#she's only taking things that are easily carried so no beds and no dressers

[pxlheaux]

After talking to her mom for awhile, she agrees to let Rue go to her old room and take what she feels she needs and what she’ll be able to move with her. Annika assures her that she loves her, but she told her what she expected of her since birth and Rue constantly challenged her authority. 

Rue knew how her mom grew up and how her parents treated her. She was the only girl out of 3 other boys and Rue’s grandparents biggest goal was to have a successfully rich family at any cost. They had no regard for what their kids wanted for their happiness and would disown them quickly if they went against their word, something Annika’s 3 older brothers learned the hard way. 

Still, Rue knew she could prove her mother wrong. That didn’t mean she didn’t miss her life.

[klbwriting]

Who Am I Really?

Chapter 2

Fandom: Aquaman

Pairing: Ormxfemale!Reader

Warnings: none

Summary: Orm wakes and tries to figure out who and where he is, YN decides to let him stay with her

Orm woke up with a groan. He sat up looking around the small bedroom confused. Where was he? Why was he here? Did he live here? Why was he bandaged? What was his name? He sat up as the door to the room opened and a woman came in carrying a tray. She quickly set it down on a dresser before going over to him, gently pushing on his shoulder to stay in bed.

"Don't move, you might start bleeding again," YN said. She looked at the bindings and gently moved them, frowning, and removing the one around his shoulder. "That's impossible...how did you heal so quickly?" Orm shook his head, more confused. Had he been injured? She took off the bandage around his abs and the one around his shin. Finally the one around his head. "All healed, you must be a metahuman."

"Do you know me?" he asked. YN stopped to look at him for a moment, really stare into his eyes. They were a bit glassy, very confused, not at all with the confidence and surety he had shown when he entered her shelter. He must have hit his head hard on the wall, perhaps he was having some short term amnesia? She let out a breath.

"We just met yesterday, you came into my animal shelter. You said your name was Orm," she said softly, trying to be gentle and not freak him out. If she were in his position she would be losing it right now, but Orm took in the information and swirled it in his mind, trying to pull out anything from his memory. Orm floated there and he felt pain, sadness, loneliness, but it was like it was someone else's, not his own feelings. He pushed them aside easily and shrugged.

"I can't remember anything," he said finally. YN nodded and smiled. "Do you know where I'm from? Do I have family?"

"I don't, I didn't find any ID on you either, maybe the attackers took your wallet with them, but I don't know, I didn't see. You were very brave, going out there against those metas, I'm guessing by the fact that you healed so quickly that you're metahuman too," she said. "Do you think you could stand? I was going to have you eat some breakfast in bed but you might want to move, stretch your legs a little. Orm nodded and she helped him stand but after a few moments it was clear that his body was fine, it was only his brain that was having trouble. They headed into the rest of the house, Orm looking around, trying to orient himself. He saw things that must have been deep memories, he knew where the bathroom, living room, and kitchen were based on what they looked like, he just couldn't remember anything about himself. Was this normal? He shook his head again, taking the offered seat at the table.

"Thank you," he said as YN set out eggs, biscuits, some kind of gravy.

"I'll go to the police today, see if they had anyone reported missing," she said. For some reason alarm bells went off in Orm's mind at that. Why would he not want her to find help with him? What had he done. He looked at his hands, trying to figure out if they knew how to hold weapons, knew bloodshed, maybe had even caused some. Either way, he couldn't be found.

"I don't think you should do that..." he said, trying to recall her name. She looked at him brow furrowed.

"I'm YN, and why not? Someone attacked you, maybe you are a protected person, or maybe you're part of the Justice League or something," she said. Then another thought struck her, what if he was the bad guy? A villain who had just stumbled into her shelter looking for pets to do experiments or something on? She shook the thought, she couldn't imagine it, not with the man who yesterday was so attentive and looked at those dogs with such love and care. Orm wasn't a villain, not really. Or maybe she was being foolish and naive. Didn't matter, if he didn't want help she would leave him be, perhaps he did know something, but he just couldn't bring it out yet.

"I think whatever attacked was after me, and maybe its because I've hurt people," he said softly. He hadn't touched his food, still not coming to terms with the idea that maybe he was a terrible person, a tyrant, a dictator...why had he thought so highly of himself? Tyrant? Dictator? Those words were for evil leaders weren't they? He couldn't have been a leader, he didn't feel very much like one at all. He didn't notice that YN was talking to him until she touched his hand. Instantly his thoughts still, calming enough that he looked at her clearly. How did she do that? Make him safe and warm? He didn't think he'd felt that before.

"Orm, don't worry, you can stay here, I have the extra room and as long as you're willing to help with the animals you can get free food and have a bed as long as you need it," she said. He stared at her. What kindness she had in her that she would take in a stranger, and yet a stranger who knew nothing about himself, that she knew nothing about, and invite him to stay, give him a place to sleep and a purpose. It was a lot to take and Orm felt something on his face.

"What is happening?" he asked, wiping at the wetness that appeared on his cheeks. YN got up from her seat and walked over, hugging his face to her body, stroking his hair. He felt something stirring, almost a memory, just a feeling of safety.

"You're crying," she said. "Its alright, you've just been through a trauma, it must all be overwhelming, not having any memory. You must be scared." They stood in silence for a time, letting him get whatever emotions he needed to work through out of his system. She didn't move, just stayed there, holding him and stroking his hair. He leaned into her, trying to suck in the feeling of safety she gave him, wanting to find a way to capture it so he didn't have to depend on her for it anymore. After he seemed to calm down she left his side, sitting down again and he felt a little empty at the loss of contact.

"Thank you," he said, he felt like he would be saying that a lot to her for a while. She just smiled and looked at their now cold breakfast. She moved to reheat everything and set it back in front of him. This time Orm ate, trying to figure out what he liked and didn't like. Gravy, gross, biscuit, delicious, eggs, on the fence.

[elsanna-shenanigans]

March/April 2023 Contest Submission #3: Living Without You, Living Alone

Words: ca. 6,300 Setting: Historical AU Lemon: no Content: n/a Song: Open Arms by Journey

Elsa readjusted the wrap draped across her shoulders for the nineteenth time in the last five minutes. Or maybe it was six minutes. In any case, she knew it was nineteen times because keeping track had been the one thing keeping her from pacing and if she started that, there would be no guarantee that it wouldn’t turn into walking back to her rented room. So Elsa fidgeted with her wrap, creating wrinkles upon wrinkles, while she waited for the train to arrive.

“Excuse me, sir,” she stopped a passing porter, “is the train from Syracuse on time?”

“Yes, ma’am. The last stop reported it left on time.” He pulled out his pocket watch. “It should be here in a few minutes.”

“Thank you.” 

He tipped his hat and continued on his way, dodging piles of trunks waiting for the train.

Mayhem from porters hustling back and forth with carts full of luggage , groups of traveling salesmen carrying large cases of sample wares talking loudly with each other, and families searching for the correct platform while weaving through the crowds, surrounded Elsa in a cloud of noise and motion. 

“Papes! Get your papes here!” A newsboy with threadbare clothes and a side bag full of newspapers limped by on a crutch. “California becomes the thirty-first state! Read all about it in the Tribune! Papes! Gets your papes here…” His shouts were swallowed up by the arrival of the train, the smooth movements of taking money and giving out newspapers never slowing.

“The six o’clock train from Syracuse is now arriving on platform eight! Please stand back!” Employees in crisp blue uniforms shouted over the squeal of brakes while motioning the crowd back.

Passengers began disembarking almost before the train came to a full stop. Elsa’s head swung side to side looking for her sister.

“Elsa!” 

If it weren’t for the column behind her, she would have fallen from the collision of Anna throwing herself at Elsa and wrapping her in a tight hug.

“Elsa.” Sniffles reached her ears and her collar dampened with tears. “I missed you so much.”

“I missed you too, Ladybug.” Arms tightened around the shaking body, tears of joy falling from her own eyes. How inadequate the word ‘missed’ felt. Aches from missing her sister had caused more than a few sleepless nights. But Elsa had endured. Belief the suffering would wipe away her sinful feelings kept her going. With a sinking heart, she realized three years of exchanging letters, hundreds of miles, and hours spent on her knees praying didn’t help. 

Elsa was still in love with her sister.

* * * * *

“Thank you, sir.” Elsa handed over several coins in payment for hauling Anna’s trunk the fifteen blocks to her apartment. 

“Thank you, ma’am.”

If he made any motion of thanks, or rudeness, Elsa didn’t notice, as she couldn’t tear her eyes away from watching Anna explore the small room, taking in the hanging prints and various knickknacks she collected over the years. The corner apartment was barely half the size of her spacious room back home, though it was large by city standards. Windows on the two outside walls let in plenty of light until the sun completely disappeared below the horizon which saved her money on candles and kerosene. Since the small table with two chairs, wardrobe, and dresser came with the room, Elsa only had to purchase the bed.

The one bed.

The one bed they’d have to share.

The one bed they’d have to share and would barely be big enough for both of them.

Elsa felt her stomach drop through the floor, mentally cursing herself for worrying about seeing Anna again and not the actual problem of her living space. It wasn’t too late to find her sister a hotel room. Money their parents sent every month sat, untouched, in the bank. That hefty sum could easily cover the expense and then some several times over.

“I love this place.” Anna plopped down on the cursed bed. “Two weeks isn’t going to be nearly enough time. You know, I don’t have any reason to go back home so soon…”

Smiles that big should be illegal. How many times had the mere chance of seeing it pushed Elsa out of her safe, little corner and into trying new things? A lot. A whole lot.

“It isn’t as big as you’re used to. I can find you a room nearby.” It may be a flimsy excuse to put some distance between them but it hadn’t been an hour and Elsa felt a nearly overwhelming need for more attention, more smiles, more laughter, just more more more. 

“No!” Smile vanished in an instant, Anna stood, looking panicked. “Please don’t send me away.”

“Of course not.” Half dozen steps and Elsa wrapped her arms around Anna. “I want you to stay but you should be comfortable, Ladybug.” Addiction was a strange thing. A month ago she had finally believed herself capable of handling being close again, one hug proved her wrong.

“Then I’m staying.” Arms that clutched her desperately relaxed and Anna snuggled into her. “When you agreed to let me visit, mother and father had to stop me from packing immediately. Something about clothes becoming musty after being packed away for two months.”

“You’re just excited to see the Fox Sisters’ show tomorrow.” Part of Elsa knew she should step back out of the embrace but it was squashed by the larger part of her that craved the closeness. Nuzzling at her neck sent a shiver through her. This was new and tested Elsa’s control almost past her limits.

“The Fox Sisters were an excuse.” More nuzzling. “This is what I was excited for.”

“You’re saying you aren’t excited?” Warnings flashed to step back immediately or suffer dire consequences. Elsa did not miss the look of disappointment as she did.

“Fine. I am excited but I wouldn’t have been upset if I never saw their show.” Anna took a step closer, erasing the little bit of space put between them. “I’m here to be with you.”

“Oh.” Desired roared through Elsa at those words said in a husky whisper. Eyes strayed down to lips so perfect, they haunted her dreams for years. “It’s late. I’ll make us supper while you unpack. I emptied the top drawer and made room in the wardrobe.” Three hesitant steps back out of the circle of temptation. Finally, she was able to take a breath not tinged with cinnamon and she missed it instantly.

“Wait, I have a gift for you.” After opening the trunk, Anna pulled out two piles of folded white cloths bound in green ribbon. “I hope you like them.” An uncharacteristic nervous smile tugging her lips when she handed them over.

“I’m sure I’ll love it.” Anything Anna gave her would be treasured. Stowed away in the drawer of her nightstand were various gifts received over the years; a rock shaped like a heart, a thin book of poetry from a local author, various colored hair ribbons worn until they started to fray, stacks of letters, Elsa even pressed and saved the flowers Anna would tuck into her hair. Treasures she’d pull out when the loneliness overwhelmed her.

“Are you going to open it or just stare?” Pink high on her cheeks, Anna motioned to the bundles.

“Right.” Saying she’d rather stare at her might not go over well and cause the rest of the visit to be uncomfortable. When the ribbon for the first stack fell away, Elsa’s eyes widened and she hurried to the table by the window, the dying light of day brighter there. “Ladybug…”

Words clogged her throat as she separated square after square. In total twenty-six embroidered handkerchiefs covered the table, each bordered with intricate white work designs, and bright splashes of colored embroidery thread created designs in the lower corner. Blue birds, tulips, butterflies, chickens, cats, roses, violets, and even their house decorated them, each bit of cloth with a different design but all had a small red ladybug included. Elsa caressed one of a cow lazily grazing in a field and decided this one would go into her nightstand drawer.

“Do you like them?”

“What?” So enthralled by the beauty of the handkerchiefs, Elsa had forgotten Anna was there.

“Do you like them?” Anna bounced on her toes.

“Of course I do. They’re amazing.” Being incredibly biased to love them didn’t stop her from seeing the amount of skill it took to make them. “You didn’t have to make them.”

“I… uhh… I actually had to.” Teal eyes dropped away.

“You did?” Why would one have to embroider handkerchiefs?

“When you moved out here, mother said that every time I missed you, I should do something productive like knitting or embroidery.” Her hands fidgeted and Elsa reached out to still them.

“Thats why you made them? You missed me?” From creating the patterns to choosing the colors to painstakingly sewing each tiny stitch, Elsa knew hours of work went into each one. And all because Anna missed her. 

“Not exactly.” Words spilled out as though saying things quickly was absolutely vital to the explanation. “I never could pick up knitting so I decided to work on my embroidery and I found I liked it a lot and last year after I finished with the table cloth father asked for me to stop since all of mother’s gowns had embellishments and so did mine and all the pillows and all six quilts in the house and every set of napkins and-“

“Ladybug, breathe,” interrupted Elsa, concerned her sister would pass out from lack of air.

“Right. I can do that.” Anna continued at a more normal speed. “Since I was asked to stop, I started making those for you.”

“You did all these in one year?” It took effort to not let her jaw hang open in an unladylike fashion. 

“Yes.”

“Did you do anything else?”

“YES.”

Elsa raised an eyebrow.

“No, really I did.”

The eyebrow stayed raised.

“Fiiine. I used most of my free time on these but I also drew patterns and taught a few neighborhood kids.” Anna blinked innocently as though everything was completely normal.

“How often did your tutor reprimand you for being distracted?” Though she’d guess being bored with the lesson had more to do with that. Her sister’s brilliant mind was usually overshadowed by her rambunctious nature.

“You said I can use the top drawer?” She didn’t even get a full step away before Elsa pulled her in for a hug.

“Thank you for the gift, Ladybug.” Foreheads pressed together, Elsa closed her eyes and enjoyed the closeness. “I really do love them.”

Sounds of passing wagons and shouts from the street were heard in the silent room. Neither moved from where they stood until growling from Anna’s stomach broke the stillness.

“While you unpack, I’ll make supper.” Elsa leaned back a little, wanting to make up for the last three years apart.

Before she even opened her mouth to respond, Anna’s eyes widened, her head whipped to the side.

Yet another reason Elsa rented this specific room from Widow Hayward, besides the location to her job, could be heard outside.

“Moo Cows?” Anna rushed to the window and peered down.

“Yes, Moo Cows.” She hoped her sister never stopped calling her favorite animal by the childish nickname.

“Elsa! There are Moo Cows next door!”

“Yes, there are.” Once she stepped next to her, Elsa peered down and watched the twenty milking cows be herded to the stable.

“But we’re in New York.” Anna watched until the last animal disappeared.

“We are.” Yup, positively worth the extra noise and stench of animals in the middle of summer. “Every morning, those living in the area line up to buy fresh milk and then the cows are taken out to graze.”

“Do you think they’ll let me say hi to them tomorrow?” 

“I already asked Mr. Bunt and he said you can even pet them.” Arms flung around her in a tight hug. “But I think he’s going to be surprised you’re twenty-two and not five.”

“I don’t care because I get to pet Moo Cows.” Lips pressed a kiss to Elsa’s cheek. “You are the best sister ever.”

“For you, I try.” Guilt nudged at her when desire flared again. Two steps back and Elsa turned towards the small kitchen that was no more than a short counter and small wood burning stove. “First, food and after you can tell me about your trip.” Physical distance let Elsa lie to herself that she wasn’t rushing headlong into ruining her life beyond all hope, and she prayed for a few more precious memories together before everything fell apart.

* * * * *

“That was amazing!” Anna’s awed tone kept Elsa from voicing her own opinion. “The Spirits answered so many questions! When that man’s dead brother answered his question about…” And off she went, bubbling over with excitement.

Try as she might, Elsa could not drum up any excitement about the Fox Sisters’ performance. It felt cheap and beyond belief. She had spent the entire forty-five minute show reliving that morning; waking up with Anna in her arms, snuggling close, how her sister refused to let either of them up until she reminded her of the ‘Moo Cows,’ the amusement in Mr. Bunt’s face at how seriously she talked with the animals while petting them, and the feel of Anna clinging to her arm, as she did now, when they walked. Their unhurried stroll down city streets in search of a midday meal took them several blocks from the theater.

“I couldn’t believe it when they turned into ducks!”

“What?” Jolted out of her thoughts, Elsa wondered what in heaven her sister was talking about. “Ducks?”

“Welcome back.” A tap on her shoulder and laughter laced Anna’s words.

“Sorry, what were you saying? About ducks?” Concentrate on what Anna said, not the feel of her pressed to her side.

“I also said they flew around the room and turned green. You responded with ‘yes, dear.’ What were you thinking about?”

Cheeks heated in embarrassment.

“You didn’t have to but thank you for coming with me.” 

Lips pressed a kiss to her warm cheek. In less than twenty-four hours she received seven kisses. Each one thrilled her and set her nerves on edge.

“I’d do anything for you, Ladybug.” Like moving hundreds of miles away from everything she knew to give her sister space to live a normal life.

“I know. Like letting me stay with you or,” here Anna stopped them and turned to face her, “going to shows you don’t want to or believe in.”

“It’s not that I don’t believe in Spiritualism, it’s just that-“

“Hello ladies.” A deep voice with a strong Irish accent broke in.

“Good afternoon, sir.” Elsa grabbed Anna’s elbow and started walking away.

“No, don be li’ tha.” The redheaded man pushed off from the building he leaned against and stepped in their path. “Hello.”

“Sir, we are late for an appointment.” Elsa tensed, ready to pull out her hat pin and, as their mother taught them, use it as a weapon to fend off the stranger. Experience showed her it would ruin the hat pin but she’d willingly sacrifice it to keep Anna safe. People walked by refusing to meet her eye.

“I canna escort you-“

“Daniel James O’Connor!” No amount of city noise could mask the anger in that feminine voice. “Leave those ladies alone!”

“Stay outta this, Siobhan.” He didn’t turn around or drop the charming smile directed at them. “Go back to your lidle restaurant.”

“Don’t make me get your mum.” Now people stopped to stare at them.

“I’m not scared of me mum,” Daniel scoffed. “I am a grown man.”

“Is tha so?”

Daniel froze at this new voice and his face went pale. “Mum?” He turned to face older woman behind him. “You should be at-“ 

Elsa worried the man would pass out when his face paled even further.

“And Gram. H-h-hi.” Eyes darted around, looking for some sort of escape from the two women glaring at him. “I-I-I was just-“

“I’m glad we ran inta you, Danny.” One of the women marched up and grabbed him by the ear.

“Ouch! Mum, why-OUCH!” A sharp tug on his ear had Daniel turning around.

The old woman with deep wrinkles and iron-colored hair came up to his other side, grabbed Daniel’s free ear, and said something Elsa couldn’t understand. 

“Ladies, I apologize for my poor behavior.” 

They didn’t have time to process the turn of events let alone accept his apology before both women were tugging him by the ears down the street.

Words tumbled from the oldest woman’s lips and the younger one nodded.

“I agree, mum. There are plenty chores at home Danny can do.”

He didn’t get a chance to protest before being hauled down an ally.

People laughed and walked on again, surely excited to share the story later that evening around the dinner table, conveniently forgetting that none of them stepped in to help.

“Are you ladies alright?” Where once the Irish accent had been thick to the point of barely being understood, it now softened, giving the woman’s words a light tinkling sound. She stood tall at somewhere near five-foot-ten with long, nearly black hair falling in waves down to her waist.

“Yes. Thank you for your help.” Hat pin no longer in danger of being ruined, Elsa relaxed her tense shoulders. 

“I think he will regret stopping us.” Anna cackled, clearly enjoying the man’s misfortune.

“Oh, I’m sure Danny already is.” Sharp green eyes moved between them, probing, looking for something. One corner of Siobhan’s mouth curled up then the other, and in moments the once serious face blossomed into a delighted expression. “Let me offer you both slices of cake at my restaurant as an apology. It just came out of the oven.”

“There’s no need to. None of that was your fault.” Cake sounded wonderful but Elsa didn’t want Siobhan to feel responsible for another’s actions.

“It’s already past midday, a plate of food also,” Siobhan ushered them two doors down where sounds of a busy restaurant spilled out every time the door opened. “I’ll tell Mrs. O’Connor that I’m adding it to Danny’s tab. She’ll make him pay.”

“In that case, lead the way…” Eyebrow furrowed, Anna looked questionably at their host who escorted them to a table against a wall. “‘Siobhan’ was it?”

“Yes, Miss Addams. There are pegs in the corner to hang your hats.” She pointed towards the front where three lady’s hats hung already. “I’ll bring you both a plate of the daily special.”Before either could say a word of thanks, Siobhan slipped through the room with expert ease.

“This place looks lively,” observed Elsa once she returned after hanging their hats. A single table out of the fifteen was empty and there wasn’t even standing space available at the crowded bar. 

“Elsa,” eyes focused on the back door leading to the kitchen. “Have you met Siobhan before?”

“Excuse me?” The question caught Elsa off guard.

“She knew our last name.” Now Anna’s gaze focused down on the table, her posture tense. “You could have told me.”

“Ladybug,” Elsa held her sister’s chilled hand and interlaced their fingers. “I’ve never met her before. It must have been a lucky guess.”

“She looked a lot like Claire,” whispered Anna sounding so incredibly sad that Elsa tightened tightened her hold. 

“I hadn’t noticed.” Honestly Elsa had not noticed the similarities between Claire Beecham and Siobhan until Anna pointed it out. A few years older than her, their neighbor had subtly made her interest known and Elsa decided to try one last time to erase her unwanted feelings. But her sister caught them during their first, and only, kiss. Four months later Elsa moved to New York.

“It’s okay. I know how much you liked Claire.” Anna’s voice shook and the smile wavered. 

“I promise, I’ve never met Siobhan before and I haven’t even thought of Miss Beecham in years.” Desperation to convince Anna gripped her. Letting her believe a close relationship between them would put a mask on Elsa’s true feelings but she couldn’t. Hide by omission, yes. Outright lie, no.

“But I found you two kissing. I know you liked her.” She looked resigned and Elsa didn’t understand why.

“Here you are ladies, two plates of the special and two slices of spiced cake.” Metal plates landed with a thud so much food was piled on. “Can I get you some tea? Beer?”

“Tea would be wonderful.” Elsa pulled her hand back. Sausages, mashed potatoes with gravy, and carrots looked delicious. The smell reminded her how hungry she was, even with her stomach in knots over Anna.

“Yes, tea please.” Even their hostess saw that Anna was upset.

“I’ll be right back.” Siobhan frowned then hurried to the bar and back with a pot and two cups. “Is there anything wro… can I get you anything else?”

“No, thank you.” Once the woman left, Elsa leaned forward and stared into her sister’s eyes. “That kiss you saw meant nothing. I was trying to forget someone else and it didn’t work. We haven’t spoken since that afternoon.”

“Oh.” She finally relaxed and a tentative smile replaced the sad look.”Do you still care for her? This person you were trying to forget?”

“We should eat while our food is hot.” Elsa focused on the plate and picked up her fork.

“Elsa? Do you still love her?”

Chatter and clinking of utensils of other patrons filled the space between them.

“Do you?”

Sometimes she really disliked Anna’s persistence.

“Yes.” Elsa refused to left her gaze and stared at the plate.

“Okay.” Several beats of silence between them passed. “Mmm! This is good.”

Elsa lifted her head, watched Anna enthusiastically tuck into her food before trying the food herself.

“It is good.” Decades of ingrained manners kept Elsa from inhaling her food, though it didn’t stop Anna from slowing down once she started.

“Did I tell you about the night that ended with Kristoff in jail for a week?” Her eyes gleamed with mischief.

“Oh my lord. What happened?” Elsa had a sneaking suspicion Anna played a part in this.

“It started off when I got my hands on a bottle of father’s whiskey…”

Stories were traded back and forth during the meal. Anna, updating her about the going-ons in Syracuse, and her, sharing stories about the two children she tutored.

“Was everything to your liking, ladies?” Siobhan stacked the empty dishes. 

“It was wonderful.” Anna shifted in her seat and looked around. 

“The facilities are through the green door.” It didn’t take a mind reader to guess what she needed.

“Thank you. Excuse me, I’ll be right back.” 

Anna wasted no time making her way across the room.

“You should tell her.” Plates were placed back down on the table and Siobhan sat in Anna’s chair.

“Tell who what?” Bewildered didn’t begin to describe her. 

“Tell Anna your feelings.” Green eyes stared unblinking into hers. “You should tell your sister you love her.”

“Of course I love her.” Elsa glanced around them, hoping no one noticed them talking. Luckily it seemed everyone else was engaged in their own lives.

“Tell Anna you’re in love with her.” No hesitation in Siobhan‘s voice, no shying away in disgust, no hate in her eyes. If anything, Elsa thought she saw hope in the other woman’s expression.

It felt like an explosion went off inside her. That feeling never even spoken out loud before was calmly uttered by a complete stranger.

“I’m not-“ At the shake of Siobhan’s head, Elsa stopped the lie on the tip of her tongue. “How did you know? Wait,” her mind raced, “how did you know her name is Anna?” From the day her sister was born, she had called her Ladybug. There were a handful of times she couldn’t use the nickname but those had been extremely rare.

Siobhan leaned back with a satisfied smile. “Ever since I was a wee babe, I’ve had The Sight. All of the women on my mother’s side do.” The lilting Irish accent grew stronger as she spoke. “Most lost it when they grew up.”

“But you never did?” Elsa didn’t know what to think. She didn’t believe in these things but she struggled to think of an alternative explanation that didn’t involve an even scarier answer.

“I didn’t. Charlatans tell you that it’s a wonderful, amazing gift but it’s not. At least, not always.” With a deep, sad sigh Siobhan continued. “Most of the time when I see something, I see sadness. Unrequited love, life changing accidents, and death. Too much death.”

Not once had Elsa considered the down side of actually having a gift like that, not with all the unbelievable people boasting in the news. 

“Every once in a while, I get to See happy things.” The once sad smile grew into a large, unrestrained one. “Knowing what to do for a babe not expected to live the night and helping them thrive. Encouraging a person to follow their ‘impossible’ dream at the exact right time. The moment when I met my husband and trying for his heart despite my friends questioning my sanity.”

Elsa stilled, not daring to breath.

“Or when I meet two strangers who could have something beautiful together.”

There it was. The one thing she wanted and feared to hear.

“I can’t. Other people will talk if we both never marry. They will be cruel to her.” Trying to deny her feelings to this woman seemed futile.

“Other people,” she scoffed, her lips twisting into a sneer. “Other people believe that because they have a bit o’money that they’re morally superior to others. Other people believe that if you have an accent,” here Siobhan motioned to her own mouth and flicked her fingers up, “you are too stupid to care about. Other people believe it’s their god-given right to own another human because of the color of their skin. Other people can go to hell.”

“Uhhh…” Elsa gaped, unable to form a single argument against the tirade. 

“Your sister deserves to know why she’s been alone for three years.” Siobhan smiled then looked behind her and stood up to gather the dirty dishes once more. “Besides, do you think you’re the only pair of ‘spinster sisters’ in the world?”  

“What?”

Siobhan laughed and walked away, weaving her way around the tables full of people.

Unseeing eyes watched her. Thoughts whirled through Elsa’s head, crashing into each other and sending her feelings into disarray.

“Elsa? Elsa!”

Someone shook her shoulder.

“Huh?” Her surroundings came back into focus. “Ladybug?”

“Are you okay?” Anna cupped her cheek. “You’re as white as a sheet.”

“I just need some air.” Standing, she hoped her sister didn’t notice the tremor in her voice. “Are you ready to leave?”

“Are you sure you’re all right?” Doubt laced Anna’s words. 

“I’m sure.” Stronger this time, Elsa was eager to leave behind those knowing eyes watching them. “Let’s fetch our hats.”

They did just that and, stopping periodically to look through shop windows, they didn’t arrive back until late.

* * * * *

Elsa stood near the hot stove brushing her damp hair. In the corner behind her, a folded partition stood where Anna washed herself using a cloth dipped into a large basin of hot water. Two kerosine lamps lit the room brightly, the sun having gone down long ago. Curtains pulled close across the windows kept anyone on the street from peering in but still she tightened the sash on her robe.

“I feel so much better.” Anna stepped out in her night clothes, toweling her wet hair.

“I’m sorry there isn’t a tub in here. It’s the Lewis’ family night for it.” With seven kids, they got the tub to themselves two nights a week while she and the other eight tenants shared nights.

“Again, it’s okay. I’m clean and that all that matters.” Robe now on, Anna joined her by the stove.

“Turn around and I’ll brush your hair.” Hours after talking with Siobhan, Elsa’s mind refused to settle down. Back and forth, to confess or not, her thoughts went. Back and forth. Back and forth until she didn’t know up from down. A few more minutes away from that concerned expression would settle her nerves. 

“Mmmmm,” Anna groaned. Voice husky with pleasure she spoke. “That feels wonderful.”

Any calmness Elsa had from the familiar act immediately flew out the window and drowned itself in the fountain down the street. Concentrating on her breathing help steady her long enough to finish drying Anna’s hair.

“There. All done.” Even with her mind screaming to step back and escape, Elsa stayed where she stood, hands to the side and heart racing.

“Thank you.” Turning to face Elsa, Anna leaned in and placed a kiss on her cheek.

Words dried on her tongue. ‘Tell her’ repeated in her mind over and over, echoing louder than the heartbeat in her ears.

“Elsa?”

‘Tell her.’

“Elsa, what’s wrong?”

‘Tell her.’

“Come on, you’re scaring me.”

That broke the loop. When she saw tears filling scared eyes Elsa pulled her sister in for a hug. 

“Nothing’s wrong.” Just like the day before, tears dampened her neck.

“Don’t lie.”

“I’m not lying.” Elsa let them to the bed and sat down. She used her sleeve to dry Anna’s eyes. “I’ve just had a lot on my mind.”

“Is it something you can tell me about?” Watery eyes studied her, ready to listen with her full attention.

‘Tell her.’

“I don’t know. Maybe?” She had planned to say no. She had planned to deflect. She had planned to stay quiet forever.

“You know you can tell me anything.” Anna took her hand, thumb stroking over and over her knuckles. “I promise to listen.”

“I know you will.”

A memory from when she was fifteen came back to Elsa. The two of them arguing bitterly over something long forgotten, her stomping out of the house into the freezing cold weather, snow laying inches thick over the ground but she refused to go back inside for her coat, instead sat on the porch swing and shivered. Seconds later Anna, still looking furious, stepped out dressed warmly and thrust out her own coat and scarf into Elsa’s arms and sat beside her. They stayed like that for a while, stewing in anger until she turned to Anna and asked if she wanted some tea. 

All their arguments had been like that. Even if it took days to reconcile, they would check on each other periodically then go back to their respective corners. Elsa’s mind drifted to the handkerchief with the little cow in the corner tucked safely away in her nightstand.

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.” Anna responded immediately.

Elsa laughed. Of course her sister wouldn’t know she meant it differently this time. They said ‘I love you’ constantly. She brought Anna’s hand up to her cheek and nuzzled into it.

“I love you.” Elsa injected all of her love into her voice and all of her desire into her eyes, and hoped beyond hope Anna understood. 

“Okay.” Head tilted in confusion for a few long, endless moments. “OH.” Eyes widened when realization dawned. 

“Yeah, oh.” What else was there to say now? Elsa refused to say anything that might sway Anna’s response one way or another.

Lips descended on hers in a brief, sudden kiss. “I love you, too.” Another tentative kiss, full of hope and yearning.

Surprise and shock stilled Elsa at first. Then they were really kissing, a crush of lips, entwining of tongues, desperate nips, and satisfied groans. 

“I love you,” Elsa repeated, joy infused in every syllable.

“I love you, too.” Another kiss. “I really love you.” Anna grinned against the next kiss.

The rest of night was lost to the press of lips against lips.

* * * * 

Shouting from the street nudged Elsa awake. She lay there, eyes closed, just listening to the sounds from outside and remembering the night before. Nothing beyond kisses were exchanged due to them both being exhausted from the busy day. But what a night it had been. Even if they spent a lifetime only kissing, she’d die happy and satisfied. Elsa finally opened her eyes and looked beside her.

The bed was empty and touching the cold mattress indicated it had been that way for a while. 

Elsa bolted upright and looked around the room. No Anna in sight, even her bag by the door was gone. She told herself not to panic, her sister might have just stepped out to grab food for breakfast. Chiming of the mantel clock. Ten in the morning. Her heart sank but she kept believing Anna would be back any second.

Ten-thirty, Elsa finished dressing and getting ready for the day.

Eleven, Elsa finally stopped trying to read after realizing she had been on the same page the whole time.

Eleven-thirty, Elsa brewed a pot of tea to settle her stomach.

Noon, Elsa sat staring at her ice cold cup of tea and was thankful she hadn’t tried to eat anything.

As the clock ticked towards twelve-thirty, she finally let herself admit Anna had left. Daylight must have shed an unflattering light on the night before and set her careening out of the apartment. In a week or so a letter would come asking her to send the trunk with everything in it back. She might even ask for her gift back. Hopefully, after a few years, Anna could forgive her. Perhaps it would be best to move again, away from the memories of last night. California was now a state and big enough to hide in. A letter of recommendation from the Bennett’s would surely land her a position quickly. If not, she knew how to clean floors and dust.

Ticking of the clock grew louder in the empty room. 

One o’clock chimed and Elsa struggled not to be sick. 

Curse Siobhan’s words and false hope. The one time Elsa let her guard down led to this. One good punch to the nose before she left town sounded satisfying. Until then, getting drunk until she forgot her own name would have to do and the bottle of sherry in the cabinet was just a few steps away. If she had the energy to stand, which she didn’t.

“Elsa, I’m back!” The door swung open and Anna bounded in. “Sorry I’m late but there was a mishap with a printing and Mrs. Griffin had to take care of that before our appointment. But then everything went wonderfully. I can’t wait to tell you all about it!”

“Anna?” Did she fall asleep at the table? Hopefully god will grant her a wish to never wake up and spend all of eternity in this moment.

Rushing of feet to her side barely registered. Anna’s worried frown came into view. “Elsa, you don’t look well. Are you sick? Do I need to get a doctor? I’ll get a doctor. Where is the doctor? Don’t worry, I’ll find one right away.”

“No,” barely able to croak that out, Elsa clutched onto her dress, stopping her sister from rushing out. “You’re back?” No, don’t question this. Anna might leave again or she’ll wake up.

“Of course I’m back. Why wouldn’t I be?” Fingers caressed her cheek, wiping away tears Elsa didn’t know were falling.

“I woke and you were gone. You l-left.” Sobs shook her trembling frame. Arms wrapped around Elsa and held her close. “You were gone and-and I was alone. I thought you weren’t coming b-back.”

“Sshhh. Of course I was going to come back. Didn’t you read my note?” Rocking gently, Anna rubbed her back soothingly. 

“Note?”

“On your nightstand. I’ll go get it.” Anna leaned back to step away.

“NO!” Fear shook Elsa. If this really was Anna here in her arms, she had no plans of letting her go anytime soon.

“I’m not going anywhere. I promise.” Hands resumed rubbing her back and twisted to look at the bed. “Shit. It’s not there. It must have fallen.”

Elsa nodded, hardly able to breath past the lump in her throat.

“It said that I had an appointment at ten-thirty with Griffins Publishing on Lexington Street and that I’d be right back.” Anna tilted Elsa’s chin up. “It said I love you.”

“It did? You do?”

“It did and I do. Of course I do.” Their kisses the night before were tentative as they explored and learned each other. This was filled with love and promise. “I love you very much.” Anna slipped across Elsa’s lap, opened the bag on the table, and pulled out a leather folio filled with papers. 

“What’s that, Ladybug?” Elsa leaned her head against Anna’s; nerves finally settling down at the weight on her lap.

“Last month, Griffins Publishing put out an advertisement in the paper for a job in their archives. Someone to handle copper plates, keep them organized and safe, and to create a detailed organization of everything stored. Mrs. Griffin told me that their last employee didn’t do anything put the plates on random shelves in all his six years of employment and they’re hiring four people to get the warehouse into serviceable shape.” Anna paused and opened the folio, revealing beautifully colored embroidery patterns. 

Deer, irises, meadows, constellations, and even fantasy creatures like dragons and mermaids, filled every turned page. They all took Elsa’s breath away.

“They were also looking for patterns. Their monthly subscribers can’t get enough of them so they want to put out a quarterly magazine dedicated to new and exciting patterns. She hired me in the spot and wants first pick of my patterns.” Smug was a well deserved look on her.

“You have a job?” Hope beat in her chest.

“Yes.”

“You want to stay?”

“I hated being apart.” Kisses trailed down Elsa’s jaw to her ear. “You can’t get rid of me now.”

That sounded perfect to her.

[bladeshowers]

💗 / Amara and void

Send ‘💗‘ to find out what my muse truly thinks & feels about yours!

Green hues settle fondly on the voidsents slumbering form. If he wasn't asleep, he was resting, and she didn't want to disturb him. As quietly as she could, she leaned over, pressing her lips to his head affectionately. The brunette rose from the bed, her silken crimson robe slipping over her shoulders. Her feet carried her over to her dresser slash desk where she settled. Normally it was where she took care of her hair and make-up on the rare occasions she wore it. Tonight was not one of those nights.

A small and controlled fire spell lit the candle on top. She bent low and opened one of the drawers. After a moment of digging, she procured a leather-bound book. Once it was laid flat, she opened it to a new page. Amara quickly glanced over her shoulder to ensure Ophiucus hadn't moved before her quill was dipped into ink and she began to write.

It’s odd how things can change from moment to moment. ‘Tis a rare occurrence for Ophiucus and I to quarrel with one another. I believe we know one another on a fundamentally unique level due to our pact-bond. Though that may also be my bias talking and desire to be special. Regardless, it finally happened. That frayed cord holding everything back finally snapped and I shouted that I loved him like a lunatic. He took it better than I expected. Perhaps because it is the truth. Perhaps because it only strengthens our connection. Maybe he returns my feelings in his own way. The distinction matters little in the end I suppose.

There are a few droplets of ink that spill as she sits back and pauses on what to write next.

I am glad that no one interfered before I finally let it slip. I could practically sense certain Scions getting frustrated with my lack of honesty regarding the situation. Their view of the world is entirely optimistic at times. Given my own experiences I had been trying to refrain. Half because I wasn’t sure what good it could do and I felt it was obvious.

I formed a crush on him after I summoned him. It wasn’t right away, obviously, even if I did consider him attractive. At that point I was concerned about my safety and kept my distance. Ophiucus isn’t easily dissuaded though. Being a very falliable woman I found him charming and attractive. After that it was just a matter of time. I was attached to him by the time we first slept together which only solidified my choice in him. I can’t quite figure out when I fell in love with him. Whether it was the first time he saved my life or much, much later, I cannot say.

All I know is that one day I woke up, gazed at his face with this stupid smile on mine, than promptly had a heart attack upon the realization that I couldn’t bear to be without him. At least things have worked out.

Amara doodles a few hearts on the page before she’s writing again.

He did warn me that to be with him is to allow the void into my heart. To become one in essence. I suppose it’s a good thing I’ve begun to chronicle my journey if that does happen. Ha ha.

She smiled wryly.

It’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make. After all, he’s spent so much time here on the Source with me, it’s only fair. Besides, wouldn’t I just… die anyways if I didn’t? The choice to either remain here on the Source for the rest of my days or eventually become corrupted and return to the void seems like an easy one. I would give him anything he asked of me (within reason) so this seems reasonable even if it does frighten me. I trust him to take care of me in that situation at least.

Not to mention it solves any questions about romantic partners from my family. Somehow I doubt introducing him to them would be a wise move. I suppose if he wants to meet them, he can, though I'd get nervous about him meeting my brother. Everyone else seems to prefer him to me. The last thing I want is for that to happen with Ophiucus too.

I still have trust issues when it comes to my family. I'm trying to work on it but I still prefer to keep my life as Warrior of Light away from my family. Though I prefer to keep most of my life from them as is. So far, so good on that front though. - A.S

With her thoughts and musings dedicated to paper, she placed the quill back in its well, journal away, and stood. Her arms stretched above her head before she returned to bed. Her body pressed in and snuggled against his.

[mitsuributmexican]

Mine. Yandere Grell x Fem! Reader Smut

CW/TW: afab! reader, intercourse, possessiveness, spanking, yandere tendencies, Grell being mean, mentions of 0rg4sms, degrading, mommy kink.

______________________________________________________________

         Grell was quick to get jealous. Usually because you’d give your oh-so-sweet attention to someone else. She would never react too drastically. Usually just putting her hand over your waist or glaring at whoever tried to take you away from her. Grell would hardly ever get mad you, it’s not your fault so many people want to take her cute little wife away from her!

         However, today was different.

        You see, you had gone out some friends today. Grell would have been fine with it (aka she’s secretly fuming on the inside) if you had told her. There was a party you really wanted to go to with your friends. Since you were so excited, you had forgotten to tell Grell where you were going. What made this even worse was the fact that she wasn’t home yet.

      Your phone had been in your purse, so you were entirely oblivious to the 100+ missed calls and texts she had given you. As you got home, you finally checked your phone before you put your keys into the doorknob. You gulped down your fear, opened the door, and closed it behind you. Hopefully you could explain yourself and get off easily, right?

     Wrong.

     Just as you were about call out her name, you were roughly shoved against the wall with only Grell’s head to keep you from getting injured. “Where the hell were you?” she hissed into your ear. Before you could answer, she asked you another question. “Have you not seen all the messages and calls I’ve given you?”, thought it was less of a question and more of a snarl. Whimpering and closing your eyes, you made rather pathetic little attempts to explain to Grell what had happened.

       She wasn’t taking any of it. “Have you forgotten that you’re mine, mine and mine alone and that you belong to me?” she said. You shook your head no. Grell took one look at your neck. Those love marks she had given you were wearing off. “It seems you have.” Grell stated. Next thing you know she was carrying you bridal style to your bedroom.

       She shoved you onto the bed in a way where your behind was exposed to her. She pinned you on the bed from on top of you then stepped on your skirt, slowly dragging her foot upwards to life up your skirt and expose your ass to her. You whimpered and cried out in pain. Grell kept silent for a few moments, debating on what she’d do with you. Unfortunately for you, this silence would not last, as she knew what she was going to do. She took her foot off you and sat on the bed. “Bend over my lap, ass up, now.” she demanded.

     You did as you were told. “Count to 10 for me. If you mess up, we start over, understood?” she said. “Yes.” you replied with the slightest shake in your voice. “Yes who?” Grell asked. “Yes mommy” you said. Grell smirked down at you for a second. Goodness, you really will do as she says, won’t you?

   Her hand roughly smacked against your ass, making you cry out and almost forget to count. You got to 9 before you had to start over. By the time it was over, your bum was a bright red and your eyes were glossy due to your tears. Grell gently put you down on the bed. You were allowed to rest until Grell noticed you were falling asleep. “I’m not finished yet, darling~” she cooed.

   “Mommy it hurts.” you cried out. “Aww it hurts?” Grell said in a sweet voice. She got close to your ear then said “Too bad, you’ll keep taking it until I’m satisfied with you.” . She stripped you of your clothes and spread your legs open. As she took off your panties she teased you for how wet you were. “Aww, you’re soaking aren’t you? You little whore~” she said.

   Grell walked to the dresser to get her strap on. When she got back she applied the strap on to herself and pinned your hands down. With no warning, she plunged two fingers into your pussy, eliciting a loud moan from you. You were on and off the verge of an orgasm and it was unbearable. “Mommy please I want to cum.” You whined. God, you’re so pretty when you beg. “Alright, you can cum.” Grell said. You sighed in relief. “But only if you do it after I fuck you.” she said.

   Grell plowed into you with little to no mercy, leaning her head down to mark up your neck with love bites. The sight underneath her made her want to keep this going. Your glossy eyes, the way your tits jiggled and smacked against your skin, your moans, your soft hands she was pinning down, you’re such a cute little angel. Her cute little angel.

  She noticed you were about to cum. “Who do you belong to?” she asked you. “I belong to you, mommy.” you said quietly. “I can’t hear you~ Louder.” she ordered. “I belong to you, mommy!” you basically screamed out. “Good girl~” she cooed, letting you cum.

You’re hers. And no matter how hard you try; she’ll always make sure you remember that. That night she hugged you just a bit tighter when you were asleep, stroking your hair and promising to protect you from people who wanted to take you from her.

A/N: IM SO SORRY IF THIS SEEMS RUSHED OR BAD THIS IS MY FIRST TIME I HAVE WRITTEN SMUT

[seancekitsch]

Requesting for a nervous but willing Hughie getting smooched, felt up, and eventually pegged/banged by the reader in order to get some intel.

unedited and i got carried away !!

It felt good, all of the kissing, the groping, the mindlessness of it all. He had played his cards right, flirting with the plant powered supe at an event for Vought to try to regain its good name. There was a carnival, a beer garden, live music, and you. A newbie, not unlike Annie, which is why she herself suggested the woman to be Hughie’s target.

The woman rocked back on top of him, coming apart from their kiss. Every time she rolls her hips, Hughie feels like he needs a cold shower. He’s never been with a woman so domineering, so willing to take.

It wasn’t hard to get to this point, at your apartment in Vought’s secondary housing for their extra supes. ‘The spares and unwanteds’ as Annie and now you had both mentioned, in that exact phrasing. He recognizes it as a clear Homelander-ism. He flirted, in his opinion poorly, but you hung onto every word. And you weren’t hard to flirt with; you were funny, gorgeous, and you had enough in common that he could have easily seen himself swiping right on you on Tinder in a normal circumstance. You seemed bored of the little PR stunt, and bluntly asked him to come back to your place, as simply as that. You grope at his sides, letting him squirm under you as you dive back in to kiss and suck at his neck.

“Wanna take this to the next level, pretty boy?” you whisper against his neck, and he hesitates, only for a moment.

And then you’re immediately climbing off his lap, and he thinks he’s immediately fucked this up. If he can’t get this intel, if you tell him to leave, he might run out of time. There have been so many moving pieces at Vought, so many new developments that—

“Earth to Hughie?” you ask, gentler than he expects you to.

“Hey, hey dude,” you move to sit next to him, a reassuring hand on his shoulder, “If you don’t wanna continue we don’t have to. We can stop it’s fine! I’ll still give you the information you want.”

His blood runs cold.

“Wh-why do you think I want… information from you?” his voice is quiet, distant. If you knew, what do others know?

“Oh I’m not stupid,” you laugh, “I recognize you, from the news? From Vought? And then it also begs the question of: why would a man as cute as you go after little old me, hmm? Supes complicate things. We’re not exactly easy to date.”

You had him there. He nods, understanding. Relief washing over him.

“Oh thank god,” he sighs, and leans into your touch.

“I was worried you’d strangle me with vines or some shit.”

You laugh, hard; it’s beautiful. Sounds like angels to him.

“I could still do that,” you joke, “but in a different context.”

He’s still hard, and he notices that joke only excites him more. You seem to notice too.

You stand up, walking towards the open door to your bedroom.

“Now Hughie, I’m going to give you the information no matter what, but I think I think we might both have more fun in here.”

You watch as his hands clench and unclench on the couch, his nerves sparking your nerves. He’s so handsome, really, in a boyish and incorruptible way. You want him to stay.

And steadily, Hughie rises from the couch, walks over to you, and kisses you eagerly. Harder than you expect. You pull him through the doorway, no breaking the kiss until you tumble onto the bed with him, yanking at his flannel to try to pull it off.

“You uh, have a lot more plants in here,” he remarks between kisses.

“Better for…. soundproofing,” you offer, “Thin walls.”

And Hughie pauses to watch, amused, as easily the worlds biggest pothos begins to trail its vines across the walls, one particular vine actually using the door handle to shut the bedroom door behind the two of you. His eyes then travel around your room, around all of your personal belongings, your civilian clothes on the floor, to…

Your dresser, where you forgot to put your strap on away. You feel your face heat up even though it’s nothing to be ashamed of. Part of you, you think, doesn’t want to scare him away.

“That’s— oh god— I forgot to put that away, I was moving stuff and…” you trail off when Hughie’s eyes meet yours.

“Dude, you totally don’t have to explain. I’ve been around,” He says with an air of confidence, which you don’t deny.

“Have you ever—?” the question hangs in the air, and you use this as the perfect time to fling his discarded flannel across the room.

“Have I? No, never. But maybe next time?” He let’s that question hang in the air next to yours, burying his face in the crook of your neck as he starts to unlatch the corset of your Supe costume.

“Oh, next time?” you ask, pausing to moan at his teeth scraping your pulse, “There’s gonna be a next time?”

You hope you don’t sound too eager.

He shrugs, and mumbles something that sounds like “sure” against your skin. Good enough. You hook your thigh around his hip and push, maneuvering him on his back under your straddled legs. You throw the corset top off somewhere near where you aimed his flannel, and lean down to kiss him, his hands almost immediately cupping your chest. You grind against him again, and he whimpers against your lips. Fuck, he sounds so sweet.

You break the kiss to reach for his belt, not missing the way his chest heaves and a dreamy smile spreads across his face.

“You want me to fuck you, Pretty Boy?”

“God, please,” he begs, and you smile as you get to work on the button of his pants as well, quickly pushing the jeans down and letting him kick them the rest of the way off.

He’s wearing boxers with penguins all over them.

“Are these your seduction plot underwear?” you ask, not hiding your laughter.

He sits up to grabs your hips, all while laughing with you.

“They’re lucky!”

“Says who?”

“Stop making fun of me and take your pants off so we match.”

You’ve never laughed this much with someone you were sleeping with. He was fun.

You shimmy out of your tighter than hell pants and then climb back on top of him as he wolf whisked jokingly at you.

“No penguins,” he comments.

“You like these better though.”

You’re right, he does. He dips his fingers under the dark lace, only to revel in the shuddering gasp in response. His head falls back into the pillow as his thumbs massage circles into your hips, guiding you to rock back and forth on top of him again. You can feel him, straining through his gaudy underwear, and fuck you want him inside you.

He whimpers below you, eyes screwed shut, and you shift away, pulling the elastic of his boxers down the same way you pulled at his pants. He springs free, his cock bouncing up to slap against his stomach, and you smile as you crawl down lower on the bed.

“Can I have a taste?” you ask, batting your lashes at him.

“You can have whatever you want,” he moans as your hand wraps around his length. You dip your head down, taking a curious lick of his tip, before taking him into your mouth without warning. He moans again, hands scrambling to find purchase in your hair and planting them there as you bob up and down on his cock.

You can feel him twitch in your mouth already. Fuck, how long has it been since he’s…? Well, you’re about to rock his world.

You rise up quickly, removing him from your mouth but not your hand, and a shiver runs through his body at the sensation of the cool air on his dick.

“You gonna be a good boy for me?”

He looks at you, eyes blown wide with lust, as he nods affirmative.

“I asked,” you squeeze the base of his cock and his mouth falls open, “Are you gonna be a good boy for me?”

“Yes! Yeah, please.”

“Please what?” you ask, one handedly working your underwear down (more easily said than done, but Hughie doesn’t mind the awkwardness).

“Please fuck me, I’ll be good.”

You smile at him like the cat who’s caught the canary.

Once your panties are thrown carelessly next to you at the end of the bed, you crawl up, hands and knees, until you’re hovering above him. You lean down to kiss him, sloppy, lots of tongue, before pressing the absolute sweetest kiss to his forehead.

You line yourself up with his cock and impale yourself on it, gasping in surprise at your own reaction. He feels even bigger than he did in your hand. You take a second, deep breathing.

“Are you okay?” he asks so earnestly it could kill you.

You let out a breathy chuckle.

“Yeah, you’re just, god— you’re big. Give me a second.”

And you both do, with Hughie letting out a sharp whine when you finally do move, at first a slow grind against each other’s bodies, and then honest thrusting.

Your thighs burn as you work yourself up to a rhythm, rising and falling on Hughie’s cock. His hands find your chest again, big calloused fingers massaging you, and genuine affection for this man blooms in your chest.

“Oh fuck this feels amazing,” he groans, bucking his hips up to meet your thrust and you scream, completely involuntarily, at how deep he really is.

“Oh!” you gasp, “you’re telling me, Pretty Boy.”

He meets your thrusts in rhythm now, letting you bounce on his cock as your thumb finds its way to his lips; first tracing them, then delving between them as he eagerly opens his mouth to accept it. Hughie sucks on your thumb and it sends shockwaves up your arm. You’re thankful for your plants, because you’re sure people in the apartments around you would hate to hear the creaking bedframe, to hear you chant his name.

His hips stutter, bucking you slightly.

“Gonna cum pretty boy?”

He nods furiously, still sucking your thumb.

“Beg for it, and I’ll let you,” you coo, teasing him.

He pushes your thumb away with his tongue, and starts absolutely babbling.

“Please fuck holy fuck, shit ahhh— let me cum? Please? I’ll be good I’ll make you cum i’ll do fuck— anything!”

Good enough!

You grab his hands from their place on your chest and move them to your headboard. Immediately his hands white knuckle the railings. You speed up, thighs now absolutely burning, calves ready to cramp, but it’s all worth it. You feel amazing.

He flinches, twitches, a familiar heat floods you, and you slow down, chuckling breathlessly. His right hand leaves the headboard, and reaches down to where your bodies meet. He rubs his thumb against your clit, and it takes only seconds for you to me shaking on top of him, whispering his name as you cum for him.

There isn’t cuddling after, but more flirting; joking and playful jabs at each other. It’s comfy. You freely give him all the information he wants, and then some. He watches in awe again as the vines of your pothos retreat to their normal tangles around their pots and stands.

“If you ever want more information, you know where to find me now,” you say nonchalantly after you throw on a big tee shirt from your drawer, hoping he takes the hint for more. He smiles, about to respond, when you notice something peeking out of his pocket.

“Are those my panties?” you exclaim, “Is that where they went?!”

He looks down, sheepish and bright red, but doesn’t move to empty his pockets.

“Guilty,” he shrugs, “I did say I liked these better.”

You smile, willing to give up the pair. Both of you drift to the door slowly, like a waltz, and when he’s in the door frame, he surprises you.

“So, next time I need information, I’ll just drop by, okay?”

You nod enthusiastically.

“No games or seduction plot but uhhh. If you want to use that thing…”

“Strap on,” you supply, deadpan.

“Yeah, right!” Strap on. If you want to use it.”

“Okay, Hughie.”

Both of you laugh, he presses a kiss to your forehead, and then he’s gone.

Until next time.

[lovelybarnes]

get the girl- p. parker

pairings: peter parker x reader, mentions of ned, betty, mj, and brad warnings: unrequited love (kind of?? implied), lotsss of pining and fluff, a little long about: requested! (DF4) “you fell asleep, i couldn’t move.“ + (DF31) “maybe if you stop staring at her and actually talk to her, you might have a chance.” a/n: been wanting to write a peter parker friends to lovers for a while, so thank you so so much for requesting this. i swear i don’t usually take this long?? i got carried away and it got way longer than i expected, i hope you enjoy! thank you for requesting!

peter thinks it’s hopeless. the cliche he’s stuck in seems cruel- no matter what the movies you (and, fine, yes, him sometimes) make him watch say. nothing that happens in them ever transpires to real life; beautiful girls don’t fall in love with their nerdy best friends and guys like peter parker don’t get the girl.

it’s fun to fantasize, though. and especially fun to look at you, particularly when you’re laying on his bed, oblivious to him standing in the doorway, observing as you twist your neck to get a good look at the polaroids he hung up on his wall. a familiar smile grows on your face when your eyes scan them, flickering to the polaroid camera you got him for christmas years ago.

you move to try to get a better look at them without standing up, glancing down when you feel a sharp edge poke at your skin. he watches as your eyebrows furrow in possibly the prettiest way possible and you pull out a polaroid from under you. and oh, peter is just now realizing exactly what that photo is and why it’s on his bed instead of hanging off the empty miniature clothespin that comes from the pack you thrust at his chest when you noticed the increasing pile of pictures on his desk.

he’s moving on autopilot towards you, the foot already halfway through the door used as a stepping stone to go to your side faster. he’s with you in less than three steps, tugging on your ankle and then tackling you as sensibly as possible, laying his whole body on yours. you oof, dropping the picture, having seen it for too little to really question it, and laugh breathlessly. “pete!” you wheeze, curling your arms around his back, one of your hands absentmindedly drawing figures through his hoodie and your other one inching up to his hair, already beginning to thread through the chocolate curls. “yes?” he hums innocently, furtively grabbing the polaroid you dropped and shoving it in the pocket of his hoodie before his arms wrap around your thighs.

“i told you if you keep doing that, one day you’re gonna get hurt,” you scold, looking attentively as peter leans his head against your chest. “me?” he questions, feeling you nod under his cheek. “uh huh, you. you’ll hit your head or something. for a spider-”

“spiderman. superhero,” peter corrects, you ignore him, “you are really clumsy.” peter huffs in dissent, letting a comfortable silence blanket over the both of you for a minute before he looks up at you. “what?” you ask, a smile brimming at the edges of your words. you’re so pretty, peter wants to say, but instead, he goes with a more best-friend-friendly question, “d’you wanna watch a movie?”

you nod at him, pulling your hands away from his head to play with the strings of his hoodie, “sure, what do we want to watch today?” peter’s eyes immediately light up, and you realize you never actually needed to ask. “fine,” you agree, trying not to grin too hard at the way his face brightens. “which one?” you request, watching his freckled cheeks flush pink in excitement, “sixth one. the best one, of course.” you smirk, shrugging, “right, don’t know why i asked, i basically know the movie word for word now.” peter can’t help but give you heart eyes at the knowledge of your knowing the script of his favorite movie. god, you really were the dream girl.

“‘kay, go make some popcorn and get everything ready while i go to the bathroom,” you request, tapping peter’s shoulder as a way to tell peter to let you out from under his body weight. he does the complete opposite of what you imply, however, nuzzling further into your chest and inhaling deeply. “peter,” you laugh, poking his shoulder again, “‘m comfy,” he mumbles, eyes closed. “pete, c’mon, i gotta pee and you’re lying on my bladder,” you whine, “also, don’t you wanna watch episode six of star wars while i eat popcorn and play with your hair?” you singsong. he’s suddenly moving his body off of yours to let you go, although not before pressing a sloppy- friendly- kiss to your arm, “hurry up.”

you giggle as you stand, stretching out your limbs and walking to the bathroom while peter watches you walk away. once he hears the bathroom door shut, he digs his hands into his pockets, fingers tugging on the polaroid he had shoved inside. a smile grows on his face without his permission when he holds it at his stomach, the light reflecting off of the smile that was printed on the picture. he traces a nail over your face, bright and open in the way that makes you gleam. it’s his favorite picture ever, the only one that managed to catch you so in your element, your natural halo of glow apparent in your outline. peter had scrawled the words best girl in red marker on the white space at the bottom- something he thought he could explain away easily if he had to. the picture had its own designated space on his wall, right in the middle so the importance was clear, but it was rarely actually up there, instead always next to him for inspiration when he was doing homework and on his dresser for when he couldn't sleep.

his lips quirk one last time at the photograph before walking to the wall where all the rest of them reside. he hangs it up, glancing at it once more until he turns to walk out of his room.

the movie is ready to play when you walk into the living room, and peter is in the kitchen making your popcorn. “it smells good,” you say in a greeting, sniffing the air and exhaling in satisfaction. peter laughs, “you do that every time we have a movie night.” you tilt your head at him, “do what?” he motions to you, “that. the whole smelling thing and letting me know how good it smells, it’s cute.”

your face heats when it slips out of his lips, pausing to absorb the words he doesn’t seem to have noticed he said. his back is to you, dumping the popcorn into a bowl for you. you can’t see it, but he’s freaking out, trying to think of an excuse if you decide it was too weird. you don’t do anything to imply that, though, just blink until the words dissolve in the air. “thanks,” you finally reply, as nonchalant as you can make it while you grab his m&ms. he hums in response, turning around to head to the couch, “star wars time,” he winks, making you grin.

you follow him as he heads to the couch, settling down next to him once he puts on the movie. the star wars theme starts, the tune fringed by peter’s humming. cute, you think, snuggling deeper into the crook of his arm and shoving popcorn into your mouth. “hmm, good,” you compliment, watching the scenes you’d seen so many times pass on the screens. you mouth along when you recognize the lines until your eyes feel heavy and they shut completely.

-

quiet thwips wake you up hours later, when the black of the night has bled the sky blue and the stars have littered over the clouds, the moon replacing the sun. you see that the movie is long over when you blink yourself awake, beginning to cuddle deeper into your pillow when you realize it’s too warm and hard to be a pillow. you are met with the vision of your best friend, lip tugged in between his teeth as he concentrates on something behind you. he doesn’t seem to notice that you’re awake, trying to remain as still as possibly while the thwip noises continue. he mutters a curse, scrunching his nose adorably before flicking his eyes to you. they widen when he notices you’re awake, dropping his hand. “what’re you doing?” you yawn, sitting up and away from the warmth of peter’s embrace. “uh- i just- the movie ended and you didn’t wake up, so i tried to get the remote, then i got hungry…” he scratches the back of his head awkwardly, scanning the room and you turn to observe, stunned to see the mess of webs and dropped items you weren’t sure how you didn’t hear. “oh my god, what the- did you try to get everything with your webs?” you ask in bewilderment, eyeing a bag of gummy worms open and on the floor, you snap your neck towards him to observe his burning cheeks. “um. yes,” he confesses, blushing harder. “why didn’t you just get up?” you question, looking back at the ruined living room, exhaling in surprise as you notice the remote on the ground.

“you... you fell asleep on me. i couldn’t move.”

you pause, tilting your head slightly to look at peter, “pete, god, that’s so sweet. but you really don’t need to…” you motion to the dropped items, “do all that,” you laugh. peter shrugs, and you notice the tips of his ears are red, too. “i didn’t want to wake you up. i know how much of a light sleeper you are.”

you feel like you’re melting, every single muscle in your body drooping in the loveliness that was peter parker. you weren’t sure how the boy was real. you suddenly drop yourself on him again, wrapping your arms around his burning neck, “thank you, peter,” you say into his skin. like a reflex, his own arms go around your waist, holding you securely so you won’t fall, “‘f course.”

a moment of quiet follows until peter’s stomach rumbles suddenly, making you laugh, “i think i’ve starved you long enough. you pick today. also, when did you get so ripped? your arms are so big--” peter cuts you off with a groan, dropping his head on your shoulder, “you had to ruin the moment--”

-

peter doesn’t know what it is with you (actually, he does) that makes you so distracting. you’re just waiting in line for lunch, standing next to mj and laughing occasionally when she says something. all you’re doing is standing, and maybe it’s peter’s boy-hormones combined with his spider-hormones that magnify every single perfect feature of yours, but he can’t take his eyes off of you. you’re so pretty. the curve of the smiles that pulls into your cheeks, the twinkle that remains permanent in the color of your eyes, the way you look in that skirt--

“maybe if you stop staring at her and actually talk to her, you might have a chance,” a voice points out from next to him. peter scoffs, ripping his sight away from you to turn to ned. “i talk to her all the time. she’s my best friend.” ned shakes his head and sighs, “you talk to her about star wars, you talk to me about star wars, how is that supposed to help you have a chance--”

“i have a chance,” peter mumbles, trying to believe it himself, “she knows that she and you stand at different levels of best friends--” ned looks offended, “different levels? what is that supposed to mean--” peter stares exasperatedly at his best friend, “it means i want to date her and i don’t want to date you--”

“that’s a little rude--”

“hey you guys,” you greet, sitting down on the seat in front of peter’s and patting the seat next to you for mj. she stares at you silently, and you frown, patting the seat harder, “sit.” you instruct. she sighs and does what she’s told. “what were you guys talking about?” you ask, picking up your small plate of cherry pie to replace the bowl of orange slices that you took from peter’s plate. “thank you,” peter mumbles, digging his fork into the pie the moment you set it down. you hum, stealing a cherry tomato from his salad.

“oh, you know. the usual, your friendship with peter,” the latter shoots him a look and you raise an eyebrow, “that’s the usual? a little strange, don’t you think?” ned shrugs, “did you know that you and i stand at ‘different levels’ as peter’s best friends?” peter nearly chokes on his pie, glaring at ned. you cock your head at peter, thinking as you steal another tomato, “i… guess i thought so? i’ve known peter since, like, preschool, and we tell each other everything.”

“everything, huh?” ned wonders, a sound of pain falling from his lips when peter kicks him under the table. “peter.” he hisses. mj narrows her eyes at the two boys, “what is going on with you guys today? you’re acting weirder than normal.” peter’s face screws up in confusion, looking to you for help. you shrug, “she’s right.”

“i usually am,” mj mutters.

“so what is it?” you query, popping an orange slice as peter cringes at the mere thought of the taste. “peter has a crush,” ned informs helpfully, oblivious to peter’s dismay, “i- i don’t-”

you blink, feeling mj’s elbow shove into your ribs as her own way to make sure you’re okay. you ignore her, and it tells her everything she needs to know. “it’s liz, right?” you guess, trying to mask the hurt on your face with a teasing smile, “i saw you looking at her the other day. she’s pretty.” “no! it’s not- i mean, yes, liz is pretty, but i don’t like her or anything- ned doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” peter rambles. “pete, you don’t have to be embarrassed, i’m just upset you didn’t tell me,” you lie. peter’s eyebrows furrow, “you’re just upset that… i didn’t tell you?” he repeats. you nod, biting into another orange slice. “just that?” he asks meekly. you cock your head at him.

“i just- never mind. it’s not liz,” he says, poking at his pie. “so you admit you have a crush?” you start with a fake smirk, jabbing at your best friend with your fork, “just not on liz?”

“i didn’t… i didn’t say that-” peter stutters. your eyes narrow at him, lip tugged between your teeth, “i’m gonna find out who it is by the end of the day.”

peter is unfortunately sure you will. he’s not subtle as is, but you’re never deliberately looking for the signs, which makes it a lot easier to hide his embarrassingly large crush on you. but now, you'll be paying attention to his every move, and knowing you, he knows you won’t stop until you find out what you want, unless he tells you to back off. but, does he want you to back off?

he pushes his tray away, suddenly not feeling so hungry.

-

you stay true to your promise, hanging off his arm for the rest of the day, observing the way he acts around some of your classmates, but somehow not noticing the way he blatantly refuses to look at you- which proves humiliatingly difficult; peter never realized exactly how much he turned to look if you laughed at the joke too, or to catch one of your smiles when you hear something funny or peter whispers a joke into the shell of your ear.

by the end of the day when you’re walking to the train station together, you’re groaning at him, putting your full weight on his arm as you tug at him. “who is it? is it betty? oh my god, is it mj? is that why you kept looking at her?” you ask excitedly. peter wants to tell you the truth: he wasn’t looking at mj, he was looking at you, because as much as he tried, he couldn’t pry his attention off of you, who just so happened to sit next to mj.

“not mj. not betty,” he replies, pulling you inside the subway and scanning for free seats. you trail behind him when he finds a spot, letting you take it as he stands in front of you. “not them… it has to be liz, right?” you pry, sighing when he shakes his head. “brad- it’s brad, right?” you grin, whining when he denies it again. “can you just tell me if i got them already? i’ve practically said everyone in the school,” you complain, “they do go to school with us, right?” at peter’s nod, you drop your head against his abdomen, “and you have not said their name yet.”

“peter,” you drag out, reaching out for his hand to pull it, “just tell me! i can probably set you up with them!”

“y/n, just drop it,” he sighs, and you sigh too, mumbling a fine before noticing an older lady standing at the door. you wave her over, standing next to peter and letting her take your seat. peter feels like his heart will pop out of his chest.

the bumps of the subway push you close enough to him to feel the thundering of his heart, and your eyebrows knit together in worry, “are you okay? your heart’s beating, like, really fast-” yeah and your hand on my chest is not helping- “‘m fine.”

“is it because of the crush thing?” yes, “because i’m sorry about annoying you about it so much, if you don’t want to talk about it, i won’t bother you with it. just know that if they don’t like you back, they’re insane, because you, peter parker, are a ca-”

it was like a rubber band snapping, and peter suddenly couldn’t help it anymore, pushing his lips against yours, effectively cutting you off and catching you so off-guard, you freeze for a second before reacting, pulling his jaw closer. you almost tug him back when he pulls away, before you remember you’re still standing on a crowded, moving subway, and while kissing your best friend had been all you wanted for way too long, you were absolutely going to miss your stop if you didn’t stop.

“i- i’m sorry, i just-” peter stammered, stepping back. “no! so, please don’t apologize, seriously, it’s fine, it’s, like, better than fine.”

a beat of awkward silence passed before the tube halted to the stop right before yours. “it’s you. in case that didn’t… come clear. you’re the person i like,” peter informs quietly. “really?” you ask, cheek already pulling in a shy smile. “really,” peter assures.

this time, you don’t really care if you miss your stop, and neither does peter, now that he knows that, sometimes, peter parker does get the girl.

[huntergatherercreator]

Could you do a mob Tom Holland reacting to the reader where the reader is over working herself lately and forgets to sleep, eat and stay hydrated properly and that sort of stuff. So, when they're busy stalking her they see that she left her front door open and she's literally collapsed on the floor out of exhaustion and started to sleep there? Fun fact: That might end up being me by tomorrow or after 2 days approx.

Hey lovey, thank you so much for the request! I know it's taken me a couple of days to get around to writing this so hopefully you've had a lovely rest and some downtime to reset after being so busy. I do feel slightly called out by this request if I'm honest because, same. Just remember to be nice to yourself, your body can handle a lot but it needs a little looking after too. Drink your water, have lots of yummy snacks, and most importantly have a nice long sleep!

I hope this is close to what you were after.

Stay safe and take care 💜💜

-------

1,339 words

You struggled to keep your eyes open as you stumbled to your door. It was well past nine, you’d only meant to stay an extra hour at work but, like it had for the past three days, the time had got away from you. Every time you’d made to leave there was another issue, another customer, another delivery. Before you’d even realised it you’d worked almost double your shifted hours each day and you be lying if you said you weren’t feeling it now. Your phone buzzed in your pocket as you fought with the lock. Stepping into the hallway you gratefully dropped your bag and fished it out.

‘Why are you only getting home now’ the message read. Then a second later ‘Have you eaten yet?’

Shoulders slumping you pushed the door closed and flicked on the light. You didn’t know how to respond to him. He didn’t normally message to check up on you like that but you didn’t blame him for worrying, or resorting to spying on you. You’d barely had the energy to write back more than one word answers to him, and that was if you got five minutes alone to actually check your phone. As you re-read his words your stomach churned with hunger. You hadn’t eaten yet. After a second you realised you couldn’t remember the last time you’d had a drink of anything either. Scrubbing a hand over your face you sat heavily on the bottom step. The intention of kicking off your shoes evaporated as your legs stretched out in front of you and relief flowed through them. Resting your shoulder against the wall you stared past your phone, eyes zoning out as you tried to think of what to say to him. You just needed a second to think. Smothering a yawn your eyes fluttered closed. Just a small second and then you’d let him know you were OK...

***

Tom stared at his phone. It had been twenty minutes since he’d text you. It wasn’t like you to not respond, or to be getting home this late constantly. You’d waved him off with reassurances that you were just busy with work but something about the situation wasn’t sitting right with him. Dialling your phone it rang out and disconnected, unanswered. He knew he shouldn’t doubt you. You were too good a person to lie to him, let alone go behind his back and hide something, but the evasive way you’d been acting had him unsettled.

Standing he grabbed his suit jacket from the back of his chair and shrugged it on. The man speaking faltered and cleared his throat. Tom levelled him a look, daring him to question his actions. If he wanted to walk out of a business meeting he damn well would. Buttoning his jacket he pointedly made eye contact with the other twelve men at the table. When no-one spoke he clapped a hand on his brothers shoulder and stalked from the room.

His chauffeur drove him to your house as fast as the traffic would allow. He called you again. Twice. Three times. Growling a profanity he pulled up the tracker app he’d installed on your phone and checked the location again. It still said you were at home. A chill crept in as an errant thought slid into his mind. What if you weren’t alone? Shaking it off, he shoved the phone into his pocket and impatiently waited as the car turned into your street. He had the door open before the car had properly slowed.

Shoving the gate open he hesitated as he took in the dark windows. The only light was in the hallway. Reaching into his jacket his fingers brushed against the cool metal of his gun as unease swirled in his gut.

Trying the door his breath caught as he realised it was unlocked. Hand tightening on his weapon he gently nudged it open until he caught sight of you stretched out on the stairs. For a second his heart constricted, stomach plummeting as he took in how still you were. Then you huffed a sleepy breath and shifted to get more comfortable.

Dragging a hand through his curls he let out a long breath before laughing softly. He was an idiot. The shock of thinking you were unconscious, or worse, felt like a kick from karma for ever doubting you. Watching you so deeply asleep, still wrapped in your jacket, he knew he’d made a mistake by not checking up on you sooner.

Shutting the door quietly he flipped the lock. Kneeling down he slipped off your shoes, tucking them neatly on the rack before winding his arms around you. Lifting you easily he cradled you close as he carried you up the stairs to your bedroom. Toeing the door open he left the light off and wound his way to your side of the bed. As he lay you on top of the duvet you jolted, suddenly wide awake.

***

A startled yelp left you as a dark figure loomed over the bed. Hands flying up to ward them off you caught them hard in the gut. A whoosh of air left them along with a groan.

“Y/N, it’s me.” Tom’s voice broke through the sleep fog still clinging to you.

“Are you OK?” Pushing yourself up your hands fluttered around him, not sure where was safe to touch him. His fingers caught yours, thumbs smoothing over your knuckles.

“I should be asking you that.” The bed shifted as he settled on the edge. In the darkness you could barely see him but you could feel his gaze boring into you.

“I’m fine,” you mumbled biting back a yawn.

“You passed out in the hallway,” he admonished. “You’ve clearly not been taking care of yourself.”

Fingers going limp in his hold you dropped your head guiltily. He wasn’t wrong. You had pushed yourself too far this time.

The bedside lamp flared to life, searing your eyes for a second until they adjusted. When you found the courage to look up he was watching you with pensive stare. You knew what he must be thinking. You were a mess. A huge contrast to him in every way. Where your hair was a mess from rushing about all day, his was perfectly dishevelled. Your clothes were rumpled from being hastily thrown on this morning and his suit was crisp and sharp even after a full day of work.

“I guess I’m just going to have to take care of you.” He said it with a straight face but you flushed at the double meaning.

“You don’t have to do that, Tom. I’m sure you’ve got more important things to do tonight.”

“None more important than you.” His lips quirked when you stared dumbly at him. Shrugging out of his coat he dropped it at the end of the bed and undid his cufflinks.

“Are you hungry, baby?” Your throat dried up as you watched him roll up his sleeves. When you didn’t answer he raised an eyebrow, hands going to his hips.

“I asked you a question.”

“Yes,” you whispered.

“Good.” He crossed to your dresser and pulled out your favourite pyjamas. “Put these on, and get under the covers.” Taking the empty glass from your bedside table he disappeared for a minute before returning with it filled to the brim with water.

“I want this gone by the time I get back,” he ordered.

“Where are you going?” you asked, suddenly worried.

Cupping your face he kissed your forehead. “Relax. I’m going to make you something to eat.”

Slumping back against the cushions you smiled up at him.

“I can’t wait to see that,” you teased. He’d never personally made you anything before. Everything usually came straight from his personal chef, or a nearby restaurant.

“If you don’t get changed and drink your water you won’t get anything,” he warned.

Your stomach growled loudly in protest.

“Don’t worry, I’m going to take good care of you,” he promised.

-------

Taglist: @rosie-posie08 @woahmrstark

[nixll]

venice for one

pairing : harry styles x reader

summary : after getting broken up with and struggling with your own insecurities, you make the split-second decision to take a solo trip to venice. you expect the week to be a fun-filled adventure, but when you accidentally have a run-in with a famous popstar, things don’t go quite as you expect them to. 

word count : 9.5k

warning : smut, 18+

“you don’t ever do something just because it makes you feel good?”

paris for one by jojo moyes

The moment you step off the train and onto the platform, you feel a sudden urge to turn back around, toss your bags back on the bench you had been seated on, and make the same exact trip you had just taken again, only backwards this time.

Instead, you force your feet to take one step after another, your suitcase dragging noisily behind you against the concrete platform as you lug your tote bag higher up on your shoulder. In your hand is a note scribbled with the name of the bed and breakfast you booked yourself into, and directions written neatly with bullet points, but as you enter the city of Venice, Italy, you know finding the place you’re looking for is going to be much harder than you had first thought.

The city, as gorgeous as it is, is a slightly confusing maze of sidewalks and canals, and there’s people everywhere. The anxiety you had managed to push away when you got off the train is slowly returning as you look at your directions and attempt to find your way.

This trip had been a split-second decision, one made by your irrationally, heartbroken brain only a few hours after your boyfriend had dumped you. The breakup had come as a surprise to you, especially after many of your friends had brought up the idea of marriage after several years together, but your now ex-boyfriend had thought otherwise.

“You’re not the girl I fell in love with,” he had claimed in an uproar as he threw a suitcase together, “you’re not the fun, outgoing person I used to know.”

You had tried arguing against his claims, but it had done no good, and in the end, he had walked out with nothing more than a promise to come back to what had been your shared apartment to get the rest of his stuff over the next few days. When you called your friends to tell them what happened they had done their best to fill your head with encouraging words and stories about how you were still a fun person to be around, but the longer you thought about it, the more you realized your ex was right.

You weren’t the same person he had fallen in love with, and you hadn’t been that person in a long time. In some ways that was okay. You had fallen in love young and where you grew up, he still acted like the immature college student you had met years ago. He partied constantly, going out with friends at all hours of the night, and you honestly don’t remember the last time the two of you hung out somewhere other than the bar down the street. Nice restaurants had never been his thing, and in wanting to make him happy, you had never opted for anything but what he suggested.

You knew he wasn’t happy anymore, and neither were you. You were getting older and concerning yourself with your job and what your future looked like, not when the next time you could go for a cocktail hour was. You had settled into a routine for yourself, one that required no more effort than you needed, and in having that, your now ex-boyfriend decided you were a prude.

After a while, though, you wondered how much of what he had said to you was true. You don’t remember being much of a party girl when you were younger, but you definitely had your moments, and you definitely hadn’t had one of those moments in a long time. You knew if asked what word could describe you the best, adventurous or outgoing wouldn’t be the first word, or second or third to pop into anyone’s head, but maybe you wanted to be those things.

Maybe you wanted a stranger on the street to look at you and wonder what kind of adventures you had been on because just by looking at you, they can tell you know how to have a good time. Maybe you wanted to be that pretty girl in the room, the one that nobody could take their eyes off of.

Five hours after your relationship had ended, you decided you didn’t need your ex, but you did need a change of pace.

You were going to take a trip to Italy by yourself. You hadn’t told anybody, not even your friends, and had only left a brief voicemail to your workplace calling out sick for the rest of the week and no other explanation. It had taken you an hour to book all the tickets needed for travel and to find a place to stay that would take you with such little notice, but in practically no time at all, and with two haphazardly packed bags, you had been on your way to Italy for what you hoped would be a fun adventurous few days.

So far, the idea of a fun filled week had completely escaped your mind and your first day in Italy had started out with a drag.

You had yet to find the Bed & Breakfast you had booked yourself into, and with a sore shoulder from carrying your bag and your hand growing increasingly sweaty as you gripped onto your suitcase, you were beginning to think about what your best bet would be on getting home.

Not a single person you had managed to stop speaks English, and even after you show them the name of the place scribbled at the top of your sheet in Italian, nobody is seemingly able to help you. Venice is not the biggest city, and you remember briefly reading about how it is possible to walk the entire city in the matter of an hour. With a glance at the watch on your wrist, you’re ready to turn around and make your way back to the train station in the hopes of catching a ride back.

That’s when you spot it: the barely-there sign with a name on it that matches the one on your paper.

Vera Ospitalità.

It’s a cute little blue building, looking exactly like it did when you were Googling places to stay in Venice. It hadn’t cost very much, and the lady had sounded sweet over the phone when you asked how soon she would have a room open.

“We always have a room open, cara.”

You hadn’t quite understood what she meant at the time, but the sight of those two Italian words fill your body with a jittery joy as you let out a shout, catching the attention of a few people walking past you. You pay them no mind as you pick up the pace, not taking your eyes off the sign until you’re standing in front of the door and pushing it open.

The bell above lets out a delightful jingle as you walk in. You can only imagine what you look like to the lady sitting at the desk as you walk in with sweat dripping down your forehead and a slightly rumpled paper stuffed in your hand, but she offers you a cheerful smile.

“Are you Irene?” you ask, slightly out of breath as you step up to the desk, letting your bag fall from your shoulder. “We talked on the phone yesterday.”

“Yes! Hello, cara,” Irene says, standing from her seat and reaching for the guestbook she keeps under the counter. “I am happy to see you made it. How was your trip?”

You smile, trying not to think about the want to turn back around and head home you felt only minutes ago. “It was good! Happy to finally be here.”

“Oh, yes, yes. Just sign these forms and I will get you your key.” Irene pushes the book your way and you easily sign your name on the dotted line. “There is only one bathroom upstairs, but you get the room directly across from it.”

Your head snaps up from the book. “One bathroom?”

“Yes,” Irene nods, “but it has a tub, and the water runs perfectly. And there is only one other guest staying here this week, so there should be no trouble.”

“There’s only two of us here?”

Irene pauses. “You ask many questions.”

You offer a sheepish smile. “Sorry.”

“There is a young man staying here also, about your age. I only have four rooms and I don’t get many guests.”

You briefly wonder if you should have chosen a slightly more expensive place to stay, but your expectations hadn’t been very high coming in and how bad can it be when there are only two of you staying?

Irene hands over your key, directing you up the stairs to where your room waits for you. “Breakfast is served at 7 if you would like some, otherwise I have a list of places around the city you can visit.”

You give Irene one last thank you before you’re heading up the stairs, your suitcase and bag in hand. Your room is immediately at the top to your right, with the door across from yours labeled bagno with a cute little wooden sign. There are two more rooms a little further down the hall, and then one at the very end with the door open enough for you to glance inside.

There’s music playing – something you’ve heard on the radio a million times before but can’t remember the name of – and you can make out the silhouette of someone sitting at a small desk next to a window. With the way the setting sun is shining through, you can’t make out any of the figure’s features, but you know that this is the man Irene mentioned downstairs.

You wave a hand. “Hi.”

You can see him turn his head, but can’t make out any features still, nor an expression, as he stands and shuts the door without a second thought.

You frown, deciding not to dwell on it as you unlock your room and step inside. It’s small, and you know your friends would try and make it sound better by calling it quaint, but you decide that it’s not any more or any less than you need for the week. There’s a small desk and dresser off to the side, and a twin size bed with a side table sitting next to the headboard. The sight of the small, but very neat room is comforting after the mix of emotions you’d spent your afternoon with, and you find yourself wanting to just fall against the comforter and end your day there.

So, you do, quickly changing into your sleep clothes and doing your nightly routine, you let all the anxiety and the interaction with the man down the hall fall from your mind as you slip under the covers and rest your head against the pillow. It’s early, but you figure you’ve had enough adventure for the day. Plus, you still have the next few days left to spend in the city.

Sleep comes easy to you, so easy that you’re shocked awake the next morning at the sound of loud footsteps coming down the hall, and then a slam of a door. Lifting up from your bed, you glance at the clock on the table next to you and let out a small groan. You hadn’t been planning on taking up Irene’s offer of breakfast at 7, but now that you were awake you figured you might as well do exactly that. The grumble your stomach lets out seems to further settle the idea to get ready and go downstairs into your head.

The banging across the hall continues, and you know the sound belongs to the man from down the hall. Not wanting another interaction like the day before you decide to wait for the sound of the door opening and steps retreating down the hall, knowing the man has returned to his own room before you head into the bathroom with your things to get ready. You throw on a simple outfit for the day, doing all your daily necessities. The smell of cologne fills the small space, and normally it would be something that would irritate you – someone else treating a space as only their own with no other thought of anyone else who might occupy it – but the scent is pleasant enough and you decide to leave it be. When you’re done, you listen again for the sound of footsteps, but there are none.

Opening the door, you peak down the hall. The door at the end is shut, but you still cross the space to your room quicker than normal, opening the door and slipping inside. Just as you grab your shoes and anything else you plan to use throughout the day, your phone finding its spot in your pocket, you hear a door open again. You listen quietly as the man moves down the hall to the stairs, only slipping into the hallway when you know you won’t run into him. He’s already disappeared into the front room when you yourself reach the stairs and start the trek down.

When you reach the bottom floor, Irene stands just across the room in what you realize is the dining area. There’s a jingling as the front door opens, and you look over just in time to see a head of dark brown hair escaping through the entrance.

There’s something odd about you and this stranger avoiding each other, but you don’t let it cloud your thoughts. You don’t even know the man, and don’t have any care to get to know him.

Irene spots you lingering by the stairs and waves you over. “Have you met the other guest yet?”

You smile as you walk over to sit at the table situated in the room. The space isn’t very large, only big enough to hold the essentials of a kitchen and a table that seats six, but the feel of it all is very intimate. It also smells terrific, the smell of sausage and pastries filling the room. You’re suddenly grateful that you chose this place over any of the others, weird neighbors be damned.

“He’s nice, is he not?”

You purse your lips as Irene places a plate loaded to the brim with various breakfast items. The sight makes your stomach grumble again and you laugh in an attempt to conceal it. “I haven’t exactly met him yet.”

Irene frowns. “You haven’t?” She tsks. “He’s very friendly, but he never eats breakfast here.”

“Never?” You glance up from your plate. “How long has he been here?”

“Only few days, but he comes once a year and stays here rather than big fancy hotel.”

You nod, taking a bite of the croissant on your plate. You close your eyes giving a small hum of pleasure at the taste of the buttery pastry. “He’s missing out.”

“You’ll meet him soon enough, I think.” Irene waves her hand around as she takes her own seat, carefully digging into her own plate of food.

You continue breakfast with polite conversation. Irene asks why you decided to come to Italy, and you fib your answer a little, explaining it was just a need to get away for a bit. It wasn’t entirely inaccurate, but you weren’t sure if you wanted to reopen the fresh wound that was your current relationship status.

When you’re done, you bid Irene farewell for the day and head out on your own. The sun is warm as it beams down on your face, the air slightly cool from the canals. You plan to just walk around the city for most of the day, not having much else to do until the afternoon when the gallery you had opted to go to opens.

For a few hours you simply meander around the city, stepping into shops with clothes that cost far too much money, but you try them on anyway. You find a nice place for lunch, deciding you’ll come back to try something else for dinner after the gallery. The day all goes fairly quick, but you head back to Vera Ospitalità with a grin permanently etched into your features.

Irene is not at the front desk when you walk in. It’s getting fairly late in the day and after the large and filling meal you had chosen to eat for dinner, you decide that you’ll end your day with a nice bath and then head to bed, excited for the boat ride you had booked for the next day.

That plan is immediately foiled when you climb the stairs and hear the shower already running. You don’t have any idea how long it’s been occupied, but you figure he has to be done sometime soon and choose to wait in your room until he is.

Fifteen minutes pass before you realize it, and the shower is still going. It occurs to you that all of the hot water must be gone now and you feel a bit frustrated at your thought of a nice night being ruined by a man who doesn’t know how to shower quickly. Trying not to let your frustration get the best of you, you snatch up your towel and storm out of your room to stand in front of the door across from you. There’s some steam coming from the crack between the door and the floor, but you ignore it as you knock on the door.

There’s a noise that sounds something like a grunt, and then the shower shuts off. You listen to shuffling, a rumple of clothes, and then the door swings open and there, for the first time since you arrived in the tiny hotel, you finally come face to face with the stranger who’s been living down the hall from your room. It suddenly hits you why he had been so eager to avoid you the day before and ;told you that he must’ve been trying to avoid you this morning too, obviously trying not to make his presence known.

Harry Styles stands in front of you in a pair of loose shorts with a towel hanging from his hand, his hair dripping down onto his forehead. His tattoos are on full display, the pair of ferns peaking up from his waistband, and his skin is glistening from all the water he hadn’t been given the chance to properly wipe off. Steam pours out through the doorway and the sudden heat of it sends a shiver down your spine.

You don’t realize you’re staring until your eyes meet his and he cocks a brow. “You’re not going to be a creep and ask me for a photo, are you?”

His tone is dangerous, and he’s got an accusatory look plastered on his face. It makes something in you want to snap back, that anger from not being able to take a bath like you wanted still lingering a bit, but instead you stand there, trying to think of the best words to say back to the man in front of you who clearly thinks you’re here for something other than a nice vacation. Every possible thing you had wanted to say before the door had opened has suddenly disappeared from your brain, only to be replaced with the slight shock of your current situation. Your mouth opens and snaps closed one time, then again, as the words you want to say struggle to fall from your mouth.

Eventually, you hold up your towel.

Harry’s head tilts to the side, his gaze curious. “So, you’re not just renting the crappiest hotel in the entire city in order to get some sort of insider photos?”

You frown, the shakiness you had felt disappearing as you think about Irene and her hospitality. “It’s not a crappy hotel.”

Harry smiles, but you’re sure it’s just because he’s amused and not because you’re doing a nice thing by defending Irene. “No, but it sure isn’t popular and nobody ever comes here. I’m always by myself when I come – Irene makes sure of it.”

You remember what Irene had told your over the phone when you asked about booking.

We always have a room open.

You purse your lips and try holding your head a little higher. “I’m not some crazed fan. I’m just here for a nice vacation.”

Harry looks you over. “Nice vacation? You don’t seem like the type.”

“It…” You stumble over what to say, trying to get a grip on the current situation you’re in with a half-naked famous popstar standing in front of you. He leans against the doorway, an arm propped against his head, and you swallow. “It was spontaneous.”

Harry chuckles, shaking his head. “You still don’t seem like the type.”

“You don’t know me,” you manage to say, feeling slightly offended by his words, but Harry just grins.

“And I don’t care to.” He claps his hands together, the sound muffled by the towel still gripped in his hand. “Pleasantries aside, I’d appreciate if you didn’t interrupt my shower next time, and also if you continued to not take photos of me whatsoever.”

You open your mouth to reply, but Harry has already pushed himself off the doorway and is marching down the hall before you can even think of what to say back to him. He doesn’t even bother turning back to look at you, just walks into the room and slams the door shut.

You wince at the sound, trying to still get a grip at what just occurred. You step into the still hot bathroom with its steamed-up mirror and slightly wet floor, but you disregard it as you move to the tub. You turn the handle for the hot water and aren’t surprised to find that it’s ice cold. You let it run for a minute, trying to see if it’ll warm up even the slightest, but you give up and shut it off when it remains cold.

You realize that not only had Harry left you with no hot water to take a shower in, but he also hadn’t bothered to ask for your name. When your head hits the pillow minutes later, choosing just to settle in for the night, you let the exhaustion of the day wash over you and fall asleep easily, though the irritation with Harry settles in well into the early morning.

Your alarm goes off early after a couple of hours, waking you up well before you know Harry will be awake. You quickly gather up your clothes and head to the bathroom, turning on the shower and hopping in before another second passes.

You take your time getting ready, lingering under the hot water for as long as you can before getting out and slowly going over each of your tasks in your morning ritual. You’re in the middle of finishing up your hair when there’s a knock on the door.

“Yes?” you call out, already knowing it couldn’t be anybody but your neighbor down the hall.

“It’s Harry,” he says, muffled through the door. It occurs to you that he never actually told you his name the night before, but you know he’s assumed you already knew who he was before. He wouldn’t be entirely wrong in that assumption. “Are you almost done?”

You grin at the turn of events. “Almost.”

It’s another ten minutes before you’re done. You had expected Harry to have turned around and headed back to his own room to wait, something you would have done if you had been in his place, but when you open the door he’s standing there across the hall, leaning against the wall next to your own room. It takes you by surprise, seeing him standing there. He’s already dressed for the day, a nice, knitted shirt on with brown shorts to match and checkered vans decorating his feet. The only thing out of place is his hair, still a mess of curls from where he hadn’t had the chance to comb them down yet.

You offer a smile as you step out of the bathroom. “All yours.”

Harry has a sour expression on his face as you pass by to get into your room. You don’t bother giving him any more attention than that, though, not keen on him accusing you of anything else.

At 7 you head downstairs. Irene is already settled into the kitchen with a plate full of food waiting for you. She smiles when she spots you. “Sleep well?”

You nod. “Finally met Harry.”

“Oh, Harry!” Irene claps her hands together. “Isn’t he so lovely?”

You hum in response. “Lovely,” you try to hide the sarcasm in your voice, “that is definitely the word I would use.”

Irene’s eyes flicker behind you, and she brightens at the sight of Harry coming down the stairs. “There he is! Harry, come have breakfast.”

Harry appears, hair now perfectly in place, walking around the table to greet Irene with a hello and a kiss to her cheek. “Can’t, love. Have places to be.”

“Oh, stay for a bit. It’s too early to have anywhere important to be. Talk with us,” Irene urges, gesturing to you already seated at the table.

You give an exaggerated nod. “Yeah, talk to us, Harry.”

Harry forces a smile onto his face. “Only for a bit, yeah?”

Your frown is immediate as Harry takes the seat across from you. You had remembered what Irene had said the day before, about Harry never joining her for breakfast, and that had led you to expect him to decline Irene’s offer and head out for the day, but now you were stuck with him sitting there in front of you.

“What are the plans for today?” Irene asks, seemingly unaware of the tension at the table.

Harry gives her a genuine smile as he steals a roll from the plate she had placed in the middle of the table and takes a bite. “Goin’ to wander the city a bit, might take a nice boat ride.”

“I’m doing a boat ride too,” you chime in. The look Harry throws you is something similar to a glare, but you just smile, knowing you managed to get under his skin already this morning before he had even tried to touch yours.

The rest of the conversation is tense, with Irene staying blissfully unaware to the dirty looks you and Harry throw at each other. A part of you wonders how you can act like this with a complete stranger, but when you accidentally kick his shin under the table, and Harry returns a swift kick of his own, the thought is completely overshadowed by the irritation you feel when you look at him.

When Harry finishes his roll a few minutes later, he delivers a quick peck to Irene’s cheek and heads out, offering no goodbye to you. When he’s gone, you let out a breath you hadn’t realized you had been holding and stand from your chair.

“Thank you for breakfast, Irene.” You make to move for the stairs, planning to take a little time to yourself before your planned boat ride later, but Irene stops you.

“He is better once you get used to him,” she tells you.

Your nose crinkles at that, wondering how much she actually had caught on to when it came to you and Harry. “I just think he doesn’t like me very much.”

She waves her hand. “He did not like me very much at first either, but he warms up in time.”

With a final nod, you head upstairs. The hours pass quickly as you find random things to do – playing games on your phone, reading a book. You had briefly wondered about calling your friends back home, curious if they had thought about you since you had last spoke to them, but you eventually decide against it when it’s time to head out for your boat ride.

The air is warm when you step outside, and the place where you’re supposed to go is only just down the block. There’s a delightful breeze that blows through your hair as you walk down the sidewalk, admiring the city as it moves through its daily ventures. You reach the dock you need to go to much easier than you had the Bed & Breakfast, but your stomach immediately drops as soon as you step on the pier.

Harry is standing with who you assume is the skipper of the boat you’ll be on. He has an impatient look on his face and his arms are crossed as he taps his foot against the wooden planks. When he spots you walking down the pier, a look of realization crosses his features.

“You’re going on a boat ride?” he asks, his brows raised above the rim of his sunglasses. “This boat ride?”

You look at the skipper and give a not-so-confident nod.

“Ah! You’re the girl who booked me so late the other day!” he announces almost proudly, and you offer an apologetic smile, choosing to ignore a clearly frustrated Harry.

“I’m so sorry about all that, it was so last minute—”

“Do not worry, darling. It seems to be my fault.” He gestures between you and Harry. “I seem to have made the mistake and made a double booking on accident. Either the two of you may ride the boat together and I’ll give half off, or one of you can leave and I’ll give full refund. I am booked full rest of day.”

You can feel Harry glaring at you through his glasses. “I’m not giving this up,” you tell him, feeling your own irritation grow at the sight of his.

“Well, neither am I.”

The skipper glances between the two of you before giving a delightful shout. “Two of you it will be! Let’s get going.”

You and Harry give the same exasperated look to the skipper, but he’s already climbing on the small speed boat, waving for you to follow.

Harry looks to you. “Ladies first.”

You don’t bother with a thank you as you climb onto the boat, Harry not far behind, and find a seat on the small bench available. With no other place to sit, Harry is forced to sit next to you on the bench clearly fit to hold two people intimately. Neither of you say anything as the skipper starts the engine and pulls away from the pier and into the lagoon you were meant to be traveling.

For a moment, you regret not just walking away and letting Harry have the boat ride to himself. You can’t imagine being able to enjoy it when he won’t even look at you even though his shoulder and thigh are flush against your own as you both attempt to fit on the bench. You still want to make the most of it, so you turn to look at Harry, deciding to attempt to show some of the same hospitality you had been experiencing so much of in Italy

“Do people really stay in the same hotels as you to get photos?”

“What?” His sunglasses have fallen slightly down his nose, and his eyes are visible just over the rim.

You swallow down any frustrating feelings you might have against Harry right now. “Last night, you accused me of being in the B&B so I could get a photo of you—”

“Sorry about that,” Harry mumbles out, pushing his glasses back in place. “Shouldn’t have come at you so quick.”

You can tell that some of the tension has left his body and that makes you feel a bit better about being stuck with him now. “Do people really do that, though?”

You wish he had taken the glasses off now, just so you could see the expression hidden behind them. You can’t tell what he’s thinking with his eyes hidden behind the dark rims.

“I’ve been doing this for over ten years,” he finally says, “I’ve had people break into my home, fans have snuck into my tour bus, and I’ve been chased down the street. You checking into the same place I am staying, a place that is normally empty year-round, and trying to snap a cheeky photo would not surprise me in the slightest.”

You suck in a breath. “I’m not going to do that.”

“I see that now.” Harry smiles as he stands up and leans against the boat, looking out over the water. You look over the design on the back of his shirt, the image of a horse clearly visible. “Sorry for using up all the hot water last night.”

Your eyes flit to the skipper standing at the wheel, but he pays neither of you any attention as he hums to himself. “It’s okay.”

“Also sorry for not asking for your name since you clearly already know mine.” He looks back over his shoulder at you. “So, what is it?”

“What?”

A smile. “Your name, love.”

“Oh.” You give up your name, falling from your lips as you remember the bit of hurt you felt the night before upon realizing he hadn’t asked for it then. It had been a strange feeling, wanting a complete stranger to know your name. especially when you and said stranger hadn’t gotten on so well, but now that he had asked for it you felt a sense of accomplishment.

Harry repeats it, his accent lilting something sweet. “S’a lovely name.”

He’s still looking at you when you say nothing, and it leaves you with a strange feeling. You try to think of what to say next, and when it comes to you, you almost laugh.

You hold out your hand. “Truce?”

The smile Harry gives you takes up the entirety of his face, dimples proudly displayed on his cheeks. He takes your hand in his own, his palm warm in yours. “Truce,” he confirms.

A comfortable silence falls between the two of you for the rest of the ride, only interrupted by the sounds of the boat on the water and the skipper’s humming. Even with all your misadventures, you couldn’t deny that the city of Venice was gorgeous. And in some way, everything had seemed to work out for you so far, even creating something that resembled the beginnings of a friendship with Harry after a rough start.

When the boat pulls up to the pier, you realize that you feel more comfortable around Harry. No longer does he intimidate you like he had when you first laid eyes on him, but rather you feel easier with him, like you’re able to strike a conversation with him with no worries at all.

So, you do try to talk to him as you step off the boat, but he apparently had the same thought and the two of you laugh as you talk over each other.

“You first,” you tell him, biting your lip to hide your smile.

“I, uh,” Harry stutters over his words as he removes his glasses, looking up and down the pier to keep his eyes on something other than you. “I was just going to ask if you had eaten lunch already.”

“I think it’s well past lunch time.” You look down at the watch adorning your wrist. “But no, I only ate breakfast.”

Harry’s eyes flash to you, and the green of them is startling under the sunlight. “Would you like to go for a late lunch?”

You much prefer this friendly Harry to the one you had first been introduced to, and you understand that there’s a garner of trust between the two of you now. “I’d love to.”

Harry leads you down the pier and back onto the concrete sidewalks around Venice. It’s settling well into the afternoon, the sun beginning to drift just below the tops of the buildings around the city. You don’t bother asking where you’re heading off to, trusting that Harry will have a great choice in wherever you go.

Eventually, after walking a few blocks, still basking in that comfortable silence from the boat, Harry stops at a door with a sign overhead that you don’t understand. He opens the door and waves you in.

The moment you step inside, you’re hit with the smell of pasta and bread hitting your nose. You breathe it in deep and the hostess at the front smiles as she watches you do so.

“First time?” she asks, her accent thick.

You nod, jumping a little when Harry appears next to you and places his hand on your arm.

“This is one of my favorite places,” he tells you, gesturing with two fingers to the hostess. “They have the best spaghetti.”

The place isn’t as packed as you would expect it to be, most likely because of your arrival between lunch and dinner, but there’s still enough people for it to feel a bit crowded. The hostess walks you over to a booth in the corner, a bit hidden away from the other patrons in the restaurant, and you know it’s because of who you’re with.

The popstar in question sits across from you but doesn’t bother grabbing a menu for himself. “Wine okay with you?”

You nod and wait for the waitress to come over. When she does, offering up her name in a sweet lilting accent, Harry orders the wine and you give a thankful nod as she walks away before turning back to Harry. “So, the spaghetti?”

Harry lets out a low moan. “It’s the best. I come here every time I visit. Practically a regular when I’m in Italy.”

“It’s that good?”

“Better than good.”

You leave your menu resting in front of you, untouched until the waitress returns with a jug of wine and two glasses. She hands one off to each of you before topping them off with the jug.

“Your usual, Mr. Styles?”

The question sends Harry beaming. “Please. And she’ll have the same,” he gestures to you, and you give a soft confirmation.

Once the waitress has left, Harry takes a long sip of his wine before clapping his hands together. “So, what brings you to Italy?”

This Harry sitting in front of you is much different than the one you had met face to face for the first time the night before. There’s something softer about him, as if the edge was taken off the moment he put his hand in yours earlier. You like this Harry more, you think, with his giddy smile and soft giggle.

You remember how you had lied to Irene when she had asked you why you had traveled to Italy, but something tells you not to do that with Harry. “My boyfriend dumped me.”

Harry’s face drops, an apology on the tip of his tongue, but you wave a hand in front of you before he can get it out.

“I’m already over it, but there were some things he said that made me rethink a lot of stuff.”

“Like what?” His gaze is curious, and it makes you want to tell him everything going on in your brain, how you’re still upset and hurt, but want to feel free while you still have the time to here in Italy.

Instead, you sugarcoat it a little. “Just stuff about how he missed the girl I used to be – more fun and care-free.”

“Are you not that girl?”

You shrug, your hand playing with the stem of your wine glass before you lift it to take a sip. “I don’t know, but I liked the sound of being adventurous and doing something unexpected so—”

“So, you booked a trip to Italy?” Harry grins. “That’s quite impressive.”

“What is?”

“Deciding to just up and go to a different country for no other reason than you want to. I think you’re a bit more outgoing than your boyfriend gives you credit for.”

You scrunch up your nose. “Ex-boyfriend.”

Harry smiles into his glass. “Right. Ex-boyfriend.”

Your food arrives not long after that, two giant plates of spaghetti with pieces of garlic bread on the side. Harry laughs at your surprised expression at the sight of the amount of food now sitting in front of you.

“You didn’t tell me we were going to feed an army.”

Harry picks up his fork, stabbing it into the noodles and twisting it around. “Try it.”

You follow his lead, picking up your own fork. When you take a bite of the pasta, you shut your eyes as the taste coats your mouth. “Oh my god.”

“I told you.”

The two of you eat practically in silence, savoring the taste of your meal and not letting the flow of conversation interrupt your eating. Neither of you finish your plate, Harry coming much closer to doing so then you are and you’re left trying to finish the still half full jug of wine in the middle of the table.

You don’t know when you start feeling like telling Harry more about yourself, maybe after your third glass of wine, but eventually you’re telling him all about the fear you had of coming to Italy.

“What do you mean you almost didn’t come here?”

You giggle a little. “I stepped off the train and almost turned right back around to get on.”

“Why?”

You give an exaggerated shrug. “My own brain? I don’t know.” You look down at your glass of wine. “Sometimes I feel like everyone’s opinions of me are right, y’know? Maybe I am that girl that just doesn’t do anything except work and go home.”

“I get that feeling.”

Your eyes shoot up to look at Harry. “You do?”

Harry gives a lazy raise of his shoulders. “Of course. I have reporters and paparazzi up my ass at practically all hours of the day. Sometimes I wish I could scream at them that I’m not everything they think I am, nor do I want to be.”

You let out a snicker and Harry raises an eyebrow. “Sorry. I almost forgot I was sitting with a famous popstar.”

Harry groans, but there’s a playful look on his face as he wags a finger at you. “That’s cheeky.”

You decide to keep going, seeing how far you can push it. “My friends are going to love it when I tell them that I got to hang out with the Harry Styles. I’m pretty sure one of them used to have a poster of you in their bedroom.”

“Is that so?”

“Mhm. Another had the cardboard cutout.”

That sends Harry into a fit of giggles, causing you to follow his lead. You both are a little too tipsy by this point, and the jug is nearly finished.

It doesn’t occur to you how long you had been inside the restaurant until you walk outside and see that the sky has turned dark. The blocks are lit by streetlights, and under them Harry looks like something out of a dream. You don’t mean to lean into him as you walk back to the B&B, but you do so in order to try and keep your balance and Harry doesn’t seem to mind with the way he tosses his arm around your shoulders lazily.

“Tonight was fun,” he tells you, trying not to walk faster than you do. The position is hard to keep as you walk, but neither of you pull away. “’S been a while since I’ve done something with someone like this.”

You smile at his admission. “You mean you don’t go out somewhere with a complete stranger at least once a week?” You tsk. “You’ve gotta get out more, Mr. Styles.”

The B&B is quiet when you arrive back, and you feel like a teenager again as you sneak past the front desk and up the stairs, trying your best to keep quiet since you both know Irene has already gone off to bed. Your exe’s words briefly flit through your brain, and you wonder what he’d say if he saw you now – drunkenly stumbling around in a mysterious city with a man you’ve known barely longer than a day.

When your foot catches on a step, Harry is there behind you to steady you before you can fall forward. His hands catch your hips, helping keep your balance, but rather than it be something that would send your stomach in knots, the gesture makes you laugh out as you think about how funny it would have been to fall face first into the carpeted floor.

You clamp a hand over your mouth, staring behind at Harry who looks like he’s barely keeping himself from laughing. You maneuver your hand so it’s just your index finger pressed against your lips, a soft shhh falling past them. Harry nods, pretending to zip his lips shut and locking them, before throwing the pretend key over his shoulder. The action threatens to send you into another fit of giggles, but you manage to hold it in as you take the rest of the steps two at a time.

The boards creak beneath your feet as you walk to your door. Turning, you just about run into Harry, your hands flying up to press against his chest in an attempt to keep from stumbling into him.

“Sorry,” you stutter out, taking a step back and resting your back against your door. “Wine’s getting to me.”

Harry smiles, and in the barely-there light of the hallway, you think you can see something playful glittering in his eyes. “S’getting to me too.”

You suddenly remember the feel of his hands on your hips moments earlier, and the way he had kept his arm wrapped around you the whole way back. There’s that knot in your stomach that hadn’t appeared before, slowly making itself known now as you try to think of what to say next.

Harry speaks first, his voice low and his words slurred. “I had fun tonight.”

“So you said.”

“How long are you staying?”

The question takes you by surprise. “Tomorrow is my last full day. I leave the next morning.”

Harry looks a bit disappointed by that, but it’s quickly replaced by something else. “Y’know, I think I have a terrific way for you to prove to everyone when you go back that you still know how to have a good time.”

You swallow when Harry takes a step closer, your back pressing further into your door. “And what’s that?”

A smile, one that’s devious and just a little bit convincing, “Let me kiss you?

You bite your lip, trying to get ahold of the situation. This is not at all how you expected your vacation to go, but you can’t help but agree that it is the best way to prove to everyone and yourself that you’re not who they think you are.

You realize that this is it – your moment to prove to yourself that everyone else was wrong. How could you not be adventurous when you’re in a random country all by yourself, about to kiss a boy you’ve never met? That’s the perfect thing to do to prove everyone wrong.

And maybe there’s something in the way that Harry’s advances make you feel that adds to you giving a soft yes.

When Harry kisses you, it’s just as you would have imagined it. And then somehow, it’s more. His lips are soft against your own, the distant taste of strawberry chapstick and the wine from earlier lingering on them and you want to savor that taste, burn the memory of those flavors together into your brain. His hands find your hips again, pressing into them unlike he had earlier. There’s intention behind the grip, the promise of something more to come.

You clumsily reach for the doorknob behind you, not daring to move your lips away from Harry’s. The door falls open and almost takes you with it as you stumble back, barely catching yourself by gripping onto Harry’s shoulders. You press your mouth back to his, feeling like he could swallow you whole in that moment.

You reach blindly for the zipper on his shorts, your hand brushing over the tent forming there and causing Harry to let out a hiss at the friction. You smile against his mouth when he reaches down, taking the matter into his own hands and unzipping his shorts as he kicks off his shoes. You follow his lead and let your shoes meet his own in a pile on the floor. The pile only grows as you both precede to strip, and when you’re left staring at Harry’s naked body, a small gasp falls from your lips.

You reach out to run a hand across the butterfly inked into his stomach before letting it trial down to tease one of the ferns against his hip. You remember them from the night before, half concealed by the shorts he had kept on, but now having them on full display sendsa shudder through you.

“You’re pretty,” you tell him softly, and he laughs.

“So are you,” he replies, taking your face in his hands and kissing you, gently pushing you back onto your bed.

You had almost forgotten about the twin size bed in your room until you fall against it. You want to laugh at the size of it compared to your two bodies collapsing onto it, but Harry rests himself on top of you and attaches his mouth to your neck, sucking a deep mark into your skin.

One hand finds his hair, raking your fingers through it and tearing a groan from Harry’s chest, while the other scrapes at his back, your nails threatening to leave red scratches all over his skin. Harry lingers against your neck for only a moment before he’s trailing down your body, planting kisses against your skin as he goes.

When he reaches your hip, he digs his fingers into your stomach as he leaves a kiss in the curve there before he plants himself between your thighs. The bed is squeaking in protest to all of this movement, but it’s not bad enough for you to want to stop.

Harry kisses at your folds before bringing his fingers up to spread them. Both your hands are tangled in his curls now, tightening their hold as Harry’s tongue finds your clit. You squirm as he presses his mouth against you, coaxing a few moans from you before you remember that you’re not alone in the building.

“Harry,” you gasp out as your hips buck against his mouth, “the bed.”

You don’t think he hears you at first, the squeaking growing louder with each move he makes that causes your hips to come up off the mattress, but then his hands are under your thighs. Slowly, without moving his mouth away from you, Harry slides you off the bed. He meets the floor first, a bit more gracefully than you do as you slip off the bed and onto the floor. Harry laughs when you let out a yelp as your ass hits the carpeted floor.

You’re face to face with him now, and there’s slick covering his mouth. Without thinking, you grab his face and kiss him, letting your own taste wash over your tongue. Harry groans into your mouth, the vibration moving through your chest.

“I wanna taste you,” you tell him, but he shakes his head.

“Swear I won’t be able to hold it in much longer.” He’s breathing heavily and that only makes you smile something wicked that sends Harry’s brain into overload.

“Just a little taste,” you mutter before pushing at his chest so he falls back onto the carpet. You move between his legs like he had only minutes ago, your hand coming up to grip the base of his dick.

Harry lets out a hiss as you wrap your hand around him, giving a slow pump. When you lick the tip, though, he can barely hold back the moan he lets out and you laugh a little.

“Good?” you ask, taking him into your mouth finally and Harry feels like he’s slowly losing the will to function, wondering if he can even get the words out.

“Good, yeah. Yeah. S’good.”

You give him a few more pumps, moaning against him when he brings a hand up to wrap in your hair, but you don’t want him to lose control before he can get inside of you, so you restrain yourself and pull back.

Harry gives you a pitiful look when you pull away, only to be replaced with something much more eager when you begin to climb on top of him. He lays back against the carpet, grabbing your hips as you guide yourself onto his cock.

You both let out a mixture of sounds as you slide down onto him, letting yourself get used to the feel of it. After a minute, you rock back onto him, and Harry takes that as a good sign. Before you know it, he’s lifting his hips off the floor to fuck up into you, turning you into a whining mess as you chase your orgasm. The sound of skin on skin fills the room, and you’re sure that Irene must’ve heard you at this point, but you don’t care anymore as you press your hands down onto Harry’s stomach and try to meet the pace he’s set.

“Gonna cum,” he tells you, but you could already tell with the way his thrusts have become more frantic and sloppier. You can only nod, falling against his chest as you feel the beginnings of your own orgasm start to take over.

When yours hits, you cry out into Harry’s chest. Harry doesn’t stop, though, instead wrapping his arms around you as he chases his own. It only takes a couple more thrusts before he’s pulling out of you and moaning into your hair. You can feel the hot spurts hit your stomach, dripping down onto his due to your position. The two of you stay like that, his arms still wrapped tight around you, holding you to him.

“Harry?” you finally say after a few minutes of you trying to catch your breath. You can feel the effects of the wine from earlier still mixed with the aftermath of your orgasm, and it’s all making your brain feel a bit hazy.

“Yeah?”

You roll off of Harry, the heat of being pressed to him becoming a little too much, but he doesn’t let you go, and you find yourself laying sideways, Harry’s arms still wrapped around you as you lay face to face. “Do you usually fuck random strangers you barely know in Italy?”

Harry lets out a soft giggle, one of his hands beginning to rub at your back. “You’d be the first.”

You reach a hand up to run through his curls, pushing them back off his forehead. “Glad to know I’m not alone there,” you mumble. “So, what do we do now?”

Harry shrugs the best he can in his position on the floor. “We clean up, try to fit in your tiny bed, and figure it out in the morning?”

You hum in response. “I don’t think I can face Irene in the morning.”

“Oh, that woman sleeps like the dead. N’way she heard.”

“Still.”

Harry thinks for a moment. “How about I go downstairs in the morning, grab us some of Irene’s lovely breakfast, and convince her to go out for the day so you can be free of the embarrassment of her hearing us having really amazing vacation sex?”

You roll your eyes. “Then it’ll be obvious what we’re doing.”

“Yes, but I think Irene would appreciate the heads up before she’s wondering why the boards are creaking so badly the whole day.”

You smack your hand against Harry’s chest and a laugh bubbles up from it. “Are you saying you’re going to have me spend my last day in Italy locked away in a bedroom getting my guts rearranged?”

“That’s one way to describe it,” he laughs.

You hum again. “Y’know, I thought I hated you this morning.”

“That was kinda evident by the way you kicked me under the table at breakfast.”

You gasp. “That was an accident!”

“Ah, so you just wanted an excuse to play footsie, huh?”

You hit him again. “An accident, Harry.”

Harry laughs, pulling you further against him. You let out a yawn as you rest your head in the crook of his neck. “We should probably get up. I feel a bit gross.”

You hum in response, tickling Harry’s neck with the vibrations. You hear Harry say your name in an attempt to get your attention, but you’re already drifting off against his chest with the promise of him etched into your brain for when you wake up.

Harry figures he’ll get up in a bit rather than disturb you now, letting himself relax against you. He means to only lay there for a few minutes until he knows he can remove himself from you so he can clean up, but soon enough his eyelids are falling shut as he too drifts off to sleep.

[foreveranevilregal]

How about a funny snippet where Pepa and Felix had gotten drunk and had fun in the nursery and Mirabel pours water over them the next morning and tells them that next time they do something like that at least give her some warning so she can get out of the room before her Tia is getting naked and the two are so embarrassed and apologetic.

You asked for a snippet, and this ended up being like 1700 words, so...oops. Hope you still like it!

*slaps this fic* This baby can fit so much secondhand embarrassment.

The party was in full swing, with music blaring and people dancing energetically on the dancefloor. It wasn’t even their own family’s occasion they were celebrating, but somehow every party in the encanto ended up at la casa Madrigal. Not only was their courtyard the perfect spot to bust some moves, but the drinks were indeed strong.

Her mamá had not been kidding there, Pepa reflected. She set down her emptied glass, deciding that two (or was it three?) had been enough. Drinking could easily make her powers go haywire, so she was normally more cautious with her alcohol intake. But tonight was a party- there were no stakes for her, and she just wanted to let loose and have some fun.

It seemed like Félix agreed. He handled it far better than she did, but Pepa knew his tells. His voice would get a little too loud, his movements just a bit exaggerated. Yet somehow, he managed to keep dancing gracefully, whereas Pepa would have gotten dizzy after just a few spins at this point. The way he moved drove her crazy.

She sauntered over to the dancefloor to let him know just that. Grabbing him by the collar, she leaned down and whispered in his ear exactly how seeing him dance like that made her feel, and all the things she wanted him to do to her in private.

His eyes widened at her words. Letting out a gulp, he quickly excused himself from the group he had been dancing with and followed Pepa out of the crowd.

Her balance was not all that great, and she found herself leaning on Félix as he practically carried her up the stairs. She turned to head towards their room, but she’d jerked her head to the side too fast and it made her surroundings spin. They weren’t going to be able to make it to their room, Pepa decided, yanking him into the closest room, which happened to be the nursery. She had just enough presence of mind to close the door most of the way, leaving it cracked open barely enough to be able to see.

Immediately, he pinned her up against the dresser, latching his lips to hers and kissing her hungrily. “You have no idea how much you drive me wild,” he growled into her ear, moving his lips to her neck and sucking on the delicate skin.

She moaned at the feeling, closing her eyes. “Then why don’t you show me?” she challenged, panting out the words. The alcohol was hitting her hard; she was more than a little woozy now. She rested her back fully on the dresser, rolling her hips to get him to hurry up. This was not the moment for torturous teasing.

He slipped the sleeve of her dress off her shoulder, kissing the exposed skin with surprising gentleness for how inebriated he was.

“Hurry up,” Pepa whined. Surely she was imagining the bright light that suddenly bathed her. Just an alcohol induced vision, right? At any rate, it wasn’t doing her head any favors. Thankfully, it was gone as soon as it had appeared.

Meanwhile, Félix, who had noticed nothing, clearly, was still teasing her, peppering kisses across her chest, with the top half of her dress just hanging around her waist. “Takes me back to when we were teenagers,” he reminisced, chuckling. “Though then we took turns complaining.”

“I wouldn’t be complaining if you would just-“ Her retort was cut off by his mouth covering hers as he pried her off the dresser and maneuvered them over to the bed clumsily. She yelped as her back hit the mattress more roughly than she’d have liked, but the alcohol blunted the pain.

Time jumped forward in strange globs. One minute he was undressing them; the next her heels were hooked over his sides as she tried desperately not to scream for…some reason? She couldn’t really remember why, but she knew it was very important that they not make too much noise. All she knew was that her husband was making her feel so good, and apparently she was making him feel good too, because soon enough it was over.

“You up for another round?” he asked, bringing up the blanket to cover her.

She shook her head, groaning. Everything was so fuzzy. She wished she could go get some water, but she had no idea where her dress had ended up. Her eyes were so heavy, and she couldn’t fight off the need for sleep any longer. With a murmured “buenas noches” and a sloppy kiss on the cheek, she fell asleep.

Suddenly, cold water hit her body, shocking her awake. She gasped, her eyes shooting open as she struggled to adjust to being awake. The first thing she registered was that she was soaking wet. Not the fun kind, oh no. It didn’t happen gradually, like from her rain, either.

The second thing she registered was that it was, once again, infernally bright. It felt like the light was drilling into her skull, exacerbating the throbbing of her head. Who kept turning on the light? She was going to give them a piece of her mind when she found out, she thought to herself, shimmying to a more upright position.

To her surprise, the bright light came from the sun, streaming in through the window. The blanket she was cocooned in was not her own. It looked like the one in the nursery. Wait, the nursery? What was she doing in the nursery?

Félix was next to her, appearing as confused as she did. “Pepa, why are we wet?” he asked, confused.

“Don’t look at me, this wasn’t my doing,” Pepa grumbled. “And don’t talk so loud, my head is killing me!”

“Good morning, tío, tía.” A cheery voice filled the air.

Dread filled Pepa as she realized that Mirabel was standing in the room with them, holding an empty bucket. In her room, where she and Félix had apparently fallen asleep, but not before…the memories flooded back. Dios mío. She burrowed further under the blanket, not wanting to meet Mirabel's eyes while she was in this state. She started hyperventilating, a small whirlwind whipping around her, as she tried frantically to think of a way out of this mess, to no avail.

“Good morning, Mirabel.” Félix broke the awkward silence, making sure the blanket was covering his middle before looking at her. “I, uh, we, uh…you didn’t see anything, did you?” he finished desperately.

Mirabel shook her head. “You were tangled up in the blanket when I came in.”

Pepa sighed in relief. The last thing she needed was to traumatize her niece. “I’m so sorry you found us like this, Mirabel.” Her voice was barely more than a whisper, shaking in mortification. “You have every right to be mad.”

Mirabel shrugged, swinging the bucket around. “I’m not mad. This is just super awkward. At least this morning I knew what I was going into. Last night was a different story.”

“Last night??” Pepa sat up so fast that her head spun. She threw her head into her hands, feeling her cheeks burn with shame. “You saw us last night?”

“Sort of? I mean, I didn’t see you see you. Not like…naked or anything. But like…before,” Mirabel babbled. Of course she was uncomfortable with the situation. Seeing your tío and tía about to get it on was super awkward. “Before…all the clothes came off and stuff.” She wrung her hands nervously. “Uh…”

Thunder crackled. “Mirabel, please, just get it out.” Pepa really wasn’t in the mood to decipher hidden meanings. Her head was killing her, her stomach was churning, and having added anxiety didn’t help. “What happened?”

“Well, mamá sent me to check on you. You made some weird weather last night.” Mirabel let out a nervous laugh, tilting her head and toying with the strap of her bag. “I didn’t find you in your room, but I saw a rainbow glowing outside the nursery door, so I opened it to look inside. And there you two were…making out against my dresser,” she finished flatly.

“Mirabel…we are so sorry,” Pepa apologized profusely, grinding her teeth in frustration, her eyes boring a hole in the floor.

“So sorry,” Félix echoed, looking sheepish.

“It will never happen again,” Pepa promised.

“Yeah…wait, what? But I thought we had fun…”

Pepa elbowed him in the side and shot him a glare. “Mirabel almost walked in on us last night,” she hissed. “We just have to be more careful and pick places we won’t get caught.”

“Oh…” He grinned. Apparently Pepa wasn’t the only one with alcohol still left in her system.

“Uh, hi, I’m still here.” Mirabel waved at them awkwardly, her eyes darting from them to anywhere else in the room. ”Look, I get that you’re still ‘very much in love’, but can you please just like…give me a heads up if you’re gonna be somewhere I could walk in on you? Before you start taking clothes off? I reeeally don’t need to see that.”

“Of course,” Félix answered.

At the same time, Pepa muttered, “Believe me, sobrina, none of us want that to happen.” Her stomach still churned, but at least her heart had stopped pounding. They were going to be okay.

Mirabel sighed. “Good. I can’t really say I’m glad we had this chat, but I am glad we came to an understanding.”

“Again, Mirabel, we are so so sorry about everything.” Pepa massaged her temples, willing her head to stop throbbing.

“We really are,” Félix added.

Mirabel studied them. “You already apologized. But uh…thanks. So, um…” she trailed off, “I’m going to leave the room now. Your clothes are on the floor next to the bed. Mamá sent up some food and water.” She gestured to a tray on the desk.

Water! Pepa’s heart leapt with joy. “Thank her from us.”

Mirabel’s eyes sparkled mischievously. “We all know abuela likes to make her drinks strong.”

Pepa gasped. “What are you saying?”

“Tía…just because you don’t remember doesn’t mean the rest of us don’t.” With that cryptic remark, she backed away towards the door. “I’m leaving now.”

[hogwartsmarvelmommy]

The lighthouse that guided me H.H ❤️🔥

~Best friends brother  

I do not grant permission for anything of mine to be copied or redistributed even if recognition is given. All rights reserved to Hogwartsmarvelmommy © 2021.

🌼🌸Masterlist🌼🌸

this is 18+ only!

word count: 9.9k

(HarryHollandXReader)

summery: Sam knew you and his brother would hit it off, so he made you promise to not fall in love with his twin... easier said than done. 

Warnings: Swearing, miscarriage, blood, smut. (additional warnings under the cut)

Warnings: unprotected sex, oral (F & M receiving) fingering, some dirty talk (But like not really) protected sex. 

A/N: ok... i really only planned for this to be like 2-3k words, but i just couldn't stop... hope you like it :)

~ 

It was the insistent pounding that woke you up. The first thought in your head was how you were going to kill him for interrupting a perfectly good dream.  With a loud, rather dramatic groan you rolled out of bed and flung open your door. Sam looked like he was stressed beyond belief. Pushing past you, he came into the room plopping down onto your bed and groaning before burying his face in his hands. This was not a sight you were used to, usually your best friend was a happy go lucky guy, but right now he seemed to be anything but.  

"Sam, what's wrong?" Suddenly all the anger from being awoken so early left you, seeing him in distress was bad enough. You closed your door and went over to him, crouching down in front of him, hoping the boy would talk to you so you could offer some sort of help.

"There coming," he groaned. Who was he talking about? Who was coming? You were about to ask when he spoke up again, "my brothers want to see where I live and go to school, there on a plane now," 

You felt all that worry dissipate instantly. Did he seriously wake you up at the ass crack of dawn because his brothers wanted to come spend some quality time with him on his free week. Why did he always have to be so dramatic? 

With a roll of your eyes you let out a chuckle. "Seriously Sammy? That's what's wrong?" 

"Y/n, they're going to judge all of this," you looked around your room, there was nothing out of the ordinary really, just a bed, a dresser and some random nick knacks. 

"My room?" You asked, confused. 

"No, our apartment,"  he said. You were a bit taken aback. Yes your apartment was rather small and lacked a lot of decor, but for two broke college kids it was what you could do.

“What is wrong with the apartment?” you asked him, verging on offended. You had put in a lot of effort to make the place your own. From the beer bottle wreath on the pantry door to the pong wall of champions. It wasn't much but it was home, and that's what mattered. 

“I need to tell you something,” he sighed slightly looking up to you. “I come from a very well off family, and i am nowhere near broke, i just don't want to flaunt the money i have around,” you weren't sure you'd heard him right, the boy you'd lived with for three years, who you considered your closest and best friend was telling you he was in fact not broke? When there had been times you ate microwave noodles for lack of anything else in the house.

“So you have money?” you asked, your confusion was evident in your tone. 

“I'm sorry,” he sighed. 

“Why would you lie about that?” You wondered. You were taken aback at your best friend's confession. Confused and a little hurt were just the brink of it. Why did he think he had to lie to you? After all this time?

“It was easier. I didn't want to worry about anyone just befriending me because of money,” He explained. You rolled your eyes, not sure if that was an acceptable explanation, but for now it was what you were getting. 

“Well where are your brothers staying?” You asked him. 

He sighed in relief at the fact that you weren't completely ripping him a new one. “Can they take your room, and you can crash in mine?” He suggested.

“Absolutely not!” You exclaimed.

“Y/N!” he groaned out. 

“You give them your room and you take the futon in the living room,” You told him, smacking his cheek lightly. 

“You're the worst,” He groaned. “But I need a favor,” he muttered.

“I swear if you ask me-” 

“Can you take me to pick them up at the airport?” He interrupted. 

“And he asked it,” You sighed walking out of the room. 

“Y/N? Is that a yes?” He called out after you. 

“Fine Sam, but you owe me big!” You exclaimed before shutting the bathroom door. 

You had met Sam your first day at the University, and instantly the two of you had clicked. You oftentimes would say the two of you were half-soulmates, like half of your soul was Sam’s but the other half you hadn't meant quite yet. You understood Sam, and he understood you, and it was easy. You knew he had brothers, but mostly when he'd get time off school he would fly from Scotland back to London to visit them instead of vice versa.

So despite spending most of the last four years together, you had never met them. 

You got yourself showered and put together before going to find Sam, who was a mess. “You look like a train hit you,” You told him as you stood in his doorway. 

“Y/N, that's not helpful,” He groaned. 

“Well let's go get your brothers,” you announced, grabbing your car keys from the counter. 

“Wait,” He exclaimed. You turned to look at him, waiting to hear what he had to say. “I need you to promise me something,” He muttered. 

“What?” 

“My brother, Harry, my twin. I need you to promise you won't fall in love with him,” He told you. You nearly doubled over laughing, you couldn't imagine falling in love with anyone, much less someone related to the Div you called your best friend. 

“Yeah I'm sure that won't be a problem,” You chuckled. 

“Y/N, i’m serious, the instant you guys meet you're going to click, and if you think me and you have a lot in common, i can promise you, that Harry and you will have more,” He explained. You realized he was completely serious. 

“OK Sammy, i'll do my best to not fall in love with your twin brother,” You nodded at him. He took a deep breath before finally walking towards you. 

“Let's do this,” He muttered. 

~

The airport was crowded, much like you had expected, but you still found yourself trudging through the packed areas to the waiting area to wait for Sam's brothers. “When is their plane set to land?” you wondered looking up at the screen that had all the flight information. 

“They just landed. Tom texted me to let me know,” He told you as he stood waiting impatiently. 

“Why are you so nervous? There only your brothers Sammy,” you tried to get him to calm down. 

“Look at that mane!” You heard from a group of people that had just entered the waiting area from the landing pad. You saw the color drain from your best friends face as he turned and saw a curly haired boy coming at him. Sam opened his arms as the boy crashed into him, hugging him tight and muttering things back and forth to each other. 

“Did you have to leave me?” A man asked as he walked up to the three of you, glancing at you and flashing you a smile before throwing his own arms around the already hugging pair. 

The three of them hugging was cute, and it made you wonder why Sam was so nervous in the first place to have them here, since he looked so happy now. 

“Ok, Guys this y/n, my best friend and roommate,” Sam told them, turning the two boys' attention over to you. 

"Hi," you mumbled, feeling rather shy suddenly. 

"You weren't joking when you sai-" Sam smacked Harry in the back of the head before he could finish what he was saying. "I meant hi," he told you, extending his hand out to you. 

You took his hand in yours, noting how attractive his hands were. His grip was tight as he shook your hand, staring into your eyes with the most breathtaking brown orbs you had ever seen. You weren't even aware you could think brown eyes were so beautiful. His curls had fallen to his forehead, giving him a boyish look, but dear God did he pull it off. No wonder Sam had asked you to not fall in love with his brother, just looking at him had your stomach in butterflies. You let go of his hand, looking away hoping your best friend wouldn't pick up on how easily you were taken aback by his brother.

The older boy 'Tom' extended his hand as well shaking yours and saying hello, before the four of you headed down to the baggage claim. 

Both boys found their bags quickly and then it was off to your car. "Shotgun," Harry yelled as you unlocked the door. 

"What? No!" Sam argued.

"You snooze, you lose Sammy, and it looks like you just lost," you laughed as Harry smirked triumphantly, throwing his bag into the trunk before sliding into the front seat. You knew Sam was nervous to get back to the flat. Worried that maybe his brothers would judge you based on the appearance of your place. 

You parked the car and led the boys up to your place, unlocking it and slipping inside. 

"Wall of champions huh?" Tom asked as he admired the drunk scribbles of the pong wall. 

"Me and Sammy boy are undefeated," you announced proudly pointing to the top where your names were scribbled out. 

"No," Harry laughed, shaking his head, "there is no way, Sam is awful, and has never won. Ever!" 

"Board doesn't lie, red," you told him, shooting Sam a smile. 

"Prove it," Harry said. 

You looked at Sam who had a mischievous look plastered on his face, neither of you were ones to back down from a challenge. So you spent the early afternoon drinking and Whooping Sam's brothers asses at beer pong. Easily.

"She carries you," Tom told Sam as he dropped himself onto the futon.

"Does not!" Sam argued with a laugh. 

"No she does," Harry confirmed.

"Oh piss off," Sam laughed, shoving his way in-between his brothers on the sad excuse for a couch you had. "We need a new couch," he groaned. 

"Let's go shopping for one," Tom said randomly. 

"We're drunk," you pointed out. 

"We can Uber," Tom laughed. You rolled your eyes but reluctantly agreed. 

~

You stood in your living room in your fuzzy pajama pants and tank top staring at the giant couch that was now taking up a majority of the room and the two sleeping boys on it. 

"We actually did that?" Sam groaned, walking out of his room in only boxers. "I've never been so drunk in my life," 

"Day drinking for the win," you told him, holding your fist up for him to bump. The prior night consisted of way too much drinking and then shopping at furniture stores, before going to a pub for more drinking. If you were honest with yourself, you didn't even recall getting the sectional into the apartment. 

Your head was pounding and you felt like you had been hit by a bus. So you opted to exclude yourself from any activities Sam had planned for him and his brothers, and instead spend the day catching up on your studies. 

You found yourself sprawled out on the new couch with books around you as you worked on your laptop. Regardless of the fact it was a drunk purchase, you had to admit the couch was pretty comfortable. 

You didn't realize you had fallen asleep until you were woken up by someone moving beside you. You sat up watching as Harry settled in. He glanced over to you and sighed. 

"Sorry I was trying to avoid waking you," he said apologetically. 

"S'ok, where's Sam and Tom?" You asked. 

"Club," he chuckled. You rolled your eyes, before grabbing the books from next to you and setting them onto the table. 

"You didn't want to go?" You asked. 

"Not in the mood," he said, smiling at you. You felt a tad guilty about being happy Harry had chosen to not go, opting instead to hang out with you. Sam had been right, you and Harry had A LOT in common, so talking and joking with him came almost naturally. He radiated positivity, it was like if he was a color, it was yellow 100%

After a couple hours of talking about everything you could think of, the room fell silent. "Let's go on an adventure," Harry suggested.

"An adventure?" You wondered. 

"Why not?" He laughed. 

"I'm not very adventurous," you admitted coyly. 

"That's ok, we'll figure something out. Let's just drive until inspiration strikes,"he said, standing up and extending his hand for you to take. 

Your decision to say yes was probably where everything went wrong, but looking back.. you would do everything the same if you were given a second chance.  

~

You parked your car on the side of the lake. Looking over at Harry with a skeptical look. "You gonna back out?" He asked. 

"Harry, it's only like 68° out here," you reminded him. He nodded with a smile before opening the door and getting out of the car. Somehow both of the Holland twins had a way of convincing you to do crazy things. 

You got out, feeling the chill of the air make goosebumps raise on your skin. "Harry, I'm not sure about this," you admitted walking towards where he was now standing on the dock. 

"Me either, but it's not an adventure without a little hesitation," he told you. 

"Who told you that?" You asked, laughing. He thought about it for a minute and shrugged. 

"Ok, let's do it," he told you, giving you a nod. You sighed nodding back before slowly peeling your pants down your legs and then your shirt over your head. You took a deep breath before removing your underwear and then unclipping your bra. 

You stood completely naked staring out at the ice cold water, not daring to look at the boy beside you, no matter how badly you wanted to. You felt his fingers interlace with yours. “Ready?” He asked. 

“Nope. let's do it,” You told him, squeezing his hand. You followed his movements. As soon as his body lunged forward, yours followed, hitting the icy water almost instantly. It felt as if there were pins and needles poking you on every inch of your body, and when you finally came back up to the surface, you gasped trying to catch your breath, your body tensed up from the shock of the temperature. 

"Adventures. Are. Dumb." You shuttered. You could see Harry's teeth catering together.

"That. That was stupid," he admitted swimming back to the dock and pulling himself out. He reached out his hand, grabbing yours and hoisting you back onto the dock.

"Remind me to never go on an adventure with you again," you laughed, before realizing something. "We don't have towels," 

Harry's eyes widened, "no we don't," you stood on the dock, completely naked trying to shield your body. 

"I have a blanket in my hatch. We can turn on the heater and sit under it until we're dry," you offered. 

"That sounds good," he told you before grabbing the clothes from the ground. You rushed to your car, opening the trunk and jumping in. Luckily you had left the keys in the ignition, so all it took was you leaning over the seat to crank on the car. Forgetting about your completely exposed state. Harry pulled the hatch closed as he crawled into the car, tossing the clothes into the back seat and unfolding the blanket. You plopped down beside him, pulling the corner to cover yourself, hoping the heater would warm the two of you up fast. 

After a few (awkward) moments, Harry finally spoke up. "You have a nice body," he said quietly. You felt your cheeks heat up at his words. 

"Harry, were you looking at my naked body?" You joked, knowing it would have been impossible for him to have not seen you. 

"I mean, when I came to crawl in you were bent over the back seat. Like on full display. Would have been hard to not look," he laughed, turning away to hide the blush that was gracing his ears and cheeks. "This trunk is roomy," he said, trying to change the subject. 

"Me and Sam had to sleep in here once, hence the blanket," you told him. 

"So you two?" Harry wondered. 

"No, never. He's like my half-soulmate, like in a friendly way, you know?" You asked.

"Well he's my womb mate so kind of," he admitted. You couldn't help but laugh. "You know, we will probably warm up faster, if we're closer," Harry said shyly. His logic was right, but you were worried about your self control. 

"Yeah, ok," you mumbled, scooting closer, until your leg was touching his.

"Can I put my arm around you?" He asked. You nodded quickly. You let out a sigh of relief at his warmth,as you let yourself snuggle into his body, being cautious not to place your hands anywhere questionable.

It was nice. It was strangely intimate as well. "Sam told us you were beautiful, but I can't believe how breathtaking you are," Harry said quietly after a few minutes. You glanced up to his face, his eyes were closed, and it seemed like he was trying to focus on his breathing. 

"Are you just saying that because you have seen me naked?" You asked. He laughed, before opening his eyes and looking at you. 

His eyes met yours, and it was like you were each seeing something you had been looking for for way too long. You saw his eyes shift down to your lips.  

"No, Y/N, you are just breathtaking, clothes and all," he told you, brushing stray hairs from your face. 

Your next movements were slow. You glanced down to his lips, and back to his eyes before slowly leaning in, giving him plenty of time to curve your movements, but he didn't. Instead he followed them.

"We shouldn't," you whispered, faces so close you could feel his breath on your lips. 

"I know," he told you. You bit your bottom lip, before looking into his eyes. There was something about Harry, something that was throwing all your inhibitions out the window. All you could think about was how his lips would feel on yours. His hand reached up, rubbing his thumb across your face, you closed your eyes and leaned in, closing the distance between your lips. 

The second your lips met you felt something ignite in you. He kissed you slowly, not rushing into anything. His lips were soft and warm, and made you melt into him. Turning your body more, your naked chest pressed against his as your fingers laced themselves in the curls on the base of his neck. 

As he rested his hand on your waist, squeezing lightly, as he deepened the kiss. 

His tongue swiped across your lower lip, looking for access, which you quickly granted. You leaned back as his lips found themselves trailing your jaw and to your neck. 

"Sam will kill us," you let out, as you threw your head back giving him more access to your neck. 

"Let him," he mumbled into your neck, before continuing his task. You knew you should stop him. This was the first step, in the wrong direction. Harry was someone you could easily fall in love with, and if you stopped now, you could pretend this naked, heated, makeout session had never happened. But then his hand slid down from your waist to your thigh, as he pushed you farther back onto your back. 

You pulled his face back to yours, reconnecting your lips with his in a hungry kiss. 

You continued the heated kissing for a while, letting yourself lose control, something that did not come easily for you. 

"Harry," you moaned into his lips, making him lift his head. 

"Tell me what you want darling," he told you, face red from kissing you. You pushed him up and over so he was sitting again. 

"Do you want me?" You asked. He nodded quickly, grabbing your waist to pull you over to him. You threw one of your legs over his, and let him get himself situated, grabbing his hard member and lining it up to your entrance. You let yourself sink down slowly onto him, enjoying the initial feeling of him filling you up. 

"Christ, y/n, you're so tight," he groaned, as he bottomed out on top of him. you leaned forward resting your head on his shoulder, getting used to the stretch he was giving you, before you started to move slowly. He kept his hands on your hips, helping you with your moviments, but never forcing them, letting you choose the speed of your thrusts. 

Harry peppered your neck with kisses as you held onto him, letting little moans and whines escape your mouth as you rode him slowly. 

He whispered sweet nothings to you, making you lose it, hearing you were 'perfect' and 'so beautiful,' 

"M'So close," you moaned out, as your movements became more rigid. 

"I've got you darling," Harry whispered as he took over, and began thrusting up into you, he let his hand slip between your body's, finding your bundle and rubbing it as he thrust into you. "Oh god," you groaned, throwing your head back. 

"Let go for me darling," he said as he pressed open mouth kisses to your neck. 

As soon as you felt him twitch inside of you, you felt the band in your stomach snap. You felt yourself convulsing around him as his thrusts became sloppy and slowed, having hit his peak with you. 

You let your forehead rest against his, both of your breathing heavy. "Wow," you whispered. 

"I think I like adventures with you," he chuckled, making you roll your eyes before kissing him again. 

~

Your eyes opened to the light streaming through the window. At first you were confused at the amount of windows surrounding you, and then it hit you. 

"Oh god," you groaned, sitting up. 

"What?" Harry gasped, sitting straight up. 

"We fell asleep," you told him as you rustled around you to find your clothes. "I don't know where my clothes are," you groaned. Harry placed a hand on your check, turning your face to him. 

"Back seat darling," he told you, before leaning in and kissing you. He pulled away sooner than you would have liked and reached over the seat grabbing the clothes from last night. 

You both dressed quickly, moving to the front of the car. The drive home wasn't a long one, and you were relieved when you arrived home to find that neither Sam or Tom were there. 

"So," Harry said as you poured both of you a glass of water. 

"What?" You giggled sliding it over to him. 

"Last night was incredible for me, and I don't do the sleeping with random people thing," he told you.

"And you think I do?" You asked him.

"What? No!" He told you, nearly spitting out his water. You couldn't help but laugh. "I just mean, that I'd like to do it again, maybe take you out as well, get to know you more," he told you, reaching for your hand. You laced your fingers with his, blushing as a smile spread across your face. 

"I'd like that," you whispered. Harry went to move around the counter, but as soon as he got off the stool the front door swung open and a very hungover Sam and an amused Tom came in. Pushing whatever moment you were having to the back burner. 

"You let him get pissed?" You asked Tom as you rushed over to your best friend who looked like death. 

"To be fair, I tried to stop him multiple times, but he kept telling me 'I'm in college I can handle my booze'" Tom laughed.

"Sammy," you groaned as you pushed him onto the couch. 

"Sorry mom," he mumbled as his eyes fluttered shut. 

You rolled your eyes at how dumb he could be. 

"What did you guys do last night?" Tom asked, walking over to where Harry was in the kitchen. 

"Went on a late night adventure," Harry told him, avoiding eye contact. 

"Oh yeah? What did you do?" Tom repeated. 

"Nothing really," Harry mumbled, trying to avoid Tom. But Tom knew Harry better than anyone. 

"Harry?" Tom asked, making the boy look at him. 

Tom gasped, looking from Harry over to you and then back. "Tell me you didn't Baz," Tom groaned. 

"Didn't want?" You asked, confused.

"You two had sex," tom whisper yelled. 

Your eyes grew wide and you could feel your cheeks heating up, "how would you gather that by just looking at him?" You demanded. 

"Sex glow," Tom explained. 

You snorted before rolling your eyes. "Oh whatever," you told him, not buying it.

"So you didn't then?" Tom asked, looking directly at Harry, who's cheeks immediately reddened. "Jesus you two, Sam is going to be livid," he informed you. 

"We're not going to tell him," Harry said quickly, to which you agreed just as quickly. 

Tom shook his head, "was it just the one shag? Or are there feelings?" Tom asked. You looked at Harry and bit your lip. He nodded before speaking back up. "Just the one shag, no feelings at all, " he lied. 

~

You sat in the driver's seat of your car, waiting.  Memories flooding your mind of that night weeks prior. You glanced down at your phone, checking the time again. You were being impatient, but to be fair you had been waiting for this for a long time, too long. Having had to accept secret calls and texts as enough for the time being. But now it was time, you somehow managed to clear up a weekend, and he happened to be free, and now you were going to sneak away, and not be a secret for just a few days, not have to hide behind a screen, or be a distant voice. 

Your phone began to buzz in your lap and you looked down to see the contact name you had changed a few weeks ago “My baz <3”

“You here?” you asked, bringing it up to your ear.

“Just landed. Am I getting my bag and heading out to you?” he wondered. 

“Yup. and then we will have two whole days uninterrupted, just us, in a virbo, naked, and sweaty and-” you were cut off by his laughing.

“Someone is clearly eager,” he told you.

“Fuck, i messed you sweetheart” he told you. 

“Yes i am, the phone sex and sexting isn't doing it for me, I've literally had the real thing baby. Now I want it again, so hurry up so we can get out of town,” you groaned, as there was a knock on your window. You jumped, and turned to see him standing at your door, red curls crazy from a cat nap he had surly taken on the flight over, and a smile so big you could drown in it. You jumped from the car throwing yourself into his already full arms, making him drop his duffel bag, but he didn't seem to mind. He wrapped his arms around your waist lifting you up in his hug, and burying his face in your neck. 

You could have sworn your heart skipped a beat. 

"Let's go," you urged him, impatient for what you knew was to come later. You began the hour-long drive to the weekend rental you had gotten for the two of you. Making sure you would be alone, and able to not be bothered by anything. Or so you thought. 

"Sam's calling you," Harry said as you turned another corner.

"What, why? He thinks I'm with my dad for the weekend," you told Harry. Looking down at your phone. Harry shrugged. 

You answered the phone hoping it was nothing. 

"Hello?"

"Hey, I uh, have a problem," Sam sounded worried.

"What?" You asked. 

"I wanted to make sure it was okay that I invited Harry to stay with us for the two weeks we have off of school next month, because I already invited him.. and I totally forgot to ask," he muttered. You felt a smile grow on your lips. 

"I don't know Sam, I'm not sure me and Harry got on well," you joked, peaking Harry's interest. 

"Really?" Sam asked. 

"Yeah, I just thought he was annoying and I'm pretty sure he didn't like me at all," you told him. Harry started to shake his head and roll his eyes. "I am fine with it Sammy," 

"You sure?" Sam wondered. "Cause I wouldn't want to make you uncomfortable by any means,"

"Positive," you confirmed 

"How's spending time with your dad?" He asked you.

"Good, hey look we just got somewhere so I gotta go, call you back later. Love you, bye," you hung up the phone before he could continue any conversation, knowing he would keep you on the phone for an hour if you let him. 

"You love him?" Harry asked. 

"What?" 

"You love Sam?" He repeated.

"Course I do," you smiled at him. 

"He's lucky to have you, you're a good friend," he told you. Your brows furrowed as you looked over to him. 

"Is that what we are? Friends?" You asked.  You parked the car in front of the house and turned to look at Harry. 

"Do you want to be more?" He Wondered. 

"I mean, the way I feel about you, I don't feel about any of my other friends," you whispered. 

"And how do you feel?" He asked.

"Well, when I see that you're calling or texting me I get this feeling in my stomach, it's like an insistent fluttering, that never goes away, as long as I'm talking to you, gets me all flustered and nervous. And when you told me you were going to be able to come this weekend, I was so excited, because it meant I could spend even a second with you alone." You smiled at him before biting your lip, "I really like you," 

"I like you too y/n, more than I think I've ever liked anyone," he told you, reaching his hand out to caress your cheek. "And because of that I've had something on my mind," 

"Oh yeah? You asked 

"Yeah, I mean I know it won't make much of a difference since we'll still have to keep it a secret, but I'd really like it if you were my girlfriend," he told you, his cheeks flushed red as he watched you closely for a reaction. 

You leaned in close, nearly touching his lips with your own, "I would love to be your girlfriend," you whispered before closing the space between you in a kiss. 

Everything with Harry was easy, even though the situation was strange, and the secrets and lying were hard, everything felt natural. Every Time you talked to him it felt like home, and you knew you were in over your head. If you had hoped to not fall in love with him, you absolutely would have been let down by yourself. You knew you were going to hell for lying to Sam, but you couldn't change the way you felt, and although you wished you weren't hurting him, you didn't regret anything you had going on with his twin brother. 

~

You entered the little rental house, surprised at how cute and quaint the decor was. It had a very boho chic feel to it, there was a four poster bed in the middle of the room with sheer curtains streaming down. There was a little sectional in the corner with a television in front of it, and a little kitchenette to the right of the room. The owners had left a fresh vase of roses on the little table along with a basket that had chocolates and a few other things inside. 

“This is romantic,” Harry said, as he looked around the room. 

“The pictures were cute, and it had good reviews, i didn't expect this though,” you admitted. 

Harry walked over to the bed, pushing the drape to the side and looking towards you. “Come test it out with me?” He asked. You rolled your eyes at him, but went over, slipping off your shoes and climbing onto the bed (Which felt like a cloud)

“It's nice,” you hummed as you let your body sink into the mattress. 

“Be nicer, if i wasn't so constricted by these clothes,” he told you, making you look over to see his smirking face. 

“Oh yeah?” you asked, turning to face him. 

“Oh yeah,” he repeated, raising his eyebrows at you. He adjusted himself to his side so he was facing you now. 

“What are you thinking about?” you whispered. 

“That night,” he muttered, “The way you looked, riding me, falling apart on my cock. How tight your pussy was and the way it clenched around me while I whispered sweet nothings in your ear,” your eyes widened in shock at the filth of his words. 

“Harry,” you giggled. 

“Come on, you know you have been thinking of it.  I know I can't get the sound of your moans out of my head, the small whimpers you were letting out with every stroke of my cock on your g spot,” you felt your walls clench around nothing at his words. He knew what he was doing, and he was doing it well. “I just wish we had had more time that night, I could have had you whimpering if I had been given the chance. I would have filled you up good with my fingers, and eaten you like you were my last meal,” he whispered. 

You closed your eyes, trying to keep from letting off how unbelievably aroused you were. You had rushed straight to the point the last time you and Harry had been left alone, but now.. There was no rush, no time crunch, you had all night, and all weekend to give into your sexual desires. Lord knows you have already given into your emotional ones. 

“Show me,” you challenged, stealing a glance at the way his mouth widened with your words. He pushed himself up onto his knees in between your legs, grabbing your ankles and pulling you down the bed and closer to him. “Harry,” you giggled. 

He ran his hands up your clothed legs, and up your body, until he was leaning over you, his face close enough that you could smell his shampoo and feel his breath fanning across your lips. “Want to make you feel good,” he whispered. 

“Do it then,” you groaned, arching your back up and into a kiss. His hands found your waist, sliding them under your shirt as he kissed you like his life depended on it. He slowly pushed your shirt up until it was pooled above your breasts and he then pulled the fabric of your bra down, taking your already pebbled nipple between his fingers and rolling it, which made a slight moan escape from your mouth. 

“Can I take these off?” he asked. You nodded quickly, sitting slightly up so he could remove the shirt. He reached behind you to unclasp your bra, but not without a little struggle. When he finally managed to get it undone, he slid the straps down your arms tossing it to the side, before dipping his head down, and taking one of your nipples in his mouth. You let out a loud gasp at the sensation, as your hands instinctively found themselves tangled in his auburn curls. He made sure to do the same to the other breast before trailing open mouth kisses down your stomach and stopping at your waistband of your leggings. Glancing up to you for permission, which you nodded, overly eager for him. He hooked his finger in the waistband peeling your leggings and underwear down in one sweep. He could see how wet you already were for him, from the glistening sheen of your cunt.  

He ran two fingers through your folds, stopping at your clit and pushing down. “Oh,” you moaned out at the unexpected pressure. 

“So wet for me darling,” Harry whispered.

“I have been waiting for this,” you admitted, looking up to see him smirking at you. 

“Oh you have?” He asked, pulling his fingers almost all the way out before plunging them back in.  He brushed your g spot with the tip of his fingers making you moan out his name and arch your back. “Been waiting for this?” he asked as he continued to finger fuck you. 

“Yes, Harry,” you moaned, as you felt a knot forming in the pit of your stomach. Harry moved his thumb, and you almost whined at the loss of stimulation, until you felt his tongue lick up from above his fingers to your nub, wrapping his lips around it as he began to suck slightly. You were done at that point, and you knew it. “So close har,” you warned, but he didn't falter in his actions in the slightest. Instead he sped them up, pushing you over the edge even faster. With a loud moan of his name, your back arched off the mattress and your toes curled, as you felt an explosion of bliss. Harry continued his movements through your orgasm, only slowing and coming to a stop when your legs quit shaking and you seemed to relax. 

“Fuck, y/n. You're bloody perfect,” he mumbled, bringing his lips to yours, you could taste yourself on his lips, but you didn't even mind. All you could focus on was the fact that he was way overdressed, for the activities you wanted to partake in. you grabbed at the hem of his shirt, and he broke away from the kiss to allow you to pull the shirt over his head. 

You took a second to admire his bare chest, he was muscular, but  wasn't overly defined, and he, well he was perfect. 

“You're breathtaking, you know?” You told him, making him turn a shade of red. 

“Shut up,” he giggled, before reconnecting your lips in another kiss. 

You let your nails graze the naked skin on his back making him groan, and rut his hips against yours. His clothed bulge rubbing against your naked sex. “Take em off,” you instructed. He pushed himself up onto his knees, unbuttoning his jeans, but before he could push them down you sat up grabbing his hands to stop him. “Can i?” you asked. 

He smiled at you before nodding. You pushed his jeans down as much as you could, you could see the outline of his cock that was straining against his boxers. You leaned forward, placing an open mouthed kiss on the fabric. “Fuck,” harry groaned. You looked up at him through your eyelashes to see him looking down at you.

“Want me to..” you asked. 

“Yes, fuck yes. If you want to, I mean,” he stuttered out. You smiled up at him, pushing the fabric of his boxers down until his cock was free of the restraint. You took his length in your hand, pumping it a few times, as you licked your lips and leaned forward, taking him in your mouth. You bobbed your head up and down as you worked what your mouth couldn't take with your hand. Harry held onto your hair loosely, watching as you sucked him off. “M’close,” he warned you. You continued what you were doing, not caring, he had done it for you, the least you could do was return the favor. You felt him begin to twitch against your tongue, as his grip on your hair tightened and his hips rutted forward, nearly making you gag before you felt him release himself the warm liquid slipping down your throat. You pulled your head back letting him out of your mouth with a pop. 

Harry pushed you back onto the bed, making you giggle at his eagerness. He let his body fall to yours, lips crashing in a deep kiss. His fingers laced with yours above your head as he moved his kisses down your jaw to your throat, sucking lightly, leaving small marks that would be a reminder for days. “Harry, I need you,” You whined. 

He lifted his head smiling, bringing his lips back to yours. His hand slipped between your bodies, lining himself up at your entrance before sinking slowly into you. He slowly thrust into you, setting a slow pace. 

“Faster, baby, please,” you moaned out. He grabbed your thigh lifting it lightly as he began to thrust into you harder. 

“You're so tight,” he groaned, as he began to quicken his movements. You reached down, rubbing your nub as he pounded into you. 

“I'm close,” You told him as you neared your second orgasm. 

He reached down, replacing your fingers with his, “Cum all over my cock darling,” he groaned. His fingers circled your clit, and with one particularly deep thrust, you felt yourself clench around him, as you whimpered at the relief. After a few more movements Harry's hips stilled and his body went limp, laying his head onto your chest. “That was incredible, you are incredible,” he told you as he laid there trying to catch his breath. 

You smiled as your eyes fluttered closed, sleep taking over your overworked body.

~ 

The weekend passed quicker than it had even come, and before you knew it you were kissing Harry goodbye at the airport where you had picked him up two days prior. 

“I wish we had more time,” you whispered as you hugged him, your face buried in the crook of his neck. 

“I'll be here next month, love. Five weeks and we will be back together, promise,” He whispered into your ear, kissing the top of your head. 

“I'll hold you to it,” you told him, kissing his lips one final time before he had to leave. 

“I’m counting on it,” he said, before walking away. Just like that, faster than he had arrived in Scotland, he left for London. 

The drive to your place was quiet, and the whole time you were fighting the urge to cry. You parked your car, and grabbed your bag, noticing a pink sleeve peeking out. You unzipped it, and saw Harry's pink hoodie, that he had probably shoved into your bag after you had practically lived in it and only it for the weekend. You couldn't help but smile to yourself. You shoved the hoodie farther into your bag, zipping it up and heading up to your flat. 

As soon as you opened the door you were hit with the aroma of a home cooked meal. Sam was standing facing the stove, focused on whatever he was stirring. 

“Smells good Sammy,” you said, startling him. 

“Oh good, your home. Come stir this for me,” he instructed holding a spoon out to you. 

"Yes chef," you said, bringing your hand up to your head and saluting him. 

"You're an idiot," he groaned at you. You walked over taking the spoon and began to stir the sauce while he cut up garnish for the top. "How was your weekend with your dad?" He asked. 

"Uh good, busy, but ok," you lied. Seemed like you were doing a lot of that to Sam recently. 

"So you guys worked everything out from that fight?" He asked you. Your eyes grew wide, realizing you had fucked up. You and your dad had gotten into a fight about money, and afterwards he had cut you off, and told you to get your life in order. It had been months since you had spoken.

"No, but we pretended so that my gram wouldn't be upset," you lied again. 

"Oh, that makes sense. I was confused when you said you were going to spend the weekend with him, I thought you might have been lying to me, glad that wasn't the case," he said as he drained the pasta. 

Guilt. That was the only thing you felt. Guilty for being a bad best friend. Guilty for lying. Guilty for not sticking to a promise you had made. You were going straight to hell. 

~

It had been a few days since yours and Harry's weekend, and he was set to be back in a little over a month. You were sitting on the couch, laptop in your lap when the pain started. At first it was a slight pinching sensation, but soon it became like a stabbing pain, and you nearly doubled over from the intensity. You tried to stand up, but let out a groan as the pain increased. Sam looked up, worried filling his face at the sight of you. 

“Y/N? You're bleeding, what's going on?” He asked, as he rushed to your side. You looked down to see a line of blood down both of your legs, and immediately got dizzy. 

“Sammy, I'm gonna pass out,” You warned him. 

“I’m taking you to the doctor,” he told you as he practically carried your limp body down to your car and drove you to the nearby emergency clinic.  

The doctors drew blood and put in an i.v to get fluids into you, all the while Sam never left your side, holding your hand tightly as he knew you hated doctors offices. 

“Okay darling, we're going to run some tests and get to the bottom of why you're feeling so bad,” the nurse told you, as she left the room. Sam sat beside you as you laid in the bed, squeezing your hand lightly. 

“It's alright, you're okay,” he cooed as he stroked your hair. Just then the door opened and a doctor came into the room. 

“Miss, Y/L/N, i have some unfortunate news, it looks like you're experiencing a miscarriage,” your jaw dropped as you heard the words coming from his mouth. You glanced up at Sam who was looking at you with raised eyebrows. 

“I- what?” you asked. Clearly not registering what you had just heard. 

“The HCG levels in your blood make me think you were maybe around ten weeks pregnant, which would explain the extreme blood loss, and the feeling like you were going to faint. The unfortunate thing is that there is not much medically that we can do, so we will send you home. Try and get some rest, take it easy and if you experience any clotting bigger than a golf ball,  come back in. ill have the nurse work up your discharge paperwork,” he turned to exit the room but stopped in the doorway, “I’m sorry guys, i know this must be hard news,” and then he left. 

“You were pregnant?” Sam asked. 

“I guess so,” you mumbled. 

“Who have you slept with? What was ten weeks ago? That was like-” Sams face fell. He looked down at you, “That was our holiday week, ten weeks ago,” He told you. You winced at his insinuation, which in and of itself gave you away. “Tell me you weren't pregnant with my brother's baby y/n?” he sighed. 

You weren't sure if it was being caught in a lie, the hormones coursing through your body, or the fact that you had just been told that you had lost a baby you were never even aware of, but you felt a sudden surge of emotions, as your eyes glossed over. Sam noticed this almost instantly. 

“Shit y/n honey, please don't cry,” he told you, but it was too late as the tears began to spill from your eyes.

“I’m so sorry,” you nearly wailed. Sam pulled you into his arms as you cried your heart out, mumbling things about how ‘awful of a person you were’ and how you ‘didn't deserve him in your life’.  

“Y/N, try and breathe, and tell me what happened,” he whispered as soon as your crying settled slightly. So you tried to explain what had happened, where you had gone wrong, and when your heart had been opened to his brother.

~ 

“Are you mad at me?” you asked as Sam tucked you into the couch with your favorite fuzzy blanket. He hadn't said a word to you since you had left the hospital. 

“I am,” he sighed, sitting down beside you. “Y/n, what happens if he hurts you? If he breaks your heart into a million pieces? What happens when I'm forced to choose a side? What happens when I have to choose him over you even if I know he was in the wrong?” he asked, voice cracking, and tears prickling his eyes. “What happens if I lose you over something he does? I'd be crushed, your my best friend, the person i turn to when things are hard, the one who knows me inside and out, the one id trust with my life, but he is my brother, my twin brother, you are like a stranger compared to the way i know him,” 

“Sam-” 

“No, y/n. Just- I can't have this conversation right now, because i want to yell at you, tell you how betrayed i feel, but i can't because this- what your going through, is bigger than what i feel right now,” he stood up pulling his phone from his pocket and walking to the front door. “And that's why I called him,” he said before opening the door. 

You felt tears form in your eyes again at the gesture. Your best friend putting his own feelings to the side to make sure you were ok. Harry stepped inside the house, offering a small smile to Sam who just nodded at him, obviously hurt. Harry went straight to you, pulling you into his arms as you started to cry again, this time it was even worse. 

Harry held you for what felt like hours as you cried until you fell asleep. He placed your body down gently before walking to the kitchen where Sam was standing.

“Mate-”

“No, you don't get to start. Why her? Out of every person in the world, why her?” Sam demanded.

“It just happened,” Harry said.

“That is not a reason,” Sam argued.

“She's it Sam, I don't know,” Harry said.

“You wouldn't have known that had you left her alone,” Sam was verging on pissed at that point.

“No, Sam, you don't understand. I didn't need to know her, the second I saw her in the airport standing beside you, her hair tied up and in that old pearl jam t-shirt. Everything changed, call it a gut feeling, or me being an idiot, but I swear to god Sam, I fell in love with her before she even spoke a word to me,” Harry explained, hearing the words he said for the first time out loud.

“You're in love with her?” Sam asked. 

“Desperately,” he admitted. 

“I'll hurt you, if you hurt her,” Sam warned. 

“I wouldn't expect anything less,” 

“And if she hurts you, well, i cant hurt her but i'll give her an earful,” Sam laughed. 

“I know,” Harry laughed.

“God it had to be my best friend?” Sam asked, shaking his head in disbelief.

“I'm sorry, the heart wants what it wants,” Harry said. 

“Who are you? Selena Gomez?” Sam asked, hitting his brother's shoulder. “I’m sorry, about the baby,” 

“I didn't even know there was a baby till you called,” He told Sam.

“She didn't know until today. You guys were careful, yeah?” he asked Harry. 

“Uhh,” 

“Harry! You fucking div! condoms man!” Sam groaned. 

“I know it was just-”

“No, no, no. I do not want to hear the specifics of you sleeping with my best friend, just- next time, CONDOMS!” Sam stressed.

“Okay, okay, that's easy enough,” Harry laughed. 

~

“You look nervous,” Sam laughed from the passenger seat of Harry's car. 

“I am,” you told him,

“You have met mum before darling,” Harry reminded you. 

“Yeah, as Sam's roommate and best friend, Not as your girlfriend,” you explained. Your stomach was in knots the entire drive from the airport to the Hollands family home. This was all new territory, sure you and Harry had been together for eight months, but meeting the family was a big feat, even if you had met them all before your relationship had started.

“I promise you will be fine, love” Harry assured you. 

“I'll hold you to that,” You muttered, as he pulled into the driveway of an extremely nice house. You felt your jaw drop, as you glanced around the house, unaware that they had grown up in such a nice place. 

Your door opened, and Harry held out his hand for you to take, which you did. Stepping out of the car and smoothing the bottom of your dress down. “Ready?” Harry asked.

You smiled up at him, “Nope. let's do it,” you squeezed his hand lightly as he pulled you along, Sam following closely behind. 

The inside of the house was just as nice, pictures of the boys lined the walls from when they were tots until now. You heard the pitter patter of paws on the hardwood and looked over to see a blue staffy running towards you. Sam dropped down hugging the dog. 

“Hi Tess, hi darling, oh i missed you too,” You giggled at the sight of the dog smothering Sam in kisses. 

“Just in time,” Niki sang as she rounded the corner. “Oh y/n,” she said, pulling you into her arms. “So glad you could join us for the holidays,” she told you, squeezing your shoulders. 

“Mum,” Harry said. 

“Oh yes, sorry please go ahead,” she giggled while backing up.

“Mum, this is Y/n, my girlfriend,” Harry said, making you shoot him a strange look. 

“Oh so nice to meet you,” she gushed with a giggle.

“What-” 

“He insisted he re-introduce us with your new title,” she explained. You laughed glancing up to see a blush covering his cheeks. 

“You're cute,” you told him, before being whisked away to meet the rest of the Holland crew. 

The night ran late, as you got to know everyone. The whole Holland family was easy to get along with, you spent most of the time laughing at embarrassing childhood stories and telling stories of Sam at school. 

“Are you ready to go?” Harry whispered in your ear when he noticed you had yawned for the third time. You nodded, eyes feeling heavy from the long day. You went around saying your goodbyes to everyone, Sam opting to just head back later. So you and Harry took off to his flat which he shared with Tom and a few friends. 

Once you got to his place, he grabbed your bag, leading you inside, and passed two boys who were occupied in front of a video screen. “You can meet them tomorrow,” He told you as he helped you up the stairs. 

His room was nice, quite what you would expect from a boys room, plain bed, empty dresser, there was a shelf full of movies, and a large tv, but nothing extreme. 

“Can i have a shirt?” You asked. “To sleep in?”

Harry smiled at you before walking over to the dresser and pulling out an old t-shirt. “This one will look nice on you,” He told you. 

“Help me out of these clothes?” you asked. He leaned forward bringing his lips to you as his fingers found the zipper on the back of your dress. He unzipped it slowly, pushing it off your shoulders before it fell to your ankles, revealing the lingerie set you had bought for him. 

“Oh god,” he groaned looking at the black and gold lace that lined your body. 

“You like it?” You asked with a cheeky smile. 

“I'm going to like it even more once it's on my floor,” he told you as he grabbed your bum, lifting you up and carrying you to his bed. He threw you down, and you landed with a giggle as he attacked your neck with kisses, trailing the patterned lace that laid over your breasts with one hand. “The things i want to do to you,” He growled in your ear. 

“Do whatever you want baz, i'm all yours,” You said with a wink. 

“Whatever I want huh? What if I just want to make sweet love to you all night?” He asked, catching you off guard. 

You smiled and brought your thumb up to his mouth tracing his lip and the birthmark right beside it. “Make love to me then,” you whispered. 

Harry bit his bottom lip, as he looked into your eyes. “I love you,” He blurted for the first time. 

You felt your smile grow even wider, as you leaned up, kissing his lips softly. “I love you,” You mumbled into his lips. 

You stayed tangled together, lips clashing, tension burning between you, for a while. 

“Harry,” You moaned into his kiss. 

“Yeah baby?” He asked.

“Make sweet love to me?” You nearly begged. 

He smiled wide, jumping up and walking to his dresser, pulling out a little foil square and tossing it to you before quickly undressing himself. You took the chance to slip out of the lingerie you had on, laying naked and waiting for him. 

He crawled onto the bed next to you. “Sit down,” you told him. 

“Yeah?” He asked excitedly. 

“Yeah,” you told him. 

He sat down, back to the pillows, and legs spread open, waiting for you. You ripped open the condom, rolling it over his member slowly in a teasing manner. “Y/N” he groaned, making you laugh.

“Alright,” You laughed, climbing on top of him, and lining him up to your entrance. 

“This feels familiar,” He whispered as you sank down onto him.

“Going back to the beginning,” you whispered as you began to move slowly. You wrapped your fingers in his hair as you brought your lips to his, letting all the love flow between the two of you. 

“I love you,” Harry mumbled into your lips. 

“I'm in love with you,” You told him. He grabbed your bum before flipping you onto your back. “Harry,” You giggled. 

“I'm so glad I found you y/n. I feel like I had been lost at sea and you were the lighthouse that guided me home,” he expressed.

“Harry,” You whispered feeling your heart skip a beat.

“I love you so much,” He whispered, before connecting your lips again, and moving his hips, sinking farther and farther into you with each thrust. You continued to kiss him, fingers tangled into his curls as he grinded into you, bringing you both to your breaking points. 

“Harry,” You moaned as you reached your climax.

“God Y/n, you look so beautiful falling apart because of my cock,” he groaned as his thrusts became rigid and rough. 

“Cum for me, Harry,” You moaned in his ear as he reached his peak finishing into the condom. 

He rolled off of you, disposing of the condom in the bin by his bed and turning back to you. 

“I love you,” He whispered again. 

“I like the sound of that,” You sighed, as you snuggled into his body. “And I love you too,” you whispered.

[chocominnie]

One Last Time 03  —  Pjm. (M)

⇢ pairing: Jimin X Reader

⇢ Genre: Idol!Jimin, Exbf!Jimin, model!reader, sad au, fluff, tons of smut, angst

⇢ Synopsis: Your idol ex boyfriend Jimin cheated on you. You two have been broken up for a while now and the media has been keeping track of you and him. You’re trying to get over him, but the things that happen inbetween makes you re-think the entire breakup, and so does Jimin…

⇢ Song : xxxxx

⇢ Previous : 00  01 02

⇢ Word Count : 4.2k

⇢ Warnings: dominant jimin, makeout sessions, this is honestly a sad angsty au, cheating, pregnancy, unprotected and protected sex, a bunch of sex, no really a LOT of sexual themes too, I know I’m forgetting some but sorry in advance!

⇢ Copyright: please do NOT repost, translate, or modify my works in any way, shape or form, on any platform. If found doing so , it is considered as plagiarism and appropriate LEGAL action will be taken

⇢ Authors note: This is my mini series for the summer! Get your tissues, things to take your anger out on, and sit back and watch the drama unfold. Shall we begin?

Being  a model isn’t as always what people view it as. It’s not all just fun and prancing around in clothing that’s either revealing or not. It’s about business and fun but you mustn’t mix pleasure in. Every model knows that. But you, you took advantage of that. You decided you wanted to know what would happen if you had did that. And that is how everything went wrong.

You had actually met Jimin through Jungkook. But, BigHit staff did a casting call for one of their music videos. You had gotten chosen and while at the shoot Namjoon had sparked in interest for you. He spoke fluent english that glided of his tongue ever so breathlessly. But his adorable, cheeky dimple smile had put the icing on the cake for you. You two had been friends ever since.

They needed two girls, the protagonist and the antagonist. You were the protagonist while another was the antagonist but the role did fit you well. You aren’t the type to cause trouble and when your manager explained the script and concept to you, she thought it was a perfect match to your real life personality.

You and Jimin had hit it off right then and there. You loved his smile, his way of talking, and his cute little English phrases he would slip in then and there to you on set. It was the most adorable thing ever. He was a smooth talker too. Then Bam! You didn’t know what had gotten into him. Well.. the acting was for the concept music video, but you’ve never seen someone go from adorable to to a dominant personality so quickly. The entire switch up from the persona had fooled you good. Way.. too good.

That was how it hit you. You knew that he had to be yours.

But then yours.. became shared.

Then sharing became permanent.

Now you are single and heartbroken.

“ Long time no see! How have you been?”

You smile and take in his huge bear hug. He smelled so divine. Namjoon has always carried himself like a mature man, but in the inside you knew he’s a child at heart.

‘‘ Im fine. How are you? I’ve been on a little hiatus.” You nervously chuckle, assuming he already knows why. Namjoon nods his head and guides you further into the set.

It’s the inside of an apartment. They’ve set it up so pretty for it to seem like it’s a  real apartment. The LED lights are beaming but not enough for it to be too bright. Just perfect. You take a glance at all around the set you would be soon using.

The bed is a modern day king size in the colour schemes of black, white and grey along with a matching dresser and nightstands. White Jasmine flowers, sit on top of the nightstand along with the book milk and honey sitting next to it.

‘‘ I seen your pictures when they had dropped yesterday.” He pauses, glancing up at you to see your reaction. The way your breath hitches for a moment humored him. “ You looked very good. You did a great job. Welcome back to the business!”

Only if the business was so welcoming at all. Pictures of you had been posted on all your platforms and the comments came rushing in. Some good, but majority bad, only because the people of the world thought your comeback was revenge for Jimin’s comeback. Turns out, he had a comeback three days before you. You didn’t know, because you don’t keep up with him anymore. His fanbase was actually the ones commenting to the bad comments to leave you alone and that you moved on.

If only you made it that far to move on. 

Namjoon leads you to the hair and makeup station that’s been set up for the both of you. Each of you greet them and take a seat in the two black director’s chair with your name on it. As you sat in your chair you let the stylists and make-up artist do your thing while you read the concept script of the music video.

It’s going to be Namjoon rapping about his first love and how she broke his heart repeatedly. The hazy white flashbacks are of you and him symbolizing a couple doing things of what he had did with her.

“ So you and um.. Jimin did you guys sort things out yet?’’

You lift your head from the script instantly biting your lip. You most definitely don’t want to be reminded of him at the moment.

“ No. I like the way things are now. We shouldn’t see each other anymore.’’ You roll your eyes and look back down at the white sheets of stapled paper that holds your acting skills.

“ Im sorry if I offended. I didn’t mean to it’s just that. It’s been a year and a couple of months since-’’

He means no harm at all, and you know that because its Kim Namjoon you’re talking to. This right now though, isn’t a conversation to be held right before rhe video-shoot. You shake your head letting him know not to continue on. The last thing you want is for the makeup and hairstylists gossiping. Also for your emotions to spiral all the way down again.

The hair, makeup, and clothing stylists does a very good job on you. The make up stylists did a sort of natural look to your face which made your skin look light and dewy. The natural makeup complements the oversize, long t-shirt that is supposed to symbolize Namjoon’s.

The first scene you are going to shoot is the bed scene where you will be straddling a sleepy Namjoon’s lap wearing nothing but his t-shirt and your underwear underneath. Which really isn’t your underwear but just some black shorts that you put underneath the shirt.

You spot Namjoon and the director conversing so you decide to make your way over to the bed by them. As you walk over, his manager glances and goes back to talking. You pay no mind to it but then, he does a double take with his eyes wide looking at your outfit and beauty. You cant lie, you do feel a little more confident than usual with this bedroom look. 

‘‘ My goodness she looks stunning!’‘ His manager smiles, holding his hand out to greet you. You take his hand and do a courtesy greet due to the fact he’s older than you.

Namjoon eyes you up and down, smiling showing his deep dimples and pearly whites. Since when is he all flirty? Where is all this coming from? What’s getting into him?

‘‘ Yes she does. Are you ready?’‘

You nod your head, glancing at the properly messy bed. The director gives you guys one last look before heading over to his place right next to the cameras. Namjoon grasps your wrists as you both make your way to the bed, letting your ears listen to the instructions.

Namjoon gets into the bed first and then motions for you to sit on his waist. You bite your lip subtlety with your eyes not leaving his as you climb carefully over onto his lap. Your core almost inches away from him member, you don’t mean to brush a little too hard against him like that. The way he hisses and stifles his groan makes you feel apologetic.

Oh Namjoon, what is going on with you?

‘‘ I need you to try waking him up with little kisses on his cheek then down his chest.’’

Glancing down at his bare chest, you almost gasp at the muscles he has. Your mind completely had ignored it when you two were chatting with the director.  Namjoon isn’t the kind to work out as much but he definitely prepared for this music video.

You nod your head just before Namjoon closes his eyes to fake his slumber. Leaning down after the director gave you two the green light, you smell his cologne which smells pretty good to say the least. The butterflies in your stomach flutter like no other when you start to leave butterfly kisses on his cheeks, making sure to kiss his dimples then trailing over to his neck.. then chest.

‘‘ Namjoon wake up smiling… right about now.’‘

His eyes flutter open with a smile landing onto yours which makes you smile right back at him.

‘‘ Interlock your hands and hold them up high.’‘

Both of you smile ear to ear and giggle at the awkwardness almost nearly as a real couple except you guys aren’t, and this isn’t real.

It was easy for you to act like you were in love with Namjoon due to the friendship you have with him. Ever since the boys were together in a group, you had connected easily with Namjoon. He has this friendly yet funny aura about him. He’s the sweetest guy you ever met, just before Hoseok. Namjoon was the one who made you feel welcomed and comfortable upon meeting the members for the first time, while you had dated Jimin. 

His eyes roam over your body intimidated by the lack of proper clothing you have on. Soon his hands take over and start to roam your body from shoulders to waist. Namjoon often bit his lip as if was thinking of saying something, but doesn’t.  At this point you didn’t know if the acting was real or not.

A day’s worth of shooting and this was it. You’ve moved locations just for this scene which is supposed to be in the middle of a vacant two way road surrounded by nothing but dust and a few trees. The last major scene. You had seen Namjoon rap his part repeatedly in different sets for him that did not include you. The dark clothing and light colored hair suited him just right.

The closing scene is the one left and ironically, it’s the make-out scene.

To your left, someone had started a bonfire to keep the staff warm as they converse about the scene and read through the scripts. You huff lightly as you get out of the chair instantly regretting it as the cold air hits your nearly exposed legs.

They’ve dressed you into a maroon skirt and a grey knit sweater that is fairly itchy paired with a knit infinity scarf. Your hair was let down to compliment your face.

‘‘ Yn!’’

You turn your head immediately over towards the direction of that voice. To your luck it’s Jungkook holding a big brown bag and two canisters of god knows what. But who trails after him makes your smile drop.

Jungkook smiles jogging towards you, almost slipping from being excited too see you. You open your arms fully to embrace his figure in which in return he provides.

“ Are you still mad at me?’’

You inhale the scent of him with a smile making sure to make eye contact with the one standing further away from him, “ No Jungkook.”

He lets go of your intertwined bodies and gives you one of his bunny smiles making you giggle at his excitement. “ I bought Namjoon and you some hot chocolate and plenty of rice-cake dumpling soup since you are working hard.”

‘‘ Thank you we will eat after this last scene okay?”

The cameras and lights are beaming down on you and Namjoon. It’s all or nothing at this point. The camera crew and director murmur a bit just before calling out that word. Action.

Namjoon looks slightly down at you with his glossy eyes. You challenge him back while not saying a word at all.

“ Are you comfortable with this?” He whispers. No, truth is you aren’t and have no desire in kissing him. To you, you feel like the kiss would make things a bit awkward for the both of you.

He’d been subtly flirting all day with you and of course you pick up on it everytime. It’s not like yourself to do such things with people you don’t have feelings for in a romantic way. Let alone, flirt with your ex’s band brother.

“ Yes.” It’s not like you have a choice to say no to it. You signed the contract, so you have to complete the entire scenes. Just your luck, Namjoon’s song begins to play in the background.

 He leans in for a kiss with your face inches apart from each other. So close that you can feel his eyelashes brush against yours. He’s stalling you, making you try to be the one to start the kiss. A small smirk on his face when you oblige taking him into the kiss. Your lips move in sync with his with his hand on your face caressing your cheek. He thinks your lips taste like strawberry chapstick, but you think his tastes like mint. 

Soon his tongue slips into your mouth to deepen the kiss. You can’t help but to let out a small whimper on accident resulting in Namjoon’s hand traveling to your waist and pushing you closer to him gently.  Excitment takes over you, you haven’t felt like this in a long time. Maybe it’s the lack of dating or all the couple like things you did today, but you feel loved.

And cut! That’s a wrap everyone, please pack and get home safely.

You break away from Namjoon’s lips and chuckle at the sight of him with his eyes still closed and waiting for something to happen again.

“ Joonie we are done shooting.”

Namjoon’s eyes pop open with a smile, cheeks turning coloured from embarrassment. “ Ah really? Im sorry it’s just that i was too into the moment.”

The both of you thank all the staff for their hard work of day. While bowing to another staff, you make sure to look directly in the eyes of the friend that tailed along with Jungkook. Just as expected he looked pissed off. The sight of him biting the inside of his jaw gave you satisfaction. He fucking deserves it.

“ Can we all eat now? I brought thermal blankets and the bonfire the staff lit is still going..’’ Jungkook says, sitting onto one of the logs and placing the bag onto the ground.

“ We need to speak first.”  You say, firmness taking over your tone. You aren’t going to let this slide. Why would he bring him here? After all that happened that night, you’re sure he told Jungkook. 

He sighs and motions for Namjoon to start serving while he’s going to be gone. Namjoon gently smiles and approves just before going to sit next to Jungkook’s friend and starting a conversation.

The two of you, Jungkook and you, start walking away from the small gathering slowly. The moon shines bright down upon the both of you creating black silhouettes from behind.

‘’ I didn’t invite him. You know I wouldn’t do that after that whole situation-’’

You purse your lips and stop walking, “ So he just magically came? I didn’t tell him and I doubt that Namjoon told him.’’

‘‘ He found out Namjoon was having his video shoot and came to support him. He came late due to Isab-”

You shake your head, “ Don’t say anymore. Let’s just go back and not bring anything up. I don’t feel like speaking to him or causing drama Jungkook.”

Jungkook can tell that you’re disappointed but does not say a word all the way back. You keep eye contact away from Jimin as you sit next to Jungkook. The atmosphere is awkward for you but you know it isn’t for them.

You munch on a rice-cake dumpling not making a sound as the three boys talk amongst themselves.

You take this time to think. Why would Jimin come here if he possibly knew that you were the main girl? He just set himself up to be mad at this point. Why didn’t Isabel stop him from going, after all you are his ex.

“ Why aren’t you eating?’‘

You look towards that soft voice, plopping your dumpling down into your bowl of soup. The truth is, you actually aren’t supposed to be eating this at all. Seeing as though your modeling and appearance schedule is getting full you have to maintain a healthy figure once again.

‘’ I guess im not as hungry. I’ll make sure to take it with me if I don’t finish.’’

‘‘ Eat.’‘ Jimin says, not lifting his head up but voice firm.

You roll your eyes out of annoyance, “ Im not hungry Jimin.’’ You were, but you say it just to piss him off even more.

His chopsticks drop his dumpling into his bowl as he raises his head slowly. Anger is written all over his face but you over-power it by keeping a straight face. Part of you is mad that you said that but it’s the truth.

‘‘ Oppa. Im Oppa to you.” His eyes meet yours. You can’t help but notice that his are darker than average. You hated calling him that and he knows it. It’s cringey to you, but respectful in their culture.

He didn’t use to make you say it even while in a relationship, so you know he’s playing along with your little game.

Namjoon rubs the back of his head,‘‘ Hey guys let just eat okay? Yn you should eat more.’‘

‘‘ Rather not. My appetite is no longer here.”  You shrug as you place the lid onto the container of your food.

Jimin rolls his tongue in the inside of his cheek while keeping a death glare on you. You don’t bother to pay it any mind at all. Jungkook lets out a breathy sigh as you gather your belongings to leave.

‘‘ Im taking my leave.’‘

You give Namjoon a hug first then walk over to Jungkook who hugs you really tight. You smile and give a peck onto his cheek.

‘‘ Text me tonight.’ He whispers into your left ear before letting his grip go. You nod your head and glance at an angry Jimin.

“ I’ll take her home.”

That sentence makes you stop dead in your tracks. What the hell does he think he’s doing? 

“ I can get a taxi..”

Jimin finishes his food and throws it into the paper brown bag. Namjoon and Jungkook stare at him in disbelief. The veins on his neck are very noticeable as he makes his way over to you.

You watch in disbelief but angry with your eyebrows furrowed because they all seem to not be listening to you. “ I said I can get a tax-”

“ Yn just go with him. I will feel safer if you went with somebody you know.” Jungkook sighs, throwing him and Namjoon’s remaining trash into the bag.

“ Me and Jungkook have a lot of catching up to do. We’ll be at my house.” Namjoon catches onto Jungkook’s memo.

You roll your eyes as Jimin grabs your arm rougher than expected, dragging you along the vacant two way street to his parked Lamborghini.

You jerk away from him not wanting to be in his grip anymore. Jimin doesn’t say anything as he opens the car door for you. You stand there with your arms crossed refusing to go.

“ Yn you have until the count of three because honestly you are pissing me off. “

Your eyes land onto his with your eyebrows still furrowed in anger.

“ 1.”

You scoff at him. What are you a toddler?

“ 2.”

Yeah right. What could hap-

“ 3 ” Jimin grabs your arm tightly making sure to leave it red as he pushes you into the passengers seat. His cheeks turn a deep shade of red. slamming the car door behind you.

He doesn’t bother to put his seat-belt on before pulling off with Namjoon and Jungkook following behind him. You wince at the throbbing pain where he had marked you red. The soreness is already settling it’s way in.

“ Look..” He sighs, “I didn’t mean to.”

Tears fill the brim of your eyes. This isn’t the same Jimin you knew. He would never even think of hurting you like that.

“ Shut up just take me home.” Your voice cracks, tears slipping down your cheek as you try and massage the pain away.

You don’t say a word to him all the way there to your apartment building. The air is as thick as a slice of home-made cake yet neither of you decide to speak. That is until he decides to follow you out the car and up to your apartment, most likely to make sure you are safe getting in. You stop at the welcome mat that holds your home just beyond the door.

“ Jimin. Leave.” You whisper, audible enough for him to hear.

“ I don’t want to.”

“ I know you’re sorry. Just leave.”

You punch in your code, the date that you and him started dating.  You open it enough for just your body to slip in but that doesn’t work. Jimin pushes the door open wide, letting himself in right behind you.

You don’t say anything at all. You remove your shoes as well as he does to. Clara greets you by rubbing her body against you. You don’t bother to pet her you walk past her and into the kitchen.

Pulling out your phone, you text Jungkook letting him know you got home safely. He immediately responds with a selfie of him and Namjoon with Soju in their hands. You can’t even laugh at the two silly boys.

A harsh cold object is placed on your right arm. You quickly look down to see Jimin’s hand holding an ice-pack against the area he harmed.

“ You didn’t tell me you would be the lead girl in Namjoon’s video.”

‘‘ We aren’t together anymore. I don’t have to tell you anything.”

That’s the truth. You two shouldn’t even be in the same apartment, let alone yours, right about now. His business isn’t yours anymore. Yours isn’t his anymore.

Jimin scoffs, “ You know I will always look out for you and look after you. I’ll be there anytime for you.”

‘‘ I feel as though that’s inappropriate. You have a girlfriend don’t cheat on her like you did me.” You remove his hand and hop onto the white counter-top.

“ How many times are you going to say it huh? I was wrong I know that. But why remind me of it?”

You look him dead straight into the eyes, “ Until you suffer for a year and some months don’t say shit to me.’’

There was a silence for a couple of minutes. Your eyes wander around your fairly neat apartment until he says something again.

Jimin sighs, coming in-between your legs placing his head on your lap. ‘‘ I don’t like this.. us.”

“ Clearly you didn’t because you cheated.” You snap back, pushing his head away from you only for him to go right back. “ That’s not what I mean and you know that.” His voice is soft, just barely above a whisper.

So what does he mean?

‘‘ Im saying that.. I don’t like you being this way and distant from me. I don’t like when you kiss other people. I didn’t like when you had to make-out with Namjoon. I don’t like not being able to talk with you. I don’t like all this anger and tension between us.”

Your mind is telling you this is a red flag but your heart aches for him to go on and say what you want him to say. Could this really be it?

“ The truth is, I do miss you. I miss us. I miss everything about us. I fucked up bad and I have to pay the consequences.” His hands snake around your waist tightly. 

This is it. Finally.

You bite your lip and run your fingers through his hair softly. Small sobs can be heard from him and the wetness of your leg lets you know he finally broke down.

‘‘ Jimin stop that. Don’t cry.’‘

He shakes his head, ‘’ You don’t understand. She’s not like you but I like her. My heart is with you but my mind is with her. I don’t know what to do.’’

“ You can’t love two people at once. You know that. I refuse to get hurt again by you.” You keep your voice low making sure not to get angry with him. His head lifts up showing you his red face and puffy eyes.

You can’t help but to want to kiss the tears away. So thats what you do. You kiss all over his cheeks slowly one at a time. Yes you don’t want to get hurt again, but you want him to realize that what he did is still taking a toll on you all the while you crave him and his love more and more.

‘‘ Yn..” He whimpers, sniffling.

You shake your head to hush him up and move on to his lips. His sweet, soft lips connect with yours. He opens his mouth to deepen the kiss. Both of your tongues fight for dominance making you hold your breath to stifle your groan. This is wrong. He has a girlfriend. You kissing him would make you a hypocrite, so you break away the kiss though you don’t want to.

You sigh, lifting his head up again. Those brown eyes stare back up at you full of tears and sadness. Yet you can’t be fooled by your own mind. “ Jimin go back to Isabel. She’s probably waiting for you.”

You take his arm and lead him towards the door. He slips his shoes on without taking his eyes off of you. It hurt. It hurts a lot seeing him leave out the door each time he comes over. But you still need to face the fact that this isn’t your man anymore, he’s someone elses.

“ What if I don’t want to go back.”

You unlock the door for him and hold it open. ‘’ You can’t love two people at once.’’

“ Baby, just one last time..’’ He says, referring to the kiss you’ve shared earlier.

You shake your head no. Another kiss would surely lead to something more of a messy situation. “ When you make up your mind, you know my apartment well enough.”

And with that you shut the door behind him as your back slides down the door. You bring your hands to your hair and slip them in.

Maybe, just maybe, there could be a one last time with him.

[diamond-coral]

The Heist- Part One

dark!Steve Rogers x Reader

You were just supposed to rob a government official’s apartment. Not Captain America’s. Right?

Series Warnings: Dark, Rape/Non-Con, kidnapping, strip club stuff, swearing

Chapter Warnings: Mentions of a strip club, swearing, committing crime ig, nothing much really.

You sure as hell weren’t a criminal. Well- your record would say otherwise, but it’s not like this was your dream profession. You wouldn’t call yourself a criminal. More of a Walmart Robin Hood; stealing from the rich and giving too...well...yourself. Fine. You were a criminal. But a girl had to pay the bills. At least you got to stick it to the man, right?

You let out a sigh while evaluating your life choices. It wasn’t every little girl’s dream to be breaking into houses and apartments for some cash or valuable possessions. Technically, you were an artist by day, going to art school in New York, living the aesthetically pleasing dream of student loans and a sky-high rent that your shifts at the strip club were hardly making a dent in. But hey, at least one time you got to dance for Captain America, even if he was reluctant and a bit shy. You were certain very few women could say the same.

And that’s how you found yourself in the elevator of a cozy apartment complex, traveling upward toward your new objective. Bella, your roommate, literal partner in crime, and the only good thing that came out of socializing with your coworkers at the club, had given you a new lead of a man who was supposedly loaded and yet lived in an accessible and modest living space. He was single, and worked some sort of political job that left his apartment constantly vacant, specifically on the day you planned for your heist. A perfect target. Some corrupt government worker who wanted to live a ‘low profile life’ yet was dumb enough to settle down in a complex who’s only security was a couple cameras and guards. Bella would easily be able to freeze the frames on the cameras for an hour, giving security the false pretense that the hallways were empty and giving you the perfect window to snatch some fancy watches and some cash.

The elevator doors opened right as you received a text message from Bella.

Cameras taken care of. Now go pay our rent ;)

You exited the elevator only to collide with a blonde woman carrying a laundry basket.

“Oh god, I’m so clumsy I’m so sorry!” she exclaimed while bending down to pick up the clothes that had fallen out of the basket.

You bent down to help her collect her clothing. “No, I’m so sorry! That was completely my fault!” You offered a smile as you stood back up, but was met with a calculating gaze as she studied you.

“I’m sorry, are you new around here?” She seemed to catch herself and her demeanor changed. “It’s just, I’ve never seen you around here before.” She gave  a small smile.

“Oh ,I’m just a girlfriend!” you replied. “Just stopping by.”

“Are you Steve’s girlfriend?” she asked while gesturing to the door at the end of the hallway with her head. It was your target’s door. So the political scumbag’s name was Steve. Lovely. “I don’t think he’s home right now.”

Your brain churned out a fast response. “Yeah, I know. Unfortunately for me, he’s always working. I just left my purse, and he gave me his keys to stop by and pick it up.”

“Well I’m just glad he’s found someone with all his work. I know it’s been hard for him.”

The two of you exchanged one last goodbye smile before she stepped into the elevator.

“I’m Sharon by the way. And you are...?”

“Olivia,” you replied, the fake name came out as a second nature as the elevator doors closed.

You let out the breath you’d been holding. 

“Well that could’ve gone worse,” you mutter to yourself as you approach the door at the end of the hallway.

You slipped the lock picker out of your sleeve before checking your surroundings cautiously. A minute after proceeding to insert the pick into the lock, a soft click resounded from the wooden door, and it easily swung open with a turn of the knob.

As you entered through the doorway, you took into account the little bits of vintage decoration that was dispersed amongst more modern furniture. A small Uncle Sam poster, a couple of war antiques, and some old photos with figures that remained unrecognizable in the distance. This government official seemed to have fought either in World War II or Vietnam, probably making him old. You shuddered at the fact you’d called yourself his girlfriend, but Sharon hadn’t seemed to bat an eye. Either way, you didn’t care for antiques, as much as they would have sold for a hefty price. They were probably personal to him and as you walked around, you realized there were quite a few personal items that were no use for you. As you walked into the bedroom a glint from the dresser caught your eyes, and your chest filled with giddiness and excitement as you neared. Three beautiful watches were on display under the mirror that sat atop the dresser. A Cartier that would probably sell for 8,000, a Rolex that would go for 10,000 easily, and then a beautiful older Rolex. With careful hands you snatched up the two newer watches and placed them into the small knapsack you’d been carrying. After consideration, you decided to leave the older one as it probably held a sentimental value and wouldn’t give you as much money as the other two.

You walked around some more, occasionally picking up valuables like solid gold tie clips and little pieces of Stark technology, which you were surprised he had. You had to be filthy rich to support, much less afford, anything made by that war profiteer. You picked up stashes of cash lying around, which seemed to be a lot. This man definitely seemed to use cash more than credit card which wasn’t as common around people your age. As you were rummaging around his study for any pieces of fine art (which you had already gotten two of) or government documents you could sell on the black market, you knocked over a picture frame which had landed on a file that read CLASSIFIED in red letters...right under the six letters that spelled S.H.I.E.L.D. This fucker was a S.H.I.E.L.D official. You were gonna kill Bella for the vague intel.

“Shit I need to get out of here,” you mumbled. Senators and representatives were fine targets, all usually too old and skeevy for you to care about, but a S.H.I.E.L.D. official was dangerous and could get you somewhere worse than jail. Hell, you could’ve accidentally broken into Nick Fury’s place. You were screwed. So screwed. And you needed to get the hell out of this apartment. As you went to put the picture back, you glanced at it, before doing a double take and squinting at it in the dark room. Oh. This was much worse than accidentally breaking into Nick Fury’s place.

The two men laughing with an arm around each other in war uniforms with an arm around one another was innocent enough until you could finally make out their faces. Steve Rogers an easy enough one to make out, especially considering you were on his lap a couple weeks ago, and James Buchanan Barnes looked practically unrecognizable without a murderous glare on his face.

“No,” you muttered before quickly placing the picture back down. 

You once again assessed your surroundings. It all made sense. The subtle 1940’s vibe, the war antiques. Bella had said he did work for the government and that wasn’t a lie. In the corner of the room you spotted a large circular leather case that was partially unzipped. Through the slight opening of the brown leather, the red, blue, and glinting bright silver was unmistakable.

“No, no, no, fuck,” you muttered frantically as you checked your watch. You still had 38 minutes before the security cameras in the hall unfroze. That was enough time to put everything you stole back. You’d much rather work open to close shifts at the club every day for three months straight than get fucked over by Captain Fucking America. 

You scrambled out of the study, moving to the living room first to put back the authentic paintings. You grabbed a stool from the high bar counter in the kitchen so you could rehang the medium sized work of art. Your mind was racing. This had to be karma for all the horrible shit you’d done in the past. God decided he had enough of your delinquent shenanigans and set you marching straight into the arms of America’s righteous hero. As you finished hanging the painting you spun around on your heel, completely forgetting you were on a wobbly wooden stool. Your heart stopped for a moment before you regained your footing. Carefully climbing down the stool, you almost missed the subtle turn of a lock coming from the door.

Oh you were so done for. Your limbs flew everywhere as you scrambled to the bedroom, sliding under the bed right as you heard the door open. The rumble of Steve Roger’s voice was clear as he talked on the phone and it cut through the walls from the living room.

“Well yea Buck, obviously Tony’s gonna be a little cold toward you. Not that I blame him. I’m just thankful he didn’t start an entire civil war over it. I guess it’s just a good thing we’re not war criminals.” He let out a chuckle before pausing. “Hey Buck? Yeah. I’m gonna have to call you back.” Another pause and you heard some rummaging around. “Why? I think my apartment was just broken into. I gotta go down to security. Yeah, thanks bud.” 

Steve hung up and you heard some angry muttering as he walked into his room. From under the bed you saw his tennis shoes and dark jeans as he paced at the foot of the bed. You covered your mouth to stop your anxious breathing, afraid he’d hear you from your hiding spot. 

The few minutes he spent in his room felt like eternity before he stomped out and you heard the opening and closing of another door as he exited the apartment. You crawl out from under the bed, your head spinning as you attempted to think of a way out of your predicament.

The window.

Quickly and quietly, you stood up and made your way to his bedroom window, looking out for a fire escape and letting out an annoyed huff when you saw none.

‘Maybe there’s one for the living room window,’ your brain chimed.

You rushed to the living room, scooping up the two watches and your empty knapsack on your way, and almost screamed with joy at the sight of the fire escape next to the window. Your fingers curled around the bottom of it and give it a sharp tug up, opening it just enough for you to squeeze through. 

Just as you were about to lift your leg over the ledge and climb down the stairs to sweet sweet freedom, being able to forget about everything that ever happened tonight, a large hand wrapped around the back of your neck and wrenched you back with such force that you tumbled backwards and landed on your butt.

He was massive. Six feet of pure muscle towered over you as you trembled from your position on the floor. He squatted down, resting his elbows on his knees as he took you in, blue eyes practically cutting through the darkness, and you let out a small whimper.

“Didn’t your mother ever tell you stealing is wrong?”

[saturnsstufff]

The Empress (pt.V)

Emperor Vacation! Pog! Remember to drink water today lovely’s!

also if you squint hard enough you might see me simping for C!Philza.

Warnings: swearing, mentions of death

   The flight back to your village was long, it wasn't that you were in bad company, just after sitting so long you were extremely stiff. You could only shift positions so much before your butt, and legs were numb. So when Phil had mentioned seeing land, you were more than glad it was over.

  Phil was right about having a extra cloak on too, the wind was horrible, not to mention the altitude you flew at was already freezing. Phil and Techno were smart on leaving when we did though as well. By the time we reached the village it was easily past noon. You were kind of giddy on showing Phil around your village. On the way up you and him discussed a bit about it, and your heritage. He was very open and interested when you explained how everything came to where it was today. Along with going home, you were also more excited to see and hug your parents. You could only imagine what your father would say about you working for a ruler.

   When Phil and techno landed it was near the village, but also in a bit of a walking distance. Phil had made wind that he didn't want to land too close, and risk scaring anyone. After Phil had helped you out of the plane, all of you were stretching out. Especially Philza, he had made comments on how the plane's only down side was the confined space for his wings. When he let his wings span out you were awe struck. There were massive, easily wide enough to lift himself off the ground. The wings, although made for use, were oh so elegant. When Phil stretched you could see his figure better now. his wings spanning out wide behind him into the air, almost like a bird preparing flight. He wasn't in his normal Robes, instead he exchanged them for a simple black shirt that clung to his form. The arms were cut off, allowing you so see his fit arms. this didn't surprise you, the sword Phil always carried looked like it had a bit of weight to it. For being a father, Phil was very fit. Once his stretching was finished he took a light cloak from the plane and precisely wrapped it around his shoulders, minding his wings.

   Well you two worked the numbness away techno had approached. He also was stretching. But simultaneously shedding a few of his layers. He casually tossed the cloaks and capes into your seat of Phil's plane. You did shed a few layers like Phil, but not as many as Tech.

   "Are you sure you don't want something to block the sun? Sun burns suck" you said to techno. He unbuttoned the top two buttons to his shirt, before pulling his main braid out, changing the style for his ponytail.

   "If I wear to many I might get heat stroke" He said simply, watching you. Without his mask he wasn't as menacing, but you definitely weren't used to seeing his face. you gazed at him with a perplexed look. 

   "Heat stroke?" You knew what it was, but you were a little confused. He chuckled lightly as Phil looked up to you two.

   "My body runs hotter, princess" he crossed his arms, relaxing into his stance. You flushed at his words again. Glancing away to avoid his eye contact. ’fuckin’ hell there he goes again’ His tone was casual, but he was obviously still in his teasing mood.

   "Since Tech is part Piglin his body is always warmer than you or I, that's why sometimes he just walks around in the snow without freezin'" You looked up to Phil and nodded. It made sense, you will admit, sometimes you forget that techno isn't fully human. When you think of Piglins you usually think of a gold obsessed beast. But Techno carried himself with elegance and pride. Yes he adorned himself in gold, but that was part of who he was. He had a right to be proud of it.

   You started towards your village with the two. As if a unsaid agreement occurred they made you walk between them, walking like your own personal body guards. Techno strolled on your right well Phil kept close on your left. When you saw the children playing outside you smiled brightly. You missed this. The sound of children's laughter carried around like ringing bells. Sweet and ever so innocent.

    As you walked into town. Some of the older kids ran up to hug you, jumping into your arms without hesitation. You without a thought picked them up and spun them about in your arms. These were your friends. Your community was small so everyone was close. Phil and techno respected this and just quietly stepped aside to give you the moment. Soon some of the other towns people had stepped out to see what all the commotion was about. Your mother included.

   When she saw you her eyes lit up with love. She couldn't help but grab her skirt and run to you. Hugging you tightly to her chest, almost knocking you off your feet. Her tears of joy could be felt on your shoulder as you held her tight. Your nose buried into her neck, you missed this. You missed her. You missed the village. Everything just made you beyond happy at this moment. everywhere you looked there were smiles, wide and contagious. Soon you herd a quiet voice. Your father. When you looked up it was your turn to tear. he was hobbling over to you, his arms wide. You smiled widely hugging him tightly, but carefully. You didn't want to hurt him.

   "I did it.. I did it- I did it!" You were so ecstatic. Your father put his hand on the back of your head gently well he hugged you. You were his little girl, and he was beaming with pride for you. 

   "I'm so proud of you.." He was tearing. He was proud of you. So very proud of you. He was even happier to see you back home safely too. He pulled back, taking a moment to take you in, you looked a tad different from your trip. not in a bad way, just a little different. Your fathers eyes moved from you, to Techno and Phil. "I assume these two are with you?" Your father asked. He was mostly summing Tp techno, you assumed because he was basically a year older than you. Phil sent your father a kind smile and nodded.

   "Oh! Mhm! Sorry, I forgot to introduce them. This is Philza, and his Imperial Highness Technoblade." Your fathers eyes widened. When he realize was in the presence of royalty, he tried to go to his knee to bow. Techno quickly grabbed his arms in turn. Sopping him from doing so.

   "Please.. (y/n) told us of your pain. I couldn't ask formalities from you, sir" your father was speechless. He could only look at Techno with awe. Techno helped him stand properly. Only letting him go when he safely had himself steadied. Your mother chimed in.

   "Would you like something to eat or drink perhaps?" She asked looking between your father, Phil and Techno.

   After hearing the young emperor was in your house, the village was buzzing around trying to tidy up a little. Nestled inside your house however Techno and Phil were eating. You had ate, but also were packing a few more possessions that you held dear to you.

   You knew that after today you would start your full time job as a blacksmith. In the beginning you were nervous. Everything you herd about there kingdom was terrifying. But after seeing who is in control you actually have felt very at ease with them. Wilbur was ever so kind, Phil treated you like an additional child of his, and Techno was something all in himself. You did find yourself thinking back to how he has taken up the nickname 'princess' for you. It made you blush obviously, but it was just how he said it that made you want to hear it again, and again. He could be so brooding and quite. But also find a way to joke and tease. Not only that, but just from what had happened outside your home. He didn't want your father hurting himself on his own account. It was the little things like that, that somehow just made your heart maybe skip a little faster. 

   Well you pondered Techno and his family, you didn't realize that he was leaning on your door way until he spoke up.

   "Having troubles packing?" He asked. You couldn't help but jump. Turning to face him. His eyes were relaxed, along with his stance. He was just hanging about basically.

   "Sorta" you said. Glancing him over. He slowly walked into your room and looked about curiously. Mentally you were thankful you cleaned before you left. Your room was small, your bed shoved against the wall, navy blankets resting on top of the mattress. Next to the bed there was a nightstand with the candle still half melted from the last use. Your dresser was across your bed, old and worn, it had been your grandmothers previously. Next to that was a little desk you and your dad had built. Your room wasn't much, but you could tell somehow techno didn't mind. "Its hard in a way..." He looked up at you. His eyes dancing between yours.

   "How so?" He questioned as you sat on your bed. He took the que and leaned on your dresser. Respecting your space. He knew he wasn't familiar to you like Wilbur or phil. He did want to get to know you more, but he also didn't want to force you to befriend him.

   "Well... I mean I've grown up here. All my life and memories are here... I know I can make more at the palace with you and your family." You smiled softly. "Wilbur already wants to teach me how to ice skate..." Techno smiled a little.

   "I bet you'll fall" he mused. You laughed a bit. smiling down to the boards under your feet. 

   "I probably will.” you were smiling gently, It’s the little actions like this that made you happy to see the family for what they were. Rather then what the rumors had painted them as. “I dunno, I know I want to work for you. I know my parents will appreciate the money and-" at this Techno’s brow furrowed slightly before he cut you off.

   "(Y/n) are you sure your doing this for yourself. Or for your parents?" The question took you aback briefly. Earning a slight head tilt. Techno pressed his lips, thinking of how to continue. "Are you working for me to make your parents happy. Or are you working because you will be happy?" You could only look at him with a blank look. He had a point there. "If your working to make your parents happy, you will be miserable the whole time your with us" He was watching your expression. Trying to read it for how you felt. You were kind of stumped. Techno had stepped closer. His boots were in front of yours. When you looked up he was right there. "I don't want to see you miserable well working" his gaze was gentle. He wasn't talking as a ruler, but rather as a friend. you understood too. If your hearts not in it, your work will never be as good. You paused a bit.

   "I do want to work for you. Its.. what my heart is telling-" again he cut you off, leaving your mouth agape with the words of your sentence lingering.

   "Your heart is a organ, it cant tell you what it wants" ok you wanted to hit him. He knew what you meant.

   "I mean... my consciousness is telling me to go with you and Phil. I really like your guy's company. Your brother Wilbur Is a lot of fun too." You shrugged and looked down a bit. Techno moved again and slowly sat beside you, almost hesitant like he wasn't sure if he could. When he sat the bed dipped quite a bit. Not that he could help it. He was a built man. "Maybe its just telling me to go because your family is the closest thing I've had to genuine friends..." Techno's face contorted into a little confusion. Getting a 'heh?' Out of him.

   "Don't tell me you've never had friends, princess" he said looking down at you.

   You smiled a little. "I've had friends... but usually there years younger than me. Like four or five. Maybe seven. I mean friends closer to my age like you and Wilbur" techno hummed a bit. His cheeks a very faint pink.

   "So you think of me as a friend now" his brow raised in question. his gaze was curious. not swaying to disgust, nor pure joy.

   “I mean, if I can count you as one...” You said looking up to him. If someone would have walked in at this moment, they would have thought they disturbed a moment between the two teens. Techno was tall, but that didn't stop his head from lingering down by yours. Your Voice was softer almost unsure now. Techno didn't speak at first, his eyes only lingering your face. soon he hummed in response, standing slowly.

      “Mmn... I mean. I guess you could.” his cheeks were tinted the faintest pink as he moved his fist to his mouth, clearing his throat. “yeah, yeah... I suppose were friends”

   When you were fully packed you walked out from your room, Techno in tow. Your fathers eyes saw your form and lingered on the two of you. Your father wasn't born yesterday, something inside him knew that there was unspoken chemistry between Techno and you. He didn't mind that though. Well, ok maybe he did. You were his daughter after all. 

   “do you have everything you need?” your father asked, his tone softer when addressing you.

   You nodded, slinging the bag over your shoulder. “I believe so, If not ill just have to come back” You smiled gently. Your father returned the smile. Phil looked up to Techno who was standing behind you, his arm’s crossed as he leaned on your door frame.

   “We should probably leave soon if we want to make it to the Mansion by night fall, Techno” Techno offered a nod to his father. when looking at Phil he couldn't help notice how your fathered watched him. Techno did understand though, it was probably unnerving to know he would be sending his young daughter several miles away with a teenage boy. Of course Phil was present, but that was minor. Techno simply just returned a look to your father, not trying to be hostile, nor too passive. After all techno did have a name to keep up.

   Your small group slowly moved outside to the street. you didn't notice, but your father had pulled Techno aside well you went with your mother and Phil. You hugged your mother tightly. wanting to savor the feeling of her hug. knowing it would be quite a while before you got another one.

   “Promise me you’ll be safe (y/n)...” she said softly. you nodded slowly, nuzzling into her neck. you could feel the tears threatening to spill. You knew the goodbye wasn't forever, but that still didn't lessen the slight sadness. This was a new chapter in your life. you couldn't live your life on a single page. it was time to move on and see what else awaited in your story. when the two of you pulled away, your mother saw your tears and wiped your eyes gently. “Chin up, you’ll make a lovely smith, honey” you smiled softly, taking deep breaths to calm your tears. Soon Techno had returned back to Phil’s side after his talk with your father. You turned towards the two of them together and smiled at them. Techno offered you a nod well Phil smiled back at you.

   “I'm going to miss you runnin’ around that forge” Your father said, he also had a few tears welled up in his eyes. “You better bust your butt down there and show em’ what your made of” You nodded at him, taking his words of courage to heart.

   You hugged him tightly. Him returning the tight hug. “Ill miss you...” you muttered to him. keeping your face hidden in his neck. Your dad was your grounder, he was along your side the whole way. Starting the new chapter without him was hard, but you knew it was necessary. “I love you...”

   “I love you too... Be safe for us...” he said, pressing a kiss to your forehead.

   By the time you reached France's countryside it was night already. Well in flight you had rested yourself on the side of your seat. Watching the ground fly past with incredible speed. Phil kept a keen eye on you to make sure you didn't fall. The last thing he wanted to do was have to turn around and explain to your parents that you fell to your death.

   Techno and Phil made wind of wanting to find somewhere to set up camp for the night. Knowing they both shouldn't fly well tired. When they saw the mansion up ahead however, they lost there ideal for a camp. Instead they landed nearby and prepared themselves to enter. Rambling off about where to enter. You were quite unsure about this, after all this was someone’s home. As they went on about a plan you looked the mansion over. It was rather massive to be honest. The mansion, although big, was ever so detailed and beautiful. The owners took amazing care of the structure. Well your eyes scanned the side, you saw movement from one of the windows. this made you realized that there were things inside. they planned to raid a mansion that someone lived in. Your eyes wondered for more movement and that's when you saw it. A Pillager. You felt rage take hold of your chest.

   "What are we doing here." Your voice was harsh, this caught Phil off guard. He wasn't used to hearing you take up such a tone. Phil and Techno swapped quick glances. Pondering if they should tell you about there plan. Ultimately Techno figured you should be included. Seeing that if this raid wad successful, your first task would be presented.

   "Do you know what Pillagers are?" Techno inquired. He knew you did, but he meant his question beyond face value. He was quizzing to see if you where aware of their history.

   "Yeah, heartless creatures that kill for fun" You hissed, not wanting to be near the mansion anymore. Techno watched your eyes. He could see the hate swirling within. To him this was intriguing to see you angry. Usually you were more quiet and docile.

   "Pillagers are a branch of Illagers..” Techno started slowly “The Illagers were a old type of Cult that was formed for the sole purpose of Black Magic" His tone was slow and calculated, he wasn't talking down to you, rather just simply explaining. "They are known for dealing with Alchemy, and Witchcraft" his eyes glinted with something that you couldn't quite put your finger on. "They even have been Rumored to deal with Necromancy" You were a little confused now.

   "What's Necromancy?" You inquired, your hate was leaving and slowly replacing with curiosity. Simultaneously, you didn't understand where this was leading.

   "The ability to raise the dead." You felt a shiver run down your spine at his words. You sent glances between the two of them. that's ridiculous, no one can raise the dead, it was impossible. Once you were dead, you were dead. You started getting uncomfortable with the way the conversation was leading. "It is rumored they have a Item that can bring those who have died back" Techno’s eyes never left yours.

   "That's.. That's impossible..." You said quietly, watching Techno intently. His eyes glinted again, you weren't familiar with his side of him so it raised alarm within you. This wasn't the Techno that sat with you in your room. Nor the one that asked your father not to bow. This side of him was different, almost more daring, and challenging.

   "Oh, but is it?" He paused briefly, His voice rose up now. Taking a tone of greatness. Turning to face the mansion. Soon expanding on his thought. "You see (y/n), sometimes rumors are so far  fetched... That they just have to be real." You glanced to Phil who only watched Techno like you. "The item they have, rather a totem actually... Can indeed bring the dead back. But it has to be on the person upon there death. You cannot bring someone who is long gone, back" he said simply.

   "How do you?..." you struggled to find your voice. “How do you know it’s true?” you asked no longer liking his tone. He turned back to face you, his emerald earring catching the moon light.

   "Because I have tested it" He said, looking into your eyes. Once he saw your eyes and the emotion that swirled within them he paused. He swallowed thickly, pondering his thoughts briefly. "I want you to stay back with the planes..." His tone had softened, it was the same one he used to address his father nights ago. "You'll be safe with them..." He glanced away, no longer able to keep your gaze.

   "We'll be back soon, I promise" Phil said, sending you a reassuring smile. the two of them turned and headed towards the entrance. there swords drawn, ready to counter what was inside.

   You had been waiting for a while now. The sound of the forest was peaceful. You had missed the frogs croaking, well the crickets chirped a endless harmony. In the artic this wasn't a luxury, the land was so snow covered that not many bugs resided, if any. The only sound you could hear was a low whistle, or hum, which was only the wind really. The temperature had dropped well you sat waiting, causing you to rub your arms for warmth. You looked down into the cockpit looking for one of the cloaks left behind. You felt one of them and pulled it onto your shoulders, securing the clasps. The feeling of the fabric quickly warmed your arms. You laid your head back, pondering the look that Techno had in his explanation. The look he had was hard to explain, it’s almost like he wasn't himself. Like he had something else within him, fueling him, talking to him. You didn't know Techno deeply, but you had seen him for a few weeks now, his attitude then compared to now was different. It was unnerving to say the least.

   Well pondering and listening to the casual hum of the woods, something caught your ear. You pushed yourself up so you were sitting. You could plain as day hear crying. But not just any crying, it was a Childs. You slowly climbed down from the cockpit. You know they told you to stay put, but you also couldn't just listen to a child cry. Your hand fell to the sword that hung on your hip. Slowly you started your descend into the woods, determined to find the source.

   The woods were thick. Everywhere you looked there was a branch ready to swat at your head. Minding the branches, you were able to spot the small crying toddler. He was curled up tightly, his knees to his chest as he wept. He had dirt on him, his face stained with tears and mud. His red and white shirt was torn to hell. At the sight of him your heart hurt. He saw you and without hesitation he reached up, wanting you to pick him up.

   "H-hey.. Shh.. sh.. your alright.. your safe.." Your tone was gentle as you carefully picked him up. Subconsciously your body started swaying without a spare thought. The boy did slowly quiet down. You glanced around and  tucked the boy within the cloak next to you, wanting to keep him warm. You needed to find Techno and Phil, like. Right now. "I'm gonna h-help you ok bud?.." you could feel him nod his head against you. Gripping to your clothes tightly.

   You tried to hurry back to the mansion, but luckily that wasn't hard to find due to the fact it was on fire. Wait why was it on fire. You now broke into a run, fearing that Phil and Techno were caught within it. But no, of course not. They were simply in front of the burning mass, watching the once beautiful mansion turn to ash.

   "What the hell happened here?..." You drifted off as your eyes scanned the flames with wide shock. Phil turned to you and smiled.

   "Oh there you are (y/n)- whatcha' got there?" He tilted his head seeing the bump underneath the cloak. Techno turned as well, blushing faintly when he saw you.

   You stared up at the giant fire well approaching them. "I uh.. found him.." you pried your eyes from the train wreck in front of you, still not able to wrap your mind around this.

   "What did you find?..." Techno asked trying to see beneath your cloak, that was actually his. But he didn't want to bring that up yet, finding you within it quite adorable.

   You moved the cloak to show the toddler, Phil's wings puffed out a bit when he saw the child in your arms. Both of their eyes widening. "I wanted to bring him back to you... He was alone when I found him and I've never taken care of a toddler so..." You slowly handed the child to Phil. He didn't fuss much with being handed off. Instead he just buried his head in Phil's neck. As if on instinct he checked the child to make sure he was ok, no cuts, or bruising "I couldn't leave him out there..." you said chewing your lip. Phil only kept his eyes on the child. Pondering.

   "No of course not.." Phil said slowly, looking down to the child. Rubbing his back. "Hey buddy.. do you have a name?.." Techno and you watched curiously. The toddler nodded. Sitting up to wipe his big round blue eyes.

   "I'm Thomas.." His voice was rough, showing he had been crying a while.

   "Its nice to meet you Thomas.. I'm Philza, and this is Technoblade, over here is (y/n). How old are you?" Phil asked slowly. Just like he would with his own boys. Tommy held up two tiny fingers, showing how old he was. "Your two? Wow your a big man, ya?" Tommy slowly nodded. "Do you know where your mom or dad is?" The boy shook his head and broke into a large sob. "Sshh.. don't worry.. we'll find them ok?" The small boy nodded through his cries, gripping to Phil.

   After finding Tommy we checked every nearby village we could think of, but no one claimed the poor child. The longer he was with us, Phil started to grow very attached to the boy. Techno wasn't very surprised with this of course, and neither were you quite honestly. You knew he had adopted Techno on a whim from what Wilbur explained. That's why Phil popped into your brain when you found Tommy.

   We ultimately decided to head home with Tommy. None of the villages we searched seemed to recognize tommy, so Phil figured it was the universe telling him that he has another child. Phil kept him on his lap most of the trip. Occasionally handing him to you or letting him ride with Techno, to whom your surprise, seemed to have a soft spot for children. Tommy found a lot of joy out of being in the plane with you three. You would bounce him on your lap when he was under your watch, letting him stretch out in joy. His little giggles rang out loud, bringing smiles to Phil's face. You did pull him into your arms securely when you reached the artic air however, mostly just to keep him warm.

   When you arrived to the palace Wilbur was confused on your early arrival. He had expected you three to be gone for at least two, to three days. But when he saw the toddler he mostly summed up the early arrival. Phil didn't linger long on the hellos of being home. Instead he took tommy straight to the physician to make sure he wasn't sick at all. His parent sense buzzing in full drive.

   Well waiting for Phil and tommy to show up again, Techno, Wil and you had found yourself comfortably in the library. You were extremely tired. But like Techno you were waiting to see Phil and Tommy first, before you made a run for your bed. The fire was lazily burning in front of you offering a warm wave of comfort. Your head started to roll from your sleepless state. Even Technoblade started to droop his head. Luckily Phil walked in with a happy tommy on his hip.

   "The Physician says he’s all good health wise. nothing we should be concerned about thankfully" Phil said. Claiming his seat beside Techno. Tommy made his way into techno’s lap, interested with the earrings he had. Instead of telling him no, or swatting his hand away, Techno just took one of his earrings out. showing tommy the jewelry. The two of them were honestly were too adorable.

   “Is he our new brother?” Wilbur asked, watching the curious two year old.

   Tommy held all of your attentions, his actions were all done in innocence and curiosity. He was a cute kid, he had little Ringlet’s of blonde hair that matched Philza’s. “You think we can handle another mouth to feed?” Phil asked looking to Wilbur. Wil nodded in response. The idea of a younger brother exciting him. Phil looked back to Techno and Tommy.

   Tommy was happily babbling off about things he thought were cool on Techno. Techno only sat with kind eyes and a soft smile, replying to tommy.

   “I suppose I do have a new son now” Phil said, a kind smile dancing on his lips.

[corinnesamuels]

Guarding the Gates

Chapter 16: Safe House

Lily has come to terms with the fact that she’s well acquainted with the butterflies taking residence in her stomach and that they only come alive when James is near. She’s almost got them all named. That flutter there? The one that’s always a half-beat ahead of the others? That’s Calliope. Then there’s Fred, who gives her a heavy  thud  when James’ eyes lock onto hers. The one that blocks her windpipe and makes it hard to breathe when he says something particularly adorable or moving? That’s Sebastian. And they’re all making themselves known as Lily and James move about the bedroom and en suite, fighting for purchase as she desperately and unsuccessfully tries to ignore them.

She isn’t sure whether it’s the proximity they’re currently confined in or just the pace her winged friends are keeping up inside her, but her cheeks feel very warm each time one of her hands grazes his as they hang up their clothes. It takes an active effort not to give in to the bashful desire to duck her head when they nearly bump into each other carrying things to the bathroom or over to the dresser, unpacking their bags, and figuring out who gets which dresser drawers which sides of the wardrobe. And though it may be wishful thinking on her part, Lily sometimes thinks that her butterflies may be playing tricks on her. 

Because James seems a bit bashful too.

They manage to kill time making small talk and sharing the occasional joke, but before too long, it’s time for them to get ready for the reception they’re meant to attend with the Prime Minister. 

They tiptoe around each other to move to the bathroom, their steps faltering in the unfamiliar territory that is their shared living space. 

“You can go first.” 

“Are you sure? Because I don’t mind waiting.”

“No, no. I still have a few things to unpack anyways.”

As Lily brushes her hair in the bathroom mirror, she begrudgingly acknowledges that it all feels a bit ridiculous, considering they’ve slept together. Twice now, actually. But when she steps out of the bathroom in the powder blue cocktail dress she’d purchased for the occasion and sees James finishing up the buttons on his crisp white dress shirt, she finds herself eating her words. Her mouth goes dry as she watches him twist his tie into an elaborate knot and shrug on his suit jacket, rolling his shoulders forward and adjusting the sleeves near his wrist. For someone who rarely wears a muggle suit, the way this navy number spans his frame suggests that he’s picked it up quite easily.

She catches herself staring right when he notices that she’s returned to the bedroom. “It’s all yours.” Lily gestures toward the bathroom with a jerk of her head.

James looks her over and gives her a stiff nod as he gathers his things and switches places with her. Lily casually brushes a few non-existent wrinkles from her dress before sitting on the bed to put on her heels, a ploy to dodge eye contact that feels increasingly intimate in the worst way. 

“You look amazing.” She hears him say as she slips on the second shoe. Lily takes a breath and wills herself to regain control by forcing herself to look at him squarely. She isn’t in France to pine after “the one who got away.” 

Lily Evans is one of Dumbledore and Alastor Moody’s most capable recruits, trusted with gathering sensitive intel while protecting diplomats in the process. She’s proven herself over and over and over once more, spending years tracking and spying on Voldemort and the better part of the last year fighting him openly. She’s on assignment. A soldier with orders that can’t be compromised because of her feelings toward her partner. She’s going to steel herself, put away that jittery girl and step into who she really is. 

Even if he does look good in the suit.

“You’re not so bad yourself.”

Damn good in the suit. Lily might be on assignment, but she isn’t blind.

   Though they only met that morning, the Prime Minister takes to Lily and James in ways she hadn’t expected. He seems happy to play the role of proud uncle, taking Lily and James around and introducing them to one dignitary after another and giving his own commentary after each encounter.

“Fine fellow, but incredibly dull.” He whispers after steering them away from a conversation with the American Vice President and toward a far corner of the ballroom. James snickers next to her, and she elbows him lightly in response even though the man really had been quite dull.

Lily finds many of the other attendees to be rather delightful. Or, at the very least, the game she, James, and the Prime Minister have fallen into—the one where they guess whether the guests of the dignitaries present are real family members, security, or lovers—is delightful. She attempts to scold James the first two times she catches James looking deliciousl— ahem—pensive as he stares across the garden with a furrowed brow, one hand rubbing his chin, but Lily can’t deny how interested she is in the answers.

“What are you thinking, James?” Fletcher whispers as he crosses his arms in excitement.

“Definitely security.” James responds, eyes still on the black-haired man introduced as the nephew of the dignitary from Italy. “From one fake nephew to another, of course.”

Fletcher nods slowly. “He is, in fact, security, but I’m afraid I can only give you half points.”

James cocks his head and turns to Fletcher, perplexed.

“They look just alike, James.” Lily finally whispers. She’d guessed the answer 30 seconds into their conversation, though she hadn’t wanted to give in to playing the game. “Son. Illegitimate, I’m guessing, considering the fact that he was introduced as a nephew.”

James whips his head to Lily, happily surprised that she’d given in to playing, and then back to Fletcher to confirm if her guess was correct. Fletcher grins and taps his nose. “Let’s take advantage of the refreshments, shall we?”

“Well, I’ll be…” James says to himself as Fletcher takes three flutes of champagne from a passing waiter and passes them around. 

Soon after, Fletcher gets caught up in another conversation and encourages Lily and James to make the rounds. They hesitate for a moment, but they hadn’t been able to do a turn around the premises yet, and know it will be good to do a bit of surveillance. 

“See anything interesting?” James asks from behind his glass of champagne as he casually scans the ballroom.

“Dirty old men with wandering eyes, mostly.” Lily smiles politely as a couple looking to be around their age passes by them to grab drinks of their own. Though the blonde man has a hand placed on the woman’s lower back, he takes a lingering glance at Lily when the woman isn’t looking. Lily snorts into her glass.

“Not just the old ones, apparently.” James narrows his eyes at the man, and Lily sees his body tense. The couple is walking toward them, and the blonde man in question isn’t very discrete in the way his eyes travel across Lily’s frame.

“Such a beautiful ballroom, don’t you think?” The woman smiles as she waves toward their surroundings before extending a hand to Lily and then James. “Emily. And this is my fiancé, Roger.”

“Pleasure.” Lily smiles and takes Emily’s hand. “I’m—”

“Yes, lovely to meet you.” James cuts in. “James. And this is my beautiful wife, Lily.” He wraps an arm around Lily's waist and rests his hand on her hip before pulling her into his side. Lily blinks up at him in near surprise at the shift before remembering the act. 

“That’s lovely.” Emily gushes before leaning into Roger with a sigh. “We can’t wait to get down the aisle ourselves. How long have the two of you been married?”

“Just a few months.” Lily rests her head on James’ shoulder, and he surprises her by pressing a kiss to her hair. It seems that James took her earlier comments to heart. The awkward James that spent most of the last week—and the last several hours—tiptoeing around her is gone, and pretending to be newlyweds is suddenly coming as easily to him as transfiguring quills into toothpicks. She’d be impressed if she wasn’t so distracted by how warm she feels inside.

“And just getting started, love.” James smiles down at Lily, and she can’t help but return the smile. 

“British, then?” Roger asks as he assesses James. Lily tenses. Something about Roger’s demeanor makes her feel like he’s going to issue some type of challenge, and she isn’t sure James can pass it up. 

James must have picked up on her body language because he squeezes her hip lightly in reassurance as he takes another sip of his champagne and nods. “Aussie?”

Roger smirks before lifting his glass in a mock toast. “My father’s the Governor-General. Who are you here with? Is this your first time at one of these?”

Lily isn’t a fan of the condescension in Roger’s tone but presses on to avoid conflict.

“We’re here with my uncle, the British Prime Minister.” Lily takes another—larger—sip of her drink, making a mental note to exit the conversation as quickly as possible.

“Oh, I just love him!” Emily brings a hand to her chest, and Lily can tell by the look on Emily’s face that she really means it. “Some of the people we see here are such stuffed suits, but he’s always good for a laugh.”

“Yes, he’s my favorite in-law to be sure.” James grins and then looks down at Lily with a look of faux concern. “Speaking of, we should probably be getting back to him, love.”

Bless this man and everything about him.  

Lily just barely holds back a relieved sigh at his words. “Yes, he’s probably looking for us. It was so nice meeting the two of you. We hate that we have to run.” Lily scrunches her eyebrows together in a facsimile of regret she doesn’t feel in the slightest. Emily is nice, but Roger can get stuffed.

Emily takes Lily’s hand in hers and gives it a squeeze. “I’m sure we’ll be seeing the two of you around over the next few days. It’s so nice to have people here close to our age, isn’t that right, Roger?”

“Indeed. Pleasure to meet you, James.” Roger replies with disinterest before giving one last lingering look at Lily that Emily misses as she turns to shake James’ hand. “Lily…” Roger trails off with a roguish grin as he takes her hand into his, and Lily realizes he’s fishing for a last name. 

“Potter.” James says firmly as he takes Lily’s hand out of Roger’s and gestures for her to lead the way back to the Prime Minister. “See you around, Reggie.” 

“It’s Roger.” Roger bites out.

“Is it?” James asks over his shoulder as he and Lily walk away.

Read the rest at ao3

Start from the beginning

[awkwxrdapple]

Fallen Angel (Part 1) - Peter Parker x reader

Request: Hi! I love your writing! I was hoping you could do a peter x reader where the reader gets badly hurt and captured and it takes a long time for the avengers and peter to find her and once they do, she is scared half to death, jumpy, nervous, and stays by Peter's side during pretty much everything. They are living in the avengers tower with everyone and since they are the youngest, Peter is particularly protective of her during her recovery. Thank you!

Word count: 1.6k 

WARNINGS: mentions of anxiety, light torture, injury, trauma (after reading if you think I should include any others please let me know thank you)

Part 1

Simultaneously, you removed your headphones and slammed the textbook shut in front of you. Your assignments were getting tiring. It wasn't that they were hard and you were struggling, it was just that after being part of the Avengers, doing calculus and algebra seemed too easy for you. You could do it easily, but after all that you had done and seen already in your life, you knew your time could be better spent. 

Being the youngest Avenger alongside Peter Parker was exciting. You felt unbelievably honoured to be given the opportunity to be part of a team that did wonderfully amazing things. You had made friends for life, and most especially so with Peter. When you had come to New York you were enrolled into the same school as Peter. Midtown High was a good school and you enjoyed it, it also meant spending more time with Peter even though you both lived in the Avengers Tower now. 

Lying back against your bed you realised you were hungry, you'd been studying for what felt like ages. 

Knowing you had nothing sweet that you wanted to eat in the tower you decided that a quick trip out would let you get what you needed. If you were going to carry on studying you were going to need all the help you could get. 

Grabbing your purse from your dresser, you wandered down the corridor to where Peter's room was. The door was slightly open but you knocked anyway and waited for his reply. 

"Hey, I was just going to go to the store, do you want anything?" 

He, like you had just been, was sitting on his bed with papers strewn around him. When he saw you he gave you a warm smile. Having Peter living with you in the Avengers tower was amazing. Peter really was your best friend and you trusted no one more in the world. 

"I'm ok, but thank you. What are you going for?"

"Chocolate, ice cream, cake, anything." You said. 

"Homework giving you a hard time too?"

"Is it that obvious?" You laughed before placing your hand on the door handle again. "I'll see you in a bit."

"Bye Y/N."

Taking the elevator it didn't take too long to get to the ground floor and out into the centre of New York. You knew there was a little grocery store a few blocks over that made homemade chocolate cake. 

Unknowing to you, a set of eyes were watching you leave the tower, cross the street and make your way down the sidewalk. It was busy, and you were tired. Your instincts were slower and less aware of your surroundings. The one set of eyes soon became two, then three, then four. You were blissfully unaware of the imminent danger you were about to find yourself in. 

Taking a swift left at the next building you passed, your face collided with a hard arm and sent you stumbling backwards. Jolted out of your oblivious state, you raised your guard and lunged to land a punch square into your attackers chest. They struck back, using their larger build to throw their weight towards you forcing you to the ground. The air was knocked out of your lungs. 

Kicking back up from underneath them you tried to force their body off you, but they were heavy, and armed. You could feel a gun strapped to their hip pressing into yours. Rapid footsteps were heard around you as more people wearing a similar black combat suit to your assailant emerged and began to hold you down. You continued to fight in any way you could but soon all your limbs were rendered useless. 

"You're coming with us. Don't try to resist." A low male voice spoke into your ear as a cloth was placed over your face, a strong smell evaded your nostrils and then you relaxed back into the concrete. 

+ + +

Upon waking, you found yourself cold, aching and stiff. Your head hung towards your chest and a dull throb emanated from your forehead and rang throughout your skull. Your hands were tied behind you back and placed behind a chair, with your legs also tied to the chair legs completely restricting all of your movement. 

Fear and panic flooded through you and your chest became horrifically tight. The room around you was incredibly dim, with the only light coming from a single dull light bulb above your head. Feeling your breathing become hastened you remembered your training.

Don't panic. Be calm. Assess the situation.

The situation looked bleak. There were no sounds to be heard so you couldn't even begin to work out where you were being held. You remembered the last memory of being free, but couldn't place the people from anyone or thing you had seen before. 

You weren't kept guessing for long as a door creaked open to your left and two figures entered the room. The door was roughly closed behind them and a click of the lock was distinctly heard. You nervously swallowed and waited for one of them to speak. 

"We hope you aren't too badly hurt, Y/N." One spoke and made his way over to you. His voice was calm, and in any other situation you would have mistaken him for a nice man. 

"How do you know my name?" You ignored what he had actually just said to you. It was far more disturbing that your first name was known to these people. 

"That doesn't matter. We may know a few things about you, but you know much more than we do about things important to us."

"And those would be?"

The other man laughed coldly at your attempt to sound confident. 

"Your friends." The first man now knelt down a meter away from where you were sat. 

"My friends?"

"The Avengers."

To this you had nothing to say. You instantly felt guilt at being caught in this way, no other member of the team would be trapped like this. It made you ashamed. These people needed you for whatever heinous reason they had. 

"We understand you know a great deal about the runnings of that Tower, and of the inner workings of the group itself." The man continued. "We think you would be very useful to us."

"I won't tell you anything."

This brought a sigh from him. It was almost sarcastic. 

"We thought you would say that." 

He stood up and took a few steps backwards, allowing the other man to walk into your focus. 

"Maybe this will change your mind."

The first strike to your face stung. The next hurt. The third, numb. The intensity of the punch quickly removed all feeling. You could taste your own blood as your lip was cut upon the second blow. 

"It… it won't change my mind." You spluttered. Tears welled up in your eyes but you were not going to give them the satisfaction. You would never betray your friends, your family. 

"We shall see."

+  +  +

"Has anyone seen Y/N?" 

Peter was worried. You had left the tower four hours ago, and still had yet to return. 

"No I haven't, why?" Nat answered him as she wandered into the shared living room and kitchen space. 

Peter told her that you'd told him you were quickly going to the store and that you weren't back. 

"I'm sure she will come back soon. Maybe she ran into a friend?" Steve offered as he sat holding a mug of black coffee. 

"Yeah… you're right." Peter tried not to think about it too much. But after an hour or so that he hadn't heard you walk down the corridor, he went to check your room to find it empty. And he couldn't find you anywhere in the tower. 

Wanda gave Peter a small smile. She had seen how close you two had become. It was only natural that Peter was concerned. 

"If she isn't back tomorrow morning, we shall then worry, yeah kid?" Tony walked behind Peter and placed a brief hand on his shoulder. 

"Ok…"

The next morning resulted in Peter's worry increasing exponentially. He had sent you multiple texts and phoned you many times to receive no response. Usually you would let him know if you were staying with a friend. The whole situation seemed off. 

"Still no sign of Y/N?" Tony asked as Peter wandered through the kitchen on his way to school. 

"No. I am worried." 

Tony considered Peter for a second. 

"Come with me, I might be able to find her." Tony stated and headed for the elevator. "School is important, but it can wait."

Walking into one of Tony's labs, Peter realised he hadn't been into this one before. Tony tapped on a screen and brought up a map of New York on one of the monitors. 

"Mr Stark, what is this?"

"I regret not telling you sooner but I have tapped yours and Y/N's phones. So even when it's off, it can be tracked."

"You're going to track her phone?"

"I think that's what I just said." Tony raised his eyebrows. "Let's see if she still has it with her." He could see how upsetting this was to Peter. He began to wonder if you two were just friends, or something more.

After putting more information into the computer a yellow dot appeared on the map, quite far from the Tower, but still within the city. 

"Is that her?" Peter asked urgently. 

"It should be. I don't like the fact she's in a decommissioned warehouse though."

Peter suddenly felt a sudden urge to drop everything and run to you. 

"According to this, the signal hasn't moved in 12 hours." Tony turned round to face Peter. 

Peter's jaw was tight. Tony could tell he was ready to fight. 

If you would like to be in the tag list for part 2 or any of my other Peter Parker imagines please let me know! 

"Alright kid, suit up."

PART 2

Tag list: @unmistakablyunknown

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