one-finger response and took a step towards Aelin.

“Aelin?” Nox, the barista who’d worked at the coffee house for as long as any of them could remember, got her attention.

“Yeah?”

“I know you’re leaving tonight, but I just have to tell you. I love you.”

Rowan stood frozen in place, mouth open, as he watched the scene unfold.

“I... I don't know if that changes your plans at all, but I thought you should know.” Nox nodded earnestly.

“Nox, Oh,” She placed a hand on his shoulder, “I love you too. Probably not in the same way, but I do. And, and when I'm in a café, having coffee, I'll think of you.” She kissed his cheek before waving towards the group and leaving the coffee house.

Rowan sat down, meeting the shocked gazes of his friends. “Oh, my gods!”

Lysandra snorted, “Unbelievable!”

"Hey," Fenrys leaned forward, "you know what might help?"

Rowan glared at him and scoffed, "I'm not getting you a muffin!"

***

“We're going to take Asterin to recovery now.” The nurse told Elide and Lorcan as they each held one of their babies.

“Oh wait,” Elide caught Asterin’s hand, “There's something that we want to tell you. We decided to name the girl-baby Asterin.”

She smiled, “Oh, that’s just like my name!”

Elide held in a laugh. It was clear Asterin was either still on some medications or just very, very tired.

“Okay,” the blonde woman said, “I'm gonna go and get some rest. I'm really glad I picked you guys. You're gonna make great parents. Even Lorcan.”

Despite his eye roll, Elide saw the pride and gratitude in Lorcan’s eyes.

“Bye, Asterin.” Elide called as she was pushed out of the delivery room.

“Bye.”

Moving closer to Lorcan, Elide cooed, “Oh look at all their teeny fingers and toes.”

“I know,” he smiled widely, making him look younger, “You ready to trade?”

“Okay!” They tried maneuvering a few different ways but eventually gave up. Switching babies when you only have two hands is not an easy feat. “Alright, let’s see…”

“Maybe later?” he suggested.

“Perfect.”

***

At Elide and Lorcan’s apartment, Lysandra found Fenrys hunched over the coffee table.

“Hey, what are you working on?” She asked, walking into the living room.

He grinned, “It’s a ‘Welcome Home’ sign for the baby.” He held up the large sign which read Welcome Home Baby in red paint beside a funky-shaped red blob.

“Uh,” Lysandra squinted, “Is that supposed to be the baby?”

Fenrys rubbed the back of his neck, looking sheepish. “No, I sat in the paint.”

She snorted just as Rowan walked in.

“Hey,” He nodded at them.

“Hey, so did you talk to Aelin?” Lysandra asked.

Rowan ran his hand through his hair and sighed, “No, and I'm not going to.”

“What?” Lysandra asked incredulously at the same time Fenrys jumped up and asked, “Why not?”

Rowan dropped into a seat at the kitchen table. “Because she's just going to shoot me down. You guys saw what happened with Nox.”

Lysandra scoffed and lightly hit him upside the head. “How can you compare yourself to Nox? I mean, sure, he's sexy in a more obvious way.” She smirked as Rowan glared. “You have a relationship with her, you slept together last night. For gods’ sake, you’re Rowan and Aelin! You’re Rowaelin!”

Rowan huffed, standing up, and told her harshly, “Yeah, and she still wants to go! It's pretty clear where her head is at.” He sighed, shoulders slumping. “Look, even if I were going to tell her, I don't have to do it now. Okay? I'll be seeing her again. We've got time.”

“Gods, Rowan!” Lysandra tried to make him see reason. “No, you don't! She's going to Paris! She is going to meet somebody. Do you know how many hot guys there are in Paris?”

The door opened before Rowan could get another word in and Aedion strode in carrying a rolled-up paper.

“Hey,” He said as he walked over to Lysandra to kiss her before setting the paper on the table.

“Hey, babe,” Lysandra smiled. “Whatcha got?”

“Oh,” Aedion brightened and unrolled the piece of paper. “I made a little something. If I had more time to work on it, it'd be better, but.” He shrugged, revealing a precisely drawn sign reading Welcome to the World, Baby Lochan.

“Damn, Ashryver,” Rowan nodded appreciatively “that’s really good.”

Fenrys scoffed, still standing next to his sign, and rolled his eyes, grumbling, “You know, the baby can't read, Aedion.”

Lysandra laughed as Aelin opened the door and strode in.

“Hi. You guys, my car just got here,” she said dejectedly. “I can't believe they're not home yet! I have to catch my stupid plane. I wanna see the baby!”

Fenrys spoke up, “Elide called a few minutes ago from the car. She said they should be here any minute. And apparently, there's some big surprise?”

As if on cue, Elide carefully pushed the door open and stepped inside carrying a small baby.

Aelin couldn’t hold in her gasp and none of them tried to hide the misting in their eyes.

“Oh, my gods!” Aelin beamed as she walked to Elide, resting a hand on her shoulder.

“Oh, El!” Lysandra gushed, rushing forward.

“So tiny,” Rowan murmured, coming up next to Elide as Fernys and Aedion joined the small group, too.

They turned as they heard another set of footsteps enter, turning to see Lorcan walk in carrying his own small bundle.

“Oh!”

“What the—”

“What?”

“Oh, my gods!”

“Holy sh—”

Five different exclamations happened simultaneously as all their eyes darted between the two babies.

Rowan shook himself and clasped Lorcan on the shoulder, “Okay, awkward question. The hospital knows you took two, right?”

Lorcan glared at Rowan but neither man could keep the grins off their faces as they looked down at the infants.

“Yes, Whitethorn, it’s twins.”

“They’re precious,” Lysandra cooed, making funny faces at the one in Elide’s arms. Aelin, having said hello to that baby, stepped next to Rowan to gaze down at the one Lorcan held.

“This is a boy,” Elide told them, gesturing to the one she held. “And that’s a girl,” she nodded to Lorcan’s.

“Her name is Asterin,” Lorcan told them, not looking away from his daughter’s face.

“Oh, hey, that pregnant lady’s name was Asterin.” Fenrys nodded.

Aedion snorted, “It’s a shame you two didn’t spend more time together.”

Aelin aww’d and patted Lorcan’s arm, the two of them sharing a rare, warm smile.

“The boy we named Cal, after my dad.”

“Oh, you guys,” Aelin whined, “I can't believe this. But I have to leave now, or I'm gonna miss my plane."

“I’m just so glad you got to meet them,” Elide said, watery, pulling Aelin into a hug.

“Me, too,” Aelin told her. “I'm just sorry I'm not gonna be around to watch you two attempt to handle this! Alright, I can't say goodbye to you guys again. I love you all so much.”

I love yous were exchanged and Aelin walked to the door.

“Rowan?” She caught his eye, “come here.”

He nodded and followed her into the hall, shutting the apartment door behind him.

“Rowan, I,” She paused, grabbing his hands and looking into his face with such genuine sadness it made his heart crack and made him want to pull her into his arms and not let go. She took a breath and continued, “I just want you to know, last night...I'll never forget it.”

He cleared his throat, willing the lump in it to disappear. “Neither will I.”

He cupped her cheek and she leaned into the touch. Aelin pulled him in for a hug, holding on tight. When she pulled away, Rowan used every ounce of strength to unwrap his arms from her body, to step away as she walked down the hall and away from him.

When Rowan walked back into the apartment, Lysandra sat next to him and asked, “So, you just let her go?”

Rowan couldn’t reply, he just replayed the last two days over in his head.

“Maybe that's for the best.” Fenrys chimed in, taking up the empty chair. “You know? You just... Look, you gotta... You gotta think about last night the way she does, okay? Maybe sleeping together was the perfect way to say goodbye?"

Lysandra groaned, “But now she'll never know how he feels!”

Aedion walked over and said not unkindly, “Maybe that's okay. You know? Maybe, maybe it’s better this way? I mean, now you can move on. I mean, you've been trying to for so long, maybe now that you're on different continents…”

They kept talking but all Rowan could hear was a buzzing in his head.

“I don’t want to move on.”

He said it quietly but they all stopped talking and looked at him.

“What?” Aedion asked, unsure he heard Rowan correctly.

“I don’t.” Rowan shook his head and stood up. “I want to be with her.”

“Really?” Fenrys asked, excitedly

“Of course really!” Lysandra answered for him.

Rowan kept nodding. “Yeah, I’m gonna go after her. I have to.”

“Yeah, you are!” Lorcan cheered from the living room. Rowan didn’t even have time to find his friend’s enthusiasm funny.

“Finally!” Elide added her own cheer, smiling between Rowan and the babies.

“Come on,” Lysandra urged, standing up and following Rowan to the door. “My car’s downstairs, I’ll drive you to the airport.”

“Okay!” Rowan faced his friends again, “wish me luck!”

A chorus of Good Lucks followed him out the door.

***

“Hey,” Fenrys called excitedly to Lorcan and Eide once Rowan and Lysandra had left, “can I give you guys your house-warming present now?”

The couple shared an amused look before Elide told him, “Now, that you can do.”

“Great! Hang on a minute.” Fenrys left their apartment to walk across the hall to his.

“Okay, my little feather babies where are you?” he muttered as he caught sight of the empty box he’d put them in earlier. “Oh shit.”

He hastily looked in the kitchen, living room, and bedrooms. “Chick Jr? Duck Jr?” he called, running a hand through his hair anxiously. “Don’t hide from mama!”

***

“Lysandra, slow down!” Rowan urged as they almost took out a bicyclist.

She rolled her eyes, “Do you wanna get to Aelin in time?

“Of course I do, but I want to be alive to do it.”

Lysandra huffed at his dramatics but eased up on the gas. Slightly.

Finally arriving at the airport, Rowan and Lysandra rushed past the hoards of people, trying to maneuver their way towards Aelin.

“Rowan!” Lysandra called as he made to run down the hallway. “Where are you going?”

“To talk to Aelin.” Obviously.

“What?” She grabbed his arm, pulling him towards the ticket counter. “What, are you just gonna walk up to her at the gate? Have you never chased anyone through the airport before?”

“Not since the last time I chased the love of my life—no I haven’t Lys!”

She rolled her eyes as she kept dragging him away from the terminals. “You have to get a ticket to get past security, Idiot.”

Oh, right.

“Shit, we’re never gonna make it.” he hissed as they got caught behind the human embodiments of snails on their way to the counter.

***

“Miss, your boarding pass, please.” The gate attendant asked Aelin as she approached.

“Right, of course.” She dug through her purse then frowned, not seeing it. Flashing an apologetic smile to the people behind her, she took her purse off her shoulder and rummaged through it frantically. “Shit, shit, shit.”

The attendant cleared his throat. “Your boarding pass.”

Internally cringing, she put on her most charming smile. “You know, I had it,” she forced a chuckle, “Oh, you wouldn’t believe this—”

He looked unimpressed. “Miss, if you don't have your boarding pass—”

“I have it, I have it! Okay, I don’t have it, but I remember that I was in seat 32C,” she leaned in closer and winked, “because that’s my bra size.”

He sighed again. “Miss, you must have your boarding pass.”

Aelin huffed and stepped out of the line. “Okay, fine! But you know what? If I was in 36D, we would not be having this problem.”

Muttering to herself, Aelin scoured all her bags, finally brandishing the ticket and rushing back to the counter. “Here it is!”

***

Finally getting up to the ticket counter, Rowan slammed down his wallet, demanding, “I need a ticket.”

Lysandra pouted. “Just one? I drive you all the way down here, and I don't get to see how it works out?”

“Fine, fine,” he corrected irritatedly, “two tickets, I need two tickets.”

Lysandra sighed dramatically and leaned into Rowan, giving him her most overexaggerated doe-eyes. “We're on our honeymoon” she stage-whispered to the woman behind the computer.

The ticket agent merely raised a manicured brow and asked, “Destination?”

Rowan already had his credit card ready, “whatever’s cheapest.”

Lysandra sighed again, “I’m so lucky.”

Rowan leveled a glare at her and she tried not to laugh.

Once inside the terminal, Rowan sprinted toward the first departure timetable he could find. “Okay, flight 421 to Paris. I don't see it, do you see it?”

Lysandra stood next to him, eyes scanning the board. “No, did we miss it?”

“No, no, no. That's impossible,” Rowan told her. “It doesn't leave for another 20 minutes.”

“Maybe we have the flight number wrong? Hang on, let me call Elide.”

She stepped aside, impatiently waiting for Elide to pick up her phone.

“Hello?” the new mom answered.

“Hey! It’s me. Here’s Rowan.” Then she thrust the phone into Rowan’s hand.

“Elide, do you—”

“Oh, my gods, Rowan, wait until you hear the cute little noises the twins are making. Listen.”

“What? No, Elide.” Rowan cursed as he heard unintelligible baby sounds. “Elide, Elide, Elide, Elide—”

“Oh sorry,” she said, “They were doing it before.”

“Elide! Listen, please. I need Aelin’s flight information.”

“Oh, sure, hang on.” he could hear ruffling paper as he paced back and forth. “Here it is, it's flight 421. Leaves at 8:40.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought, its not on the board.

“Flight 421,” Elide repeated, “leaves at 8:40, Newark airport.”

Rowan froze, his heart sinking. “What?”

“Newark airport.” Elide gasped. “Where are you?”

But she already knew the answer.

“JFK.” he breathed, utterly defeated.

***

If Rowan wasn’t so upset, he would be fearing for his life as Lysandra sped through the streets at breakneck speed.

“Lysandra, forget it, okay? Newark is like an hour away. There's no way we're gonna make it in time.”

“She’s got her phone,” Lysandra braved a glance at him, narrowly avoiding another car, "you could call her.”

Rowan scoffed, “I am not doing this over the phone.”

“You don’t have any other choice!” She insisted before reaching for her own phone and calling Aelin.

It rang once. Twice.

“Hello? Lys?” Aelin’s voice rings out from the speaker and it was like a tether Rowan desperately wanted to hold onto.

“Aelin?” Lysandra answered, relieved. “oh, good. Hey, by the way, did you just get on the plane?”

“Yeah, I did.”

Leaning over, Lysandra hissed, “For what it's worth, we would have caught her if we were at the right airport.”

“Fan-fucking-tastic.” Rowan sniped.

“Uh, Ae, hang on,” she tried pushing the phone into Rowan’s hand but he adamantly refused to do this without being able to look Aelin in the eye.

“Lys? Is everything okay?” Aelin asked, worriedly.

Glaring at Rowan, Lysandra struggled to find a reason for calling. “Uhm, actually no. No, you've...you have to get off the plane.”

“What? Why?” Aelin sounded bewildered.

“I just,” Lysandra sighed, shooting another glare at Rowan, “I have this feeling that something's wrong with it. Something is wrong with the, uh,” she paused again before snapping her fingers and declaring, “with the left phalange.”

“Lys, babe, I'm sure there's nothing wrong with the plane. Look, I have to go. I love you, and I will call you the minute I get to Paris.”

***

On the plane, Aelin hung up the phone only to feel the man beside her tap insistently on her shoulder.

“What was that?” he asked, looking anxious.

“Oh,” Aelin waved a hand dismissively, “that was just my friend. She told me I should get off the plane because she had a feeling that there was something wrong with the left phalange.” She chuckled, sure it was just Lysandra’s way of finding an excuse to talk to her again before the flight took off.

But the man started to fidget. “Okay, that doesn't sound good.”

“I wouldn't worry about it.” Aelin again waved him off, “She's always coming up with stuff like this, and you know what? She's almost never right.”

“But she is sometimes?”

“Well…” Aelin trailed off, thinking about all the things Lysandra has had an intuition about.

Her hesitation was apparently enough to send her seatmate into a tail-spin because he instantly got up and tried to grab his suitcase, only for the flight attendant to stop him.

“Excuse me, sir, where are you going?” The woman asked, curtly.

“I have to get off this plane, okay?” he insisted, then gestured towards a wide-eyed Aelin. “Her friend has a feeling something's wrong with the left phalange.”

He said it loud enough that other passengers began to panic, while Aelin sheepishly shrugged at the annoyed flight attendant.

“There is nothing wrong with the plane, sir.”

He finally got his bag down and cried, “The left phalange!”

The attendant looked incredulously between the man and Aelin, “There is no phalange.”

“Oh my God. This plane doesn't even have a phalange!”

Aelin watched, wincing, as more passengers overheard and insisted they, too, get off the plane. Person after person marched out the aisle and soon Aelin loosed a long breath, “This is ridiculous,” she watched another two people leave. “Yeah, okay.”

Grabbing her own bag, she followed the crowd off the plane.

***

Rowan doubted he’d ever felt as frantic or desperate as he did right now.

He and Lysandra finally made it to Newark, bought another ticket, and raced to Aelin’s gate.

“Where is she?” He muttered, almost pulling out his hair with how forcefully he raked his hands through it.

“I don't see her,” Lysandra answered.

“Aelin!” Rowan shouted, not caring about the stares he garnered. “Aelin Galthynius!”

“Oh!” Lysandra gasped, pointing towards a crowd, “There she is!”

“Aelin!” He yelled again, pushing past people as he tried to run onto the boarding gate.

“Woah,” the gate attendant stopped Rowan, “excuse me, sir, do you have a boarding pass?”

“I just need to talk to someone,” he pleaded.

“I’m sorry, you cannot go any further without a boarding pass.”

“Gods, please, I just need—”

“AELIN!” Lysandra shrieked, getting everyone’s attention including a specific blonde who rushed back out the gate and stood gaping at Lysandra and Rowan.

“Oh my gods,” she looked back and forth between the two before her gaze locked and held with Rowan’s as she breathed, “What—what are you guys doing here?”

“All you,” Lysandra nudged Rowan then made herself scarce

“What? What is it?” Aelin demanded, pulling Rowan aside, “Rowan, you're scaring me. What's going on?”

“Aelin,” Rowan didn’t know where to start. “Okay, the thing is,” he trailed off again. How could he tell that he loved her? How could he wrap up ten years—more than that—of falling in love with her, even at times when he didn’t know it. How could he explain that to her?

“Rowan?”

He took a deep breath. “Don’t go.”

“What?” Aelin asked, shocked.

“Aelin, please, don’t leave. I am so gods damn in love with you. Please, don’t go.”

Aelin stood open-mouthed, her eyes shimmering with an emotion he didn’t dare name. “Oh, my gods.”

He groaned, “I know, I know. I’m an idiot and a bastard, and any other name you want to call me. I shouldn't have waited until now to say it, Hellas, I shouldn’t have waited until now to realize it, but,” he shook his head, locking his gaze with hers. “That was stupid, okay? I'm sorry, I’m so sorry, but I'm telling you now. I love you. I’m in love with you. Please, do not get on this plane.”

“Miss?” a throat cleared behind them, making Aelin blink and drag her watery eyes away from his. “Are you boarding the plane?”

“Aelin,” Rowan took her hand, urging her to stay, “Aelin, please. I know you love me, too. I know you do. Don’t go. Stay.”

“I,” Aelin looked between Rowan and the gate attendant with shock and regret etched across her face. “I have to get the plane,” she whispered.

“No, you don’t.” Rowan held tightly to her hand.

“Yes, I do.” despite her protests, she didn’t pull her hand away.

“No,” Rowan stepped closer, cupping her cheek and reveling in the fact that she leaned into his touch. “You don’t.”

“Rowan,” her words barely louder than a breath, “They're waiting for me, I can't do this right now, I'm sorry. I'm sorry.”

He couldn’t understand what was happening. Rowan couldn’t accept that she was walking away.

“Aelin.” he pleaded, one final time.

She took a shuddering breath. “I’m so sorry.”

Rowan stood unmoving, felt his breathing freeze and his heart cease beating if just for a moment as he watched Aelin walk away from him and board the plane.

He wasn’t aware of people moving around him or of Lysandra coming to stand next to him before pulling him into a hug murmuring I’m sorry. He wasn’t aware of his surroundings as he walked towards Lysandra’s car or his walk back to his apartment. All he knew was that he’d just watched the love of his life walk away and there would soon be an ocean between them.

***

Lorcan sealed the last box of his and Elide’s things.

“Wow,” Elide sighed, looking around the bare apartment. “Everything’s packed.”

“It’s weird,” Lorcan replied, looking around the space he and their friends had occupied for so many years.

“I know.” She stood on her toes and he leaned down to meet her for a kiss.

“So, uh,” Fenrys spoke up from the kitchen, “does this mean there's nothing to eat?”

Elide snorted while Lorcam tried his best to reign in his smirk. Turning, Elide told him, “I put three lasagnas in your freezer.”

He beamed, “I love you!”

She chuckled as the door opened and Lysandra walked in.

“How’d it go?” Elide asked

“So did you guys make it in time?” Aedion spoke at the same time from his place against the fridge.

“Yeah,” Lysandra sighed, “Yeah, he talked to her, but she got on the plane anyway.”

“Where’s Rowan?” Lorcan asked her, knowing Rowan would be hiding away, brooding.

“He went home,” Lysandra frowned and leaned into Aedion’s embrace. “He didn't want to see anybody.”

***

Sitting on his couch, Rowan noticed his answering machine beeping. More out of muscle memory than an actual urge to listen, he pressed the button.

“Rowan, It’s me.”

Rowan jolted, a mess of emotion flying through him as he listened to Aelin's voice filter through his machine.

“I just got back on the plane. I feel awful. Gods, Rowan, that was so not how I wanted things to end with us.”

End. Rowan braced himself, he had to get through this message.

“It's just that I wasn't expecting to see you, and all of a sudden you're there and saying these things...and now I’m sitting here thinking of everything I should’ve said that I didn’t.”

Rowan heard her take a shuddering breath.

“I didn't even get to tell you that I love you too.”

His breath caught, and hope filled him for the first time since he’d been standing in front of her.

“Because of course, I do. I love you. I love you. Gods, Rowan, I love you.”

He held his breath, he almost couldn’t wrap his brain around what he was hearing, what he’d longed to hear.

“What am I doing? I love you! I need to get off this plane—”

“Oh my gods,” Rowan listened, wide-eyed as he heard Aelin argue with a flight attendant.

“Excuse me? I’m sorry, I’m really sorry, but I need to get off this plane, okay? I need to tell Rowan I love him.”

“Miss, can't let you off the plane.”

“Let her off the plane!” Rowan screamed at his machine.

“Oh, please, you don’t understand. Isn’t there any way you can just let me off—”

Beeeeep.

The message ended and Rowan was left sitting on the edge of his sofa staring disbelievingly at his answering machine.

“No!” He jumped up, carding a hand through his hair, “No! Aelin! Oh, my gods, did she get off the plane?”

“I got off the plane.”

Rowan whirled around so fast he thought his neck might snap. Aelin stood in his doorway, suitcase in hand, staring at him with a watery smile and eyes that blazed with surety.

“You got off the plane.” Rowan breathed and strode towards her, holding her face in his hands as she grabbed his arms, each clinging to the other, not able to let the other go.

Rowan wasn’t sure who moved first, but the next moment he was kissing Aelin, It was as if all the years of pining, love, heartbreak, and friendship, barreled through them and into a kiss full of promise. All the mistakes of the past, all the time wasted, was over. Now, they could finally be Rowan and Aelin. Finally.

When they pulled apart, still unable to let the other go, Aelin leaned her forehead against his and told him, “I do. I do love you.”

Rowan brushed a tear from her cheek and smiled down with all the warmth he could gather. “I love you too, Fireheart. And I’m never letting you go, again.”

“Good," She nodded, gripping him tighter, “because this is where I want to be, okay? With you. Always with you. No more messing around.”

“That’s right,” he agreed, “we’re done being stupid.”

Aelin kissed him again. “You and me, alright?” She looked him in the eye and saw everything she felt mirrored there. “To whatever end.”

“This is it. To whatever end” He echoed, pulling her in for another kiss.

***

The seven of them stood in the now-empty living room of Elide and Lorcan’s apartment. The new parents each held a baby, Fenrys sat with Lysandra and Aedion near the large window, and Aelin leaned into Rowan who had his arms wrapped around her as they stood to the side.

“Wow,” Aelin murmured, looking around the bare space.

“I know,” Rowan said into her hair, “It seems smaller somehow.”

Fenrys glanced at the walls a minute before asking, “Has it always been purple?” His answer consisted of several snorts.

Lorcan and Elide strapped Asterin and Cal into their stroller. Elide sniffed, facing everyone else, “Oh, uh, I promised the landlord we’d leave our keys.”

She said it to Lorcan, but each of them walked toward the counter to place their own keys. Elide laughed, looking at seven pairs of keys to a two-person apartment.

“I guess this is it,” Lysandra commented mournfully.

“Yeah,” Aedion wrapped an arm around her shoulders, “I guess so.”

At Elide’s sniffle, Lorcan pulled her into his arms. Through the fabric of his shirt, they could hear her say, “This is harder than I thought it would be.”

Gathering herself, Elide unwrapped her arms from Lorcan’s middle before turning to hug Aelin who’d come to stand next to her.

“Do you guys have to go to the new house right away?” Aelin asked, “Or do you have some time?”

“We have some time.”

“Okay,” Rowan grabbed Aelin’s hand, “should we get some coffee?”

“Sure,” Fenrys smirked. “Where?”

They all laughed as they walked out of the apartment that had become so important to each one of them. Aedion helped Lorcan carry the double stroller down the stairs, followed closely by Elide. Lysandra and Fenrys were bickering, but smiling as they walked. And Rowan and Aelin had their arms wrapped around each other, not daring or wanting to let the other one go. They shared a smile, and with one last glance at the closed apartment door, they left.

*****

Taglist:

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77 notes · View notes

stray-kids-react · 3 years

Text

02 liner aussie girl joining the group

Masterlist

...

Bang Chan

° Sees you as a little sister, and will baby you nonstop for that reason alone. Expect very long hugs and him trying to beg you for some affection.

° Let Felix take charge in helping you around JYP, watching from afar like a proud father. Even if you aren't much younger than the members, he can't help but become a giddy mess when you literally do anything.

° Since he sees you as a little sister, that also means he is very protective over you. Not even Minho can tease you for too long without Chan becoming a bit tense. He just doesn't want you to ever feel uncomfortable.

° Does many vlives with you, chatting about your life and what parts of Australia you grew up in. Whenever he is introducing you or if you call him during a vlive, he'll call you little sissy.

° Many stays have made edits of Chan babying you or treating you like a literal angel, you both have watched edits like these and neither of you can deny that he doesn't do either of those things.

"My little sissy y/n did great today in our dance practice, isn't that right sissy?" he asked, sitting you on his lap.

"Yeah, Minho Oppa helped me learn quite a bit. But I couldn't have succeeded it without my personal cheerleader Chris." You replied.

Lee Know

° Doesn't make a huge deal out of it, is honestly just really happy to have a new member. He doesn't care that your a girl or a fellow aussie, just sees you as a member.

° If you are ever struggling with Korean he'll do his best to try and help you, even if it is only on small thing such as the way you pronounce words. He admits to finding your struggles pretty adorable.

° Even though he is a huge tease, he'll go easy on you for the first two months. Letting you get settled in and get use to the chaotic behavior of all of them. But after those months pass, he'll start to tease.

° Minho likes to challenge you to dance battles during practice, seeing if you will ever beat him on one. But luckily whenever Snsd comes on you are in your element, showing him the true Gee master.

° Minho has a soft spot fro you due toy your age, he won't tease you too harshly and won't get mad if you don't remember one of his cat's names. All of the members notice his new soft spot for you.

"So I know Soonie, Doongie... And?" you sighed, trying to remember the third cat of Minho's.

"Dori, it's okay. At least you remembered two of them." He reassured, Felix looking at him with shock from across the room.

Changbin

°When he heard that you would be joining the group, he hoped that you wouldn't make fun of him as much as the other members. And if you did, it wouldn't be too harsh.

° Appreciated that you weren't teasing him 24/7, and if you are shorter than him then he would be very smiley and giddy for days. Changbin likes your company and would often want to hang around you.

° Buys you coffee/tea every morning, and only you (occasionally Felix). And when the members ask, he explains that you earned your coffee/tea by not teasing him. Even if they haven't teased him for days.

° You are his favorite member, even if he won't admit it... Everyone knows it. You are his best friend and he doesn't want that relationship to change. Unlike the fan's pov, he sees you only as a best friend.

° Whenever he does a vlive with you, your ship name is all over the chat. Neither of you speak out about it, but both of you don't like each other in that way. And it makes situations awkward when they ship you two.

"I can't believe we're a ship, that is so weird to me." You chuckled, scrolling through Instagram on your phone.

"I know right! I don't get why a girl and a guy can't be friends without people shipping them." He sighed, clearly frustrated.

Hyunjin

° Becomes putty in your hands, he just finds everything about you adorable. It also doesn't help that you are Australian, which he happens to have an interest in.

° He wouldn't describe his feelings towards you as a crush, more as a little sister and der brother relationship. He would feel weird if you ever developed something for him, since he is too close to you to be a couple.

° Very clingy towards you, constantly draping himself across you. Or sitting you on his lap when you are worn out from practice, he often let's you take naps on him. He also treats you to sweets, even when on diets.

° Hyunjin once got frustrated over how JYP was treating you, giving you an extreme diet even though you were already working hard enough. So he'd reassure you that him and Chan would talk with JYP about it.

° Hyunjin can be seen copying your accent, whether it be for fun or just to tease you. He'll copy or pick up on your accent, many fan's hearts melting at his determination to be part of the aussie line.

"I shouldn't be having this cupcake." You sighed, placing the cupcake you've been eyeing for the past few minutes.

"Screw JYP, eat what you want. You are your own person and shouldn't listen to some old man." He defended, passing the cupcake.

Han

° Was the first member you met, even though it was by total accident. You both ran into each other when he was leaving the building and you were entering.

° You dropped the coffee all onto yourself in shock, making him chuckle as he tried to help you clean yourself up. He helped you into JYP, having no clue that you are going to be the new member joining.

° When Chan introduced you to the members the next day, Han was shocked. He was surprised to see a familiar face, but was also pleased knowing you seemed to be quite a sweet and charming person.

° You both are the stars whenever on reality shows together, many seeing you both as a chaotic duo. Doni and Coni once tried to correct you, telling you that women shouldn't be so hyper. Han got pissed.

° Not only did Han correct them on their manners, but also told them that a man shouldn't tell a woman what to do. Many fans and netizens applauded him for protecting his new and sweet Maknae.

"I swear those guys get on my nerves sometimes, don't listen to them." He sighed, patting your head softly.

"It's okay Hannie, I'm glad that I have some older brothers to stand up for me." You reassured, melting his heart.

Felix

° You are nervous to be around Felix, not because he's intimidating or harsh. But because he is so nice and angelic, and you don't want to develop a crush on a member.

° Even if you don't see him in that light at first, it will happen eventually because he has such an addicting energy that surround him. Felix is a sunshine, and it isn't hard to see why everyone loves him.

° Felix wants to make you feel as comfortable as possible, usually being the member picking up pads/tampons for you. He secretly develops a small crush on you, but he knows it would end up bad.

° You both would be worried about it ending bad due to the popularity of the band, Felix's popularity, your new career, and JYP's strict rules. So both of you don't truly progress that side of your relationship.

° It could blossom into something more serious in the future, but for right now it is just a mutual crush that both of you must hide. Your friendship is still very strong nonetheless, and you appreciate that.

"Okay here's a hard question, Back Door or All In?" you asked, as the managers watched you both from behind the camera.

"Neither because you aren't in them." He answered, trying to play it off as playful more so than flirtatious.

Seungmin

° Seungmin is your dorm mate, who always manages to make your nights more calm. He reassures you every night that you are doing great, even if you don't believe him.

° You both wrote down a schedule for dishes, laundry, cooking ect. The only exceptions to it is having a terrible day, birthday, or being sick. Either than that then you must follow the schedule stuck into the fridge.

° You both have derpy photos of each other as your wallpapers, both being taken when both of you just woke up. Seungmin can't help but giggle silently whenever he opens up his phone, looking at your bed head.

° Seungmin helps you out with waking up, letting you get use to the schedule of being an idol. Taking as many pillows to the face as he needs to for you to finally wake up, Once getting feathers in his hair due to it.

° Many think you both knew each other before you became a member, but you both explained that you just understand each other well and clicked when you met. Neither of you grew up together.

"Is today you dish day or mine?" he asked, bottle of soap already in his hand ready to begin cleaning.

"Mine, but I had a terrible day today. JYP critiqued everything about me." You huffed, getting a soft hug from Seungmin.

Jeongin

° Is glad he won't be babied as much since he isn't the maknae anymore, but will miss the benefits of being able to aegyo your way out of responsibilities.

° All of the members call you the babies or the baby line, even if either of you ar taller than some of them. Jeongin is also appreciative that he now has someone to relate to with being a babied quite often.

° He'll still call you noona just to get under your skin, but you honestly don't mind being called noona or unnie. Especially since some stays are younger than you, but you can become playfully annoyed at times.

° Jeongin will warm up to you very fast and treat you like a sister, he'll spoil you with stuffies and share his food with you every meal. Even though mama gets scold him for it, he doesn't care and continues to do it.

° Chan will cover both of your eyes when the members do something sexy, even if you kind of want to see it (mostly to tease them). But you understand why, since both fo you will get flustered by it easily.

"Y/n noona likes to steal my food sometimes." Jeongin admitted to fans, smiling at your playful glare.

"You share your food and insist I eat it Jeongin Oppa." You defend, watching the fans respond to the situation.

#stray kids #kpop #changbin #skz scenarios #stray kids reactions #han jisung #hyunjin #jeongin #lee know #bang chan #felix skz #skz seungmin #skz requests #skz reactions

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worksby-d · 4 years

Text

A Great Mentor: They’ll Come Around

A One Shot

Summary: Being with Andy for the better part of a year now, you decide it’s time to tell your parents.

Pairing: Andy Barber x Reader

Warnings: Age gap relationship, upset parents

Word count: ~1700

a/n: You can find the rest of this series by checking out my masterlist :)

Dividers by @royallyprincesslilly 💖

Just barely opening his eyes, Andy has to squint, eyes too sensitive from sleep for the glow of your phone in the dark room.

“Y/N?” he asks quietly, reaching to put his arm around your waist so he can pull himself closer to you. “What are you still awake for?”

Putting your phone face down on the bed, complete darkness taking its place, you sigh. “Am I a bad daughter?”

“Hey…” You feel him shake his head before pressing a soft kiss to your neck. “What’s going on?”

“I feel guilty, Andy,” you explain. “I told my parents I wasn’t coming home until tomorrow… but I’m here now… with you. God, they literally live like five minutes away from here.” He stays silent, letting you talk about it.

It’s your spring break, but you wanted to see Andy before spending the week with your parents, so you told them you wouldn’t be home until Saturday, saying you wanted to spend your Friday night with some school friends before being gone a week.

“I don’t want to have to lie to them anymore. I want to spend time with you without lying about it, or worrying if they’re going to find out,” you go on. “I think I just have to finally tell them tomorrow.”

“It’s up to you, angel.”

Half of you hoped he’d talk you out of it. Damn him for being so supportive. You roll over to face him, tucking your head under his chin, listening to his heart beat for a moment.

“They’re gonna kill me,” you chuckle nervously.

His chest rumbles as he laughs at you. “They're not gonna kill you,” he assures. “They’re gonna kill me.”

“Oh good,” you exhale, feigning relief. “That makes me feel so much better.”

“Relax,” he urges, continuing to laugh. “They’re not gonna kill anybody, sweetheart,” he tries to assure you, gently rubbing your back. “By the way, I think sleep will make you feel better.”

You roll your eyes, but you know he’s right. There’s no use in worrying about it right now, so you let out one more deep sigh and let his comforting touch lull you to sleep.

In the morning, you wake up to the bed empty. Feeling the space where Andy should be, it’s cold, so you figure he’s been up for a while.

Before you have the chance to check the time, he walks in carrying a plate and a glass of water.

“Well if it isn’t Miss Sleeping Beauty herself,” he teases, putting the food on the table next to the bed. He’s giving you a quick kiss before you can retort. “Good morning,” he greets you more seriously, sitting next to you, leaning to peck your lips one more time. “Or afternoon, I guess.”

Sure enough, the clock tells you it’s 11:34 a.m. when you finally look at it. You just groan, rubbing your hands over your eyes. “Sorry.”

“Hey, you’re on break, you’re allowed to sleep in,” he chuckles. “I brought you some sustenance, though. I’ve seen what you call ‘breakfast’ when you’re at school, and I don’t know how you survive, so thought I’d make something good for you.”

“Excuse you,” you scoff. “I cook fine breakfasts.”

“I wouldn’t consider a bowl of cereal with a cup of sugar on top a cooked breakfast.”

“Ass,” you chuckle. “Well, thanks. I appreciate it.”

He sits in bed with you while you eat, getting some residual work stuff done since he quit early yesterday to be with you all evening.

“So what time do you have to be to your parents’ place?” he inquires, breaking the calm silence.

“Um, just sometime before dinner, I suppose,” you shrug.

He looks up from his laptop and over to you, giving you a sympathetic look. He can sense your nerves, the same ones that were keeping you up last night. “It’s gonna be fine,” he smiles, putting his hand on your knee.

You flash him a weak smile back. “Yeah,” you nod, honestly trying to convince yourself more than him. “Yeah, of course.”

You lounge around with Andy for a few hours before deciding it’s now or never. He gently grabs your hand before you head out the door, pulling you against him tightly for a hug. “I’ll be here if you need me.”

You nod against his chest, savoring the feeling of his embrace. “Thanks,” you mumble and lift your head to kiss him. “I love you.”

You spend dinner with your parents internally debating when you should break the news, but you almost choke when Andy’s name is brought up, your dad saying something about him not talking to them as often as he used to.

Trying to seem indifferent, you just comment, “Huh, weird.” It works though, your parents promptly moving onto other things you’ve missed since you were home last.

Later, you're curled up on the couch, knees to your chest, sipping on a cup of coffee while your parents sit in their respective recliners on the other side of the room, reading the newspaper and scrolling through Facebook.

“So, I want to tell you guys something,” you speak up. Apparently you’re doing it now.

They both look up at you with raised eyebrows. “What did you do now, Y/N?” your mom teases.

“No, it’s nothing bad,” you laugh. “At least, I don't think.”

“I’m kidding sweetie, what is it?”

“Well,” you start, trying your hardest to suppress your smile, reminding yourself you have no idea how they're going to react. “I’m seeing someone.”

You've never been in a serious enough relationship to announce it to them before, so their interest is piqued instantly.

“About time,” your dad teases, and you roll your eyes.

“Someone you met at school?” your mom asks.

Getting closer to the part you're dreading, you stammer a bit. “Uh no, actually we’ve kind of been hanging out since last summer.”

They give each other a look, and you’re confused.

“We figured you were maybe seeing someone,” your mom explains. “You've seemed really happy the last couple months.”

You smile at that, but it doesn't last long when your dad chimes in. “We also figured there was no way you were actually spending that much time with Andy Barber last summer. Kind of thought it may have been a cover up,” he chuckles.

“That… wasn't a cover up,” you shake your head. “I was spending all that time with Andy Barber,” you pause, trying to gauge their thoughts, but they're just looking at you. “Because I’m talking about Andy.”

“You’re…” your mom tries to understand. “What?”

“I’m dating Andy,” you admit slowly, and watch your dad’s eyes widen.

“No you’re not,” he shakes his head. “No-”

“Dad,” you plead quietly, shaking your head.

“He’s my age, Y/N. What the hell are you talking about?”

You flinch as he raises his voice, and look toward your mom, but she's avoiding your gaze.

“What is- Is he your sugar daddy or something?” he continues his interrogation attempt. “Are you guys just screwing around? Dear God, he’s using my daughter for sex-”

“What? No,” you scoff. “What the hell? You guys told me yourselves you’ve noticed how happy I am. I love him.”

“You-” He stands up from his chair, not able to finish his sentence without pacing a few times. “You love him? You’re shitting me. I’m gonna kill that bastard.”

“Dad, stop,” you beg, teary eyed this time. “He's so good to me. He’s supportive. He tells me I’m beautiful-”

“Of course he does!” he cuts you off. “You're half his age!”

“Let me finish!” you yell back at him, even surprising yourself. You let out a deep breath attempting to calm yourself. “He's been there for me when no one else could be…”

“Have we not been there for you, honey?” Your mom finally joins back in. “What is it that we weren't there for?”

Of course you're talking about the pregnancy, but you know you can't tell them about that yet, or ever the way this is going. “I just mean law school stuff… He’s stayed up so many nights, talking to me on the phone, assuring me it's all gonna be okay. He just understands what I’m going through.”

A silence fills the room, neither of your parents knowing what to say next.

“I can't believe this,” your dad utters quietly. “No daughter of mine is ruining her life by being in a relationship with a man old enough to be her father.”

“Dad, wait-” Despite your plea, he's walking out of the room. “I'm not ruining my life,” you affirm, only to your mom now. “I’m sorry,” you whisper. “I can't stay here. Let me know when dad wants to talk to me again.”

As you gather your stuff, you ignore your mom’s apologies, not wanting her to be the one doing damage control for your dad. You tell her again to let you know when he wants to talk to you himself, and then you leave.

Andy’s expecting you when he hears his front door open. You texted him to let him know you need to stay with him.

“That bad?” he asks carefully when you walk straight to the kitchen and pour yourself a glass of wine.

Leaning against the counter, you close your eyes and sigh, pinching the bridge of your nose. “I wish they would trust me…” You finally look up at him. “My dad’s pissed. Said he's gonna kill you, by the way.”

Andy tips his head back laughing. “I expected as much. I’m sorry, baby.”

“I mean shit,” you continue. “I’m 23. I’m capable of making my own decisions. They’re the ones that raised me to think for myself and be confident with my choices… And now, my dad’s not talking to me because of who I decided to fall in love with.”

“Sweetheart, they love you. They just care about you and want to protect you,” he tries to justify, but you roll your eyes. “I would probably react the same way if my daughter told me she was with someone older.”

“Oh, come on, Andy,” you snap. “Whose side are you on?”

You push yourself off the counter to walk away, but he grabs your wrist. “Hey, hey, stop.” He wraps his arms around you, and some of the tension finally leaves your body as his hands stroke your back. “They'll come around.”

#chris evans #chris evans x reader #chris evans fanfic #andy barber fanfiction #chris evans fanfiction #andy barber x reader #chris evans imagine #chris evans drabble #chris evans x y/n #chris evans x you

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athenasbloodyspear · 3 years

Text

Don’t Make Me Beg Now Baby

CHAPTER ONE: EDGE OF DARKNESS

Hello fellow Greta Van Freaks. This is my very first Greta fic! I hope you enjoy.

MASTERLIST

Note: This fic contains mature themes, discussions of past non-con (no members of GVF involved) and drug use. Minors DNI. 18+ only and please take care of yourselves. (See Ao3 for full tag list)

You can also read this fic on Ao3 if you prefer!

Jake Kiszka x Original Female Character

Picture this: The boys are in Northern Michigan to write the new album and they meet a wild young woman who works at a local record store who has a rough history with rock bands.

She doesn’t want to fall into the same traps she fell into before. He doesn’t want to hurt her.

The rest of them just want them to figure their shit out.

Note: While this fic is based on the members of Greta Van Fleet, I obviously do not know them personally (lol) and nearly 99% of this is a fever dream I decided to write down. Some tid bits are based on things said in interviews/photos/songs but please do not come for my neck if you dislike my portrayals as this is a STORY that I have entirely made up.

This will be a slow burn, overly dramatic, cliché fest of me missing my Mitten State and wishing more than anything I could move back home. Their music makes me homesick and for that I’ll never forgive them. ;)

Chapter Under the Cut

CHAPTER ONE: EDGE OF DARKNESS

The tiny bell on the door to “The Edge” clanked as Jake pushed his way in, followed by Josh, Sam and Danny. The afternoon sun streamed through the slats in the windows at a harsh angle, illuminating the swirling dust. The boys all immediately took a deep breath. They all loved the smell of this place. A mix of dusty old vinyl's, incense and weed.

The Edge was the shop owned by an old friend, Levi, who had been a longtime family friend of the Kiszka’s. The boys had made the near three hour drive to the shop whenever they had a spare weekend in their younger years. They bought Levi out of his guitar strings and drumsticks and always looked through the boxes of vinyl's hoping to find treasures. Levi sold an eclectic mix of music equipment, records, books, home goods and comically horrific coffee.

The Edge is where they had each bought their very first instruments, had their first beers and even smoked their first joint. It was a special place for them.

The old wood floors creaked with every step, the wood walls were covered with old articles from Rolling Stone, photos Levi had taken and autographs from the artists who had cycled through the place over the years. There were stacks upon stacks of vinyl's. Shelves of old autobiographies and music theory books. There were speakers stacked from floor to ceiling, and the whole right side of the store was jam packed with basses and guitars. The back corner had a few keyboards and a drum set, but plenty of catalogues to pick even more instruments from. There were cases of drumsticks and guitar picks and strings. The middle of the store had tables full of incense, candles and interesting home goods. There were tables where local artists sold jewelry, art pieces and furniture. It was full to the brim, most shelves rising way up to the ceiling. Most needed a ladder to reach the top. The basement had a sound studio with even more equipment set up to be used to record, or to test out.

Levi had inherited the place from his father, who had built up quite a legendary roster of friends over his years. The shop was just off Front Street on the main drag of Traverse City. Levi’s father had made a name for himself as a great host to bands looking to escape to northern Michigan to hole up in cabins and write albums. Levi continued the tradition and took it a step further by buying the space next door and turning it into a club with live music on the weekends.

If you were lucky, you could catch some super huge bands playing for only about 100 people in the dark side room of The Edge.

“You bastards finally made it!” Levi called out as he came sauntering out of the back room. Levi looked the exact same as the last time the boys had seen him. Tanned skin from his days paddle boarding and hiking along the Lake Michigan shore, sandy blonde hair that was brighter in the summer, perpetual 5-o-clock shadow because he just couldn’t be bothered to shave, shell necklace around his neck, light wash jeans low on his hips with the same old cowboy boots he’d been wearing since the boys were 12.

“Is that grey hair I see Levi?” Josh leaned forward with an exaggerated squint. Levi laughed, snagging Josh’s head to give him a noogie.

“I may be older than you punks by a few years, but I’m not greying yet.” Levi released Josh from his headlock and gave him a shove.

“I’d say 37 is more than a few years older than us, grandpa.” Sam snarked.

“You’re makin me regret extending my hospitality, kid.”

Jake felt himself relax fully for the first time in a really long time. It was just like old times. Exactly what the boys needed.

“Welcome back dudes. I’m surprised I’m still cool enough for you Rockstar types.” Levi crossed his legs and leaned back against the front counter.

“We’ll never be too cool for The Edge. This place will always be way cooler than we could ever be.” Danny piped up, walking forward to wrap Levi in a hug.

“It’s been too long man.” Levi commented as he smacked Danny on the back.

“We know.” Sam said “Way too fuckin long.” He hugged Levi next. Josh and Jake followed up with hugs next. The room was heavy with a tinge of melancholy. Old friends who had missed each other finally reunited.

“Well, have you guys been to the house yet?” Levi stepped around the counter and started pouring four cups of the famous nasty coffee.

“Yeah we dropped our bags off before we headed into town.” Danny spoke up.

“Isn’t it sweet?” Levi asked enthusiastically.

“It’s wicked man. Thanks so much for getting that set up for us.” Josh grinned as he snagged a cup off the counter.

The house was a mid century modern cabin right on the east bay shore. It came equipped with a huge garage studio, front deck and a dock out into the bay. Levi had bought the house in foreclosure and along with help from a bunch of locals (in exchange for beer of course) they turned the house into a perfect getaway for any artists looking to come take a break up north. The place had five bedrooms and three bathrooms with a giant living room with overstuffed couches and velvet chairs. The walls were covered in art and the shelves were full to bursting with plants. It was a kaleidoscope of colors and textures, with mix matched rugs and lamps. It was Levi’s pride and joy.

“I’m so glad you guys like it.” Levi smiled even bigger as he passed coffees to the rest of the boys. “Once you’re a little more settled, feel free to send me a list of equipment you want me to set up downstairs and you can start coming in whenever to work. But also, I think you should probably take a week or two off first. You all look about two seconds away from collapsing.”

“Yeah we’re pretty fuckin beat dude. But we’ll send you a list ASAP.” Jake said, taking a burning sip of the coffee. It singed his nerve endings and he couldn’t have been happier about it.

Levi opened his mouth to speak again, when a voice filtered through the window to the loft above the store.

“Yo Levi!” the person shouted “Can you please get off your fuckin ass and pick music to play? I know Wednesdays are your day to pick but if you take forever I’m just gonna put on whatever I want and you can suck it.”

All four boys' heads snapped up to the window to the loft, but whoever was up there couldn’t be seen. All they could see was that the loft had clearly gotten a makeover. What used to be an upper level where Levi stored surplus supplies now looked like it had a plush velvet couch, lava lamps and plants in it.

“Alright alright! I’ll get on it.” Levi called back up, shaking his head and chuckling to himself as he walked toward the central sound system behind the counter to scroll through Spotify playlists.

“Who the fuck is that and what have you done to the loft?” Josh asked, hopping up to sit on the counter.

“That would be the very best thing that’s ever fallen into my lap. A.k.a my new store and venue manager Maven. She moved back to the area after living in Hollywood for a few years managing bands and she completely changed my life. We finally have consistent stock, a longstanding line up at the club and I have had the time to start photography again. Truly a godsend, if not occasionally a pain in my ass. She turned the loft into a breakroom of sorts. There’s a couch and table up there now. She practically lives up there sometimes.”

“Damn she must be some woman if she finally got you to get your shit together with that club.” Sammy piped up.

“She’s hellfire, I’ll tell yah that.” Levi chuckled, finally hitting play on a playlist. The first bars of Surfin USA by the Beach Boys came on the surround system and matching groans came out of Jake downstairs and Maven upstairs.

“Not this shit again!” Maven yells. Jake chuckled to himself. Hellfire indeed.

“It’s my day to pick so suck it!” Levi called back before faux stage whispering to the boys “I mostly just play this to piss her off.”

Levi clapped his hands together once “Well boys, It’s close enough to five o'clock and I owe you a beer. Let’s head over to Little Fleet for some grub and beers and we can catch up.”

Josh grimaced as he sucked down the last bit of his coffee before lobbing the empty cup into the trash at the end of the counter. “You still make shit coffee Levi.”

“It’s the one thing I wouldn’t let Maven fix.” Levi said with a grin as all five men exited out the back door.

~0~

The boys took a week to relax, as per Levi’s request. They spent the days hiking the shore, kayaking and drinking beer around the fire. It had been way too long since they’d done this. The release of The Battle at Garden’s Gate had been exhilarating and the fans' response had been everything they’d hoped for. People seemed to love the album and they were all so proud. But with press interviews and touring, they hadn’t gotten more than a day or two to relax at a time. And they certainly hadn’t gotten a chance to get back to their favorite old haunts in years.

They stopped by the store almost every morning for a cup of coffee strong enough to jumpstart their hearts. Sometimes Levi joined them on their escapades, and sometimes he stayed behind to help out at the store. The boys spent a few afternoons sifting through albums and strumming on some of Levi’s vintage guitars.

Mostly they caught up on each other's lives. The boys recounted their more personal lives that happened outside the coverage of the album and Levi talked about the past few years of his life in Traverse City. Levi told them all about Maven and how she was practically his little sister. They laughed. They drank. They had a blast.

The boys noticed Levi was a little on edge occasionally, typically when they heard someone shuffling upstairs or equipment moving around in the backroom of the shop. They assumed it was Maven but weren’t sure, since they had yet to see her in the flesh. A week from their arrival they were all sitting in lawn chairs in the alley behind the store, smoking cigs and drinking their coffee when Sam finally asked.

“So, why haven’t we met your precious Maven yet? Hiding her from us or something?”

Levi shifted a bit in his chair. “Um..” he coughed out a laugh. “I am actually. Yes. But it’s the other way around, I’m hiding you from her.”

“Afraid she’ll fan-girl or something?” Josh commented as he ashed his cigarette.

“In… a sense.” Levi coughed. “But in quite the opposite way you’re imagining.”

“She’s a fan then?” Sammy piped up.

“She loves your music. A lot.” Levi sniffed and coughed again. “It’s a real safe haven for her. When she’s having a bad day I catch her upstairs laying on the floor smoking a J with sound cancelling headphones blasting your albums as loud as she can.”

“Exactly how it’s meant to be enjoyed. With a joint in hand.” Jake chimes in.

“Yeah..” Levi toes the asphalt a bit with his boots, but doesn’t continue.

“Soooo” Sammy drawls “Why can’t we meet her? We’re no stranger to super fans. I’m sure she’s cool.”

“Um, well. It’s a bit complicated.” Levi heaves a sigh before flicking his cigarette butt into the coffee canister at the center of their little circle. “I suppose I can trust you guys. You’re friends. Do you remember the huge lawsuit that the band Undercover Heart went through last year? The one about the um” He coughs again, “Rape of one of their staff members by the lead singer Ryan?”

“Yes. That shit was horrific man.” Danny spoke up. “I read all the details I could. They kept the poor girl's identity private but goddamn I felt so bad for her. She was a badass for filing that suit though.”

“Yeah. She was.” Levi breathed. “So, this is strictly off record and if you repeat this to anyone I will skin you all alive, famous rock stars be damned.”

“Jesus Levi.” Jake said.

“It was her.” Levi choked out. “Maven. That’s why she ran back from Hollywood and ended up here. That dude messed her up and she just… she struggles with meeting famous bands now. You know how many people cycle through this joint writing stuff. She just… has a really fuckin hard time with it sometimes. Particularly bands she likes. I think it’s because once you meet someone, and in her case, discover how much of a monster they can be, their music isn’t… safe anymore.”

“Fuck.” Jake said, flicking his cigarette into the canister.

“Well I feel terrible for joking about her being a fangirl.” Josh mutters.

“She just genuinely loves you guys a lot. I never really told her I was an old friend because I didn’t want her to be worried about y’all stopping by. I just know that if she knows you’re here she’ll take off and avoid coming by the shop as much as she can and not only do I need her here, but I think she needs the safety of the shop too. I didn’t want to wreck it.” Levi sighs again. “I know she’ll find out you’re here eventually, it’s inevitable. I just was a coward and didn’t want to break the news to her.”

“She was a pretty well known band manager wasn’t she?” Danny asks. “She like… completely made Undercover Heart what it was. Before they hired her they were slated to be a one hit wonder but she hauled them into relevancy basically by her will alone.”

“Yeah. She basically built that man's career for him. She gave him everything, and he took everything from her. If I ever see the man I’m liable to get my ass thrown in prison.” Levi mutters.

“I’ll help.” Danny says immediately.

All five sit in silence for a few minutes, smoking the last of their cigarettes. When they’d all finished, they stood and stretched to head back inside the shop.

“So yeah. Anyway, If you see her that’s fine, just… well now you have context for… her.” Levi says as he yanks open the door.

A few steps into the back hallway, Levi suddenly halts, causing all four boys to nearly bash into each other. The front door to the shop had crashed open and there were footsteps stomping across the store toward the front desk.

“Listen Levi,” Maven’s tense voice carried down the back hall. “I know Wednesdays are usually your day for music but I’m having an absolute shit fucking day so I’m playing Greta all day and there’s absolutely nothing you can fucking do about it, kapeesh?”

The very opening chords of Edge of Darkness scratch through the speakers after she finishes her sentence and the boys all exchange a slightly amused look, grins spread on all of their faces.

“Kapeesh.” Levi calls out to her. He spins and silently nods to the boys to head toward the back door. The boys attempt to be as quiet as they can as they creep toward the door.

“Also, Levi?” Maven calls again. Everyone halts in their tracks. “You said there was a band coming in soon. Are they here yet? Do you need me to set up the backroom?”

“Uh, yeah they’re here.” Levi squeaks. All five men share nervous looks. “They’re uh… up at the house.” He cringes at his lie. “I’m getting an equipment list from them today and then you can get started.

“Cool cool.” Maven calls back. “Do you think I’ll like their stuff?”

“Uh. Yeah.” Levi grins then. “I think you will.”

“Wicked.” Maven calls back.

All five men repress giggles as they skedaddle out the back door and into the alley.

~0~

The next morning the boys wake up to a group text from Levi.

COME BY THE SHOP ASAP. COME IN BACK DOOR. HEAD DOWN THE STAIRS TO THE BOOTH. BE AS QUIET AS YOU CAN.

A weird request, but they did as they were told. They all piled into the SUV they had rented and headed to the shop. Danny peeled open the back door as quietly as he could, and Sammy opened the door to the stairs. They tiptoed down and through the door at the end of the stairs that opened into the booth of a sound studio. Levi sat in front of all the mixing boards with a cup of coffee to his lips. He glanced over at them and softly said “coffees on the table.”

“Why the weird text?” Jake asked.

“Because of that.” Levi responded softly, pointing through the dark glass into the soundstage.

The sound stage was littered with mismatched rugs, and a few milk crates that doubled as tables. There was a gorgeous seafoam green drum set toward the back wall and stands full of various guitars and basses. Along the left wall was a piano and a Mellotron set up exactly to the specifications Sam sent over. However, with all these beautiful instruments to look at that would normally catch their eye, it was the woman sitting on stool in the center, cradling a dark purple Fender guitar that made Jake stop in his tracks.

Maven, Jake had to guess that’s who it was, was wearing checkered distressed pants, with a ripped up old band t-shirt cropped at her ribs, revealing a sliver of the rounded part of her stomach. Over top she was wearing an orange leopard print cardigan that ran down to her thighs. Around her neck was a series of long necklaces, and her wrists were adorned with interlacing leather bands.

She was plucking out a melody with her eyes closed, rocking back and forth on the stool. Jake had seen countless numbers of people playing the guitar before. On the road, in the studio, studying old masters on YouTube. There was nothing overly special about the way she was sitting or playing, but he felt a little bit like he couldn’t breathe.

“She never fuckin plays anymore man.” Levi whispered. “It felt like magic hearing music coming out of the basement this morning. I just felt like you should see it.”

The melody she was playing was sad. Haunting is a better way to put it, and Jake couldn’t look away. Not even when Sammy placed a cup of burning hot coffee into his hands. She was moving her head along with her playing, the strands of her dark messy hair shaking back and forth. The group watched in silence as she played out the riff a few times, Levi cranked the volume of the mics in the space and they could hear her humming softly.

“She has a strong presence.” Josh murmured.

Maven suddenly stopped. Everyone froze as she heaved a sigh and stood from the stool to put the guitar back on it’s rack.

“You in there Levi?” Maven said then. The boys still didn’t move a muscle. Jake’s head was spinning, having finally seen the face that went with the voice he’d heard in the loft for a week. She was beautiful. He couldn’t even really put his finger on why, but he couldn’t take his eyes off her. Even seeing her through the thick dark glass of the studio.

Levi hit the button to the mic in the booth and responded “Yah.” He paused before adding. “Sounded good.”

Maven snorted in a self-deprecating way and said “Thanks.”

Levi hit the mic button again and said “You should play more.”

“Don’t push it Levi.” Maven snapped back. Levi released the button to his mic and let out a heavy sigh. “Can you check some levels on the lines for me? I think I have everything pretty good but I want to make sure before they get here today.”

“Sure.” Levi replied.

Maven pulled the amp cord out of the Fender she had been playing on and plugged it into another guitar, one more similar to the guitars that Jake regularly used while they wrote.

“Are we looking for a punk or a rock-y sound?” Maven asked.

“Um.” Levi hesitated. “Rock. Their sound is like…” He tossed a small smile over his shoulder at the boys. “Like Greta’s actually.”

“Dope. I hope they’re not just copying the boys. They’ve got a mellotron in here and everything.” The boys smiled. She pounded out a few chords on the guitar. “Good?”

Levi looked over at Jake for confirmation. Jake, who still had not taken his eyes off Maven, nodded.

“Yeah, that should be good for raw sound. They can play with stuff too. They’re a pretty well educated bunch.” Levi called back.

“Thank god.” Maven snorted. “Not like that indie punk bunch you booked last month who needed me to do fucking all their sound mixing for them.”

“Maven, I don’t think they kept asking you down here because they need help with their sound.”

Maven just rolled her eyes at that.

They repeated the process with each instrument, Levi silently asking for confirmation from the respective Greta member until they were sure the sound lines were all functioning properly.

“Great work kid.” Levi called into the studio.

“Ew don’t call me kid. I’m a 27 year old woman.” Maven called back.

Levi chuckled. “You’re a kid to me.”

“Whatever.” Maven muttered. “I’m gonna go take a walk along the beach. Smoke a little. Text me if they need me.”

“Will do.” Levi called back. The boys all tensed, looking for places to hide, or to run up the stairs and back into the alley. Luckily, Maven took the back door out of the studio and up another hallway instead.

“Well boys, it’s all you.” Levi said. “Text if you need anything.”

Sam piped up and said “Yeah actually, can you pick my brother’s jaw up off the floor?”

“Jake see pretty lady play guitar and Jake brain break.” Josh teased.

“You guys suck.” Jake grumbled.

Levi cackled. “I thought you’d like her.”

~0~

Maven walked along the coast of the bay and absentmindedly smoked a joint. It was an overcast and drizzly day which meant there was no one around, which she preferred anyway. She was feeling on edge. The drizzle was very slowly building a small sheen of water on her arms and hair, but she didn’t mind. The cool water and gentle breeze combination was perfect.

Maven sat her butt down in the sand and stared out at the waves. She normally wore headphones on her walks, her world was a near constant stream of music, but she had opted for silence today.

Levi was being weird. He was edgy around her all week, sending her out every morning for tasks and disappearing without saying where he was going around 4:30 every day. She had come to the conclusion that whatever band was in town this week was a pretty big name. Or big enough that he was nervous about her being around them. She sighed. She hated when he tiptoed around her. Maven didn’t blame him. When she first started working at the shop she had had a couple pretty bad PTSD episodes that had scared the shit out of him. She owed him everything for staying with her, talking her down and making sure she was fed and had water when she got into one of her states.

Levi was her best friend, to put it mildly. He cared for her, kept her safe and in return she busted her ass at his store making sure they had the best products, the best shows and that their artist getaway was something that people would go back and tell their friends about. She loved Levi like an older brother, and he cared for her like his little sister. She would forever be grateful to whatever power in the universe made her stumble into The Edge two years ago.

She had been high out of her mind, as she had been most days after she came running back to Michigan with her tail between her legs, and Levi had been struggling with an amp in the shop. She had walked in, spotted his struggle and didn’t even say a word to him, just walked over and fixed the wiring so that it was functional again. Levi had looked up from where he sat on the floor and said “You don’t happen to need a job do you?”

The rest was essentially history. It only took two months of seeing him every single day, and him not letting her sour moods go by unnoticed, for her to spill her guts over some bourbon one night. About Ryan and Undercover Heart and how badly the whole situation fucked her up. How after she’d recorded her testimony she’d boarded the next flight to Grand Rapids and hightailed it up north. She came crash landing into Traverse City because she’d always loved it as a kid, and figured it would be a great place to start over. The small town she’d grown up in had too many people who knew her.

He was extra careful with bands for a while. Never letting her be alone in a room with too many male band members, and carefully vetting everyone who came through. Eventually she told him off about treating her like a porcelain doll and he backed down a bit, giving her free reign over lots of the equipment set ups and giving her plenty of hours in the shop by herself. She was happy to do so, so Levi could focus on fixing up the artist house and starting his photography again.

But he was still very gentle with her sometimes, and she’d always love him for it even when it pissed her the fuck off.

Once she’d smoked the joint down to the roach, she tucked the end into her pocket. It was sacrilegious to litter near the lake. It was too precious to be fucked with. She meandered back toward the shop. Her plan was to grab her bag and head back to let her Pitbull, Stacy, out for a walk and pee. The girl had been cooped up all morning and Maven felt bad.

She threw her whole body against the front door, as the latch often stuck, and the loud sound of the chimes clanged in the empty space. She rolled her eyes. Of course Levi left the shop unattended and unlocked. It was Traverse City, no one was gonna rob them, but what if someone wanted to buy something?

She was humming softly to herself as she made her way around the edge of the counter and plopped down on the stool by the register. She whipped out her phone to ask Levi where he was. She had the message halfway typed when the door behind her, the one that led to the staff restroom, popped open.

“You know, crime is especially low in this town but that doesn’t mean someone wouldn’t come in here and try to steal your precious coffee maker.” She tossed over her shoulder.

“Oh.” Was all that came back. It was decidedly not Levi’s voice. Maven spun back quickly.

“Sorry I…” But that’s as far as she got. She was suddenly face to face with Jake Kizska and all thoughts quickly left her brain.

They both stared at each other for a long moment. Maven couldn’t quite figure out why he looked just as shocked to see her as she was to see him. He also almost looked afraid for some reason that Maven couldn’t figure out.

He was dressed in an outfit she’d seen him wear plenty of times. A black button up, half unbuttoned, loose fitting light wash jeans and a pair of well worn boots. His wrists were full of bracelets and his hair was longer than the last time she’d seen footage of their concerts, well past his collarbones at this point.

“Hi.” Jake finally broke the silence. “I’m Jake.” He reached out his hand for a handshake.

“I know.” Maven replied, and then coughed. Why did you say that you freak?

Suddenly the front door bell chimed again, and Maven whipped her head to see Levi coming in the front door. She stood abruptly from her stool, skirted around Jake’s outstretched hand, and out from behind the counter. She scooped up her leather satchel on her way.

She headed straight at Levi. He glanced over his shoulder and saw an apologetic Jake looking forlorn and lowering his hand back to his side.

“Oh hey Maven-”

“Hey dumbass, don’t leave the store unattended again. I’m going home to check on Stacy. Probably won’t be back for the rest of the day.” Maven spit as she stormed past him toward the front door.

“Maven wait-”

But she was already outside, the hinges bringing the heavy wood crashing back into the frame. The chime of the bells rang through the space.

“Sorry.” Jake muttered.

“Not your fault. I knew she’d find out eventually. Right now she’s probably just pissed I didn’t tell her. Which she has every right to be.” Levi sighed.

After a few more beats of silence Jake spoke again. “Who’s Stacy?”

Levi huffed a laugh. “That would be her Pitbull.”

“Oh.” Jake said again. He felt crazy because his brain couldn’t come up with anything else to say. She was prettier up close. She smelled like the Lake and weed and sandalwood. He really wished she’d taken his hand. He shook his head trying to find his brain in it somewhere.

The other three boys came clambering up the stairs and into the store. They all looked between Levi, who was still standing in the middle of the shop, and Jake behind the counter.

“Are you two playing freeze tag or something?” Sam quipped.

“Jake met Maven.” Levi responded. The boys' heads whipped toward Jake.

“And… I’m guessing it… went well?” Danny questioned.

Levi finally walked back toward the counter. “She left for the day. This is on me. I should have told her y’all were here.” He snagged his keys from below the counter and walked toward the front door to lock up. “I’m closing early, boys. Let’s go get a beer.”

“Kowabunga baby.” Josh said with a grin.

~0~

Maven sat curled up on her velvet couch, Stacy was her little spoon. There was incense burning, a bottle of wine open on the side table and a lit joint in the ashtray. She had changed into a giant t-shirt and boxer shorts. The soft sounds of John Denver playing off her record player.

However, none of these things were easing her mind.

She was pissed, mostly. At herself. At Levi. She was pissed he didn’t tell her they were coming. She was pissed that he felt he couldn’t tell her. She was pissed that she had acted like a freak in front of Jake.

The anxiety was an endless pit in her stomach. She couldn’t go back there tomorrow. She couldn’t see any of those people. Not when she felt like this.

She whipped out her phone and quickly shot a message to Levi, before chugging her whole glass of red wine and snagging the joint out of the ashtray.

~0~

Levi’s phone dinged on the table where all of the guys sat drinking beers and chatting. Levi glanced at it and quickly picked it up when he saw her name.

“It’s Maven.” He said.

“What did she say?” Jake asked, sitting up a bit in his chair.

“Fuck.” Levi said, tossing his phone on the table, still unlocked.

All four boys leaned in to read the screen.

CASHING IN ALL MY VACATION DAYS. I’LL BE OUT FOR TWO WEEKS.

“Fuck indeed.” Josh said, pounding back the rest of his beer.

#jake gvf #jake kiszka #greta van fleet #greta fic #jake fic #gvf #greta van fleet fan fiction #greta fan fleet fic #peaceful army

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talesofphantombandits · 3 years

Text

Zero to Six ~ The Death of Six - Edited version.

Greetings and salutations! So I know this isn’t what everyone wanted but people are still reading Zero to Six and I’m honestly so grateful that a year on, people are still loving this series. But I never felt like I wrote it properly, the chapters where always too short and I felt like they were never detailed enough so I wanted to bring to you an edited version (that probably still won’t be perfect.) one that I’m more satisfied with. I will be keeping the original version up just in case people prefer that one, maybe one day I’ll take it down? who knows but yeah so enjoy! <3 P.s I’ve missed you all so much and I’ve really missed this series. Hopefully sometime soon the Prequel will be out which I have started and named ‘Before there was Six, there was Zero.’

Characters: Four X Zero (OC) Summary: Zero was the first person to be ‘saved’ by One, she was his first honorary Ghost. Her knowledge in tech meant she got the role of ‘Hacker’ she recruited new team members, looked for missions and locations and made sure every security measure was looked at. You know normal hacker spy stuff. But her tough up bringing meant that if needs be she could fight, she was maybe even better than some people on the team knew. But due to One’s protectiveness over her she had to stay hidden, she was more of an actual ghost than the rest of the team was. This didn’t mean she couldn’t have her fun though, over the months of being with the full team she had formed quite a passionate love/ hate relationship with the handsome Four. Who knows what sparks would fly if they were ever to meet. Warnings: Slight swearing, some suggestive flirting in later chapters.

Tagg list: (I know this is a edit of my original story but if anyone wants to be tagged let me know.) @raylan-c

Zero to Six ~ Part 2. Edited Version. Masterlist.

“You’re stalling.”

“I’m not stalling.” Zero could practically hear the smirk in Fours voice over the coms. “I’m simply just working myself up to it.”

She laughed. “You always say that, and you’re always stalling.” She was playing on his last nerve, she knew it but this would be good for Four and entertainment for her. He always worked better when he was frustrated and no one stressed him out quite like Zero.

Four had been doing parkour for most of his life, or that’s what he told them. Yet he was still fearful every single time, still I guess that’s what made him great at it the fear of always falling gave him the adrenaline he needed to make the jumps.

Another breathless laugh fluttered through Zeros left ear. “Don’t test me darling.” Now it was his turn to make Zero sweat, this always happened. Zero would insult and tease and Four would flirt right back, although most of the team were used to it by now they still broke them up from time to time.

“Whatever monkey boy, just be ready for when Six gets his ass in gear!” She clicked her tongue. “I can hear you mocking me asshole, remember I hold the key here I can make your life a living hell with just one click of a button.”

“You already make my life hell darling, But I live for it everyday.”

“Swear to god Four, you’re a pain in my ass.” She mumbled as she typed away at the computer trying to figure out their next move so she could be ready with any instruction they needed.

“I’m sure your ass is pretty fine, I can’t wait to see it someday.” She could practically feel the smirk.

“Yeah? And I can't wait to punch the smirk off that pretty face one day, only you could be in a life or death situation and be thinking about my virtual ass.”

“Wait, did you just admit to fancying me Zero? Guys she called me handsome, I think I’m getting somewhere.”

“Go for Four!” Saved by the bell it seems, One’s voice rang through coms. Zero silently thanked god for she did fancy Four, who wouldn’t fancy that absolute Greek god of a man? With that honey voice and the moves he had! moves he could use on her, she shook her head hoping the images of him forming in her head would magically fall out of her brain never to return, but she wouldn’t be so lucky.

“Shut the hell up, stop thinking about ways to seduce Zero and get your ass down here we need you!” And just like that, it was go time. “NOW!”

Zero had been working with this team for a while now, but she was more on the surveillance side of the missions, which meant that she had never officially met the team face to face. The only person she had actually met was One, who had recruited her. He would visit from time to time, she liked to think they had a special bond. She was in fact the first person in need that One had found and ever since then he had become a sort of father figure to her.

Two was next who was sort of cold at times, Zero put this down to her CIA training but she had never been anything but caring towards Zero. Then she found Three, a hitman who she was reluctant to look into at first but she knew now it was the best thing for her and the team. Despite his past he was one of the most sweet and caring men she’d ever met, and he never failed to make her smile on a bad day. Ever since recruiting Four, she felt the atmosphere in the group shift slightly, there was nothing bad about him but they both couldn’t ignore the growing attraction between them, and this was just over cyber space. She then found her best friend in Five, she was different from the rest. Not as violent and rash but still amazing at what she did and protecting herself and others, Zero knew if she ever needed someone the first person she’d go to was Five.

Six was her latest recruit, one that she knew was extremely talented in not only driving but in all things mechanical too, they had chatting a few times about servers and bots and he’d promised her a round in their shared favourite video game once this mission was complete.

She’d be lying to herself and everyone else if she said she didn’t want to meet them all in person, they were the closest thing she had, had to family. However she knew that if she was to meet them nothing could ever come of her and Four. One would definitely not allow it, and most likely lock her straight back up.

Still they were sort of this dysfunctional family, and she was definitely the odd one out. She couldn’t remember the last time she had, had a normal conversation with someone who wasn’t ‘dead’ the only time she was allowed to leave the flat was when One said it was moving day. He didn’t like her staying in one flat too long, she must have moved at least four times this year already. While she was alone in her flat eating ready meals they were all back at base eating together, she sometimes pretended she was there eating with them. Three telling her some stupid story that no one else is listening to because they have heard it at least a thousand times, but she would just be so happy to hear his beautiful accent in person that she would listen to anything he was telling her. How she wished she could hug three in real life. The closest she had gotten to eating with them was over coms, sometimes they would leave the line open for debriefing but it still made her feel like an outcast.

“I’m coming down!” Everything was going wrong, Six had gone the wrong way. Which Zero wasn’t surprised to see as everyone in the car was shouting at each other, she sat there in her gaming chair drinking Dr Pepper and enjoying her fried chicken meal while everyone was losing their minds in the field. Maybe getting to stay in the comfort of her flat wasn’t so bad after all?

“Good boy.” She praised Four. “Finally putting those parkour skills to use, other than robbing some innocent person.”

Even before he started to speak she could tell he’d started to run because his speech came out in huffs. “Shut up, at least I can do parkour which makes me cooler than a girl who sits at her computer all day.”

She had to laugh. “What are you? Five years old? Try again when you can think up better come backs, I can’t take you seriously right now.”

Wherever One moved Zero was never too far away from where the team worked, the first time the rest of the team worked this out was when Zero first used the drone to help navigate them someplace safe. That was also the first time she finally got to see Four in action, the image of him running along the rooftops like a monkey in the jungle both amused her and impressed her. Hence the nickname she had given him. But there were also times when he would have close calls, where he had nearly fallen to his death that’s when the breath would get knocked out of her and she would only calm when she knew he was safe on the ground again.

“Right over you guys.” He said in a strained voice while leaping onto another roof.

“So guys, just look out for the flying monkey above you. That will be Four.” Most of the teasing with Four was just to pass the time while they were out in the field having fun and mainly it was just way too fun to hear him get so frustrated.

“Zero, that’s not helping us.” One said in a sing-song voice.

“Maybe it’s not helping you, but it is definitely helping me pass the time.” All she could hear was a disappointed grunt from One which just made her chuckle,it was also very fun to piss One off.

“Six! SIX! Wrong way god damn it!”

She cringed at how loud Four had screamed down the coms. “Come back! I’ve got an idea.”

“Ladies and gentleman, for the first time in his life Four has an idea!” She said mindlessly typing away trying to find the best route for them to escape by.

“You know what Zero, when we finally meet I’m going to run that fine ass of yours into the ground.” He all but growled.

“You can try monkey boy, but you’ll have to catch me first.” She smirked to herself, she secretly hoped that, that was more of a promise than a mere threat. “Oh, challenge accepted sweetheart. I’d love to have a game of cat and mouse with you.”

“You two do remember that we are on a mission right now, right?” Six moaned. “What with you two flirting, and these absolute idiots fighting beside me in the car. I’m finding it very hard to concentrate on driving!” With every word Six’s voice got more agitated and louder.

“We are not flirting!” Both Four and Zero exclaimed together.

“Aww they even said it at the same time!” Zero just rolled her eyes at One’s teasing. “No one cares, now both of you shut up so we can all get out of here.”

“That’s it Six, keep coming towards me!” The drone was filming just above the action, once she’d wiped her hands and they were free from the grease on her chicken. She finally realised what Four was about to do.

Suddenly the car that was tailing Six was being impaled by five metal tubes. “God, okay I’m definitely done eating now. That was so gross.”

Then the screaming started to fill the coms. “Guy’s, what the hell are you doing?” All Zero could make out was something about an eyeball.

“This is so stressful! Can everyone stop arguing and speaking over each other?!” Zero was getting agitated now.

“YOU THINK YOU’RE STRESSED?! I’M TRYING TO DRIVE WHILST ALSO TRYING NOT TO KILL ANYONE, DID I MENTION I ALSO HAVE AN EYEBALL ON MY LEG?!” Six all but screamed down the coms, loud enough that Zero had to remove her earpiece until she was sure he was done with his rant.

“Six sweetie,” she said as calmly as she could, trying not to laugh. “Are you okay?”

“DO I SOUND LIKE I’M OKAY ZERO?!” She knew he would say that, she finally let out the chuckle she was trying to hold as to not irritate him further.

“Sorry I was just asking. I swear I‘m not using your painful situation to make myself feel better.” She held her hands up in defence even though he couldn’t see her.

He just let out a huff. “I’m going to ignore you now Zero, you’re pissing me off more than these guys are.”

After the commotion things went quiet for a while, there was now a helicopter tailing them so all effort and concentration went on losing it. While there was little chatter over the coms the main sound that dominated the air was the gunfire, Zero silently prayed to herself while she watched the drone that everyone would make it out of their first real mission alive. One finally found a route for them, conveniently inside of a building that would shelter them enough to lose the aerial surveillance they were under.

“The drone will meet you on the other side, good luck and please try not to make too much of a mess in there Six. There are some priceless statues in there we would all like preserving.” Just as Zero finished her sentence she heard a loud crash.

“You were saying?” Six chuckled nervously.

“You didn’t.” Zero stared shocked at her screen, mouth wide open.

One was the one to respond to her though. “Unfortunately he did, don’t worry we’re all just as disappointed in him.”

“Okay we finally lost the chopper, Zero do you have a visual?” One asked surprisingly calmly.

“You mean the bright green car, kind of hard to miss. Good choice Six you really blend in.” Zero laughed. “I see you, there are two black vans heading your way. Shake them off then head to the arranged rendezvous spot where Three will be waiting for you.”

Six’s voice was strained when he spoke. “Listen, fast and convenient was what I was told to get. So that’s what I got.”

Zero would have responded but she was more distracted by the sight of Four on a skateboard holding a launcher. He jumped off the board and leaped up onto the stone wall just as one of the black vans passed, he aimed and shot, never missing the mark. She was impressed for a moment but then saw the smug smile on his face, he looked directly into the drone and winked at Zero. She just scoffed, what an absolute show off.

“Seems like we have a superhero on our team.” Six laughed impressed.

Zero scoffed again, but this time loud enough so everyone could hear it over the coms. “I wouldn’t exactly call him a superhero.”

“Then what would you call me darling? A Greek god?” This is the thing about Four, he’d never met Zero in person but he knew exactly how to push her buttons. She’d be lying if she said she didn’t enjoy the banter from time to time.

“Hurm more like a vein asshole that thinks far too highly of himself.” She snapped back.

But he just laughed, the complete opposite of what she was expecting. “I mean everyone else loves me, might as well love myself too.” She rolled her eyes, She really couldn’t blame him though he was a very handsome man but no way in hell was she ever going to tell him that. “One day you’ll fall for the charm that everyone else falls for. I know you’re already obsessed with me.”

“In your dreams Four.”

“It already happens in my dreams, every night darling. I’d be happy to elaborate later on in a private chat.” Zero audibly gagged.

“Guy’s can we please cut out the flirting until after the mission? We’re nearly there and I don’t think any of us want to hear whatever this is.” One sounded tired and Zero just laughed at how much their fighting annoyed the other members.

“Yes boss!” She added in a salute even though One couldn’t see her, he could feel she was mocking him.

Just then the drone cut out. “Shit! Someone shot down the drone. You’re on your own from here guys.”

There was a commotion through the coms, one that didn’t sound at all good. Car tyres screeched, bullets rain down on the metal of the car Zero held her breath as she waited for anything. Even just a breath so she knew at least someone was still alive, her heart stopped when the line had been silent for too long she had to know what happened.

“Guys, come on talk to me. What’s going on? Why are you all being so silent? What happened?” There was another breath of silence and her mind went straight to Four, she shook her head. No! She wasn’t going to let herself think about that, she scolded herself for getting too attached to the little shit.

The was a crackle over the line, Five cleared her throat. “Six is dead, we’re in the van, the space is clear.”

Zero sucked in a breath, she felt like her lungs were burning. “What?”

“Zero listen to me, you need to turn off coms now.” One must have turned from the group, he was using his quiet, serious voice. “I’ll handle this okay, I’ll check back in with you later.”

Just like that he was gone, she clicked the switch to turn off almost absentmindedly. She sat back in her chair, only snapping back to reality when she felt something wet fall on her hand. She softly touched her face to find her cheeks were wet, when had she started to cry? Six wasn’t someone she knew in person, he had been the last member of the team but still a very important piece of their puzzle. She thought about the game he had promised to play with her after the mission, this would never come to pass now. Now he was really dead, and it was all her fault.

For the first time Zero started to think about the whole team and if One’s master plan of being ghosts to take down the world’s evil was such a good idea after all, why had it taken a real death in the team for her to even think about this. What if it had been Four, she didn’t think she could live with herself if anything ever happened to Four, maybe it was a good thing they had never met. Seeing him in person, hearing his deep honey voice, feeling his warmth would definitely make her fall deeper then she already was. He was just a voice over the coms but behind that was a real person, one that probably wouldn’t even share the same feelings towards her. So she thought ‘Yes, It’s a good thing I’m behind this computer screen and not with them in person.’ She had to try to distance herself from now on.

......

Just wanted to say one last Thank You! for the continued support for this story <3

#ben hardy #ben hardy fanfic #ben hardy fanfiction #ben hardy four #6 underground #6 underground fanfiction #6 underground four #6 underground fanfic #6 underground billy #four #four fanfiction #four fanfic #four x reader #four x oc #four x zero #billy x reader #billy x oc #billy x scout #6 underground x reader

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hopelesshawks · 3 years

Text

Ash and Dust Part 6- Small Victories

18+ Dabi x fem!reader (MINORS DNI)

Summary: You first meet Dabi on the worst night of your life after unwittingly walking into the very bar the League of Villains made infamous. That should probably be the end of the story. You stumble on the remnants of one of the most infamous terrorist groups in the history of Japan, get viciously murdered or call the cops and get them arrested, the end. Except that’s not the end of the story. It’s only the beginning.

Masterlist Help Lulu (Kofi)

It’s been a month now.

A month of the worst game you’ve ever played in your entire life.

Dabi enjoys the back and forth the two of you have, that much is clear. He seems to get a sick thrill prodding you to see what elicits a quip out of you and what renders you speechless. It’s nerve-wracking constantly standing up to him, trying to navigate the line between jabs that will amuse him and those that will genuinely anger him. By now you feel you’ve got a pretty solid handle on where that line is. You’ve made an art form out of treading around it, but every so often you’ll say something particularly witty or biting and there will be a moment of silence. Those cold blue eyes will fix on you and your heart will pound in your chest. You used to identify the feeling as fear but you think it’s something else now, something you’re unwilling to put a name to. That one moment always seems to extend infinitely before collapsing back in on itself as the words sink in and you pull another amused smirk or even a full-blown cackle from the man. You don’t think he likes you per se, but there’s a persistent fascination that you’re pretty sure makes him want to keep you around. If that were the only facet of the game you think you could live with it, but there’s one more thing.

Dabi is determined to keep you unemployed.

Or perhaps more accurately he’s determined to see how long it’ll take you to give up on being employed.

Every morning for the past month you’ve attempted to get a new job and every morning for the past month Dabi has managed to fuck it up for you one way or the other. From preventing you from doing any prep work for the numerous interviews you’ve attempted to set up, to sabotaging your morning to ensure you show up late, he’s done it all. On one occasion he pretended to be your concerned husband calling to cancel the interview on your behalf, on another he’d burned all of the paperwork you’d needed to bring in to cinders. The interviewers hadn’t been very amused when you opened your manila envelope only for ash to come slipping out and onto the table instead of the requested files. The only reason you aren’t terrified of being unable to pay the rent is because of your artwork. A sentence you never thought would apply to you.

Those two retweets you’d gotten on the Deku painting you’d posted had quickly grown to twenty, then thirty, then a hundred, and then a couple hundred. A few people had even started tagging Deku himself in hopes of drawing his attention to it. The recognition had drawn people to your page and then, finding no other work there, to your dm’s, begging for copies of the painting or their very own Deku fanart. It had reached the point that a couple weeks ago you had decided to start advertising commissions and a few people had taken you up on the offer. It’s not much, but between the commissions and your savings, it would be enough to get you through this month’s rent at least.

You love creating art and it’s surreal getting to do what you love to pay some of your bills, but between spending more time slouched in front of your easel or over a sketchbook and sleeping on the couch, your back is the sorest it’s ever been. As you finish getting ready for bed, slipping into a pair of comfortable pajama shorts and an old college t-shirt, you stare at your bedroom door longingly, yearning for the comfort of your mattress. As you hear the creaking of its springs, a sign Dabi must be crawling into bed after another successful day of fucking your life up, something in you snaps. Your feet carry you into your bedroom, shoving the door open with righteous indignation. You’re a little surprised to see that Dabi is shirtless as he lies in the bed nonchalantly, brow quirking at your sudden entrance. Your eyes can’t help but wander over his chest, noting where scarred tissue is stapled to unmarred flesh but also drinking in the lean muscle on display.

“Ever heard of knocking Doll?”

The sound of his voice breaks you from your thoughts.

“Sorry what?” you ask, cheeks heating up as you realize where your mind had gone.

“I didn’t take you for a pervert but here you are, bursting into my room just to ogle me,” Dabi teases, and immediately your embarrassment from before melts into anger.

“Your room? This is my room! And that’s my bed! And I didn’t come in here to ogle you, I came to sleep in my bed in my room in my apartment!”

“I have zero intention of leaving this bed, but I don’t recall ever saying you couldn’t sleep here.”

Your eyes narrow at him. He’s so smug you want to wipe that stupid look off his face. He’s bluffing and it’s a damn good bluff but it’s a bluff all the same.

“What’s wrong, Doll? Scared to sleep next to the big bad Wolf?” he smirks and that’s the last straw.

Without a word, you storm over towards the bed and practically launch yourself into the limited space Dabi isn’t occupying. You groan appreciatively and within minutes you’re under the covers and getting comfortable. When you look up to Dabi’s face where he’s still sitting up there’s a brief moment of genuine shock and discomfort that flits across his features. It’s gone as quickly as it appeared but a smug feeling of triumph swells in your chest in response.

“What’s wrong Dabi? Scared to sleep next to your Doll?” you smirk and the amount of serotonin you get seeing the look on his face could last you a lifetime. It’s a combination of affronted at your audacity, annoyed you’d called him on his bluff, and begrudgingly impressed you’d had the courage to do it. “We both know I’m not scared of anything,” he growls. “Then sleeping next to each other shouldn’t be a problem, should it? Since I’m not scared and you’re not scared,” you fire back. “No, it shouldn’t.”

Dabi makes himself comfortable as you both stare each other down, daring the other to chicken out and move to the couch outside. Stubbornness cements you both in place though and eventually with a smug goodnight you roll over to face away from him. You hear him scoff and do the same but it feels distant as your aching body settles into the mattress and you drift off to sleep.

A/N: I am very much obsessed with the dynamic reader and Dabi are forming and really enjoy the idea of her feeling out where the line is between “I’m gonna fire back and he’ll be amused my puny ass had the tits to do it” and “oh he’s genuinely pissed and debating ending my life”

Taglist: @thechroniclesofawriter @simpsfortodoroki @ahtsuwu @oliviasslut @larkspyrr @oikawaandkuroostan @tina-98 @vibesdontlie

#hopelessad #dabi x y/n #dabi x fem!reader #bnha dabi #dabi #touya todoroki #touya x y/n #touya x fem!reader

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the-silentium · 3 years

Text

Home Sweet Home

Masterlist - Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 6 - Chapter 7 - Chapter 8

Fors is an Original planet. I do not give permission to people to use it for their own fics, the planet, the animals, the Nightmares, the lore or anything related to Fors. Thank you.

Pairing: Bad Batch x Reader

Words: 7569 words

Warnings: Angst, sexual innuendos.

A/N: Last “soft” chap before the action come back ~

**Words in bold are words said in French, which means the clones can’t understand it.**

Taglist: @clone-rambles / @mandaloriandin / @apathetic-catastrophie / @jenstar1992-2 / @haloangel391 / @lightning-wolffe / @cherrydemon5 / @and-claudia / @lackofhonor / @gaymasonjar / @depthsreturn / @koskareevesismyqueen / @leonidas-banana-phone

____________________

Nothing changed. Not the obnoxious people, not the earthy smells, nor the heavy atmosphere. The loud locks of the gates closing behind your group still resonated through your ears, sounding too much like the last nail sealing your coffin shut and not like a protecting device. Was it your instincts telling you that you made the wrong decision? Or was it just the dread of returning somewhere you never wanted to return? Either way, it was clear that you didn't feel any bits of nostalgia at being back between these rocky walls.

Hells, even the council's room was giving off unpleasant vibes with its tall bookcases carved directly into the walls that protected way too many old books that weren't all redacted in French nor in Basic. A map of the planet hung on the furthest wall of the room, the different villages identified with their respective symbol to help with trades, hunts, fights. Frabas' name crossed out in blood-red ink to remind everyone of the overnight genocide that happened there.

The lanterns were the only nice things in the room. The soft green and blue crystals contained within the glass enclosure bathed the whole room in their light. Maybe if you focussed on them long enough their glow would soothe your mind.

"Excuse me? You spit on it?" Tech's sudden high pitch tone was surprising enough to pass through your incessant flow of thoughts

"Yeah. Right there." He pointed at an intergrown knot close to the far extremity of the table where the heads usually sat. "What? Did you want me to piss on it? That's a bit too animalistic." Kayden added as soon as he noticed Tech's offended expression that quickly morphed into a disgusted one.

"Honestly, with you people, I wouldn't have been surprised." Crosshair's jeer traveled the room in a second. It took even less to drop Kayden's mood.

His hand tightened around yours and without losing a single second, you matched his grip to keep him from expressing his frustration through anything physical. Now wasn't the time to start a fight between your own team members when several other players might want to hurt you.

If tonight's bad luck could turn into good fortune at least once, now would be the time. The 'diplomats' were out of harm's way, Kayden had technically done what he was told and thus was not considered a traitor, leaving you alone on the spot.

"Look who just found his voice again." He caught your message and used his words instead. "I was sure you'd swallowed your tongue when you ran like a chicken back there."

"And who ran the fastest in the group eh?" The sniper walked to the table. His hands fell flat on the wood to support himself as he leaned forward, daring the brunette at your sides to make a move.

"The fastest is usually the one to survive." He pointed out as he scratched at his clothed chest with his free hand, his right one still prisoner of your grip.

"Crosshair." Hunter slightly pulled him backward by the pauldron and away from the incoming confrontation. "Enough." He added with a growl, clearly remembering how this wasn't his brother. Not fully.

Against all expectation, Crosshair did back off, although he quickly moved his animosity towards the new source of irritation, clear proof that this wasn't the man with whom Hunter had shared so many memories, good or bad. He was a total stranger that didn't respect him at all and lived to push his buttons. Why he stayed with you all was a mystery, although you weren't complaining. Keeping him restrained while in the jungle would have been a true challenge.

It was like waiting for a storm to explode. The dark grey clouds were there, the strong winds blew away everything in their wake, the thunder resonated in the distance, yet there wasn't any droplet of rain. The men faced each other just like in the cave, mere centimeters separated their chest plates and anytime now, the first blow would mark the start of a colossal downpour.

It was nerve-wracking. Even Wrecker and Tech were watching, clearly pondering if they should intervene or if by doing so they would aggravate the situation. You started getting up as the door opened and startled you into seating down again.

Never had you thought that seeing Arlan enter a room would make you feel relieved, yet, this was exactly how you felt at the moment. It seemed like the sudden entrance of an outsider was enough for Crosshair to back off. You subtly crossed your fingers that he wouldn't lash out at the leader even though the scene would very probably make you feel so much better. The consequences of going against Arlan just weren't worth it.

Before the dark-haired leader could notice it, you separated your hand from Kayden's, both your backs straightened and your unbothered masks came back on. Wearing the well-worn suit of this fake cocky personality was deeply uncomfortable but truly necessary. Over the years it became your best shield and Kayden your best ally.

"Take a seat." Arlan waved towards the table as he walked deeper into the room, passing Hunter and Crosshair like they weren't even there. It took years to be able to read the black-haired leader, but it definitely came in handy now.

His calm tone hid a deep irritation that showed through the tightness gripping the muscles around his eyes. He quickly tamed his features as he took place at the end of the table, his elbows immediately meeting the hardwood of the armchairs to allow his fingers to interlace before him.

Soon the 4 seats opposing you were occupied with rigid troopers. Their helmets still firmly on would have been seen as an enormous lack of respect if only Arlan's attention wasn't already focussed on two nasty boots dripping mud onto the piece of art that was the table.

Arlan only needed one look to communicate thoroughly his thoughts. The hard gaze that could easily be misinterpreted as a constipated one transpired enough threats that Kayden removed his boots without any further delay. The ultimatum was clear and you both knew that there was nothing Arlan despised more than repeating himself. Well, maybe you two were the firsts on his list, but that was especially because you loved to make him repeat himself.

If only he didn't look like there was an entire fire-ants colony in his pants, Kayden would have kept his feet up for a bit longer just to raise the man's blood pressure a little. You swore he got more grey hair each time he had to talk with the two of you.

The disapproving sigh accompanying the stormy grey hues boring deeply into yours was a true gift to Kayden whose smirk widened in consequence.

"Do you know why you're here?" The question resonated within the room with utmost seriousness, a seriousness that you forced yourself to shrug nonchalantly in response.

"Surely not because you missed me." You placed a smirk on your lips to copy your sidekick and complete the infernal duo act.

His dark-grey sleeves rode up his arms as he bent forward, his elbows now resting on the table, to get a closer look at you, 3 chairs away. Whilst being very tempting, flinching under his hard stare was out of the question. Four months in a medbay with kind people almost made you forget what the world was really made of; selfish people who always looked out for weaknesses to exploit and were eager to beat others down in hope to raise themselves up.

"We are here to talk relations between the Republic and your planet." Hunter sharply stated, cutting short the staring contest. "My team was sent in a preliminary manner to inform you of the Republic's intentions seeing as your representatives couldn't be reached through official channels. In the following days, two senators will be coming here with adequate troops to talk in the Senate's name."

How the room got hotter in a second was a mystery. All you knew was that even though his tone was borderline too crisp to be qualified as diplomatic, Hunter's words were so perfectly chosen that you wondered if he'd done this kind of job before.

As the silence following Hunter's declaration stretched, Arlan's gaze moved to the hard visor of the commando trooper. The intensity of his stare left you thinking that maybe he was able to see through the shade. Unfazed, Hunter stared right back as you did just moments prior.

You nearly missed it. If you hadn't been watching Arlan as intently as you were doing, the minuscule flash in his eye would have been overlooked. A muscle jumped in his jaw, filling you with dread. Something was wrong. Somehow he had the upper hand and he was internally relishing his win.

"A very well executed lie, but I am sorry to announce you that the Republic won't come here, Sergeant. Not after the Jedis signed a treaty to never come on this planet ever again." You were sure he paused just to get a reaction out of the commando. Hunter's helmet hid his expression perfectly. If he'd reacted or not was totally lost on everyone, unfortunately, it wasn't the same for Kayden whose eyes grew as big as saucers. "No Jedi, no clone, no senator, no Separatist, no outsider is welcome here."

Say what now? Never before had you ever heard of Jedis ever landing a foot on Fors, even less signing a treaty.

Hunter's helmet slightly dipped in your direction, surely to get some answers through your body language. Surely, he got the message when you gulped, wariness filling your eyes as you continued to stare at the man in his mid-50s. His message had been pretty clear from the very beginning. That he felt the need to add that the clones weren't welcome caused doubts in your village ethics to creep into your mind.

As far as you knew, no one had ever been executed in cold blood. Sure, you'd heard stories as a child about how people who were a tad bit too disturbing in the community would vanish overnight, obviously thrown out into the jungle to be feasted on by some hungry creature. Without knowing if they were true events or simply a way to make children behave, you took a habit of sticking with Kayden as soon as the firsts Furants that created their nests in the crooks of the walls circling the village entered the gates to hide, signaling that 7 pm had recently passed and the Nightmares would show up in under an hour. After all, there was no better nuisance in Alryan than the two of you.

Knowing that Arlan's smugness was carefully hidden under layers of practiced indifference, a very tantalizing urge to break your knuckles once again send tingles into your dominant hand. Breaking his nose for a second time would definitely help your mood as well as everyone else's in the room, you were sure of it.

"The- the Jedis? But they never-"

"It is not common knowledge." Arlan archly cut Kayden short and rolled his eyes with that very particular expression that made you feel like the stupidest idiot in the galaxy. In response, the tingles in your hand intensified. "This treaty is way older than me after all. We never needed the Republic's help in any way, not then and certainly not now." He at least had the decency to meet his eyes as he talked.

"And what do you think of the Nightmares? Frabas-" You piped up, the image of a traumatized red-head girl shaking in her bloody clothes popped in your mind. "They could've helped with that."

"They are protectors." He closed his eyes in exasperation and pinched his nose like he'd repeated the concept over and over again to a child that never retained anything.

"They don't protect shit! They kill us!"

Where had he been his whole life? Every night they came and howled, screeched, hissed, yapped and laughed on the other side of the gates in hope of having some juicy flesh and fresh blood to appease their hunger and thirst. Some even went as far as hitting the gates repeatedly in hope of breaking their way in. 10 hours per night, 368 nights a year, every year.

"They protect the Core that's in you--" He interrupted himself as soon as he noticed the irritation breaching his mask, allowing venom to drip through the closing cracks. His rage fit only lasted a second but it was a second too much. He gave you more than he wanted you to know.

"What do you mean? In me?" You could feel yourself starting to shake. In apprehension, anger or fear you couldn't tell. There was too much going on at the same time, assaulting your already tired mind.

"Nothing that you need to know." His tone was definitive, his grey eyes conveying the same message.

"Bullshit!" You jump to your feet just as he pushed his chair to get up. "If it's in me like you say, I deserve to know!"

Your yell must have triggered something, because as soon as the words flew from your mouth, Rhian and his troops entered the room, bows fully bent and ready to shoot in your direction. Elijah had his hammer in both hands, fully prepared to use it against a clone- your money went on Wrecker- if needed and Pete was ready to blow a tranquilizer- or it could easily be a fast-acting poison- into someone's neck.

The answer to the intrusion was immediate. Wrecker's chair went flying behind him at the impact of his legs when he followed his CO's movement. All four troopers stood on their side of the table, imposing and totally ready to enter a fight if need be. You and Kayden though? Totally not ready. You were unarmed and by the time you took hold of Kayden's bow, at least three arrows would have found their way into your body.

"All you really deserved was to die on Murphy Day." He snarled in your direction as his impatience once again showed through his slipping mask. "Throw them in the slammer."

That's it. Goodbye knuckles. Always the perceptive, Kayden grabbed your upper arm, right below the Algax's clean-cut, and pulled you back to his side even before you made the first step towards the bastard. Always there to keep you alive for another day. What a nice friend.

"Hands behind your head." Rhian barked as he approached you and Kayden from behind.

Doing as you were told, you noticed the troopers hesitating before doing as ordered when you nodded at them. Tech lifted his good hand, the other keeping hold of Crosshair's cage. One of the archers went to seize it, but a sudden shoulder to the sternum kept him away.

He's not just a nerd. You smirked as the archer stumbled.

"Let them keep it." Rhian waved off the fuming archer who definitely wanted to go back and win his fight. Too bad. "Walk ahead. You know the way." Rhian nodded towards the door after getting a hold of Kayden's bow and quiver, his very own bow aimed at the floor. The string was stretched just enough to cause serious damage if he needed to defend himself quickly, but he seemed to know that it wasn't needed.

Kayden led the way with you in tow, Elijah and Pete moved away from the door to let you pass at a safe distance. Out of the corner of your eyes, you noticed Rhian breaking formation to move up to Arlan, who surely waved him over.

You sighed as you remembered that he didn't even tell you why he wanted you here.

The clone's boots resonated against the rock floor at each of their steps, close enough to appease your mind.

"Do you know a way out of here?" Hunter's voice emanated softly within your ear.

You moved your shoulder blades in a circular motion as if you were stretching the muscles and nodded your head at the same time as to not look too suspicious to the archers escorting the group. Good thing that they didn't notice your earpiece yet.

Wrecker must have been the one right behind you because he relayed the message to Hunter through the private line.

"Now?" You rotated your head from side to side like when you needed to crack your neck.

"No." Came Wrecker's whisper.

"In the slammer?" A small nod.

"Yeah."

"Then we wait and we get out as soon as possible." Hunter told his half-plan to the Batch who hummed their approvals.

Once again the unusual parade that you formed along with the armored men attracted many curious eyes. Ignoring them was easier this time around, the familiarity of their chary gazes finally coming back to allow you to concentrate on something else.

This part of the village was carved so deeply into the mountain that even the occasional howls coming from the jungle couldn't be heard. There couldn't have been better protection for a population of more than 700 people than a natural barrier of rock. Sure, this very convenient refuge could easily become a tomb for a lot of villagers in the event of a breach, but several emergency tunnels were created for this very situation. They were maintained at a perfect condition in case a repeat of Frabas' catastrophe ever came to happen.

Every Alryan learned the location of every single tunnel at the youngest of age. They were only to be used in emergency cases and right now, it was an emergency. It all depended on the perspective.

"It never changed." You stated quietly as the slammer's entrance came into view, the dark purple glow emanating from its depths was a stark contrast to the lively colors of the main area.

Goosebumps rose on your arms as you followed Kayden down the tunnel. The nearby natural well raised the humidity in these parts of the mountain and thus caused the air to become colder. Just my luck, you thought as the fresh air infiltrated your clothes by the multiple tears in their fabric.

"In there." Rhian speed-walked to catch up with Kayden and direct him to a cell carved into the wall on his left.

You were locked up with him, Wrecker and Hunter got situated in the cell facing yours, Crosshair and Tech on the one right beside theirs.

Right as Tech got in after a growling Crosshair, Rhian took hold of the cage and kicked Tech inside who landed in a yelp. You weren't even gripping the bars yet that the heavy door closed behind the engineer.

"Give him back!"

"Sorry 'bout that." He threw the cage in the air twice, the flame within shaking frantically as it hit the bars. "Orders are orders." He ignored the yells of his name bouncing in the detention center and walked out unbothered, his men in tow.

"How quick can you get us out of here?" The urgency in Hunter's tone only added to your own raiding anxiety. What would Arlan do to Crosshair? He was totally defenseless.

"Couple of minutes. But we'll need Back-Up. I hope you have it." You turned to Kayden who scoffed in mocked offense.

"You have back-up?" Tech wondered out loud, tilting his head. "I thought no one would help you here."

"Jeez. Thanks for the vote of confidence." Kayden held his heart before reaching for his chest pocket. "Back-up is my Godot." He pulled a hand-sized lizard from his pocket to show the Batch.

The Godot's orange scales shone softly at Kayden's contact, their light reflecting onto the soft line of baby blue leaves growing on each side of its spine. Its three-fingered paws grabbed fingers and clothes to remain in place while two black eyes moved independently from one another to take in what was happening around. Its long tail wrapped around Kayden's wrist as he lifted it up to show off, the small leaves at its end shining brightly in surprise.

Wrecker gasped and lifted his helmet to get a better view of the animal. "That's what I saw the first time, Tech! It's the lizard that disappeared!"

"Nothing disappeared Wrecker. There was nothing there." Tech rebuked.

"Don’t be so sure about that! They can camouflage themselves, right Back-Up?" At the half-baked order, the tiny lizard shut off its light and changed its skin pigmentation to copy its environment to perfection.

"It disappeared Tech! See? That's what I saw and you didn't believe me!" Wrecker's tone raised as he pointed to Kayden's seemingly empty outstretched hand.

"Wrecke-" You tried to warn him to keep his voice down but heard steps coming your way.

"Back-up, go get the master key at home." Kayden hurriedly whispered to the Godot and quickly kneeled to allow it access to the ground so it could wander away and get the required object.

A guard appeared at the end of the corridor just as Kayden got up and threw himself onto the upper hammock fixed to the walls. He moved around to get comfortable and into the right position, hands under his head.

"So, I've heard that Stockholm syndrome was hard on you." Brett, a particularly annoying scout, mocked from behind his beard.

"Nope. Still don't like y'all." You replied nonchalantly despite the urge to punch him through the bars.

"I was talking about them." He pointed to the two cells containing the clones and you lifted a single eyebrow.

"Tech, definition of Stockholm syndrome please." You asked, maintaining eye contact during the whole process.

"Stockholm syndrome," You saw the genius perked up at your request. Sadly, he didn't lift a finger in the air while he recited the meaning of the word. "Is a psychological response wherein a captive begins to identify closely with his or her captors, as well as with their agenda and demands." He ended with a nod and the movement satisfied you enough to let the lack of a finger go.

"That means you dumbass." You spat as you crossed your arms over your chest. "I'm with them willingly."

"Get fucked!" Kayden shouted with a laugh that got half a smile out of you.

"You? Our captive? It sure felt like the other way around." He finally switched to basic and the hate coating his words told you that he wasn't talking about the pranks and snarky attitude, no, he was talking about something bigger than that.

"What are you talking about?" Maybe you could get more answers out of him than you did with Arlan.

He scoffed. "Stop trying to play the idiot. Between the two of you, Kayden's the best at it."

You ignored said idiot's thanks to press the matter. "Okay and let's imagine I really don't know what the hell you're talking about. What in the damn world did I do?" You remembered Arlan's word and almost added what is wrong with me? but Brett was already dropping the three medicine canisters to the ground, out of reach from either your cell or the clones' and went away.

"You live."

You sat on the ground, drained of every ounce of energy you once had. What was wrong with you? Why did everyone want you dead? The fear you felt at Arlan's words came back as you thought about what it could all mean. The Nightmares who stopped appearing when you left and came back when you did. Whatever the Core was that supposedly resided in you and the fact that the Lumsin knew what it was while you didn't. That the villagers never saw you as an annoying brat but a vile oppressor.

You faintly heard Kayden talking with Tech about Back-up, but couldn't make out the exact words, your own thoughts being way too loud for you to clearly hear anything outside your head.

"It's alright. Don't worry about it." An arm fell on your shoulders and pulled you into Kayden's side who now sat next to you on the ground, successfully pulling you out of your own mind. Yet, as comforting as his gesture was supposed to be, you only felt guiltier. Even when everyone else pointed their fingers at you, he was still there to keep yourself up even after you'd vanished on him.

Kayden scratched the clothes over his heart again and cut off your incoming guilty declaration.

"Question. If the half-skull one was to break my jaw or somethin' and that you didn't see it happen, would you believe me if I told you it was him?" Kayden asked, frowning too deeply for you to brush the question off as one of his stupid ones.

"Wha-?" Then it dawned on you. "Did you threaten him?" You asked Hunter, voice raising in octaves.

You knew Kayden probably deserved it, but he was your best friend. You've been helping each other for more than 15 years and there was no way you'd let him get beaten for a stupid jealousy tantrum.

An invisible hand squeezed your heart as you felt Kayden relaxing against your side. He doubted that you'd listen to him. More importantly, he doubted that you'd trust his word over someone else's. Sure it was Hunter's word, but you knew the Sergeant was not in his right mind and not only because of the irrational feeling.

"He wouldn't stop talking." The unbothered tone in which he answered shocked you.

"Yet you've never threatened Tech."

"That's not the same." Why must he sound like he truly believed that he did nothing wrong?

"You may not value his life and health, but I do. A lot." You emphasized the last word so he got the message. "And his word is the only single one in the galaxy that I never ever doubted."

Kayden's breath sharply filled his lungs and Hunter's fingers curled into fists. You still deeply loved the dark-haired Sergeant and seeing him frustrated at your words made a real number on your insides but that rational part of your brain told you that he would tire of you someday and would leave, whereas Kayden had shown countless of times that he'd be there to hold your hand, push your back and pull you up whenever needed.

"Good to know."

Why did his acknowledgment of your words make you sick? You'd said those words yourself and they were true, so how could they hurt that much? If it wasn't of the half-circles traced on the back of your right hand, you certainly would have had a physical reaction. It could have been hiding in your hammock or tears leaking from your eyes, you didn't know.

"You don't trust us?" Wrecker's hurt translated in his low, nearly inaudible tone if it wasn't of the earbud deeply pushed into your ear canal.

"I do Wrecker. I really do. It's me that I don't." Damn. For someone who wanted to avoid feelings-talks like the plague, you found yourself right in the middle of the deepest one ever.

"I don't understand." He admitted.

"I-" You sighed, trying to find the words that would explain something you didn't know how to explain. "I don't myself Wrecker. I make people despise me and-" The words escaped you. Out of exasperation, your free hand moved up to rub your closed eyelids and drag the pads of your fingers down your cheeks.

"When they don't you persuade yourself they do and you tell yourself that they'll give you up so you start to doubt them even when there's nothing to worry about." Kayden shrugged at your wide eyes looking at him. "Don't be surprised I know you better than yourself. You did the same shit with me but I didn't let you."

"Then why did you doubt yourself against Hunter?"

" 'cuz you love him." He answered in your native tongue and you were grateful for it. You weren't ready to say the words out loud and if Kayden, the person who just demonstrated that he knew you like the palm of his hand, said those words himself, then he'd throw your feelings out in the open and you couldn't have that. Not when your brain still expected the Bad Batch to get back to their ship and leave you on Fors, where you belonged.

"You were there longer."

"Yeah, but that was because you couldn't escape me. Give them their chance. You might be surprised." He patted your shoulder like an old man who gave advice to a youngster.

"We wouldn't give you up. You're our friend!" Wrecker added once the conversation in a foreign language died.

"If you still doubt our friendship, then you might want to remember that we passed hundreds of hours training you to be our pilot and that we lied to our superiors to keep you." Tech pointed out, this time with the finger in the air. It brought the tiniest of smiles to your lips.

"Or remember the moments shared." Hunter surprised you with his quiet words that Kayden definitely couldn't hear without a comm device. Had he realized that he was fighting a non-existent enemy? Or did he feel as bad as you following your exchange?

"Or you can remember that you're a freak." Tech slapped his lean brother's shoulder

"So I belong with you guys? Yeah, I'll- I'll do my best to remember all that." A chuckle escaped your lips. "Thanks." You added under your breath, to which the boys nodded and Wrecker smiled brightly.

"Is your chest okay?" Tech asked and pointed at Kayden who was still scratching his torso.

"Yeah, 's just itchy. I think Kerth put some poison Ivy in my clothes. I wouldn't be surprised." He pulled his shirt forward to look at his skin. He winced. "That does look like it."

"You never get tired of looking at yourself?" A soft feminine voice chuckled from down the hallway.

Soft brown eyes shone behind fiery red locks, their owner walking straight to your cell where she stopped to pass you a hot container. You'd recognize that smell everywhere and apparently so did your stomach who growled loudly in anticipation of receiving some soup.

"Good timing, I see." She chuckled, put her pack on the ground and offered you a container. "It's not poisoned, I promise. I did it myself." She assured in basic when you kept watching her hands without making any move towards the food.

Still unmoving, Kayden took it upon himself to grab two containers and let the redhead give the clones their servings.

"They wanted me to only feed the soldiers but I slipped some for you two as well. For all the spare crusts." She nodded at you, who kept watching her in silence. Before turning around to go back to where she came from, the woman had the kindness to grab the discarded medicine canisters and offer them to Kayden. "Take care."

Wait. You had to tell her. It was like your brain forgot how everything worked. Opening your mouth wasn't hard compared to finding what to say. Even then your throat constricted in an attempt to shut you up, but you couldn't let her go without telling her.

She deserved to know.

"Fleena." Was all you managed and it was enough to stop her in her tracks. When she turned, your hand was already fishing around in your pocket for the small piece of wood.

She came back as you brought your closed fist forward and dropped the dirty necklace on her open hand.

She stared at it, surprise taking over her soft features in a flash as soon as she recognized the symbol. She turned it to inspect the back and now was the right time for the earth to open beneath your ass and take you away.

"Where did you get that?" The tremors in her voice send a knife through your heart.

Swallowing down the lump in your throat, you made sure to choose your words better than with Hunter. "Nixon was a Wanderer."

"He-" She started with hope until she registered your sentence. "Was?"

There it was. The moment to own what you did finally arrived.

"What did you do?" She pressed as you kept silent, unable to say it out loud.

"It wasn't him anymore, Fleena. He hadn't grown up and kept walking in circles on his bleeding feet. He was tormented."

You freed him. You helped him. Now that her horrified hazel eyes bore into yours, Crosshair's words that were so helpful before held no sense.

"He was still my brother." She clutched the necklace to her chest, tears running down her cheeks.

"Nixon was gone."

"I don't expect you to understand. You don't know anything about having a sibling."

The silence following her retreating steps was even heavier than before. No. That wasn't true. The boys spoke in the background and in your ear, prompting you to remove the device to have some peace.

"You're right, I don't." You grumbled in your knees that were now up to your face to hide your features, your arms tightly wrapped around them to keep them close.

"That's the biggest bullshit that ever came out of your mouth." Kayden scoffed next to you. "What do you think I am then? Your friend?" He puffed like it was the stupidest joke he'd ever been told. "Fuck no. We've been family ever since your dad died so cut the crap or I'll hit you."

I should be punching you for saying such stupid stuff.

"For real. I'll hit you so hard you won't ignore me again." He shuffled around to better position himself, arm lifting-

"I've abandoned you." You spat more at you than at him.

"Siblings sucks but we love them anyway." He shrugged. "You're no exception."

Tears gathered in your eyes. Even after leaving him alone to fight for himself, Kayden still loved you as much as before and never once held a grudge against your actions. He was a true god-given gift and you'd treated him unfairly.

Pain exploded into your shoulder and you found yourself colliding with the ground.

"The fuck?" Four spots on your shoulder hurt so deeply that it didn't take long for you to realize that he'd hit you with his knuckles.

"My monthly quota was not yet achieved." He smirked, watching you massage the beaten skin.

"Don't you think I'm hurt enough already?"

"Stop whining, we have Biogel." He shook the metallic container before your face.

"That thing hurts like hell." You groaned, pushing his hand away to sit straight.

"When did you become such a baby?" You shot him the deadliest glare you had in reserve. "Hey. It's a very small price to pay for completely healed wounds in under 30 minutes."

"Completely healed?" Tech inquired, eying the matching container in his hands that Kayden pushed him.

"Yeah! One good layer and bye-bye! Works for sprained stuff too, just takes a little longer." Kayden answered as he helped you apply the cold sticky gel onto your arms. "Little tips: let someone else put it on you." He added as you hissed and groaned under the burning feeling that came with the product.

Your hands closed and opened repeatedly to keep from hitting Kayden in retaliation for the pain he was putting you through. The raging fire led to intense stinging that you could describe as white-hot needles poking your damaged skin.

"Please remember that you love me." Kayden said right before he dropped a huge blob of Biogel onto the hole in your leg. Had he not jumped away, your elbow would have connected with his chest at high speed. Instead, all that got injured were your nerves, your vocal cords and Hunter's head.

"I'll murder you if you do that again." You whimpered while clutching your upper thigh in hope of cutting every pain transmission from your leg to your brain.

"Good thing it was the last one!" He laughed from his side of the cell, Biogel discarded to the profit of the warm bowl of soup which he was already drinking like he'd been starved for a week.

Wrecker's gasp and groans filled the air. A quick glance his way showed Hunter applying a coat of the translucent substance on his burnt hands and neck as well as on the cuts on his arms. Then came Hunter's turn who covered some scratches from the Yappians and after some thought applied some of it on the side of his forehead. No sound escaped his throat, the only proof of the pain assaulting his nerves being the scrunching of his face, unlike Tech who yelped when Crosshair carelessly applied the gel on his wrist and arms. Then, like pain didn't affect him at all, he splattered some on his swollen ankle and it was done.

"I'm sure no one really wants to eat right now, but it'd be good to eat the food until Back-up comes back and we have to leave." Kayden reminded.

"What's that?" Crosshair asked, more worried about the soup than Wrecker was. The tank was already slurping the soup down, mindful of his sensible fingers.

"In basic I guess it translates as bone soup." Wrecker stopped abruptly, mouth still scotched to the bowl. He eyed you in distress, pondering if it was safe to swallow or not. "It's good, despite the name. Hunters usually eat that before a hunt to boost their systems, right Y/N?" Just for the sake of the game, you nodded. It was true anyway.

"And eh… what's in it?" Tech moved the container in small circles to try and identify what was floating in the light yellow liquid.

"Roots, meats, some veggies, guts and ground bones." You kept your poker face as Kayden enumerated the 'ingredients' and Wrecker lost all colors. "Where do you think the name comes from?"

Wrecker spat his enormous gulp and you laughed to the point of tears, soon joined by your best frie- brother.

"He's just fucking with y'all, Wreck. It's called bone soup because there's bone marrow in it to help with our joints. And there’s no guts. We're no savages." You did your best to control your laugh before digging into your soup eagerly. How Kayden always managed to get your mood up was a total mystery, but it always worked and you were grateful for it.

"Could've fooled me." Crosshair taunted.

"Ya can choke on it." You said at the same time Kayden did, getting a laugh out of it.

The delicious soup filled your stomach in less than 10 gulps and it wasn't until you put your bowl down that you realized how good it made you feel to fill that emptiness in you. The soup wasn't enough to make you sleepy after a nice meal and provided just enough nutrients for everyone to be able to face the fast-approaching escape without a problem. Mixed with the Biogel, you were back at the top of your games.

Arlan really made an error in taking care of the group.

"What now? What's your plan?" Hunter wondered, posing his container on the ground.

You met gaze with Kayden and he nodded confidently. "How well can you all swim in your armors?"

"In calm water, we are fine but slow. We can't go in strong water. The current will catch in the plastoid and will drag us down."

A hum resonated from within your throat and you pucker your lips. "You can't give them up. That scratch out the underground well and the waterfall." You taped your lips in thought. Watching Tech who still drank with only one hand, you knew that hiking wasn't an option as well. For now at least.

"Then it's the dark pit." Kayden pointed out.

It indeed was the last possible option. The other remaining one would be to use the front gates and it was the least possible one.

"Yeah. The other tunnels would take too long to get out and then we'd lose too much time walking back at the Old Man's cave." You recalled from your mental map of the jungle. "I'm fairly sure we have two hours until dawn. The Old Man's Cave is 15 minutes away from here if we run."

"Then we run." Hunter agreed.

"Now, to get out… Hey, big guy." Kayden called. "What's the name?"

"Wrecker." He answered proudly, almost puffing his chest out.

Kayden scoffed. "Obviously. Should'a figured." He turned to you. "Is it too late to change my name?"

The moron was too far for a shoulder slap, so you showed your exasperation with a roll of your eyes. "Stop screwing around and tell us your idea."

"Yeah yeah." The childish tone wasn't surprising on his part. He turned his attention back to the tall clone. "So, Wrecker, I bet you're experienced with big shafts so how good are you with pulse-hammers?" In a flash, you threw your empty container at his head with utmost precision that you knew Crosshair would be proud. The flying object was as unexpected for him as the inappropriate sentence was for you and hit him square on the forehead.

"I'll strangle you." You threatened.

"Kinky." He winked while nursing his forehead.

"With what?" Wrecker inquired, too focussed on the unknown term to pick up at the dirty joke.

"Her han-"

"Not that, morron." You cut him off. "The big hammer that exploded that tree back at the pit." You clarified for Wrecker.

"Oh! I've never used one before, but I'm sure it can't be that hard!" Excitement glimmered in his eyes at the perspective of using the powerful weapon.

"Oh believe me it's hard." Kayden smirked way too smugly for your taste.

"Okay. Time out. Planning is paused." You poked the palm of your hand with the fingertips of your other hand. "I call pervert veto card." You deadpanned.

"Oh hell no you can't!" Was there panic in his voice? Yes. Definitely.

"Oh heck yes I can! Once a year for 24 hours and I'm using it now." Thank the gods you'd not used it before.

"But-!"

"No but or butts. No sexual reference in any form, implied or not. 24 hours starting now." He glared at you from his spot two meters away. You could have laughed at his face that perfectly mirrored a kid who just got his Christmas gift stolen directly from its small weak hands.

"You're fucking me in the ass." He grumbled like an overgrown petulant child.

You lifted an eyebrow. "Try again. You can do it."

"Party pooper."

"There you go." As you turned to the rest of them, a laugh escaped your lips at the clones’ expressions.

Crosshair, despite his feelings blockade, was covering his mouth, Wrecker was laughing his ass off, Tech looked relieved behind his horrified eyes and Hunter chuckled. He appeared to be pleased and somewhat totally used to the situation, which grabbed your curiosity.

Later. You forced a cough to get everyone's attention. "Let's continue. To answer your question, Wrecker, handling a pulse-hammer is not hard. Only remember to not touch the head," You had to stop to point at Kayden in a threatening manner when you sensed a perverted comment about to escape his idiotic mouth despite the veto card being used. "And hit with the glowing side. If you hit with the other side, you'll damage the hammer and it'll be useless."

"I can do that!" Wrecker enthusiastically nodded.

"So we plan into exploding our way out of here? What do we do about Cross?" Tech pointed out what he thought was a flaw in your plan.

Right at this moment, Back-Up appeared before Kayden, its fluffy leaves puffing out in pride as Kayden removed the Master key from its belly pouch. What a marvelous creature they were. Being able to fit your own size in an extensible pouch that covered your body from your collarbone to your pelvis was truly amazing and more than practical.

"We'll split. Kayden will guide you guys to the emergency tunnel and I'll go get Cross. I'll meet you all as soon as I can."

You nearly hadn't finished that Hunter inevitably rejected your plan. "No. We stay together."

"We can't. You guys will be the decoy I need to sneak around and find him and having one of you with me will catch attention and slow me down." You cut Hunter as he still looked like he was about to be opposed. "I still have my comms and earbud. I'll contact you every 5 minutes." You offered in an attempt to compromise.

Silence stretched and you got up, already ready to depart. The tingling in your arms and leg had subsided some time ago and to your sweet surprise, applying weight on your leg didn't hurt as much as before.

Kayden unlocked the cells and a hand softly grabbed your forearm. "Fine. You comm every 5 minutes and you take this." He moved to Tech to rummage through his belt and hand you a pistol. "Use it if needed."

You took the pistol with a steady grip despite the uncertainty shaking your guts. It was the very first blaster you've ever had in your hand and it was heavier than you thought. "Don't worry. I will." You assured him, voice strong and unwavering.

But… could you really?

#bad batch x reader #hunter x reader #tech x reader #wrecker x reader #crosshair x reader #tcw #star wars #clone force 99 #sergeant hunter #clone trooper tech #clone trooper wrecker #clone trooper hunter #clone trooper crosshair #Good Night Good Luck

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internalsealpanic · 4 years

Text

The Thorn pt.1

summary: “Please what, Kitten? I can’t give you what you want if you don’t tell me.”

or my 6 thousand word essay on why I want more Sugar daddy!Slade fics.

a/n: This is just straight up smut Never combine stress thirst plus an amazing enabler. Thanks to @littleredwing89 for basically co-writing. Also I need more case fics with undercover gentlemen’s clubs stuff. I will edit this for grammar later.

warnings: mentions of murder and sexual assault (for the case), mirror sex, collars, oral (male receiving), choking, kind of public sex?, size kink (this is to be expected at this point), strength kink, reader is kind of a dumbass, and praise kink.

villain’s masterlist or masterlist

Saying this wasn’t your scene would be like saying the sun is bright. Obvious but wholly inadequate in describing just how out of your depth you are. You cross your arms over your chest in a futile attempt to shield them from prying eyes. The soft fabric of your lingerie feeling too little in contrast to the men clad in expensive suits leering at you as they passed your skittish form.

You try to swallow down the nervousness. You try to tell yourself this is fine, that it’s just for the case. But the silk collar tied tightly around your neck and your own fraying nerves made it extremely difficult to ignore just how vulnerable you felt.

God, what made your awkward ass think you could pull this off?

You lift your head, eyeing the other men and women around you. You all wore matching silk ribbons tied into bows behind your neck, a circular, silver tag hanging off of it. You wrinkle your nose at how young some of them look. Some barely look old enough to be anywhere near a place like this.

Part of you feels thankful that you shut Nicky’s idea down to go with a leather lingerie set but the stark contrast of your lacy lingerie set made you stand out too much in the sea of leather. It made you stand out just enough to color both your cheeks and ears from the amount of attention you were getting. You close your eyes trying to ignore the heat permeating from your skin. You try to focus on the details of the case.

For the last 8 months, there’s been an increase in the number of young men and women going missing and turning up dead. The assumption had been that it was due to the increase in gang activity but something felt off about the deaths.

Nothing was consistent. The victim type, the area, and even the M.O. of sexual assault were varied. Only the mode of death was even close to being consistent but even that presented its own problems. The injuries were too clean, too efficient for the killer to have drawn any pleasure from it especially when contrasted with the victims’ other injuries. Normally people who make those injuries have a certain type and a certain way of doing things. And the clean efficiency of the disposal method had easily ruled out any of the local gangs.

When you brought all of this up to your boss, he waved you off saying something about looking into it. Somehow not getting fired after screaming at your boss (probably because you’re one of the few crime scene techs willing to stay in this shithole), you decide to conduct your own investigation. The more clues you uncovered (out of sheer spite) the more they seemed to point to an organized crime group, likely involved in trafficking.

Finally, after a month and a half of searching, you found a solid lead. Augustus Klineberg. Despite the name, he was new money. At least, here in Merit.

“I’m his type!”

“And so are a dozen bodies laying around in the lab, what’s your point?”

“Sita, got me a part-time job at the Thorn.”

It hadn’t been easy. The thorn was an exclusive gentlemen’s club that specialized in certain kinks. It had taken Sita a week to even get you an interview but after that they eagerly accepted you with worrying enthusiasm. Either way, this conversation was simply a formality.

Bernard stares at you and you watch as his entire being crumples into the dining room table. He turns to his husband pleadingly. “Nicky, Please, my love, talk some sense into her.”

You turn to Nicky who is innocently sipping from his coffee mug filled with whatever ungodly creation came to Bernard in the dead of night. He tilts his head back seemingly collecting the right words. “Y/n has a point.”

“No! Not you too!”

“Yes!”

“Bern, think about it. Klineberg would never suspect her and unlike most of Klineberg’s victims, Y/n is a ninja gremlin.”

Bernard gives him a withering look while you snort. Nicky shrugs and continues to drink his, what you assumed was, liquid crack.

“Y/n, are you sure about this? The Thorn- Well, it isn’t exactly like your other undercover jobs.” You give both of them a cocky smile, biting into your mini waffle. “It can’t be that hard. All I have to do is sit there and look pretty.” At that little remark, Nicky burst out into a fit of laughter loud enough to wake the neighbors.

You run your hand through your hair still, feeling flustered. You need air.

“Hey Nina, I’m gonna need like maybe 5 minutes.”

“Sure, just don’t blame me for whatever excuse I give the bossman,” Nina says, shrugging at you. She flips her red curls over her shoulder, winking at a patron and tilting her hips to show off her curves. Both you and the patron are slack-jawed and entranced. Maybe you should try that sometime? Some time being after you stop gawking at Nina’s ass and probably also after you take in some air.

You shuffle away awkwardly keeping your eyes to the ground. You shrink into yourself easily as you cut through the crowd. This case was going to be the death of you and Bernard’s eulogy would just be a very short but satisfying ‘I told you so’.

Mercifully, you find a quieter area. You would have preferred to go outside but standing alone in a dark alley in skimpy underwear might be a bad idea. You flatten yourself against a wall and close your eyes. Maybe you could tell them you aren’t feeling well which isn’t entirely untrue. You felt sick being this vulnerable. You should probably leave before you do something stupid.

A hand on your wrist drags you back to reality. It takes absolutely everything in you not to break his wrist. You open your eyes to see Klineberg hoovering in your personal space.

“Are you ok?” He asks, the concern in his voice sounding synthetic. You try to wriggle out of his hold not bothering to hide your discomfort. You note how his smile seems to get bigger as you struggled more. Clearly, he was enjoying your discomfort.

“Thanks for finding her for me. The manager said she’d be in this general area but it’s quite hard to see with just one eye.” Slade says casually, settling a large hand on the man’s shoulder. Your heart stops. Of all the people you had to run into-

Klineberg eyes him skeptically. You have to respect him for that. You’ve faced Slade several times before, only making it out due to luck or hours of planning. If you were Klineberg, you’d be pissing yourself. Despite the almost friendly expression Slade had on him, you can tell this wasn’t up for negotiation. And apparently, so can Klineberg seeing how he dropped your hand.

Slade waves a neatly dressed man over. The man eyes you appraisingly and your heart takes an express elevator to your throat. Were you that obviously out of place?

“We’ll be taking a room.”

“Of course, sir,” The man answers politely, finally, taking his eyes off of you and handing Slade a key.

Wait. We?

Slade starts walking without a word, the crowd parting for him easily. You briefly look back at Klineberg who is still looking at you like he’s going to tear you apart with his bare hands before following Slade.

You walk behind him wordlessly. Your mind is still reeling from the fact that Slade ‘Deathstroke: The Terminator’ Wilson just saved you from your target and your own terrible acting and is mortified by the fact that he has now seen you in skimpy lingerie. The steps you take are measured, making sure to stick close to him but not too close. You keep your eyes to the ground as you walk behind him, hoping it’s enough to hide the expressions cycling through your face.

You two enter a room. It was unexpectedly spacious even under the dim neon lights. You look around finding the room furnished with expensive decorations looking nothing like the seedy gentlemen’s clubs you’ve busted before save for the pole in the middle of the room. It looked more akin to an expensive hotel bar, again, save for the pole. The darkness of the room and the quiet flow of the music set quite the intimate atmosphere which just made you that more skittish.

Slade makes his way across the room, eyes searching the corners and spaces of the room. He nods seemingly satisfied with the setup and likely not spotting any recording devices. Your stiff shoulders loosen a bit, if nothing else you could at least speak plainly now.

Slade takes his suit jacket off, revealing broad shoulders and the outline of strong back muscles. Your throat dries. Something warm stirs in you and you’re gawking again. God, you really need a better reaction to attractive people.

Slade holds out a glass of whiskey to you, a playful smile on his handsome face. He doesn’t seem to mind you staring at him. You swear viciously not skimping on colorful words but walk over to take the alcohol regardless. It’s on his tab and you honestly needed some alcohol in your system if you’re going to talk to him.

“So, working for the cops not work out for you?”

“Nah, my last sugar daddy just kicked the bucket, so I’m looking for a new one,” you say, giving Slade a wry smile. You watch him cross one leg over another easing into a relaxed position through the wall. It was polished to a mirror shine. You guess that’s the kind of thing rich people liked.

“Hmmm, that can be arranged.” You choke on your drink. You scowl at him. He simply shrugs at you taking a sip of his whiskey.

You hear the door open, forcing you to pretend to be civil. A man around your age, dressed in a classic waiter’s outfit comes in with a tray of whiskey and two glasses. You don’t know how but you can tell the whiskey is worth more than your apartment. This doesn’t help your urge to punch Slade.

“Will you be requiring any special toys tonight, sir?” The straightforward tone of the question makes you stiffen more than anything. The man’s eyes flicker towards you but his focus remains squarely on Slade who eyes you openly before smiling and saying “No, thanks, Anthony. I think we’ll be just fine.”

"If you say so, sir. Please feel free to let us know if you need anything."

You wait for Anthony to leave before turning the full force of your scowl at Slade.“How the hell did you know his name?”

Slade regards you impassively over the rim of his glass. You refuse to break eye contact. He raises his hands in mock surrender. “Alright, Kitten, you caught me. I do frequent this club quite a bit.”

“You kinky shit.”

He eyes you again, his eye clearly tracing your curves. “I’m not the one sitting here in their underwear with a collar on. Speaking of which-” Slade nods his head towards something in front of both of you.

You look at the pole, blinking dumbly as a smile spreads across his face. He tips his head to it. “I did pay for your time and the customer is always right.”

Your mouth twists into a snarl as the tips of your ears run red. “You are insufferable.”

“Don’t make me call the manager.” You sigh at the unspoken ‘it is definitely going to blow your cover and get you shot. At best.’ and begrudgingly you make your way to the pole.

You grip the pole in front of you, flexing your fingers against the cold metal. Anxiety thrums under your skin. Your eyes flick nervously to Slade who’s got the audacity to sit comfortably, sip whiskey, and smirk at you as if he was completely in his element.

“No need to be shy. Be a good girl and give us a good show,” he says, winking at you. Your hackles rise and your face pulls into a frown before rearranging itself into a sultry smile. You put one heel in front of you, hooking your leg around the pole and grinding your clothed sex into the metal in an undulating motion that has Slade clenching his hand around his glass. You try your hardest to grin and you suspect you’ve failed. Not that Slade’s noticed considering his eye is laser-focused on your ass.

With your one leg on the floor, you push yourself into a spin. Your body tips back as your hand runs down your face, chest, and abdomen drawing attention to the plains of exposed skin and delicate fabric accenting your shape. Pulling your body back up, you let your body slide down to the floor. Your legs split as soon as you made contact with the floor giving him a full view of your ass. He whistles appreciatively, tilting his head. You watch him through thick lashes, eyes bright and predatory under the neon lights. You roll onto your hand and knees. He smiles down at you watching the sweat drip down the valley of your breasts. You were a sight to behold.

Slade pats his knee. “Come here, kitten.” Hunger flashes in his blue eye. It sends a warm shock through your system. It’s odd being looked at like that but you can’t feel yourself getting too concerned over it. Not when it sends a pleasant hum through your mind.

You crawl towards him in time with the movement, slow and steady in its place. Stopping in front of him. A large hand grasps your chin, thumb brushing against your bottom lip.

You sit on his lap, hand grasping his broad shoulder. Embarrassment floods back into your system now that you’re this close, now that you had the full force of that hungry gaze on you. You feel your skin heat and the weight of his gaze makes your stomach flip.

Seduction was other people’s gig, not yours.

Large hands settle on your waist, pressing circles into your skin. The buzzing feeling in your brain returns and you refocus on your task. His hands slide down the side of your body, fingers digging into your hips. His hands follow the circular motions your hips make on his crotch and guides you over the growing bulge. You hear his breath catch and hiss as you grind down on his crotch. You wrap your hands around the silk tie dangling from his neck and roughly pull him into a kiss.

His fingers dig into the meat of your ass drawing an embarrassingly loud yelp from you and giving him access to your mouth. You suck on his tongue and receive a pleased groan from him. Your tongues wrestle for control as he kneads your ass, making you mewl and moan into the kiss. You break the kiss needing air while Slade admires his work.

When Slade dips in for another kiss, you pull away pushing off of his broad chest a flirty smile dancing across your features. You turn from him, heels clicking against the floor as your show off the lushness of your figure. In the mirror, you see Slade settling back into his position and grinning at the corners of the room again. His arms relax on the back of the couch.

You close your eyes and let the music swallow you whole. You don’t dare hazard a glance at the mirror. You sashay your hips to the music, loosening your tense muscles. You open your eyes giving Slade your best seductive smile. You run your hands up your body, tangling into your hair.

You bite your lip as you slide them back down. Your fingers catch against the collar. Slade’s mouth twists.

You ease your arms out of your bra and let it drop to the floor. Your nipples pebble in the cold night air. The sight of them makes the corners of Slade’s mouth twitch. You push past the warmth stirring in your stomach in favor of trailing your hands down your body. Your fingers toy with the straps of your panties, watching as Slade licks his lips in anticipation. You slide the flimsy garment down your legs, bending over and giving him a good view of your wet pussy through the mirror.

Stepping out of them, you toss them at Slade, who just to be an asshole, catches and pockets them. He grins at you and shrugs unapologetically. You scowl at him putting as much venom into your features as much as possible.

You sway your lush hips in time with the music, letting the slow beat dictate the rhythm of your movements as you saunter towards him. You swallow, the silk collar still wound tightly around your neck. The intensity of his gaze makes you painfully aware of your nakedness but the embarrassment heating your skin shoots straight to your core, making you shudder.

Reaching him, you straddle his thighs, your plump ass grazing over his growing bulge. You moan, mouth-watering at the sensation. Your mind dwells on the feeling, your insides growing slick at the thought of him inside you.

Your fingers trail up your thighs and up over your stomach. You watch as his eye follows the slow tantalizing movement. His large hands grip onto the plush headrest of the couch, squeezing them as his face twists just a smidge with a mix of exertion and frustration.

You give him a playful smile as you slow the gyrating of your hips. A growl rumbles from his chest and you snap your hips back against his erection, the loose movement of your body hypnotic like ocean waves. Tipping your head back into his shoulder, exposing the column of your throat to him. Your hips continue to undulate against him, feeling the deep bass of the music ripple through your body along with the shockwaves of heat coming from your core as you grind it against his bulge. The coarse feeling of the fabric against your core making your knees grow weak.

A sinful moan tumbles out of your lips followed closely by breathy panting. You let your eyes slide shut soaking up the sensation of his suit against your skin. You reach behind you hooking your arms around Slade’s broad shoulders to steady yourself as your press closer to his large form. He presses his lips to your neck, the prickle of his beard against your skin making you shiver. “Yeah, just like that, kitten,” he murmurs against your skin, a large hand settling on your thigh.

You push further into him. You grind your hips, the movement deep and slow. Your hand tangles in his hair, gently guiding him to your lips. Your lips move against each other just as your bodies do, slow and sensual. You catch his lips between your teeth, nipping at it. He chuckles at your invitation, sliding his tongue inside your mouth and joining your lips once again. Below you, you feel another large hand hook onto your thigh. Both hands grip your thighs fiercely pulling them further apart, exposing your sopping pussy to the cold night air.

Slade breaks away from your kiss, his panting breaths hot fanning your face. You stare at each other with half-lidded eyes, lust bright in them even in the low light. He captures your lips again in a quick kiss before planting one on your shoulder. “Play with yourself,” he says, the command steady and rough against your ear.

The tone of his voice makes you shiver as you reluctantly release your hold on his shoulders. Keeping one hand tangled in his hair, you slowly slide your hand down your body, mewling into his skin when you reach into your neglected folds. You slip two fingers in immediately. You shudder and bite your lips trying to stop any obscene sounds from escaping.

A hand tilts your chin, coaxing you. “Good girl, look at yourself. Look just how wet you are just for me, kitten,” Slade says, nibbling at your ear. You yelp, your hips bucking into your hand, ass rolling against his member. You watch yourself in the mirror red-faced, open-mouthed, and sinful. Your dripping sex is in full view only obscured by your hand as your fingers dip in and out of your core. Slade’s eye never leaves the mirror even as he plants kisses against your skin. His large hand grasps your neck making sure you don’t look away from the mirror. You think of how easily he could break you and you feel like you’re on fire.

You're so close. You’re so so close. You can even see the desperation carving itself so plainly on your face. Anxiety and arousal mix into a potent cocktail in your gut. The nervousness from earlier rearing its ugly head. You whine in frustration, adding in a third finger but you can’t seem to reach over the edge. You hear him chuckle behind you and see him grin into your skin. At least, one of you was having fun.

He gives your shoulder another rough kiss, leaving a mark before speaking. “Having some trouble, kitten?” You wrinkle your nose at his tone but...in truth, you were. You bite your lip not knowing what to say. You’re so close but… the venue made you shy and that was an entirely different problem. Using the hand on your neck, Slade tilts your head towards him, the heat from his lips ghosting over yours. “All you have to do is ask for help, kitten,” he murmurs against your lips. The vibrations send another shockwave of desperation wreaking havoc throughout your already oversensitive body.

He tilts your head back to look at the mirror. You can feel your ears warm at the thought of begging but you’re a hair’s breadth away from your end. Biting your lips and furrowing your brow, you take a steadying breath but it still comes out breathy when you exhale due to the hand squeezing your thigh drifting closer to your core. He presses slow circles into your inner thigh with his thumb, his teeth nibbling at your shoulder leaving marks. A vicious curse leaves your lips blunted by a moan that follows it.

“Slade, please. Please. Sir, please.”

“Please what, Kitten? I can’t give you what you want if you don’t tell me.”

You tighten your grip on his hair and roll your hips against his. He growls in your ear but he doesn’t budge. “Use your words, kitten,” he commands, sounding far more patient than he actually is. You whimper, rocking against him. He holds you still, fingers digging into your flesh and body leaning into yours. “Words.”

You pant, hot breaths loud in your ears. Whether it was his or your own you were hearing, you didn’t know and didn’t care, not when your head was jumbled with the buzzing under your skin. You swallow. His eye following the movement of your throat and the silver glint of your tag winking at you in the mirror. “Slade- Sir, please- Please, I need you. I need you inside me.”

“That wasn’t too hard now was it?” He says capturing your lips in a rough kiss. You scream against his lips when you feel two large calloused fingers thrust into your core, stretching you replacing the ache in your core with a burning stretch. Slade releases you, steadying you so that your eyes are once again on the mirror. You both watch as his fingers pump in and out of you, the room filling up with your moans. “Keep your eyes on the mirror and watch as I make you cum.”

He presses his thumb against your clit. The syllables of his name coming out garbled and incoherent. You cum with a whimper. Your body shakes uncontrollably, your bones melting. Your lungs take in greedy gulps of oxygen feeling like the wind’s been knocked out of them. Slade lets your head lull back against his shoulder. You press little kisses against the powerful muscles of his neck. “Thank you, sir.”

Slade removes his fingers from your pussy, leaving you feeling empty. “Clean up the mess you made,” he orders, pressing wet fingers against your lips. You open your mouth letting them in. You slide your eyes shut and swirl your tongue around them. You bob your head taking them in deep. You moan, rocking your hips against his still hard cock, letting yourself imagine what it would be like to take him into your mouth. Your enthusiasm earns you a hiss from Slade. You smile as you continue to suck on his fingers and rock your body, the fire in the pit of your stomach reigniting. You flutter your eyes open. In the mirror, you see Slade, brow raised and mouth wrangled into a shape of wry amusement. “See, I knew you were a good girl,” he says voice strained. You grind your ass into him as you moan around his fingers. You gasp when a rough hand grasps your breast, nipple pinched between calloused fingers.

“Are you that hungry for my cock, kitten?” he asks, removing his fingers from your lips. Both your lips and his fingers glisten with your saliva. You nod not trusting your voice to be steady. He thankfully accepts it.

“Well, have at it,” he says, hands repositioning themselves on the back of the couch easing into a more relaxed position and looking as smug as humanly possible. He really is getting his money’s worth out of this. You shift your body making sure you brush up against his erect member as you did so. He looks almost pained when you finally face him. You drag your hands up and down his shirt, his muscles barely hidden by the soft silky material. You lick your lips, catching your bottom lip between your teeth. You slide yourself down his body, hands kneading and worshipping every stretch of muscle they come across. Fuck, they feel so good to your touch.

Getting to your knees, you rest your cheek against his knee. You let mischief shape your features. He quirks his brow at you, tilting his strong jaw urging you to move on. You massage his thighs as you pull yourself up. You undo his belt tossing it to the side. You pinch the zipper of his pants between your teeth and pull it down, grinning as you do it. Slade lifts his hips a bit to help you ease his pants and boxers down. Your mouth waters visibly when his cock springs free in all its glory. You gulp audibly as you figure the logistics of fitting all of it into your mouth.

“Take your time, Kitten. I’ve requested you for the whole night. We have time.” He drawls, smug. You roll your eyes at him finally deciding that head-on was the only way to tackle this. You lick a strip up his member paying special attention to the large vein running down the middle. You flick your eyes up to him, seeing his muscles tense. You grasp the base of his cock tight in your hand, kissing the tip and giving the slit a long, languid lick. The taste of precum wakes your taste buds. You hum, sucking lightly at the head, your hand twisting up and down his cock. His jaw tightens, the strain of keeping his hips still tightening the muscles of his thighs.

You spread your legs wide as you sink your head down taking him in and giving him a good view of your wet pussy. You take him in as far as you can, gagging when the head of his cock hits the back of your throat. The corners of your eyes sting with tears. You still yourself, letting your throat relax around him. You pull yourself back up. Your plush lips massage his length as you go and your warm hand not trailing far behind. You keep your mouth on the head of his cock before sinking back down. His sheer girth is sure to make your jaw ache but you couldn’t make yourself care, not when you’re growing wetter the more you worship his cock. Slade for his part looked like he was gonna tear the couch apart every time you sank down to take is cock on, the fluttering walls of your throat driving him up the wall. The soft music of the room was now barely audible against the mingling sounds of your moans. Slade’s unrestrained voice was dripped with whiskey and sin.

His cock twitches in your throat and it’s the only warning you get before cum splashes against the back of your throat and fills your mouth. You choke but when your eyes meet his, the muscles of your throat work automatically to swallow his load. The movement followed closely by his eye. You pull back, light-headed. He grabs your chin, tilting it up to inspect your mouth. He hums satisfied. “Kitten, that mouth of yours is definitely worth more than the price of admission.” He says brushing a thumb against your bottom lip as you pant.

A familiar ache in your core returns when your eyes land on Slade’s still hardened cock.

“Of course, a little cockslut like you wouldn’t be satisfied ‘til you’ve been filled,” he chuckles pulling you into his lap so that you’re facing the mirror, your dripping pussy hovering over his saliva covered cock. The throbbing head teasing against your sensitive folds. He kisses your shoulder, his teeth pinching your skin leaving another red bruise. You whine as he guides your hips, moving them to ever so slightly brush your core against his cock.

“Sir, please. I need you. I- I need you to fuck me,” you beg, hands tangling in his hair and eyes watching his member in pained hunger. You sound so needy but you also needed him inside you filling you up.

Slade hums in your ear approvingly. He pinches your ear lobe between his teeth, making you keen. “Well, since you asked so nicely.” That was the only warning you got before his hands guide your hips down onto his engorged cock. Your walls flutter with every inch, stretching you with every inch. A hand cups your breast while he continues to guide you down onto his cock. Rough calloused fingers knead your breast as he whispers compliments into your skin in between kisses. The cacophony of sensations is almost too much for you.

“Such a good cockslut, look at how well that tight cunt of yours is taking me in.” You roll your hips, urging him to quicken his maddeningly slow pace. He simply chuckles at your attempt as both his hands steady your hips. You almost cry in relief when he finally bottoms out. You pant savoring the burning stretch tearing at your insides. Pleasure and pain mingling in your sense.

Slade rests his chin against your shoulder, lips pressed to the shell of your ear. “Kitten, I want to watch you fuck yourself on my cock,” he says, in a low commanding tone making you shiver and leaving no room for arguments. You grip on to his arms, nails digging into the meat of his muscle, to steady yourself. You lean forward to get yourself into a better angle.

Ah ah ah

Breathy moans and the slap of skin against skin filled the air as you roll your hips against his. You watch yourself in the mirror, breasts bouncing, mouth hanging open, and tongue lolling out getting lost in the pleasure. The mixture of shadow and light highlighting and isolating the frantic need carving itself onto both of your faces. The coil in your stomach twists as your eyes meet his in the mirror. Icy blues trailing up and down your body possessively.

His hand wraps around your throat, squeezing it gently as he trails kisses up your spine. Your hips stutter, your walls squeezing around his cock. “You like that?” he whispers into your ear, putting just the tiniest bit more pressure around your neck. You feel your walls flutter around him and he moans in your ear. His other hand squeezes at your hip, nails digging into your soft flesh.

With a growl, he snaps his hips against yours almost violent in its intensity. You let out a loud yelp. Slade jackhammers into you like a madman, pummeling your pussy. His tongue dragging against your sweat-covered skin. “Cum with me, Kitten,” he grinds out, nipping at your ear. Your pussy clenches and unclenches around him trying to squeeze his cock, gripping him as if not wanting to let go of it. He bites a hickey into your neck and you feel the coil in your stomach burst. You feel a flood of warmth fill your aching core as Slade lets himself go.

He turns your body around to face him, careful not to separate you two. He pulls you into a deep kiss as both of you ride out your orgasms.

Your body slumps against Slade’s, head resting on his shoulder and chest pressing against his. Your breaths come out in puffs fanning against his neck. Slade presses a kiss to your forehead. You yawn and kiss his throat, his pulse hot against your lips.

“Satisfied?” he asks, pulling your wrist to his lips nipping and leaving marks on it. You wonder just how many marks he’s left on you and if he’s technically allowed to do that. It just seems bad for business.

“Yes, sir,” you answer, nuzzling into his shoulder. He chuckles, rubbing his large hands soothingly over your aching muscles. He holds you tenderly for a while, both of you basking in the afterglow.

Through thick lashes, you see Slade look at his watch. You whine when he starts to shift. Wrapping your arms around him, you press your body closer. You see his brow wrinkle and have to bite your cheek to stop yourself from smiling. Sucker.

Slade gives you another kiss as he reluctantly extricates himself from your warmth. You shiver at the motion. Your oversensitive walls flutter making him groan. You whimper at the feeling of emptiness as he gently places you on the soft cushions of the couch. He places another kiss on your forehead then your shoulder then your wrist as he drapes his jacket over you. “Sorry, kitten, I have some business I need to take care of,” he says tucking himself back into his pants. “But if you feel like a repeat performance, feel free to come back,” he continues, fixing his shirt as he grins down at you. Your stomach flips despite how tired you feel.

You watch him walk away then stop. “Oh and I’ll be keeping these,” he teases, holding up your panties and tucking them back into his pocket. You try to sit up intent on throwing the entire bottle of whiskey at him but your limbs fail you, still feeling like jelly.

The next time you open your eyes is when you feel someone patting your cheek lightly.

“March,” Anthony’s voice comes out in a haze. It takes a second for your mind to recognize the name as your alias. You take a deep breath trying to quell the panic from being woken up.

“What time is it?”

“A quarter past one.”

Good, you’ve only been asleep for an hour.

“Thanks.”

“You’re pretty lucky. Looks like Mr. Wilson was feeling generous,” Anthony laughs, thumb pointing to the stack of cash by the whiskey.

That asshole.

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Thanks for reading!

a/n: This will be a 3 part series because I am thirsty as hell.

Tag list: @batarella, @anothertimdrakestan , @lucy-roo , @multifandomgirl-us , @idkmanicantenglish ,@birdy-bat-writes , @americasmarauders , @l-inkage , @arestorationofbalance , @cloudie-skay , @wunderstell @hyp-oh-critical

#Slade Wilson #slade wilson x reader #slade wilson smut #slade wilson imagine #dc smut

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