#the fact that killing yourself is not the answer and figuring out to be happy woth what you have and where you are is such a cute message

[neon-impressions]

I AM SOFT AND KIND AND FULL OF LOVE

[daisynik7]

Pairing: Takuma Ino x f!reader

Rating: Explicit – MINORS DO NOT INTERACT

Word Count: ~1.7k

cw: explicit language, mentions of a popular horror movie, smut – PIV sex (cowgirl position), nipple play, blow job, mask kink, slight degradation (slut, whore), use of pet names (cutie, sweetie, baby) 

Summary: You and your new boyfriend Ino decide to watch a horror movie together in honor of spooky season. Halfway through, he notices how skittish you are, making him want to play a silly prank on you with his signature ski mask. It’s all fun and games until he realizes that you actually like seeing him in this way more than he anticipated. 

Author’s Note: Happy October y'all! What can I say, I am VERY into Takuma Ino right now and I just had to get this out of my system. This is barely edited or proofread, sorry for any grammar mistakes or typos, I really was just letting my fingers fly through this in a moment of passion LOL. Likes, reblogs, and/or comments are always appreciated, thank you for reading! MDNI banner by @/cafekitsune. 

You turn off all the lights, the only source of illumination coming from the TV screen, paused at the very start of the movie you decided to watch tonight. With a big bowl of freshly popped kernels in your grasp, you huddle beside your boyfriend, Ino, on the couch, covering both your legs with a fleece blanket. He wraps his arm around you, pulling you in closer, reaching to grab a handful of popcorn to stuff inside his mouth. “Ready?” he muffles, pointing the remote to the screen, finger pressed to the center button. 

Nuzzling your head against him, you answer. “Yup!”

It’s apparently one of those cult classic horror flicks according to Ino, who recommended it when you mentioned how you wanted to watch something scary for October. He’s seen it before, many times in fact, but he insists that you watch it. He has no clue how frightened you get over the silliest things, so tonight will be a treat for the both of you. 

The opening scene plays out: a beautiful blonde picks up the phone and the conversation ends quickly short because it’s the wrong number. Normal so far, good. It rings again, but now the caller seems interested in talking. Do you like scary movies? Do you have a boyfriend? The man’s voice gives you the creeps, and you find yourself shuddering from it, cuddling closer to Ino, who glances at you with a smirk on his face. 

You never told me your name.

Why do you want to know my name?

Because I want to know who I’m looking at.

This line gives you goosebumps and you lift the blankets up to hide behind it. “Ew, creepy!” Ino only laughs, throwing a few more pieces of popcorn into his mouth. 

It escalates from here, getting increasingly chaotic and violent. By the time you’re halfway into the film, the bowl is down to its last kernels and you’re crouched in Ino’s lap, peeking through your fingers. He pauses the movie after one particularly brutal kill. “Snack break! I’m going to make some more popcorn and go pee.”

“You’re leaving?!” you whine, clinging on to him as he tries to get up.

He chuckles. “Babe! It’s just a movie. I’ll be right back, okay?” He kisses you on the forehead, heading into the kitchen, leaving you alone in the living room. 

Of course it’s just a movie, but you can’t help feeling creeped out in the dark like this. You reach for one of the nightstands, turning on the lamp. You hear the drone of the microwave, and after a minute or so, the distinct sound of popping. Eventually, it comes to a stop, and the entire house is eerily quiet. You’re tempted to call out for Ino, wondering where he is, but you remember that he had to use the bathroom. 

Suddenly, a shadowy figure appears right behind on you on the couch, grabbing your shoulders and shouting gibberish at you. You scream bloody murder, ready to punch him and run away when Ino lifts his ski mask up to reveal himself, tears streaming down his face, cracking up at you. 

“Ino!” you yell at him, slapping his hands away from you. “You fucking asshole!”

He doubles over, cackling, wiping his eyes. It takes a good while for him to regain his composure as you glare at him, arms crossed over your chest. “I’m sorry, baby. I just couldn’t resist.” He sits beside you, stretching his arms out for a hug. “You have to admit, that was fucking hilarious.”

You shake your head, refusing. “You’re such a dick.”

“Oh, come on! It was just a little prank. Now you’ll be way more prepared for the rest of the movie!” He pulls the mask over his face again, everything covered except the holes for his eyes. “See? Not so scary anymore, right?”

You inspect him carefully, still pouting, not saying a word.

“I’m sorry, sweetie. Truly. I promise not to scare you again.” He scoots towards you, nudging you in the arm. 

You roll your eyes at him, relaxing. “Fine.”

“Can I get a kiss now?” 

He tries to lift his mask up, but you stop him, pulling it back down. “I don’t want to see your face right now. I’m still annoyed, you know.”

“Aw man! Really?”

You hoist it just past his nose, leaning in to give him a soft kiss on the lips. When you break apart, he smirks at you. “You like this, don’t you? Seeing me with my mask on.”

You shrug, a sly grin on your face, neither confirming nor denying his accusation. Sure, you were a bit upset at first, when he scared the shit out of you. But seeing his face covered like that may have sparked a desire in you that you never knew you had, until now. 

“Oh my god! You do, you do!” he exclaims, shaking your arm. “My cutie has a mask kink!”

“Shut up, asshole!” you yell at him, pretending to shove him off, smiling. 

“You’re a fucking freak!” he giggles, pouncing on you. He starts tickling you along your ribcage, causing you to squirm beneath him as he straddles you, trapping you between his legs. His fingers flutter under your arms, stroking your sensitive skin.

“Ino!” you cry out, laughing from the sensation. 

You can feel his cock growing hard in his pants, balls heavy on your stomach. Suddenly, he stops, mask still folded to expose his lips, leaning down to kiss you sloppily. He pins your hands above your head, locking his fingers with yours. He slips inside your mouth, grazing your tongue with his, hungry for your saliva. “Fuck,” he moans into you, nipping at your bottom lip. “You like this freaky shit, don’t you? Nasty slut.” His playful tone is laden with lust now, low and sultry, mouth brushing along your neck, sucking at your pulse points to mark you. 

You whine his name, wrapping your legs around his waist, grinding yourself against him. 

“Look at you, getting so fucking dumb all because of my mask,” he purrs. “What else turns you on, cutie? Tell me.”

Without thinking, you blurt out, “Spit. Your spit. I want it.”

“Oh shit,” he swears, licking his mouth. He traces the outline of your lips, beckoning you to open up, dribbling a thick wad of saliva inside you. You gulp it down, sticking your tongue out for more. 

“Oh fuck, you’re nasty,” he says, doing it again. “Makes me so fucking horny seeing you like this. Seeing my cutie act like a fucking whore.” He slips beneath your shirt, fondling your bare breasts, flicking your peaked nipples with his thumbs. 

“Fuck, Ino,” you whisper, pussy throbbing in your panties, arousal leaking through the fabric. 

“You like it when I play with your tits, huh?” Like it when I pinch them hard like this.” He squeezes them between his thumb and index finger, enough pressure to stimulate you, making you moan his name again and again.

He swears under his breath, shoving his pants down his legs, shimmying out of them until he’s only in his underwear now, erection stiff in his boxers. “You gonna suck my cock now or what, slut?” 

You nod, kneeling in front of him, knees on the carpet, spreading his thighs apart. He lifts his ass off the couch to slide out of his boxers, letting them fall around his ankles. You kiss the tip of his dick, smearing his precum around your lips like gloss before swallowing him into your mouth. 

He lets out a drawn out, “Fuck,” watching you with wide eyes as you bob up and down his shaft. Voice shaky, he asks, “Can I put my hands on you?”

Something about him in this ski mask makes you want to be submissive, makes you want to be used. You grab both his hands, guiding them towards the sides of your head, giving him free rein to manhandle you.

“Holy shit,” he murmurs, gripping you tighter, gradually thrusting his hips in tandem with you. His cockhead hits the back of your throat, teasing your gag reflex, but you resist, tears collecting in the corners of your eyes, enduring it. 

Noticing you, he pulls out, a string of spit between you. “Baby, baby. Please don’t force yourself. I don’t want to hurt you.” He reaches to his side, grabbing a tissue from the table beside the couch, wiping away the spit around your mouth and the tears in your eyes. “Come here, cutie. I want to make you feel good too.”

You strip out of your bottoms, straddling his lap, pussy wet and aching against him. He moans as you rock back and forth on his shaft, pressing his thumb to your clit, massaging it. “There we go. Now we both can feel good, yeah?”

After a few more strokes, you beg him to fuck you, lifting up to guide his cock inside you slowly, sinking down on him until he bottoms out. You bounce on him, his hands gripped to your waist, guiding you, moaning your name between expletives. 

As you approach your orgasm, you pull up his mask, placing it on his head as he usually wears it. He smiles brightly at you, nuzzling his nose to yours. “There’s my pretty girl. Can you come for me now? Come all over this cock?”

You kiss him passionately, arms wrapped around his neck as he thrusts into you, hands squeezed on your ass now. You reach your climax, moaning into his mouth. He comes with you, shooting his load deep into your womb, filling you up with his cream pie. The two of you continue to kiss slowly, catching your breaths. He caresses your back while you melt into his embrace. 

“We need to establish a safe word,” he suggests, cradling you in his arms. “I want to make sure I’m not hurting you.”

You hum into his skin, saying the first thing that comes to mind. “Popcorn."

He chuckles, stroking the back of your neck gently. “Alright. Popcorn it is.” A beat later, he exclaims, “Popcorn! I totally forgot about the popcorn!”

You laugh, giving your boyfriend a wet smooch on the cheek.

[junowritings]

What about romanced Astarion reacting to the normally goody-goody Tav revealing that they stole the special potion from Araj before they left. He discovers this because Tav gives it to him as soon as they are out of sight from the blood merchant.

Oh I absolutely love this idea. Though writing this made me realize I need to put Astarion in my party more often. Went off on a bit of a tangent but I do hope you enjoy~!

=======

♡ Oh, the things we do for love, ey?

♡ Astarion plays nice with others in the interest of survival, and he’s made no attempts to hide that fact from you since you had really begun to bond. You on the other hand are akin to a bleeding heart, all too often going out of your way to do what you thought was right even if it meant putting yourself in harm's way as a result. At the beginning that attitude seemed pitiful - he figured it would simply end up getting you killed later down the line. And yet you’d rise, time and time again making an example of the morals that you set and surviving every encounter stronger than before. Even if your morals didn’t always align, he respected that tenacity.

♡ Even after you’d managed to worm your way into his very heart, the pair of you have butted heads more than once on the matter; at the high and mighty goody two shoes act that you face the world with. All of the reminders about doing good deeds for the sake of being good, not stealing from just anyone nor going behind others backs rummaging through personal effects for answers or loot. Not to mention all of that time spent helping others and listening to their plights as though they were your own. Honestly, darling, you really do make things harder on yourself by playing into other people’s sob stories. 

♡ Astarion never suspected that the encounter at Moonrise tower could have changed anything.

♡ He’s uncharacteristically quiet as you leave the room together after dealing with Araj, but that’s because inside Astarion is absolutely seething. A familiar feeling of disgust he’d longed hoped to quash down burns a hole deep within his chest, opening old mental wounds as though freshly torn asunder upon his flesh. He’s mad at that damned drow; the way she looked down upon him, using honeyed words that he knew were a damn farce because for fucks sake he’d been using the same tactics for well over a century. That look, that calculated appraisal as Araj gauged what the vampire spawn could offer her in exchange for her potion made his skin crawl, all too familiar with the look that spoke volumes of his value - as a means to serve her own whims and not an actual person.

♡ And then, when he’d shown reluctance, she’d turned to you, as though you’d reign him in and get him to bend to your will like some fanged pet you kept on a tight leash. Far from the truth, of course, but the lack of autonomy that Astarion felt watching the pair of you converse about him as if he wasn’t even there had him clenching his teeth hard enough that the ache in his jaw persists long afterwards.

♡ There had been a swell of satisfaction when you put your foot down on the matter, nipping her demand in the bud with a firm reminder that he had already refused her request - there was no more to discuss. The drow had gotten bored after that, uninterested in further discussion with her own desires now off the table, and Astarion was all too happy to be out of there as you trailed a few paces behind.

♡ Astarion stands by his choice, but another part of him kicks himself for turning down the reward. A moment of discomfort, to give up a piece of himself for a potion that could prove invaluable was all it could have taken. He had done it before - done it for centuries to placate that vile beast he once served - why would this be any different? A transactional relationship, one that could have given you a leg up in the battles ahead, and he’d refused. 

♡ He’s still stewing in these thoughts when a nudge breaks him from his reverie, a gentle brush of your fingers against his hand as you move into step beside your partner. Your touch is warm yet he prickles as though he’s been burned, pupils akin to pinpricks as he looks at you from the corner of his eye. He’s measuring you, for a moment. Takes in the brow furrowed and questioning eyes - not pity, concern - trying to gauge how he’s feeling. It’s a discussion for later, so Astarion dons that usual placating smile and turns to you, fully prepared to pull a spiel about that whole conversation being a waste of your perfectly good time. And then he notices.

♡ His ears perk up at a noise, the gentle slosh of something moving. Crimson eyes dart down to the source, to the hand you’d touch him with. It’s not empty - no, fingers curl tight around the corded neck of a familiar glass green bottle, and your nudge this time is more insistent as you press the bottle into the palm of his hand, urging him to take it. You relinquish the bottle to his hold, pale hands taking the glass and stirring up the liquid inside as he brings it up to get a better look. Surely this isn’t…

♡ But then sure enough you smile, a mischievous twinkle in your eye that makes his own widen as you shrug.

♡ “For you. Figured she didn’t need it anymore; since she just left it lying out in the open and all.”.

♡ The laugh comes before Astarion can stop himself - loud and unabashed from the sheer absurdity of it all. You? Actually stealing something? And for him no less! And they say that romance is dead, yet here you are wooing him one stolen novelty at a time. 

♡Hells he hadn’t even noticed that you’d swiped the damned thing - had it been when you’d turned the blood merchant down? Or back when she’d had her sights set on him? He doesn’t care for the answer, not really. He’s more impressed that you pulled it off, but Astarion certainly doesn’t miss the irony of it all. His lovely partner, casting aside your usual goody nature in favor of stealing something and getting one up on the woman who’d disrespected your lover. As if he wasn’t fond enough of you already - this was just another lovely little reminder of the lengths you’d go for him.

♡ His smile for a moment is all teeth, shoulders still shaking with the last dregs of laughter - which damn if he didn’t need - as he brings his free arm to curl around your side. The kiss pressed to your cheek is quick, vibrating with the appreciative hum that passes the spawn’s lips when you lean a little into him. Once he pulls away Astarion keeps his free hand looped around your side, the other holding the bottle up and giving the contents a dramatic little shake to show off.

♡ Perhaps he’ll keep this as a little secret; or maybe he’ll spend the rest of that night flaunting this potion teasing you for your first act of casual thievery. Whatever the outcome it’s worth the grin he flashes you as he gives a conspiratory wink and declares.

♡ “Oh my dear. We’ll make a fine miscreant of you yet!”

[kaitys-bs]

Guns n’ Roses 🌹

mafia boss ellabs

NSFW MDNI

tags: smut with plot, top!abby, bottom!ellie, talks of murder, brief smoking, slight implied pinning?, little bit of a power dynamic, pet names (gorgeous, good girl, slut), degrading & praise, fingering (e receive), oral (e receive)

not proof read (who actually does…)

The city has been divided in two for as long as anybody can remember. Gang violence ransacking Seattle for decades, not a day would go by without the sounds of sirens or gunshots. That's until two men stepped up to gain some control, Jerry Anderson and Joel Miller.

Sure, the men were at each others throats from the very first day. Both believed they knew what was right to control the gang scene and in the end, agreed to split the city in two. Each having their own personal agenda for their enterprise.

The tipping point was the death of Jerry Anderson, leading his daughter Abby to take his place.

After Jerry died via single gunshot to the forehead, war between their respective families began to escalate, Abby speculating it was the doing of the Millers. She wasn't wrong, taking a golf club to Joel's skull which promoted his daughter Ellie to take his place.

What's the saying? An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind?

Ellie shuts her office door behind her, letting out a heavy breath with a rub to her aching shoulders. She needed a massage, or maybe to get her back blown out a round or two. It's been a long ass week to say the least.

She pulls out a cigarette and lighter from her pocket, circling around to her desk. A commotion occurring on the other side of Ellie's door causing a crease to form between her brows. Soon enough the door is flinging open and Abigail Anderson in her suited glory pushes through, blood on her jacket and murder in her eyes. "Williams!" She shouts, less than happy to see the auburn haired girl.

"Ms. Anderson. What a... surprise" Ellies voice sounds far from surprised, almost disappointed as she snuffs out her cigarette while leaning back in her chair, legs manspread with her arms pulled back into a cross. Suit jacket open with the top buttons of her dress shirt undone, Ellie looks a wreck with that shit eating grin plastered on her face.

Abby's palms press into the grain of Ellie's desk, death stare into her soul. "The fucking audacity of you. A drive by! A fucking DRIVE BY?" A soft chuckle leaves the brutes throat, reminding Ellie that Abby is just a girl despite the tough exterior. "I mean come on, you didn't even have the balls to do it yourself?"

Ellie raises from her spot, disliking the fact Abby loomed over her. Her glare through thin lashes still small under the blondes height. "Didn't see the need. Unlike you, I actually try to cover up my kills" But that's untrue, Ellie knew she wouldn't be able to pull the trigger on Abby if it came to it.

Abby raises an eyebrow, disbelieving her answer but surprised regardless. "But where's the fun in that gorgeous? Seeing the life drain out of their eyes..." She trails off, clicking her tongue.

"So why'd you come here? Rub it in my face you survived? Have my shooters head in a box for me or something? Kill me? What's your angle Anderson?" Ellie leans in slightly, her head cocking to the side as she takes in Abby's massive figure.

Abby again lets out one of those pretty chuckles with a shake of her head, "So little faith. I just came to get you to tell me why the fuck you think you can kill me? Do you want my guys to come after yours? That would start a full blown war." The way Abby scolds Ellie sends a rush between her legs, pressing them together behind the desk while keeping up the act.

"A war started the moment you bashed in my father's head" Ellie presses her palms into the desk harder, hearing the wood creak under the pressure of her ange and horniness. 

Abby leans in slightly with an innocent little grin, "So that's what it's about? You miss your daddy, do you now?" The way her lips pout with fake sympathy is so demeaning, making Ellie feel like a child. It's a turn on that she didn't know she had.

"Fuck. You" Ellie speaks through her teeth, "Is that all or is there something else you came here for?"

Abby smirks, eyes glossing up and down with a smirk before taking an inhale of air. "Normally when someone turns on me, I'd just take them out back and shoot them" She takes out her revolver, inspecting it in her palm before gently resting it on the desk, "But you're not just anyone, are you now?"

"What's your game here Anderson? If you're gonna shoot me, do it" The auburn haired woman barks as she sulks back in her skin, arms crossing with a hesitant look. While attempting to remain strong, it's getting harder to deny that pull.

Abby shakes her head a negative, "Such an attitude" Soon enough Abby's strong hands are gripping the sides of Ellie's cheeks, pressing them together and pulling the girl inches away from her face. "Almost like you're begging for me to fuck it out of you"

The breath from Ellie's lungs is almost vacuumed up in the whirlwind of emotions. The second heartbeat between her legs grows stronger and it has the strong woman melting in Abby's hands, "Tell me you want me" She whispers softly into Ellie's ears.

"Shut the fuck up and kiss me alrea-" As Ellie snaps back at Abby, their lips smash together in what's probably years of pent up sexual frustrations with one another. The forbidden fruits of having one another. Adam eating the apple that's now evident in every man's throat you glance, a reminder of shame.

"Clothes. Off. Now" Abby grits between kisses, nodding her head to the leather couch in Ellie's office. Quickly, she starts to take off her suit jacket, button up, and pants, watching as Abby undresses her top half too. "All of it" She adds when Ellie stopped at just her underwear.

Laying back on the couch, Ellies body is masked by Abby's. The blonde leaning over Ellie with their lips meeting once more. Their kiss is rushed, tangled in each others limbs, breath fanning face. It's a mess of a spectacle straight out of every disgusting straight man's dream porno.

For once Ellie doesn't have to hold a high standard of control. For once she's able to just lay back and let someone take the wheel. She feels small, buck ass naked underneath Abby, in her bra and slacks. "Abby-" Ellie grits between her teeth as the blonde sucks purple bruises into the pale flesh of her neck. Abby's hands not going where she needs them most, staying on her waist, hips and boobs but never traveling below the belt. It's tortue, a worse pain than being shot.

"Yes gorgeous girl?" Abby smirks against her skin while her hands trace up and down Ellie's side. "What is it?" Her kindness is simply a smoke screen as she pinches Ellie's neglected and sensitive nipple, causing her to whine while arching into Abby's huge hands.

There's a pathetic look on Ellie's brow. The way she's so desperate and on the verge of tears behind the stare that would have Abby dead if looks could kill. "I swear to fucking god- oh" A moan cuts Ellie's bitching off as soon as Abby's lips wrap around her breast. "Shit- just like that"

That cocky look on Abby's face would normally be enough for Ellie to walk away. If only the way that the blonde made her crumble in a way nobody had was enough to keep Ellie in her place, back arching into Abby's skilled pleasure.

Soon enough Abby's large finger pushes its way into Ellie, the stretch enough to almost fill her with a single digit. Melodic moans fill the room as Abby takes her time, curling her finger and simply applying pressure to that particular spot every lesbian knows of. Pressure builds in Ellies core, a sort of tension building up on the verge of snapping as Abby continues to suck her tits.

"Keep-" Abby's sharp voice barks at Ellies uncooperative hips, pushing her down so her body is flush to the couch, "Keep still- stop your fucking squirming or I'll leave. You understand?" Ellie nods quick, her neck bobbing up and down but that's not enough for her, "Fucking say it!"

The feeling of Ellie's orgasm fades into the abyss, causing a sob to leave from deep in her throat. "I understand- FUCK!" Tears physically soak her cheeks at this point, she yelps with the feeling of Abby's finger leaving her pussy, watching her side down.

Abby sucks a bruise into her thigh, with a slap to the red mark, causing Ellie to squirm. "Good girl. That's a good fucking girl" Abby's praise makes the torture almost worse, what's actually worst is the slow kisses around where Ellie wants her the most. It's ticklish but also so fucking hot.

That's when, finally like a gift from a higher being, Abby's lips find her clit and start to suck hard, almost biting her bud. Ellie screams and tries to wiggle away but the flex in Abby's shoulders and arms keep her there. The blonde doesn't even take time to say anything, eyes shut as she takes her time eating Ellie like she's  her last meal on earth. At this rate, Ellie might shoot her if she doesn't cum so it very well may be.

The pressure builds and builds and builds till Ellie is breathless and unable to say a word. She can't even communicate herself, the whines and heavy breaths stop all words from forming. It's enough to boost Abby's ego for the rest of their lives. Ellie's nimble fingers tap the Abby's bicep, starting to squeeze as her legs clamp and shake like mad.

That orgasm flushes over Ellie like a truck, like nothing ever felt before. Abby takes a minute to finish what she started before pulling back to breathe, "You did so well, such a good slut" Abby sits down at ellie's feet, pulling the shaking girls legs into her lap to give a few tight squeezes in a massage.

Ellie takes her time to catch her breath with a stupid grin plastered on her cheeks. No thoughts till Abby speaks up again,

"So... about the drive by... was that your way of a booty call?"

[marvelwitchergilmore]

Bloody Pardon 2

Summary: Anthony Lockwood x Fe!Reader -> Part 2 of Bloody Pardon. Aunt Violet and her friend June has come to visit and you're still married to Lockwood.

Disclaimer: Not proof read, fluff, angst, descriptions of panic attacks, talks of love, falling in love, pain of love.

“I beg your bloody pardon?”

You practically chased Lockwood down the stairs of the house. 

In his hand, he was looking through more newspaper clippings George had found. You’d originally found him in the Library, his shirt sleeves rolled up and his tie thrown across the back of the sofa. 

He’d been rambling things about the case and what he needed you to find out whilst George and Lucy headed out into town to collect extra equipment. 

You’d asked what he would be doing. (collecting his aunt and her friend from the train station)

That was when he told you.

“You heard me.”

“Lockwood, I might be married to you but I am not your wife. I thought I had made that explicitly clear to you.”

“You have.” Lockwood agreed, leafing through the mail at the bottom of the stairs. 

Sometimes you wondered whether he had any perception of anything else in his life. 

“But, my Aunt is also bringing her best-friend who just happens to be…”

“A posh twat?” 

You turned and found Lucy standing, eating a Digestive by the bottom of the stairs. 

Lockwood gave her a short smile. “Highly opinionated, to put it nicely.” 

“Still doesn’t mean we have to act like a married couple.”

“Yes, it does.”

“Why?”

“Because if we don’t, the night will only become more excruciating than it already will be. And I know for a fact nobody in this house wants that. Ever.”

“I thought she was coming down for the weekend?” Lucy asked. 

You could kill Lockwood.

Maybe Kipps would still be your clean-up-crew.

An hour more of arguing and you finally gave in. You and Lockwood would act like the happy couple, Lucy and Kipps would join for the first evening meal and, since George would be visiting his parents for the weekend, that left a room open for his Aunt. 

“If you’d like, I can sleep in the basement. Your Aunt’s friend can stay in my room.”

“Lucy!”

“Oh, sorry.”

You slammed your hand against your head before Lockwood thanked her and agreed with her. 

“I do have one question though,” Lucy stated. 

“Oh, you have one question.”

“If your aunt is staying and she thinks you're married…where will you two sleep?”

“In my room.”

Part of you felt Lockwood had answered way too quickly. 

“And I suppose you feel safe sleeping next to me, inches from a pillow I could use to smother you in your sleep?”

Lockwood smiled and your stomach flipped - out of feeling or anger, you didn’t quite know. 

“I trust you with my life, Darling.”

You narrowed your eyes and picked up the paper in front of you on the kitchen table. “Don’t push your luck, Sweetheart.”

After that, you moved out of the kitchen and went straight up to the attic before collapsing onto your bed and trying to drown both the light and your thoughts out with your pillow. 

“It shouldn’t be that bad.”

Lucy must have followed you up. 

“You’re not the one who’s married into the family involuntarily, might I add.”

Lucy laughed and made her way over to your bed before sitting down on the edge. “Come on, it’s not that bad.”

Swiftly, she pulled at the pillow until you let go and she placed it beside you. From there, she pulled at your hands before you sat up. 

“Hey, at least you get to embrace your feelings towards Lockwood.”

“If, what you mean by feelings, is the capability to brutally murder him every hour then, sure. I’ll help add to the marital murder rate in this country.”

“That’s not what I meant and you know it.”

“No, I don’t.”

Lucy simply said your name and kept eye-contact. 

Trust her to be the one to figure it out. 

“I can’t like him, Lucy.”

“But you do.”

“But I do.”

“Why are you so fixed on not liking him?”

“Because in this world, liking someone puts everyone in danger. I don’t want to do that.”

“The only person you are putting in danger is yourself. You don’t think me and George don’t notice how you look at him or, better yet, how he looks at you?”

“He doesn’t look at me.”

“For the love of-” Lucy rolled her eyes and said your name again. “The pair of you are idiots.”

“Lucy, I trust your judgement of character but you’re all off for this one.”

“Bloody hell, alright. Fine. If I’m wrong-”

“You are.”

“I’m not.”

“But you are.”

“But I’m not.”

“What are you two arguing about?” George asked from the top of the stairs.

“She doesn’t believe Lockwood loves her.”

“Whoa, hey! No, I never said anything about love.”

“No, but your eyes do.”

“George.”

“Don’t look at me, I’m with Lucy on this one.”

“For the love of-”

“Tea’s ready!”

Despite your feelings of wanting to murder Lockwood, right now you could have kissed him. 

A week later, George had left for his parents and whilst Lockwood cooked dinner back at Portland Row with the help of Kipps and Lucy, you were trying to clear your head from all the thoughts about what was or could possibly happen in the next couple of days. 

You and Lucy had already spent all of the day before moving your stuff into Lockwood’s room to make it look more believable that you both were actually a married couple. Meanwhile, Lockwood and George covered the house in different photos of all of you from day’s out to “the wedding day.”. 

And yet, despite all of this, you couldn’t seem to wrap your head around it. 

Yes, your feelings towards Anthony Lockwood had been, in the past, less than professional. But, you had gone to great lengths to hide those particular feelings. And, so far, you’d done a good job. 

Except, for the following few days, you were going to have to spend most of your time acting on or, at least, around those feelings all the while sharing the same bed with him. 

Still, you didn’t exactly know when you had begun to walk back home but both too slowly and too quickly, you found yourself entering your key into your front door as the snow outside just began to clump on the street and the steps. 

Entering, you were hit with the hot air from the house along with a mixture of smells from Lockwood’s cooking. 

It was rare he ever cooked since George was always the better one, but - after finding out when you were sick - Lockwood could have been a close rival if he wanted to be. 

You could hear laughter flowing from the living room and kitchen before you heard someone speak. 

“So, is this her?”

The voice wasn’t anything like you had been expecting but then a second voice came from the kitchen. 

“Oh, my, Anthony. You didn’t tell me she was this beautiful.” 

The second woman pushed past the first with a smile on her face and she came straight over to you and you couldn’t help but mirror her own smile, it was that infectious. 

“Hello, my darling. I’m Violet, but please, call me Vi.”

“Okay.”

You were still spinning a little so it took you a moment before introducing yourself. 

“Quick, let's get that coat off you.” Violet started to help you remove your coat before walking you towards the kitchen with her. “This is June.”

You shook her hand but, compared to Violet, June  seemed…you couldn’t tell. Just…not as warming. 

“Now, I want to get to know my new grand-niece. Tony tells me you're the best swordswoman he’s ever seen.”

The ‘getting to know you’ conversation was split between Violet asking her questions to which Lockwood would manage to answer most of them and June asking her but Violet completely ignoring her. 

Until the BIG question. 

“Why did you two get married?”

June was rather harsh in her asking but Violet just smiled joyfully and turned to you. “Oh, yes. Tony, I’m still upset about that. I, at least, deserved an invite to your wedding.”

As Lockwood began to reply, you shot out of your seat to help him save what he had been cooking in his pan as it started to boil over. Taking a tea towel, you wrapped it around the handle and turned down the heat at Lockwood reached above you for a lid, handed it to you and reached for the seasoning. 

You replaced the pan onto the stove, holding onto the lid. Lockwood found certain seasonings before asking you if you’d seen the Rosemary. 

“Top shelf.”

“Ah.”

The pair of you worked in sync until you placed the lid on top and turned to face him only to find the pair of you closer than you’d ever been when stood in the kitchen together. 

“That’s why, June.”

You both turned and found the two older women watching you both like you were their favourite soap opera. 

“Look at them, how they move together. You know, my Frank and I were like that when we were younger.”

As much as the following conversation had stemmed from the way Violet viewed yourself and Lockwood together, it gave you enough time to distract yourself from the fact that you and Lockwood were standing closer than you had agreed with before you walked back home. 

Dinner passed by easier than you expected, but you still thanked the heavens for Lucy and Kipps who managed to distract Violet and June into either reminiscing about the past or thinking about the future of couples such as Lucy and Kipps. 

Until June asked her questions again. 

Lucy- well, Kipps was half way through talking about Lucy and their first date when June turned to you and Lockwood who were sitting shoulder to shoulder and asked; “How did you know you two were in love? After all, you both are a little younger than some to get married in this day and age. How did you know he was the one?”

You sat there, food half chewed and you shared a slightly panicked look with Lockwood who, despite all the questioning, somehow still managed to keep his cool. 

“Erm, well…”

Think of something, think of something, think of something, think of something, think of something, think of something, think of some-

“It shouldn’t be that hard, dear. He is your husband after all.”

Husband. 

That word echoed over and over in your head. 

Lockwood is your husband. Shouldn’t you have a story? 

“Oh, June. Leave her alone. She’s had a busy day, I’m sure she’ll tell us later.” 

“No, Vi. We’ve come to see the newly wedded couple, haven’t we?”

It felt like the walls were closing in on you and the room was slowly starting to fall onto an axis. Slowly, the voices began to muffle and before you knew it, you pushed your chair back and excused yourself.

“I’ll be right back.”

In the distance, you could hear Lockwood apologising for you. Something about work and a brutal interrogation not that long ago. 

Pulling yourself up the stairs with the bannister, you eventually made it into the bathroom and shut the door behind you. 

Usually, anytime you looked at Lockwood, you got nervous. But, like, happy-nervous, butterflies forming a tornado in your stomach nervous. 

Only, with the questioning and feelings and the having to act like you loved Lockwood with all your heart whilst also making sure that the real feelings were kept at bay and the feelings of annoyance remained and the fake and real feelings didn’t get mixed up; that happy tornado now felt like a washing machine that had come off its hinges and was beating against your lungs. 

It took a while before you realised Lockwood had been standing outside the bathroom door almost the entire time and had been calling your name. 

Meanwhile, you had turned the tap on and off twice, splashed your face twice and by the time you felt ready to open the door and head back downstairs, Lockwood pulled you back. 

“Hey, you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah. Sorry.”

“Don’t apologise. You don’t have to apologise.”

“Christ,” that feeling was coming back. 

You pressed your hand to your stomach, trying to focus on your breathing. 

Lockwood’s gaze scanned your face. You were growing paler by the second and your breathing was just like how it used to be when you had a horror movie night with Lucy and George and you knew something was coming - you just didn’t know what. 

“Alright. You’re alright.” Lockwood’s hand came to your shoulders, looking around before finding his room and leading you inside. 

From there, Lockwood sat you down on the bed before closing the door and coming back and kneeling in front of you. 

“I don’t know if I can do this. I-I can’t lie to your family, Anthony. I can barely lie to myself.”

Lockwood continued to study you before bringing your hand to his chest. 

“Can you feel that?”

“Feel what?”

“My heartbeat. Can you feel it?”

Lockwood pressed your hand closer to his chest until he saw the small flicker of recognition in your eyes. 

“Okay, I want you to count. I want you to count the beats until you can breathe again. Okay?”

“Okay.”

You were on track for a while until your mind started floating again. 

“It’s just me and you. Nobody else. Just me and you, counting the beats.”

You nodded and started counting again. 

You didn’t know how long had passed. No-one came to find either of you and Lockwood never made a move to get out or apologise to anyone for taking so long. 

It was just you and him. 

He didn’t care if it took all night to make sure you were okay. He would kneel on the floor with you and for you, holding your hand against his chest, counting his heartbeats until you finally were able to breathe. 

“I don’t know if I- I don’t know how to do this. I don’t know how to be…with you.” 

Without being with you, you wanted to add. 

“Then just be you.” Anthony told you. “Just be you. Lord knows Barnes already calls us an old married couple anyway.”

Lockwood’s statement made you smile, and only when you let out a soft, quiet laugh, did he fully smile, too. 

“I’m sorry,” Lockwood apologised, gripping your hand in his a little tighter. “If I’d never picked up the case-”

“Then Faye would have never have gotten the answers about her brother and would still be spending every night wondering what happened to him,” you told Lockwood. “I know why you did it, Lockwood. I don’t blame you for doing what you did, even if you did sign real papers rather than fake ones.”

Lockwood nodded, waiting for you to continue.

“But…I guess we could skip over the newly wedded bliss and go straight to an old married couple?” 

Lockwood looked up to you for a moment, both delighted and unsure on how to react. 

“I mean, when have we ever done anything straight forward in this house?”

Lockwood smiled, and let out a small sigh of relief before lowering his head and bringing your hand to his lips and kissing your palm. 

“Thank you.” Lockwood then held your hand in both of his. “For everything. And, if it helps, we’re only gonna be married for a few more days.”

“What?”

“I finally got a call back from the solicitor.” Lockwood told you. “He did say it’s the first case Miss Kirk has ever had where fake and real documents have been mistaken in a marriage contract, but she’s taken our case and she’s drawing up all what needs to be signed. Everything that we each own will remain with ourselves. It’ll be as if we were never married.”

It took you a moment before you realised what this meant. 

No more husband or wife. 

It’ll go back to the way that it was. 

Just friends and coworkers. 

Feelings could be hidden again and you would never have to talk about them, ever again. 

“Well…good. Thank you, Lockwood.”

Lockwood nodded, slowly letting your hand go as he stood. “I-I should go and check on everyone. Make sure they haven’t killed Lucy and Kipps yet.”

“Yeah, you better. And, Tony?”

He looked back from the door. 

“Thank you.”

Lockwood nodded with a smile in response before leaving the room and closing the door behind him and the moment he did, you felt your heart shatter. 

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to you, Lockwood’s had done the same. 

Downstairs, Lockwood told everyone you were okay and had just eaten something bad earlier that day. You had thought the walk would have cleared your head but it didn’t so you just needed a little time. 

June’s reaction didn’t go unnoticed by Lockwood either. 

She either didn’t like you and therefore didn’t care, or she didn’t believe a word he said. 

Maybe both. 

But when you came down ten minutes later, Violet hugged you and had you sit down. 

She had noticed you hadn’t finished your tea since June’s grilling had sent your stomach beating against your lungs so, whilst Lucy, Kipps and Lockwood entertained June in the living room - helped with Violet’s excuse of wanting to get to know her grand-niece better - Violet made you a cup of tea and some dry toast. 

“I always wanted another girl in the family. Ever since me, there hasn’t been another girl born. All boys.” Violet smiled, pushing the toaster down. “So when I heard Anthony had gotten married, I was over the moon. I would have liked an invite, but it was rather short notice.”

“You have no idea,” you laughed a little. “Listen, Mrs-”

“Please, call me Violet. Or, Vi.”

“Violet,” you smiled.

In all honesty, you were a nervous-wreck. You pressed your hands between your knees as you turned to look at her as she finished stirring the two teas she’d made. 

“Oh, thank you.” She handed you your cup. “Violet.”

“Yes, my dear.”

“You have to know, I do love your nephew. We’re both young and it was quick but I do love him.”

Violet smiled. “I have no doubt about that, my dear. And, please, ignore June. She really is a nice woman. When I first met her, she didn’t believe that me and Frank were a couple and were rather two undercover agents.”

“Oh,” you laughed. 

“Yes, oh.” Violet replied. “She’ll warm up to you eventually. Just give her time. And tea. She loves tea.”

“Noted.”

“But I would like to know something,” she added. “When did you know?”

“Know what?” you asked, a little weary. 

“That you loved Anthony. People will dispute young and first love also being your forever and last love, but I don’t. I’d just like to know. It’s been so long since I've seen a love story play out and, just when did you know?”

You smiled, placing your hand over her’s as she held your other hand. 

“I’ll tell you, but I have to warn you, it’s not exciting.”

“Any tale of love is exciting at my age, my dear.”

With a smile, you then told her the truth. 

You told her about the day you knew you had fallen in love with Anthony Lockwood. 

You’d known you liked him ever since you’d been arguing with him when fighting off level two spirits in a building just outside of Guildford. 

You’d been annoyed at him for a couple of weeks since he’d been reckless too many times to count and it was only when you yelled at him, not noticing the spirit behind you and he pushed you onto the ground to save you, did you speak to him in a normal voice. 

“Why are you so bothered about this?”

“Because if something happened to you, what do you think I’d-” you’d panicked for a moment but kept your cool. “We’d do? What do you think we’d do if something happened to you, Tony?”

It was a while before you told him you loved him (at least, that’s what you told Violet.)

But the day you fell in love with him, and you admitted it to yourself, was the day he had just come home. 

He’d been out most of the day and Lucy and George had gone to pick up some take-out when you stood in the kitchen doorway and saw him hang up his coat, remove his tie and walk inside. 

It was nothing spectacular. It was just a small “I love you” that you said in your head. In fact, it took you a moment or two before you even knew you’d said it in your head. 

“And what about Tony? When did he-”

“When I saw her teach George how to dance in the living room one day,” Lockwood said from where he was leaning against the door frame. “Though I didn’t know it at the time.”

“Just as bad as your uncle.” Violet said. “You know, it took me hitting him over the head with the morning newspaper for him to tell me he loved me. A man of very few words, but also a man of great action.”

Lockwood smiled at you and you smiled back as he pulled out a chair and sat beside you with his arm across the back of yours. 

Lockwood then sat there as Violet told both of you the story of her and Frank and how they met and fell in love and got married and despite how much they tried, they could never have children. 

But it was okay. 

“We spent all our free time helping out other families, helping lost children find their families when they’ve been separated by lost spirits.”

It wasn’t until June, however, came inside telling everyone she was going to bed that you had noticed you’d seemingly moulded yourself into Lockwood’s side as Violet had been telling her story. 

All that came now was sleeping in the same bed as Lockwood. 

Maybe you could build a pillow wall.

Tags: who asked for a part two

@locknco

@nothing0075

@wordsarelife

@cassiopeiia24

[nar-nia]

3 a.m. - part 2

You hadn't even noticed that you had fallen asleep, but you woke up to the sound of giggles.

"Shut up, or do you want them to hear?" someone hissed, but you were too groggy to figure out who.

"Who cares, they decided to sleep on the couch. Someone should take a picture!"

"Heeseung will kill us if he finds out."

"Then we'll just threaten to tell y/n about his little crush on her and we should be good."

"Riki!"

You stirred, letting out a little groan. "Can you guys shut up for a second? 5 more minutes at least."

"Shit, you're awake?"

"Yeah, I'm awake," you groaned. "Anything else is impossible, why are you all so loud."

"Did you hear what we said?"

You pried your eyes open to squint at the boys, who in return had their own eyes ripped open. "No? I know you talked, that was enough."

Jungwon sighed, his shoulders slumping down. "I'm sorry we woke you up. Could breakfast make you happy again?"

"It could."

Only when you tried to get out of the blankets did you realize the hand that was swung around your hips, and the soft breath against your neck. Right. Heeseung had insisted on sleeping here with you. And it seems like he kept his word. You felt heat creeping up your neck and cheeks, a blush spreading on your face again as you tried to free yourself from the embrace. Heeseung, still asleep, seemed to have other plans though, his arm only holding you closer. You were just about to call someone to help you, when you suddenly felt a pair of lips against your neck. You froze, eyes ripped wide open as you begged your body to not blush even more, but to no avail.

"Did he just-"

"Shhh." Jungwon pressed his hand against Rikis mouth, effectively shutting him up. Your eyes met. "Do you need help getting away?"

"Or do you prefer staying like this," Sunoo grinned, high-fiving Riki.

"If you keep making comments I'd rather run away," you hissed. You didn't really know how to feel right now. Embarrassed? Happy? Shocked? Fact was, you didn't mind the embrace. You didn't even mind the kiss, if you ignored that Heeseung did it while he was still asleep and the group of people that stood around you. Especially that group of people. "Can you leave?"

"She's getting kissed by our oldest and suddenly she's getting rude," Riki grinned after he wrangled himself free. "You were more fun before."

"I could kick Riki out." Jungwon looked at him. "But other than that I'm sorry, this is our eating space too and we're hungry."

"Fine," you sighed, moving yourself out of Heeseungs embrace. "I'll never sleep on your couch ever again."

"I'm sorry," Jungwon said, right when Heeseung let out a mumbled "Don't go, baby."

You froze again, but you weren't the only one.

"Baby?" Jay whispered, all of them staring at you.

"Don't look at me like that. Nothing happened, I just didn't want to sleep alone." By now you were sure that your whole body was covered in a deep red blush, and you really wished the ground would just open up and swallow you. But your wish didn't get fulfilled, instead you had 6 pairs of eyes staring at you. Not even Riki grinned anymore. And then it was like a dam broke, and everyone started talking at the same time.

"Should we just tell her?"

"Do you like Heeseung?"

"I never want to hear him say Baby ever again."

"Okay," you sighed. "Can we take this somewhere else please? I really don't want to wake him up."

"I think Jungwon should do the talking," Jay chimed in, the others nodding in agreement. Okay, this was weird.

"Why… what is there to talk about."

Instead of an answer 5 of the guys went back to making breakfast, while Jungwon grabbed your wrist to pull you to his room. "What is going on?"

"Sit down please."

You followed Jungwons order, but his serious tone made you feel nervous. You tried to figure out what you had done wrong, but apart from sleeping on the couch with Heeseung you couldn't come up with anything. Was that the problem? Did that broke some kind of rule? But it wasn't even your choice, Heeseung had told you to lie down and you couldn't have really said no, so-

"Do you like Heeseung?"

"What." You stared at him, completely thrown out of your train of thoughts.

"I really shouldn't be doing this but- do you like Heeseung."

"As in like a friend, or…?"

"No."

"Oh." You avoided his glance, instead playing with the hem of your shirt. "No?"

Jungwon looked at you for a second, before he sat down next to you and grabbed your hands. "Y/n. Let's be honest for a second please."

"I'm sorry." You took a deep breath. "I know I shouldn't. And I know that there won't be anything coming from it so I'll just ignore it."

Jungwon was quiet for a second, which only made you more nervous.

"Maybe I should go."

"You should tell Heeseung."

"What do you mean?"

Jungwon smiled, a small action, but it still helped to ease your nerves. "It's not my place to say. But you should really talk to him. And for the rest… you'll figure it out."

He stood up, giving your hands a reassuring squeeze. "I'll call him to you. Don't worry please, it will be alright."

You didn't know if this calmed or stressed you more, but you couldn't really escape now. Especially not when Heeseungs head lurked through the door.

"Jungwon said you wanted to talk to me?" He pushed himself through, eyes focused on you. "Are you okay?"

You just nodded, your nerves too big for you to be able to say something right now. You felt like your heart was exploding in your chest, and to be fair - you weren't sure if you should really tell him. If you should open yourself up to heartbreak. Because that would surely come, right? There wasn't really a way this would end differently.

"Are you sure?" You hadn't even noticed that Heeseung had come closer, now sitting next to you. You tried to avoid his glance, but something in his eyes kept you captivated. It was like they were begging for you to say something.

"You called me baby," you blurted out, your own eyes widening in shock just after you did it. Did you really just say that?

"I-" He took a deep breath. "When?"

"This morning," you mumbled, now able to avoid his eyes. "I tried to stand up and you called me baby."

"Oh." Heeseungs cheeks turned a deep red, one that spread all the way to his ears. "Did I make you uncomfortable?"

You shook your head. "The boys heard. That's why Jungwon said I should talk to you."

"Ah."

"You also- You kinda…" You took a deep breath. "You kissed me."

"What?" Heeseungs eyes were ripped open, and his face got only more red. "I'm so sorry - what?"

"Don't be. You were asleep anyway, so… It's okay."

"It's not. I shouldn't just kiss you against your will."

He seemed in distress, so you grabbed his hand, squeezing it softly. Seemed like now was the moment of truth.

"What if it wasn't against my will."

"What?"

You sighed, nerves spiking again. Now you really had to let it all out. "It was unexpected, but I didn't mind the kiss. I would have preferred it if you were awake during it though."

Heeseung was speechless, his mouth opening and closing without a sound coming out. Your bravery disappeared within seconds, regret taking over. Why did you have to say something? Why couldn't you have just ignored it? It was dumb, you knew this would lead to nothing so why did you have to open your mouth-

"I like you."

"What?" Now it was your turn to stare. Did he really just say that?

"I like you. More than a friend… I'm sorry."

"I like you too," you barged in as Heeseung made a move to stand up, your hand pulling him back. "More than a friend."

"Are you sure?" What kind of question was that? You couldn't help but giggle, suddenly feeling a lot less tense.

"Yes, I am sure. I have been for a while."

"Why haven't you said anything?"

You looked at Heeseung, trying to put your thoughts into words. "I guess I was just scared. Scared of rejection and then also the whole idols can't date thing…"

"I was scared of rejection too," Heeseung admitted. "And I'm so happy this fear didn't come true."

"Me too." You smiled at him, once again squeezing his hand. You were glad you had talked about it, but you were also unsure how to move forward now. Would you go back to normal now? Would you move forward with this? Were you supposed to say something?

"Would it be okay if I kissed you for real this time? With both of us being awake?"

Your smile only got wider. "I'd love that."

Heeseung let go of your hands, entangling one of them in your hair instead to softly pull you closer. His other one was placed on your hip, while yours were placed against his chest. It already felt intimate, and even more when his lips finally met yours. Your eyes fluttered shut, your whole body melting against his touch. You could have stayed here forever, Heeseung holding you like this, but the sound of a door interrupted your peaceful moment.

"They kissed! I was right! They kissed!!!"

"Riki," Heeseung sighed, breaking apart from you. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," you grinned. "We should have expected this."

"Yeah," he giggled, his forehead leaning against you. "Maybe we'll meet at your place from now on."

"Oh come on, they're not that bad. If Jungwon hadn't forced me to talk about you this wouldn't have happened."

There was another commotion in the hallway, a bunch of voices talking over each other. You and Heeseung looked towards the door as it slightly opened, revealing six faces looking at you.

"Are they still kissing? I waited so long for this, I- oh."

"Hey Sunoo," Heeseung sighed, staring at him.

"Hi." Six faces started blushing, suddenly mumbling how they really needed to be somewhere right now.

"On second thought… let's meet at my place," you grinned, just in time as Heeseung pulled you in for another kiss.

this is part 2 and the last part of this little story. you can find part 1 here <33

i hope you liked it, if yes i would love it if you'd let me know! i love hearing all of your opinions.

taglist: @en-chantedtomeetyou

permanent taglist: @maeum-your @suneonu @hoonsmarsbar @soobin-chois @sjyuniverse @taekbokki

[papercupids]

living w svt; headcanons ('96 line version)

pairings -> junhui x reader, hoshi x reader, wonwoo x reader, woozi x reader.

warnings -> concepts of overworking (pls take rest ok <3) , arguments in woozi's part, metions of killing someone in junhui's part but very jokingly.

word count -> 1927

a/n -> i love writing these scenarios so much bcs i love domesticity and my own home life is pretty shit lmao but writing these gives me an outlet about the kind of life i would wanna live w someone so haha

also big, big shoutout to lacey (@haet-sal) for brainstorming jun's part w me and just being there overall ily &lt;3

-> read the maknae line version here -> read the 97 line version here.

☆ junhui. 

the sky has already quietly settled in the darkness when you leave your office, and you sigh as you look at the time, 10:30 pm and junhui’s text that you couldn’t answer until almost 2 hours later, courtesy of your boss assigning you work at the last minute on the presentation you gave him. 

the same route was the one you took in the morning, humming to yourself about the fact tht tonight would just be you and junhui, he was going to be home after so long, and this had to be the exact day it happened.

you’d texted him back as soon as you could. “i’ll be a little late,” little? you wanted to laugh at yourself, you’d planned on getting out at 7:30 almost. the message you sent was still delivered, so you figured junhui was already asleep. but even if he was asleep, the aspect of having him home was enough to make you giddy. 

when you open the door, you peek your head in, trying to check where he is, the home is already smelling like the new cologne he’s trying. 

“jun?” you call out in a low tone, not sure if he’s awake or not, and wanting him to sty asleep if he is. 

and sure enough, he’s sprawled out on the sofa, the television still on, and his phone in his hand, it sure is a cute sight but it almost brings you to tears, you missed him so much. the house that felt so empty, and the silence that seemed to be killing you was just gone, in the matter of hours. you resist the urge to hug him and instead check for something to eat, and clean up, all so quickly because you can’t miss even a minute more of being curled up next to your boyfriend. 

and you do so, snuggling up yourself close to his chest and spreading a comforter you borrowed from the bedroom, you’re afraid of waking him up but he shows absolutely no signs of being disturbed, and as you sleep next to him, you drift off as well, with his presence unknowingly taking away all your stress. 

-

you can swear you had the curtains drawn when you fell asleep last night but you were so tired and happy at the same time that some things were bound to be missed. 

so you wake up to the sunlight harshly pouring in from the windows, thankfully, junhui’s face is away from it. 

you stroke his face, admiring the features and then, unable to resist, press a kiss to his lips and then lie on his side again, this time with a huge grin on your face. 

as expected, his eyes flutter open, “good morning to you too,”

“you’re up,” you can’t help but squeal as you wrap yourself around him tightly, he chuckles. 

“i missed you so much, angel,” he says. 

“i’m sorry for missing dinner last night,” you apologise, “boss made me work late,”

“should i just go kill him?” jun teases, but when you give him a horrified look, he quickly takes it back, “just kidding, baby,”

you decide it’s time to wake up when you realize that you’re hungry, “what do you want to eat?”

jun sits beside you. “i’m gonna make you something, sit back down, just tell me what you want,”

“jun, it’s my turn!”

“it’s mine actually, i want to cook, please let me cook for you,”

☆ hoshi. 

one of the most endearing things about hoshi is probably the fact that he practically has a sixth sense when it comes to the people he loves, it could even be deduced as intuition. 

because when you’re working for far too long, sitting on your chair, craning your neck that is sure to be painful when you finally rest, tensed jaw and all, hoshi presents a bottle of water and doesn’t leave until you’ve assured him of the fact that you’re actually not a robot and do depend on hydration. 

today’s one of those days, when you’re so focused on work, and now hoshi knows its because the deadline of this project is fast approaching but you shouldn’t be so harsh on yourself, so every once in 2 hours almost, he sits beside you on your table and forces you to move around, drink something, eat something, look at something that’s not your screen (him, yes,). but just not push yourself unhealthily.

you turn your chair around, and face him. “i really need to finish-“

“and you will,” he completes your sentence. sometimes you were surprised about the amount of faith he had in you, even you didn’t trust yourself like that. 

“i will,” you repeat after him. and you did admit, it helped so much with these little breaks because otherwise your brain tired you out with thoughts like, “will i even be able to finish this at all,?” “will they like it?” “what if they don’t like it?” so it was nice to just not think about the situation at hand and instead realize that there was a lot to life even without your work. 

hoshi gives you a smile, and he glances at his watch, “okay,” he bows, “i’ll go now but i’ll be back by 4,” you stop him by holding his hand, and reach up to him to kiss his lips. 

he’s sweetly surprised by your gesture, but he smiles against your lips. “hey, what’s up?” he whispers. 

“i feel like i can’t express it very well , so i just want you to know i love you,” 

“i know, baby,” he kisses your forehead, his hand on the nape of your neck. 

☆ wonwoo.

you were tired of the day, it was already about 8 pm as you looked at your watch and sigh, it had been such a long week. the train was full of people like you, exhausted as their faces betrayed but they did their best to distract themselves. there was a lot you'd got done this week but the thought of another week was dreadful, the mere idea that you'd be here at the same time next week thinking about almost the same things as today.

entering the password slowly, you remove your shoes and place them neatly in the rack. 

there’s little liveliness in the home, but you can hear the sound of dishes and drawers, and the presence of someone moving around. but you hated the fact that you were too tired to even talk to him for now, so you rest yourself on the couch, spreading yourself to sit as comfortably as possible.

and you don't know when you doze off, all you remember is gentle hands taking away the bag you had in your hands and stroking your face.

“i didn't realize you were home, i'm sorry,” wonwoo's voice is so soothing, you wish you could just listen to him speak as you sleep.

“i made dinner, do you want to have a bit or do you want to continue sleeping?”

the smell was too goo to give up on and you nod.

“should i help you with this?” he gestures to your face. 

you shake your head, the power nap had energized you enough to get up and get dressed in your night clothes.

and when you come into the kitchen after changing, you feel a smile making its way on your face as you look at wonwoo, passionately setting up the table, he's way too much into it. 

he gives you a smile too, before enveloping you in a hug, “long day?” you nod into his chest.

he has his fingers running through your hair. “come eat, you'll feel better,” he whispers quietly.

and the sudden existential crisis that hit you on the bus is slowly evaporating - one day at a time, and at least you had about two days to relax, you can think of monday on monday. maybe quit the job, find something new. you were convinced you could do just about anything if you had this at the end of the day, wonwoo with you, by your side. 

later, when your eyes are fluttering shut almost, after you've told him all about your stressful day, he's telling you little anecdotes about his, small incidents he knows you would be interested and you nod, registering and smiling a bit when he mentions hoshi and woozi's bickering, or the members bullying mingyu once again.

you drift off again, safely snuggled up in his arms. and he smiles to himself, he's sleepy himself so it doesn't take much convincing for him to shut his eyes himself

☆ woozi. 

something not a lot of people know about him is the fact that woozi’s very glad to be home. there were times when he thought that he would never ever have something that he could ever priortise over his work. 

but when he locks the door on his way in, he sees it, lying on the couch, drool escaping your lips, and the tv is playing something you were definitely not watching. you’re hunched over the armrest for a make-shift pillow as you sleep and on the table beside the sofa is your empty dinner plate. 

while normally woozi would be disappointed that you’re not taking better care of yourself if you get this exhausted throughout the day, today he was in a particularly good mood, because he, after the last few arguments you’ve had with him, has begun to put himself in your shoes, because you were right. 

sometimes he did get a little too arrogant during arguments and refused to acknowledge his own mistake. when he looked at it from your perspective, he understood. and all these days, instead of trying to make it up to you, what he’d been doing was running from confrontation, running to work in the morning and right now, running right to go to sleep. but he’d thought about it, if it went on like this, you were sure to leave and just the thought was miserable enough to send his whole behavior into an entire change. 

so today, instead of his usual routine of dumping the dinner plate in the sink and heading off to change into his bed-clothes (don’t blame him, he’s too tired to shower), he walks over to the living room, his heart slightly melting over looking at you sleep, and he gently brushes your hair away from your face. 

“darling,”

you wake up slowly, mentally groaning over the fact that you slept on the sofa again, but you couldn’t see the sunshine seeping in through the curtains, what time was it?

“come sleep on the bed,” he sits on the edge of the sofa. 

how has he changed? it wasn’t the expression you’d expect from the man who’d been avoiding you all week. 

he looks down to his hands when you look at him, ouzzled. 

“i know i messed up, i’m sorry,” 

and then he turns to you. “i just.. thought about how i could end up losing you over this petty thing and i can’t imagine that. so i’m sorry i was a jerk to you, but i promise i’ll try my best to work on my flaws.”

“it’s okay, you’re here, it’s okay.” you throw your arms around him at that. “you weren’t going to lose me or anything, jihoon, by the way. we’re way in too deep for me to just leave because of that, but i’m glad you realized your mistake,”

“let’s go to bed now?” 

[welldonekhushi]

Under My Spell | Part 9

Part 7 Part 8

Part 9 of Under My Spell!

Note: I deeply apologize for the sudden hiatus of this series! Now that I'm back on track, here's another part. Finally.

Enjoy, amigos! <3

Previously..

You two were bound by the beasts, and being ready to attack, until the wolves whimpered and flopped their ears, bowing down gently as they back off and slowly found an opportunity to run away. It confused you and Valeria on the fact that what could have pushed them back in fear.

Turning around, you see through the darkness, a figure walking out from the shadows, holding a flaming torch as it makes its way into the light. Your eyes widened when you realised who the individual who was approaching its way towards them.

It was Rodolfo.

Feeling relieved, you were glad that after his reluctance about going with you two, he finally made up his mind to follow you. He couldn't leave you alone in this danger and he knew it.

"Rudy!" You ran towards the man and hugged him tight. ".. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been stubborn but, I needed answers.."

"It's okay, Y/N. I know.. I also need the answers like you all, as well. Walking away from the battle feels like I'm being a coward." Rudy replied, furrowing his eyebrows. "I need the people of Las Almas to be free from this threat, too. And this is why.. I came back for you."

You smiled, feeling glad that Rudy was able to convince himself.

"I'm happy that you're back on track, Rodolfo." Valeria nods her head. "Seems like the amulets drove us here. To this cave."

Rudy looked towards the huge entrance, analysing it. "This cave seems ancient.. as if it stayed here for generations."

"It was the same cave I saw when the demon caught me! This whole place.. it feels so similar.. I think this is where we can find all our answers." You said, in hope.

"But, Y/N.. currently I can sense whatever is in there, it's not friendly. It's going to kill us.. I'm not doing this because I am preventing you from finding the answers, but you well know the demon is doing this from reaching our goal late."

"I know.. but I wouldn't let El Charro Negro stop us.. he knows it's the end of his wrath, so he's doing his best to stop us. But if we can do this together, I'm sure we'll be unstoppable." You walk towards Rudy, and extend your hand so that you can grab the torch.

Rudy blinked his eyes a few times, but then gently handed you the flaming torch, walking inside the cave. Rudy and Valeria look at each other for a while, and then agreed to follow you as well. You delve deeper into the cave, seeing the dark habitat present around the interior.. bats, dead plants.. strange noises.. and the eerie atmosphere. You made sure Rudy and Valeria followed you from behind, while looking around the place.

"We need to be careful as well, amigos. Make sure nothing attacks us out of nowhere."

"Got it." Valeria responds, and as the three walk further for a couple of minutes, you could realise things were getting shadier and obvious once you go deeper into the darkness. There were strange writings on the wall.. mostly Spanish but they were impossible to read, having the texts ragged and withered, with the strange drawings on the wall.

You wanted to make sure that no one gets lost again. "Hope whatever is beyond this darkness.. we can find out the solution.. guys.. guys—" You turn around to see Rudy and Valeria.. gone in thin air. You widened your eyes, realising you were talking to yourself all this time.

"Rodolfo? Valeria?" You called the two but you could only hear your voice echoing through the walls of the cave. "Shit.. what do I do now?" You try to muster up your courage, and walk further into the cave, trying to find the two as well. Maybe they lost track in the middle of nowhere, or..

You grew a little panicked, and held your torch tighter, while you walked further through the darkness. Mustering up the courage, you tried calling for the two but your head started to ache. You were getting strong visions of a powerful entity, with a skull face and wide-brimmed hat. You tried to hold onto yourself, and clenched your eyes, but as soon you opened them.. you found something which you couldn't believe.

The light of the torch illuminated the texts on the walls, which were now clearer, and readable. You carefully observed the words, though you weren't really trained in Spanish, but you made sure to remember the sentence.

"Dicen.. que si viene a tu casa.." You carefully read the texts. "Se come.. almas para mantenerse con.. vida? I don't get it.. but it seems to have a connection with this area." You then keep on exploring further, reaching the center of the cave. The texts turned into carvings, scriptures, paintings.. something that looked more like the El Charro Negro. Did people worship the devil here too?

As everything was now revealed, you saw.. a huge rock in front of you, with a scripture. It felt more like a chanting prayer, something which you pray for. It looked like some ancient language, but you couldn't find anything special.

All of a sudden, your mind started to show blurry images about a lifeless forest, damp and dark, with a man in a brimmed hat while he's on its horse. It was the other time where you faced a flashback like that, and you gasped, sweating profusely. The vision looked really horrifying, and then you faced the ancient rock again. The texts on the rough surface started to glow green in color, with an orb of light hitting your eyes. It seems like the amulet had brought the rock back alive from the dead.

Your body shivered, and goosebumps arose from your skin, and you had a headache again, experiencing another flashback. You saw a figure, who was getting its neck grabbed, by a mysterious presence, with a wide brimmed hat and glowing green eyes.

It must be the demon.

You thought it must be Rudy getting choked, but the face was blurry, making it impossible to recognise. As another scene flashed in your head, the figure getting choked passes down on the ground, while the demon brought his horse back and prepared to take him away with it. appearance becoming more visible to reveal the one who was getting taken away by the strange figure, on it's horse.

That face.. looked so familiar.

"Alejandro?" You opened your eyes, and widened them, seeing your amulet glow brighter, feeling a presence behind your back. You could only try to look behind yourself, slightly, as the demon roars and you push him back with your amulet powers with brute force.

The El Charro Negro groaned, and cried in anger. You held your flaming torch tighter, being prepared for the impact. It was a trap. The demon's trap, to capture you. "I know you want this, you monster." The demon roars and then pulls its attack towards you, and you bash the flaming torch over its head, making it cry out demonically. The demon growled, and destroyed the torch in your hand. But, knowing you had your powers from the amulet, you whirl your hands, and brought your attack to hit the beast with it. But, the devil was trying to take control of the fight, making you powerless in the process, though you aren't giving up this easily.

One attack of the devil pushed you behind, and you took hold of yourself, till the devil disappeared from your eyes. You looked around everywhere, finding a trace of him, but with nothing to see. You immediately flinched in instinct and saw the demon behind you, your hands charging the energy and creating a force field so its attack wouldn't reach you. But, knowing how strong the demon is, you were losing balance.

You used all of your force, to be able to make it walk back towards the rock, the demon still protesting.

It was dragging you through it's veil, as it tries to pull you back so it can seal you permanently. So with the help of your amulet powers, you were slowly burning its hands, making them evaporate. The demon's eyes glow brighter, and more violently, pushing you towards the rock.

But midway, before you could bring a more powerful wave, he suddenly vanishes with a demonic screech when someone attacks it from the back. You were shocked but saw that the one who saved you.. was none other than, the cloaked man again. It came running towards you, seeing if you're alright.

"Oh dios mío.. are you okay?" The man checked to see if you were injured, but forgot the injuries, you were more shocked about his sudden arrival.

"Wait a second! Are you following us all the time?!" You cried.

"I came here because I knew it was going to happen, querida!" The cloaked man replied. "The truth is coming closer.. and the devil El Charro Negro will do anything in it's power to stop you."

"I think this was the place where the spirit of the El Charro Negro existed.. and through these writings.. I can't believe there were people who worshipped him too."

"People do find a particular entity divine. Especially when they're supernaturally powered." The cloaked man spoke while he treated your wounds. "And it was enough to drive humanity into its trap so it can find itself a way to survive through human souls."

After it finishes healing you, he gets up and takes a look around the carvings of the devil, while talking to you. "The melody from its guitar.. could make anybody admire him in a matter of seconds, and then, you're a goner. You don't even have a way back. Let it be for falling in love.. or worship him. Only a few.. possess such power where they don't fall for both options. More like, individuals who know the true intentions of the devil, and its plans to threaten human civilization."

The cloaked man turned around, facing you back with a concerned look. "The devil knows you're his ultimate end. And you're going to stop it, once and for all, Y/N."

Hearing the man's words, you sure had many questions in your head, but you wanted to ask him that one doubt. "Do you think.. that Alejandro Vargas is the vessel for the El Charro Negro? Or it's—"

"Y/N!" A voice echoed in the area, hearing arriving footsteps to see Valeria, panting for air, looking absolutely panicked and terrified, with her face and clothes covered in slight dirt.

"Valeria? What happened?"

"We need to get going! Rudy is in trouble!" Valeria said, with her eyebrows furrowed. "If we didn't save him, it'll be too late!"

"But where did you go last time when I saw you both disappear?"

"I don't know.. all I remember is following you, but we unexpectedly lost track all of a sudden and I fell into a large pit. Rudy said that he was going to rescue me, but I heard him scream.. I'm scared that something might have happened to him!" Valeria explained the events that happened to her, feeling worried for what's beyond. "Thank God, I was able to get myself out of the pit and came looking for you."

"I'm glad you're still okay, Valeria." You sighed in relief.

".. but, who is he?" Valeria's attention diverted towards the individual next to you.

"This is the cloaked man, that I used to talk about. I don't know his name, but.. he wears a cloak. That's all." You cleared your throat. "But he knows a way on how to stop the devil."

Valeria came rushing towards him. "Please.. you got to help us."

"I always waited for this moment to come, mujer joven." The cloaked man smiled underneath his shaded appearance. "I'll do whatever it takes to seal the pendejo from hurting anymore people."

"Don't worry, Valeria.. we're going to save him. All this time, he had been saving our lives. But now, we'll return the favor." You smiled, and gave a determined nod, so does the woman in return, and the cloaked man closing his eyes, preparing himself for the moment, as they continue their journey further into the cave.

The camera then switches to a cave painting of the El Charro Negro, in it's full, demonic form, where the rest kept worshipping him.

During the quest, you, Valeria and the cloaked man continued their journey to locate Rudy. For a brief moment, Valeria started to look a little unsettled, that the man with the cloak noticed. "You seem tensed, mi señora."

"Huh? No. I'm just.. not feeling very good. Whatever this is going on.. it's just, messed up. I don't know but, my mind is getting more puzzled and fuzzier." Valeria said in concern. "Alejandro being possessed.. Rudy getting kidnapped. This.. is too much."

"I'm very sure we'll find your friend, señora. The devil won't stand a chance in front of us." The cloaked man tried to encourage Valeria, giving her hope. She held the amulet more closely, gripping it tighter with her hand.

You were listening to Valeria, but your mind kept on constantly flashing over that one scene of Alejandro Vargas getting taken away by the El Charro Negro. You felt a deep pit in your stomach, realising something was wrong. If Rudy is the victim, why would they show Alejandro? And if Alejandro is the real victim.. where is he now?

No.. I think this is just a way to distract or weaken your aim for defeating the devil. But what kept you divided.. was it a way to divert you from the truth.. or was it actually the truth?

Is Alejandro really the El Charro Negro or—

You were brought back to reality when you heard Valeria scream, seeing someone through the distance, who was passed out on the ground. You could sense who it was even being far away..

"Rudy.."

[hopelesswrites]

Midnight - Joseph Quinn pt. 4

You start healing your heart.

18+ MDNI

(FINAL PART aaah sorry it took so long, let me know what you think, i'm happy with it, feels good to give them an ending)

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

It had been months since you last spoke to Joe, the only tabs you kept on him were unwillingly through the media. Fans had named you another ‘unknown fling’ which the more you thought about it the more you understood. ‘Leave him alone he’s a grown man he can date who he wants’ you’d read next to a picture of yourself latched onto the man of the year.

Your heart hurt less now, the denial and delusion long passed. You and Joe were over, he hadn’t contacted you in almost 3 months. He was off filming another movie, being papped with new girls, you were old news, figuratively and literally.

You were more open to moving on yourself, having been on a few dates.

All was going well, you were healing. About time, too. You had spent a good portion of the year getting hurt by a man who was never yours.

Your flatmate had been rambling on about her work crush while you curled your hair by your vanity. You, only half listening as you tried not to burn your neck.

“How about you?” Her question snapped you back to reality.

“Me?”

“Yeah, seeing anyone? What’s the love life like”.

You shrugged, “nothing exciting, I’m focussing on me right now I think”.

Your flatmate hummed in response, “Good idea”.

By the time you had finished your hair and makeup you had both downed a couple shots of tequila, claiming that tonight was going to be a loose one.

Now in the middle of a beer garden, under a heat lamp, clutching a vodka redbull you wished you had brought a warmer coat, and maybe had an extra shot before leaving the house. Your friend had long forgotten her work crush, opting for a tall gym rat type with an eyebrow piercing across the room. Your three social media feeds you had been flicking through had gotten old about 20 minutes ago and you were prepared to just call it a night when a presence beside you caught your attention.

“You look lonely” The man beside you had your heart skip a beat, he was like Joe, but off brand. Big kind eyes, soft curly hair, lived in stubble and an expensive looking button up tucked into equally expensive looking pants. On his face he wore round metal framed glasses, a small part of your brain wanted to make note of how good Joe would look in those glasses.

“I do don’t I” You replied, looking around to emphasise that you were in fact alone.

“I was just over there thinking how much of a shame it was that a lovely girl like yourself was all on her own” The man spoke smoothly, your cursed at how easy it was to swoon over him.

“Were you now?” You teased.

“That drink still cold?” He asked, motioning his head towards the glass in hand. You looked down to notice the condensation dripping down your fingers, ice completely melted.

“Might need a new one” You shrugged.

“What’s your poison?”

You answered with your drink, and he promised to be back with your order, leaving with a wink.

You wanted to take this guy home purely to kill your boredom, but you felt how risky it could be due to his resemblance to the guy you were trying to get over. In moments like these you’d think on what your flatmate would say. But this one left you divided. ‘Go for it babe get out there’ and ‘he looks a bit too much like Joe though’ were flicking back and forth through your mind.

“Its uncanny really” A new voice spoke from beside you. You spun around, that voice being all too familiar, that voice making your stomach do a flip, you hid your emotions well though.

“What are you talking about” You answered.

Beside you was the real Joe, dressed almost identical to the man you had just been talking to, the man that had just gone to get you a new drink.

“He looks exactly like me” There was a hint of entitlement you didn’t like, rubbed you the wrong way.

“Hadn’t noticed” You shrugged off, checking the time on your phone, pretending Joes presence hadn’t caused an earthquake in your chest.

“Are you going to sleep with him?” Joe asked forwardly, stepping closer, sucking you in.

“Yes” You answered equally as bluntly. There was no use playing this game of Joes, it would end in heartbreak, you knew that.

Joe laughed, a short low hum of a sound. “See, I don’t think you are”.

He was so close now, and you can’t lie, you almost caved, he obviously had you wrapped around his finger, the Joe clone long forgotten.

There was one game you wanted to play with Joe though, and so you played along with his, until it was your turn.

You leaned in, bridging the gap between you so your chests were almost touching. “What makes you think that” You whispered back.

Joe smirked, his nose just touching the tip of your own as he slowly leaned in, forcing you to make the move.

“I thought we were done?” He whispered, snaking an arm around your waist and holding you flush to his crotch, a tent forming in his pants already, he was too easy.

“For old times sake then, it’s midnight after all”

Before you could get another thought in, you had been whisked away towards a taxi rank. Once seated in the car you stopped Joe before he could tell the driver your address. This would only work if you were at his place. You rarely spent time together at Joes place before he moved, he was always so private towards his home, opted to meet you at your place instead. This new house you hadn’t been to, and you had a suspicion no other girl had been there either, you wanted to be the first, the one he thought about for the rest of his time in that house.

“Your place is closer isn’t it?”, you had heard from a friend of a friend Joe had moved loser to the city, a real expensive area. Joe looked at you confused, “I can’t wait Joe please” You put on your best puppy dog eyes, rubbing a hand up his arm.

Joe caved, he had the driver put in his new address, you didn’t pay attention to it, you wouldn’t need it after tonight.

The drive was short, but it was all desperate touched and wet kisses along your neck. The walk up to his door was much of the same. Joe had you pinned to his front door, leg between your thighs and teeth grazing your ear while he clumsily fiddled with his keys.

Your hands ran up his stiff sleeves, squeezing at his biceps and landing at his shoulders. “Hurry up” You sighed, feeling all hot and bothered, and incredibly impatient, you wanted to get just as much out of this as Joe was getting, maybe a little more.

The door opened from behind you but you were pulled into Joes chest as he guided you inside. He didn't give you a chance to even look around before he had his mouth on yours in a feverish kiss. he tasted of whiskey and cigarettes. You knew he only drank whiskey when he was having a hard time, something about the burn in his chest being a distraction.

"Bed" You managed to get out and Joe had you by the hips, directing you backwards down a short hall and into a dark room. With his mouth now attached to your neck you took the opportunity to look around over his shoulder. It was a very large and empty space, nothing resembling the charm of Joes home decor in his last place. It felt sad, and you felt sad for him.

"I'm not done decorating" Joe mumbled against your neck, noticing your pace slow down as he tried to push you towards his bed.

"How long have you been here?" You asked back, complying and laying down on the soft bed. It was new, taller than his old one, it felt wrong.

"I've been busy" Was all he returned before climbing on top, slotting his knee back between your legs and pushing up into your heat. Instantly your follow up questions had been forgotten, Joes touch sending electricity through your body. His hands continued to roam, as did his lips, down your neck, your chest. He had pushed your low cut dress down to expose your breasts further, latching onto the meat and sucking.

Marking you.

You weren't mad, he could have his fun if it was going to be his last time with you.

"I want to taste you" Joe groaned, hands sliding down your body and landing at the short hem of your dress, playing with the fabric, asking for permission.

"I'm not stopping you"

Joe chuckled before dropping a chaste kiss to your cheek, your arm, stomach, hip then thigh. His hands slid up, taking the flimsy material with him, exposing your lacy thong and then finishing the job by pulling it over your head with ease.

Joe looked up, eyebrow raised, "Expecting something tonight?"

"I went out with an agenda, yes"

That earned an amused huff as he slid the underwear down your legs, carelessly flinging them somewhere in the room. You fought the urge to get mad at him, those were expensive, and his aloof attitude would not do, but were quickly distracted yet again.

Scratchy face hair rubbed up against your sensitive thighs, sending a heat through your body with anticipation as Joe toyed with the idea of devouring you, licking and kissing so softly, dragging out the moment.

"I want you to beg for it" Joe demanded, which was out of character for him, usually you were the one that had the upper hand, whether it was obvious or not, there was always an undertone of submission for you.

"Please Joe" You groaned, wanting to get this over with, you had your own game to play here.

"Please what?" He questioned, eyebrow raised, smug smirk on his face.

You didn't want to play along, hated the idea, but you needed him so bad, every muscle in your body tensed in anticipation.

"Come on Darling, what do you want from me?" Joe asked sweetly, placing another kiss on your thigh, staying firm to his request.

"I want you to eat me out" You sighed, staring him down, waiting for a response.

"Please" You punctuated it with a plea, the throbbing in your core intensifying by the second. Joes eyes were so intense staring back at you, had your skin crawling.

Another kiss to your thigh trailed closer to your heat, soft and wet as he neared your sensitive mound. Another kiss, then a lick. He was still taking his time.

"What happened to that enthusiasm you had earlier?"

Joe chuckled. "Are you not enjoying this?"

"Not very much" You groaned, slamming your head back against the pillow with a huff. Joe tsked, continuing his slow torture before wrapping his lips around your clit and sucking hard, forcing a stunned moan from you.

"Ye- that, I like that" You struggled against the urge to scream from the pleasure.

Joes mouth continued in a rhythm that had you losing your breath, legs shaking as an orgasm quickly approached. You didn't want to finish like this though, didn't want to give him the satisfaction, so you pushed his head away, taking a moment to catch your breath.

"What's wrong" Joe was confused, not understanding you breathless words.

"Lay down" You said, motioning to the space beside you. Joe understood and laid on his back, as you followed and straddled his lap, his dick straining against his pants.

Now in a prime position you began to tease Joe yourself, running a light hand over his pants, relishing in the shiver you felt go through Joes body.

"Don't" Joe warned, knowing full well you intended to give him a piece of his own medicine.

Everything with Joe felt different now, this all confirmed it, was the closure you needed. There was no more love, just lust, you were familiar to each other and it made it easy, every movement second nature, but no true purpose behind each touch. Months ago you could have sworn Joe loved you, he had that look in his eyes, even if he wouldn't mutter the words. But it was long gone now, and as you unzipped his pants and enjoyed the feeling of making Joe feel good, you knew you no longer loved him either, knew you didn't live to give Joe everything like you once had.

Joe was practically throbbing when you removed him from his pants. A pleading mess below you. You leaned over him and let a line of saliva drop onto his tip, rubbing it down his shaft, looking up to watch the look of shock on his face.

"Nasty, nasty girl"

You positioned yourself over him and sunk down, feeling a sigh of relief wash over you both as you began to slowly ride him. Joes hands grasped your hips, firmly gripping onto the flesh, fighting the urge to fuck you onto him, but you were in charge, he had accepted that now.

"That's it" Joe groaned as you quickened your pace, hands on his chest for support as the friction had you both closing in on a climax. you slowed down, wanting to relish in this moment, watching Joe with that blissed out look on his face for the last time, curls sticking to his forehead as he soaked in every inch of you.

"You close?" You asked, feeling Joe twitch inside you, his pulse quickening.

Joe could only moan and pant, holding you at the hips and grinding you down onto him deeper. You continued the rhythm feeling your own orgasm approaching.

"Come on baby, let go for me" Joe whispered as his own movements became quick pulsing thrusts. You followed your high, letting the heat wash over you, overwhelming all your senses, legs shuddering at the pleasure.

"fuck-fuck- you're so fucking good to me, look at you, oh my god" Joe rambled nonsense as he pulled you off allowing himself to spill himself out onto you both.

the next few moments left you both in silence to regain your breath. You looked down to see Joe with his eyes closed, exhaustion on his face.

"Stay tonight" Joe barely whispered, you could have missed it. His eyes still closed you grabbed his hand that was still firmly holding your hip and squeezed.

"I'm going to clean up" You answered, leaving Joe on the bed while you made your way to his ensuite. The shower alone could have had you changing your mind and keeping Joes number for future hookups, steamy late night rendezvous.

Returning to Joe with a wet towel, who was now far more relaxed, admiring you saunter towards him.

"You will stay?" he asked again while you wiped his own stomach clean.

"Yeah" You responded allowing him to pull you back onto the bed and tuck you under his arm, head on his chest and legs tangled. Neither of you said a word, but when you felt the rise and fall of Joes chest fall into a pattern and the man finally enter a sleep state, you slipped out, leaving Joe alone in his big bed, big house, no note or text, just a memory of midnight.

[mountttmase]

A Mountain To Climb - Part Four

Note - Happy Wednesday, thank you all for your kind comments on the last chapter I hope you all like this one too 💙 and as always feedback is appreciated 😉

Pairing - Mason Mount x Reader

Word count - 4k

Warnings - series will contain fluff, smut & angst

Master List

Mason sent through the address within the hour and you had a quick nosey at where it was. The house was huge, on a private road surrounded by other huge houses, and it was a far cry from you little one bed flat.

You’d told yourself you weren’t going, but it didn’t stop you from thinking about what you might have to wear if you did go, remembering you’d bought a cute lacey corset top to wear when you went to Leeds but you’d ended up taking something else.

You carried on with life, not hearing from Mason again until Friday lunchtime when you felt your phone buzz as a text came through.

You read the text over a few times, guilt washing over you at the fact he wanted to see you and you weren’t planning on being there. Every interaction with this boy seemed to chip away at you and you were soon texting your best friend Freya to help you.

No more than three minutes later and your phone was ringing, a cute picture of the pair of you filling your screen and you smiled as you picked up.

‘Hey frey’

‘Who have I got to kill?’ She said sternly and you burst out laughing at her protectiveness.

‘No one yet, I just need to rant at you about something and no matter what you feel, I need you to tell me I’m right okay? cause that’s what friends do’

‘Hit me with it’ she quipped and you started on your long rant about how you’d ended up here. You hadn’t mentioned to her when you’d made it back to her flat about getting stuck in a lift with Mason so she was shocked when you gave her the low down of what happened that night but she let you rant how you hadn’t managed to shake him off and now you were contemplating seeing him again that night.

Freya knew you like the back of her hand. You’d been best friends since you were five and she knew what you were thinking before you’d even thought it, so to hear you now taking like this about a boy shocked her. But she was secretly happy for you, not having heard you speak this way in a long time.

‘Well, I’m gonna have to go against girl code here, babe’ she told you and you huffed in annoyance.

‘No no no, you promised to tell me I was right’

‘And any other time I would, but come on, y/n. When was the last time you took a bit of a risk and let someone in?’

‘That’s the point, I don’t. But he’s getting under my skin and I barely know him’

‘When was the last time you saw him?’

‘At the weekend. I don’t know Frey I just feel safer texting him cause then I can convince myself he’s not real’

‘So you don’t want to see him again?’ She asked and you took a second before you answered even though you knew the answer straight away.

‘No, I do’ you breathed and you could hear her chuckle down the line.

‘So do it. Doll yourself up and go see your man’

‘He’s not my man’ you groaned before you both burst into a fit of giggles.

The rest of the day was spent finishing up work before ordering yourself some food. You were in two minds about tonight and Masons message still sat unanswered in you phone but there was no way you were responding now. You’d just hopped out of the shower when something inside you snapped, then and there deciding you were going to go. It’s not everyday you get invited to a fancy house party with gorgeous footballers, so why not make the most of it.

You quickly got dressed in a pair of baggy jeans before throwing on some heels and the corset top to show off your figure. You didn’t spend too long on your hair and make up but by the time you’d made it to Masons friends house it was around 10:45pm.

As soon as you got out of the Uber you wanted to crawl back inside and go home but he drove off pretty quickly, leaving you on your own to walk up the drive to the door. No one was outside but you could tell there was something going on from where you were and you hoped the doorbell was loud enough for someone to hear.

In the end it didn’t matter though, the front door opening and a guy around your age walking out looking down at his phone, doing a double take as he heard your shoes on the gravel path. You gave him a friendly smile and you noticed him give you a once over before smiling back.

‘You okay?’ He questioned and you nodded shyly at him. ‘Do I know you?’

‘Uh no, my names y/n. Mason invited me’ you told him and his face instantly changed to a knowing look as he smiled wider at you.

‘Ah, I was beginning to think he’d made you up’ the man laughed as you hugged your arms around yourself. ‘I’m Kai, by the way. Come on let’s get you inside, I can take you to him’ he offered and you smiled before following him in.

He guided you through the impressive house with his hands on your shoulders, weaving you in between a sea of gorgeous looking people until you got to the kitchen where Mason stood with his back to you, slightly off to the side of a group of guys who all looked at you as you walked in but Mason was too focused on filling his cup up to notice you come in.

‘Hey Mount, I’ve got a delivery for you’ Kai shouted over to him and he turned his head slowly before he realised it was you, a look of relief washing over his features as he smiled over at you. His drink was quickly forgotten about as he made his way over almost instantly, ignoring the giggles and jibes from the boys behind him as he came closer.

‘Y/n? I didn’t think you were coming’ he told you as he approached, Kai now having moved from behind you to stand with the other boys and you gulped down a nervous lump as you looked up at Mason.

You hated the fact he looked so handsome, even dressed in a simple plain black T-shirt and jeans but you’d noticed he’d had his hair cut since the last time you’d seen him last week and you willed your cheeks not to flush. His dimples were on full show as his eyes creased at the sides of his face, letting you know he was giving you a real smile with his eyes rather than one just out of politeness.

‘I wasn’t planning on it but, here I am I guess’ you smiled and he laughed lightly at you.

‘Well I’m glad you’re here’ he beamed before a chorus of oooing and ahhing came from the boys, teasing Mason but he was quick to give them the finger. ‘Shut up dickheads, come on let’s get you a drink’ he told you before leading you out into the utility room. ‘What can I get you?’

‘Surprise me’ you told him and he laughed before turning away from you to grab a cup and a bottle. ‘So is this Kai’s house?’

‘No, Ben’s. I’ll introduce you later’ he murmured whilst passing you a red cup. You gave him a small thank you before taking a sip, unsure of what it was he gave you but it was sweet and alcoholic so you didn’t care. ‘I mean it though, I’m really glad you’re here’

‘Yeah?’

‘Definitely’ he confirmed as he walked closer, stopping just in front of you with your chests almost touching. You noticed what looked like to be a spec of fluff on his top by his neck and you reached out to remove it causing him to hold his breath and even though he was quiet, you were so close that you heard him. Your eyes wondered up to meet his and you noticed how close the pair of you were, lips only a few inches apart as his breath fanned your face.

You broke eye contact with him before taking a nervous sip, not feeling like your usual confident self around him once again as you took a step away from him.

‘So where are these cute boys you promised me’ you asked with a smile as you turned and made your way out, laughing to yourself as you heard him scoff behind you.

‘I never promised you that. Plus there’s only one and he’s right here’

‘Oh yeah? Can you point him out to me? I can’t quite see him’ You teased, turning to glance at him and you could tell he was getting a bit flustered.

‘Ah there you are’ you heard suddenly from a familiar voice and you turned to see Kai was now standing in-front of you with a pretty brunette on his arm. You felt Mason stop right behind you, his body heat almost making you shiver and you were wondering if he was going to reach out and hold you in some way but he seemed to be keeping his hands to himself. ‘Y/n, this is my girlfriend, Sophia’ he told you and she smiled warmly at you. ‘I thought it might be nice for you to hang out with another girl rather than be stuck with him all night’ he joked and you laughed as you felt Mason shake his head behind you.

The usual uneasy feeling you got around other girls at parties didn’t seem to be present as she smiled at you and held her hand out which you took almost instantly, thankful you could get away from Mason for a bit and focus again but you knew he’d be lurking so you couldn’t miss him too much.

‘Come on, let’s leave the boys. I need you to tell me where you got this outfit from’ she asked you as she pulled you away. You chanced a look back at Mason who was pouting a little bit as Kai dragged him back into the kitchen so you sent him a wink before disappearing.

Sophia was a lot of fun, so fun in fact you seemed to be forgetting your rule of not having anymore friends than you already have. You both seemed to be bad influences on each other, encouraging the other to drink more than they could handle until you were dancing on Bens coffee table with a couple of the other girls.

Mason managed to keep an eye on you at all times, whenever you looked in his direction he was already looking at you and at first he seemed embarrassed but as the night wore on the shyness left him and he held your eye contact a bit longer. Sending you a cheeky smile or a wink.

Seeing him around all these people he knew made you notice was how touchy he seemed to be with everyone. No matter who he was with he would put his hands on their shoulders or lean into them as he laughed and you were brought back to the thoughts you had the other day where you wondered why he kept his hands to himself around you when he seemed comfortable enough to lounge over everyone else. You weren’t sure why it was bothering you so much but when he eventually came over to join your group you noticed it even more.

He sat next to you, his arm around the back of the sofa behind you but his skin never touched yours. You subconsciously leaned back into him after a while and he took this to mean he could put his arm around you properly. You only realised when he lent his cheek on the top of you head as he was laughing at someone’s joke what position you were in and you felt yourself tense up. He must of felt something too, slowly rubbing his thumb over your skin and you were surprised about how much it relaxed you. The pair of you sat and laughed at Kai and Sophia bickering but still no words were shared between you. You were racking your brain to think of something when he placed his lips to you ear.

‘Are you okay? Can I get you anything?’ He whispered so only you could hear and you turned to face him, again surprised about how close your faces were. You gulped as you averted your eyes down and shook your head, nervous again and you shut your eyes to make it go away. He avoided your eyes for the next half an hour and when everyone dispersed, he gently slid out from behind you and made a beeline for the stairs.

Kai and Sophia left soon after, and once you’d said your goodbyes you wondered around trying to find Mason again but he’d seemed to have dropped off the face of the earth. You wondered if he’d seen you tonight realised he didn’t want you around anymore after your constantly changing attitude but you willed yourself not to think about it as you wondered around upstairs looking for a bathroom.

When you left, you almost immediately ran into someone, apologising as they held you steady and you looked up into a pair of bright blue eyes.

‘I’m so sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going’ you explained but he just shook his head as he laughed.

‘It’s fine, honestly’ he told you as he straightened himself up. ‘You’re y/n right?’

‘Depends on who’s asking’

‘I’m Ben’ he laughed and your eyes went wide as you realised this was his house.

‘Oh right, sorry about standing on your coffee table’ you joked and he just shrugged.

‘Don’t worry about it. Are you alright? You feel a bit cold’

‘I’m fine, don’t worry I should of dressed a bit more appropriately’ you laughed and he quickly disappeared behind a door before coming back with a black hoodie and offering it to you. ‘Oh no, I’ll be fine honestly’

‘Please, I insist. Can’t have my guests being cold’ he told you and you eventually took it from him. ‘If you’re looking for Mason, he’s just in there’ he winked, nodding to a door just up the hall before he made his way back downstairs. You quickly pulled the hoodie over your head before adjusting your hair and making your way over to the door Ben said Mason was behind. You gave it light knock and you heard him softly tell you to come in so you opened the door and popped your head round the side.

The bedroom he was in was dimly lit, and he was sat on the edge of the bed, phone in hand as it was plugged in to charge. A small smile spread across his lips as he realised it was you and he nodded for you to come in. You stepped inside but lent your back up against the door and he gave you a funny look at your sudden change of clothing.

‘What are you wearing?’

‘Oh this?’ You questioned, pulling at the strings. ‘Ben gave it to me. Said I felt cold’

‘Why was he feeling you?’ He probed, his eyebrow’s drawing together in what you assumed was jealousy and you let out a breath before stumbling over to sit next to him on the bed.

‘I bumped into him when I came out the loo. What are you doing in here?’ You inquired and his face relaxed slightly as he put his phone down.

‘I’m staying here tonight, was just putting my phone on charge and having a break for a few minutes’ he told you and you nodded as you looked around the room. ‘Are you having a good night?’

‘Yeah, Sophia seems nice. Are you?’

‘Yeah, but I was hoping to speak to you more than I have’ he told you, bumping his shoulder with yours lightly and you let out a little giggle.

‘The nights still young’ you told him, checking the time on your phone to see it was nearing 2am and you grimaced slightly. ‘Or not. I didn’t realise it was that late. I’ll have to head off soon’

‘Wait, don’t go’ he pleaded ‘I’ve barely seen you’

‘It’s late, Mason. Plus we sat together downstairs for over an hour and you didn’t hardly say a word to me’ you pouted and he gulped as he’d realised you’d noticed. ‘Why haven’t you? Have I done something wrong? I know I can be difficult but I’m trying’ You told him softly, the alcohol seeming to make you a bit vulnerable and honest and you watched his face drop as he realised you were a bit upset about it.

‘No of course not, I’m so sorry. I don’t know I guess I was just a bit nervous’ he confessed and your eyes dropped to your lap. ‘Why don’t you stay here? With me? Ben won’t care. I’ll sleep on the floor or something just please don’t go’ he pleaded and you were stunned at how quickly he was able to wear you down. ‘I promise I’ll get you home tomorrow early-‘

‘Mason-‘

‘Please, I’m not letting you go home alone this time of night. I’ll even go bunk with Ben if I have to or sleep on the sofa but I’m not letting you leave’

‘Fine I’ll stay’ you cut him off with a quiet laugh and he relaxed instantly, half wanting to keep him happy and the other half wanting to get your head down as the alcohol was wearing off and you were tired.

‘Thank you’ he smiled and you were about to reply when a white paper bag with your name on it on-top of the chest of drawers caught your attention.

‘What’s that?’ You asked he he followed your line of sight, blushing and stuttering as he caught onto what you were looking at. ‘Is that for me?’

‘Well it’s got your name on it’ he laughed as he nodded over to it. ‘Open it’

You walked over to find a long pink box inside and once it was out of the bag you opened it to find the poshest looking chocolate chip cookies you’d ever seen. You turned to face him with a confused expression and he was blushing furiously now.

‘You said the other week when I got you the brownie you would of preferred a cookie’ he explained, walking up to you, and your breath got caught int your throat.

Without thinking about it, you threw your arms around his shoulders and buried your face into his neck. He seemed shocked at first, but after a second he wrapped his arms around your waist, pulling you into his body even further.

‘That’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever done for me’ you whispered and you felt his body shake as he let out a little chuckle at your words.

‘It’s just some cookies, Y/n’

‘I know’ you uttered and Mason squeezed you a tiny bit harder. ‘Thank you. Why did you bring them here though? I wasn’t even sure I was coming’

‘I know, I just hoped you would I guess’ he spoke into your shoulder and you felt yourself melt before you slowly pulled away from each other. He kept his hands planted on your hips as he tried to catch your eyes but you keep them down, not wanting him to see how vulnerable you felt right now. ‘I think most people are gone, we can get ready for bed if you want’ he told you and you nodded shyly. ‘Just wait here, I’ll go grab you some bits’

He was soon back with his arms full of supplies. Bottles of water and painkillers plus some wipes and a toothbrush from Bens box of spares that apparently he kept at his house in case of emergencies and you we’re pretty sure you knew what that meant.

‘You can borrow something of mine to sleep in’ Mason told you and he was quick you take his shirt off and hand it over once you’d agreed. You tried as hard as possible not to look at his naked torso but you were only human, however Mason seemed to be sculpted by gods. Your eyes automatically landed on the little mole on his tummy and you got the overwhelming urge to kiss it.

You shook yourself out of your thoughts, not wanting him to catch you looking so you took yourself off to the bathroom to get changed. Mason shirt was longer on you than you thought, coming down to about mid thigh and you felt yourself come over all warm as his smell consumed you.

You quickly wiped your makeup off before stealing some toothpaste from the wash bag on the side that you presumed was Masons before joining him back in the room.

He was now changed, dressed in a white T-shirt and a pair of joggers and your heart sunk as you watched him make himself a bed up on the floor.

‘Mason?’ You called quietly and he whipped his head round to look at you. You watched the way his eyes widened as he gave you a once over, slyly licking his lips before his eyes met yours. ‘You don’t have to sleep on the floor, I’d feel awful if you hurt your back or something. There’s enough room for the both of us’ you told him, nodding to the bed but he shook his head almost instantly.

‘I don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable’ he started but you shook your head straight away.

‘Please? It’s honestly fine I’ll feel more uncomfortable with you on the floor’ you argued and he huffed before nodding.

‘I’ll be back in a sec’ he told you, disappearing into the bathroom and you placed your stuff on a chair in the corner before sliding under the covers. True to his word, he wasn’t that long and soon enough he was gently climbing in besides you.

‘Are you not gonna get hot in all that?’ You asked, noticing he was fully dressed but he just shrugged and he settled down, making sure you keep his distance from you. ‘We’ll don’t overheat on my account’ You whispered, turning to face him. You shuffled a little closer to him, never crossing the imaginary middle line, but he smiled and moved himself a little closer to you.

‘Sorry if I made you feel like you’d done something wrong. You haven’t at all I just… Come on, let’s get some sleep, you’ll feel better in the morning’

‘I know I’m confusing’ you whispered and you felt him reach over to give your hand a squeeze. ‘I know I blow cold a lot but I’ve just got some stuff going on’

‘It’s okay, you don’t have to explain’ he whispered and even though you wanted to argue with him you thought now wasn’t the best time. ‘Y/n?’

‘Yeah?’

‘You looked beautiful tonight’ he whispered and you felt your whole body prickle with goosebumps, opening your eyes to try and find his in the dark but it was pitch black and no use. ‘I mean you always do but… yeah I’ll stop now’ he laughed

‘Have a good sleep, Mason’ you whispered, hoping your voice didn’t sound a shaky as you felt.

‘Night, Y/n’

Tagged: @alwaysclassyeagle @ricsaigaslec @cinderellawithashoe @vip-access @majx00

[drama--universe]

Don't kill each other

Requested by anonymous: Hey hey! How about a request for Untamed where the reader is the twin (or younger sister) of Meng Yao who is involved in planning the murder of Nie Mingjue and Jin Guangshan along with her brother and Xue Yang. Meng Yao is very protective of her sister, always takes care of her and always wants her to be happy (heh, I adore protective brothers even though I don't have one XD). But Meng Yao does not know that his sister is in a relationship with Xue Yang, he is afraid to tell his brother because he believes that he might be jealous of Xue Yang because it was always her brother who protected her and now he will be replaced by Xue Yang. And she wasn't wrong in a way, when Meng Yao found out (he saw them too close together, heard them talking amorously to each other, etc...) and so he decides to interrogate them both, he asks his sister why she kept it from him...

Pairing: Xue Yang x Meng!reader

Word Count: 1.0k words

Warnings: dismemberment, death, threathening

With a loud sigh, you leaned back against Xue Yang's chest. Your brother was god knows where, already an hour late to what was supposed to be your meeting time. Xue Yang threw his arm around you, pulling you closer to him as he placed a soft kiss on the crown of your head. His hand toyed with your hair, pulling at the strands ever so slightly to annoy you a bit. You just shoved him as you sat up, almost jumping from your seat as the door loudly opened. You moved to another seat instead of staying on Xue Yang's lap, sitting a bit more neater and lady-like than before. Your brother, Meng Yao, entered with a frown on his face, creating wrinkles in his forehead that you had grown so used to seeing.

"Who was it this time?" You asked as you spotted some blood on the bottom of his robes, but Meng Yao didn't answer. His frown did lessen a bit when he saw you, softly patting your hair. You smiled at him before embracing him, making the elder break out in a smile eventually. Xue Yang was fascinated with how easy you could change Men Yao's mood, but it made sense since you could easily do the same for him. It was a charm of yours, one easily used for manipulation if necessary and often used for it as well. Xue Yang knew this well enough, it is how you got his attention and how you got him to join Meng Yao's plans. Luckily, you were more true to yourself after getting to know him instead of pretending to be your fake self.

"So, who was it this time?" You asked again as you let go of him, looking at him while he sat down as well. Meng Yao shook his head before looking at Xue Yang.

"Why are you here?" His voice was laced with annoyance, you couldn't figure out why, and Xue Yang scoffed before turning and grabbing his back. It was quickly throw across the room, landing besides Meng Yao. He opened it before closing it again, closing his eyes as well.

"I needed him intact, not just his head..." "The ghouls got to him first, not my fault." Xue Yang said, shrugging as he leaned back in his seat. Both men seemed a bit too unbothered with the fact that there was a literal head in the bag. You, like any normal human being, didn't quite like to see severed limbs. So when Meng Yao dropped the bag and the head of whoever rolled out of the bag and to the floor, you immediatley turned away while trying to not gag. Cue both men looking at you with a worried look, Xue Yang being the first to check up on you.

Unfortunately for both of you, he forgot about your brother sitting an arms length away.

"What do you think you're doing?" His voice was laced with venom, clearly meant to scare Xue Yang in some way. It didn't work, but that didn't mean that Meng Yao would stop glaring. You slowly pushed Xue Yang's hand away from your arm, coughing softly as you tried to compose yourself. Xue Yang didn't stop his movement as he made you close your eyes before you heard shuffling, assuming that he was putting the head away from your sight. Meng Yao frowned as he watched how caring Xue Yang was being to you, unlike what he had seen previously. He picked Xue Yang because of the lack of empathy to humans, yet here he was as he treated you like you were the love of his life. At that thought, Meng Yao's eyes widened as he looked between the two of you. Somehow, everything clicked in seconds.

"You're courting?" He asked, voice even rougher than before as he awaited an answer from you. He didn't care for Xue Yang, only staring at you with a look of, what seemed to be, disappointment. And for you, that was the worst thing to receive from your brother. It pained your heart that your brother was disappointed in you, you fought every single day to not disappoint him in any way and yet here you were. You forced yourself to speak, telling him that was true with a stutter in your voice that you could not hide. Emotions flashed across your brother's face, something that not often happened as Meng Yao never wore his emotions on his face. It ended in an emotionless look, one that you could still read easily however. That was an expression that meant one thing, Xue Yang was going to die.

"Don't you dare." The second you said that, Meng Yao had already turned and pointed a sword to your boyfriend's neck. It pressed against his main artery, drawing a bit of blood that trickled down Xue Yang's neck. You rushed forwards, shoving yourself in between the pair while pushing the sword away safely.

"You can not kill my boyfriend-" Meng Yao twitched, wanting to lift the sword once again. "-Don't you dare." You pointed a finger at him and he sighed, dropping the sword rather dramatically.

"If she gets hurt-" "She won't. You know what I can do." Xue Yang answered, a bit too cocky for your liking as you elbowed him between his ribs.

"I can protect myself, so why don't you both shut up." You spoke as you stepped out of their reach, looking at the both of them before pointing a finger at each.

"Now get along." And with that, you walked out. They'd be fine, even if they fought.

As long as neither died, but you'd kill the other if that happened and you were sure that they knew that.

[least-carpet]

Pursued by lesser ghosts 😭😭😭😭 are they gonna figure it out. Let JC in there

Hello, anon! Perhaps I will also link Pursued by Lesser Ghosts for context, since it took me so long to answer this ask. (You do need an AO3 account to read it.) It's wangxian with left zhanchengxian. Left in the sense that both chengxian and zhancheng had previously occurred, and they have left Jiang Cheng behind! (Sorry, I couldn't resist.)

In my heart, they figure it out, but I’m never going to write that because they are all in WILDLY different places and that would take... so long. This is partly what makes it interesting to rotate to me, because I think it’s a situation where the way any of the people involved would describe the facts in a relatively similar and nonchalant way, but their intellectual frameworks for the facts and emotional experience of the facts are so wildly disconnected that getting all three on the same page would be, uh, challenging. Rough character notes below.

Wei Wuxian:

Feels like JC should be mad at him, since he projects guilt about JYL already on to JC. additionally hates JFM’s treatment of JC but in total denial about both what the treatment means and how he feels about it. LWJ’s rejection and replacement of JC with WWX is going to trigger all of that BECAUSE it brings WWX's past understanding of JC into conflict with his current understanding of JC.

In the past, WWX’s JC feelings were positive; therefore any negative treatment by JFM had to be denied (and also Fixed by WWX).

WWX’s JC feelings are now negative, partly because of the projection and self-blame, and partly because of ongoing resentment about the core transfer (VERY traumatic plus the feeling like that degree of devotion and sacrifice was not reciprocated).

The emotional experience of REPLACING JC AGAIN is an experience that belongs to WWX’s childhood self, who loved JC and was extremely possessive and protective of him (the JZX beatdown was triggered finally by the insult about JC).

Also triggers memories of childhood > adulthood intimacies (some degree of sexual contact as teenagers that both of them “forgot about”).

WWX also terminally unable to leave shit alone, and now there’s a mystery about HIS HUSBAND and HIS SHIDI.

LWJ is just like “oh we had sex sometimes” but JC is a prude who doesn’t do that and only lets WWX touch him??? This is not a sufficient answer for WWX??? [meltdown]

CONFLICT CONFLICT CONFLICT KABOOM

Jiang Cheng:

I mean, Mr. Abandonment and Betrayal Issues got some feedback about what had happened, and that feedback was “it was duty, I never loved you like you loved me, let me go” (WWX) PLUS “now that the person who is better than you, who I really love, is here, I will replace you with him and never look back because you are Bad” (LWJ).

On one hand, closure! On the other hand, what if every childhood belief and fear about yourself all came true at once? Wouldn't that be fun? (I mean, the ones which had not already happened and left most of your family dead.)

Like he worked so hard to be good for love (root of childhood issues -> “if I am very good maybe dad will love me eventually and mom will finally be happy”) and this functions as proof that it has NEVER culminated in that love being returned.

I also don’t know how much he was aware of LWJ’s fixation on WWX before/during the time they were sleeping together. how blindsided he feels would change depending on that.

Also will blame himself for it (see childhood coping mechanisms… so abandonment by LWJ is “his fault” because he “should have expected it”).

He is. He is not doing so good. Genuinely bad to contemplate and I don’t know how you fix that, like, degree of damage.

He also Never Gives Up and JL is still alive so he’s not going to kill himself but like. it ain’t good.

Lan Wangji:

To me, this is the chewiest problem. Because he has these rigid categories of “good” and “bad” but is also missing a lot of information about what happened between JC and WWX (such as the fake fight/removal from the sect), he's made up his mind but it's based on incomplete information.

Also like, he's not particularly empathetic (so questions like “how would you feel if someone you unconditionally trusted accidentally killed your beloved sibling?” are ones he has perhaps never contemplated?)

IMO this intersects in a pretty ugly way with his canon sadism during the period he has a sexual relationship with JC. I would have to make some decisions about how bad that was, but I don’t think it’s good. I think JC goes along with it partly as a form of self-harm and partly because JC is under a lot of stress, touch-starved, and is genuinely pretty submissive in bed? But has no standards about it (healthy!) and doesn't know how to protect himself.

Initially this is fine to LWJ because it “doesn’t count” and “JC is bad” so LWJ doesn’t have to feel bad about how he treats JC.

But if it was a multi-year intermittent thing, I think that might change? Because I don’t think LWJ is actually that cruel, just inflexible and not great at people.

So they hook up semi-often and LWJ perceives JC worrying about JL, about YMJ, and to some degree about him (offers him salve for his scars, inquires semi-rudely about family, feeds him thoughtful vegetarian foods when around each other) and they get comfortable and sometimes they spend the night together and LWJ gets a lot less mean but not any better at talking…

But even as their behaviours change, LWJ’s mental model doesn’t, so when WWX returns, he just, like, ditches JC without any discussion whatsoever.

And he gets everything he thought he wanted!! And he’s happy about a lot of it but feels Weird in a way that he can’t articulate or explain.

So to get him to the throuple, his whole understanding of what they were doing with each other and what JC’s behaviour signified would have to change. On the other hand, he is now married to the nosiest and most determined man in the world and that man is going to ask him a LOT of questions.

He just has SO far to go. I think both WWX and JC at least understand that a loss happened, but LWJ hasn’t worked that out yet. He's feeling it, but hasn't been able to articulate it to himself because of how it conflicts with his beliefs.

So getting them all to kiss would be really hard work. I think they do, though!

[say-al0e]

Stranger Things Masterlist

Updated: April 29, 2024

Eddie Munson

Whole Lotta Love | SMUT, No one under 18! | Eddie x fem!Reader

Coming home for spring break means getting to spend an entire week with Eddie. And he’s missed you just as much as you’ve missed him. | Ft. “Fuck, I’ve missed touching you,” + “I’ll do anything you want. All you have to do is ask.”

What I Like About You | SMUT, No one under 18! | Eddie x fem!Reader

You never imagined you would fall in love with Eddie Munson. It was out of the realm of possibility. But here you are. Kind of in love with a guy who’s not your boyfriend. | Ft. “I’m kind of in love with you.”

Hold On | Eddie x fem!Reader

Falling in love with your best friend was never part of the plan, especially when you figured you weren’t Eddie’s type. But a trip home to sub in for a Hellfire meeting brings you more than a victory.

Sweet Thing | SMUT, No one under 18! | Eddie x fem!Reader

A lazy summer morning with Eddie means lying in bed, listening as he plays guitar. It’s not your fault he looks so pretty doing it.A lazy summer morning with Eddie means lying in bed, listening as he plays guitar. It’s not your fault he looks so pretty doing it.

Radio Silent | Eddie x GN!Reader

Eddie has a habit of going radio silent but it never lasts very long. When he goes nearly a week without calling, you fear the worst. Turns out, Metallica has him just a little distracted.

Looks That Kill | SMUT, No one under 18! | Eddie x fem!Reader

Eddie’s never stepped foot in your bedroom and that fact has been driving him insane. When you return home for spring break and your parents have to head out of town, Eddie finally gets his chance to see every piece of you.

Your Graduation | Eddie x fem!Reader

Eddie didn’t remember much of his first senior year. But he remembered you. Now, after finally graduating, he just hoped you’d forgive him for the way that first year ended.

Movie Night | SMUT, No one under 18! |  Eddie x fem!Reader

You’ve been crushing on Eddie Munson for ages. When you finally ask him over to a watch a movie, you learn that your feelings are definitely requited.

What Are Friends For | SMUT, No one under 18! | Eddie x fem!Reader

A conversation with friends reminds you that you’re about to begin college as a virgin. It bothers you more than you care to admit so you consult your best friend, Eddie; is virginity really that much of a turn off? (Or, best friend!Eddie takes your virginity)

Hypothetical | Eddie x fem!Reader

Eddie asks a lot of hypothetical questions, just to hear your answer. The answer to this question was more real than you wanted to admit.

Steve Harrington

Don’t Let Go | Steve x fem!Reader

Steve Harrington was your best friend. He was the one person you swore would never hurt you. But when high school rolled around, Steve went searching for a place to fit in while you went searching for yourself. Now, years later, the universe has brought Steve Harrington back to your life and he doesn’t plan on leaving again. | Ft prompt request: “I want you to be happy.” “You make me happy.” + “I think I’m in love with you.” + “You’re the only one who gets to call me that.”

Put Up or Shut Up | Steve x fem!Reader

Steve hadn’t been looking for love when he drove to Eddie’s, certainly hadn’t expected to find it in the shape of you perched on the soft couch with kohl rimmed eyes and chipped black nail polish, but maybe that’s what made it so special. | ft. “You’re really not together?” “No.” “You wouldn’t mind if I asked her out, then?” requested by anon.

Roll Along | Steve x fem!Reader

After the battle with Vecna, the future looks bleak. Steve Harrington is there to remind you that it doesn't have to look that way. He knows what it's like to be afraid but, sometimes, looking toward something that seems unrealistic is the only way to keep moving forward. | ft. “I didn’t know where to go,” requested by anon.

Future | Steve x fem!Reader

The only future you see involves Steve Harrington, even if moving in with him proves to be a challenge.

Breathe | SMUT, No one under 18! | Steve x fem!Reader

Blowing Steve in his car. That’s it, that’s the plot.

Cling | SMUT, No one under 18! | Steve x fem!Reader

For as long as you could remember, you and Steve have been close. What others see as clingy, Steve sees as comforting, right? Or, you fell in love with your best friend and suddenly, everything is too much.

Body Electric | Steve x fem!Reader

Steve has never lived in a home full of noise but he likes to think he’d enjoy spending the rest of his life in one. (AKA Steve Harrington is soft and proposes.) | Ft. Anon Request: “Is that my shirt?” + “We should get married.” “Funny.” “I’m not joking.”

[gladerwolfstarkimagines]

Zuko cannot be torn away from his search from the Avatar...until his best friend gets ill and his true feelings come out.

You’d known Zuko since you were children and you got along because you were both similar. Rich kids from important families but neither of you were particularly good at fire bending or showed much promise. You were both the disappointment of the family and pretty much each other’s only friends. So when Zuko was banished it was a no-brainer. Even if he wasn’t your best friend the fact you were pretty much in love with the Prince would’ve made the decision for you. So you decided to go with him and stowed away on his ship but honestly it was probably a week before your parents noticed you were missing. Iroh warned you the journey would be dangerous and you’d potentially never go home but you didn’t really care about that. 

Secretly Iroh was happy you’d come along. You were Zuko’s best friend and the only one who was able to make him smile during the first month of his banishment. As much as Zuko was now pretending to be hard and cold you were his Achilles’ heel. Zuko seemed to melt around you and you were rather oblivious which made the whole thing rather cute. However as you all became outlaws running from Azula your situation got direr and direr until Zuko announced you were leaving Iroh. Iroh could tell you felt guilty by the way you couldn’t meet his eye for more than a few seconds but he told you it was okay. Zuko needed you more than he did. 

So that was how you found yourself alone with Zuko, riding an ostrich horse as you hunted the Avatar while trying to avoid his sister and anyone else who might want to kill you. You’d been riding for days at this point and you were tired and sore. To make things worse you also had a cold. You figured it was for following Zuko out into the middle of a rainstorm and tried to power through but each day was getting worse. The constant swaying of the ostrich horse made the world spin and when you broke down into a coughing fit Zuko slowed the mount. "Y/n are you okay?". You couldn’t speak for a while, busy trying to breathe but when you could you nodded "of course I am". Zuko frowned but kept going. He knew you weren’t well but it was of the utmost importance he caught up with the Avatar, 

So you pressed on, you didn’t mention to Zuko how you were struggling to keep your eyes open or how you felt your strength failing. After a few hours of rest Zuko asked if you were really well enough to keep going. You didn’t have much choice so you told him you were and started riding at dawn. You lasted two hours before passing out. 

Zuko felt a breeze behind him and was about to ask what was going on when you slipped off the ostrich horse. Zuko cried out your name and tried to grab you. The result was he got pulled off the horse by gravity and tumbled onto the floor with you. “Y/n!” he yelled shaking your shoulders. Your eyes were closed and you weren’t responding. Zuko was madder at himself than he’d ever been. "Y/n! Y/n! Are you okay? Y/n wake up!" Zuko cried. You didn’t respond and he held your body rightly, panic spiralling in his brain. He didn’t think you’d hit the ground any harder than him and he couldn’t see any cuts or gashes on you from the fall. "Y/n!" Zuko screamed and you made a noise. It was only a grunt of recognition but it was enough. Relief swept through Zuko. You were alive, atleast for now. He’d make sure you stayed that way. Zuko gently picked you up and placed you on the horse in front before he got on behind you. He held an arm around you and snapped the reigns. He knew there was a settlement about 8 hours away and figured if he rode none stop he could get there quicker. "Don’t worry y/n, I'll make up for all of this" Zuko muttered.

When you finally reached the town Zuko ignored the tired ostrich horse’s moans and forced her down the main street "does this town have a doctor?" he asked. The people on the street just stared and his temper flared "are you deaf? Answer my question!"."Yes there’s Dr Gohen, she lives on the west side of town next to the grocers" one woman replied. Zuki groaned, of course he was on the east side. He snapped the reigns leaving the villagers in a dust cloud. 

Zuko found the grocers and identified the doctor’s house beside it. He dismounted and carried you inside kicking the door open with his foot. "I need the doctor" he called "now". A woman appeared who Zuko assumed was Dr Gohen. She moved immediately to help you and Zuko was reassured. "Place her here" she said clearing a bed and Zuko lay you down anxiously "she was ill a few days back...I thought it was just a cold but then she collapsed earlier today and I couldn’t wake her up". The doctor nodded touching your forehead "she hasn't regained consciousness once?". Zuko paused "not properly, she’s been muttering and speaking in her sleep but nothing coherent, I worried the fall maybe harmed her. The woman opened your eyelids and examined the pupils "she doesn’t have concussion, I think it's just exhaustion from a bad flu that's going around". Zuko frowned "can you heal her?". "It's not about healing but letting her recover. I can give her remedies to take away her temperature and help her to rest but she needs time to get better. You've obviously been travelling too hard the both of you. Once the fever has broken she should wake but if you leave straight after that it will only happen again. You need to let your...friend" the doctor said pausing "rest, if she’s more important then wherever your destination is". "She is" Zuko nodded and the woman nodded approvingly "then I'll get to work". It was only afterwards it dawned on Zuko he’d put you before his honour and throne...he was surprised at how comfortable he was with that and thought you might be the only thing in the whole world he cared about more. That thought made him blush but he refused to acknowledge why and turned back to the doctor. 

1 day later You shot awake gasping for breath. The last thing you remembered was falling and now you were in a dark room...in a bed with a blanket. "Y/n?" a voice asked and you paused "Zuko?". A flame appeared and Zuko’s worried face popped into view "hold on let me light the torch". You heard Zuko fiddling around before light filled the darkness. You were in some small room, a makeshift doctor’s office by the looks of it. Zuko was seated in a chair beside your bed and you realised he’d been sleeping there. "What happened?" you asked. "You collapsed" Zuko told you "it was my fault I kept pushing us to keep going". You went to disagree but Zuko hurried on "so I brought you here and the doctor has been trying to bring your temperature down since yesterday. How are you feeling?". Zuko moved closer to examine your face and you only now realised you were very sweaty. Your shirt clung to you and you could feel how wet your hair was against your neck. You were sure you smelled awful and looked even worst. So you moved away and tried to fix your hair. "I feel fine" you shrugged and Zuko raised an eyebrow "really?". You nodded "yeah. When do you want to leave? First thing in the morning". "Not happening” Zuko shook his head "Doctor Gohen said you needed rest otherwise you'll get ill again so we’ll stay right here until you're 100% better!". "But Azula..." you started and Zuko shook his head "she won’t find us here and even if she did...well I'd take that risk then you getting ill again. We got lucky y/n, the doctor was nearby. If we’d been 5 days away or in the middle of nowhere...well it's not a good scenario". Zuko’s words and how much he wanted to assure your health made your heart flutter. When you looked up you realised Zuko was looking away and blushed slightly. "Well okay if you’re sure?" you asked. Zuko nodded meeting your eyes again "I am, now are you hungry? If so I can wake Gohen". You shook your head "I'm fine". "Then let's go back to sleep, morning will be here soon". You nodded and laid back down, your heart still beating fast and your cheeks still flushed which had nothing to do with the fever. 

You woke up the following morning to find Zuko awake and sorting through your meagre possessions. He was counting your coins nervously and you frowned. He was clearly worried but Zuko was someone you had to let come to you with his worries. If you ever tried to force it he’d just shrivel up. So you made a show of waking up giving Zuko time to hide everything. "Y/n" he said jumping up "Dr Gohen she's awake!". A woman hustled into the room and she looked at you making a noise. "Still pale..." she placed a hand in your forehead and nodded "but the fever’s broke so that's good, how are you feeling?". "Good...well I feel like I could really use a bath but other than that I'm fine!" you lied. The woman nodded her head "mhh hmm well we can do a bath, you come and help" she cried at Zuko who paused "me?". "Yes two hands are stronger than one, you can help me carry the water". Even in your ill state the look on Zuko’s face at the idea of doing menial labour and the fact the Prince was running you a bath made you smirk.

So Zuko carried buckets to a tub from the well and heated them slightly in his hand for you. The doctor seemed to sense this and nodded "I'll leave you go it. Go grab her when she’s ready and stay near in case she needs your assistance". "Me but I..." Zuko blushed "with her bath?". The woman raised an eyebrow "i’m sure your friend would prefer you over a stranger...now stop being bashful and go help her, she might need help walking here". Zuko approached your room and knocked "you ready y/n?". You nodded and Zuko came closer "do you need help getting up?". "No I can do it" you said adamantly and stood up. Zuko saw the strain of your hands as you clutched the bed and how you wavered but you took one step at a time until you reached the bathroom. "Do you...need any help?" Zuko asked blushing and you blushed too "no I'll be fine". Zuko nodded "okay call if you need me" and left. 

You locked the door and slumped against it. You were exhausted from the walk and took a few minutes for the room to stop spinning. Then you made your way unsteadily to the bath and climbed inside. Your hands wouldn’t stop shaking but the warmth was nice. You realised Zuko must've done this and smiled. When you got out of the bath your legs would barely support you, worrying you. You knew you’d have to ask Zuko for help so you used your remaining strength to drag clean clothes over your head and legs and leant on the wall. "Zuko..." you called "I don’t feel so good can you help me get back to my room". "Of course are you...are you ready for me to come in?" he asked clearly hesitant. You called yes and Zuko cautiously opened the door, eyes on the floor until he realised it was safe. "What's wrong?" he asked and you shrugged "i just feel a bit faint and walking is hard, can i use your arm?". Zuko nodded and held it out to you. You gripped it tightly and took a step forward. Your knees began to shake and you felt the room behind you spin. You went to call to Zuko but he’d already predicted what you needed. "Y/n" he cried and he wrapped an arm around you. Your legs gave out and he picked you up easily bundling you to his chest. "It’s okay don’t worry" he told you and rushed you back to bed. He placed you down carefully and called for the doctor scared. She ran in and Zuko explained what had happened. He covered you in blankets as you couldn’t seem to stop shaking and the doctor smiled "this is my fault...the poor girl is starving that's why she’s feeling faint. I will bring her some soup but make sure she eats it slowly". Zuko said he would and waited anxiously for the food. "Thank you...for helping me" you said softly and Zuko nodded "no problem". Dr Gohen appeared with two bowls making Zuko frowned "I can see she's not the only one who’s skipped meals" was all she said and pressed the bowl into Zuko’s hands. Zuko went to argue when he remembered the purse and sighed. He sat down next to your bed and watched to make sure you were eating slowly and began eating his own.

After the soup you were tired so you napped. Zuko was nervous you would never get better but when woke up a few hours later you had your colouring back and the shaking had stopped. "I feel so much better" you cried before sneezing. Zuko smiled "your fever and shakes have gone but you’ve still got a cold y/n, don’t even get ideas of going anywhere". You rolled your eyes but were secretly relieved. 

You spent most of your time in and out of sleep and next woke up in the middle of the night. Your throat was dry and so you tried to grab some water from the jug but knocked your cup on the floor. Zuko jumped up from his chair beside you at the sound and his eyes shot around "what’s wrong? Are you okay?". "I'm fine I just knocked the cup" you explained and Zuko nodded. "Okay...good, are you feeling okay?". You nodded "yeah...just it's a bit cold". Zuko nodded. He walked over to the fire and fire bent. "Zuko" you scolded but he just smirked "they won’t know” and returned to his chair. He passed you his blanket and you sighed "aren’t you cold?". "I'm fine" he told you but when you touched his fingers they were ice cold "Zuko not you're not you're freezing!". Zuko shrugged "so? You're cold too". You sighed "yes but you're worse probably because you've been on that chair for days...why don’t we share?". Zuko blinked "I'm not taking the bed from you". "No not like that! At the same time, it's big enough for both of us and that way we’ll both be warmer. Zuko blushed "y/n...the bed isn’t big". "still...I'm freezing and I know you give off good body heat so come here". Zuko chuckled "you know that's the most assertive I've ever heard you". He stood up and came closer. You moved to one side and Zuko laid down. It was a small squeeze but it was warmer. Zuko arranged the blankets over you both and you laid together. When Zuko thought you were asleep he shifted you fully onto his chest and wrapped the blankets around you tighter. He placed his arms on top of the quilt further warming you. The cold didn’t bother either of you the rest of the night

A few hours later the door opened and Zuko clutched you tighter. He saw it was the doctor and paused. He supposed he should’ve been embarrassed to be caught in bed with you like this but he actually didn’t care. Instead he just covered you up and looked at her. "What's wrong?" he asked and she whispered "there’s a Fire Nation tank coming this way. There’s a decoy town in their way but they're coming and if they find us...we could all suffer". Zuko blinked, it had to be Azula. "I came to you because I know you're skilled. I've seen the swords and I have my suspicions about who you are". Zuko blinked as her eyes went to his scar. "I healed your friend, can you save us? Or atleast go scout and tell us if they're coming close so we know to evacuate?". Zuko nodded "of course. I'll leave right away. Don’t tell y/n or she’ll try and follow me. You can’t let that happen". The doctor nodded "I won’t let anything happen to her". Zuko nodded "then we have a deal".

You woke up a few hours later to find Zuko gone which was odd. The sun was shining brightly but you couldn’t hear a noise in the house or even the town. You got up and were pleased you felt a lot stronger. You made your way slowly to the door and pressed your ear to it. Nothing. 

Confused you opened it slowly and finally heard some soft noises. You followed them and paused outside an open door. "He’s the prince of the Fire Nation! What do you think drove them here?" one of the nurses cried in a loud whisper. "We’re not certain" Doctor Gohen said and the nurse laughed "know anyone with those burns? Plus the bath water was lukewarm when we cleared it! He’s from the fire nation. If we help them find him or even hand over the girl they might leave us alone". "There's no guarantee!". "Well we can’t just do nothing" the other cried and you rushed away. You had to get away. You packed your things, taking some clean clothes and medicine before you went to the window. You opened it slowly and hopped out without making a sound. The streets were deserted but you headed to the area of the stables. Sure enough your ostrich horse was there and she recognises you. You quietly saddled her and rode out of town. You followed some fresh tracks in the correct direction and hoped to see Zuko.

As you got close to the decoy town you heard noises and hid your horse, proceeding on foot. You stuck to the shadows and ran straight into Zuko. He jumped and quickly pulled you down into a hiding place. "Y/n what are you...". "The nurses know who we are and were debating turning us over to Azula. We have to leave". Zuko sighed "dammit she’s already here". You looked around nervously and Zuko noticed "not here here, on the other side of town. The Avatar is also here. I'm hoping he'll distract her enough for us to get away. I'm gonna go lead them to one another. You stay here and I'll come get you when it’s time to go. You frowned "no way! I'm coming too!". Zuko shook his head "no y/n. You're not well. You couldn’t walk to the bathroom yesterday without feeling faint. Your firebending won’t be strong enough and Azula will notice that and focus on you. You know how she exploits weakness, we can’t have you getting any more hurt so stay here, please?". You sighed "Zuko...". "Y/n please” he said taking your hand "for me?". You blushed surprised and Zuko also had a blush on his cheeks but he didn’t drop your hand or look away. "Okay" you nodded and his shoulders relaxed in relief "I'll be back soon. Stay here" and he disappeared.

You stayed with the horse and soon heard the fighting. The floor began to shake and you heard houses collapse. You could hear yelling and grunting that was either Zuko or Azula. In case it was the former you crept out of your hiding place and approached the noise. 

When you got there Azula was being backed into a corner by Zuko and team Avatar. Azula losing and Zuko working with the Avatar were both such strange sights you forgot to keep yourself hidden. You were behind Azula and Iroh spotted you. His gaze softened and he smiled “y/n...” before he could stop himself. Zuko rushed forwards but that was all the distraction Azula needed. She shot a bolt of lightning right at you and you felt a funny sensation go up and down your arms. You heard someone yelling your name and then some more shouting. You felt someone grab you and hold you in their arms and then everything went black. When you eventually regained consciousness you heard raised voices once again. This time it was a very recognisable angry voice. 

Zuko. 

"If you hadn't revealed her presence Azula wouldn’t have shot her! Why did you just call out her name like that? You're supposed to be a wise old man". "I've admitted it was a mistake and apologised. I will do both again when y/n wakes up which we can be assured she will. What more can I do? I cannot trade places with her no matter how much we both want me to". "I do want that, it should’ve been you" Zuko agreed and silence fell. 

You heard the words but didn’t really process them as you felt fuzzy. You blinked your eyes open and tried to sit up but your chest felt heavy. "Y/n!" Zuko gasped suddenly "you're awake, wait don’t sit up". You blinked as Zuko’s face came into view and he gently eased you back down "hey don’t try and move okay. You're safe, you're okay". You blinked "Zuko?". "I'm right here" he told you and you felt him grip your hand "how do you feel?". You blinked "fuzzy...my chest feels funny". Zuko nodded "we gave you some pain medication so that's the dizziness and your chest is heavily bandaged which is what the weight is. Are you thirsty?". You nodded, your mouth felt all crisp and dry. Zuko pressed a cup to your lips and you drank a little bit. "Are you hungry?". You shook your head and Zuko nodded "okay". "She should try and eat something" Iroh said and Zuko glared "I know but if she doesn’t want to right this second then she doesn’t have to!". Iroh shrunk away and you frowned, more of your senses coming back to you. "Azula....she shot me right?" you asked. Zuko nodded "yes with lightning. It was bad but it looked worse than it was, you'll get a scar but you should make a full recovery". "Where are we?" you asked and Zuko explained a house near the town but not so close they’d find you. 

Iroh had left at this point to get water and Zuko sighed "I'm just so glad you're okay. Two near-death experiences in one week is far too much y/n". You chuckled "really? I thought they made things more exciting that’s why I kept doing them!". Zuko shook his head but his smile soon vanished "I don’t blame you for either. It was my fault the first time and my uncle’s this time. We must keep getting you injured and it sucks...what if one more time it's too much and we lose you for good. I'd never forgive myself or him". You frowned "you know it wasn’t either of your faults don’t you?". Zuko smiled badly "I knew you’d say that but it was y/n". 

You sighed unhappily, whenever Zuko was in one of these moods there was no reasoning with him. He’d just sit in a ball of self-hatred and brood. Zuko noticed your expression and frowned "it is y/n. You can’t convince me otherwise". "Trust me I know and that's the problem...I hate hearing you talk about yourself in this way. Berating yourself for things you had no control over...it’s painful". Zuko looked at you confused "but I'm just being honest. I can’t just lie and tell myself I've done nothing wrong when I have". "Yes but you disproportionately scold yourself. You view events in a skewed light and never see the other side...sometimes it’s just so frustrating! If only you could see yourself how I see you, how we all see you...". Zuko stared at you "and how do you see me?" he asked not taking his eyes from you. You blushed slightly but didn’t look away either. "When I looked at you I see Zuko. My oldest friend who has been through so much pain and suffering. I see the toll it's taken on you but I also see the good there in your eyes. I see a good young man who questioned himself because others constantly did. I see a caring person who was punished for his best quality. I see someone I respect and admire who I do anything to protect...I see a pretty amazing guy" you smiled and Zuko stared at you. "What about all my faults? My temper, my stupidity and weak bending? My scar?". You shook your head "those aren’t your qualities they're just opinions you have of yourself. They don’t define you and they're not what I see". Zuko carried on staring at you for a while longer before he swallowed "I...I wish I was the man you see me as. You deserve someone like that". "I deserve and want you" you said finally biting the bullet "exactly as you are". Zuko jolted as you spoke and he frowned "wait do you mean...". "I like you" you said simply "you Zuko". Zuko blushed "I...is the medication affecting you? Do you still feel loopy?". "No...just rather nervous and apprehensive of your response. I mean I did just confess my feelings to you and you asked if I was loopy..." you started when Zuko cut you off with a kiss.

"I wasn’t rejecting you, more making absolute sure before I did that" Zuko told you "I like you too y/n. These last few days made me realise how much. When you were lifeless in my arms because of me however indirectly...I knew if you died I'd never forgive myself. That’s why I can’t let myself off for this or uncle. You matter too much to me". You bundled Zuko closer and he pressed himself against you. “You matter to me too” you told him and felt Zuko sighed in relief to hear someone tell him that. 

You never stopped telling him that for the rest of your happy lives together. 

[itsgrimeytime]

Magnolia in May (Part Twenty Five) || Rick Grimes (TWD) x Greene!f!reader Regency AU

Parts 1-20, 21, 22, 23, 24...

Taglist: @loliakeoghan23 @curlycarley @queenie32 @mgparker

rick grimes taglist: @golden-hoax @mgparker

AVAILABLE ON AO3

Inspiration (in honor of Speak Now Taylor's Version): Enchanted by Taylor Swift.

Summary: Your town was small, not the smallest you knew, but anyone of high fortune was the gossip of the week. Predictably, Richard Grimes was a thing of whispers -rumors of a search for marriage among the grassy hills. You weren't one to buy into town gossip, but something about him... just seemed a little too intriguing.

TW: none.

[[A/N: DRAMA. That's all I have to say. Happy New Year !!! Thanks for reading !!! ]]

He wasn't serious.

Or maybe he was, you were rendered rather speechless afterward, on account of his lips pressing into yours without much less thought.

You hadn't quite thought of an answer because he didn't present you with the opportunity; in fact, he'd acted as though he'd never said such a thing in his life. He still held that soft gaze, as you explored the rest of his lawn, but you weren't quite there then.

Eyes distant, you were as though you had a shock to the heart and perhaps you did. No one had ever proposed to you, there were a few drunks who'd gotten close at certain parties, but never anyone with any merit.

Mr. Grimes loved you. He was courting you, only officially for a few weeks, sure, but still-

The man who was courting you had asked for your hand in marriage, and you had said nothing.

Headmistress was going to kill you.

It's not like he'd given you much of an option, really. He'd begun kissing you after as if such a confession was void, as if the words were just well, words.

But they weren't.

It was driving you mad, beyond mad. Which is why you were currently wearing a hole into the dining room carpet -walking back and forth, pacing really.

Your Father sat at the table, files at the ends of his fingertips, and in his hands, he stayed rather busy. The rest of the house was out to the theater, you'd been asked to come but refused -Maggie would know too much. She already had-

"Darling," he spoke and you immediately straightened, "-is everything alright? You're bound to run a hole in the floor with all the pacing."

"When did you ask for Mother's hand?"

It slipped out of your mouth before you could take it back. And you really wished you could take it back-

"Why do you ask?" your Father questioned, white beard lit up orange by the candlelight, "-Are you expecting something?"

"No, I-" you started, before stopping, "-May I ask you a hypothetical?"

"A hypothetical," your Father pursed his lips, "-Does it have to do with a proposal?"

"Yes," you echoed out, a little shaky, "-well, if someone proposed out of nowhere and didn't give you time to respond, would you believe them to be serious?"

"Any man who asks for someone's hand is serious," your Father relented, something in his eyebrow twitching, "-It's quite a large thing to say, especially in today's age."

"Right," you spoke, slowly -convincing yourself, "-right."

The silence of the room was unwelcoming.

"What if," you started, trying to figure out how to word this, "-What if it was more of an emotional response? Like... after a confession or... or-"

"Something else?" Father asked, raising an eyebrow -teetering on the question of what exactly.

"Yes," you swallowed, "-something else."

"Still," he echoed, "-such words hold high accountability, any man who says it often means it."

"But, just because he means it doesn't mean he's serious-"

"In some way," your Father restated, "-he is. A man does not say such words without thinking about it, dear. Without realizing what it means."

"So," you began, "-he may mean it, and be serious about it? Even though it came unprompted?"

"He may not realize it himself," he explained, "-That moment, when he, hypothetically, said such a thing maybe when he realized he wanted it."

"And what am I-" you stopped, clearing your throat, "-What are you to say to that?"

"Whatever you wish," your Father stated, picking back up his files -eyes peering over them, "-Is there anything you wish to tell me, daughter?"

You sighed, running a hand through your hair, "I think... I think Mr. Grimes proposed to me."

The room fell uncomfortably silent, the sole tick of a clock and the shuffle of paper echoing through the room. You couldn't look up at him, only down at the carpet -tracing the design with your eyes.

"Two weeks," your Father answered, setting down his files and looking up at you, "-it took me two weeks to figure out I couldn't live without her. I... I'm not sure it was proper, but we made it work, even then."

"Two weeks, that's-"

"Nothing," he hummed out, "-I know. I loved her and she loved me, there was no reason to wait."

"I love him," you said, sort of weakly.

"And he loves you," your Father added with a smile -certain.

"But, he didn't let me answer," you sighed, pacing yet again, "-what am I to say if he didn't let me answer?"

"You wait," he answered, "-until he does."

"How is that fair?" You questioned, "-He asked me, I should get to answer! I will... I want to answer."

"Then, answer," your Father laughed, "-you know where he resides."

"This late?" You echoed, loud and a little squeaky, "-I can hardly explain showing up at this hour."

"He'll know," he smiled, "-he'll know, darling."

"That's even worse," you remarked, "-I can't just... confront him with my hand."

"Okay," your Father reasoned, "-then let's go for dinner. I'm certain your sisters will demand to eat before returning and I don't know about you but I'm famished."

"Just dinner," you echoed.

"Just dinner," he reiterated, "-and if you choose to confront him, so be it."

So, be it.

The walk was not one of note, as your carriage remained an option but you requested the fresh air and Father neatly agreed. He didn't speak a word, as to give you time to think, perhaps. But part of you wished him to say something, anything-

"I already gave him permission," he stated, echoing out into the falling sun of the evening, "-so, such a question requires no clarification on my part. But, if you wish-"

"No," you started, headstrong, "-it has to be me, Father."

And the rest of the walk was as silent as a mouse, Father only giving you a few forlorn glances -as if he didn't wish you to be in this situation. He most certainly didn't, and you imagined, if you let him, he'd say a few choice words about it to Mr. Grimes.

But, were you to confront him, you'd simply choose to do it on your own. It was your issue, you'd deal with it.

The idea of Mr. Grimes confronting you first, however, was a much scarier one. Would he apologize? Say he didn't mean it? You weren't sure you could handle such words.

The estate was covered in the evening sun, and you thought for a spare second how beautiful it was. The orange haze drenched the plaza, the fountains, the hedges. It was stunning, and you felt rather wonderful to see such a thing -to know such a thing.

"Mr. Greene," a deep grumble echoed, Mr. Dixon stood rather strong against such a soft skyline, "-Ms. Greene, wonderful to see the two of ya."

You curtsied, and your Father spoke, "If you don't mind, sir, can you ask Mr. Grimes if we could join him for dinner?"

"'Course," he echoed, guiding the two of you through the door, "-follow me into the foyer."

You entered the foyer with a sort of curiosity, still, despite everything -you loved to see such a space every time. Yet, something was off. You'd been in here so frequently. You knew the space, so well, so when something was different-

Your eyes landed squarely on the wall, an empty space on the wall. You weren't certain what was there before, but now it remained empty -beautiful walls clear and open to the viewing.

"Father, it's-"

"Empty," he hummed -something in his voice, "-perhaps for something new."

"Ms. Greene," a voice spoke, a little breathlessly and suddenly a little startled, "-Mr. Greene, hello."

You wordlessly curtsied again, something in you nervous -Mr. Grimes lingered on such a movement, he could tell-

"I assume we're welcomed to dinner, then?"

"Very welcome," Mr. Grimes hummed, eyes darting to yours -just for a moment, lingering, "-Your family is welcome at all times, you must know that by now."

"Certainly," your Father echoed, matching his eyes -something conveying that he knew. And he did.

You shrunk into yourself only slightly, but still, Mr. Grimes noticed -blue eyes laid squarely on you. Something in his lips twitched into a frown, as his eyes swam along your face -you couldn't quite meet his eyes. He noticed.

"What's are we to expect?" you asked, something crossing over your face, "-For... For dinner?"

"I'm not quite certain," Mr. Grimes echoed, making a note to meet your eyes, "-but Ms. Peletier is bound to make something worthwhile. And-"

You matched his eye, and something in your chest warmed, just to see him.

"-the children would love to see you, Ms. Greene."

You smiled, couldn't help it, "I'm quite delighted to see them too."

"Wonderful," Mr. Grimes echoed, smiling in that same way he had before like he couldn't believe you existed, "-wonderful."

Your Father cleared his throat with a teeny little smile, "Shall we go to the dining room?"

"Certainly," you echoed, hand itching to take Mr. Grimes's arm, but instead you met your Father's. It felt right then, despite the urge -to brush your fingers against his shirt, to feel the warmth of his skin against your gloved hand.

You righted yourself, and followed your Father into the room, still as beautiful as the first day you'd ever seen it. It could be yours-

You flushed crimson at the spare thought, pushing it away in your mind. Not now, such thoughts are useless without knowing his intentions.

I want to know his intentions, something in your head rang.

Which meant you were to confront him, you needed to know. You had to know-

"Ms. Greene?" a softer voice spoke, a maid -you realized, "-Would you like to sit?"

"Yes, I apologize, I just-" you faltered, accepting the pulled-out chair, "-Thank you."

Mr. Grimes looked to you, something shadowing over his face -concern furrowing in his brow.

You sat just beside him at the head of the table, the two children on the opposite side and your Father on your right. It was all a rather organized affair, and not a word was spoken.

The comfortable chatter was lost, as the room filled rather full -only Judith's small little hums of appreciation breaking through the air. The food was delicious, certainly, but you had a bit of a sour stomach -you picked at the dish, a little preoccupied.

Mr. Grimes hadn't eaten a bite himself either, eyes boring a hole into your side. You knew such a conversation would have to be soon, if not-

"Ms. Greene, may I speak with you?"

There was a beat.

"Privately."

[sixhours]

Chapter 15 - The Ghosts of Babylon

Series Chapter Index | Read on AO3 | Complete

Rating: Explicit, 18+, here be smut and violence Series tags: Joel Miller x You, Joel Miller x Reader, Joel & Ellie, mostly follows canon, LGBTQ+ characters, y/n is bi/pan, y/n is ~45, violence, pregnancy, abortion, medical trauma, emotional trauma, panic attacks, sex work, suicide, smut, slow burn, angst with a happy ending, hurt/comfort, romance, no use of y/n, reader has longish hair, Joel can lift you, smallish age gap (~11 years), I've probably forgotten some so please let me know <3

~*~

You’re walking back from lunch at the mess hall when you see Ellie standing outside the clinic, looking lost. Her eyes widen when she sees you coming and she steps out to meet you at the door.

“Ellie? What’s wrong?”

“M’sick.”

She looks pale, a fine sheen of sweat on her brow. You press your wrist to her forehead, finding it warm. 

“Come in, let’s check you out. Does Joel know you’re here?”

She shakes her head, looking wan.

You reach for the walkie on your belt. “I’ll radio–”

“No!” The girl stops halfway through the door, looking up at you with wide eyes.  “Don’t. He thinks I’m in school.”

You narrow your eyes. “He’s not going to be upset at you for being sick.”

She shakes her head furiously. “Just…can you please not tell him?”

“Ellie, I can’t–”

She rolls her eyes, looking like she’s about to cry. “Fine. But…can you just wait? Please?”

You bite your lip. “Let’s go talk.”

You lead the way to the back of the clinic and set her up in the exam room, closing the door behind you.

She hisses when you move to take her right wrist to check her pulse. When you look into her face, she won’t meet your eyes.

“Ellie…did something happen?”

Her lashes are heavy, her breaths shallow and fast.

“Let me see,” you whisper.

She swallows hard, then grimaces as she pulls up her sleeve to reveal a patch of dirty gauze pressed to her inner forearm. The bandage sticks to her skin when you try to remove it, and Ellie makes a pained whimpering noise as you pull it from the wound. The place where her scar used to be is an angry pink splash of bubbled skin in an almost perfect rectangle. It’s a second-degree chemical burn, blistered and oozing, clearly infected.

You sit back, searching the girl’s face. “Did you do this?”

Ellie doesn’t answer.

“What did you use?”

No answer.

“Look, you need to tell me,” you say, trying to soften your voice. “I don’t want to try to treat it and do something that will make it worse.”

“Cleaner,” she says softly. “Found it in the supply closet at school.”

“When?”

She shrugs. “A few days ago.”

The clinical part of you admires the fact that she’s not writhing in agony, that she managed to hide it from Joel and her teachers and friends for so long–she probably would have succeeded if it hadn’t gotten infected.

“I can give you antibiotics for the fever and we have aloe for the burn. It’s probably going to scar. But…I’m guessing that was the idea?”

Her silence tells you everything.

“Are you frequently in the habit of harming yourself?”

Ellie snorts softly. “No.”

“Then what provoked this?”

She gives you a long look as if you should know the answer.

“And Joel doesn’t know,” you say more softly, a statement, not a question.

She shakes her head, lower lip trembling. “He’s gonna kill me.”

“Let’s get you some antibiotics, I’ll take you home…then we’ll figure out what to do about your dad.”

~*~

You give Ellie a shot of penicillin and re-dress the burn, then let Shiela know you’re taking the girl home. Ellie drags her feet down Rancher Street, visibly tired and in pain but not eager to get there.

You send her upstairs as soon as you cross the threshold. “I’ll bring up some Tylenol in a few minutes. That should help with the fever.”

When you pad upstairs a few minutes later with a glass of water and two white pills, Ellie is sitting up in her bed wearing one of Joel’s gray T-shirts as a nightshirt. The sleeves go down to her elbows, the collar stretched over one shoulder. The white bandage on her arm stands out against her pale skin.

You sit on the edge of the bed and watch as she takes the Tylenol with a gulp of water. She regards you warily, pulling her knees to her chest under the blankets.

“You’re gonna tell him, aren’t you,” she mumbles, not a question.

“The school radios your guardian when you don’t show up. He probably already knows.”

“Oh…right.”

“So will you tell me why you did it?” you ask softly.

She considers you miserably. “I was with Dina…we were…um…and she…I wouldn’t…couldn’t take my, uh…my shirt…”

Her face flames red, her fingers picking at the skin around her cuticles until it bleeds. You reach over, gently separating her hands so she can’t make a bad situation worse.

“M’tired of being a fuckin’ freak,” she whispers, wrapping her arms around her legs and pressing her forehead into her knees.

“Ellie, does Joel know that you and Dina are…?”

She shrugs, then shakes her head, ducking her face into the sleeve of her shirt to wipe her eyes.

You remember your father calling your relationship “that lesbian phase” and how he insisted on introducing Joanna as your “friend” to extended family at holiday parties. Your father, well-mannered in his sharp suits and ties, couldn’t fathom why his baby girl would choose such a life for herself.

And then there’s Joel–rugged and gritty in flannel and plaid, an all-American man’s man–and you can’t blame her for thinking he’d see things one way. But he didn’t balk at your past and has never said an unkind word about your inclinations. You open your mouth to tell her as much, but you’re interrupted by the sound of the front door creaking on its hinges.

“Ellie! You here?”

Joel’s voice booms up the stairwell. He’s back from patrol, her name on his lips laced with panic.

“Here comes the firing squad,” she mutters.

“I’ll talk to him,” you sigh, closing her bedroom door behind you as he storms up the stairs. His eyes widen with dread when he sees you waiting for him on the landing.

“What happened? Got a call on the radio, said she missed school–”

“She’s fine. She’s resting.”

He tries to go around you, but you put up a hand and he all but crashes into it, pressing his chest into your palm. He glares at you in disbelief, jaw tightening as his concern turns to anger.

“What are you–”

“Joel, stop,” you say, in the tone you reserve for unruly patients. “She has a minor infection. I gave her antibiotics. She’s going to be fine.”

“An infect–what? Swear to god if that Jesse kid did anythi–”

“It’s not that kind of infection.”

“Then tell me what the fuck is goin’ on,” he growls.

“Christ, Miller. She needs a father right now. Not an attack dog,” you say, trying to keep your voice low. “If you can’t do that, you need to turn around and get that shit out of your system.”

His nostrils flare as you stare him down. You can feel the press of his breastbone against your palm, warm and heaving. For a second, you think he’s going to throw a punch, and part of you thinks you’d like to see him try.

Then the pressure on your wrist relents as he takes a step back, breathing hard.

“You good?”

“M’fine,” he says through gritted teeth. “M’good.”

“Alright.”

He sags into the doorframe when he sees her, curled on her side under the blanket, facing you both.  

“Ellie?” he clears his throat. “What, uh, happened?”

She looks at him, then back at you. You nod.

Show him.

She sits up, grimacing as she pulls back the fresh bandage to expose her forearm.

You watch his fists clench and unclench at his sides, and that far-off look drifts into his eyes. You find yourself moving closer, ready to step between them. Then he’s kneeling by the bed, taking her elbow in one large hand, careful not to touch the blistered skin.

“Does it hurt?” he whispers, voice cracking a little.

Ellie nods.

He swallows hard, tenderly replacing the bandage. He looks into her eyes. “Why?”

“I don’t want to hide anymore,” she whispers.

He considers this for a long time, then, without a word, gets up and leaves the room. You and Ellie make eye contact as his bootprints sound on the stairs and the front door slams.

“Wow, I feel so much fuckin’ better,” she groans.

“Rest,” you sigh. “He’ll come around.”

She gives you a look of bitter unbelief, then turns on her side and flops down, pulling the covers over her head.

You find him on the porch, hands gripping the railing like a lifeline. You can see the clench of his muscles under the sweat-soaked back of his T-shirt.

“That was good,” you say dryly. “She still thinks you’re mad at her…but points for not raising your voice.”

He snorts like a bull, rolling his eyes to the heavens.

“Look, I know we’re not supposed to talk about her scar–”

“Stop,” he says. It comes out as a plea, not a demand.

“...but I don’t think it’s about that,” you continue. “Not entirely.”

“S’that why she tried to burn the fuckin’ thing off?” he growls.

You shake your head. “She’s…different, Joel. And I don’t mean the scar.”

“You think I don’t know that?”

You fold your arms, cock your head. “I don’t think you know as much as you think you do. I think you’ve been so focused on her safety that you haven’t been listening to what she’s trying to tell you.

“She’s scared, Joel. She grew up in a military prison for children. She doesn’t know who she is, and she can’t figure it out because she’s terrified she won’t be who you need her to be.”

He stares at you, dumbfounded, muttering, “I don’t need her to be anything–”

“Every time you look at her, she worries you’re seeing your dead daughter.”

It’s a blunt weapon, and it lands like one. He sags back against the railing with so much hurt in his eyes, breath leaving his lungs in a wounded huff.

“I don’t know what happened out there,” you continue, gesturing beyond the walls. “But whatever it was…I think you need her more than she needs you…and that scares the shit out of you.”

 His jaw clenches.

“I’ve…never denied that,” he grates out after a long pause. “But I never ever saw her as less than whole. Never. Ellie is her own person…and she’s just as much a part of me…as…as Sarah was.”

There’s a heavy silence, with only the sound of his breathing and the crickets singing in the grass.

“I’m not the one who needs to hear it,” you say softly.

He closes his eyes, wincing, the pain flashing across his stoic face before he can button himself back up. You resist the urge to reach for him, to comfort him, because you know he won’t have it. You settle for putting a hand on his shoulder as you make for the stairs.

“I’ve got to get back. Just…listen to her. And tell her the truth.”