#that’s an order from your commander

[the-fiction-witch]

The Harrenhal Wedding

Media - House Of The Dragon Character - Oscar Tully Couple - Oscar X Reader Reader - Y/n Blackwood (Benjicot's Sister) Rating - 15 Word Count - 2952

Requested -

Please make one shot about oscar tully and his fiance ( blackwood) when they meet first time i think that would be really cute

Oscar had been staying at harrenhall since his promotion to lord paramount of the Riverlands, he remains with his river lords as the armies raise and gather. But this morning Lord Simon Strong summons him to the grand hall where lord strong and Prince Daemon sit,

“Morning My lord Strong,” Oscar nodded,

“Morning my lord Tully,” Simon nodded,

“Targaryen,” Oscar snapped in Daemon’s direction,

“Tully.” Daemon glared back,

“What’s all this about anyway?” Oscar asked,

But the door quickly opened to the young Benjicot Blackwood, the new lord of Raventree Hall,

Lord Blackwood stood and bowed,

“My lord Blackwood, a pleasure,” Oscar nodded,

"My Lord Tully, I rode as soon as word reached me .. is it true? My lord uncle? Ser Willem Blackwood, he was executed? Here on your orders?"

“He was, my lord, yes.” Oscar was unflinching with his answer,

"...may I ask why my lord?" He asked,

Oscar sat back in his seat, “Your uncle committed crimes against his neighbours, curel and merciless crimes, his punishment was just. But I do not blame your sadness at this loss.”

lord Blackwood nodded "... I understand, please may I ask his remains be returned to Raventree hall to be laid under our werewood as his forebears?"

Oscar nodded, “Of course, lord Blackwood, I will have them sent to Ravnhall immediately.”

"... please my lord, i- I hope my uncle and his actions, do not sully our families name,"

Oscar shook his head, a slight bit of sympathy in his eyes and tone “You need not worry, my lord” Oscar tried to give the young lord a bit of comfort before speaking again, “His crimes are his own and I assure you his crimes do not sully your house.”

"yes my lord I understand, but... House Blackwood would still like to pledge themselves to your fealty and your war for Queen Rhaynea"

Oscar smiled, standing from his seat and striding over to blackwood, putting a firm hand on the young lords shoulder and speaking in a commanding tone

“That is greatly appreciated my lord,” Oscar nodded, “And I don't have to worry about your loyalty like I did with your uncle, do I?”

"No my lord, and as proof of our loyalty I come with an offer for you."

Oscar raised an eyebrow, slightly amused, his hand still on the boys shoulder “An offer? What kind of offer?”

"... In the riverlands we celebrate our new lord paramount, as much as we grieve your grandfather Ser Grover Tully." Lord Blackwood began "And house blackwood has been loyal to house Tully as our legige lords. And as the new lord of House Blackwood myself I wish to make an offer that would bring great joy and honour on my house as well as faith of our alliance to yours," he nodded "you, yourself Lord Oscar are a young man, unmarried. And I would like to offer my sister Y/n Blackwood to be your bride."

Oscar raised his eyebrows in surprise, slightly taken off guard by the offer. He looked at the young lord for a moment “Your sister.” He thought for a moment before speaking again “She is of age, I presume?”

"yes my lord, she is two years your younger"

Oscar nodded, “And attractive, I'd hope?”

he chuckled "The ravens of raventree hall sing for her, smallfolk of our keep say a beauty like her has not been born in our family since Missy blackwood"

“That's what I like to hear…” Oscar paused for a moment “It's a fine offer, my lord, your sister will make a fine lady of riverrun.. I accept your offer, on one condition.”

“Yes of course, anything my lord,”

“We consummate the marriage as soon as possible.”

"Yes my lord. you - you honour me, my house and my sister. She is with me. You may wed in the sept as soon as you wish and bed her as you see fit. Perhaps the gods shall bless you with a babe in her belly before this war begins its march"

Once again, Oscar was slightly surprised by the young lords quick and eager compliance. He smiled, looking down at the boy, keeping his hand on his shoulder

“The preparations will be made at once... and don't worry, my lord, I'll be filling your sisters belly before the end of the week.”

"we can hope my lord" lord blackwood bowed low

“Very good, my lord.” Oscar smiled, striding back to his seat as the boy left. As the young lord exited the hall, Oscar returned his attention to the prince and Lord Strong who had been watching the pair

“Well, that worked out well.” Lord strong nodded,

Daemon chuckled

Oscar retook his set, looking up at the Prince “What? Got something to say, Targaryen?”

"No man gives his sister away that easily unless there's something wrong with her." Daemon laughed

Oscar chuckled, resting his arms on the table and leaning forward “Or it shows great loyalty and devotion.” “Besides, the boy is young. He's naive. He probably has no idea what she's in for.”

"you are a young boy" Daemon glared

Oscar smirked, leaning against the back of his seat “Only in comparison to you, Targaryen” he glared, “Now…The riverlords have been gathering at harrnehall, it will take a while yet for us to raise our full armies, but we're not far off now. My question is, what shall be our next move?”

"we wait for word from the queen" Daemon glared

Oscar raised an eyebrow slightly at the princes sharp, glare. He took a deep breath before speaking, keeping his eyes focused on the prince, speaking in a low, commanding tone “I'll be blunt, Targaryen, if we wait to long before we strike then the greens will have more time to prepare their armies, and they will be stronger. We need to attack them when they are vulnerable, unprepared.”

"And you wish to march half a River army to kings landing yourself?"

Oscar chuckled, his eyes still focus on the prince. He shook his head gently before responding “That depends, you'd be with me, wouldn't you, Targaryen?”

"I would be on caraxes. Watching you be slaughtered"

Oscar smirked, sitting back slightly in his chair and crossing his legs, still focused on the prince “Ah yes. Your dragon.” He remained silent for a moment, his eyes boring into the princes eyes before speaking again, mockingly imitating the princes voice "I cannot enter any conflict without my precious dragon."

"mind your tongue boy" Daemon glared

Oscar smirked, he didn't fear the prince, not at all. If anything, he saw him as an equal. He sat forward, his eyes burning into the princes “Or what?”

"I think we should uhhh discuss" Simon strong spoke up "if you are to proceed with this wedding my lord..."

Oscar broke eye contact with the prince and looked over to Strong, slightly annoyed that he had been interrupted “What is it, Lord Strong?”

"... House blackwood keeps the old gods, not the seven my lord" lord strong explained,

Oscar nodded, “Yes.. I'd imagine that will be of slight.. issue. And you, Targaryen? What is your view on the matter?”

"Targaryen’s do not hold to any gods. It is irrelevant" Deameon shrugged

Oscar nodded once again, speaking with a mocking, sarcastic tone “Fantastic. So a marriage between a Riverlord, of the faith of the seven, and a Blackwood, of the old gods.” he chuckled, “That will be... interesting..”

"Stranger things have happened my lord, shall we make arrangements for this wedding?" Lord strong asked

Oscar nodded, sitting back against his chair, folding his hands into his lap, and speaking in a more serious tone “Yes. We shall.” He thought silently for a moment before speaking again “But I expect I won't be allowed to consummate the marriage until the ceremony, correct?”

"as is tradition my lord yes." Lord strong nodded "wedding and then bedding ceremony"

The word made oscar cringe, he sighed, that was probably the part he liked the least. He hated the idea of a bunch of drunk men stripping his wife half naked, he hated the idea of other men looking at his wife. It annoyed him. He looked up at strong again “Can we not skip that bit? I prefer to keep my future wife to myself rather than letting your drunken courtiers gawk at her.”

"you can refuse the ceremony if you wish my lord" Simon nodded

"I refused for all three of my wives. The first because I didn't want to inflict her nudity on the men of the runestone. The two others... Because I wanted to strip them myself " Daemon smirked

Oscar smiled, at least the prince agreed with him there. He wasn't alone with his distain of the ceremony “Good. I'll be doing the same then. I don't want anyone seeing my wife like that. I want that privilege all to myself.”

"we shall begin preparing then," lord strong nodded

Oscar nodded “Good. Please, keep me informed with the preparations.”

He stood, gesturing for the other two to take their leave before he himself left the grand hall,

The wedding had been arranged as a quick affair, the armies still gathering at harrenhall, so the wedding would be the riverlords as witness, in the godswoods with a septon, and a small feast in the grand hall. Nothing too monumental but with war looming the time and expense could not be spared for a grand affair

Oscar sat in the Great Hall, He fiddled restlessly with the chalice of ale in his hands, waiting for the marriage ceremony. He couldn't wait to be wed, to finally have a proper lady at his side and a wife to keep the bed warm when the nights grew cold and the war grew long. He was ready to begin life as a married man, and the wait for the ceremony to start was annoying him

lord strong approached and bowed "it is time my lord, the septon stands in the godswoods awaiting the ceremony to begin"

Oscar nodded, standing from his seat and finishing the last of the ale in his chalice “Very well, let's get this over with.” The more impatient voice in him spoke, the one that just wanted to skip straight to tonight. He followed Lord Strong outside and through the godswood,

the riverlords loomed around the godswoods, many of the men in the armies had gathered outside on the rocky ruins to get a view into the godswood, prince Daemon lingered his hand on his sword, a septon stood in front of the werewood tree,

"My lord Tully, the seven has blessed us with a beautiful day" The Septon smiled,

Oscar approached the septon, “They most certainly have, septon.” he nodded, “Now, let us not waste any more time. I shall be a married man before the sun sets.”

the septon nodded and signalled beyond the woods. Hush suddenly came over the lords.

Oscar turned his head, taking a step forward, his eyes focused on the woods behind him, waiting. He took a deep breath, the time was here. The long day of waiting and preparation was over. He was so close to being wed, the feeling was exciting. He focused his gaze and waited for his bride

the doors opened wide and Lord Blackwood stepped out, and on his arm was his sister.

Y/n Blackwood, she was a Y/H and somewhat Y/B/T girl, with a sweet face, tender skin, y/e/c eyes, long Y/H/C styled well, she wore a silvery gown with matching gems about her. A maiden’s cloak of red and black the colours of house Blackwood draped over her shoulders,

Oscar's eyes locked as she entered, taking in the sight of his bride and a proud smile came across his face,

her brother brought her to the tree and she bowed low she was clearly nervous but she still smiled to him

Oscar looked down at the lady Y/n, seeing her bow low to the ground in front his eyes, he smiled, she was beautiful, shy and nervous too. It reminded him of a scared fawn, small, nervous, and beautiful.

the Septon nodded "Who brings this maiden to be wed?"

"I, Lord Benjicot Blackwood of Raventree Hall, Her brother, and her protector." Lord Blackwood nodded "She is a maiden flowered, unsoiled and pure, and I give her willingly for this match"

Oscar felt the pride in his chest once again at the mention of her being a maiden, pure and unsoiled, as a good wife should be.

"Who comes to claim her?" The septon asked,

He took a quick, deep breath and spoke in a steady, determined voice “I, Oscar Tully, of Riverrun, come to claim this lady. Her honour, and her hand.”

lord Blackwood slowly handed Y/n's hand to Oscar letting him feel her soft hand for the first time, her skin was soft but her fingertips were likely from embroidery or other such sewing works, feeling her soft palm against his, his fingers interlocked with hers. He was surprised at the softness and smoothness of her hand, but then again, he should have expected it. After all, she was a noble lady. A small smile spread across his face as he felt the calluses on her fingertips, a stark reminder that she wasn't just a lady, she was a practical and smart girl as well.

Seven vows were made, seven blessings invoked, and seven promises were exchanged, "And now bring her into your house, your home and your protection." The septon nodded,

Lord Blackwood slowly removed the cloak of Blackwood colours from Y/n leaving her to shiver for a moment but,

Oscar took the Tully cloak from Lord Strong and gently wrapped it around her shoulders, fastening it at the front,

she smiled rather excitedly,

"As with the draping of these colours, the maiden sheds her time as a blackwood maiden and is here and now a Tully bride." The septon then took a beautiful woven cord of the colours of house Tully and Blackwood, binding their joined hands in a handfasting knot "in the sight of the seven, I hearby seal these two souls binding them as one for eternity"

Oscar smiled as the septon tied the handfasting knot around their wrists, the seven colours of House Tully and House Blackwood intertwined together. He looked down into Y/n's eyes, her excitement was infectious, and it made his chest feel warm. He tightened his grip around hers, smiling down at her as the septon continued speaking

“Any who wish to challenge this union, this is now your time to speak,” The septon asked, but no one spoke, "you may now speak the words"

"Father, smith, warrior, mother, maiden, crone, stranger..." She nodded slowly given she had only just leant all this "I am his, and he is mine from his day to the end of My days" she smiled,

Oscar nodded, keeping his eyes focused on Y/n. He smiled as he spoke, his voice steady and firm, yet soft and gentle at the same time “I am hers, and she is mine from this day to the end of my days.”

"and you may seal with a kiss my lord." The septon said a little quietly

Oscar smiled, he'd been looking forward to this part. He slowly lifted his hand to her chin, his fingers gently gripping her soft skin. He lifted her face, his eyes still locked with her,

“With this kiss I pledge my love, and take you for my lord and husband,” she blushed,

“With this kiss I pledge my love, and take you for my lady and wife,” Oscar smiled, before leaning down and gently pressing his lips against hers, in a long, soft, but firm kiss

she softly kissed back slightly gasping when loud applause and cheers came from the riverlords, which then triggered a large celebration from the many men of the armies who had all loomed outside the godswoods to watch what they could, even daemeon gave a small applause

Oscar took advantage of the applause and cheers from the riverlords to deepen the kiss, his hand still resting on her chin, holding her face as he pressed his lips harder into hers, his other hand resting on her waist and pulling her closer to him. The cheering was a reminder to him that the entire world was watching, and he wanted to show just how much this marriage meant to him. He ignored his surroundings, and focused solely on Y/n, his new wife. Eventually, after what felt like an eternity, he reluctantly pulled back from the kiss, taking a deep breath as he broke apart. He looked back into her eyes, their faces so close they were almost touching. He smiled, taking in the feeling of her soft skin against his, the sweet, gentle kiss, and the sound of the riverlords cheering in applause.

she softly Giggled when he pulls back her cheeks a little red from her not expecting such a passionate kiss from her new husband,

Oscar couldn't help but smile at her Giggling, her soft, gentle voice making his chest feel warm. He took a deep breath, before gently cupping her face in his hands, his thumb gently brushed across her soft, rosy red cheeks

"then it is and always shall be." The septon nodded as he untied their joined hands, “one flesh, one heart, one soul, now and forever.”

“You have a pretty laugh, you know that?” he smiled to her,

she giggled again "Thank you my lord"

Oscar smiled again, resting his forehead against hers “Please, call me Oscar. My name sounds far better coming from your lips.”

"... Yes Oscar" she nodded

He smiled, his chest warming at the sound of his name coming from her mouth. It sounded good. He slowly leaned back, gently wrapping his arm around her waist “I suppose we should return to the festivities now, my wife. And you can expect a lot more of that later on as well.”

she blushed but nodded as he lead her through the godswoods passing the lords as they headed inside the harrenhall grand hall.

[mrsbuckybarnes1917]

11: SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST

Previous chapter < MASTERLIST > Next chapter

Priya wants to have a pissing contest and you almost lose more than your best friend.

Word count 2.9k

Warnings: Priya and the Vrellnexians, canon level violence

Who knew that it only took one text message to ruin your day? You’d woken up that morning feeling a little lighter than the past week. Your departure from the compound had weighed heavily on your conscience, and every night as you closed your eyes in bed, you wondered if you had done the right thing by leaving. But this morning you felt different. It was the first day you would start at Coulson Academy. It was still a while before the start of the new school year, but May had decided that you might be more comfortable as a TA before leading your own classes. It would give you time to get to know the students and find your feet before being asked to swim in the deep end.

Spending the morning analyzing artifacts with Dr Benson was thrilling and gave you a warm nostalgic feeling which was rudely interrupted by your ringing phone. "Sorry," you muttered as Benson looked at you with a frown. He hated modern technology and their incessant distraction. 

"Just read it." He rolled his eyes.

You picked up your phone and unlocked it, eyebrows shooting up. The source of your correspondence was unexpected.

Priya << Hey, can we meet please? I want to talk to you.

>>>> When were you thinking?

Priya << I finish my shift at 1pm. I can come to the compound.

>>>> I’m at Coulson Academy today.

Priya << Fine, I’ll come there. Send me the address.

Her curtness and commanding tone made you roll your eyes, sending back the address of a coffee stand in a nearby park. You felt uncomfortable inviting her to your new haven.

"Trouble in paradise?"

"What?" you jump, surprised by Dr Benson’s attention.

"Relationship issues?"

"I don’t… I’m not in a relationship."

"That’s exactly how my husband used to look at me every time I pissed him off."

Your face softened when Benson mentioned his husband. You knew he had lost him a few years ago and blamed himself for his death. 

"My friend’s girlfriend wants to have a chat, apparently."

"Hmm… still sounds like trouble in paradise to me," he responded thoughtfully.

"Not my paradise," you shrugged.

"No," he smiled knowingly, saying nothing further.

*

You sat on a bench opposite the academy, waiting for Priya to arrive. Uncommon Ground was the name of the coffee stand, it usually made you chuckle, but today you felt too apprehensive and jittery. The large latte you’d ordered wasn’t doing anything for your nerves. There was something in the air that made your skin crawl, it was charged with anticipation and your nerves were on edge. But you chalked it all up to your anxiety about the topic of conversation that Priya was going to raise.

She arrived in a whirlwind of style and class. There was a reason she had been promoted at such a young age, she oozed confidence and charisma. And to top it all off, she was stunning. You could see why Bucky was attracted to her, she was elegance personified. Normally you didn't criticize yourself too harshly but your defenses were low and you found yourself feeling dowdy and drab in comparison.

Why would Bucky be with you when he had someone who looked like that? You thought mournfully.

"Hey, Priya," you greeted her with a forced smile.

"Hey, Cricket, thanks for meeting me," Priya replied, taking a seat beside you with her own cup of coffee.

"No problem, what’s up?" you asked, trying to sound casual.

Priya took a deep breath before speaking. "I wanted to talk to you about something that’s been on my mind for a while now."

Your heart sank. You knew what was coming. "Go ahead, Priya."

"I know this might be difficult to hear, but I’ve noticed that you have feelings for Bucky," Priya said, her voice gentle but firm.

You felt your cheeks flush with embarrassment and a hint of anger. "I-I don’t know what you’re talking about," you stammered, avoiding Priya’s gaze.

"Come on, Cricket, I’m not blind. I can see the way you look at him, the way you light up when he’s around. And I can tell that he means more to you than just a friend," Priya said, her eyes searching yours.

You swallowed hard, feeling exposed and vulnerable. "Look, Priya, I'm not trying to come between the two of you. You're right, I do love him, but nothing is going on between Bucky and I. But he is still my best friend. And what you did on his birthday, that was…" You couldn't find the words to express how hurtful it had been.

Priya sighed, she knew what she had done. "I appreciate your honesty, Cricket. But I need you to understand that Bucky’s my boyfriend. I love him, and I want to make things work between us."

Her response made you grit your teeth and bite your tongue. She was marking her territory and you hated it. "You don't need to make this a pissing contest, you've already won. You know that, right?" Your voice was flat and emotionless.

"What do you mean?"

"Bucky doesn't want to talk to me anymore. And I moved out of the compound. So he's all yours."

"I didn't want it to be like this, you know."

You scoffed.

"Why didn’t you tell him how you feel?" Priya’s question was unexpected. "I mean, you didn't suddenly develop your feelings overnight."

You were about to open your mouth to attempt an answer, when a loud thump caught your attention. Your head spun around to see a giant cockroach destroying the park. The sound you had heard was that of a tree crashing to the ground. You recognized the creature as a Vrellnexian, a ferocious species native to the planet Kitson. They had been bred for war and you’d seen them during your trip to the future in the Lighthouse. They were vicious and ruthless and hungry for blood. But what was this creature doing here and now?

Grabbing your phone, you found Steve on the list and pushed down the speaker. "STEVE! Alien attack! Vrellnexian! Need back up! Red Oaks Mill. Back up would be-" Your eyes went wide as the Vrellnexian turned its attention to you. "Shit," you muttered, your finger slipping off the mic and you pushed Priya out of the line of fire. The beast had decided to throw a trashcan in your direction.

"Take cover," you hissed in her ear, helping her up to her feet and pushing her in the direction of the coffee stand. You stood and turned to face the vicious alien, taking a few steps forwards to get its attention away from a group of terrified teens. "Hey, cockroach!"

It turned to you with a growl, raising its pincers menacingly. Taking a deep breath, you braced your nerves and took a few steps forward. The Vrellnexian was fast, faster than you remembered, attacking with speed and agility. It missed by mere millimeters as you dropped under him and rolled to a defensive position, eyes immediately back on the alien, which had twisted around towards you. You looked up at its face, trying to decipher its features, but there was an unmistakable sneer which made your fists clench with rage. You sprung up with a spinning kick that was aimed at its chest but it was able to grab your leg and used your momentum to fling you across the grassy open. 

You scrambled to your feet, desperately, launching an attack without waiting to recover. You pushed yourself into its middle, propelling yourself forwards and knocking it off balance. The Vrellnexian stumbled back and you pressed your advantage, launching yourself onto its shoulders and locking your legs around its neck in a triangular chokehold. Both of you crashed to the floor where you grabbed the dangerous pincers and wrestled with it.

A shout from someone nearby caught the creature’s ear for a brief second, and you put all your strength into your powers and pushed the alien off you. Flipping yourself off the floor, you put your concentration into forming a blade with your abilities, long and sharp, you forced it through the Vrellnexian’s chest as it recovered and charged towards you. It stumbled backwards as your weapon impaled its chest. Slowly, but surely, the beast twitched and weakened, sinking to the floor. You sank to your knees, gasping for breath, trying to recover your strength.

"Jamie!" Priya’s voice called out from behind you.

You turned in her direction and followed her gaze over to the parking lot where Bucky and Steve had jumped off their bikes.

"Better late than never," you mumbled, suddenly feeling anxious about coming face to face with Bucky, his presence was unexpected.

Priya rushed to your side, emboldened by the floored Vrellnaxian. "Jamie! Over here!" she called, falling to notice the way the fallen beast’s eyes opened.

You gasped as it reared up, pincers poised to strike. Without thinking, you grabbed Priya’s arms, pulling her away and shielding her body from the attack with your own. It was instinctive, you didn’t have time to ponder your actions, you just moved, moved right into the path of the sharp curved claw which ripped into your side. 

A scream didn’t even have time to leave your mouth before you’re on the floor, moaning and gasping for breath. Your vision felt blurred and a searing pain shot through your whole body. And as you stared up at the clear blue sky, you felt grateful for the people in your life, the experiences you'd had and relationships you'd forged. As you lay on the floor contemplating what you considered your inevitable death, time seemed to slow down. Your only real regret was the way things had ended with Bucky, and oh how you longed to see his face one more time. You would tell him how you felt. The moment your best friend came into your mind, his face appeared above you.

"Cricket! Cricket! Can you hear me?" Bucky's voice echoed in you ears 

A tiny smile crept across your face and you opened your mouth, but there was no sound. In fact, the sky didn't look as blue as it did a few moments ago. You were pretty sure that no storm had been predicted, but there was a gray cloud creeping in on you from all sides.

*

Bucky and Steve raced over to you, both of them screaming your name. Bucky all but ignoring Priya’s whimpering attempts to grab his attention. He fell to his knees and scooped you up into his arms, calling your name urgently. 

"Cricket! Look at me. It's Bucky, I'm here." He held you close to his chest, shaking you gently to get you to focus on him.

Your eyes were open but you were far away from him. He couldn't lose you, not now, not like this. Not when everything between you was left unsaid. Not when the last thing he had said to you had been so cold and dismissive.

"Cricket, please." He was begging, pleading for you to stay with him.

Steve was on his phone, calling for medical help. He had his phone in one hand and his other was clutching yours. He hated how cold and limp it felt. You were losing blood dangerously fast.

"James," Priya whispered from the side.

Bucky turned to her, finally acknowledging her presence. "Help her! Please! You're a doctor, help her. I need her. I need you to help her."

He looked at Priya with pure, unadulterated desperation, blue eyes beseeching. Priya looked back, her mind processing the events that had just unfolded before her. But fear seemed to have paralyzed her, her eyes flicking back and forth between Bucky and the conquered Vrellnexian.

"It's dead." He cried, referring to the alien. "Please don't let Cricket die. She saved your life. You can't let her die." Bucky tugged your listless body away from the dead alien. He grimaced as his actions left a smear of blood on the grass. "Please?"

Hesitantly, Priya knelt down beside you. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself and focus. There was nothing out of the ordinary, she told herself. It was just another day in the OR and you were just another patient. She stilled her racing mind and examined your wound, fingers probing the inside of your torso for the source of bleeding.

Bucky hadn't let go of you at all since the time he had arrived, holding you tightly to his chest, whispering words of encouragement in your ear. He had no idea if you could hear or understand him, but he was going to do everything he could to care for and comfort you until you were better. In his mind, there was no other alternative. He refused to believe that you would leave him all alone in the world.

"Cricket, I got your gift. It was so beautiful. Please wake up, I need to say thank you. Please, Doll."

If Priya heard his words, she didn't react, focusing on her only task: to save your life.

*

The paramedics had to pry you out of Bucky’s arms to take you to the nearest trauma center. Steve had steered him into the ambulance. He and Priya got into the car Natasha had arrived in, following to the hospital. The paramedics wheeled you into the ER looking incredibly irate, and it was obvious to Steve that his friend had been very obstructive during the journey.

Nat hovered by you closely as the surgeons assessed your injuries, stabilizing your vitals and prepping you for the OR. She sent a ream of messages to Steve's phone by way of updating him and Bucky.

"Bucky, let's get you cleaned up. There's a restroom right there. At least wash your hands." Steve pointed to a door a few feet from where they were sitting. 

Bucky scowled at this oldest friend before proceeding to wipe his blood stained hands on his jeans.

"James?" Bucky looked over at Priya. "Why don't we wash up a little. I'm sure that Cricket doesn't want to see you covered in blood when she wakes up." She took his hand and led him to the restroom, helping him get cleaned up.

Bucky watched as his girlfriend scrubbed your blood from her own hands, then his. She took a paper towel, ran it under the tap and wiped his face gently. He watched her tenderness, guilt burning inside him and feeling trapped. How had managed to get himself in a situation where he was going to hurt someone he cared about, regardless of the choice he made?

"You love her, don't you?" she asked.

"What?"

"Cricket."

Bucky blushed, not knowing how to answer.

"You know what I don't understand?" Priya went on, without waiting for a response. "Why you've been going out with me all this time?"

He swallowed hard, lost for words as to explain what he had been feeling. "I do like you."

"But you love her."

"I thought… I didn't think she…" Bucky let out a frustrated sigh. How could he explain his actions? 

"Did you even try telling her how you felt?"

Bucky's face betrayed his embarrassment, making Priya scoff. 

"No, of course not. I've been fighting a losing battle for the last six months."

"What?"

"You only started dating me because you didn’t think she liked you back."

Priya’s words hit Bucky like a ton of bricks. He had been so caught up in his own feelings of insecurity and fear of rejection that he hadn’t even considered the possibility that you might feel the same way about him.

"I messed up, Priya," Bucky finally admitted, his voice barely above a whisper. "I hurt her, and I hurt you. I don’t know how to fix this."

Priya reached out and took his hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "You can start by being honest with her, Bucky. Tell her how you feel. She deserves to know the truth."

"Why’re you helping me?"

"Because I did something I’m not proud of."

"My birthday gift?" Bucky asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yeah, I overhead Cricket telling Steve what she got for you and… I’m sorry."

He clenched his fists, hearing her admission. But what right did he have to be angry? He had been the one to put Priya in that position, to feel that she had to compete for his affections. He had no one to blame but himself. "But why?" he asked.

"That day I found you guys were sleeping together-"

"We didn’t have-

"I know! But that intimacy you guys have… that’s what I felt like I needed to fight for," Priya admitted. "She saved my life today." 

"Thank you for helping her."

"I took an oath," Priya shrugged.

The previously happy couple stood awkwardly in the public restroom, trying to figure out what to say to each other.

"I guess we should go back out," Bucky pointed at the door with this thumb. "Just in case."

"I think that… it should be you."

"Me?"

"You should be the one who’s there when she wakes up."

"What… what does that mean for… for us?"

"That’s up to you, James. Do you love her?"

"Yes." Bucky answered firmly, he had never been more sure of anything else in his life.

"Then I think you have your answer." Priya sighed. "Goodbye, James."

Priya pressed a kiss to his cheek, leaving a dumbfounded Bucky alone leaning against the basin to process what had just happened. His sadness and regret was replaced by hope and the thought of you. He gasped, he needed to go back out and find out what was happening to you.

Previous chapter < MASTERLIST > Next chapter

[archiveikemen]

“Don't Look At Anyone But Me” Collection Event

Ring Schwartz

This is a fan-made translation solely for entertainment purposes with no guaranteed perfection; expect mistakes, grammatical errors, and some creative liberties. All original content and media used belongs to Cybird. Please support the game by buying their stories and playing their games. Reblogs appreciated.

Read this before interacting

creds. to @/kurishiri for the title translation; i decided to use theirs (w/ permission) because i feel that it's better than what i had ♡

Kate: Um… can I help you?

I made up my mind and turned around to face him. 

Ring Schwartz — he was a member of Vogel, a research organisation under direct command of the German Emperor, with a goal of promoting the societal contributions of Cursed Ones. 

Ring: … Why are you asking me that?

Kate: I’m curious because you’ve been following me since morning…

Although I didn’t exactly sense it or hear his footsteps, Ring’s height made it difficult for him to hide and so it was obvious he was tailing me. 

Ring; Darius ordered me to investigate you. 

(What. Did he just blatantly admit that he’s “investigating me”...!?)

(Is there a reason why he’s being this straightforward…?) 

(In that case, I should be direct in my response too.)

Kate: What do you want to know about me?

Ring: You’ll answer if I ask?

Kate: Yes. As long as I have an answer.

Ring: I want to know… uh…

Ring: … I’ll ask Darius about it later. 

Kate: O-okay… got it. 

(Looks like Ring is absolutely obedient to Darius’ orders…) 

Kate: Do you plan to continue following me after this?

Ring: Yeah.

(What should I do… oh, that’s right!)

Kate: In that case, please make sure you don't leave my side!

Ring: …?

I smiled at the idea I had in mind, and Ring cocked his head in confusion. 

… 

Kate: I had something I wanted to buy, but all the members of Crown are busy today…

Kate: I was able to get permission to go outside today because you’re coming along, so you were a big help! 

Ring: You used my investigation to your advantage… not bad.

Ring: … Also, the fact that an escort is necessary for you shows that you’re someone rather important. 

(It’s actually because I’m under surveillance by Crown, but… I don’t have to tell him that.) 

Kate: I should do something to thank you for going shopping with me.

Ring: … Then stop addressing me as “Ring-san”. It’s uncomfortable.*

Kate: … Shall I address you as “Ring-kun”, then?*

* For consistency's sake, I'll drop the honorifics as I always do in my IkeVil translations.

Ring: I don’t mind. That’s fine. 

(He says he’s fine with it…) 

(He’s wary of me one moment, and the next thing I know he's allowing me to address him in a more friendly manner… Ring’s a mysterious one.) 

While I was distracted by Ring, I accidentally bumped into a man passing by. 

Boorish Man: Ah!? Watch where you’re walkin’!

Kate: I-I’m sorry! I’ll be more careful. 

Boorish Man: Pay for my medical bill. If ya ain’t got money… I don’t mind if ya pay with yer body. 

The moment the man sneered and reached out to grab my arm— 

Ring: I was ordered not to cause trouble in public. … Let’s escape. 

Ring grabbed my arm and started running. 

…

Boorish Man: Where did she go!? I won’t let her escape!

Kate: Ah… it’s a dead end. 

Ring: Hide here. 

Ring pushed me into the storage shed of a nearby private residence before slipping in. 

The shed wasn’t very spacious, so the two of us were crammed together. 

Ring: Hold your breath until he leaves.

Kate: O-okay…

The sounds of Ring’s breathing and heartbeat were especially loud in the silence. 

Seemingly having felt the same way, Ring spoke up to break the awkward tension. 

Ring: T-there's something I want to ask… um… what’s this smell coming from you? 

Kate: I didn’t put on any fragrance today, so I don’t think I smell like anything in particular…

Ring: Is that so…

Ring: … Then this must be your natural scent. 

Kate: Oh, I’m so sorry. I must be reeking of sweat from all that running. 

Ring: Y-you don’t! It’s a dizzying, pleasant scent… I just wanted to know what it was….

Ring: I like this scent much, I want to keep smelling it forev—...

Kate: …

Ring: … [shocked]

Ring: Oh, uh…! … My bad. That was a weird thing to say. 

Ring: Uhh, umm… 

Ring: Hm…? What’s this over here? Is this something from inside this shed? 

Ring: It’s very soft when I poke it with my finger… it feels nice to touch. 

Kate: T-that’s….

Kate: My… breast…

Ring: …………… breast. 

Kate: S-sorry. It’s too cramped here and we ended up touching… 

Ring: …………… ah.

Ring: WAAAHHHHHH!! 

With a yell that sounded almost like a distressed cry, Ring jumped out of the shed.

Afterwards, I heard a loud thud as though something was hit, followed by complete silence.

(W-what just happened…?) 

Cautiously, I stepped out of the shed— 

— I saw Ring sheath his sword, and the man who had been chasing me laid unconscious on the ground.

Kate: Um… 

Ring: … I didn't kill him. Only knocked him out with the hilt. 

(Amazing. He knocked the guy out in an instant…) 

Ring: Damn, had I known that sort of thing would happen, I would've done this sooner.

(“That sort of thing”... he’s referring to accidentally touching my breast, right?) 

Kate: I’m sorry for making you uncomfortable.

Rings Uncomfortable…? No, it wasn't uncomfortable.

Ring: If anything, it felt goo—...

Kate: …? 

Ring: N-n-no-nothing! It was an accident… sorry. F-forget whatever happened just now! 

Ring: I’ll also… um… try hard to forget everything. I’ll try my best not to think about it… um.

Kate: O-okay…

(Perhaps… Ring isn’t a scary person at all, unlike my first impression of him.)

…

Darius: Welcome back, Ring. How did investigating the robin go? 

Ring: Yeah… I’ll report my findings.

Ring: She… smells so nice that it makes my head spin.

Darius: … Huh?

Ring: Her chest— not just that, her whole body is completely different from a man's! It’s so soft and fluffy… 

Nika: …

Ring: Also… she possesses the ability to have a tight grip on a person’s heart.

Ring: Being together with her makes my heart race… that must be the kind of curse she has!

Darius: … I see? So she’s a possessor of such a terrifying power. 

Darius: I was thinking of having you continue investigating her for some time, but now it seems that she might be too much for you to handle—

Ring: No, it's dangerous for you and Nica to go near her. She might make your heart race so fast that it stops beating. 

Ring: I want to continue investigating her for a while because it’s too dangerous. 

Darius: Your strong sense of responsibility is praiseworthy, Ring. Alright, I’ll leave it to you. 

Ring: Yeah. I’ll most definitely defeat this ability of hers. 

Ring left the room.

Darius and Nica looked at each other. 

Nica: … Pfft, AHAHAHAHA! 

Nica: *sigh*... my younger brother is so adorable, isn’t he? I had a hard time holding back my laughter until he left the room.

Nica: By the way… can I share my thoughts on why you let Ring be the one to investigate the robin?

Nica: The robin was the most wary of Ring’s tough attitude, so it’d make things easier for us if she lets her guard down sooner. 

Nica: And if luck is on our side, Ring and the robin will get closer, and… oops, is it not part of the plan to reach that point? 

Darius: …

Nica: What if Ring ends up falling in love with the robin?

Darius: That won’t happen.

Darius: After all… it’s said that puppy love never works out, you know? 

[bellarkeselection]

Halstead’s Favorite Duo

Anonymous request - Can you do a Jay Halstead x reader, where they are married and she is part of the K-9 unit? Maybe they called her in or something to help chase down a suspect.

My boots hit the ground as fast as I could to keep up with my first best friend for I wish I could say my whole life. Yet I have only known this dog since I joined the K-9 unit that works with the Chicago Police Department. My German shepherd dog ran forward on the heels of the man that was running from us. The man we were after was a drug cartel that they had been hunting for months. “Ryder! Attack.” I commanded him before he launched himself through the glass store window.

The guy we were chasing tried to run to the back of the store but he tripped over a shopping cart giving Ryder the opportunity to tackle him to the ground. Stepping over the broken window glass I draw my gun from my belt pointing it at the guy. “Y/n, Ryder! Are you guys okay?”

“We’re fine, Jay. Ryder ain’t too bad at his job. Ryder, come here.” I smiled seeing my husband coming around the corner lowering his gun when he saw the situation.

Ryder snarled at the guy on the ground keeping his tail still when we were out in the field. Otherwise he would let it actually wag when he was happy. Jay bent down on a knee after putting his gun away, grabbing the guy off the floor and handcuffing him. “You’re under arrest for smuggling drugs across the border. Take him back to the station.” He handed him off to one of the other local officers.

“You did good, boy.” Dropping down on a knee in front of my dog he started moving his tail wagging it since it was just me and Jay alone with him. “So how much paperwork does this leave you with tonight. I can order take out if you want if you’ll be home later.”

He shakes his head walking back to one of the squad cars having me and Ryder following his heels like we did every morning when we all had to leave the apartment. “Hailey said she would take care of it. I actually had something else in mind.”

“Oh really. Care to share what you had in mind?” I smirked knowing that he wouldn’t give it up even if I asked the question but I did it anyway.

Jay sent me a glare. “It didn’t work on our first date and it still won’t work now.” I nudged him and he chuckled before Ryder barked signaling that he wanted into our conversation.

“That means he doesn’t want to be left out of whatever mystery thing you have planned. And you agreed to take me in every way that includes my doggy.” I responded to him.

Jay and I had gotten married a few years ago. I had just been promoted to chief of my unit. Vioet was the man to help me get it after he had seen my history with Ryder and the amount of cases we helped crack down compared to the other k-9 unit members. Jay opened the door letting my dog jump into the backseat shutting the door once he was in. We both got in the car and removed our bullet proof vests and he started the drive looking my way a few times. “Do you remember the day we met?”

“Of course I do. I got injured on an assignment and the doctors at the hospital your brother Will works at wouldn’t let Ryder inside my room. So he started losing it and breaking things. If it wasn’t for you I was sure Ryder would have bit Will’s leg.” I snorted running a hand down my face thinking back on that night.

Jay smiled, shaking his head. “Yeah but he and I have the same goal to protect you…and love you.”

“So where are we going exactly? I mean it’s kind of strange that you are asking about the day we met. We’re already married. What else could we possibly do?” I shifted in my seat bouncing up and down with the tension of waiting.

Jay didn’t stop the car for another few minutes, parking the car outside of a house that was painted a light blue on the outside and it had a gray roof. He let Ryder out of the backseat first before coming over to my side and helping me out. “The surprise is that this place is now ours.”

“Are you serious, Jay!” I gasped covering my mouth with my hands spinning around to face him since he was standing behind me.

He slipped the keys in my hands. “It’s our. I am not lying to you. I got it all set up a few weeks ago. That way we aren’t cramped in an apartment and this gives Ryder a space to run when he wants to.”

“I love you.” I smiled, wrapping my arms around his neck and kissing him slowly.

Ryder barks running towards the front door just as Jay wraps his arms around my waist tugging me closer to deepen the kiss until he breaks it not being able to hold in his chuckle. “I love you too…and Ryder seems to approve.”

Comments really appreciated ❤️

[darling-zain]

✮ ↳ The Show Must Go On ↰

♡ yandere! actor x gn reader♡

tw/cw: slight obsession, nothing too detailed

authors notes: first work and i wrote this in one sitting...it's okay we're fine ♥ also i may have based him off of myself and i will probably do that with a lot of my ocs! my bad i'm just a theater kid who likes to write

➼ yandere! Actor who first only knew you as one of the stagehands, always flitting back and forth behind the curtains.

➼ yandere! Actor who didn't even know your name until you got promoted to prop manager.

➼ yandere! Actor who never knew how every character that he played fell in love with someone at first glance, but as soon as you walked onto the stage and started giving out your orders, it was like the heavens had shone their light upon you and you only.

➼ yandere! Actor who was infatuated with everything about you. Your responsibility, your assured nature, the way you'd sternly correct him when he messed up his lines because he "should be reading off his script, not off my face".

➼ yandere! Actor who was always on top of his game, one of the best actors in his region, yet when you looked at him with your concentrated eyes it was like he was a rookie again.

➼ yandere! Actor who would be stuttering and tripping over his words on purpose just to get you to come up and read it with him, your warm body so close to his that he could almost taste the perfume you were wearing.

➼ yandere! Actor whose heart raced whenever you praised him, even a simple "good work today" would give him butterflies.

➼ yandere! Actor who knew that opening night was approaching, so he worked day and night to memorize his lines. The excited smile on your face when he was able to perform the whole dress rehearsal without flaw was something he'd never forget.

➼ yandere! Actor who, standing behind the curtain on the first day of their showing, suddenly started to shake. He's been in the industry so long that he forgot what it's like to have pre-show anxiety, and he doesn't even know how to deal with it. Suddenly, a warm hand is put on his shoulder.

"You're shaking." You point out, turning him around to face you. "Why? Are you feeling alright?" You place the back of your hand on his forehead to feel his temperature. "You're not warm, so you're not sick..." You think about it for a second, looking him in the eyes with a warm smile. "Are you...nervous?"

Aurelian doesn't speak, instead, he just nods. He's ashamed of you having to see him like this, the Aurelian Yavuz, getting jitters right before the opening night of one of his most popular shows.

"Hey, look at me." Your voice is soft, yet commanding, forcing him to look into your assuring eyes. You place both your hands on his shoulders, gripping them firmly to help ground him.

"You've done this show countless times before, and we've read the script together so many times that it should be burned into your brain by now." He laughs slightly, a sign that your motivation is working.

"You're one of the best actors I've ever worked with, and one of the most dedicated as well. You've spent so many hours reading, fixing, and editing this performance so that it's just right and absolutely nothing could go wrong. Am I correct?"

He nods again, making you click your tongue.

"Use your words. Am I correct, yes or no?" Your firm tone makes it hard for him to disobey, especially when you look at him with those fierce eyes.

He gulps, taking a deep breath before responding.

"Yes, you're correct. I've done so much to make sure that this show is perfect, so I have no reason to be nervous." He stands up straighter and walks backstage, adjusting his costume in the mirror. "Plus, I know that you'll be watching, so everything will be okay~." He winks at you from the mirror, making you chuckle.

"Exactly. We behind the curtain will be making sure that everything goes smoothly, so all you have to do is go out there and do what you do best." The lights start to dim as the audience applauds. You pat him on the back and adjust his collar for him.

"The stage is yours, Auri." you nod at him as he takes a deep breath, walking out onto the large wooden stage to loud cheering. His voice booms through the stage, and soon enough, the show is over. The cast takes their final standing bow and walks back to their dressing rooms. Aurelius makes a beeline for the lighting booth where you are usually sitting; he bursts through the door backstage, only to find your seat empty.

"What...?" he looks around for any trace of you, but it's like you've disappeared. He takes a seat in your chair and waits for what seemed like hours to him because of how tired he was. 15 minutes after the show ends, he hears your voice from outside the door. he gets up to open the door, but as soon as he does, the door opens with a creak. There you are, standing in the doorway with a coffee in one hand and your bag in the other, looking up at him surprised.

"Auri, why haven't you changed? Everyone's already leaving, you should go too-"

"You weren't watching." He cuts you off, looking at you with cold, dead eyes.

You look at him confused, setting your bag down on the floor. "What are you-"

"Why weren't you watching?"

[tip-top-cloud-surfer]

The Danger Zone (Part 18) - Hangman

Pairing: Hangman / Fem!Bradshaw!Reader | OC

Word Count: 3.9k

This work, all my works, and my entire blog are 18+ ONLY.

Warnings: Unplanned Pregnancy; Military Inaccuracies; Medical Inaccuracies; Crying; Angst; Family Drama; Deployments; Use of "You," No Use of Y/N, No Set Physical Description

Summary: You try to adapt to life without Jake beside you anymore.

Series Master List

Master List

Dear Jake,

You probably haven’t even reached the aircraft carrier yet. You might even still be on the ground in Miramar. But I couldn’t wait. I miss you. You’ve been gone for less than five hours, and I already miss you so much. I'm not saying that to try and make you feel bad, but because it's the only thing on my mind now.

Everyone offered to take me out today to try and distract me, but I declined. I think that I just want some time to myself. I honestly don't even want to get out of bed. Maybe I’ll do some cleaning. Or who knows? Maybe I’m an accomplished knitter who hasn’t discovered her talent yet. Or maybe I’ll bake again. I don’t know. 

Also, all of the tee shirts you left behind are now mine. Sorry, it’s just wife rules. You shouldn’t have married me and knocked me up if you didn’t want me to steal your stuff. 

I miss you. I love you. And so does our little girl. Come home safe, Lieutenant Commander. That’s an order. 

Love,

Your Wife

~~~~~

Dear Jake,

I went back to work today. Everyone tried to talk to me about you and the wedding and everything, but I just wanted to be left alone. Also, my cravings are all over the place now. And half of the stuff seems to make me throw up these days. Luckily, I still have the gum and toothbrush in my desk. 

How’s everything? I assumed that you made it to the carrier by now. Or maybe you’re somewhere else entirely.

You know all of those spy movies over romanticize how sexy it is to be waiting at home for your husband to return home from some top secret mission.

It’s not sexy. It’s just annoying. 

Here’s a photo of me and my bump. Don’t mind the mess in the background, I’m rearranging the whole apartment. Call it nervous organizing. It'll be cleaned up. Eventually.

She’s been a shy ever since you left. I can still feel her moving around, but even she seems to have realized that you're gone. I think that she just misses you. And I can’t blame her because I miss you too. 

I love you, Jake. Come home safely.

Love,

Your Wife

~~~~~

Dear Jake, 

I got the package that you bought for me. I hope that you know that if you were here, I would have given you a rerun of that time that we went to that desert concert. The one where you wouldn't remove your hands from my waist for a second. I hope that your big promotion doesn’t change how much you enjoyed it when I tied your hands up back in your truck. 

Our daughter’s been moving around like crazy today ever since I played your voice for her. She doesn’t seem to be willing to kick yet, but we’ll get there in time. 

I let Emma take me out today. We just took a walk around her neighborhood. Baby girl finally went to bed after that. But knowing her, she’ll wake up just in time for me to go to bed. 

Here’s our photo from today. Emma took it. I can’t believe I’m going to get even bigger. You owe me a deep tissue massage on my back when you get home. And I’ll hold you to it. 

We love you and miss you, Jake. 

Love,

Your Wife

~~~~~

Dear Jake,

I couldn’t take it anymore. I moved in with Mav today. I thought I wanted to be alone, but I was wrong. Being alone with my thoughts just makes me sad and lonely and I don’t want our daughter to bake in that. She needs to inherit your smile and dimples, so I’m making a bigger effort to be happy. 

Penny took me to get my nails done today. I got a light pink for our daughter, but now everyone’s assuming that we’re having a girl. I haven’t confirmed it because we didn’t discuss it before you left but don’t be shocked when you come home to a lot of pink. 

I also started seriously researching some girl names. I never realized how many people I don’t like until I started trying to name our daughter. And you better speak up if any of the ones that I suggest are ones that have bad meanings to you.

I’m still digging through a whole bunch of lists but there’s such weird ones out there, Jake. And we cannot name our child something that would get us a look from her teachers. Or a stripper name.

I love you. Baby girl is behaving herself, but she misses you.

Love,

Your Wife

~~~~~

To My Beautiful Wife,

I finally got a chance to check my email. We’re settled on the carrier now, but we’ve been doing a lot of drills and long briefings. I'm sorry that I haven't written earlier. Know that the two of you are always on my mind.

I’m glad you got your gift. I tried to record what I could think of for our baby girl. I don’t want her to miss anything. And I don’t want her keeping you up at night. Has she kicked yet? By my count, you’re hitting seven months in a day or two.

Thanks for sending me those photos. I put up one of the two of you from that photo shoot in my plane. Really brightens up the place. But it also reminds me of what I’m missing. Sometimes I have to take it down so I can focus.

I miss you. I miss our little girl. Every day, every hour, every second. 

Try to relax. I know that everyone’s probably told you that a thousand times by now, but I don’t want you feeling stressed about me. I’m fine and I'll be home as soon as I can. Please tell me that you didn’t lift anything heavy while you were moving into Mav’s house. Or maybe it's better if you don't tell me.

And you can tell everyone about her. I don’t mind. It’s not like we could keep it a secret for much longer anyways. But make sure to mention that I was right. 

And you have to tell me the worst names that you've seen on these lists. I left a list of baby names I liked in my nightstand. I'd research them when I couldn't sleep at night.

I love you and I love our daughter. I’ll try to be home soon.

Your Husband,

Jake

~~~~~

Dear Jake,

I had my seven month appointment today. Baby girl is healthy and still measuring a little small. But her heartbeat is strong and I can tell that she’s going to be stubborn coming out. The doctor says that it’s only a matter of time before she starts kicking. 

I hope that the ocean isn’t too rough and you can see the stars. I remember when Mav and I spent a month in Hawaii when I was a teenager. We saw the most beautiful stars there. What if we picked a star name for our daughter? Not Stella, though. That was our dog's name growing up and I can't name my daughter after a dog.

I didn’t lift anything. Mav wouldn’t let me. And neither would Bradley. They’re watching me like hawks these days. And no, I didn’t mean that as a bird joke. Also, I can’t name our daughter after a bird. I’m trying to end the family streak of joke names. 

Mckeighleigh was the most ridiculous looking name I’ve seen so far. And we’re not naming our daughter Precious either. Or worse, Chastity. I don’t know how those nurses keep a straight face when they hear those names. 

And your recording telling her to go to bed has come in handy lately. Though I did warn her that we’ll be discussing the fact that she only seems to listen to you about that when she comes out. 

I love you so much Jake. You’ll be home soon, I know it. And we’ll be waiting for you when you do. 

Love,

Your Wife

~~~~~

Dear Jake,

I can't fall asleep, so I’m writing to you instead. And no, it wasn’t our baby girl who kept me up. I’ve had the worst heartburn these days. And Tums don’t do shit. They say that means that our daughter will come out with a full head of hair. I say that I'd take a bald baby in exchange for better sleep.

My baby shower is in a few days. Next weekend. Emma and Phoenix said that it was going to be relatively small, and I hope that they stick to it. I’m not really in the mood to see a lot of people anymore.

I yelled at Bradley the other day for making an omelet with three eggs because he left an egg in the carton without a 'friend' because he left an egg alone in its row since there was an odd number of eggs. Apparently, I kept crying about it for a while, but in all honesty, I don’t really remember much of that conversation. I’m pretty sure that Bradley’s keeping his distance now. You probably would have enjoyed seeing his face. 

I asked for a little box at my baby shower to put name suggestions in. I’m running out of ideas. I keep worrying that we’re going to name her something stupid. 

Baby girl is growing bigger, and I can’t believe that I’m still going to get fatter. I’m struggling to grab things off of the floor now. Maverick got me one of those grabby things that old people use. You would probably find it hilarious.

I love you. I miss you. I’ll write to you tomorrow. 

Love,

Your Wife

~~~~~

“Thank you,” you told Emma as she handed you a lemonade. 

Emma and Penny took you out for the day to spend some time out of Mav’s house. You were growing increasingly less interested in leaving your 'nest,' as Bradley nicknamed it, and they were trying their best to get you motivated to go out and continue to live your life.

You had done some shopping for a dress to wear to your baby shower and now the three of you were getting a snack before you’d head over to the Hard Deck for the rest of the afternoon. You chatted for a moment before you sighed, slowly got to your feet, and grabbed your purse from your chair. 

“Bathroom?” Emma asked you.

“Where else?” you joked, walking off. 

A few minutes later, as you were washing your hands at the sink, you looked up when another woman stepped inside the bathroom. You offered her a friendly smile before her familiarity suddenly struck you. Quickly drying your hands, you reached for your bag and turned to leave. But the woman stood directly in your path.

She had stripes of gray cutting through what appeared to be deep auburn hair. She carried herself with a sense of purpose. And an expensive handbag. She reminded you of some of the women you used to see at the country club that you worked at in college. The type who turned a blind eye when their pig husbands made some demeaning comment to the women on staff and were never seen without some kind of drink in their perfectly manicured hands.  

“You know who I am?” Georgia Seresin asked softly.

You stared her down, gripping the strap of you bag tightly. Your heart was beating hard in your chest, and you could practically feel the rhythm in your ears. Taking a breath and releasing it, you tilted your chin up and narrowed your eyes at her.

“What are you doing here?” you demanded quietly, looking around the small public bathroom. No one else was in there except for the two of you. “Are you stalking me?”

“I came to California when my son didn’t respond to my letter.”

“I wonder why?” you wondered sarcastically.

“What did he tell you?”  

“Everything,” you stated firmly. “Which is why I would appreciate it if you stopped acting like it was just a coincidence that you ran into me here, hundreds of miles from your home, when Jake is conveniently deployed.” You paused for a moment before repeating through gritted teeth, “Why are you here?”

“To talk to you. About my son.”

“What about your son?”

“I know that your child isn’t here yet, but when they’re born, perhaps you can understand how much pain it could cause a mother to miss out on their child’s wedding or the process of them expecting their first child. From a mother to a mother—”

“—I’m going to stop you right there.”

You tried to keep your tears of anger in as you thought about Jake’s expression when he told you about his childhood. When you thought about the pain that you could hear in his tone, that you could feel radiating off of him.

“Because a woman who calls herself a mother would never do the things that you did. You stole him from a poor girl who loved him. You lied to her, promising that you would take care of him and love him. And then you turned around and fed him to the wolves." Nostrils flaring and angry tears threatening to fall, you added, "Did you ever even tell him that you loved him?"

“Of course, we did,” she admonished.

“Did you? Did you tell him that you were proud of him? That you loved him no matter what happened?” you snapped, trying to keep your voice even. “Every night my mom told me that she loved me and that she was proud of me. How many times did you tell Jake that, Georgia? How is a child supposed to just know that if you don’t tell them?” Shaking your head as you let out a shaky breath, you turned back to her. “And just so you know, there won’t be a day where Jake doesn’t tell our child that he loves them. Not one.”

Georgia adjusted her handbag on her shoulder and pursed her lips together. Clearly, she wasn’t used to being spoken to in this manner, but you didn’t give a shit about her feelings. 

“Did you come here to convince me to talk Jake into speaking to you again? To buy my baby from me? A combination of the two? Does your husband know that you’re here? Is he waiting outside?”

Georgia took another moment to compose herself from your questions. She glanced down at the rings on your finger before meeting your gaze again.

“I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that Jake selected a woman as . . . outspoken as you,” Georgia stated, adjusting her handbag again. “No, my husband does not know that I’m here. And I’m not here to buy my grandchild. I’m here to try and get through to my son and I’ve realized that the best way to do that would be through you. The woman he married and is having a child of his own with.”

Your eyes flashed with annoyance at Georgia's words.

“I have no interest in having a relationship with you because Jake doesn’t have an interest in it.”

“There’s nothing I can do to persuade you to speak with him about me?” Georgia pressed, an edge of desperation in her tone. 

“No, there’s not.”

“You would deny your child a set of grandparents?”

“I will protect my child from people who hurt their father.”

Forcing yourself to take a breath, you stared down Georgia for a moment. She looked far more pathetic than you knew she was comfortable with. Apparently, she thought that she would just waltz in, and you would agree with her without any pushback.

But she couldn't have been more wrong.

“You know, when Jake told me about his upbringing, I honestly felt a bit of sympathy for you, Georgia. Maybe you were convinced that being a rich housewife to a pathetic little man was a better life than being loved by a poor man. And I’m sure that your husband hasn’t been kind to you over the years.” 

The rage flashed to the surface again as she turned away from you for a moment. 

“But how could you look another woman in the eye and convince her to hand over an innocent baby to a man that you knew would be a horrible father? That you knew would hurt that baby?”

After a moment, you walked past Georgia, who did not move to block your path this time. You opened the door and strode out of there and you didn't dare look back. Trying to gather yourself, you looked up to see Emma and Penny a few steps away from you. 

“Are you okay? We were getting worried," Emma questioned with clear concern.

“Fine. Let’s get going to the Hard Deck,” you stated, already turning towards the parking lot. 

“What happened?” Penny asked, studying your expression. You didn’t reply and just kept marching towards the parking lot until Penny rested a hand on your shoulder, forcing you to slow down. “You’re shaking. What’s wrong?”

“Jake’s mom walked into the bathroom,” you explained quietly, looking over your shoulder. 

“What?"

“She knew where you were?” Penny asked urgently, looking around with a protective stare. Wrapping her arm around your shoulders, she encouraged you forward again. “Come on, let’s get going.”

~~~~~

Maverick’s face darkened after you finished with your explanation about what happened at the mall. Grabbing his phone, he got up from the table with a serious expression.

“I’m going to make a call,” he stated firmly. “They can’t stalk you and your child. I don’t care who the hell that they think they are in Texas. That’s not going to fly out here. That’s not going to continue.”

“Who are you calling?” you asked as Maverick walked off. 

“An old contact. I’ll be right back.”

Penny told you to just let Mav make the call as the remaining four of you remained seated at the table. You twisted your engagement ring around your finger nervously, sharing a look with Emma and Bradley, who sat across from you. 

“She didn’t try to hurt me—”

“—Doesn’t matter,” Bradley interjected quickly. “It’s creepy and it’s over the line and it’s going to stop. Now. Just let Mav make his call. He'll handle it.”

“I know,” you sighed, holding your head in your hands. “Jake is going to freak out when I tell him.”

“You’re going to tell him right away?”

“I can’t hide it from him. It might take me some time to find the words, but I have to tell him.”

Penny hugged you to her side and rubbed your back with her hand, giving you the maternal support that you really needed in that moment. You sighed and leaned against her, desperately wishing that Jake would be home soon.

“Everything will be alright. We’re going to figure this out.”

~~~~~

Dear Jake,

I hope that everything is running smoothly where you are. And that you read this email sooner rather than later. 

Penny and Emma took me to the shops yesterday and when I was trying to leave the bathroom, I ran into your mother. She came up from Texas and she told me that she wanted to talk to me about you. Said something about using me to convince you to talk to her again. I told her that I wasn’t interested in that because you weren’t interested in that. She let me leave after that. 

I don’t want to stress you out or make you feel like you have to do anything when you’re so far away, but I wanted to be honest with you. Mav’s made a few calls and he seems to think that he has a solution. Don’t stress about us, just focus on your mission and coming home safely in one piece. 

We love you, Jake. And we’re safe, we’re fine. And we miss you. 

Love,

Your Wife

~~~~~ 

Folding some fresh laundry in Maverick's house a few days later, you looked up when you heard your phone buzz. An unknown number was calling you and despite your hesitation, you answered it. 

“Hello?”

“Hi, Honey.”

“Jake?” you whispered out shakily, holding a hand to your mouth. Moving to sit, you tried to calm yourself down and not just simply sob. “How are you calling me?”

“I have my ways,” Jake replied teasingly. Growing more serious, he asked, “Are you alright?”

“We’re fine, Jake.” 

“I’m so sorry, Honey. She never should have been anywhere near the two of you.”

“We’re fine,” you repeated softly. “She didn’t threaten us. If anyone was threatening anyone, it was me.”

“That’s my wife,” Jake praised, causing you to smile bashfully. “But my father wasn’t there, right? It was just my mother?”

“Yeah. She said that he didn’t know that she was there, and I didn’t see him around.”

“Good. I’ll deal with them when I get home.”

“Okay.” After a moment you asked, “How much longer do you have?”

“Less than a minute. I’m sorry, Honey, I just needed to know that the two of you were okay. They thought that I was having some kind of stroke when I read your email and I managed to convince them to let me call you.”

“At least one good thing came out of the whole shitshow,” you sighed, resting a hand on your bump. “I love—”

You froze when you felt your daughter press her foot against your hand. Jake felt his heart leap into his throat when you cut yourself off and stop talking without a clear reason.

“What? What’s wrong?”

“She’s kicking,” you whispered softly.

“What?”

“Jake, she’s kicking. Our daughter is kicking!”

“She’s kicking?”

“Yes, she’s kicking,” you laughed, before your joy dimmed and tears pooled in your eyelids. Sniffling, you croaked out, “I love you so much, Jake. We love you so much.”

“I love you too. And I miss you so fucking much, Honey. And I’m so sorry that I’m not there.”

“Hangman, time’s up,” Jake heard from behind him, causing him to look over his shoulder. 

“I’ve got to go, Honey,” he replied, grinding his jaw to try and stave off the tears. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too. Bye, Jake.”

The line went dead, and you slowly placed your phone down. Holding your hand to your mouth, you finally let out your sobs. And about a thousand emotions that you'd tried keeping in ever since Jake was forced to leave you. 

Your daughter was finally kicking, but her father wasn’t here to feel her. And the thought only made you sob harder. 

Back on the carrier, Jake rubbed the tears that leaked from his eyes. 

He missed it. He fucking missed it. He missed his daughter kicking for the first time. He wasn’t there when his mother showed up out of nowhere and accosted you in a public bathroom. He wasn’t going to be there for your baby shower.

Jake had anticipated that deploying while you were heavily pregnant was going to be difficult. But he didn’t realize that it was going to be impossible, killing him slowly from the inside out. 

“Hangman?”

“I’m coming,” Jake called back, clearing his throat. “I’m coming.”

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[katz-chow]

perv!price and perv!simon being so gross when they're around you!!! talking about you together and getting all silent when you come into the room, their cocks almost begging to be freed from their boxers when you turn around, they're eyes immediately darting to your ass!!

and john's glad that's it's simon he can talk to you about, the way your tits look when you're training, how tight your pussy would be... simon is responsible, he'd take good care of you!! just spar with him and let him rub his bulge against your clothed cunt, cumming in his boxers at the fantasies corrupting his already fucked up mind.

price can't help himself from bending you over his desk and telling you that your panties are too inappropriate to wear for work, just so you can take them off, leaving him to huff at and wrap around his girth, jerking off and using them to soak up his cum. did he leave you without any panties? yeah, and simon had a field day being able to take photos up your skirt. 69 with him for the first time as he'd been teasing you with his eyes all day, practically undressing you with just his gaze.

feel free to ignore if you're too busy, uninterested, or uncomfortable ! :) 🌷🌷🌷 love your work, like always 🎀

warnings: gn! reader, exhibitionist, power play, voyeurism, oral fixation, a tiny bit of blood (cherry popping)

a/n: orla, orla, orla…i can always count on you to bring the best hard smut to my blog…i also love this power play of a duo

they pull rank all the time too, it’s so unfair :((

getting word that lieutenant riley needs to go over your paper work with you when you just transferred and being worried you’ll be sent back for a stupid reason. but when you get there, he makes you kneel next to him, behind his desk and look up at him with your pretty eyes, waiting. you look so cute when you’re so eager to please. he sticks his big, calloused fingers into your mouth and makes you suck on them, your lewd drool dripping down your chin and onto your shirt, making it sticky and cling onto your chest. but you can’t help but be good for riley, he’s your lt and he treats you so well, this is the least you can do.

price who orders simon to fuck you in front of him, commanding how the two of you go at it. he sits back, cock in hand and cigar on his lips as he watches simon pounds into your precious hole. your legs start to give out as your third orgasm rocks you to an all high but simons grip on your hips make sure you’re always upright and at the perfect position for him to slam his thick cock into you.

“f-fuck…please lieutenant please i cant…ah!” you beg him as you fit him rip you open purpose, dick making sure your cervix is bruised and you’re bleeding just a bit. he loves seeing you babbling and drooling under him while he knows his captain is noting all of this, thinking about the promotions you two are going to get. he sits at his desk, cock leaking and twitching onto his trousers as he watches the two of you. the way your ass bounces as simon thrusts into you, pinning your hands to the way and your chest fully pressed up to the cold drywall. price scoffs, a lit cigar between his lips as he strokes himself, knowing damn well he can actually make you cum rather than just aimlessly slamming into you like simon ruthlessly is.

[roosterforme]

Always Ever Only You Part 4 | Rooster x Reader

Summary: Two envelopes arrive in the mail. One makes you and Bradley smile, the other, not so much. But you'll figure out how to deal with what is out of your control just like you always do. And when it turns out you can help Cat in a big way, you're happy to do it. 

Warnings: Fluff, smut, angst, swearing

Length: 3800 words

Pairing: Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x Female Reader

This was written to accompany my series Is It Working For You? along with a bunch of my one-shots and other series, but it can be read on its own! Check my masterlist for the reading order. Gorgeous banner by @mak-32

Cat was still quiet around you, but it felt a little less hostile and a little more innocuous. You didn't need her to be your friend, and as long as work wasn't becoming a nightmare, you figured you could deal with it. Because being at home with Bradley was at times more stressful for you than being at work.

"Are you ovulating, Baby Girl?" Bradley asked when you walked inside after work with the mail in your hands. Your husband knew your cycle by now. He knew it well before you were even married. Before you were engaged. There was no point in trying to lie to him about this.

"Yes," you whispered softly. You sounded so needy with just that one word, no wonder he was all over you. When his lips met yours, you moaned and started to stumble toward the bedroom. The trail of khaki uniform components you left in your wake would make you laugh thirty minutes from now, but in the moment, you needed your husband to cum inside you.

And while you knew Bradley was trying to make every single time count now, he still felt the same as he always did. He worshipped every curve of your body, kissing your tattoo until you were breathless for him. His big hands were wrapped around your thighs, spreading you wide open so he could taste you before he started thrusting. 

"You're perfect," he crooned next to your ear, methodically coaxing your orgasm from you with his words and his body. You wanted this one to be the one that worked, because he felt so good. He was perfect, too.

With your hands on his shoulders and your body sated beneath his, Bradley dipped his forehead down to your shoulder and chanted your name until he was no longer moving. "Fuck," he grunted, still fully seated inside you as he grew softer. His full body weight made breathing a little difficult, but you didn't want him to move yet. He smelled good, and his skin was warm and slick with sweat. You slid your hands down to his biceps and whined when he started to move.

"Stop," you commanded, and he kissed your lips, not moving another inch until you were ready.

A few minutes later, when you came out of the bathroom, you pulled on his discarded undershirt and made your way to the kitchen. "So how was your day?" he asked, picking up all of the uniform pieces.

"It was pretty good, Roo. Jake came up to my lab for lunch since you were working with the instructors today." Bradley had been invited to help instruct several times recently, and you could tell he was cautiously optimistic about what that meant.

"Great," he replied sarcastically. "I'll bet everyone in your lab thinks Jake is your side piece."

You started laughing as you opened the mail. "Nah, here's in there more often than you are at this point. If anything, they think you're my side piece."

You bit your lip as he came up behind you at the kitchen counter and spanked your butt where it was bare underneath his shirt. "That's not funny, Sweetheart," he murmured next to your ear, but he sounded amused. He was palming your butt, and you started to wonder if he'd be ready for round two before or after dinner. 

"Oh look!" you gasped, opening the thick, cream envelope and pulling out the invitation to your promotion banquet. You squealed and spun in his arms. "It's in four weeks!" 

"I'm so proud of you," he promised, holding you as you read the full invitation out loud to him. He kissed the top of your head and promised he'd be there to pin you. "I'll pin my wife. Doesn't that sound nice?"

"Sounds ideal, Roo," you said, setting the invitation aside so you could add it to your calendar and text a photo to your parents. Then you opened the rest of the mail. A mortgage statement. Junk. A credit card bill. More junk. And then an envelope addressed to Bradley that made your heart stop for a few beats. 

You handed it to him without a word and watched him open it, but he was more focused on you. The bob of his Adam's apple as he read the first few lines had tears welling in your eyes. He tossed the paper aside and reached for you. As you clambered to get your arms around him as quickly as you could, you whispered, "When?"

He kissed your temple and said, "Two days after your banquet."

You sobbed and asked, "How long?"

"Two months."

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

Bradley only had one more month with you before he'd be spending two months on an aircraft carrier. He sat in the locker room on base and did the math. You were ovulating right now. And you'd be ovulating right before he left. He'd hate to miss a positive pregnancy test, but at least he knew he had two chances before he'd miss a few of your cycles completely.

When he strolled out into the hallway, he saw Nat, and he knew right away. "You got papers."

Her eyes went wide. "I did. So did Bob." 

He let out a long breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Fuck," he whispered, falling into step next to her as she headed toward the tarmac. "I hate leaving her. But it's so much fucking worse when you're gone at the same time."

"I know," she replied, patting his forearm through his flight suit. "But Jake will be here."

Bradley still felt frustrated that you held back telling him the things that you told Jake right away, but he understood you needed your friend. "How the hell did I end up with Jake Seresin permanently in my life like this? It's fucking ridiculous, Nat."

She snorted. "Hey, just remember... he asked her out first. You could be standing on the sidelines watching a very different game at the moment if she hadn't found him so annoying."

"Nah," he replied with a smile. "My wife has excellent taste."

She smiled back at him as they walked out into the bright sunlight. When Bradley saw Bob, he held up his hand and gave him a thumbs down. 

"Oh, you got papers too? You're with us?" he asked, gesturing between Nat and himself. 

"Sure am," he groaned. "I should be thankful or happy. Being deployed with friends is always better. But I'm just... not."

Bob smiled. "I wouldn't be either if I was married to your wife." His eyes went wide, and he started stuttering, but Bradley just waved him off. 

"I'll take that as a compliment," he replied, grabbing his helmet and getting to work. At least he wasn't flying like shit this week. He and Coyote got eliminated first, but it was because of a risky move that didn't pay off, not because he felt out of sync. 

So when he saw Hondo on the tarmac, a smug smile on his face, Bradley gave him a fist bump. "You two almost pulled it off. Almost," he told Bradley and Javy. "Two hundred pushups, fellas."

"God damn, it's hot today," Bradley groaned, dropping into position and digging in while Hondo started counting them off. The first one hundred weren't too bad, but the back end really got to him. He was pouring sweat and huffing a bit while Javy looked completely at ease. Shit, the last fifteen were terrible, and he almost collapsed onto his elbows before he managed to sit up. 

"You okay, old man?" Javy asked him with a laugh after Hondo dismissed them both for the day. "Having trouble keeping up?"

"This shit used to be easier," Bradley grunted, letting Javy help him up. "Thanks."

"Careful. Don't let Mav hear you say that, or he'll get you a cane."

Bradley chuckled on his way back to the locker room. Damn, his shoulders were aching. He wasn't that old. Well, he was old compared to you. And most of the other aviators at Top Gun. "Fuck," he muttered, turning toward the elevator bank and pressing the button to go up. 

You usually made such a fuss over him, sometimes he forgot he was six years older than you. He wasn't bad looking or anything, but you definitely looked younger than him. He would have to hit the gym out in the garage more. And when he was deployed, working out would be pretty much the only thing he could do for entertainment. 

He pulled out his phone before he knocked on your office door, smiling at your name placard. When you opened it with a look of surprise on your face, he was playing your wedding song and singing along. 

"Roo," you sighed, smiling up at him. You pushed your door open wider with a soft laugh. "Did you come all the way up here to serenade me?"

"Something like that," he murmured. "Gotta make the next four weeks count. You free?"

"Yeah, I was just packing up to leave, actually." You bit your lip as you closed the door and ran your fingers through his hair. Your soft moan had him pushing you back toward your desk. "You're all sweaty. God, you look good."

"Do I?" he asked, leaning down to kiss you.

"Bradley, you always look good. The flight suit definitely doesn't hurt either."

He watched you squeeze your khaki covered thighs together while his phone played Everywhere by Fleetwood Mac. He set it on your desk and pressed his body to yours. "Shit. I love how you're reacting to me." He took your chin between his thumb and fingers. "Just look at you, Baby Girl."

"I'm so horny," you gasped. "You know how I get when I'm ovulating. And you're all sweaty. And you smell like jet fuel."

He tipped your chin up a little higher before placing the softest kiss to your lips. You were trying to get more from him, but he just gave you gentle kiss after gentle kiss until you were grabbing at the front of his flight suit. 

"Bradley," you keened. He certainly didn't feel so old now as you begged for more. 

"This isn't why I came up here," he whispered. "Just wanted to see if you left for the day." He let his hand drift from your chin back along your jaw to the back of your neck. You took the opportunity to throw your arms around his neck and place the filthiest kisses on his lips. You were tasting his tongue and pulling his bottom lip between our teeth. But when you actually licked a trail of sweat from his neck, Bradley spun you around and pulled you close so your back was pressed to his front. 

"Please?" you asked softly, and he reached around to the front of your khaki pants with both hands and unzipped them. You grabbed his forearms with both of your hands as he undid the button as well. 

"I can't say no to you," he whispered, easing his right hand inside your pants and running his fingers along your underwear. "These your black and white lacy ones?"

He knew all of your underwear by feel alone, and when he smiled against your neck, you moaned, "Yes. I love it when you do that."

Bradley slipped his hand down the front of your underwear, and you arched your back against him. When he took your left hand in his, he pulled it up to his mouth, kissing your rings as he grazed your clit.

"Fuck," you gasped, jolting a little bit against him. "This is like the first time you ever touched me. Up against your Bronco in the Hard Deck parking lot."

"Shit," he grunted, circling your clit with his middle finger before sliding it down your slit. "I couldn't get enough of you then, and I still can't."

"Bradley!"

"Keep quiet, Baby Girl," he warned, pressing his erection into you while he slipped his finger inside. "God, you're wet. You been thinking about this all day?" You felt like silk to his rough fingertips, and Bradley wasn't in any hurry. He just let you babble nonsensically as you pressed your thighs together again. 

Soon you were begging for release, riding his finger so sweetly, he added a second one for you. Then, with a soft swipe of his thumb on your clit, you were fluttering around him and whining his name. He sucked on your neck as you rode out your orgasm, shaking gently against him. 

"Oh," you moaned, lessening the grip you had on his left hand as he eased his right out of the front of your pants. When you spun to face him, he was licking his hand clean. "Do you want me to go down on you?"

"No," he grunted, leaning down to kiss you and let you taste yourself. "I want you to meet me at home so I can fuck you all night."

"Let's go." You were reaching for your keys and your bag, and Bradley had to pull you close to zip your pants up before he followed you out of your office.

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

You felt so good. Your husband had been treating you to his delicious cock at least twice a day while you were ovulating. On Friday morning, you were flat on your back in bed, full of his cum, watching him strut around the room naked with his bicep tattoo on display.

"Come on, Sweetheart," he rasped. "You'll be late for work."

"I've just been fucked within an inch of my life. I think my boss would understand."

Bradley barked out a laugh. "You want to call Bickel and find out?"

You sat up and shook your head. "No. Could you imagine? Sir, my husband was hitting my G-spot for like twenty minutes, so I'm going to just roll in after lunchtime, okay?"

Now he was doubled over in laughter as you climbed out of bed and adjusted your glasses. You kissed him on your way to the bathroom, and he told you, "Don't forget, Hard Deck tonight."

"I've never forgotten about a single Hard Deck night in my life, Roo."

"Yeah, because I always remind you," he called after you as he pulled on some underwear so he could let Tramp outside and start the coffee. 

It felt like the perfect day as he left with his travel mug after kissing you dozens of times. You were sipping your coffee and thinking about checking when your period was due, but you didn't let yourself. You thought about skipping breakfast after looking at your butt in the mirror, but you ate some yogurt instead. 

Then you got to work early, and your boss called you into his office to make sure you got the invitation to your promotion banquet. You ended up chatting with him for a while before you had to tell him you needed to get your work done. 

"I should be the one reminding you of that, Lieutenant Commander," he replied with a chuckle. You stood as soon as you were dismissed, smiling at your new title as you walked down the hallway. 

When you heard someone calling your first name, you turned to see your friend Cam sticking his head out of his lab door. 

"Hey, stranger," he said with a smile, adjusting his glasses. You strolled back to see him. 

"You guys never work with your door open," you said suspiciously. His boss was way more of a hardass than yours, and you didn't want him to get in trouble. 

He rolled his eyes. "He does hate an open door. It encourages making friends with and talking to people who work in other labs. Didn't you know?" 

"Oh shit," you said, looking down at yourself and wincing playfully. "God, I miss working with you. Are you coming to the bar tonight?"

"Maybe. I was just about to ask you if you were eating lunch in the cafeteria with your dreadfully sexy husband and his mustache."

"Yes," you replied, trying to keep your laughter quiet. "Come join us. You can sit across from the mustache and look at it."

He groaned and tipped his head back. "I wish I could grow one." Then he was suddenly shoving you away from him, and you saw his boss coming as you hightailed it back to your lab. 

When you rushed in with a smile on your face, Cat met your gaze. No, you wouldn't let her ruin your day. "Good morning!" you called out to her and everyone else. Of course she barely acknowledged your existence, but it didn't matter. You would just keep your head down until it was time for lunch. You were already thinking about a veggie bowl with some hot sauce, and your stomach was growling. 

But you ended up getting absorbed in some coding that you'd been neglecting, so you decided to tackle that. You were surprised when you glanced up to find everyone else had already gone to lunch. The only person left was Cat, so you locked up your computer and left before she had a chance to say anything. You made it all the way to the elevator when you realized you forgot your ID badge. It had been tucked under your computer. 

You groaned and turned back to go get it. But you came skidding to a halt, your boots squeaking on the floor a bit when you heard Cat on the phone. 

"I'm at work, but I'll get there as soon as I can.... I didn't know he had a fever this morning or I wouldn't have dropped him off.... Yes, okay. I'll be there soon."

She ended the call and then burst into tears, and you couldn't decide what to do. Part of you wanted to sneak away quietly and hide in your office, but you just couldn't stop yourself from at least trying to help her. You walked into the lab and cleared your throat, and she whirled around in her seat, a look of steel on her face as she wiped at her tears. 

"What do you want, Lieutenant Commander?" Her words were harsh, but she still sounded vulnerable too, and you held your hands up in surrender. 

"Just checking to see if I can help you with anything. I'm not trying to give you a hard time."

She laughed sardonically and looked up at the ceiling. "I'm beyond help," she said, shaking her head. "But thanks."

"Cat, if you need something, just-"

"I need so many things," she said, cutting you off. But you let her, because you sensed she just needed to get this out of her system. Like last time. "But right this very moment, I need to figure out how to pick my son up from his cheap daycare center on the other side of Coronado." She started  to close her computer as she added, "They'll kick him out if I don't get him soon, because apparently I'm a terrible mom who dropped him off there with a fever this morning. And I don't even have my own car."

You doubted she was a terrible mom. A terrible mom wouldn't even care in the first place. "Take mine," you told her. 

She eyed you skeptically. "Take your what?"

"My car. It's pretty shitty, and you need to jiggle it into gear. I don't have a car seat, but Commander Estevez keeps one in her office downstairs."

She just blinked at you, her dark eyes as expressive as always. You never chose to focus on them this long. 

"My car keys are in my office," you added. "You coming?"

Cat licked her lips and whispered, "You'd let me borrow your car?"

You just shrugged. "You can keep it for the weekend. But honestly, when you see it, you might change your mind," you told her with a wince. 

Cat swiped the last few tears from her eyes. "I need to go see if Bickel will even let me leave. I don't have much time off yet."

"Just go," you told her. "I'll cover for you. It's Friday afternoon, and he probably won't even check in again."

"Thank you," she whispered before pressing her lips together and slipping off her stool. 

"Let's go get my keys and the car seat."

A few minutes later, Cat had your car keys in one hand and the borrowed car seat in the other. "I'm parked on level two near the stairwell. It's old and red. You can't miss it."

She nodded once and then took off toward the parking garage. After a few seconds, she turned back toward you and thanked you again. 

You'd missed most of your lunch break, and when you rushed into the cafeteria, you found Bradley and Cam sitting together. 

"Your wife sucks," Cam told him, pretending he didn't see you. "She invited me for lunch and then bailed." He stood with his empty tray and winked at you. "Better luck next week?" 

"Yeah," you said, out of breath. "I'm sorry. Monday? With Maria, too?"

"Yep," he agreed before he walked away.

"Did you have a nice lunch with my friend?" you asked, sliding down into the seat next to Bradley.

"Of course. He likes my mustache." Bradley kissed you and pushed some food toward you. "I got you a burrito bowl, but it's probably cold. Where were you?"

"I was... just taking care of something. Make sure you don't head home without me later. My car is gone."

He perked right up. Honestly, he looked happier right now than he had when he was fucking you this morning. "It's gone? Forever?" 

You rolled your eyes so hard as you dumped hot sauce on your food. "Someone is borrowing it for the weekend."

He kissed your cheek. "I'll be praying that they steal it or wreck it. Why don't we spend the weekend looking at new cars?"

"Because it's Hard Deck night, remember? And you're golfing tomorrow. And my car is perfectly good."

"Yeah," he muttered, kissing your cheek one last time. "We'll look at cars on Sunday." Then he was gone, heading back to the tarmac as you ate your lunch. 

Later that evening, when you and Bradley were walking Tramp before going out for the night, you checked your phone and saw a text from an unknown number. 

Thanks again for your help. I picked Jeremiah up, and now he's feeling much better.

Cat's son was named Jeremiah. You wondered what he looked like and how old he was. You wondered why Cat had him in some shitty daycare across town. You wondered if anyone else knew she had a child.

"You ready?" Bradley asked, holding out his hand for you to take. "It's getting late."

"Yeah. Let's go."

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

Do you feel some ice melting? Ugh, I'm afraid for BG without Bradley at home. Thanks to @mak-32 and @beyondthesefourwalls

PART 5

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IV. “I Trust You Know What You’re Doing?”

"Trust" Series Masterlist

John "Bucky" Egan x WAC!Female Reader

Struggling with the forced separation of your transfer and promotion, it does not take long for you and Bucky to plan a trip to London together. But even while you're on leave, the world around you continues to do its best to tear itself apart.

Warnings: Language, Grief, Alcohol Consumption, Angst, Inevitable Historical and Military Inaccuracies, Mature/Explicit Themes [oral - f receiving, implied virginity loss, protected vaginal sex, condoms, unprotected vaginal sex, multiple orgasms] - 18+ ONLY.

Author’s Note: Welcome to this massive installment. I have no excuses, only apologies. Also I only had the fortitude to proof this once, there may be more errors than normal, but I didn't want to delay it any longer - I will correct things as I find them. This is a work of fiction based off the portrayal by the actors in the Apple TV+ series. I hold nothing but respect for the real life individuals referenced within.

ETA: The image descriptions for the letters contain the text within to allow for a screen reader or anyone who cannot read cursive. Click the ‘ALT’ button to access.

Word Count: 8497

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

Wycombe Abbey could not have been more different than Thorpe Abbotts if it had tried.

The private, or in a most confusing twist ‘public’ as the Brits called such institutions, girls’ school had begun its life in the 17th century as a manor house before being transformed into a much grander residence near the end of the 19th century. The school had opened in 1896 with only forty students, but that number had swelled to over two hundred by the time the building was requisitioned for use as the Headquarters of the 8th Air Force.

Stained glass windows, stonework, archways, and wood panelling now replaced squat concrete buildings and rough-and-ready Nissen huts. Though everything was just as drafty, so at least the temperature provided some familiar consistency to your new surroundings. As you descended from your quarters tucked away in some forgotten corner of the attic, down a set of precarious servants’ stairs, you nearly took a wrong turn – again. To your credit you had only been here three days and the maze of corridors and rooms further divided into offices for USAAF purposes was nearly unnavigable.

Chiding yourself softly under your breath that your office was to the right and not the left, as though the sharpness of your tone might really drive it home this time, you quickened your steps still hoping to beat to postal clerk to the outgoing mail box that sat on the corner of your desk. It had been more of a challenge than you were expecting to write the letter clutched in your hand, but the daily meetings that senior operations officers held at 1015, 1600, and 2200 were your responsibility to attend and record via frantically scribbled notes to be typed up in a more professional format later.

These were the meetings at which mission targets for the entire 8th were chosen. The strategic value of various locations was discussed alongside weather reports and aligning with the RAF’s Bomber Command for maximum impact against Nazi Germany. After the first meeting, it would be decided if a mission would even be conducted the following day, and each Division, Wing, and Base involved would be put on alert to allow them time to begin planning the operation. By the time the last meeting ended, the target and approach would be finalized, and the official field orders would be issued.

It made for a remarkably long day, even with breaks for meals, and though you were guaranteed every other Friday off because of this, by the time you crawled into bed near midnight, you only had enough energy to add a few lines onto the letter you had begun to Bucky as soon as you arrived. It made for a rather disjointed and rambling piece of correspondence, in your opinion, but you could not bear to keep him waiting any longer – not wanting him to assume you had forgotten to write and not knowing how long the thing would take to reach him regardless.

Dashing into the office you shared with Myrtle, a very stoic young woman with dark hair and thick eyelashes from Rhode Island, you exhaled in relief to see the post still waiting to be collected and added your letter to the pile. Unlocking your desk drawers, you began setting up for the day, hoping it would reach him quickly.

His reply arrived in your inbox just over two weeks later, near the end of September. Sliding it into your brown leather utility bag, you did your utmost to ignore its very existence throughout the first daily meeting, and your subsequent production of the official report thereof. Taking your lunch break a little earlier than usual paid off in that the line was much shorter at that time. You inhaled the mystery stew and rolls, hardly tasting them, before taking your letter outside to read in the rare afternoon sunshine.

It was short, and it was unspeakably adorable that Bucky did not write in cursive, but there was no lack of his personality in his response. It was as though the very essence of him had been distilled into the ink itself and you could not help the broad grin that bore its way into the muscles of your cheeks, making them ache as you read it.

Glancing quickly at your watch, you realized there was still time to send a reply before the second post pick-up but based on the length of time it had taken for this exchange of letters, it was unlikely another would reach him with enough time to plan for October 8 – your next Friday off. Worrying your lip between your teeth as you considered your options, you landed on a rather devious idea, one that quite honestly would have never come to you if not for the deep need to reach Bucky immediately. Vi had a telephone on her desk in the weather office, a number that you had access to given the strategic importance of weather to the senior operations officers.

Myrtle would be on her break for another fifteen minutes…you had not even realized you had made up your mind before your feet began to carry you back inside, up the stairs into the mercifully still-empty office. Digging out the directory, you found the number for Thorpe Abbotts’ weather office and took a shaky breath as you sank into your chair.

‘Keep it brief, keep it free of classified information. Worst you’ll get is a reprimand.’

The devious, deceptive voice in your mind was a new one, fostered, perhaps, by the rather carefree man you found yourself deeply entangled with, but it was not one you were about to disobey. Lifting the handset of your phone from its cradle, you cleared your throat as the operator answered.

“Norfolk 7315, please.” You tried your best to sound calm and collected as the line clicked and began to ring.

“Phillips.” An unexpected voice answered, and you gulped, knowing Ruth would be less likely to participate in some romantic scheme.

You greeted her in kind, trying to ignore the ache of loneliness as she gasped softly.

“I was hoping you might pass along a message for me?”

“To a certain Major?” You could hear the grin in her voice and felt the pressure on your chest ease.

“Indeed. October 8. I will arrange accommodations.”

“Your line should he need to reach you?”

Hesitating a moment, you ultimately decided to provide it as well, wanting to ensure he could in fact contact you if something came up. Or perhaps any of them could – should the worst happen.

‘Don’t think about that.’ You chastised yourself internally.

“You’re well?” Ruth asked and you smiled softly.

“I am, please tell everyone I miss them terribly.”

“Will do, have to go.”

There was a ‘click’ as she hung up and the line went dead but the lightness in your heart could not be extinguished.

Nine days later you found yourself waiting on the platform at Liverpool Street station awaiting the arrival of Bucky’s train from East Anglia. Given the proximity of High Wycombe to London, you had arrived much earlier that morning and checked into the hotel already, dropping off your small bag and come to wait for his train – well you assumed he’d be on the first train of the day, but as the carriages disgorged a sea of humanity and you had yet to spot him, your brows began to furrow in doubt.

You were about to fish the folded schedule you had picked up from the ticket counter to check the next arrival time when he was suddenly wrapping an arm around you, pulling you tight into his chest as you gasped softly in surprise.

“There you are doll.” Bucky sighed, dropping his bag at your feet to slide the other arm around you as he pulled back to nudge your cap out of the way and deliver a breathtakingly thorough kiss that you were not entirely sure was appropriate for the public setting you were in.

Not that you stopped him, you own arms snaking about his midsection to cling to him tightly.

Pulling back, his eyes raked over your features lovingly as you both inhaled deeply to fill your greedy lungs.

“Well, well 1st Lieutenant.” He smirked proudly as he lifted his hand to stroke the chrome insignia you now wore on your lapels courtesy of your promotion, leaving smudges of his thumb print.

“You are leaving my uniform in disarray, Major.” You chided playfully, unable to hold back you grin, even for a moment, to sell the joke.

His forefinger hooked behind the knot in your tie, tugging it out from beneath your jacket and pulling you closer – eliminating the last few inches of space that remained between your bodies.

“Good.” He rumbled against your lips before kissing you deeply, severely undermining the infrastructure of your knees.

The loud racket of the train cars as they shunted into one another jolted the pair of you apart, making you realize you were among the last few remaining on the platform as the now empty train left the station.

“Let’s get you checked in and your bag dropped off.” You murmured, clearing your throat as you unbuttoned your uniform jacket to straighten and re-secure your tie.

His hand slid into yours as the pair of you made your way out of the station and he happily followed you to a hotel you’d found near his station, knowing that he’d be here longer than you and it would be easier for him to find his way back to base this way. Sitting patiently in the lobby as he checked in and ran his bag up, you smiled as he returned to hold his hands out to you.

“C’mon doll, I have a whole plan.”

Taking his hands, you rose to your feet, raising your eyebrows curiously. “A whole plan?”

He leaned in to murmur against your ear, “you’re not the only one involved in planning you know.”

You pulled back quickly, eyes wide with a touch of panic. You were quite certain you had never told him just what your new position entailed, and there was no way he could simply guess it.

“Easy doll, your phone line.” He winked as he maneuvered your arm through his, turning to lead you out the front door.

Slowly exhaling, it clicked into place. Of course. Just as you were able to find Vi’s desk number in a directory, it seemed Bucky had been doing a little research of his own.

“Well, shhh.” You chastened him firmly, laying a finger over your lips, looking very much like an anti-slander campaign poster.

His hearty laugh in response did little to convince you that he took in the message.

“Now, how do we get to Hyde Park…” He murmured, pulling a crumpled leave guide out of his pocket.

“The underground.” You answered easily, leading him back towards the very station he had arrived at but this time down to the tube station entrance where the pair of you purchased your tickets.

His touch rarely left you – even if he was forced to release your hand, you could feel his palm pressed against your lower back as you made your way through the crowded subterranean space. You were glad to have him with you this time, not particularly a fan of this mode of transportation, but it certainly was an efficient way to get around London. Pressed close together on the train, you took the opportunity to simply gaze at him, basking in his presence after nearly a month apart, not missing the way his mouth ticked up at the corner cockily.

“Missed you too, doll.” He winked and ducked a kiss to your ear before guiding you off the train at your stop – once he had confirmed with you it was indeed your stop.

Blinking your way back into the light of day, you pointed at a directional sign guiding the way to Hyde Park.

“Perfect, now apparently there are…sandwiches!” He crowed and tugged you over to a sandwich truck that seemed quite popular based on the line of waiting patrons.

Your face was starting to hurt, driving home how infrequently you had found the opportunity to smile in his absence, making you squeeze his hand fondly. Bucky looked back to you quickly as he joined the queue.

“You really did plan everything.” You gulped quickly and he beamed proudly.

“Anything for my girl. What kind would you like?” He gestured at the menu written on the side of the truck.

By the time you reached the front of the line, Bucky was able to easily place your order, including two bottles of lemonade, insisting on paying. Opening your utility bag, you carefully packed the lunch away, earning a rather damp and enthusiastic kiss on your cheek as he snatched your hand to continue onto the park.

“May I ask what it is about this park in particular?” You inquired as the pair of you dashed across the road.

“You can ask…” His cheeky reply had you scoffing in return as you entered the canopy of trees, following a path further and further away from the traffic of downtown London.

Plenty of men in uniform seemed to be out, enjoying the nice weather with women on their arms. Women who, unlike you, enjoyed the luxury of being allowed to dress as they chose during their leisure time. It had been one of many reasons that nearly twenty-five percent of women had chosen not to remain enlisted during the transition from the WAAC to the WAC, the army requirement to remain in uniform even when off-duty. In all honesty, you had not really missed your civilian clothes until just then.

Watching the sheer femininity of those women as they swirled about in their colorful fabrics only drove home how drably olive and plainly cut your uniform truly was.

“You’re a million miles away, doll.” Bucky’s voice cut through the dark clouds that had gathered in your mind and you looked to him quickly.

“Sorry Bucky, it’s beautiful here. Like another place entirely.” You offered him a smile but by the way his eyebrow lifted slightly he did not seem to be entirely buying it. “Have the leaves started changing around the base yet?” You tried changing the subject.

He shook his head, releasing your hand to slide his arm around your waist instead, pulling you closer. “Seems everything will happen later here than back home.”

You hummed thoughtfully, glancing ahead and gasping a little at the glimpse of a sizeable body of water that seemed to be filled with rowboats.

“That’s why were here.”

You turned back to him to see a broad grin had overtaken his face and laughed in excitement as it was terribly romantic.

“If I had known, Major Egan, I would have brought my parasol.” You grinned and he snorted, squeezing your hip fondly.

“No need to put on airs, 1st Lieutenant,” he smirked, “the ride will be enjoyable all the same.”

“Bucky!” You hissed sharply, slapping his chest as he laughed deeply, ducking your head slightly as more than a few passersby shot glances your way.

“C’mon doll.” He chuckled and led you over to the booth beside the dock, paying the fee for a thirty-minute rental before the pair of you headed down to climb into one of the waiting row boats.

Setting your heavy bag on the floor, you carefully stepped into the rather unstable watercraft, settling on the passenger’s bench – denoted as such by the ornate ironwork arms. Bucky followed, seated across from you at the oars, his knees nearly brushing against yours, legs too long for so small a boat. Unbuttoning and sliding off his jacket, he tossed it and his cap to you before rolling up his sleeves and began to row the pair of you out onto The Serpentine, you now knew the small lake to be called.

“I trust you know what you’re doing?” You asked as he appeared to easily manage the oars, seeming at ease in the small boat.

“Mostly.” He teased with a wink before laughing at your slightly aghast expression. “Grew up on the shore of Lake Michigan, doll. Boats are like planes to me, easily managed.” He soothed.

It was difficult to decide which view to settle your eyes upon, the verdant green of the still-lush trees, the throng of boats around you, or Bucky working up a remarkably attractive sheen of sweat with his forearms on display as he propelled the rowboat through the water. A feathered fan would have been a very useful tool in that moment, to hide behind or cool yourself down, or perhaps both.

Belatedly, you realized that Bucky had been speaking this whole time – about events back at Thorpe Abbotts. Giving you the update about the people you knew, the trouble Meatball had caused with a farmer down the road, but he trailed off when he realized you were staring once more in dumbfounded silence at him.

“Doll, you’re going to give me a big head if you keep looking at me like that.” He winked as he lifted the oars from the water, letting the water sluice from the blades before tucking them into the boat on either side of you.

“Y…you’re good at that.” You replied lamely and shook your head. “Hungry?” Leaning forward for your bag, which was in all honestly a lot closer to his feet in the floor of the boat, you froze as everything tilted precariously in response to your movements.

Bucky lay a gentle hand on your shoulder to steady you. “Allow me.” Bending down slowly, he scooped up your bag and opened the flap to retrieve your sandwich and lemonade. “It’s sure tight in here, how did you even make this all fit?”

He tugged a little harder on the packet containing your lunch and your eyes widened in horror as, while he was triumphant, he also managed to send the three condoms you had tucked into your bag scattering to the floor of the boat. His eyes followed the distinct, square, paper packets and you could see his throat bob as he swallowed viciously.

“Doll…” His voice came out rough as a gravel road as he slowly raised his eyes to meet yours. “…been doing some planning of your own?”

“‘A WAC is always prepared.’” You quoted in a mortified whisper, struggling against the urge to lunge forward and hide the evidence, knowing it would only send both of you over the side and into the lake.

You watched another swallow ripple down Bucky’s throat before he offered your lunch to you, carefully collecting the offending items and returning them to your bag before he retrieved his own food.

“Would you mind,” He spoke after taking a rather ruthless and oversized bite of his sandwich, words muffled between slices of bread and chicken salad before he swallowed to start over. “Would you mind if, instead of following the rest of my plan, after these thirty minutes are up, I take you back to the hotel?”

Taking a thick swallow of your own, you shook your head slowly as you felt your cheeks heat up at the implications of that invitation. “I would not mind, no.” You clarified breathlessly and he nodded sharply, gesturing for your as-yet-unopened bottle of lemonade.

Handing it back to him, you watched silently as he lined the edge of the cap with the metal plate holding the oarlock in place, popping it off the bottle with one sharp blow of the heel of his palm.

“Thank you.” You murmured quietly as he passed you the opened drink, taking a deep sip as he repeated the process with his own, draining nearly half the bottle in one go.

Tilting your head back to take in the feel of the sun on your face, you slid your cap from your hair, adding it to the pile of his neatly folded items on the bench beside you, continuing to enjoy your picnic on the lake.

“You heard about Dye hitting twenty-five?” He broke the silence, sounding much more like himself again and you nodded quickly.

“Big news, everywhere in the 8th. Lucky crew all heading home – how did Lil take it?” You tilted your head curiously, raising your bottle to your lips, his eyes following the motion closely.

“Hm? Oh, she’ll be alright…they’re both good at letters.” He nodded, leaning back a little.

You knocked your knee against his affectionately. “Don’t sell yourself short you sweet man, I thoroughly enjoyed yours.”

His eyes flicked to yours quickly as a small smile curled his lips. “Yeah?”

You nodded firmly. “Yeah. Promise to give you more to reply to soon, phone was just necessary to make this happen.”

His hand landed on your thigh gently and he squeezed the flesh through your skirt. “Worth it. Just how long are your days though, doll?”

Your fingers played along the empty glass bottle, and you shrugged. “As long as they need to be.” You replied evasively.

“Mm, I’m going to get a better answer out of you than that.” He threatened playfully as he leaned forward to grasp the oar handles, swinging the blades back into the water and taking the pair of you on a loop around the corner of the lake before returning you to the dock.

Bucky climbed out first, taking his cap and jacket before helping you out easily, kissing you firmly as soon as you were on solid ground. “Let’s take a cab…” He breathed impatiently and you laughed, shaking your head.

“The cost would be astronomical, come on.” You affixed your cap on your head as he rolled down his sleeves and slid his jacket back on before the pair of you made your way back to the Underground.

Bucky’s body was practically pressed against yours the entire trip back to Liverpool Street station, seemingly unable to tolerate any form of separation. As you neared the hotel though, you looked to him slowly. “We should go in as colleagues…I booked us that way.”

He looked at you utterly confused, and you swallowed.

“We’re unwed, there was no way I could book us here together, and they will be none to please if they realize I’ve tricked them. I’ll get my key, you get yours, I’ll come to your room…”

He nodded slowly, arm reluctantly unwinding from around your waist before holding the door open for you to step inside.

“Thank you, Major.” You nodded, sliding your cap from your head as you stepped inside, heading to the counter to fetch your room key as he did the same, the pair of you walking up the stairs to the fifth floor together before parting ways so you could fetch your small overnight bag.

It was rather a waste of money, to book a room knowing you would most likely never sleep in it, but such things were necessary for women like you. Women who chose to go to bed with a man they were not married to in the long light of the afternoon. Taking a steadying breath, you left the perfectly made bed behind, walking down the hall to Bucky’s room and knocking on the door softly.

It promptly swung open to reveal a smiling Bucky, his jacket and cap long gone, along with his necktie, the top few buttons of his shirt undone. He stepped back and gestured for you to enter his much larger room with a small brown paper wrapped packet clasped in his hand. Once the door was closed behind you, you let out the laugh you had been holding.

“I did book this under Major John Egan, I suppose they felt the need to give you a nicer room than a Lieutenant.”

He smirked and kissed your cheek, taking your cap and bag from your hand, then pressing the package into it. “Before I forget, again.”

“Bucky you didn’t have to get me anything, you came to see me…”

“Open it.” His eyes danced with anticipation, and you began to pull at the piece of twine holding the package closed, unfolding the utilitarian paper to reveal a brand-new pair of stockings.

You let out an audible gasp as your jaw fairly fell to the floor.

“To replace the pair that got wrecked when you fell.” He smiled, obviously pleased by your reaction.

“How on earth did you…?!” You trailed off, staring up at him in wonderment.

“A man never reveals his secrets, doll.” He grinned and let out a grunt as you launched yourself into his arms, kissing him fiercely at the thoughtfulness of his gift and in recognition of the sheer determination it must have taken to achieve such a feat in rationed England.

His fingers gently plied the items from your grasp, setting them on the bedside table, freeing your hands to latch onto his arms as he cupped your face gently.

“You sure about this, my beautiful girl?” He whispered and your breath hitched in your throat at the tender look on his face just inches from yours.

“Yes.” You nodded quickly, sliding your fingers into his hair to pull his lips back to yours greedily.

A pleased noise rolled from his throat and across your tongue as he coaxed your mouth open, his fingers shifting to make steady work at the buttons on your jacket before he unwound your hands from his dark curls to slide the garment off, tossing it in the general direction of the chair that held his. You could not help the giggle that bubbled up from your chest at that as you moved to undo the buttons of his shirt one by one.

The tug of his teeth on your lower lip quickly transformed your laughter to shuddering breath as you held tightly to the open sides of his shirt, feeling him tug your tie free from your collar before it joined the pile of clothes somewhere on the plush blue carpet of the hotel room floor. Your shirt and skirt were quick to join it, leaving you in your brassiere and slip, garter belt and underwear still hidden from view.

“You have a remarkable number of layers on, doll.” He huffed as his mouth descended along your throat to suck at the crook of your shoulder, installing a dramatic curve in your spine as you arched against him wantonly with a half-swallowed cry of pleasure.

“Y…you have almost as many…” You protested, tugging the ends of his shirt from his trousers before pushing it from his shoulders only to be met with his undershirt.

The sheer broadness of him had never quite been so very apparent and had you licking your lips as you struggled with the last barrier between you and his torso, your ID tags rasping metallically against his.

“Not nearly as complicated though.” He muttered as his fingers worked at the hook and eye closure of your bra until you felt the band go slack and he leaned back to slide the straps down your arms, making you shiver as your breasts were revealed to his hungry gaze.

Bucky’s heavy exhale fluttered against your collarbone, grown cool by the time it traversed the distance between you, and you shuddered slightly, looking to the side shyly. He leaned in to brush his nose against yours tenderly, pecking your lips.

“Whatcha hiding for, gorgeous?” His tone was gentle and had your eyes slowly sliding to meet his, an action he rewarded with a deep kiss.

He continued to distract you with repeated meetings your lips, each time with growing intensity as his palms slid upwards along your sides to cup your breasts. The meeting of flesh had you inhaling sharply through your nose, hands seeking anchor as your fingers twisted into his beltloops where his trousers hung open around his hips – yet again delaying you in your purpose of undressing him. As his thumbs honed in on your sensitive peaks, Bucky elicited all manner of noises from your throat only to eagerly devour them.

“D’ya have any idea how soft you are doll?” He sighed against your lips as he kneaded your tender flesh. “’Cept right here.” He smirked as he tugged at your nipples and you whined his name, pressing impossibly close against him, realizing he was anything but soft.

Your shimmies and writhes against him seemed to serve as a reminder of the greater purpose at hand and Bucky’s fingers ceased their torment, sliding down to your hips to divest you of your slip before beginning to work at your stockings. Toeing off your shoes, you pushed his trousers from his hips, letting gravity do the rest.

“So many hooks and straps and loops…” He muttered as his mouth dipped to the hollow of your throat, though his fingers seemed more than capable of stripping you down to only your underwear.

Seizing your hips, Bucky guided you back onto the bed, and you could not help the sigh at that flew from your mouth at the feel of a real mattress with springs and a duvet, drawing a broad grin across his face as he crawled over you, coaxing you to lay back.

“Precious women like you should always have luxurious beds like these. None of those stinking Army cots…” His hands slid beneath your spine to half guide, half drag you up to rest on the obnoxious mountain of pillows.

Staring up at him in awe, at a complete loss for words, you settled on pressing up onto your elbows to kiss him firmly, hoping to convey your appreciation physically rather than trying to summon speech. As his lips parted from yours to begin sliding down your body, you let out a slight huff of annoyance, earning a chuckle against your collarbone which rumbled through his chest and into your body. He lifted his head slightly as his fingers wove through the ball chain of your ID tags as he seemed to notice them for the first time.

“I always wondered if you ladies had these.”

You bit your lip to smother your grin as he never hesitated to say what was on his mind, a constant stream of commentary on the world around him, and rather than annoying, you found it utterly adorable.

“Are you laughin’ at me, doll?” He smirked and gave a gentle tug, pulling a genuine laugh from you, to which he responded with a brilliant grin. “Alright then, I’ll give you something to laugh about.” He bowed his head to drag the flat of his tongue across your nipple, your resulting whimper bouncing off the walls as he resumed his teasing of your opposite breast.

“B…Bucky…” Your eyes shot wide as his plush lips sealed around that tender peak, applying a positively euphoric suction that had you burying your fingers in his hair and pressing your body closer to his mouth in silent demand.

With careful precision, his knee slid its way between your thighs, applying coaxing pressure to each in turn until you provided enough room for him to settle between them. The feeling of his hard length slotting against your core with only the thin barrier of your underwear separating your intimate flesh had your jaw dropping open in a silent ‘oh’ – a revelation unto itself despite all the experiences you had enjoyed with him thus far. Undulating your hips against his experimentally, you shuddered at the ragged, abbreviated groan he pressed against your sternum, caught in the midst of traversing your chest. Thoroughly encouraged, you repeated the action, savagely gnawing on your lip as he bit off a curse before his mouth reached its destination and laved at your neglected nipple.

Nestling tighter against you, Bucky began to roll his hips against you in earnest, obliterating your ability to think and scheme against him at the blinding pleasure his combined actions induced. You could feel the smug angle of his lips against your abdomen as his mouth was trailing lower on your body, his fingers curling into the waistband of your underwear to peel it from your body. Shifting back to free the interfering item from your legs, he gazed down at you with almost black eyes, his pupils having nearly devoured his irises in his arousal, before stretching forward onto his stomach.

Blinking rapidly, you raised up on your elbows to watch him hoist one of your legs over a strong shoulder and then the other, shuffling embarrassingly close to the apex of your thighs.

“Bucky?” You squeaked hesitantly.

He raised an eyebrow up at you, his pink tongue darting out the wet his lips, nearly matching the flush that had painted its way across his cheeks and down his neck. “Yes, doll?”

“What…” You swallowed thickly as your throat clenched erratically.

“Making good on a promise.” He replied seriously before stretching forward to deliver a thorough kiss to your folds that fairly sucked the air from your lungs, an odd whistling sound echoing through you as you savagely burrowed your fingers into the bedding.

When his tongue narrowed in on that sensitive bundle of nerves, it was your turn to bite off a curse, slumping back onto the pillows as he hummed against you in what was surely mock sympathy as he most certainly did not let up, his efforts only doubling. As your hips began to jerk and writhe, he slung a heavy forearm across your pelvis to pin you in place, only shifting closer and tracing his forefinger around your entrance teasingly. It was all you could do not to kick and wail as you felt yourself becoming embarrassingly slick, the noises he was making growing ever so obscene and filling the hotel room.

“Fuck!” You whined against your palm as his finger finally sunk into your wet heat, its passage remarkably eased by your arousal, hips bucking hard enough to jar his arm slightly.

“Damn you’re delicious, doll.” He growled against you, lips smacking loudly as he began to suck at your pearl, finger working you open enough to add a second before beginning a demanding rhythm.

“Oh…oh...god…” You cried out in agony, too far gone to remember your desire to be quiet, feeling the tension of pending release growing ever closer under his amorous onslaught.

“I know, I know…” He soothed, only quickening his pace, hooking his fingers towards the front of your body, sending your back into a dramatic curve from the mattress, a tortured moan ripping from your throat. “Oh, I have to see that again.” He rasped and sought that precise spot with a ruthless single-minded precision until he was rewarded with not only the same reaction, but your strangled cry as your orgasm slammed into you with breath-taking force.

As you returned to earth from your visit to the celestial plane, the first sensation you became aware of was tender, damp kisses being pressed to your inner thigh as Bucky murmured soft words of encouragement to you.

“There’s my gorgeous girl, holy hell that was incredible, did you enjoy that half as much as I did?”

You managed a wordless noise in the affirmative that summoned him to your side, his lips feathering kisses up your jaw to your ear, the tickle of his moustache making you laugh breathlessly.

“Good?” He murmured and you nodded quickly, turning to look at his still-expectant face.

“Yes.” You cobbled together a verbal response, and he blessed you with a warm smile which you leaned in to press your lips against in gratitude.

“Good.” He swiped his tongue along your lips before suddenly slipping from the bed, making you raise your head in confusion.

Stalking over to find your utility bag amongst the sea of discard items and clothing, he proudly retrieved the three condoms that had announced your hopes and intentions for you by appearing in the rowboat, unceremoniously shucking off his boxers as he made his way back to you. You had held his length before, stroked it to completion, but that paled in comparison to seeing the full expanse of him in the light of day.

“My gorgeous doll, you might not say a lot, but you sure don’t mind looking at what you like.” He smirked unabashedly as he set two of the paper packets on the night table beside you, unwrapping the third to unroll the protective latex onto his cock.

Rather than letting his teasing words dissuade you, though they did cause your teeth to sink into your lower lip, you chose to allow your eyes to linger on his actions, rather fascinated by the whole process. By the male anatomy as well. Task managed, he was climbing over you once more, blocking the golden light of afternoon that was filtering in through the windows with his body, warmth radiating from his skin. He settled easily between your legs once more, still parted from his early activities as you really had not summoned the wherewithal to move yet, and stroked his length through the lingering slick gathered along your folds.

A broken sigh fell from his lips before they clashed with yours, not quite aligned, but the sentiment was still there, body shuddering as you slid your arms around him to cling to his shoulders. It was difficult to tell just whom Bucky was teasing as he continued to rut against you, the tip of his cock brushing against your overly-sensitive bundle of nerves, both of you huffing through your nostrils until at last he began to sink into you.

Tearing your lips from his, you sucked in gasping breaths at the feel of the foreign intrusion, appreciating the fact that his pace seemed to slow in response to that. Appreciating the pause he afforded you when his pelvis slotted snuggly against yours once he was seated fully inside you. Cracking open your clenched eyes, you gulped tightly as they were immediately met by Bucky’s, crowned by a furrowed brow, but flicking over your features studiously as if awaiting your instruction.

“I’m ok.” You breathed and he nodded, immediately seizing your lips in a kiss once more as he rocked forward, earning a ragged moan as your fingertips dug into the skin of his back.

His familiarity with this sort of activity had always been apparent, but was exceptionally obvious now as he slowly began the rhythmic push and pull to drive you both towards climax. The sheer intimacy of it was too much and yet it was not nearly enough, your body craving ever more, ever faster, with increasing desperation. The rare moments that Bucky’s lips were not on yours, they were filling the room with choked-off moans or statements of the filthiest order.

“God doll, you feel so fucking good around me.”

“So tight. I can feel how wet you are too, even with this rubber on.”

“You’re gonna cum for me, aren’t ya? You’re gripping on me like a…fuck I can’t think when you do that…”

His ability to even speak while experiencing such mind-numbing pleasure, rambling though it was, was fairly awe-inspiring. Your responses were limited to moans and whimpers and cries of his name as his supposition was correct – your orgasm was indeed imminent. All it took was the solicitous stroking of his forefinger against the apex of your pleasure to send you flying over the cliff into paradise, clinging to his body as you cried out in ecstasy.

A string of rasped curses mixed in with several sighs of your name heralded his release as Bucky finished not long after, rocking against you sloppily before sinking down onto your chest with a comforting heaviness. Stroking his back tenderly as he nestled into your neck, you grinned stupidly at the ceiling as you felt quite pleased with your choices.

The pair of you made good use of the rest of the condoms you had brought, with a short break for a meal Bucky procured while you took a bath. He returned with a bottle of brandy as well, finding you still in the bathtub. A lot of water ended up on the floor, a pile of water-logged towels your testament to the attempted clean-up. Eating in bed, you shared stories of your childhoods – Bucky’s about growing up on the shores of Lake Michigan, yours of the small two-storey house with its screen door and front porch from which you had watched your brother play with the neighbourhood boys.

You fell asleep in one another’s arms after the final condom was disposed of, the sun long set, but awoke sometime in the night to the unsettling sound of an air raid siren. Not as common in 1943, yet being as close as you were to Canary Wharves, the Luftwaffe still made the occasional bomb run. Startled to find the bed empty, you sat up sharply to see Bucky sitting in front of the window, completely naked, intermittently illuminated by the flashes of distant explosions and anti-aircraft fire.

“Sorry doll, didn’t mean to wake ya.” He muttered and you shook your head, sliding to the end of the bed.

“You ok?” You tilted your head, blinking into a particularly bright flash.

“Hmmm…” He replied noncommittally, turning back to the scene before him with a frown. “I’ve dropped a lot of those. Done a lot of killing.”

Swallowing tightly, you slid to your feet despite the way your heart was pounding in your throat, padding across the carpet towards him.

“Done your job, Bucky. Done what was asked of you.” You assured him, coming to stand behind him, setting your hands on his shoulders.

“If there’s any balance to all this, my ticket was punched a long time ago.” He muttered sullenly and it was your turn to frown.

Bending down to press a kiss to the crown of his head, you stepped in front of him to block his view, perhaps, hopefully, to block his darker thoughts as you shifted to sit on his thighs.

“Whatcha doin’ doll?” He quirked an eyebrow, mouth falling open in a silent moan as your fingers slid between your bodies to gently stroke his length.

“Lightening up.” You replied, invoking the words of your dead brother’s inscription.

It was impossible to think of a more important piece of advice or a more importance source in that moment. A young man who would never get the chance to spend one more time in his lover’s arms, who knew you better than anyone in the entire world. And you were most certainly going to follow it. You had to be up in less than three hours, to catch the first train to High Wycombe, and you would not pass up this moment with Bucky. The future was unknowable, your brother’s death had certainly taught you that.

Bucky’s fingers curled into your hips as his mouth descended onto yours greedily, clearly in agreement with your plan, despite the lack of remaining condoms. Shuffling closer, you guided his now fully hard cock into your body, your soft noises of pleasure colliding with his in the space between your parted lips. Working together, with plenty of guidance from his firm grip, you began to rocking your hips, using his shoulders for leverage. His head fell back to stare up at you in awe, jaw slack, adam’s apple bobbing viciously.

“Christ, I love you…” His face betrayed such vulnerability, lips trembling slightly, that you quickly lifted your hands to cradle his cheeks, even as your lashes grew suddenly damp.

“I love you too, John. So much.” You replied thickly, rather resenting the dramatic wobble in your voice.

The tiniest of smiles pulled at his lips before his face grew serious once more and he lunged forward to kiss you hungrily, hands anchoring your shoulders so he might thrust up into your body with a sudden need. It was all you could do to hang on, though pleasure itself still managed to sweep you away, leaving you only with the vague recognition of him half pulling out mid-release.

It was terribly difficult to leave him in that comfortable, if messy, bed a few hours later. He did not make it easy either, impossible to untangle from your body like an unwieldy piece of seaweed. Yet somehow you managed to make your trains and arrive at your desk at the appointed hour. Focusing on the task at hand with the pleasurable ache between your legs was altogether another challenge, forcing you to sit on first one hip and then the other.

You had just returned after the lunch break when your phone rang, your greeting barely out of your mouth before Bucky’s question came down the line.

“Did you know you know where they played yesterday’s match?” He asked flatly and it took you several seconds to comprehend that he was speaking in code and just what he was getting at.

You swallowed painfully. “Yes, I did sir.”

Of course you did, you were in the room on Thursday night when they had chosen Bremen as the target for yesterday’s mission.

“A lot of our best players struck out, you know. Buck included.”

He sounded utterly unlike himself, cold and distant, not the man you had left just hours ago in that hotel room in London. All the same, your heart broke for him, and for yourself too. You liked Major Cleven – this war was nothing but cruel.

“I’m so sorry B-Major Egan.” You corrected yourself quickly, eyeing Myrtle across the room.

“Well I hope you all pick a better field for tomorrow’s match because I’m pitching.”

You opened your mouth to reply as your heart dropped through the floor, but the sound of the handset slamming into the cradle resounded over the line before it went dead, giving you no opportunity to speak. To wish him luck or, heaven forfend, goodbye. You hung up your phone with a slightly shaking hand as a deep sense of dread threaded its way through your stomach.

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

Read Part Five - "I Trusted You!"

"Trust" Series Masterlist

Tag list: @gretagerwigsmuse, @precious-little-scoundrel, @rubyfruitjungle, @storysimp, @mads-weasley, @xxanaduwrites, @bcon24, @fxxiva, @slowsweetlove, @hockeyboysarehot, @darylas

[ddaz3d-and-cc0nfused]

𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝐅𝐈𝐕𝐄: Mistress Kink w/ Emily Prentiss

a/n: OKAY LISTEN. i did NOT mean to miss a day. i ended up falling asleep then i was super busy for the rest of the night so it totally slipped my mind, but here it is now!! hope yall are excited for some grey haired dommy mommy emily! this is for my fellow wlw out there, i love yall! MWAH ;*

masterlist | kinktober masterlist | AO3

There was something about Emily’s presence that commanded respect wherever she went, her aura darkened with a certain kind of dominance that many people had difficulty putting their finger on. Maybe it was because she was the Unit Chief, or that before her promoted status all those years ago, she was a woman with many secrets.

Of course, you knew though, because you were her wife, and even in the bedroom she held herself in high regard, so who were you to treat her with anything less?

“Mistress?” You asked quietly, body twitching in slight nervousness as her fingertips stroked the curve of your bare back in an up and down motion, her touch featherlight. Your body was always so sensitive to her touches, and after years of being intimate with her, she had fine tuned and tweaked your nerves like a guitar.

She’d had you stripped down to nothing and laid over her lap, your naked breasts resting on her pant clad thighs. You had no idea what you had done to invoke a punishment, but you honestly don’t think that this is what that was, because your ass would have already been spanked raw due to you rubbing your thighs together to relieve your aching core without her permission.

“Sh…” She soothed you to silence by gently caressing the globes of your ass. “You did nothing wrong, my pretty girl. I just want to appreciate my wife, can’t I do that?” She asks softly, her fingers now stroking your wet slit teasingly. Your breath hitched in your throat, fingers twitching from where they gripped the sheets.

“Yeah,” You sighed, body going lax in her hold. “Of course you can, mistress.” 

She hummed thoughtlessly, the pad of her finger descending through your soaked folds, and slipping inside of you. A wanton moan caught in the back of your throat, your head lifting up from where it faced down. There were times like these where all Emily wanted to do was give, with no expectation for anything in return. It was possible she was involved with a case where someone lost their lover, or a situation that probably hit too close to him that possessed her to act like this. Not that you were complaining.

You cried out when she added another finger, the length of her aged digits rubbing against your sensitive and velvety walls deliciously, the pads of her fingers pressing your spongy g-spot. Her movements were soft and full of love, no urgency in her movements as she dragged out your pleasure. 

Your orgasm slowly bubbled in your gut, twisting when she finally added her third and final finger.

“Oh!” You gasped. “Mistress… please!” Your chest rose and fell with your pleas. 

“I got you my sweet girl.” She praised over your loud noises, but her ministrations sped up, the twist of her wrist getting rougher in order to drag you to your orgasm faster.

Your cunt squelched lewdly, painting her three digits in your slick as your noises grew louder and louder and the coil in your stomach grew tighter and tighter. 

“I- I-” You couldn’t finish your sentence before you came, quaking and squirming on your wife’s lap. Your sight went white when you came, your ears ringing and your veins lighting on fire. She worked you through it, rubbing your lower back and twisting her wrist into your cunt until you jumped in overstimulation, tiny, pained whimpers slipping through your lips. 

“You did so good, sweetheart. So, so, good.” She praised. 

“Thank you, mistress.” You said breathlessly through a sleepy smile on your face.

ೃ⁀➷ my lovely taglist!: @alina02 @louderfortheback @minervadashwood @fandomsarelifee @theendofthe70s @nomajdetective @mgg-theprettiestboy @phoenixblack89 @murdadixon @zippertwat @hallecarey1 @alixwriter @their-love

[tintinwrites]

ulterior motives | Poe Dameron x Fem!Reader (1 of 2)

A/N: Wow, long time, no Poe! And a long time without posts. I just haven’t been motivated to write (or finish what I start) and time is moving so quickly, I can’t even keep track of it. My goodness!!!!

Rating: 18+

Warning: Canon typical violence, naughty words, people assuming you were promoted for doing sexual favors and it is heavily discussed.

Word Count: 4,499, apparently!

Summary: Post-war with The First Order, your generals, Poe and Finn, promote you to commander of your squadron. Not everyone is happy about it, especially with how close you and Poe seem to be.

GIF Credit: ^^^^

You couldn’t help but smile as you hopped down from your ship, removing your helmet and tucking it under your arm, watching your fellow pilots leave their own X-wings to greet the people awaiting you all.

There was nothing more satisfying than a successful mission where nobody got hurt.

There were still remnants of the First Order, desperate people with no personality outside of the dictatorship, as well as new groups popping up. The galaxy simply couldn’t exist without someone with bad intentions wanting to rule it.

When one of your generals sent your squadron out to nip one of the groups in the bud, you hadn’t expected to be ambushed by their ships as soon as you broke the atmosphere for the planet their headquarters were on.

But, even taken by surprise, you managed to take each one of them out and suffer nothing but superficial damage to your ship and the others’. One day in maintenance and they’d all be good as new, like they never even left the hangar.

“Captain,” said a familiar voice from behind you and you nearly jumped, turning to find Poe was approaching you with a proud smile.

“General Dameron,” you breathed out, nearly stumbling over the name as you fought away your own shy smile.

He had that effect on everyone and you were certainly no exception. He was handsome already, but he’d grown a beard speckled with white since taking over as co-general and it made him so…distinguished. He let his hair grow out a bit and it was just barely graying at the temples. He was smart and strong and kind and toned and his eyes would crinkle at the corners when he’d smile at you or laugh or—

How could you not feel something? It was a little embarrassing, the way your heart would jump at the sight of him and your breath would catch when you spoke with him, and your palms would sweat just from being near him. But you couldn’t blame yourself or anyone else for that matter.

You tried your best to not reveal your feelings, hiding genuine yearning behind banter and what could possibly be construed as flirting. And sometimes you couldn’t help how you looked at him, especially when there were times where he looked at you in such a way that you thought that…maybe…

But he was one of your generals and you were just someone with a silly crush. Just like everyone else. You weren’t special, the two of you weren’t fated to be an item just because you liked him. It just…was what it was.

“Looks like Finn did a good job entrusting you with the squadron for this mission.” Poe looked around the tarmac at the other pilots, who were all animatedly telling anyone near them how intense and ‘cool’ the fight was.

You felt a touch of pride, but you just smiled. “I couldn’t have done it without them.”

You looked at him to find he was looking at you now, like he was considering something. When he didn’t say anything and you found yourself wanting to squirm beneath his gaze, you cut through the silence.

“Do I have something on my face?” You leveled him with a jokingly annoyed expression and he looked away with a laugh.

“Nothing that needs fixing,” he said offhandedly, biting his lip in thought for a moment before he looked at you again. “I wanna talk to you about something. In private.”

Your heart felt like it leapt out of your chest, mind immediately racing as it tried to figure out what he would want to talk about. Had you done something wrong? Was he going to ask you out?

You waved the thoughts away and smiled a little too brightly. “Sure! What’s up?”

“No, no, go take a shower and get changed, come to my office after.”

“Are you saying I stink, General?” Your typical banter was only slightly delayed as you tried to calm yourself.

“I’m just saying, I want to be able to inhale when I talk to you.”

Despite him being your superior, you gave him a playful shove that made him stumble back a bit, shaking your head as he laughed. “You’re horrible.”

“And you like it.” You did. Because he never meant it and just wanted to make you…make people laugh. “See you in fifteen?”

“We’ll see if I even show up now.”

——————————————————————————

You were outside of Poe’s office fourteen and a half minutes later, clean and in comfier clothes than a flightsuit; you sped through the process, both eager and nervous about what Poe wanted to talk to you about.

You took a deep breath to fail at calming your nerves before you knocked on the door.

“No one’s here!”

“Oh, then I guess I can just come back another day.” You barely made it a few feet down the hall before the door slid open and Poe was peeking out, smirking at you. “Oh! I thought no one was there.”

“I snuck by when you weren’t looking. Come in.” He nodded and stepped away, and you followed him into the room as the door shut again.

His office was simple, a desk and a few chairs, some necessary technology, a few little personal touches like toys from his childhood or cool things he found on missions. There was one across the hall for Finn that was nearly identical, but he had a lot more personal touches as he discovered new, wonderful things he enjoyed every day.

You sat in one of the chairs in front of his desk as he sat in his, and you waited for him to start the conversation. He was just smiling at you. You stared at him before you squirmed in your seat, feeling awfully hot for some reason. “What did you need to talk to me about?”

“Oh, right, uh…” He sat back in his seat, clearing his throat. “You know how Finn asked you to oversee your mission because Commander Nichos had to step away?”

You nodded. Nichos and you weren’t too close, but he was nice and you respected him, so you were concerned when you found out he wouldn’t be on the mission.

“Well, his wife is pregnant. And he wants to step down as commander so he can just have a family…in peace.” He started to rearrange things on his desk. “Since we’re not in a war and I want his kid to have a dad, I agreed.”

“That’s kind of you.” Poe was a fair general as far as you were concerned. He could get a little worked up sometimes, but it was only when it was necessary.

“But that means we won’t have a commander for your squadron and I’ve been thinking about it and talking to Finn…and we want you.”

You stared. “Want me to do what?”

“Take over as commander…but only if you want to.”

Slowly, you started to register what he was asking you and a smile spread across your face. “I…I would be honored. Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure.” He rolled his eyes playfully at you.

“This…thank you!” You’d been hoping to climb the ranks with your hard work and you so loved overseeing missions and your squadron. Not to mention, you felt so accomplished and flattered, knowing Poe and Finn thought you were capable enough. “Can I hug you?”

“You know I love hugs.”

You were around the desk and on him so fast, making him grunt as you hugged him tight. You would’ve been in his lap if you didn’t keep your feet on the ground. He laughed warmly in your ear and the sound made you melt, knees buckling as his arm came around you and he gently rubbed your back.

You pulled back after a moment and his arm loosened around you, but it didn’t fall. You stared at each other and you couldn’t help admiring how handsome he was, how soft his eyes were when he looked at you. Did he just glance at your lips? Were you imagining things to give yourself hope?

“General Dameron, I— oh.” You both turned to see a member of your squadron had entered; it was Valin, a typical tall, dark, and handsome man. He was a bit aloof, but a good pilot and fighter.

“Well, your breath smells fine to me!” you said quickly, inwardly cringing as you pulled away from Poe. He looked amused, but turned his attention to Valin.

“Hey, we were just finishing up if you wanna take a seat.” Poe nodded to you that you could leave, which you did in a bit of a daze.

Both from the awkwardness of Valin’s entrance and…whatever the hell that other feeling was. It felt like a strange mixture of hope, longing, and disappointment.

You were almost certain that you wanted to kiss Poe and that he wanted to kiss you back. You did want to kiss Poe.

But he was your general! And everyone wanted him! You were being ridiculous, making things up because you were excited and he was gorgeous. So unbelievably gorgeous…

It would never work, but it was nice to flirt and pretend. Even with your logic, you still wished Valin hadn’t walked in and interrupted whatever was going to happen.

Would Poe have kissed you? Would you be the one who initiated it? Would you both lean in, only to smack your noses together and laugh and break the tension that shouldn’t have been there? It was good that Valin walked in.

Great, even. It made things way less complicated that you weren’t able to kiss one of your generals.

You tried to shift your focus to your new role as commander and how excited you were, but you weren’t sure if you couldn’t stop smiling because of that or because it really seemed like Poe wanted to kiss you.

——————————————————————————

There was a celebration the night it was announced that you were promoted to commander and Valin was promoted to captain; everyone chattered, laughed, and even danced as they enjoyed delicious food and dizzying drinks.

Everyone but Valin, but it didn’t seem out of the ordinary given the distance he always kept between himself and the others. He just stood in the corner, sipping on a strong drink. You supposed he kept his emotions about being promoted to himself.

Regardless, you were having a great time with all your friends celebrating you, and other squadron members congratulating you and telling you how right you were for the job.

Poe observed for most of the night until you - a little buzzed, forgetting embarrassment despite the heat in your body - dragged him over to dance. He didn’t mind, joining in on the fun like he wasn’t one of your highest superiors.

Things were so different with the war over. While there were still problems to be dealt with, they were fewer and farther between, which meant you had time for celebrations and access to real food instead of rations.

You could enjoy your lives to some extent.

“Congratulations again. I gotta get this guy out of here,” said Kelsa, a member of the Blue Squadron, as she helped her husband Adharan out of the room. He was a member of your squadron and he was mumbling random things all the way.

There were few people left at the celebration as the night grew late and everyone felt the true effects of what they drank. It was you, Poe, Finn, a few new faces, and Valin left.

The group of newbies left and your eyes widened when you saw Finn with one of them. You looked at Poe in question when he plopped down next to you with a groan. “Someone made a friend.”

He laughed. “He’s been looking at her like a barghest pup since she joined. It’s about time.”

“Yeah…” You stared at him, the alcohol coursing through you doing a great job at making you forget why it was good you hadn’t kissed Poe the other day.

He had such perfect lips. He was made to be kissed and you wanted to do the kissing.

You didn’t even realize you were leaning in until you felt his fingers on your lips, stopping you from meeting his. He looked like he was almost in pain. “You’re drunk.”

“Not drunk enough to not know what I’m doing.” You mumbled against his finger tips, turning your head to lean into his touch.

“Maybe not, but you’re drunk enough to not think it through. I’m not gonna take advantage of that.” He slowly removed his hand, being sure you were holding your own head up and not relying on him. “I don’t want you to regret it in the morning.”

You knew refusing to take advantage of someone under the influence was the bare minimum a person could do, but you liked Poe so much, it felt like he’d just offered you a million credits. “You’re such a good guy.”

There was a snorted laugh and you looked over to see Valin walking by, but his face was so emotionless that you figured you heard wrong. You wanted to reach out to him even if he was distant, so you stood. “Captain.”

He just stared straight into your soul, only looking away once he was approaching the door.

You scoffed. “Talk about having a stick up your-“

Poe quickly stood and slapped a hand over your mouth, pulling you to his side as he grinned and waved at Valin with his free hand. “Goodnight!”

Valin’s eyes were darker as he left and you continued to mumble behind Poe’s palm. He made sure the other man was likely out of earshot before he moved his hand away.

“-and another thing, who stands in a corner and glares at everyone when they were just promoted? You should be celebrating! And I’ve been so nice to you and you just stare at me! Why?!”

Poe pressed his lips together and patted your shoulder, gently guiding you toward the door. “Yeah, you’re not in your right mind. Let’s get you to bed.”

——————————————————————————

It was a few days later that you noticed that people didn’t seem as excited for you anymore. It couldn’t just be in your mind that everyone was glaring at you, whispering to each other as soon as you were too far to hear them.

You wondered if you’d done something embarrassing at the celebration, but you remembered all of it and the most embarrassing thing you’d done was try to kiss Poe. That wasn’t reputation destroying, was it?

You did your best to ignore it, but the more people whispered without telling you what the problem was, the more irritated and nervous you became.

The tarmac outside of the base was crowded with people as Blue Squadron prepared to leave for a mission, but all conversations hushed as you walked through. The throngs parted, friends and acquaintances and people you didn’t even recognize staring at you. You felt big and small at the same time, like you were taking up too much space for the meaningless person you were in their eyes.

You just kept walking, wanting to wish the squadron luck before going.

Kelsa was about to get into her ship, but she stopped and looked at you with pity. That was better than being stared at like you were an abomination…maybe…pretty sure…you had no idea if it was better or worse. What was there to pity?

You approached their commander, Alsafi, and did your best to smile. “Hey, I just wanted to wish you luck out there.”

She regarded you for a moment like you were a lowly creature she could easily step on, then she lifted her chin and straightened her shoulders. “You know, I was assigned as commander of the Blue Squadron because I worked hard.”

You furrowed your brow. “Yeah…you’re the perfect fit, anyone knows that.”

She hummed and started to climb the ladder to her ship, saying over her shoulder, “I don’t need luck from General Dameron’s pet.

Your eyes widened and you quickly grabbed her ankle to stop her ascent. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Oh, come on!” She clenched her jaw and kicked you away easily, so she could hop back onto the tarmac and loom over you with her impressive height. “Everybody knows. How could he not grant you such a favor when you’ve been granting his?”

You opened and closed your mouth a few times in shock, turning to the crowd where some were staring and others quickly pretended they hadn’t been. “Is…is that what you all think? I was promoted to commander because I’m sleeping with Poe?”

A murmur fluttered across the group, some people saying nasty and hateful things while others begrudgingly admitted their beliefs. A few people were silent, obviously not believing the rumor, but too frightened by the general consensus to stick up for you.

That included members of your own squadron, people you’d known the longest, who’d been the most vocal about how happy they were that you were their commander.

“You all know Poe would never do that! That I…I would never accept…I…” You were so flustered by all the anger and judgment pointed towards you. “Kolb, Navi, come on, you know that’s not why!” Your fellow pilots looked ashamed as they stayed silent, so you turned to the ever stoic Valin.

Something was different in his eyes.

“Valin was promoted to captain! Poe and Finn were just moving up their best pilots to fill a space. Tell them.”

“I saw them together with my own eyes,” he said as he stared at you coldly. “And now you claim to be one of our best pilots? Better than me or the rest of our squadron?”

Your face fell. “No…I didn’t mean that…I just mean…we should trust their decisions, I…and what do you mean, you saw us?!”

“In his office, after everyone left the party…”

You scoffed and laughed nervously because, while you hadn’t done anything, you knew the position was compromising and you were filling with unfounded guilt. Or was it unfounded? You did feel that Poe liked you. Did he just promote you because he liked you?

No, he wouldn’t do that. Would he? He promoted Valin too. Maybe he liked Valin.

“We were hugging in his office because I was excited, and I was drunk at the party! Come on, you guys don’t really believe this!”

“If he was just promoting his best pilots, Valin should have been commander and you should have stayed captain,” Alsafi said before climbing into her ship.

Valin leaned in close to you as the crowd began to dissipate, their decision made. “Everyone sees how you look at each other. You think we’re stupid?”

You floundered, but couldn’t come up with a defense before he shouldered past you. What were you supposed to do? Nobody believed you.

All you could think was one thing; hide.

You ran, pushing past anyone who was left, bolting right back into the base so you could hide from their stares and assumptions, humiliated by their lack of faith in your abilities as well as them thinking you were sleeping with Poe.

You were just turning the hallway that held your quarters when you bumped into someone solid, hard enough that the two of you fell into a heap on the floor. He grunted and you gasped, panting.

“Hey, you okay?”

Your eyes widened when they met Poe’s and you quickly scrambled off him and crawled back until you hit the wall, wanting to put distance between you. You couldn’t imagine if someone walked in and found you on top of him.

His brow furrowed as he sat up. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

You didn’t know what to say and you felt panicked as tears welled in your eyes; from how much you liked Poe, and how much you wanted to be commander, and how everyone thought there was a correlation between the two. You opened your mouth and all that came out was a sob.

“Hey…” Poe softened and reached for you, but you quickly moved to your feet and pressed your back against the wall.

“Thank you, but I don’t think I should be commander.” It was like you were replying to a conversation he hadn’t been let in on, and you saw the confusion on his face before you darted down the hallway.

“Wait!” You could hear him calling after you and heard his footsteps running behind you for a moment, but you didn’t dare look back.

Part of you wanted to cry in his arms. The other part feared someone seeing you in another compromising position.

——————————————————————————

You stayed in your quarters for days, too frightened to face the stares or to wrestle with your feelings for Poe. You were also too scared to see his reaction to you turning down the role of commander.

Everyone had rations and a private refresher in their room, so you didn’t even have any reason to leave.

Maybe if you stayed there for a year or two, everyone would forget about this and Valin would be the new commander.

You peeked out from under your covers when you heard a knock on the door. “Who is it?”

“It’s Poe.”

“—no one’s here.”

“Should I rephrase that and say that your general is standing out here, in the freezing cold hallway?” When you gave no response, the door slid open and in walked Poe with a sympathetic expression. He looked around before grabbing the chair from your small desk and moving it to face your bed, sitting down. “Kelsa told me what happened.”

You groaned and pulled the covers over your head. “So you see why I can’t be commander and you agree? I’m glad we had this talk.”

“No, I see that someone started a rumor because you’re capable and deserving…and Valin is jealous, he thought he would be promoted to commander.” He tried to pull the covers down, but you held tight. “Come on, I know you. You’re gonna let this ruin something so important?”

“They think I fucked you, Poe,” you said bluntly as you shoved the covers back and sat up to look at him. “Do you know how embarrassing that is? They think I slept with you and that’s why you promoted me.”

“Who cares? You know the truth. I know the truth. And, sooner or later, they’re gonna forget all about the rumor and move onto something else.”

“They’re not gonna respect me if they think I do favors to get what I want.” You looked at your hands.

Poe reached out to tilt your chin up so you’d look at him. “I promoted you because you’re good and you deserved it more than anyone. They’ll get over it.”

You smiled a little, shaking your head. “I just don’t know if it’s right.”

“Well!” He stood and slapped his thighs. “Your squadron has a mission in a few days and I don’t plan to put someone in as commander, even temporarily. So I guess you at least gotta go for this one, or the whole squadron might be lost.”

“That’s just playing dirty.”

“Whatever gets you out of that bed.”

You watched him as he put the chair back and started towards the door, calling out before you could stop yourself, “Poe?”

You didn’t know what you wanted to say when he turned to look at you expectantly. Maybe you wanted to ask if it was all a rumor or if he did like you, if he looked at you the same way you looked at him.

But you couldn’t.

“Thanks,” you said lamely.

“Thank me after your briefing, first thing in the morning.”

——————————————————————————

The morning air was chilled as you finished packing what you needed into your X-wing, looking around at your squadron as they prepared themselves. Most of your group was being respectful and kind, though they hadn’t spoken up for you before.

The only one who didn’t seem to care for your orders was Valin. You didn’t care for him very much at all now, given how he started the rumor, but you would make sure he stayed safe.

You were just climbing the ladder when he approached you, data pad in hand. “General Dameron said he gave us the wrong coordinates, these are the right ones.”

You looked at him and then looked to where Poe was standing to see you all off, smirking a bit when he waved at you. You quickly made your expression neutral and looked at the coordinates on screen, nodding. Maybe even Valin was getting somewhat used to you being his superior, if only by doing something helpful that you imagined Poe was forcing him to do.

“Let’s get a move on, the sooner we’re out of here, the sooner we can come back!” You climbed into the cockpit of your ship and put in the coordinates before you let the canopy close, starting it up.

Poe was still watching as you lifted into the air, followed close by the rest of your squadron with Valin right behind you. You waved to your general quickly before you took off into space, surprised by how far the planet would be.

That’s what hyperspeed was for, you supposed. You were able to engage it once you broke the atmosphere and you were in the quiet expanse of stars.

It cut your travel time in half and you exited it once you were a few minutes away from the planet, pausing when you only saw one ship behind you. Where the hell was the rest of your fleet?

Your comm crackled to life and you could hear Valin, “I think they dropped out of hyperspeed too soon, this place is kinda in the middle of nowhere. We should go ahead and land, scope out the place.”

He was right about the planet being in the middle of nowhere and you knew your squadron was smart, they’d figure out the coordinates. It made sense to go ahead and get started, so you could see what needed to be done.

You took off your helmet once your ship had touched down, climbing out to take a look at your surroundings.

It was pretty barren, dirt as far as the eye could see, crumbling buildings and dead foliage. You couldn’t even hear animals or the wind.

“I think maybe we’re the ones who dropped out of hyperspeed at the wrong time,” you said over your shoulder as Valin jumped out of his ship. “I don’t think this is even livable. Maybe it was at one time, but not anymore…they wouldn’t want a planet without resources they can harvest.”

“No, I think we’re in the right place,” came Valin’s voice from right behind you.

You barely had time to register the pain of something being brought down on the back of your head before everything went black.

[gremlingottoosilly]

[If you need to be mean] chapter 5

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4

Your date with a new guy isn't good for you. Konig is inclined to show you that. TW: Konig being a huge pervert, Canon-Typical violence, Dub-Con, Innocence kink, Age difference(Konig in his yearly 40, Reader in her early 20)

Pairing: Konig x fem!Reader Tags: Fluff, Power Imbalance, Hurt/Comfort, Size Kink, Possessive Konig, Yandere Konig, Creepy scary stalker Konig, written mostly from Konig's perspective TW for this chapter: Dub-con touching, stalking

You wake up with a throbbing headache and feeling of something dying in your throat. You roll from your bed, completely naked, like a baby deer on shaky legs doing its first steps. And about to die just like one also. 

König wakes up like he just won a million dollars and got promoted to KorTac CEO. He almost jumps from his bed – comfortable mattress, personal quarters, perks of being a colonel – and presses his hand on his bulge. Yeah, he has a bit of time to indulge in carnal pleasures. Especially when he can think of your trembling body. 

You found a glass of water and a pill – presumably Ibuprofen – on the table. Thank you, drunk me, you want to say – then the vague memories of last night come flooding in, and you run to the bathroom, emptying your already empty stomach once again. Pain won’t stop even after you drink a couple of pills and gulp the whole glass. 

König comes with a soft groan, thinking about your helpless body trapped under him, how your fragile form would bulge on the outline of his dick. Of course, he couldn’t do anything while you were drunk off your mind and barely awake, but he can fantasize about this – perfect morning pill for his depraved mind. 

You look at the clock – it’s 12 in the morning, you are already one and a half hours late for your day shift. You still don’t know what you were thinking while agreeing to cover for the time that won’t bring you more money but drain your energy instead, but you have already missed it. What is weird, however, is that your alarm didn't work – all five of them. And that your work didn’t called either, despite knowing that manager would be fucking mental over missing a day shift. 

König looks at the clock – it’s 5 in the morning and he wakes up a bit earlier than a man of his rank can. One thing about being a commander is that his captains would usually do the drill job for him – he only has to read through various mission reports and see if everything is alright with supplies. Giving orders is one of his least favorite things, but at least he can have another half an hour before turning into a personal devil for his men. 

You don’t even bother to eat – nothing will stay in your stomach anyway. Nothing feels right as you struggle to put on your clothes – your closet looks like it was ravaged by a pack of burglars. Either you went completely wild while searching for a pair of panties at night or…yeah, it probably what happened. You can’t find your nice pairs, so you assume they were lost somewhere in the chaos of your room – honestly, you can’t even bother to search for the ones you were wearing yesterday, assuming they just got lost. 

König plays with the soft fabric of your panties in his pocket, remembering how good it was looking at you – delicate laces feel incredible in his rough, calloused hands, and he can only imagine how sweet your scent would be once he would press it on his face and masturbate. Too exhausted to do it yesterday, he thinks about breaking into your apartment, maybe getting something new – your locks are shitty, perfect for someone like him to get in and steal your adorable sleeping self.

You think about getting something for your aching, empty stomach – maybe a soup or takeout. Your stomach can’t take it right now, but you now that staying empty would only make it worse – then you take one look at the contents of your wallet, that one hundred dollars bill already went to currency exchange and the rent debt – and, well, maybe you can use one day of, how do they say it, controlled hunger. Maybe you’ll get more tips this evening, if you could convince your manager to give you another shift, and you could buy some good snacks on top of your usual bottom-of-the-barrel groceries. König gets breakfast among his fellow officers, a few good mornings and deadly stares at anyone who asks what he was doing last night and what got him returning to base so late. He would just eat in his room like always, but Hutch asked for a personal report on the last mission and he enjoys talking to someone who is almost as nerdy about embarrassingly many stuff as he is – at their grown-up age also. He would look at his tech expert through his mask and would nod to every little bit of intel they got about the terrorists they were fighting for, three weeks of doing nothing but draining government money only to start covering one cell after another almost every day. 

You gag when you think about meeting Tomas at the cafe again – he usually covers daytime shifts, he would definitely be there, oh god, what if he would tell someone about this, what if he really did something to you and you just don’t remember it, what if…he is gone. Dead or missing or whatever, you remember how easily the words slipped from König’s tongue and you ran away to the toilet again, with nothing left in your stomach to vomit – you still cough and gag at the thought. Your memories are weird, shady, maybe it was just a part of the alcohol-fueled dream, but you think about the colonel being here, holding you, undressing you and touching you in all the weird places while taking care of your helpless body and you don’t know what to think. 

König wants to pay you a visit, to make sure that his favorite girl is okay and has everything she needs – he remembers your apartment. Shitty, tiny place, not even a proper bed for you to sleep, only a couch with some cushions thrown over it. He would help you with furniture, maybe even buy and haul something to your place – but it would be much better just to buy you and him a new home entirely. Maybe he’d allow you to choose something small, like a color of curtains or the fabric pattern for your new carpet. You would need something to do once the marriage is sealed, he doesn’t want his little wife to get bored. He wants you to feel complete with you, but he can’t even go to your place right now because too much work is out there, on the base. 

You stare at the sign “Sorry, we’re temporarily closed” at the cafe’s door and stand here, dumbfounded, for a good few minutes. People look at your expression, bags under your eyes – you look like a zombie, maybe you should have putted some makeup just to look less haunted – as you just stand here, thinking what the actual fuck is going on. You try to call your manager, but he ignores your calls – and when he finally answers, you get nothing but angry yells and pleads to never fucking return. 

König thinks about how easy it was to just get your place to close – possible terrorists hiding, a few of his boys going dark at night and scaring the shit out of your manager and whoever was working at that time. He didn’t want it to come to this, you need something to busy yourself with while he’s working – your job is shitty, yes, but he would allow you to work here for a week or so before coercing you into depending on him completely. His wife is a silly little creature who needs some silly little tasks to do – being a waitress works just fine. He could just pay you to allow him between your legs, but you are not some prostitute, you’re his adorable new love, and he would do whatever it takes to prove that he is serious about being with you. He didn’t want it to come to this, but he can’t let you stay at the place where your coworkers can just assault you. Would be nice to just put you into a basement or his room – get you a comfortable collar or tie up your arms and legs so you’d be completely helpless and at his mercy. 

You choke on your tears as you understand that you just lost your job. There aren't many other opportunities in this town, not with terrorist threats and possible dangers left and right, not with how many businesses started catering towards constant military presence. You can’t work like this, soldiers scare you – and their colonel is the worst, scaring you even while saving you from Tomas. You don’t have enough money to just not work for a couple of weeks, and you’re already in debt for your apartment. It feels like your life is crumbling apart in just a week. It feels like you know who is to blame. 

König attents training of the new recruits – some of them did well at the latest mission and he finally starts to see the hope in these soldiers. If they would manage to drive the terrorists away in a few months, he’d get home before Chrtistmas – and would get a nice wifey on top of that. It feels like his life has finally started coming together. He got what he deserved all of this time, with all the years of hard work and relentless committing of war crimes he did in favor of becoming a colonel. 

***

You are counting all of your savings and, yes, you don’t have enough to last even a week without a job that would preferably pay you daily. There isn’t many coffee shops around your town, especially now, when people are too afraid of getting their business blown up or run over for military means – you literally saw a nice bar completely change to cater for soldier’s needs like they intend to be here for long – and you don’t want to have anything to do with the military. If you wanted to get your ass smacked by some entitled assholes who think that if they chose army instead of college, everyone should kiss their boots, you would just call König. 

But, you don’t know his number. 

But, you don’t even remember what happened last night to the full extent – you remember him touching your body, you can presume that he undressed and helped you with getting on the couch, but he never asked for permission to enter your apartment. It’s too big of a coincidence that he was just right in that alley to help you get away from Tomas. Soldiers usually go on their patrols or whatever, but he is a colonel, you don’t think that people like him can just take a stroll here and there, especially at night. Shouldn’t he fight terrorists? 

You try to call some of the coworkers who worked here, with you – and they all politely asked you to go to hell and forget their numbers until you would get your crazy soldier date in place. They were also kind enough to ask for how much you selled your body to the, quote, “Fucking mercenaries who would fuck our country over some money and you are selling yourself to them like a prostitute even if they can just pack their stuff and leave the next months if terrorists are dealed with”. 

They weren’t kind enough to listen to your futile attempts of explaining yourself. Situation isn’t even out of control – it never was under it in the first place, you don’t even know what could happened to the cafe in that 10 hours of sleep that you got, and you are even more helpless when you think about the reputation you got for just hanging out with König for like…a few hours at most? Yes, you spoke to your fellow waiters about him – mostly because they were very interested about the tip he left you, you talked to your friends about a creepy, but cute guy who was talking to you, your family – how you get out after breaking the curfew without getting into the police department for it. 

Almost funny, now one and a half interactions can ruin your life so easily – not just your work, not just the relationships with your coworkers, but everything as a whole. You are still shaking from what happened last night, the understanding that Tomas might be dead, but now it only indicates that König can literally do what he wants. Kind in his very own kingdom. You want to vomit, but that would only hurt you even more, and you don’t have time to rest or be physically unwell. 

He promised you a job, you remember. Working with the military, being their guide to the city. Having connection to many people in this place, maybe you could even help in pointing at the possible threats without looking suspicious – but then again, you would just sell yourself to soldiers who couldn’t care less about your life or the life of your town. They are not some good-hearted UN intervention, they are a bunch of mercenaries who get paid by the president to help with the threats that he himself has fed and raised here. You think about helping them – then you think about how it would only make it worse for you. 

You think about how this man looked at you – how his hands were trembling when he put a hand on your shoulder and squeezed it softly. You can at least hear him out – the worst that could happen is that he says no and you die from hunger, right? 

*** Horangi loves his job. He isn’t at home, which means the debt collector wouldn’t get to him, he has a place in this world, and a shiny new sergeant badge that could very easily become the lieutenant one if he would succeed with this mission and a hard task of deciphering what his colonel might want. König is a great man except for all the times he isn’t, and a perfect soldier – except for all the bloodbath he is causing every time this man is too caught up in his thoughts. He doesn’t talk much, don’t ask him about his past, and the other teammates are great too – it’s not the army where basically no one wanted to serve, it’s a PMC where everyone has their place. Some for the money, some for the honor…and money – but they all know what they are doing. 

Main problem is boredom. 

When you are a soldier deployed in a small country to hide the terrorists, you think that it would be fun. Blood, slaughter, fighting, beautiful ladies and gentlemens jumping on you because you just look so good in uniform. What he didn’t except, however, was how boring it would be, just sitting on the base in the outskirts of the city, listening to his teammates going crazy from having nothing to do, and increasing the violence counters on the missions because they need something to do. 

He would do anything for something to do. 

This is when he exited the main entrance of their base and saw his colonel’s sweetheart. 

Just to be frank – he does not care that his commander, 6 '10 wall of muscles and anxiety, got a little civilian girlfriend. He could have a whole harem of locals and it would only indicate how manly and cool König is. All of his temamates and subordinates would be happy to know that their leader does fuck and has a way of releasing his pent-up frustration not just on the field and very unlucky rookies. He does not have a problem with knowing that, even if his romantic life is long dead and buried among his debts, while an Austrian has no problem getting laid even if the last time he spoke to a person willingly was three months ago. 

Horangi does, however, have a problem with his colonel’s sweetheart because he sees that you are not really responding to his feelings. Would be much easier if you were an easily-swayed somewhat promiscuous little thing that would hapilly jump into his arms and open your legs for whatever fucked-up trauma the man has. 

Horangi does, however, have a problem with his colonel being fucking delusional and stalking a random girl. Not because stalking is bad or whatever, god knows, König deserves some love and if the way he expresses it is enough to be a crime, then so be it – but you are not answering his delusions and this is a problem. He would not deal with his commander being frustrated, blue-balled or unsatisfied – he still wants to live and wants the team to thrive. So, when he sees your face – you really are adorable, commander has a good taste in civilians – looking all anxious and devastated and sad, like a kitten that got run over by a military truck, he does a bee-line right to the blockpost in front of the base. 

— Got a problem, ma’am? 

— I…I just need to talk to König, he was…um, he knows who I am. We talked before.

God, he hates talking to civilians. But you look devastated and the guard at the entrance – sergeant, just like him – told him that this stupid thing just tried to ask for a colonel, like he is a call girl. Guy didn’t get the memo about König’s little fling, as he sees, so Horangi can’t really blame him for being too harsh with you – he also knows that commander would fucking murder him if he won’t know about his love asking for him, and he also knows that even if your thick skull finally admitted to his advances, he need to capture the moment before you ran away. 

— Colonel asked for her. Let her proceed. 

— But…

— Colonel’s orders. You don’t want to be here if he knows that we didn’t let her through. 

You look at the man with shock in your eyes – of course, you have no idea who he is and why he is behaving so warmly. He wears a mask and full armor just like König, but even with him, you at least see his face. The man with a South Korean badge on his chest conceals his gaze with dark sunglasses and tugs on your wrist rather roughly, showing you inside of the building. You would feel scared, but all the anxiety already got to the point of numbness, and the only thing you can feel is slight dread as you proceed deeper in the building. 

You sigh as he drags you with thim, other soldiers looking at you with curiosity in their eyes as you blush. You don’t even know if König would appreciate you coming here, being so needy with him after he saved you and ran – maybe he doesn’t feel anything to you anymore, maybe you are too weak for him, too helpless and fragile, maybe…but then again, his soldier was quite confident in allowing you inside. Military bases are usually a highly secured place, guards at the entrance didn’t even allow you to come here until he came along – making you question what exactly he knows about you. 

König sits in his office, frustrated as he is reading through reports of the intel – Hutch is a great computer expert, he would give the man a medal already if they were in the official military, but they once again don’t have a lead on the terrorists. Too many people covering them, too many groups spread out across the town and even the country – if they won’t make a move first, it could take months of searching for their hide-out. They are soldiers, not detectives – they don’t have enough intelligence agents to infiltrate them from the sideways. More cynical part of his brain tells him to just wait it out, for their next move – maybe a bomb in the public place, maybe a hijacked plane with russian scriptures written all over it. 

They are not here to protect citizens of this country – just to get money and kill terrorists. A few casualties are bound to happen but, oh well, you can’t build a house without killing a bunch of squirrels, right? 

Then he sees you – adorable, helpless, cute, perfect, pretty, absolutely stunning in your oversized hoodie and some old jeans that make his pants tighter. How could anyone be so freaking breath-taking while wearing nothing but some lazy day clothes and messy hair? Even the bags under your eyes are not only making him worry for the quality of your sleep, but also makes him want to protect you even more – he bet you would sleep much better after an intense session with him.

Horangi pushes you into the office and you stumble on your feet, tears already filling your eyes. König steps from his table, not even caring about the documents – they are confidential, so he just pushes it deeper in his desk and smiles under his hood. Horangi just promoted himself in his eyes – god, he has to keep tabs on good soldiers, he might need it in the upcoming operations. 

You look perfect like this – crying, stuttering, whispering something about how scared you were, how terrified after he saved you. But you shouldn’t be like this! Yes, a fair amount of fear is normal, he wants a nice, obedient little wife who would greet him with open legs and smile on your lips as he returns home from deployment, but he isn’t abusive. He won’t treat you like a scumbag, like many of his fellow soldiers are – you are a delicate little creature that needs to be protected, cherished, like a treasure you are. 

But why are you so afraid? You should have thanked him for saving you, fallen on your knees and greeted him properly. Not crying – even though your desperate face is just as adorable, he doesn't want to have a reputation of making women cry in his office. Recruits are already afraid of him. 

— What are you doing here, Mein Schatz? I thought you’d be at home. 

— I…

How can you even start talking about this? You need help? You are not sure if you can keep your apartment if you don't have a job in the next 12 hours? Your life just came crumbling apart in just one night and you don’t know what to do besides hoping that he would accept you as his guide or whatever, hoping that he won’t ask for something else, worse? 

How can he even contain himself when you are biting your lips, cheeks flushed, hands folding your hoodie and you can’t even look at him directly? He is an anxious, nervous man, he doesn’t know what to say half of the time, he is sometimes too scared of saying something that might upset you, but even he feels strong next to you. How you can’t even find your words, forcing him to beckon you closer, as you make a few steps towards him. 

— I lost my job. 

Of course you did. He sent a whole small strike group to check the place for terrorists and find out that your manager, in fact, had a huge document problem – local police thanked them for this, while he couldn’t care less for another abusive asshole getting out of your way. You said that you can’t spend your time on helping him because of your job – so now, when you don’t have to cater to clients, you can finally cater to him. 

— Ja, I know. 

— You…you are? 

— You have free time now. 

It’s so simple – and your face twists in fear when you understand that he really was behind your cafe getting closed. That he saved you from danger while being the one itself – you take a step back, falling almost, this dumb, clumsy part of your body makes you stumble on the clean floor when König covers the distance between you in a second, dragging you closer to him. Sitting on the chair while putting your limp body on his lap, finally enjoying the sensation he craved the most. 

You can’t move from fear – but he soothes you softly, hands on your waist and head buried in the crook of your neck. if you had any doubts about whether he still likes you or not, you don’t have it anymore. — I…I need a job, sir. You asked if I could be your guide and…

They already found enough willing participants who are okay with helping mercenaries. They don’t need more civilians because it can endanger the operation – people tend to run their mouths loose, they are already risking by trusting even one civilian consultant. 

However, he has another job for someone as cute as you. 

— We don’t need a guide anymore. 

— You don’t? I…I’m sorry for wasting your time, sir, I will go as…

He pushes you deeper into his body, hands already roaming under your loose hoodie and fondling your skin. You are shaking in his grasp, tears streaming down your face as you go through your short breakdown. König knows how to break people – he didn’t want to do this with you, but he hates himself enough to understand that not a lot of people would be with him willingly. 

— We might get to know each other closer. 

You cry in his shirt, grasping on the dark fabric as you whimper – finally letting go of your emotions ever since the night. It feels like you were holding those tears your whole life – and he gently pats your back and plays with the lining of your bra under your clothes, making you shudder. 

— I’m not…not like this. Sorry. 

— I know you’re not like this, Meine Liebe. But I don’t want my dear girlfriend to waste her energy on some cafe. 

— Girlfriend? I’m not sure what we are talking about, sir. 

— Am I moving too fast? 

— Yes. 

— Good. Not sure how much time I have in this country. 

He moves your head up, gently handing your face so he can smother your lips with a hungry, devouring kiss. He is desperate, deranged, he bites on the softness of your mouth and smiles when you are trying to push him away. Your fight is meaningless and soon enough, your hands fall to your sides, not trying to resist anymore. 

— You’re scared, I know. But you don’t have to be. 

— I can’t be with you. 

— You can. I’ll protect you from everything, I will pay for whatever your little heart desires. 

— You don’t even know me. 

— Maybe. But we’ll spend time together, ja? 

— You’ll have to leave eventually. Not the…not the best relationships base. 

— I’ll take you with me. 

— And if I don’t want to? 

— I can get away with many things. You’ll like living in a big house. 

You are adorable like this – eyes big and watery, lips trembling as he proceeds to kiss you, hold your body close. He still needs to finish those documents and he can’t just have a normal civilian hanging around the base – he can have a spouse though. 

Thinking about you with a ring on your finger is too much for him. And you, feeling the way his enormous bulge is throbbing on your ass through his pants, shivering with dread. Anticipation too – even for just a little bit, 

— I still need a job. We don’t have many options here. 

— I’ll pay you for whatever you need. 

— What do you want in exchange? 

He licks his lips before kissing you again. You both know the answer – even if you are too afraid to say it, and he is too excited. 

— You. 

— I…can we take it slow? 

— But we’ll be together. 

You are scared of him. You don’t want to be with someone from the military, soldiers are scaring you, big muscular men are scaring you, his whole existence with this terrified hood and concealed face is scaring you – then you look at your life again. Think about empty pockets and constant living in fear of either poverty, someone else hurting you, or terrorist attack – and then you look at König. 

Money, power, influence. He promised to give you a big house, no? 

You could at least try. Not like you have many other options. 

— We…we will be. But with some boundaries, okay? 

He chuckles, slowly starting to kiss your neck. 

— Meine Liebe, do you really think you’re in position for this? 

— Please? 

— I’ll think about it. 

You squirm under him as he gently pushed you on his table and slowly starts lifting your hoodie.

---------------------------- TAG LIST @shigbby @honeeybeezzz @herefornanami-s-cake @pendalikespasta @lucylou302 @yxllowtxpe @sunbathed-sweetgrass @sarah-ardini @teenagegever2k22 @lastwordsofadyingstar @lavenderskye29 @karrotsforyou @inlovewithcodmen @onegami @keithehe @lilahbunny @ameneminimo @beepyboopbop @ms-munchkin @dinonacho @undeadgod @dizeesstuff @mingkiiii @midwesternwitchery @yxllowtxpe @flammenwerferpanzerkampfhund @keithehe @iytatsworld @r02eg0ld @cumikering @ysljoon @m1ndbrand @captain-heebie-jeebie @bluenredndeath @elichisstuff @milenko115

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'tis the damn season | Chapter 9

Pairing: Jake "Hangman" Seresin x Julie/Cece (OC, no physical description)

Word count: 6K

Synopsis: After six years away from home, Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin was finally going to make his parents happy and surprise his family by spending Christmas in Magnolia, Texas. Introducing his pregnant fiancee to his family is a culture clash, with rural Texas meeting California influencer. Though unhappy in his relationship, Jake knows he has to buckle down and do the right thing with a baby on the way.

The last person he expected to run into was his high school sweetheart and the one that got away, Julie.

The holidays are already going to be hard enough for Julie. Her home baking business, which had started as a fun side project, exploded after a few TikToks went viral. Just when she was getting the hang of juggling her job and business, tragedy struck. Facing her first Christmas as an orphan, the last thing Julie expected was to hear that once familiar nickname - Cece.

After almost a decade apart, Jake and Julie can't help but feel that old familiar spark. Even with the realities of their lives pressing in, they can't help but wonder what might have happened if just one of them had fought for their relationship all those years ago.

Chapter 8 | Master List | Ao3

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Chapter 9

"Hangman, my office - now."

Jake closed his eyes as the door to the Ready Room slammed shut, the silence after Cyclone's order already overwhelming. He could feel the other aviators staring and set down his nearly full cup of coffee, scrubbing a hand down his face. The soft clanking of his g-suit clips was the only sound in the room as he forced his head high and strode into the hallway, following in the air boss's wake. 

Cyclone barked for him to come in when he knocked, and Jake stood at attention in front of his desk. He tried to keep his eyes on the wall over his shoulder, but he could see how the vice admiral clenched his jaw and heard the tap of his pen on the desk. "Sir -"

"Did I say you could speak, Lieutenant?" Silenced, Jake forced himself to take a breath and make sure he didn't slouch. It was another minute of tapping before his superior spoke. "I want to know why the hell the base is getting calls about your personal life…legal, the gate shacks, and even the base commander's office. And then I hear that it's not only us - Coronado is also hearing about your sex life. So why is that, Hangman?"

A wave of dread hit him. He hadn't thought, perhaps naively, that what Shayla did would get back to his job. He didn't live online - hell, his social media hadn't been updated in months, except for his ex tagging him in stuff, though his follower account was high. Cece's business was connected to her social media, so it had made sense for them to make that connection. But him? Why the hell would anyone call the fucking base? "Sir," he started again after clearing his throat. "I -"

"Save it. I've seen both videos." Cyclone ran a hand down his face before resuming his pen tapping while looking out the window. "Conduct Unbecoming," he muttered, and Jake froze. Catching this, Cyclone turned his gaze back to the younger aviator. "Conduct Unbecoming of an Officer and a Gentleman. They're tossing around the idea of hitting you with an Article 15." 

Anger battled with worry at his pristine record being marked with disciplinary action. Being known for violating the Uniform Code of Military Justice. If he accepted it, an Article 15 would save him from a trial and court-martial, where he would face fines or confinement at best, lose a rank, or be dishonorably discharged at worst. The Article 15 still held a penalty. He could deal with a 30-day restriction or even his paycheck being halved for two months - it would hurt, but he could do it. But it could impact his ability to be promoted. Every time he went up for a rank, there would always be an asterisk next to his name and accomplishments. It would be on his Fitness for Duty report, marked under behavioral. 

Because his fucking ex lied. 

Her fucking lie made them think he'd acted dishonorably. Brought shame to the Navy. Impacted his ability to command subordinates. That her posting the video would impact his mission capability. 

Jake swallowed hard, refusing to acknowledge the angry tears pricking his eyes. For years, he'd always thought his greatest regret would be letting Cece go in Virginia, but now he knew it was talking to Shayla that night at the Hard Deck. 

The clicking of computer keys snapped Jake out of his shame spiral, and Cyclone's lips pressed into a thin line. "Activation orders are in your inbox. A new mission came in before the holidays, and I was going to wait to issue orders until after the new year, but the timing's perfect for getting you the hell out of my sight. The SEALs need aerial support and requested two of my best. Unfortunately, that includes you. You'll need to do a SERE refresher before deploying." 

Jake's throat tightened at the mention of SERE. Like all pilots, he'd participated in Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape training. While the experience was invaluable, he could never entirely forget the feeling of being waterboarded or the screams of the woman in their squad who had been captured by the instructors and thrown into a pit. The rest of the team had been forced to listen, hiding in the grass as the instructors poured buckets of water over her until she was treading to keep her head above water, yelling at her to give up the intel. 

"How long is the deployment, sir?" 

"The earliest refresher course is in Kittery, so you'll be headed to Maine in three weeks, then back here for a month of training before deploying. The mission length is unclear, but we expect to be on radio blackout for its entirety. Now, get the fuck out of my office."

"Yes, sir."

"Oh, and Hangman?" Jake paused with one foot out the door. "Keep your private life off the goddamn internet." 

"Sir."

Julie's eyes were heavy as she stared at her computer, resisting the urge to drop her head into her hands. Rather than head into the bank, she'd called out of work. She knew it was putting her supervisor in a bind, especially since a lot of the parents were still out taking care of their kids who were out of school for the holiday. Still, she would sit at the counter covering for the tellers instead of processing loan applications in her office. Opening herself up for that amount of scrutiny was too much. 

Not only that, but she was so tired. After Jake left and Lucy finally went home to her family, Julie crawled back into bed. She could still smell Jake in her sheets, and when it became overwhelming, she got up and stood outside of Daddy's bedroom. After Lucy had helped her clean it the first time after he died, she'd only gone in to dust and change the sheets occasionally over the last 11 months. Daddy's clothes were still hung in the closet and tucked into the drawers, his wallet and watch still on the dresser. After a long moment, she crossed the bedroom, running her fingers along the furniture before slipping into the bed like she had so many times as a little girl after waking from a bad dream. 

But this time, Daddy wasn't there to hold her until she went back to sleep, banishing the monsters from her imagination. "I miss you," she'd whispered, resting her hand on his pillows.

Sighing, she pushed to her feet and went to refill her coffee. She was almost out of creamer and knew a trip to the grocery store needed to happen. While her appetite was nearly non-existent, she knew she needed to eat. Without a working oven, her options were limited. Ally offered to drive down to the store with her truck to pick up a new oven and Will and Mr. Seresin to install it, but Julie was reluctant to see the Seresins. She had yet to answer Jake's call that morning or respond to his text.

I love you so much, Cupcake. We'll get through this. I'll call you later.

It was still on her mental list of things to do, along with replying to people requesting to cancel their orders with her. While her first instinct was to agree and issue a full refund, Lucy had put her foot down on that and pointed out that they'd signed contracts that outlined penalties for cancelations - they would get partial refunds if anything. Settling back at the kitchen table, Julie clicked on her next order email and scanned it before deleting it. And the next. And the next.

The fourth email was an actual inquiry for cake pops. The person had included a note in the comments.

I hope you and Jake are happy. His video made it look like you guys are meant to be. I hope this all dies down soon. I've always wanted to try your stuff, and I figured now would be a good time. Thanks for being my comfort creator on here! 

Tears pricked her eyes as she reread the note. When Jake had sent her the link to his video after he'd posted it, she'd been too numb to react. After showing what his apartment looked like after Shayla had destroyed it was bad enough, but he'd lost his temper and laid out exactly what happened. His work with the greenscreen was wonky, but he shared the screenshots where she'd admitted to lying about the baby. He'd talked about their relationship, how he was never comfortable with her filming, and her begging to continue. How she'd cheated, and they'd broken up before telling him she was pregnant, and he wanted to do the right thing.

He admitted to not being open about who Julie was to him when they went home but pushed back on the idea that his family was rude to Shayla. Instead, he told them how she'd posted the "pregnancy announcement" video before they could tell them the news and how she hadn't respected their privacy. He confirmed that he was the one in Julie's video - she could have kicked herself for not catching when his wrist had briefly appeared in the background as she piped out macaron shells and he grabbed a cupcake pan to put in more liners - and anger colored his words when he talked about Shayla destroying her work. 

"I want to be clear," he'd said, staring directly at the camera. "That I kissed Ce… Julie that night. But that was as far as it went. And it was a mistake that we both regretted immediately because I was still engaged to Shayla at that point. But nothing. Else. Happened. I…” He looked away and cleared his throat. "I was ready to agree never to see Julie again if that would have made Shayla feel more secure in our marriage. But we never got to that because she left her computer open, and I saw the texts to her best friend. And I did yell at her. And took my ring back. I was only at Julie's house that night because I couldn't stand to be under the same roof as someone who tried to trap me into a marriage with blackmail. Julie was my friend that night, and I needed that."

"I won't apologize for not staying with someone who lies and manipulates and intentionally hurts my loved ones. And that's what Shayla did. She hurt people to get you to watch her videos and get brand deals and free shit. She doesn't care about you or me or anyone but herself. But I do owe an apology to my family for bringing her with me, making you uncomfortable, and not being the son you raised. And, of course, to Julie - who has been family since we were kids and I've been in love with almost that long. I'll never be able to make up for the hurt I've caused, not just over the last week. I wasn't always honest with you when you deserved that, and I put myself and my career before you. You didn't do anything to deserve all of this except be there for an idiot who is still in love with you and couldn't hide it well. And I'll spend every day trying to make it up to you if you let me. I've been bad at keeping promises, but I want to keep the one of being your first and last kiss, Cupcake." 

"And to everyone else, please just… leave her alone. Julie's the most selfless person I've ever met and doesn't deserve this. Hate me, hate Shayla, but leave her out of it. She's a good person, and those are hard to find." 

He looked so defeated, hair a mess from running his hands through it and the dark circles under his eyes again. From the extent of the damage, Julie knew he wouldn't have gotten much sleep last night, either. Unlike herself, he probably didn't take the easier route and call out of work rather than face real life. He was probably facing it head-on with that bullheaded stubbornness he'd been known for as a kid. 

After typing a quick quote for the cake pops with multiple decorating options, including a short 'thank you for your support!', she clicked into the next email. She closed when she saw a request for a macaron cake that read 'Happy Homewreckers!'. Tears trickled down her face as she breathed like Jake had taught her. She could get through this. 

Lunch was rough. Jake could feel eyes on him as he took his tray to their usual table, sitting with his back to the wall and forcing himself to meet the gaze of everyone who looked at him. A few had the decency to look away quickly, but others leaned toward their buddies and whispered. 

The Daggers circled around him, providing their unspoken support. Still, he knew they had questions for him and were just waiting for some privacy to ask. But he could have put up with it if Cece had just responded to his text. She hadn't said a thing since he'd sent her the link to his video, and he was starting to regret doing it without talking to her first. It was his fault this was happening, and he wanted to protect her as much as possible - but he should have at least given her the option of not doing it. 

And now… now he had to tell her that he was deploying. Again. The very thing that had ended their relationship all those years ago. This time, though, he was going to tell her. Jake had to show that he'd changed for her to trust him. But, fuck… the idea of going through SERE again and then a blackout mission? Not being able to contact Cece or Will, his parents? Possibly missing Tyler's birth? 

Cyclone may have picked him because of his record, but it also felt like this was a punishment. 

Julie pulled her daddy's baseball cap low on her brow, ducking her head as she walked into the grocery store. The cart rattled loudly as she hurried down the aisles, avoiding as many people as possible as she stocked up on snacks and anything she could make in the microwave. 

For as fast as she moved, the whispers moved faster. Clinging to that numb feeling, she tried to block them out, not even wondering how the older Magnolia population would be aware of internet drama. She would put money on Betty Roberts having spread the news far and wide. All she needed to do was get her stuff and get home, where she could go back to bed and pretend that this was a bad dream. 

"- showing her face after all that?"

"Did you see his, though?"

"We all know the Seresin boy's been known to tell tall tales. Besides, you know what those two are like - they've always been all over each other."

Cheeks blazing, Julie ignored the loud conversation from the aisle, recognizing the town gossip's voice. And sure, as teenagers, she and Jake hadn't been the most conservative about public affection. But Betty made it sound like they'd been groping each other in public. She hadn't even touched Jake in public in over seven years, and that had been down in Austin. Keeping space between them had been her goal since he'd come back home. Because Jake's touch, his kiss was… well, it made her lose her head. It made her want to do things like pack a bag and start driving out to California to escape the scrutiny of their small town. It made her want to hide in his bed, covers pulled over their head and his sleepy gaze holding hers until the rest of the world fell away. Until she forgot why the walls she'd built so high were needed. It made her want to ignore the fact that the man she loved had the power to hurt her as no one else did. 

There was a loud scoff, and Julie pressed her lips together, eyes closing as she willed herself not to feel. Not to acknowledge the women turning on the aisle and staring at her, shopping baskets dangling from their arms. She felt their stares like cobwebs on her skin as they neared, their whispers like daggers in her heart. 

And then one struck true. "Her parents would be so ashamed." 

Tears gathered behind her eyelids at the cruel words, a contradiction of Daddy's letter in her purse. Slowly, she turned to face Betty and her friend Joanne, the second-biggest gossip in town. "Are your lives so small," Julie said softly as they stopped behind her, "that you have to make yourself feel bigger by talking about others?" 

"Excuse me?" Betty demanded, recoiling slightly.

Tossing the bag of frozen corn into her cart, Julie turned fully to face the two, her tone flat as she spoke again. "Do you think that people actually like you? That they look forward to seeing you coming toward them, knowing that they have to watch every word, every action, every breath they take in front of you because if they don't toe the line of what you deem appropriate, you'll tell the whole town?" Joanne's mouth fell open as Betty flushed bright red, drawing herself up.

"Why, I never -"

"Shut the hell up. You never shut the hell up," Julie sighed. "You talk, and you whisper, and you judge, and you make people feel horrible for just living their fucking life. And for some reason, you think that people care what you think, but the truth is that we all think that you're a nosey bitch." 

"Julie Ryan!" Betty sputtered. "I don't know WHAT's gotten into you, young lady, but -"

"I'm done." And then, without another word, she turned and walked out of the store, abandoning her cart and her last fuck. 

Holy shit, word on the street is that Julie FINALLY stood up to Betty Roberts!

Jake stared down at the text from his sister-in-law as he sat in his truck after work. While Cece hadn't contacted him all day, apparently, she'd been out and about in Magnolia. He let his head fall back and sighed, scrubbing a hand down his face. He wanted to return home - not in his apartment but Texas. Because if Cece had finally said something, things would have been bad.

Jake, have you heard from Julie? I stopped by her house, but she wasn't there. I wanted to check on her after what happened at the store.

The text from Mama worried him. Turning the ignition, he waited until his phone connected to Bluetooth before calling Cece. As it rang, he let his head fall back on the rest, and his eyes closed, anticipating her voicemail again. When she said they needed space, she'd promised not to disappear on him again, but it was starting to feel like that's what was happening. After managing seven years without her, it had only taken one week for Jake to miss her as much as he had when she'd left him back in Virginia. And now… now he didn't know if he would survive losing her again.

"Hello?" 

"Hey, babe." Just the sound of her voice had his muscles relaxing and a tired smile creeping onto his mouth. "You okay?"

"I'm…" There was a long pause, and Jake's grip on the steering wheel tightened when he heard a choked inhale. "I think I did something stupid?"

"What's wrong? What happened, honey?" Cece didn't say anything, but he heard her take a shuttering breath. "Cupcake, is this about the grocery store?" 

Her laugh was watery and brittle. "Of course, you heard about that already." 

"Only that you did what everyone should have done to Betty Roberts a long time ago, but not specifics." He heard her chuckle before gasping, and his heart broke at her sob. "Cece…" The only sound on the other side of the line was her crying, and Jake wanted to pull her into his arms so badly. Instead, he pinched the bridge of his nose and swallowed hard. 

"I-I called her a n-nosey b-bitch." Jake snorted, which made her wail, "It's not funny, Jacob!" 

"I'm sorry, honey," he laughed. "You're right, it's not funny. It's fuckin' hilarious and well-deserved. You're a goddamn hero for finally sayin' it to her face when everyone's been sayin' it behind her back for decades." 

Cece sniffled, and his hand flexed around the wheel. "You… you don't think Mama and Daddy would be ashamed of me?" 

Rage blinded him. "Did that bitch say that?" he demanded. When she hummed an affirmative, he slammed his fist onto the top of the steering wheel while cursing under his breath. "Honey," he said through clenched teeth, "you know that's not true, right? Your parents loved you and would never have been ashamed of you. Your daddy told me all the time how proud he was of you. And your Mama loved you so damn much that she probably would have told Betty off herself, just like she did that woman who said somethin' about the pie you submitted to the fair."

"What?" There was confusion in her voice, and Jake chuckled.

"You know - when you entered a kids' baking competition when we were eight or so for the summer fair. I heard one of the other girl's mom's makin' a comment about how your pie wasn't as pretty as her daughter's, and your Mama told her that it's a good thing that she wasn't picked as one of the judges because she wouldn't know a pretty pie if it was shoved in her face." 

"My mama said that?" Cece asked, laughing wetly. 

"Yup. That's why we spent so much time by the quilts that year - our mamas weren't quiet about how much they thought her submission wasn't up to snuff."

"I… I remember the quilt but didn't know about the pie." 

"Your mama was proud of everything you did, Cece." When she was quiet, he sighed and started to pull his truck out of its spot. "What're you doin' tonight, honey?" 

"Um… not much." 

"Any chance you'd be willing to let me see your gorgeous face? I'm driving home now, but we could do a video call in about an hour." 

“I… um…” The hesitation killed him, but then she spoke again. "I'm not sure what my internet situation will be tonight." That made him laugh.

"I know Magnolia's a bit behind the times, but the wifi wasn't bad."

"I'm not in Magnolia." Easing onto the road, he frowned. 

"Did you go get your oven?" Her groan made him smile. 

"No, but that probably would have been the smarter thing to do."

"Where'd you go?" 

"Arizona."

"Ari -" Jake's foot slammed on the break before he blew a stop sign, and he stared down at his phone as though he could see her face. "What the hell are you doing in Arizona?" 

"Well, I'm not there yet," she said after a beat. "I'm still in New Mexico, but close to the border, so I'll be there soon." 

“Why…what the… Cece, why are you in New Mexico? Why are you going to Arizona?!"

Her nervous laugh was drowned out by someone hitting their horn, and Jake glanced in his rearview mirror before slowly moving forward. He tried to keep his attention on the road, but it was hard. "Did you know the Grand Canyon is only about 10 hours from Magnolia? And I've never been." 

"The Grand… you're going to the Grand Canyon? In December?"

"Why not?" Her tone was defensive, and he knew he needed to tread carefully.

"It's not… the best time for sightseeing." His reasoning felt flimsy even to himself. "And what about work?" 

"I need to concentrate on driving," Cece replied after a long pause. 

"Baby -"

"I'll call you later when I stop for the night."

"At least tell me you're gonna get a hotel. I don't want you to sleep on the side of the road. I can get you one -"

"I can afford a fucking hotel, Jake!" Shocked at her outburst, he stayed silent, listening to her heavy breathing. "I'm not a child. I can take care of myself."

"I know that."

"Do you?" she hissed. "Or are you just like everyone else, thinkin' I've been waiting for you all this time? That poor, pathetic Julie Ryan always needs someone to look after her? That my whole world stopped the day I left Virginia, and I've just been waiting for you to come back to me? Do you know that everyone - EVERYONE - thinks that you left me? And I let them because you weren't there to defend yourself, and it was too hard to convince them otherwise?" 

"Ce -"

"I didn't tell them that Golden Boy Seresin was a liar who couldn't even tell the woman he was supposed to marry that he was leaving AGAIN. That I had uprooted MY WHOLE LIFE for you, and you didn't even have the decency to tell me that you were leaving. You just let me look like an idiot in front of all the other spouses. Let me think that we were gonna have the wedding and start our lives together - all while you were keeping a huge secret from me." Jake's heart shattered when her voice cracked. Pulling to the side of the road, he slung an arm over the steering wheel and rested his forehead on it.

"Honey, I'm sor -"

"I protected you all this time. I put my dreams aside for yours and was okay with that. All I asked for was honesty, and you couldn't even give me that. And when I finally - FINALLY - had something that was mine and only mine, something that I loved and built and put in the hard work for… you ruined it, Jake. You took it from me." For a long time, there was only the sound of her panting breath over the line.

"I'm so sorry, Julie. I never meant to hurt you," he rasped.

"I know that, and that's the hardest thing about all this - you never had to try to hurt me. I just let you." 

Tears dripped down his face as he listened to her cry. "I…I don't know…baby, I'm sorry. Tell me how to fix this, and I'll do it." 

"I don't think you can. There's nothing… we've been moving toward this since we were 18, Jake. And maybe now it's time to just throw in the towel." 

"No." Clearing his throat, he spoke firmly and sat up. "No, I'm not givin' up on us, Cece. I love you. You're the only woman I've ever loved, and I won't lose you again." 

"You love who I was when we were teens. You don't know me now." 

"Then let me. Come out here, and let's figure this out."

Her laugh was brittle, "That's the problem right there. You always ask me to do the hard thing without realizing it - I have to come to you. I can't have a career because yours is more important. I have to make myself small so you can be the big shot you always wanted to be." 

"I… I can't get leave to come home, Cece. Please, you know I would if I could. But I -"

"I don't know you would. You've never had to make the sacrifices in our relationship." Her words were like a slap to the face. 

"That's not true." That only made her laugh, and he felt a rush of anger. "You think I wanted to be away from you all the time? Is that what you think? When you said you thought you were pregnant, I was ready to give it all up - the Academy, flying, all of it. And you're saying I didn't make any sacrifices?"

He could feel the hurt across the open line and opened his mouth to apologize when she cut him off. "Well, it's a good thing I wasn't pregnant then or after we fucked at the bar, so you never had to decide between me or your dreams. Because, unlike you, I don't think I could have lived with ruining yours." 

The call ended as Jake stared out the windshield, trying to comprehend what Cece said. Had she thought she was pregnant after they'd hooked up in Austin? Was that why she'd run away from him in the grocery store? Scrambling for his phone, he dialed her number, hanging up and calling again when it was sent to voicemail.

Just like his next ten calls.

Cold seeped into Julie's skin as she watched the sky turn indigo as the sun rose. Snow blew around her, and the news warned of a blizzard that day. The smart thing to do would be to head back into town and climb back into her hotel bed, but she couldn't tear her gaze away from the beautiful sight before her. 

There was something so peaceful about sitting there, her racing thoughts finally silent. Tears pricked her eyes as the wind whipped her hair into her face. As the light started to kiss the canyon's rim, her eyes were drawn down into its depth. Snow dotted the upper rim, disappearing further down. 

Gorgeous. And only a day's drive away from home. 

The thought had her reaching into her pocket and retrieving her phone. Daddy's lawyer had sent her the bank account info for Mama's travel account. Ignoring the red bubbles alerting her to the missed calls and texts, she navigated to her email and clicked on the encrypted message. Cell service was spotty, but she memorized the login information. 

Her finger hovered over the texts, curiosity warring with peace. She'd seen the preview of Jake's message as she lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling. It had started with an apology, and it took everything in her not to apologize to him. She'd never meant for him to hear the arguments and thoughts she'd bottled up for years, but they'd spilled out at the first opportunity. Julie's resentment toward him had been overwhelming and now was tinged with regret for hurting him with the truth. But she'd carried that hurt in silence for so long. Everything about their relationship from the moment he was accepted into the Naval Academy had been about him. Hell, even their spring breaks in South Carolina had been to make his life easier - the times she'd asked to meet in Florida or for him to come to Texas, he'd pleaded for her to go to him. He was so tired between school and training, and he wouldn't have the summers to relax like she would. So, she went across the country every March to spend time with him instead of going on trips with her friends. He'd only met her college friends at graduation, while she'd spent a week with his every year.  

Instead of looking at the texts, Julie took a picture of the sunrise and sent it to Lucy. When she'd called from the road to let her know that she was heading out of town, her best friend had been worried and made her promise to check in. The picture was slow to send in their text thread, and Julie took the opportunity to scroll through their messages. Pictures of her kids and husband were sprinkled throughout. There was a video of Joey asking for a monster truck birthday cake and Julie crouching next to Emma at her ballet recital. 

Sniffling, she shoved the phone back into her pocket and stared at the sunrise, trying to force away her thoughts. But they raced in opposite directions - ten hours east to Magnolia and nine hours west to San Diego. If she was at home, she would be getting up soon and heading to work, or having breakfast with Ally. Out west, Jake was probably waking and getting ready to go to the base. 

Her breath misted in the air when Julie sighed. The wind was picking up, and she knew she'd need to get back to town before the storm blew in, but it was hard to tear her gaze away from the canyon. A car door slammed, and she jumped, turning to see two people climbing out of their vehicle. They nodded, and she smiled back as they stood a bit further from her and looked at the sunrise. 

When her fingers started losing their feeling, and the sky was a beautiful pink and orange, Julie returned to her car. As it heated, she took a deep breath and pulled up Jake's texts. They were full of apologies and pleas for her to answer the phone. He wanted to know if she'd thought she was pregnant after they'd seen one another in Austin. That made her cringe. She regretted telling him like that, especially after everything that happened with his ex. He promised to try harder if she would just pick up. He wanted to come home, but he was just told about a mission he was being sent on and wouldn't be able to.

I only have 3 weeks until I leave, and we won't be able to talk. Please, baby, don't let it end like this. I love you, and I know I haven't always been the best at showing it, but I want this to work.  

A lump rose in her throat at the thought of him leaving again, and she paused before sending him the same picture she'd sent Lucy. We'll talk before you go, but I need space right now.

The technology gods were clearly on Jake's side because the message went through quickly and was marked as read almost immediately. Three dots appeared on the screen, and Julie bit her lip while watching them flicker. Finally, the message appeared. Beautiful, but not as beautiful as you. I love you, Cupcake.

After a moment, she typed back Love you too, Farm Boy.

Quickly closing the message, she pulled up the banking app and entered her Mama's travel account information. She hesitated before closing her eyes and hitting the login button. Slowly, after a few seconds, Julie peeked at the screen. The amount made her breath catch. Tears flooded her eyes as she stared at the number. 

Fumbling for her purse, she grabbed Daddy’s letter, skimming the words until she found what she was looking for. 

I put her life insurance payout there and have added a little every year. All you have to do is contact my lawyer, who'll give you the account numbers and start the transfer. I should have given it to you before, but… well, the reason always changed. But now that you have it, I want you to do whatever you want with that money. If you want to travel like your Mama wanted? Do it. You want to go back to school? Perfect. Start your bakery? You'll be so successful. Buy a house? I only ask that it's somewhere other than Magnolia. Sell the house and put the money toward your next dream. 

Be selfish, baby. Treat yourself to whatever you want - as long as it's what you want. 

Looking over the dashboard at the sunrise over the Grand Canyon, Julie started to cry at the memory of her Mama reading her books before bed, building worlds in her mind. Her daddy pinching pennies as she grew up and helping her bake late into the night. Lying in the back of Jake's truck and talking about all the places they would see when they were married. 

The money wouldn't solve everything, but it was enough to give her space to breathe and figure out what she wanted to do. It, along with her moving fund, would give her what she needed most—time. 

As she pulled out of the parking lot, she could almost hear Mama's voice. "You and me, baby girl, we're gonna see the world one day." 

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

Author's Note: Soooo... thank you for you patience with me getting this out. I had some difficulty with this chapter, because I was struggling between going with my original ending and one that was less angsty. I went with the original (the other option was Cece driving to Jake's after because they didn't have a fight, and her meeting the Daggers). But Cece needed to finally let Jake know how she was feeling, and Betty may have been just the push she needed.

SERE training is no joke. I stole the story about the woman being thrown in the pit from my best friend's husband (former military intel guy), who still has issues with the smell of peppermint to this day because he hid in a patch of it while it was happening. They no longer waterboard soldiers, but that practice only stopped in the 2000s, I believe.

Also, the next chapter will be the last one in this series 🫣 (Edit, there will be an epilogue)

Read Chapter 10

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[mysteryshoptls]

SSR Lilia Vanrouge - Platinum Jacket Vignette

"Happy 100th Anniversary"

[Land of Dawning – National Museum of Art]

Lilia: Seeing all these paintings on display, unchanging from when they were painted hundreds of years ago… it sure does bring me joy.

Lilia: Ooh, that painting over there is of the Thorn Fairy's men!

???: The Thorn Fairy's men, huh… Were they really that strong?

Lilia: Epel, so you were checking out this painting too. Are you curious about them?

Epel: Ah, yes! I was thinking they're rather head-empty lookin'… I mean, they look real sweet!

Lilia: Mhm, they are adorable. And despite that, they would always be carrying their weapons so as to respond to the Thorn Fairy's whims immediately.

Lilia: That means they must have been wonderfully loyal and brave soldiers.

Epel: I see… They don't really look like it, but when you put it that way, I can kinda see how cool they are, I guess?

Lilia: Right, right? And it just goes to show how great the Thorn Fairy was to be able to command such men.

Epel: Aren't they just following her because they've pledged loyalty to her?

Lilia: You should take a good look at this picture. See how they're all just filled with character?

Lilia: It's actually extremely difficult to folks like them in line. Isn't it the same with the students in our school?

Lilia: Everyone's so self-confident, they just do as they please. Those that actually listen to others, or follow orders are actually in the minority.

Epel: Ahaha… I'm getting what you're saying, I think.

Epel: Now I wonder how the Thorn Fairy was able to keep her men in line, then.

Lilia: Kufufu… You're a student of Night Raven College, you should already understand.

Lilia: You get them to understand just who is in charge by a show of force! It's the simplest method.

Epel: True… So that basically means that her men followed her because she was super strong.

Lilia: Mhm. But even so, a show of force won't be able to garner true loyalty.

Lilia: The most important thing when leading a legion is to build a trusting relationship with your men.

Lilia: Trust can't just be achieved overnight. I'm sure the Thorn Fairy put in a lot of effort to get to this point, too.

Epel: "Build a trusting relationship," huh… How would you do it if it was you, Lilia-san?

Lilia: THE BEST WAY IS TO SHARE A MEAL TOGETHER!

Lilia: I've actually served meals to the other Diasomnia students, hand-made by me.

Lilia: Everyone was so moved that they were utterly speechless. They couldn't even bring themselves to touch it.

Lilia: When they finally ate it, there was a whole range of reactions, including some who laid themselves out on the dining table, or those who covered their face with their hands. There were some who even burst into tears.

Epel: Wow, your cooking must be amazing!

Lilia: Mhm! Once I set my hand to it, I can make any petulant kid fall in line.

Lilia: Ever since then, I've tried to make more home-cooked meals to try to deepen the relationship between our dormmates…

Lilia: But they would all band together, saying they don't want to trouble me. They're all such humble boys.

[Land of Dawning – National Museum of Art]

Lilia: This is a painting of the Sorcerer of the Sand's companion. His red and blue feathers are bright and vibrant.

Epel: Kinda unusual to have a parrot as a sidekick, huh.

Lilia: Mhm. However, this parrot is said to be able to perfectly imitate human voices and speech.

Lilia: I'm sure that alone was something of use to the Sorcerer of the Sands.

Lilia: Ahh～ how envious. I wish I had a special ability to do something like that.

Epel: Would there even be something worth changing voices for?

Lilia: There's a lot to choose from. The best way to use it would be…

Lilia: FOR A VIRTUAL AVATAR STREAM!

Epel: A virtual avatar stream…? What is that?

Lilia: Oh what, you don't know? Basically, people create avatars that represents them on the internet…

Lilia: And they use those avatars to promote their content of food reviews and let's plays of video games.

Lilia: I didn't know myself, until one of my online gaming buddies recommended it to me…

Lilia: But I think it would be cool to use an avatar to become a different person and chat away with my viewers.

Lilia: Don't you think it would be fun to see my cute little self stream videos in an avatar of a big, strong, burly man?

Epel: Does that mean… I could be strong and burly on the internet, too!?

Lilia: Oh, are you interested too, Epel? Then we should collaborate and both become buff streamers!

Epel: That could be fun! Oh, so this is what you were talking about when you said you wanted to change your voice to become another person?

Lilia: That's right. Normally, you'd need a voice changer to change your voice.

Lilia: But that is just a whole different hassle to deal with. Sounds like there's no end to the amount of equipment you might end up needing for it

Lilia: I keep thinking I'll ask my online gaming buddies who might know more about it, but I get so absorbed by our quest that I keep forgetting.

Lilia: I'd sure love it if I got super popular and was drowning in likes, subscribes, and superchats.

Epel: I don't really get it, but… I think it's fun to think about becoming someone you really want to be!

Lilia: Right? Although, I do have a wonderful voice, you know… It could be a terrible shame to hide it with a voice changer.

Lilia: And if I'm going to use my velvet voice, I guess my avatar should be good-looking to fit…

Lilia: But if I do that, then it wouldn't be much different than my real self… Hrrrm, what to do?

Lilia: Ah…! Does that mean streaming with my real face would be on the table too…!?

Lilia: If I did that, I wouldn't need a voice changer, or the ability to imitate voices. That might be the quick and easy way to solve it.

Epel: Eh, what happened to collaborating with each other using buff avatars!?

Lilia: Oh, right! Ah, I'm getting forgetful in my old age.

Lilia: Maybe I could have two different avatars? Kufufu, this is starting to tickle my want for a new kind of challenge again.

[Land of Dawning – National Museum of Art]

Lilia: This old woman… This is the Fairest Queen in disguise. This painting depicts the scene where she is handing an apple to a princess.

Lilia: Maybe you're more familiar with this painting than I, since you're a student in Pomefiore?

Epel: In the Shaftlands, there is a well-known story about how the Fairest Queen donned a disguise in order to hide her identity.

Epel: I think Vil-san was saying that there's actually a lot of different interpretations for why, but…

Epel: I wonder why the Fairest Queen chose to disguise herself as an old woman?

Epel: If she was just trying to hide her identity, she could have also just chosen a cool and ripped figure…

Lilia: Perhaps she didn't want to frighten the princess. A muscular physique can be overpowering sometimes…

Lilia: And if she is too beautiful, she would also be difficult to approach. So, maybe that's why she thought an old woman would be a good choice?

Epel: Hmmm. I never even thought about how it'd be hard to approach someone because they're "too beautiful."

Lilia: Well, that makes sense for you. Nevertheless, human thought process is both inconsistent and interesting.

Lilia: To tell you the truth, even I had a time in my life where which people would only stare from a safe distance…

Lilia: But then during my travels, sometimes I would get random freebies at markets by people who thought me just a "cute little boy."

Lilia: That's when I realized for the first time, that I AM SUPER CUTE!!

Lilia: Ever since then, I've made it a point to share my cute charm with everyone as much as possible.

Lilia: I'd get things like free carriage rides, or steep discounts while shopping… You do it too, don't you, Epel?

Epel: I don't!! Although, yeah, I have gotten free snacks while running errands before, sure, but…

Lilia: So you're able to reap the benefits without actually showing off…! Mhm, I still have much to learn.

Lilia: But don't count me out yet. Like, even after enrolling at Night Raven College…

Lilia: I'd have classmates who'd save me a seat in the cafeteria, or carry heavy luggage for me…

Lilia: Everyone was just fawning over me ☆

Epel: That's… Aren't they just mocking you, though!? It's like they're looking down on you, I'd never let that pass.

Lilia: Kufufu, you still have a lot to learn, too. There's no harm in using what's available to you.

Lilia: But that is all old news, anyway. The longer I've spent time on campus, the more people have learned the extent of my abilities.

Lilia: There were times that I've completely shut down students from other dorms who lazily tried to pick fights with me, too…

Lilia: By the next semester, everyone was treating me completely different.

Lilia: Now, I'm stuck as "Reliable Lilia-san." And I really just wanted to settle into the role as the "Cute Little Brother."

Epel: That means they all recognized you for your abilities, right? Lilia-san, you're so cool!

Lilia: Kufufu, my cuteness is supposed to be my selling point, but I guess it's not bad to be called cool, neither.

Epel: No way, being cool is much better! It's great to hear a story like that of what could be.

Epel: …Ah, it's gotten pretty late. I'm going to start checking out other exhibits.

Lilia: Mhm, see you. Okay, since Epel has wandered off, I think I'll just meander a bit… Hm?

Lilia: Oh this… This is a painting of fairies gifting blessing to a princess. Heh. I can't help but chuckle every time I see this painting.

Lilia: If they were to gift her blessings of happiness, then they should have gifted her the strength to break her own curse. And yet…

Lilia: They chose to give her beautiful looks, and a beautiful singing voice. What fools

Requested by Anonymous.

[tacticaldiary]

To Hate A Heart That Beats For You

Pairing: Simon 'Ghost' Riley x Reader

Genre: Jealousy, Tension

"Say please." It's all teeth and a sharp teasing voice with her. Ghost stills at the command, annoying flickering its agitated flames.

Every fucking thing about her rubbed him the wrong way, made him so...out of control? Agitated? All of the above? She always somehow manages to make him concede. She did it back then and she's doing it right now with his breath ghosting over her lips, hot and heavy.

Masterlist

There are not many things that shake the foundation of control Ghost keeps a tight grip on.

Throw him in the middle of a gunfight, a brawl or a series of rough drills and he's normally the first one to make it out. All his life he's been the kind of person to keep to himself, to deal with problems as efficiently and effectively as possible.

She was the exception.

Standing in front of him after two years, with the same pride lining her shoulders, the defiance in her eyes.

"You remember the Lieutenant, don't you?" Laswell stands between them, an unknowing mediator.

"We're...acquainted." She says dryly, locking eyes with Ghost himself. Her voice is the same as well. Everything about her is a shock to his system so part of him is glad that she's the one who spoke up.

Two years. Two years since they'd been promoted to the rank of Lieutenant together and gone their separate ways. He'd joined the 141 and she had taken fancy to some tactical intel gathering specialist group.

Laswell pauses, looking up from her file at the clear snap of tension in the air.

"No need for introductions then." She shuts the folder, giving them both her full attention. "She'll be joining your team for today, talking to your recruits about the intel gathering division she's a part of. Sergeant Gaz is already doing vice versa. I expect you to play nice for today, I don't want any... incidents, copy?"

"Copy." She says, watching Ghost nod.

And then suddenly they're alone, with only the thump of distant footsteps from the recruits to punctuate the silence hanging between them.

"As friendly as ever I see."

"I'm as friendly as you are pleasant." Ghost responds.

"I'm plenty pleasant. It's you that's never been able to get that stick out of your ass."

"Careful." He narrows his eyes, pushing himself off the wall. "We know how the last time you picked a fight ended."

"That's cute." She smiles. "I seem to remember you getting put on desk duty for two weeks."

"After I choked you out on the training mat."

"I'm sure you've been dreaming of doing that again." Her self-satisfied smile widens when he doesn't respond for a moment, taken aback. With a shake of her head, she directs her gaze back onto the field where the soldiers are slowly finishing their last lap. "I feel sorry for them. Having to see your ugly mug in the morning with that mask can't make their breakfast settle very well."

An arm brushes against hers, and before he pushes past her, Ghost leans down right next to her ear. "You were yelling quite the opposite the last time you saw it." He whispers with a slightly thicker accent than usual, letting the satisfaction of seeing that smug expression falter for a moment settle deep into him as he knocks past her roughly.

They had a...messy history to say the least.

Two forces as headstrong as them were bound to butt heads. Her earliest memory is arguing with him. The both of them have always had a competitive streak, whether that be on the mat or running timed drills.

That tension had to blow up in their faces sometime, and that time just happened to be the day after they both got promoted...

Her eyes follow his form as he orders the recruits over, telling them to split into small groups, informing them of why she was there.

Red creeps up her neck her mind flashes back to that night. They had been taunting each other in passing all day, silently arguing who the better candidate had been, which one of them deserved it more. It doesn't sound like Ghost at all but they'd always had something more fiery than what they were like by themselves.

One too many jabs had led to a small tussle, which had led to a moment of weakness and...well, now's not the time to remember the frantic touches and calloused hands. The first time she'd seen his maskless...

He certainly had been anything but ugly and that makes her so fucking mad.

Shaking it off, she composes herself and decides to take the reigns.

                                  · · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

It's been an hour of standing around, supervising the talk, and Ghost is ready to tear into something. Or someone, more preferably.

His jaw clenches, watching how she floats from soldier to soldier, group to group. The effect on them is instantaneous with the way they straighten up, surprised at being addressed before melting into smiles that are a tad bit too wide and eager, and eyes that wander farther than appropriate.

Her hand lingers on some of their shoulders, elbows nudge and compliments flow out of her mouth.

Maybe he's finally going insane?

A few times their eyes meet, and neither of them look away, too stubborn to be the first to fold. Every time, the corner of her mouth quirks up when she turns to keep doing what she was.

A sick, ugly feeling rears its head inside him at the sight.

What gave those pathetic recruits the right to look at her that way? And why are his fingers twitching for the knives strapped along the expanse of his body?

Why the fuck does he care?

"...Ghost? You with us?" She raises an eyebrow when his glare snaps to her instead. She's wandered over to him, leaving the recruits to talk amongst themselves for a break.

"What?" He says coldly.

"Someone piss in your breakfast?" God, he'd throttle her first, then move on to those other men-

"Same person who pissed in yours." The retort gets him a raise of an eyebrow but nothing more.

"Sure. I'm done here, so you can go back to terrorising the poor kids." It's a receptive group, more than a couple of them had shown interest in what she was saying. A few of the more promising ones she had taken a personal note of, intending to pass their names forward to Laswell to consider.

"Until we have the misfortune of meeting again." She says, and maybe it's a throwaway act of trying to remain civil in such a public setting, but she extends a hand towards him.

He eyes it for a second, eyes narrowing.

"If you're afraid I'll throw you over my shoulder like last time-"

She grins smugly when he takes her hands, squeezing it through the brief handshake a little harder than necessary.

                                  · · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

This is a terrible idea.

Somehow, because whoever's up there seems to have a personal vendetta against him, Ghost finds himself standing in front of her office door, a file on all the recruit's scores and past experiences Laswell had ordered him to pass onto her clutched loosely in his arm.

It was 11 at night, but the army notoriously never slept.

Because he's not a fucking animal, he knocks, waiting to hear her call out an okay before pushing the door open.

It's as sparsely decorated as his own office. There's not much to keep the value of sentiment in with lives as busy as theirs, but the things that catch his focus are the small picture frames set on her desk.

After her, of course.

Changed into something more casual, his eyes trace the dips and curves that are so utterly her.

"Did you need something?" She asks, the friendly edge to her voice flittering away when she sees it's him.

"No, but you do." Moving closer, he tosses the file onto her desk. Staring at it for a moment, she clicks her tongue whilst flipping through the pages.

"I'd like to snag a couple of these for my team in a few years." She mutters to herself, pausing over a few of the reports. Ghost's hands twitch with the urge to curl them inwards when he remembers the events of this morning.

She's studying him, he realises. With a quiet, titled expression, she's taking him in head to toe and it's the first time in a while Ghost has felt so stripped to the core.

"Got something to say?" His voice comes out rougher than intended. Making no move to speak, the corner of her lips quirk up slightly. Huffing quietly, she spins her chair back around to face her desk, picking up the pen she'd discarded when he first walked through her doors.

It's quiet. The scratching of pen on paper. Something about it jarrs him, ignites a twinge of irritation because why the hell is she so quiet now after he's asked her a question? Normally she sparsely shuts up enough for his heart to cool down from its quickened pace.

He'd say later on that he weighed the decision he made, that he really thought it through but frankly, the only thing on his mind is her, and it's cloudy with enough anger and an emotion he's not willing to admit right now that he acts without thinking. Completely on instinct.

Ghost spins the chair around so he's facing her and looking down. "Ignoring me now?" He says into the sharp silence. "Never thought I'd see the day you shut your mouth."

"Is that the way you talk to someone you spent the night with?" She answers. He grunts in surprise at her hand curling around the back of his beck, yanking him further down until they're face to face. "That's why you're still here, aren't you? Still bothered from this morning?" The smug look on her face only makes Ghost more irritated because she's right. He could have easily left after dropping the file off. He had no apparent reason to stay. "Couldn't stand the thought of sharing something you've already had a bite out of?"

It dawns on him with her tone right there and then.

She'd been doing it on purpose. The glances to him as she made her rounds, the way she lingered over the recruits only when she could feel his eyes burning into her from behind.

Ghost is met with that teasing, smug grin that fixes him into place a little too effectively because when she hooks an ankle around the bend of his knee and pulls, he goes down onto his knees without much of a fight. He's tall enough so they're actually face to face now, eyes level.

"Finally caught on?" The smooth lilt to has his stomach twisting and his mind reeling, though he stays as composed on the outside as always. Waiting. Watching. Urging himself to keep his hands to himself.

"Fuckin' hell." He breathes out. "You little minx."

"Affirmative."

Heated eyes take in the being that is her. Sharp smiles, dirty tactics, and that attitude that made him want to do things that would get him discharged if he were to ever voice them.

All of her was a deadly beautiful.

It checks out that Ghost is lover of deadly.

Calloused, rough hands, trails up her legs and settle around her hips. His eyes flicker down to her mouth and for a moment, neither of them speak. Then she leans closer and for a moment Ghost braces himself.

"Say please." It's all teeth and a sharp teasing voice with her. Ghost stills at the command, annoying flickering its agitated flames.

Every fucking thing about her rubbed him the wrong way, made him so...out of control? Agitated? All of the above?

He swallows past the bitter taste in his throat. Weighs his options.

"Please."

He mumbles it because she always somehow manages to make him concede. She did it back then and she's doing it right now with his breath ghosting over her lips, hot and heavy.

A smirk curves her mouth. "What was that?" She whispers. "Couldn't quite hear you..." Her hands move from his collar up to the edge of his balaclava, toying with the edge. Ghost makes no move to stop her when she slowly, so achingly slowly, starts rolling the fabric up.

"I fuckin' hate you." He growls, actions and words at war.

"You're showing me a lot of love for someone who claims so." Is all she says, movements halting as the fabric bunches over his nose, laying bare the bottom half of his face. "Would you let anyone touch you like this, hmm?" Skimming her fingers over the scar on his chin, his own hands tighten around her hips at the gentle feeling. She ends up cupping his cheeks. "Because I'll tell you this, Simon-"

It's a physical reaction, the way she says his name. He straightens up instinctively and takes in a muted, sharp inhale. She leans closer, and if he only tilted his head up a fraction they'd brush lips.

"It's been a long time since I've let anyone touch me like you are."

It snaps something in him, maybe his patience or perhaps his resolve.

One hand slides up to the back of her neck, the other one yanks her out of her chair and to the floor. He crashes their mouths together in a kiss that brings an instant sort of relief. It's not sweet by any means, all clicking teeth and pulling at each other. Hands roaming and breaths shared.

Neither of them knows who pulls away first, but eventually they're left to catch their breath, their foreheads pressed together.

Then she laughs, a light, soft breeze. "You should've seen yourself back then. Looked like you wanted to flay those kids alive." She snickers.

"I did." There's no use denying it, not when this, when she, makes something curl up and settle down deep within him. As much as she riles him up, she also brings him a kind of peace that he can't describe.

Goddamn, he's so far gone. Maybe he should book in a psych eval soon...

"Never thought I'd see the day you were like this." She hums, "Wish I'd taken a video of it."

"It won't happen again, love." He shakes his head, trying and failing to push down the slightest bit of amusement. "That you can count on."

"Wanna bet?" She says cheekily, scratching at the nape of his neck with her nails gently. It makes a shiver run down his spine, the curl of her lips widens as she feels it.

"You drive me fuckin' insane, you know that?" He mumbles against her lips.

"You love it." Is all she manages to get out before he pulls her in again.

Requests Are Open! Reblog, Like and Comment!

(27/07/2023)

[sehyunie23]

|Summer Fic|

Nothing's Gonna

Change My Love For

You - Aespa Karina

Y/n POV

"Mun, how many orders do we have for tomorrow?" I asked my assistant.

"Based on our calendar, we have..." Mun looked at our records while I compute our profits for this week.

"We have 10 orders for this week," Mun said as he looked at me.

"10? That's quite a lot," I chuckled as I put the financial papers away.

"You accepted it, not me," Mun said as he raised his hands.

"Oh get out you smarty pants!" I said as Mun just giggled and went out of his spot, probably going to get some good food because it's already lunchtime.

I stretched from my seat and closed my computer, then gonna go outside to breathe some fresh air.

Grabbing my coat, I left my office and went on my way to the building's exit, also greeting some of my employees along the way.

Going out, the bustling sounds of the busy city hit me. Cars honking, the clacks of the people's shoes, music blaring from afar. If you are not in a great mood, you will be irritated from where I am standing.

I then walked some steps and arrived at my cafe slash restaurant where some of my creativity and love for food is poured in.

Entering what is like my second home, I see many customers eating and enjoying the ambiance of my cafe which puts a smile on my face. I then went to the kitchen where the pastries and some savory food were already plated, ready to be served to our customers.

"Y/n! Nice to see you again. Your good is gaining popularity huh?" Jun, one of my managers went up to me as he picked up a tray full of food.

"Tell me about it. And pasta?" I asked as I saw his tray, plates full of pasta.

"Well, you know. You going for that European vibes has it's perks," Jun said which made us both giggle.

"Uh... Can anyone speak English or French? I have a customer right now but I don't speak both languages," Mihyun said as she opened the door to the kitchen and pouted.

"Mihyun, didn't I tell you to study English?" I raised an eyebrow at the girl.

"Oppa~," Mihyun then whined and stomped her feet.

We all laughed at her but I went to the counter with her following in tail. Seeing the customer, I put up my smile and greeted him.

"Bonjour! Bienvenue dans notre café. Qu'aimerais-tu commander?" (Good morning! Welcome to our cafe. What would you like to order?) I said and the customer smiled and proceeded to tell his order.

Punching the items on the computer, Mihyun is watching intensely beside me, eager to be better at her job and that's a good thing.

"Je vais donc répéter votre commande. deux croissants, trois macarons et deux chocolats chauds?" (So I will repeat your order. two croissants, three macaroons, and two hot chocolates?) I said and the man happily nodded.

"Oui, merci beaucoup," The man said and I entered his order into our system.

"Vous souhaitez payer en espèces ou par carte?" (Do you want to pay by cash or card?) I asked and looked at the man.

"Je paierai par carte s'il vous plaît," (I will pay by card please) The customer said and took the payment for his order and then he gave his name and voila, the transaction was finished.

"Wah~ you sound so sexy speaking French oppa!" Mihyun said and squealed making me laugh at her silliness.

"Oh you little pumpkin," I said and ruffled her hair, making her laugh.

Giggling as well, I then looked at the operation of my business, and from what I saw, it was doing well. I hope that it continues for a long time.

_______________

Karina POV

"Good job for today girls, your promotions end today, and give yourself a clap. Congratulations!" Our manager said and the staff clapped, congratulating us, making me and my group mates thank them.

"Thank you all! We couldn't do this without all of you!" I said and bowed in front of them.

And from there, we celebrated with our staff. Ningning being the youngest, leads the crazy things or dances as she just wants to party.

I still keep a stance, being a leader means responsibility. Looking out for my members, our manager went to me, whispering something.

"Hey, you guys up for dinner after this?" She asked.

"Eun unnie, when did we refuse food?" I asked making her chuckle.

"Okay, I know a place," Unnie said.

"We gonna eat somewhere delicious?!" Minjeong suddenly appeared at my back, asking her question.

"Woah, chill out. Yeah, I know a place," Unnie repeated.

"Oh! Is it the place where you brought the delicious croissants?" Minjeong asked and unnie smiled.

"Yep! Nice memory," Unnie answered.

"Hah! You know me unnie~," Minjeong said as she flicked her hair.

"Show off," I said and Minjeong just glared at me, making me giggle.

"Anyways, I know the owner. I will take a call now," Unnie said.

"Wait! Food!" Ningning suddenly latched herself to unnie.

"Aigoo you baby. Karina!" Unnie squealed as Ningning was piggybacking on Manager unnie.

I laughed at the sight with Minjeong, Aeri arrived here as well, joining in the laughter. Several minutes passed, and I was sitting on the sofa, scrolling through my Instagram until my eyes saw a croissant and an eclair.

Looking at the pastries makes me hungry, I thought that this couldn't be. I need to make someone hungry as well.

I looked to my side and saw Aeri, I smirked and was about to do my plan until she sush me.

"I know what you are going to do Jimin, no," Aeri said which made me pout.

Aeri then looked at me with a smirk on her face, making me scoff.

"Hah! You can't do that to me Jimin. Also, I know Y/n," Aeri said.

"Y/n?" I asked, confused.

"Oh, he's the owner of the restaurant where we will go later," Aeri answered.

"Aha! I love his pastries! Let's go!" I squealed in delight.

"Maybe you will love him more," Aeri smirked.

"Aigoo you flirt, come!" I said, picking up my jacket.

"Girls! Let's go!" Eun unnie said to us and we followed her to the van.

________________

Y/n POV

"Yah! You little shit! Come back here!" Mun said as Mihyun decided to play a prank on him.

"Oppa~ do you love chocolats?~ Because I always see you in pain," Mihyun burst into laughter while I stifled mine, especially on that little pun Mihyun just said.

At this point in time, the store is usually closed but Eun noona, one of my closest friends called me for a reservation and I just accepted it. Of course, I couldn't do it myself so I asked some of my staff on who wanted to do overtime and luckily, Mihyun and Mun agreed.

"That pun was so bad. Pain au Chocolat?" I chuckled and Mihyun just giggled.

"Come on Y/n. That's not you to laugh at a joke like that," Mun said while wiping himself clean from the flour.

"Wah~ It's good to give exceptions sometimes," I said, calming down from my laughter.

"Not you too," Mun groaned, but a sight for Mihyun who was on the ground, laughing like it was her last day.

"Y-you! HAHAHA!" Mihyun wheezing on the floor and I just let them be.

Suddenly, I heard the door to my restaurant open. Looking at my two co-workers for the night, I giggled at them before leaving the kitchen and opening the front door for my last customers.

Walking to the entrance, I saw a group of girls waiting, with being the first one, of course

"Eun! WHAAAA!" I said as I opened the door.

"YAH!!!! Y/N YOU LITTLE!" Eun jumped and ruffled my hair.

"Ow! Yah! Aish," I said, preventing Eun to pull all of my hair.

"Y/n oppa! I want a croissant," Aeri said.

"Really?" I said a little bit annoyed as Aeri just giggled at me.

"Aiyoo, we want food! Hurry hurry!" Eun said and released my head, then she smacked my butt.

"I wish I just closed my shop," I said and sighed. Just then, the other girls just chuckled at us.

"Oh! Hello everyone! I'm Y/n, the owner of this humble shop. Also, Eun and Aeri, my loyal customers already know me as you saw earlier," I said, glaring at the two girls and they just looked at me innocently.

"Anyways, Welcome!" I said and bowed to them. The other girls clapped at me, making me smile.

"Hello! We are Aespa!" The four girls introduced their selves.

"I'm Karina, leader of the group. The one beside me is Minjeong, next to Aeri is Ningning, and you know. Aeri herself," A girl named Karina spoke, introducing her members.

"Well, nice to meet you all! I hope you enjoy our dinner menu and from what I heard from Eun, you all like my pastries, and with that, I'm very thankful," I said with a sincere smile.

Just then, Mihyun went out of the kitchen with menus in her arms and walked towards us.

"Bonsoir! Welcome to our cafe! Let's get you seated!" Mihyun greeted them cheerfully.

__________________

Karina POV

"I want an eclair!" Ningning said.

"Can I have a gelato?" Minjeong asked.

"We only have Oreo, Choco Fudge, and Coffee," the girl named Mihyun said.

"Can I have a combination of Choco Fudge and Coffee?" Minjeong asked.

"Absolutely," Mihyun answered.

"I will do that please, thank you," Minjeong said with a smile.

"Okay~, for your Aeri?" Mihyun asked.

"Hit me up with a coffee gelato," Aeri said and Mihyun wrote it down, then she looked at me.

"And what will be your dessert Karina-ssi?" Mihyun asked.

"Do you have choices?" I asked.

"I can guide you to our cafe if you want," Mihyun suggested to me.

"Please," I said with a smile. Mihyun retorted about the actions and told me to follow her.

Not far from our table, I saw Y/n with another behind the counter full of beautiful-looking pastries.

"Mun! One Choco Fudge with Coffee gelato and one coffee gelato. Also, one eclair," Mihyun said to the man beside Y/n.

"On it!" Mun said as he scooped the gelato.

"Karina-ssi, you can pick whatever you want," Y/n said making me smile at him.

I walked closer to the counter where the pastries were displayed and there, my eyes wandered from every bread. Having a hard time picking, a pair of eyes then met mine and I just felt something.

Not strange, not weird. Just something I can't explain for the moment.

"Having a hard time picking?" Y/n said from behind the counter.

"Yeah, they all look nice, to be honest," I said with a smile.

I mean, seeing them displayed is just like going to an art museum.

"Thanks! That meant a lot to me," Y/n said.

"Say, mind recommending me one?" I asked, now looking at Y/n.

"Well, I do have one. It's my favorite" Y/n said and stood up, making me follow his actions.

"Really? What is it?" I said, intrigued.

"Well, here!" Y/n said and picked up a tray of beautifully made pastries.

"Woah~," the cake just made me look in awe at how gorgeous it is.

"Three Chocolate Plaisir. Layers after layers, with each layer offering different textures," Y/n smiled as he gave me two pieces.

"I will trust you on this," I said while giggling.

"I promise you that you won't regret it," Y/n said confidently.

"I would hold on to that. Thanks Y/n!" I said.

"No problem Karina-ssi. Have a nice dinner," Y/n said and I nodded with a smile. I then picked up the plate and went back to our table and just as I was about to sit, the girls were very jealous of my dessert, making me laugh at them.

_________________

Y/n POV

"Wha~ I saw Aespa!" Mihyun began to daydream while wiping the plates.

"Yet they don't know you. HAH!" Mun said to counter Mihyun.

"Shut up~, Minjeong gave me an autograph," Mihyun said as she looked at Mun, totally annoyed.

"WHY ARE YOU SO LUCKY!" Mun shouted.

"Now now, calm down Mun. Now that we are finished here. Care to close the shop for me?" I asked Mun gently.

"Okay, but!" Mun started and looked at me.

"But what?" I ask.

"I want Aespa's autograph," Mun said but I smacked his head before he could mutter another word.

"But, but!" Mun tried to reason.

"Go to their fan meeting. Tell me and I will buy you a ticket," I said and Mun immediately nodded.

"Okay! Go now and I will close the store happily!" Mun said, now humming. A complete turnaround from his attitude earlier.

"He's a certified my," Mihyun said.

"Tell me about it," I giggled.

I then picked up a bag containing of many ready-to-bake pastries for the Aespa girls and Eun, giving it to them as a token of appreciation.

Going out of the kitchen, I went to their table where I saw them getting ready to leave.

"Wait! I want to give these to you all," I said and gave them the bags.

"Oh? What's this Y/n?" Eun asked.

"It's our ready-to-bake item. Take it as a gift," I said with a smile.

"Strawberry croissant?! Yes! Thank you! I will eat this well!" Ningning exclaimed, making me release a chuckle.

"Oh no. It's nothing," I said while waving my hands.

"Oh! Speaking of baking. Jimin? You will ask a question right?" Eun said as she pushed Karina a bit, making me look at the latter.

"U-uh. I-I love yo- WHA! I mean I love bread!" Karina said, a little startled, making me look at her weirdly with a giggle.

Suddenly, the other girls just began coughing. Ningning then smacked the table hard, looking away from me.

I then looked at Karina, fiddling with her fingers, holding the pack of ready-to-bake bread.

"I guess you want to learn how to bake Karina-ssi?" I asked and the girl's eyes widened, making me smile.

"You can call me, or even tell Eun for for the time. Whenever you are free, just ring me up," I said and Karina smiled and nodded shyly.

"Okay. Now that all is finished, here's our payment Y/n," Eun said as she showed me their company card.

"Okay~," I said and took the card for their payment.

________________

Karina POV

It's been days since we ate in Y/n' oppa's restaurant and it's also been days since my members teased me using Y/n.

"Step to the left but put more energy on the arms when you swing it, okay?" Our instructor said.

"Ne!" We all answered and the instructor said her goodbye and Eun unnie went in front of us.

"Okay everyone~. Aeri, Minjeong, and Ning, you are finished for today~," Eun unnie said which made me confused.

"Wait? I still have on my schedule?!" I whined at unnie.

"At this hour?! She still have-", Aeri is starting to be angry until,

"Y/n. This is your freest time for the next two weeks so why not now?" Eun said as Aeri's anger turned into a smirk.

"Yah yah yah! Shut up Aeri!" I said while glaring at her.

"I'm not saying anything~," Aeri teasingly said.

I looked away from them clearing my throat. Now what happened to me? I was so tired until Eun unnie said where I was going.

"Unnie, bring me a delicious croissant okay? Thank you!" Minjeong said as she ran outside our practice room.

"Yeah unnie! Bring me home- I mean! Bring something delicious! Minjeong! Wait for me!" Ningning followed suit as Aeri walked out slowly, giving me funny faces, and making me glare at her.

"Okay, now come on. Let's go to him," Okay?" Eun unnie said

"Yeah, let's go," I wore a hoodie and went outside of the company with Eun unnie.

I saw our van and was about to go in until Eun unnie tapped me, pointing at another car.

"Eh?" I muttered.

"Y/n will teach you. He is also responsible for you now," Just as Eun unnie said that, the car behind our van flashes its light grabbing my attention.

I looked at unnie at first, a little bit uneasy but Eun unnie just nodded with a smile on her face.

Slowly walking to the car behind, I was about to knock on the window until it rolled down, revealing Y/n.

"Service for Ms. Yoo Jimin?" Y/n said with a tease, making me smile.

"Maybe this is not so bad after all. Great job Jimin," I said in my thoughts.

Smiling at my thoughts, I went inside his car and fastened my seatbelt.

"So, croissants?" I asked and looked at Y/n.

"Croissants. Okay!" Y/n said with a smile then we were on our way.

_______________

Y/n POV

"Now fold the dough again," I said.

"Again?! But we folded it earlier?" Karina whined.

"The more, the better Karina-ssi" I teasingly said.

"But my hands!" Karina whined cutely, making me giggle.

"Then, should I help you?" I asked. Then Karina looked at me with the cutest puppy eyes that I have ever seen.

"Please~," Karina said with a pout. Now, Karina is just displaying her real beauty.

"Okay, now move as-,"

"No," Karina cut me off.

"No?" I asked.

"No. Guide me," Karina said and turned her back to me, making me giggle.

"You are awfully comfortable with me now huh?" I teased.

"Oh shut it. Let's go make a croissant!" Karina said angrily, but to me, she looked like a puppy, making my smile wider.

I then went behind Karina then slowly, I put my hands above hers, guiding her the right way to make my best selling croissants.

But while my body is helping her to do the pastries, my mind is overjoyed and giddy.

I have many friends that are girls but Karina, the way she trusts me even though we don't know each other very well, she trusts me.

Now, I may be overthinking at this but when a girl trusts you, it's a good thing, very good thing, especially when you are a boy.

The way our hands touched each other, ignited a spark that may be merely just a small thing, but that small thing affected me in just seconds.

Thinking for a bit, we do look like a couple. A couple that is on the brink of marriage, wait what?

Shrugging at my thoughts, I then heard Karina laughing like a kid playing with its toys.

I see Karina folding and rolling the dough over and over again. At one point I even released my hand for her to move freely and she just looked at me proudly at her work.

"You're a natural Karina-ssi," I said.

"Call me Jimin. I would like that even more," Karina or I mean, Jimin said, making me look at her.

"Oh? You know I'm flattered that you will let me call you by your name," I said.

"Well, I'm an outgoing girl and by what I feel, I'm comfortable with you," Jimin bluntly said.

"You are such a straightforward girl," I laughed making Jimin giggle as well.

"Knowing Yoo Jimin 101!" Jimin said excitedly.

"Okay okay, let's cut it to portions now or Eun will kill me," I said, Jimin then laughed and nodded.

_______________

Y/n POV

"Delivery for Incheon, Daegu, Anyang, and Seongnam for this week?" I asked Mun.

"Seongnam and Anyang deliveries are already finished. Incheon and Daegu are the places that have big orders," Mun said as he placed the equities and expenses on my table.

"D'accord. Anything else for today?" I asked.

"Well, Mihyun did deliver the croissants you and your girlfr- I mean Karina," Mun said and I threw a crumpled paper to his face.

"Aigoo. There you are again," I said a little bit annoyed.

*bzzt bzzt*

"Would you look at that, your phone vibrates. Come, let's take a bet. If that's Karina, I will work for you for free next week," Mun said.

"And if this is not Karina, I will put you and Mihyun on a date," I said and Mun coughed, making me giggle.

For now, it's the moment of truth. I opened my phone and its...

" Jiminie🐨

Oppa! We received the croissants we made! They are so delicious, we made them well. The mixture of the dough is perfect..... like us. Anyways, have a great day! Thanks to Mihyun-ssi as well! ♡♡♡ "

My eyes widened and Mun took a peek as well but the smirk on his face was bigger than ever.

"Well well well~ who do we have here? Oh! Jiminie~ perfect like us," Mun teasingly said, squealing at the same time.

"Wha. I mean, what did I do for her to tease me like this?" I asked, blushing because of Jimin's words.

"I'm gonna talk to Eun about this," I said.

"Hah! Yeah right. I bet you like it," Mun said as he left me alone in my office.

"I didn't like. I love it," I whispered, smiling, and my heart is like happily dancing on its own.

"You are something Jimin,"

I chuckled at my thoughts and looked at my computer. Nah, I think I have something better to do.

I stood up, grabbed my coat, and left my office in a hurry, but carefully.

__________________

Karina POV

"This unnie. Why is she initiating the moves?" Minjeong asked.

"Because this dumb girl didn't give her number to his man," Aeri answered.

"Oh well. Whatever you say, I say that croissants are the best!" Ningning said while munching on her second bread.

"Aish. Let your leader be, girls. What Karina wants, Karina gets," Eun unnie said.

"I'm pretty sure Y/n oppa would fall in love when a girl messaged him that they are perfect," Ningning said.

"And that's my plan," I smirked.

"Aiyoo, you will be the death of me Karina," Eun unnie said which made me giggle.

"But you know, I heard from the higher-ups, they want to put you in a dating rumor with Taeyong," Aeri whispered.

"What?!" I exclaimed then looked at unnie.

"I will stop that, whatever it takes Karina, with all my power," Eun unnie assured me and placed her arm on my shoulders.

"Okay. I know you always protect us unnie," I said with a gentle smile and held Eun unnie's hand.

"Yep! If that did happen. I will kill the management," Eun unnie joked, making us laugh.

_________________

Y/n POV

"Our revenue is up by 10%!" Mun said excitedly.

"Really? Seongnam really is a game-changer huh?" I said and Mun nodded happily.

"Who suggested Seongnam?" I asked.

"IT WAS ME!!!" Mihyun barged into our office, holding two coffees.

"Aish. Yah! Don't need to do that. Aigoo," I said, a little startled at how she entered my office.

"Hehehe~, Seongnam for the win! That's my hometown!" Mihyun danced joyfully. I then looked at Mun looking at Mihyun with hearts shooting from his eyes.

Looking at the sight, I think I will plan their date earlier than my planned day.

Chuckling at the future couple, I then looked at my computer and saw an article from Dispatch.

________________

Karina POV

"Aish ssibal. Are they real for now?!" Eun unnie slammed the pile of papers on our floor.

"The NCT members don't know this either. They are beyond confused right now," Aeri said.

"But why in the hell Dispatch?" I asked, curling into a ball.

"Don't worry unnie, I'm here," Minjeong came beside me.

I smiled at the girl and hugged her tightly like a teddy bear.

"Yep! Me too!" Ningning also went to my left, hugging me, and showing her support.

I smiled at our maknaes as they can be a child at heart but when times like this appear, they are probably the most reliable person on earth.

"Something that will never change about businessmen is their love for money," Aeri clicked her tongue.

"Now that's just bad. Exclude me Aeri," A voice coming from a man said.

We all looked at the man and saw Y/n holding a bag. My eyes widened and hid myself behind Minjeong.

"Y/n! Thank you for this, really," Eun unnie sighed and took the bag from Y/n oppa.

"Seems something is up," Y/n oppa asked as he looked at us.

"O, the higher-ups want to stir the cash flow of this company," Eun unnie sighed.

"By using their idols in such a way? By the way, do Karina also-," Y/n oppa asked.

"Andwae! I love you Y/n oppa! You make my heart beat irregularly, you make me go crazy for you. We just met once, bonded once, croissants! But I feel something special when I'm with you! My happiness, pastry chef! My l-," I said in the heat of the moment but my brain not working as well.

I then regained my senses and looked at the people here with me in the practice room. My eyes widen, thinking about what I just said.

I see the maknaes smirking, Aeri humming, and Eun unnie pointing at the ceiling like it was something amusing.

Sighing at what I did, I faced the wall, ashamed. Before my forehead could touch the wall, I was grabbed by someone making me face him, hugging me tightly.

"Don't worry Jimin. Nothing's gonna change my love for you, whatever the rumors, whatever the problems," Y/n oppa started, making me look up at him.

Ningning and Minjeong squealed like little kids because of how high-pitched it was, Aeri who was surprised enjoyed the drama unfolding in front of her.

"I gotta admit Jimin, you stole my feelings from our first meeting. I don't believe in love at first sight but gosh Karina, you are something special. Just like what you said, the mixture of the dough is perfect, just like us," Y/n oppa said with a smile and then kissed my forehead making me gasp.

"Omo omo omo, what's this?! This is such a fast turn of events," Aeri exclaimed.

"Nope. Let's get out of here. Croissants! Come on Aeri unnie," Ningning said and dragged the older girl with her. Minjeong and Eun unnie went out while giggling, giving me a wink before closing the door.

Silence then followed suit and my look at Y/n oppa strengthened.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" Y/n oppa giggled as he caressed my hair.

"Wae? Yah! Why are you laughing huh?!" I said while smacking his chest but Y/n oppa just hugged me tighter, laughing.

________________

Y/n POV

"You know I'm gonna ask for you to have another lesson with me," I said, teasing the girl beside me.

"AWH! Please stop! Don't tease me!" Jimin said, hiding her hot pink face from me.

Looking at Jimin in this state is so funny, who knew that behind the cold gaze on her face is a warm and loving girl.

"Aww~ is this the same Jimin that messaged me th-," Jimin puts a finger on my lips.

"Shhh! Okay! I'm that girl, please don't tease me~," Jimin nuzzles her head in my arms, making me smile

Right now, we are in the living room of their dorm. The other girls are in the kitchen, again, respecting our privacy I think.

"I mean, I'm gonna confess too but not this early. You really know how to mess up a plan someti-OW!" I said but received an elbow from Jimin.

"I bet you are not, you are a wimp! Hmph!" Jimin said, sulking.

"Oho~, showing me this side of yours already?" I teased, poking her arm.

"Yah! How many times do I tell you to HMMM!" Jimin was talking until I cupped her cheeks and kissed her on the lips.

A good 10 seconds passed and I decided to cut the kiss. Looking at Karina whose eyes are shut while puckering her lips, I giggled at her and connected our lips again.

Loving someone who you barely knew must be risky, but sometimes risks bring in the grand of rewards.

________________

Y/n POV

"What's our delivery for this week?" I asked.

"We have Busan, Incheon, and Daegu as our big bundle. Seongnam, Anyang, and Jeju for our regular," Mihyun said, looking at me.

"How about our SM branch?" I asked.

"Oh, well it's good. Many artists, staff, and even the admins love your food," Mihyun said happily.

"I know that I can always trust you Mihyun," I said with a smile.

"Merci, je ne pourrais pas le faire sans votre aide," (Thank you, I couldn't do it without your help) Mihyun bowed but what surprised me was that she spoke fluent French.

"Woah! Where did that come from?!" I excitingly.

"I just study~, I told you that I work hard," Mihyun said and flicked her hair, making me giggle.

"Babe! Let's go. Our boss is still single," Mun said and held Mihyun's hand.

"Aish, you brat. Don't look down on me," I said.

"Y/nnie~, I need my hugs and kisses!" Jimin barged into my office and ran straight to me.

Mihyun chuckled while I smirked at Mun who was looking somewhere else.

"Ah! I will be going. Goodbye Y/n, Karina-ssi," Mihyun bowed.

"Aww. Goodbye unnie! Have a great day!" Jimin said to Mihyun.

"Bye~! Great job!" I said and Mihyun bowed, then walked to the door. Being the mischievous girl she is, she smacked Mun's butt.

"YAWWW!" Mun exclaimed and Mihyun just walked out like nothing happened.

"YOU! COME BACK HERE!" Mun said and ran out of my office.

Two years since we met each other personally, Jimin and my relationship didn't waver, instead, it just kept getting better and better.

Karina's dating rumor didn't work for creating good revenue for SM, their stocks even plummeted. That's where I come in, I purchased a minority from SM, and safe to say that Aespa really liked that move.

Running a business is hard, no doubt, but when you have a woman who supports you in everything like this cutie little Jiminie right here. Fatigue will not even exist in your vocabulary.

"How are you babe?" I asked as Karina was sitting on my lap.

"Fine, just came from our practice," Jimin said as she wiggled, making herself comfortable.

"Anything I can do?" I asked and immediately, Jimin faced me with a smirk on her face.

Jimin pushed the lock button on my table and made the window not transparent from the outside.

"Maybe, we can do something spicy," Jimin said while biting her lip, her seductive voice. It's so alluring.

The next thing that I know, one of us is fighting for dominan- You know what, I will stop here.

But Jimin will sometimes be moody and I can't do anything about it. So I promised since the day she gave her trust to me.

I promise that I'll be there for her if she should need me. Jimin, you don't have to change a thing because I love you just the way you are jagiya.

"The world may change my whole life through, but nothing's gonna change my love for you Jimin. I love you"

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