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donutloverxo · 4 years

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Yes captain

Note - this is part three of corrupting a good boy but it's mostly porn so can be read as a standalone as well. Sorry about all the jealousy stuff its just what the muse calls for sometimes. Comments/reblogs are really really appreciated🙏🙏 Dividers by @whimsicalrogers.

Summary - You ask Steve to keep it on while doing it 👀👀

Warnings - 18+ only explicit sexual content, uniform kink, captain kink, daddy kink, roleplaying, jealousy, insecure reader.

Pairing - CEO!Steve x reader

Word count - 4.5k

“Ooo,” you yelped, trying to run away from his firm grip across your hips.

It only made him hold onto you tighter, his nails digging into the flesh of your hips. “There’s no where to run, babygirl,” he chuckled at your misery, delivering another harsh slap to your naked bottom.

You shrieked in pain as your flesh burned in agonising, but delicious pleasure. As if you’d ever want to actually run. “I’m sorry, daddy.” Since you were allowed to call him daddy now, which seemed to always make him forgive you, but you added your princess voice just to be safe and not make it any harder on yourself.

“You should’ve thought of that before you decided to make fun of my team, but you had to be a dumb baby and run your mouth,” he scolded you, slapping you twice before slipping a hand between your legs, the squelching noises of him gathering your slick on his fingers made your ears burn.

You had gotten too bored of him watching the game and not paying attention to you so you might’ve said some mean things about his team, but the jokes on him since your diabolical plan seemed to have worked.

You had gotten too lost in slight tinge of pain in the roots of your hair, that he was pulling, and his fingers teasing your core, you yelped forward when he slapped your pussy, gasping as you throbbed for more of it.

“Honey,” Steve shook your arm causing you to jolt awake.

You had a habit of talking or mumbling nonsense in your sleep and since he was a light sleeper it usually woke him up. He found your incoherent rambles and the little faces you made in your sleep cute, they were particularly intense tonight for some reason, and while he loved you with all his heart he was not about to let you talk nonsense about the Yankees.

“What? Where?” you sat up, rubbing the soft sheen of sweat on your forehead with the back of your hand.

“You were talking in your sleep, sweetheart,” Steve said, rubbing his hand up and down your back, “Come here.” He circled a hand around your waist, pulling you down and back against his chest, kissing the back of your head, “What were you dreaming about, hm?”

“Um...” you blinked, “How much of it did you hear?”

“You think your so clever, don’t you,” he teased, pinching the side of your hip as you giggled.

“Yes, I’m very smart.”

You shut your eyes, ready to go back to dreamland and to your daddy, who was just a version of Steve who liked being called daddy. Which was something Steve would never be into. Not that you’d ever admit to having such a shameful kink.

But you felt Steve grind his excitement against your ass, “You wanna go back to sleep, or...?” he asked, biting the shell of your ear before snaking a hand up your cami to grope your breast.

“You woke me up with such debauch intention?!” you gasped in fake incredulity. Deciding to indulge him and that any time spent with normal real Steve was much better than being with dream daddy Steve.

***

You fixed his tie, tightening it just a bit around his neck. His golden hair was smoothed back, your eyes caught a glimpse of his rosy pink lips. So pouty and perfect. You could spend hours just looking at them, his smile was what truly made you fall for him. But you pulled away when he tried to steal a kiss from you.

“Gloss,” you argued, puckering your lips. Instantly feeling guilty as his pink ones pouted, giving you his sweet puppy eyes.

“Come on, doll, just one kiss? Don’t you wanna wish me luck?” He bent to capture your lips but you moved your head away at the last second, making him groan as his nose bumped against your cheek.

“I spent over two hours getting ready for this!” you huffed, smoothening a hand over your puffy tulle dress, finally having a chance to wear it out in public.

“Did you just smudge my blush?” Gasping, as you looked into the mirror, picking up your rouge and patting it on again.

You loved the dress Steve had gotten you for Christmas, it was so pretty and princess and you felt like Cinderella wearing it.

But it was too... girl-ish, Steve had insisted that you wear it. So he could show off his beautiful new wife.

Tonight though, you had to look like a woman.

A strong woman.

Who is not to be fucked around with. And not someone who is vulnerable and weak.

Because you knew she was going to be there.

“You always look gorgeous,” he mumbled, looking in the mirror and patting his hair to make sure it was in place.

You had convinced him to grow it out. Having more courage to express yourself since the Christmas gift mishap a couple of months ago.

Tucking a loose golden strange behind his ear, you wondered how someone as breathtakingly as beautiful as him could be yours.

But as beautiful as Steve was, he could also be naive. He wanted to see the best in people, which often didn’t let him see what was right in front of him.

How his ex Peggy had been trying to cause problems between you two from day one.

At first she had welcomed you with open arms, with a treacherous smile her red lips had told you that she wanted to be best friends with you. Taking you to the MET museum, of which she was a board member, asking your help in organising a couple of galas and the fundraisers. Shopping with you to make you more presentable to be a CEO’s wife

You were prepared to be wary of her. The fact that Steve was still good friends with his ex, who he had dated for more than five years, didn’t exactly sit well with you, you knew you’d face some troubles there, but then you met her and spent time with her you knew that you did had nothing to worry about.

That was until she, and Steve’s mother, had tried to get you to sign a pre-nup before you both got married.

While Sarah was always nice, you could always sense a tinge of hostility, your intuition told you how she preferred Peggy over you and would much rather have her as Steve’s wife.

With a heavy heart you had told Steve you couldn’t do it. That there was no point in getting married if you would end up divorced eventually. You were ready to cut your losses then, to pack your bags and go home, preparing for the worst. But he understood and said that he wouldn’t be marrying you if he didn’t trust you.

You were glad to have worked out everything, but decided to play nice with ‘Judas', whom you learned had infamously betrayed Jesus from a mass you attended with Steve and Sarah, and pretend that you didn’t know anything about her betrayal.

You shook your head, there was no point in letting her ruin your night, or dictate what you wore. The dress was what you liked and who you were, there was no reason for you to pretend to be like her. Steve liked you because you were nothing like her,

....probably.

You looked over to Steve, tugging his pants up and securing them, you had never once thought you’d be someone who’d have a thing for men in uniforms, they were simply doing their jobs, what the fuck was sexy about uniforms anyway, but that was until you saw your Steve in his...

He really could pull off any color, even something as boring as army green, his chest and built looked almost too broad. Numerous medals adorning his chest. He certainly looked the part of a soldier.

He kissed your temple when he caught you staring at him and you only hoped he couldn’t decipher what was going on in that horny brain of yours.

Steve rarely ever talked about his days in the army. If he did it was about the friends he made and the good times he shared with them. And how army whipped him in shape, made him the man he was.

He had been honorably discharged a couple of years ago, all his army friends only ever spoke highly of him--which wasn’t really surprising.

***

“Hello, darling,” she smiled to you in her classy British accent, kissing your cheek before hugging you, “How have you been? Haven’t seen you since new years!”

“I’m good and you look amazing.”

Which wasn’t a complete lie, she did look elegant in her uniform, a lot similar to Steve’s but her coat had flares at the end which gave it a more feminine feel than that of Steve’s.

“So do you,” she beamed, “Oh, you have a little something,” she gestured to the corner of your mouth before wiping some white frosting from your cupcake off with her thumb as you tried to keep your face from cringing.

So far the strong woman act wasn’t coming along so well...

“So...how is married life?”

Wouldn’t you like to know. “It’s very good. You know Steve, he’s just amazing. I’m lucky to have him.”

“Oh, I did heard about your little goof with your erotica from Natalie, and the gift slip up!” she laughed, hooking her arm around yours, she walked with you towards your husband. “And here I was thinking you are a good girl,” she winked.

“I... guess I’m not...”

“I must say though, unfortunately for you I don’t think Steve would like any of that. He’s always been so traditional,” she rolled her eyes, “He has an old soul.”

Yes, you knew that. You knew that he was traditional and an old soul. Of course You did, he was your husband. Why she felt the need to point out the obvious was beyond you. “Well, you know people can be unpredictable,” you countered.

“Yes, well you’re free to explore of course, I just didn’t want you to get your feelings hurt,” she put a hand over yours.

“Peggy,” Steve greeted her.

“Oh don’t mind us. We’re just gossiping about you,” she smirked.

“Really?” he looked over at you with a quizzical face, “All good things I hope.”

“I don’t have anything bad to say about you,” you said giving Peggy a side eye, “Can we dance? Please?”

It didn’t take a lot of convincing because he loved dancing. After a couple of dances it was time for him to give his speech.

Seeing your husband up on the stage, hearing everyone talk about his accomplishments made your heart swell in pride. You really couldn’t believe you were married to someone like him.

You suppose that you understood where Sarah was coming from. It would make sense for someone like Steve to fall for and marry a classy worldly lady like Peggy. There really wasn’t much you could offer him.

***

“Steve,” you huffed, trying to yank on the zipper for like the tenth time, while you loved the dress you needed to get out of it and breathe for a while.

“Yes, doll?” he called for you, entering your closet, smiling at your struggling form. “How can I help?”

“You can get me out of this thing!” you said, turning your back to him.

You were really feeling yourself tonight, you had gotten a facial and a manipedi, a blowout, spending hours on getting ready for battle. You thought you looked good and fierce. But then you took off your makeup and your extensions and were reminded of how Peggy was much more effortlessly beautiful than you. She had often been dubbed as a ‘natural beauty’.

“Y/N?”

“Hm?”

“Is something bothering you?” he asked as he unzipped you.

“No. Will you let me change now?” you turned around, to politely ask him to leave.

“You’ve changed in front of me before.”

“Yes, well I can’t right now.”

“Why not?” he frowned.

“Because...” You couldn’t stop your eyes from turning misty, “I’m ugly...”

“What? Who told you that?” His face instantly flushed with anger as he held onto your forearms, and when you didn’t push him away he pulled you in closer to his chest.

“No one needs to. I know it because I’m not blind,” you confessed, the cool metal of his medal digging into your cheek.

“Then maybe we need to get your eye sight checked. Because you’re the prettiest girl in this whole world. I’ll fight anyone who says otherwise.” He stroked your hair, placing a soft kiss on the top of your head.

“You’ll have to fight the whole world then.”

“If it comes to that then I will.”

You couldn’t help but smile at how protective he was. Propping your chin up on his chest you blinked at him. “Why didn’t you marry Peggy? She’s so much more beautiful.” Your heart was heavy with so many emotions, usually you wouldn’t give in and ask something so dangerous--a question you weren’t sure you wanted the answer to.

Judging by the frown on his face, you were afraid that you had upset him, but then it softened as his pale baby blues twinkled at you, “Why would you say that, doll? Peggy is beautiful, but I’ve never loved anyone the way I love you. I could never even dream of marrying anyone else.”

“I’m sorry,” you sighed. “I know I shouldn’t be comparing myself to others.”

“You really shouldn’t. They don’t measure up to you anyway,” he teased.

“It’s just...” you gulped, not being able to hold his gaze you played with the olive green buttons on his coat, “I heard at the party from Tony, that she will be working with you from now on. Do you think that’s a good idea?”

“You don’t trust me?” his voice cracked.

You whipped your head up, frantically shaking your head from side to side, “No no of course I do! I’m just saying it’s a risky game. To be around her so much... what if old feelings resurface?”

Your heart almost broke as he let go of you, putting some distance between you both, “You know all I ever ask for is that you trust me... and love me. I don’t think it’s a lot.”

You scoffed, “Yeah well, I don’t think me asking you not to work with your ex is a lot. No woman would be okay with her husband spending that much time with her ex.”

He pinched the bridge of his nose, “Why can’t I get through to you?”

“Maybe try speaking at a fourth grade level. Then I’ll understand. Since I don’t have a masters in literature from Sorbonne,” you rolled your eyes. Maybe he was intimidated by how smart Peggy is and decided to go for someone younger and dumber.

“I’ve never... been in love with Peggy or anyone but you really,” he told you, his broad shoulders hunching as he let out a sigh, “Not the way I’m in love with you. We were always more like friends than... lovers.”

“Is that better or worse?” you wondered out loud. Isn’t it important for husband and wife to be friends as well? Was that supposed to be a compliment?

“It’s much better. We would go months without seeing each other, and I didn’t miss her. Like I miss you when I’m at work. I can’t wait to get away and come home to you. Peggy is amazing, and I’ll always have a special place for her in my heart, but I would never even think about cheating on you.

But... I understand where you’re coming from. Maybe I would react the same way if you were to work with an ex. So I can just tell her that she’ll have to work with Nat, or someone else.”

“No,” you blurted.

Absolutely not.

Because A - You really did trust Steve not to stray. He wasn’t that type of man. And B - That would be admitting defeat. Admitting to her that you are afraid of her.

“I do trust you, Steve. I think... I just need to work on myself. If we don’t have trust then we don’t have anything right?”

“I trust you too, honey,” he kissed your forehead. “Just talk to me about this stuff okay? You can’t keep it bottled up.” You nodded as he worked on loosening his tie.

“Um... is that uncomfortable?” you asked, watching him pop open the first button of his shirt.

“The uniform? A little. It’s been a while since I put it on.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t wear it at our wedding.” You smiled. Maybe it was a good thing that he didn’t. While he looked so handsome in the black tux he had worn, the uniform would’ve made him irresistible. You would’ve spent the whole evening swooning over him.

“It didn’t feel right, I just wanted to be myself. Uh... doll,” he quirked a brow as he caught you staring at his crotch, “Hey,” he snapped his fingers, “My eyes are up here.”

“Yes, um, of course,” you whipped your head up as soon as you heard him, since you were too busy trying to make out the outline of his johnson, “And what beautiful eyes you have!”

“Tell me something. What is your obsession with this uniform?”

“I don’t know what you mean.” You decided to feign ignorance.

“Really? You’ve been staring at me all night. Do you not like it? Do you like it? Sometimes I think I don’t understand women at all.”

You probably would’ve appreciated his suit even more so if you hadn’t spent so much time festering in your jealousy. “I think... it’s... kinda hot,” you sighed dreamily as he blushed a crimson red. “You’re like this big strong Captain, and I’m like this small woman, like a damsel in distress type of thing.”

“Oh.” Was the only thing that he said. He never believed you would be into something like that, not from all the feminist rants you tend to go on.

“Oh god. You think I’m a weirdo, don’t you?” You put your hands over your face to hide it from him.

“No no, hey, don’t be like that,” he cooed, pulling your hands away so he could look at your pretty face, “I can be your... big, strong Captain. And you can be my damsel in distress.”

“Huh?”

“Yeah. So... how would it work? Do I save you from a burning building or something?”

“No, sweetie. You’re thinking of a fireman.”

“Oh, right,” he blushed, scratching the back of his neck, “We can do the fireman thing if you like. I can... be a fireman.”

“Steve, we don’t have to do anything.”

“I know. But I want to. Come on! Give me something to work with.”

“Okay,” you cleared your throat. “How about... you keep the suit on?”

“On for how long?” he tilted his head like a cute confused puppy, looking down at his suit, “Oh! You mean on while we’re...”

“Yes. And I could, I don’t know, thank you for serving my country.”

“Yeah. I mean medals and all are nice, but I want a special kind of thanks from you, doll.”

“Ooo,” you felt up his biceps through his coat and shirt, he really was strong. “Do you have anything specific in mind?” you asked, batting your lashes.

“Um... yes.... You get on your knees, miss... I mean ma’am, shit,” he cursed as he awkwardly stumbled over his words. “What do I call you? Are you my wife in this scenario?”

“You can just call me doll, captain. I’ll be whatever you want me to be,” you smiled, cheekily pressing your lips to his in a quick peck but he held onto your waist before you could pull away. Sliping his tongue inside your mouth.

“Alright then, doll. Show me how grateful you are,” he puffed his chest out, so he could appear a bit more dominant.

You only giggled, taking your dress off because there was no way you could kneel in so much tulle.

Standing before him in just a strapless bra and a nude thong, you were vulnerable, but not scared anymore. He was your captain, he’d never ridicule you.

“I’m already feeling appreciated,” he said as he ogled you.

You dropped down to your knees, unbuckling him with some help from him, “It’s so big,” you gasped when you looked at his length, pretending to be seeing it for the first time. Although, you were still always surprised with the sheer monstrosity of it.

“We’ll make it fit, doll. Don’t you worry your pretty little head about that,” he smiled, tapping on your mouth, “Open,” he commanded.

You’re a natural, captain. You took a deep breath before opening wide. You’d been having sex regularly for the past three months or so, he had gone down on you more times than you could count, you felt as if he could live between your legs if he could. But he had never once asked you to return the favor, you didn’t have it in you to be the first one to bring it up either.

Licking your lips, you tasted someone of the preejaculate leaking out of his tip before wrapping your mouth around his head, moaning at the salty taste and the essence of him.

“That’s... ugh,” he groaned, “That’s good. Keep going,” he spurred you on, a hand on the back of your head giving you the slightest bit of push.

You took as much of him as you could, stopping halfway through when he hit the back of your throat, you pumped the rest of his length with your palm, holding onto his thick thigh for support, you bobbed your head, increasing your pace when he started moaning loudly.

Rubbing your thighs together to relive some pressure, your throbbing core desperate for some attention and friction, you knew your panties were ruined.

You had read your fair share of cosmos, and the many sex tips they offered, you knew they’d come in handy someday. You swore you remembered reading something about balls... to suck them? Bite them?

You fondled his balls, feeling him tightening in your palm, you were ready to swallow all of you. That was the only proper way of saying thank you.

“Wait,” he growled, pulling you off of him.

You looked up at him, wiping your mouth with the back of your hand, “Did I do something wrong?”

“No, doll,” he heaved, “But I gotta come in your pussy.”

Your jaw dropped, to hear the golden boy using such filthy language. “Whatever you say, captain,” you rasped.

Gasping when he yanked you up, pulling you over his shoulder and carrying you to the bed before throwing you down on the mattress.

Although Steve had always been dominant in bed, it was somewhat lowkey and subtle, he was never rough with you, he treated you as if you were made of glass, right now he was treating you as if you were literally a ragdoll.

“Take off your panties,” he ordered you.

You followed quickly, desperate to have him inside you asap, rolling your thing down your thighs and then getting rid of your bra before he even had to ask. You looked at him through your lashes, waiting patiently for his next command.

He hesitated for a moment before saying, “Now touch yourself.” It had always been a wet dream of his to watch you, instruct you as you got yourself off. Since your intention was to please him... he might as well make most of it.

You blinked at him before nodding, “Yes, captain.”

Fondling your breast you pinched your nipple, pulling on it before hissing exaggeratedly, smirking when you saw his hand twitch to touch you.

“What do I do?” you looked up at him with big doe eyes.

He shook his head, circling a hand around your wrist he shoved two of your fingers inside your mouth, “Suck,” he told you. “You like having your mouth stuffed, don’t you?” he asked as you noisily suckled on his fingers.

You shamelessly nodded, hoping that you’d get more opportunities to suck his cock from now on, he pulled your fingers out, bringing them down between your legs, pushing them into your willing channel. His own thumb rubbing on your clit working you up even moreso.

You threw your head back as you felt your climax approaching. “So close... captain.”

But he pulled your hand away from your pussy, tutting at your disobedience, “I didn’t tell you you could come.” He shook your head, giving you a minute to catch your breath before pushing two of his, much larger fingers inside you, “Gotta get you ready, doll. Since you’re so small.”

“Oh! It’s too much...” you moaned, holding onto the bedding.

“How're you gonna take my dick then, doll,” you watched as he licked your slick off of his fingers, “You taste like heaven, honey.”

“Thank you, captain.”

He unbuttoned his coat, he would be much freer without it and fuck you properly like you deserved.

You rolled your eyes when he folded his coat setting down on the floor, when you were literally lying naked before him with your legs spread wide, waiting as his tie and pants followed, “Really?” you scoffed.

“Can’t have them getting dirty, doll.” He knelt on the bed, now only in his shirt, spreading your legs a bit further so he could make room for himself, nudging your intimate lips apart with his length before slowing sinking into you.

He stayed like that for a bit, inside your heat, it felt as if he would explode then and there but he had to savor the moment. To have such a pretty girl wrapped around him.

Hovering over you he placed his elbows on sides of your head so he wouldn’t put too much of his weight on you, and so he could look at your as he fucked you.

He moved his hips against yours, rocking slow and steady, “You like that, doll?”

“Yes,” you nodded as he pulled on your hair to bare your neck to him. Biting your neck to mark you as his, “Do it harder, please, captain.”

“Harder?” he spoke against your neck, pinning both your hands above your head as he started rigorously pounding into you. “That hard enough?”

You were too fucked out to give a coherent answer, or to do anything but nod pathetically and take whatever he gave you.

“Ima come...” you clenched around him as your orgasm washed over you, rendering you immobile and weightless.

He thrusted into you a couple of times before filling you up to the brim - just as he had promised.

“Thank you, doll. That was really nice,” he smiled, laying beside you and pulling you closer to him, he kissed your forehead.

“Thank you, captain. You sure know how to treat a lady right...”

“Maybe we can do this more often,” he suggested as you nodded in reply.

Tags will be in the reblog! Click the link in the bio to be join the taglist or shoot me an ask/dm.

Shout out to my friend lizzygal (you can find her on ao3) who gave me the idea of Steve folding his uniform. It was too hilarious to leave out! Thanks for reading.

Please note that my work is not to be reposted or published anywhere other than my Tumblr or AO3 account without my permission. Reblogs are most welcome though!

#corrupting a good boy #steve rogers fic #steve rogers x reader #chris evans x reader #steve x reader #captain america x reader #steve rogers x you #marvel x reader #avengers x reader #chris evans x you

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soldmysoultootomeboys · 4 years

Text

Obey Me Brothers Wedding HCS

Just some wedding headcanons for the boys bcuz i’m soft for them, Gn MC

Thinks about marrying Asmo => 😡💕💕

Lucifer

I can not stress how much this man would be a bridezilla

He’s probably the MOST high maintenance demon when it comes to this, even over Asmo

He gets so stressed over it too and when he's stressed he gets extremely snippy

It takes you knocking a little sense into him to get him back on track

He just wants your day to be perfect and with his brothers causing trouble it's hard to really focus on choosing a tablecloth

He won’t be any nicer to his brothers but he will try to avoid causing fights at this time simply because it's really important to him that ALL of his family is there.

The night after proposing you find a beautiful envelope on white paper with gold trim in your room you realize it's a congratulation note from the celestial realm, presumably from the big man upstairs, it's still a heartstopping realization when you realize who your father in law technically is

Are you committing a sin marrying a fallen angel? Do you care?

It’s easier to ignore it than do anything else, although you do appreciate them registering for the coffee maker you had on your registry. You needed that. Mammon broke the last one.

Kindly begs asks you NOT to do anything crazy in the week leading up to it

Please MC his heart he's about to explode from stress please don't add to it, just for one week

Diavolo plans his bachelor party at the Fall with Barbatos. Invites you along and you have to explain how bachelor parties work

If it’s up to him the wedding will be all black with red accents eDgY mUcH?

At the altar he kisses you twice, first to show everyone that your his, the second time is just for you two, he hides you away from sight curling his black wings around you and holding you as close as he can bear

In the end it's a very happy celebration filled with good food, family, and friends

When you cut the cake feel free to smash a little bit in his face, this is your only chance, he'll be in too much of a good mood to retaliate...much

Mammon

Luxury luxury luxury

He wants solid gold altars, diamond encrusted bouquets, jewels imported from every corner of the world

He has so many plans (as well as a ridiculously long wedding registry)

But the moment you say you want anything he abandons them

Whatever you want he wants, but if you wanted some diamonds too that would be great

He absolutely would be down for a wedding bouncy castle

He gets you the biggest diamond ring ever that he buys with his own money from a lot of shifts at Hell's kitchen and modelling gigs

He totally believes in the tradition of not seeing you until your wedding day but he also forgets so he walks in and as soon as he realizes you're getting ready he shuts his eyes and tries to run out. He'll only talk to you from behind the door.

When he sees you walking down the aisle he falls in love all over again. And he feels like that a hundred different moments. It doesn't matter what you're doing, playing with your veil, wiping cake off the corner of your mouth, yawning, he loves you and loves that you’re his.

He could get married to you in a ditch and still be the happiest man in the world.

He's an absolute goofball and is smiling the entire time

The couple that during their wedding night end up jumping on the bed and having pillow fights while play wrestling

Levi

You really want to marry a gross otaku like him??? Why??

Not that he's complaining! He just doesn't get it. His brothers are so cool and Asmo is so much prettier than him and he doesn't have anything to offer.

It takes a lot of reassuring to convince that this is what you want to do

You two have this same conversation about a million times before the wedding. He just doesn't get why you actually like him. Once it finally sets in that this really is happening and it's not just some big joke he gets really into it and definitely puffs up around his brothers to show off

His first thought is a cosplay wedding and he'll beg for it to be Ruri-chan themed

Good luck getting Lucifer or any of his brothers to agree to dressing up, as funny as it may be

If you shoot that down it's pretty easy to convince him to do something else since mostly he's just excited to be with you

He still has a little Ruri pin on his suit collar and cufflinks

When you walk down the aisle he feels like he’s going to faint from nerves and when it’s time for vows he pulls out a huge list of all the reasons he loves you and why your his Henry, although about half of it compares things you’ve done to things in TSL

He only makes it through a quarter of the way before he gets embarrassed

When he lifts your veil he panics because your so pretty and he can’t handle it

You have to initiate the kiss and when you do he turns as red as a tomato

He tries to play it off but keep a strong arm around his waist unless he really does decide to pass out

He cools down once you guys are at the reception and gets especially excited the little custom made toppers of you two in cartoon form

Satan

He's a bridezilla but in the lightest sense of the word

He won't get upset over mix ups or even really wedding stuff like Asmo or Lucifer but his temper will be extremely fine during this time, especially when it comes to his brothers.

Throws an entire table through the window when Lucifer asks him if he knew where Mammon was

It’s a lot of stress to create the perfect wedding and he buries his nose in different books that can help him

He’s a bit of a perfectionist

The most classic and elegant wedding ever and he’d want to be involved in every step of the way

Very interested in your opinion and if it compares to human weddings

He flushes with pride whenever you compliment something he picked out

Includes casual literary references in his wedding but only so people who really know will realize

Wears a navy suit

Asmo

Also a bridezilla and a petty one at that

There will be drama, there will be tears, there will be a part where he cries off his mascara because Andrealphus of the damned brought the white bouquets and he wanted the PINK ones. This is HIS day why is she trying to ruin it.

It’s a lot of work trying to keep the damage to a minimal

Part of the reason he gets so upset is because this is your day too and he wants it to be perfect.

Prepare for a million dress rehearsals.

He wants to help pick out your outfit and makeup! But he also doesn't want to break human tradition...But he wants to help pick out your outfit and makeup so bad!!

If he manages to restrain himself he picks out the makeup artist and the stylizer because he knows what makeup you like and what looks best on your skin.

Most likely tho he'll want to see anyways and bugs you to let him in

You compromise by going shopping with him as he tries on a million dresses and suits

MC the suit on the right or the one on the left?

They both look exactly the same.

"...Left love." "That's exactly what I was thinking. I knew I could trust you to pick out the right answer!"

Even though he's very good at fashion your opinion matters a lot to him. Sure he could make himself look perfect but he wants to look perfect for YOU. He wants to be your version of perfect and if that means he picks the high cut dress instead of the low cut which flatters his waist better then he'll do it. For you.

He's the type to want to have all the spotlight on him so if you're walking down the aisle he's going to do it too! He does it first. HE says for the attention. In reality he wants to be able to see you the moment you step out the doors and down that hall.

Looks super perfect as he waits for you at the aisle but the moment you get married he starts ugly crying. He throws his veil back on so no one can see it but you just lift it up and kiss away his tears.

Even though it's a lot of work it's worth it to be with the demon you love...but if you shove cake in his face he'll seriously kill you, MC do you know how long this took?!!!!! :'(

Beel

He’s more than happy to do whatever you want

Whatever vision you have he's willing to make happen

He does his best but feels a little useless since keeps having to break for snacks

Wonders why you’d want to be with him when all he ever does it eat but he tries not to bring it up in case it would upset you

He honestly does have a lot of fun planning with you and his favorite part was when you got to taste test different cakes because he got to impress you by explaining all the little differences between each one

He ends up being in charge of everything food related and it helps him feel a bit better

Barbatos ends up cooking the dishes

During the rehearsal he falls in love with you all over again and doesn’t want to let you go the entire time

He gets especially nervous during the month of the wedding

He starts stress eating, going through even more food than normal, but then he gets worried about fitting into his suit and starts working out even more than normal, which makes him hungry again. It’s a terrible cycle

Belphie manages to break him out of it by reminding Beel that you love him more than anyone else

Even though its his wedding he starts setting up just to get out some of his nervous tension until the others shoo him back inside

A huge 20 layer cake each tier a different flavor

He has his own personal cake that's even bigger than the other cake but he’s more than willing to share with you

You two do the cute bit where you smash cake in each others faces

Beel still eats it tho

As much as he loves his family he's so happy to be able to steal you away at the end

Belphie

Planning a wedding is sooo much work

He lets you choose whatever you want as long as you let him sleep

if it was up to him he'd want a small informal celebration with his family but if you want something bigger than he guesses it's fine. As long as he doesn't have to talk to anyone like Diavolo

He uninvites Lucifer like three times, each time using extremely formal paper with beautiful cursive that must have taken hours. When Lucifer confronts him Belphie just says that it’s too late because he already gave away his seat.

He only brings him back when you make him

He sleeps more than usual in the weeks leading up to the wedding. You think it’s because of the stress but in actuality he’s trying to save up his sleep so he’s more awake for the ceremony

As much as he may act like he doesn’t care, he really does want to marry you and it makes him happy to think that you’re going to be all his

Beel is obviously his best man and while Belphie waits for you to come down the aisle he leans against him to take a small nap. Or that's what he had planned. The moment the music starts he perks up and finds himself unable to even close his eyes, too fixated on the doors about to open.

Feeds you the first bite of cake and then just...doesn't stop

He’s so in love with you all he can do is stare

Gives his slice of cake to Beel he'd much rather pay attention to you than eat

However he does smash a little in your face but it’s out of love <3

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animeomegas · 4 years

Text

Omega!Naruto getting married

Anon: Omg omg bro I just saw the amazing and wonderful art of naruto in a white dress and it just got me thinking. Could you do naruto and his alpha getting married pllleeeaaassssee🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺I also wanna show you the picture soo badd he's so beautifullllllll

(Omg tag me in this 🥺I want to see!!! Naruto is so so beautiful you’re absolutely right and I love him and this was so far down my writing list but I just really wanted to write it anyway. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. <3)

I wrote for a Western wedding because I have no idea how Japanese weddings work (although I’m taking a degree in Japanese rip)

Warnings: Alcohol mention.

This boy will never admit it, but he always dreamt of getting married when he was a child.

When he was really young, he asked the Sandaime why people get married and the Hokage told him that marriage is what two people did when they loved each other more than anyone else.

Naruto always wanted someone to love him and so he clung to this in a similar (but less extreme) way, to how he clung to his dream of becoming Hokage.

He always imagined his future self as the most badass ninja/Hokage with a beautiful mate/spouse and some little prankster pups who would love him and who he would love unconditionally in return.

And so when his alpha finally proposes to him.

This man goes a bit crazy.

As soon as the shock wears off, you suddenly get bombarded with him shouting about a thousand different things he wants at the wedding, and what food there should be, and “Do you think they sell orange wedding cakes?”.

He wants an insanely big and extravagant wedding.

It’s probably best to just humour him.

Proposal:

You were already mated to Naruto when you proposed.

Naruto lowkey believes in soulmates and when you had been courting for about a year he knew you were his.

His very next heat came around, and boom, you were mated.

You proposed about a year and a half after that, spurred on by Naruto’s less than subtle hints about it.

Naruto loved being around his friends and he also loved positive attention, so the idea for your proposal came naturally.

You threw a get together for him and his closest friends. Good food, plenty of drinks and board games.

Naruto was laughing and smiling all night. He teamed up with you for the games, sitting on your lap the entire time.

He used this vantage point to demand congratulatory and commiserative kisses everytime something happened in the game. You could feel him smiling into the kiss each time.

The plan was working perfectly so far.

As the evening began to wind down, you stood up, immediately garnering the attention of everyone in the room.

You cleared your throat awkwardly as all the eyes in the room settled on you. Sakura gave you a thumbs up behind Naruto’s shoulder.

‘You got this!’ She mouthed, eyes twinkling with excitement. With her encouragement in mind, you took one final deep breath before beginning.

“Sorry to interrupt you all, but there’s one more thing I have to do before everyone goes home.” You started, successfully avoiding any unfortunate stutters or out of control nervous scents.

Naruto furrowed his brows at you, confused. You only smiled, silently telling him to wait.

“I have an... announcement of sorts to make.”

“Then get on with it.” Drawled Shikamaru, smirking at you from the corner. You glared at him for teasing you, but he was too busy dodging a ‘shut up’ punch from Sakura to notice.

“As you all know, I’ve had the honour of being mated for Naruto for almost two years now,” You focused your gaze onto your mate, watching him perk up at the mention of his name. “and I have been madly in love for every minute of it.” You paused thoughtfully. “Even the minute when he drank out of date milk and threw up all over my bed.”

Naruto went red as his friends giggled at him. He let out an embarrassed whine as you joined in the laughter.

“You didn’t have to tell them that!” He groaned, voice muffled from the cushion he had temporarily buried his face in.

“What I’m trying to say, is that when I met Naruto my life changed forever, for the better. I can no longer fathom a life where I could live without him.”

You turned to address Naruto directly. He was watching you closely. Maybe he was starting to guess where this was going.

“When I wake up next to you, when we invent terrible ramen flavours together, when I bandage you after training because you tried to show off and hurt yourself,” You laughed breathily. “Those are the moments when I am the happiest. The common denominator is you, Naruto, my beloved mate.”

No one else in the room mattered now apart from you and Naruto. You took one final breath to steel yourself, before dropping on one knee. Naruto gasped, his hands coming up to cover his mouth.

“Which is why I want to be with you for the rest of our lives.” You pulled the ring box out of your pocket, opening it to reveal a simple golden band.

“Will you marry me, Naruto?”

Naruto nodded furiously, his bottom lip wobbling as his eyes filled up with tears.

“YES! YES! YES! A thousand times yes!!”

Naruto threw himself into your arms as his friends applauded and whooped in the background. You caught him with a happy laugh, leaning to kiss him. Naruto reciprocated enthusiastically, earning a few wolf whistles from his friends.

Naruto’s scent was that of pure sugar and you revelled in it, certain that your own was the same. Eventually you pulled away from the kiss, wiping a tear from Naruto’s eye, cradling his face gently in your hands.

“A toast,” Chouji’s voice called out, interrupting your thoughts. “To the newly engaged couple!”

All your friends cheered, raising their glasses in a toast to your engagement.

“May their love last forever!”

You laughed gleefully. Forever indeed.

Planning:

Naruto has a lot of ideas and a lot of passion, but not so much in the planning skills department.

I hate to say it, but Naruto is a little bit of a Bridezilla type. A cute one though, so that’s better?

He really really wants a lot of random specific stuff that he dreamt about as a child, but he’s not good at organising it so you get a lot of:

“Alphaaaaa, can you book [insert incredibly specific wedding thing]?”

“Alpha, alpha, alpha, can you find a [insert incredibly specific wedding thing] for me, please???”

Here is a list of some, not all, of the things Naruto wants for his wedding. Bolded are ‘no compromises allowed’.

A traditional, white wedding dress (He knows he can wear whatever he wants, but his life has only ever been atypical and he just really wants a traditional white male omega wedding dress.)

An orange wedding cake (Naruto wants an orange wedding cake, but he can be persuaded to settle for orange detailing instead of the solid orange monstrosity he originally wants.)

A ramen course ( he wants one of the courses to be ramen of course! The idea of a really expensive, fancy ramen course just makes him melt with excitement. Nobody is surprised when they see ramen on the menu.)

A big wedding (He will invite the whole village if you allow him to. Ultimately though, as long as there’s room for every friend he’s ever had, he’s happy.)

Double barrelling your surnames (He really wants to take your name. Now that you’re married and mated, you’re a team for life and he wants that reflected in your names, but he also spent most of his life without family, and his name is one of the only connections he has to his mother. As such, he would never be able to lose it completely.)

A stag do/bachelor party (He just thinks it would be fun to get together with his other omega friends. He wants to hang out with his friends and wedding party for a night without anyone being away on missions for once.)

A honeymoon in Konoha (Naruto doesn’t want to travel for his honeymoon. Konoha is his home and his favourite place to be, so he wants to be there. If you desperately want to travel, you could probably organise a half-and-half style honeymoon. Half in Konoha, half wherever you want.)

Two empty chairs for his parents during the service (He has lost so many people, he could never leave empty chairs for them all. He keeps everyone he’s lost in his mind on his wedding day, but his parents are the ones he misses the most on his special day. When he looks at the empty chairs, he likes to think that they would be proud watching him get married.

The Wedding:

Naruto is fully bouncing off the walls.

He’s so excited. And nervous. But excited.

He gets ready and when he gazes at himself in the mirror, he feels amazing. As a child, he always thought he would cover his whiskers with make up, thinking they were on of the reasons people treated him differently. But now, as he stares at his reflection, he wears his whisker marks proudly.

Everyone pitched in to make the wedding perfect. Ino with the flowers, Chouji with the food, etc.

The wedding was kind of a bizarre mix. Some parts were strictly traditional and other parts were... orange.

Naruto had plenty of fireworks set up to go off in the evening, and this ended up being one of his favourite parts of the day.

Naruto asked Iruka to walk him down the aisle about a month befpre the wedding. Iruka 100% cried when that happened. And then Naruto cried because Iruka was crying, it was an adorable mess.

You got married outside. The sun was so bright, and the weather was warm but with a slight breeze.

Naruto and Iruka wait just out of everyone’s view. When they send the signal, everybody stands.

You watched in awe as your mate turned the corner, grasping tightly at Iruka sensei’s arm.

He was stunning.

The sunlight reflected off his blond hair like light off of water, his white dress adding to the blinding effect. Naruto had refused to tell you what he would be wearing today, but this was more beautiful than you could have ever imagined.

As he reached the end of the aisle, your mate gave up on being graceful, running the last few steps and throwing himself into your embrace. You caught him easily, twirling him around. Laughter rang through the hall.

“You look stunning.” You whispered in his ear, gently stroking up and down his arms.

“So do you.” He grinned in return.

The ceremony flew by. You had tried your hardest to listen, but you couldn’t stop staring at your mate instead. His eyes were always one of your favourite of his physical features, but they had looked especially magical today.

Before you knew it, it was time for your first dance.

You hadn’t planned anything and you certainly didn’t take any lessons, so it was just you and him, in each others’ arms, swaying together to the music.

Naruto felt warm in your arms as you swayed. You took a moment to nuzzle your face into his scent glands, pressing a firm kiss to his mating mark while you were there. Naruto hummed in delight, holding onto you even tighter.

“My omega. My mate. My husband.” You breathed into his ear, knowing how much he loved his new title.

Naruto shivered and purred in response. “I love the sound of that, you know.”

“I’m aware.” You laughed, using the distraction to twirl him. Naruto completed his twirl before trying to twirl you as well.

Other couples soon began to join you on the dance floor, but you and Naruto only had eyes for each other.

“I love you, more than anything else in this world Naruto, never forget that.”

“I love you, too. Forever, I promise.”

“Do you love me more than ramen?”

“What? Can’t you just be happy with second place?”

“Narutoooo.”

“Fine... Joint first.”

“I hate you.”

Naruto barked out a laugh at the look on your face.

“No, you don’t.”

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exquisitley-obsessed · 3 years

Text

Cardinal Catastrophe

Author: @exquisitley-obsessed

Summary: Elain reaches out to Azriel after that dreaded Solstice night and they once again meet under the moonlight in the River House - but everything is different now (post ACOSF, Azriel’s the focalizer)

Pairings: Azriel x Elain, Elriel

Word Count: 13,300+

Warnings: This does get a bit smutty and then there’s some violence towards the end.

A/N: This is like super long. It basically has everything it’s fluff, smut and angst so yeah, something for everyone. This is probably the longest oneshot I’ve ever written, I don’t know where this has come from but it’s taken me way longer to write than any of my other stuff. There’s a lot of catharsis in this and reflection on how I think both Azriel and Elain think of the situation. You’ll also get a bit of Rhys’ pov towards the ned ;)

Preview: With Elain’s eyes closed he allowed himself to greedily devour the sight of her. Just her face alone captured his attention entirely. With his eyes he memorised the curve of her cheekbones, the specific angle of her brows, even the exact chocolatey shade of her lashes. He went over it again, and again, and again, like a worshipper devouring the holy text. Azriel needed the perfection of Elain committed to memory, because he was sure that one day his luck would run out entirely. That soon he would not be permitted to even these meetings in the dead of night, with only a thousand stars as witness to their mutilated fate.

“Elain...” He tried again; his voice softer than he had ever heard it before. The person he became around Elain was foreign to himself. He had never been someone privileged enough to both love and be loved, not like this. Now that he had tasted such passions, he found he could not always recognise himself. Because he was Azriel, and he was cursed and damned, destined to be alone, to be unloved, mutilated both in mind and morality. He could not love; he shouldn’t be able to love - and yet.

MASTERLIST

It was no exaggeration to say that Azriel’s work was of a most gruesome nature. His daily routine involved cutting into people, making them sing to his shadows, working them like a carcass in a machine until they’d spilt their guts to him before painting the walls with those same organs. As the Night Court’s spymaster, Azriel knew things that would bring kings to their knees, secrets that were interwoven into the foundations of courts, hidden information that would dissolve alliances in seconds; and yet, here he was, pacing the room like a schoolboy as he tried to swallow the fluttery ‘butterfly-like’ feeling twisting his gut.

He’d noticed the note the minute he’d entered the room. A tiny slip of paper that glowed in the moonlight from where it was perched on his work desk, a stark contrast to Azriel’s messy, tea-stained paperwork. Azriel had smelt her on it before he read it, in fact, the second he opened the door to his River House bedroom he was surrounded by her faded aroma. She must’ve breezed in and out, not wanting to overstep her bounds as she left him a note no one else was to read. Knowing her, she was probably currently riddled with guilt for entering his private space, even though, quite frankly, Azriel wouldn’t mind her invading on every aspect of his life, personal or not. Not wanting to face what her scent in his room did to him, he’d crossed the room in three strides and devoured the note in seconds; the words still rang in his head.

I need to see you.

Everything had been fine. Ever since Rhysand’s outrageous demand of Azriel several months prior, Azriel had fallen into a routine, stricter than the last, for ignoring Elain Archeron. He was working more than he ever had before, not just in quantity but in quality. Unnecessarily detailed reports were showing up on the High Lord’s desk of situations that were entirely irrelevant to the current political climate and yet, Azriel thought it was only fair Rhysand suffered somewhat from this situation too.

I’m sorry for everything.

While he was anywhere but Velaris, Elain was never anywhere else, specifically in the River House, a place he had thus far avoided with painful success. Until his High Lady had demanded he come to dinner to celebrate Nesta’s birthday, Nesta who was happier than he had ever seen her before, practically glowing with the dreaded mating bond. It still baffled him how much prevalence mating bonds had played in his life the past few years after 500 years of silence, strings of fate which seemed to only bring about the greatest happiness or the wickedest pain.

I just want to make things right.

They were so happy, all of them. Rhysand with Feyre and Nyx, Nesta and Cassian - and though he just wanted to be glad for his family, the miasma of their bliss was suffocating. Because Azriel had never felt more alone, had never been so buried in his work, so achingly tired from the unnecessary flights and dreary missions, and his harmful behaviour was turning his body into something foreign. Azriel never used to have the constant tautness across his shoulders, nor the constant black shadows under his eyes from the sleepless nights, or the aching muscles that never seemed to heal. But it was necessary – if he wanted to obey Rhysand’s order, if he wanted to maintain civility between courts, and for a plethora of other supposed noble reasons – it was necessary.

I miss you.

He just wanted her. Not in any possessive way, he just wanted to be around her. He’d come to find a specific kind of peace in her company, something about that soothed his worries and aches. So, he missed their walks in the gardens, their shared book recommendations, their inside jokes, their unspoken understanding, their healing. And above all he missed her: her smile, her laughter, the shade of her flushed cheeks, her kindness, her silence.

Azriel hadn’t realised what had been happening to him as they had gotten closer, hadn’t realised how far he’d fallen till Rhysand had pulled him out of the air. Now all that was there, was a lacking. He was busier than ever, but all around him hung the privation of her.

Meet me in the foyer when the sun sets.

So he couldn’t be around his family, couldn’t face their overwhelming joy when he was so, so alone. Maybe it would’ve been better if he had never met Elain, or at least if he hadn’t allowed himself to fall for her. But in those soft moments he shared with her, the brushes of fingertips to the sun-kissed smiles, he’d been forced to face just how alone he was, how alone he had always been. Through Elain, Azriel had had a taste of honest, unwavering love - and yet he was expected to turn his back on such a discovery, by his own family no less.

Please.

He would meet her in the foyer when the sun set. He would follow her to the ends of the Earth if she asked him to, because maybe he was just so masochistic that he didn’t mind meeting Elain only to be reminded of everything he couldn’t have. Reading the note Azriel couldn’t help but think bitterly of how the flower-grower was far more courageous than he. That she was reaching out to him after he had rejected her so brutally. Azriel jolted, flaring his wings slightly to stop the train of thought. That pained, confused look in Elain’s eye when he had said that word, haunted him. Mistake. He’d called it a mistake. Azriel raked his hands down his face and sighed.

He wished he were strong enough to either commit or drop it entirely. He wished he had it in him to do something. Azriel should’ve bitten back at Rhysand all those months ago, should’ve just dealt with this catastrophe back then rather than let it fester and rot under the proverbial carpet.

As time passed in Azriel’s knotted thoughts, the sun plummeted towards the horizon. It was a perfect summers evening, and Azriel stilled at the window to watch as the sun melted the sky into shades of pink and purple. He saw it and thought of the colour of her dress tonight, or even that dress she had worn when she’d made traditional Illyrian biscuits and demanded he tried one. He’d taken it in his pocket and only took a bite when he was alone in the shadows of a different court, and he had savoured every bite, quietly smothering his growing adoration as he did so.

Elain, Elain, Elain. His shadows whispered to him, as though they knew they would soon be in her presence. No one had ever had such an effect on his shadows, and around her he was more aware of them being a separate entity to himself. Though they were bound, around Elain they seemed to grow more confident, they acted of their own accord and would often disappear in her presence, as though his shadows knew he wished to be entirely alone with her.

Foyer...Elain...flower-grower...beautiful. Azriel was inclined to agree. And before Azriel could lose himself to shyness, the sun finally dipped behind the curve of the land, allowing a thousand glimmering stars to prickle through the endless black sky.

She would already be waiting for him, and though Azriel was nervous, he had to restrain some part of himself that longed to throw open the door and jump down the stairs two at a time. Instead, he used the shadows, stepping through them to the base of the large foyer staircase. It would be more silent this way. He wouldn’t make the same mistake of not listening to the corridors as they spoke. For Elain’s sake, he would demand the utmost privacy, even from his High Lord and Lady.

He could see her before she saw him. She was leaning of the Foyer’s centre table, fiddling with the bouquet of flowers in a glass vase - of course she was. All he could see of her was the lower half of her pale gown and her dark golden hair, cascading down her back like a waterfall. The moonlight streaming in through the large French windows gave her an angelic glow, whereas the more sensuous light of the flickering candles painted shadows across her thinly veiled curves. Both warm and cold light coming together to worship the woman who seemed to him as light herself. At the sight of her, Azriel involuntarily sucked in a breath and felt her scent hit the back of his throat, his entire body seemed to sing from her aroma alone, as though it were his own personal drug. Dangerous, this was dangerous, to be with her and to be so alone. He didn’t care.

“Elain,” she didn’t start as he spoke into the thick silence. If she had the confidence to call him here tonight, then he must source some of his own. He at least owed her that. Delicately, Elain turned and looked over her shoulder, her beautiful brown eyes finding his and melting the whole world away.

“You came,” She breathed, her shoulders sagging slightly out of relief. She turned to him properly then, and Azriel flickered his eyes over her so quickly she might’ve mistaken it for a mere blink. But he saw her, saw what she was wearing, and some core part of his soul longed to weep at the sight of her beauty.

Elain was in a nightgown, off-white cotton and silk, with cream and dusty pink lace. Pale ribbons pulled the nightdress around her breasts and down to her naval, dipping in a slight ‘v’ before the skirts flowed around her natural curves and then dropped to the floor. The neckline was agonisingly flattering, though Azriel was sure he wouldn’t look twice at the nightdress on anyone else. Her creamy skin seemed browner in the warm candlelight of the house, and as the shadows flickered, he was aware of how her collarbones stretched out to the curve of her shoulders, how she didn’t have freckles on her chest and arms but rather a specific constellation of moles, even how her hair was impossibly thick and, if memory served him well, soft too. Upper sections were pulled away from her face in an intricate pattern of braids and ties, and yet lock after lock of pale brown hair cascaded down her back and over her shoulders, framing her angelic face. Oh, that face. Poets and painters alike would weep at the sight of that face. The small, angled eyebrows that somehow made her doe eyes bigger, the freckles across her cheeks and nose, her plush lips-

“I know that you’re avoiding me,” she began, crashing Azriel back into reality. He shifted slightly, ruffling his wings as though to wake himself up. Her voice wasn’t accusing, but calm and quiet, “I know there’s a reason why you’re never around. For a while I thought you were just cooped up at the House of Wind but Nesta says that she never sees you...no one ever sees you anymore.” Azriel stayed quiet, just holding her gaze. He never needed to speak around Elain, she had quickly understood that when he had something to say, he would say it, but till then, he was comforted by the silence. And so she continued, more nervous now.

“I don’t want to be...narcissistic...but it seems to me that you’ve been distancing yourself with everyone after what happened on Solstice and...” She shifted uncomfortably, her confidence running out as she looked down at the floor and wrung her hands. “I can’t take it. I can’t take being the person whose pushed you away and I...I think we need to talk about it - or not talk about it - I’m not sure. I just, I don’t want you to avoid me anymore, even if that means we pretend that it never happened, that’s fine. I just...”

He could tell her right now the exact reason why he couldn’t be around her. Elain, he would say, I would do anything to be around you. I would kill a thousand men just to have the privilege of your company. But I can’t, Elain. Because when I’m around you, everything turns inside out, I forget everything I’m supposed to be afraid of. I become this person around you Elain, I become someone who I’ve always wanted to be, and I don’t know how to be him, if I even can. I’m not used to this, to wanting something so viscerally it feels as though I might fall apart every day I don’t see you. Elain, I don’t know how to choose happiness, I don’t know how to be selfish in that way, and above all...I don’t know how to fix this.

“I don’t care if you don’t want me like that, not if it comes at the price of your friendship. I still...need you in my life, Az,” Elain was whispering now, her large eyes slightly glassy in the candlelight.

Azriel couldn’t help but think that Elain was evidentially stronger than him, that she could still want to be around him even if he supposedly didn’t want her. If the roles were reversed, if it had been Elain who had pushed him away, he was pretty certain he would’ve manipulated his work to make him leave the Night Court for at least several years. Of course, she was stronger than him, he was beginning to think she was stronger than them all, because of this exact trait of hers - forgiveness.

“Please...say something,” Elain’s broken voice rose through the silence. She looked at him again, tears threatening to spill. Her looking at him in such a way made something deep in his chest twist, and twist and keep on twisting.

He didn’t know what to do, so he took a step forward, and another and another, until he was a foot’s distance away from her. The whole time her eyes never left his, her hands still twisting together at the front of her beautiful, beautiful dress. He opened his mouth to speak but once again Elain had rendered him speechless. Where could he begin, how could he begin - how could he fix this?

“Elain...” was all he managed in the end, but that seemed to be enough to soothe her as her eyes fluttered shut and she breathed deeply at the sound of her name mingled with his breath.

With Elain’s eyes closed he allowed himself to greedily devour the sight of her. Just her face alone captured his attention entirely. With his eyes he memorised the curve of her cheekbones, the specific angle of her brows, even the exact chocolatey shade of her lashes. He went over it again, and again, and again, like a worshipper devouring the holy text. Azriel needed the perfection of Elain committed to memory, because he was sure that one day his luck would run out entirely. That soon he would not be permitted to even these meetings in the dead of night, with only a thousand stars as witness to their mutilated fate.

“I’m sorry,” He began, his voice barely audible. And by the way Elain’s brows furrowed slightly and her mouth tightened, he knew that she knew he was talking about the last time they’d been here, in this foyer. “I wish things were different,” He whispered, now trying to memorise the exact constellations of her freckles.

“Me too,” She breathed, her eyes still closed. “I wish I was different,” She surprised him by whispering.

“Don’t...” He murmured, silently stunned, “You...you don’t know how you...” But he had to stop himself mid-sentence, had to bite his tongue between his teeth hard enough to draw blood. Because if he started to talk, he wouldn’t stop. He would tell her everything, and he wasn’t quite ready to be so vulnerable, not when he didn’t know how to be vulnerable at all.

“I...” She opened her eyes and seemed to look at him as though for the first time. After a long pause she spoke again, “I wish I had courage.”

“Courage?” Elain paused and shifted slightly from foot to foot, as though she were debating what she would say next.

“I want to be strong, like my sisters...I want to etch out my own path rather than fumble in the dark.” Azriel thought for a moment.

“You are strong, whether you perceive yourself to be or not.” He wanted nothing more than to reach up and stroke his hand along her smooth cheek, instead he dug his nails into his already marred palm and focused on the pain’s bite.

“I will never be a general,” Elain whispered, her eyes still damp, “I will never be a High Lady or a leader, I don’t care for any of that...I wish I did. You can’t imagine how badly I wish I...” Her words ran out and her eyes became slightly glossed over and detached. Again, he felt the urge to touch her, to ground her back in reality, but he just dug his nails in deeper. “I don’t belong on battlefields, though I’d always fight when the world needed me but...I’m not a warrior; and that petrifies me.”

Again, Azriel paused, taking time to absorb every word Elain offered to him under the moonlight. Azriel adored Elain, he could’ve stood there for an hour and listed everything about her that had brought him hope. How her outlook on life had been so foreign to him, so unrealistic when he first met her, that it was extraordinary now just how jealous he was of her ability to look at the morbidity of the world, and still seek out the good.

“In a world of endless bloodshed and bitterness, do not be ashamed of not wanting to be a warrior,” Azriel whispered.

“But I’m useless,” Elain quickly interjected, “I have all this power, I feel it stirring in me and there is no part of me that wishes to manipulate it or-or exploit it.” Elain’s hands came up and danced in the air as she spoke, another quirk of hers he’d both memorised and adored. Azriel thought again, long and hard, before he spoke.

“I’ve been around a lot longer than you, and from what I’ve learnt of people is...that they’re horrible,” Azriel watched as Elain’s eyes widened and drank in his words and something twisted in his chest. People didn’t look at him like that when he talked. His brothers would wink and laugh with him, his enemies cowered and flinched, those whom he bedded would smile slyly or watch his mouth as he murmured dirty things in the dead of night. But no one looked at him like that, as though he were reciting poetry, as though he were beautiful enough to say something worthy of those big eyes and parted lips.

“You wouldn’t believe the horrors I’ve seen, or the court secrets I’ve uncovered. The way people, particular those in positions of power, treat each other, treat those around them and those below them - it’s tragic. It’s merciless and cruel.” Elain was still drinking him in, still hanging onto his every word.

“I think over the centuries, I myself became desensitised to the horrors of power and politics. Especially given my start in life. When you were human I understood your naivety, your belief in the good of the world, especially after your riches had returned and your life was content.

“But what I didn’t understand was how you continued to believe good after everything you went through. After facing the most brutal torture from the Cauldron itself...you still chose to believe in the wonderful and I-I didn’t understand that. Because I couldn’t do that. Because I’d never believed in the good of people the way you do...I had never even believed in the good of myself.

“Please don’t think that kindness is something small, or something that can be overlooked. Because when the world is little more than ruin and rubble, kindness is all we have left. We’ve just been alive so long that we forget about it, us Fae, we’ve spent so much of our lives at war that it’s easy to forget why we’d even engage in such bloodshed. It wasn’t till I met you that I was reminded that such things as tenderness and humanity even existed outside my family, and once the wars were about defending those virtues rather than snuffing them out…I just, I can’t help but think that if there were more people like you in the world, maybe Prythian wouldn’t succumb to carnage every few decades, just so that the heartless noblemen of this land can feel something.”

Azriel hadn’t meant to speak for so long, in fact, he didn’t quite understand where the words had even come from. They were true, of course. He did whole-heartedly believe everything he had just said, he just hadn’t realised how much he’d ached to say it aloud. Elain was still staring at him wide-eyed, and then there was the worst thing of all, a single tear spilling over her damp eyes and trickling down her cheek.

“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to-”

“No,” Elain whispered, suddenly reaching out and sliding her palm into his from where it was hanging limp at his side. Electricity shot through his arm, and he forced himself to look at her in the eye as he tensed his legs so that they didn’t crumple underneath him. “No, it’s good I’m, I’m glad you said it I...”

But again, words seemed to evade Elain as she looked up at him. Azriel was now hyperaware of her how close she was, of her smooth palm that fit so nicely in his own. His body often reacted on its own accord around Elain, and he had spent months leashing his desires into chains, beasts that could only come out in the dead of night. But since that dreaded Solstice night last winter, everything had changed.

Life these past few months had consisted of the battle between two extremes. Either he was drowning in the way his body seemed to ache and beg for her, his mind obsessing over their stuttering relationship as though it were a philosophical debate. Especially since he now knew that some part of her wanted him and had wanted to kiss him even with her mate sleeping upstairs. The fact that he now knew what her scent tasted like, how her voice sounded when it was breathy and desperate - it all fuelled the fantasies that haunted him the moment he made it back to his room. He could be on the other side of Prythian and somehow the presence of Elain Archeron would find a way to him.

The other extreme was complete and total deprivation. The reality that he hadn’t seen her for months, that she would soon exist more in memory than experience. Even though his fantasies of her were so visceral, so tangible, the reality that she was not in the room with him always came crashing down by the time his head had cleared - and then he’d feel more alone than ever before.

But when he was here, with her, the argument ceased. The torture and the pain, the writhing mind and aching debates, it all fell into beautiful silence. And so, looking at her now, he was unable to help himself. And without thought, he reached up and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear as he murmured under his breath, no more than a whisper, “Elain Archeron...saviour of the cursed and damned...”

As Azriel’s fingers grazed Elain’s cheek, a horribly confused and upset look twisted her face. She seemed to freeze at the contact and Azriel halted at her discomfort, internally berated himself for pushing her too far, for being so arrogant in thinking he could touch her in such a way.

“I...Azriel...I don’t understand,” Elain’s breathless voice seemed to caress him, and once more he found himself tensing his legs so that they wouldn’t give out under him. “You don’t want me...you said it was a mistake...” Azriel stilled, and he caught her eye in a moment of alarmed sobriety.

“You and I both know that’s not true.”

He couldn’t stop the words before they spilled from his lips. It didn’t matter how soft, how quiet, his voice was, the words were innately harsh and something deep against his spine lurched at the thought of her hurting her - of hurting her again.

But Elain didn’t flinch. Her eyes, instead of widening in shock, stayed stoically still and calm. And then Azriel watched as those honeyed eyes he loved so much lapsed darker and darker, the floral musk of her arousal drifting to him like a moth to a flame, the same scent he’d been dreaming of for months, the memory of it alone making his body achingly hard and taut, as though his own skin existed only to respond to the call of hers.

The scent surrounded him, sending blood to his cock which was now throbbing viscerally against the seams of his leathers. His arousal had never felt so tight before, so extreme and sudden. He felt it, heavy in his lower abdomen, twisting and knotting his guts in both pain and pleasure. That was familiar, that he’d felt a hundred times before, but for Elain Acheron his whole body seemed to sing. His blood burned under his skin as it pounded through his body, whilst his heart was light and fluttery in his chest, as though it might edge up his throat and fall from his lips. His eyes felt heavy lidded as though he were drunk, and even though he were standing stoically still, even though he hadn’t done anything yet, he found himself short of breath.

He had never wanted something more - never. Not Mor. Not a job. Not a secret, not information. Not salvation, not mercy. God, it seemed as though in this instant, Elain had invented want for him.

He would beg for her. Right now, in the foyer where he’d first tasted this personal drug. Had Elain not been holding him up by her eyes and a single palm he would already be on his knees. He moved to fall down before her, like a worshipper at a temple, when movement at her mouth caught his eye. Azriel watched as her delicate, pink tongue slowly dragged along her lower lip to wet it as she blinked innocently at him. Azriel’s resolve was gone in a puff of smoke.

Fuck Rhysand. Fuck Lucien. Fuck the Mother, the Cauldron, the world. Fuck anyone who stood between him and Elain who he knew, he knew, wanted him as badly as he wanted her. Because of course she did. Because whatever this was, whatever was happening between them, was otherworldly and impossible to ignore.

And good luck to them, was the last though Azriel had before he leaned in. Good luck to anyone who ever dare stand between him and her, because he’d kill them - he’d fucking kill them.

Despite his body beating like a drum for Elain’s melody, he did not kiss her right away. Once he’d accepted that he would kiss her, once he’d come to that inevitable conclusion it felt like a thousand doors of golden light opened before his eyes, and it took everything he had to not sob with joy.

All those fantasies he had revelled in for the past year that had been shrouded in a miasma of fantasy and shame, rolled through his mind clear as day. He could kiss her lips. Those soft pads of blushing rose that he had already committed to memory. Or he could trace down and press his lips to the sensitive spot between her neck and shoulder, a crook of intimacy that he’d already figured out from watching her protect it with her hands when someone stood behind her. He could kiss her temples, her cheeks, her throat - every fucking inch of her.

Now that his resolve had snapped like an elastic band stretched too far, he found that he was finally free. Looking at her he hadn’t realised how long he had taken, how slowly he was leaning in until Elain’s fingers suddenly gripped the leathers across his chest and her brows furrowed as she pulled closer to him, her eyes dark and desperate, her mouth wet and parted as she half-gasped, half-whispered, “Please....Azriel...”

He did moan then. A low, throaty sound that escaped him at the sound of his name intertwined with her breathy gasps. He snapped.

He had intended to savour every second of kissing her, but the moment his lips touched hers, he felt fire. Elain’s hands ran up his chest before intertwining themselves in his hair as she pulled herself against him and he moaned again, the second time in a minute, into her mouth. Because he could feel her, all of her, pressed against his hot throbbing body. The soft pressure of her breasts, the bones of her hips, even one of her legs had tucked between his own, the sides of their knees brushing together. She was going to kill him. She was going to fucking kill him.

And then there was her mouth. Softer than petals, and so obviously hers in taste and touch. Every time their lips brushed, every time he felt her perfect breath mingling with his own, shivers erupted across his body. Unable to stop himself he brushed back her hair before firmly grasping the side of her neck, his hand was so large against her velvet skin that he knew he could probably hold her entire throat in one hand. He put it there as an ode to the last time he’d been here. He’d put it there as a fuck you to fate.

His other hand curled around her waist and pressed against her back where - and he moaned again - Elain’s exposed skin greeted him.

He wanted to take her right her. Wanted to lie her down on the carpet and bury his head between her thighs as he had done so many times before in his fantasies. How he ached to taste her, all of her, to pin her writhing thighs back with one hand and wrists with the other. He wanted to look at her perfect angelic face as he made her sing sinful sounds for him. Wanted to make her toes curl and back arch as she came on his tongue. Again, and again, and again.

Elain tugged slightly on Azriel’s hair and he was thrust back into his body, back into the present, and he had to stifle another moan because those thousands of fantasies had nothing, nothing, on this.

In response to Elain’s needy tug, Azriel bent slightly and curled a hand around the back of each of her thighs and hoisted her up against his chest. Elain, much to his delight, snapped her legs around him as he lifted her against his chest, their lips still ferociously dancing. He only had to walk a few paces to set her against the edge of the lobby table, but that particular move was one that had been haunting him more recently of late.

He went to pull away after she was set down on the wooden tabletop. He wanted to see her, with her hair ruffled and her cheeks flushed, her lips swollen and her chest heaving. He wanted to commit that image to memory because there was still some part of him that could not believe this was real.

But as he moved to step back, Elain caught him off guard as her legs tightened from where they were wrapped around his hips, something of a growl arising from the back of her throat as she fisted his leathers and pulled him against her. Azriel obeyed her, like a puppy on a leash, leaning his hands against the table, either side of her hips, in order to stay standing.

She was flushed against him once more. Her breasts pushed against his chest which felt suffocated by the Illyrian leathers, he ached to have her skin brushing against his own, but all in good time. He slipped his tongue into her mouth then and revelled in the juxtaposing thrill and relaxation of exploring her in this way. But there was still an inch of space between their hips. He didn’t know why he left it there, even when Elain dragged him against her, perhaps it was because he knew the minute they were aligned in cardinal perfection, there would be no turning back. He would be hers and vice versa, and she would be his muse and his priority, and he would put her before everything - even his High Lord.

To steady himself, Azriel made the mistake of taking his hand and bracing himself on Elain’s thigh. What he was not expecting was for his palm to find the soft, exposed flesh of her leg from where her dress must’ve mischievously ridden upwards when he had lifted her.

Purely on instinct, Azriel moaned and drove his hips forward into her core, earning a breathy sigh from them both as they finally found an inch of friction in their writhing. There was only fabric now. Measly layers of fabric that came between them.

“Fuck...” Elain gasped into his mouth and some outrageously animalistic part of him growled in satisfaction at having pulled a sinful swear from her angelic mouth. Azriel kept one hand against the wood near her hips to stay steady, to stop himself from grounding his hips into her like an uncontrollable beast, the other stayed on the warm, smooth flesh of her exposed thigh.

Slowly, he began to trace rough circles with his thumb on her inner thigh earning a flutter of breathy sighs to dance from her lips which pleased his soul to no avail. Azriel parted from her lips and began to pepper kisses along her jawline as he torturously inched his thumb up, inch by inch with each circle. When Azriel began to kiss and suck on the spot just below her ear he allowed himself to peek at her as he worked.

Her head was tilted back slightly, her throat bobbing as high hums fluttered from her. If he could paint he would paint the perfect blush of her swollen lips. If he were a poet he would turn her breathy moans into the sweetest of sonnets. And then she tugged on her bottom lip with her teeth as a soft moan escaped her and he had to look away, if only to stop himself from reaching down and fisting himself at the sight of it.

With his head turned Azriel hissed out of surprise as his thumb rubbed against a sticky sweetness coating her inner thigh. God she was wet. And as he rubbed further, coating his thumb in her essence, he had to bite his cheek as to not come in his pants like a schoolboy. Azriel stopped rubbing circles in favour for taking his first finger and tracing back and forth over the highest point of her thigh, slow and torturous as he familiarised himself with the feel of her. His heart threatening to beat out of his chest when his fingers brushed against a lacy frill at the apex of her thigh. Tilting his head Azriel was able to husk into her ear.

“What do you want Elain?” His voice was low and breathy before he caught her lobe between his teeth. Another shuddering gasp floated from her lips.

“I want you to touch me...and I don’t want you stop,” the sound of her voice so mingled with pleasure and need was almost enough to undo him. “Ever,” She went on, “Not until I don’t know my own name.”

She was going to kill him. Growling in satisfaction he rewarded her answer with one quick brush over her lace underthing's, the touch was like electricity for them both. Elain physically tremored as Azriel finally brushed where she needed him most, and Azriel shuddered at the contact with the girl of his dreams.

“Please, Azriel,” Azriel stilled for a moment, wondering how she would react to his instinctual next move. His particular flavour of making love.

“Say that again,” He said slowly, his voice barely more than a brutal, low husk. As he spoke Azriel allowed some of his power to ebb into the words, the siphons a top his hands guttering as they came to life. It felt slightly wrong to use such a voice on her, the one he so often used with enemies, but Azriel watched as Elain’s lips parted, her pupils expanding as her breath grew heavy in response to his dominant voice. Oh, Azriel couldn’t help but think in agonising awe. Maybe his deep assumptions, the ones that only haunted him in that void he entered before he fell asleep, were true. That Elain, the purest of sisters, was also the filthiest.

“Please, Az,” Her voice was breathy and pleading, but there was something alight in her eyes as she begged him.

“Good girl,” Azriel couldn’t stop himself from husking as he peeled back the top of the lace. They both stared unwaveringly into each other’s eyes as Azriel dipped his hands along her, not touching just hovering. He held his hand there, an inch away from where she needed him most, waiting until she almost whimpered before he slid a single finger slowly through her folds.

Her reaction was blissful to see. The way she bit her lip, her back arched, and her eyes fluttered shut. Azriel moved with her, his own mouth parted, and brows furrowed as he stroked her again.

“Don’t close your eyes,” He murmured in his voice of steel, “Look at me.” Elain’s eyes snapped open, and it was his turn to be caught off guard. Gone was the hazelnut colour, even the sensuous black he had somehow lulled them into, what met him was the colour of bright honey and her eyes, they were glowing. They stood out like gemstones being pierced by golden light. It was then that Azriel began to take note of their surroundings and realise that the thrumming was not just happening inside him but all around him. Ripple after ripple of raw, ancient power was bleeding from Elain, fizzing into the air and turning the entire foyer into something alive and electric. A shiver ran along Azriel’s entire body as his own powers itched to sing in harmony with hers; cobalt energy rising to meet her golden light.

Her folds were dripping, and he was having an internal debate on whether or not to rip off her underwear. On one hand he would have better access, he would be able to pleasure her better, and he could even push her back against the table and lower his head and taste her. On the other, he couldn’t stand being disconnected from her for a second.

Whilst he debated, he slowly raked his finger up her again before finding that small bundle of nerves. When he caught it with his fingertip and began to drag slow, luxurious circles over it, a throaty, guttural moan escaped her lips. He bit his cheek again. He wondered if anyone had fucked her like this and again, that pride bloomed when he realised that he might be the first. Not her first, but the first person to show her the true ecstasy of pleasure.

“Oh fuck, oh fuck,” Elain gasped as her head fell forward on his shoulder. Azriel allowed the eye contact to break, too absorbed by the feeling of having Elain writhing under his fingers to care.

He’d always thought that he could die a happy man if ever he was blessed enough to experience such a joy as Elain Archeron, but now he realised what a stupid notion that was. Because Elain wasn’t cause for death but cause for life. He’d live for Elain, Azriel realised. Elain who was writhing and mewling into his shoulder as he slowly brought her to the ecstasy she deserved. She was close and following this he would winnow them away to either his unused apartment in central Velaris, or deep in the gardens on this summer night, where they would be entirely alone, and everything would be perfect. And once they’d had their fill on the pure bliss of one another they could talk about everything, and they’d find a solution and they’d work it out, and everything would be okay - and then Rhysand walked in, and everything came crashing down.

Some part of Azriel’s hazy mind had been aware of the movement deep in the house but it had been so, so inconsequential compared to what was in front of him. And his shadows, well his shadows were nowhere to be seen, not with golden light quite literally thrumming from Elain. There had been no warning, and as Rhys met Azriel’s eye when he still had his fingers flush against Elain some primal part of Azriel reared its head.

In an instant Azriel’s siphons were spluttering to life as power surged through Azriel, his wings instinctively flaring as wide as they would stretch, so that the cresting talon of each wing scraped into the polished walls. Rhys, who was standing at the edge of the foyer, an unrecognisable expression scorched into his face, was a threat at that moment, and the whole world seemed to still as Azriel slowly came down from the high of his arousal.

Slowly, Azriel removed his hand from Elain’s underwear and smoothed down her skirts to cover her legs, all the while never moving his eyes from Rhys. He didn’t care if he was in for the doghouse, didn’t give a shit about what consequences his happiness had just induced - Elain came first.

And right now, even though it was a ludicrous thought, Azriel was preparing himself to protect Elain from Rhysand. Elain’s whose nightgown had slipped down her shoulder, whose eyes were wide as she glanced over her shoulder at her brother-in-law, exposed and vulnerable just as she’d been on the worst night of her life.

“Azriel,” Rhysand finally spoke and Azriel shifted slightly to pull Elain closer to his chest. “My office...now.” It seemed as though all sense of formality had dropped as Rhysand’s High Lord voice billowed into the room. Azriel didn’t speak, didn’t move either, just shifted his eyes to Elain whose face was blanch and confused.

“Can’t this wait?” Azriel asked, his voice low and full of strength. Instantly he realised that he should’ve worded his question better. He didn’t want time in order to finish off what he and Elain had begun, but rather to give Elain a moment to breathe, for her to fix her dress and smooth her hair, for her to do whatever she needed to do before she was forced to face her family. Rhysand’s eyes darkened, and he entered the room in a low stride, both hands digging deep into his pockets. Azriel moved instantly, stepping around Elain to put himself in front of her as Rhysand approached.

Without a word Rhysand came closer and closer, and Azriel continued to stretch his wings to cover Elain from whatever vitriol was about to be thrown his way. But Rhysand didn’t say anything, he didn’t even move suddenly, just reached out a single hand until it was barely touching Azriel’s arm as darkness surrounded them both.

Before Azriel even had a chance to realise that Rhysand was winnowing them away – away from Elain – they were standing in his office, and Azriel couldn’t help but shake his head at the slight Deja-vu of the whole situation. Except this time, he wouldn’t be bounding himself in shackles, he’d be setting himself free, whether Rhys wanted him to or not.

Azriel was standing in front of the large mahogany desk of Rhysand’s office whilst it’s owner moved behind it, one hand still in his pocket. Already the air in the room was taut with energy, as though the very air were cowering in the face of the upcoming argument. And still Azriel’s mind was still thinking of the girl in the foyer, her name like a mantra beating through his body,

“Put your cock away Azriel,” Rhys immediately spat in response to the ripples of cobalt energy rippling from Azriel’s form. Azriel didn’t deem the childish comment with a retort, though his arousal was already gone, and quickly replaced by the tautness of anger and frustration. His shadows had returned to him now that he was away from Elain, and they were writhing uncontrollably around his legs and back.

Azriel stayed standing, folding his arms over his chest just for something to do. It was then that Rhys sighed heavily, leaning against his desk and hanging his head. He wasn’t as tired nor as desperate as when they’d last spoken like this - of this. No, now Rhys had everything. Everything he had ever, and could ever want, and now his fight lay in protecting the paradise he had found in Feyre and Nyx. Whilst Azriel was still in the dark, still alone, still secretly in agony - they were not the same.

“I gave you the simplest of orders,” Rhys sighed like a disappointed father and something brutally aggressive awoke in Azriel. How dare he, how dare Rhys speak to him like that?

“I know,” Azriel said, his voice indiscernible and calm. Rhys swung his head up to glare at Azriel, something emotional lingering in his violet eyes.

“You know? Then, Azriel, why did you take it upon yourself to disobey me?” Azriel’s grip on his biceps tightened.

“Elain is...” Azriel began before he had to lower his eyes. What was Elain? How could he explain to Rhys the inexplicable way he felt about the angelic gardener? The effect she had on him, it was both irrational and yet made perfect sense. And right now, he could barely focus with knowing that somewhere in this house she was looking around confused, wondering what the hell had just happened. “She’s important to me. More than you realise.”

“She has a mate.”

“That is irrelevant-”

“Irrelevant?” Rhysand looked as though he might laugh and Azriel once more gripped his arms tight enough to bruise. “I thought I made it perfectly clear to you Azriel that the bond between Elain and Lucien-” Azriel growled at his name, Rhys ignored him, “-is paramount to the civility between us and not just the Autumn Court, not just the Spring Court or the Day Court, but also the Band of Exiles and the Human realms.”

“And have you ever wondered if maybe Elain deserves better?”

“Better than Lucien-” Rhys practically squawked.

“No,” Azriel growled, allowing his anger to show, “Better than us. Better than a family who reduce her to little more than a political pawn-”

“She is my sister,” Rhysand spat, standing up straight with a newfound intensity. “Don’t you dare question my treatment of her, don’t you dare suggest I don’t care for her.”

“Are you truly so out of touch that you do not see the shackles you’ve tied around her wrists?” Azriel uncurled his arms, “You’ve stripped her of any choice-”

“This is not about choice!”

“This has everything to do with choice!”

“Elain is a valued member of my family but also of my court. As her High Lord, I have made a difficult decision but one that will undoubtedly strengthen this us in the now impending war. It was a tough decision and if you want me to be the bad guy, fine, I’ll be the bad guy, but you will obey my orders as this is the best choice for Elain.”

“Then why don’t you ask her,” Azriel growled, grappling with the internal leash on his powers, “Why don’t you actually include her in the decisions you’ve made about her life.”

“I don’t know what you’re insinuating,” Rhys flicked invisible lint from his suit, “But Elain is a valued member of these discussions.”

“Then why isn’t she here?” Azriel husked quietly, full of venom. Rhysand apparently didn’t have anything to say to that, so Azriel went on. “You claim to value choice Rhysand, and yet you’ve stripped Elain of not just her own volition, but the simple knowledge of the choices made about her life.”

There was something bitter clanging through Azriel as he spat the words, he knew what it was, it was a word - hypocrite. Because whilst Azriel was fighting for Elain, really he should be allowing for Elain to fight for herself. He should’ve left the office the minute Rhysand winnowed them and searched for Elain. He should’ve told her, all those months ago, about why he could no longer be around her. And that’s why Elain deserved better, better than Rhys and better than him, because even now they talked of her rather than with her.

“You are to stay away from her,” Rhysand said at last, glaring out the study’s window almost as though he was ignoring Azriel.

“I can’t do that. Not anymore,” Azriel husked, and Rhys paused, catching Azriel’s eye before he hastily looked to the side and raked a hand through his hair.

“I told you, Azriel. I told you to stay away from Ly-” Both Azriel and Rhys’ eyes widened at the name that nearly fell from Rhysand’s lips. A revelation occurring to them both as the name Rhys’ long deceased sister was brought into the room. “Elain,” Rhys corrected himself, acting unbothered by his slip. “I told you stay away.”

Azriel didn’t know how to respond. He’d spend hours in training rings, on long haul flights or espionage ventures thinking of this specific argument. The way he’d tell Rhys all the things he should’ve said on that Solstice night, about the disservice they were both doing to Elain, about how it was outrageous of Rhys to demand Azriel put politics before his happiness after, well, everything.

After Azriel had spent 500 years alone with only a doomed infatuation with a woman who would never love him back. After Azriel had always favoured to be alone, to suffer in silence, to take the blame, and now he finally had an out. After Azriel had to put up with both his brothers finding their perfect happiness, Rhys himself almost starting a war by perusing and protecting Feyre.

Why was it so different for him? Why was it the moment Azriel had happiness within an arm’s reach there were a thousand excuses for him not to have it? What was so poisonous about his desires? About him?

“She’s not Lydia,” Azriel said at last. It was a low blow. Especially since Rhys had so clearly tried to cover up his slip a moment ago. “For one, you would never treat Lydia with such little respect. Elain is her own person and I’m not going to fight with you, or Lucien, or anyone for that matter like she’s some kind of prize.”

This argument was too real. Of course, they’d had arguments before, all three of them had. Azriel could remember a particularly nasty one between Cassian and Rhys where they hadn’t spoken for a year, Azriel bouncing between them like an owl. But this wasn’t a brotherly squabble, not when the stakes were so high.

Rhys sighed, still not meeting Azriel’s eye as a muscle in his jaw ticked. It seemed as though the High Lord also understood the irregularity of the dispute, or maybe he was just furious at facing his own errors, at his spymaster criticising him on failing someone so important on a matter which Rhysand prided himself on - the volition of the women in his life. After what happened with his mother and his sister, to find out he was now failing his new family must be driving him mad.

“You just can’t keep it in your pants can you Azriel?”

It may have been less shocking if Rhys had just leaned over and stabbed Azriel in the gut. His words clanged into the air with a sour metallic taste, and for a moment Azriel lost his breath, his jaw slackening as his shock registered before he could swiftly cover the expression with the mask of steel he’d perfected. The silence following the comment was perhaps worse than the blow itself. Now it was Azriel who couldn’t stand looking at his brother. He didn’t care if Rhys looked apologetic, didn’t care for him at all.

“Do you really think so low of me?” Azriel’s voice was deathly quiet, before he finally shifted his eyes up to see the raw regret plastered on his brothers face.

“No, I-” A vicious knock came at the door then, interrupting whatever apology Rhys was going to throw his way.

“Open the door,” Came Elain’s voice, more brutal than he’d ever heard it before. Something electric shot through Azriel at the sound of it, of her. If anything, her voice was a reminder that this was real, that his hair was tousled, and lips swollen because of Elain-fucking-Archeron.

Rhys didn’t move for the door, so Azriel did. Turning around, he walked the length of Rhys’ office to the large double oak doors and pulled one back without hesitation. He knew she deserved to be here, that she should’ve been here from the start.

Azriel was so set on opening the door for the sake of justice and fairness that he momentarily forget that it was Elain on the other side, and the sight of her made his breath stop in his throat. Her hair was still ruffled from where he had raked his hands through it, and her lips still blushed from where he had tugged on them with his teeth. There was also a faint flush of her cheeks, either from their previous activities or from running through the River House searching for him and his brother.

Something electric and charged ran the entire length of his body at the sight of her - not arousal, something deeper. And by the way her glowing eyes drank him in, he knew she felt it too. Azriel stepped aside and let her pass into the office and walk up to Rhysand’s desk. As he followed her, something bitter twisted in his gut - whatever was blooming between himself and the gardener was a thing to celebrate. Such love, light and warmth in his life which had thus far consisted of cold loneliness was a joyous and wonderful thing. And yet he was made to feel ashamed of his happiness, by his brother. His own damn brother.

“What’s going on?” Elain spoke in her traditionally soft voice, but even Rhys must’ve picked up and the unwavering steel that seeped from her tone, so similar to Nesta’s pitch.

“Nothing, Elain. Just a dispute between myself and Azriel. It’s nothing you need concern yourself with,” Rhysand’s easy smile warmed through his cheeks and Azriel was sure he was going to punch him before the night was out.

“Don’t lie to me Rhysand, it’s not a good look for a High Lord,” Elain spoke smoothly, folding her arms over her chest as Azriel had done moments ago. Rhys’ expression only flickered in response. “Now, what’s going on?” Elain asked again.

“Well,” Rhysand began, “Me and Azriel have been discussing you actually, you see, your bond with Lucien is unfortunately paramount to a lot of peace and unity between our court and others.” Rhysand looked blankly at Evie as he spoke, completely dethatched from the emotional anger he’d unleashed on Azriel moments ago.

“Is this about me breaking the bond?” Elain said, her voice smooth like honey, healing the sparking energy in the room as Azriel and Rhysand had geared up for a fight. Something about the question twisted Azriel’s guts. It was her terminology; it was all wrong. There was no such thing as breaking a bond, one could reject it and render the attachment limp and lifeless, but breaking a bond was only achieved in death, and even then some believe the bond to continue in the next life. It was just a reminder that Elain knew nothing about this world, Lucien had placed the acceptance or rejection of the bond in her hands, but she did not even know what either option would truly entail. Her education, it was another thing they’d all failed her on.

“If you wish to reject your bond with Lucien I, nor anyone in this court, will prevent you from doing so,” Rhysand said smoothly, “However, given the current political climate, I must say it would be best to leave this till after the war.” Elain did not look away as she thought.

“I don’t want the bond,”

“That’s perfectly okay-”

“No,” Elain interrupted, “I don’t want the bond at all. I don’t want to have to accept or reject anything - I just don’t want it...you....you don’t know what it’s like, to be pulled apart limb by limb, and be remade against your will, to find yourself destroyed and then re-crafted by something as unapologetic as the Cauldron itself. I was violated to the most extravagant degree and when I finally came around, when I finally managed to find something recognisable in myself, months after that night, I came around to find that I had been reduced to some ancient claim a stranger possessed over me. You are all kind, and you all mean well, but I know you all see myself as his.

“It was on the worst night of my life, the night when I had been pulled apart till I was only vessels and blood, he called me his. He is not a bad person I can see that,” her voice wobbled slightly then, “He is kind and witty, he’s working harder than any of you for the forgiveness of my sister. He doesn’t deserve…” She choked up slightly, but cleared her throat to cover it up, “He’s not bad…but this bond is terrible, it’s worst then terrible, it’s suffocating. And when I think of that bond, tied around my ribs like some kind of violating shackle, I just think of how it felt to suffocate on black water...that’s what this bond means to me, it’s a violation on top of a violation. So, to hear that to you, this bond gives you a political advantage, that you get a gain out of it and that you wish me to continue living in torment I...

“I wish I could be sorry about feeling this way, but I don’t. I have stayed quiet, and I have played the role you needed me to play. I keep out of your way; I busy myself with the gardens and dinner and I do everything I can to not bare my teeth every time he visits. But I...” Her wide, damp eyes turned to look at Azriel, “I have found something living in the never ending grave of my life. After I found myself again, all those months after the Cauldron, it felt as though it was only then I emerged from the black water. After I found...” She trailed off, stilling holding Azriel’s eye, “...I was not just out the black water, but back on the ground.”

A small silence settled over the room as Azriel and Elain found themselves quickly lost in one another again, Rhys was merely glancing between the two, his mind whirring as he tried to click together the puzzle in front of him.

“I tried Rhys…I really did,” Azriel finally whispered into the heavy silence, still not looking away from his beloved. “I’ve done everything short of chaining myself in the dungeons to stay away, but I can’t.” It wasn’t until the words had left Azriel’s mouth that he realised his error. And it wasn’t until Elain’s brows furrowed and her eyes moved to Rhysand, that he felt his heart drop.

“What?” Elain whispered. One of the thousand questions she no doubt harvested. Azriel couldn’t look away from her, couldn’t meet his brothers eye. He had this awful feeling now twisting his guts, the feeling that everything was about to come crashing down.

“I ordered Azriel to stay away from you,” Rhys said evenly. Always the honest man.

“I...what?” Elain spluttered softly, her eyes narrowing on Rhysand. “What?”

“He called me away on solstice night when I was about to kiss you, that’s why I stopped.” That’s why I called it a mistake. Elain’s eyes burned even brighter and Azriel wondered if he should’ve held his tongue. If he should’ve just waited to have this conversation tomorrow where whatever ancient power that was stirring in Elain had calmed down. Now Elain’s glowing eyes seemed to fill the room with golden light, even the black night shrouding Rhysand’s figure ebbed back and inch.

“What?” Elain’s voice rung out, the magic in the room quickly turning volatile.

“I am sorry Elain; I didn’t mean to meddle with your private affairs, but with Lucien under the same roof it would’ve been too risky for those in the house. He could’ve invoked something called a ‘blood duel’.” Of course, Elain didn’t know that, of course none of her friends or family had taken the time to explain that to her.

“You…you sanctimonious dick,” Elain spat. Had it been any other day, Azriel would’ve had to fight an astonished grin at hearing the words on her lips, but not tonight, not when everything was turning so morbid in front of his eyes.

“I’m sorry Elain, I truly am. But I’m not just your brother-in-law but your High Lord and I cannot risk my entire court for the mild infatuation of a-”

“Don’t speak to her like that,” The words were writhing in venom as Azriel spat them out. He would go down with her.

“No, Azriel, you don’t speak to me like that,” And with that Rhys’ last straw was gone. In an instant his power was billowing into the room in clouds of black smoke. Rhys acting in such a way in front of Elain, who was already vulnerable, her dress already ruffled and her eyes wide in alarm, made Azriel furious.

“I am your high lord, Azriel, and I gave you a direct command and you have disobeyed me-” Without thinking Azriel’s own icy power rose to the surface, his siphons lighting on fire at the surge. If Elain was frightened by their display of bottomless power she did not show it, perhaps as her own fire was still burning vividly behind her eyes, perhaps since she knew she had more power than them both.

“Have you ever thought perhaps you stepped out of line by asking such a thing of me?” Azriel had never heard his voice so loud and angry before. He didn’t do this. His arguments were stoic and brutal, but mostly silent. He never fought politics - he carved into people who were in chains, and when there was an argument he stayed in the shadows and listened.

“You are my spymaster-”

“I am your brother!�� Azriel’s choked sob echoed into the room. “Do I not deserve to be happy?” Rhysand at least had the decency to flinch, to reel back and allow his jaw to slacken in shock.

“Of course, you deserve to be happy brother,” Rhysand’s voice was low and strangled, “But this isn’t just romance – it’s never just romance – this will be a battle-”

“And I’m willing to fight!” Azriel roared, his hands slamming into Rhysand’s desk, his power causing the entire house to shudder, right down to the foundations.

“Azriel,” Rhys’ voice was deathly quiet, “I need you to calm down.” For a moment Azriel didn’t understand, his mind was so focused on Elain, on his own shuddering heart and writhing powers that he simply could not comprehend the words that came out his brothers mouth. Finally, the message registered in his mind and he became aware of his shadows, flourishing and filling the entire room, crawling over the windows and blocking out all the light. The only way he was seeing Rhysand was via the golden glow that came from Elain’s eyes. Disgust racked through his body at the sight of the manifestation of his swirling pain, but before he could do anything, the leash on his powers snapped.

“Azriel-” The next series of events was a blur. Power billowed into the room in a quick explosion, God knows whose it was. Perhaps it was initially Azriel who had finally lost control on that leash on his Illyrian gifts, perhaps Rhysand moved to repress Azriel’s powers with his own, premature or not. Maybe the quiet Elain had had enough of the noise. In an instant, a cocktail of three brands of magic billowed towards each other before exploding outwards, sending a wave of pure, unhinged chaos through the room, the house, and the whole of Velaris.

They all were thrown back from each other, Rhys flying up and landing on his feet, bracing himself against the ornamental globe as his wings appeared and flared. But even he, the most powerful High Lord in history had his knees bent and his arms raised as he braced himself against the fizzling aftershock of the ancient power that tore through the air. Azriel’s centuries of training kicked in as he was catapulted the length of the room, his own wings flared to slow his flight before he caught himself on the doorframe, the weighty wooden doors having flung open, it took an immense amount of physical upper body strength to keep himself upright as the wave of power subsided, his teeth grinding together as his muscles screamed.

But he wasn’t aware of the pain of his screaming muscles, wasn’t thinking about how his wings were in danger of being shredded by the power that ripped through the room. There was only one person, that his entire being seemed to lurch for as his mind screamed her name over and over. Elain.

Elain.

He had seen as her pale form was flung away from him towards the cabinets, had heard the shattering of glass over the howling in his ears. Of course, he and Rhysand were okay, they had centuries of power and training under their belts but Elain…Elain didn’t have training, and she had flown through the air the fastest, taking the brunt of the powers rebound, her small form crashing into the case of Rhysand’s prized artefacts.

The minute Azriel had control of his own body and wasn’t being thrust back into the hallway, he winnowed to her, stepped into the shadows with a haste and urgency he’d never felt before. Wrong. He’d felt this fear before, he recognised it’s taste from the poisonous memories of that night Elain had been ripped away from them, leaving behind nothing but a vacant cot and warm sheets. Memories of that night often haunted his dreams; how ridiculously lucky they had gotten that they had reached Elain minutes before the King of Hybern got his hands on her. In his dreams he was too late. In his nightmares he fails her, and by the time he and Feyre find the tent she’s already gone. Sometimes there’s a body, and sometimes his unconscious mind is kind enough to just leave behind her lingering scent. That night he learned what it was like to truly fear, to have the blood leave your body, to feel the world still.

And that’s what the world did as he stepped onto the other side of the shadows. Elain was crumpled on the floor underneath the large bay windows, moonlight streaming into the mutilated room and illuminating her still form. It was as though the starlight was searching for her, reaching out to her with hands made of silver shadows.

Glass crunched under Azriel’s boots as he took a step forward, and another, and another. Because he could scent it before he saw it – the blood. The sour metallic taste that clogged up the air, interwoven with her own delicate scent. Wrong, it was so wrong, to have Elain’s scent fused with that of blood. She was facing away from him, crumpled on her side in a foetal position, and he could see her arms, her beautiful nimble arms so like the legs of a doe, limp on the floor and marred with what seemed to be a thousand cuts.

Her blood was black in the moonlight, and was colouring her beautiful, beautiful night dress. The roaring in Azriel’s ears was nothing short of explosive. And before him he saw a black wave, taller than the Ramiel, heading straight for him. One that was made of self-loathing, anger, frustration and agony, and as he dropped to his knees in front of Elain he felt it wash over him, burying him deeper in himself than he’d ever been before, and he knew he would not resurface.

Slowly, as not to hurt her further, Azriel rolled Elain over onto her back and into his lap. With shaky fingers he pushed back her hair, just as he had done less than an hour earlier. Her eyes were shut again, but this time he didn’t look at her face for beauty, but for a sign of life.

“Elain…” He whispered; his voice was softer than petals. She did not stir.

“Elain…” He murmured again as he bowed his head and pressed it against her chest, sticky blood rubbing against his cheek as he did so. For a moment it was all silent, and Azriel felt the world drop away, felt himself falling through bottomless black water only to never resurface.

And then there it was. The familiar ‘thu-thump’ beating slow and steady in her chest, the sweetest melody Azriel had ever heard. But before he could revel in the relief of Elain being alive, movement at the side of his eye made him snap his head, turn up his top lip and let loose a nothing but feral growl. It was his brother, and a small wave of shame rolled through him at having behaved in such a way to someone whom he owed so much.

“Azriel…” Rhysand’s voice was soothing, calm, “She’s having a vision…look, Azriel look. She’s okay, she’s just having a vision.”

And so, he looked again and yes, she was having a vision. Behind her eyelids Azriel could see her pupils flurrying side to side as though she were engaged in some riveting dream.

She’s having a vision; she’s having a vision. His shadows chanted to him, running up his back and whispering in his ear. It didn’t soothe him, but rather caused the cloud of anger around him to disappear, so that he was numb again. Some movement deep in the house pulled at his attention, but it was like a ribbon trying to move an ocean, there was nothing for it to hold onto.

And soon both men were turning to the worst thing of all: Feyre and Nesta, standing at the doorway looking at their sister unresponsive in a pool of blood, both primed and ready to kill.

“Get away from her.” Nesta’s voice clanged through the room like steel as she strode forward, seeming to fill the broken room with her strength alone. As she moved she revealed a slightly dazed Cassian behind her, still dressed in his night clothes and yet armed to the teeth, clearly having been awoken in a haste. Rhys took a step back, there was too much power, too much energy, in the room already, provoking Nesta would surely lead them all to their sudden deaths.

Then there was Feyre, walking into the room behind her sister, quiet but observant, the perfect High Lady. She seemed to assess everything around her. The tautness of her husband’s stature, the silent flood of emotions that seemed to be rippling from her spymaster, Elain’s shallow breaths and bloodied night gown. After a moment of quiet assessment, she moved forth to the stoic and emotionless figure of her shadowsinger.

“Azriel,” Rhys recognised Feyre’s tone as she approached his brother, it was the tone she used with Nyx, motherly and soft. Azriel pulled his eyes from Elain to look at Feyre vacantly. “It’s okay, everything’s going to be okay…but I need you to let me take her.” Azriel’s mouth contorted in pain as he pulled Elain slighter closer to his chest.

“I know,” Feyre whispered, dropping to her knees next to him, not caring that her own silken nightgown was turning splotchy and red. “I know it’s hard but everything’s going to be okay. She’s my sister, and I as your High Lady will not let anything harm her.” There’s no need, Azriel thought bitterly as he looked down at Elain’s deathly pale skin, her abuser is here, right in front of you. The only harm you need protect her from, is me.

But he didn’t say any of that out loud, he wasn’t even sure his voice would work for him in that moment. Azriel didn’t quite hand Elain over to Feyre, rather he just let his arms go limp around her, and Feyre was able to scoop her sister out of his arms as though they were passing Nyx from one another. Every instinct Azriel had was screaming at him to take Elain back, to at least look at her unconscious form in Feyre’s arms as they moved away from him, but he kept his eyes on the floor, now kneeling to only the pools of Elain’s blood.

Voices began to erupt around him in hushes whispers, he could distantly hear Rhysand guiding his subjects through the plan, explaining to them what had happened whilst withholding the reason why. It was all numb to him as he continued to float under that black wave, sinking deeper and deeper, their voices were above the surface and so they just sounded warbled and strange.

But one movement did catch Azriel’s eye. It cut through the room’s silent chaos like a knife, a figure appearing at the ruined doorway that caught Azriel’s attention the same way an earthquake would. It was him.

Lucien.

“What happened?” Lucien growled out and something roared in Azriel. He knew that tone of voice, could smell the mate-tarnished anger that was rolling out of him. That animalistic claim on the woman Azriel had nearly lost himself in only moments ago. That’s why he was here, because he would’ve felt the energy down the bond, because even though he was at the other end of Prythian with his own family, he had that claim.

“She’s okay,” Feyre breathed softly as she lifted her sister up into her arms, “Her cuts are already healing, it looks worse than it is. She’s just had a vision so it might take a while for her to come around.” Feyre’s voice was so like her husband’s, even and balanced, reassuring everyone in the room that everything was okay, even if that were not necessarily true.

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

Azriel didn’t want to hate Lucien, even now he could see that the Autumn son was grappling with the bond that was no doubt screaming at him to rip his mate from Feyre’s arms and winnow them both to the other side of the continent. Azriel knew, because he felt it too. Like Elain he didn’t really hate Lucien, he hated the bond, hated what it told him about himself, clear as day, that he wasn’t worthy of Elain. And though some part of him already assumed just as much, no one was so self-deprecating to not at least hold of a sliver of hope in the face of such agony.

“She’s fine,” Nesta snarled at Lucien, one hand on Feyre’s shoulder, the other on Elain’s pale and bloodied forehead as she guided her sisters towards to mutilated door frame. They were right to take their sister away from the scene, God knew that no one there could help Elain now.

And so Elain disappeared around the corner, and Azriel slowly brought himself off the floor, trying to ignore the sight of his marred hands, covered in her blood.

What...even...Cassian’s voice swam into Rhys mind, dripping in confusion and concern. Did you and Az have a fight?

Rhys put off audibly groaning. Whenever he and Az fought it was normally not difficult to keep Cassian oblivious, he didn’t always pick up and stuff like that and sometimes it was just easier to deal with debates behind closed doors. Not to treat Cassian as his and Az’s overgrown child, it was just that Cassian was never meant to be a mediator.

It’s complicated, Rhys reported back keeping his voice level and calm - his High Lord voice.

I’ll let you off for tonight but, Rhys, you have to let me help you. Especially when it comes to Az. He was right of course, just like Azriel had been.

Deal, Rhys shot back, for tonight I need eyes on Az, I don’t care if he pushes you away I need someone with him at all times, at least until Elain comes around. We’ll re-group then. Cassian didn’t respond besides the smallest of nods. He stayed where he was, more awake now with his eyes trained on their other brother, and Rhys knew Cassian wouldn’t take his eyes off him for the foreseeable future.

Rhysand couldn’t help but sigh, it’s not as though Azriel or Lucien were aware of him to notice. This was a mess. Worse than a mess, it was a catastrophe. Everything Azriel had said was right but, he had broken his order, he had defied rank in a way he’d never done before and that squeezed something deep in Rhysand’s gut. Above all he needed to be able to trust his friends, so that when push came to shove he’d be able to make the tough decisions and his friends would let him go into the belly of the beast. But tonight, that had changed. Everything had changed.

And Elain, Elain who he had nearly called by his sisters name, she’d stood up for herself tonight. And then there was the situation of her powers, savage and rippling out of her like a beast. He had tasted those powers when they’d tore out of her, and they were ancient. The same power that was interwoven in the very fields of the earth, concentrated in the form of the sweetest girl of all. Rhys knew at least a thousand fae who would pay a hefty price to possess Elain, a hundred who might be willing to go to war - and then there were the Fae who would claw for her hand, the noblemen who would see her for her potential offspring. Rhysand physically shuddered as he sent his wings away.

Yes, tonight had been a catastrophe all right.

Rhysand looked away from Cassian’s half-hidden grimace and turned to the two males standing off, the blood of the woman they were unspokenly fighting over still pooling across the hardwood floors. Lucien glaring with restrained anger at Azriel, his masculine mating bond clogging up the air, whilst Azriel wore an impenetrable mask, hiding the bottomless torment and agony that was no doubt running rife in the shadowsinger, as he stared at the weeping puddle of Elain’s blood.

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ssurveycorpss · 3 years

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this post keeps getting deleted which should be a sign for me not to post it but nothing can stop me now. happy late halloween enjoy this shitpost of what aot characters would be like on halloween. this is incredibly ooc and just for shits and giggles bc i spent my halloween studying and working instead of doing fun stuff <3

eren: the guy that throws on cat ears he got like 10 minutes before the party and gets wasted

mikasa: dresses up in the cutest costume, like a character from her childhood or an animal or something. like its just really cute. her toxic trait is that she digs through the bowls of candy at parties for all the good stuff and leaves the nasty things at the top

armin: either a character from like a classic novel (mr. darcy, jay gatsby, you know the works) or wears like one of those big costumes? like the ones that are just funny and go over normal clothes like a narwhal or shark or crayon

jean: is here to look hot and boy does he do it. is always in something like sexy and has the best costume hair and make up. he tries really hard but acts like it was so effortless like "oh yeahh i just found this at the second hand shop" yeah but you went to 9 different ones everyday for 3 months. he really does look hot though. i imagine sexy cowboy is a hit. takes a lot of selfies and thirst trap tiktok videos.

connie: ever since he was 12 he had a tradition of being a different bald character every year and even when he started growing his hair out he kept to it. hes consistent. he tries to get jean to join him and sasha in a group costume and jean is like "i am not doing that its uhhh so much work" but connie knows the real reason.

sasha: either the sidekick of whatever bald character connie is (when he was aang she was appa, when he was saitama she was genos, when he was gru she was a minion) and if she doesnt like or no what he is dressing up as she dresses up as iconic food mascots like ronald mcdonald or the green m&m. decimates the halloween themed sweets and snacks.

niccolo: puts on his work uniform and a comically oversized chefs hat and no one asks what he is dressed up as. he thinks it would be really cute if he matched with sasha but he doesnt want to get in the way of their tradition. makes all the halloween themed sweets and snacks that look like they came straight out of pinterest.

levi: is usually a generic spooky thing he can pull from his closet and make look nice with just cheap accessories or makeup, like a vampire or a witch or a werewolf. he puts more effort than eren definitely (thats putting the bar on the floor though) but nothing crazy, like he wont buy a new shirt or anything just for halloween but he'll consider buying fake fangs.

erwin: also usually something generic but he buys it from a costume shop, so like hed be like a doctor or astronaut or soccer player or a sailor. for some reason he never dresses up as a known character just like a job or something. takes awkwardly posed photos and always guesses everyones costumes incredibly wrong

hanji: is dressed as something terrifying. sfx makeup blood all over their shirt knife prop scary contacts. likes scaring middle schoolers in the streets. you can never recognize them because they have so many prosthetics on. honestly terrifying.

onyankopon: probably like a popular tv show character he likes. he does half diy and half bought and he always looks really good. really good at party games and he brings a dish even if its not a potluck. also offers to help levi clean up.

zeke: doesnt even wear a costume (runs in the family) and when you ask him what he is he says "struggling adult" or "scruffy hipster." says a different thing to everyone just to mess with them.

yelena: just wears a suit and grabs a nerf gun and says shes a secret agent. looks really hot doing it so no one cares.

floch: gets a shirt that says "this is my costume"

reiner: takes gabi and her friends out trick or treating before he goes to any parties. since he never wants to embarrass her hes usually pretty tame. dresses up as a superhero a lot.

colt: tags along with reiner since theyre going to the same place after and he wants to get some nice photos. unlike reiner he doesnt care about embarrassing falco but he never feels the need to go all out so the kid is spared. usually just a mask over normal clothes.

porco: cool skull makeup (that pieck did) over a fashionable outfit. not as concerned with looking like he stepped off the red carpet as jean but still wants to look hot and be on theme. when he was a kid his mom dressed him and marcel in matching costumes and they were always really awful so he refuses to match with anyone.

pieck: another person who doesnt do characters, usually dresses up based on like time periods. honestly doesnt put the most effort into her costumes. she likes halloween she just doesnt have the facilities to blow hundreds of dollars on a costume so just diys a lot. looks really cute every time tho.

annie: if hitch can manage to drag her into a group costume she usually goes with that since hitch picks cute costumes and she doenst have to put too much effort. if not, she pulls something generic from her closet just like levi, but unlike levi a lot of her closet has really pretty clothes she just doesnt wear so its a bit more shocking to everyone.

bertholdt: wears a onesie every year lolol. kinda just sits in a corner sipping on apple cider.

hitch: goes on social media and finds trendy group costumes and gets annie to them with her. like powerpuff girls (annie as buttercup and hitch as bubbles would be soooo cute), angel and devil, harley quinn poison ivy, etc. always looks really glamourous and pretty but is always taking everything off before the end of the night because its so uncomfortable.

historia: even though the party is at her house she makes sure she can hand out candy to all the kids outside. does a matching costume with ymir, also generic stuff thats a mix of spooky and cute like vampire princess or zombie cheerleader or fairy.

ymir: counterpart to historia, usually lets her pick the costume bc shes happy with anything and looks rlly good in everything. helps historia hand out candy by glaring down at kids that take a handful when she says only to take one. makes every single one drop what they have in their hands and reach for the best one.

bonus random hcs:

gabi dresses up as inflatable among us crewmate. you cant change my mind. reiner bought it. falco is a superhero sidekick character like robin or kid flash. zofia is a witch and udo wears like occupation costumes. they never plan group costumes. after they finish trick or treating they go to gabi's house and sort and trade candy and they give all the nasty stuff to reiner who is like "awww you guys thankkkksss" not knowing they just didnt want to throw it away.

one year mikasa really wanted to do a group costume so she eren and armin went as sailor scouts (armin was sailor moon, she was sailor mercury and eren was sailor jupiter) the costume wasnt cheap and eren threw up all over it so armin cried. theyve never done a group costume since.

connie goes crazy to the spooky scary skeletons remix. absolutely bonkers. starts breakdancing in historias kitchen.

erwins house is cutely decorated. i bet he like really meticulously stores holiday decorations and has a date marked on a calendar to put them up.

levi doesnt let anyone leave the party until historias house is clean. he is watching everyone. even if ur drunk or asleep he will wake you up and pick up the feather duster.

#aot headcanons #snk headcanons

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anya-grace · 3 years

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Two beautiful people sent me an ask about my rivetra actors au, and boyyyy let me tell you, it was so fun making them again 😍 thank you to the pretty souls who asked this! 💘

The first actors au were from season 1 and 2, this one will focus on the filming of season 3 until the last season :) here you go!

more rivetra actors!au headcanon (some are nsfw-ish)

- Let me get straight to the point: lots of sex. Car sex. On-set sex. Dressing room sex. Name it.

- Both of them are aware that it was unprofessional, but there was a time when they did not see each other for more than a month because of their (especially Levi’s) busy and conflicting schedule, so when Petra surprised him on set, the frustration and longing just piled up and they had sex.

- Then it became a habit.

- And this habit, of course, didn’t go unnoticed by the other casts and even crews of the show. Armin heard them once, and the poor boy made a mental note to never ever come close to Levi’s room again.

- The older casts are fine with it since, you know, normal adult stuff. But for the love of the three Walls, can you lovebirds tone the moaning down? People are trying to get some sleep wtf.

- Levi’s make-up artist had to deal with the pain of covering his hickeys (courtesy of Ms. Petra Ral) every shoot. The ones on his neck, especially those near his adam’s apple were the most visible. And since Captain Levi rarely wore a cravat in season three, part one, it made the work harder for the make-up artist.

- As compensation, Petra always bought a special souvenir for Levi’s make-up artist whenever she flies overseas for her theater shows.

- For the premiere of season 3, Levi took Petra as his date on the red carpet. It was the first event they attended publicly as a couple.

- It was a big milestone for their relationship because they are both public figures. And we all know what happens when celebrities publicize their relationships, it is prone to issues and controversies.

- And you can very well guess that Levi Ackerman showing off his beautiful girlfriend to the press was big news. As big as the AoT premiere even.

- During the air of season three, Levi became more famous and he attracted many overseas fans as well as international actresses because of his brilliant scenes with Kenny.

- Although Petra is not the jealous type, she admitted that somehow it affected her when other international actresses expressed their admiration towards Levi. Some even said that Levi is their type and they are looking forward to working with him in the future.

- When Levi sensed this, he immediately headed to his IG and posted a picture of Petra with a very cheesy caption lmao. Forgive him, he's new to this kind of relationship.

- Did I mention he also posted a picture of them kissing in front of the Eiffel tower?

- Only a few know this, but the real Levi is one clingy boyfriend.

- He is very touchy when it comes to Petra. He just really loves holding her. Sometimes he just randomly hugs her, caresses her, nuzzles her. He just loves having skin-to-skin contact with her.

- His love language is actions and gestures.

- His favorite gesture to do to Petra is a back hug with his arms under her boobs. It was a soft gesture and it wasn't sexual in any way...until it did.

- More than half of their sex started with Levi touching Petra’s underboobs tbh.

- Sometimes Levi thinks that he's neglecting Petra and more than once he considered quitting the show business for her. But then he’ll see her smiling at him, and she tells him that she's very proud of what he’s doing and that she's happy that she gets to support him with doing the things he is really passionate about and just… all he could think of that time is that he wants to marry this amazing woman.

- He is also supportive of Petra’s theater actress career, of course. And he hates the fact that he needs to hide whenever he watches one of her shows since people eventually gather around him asking for an autograph and he feels that it’s rude for Petra. This is her moment and he doesn’t want to ruin it for her.

- Hence, his all-black and mysterious get-up whenever he watches her show.

- AoT season three was a huge success and plans for season four are already on the move. Casts were given a long break before the shooting began again and both Petra and Levi took this as a chance to bond together.

-Petra's favorite thing to do with Levi is playing with animals. She has a soft spot for animals, and she wanted for them to adopt a pet but she knew that the poor animal will only be given less attention because both of them are always busy.

-When Petra's theater world tour ended, she and Levi started living together. They didn't have the chance to do it before since they were both busy.

-Them living together is probably the height of their relationship. They fought, they had sex, they laughed, they played, they bathe together. They did everything together and it was a beautiful experience.

- For their third anniversary, Levi booked a vacation on a private island for a week. It was also their last bonding because Levi is going to start filming again for season four in less than a month.

- They did not communicate with anyone during that one week. It was just them, and they made the most of it.

- Mornings were spent for morning sex and breakfast in bed. Afternoons were for swimming, sleeping, cuddling, hugging, kissing, and every activity they could think of doing. They explored the island, they petted stray animals, they dived into the ocean, they build sandcastles, they ate different dishes, they had sex in caves and while swimming on the beach, they climbed trees, they bought souvenirs, and most importantly, they took many pictures together.

- Evenings were the most romantic of all. They had sex in the darkness of their own room while they hear the ocean waves crashed to the shore outside and as the sea breeze cooled their sweat-slicked skin. They took the time to explore each other’s body like it’s their last (because it will be in a matter of days).

- On their last night, Pet cried while they’re having sex. Levi’s face was buried on the crook of her neck and she was moaning one moment, and then the next she’s sobbing like a poor little baby.

- She said that she’d gotten used to life with Levi always by her side and she didn’t want it to ever change. Levi comforted her. He petted her hair, and he said that it’s going to be okay. He kissed her head, then her hair, her face, and her body. Then they had the most emotional and meaningful sex of their entire life.

- Levi started shooting again for season four. Petra, like the past seasons, visits him as much as she can. It was hard adjusting to this type of life again, but she’s a strong woman. And besides, she’s going to start rehearsing for another theater show again.

- They need to undergo medical check-ups before the casting and she found out then that she is pregnant with Levi’s baby.

- It freaked her out. She and Levi never talked about babies before since they’re busy with their careers, and their relationship has always been just the two of them.

- Levi was out of town for the shoot, and she didn’t want to tell him the good news on the phone so she patiently waited until he got home.

- He was greeted with a fancy dinner, and a “Welcome home, Daddy” by Petra. Levi thought that it was her being cheeky and naughty at first, but when dinner ended and she ran for her life to the sink, that’s when he started getting worried. And when Petra showed him the positive result in her medical check-up, well, let’s just say that on that day, Levi Ackerman received a good reminder of what he did to her on their vacation months ago.

- But seriously, he was seconds away from calling his manager and dropping his AoT contract just so he can take care of Petra and their baby. Petra said that it was fine, and she doesn’t want him to quit.

- Levi apologized to Petra many times because he wasn’t there when she discovered it, but she assured him that it was alright and it wasn’t his fault. God, he’s with the perfect woman.

- Since Levi is a big shot in the industry, he demanded control over his schedules. Honestly, he wanted to be at her side 24/7. He wanted to see her belly swell as months went by. He wanted to be the one to satisfy her midnight pregnancy cravings. He wanted to kiss her face and her belly first thing in the morning.

- He convinced Petra to move temporarily to the Ackerman family house where Levi’s parents are staying. Kenny and Mikasa also lived in the same affluent neighborhood. He had doctors, and helpers, and bodyguards hired for Petra. But she said that she’s too uncomfortable with many people around her.

- Petra and Levi’s mom build a bond of their own. She’d gotten to know more of Levi through his mother’s perspective. The older woman showed her Levi’s teenage room, his past awards, his photos, his audition tapes that weren’t out for the public, and she fell in love with him more.

- They had a super private wedding with their relatives and closest friends. Petra was six months pregnant by that time and season four is planned to air three months from now.

- So, you know about that one holy Rivetra panel where Petra is looking back to Levi? The reason why the scene was not in the actual show was that she is pregnant. That’s why the directors are forced to use old scenes from season one instead.

- Despite all the efforts of being private, paparazzi and the media still caught wind of the secret wedding, and rumors about Petra being pregnant started circulating over the internet. Levi shut down these rumors every time someone attempted to question him in his interviews.

- When the shooting ended, Petra was already eight months into pregnancy. As per tradition, the cast and staff held an after-party, but Petra was surprised when it became a baby shower for her instead.

- The baby was supposedly due in the third week of December, but Petra’s water broke around the first week instead and she started her labor. She ended up having the same birthday as their healthy baby boy.

- The baby was named River Ackerman. He was named after Levi’s role where he won the Best Actor Award when he was seventeen. It was also a tribute to Levi’s role in AoT since his name was sometimes spelled as ‘Rivaille’ on many occasions.

#this was so long oh boy #i love this au so much tooooo #y'all can send me more ask about this au if u want :)#rivetra #levi x petra #rivapeto #rivetra headcanon #rivetra actors au

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jarofstyles · 4 years

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Level Up IV

A/N: Hi!! We’re coming up on the end, there’s one more part of this series left! but don’t be discouraged... We have something very special plan for them, something about college 👀 Hope you enjoy! - n + d

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pairing: Harry Styles x Reader

warnings: none really, just fluff 🥺🥺

word count: 8.9k

Y/N and Harry’s relationship was wonderful. Since making things official a month ago, the two of them had spent a lot of time together and though not many people knew about them being a couple, they made sure they formed a bond that went beyond what other people thought. Y/N was constantly over at Harry’s house and to her surprise, her mother was okay with it. Of course, she would have wanted to see the two of them together in person herself, but she had met Harry before. She knew that whenever they were ready to properly come over for dinner they would. It was Y/N who was more afraid of meeting his family. He said that they’d love her, but she could tell that they were protective of him. They would have to meet sooner or later, especially with prom coming up.

Harry’s home was often empty, his sister off doing her own thing at college while his mom and dad were usually gone working. He didn’t mind it though, it just meant he could be with Y/N more. She would come over after school and they would study, play games, and now that it was warm outside they could go in his pool. But now that it was prom season and they’d been seeing each other for a good four months and dating for a month, he felt like he needed to step up his game. Harry knew that prom was something that was important to her. For a while, he was stumped on how to ask her but he figured the best way was to be sincere. He was just a smitten kitten, half in love with her if not in love already, and he was doing his best to be a good boyfriend to her.

Tonight, he decided to take her to the movies, but Harry had a whole private prom proposal ready, hidden in the back of his truck. It wasn’t traditional, but it was something that he knew she would like. It was romantic. He was still shy in a general sense but Y/N had truly opened him up and out of his shell.

‘Babe, you coming?’

Y/N was excited to go on an actual date with Harry. They had usually just kept to hanging out at his house and sleepovers, they’d never really gone out. So of course, Y/N let herself get all dressed up. Not too much, but enough for wherever he was taking her. She had told her mom she wouldn’t be home tonight so that she didn’t expect her and looked down at her phone to see that Harry had shot her a text.

‘Yes baby, I’m on my way! Be there in less than 5! 💓’

Those were the perks of living so close to your boyfriend's house. With a little bit of a nervous step, Y/N walked towards Harry’s house and paused when she saw him leaning against the door all expectantly.

“Hi!” She giggled and walked towards him, admiring his outfit and how he had actually gotten dressed up too. “Aw, babe, you look so handsome!” Y/N smiled, wrapping her arms around him before leaning up for a kiss.

“Hi.” Harry smiled widely, taking in her looks. She was beautiful. Every time. I took his damn breath away and he couldn’t believe that she wanted to be his. The kiss made his stomach flutter even now. Who would have guessed that nerdy little Harry would be dating the most sought after woman in school? He surely didn’t. He had wanted her to be his for forever and yet here she was. He wanted to keep her. She seemed to be on board. “I’m glad you think so.” He had put on a flannel shirt and skinny jeans that Y/N had bought for him, trying to look decent. He had his glasses off and contacts in for the time since he got them, but his hair was still a bit of a floppy mess. She had begged him to play with it sometime and he would definitely let her. He didn’t know what to do with it. “Are you ready? Can just put your bag up in my room and we can go.” She had stuff here, like sleep stuff and a toothbrush but Harry was considering asking her if she wanted a drawer or a spot in his closet. That was probably the next step.

Y/N pulled away and admired him for a little, moving her hands up to fix his hair only a little bit before pressing another kiss to his lips. “You always look handsome... but you also look nice when you dress up” She said, nodding at him as he said to go put her things in his room. She followed him back inside and ran up the stairs to put her bag down on his bed before running back down and grabbing his hand, “Come on! Let’s go!” Y/N giggled, patiently waiting for him to lock the door before they made their way to his car. It was nice to see him like this. He seemed a lot more confident and even though he wasn’t dressed like he usually was, he seemed to feel completely comfortable. He didn’t really look like he did at school, Y/N could recognize that curly mop of hair anywhere, but people probably wouldn’t.

Harry double checked that the promposal shit was hidden away from view under the back seat again, just to be sure. Y/N was going to be happy with it, he felt. He loved making her smile and while he hadn’t planned on going to any prom, he was happy to if he meant Y/N would be there and be that happy little self. It meant a lot to her, apparently.

“Someone’s excited.” He chuckled, holding her hand tightly as she slipped to the car. He had taken her on a few dates but this one was definitely the most nerve wracking for him. The movie would be a comedy so she would be in a good mood. Hopefully in an even better one with his surprise for her.

“Yeah! Course I am.” Y/N smiled, “like going on proper dates, though I like our nights in too.” She said and shrugged, honestly it was just nice to get to spend time with Harry whenever she could. Y/N was starting to fall for him and quite hard. No one had ever been so attentive and gentle with her as he was, it was always okay to be soft with him and baby him. It made her feel needed and wanted. “Plus, I like showing you off when I can.” Y/N said and squeezed his hand a bit. He never thought of himself as someone she would want to show off and it was a shame because she happily held his hand at school and made sure to kiss him when she could. It was important to her that he knew how special he was. “Are you excited?” She asked curiously, admiring him as he drove. Y/N was already feeling so giddy just seeing him like this. Without his glasses he seemed so... so different. You wouldn’t look at him like this and think he was the nerdy guy from school.

“I am, baby. I like seein’ you excited.” Harry was just happy to spend time with her and observe her. She was fun just to watch and enjoy how she lit up entire rooms with her voice and smile. “Showin’ me off? How? M’just one of them normal teenage boys to the rest of the world. For some reason you see me as an amazing thing.”

“Like walking around with you and holding your hand and kissing on you so everyone knows your mine...” Y/N explained, “not just a normal teenage boy to me... you’re the most amazing one.” She was damn near close to telling him she loved him but she was holding out for the perfect moment. At school, Y/N was never ashamed to walk around confidently with Harry but Harry seemed a little bit more shy. It made sense though, not many were nice to him. In public he seemed to let go more, feel more at ease and sometimes was bold enough to pull her in for a kiss if she was lucky. “I’m happy to be around you. I really like that you aren’t... embarrassed. I know we’re still workin’ on it. I’m just... I dunno. It feels really nice to just be able to have someone be proud of you.” She was proud to be around him and that was amazing.

“I know you don’t exactly get what I mean. That’s alright. I’m really proud of being out with you too. I guess it’s still that bit of trauma, in a sense. Always worried someone is gonna make fun of you for being with me. I know you don’t care. I do, though. Makes me so angry to even think of someone bein’ mean.” He huffed to himself, that wasn’t at all something he liked. “But I really like when you do that stuff. I mean the kissing on me and stuff. I know you know that m’possessive over you, a bit. That side of me doesn’t usually come out unless we’re... y’know.” He blushed. When they were fooling around. “But, I like that people know we’re together when we go out.”

He was right, they were working on it and it was going to take a bit of time until he felt fully comfortable and wasn’t afraid anymore. “I know baby...” Y/N sighed, rubbing over his knuckles. “Just gotta make it through till graduation yeah? People won’t care about that kind of stuff in college... we won’t have to worry about that anymore.” The two of them were both tip toeing around the idea of going to the same school. It was very likely that they’d both go to Princeton or Harvard. Maybe even Yale. Regardless, Ivy League. Y/N already said she wanted to go where ever he was going because it didn’t matter. It really didn’t. “Yeah, I know.” Y/N giggled when he mentioned how possessive he got when they got intimate. It was cute to her hoe he got so embarrassed, especially with the things he often said to her when they were in that state. After seeing that dominant side of him come out for the first time a few weeks ago when he told her to come and sit on his face, Y/N hadn’t been able to look at him the same. That’s all she could think about.

Harry was happy because of the fact it had been pretty clear to both of them that they wanted to stay together. A lot of kids in school knew they’d break up with their lovers after graduation but Harry was fairly confident they’d end up making the same decision on schools. It wouldn’t be necessary. They’d just... figure. All out together.

“I think I’ll be a lot more comfortable in college. It’s like a fresh start.” He thought. And Y/N would be there and it would be the best possible scenario. He wanted her to be as close as possible. It was so rare that he had found someone he clicked so positively with. So rare, it was magical.

They pulled up to the theater and Harry held her hand as they made their way up, paying for the tickets before they went to get snacks. “Okay... popcorn and what else, angel?” He spoke softly, rubbing his thumb over the top of her hand. He knew she loved salty and buttery popcorn and the theater was the best for that.

Y/N stayed close to Harry, leaning on his arm a bit whenever they stood in line. “Can we get the sour watermelon things too? And you pick what chocolate candy you want... do you want to share an icee?” Harry was really good with asking for things and ordering them which might come as a surprise to most, but she let him do most of the talking because it just felt more comfortable for her to have it that way. To think that this could become more of a regular thing for them in college, where they wouldn’t have to think about anyone but themselves and make friends that wanted to hang out with the two of them. It would be so refreshing actually to just be free. They were mostly independent already, their parents were surprisingly okay with it. Y/N wondered if he would want to live with her.

Once they got all their stuff, Y/N helped him carry the lighter stuff into the theater and followed him wherever he decided to sit. She didn’t realize it was one of those fancy theaters where the seats reclined and you had to pick where you sat when you bought the tickets... but it was cool.

“C’mon then.” He teased as she looked around. He had chosen the back, near the middle. No particular reason besides if they wanted to kiss, no one would be watching. It was a bit of an emptier theater because it was more expensive and he only saw 2 other couples so he felt more relaxed. He placed the snacks down and lifted up one of the arms of the recliners so there wasn’t very much separating them before he sat down again, bringing them back to his lap. She had gotten the right idea by setting up next to him and leaning her head on his shoulder while sneaking some popcorn. A chuckle left him as he transferred the bucket closer to her, leaning back against the seat.“Good?”

Y/N felt comfortable with their set up, it was almost as good as it was at his house, but it felt new and special. She liked that they were out of the house and doing something fun because Harry didn’t seem to go out much anyway. If going out on dates with her was his excuse to go out, they could go whenever. She looked up at him with a smile and let out a little hum, still chewing her popcorn so she took a few pieces and went to feed him too. There would be a few minutes before the movie started so they could get all cozy and comfortable and chat for a bit in the mean time.

“You picked a good spot.” Y/N mumbled softly, taking a sip of the icee before looking down at their array of snacks. “Any reason I’m particular?” She asked curiously, genuinely wondering why he chose the back. Part of her knew it was because they wouldn’t be seen if they wanted to do stuff, but then again there were cameras in the theater.

“Cause... don’t know. I wasn’t sure if you wanted to kiss at all. People do that stuff at the movies, yeah?” Harry was teasing her, but also genuinely didn’t know. He was hoping that he could get a smooch or two. “I also just didn’t feel like I needed to look over my shoulder the whole time.” It was a force of habit. He was always picked on from behind and part of him still worried about the chances of someone coming from behind and splashing a Soda over his head or some shit. “Don’t worry about it though, we’re good.” He snuggled into the seat more and felt himself relax a bit more. It was odd because Y/N just had that odd and easy effect, making her feel a lot more at ease than he ever had. “Should have chosen a scary movie so you’d cuddle on me more but, want us in a good mood.”

Y/N smiled and let out a little giggle, nodding her head. “Just teasing... course I want to kiss and stuff.” She reminded him and leaned forward to press a kiss to his lips that now tasted like blue raspberry and buttered popcorn. She couldn’t be too mad at that either. Whatever made him more comfortable was alright with her at the end of the day. Maybe she just never realized just how much the bullying had affected the smaller parts of his life. She felt like she needed to pay attention to these things more, she never wanted to put him in an uncomfortable situation. “No! I’ll still cuddle you tight, I promise.” Y/N said with a pout. She hated scary movies, she could never sleep right after them and though she would have Harry with her the whole night, she wouldn’t be okay all the other nights. “Like watching them only if I know what happens the whole time...” Y/N blushed, it was her anxiety kicking in.

“You’re a nut.” Harry snickered. His little angel. Seriously? This is how she was? He was in love. So silly, but so cute all at the same time. The movie began and he could feel her settle next to him with her soft mouth against his arm while she took a break from popcorn. Little chuckles leaving her every so often. He was hyper aware of every touch and every movement she made. It was his own personal heaven. Harry moved his arm to hang over her shoulder and played with her hair as it played, feeling relaxed. This was how college would be. He could take her on dates and feel excited and proud and not like he had to hide. No one would know he was a nerd. They’d have a unbiased opinion.

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

The movie was good, but Y/N was definitely still paying attention to Harry. Y/N wanted to stay aware of how he was feeling, listening to his heart beat as a constant but also feeling how relaxed his muscles seemed to be. It made her feel nice knowing her was comfortable with her, because whenever they were at school he was much more tense. At one point, Y/N turned her head to look up at him just to admire him as he focused and let out little breathy laughs at the scenes of the movie. She loved his little dimple that wasn’t leaving his face, he was in a happy and goofy mood and that was certainly her favorite. Her baby.

Y/N leaned up and pressed a kiss to his jawline, rested her head on his shoulder again as she moved the snacks off to the side so they could properly cuddle. Her hand went up the side of his flannel, not suggesting anything, but simply resting it there out of comfort.

Harry loved when she touched him like this. So simple but I timiate in the sense that no one else would or could do that. No one would ever touch him the way he liked besides Y/N. He turned his head to kiss her temple, humming happily before settling back in. Her bare shoulder gave him more access so he trailed his fingers around the area and happily got a feel of her skin while he let her relax with him. The movie was alright but mostly he enjoyed being around his Y/N. His girl. Letting her sit with him and give the attention she craved, while being cuddled and able to hold her was his dream. All while they had been able to eat buttery popcorn.

“D’ya think that we’ll be able to go on more dates when we leave this town? Even better ones?” He spoke his thoughts into her hair.

“Mhm.... lots.” Y/N mumbled softly, “Can do whatever we want, yeah? All kinds of dates... surprise ones, planned ones...” She felt like the two of them would be really good at keeping up with dates. The whole part of keeping a relationship health was to never stop dating. To go out and to kiss and to cuddle and have sex. Make time for each other to make each other feels special. That’s what it’s all about. She had big plans for them. An apartment for just the two of them, maybe even a pet? A wonderful group of friends, spots that they could go to and call their own? That was the dream for her, to move away from here and make a new life for the two of them that would be bigger and better. Everyone said nothing really matters in highschool. “I’m really happy I met you...” Y/N mumbled softly, knowing that technically they met a long time ago, but she was glad she got to meet this version of him. The grown version of him that she took care of and... loved.

“Yeah?” Harry smiled, leaning down to kiss her nose. “Me too. Can’t wait to get out of this town with you.” It had been unspoken that they would go together but it was more often now than before that they’d act like this. That they’d get to work with one another and move out, start a life together. To some it was probably a lot and probably something that they wouldn’t be down for. It was probably doubtful for a lot of them as well. But he knew that they could make it. He had no doubts whatsoever. He wanted to work on it with her. He was surprised when she turned in the chair to kiss him fully on the mouth but recovered quickly, hand on her waist to stabilize her. As much as he wanted her all the way in his lap, he knew he had to wait until later. He felt needy for touches and wanted so badly to get her closer.

Y/N didn’t really care about the movie now that she was having a sweet moment with her man. The kiss was maybe a bit of a surprise to him, but she knew he would melt right into it the second he realized what was happening. She smiled against his mouth as he started to relax, cupping his jaw to keep him in place. It was slow and sweet, definitely had a little bit of passion behind it but she didn’t want to work him up at the movie theater. That wouldn’t be very nice. So, she let him take control of the kiss and slowly herself down a bit, following his actions and humming against this lips. The movie would be over soon. She never wanted to push him to do anything he wasn’t comfortable with and she knew he likely wanted to wait till a special night till she took his virginity. They had done just about everything else at this point so it was all up to him.

Harry loved kissing. Y/N was incredible and he could do it for hours and hours if given the chance. Her mouth was plush and warm and a little sticky from the icee and tasted sweet, making for an incredible canvas to kiss. Harry licked into her mouth a little bit, shifting their bodies so it was more comfortable to kiss. It felt incredible. Especially with how she was so accommodating when it came to Harry and his nerves. They’d done a bit of everything. Dry sex, oral, hands. Harry had a few things he really wanted to try, but he would bring them up later. His hand slipped under her dress a little bit. Not too far up, but enough to caress her thighs. They were delicious thighs, to be fair. He kissed on them a lot.

Okay, so they were fully making out in the movie theater.

Y/N couldn’t say she minded, especially with how enthusiastic Harry seemed and how his hand so easily slipped up her dress to caress her thigh. She didn’t expect this from him but then again, he wasn’t the one who initiated the kiss. The hand that was cupping his jaw moved down to his neck, allowing the tips of her fingers to toy with his hair just a little bit. Y/N knew if they didn’t stop soon she would get too worked up and then she certainly wouldn’t let him leave without also feeling her pain. She hesitantly pulled away from his lips, feeling him chase after her lips but she hid her face in his neck and let out a whine.

“Gotta stop before I get too excited...” Y/N mumbled against his skin, letting out a shaky breath.

She saw him a few days ago and they hung out at his and played some games and then they sort of just played around with one another and held hands. It was sort of a lazy day. The two of them were horny buggers though, so a few days seemed like a lot.

“Sorry.” Harry wasn’t sorry though. He liked getting her excited. The fact that he ever could was a marvel to him but he liked it a lot. Especially because she was so eager all the time and let him play around with her. Spread her legs and let him go to town. “Just like lovin’ on you, baby.” His voice was a bit deeper when he spoke like that. Harry didn’t want to stop, but he would because she needed that. They couldn’t fuck in the movies. At least, not this time. They could probably get away with it at a lower class one if they really wanted to. Hmmm. The remainder of the movie though, he kept his hand on her waist and would periodically kiss her cheek or nose or temple. Barely paying attention to the screen, mostly on her.

She surely couldn’t focus now. It was a shame really, because Harry paid money for them to watch this movie and she was enjoying it. Of course, now all she wanted was to continue on kissing him and making a mess of him because he deserved it for being such a good boyfriend to her. With her past boyfriends, Y/N was never this eager to please. Y/N never wanted to kiss and lick and suck every part of someone as badly as she wanted to with Harry. Maybe it was because he was so sweet and responsive, or maybe it was because he didn’t quite understand just how sexy he was. Regardless, he made her go crazy with desire. Once the movie was finally over, Y/N let out a breath of relief. She got up and took all the snacks that they didn’t finish into her free hand so Harry could take the trash. She was itching to get back home. To strip out of these clothes and get all cozy under his covers and talk more except this time they’d be naked.

“We’ve got one more place to go.” Harry smiled mischievously. Oh, Y/N wasn’t going to want to miss it. It wasn’t going to be as grand or as showy, in fact it was more of the place and act of itself that would be the gesture, but he knew that she would like it. And the way it was presented. She looked confused but Harry wasn’t going to give. Helping her in the car he just shrugged and jogged around to the front, trying not to seem as nervous as he was as he drove to the lookout point. His parents had found it when they were younger and it overlooked the whole city. No one ever really went up there because it was up a dirt road, but Harry knew it all too well. It was a special spot for him. Y/N was confused when he said they had another spot to go to. She was a little huffy because she was horny, but she complied and got in the car, keeping an eye out for where he was taking her.

“I’m not gonna murder you.” Harry teased again as they began up the dirt road. “I wanted to show you something.”

Y/N’s head snapped back to look at him, furrowing her brows at him jokingly. “That’s exactly what a murderer would say.” She teased, letting out a laugh so he knew she was joking. The dirt road seemed to lead to nowhere, but Harry was confidently driving up there so he clearly knew where they were going. Once they reached the top Y/N gasped, realizing just what he was showing her. It was their whole little city. Home sweet home. The place where they met and... fell in love? Was it okay for her to say that? She wasn’t sure but she was confident in her feelings. Now more than ever.

Harry was terrified but also confident. A strange mix but Y/N always made him feel a plethora of things. It wasn’t at all difficult to comprehend why. He knew that she would say yes. But the even slight prospect of his asking not being good enough was the scary part. He wanted to provide for her. To be a good partner for her. Yes, he was well aware of the fact that it was so incredibly early on for them to dream of such things but he wanted to be with her forever. His perfect girl.

“Wait right there.” He opened the door and jogged our to her side, opening the door for her. He had backed the truck up so the back would be facing the view and they’d be able to overlook it. Knowing her well enough, he knew that this would mean far more than a poster and balloons and all her ‘friends’ being involved. She would cherish the intimacy of it. He had set up in the trunk of the car in a mess of blankets and pillows. He also had those battery operated string lights he used a remote to turn on for her. It illuminated the back and inside was a little basket with treats, and a special question she would see when she opened it. “Uh... surprise?”

Y/N melted at the sweet sentiment, her hands rested over her heart as she admired the beautiful set up. Harry had planned this all for her, he’d never done this with anyone else. It made her feel far more special knowing that this was also the first time anyone had ever done something like this for her. A moment the two of them could share as a first and hopefully the first of many.

“Baby...” She let out a happy sigh, turning to look at him again. He looked so nervous, so worried that maybe she wouldn’t like it. How could she not? Y/N took his hands into hers and cupped his cheeks, getting up on her tiptoes to press a kiss to his lips. “It’s beautiful...” She whispered to him with a smile, wrapping her arms around his waist. “You really out did yourself, hmm?” She giggled, patting his side a bit. “Honestly Harry, this is so sweet....” Y/N couldn’t believe just how much she had lucked out. No one ever gave him a chance and maybe it was selfish of her to be thankful that they didn’t. She was glad that she was the one he got to experience all of these things with.

“Good. I was a little worried it would be a bit much or not enough. I dunno.” Harry said shyly. Still, he had thought of it all in his own and the place and everyone. He had won, hadn’t he? “We’re gonna hang out here for as long as you want and then go back to my place. I’ve got some treats for you.” His nerves were a wreck, helping her in the back of the truck before climbing in himself and settling next to her. “here, you choose first.”

The basket was a pink one made to look like a watermelon, seeing as it was her favorite. The inside had tons of snacks but on top it said a simple ‘prom?’ with a receipt to the online place she had so badly wanted a strawberry dress from. It was glittery and pink and had glitter strawberries and a sweetheart neckline, but it was $500. He used money he had stashed away and easily paid for it. It hadn’t come in time but it was the thought that counted, he thinks.

Y/N giggled when he placed her up in the back, getting comfortable among the pillows and blankets. However, the note caught her eye before she could really say anything and she looked blankly at it as if she had just misread it but—

“Really?” She asked with hopeful eyes, looking up at him with the brightest smile. “Yes! Oh my god! Yes!” Y/N nodded her head and practically climbed on top of him to attack his face with kisses. She didn’t know about the dress or about the snacks or anything yet, she was already over the moon at what her boyfriend had set up for her. It was perfect in every way. She pecked his lips a few times until she felt him push her back slowly before nodding at the basket. Confused, Y/N turned and reached to bring the basket closer to them, picking up the envelope with the order form for the dress. “No— Harry, you—” She looked at him with wide eyes. “Harry! That dress is like... crazy expensive you—” Y/N was at a loss for words. She didn’t know how she felt about him spending so much on her, especially because they were still in highschool.

He was quiet when she read it, heard pounding. But then, he was attacked by her and kissed all over, knocking the breath out of him slightly and still managing to laugh.

She had reacted far better than Harry had imagined! He was quiet when she read it, heart pounding. But then, he was attacked by her and kissed all over, knocking the breath out of him slightly and still managing to laugh. She was giving him the best thing ever, a yes and all the loving he wanted. He had actually done it right!

“But I adore you.” He said softly. “I don’t get my big money until m’21, but like.... I think you deserve it. You deserve to be able to be spoiled like this and given all the things you want.” He pecked her mouth a few times even with the pout she had at him spending so much money. “Went on and on about how amazing the dress was and how badly you wanted it and I wanted to do that for you. You don’t have to wear it to prom, it can just be a normal dress for you but I wanted to offer it to you.” He murmured softly, stroking his thumb over her cheekbone.

“I know but—” Y/N huffed, accepting the few pecks that he placed against her lips. “Thank you.” Y/N said nonetheless, deciding she just needed to accept it because that dress wasn’t going back. He wouldn’t let her, of course, but she knew once she put it on she’d be thankful he got it.

“I adore you.” She hummed season she leaned into his touch. The two of them had yet to really share their ‘I love yous’ so their expressions of adoration was what they settled with. “I really appreciate all of this, H... and just... everything you do for me, you’re so sweet... never let me forget how you feel and I never want to.” He tried so hard for her, always tried to make her the happiest girl alive, constantly praised her and even pushed his boundaries of comfort for her. “And I know I said it before but... you look really nice. Not that you don’t look nice everyday but... you look so good.”

“Thank you.” Harry blushed slightly as he felt her look him over. Still, he was caught off guard by how loving and sweet she truly could be. He loved being able to impress her. “You always look incredible. I think you’ll kill me prom night.” His smiled softened. “I.... never planned on going. It never felt right until you came along and genuinely wanted to be with me. Each bit of it made so much more sense as it went on. I knew we had to make it a good night for us both. But look more in there. I got snacks. Seriously.” He lightened the mood knowing there were a plethora of treats in there. Her favorites. White cheddar popcorn and chocolate covered pretzels, more sour watermelon sugar gummies, the works. “I have my laptop and... I have movies downloaded so you can choose one. Or we can sit and just look at our town and like… kiss. I never object to that.”

“You know we won’t end up watching that movie.” Y/N chuckled, staying put in his lap as she went to open some snacks for them to eat. “We graduate in just a few months...” Y/N let out a sigh, pushing her hair back behind her shoulders. “Have you um... have you thought about where you’re going to go in the fall?” She knew that the two of them had discussed it previously, but the undertone was much more different now. She handed him the bag of popcorn for him to take some while she went to bust open the sour gummies, trying to distract herself from the answer he was going to give. Y/N had a few ideas for college in her mind and obviously if they didn’t have to separate that would be ideal. She didn’t want to make him feel like she was choosing a school just because of him, but she was. “Cause like... I um... I don’t know if I could be away from you for long.” She said shyly, feeling heat rush to her cheeks. Maybe for some people it could feel a bit odd, but she had just gotten with him! She wanted to be with him all the time.

“Yeah? You want to be close?” Harry smiled. Good. He didn’t want to seem too clingy but he wanted to be around her 24/7 as well. They’d just gotten together and they got on so perfectly, it would be nearly criminal to separate them now! “Where were you thinking of going?” He stroked a bit of hair out of her face. “I was waiting a bit to see where you were headed before I made a sound decision. I didn’t want to seem clingy but I want to be at least in a place where we can be together. Same area.” Ideally same town and college and they could just... live it up together. Truly. “I do want to live off of campus wherever I go so.... if you aren’t going to where I am or want to... you can always just stay with me. Or whatever you want. I dunno.” He felt shy asking her about thar or implying she moved in with him when they didn’t even know options yet.

“Yeah?” Y/N raised her brows at his preposition, “cause, I was thinking... yeah that’d be nice.” She smiled at him so hard her cheeks hurt. “I know we said it was between Princeton and Yale... and I dunno, Princeton seems nice... it’s a cute town. Sure New Jersey isn’t great but.. at least it’s close to a beach and two major cities.” She wanted an adventure in college, but nothing would be complete without Harry in her book. Now that she had life with him she didn’t want to imagine it without. High school sweethearts often didn’t last but she could see herself with Harry for the long haul. “Have a fresh start... just, enjoy my life and have fun.” Y/N could already see them moving into a cute little apartment, maybe getting a pet?

“I know that a lot of people say like... don’t make sacrifices for a high school romance but it feels like so much more. I don’t think I would be upset or have it viewed as a sacrifice if it meant I get to be happy, finally.” Harry admitted. Y/N meant so much to him. He understood the ways that people got and how they would underestimate the fact that he was pretty positive he had met his soul mate but he was going to do this with her. “Yeah... I think that, we should see what our options are. I have offers for both so I just... I dunno. I want to be near tou.” He spoke softly. “It’ll feel like a real fresh start. Just us. Feel like adults and figure it out on our own. It’ll be good, I think. None of the nervousness we both have around here. It’s just us and we can make our lives what we actually want.”

Y/N couldn’t help but feel excitement bubble up at the thought of them being free. No more petty high school drama, no more waiting till the perfect time to see each other. The two of them, under one roof, sharing a bed together, completely and utterly in love.

“I’d love that...” She breathed out with a small smile. “Just, yeah... let me know what you’re thinking, I don’t mind either or I also just wanna be with you.” Y/N let out a hum towards the end, cupping the side of his neck and letting her thumb brush against his jawline. “Thank you for tonight... for the movie, for this... it’s... it’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever done for me.” Y/N cooed, leaning forward to kiss his cheek. It was a sweet gesture, but she could see from the look on his face that he was expecting a proper kiss.

“Of course. I care about you so much.” Harry licked over his lip. All he wanted was her. Maybe it was the die hard romantic in him but he wanted her and to be happy with one another. That’s his goal. “Can we lay down for a bit? I just... I have to tell you something.” He felt his stomach roll in nerves because he wasn’t sure exactly what she would think about this but he was hopeful. So hopeful. “I was just... thinking a lot lately. About you. How much you mean to me.” He reaches over and brushed s but of her hair to the side. “How much I really, really like you. And I didn’t know if I was rushing this or not but it’s been a bit and I really think I can see us together for a long time.” He let out a shaky breath. “Is that something you see too? Like... we aren’t just chatting shit about going to the same places? You genuinely want to be with me right?” Ther was a bit of nervousness to his voice. “I’m sorry. Sometimes it’s still hard to believe that you’re mine and that you want to be with me. It’s amazing that you like me.”

“No, no... Harry...” Y/N frowned, moving her body closer to his the second she felt the hint of nervousness. “Of course I’m serious about us. I would never lead you on like that.” She said and attempted to soothe him, leaning forward and pressing a kiss to his nose. “I know you still get nervous about these things and I’ll always be there to reassure you that I feel the way you do...” She spoke softly, “just wish there was more I could do for you to never have to wonder.” Y/N took a moment to think, watching his eyes carefully. She had been seeing him for a few months now, things were getting prettying serious and she didn’t see them ending anytime soon. She didn’t want to be the first to drop the L bomb, but it was practically on the tip of her tongue. “I want to be with you... for as long as you’ll have me.” Y/N smiled, feeling heat spread across her cheeks. “I love your goofy smile and the random fun facts you tell me everyday. I love the way you say my name when you’re annoyed with me. I love how you always know what I’m in the mood to eat. I love just about everything about you.”

“Okay... good.” Harry murmured, feeling his body settle with the nerves. He had been worried himself, that she wouldn’t want to do it for real but truly, she did. She was amazing. “I’m really glad that you feel that way cause... I dunno, I would be scared if you didn’t want that too.” He whispered. “I feel so much for you. So strongly. You’re just... incredible, Y/N. All I’ve ever wanted. My crush was so big and went on for so long, and now you’re here and you’ve made me gain so much confidence...” He swallowed, feeling hot around the collar. “Is it too early to say that I think m’falling in love with you? That I do?” He let it sit in the air for a moment. “I don’t truly know what love is yet. But I feel like.... the way I’ve been feeling and what I feel around you is what it would be. You don’t have to say it back if you don’t feel it or a thing but I was just... wanting to ask. To tell you.” He stuttered.

The smile that spread across Y/N’s face gave it all away. She couldn’t contain her happiness. She knew for a fact she had never felt this way about anyone in her life, knew that after getting to know him this school year and properly getting to know him these past few months, she could safely say she was falling for him. She felt like she had fallen already and she wasn’t afraid to say it.

“I’ve definitely fallen for you... I feel like I have. You make me so happy and I’m so proud to be with you and show you off and there isn’t a moment that passes where I don’t think about you or how you are.” She said softly, “always want to be around you, always want to kiss you and make you smile... fuck— and if anyone ever tries to say anything negative about you I’ll rip them a knew one I swear it!” Y/N couldn’t help but let out a laugh at the end, overwhelmed with happiness. “I love you, Harry. I really do.”

“Yeah?” Harry felt his heart swell with happiness. Fuck. He was so happy. She loved him too? She wanted him? It was exactly what he had always dreamed of. He gently pulled her towards him and kissed her. It wasn’t a hot kiss, but passionate. He was passionate about her. About them. He wanted her to feel and understand just how much he adored her. Because he did, so fuckinf much. He needed her. Wanted to make sure she was aware of the fact he would do anything for them. “I love you too, baby. So much.” He peppered kisses all around her face, smiling when she began to giggle. His thin fingers wrapped over her waist and he nuzzled his nose against hers like a puppy before pecking her lips again..“So it’s real then. You love me and I love you... and we’re gonna be together forever?” He hummed, happy to feel her rub her nose back against his. “M’gonna make sure I do everything in my power to keep this. Keep you.”

“Forever and ever.” Y/N hummed back, rubbing her nose against his once again before nuzzling her face into his neck. She pressed a few kisses to the soft skin and let out a happy sigh. Yes, forever is a big word when you’re in highschool, she knew that. Some could argue that they didn’t know what it meant to be in a proper relationship, it had only been a bit. However, she knew that she had to stay true to her feelings and take things day by day with Harry. She could genuinely see a future with him and she didn’t see why it was such a big deal. Sometimes highschool sweethearts really are meant to be, Y/N felt like their chances were pretty good.

“I’m so excited. For prom, for college, for us.” Y/N mumbled against his skin, “it’s going to be so fun. Can just be us two..” She was lucky that they lived so close to each other, she wouldn’t know what to do if they couldn’t see each other as often as they did.

It was. It was going to be amazing and he would make sure they both had that new fresh start. A chance to make new friends. A chance to be who they truly wanted and didn’t have to worry about anything else wirh.

“I can’t wait to just be alone with you. Have you stay with me.” Harry brushes some hair away from her and tried to keep her clear. He liked to groom her in that sense, with love. Keep her comfortable. “You’re stayin’ over Tonight, right? Oh wait, yeah.. You dropped off your bag.” He didn’t want to go to sleep without her but he could feel her getting sleepy. “Guess we can head on home then? and bring your prom prize up to my room to snack on tomorrow, hm?” He questioned. “Did y’want to go to the mall with me tomorrow? I preordered the new game at the store. Can get you the pretzel nuggets you like.”

“Mhm...” Y/N hummed, letting out a happy sigh against him. “I’m a minute!” She didn’t exactly want to let go just yet, she was so comfortable and this moment was far too perfect and peaceful. She’d remember this spot forever, the place where he asked her to prom and told her he loved her. With a few whines of disapproval, Y/N pulled back from him and helped Harry clean up the back of the truck so that they could place everything in the back and head home. The two of them practically functioned like a married off couple, they liked staying in and doing mundane things. It was exciting to Y/N though, she had the love of her life with her after all.

“Wait, we didn’t even get any pictures from tonight.” Y/N pouted, looking up at him with a pout. “Hold this!” She giggled, handing him the basket and the prom note so she could take a photo and keep the memory with her forever.

“Oh! Okay?” Harry laughed as she took the photos. “I didn’t think about that. I just knew that you wouldn’t want the huge prom promposal with the balloons and marching band and stuff.” She wasn’t shy but that amount of attention would make her uncomfortable and he knew that. But a sentimental piece would be much more meaningful. He wanted that bit of it all. He let her take as many as she wanted before letting her hold the basket and her beaming smile as he took them of her. It ended with him kissing her lips over and over again. “Love you so much, Y/N. My girl.” He sighed happily against her mouth. “Dunno what I would do without you.” And he knew he wouldn’t ever find out.

“I love you more!” She told him and gave him a few more kisses before climbing in the car excitedly. Y/N was ready to get to his house so they could change and get all cozy and kiss some more. She liked the way their relationship never put pressure into doing things that seemed unnatural. They always went at their pace regardless of what people said, besides, what they did was their business.

While on the ride home Y/N smiles at the photos she took. Harry was genuinely so cute and he looked extremely attractive today, she decided to make a little post as all the other girls did for their promposals. She settled on a picture of him with the basket, then a picture of them kissing.

‘couldn’t say no to an offer this sweet 🥺 love you baby💓’

Her phone practically blew up afterwards too. It made her laugh a little because she got so many questions asking who it was as if it wasn’t clear who it was. Harry. Her sweet angel boy.

Harry was happy as he drove home. The radio was on low and the windows opened a bit, Y/N leaning her head against his arm and their hands held. Driving with one hand was easy but she was being so cute, singing softly to the music and tracing his knuckles that he just wanted to kiss the hell out of her. She loved him. This creature, with her softness and vulnerability she showed him? Loved him. It was a given that he loved her but even more right now, he was so utterly shocked and happy about the fact that his affection was so swiftly returned.

He loved her.

She loved him.

Wow.

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

A/N: We love these too so much omg... so yes, we have one more part planned, meet the parents, prom... very eventful. Can anyone guess what else we have for these two? could it be another series perhaps 👀 - n + d

let us know what you think!

masterlist

#writing #Harry Styles #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles fanfic #harry angst #nerdy harry #nerdy!harry #jarofstyles #harry writing

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lilolilyr · 2 years

Note

Andromaquynh for the ship ask obviously 😍😍

This ship ask, I'm pretty sure? :D

1. Who buys picks flowers for the other

Both of them! It started with Andromache picking up single flowers to put in Quynh's hair the way she was used to decorating her own braids at times, and Quynh picks flowers for Andromache as well, random ones and others she knows local meanings of, bouquets and flower crowns or some she dries :)

Neither would enjoy buying flowers in modern times, even though the bouquets there are more grand than anything easily found in the wild, it's not quite their style, Andy still picks single roses for Quynh to smell and Quynh makes Andy daisy chains or steals her flowers from the park. The only way I can see them buy flowers for the other is when they're in different places, for example when (my fav future headcanon for her) Quynh's a fashion designer doing shows elsewhere, Andy has expensive flowers delivered to her :)

2. Who makes the other coffee/tea

Food is Andy's love language, she used to do this a lot for Quynh, but Quynh soon picked up on it and in modern day they've almost switched it around

3. Who eats the most candy on Halloween

Andy, no questions :D her sweet tooth is legendary

4. Who tries new recipes all the time

Both, and neither - 'all the time' they stick to easy, enjoyable food they know, but both are interested in trying new things as well

5. Who genuinely likes pineapple on pizza

Both of them, and they drive the rest of the Guard Mad with it. Of course, Andy likes some combinations of food that are even weirder, so even Nicky tries to keep his mouth shut when he sees their pineapple pizza lest she retaliate with something even worse, but the agony is clear on his face xD

6. Who wears hats on special occasions

I can see Quynh decorating everyone in her vicinity with party hats when the occasion asks for it and she has been introduced to the modern tradition xD she still prefers flower crowns tho

Andy is more likely to wear 'useful' hats to hide from harsh sunlight (even if they can't properly get sunburn because it instantly heals, it can't be comfortable to overheat), while Quynh wears hats for fun and for style.

7. Who likes ‘90s R&B

I think they wouldn't mind the music exactly, but I can't see it being either of their favorites

8. Who likes long walks on the beach

Before: Andy. While Quynh is in the ocean she can't stand the sight of it except when trying to get her out, and afterwards it still triggers bad memories in her for quite some time. For Quynh, it's almost healing, seeing the sea from the outside, and when she takes her by the hand, feeling that she's still with her, by her side, it's alright for Andromache as well.

9. Who buys wacky picture frames

Neither because they don't have a lot of clutter that isn't weapons or artworks from people they actually knew (or posed for), and because they don't take many photographs for security reasons

10. Who compares themselves to fictional/celebrity couples

Quynh! Andy quit trying to keep up with celebrity culture when everything turned international at the latest and is totally behind on it, her favourite movie's still a black and white one (she points out to Nile that at least it's a 'talkie' and so can't possibly be that old, cue Nile facepalm), while Quynh, when she returns, tries to quickly catch up with modern popular culture and everything else she missed out on, she'd probably hear about 'Brangelina' or some other celeb ship name and refer to herself and Andy in third person by 'Andromaquynh' for the next month at least ('drama Queen indeed' -Joe)

11. Who would wear Hawaiian shirts on vacation/during the summer

Both of them, but not exclusively, they also love dresses, especially when it gets really hot it's just better to wear sundresses than trousers

12. Who wears mismatched socks because they can’t keep up with the pairs

Andy xD she has her stuff in a lot of different bases all over the world, since planetravel became a thing not just sturdy stuff like weapons or furniture but also her clothes, and she swears it isn't on purpose that she can't find correct pairs of socks in any location anymore

Okay to reblog!

Thanks so much for the ask! This was fun :D AQ is still one of my favourites <3

Oh, and @knoepfchen I couldn't remember your url earlier but if you like pls also feel tagged in the opening lines fic tag I did earlier!

If anyone is also doing the ask meme, list for more easy copying the Qs on mobile below:

1. Who buys flowers for the other 2. Who makes the other coffee/tea 3. Who eats the most candy on Halloween 4. Who tries new recipes all the time 5. Who genuinely likes pineapple on pizza 6. Who wears hats on special occasions 7. Who likes ‘90s R&B 8. Who likes long walks on the beach 9. Who buys wacky picture frames 10. Who compares themselves to fictional/celebrity couples 11. Who would wear Hawaiian shirts on vacation/during the summer 12. Who wears mismatched socks because they can’t keep up with the pairs

#lilo writes #lilo writes headcanons #ship ask #ask meme ask #knoepfchen #apr'22 #18.04.22 #Answered #mine #non anon #not f #my post #my tog #my andromaquynh #andromaquynh

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hangekitty · 4 years

Note

hey!!💞 could we get some dating nile hcs? thank you!💞💞

Nile headcanons? Absolutely!

Dating Nile Headcanons

Genre: fluff, a little bit of smut, 18+

Warnings: sex, groping, oral, age gap

Universe: canonverse

A/N: I spoke to hanni-sugar and she specified that this is a f!reader and wanted mostly fluff! I hope you like it 🌸 Listened to ‘On a Clear Day’ by Joe Hisaishi (the Kiki’s Delivery Service) on loop whilst writing this, I know its random but it just kinda feels right haha. I have a lot of love for Nile so don’t mind me. Credit to @sweetfaun for her input 😌

SFW

Just to add a little bit of back story because (why not): It’s been a couple of years since Nile’s divorce with Marie, they split on mutual terms and often find themselves enjoying each other’s company more so as friends. This fortunately means that Nile has no problems in being able to see his daughters whenever work lets him.

This also means that Nile is single and ready to start anew, no more dating and only focusing on his career; that was until you were in the picture

You are the daughter of a black smith, the very one which works with the blades that the Military use for the ODM gear. Due to this partnership, its the commander’s obligation to visit and inspect the storehouse; to see the quality of the blades, any developments and to keep a good relationship with the military’s suppliers.

Commander Nile paid a visit to your storehouse and when he laid eyes on you, he had felt a familiar feeling of butterflies in his stomach. Your father was in the back, working on some blades and you were in the front of the house, where you met the handsome (and nervous) Nile Dok.

To cut to the chase, it was you who propositioned him first, you can imagine how shocked he was at your confidence. You had dated for a couple of months until the both of you had your first kiss; and there we are with those butterflies again!

He is a little traditional, and asks for your fathers blessing to be able to court you; your father was hesitant at first but eventually gave his consent - not that it mattered, you are headstrong and would have done it with or without your fathers permission.

Not going to lie, your father was secretly happy though because Nile is an honourable commander of the military police, basically securing your future; he especially loves to see you happy so its a win win.

Back on track to the dating!!!

This man loves to be touched and to touch! His love language is being able to have his hand(s) on you at any point you’re in the room

Whether this is hand holding, keeping his hand on your back or waist, head pats, hand on your thigh (my guy LOVES your thighs) and just touching or holding anything and anywhere; he loves it.

You are the only person who is allowed to sit or lean on his desk, weirdly enough he treasures his desk and wouldn’t let just anyone use it as a leaning pole or seat.

Nile both loves and worries over how young you are; you are of course old enough to date him but being super hyper aware of your youthful looks, he didn’t want to think that he would just ‘replace his wife with a younger model’. He loves you for you, whether you’re young or not, and you certainly didn’t mind the age gap. Despite his nerves, he finds you extremely attractive and dating you is selfishly a little bit of an ego boost.

Likes to show you off at social events, he loves to spoil you and show everyone how much he loves you. (Think of that one Will Smith picture of him and his wife on the red carpet) that’s Nile with you.

He is usually a grumpy old man, but he has his goofy side that he only likes to share with you. Very mischievous!! Will play harmless pranks on you, just to make you laugh. He is certainly unafraid of being a little weird with you!

Nile very much enjoys music and will often take you to places where live bands perform; whether this is in a tavern or a full on orchestra. If he wasn’t in the military, he would have definitely wanted to become a musician (I don’t know why but I just see it).

Oh boy, if you compliment him, especially on his looks this man will melt like butter. He will certainly stutter and fluster to think up anything other than “you too” or “I-I-I um uhhh thanks I uh love you”.

That being said, he always compliments you. Wearing a new outfit? You did your hair a little differently today? IMMEDIATE compliments and he wouldn’t stop either.

Nile is a little more reserved in public, he has to keep his commander persona but he isn’t shy to be subtle with his affections; as mentioned before he likes to touch you, so in public he would keep his hand on the small of your back or have you hook your hand in his arm.

Don’t ask him about marriage, because there has been many times where he’s considered just proposing to you. Being older, in his mind he would definitely think ‘I NEED TO ASK NOW I’M OLD AND RUNNING OUT OF TIME’ but also being insecure and thinking ‘my first marriage didn’t work out, Y/N will probably leave’. - you wouldn’t but he is a worrier.

Imagine this though, when the two of you dated long enough NILE INTRODUCES YOU TO HIS DAUGHTERS. Like this would be a pretty big step for him, showing you how much he trusts and loves you; also a big gesture to how serious he is about your relationship.

His daughters instantly loving you, asking you to play dress up with them and painting. - just imagine their faces when you paint something beautiful like I can’t even, writing this makes my heart just 😩😭🌸✨

Nile booking time off work to do a family trip to the park or the city with you; his heartbeats are erratic when he sees you spoiling and being good to his daughters.

Nile’s face when someone asks him if he would have a child with you; a mixture between 😨 and 😏

He already has 3 kids, would he want to go through the worry and stress of more? In short, probably, but only if you wanted them.

His favourite time of day is dinner time; especially after having a long day at work. It’s fortunate that you live so close to the Military HQ (Stohess) that he gets to see you quite often. But if you cook him a meal, doesn’t matter that its not the fancy stuff he usually eats, if its from you then it’ll be his favourite meal.

That being said he loves sleeping next to you when you finally get to share a bed with him; morning cuddles are probably his favourite!

Nile isn’t always the most articulate with his feelings, but he is a hopeless romantic and would do and give you anything to show how much he cares. Dates (when he has time), a fancy dinner (which he said he cooked but it being way too gourmet for his abilities), random gifts of love and his personal favourite; writing letters!

It’s his job to write a lot, so he has really nice handwriting. As he isn’t good at expressing his feelings in speech, he can certainly write them down for you. He may even sprinkle in a little bit of poetry in his love letters.

He would learn how to massage you properly, despite you not being the head black smith, you still do work and after a hard day, Nile would give you the best massages. (The fact that he paid a professional masseuse to teach him how to do it just for you, speaks a thousand words)

Use pet names like “angel, sweetheart and love”. Might get a little spicy and call you a minx when you are flirting - behind closed doors that is

NSFW

Okay so in my opinion Nile in the canonverse is probably a little Vanilla, but with a twist. So he won’t have the whips and chains, but he could certainly get rough with you.

At first he would be very nervous, again mentioning the age gap he probably feels a little rusty/insecure with you. But once you’ve done it once, he gains full confidence.

Because he spends most of the day ordering people around and stressing over work, he will probably prefer to sit back a little and let you take the reins. Not to say he’s a selfish lover, he isn’t, but when he’s had a particularly bad day he’d be just happy to receive a blowjob or have some lazy sex.

Speaking of blowjobs, he loves it if he’s sat up in bed and having you lay between his legs and receiving head; it doesn’t have to be anything passionate or energetic, just feeling you around his cock so gently, is *chefs kiss*

If I am being honest, he would either go from forceful and rough to soft and romantic, there is no in between; but when he’s with you, he sees it as making love.

Is not shy to spanking, he likes to see your ass move under each slap.

Although he likes your ass, he probably is a boob guy. Don’t ask why I just get the vibe. So if you are wearing a pretty dress, or even changing clothes he would be like AWOOGA (but respectful ofc)

SOFT MORNING SEX.

He isn’t one to call you names in bed, but if he does it’ll usually be something like “Dove, Kitten or whore” so when you hear him say any of those, you know you are doing a good job

If Nile has had a particularly bad day, he will eat you out as if he’s a starving man. His favourite position is when you are sat on his desk and him sitting in his chair, eye level and lavishing you.

Desk sex is rare (in case of getting caught) but the ego boost that this man would feel would be...lets just say he gets more confident and rougher so expect a few marks after.

A/N: That’s it for now! I may have to elaborate more on Nile NSFW headcanons on another posts 🤔 OR may even write ABC’s for him! So if you want to see more of Nile, or any other character just let me know! I hope you enjoyed!

#aot smut #nile dawk #Nile dok #nile dok x reader #aot fanfiction #aot x reader #Nile Dok headcanons #aot headcanons

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trashmenofmarvel · 4 years

Text

Branded - Chapter 23

Pairing: Demon!Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: Christmas morning finally arrives, and you and Bucky come to a decision.

(This is a fan AU of Falling’s Just Another Way to Fly by @araniaart . Please check out this incredible series for all of your demon Bucky needs.)

Chapter Warnings: Mild sexual content, fluff, mild angst, references to asexuality

AO3

Whether by habit or some instinctual memory of being back in this room on this day, your body knew to wake you up at the crack of dawn, which would have been a bummer if not for one important fact.

You were warmly tucked within the embrace of one sleeping demon. Definitely sleeping this time because his wings were draped over you like a blanket and his tail was looped snug around your leg.

Closing your eyes and releasing a sigh, you reveled in the warm security of Bucky’s chest pressed against your back. Neither of you had bothered to get dressed after last night, and all of him was pressed against you in the best way. You were on the edge between vibrating out of your skin in nervous energy and melting into a puddle from the intimate contact.

Perhaps your silent agitation woke him, because Bucky nosed against your neck and gave a raspy “morning” as he stretched and hugged you closer.

“M-morning,” you returned, stuttering while his stiffening cock pressed against your ass. Falling asleep naked was, in hindsight, not the wisest idea.

“Uh, sorry—“

Bucky began to roll away but you snatched his arm in time and draped it back over your waist.

“It’s fine, really, just… stay a little while?”

Bucky paused then rolled back the rest of the way, and you sighed at the return of warmth.

“We… we should probably talk about this…”

“Later.”

You rolled onto your other side until you were facing him and got an amazing view of his collarbone. Nuzzling against his chest, you made a satisfied hum in your throat.

Bucky let out a breathless laugh and ran his fingers through your hair. The humming intensified.

“You’re like a cat,” he remarked, his other hand tracing along the curve of your spine. “Craving warmth and attention.”

“I’m not the one with pointy ears and a tail.”

You gave the hollow dip at the base of his throat a lick for good measure. He stiffened and groaned, his cock now at full mast and pressed against your hip.

“Are you… uh… still hungry?” you asked, clearing your throat when your voice cracked like a teenage boy.

“Mmmm nope. Still very full from last night. This is… all you.”

Face on fire, you buried your face deeper in his neck. Bucky just laughed, the rumbling sound both comforting and rekindling the warmth in your gut.

“We should probably get up,” he sighed into your hair, then chuckling at your muffled groan. “I don’t want to leave this bed either, but… we’ll have lots of time once we get back to the city to…”

He trailed off at you staring up at him with big, wide eyes. His cheeks flushing pink was a rare, wonderful sight.

“We get to do this more?” you asked, daring not to hope. “Not just for feedings?”

He swallowed hard and licked his lips, tempting you to taste them again. You didn’t know how you would manage to keep your hands to yourself now that you knew what this was like.

“That’s what we should talk about.”

You huffed and let your forehead smash into the pillow. He rubbed your back sweetly but was definitely grinning down at you as he said, “You’re the one who said we should communicate more clearly.”

“Ugghhh,” was your answer muffled by the pillow.

Bucky smiled and kissed the top of your head, the amused, fond expression never quite leaving his face as the two of you got dressed. You couldn’t help sneaking glances at him; with or without the guise, his body was a goddamn meal in every sense of the word.

Coming downstairs meant you were met with the strong smell of pancakes, cinnamon, and hazelnut wafting through the house. Your mom and aunt were both working on breakfast, while your uncle shoveled the driveway and walkway to clear the snow from the night.

Bucky volunteered to help him, and with a parting kiss on the crown of your head, he put on his windbreaker and disappeared out the front door.

Unlike all the other gestures of affection put on for show, this one left you flushed with a pounding heart. The knowing glance your mother and aunt shared made the heat in your face worse, but at least they were merciful enough to keep their comments to themselves.

Just kidding.

“Jacob seems very nice,” your mother said in that way mothers had of doing trying to prod for more information and thought they were being sneaky. “Will we get to see him over more holidays?”

You were in the middle of retrieving cartons of grapes, kiwis, and persimmons from the fridge in order to help make the fruit salad when you froze. Having Bucky over for… holidays? You jumped forward to other questions. What about birthday parties? Next holiday season?

How long was the shelf life of a demon pact? You couldn’t remember what the book had said, if anything.

“Sweetie?”

You blinked, struggled to form a steady smile, and turned back to the fruit when it didn’t quite work.

“Yeah, hopefully,” you answered weakly.

She shuffled closer and you could sense her staring, the weight of her concern pressing on your shoulders.

“Is everything all right?” she asked.

The fruit cartons were cold in your hands, and the cool water you used to wash them with did nothing to stop the chill creeping over you.

“Course, Mom. Why?”

“Well…” She stood next to you to take the washed fruits and chop up the larger ones on the cutting board. “Because I know at the beginning of these things, when everything is new and intense, it can be a little… scary.”

You snorted. Now there was an understatement.

“But I know it’s going to all work out,” she said. “With Jacob, or whatever’s going on in your life, it’ll be okay. I just… have a feeling about it.”

You nodded and ducked your head, fighting back the sudden well of tears when your mother reached over and hugged you against your side as if you were a little kid again.

“But if anything is bothering you, I want you to tell me.” She squeezed your arm, and you smiled despite yourself. “Even if there’s nothing I can do, I’m your mother and I want to know.”

You did want to tell her, so badly. You gave another weak nod and a thanks, Mom so she’d leave the subject alone. You didn’t know where this surge of emotions was coming from, but everything felt too heavy and too much. It was Christmas morning, everyone was safe and healthy, and there was no reason you should be on the verge of crying into the fruit salad.

As soon as Bucky returned with your uncle and settled his gaze on you, his brows creased and he frowned. But there was no time to talk; your sister and her family had arrived, and it was a gentle sort of pandemonium after that. Embraces and excited conversation as everyone gathered around the tree. There were no children left in the family, with the exception of your two month old nephew, but it was a tradition you continued long after childhood.

Bucky kept shooting you concerned glances throughout the entire gathering, even after you decided to drop your own problems and focus on your family’s happiness. Your aunt and uncle were avid outdoors explorers, so shopping for them had been easy. Binoculars, survival gear, hiking boots, all pretty standard stuff. Your mother and sister had been harder, but some cute t-shirts and new books from their favorite authors had done the trick.

You were still bothered by the fact you hadn’t given Bucky anything. Last night had been something out of a fantasy, and that was before you’d managed to get Bucky into bed, and not having a gift for him was unacceptable.

After all the presents were opened and everyone got comfortable around the living room in what you recognized would be hours of slightly boring, adult conversation, Bucky caught your eye and nudged his chin towards the backdoor. Nodding discretely, you excused yourselves with the reason that you were going for a walk, and grabbed Bucky’s hand to lead him into the backyard.

You’d barely been outside ten seconds before Bucky sighed, turned right back around, and disappeared inside with the instructions to sit tight. You rolled your eyes when he reappeared with your jacket and beanie in hand.

“I’m not going to die of exposure from being out in the snow for a few minutes underdressed,” you griped.

“Uh-huh.” Bucky ignored you as he shoved the beanie over your head and used your flailing to slip your arms through the sleeves.

“You’re such a mother hen.”

“Well, one of us has to look out for you.”

“I am. Perfectly capable of taking care of myself.” You shook your finger at him.

“Uh-huh.” He grabbed you and lifted you up in his arms. “Is that why you couldn’t bother to put slippers on before going out in the snow?”

You buried your face in his chest so Bucky couldn’t see your expression. So what if you’d been so distracted you’d basically run outdoors in your pajamas?

He smirked and carried you to the old swing set you hadn’t been on since you were a kid. Only two seats, it had been built by your uncle soon after your sister had been born. It was one of your favorite childhood spots, and as Bucky set you down on one of the swings, you wondered if he knew that.

Bucky sat on the other swing and immediately picked up your legs and put them into his lap. You opened your mouth to complain, but closed it again. Bucky was softly smiling at you, and you couldn’t remember him ever looking so… happy.

“So…” You wiggled your legs and focused on your wet socks rather than your feelings. “Is this why you lured me away? You wanted to play on the swing set?”

You expected Bucky to be flustered or embarrassed by your teasing. Instead, he leaned across the small space and pulled your legs at the same time so you were practically sitting sidesaddle in his lap. He grinned at your shocked expression.

“No. But now that you bring it up…”

Bucky closed the last few inches and captured your lips in a soft, light kiss. It still hit you like a ton of bricks and you would have fallen backwards off your swing if Bucky hadn’t been there to wrap his arms around you.

You were in a daze by the time you separated. He chuckled at your expression but didn’t move far, and you were tempted to kiss him again.

“We still have to talk.”

You scrunched up your nose.

“Must we?” you asked. “Or should we make out instead.”

Bucky grinned wide enough to show perfectly white teeth.

“Maybe after.”

“I’m listening,” you said with your best innocent, attentive look. Bucky didn’t buy it, but he did kiss you on the tip of your nose before leaning back a more appropriate distance. Disappointing.

“Last night was…” Bucky’s gaze dropped, a thumb absently rubbing circles into your knee. “I don’t have words for it. It was incredible and amazing…

“But…” You exhaled heavily and leaned your forehead against the cold chain of the swing. Here was the it’s not you, it’s me talk. This was exactly why you didn’t want to have this discussion—

“But.” His other hand squeezed your leg, gently, to catch your attention. When he had it, he said, “I want to be a hundred percent certain it’s what you want.”

Oh. Not quite what you’d expected.

“Bucky… It’s… of course it’s what I want.” The words tumbled out of you before you could stop them. “I’ve wanted this for a while now and didn’t have the guts to express that until last night.”

“Huh.” He blinked, mouth slightly ajar as if he’d never considered that before. “I... I’m asking because the bond makes things a lot more complicated. How do we know what’s binding magic and what’s… I mean… even if it’s not the bond, we’re still forced to have sex, and it’s easy to get attachments when you—“

You didn’t mean to let the giggle escape, but once it had, Bucky stared at you like you’d grown a second head. The confused-Bucky-face didn’t help, either.

“I’m not… not laughing at you,” you said, smiling. “I’m laughing because I think I understand what you’re worried about, and Bucky? That’s not what’s going on here.”

Bucky searched your face and frowned.

“But how do you know that?” he asked. “You could be confusing the feelings from sex for something else. Something more.”

Your smile widened as you struggled not to laugh again. You really didn’t want Bucky to take it the wrong way, misunderstand it for the relief it was.

“I know because my brain doesn’t work like that. Never has,” you said. “I don’t get ‘sexual feelings’ from looking at attractive people. Having sex with them wouldn’t change that. So… I’m trying to say, I don’t like you because of the bond, or the sex. I like you apart from all that. One’s got nothing to do with the other.”

He stared at you so long you fidgeted under his gaze.

“Is that why you haven’t been in many relationships?”

You winced and buried your face in your hands. Sometimes, you forgot this was the guy who’d been watching over you most of your life and knew you better than anyone.

Gentle hands pulled your arms away from your face, his expression kind and a little bit sad.

“It’s not a judgement,” he said quietly. “I always wondered why you were alone. Couldn’t understand it.”

You couldn’t meet his eye, the tightness in your chest suffocating, bordering on painful. All those years you’d been alone, believing you’d always be that way, never knowing Bucky existed. Countless nights you’d curled up in bed, heart aching with loneliness, and he’d been out there just… thinking about you?

Bucky wasn’t the only one with a low sense of self-worth. You just buried yours better.

“Yeah.” You swallowed hard. “I don’t feel attracted to people very often. And when I do, it just… doesn’t work out.”

Your stomach clenched and you wondered if you might barf right there in the snow, or worse, on Bucky’s lap. You hadn’t expected to have this conversation, not so soon and not here. You weren’t prepared for it, for his inevitable rejection. For the pity in his eyes as he finally understood.

“Or I’m not what they want.” Your voice was flat. Clinical. In direct opposition to the anxiety buzzing under your skin. “It’s as simple as that. I don’t blame anyone for wanting something I can’t give them. It’s… it’s no one’s fault…”

Despite the familiar words you had recited to yourself over and over, your vision blurred. You tried to retract your arms out of Bucky’s grip, but he pulled you forward against his chest and wrapped his arms around your shoulders. The swing slipped out from under you, and now you really were in his lap. He didn’t seem to mind as he rubbed your back and propped his chin on top of your hair.

“It’s all right,” he said, low and comforting. “I’m sorry if I overstepped.”

“You didn’t.” You pressed closer against his chest, barely feeling the freezing temperature while wrapped in Bucky’s warmth. “I just want you to know that if I’m not what you want, then… bond or not, you don’t owe me anything.”

Bucky slowly pulled back and cupped your cheeks in his gloved hands, one stiffer than the other. His eyes were so gentle it was hard to breathe.

“I believe that’s my line.”

You rolled your eyes, if only so you wouldn’t start crying like a baby. You hadn’t realized how much emotional weight you’d been carrying until now.

“You’re stuck with me, Barnes. I told you that.”

He stroked your cheek, his gaze suddenly very far away as if he was seeing something else.

“And I made a promise a long time ago that I would always protect you,” he said. “Which I will continue to do, no matter where this goes or what happens between us.

“But,” he added, leaning forward, eyes sparkling with warmth, “I’m also extremely selfish and hoping we can continue what we’ve started. Whatever you’re willing to give me, whatever you’re comfortable with sharing, will be more than enough for me. Because you are more than enough for me.”

Great, now your eyes were burning for a totally different reason. Your anxiety had vanished, but now it felt like this burning affection was going to burst out of your chest like a baby xenomorph.

Before you could wonder if Bucky had seen any of the Alien series, and would you be able to rope him into watching them with you, you leaned forward and pressed your lips to the corner of his mouth.

And then you ruined the tender moment by grinning like an idiot and chirping, “So-o-o-o does that make you my demon boyfriend?”

“Oh, my God.”

“And me, your adorable human girlfriend?”

He wrapped his arms around your lower back and leaned away to give you a narrow-eyed glare.

“Yes.” He ended the syllable on a slight hiss, narrowing his eyes further when you grinned. “You might regret this, you know.”

“I regret getting out of bed every day. You?” You grinned. “No. Not a chance I’ll regret you.”

“I’m not sure whether to be assured or worried.”

You gave him a sympathetic pat on the cheek.

“Millennial humor. You’ll get used to it.”

Bucky leaned forward, his mouth suddenly very close, making you flush in record time.

“You do realize your generation did not invent fatalistic humor.”

“Yeah? Tell me more, Gramps.”

The crash of his lips against yours might have been a form of payback for your smart mouth, but you welcomed it gladly.

Next Chapter

#bucky barnes x reader #demon!bucky #demon!bucky x reader #branded #bucky barnes #my writing #my fanfiction #what? two chapters of healthy communication?#perish the thot

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spine-buster · 4 years

Text

The President Wears Prada (William Nylander) | Chapter 26

A/N: I don’t usually say stuff like this but y’all can thank me later for the ending.

TW: mentions of covid-19

March 10th, 2020

Aberdeen Bloom was about to show Camden around Scotiabank Arena.

“Don’t touch anything that’s not yours to touch, okay?” she warned him as they were just outside the doors to the arena. She looked down at him to make sure everything looked okay – that his hair was nicely brushed, that his shirt wasn’t wrinkled, that his pants weren’t drooping, that his shoes were tied – before she bent down. “I mean it. We’re taking extra cleaning protocols because of this coronavirus thing and you don’t want to make extra work for the cleaning staff, right?”

“Right,” he nodded his head. “Don’t worry, Aberdeen.”

“And no touching the sticks. The guys are super-finicky about their sticks.”

“No touching the sticks.”

“And no touching anything in their stalls, either. A lot of them are superstitious so if one thing is off, they’ll know.”

“No touching the stalls.”

“And no touching the—”

“No touching!!!” he yelled, clearly getting the point. “Can we go inside now?”

Aberdeen was nervous. But Camden was a good kid. She had confidence that he wouldn’t embarrass her. “Yes, we can go in now,” she said, about to get back on her feet. And then she remembered. “But one last thing—”

“Aberdeeeeeeeeeeeen!”

“The most important thing,” she said over him. “You cannot tell anyone William Nylander came to our house for Christmas and you cannot talk like you’ve met him before.”

Camden nodded his head. “I knooooow. William spending Christmas with us has to be a secret always and forever. I get it. Can we please go inside now so I can see everyone before mom and dad get here?”

Aberdeen smiled. What a kid. “Let’s go,” she said, standing up and putting her arm around his back as they walked into the arena together. Aberdeen flashed her fob to open the door and led Camden towards the elevators, taking it up to her office. Camden was looking around at everything – everything was big and shiny and very sports-y, and he knew that if he was good, Aberdeen would take him to the Raptor’s locker room too.

“Heeeeey,” Brendan smiled as he saw Aberdeen ushering Camden into the office, getting up from his seat. He’d never seen Aberdeen look so proud as she did as they walked into the room. “How you doin’, buddy? Remember me? The candy man from Christmas?”

Camden nodded his head. “Hello Mr. Shanahan. I remember you,” Camden held out his hand.

Brendan chuckled as he shook his little 11-year-old hand. “You’re just like your sister. Very formal. She wouldn’t call me Brendan for months.”

Camden looked up at her. “Yeah, mom and dad make sure we always call people mister and misses. If we didn’t and mom heard about it, she’d have a fit. Same with dad.”

“My mom was the same way, you know. I think it’s because they grew up in Belfast,” Brendan winked.

“Probably.”

“So what do you want to see, bud?” Brendan asked. “I don’t think you want to see the offices, right? But not a lot of the guys are here yet.”

Camden looked around at Brendan’s office. He clearly had something on his mind, though he seemed a bit nervous to say it. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Of course.”

Camden bit his lip slightly. “My sister told me the guys get to eat here if they want to. But where do they eat?”

Brendan had the most amused look on his face. Aberdeen couldn’t help but chuckle from behind Camden too. “You want to go see catering?”

“I guess so.”

Brendan shook his head. He loved kids. “Then we’re going to catering.”

***

Camden, Aberdeen, and Brendan went to catering. Camden met the head chef and got to stir some onions and garlic frying in a pan as the base for the pasta sauce that night. He even helped set the menu, deciding to go for grilled chicken for the guys. He originally suggested fried, but the chef told him the guys needed to eat clean and that if they had friend chicken, John Tavares would get mad at everyone for eating it, because they would eat it.

They saw Kyle, who brought them out into the empty arena, and brought them all the way down to ice level where Aberdeen was able to take some pictures of him on the empty ice, on the Leafs bench, and even in the penalty box. Camden got a kick out of it all, and got less shy and more boisterous as the minutes passed and Brendan and Kyle allowed him to do funny things. He was even able to see the Zamboni. He was smart enough not to ask if the man tending to it was David Ayres.

When they were back in the corridors of the arena, Kyle looked down at Camden who was practically skipping through the hallways. “I heard your sister got you a pretty cool Raptors jersey for Christmas,” Kyle said.

“Yup!” Camden nodded his head. “A Kyle Lowry one. He’s the coolest. I wore it on my first day of school back from Christmas break and all my friends thought it was soooo cool.”

“Do you want to go into their locker room?” Kyle smiled, already knowing the answer.

Camden’s eyes lit up like the fourth of July. “Can I?! For real?!” he asked.

“For real,” Kyle nodded. “Come on, let’s go. Maybe we can get a picture of you in Kyle Lowry’s stall.”

Fireworks were practically shooting out of Camden’s eyes as they walked inside of the dressing room. He looked at every stall and every player’s name written at the top. The only thing he could keep saying was “This is so cool!” and “Oh my God!” Aberdeen hung out at the perimeter of the room as she watched him, letting Camden get the full effect. He kept looking back at her and smiling from ear to ear, clearly not believing anything was real. Aberdeen would smile back and urge him to keep looking.

Suddenly, she heard a door open from behind her. She turned around quickly to see who it was and make sure she wasn’t in the way, but realistically, there shouldn’t have been anyone else there besides them, so she was skeptical. When she saw who it was, her heart dropped into the pit of her stomach. “Oh, hello Miss Bloom!” Masai greeted her after he’d poked his head through the door. He had a casual sports jacket on with a plain black polo shirt and a nice pair of pressed slacks. “How are you?”

“I’m fine Mr. Ujiri. How are you?”

“All good here. What’s the occasion?” he asked, nodding his head towards Kyle, Brendan, and Camden.

“That’s my little brother Camden,” she said, only to see Masai’s smile grow. “I think he feels like he’s won the lottery right now.”

“Camden?” he clarified the name in a low voice. She nodded her head before watching him close the door and step into the locker room confidently. “Hello Camden!” he beamed.

Camden whipped his head around. When he saw that it was Masai Ujiri, his face dropped. Brendan and Kyle smiled. “Masai Ujiri?!” Camden yelled.

“That’s me! Are you having fun?”

Camden didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t formulate words, and he couldn’t move, and the step forward he took was mute when he froze in place because he didn’t think it was polite to hug Masai Ujiri, so he just sort of stood there in a weird stance with his jaw on the floor until he could formulate one simple word. “Hi.”

Everybody laughed. Masai made his way into the room. “You’re a big Raptors fan? Who’s your favourite?”

“K—K—Kyle Lowry,” Camden stuttered out.

“Good choice,” Masai smiled. “Do you want a picture in his stall?”

Camden could only nod enthusiastically. He walked towards the stall, and Aberdeen knew it was her cue. She took out her phone and began snapping pictures of him standing, sitting, pointing at Kyle’s name – everything. Camden had the biggest smile ever on his face. Then Masai posed with him too, and an even bigger smile appeared on his face. It was all so cool. And then—

“Hey! Who’s that in my stall?”

A shiver went up Aberdeen’s spine. From his spot in the stall, Camden’s face dropped again – if it was possible, even more this time than when Masai walked into the room. She turned around to see the man himself, Kyle Lowry, walk into the room. “What’s up, buddy?” Kyle asked, smiling from ear to ear.

“K—Ky—Ky—” Camden couldn’t get his name out. “K—Kyle—”

“That’s me. You having fun?” he asked. Camden nodded. “Have you ever been in here before?”

“N—No Mr. Lowry, I—I’ve just s—seen it on TV,” Camden stuttered out.

“Who’s Mr. Lowry? Call me Kyle,” he said as he walked towards him. “You excited to be in here?” he asked. Camden could only nod his head. “You watch us at home?”

“I watch you at home with my dad all the time,” Camden said, which was true. They’d watched almost all the games last season (until Camden’s bedtime, naturally), and he stayed up past his bedtime for all the playoff games. This year, he and Mirza were continuing the tradition.

“Do you have a jersey to wear while you watch them?”

“Aberdeen gave me a jersey for Christmas.”

Everyone laughed at his innocence. It was only then that Aberdeen noticed a jersey draped over Kyle’s shoulder. Even she was freaking out, because she knew how much this meant to Camden. “So I guess you don’t want this one then?” Kyle asked, pulling the jersey off his shoulder. He opened it up to reveal a vintage-style jersey, one with the original logo. He took a Sharpie and asked Camden for his name and how to spell it before writing it on the jersey and signing it. “You want a picture, buddy?” Kyle asked. Camden could only nod. He was too shocked. Aberdeen was glad they were being so patient with him.

They posed together with Kyle’s stall in the background, and then Masai joined in, and then Aberdeen got in, too. Camden was rendered speechless. When they were led out of the locker room, Kyle and Masai said goodbye before they disappeared into the elevator. Kyle said a few parting words as well since he had to take an important phone call before the game. Brendan left Aberdeen and Camden alone to go to his office, expecting Orla and Mirza anytime now. It left Aberdeen and Camden alone, with Aberdeen knowing Camden was still star-struck by what just happened.

“Ab—Aberdeen,” Camden said finally, once the men were gone. He was clutching onto the jersey so tight, like it would float away.

“Are you alright, Cam?” she asked, bending down on her knee so she could look him in the eye.

He shook his head. “I w—wasn’t ready for that,” he said, his voice shaky. “I didn’t—I didn’t look like a loser, did I?”

“What? No way!” she exclaimed. “Camden, you never look like a loser.”

“He was so cool Aberdeen! I mean he’s Kyle Lowry!” he said as he began to cry.

“C’mere,” she cooed, wrapping her arms around him tightly and pulling her brother in for a big hug. “I know it was overwhelming, but that’s okay! You just met your hero! I bet if any of your other friends met their hero, they wouldn’t know what to do either,” she said, trying to get him to calm down.

As Aberdeen continued to hug her brother, rubbing his back so he’d calm down a bit, she heard people making their way up the stairs, and soon, she saw William and Auston making their way up. William noticed her first, looking her straight in the eye even though Auston was talking to him. When Auston noticed him not responding, he looked and saw Aberdeen.

“Hey,” William greeted them, looking at her skeptically. “Everything okay?”

Aberdeen nodded her head against Camden’s shoulder. “Camden just had a big moment,” she said, giving them both a look. “He just met Masai Ujiri and Kyle Lowry.”

Both William’s and Auston’s eyes bulged out. “Ooooooh, wow!” they cooed together. “Dude, that’s so awesome!” Auston said, sounding excited, trying to make Camden as comfortable as possible as Aberdeen let go of the hug so Camden could face Auston and Willy.

“I’d be the same way, bud! Don’t worry!” William said as he noticed the nervous and embarrassed look on Camden’s face as he wiped away whatever few tears fell. He noticed the jersey hanging from Camden’s other hand. “Is that it?”

“Yeah,” he nodded.

“Let’s see it,” Auston said gently.

Camden unfolded it gently, as if the autograph would rub off. When the guys noticed that it was a vintage jersey, they commented on how cool it looked. And when they finally saw the personalized autograph, they were all but screaming. “I don’t even have one of these, bud!” Auston exclaimed. “You’re sooooo lucky!”

“Yeah, me neither!” William joined in. “You’ve gotta frame that or something.”

“I gotta show all my friends at school first,” he said. The more Camden calmed down, the more he came to his senses. He took a second and third look at the men in front of him – he of course noticed and knew William, but it was Auston who he finally realized was standing in front of him. “Holy moly, you’re Auston Matthews!”

Auston giggled. “Yes I am.”

“You…you’re the coolest!”

“Thanks, bud,” he said. “Has your sister brought you into our locker room yet?”

Camden shook his head. “Not yet. There was nobody here yet so we went to catering.”

“Catering?!” William was shocked. “You brought your brother to catering?!”

“I told him how you guys could eat before the game and he wanted to see!” Aberdeen tried to defend herself.

William shook his head. “Come on, Camden. Let’s see who’s already here.”

With Auston leading the way and Camden in front of him, William looked back at Aberdeen behind him and winked at her. “By the way Aberdeen, how do I look?” he asked.

She smiled. “You look like if the song ‘Africa’ by Toto were a person.”

Auston threw his head back and cackled loudly like a seagull. William shook his head. Camden looked back at his sister. “What’s Toto? Isn’t that the dog from the Wizard of Oz?”

“Don’t worry about it, Cam,” she said.

Camden was nervous as they approached the doors of the locker room, so he waited for his sister to be near him before he stepped through. When he did, he was wide-eyed and amazed; he couldn’t believe he’d just been in the Raptor’s locker room and now he was in the Toronto Maple Leafs’ locker room, too. Most of the guys were actually already in the room, but luckily they were not in various stages of undress yet. Morgan was the first one to notice them – it was his first game back from injury, so his energy level was off the charts. “Aberdeen!” he yelled her name, giant smile on his face. His eyes moved to Camden. “Who’s this?”

“This is Camden, my little brother,” she said, introducing him. “Camden, that’s Morgan Rielly. He’s one of our alternate captains and it’s his first game back tonight.”

“What’s up, Camden?” he asked, smiling gently.

“Hello Mr. Rielly.”

“Camden just met Masai Ujiri and Kyle Lowry, so he’s a bit shocked at everything right now,” Aberdeen said, making a face at Morgan that Camden couldn’t see.

Morgan got the hint. “That’s the jersey then, huh?” he pointed to the jersey still in Camden’s hands. Camden nodded. “Isn’t Kyle just so cool?” Morgan asked.

A smile spread on Camden’s face. “He’s my faaaaavourite,” he said.

“Me too.”

“Do I hear a Bloom brother is here?” Tyson’s voice boomed from the other end of the locker room. Aberdeen watched him walk through the door with a big smile on his face. “What’s up?! You must be Camden!”

“Hello Mr. Barrie.”

“You excited for the game tonight?”

Camden nodded. “It’s my first ever hockey game.”

“First ever?! Okay, we gotta make it extra special then,” Tyson smiled. “Where are you sitting?”

Camden looked up to Aberdeen, because he didn’t have a clue. “Mom, dad, and Camden are sitting in row 20 at centre ice,” she said. “If he’s good he’ll be back after the game too. But only if he’s good.”

“Hey! I’m always good!” he objected.

“I’m not sure about that.”

***

As Aberdeen sat with Brendan in the box, she noticed him checking his phone a lot more than usual. It was especially peculiar because this was a game against Tampa Bay – a very good team and many saw this as a must-win for the Leafs, especially since they won their last game against Tampa Bay on her birthday. And like with the game in Ottawa, when Siena was there, and on her birthday, when he scored that insane between-the-legs goal, William was just showing off. He was playing great, and had scored a goal in the first period. Aberdeen knew he was hamming it up for her and her family, knowing they were in attendance.

When Auston scored in the third period to get the score to 2-1, Brendan was happy but it didn’t last long. He began furiously typing away on his phone. She wondered if there was a problem with one of his kids or with Catherine. He usually wasn’t this distracted during games.

“Is everything okay, Brendan?” she asked once the final buzzer went. The Leafs had won 2-1 and she thought he’d be much happier.

He pursed his lips together, shrugging his shoulders and shaking his head. “Trying to keep up on the coronavirus,” he said. The media had already been put at bay and weren’t allowed close to the players anymore. She wondered if new restrictions were being implemented and the media wrote a pissy open letter demanding access again. “It’s not looking good. I mean, the entire country of Italy is in a fucking lockdown. They can’t control this thing.”

Aberdeen heard that news yesterday. It was a shock to her, mainly because she didn’t think it was possible an entire country could go into lockdown. But the north was getting rattled by it, and it seemed like the only logical thing to do, however draconian it was. She had a lot of Italian friends from high school whose family were still in Italy and were affected by it. “What do you think will happen?” she asked.

“Don’t know,” he said. “I mean…it’s getting serious. Really serious. And I’m not convinced it can be contained like we all hope it can be,” he said.

“What do you think will happen with us?” she followed up.

“If…ah, I honestly don’t know, Aberdeen. They could postpone games by a few days. I mean, I think that’s the worst-case scenario right now – everything being delayed by a couple of weeks.”

Aberdeen bit her lip. “Yeah…I guess that’s totally worst-case scenario.”

“Absolute worst-case scenario,” Brendan repeated. “Do I think it will get that bad? I don’t know. I don’t think so. But I have no clue about these things.”

“What…I mean, the directive has to come from the league, right?” she asked.

“Of course. It always comes from the top down. We’ll see what happens. We can’t worry about hypotheticals.”

Aberdeen nodded. He was right. “So I guess I’ll see you on Wednesday when Nashville is in town?”

“You betcha. Let me walk you down and say goodbye to your family.”

***

Aberdeen had barely taken her shoes off when she got into her condo before she felt her phone buzz in her hand.

can i see u?

She couldn’t believe him. But at the same time, she could.

You’re lucky you can.

i’ll be there in 5

She took the five minute opportunity to change out of her work clothes and take off her makeup. When the calling buzz rang from her phone, she immediately let him in. Within minutes, he was knocking at her door, and she was letting him in like she always did.

“How’s your brother?” he asked as he took off his shoes.

“He’s fine,” she smiled slightly, liking that William was asking about him. Camden had returned to the Leafs locker room after the game (if the media found out, she knew they’d have a hissy fit since they weren’t even allowed back there, but Brendan didn’t care) and Auston gave him his game-worn jersey, which all the guys ended up signing. By the end of the night, all of the excitement of the day and the game had caught up to him, and he was practically falling asleep standing up. “He was tired by the end but I could tell it was the best day of his life.”

“He’s a cute kid,” William commented. “You guys are alike, you know.”

“How?” Aberdeen was curious.

“You’re both…like, pure. You both light up the room when you enter it,” he smiled. The shy smile on her face was his favourite. He approached her, not wanting to wait any longer. “Is Kasha home?” he asked before he put his arm around her.

“No. She’s with Evan tonight,” Aberdeen said.

“Sleeping over?”

Aberdeen nodded, a smirk on her face. “Aren’t you a lucky boy.”

William smiled. “The luckiest boy in the world,” he mumbled, wrapping his other arm around her and pulling her against his body.

“You always know the perfect opportunities to show up,” she said. “If I didn’t know any better I’d say you’re in cahoots with her as to when to come over and get in my pants.”

William chuckled, leaning down. “In cahoots?” he mumbled against her lips. “The only thing or person I’m in cahoots with these days is you, minskatt.”

“Not Rasmus?” she asked.

He grumbled at her before deciding to get her to be quiet by kissing her. When his lips planted on hers, she let out a slight gasp before wrapping her own arms around his shoulders, kissing him fully and sticking her tongue down his throat in no time at all. As they kissed in the middle of her kitchen, William slipped his hands underneath her shirt and up to her bra, feeling her breasts through the cotton fabric. “Bedroom?” he asked.

Aberdeen nodded. “Please.”

***

March 11th, 2020

Good afternoon. In the past two weeks, the number of cases of COVID-19 outside China has increased 13-fold, and the number of affected countries has tripled. There are now more than 118,000 cases in 114 countries, and 4,291 people have lost their lives. Thousands more are fighting for their lives in hospitals. In the days and weeks ahead, we expect to see the number of cases, the number of deaths, and the number of affected countries climb even higher. WHO has been assessing this outbreak around the clock and we are deeply concerned both by the alarming levels of spread and severity, and by the alarming levels of inaction.

We have therefore made the assessment that COVID-19 can be characterized as a pandemic.

***

Aberdeen’s brows were furrowed as she and Kasha watched TV, the both of them feeling like they were in the twilight zone or something. The basketball game was supposed to have started, but never did. People were rushing off the court. Nobody knew what was going on, and the announcers were just speaking in hypotheticals. It was all very confusing – that is, until, the headline came:

Rudy Gobert tests positive for coronavirus.

The girls couldn’t keep their eyes off the TV screen. Now the Utah Jazz and the Oklahoma City Thunder were being quarantined inside the arena and being tested. Just the other day, Rudy Gobert was making light of the entire situation and touching all of the reporters’ microphones after his interview with them. Now he had the virus.

“Oh my God,” Kasha muttered as she looked down at her phone.

“What? What’s going on?” Aberdeen asked.

“Tom Hanks just announced he has it,” she announced, looking up.

The girls looked at each other, speechless.

***

“Did you hear the NBA has suspended their season?” Aberdeen asked as she lay in her bed, holding her phone along the pillow as she looked at William through the screen. He was doing the same thing. His disheveled hair and sleepy blue eyes would have made her swoon in any other situation, but right now, she wasn’t swooning.

“Yeah,” he nodded. He noticed she was wearing the hoodie that he left there by accident last night. “It’s crazy. I mean it’ll probably be for the next few days until they have everything under control, you know?”

“Yeah,” Aberdeen said, but she wasn’t so sure. “What do you think the NHL will do?” she asked.

“No clue. Maybe they’ll suspend the next few days of games too, just to make sure everything is under control too. We’ll probably have to get tested. I heard they stick something all the way up your nose,” William said. There were a few moments of silence between them. “Are you scared, minskatt?”

It was the first time somebody actually asked her that question – asked her if she was scared. Everybody talked about it but nobody ever stopped to ask if she was actually scared. She felt herself nodding her head. “A little bit,” she admitted.

“Don’t be scared, minskatt. I don’t want you to feel scared. But I’m here if you want to talk about it. You know that, right?”

She nodded her head. “Are you scared, Willy?”

He nodded too. “Yeah. A little bit.”

***

March 12th, 2020

Aberdeen had an incredibly early morning. She actually went into the office at 7:30 in the morning because Brendan requested she be there for some additional prep and to scribe the minutes of the meeting taking place with the NHL and the Board of Governors. With a tired body but overactive mind, thinking about all the possibilities that could happen, her fingers moved a mile a minute across the keyboard as she sat with Brendan and Kyle. Up until this point, everything in the league was carrying on as normal, despite the NBA postponing their season not even twelve hours prior. She knew for a fact other teams around the league were still preparing to hold practices because those who were on the call said so and asked about it. The Nashville Predators were already in for a morning skate, and the Leafs were going to have their practice right after.

When the decision was made, and all that needed to be done was tell the players before the statement was drafted and released to the media, Brendan took a long, hard, exasperated sigh. He rubbed at his temples and let his pen drop from his hand. He leaned back in his chair before he looked at Aberdeen. “All the guys are present and accounted for in the locker room. We have to go and tell them.”

The thought of having to tell the team was daunting. She knew it wasn’t her that was going to be delivering the bad news, but it would still be disheartening just being in the room and seeing their faces drop. They’d probably have so many questions and Brendan and Kyle wouldn’t have any answers for them. She looked at Kyle to see if he could offer her any solace but he was rubbing his eyes underneath his glasses. “What do you think they’ll say?” she asked.

Brendan shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. “Who knows. But nobody will be happy. I know that much.”

As they made their way towards the locker room, Kyle texted Sheldon to make sure all the guys and all the personnel were congregated in the locker room to hear the announcement. With the Predators also being there, Aberdeen knew there’d be overlap. So many of them knew each other so she wondered if they had already gone to see each other.

When they got into the locker room, everyone was waiting like kids in class. Aberdeen locked eyes with William and moved off to the side as Brendan and Kyle stood at the front of the room. They were told the news.

“For how long?”

“Even practices? I mean this is just going to be for a few days, right?”

“Are they releasing a statement?”

“Did the league say anything about making up the games?”

“When are we going to start again?”

“Does that mean the season is being extended even further into the summer? Doesn’t that delay next season? What about the CBA?”

“What’s the PA have to say about this?”

“Is the PA making a statement too?”

“What do we do with our equipment? Our stalls?”

We don’t know.

“Listen, the only thing we do know for sure is this: it’s been classified as a pandemic now by the World Health Organization and it’s spreading quickly. This thing can’t be contained. With Gobert testing positive last night, it was only a matter of time before this thing affected us, too. We share so many locker rooms with NBA players. It might already even be in our league and we don’t know it,” Brendan said.

“Schools have already announced an extended March Break. Nobody knows a lot right now but what we can tell you is that we’re going to listen to the public health officials and their advice,” Kyle said. “We’re hockey players – we’re not epidemiologists. If someone tells me to stop playing a full-contact sports to stop the spread of a highly infectious diseases even the world’s best epidemiologists still know very little about, I’m going to listen to them.”

“So what do we do now?” Morgan asked.

“Go home. Until you’re given further directives from us, go home and stay home.”

***

"In light of ongoing developments resulting from the coronavirus, and after consulting with medical experts and convening a conference call of the Board of Governors, the National Hockey League is announcing today that it will pause the 2019-20 season beginning with tonight's games.”

"The NHL has been attempting to follow the mandates of health experts and local authorities, while preparing for any possible developments without taking premature or unnecessary measures. However, following last night's news that an NBA player has tested positive for coronavirus -- and given that our leagues share so many facilities and locker rooms and it now seems likely that some member of the NHL community would test positive at some point -- it is no longer appropriate to try to continue to play games at this time.

"We will continue to monitor all the appropriate medical advice, and we will encourage our players and other members of the NHL community to take all reasonable precautions -- including by self-quarantine, where appropriate. Our goal is to resume play as soon as it is appropriate and prudent, so that we will be able to complete the season and award the Stanley Cup. Until then, we thank NHL fans for your patience and hope you stay healthy."

***

When Aberdeen got home, the news had just been announced that Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, Justin’s wife, had it. The anxiety Aberdeen felt only multiplied. Kasha wasn’t home when she got home – she was at work, obviously – so it was just her alone with her thoughts, and it wasn’t going well. Aberdeen prided herself on watching the news and keeping up to date with current events, but the doomscrolling she was doing on her Twitter and the CNN feed she turned on in the background wasn’t helping.

Then she heard the buzzer for her apartment. That could only mean one thing.

“Are you feeling okay, minskatt?” William asked the first second he saw her, which meant she was unable to ask him why he showed up at her place.

“I…I don’t know,” she admitted. “I’m scared, Willy.” Knowing it was still mid-day and that Kasha was at work, he took the opportunity to move closer to her and engulf her in a hug. Her arms were pressed between their bodies as he hugged her tightly. She took a moment to take in his scent and compose herself and try to snap out of all the doomscrolling she’d just done. “What are you even doing here?”

“I needed to see if you were okay. Plus I left my hoodie here the other night and—”

He was interrupted by her phone ringing loudly on the kitchen countertop. They both looked down at it and saw Brendan’s name flash across the screen. A pit formed in Aberdeen’s stomach. She let it ring a few more times before reaching out to pick it up and answer it. “Hello?”

“Did you have contact with anybody from Nashville today?” he asked, not bothering with formalities. “Including staff.”

“Y—Yes,” she said. She had seen and spoken with a bunch of the staff about the situation as everyone was packing up and going home. She was ruminating how it would be more dramatic for them to fly home whereas the Leafs just had to drive. “Why?”

She heard him take a long breath. “We’re getting information about precautions and what you can do to minimize the spread and exposure, and…listen, Aberdeen, the government and every public health official is instituting a policy of a fourteen day quarantine period—”

“Quarantine?! What do you mean quarantine?” she asked.

“—Immediately.”

“Immediately?!”

“It means no leaving your house. At all. For anything. You…you can’t leave, Aberdeen.”

She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She didn’t know what to think, how to feel, anything. She was void of emotion. “Oh my God.”

“I know. Believe me. The entire country is going into lockdown. This is more serious than I could have ever imagined. I’ve gotta call the rest of the team to let them know.”

He hung up the phone. She looked over to William. She knew he’d heard Brendan through the phone. And before she could even utter a word, his phone began ringing. Brendan’s name flashed across his screen this time. He looked her in the eye as he answered. “Hello?..........Yeah. Yeah I caught up with Filip Forsberg for a bit, some of the other Swedish guys too……….okay…okay…what do you mean quarantine? Like stay at home? But like, if I’m out—I—okay, go home immediately? Yeah yeah, I’ll drop everything..........Fourteen days?...Uh, I guess so. I mean I have no choice right?......Yeah I’ll be fine. I’ll have groceries delivered like I always do……Yeah…Yeah…Okay. Bye Brendan.”

They were both speechless.

***

Aberdeen called Kasha. Kasha was going to take the opportunity to stay at Evan’s place for fourteen days, and would be by after work to pack, during which Aberdeen would lock herself in her room. Aberdeen didn’t know how Kasha would be able to hide a fourteen-day stint at Evan’s place from her dad. But then again, Aberdeen was hiding William from everybody. They both had secrets.

Once everything was arranged, she could finally look at William sitting on her couch. She didn’t even know if he had clothes. Underwear. Anything. She looked at him. “Does this mean we’re living together for fourteen days?”

William couldn’t believe what was happening, but at the same time, he couldn’t help but smirk slightly. “I think it does.”

170 notes · View notes

sherrybaby14 · 5 years

Text

Bucky’s Bride

Request: Bucky stalks Y/N, pretends to be her friend, gets jealous that she's engaged, she's saving herself for marriage and her jerk groom is leaves her on the aisle. Or in other words Bucky steals the bride. 😉

Warnings: Noncon (Please do not read if this offends you), loss of virginity, smut

Words: 8K

The cover of the magazine was a smiling bride, decked out in a beautiful lace number. The headlines read ‘Dream Honeymoon’ and ‘Ten Best Bridesmaid’s Gifts’. You weren’t planning on a honeymoon or having bridesmaids. But your fiancé was getting annoyed with your lack of caring about the wedding, so you reached for the rag.

“Excuse me.” A stranger went for the same magazine and you grazed hands.

“Sorry.” You turned to see beautiful blue eyes and a handsome smile. His face was enough to make you blink twice. “Go ahead.”

“Thanks.” He grabbed two copies of the bridal magazine and handed one to you. “Getting married?”

“Yeah.” You nodded. “You?”

“Congratulations. A beauty like you, I’m not surprised someone popped the question as soon as they could.” He smiled a million-dollar smile. You felt like the only one in the store. “No. No marriage for me.”

“You just like bridal magazines?” You tried not the think about the compliment, not used to hearing such things.

He erupted in laughter and threw his head back. You glanced from side to side, unsure why this handsome man was even paying you a lick of attention.

“I own a catering business.” He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a card. “Research. I have to stay on top of wedding trends.”

You took the card and nodded, realizing you were just a mark.

“I’m planning on a courthouse wedding. Maybe a small dinner after.” You handed the card back. “Not in the market for a caterer.”

“That sounds like a lovely wedding.” He pushed your hand. “I was only showing that I’m not some weirdo collecting bridal magazines. Keep it.”

You looked at the front: James Buchanan Barnes, owner ‘Longing Rusted’ restaurant and catering.

“This is the most popular restaurant in the city.” You’d heard stories of a month-long waitlist. “You’re Bucky Barnes?”

“Guilty.” He smiled.

You looked him up and down, suddenly feeling self-conscious. His clothes probably cost more than your rent. You wanted to get away from the intimidating man, buying the magazine was no longer worth it, but not wanting to bolt from the store.

“Hold on one second.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a buzzing phone. “Hello.”

Bucky had turned to answer the thing and you used the opportunity to accomplish option two, dropping the magazine as you left the shop and walked out on to the busy New York street.

It was rude, but the man was a celebrity around the city, and you didn’t want to embarrass yourself more than you already had. Your fiancé could deal with thinking you didn’t care about the wedding a bit longer.

“Come on out. I am sure that one is perfect for you.” The Bridal consultant was starting to sound annoyed.

“I told you, it’s just a courthouse wedding.” You sighed, the ballgown over the top, as you opened the door from the fitting room. “This is way too much.”

“But you look gorgeous!” She tightened the fasteners and led you over to the pedestal. “I thought you said your fiancé wanted a more traditional look. This is a traditional bride.”

“It’s not me.” You hiked up the skirt. “I don’t even care if the thing is white, to be honest.”

“If it isn’t the runaway bride?” A voice made you turn your head.

There stood Bucky Barnes, a smile on his face as he rested his arm on the wall.

“What are you doing here?” It had been two weeks since the magazine incident and all you could do was stare at him in shock.

“Stalking you of course.” He raised his eyebrows.

“Mr. Barnes.” Your consultant glared at you before going to kiss Bucky on the cheek. “I have the samples at the front of the store.”

“Most people at least say goodbye.” He pushed off the wall and walked toward you. “Where was the fire?”

You make me uncomfortable. Why are you talking to me anyway? That was what ran through your head.

“You’re a busy man. I didn’t want to waste your time.” You fidgeted, feeling his eyes on you.

“That dress doesn’t suit you at all.” He frowned. “Where’s your bridal party? Mom? Friends? You need some extra opinions.”

“Couldn’t make it.” You wanted out of the dress. “They’re coming in for the wedding. I haven’t lived in New York very long and they can’t afford to come out for all the little stuff. Really the only person in my life who seems to care about the wedding stuff is my fiancé.”

“Then where is he?” Bucky folded his arms.

“Doesn’t want to see the bride in the dress before the wedding.” You felt tears sting your eyes.

“Woah.” He reached out and grabbed your arm. “Is everything okay?”

“I’m fine.” You wiped your eyes before a drop fell.

“Come on.” He led you off the pedestal. “Get changed. I’m getting you out of here.”

“It’s okay. Really.” You didn’t object as he guided you to the fitting room.

“The only tears allowed in a bridal shop are tears of joy.” He stopped at the door. “I’m not taking no for an answer. Get changed.”

You sighed and felt some relief as the door shut. Wanting the gown off of you more than you realized. It didn’t take long until you were back in your jeans and sweater.

“I should really get home.” You grabbed your purse before opening the door. “And I’m sure you have some reason for the samples you need to get to.”

“A client wants the appetizers to be influenced by her dress.” Bucky laughed. “The same texture as the fabric. A picture wasn’t good enough.”

“Really?” That sounded so absurd to you. “Man I am not cut out for weddings.”

“What makes you say that?” Bucky grabbed an envelope from the consultant who didn’t even bother saying goodbye to you.

“All I want is the courthouse, a small dinner with close family. I’d rather get married in this than that.” You pushed open the door to the bridal shop. “Ugh, I do not need to unload on you like this. You’re a stranger.”

“I’m around a lot of brides. You don’t fit the mold.” Bucky ignored your last comment. “Most are excited about the dress, and the lavish party. Celebrating their love.”

“I don’t want the attention and it’s a waste of money.” You sighed as you looked up. “But my fiancé is getting annoyed with my lack of caring.”

“Well if he wants the big wedding make him plan it?” Bucky stopped a few stores down and pulled open the door to a coffee shop.

“I brought that up, but he doesn’t want to wait any longer. Plus he doesn’t even have a guest list. Not inviting a soul.” You went to the counter. “He’d rather I get my wedding with bits of his suggestions thrown in.”

“Like a ballgown?” Bucky pulled out his wallet. “Two black coffees.”

“Lucky guess. I take my coffee black.” You were happy for the change in subject.

“No luck.” Bucky winked at you. “I’m a stalker, remember?”

“Right.” You laughed. “How could I forget?”

“So why the rush?” Bucky took both coffees and nodded his head to a booth. “With the wedding?”

“We’ve been together for six months, he proposed. Doesn’t want to wait any longer.” You slid into the seat and took your coffee. “And I’ve kept him waiting long enough.”

Bucky’s eyes went wide at the innuendo.

“He’s been patient. It was important to me to wait for marriage.” You felt your face get hot. It was the reaction everyone you told had. You were crazy. How old were you? Why wait? What was the big deal? “I don’t expect you to understand.”

“There’s nothing wrong with values.” He gave a warm smile.

“This coming from the man who takes a new model to every opening?” You raised your eyebrows.

“Hey.” Bucky swatted your hand. “Now who is the stalker?”

“I may have googled you after our last run-in.” You felt yourself relax at the confession. “You’re accomplished. You should be proud.”

“What about you Y/N?” He leaned back. “What do you do for work?”

You chatted away about yourself. Shocked at how easy he was to talk to, giving little to no thought to the wedding dress debacle.

Calling around hadn’t worked, every place was booked. You thought if you made a plea in person someone might give, but you’d already crossed off your first two choices and your heart was heavy as you walked into your third.

“How many?” The hostess grabbed a menu.

“Actually, I was hoping to make a reservation for three weeks from Friday, for twelve people?” You thought three weeks' notice was plenty of time.

“Shouldn’t be a problem.” The hostess pulled out a notebook.

That was a good sign. This place didn’t even use computers. They had to have an opening.

“That’s strange.” She frowned. “We’re completely booked.”

“I didn’t even say the time yet.” Your stomach started to ache.

“Maybe we’re closed or something.” She turned the book to show you red blocking out the entire thing.

“On a Friday?” You thought you were going to throw up.

“Why is it whenever I see you, you’re in distress?” The familiar voice calmed you.

Bucky was right behind you with his million-dollar smile. After your last run in he was the closest thing you had to a friend in the city and you didn’t hesitate to fall into his chest and start sobbing.

“Hey.” He rubbed your back. “Shhh. It’s okay.”

He didn’t ask you any questions. Just held you as you cried. It was a week since your trip to the coffee shop. You didn’t exchange numbers or anything, he probably didn’t even remember your name.

“Shhhh.” He held you as he walked you to a corner of the restaurant and sat down in a booth, pulling you against him.

You cried and cried and cried.

“Here.” He brought a glass of water to his chest and you hiccuped as you took a sip. “Everything will be okay.”

“I’ve tried every restaurant and they’re all booked.” You lifted your head. “I haven’t had time to find a dress. My fiancé won’t help at all, but then he is mad at me for not doing enough and I don’t even care.”

“Did you try my recommendations?” Bucky didn’t stop rubbing your back.

“Yes!” You wiped your face and took more water. “All but two. I even name-dropped you.”

That experience had made you cringe, and you weren’t going to repeat the mistake.

“The marriage matters more than the wedding.” Bucky smiled at you. “A lifetime of happiness. Think of that.”

“The way I keep screwing up.” You leaned back in the booth. “And he’s been so busy at work with some new client. We haven’t even seen each other. It’s so stressful and I feel so alone.”

“That settles it.” Bucky grabbed your shoulder. “You’re having your wedding dinner at my restaurant.”

“Thank you.” You rolled your eyes. “But you’re out of my budget and don’t you have a month wait? I’m sure you’re all booked.”

“Consider it a gift to me.” Bucky squeezed a little. “I insist.”

“I can’t accept.” You sniffled. “It wouldn’t be right.”

“You can pay me in feedback.” Bucky laughed. “I’ve got a few new menu ideas I want to try out. I get to choose what you eat. That sound fair?”

“Thank you.” The tears started to well again, but you felt some relief.

“Party of twelve?” Bucky pulled you against his chest. “I’ll make rabbit, venison, there’s a wonderful cricket dish I’ve wanted to make.”

“I know you’re joking, but I’d been fine with any of those at this point.” You let out a laugh between a sniffle.

“Only the best for you.” Bucky rubbed your back.

“Why are you so nice to me?” You lifted your head and stared at him.

“I’m nice to everyone.” He shrugged. “And one month? Try six.”

“I know you’re trying to tease me.” Your lip started to quiver. “But now I feel worse.”

“Come here you silly girl.” Bucky pulled you back in as more tears fell. “You really are a one-in-a-million.”

Your fiancé was thrilled with the reservation. Of course, he was too busy with work to come celebrate, but a week later you found yourselves together.

Dinner turned to a movie that had turned into some kissing. You moaned into his mouth as he grabbed at your shirt.

“I don’t want to wait any longer.” He kissed your neck. “It’s only two weeks.”

“Stop.” You grabbed his wrist. “We’ve waited this long. It’s only two weeks?”

“Fuck.” He hopped up from the couch and ran his hands over his hair. “Do you know there are lots of women who would be thrilled with this?”

He ran his hands over the air in front of him.

“I’ve been pretty fucking patient.” He grabbed his coat. “Working eighty hours a week and can’t even get any from my own fiancé.”

“What?” You stood up and followed him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing.” He rubbed his eyes. “I’m just stressed about the wedding and now this mystery client at work. I’ve already ignored at least five e-mails from them tonight.”

“Are you leaving?” You were hoping for some cuddles and time together.

“Really what’s the point?” He sighed and pulled out his phone. “Fuck. I have to head back to the office.”

“What’s the point?” Your nerves flared. “Relax. We can watch another movie?”

“Relax?” He scoffed. “I’ll take my blue balls somewhere else.”

You didn’t know how to respond as he went for the door. With another sigh he stopped and turned back to you, placing a hard kiss on your forehead.

“I didn’t mean that.” He opened the door. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

Before you could process anything, he was gone. What did he mean his fiancé? Was there some other option? Now he had a problem, this close to the wedding? Your stomach was in knots.

You went to your phone and debated on calling your mom. But she wouldn’t understand. Maybe an old friend? Who did you talk to anymore? They all thought your choice was silly. They would side with your fiancé.

Your mind flashed to Bucky. You wished you could call him. Then your brain went off like a lightbulb. You went into your bedroom to the area you emptied your pockets. There it was, the business card.

You were bothering him, you were certain of it, but you didn’t want to be alone. Before your mind could talk yourself out of it you dialed the number. It was going to be the business line anyway.

Each ring made your heart skip a beat. Then you were met with one word.

“Hello?”

“I didn’t know your preferred flavor.” Bucky dropped a bag on the counter. “So I brought choices.”

You watched as he unpacked several types of ice cream on your kitchen table.

“I shouldn’t have called you.” It felt wrong having a man in your apartment this late.

“Yes, you should have.” He held up chocolate. “This is everyone’s favorite. Right?”

You nodded your head as you grabbed some spoons.

“Your menu is coming together. I think you will be surprised in a good way.” Bucky opened the lid. “Any luck on the dress?”

“No.” You brought your hand to your forehead. “I don’t want to think about the wedding tonight.”

“Let’s not think about anything.” Bucky grabbed your hand and led you to your couch. “Let’s eat ice cream and watch bad movies. Commentary encouraged?”

“I don’t know what that even means.” You sat down as he picked up your remote and started scrolling for a movie. “Ah perfect. A superhero film. Let’s point out all the flaws. Make fun of their costumes. Plot holes.”

You smiled and laughed, enjoying the levity. Maybe it wasn’t a mistake calling him.

Beep. You pulled out your phone.

You think I can win this fight? The text was followed by a photo of Bucky holding a lobster over his head. The sea creature snapping at him. You grinned.

“That fiancé of yours sure has you smiley lately.” Your coworker gave a wink.

A bang of guilt came as your smile dropped. Texts from him were less and less. Ever since the ice cream night, Bucky had your number and no problem using it. A friendship was fine, but once you were married this couldn’t continue. Not in this manner at least.

At Work. You almost didn’t hit send. But maybe some boundaries had to get put up.

Bucky never responded. You counteracted by texting your man, but all he sent was one word: swamped.

The guilt from both of them was gnawing at you. Bucky knew you were engaged. He was a friend. Harmless. But it still felt wrong.

Then your future husband’s lack of response made you angry. You stared at your phone, unsure which of them you should text.

A knock at your door sounded and you tossed your phone. It could be missionaries, but you would invite them in for the distraction alone.

Instead, you were greeted with a delivery person.

“Please sign.” They didn’t have a package behind them, but a dress rack.

“What is this?” You saw garment bags.

“Don’t know, don’t care.” He sighed. “Just sign your name lady.”

You scribbled it down and he shoved took off the bags and handed them to you. They were heavier than you thought and walked them to the couch with fear they would make your kitchen chair topple over.

The top one had an envelope attached to it. You ripped it open.

Sorry I was bugging you today. One week to go. Pick a dress.

Your heart melted. It wasn’t signed, but you knew who it was from. You opened each bag seeing beautiful after beautiful dress.

What an amazing friend.

You were about to text Bucky, but it didn’t feel right. You needed to call him. This time you were filled with excitement at the ring tones.

“I hope this means you liked your presents.” Bucky’s smile carried through the phone.

“Thank you.” You curled into your couch. “I now have a wedding dress. I picked…”

“Eh, eh, eh.” Bucky coughed. “I don’t want to know.”

“Where should I send the other ones?” You didn’t want to know the price tag.

“They’re all yours.”

“NO!” You covered your mouth. “I mean, I can’t. You’ve done too much for me.”

“Then you want to do me a favor?” Bucky paused. “As repayment?”

“Whatever you like.” You were in no position to turn him down.

“Come taste test some stuff for me.”

“Now?” You looked down at your pajamas.

“I am tapping confirm on the Uber…they will be there in two minutes.”

“Two minutes?!?!” You shot up from the couch. “I’m ready for bed.”

“Two minutes.” Bucky laughed. “I’d start heading downstairs unless you want to ruin my five-star rating.”

“Ugh.” You grabbed your purse. “I’m on my way.”

A Friday night at Bucky’s restaurant. Your comfy pants may as well have looked like a Halloween costume.

You almost didn’t walk in, but the hostess waved you from the window. Some people sneered at you, but you were escorted to the very busy kitchen. You expected to see Bucky, but all you saw were heated chefs yelling at each other and paying no attention to you.

Basement stairs appeared and you were walked downstairs. The hostess opened the door and it looked like a mad scientist’s lab.

“You’re here!” Bucky was putting this finishing touches on what looked to beautiful to eat. “Have a taste?”

Before you could acclimate, he held a spoon to your lips. It tasted like heaven and you plopped down on a stool by the counter.

“Please explain why I was hesitant to come if you’re going to feed me that?” You licked your lips at the flavor.

“I promise. They won’t all taste that way.” Bucky went back to his bizarre kitchen. “I expect a full report on every dish.”

You settled on the stool, eager for this night now.

“I can’t believe this place is so empty now.” You walked into the main restaurant, lights off and tables empty. “It was so crowded when I got here.”

“I don’t like crowds.” Bucky flipped on a low light. “It always looks this way to me unless I have to put on an appearance.”

“You don’t strike me as the put on an appearance type.” You walked next to him, not ready to leave. “You’re so genuine.”

“It’s rare when people like us find each other.” Bucky shrugged. “Genuine people.”

Your breath caught in your throat. You were getting married in a week. Here.

“I’ve narrowed my date for your big day down to three.” Bucky ran his hand over his hair. “I assume I am invited?”

“Of course.” You laughed and hid the disappointment. You were being crazy; you were nothing to him. “I value our friendship. One week to go.”

“Relax.” Bucky pulled you in for a hug. “Enjoy yourself.”

“My mom lands on Tuesday. I’m going to try to entertain her. She is a bit out there.” You weren’t sure you wanted to get into it, but the thought left your mouth. “I mean I love her, and I am so excited to see her.”

Bucky stopped at the bar and pulled out a chair.

“Tell me all about it.”

You didn’t hesitate as you sat down, ready to speak your mind.

“Am I ever going to meet the man who is finally marrying my virgin daughter?” Your mom took another sip of wine. “The wedding is tomorrow right?”

“Work has him crazy.” You looked at your phone again.

This week was met with no messages from Bucky and minimal ones from your fiancé. The last one was him bailing on dinner tonight because of how crazy work was. But plenty of comments from your mother about how you should test the goods.

“Do you know how many men I have slept with?” She put her hands above her head in a stretch.

“No.” You almost messaged Bucky, but then thought it should be your fiancé.

“Neither do I.” Your mom grabbed your chin, making you ignore your phone. “Baby are you sure you want this? I love you. I know how different we are. You’re not me, you’re better. But…be you, not some fantasy of you.”

“Would you paint my toenails? Like you did when I was little?” You tried not to cry.

“Of course.” Your mom grabbed your hands and kissed them. “Anything for my little girl. The night before her big day.”

A knock on your door woke you. You groaned as you rolled out of bed and went to answer. A swarm of people entered your apartment like you weren’t even there.

“James said we’re to make you flawless.” There was a chorus of five people saying the same thing.

You gave up objecting after five minutes. One went for your misspainted toenails, you stopped them.

“Those stay.” Memories of your night with your mom flooded back.

There was a warning in your gut to check your phone, but you left it in the bedroom, and you didn’t want to disrupt Bucky’s final gift. Besides, it was your wedding day. There was no point in complaining.

Your cellphone now felt like the weight of the world as you paced back and forth outside of the courtroom. Constantly calling your fiancé on repeat.

The ring….ring….ring…to voicemail was killing you.

Did something happen to him? Was it cold feet? Something worse? You thought of the ten people seated inside, waiting for you two to enter.

“I was hoping you would pick the black and silver number.” Bucky’s voice made your head snap up. “You are stunning.”

Bucky was there, a white shirt and black pants, hair slicked back. Arms wide open, ready to congratulate you.

“I don’t know where he is.” You couldn’t hug Bucky, you needed to get a hold of your soon-to-be-husband. “What if something happened? Is he standing me up? Thank you for the hairdresser and makeup artist, and the masseuses, and the nail technician. And everything. But where is he???? We were supposed to start our five-minute ceremony one minute ago?”

Bucky looked nervous. He glanced around the hallway. He always had the right answer, but he looked lost.

You about had a collapse on the floor laughing. Everything was so fucked.

“I’ve held my tongue, but he is an asshole.” Bucky picked you back up and glared you in the eye. “You can do so much better.

“But I love him. He is going to be my husband?” It came out like a question as you stared Bucky in the eye. “This is so embarrassing. My mom, aunts, uncles, and cousins are in there. They came to New York for no reason.”

“Do you love him?” Bucky looked around your face. “Really?”

“Yes. No. I don’t know. Maybe?” Right now you had a hard time believing you could ever love someone capable of standing you up on your wedding day. “I have to go in there and tell them. The wedding is off.”

“Hey, none of your family know him, right?” Bucky rolled his shoulders back. “I don’t know what is happening. But I’ll be your groom.”

“What?” You snapped your neck toward him. “Are you insane?”

“It won’t be legal. Just a show. Then we’ll take your family back to the restaurant. Have the party. You can save some face and come up with some story later.” Bucky grabbed your arm and wove it around his. “Come on.”

Your mind was racing with objections to Bucky’s idea and fury over your fiancés’ absence. But before you pulled your arm away he pulled open the door.

The only people in the room were your family. They all rose and smiled as Bucky walked you down the aisle.

“Smile.” He leaned in to you. “You look terrified.”

“This is a terrible plan.” You whispered back.

“One we are doing anyway.” Bucky squeezed your hand tight when you stopped right in front of the judge.

“This is one of the best pleasures of my job.” The man in the robe beamed at you. “You look like a fine young couple and I wish you much happiness in life.”

“We will have a very happy life.” Bucky beamed, but you felt as if you were in a daze.

“Did you write your own vows?” The Judge asked.

“No.” Bucky was taking the lead. “Just want it short and sweet.”

“Alright, I can do that. You’re up first. Repeat after me.” The Judge cleared his throat. “I, say your name…”

Your body went on autopilot when Bucky looked at you, holding both of your hands as he repeated the marriage vows. When it was your turn you didn’t stop, feeling all your family’s eyes on you as you spoke the words.

“By the power invested in me from the state of New York, I pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.” The Judge smiled.

Bucky’s hand touched your cheek, cupping your face as his lips pressed into yours. He parted them slightly. He was soft, inviting, and his kiss struck you at your core.

It felt like the entire world went silent, the cheers of your family distant in the background. When he pulled away, you lunged in for more and a whimper left your mouth.

“Congratulations!” Your mom hugged you first. “Welcome to the family James!”

“Please, call me Bucky.” He added.

“I knew she called you something other than James. That didn’t sound right.” Your mom laughed, not even noticing that Bucky was certainly not your fiancé’s name.

“Let’s go celebrate.” Bucky wove his fingers in with yours.

The little wedding party followed you outside. Your phone buzzed and you pulled it out as you walked don’t the steps.

I’m sorry. Don’t hate me.

With one quick push, you blocked the number.

At least you didn’t need to worry about him being dead in a ditch.

“Everything okay?” Bucky whispered in your ear.

“No.” You gave him a fake smile. “My family thinks you’re my husband and I just got left at the alter.”

“Worry about that later.” He pulled your hand to his lips and gave a kiss. “Enjoy your day.”

You rolled your eyes in disbelief. This was out of control.

“He is quite the catch.” Your mom whispered to you in the private room in Bucky’s restaurant. “You did good.”

“Mom, there’s something I have to tell you.” You turned toward her.

“Can I have everyone’s attention?” Bucky stood up from the table where you’d just had the most delicious meal of your life.

A server came into the room with a tray of champagne. Your family all took a glass and you did the same.

“The second I saw my lovely wife I was smitten. It was at a grocery store. She was shopping for an avocado. She picked up so many and held them, putting them back I had to watch. Eventually, I started to count. I missed the first half, but she tried fifty-one others. Who does that? At first, I found it odd, but then I started to think what is she making with that avocado? Why does it need to be so perfect? She’d passed up at least thirty great choices.

“I was about to tell her as much, but then her nose scrunched and she walked away. I was smitten. And I wanted to chase after her with a perfect avocado. That’s when I fell in love with her. Before we’d even said hello. I knew I wanted to spend my life giving her perfection.”

There was a chorus of awwws, from your family. Bucky waved you over and you went next to him.

“To the happy couple!” Your uncle rose his glass.

Everyone said cheers and clicked glasses while Bucky placed a kiss on your cheek.

“That story.” You whispered in his ear. “That’s true?”

You remembered searching for the avocados and giving up.

“Every word.” Bucky gave you a peck on your lips. “Please, stay as late as you like. But I think it’s time I took my lovely wife home.”

Everyone applauded as Bucky started to walk you out of the room. You were touched by his story, but there was a nagging in the back of your mind.

Bucky held open a car door for you and you slid inside. Trying to piece it together.

“The avocado thing. It wasn’t the same trip as the bridal magazine.” You looked out the window.

“Sure it was.” Bucky laughed as he started the car.

“No, it wasn’t. I remember because that’s when my fiancé told me to get a bridal magazine. I came home with no avocado and he said I should have at least grabbed one of those from the checkout.” You looked at Bucky for a clue.

“You shouldn’t bring up your fiancé to your husband.” Bucky smiled. “Screw that guy. He isn’t worth a single thought of yours.”

“Thank you.” You shook your head. “For what you did today. I’ll have to come up with a reason we aren’t married in a few months, but you saved me from some major embarrassment.”

“It was an honor.” Bucky turned right.

“My place is the other way.” You pointed to the left.

“Isn’t your mom staying there tonight?” He tapped the wheel. “Spend the night at my place, to keep up appearances.”

“You’re right.” It would be hard to explain not spending your wedding night with your husband.

Bucky turned into a parking garage. The attendant waved him through. You looked up at the skyscraper as you disappeared inside.

“You live here?” The building looked expensive.

“When I’m in New York.” He pulled into a reserved parking spot. “I’ve got a few properties elsewhere.”

“I didn’t realize you were so…”

“Rich?” Bucky opened the door and you did the same. “I know. It’s part of your charm.”

Bucky led you into a luxurious lobby, waving at the concierge as he held your hand. You walked into the elevator and he hit the button for the top floor.

“Facial recognition.” Bucky smiled. “Pretty neat huh?”

“This is crazy. I knew your restaurant was popular, but….” This was too fancy.

“You didn’t google much besides the models huh?” Bucky laughed. “I own six restaurants…in New York. Fourteen other restaurants around the globe. I’ve also got a portion of a casino in Vegas with a friend.”

“But you’re so down to earth.” You shook your head.

“Thank you.” Bucky shrugged and the elevator came to a stop. “Home sweet home.”

The doors parted to an amazing space. The view of the city was insane. There were modern couches and an open floor plan with a top of the line kitchen. This was not what you were expecting.

“Looks like word travels fast.” Bucky walked to the table and saw a bottle of champagne and strawberries. “The building sent up a congratulations bottle.”

“That’s odd.” You couldn’t tear your eyes away from the view.

“I’ll get some glasses.” Bucky walked into the kitchen.

“All of this and you have a catering business?” You turned to face Bucky as things started to connect in your brain.

“Well, I don’t do the day-to-day. Really it’s not that successful. I’ll probably focus on other operations.” Bucky pulled out the stemware, reaching the top shelf. A folded up piece of paper fell out of his pocket.

“And that bridal shop, you were picking up the sample from, that wasn’t high end. What bride would buy her dress there and afford you as a caterer?” Your mind went to the coffee shop. “You knew my coffee preference, and you knew my name. I never told you.”

“Of course, you did.” Bucky came back over and started to pour the drinks.

“And all the places that were booked were your recommendations. Did you tell them to blacklist me?” You locked eyes with Bucky. “So, I’d be forced to celebrate at your place. And my fiancés’ mystery client, keeping him so busy at work, was it you?”

“It’s been a long day.” Bucky put his arm around your shoulder. “You’re sounding a little crazy. Why would I have this elaborate plan?”

The nerves started to fizzle out as you shook your head.

“I’m sorry. You’re right.” Besides what did Bucky have to gain from it? A fake marriage. “Today was crazy. And you helped me.”

You rested your head on his shoulder and he kissed your forehead.

“I would like to take you out on a date though.” Bucky clinked your glass. “Not as friends.”

“It’s a little soon.” You gave a nervous laugh. “Maybe I should take some time to heal.”

“You don’t seem broken to me.” Bucky’s hand slid off your shoulder. “Want a tour of the place?”

“Sure.” You hoped you hadn’t hurt Bucky’s feelings. You touched your lips and thought about the kiss earlier. There was a spark between the two of you.

“Gimme a second to make sure I hid all my psycho stalker stuff.” Bucky made a fake pistol with his hand.

You rolled your eyes. At least the man had a sense of humor about it. You wondered how long it would take to live that down.

The apartment went quiet as he disappeared down the hall. You tapped your fingers on the table and then noticed the paper on the kitchen floor. It stood out against the perfection of the place.

You walked over and picked it up, almost setting it on the counter. But your fingers got the best of you and you unfolded it.

The words weren’t registering. You read them over and over again. How was this possible? Was this a mistake? A joke?

“I was hoping to wait a bit until you saw that.” Bucky’s voice no longer brought comfort.

You turned toward him with the paper in your hand.

“It seems like a lot, I know, but we’re perfect for each other. You know it and I know it! What was the point in waiting?”

“How?” There was a tremble in your wrist.

“I have some friends. Pulled some strings.” Bucky scratched the back of his head. “Really, this is a good thing. Think about it.”

“I was right. About everything. Wasn’t I?” Your voice shook. “The avocados, the fake catering company, the dress shop, the restaurant, the marriage?”

“I may have created some situations that led to our interactions.” Bucky sighed. “I don’t want to start our life out with lies.”

“Start our life?!?!” You glanced at the paper. “Oh God. My fiance. What did you do to him?”

“He’s fine. I promise.” Bucky walked closer to you and you took a step back, holding up your hands. “He may have drank something that caused him to oversleep.”

You thought back to the text message he sent. I’m Sorry. Don’t hate me. You had blocked him so you didn’t see the rest.

“He wasn’t apologizing for leaving you at the altar. He was apologizing for oversleeping.” You pushed passed Bucky and went to your purse. Grabbing your phone.

You went to his contact and hit unblock. A whole flood of messages came in.

“He showed up at the restaurant. Your employees threatened to call the cops.” You looked up at him in shock.

“What are you doing?” Bucky’s eyes went to your phone.

“Texting him!” You started to type out an apology, but the tech was snatched from your hands.

“HEY!” You reached for the phone, but Bucky held it away from you. “Give that back!”

“I know this is hard to hear, but that guy was bad news. I had a private investigator follow him. He has girlfriends all over town. You’re one of three. He made no mention to any of them he was getting married.” Bucky continued to move away from you as you clawed for your phone. “His computer was filled with searches about annulments and divorces. He was only marrying you so he could sleep with you. Then he was going to leave you right away.”

“I DON’T BELIEVE YOU!” You reached for your phone, but Bucky kept twisting. “Annulment?”

Relief flooded your chest. One problem solved.

“Keep the phone.” You grabbed the marriage license and picked up your purse.

“Where are you going?” Bucky looked shocked.

“Home.” You walked to the elevator. “That way I can get an annulment first thing in the morning.”

You looked around for the call button.

“I wish you wouldn’t have said that.” Bucky’s voice went cold.

“You think I was going to stay married to you.” You spun on a heel. “I don’t even know how you got the license without me. I’m getting the hell out of here. Now call the elevator.”

“This is why I wanted to wait to tell you.” Bucky cracked his neck. “With divorce. I can hire the best attorneys. Drag it out. There’s still plenty of time to prove to you that you love me.

“I don’t love you.” You snapped. “I don’t even know you.”

“That’s not true.” Bucky stepped closer. “Don’t be cruel just because you’re hurting. Everything I did, was with your best intentions at heart.”

“Best intentions?” You scoffed. “You manufactured our whole friendship and married me without me even knowing. I’m getting this annulled ASAP.”

The frustration rolled across Bucky.

“You can’t get an annulment if the marriage is consummated.” Bucky cracked his knuckles.

“You think I’m going to have sex with you?” You didn’t have time to even say the next part before Bucky came forward and put his shoulder into your stomach, hoisting you in the air. “PUT ME DOWN!”

“I was gonna take you on a few dates. Get you to open up more. Then ask you to marry me.” Bucky carried you down the hall as you pummeled his back. “Then we’d go to get the license and surprise! We’re already married. We would laugh and call it fate. It was all planned out.”

“Bucky you’re scaring me.” You tried to wiggle off of him. “Please put me down.”

He set you down on the bed and kneeled in front of you, putting his hands on either side of your face.

“You never have to be afraid of me.” He locked eyes with you. “I love you so much. I only want what is best for you.”

He hopped up to his feet and you looked around the bedroom. It was as fancy as the rest of the apartment, the bed was huge. You stopped looking at the interior when Bucky took his shirt off in front of you.

“What are you doing?” You stood up, but his hands found your shoulders and pushed you back down.

“I am going to make love to my wife.” He spoke with conviction.

You thought about shrieking. Running. Hitting. Kicking. Biting. Fighting. But instead, you froze. Terror leaving you glued in place.

“I know it’s your first time.” Bucky took off his socks and shoes. “I promise I’ll be gentle.”

Little gasps were leaving your mouth as you sat on the bed. Trying to will your body to react. To do anything. He pushed his pants down and you felt a tear drip down your cheek.

“Don’t worry.” The bed dipped. “I’m going to take such good care of you. You’ll see.”

His hand went to the zipper on the back of your dress.

“NO!” The movement shocked you into gear you shoved at him and ran for the door.

“Shhhh.” Bucky grabbed you, wrapping an arm around your waist and putting a hand over your mouth. “It’s still me. Think about all our time together. Ice cream at your apartment. Late night chats at the restaurant. I’m still that guy.”

You cried into his hand and went limp.

“That’s it.” He kissed your neck. “Don’t fight me or I’ll tie you down. If you scream I’ll gag you. Do you understand?”

You nodded your head as more tears fell.

“Good.” He placed a kiss on your head and loosened his grip. “I love you so much. I had to have you. All to myself.”

“You don’t have to do this.” There was a shake to your voice. “Please. Not like this.”

“If I don’t you’ll leave me.” There was a hand on your zipper, taking it down. “And now that you know it’s our wedding night I want it to be special. There’s really no point in waiting. We are married.”

You grabbed the straps of the dress, but Bucky wrapped his fingers around your wrists and pulled your hands down. The garment fell forward. He pushed it down over your hips so it fell in a pool at your feet.

“Stop.” You whimpered. “Please.”

“Shhh.” Bucky turned so you were facing him, both of you only in your underwear. “Just try to relax.”

His hand cupped your sex over your panties. He pushed his palm against you and ground down. You let out a meep and fell forward, bracing yourself on his shoulders.

“That’s my girl.” Bucky kissed your neck. His other hand at the small of your back. “Enjoying herself already.”

“I’m not.” You wanted to bite him, kick, scream, run. Anything, just to get away.

But while your brain struggled to make a plan your body reacts to his touch.

“Don’t lie to me.” Bucky gave a playful laugh.

“I’m not.” You caught your breath.

“Oh yeah?” Bucky stopped moving his hand, but your hips were rocking, humping his touch. He gave a chuckle and kissed your neck again. Before resuming his motions. “Its nothing to be ashamed of. I want you to enjoy this. I want you to enjoy every single one of our times together.”

You brought your hands to your face and covered it in embarrassment. How could you be participating? This wasn’t what you wanted.

“All those times I wanted to touch you, hold you, feel you this way.” Bucky started to move faster. “That body. That beautiful face. The way you hold yourself. I wanted to be perfect for you. To give you a perfect life. And I will. This is just the beginning.”

You wanted to tune him out, pretend this wasn’t happening. But You felt something growing inside of you. A need. One that was coming on fast.

“Oh God.” You grabbed on to his shoulder again. “No. I don’t want this!”

“Of course you do.” Bucky continued rubbing you. “I can feel how wet you’re getting through your panties. You’ve been turned on since the courthouse. Admit it. That electricity in the kiss? You felt it. We’re made for each other.”

“No!” You gasped as you gave up any semblance of control, letting your hips wiggle and grind against his hand with a moan.

“Don’t lie or I’ll stop.” Bucky threatened.

“Yes!” You cried into his shoulder, the need for release hovering. “Yes, I felt it!”

“Good job.” Bucky pushed down hard. “Now you don’t have to worry about me stopping.”

You realized that he just threatened you with the one thing you wanted less than a minute ago. Your heart flared at the response and then you cried out as pleasure erupted from your center.

You fell forward on to him, gasping for air as the room seemed to spin.

“Beautiful.” He kissed your cheek. “Absolutely beautiful.”

You didn’t have time to recover before he guided you back to the bed. You were still seeing stars when he unhooked your bra and slid off your panties. You went to cover yourself, but Bucky pushed off his boxers.

The sight of him made you groan and a shake run through you.

“I promise it will only hurt for a second.” He put a hand on your knees and spread them. “Then you will be all mine.”

“I’ll stay. I won’t leave you.” You tried to scoot away. “I promise. You don’t have to do this.”

“I want to.” Bucky smiled. “It’s our wedding night.”

His hand found your hip and he pinned you down while his cock ran up your slit. There was no denying you were wet and you cringed.

“It’s okay.” Bucky kissed your lips. “Don’t tense up. You were made for this, for me.”

“Please?” You hated the way you sounded.

“Shhhh.” He brought his mouth on to yours, kissing you hard.

You should have fought, but all you did was part your lips and let his tongue slide inside. Memories of the church filled your mind and you moaned at how good he was the skill.

But then you felt pressure. He was sliding inside of you. It burned, but almost in a pleasant way. You tried not to clench as he moved further. Spreading your walls in a way you never thought possible. You bent your knees and readjusted trying to spread your legs further. Not wanting it to hurt.

“You did so well.” Bucky broke the kiss.

You looked between your bodies and saw he was satiated inside of you. You hated how hot it looked.

“But we’re just getting started.” Bucky resumed the kiss as he pulled out.

You didn’t mean to kiss him back, but there was so much happening your tongue responded. Then you felt the tingle between your legs grow again. This time much harder. Like all the energy in the room was being sucked inside of you.

You started to roll your hips to meet him. Grabbing on to his shoulders for something to brace yourself with. Needing more leverage to meet his motions.

This didn’t feel good. It felt amazing. You had to break the kiss as you struggled for air.

Both of your bodies worked with each other and against. A sheen of sweat grew on your skin.

“What….why?” You didn’t understand as you rolled your head.

“Cum for me.” Bucky railed into you. “Cum for your husband.”

You gripped the sheets as your toes curled. You didn’t try to fight it as your body let loose. Waves of passion and ecstasy spread from limb to limb as you did what you were told.

The urge to fight and flee with every pulse of the orgasm.

“What a good wife you are.” Bucky kissed at your cheek. “I’ll take such good care of you. Forever.”

#Bucky Barnes #Bucky #bucky fanfic #Bucky barnes fanfiction #fanfic #fanfiction #marvel #marvel fanfic #marvel fanfiction #AU

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quickspinner · 4 years

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Month of Miracles Day 5 - Decoration

Find the prompt list here!

I have meddled with powers I did not fully understand and now the Hallmark AU has gripped me. I think you can expect to see more of this sprinkled throughout the month. Oh, well. Multiparters in prompt months are like a tradition for me now, right?

Hallmark Movie AU

Imagine, Marinette thought as she helped Rose unpack the decorations and ornaments to go on the tree, Luke Stone in a town like this.

Now that she thought about it, she hadn’t heard of him releasing anything new recently. So he was from this town, then? He must be on vacation, visiting his family and helping out at the farm. Taking a break, maybe writing some new songs. Funny, to think of the glammed up, heavily bedazzled rock star wearing flannel and working on a Christmas tree farm.

Marinette had winced the day before, watching him tear up his palms hauling the tree she’d picked out yesterday and tie it down deftly with fingers that had to be worth millions of dollars. It pained her to think of the hands that had created such beautiful music being abused in such a way. Surely he should have been wearing gloves, at least. He’d been so cold to her, though, that Marinette hadn’t dared suggest it or question him.

She’d been skeptical when Jagged Stone’s son had made his debut on tour alongside his father. She’d been a longtime fan of the older Stone and didn’t think even his own flesh and blood would be able to match him—but the younger Stone hadn’t tried. Luke’s music was clearly influenced by his father, but was also entirely his own, but so evocative, so emotional, she had been pulled in despite her reservations. She owned every one of Luke Stone’s albums, including the special edition greatest hits album, which she had bought even as she complained to Alya that he was too young in his career to be releasing a greatest hits album.

Marinette hadn’t said much to Rose about the encounter, not sure whether it was common knowledge amongst the town that he was here, and not wanting to infringe on his privacy if it wasn’t. Rose had given her a funny (disappointed?) look when she mentioned the grumpy young man that had helped her, but hadn’t said anything about it, just asked Marinette to come back today and give her a hand decorating the tree after the maintenance staff got it set up.

It wasn’t as if Marinette had much else to do, and Gina’s house felt huge and empty with just her in it, so she’d agreed, and here she was unpacking dusty boxes that had been hauled out of storage. She sighed as she surveyed the contents. The boxes looked like they’d been packed up by unsupervised five-year-olds last year.

She was sorting the decorations into piles, still absently pondering the mystery of Luke Stone, when the library doors slid open, and the man himself walked in. He was dressed much the same as he had been yesterday, in layers that hid the muscular shoulders and arms he displayed on stage. Before Marinette could react, Rose flitted past her.

“Luka!” Rose squealed, throwing herself at him. “You’re here!” Luka staggered slightly but wrapped one arm around her waist to catch her, holding her with her feet dangling off the ground as she kissed both his cheeks, her arms wrapped around his neck. Marinette stared, mouth hanging open slightly.

“That was enthusiastic,” Luka laughed, looking down at the petite blond hanging off of his tall frame.

“I’m happy to see you!” Rose smiled brightly.

“You just saw me at dinner last night.” Luka bent his knees and set her on the ground. Rose took the hint and let him go, but bounced on the balls of her feet. “And I told you I’d come, he added.”

“And now you’re here!” Rose threw out her arms. “I’m so glad! I have so much to do to get the childrens’ program ready and the decorations are so much for poor Marinette to manage by herself! Have you met Marinette?” she inquired, turning and holding out her arms to present her friend. Marinette closed her mouth and tried to smile as she gave a little wave. “I think you did,” Rose continued, turning to give him a warning look. “I think she said she ran into you at the farm.”

Luka felt embarrassment creeping up his neck at Rose’s clearly scolding look. He nodded at Marinette. “Briefly, yeah. Nice to see you, Marinette.” He pronounced her name carefully, feeling bad about teasing her yesterday. She smiled a little more, and then looked down, her hands fluttering around the decorations she’d been separating.

“You can get the lights on the tree while Marinette finishes working out that stuff,” Rose suggested, pointing to a pile of lights sitting near Marinette. “You’re nice and tall, so that should make things easy. There’s step stools in the kids’ area if you need them. Come here and I’ll show you what I want.” She hooked his arm and pulled him around to the far side of the tree. “The plug’s over here, so you’ll need to start on this side.”

As soon as they were out of sight, Rose slapped his arm. “Dummy!” she scolded in a whisper. “I didn’t send her to the farm so you could be mean.”

“I wasn’t mean,” Luka protested weakly, and then frowned. “What do you mean, you sent her?” He gave his not-quite-sister a suspicious look, and then leaned slightly to look around the tree and make sure they were out of earshot.

He paused. Marinette had been cute yesterday in her puffy pink coat and earmuffs, but he hadn’t really had time to notice her. Now she looked trendy but comfortable in pigtails and a soft pink sweater over skinny jeans, her profile turned to him. She was an authentic kind of pretty, he reflected, but then Luka had found himself thinking that about a lot of people since he’d left the rock star world, where everybody wore layers of stage makeup, styled and coiffed and dressed so that every detail about them enhanced the image they wanted to project.

Still, her full lips made a pretty bow, especially when she pouted them slightly in concentration, and her hair had a shine that came from health rather than product, and her eyes were—

Rose’s elbow in his ribs jolted him out of what must have been a pretty intense stare, and he flushed, leaning back slightly so he couldn’t see Marinette on the other side of the tree.

“She already thinks you’re mean,” Rose hissed. “Don’t be a creep on top of it.”

Luka winced. He didn’t need Rose’s reminder to feel guilty for behaving so abruptly yesterday. Already prickly from a morning of needling by his mother, he hadn’t been prepared for anyone to recognize him. No one had up until this point, and he’d thought he was safe. It was an unpleasant shock to have a stranger recognize him, especially someone from the city who might carry word of his presence here back to the press. His mother’s call had sounded like his guardian angel’s trumpet in that moment. When Juleka had called him to help tie her chosen tree on top of her car, he’d done the work quickly and silently, and avoided her gaze as much as possible.

He’d felt bad about it later, when he’d had time to relax and reflect, but he hadn’t expected to see her again—certainly hadn’t expected to have Rose practically throwing her at him. He gave her a warning look.

Rose opened her mouth but before she could say anything, Marinette popped around the side of the tree. “Rose, do you have some scissors anywhere?”

“Yes, in the cabinet behind the desk,” Rose said, pointing. “Probably on the top three shelves, there’s a box of craft supplies there. You might as well bring over the whole thing in case you need anything else. Let me know if it’s too high up and I’ll send Luka to grab them instead.”

“Got it,” Marinette smiled, and turned to follow Rose’s directions.

Luka shot Rose a glare. “Quit it,” he warned.

“Quit what?” Rose inquired, with a blink and head tilt that made her look like she didn’t have two brain cells to rub together.

Luka knew better.

“I don’t need any help, Rose,” Luka muttered, folding his arms. “I could find a relationship on my own if I wanted to.”

“Mmhm,” Rose hummed in a disbelieving tone. “Because there’s so many to choose from here in this little town.”

Luka rolled his eyes and didn’t reply.

“I do like Marinette though,” Rose said, and smiled innocently when Luka gave her a look. “She’s really sweet. We only met a couple of days ago and here she is, bending over backward to get me a real tree and spending her time decorating it.”

“You set her up,” Luka accused, peeking around the tree briefly to make sure she wasn’t coming back yet. “You’re trying to set me up.”

“She’s so creative,” Rose sighed. “She showed me some of her portfolio the other day, and it’s fantastic. She’s a fashion designer, you see.”

Luka snorted. “Oh, yeah, she’ll totally fall for me. Without my stylist I’m a fashion disaster and you know it Rose.”

“That just makes you a challenge,” Rose chirped, and then softened a little as she looked at him. “Look, I know you’re not looking right now, but that’s a stupid attitude to have when an amazing person just drops into your lap.” She tossed her head in a move he was sure she’d picked up from Juleka, though it was less effective without Juleka’s mane to accent it. “I should know. Anyway, do what you want, I just think she’s neat and I wanted you to meet her. I’ve got a good feeling about her. If I’d met her two years ago I’d totally steal her from you. If you’re smart, you’ll keep an open mind.”

Luka sighed, but he saw a flicker of pink and when he glanced around the tree again, Marinette was back, the box of supplies at her side. She was lifting a large tinsel garland from the box she’d just opened, only to find it was all a tangled mass. There was a sort of mournful look on her face, a little droop of sadness, maybe even loneliness, to her shoulders. He remembered the tightness in her eyes and around her mouth yesterday, and the way she’d spilled out her reason for being here at the slightest nudge. A fashion designer—that was a cutthroat business, especially in the city. Poor thing was probably as tired and strung out as he’d been when he came home.

He wasn’t even aware he’d sighed until Rose giggled at his elbow. “I think you can figure the lights out on your own,” she said with a little pat to his arm. “I’m going to get back to getting ready for the children’s program. You two just...have fun, okay? Make it festive!” She fluttered her hands at the tree, then waved at Marinette and abandoned him to the awkwardness.

It didn’t take long to get the lights on the tree—Luka had plenty of practice after getting the farm set up for the season. He stood there for a moment, hesitating. He glanced at Marinette. She had finished the sorting and was back to struggling with the tangled garland, and the look of utter defeat on her face...hurt, somehow.

“Can I give you a hand?” Luka found himself offering.

Marinette started slightly, and in an instant her shoulders went back and her smile flashed back into being. Luka was surprised to realize that it didn’t feel fake, despite the fact that he had seen her feelings on her face just a moment before. She was hiding those feelings now, but the smile she offered him was as sincere as the sadness.

“Um, sure, if you want to,” she said, holding up the garland in two hands. “It’s pretty twisted up. We could just leave it, but...might as well give it a shot, right?”

Luka took a handful of garland, and Marinette took another one farther down. They moved apart, spreading it out as far as it could go between them to try and see where it twisted back on itself.

“This looks like the end,” Marinette muttered, plucking at a piece. “Can you just hold it up for a minute?”

Luka did, watching Marinette as she looped the end she’d found back over and under and through the glittering mass. The silence was awkward, and the more Luka tried to think of something to say, the more he felt like there was only one thing he could say.

“Listen, I wanted to apologize—” he began as Marinette said, “Luka, I’m really sorry—”

They both stopped, and laughed, and Luka gestured for her to go ahead.

“I just,” Marinette pushed her hair back and glanced at him, then looked away. “I wanted to apologize for blurting that out about—you know—I should have thought, I should have realized you wouldn’t want to be approached like that, while you’re clearly not working—well, you were working, but not, not like that and I should have—well. I’m really sorry. You’re at home and you probably don’t want people gushing all over you while you’re trying to spend time with your family.”

Luka took a breath, looking at the floor for a moment. “I wanted to apologize too, for being so abrupt with you. I...hadn’t had the best morning, and you did startle me. I’m...well, I guess you could maybe say I’m retired, and I’d rather not be...known, here. I guess I kind of panicked.”

“Retired?” Marinette looked up at him in surprise. “But your music was so good! I mean—” She flushed, and grabbed the garland, moving to start draping it around the tree. “I really liked it, anyway. Sorry, I know it’s not my business...Anyway, I understand, and I won’t tell anyone I met you here.” The garland she was trying to place slipped off, and she sighed in frustration. “I swear Christmas hates me,” she muttered to herself.

Luka picked up the trailing end and held it so that the weight was no longer dragging. “Thank you. I really appreciate that.”

“Of course,” Marinette smiled, and then she said, “How long have you and Rose been together?” This time the garland stayed where she placed it, with Luka feeding her more as she circled around the tree.

“Together?” Luka repeated, startled. “We’re not together. She’s dating my sister, actually. In fact if they’re not engaged by New Years I’ll be shocked.”

Marinette’s head whipped around to look at him. “O-oh. Oh! Oh, I understand now.” She flushed. “Just, before—”

“Yeah, I get it,” Luka grinned. “I can see how that would look if you didn’t know.”

“Wow, how off base was I, though,” Marinette giggled. “So your family’s from around here? I—oh, that sounded nosy didn’t it, I’m sorry, I swear I’m just trying to make small talk.”

“I’m not offended,” Luka chuckled. “Actually my family just moved here a few years ago. When my mom bought the tree farm I thought it was just another one of her crazy whims and she’d move on to something else before long, but she seems really happy here. What about your grandma? Gina doesn’t seem like the small town type, either.”

The conversation flowed comfortably from there, as they finished the garland and moved on to the other decorations. Marinette didn’t ask him any more questions about his music, and he carefully steered clear of asking her any questions about why she’d come—or been sent—down to their little town, and faster than Luka could have expected, they were closing up the empty boxes and stacking them to the side to be returned to storage. Marinette had a good eye, Luka had to admit as he looked at the tree. Not surprising, he supposed, but it did look a lot nicer than the previous year’s tree. Not only that, Marinette had arranged the extra decorations on the library desk in a pretty little display, and with his help, had even trimmed the windows with some icicle lights they found at the bottom of one of the boxes. Luka knelt to plug in the last set of lights, and when they were on, the whole library screamed holiday cheer to an almost obnoxious degree.

As if his thoughts had summoned her, Rose appeared behind him.

“Wow, look at this place, it’s awesome! Everything looks great! You two make a fantastic team!” She grinned at Luka, and he raised his eyebrows at her in warning. “Everything is so festive,” Rose went on, clearly ignoring him, as she laid a thoughtful finger to her lips and examined them, “except for you two. You’re ruining the mood.”

Faster than Luka could track she whipped something out and stuck it to his forehead, then turned and did the same to Marinette. Only when he saw the bright blue gift bow stuck to Marinette’s forehead did he realize what Rose had just done to them, and he rolled his eyes as he reached up to touch the bow on his own forehead. Rose swatted his hand away and then grabbed his arm, hauling at him until he had no choice but to stand up or fall over.

“There, now you’re properly decorated too,” Rose beamed. “All right, you two have spent all morning helping me, so get out of here and go do something fun! It’s such a pretty day!”

“Rose, it’s freezing,” Luka tried to say, but Rose was already pushing them towards the door, and he gave into the inevitability of it all with a sigh.

“Go down to the café, have lunch on my tab, both of you,” she ordered, dumping their coats in Luka’s arms before shoving them out of the door. “Thanks for all your help!” she called, waving at them as the doors slid closed.

“Real subtle,” Luka grumbled, reaching up to peel the bow off his forehead as he turned to face Marinette. That was a mistake, because the way her mouth was pursed in a little moue as she worked to remove her own bow was kind of adorable.

Damnit, Rose.

Fiction Master Post | Month of Miracles

#quickspins #monthofmiracles2020 #lukanette #endgame lukanette #lukanette endgame #hallmark au #is that even a thing lol #it is now #luka couffaine #marinette dupain-cheng #miraculousladybug #miraculous ladybug #quickfic #promptfic

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13-reasons-ideas · 3 years

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Can’t Go Back Part 20

A/N: Here is the next Before chapter. It’s kind of long but I hope you guys like it. I took the feedback you gave me a couple of weeks ago and tried to incorporate more spark. As always, feedback is appreciated and much love. - Em

By Monday, I had turned off the sad feeling. My dad wasn’t home when I woke up. I could hear my mom in the kitchen making breakfast. I checked the weather while I got dressed. It was supposed to be nice today, so I picked a black pleated skirt and paired it with an oversized cream knitted sweater. Just to spite my dad, I put on my most traditional, reddest, red lipstick. A pair of black booties and my outfit was done. “I’m grabbing coffee on my way to school. Gotta go meet Justin!” I called as I ran down the stairs.

“Okay sweetie. Have a good day. Tell Justin I said hello.”

“I will. Love you. Bye.”

“Love you too.”

I texted Monty in the car. Meet me by the football field. I’m bringing coffee.

See you in twenty Doll.

I grabbed some extra napkins at Monet’s and headed to school.

Monty was waiting for me when I got there. I half ran down the hill towards him. I had left Justin’s coffee in the car. “Well don’t you look fancy today.” I blushed.

“I brought extra napkins and I have water in my bag so you can wipe off the lipstick.” I smiled before kissing him quickly. Then I handed him his coffee. He had been eying it discreetly.

“You’re turning me into an addict.” He grinned.

“Oh well.” I shrugged. He kissed me again. “You have red lipstick on now.”

“Napkin?” I laughed and dug it out. “Are you going to career day today?”

“You realize it’s not optional, right?”

“That doesn’t necessarily matter….” He trailed off.

“I’m dragging Justin. Don’t make me have to figure out how to explain why I’m dragging you along too.” I teased.

“Damn.”

“My parents are home, but you can come over tonight if you want. No sex though.”

“Any chance you can be quiet?” He wiggled his brows.

“I can, yes. But the squeaking wasn’t me. It was my bed.”

“Lovely. When are they going out of town again?”

“It’s April, so probably sometime early next month. Mum is done school for the semester at the end of the month. They usually go to a bed and breakfast for a weekend to celebrate.”

“I’ll clear my calendar.”

“I look forward to it.” I smirked. “I’ll see you at career day.”

“Fine.” He grumbled. I smirked again and made sure to swish my hips as I walked away. I thought I heard him saying something about evil, but I couldn’t be sure.

After a stop at my car and locker, I went out in search of my Justin. As expected, he was milling about and goofing off with Bryce. “Morning Justin.” I hugged him and handed him his coffee. “Morning boys.”

“No coffee for us?” Anders joked.

“No, maybe next time.” I joked back. “Hey Walker?”

“Yeah Addison?”

“You aren’t afraid to hurt my feelings, are you?”

“No?” He sounded unsure and his eyes narrowed. “Is this a trick?” He looked at Justin. “Are you going to kick my ass for something?”

“No. I have no idea where she’s going with this one.” He shrugged. I nodded at Monty and Scott when they joined us. Monty had already finished his coffee. I don’t think it’s me turning you into an addict.

“It’s not. I’m serious.”

“Okay then no.”

“And I can trust you to be honest with me?”

“Yes.”

“You can trust me to be honest Addy.” Justin complained.

“Not about this. Do you have plans after school?”

“No? Are you trying to ask me to hang out?”

“Yes and no. I need to take you lipstick shopping.”

“Uh, what?”

“I need you to tell me what red lipstick makes me look the most like a prostitute.” I stated, plainly. Bryce’s eyes went wide. Justin choked on his coffee. Bryce patted his back so he didn’t die in the middle of the hall. That would be a lot of paperwork for Principal Awful. I mean Bolan. The rest of the boys were blinking rapidly at me. Jeff spoke up.

“Who, why?”

“Who doesn’t matter. Why is because now I need to go buy six to spite them.” I grinned.

“You are a strange, strange little girl Addison Hawthorne.” He shook his head and smiled.

“I know. Now are you free or not?”

“I mean, I guess. I don’t want Justin to kill me though.”

“He won’t. Right Justin?”

“Uh, right.” He was looking at me sadly. He knew why I was asking.

Bryce and I were surprisingly civil with one another at Sephora. I picked out a couple of true reds. I texted Justin to let him know we hadn’t killed each other. That’s good. At home, I made myself some leftovers and turned on Netflix while I waited for Monty to show up. When he did, we watched a movie. Well, he watched it. I listened while I washed my face and stuff. Once ready for bed, we talked quietly before falling asleep. It felt so nice to fall asleep in his arms.

Friday night Monty came over again. There had been another… incident with his dad. It didn’t seem too bad this time. Just some bruising along his jaw and his wrist. I got him some ice from downstairs and brought up a snack. He smiled slightly when I handed him both bags. I kissed his cheek softly and finished getting ready for bed. We settled in my bed together and I grabbed the book I had started this morning. He got bored of looking at his phone quickly. So he decided to entertain himself by kissing my neck. “Are you enjoying yourself?” I asked as I turned a page, trying to ignore him.

“Very much yes.” He said into my neck. I tilted my neck a little more to give him better access. I was trying to ignore him. My attempts didn’t last long. Soon, I had abandoned my book, in favour of making out with my boyfriend. I slid my hands under his shirt. He groaned into my mouth when I traced his abs. In turn, he ran his hands along my stomach. I giggled softly. We were careful not to let things go too far or get too loud.

After we got our fill, I rolled over so I could rest my head on his shoulder. I kissed the bruise forming on his jaw. He smiled. Monty placed a kiss on my forehead and pulled my closer to him. My arm started to hurt a bit so I rolled over. We got comfortable spooning. I fit quite well as his little spoon. It was so nice.

“Did you want to see me tomorrow?” Monty asked as we cuddled.

“Of course.” I smiled. “Why?”

“I think it’s only fair that I introduce you to my hobby. It’s about time you learned the joys of baseball.”

“Only if you promise not to laugh when I’m terrible.”

“You couldn’t be terrible if you tried Addison.” He nuzzled my neck. I bit my lip to hold back a moan and a giggle.

“You have clearly never seen me attempt to do sports.”

“At least I’ll be entertained then.” I rolled over and as I expected, he had a shit eating smirk on his face.

“Hey!”

“What?”

“Ass.” I sat up and crossed my arms. I refused to look at him.

“I’m sorry.”

“Mhmm.” I really couldn’t say anything else. It would have given away my feelings too much.

“Come on baby. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.” Montgomery sat up to kiss my shoulder softly. “I was kidding.” I bit my lip to keep from smiling too obviously. “Baby.” He whined. “Please? I’m sure you’ll do great.” I turned to look at him, grinning. When he saw my face, his eyes widened, and his jaw dropped. “Evil. You are an evil girl.” He laughed.

“But I’m your evil girl.”

“I know. I wouldn’t have it any other way.” He moved suddenly and rolled us over, so he was on top of me. He leaned down and kissed me playfully. I giggled quietly at his sudden display of affection. His hands found their way to my hips and started tickling. I couldn’t hold back a laugh. We were supposed to be quiet since my parents were home.

I laughed louder than I meant to. He didn’t stop tickling me until we heard footsteps coming towards my room. We both froze. I covered my mouth. “Addison? Is everything okay in there?” My dad called from the other side of my door.

“Yeah Dad. I’m just reading and something funny happened.”

“Okay.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to bother you.” I called back.

“It’s not a problem. Don’t stay up too late tonight Addy.” Neither Monty or I breathed until his footsteps retreated and my parents’ bedroom door shut. I let out a sharp sigh. Monty let out a long breath and hung his head. I snorted softly to hold back a laugh. He shook his head and bit his lip. He shushed me softly. I couldn’t help it and let out a quiet laugh. Wrapping my arms around him, I could feel his body shaking. He moved to look at me smiling.

“That was close.” He whispered.

“So close.” I whispered back.

He climbed off me slowly and we got comfortable again. I rested my head on his chest. The quick lub dubs of his heartbeat relaxed me. When he rose his arm, I looked up at him. He covered his mouth and started laughing again. I couldn’t help but laugh along. “Better get your laughs in now. Since you can’t laugh at me tomorrow.” I told him when he had calmed down again. That got him laughing again. Finally, after another several random bouts of quiet laughter, we drifted off to sleep. Monty woke me up with soft kisses when his alarm went off before my parents woke up. Thankfully they slept in on Saturdays sometimes. I watched him get dressed from the comfort of my bed. This certainly is a nice way to wake up. Too bad we can’t do this every day.

“I’ll call you in a little while.” He said, before he leaned in to kiss me again.

“Okay.”

“Bye Bookworm.”

“Bye Casanova.”

I stayed in bed for a little while longer. It felt colder without my boyfriend there. Monty texted me about twenty minutes after he left to let me know he got home.

Just got in. I’m going to go shower. Wash the terror of almost getting caught by your dad off.

That’s good. I’m going to hop in the shower in a bit too. What should I wear today?

Something moveable. My old glove should fit you.

I can work with that.

Question is, do you need the little league one or the one I used in middle school? :P

I’m not that small de la Cruz. :P eyeroll emoji

Debateable Hawthorne. Does this count as full naming you?

No. And don’t try it.

One day.

Yes dear. You keep telling yourself that. :D

I will. Gotta shower. I didn’t answer him after that and went to shower myself.

When I got out, I saw I had a text from Justin. Are we going to career fair Monday?

Sorry I was in the shower. I don’t think its optional Justin.

Everything is optional if you make it that way.

No. That isn’t how life works. We are going. See what’s out there.

Ugh fine. If we have to. :P

We do. I’ll see you Monday. Try to stay out of trouble until then.

I make no promises. I rolled my eyes and threw my phone on the bed. Pulling out some clean yoga pants and a work out tank top, I got dressed. I decided to throw my hair in a bun while it was still damp. That way it stayed up and off my neck. It was warm out today so I would probably sweat regardless. Monty called me while I was putting on sunscreen.

“Hey beautiful.”

“Hey handsome. You’re on speaker. My hands are all covered in sunscreen.”

“No problem. I just realized we never said when we were meeting or where.”

“We didn’t.”

“How does one thirty sound? Watson park?” It was a more secluded park on the edge of town. We would have less of a chance of running into someone we knew there.

“Sounds great. I’ll see you then.” He hung up and I checked the time. It was just after twelve, so I had about an hour until I had to leave.

I could hear my parents in the living room as I came downstairs. My mom was watching something on History and dad was pretending to pay attention. They were cuddling. They really are cute together. “Justin and I are going to the park for a while later.”

“Make sure you put on extra sunscreen. It’s supposed to be sunny today.”

“I will Mum.”

“Tell Justin he’s welcome to come over for dinner if he wants.”

“I’ll see if he can Dad.”

“Okay.” Since my dad seemed to be in a good mood, I sat with them for a while after making myself a peach smoothie. Even though I had no idea what we were watching, I tried to follow it. Soon it became clear that it was a documentary on King Henry VIII. I’m pretty sure Mum has watched this one at least twice. No wonder Dad isn’t paying attention. My phone dinged, signaling a text from my boyfriend. I’m leaving now. See you in a bit baby.

Okay, see you soon. Drive safe.

You too.

“I’m going to head out now. I’ll see you lovebirds later.” I said as I gathered up my things.

“Okay honey, have fun with Justin.”

“Have fun. Remember your sunscreen and water.”

I got to the park shortly before one thirty and found an open area to wait for Montgomery in. I pulled out my notebook to jot down some general setting descriptions to use later. While I was looking around the park, I spotted him. He was walking towards me in a pair of sweats and his baseball practice shirt under a flannel. Not to be confused with the jersey. Or so I had been told by Justin, who had been told by Zach and Bryce. His baseball glove was in his back pocket. He was carrying an extra, which I assumed was for me in his left hand. A baseball was being tossed in the air with his right. I waved at him. He nodded at me and sped up in my direction. “Inspiration hit?” He asked upon reaching me. I was shoving my notebook back in my bag.

“Yeah. It’s just so pretty out today.”

“It is.” Monty nodded as he placed the few items he had with him on the ground. He sat down beside me and kissed me. “Hi.” He said softly.

“Hi.” I kissed him again.

They were both chaste kisses. Neither of us were sure just how alone we really were. We snuck looks around and didn’t see that many people. Definitely not anyone we knew. So, the next time we kissed, it was deeper and more passionate. Still publicly acceptable of course.

“Are you ready to learn how to throw a baseball?”

“I mean, it can’t go much worse than the time Justin tried to teach me to throw a football.”

“I feel like there is a very painful story around that.”

“Yeah. It’s best if I stick to,” I paused, knowing I was walking right into a sex joke, “round. I know how to shoot a basketball. He made sure of that.”

“That’s good. I need to hear that story sometime though Addy.” He stood up and held a hand out to me. I accepted it and he pulled me up. Now that we were both standing, I went in for a hug. His strong arms wrapped around me tightly. I felt so safe and secure. I wish we didn’t have to hide things so much. It is kind of fun though.

“You will eventually. Not today though.”

I watched him pick up both gloves and the ball. I left my bag on the ground since we wouldn’t be moving very far. I took the glove he handed me and put it on. Monty walked around me and placed his hand on my hips. “Do we want to throw horizontally towards that tree or vertically to the trash can?”

“Horizontally.”

“Okay.” He adjusted my position slightly. Then he went to stand to my right side. “So, you need to stand with your feet squared towards me.” I did as he instructed. “Feet shoulder width apart. Make sure your shoulders and feet are squared.” I adjusted my feet. Because I was nervous, I was a little tense. Okay maybe I was a lot tense. I wasn’t sure how this was going to go. The last time I had tried to be athletic with sports balls, I hit Justin in the groin with the football. I’m rather attached to Monty’s junk. And I don’t feel like making the boy cry today. Montgomery was watching me. I could feel it. I peeked up at him.

“Yes?”

“You are really tense Addy. You need to loosen up a bit.” He took in my stiff posture. “Actually, a lot.”

“Okay.” I shook myself out a little.

“Not enough.” He smiled. I shook out a bit more. He shook his head and ran his tongue along his top lip. His brown eyes narrowed at me as he smirked.

“What?” I asked as my eyes widened slightly.

He moved in the blink of an eye. One second, he was standing next to me. The next, he had he arms around my waist and had lifted me into the air. I laughed loudly, not caring who heard. Monty spun us around and we came to a messy tumble on the ground. We rolled around a little. I ended up on top, straddling him. His hands instinctively went to my hips to keep me steady. “Feeling loose?”

“I am now.” I grinned and kissed him again. He sat up as he kissed me before pulling away.

“Don’t get too carried away Addison. We are in a public park after all.” He smirked at me. I pushed him lightly. Standing, I held a hand out to him and we resumed our initial positions. “Feet and shoulders square.” He adjusted me slightly. “There, that’s good. Now you want to keep all of your movements close to your body.”

“Okay.” I nodded. “Can I have the ball now?”

“Patience Bookworm.”

Now that I was in the right position and loose, he stood facing in front of me so I could see how he wanted me to move. “You want to shift your weight back like this.” He demonstrated the motion. I mimicked it. “Good. Now you need some force, so you’ll want to push down with your back leg and stride forward.” I followed his movements. “With your upper body you want to go like this. Keeping your movements equal and opposite.” He held the ball in his glove with his pointer and middle fingers on top, his thumb and folded ring finger on the bottom. I watched as he separated his ball hand from his glove and brought it around back. “Move the ball pointing down as long as you can. And when you get into actually throwing it, hold it facing where I’m standing now. Don’t hold it facing backwards or towards me.” I nodded. Watching him move while he explained made so much more sense. I was significantly more at ease. “When you get to this point you want to start to smoothly rotate into the throw and release the ball.” He didn’t release it though. Instead, he motioned for me to copy his upper body movements. I copied them as best as I could. When I made an error, he came over and gently corrected it. He tucked my glove in a bit when I rotated. It took a few tries, but I got the hang of it. “Now we are going to put it all together, okay?”

“Okay.”

“As you stride, your upper body starts to move.” He demonstrated again, without releasing the ball. I copied his actions. “There you go. Try it a few more times.” Monty moved around to stand behind me in case he needed to correct anything.

After a few more tries without the ball, he finally let me try holding the ball. I couldn’t release it yet. Fundamental movements first. I mimicked how he had been holding it. He had me try with the ball a few more times until we were both confident that I had the motions down. “I think you’re ready to learn how to catch now.”

“Is that easier or harder than throwing?”

“There’s less steps. Whether it’s easier or not is more about if you can receive the ball.” My eyes shifted back and forth. I looked at him, confused. He backed up a few meters towards the oak tree. “It depends if you stab your arm out to catch or not. You don’t want to stab. You want to receive.” I nodded like I understood. “It’s easier to show you. Toss the ball to me.” I tossed it and he stuck his glove out to catch it. “That’s stabbing.” Monty walked back to me and handed me the baseball. Then he resumed his position a few meters away. When he waved me forward, I tossed it to him again. This time he caught it and his arm went from out to in. “That is receiving.”

“Ohhhh. Okay. I see.”

“Are you ready?” I nodded. He tossed me the ball lightly and I caught it in the glove. I smiled brightly at him. “Good. That’s really good. Now toss it back.” I did.

We tossed the ball back and forth for a few minutes, just so I could get used to catching it. “Are you ready to start throwing properly?”

“Yeah.” I grinned. My boyfriend was a surprisingly good teacher. He threw me the ball and I caught it properly. Taking a deep breath to focus, I threw the ball like he had shown me. I hopped a little when it went straight for his glove, and he caught it. He laughed and smiled at me. We continued our game for another ten minutes or so before taking a water break. He dropped his flannel on my bag and gave me a quick side hug.

“Wait here.” He said, holding up a finger.

“Alright?” Monty kissed the top of my head before running off to, I assumed, his Jeep. When he returned, he had his baseball hat with him. He held it out to me. I looked at him questioningly.

“Try it on. You’re doing good. Now we just need to make you look the part.” I took the well-worn hat from him after I pulled my hair out of the bun. It looked a little kinky, but I was able to finger comb the knots out. Placing it on my head, I grinned at him.

“How do I look?”

“Perfect.” He leaned in to kiss me. I wrapped my arms around his waist and pulled him closer to me. He nipped my lip. I pulled away.

“Public park, remember?” I smirked.

“I know, I know.”

“I don’t think I could look Deputy Standall in the eye if he had to break it up.”

“Nope. Never.” We both shuddered. “What do you say to a few more rounds?”

“Yes please. I’m good at this. No one has gotten hurt yet.”

“Yes, you are. I told you, you would be Addy.” I waved him off and we got back to our game.

On our walk back to our respective vehicles later that evening, we walked hand in hand. “Next time I’m teaching you how to bat.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea? I feel like there’s more room for injury with that.”

“Seeing as you did this well with throwing and catching, batting shouldn’t be that hard for you.”

“If you say so.” I shrugged. We had made it to my car. He kissed me goodbye before I got in. And then kissed me again when I rolled the window down to say bye. And then one more time before I drove away. I couldn’t ignore the ever-growing number of butterflies in my stomach when we were together, or I thought about him. It seemed like every day I was getting closer and closer to saying the L word. There was still something in me that was saying to wait to say it though. There were still things we needed to discuss first. Like my dad. And his dad.

Later that week, my dad and I had gotten into another fight before school. It wasn’t even important. I blocked the memory from my brain as I went about my morning. Justin didn’t suspect anything had happened. I had learned I had to ignore most of what my dad said it me. It was frustrating that my dad was a dick, but there wasn’t anything I could do. I really just wanted to spend some alone time with Montgomery. It was hard having to pretend to simply tolerate him because he is friends with my friend’s friends.

I spotted my boyfriend walking to his locker while I was talking to Alex. “That’s really cool. Hey, I totally forgot I have to hand in a French assignment next period. It’s still in my locker. I’ll talk to you later?”

“Yeah. See you Addy.” He nodded. I tore a piece of paper out of my notebook and scribbled out a note. Walking calmly in Montgomery’s direction, I slipped the note in his hand as I passed. He didn’t acknowledge it except for an almost impercepable twitch of his lip.

There was an old class turned supply room on the second floor of the sciences building that no one used anymore. I waited for Monty there. It was warm so I took off my sweater. My head snapped up when he knocked. Jumping off the empty desk in the corner, I ran to open the door. I kissed him as soon as the door closed after grabbing his wrist and pulling him inside. “Not that I’m complaining, but what’s gotten into you Addison?”

“Nothing. I miss you, that’s all.”

“I miss you too.” He smirked. I smiled up at him. He leaned down and kissed me softly.

“I missed this.” I muttered against his lips as he walked me backwards to the desk I had previously occupied. He easily lifted me onto it.

“So did I.”

“Needed this.” He kissed down my check to my neck. I could feel him searching for that special spot under my ear. When he found it, I sucked in a sharp breath. He nibbled at the spot slightly. There was no doubt in my mind that there would be a mark by the end of next period.

Satisfied with his work, he kissed back up my neck and recaptured my lips in his. “Needed this so much.” I muttered.

“I know. Now stop talking.” I sighed in response. Slipping my hands under his shirt and around his torso, I scratched his lower back harshly. Monty sucked in a harsh breath. Have fun explaining that one at baseball practice. His fingers wound themselves in my hair. He gathered a small chunk at the base of my skull and tugged gently. Couldn’t pull too hard or we risked exposure. Before things could go any further, his phone buzzed in his pocket. “Fucking people, I swear.” He grumbled as he pulled away. He rolled his eyes as he read it. “Bryce wants to know if I want to spend my lunch hour practicing my long toss.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. Why would I want to spend an hour doing that, when I could spend an hour in here with my really hot girlfriend?”

“I mean, Bryce is kind of pretty. In a weird, tries too hard way.”

“Can I tell him you called him pretty?” Monty chuckled.

“No. I don’t need his ego getting even bigger. No one needs that.”

“Fine. It stays between us.” I pretended not to hear the “for now.” He added under his breath.

I hopped down from the desk and used my camera as a mirror. “You messed up my hair.”

“You carved into my back with your claws.”

“That’s easy to hide until practice. And you’ve never really complained before.”

“I’m not complaining.” He shrugged. I flipped my hair upside down and tried to shake it out some. Not trusting my boyfriend to not lie about my hair, I looked in my camera. It was a little better. In a pre-emptive attempt to cover the hickey that was forming, I braided my hair to the side. He pouted slightly.

“I don’t have a believable excuse for the hickey.”

“Fine.” He rolled his eyes dramatically. I stood on my tip toes to kiss him gently.

“I’ll see you later.” I whispered.

“See you.” He whispered back. I left first and made my way down to the cafeteria.

Justin looked at me when I sat down. “Where’ve you been?”

“Ladies room.”

“It’s been over ten minutes since lunch started.”

“There was a line.”

“Okay.” He shrugged. He didn’t seem too concerned when Montgomery sat down across from him five minutes later. My lunch was too appealing to him. As such, he missed the wanting gaze Monty sent my way.

“Did you get my text?” Bryce asked him.

“Yeah.”

“You didn’t answer?”

“I was busy.”

“Doing what?”

“Stuff.”

“What stuff? You holding out on us Monty?”

“Nah. It was math stuff.” He shrugged it off. I was shocked when Bryce didn’t press further.

The next morning, I walked to class with Justin. I was trying to stay involved in our conversation. But I couldn’t stop focusing on what my dad had said earlier. Was he right? Was there even a point? It is hard to get published. Maybe it would be a waste.

“There’s something wrong.”

“No, it’s fine Justin. My dad and I just got in a fight this morning is all.” I said.

He sighed heavily. “Of course, he did.”

“It’s nothing.”

“You’d think he would realize that he can’t dig at you forever.”

“I wouldn’t hold my breath on that one.” I shook my head and hugged him before running off to class. I ignored the small, sad feeling in my chest. I had resigned myself to the way my dad was a long time ago.

Monty was over at my place studying while my parents were out on date night.

“What did Justin mean this morning?”

“When?” I looked up from my textbook and quirked my brow across the table.

“This morning, when you were walking to class.”

“What do you mean?”

“I heard him say something about your dad when you passed us in the hall.”

“Oh. It wasn’t a big deal.”

“It seemed like a big deal to you.” I sighed and stood up.

“It was just a tiff.”

“A tiff?”

“Yes. A minor fight.”

“I know what a tiff is.” He huffed.

“It happens.”

“What happened?”

“My dad and I got into an argument this morning. It wasn’t a big deal.”

“What was the argument about?”

“I don’t know. Something stupid?” I shrugged and grabbed an apple from our fruit tree. I offered him one. He shook his head and stood up. I watched him as he picked up an orange from the basket.

“Something stupid?”

“Yeah.”

“Like what?”

I was quiet for a while. I didn’t want to deal with this now. You do. Maybe talking to him will help. It’s been long enough. You can’t keep this from him. Talk now before it blows up in your face.

“School.”

“School?”

“Registration for classes next year starts next week. And since junior year is important, I was looking at college admission requirements.”

“And that’s a bad thing?”

“Guess so.” I shrugged.

“What happened?”

“We got in a fight. He said some pretty hurtful stuff. I hurt inside for a second. Then I went to school.”

“What did he say?”

“Nothing he hasn’t said or implied before.” I was getting upset again.

“What did he say?”

“It doesn’t matter.” I sighed.

“Well, it upset you. So, it matters.”

“It really doesn’t.”

“Yes. It does.”

“There’s nothing I can do to change it. So, no. It does not matter.” I rolled my eyes to try to keep from crying.

“Addison.” He grabbed my arm gently.

“What?”

“It’s not healthy to ignore the fact that you’re upset. And if I can’t roll my eyes at you, you can’t roll your eyes at me.”

“That’s rich coming from you.”

“How do you think I know it’s not healthy?”

“I don’t take out my feelings on innocent people Montgomery.”

“Okay well first of all, I don’t know if you want to sit here and call Tyler Down innocent. Second of all, that’s the point.”

“That I don’t hurt people because I can’t deal with my emotions?”

“That you don’t do anything with your emotions. At least I’m expressing it. You sit and pretend everything is fine.”

“So, you admit that you can’t deal with your emotions.”

His eyes darkened. “We aren’t talking about me.”

“Maybe we should be.” I motioned to the bruise forming on his cheek.

“Well, we aren’t.”

“Fine.” I sighed. I wish he would just tell me about it. Pot, meet kettle. Shut up.

I was silent again as I played with my still untouched apple.

“You’re doing it again.” Monty said from the table. He had pushed aside his homework and was peeling his orange into individual slices before eating any. Interesting.

“He doesn’t like or agree with what I want to go to school for. Or where I want to go.”

“You’ve told me that.”

“Yeah, but he really doesn’t like it. Like turns into screaming matches doesn’t like.”

“Okay.” I realized after a few beats of silence that he was waiting for me to elaborate.

“Do you remember when I told you that I wanted to be a writer on our first date?”

“Yes. And you thought I would think it was stupid.”

“Yeah. You seemed confused.”

“I was. I still am to be honest. I’ve watched you write. I can tell you’re passionate about it.” “I’ve wanted to be a writer for as long as I can remember. I don’t think I really ever wanted to be anything else. At least, not after I understood that I couldn’t be a dog or a fictional character.” Monty bit back a chuckle. “I was six.” A look of understanding crossed his face. “But my parents, my dad mostly,” I paused, “once it became apparent to them that it wasn’t just a little kid big dreams thing, my choice was questioned. Anyway, this morning.”

Flashback

I was scrolling on my laptop while I ate my breakfast. I had both Ole Miss and NYU’s admissions pages up. I was cross referencing with the list of course offerings at Liberty next year. As I was scrolling through, I heard someone coming downstairs. I can take French and Algebra II. And Drama II. Hmmm. I’ll have sciences done. “Morning Addison.”

“Morning Dad.” I said, distractedly.

“What are you looking at?”

“Just stuff for school.” He walked over with his coffee to see.

“Oh. You still think you’re going to one of those schools.”

“What do you mean, ‘those’ schools?”

“I told you, you’d be better off going to Oxford. I’d even accept Cambridge.”

“And I told you I don’t want to study in England.”

“I don’t see how that matters. You probably won’t get into either of your choices anyway.”

“What do you mean? And if you don’t think I’ll get in there, how do you expect me to get into Oxford?”

“I mean you probably won’t get in. There are a lot of applicants Addison. They stand out.”

“We both know that isn’t what you mean. So why don’t you come out and say what you’re thinking?”

“You probably won’t have the marks.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

“No need for the language.”

“I am in three Honours and AP classes. I will be in four next year. I’ve been at or near the top of my class since the sixth grade. Please explain to me how in the hell you think I won’t have the marks.”

“You’re in high school now. There are smarter people than you there.”

“Oh my God, Dad.” I shook my head. “I’ve gone to school with the same kids since kindergarten. It’s Liberty High. You didn’t send me to Hilcrest.”

“See, there are kids smarter than you. With as many applicants as these schools get, your marks won’t stand out. Besides, they aren’t even that good of schools.”

“They have some of the best writing programs in the country. And they are both very good schools outside of that.”

“You still think you’re going to school for writing. That’s sweet. But I won’t have my daughter wasting a degree on writing. An English degree will get you nowhere in the real world, Addison. And we both know you won’t marry rich. You can’t live off of your husband.”

I had heard his argument many times before from my parents, but the anger I had felt was beginning to dissipate none the less and that ever so familiar small feeling was coming back. I had to blink back tears. He didn’t see them. “It’s not a waste.”

“You can’t pay bills with books Addison.”

“Maybe I could.” I defended.

“Doubtful.” The fight that had been in me was rapidly leaving my body. I just wanted this argument to be over. I will not cry in front of him. I will not give him the satisfaction.

“Okay.” I muttered quietly. I looked at the clock on the stove. “I have to go or I’m going to be late.”

“Okay. Your mom and I have date night tonight.”

“I remember. Have fun.” In the car, I sat in the driveway for a couple of minutes and then shook my head. I had places to be.

End flashback

When I finished recounting my story, Montgomery came around to my side of the table. He sat down in the chair beside me and pulled me into his lap. It was only then that I realized I was shaking and that there were tears rolling down my face. He held me while I cried. I could feel him rubbing soothing circles on my back. I buried my face in his neck and cried. I was so tired of my dad making me feel small and unimportant. I didn’t want to deal with it anymore. But I knew there was nothing I could do. So, I had my feelings, and then just as Monty had argued that I do, I shut it off. I lifted my head from his neck and wiped away the remaining tears. He was looking at me with sad eyes. It was a look, it occurred to me, that I had probably given him-and Justin- countless times before.

“And it’s not just with school. He just… doesn’t really like me, I guess. Or maybe he does. But he doesn’t know how to show it? I don’t know.”

“Why didn’t you say something before?”

“I don’t know. It’s not a big deal to me. I’m used to it.” Montgomery sighed. We could both tell that this was just going to go around in circles.

“Okay. But you shouldn’t have to be used to it.”

“I know. But that isn’t my reality. So, I’ll live with it.” I shrugged and got up to get myself a glass of water.

“Talk to me next time?”

“Okay.” Maybe.

Monty walked over to me and kissed my neck softly. I smiled a little. After I put my cup down, he picked me up suddenly. I gasped and laughed in shock. “What are you doing?” He didn’t reply. I shrugged, not having any energy to fight his grip, as he carried me over to the couch. He plopped me down on the couch. There was a particularly evil smirk on his face when he sat down and turned to me. I gave him a confused frown. Then it happened. He started tickling me. I gasped again and started giggling and screeching uncontrollably. I was grinning at him and panting by the time he stopped.

“Feel better now?”

“Yes. Does this mean I can tickle you when you’re upset?”

“No. I’m not ticklish.” Sure. I’ll find the ticklish spot. It might take a while. But I’ll find it.

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