#the movement is literally the same and yet you can kinda hop around n shit

[foxstens]

blasphemous 2 yaaaaaaaaaaaaaas

[cxptain-carol]

𝐛𝐚𝐤𝐮𝐠𝐨𝐮, 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐤𝐢, & 𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐲𝐚 | 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐦 (+ 𝐜𝐮𝐝𝐝𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠!)

✰  summary: the main three bnha boys react to you knocking on their door in the middle of the night :)

✰  warnings: cursing, and i use ellipses too much but other than that this is pure fluff, my dudes

✰  a/n: this is my first time writing something like this, but i thought it would be really cute, so here ya go! i think it turned out pretty well so hope you enjoy~ 

A symphony of crickets and wind whistling played outside as you stared up at the ceiling of your dorm room, wide awake. The crack between your curtains exposed a sliver of the moon and it shone distractingly bright on the floor that was littered with books that you had dropped almost as soon as you stepped into your room.

The two of you had stayed up pretty late in his room, going over material and quizzing each other for the next day’s test. It was the first time you two had done something like that; something so simple yet so sweet. The both of you definitely deserved a break together after everything your class had been through.

It had been a rather cold night in the dorms, so you saw the opportunity and ran with it. After visibly shivering didn’t work, you resorted to making cute faces as you asked to wear his sweatshirt.

That’s how you ended up here, happily inhaling the comforting scent of him as you lay in your bed. But despite that, something didn’t feel right. And you wouldn’t fall asleep until you figured it out. Your mind just kept drifting back to him… 

Of course, you were probably just missing your precious boyfriend.

Without a moment’s contemplation, you whisked your sheets to the side and swung your legs over the edge of your bed, soft feet gently meeting with the floor. You looked out of the gap between your curtains, watching the trees’ leaves rustle for a moment before you made your way to the door and slid into a pair of beat-up sneakers, not even bothering to put them on fully before you turned the knob and stepped outside.

It was scarily quiet in the hallway as you listened to the sound of your footsteps padding against the ground. Not to mention, unbearably cold. You weren’t very far from his room and in just a matter of minutes you would hopefully be much warmer.

You excitedly reached your destination but before knocking, you paused.

Was he even awake? Maybe it was a little too bold to try and sneak into his room on a school night. Especially after you kept him up to study. But you really, really wanted to see him again.

Before you could think it over again, you raised your fist and tapped your knuckles against his door.

𝐛𝐚𝐤𝐮𝐠𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐚𝐭𝐬𝐮𝐤𝐢

✰  ✰  ✰  ✰  ✰  ✰

You only knocked twice and tried to keep it as quiet as possible but the sound easily cut through the silence that surrounded you. There was a moment of rustling from inside Bakugou’s room before his voice disrupted whatever quietness was left.

“What the fu-”

“Sorry, Katsuki! It’s me, it’s me—can you let me in?” You hurriedly whisper-yelled all of this.

“Dumbass! It’s one in the fucking morning; go to sleep!” The exclamation seemed angry at surface-level but you could hear his considerate side showing a bit.

“I can’t sleep! Can I, um… could I try sleeping with you?”

No response.

You opened your mouth to try and find the words to convince him, but before they could leave your lips, the door was wrenched open and you were met with Bakugou looking down at you, dressed head-to-toe in all black.

“I’m sorry to bug you, but I just can’t sleep,” you said, tugging on the bottom of your (actually, his) sweatshirt and feeling oddly shy. Somehow, you managed to meet his crimson red eyes, which quite literally softened at the sight of you.

“Ergh, fine. Don’t wake me up again though, dumbass.”

You grinned as you slid off your shoes and followed him over to his bed, taking your spot under the covers after him. Even though your rooms were on the same floor, Bakugou’s felt warmer. 

You contently snuggled up near the edge of his mattress, still quite satisfied with just breathing in his scent that lingered in the sheets even though you really wanted the real thing. But that was probably asking too much. Maybe if you asked nice enough… 

“Can we cud-”

“Fine.” He didn’t bother waiting for you to finish your request as he had already begun reaching for you, gently pulling you in so that your back was pressed against him.

You sighed, closing your eyes and drowning in the warmth of his body loosely curled around yours. Bakugou draped an arm over your side and you gladly reached for his hand, lightly playing with his fingers before he swatted yours away. That last attempt to maintain his dignity (despite the fact he was still cuddling you) brought a smile onto your face.

It was a shame that you were too tired to appreciate the moment fully, but as you started drifting off to the feeling of Bakugou’s rhythmic breathing against your neck, you made a mental note to start sneaking out of your room a lot more.

𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐤𝐢 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐨

✰  ✰  ✰  ✰  ✰  ✰

(someone tell me if he even has a bed in his dorm room but whatever bear with me okay)

“Shoto? Hello?”

You knocked a few more times, but ultimately could not hear anything.

“Are you ignoring me? Are you asleep? Shoto!” It was getting harder to keep your voice at a whisper level.

After a long pause, he responded, “Y/N?”

“Yes, it’s me, Shoto. Can I come in?”

He let out a soft hum and you listened closely to hear the sound of his steps approaching you from behind the door. He opened it swiftly, looking down at you with a semi-confused expression.

“I can’t sleep,” you said. He nodded. 

You two just stood there for a few moments before you sighed and stood up straighter, pulling down on the sleeves of his sweatshirt that you wore, which finally drew his attention to it. Only after pausing on the sight of you in his clothes did he look into your eyes again, cheeks slightly pink.

“Can I sleep in here?” Shoto looked so disoriented by the fact that he was woken up at such a time that he blinked a few times before visibly understanding your question.

“Yeah, sure,” he said, stepping back to let you in. You took your shoes off immediately but before you could even give him a hug by the door or perhaps a kiss, he had already returned to his bed and was lying face-down in the center of it.

Damn, he must be really tired.

You rushed over, quickly hopping in beside him and pulling the covers up to your neck. You nudged Shoto gently and he rolled over so the two of you were facing each other. 

While the situation was nice, and you were already feeling a lot more at ease, you knew you wanted to be even closer.

“Shoto… have you ever cuddled someone?” You asked in a voice barely above a whisper.

“Huh?”

“Have you ever cuddled someone?” This time you asked a bit louder.

“Oh… no, I don’t think so.”

You pouted a little bit; that was pretty sad.

“Well, do you want to?”

“Don’t really know how,” he admitted, his voice trailing off slightly—he probably wanted you to shut up. So you decided to take matters into your own hands.

You snuggled closer to Todoroki, wriggling into his arms as he lay on his side. Your head was placed right under his chin and you happily squished your cheek against the bit of skin exposed by his shirt there. You stopped moving when you felt him physically respond: by wrapping his arms tighter around you and moving one of his hands up to cup your face.

You looked into his eyes, fighting the urge to let yours fall shut, but almost laughed as you noticed he had the same problem.

“I was kinda hoping for a conversation, but I’d say we’re both too tired,” you muttered, kissing Shoto’s neck gently. He tensed up slightly but relaxed soon after, bringing his head lower to kiss you on the cheek.

“It’s okay, Y/N, we can talk tomorrow. Go to sleep now, okay?”

Without needing to hear another word, you smiled and let yourself drift off in his arms, briefly amused by (but completely adoring) the fact that they were jarringly different temperatures.

𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐲𝐚 𝐢𝐳𝐮𝐤𝐮

✰  ✰  ✰  ✰  ✰  ✰

You lightly knocked four times, listening hard for a sound from inside. You could hear his bed creaking a bit and what sounded like footsteps.

“Izuku? You still awake? I can’t-”

The door swung open slowly and a head of messy green hair peeked out from behind it. You watched as a look of relief washed over Midoriya’s face at your arrival.

“Can’t sleep? Me too,” he said, rubbing his eyes. His voice was more gravelly than usual but it was utterly adorable.

“Did you want to- ?”

You nodded, already squeezing through the door, kicking off your shoes, and making your way over to his bed, desensitized to the shit ton of All Might faces watching your every move. After reaching your destination, you looked back at Midoriya, then down at his bed, then back again.

“What side d’ya want?” 

He shrugged, and you happily took that as your cue to sink under the covers, half-curled up and leaving space for Izuku. Your eyelids fell shut and you grinned at the warm presence of him that followed after you.

“Um, Y/N, can you… I-I want to…” You pieced together his half-muttered sentence fragments and moved closer to him, which he thankfully accepted by lightly grasping you with his scarred hands.

“I thought you couldn’t sleep, now you’re barely awake,” you whispered, half to yourself as Izuku had started drifting off, still holding you by the waist.

You cautiously moved up the bed before taking him into your arms and resting his head against your chest so you could easily rake your fingers through his fluffy green curls. He breathed softly against your neck and pulled you closer, making your heart race under the worn material of his sweatshirt.

“Thanks… for comin’ over. I… I was thinking about it,” Izuku murmured in his sleepy voice, the movement of his lips tickling you.

“I thought you’d be shyer doing something like this, but I’m not complaining, Zuku.” Your voice was starting to sound more tired as well, and you finally closed your eyes, focusing on the sound of your boyfriend breathing and curling his hair between your fingers.

“I love you.”

You barely heard it but that didn’t stop your cheeks from heating up at Midoriya’s adorable, half-asleep confession. Your fingers stopped their combing and you simply cradled his head in your hands before placing tender kisses on his freckled cheeks, the tip of his nose, his closed eyelids, and his forehead (where you lingered a bit longer). He hardly shifted, but you were sure he felt them. You resumed stroking his hair but couldn’t stop yourself from leaning in to kiss his forehead again.

“Love you too, baby.”

[fific7]

Short Term Loss

Billy Russo x Reader

@omgrachwrites 500 Follower Celebration

Summary: Follows on from That Swept-Back Hair and Velvet (they’re tagged if you want to read). It’s 2 months since Billy got out of hospital. He’s got some memories back, but are they the important ones?

Warnings: Swearing, memory loss, angst/fluff mix.

A/N: well this is really late to the party but here’s part 3, final one. Loosely based on S2 Billy, but this is non-canon and exists only within my personal Punisher AU.

(My GIF)

Your plane touched down at JFK about 30 minutes later than scheduled, and by the time you grabbed an Uber and got home, it was just after midnight.

The trip had been a super busy one, and you were totally shattered. The jet lag was gonna be a bitch. At least it was Saturday tomorrow. Today.

With a sigh of relief, you stepped inside your darkened apartment, dropped your suitcase and bag, kicked off your shoes and headed straight for the sofa. It had your name on it, and you were going to collapse on it for at least half an hour before doing anything else.

You gave a small shriek as a sudden movement from one of the armchairs startled you. Billy’s face came into view in the reflected glow from a streetlight outside, and you noticed he was still wearing his black tactical outfit. He stood up and came over to you, sliding his arms around your waist and kissing your neck, burying his nose in your hair.

“Hey, sorry sweetheart... I didn’t mean to scare you. Dozed off waitin’ for you.”

You stroked his jawline, your fingertips feeling the bristly scruff along it.

“Oh, honey, we agreed we’d meet up tomorrow for lunch.... because my flight was getting in late, and you had a job today.”

His face fell, “Uh, yeah... I... kinda thought we had, but I... wasn’t 100% sure.” Inwardly, you felt sadness wash over you. Absentmindedly, he touched a finger to his largest scar, a frown appearing on his face.

You took hold of his hand, “C’mon you, let’s go and faceplant onto the bed,” starting to lead him through to the bedroom. You heard a chuckle behind you, “Okay... if you say so.”

You began to strip off your wrinkled travelled-in clothes, pulling on one of the oversized Anvil T’s Billy had given you, and which had pretty much replaced your PJ’s for sleeping in.

Billy was down to his boxer briefs and undershirt, and as he pulled the white tank over his head while sitting on the bed, you spotted a big purple-black bruise on his side which hadn’t been there when you left for your trip.

You leant down, fingertips touching it. “Billy? Where’d that come from?” He looked down, his own fingers landing on top of yours.

“Ah, that job today. Some asshole wouldn’t do what I told him to.”

You cupped his face in your hand, “When’re you gonna stop going out on assignments, Billy? You know I worry about you.”

You saw his mouth pull into a line, his eyes looking like black flints as he stared at you. He stood up abruptly, facing you, body tensed, “I’m too fuckin’ tired for this shit right now! If you’re gonna go over it again, maybe I better head to my place.”

He stared at you, waiting for your answer.

You sighed, holding out your hand to him, “You don’t need to do that, Billy. I’m too fucking tired for that shit too.”

He grinned at that, relaxing, taking your hand and sitting on the edge of the bed, where he pulled you to stand between his wide-apart long legs, your hands coming to rest on his shoulders.

He ran his hands up from your waist to cup your breasts, lingering for a moment, then moved them back down to your waist. He looked as tired as you felt.

You ran your fingers through his hair, thinking how glad you were it’d begun to grow back at last, although not yet anywhere near as long as it had been. But there was enough there now for you to attempt small tugs on it, which you were delighted to find still had the same effect on Billy that it ever did.

He suddenly lay back on the bed, burrowing under the covers and pulling you right along with him.

“Billy!” “What?” “I need to....” “You need to lay here with me.”

You laughed. “If I wake up tomorrow with panda eyes, it’s on you. And I will punish you.”

He sighed, grinning at you, and let you go. “Okay, okay, I know when I’m beat! But... don’t be too long.”

After you’d done all the necessary girl things which needed to be done, you hopped back into bed with Billy, switching off the bedside lamp as you lay down next to him.

He gave you a long kiss, then you felt his lips softly trailing kisses down your neck.

“G’night, sweetheart,” whispered against your ear. “Sweet dreams, Billy.” You tucked your head against his chest, sighing in contentment, hearing his steady heartbeat.

Soon, his breathing evened out and you knew he was asleep.

Tired as you were, your mind wouldn’t let you sleep. You thought of Billy’s words to you when you got home; he’d forgotten that the two of you were meeting for lunch the next day, rather than him coming over to your place that night. He’d tried to cover it up, but you knew he’d forgotten.

Your heart ached for him. He’d made a lot of progress over the past couple of months, recovering well physically. Psychologically.. well, that was another thing entirely.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

As you’d anticipated, Billy had an exceptionally hard time dealing with his facial scarring. The scars were much less noticeable than they had been, but he had taken to wearing caps and hoodies to hide behind.

You often found him gazing into a mirror, lip curled in distaste as he stared at his reflection. You’d make a point of sneaking up behind him, arms going round his waist, asking him, “Hey, who’s that handsome guy in the mirror, then?” He’d smile and turn round, kissing you softly, totally aware of what you were trying to do.

Once though, he’d blown up, whirling round and yelling at you, “How can you say that?! Look at me!! This...” pointing to his face, “...is a fuckin’ mess!!”

You had placed your palm on his cheek, and he’d calmed down, laying his hand over yours. “Billy, I told you in the hospital that you’re still handsome, and I meant it. Okay?” He’d looked unconvinced and said in a low voice, “I know you say that, but I just don’t understand why you wanna be with me when I look like this.”

And you’d have to try and tell him why without using the L word, as you two hadn’t got to that stage before the explosion, and now was not the time to mention it.

You kept constantly reassuring him, and slowly he began to accept that you did still want him, especially as you two slept in the same bed when staying over at each other’s places. You held each other, just that, and this one simple thing seemed to bring him comfort.

His memory still had a black hole in it, covering the period between the explosion and his last tour in Afghanistan. The memories seemed to start making their way back into his head from there outwards.

He was struggling a little with his short-term memory too, forgetting or mixing things up, hence the lunch confusion from earlier. While this worried you, he was silently frustrated by it.

He now remembered his discharge from the Marines, and that it was his decision to leave. The word Anvil was hovering just at the edge of his memory, present but not fully formed yet. Billy was back working there, but Frank was temporarily still in charge. He could also remember most of what had happened leading up to the explosion, but not the actual event itself.

Some memories came back as tiny fragmented pieces. He would remember a comment you’d made in the past, or the way you did something. You’d walk into a restaurant or cafe with him, he’d stop walking and talking, and you knew it had sparked a memory for him.

An important sense to him seemed to be that of smell. You’d spritz your perfume, deodorant, or body spray around you and his eyes would close, you’d hear your name being said under his breath.

He was forever sliding his nose against your neck or into your hair as if scenting you, through your perfume or shampoo.

But he still didn’t really know who you were.

He heard all about your shared history from you, of course. He didn’t remember anything except random moments of your six months together, and nothing at all about the years of being ‘friends with benefits’ which preceded that.

Frank and Karen had also answered questions that he was wary of asking you directly; how the two of you had been together, how you’d acted with each other, had you kissed, held hands, wrapped your arms around each other in public? Telling you later what he’d asked, and you’d reinforce what they’d told him through actions as well as words.

You were like two strangers, who’d only just met and were getting to know each other. Everything had been a little awkward between you since Billy got home from the hospital.

From the first night he was back, he’d started making tentative, fumbling attempts to have sex with you. It had taken you aback, as it’d been so unlike the Billy you’d known. You guessed he thought it was what you’d expect from him as your boyfriend, and was trying to keep you happy.

So you’d sat him down after a few days of gently warding off these attempts, and had a long talk with him.

How he literally didn’t know you anymore, and that he’d be relearning everything about you. How, until you were truly and completely back in his head, he really shouldn’t rush to try and be a boyfriend to you.

While he protested that he didn’t want to wait, you could tell that truthfully he was relieved. He was trying his best to be your ‘before’ Billy which had been a strain on him, and you’d felt like he was on edge all the time.

But since your little chat, he’d been a lot more relaxed and had been more easily affectionate, in public and private. This had finally resulted in a full-on kiss just before your most recent trip, initiated by him while Frank and Karen were sitting there with you. In itself that didn’t sound earth-shattering, but to you it was a major step forward, as it meant he was a lot more comfortable around you.

The four of you had been in your regular after-work bar, just chatting, Billy listening a lot as usual, just soaking up the details of the conversation and making an occasional comment, or more often asking a question.

You’d just finished recounting a story of an arm-wrestling match between Frank and Billy at a backyard barbecue one time, where the two of them had been so competitive about it they’d ended up rolling around on the lawn, putting each other in headlocks.

Billy had laughed out loud, leant forward, slid his hand around the back of your neck and passionately kissed you. He’d then sat back and taken a sip of his beer, before noticing three sets of surprised eyes on him. “What?” he’d smirked.

“Don’t mind us, Bill, you just carry right on,” grinned Frank, waving a hand in the air.

Billy had looked at you, eyes sparkling, “Huh. Yeah, might just do that.”

Frank raised an eyebrow at him, smirking.

“What can I say,” Billy shrugged, “haven’t felt much like laughin’ lately, and.... and she makes me laugh,” grinning at you.

You’d felt a blush burning its way onto your face, and you’d looked down with a small smile, feeling shy all of a sudden. Karen reached over and put her hand on your arm, a cheeky grin on her face. You knew she was worried about you still seeing Billy, she was scared you’d get badly hurt.

A few days prior, she’d asked what you’d do if Billy never recovered his memories of you, and started seeing other women because he didn’t feel any real connection to you.

Truthfully at first you’d been hurt and offended by the question, and felt that she wasn’t being very supportive of you. But at the same time, you knew that she was a pragmatic soul and was merely trying to prepare you for the worst case scenario.

After letting this percolate through your brain for a few moments, you’d answered, “Well, obviously I wouldn’t be happy about it, and I guess I’d finish with him.”

She’d nodded, seeming to take some comfort in hearing that you wouldn’t cling on for dear life to a non-existent relationship.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Now, as you lay there listening to Billy’s regular breathing, you thought back to what Karen had said a few days ago, her ‘worst case scenario’.

Honestly, right now you didn’t think Billy had enough confidence in his appearance to approach any other women. You smiled sadly; whoever would’ve thought anyone would ever be able to say that about Billy Russo?

But he was slowly regaining his equilibrium, so how long would it be before he decided he needed to look elsewhere for what you wouldn’t give him? Especially if he still hadn’t recalled your relationship and consequently felt no loyalty to you.

You sighed, and Billy huffed in his sleep; lying still, you held your breath, you didn’t want him to wake up.

He still slept, so you released a breath and let your mind start spinning again.

You wondered to yourself... would you really do what you’d promised Karen you would - give up Billy without a fight? Pride and jealousy might get in the way of that. And why exactly were you lying awake torturing yourself over something which hopefully wouldn’t ever happen?

Eventually your tired mind wound down and down, and you slept too.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Billy had woken up before your jaded jet-lagged self did, and you’d groggily surfaced to the sound of cupboards opening and closing, and the chink of mugs and plates. He appeared a little while later, two mugs clutched in one big hand, two plates in the other.

He’d made coffee and toast, which was slightly burnt but you didn’t mind that, as he’d slathered on lots of butter, just as you liked it. You pointed at it, “You remembered,” smirking.

“Uhuh,” he said, “I did,” looking pleased with himself, putting everything down on the bedside table and getting back into bed. He slid closer to you, hand going round the back of your neck and pulling you in for a slow kiss. He pulled away, smirking at you then sat back up, grabbed a plate, handing it to you.

“Breakfast in bed,” he said, to which you replied, “Crumbs in bed,” grinning back at him. He laughed and poked your side, “Now that’s just ungrateful!”

The two of you lazed around, eating your breakfast and drinking your coffee, watching the TV news as you did.

Suddenly, Billy put his mug down and rolled on top of you, dark eyes gazing down into yours, his fingers tracing your cheek and jaw. He leant in and kissed you. “I’m startin’ to remember, you know, I really am. I can feel what we had between us.”

You stroked his face gently, feeling the ridges of his scars against your palm. “Are you, Billy? Truly? I confess I’d be very happy if you are.”

He nodded, still gazing at you. Then you felt his fingers at the hem of your t-shirt, moving it up. You shot up, Billy falling back on one shoulder.

“Wait a minute! Were you just saying that so you’d get laid?!”

He put both hands up, palms out, “No!!” Then a guilty look crossed his face, “But I can’t lie, I do wanna get laid.”

“Oh, and I’m the nearest convenient woman, right?”

He sat up, putting his head in his hands. “No!” he yelled, looking over at you, “You’re my girlfriend! We should want each other!”

“But you don’t remember that I’m your girlfriend, Billy!”

You felt tears welling up in your eyes, “You don’t remember.”

He reached for you, and you allowed him to pull you into his arms, kissing your temple. “But I’m tryin’ to, sweetheart, I swear I am.” His dark eyes looked into yours, “Because I want back what we had. I see Frank and Karen together, and I want that too. With you!”

The two of you lay back down, Billy sliding his arms round you, lips next to your ear. “I’ll be here with you till I remember, I’m not going anywhere and... I don’t want anyone else.”

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Things were a little bit awkward between you for the rest of that day, Billy casting anxious glances at you and periodically repeating much the same thing to you, trying to reassure you. He now knew that you were feeling as insecure as he was, but about a totally different aspect of your relationship. He, deep down, still worried that you no longer truly wanted him due to his scars and continued amnesia.

You were worried that he didn’t want you as he couldn’t really remember you, and would leave you eventually. He’d felt helpless, was trying to make you see that he felt the connection between you, was just trying to fill in the gaps, didn’t want anyone else except you. But he wasn’t sure you believed him.

Karen and Frank had suggested meeting for lunch the next day at a local diner and you’d sent Billy on ahead to meet them, as you’d received a query from your Editor in Chief which you thought you’d better answer sooner rather than later.

As you stepped into the diner 25 minutes late for lunch, you spotted Karen and Frank sitting in a booth but there was no sign of Billy. Your stomach dropped, where was he? Did he forget which diner you were meeting in and was maybe wandering about trying to find you all?

Then your stomach lurched again, but for a different reason. Billy was standing at the far end of the curved diner counter, facing you but tucked out of sight of your other two friends, his head tilted over as he listened to a dark-haired woman speak directly into his ear. Her back was to you so you couldn’t see her face, but suddenly Billy grinned and she moved her hand to cover his, rubbing her thumb over his skin.

You felt rage and jealousy boil up inside you, and you took silent swift steps towards the two of them, catching the tail end of what the woman had been saying, “....so just come to my apartment, and we can have some private sessions, okay?” Your mouth dropped open as you continued walking towards them... what the hell??

Billy caught sight of you heading his way, and his face lit up with a big smile. You couldn’t believe it, this woman was blatantly propositioning him and he was smiling at you?! A murderous scowl on your face, you grabbed the woman’s elbow and swung her towards you. Catching sight of Billy’s astonished face, you then quickly looked at her equally startled face.

Dr Krista Dumont.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

“You!” was the first thing out of your mouth. “Consulting in diners now, are you?”

You’d taken an instant dislike to the good doctor when you found her in Billy’s hospital room without permission, feeling that there was something ‘off’ about her. And now you knew why... private sessions? You’d lay odds on those not consisting of psychotherapy. Or not the kind she was licensed to practise, anyhow.

Looking pointedly at her hand on Billy’s, you continued, “Take your hand off Billy, and take yourself out of here... now.” She opened her mouth to speak, but you cut her off, “And if I find you anywhere near my boyfriend again, especially making offers to give him private sessions!... I’ll have you struck off.”

She drew herself up, trying to regain some dignity, but after taking another look at your furious face, she just high-tailed it out of there instead without saying a word.

Billy had watched this exchange between the two of you in complete confusion, but as you switched your attention to him, you saw that he had the ‘Billy smirk’ on his face. He’d just remembered that he loved it when you got feisty. “What are you smirking at? And...exactly what did that woman say to you?”

He nervously rubbed the back of his neck, “Well, she said she’d been my psychotherapist in the hospital but didn’t think she’d been allowed long enough to fully rehabilitate me, and wanted me to go to her apartment so we could continue having private sessions.” Looking anxiously at you, he asked, “Would it have been so wrong to go?”

“Oh, Billy,” you sighed, it was breaking your heart how vulnerable this trauma had made him. You took his hand, “Come with me, over to Karen and Frank. I want you to hear from them why it would have been so wrong,” you glanced up at him, “in case you think I’m bullshitting you.” He shook his head, intertwining his fingers with yours. “I’d never think you were doing that.” You in turn shook your head, “It’s better you hear it from them.”

You led him round to the booth where your two friends sat, deep in conversation but immediately looking up as you approached. “Hey! Where were you?” grinned Karen, “we were about to send out a search party!” Frank butted in, “Were you two in the bathroom together?” and wiggled his eyebrows at you both. You punched him lightly on the arm, “No, we weren’t! But I walked in on Billy and an unexpected visitor.”

They both looked puzzled, and as you and Billy slid into the booth, you said, “Dr Dumont.” Karen burst out, “What?!!” and you nodded, “Yeah, exactly. Interesting, huh? Billy... tell them what she said to you.” Looking nervous, Billy repeated what he’d told you earlier and saw amazed looks appear on their faces as he recounted it.

“Wow,” said Karen, “Billy, that is not true. Absolutely not true.” She nodded over at you, telling him you’d declined Dumont’s services in favour of Curtis’ counselling sessions, as everyone had agreed that he’d be more at ease in those. “Yeah, Mask Lady is a piece of work, so we heard,” growled Frank.

“And this just confirms it,” agreed Karen. “Billy, no self-respecting doctor runs ‘private sessions’ from their own apartments.” She fixed him with a hard stare. “You can imagine what one of her sessions would have consisted of, surely?”

Billy’s face flushed red, and he immediately looked at you, “Oh shit! I... uh... I didn’t... I never...” shaking his head back and forth, eyes wide. You put your hand on top of his, “Billy, shush... it’s fine. She tried to take advantage of you. In a really calculated manner.”

You stroked the back of his hand. “You’re still vulnerable, and she must’ve asked you little questions here and there to gauge how much you remembered about your time in hospital. When she’d determined that your memory of it was hazy at best, she spun you that tale of being your doctor. She wasn’t. She tried to be, going behind our backs and starting a session with you, but luckily Frank & I interrupted her when we arrived for a visit.”

Karen tutted, “What a creepy bitch!” You nodded, “You know, I’ve got a good mind to go ahead and report her anyway. She might be pulling this same stunt with other vets!” Frank agreed, “I’ll get Curtis onto it, he’s got so many contacts in that sector he’ll be able to put the word out.”

Billy huffed out a long breath, still shaking his head. “I can’t believe I fell for that.” “Billy - she’s a doctor. People believe doctors,” Karen said. “Yeah, well I’ll be a lot more wary of them now!” he replied.

Then his smirk appeared again, and those dark eyes stared into yours, “On a lighter note...” he said, “while you were verbally beating up Dumont, I remembered that I always loved it when you got feisty. And I remembered that it would mean angry sex for me later on!” And he winked at you, making you blush and give an embarrassed laugh.

Once you’d all eaten and were finishing up your coffees, Billy had sidled up to you and nudged your shoulder with his. “Ready to head for the ranch?” As he asked you this, he took your hand and slid it along his thigh, brushing it sneakily past the large bulge in his jeans, watching your reaction. His eyes had a soft, needy look in them, and suddenly you didn’t feel like keeping him at arm’s length any more. You nodded, and signalled for the bill.

Once outside, Karen corralled you slightly away from the men, who were having a conversation in low voices. She gave you a concerned look, “Are you okay after that little shitshow Dumont put on in there? Honestly, I don’t know how you stopped yourself bitch-slapping that bitch!”

You giggled at her, “With great difficulty, I tell you! I could’ve fucking dropped her where she stood to be honest, but I didn’t think that was a good look. Plus then I would’ve ended up in jail and she’d be free to come sniffing round Billy again. She’s so fucking creepy, Karen! She put her hand right on top of his, stroking it, you know? It was so ... euwwww!”

Karen gaped, “Oh I’d definitely have killed her.”

“Anyway,” you confided, “I think it’s time I lifted the sex ban on Billy.” Karen raised an eyebrow, “Oh.... really? And you’re comfortable with that?”

“Well....” you shrugged, “if Dumont thought it was a good idea...?” you said, voice dripping sarcasm.

Karen burst out laughing. Frank and Billy’s heads swivelled and they smiled at you both, happy to hear laughter after the earlier tension.

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Back in the apartment, Billy headed straight for the bedroom, pulling you along by the hand, saying you both needed a siesta. You laughed, “We do?” He nodded, “Definitely. Your feistiness, all the remembering I’ve been doin’, all the sexual tension between us,” he grinned at you.

You laughed, shaking your head at him and started peeling off your clothes. You pulled your sleep t-shirt on over your head, lying down on the bed and sighing as you relaxed into the pillows.

Billy, meanwhile, had now finished stripping off down to his black boxer briefs - a delicious sight to behold, you thought as you lay watching him - and joined you in bed, pulling the covers over both of you. He wrapped his arms around you and pulled you close to his chest, kissing your temple before kissing you on the lips with heated passion. He pulled back, rubbing his bristly jaw along your cheekbone before just gazing at you for a long moment.

He sighed, running his hand over your hair, saying, “You know that... while I might still have gaps in my memory, and I’ve been forgettin’ things... you do know that I love you, right?”

You’d been watching his sensual lips moving while he spoke. Now you looked up, startled, into his dark eyes, “I..uh.... no, I didn’t know that, Billy.”

His eyes got wide and glossy, “I really shoulda told you that before all this shit happened.” Overwhelmed by his admission, you laid your face against his chest. You heard his heart, it was beating fast.

He spoke again, in a low voice. “Because I know I felt this then, and I still feel it now. More than ever. You’ve really got my back, haven’t you?” You nodded, “Yeah, Billy.” His arms tightened around you, and you felt soft kisses on your cheek.

“You love me?” he suddenly asked you.

Again, you looked deep into those dark eyes of his, “Yeah, Billy.” He gave a low laugh, “You gonna actually say it to me?” You smiled, “I love you, Russo.”

He gently tilted your face up towards his and kissed you, long, slow and full of love.

“Oh... we’re doing last names, huh?” he smirked, knowing he had one more bombshell to drop.

He leant down, and you felt his breath on your ear as he whispered, “Well, I hope you like ‘Russo’, ‘cause it’s gonna be your last name too, someday soon.”

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Additional A/N: Yes, not me still with the 🥊 on Dumont!

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