#thankfully I have looked at him every day for the past 3 years

[shewhoeatssand]

There are only 3 important things in the world, first one is Kaneki, second one is Tokyo and the third one is Pathetic Fallacy

[satuguro]

⠀ཾ ༚ MORE FUN WITH THREE!

chad meeks martin x ethan landry x reader

#SYNOPSIS— nsfw/sfw head canons about dating ethan and chad <3

#CONTAINS— (sfw) domesticity!!, slight angst, comfort, overall fluff ; (nsfw) daddy/mommy kink, degradation, praise, and a lot more but those are the mains!

#AUTHORSNOTE— there isn’t enough domestic chad/ethan/reader stuff so i wrote this xx

#SFW

— you guys pined for each other for a while until any of you made a move. lots of longing looks and deep talk nights and sleepovers that felt more intimate than ‘just friend’ activities.

— but surprisingly, it was ethan who confessed first. the three of you were sharing a blunt around a pool during a party, and he suddenly started rambling about how much he liked you both romatically.

“it’s just like,” ethan breathes, leaning his head on your shoulder and absentmindedly fidgeting with chad’s fingers. “i talk a lot, right? i ramble and i talk and can’t ever seem to shut up— at least i’m self aware, y/n! —but when i look at the two of you.. it’s like my words just can’t come out. and i become quiet because i don’t know how you two exist.”

— ever since that night, you guys began dating!

— now this is not gonna be one of those head-cannons about how everything went smoothly because trust me it didn’t for a while.

— it was really up and down for the first year. chad has a bad habit of being jealous, which is nice if he wasn’t so in denial when you or ethan point it out.

— ethan has a tendency to space out/disassociate when things get too stressful (a result of his history with his family), which takes a lot of work and patience to work through. thankfully, you and chad have all the patience in the world for him.

— and you wouldn’t open up to them for a while, oftentimes running how you really felt and the bad parts of your past through a filter to make it seem not as bad (even though chad and ethan could read you like a book).

— there’s a lot more, but i will say that i don’t think ethan or chad is the type to really raise their voice during an argument. disagreements are resolved through firm talking between the three of you, and even when someone wants to scream or yell at the other person, they know that you all hate the sound of angry yelling, so you find others ways to cool off.

— anyways! you guys moved in together a year and a half into your relationship.

— chad’s the clean one and ethan’s the messy one (mainly bc he gets distracted by other stuff and forgets ro clean up after himself).

— both boys love sitting/joining you when you’re doing your hobbies. sometimes they even wanna learn from you! chad is a very quick learner while ethan is very eager to learn

— movie nights, video game nights, study nights, etc. are a very common thing bc all of you procrastinate college shit (except for chad, who is somehow more on top of it than you and ethan).

— chad can cook, ethan can bake, and you can do both! so meals are usually made by you and chad while ethan makes dessert.

— ethan also stress bakes.

the lack of a third body in your bed made you sit up groggily from your bed. “chad? chad,” you mumbled, shaking chad’s shoulder next to you, making him grumble a weak response. “where’s ethan?”

and as the two of you walked out, you still wrapped in your comforter, you were shocked to find your boyfriend making his third batch of cake pops over the counter. his hair was tousled and eye bags hung under his brown eyes, but ethan looked more awake than ever. his spider-man shirt was stained with flour and his pajama pants hung loosely around his waist. “ethan,” chad said with a sigh, “babes, it’s 3 am.”

“yeah but,” ethan began, whisking from frosting. “i have an exam in like two days and i needed to relax so i’m baking!”

“ethan, baby, come back to bed.”

— chad and ethan are sore losers!! every time the three of you play video games and you win they both sulk for like 10 minutes. but if you lose and one of them wins, they’re so cocky and they’re teasing you about it (assholes).

"guys, please talk to me," you said, watching as ethan stubbornly sat next to chad on the other side of the couch, pulling the blanket tight over the both of them and not around you."

"no," chad stated, putting an arm over ethan's shoulders and pulling him close. "this is what happens when you cheat at mario kart."

you huffed in annoyance before standing up, grabbing the blanket and forcing yourself in with them, ignoring their protests.

"y/n, you already won!" ethan groaned, still making room for you regardless of how much of a sore loser he was.

— you guys sleep on a king bed in a shared room and take turns being in the middle. usually chad likes being in the middle because that means he gets to feel both you and ethan sleeping on his chest.

— chad sleeps earlier than the both of you so sometimes he has to listen to you and ethan talk about basically nothing 30 minutes before going to bed.

“yeah, sex is great, but have you ever yawned so hard you felt tears?” ethan said, his face turned to yours as the three of you laid in bed.

chad heard you chuckle softly before saying, “it’s kind of like stretching so hard you cough. wait— does that mean you’d rather yawn with tears over having sex with us?”

“what? no!”

— sometimes when one of you is coming home late, you have nights with only one of them.

— when ethan is coming home late, you and chad both prepare a meal together. light music is playing in the background while you both prepare three plates (another for ethan when he gets home). chad has a habit of wrapping his arms around your waist and leaning his head on your shoulder while you cook. then after dinner you both watch a horror movie with popcorn (chad knows all the best horror movies thanks to mindy.) and take a shower together.

— when chad is coming home late, ethan helps you make dinner (he just chops vegetables and sometimes meat. poor boy can’t cook) and is constantly snacking on the food before it’s even prepared. you both save chad a plate before having a little ‘spa day.’ you both take a bath and put on face masks and (mildly) catch each other up on gossip.

— when you’re coming home late, either chad makes dinner and ethan helps or he does the work and ethan sits on the counter and tells him about all the drama (chad likes to say he doesn’t like listening, but you and ethan know he does). sometimes ethan makes him do a face mask with him and then they go play video games for the rest of the night until you come home.

— your apartment has a loveseat on the side that you all like to cuddle on while your friends are over.

— folding clothes together in the living room while watching shows like bob’s burgers.

— you guys definitely have a cat that’s named ‘kelp’ or something weird like that. when you first got the cat chad was def a little disappointed (he wanted a dog) but now he’s your cat’s favorite (much to you and ethan’s chagrin).

— whenever you say ‘i love you,’ there’s always two responses of ‘i love you more,’ back. and that phrase is something really important to the three of you.

— you like to say it during the times when you really mean it. you always love them, but there’s random times where you’re just watching them talk to each other at the dinner table and you’ll just say ‘i love you,’ because how nice is it that you can always have dinner with them?

— ethan incorporates it into his daily phrases, stuff like, “i’m gonna go now, i love you!” and “good night, i love you.” he also says it a lot while he’s drunk (he’s a sucker for you and chad, what can he say).

— chad says it during random times. sometimes he’ll just walk by you or ethan in the kitchen, pressing brief kisses to your shoulders and murmuring, “i love you.” or he’ll taste something you or ethan made and say, “oh my god, i love you. this is incredible.”

— ethan talks a lot and you and chad listen.

— sometimes chad and ethan both ramble to you about something that you know nothing about but do you care? no, because you do the exact same thing and they are always so interested

— chad and ethan go on gym dates and chad always makes ethan his pre workout for him in the morning before they leave <3

— you guys also have a shared groupchat! ethan uses it to send photos throughout his day of random things with cute little comments like ‘look at this dog i saw ◡̈’ or ‘i ordered what y/n usually gets at starbucks! i think it’s actually pretty good!’

—you use it to send photos of when you see him or chad across campus. honestly you do it cause you think it’s funny how most of the photos you take look like they’re from a stalker.

— chad uses it to send photos of the sky whenever he thinks it’s pretty (because it reminds him of the both of you). he also uses it to get yours or ethan’s opinion on something, whether it’s clothes, what he’s buying from the store, etc.

— whenever one of you is stressed/sad you have two people giving you comfort immediately. of course chad is always the one who asks, “do you want comfort or advice?” just because he wants to make sure he’s doing the right thing. but regardless the three of you have learned how to take care of each other.

#NSFW

— there was definitely a moment before you all began dating where ethan said, “wait, does that mean i’m gonna die a virgin?” and you and chad caught each other staring at ethan as though you were willing to change that for him.

chad noticed you stare at ethan, eyes set on him as though you were weighing the consequences of fucking your best friend in your head (not that chad could say anything; he was doing the same thing). your eyes noticed chad’s look, making you raise a brow at him.

“what’re you looking at, chad?”

“what’re you looking at, y/n?”

— ethan has the biggest sex drive out of the three of you. he was really inexperienced when you all started dating but after you and chad taught him the ropes he’s literally always horny.

— chad definitely prefers to be in charge in the bedroom (daddy kink for the win) but he’s actually a switch. you and ethan are only people he’s ever been submissive for.

— you’re a switch for the most part, but you do enjoy domming both chad and ethan (because who wouldn’t?) especially when they both start teasing you out in public/throughout the day (which happens a lot).

— ethan’s definitely a switch but he does prefer to be submissive to you and chad because he has a raging daddy/mommy kink oops

— you and ethan are pretty vocal in bed, but chad isn’t. a lot of the noises he makes is groans and dirty talk (which is literally filthy).

— but one time you and ethan were teasing him and chad let out a whine. when i tell you the tables changed so quickly..

— chad also does this lazy smile/smirk when one of you is riding him/sucking him off that makes him look so cocky and he knows it.

— chad’s cockiness also def shows through in his degradation/praise.

“that’s it, suck my cock,” chad murmured, one of his arms behind his head as ethan took his cock into his mouth. you were right next to him, licking at chad’s balls as ethan began bobbing his head. the poor boy was a mess of saliva and tears dripping down his chin, his head of curls gripped tightly by chad as his hips thrusted his fat cock deeper into ethan’s mouth.

a needy whine left your lips as ethan pulled off of chad’s cock, gasping in a breath before continuing to stroke it in his hands. then you both leaned in, eyes set on chad and the lazy smile on his face, before your tongues met at chad’s tip. with his tip in between your mouths, you and ethan made out with each other, whimpers and low moans falling from your mouths. licking into ethan’s mouth and tonguing at chad’s fat tip, you moaned at the sloppiness of it all, feeling yours and ethan’s saliva drip down your chins.

the lewd sight alone made chad moan, head falling back briefly. “god, you’re both so needy. you love sucking my dick that much that you both wanna share?”

“mm.. yes daddy.”

— sex is serious for the most part but sleepy sex/morning sex is always so giggly for you guys. especially when ethan and chad want to eat you out together.

“chad— dude, you gotta move to the side,” ethan groaned, trying to move himself next to the taller man. your legs were spread wide, both of them held open by chad’s hand and ethan’s, and feeling their two eyes on you, you suddenly felt exposed.

“how do we—” chad began leaning his head in at the same time as ethan’s and bumping their heads, making them both laugh. carding your hands through their hair, you couldn’t help but giggle before it turned into a moan.

chad and ethan’s tongue met in the middle as they spread your legs wider. leaning over, chad went to suck on your clit while ethan leaned down to fuck your sopping hole with his tongue, making your back arch. “there you go,” chad murmured, breath fanning over your cunt as he massages the inside of your thighs.

“mm, you taste so good, y/n,” ethan said, eyes hazy as he slipped a finger into you.

— sometimes ethan wakes the both of you up by giving you both head. he gets really needy! and if you wake up before him that’s how you wake chad up

— you love teasing them. sometimes you grind your ass against them a little too much while passing by them in the kitchen or you wear shorts around the apartment that you know chad loves, along with a tank top without a bra (so ethan’s practically drooling at your breasts)

— it usually ends with them being in charge that night. especially if your little teasing game goes on for the entire day and you pretend you know nothing about it; both of them want to punish you <3

“fuck— daddy, ‘m close,” ethan whined, throwing his head back as his cock slipped into your lips again. you peered up at him through heavy lashes, his length stifling your whimpers as chad’s cock sank deeper inside of you.

“go ahead, baby boy. cum all over y/n’s face,” chad said with a groan, watching shamelessly as your cunt took every inch of his thick cock. “fuck, you really love taking dick, huh?” he said with a breathless laugh, thrusting his hips into you harshly and reveling in the cry you let out. “too bad you won’t get to cum just yet. not until we’re finished.”

ethan let out a whine as he came all over your face, eyes set on how your tongue stuck out for him and the way it caught only some of his cum. the rest painted your face so beautifully that ethan couldn’t help but grab some with his thumb and put it into your mouth. obediently, your lips wrapped around his thumb and sucked off the rest of the cum.

— sorry not sorry ethan loves his ass ate idc. he becomes such a slit the second he feels you or chad’s tongue on his hole, arching his back and babbling, “mommy/daddy, more. please— oh fuck me.”

— chad also has an obsession with eating you out. when i tell you that man knows how to eat pussy i mean it. sit on his face, suffocate him— he wants it all as long as he’s between your thighs.

— that being said he also loves eating ethan out. primarily because ethan ends up crying and he’s just so pretty when he cries.

— chad’s sadistic/masochistic (he’s def a service top) and ethan’s the same way. but ethan’s sadism and masochism can go extreme; he loves denying you and chad of your orgasms over and over, but if you were to deny him of his over and over he’d love it more.

— chad sometimes just leans back and lets you and ethan do whatever you want to him. you could use his dick like a toy and ethan could ride his face and chad could die a happy man right there, knowing that he’s pleasuring the both of you.

— ethan has an oral fixation to the max. he always needs something in his mouth, whether it’s your tits, yours or chad’s fingers, chad’s cock, or your pussy, he just loves having his mouth full.

— whenever you’re domming, ethan is always so good while chad is nothing but a brat. but there are some rare occasions when ethan is being bratty and you and chad have to punish him.

“daddy— daddy slow down—!” ethan cried out, his hips automatically snapping against you as a result of chad’s pounding. he was crying at this point, fat tears streaming down his cheeks as he was stuck between chad’s thick cock and your tight pussy. his own cock was so hard, but the cock ring around it made it impossible for him to fuck a load into you. not that you or chad seemed to care.

“you wanted to act like such a brat earlier, ethan,” you said with faux pity, teeth digging into your bottom lip as ethan’s cock thrusted inside of you repeatedly.

“which means,” chad said, slapping ethan’s ass and making the boy moan, “you can’t give us fucking orders.” he thrusted deeper into his boyfriend, listening to the ‘uh, uh, uhs’ ethan let out as his cock fucked him harder.

“i wanna cum,” ethan sniffled, ignoring your scolding as he took your hips and thrusted into you, making your head fall back as you moaned deliciously. “daddy, p—please— mm, mm— let me cum, mommy.”

chad only chuckled darkly at that, letting out a low moan as he came inside ethan’s ass, filling him with cum— his first load of the night. “brats don’t get to cum.”

— i will say this rn; the aftercare is soso good.

— chad basically has all of your needs memorized by heart. bath? he already had it ready. food? there’s snacks on the bedside table. alone time? the guest room has its bed made and the t.v on. cuddles? of course, just let him clean you up and get you some water. don’t wanna get up? good, chad would rather you lay there while he gets everything ready.

— it kind of goes for all of you as well. you and chad are usually giving the aftercare while ethan’s receiving. but ethan knows the aftercare you both need too!

— especially after pretty hard scenes, ethan knows to reassure you both that he’s okay. it doesn’t happen often, but when you and chad feel horrible for talking to ethan in such a way, he goes out of his way to take care of you just like you both take care of him <3

[elzdaizy]

Trouble After Paradise (Part 2)

Warnings: slightly sexual content, explicit language, again angst

Summary: if you haven't already, read part 1 here !

A/N: For context, below is the visual image you will need to keep in mind for this part. Trust me. It will help.

This part is also a lot shorter. The good stuff to come is in Part 3. I should have the last part up by Saturday. It’s super hard trying to write and upload during the week because I work 8 hour days!

You had spent the first ten minutes that morning after Harry left for his run, doing some laundry. It helped to keep you occupied instead of going insane as you nervously anticipate his return. You aren't sure exactly how long he's planning on keeping up the silent treatment act for but you honestly don't think you can take it a second longer.

You then made about ten pancakes, shaped in hearts, all dished onto a cute pink heart plate you purchased about a year ago when you and Harry were making purchases for your new house. It was one of those plates that only get used for special occasions and to be honest, you were using whatever you could at this point to say sorry.

You then squeezed some fresh orange juice into a glass jug and set the table for the two of you. Some coffee also prepared to be made for his return. You cut up a few strawberries and threw them into a bowl with blueberries. Making sure the few final bits and pieces were also at arms length, you placed some whipped cream and maple syrup in the centre of the table, between yours and your husbands plates.

Looking at the scene you created, you were chuffed. You don't expect a breakfast made for his return will solve all of your problems, but, perhaps it might encourage him to finally speak to you about it.

After almost an hour, Harry finally returned from his run. You knew this because you could hear the door close as you were finishing up cleaning the kitchen. Your heart sunk to your stomach.

You stand there in the middle of your house, looking awkward and not really knowing what to do with yourself, or where to look as he walks towards the kitchen. He takes off his sun glasses then takes out his AirPods, not paying too much attention to his surroundings at first as he's focusing on steadying his breathing after running for so long.

"I made us breakfast. The same way I did it on Valentines Day, you remember?" You nervously ramble to catch his attention. Pointing over to the small dining table and although Harry is wearing that harsh frown on his face as he looks and listens to you, you notice the way he seems less tense that earlier.

"Is all of that supposed to fix what you did last night?" He bluntly asks, almost straight away.

"Obviously not, Harry." You sigh and you want to roll your eyes at his attitude so badly but you restrain yourself. You walk closer to him and thankfully he doesn't back away. You can see the sweat covering the entirety of his skin. It glistens in every angle of light in your sight. His muscles larger due to excessive use of them recently.

You've barely even realised how much his facial hair has actually grown since you saw him last week. You never cared much for it in the past but this grown out moustache is quite the distracting feature for the current moment.

You're stood in front of him now, only a step away from a hug but you dare not even try to touch him. He's staring you down. You can tell from the look in his eyes that he's genuinely disappointed and it crushes your soul to know you caused that sad look.

"I thought we could talk it through over a nice breakfast." You almost whisper. "Can we sit down, please?" You then add, eyes directed towards the table.

Without verbally replying to you, Harry just walks past you and heads upstairs towards your room.

You've had enough now. You're done waiting and you're done sucking up to him. He won't even listen to you and he's wasting the time you two have by dragging this on.

You wait a few moments, covering up the food so it doesn't get cold because you know it will get eaten at some point today.

"Right! That's it! Harry Styles, I've given you your space and I've let you go mute on me, but I am not tolerating this anymore. I need you to listen to me!" You begin ranting loudly as you storm your way up the stairs.

You enter your room to find Harry still sweaty but undressing himself as he's obviously about to get into the shower. He only managed to get his hat, shoes, and shirt off before you barged in.

He's stood in the ensuite with that angry pout on again, looking as angry as ever with you. He almost opens his mouth to retaliate but you cut him off before you give him the chance.

"No listen, Harry. I fucked up massively! I know that and I have no excuse for being an idiot to forget to pick you up and to forget about our dinner.” At this point Harry is arching a brow in amusement at your boldness. He’s still visibly livid but he’s listening.

“I was so caught up in wanting to spend more time with you this week. The only way I could make that happen was to race through three days worth of work yesterday just so I could have Monday and Tuesday with you because I miss you so fucking much." You say all in one breath. You're too heated to cry at the moment but you know as soon as this explanation is over you will probably tipple over the edge.

"I should've called you and should’ve stayed in touch to keep you in the loop but my mind has been on high-stress over-drive since we got back from our honey-moon. Work has not given me a second to breathe and unfortunately I’ve let it affect us which makes me so angry with myself but you have to know I would never do this on purpose. Please." And that was it, you said all that you needed too. It was a weight lifted and you literally had to gasp for air at one point but you did it.

"I'm so fucking angry with you." Harry deadpans but his actions next completely throw you off. “I’m angry but I can’t stand not being around you anymore. Fuck this.”

He storms toward you and grabs your face between his hands with a mild force as he brings his lips down harshly onto yours in a rushed, salty kiss. It's sloppy and full of anger but you melt into him with a small whine escaping from the back of your throat as your hands snake up his broad, sweaty shoulders and yank him closer in the kiss but tugging your fingers through the ends of his damp hair.

“Will you forgive me though? We only have until Wednesday morning to be together properly and I don’t want us to be like this the whole time. I’m really sorry. Please, Harry, my perfect husband, let me make it up to you?” You coax him and use that flirty tone in your voice that you knows has him in the palm of your hand.

Your soft hands are running up and down his large biceps and shoulders. Your eyes all doe like as you pout at him. He’s finding it so hard to resist. He holds you in his arms, still. He’s thinking of what to do next.

“I know a few ways how you could make it up to me.” He smirks ever so slightly. His eyes darting to your lips as you lick them knowingly.

His eyes darken and the energy has shifted in those few moments. He’s obviously forgiven you but he’ll never say it. Instead he wants to make up the way you both like to best. Sex.

“And what do you have in mind, moustache man?” You tease. Harry raises his brows in surprise before he leans forward and starts leaving small bites into the crook of your neck. You wince at the mixed sensation of pain, pleasure and the tickling from his moustache as he attacks your neck.

“You’re really asking for it, aren’t you?” He retaliates. Yanking you towards him harshly so he can pick you up and you wrap your legs around his waist.

[roseofdarknessblog]

Night Changes (Postwar!Levi Ackerman x Reader)

Word count: 3 506

Disclaimer: english is not my first language, I apologize in advance for any mistakes

A/N: The song Nigh Changes by One Direction popped into my head while I was thinking about the title of this story. So I put it on after a pretty long time and realized that the lyrics kind of match the vibe I was trying to go for. Mainly the lines:

"But there's nothing to be afraid of

Even when the night changes

It will never change me and you"

Summary: The Rumbling happened more than half a year ago. Yet you and Levi are still adjusting to the new reality and the chance to live in peace despite all the hardships you're facing daily.

This story can be read on its own or as a part of my little post-war series: Learn to live again

Night Changes

Another day was slowly coming to an end. Thankfully. It was a long and stressful one, just like every single time you and Levi had to be reminded of your past. Of the war, the Rumbling, and everything that came with it. Half a year had already passed and so many things in your personal lives had changed.

„Here, your tea, my love,“ you said and closed the bedroom door, making your way to the bed where Levi was resting. After a few days, he was finally back home from the hospital after another knee surgery. „Do you need anything else?“

He shook his head and took the cup, barely looking at you in the process. You didn’t think anything about it, because you knew Levi. And most importantly, you knew how he was after every hospital stay – anxious, uncomfortable, and stressed out.

„I closed the kitchen and living room windows for the night. It looks like a storm is closing in, I saw lightning from the direction of the ocean.“ You walked over to the other side of the bed and sat down, resting your back against the headrest. It wasn’t too late but you were already pretty tired. „Hope it won’t be as bad as the last one.“

Levi didn’t utter a word, he kept drinking his tea in silence. You felt great relief about him being back home. All of this... was still brand new and scary. Life in the outside world was much different than the one you were used to on Paradis. And not even the trips you took to Marley before the Rumbling could prepare you for it. Or at least not for everything, that became essential for your new everyday life.

Medical care, for example.

While you didn’t suffer any long-term injuries during the last battle against Eren, Levi took many hits for both of you. Since then he had to spend every single day in pain. And the worst part was, that you couldn’t do much to help him. You were no doctor or nurse, only a former member of the Survey Corps and Levi’s now fiancée. All you could do were the most basic and everyday things.

Just like today, after you brought him home from the hospital once again, after his third knee surgery in only six months. The doctors tried to reassure you, that if everything goes well, this could be the last surgery for a very long time, maybe even forever. At least when it came to his knee. His right eye was a completely different story, sadly.

„Do you... want to talk? Maybe?“ you asked after a short while, hugging one of the pillows to your chest.

The apartment where you lived now was... still unfamiliar and didn’t feel like home at all. The only positive thing was, that it was situated on the ground floor so Levi didn’t have troubles with his wheelchair, which he still needed to use. Nobody was able to tell you for how long it will stay that way or if he will ever get rid of it. He was able to walk using a cane, but it was causing him too much unnecessary pain. So getting around with a bit of additional help was much better and even safer for him.

And that was totally okay, you kept reassuring him, that it’s nothing catastrophic. Even though... even though it was. Horrible and so unnatural for the both of you. Still so new and hard to get used to.

You hoped it would get easier. Seeing him like this – weaker and more vulnerable than probably ever before. But it wasn’t getting even a tiny bit easier. There were still moments you had to hide somewhere and cry your eyes out without Levi noticing, because you felt horrible about his health and because you were so worried about what the future held in stock for you and the man you loved so dearly since the days both of you were still living in the Underground on Paradis.

„This isn’t the life I hoped we would have after all the shit we went through,“ Levi said quietly after he finished his tea and put the cup on the nightstand. It seemed that you finally mastered the art of making the perfect cup of his favorite drink. Not to say that you were trying to get to this level since you were a teenager and started living under the same roof with Levi.

„Yeah, this doesn’t look like the life we fought so hard for. But...“ you shrugged and moved closer to him, gently grabbing his left hand and interlocking your fingers, „we still have each other, that matters the most, right? At least something is the way we always wanted.“

„You always wanted to take care of me?“ Levi teased you with an annoyed tone.

„I did, yes. Maybe not exactly in the way I do it now, but I do it with love,“ you assured him and squeezed his hand, running your thumb over his knuckles.

Your life was far from easy or perfect, but you tried to have hope that everything would get better soon. Both of you were making slow but steady progress. Learning along the way with the help of one another, or the people closest to you.

„I hate all of this with burning passion, every single thing.“

„What exactly do you mean?“ you asked, resting your head on his shoulder.

„This...“ he hissed and gestured to his left knee, which was bandaged after the surgery and propped with a pillow underneath it to help the pain and swelling.

„Nobody said it’s forever. They have a much more advanced medical system here than we have on Paradis. We just... have to trust them.“

And that was the hardest part. For both of you. Every single doctor visit and hospital stay was nerve-wracking and anxiety-inducing for you and for Levi even more. It was hard to trust the world that was so different from everything you knew your whole life. And it was even harder to trust all the new people you kept meeting. Just a few months back, they saw your kind as their enemy.

And now...

Well, even if almost nobody knew, who you and Levi were, it felt strange walking down the streets of the little town you were living in. Anxiety kept telling you, that everyone was watching and judging your every move. For a few weeks, you could barely walk outside at all, because you were sure everyone was after you and wanted you dead. Onyankopon was the one, who helped you overcome this irrational fear and get used to so many new things.

„We’re making progress, even if it hurts,“ you said quietly, turning your head and pressing your lips to Levi’s neck lovingly.

When you looked down at your left ring finger, you could see a simple but beautiful engagement ring. You dreamed about it for years and it seemed like a miracle that you even lived long enough to soon become Mrs. Ackerman. There was no rush to get married now. Finally, after so many years, you had all the time in the world. Time to think it through and get everything as perfect as possible.

The storm came within the next hour. Both of you were still awake – while Levi was resting with his eyes closed, you were reading a book out loud. It was a silly adventure story about a group of friends who decided to explore a magical kingdom. Gabi was the one, who gifted you this book a few weeks ago, saying it was one of her favorites. So you decided to give it a try.

„Guess I’m starting to understand why Gabi loves this story,“ Levi said after a little while.

„Yeah, me too. I’ve never read anything similar. It’s very nice to get lost in such a magical world.“ The characters were nice and the magical kingdom sounded like the perfect place to get lost for a while and go exploring.

„We should ask for more book recommendations.“ You smiled at his words, brushing strands of hair from his forehead. He finally looked relaxed and that always put a smile on your face.

Anxiety from seeing doctors sometimes got the best of him. He didn’t trust them fully and hated to admit, that he needed their help. Somebody, who was known as Humanity's strongest soldier hated to appear weak or dependent on anyone or anything. The only person, to whom he was willing to show his suffering, was you.

But he was getting better at it. Better at seeking help and better at adjusting to all the new circumstances. Better at understanding, that his life changed very drastically. Better at living in peace with the new reality.

„We will, she and Falco are coming over to see us on Friday. And Onyankopon wants to stop by during the weekend as well.“

„Tch, so many noisy people coming and going, asking stupid questions.“

You smirked and leaned down to kiss his lips gently. „Shut up, you like them. Mainly Falco, when you get to kick his ass in chess.“

„The little brat has a lot to learn if he wants to win against me one day.“

„But he’s a fast learner, he’ll beat you in a couple of months,“ you teased him and closed the book. Loud thunder was heard from outside, while the rain was drumming against the windows. „We should go for a little walk tomorrow, to get some fresh air. What do you say?“

„Hope it will rain the whole day,“ he mumbled and looked at you, reaching his hand out to stroke your cheek.

„In that case, we’ll just take our umbrellas,“ you joked, keeping his hand on your cheek for a little longer. With a loving look, you bent down for another kiss, keeping your lips pressed together for a little longer. Just when you wanted to pull away, Levi moved his hand on the back of your head, keeping you close for a moment longer. His mouth made contact with yours once again and when your lips slightly parted, his tongue found its way inside, meeting yours.

„I hate your snarky little answers,“ he whispered into your lips, kissing you again before pulling you down next to him. With a satisfied grin, you made yourself comfortable and rested your head on Levi’s chest. „I would be so lost without you.“

„You would do just fine, Levi. But I’m glad I got to survive it all alongside you.“ Through the years you had a few close calls, but you always made it out in one piece. Thankfully. „Years back, we were just two teenagers in the Underground and today... we’re living in a world outside Paradis. It’s still so unbelievable to me.“

„We don’t even seem like those people anymore.“

„But deep down we’re still those two, just a little older and wiser. And happier.“

„Happier,“ he said almost too quietly, his lips pressing against your forehead.

Soon, you turned off the lights and tried going to sleep. The storm outside slowly died down and even the rain stopped. You and Levi were resting in each other’s arms, talking quietly and enjoying a peaceful night. Sleeping alone while he was in the hospital was always horrible. The bed felt too empty and cold when he wasn’t right there next to you.

After an hour, Levi started getting restless once again. His leg was hurting and staying in bed seemed like the worst possible thing to do. Some nights used to be like that – and Levi hated that more than anything. He hated keeping you up and not letting you rest. But you never said even a single bad word. Every time, you took care of him with love and patience, just like when he had nightmares and used to wake up screaming or sometimes even crying.

Not that... not that things like that never happened to you. Quite the opposite. Shortly after the Rumbling, it was you, who needed Levi’s help with managing your mental health. Your anxiety was through the roof almost 24/7 and most nights you simply weren’t able to fall asleep. You were scared of having another nightmare full of terror and blood. On top of everything that was happening around you, your mind simply decided to push you as far as possible, trying to break you for good.

If it wasn’t for Levi’s love and patience, you would never make it out of those dark places. While he was physically and mentally suffering himself, he always made sure you were doing as well as possible. If anything, you two always had each other to lean on. When one of you fell down, the other helped them up and made sure both of you could continue walking forward. Hand in hand, trusting and loving each other more and more every day.

„Should we get some fresh air? The storm’s gone and there are no people in the streets in the middle of the night,“ you suggested, coming back to the bedroom with another cup of tea for Levi. After he took it, you knelt down before him as he was sitting on the edge of the bed. You smiled at him with all the love you felt in your heart and put your hand on his healthy knee, squeezing it reassuringly.

„You can just open the windows,“ he said without an ounce of interest in his voice.

„Nah, that’s not the same.“ It was more than obvious, that none of you would get any sleep in the coming hours. And staying here wasn’t the best idea. During similar nights the small bedroom simply felt too suffocating. „We don’t have to be long, just a couple of minutes. It will help.“

You could see the pain in his features, in the way he was gripping the edge of the bed with his free hand, or in the way he was trying to avoid eye contact. You could hear it in his voice, in the way he was breathing. And it was killing you, even after six months of living like this. It hurt more than anything that ever happened to you directly.

„Okay, come on. We’re going out!“ you commanded after taking a couple of deep breaths and stood up, making your way to the closet to get some clothes for the both of you.

Levi tried protesting, but it was you, who won in the end. A change of scenery was very much needed and Levi started to agree with you as soon as you got out and into the fresh night air – him sitting in his wheelchair with you pushing him. It only took a couple of short minutes until you felt a strong wave of calmness filling your entire being.

„Okay, this wasn’t your worst idea,“ Levi said eventually, finally relaxing and resting his back once the painkillers started to kick in. You could clearly see how his entire posture changed, his shoulder muscles releasing all the tension. He even stopped clutching his hurting knee, hoping it would help him ease the pain.

„See, you should listen to me more often,“ you laughed and kissed the top of his head. There wasn’t a place you wanted to get to, just careless wandering around the night streets of your new home was what your soul craved.

The two of you ended up taking the route straight to the docks and to the beach next to it. The fresh salty breeze felt more than nice after another storm. Even the sky above your head became clear once again, shining with millions of tiny little stars. Surprisingly, the sky looked even clearer than on Paradis, when you used to stargaze on top of the Walls.

„Stop there by the bench,“ Levi said, as you were making your way along the sidewalk next to the beach. You did as he said, sitting down on the wooded bench and taking his hand in your once more.

„What are we going to do here?“ you asked, looking at him in the light from the nearby street lamp.

His face changed so much, but he was just as handsome as before. You loved every little detail about his face, even the new scars and his blind eye. After all, they were a reminder of how hard he fought for humanity. How he gave his all for the world, that did nothing but hurt him since he was just a little kid. 

Levi Ackerman has always been the only man you truly wanted. The only man you’ve ever shown interest in. You met him when you were only fifteen and since then, you couldn’t imagine living your life with anyone else.

„We’re going to sit here, watch the ocean, and listen to the waves,“ Levi answered and pulled your hand to his lips, kissing your left ring finger just under your ring.

„Maybe we should come here more often. Even if just during the night when no one’s around. We should go out more and explore, see as much as we can. Live like we said we would... you know, back at Fort Salta, the first night after the Rumbling.“

„We’ll get there, I promise,“ he tried reassuring you, just like many times before.

„I know we will. Sooner or later, in a month or maybe in a year.“

„When I’m a bit more put together,“ he chuckled quietly and looked at you, a tiny smirk on his lips. Despite the pain and trauma, he started smiling a little more often in your company. And you used to tease him, that it took you almost two decades, to achieve this. „Thank you for being so patient with me. For doing all the things you do for me and for us.“

So many different emotions were running through your mind and heart. You felt more than grateful for the life you had, despite everything. After all, this was all you ever dreamed of – a quiet and simple life with the man you loved more than anything or anyone. You wanted a warm and cozy home, a family of your own. You wanted what most ordinary people your age had.

„Do you think...“ you asked, feeling a lump forming in your throat. „Do you think they’re watching us right now? And maybe... maybe smiling because we’re doing good?“ Not a day went by without thinking of your late friends and comrades. You still missed them dearly and felt thankful for all their effort, that helped you get here.

„Let’s hope so,“ Levi said quietly and squeezed your hand lovingly. Talking about Hange, Erwin and the others was still very challenging, but you both wanted to remember them for the rest of your lives. So it was important to talk about them, to remember the nice memories you had with them. „Did I tell you before the surgery? The brats are coming to see us next month, Connie sent a letter.“

You smiled happily upon hearing his words. „Really? Oh, I’m so happy, I miss them all every day. I know they have their own lives and responsibilities, but I wish they could come visit us more often.“

You truly missed them – the kids, as you used to call them since your very first meeting all those years ago. Not having them around daily felt unnatural, but it made their every visit even more special.

„Do they know we’re engaged?“

„No, I haven’t mentioned it in any of the letters.“

„Me neither,“ you shook your head with a smile.

Writing letters... that and similar things were a challenge on their own. Levi was still getting used to doing activities like that with his non-dominant hand. Missing two fingers made a lot of mundane tasks unnecessarily difficult. But Levi was resilient. A man, who was able to use ODM gear, fire thunder spears and fight Titans with missing fingers, a blind eye, an injured knee, and pain unimaginable to you, would not give up over stupid little things. All he needed, was time and a little help from you, to show him how to do things differently.

„I think they’ll be happy about it,“ Levi said quietly, his voice almost too quiet compared to the relaxing sound of the waves.

„I think so too,“ you agreed and reached out your free hand. Gently, you grabbed Levi’s chin and turned his head in your direction. „You have no idea how crazy in love I am with you. More and more after each day we spend together. You truly are all that I want and need, Levi.“

He was the first to erase all the space between you, when he leaned in for a kiss, pressing his lips hard against yours. In Levi’s case, actions always spoke louder than words, mostly during such intimate moments, which showed just how much he valued, cherished, and loved you. 

[daisygirlwrites]

TF 141 comforting you after a heartbreak (drabble + headcanons)

note: continuation of this fic but can be read on its own. No use of (Y/N)

pairings: Task Force 141 x fem!Reader (Platonic), König x fem!Reader

a/n: hey hey, i really enjoyed writing this and i hope you all enjoy reading this! thanks for your support <3

taglist: @bobfloydsgf , @warenai , @devilsfoodcake22 , @imalovernotahater , @cutiecusp , @allen-444

They watched you with sad eyes. Even with your hood on and mask pulled up, they could see through you. For months, they knew about your relationship with König and honestly, they should have said something to you. But they would be lying if they said they didn’t go through the same thing at some point. This wasn’t a punishment or a lesson to you; it’s not selfish for wanting something happy and normal in the kind of life that they live. 

The task force came out on the tarmac to say their goodbyes to the KorTac team. Thankfully but painfully for you, it was short and sweet. You weren’t sure how long you could hold yourself together. König was the last one in line and the only one that you pulled down your mask for. Both of you gave each other a smile before going into a hug. At that point, you didn’t care and you held onto him tight. His hands quickly find themselves on the small of your back and your waist. König closes his eyes, taking in your scent. But after a few seconds, you had to let go. 

“Ich liebe dich,” he said quietly as he pulled away. 

“Ich liebe dich auch,” you whisper back. 

The team watched the plane start up. And as it rises, they begin to walk towards the buildings but you remain in the same position. As the aircraft got smaller as it went farther away, you felt your heart sink, the stabbing pain feeling too much to ignore. You finally broke. 

Before he entered the building, Soap looked over his shoulder. He only sees your back but he watches your shoulders tremble. Without a second thought, he starts walking back towards you. However, it was Ghost that pulled him back. 

“Let’s give her some time,” he says. The team takes one last glance at you before heading inside.

Price:

The first person that talks to you about it after a few days. You get called into his office, thinking not much of it. You greeted him with a small smile but he sees how exhausted you are. Price thinks carefully of his next words, not wanting to make you more upset or uncomfortable. 

You don’t make eye contact with him at first, knowing that seeing his worried expression would make you break down. But eventually, you do tell him. You kept it vague, not wanting to take the risk. However, when Price tells you a story of his younger days on the field, you finally spill the whole thing.

It was painful to recount memories, causing you to start crying. 

He gives the best hugs. And he holds you tight, letting you sob on him. He gently pats your back, muttering, “It’ll be okay, love.”

Once you’ve calmed down, he’d either get you some water or tea. 

“Am I in trouble?” You ask him in between sniffles.  “No, love. I won’t report on this,” he informs you. “If you get punished, I should have been punished years ago.”

He continues to give you advice, talking about his past and the lessons he’s learned about relationships.

“Sometimes things work out and sometimes it doesn’t, that's just life.”

Price gives you one more hug, quietly telling you that he’s always there for you.

Gaz:

It was a few days after your talk with Price, you only came out of your room every once in a while with the exceptions of missions and training. Oh, and picking up the guys when they went out to drink. 

It was like the first few months of you joining the team; you didn’t talk as much and even when you smile at the boys, they can see a hint of sadness in your eyes.

You hear a knock on the door one night and you open to see Gaz and a set of keys in his hand. “I was told to go on a supply run, wanna come with?” He asks you. 

Kyle knows you well enough that you wouldn’t say no to helping someone out, especially if it’s your team. He did feel a little bad though, it looked like you haven’t been sleeping well. But you went with him anyway.

As you double check the list, you almost missed Gaz walking through the ice cream aisle. Catching up with him, he turns around, holding your favorite flavor. 

You chuckled, “That’s not on the list.” “Come on, my treat?” “Now how can I say no to that?”

Gaz convinced you into a movie night, letting you pick. But neither of you were really paying attention, opting for a conversation instead

“Was it really that obvious?” You ask him “Honestly, yeah,” he looks back at you, “Both of you are surprisingly easy to read but what really confirmed it for us is when you two stayed back here the other night”  Gaz takes another spoonful of his ice cream before speaking again, “Hard to hide love, I guess.”

You kind of feel lighter. The not so secret is out and you can properly talk about it without the risk of getting in trouble. Gaz would ask questions and you'd answer. It was a relief

You couldn't help but tear up, recounting your memories with König, but Gaz was there to support you. Giving you the tissue box and seeing if you want to continue talking. He'd offer you advice but most importantly, he's the shoulder you can lean on.

Soap:

First and foremost, he gives you a great bear hug, the kind that slightly lifts you up from the ground

Like Gaz, he’d get you something sweet. Probably your favorite kind of chocolate or pastries. That’s how he helped his sisters through their breakups

Technically, what you’re going through isn’t really a breakup but Johnny knows heartbreak when he sees one

Like everyone else on the team, he lets you talk. He’s happy that you’re letting him in though hearing your voice crack a few times hurts him just a tiny bit. 

By the end of you venting, again, you were nearly in tears but you were trying to hold it together. 

Soap sees this, he knows enough that by letting go, you’ll feel better. So, he encourages you to cry. 

“I’m tired of crying and honestly, I look ugly doing it,” you huffed, hands coming up to cover your face. “Oh pish posh! Everyone looks ugly when they cry!” Johnny exclaims. “Plus, it’s better to let things out than in, like a fart.”

You look up at him, giving him a bewildered look as he smiles like an idiot. It was silent for a moment, but it was broken with your sudden laughter.

He hated seeing how miserable you were and the fact that he made you smile, hell, laugh out loud, it was like a weight being lifted from his shoulders.

You didn’t cry that night and you saw it as a good thing. Before he leaves, you thank him.

“Nothing heals better than time and laughing,” Johnny tells you and he gives you one more hug

Ghost:

After hearing the rest of the guys helping you and giving you support, he doesn’t see the need for him to come up to you. Like, what else can he say or do that the others already have?

Dude just gave you a pat on the head and walked away, leaving you a bit confused

But in all honesty, Ghost feels guilty. He clearly remembers that night, encouraging you to go after the Austrian. He thought you two were just going to hook up (hell, he even bet 50 pounds on it) but he didn’t expect for you guys to develop a relationship

Your mood doesn’t affect missions. Though, he hated how you were quiet again outside of the field. It was like a reminder of how he treated you during your first few months when you joined the team and now, in a way, it was his fault again. 

Neither of you bring it up during training or when you go out with the boys. Seeing how long it took for you to turn back to “normal”, if he said something about it, your progress would be ruined

But even when you feel like you’re getting better, there are just some days that are difficult

The team had a day off and Ghost wanted to throw knives, knowing that activity helped you guys have a proper conversation. Yet, he can’t find you in your normal spots

After asking around, he makes his way up to the rooftop. You had your hoodie on and a cigarette between your fingers. You mentioned to him that you quit smoking back in college but you had one every once in a while to relieve stress. This is the first that he’s seen

Forgetting about the plans for knife throwing, he joins you instead. It was a comfortable silence between you two and honestly, you preferred it that way. 

Eventually, he spoke up:

“I’m sorry,” he starts. You glanced at him from the side, giving him a puzzled look, “What for?” “Pushing you to him.”  You chuckled, “You’re very silly to say that.” It was his turn to look at you, staying quiet, waiting for you to explain. “You opened the door, I walked through it.” You turn around, back leaning against the railing. “It was my choice and I’m dealing the consequences,” you continued on “Still, should have stopped you,” he responded “Why didn’t you?” “Because you looked happy.”

[hihomeghere]

Hello my new favorite creator! I just saw your response to my last request (the soft y/n dom one) and I'm deffo going to formally request you turn it into a story (if you're not doing that already) I've been reading more of your content and it's quickly becoming an addiction 😅 any way I'll be a big supporter from the shadows <333 -🧛 anon (Naming myself lol)

Routine | Five Hargreeves / F!Reader

Part of the Tesoro series (Can be read as a one shot)

Word Count : 2.3k Summary : After the confession, Five and reader head back to a hotel room. Soft dom y/n. Aged up!Five Warnings/Tags : Smut, handjob, masturbation, piv, cursing, fluff at the end, this is filth enjoy <3 ( I do not own the umbrella academy or any of it's characters )

If Five was anything, he was a creature of habit. His father had ingrained that in him from a young age. Chores, training, studies, hell even his meal times were scheduled. His entire life was based on routine. 

Then he was stuck in the apocalypse, and even though there were millions of things Five could be mad at his father about, he had to appreciate his sense for routine. It kept him alive, he still had a set time to eat (if he had anything to eat), but instead of training he was scavenging. Picking through a wasteland for anything edible, along with trying to find a sustainable source of clean water. While picking through for food, he would also collect anything to help conserve his energy. Things like his bike or wagon, etc. His definition of ‘resting’ was mainly anytime he could sit down. During those periods he would work on equations, trying to find a way out of there and back to his family. And although it wasn’t strictly in his routine, mental breakdowns always seemed to weasel their way into his day. 

Thankfully, both of those routines were a thing of the past. Now his routine consisted of reading up on case files before going into the field. He’d kill whoever he had to and afterwards he’d reward himself with fucking his fist until he fell asleep. Did it make him feel a bit disgusted with himself, yes, but masturbation had been the only stress relief he’d ever had. Again, just another one of his constants throughout the years. What he hadn’t accounted for was you. At first he had marked you off as a nuisance. Like the cockroaches that somehow managed to survive alongside Five, although you were much nicer to look at. 

Five knew he was in trouble when he started subconsciously adding your routines into his. You would start getting hungry around 11:30 every day, like clockwork. So he had started planning his lunches for around 11:30, not because the thought of you eating alone made his heart seize in his chest, just to make his work more efficient. It aggravated him to have to wait for you to be finished with your lunch, only for him to get hungry once you returned. So out of convenience, he started eating lunch with you. Little things like that.

He couldn’t exactly say he was surprised. You were always one to throw wrenches in the works. Although he didn’t account for a deviation of this size into his plan. When he kissed you, a silent confession on his feelings, he knew there would be no going back. You were it for him. He loved you and you seemed to share those feelings. Your lips crashed against his as he fumbled with the key to the hotel room. You giggled into the kiss, something so sickly sweet. His hands were back on you as soon as the door swung open. Pulling the key out of the lock and throwing it onto a side table as he kicked the door close behind you. His hands were everywhere, touching and squeezing. Your breasts, oh god, your tits. He couldn’t get enough of them, his hand flew under your blouse, pinching your nipple through your  bra. You gasped softly, your hands threading through his hair. He stopped, admiring your flushed face as he kicked off his shoes. Your lips parted slightly, hot breath fanning across his face, a light splattering of blood across your cheek. 

You pulled away, and he almost whined at the loss of contact. What was happening to him? Did you really have such a hold on him? He was taken back to his younger years, when his father would read from Homer’s Odyssey. He had never paid much attention to the sirens, that was more of Diegos and Luthers interest. He wished he had listened to Circe’s warnings like Odysseus, now he was sure he had met a siren in person. He was bewitched by you, drawn to you like iron to a magnet. Five was sure you were more beautiful than Helen of Troy, hell even Aphrodite would be jealous of your beauty. 

“I’m going to take a shower.” You smiled, pushing him back onto the bed before kissing his cheek. Another one of your routines, always showering after a mission. You made a show of undressing yourself, slowly unbuttoning your blouse. Then shimmying out of your trousers. You hooked your fingers under your bra strap, pulling them down at an agonizing pace. You unhooked your bra, throwing it onto the chair. Five’s eyes never left your body until you were behind the bathroom door. He gulped, his cock painfully pressed against the crotch of his slacks. He hurried to pull himself free, the buckle of his belt clinking metal against metal. He started to get frantic in his movements, unzipping his pants and kicking them off along with his underwear. His cock sprung up against his stomach. He let out a sigh, spitting into his hand. He grabbed himself, lubricating his dick with his spit. At times like this he wondered if was seriously fucked in the head. But normally once he ran his thumb over the slit on his head any negative thoughts would be tucked away. He arched his neck, letting out a shaky breath as he started to stroke himself. His mind wandering to you, always you. “Fuck,” he sighed squeezing the base of his cock. Your flushed face, a blush painting your cheeks. That slutty fucking skirt you wore, tight around your hips, he didn’t know how you got that little thing over your ass. He groaned, his eyes rolling back as he picked up the pace. How your lips felt against his throat as you ordered him to cum, your tits bouncing with each of his thrusts. His hips jolted up into his hand, he craved more, his other hand gently cupped his balls. He was close, his breath getting caught in his throat. “Y/n.” He whined, his eyes fluttering close.

“Starting without me?” You asked leaning on the doorway to the bathroom. Clad in only a towel, tightly wrapped around your body. He froze, caught red handed with his pants down. Fuck he was so close. He tugged on himself, chasing after his high as it slowly slipped away. You stopped him, swatting his hand away from his dick. “Excuse me?” You scoffed, your arms crossed above him. You stared down at him, his chest rising and falling rapidly. 

“What?” He asked, his eyebrows knitting together. You grabbed his face, your fingers pressing his lips together, his skin dimpling under your grip. His breath hitched, his eyes going wide. “Y/n, what are you doing?” He said through squished lips.

“You started without me.” You repeated, a wolfish grin spreading across your face. He scoffed, rolling his eyes. You turned his face so he was looking at you, his green eyes wide. He let out a surprised sound, “Now, would you like to finish?” You asked with a commanding voice. His eyes flicked all over your face. 

“Y-yes.” He stuttered, his adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed. You let go of his face, walking backwards until the back of your knees hit the plush chair. You sank down onto the chair, slowly undoing your towel, letting it pool around your body. 

He stared at you, his eyebrows still furrowed. You chuckled to yourself, his expression taking you back to the first night you spent together. So unsure of himself, his hands twitched against the sheets. His dick stood at attention, brushing against his white shirt. His angry red tip made a wet spot on his shirt. 

“Take off your shirt first,” you said, leaning back in the chair, spreading your legs. It was like he had been frozen until your command. His eager fingers moved to his shirt, unbuttoning the buttons quickly. He tore it off of him, throwing it onto the floor. He turned to you for his next instructions, a newfound glint in his eye. “You can touch yourself.” You cooed, immediately his hand wrapped around his cock. Stroking himself with fever, he wet his bottom lip, his hips jolting against his fist. Five was so pretty like this, not that he wasn’t a gorgeous man, but he was so vulnerable. Pride bloomed in your chest knowing that you were the only one allowed to see Five like this. His head fell back, giving you a gorgeous view of his neck. He let out a strangled whine, his lips parting. You sat up, unable to help yourself. You stalked towards him, your hands holding his shoulders. Your lips attacked his neck, nipping and sucking on his neck. Dark spots adorning his pale skin.

“Fuck,” he moaned, leaning into your touch. You reached down, pulling his hand away. He let out a frustrated whine, biting his lip as he stared into your eyes. You smiled sweetly, kissing his cheek over his two freckles, before squeezing his shaft. You began to pump him harshly, sucking a deep mark on his collarbone. His hands flew to your hips, holding them with a vice like grip. “I’m gonna cum.” He said through his gritted teeth, “please let me cum.” He squeezed your hips, his fingers digging into your soft skin.

“You can cum baby,” You chuckled, licking a stripe up his neck. He cried out his hips jolting against your hand as ropes of cum shot out onto your fist. You grinned, working him through his orgasm. A pained expression painting his features. As he came down from his high, he softly rubbed circles onto your hips. 

“That was…” He trailed off clearing his throat, his hands drifting upwards on his body. You giggled, wrapping your arms around his shoulders, pulling him flush against your body.

“Never would have guessed Mr. Five Hargreeves would be so obedient.” You laughed, kissing him. He pulled away from the kiss.

“Are you trying to get a rise out of me y/n?” He said, cocking his head slightly. A smug smile spread across his face, his eyes darkened. You felt like the prey instead of the predator under his gaze.

“I would never dream of it.” You smirked, feeling him get hard against your stomach. “Already?” You chuckled, rolling your eyes. 

“I can’t help that I have the most gorgeous girl in front of me, naked.” He mused, raising his eyebrows. You pushed him back, his back hitting the mattress with a soft thud. He smirked, propping himself up on his elbows. You crawled on top of him, setting yourself over his waist. He leaned his head forward, his lips covering your right breast. You lowered yourself onto him, moaning as he pushed through your opening. He let out a pained cry against your breast. 

“Are you alright?” You asked, stalling your movement.

“Mmm,” he hummed, his eyes shut tight, his hands gripping your hips, stilling any movements you would make. “Just sensitive, tesoro.” He chuckled looking up at you through his heavy eyelashes. You grinned, you wanted nothing more than to have Five under you a blubbering mess. And you were gonna have it. 

You rolled your hips against him, his fingers digging into the soft skin of your hips. He let out a choked gasp, his head falling back against the bed.

“You like that baby?” You asked, dragging your hips up and down against him. 

“Fuck yes.” He whined, arching his back off the bed, wrapping his arms around your waist and burying his head into your chest. You rocked back and forth, Five’s fingernails dragging down your back. You moaned, pushing him back against the bed. You leaned back, propping yourself up on his thighs as you jutted your hips forward again and again. That familiar coil tightening in your stomach. “F-fuck.” He cried, his hips jolting against your pelvis, his pubic hair rubbing at your clit. His eyes shone with unshed tears as he bit his lip, his hands gripping the sheets beneath you. 

“You feel so good, you make me feel so good Five.” You huffed, struggling to keep up your pace. He whimpered a tear falling down his cheek. Suddenly his body jolted, his hands gripping your waist holding you down onto his hips as he came with a cry. You grinned against him, reaching your own orgasm. You moaned, high pitched and breathy as his cock twitched inside you. His cum painting your walls as you clenched down on him

“Christ woman.” He sighed, his arm covering his eyes. You pulled away his arm, wiping away a stray tear.

“Glad to be of service.” You asked sweetly, kissing his cheek before pecking his lips. You slowly got off of his lap, his softened cock slipping out of you. You laid down beside him, lightly trailing your fingers over his chest. He wraps his arm around you, pulling you closer. Your head laying on his chest, feeling the steady beat of his heart against your ear. 

“I love you.” He says, breaking the comfortable silence.

“Are you thinking of someone else?” You tease, staring up at him through your lashes. 

“No.” He says, rolling his eyes feigning annoyance. He sits up, you prop yourself up on your arm. “I’m serious,” he cups your face, “I love you so goddamn much.” He says kissing you. You were sure you had died and gone to heaven. His hand against your face, with his soft slightly bruised lips against yours. You sighed into the kiss, feeling like a love sick teenager.

“I love you.” You giggled wrapping your arms around his neck, “I love you, I love you.” You kissed the corner of his lips, his cheek, his forehead. He chuckled softly, as you met his eyes. “I love you Five Hargreeves.” You whispered, resting your forehead against his.

“And I you.” He smiled. Five would happily add anything pertaining to you into his routine any day. 

[poraphia]

"Four Medium-Sized Coffees, One Big Fat Work Crush"

lvjy!wilbur x manager!reader 1457 words • 8.9.23 request by @mrssabinecallas! "lead singer will with a manager reader! they book all their performances and bring them coffee every morning, just happy to be there with Will and their friends"

requests are still open!! dont be shy :3 pt. 2 here <-

How to be a good tour manager: 1) Bring them coffee every morning 2) Don't fall in love with the lead singer

♡♡♡

Y’know, when I signed up for this job, I didn’t expect the roller coaster of emotions and action that would come with being an on-tour manager. 

I especially didn’t think I’d end up falling for the lead singer of Lovejoy, William Gold.

I have been a stage director for concerts for a couple of years now since I graduated from university. I worked for different venues, taking up jobs such as being in charge of soundcheck and directing the lights. After years of hard work and a resume of experience, I was finally offered my first opportunity of being an on-tour manager for a rising band that was touring the world.

I have to admit, it was different. I was constantly away from home and on the road. The one thing genuinely battling this homesick feeling was the constant adventure and excitement we faced in every city. From sitting awkwardly in an Uber as the driver told us horrific stories, to running around the late-night streets tasting cuisines we had never heard of before.

I remember on the first day, I was a nervous train wreck. I spent most of that night pacing around my hotel room while occasionally practicing in the mirror how to greet the band, how to talk to them, and how to even shake their hand. It wasn’t until the peak time of 4 AM I decided that I should keep things simple (and that I should probably go to sleep because I had to wake up in three hours).

I met up with the band at our first venue for a soundcheck. When I got the text that they were arriving shortly, I ran to the nearest cafe and ordered four coffees, each with a simple shot of espresso, two scoops of sugar, and a cup of milk. It was basic, and it wasn’t guaranteed it would be something they’d love, but I was far too deep to turn back around and return the coffee. Plus, wouldn’t that be a super awkward situation? Oh, hey Mr. Barista! Sorry, can you refund me these four coffees after I walked in the blazing city heat for roughly ten minutes before—

“Hi,” A deep, posh voice caused me to snap out of my thoughts. I looked around, not even realizing I was already at the venue, and the man was holding the door for me. He was tall with disheveled curly hair and he wore a striped T-Shirt with some basic black jeans. Glasses rested on the bridge of his nose but more importantly, there was the guitar case slung across his shoulder.

“O-Oh, thank you!” I stuttered, rushing past him to avoid any more embarrassment. He softly chuckled behind me before closing the door. I turned around, half-smiling to shake off the embarrassing situation I’ve seemed to stumble in.

“You must be (y/n), right? Our manager?” He asked, his eyes trailing from my face to my lanyard, to the cardboard cupholders presenting four hot and fresh beverages. 

“Yeah!” I exclaimed a bit too loudly. Guess that’s another check on the list for what will keep me up tonight. “I, uh, I got these coffees for you guys! Just to help you guys out with the jetlag and all…” I trailed off in the end. But thankfully, the man smiled and took a random cup, slightly pursing his lips to retrieve the beverage only to flinch back, laughing.

“Holy shit, this is hot.” He chuckled. I couldn’t help but laugh along as well. “Oh, fuck, where are my manners– My name is Wilbur, Will, William, honestly call me what you like.” He shrugged. “My other mates are right there and are practicing on stage right now. There’s Ash, Mark, and Joe.” He pointed to the respective person, each calling out their name. 

We both began to walk toward the backstage area and continued talking. As Wilbur walked nonchalantly with coffee in hand, I struggled to catch up to his long strides while also maintaining the balance of the rest of the drinks.  “It’s a funny way how we all became a band actually–” He turned around. Noticing my struggle as he spared a few milliseconds so that I may catch up. Will chuckled before continuing to walk at a much slower pace.

Once we arrived in the backstage lounge, I pushed the door for him with my back. He thanked me before walking past. “Oh, (y/n), I would like to mention something–” He said, turning his head to face me. I tilted my head, anticipating. “Next time you get us coffee, I’d like mine with two cups of milk!” He smiled. “Although, it is perfect as it is anyway. I’m sure the rest of the band would love it.”

As I watched him finish up his coffee and make his way to the stage, my mind was set on a new goal:

“Find out Lovejoy’s desired coffee orders.”

From that day forward, I brought them coffee every morning. From meeting them on the tour bus, at soundcheck, to even waiting in the hotel lobby. I would listen closely to what comments they would make. If Joe slightly mentions to Ash he doesn't like sweet coffee, I'll remember to add less sugar. If I heard Mark asking around for creamer, I'll remember to put more cream. My petty rule for myself was that I wouldn't dare ask them directly about their preferences. It was a fun little game for me, and it only took Wilbur a little over two months for him to notice.

Wilbur and I were sitting in the tour bus booth area going over the set list when he brought it up. "Hey, (Y/N), can I ask you something?" He said, tapping at his cardboard cup. I looked up from the piece of paper I was writing on to meet his eyes. 

"I know what you're gonna ask– I've already asked the stage crew if we could add smoke for The Fall along with some more flashing lights during Warsaw." I explained, pointing at the paper with the pen I had in hand.

Wilbur let out a soft chuckle with the softest smile on his face. His hair covered a bit of his eyes but even then I could see the reflection of light making his pupils sparkle. His laugh caused a fluttering sensation in my chest. My hands and stomach tingled as if dozens of butterflies were dancing on my skin. Was I.. Getting flustered?

"No, no, I wasn't going to ask that." He spoke gently. I held my breath, a little embarrassed for my rambling. "Though I do appreciate it all. You've picked up so much about us as a band in just a couple of weeks." He held the end joints of my fingers between his grasp as he spoke, fidgeting with them as he talked. 

"Oh, well…" I felt the blush creeping to my face. "that is kind of my job." I chuckled.

"Also you've been getting our coffee orders perfectly I've noticed. Mark was raving to me earlier about how good it tasted. Ash even posted it in his story." Wilbur said, reminiscing on his mornings with his friends. 

I couldn't hold back the biggest smile on my face. It took every nerve of my body not to jump up on the table and do the goofiest, happiest dance of my life. Instead, I nodded and hummed, using my thumb to rub circles into his hand.

"I'm really glad to hear that. This is my first on-tour job, so here it's just–" I stumbled over my words trying to find the right phrases, but I was so overwhelmed with giddiness I just sighed. "Thank you…"

Wilbur looked back up to meet my eyes again. His cheeks were dusted with the slightest bit of pink as he examined bits of my face. I wanted to take in every feature of his as well. From the small mole near his eye to how pink his lips were. How pretty his lips are… they look so… Soft–

"(y/N)! Wilbur!" Mark called out from the other end of the bus. Immediately we pulled away from each other, sinking ourselves in our opposite-end seats from embarrassment. 

"Yeah?! What is it, Mark?" Will called out, but he dared not to turn around to face him. 

"We're in LA now! You guys ready for our last gig in the States?!" He asked excitedly.

Oh, God. 

It was the last gig. 

Which means… 

I looked over to Will, who also had a slight shock on his face as if it slipped his mind as well. 

This is it, I suppose. 

Who was I to think I would get my happy rom-com ending?

♡♡♡

my wilbur soot masterlist ~! a / n ~ i have a part two idea for this already omg should I do it?? reblogs and likes are super appreciated!! they be motivating me :33

[thatgoblin]

If I'm There

Summary: You hadn't seen or spoken to him in over a year, but now you have to track down your ex-husband over unpaid parking tickets. It was supposed to be easy, but seeing him with his new partner made it anything but.

Soulmates AU, Simon/Johnny/Reader

Warnings: so much angst, past child death, alcoholism, divorce, heavy stuff, but happy ending.

A/N: I'm not completely pleased with it, I don't feel very strong with Simon and Johnny’s characters in this, but posting anyways. It's part of a series I had written a while ago, but it works as a one shot too. Song is 'If I'm There' by Bad Omens.

“Riley! I got a job for you!” 

I looked up from the paperwork I had been doing, bored out of my mind before stuffing it into the file it had come in. 

“Yes! Farah, love of my life, light of my heart, tell me it’s a good one,” I said, walking over to get a look from her. 

“Seems you’re on the hunt for a blast from your past,” the dark haired woman said, handing me a file. “12 unpaid parking tickets and has not shown up to court.” I opened the file, wanting to throw it away immediately, but seeing the large bounty on it, I kept it. It wasn’t often that amount was put out on people for nonviolent crimes and I wasn’t about to pass up something so easy. “Also a second one. 4 unpaid speeding tickets, 3 failure to signal tickets, and 1 ticket for having a pet off leash. . . An emu.” Farah handed me another file and the bounty was just as much. 

“And a partridge in a pear tree,” I said with a snort. “Merry Christmas to me.”

“It’s April,” Farah said evenly before turning back to the computer. 

“Well, it’ll feel like Christmas when I turn these two idiots in,” I said, taking their addresses to shove into my back pocket in case my first plan didn’t work. “With a nice bonus for you too.”

“Oh happy days,” Farah said dryly. 

“You know, you could be a bit more cheery about life,” I said, folding the legal paperwork I needed before putting it into my jacket pocket. 

“I could, but then we’d be friends and we can’t have that,” Farah said, not looking back.

“Of course, we wouldn’t want that,” I said, grabbing my phone from my desk. “Alright, I’m off. Hold down the fort and don’t set it on fire. Again.”

“I make no promises,” Farah said as I walked out the door. Walking over to my car, I pulled out my phone to dial a number I had deleted from my phone over a year ago. As I sat in the car, a little voice in the back of my head told me to ignore this job. That it was inviting chaos and discourse back into my life after I had struggled to get some sort of peace. I had to see him at some point and it was probably easier to do it this way rather than during an awkward grocery store run in. Tapping the numbers was second nature and I didn’t even hesitate on a single digit. I held the phone to my ear as I coached myself to stay cool.

“Hello?” A man’s voice came over the line. I hadn’t heard it in nearly a year, but it still sounded the same. “Hello?”

“Hey. . . It’s me,” I said, swallowing back every urge that wanted to throw the phone into the street and speed away. “I really need to talk to someone. Are you free right now?” There was a sigh then silence. I thought he’d hung up on me, but a jostling noise told me he was still there.

“Sure, where do you want to meet?” He asked, his tone flat.

“Joe’s Coffee Shop? Half an hour?” I asked. I felt a little bad about tricking him, but then again I had bills to pay and he clearly was already done with me. So I didn’t feel too bad. 

“Okay, see you there,” he said before hanging up. 

There are scars that'll never ever show themselves

You get when you're left alone too long in Hell

The drive to the coffee shop was short thankfully and I was able to get a good parking spot to wrangle my targets into it. Hereford had its ups and downs, but the ups were that it really wasn’t as big as everyone thought. My ex and I had lived there for most of our adult lives before we split. Going our separate ways had meant chaos and disarray at first, but then I got my current job after a few months and it was something I could throw myself into. 

We stayed in this area because while it was on the west coast, it was also a close knit community of sorts. People knew each other, local places were more abundant than chains, it just felt like back home. At Joe’s, I pulled up to park on the street before getting out of my black sedan. 

Joe’s Coffee Shop was a local favorite with an outdoor patio. It was April and a sunny day so there were lots of people there sunbathing while sipping on iced coffees. Going in, I ordered one myself before picking a spot outside. Lazily sipping my drink, I pulled out my phone to check the time. I was never patient and even when I was early and he was on time, it had always got on my nerves. 

“Hey.” 

I looked up to see him standing there with that blank look he always had. Mostly hidden by his black face mask. It was the same one I made him that had the lower half of a skull printed onto it. He always wore a balaclava with a similar print, but walking around with that got him into trouble a lot. So, I made a face mask for him. I had taken the time to learn to sew and make patterns when I was not a crafty person. Seeing him still wearing it, I was thrown off my game.

“Hey Simon,” I said, standing up. Did I hug him? Shake hands? High five? Regret was filling my stomach as he stood there. We’d divorced over a year ago and hadn’t talked to each other since, but now his stupid unpaid parking tickets brought him back into my life.

We were supposed to be soulmates. We had the marks that everyone was born with. Everyone had a soulmate, people even had more than one at a time. It was supposed to mean we were going to spend the rest of our lives together, like some magical fairy tale that adults tell children. 

If you found your soulmate you would feel more deeply, be more in tune with the other, have this special bond that no one else could have with you. Simon and I had had that bond. 

But then we didn’t. 

Things changed and we lost the bond or it broke or something and we couldn’t hack it. So, we divorced. I covered my mark on my hand with a small black bar tattoo, but Simon didn’t. I hated that he still had it. Just three simple arrows in a row on his forearm. We were meant to be together, so say the powers that be, but we proved them wrong. Life wasn’t a fairy tale. 

“Everythin’ okay?” He asked, sitting across from me, shaking me from my thoughts.

“Yeah, just. . . Got lost for a second,” I said, sitting down as well. 

“Are you seein’ that counselor still?” He asked. I nodded, taking a deep breath. I wasn’t there to catch up, I was there to collect a bounty. “Good,” he said.

“The reason I called you to talk in person is that I have a question,” I said, pulling out the legal paperwork. 

“About what?” Simon asked with a frown.

“12 unpaid parking tickets? You have 12 unpaid parking tickets?” I asked as I shook my head at him, holding up the warrant.

“What about them?” He asked, narrowing his eyes at the papers. “How do you know about that?” 

“Because you’ve got a warrant out for your arrest,” I said. “And I’m here to take you in.”

“Jesus,” Simon groaned, rolling his eyes as he shook his head. “You’re a bounty hunter now?”

“Yup. I was going to turn yours down, but the money was too good to give to someone else,” I said with a snort. Simon pinched his nose as he stayed sitting.

“This is a joke, isn’t it? It’s a really bad joke,” he said, looking at me. “Just tell me it’s a joke.”

“Not a joke,” I said, showing my badge and permit. “You never paid the tickets or showed up to court.” 

“Fuck me,” Simon hissed. 

“Everythin’ okay, Simon?” A Scottish brogue said.

I turned to see another man with a mohawk and the brightest blue eyes I’d ever seen walk over with a pair of coffees in hand. Wait a second. 

“Don’t tell me, you’re Johnny MacTavish?” I asked, looking up at him. 

“Uh, I am,” the man said, frowning as he looked at me.

“Oh wow, this has got to be the luckiest break ever!” I said, laughing as I stood up. 

“Simon?” Johnny said, frowning.

“Easiest job I’ve ever had,” I said, pulling out the handcuffs from my belt.

“You’re not actually goin’ to take me in,” Simon said, tilting his head to look up at me. “This is just a heads up, right?”

“Oh no. I’m for real arresting you both right now,” I said. “Unpaid parking tickets, jay walking and traffic tickets, no shows in court, and a fucking emu? This is truly an April Christmas miracle.” 

“I’m still confused, Simon?” Johnny said, looking at the other man. 

“Wait, how do you two know each other?” I asked, realizing they had shown up together.

“Johnny, this my ex-wife,” Simon said as he stood up. “And this is my boyfriend, Johnny.”

I did not expect to feel that pang in my chest hit so hard. Of course he moved on. Why wouldn’t he? He had been the more grounded of us after the dust settled. I had no right to feel jealous or hurt by it. If he hadn’t been in trouble then I would have had no idea anyways. 

“Wait, so she’s the one-” Johnny started.

“Yes, she is the one,” Simon nodded. “Now, when you’re done havin’ a laugh, I have to go. We have plans. Can’t believe after almost a year of not talkin’ and avoidin’ each other this is how you choose to show up again.”

“Oh, uh, it was nice to meet you,” Johnny said, tentatively holding out his hand for me to take after setting his drinks down. Fuck this. I slapped a cuff onto Johnny who cried out in confusion as I easily turned him to get his other hand. 

“I wasn’t kidding,” I grunted as I handled Johnny, directing him to my car.

“Are you fucking’ kiddin’ me right now!?” Simon snapped. 

“Like I said, I have arrest warrants for both of you. You’re lucky I even told you that,” I snapped back at him. Opening the car door, I put Johnny in the back before shutting the door. Simon didn’t seem to think it was going to go far, instead choosing to get on the phone with someone. 

“Yes, hello?” He said before I ripped his phone from him to hang up. “What the hell!?”

“Simon, just let me cuff you so we can get this over with and we can move on with our lives,” I said. 

“What is wrong with you? Normal ex’s don’t arrest each other,” he said, as I was able to get the cuffs on him just as easily.

“Yeah, well, we’re not normal ex’s,” I said with a sigh, putting the cuffs extra tight on his wrists. “Now shut up and get in the car.” Dragging him to the other side, I pushed him in next to Johnny before getting in myself. 

“Are we being kidnapped?” Johnny asked as I pulled out onto the road.

“You’ve both have warrants out for your arrest because you two dumbasses didn’t pay tickets on time or show up to court,” I said. “5 years we were together and you never learned to pay the damn tickets.”

“I was goin’ to pay them,” Simon said with a huff. “I’ve been busy.”

“Uh huh,” I said, rolling my eyes at him. Johnny seemed to just be in a constant state of confusion, but kept quiet at least. The drive to the police station was shorand usually if there was more than one to book I would have other people with me, but given that those two weren’t going to really give me trouble, I didn’t worry too much. With both of them in cuffs and compliant, I was able to get them booked easily enough. 

“Hey, Riley,” the officer at the desk, Roach, called as Simon and Johnny were being taken to be processed. I paused in my get away, ready to run as far and fast as I could.

They tried to keep in the secrets that you wouldn't tell

But they just stripped you for parts you had to sell

“Yeah?” I said, walking back over. I could see Simon staring at me hard from the cubicle he was in with Johnny that was just a couple of meters away. No doubt he heard the officer call me back over, still using his last name.

“Just need you to sign a few things for us,” Roach said. 

“Alright fine, but it better be quick, I got a lunch date with a Blood Mary,” I said with a huff. 

“You never changed your name,” Simon said, looking at me with a frown. 

“Uh… No, no I did not,” I said, keeping my eyes on the papers in front of me. 

“Why didn’t you change your name?” He asked.

“Because it’s a bitch to file paperwork and I’ve already been writing it for nearly 5 years. I made it a habit,” I said, glancing at him.

“No, no, you were filin’ for divorce before you even brought it up to me. You filed everythin’ before sayin’ a word,” Simon pushed. “Why didn’t you change your name?”

“I swear to god, Simon,” I hissed, slamming the pen on the counter. The small police station should have been buzzing about with noise, but as Simon kept demanding, everything and everyone went quiet. 

“Just tell me why you didn’t change your last name,” he pushed. 

“Because I still love you, okay?!” I snapped, whirling to glare at him. “I still love you, but we are not good together and it’s one piece of us that I can have without trouble. So there, there’s your answer, in front of your new boyfriend, too.”

“Love,” Simon said with a sigh. 

“Don’t,” I said, cutting him off. “Anything else for me to sign?” I asked, turning back to glare at Roach. 

“Uh, no that’s it,” Roach said. I hadn’t meant to crumble so easily. I thought I was stronger than that, but seeing him again, with someone else. . . What was I supposed to do? We used to be so good together, but then everything happened and shit hit the fan. I couldn’t be as soft as I once was and I couldn’t let him back in. It wasn’t fair to him. Not after the shit I put him through. 

“Thanks,” I said, turning on my heel. Thankfully no one called after me again, letting me get to my car and drive home in peace. Getting home, I walked in to shut the door behind me. It was barely 2pm but there I was going right for the vodka in my freezer. I’d been sober almost four months, but seeing Simon. . . I couldn’t. It was supposed to be an easy grab and go, he’d get pissed and grouchy while I hauled his ass to jail. 

Then it turned into a sudden confession at the police station in front of everyone and their dog to see and hear. I hoped that was the last I’d seen of him for a while. If ever. 

Well, if I'm there to catch you when you fall

You'll have a friend down in Hell after all

Pulling a glass from my cupboard, I put a handful of ice in it before filling it with the liquor. I brought the glass to my lips, but paused. On the fridge was a magnet with a purple heart on it and the name ‘Dierdre’ in cursive letters. Staring at it, I held onto the drink as that ache brought back by Simon deepened. Like a scab reopening to become infected. The burning smell of the vodka was enough to pull me from scratching that open wound. Slowly, I set the glass down. That job was a mistake and I knew it the whole time. I thought maybe the money would soften any damage done or any hurt feelings, but it hadn’t done a damn thing.

Taking a deep breath as my mind threatened to unravel any second, I reached out to grab the bottle of vodka. Unscrewing the cap, I let it drop to the counter. The feel of the icy bottle in my hand helped pull me up from the warmth of depression that was pulling me into its arms. I tipped the bottle to watch the clear liquid pour into the sink, splashing and running down the drain. When the bottle was empty, I did the same to the drink I had made. 

Standing in silence, I let out a sigh before moving to my living room, leaving the empty bottle on the counter.

And if you're there to catch me when I fall

Then maybe Hell ain't so bad after all

I pulled off my boots and jacket, texting Farah that I had everything signed and turned in and that I was done for the day. Shutting my phone off, I moved to flop onto the couch after peeling off my tight jeans. My bra went flying behind me, letting me settle in the warm weather with my windows open. The apartment was modest as Simon had kept almost everything in the divorce. I didn’t want it, so I left the house and anything I didn’t readily need with him. It was for the best. I didn’t need much and it made for less stuff when I moved. 

Flipping on the TV, I turned it to good ol’ golf. I could put golf on at any time and it would put me in a dreamless sleep. That was what I needed. No dreams, no thoughts, no worries or wonders. Just the comfortable void that I could exist in without overwhelming feelings of any kind. In minutes I was passed out on the couch. 

Until someone pounded on my front door. 

Groggily, I looked around, confused as the sun had set and I was chilly in my underwear and tank top. Another loud knock came that had me glaring at the offending door. 

“I’m coming!” I yelled, going to the door. Beside it in a small side table, I hid a Glock for when unsolicited callers came to the door. It was registered and everything, but wasn’t kept completely legal considering it wasn’t locked up with the ammo separated. My previous job and being a bounty hunter didn’t exactly make for the safest of conditions and the bad guys wouldn’t wait for me to put in my combination to my safe. “Who is it?” I asked, hand on the gun hidden under the table top. 

“It’s Simon.” Quiet a moment, I scrunched my face in frustration while holding back the urge to tell him to fuck off.

“What do you want?” I asked, not letting him in or taking my hand off the gun. 

“I want to talk to you,” he said. I heard him shifting around, waiting for me to answer. The thought of climbing out my window crossed my mind, but he’d just follow right behind me. Sighing heavily, I took my hand from the gun before I unlocked the door to open it. “Thank. . . You,” he said, his eyes trailing down my body. “Well then.”

“I was napping,” I grumbled, stepping aside. “Besides you’ve seen more of that.” I pushed the door to shut it, but it stopped when Johnny popped in. “Excuse me?” I said, looking between the two. 

“We need to talk about earlier,” Simon said as Johnny walked in. “All three of us.”

“I don’t understand,” I groaned, scrubbing my face. “Why are both of you here?”

“Do you wanna put some pants on? We can turn around,” Johnny offered. I stared at him before looking to Simon. 

“Just go have a seat on the couch, Darlin’,” Simon said with a soft sigh, rubbing Johnny’s arm. My eye twitched at the gesture and nickname, but I stayed quiet. 

“I’ll be right back,” I said, going to the bedroom which was technically part of the living room. It had a partition set up to kind of offer a sense of it being a different room, but I didn’t try that hard. I grabbed a pair of sweatpants and hoodie to pull on before I rejoined the two men. Johnny sat on the couch, watching some show on TV that had come on during my nap while Simon was in the kitchen, holding the empty liquor bottle. 

I didn't want to believe how much you needed help

And I just left you to be all by yourself

“I thought you said you were goin’ to counselin’,” he said softly. 

“I am,” I said, taking the bottle from him to put in the recycling. “It was in the freezer from almost 6 months ago. I poured it out.”

“Are you bein’ honest with me?” Simon asked, looking at me. His dark eyes looked scared, worried, unsure. It was more than he gave me earlier that day at the coffee shop.

“I am,” I said. “Promise.”

“Good,” Simon said with a nod before motioning to the couch.

“So, what was it you two wanted to talk about?” I asked, pulling over a chair from my table as Simon sat next to Johnny. 

“Aren’t you curious how we found ye?” Johnny asked as I turned off the TV. 

“Not really. I know how you found me,” I said. “One of two options. Either you tracked me back through my phone records or you talked to my office manager, Farah. Who honestly should know better than to give my address out, but I assumed you pestered her enough that she caved.”

“Wow, she is good Simon,” Johnny said with a smile. 

“I told you,” Simon said with a chuckle. I felt a hint of heat in my cheeks. Simon told Johnny about me? About how I was good at seeing things others didn’t? “Sorry, I told him you used to be a private investigator and he thinks it’s the greatest thing.”

“I love all those detective movies where the police don’t believe the evidence, but that rogue investigator finds it all out and cracks the case!” Johnny said excitedly. It was almost annoying, but it was also sweet. I hadn’t felt excited, truly excited, like that in a long time and didn’t know if I ever could again.

“It was mostly catching people cheating on each other,” I said, rubbing my face. “Hate to break the dream for ya.”

“That’s not what Simon said,” Johnny said. It was Simon’s turn to get a bit red in the cheeks. 

“Oh really? What did he say?” I asked, crossing my legs as I leaned forward.

“Not why we’re here,” Simon said, covering Johnny’s mouth with his hand. 

“Then why are you here?” I asked, turning my attention to him. 

“We’re here to talk about us,” Simon said, motioning between me and him. 

“What’s there to talk about?” I asked, sitting back up to cross my arms over my chest. “We’re divorced. We gave it a shot and it didn’t work out.”

“No, we gave it a shot and you called it quits. I was willin’ to work it out,” Simon said with a sigh.

“Obviously you don’t want to anymore, you brought your boyfriend over,” I said, motioning to Johnny.

“Johnny, go ahead and show her,” Simon said, looking to the other. 

“Show me what?” I asked. Johnny glanced from me to Simon before he pulled up his shirt and pulled his pants down a bit. On his right hip was his soulmate mark. I swallowed hard, looking at it as tears pricked my eyes. It was the same as me and Simon’s. Three small arrows. “Well, good for you, you found a soulmate after I covered my mark,” I said. “You wanted to let me know you’d moved on completely and that I shouldn’t contact you again.”

“No, that’s not it,” Simon said as Johnny sat back down.

“Then what is it, Simon?” I snapped. “What do you want? I filed for divorce, I left you, I moved away from you, and the first time I called you in nearly a year is to arrest you, so you think that means anything?”

And now I wish I had seen that you weren't doing well

But I just came back to see how hard you fell

“You said at the station that you were still in love with me,” Simon said.

“No, I said I still loved you. There’s a difference. I’m not in love with you,” I said. It was mean and cruel, but I couldn’t let him think there was a chance we’d have a happily ever after. I was too much of a mess and barely managed to keep myself going most days as a functioning adult. 

“But you could be,” Johnny said. I narrowed my eyes at him, snarling almost, but he didn’t flinch. “You could fall back in love with him.”

“I. . . I am not the person I used to be, Simon,” I said, trying to swallow back tears. “I’m not the girl you fell in love with and I probably won’t ever be her again. I’m not who you want or need.” 

“Maybe Johnny’s right,” Simon said, scooting closer to me. “We’re both different people, but we could fall in love again.”

“It has been over a year, Simon,” I said. “You moved on with Johnny and I moved on. What is the point of us getting back together? We’re not good together.”

“No, we were,” Simon said. “We just lost each other when we lost Dierdre.”

“Don’t,” I snapped, close to losing it. “Don’t bring her into this.” 

Well, if I'm there to catch you when you fall

You'll have a friend down in Hell after all

“You shut down so hard and pushed me so far away when we lost her, Love,” Simon said, reaching out to touch my knee. I pulled away instantly like his touch burned me. I sat rigid in my seat as I refused to look at him. “We made mistakes and we fucked up. I fucked up. I’m sorry that I wasn’t there when you needed me.” His voice was catching, making it hard to steel myself, to keep myself in my self appointed isolation. “It’s not your fault and I don’t blame you for anythin’. The drinkin’, the lyin’, the fights, I don’t blame you. Neither of us were in the right. I. . . I never stopped lovin’ you. Even when I met Johnny, I still loved you just as much as I did before. I still do.”

I shook my head, feeling my shell crack as tears slid down my face. 

“You had a miscarriage, Love. We lost our baby girl and I thought I lost you too,” Simon choked out. We didn’t talk like this after we got home from the hospital. I had been seven months pregnant when something happened. There were sharp pains that I shouldn’t have had. Before we knew it I was in the hospital bleeding, hemorrhaging. The sac she was in didn’t develop right and it burst. By the time I was in delivery she was already gone. I barely made it out alive. 

“You’re not just one event in your Simon’s life,” Johnny said suddenly, making me flinch. “A loss of a child is one of the hardest emotional pains to endure and a lot of couples do divorce afterwards because it seems like the world has come down upon you. It’s okay to feel those feelings and work through them, but it seems that you didn’t want to or didn’t have the capacity at the time to work through it with Simon. These things take time and that may be what was needed. Time.”

“Johnny was my counselor for a while,” Simon said with a soft chuckle. I looked at him, seeing the tears running down his cheeks, his mask off. It was the first time I had seen his face since before the hospital visit. “Then for obvious reasons I started seein’ a different counselor.”

And if you're there to catch me when I fall

Then maybe Hell ain't so bad after all

“The heart wants what it wants,” Johnny said with a soft smile and a shrug. “All that aside, with everything Simon has told me, I couldn’t deny him of seeing you. He loves you too much and I love him. I want us to be happy and even if that means we have separate relationships with Simon or if you just want to be friends again, I am all for it. Being married and together for so long, as well as soulmates, makes for an intense relationship, but also one you can’t just forget and burn a bridge to with something like you guys. All I ask is that you consider it and we’ll work through it together.”

“I don’t know,” I said softly. “I don’t think I’m ready or ever will be ready.”

“Love,” Simon said, reaching out to grasp my hand that had gripped my knee tightly. “We don’t have to pick up where we left off. I just. . . I need you in my life. Please.” 

God, the feel of his hand around mine made me want to curl into a ball in his lap, let him rock me and hold me. It was so hard to keep myself in check. 

“So, this is about making yourself feel better?” I said, trying to make a wedge between us. He needed to leave and move on with Johnny. They could be happy together, adopt, get a dog. I was too broken and missing pieces. There was no way that I could go back to him, not because he had been the cause, but because I was certain I would only hurt him again when he saw how badly I was cracked. “I told you, Simon. I am not who I was when we met, let alone when we got married. This version of me is not someone who is the loving and caring partner that is soft and a safe place to land.”

Build me up or tear me down, I will never make a sound

Build me up or tear me down

“How about a reset?” Johnny said. I looked at him confused, unsure what he was getting at. “You wipe the slate clean, you start over. That means, you start out as friends again, move on from there. I find it helps couples that feel they can’t get over certain bumps in the road to have an imaginary reset button. It’s been a year since you two have been around each other, you’re obviously in different places in your lives, and you have changed. A reset would probably be the best thing for you two if you want to be around one another again.”

“So what, we just pretend nothing happened before now?” I asked with a scoff.

“No, you definitely don’t do that,” Johnny said. “You start fresh. You acknowledge that you both have a past, but you don’t work around it. You work with it.” 

“I’m on board for whatever you want,” Simon said. I took a deep breath, holding Simon’s hand without realizing it. 

Run a dagger through my chest, I believe it's for the best

Build me up or tear me down

“I can’t,” I said, pulling my hand away from him. “I just can’t.” That sucking pit in my chest that had snuck up on me was gasping to get more of me. 

“You don’t have to punish yourself for losing a child,” Johnny said. He had gone to his knees in front of me, making me see his face as he looked up at me. His words were spoken softly, but a force to pull me back from that place I was comfortable with. Where it was dark and lonely and it made sense to feel guilt. “You did everything you could to keep her safe and loved her so much. You were a good mum. It’s not your fault.”

All I could do was stare at him as he nodded, taking my shaky, clammy hands in his large, rough ones. I had manhandled him into cuffs earlier without hesitation, moving on instinct, and now I was in his calm, grounding grasp. “But-”

“It will never be your fault. There is no need to punish you for something that was not your doing. You deserve to be loved and have someone be there for you. This was not a failure on your part and never will be. You can let go of that weight. You’re not alone anymore and don’t have to be again.”

There are scars that'll never ever show themselves

You get when you're left alone too long in Hell

“Okay,” I choked out. “I. . . I want to try the reset thing.”

“We’ll go slow and easy,” Simon said. 

“I want to start as friends, with both you and Johnny,” I said looking from Simon to Johnny.

“That’s the most I would ask for,” Johnny said, a smile on his face. 

“Give me some time right now. I’ll text you later and we’ll go from there, okay?” I said, needing to remember to breathe.

They tried to keep in the secrets that you wouldn't tell

But they just stripped you for parts you had to sell

“Sounds good,” Simon said, a smile spreading across his face as well. Even though we got what we all wanted apparently, why was I the only one not smiling? Why did it feel like I wasn’t going to get what was promised? The only person dangling the carrot in front of me was myself and I knew the bitch would never let me have it if someone didn’t make her.

“I’m gonna give you two a minute, I’ll be out in the car,” Johnny said, getting up. He dropped a kiss to Simon’s head and waved to me before letting himself out. 

“What?” I said, looking at Simon as he stared me down.

“Do you really want to do this? To reset?” He asked. 

“If I didn’t, would I have said yes to it?” I asked, rolling my eyes, unable to keep from putting up my guards.

“No, but that doesn’t mean you’re lettin’ it all out there,” he said. 

“I just. . . I don’t know. I feel like I let two strangers into my apartment to emotionally bully me into a relationship that I am terrified of,” I said with a sigh. “I don’t know how to be or to act around you anymore.”

“It’s okay,” Simon said, taking my hand in his. It was warm and rough, just like always. “We’ll figure it out. I’ll give you all the time and space you want.”

“What if I don’t want space?” I blurted out. I had shut down after Dierdre, pushed everyone away, and made myself alone. Like Johnny had figured out, I was punishing myself for my daughter’s death. I did that to myself because it felt like the right thing to do at the time, but I didn’t want it anymore. Not when Simon wanted me back, but. . . 

“What do you mean?” Simon asked.

“I mean. . . I am so tired of being alone and I am so tired of pushing people away. I don’t care about the sex or kissing, I just don’t want to be alone again,” I said, managing to get it out before I broke down into sobs. 

And if you're there to catch me when I fall

Then maybe Hell ain't so bad after all

Simon didn’t let go of me. Slowly, he pulled me from my chair to set me in his lap. His long arms wrapped around me, holding me tight as I sobbed against him. 

It had been so long since I’d had that simple comfort that I didn’t want to let go. I didn’t want to go slow and stay home by myself. I wanted to go with Simon and Johnny and just stop being fucking alone. It was as if Simon was reading my mind as the back of my hand began to itch under my tattoo. 

“Why don’t you come home with us for a while?” Simon asked. “Don’t worry about anythin’, I’ll help you pack a bag and when you feel up to it, we’ll come back.”

Build me up or tear me down, I will never make a sound

Build me up or tear me down

“Okay,” I nodded, hiccuping from crying so hard. There was no fight left in me as he continued to hold me, only taking out his phone to text Johnny. A few more minutes and I walked with him like a child holding their parents hand to their bedroom where the monsters were. We packed a basic bag before I slid on shoes then grabbed my keys, phone, and wallet. With my place locked up, Simon led me out to the car where Johnny was waiting in the driver’s seat. He didn’t say a word or make any fuss as Simon got in the back with me to hold me as we drove back to their house. 

I knew Simon had sold our old house six months ago, getting another one down the street from it. It was a blessing because I would not be able to go back into that house. Brief flashes of how we had worked to make it ours, the decorations, furniture, the nursery ran through my mind. But instead of breaking down and having a drink, I nuzzled against Simon’s chest as his heavy arm kept me close.

Run a dagger through my chest, I believe it's for the best

Build me up or tear me down

Once there, I walked in holding Simon’s hand. Johnny didn’t seem surprised at all by any of it. In fact it was almost like he was expecting it. “Here’s some water and ibuprofen, you probably have a headache and are dehydrated,” he said as he handed me both items.

“Thanks,” I said, taking them. 

“If you’re hungry we can order something or you’re more than welcome to lay down or even take a shower, whatever you’d like,” Johnny said as he took my bag for me. Going down the hall and straight to their room. I knew it was their room because it had a huge bed I could see from the front. 

“I can sleep on the couch or the guest room,” I said, trying to back peddle from something I didn’t even realize was taking off so quickly.

“Don’t worry about,” Johnny said. “You’re probably touch starved and your soulmates haven’t been around in a year. It’ll create a tension of sorts, make you irritable, cause mood swings, depression, anxiety, general mental disarray. The best thing to do for it, if you can, is to be with your soulmates. That means you share the bed with us.”

“Us?” I said, my voice cracking.

If I'm there to catch you when you fall

You'll have a friend down in Hell after all

“Simon will sleep in the middle, don’t worry,” Johnny said as he walked to the closet to grab extra pillows and blankets. 

“I think I’ve just been bamboozled,” I mumbled. That little shit knew all along that I’d end up coming home with them. He probably knew about the tickets! Knew that I was a bounty hunter! I was going to have to keep my eye on him. 

“Probably,” Simon said with a chuckle. “He’s shifty like that. But, he is right. You’re probably touch starved, so you’re stayin’ in the same bed as us. Do you want to shower or anythin’?” 

“I just want to lay down. My head is killing me and I’m a bit overwhelmed,” I said.

“Fair enough, keep drinkin’ the water though,” Simon said as he led me to the bedroom. 

“Yes, Sir,” I said with a snort before taking a drink of the water.

“Oh, yeah, Simon is definitely, Sir,” Johnny said as he put the pillows and blankets on the bed for me. I couldn’t help but choke on my water. “Oh, too soon?”

And if you're there to catch me when I fall

Then maybe Hell ain't so bad after all

“I think she just needs to rest,” Simon said, patting me on the back. 

“Okay,” Johnny said with a shrug. “Here’s a wet cloth for ye too.” He handed me one for my eyes before walking out. 

“Here, you get settled,” Simon said, helping me get into the large, California King sized bed. “Need anything else?” 

If I'm there to catch you when you fall

You'll have a friend down in Hell after all

“No, I think I’m good,” I said, letting him drape the wet cloth over my forehead. 

“Alright. I’m gonna go take a shower then I’ll be in to lay down with you, okay?” He said.

“Okay,” I mumbled, already falling asleep. It didn’t take long for me to do just that, but I woke up later as Simon was sliding into bed. All the noises were gone from the usual household that was awake, telling me everyone was going to bed. I felt Simon lay on his back, making it easy for me to move to lay with my arm over his belly. What I didn’t expect was another arm to lay over mine. At first I wanted to pull away, but the longer I let it stay, the more it felt right.

And if you're there to catch me when I fall

Then maybe Hell ain't so bad after all

Masterlist

Taglist: @birdstoprey @sebbytheraccoon @pricescigar @alwaysshallow @sae1kie @sleepydang @lexi-zsy09 @ghostlywhiskey @ghosts-cyphera @poohkie90 @neothewitch @shadofireshinobi @sadslasher13 @0alk0msan @xaestheticalien

[so-much-for-the-seashells]

It’s A Love Story…

Colt Seavers (The Fall Guy 2024) x Reader

-Part 2 to Coffees, Plural-

Disclaimer: I don’t own any of the characters in this story except for Sheila and the reader insert!

Author’s Notes: Background is summarized on part one! I tried to get Colt as in character as possible, but it’s hard to perfectly capture him 🙃 also, this is not edited!! idk if it’s cringe or cute, but if you enjoy the story, please leave a comment! I’d love to see what you think!

Content/Content Warning: nothing serious! Just some suggestive themes and some smooching at the end :)

Stay tuned for part 3!!

Reader’s POV

Looking back on it, I think my crush on Colt Seavers really did develop on day one. But little did I know, it’d only get stronger.

Dramatic, right? It’s not wrong, though…

After bonding over his affinity for coffees,- yes, plural- that first day, I knew I was down bad. At first I thought it was just stupid butterflies- I was prone to falling fast- but as I got to know him I realized it was far more than just stupid butterflies.

There was just something about him- a lot of somethings, actually. It was- it is- his puppy eyes. His coffee addiction- affinity, sorry. His sense of humor, the way he comes preloaded with sarcasm at any given time. The way his legs bounces when he’s nervous, bored, excited, or all three. His perfect smile. The way he pays attention, the way he cares…

I could go on. And on. And on. And on. But you get the idea.

And oh, that voice… that’s enough to-

Sorry. Anyways.

Over the past nine-ish months we’ve gotten pretty close. I’ll meet him for lunch on set, we’ll meet at each other’s trailers just to hang out, sometimes we’ll find ourselves down by the beach… it’s just nice.

Also, over the past year, I’ve rekindled my friendship with Jody Moreno. We hit it off immediately after I arrived, as if no time had passed at all since the last time I saw her. We’re close again, just like we were back in college, which is also really nice.

She knows full well about my little (big) crush on Colt. I didn’t even have to tell her, she just burst into my trailer one day a couple months ago, accusing me by exclaiming “You like Colt!”

She’s lucky I love her so much, because otherwise her incessant teasing and blatant attempts at setting us up would be just a little annoying.

Today I was on set, watching Colt get thrown around while being on fire. I couldn’t help the way my heart tossed and turned with worry while watching him do his stunts- yes, he’s a professional but that doesn’t mean these crazy stunts scare me any less. He teases me about my worrying, but I can see the way that sometimes the thumbs up he’ll send the director’s way isn’t genuine.

By the fifth take on this stunt I could tell he was beginning to grow weary. Thankfully the stunt coordinator takes mercy on him and tells him to take five after the crew extinguishes him.

He gets up and looks around before setting his eyes on me. My face grows warm as I watched his face light up when he recognized me.

“Heya stud,” I say by way of greeting when he approached me. “How you feeling?”

“Never better,” he responds with a trademark thumbs up.

“You know that that’s still cheesy, right?” I ask. He gives me the thumbs up pretty much anytime I ask him how he’s feeling, and I tease him about it every time.

“Yeah, but you love it,” he shrugs playfully. I swear, he purposely lowers his voice sometimes. Not that I’m complaining, it’s definitely not unattractive…

“Maybe a little,” I concede with a small smile. “Anyway, I brought you some brownies for lunch,” I said, taking a brown paper bag out of my satchel. “They’re from that bakery we tried a couple weeks ago.”

“Aww, [nickname], you shouldn’t have!”

“Oh don’t you worry about me, I ate like three for breakfast,” I say sheepishly. They really are that good, the baker must be putting crack in them with how addictive they are.

“So you’re telling me I can’t offer to split one with you on the beach?” he asks, bringing out the puppy eyes- at least, more so than usual given that he always has puppy eyes.

“Now how can I say no to that offer?”

“You can’t,” he says with a cheeky smile as he starts walking back to set, noticing the stunt coordinator waving him over.

I wave goodbye to him, and then sneak over to the directors chair to say hi to Jody.

“Aw, look at this blush!” she greets when I meet her, pinching my cheeks. “A certain stuntman got your panties in a twist?”

“Why do I subject myself to you?” I groan.

“Because you love me.” She’s not wrong.

“How’s the scene coming along?”

“Perfectly, I’m just torturing your boyfriend until he agrees to go to karaoke with the rest of us tonight. I think he’s still embarrassed from last time,” she laughs.

Last time he drunkenly sang that live story song by Taylor swift and was straight up bawling midway. Everyone laughed and has a recording of it, and holds it over his head.

“You’re pure evil, Jody Moreno, and I very much aspire to be you,” I say, watching Colt get flung into the rock again.

“It’s an art, what can I say,” she shrugs, before grabbing her megaphone.

“Oi, stuntman!” Colt sends over a thumbs up before she can continue her sentence. “I feel like we can salvage that last take…” she smirks.

He groans, out loud. And even from like 25 feet away, I can hear it. And I don’t like how hot I find it.

“All I need is a double thumbs up,” she chides. The rest of the crew is also turned his way, with a lot of snickering coming from our little peanut gallery.

He meets my gaze and I mouth “please” with as much puppy eyes as I can, hoping that he can read my face from where he’s at. He scowls in a comical way, closes his eyes, face dramatically tilted toward the sky before finally looking back at us- at me- with two thumbs up.

“Perfect, that’s a wrap!” Jody exclaims, cackling maniacally after she’s turned off the megaphone. “See you at nine, Seavers!”

He gives a little sarcastic wave, but a smile takes over his face as he meets my gaze again, and I can’t help the way my heart skips a beat when I send a coy wave his way.

***

Colt’s POV

You know that feeling, when your heart starts pumping and you start smiling all stupid, when you’re telling yourself that you’re a dipshit but it’s because she’s just too perfect?

Yeah. That’s y/n to me. Anytime I’m near her I have to remind myself to breathe. It’s like the movies, like some sort of rom com that she loves so much, except better. So much better, if you ask me.

Honestly, I’ve had a crush on her since the beginning. Man, I just used the word crush. For some reason I can hear that dipshit Tom Ryder’s asshole voice in my head, calling me a “pussy bitch”- a personal favorite “original” term of his- for using the word. But I don’t care, because how else do you describe… butterflies.

You know what it is? It feels like a Taylor Swift song. Like a Love Story, if you will. And baby, I just want her to say yes.

I think I need help.

I still remember how flustered she got when I accidentally scared her when I met her that first day.

We had both been running late, me more so than her due to coffee(s- yes, plural) related reasons- it’s an affinity, not an addiction.

I had went to say hi while she was in the middle of doing her own makeup, I think she got bored waiting for me, and she jumped like six inches, and accidentally dragged her makeup brush down the side of her face.

I felt so bad, the look was gorgeous, very northern lights- esque with greens and blues and purples- but at the same time, I was too stunned to speak. Y/n is gorgeous, as it turns out, with or without makeup, and even with a steak of yellow going down her face that would make anyone else look like they had a jaundiced scar.

Thankfully, I still don’t think she noticed my dumbfounded disposition as she ran to the sink.

But the thing is, she’s not just drop dead gorgeous. She’s also the sweetest, cutest woman in the entire world. Her sense of humor- the self deprecations, the sarcasm which perfectly matches mine… how flustered she gets when I’m driving her around, the way she gets cold and smuggles into my side when we sit in the trunk after a night swim, shivering but still trying to talk with her teeth chattering. The way her hand in mine makes me feel like a big man… oops. Pretend you didn’t hear that last part- or read that last part, or whatever.

Also, the fact that she doesn’t make fun of me for being a Swiftie.

At least not as much as the others do.

Which frankly, isn’t saying much, now that I think about it.

Anyhow, even after being thrown against a rock four times in still not ready to wave the white flag at Jody. I told myself I would never step foot in the karaoke bar again, not after last time…

Sorry, I just got war flashbacks.

<Author’s Note: these war flashbacks sound a lot like Love Story by Taylor Swift>

But then of course, she just had to be on set. She’s got me wrapped around her little fingers, bringing me brownies and calling me a stud. The last straw was the puppy dog eyes from across the set- I have no idea how she hasn’t figured out the effect she has on me. Or maybe she has, and is just an evil genius. I don’t really know.

Not that I need to know, because if the words “Swan dive off of a bridge” fell from her perfect lips I’d probably do it.

Looks like I’m going back to karaoke…

***

Reader’s POV

“Come on, y/n! We’re gonna be late!” Jody yells as she raps her knuckles on the door of my trailer.

“I’m not coming out! I look ridiculous!” I yell back. I had let her pick out my outfit, and she picked out a short black romper with a tight bodice and flowers printed on it. I don’t think it suits me very well, and I’m seconds away from wearing a t-shirt and jeans. I don’t feel like doing my makeup, so that’s one less thing to worry about, at least.

Wait, why is it so quiet now? Where did she go?

“Y/n, this is your last chance,” she warns, apparently having took a quick break from peer pressuring me into coming outside.

“I’m. Not. Coming. Out.”

“Fine,” and for some reason, I can hear the smile in her voice. That’s never good.

“Y/n?” a new, softer, lower, more gravelly voice comes from outside my cabin. For fuck’s sake.

“Colt?” I ask, rubbing my temple.

“Yeah. Can you please let me in?” he asks so sweetly, it would be impossible to say no.

I mentally punch myself before unlocking the door to my trailer, and of course, to no one’s surprise, he looks perfect. Jody must’ve scampered off, because now it’s just me and him. He’s wearing a white tank top underneath a completely unbuttoned black short sleeved button down, black slacks and white shoes. His usual necklace, the gold chain with the small medallion, accompanies the look. His hair is tousled, and I don’t even think I have to mention how pretty his face is- that part’s a given.

“I, um, you-,” he stutters, and then stops to compose himself. “You look beautiful.”

My breath hitches in my throat. The thing about Colt is that if his words aren’t sarcastic- and you can tell when they are- they’re so, so genuine. And he just called me beautiful.

“I- thanks- so do you-“

Did I really just say so do you? By the smile creeping on his face I think I did.

“I’m sorry, I’m being awkward,” I say with an awkward laugh, proving my point. “But you look really handsome.”

“Aw shucks,” he says, his words slightly sarcastic but the blush on his face very real. “Now cmon, we don’t want to be late?”

“But this romper looks so stupid,” I say, drawing out the last word. And you look so stupidly attractive, I think. What if I just kiss him? What’s stopping me from telling him how I feel about him?

“Permission to touch you?” he asks, ignoring my comment.

To… touch me? Fuck, I’ve read far too many romance books. His stupid voice can turn anything into a double entendre, I swear it.

He raises a brow when I don’t answer.

“Uh, sure?” I don’t really know what he’s up to.

“Great,” he smirks, and before I can realize what he’s done he has me slung over his shoulder, like I weigh nothing more than a sack of potatoes. He shuts my trailer behind him as I hit his back, telling me to let me down, but the bastard just starts humming “Anyway You Want It” by Journey.

“Asshole! Put me down!” I yelp, but he just holds me steady by my legs as I flail behind him. Curse his actually useful muscles.

Finally, he sets me down in front of his truck, reaching out to steady me. My hands fall on his chest. His very well defined chest. Which perfectly matched his very well defined back.

Colt’s POV

My hand is on her hip, I tried to steady her. But shit. I wish I could just squeeze it, maybe while I’m…

Puppies dying at the end of a movie, Colt. Dead puppies.

We stay there a moment, in front of my truck. Everything in me wants to just tell her how I feel and press her into that truck with kisses that tell her I’m never letting her go. But now doesn’t feel like the right time. But when is? Why wasn’t it at her trailer?

And I just had her over my shoulder too…

Alright, come on, dipshit. Get it together.

But of course, her small hands are on my chest…

Focus.

“You’ve got two options,” I tell her, removing my hand from her hip and holding up a two to make a point. “We go to karaoke and I drive, or we go to karaoke and you drive.”

I can’t let her not go. She loves karaoke, and she looks beautiful regardless of the lies she tells herself.

“Do we have to go? We could just stay home and watch a movie?” she diverts. A smile is playing at her lips though, so at least I know she’s not uncomfortable.

“Tell you what. You can drive,” I start, which is a great start because she hates when I drive and use my stunt skills. To be fair I just do them to show off and get her to slide into me on the long bench. It’s fun, sue me. “We’ll go, and if you still don’t want to be there after my song, then we’re going to come straight back here, get under some blankets and watch She’s All That.”

She’s All That is her favorite movie, in part due to the main plot but I also think she identifies with Freddy Prince Jr’s sister in the movie. She’s a sarcastic makeup/hair artist in the movie, and who do I know that sounds like that? Yeah, exactly.

“I don’t like how well you know me,” she says, biting into her lip as she pretends to mull over what I suggested.

“You’re right, you love how well I know you.”

“Okay, fine,” she says, fully smiling now. “You were serious about me driving?”

“As a heart attack,” I tell her.

‘YES!’ I’m shouting in my head, because I nailed it! Getting a smile like that out of her is the best prize you could ever get, I swear it.

I think the only thing that could be better is knowing that she’s mine.

But that’ll come, eventually.

***

Reader’s POV

Ten minutes later we’re at karaoke. I truly cannot with Colt Seavers, the only person who could make me feel pretty in this stupid ass romper.

He spent the car ride talking to me about his day, which was adorable, the way his nose scrunches up when he remembers something funny, and intermittently singing along to the song on the radio. I love when he lets me drive his truck, I feel like I can taken care of him for a minute and just listen to him. Oh, and I also don’t feel like I’m seconds away from dying because unlike him I don’t stunt drive. Although, I will say, I don’t mind when he does those stupid circles because it always presses me up against his side, which is never a bad place to be.

Right now Gale, the producer who always seems to be drinking a Diet Coke, is singing Toxic by Britney Spears. She has an incredible voice, and the entire bar is rightfully captivated by her stage presence.

“Hey! You made it!” Jody says, walking over to Colt and I. We’re sitting in a booth, on the same side, both slack jawed watching Gale.

“No thanks to you,” I say with an innocent smile.

“If you say so,” she smirks. “Thanks for getting her out of the trailer,” she tells Colt.

“My pleasure,” he says charmingly, squeezing my arm.

“Alright, I’ll leave you two lovebirds to it. Phil Collins is calling!” she dashes off to the stage as Gale is almost done with her song. She must be cued next.

“I see what you did there!” Colt comments after her. Collins and “calling” sound similar with her British accent. I must be blushing-the whole “lovebirds” thing-, because he looks over at me, amused, saying “What? Do I have something on my face?”

I go to answer, but all of a sudden Jody is singing “You’ll Be In My Heart” by Phil Collins, and I immediately pull out my phone to video. Jody has an incredible voice as well, and I love listening to her sing.

Once she’s done, she runs over with Sheila in tow, who must’ve just got here. They lift me up out of the booth- I’m starting to get sick of being man handled- and push me towards the stage against my protests. Colt is laughing- jackass- but all of a sudden “Any Way You Want It” by Journey is playing and I’m singing.

Now, I have a mediocre voice, but the thing about karaoke is that you could sound like a rabid raccoon but if you have a song that everyone knows, you’re the shit. And also, I don’t really care what anyone thinks of me, so I just went for it.

So naturally, I was the shit. Everyone was singing along, and I couldn’t stop looking back at Colt, who was smiling so big as he sung along. He’s so, so cute. Finally the song was over, and I gave a dramatic bow. Colt met me by the stage, holding a hand for me to grab as I jumped down.

“You were incredible,” he compliments sweetly.

“Thanks,” I say, looking up at him, my hand still in his. His touch is electric, I can feel his heartbeat. His lips are ever so slightly parted, and I’m sure mine are the same… if he would just lean down-

“Is there a Colt “See-aye-vers” in the house?” the emcee asks into the microphone, completely mispronouncing Colt’s last name.

“Fucking Jody,” he mutters. We both turn to see Jody literally cackling by Sheila.

“Your turn!” I say gleefully, pointing at him so the emcee can see him.

“Mean,” he pouts jokingly, before going up on the stage and taking the mic from the emcee as I Was Made For Lovin’ You by Kiss begins to play.

And he’s staring right at me as he sings it.

Well shit.

That’s the thing- apparently all of my coworkers are extremely talented singers. Maybe it was a requirement? Who knows.

Colt is no different.

And the thing is, I’m severely attracted to his voice. The gravelly, yet low and softness of it. I love listening to him talk. Like, he could read the nutrition label of a soup can and I would be completely locked in.

His singing voice? A whole other story. Between the rasp and the range, I could literally lose it right here and now. He sounds incredible.

And he’s looking right at me as sings about being made for lovin’ someone and about that someone being made for lovin’ him.

And I don’t want to assume, but by the way he’s looking at me…

I think that someone is me.

Colt’s POV

Kiss?! Are you shitting me?! That’s the song Jody picks for me?

I should’ve kissed y/n right then and there, I’m thinking as I head up to the stage.

And then there it is. A Kiss song. Not just any kiss song, the Kiss song.

I can work with this.

At this point, I don’t think I can handle her not knowing how I feel anymore. Not knowing if she feels the same way. Fuck “eventually.”

So you know what? I’m going to do my grand romantic act, just like in the movies. And I’m going to sing this damn song, to her.

And if she still doesn’t notice, I’m going to go down there and kiss her until we can’t think straight. Asking permission to before, of course. I’m not a jackass like Ryder.

So I sing the damn song, and my eyes are on only one, singular person. My one, singular person.

And she’s mouthing the words right back to me, her gaze never leaving mine.

I don’t even hear the applause as I jump down the stage, Tom Cruise style, landing right in front of her. “Hey,” I say, trying to sound cool.

Naturally, my voice comes out as a squeak instead.

She doesn’t say anything, just takes a step closer.

“I, um…”

Of course now is the time I decide to choke on my words. Not when I’m singing in front of thirty people, literally never before. But now. Damn it, Seavers. See-aye-vers. Fucking adhd. Shit. Wait.

“Colt?” she says, her voice only loud enough for me to hear. I’m all too aware of the beginning of “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?” behind me.

“Yeah?” I whisper. Looking down at her.

“Kiss me?” she asks, and it’s the last straw. My lips crash against hers before I even realize what I’m doing, and it feels like fireworks. Like the whole world could end but it would be fine because her lips are against mine.

***

Reader’s POV

This isn’t happening. There’s no way this happening.

Those are the only thoughts running through my head as I look at him. That song… it was electric. Coming from his voice, as he stared into my soul? I can barely think.

I don’t notice anything, nor anyone. Nothing at all, except for him.

So when he jumps down from the stage in stuntman fashion, looking me in the eyes up close… I can’t help it. I can’t wait any longer.

And now his lips are on mine, as Jody sings more Phil Collins, but I don’t even hear it.

I’m sure we’re going to get teased for it, but I can’t help it.

Not when the only thing I can sense is his soft lips on mine.

So when we finally release, there’s no question about what’s going to happen next.

“Colt..?” I breathe.

“Yeah?” he asks, parted lips already puffy and pink from our kiss. Gorgeous.

“Can we go outside?”

He doesn’t even answer, just grabs my hand and starts walking to the door. Thankfully we didn’t buy any drinks, and have no tabs to settle, because quite honestly I don’t think we’d have cared.

Finally, we stop in front of his truck. I’m smiling like an idiot, and he’s smiling right back.

“Colt, I really, really like you,” I tell him.

“Y/n, I really, really like you too,” he says.

And that’s all that needs to be said as he crowds me against the truck before pressing a kiss to my lips that leaves me giggling.

“What’s so funny?” he teases.

“Everything,” I tell him, before threading my fingers through his hair. He shakes his head bemusedly before kissing me again.

I couldn’t ask for anything more, anything more at all. Because in the words of his favorite song, this is a Love Story and baby, I will always say yes.

[iisasarcasticlittleshite]

Hello! I hope your day/night is great!! Can I request for kiribaku with a male reader who they found crying in the bathroom because of stress, it was the first time they saw the reader cry because the reader is the type of person who say to others "I'm fine, nothings wrong" when they're actually not fine Take your time btw! <3

Hey! I know I've got a different ask to work on as well but this one just spoke to me today, and I've never been good at doing things in order haha!

Be warned of strong language (Katsuki's a potty mouth) and implied blood, nothing too serious though.

Let me know what you think!

Dynamight and Red Riot were a sight to behold, stampeding through the city as fast as their legs could carry them, away from the scene now under control.

A villain with an incredibly volatile quirk lost their cool in the middle of a busy shopping mall, he would've brought down the whole building if it wasn't for you.

Dynamight and Red Riot had been doing damage control outside the building, trying to get the hundreds of people to safety, they had no idea what you were dealing with inside.

The villain took a hostage, a little girl. You'd been fighting for her life for the past four hours, and though you'd won, you'd had to use more force than you would have wanted too.

That villain is barely clinging to life, the child now safe with the paramedics looking for her parents, but you, you were nowhere to be found.

It was a gruelling hour, waiting to hear from you, until Red Riot got a call from your secretary at the agency building,

You'd stormed in half an hour ago, and hadn't come out of the bathroom.

Your partners burst into the front door of the agency, checking every bathroom they passed before finding the one on the third floor, locked.

"Oi! Get this damn door open or I'll blast outta the damn wall!"

"Bakugo, chill." Kirishima placated, fighting to catch his breath after the all-out sprint to your side. "He doesn't need you yelling at him right now."

Bakugo forced himself to take a deep breath, forced himself to reign in the fear of whatever could be wrong with you. Images of you sitting at the edge of the sink, trying to stitch up your own wounds flashed through his mind. You'd done it before, and had the gall to smile sheepishly at him the whole time.

Kirishima stepped up to the door, placing a gentle hand on the blonde's shoulder. "Please let us in, baby. We just wanna make sure you're okay. You know he'll do it."

It would not be the first time Katsuki caused property damage for his boyfriends.

Eijirou tenses as he heard footsteps on the other side of the door, the boots you wore for work were sturdy, it amazed him how you could tread so softly in them.

The door eased open, but you remained out of sight until they both stepped through the door, and you slammed it shut and locked it again.

Katsuki audibly gasped at the sight of you, covered in dust and soot, thankfully no blood, but...

Streaks of tears cleaved paths through the dirt caked on your cheeks, your eyes, bloodshot and glassy, continued to pour crystalline tears, sticking to your eyelashes.

For a beat, your boyfriends are frozen. Years, years they've known you, through UA, into the pro-Hero world.

Never, never have you shed a single tear.

Or at least, not in front of them.

"Oh...oh baby." Eijirou is immediately in comfort mode, but he doesn't quite know which approach to take with you. Did you want space, to talk about it?

To your surprise, it's Katsuki who steps up with no hesitation and yanks you into his arms, gauntlets clattering to the floor as he threw his arms around you in a bone crushing hug.

You whined, buried your face in your neck, clinging to the material of his costume. His grip was tight, almost too tight, and exactly what you needed, grounding you in reality, in him, from where you'd been drifting in your worst regrets.

"You did good." He whispered softly, nuzzling into your hair. "You did so good, hero."

You stopped holding back the tremors, and Eijiro was soon at your back, enveloping you both in his big arms, pressing kisses to the back of your neck and whispering sweet nothings to you until the shaking stopped.

You lifted your head, coming face to face with Katsuki's blazing crimson eyes. He tutted at you, painfully gentle as his thumb wiped the tear tracks off your cheek.

"Tch, asshole, even when you're cryin' you're the prettiest son-of-a-bitch I've ever seen."

"Katsuki!" Eijiro chuckled even as he scolded your explosive boyfriend.

"What?" Katsuki huffed at Eijiro, cradling the back of your head and pressing a kiss to your other cheek. "I'm not wrong, see!"

Katsuki spun you around to face your other boyfriend, and you could already feel yourself smiling at their antics. Katsuki has a way of making the worst situation feel...no so bad.

He's obnoxious, but, consistent.

Eijiro, sweet, big teddy bear Eijiro, leaned down to press kisses to your forehead, your cheeks, your nose, until he'd kissed away anything remotely resembling tears. "Yup, still handsome."

By now, you can't hold back a smile, and you wouldn't want to anyway. "Thank you."

"What're you thankin' us for? You did the ass kicking!" Katsuki announced proudly, wrapping both arms around you to rest his head on your shoulder. "Seriously, babe, you did good."

You took a deep breath, let yourself lean into him. Eijiro smoothed your hair down, cradling one of your hands to his lips to kiss your bruised knuckles.

It'd take some convincing to get you to let go of the guilt, you held yourself to impossible standards, your boyfriend's know that about you.

Luckily, you're dating the two most determined men on this Earth, determined to love you, tears and all, men who think no less of you whether you announce your feelings to the world, or tuck them away to yourself.

"Let's get you home, hero."

[arroganceisherfavoritecolor]

Enjoy the silence

Carl and reader have a moment while on the job...

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*Reader uses fem pronouns, mentions of past bullying, reader is insecure✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

It had been a long day for you and your friends in Alexandria. You had been on a run since early in the morning, having to leave at sunrise due to the long drive out to a city to look for some supplies. You had all gotten back by the time the sun was almost completely out of sight, thankfully. You were all hoping to get home, shower and knock out as soon as possible. But of course, you and your best friend, Carl, were the two people Deanna had ordered to keep watch.

Now usually, you despised having to be on watch duty. You found it boring and agonizingly long, and what made it worse was the fact that there was no chance of sleeping till the next day. But when you did it with Carl, it was a whole different story. Carl always found a way to make the night more interesting, whether it be his funny dad-jokes or the gossip he would hear around Alexandria. In other words, Carl made everything so, so much better. Although it had only been about a year since you first met him, he felt like home. He surrounded you with a warm feeling, you knew that no matter what, you could go to him and you'd feel okay. As you were deep into your thoughts, you heard footsteps coming from the ladder. You looked to the right and saw Carl making his way up. Your heart lit up and you felt that feeling of warmth wash over you. You smiled at Carl involuntarily, just looking at him made you feel happy. "Hey [Name]." His voice sounded like music to your ears, better than any tune or beat you've heard in your life. "Hi Carl." He stood next to you. You and Carl were almost touching shoulders, since the towers small box-like frame didn't provide the most space. You began to converse with him, talking about how the day went. Every few minutes, either you or Carl would see a walker and shoot it down and then go back to your conversation.

It had been 3 hours of you and him talking. The time flew by like seconds. This was another thing you liked about Carl, it was the way you could talk to him for hours and never get bored. At some point, you had brought up how at one of the recent parties, some older women in Alexandria began to make snarky comments towards you. They said things about how your hair looked ragged and your skin was dull. You'd think that when in the middle of a zombie outbreak, they'd have much better things to worry about. "The old-heads gave me shit about my skin and hair again" you said with a slight chuckle, you didn't want Carl to think you were a sensitive crybaby. "tch, dont even pay attention to them [Name], they're just jealous because theyre all old and wrinkly." You laughed at Carls remark. "Its okay, I dont really mind. I remember in school, before the outbreak, kids would pick on me for the same shit." Carls once relaxed aura turned curious. "What would they say exactly?" He asked politely, not wanting to intrude.

"Well, it was usually about my face or my weight. It used to make me really upset, to the point where i'd beg my mom to not take me to school. But after a little while, I learned not to care . Besides, growing up with mostly skinny and pretty friends kind of toughens you up." You tried smiling at Carl and looking him in the eyes to show you werent sad. "What do you mean?" He asked. "A lot of my friends would have all the boys chasing after them, even in Kindergarten. Think of it like how Enid gets treated by every other teen here. Since I wasnt ever really the cute type, i'd just watch from the side." You smiled again, but this time avoided eye contact. "Wait, so youre saying that NO boys had crushes on YOU?" He emphasized on the "you" part. "I mean... I guess?" You shrugged while grinning. Carls face was twisted in a confused expression. "Why are you looking at me like that Grimes?" You laughed out. "I just find it hard to believe that no one ever 'like-liked' you." You tilted your head to the side, brows furrowed in confusion as to what he was gonna say. "Youre just so... perfect. Youre smart, funny, beautiful... and you can beat some zombie ass." You giggled, feeling a blush creep up on your face. "You think i'm beautiful, Carl?" You asked him shyly, afraid of sounding conceited or selfish. "Of course I do [Name]." He said.

He turned his head all the way in your direction, wanting a perfect view of you. He looked so handsome in this moment. His sheriffs hat was on top of his soft brown hair. His flannel was unbuttoned half way, his white t-shirt peeking through. The sleeves of the flannel were rolled up to his forearm. His hands were behind his back, slender and tall frame leaning against the wooden post of the watch tower. His face was illuminated by the soft glowing oil lamp that sat on the chair in front of you two. His diamond-like eye and ghostly pale skin looked so pretty in the mixture of the warm light of the lamp and the cold light of the moon. You felt your heart rate spike, your pupils dilated. He looked so kissable, all you wanted to do was grab him by the shoulders and kiss his lips til you were both breathless. Carl could say the same for you, as your (eye color) eyes and (skin color) skin looked gorgeous in the light of the lamp and moon. Your slightly tattered tank top hugged your curves and your low-waisted ripped black jeans did as well, exposing a small portion of your mid drift. Carl noticed your cheeks were rosy and your eyes were glossy. Your lips were slightly parted due to the impact of Carl calling you beautiful.

He fixed his posture, standing all the way up and walked towards you. It only took about 1 or 2 steps for him to be face to face with you. He tilted his head downwards, making eye contact. (eye color) eyes gazing into his, you felt the warm feelings 10x. He touched your (hair color) hair, twirling it in his fingers. His hands went from your hair to your cheek, cupping it. He stroked his thumb against your soft skin, feeling the heat. 'So much for dull skin and hair' Carl thought to himself, cursing those old hags for making his love feel bad. "Carl.." You finally spoke out, your voice nothing but a low whisper. From this angle, Carls face was no longer in view of the lamp. The only lighting you got was from the moon, directly shining down on you and him. You took each other's features in, not once breaking contact from eachother. Carl closed his eye, slowly began to lean in, and kissed you. His pink lips were soft, the feeling of the kiss was like satin bed sheets and velvety pillows. He put his other hand on your other cheek, guiding you to be impossibly closer to him. You felt fireworks go off in your brain and stomach. The moment you had waited so long for had finally happened. You deepened the kiss, wrapping your arms around his neck. You could feel Carls tongue slip inside of your mouth, the feeling so foreign and yet so good. You slowly broke away from the kiss face hotter than ever. You and Carl stood there, trying to process what had just happened. After a few 30 seconds, you both began laughing from the overwhelming feeling of happiness. For the rest of the night, you held each other, enjoying the silence.

"All I ever wanted

All I ever needed

Is here in my arms" - Enjoy the Silence, Depeche Mode

A/N: I have wanted to write for Carl for the longesttt time !! I hope u guys liked it pls request more stufffff ;3

[masked-fools]

❝ your old buddy sampo is a model citizen these days. y'know the guards on sentry duty in the restricted zone? i deliver their breakfast every day! ❞

— Sampo Koski, ancient relic specialist

Tavern Notice Board

28th of August — 3rd of September

(1) Flirty Pick-Up Lines [Gepard, Dan Heng, Welt] — @cnnmairoll

reader uses flirty pick up lines on them after getting into a relationship

(2) Just Don't Say Love [Blade] — @pyroxeene

he sought you out whenever the pain got too much to handle. he didn't want to know what that made you; feared the day you would ask him how he felt.

(3) Like Me Better [Dan Heng] — @eggluverz

you want to braid dan heng's hair and he wonders if you like him better in this form.

(4) Harmony In The Moonlight [Caelus] — @cnnmairoll

him serenading you outside your balcony

(5) The Sedative [Dan Heng] — @pyroxeene

after you got hurt in the battle on the xianzhou, the doctors need to do an endoscopy on you. still under the influence of the sedative when you wake up, you think it's a wonderful idea to call dan heng and make your feelings clear to him.

(6) Silver Tongue, Golden Heart [Sampo] — @cnnmairoll

with a naive reader who has a very positive image of him

(7) Something Shiny This Way Comes [Dan Heng] — @eggluverz

dan heng wants to face part of his past by walking around xianzhou luofu with you, but he freaks out when he notices you are no longer by his side.

(8) First Snow, New Hope [Pela, Bronya, Serval, Hook, Clara] — @leonistic

platonic headcanons of how you spend your winters with them in belobog

(9) Noodle [Dan Heng] — @generalsmemories

an evening of you getting familiar with dan heng's true form leads to the birth of an unique nickname - he doesn't complain though.

(10) I Had The Best Day With You Today [Jing Yuan, Blade, Dan Heng, Gepard] — @particular-one

how they would plan + surprise you on your birthday.

(11) After All This Time [Dan Heng] — @eggluverz

you were the great imbibitor lunae's disciple. he trusted you with his life and you with his. but when the time came, you weren't able to save him. what happens when you run into his reincarnation years down the line?

(12) Love Bites [Blade, Jing Yuan] — @cnnmairoll

with a lover who's love language is biting

(13) Sparks Of Enthusiasm [Gepard, Tingyun, Welt] — @cnnmairoll

with a very energetic reader

(14) A Haven In Your Arms [Blade] — @bladesmuse

it is late, and you come home from your mission exhausted. thankfully, your doting boyfriend Blade is there to look after you.

(15) Bearing The Burden [Blade] — @cnnmairoll

reader is having a hard time due to challenging life circumstances and is incredibly stressed because of it, but is constantly putting on a brave face for blade

(16) The Moles' Beloved Miss [Luka] — @cnnmairoll

luka x fem!reader where luka sees reader taking care of the moles and he just gets this very homey and fluffy feeling within him

(17) Them Being Clingy [Sampo, Dan Heng] — @ryker-others

dan heng and sampo being clingy

(18) Waking Up At Night And You Aren't By His Side [Blade] — @milksnake-tea

when he wakes up in the middle of the night, and you aren't by his side. + "please, stay. just… stay."

(19) Finding My Voice With You [Jing Yuan] — @cnnmairoll

with a reader who often gets talked over and feels like their voice is annoying

[varpusvaras]

Report nro. 34456-446: Lost sight of the suspect in level 2089; the suspect was not apprehended; the surroundings impeded with the process of apprehending the suspect

Report nro. 35567-447: The suspect was chased down to level 2089; the patrol in charge lost sight of the suspect due to poor conditions of the surroundings, which made continuing the chase at full force dangerous for the members of the patrol; the suspect was not apprehended

Report nro. 36678-448: The last sighting of the suspect was near sector 8994 of the level 2089; the patrol in charge of the chase had to slow down their approach due to poor conditions of the area in question, to make sure there would be no excess harm for the troopers; the suspect was not apprehended

Requisition for equipment upgrade, form 6678 B-3

Requisition DENIED

See more information below

There was a headace incoming. Fox could feel it.

Stone raised a brow at him when Fox informed him about it.

"You know, if you can already feel the headache, it means you have a headache", he said.

Fox glared at him.

"When someone tells you that they can feel a headache coming, the last thing they usually need is someone being a smartass", he said, barely restraining himself from gritting his teeth. It wouldn't have done him any good either on the headache department.

Stone didn't seem at all phased by Fox's bad mood. He just shrugged, and then reached over the desk and snatched the datapad right from Fox's hands. That did make Fox grit his teeth, but he forced himself to relax. If the datapad was in Stone's hands, it meant that Fox didn't have to look at it anymore.

He drummed his fingers on his desk, as he watched Stone scroll through the reports and the requisition form.

"You asked for better safety gear for unstable ground and low lighting conditions?" Stone glanced at Fox over the datapad. "Those are weird things to deny, especially since they want us to increasingly patrol the lower levels, even outside an active investigation."

"You think I don't know that?" Fox scoffed, and then tried to make himself relax again. Nothing about this situation was Stone's fault, and Fox didn't like taking his frustrations on his brothers. Other people outside the Guard yelled at all of them enough already, they didn't need their Commander to do the same.

Stone didn't, thankfully, still seem at all phased by Fox's mood. He continued to scroll for a moment longer, his forehead creasing more and more by every second.

"The request was denied because there have been no observations of conditions on the reported area, that are deemed unsafe enough for us to need better equipment?" He glanced at Fox again. "That doesn't make any sense. You have clearly attached the trooper reports onto the form. Did they not read them?"

"Probably not." Fox pushed his frustrated thought out of his head by sighing very deeply. "Or if they did, the person in charge of processing the requests that day just deemed the risks not worth the credits."

Both of those options were just as plausible, as both of them had happened just as many times by now. Fox leaned his forehead on his hand and pressed his thumb hard against his temple. They were just past half a year in their posting, and most things about it sucked already.

Just think about the fact that you have a bed that is not full of mud, sand, or bugs, he told himself. Just think about the fact that at the very least, you don't have immersion foot syndrome. You have things good in here.

That thought helped a little bit, but it didn't change the fact that they had still been denied of the gear they needed, and now there was heavy breathing against the back of Fox's neck.

Stone must've felt it too, because he sighed as well.

"So they expect us to just throw our men at the danger and get results, no matter the cost?" He clicked his tongue. "And when we do that, a few weeks goes by, and they start complaining about too many casualties."

"Tell me about it." Fox jammed his thumb harder against his skin. There was a burst of pain under it as he found the point of tension. "We need to come up with a new tactic for situations like this. Increase the force or use of weaponry, if the suspect starts heading towards an area we know is unsafe. Update all the patrols with a map of said areas."

Stone started to drum the desk now as well in Fox's place.

"That might work", he said. "At least for now, it's the best we have."

"I'm going to implement it until we get the time to have a larger meeting about this issue." Fox forced himself to straighten up. "Give me the datapad back."

"No", Stone said, frowning at Fox. "You're not supposed to be looking at them. You're not supposed to be even thinking too hard. You can knit together a broken bone, but not a concussed brain. You're lucky I haven't already tattled about you to Index."

"Like Index would do anything."

"He would look sad, and then his two little terrors would come down here and kick the door in", Stone said. "You know they don't respect anyone in here, other than Index."

Fair point. Still, Fox extended his hand.

"I promise I won't do any more work", he said, "but I need to send a couple of messages to Casset. He agreed that there is a very high chance that all of these recent cases are related to some sort of bigger activity, as all of their movements are similar. He promised to look up some old reports from before the war and send them over."

Stone tilted his head.

"That sounds a lot like working", he said. "And why do you need Casset to do it anyway? Couldn't you have asked Mirror to find those reports for you?"

"Mirror has other things to do than to slice through old security databases and see if there is anything even remotely related to this", Fox said. "If a natborn wants to be helpful to us, I'm going to take it. It doesn't happen too often anyway."

Casset was the new head of Security for the intelligence office, though Fox had by now realised that it didn't mean a lot, despite the important-sounding title. Casset's job was basically to keep up with five hundred different channels and double the amount of systems used for processing and archiving information related to security. Most of the time Fox saw him, he was talking to at least three people at the same time through his commlink. But still, for a natborn officer, Casset was not bad. He couldn't tell Fox and his brothers apart most of the time, but that was forgivable, and he, at the very least, didn't try to actively make Fox's life worse.

Stone knew all of that as well. He looked back down at the datapad, and then back at Fox.

"True", he said. "But still. It's still working."

"Well someone has to do it", Fox shot back. "And since all of you are busy picking up my slack, because I got thrown off a moving speeder and landed on my head a little bit too hard, I can type a couple of messages."

Stone himself was still in full armor, despite the fact that he had already been on his feet for at least eleven and a half hours. Perhaps Fox should've adopted the train of thought of just doing as Index had told him to do, so he could get back to work faster and prevent Stone and the others from growing massive bags under their eyes as well, but the truth was that he didn't have the luxury to do that, and that was also something Stone knew.

Stone looked at the datapad again, and then with a very displeased look on his face, he handed it back to Fox.

"I will tell Thorn about this", he said. "And if you're still here doing anything else than messaging Casset when he comes back from his patrol, I hope he throws you into a cell for as long as it takes you to fully recover."

"Whatever." Fox had just opened his messages, when Stone's commlink started to rapidly beep for an incoming call.

"Speak of the man", Stone said, and opened the call. "What is it?"

"We found the suspect on the latest case." Fox sat up a little straighter. What Thorn had just said didn't yet tell him a lot, since they had multiple cases open currently, but he sounded serious enough for Fox to immediately recognise that this was about something important.

"What case?" Stone asked.

"The suspected theft of the hyperdrive parts from the shipments to the GAR mechanics", Thorn explained. "The Nautolan guy who worked as an engineer there. Edix. He managed to slip from the patrol somewhere around level 2100 a couple of days ago."

Stone looked at the datapad in Fox's hands. They had both just read report 448, so at least the whole thing was fresh in their minds.

"Yes, I know him", Stone said. "Are you bringing him in here yourself, or do you need someone else to process him?"

"About that", Thorn sounded like he was grimacing when he spoke, "he is being sent to the medical center at the moment. He was...I don't know how to explain it, but he looked like he had been through a lot during the past couple of days. He was barely coherent, and even that is saying it too nicely. We need to make sure that he doesn't die before we can get anything out of him."

"Was he injured?" Stone asked. The answer should've been straight-forward, but instead, Thorn was quiet for a moment.

"Didn't look like it", he said, finally. Fox scowled at the commlink.

"What do you mean?" He asked. "You just said that he was being transported to medical because you're worried he will die without attention."

Thorn didn't seem at all surprised by the fact that Fox was also there, as he didn't comment on it at all.

"He didn't have any visible injuries, at least not anything bigger than a couple of scratches", he answered. "I'm not a medic or an expert in Nautolan physiology, so I can't say for sure what's going on, but he was just...laying here. Gripping onto the ground like he had just managed to crawl to where he was. Didn't even try to resist the arrest, he just stared at us and sometimes muttered something, but our translation software couldn't pick up clear words from it."

Fox gave Stone a look. This wasn't the usual way of operation. If there were no visible injuries, the suspects were to be transported into the medical section of the prison, where they would be monitored, until they were cleared to be well enough to be admitted for regular processing. Fox knew this. Stone knew this. They both knew that Thorn knew this as well.

Fox also knew that Thorn didn't do decisions that went against regulations without a good reason.

"Why did you call up medical personnel right away?" Fox still had to ask. There was something weird in the way Thorn was speaking. Fox wouldn't have said that he was being too serious, no. He just sounded like he was on edge, in a way that Fox recognised many of his brothers and other officers to be when they had seen something rather gruesome, but were able to compartmentalise it away after years of seeing things just as bad or even worse. The problem was just the fact that what Thorn was describing didn't sound like it was anything too grotesque.

It wasn't like Thorn. Perhaps he was just leaving things out while they were on the call. It could've explained it, at least for now.

Thorn sighed heavily.

"I deemed it necessary", he said, now sounding a bit frustrated. "Look, the medical officers that came to take him away agreed with me, and I'm going to trust their word on this. We want our suspect to be able to withstand interrogation. We've already gotten too much drag for all of this, and I don't want any more of it."

That was true. At least now they would have something to show for themselves.

Fox bit back his own sigh.

"Alright", he said. "We'll talk about this after the official report has been made."

Thorn breathed in deeply a couple of times. They were all working too much, Fox reminded himself, especially now that Fox wasn't doing full hours.

"Yes, Sir", Thorn said. "I'll be back to base in three hours, if nothing else comes up. I hope you're not in your office anymore by then, because I don't have the energy to be gentle with you tonight."

"I can accept that", Fox said. "Call me if something else comes up."

"No, I will be calling Stone, because he is the one on duty right now", Thorn said. "Over."

He ended the call before Fox could say anything else. Stone had the audacity to smirk.

"You heard him", he said, and stood up. "Message Casset, and then go to sleep. I mean it."

Fox sent him a much more vicious glare than the previous ones, but Stone still didn't seem to care. He just took Fox's empty cup of caf from the desk, and marched out of the office without a second look.

Fox leaned back on his chair with a groan. His head definitely hurt now. Maybe it had been hurting to whole time. Who knew. Not Fox, that was for sure.

Going to sleep did sound rather nice, Fox wasn't going to lie. He could've given himself a moment, but he knew that if he did so, he wouldn't be able to make himself do anything else, and he really did need to message Casset. It was the least he could do.

He straightened himself, lifted the datapad, and typed a message. Then he leaned back again and closed his eyes.

He wasn't sure how long had passed, but he startled awake when there was a chime coming from the datapad. Fox straightened himself a bit too fast, making both his neck and head thrum. The light coming from the screen seemed definitely brighter now than it had the last time, and Fox had to squint at the device until he could lower the brightness enough to be able to see clearly.

Casset had gotten the reports. He was sorry for them being not sorted in any way, as he had had to pull them from different filing systems. Fox understood very quickly why he was apologising when he saw the size of the datapack attached to the message.

Fox put his head in his hands and just breathed for a moment.

Then he pressed download.

[welcome-to-roomba-fazbender]

HAPPY 5TH ANNIVERSERY TO

CHARLIE THE CURSED PHONE GUY

MAY HE STAY WITH US FOR ANOTHER FIVE AND BEYOND!

and now a special message from the man himself.

"Well, Well, Well... look how far we've come huh? Genuinely, honest... And Truly."

"Five years ago I was made and cursed the world of tumblr with my presence, time sure does fly! I've lost a few friends, but gained plenty more in return!"

"I wouldn't even be here today without them, now granted I'm not gonna name EVERYONE! But I am gonna name a select few and tell you how they've impacted me... AHEM..."

"First and foremost the man the myth and the legend the one who is the reason behind everything, the man where if he didn't exist I wouldn't exist!"

"Henr- ... we all know I don't mean him we're talking about real people."

"If your name isn't listed, it isn't because the mod dosen't care but it's because he's a dumbass and these are the ones that came up at the top of his head when writing this post, totally not a forth wall break."

@directdogman

"The Creator of the DSAF/Dayshift At Freddy's Series Direct Doggo himself, sure okay I was a late edition to the fandom.

but it is fully thanks to DSAF 3 and him that I even exist, what can I say about doggo other then what has been said before one thousand times? He is a man of many skills and many talents."

"He is creative, smart and genuinely an inspiration to everyone in the community of both DSAF and Dialtown... no matter how much time has passed, I will personally continue to respect the man I owe everything to him. So thank you doggo genuinely for your support and your amazing games."

@cook-ie-chip

"One of my oldest friends in the community, I've known you since almost the start! we have alot of memories together, some laughs, some cries! you also created my blue prints

(though in lore they were written by henry and will) let's look past that! You remind me of how things used to be a long time ago, and I'm glad to still know you even now."

"and with any hope I'll curse you for many years more."

@lazy-charlie / @chuck-the-fanboy

"I remember how we met, you found me and we both realized we had the same name, and so I decided to charge you extra for like a pizza party lmao."

"But ever since that day we have only grown closer and closer... to the point your apart of the roomba fazbender family [no you will get no discounts] ..."

"You've done so much for me over the years though, you helped create the Roomba's we have here today, you drew some of our lovely walrus friends!"

"AND ... ough... Okay Okay I'll be honest you made Chuck The Fanboy originally a joke just to tease me with, but over the years he's grown on me... DO NOT LET HIM HEAR ME SAY THIS, but he's like a lil bro... and if anything happened to him I'd be devastated."

@clownsuu / @not-robert

"... well well well if it isn't the shadow in black and the big buff zombie, what can I say about both of you?"

"Hmm... Clownsuu here teases me, has DRAWN ME MPREG, HAS DRAWN ME EMO, IS THE REASON WHY THE EVIL VERSION OF ME EXISTS!..."

"and yet life wouldn't be the same with out him, jack is... an anomaly someone I met because someone thought he was stealing me! HA no one can steal this perfect face~"

"Gotta say though, all jokes aside... life just wouldn't be the same without him, alot more boring you know? I must admit he is someone I will never forget, you've also drawn photos of a few of my walrus I still have hung up in my office, I appreciate you for absolutely everything you've done."

"And don't get me started on Robert that big buff baby, I've put him in just about every costume under the sun, and yet he still puts up with me and stays still no idea why. But it's because of him my restaurant has expanded so much, from a bowling alley, a karaoke bar and dumpsters full of meat."

"Don't tell Robert this he'd likely call me an idiot, but guy's one of my best friends genuinely thankfully he's immortal so I'll never worry about losing him but ... the thought still scares me."

"Never change Robert."

@weirdozjunkary

"You turned me into a furry... I got nothin else to say I just had to point that out."

"..."

"..."

"Okay, fine you did alot more then that, you introduced me to bedlam someone who can FINALLY truly be a sponge to my cursed and chaotic behavior, honestly I'd hope so considering he's the god of chaos."

"I only met him recently but I'd fuken fight his version of god for him ... seriously don't tempt me I will kick that old man's ass."

"I'm glad to have bedlam in my life and hope I know him for many years more."

@an-artist-place-for-extra-art

"you simp for the evil version of me I..."

"I have no words for you..."

"I just question... why?"

"though honestly? never change, I care for you just the way you are, your amazing."

"Alright, Alright enough of the mushy stuff and forth wall breaks it's messing with my circuits and servo's ahem..."

"The most important thing about this day is one..."

"I'm so fucking cool"

"two"

"I AM NEVER GOING ANYWHERE HATERS, FIVE MORE YEARS AND BEYOND OF ME!!!"

"and three... and most important lore wise"

"HAPPY 50TH ANNIVERSERY TO ROOMBA FUCKING FAZBENDERS!"

"50 YEARS THIS PLACE HAS BEEN OPEN WITHOUT ANY DEATHS JUST A FEW INJURIES AND I'LL TAKE THAT WITH STRIDE!"

"AS THE ULTIMATE FUCK YOU TO FREDBEAR'S AND FAZBENDER ENTERTAINMENT!"

"THE GUY WHO IS A LITERAL ELDRITCH HORROR AND EATS SHOES WITH HIS BOOTLEG RESTURANT LASTED LONGER THEN ALL OF YOU SUCK IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!"

"... thank you... genuinely out of pocket with full seriousness..."

"thank you everyone for sticking around none of this would be possible without you, and I HONEST AND TRUELY can't wait for another five amazing years."

Moderator Monnie: And happy anniversary to everyone from me to all of you!

Have a fantastic day! and thank ya'll for reading!

[venerawrites]

May I rq a Shino fic of him taking care of his injured s/o who has just returned from a mission and keeps trying to reassure him they are fine and can do everything :3

author's note: exams are finally over and I am back! This one is kind of short and cute, but I really hope you like it! <3 Thank you so much for requesting!

Life as a shinobi was exciting - you travelled across the nations, meeting new people and experiencing new cultures, while constantly learning new skills and techniques. It is fuelled by adrenaline, which makes you addicted to the risks from the first moment your kunai clashes with that of an enemy.

Now, as you tried to reach the book placed in the further corner of your bedside table, life felt like anything BUT exciting. Laying wrapped in bandages across your stomach and ribs, every movement felt like a new stab wound to your body. There were already a few existing on your body, a "gift" from a rogue ninja, who managed to ambush you and Genma on your way back from Suna. Thankfully, you managed to defeat him and his team, but not without making a few mistakes which left you in such a weak state, that your fellow shinobi had to carry you back.

Wounds and pain were part of the job, so despite the unwanted encounter, you considered the mission a success - the scrolls were delivered safe to the Kazekage and the preparations for the new Chunin Exams have already began.

Shino, however, did not share the same opinion.

Your partner of two years was usually a man of silence - he rarely talked, voicing his thoughts only when he considered it absolutely necessary. His behaviour remained unchanged at home - he preferred letting you talk, only offering comments on what you were saying when you either asked or he felt like he could contribute a different point of view. Never have you heard him yell or scold you... till you came home from your latest mission.

"What did I tell you about moving too much?", his tone, usually calm and monotone, was now carrying a note of worry. He hurried towards you, gently pushing you by the shoulders back on the bed, before passing you the book that you have been eyeing for the past five minutes.

A loud huff made its way out of your lips and you crossed your arms, before giving him an annoyed look.

"Shino, for a fifth time today, I am fine", the words that were meant to be comforting, came out as a groan. You tried to sit up again, but his reactions were quicker, and before you could do so, he pressed your torso down to the bed.

"Shinooo!"

"Sakura explicitly said you shouldn't move or get up from this bed for three weeks", his words were stern and you couldn't help but let a small blush cover your cheeks at how serious and dominant he was at this moment, a complete opposite of your silent and soft boyfriend.

He must have noticed the blush on your cheek, as his fingers made their way to your face, as he gently caressed it.

"Stop pouting!", he said, as he laid a small kiss at the corner of your lips, "Only one more week."

You groaned at his words, moving your head, so you faced the window. Every day you could hear the laughs of the children playing on the street and the sweet songs of the birds, that made their home in the tree right in front of your house. From time to time you could ever hear the muted voices of the merchants, who were eagerly trying to sell their "exotic new items" to the passing villagers.

Life outside kept going, while you stayed confined in your room. And it was not fair.

"Sakura doesn't know what she is talking about!", you finally said, adjusting your position and biting back a wince at the sudden pain that you felt in the side of your ribs. Tightening your jaw, you took a deep breath, before lilting yourself into a half-seated position.

This time Shino didn't stop you.

"I'm sure after years of practicing as a medical ninja, her knowledge is better than ours."

With a sigh, he laid the cup of hot tea, that he brought you earlier, and he gently grabbed your chin and turned it toward him. There was an unusual uncertainty in his gaze, almost as if he was unsure if he should say the next words.

"Hey...", he tried to grab your attention, but you stubbornly kept your eyes focused on the blooming branches outside, "Don't be like that! It is for your own good."

Fighting the urge to lean your head more toward the warmth of his hand, you clicked your tongue, finally meeting his eyes. Your lips were still pursed in a pout and a slight crease had formed between your brows.

"But Shino I have been laying on this bed for two weeks. TWO WEEKS!", your arms flew in the air, emphasizing the period of time, "And I know I should rest and all that... But I need to move a little bit too! You don't even let me go to the restroom by myself!"

Shino withdrew his hand away and you immediately regretted the way you worded your thoughts. A flash of hurt and confusion passed through his face, before his expression went blank.

"I am just trying to help..."

Closing your eyes, you nodded your head. You knew he meant well and you were more than grateful for all the care he had given you during the past few weeks. He cleaned, cooked, and did all the shopping for you, leaving you with nothing to do but relax and re-read all the books you had on your bookshelf over and over again.

The first week was fine - most of the time you either slept or dived into the fantasy worlds created by your favourite authors. However, as the second week approached, you started to feel your back and limbs aching from the lack of movement. Every time you tried to get up or even stretch, however, Shino magically appeared by the door, scolding you for not following Sakura's instructions.

"I know, I know! I just...", you let out a sigh, before grabbing his hand in yours and gently squeezing it, "I feel like my pain is getting worse the more I remain unmoving in this room! I need a bit of movement, a bit of fresh air-"

"I can open the window for you."

"That's not what I mean!", you rolled your eyes, before giving him a knowing look, "I know you only want the best for me, but I feel like I am going insane! And while I love being pampered, I want to have the freedom to do some stuff by myself, without you monitoring my every movement!"

Shino remained silent, his mind absorbing what you have said to him. He loved you more than any person in his life and while he only wanted to be of help, he could see how his overbearing care was suffocating you. You have always been quite independent and he has always respected that need of freedom, so your current situation was presenting big challenges for both of you.

"I'm sorry", he finally said, while his hand gave you a reassuring squeeze, a sign he actually meant it. You gave a small smile in return, bringing his fingers to your lips, before giving them a small kiss. Your lips automatically stretched into a grin once you saw him blush at your gesture.

"Don't be! I am thankful for all you do for me. I really am!"

He leaned towards you and pressed his mouth to your forehead, leaving it there for a few seconds before pulling away. He smiled at you, gently brushing some of the sticky hair on your cheeks with his thumb.

"You really need to take a shower."

"What, no offer to help?"

Shino laughed at your words, the melodic sound making your insides warm, before he stood up from the side of your bed and start walking toward the door.

"As tempting as it sounds...", he was already outside and was just about to close the door, when he poked his head once more, a playful spark dancing in his eyes, "I believe you can handle this one yourself."

cc artwork: Zhejiang Zhi

[lulubelle814]

In Every Life - Part 3

Part 2 - In Every Life Masterlist

Masterlist

Present Day (1975)

Everything was on fire.  Smoke and screams filled the air.  He was glad she wasn’t here to witness this, but he knew it’s what he deserved for what happened to her, for trying to move on afterwards.

Glancing over the balcony wall, the building next to theirs was suffering a similar fate.  Thankfully that’s where the chaos and destruction seemed to end.  In the far distance, he saw the city, quiet in the early morning hours.  He could almost spot the neighborhood where they were supposed to live together before it happened.  

Bitter-sweet memories / That's all I'm taking with me / Good-bye, please don't cry

He could hear the music floating on the wind, reminding him of the enormous hold in his heart.

1 year ago

Valerie needed to get out of her apartment for some fresh air, and it was such a beautiful day.  Grabbing her purse and a book, she headed outside and down the block.

Standing at the crosswalk, she patiently waited for the crossing sign to give the go ahead to cross safely when someone walked past her, evidently not paying attention.  He was, however, jolted back to the present by someone grabbing his arm and pulling him back just as a car was about to hit him.  The gentleman managed to keep himself upright.  Looking at his savior, she was just a tad shorter than him with wavy auburn hair and the bluest eyes he’d ever seen.  “I can’t believe I almost walked straight into traffic,” he exclaimed.  “I’ve never done that before.  I swear.”

She smiled at him.  “It happens to the best of us.”  

Although embarrassed, he introduced himself.  “I’m Robert Laing.”  

“Valerie Hutton.”

“Can I buy you a cup of coffee to thank you?”

She nodded.  “I’d love that.  I was just on my way to get one anyways.”  It seemed fortune favored him this morning.

Once safe to do so, they crossed the street together.  There was a diner she enjoyed going to since she moved to the area a few weeks ago.  Evidently he was also a fan of the same diner.  Sitting down, he ordered a coffee while she had tea.

Looking back at him, she had to ask. “So what made you so preoccupied that you almost walked into traffic?”

She smiled and laughed a little, as did he. “I've got this complicated surgery later this afternoon, and I keep going over it in my head. I want to make sure it goes well.”

Frowning, she was confused. “I'm you're having surgery, should you be drinking coffee? I thought you couldn't eat or drink for, like, hours before going under the knife.”

He raised his eyebrows, confused a bit before it dawned on him. “Oh! I should probably clarify. I'm a doctor. A surgeon actually.”

‘Impressive,’ she thought. “What kind of doctor?”

“A neurosurgeon actually. My patient this afternoon has a tumor that's delicate to operate on, and I want to make sure it goes as well as it possibly can.”

“Well, walking into traffic isn't one of those things, I hope.” Valerie smiled at her own joke. Robert laughed as well. “No, it definitely is not. Thank you again for saving me. I feel like buying you a cup of tea isn't thanks enough. Maybe I could take you to dinner tomorrow?”

“I'd love that. Plus you can tell me how the surgery went.”

“Sounds like a great plan to me.” He realized he hadn't eaten breakfast yet this morning and was feeling a bit peckish. “I'm going to order some breakfast. You're welcome to order something as well. It's on me.”

“Oh, breakfast AND dinner? You really know the way to my heart.” She laughed, as did he. When the waitress came back with their drinks, they ordered some food: pancakes for her and an omelet for him. As they chatted, they ended up sharing bits of their food with each other. 

“So what do you do for a living, if I may ask?”

“I'm a secretary at a law firm. It's nothing fancy, but it pays the bills. I mostly just answer phones, file paperwork, and let my boss know when their clients arrive.”

She was certain at that moment that he’d make an excuse to cancel their dinner date for the following night.  Why would a neurosurgeon be interested in dating a secretary?  Oh well.  She at least got to have breakfast with him.  But maybe he wouldn’t cancel?  While they had just barely met, she had this feeling about him, that he wasn’t that kind of guy, that she wanted to spend more time with him.  What she didn’t know was that he felt the same.  Not about the job comparison but that he also desired to spend more time with her.  It’s like there was some sort of connection from the moment he saw her when she pulled him back just in time to avoid getting hit by a car.

When their dinner date rolled around the next evening, they could barely take their eyes off each other, playing a bit of footsie under the table.  It was like they’d been together for years and the rest was only minor details.

“How did the surgery go?”  She was genuinely curious, not just asking to be polite which surprised him a bit.  The ladies he usually went on dates with didn’t care about the actual surgeries, more just that he was a doctor.

“It went very well!  Thank you for asking.  I was able to get the entire tumor removed, and my patient is recovering well so far.  That’s all thanks to you by saving me from walking in front of a car while being stuck in my own head.  I quite enjoy telling my colleagues that I was saved by a beautiful woman who agreed to have dinner with me.”

She could help the blush that spread across her cheeks, feeling slightly embarrassed.  She wasn’t used to being complimented like that.  Usually when that happened, she was being cat-called by construction workers or getting hit on by random drunks (which is why she steered clear of going to bars at this point in her life).  “You are too kind, Robert.”

“I mean it! You are the most captivating woman I’ve ever encountered.  While I do not relish the thought of being hit by a car, I’m glad it gave us a chance to meet.” She blushed again. “How was your day at the office?”  He genuinely wanted to get to know her.

“It was the same for the most part.”  He raised an eyebrow at her statement, silently inquiring what made it different.  “A new client came in today, and something about him just gave me the creeps.  My boss has different kinds of clients, but something about this guy just ....”  She shuttered. “I’ll be very glad when their business is concluded.  I hope it won’t take long.  Roger was fingered as the guy who robbed that petrol station a couple of weeks ago, but the entire case (from the bits I’ve heard) are largely circumstantial.”

“I’m so sorry, darling.  I can’t imagine what that must feel like.  If he does give you trouble, let me know?  I’d happily defend your honor.”  It was easy to tell he meant every single word.  There was just something about Robert that made her feel safe, like she could run to him with any problem, and he’d solve it for her. Frankly, it scared her a little as well, to feel this way about an almost complete stranger.  The only person in her life that she’d felt this way about before was her dad, but he passed a few years ago, heart attack.  

“I really appreciate that.  Really.  More than you know.”  He could tell from her response that she didn’t have someone like that in her life, and it made him sad and even more determined to be there for her when she needed it.  He decided at that moment that no matter if this worked out or not, he’d be there whenever she needed someone, but there was no way he’d let this incredible woman walk away without a fight should something happen.

Looking at the menu, everything sounded incredible.  She ordered the shrimp garlic pasta while he ordered the lasagna.  Both looked so good that they ended up sharing their dishes.  When she offered some to him on her fork (with the intention of putting it on his plate), he instead leaned forward and ate it directly off the utensil causing butterflies to explode in her stomach.  So when he held up a piece of his lasagna for her to try, she did the same.  It then took everything he had not to just jump across the table to kiss her silly.

To say dinner went well was an understatement.  Valerie didn’t have a car.  So she splurged and got a taxi.  Rather than take a taxi back home, Robert offered her a ride.  When she gave him the cross streets for her apartment, he got excited as it was not that far from his place.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” he exclaimed.  “I live on the other side of Creston street!”

“By that beautiful flower shop?”

“That’s the one!”

“No way!  You’re maybe a 10 minute walk from here.  Talk about coincidence!” 

Parking his car, he walked her up to her apartment.  Not wanting to get ahead of himself and scare her, he gave her a kiss on the cheek.  “I’d like to see you again, if that’s alright.”  She agreed, and they made plans to go to the new Robert Redford movie, The Great Gatsby.

She woke up early the next morning to a light knock on the door.  Looking through the peephole, she didn’t see anyone.  Maybe it was a delivery or something?  Opening her door, she saw the most beautiful bouquet of peonies.

Tucked inside, she found a card.

These pale in comparison to your beauty.  Thank you for a wonderful evening. -Robert

She squeed so loud with joy that her elderly neighbor opened their door.  “Is everything alright, dear?”

“Yes, sorry Ms. Tully.”  She loved her neighbor.  Ms. Tully welcomed Valerie to the building when she moved in.  Her husband had died some years before, and Valerie took it upon herself to look after her sweet neighbor.  She was small but mighty.  Someone had tried to rob her on the street a while back, and she beat them with her cane, scolding them to the point that they turned themselves into the police to protect him from her.  As it turned out, the police had been looking for the would-be robber as he’d attacked several women to steal their purses.  The arresting officer at the precinct laughed when the robber told him why he turned himself in, not believing an elderly lady would be able to do such a thing.

“Why don’t you come over for a cuppa and tell me about the gentleman who sent those?”  Ms. Tully always had the best biscuits, and Valerie could never turn her down.  After placing the flowers on her coffee table, she scurried over to her neighbor’s place.

As soon as she sat down, Muffin jumped into her lap, demanding pets.  Muffin was an overweight but very sweet calico.  Well, sweet to her and Ms. Tully.  Muffin typically hated most people and had the tendency to lay in the window to judge everyone walking by.  Her mortal enemy was the bird who would regularly sit on a branch just outside the window and mock her, at least that’s how muffin felt.  Okay, fine.  Muffin was a spiteful old bitch who was very picky about who she liked.

Ms. Tully brought over a pot of tea with 2 cups and a fresh batch of homemade biscuits.  Valerie told her all about Robert: how they met, him taking her to breakfast, and their date last night.  No detail was spared.  

“That’s how I felt about my Steve.  People said love at first sight doesn’t exist, but I can assure you it does.  We met when my friends took me out dancing.  When I saw him, it was like everyone else ceased to exist.  We danced all night, and then he walked me home.”

Valerie loved when Ms. Tully would tell stories about her husband.  She wanted that, a relationship like the Tullys.  The only problem is that other than her neighbor, those stories only seemed to exist in fairy tales.  At least until she ran into Robert.  They’d only known each other a few days, but from the moment their eyes met on that street corner, nothing else seemed to matter.  

It’s not that she was unhappy with her life.  In fact, she was quite content. She had a good boss, a couple of good friends, an elderly neighbor she adored, and an apartment she loved.  If that was all she got in life, she was very happy with it.

“If he hurts you in any way, he’ll have me to deal with.”  Valerie laughed, imagining Ms. Tully beat Robert (who was more than a foot taller than her dear neighbor) with her cane.

“I’ll be sure to let him know.”  She couldn’t wait to see the look on his face when she told him.  It was inevitable that Robert would meet Ms. Tully, and she’d put the fear of God in him.

Val had to leave.  There were a few things she had to take care of today, namely her laundry.  Her building didn’t have machines.  So she packed up her laundry in a large basket, a book, and a fist full of quarters and headed to the laundromat for the next 3 hours (depending how many machines were available).  When she arrived, there were (thankfully) 2 machines available.  She promptly filled them up and started her wash before tucking away in a chair with her book.  

Not even a few pages in, she heard the door open and felt a pair of eyes on her.  Looking up, Robert was looking at her while holding his own bag of laundry.

“Fancy meeting you here.”  They both laughed.

“I’d think a fancy doctor like you would have your stuff dry cleaned.”

He grinned, loving her snarky remark.  “Just for my suits.  For everything else, I prefer to slum it.”  She couldn’t hold in a snorting laugh which made him smile even more.  He wanted to hear more of that laugh.

Thankfully more machines were becoming free, allowing him to start his own laundry.  While he did that, she cleared out the seat next to her in case he wanted to sit there, which he did.  He’d brought his own book to entertain himself.  Instead, they spend the next couple of hours chatting and laughing.

She told him about Ms. Tully’s warning.  “You’ll have to meet her sometime.  Watch out though.  Her cat hates people.  Well, most people.”

“I’ll be sure to pack my pockets with treats.  My mum had a cat like that, and bacon was the way to his heart.”

“I think bacon is the way to most people’s hearts.”  The entire time they were there, neither touched their books.  

“Normally I try to do my laundry on a Thursday evening, but the surgery ran long.”

“I usually come on a Friday night, but I had a date with this cute guy.”

He raised an eyebrow and smirked.  “Oh yeah?”

“Yeah.  It went well at first, but I don’t think anything will come of it.”

“Why’s that?”

“Well, he didn't seem to pay attention and almost walked straight into traffic.”  

He laughed.  At some point, his arm rested on the back of her chair.  In her imagination, she could see them doing laundry together for the coming months until they got married.  He’d buy a house with a washer and dryer.  Then they’d do laundry together while taking care of their kids.  She could see the toys strewn around the living room, the books relocated to a little library room that also acted as a home office when he needed to work on paperwork.  The kids would play around the backyard with 

She had to shake herself out of that image.  There was no telling if this would work out or not, and she didn’t want to get ahead of herself.  But it was just such a beautiful picture in her mind.  Little did she know that he was picturing something similar.

“Thank you so much for the flowers.  They’re beautiful!  Peonies are my favorite, especially white and lavender ones.”

“I’m so glad you like them.  I saw them at the flower shop when I was passing by, and they made me think of you.  I couldn’t not get them for you.”  He made a mental note about the peony being her favorite.

When their laundry was done, they used one of the tables to fold everything.  It was hard not to laugh watching him struggle to fold a fitted sheet.  She took it from him and folded it (mostly) for him.  “That’s much better than anything I can do with that.  It seems like they make those things impossible to fold.  Sometimes I just roll it up and toss it in a cupboard.”

“I get that.  I’m not great at folding those, but Ms. Tully showed me how she folds hers.  I can’t do it nearly as well as she can.  That’s about as close as I can get.”  

Robert didn’t care one bit, not even if she had set the sheet on fire or thrown it in the bin.  Running into her at the laundromat made his day.  There was just something about her he couldn’t put his finger on, but being even in her vicinity brought him comfort and helped him to relax.  His colleagues had been giving him a hard time for quite a while, even trying to set him up on dates.  Women would very openly flirt with him as well.  He was just never interested.

She handed the sheet back to him, and his hands brushed hers as he went to take it from her.  That one touch made him forget where they were.  He tossed the sheet carelessly into his basket as he leaned down, placed a hand on her cheek, and lightly placed his lips on hers.  The moment their lips touched was like fireworks.  She leaned up into him, returning his kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck.  As he wrapped his around her waist, a distinct coughing sound brought them back to reality causing them to pull apart.  Looking around, the handful of patrons in the laundromat were all staring at them.  “Get a room,” someone said.  Sheepishly, they finished folding their laundry and headed their separate ways.

Two weeks had passed.  Robert and Valerie continue to go on dates, and he’d kiss her each time he took her home.  Last night he’d taken her dancing, which she hadn’t done in a long time.  Neither had he, in fact.  But they both had so much fun.

Today, however, he was at the hospital.  There was a minor surgery he was performing.  She’d come back from grocery shopping to find Ms. Tully’s door broken open.  Logically she knew she should call the police, but that thought went out the window when she heard Muffin’s meows.  Dropping her bags by her door, she ran into Ms. Tully’s place to find it in shambles.  Muffin came out and led Valerie to where Ms. Tully was unconscious on the floor, bleeding from the back of her head.  She ran over to check that she was still breathing.  Placing 2 fingers on the pulse point in her neck, Ms. Tully was definitely still alive.  Hurriedly, she rang the police, giving them the address and apartment number.  While she waited, she stayed with her elderly neighbor, knowing enough, at least, not to move her.  

The police arrived a few minutes later along with an ambulance.  Valerie answered questions while the paramedics loaded Ms. Tully into the ambulance.  When all was said and done, they let her know which hospital her neighbor would be taken to before leaving her alone.  

Before anything else, she took Muffin to her apartment so that the cat wouldn’t get hurt accidentally by the broken glass and such.  She also took over the cat’s food (putting it in a cupboard in the hall) and litter box (which she put in the spare bathroom).  Now that Muffin was safe, she spent the next couple of hours cleaning up her neighbor’s apartment, trying to salvage what she could.  

Another caring neighbor had seen the aftermath with the door in shambles and, without asking, worked on repairing what he could.  It would stand well enough to appear secure, but in the end, the door would need replacing.  He took the liberty of talking with the landlord who had the door replaced very quickly.  The landlord had a sweet spot for Ms. Tully especially as she was the longest running tennant he’d had in that building with little to no issues.

Once the door was replaced, he left a copy of the keys with Val who would give them to her neighbor.  When all was said and done, she hopped in a cab to the mentioned hospital.  Finding the welcome desk, she asked about Ms. Tully.  She was in surgery as they’d found a brain clot from being hit on the back of her head but the attending surgeon should be done shortly.  The kind nurse said they’d keep her up to date if she was staying, which of course she was.

It was at least another hour later when the nurse told her that the doctor would be out shortly to talk to her.  When the doctor came out, he asked the nurse who was the one here for his patient.  Pointing to Valerie (who had her back facing the nurse), he walked over to her.

“Are you here for…..Valerie?”  Hearing his voice, she looked up, seeing Robert in his scrubs.  She wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him.  She began to cry on his chest.  He sat them down and held her close.  “I didn’t think when I saw the name Tully that it would be your neighbor, darling.”  He shushed and cooed into her ear, trying to help calm her down.

“It was so awful, Robert!  I was only gone for maybe 20 minutes to get a few things from the store.  When I came back, her door was wide open…..glass everywhere………”  He continued to console her, trying to help her calm down.

“It’s alright darling.  She’s alright thanks to you.”  He pulled back to look her in the eyes.  “She’s a fighter, that one.  Ms. Tully has a fair number of bruises and a fractured right arm.  The most alarming part was the brain clot from where she’d been hit, but I was able to get it cleaned up.  It’ll take a while, but she’ll recover.”

Knowing that it was her Robert who performed the operation brought her an immense amount of relief.  “I’ve got Muffin set up at my place.”  She thought for a minute.  “Who could have done this?  Who would attack poor Ms. Tully?  IN HER OWN HOME!”

“I don’t know, darling.  I don’t know.  But I’m sure the police are working very hard to find out who did this.  She’s in recovery right now.  I need to go check on her.  I’ll come get you once she’s settled in a room?”  She nodded.

When he came back to the waiting room, he guided her back to his elderly patient’s room.  Being the head neurosurgeon, he pulled some strings to get Ms. Tully her own room.  It even had a view of the hospital garden.

Valerie was happy to see her neighbor awake already.  Robert checked her vitals and looked over the stitches in her head to make sure everything was still holding properly.

“Valerie, I know you’ve been seeing that gentleman you told me about, but I think Dr. Laing here is a real catch.  Just look at him!”

Robert blushed, and Valerie was shocked.  “Ms. Tully!  You just got out of surgery, and you’re trying to set me up with your doctor?”

Ms. Tully grinned as she nodded.  Rather than tell her who Robert was to her, she walked over and gazed into his eyes.  “I suppose you’re right.  He is very easy on the eyes.  I wonder…..”  She leaned up and kissed him.  “Yep, good kisser.  I think you’re right, Ms. Tully.”

Robert wasn’t sure what to do at this point until Valerie broke down laughing.  “Ms. Tully, this is the man I’ve been telling you about, Robert.”  Ms. Tully looked between the two before narrowing her eyes at her doctor.  “If you do anything at all to hurt her, you’ll have to answer to me.  And keep that dingle-doodle to yourself.”

Robert held his hands up in retreat.  “You have my word, Ms. Tully.”

Valerie giggled a bit before turning back to her neighbor.  “Don’t worry about Muffin.  She’s at my place.  I’ve got her food and litter box.  Mr. Jenkins already replaced your door, and he gave me the spare keys.”  

Robert took his turn, this time as Dr. Laing.  “Surgery went well.  You had a clot from the hit to your head, but it’s cleaned up.  Your right arm is fractured, and you’ve got a fair number of bruises.  I’d like to keep you here for a week to make sure you’re healing well.  We’ve also got you on some medications to help with the pain.  Is that alright, Ms. Tully?  Do you have any questions?”

Rather than address her doctor, Ms. Tully looked to Valerie.  “Is Muffin alright?  She gave the man a fright, scratching and clawing at him.  Even bit his ass.  I’ve never seen Muffin move like that before, especially for an old fat cat.”

“She’s good.  I looked her over, and nothing seemed to be wrong.  I’ll take good care of her until you get home.”  It was touching how she was more worried about the cat than herself.  “Is there anyone you want me to call?”

In the end, Ms. Tully had Val call her son.  Robert offered to call himself as he was her doctor, but Val thought it would be better coming from her.  The call was brief, and her son was at the hospital within the hour.

“Mum, I’ve told you that you shouldn’t be living alone!”

She scowled.  “I can take care of myself.  I don’t need a caretaker.  I won’t let you put me in a nursing home.”

Robert interjected.  “I hate to say this, but I agree with your son.  Valerie was fortunate to find you as quickly as she did, which is why you're in better shape than what could have happened.”

Acting like a petulant child, Ms. Tully pointed at Robert.  “You’re officially on my shit list.”  It wasn’t the first time a patient had told him that, and he didn’t mind.  He had their best interests at heart.

“Mum, I know you don’t want to go into a nursing home.  I wouldn’t do that to you, but Diane and I would like you to consider moving in with us.  You’d have your own space, but we’d be near.  I know you want to be independent, but we worry about you.”

No decisions were made that night, but Ms. Tully consented to at least think about it.  Valerie assured her that Muffin was fine at her place, and she’d take good care of her cat.

Since his shift was over and all patients had been checked on, Robert drove Valerie home so she wouldn’t have to pay for another taxi.  Well, that and he wanted to see the state of everything for himself.  Valerie used the new key to get into Ms. Tully’s place.  There was still cleaning to do and furniture to put back in place, but it was enough to rattle him.  He moved the heavy  furniture back in place.  It was evident that whomever broke in was checking loads of places for where the elderly resident might hide money or anything of value.  The overturned couch was no surprise.  His own grandma used to hide cash in her couch.  

They eventually made their way over to Valerie’s place next door.  Robert spotted a folded notice on her door and grabbed it for her.  Looking around, most doors had the same one on theirs.  Handing it to her, she didn’t hesitate to open it with Robert reading over her shoulder.  It was a short message from the landlord advising that there was a break-in, that it was an isolated incident, and that he would be working with the police to find out how the intruder got into the building.

Opening the door, Muffin came running to her.  Picking her up, Muffin sniffed Robert, unsure of him at first until she caught a whiff of both her owner and her favorite person (Valerie) all over him.  She gave him a tentative approval and allowed him to pet her.  Robert gave the cat a quick look over to double check she was okay, which she thankfully was.  This cat likely prevented the intruder from doing more damage to Ms. Tully.

“It scares me that someone broke into your building.”  Looking around her apartment, all he could see in that moment was someone breaking in and tearing her place apart.

“Same.  This is usually a pretty safe neighborhood.”  He could tell she was scared that it might happen again.  They sat down on her sofa, and Muffin curled up in her lap while Robert wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

Taking a deep breath, a thought came to his mind. “I have a proposal.”

She hummed in response as she continued to pet the cat.  Her mind was spiraling with thoughts of what would have happened to Ms. Tully if she hadn’t found her so quickly.

“You’re welcome to say no, but how about you stay at my place for a couple of days?  At least until they figure out how the guy got in and can fix it?”

“I…what?”

“I have plenty of space.  You can even sleep in the guestroom.  I promise to be a perfect gentleman.  Absolutely nothing will happen without your express consent.”

She was a bit surprised at his offer.   “We’ve only known each other a few weeks, Robert.  Are you sure about this?”

“I’m very sure.  If you don’t want to stay at mine, I could sleep here on the couch?  I just worry for your safety right now.  I couldn’t bear it if something happened to you.”

It was easy to see the concern in his eyes.  There was no sign of lies in anything he said, and she knew he’d keep his promise.  In fact, it brought her a sense of comfort.  “What about Muffin?”

“Muffin is always welcome.  I don’t have any pets, and she can have the run of the place.”  The cat lifted her head, looking up at Robert as if she understood what he’d said and gave her answer by moving over to Robert and curling up in his lap.

“I think that’s a yes from Muffin.”  They both laughed.  Val packed a few things while Robert loaded up the litter box, food bowl, water bowl, and bag of food for the kitty.  Once she had everything else together, he took her bags to his car as well.  She carried Muffin in her lap during the short drive to his place.

He let her inside before unloading everything from his car.  He showed her to the guestroom while Muffin explored his house, deeming it acceptable.  Robert gave her a spare key.  “I don’t want you to feel like I’m holding you hostage or anything.”

“Not at all.  I’ve just………..okay.  Don’t laugh at me when I say this, but I’ve never stayed over at a man’s place before, not by myself.”

“Why would I laugh at that?  I don’t see anything wrong with it.  If it helps you feel better, I’ve never invited women to stay over, except for my sister.”  He took his hands in hers.  “I know a lot of this is new to both of us, but I swear I won’t do anything to make you uncomfortable.  If you don’t feel alright staying here with me, then I’ll go stay in a hotel so you can be here with Muffin.”

“I couldn’t ask you to do that.  This is your house, your place.”

“You mean so much more to me.  Just promise me you’ll let me know if something bothers you?”

Valerie nodded.  “Okay.”  He picked up her bags and placed them in the guest room.  She put the litter box in the guest bathroom while Robert placed the bowls in the kitchen, filling one with water.  Muffin didn’t hesitate to make herself comfortable on his loveseat, claiming the entire thing for herself.  Valerie changed into some sleepwear before going back to the living room.

He had changed as well, into a pair of joggers and his old Cambridge shirt.  “I have pizza on the way.” 

They turned on the TV to watch whatever was on (it was an old episode of Doctor Who).  

“How is it that you have this house but no washer/dryer?”  It just dawned on her that with a place this size, it didn’t make sense.

“I started renting this place about 3 months ago, but it didn’t come with them.  I have the hookups for them, but I just keep forgetting to do it until laundry day happens.”

“I’ll go with you, if you’d like?  I don’t know anything about buying a washer/dryer set, but I can keep you company.  We can go on your next day off.  I’ll make a list of local places we can go to.”

He grinned.  “I’d like that.”

Once the pizza arrived, they dug right in.  She was still a little too rattled to be able to eat much, but she was able to consume a couple of slices before she curled up next to Robert, laying her head on his chest.  

He started to yawn and looked at his watch.  It was later than he thought.  He started to get up before realizing she was asleep against him.  Instead of moving her, he reached and grabbed the blanket off the back of the couch to spread over them both.

When he woke up in the morning, she was gone.  As he started to look around, he could smell something cooking in the kitchen.  Slowly getting up, he made his way towards the amazing smell and found her cooking eggs and bacon.  “I could get used to this if you’re not careful.”

“It’s the least I could do for you letting me stay here for a couple of days.”

While she finished cooking, he set the table.  He really could see them doing this on a regular basis, and it felt good.  “I have to go to the hospital today.  I don’t have any surgeries planned, but I have patients to check on and paperwork to go through.”

“I have to go to work as well.  Do you have time to drop me off?”

Smiling, he could definitely get used to this.  “Of course, darling.  In fact, how about you drop me off at the hospital?  You can come by and see Ms. Tully when you’re off work, and I should be ready to leave around then as well.”

“First you trust me with your house, and now with your car?  You must really like me or something.”  Valerie couldn’t help the giant smile from spreading across her face.

“I really do.  Actually, I……” Taking a deep breath, he continued.  “I love you, Valerie.  I know it hasn’t been long, but I do.  I’ve never felt this way about anyone.”

She placed a hand on his mouth to stop his rambling.  “I love you too.”  With those words returned, he swept her into his lap and kissed her madly, never wanting to let go, not that she minded one bit.  

Pulling back, he laid his forehead on hers.  “I’ve wanted to tell you that for a while but was afraid you wouldn’t feel the same.  I know this is fast, but….”

Valerie placed her hands on the sides of his neck.  “It is, but it also feels right.”  Her words gave him the reassurance he needed.  Leaning up, she kissed him softly before getting off his lap.  “We’d better get ready for work, mister.”

She sauntered off to the guest room to get ready.  As he got ready in his room, his mind was a whirlpool of thoughts.  It’d only been 2 months.  In his previous relationships, he’d always felt this need to run and hide, afraid to commit.  This time it was the opposite.  From the moment they ran into each other at the crosswalk, he wanted to be with her, stay with her for as long as she’d have him.  Knowing she loved him too was the icing on the cake.

A knock on his bedroom door broke him out of his stupor as he was putting on his tie.

“Does this look okay?”  

“You look amazing.  I’m not sure I can let you out of the house in that.  In fact, I’m not sure I can ever let you leave again.” He smiled, joking of course.  Seeing her look so incredible caused him to forget how to tie a tie.  So she walked over and helped him.  “I could say the same about you, mister.”  

Present Day (1975)

He could hear screams coming from every direction, but none phased him.  This wasn’t where he wanted to be.  No.  He wanted to be at home with his new bride, but fate had other plans.  Damn fate.  Since that was taken from him, this was where he felt he belonged: alone, waiting for the building to finish consuming him.  This is what he deserved after what he did…..well, more like what he didn’t do.

The only thoughts he allowed to pass through his mind at this point was his beloved Valerie and how much he missed her.  

Tears fell down his face again, thinking of her.  Today was supposed to be their wedding day.

4 months ago

The lease on her apartment would be up soon.  With Ms. Tully gone to live with her son, Valerie wasn’t keen on staying.  Her landlord was kind and said she could stay longer as long as she gave him a 30 day notice.  While he enjoyed having her as a tenant and didn’t want her to leave, he had too much respect for her.  She’d always been kind to him, on time with the rent, and all the help she gave Ms. Tully when the break-in occurred.  

Looking at her left hand, she admired the ring.  Robert really had great taste.  While she never imagined getting engaged, she had absolutely no doubts that he’s the one and couldn’t wait to spend the rest of her life with him.

This afternoon, Robert was taking her to look at a house.  “Why are we looking at new places?  Your house works the way it is.”

He looked over at her from the driver’s seat.  “That’s true, but it’s only a rental.  I’d like for us to have our own little slice of paradise.”

He pulled up to a beautiful cottage.

To say she was stunned would be an understatement.  This was her dream home!  “You’ve got to be shitting me.”

She got out of the car and started looking around.  He took his time catching up to her, laughing a bit in the process.  “Is it to your liking?”

Valerie was speechless.  Taking her hand, Robert took her on a tour of the house, showing her the bedrooms, living room, kitchen, and such.  Her favorite part though was the garden out back.  “You can decorate or set up however you’d like.”

She turned to look at him. “Robert, I love it, but this is too much.  I can’t begin to imagine what a place like this costs, not to mention decorating it?  Plus there has to be several others looking at this place, too.”

Robert grinned.  “I wouldn’t say that last bit.”

“What do you mean?”  Confusion spread across her face.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys.  “Because it’s ours.”

Birds fled at the sound of her squealed excitement and jumped into his arms, nearly knocking him over.  “What?  Really??  I can’t believe you bought this place!  It’s perfect!”

Holding her, he spun around a couple times before kissing her and setting her back on her feet.  “You deserve nothing but the best, my dearest.  The wedding isn’t for another 3 or 4 months, but I know your lease is up.  When I saw this place, I knew it was the one.  It will also remove the need to renew your lease on a month-to-month basis.  That was incredibly kind of your landlord to offer, but we can go ahead and move you in here.  As the wedding gets closer, I can pack up my place to move in once we are married.”

“I love you so much, Robert.  You are the most wonderful man I’ve ever known.”

“I love you, too, my darling girl.  You deserve all this and more.”  He took her hand and guided her over to the garage.  “There’s one more thing.”  Opening the garage, they found a brand new Jaguar.

“Oh Robert!  You really shouldn’t have.”

“Yes, I should.  You deserve nothing but the best.  Plus, it’ll be easier than trying to juggle one car between the two of us for going to work……..or picking up the kids…..”

“You want kids?”

He smiled and nodded.  “I do.”

“Me, too.”  Rather than rushing up to him again, she sauntered to him, wrapped her arms around his neck, and gave him a sweet kiss.

The next week was filled with packing and moving.  Most of her furniture was sold or donated.  In between everything, wedding plans were being made.  Everything was coming together.   There was even talk about getting a dog.  With so much already going on, they decided to wait until after the wedding to look for just the right dog.

To make unpacking easier, Val had labeled each box by room.  That way when they unloaded boxes, they were put into the room where the contents would be placed.  Hanging up the clothes was easy followed by the kitchen boxes so she could start cooking once she’d gone grocery shopping.

Hearing a knock at the door, she answered it only to find her fiance.  “You know you can let yourself in, right?  Or did you lose your key already?”

“I just didn’t want to walk in on you naked or such.  Not that I would mind, but I figure you might.”

She paused, thinking for a moment.  “Excellent point.  Thank you.  So what are you doing here?  I thought you had surgery this morning?”

He sat on the back of the couch and sighed.  “It got canceled.  When I left last night, she was stable, but something happened overnight, and the patient didn’t make it.”  She walked over to him and gave him a hug which he appreciated.

“I’m so sorry.  That can’t be easy.”

“It’s okay, but enough about me.  I came by to take you out to brunch.  You’ve been working so hard on unpacking and setting things up that I thought you’d like a break.”

She rummaged around in her purse. “I completely forgot to take my keys back to my landlord.  Do you think we could swing by my old place while we’re out?”

Wrapping an arm around her from the side, he leaned over and placed a kiss on the top of her head.  “We can do whatever you’d like.”

They walked out to his car.  Being a gentleman, he opened her door before going around to his own.  The car started with a beautiful rumble, and they made their way into town and to her old complex.  “Would you like me to take them in for you?”  He offered, but she declined.  “I’ll only be a minute.”  She disappeared into the building, coming back out about 10 minutes later.

After brunch, they decided to go on a ride through the countryside.  There was no specific route or destination in mind.  They just went wherever their hearts told them, or at least until the car was almost out of petrol which they took as a sign to head back.

Robert pulled up to a petrol station.  There were 2 other cars there: one was empty but still running by the front door.  The other was parked off to the side, likely belonging to the attendant inside.  He felt this unease as they pulled up next to the petrol pump.  “I think we should maybe try the next petrol station.  Something feels, I don’t know, off?”

Val patted his shoulder. “It’s alright, Robert.  We’re already here.  Go ahead and get the tank filled while I run in to get us some drinks?  I’ll pay for the petrol while I’m inside.”  His gut told him they should leave right then, but he conceded.  “Alright, but let's be quick.  There’s just something about this place that gives me the creeps.”

She agreed, picking up her purse and walking inside.  He got out of the car and started to fill the car up.  Just as it finished and was placing the handle away, there was a loud bang.  Not even thinking about it, he ran inside.  He needed to make sure Valerie was alright.  As he opened the door, a man flew out, almost plowing over Robert in his haste to get away.  If he’d thought about it for even a second, he would have seen the gun in the man’s hand and the blood splatter on his shirt, but he was too focused on finding Valerie.

His eyes darted everywhere.  Moving further into the petrol station, there she was on the ground, gunshot wound to the abdomen, bleeding profusely.  He dove to her side, taking off his jacket to try to stop the flow of blood, but even his medical knowledge told him there was nothing he could do, but all logic had left him at that point.  The bullet had gone through her kidney causing her to go through hypovolemic shock.  

“So cold.”  It was difficult to understand her, but he could feel her getting colder by the second.  He scooped her up, holding her close in the vain hope that he could keep her warm, keep her alive.  Just as long as she was in his arms, everything would be okay.

As he held her, he kept brushing her hair with one hand, trying to tell her everything was fine, that help was on the way, and she’d be fine, that she just needed to hold on, but her pulse continued to grow weak.  The tears on her face slowed down as she looked into his eyes.

Bitter-sweet memories / That's all I'm taking with me / Good-bye, please don't cry

“I love you,” she squeaked out.

“I love you, my darling Valerie.  Always.”  His tears started falling faster.

He could feel her heart slowing.  “Always,” she whispered with the last of her breath.  Robert held her body tightly, rocking back and forth as he cried, his reason for living now gone.  It took two police officers and a paramedic to get him to let go of her so they could take the body away.

Present Day (1975)

That was the absolute worst day of his life.  He blamed himself, saying he should have gone with his gut feeling and left to get petrol elsewhere, or at least gone in to pay himself.  Maybe then she’d be here with him or instead of him.  “It should have been me,” he cried to himself.

The foundation was crumbling, the support beams falling.  Robert didn’t care.  He’d only moved to this apartment building because he couldn’t bear living in the house meant for him and Valerie.  Friends and colleagues helped him take care of her belongings and relisted the house while he moved into this concrete monstrosity.  It felt cold and unfeeling from the moment he stepped inside, exactly what he thought he deserved.

The balcony rumbled, vibrating harshly.  Closing his eyes, he accepted his fate just as the balcony on his 25th floor apartment gave way, the building collapsing in fire and dust.

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