#time to nearly kill them and force them to try to kill each other in front of me

[alltheirdamn]

Killing Me Softly | (Joel x teacher!f!reader)

Chap. 6 Buried Truths

Summary: When the past can only be contained for so long, Joel is there to pick up the pieces. Rating: 18+ MDNI Explicit Word Count: 8.4k Warnings: Pre-outbreak AU, language, mentions of a hospital setting, mentions of injury, mentions of past trauma, a FUCK ton of angst, little sprinkle of smut, another cliffhanger (don't worry, i won't make you wait long) A/N: This is the part where you all collectively say OH...

Masterlist | Ko-Fi

Joel’s hand remained wrapped around yours as you stared blankly out the plane window. Everything had been a blur the last twenty-four hours. After you got off the call with Beth, you ran through calling the school to find a substitute, packed what you could into a small carry-on bag, and went online to book the first ticket out to Boston. You tried to talk Joel into staying back in Austin; he had work and Sarah to care for, but he was adamant about coming. He made a quick call to Tommy to make a plan for Sarah and contacted his work to find coverage for the rest of the week. He was only apart from you when he rushed home to pack his travel bag. Then you were both off to the airport: you bleary-eyed and Joel more stoic than you could ever recall seeing. He hadn’t said much between security and the flight gate, but you were too exhausted to try and force conversation. 

“Hey,” Joel said, nudging you. “How you feelin’, baby?”

You glanced at him and shrugged, the tears from earlier still drying on your cheeks.

“I’m okay, I guess.”

His fingers squeezed around yours before he brought your hand to his mouth to kiss it softly.

“He’s gonna be alright,” he assured. “Beth said he’s recovering now, right? It’s just gonna take some time.”

While you and Joel were waiting at the gate, you called Beth again to find out what happened with your dad. She explained he had been up on the ladder fixing the roofing above the patio when his foot caught in one of the steps, ultimately forcing him to fall ten feet to the ground. He had a broken hip, a fracture in his lower spine, and a severe concussion—leaving him in a temporary medically induced coma. Beth had said he was lucky to be alive, but the anxiety still bubbled inside you in fear of what he would endure through his recovery. The thought of his injury only elevated the already strong emotions connecting you to the past, making it nearly impossible to cope with your dad’s accident while you simultaneously still struggled with your own.

The plane made a rocky touch-down in Boston well after midnight, the autumn rain causing the plane to slide against the tarmac before coming to a jarring stop. You and Joel rushed around the other passengers, filing out of the plane and sprinting through the airport to find Beth. You singled her out of the crowd, her face rosy and hair piled onto her head in a messy bun. The second she had your arms around you, you crumpled to the ground as the sobs broke out of your chest. 

“It’s okay, sis,” she said, her voice breaking. “He’s stable. It’s gonna be okay.”

“What if—what if he’s not?” You sobbed. 

You clutched onto her sweater, your head buried into her shoulders. She hushed you, her hand rubbing into your back.

“The doctors said he’ll make a full recovery. We just need to wait,” she said. 

“Is there any…” Your voice broke once more.

“No,” she whispered. “There’s no serious damage to his brain.”

You choked on your breath, relief swimming through your veins. This wouldn’t be like your accident; he would be okay. 

“C’mon,” she urged, pulling you to your feet. 

You wiped your nose across your sleeve, sheepishly turning to Joel. Gesturing from him to Beth, you gave a weak smile.

“Joel, this is Beth. Beth, this is Joel.”

Joel and Beth stood motionless, staring awkwardly at each other. You glanced between them, your eyebrows furrowing. Why weren’t they saying anything? 

Finally, Joel cleared his throat and extended his hand to Beth. 

“Nice to meet you, Beth. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Beth took his hand cautiously, giving him a friendly smile.

“Same here.”

You’d revisit this awkward interaction later, but you needed to go home. 

“Is mom home?” You asked Beth. 

You reached for your bag, but Joel gently nudged your hand away. He took it into his hand and walked to the parking garage behind you and your sister.

“Her and Stella are at the hospital,” she explained.

You stopped in your tracks, sending Joel staggering into your back with a soft oof.

“Sorry,” you muttered to Joel. You turned back to Beth. “Take me home.”

“No,” she said sternly. “They want you there. You need to be there.”

“Beth,” you started.

She lifted a hand to silence you, glancing over your shoulder at Joel.

“Can you jump in the car real quick? I need to talk to my sister alone.”

Beth tossed her keys to Joel, waiting until the back door shut before she glared at you. 

“Does he know?” She questioned.

“Of course, he doesn’t know,” you argued. 

She scoffed, folding her arms.

“Considering everything going on, you didn’t think to mention it to him?”

“Sorry, I’ve been a little busy getting my ass out here as fast as possible. It didn’t register in my mind to share the sad details of my accident with him.”

“You need to tell him, sis.”

“This isn’t the fucking time to do it!” You snapped. 

Beth rolled her eyes, her lips pursed for another attack.

“It’s going to come out sooner or later. You know that, right? He’s not going to run away if you tell him.”

“Bennett did, so why is he any different?”

“Stop comparing him to Bennett!” She yelled. “He’s nothing like him, and if you seriously think that, then you’re a fucking idiot.”

“Don’t say that,” you mumbled.

“What? The truth? Because the truth is that you are a fucking idiot. And on top of that, you’re a coward.”

“Fuck you,” you spat. 

Beth laughed. She actually laughed. Rounding the car, she left you standing teary-eyed and frustrated. 

“Get in the fucking car,” she shouted. “We’re wasting time.”

You hauled yourself into the front seat, keeping your eyes out of the window and avoiding the heavy truth sitting between you, Beth, and Joel. If any one of them told him about your past, you’d kill them. It was yours to share whenever you were ready. 

Beth drove like a bat out of hell to Mass General. No one said anything the entire drive, and you were grateful for it. After the blowup between you and Beth, you had no more energy left to fight. You just hoped you’d be able to reel in the anger with Joel; he didn’t deserve it. 

Mass General loomed above the rain clouds settling over the city. Joel and Beth had already exited the car while you sat inside its warmth, your eyes stuck on the Emergency sign at the front of the hospital. Joel tapped on the window, stirring you from the numbing sensation rolling through your body. You didn’t even flinch at the sound of his knuckles on the glass. Joel cracked the door open, pulling it wide enough to fit his broad between the metal and your shaking body.

“C’mon baby,” he urged, offering his hand. “I know y’can do this. I’m right here with you, okay?”

“I can’t,” you whined. 

Joel crouched slightly, leveling you with soft brown eyes, a curl drifting over his forehead. You wished you were both in bed, curled under the covers and far away from Boston. You wanted his soft hair between your fingers and his stubble ticking your skin. But no, you were here in Boston, with a rain cloud hanging in the sky and your father unconscious in a hospital bed. 

“Look at me,” Joel breathed.

You wanted to look anywhere but at him. If he looked at you any longer, you’d shatter completely. He cautioned your name, coaxing you from your hesitation. His strong hands cupped your cheeks, holding you firm as he kept your focus on his eyes.

“I’m right here,” he repeated. “Ain’t gonna leave your side no matter what. Y’understand? Whatever happens, I’m right here.”

You chewed on your lip to keep the sobs from escaping. It was surprising you had anything left to cry; all you did was cry… and cry… and cry. 

“I can’t go in there, Joel. You don’t—you don’t understand.”

“Help me understand,” he pleaded.

“Go without me. I’ll wait outside, okay?”

“Baby,” he groaned. “Beth will have my ass if I don’t get you inside.”

You scoffed, ripping his hands from your face. 

“You speak a few words to her and suddenly know how she’s gonna react?” You glared. “You both acted so fucking weird in the airport and now you’re taking her side?”

Joel straightened to his full height, the shadow of his body blanketing you. You were pushing him away; you knew it, and so did he. You just needed to nudge him a bit more, and he’d run. You’d be alone again and spare yourself the humiliation and heartbreak.

“I ain’t takin’ sides,” he argued. “I’m bein’ realistic. I saw the way she went at you back there. I’m not ‘bout to get the same treatment for leavin’ you behind.”

“Just go!” You yelled. You shoved at his chest, forcing him back into the door. 

He didn’t respond in anger like you expected. He did the opposite, pulling you towards him and into a desperate kiss. You tried to push him off—tried to fight it— but he only held you tighter.

“Keep fightin’ me, baby,” he said against your mouth. “I’m only gonna fight back.”

“I hate you,” you cried. “I hate you.”

But you didn’t stop kissing him. You gripped the wild curls at the base of his neck, pinning him to your lips as you sobbed through every slant of his mouth. 

“Why won’t you leave?” You cried, the words muffled as his tongue searched for yours. “Why, Joel?”

“I ain’t leavin’ you again, baby,” he murmured. “I can’t.”

Joel pulled away from your swollen lips, tears pooling in his eyes. You instantly felt remorse for treating him so badly. You wouldn’t do to him what Bennett did to you. 

“Remember when I said this was real?” he asked. “Do you still believe that?”

You nodded, squeezing your eyes shut as more tears ran down your cheeks.

“Yes,” you whimpered.

“Then trust me when I say I’m never leavin’. Not now. Not ever.”

You inhaled a sharp breath and buried your head in your hands. 

“Just give me a minute, okay?” You exhaled. “Catch up with Beth, and I’ll be right behind you.”

“I’ll make you a deal,” he said, echoing the words you spoke only a few weeks ago. 

“You and your deals,” you grumbled, peeking out your fingers.

That garnered a slight grin from Joel, his lips curling upward.

“Take your breather, and I’ll wait by the back of the car. If y’wanna go in, we can go in together.”

You remained silent, hiccuping over another sob. Joel raised his brow, waiting for a response. Avoiding his eyes, you nodded, the Emergency sign taunting you from a distance. Joel leaned down to press a soft kiss on your forehead and abandoned you to retreat toward the back of the car. 

You steadied your breathing, focusing on the slow inhale and exhale of the air within your lungs. It wasn’t you in that hospital bed; it was your dad. He didn’t sustain the same damage you had, and that’s all that mattered. Whatever the outcome, he was better off than you had ever been, and you needed to be grateful for it. 

You let your legs move on their own accord as you took your spot beside Joel, his hand instantly grasping around yours. His touch grounded you in the moment, keeping you centered as your mind swam upstream through the rocky waves of the past. You had to stay strong. You had to prove you could do this.

The second your feet crossed through the sliding doors, all that strength collapsed. Joel hooked a strong arm around your back, bracing you to his side as he guided you into the waiting room. Your mom and Beth sat side by side in the worn-down seats, their faces grim and tired. 

“Hey,” you said wearily. 

Your mom's eyes snapped up, and she broke down at seeing you. She ran up to yank you from Joel’s grasp, smothering you into a tight hug. 

“Oh, honey,” she cried. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

“How’s dad?” You asked, speaking into her hair that wrapped around your face.

“Doctors haven’t given much of an update, but he’s alright. They’re taking him in for surgery in a few hours to help reset his hip.”

“And his head?” You faltered.

“There’s no serious damage,” she whispered.

You peered over her shoulder to where Beth sat, eyes meeting in a quiet understanding. There was still a tension running thick between you both, but those words from your mom were enough to soothe the surmounting anxiety inside you.

“Mom,” you sighed, tearing away from her embrace. “This is Joel.”

You motioned to Joel behind you, an eerie repeat of what had happened between him and Beth. Your mom stood frozen, her eyes widening as she stared at him. Joel cracked a welcoming smile, extending his hand out to her. No one moved, and his hand remained wavering in the stagnant air. 

“Mom?” You pressed.

She shook her head and opened her arms to Joel, inviting him in for a hug. It was strange but not entirely unexpected, considering the circumstances. 

“Hi, honey,” she said as she rocked Joel back and forth in the embrace. 

“Hi, Mrs. Smith,” Joel replied. You caught on to the way his biceps flexed around her, squeezing her just as tightly as he would with you. He was comforting her, and something softened inside you. 

Beth cleared her throat behind you, snapping you out of your thoughts. Your mom released Joel and turned towards Beth.

“She should go up and see him,” Beth told your mom.

“She is right here,” you snapped.

“Oh, now she wants to listen to me,” Beth snorted.

“Both of you!” Your mom shouted. “Enough!”

You shrunk away, folding yourself into Joel’s warm frame. The press of his body against yours quelled the anger rising back up, and you kept focus on his hands rubbing over your arms to keep from lashing out. Beth was pushing, and you knew exactly why.

“Listen, Beth, stay here and chill out,” your mom started. She glanced back at you and Joel before continuing. “Let’s go upstairs, and I’ll take you to see him.”

You followed your mom up to the ICU, your eyes shifting from one room to another. The repetition of machines beeping and murmurs of nurses through the hall slammed into your head like a hammer, and you found yourself clinging to Joel, twisting his cotton shirt until it stretched between your fingers. 

“It’s okay, baby,” Joel crooned. “I got you. Ain’t lettin’ you go.”

Mom guided you to the room where Stella was perched on a chair beside the bed. You averted your eyes from your dad, refusing to look. Stella turned to see you walk in and immediately sprinted into your arms, sobbing into your chest.

“I know. I know,” you cried.

“I was so scared it was going to happen again, sis,” she muttered. 

“They said he was okay, right? It’s not going to happen to him,” you assured. 

“But what if it does? What if he wakes up and doesn’t remember—.”

“Don’t,” you interjected. “Don’t say it.”

She peeled herself from you and wiped away her tears. Joel stepped forward, his hand pressed to your lower back, as he made his way to introduce himself.

“I’m Joel,” he smiled, extending his hand.

Stella flung herself at him, wrapping her arms around him and nuzzling into his chest. Your mom watched them with a knowing look, something you couldn’t discern. 

“I’ve heard so much about you,” she sighed. 

Weird. You only really talked to Beth about Joel and didn’t expect her to share it with anyone except your mom. 

Joel rubbed her shoulders gently, then pulled away. 

“Likewise, Stell.”

Stell. You didn’t recall calling her that in front of Joel; that nickname was reserved for you and only you. Your head was pounding, and the nagging feeling that you were losing grip on reality was slowly settling in. You worked so hard to remember everything; it wouldn’t happen again. Not now. 

“You okay, sweetie?” Your mom cautioned, stepping beside you.

Her voice roused you from your confusion, and you made the mistake of looking at your dad for the first time. He looked so much smaller, lying in the hospital bed: a breathing tube situated under his nose and IVs running through the bend of his arm. Oh God, and his face. Both of his eyes were rimmed in dark bruises, and a thick layer of bandages was wrapped over his forehead. Was that how you looked all those years ago? Your stomach churned with nausea the longer you looked at him. The whirring of the machines in the room dizzied you, and you felt your body swaying in place. Joel quickly steadied you, his arms coming around your front to lock you into a tight hold. 

“You’re okay, baby,” he murmured into your ear. 

“Do you want to be alone with him, sweetie?” Your mom asked.

“Please,” you said, nodding. 

Joel kissed the crown of your head before following your mom and Stella out into the hall. You glanced over your shoulder to see them all huddled together, the cracked blinds inside the room obstructing your view of what they were saying. You’d ask Joel about it later.

Turning back to your dad, you let the real tears fall. The ugly, gut-wrenching ones you had held back for so long. Tears that weren’t just for him, but for you as well. No one in your family knew the fear and pain that came with a head injury. No one could understand you—not even Bennett, despite everything he tried to say and do. You were alone in its entirety, but you’d be damned if your dad dealt with the same. 

Cradling his hand in yours, you drew circles over his calloused skin with your thumb. You didn’t have words to express your pain, so you sat in silence. The constant repetition of machinery beeping throbbed through the recesses of your brain, a migraine looming on the horizon. You’d suffer with it later, but it would be worth it just to stay in this moment a few seconds longer.

“I love you, dad,” you whispered. 

You didn’t know if he could hear you, but you hoped he did. 

You remained silent for a few more minutes and glanced at the clock above the bed. 3: 13 AM. You hadn’t realized how much of the day had drained away, and the fatigue in your body was settling in rapidly. You wanted to lie down and wake up when everything was better, but it all came with time. And you hated that. You hated time and things it had stolen from you.

A light rap on the door startled you from your silent cocoon, and you turned to see Joel peeking in through the window. You motioned him to come in, and he bent beside the bed, his hand resting on your thigh.

“How ya’ doin’, baby?” He asked softly.

“I’m tired,” you lamented.

He smoothed his hand over your legs, the warmth of his touch radiating through your body. You leaned into his touch, letting your head rest on his.

“I’m gonna ask Beth if we can take the car and go home,” you said. “I can’t be here anymore, and I need sleep.”

“We can do that. Your mom said they’re gonna take him for surgery in a few, anyway. No point stickin’ around if we’d just be waitin’.”

“When he’s out of surgery, they can call me, and we can come back.”

“Sounds like a plan, baby. Let’s get you home.”

Joel offered to drive Beth’s car back to the house. You sat beside him, your head propped in your hand, watching as he drove through the city streets. Even cast in the late night sky, he was so handsome. The rich tan color of his skin seemed to be illuminated by the moonlight glinting through the windshield, his brown eyes softer than you’d ever seen. There wasn’t a trace of a smile on his lips, but he still looked so kind and so loving. Joel glanced over at you as the car slowed in front of the red light. 

“What’s that look for?” He asked, his eyebrows furrowed.

“I’m just really thankful you’re here,” you exhaled. “I’m sorry you had to see me so angry earlier. It wasn’t fair of me to take it out on you.”

Joel leaned over the dash to pull you in for a soft, fleeting kiss.

“There’s a lot happenin’ right now, baby. Be angry all y’want. I can take it,” he said.

You chewed on your lip and nodded, turning your attention back to the street as the light turned green. Joel drove in silence the rest of the way to your parent's house, guiding him quietly with directions every few turns. Even though it had only been a few weeks since you were last home, the streets were scattered with yellow and orange leaves, autumn settling over the neighborhood. The car's tires flattened over them as Joel slowed to the front of the house and killed the engine. 

“This where y’grew up?” Joel asked, tilting his head toward the house.

You nodded, but your eyes were glued to the porch. The ladder was still lying on the ground; the metal pressed into the cold grass of the front lawn. Joel must’ve picked up on your fixation and sighed. 

“I’ll go pick it up, baby. Why don’t you grab your bag and head in, okay?”

“Yeah, okay.” But your eyes didn’t stray from the ladder.

You watched Joel reach the ladder, his body a beacon under the moonlight. His tall figure moved against the cover of the night sky, working quickly to move it off to the side of the house. You took an extra moment to collect yourself before gathering your bags and meeting him on the porch. Joel took them immediately from your hands as you guided him into the house. You’d give him a tour of it tomorrow; you just wanted to curl under the covers of your bed and waste away. 

When you opened the door to your bedroom, Joel gave a low whistle, glancing around at the artifacts of your childhood. Miscellaneous pictures of you and your sisters hung on the walls, along with a collection of CDs stacked on the floor in one corner and a reading nook built into the windowsill. The dated white armoire was nestled against the wall beside your vanity, and the large queen bed sat untouched and nicely made with its white comforter and grey pillows. 

“Nice lil’ room y’got here, baby,” Joel chuckled.

“Yeah, it’s alright,” you shrugged.

You dumped your bag on the ground, collapsing backward until your back hit the bed with a soft thud. Joel followed your lead, and you both lay there silently, staring at the ceiling fan as it spun in circles. It was tempting just to succumb to sleep right in that moment, but you knew you needed a shower to wash off the lingering stress of the day. 

“Come shower with me?” You asked, glancing over at Joel.

“Of course.”

The heat of the shower pelted your skin as Joel rubbed a loufa into your back muscles, working out the knots that had materialized through the long day. You basked in the warmth of his body pressed into yours, your head falling back against his muscular chest and eyes drifting shut. His tender touch helped alleviate the pressure building in your head, and you prayed that the migraine would subside soon enough. 

“Doin’ okay, baby?” He asked, his mouth pressing into the side of your neck.

You hummed at his lips on your skin, bringing your arm up to wrap around the back of his neck. His fingers drifted over the curves of your body, squeezing your hips softly before trailing between your legs.

“Can I?” 

“Mhmm,” you sighed, shifting your body slightly so that he could explore further.

His hand dipped between your legs, your arousal already pooling at your entrance. He was slow with his touch, each graze of his fingers over your sensitive bud eliciting a soft moan from your lips. Joel’s mouth roamed over the expanse of your neck as he continued to draw circles over your throbbing clit. Your fingers tugged at his wet curls, urging him closer. The blood coursing through your veins thrummed with pleasure as he teased the build-up of your release. 

“You’re beautiful, baby. Y’know that?” He whispered in your ear.

Maybe it was the gentle touch of his fingers or his words swimming through your mind, but your climax shattered you into pieces in record time. Your thighs clenched tight around his hand as you let out a soft cry. 

“That’s it,” he crooned. “Let go, baby.”

You slumped against his body, your heart settling back into a normal rhythm. Joel held you close, wrapping his arms around your front and swaying you under the spray of the water. Your eyes grew heavy the longer you remained in his embrace, so you decided to cut the water and drag him out and into bed. 

Under the security of your comforter, you clung to Joel and buried your head into the crook of his arm. He traced circles over your bare arm, letting you lay quietly against him. The familiar pressure of a migraine began forming in your mind, the pounding ache settling behind your eyes. You squeezed your eyes tighter, curling yourself up into his body in hopes it would fade away as you slept. 

“What’s wrong?” Joel asked, noticing the tension paralyzing your muscles.

“Migraine,” you choked out. 

“What do y’need? I can go get it.”

“No, I’m fine,” you lied. “Just stay here. Please.”

“These happen often?”

“Not in a while.” You couldn’t find the strength to form complete sentences, so the words came out choppy and pained.

“Will sleep help?” 

“I hope,” you muttered, tears slipping down your cheeks.

Joel’s arms tightened around your body, anchoring you to his side as he hummed softly into your hair. Pain pulsated through your head as you forced yourself to fall asleep, your limbs shaking as they wrapped around his torso. 

All you wanted was for the pain to go away. 

A few hours later, the morning light dancing through the window stirred you awake. The residual aching pain in your head still lingered, but it was far more manageable than it had been before you fell asleep. Joel snored softly beside you, and you took the chance to watch him as he slept peacefully beside you. The creases in his skin were softened in his slumber, his face relaxed and calm. His lips were parted slightly, the bottom one plush and pouty and tempting to kiss. You nestled into his body, your mouth roaming over his scruffy jaw and eventually reaching his lips. The strange urge to say I love you nearly tumbled out of your mouth as you kissed him, but you swallowed it and saved it away. It was the first time you thought those three little words in the space with someone other than Bennett. Knowing Joel was digging closer to your heart, breaking down every barrier and wall, it was still frightening. But if this sudden trip had taught you anything, he was right; this was real. You weren’t ready to confess those words, but in time you would. 

Just not now. 

Joel roused himself from sleep, groaning softly as he pulled you in for a gentle kiss. 

“Mornin’, baby. How’s your head feelin’?”

“Better,” you sighed. 

“Ready to go back to the hospital?”

You groaned, shoving your head under the comforter. 

“I hate it there.”

He squeezed your side, urging you back up to the surface. Your eyes connected with his, the morning light coloring his eyes a rich shade of amber. Flecks of gold scattered through his irises, blending into the rich chocolate brown you were drawn to. 

“Why do y’hate it so much?” He wondered.

“I—I just don’t have good memories of it.”

“Y’wanna talk to me ‘bout it?”

You rolled onto your back, closing your eyes as the memories waded through the headache still swimming in your head. 

“Bennett, there’s a chance this could actually work,” you begged. 

“I’m not risking it. What if it doesn’t work and things get worse?” He argued. “Isn’t it easier to just move forward?”

You rubbed circles into your temples, trying to soften the onset migraine surging to the surface. All this arguing was making you nauseous and tired. Why wouldn’t Bennett be on your side about this? Why wasn’t he agreeing with you?

“I want to remember,” you lamented. “I want those two years back.”

“The doctors said it’ll take time. Why isn’t that enough?” Bennett sighed, crouching down to meet you at eye level. 

“You don’t understand, Bennett.”

“I’m trying,” he snapped. 

It was the first time you’d experienced his anger in such a way. He wasn’t taking your side, and he wasn’t even listening to your requests. You could only nod and cave to his arguments; he was the one holding the power now. You had to trust him. 

Situating yourself against the headboard, you inhaled sharply and glanced at Joel. 

“I might as well tell you since everyone is on my case about it,” you groaned. 

“Only if you wanna, baby. I ain’t gonna force you,” Joel sighed, looking up at you.

Giving yourself a moment to gather your thoughts, you dove into the story.

“I was in an accident when I was twenty-two, or I guess twenty-four. The last thing I remember was being twenty-two and just moving to Austin with Bennett. We had just moved into our apartment, and I was about to start substitute teaching while finishing my Master's degree. Everything was great. Then, I got in an accident on the way home from school, and the next thing I remember was waking up in the hospital. 

“I guess in the crash, my head hit the dashboard hard enough to cause serious damage to my brain. They—the doctors, told me I had sustained enough trauma to cause retrograde amnesia. I woke up thinking I was still twenty-two, Joel. I lost two years of my life. I couldn’t remember a single thing.”

“Oh, baby. I’m so fuckin’ sorry,” he whispered, propping himself on his elbows. 

“Bennett tried to fill me in on pieces of it, but trying to remember did more damage than anything,” you continued. “I had migraines all the time. I could barely function for the first couple of months, and that’s when my parents talked me into coming back here. To Mass General. They ran so many tests on me and tried to find solutions, but there was no hope. Bennett was adamant about not causing any more damage to my brain, so I just gave up,” you explained. 

“You gave up tryin’ to remember?” He asked, pulling himself up to sit beside you. There was a deep furrow between his brows and a noticeable shift in his body language. Everything was tense, from his jaw to how his fists clenched together. 

“Yeah. I trusted Bennett with the memories I no longer had and knew he would take care of me. Or at least, I hoped he would. The doctors suggested I stay in Boston to go through psychotherapy to help try and piece together those memories, but Bennett was against it. It caused a huge riff in my family since they wanted me to stay and get help.”

“He kept you from rememberin’ things,” Joel frowned.

You nodded, digging your knuckles into your eyes to try and push away the pressure building behind them again. 

“We were here for almost two months, just constantly going in and out of the hospital. I’d have these debilitating migraines that would lead to fainting spells, so I was always back at the emergency room for more testing. The outcome was always the same, though. I felt so defeated every time like it was my fault,” you confessed. 

Joel laid a hand on your thigh, smoothing over your skin as you tried to drag in a lungful of air. 

“It ain’t your fault though, baby,” he assured.

“I should have advocated for myself more. I just did whatever Bennett said because he knew things I couldn’t remember. He even proposed here. He made this big, long speech about how he never wanted to face the fear of losing me again, and I went with it because I loved him. I loved him enough to do whatever he said because I owed it to him.”

“You were tryna heal from everythin’,” he offered, trying to make sense of it all. “It’s not your fault for what happened after.”

You laughed, rolling your eyes.

“But it is,” you argued. “It’s my fault Bennett left. If I thought our fights before the crash were bad… It only got worse. We moved out of our apartment and got this big house. We decided to speed through our engagement for the sake of my fucking memory. All the while, Bennett just started to get angrier and angrier. I was trying so hard to remember things, and he just started to remember less. He was always fighting with me over every little thing. He barely touched me or looked at me. For fuck sake, he wouldn’t even sleep in the same bed as me! It’s like he didn’t want me to have those memories back, and I just—I don’t understand why.”

Joel pulled your head into his hands, his eyes darkening as he stared at you. His thumbs rubbed over your cheekbones in an attempt to calm your rambling. You wanted to flinch away from his touch, but he only held you tighter.

“None of this is your fault,” he emphasized. 

“It is, though,” you sniffled. The tears were ready to slip at any moment. “He wanted the girl I was before the crash, and I was so hell-bent on trying to fix my memory that I stopped being that version of myself. I couldn’t be what he wanted, so he left. I wasn’t enough, Joel. I couldn’t fight for him to stay because he didn’t want me. I—I’m so fucked up, Joel.”

Joel’s nostrils flared, a wash of anger clouding his eyes. But you knew it wasn’t anger toward you. It was toward Bennett.

“Hey, don’t talk like that,” he snapped. “You’re not fucked up. Bennett was an asshole, and I swear I’d kill him if I could.”

“That’s not funny,” you deadpanned. 

“It wasn’t meant to be funny, baby. I’m serious. Ain’t no way y’went through hell and back for him to do that to you. Y’didn’t get the time to heal because you were so focused on tryin’ to make him happy, and he didn’t deserve you. You know that, right? None of this is your fault.”

You shrugged off his hands and scooted out of the warmth of the bed. Digging through your bag, you pulled out a change of clothes, carelessly throwing an outfit together while Joel sat motionless on the bed. 

“Baby,” Joel pleaded. “Stop for a minute, ‘kay? Are you listenin’ to me?”

He threw back the covers and strode to where you stood, your arms halfway into a sweater. He helped tug it the rest of the way, settling it over your body before reeling you in for a long kiss. It was his weapon for shutting you up, and he was really fucking good at using it. You dragged yourself away from his mouth, staggering back until there was enough distance between you and him. 

“I should have fucking listened to everyone,” you heaved. “I should have fucking stayed in Boston, but I wanted to prove I could do it. I wanted to prove I could continue living with this fucked up part of myself.”

Joel cautioned your name, and you took another step back.

“Look at me, Joel!” You laughed. “I’m fucked up! I still can’t remember a damn fucking thing, and being here is only a brutal reminder of that. I lost so much of myself because of that accident. And I swear to God, if I lose my dad, too. I—I can’t…”

Your knees hit the ground before it even registered in your mind. Joel was quick to drop to the floor in front of you, pulling you into his lap as the sobs wracked through your body. You rocked yourself back and forth as Joel’s arms wound into a vice around your chest. He hushed you softly as you audibly cried loud enough to echo around the room. 

“You aren’t gonna lose him,” Joel whispered in your ear. 

“What if—.” You choked on another cry.

“Breathe with me, baby. Just breathe. C’mon.”

Joel inhaled loudly, coaxing you to do the same. You followed his lead, exhaling when he instructed to. You both repeated it a few more times until you felt the surge of emotions slow. 

“That’s it, baby,” he sighed. “I’m right here with you. Everythin’ is gonna be okay.”

You burrowed your head into his chest, your tears dampening his bare chest. How was he not running away from you? You laid all your damaged pieces out, and he still had his arms around you. You didn’t deserve it. You couldn’t make sense of it.

“What do y’say we get back to the hospital?” Joel offered after a moment. “We can check in and see how the surgery went. It’ll give you some peace of mind.”

“Okay,” you acquiesced. 

Joel helped you to your feet, and you both finished changing in silence. You grabbed your purse and followed Joel to the car, and you both returned to Mass General. 

“He’s fine, honey,” your mom said, giving you a weak smile.

You were all crowded in the hospital room surrounding your dad as he lay unconscious on the bed. 

“The doctors say he’s going to make a full recovery,” she continued. “They’re going to slow the sedative down, and hopefully, he’ll be waking up in the next day or so.”

Beth and Stella stood close together, Stella’s head resting on Beth’s shoulder. Their expressions were painted with relief, and you felt your muscles loosen at the news.

“So, we just wait?” You asked. 

“We will wait,” your mom corrected. “You and Joel should go back to Austin. There’s no point sticking around now that we know he’s alright.”

You turned to stare at her, your lips twisting into a scowl.

“I am not leaving until he wakes up,” you argued. 

“We’ll call right when he wakes up,” she offered. “I know being here is hard for you, honey. And you’ve got a job that needs you.”

“Mom!” You shouted. It was loud enough to startle everyone. “I’m not leaving.”

“She’s right, baby,” Joel chimed in. “He’s gonna be okay.”

“I want to stay.”

“Look, let’s make a deal. We stay another day and then go home, okay?”

You glanced between everyone in the room, finally settling your eyes on your dad, still unconscious in the bed. Everyone was right, but you didn’t want to leave yet. You weren’t ready. Even if being here felt like hell. 

“One more day,” you agreed.

You remained at the hospital most of the day, shifting between the waiting room and your dad’s room. Everyone took turns visiting him and meeting with doctors, and Joel stayed at your side every minute. Stella took a liking to him most out of everyone, spending a good majority of the time talking his ear off about Sarah. Seeing Joel engage with her as he did was endearing as if they knew each other and were old friends catching up. He treated everyone in your family so kindly that it was hard to continue shoving down those three little words. You wanted to say them more than ever…but weren’t sure when you’d feel ready. 

Eventually, the day faded into night, and your mom urged everyone to go home while she insisted on staying. You didn’t know when she had slept last, but she was adamant about staying with your dad. Beth drove you all home, humming some song that floated through the radio. As the house came into view, she dialed down the volume and turned toward the backseat. 

“Joel, Stella, will you guys head in while I talk to sis?” Beth asked as she parked the car.

You gave her a confused stare as they filed out and walked up the driveway toward the house. 

“Did you tell him?” She asked, turning to look at you.

Her eyes were dark with heavy circles, and her lips stuck in a straight line.

“I did,” you nodded.

“What did he say?”

“He just sympathized with me. There’s not much else to say,” you shrugged. 

“That’s it?” She pressed, her brows scrunching together.

You scoffed, glancing out the side window. 

“What did you want him to say, Beth? There isn’t much to say when you tell someone your memory is all fucked up.”

“I just figured he’d say more,” she offered.

“Like what?” You snapped. “Nothing he says is going to magically make it better.”

“I know, I know. I just thought he’d say more.”

You stared at her, the tiredness creeping into your bones. You didn’t want to argue anymore, not about this or anything.

“Can we just go in? I’m tired,” you said.

“Yeah, let’s go.”

Beth and Stella offered to make dinner that night, all four of you quietly eating in heavy silence as the evening drifted later. Once dinner was all said and done, you and Joel retired to your room, curling up under the covers once again. You tangled your legs between his and kissed up his chest and under his jaw.

“Baby,” he warned. “The girls are right down the hall. Don’t be doin’ that.”

“Why?” You questioned, continuing the path up his cheek and to his lips.

Joel captured your mouth in a hungry kiss, his hands tangling in your hair. You moaned softly as the kiss depended, his hands roaming over your body.

“I want you, Joel,” you whispered against his mouth.

“Baby, we can’t,” he groaned. But he didn’t stop kissing you.

He rolled his body over yours, pinning you to the bed as his hand slid under your pajama bottoms. You bucked into his hand, searching for a fleeting touch to quell the ache growing between your thighs. Joel responded to your desperation, slipping a finger between your slick folds. 

“I’ll be quiet,” you promised. “Just keep kissing me.”

Joel relented to your pleas, locking his mouth with yours again. He added another finger, plunging them inside you as you cried out at the pressure. His teeth quickly bit down on your bottom lip, a silent demand to keep your voice down.

“Sorry,” you exhaled.

“Be good for me, baby,” he whispered. 

His fingers abandoned you, but it was barely a moment of loss before he sank his cock into you. You used all your strength to hold back a groan of relief as the slight sting of your body stretching to him faded into bliss. Joel kept his hands tangled in your hair as he rocked into you, your bodies moving in unison as he drove himself deeper with each thrust. 

“Joel…” You whimpered against his mouth.

“Stay quiet, baby.”

His mouth roamed down the column of your throat, sucking gently at your skin as he reached one arm down to hook around the back of your knee. The change in position only sent his cock deeper inside you, your core clenching around him with every drive of his hips. 

“It feels so good,” you panted, rolling your hips. “I’m so close, Joel. Don’t stop.”

“Good girl,” he hummed. “Cum for me, baby.”

His hips snapped harder against you, and you bit back another cry of pleasure. Your body thrummed with the need for release, the waves crashing inside you growing stronger. Just a little more… a little more. Joel’s other hand snaked between your bodies, his fingers brushing over your clit. You arched into his touch and ground your nails into the skin of his biceps. 

“Joel,” you choked.

The orgasm exploded through you, fogging your vision as your core pulsated around his cock. Joel let out a strangled groan and tumbled over the edge with you, his release filling you only seconds later. 

Joel collapsed against your body, his cock slipping out of you as it softened. You welcomed the weight of him, letting his skin meld into yours. I love you. It was just a breath from escaping your lips, but you kept it shoved down. 

Another time, you told yourself. 

“Can I sleep like this?” Joel chuckled, resting his head on your shoulder.

“Whatever you want, handsome,” you giggled. 

He peered up at you, a grin curving over his face.

“There’s that word again,” he smirked.

“Oh, shut up. You like it.”

“I really fuckin’ do.”

You bent your neck to kiss his forehead before settling back against the pillow. It was easier to sleep like this, knowing you’d have him in your arms when you woke up. It made everything inside you hurt less. 

After an extra day at the hospital, nothing new had progressed with your dad. Your mom assured you that she would call if she had any news of him waking up, so you and Joel said your goodbyes and made the trip back to Austin. 

Nothing had changed in Austin, not that you were expecting it to. Joel returned home after spending an extra few hours under your bed sheets with you, groaning about not wanting to leave. You urged him to go, knowing Sarah was probably missing him. That first night home alone was the hardest; the nightmares continued again now that you had no distractions. The migraine had returned at full throttle when you woke up the next morning, and you had to make an extra effort to pull yourself from bed and dress for work. Not a single cell in your body wanted to return to a classroom full of loud kids, but you had missed enough days and needed to make up for lost time. 

Maria was the first to drill you with questions as you arrived at the school. 

“Is everything okay? I asked around and only heard that it was a family emergency.”

You shuffled into your classroom, Maria hot on your heels. You could barely stand the stream of light coming through the windows, let alone the sound of her voice.

“My dad had an accident, that’s all,” you assured. “Everything is okay.”

“Oh, thank God he’s okay.” She flung her arms around you, giving you a suffocating hug.

You peeled away from her, steadying your body against the corner of your desk. 

“I’ll tell you more later, okay? I just need to prep for classes before the first bell.”

“I’ll check in on you later,” she announced before leaving. 

The day moved on slowly, and before you knew it, your final class was over. As the students filed out, you started gathering your things but noticed Sarah lingered behind.

“Everything okay, sweetie?” You asked as she approached your desk.

“Um, kinda?” She gave you a sheepish look. “I wanted to ask you something.”

“Of course, sweetheart. What’s going on?”

She shifted her weight between her legs, her hazel eyes on the floor.

“Are you dating my dad?”

Your breath stalled, and you were unsure of what to say or do. Was it appropriate to lie? You and Joel hadn’t discussed the possibility of her finding out much and now was definitely not the time.

“Why do you ask?” You were deflecting.

“I overheard him talking to my Uncle Tommy last night,” she explained. 

Your heart pounded in your chest, and blood rushed through your ears. God, what had they said? What did she hear?

“Go on,” you insisted, your voice unsteady. 

“My dad told Uncle Tommy he loved you.”

At that moment, her hazel eyes met yours, and everything came crashing down. You tripped over your words and found yourself gripping the desk.

“Miss Smith?” Sarah cautioned. 

“I’m sure your dad was talking about someone else,” you lied. “Why don’t you head home? I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

She looked at you with confusion written all over her face but eventually followed your request and left you in an empty room.

You sank into your chair, pinching the bridge of your nose. You knew Joel’s feelings were there for you, but you didn’t want to hear it from Sarah. You wanted to hear it from him. Searching for your purse, you found your phone and dialed his number with shaking hands.

He answered immediately.

“Did y’hear from your mom?” He asked in a rush.

“No, it’s not that. Can you—” You steadied your breathing. “Can you just meet me at my house?”

“Of course, is everythin’ okay? You’re worryin’ me.”

“I’m fine, Joel. I’ll see you there in a few.”

You hung up before he could say anymore and be-lined for your car. You drove home on autopilot, the words jumbling together in your head. 

I think he’s already falling in love with you. 

My dad told Uncle Tommy he loved you.

Over and over again, Beth and Sarah’s voices played on a loop. You turned onto your street and blinked back tears. You weren’t ready to face this. What were you going to say? What would Joel say? What would—

You slammed on your brakes right before you got to your house. 

Joel’s truck wasn’t there. 

But Bennett’s car was.

[qlossytbh]

𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐝 𝐱 𝐟𝐞𝐦!𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 - 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮

𝐬𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬 You and Spencer start learning what it’s like to live together as the chase for the killer continues.

𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 mentions of overthinking (lots of it), mention of absent parents, mentions of scream 6 (no spoilers tho), unpopular scream 6 opinions, too much fluff tbh, nightmares, mentions of sleep paralysis

𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 3.2k

𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞 i’m literally so sorry for this being so behind schedule, im so stumped with college and shit but here it is!

𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

You remember going home that night and thinking a lot— maybe too much, if you were being frank.

A lot was still on your mind. Between the case, and the whole murderer that was killing old acquaintance's—you also had a husband now apparently.

Two days had passed and the case was still at works. Spencer lived in an apartment complex, which wasn't favorable for the goal of the mission. You however, lived in a nice suburban house your parents left you as a 'sorry for being absent' gift. Very close to where you used to go to school, which was crucial. It was perfectly comfortable— a little too big for you to be living there by yourself, which left space for you to feel a little lonely many times— but spacious nonetheless.

So with that, and lots of discussion, it was decided that Spencer would accommodate himself at your house, to make the whole marriage part, well— believable.

Cameras had been installed all across the outside of your house, ensuring there'd be vigilance throughout the days to come. Hotch made it incredibly clear, that you and Spencer's safety was top priority, so taking precaution wasn't something that the team was going to take lightly. Hotch had previously sat you and Spencer down, just to make sure you knew what you were getting into, the basic guidelines you'd have to follow and so on.

You and Spencer didn't speak much as the plan progressed during the following days and you didn't know why. You knew that you had been busy with your own things and he had been busy with his own, but it still filled you with dread. You were dwelling wether or wether not he was truly comfortable with the whole 'fake married couple' and not having time to sit down and actually talk to him about this whole thing was messing with your head.

'Just keep an eye out for anything suspicious and try to act like a married couple—'

'As if that was so hard for them.'

That's what Hotch had told you and what Morgan decided to pipe in, causing you to nearly toss the book you had with you at him. Was it normal that you had been dwelling on what Morgan had said relentlessly since then?

You didn't fully understand why the whole concept filled you with an unexplainable unsteadiness. It felt similar to anxiety but it wasn't as dreadful. It felt like something was lingering across the tip of your tongue, begin to be released, but your brain couldn't actually process any of it.

Spencer had been taking this whole situation just as lightly as you were— which wasn't at all light. His mind running impossibly faster than usual, and thoughts forcing themselves in and out of his head. A few of his things had already been moved into your house, such as spare clothing among other stuff.

Tonight, however, you're mind was silent for the first time in these past two days. You sat on your couch, digging your back into the softness of its pillows, dressed with a fluffy pair of pajama pants and a white t-shirt that fell over your body comfortably. You had a box of ramen in your hands, and Spencer sat just a little further from you on the opposite side of the couch, also in his pajamas.

The two of you had been taken completely off guard, seeing the other in something so 'casual'. Sure, you had been best friends for a while, but somehow you had never seen each other in anything other than your work attire. Seeing him in nothing but a plain grey T-shirt and plaid pants felt almost intimate.

He held his box of ramen in one hand and a fork in the other, reminding you of his inability to ever learn how to use chopsticks, despite your attempts at teaching him.

You tugged closer at the blanket you were wrapped in and said with a mouth full of noodles."Easily the best scream movie since the original."

"In every way is it better than all the sequels. The opening scene is brilliant and the way they did it was so scary and intense—" You beamed, enthusiasm radiating off your every word as the end credits to Scream 6 began rolling.

One of you and Spencers preferred past-times was watching any movie, franchise or series you could get your hands on and either rip the movie to shreds or praise it as if it were a god given gift. You just finished watching the last Scream movie and funny enough, you both were disagreeing on the cinematographic decisions.

Spencer rolled his eyes, jabbing his fork into the nearly empty box of noodles. "Please, even after the last time I saw this I still think the this is one of the slowest pacing films known to man."

"You could actually tell this was the longest movies in the franchise," He shrugged. Your jaw slacked as an annoyed groan left your lips.

"Spencer, it is not slow-paced— are you kidding me?" He deadpanned at you, clearly disagreeing with your opinion. "Everything was timed perfectly! I mean, the kills were brutal but even so, they felt realistic and made me believe that those things could actually happen."

"They do actually happen," He said, reminding you of the reality of your job. Your lips pursed in thought, realizing he had a point as you looked over at the TV screen.

"Touché,”

You poked at your box silently. You didn't usually mind silences, much less with Spencer, but right now you were realizing that a somewhat tense silence had dwelled upon you two. You felt your nerves begin to bundle up and you caught yourself opening your mouth to speak.

"So uh—" One more poke at the bottom of the carton box. "I talked to Claire today,"

"Hmm? What'd she say?" Spencer's gaze and entire attention was on you in the matter of seconds and it made you weirdly nervous to speak.

"Well," You reached over, setting the now empty box onto the table. You leaned back into the couch, looking over at him as he copied your movements effortlessly. "She was telling me how she was planning on throwing a ten year reunion, but with everything going on, she cancelled it."

“Claire always took matters of those stupid school events into her own hands, but she didn’t know how tone deaf it was of her to throw it ever with everything that’s going on,”

Your speaking started off as a nervous ramble, attempting to fill the silence, but you soon found yourself easing into the nature of the conversation. Spencer listening attentively, shifting his weight to the side every once in a while.

"I told her that she should go ahead with it anyways. Gave her a hell of a list of pros and somehow she agreed to look into the possibility of organizing it,"

You recalled your conversation with Claire easily. When the option for a high school reunion was up, you remembered the reality of your mission with Spencer, and knew it was the perfect way of getting you and him on whoever was attacking radar. She asked why you were so enthusiastic about wanting to throw together the reunion, given how you weren't present at the one year reunion— or the five year.

"She was kind of apprehensive, which I don't blame her," You laughed at yourself and laid your head on the back of your couch, looking up at the ceiling. "I— uhm, told her it was because I wanted to officially introduce you as my husband and she got all, excited,"

You felt yourself growing nervous as you looked over at Spencer. "Excited?"

There was a teasing glint in his voice as he narrowed his eyes at you. He also laid his head on the back of your couch, still gazing over at you. It made your stomach weirdly twist and suddenly you felt your cheeks hot to the touch. You smiled and narrowed your eyes as well.

"Yes, excited," You looked down at your lap. You were getting to that point where you weren't thinking straight and your lips moved along as if they had a mind of their own. “She said she knew it all long and you know the typical 'called it' which everyone seems to love saying lately,"

“Saying what?” You looked back up at Spencer and silence dwelled upon you two. You shrugged and opened your mouth to speak, but was shocked when nothing came out. Both of your growing smiles began to falter as he tilted his head back just slightly, watching you intently. You knew something was lingering in his head— finding out what was the hard part.

"—It's uhm," You sucked in a deep breath and sat up quickly. "I'm gonna—"

You wordlessly dusted off your pants, tumbling slightly on your feet. You grabbed both now empty ramen boxes and waltzed over to your kitchen.

"Need help?" Spencer shot from over the couch, standing up and making his way over to the kitchen behind you.

"It's fine Spence," You cleared your throat, throwing both boxes into the trash and the fork into the sink. You turned, seeing Spencer now leaning against the fridge with his hands stuffed in his pockets.

Your eyes felt droopy, which meant it probably was late, and the two of you did have work tomorrow. Somehow knowing it was late impulsed your body to let out an involuntary yawn. Spencer smiled at you.

"I left a few extra blankets on the edge of my bed cause I know it gets cold—" You started. Spencer pushed himself off of the fridge and looked at you quizzically.

"What?" He asked. You stopped as you noticed his severely puzzled expression, looking at him and furrowing your brows.

You explained once again, completely lost as to what the problem was. “Blankets..? You know those things you use for—"

"You're expecting me to sleep in your bed?"

You blinked. "I changed the sheets before you got here if it's the whole germ shit your worried about,"

"What? No, it's not—" He said before shaking his head. "We're at your house, I'm supposed to sleep on the couch."

Of course. You hadn't thought about the fact that Spencer was going to be severely against you staying on the couch. In various situations he had put all of his comforts out of the way for you, so of course he wasn't going to let you sleep on the couch.

"Do not fight me on this because I swear," You pointed a warning finger towards him, taking a step near him. "My couch is amazing, if you couldn't already tell. I've got the TV as well, which I do not have in my room,"

He rolled his eyes at the amusement in your voice. But shook his head firmly. "You take the room, I'll take the couch—"

"Spencer!" You groaned, throwing your head back. You reached out and grabbed his wrists with both of your hands, looking up at him firmly. "Please,"

His lips pressed into a tight line, eyes finding yours as he looked down, seeing your lips tightly dressed with a firm pout as you attempted to give him your best puppy eyes.

"If you sleep on the couch that means I set up the whole light projector thingy for nothing," His head tilted.

"What?" He laughed at you, fully with endearment.

"I got you this stupid little galaxy projector thing off of Ebay, so the room wouldn't be pitch black."

Spencer stopped and looked down at you. He could practically heard his heart explode inside his chest, which was the best way of describing whatever it is he felt whenever you did stuff like it this. Stuff that showed that you cared, that you listened and payed attention.

When he suddenly looked away from you, incredibly close to caving, you tugged his wrist closer. "Please?"

He sighed, looking down at you. "Fine,"

It was imposible for Spencer to say no to you. It always has been. Wether it was something as stupid as stopping by a gas station on the way home from work to get your favorite snack or for him to give you some company while you visited the offices printer, he always found himself surrendering to your pleading look.

"I promise it's comfortable," You reassured, noticing how he was still apprehensive of letting you sleep on the couch in your own house. He sighed once again, but this time tugging you slightly by the arm into him. He wrapped his arms around you as your arms mindlessly wrapped around his torso. He buried his face into your neck and let out a gush of air he couldn't tell he was holding as his body relaxed under your touch.

With everything going on, the two of you had forgotten just how peaceful it was to be around one another. You had to remind yourself that the two of you were in this together, as much as you believed it was something you were handling alone.

"We're okay right?" He asked, realeasing you from his grip to look down at you. You pulled away, finding the same worry you had been feeling these past few days flooding his eyes.

"Yeah Spence," You gave him a small smile and a reassuring squeeze. He hugged you once more, trying to hold onto the feeling as you rubbed his back.

"We should probably head to sleep—" You said, pulling away from him as he hesitantly let you go, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Yeah," He nodded looking down at you one last time.

It all happened in the matter of seconds, and having been woken up so suddenly, you didn't fully grasp what was going on.

It started with a scream. The sound caused you to shoot up from your position in on the couch, still groggy with sleep. The second scream that came made your blood run cold as you realized the scream belonged to none other than Spencer.

Anxiety immediately clawed your throat and you truly felt like you couldnt breathe. You threw the blanket off of yourself and shot up from the couch. You held your breath while your body unconsciously dragged you towards your room in a panicked frenzy.

Please be okay, please be okay, please be okay

You still weren't processing anything that was going on when you pushed the door open fully expecting yourself to find the worst.

It took you a second that no one had broken in like you had thought. Spencer was unharmed but slashing back and forward in his sleep.

He's having a nightmare

You rushed over to his side, sitting on the edge of the bed and gripping his shoulder as you tried to get him to wake up.

"Spencer!" You shook his shoulder as he groaned and mumbled inaudibly in his sleep. With one final firm shake at his shoulder, his eyes shot open.

He sat up in a rush, desperately looking over the lightly lit room while his chest heaved up and down madly. His skin felt hot at the touch and his hair was all over the place. You could even see a few pieces that had been matted onto his forehead due to the sweat.

"Hey," You cooed, eyes laced with sleep and worry. His own eyes found yours desperately, breathing still labored. "Can you breath for me?"

He nodded wordlessly. Your hands snaked down to his, gripping his clammy palm in your own. You rubbed your thumb across his knuckles gently as his breathing finally slowed down. He dragged his free hand across his face and let out one final shaky breath.

You didnt ask anything at first. You just sat with him in silence— partially because you knew what it felt like, and also because you wanted him calm before saying anything.

Spencer was used to the nightmares. He got them when there was something that was on his mind, and he usually just slept through them, unable to wake up. It sometimes felt like he was stuck in them, and not being able to wake up from them was hell.

When you caught how he looked down, eyes full of panic and dread, you squeezed his hand. "It was just a nightmare Spence,"

He nodded, trying to believe you. You weren't going to pry, or ask him to tell you about what his nightmare was about. "I- I know,"

"...Do you get those often?" You asked after a moment of silence. He shrugged.

"Not necessarily, only when I'm stressed or worried,"

"Can I help in anyway?" Spencer looked up at you, squeezing your hand reassuringly as he shook his head.

"No—" He didn't want to be yet something else you had to worry about because just with the way you were looking at him he could tell you did— you always did. "No, I'm okay,"

You looked at him, trying to get him to crack under your gaze because you knew he wasn't fine. You didn't need him telling you the details, but you did want him telling you what you could do to help— and right now he wasn't going to because that's how stubborn Spencer was.

"You scared the shit out of me," You said, voice nearly breaking in a yawn as you rubbed your eyes with your free hand.

"Sorry," He said. You looked up at him and then reached over and tapped the screen of his phone that sat on the nightstand, reading the white numbers spell out four in the morning.

"You sure I can't help in anyway?" It felt utterly wrong to you to just leave after seeing how he had been paralyzed in his sleep by whatever severe fear his nightmare caused.

He remained silent. With a huff, you let go of his hand and crawled onto the opposite side of the bed wordlessly. Once you had laid on your back, you reached over, grabbing the grey blanket that sat on the end of your bed and pulled it up towards your body, laying into the pillows that sat behind your back.

Once you were accommodated, you looked over at Spencer, who was looking back at you, confusion painting his features. You shrugged at him.

"Can't a girl sleep in her own bed?" He rolled his eyes and with a small laugh, laid back down. He turned onto his side and glanced at the starry lit ceiling.

The roof now looked similar to that of a galaxy. The dark room was airbrushed in a deep blue and hints of purple, as stars circled and glided across the ceiling in a slow pace. The room resembled a nebula, and it was actually pretty fascinating.

"The lights are pretty," You stated, looking at the roof in awe.

"They are," Spencer agreed. You laid down further into the bed and searched for Spencer's hand. He flattened it out, granting access for yours to intertwine itself in his.

"Is this okay?" You asked.

With a single reassuring squeeze, he answered. "Yeah,"

You closed your eyes, letting sleep begin to consume you again as you laid far from Spencer's body, but still connected by the simple touch of your intertwined hands.

𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 @yondiii i @r-3dlips @moonchildohh @rubyirene @sp3ncelle @alisyacsa @pleasantwitchgarden @landooscurls @chonkybonky @hiireadstuff @stillhere197 @iluvreading73

[esouliie]

TO SEEK FORGIVENESS

– pairing: wanda maximoff x fem!reader

– synopsis: recklessness requires a certain type of punishment, but you can only take so much.

– warnings: strap (r!receiving), breath play?, wanda is rough & reader is crying lol, aftercare! (18+)

“Baby, what was that? You scared me out there!”

Four words: What. A. Shit. Show.

On an undercover mission, you were ambushed by a swarm of HYDRA agents. Cover blown to pieces from Lord knows what. You had it under control -being an ex Widow meant you knew how to win, you knew how to kill - but after a rare bullet nearly missed your shoulder, you realised you didn’t and were way over your head.

You should’ve listen to Steve when he told you to fall back.

Luckily you weren’t alone. Your girlfriend being the ever powerful Scarlet Witch was able to swoop in and save the day as usual.

“I know. I’m sorry.” You reply sheepishly, brushing your fingers against Wanda’s, longing for her soothing touch but unsure if you were allowed to do so.

Wanda was always unreadable in times like this, when your life was threatened simply from doing your job. Sometimes she’d hold you close offering nothing but words of comfort for your effort, and other times she’d ice you out completely, too upset with you for being reckless.

“Prove it.” She moves her hands away from yours and places them on your hips, tilting her head slightly to the side as she wets her lips.

Your eyes drop to her lips and back up. “What do you mean?”

Not liking your response, Wanda clicks her tongue. Her legs carry her forward, forcing your back to the wall. She brings her palm level with your eyes, the other pinning your hips against the cold surface.

“I said,” her head curves round to your ear, “prove it.”

Something inside you clicked and immediately you rush forward to press your lips against hers. As if she knew, she grips onto the back of your neck, preventing you from reaching her.

A hiss slithers between your teeth at the sudden ache but you don’t try to break her hold. Wanda smirks at your obedience.

Her hold doubles in pressure as she forces you to your knees, not once breaking eye contact.

She cups your face, her thumb brushing gently over your bruised lips, fingertips dancing across the broken skin. Her other hand fiddles with the baby hairs at your neck, a silent apology for the pain she caused.

"So pretty." She coos just before grabbing your chin and bending down for a kiss, your bloodied lip long forgotten.

Her lips on yours were enough to divert your attention away from her hand slithering around your front to cup you through your shirt. The unexpected pleasure rendering you helpless under the woman’s grip. But, she detaches from you far too quickly and towers high and mighty over your crumpled body.

"Take these off for me."

Her eyes flick down to her pants, instructing you to remove them while a hand weaves through your hair, encouraging you to join in on her little game. Not wanting to disappoint any further, you swiftly pull the fabric down her sculpted legs, alongside her underwear, until she's bare from the waist down.

Wetness stained across her thighs. Your head spins, senses overwhelmed by her. All of her.

"Can you show me how sorry you are?”

—

“It’s a real shame,” Wanda’s hips slap against your thighs, crude noises of wet skin upon each other overpower the sounds of shared pleasure,“You’ve been so good recently.”

This has been going on for the last … you don’t know how many hours. She won’t let you finish, always stopping just before you can descend.

A maddening cycle with no respite in sight.

She leans her weight on top of you, thighs trembling as you try to stay up right. “So disappointed, baby.”

Her nails dig into your hips, marking the softness there, almost breaking the skin.

You try to usher out an apology, but your attempt is only met with Wanda’s hand shoving your head into the pillow under you.

“I don’t wanna hear it.”

With that, her cruelty returns.

The salt in your tears burn against the friction of your hot skin and damp pillow. Protests flood your mind as it becomes a struggle to breath. Pleasure conflicted by the immense passion of pain, both thoroughly entwined as you’re -well- thoroughly fucked.

It was too much.

Too much pressure between your legs.

Too much sensitivity that your nerves were set alight.

You reach back, pushing her stomach away in an attempt to slow her down. Your weakened arm failing to make purchase on her flushed skin. She doesn’t stop but her thrusts falter, slow and gentle instead of fast and brutal.

Finely tuned to the sound of you. She can always understand what your body says when your words can’t.

No words are shared but Wanda knows your body has had enough. She pulls out, removing her weight slowly before ridding herself of the harness, guiding you to lay on your back. Moving to your side, she leans over your figure, brushing the damp hairs away from your forehead.

“I’m sorry.” You whisper, voice hoarse from your cries. The realisation of Wanda’s disappointment sinking deeper. It leaves you restless, a war is waged for her comfort with your mind as your greatest enemy.

You don’t deserve her reassurance.

“I know, baby. I know." Her distracting hands trail patterns down your arms, stopping along the way to sink deep into your sore muscles.

She heads for your stomach and pauses, returning her gaze to yours. Confusion etched across your face, as you watch Wanda decide what to do next.

She smiles but says nothing. Her hand starting its course downwards.

You take in deep breathes and lay perfectly still, wanting to be good, needing to be good for her.

“One last time.” She whispers gently, her lashes flutter as she searches your face for any hesitation.

“Be a good girl.”

Her touch, unlike last time, was light. A kind tongue savouring the taste of you before nimble fingers work wonders against your nerves.

It didn’t take long.

You came with a short gasp, the air suffocating deep within your lungs as you hold your breath. Wanda carries you through it, arms steady in comparison to your trembling figure.

Back to Earth, with heavy eyes and all, you notice Wanda’s messy ponytail as it trickles against her pebbled nipples. Her unblemished skin stretches far; full chest, long legs, strong arms.

A porcelain canvas.

Her beauty never fails to amaze you even after all these years.

She calls your name, grabbing your attention. That beautiful smile across her lips speaks volumes.

All had been forgiven.

Raised arms signal for her to come settle on your chest and she wastes no time as her breath hits your neck.

Heavy breasts brush against yours as she moves. Your hips involuntarily buck into hers. She laughs before leaving chaste kisses under your ear.

Comfort seeps into your bones, holding onto Wanda like this calms like nothing else. Your eyelids grow even heavier.

"Kiss?" You pout so cutely she can't resist. She presses her lips to yours, teeth occasionally grazing, unable to contain your smiles.

“I love you.” She confesses, not waiting for an answer as she drags her kisses all over your face, and you giggle as you surrender to her attack.

Your heart swoons at the sight of her kissing down your chest before she rests against your stomach.

You promise to be more careful.

[inmaki]

gojo making fun of your other fwb

( smut, a little smthn while i work on my nanami fic <3 ) .

"just put it in, for fucks sake."

gojo chuckles, running his mushroom-shaped tip up and down your folds. every time he reaches your hole, he pushes his cock in just enough to breach your entrance, before pulling out and continuing his ministrations. like a fucking idiot.

"aw, y’want my dick that bad? 'need me to fill you up?" what about matsukawa?"

your expression sours, sending him an annoyed look. this was by far the first time he’s brought up his displeasure for your other friend, especially in bed.

“are you trying to make me dry?" you bark, trying to close your legs - which he immediately stops with a large hand. "if you wanna fuck, stop talking about him and hurry."

gojo rolls his eyes, despising the way you're practically defending the fucker. sure, he's just a friend too - but you were clearly his; you've always been addicted his lips against yours, his hands on your body, his cock against your cervix. now this other shithead thinks he can come and take that away?

he doesn't know how to handle it besides-

"is this how he fucks you?" suddenly, he forces only an inch or two inside you, barely thrusting in and out with a mischievous smile. a hum leaves his lips as your insides squeeze him firmly, but he's stubborn enough to hold back the urge to fill you up properly. "probably can’t reach anything, i bet even my fingers are bigger."

the audacity and immaturity of the man in front of you has you baffled. here you are, ready to be fucked into the mattress by him - and all he can do is joke about some other guy's dick length? you desperately want to scold him, tell him to fuck off - but as expected - the feeling of his fat cock not reaching where you need has your mind going blank in desperation.

"please.. just fuck me, toru."

he smirks, and without giving you any time to adjust, he's mercilessly slamming in the rest of his length so the tip presses right up against your womb. his balls smack against you from below, and you shiver at the feeling of his white pubic hair grazing your pelvis. "so i'm right? hah, what a fuckin' loser. 'course he has a small dick."

you're too busy catching your breath to hear him, and gojo smoothly takes that opportunity to throw your legs over his shoulders and press them against your chest, ensuring his cock hits your g-spot at the perfect angle. just how you like it.

the white-haired bastard can't help but smile, licking his lips at your rolled back eyes and the harmonious ah, ah, ah's that escape your throat with each brutal slam of his hips. "becoming my brainless cocksleeve as usual, so damn cute. only i can rearrange these guts, right?" he demands, bending you even further while getting right in your face.

"say it. say who owns this sloppy," thrust, "fucking," thrust, "pussy," thrust.

“you, only you!” the words tumble out of you before you can stop them.

“who?” he grinds right against your cervix, nearly pressing the tip of his nose against yours.

“sa- satoru!”

he rewards you by lowering a thumb to play with your clit, cerulean eyes staring into your very soul. “damn right. scream it louder.”

suddenly, a quiet ding! comes from your bedside table. gojo glances down to your blissed-out face, cautiously peering over to see a message from none other than the man of of the hour.

matsu: wyd? can i come over?

gojo smiles. typing in a response with one hand while the other keeps your thigh firmly against your chest.

you: yea, be quick daddy ;)

you would definitely kill him after this.

( reblogs & comments r appreciated if u enjoy! had this idea at 2am sorry if it’s bad <\3)

© inmaki on tumblr. all rights reserved. do not cross-post, translate, copy in any way, etc.

[jasmines-library]

👀 'tis me, i loved the other one so much ❤️❤️❤️, and am back with this wAcky idea muahahaaa:

batboy (you choose) x villain!reader

they are supposed to hate each other because of circumstances (you choose) BUT they got caught in a fight and are working together. after that fight, batboy finds that reader is actually a HUGE softie, and has never really had relationships, and when batboy does find out, he teases reader to embarrassment. they end up falling in love they kiss and fluffy things, under the moonlight, but then reader goes spiraling. like- is it safe to do this? is it okay to show weakness like that? will they put batboy in danger? and they are on the verge of a panic attack. they run away from batboy, which breaks both of them 🥹. reader avoids batboy for months, not really coping with their feelings, having panic attacks every night and all. and then one night, batboy sees reader fighting in an alley. reader takes out the thugs quickly and batboy approaches, and he can see through reader's eyes a whirlwind of emotions and it breaks his heart... and then they somehow make up and a lot of fluff pleeasee <3 (omg it's not totally angst 🥹)

ilyyy muah! (platonic ofc 😘)

Bullet With Butterfly Wings

⛤⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽⛧☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅⛤

Note: This is so cute! I love this idea and I hope you like it. I just wanted to make a side note and say that i am queer, and whilst I am very happy to write romantically for the batboys, It may not be super great (which is why most of my work is platonic tbh) so apologies in advance for that. I also chose to write for Jay so I hope that's okay!

Warnings: Canon typical violence, Minor injuries, self doubt, manipulative parent (bane) but only brief, swearing teasing, kissing but no smut (SFW)

Word Count: 5k (it took me 40 years but it was worth it)

⛧ BATFAM MASTERLIST ⛧

⛤⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽⛧☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅⛤

Jason Todd was your enemy.

That is what you have always been told. It had been ingrained in you since you were very young. Batman and his band of proteges were a nuisance. Bothers. Vermin that needed to be exterminated from Gotham. Your father had countless rivalries: and that had extended to you. Your whole life was dedicated to training to cause havoc and trying to remove Gothams vigilantes.

Jason Todd was your enemy. And you despised him. He despised you too. Not that you cared, he had every right to. Your father had broken his many times.

He had always been tricky. He slunk around the shadows and always put a stop to your fun. His brothers weren’t much better. So when he was killed… you should have been ecstatic. You should have clenched your fists in rage when he returned…but instead you felt…lost.

Jason Todd was your enemy. So why were you helping him…?

You had heard the commotion from nearly a block over. The cacophony of shattering glass, the ricochet of bullets followed by the screeching of the building's alarm: you were over there speedily, tugging your pistols from your holsters as you weaved towards the orange glow of the flickering lights.

The building was completely destroyed. The windows were smashed in, spidering where the bullets had passed through them or jagged where what looked like a brick had been lobbed into it. The frames of the windows were completely broken too, splintering under the brute force of the coloured bandits that had weasled their way inside. Dressed in unsubtle colours, they seemed to be searching for something; they overturned desks and sent an array of papers scattering to the ground. It was that or they were just looking to have fun. You smirked, taking a step closer to the building ready to join them but then you caught a flash of the triangular emblem they had haphazardly spray painted on the back of their jackets and cursed. Safe to say that they weren’t going to tolerate you being near them. Your father had royally pissed them off. More than once. But who were you to back down from a fight?

Shouldering your weapons, you stepped closer crouching to try and keep out of their sight. It was going to be much easier for you if you could take them by surprise. Much more entertaining for you too. Though it seemed that luck wasn’t on your side because one of them, a tall girl with blonde hair she had tied back in a braid, turned her head just before you could dash out of the way and with a cry of your alias, all heads turned to you.

There was no use hiding now your cover was blown so with your guns raised high you aimed and fired. They were quick to retaliate and with their the sheer number of them it was difficult to predict their movements and stay out of their line of fire despite all of your training. The whole ordeal was a mess, bullets and punches flew left, right and centre. The whole ordeal only got a fuck ton more complicated when he arrived. The knight in fucking black and red armour. He perched on top of the roof, teetering dangerously to the edge, before landing on his feet only a few metres away, no doubt with a smug grin hidden behind his red mask. It didn’t do him much good. You knew exactly who he was and it hadn’t taken you much to figure it out. But perhaps that was because you were much more perceptive than most. Perhaps it was because you spent far too much time thinking about him.

Red Hood stood towering over you, glaring at you through his brows. He tutted. “Y/N Bane. Should have known you would be here.”

“And miss the chance to beat your pretty face?” You mocked. “You should know better.”

Red Hood rolled his eyes, shifting his weight as he reached for his weapon. He looked as though he was going to say something; another jest or sly remark, but the moment was ruined when one of the bandits ran up behind him bearing a weapon he intended to plunge into the vigilantes side. However he was much quicker, twisting around to grab the boy by his wrists and flinging him over his shoulder. He landed with a grunt before trying to grab at Red Hood's legs. You beat him to it though, landing a harsh blow to his back and sending him slumping back to the ground.

That seemed to set the rest of them off and all of a sudden the pair of you were surrounded. The street quickly became a flurry of punches and rounds of bullets that lodged themselves in the crackstone bricks or ricocheted off of the metal pipes with a cloud clang. None of them found their mark. Strange for a group of people who wielded their weapons so confidently.

It seemed to be going well. Some sort of unseen rivalry seemed to bloom between you and Red Hood, trying to see who could take the most thugs down. Those that didn’t flee dropped like flies. But you were outnumbered. And even though the pair of you were twice as skilled as them combined, you began to find it difficult to push them back.

Darting into the building to shelter from their hail of bullets, you managed to take down the pair that were hurtling things at Hood. And then it all fell silent.

Exhaling heavily, you wiped the sweat from your brow and holstered your weapons after checking the coast was clear. Smirking, you slid out of the doorway ready to jest to the vigilante. But he seemed to be nowhere to be seen. You rolled your eyes. Coward.

“Given up already?” You jested. “Honestly for a man of your size it thought that you would last a lot longer than-”

Your stomach sank when you turned the corner and saw the vigilante hunched up against the wall, his one hand pressed firmly into the wall, the other pushing hard up against his right side. His breaths came in short, ragged gasps as he tried to catch his breath, his back still turned away from you. You furrowed your brow, taking a hesitant step toward him. It was then that you noticed the crimson that oozed between his fingers.

“Here to finish me off?” He spat, words laced with a thick and potent venom.

“I’m thinking about it.”

He turned toward you, his body jolting in agony as he twisted. From there you could see the two small but ragged circles that jutted out from his suit; one above his left hip and the other a few inches to the right of it. Only one of them seemed to have an exit wound.

“Get on with it then.” He grumbled trying to keep his composure. You could see the way his legs trembled as he tried to keep his composure. “They’re not coming any time soon.” He gestured to his coms. The screen was blank. Broken. “Comms are down.” his voice was torn up by a sickening cough. “But I'd get it over with quickly so you can leave before they catch your trail.”

Your fingers twitched as you reached for your pistol. Instinct. You should finish him off. It would make your father proud. It would end your years of resentment and it would bring you oh so much glorious fame. He was already practically cowering on the ground; an easy kill. Jason Todd was your enemy. You should have pulled the trigger. But instead, you found yourself darting forward as Jason as his body careened forwards.

~

When Jason awoke, he did so in a panic. His eyes were wide and his heart pounded in his chest. It was only when he tried to push himself up and was met by a sudden pinch in his side that everything came back to him. He didn’t recognise his surroundings. The walls were decorated in artwork that he didn’t recognise, and he was laying in a bed with streets that belonged to a stranger. He scrambled for his pistols only to realise that they weren’t there. And that his mask had been removed.

“Lay back down, you idiot.” You scolded from across the room. “Your wounds are still healing, And relax.” You gestured to his mask and the top half of his suit that you had folded up and laid on a chair. It was then that he realised that he was not wearing his shirt and that the eternity of his torso was wrapped securely in bandages. “I knew who you were.”

Jason had to do a double take. But he soon turned sour. “What the fuck am I doing here?”

You scoffed, placing the glass of water you had brought in on the bedside table. “A thank you would be nice.”

“I’m serious” he narrowed his eyes on you.

You faltered, eyeing him cautiously and pursing your lips. Truthfully, you had struggled to get him back to your apartment. You had to move fast with the amount of blood he had lost. You were glad that he lost consciousness when he did because although you should have left him there to rot… you couldn’t bear the thought of seeing him writhe beneath you as you dug a pair of tweezers under his skin to dig out the bullet.

The vigilante eyed you cautiously, still confused as to why you had decided to drag him all the way back here. It couldn’t have been easy for you. He watched as you dug around in one of the draws in your bedroom. He had never seen you properly without your suit on. And he could fully see your face now it wasn’t obscured by the black and white mask that sat comfortably around your eyes. Jason stared for a little too long and found his thoughts wandering a little too far for his liking. He was supposed to loathe you. He was supposed to think you were vile. But yet again…you were the furthest thing from what he had convinced himself to believe.

“You’re staring.” You could feel his eyes on you.

Jason’s cheeks flushed and he turned his gaze away. Rolling your eyes you tossed him a bottle of painkillers that you had pulled out of the mess of your draw. They rattled as they hit the side of the plastic container when he caught them.

“Take some of those. They should help with the ache.

He gave you an unamused look, hand hovering on the seal.

“Relax, bird boy. If I wanted you dead you would be.”

Jason popped two in his mouth hesitantly and swallowed them down with the water you had left on the side. A loud buzzing sounded from out of the room. You disappeared briefly out of the doorway. Not being able to see you made him nervous, but you returned soon with two items in your hand. The first, his phone and the source of the incessant buzzing, and the second his comlink which was no longer dark like it was before but instead was lit up around the crack on the screen. You handed the two to him.

“You might want to let them know that you’re alive. That damn thing’s been going off all night.” You told him.

“You fixed it.” Jason gawped, turning the small device over in his hands.

You shrugged. “Had to make sure the GPS was off. Besides, I had nothing better to do.”

After sending a quick message to reassure his family that he was alive, Jason frowned at you. “Why are you helping me?”

You faltered. Why were you helping him? It went completely against everything you had been taught. But you hadn’t really thought much about what you were doing. It was like your body was on autopilot, moving without thought of feeling and just following someone’s orders blindly. You shrugged at him. “It just felt like the right thing to do.”

Jason practically laughed. “But doesn’t that go against your entire image?”

“There is a lot you don’t know about me, Todd.”

The vigilante smirked, the corners of his lips creeping upward. Snarky. He liked you. “Then perhaps I should get to know you more.”

~

No matter how hard he tried, Jason couldn’t take his mind off you. Even once he had long returned home, he couldn’t get the image of your face out of his thoughts. There was something about you that was just so enthralling to him. And that bothered him greatly. His hours passed by quickly as he thought of you. What you had done. And god he was so conflicted. But the part of him that seemed to want to inch closer to you won.

After struggling to pull on his hoodie, no thanks to the dull ache that still emimated from his wounds, he slipped on his shoes and trudged down the stairs. He was just about to slip out of the door when a voice stopped him.

“Jay?” Dick asked, scowling at his brother. “Where are you going?”

“Out?”

“Again? You’ve only just got back after completely wiping off the radar and now you’re sneaking off?”

“I wasn’t sneaking.”

Dick cocked his brow.

The younger Wayne sighed and with a roll of his eyes told him defensively “It’s nothing, Grayson.”

Jason slipped out of the door.

Even though he had only been there once, Jason seemed to practically have the route to your apartment engraved in his mind. After all, he had walked in over and over again in his head as he thought about returning to see you. Although he was confident on how to get there, when he stood in front of the door with his fist poised to rap against the panel, a very rare occurrence happened to Jason. He was nervous. His stomach fluttered and churned underneath the bandages and then the door flew open.

And there you stood. You looked more awake than before. Perhaps because you had actually managed to get some sleep since he had left. It had been a well needed rest. The ache in your bones from the previous night had nearly vanished once you awoke. However, similarly to the vigilante, when you awoke you too had found your mind wandering back to the boy you had dragged back into your home.

There he was. Standing in your doorway.

“Todd?” You darkened your brow. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“I came to get to know you.”

Gripping his wrist you pulled him inside and shut the door behind you.

~

You and Jason had grown close very quickly. After he had slunk up to your apartment, the pair of you exchanged numbers. This led to many rendezvous and you began to actually enjoy spending time with him. He was an intricate person. He had so many layers to him, each one more interesting than the next. He had also discovered that there was much more to you than your facade let on. You were kind, funny, and deeply compassionate despite your history. It was ironic really. But that made Jason love you even more. He loved the way you smiled with your eyes and the way they lit up when you saw something you adored. He loved the curves of your cheekbones, your nose, your jawline and your figure. He had grown to love your laugh and the way your voice softened when you were tired. He loved all of you. But he wasn’t sure if you so much as even liked him back.

It would be a complete lie to say didn’t. Slowly, the pair of you began to open up to each other. You knew little about his past and hearing him open up about it brought tears to your eyes. That was the first time that you had hugged him. Wrapping him up in your arms seemed to come almost naturally and despite the fact that Jason wasn’t a huge people person, he found himself leaning into your embrace. The two of you began to learn things about each other very quickly. You would tell him something and he would exchange the favour. Countless hours were spent as the two of you messaged back and forth or lounged around on your couch as you talked over the movies you tried to watch but failed because you couldn’t tear your eyes off of him. He was smart and he was kind and it was nice to have someone to really open up to. You had never really had that before Jason. Of course, when he found out about that and your lack of relationships, he couldn’t help but tease you. He thought it was adorable the way that your cheeks flushed and you shrunk into yourself.

Tonight, you were sitting on a hillside. It was a little far out of the city, but Jay had insisted that it was going to be worth it. Reluctantly, but with a little grin, you had followed him up the small hill.

The view was truly magnificent. From here, you had a view of the entire city. You could see all of the lights flickering throughout the skyscrapers and the neon lights of the signs as they reflected off of the dark windows. But what was even more magical were the stars. They twinkled above you brighter than a thousand diamonds all at once. It made your breath catch in your throat. With all of the light pollution in Gotham, it was hard to see the stars. But out here you could see them in all of their beauty. So as you lay back in the grass, basking in the moonlight while Jay pointed out the constellations, you twisted your body to sit face him. He returned the motion, looking at you with gentle eyes and a smile touching his lips.

“Thank you for bringing me here, Jay.” You told him. “It truly is beautiful here.”

He nodded, speaking softly. “I’m glad you like it.”

“I’ve never seen so many stars.” You said, inching yourself up so that you were sitting. “Though I suppose that’s because I’ve never really been out of Gotham.”

Jason raised an eyebrow. This was something new. “No?”

You shook your head as he too sat up. “Never. My father never let me.”

This surprised the vigilante somewhat, but he remained silence and let you continue.

“He’s… protective. And somewhat controlling.” you trailed off. “I know he just wants me to follow in his footsteps but for my entire life I’ve been following his command blindly. It’s always what he wants. He’s never once stopped and thought about what I want.”

Jason reached out a delicate hand to brush away a stray hair, tucking it back behind your ear. “And what is it that you want?”

“This.” You breathed out.

Tenderly, he leaned forward to interlock his lips with yours. They were soft and gentle and he kissed you with a gentle amorous touch. His hands brushed the back of your hair, tangling in your locks as you returned the kiss, leaning into his touch.

~

Being with Jason was more than you could ever have imagined. It was a different kind of love. Something you had never really experienced before. It was filled with gentle exchanges of touches, reassurances of your love for each other, gifts and small trinkets that you would buy for each other when it reminded you of them and so so much more. With Jay, you could just be yourself and he loved you for it. There was no more trying to keep up a facade that perhaps was much more of an act influenced by your father than you thought it was. Everything was perfect.

Until it wasn’t.

You and Jay had been going out for a few months when it happened. You had returned home after a late night stroll with him to find your father sitting on your couch. He was angry, face contorting with dark lines when he narrowed his eyes at you.

“Dad?” You asked, trying to hide the evidence of your outing from him. “What are you doing here?”

“Don’t play coy with me.” He spat standing to tower above you. “I know exactly that’s going on with you and that little bird.”

He took a step forward, intending to intimidate you but you held your ground.

“How long did you think you could keep that hidden?”

“I don’t see what that’s any of your business.” You grit your teeth.

“I am your father. I made you who you are. Without me you would be nothing.” His words dripped with venom as he backed you into the wall.

“That’s exactly the point! You've never once stopped to consider what I want!”

Bane's face hardened and he leaned forward to speak to you in a scarily hushed tone and he gripped your wrists so hard you were sure it was going to leave a bruise later. “Now you listen here you insolent little girl. Either you stop running around with Bruce Wayne’s little protege or I will end him and I will make you watch. You understand.”

You didn’t meet his eyes. Instead you found a spot on the carpet to burn your gaze onto.

“I said, do you understand?” He raised his voice and you could feel your heart pounding against your rib cage.

“Yes, Father.” You admitted with defeat. He released his firm grip.

“Good.” Bane moved back towards the door. “Because I mean it.”

Without another word he turned on his heel and slammed the door behind him.

You crumpled to the floor, your body wracked with sobs that forced their way out from your ragged gasps.

And then your phone buzzed. His name displayed brightly on the screen.

Jason: Hey baby. D’you get in okay?

It was one of his usual messages. He sent them often when he couldn’t walk you back to your door. Sometimes even when he had walked you back and made sure you got inside with a parting kiss. You couldn’t blame him for being cautious. You had seen eachother fretting for the other when you came home with injuries. It was normal for Jason. But now it felt so wrong.

Opening the message your fingers hesitated over the keypad as you thought about your fathers warning. Was he right? Were you putting Jay at risk. Would it just be better if you. No. You tried to clear the thought from your mind.

You: Fine. Sorry for keeping you waiting.

You replied, waiting for the small bubble to finish typing.

Jason: you sure you’re okay baby?

You: of course. Why wouldn’t I be?

Jason: No reason. I just had this feeling.

You: Oh? Well I’m fine I promise. Night Jay.

You were in fact, not fine.

~

The next time you saw Jason your heart was racing. And not in the good way. In the “I think I’m going to hurl” way.

You had been thinking about him nonstop. About how much joy he brought you. How you could never fathom leaving him. But Bane's words kept replaying in your head. Seeing him had brought a part of your old self back. The part that you had long since tried to move past. Was being with Jason making you weak? You had told him so much that it felt as if he knew you inside and out. Was it okay to show vulnerability to him like that? You had been thinking a million thoughts at once. But the one that stuck out most to you was ‘am I putting Jason in danger?’ Would your selfishness of wanting to be with him cost him his life. You had tried to tell yourself that you were being silly. That Jason could handle himself. He was the infamous Red Hood. But you knew Jay. And you knew Bane. So you knew that if he put his mind to it, Jason Todd would die.

And that was why you needed to leave.

When Jason arrived he greeted you with a bright grin that only made your stomach sink deeper into your abyss of guilt. You took a deep breath, trying to hide the tremble of your body and the tears in your eyes. You could not bring yourself to return his mannerisms.

“Baby? What’s wrong?” He frowned as he approached you.

“Jay…. I-I” your voice caught in your throat: a reminder of how little you wanted this to happen. But you had to. For his sake “I can’t do this anymore.”

Jason’s face dropped. “W-what?”

You honestly don’t think you had ever seen him look more hurt. Another wound to add to the collection.

“I can’t do this anymore.” You gestured between the two of you. “ I love you, Jason. But I can’t carry on being with you.”

You took a step back and Jason reached out to try and touch you but stopped, cutting himself off short. “Y/N what’s happened? Please tell me baby. What have I done wrong?”

“Nothing, Jay.” You shook your head, blinking away the tears that fell. “That’s the worst part. Nothing at all.”

~

You avoided Jason Todd like the plague after that. No matter how much you mourned his face and playful smile. His flurries of texts and calls went unanswered until they slowly thinned out. Never stopping, but as the summer turned to autumn, there were less and less of them.

You could tell it broke him as much as it broke you.

You hardly left the house after that fateful day. Everything seemed to remind you of him and his stupid voice. You didn’t want to run the risk of seeing him because you knew the second you did you would break down again completely.

Your father stopped by occasionally. He would tell you that he was proud of you but you knew he was just trying to manipulate you back into his little copy of himself. You swore to yourself that you wouldn’t go back there, but after a short while you grew desperate. Perhaps it was because you had grown bored of staring at the same blank spot in the wall and the empty space on your bed, or perhaps it was because you secretly hoped that you would catch a glimpse of that infamous red suit.

It seemed that your wishes do come true.

You heard the fighting from around the corner. The cacophony of fists finding their marks. When you rounded the corner you saw him. The red of his suit outlined by the dark of the black to contrast. Your first thought was to run. To bolt back down the alleyway. But you weren’t a coward. You had had enough of hiding. You longed to see him and this was your chance. Red Hood was loosing.

With one swift action, you leaped towards the thugs grabbing one and sending her careening towards the ground. Red Hood had to do a double take when he saw the flash of your suit in the light. But there was no doubt that it was you. After months you had appeared.

Motivated by you appearance it didn’t take long of the two of you to take out the thugs. And when the last one dropped to the ground. Your first thought was to run. But then he said your name and you were glued in place. God you had longed to hear that voice.

“Y/N? Y/N please look at me” you had never heard so much softness in Jason’s voice before. He too was scared.

He was right behind you. Close enough to touch. You could sense him. His hands itching to reach out and gather you up in his arms.

Slowly you turned around to face him and your gaze met his for the first time in months. And his heart wanted to break. Jason had always been good at reading people, but he could see the whirlwind of emotions swirling in your gaze.

“I'm sorry.” You blurted out.

Jay hummed. Although he would never admit how much he had hurt during your absence, he had a feeling that you weren’t not thinking properly and had likely been influenced by someone else. The fear in your eyes confirmed his suspicions. “I know.” Jason wanted to reach out and snatch you up to pull into his embrace. “I know it was your father.”

You felt as if the whole world had been lifted off of your chest when he breathed out those words.

“Truly, I didn’t want to do it, Jay. But he threatened to- I couldn’t let him hurt you.” Your voice broke and your lips trembled as your eye filled with tears. And that was the final straw for the vigilante. He took another step forward and wrapped you up in a tight hug. He had missed you so much.

“Shh.” He hushed. “I forgive you.”

You sniffled looking up at him. “Really?”

“Of course I do.” He nodded, tucking your head under his chin. “I’ve missed you so much.”

“Me too.” You muttered.

“So what do you say?” He asked. “You want to give this another go?”

“If you’ll have me.”

“Oh darling, I would trade the world for one night with you.”

And with that, Jason Todd leaned down and kissed you once more.

⛤⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽⛧☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅⛤

BATFAM TAGS:

@hearts4robs

@hell-o-kittys

@xxrougefangxx

@aestheticdasies

@mamapucket

⛤⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽⛧☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅⛤

side note in case it bothers anyone: I'm somewhat aware that Bane has a daughter canonically, which is sort of why I went with him. If you wanted to you could interpret this as the reader also being created in a lab, or being his biological daughter (how I imagined it) but it doesn't really matter. I also chose bane because I didn't want to go with the joker again, but this this also doesn't really matter as the reader kinda just becomes her own villain.

[harrystylesfan2686]

Alone

Pairing: no one really.

Summary: Reader starts to feel left out in her own family...

Warnings: Neglection. Suicide thoughts. Self harm (in detail) please go back if any of these bother you. Your mental heath matters more.

A/N: I think I need therapy too...

Masterlist Part 2(Azriel) Part 2(Eris)

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Ever wondered what it's like to be alone?

It's a game, really. A game of utter self degradation. A game where there are only two players, you and your mind. A game where you never truly win and you always have to keep playing because your brain never tires.

A game which no one else realizes your playing until you lose and it's too late.

It's the game you have been playing ever since the Archerons joined the inner circle. You love them all, honestly. Thier different personalities was the first thing that drew you to them. You admir all three of them but the one thing you hate is how you got left alone after their involvement to your life.

Before them, you all relied on all of you for company and support. Now, everybody has their own person.

Rhysand has Feyre, Cassian has Nesta, Azriel has Elain, and Mor and Amren have found thier partners too but in case they aren't present, Mor and Amren, as crazy as it sounds, rely on each other. Just like that, everybody has a person to go home to, to come back safely for, to turn to for comfort.

You don't have anyone.

You hate going home because your bed is always empty. You hate going on missions because you know no one would be worrying about you every minute you gone. You hate celebrations because you have no one to dance with, to drink with, to end the day with.

You love family dinners. Even though you never get a chance to speak, even though you never talk to anyone, even though no one notices your presence. You love family dinners and meetings because it's the only time youre not alone.

It's doesn't matter if you're lonely, at least you aren't alone.

But in the game you're playing with yourself, after a while, you get too tired to challenge back with same force. You don't push back the mean thoughts your mind throws at you as insults. You listen to them, compare them to your situation and realise, you've been trying to win for nothing.

You slowly stop trying to protect yourself all together.

The first time you didn't go to a family dinner, you thought you would regret it later but you didn't, instead you felt glad that you didn't go because no one had come to get you, no one came to ask why you didn't show, no one cared about you enough to think why you didn't go.

So you stopped going at all.

You stopped doing everything with you 'family' and prefered being left alone.

You only met them when you had a mission together or anything related to work.

Just like that, today you had gone to one of the Illyrian camps at Rhys orders. He got report saying things haven't been going as they should there and wanted you to go check. But on your way back you had been ambushed by a group of six men wanting to kill you in the camp, they couldn't of course but you did come out of the fight with a large sward wound on your left side.

All you wanted to do was go home, rest, tend to your wound and sleep. You can give the report to Rhys tomorrow.

You let out a grunt and step in your house, immediately tense seeing a shadow of a person move the dark room. Your hand placing itself in your dagger straped to your thigh, you other hand on the left side of your waist pressing on your wound.

"Relax, it's just me." A familiar voice fills the silence as the fae lights turn on and Rhysands face becomes visible. You sigh in relief and furrow your eyebrows,"What you doing so late in my house?" You nearly snap, but hold back as respect for your high lord.

"You came late you were suppose to be here two hours ago." For minute it feels like he cares for you, and you allow yourself to believe that he was worried for you but you fantasy shatters the second he opens his mouth again. "You were supposed to deliver your report two hours ago. You know how important this is, I have other things to do too." His voice sharp as he scolds you.

"You're right, I'm sorry. I got attacked while leaving, it took time to fight them of. It was six against one but well I managed to survive, eh?" Rhysand's scowl deepens. "Tell me what happened there now."

Your eyes closs for a second whem you feel dizzy. "Look, how about you give me ten minutes to freshen up, and I also have a wound to–," You try to say but he cuts you off saying,"I don't have more time. Tell me right now what happened so I can get started on fixing things, then you can have all the time to fresh up as you want. My office, now." He doesn't leave much to room to argue and winnows you to his office.

You sigh and start speaking, repeating everything you noticed in the camp as Rhysand listens and writes down the report. Near the end, you feel another wave of dizziness hit you and put your head down to rest it against the backrest of your chair and groan when you feel pain shoot up from your injury from the movement.

Rhysand finally notices the source of your pain and his eyes flare,"You're hurt?" You scoff. "Yes. That's what I was trying to tell you before you winnowed us here."

"I didnt notice it. I'm sorry, you should go tend to it." He quickly dismisses you, finally letting you go back to your house.

As you look at yourself in the mirror, thinking how filthy and hideous you seem, you grit your teeth. Of course no one notices you. Look at you. You are ugly and filled with dirt and scars all over your body.

How could anyone look at you when you can't even look at yourself.

Your gaze falls to your wound, the big cut that spread from under you left breast to the start of your thigh. If was deep enough to bleed you dry.

Would anyone even notice if you did? If you don't heal and let the injury bleed you dead. Would anyone know that you were gone? That your body layed unmoving in the bathroom floor. How long would it take for someone to find you? Who would find you? Probably Rhysand when he needs you for his next mission.

You eye your dagger that you unshielded on your way in the bathroom. How long would it take for you to bleed out? Hours? Days? You didn't want that. That was too much. You don't think you can handle that much pain constantly. Maybe if you took that dagger and deepen your cut, you would bleed out faster. Maybe you would have a faster death. Sure it would hurt but at least you would be gone before someone found you.

You would be free. Free of the loneliness. Free of the feeling like you were a burden in everyone's life. Free of wanting Someone to care for you the way you see everyone else care for their loved ones. You would finally be at peace.

You gasp and blink out the terrible thoughts. Breathing heavy, you search for the cotton and Healing cream in the cupboards. You groan out with you don't find any of them.

You turn back to the mirror. Maybe your brain is right. Maybe this is a sign from Mother herself telling you to not let the wound heal and die right here, right now. Your gaze finds the knife again, eyeing the sharp edge. Would it really be that bad?

Your hand grips the handle of the dagger, bringing it closer to the cut. You let the cold mettle edge scrap the skin, an inch afar the start of the cut. The sharp edge slicing through skin like paper, leaving a line of crimson red blood, seeping out of the newly cut skin.

Your eyes widen as you observe yourself, keeping the knife near the cut but not touching it entirely.

It's... mesmerizing. The way blood slowly comes out of the skin, the small and steady lines created by your dagger are engrossing. And the pain, the pain is hypnotizing, slowing raising to the rest of your body. Your body feels electrified, there's snips of pain tingling through out your entire body, your ears buzzing with excitement. Your hands are shaking and eyes bluring but all you can focus on is how much you want to do this again. Feel your skin open beneath you knife again. Feel the pain that slowing raises with each extra inch of cut.

Oh gods. What have you done?

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[penny00dreadful]

STWG Prompt: Chill/Give In

Double prompt day! A happy whoopsident!

“Just talk to him. Be chill about it.”

“‘Be chill about it?’ Seriously, Robin?” Steve bit at the skin on the side of his thumb but pulled his hand away when all he could taste was kerosene.

He looked out across the field towards Dustin and Eddie, chasing after each other, playing at battle with their shields.

He could feel his heartbeat in his sides through the bites and on his back and arms where he was dragged over the lake bed but that pain didn’t compare to the near constant fucking heartache he felt every time he looked in Eddie’s direction.

“Steve-”

“Didn’t you just give me a whole speech about how our love lives don’t matter right now because the world might be ending?” He cut her off, a little petulant.

“No,” Robin said firmly. “I said my love life. Because there’s nothing there, there’s no hope. But you-”

“You don’t know that, Vickie could-”

“Steve.” Robin said, almost as if she was begging him. “Please. Go talk to him.”

He had to admit defeat at that, nodding to her and trying not to feel too much about her small sigh of relief as he stood and started to make his way across the field.

Eddie and Dustin were posturing to each other, acting out their victorious return, knights coming back from battle successful.

They both had matching smiles on their faces, those dimples cutting into Eddie’s cheeks and his eyes bright and alight with laughter.

When Steve came to a stop in front of them, arms folded over his chest and they both turned to him, Eddie’s bright eyes turned hard and his mouth fell into a frown while Dustin just looked up at Steve expectantly, still smiling.

“Can I talk to you?” Steve asked, sparing a glance at Eddie’s face and nearly withering under the glare he was sent.

“Can’t imagine we’d have anything to talk about, Harrington.” Eddie turned his back and crouched down, picking back up the hammer and starting to whack nails through the shield again, with far too much force.

“Eddie.” Steve tightened his arms around himself. “Please?”

There was silence between the three of them for a breath, Dustin’s eyes darting from one to the other before Eddie slammed his hammer back down and straightened up.

“Have it your way, then. You always do.” Without a backwards glance, he stormed off towards the tree line, leaving Steve behind feeling like he’d been punched in the gut.

“What’s going on?” Dustin asked, watching Eddie’s retreating form. “He looks like he might try to kill you.”

“If he does, I’d probably deserve it.” He patted Dustin on the shoulder as he passed, following Eddie into the forest.

Steve found him, still scowling, leaned up against a tree a few feet in, trying to blow up Steve’s head with his mind.

Steve could only stare at him for a moment, trying to figure out how to start, not daring to close the distance in between them.

“Talk.” Eddie snapped.

He opened and closed his mouth, eventually figuring it was best to start with his apology.

“I’m sorry.”

He was met with an eye roll and a scoff.

“Oh, now you’re sorry?”

“Yes.” He answered back, firm and resolute. “I’m sorry. I’ve always been sorry.”

“Right.” Eddie nodded, condescending. “And what part are you sorry for, exactly? Or are you just sorry it even happened in the first place?”

Steve huffed to himself, pinching the bridge of his nose and trying his best to keep his emotions from cresting. He’d been so raw for weeks and it was so much worse now, having to face it head on.

“I never wanted to hurt you-”

“Hurt me? Hurt me?” Eddie exploded, out of nowhere. “You didn’t fucking hurt me, Harrington. You eviscerated me. You tore my fucking heart out, and what’s worse, is that you knew you were doing it. I could see it on your face! I can see it right now!” He took a few steps forward, jabbing Steve hard in the chest. “You didn’t even give me a god damned reason and now, because the world is about to fucking end you decide you need to get me off your conscience?”

“No! That’s not what this is-”

“Then what is it!”

“It’s this whole fucking situation!” Steve threw his hands out to the side. “It’s this fucking apocalypse and people fucking dying and getting hurt and I couldn’t have it be you! Not you. Never you.”

“Never me, never me. Story of my fucking life. What could never be me, huh?” He snapped. “Could never be permanent? Could never be what you need? Can’t be your fucking breeder for your all American dream, is that it? No? Then make some fucking sense, would you?”

“It’s not that, jesus, did you listen to anything I said the whole fucking time we were- It wasn’t about my white picket fence fucking dream that I would still be happy to have with you-!” He shook his head, he was getting off track. “I always knew this supernatural shit wasn’t over, Eddie. They said it was done. Hopper died, the Byers moved themselves and El away, they said it was done. But never fucking is. And I couldn’t stand the idea of you being hurt by it.”

Eddie paused, his big brown eyes darting between Steve’s own, searching, gears in his head clicking, until Steve could see the moment the puzzle pieces slotted into place.

“This is why you went missing for a couple of days? This is why you turned up at the trailer looking like you’d been fucking tortured after the mall burned down?”

“Yeah,” Steve sighed, the fight leaving him. “And I knew it was going to happen again. I’d already gotten Robin and Erica mixed up in the shit, I couldn’t have it happen to you too.”

Eddie was no longer glaring at him but he didn’t look happy either. 

He looked disappointed. 

Disappointed and hurt.

“So, what?” He asked, taking a step back and crossing his arms. “Instead of talking to me about it, you just decided to break up with me?”

“Eddie,” He reached out to him but Eddie took a step back. Steve felt like he’d been stabbed in the heart all over again. “I didn’t ‘just decide’ anything-”

“But you did! You did! You decided for me. You made the decision for me. You didn’t even give me the option- You didn’t tell me what was going on-”

“I couldn’t! There were NDA’s and government agents-”

“Oh fuck off, Steve.” Eddie snapped. “Like you ever gave a shit about what some suits said to you.”

“This is different, this is getting black bagged and never seen again type of shit-”

“Look me in the eye. You look me in the eye and tell me you’ve never broken one of those NDA’s or told one of those agents to shove it up their ass. Go on.” Eddie stepped closer again but it definitely wasn’t an invitation to reach out, it was a challenge. 

Steve looked Eddie in the eye. 

He could lie. 

He could say he always followed those NDA’s to the letter. 

He could say he had never bitched out those agents along with Joyce to declare Hopper a hero and not brush him under the rug like they tried to do with Barb, making him some crooked, power hungry, drugged up cop who ‘went missing’ after he was last seen standing at the quarry’s edge. 

But he couldn’t. 

He couldn’t lie to Eddie, not anymore.

Eddie wilted. His eyes went from hard and defiant down to soft, sad and resigned.

“I thought so.” He said, quiet and vindicated, though he sounded the opposite of happy to be so. “You made decisions for me Steve. You took my agency away. No one gets to do that. Not my father, not Wayne and not you.”

“Eddie.” He said, his voice cracking. “I just wanted to keep you safe.”

“Well look around you, sweetheart.” He replied, opening his arms and gesturing around. “What a great job you did.”

Eddie shoulder-checked Steve hard as he passed, making his way out of the forest without looking back.

When Steve finally reappeared at Robin’s side, his eyes red and puffy and his throat raw, she silently took his hand and tugged him in close.

“Nancy.” Steve snapped, grabbing Dustin by the shoulders and wrenching him away. “Get him out of here.”

He threw Dustin into her arms, not letting himself care about the pain he’d probably just caused, he couldn’t. He couldn’t lose focus, there was too much blood and he had to do something. 

“Robin, with me.” But he needn’t have even said it. Robin was already kneeling down by Eddie’s side, checking his breathing, looking for a pulse while Steve started to rifle through the pockets and pouches on his War Zone vest, pulling out bandages and gauze.

They wouldn’t do much, but hopefully it would be enough until they could get him somewhere safer. 

Safer and cleaner.

It had to be enough for that.

It had to be.

Steve couldn’t lose him. 

He handed some of the bandages off to Robin who had moved down to work on his stomach while Steve wrapped up his neck.

“Baby?” Steve couldn’t help but put a hand on Eddie’s cheek. 

His uninjured cheek, because jesus christ the bats practically bit the whole way through on the other side.

“Eddie, can you hear me? Please, baby?” He begged. “Come back to me.”

His heart was in his throat and he was in the middle of trying to shove it the fuck back down because he needed to concentrate when Eddie’s eyes fluttered.

“S’vie?”

“Yeah.” Steve exhaled in relief. “Yeah, it’s me baby. I’m here, you’re gonna be okay.”

Eddie didn’t say anything else, just groaned in pain when Robin cruelly tightened the bandages, but it had to be done.

His eyes fluttered closed again and he didn’t move, save for the small rise and fall of his chest that Steve watched like a fucking hawk.

When he positioned himself in between Eddie’s legs with his back to him, gesturing for Robin to lift Eddie up so he could drag his arms over his shoulders, she paused for a second, giving him a look.

“Your injuries-”

“Birdie, please.”

“Okay, okay. Shit.”

She grabbed Eddie tight under the arms and though she struggled with his dead weight, eventually the two of them were able to manoeuvre him in such a way so he was draped over Steve’s back.

He would have expected a whimper of pain or a shout or something but Eddie was deathly silent, his breaths coming in short sharp rattles.

“Go ahead,” He said to Robin, starting the long and painful trek back to the trailer. “Get the portal ready for me.”

She didn’t hesitate, just nodded and ran.

Steve tightened his arms and grit his teeth.

One foot in front of the other.

“Don't do this to me, baby.” He panted. “Don't go.”

Each step was like a fresh knife through his sides, the raw wounds on his back screamed at him and his vision was starting to swim but he refused, he refused to give in.

There was a small moan in his ear and he could feel Eddie’s eyelashes brushing against his neck as he blinked his eyes open.

“What day s'it?” He slurred, breath hot against Steve’s skin.

“It's-” Steve inhaled, feeling like he couldn’t get a proper lungful, “Thursday.”

“T'm'rrow's date night.” His voice was so quiet, so thin that Steve could barely hear it. He wanted to tell him to stop talking, to conserve his energy but at the same time, talking meant alive.

“Yeah.” Steve huffed. “Yeah, it is, so just-” He stumbled, nearly falling to his knees but managing to catch himself, “Just hang on a little-”

“Dn't know if… if 'm gonna make it.”

“Don't-” he breathed, each pass of air through his lungs getting more and more painful. He was just at the trailer steps now and he could see a figure coming back through the portal from behind the door.

“M'sorry.”

“Eds, don't apologise.” He tried to soothe, everything within him screaming as he lifted a leg to go up the steps. He’d never make it. He’d never be able to carry him up, but he had to try. “Just stay awake, please baby. Please.”

Eddie didn’t respond, but there were still those small puffs of air against Steve’s neck.

The trailer door burst open, Robin and Nancy rushing down the steps to take Eddie’s weight. 

For one delirious moment he held on tighter, he didn’t want to let him go, didn’t want him out of his sight, but he came to his senses quickly, letting the girls drag him up the stairs.

Robin looked back at him torn but Steve waved her off.

“Get him through, Birdie!” He said from his position, holding himself up on the bannister.

Robin glared at him. “God fucking damn it, Steve!” 

But she turned and started to drag Eddie inside because she was his fucking soulmate, god damn it and best fucking friend.

The ascent up and into the trailer was slow. 

By the time he made it to the makeshift stairs they had created up to the portal, the girls and Eddie were already through and Robin was on her way back to him. 

“Evie, come on!” Robin begged, tears in her eyes, reaching a hand out to him.

His vision was starting to darken around the edges, but he was able to grasp at her fingers.

With one last push, he felt gravity shift around him and then everything went black.

“-ere are you going?! We need… hospital!”

“My mom… nurse training until-”

“-some fucking suburban housewife-”

“-don’t know shit-!”

“-innocent-”

“Don’t let your father-”

When Steve blinked his eyes open, he was in the last place he expected to be, back in the Wheelers basement, lying on a bundle of blankets on the ground, Robin curled up next to him asleep and Karen Wheeler’s pink pumps disappearing up the stairs.

He was right next to the couch and looking up, he saw an arm hanging over the side, a familiar spattering of bats inked down his forearm and a messy shock of brown curls just barely visible.

He could already feel consciousness leaving him again, but with the last of his strength he lifted his own arm up, grasping Eddie’s hand in his and squeezing.

All of the tension, apprehension, fear, heartbreak and grief left his body when he felt Eddie squeeze back.

So this fic (because it turned into a fucking oneshot) is actually a bit of background I had imagined for an upcoming future fic that I had never planned to write, but was in my head for later context for the story. Eventually, once that fic has been uploaded (it will be, it's one of my 1st Year Anniversary Event fics), I will upload this lil oneshot to AO3 seperately.

[zylev-blog]

Danny and Damian’s friendship started on a chilly January day. Damian had just been given to the Wayne family, and had started going to Gotham Elementary. Danny had been going there for years, but he was a poor kid and was there on a scholarship, so all of the rich kids made fun of him. It didn’t help that Danny’s parents were weird, and half of the class believed that they were robots. As if a ten year old could build robots.

Damian kept his distance from everyone, but as the other resident weird kid, Danny had introduced himself to Damian. Damian was wary, because of the LOA and the fact that Bruce was rich. Danny didn’t care about money, once he realized Damian and he shared similar interests, he wanted to be Damian’s friend for his personality, not his money. From that day on, the duo were inseparable. They did everything together, and spent nearly every waking moment together in and out of school.

Somehow though, Danny never figured out that Damian was Robin.

Four years later, and Damian and Danny are dancing around their romantic feelings for each other, and they’re both in denial. They’re at a museum when Joker and his goons take everyone hostage. Danny tries to protect Damian, but the Joker singles him out in front of everyone to teach them a lesson about being obedient. Joker shoots Danny in the chest with a gun, but the shot doesn’t kill him instantly. Damian rushes forward, trying to assess the damage and save his best friend, but he’s held back by the other civilians. Damian is forced to watch his best friend bleed to death from the distance, and is completely powerless to do anything. None of the Bats arrive on time to save Danny’s life.

Damian spirals into a deep depression. He goes back on his No killing rule, and goes after the Joker. Most of his siblings don’t want to stop him, but they do try because of Bruce’s rules. The only one on his side is Jason, who was also killed by the Joker.

Six months after Danny’s death, and Damian finally manages to kill the Joker. He and Jason make sure there is no body to ressurect. Damian weeps at Danny’s grave, and tells his friend that he was avenged. But the hole in Damian’s chest doesn’t go away. His heart is utterly broken, and he’s not sure he can survive without Danny.

Exactly one year after Danny’s death, and Damian decides he can’t do it anymore. He digs up Danny’s body, and flies it to Nanda Parbat.

Danny comes back to life, but somethings wrong with him.

[niqhtlord01]

Humans are weird: Ramming Speed

( Please come see me on my new patreon and support me for early access to stories and personal story requests :D https://www.patreon.com/NiqhtLord Every bit helps)

The idea of ramming space ships into each other as a form of combat maneuver was beyond many galactic military minds comprehension.

A single spacecraft, let alone a military grade class vessel, would cost up in the billions of credits. Entire galactic economies had nearly bankrupted themselves trying to maintain a fleet large enough to secure their borders, so in turn each military ship became an asset not to be squandered lightly.

Perhaps it was this conservative mindset that nearly shattered when these powers first looked upon the Terran ship codenamed “The Ram”.

Unlike other modern vessels the ships of this new classification lacked all weapon emplacements. No energy cannons, missile launchers, rail guns; it was entirely free of weapons. What it did have was excessive amounts of armor plating, several separate shield generators, and a pair of overly powerful engines that could reach max speed in roughly five minutes.

The first time it was observed in combat was during the Terran/Crux war. Both powers had sizable fleets at their disposal and for the first couple months the two powers played cat and mouse games between each other; each trying to find a more advantageous position to commit their forces. Much to the dismay of both powers the first large scale battle was triggered by mere chance than a tactical decision.

A Crux patrol stumbled upon a Terran patrol emerging from a dense nebula in the Viper System. Both patrols requested reinforcements. Nearby patrols were soon diverted to the engagement and within short order what was a small skirmish ballooned into a full scale battle.

There were no battle lines or frontlines as ships opened fire at near point blank range with each other. Even when higher rank Admirals arrived to take charge both sides were too embroiled in the slugfest to make any more nuanced tactical moves without exposing themselves to the enemy.

It was here that the Ram emerged and showed its prowess.

Crux warship crews were not trained on how to handle enemy vessels rushing towards them. What’s more several gun crews became panicked when they saw the Ram ships rushing headlong towards them without diverting course.

With the extra armor and shielding the Terran ships not only struck head on into Crux ships but emerged from the attack relatively unscathed. In most cases the prow of the Ram ships punched clean through the entire hull of the Crux warship and emerged through the other side.

The Crux fleet desperately tried to regain order and form battle lines but each time they did so the Ram ships would plunge head first into their formation and take out the command ship coordinating the effort.

As more and more Terran ships arrived and formed their own battle lines the tide of battle soon drastically changed. After thirteen hours of intense fighting the last of the Crux fleet withdrew from the battle leaving the Terrans the victors.

A full fifth of the Crux navy was lost during the battle with the Ram ships having personally claimed 45% of the kills.

While the war itself would continue for another two years, the Ram ships and their unorthodox tactics had earned them a modicum of respect from the wider galaxy, and a great measure of fear from the Crux.

[wonusite]

Sweet Dreams

❝ You dream about a beautiful man nearly every time you fall asleep. After getting to know him and everything about him, you see him outside of your dreams—in a museum painting. ❞

PAIRING: joshua hong x female reader

GENRE: vampire au, reincarnation au, angst, smut

WORD COUNT: 10.1k

WARNINGS: vampire!joshua, human!reader, lucid dreaming, reincarnation, so much yearning, mentions of death, joshua is a brooding mess, protective!minghao, unprotected sex, blood play, biting, creampies

A/N: this has been long overdue, and i hope you guys like it! loosely based off this ask. MINORS DO NOT INTERACT!

Fate.

A simple word that holds more power and venerability than any ruler of the middle kingdom. It’s a mystifying concept that follows no rules and simply is; something that can actively be changed but not avoided. Joshua learns this late in his long life—a derailment of his own making. The lesson comes to him in the form of a fiery witch running from her death.

As a creature that’s lived in solitude since he became immortal, it’s not in his nature to be helpful. It’s why he has no interest in saving the witch from the demons that are hunting her. This, however, doesn’t stop the insolent little witch from forcing herself into his sanctuary. He fights her on it, baring his fangs while saying the most despicable and bone chilling threats to her. The young witch isn’t fazed and makes it clear that he doesn’t have a choice in the matter.

In the end, he concedes. Not because she’s powerful enough to make him obey her, but because she reminds Joshua of himself when he was desperately clinging to his own survival. Perhaps that’s the reason he becomes inexplicably drawn to her. Josh almost feels like she’s bewitched him, and the most unusual part of it all is that he doesn’t care even if that is the case.

He seeks her out after he helps her despite knowing that it can’t possibly end well. Their kinds don’t mix, and it’s doubtful that two abominations can share something as sacred and beautiful as love. Fate has never allowed it before, but Joshua is foolish enough to try to defy destiny.

Courting the witch isn’t easy. Then again, anything that involves her never is. The witch is a firm believer in being reverent to the same fates that gave her the powers she wields while Joshua couldn’t care less about the fates that turned him into a monstrosity. This creates a disconnect between them because the witch is firm that she could never love such an irreverent creature.

This hardly deters him. Joshua is relentless in his chase, and after the longest decade of his life he’s finally able to win the witch’s thorn-covered heart.

And so, even just for the briefest moments, they’re allowed to create their own destiny with each other.

Loving someone, loving her, is the most addicting feeling he’s ever felt. The love he feels for the witch surpasses even that of his first love who he was convinced he’d never forget. Being with her is the happiest Joshua has ever felt, and he naively thinks it’ll last forever.

This all comes to an abrupt end when the witch finds out that it’s his fault the demons eradicated her coven. Yes, it was before Josh had met and fell in love with her, but that doesn’t change anything. It was still him who had put her on the brink of death and gotten her family and friends killed. Twisted as it is, he doesn’t regret his actions nor would he change them if he had an opportunity to do so.

And so, the love of his life becomes his most dangerous enemy.

It hurts. More so because she discards him and his love like they never meant anything in the first place.

The witch is cutthroat in her hatred. It’s not long before the children of the moon find his sanctuary and nearly send him to meet his maker. Her hexes nearly incapacitate him, but even all her acts of revenge aren’t enough to satiate the vengeance she seeks.

Slowly, the love they grew to feel for each other becomes wilted and corroded beyond repair.

Years pass, yet the feud never dies. Joshua is almost impressed by her determination to destroy him the same way he almost destroyed her.

Hatred has replaced love by now, and it’s almost impossible for him to believe he ever loved the witch in the first place. A decade passes, then two and three until eventually an entire century goes by with the two of them feeling this burning loathing. Their detrimental feelings and behavior push both Joshua and the witch to make a vow never to love again.

But fate has other plans for them.

As time goes on, they find themselves backed into a corner—together this time. Death has returned for them in the form of faes. Neither one of them is willing to relent and give up their land to the insignificant creatures who claimed to have it first. And so, they help each other one last time.

Fighting against inferior creatures together has always been like dancing for them, and it’s easy to fall back into a love language they created. By the end of their battle, they come out victorious. The two are grateful to each other even if neither of them say it outright.

Joshua feels a familiar ache in his chest the longer he stares at the witch who was once his. Feelings he thought were long gone rush back to the surface as if they’d never left in the first place. Perhaps they never really had. He’s never been one to go against his own desires, and so he reaches out for her, craving her skin against his if even for the last time.

Their embrace is sweet, but the kiss that follows is full of passion, longing, and ardent love that seems to have been buried deep within them the entire time. It’s almost like a dream to have her like this again, and now Joshua doesn’t plan on letting her go.

But once again, fate doesn’t leave him with a choice.

Humans grow more wary of the creatures they share the world with. Many go into hiding, but Joshua makes the mistake of thinking he can blend in with his prey. A hunter of his kind has found him, and as a vampire with no coven, he’s left vulnerable. It’s even worse when the hunter and his clan discover his lover and what she is.

It was a peaceful night when they’re attacked. Escaping death doesn’t seem possible, but as always the witch assured him that she has a solution. His love makes him a promise as she casts a spell that will hide his presence. A promise that she’ll find him and reunite with him in every lifetime. He’s confused by her words, but has no time to question her as the spell takes over and dulls his senses until he’s unconscious.

If he’d known his love was going to sacrifice herself for him, he would’ve taken a million wooden stakes to the heart rather than continue existing in a world without her.

Centuries later, he’s never been able to forget her or what her presence had done to his life. Joshua is left alone in a world that now seems intolerable without his witch in it. Cruel irony reminds him that the solitude he once basked in feels suffocating now. All he’s left with is a gaping hole that constantly reminds him of how he lost his one true love.

Joshua eventually joins a coven, but they offer little comfort. At this point in his immortality, he only sticks around them out of habit. It’s not that he isn’t fond of them—he is, most of the time—but it’s not the same as having his lover by his side.

After going through the eternal test of time, Joshua still yearns for her; craves her as much as the blood that he feeds on. It’s the reason he’s spent the last two centuries looking for the one person who filled his heart with so much love.

And he’ll stop at nothing until he finds her.

The first time it happened, you thought it was nothing more than a dream.

Which it was, but it felt different—it was different. Never in your life had you dreamt such a beautiful dream that felt so real and almost indistinguishable from reality. The most memorable part was the euphoric feeling it evoked from you.

Well, that’s not exactly right. There was one single element that had left you unable to forget the lucid dream. One that you believed was responsible for your subconscious forcing you into those dreams every time you fell asleep.

Unhealthy as it is, you chase the lucid dreams. Every night, you look forward to your sleep with the hope of once again being wrapped up in one of those lovely dreams. Any free time you’re left with is used to sleep just so you can escape to the ethereal dreamland your mind has created.

The dreams have ensnared you and make you crave and long for them as if you’re under some sort of spell. It’s become a bit of an obsession because even when you’re with other people it’s all you can think about. And yet you’re unable to let go of your obsession in spite of how unhealthy and irrational it is.

The scene in front of you is familiar, but you can’t place where you’ve seen the old castle that looks like it’s straight out of the medieval times. You step forward, feet moving on their own as you walk past the large doors. Servants run along with their head down, and you’re not sure why it makes you feel satisfied that they seem to be terrified of you.

“Y/N.”

You turn at the sound of a mellifluous voice. Once again, it’s the beautiful man who’d been visiting you in your dreams.

“Shua.” You call affectionately, running to him as he opens his arms for you.

As always, he catches you easily. You wrap your arms around his neck, softly giggling into his hair as he spins you around. “Where have you brought me this time?”

“This is where I live.” He tells you as you pull back to look at his face. “Do you like it?”

You look around again. The feeling of familiarity doesn’t go away as you inspect your surroundings. Joshua gently puts you down, but doesn’t release you from his embrace. His stare is gentle and observant, curious on how you’re going to react to what he’s showing you.

“This is really where you live?” You wonder in awe. “Are you a king or something?”

His pretty laugh makes you look back at him. Your heart leaps up into your throat when you see the fond look he’s giving you. It’s been months of being on the receiving end of his affectionate stare, but you’re not sure you’ll stop feeling bashful when you catch it.

“I am not. Does that disappoint you?”

You shake your head. “No, but it does make me wonder how old you actually are. Older than Dracula?”

All Josh can do is laugh and laugh. You’re not sure what he finds so funny, but as usual you do not get the chance to ask. The familiar pressure on your bones gets more intense with every passing moment. It’s how you know you’re on the verge of being pulled out of your blissful dream. You can’t even open your mouth to say goodbye because you’re abruptly yanked out of your subconscious before you can.

It’s always hard to keep going on with your day normally after you dream about Josh. You can never really function afterwards, not how you usually would.

“—even listening to me?”

You snap back into reality, realizing that Jeonghan has been talking to you this entire time. “Sorry. What were you saying?”

Jeonghan rolls his eyes and gives you an accusatory look that confuses you. His eyebrows are raised as he leans forward. “I was saying that Soonyoung thinks you’re fucking someone.”

“What?” You splutter, suddenly feeling extremely flustered.

“I told him there’s no way that’s true because lately you’ve been holed up in your room sleeping every chance you get!”

You manage to not choke on your spit and give your friend an indignant glare. “Both you and Soonyoung need to worry about your own sex lives.”

The gleam in his eye changes, and you realize too late that you’ve made a mistake. “Wait. Are you actually fucking someone?”

“You know I’m not!” You hiss, starting to feel embarrassed.

Clearly, Jeonghan doesn’t believe you. He stares at you before something seems to click in his head. Your nervous stare and angry pout are telltale signs of deceit. His jaw drops a bit as he lets out an affronted squeak.

“No way. That’s why you’ve been in such a good mood lately!” He says with a conniving laugh. “And here I thought that night cream I recommended is the reason you’ve been glowing lately.”

Maybe the most embarrassing part about this is not that he’s trying to discuss your sex life (or lack thereof) at the local cafe and not wine night, but the fact that this alleged glow has nothing to do with a man—not a real one, anyway. But Jeonghan doesn’t need to know that.

“You would’ve heard me if that was true.”

Jeonghan’s ears slowly turn red as he pouts in disappointment. He really hoped you’d managed to break your three month long dry spell, and he also wanted to be right. It’s almost suspicious that he isn’t because he usually is. You’ve been a little too smiley lately like you have some hidden lover.

“If you say so.” He mutters bitterly.

This would be the point where you’d usually panic since Yoon Jeonghan can never be one to let anything go if he feels like he’s right. You feel at ease though because there’s no way he could ever find out about Josh.

“By the way… you’re definitely going to be gone this weekend, right?” Jeonghan suddenly asks in a tone you recognize all too well.

You try not to gag as you nod. “Yes. I already bought the tickets and Hao is in the city setting up his apartment so I have a place to stay while I’m up there.”

Jeonghan smirks victoriously. He nods, not even trying to hide how pleased he is as he pulls out his phone. Suddenly, he’s very grateful that you and Minghao have such an interest in history. When he’s done sending a message you would definitely call sleazy, he just laughs at your disgusted expression.

“Don’t give me that look. Not all of us have to practice celibacy like you.”

“Whatever.” You scoff with a roll of your eyes. “Just keep it in your room this time. I better not find any stains on the couch when I get back.”

He only laughs at you with a promise that you can’t think of as sincere.

“Are you playing with your food again?”

The voice sounds distant as Joshua is gently pulled out of the trance he’s used to being in now. He slow blinks, remnants of the beautiful vision still clear in his mind. Junhui’s words don’t bother him like they usually would’ve. Not when he finally feels alive for the first time in centuries. Still, he can’t control the annoyance he feels that his brother thinks this subject is something that can be joked and talked about lightly.

“You and Soonyoung are the only heathens who play with food.” Joshua’s tone is clipped, bordering on that murderous one that pops up any time someone mentions his latest obsession.

Junhui only laughs, head cocking to the side in interest. “I’m curious. Did you really find the grand love of your life, or is it just some girl who happens to look like her?”

“His obsession wouldn’t be so profound if it was a girl who merely looks like her.” Comes a voice from the top of the grand stairs.

They look up to see the oldest and the youngest of the coven coming down the stairs. Soonyoung doesn’t bother to hide his amused smirk while Minghao wears the same impassive expression he had when Joshua met him. His lack of reaction is the reason why he’s often the voice of reason in the coven, but his callous way of speaking never offers any comfort.

“Our brother is looking for the soul of his beloved—a soul that cannot be replicated nor imitated. Even if he’s to find her doppelgänger, he will not love her completely or sincerely.” Minghao says he takes a seat near the burning fireplace.

Soonyoung sits on the other end of the couch before he raises an eyebrow at Josh. He lets out a mocking snicker. “It’s giving stalker.”

As the most recently turned, their youngest has developed a proclivity for imitating the current slang. Joshua understands it (to an extent), but finds it folly. Then again, he doesn’t think its ridiculous when that person uses it.

But of course, that’s different.

Josh doesn’t bother to sneer at him for his snide remark. As a creature who hasn’t found a mate in the entire century he’s been alive, Soonyoung couldn’t possibly understand the ardent need to be close to the person chosen to be your mate.

“You still haven’t answered my question.” Junhui points out, sounding almost bored now. “Have you found her? Your one true love?”

When Joshua smiles, it’s so pretty that even Minghao can’t help but stare. “I have.”

“Are you going to turn her?”

Soonyoung’s question hangs in the air, and as much as Josh wants to hiss at him to mind his own business, he sees how Junhui and Minghao are also looking at him. Turning someone isn’t as simple as it used to be—if it could ever be considered simple. Now there were too many factors and too many risks involved.

“I have to find her physically before I can think of anything else.” Josh sighs deeply.

“Brother.” Minghao says in his serious tone. “Think of your next moves carefully. You’ve found her reincarnation, but she doesn’t remember you, and there’s no guarantee that she ever will.”

For once, the younger ones don’t say anything teasing or goading. They look at him just as solemnly as Minghao is. It’s a harsh truth that Joshua had acknowledged long ago but not fully accepted.

His love doesn’t remember him. This is a fact.

But even if she never does, he doesn’t plan on letting her go. Not again.

“You’re unhappy.”

The observation is astute, and even though it’s been months, you can’t get used to how easily Josh can see through you. It shouldn’t have the affect on you that it does, but there’s just something about having someone know you so well that makes your heart jerk with emotion. Part of you feels insane for feeling this way because this man is just a figment of your imagination created by your subconscious.

Josh smiles placatingly when he sees your pout. He’s sure that you’re not aware that you do it, which makes it all the more cute in his eyes.

“Work hasn’t been great lately.” You say honestly, only hesitating a moment before telling him the rest. “Also... Jeonghan set me up on this blind date. Which wouldn’t be a big deal, but I haven’t been on a date in forever.”

You’re not sure why it feels like you’re saying something absolutely heart wrenching. If you had to describe it, it’s almost like you’re admitting to cheating or something similar which is fucking insane since Josh isn’t your boyfriend—or real, for that matter.

There’s a shift in his kind eyes. A cold rage settles in the depths of his dark irises that makes you feel like you’re staring an evil creature in the face. Before you can ponder it, the expression is is gone so fast that you almost think you imagined it.

“You don’t have to go.” He finally says, and you wonder if he actually sounds like he’s pleading or if it’s just something your subconscious is hoping for.

A teasing smile stretches your lips. “Yeah? Should I just stay here with you, instead?”

Joshua wishes he could say yes. Stay with me and never leave my side again. The words are on the tip of his tongue, and even though he’s dying to say them, he knows he shouldn’t. In this lifetime and your previous one, he had to be patient when courting you. Clearly some things never changed.

“Don’t look so excited.” You joke when you see him hesitate.

His laugh is pretty and soft. You’re not sure why the sound comforts you in a way that almost feels familiar. As if that’s the one sound that could take away any horrible feeling you’ve ever experienced. The longer you listen to the dulcet sound, the more it makes your heart ache for a reason you can’t understand. It’s a type of yearning that feels deeper than the normalcy of seeing him every day.

“I wish you weren’t a dream.”

Joshua’s laughter dies down and the smile slips off his face at hearing your words. You almost regret saying them, but it’s too late to take them back. Not that you would since they’re the absolute truth. He knows you better than most of your friends do, and it’s hard not to feel this intense affection for him. The crazy part of it all is that you can literally feel how much he adores you too.

“Maybe you’re my dream.” Josh’s smile is full of longing and sadness.

Before you can respond, you’re abruptly pulled out of the dream by the blaring sound of a car horn. You startle awake, bleary vision belatedly registering that you’re now in the city. Minghao looks at you with wide eyes, a startled laugh slipping past his lips. “Are you okay?”

You nod wearily, taking a moment to shake of the intense emotions your dream had left you with. It’s clear that Minghao doesn’t fully believe you, but he doesn’t press the subject and keeps driving toward museum.

Being at the museum doesn’t help you as much as you hope. The artifacts and paintings are intriguing, but your irritating mind only keeps associating everything with Josh. He’s always talked like someone from another time so looking at ancient items and old paintings naturally makes you keep picturing his face.

“For someone who kept begging me to clear my schedule so we could come here, you don’t look very excited.”

You give Minghao a guilty look because you know how busy he is. “Sorry. I’m just kind of distracted.”

“And why is that?”

It’s not that you don’t trust Minghao. You do, but you can’t tell him that you’re infatuated with a man who shows up in your dreams.

“I haven’t been sleeping well.”

Your friend raises an eyebrow at you. As usual Minghao sees right through your half-truth. “You’ve been having nightmares?”

“Not exactly.” You say. The resolve to keep your secret quickly dissolved when Minghao gives you a look that somehow always compels you to do what he wants. “I can’t sleep because I keep dreaming of a guy.”

“A guy?” Minghao raises his eyebrows in a way that reminds you of Jeonghan.

“It’s not like that.” You say, skin heating up in embarrassment. “I don’t even think he’s real. He just keeps appearing in my dreams, and I feel crazy every time I think about him.”

Minghao doesn’t laugh or tell you you’re crazy. Instead he looks at you with a sharpened gaze that looks like it holds a certain amount of concern and something else you can’t discern. If his heart was capable of beating, his heart rate would’ve spiked at the information you told him.

You’re vague in your description (which was impressive because his gift is powerful enough to get people to admit to murder), but it’s enough to have his mind reeling. Is it possible that you’d fallen into the clutches of an incubus? Minghao isn’t overly fond of humans, but you’re different. He can’t let you become the prey of such a lascivious creature.

“I have some tea that’s good for sleeping." He says as normally as he can as you two walk along the museum. “When we get back to my place, I’ll give you some.”

You nod silently, not entirely sure if his teas will help with your lucid dreaming. Even if they did, it’s not like you want to stop seeing this imaginary man that makes you feel more loved than you ever had. But there’s a part of you that knows you can’t keep sleeping with the hopes of seeing Josh again.

The inner turmoil you’re feeling is interrupted when Minghao pulls you to the section he’d been dying to see from the beginning. His laughter immediately makes you come back down to earth. It’s not like your friend never laughs, but this one is full and louder than you’ve ever heard it. You’re not sure why he finds the painting of a duke so funny. Just as you’re about to question him, you see the painting and feel the world around you come to a stop.

It feels like your heart stopped beating and dropped down to your stomach. Your usually quiet mind is reeling, trying to fathom what you’re seeing. There’s no way.

The painting is of a man, but not just any man.

It’s Josh.

Your Josh.

You keep blinking as if another face will appear in the very old painting. If you felt crazy before, the feeling worsens the longer you stare at the oils that form the face you’ve come to memorize and love. The description of the painting says the man born in 1714 was a famous duke notorious for starting a rebellion against the crown.

“So this is the only painting of the Hong Jisoo?” Your friend cackles, but you’re not sure what’s so funny.

It’s good that he’s so distracted by whatever it is he finds so funny because you’re about two seconds away from breaking down. How is it possible that some duke from centuries ago was appearing in your dreams? Is it possible that you’d somehow seen his image before and projected it into your dreams? You don’t remember even reading about him, and it only makes you feel more crazy.

Back at Minghao’s luxury apartment, you can’t stop thinking about that stupid painting of Hong Jisoo. How is it possible for you to dream about a person that was alive centuries ago? It doesn’t make sense, and the more you think about it, the more freaked out you feel.

“Here.” Hao says as he hands you a warm mug of tea. “Drink it to see if it helps. I’ll give you some to take home if you like it.”

You thank him, really hoping this puts an end to your unhealthy dreams.

“It’s not working!” Josh growls angrily. “There’s something blocking me from seeing her. I’m sure of it.”

Soonyoung and Junhui roll their eyes. Josh has been complaining about not being able to transcend into his true love’s subconscious for the last three hours, and it’s starting to drive them insane. It’s not that they’re not sympathetic, but it was quite literally the only thing the older vampire could talk about. Not to mention the fact that after months of visiting his mate every day, he did nothing to figure out where she was—a total waste in their opinion.

Before Josh can keep repeating the same frustrated things he’s been griping about all morning, they hear the door open and the familiar sound of boots clacking against the marble floor.

“Minghao!” Soonyoung cries when the oldest of the coven walks into the living room. “Finally, you’re back! Jisoo hasn’t stopped whining about his mate since you left! You need to put a stop to him!”

Minghao sets down his suitcases with an exhausted sigh. “What’s going on?”

“He claims there’s a barrier preventing him from entering his mate’s subconscious.” Junhui explains, sending a skeptical look Joshua’s way. “Which is impossible because a mere human isn’t capable of blocking his gift.”

While that is true, there are certain things humans have done for centuries to ward off creatures of the night. However, it is strange that there’s a sudden block to his mate’s subconscious after being left vulnerable for so many months.

“Perhaps your mate has realized that you’re a nefarious creature and not just a figment of her imagination.” Minghao muses as he goes to sit at his usual place by the fire. “If that’s the case, she may have sought out a witch to block her psyche from unsavory visitors.”

The dark look Josh sends his way is amusing to the rest. Maybe it’s cruel to disregard the anguish his brother clearly feels, but being empathetic has never been one of Minghao’s character traits. Even so, some of the humanity he once had still lingers within him.

“However, if you truly wish to find her I can contact Jihoon—”

“No.” Josh snaps immediately. The growl in his voice is menacing as his eyes darken. “I’ll find her on my own.”

The silence that follows is tense until Soonyoung breaks it by insisting on seeing pictures from Minghao’s trip. As always, he obliges to the youngest’s request, tossing his phone over without taking his eyes off Josh.

“If that were possible you would have already found her.”

It’s a frustrating truth. He hadn’t been able to figure out anything that would help him find you because he didn’t want to scare you off. Now he regrets playing the part of a gentleman because it feels like he’s lost you all over again.

“Is this the human you’re always talking about?”

Usually, Josh doesn’t take any interest in humans aside from his meals, but the way Minghao’s sharp gaze switches to an almost fond one intrigues him enough to look at the screen Soonyoung is holding out toward them.

It’s like his heartbeat comes back to life when he sees a video of a beautiful girl staring at one of his old swords.

“Yes. That’s—”

“Y/N.”

Minghao looks at Josh in surprise. He’s incredulous, but it’s soon replaced by horror when he realizes why his brother is looking at the phone with a predatory gaze.

“You…” Minghao’s icy tone makes the younger ones still. They recognize the murderous intent behind that tone instantly. “You’re the one who’s been invading her dreams.”

Josh snarls at his oldest friend. “You’re the one responsible for the barrier.”

It’s like watching two animals raising their hackles at one another. Except both of them are capable of destroying each other and everything around them without caring.

Junhui is quick to step in, holding a firm hand to Minghao’s chest. “She’s his mate.”

It’s meant to make him see reason, but all it does is anger Minghao.

“A mate that he betrayed time and time again!” His words make them all flinch. “You’re the reason those hunters found her and burned her alive!”

Never has a silence so thick and tense surrounded them before. It’s a low blow to bring up Josh’s greatest pain in such a way, but Minghao is beyond seeing reason at this point.

“Both of you need to calm down.” Soonyoung says as he stands in the middle.

“Do you have feelings for her?” Josh demands, not understanding why the person who had helped him search for his mate’s reincarnation for centuries was suddenly acting this way.

“She’s a pure soul.” Minghao says, sounding a little defeated. “One that doesn’t deserve to become a monster like us.”

It’s tense and silent again, but this time the air feels different. All four of them knew how painful and awful it was to turn. Back then, they had been the unlucky ones to survive an attack when they were meant to be someone’s food. Minghao wouldn’t wish that on anyone, least of all you.

“Let her decide.” Soonyoung breaks the silence, being reasonable for the first time in a long time. He looks to Josh, gaze as serious as ever. “If you really love her, tell her the truth and let her decide what to do.”

Minghao has always been an enigma. He’s private to the point where you sometimes feel like you don’t know him at all. It’s why you’re so surprised when he invites you over to his main house which is basically synonymous with prohibited. He never invites anyone there, not even Jeonghan who’s known him longer than you have.

Your friend’s home is expectedly opulent and beautiful, but there’s also this ominous air surrounding it. Minghao remains silent as he leads you to the entrance. His somber attitude isn’t exactly uncharacteristic. He’s naturally quiet and serious, but right now he almost seems angry. You can tell his mind is far away, light years away even.

Before you can think to question him, he leads you to the living room and sits you down on one of the couches. His cold hands don’t move from your shoulders even after you’re seated. You look up at him in curiosity because he seems to be contemplating something.

“Don’t be angry with me.” His tone is softer than you’ve ever heard it, and you have to wonder what he’s done for him to plead with you like this. (Xu Minghao does not beg.)

Hands fall from your shoulders as Minghao side steps out of the way. Everything goes in slow motion from then on. He’s stepped out of the way to reveal a man who you recognize very well. Your heart jumps and starts to beat erratically as you take in his ethereal features.

What’s happening feels like a more intense version of what happened at the museum. Minghao’s friend(?) looks exactly like Josh. He even looks at you like Josh does.

“Y/N.”

The organ in your chest throbs at the sound because it’s so soft and pretty, just like it is in your dreams. He sounds so similar to Josh that you feel insane for wanting to run into this man’s arms like you always do with Josh in your dreams.

Your mind is a beat behind, and it’s only after this stranger called your name that you realize Minghao had apologized to you before he appeared. When you look over to your friend, he’s observing you carefully in a way you can’t understand.

“What’s going on? What is this?” You ask, feeling like you’ve been set up.

There’s a thick silence, and just when you contemplate on getting up to leave, the unknown guy falls to his knees in front of you.

“Please forgive me.”

Your eyes practically pop out of your head at the unsolicited apology. “I– What?”

The silence is uncomfortable, and you can only look back to Minghao for an explanation.

“You’ve seen Jisoo before—in your dreams.” Minghao says slowly as if it pains him to tell you.

Jisoo?

“When you told me that a man kept reappearing in your dreams, I thought you were being preyed on by an incubus.” Minghao chuckles bitterly. “But I was a fool not to see that the truth was much worse.”

“Incubus?” You whisper incredulously. “You mean those demons that fuck people while they’re asleep?”

Neither men react to your crude words. They’re looking at you solemnly as if Minghao didn’t just say something completely insane. None of it makes sense nor does it provide you with the explanation you demanded.

“You can’t be serious! Incubuses—“

“Incubi.” Minghao corrects you. He regrets it as soon as he sees the dark look on your face.

“—don’t exist.” You finish through gritted teeth.

“They’re not the only demons running rampant on this earth.” Minghao says as he shares a look with the man who is still kneeling in front of you. “Just look at the monster in front of you and you’ll know what I’m saying is true.”

This Jisoo guy looks nothing like a monster. Not even as he’s giving your friend the most withering glare you’ve ever seen.

“Don’t give me that look. I brought her here so she can know the truth.”

At this point, you don’t know if they’re friends or enemies with the way they’re glowering at each other. And you still don’t know what truth they’re talking about, either.

“Jisoo has been trying to find you for centuries.” Minghao finally says, eyes softening just the tiniest bit when he looks back at you.

You don’t say anything because it all sounds like some crazy lie. Minghao isn’t the type to pull pranks, but there’s no other logical explanation for what’s happening. And yet, it also isn’t possible that he could know what the man from your dreams looked like and somehow find someone who looks exactly like him for his prank.

“We’re vampires.” Jisoo says, voice soft and comforting. “I know it sounds crazy, but it’s true.”

“Prove it.”

Your words come out before you can stop them. It’s not what you meant to say (not right away, anyway), but you don’t try to backtrack. On the off chance that they’re not pulling some elaborate prank, you need to know that you’re not crazy for kind of believing what they’re saying.

Minghao and Jisoo are looking at you with wide eyes, but the challenging look on your face doesn’t waver. They both know you enough to realize you aren’t going to believe them until they prove that they’re not lying.

Jisoo grins, but it seems bitter in a way. “Okay. Just… don’t be scared.”

You raise an eyebrow when his smile stretches further. It’s not until you see four of his teeth elongating into literal fangs that you feel your pulse start to race. His eyes have darkened into an inhuman shade of black that reminds you of a demon. Now you understood what Minghao meant when he called Jisoo a monster.

But that also means…

In a panic, you look to your friend. Much to your horror, he too is bearing those monstrous characteristics now. Dark eyes and fangs that make them look like the monsters they claim to be. It feels like you’re in one of your lucid dreams, and in the back of your mind you hope that’s what this is.

“Did you bring me here to kill me?” You’re surprised that your voice comes out as calm as it does, and even though you’re terrified, you can’t react how you know you should be.

“We would never hurt you.” Jisoo says, features slowly reverting back to normal. “No matter what, I won’t let anyone or anything bring you harm.”

It’s crazy that he’s promising you this with what feels like genuine sincerity, and it’s even crazier that it makes your chest warm with affection. You press your lips together, trying to make sense of how any of this is actually possible.

“You’re the reincarnation of Jisoo’s true love.” Minghao breaks the heavy silence. “He’s been searching for your soul since your untimely death.”

“That’s why you came into my dreams.” You whisper, not sure how to feel about this alleged truth.

“Yes.” Jisoo says, voice soft as ever. “I called myself Josh since it’s a modern name. You can still call me that if you wish.”

You stay silent, trying to deal with the onslaught of emotions you’re feeling without revealing any on your face. It’s hard, but you manage as you look back at your friend. “And you knew about this the entire time?”

“I didn’t know he’d been invading your dreams.” Minghao says honestly. “If I had—”

Minghao cuts his sentence short, and you can tell he’s trying his best to keep his emotions in check. It’s clear that he doesn’t like the idea of you being the reincarnation of Josh’s true love. You don’t understand why he brought you to meet him if that’s the case.

“Minghao.” Josh’s tone takes a threatening tone that you never thought him capable of emitting.

“Tell her.” Minghao says, clearly unfazed by Joshua’s sudden malicious attitude. “She has a right to know the truth before you think you can spend the rest of eternity with her.”

It’s silent for a moment before you see Josh’s shoulders slump. He looks slightly defeated and nervous. Seeing him in distress makes you uncomfortable, and you have to wonder if these are your actual feelings or something beyond your control.

“I first met you five years after I was first turned.” He starts, eyes begging for understanding. “You were running from a clan of demons who murdered your coven.”

The air is tense. You can feel your heart start to throb with hurt that you can’t place. A familiar burning sensation starts to poke at the back of your eyes, but you can’t understand why. “You saved me?”

Minghao clears his throat, eyes threatening.

“Unwillingly.” He admits, head hanging a little lower. “I was content in my solitude, and helping a witch didn’t sound appealing to me.”

“He also didn’t want to help a witch that belonged to the coven he helped exterminate.”

Minghao’s blunt statement makes your blood run cold. There’s a strange feeling that manifests itself in your chest. It’s an odd mixture of resentment, anger, and heartbreak. The feelings are familiar yet foreign. You feel the tears fall from your eyes before you can even think to hold them back. It’s all new information, but something in your bones recognizes the hurt and devastation.

“You killed my family.” The words aren’t yours, but in a strange way it feels like they are. “You almost killed me.”

“It was before I fell in love with you.” Josh sounds defeated. “Back then I was only concerned with my own survival, and I was a fool to let it get in the way of my love for you.”

Again, the air becomes tense. It makes Minghao almost regret doing this, but you ultimately have to know the truth. All of it.

“Tell her how you got her killed.”

More tears keep spilling from your eyes, and you can’t fathom the fact that they don’t feel like yours. A gentle hand wipes them away. Through blurry vision you can see Josh looking pained as he gently cradles your face in his large hand.

“I refused to go into hiding after the humans started to become more wary of our existence. Because of that, you and I were attacked by a group of hunters.” Josh feels a pain he hasn’t in centuries just talking about this to you of all people. “You protected me with your magic. I don’t know why you saved a wicked creature like me instead of yourself, but I really wish you hadn’t.”

The tears have stopped now, but Josh’s thumb is still gently caressing your face. His touch is cold yet comforting. You let out a shaky sigh, not sure what to do with all the information you’ve been given.

“This is why Minghao feels that I don’t deserve you, and maybe he’s right. But I’ve always been a selfish creature which is why I can’t give you up. Not in this lifetime or any other.”

Josh says it tenderly, but somehow you feel like you’ve become his prey.

Sometimes you wonder if letting Josh get so close to you is a mistake. Minghao seems to think it is even if he doesn’t tell you outright. Still, at least he’s supportive of your decision (as much as he can be, anyway). In spite of the fact that you now know the man of your dreams is a dangerous predator, you don’t feel unsafe when you’re with him. There’s also the fact that you can literally see the love he has for you every time you look at him.

Giving into him is the easiest thing you’ve ever done. It feels natural and right, especially since he’s so sweet to you. You feel yourself fall harder every time you’re with him. He knows you better than anyone and treats you like you’re his everything.

Your relationship feels completely surreal and fast paced, but in an odd way it also feels like it’s not fast enough. The feeling has something to do with your past life you’re sure. After all, Josh had been waiting centuries for you to reincarnate.

He must’ve been so lonely.

You suck in a quiet breath as the thought comes to you, one that feels like it came from deep in your subconscious and is not entirely yours. Josh’s eyes snap open at the sound. He’s looking straight at you from where he has his head in your lap.

“What’s wrong, darling?”

Unlike Minghao, Josh doesn’t have the power of coercion, but you’re still unable to lie to him. (Unwilling is a better term, but, details.)

“Did you really not have another lover after I died?” Your question isn’t accusatory, and part of you hopes he says yes. “Like you never even hooked up with someone else in three centuries?”

Josh’s airy laughter makes your chest warm. He brings your intertwined hands to his lips, placing a tender kiss on the back of yours. “If you do not believe me, I shall bring Minghao and have him use his gift on me.”

He’s teasing you, but you also know he’s dead serious. It shouldn’t thrill you so much that he’s willing to do just about anything for you—even subject himself to Minghao who still harbors a bit of a grudge towards him.

“It’s not that I don’t believe you, I just…” You let out a quiet sigh. “You must’ve been really lonely.”

The way you look heartbroken and guilty isn’t satisfying, but it is alleviating somehow. You truly haven’t changed. The beautiful, kind soul he fell in love with remains intact, and he can’t be more grateful for that.

“At first I was. Then I met Minghao and joined his coven. They made it more bearable.”

You bring the hand that’s not attached to Josh’s to his head and run a gentle hand through his hair. “It must’ve been hard.”

Josh only offers you a hum. He can’t deny that it was, but he also doesn’t want to keep making you feel bad with all the details. That would have to be for another time.

“How many dreams did you invade before you finally found me?” You suddenly ask, wondering just how many psyches he had to go through over the course of 300 years.

“None.” His smile is a little bitter. “I’m not a incubus, so I can only enter your subconscious.”

The confused look on your face makes him let out a quiet laugh. It’s so innocent that it’s hilarious. Especially because you don’t remember that the restriction to his gift was your doing.

“Every time I tried to use my gift, I couldn’t. That’s how I knew you hadn’t been reincarnated yet. As soon as you were born I was able to tell, but I still couldn’t get into your psyche until you were ready to let me in—this is all curtesy of you, of course.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you.” He laughs. “Because I can’t dream, you bestowed this gift on me so I would be able to experience a dreamlike state again. Since you didn’t want the bloodthirsty heathen that I was back then to invade the minds of unsuspecting humans, you put all these limitations on my gift.”

His laugh is cute as he reminisces. It makes you smile too until you think of something.

The other day, Josh had mentioned he used to feed off of you in his past life because it tasted different and apparently it was like a kink for both of you. It freaked you out at first, but lately you hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it. Honestly, the more the image plagued your mind, the harder it was not to feel turned on by it. You wonder if it would hurt and if you would like the hurt.

“Do you want to feed on me?”

If Josh’s heart was capable of beating, he has no doubt it would’ve been harshly pounding against his rib cage. He slowly gets up, feeling his cock throb and his throat itch.

“Darling—”

“You’ve never done it, and I was wondering if it was something you want to do.”

Of course he wanted to do it. Your scent is mouthwatering, and he just knows you taste divine. Up until now he hadn’t brought it up because he didn’t want you to think that’s all he wanted. All you two have done this past month is share some kisses, and that was perfectly fine. If that’s all you were willing to give him he’s gladly take it so long as you let him be part of your life.

Josh swallows thickly as he contemplates his answer. While it sort of sounds like you’re offering, he can’t assume anything. Plus he doesn’t want to seem like the monster Minghao told you he is.

When you see him hesitate, you make a decision that really isn’t all that hard for you. With an enticing smile, you tilt your head the slightest bit and offer your neck to him. “Bite me.”

In a split second, Josh pulls you on his lap so you’re straddling him. You gasp quietly when he sits you directly on his hardening cock. His eyes are dark like on the day he revealed himself to you. In the back of your mind, you know this is a dangerous game you’re playing, but you don’t feel one shred of regret or fear.

“I’ll be gentle.” He promises, voice breathy and needy.

Josh trails gentle kisses up and down your neck with patience that you find impressive. His fangs tease the tender skin as he opens his mouth slightly, and it’s almost like you can feel it throb in anticipation. With one last sweet kiss, Joshua sinks his teeth into your skin until you can feel a stabbing pain.

You gasp out a moan at the feeling. The pain lasts a second before you feel it rapidly fade. It’s replaced by images that invade the forefront of your mind. Memories that you don’t remember rush forward as if they were aching to be freed from the depths of your mind. There’s so many, and in spite of the fact that they pass through your mind quickly, you see every one of them.

When you come back down to reality, Josh is still drinking from you. He groans into your skin, reluctantly pulling away and licking the puncture wound he’s left behind. Josh continues to press kisses along your skin and whispered praises that you can’t help but melt into him.

“Jisoo.” You breathe out softly.

Joshua freezes when he hears what you’ve called him. He pulls back, eyes wide as he takes in the way you’re looking at him. Your gaze has always been full of affection, but now it’s full of ardent love that reminds him of the way you looked at him all those centuries ago.

“I’ve missed you.”

“Y/N…” Josh sounds breathless as if he can’t believe what he’s hearing.

“I’m sorry it took me this long to remember.” You murmur as your bring a hand up to caress his cool cheek. “But I guess it’s only fair since you left me first.”

“It’s my biggest regret.” Josh says honestly, grip tightening on you.

You hum, trailing your thumb over his lips. He opens his mouth the slightest bit so you can touch his fangs just like you used to do once upon a time. Goosebumps cover your skin at the familiarity of it all. The feelings in your chest deepen impossibly as you replay all the memories that slowly keep coming to mind. You thought it would be impossible to love Josh any more than you already did, but once again you were proven wrong.

You let out a shocked squeak when he pulls you closer to him. His face is shoved into the side of your neck that he didn’t bite, breathing in your addicting scent. “I was so afraid that you wouldn’t remember.”

“If you wouldn’t have been such a gentleman and bitten me sooner it wouldn’t have taken me so long.” You laugh, hugging him tighter.

The two of you stay like that until you shift and realize you’re still sitting on his hard cock. In a flash, the hot memory of Josh ravishing you back then goes straight to your cunt. You lick your lips and decide that you both have been waiting long enough to be with each other again.

“I’m impressed you kept your chastity just for me.” You purr into his ear, gently grinding down on his cock. “Such a loyal lover until the end.”

Josh doesn’t hesitate to take you to bed, cock aching to be inside you once again. He’s gentle when he finally gets you naked, eyes full of desire and love. “So fucking pretty.”

A breathy moan escapes you when his cold hands start to caress your body. His lips trails your neck, gently teasing you with his sharp teeth. Your skin heats up at the attention, and you feel like your floating by the time Josh gets his dick out to finally give you what you’ve been wanting.

“I missed you so much.” He groans as his throbbing cock slowly eases past your wet folds.

You moan along with him, hands finding his to lace your fingers together. “Missed you too, my love.”

Josh’s cock twitches inside you when he hears the pet name come out of your pretty little mouth. His leaking tip brushes against your cervix as your legs wrap around his hips. His pace is slow at first, trying to savor the feeling of your hot, tight cunt wrapped around him. He buries his face into your neck, licking and biting at the skin as his thrusts start to get tougher and deeper.

Your moaning is loud, and you’re amazed that he still knows which angels to hit after so much time. It’s like you’re seeing stars when Josh gently bites at your skin. He does it teasingly until you’re begging him to bite you again.

“Stop teasing.” You whine wantonly, hips bucking up to meet his thrusts.

His chuckle is low and has your pussy clamping down on his cock, drenching it in your arousal. You can’t remember the last time you were so turned on. It hasn’t been long, but it already feels like you’re about to come.

“Seeing you fall apart like this is my favorite thing.” You can feel his sinister smirk against your neck. “It’s been too long since I last saw it.”

Josh lets go of one of your hands to bring a thumb to your clit. He starts to rub slow circles on the sensitive nub as his thrusts grow more ravenous. You cry out in pleasure when his thick cock hits your sweet spot roughly. Your back arches in pleasure as you feel your juices start to coat his heavy balls.

“Never letting you go again.” Joshua growls lowly, more to himself than you. “All mine.”

With his possessive declaration, he sinks his fangs into your neck for a second time. Your eyes roll to the back of your head as you violently come all over his big cock.

“Fuck!” You cry out, hips moving against his arms he continues to fuck you through your high.

He’s licking at your open would now, sharp thrusts angled just right to have you on the cusp of another orgasm. Joshua pulls back, pink lips painted scarlet with your blood. He looks ravenous, and you think you might actually come again from how hot he looks.

“That’s it, darling.” Josh sounds insatiable. “Cream all over me.”

It’s not long before the sight of you completely fucked out triggers his own orgasm. Thick ropes of cum shoot inside your pulsing walls, painting them white with his seed. His moans are as pretty as you remember, and they mix in with your perfectly as he fucks his cum deeper inside you.

“Fuck me again.” You pant out, still longing for the second orgasm he was coaxing out of you.

Josh’s smirks as he flips you over on your front. “Still as insatiable as ever, darling.”

You look back at him with a laugh. “Like you’re any better. So hurry and fill me up again.”

You’ll never get sick of the feeling of his cold skin on yours as he grips your ass. Josh’s large hands rub and squeeze before you feel his throbbing cock tease your messy cunt. You let out a needy whine, tilting your hips up more to offer yourself to him.

“Such a needy little thing.” Joshua murmurs in that mean but sweet tone only he was capable of having.

“Only for you, my love.” You mewl, pussy throbbing at the thought of him splitting you open again.

As is his style, Josh slowly pushes his fat cock into your hot cunt, making you feel every inch of him. Then, in a split second he shoves the rest in like he can’t wait to be inside you any longer. The jolt of pleasure and slight sting of the stretch was enough to tip you over the edge for a second time.

You muffle your cry of pleasure in the sheets, fingers clinging to the soft cotton as your pussy clenches down on Josh’s cock, making him feel even bigger inside you. He groans from behind you, loving how your juices coat his cock as if you’re claiming it as yours.

“Fuck, sweetheart. Can you do that for me one more time?”

It’s more of a rhetorical question because in the next second his fingers are digging into your hips as he pulls his cock all the way out before shoving it back into your needy pussy with a sharp thrust. You can feel your body tremble as your pussy grips his cock like a vise.

“So fucking tight.” He groans, voice dripping with lust.

“Fuck me!” You moan, pushing back on his cock with insatiable need.

At your desperate demand, Josh sera a brutal pace. He fuck you hard and rough, leaking tip hitting your sweet spot over and over again until all he can hear is lewd squelching and skin slapping. His hips slam against your ass, obsessed with the way your sweet crema coats his cock. You cry out his name as his heavy balls slap against your throbbing clit.

Josh is pounding you into the mattress, cock splitting you open deliciously. You’re so addicted to the feeling that you can’t help but spur him on. “Don’t stop!”

You cry out in ecstasy when he does exactly as you ask. He pounds his cock against the spot inside you that has you seeing stars. Your fingers grips the sheets as you bounce your ass back to meet his thrusts desperately.

“You’re close again, right, baby?” Josh’s voice is teasing. He doesn’t need to ask, though. He knows you are because he knows your body.

You’re moaning and shaking with overwhelming pleasure. All you can do is nod as you bring your hand down between your bodies to rub your aching clit. With all the stimulation from your fingers and his cock, you fall over the edge once again. Your body tenses as you moan out Josh’s name with ecstasy. The excess of your orgasm drips down Josh’s cock, staining it and marking it as yours.

With one last thrust, he shoots his hot cum inside you, moaning your name like a mantra. He sloppily fuck it back into you before pulling you flush against his chest. You two collapse back on the bed with Josh holding you closely as if he thinks you might disappear.

Slowly, you turn around with his cock still inside you. Joshua’s eyes are sparkling as he looks at you. “How are you feeling?”

“Amazing.” You breathe out blissfully. “And not just because you’ve stuffed me full.”

His cock twitches inside of you, and you can’t help but let out an endeared laugh. Your chest is warm as he hugs you closer to him, lips gently skimming over your puncture wound.

“Jisoo.”

He hums against your neck, pulling back to look you in the eyes.

“I was so afraid when I first died.” You confess, feeling him tense. You’re quick to pull him closer and caress his cheek. “Afraid that I’d be reborn and you wouldn’t be there when I was.”

Josh swallows thickly and comes to cup the hand that’s still brushing over his cheek. “I’ll never leave you alone again.”

“I know. Once you turn me, we’ll have the rest of eternity together.”

It all feels too good to be true, but you know that this is reality and not just another one of your sweet dreams.

taglist: @duolingofanaccount @felix-3002 @junhui-recs @asjkdk @dani41 @kageyama-i-want-tobiors @ohwonwoo

[dcxdpdabbles]

I've been thinking about a pit assumed mermaid Danny so long. Like the GIW gets their hands on Danny and Danny ends up running away after being dissected and lands right into one of the Lazarus pits not the one that the league of assassin has and he ends up finding out that all of the pits are connected to each other so he uses them to like you know travel around and not be stuck in one place while healing. Damien standing by the pits without being supervised though something down there like just a child being curious he been here is a grumbling thank you. After a while Damien and Danny just get a big brother little sibling relationship and Damian when he leaves to go to his dad is like I promise to come back to save you Free you from the Lazarus pits. Couple years later after Damien established himself as Robin and a barrel agent with his family Damien's always been talking about going back and saving his friend Danny and the rest of the Batfamily is just convinced that Danny's like I'm imaginary friend. So when Damien gets kidnapped by the League of assassins and they're all getting ready to go back home Damian just walked up to the Lazarus pits and goes Daddy I'm here to save you you can come out now then it starts rumbling and outcomes this giant electric glowing green eyes mermaid being like Oh Damian you came back. Sorry for the rambling it's just that I really been thinking about this idea also I love your works.

"Robin! Where are you going!?"

Damian ignores Richard's call. He knows they should be running to the exit where Drake or Todd should fly around with the escape helicopter. He also knows they don't have time to make detours because if they missed that window of escape, the League would not allow them a second chance.

Damian knows. But this is the closest he's gotten to Danny since he was sent away. Now that he knows better, now that he is aware of just how horrible Grandfather and his lot really were, he couldn't just leave his friend here.

Every day that passed, Danny was at risk of being discovered, and who knew what the League of Assassins would want to do to him?

He needed to get him out.

Tonight, Danny was coming to Gotham with him, one way or another.

"Robin, we don't have time for this!"

"I know! I know, but I can't just leave him!" he shouted back, breaking into a sprint down familiar hallways. He dodged a sword swing, tucking and rolling between the legs of an assassin. He twists mid-landing to throw in a Scorpio kick to the head.

He only waits long enough to hear the man grunt. Damian is running away even before the thump of the body hits the ground. He's so close.

"Robin! Nightwing! We're fighting them off, but we can't hold the position for long," Drake shouts into the com that Richard had given him. "We need to do the extraction in two minutes or we're all going to be trapped here!"

He wants to shout at them but can't waste even a second. Damian forces himself to push faster and ignore the burn in his legs as he rounds down the last hallway, attacking the special guards at the gate of the pits.

Unlike the rest of the castle, these two are some of the best the league offers. Damian struggles to find an opening between them and their teamwork. He can also feel the time ticking away with each punch, swing, dodge, and heart-pounding killing blow that nearly lands on his person.

Just a little further. He thinks, panting as he blocks sword after sword, hissing in pain every time one of them manages to make small cuts through his defense. I just have to get a little further!

Bang! Bang!

The two bullets fly, breaking the guard's knees and pinning him down in a sword stalemate. Damian has a moment to thank the heavens that Todd and Richard appeared not even a second later—fighting away the two remaining guards. He watches them fight for a moment, trying to catch his breath.

One minute! Drake hisses, the sounds of gunfire and the wind of the helicopters' wind nearly drowning his voice.

Damian glances at the door, and then his brothers fight, and he makes his decision. He rushes to the door, kicks it open, and sprints down the pathway into the cave. He hears the battle pick up speed behind him, along with Todd's outraged cry of his name, but he does not slow down until the slight green glow comes into view.

"Danny!" he shouts, hoping his voice's sound waves can travel through the green liquid to what is hidden below. "I've come to rescue you!"

Are you kidding me? Todd yells in the coms. We're risking everything while being outnumbered and outgunned so Demon Brat can get his imaginary best friend!?

Damin tushes to the pit, leaning over, trying to spot the mermaid in the glowing water. He splashes the surfaces in the same way he used as a child, when calling for the creature, face darkening at the causation meanwhile. "He is not imaginary! Danny is real!"

Robin, we don't have time for this! Richard screams. We have to go! Now!

"In a minute!" Damian splashes the water more urgently. He could stick his head in, but he was healthy right now, minus the few cuts, and he could not afford to lose his head mid-escape.

We don't have a minute! Drake cries. A worrisome beeping noise accompanies his words. A loud boom is heard along with Drake's screech. I've been hit! I'm going down!

No!

"Danny, please! I need you!"

A small head of pure white hair peaks up from the water, gentle green eyes staring at him. The glowing green hides the rest of his face since the creature did not go further than his nose about the water, but Damian can tell he's smiling.

"Hello, little one."

Damian allows himself one moment of relief before the world starts to shake, and Danny leaves the Lazarus Pits for the first time in fourteen years. He rises out of the water, long, glowing angle fish tail darkening into shadows as his form shifts into a thing of nightmares.

Damian smiles up at him. "Hello, brother. Can you help my other brothers and me escape? "

Danny doesn't even have to consider the request already growing bigger and bigger until Damian is no bigger than his thumb. He then moves grabbing Damian in his ice-cold grasp.

Danny flies through the walls and picks up Ricard and Todd before they go up and out through solid stone. Damian closes his eyes, pressing against Danny's body to protect himself from whiplash and the strong wind.

Danny is insanely fast, which he proves by diving for the falling aircraft and not only catching up to it but also managing to lift it out of the sky. He angles his hand against the doorway, shaking his palm so Damian, Ricahrd, and Todd all tumble out of the gaint being hand into the safety of the chopper.

Danny then swings his massive body towards the horizon, ignoring the Leauge's attempts to capture him. The island is out of sight in seconds, and Damian can breathe a little easier, even though he is pressed against the wall with his screaming siblings.

Danny is going a little too fast in his escape.

"What's happening!?" Drake cries and checks to wiggle back a little from how fast they traveled.

"I invited Danny to live with us!"

"You did what!?"

[thefallennightmare]

What It Cost-Noah Sebastian[AU]

*gif created by me. feel free to use, simply give credit*

Pairings: Noah Sebastian x Reader

Warnings: smut, violence(talks of death/beating/forced sex), language, fluff, angst.

Summary: The darkness was all Reader ever knew and now that it was following her, closing in to devour her, she needed to chance to breathe. With one destination in mind, she set out only to stop when she noticed an attractive stranger on the side of the road; his own darkness making her give him a ride to where he needed to go. Both of them were desperate for something else but neither of them could change and it nearly cost them everything.

Authors Note: Thank you everyone for being so patient with me while I worked on this the last five days. It originally wasn't supposed to be this long but fuck it, we ball.

Tags: @thescarlettvvitch @klutzy-kay24 @cookiesupplier @bngurngheart @thatchickwiththecamera @artificialbreezy @madomens @lookwhatitcost @mitchhbitch @concreteemo @marvelousmal @heyyoplayer @vinyardmauro @shilohrosechicken @eclipseeetop @lma1986 @spicywhenspeaking @missduffsblog @concreteangel92

I stifled yet another yawn behind my fist and shook out the cobwebs, doing my best to stay awake. The nighttime air as it busted through the crack in my car window did little to keep the slumber from pulling me under, but I did whatever I could do. The music was blasting, the bass shaking all parts of my car and I had just thrown another empty can of Dr. Pepper into the plastic bag in the front seat I’d been using as garbage. I’d been driving for the last three hours, exhaustion desperately trying to weigh me down but I refused to let it win. I had somewhere I needed to be at a certain time otherwise all of this, everything I sacrificed would have been for nothing. 

Blinking my eyes, I did my best to see through the thick fog that seemed to have crept along the long stretch of the back roads of California, making it nearly impossible to see more than a few feet in front of me. Through the music that played in my speaker came a text tone followed by another and another. 

“The fuck,” I grumbled while reaching for my phone. 

Texting and driving. Nice, dumbass. Try not to kill yourself. 

Ignoring the chastising voice in my head, I flicked my gaze down to the screen on my phone and quickly read the messages. 

Matt: Package is shipped. 

Matt: We will meet at the rendezvous point in four days. 

Matt: Be safe kid. Love you. 

Through the hell of the last 34 hours, I let a smile creep on my lips at the words from my brother. He was always there for me, no matter what I had done growing up and that didn’t stop now when both of us were adults. 

“I’m your big brother. It’s my job to protect you, Y/N.”

His words from when I called him the other night in tears were what kept me going; and kept my mind from thinking back to that night. I needed to keep moving forward, not dwindle in fear of the repercussions. 

“Oh shit!” 

My phone clattered to the floor of my car, and the sound of my brakes screeching in the night air when I saw the faint form of something through the thick fog. I stopped mere inches in front of it, then once my erratic heart began to slow, I leaned closer to my windshield, barely making out the man that stood in front of my car. 

His dark hair covered his eyes, cascading down past his shoulders and the white tank top he wore stood out in the vast darkness when he spread his arms across the warm metal of my car, hands pressing against it. His broad chest rose and fell with each deep breath and I couldn’t help but notice that he spent a lot of time in the gym. The muscles in his arms rippled as he continued to keep his arms outstretched on my car. The headlights cast him in a bright glow thanks to the fog around him and I nearly choked on my breath when he made a down motion with his finger. 

Roll down the window. 

I shook my head, fear settling low in my stomach. Why was he out here in the middle of the night? Strolling around on the dark road alone? This was a receipt for disaster if I obliged his request. The smart thing to do would be to drive away from him, leaving him in the dust, so why the fuck was I rolling down the window?

“You almost hit me,” he adjusted the bag on his shoulder. 

My stomach flipped at his deep voice. “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t see you.” 

The man didn’t move, only continued to stare into my soul from outside the windshield. 

“Can you please move? I need to keep driving,” I asked after a beat of silence. 

“Where are you headed?” He asked. 

I scoffed. “Why the fuck would I tell you? You could be some serial killer.” 

Even in the dark, I saw the faintest smile pull at his lips. 

“I need a ride,” he shrugged, finally pushing himself away from my car to run a hand through his long hair. 

“Call a taxi,” I said. 

Suddenly, the man began walking around my car, closer to my side and when he reached the open window, I slunk farther down in my seat. I could see him more clearly now; his arms, chest, and neck were all covered in tattoos. Fuck, even his fingers had tattoos as they gripped the door. 

“Why would I do that when I have a perfectly good ride right here?” The man leaned over, his face now inches from mine as he peered into the open window. 

I swallowed thickly when I breathed in his scent; woodsy with a hint of bergamot. 

“You’re insane if you think I’m going to give you a ride anywhere,” I chuckled, mostly to myself. “I don’t even know your name.” 

“Noah.” 

I blinked. “What?” 

The man bent at the knees outside my door so he was at eye level with me. 

“My name is Noah. What’s yours?” He asked with a smile in his eyes. 

“If you think I’m going to tell you my name, you’re fucking insane,” I shook my head.

“You’re not wrong,” Noah licked his lips. “Although, I like to think of myself as more charming than anything.”

My eyes now bulged out of my head. “You’re really not helping your case in getting a ride from me.”

“What if I say please?” He jutted out his bottom lip. 

With his pout and large almond eyes, I felt my heart soften the teeniest of bits. Surely if he was a murderer, he would have killed me already. 

Right?

Capturing my bottom lip between my teeth, I let out a long breath. “Where do you need to go?” 

“Calgary.”

“Canada?!” I screeched. 

“Is that going to be an issue?” Noah wondered, eyes flickering over his shoulder at every unknown sound. 

“Yeah considering we’re in California and Canada isn’t exactly where I was headed,” I informed. 

He raised a brow. “You still never told me where that is exactly.” 

Even though he was a very attractive stranger who didn’t seem to be a serial killer, I still wasn’t going to tell him that I was headed to Wisconsin to meet my brother then both of us would continue the drive to Vermont. Calgary wasn’t exactly on the way. 

“Look, if it’ll help sway you. I’ll pay for gas and food,” Noah’s voice brought me from my thoughts just in time to see him pull out a thick stack of cash from his black sweats. 

If he had this much money, clearly he could find another way to Calgary; something I made known out loud. 

“I could but I run the risk of being recognized. With you, I’d have a front-row seat to your beauty. Better company.” Noah admitted, still kneeling in front of my car door. 

There was an underlying tone in his voice that should have scared me and put me on high alert, however, it was his words that held my attention. 

“My beauty?” I repeated with a slight blush on my cheeks. 

Focus, you idiot! You’re letting this stranger sweet-talk you into giving him a ride into a different country!

“I’m not trying to sweet talk you into giving me a ride, even though I really do need one. I want to make sure you’re comfortable with driving me. I know Canada isn’t exactly close-.” 

“Or anywhere near where I'm going!” I interrupted Noah, voice still high an octave. 

He nodded while holding up the thick stack of cash. “Exactly why I’m offering to pay you. There’s about fifteen hundred here and you can have all of it if you get me to the Canadian border in one piece.” 

My eyes darted from Noah to the money in his hand. It was a very tempting offer only because I was starting over and money was desperately needed. I was already ahead of schedule for meeting Matt, four days we were set to meet and it wouldn’t take that long to drive to Wisconsin. So a detour wouldn’t be the worst thing, especially if the end game was money. 

He could kill you!

“Okay fine,” I gave in with a drop of my shoulders. “Get in.” 

Tapping the hood of my car, Noah rose to his feet and adjusted something in the back of his sweatpants. The only glimpse I got of it was something metal with a blank handle as he ran behind the car, slipping into the front seat. Now his scent engulfed the entire small space along with his long limbs; his legs had no room so Noah adjusted the seat for him to spread them out. He placed the bag in his lap and I tilted my head when I noticed the design on it; a reaper skeleton with a scythe.

It looked eerily familiar but I couldn’t decipher where I’d seen it before. 

My car was still idling in the middle of the road as I ran my palms up and down the steering wheel, unsure what to do next. My heart was pounding so loudly, that I thought Noah could hear it. I couldn’t explain it but having him this close to me affected me in a way that threw all common sense out of the window. 

Fuck, this was such a bad idea. I should be hours away by now, far away from what I left behind. But instead, I’m still in California with a stranger in my car that I just agreed to drive to fucking Canada. 

At least he’s attractive. You can claw at the tattoo on his neck when he’s murdering you. 

I cleared my throat while sitting taller in my seat. “Do you have an address?” 

“Just get me to the border,” Noah answered while tying his long locks into a low bun, showcasing the sharpness of his cheekbones. 

“Oh. Kay,” I muttered while searching up the border for Canada; a twenty-one-hour drive. 

Lovely. 

Finally putting the car in drive, I let it glide along the dark roads with the silent tension debilitating. Every so often, I peered out of the corner of my eye to see that Noah had yet to relax in his seat. He sat straight up while tapping his tattooed fingers against his thighs. It seemed like he was on edge with something and whenever we did pass a car, his eyes watched it with sharpness. 

However, when a cop car sped past with its lights and sirens in the opposite lane, Noah slinked down in his seat, which was odd. The cop drove past so fast, I didn’t have time even to pull over so it wasn't like the officer could even see in my car. Before he could sit up again, another two cop cars sped past even faster than the first one and I nearly missed the way he cursed under his breath because of the music playing on the radio. 

“They must be heading to the prison,” I said, eyes watching the lights disappear in the rearview mirror. 

The state prison was about ten miles back.

Noah didn’t say anything, only shivering while running a hand over his bare arms due to his tank top.

“Are you cold?” I asked. 

“A bit.” 

I adjusted the heat but then nodded to the back seat. “There’s a sweater in the back seat.”

He was quick to reach behind us and grab the sweater, slipping it over his large form. It was Matt’s sweater from one of his favorite movies. 

“Hereditary?” Noah asked while pulling at the sweater. 

I nodded while keeping my eyes on the road. “It’s a movie. Have you seen it?” 

“I haven't had much time for movies this past year,” he answered with a low voice. 

The GPS indicated I needed to take a left turn at the upcoming red light so when I eased to a stop, I glanced over to him. In the low light emanating from the street lights in the car, he looked almost eternal, hiding in the shadows. His hair was still pulled back but the hood was covering his face. The darkness was emanating off of him with such a force that it was practically pulling me in, needing to taste it; melding it with my own. 

“It’s pretty good. A bit of a mind fuck,” I said as the light turned green. 

Noah hummed. “I’ll add it to the list.” 

Silence fell between us again but didn’t last as long as before. Noah turned his body toward me, eyes burning on the side of my face. 

“You’re staring,” I said. 

“I like what I see, can you blame me?” 

The sureness in his voice made my heart flutter and my skin blaze with heat. Instead of saying anything in response, I gripped the steering wheel tighter and adjusted my position in my seat. I’d been driving a total of five hours now which was typically my limit and noticing it was almost two in the morning, I debated on bringing up to Noah if he was fine with stopping at a motel for the night. 

Oh, so now you want to share a room with this guy? What if there was only one bed? 

I shook my head at my inner thoughts. I wouldn’t share a room with him. We’d get our own rooms. 

“You know,” Noah’s deep voice pulled me from my thoughts yet again. “We have another twenty hours. That’s a long time to go without knowing your name.” 

He was leaning his back against the door, arms crossed over his chest. 

I snorted. “Just because you told me yours doesn't mean I’m going to tell you mine.” 

“How am I supposed to thank you once this is all over?” He teased me. 

“By leaving the money in the front seat,” I retorted back. 

Noah clicked his tongue on his teeth and chuckled; the sound making something twitch inside of me. 

“You’ve got some sass, angel. I like it.” 

My eyes snapped to him for the briefest of moments. “Angel?” 

“You won’t tell me your name. I have to call you something,” Noah said as if it wasn’t that big of a deal he gave me a nickname. 

“What if I don’t like it?” I said, still driving. 

He leaned closer towards me and I felt his warm breath fan over my ear, dancing down the side of my exposed neck. 

“Too bad. It stays, angel,” he murmured.

The smile on his face told me he caught on the way my breath caught in my throat and how fast I licked my lips with his proximity.  

When I pulled up to a stop sign, I let the car idle while I turned to face him, nearly choking on my spit when I realized how close we were. His plump lips peeked out from the darkness of his hood and I could faintly see facial hair line his upper lip and pepper his jawline. A few long strands of hair fell onto his face when he tilted his head down at me, those almond eyes searching every inch of my face. 

Kiss him. 

I blinked at the sudden thought, nearly taken aback at how forward it was. I’d never wanted to kiss someone so bad, especially a stranger. But there was something different about Noah although I couldn’t tell quite yet if it was a good or bad thing. 

“Do you have a boyfriend?” 

“Wh-what? Why?” I stuttered, flashes of what happened a few days ago creeping back into my mind. 

A tattooed finger reached up to twirl a strand of my hair around it. 

“I don’t want to kiss someone that’s unavailable,” he said. 

Suddenly a loud horn from behind caused me to jump in my seat, doing what I could to scramble away from Noah in the confined space and start driving again. He continued to wear that smug smile as he leaned back into the leather seat. While I kept my eyes straight ahead on the road, Noah kept his on me, and my heart hadn’t stopped pounding in my chest. 

How could I let this stranger almost kiss me? 

The last thing I needed right now was another relationship, especially because of what happened with my last one. Hadn’t I learned anything from what happened? I was on the run because of what happened. 

Crimson. 

All over the living room spread into the hallway into the bathroom where it splattered over the wall; all where it started.

“What’s on your mind, angel?” 

With a sharp breath, I snapped my eyes over to Noah for a curt moment to see that he let out his long hair from the bun and it fell around his face, still clouding him in mystery. But the darkness seemed to work for him, making those eyes shine brighter as they were filled with mischief. 

“Nothing,” I muttered before paying attention to the road again. 

“It didn’t seem like nothing.  You went somewhere just now,” Noah said. 

I scoffed, gripping the wheel tighter. “I didn’t realize I was easy enough to read.” 

“I’m a very perceptive person. I picked up on some of your cues the second I sat in your car,” he shrugged one shoulder, very nonchalantly. 

“Oh really?” I raised a brow. “Please, do tell.” 

Noah sat quietly for a moment as he studied me one final time and I felt my entire essence flare up the longer he silently stared at me. I shifted in my seat to try and curb the itch that seemed to ache between my legs; our almost kiss replaying in my mind like a loop. His lips were plump and I couldn’t help but wonder what they tasted like. Even in the darkness of my car, I could see the freckles that peppered his nose and the faint scar just underneath his right eye. 

Maybe from a piercing? A fight? 

“When you’re in your head, you do this thing where you bite your lip; the left corner. Like you’re doing right now,” Noah smiled. 

Quickly, I let go of my bottom lip but said nothing as I continued to drive. 

“You also rub your hands on your things,” he continued in my silence. 

“I do not!” I fought but then realized he was right when I noticed my free hand rubbing up and down my thigh. “Congratulations, you can read me like a book. Do you want a fucking medal or something?” 

Noah chuckled low, the noise rumbling in his chest, and stretched an arm behind me to rest against my headrest. My heart stuttered in my chest, offbeat and unbalanced when I felt fingers play with the ends of my hair behind my neck.  

“You’ve got such a sassy tongue, angel. Do I need to keep it busy with something else?” 

My foot nearly slipped off the gas pedal at his question but I did my best to compose myself. 

“You’re not my type,” I responded flatly. 

Liar. 

Noah was exactly my type, down to the long hair and tattoos. 

“See, I think you’re lying to yourself,” Noah said, still running his fingers across the exposed skin of my neck. “If you weren’t even the slightest attracted to me, you wouldn’t have let me get in your car.” 

My voice faltered. “Y-your money. I need it.” 

“Why’s that?” His warm breath fanned over the crook of my neck while his other hand grazed over my thigh. 

I audibly gulped. “None of your business.” 

Now the grip behind my neck tightened and the hand on my thigh brushed dangerously close to my pussy. I could feel his warm touch through the thin material of my sweatpants, igniting a fire within me. 

“Do you want to know what I think you need?” Noah questioned. 

When I didn’t say anything, he took it as a silent cue for him to continue. “I think you could use a good fuck. Something to loosen up this tension. I bet your panties are soaked because of me and I haven’t even done anything to you yet.” 

“They are not!” I seethed through clenched teeth.

Liar. 

“When was the last time someone touched you, angel? Made you scream for them?” Noah wondered. 

“That’s none of your buis-Shit,” I cursed when his finger brushed along my folds, over my leggings. 

“The way you moan makes my cock throb. Fuck, it’s been too long,” he grazed his teeth along the shell of my ear. 

Suddenly, a loud ringing broke through the lust-filled car and shattered whatever fell between Noah and me. I realized though that it wasn’t my phone ringing but his when he pulled away from me to rummage through his bag. 

“Yeah?” He answered curtly. 

I let my pulse rate calm while trying to squeeze away the arousal between my legs. Noah’s touch awoke something in me that I had buried away years ago; the dark side of me. For the last five years, I had to pretend to be perfect in all aspects of my life; looks, personality, and relationships. The perfect trophy wife. 

After years of mental and physical abuse, a few nights ago I finally snapped. He never saw it coming. 

“Eighteen hours,” Noah said into his phone. “I found a ride.” 

I gulped again when I felt his eyes on me. “I find myself asking that question as well.” 

The street lights that glowed along the roads began to fade away the farther we drove away from the city and the amount of stop lights became less and less. We passed the state sign for Nevada a few hours ago and with the GPS taking me through the back roads unseen, we didn’t get to see the city strip of Las Vegas.

How tragic. 

“Reassure Joakim and Nicholas I’ll be there,” Noah sighed while running a hand over his jaw. 

Doing my best to tune out the rest of his phone conversation, I reached for another soda and popped it open to take a long drink from it. My body was practically screaming for rest, even if it was for a few minutes so my eyes could close. Once Noah finished his phone call, he tossed the phone back into his bag before letting out a long sigh and easing into the seat. I didn’t bother asking who he was on the phone with because frankly, I couldn't care less. The sooner I dropped Noah off at the border, the faster I could get back to my own life and figure out my future. I didn’t need to let him crawl completely under my skin because I knew what the ramifications would be if I let that happen. 

A long silence filled the car and after a while, I heard Noah’s soft breathing echoing in the car meaning he had fallen asleep. 

Lucky asshole. 

For the next two hours, I drove with the eerily calm breathing of Noah, every so often peaking over at him. From the second I nearly hit him with my car, he seemed to be on edge and constantly looking over his shoulder with any soft breeze. Now it was like he finally let himself relax because he thought he was safe enough not to be on edge. 

My body jerked awake, the car nearly swerving into the opposite lane and I breathed a breath of relief when I realized we were still the only car on the entire stretch of road. It had been like this for the last few hours and I was beginning to wonder if the apocalypse happened without us knowing and we were the only two survivors.

"You're not falling asleep on me, are you?" 

Noah’s gruff voice made my shoulder go rigid when I realized he woke up and I gripped the steering wheel harder, knuckles going white from my agitation. If he'd known I'd already been driving for three hours before I picked him up, he might have understood why I was so tired. 

"You could drive," I grumbled under my breath. 

He tsked while leaning over in his seat towards me, his long tattooed fingers reaching for my thigh again. I sucked in a breath when I felt the heat radiating off of him engulf me. 

"Or I could sit here and find a way to keep you awake," Noah muttered, leaning into me. 

My heart beat wildly in my chest and I nearly let my eyes flutter shut when his hand reached for the waistband of my leggings. Suddenly, I wasn't tired anymore. Instead, I was very aroused. 

"Do you want that?" He asked, voice gone with lust. 

I swallowed thickly, doing my best so my voice wouldn't come out shaky. I was ready to throw away that final broken piece of me, the one I had to create so I could ultimately be free. Be who I used to be. Some might think I was crazy to allow myself to let this stranger finger me while I drove but I didn’t care. It’d been so long since I had a release that wasn’t brought on by my own hand and I craved it. 

"Please,” I breathed.

Noah’s bright grin shone in the darkness of the car when his hand slipped into my leggings and underwear, finger gliding over my slick folds. His groans sent a shock straight to my pussy. 

"You can lie all you want, angel. But you're fucking soaked for me. A stranger. Someone you picked up on the side of the road a few hours ago," Noah’s teeth grazed over my ear lobe. 

I jerked the wheel, the car swerving yet again, and it made him pull his finger away from my clit to which I whined in protest. 

"Keep your eyes on the road. If you don't crash, I'll let you cum. Deal?" 

When I nodded, he pressed a tender kiss to the crook of my neck before slipping a finger inside of me. "Good girl."

“Fuck,’ I moaned as his thick finger began to pump in and out of me, slowly at first as if he was testing the waters; figuring out what I liked. 

I shifted in the seat, still trying to keep my attention on the road ahead of me. Now that there weren't any street lights, it was a lot harder to see more than a few feet in front of me so I had to turn on my brights. 

“Shit,” I whimpered when Noah’s thumb pressed against my clit. 

“Oh, you like that, angel?” He asked, nipping at my earlobe. 

With his thumb on my clit and finger now working fast inside of me, I was a blubbering mess, words spilling over my tongue. That familiar ache that soon turned to pleasure began building low in my gut and I gripped the steering wheel harder now, doing my best to keep the car straight. 

“You’re swerving,” Noah breathed against the shell of my ear before pressing a kiss there. 

I shivered. “I can’t help it. You’re-.” 

“I’m what?” He teased, now working on leaving a mark on my neck. 

Smug bastard.

“It’s so good,” I moaned while exposing more of my neck to him. 

Now his teeth began nipping at the sensitive skin while his thumb worked fast circles on my clit and I clenched over his finger when he added a second. I felt so full and nearing my climax, the white haze creeping into the edge of my vision. Sheer ecstasy was filling my veins as I began convulsing in my seat, Noah edging me on with vulgar words. 

“Such a whore for my fingers. If you act like this, I can’t imagine how you’d look coming apart on my cock.” 

The noise that erupted from my throat was downright disgusting but it seemed to urge Noah on because now his pace on my clit was messy. 

“Do you want my cock, angel? Have it split you open?” 

He sunk his teeth into the flesh of my throat and I arched off the seat, all while still keeping the car straight. 

“Noah,” I begged. “I’m gonna-.” 

“Fuck, my cock is so hard angel. Be a good girl and cum for me, let me see you fall apart.” 

With an earth-bending scream, I spasmed all over Noah’s fingers as he worked me through my orgasm. He praised his pleasure in my ear and it made me keen with satisfaction. My eyes darkened as I watched him pull out from me and then lick his two fingers eagerly; like a man starved. 

“You taste so good, angel,” he hummed in approval. 

“I think it’s safe to say, I’m wide awake now,” I said while my chest rose and fell with each deep breath as I did my best to come down. 

I drove for less than a mile before Noah shifted in his seat, adjusting his sweats. 

“Pull over,” he ordered with a grunt. 

My eyes snapped over to him. “What?” 

“Pull over,” he repeated, this time more gently than before. 

Doing as he asked, I pulled the car over to the side of the road before putting it in park. I brushed away the stray hairs from my face and then turned towards Noah, who was staring down at his lap; at the wet spot. 

“Oh,” was all I said with red cheeks when I realized what I was looking at. 

Noah chuckled while running his hands over his thighs. “I told you, it’s been a while for me.” 

I glanced in my backseat, although I knew it was futile. The only extra clothes I had were for me, none to fit his tall stature. 

“According to the GPS, there’s a truck stop a few miles ahead, with showers,” I couldn’t help but giggle. 

He ran a hand over his chin to hide his smile. “Hilarious.” 

For the next ten minutes, we drove in silence beside the soft tune of the radio, and I allowed my mind to wander to what happened moments before. My body was still buzzing from the high of my release and I desperately needed to feel like that again. 

Noah’s muttering about his hair made me give him a sideway glance as I took a right turn. “Everything alright?” 

He was staring at his phone with a stone face making it impossible to read him. 

“Fine.” 

His answer was curt and I tried not to let it bother me while pulling into the almost empty parking lot of the truck stop. Besides my car, there were three others and about six large semis parked on the other end of the lot. 

“Did you want anything?” Noah asked while gathering his things and slipping over his hood. 

I raised a brow at how he almost went into hiding but said nothing of it. 

“I’m fine. I’m going to fill up and then use the bathroom. Take your time cleaning up,” I teased before slipping out of the car. 

Noah waved over his shoulder as he made his way inside the shop. 

Almost twenty minutes later, I had filled up the car with gas and gone to the bathroom to freshen up. The cool night air felt great against my skin as I took my time walking back to the car to stretch my legs. I changed into a pair of comfier shorts and an oversized hoodie, wanting to be a bit more comfortable for this next leg of the drive. 

When I reached the car, my feet skidded to a halt seeing Noah sitting against the hood of it, bags full of snacks at his feet. However, my attention was on something else. He was now wearing a pair of black mesh shorts and a shirt with some sort of anime character on it. I expected to see the long locks of his dark hair pulled back or falling over his shoulders. Instead, his hair stopped before it reached his ears. 

He cut his hair. 

I blinked, unable to speak. 

Fuck, he looked so good. 

“You’re staring,” Noah smirked. 

“Uh,” I motioned to his head. “You cut your hair.” 

He fixed the hair across his forehead so it could fall to the side giving himself bangs. 

“Yeah, I was tired of the length. I needed to see the back of my neck again,” he said while rubbing his neck. 

I still haven't moved, standing in the middle of the parking lot, and it wasn’t until Noah picked up the bags full of snacks. 

“I know you said you didn’t want anything but I still got you some snacks.” 

My heart fluttered as a smile pulled at my lips. “You didn’t have to do that. Thank you.” 

“Come on,” he motioned to the passenger seat. “We should get back on the road. 

While he slipped behind the wheel, I hesitantly got into the passenger seat. “You’re driving?” 

He nodded while starting the car, pulling out of the lot once the GPS was loaded. 

“I’m in the driver's seat now,” he winked. “You should get some rest.” 

I wanted to fight it because falling asleep and being vulnerable around Noah still worried me. If he wanted to kill me he would have the second I rolled down my window for him. He could have killed me and stolen my car but he didn’t. 

The thought of sleep, however, sounded heavenly. So with a nod, I grabbed my blanket from the back seat and snuggled deeper into the seat. 

“Try not to crash my car, yeah?” I somewhat joked. 

Noah winked. “No promises, angel.” 

“I’ll be there in time, don’t worry Nicholas.” 

A soft breath fell from my lips as I adjusted my position on the seat and brought the blanket closer to my chin, sleep still having its claws in me. 

“What’s the news saying?” 

It was then I noticed Noah was talking to someone, his hushed conversation being picked up easily in the quiet car. 

“I cut my hair and I’ll cover my tattoos until I’m across the border if I need to.” 

This made my eyes open just a slit, enough to see Noah was on the phone, it clutched tightly to his ear while the other hand gripped the steering wheel. I could tell the car was still moving along the road smoothly and when I glanced at the time remaining on the GPS, I nearly choked on my saliva. 

I’d been asleep for five hours; we had less than eight hours left until we reached Canada. 

“No, she doesn’t. I plan to keep it that way.”

Now my attention was on Noah again as I continued to pretend I was asleep. 

“It’s not like that, Nicholas. She’s getting me to Canada and that’s it. She’ll go wherever she was headed before she picked me up.”

He audibly snorted at whatever this Nicholas said. “No, she has no idea. Prison was hell enough and I barely got out of there alive.”

All the blood drained from my body and I felt every part of me go stiff at hearing his words. 

Prison. 

Noah had been in prison and I picked him up on the side of the road like some kind of idiot. 

Told you he was going to murder you. 

Suddenly, all the pieces began to click into place like a disturbed puzzle. 

Noah standing in the middle of the road with a bag, dressed in almost prison clothes. 

Him randomly deciding to cut his hair.

Sharp eyes watched as each car passed us and nearly hid underneath the seat when the cop cars sped past us. 

Cops trying to find an escaped prisoner. 

“Stop the car,” I demanded while sitting up. 

Noah cursed before hanging up the phone, letting it fall into the cup holder. “How’d you sleep?” 

My eyes sliced into him. “Stop the fucking car, Noah!” 

He didn’t. Instead, he kept driving as if his words meant absolutely nothing. 

I stared at him still with such venom behind my eyes, hatred burning low in my gut. 

“You lied to me,” I seethed. 

“You never asked,” he glanced my way for a quick second before looking back at the road ahead of him. 

It was mid-afternoon now, the sun shining brightly in the car and showcasing all of him. The tattoos on his thick arms bulged as Noah gripped the wheel tighter with one hand while the other rested on his thigh; also covered in tattoos. 

I licked my lips, trying to tell myself not to fall for his looks or remember how he made me crumble with those fingers. 

“Were you released from prison or did you escape?” I asked with crossed arms. 

Even though his lips didn't smile, the way his eyes glinted told me exactly what I needed to know. 

“STOP THE FUCKING CAR!” I bellowed while pulling on the door handle. 

The noise of the locks engaging echoed loudly in the small car. 

My blood ran cold when I realized he wasn't going to let me leave. 

“A-r-re you going to k-kill me?” I asked with such a thick waver to my voice, that the sob was practically crawling its way out of my throat. 

Noah sighed while scratching at his cheek. “If I wanted to kill you, don’t you think I would have by now?” 

I shrugged. “That doesn't mean you won't.” 

“I’m not a killer, angel,” he said with a stern voice. 

“Then stop the fucking car,” my jaw ticked. 

I could see the way he fought with this decision internally until finally, Noah pulled the car over to the side of the road. The route we had been going made it so that not many cars were following us; Noah and I being the only ones out here. 

“Can you let me explain?” He asked while turning his body towards me. 

“Fuck you,” I spat before storming out of the car and leaving the door open. 

The fury blinded me as I began walking on the edge of the road to a destination unknown. Yes, I was leaving my car and belongings behind with him but at that moment, I didn’t give a shit. There was only one thing that mattered. 

Get far away from Noah. 

“Angel!” He called out after me. “Get your ass back here!” 

I tossed him the middle finger over my shoulder, sandals slapping against the gravel. Unfortunately, I hadn’t made it far enough because I heard Noah curse something under his breath before his thunderous footsteps echoed behind me. 

“Put me down!” I screamed when I felt myself being tossed over his shoulder. 

I writhed against his stronghold as he carried me back to the car. From my view, I was upside down in front of his ass, and for a brief moment, I marveled at how perfect it was. 

Focus, idiot!

“I swear to God, Noah. Let me go!” 

When I kneed him in the gut, he let me fall to my ass with a grunt and I scrambled to get away from him again, this time hoping I could reach my car and drive off. However, right before I reached the handle of the driver's side door, Noah wrapped his fingers around my wrist to whirl me into the open door of the back seat. 

“You’re fucking insane!” I screamed while reaching for the door opposite of me, still trying to escape. 

I thought I would feel a sense of fear with him chasing after me and keeping me hostage, instead, I felt an arousal pool between my legs, and my breath hitched when his large frame lay on top of my back, keeping me locked between him and the seat. 

“Stop fucking fighting,” he growled low in my ear. 

“Just kill me,” I shot back with tears brimming in my eyes. “Get this over with.” 

Noah hummed while breathing in my scent. “I already told you, angel. I’m not a killer.” 

My bottom lip trembled. “Then what do you want?” 

“You,” he answered with zero hesitation. 

His large hand snaked up underneath my sweater to scratch at the warm skin of my back and I shivered underneath his electric touch. I should be scared of him yet I yearned to feel him devour me. My soul was vibrating with the need to feel his lips on me, his cock inside of me, and finally let go of that sliver of a person I used to be. Noah wasn’t the only one running from something. Who was I to judge what he’d done to land in prison when I wasn’t any better than him? 

“Then what are you waiting for?” I murmured while looking over my shoulder at him.

With a growl, Noah pulled me up to pull off my sweater and bra, leaving me topless for him. His eyes darkened as he licked his lips at the sight of my perky nipples before pushing me back down on the cool leather seats. He then yanked on the seat belt beside me to wrap it around my wrists, keeping them locked behind my back. Then he did the same thing with the other seat belt with my ankles and once he was satisfied with the tightness of my binds, his face loomed over me again. 

“The second you want out, say mercy.” 

I rapidly nodded. “Please don’t stop. I need this.” 

As I was still glancing over my shoulder, I watched Noah as he pulled out a pocket knife from his shorts and felt my heart stop in my chest when it clicked open, the blade slicing through the material of my shorts and underwear. 

He had the knife this entire time? 

“Such a pretty ass,” Noah mused before laying his palm against it with a strike, followed by another then another. After the six strikes, he soothed the reddened skin with a gentle caress. 

I hissed in my bindings, trying to pull away from him but knew it was pointless. He managed to tie the seatbelts so tight, that there was no way I’d be able to escape. 

Not that I wanted to anyway. 

Noah’s lips kissed down my spine, tongue, and teeth tasting every inch of skin and his name fell off my lips in a hungry whisper. One lone finger gathered up my arousal between my legs which made him hum in delight.

“I’ve barely touched you, angel. You’re already so wet for me,” he licked at his fingers like a kitten lapping up milk. 

“Noah,” I panted, trying my hardest to raise my ass towards him. 

The space in my car was tight due to his tall frame so he currently was half sitting on me, one leg bent at the knee on my right side while his other leg kept him up against the back of the driver's seat. 

“Tell me what you want,” he dragged the flat side of the blade over the swell of my ass, down between my legs, and over my pussy; my slick arousal coating it. 

I gulped, the words now foreign on my lips when the cool metal pressed against my clit. My brain was a jumbled mess as I tried to pick out the correct words I needed to say. 

“Your cock,” the words finally spilled out when the handle of the knife pressed inside my slick folds. 

“Ask nicely,” he demanded while licking up my arousal from the blade, the sharp point cutting his tongue slightly. 

“Please,” I groaned at the sight. 

The noise that rumbled from the back of Noah’s throat made my pussy clench as I watched him quickly strip out of his clothes, his bare form on full display for me. He was covered in tattoos, almost every inch of him and when he leaned over towards the front seat, I sucked in a breath at the large tattoo on his back. 

“Shit,” he grumbled and tossed his bag back onto the seat. 

“What is it?” I wondered. 

He ran a hand over his jaw. “Unless you have a condom hiding somewhere in your car then we need to rethink this.” 

My face fell and I sucked in my bottom lip which caused Noah to tilt his head at me. 

“You’re going back to that place, angel. If you want me to stop, please-.” 

“No!” I said a little too suddenly. “I want this, Noah. Trust me. We don’t need a condom. I’m safe.” 

“Are you on birth control?” His brows furrowed. 

I winced because I didn’t want to get into the procedure I had undergone six years ago; against my free will. So I lied instead. 

“Yeah.”

That was all Noah needed to hear before he spit on the palm of his hand and wrapped it around his thick cock; beads of precum spilling over the head. It was long and red with a blue vein on the underneath of it. 

It was the prettiest cock I’d ever seen. 

Noah adjusted himself behind me the best he could due to the limited space and he raised my hips off the seat with one hand while the other angled the head of his cock at my pussy. I trilled in delight when he filled me, the sudden fullness making my stomach twitch with slight pain. He must have noticed because he stopped moving his hips and placed a tender kiss on my shoulder. 

“Safe word?”

“I’m okay, just give me a minute.” 

I didn’t want to tell him that the last time I had sex it was rough, not in the nice kind of way, so my body was still reacting to it. 

“Okay,” I breathed after a moment. “Don’t hold back, Noah. Please.” 

And he didn’t. 

His hips smacked against my ass so hard, the sound drowned out the mewls of pleasure that spit from my tongue. The head of his cock hit that spot every time he pulled almost all the way out and then slammed back into me. 

“Fuck, angel. I missed this feeling so much. I’m not going to last long with you gripping my cock like this,” Noah’s teeth bit down on the skin between my shoulder blades. 

“Oh God,” I grunted. 

He pulled on the part of the seatbelt that wasn’t tied around my wrists and wrapped it around my neck twice; just tight enough to cut off my oxygen a bit but still able to breathe. 

“There’s no God in this car with us. Just you and me.” 

Noah’s nails dug into the sensitive skin of my hips as he pounded into me with no regard, the squelching of our shared arousals sounding vulgar. Due to the tightness of the belt around my throat, it felt like I was floating higher and higher to my orgasm. The edges of my vision went blurry with the impending doom of unconsciousness. It was there, along with my orgasm, ready to pull me under the waves and never let me up. 

Just as I was about to succumb, the blade cut through the belt around my neck and slightly nicked my skin, blood dripping to the seat below. 

“Shit,” Noah hissed when he realized what he’d done, hips stalling. “Angel, I’m-.” 

“Don’t fucking stop!” I commanded. “I’m so fucking close, Noah.” 

He slipped a hand between my pussy and the seat, fingers strumming against my clit like he was playing the guitar. It was exactly what I needed to finally slip underneath the waves and I screamed out my arousal, it coating his cock. Noah didn’t give me a second to enjoy the after-shocks because he cut the binds at my wrists and ankles and then flipped me over on my back so I could look up at him. With my legs wrapped around his back, he thrust a few more times before spilling himself inside of me with a guttural moan that sent shivers down my spine. 

Noah’s freshly cut hair was a mess across his forehead so I did my best to brush it away from his eyes, the darkness of them drinking in the sight of my wetness on his cock and then snapped up to the blood drying between my breasts. The tip of his tongue darted up to clean the bloody mess he made before kissing his way down my stomach and leaving a soft kiss on my clit. 

“Ah! Shit!” I panted when he began lapping up our shared arousal between my legs, licking me clean. 

I ran my fingers through the softness of his hair, pulling him away from me because the overstimulation was too much to take. 

“Too much,” I sighed. 

Noah slinked his hand behind my neck to jerk my mouth up to his and wrenched my jaw open to spit the blood and cum mixture in my mouth. It was filthy and so fucking wrong. 

I loved every second of it. 

I tasted both of us on his tongue and it made me hum in satisfaction before he let me fall back to the seat with a soft thud. 

“You taste fucking divine, angel,” Noah mused while wiping his lips clean. 

Sighing in content, I let myself lay there for a few extra moments while I watched Noah rest against one of the seats doing his best to calm his breathing. We let the silence encompass us for a long while until I rested my hands on my stomach and looked over at him when his voice broke through the quiet. 

“Are you alright?” 

The features of his face were soft but filled with concern so I quickly nodded, reassuring him I was more than alright. It felt like my body was still floating in ecstasy. 

“You barely cut me, Noah. I’ve had worse,” I said while slowly sitting up. 

He frowned at my words and I realized what I said so I did my best to change the subject. 

“How’d you escape?” I asked while pulling my knees to my chest. 

Noah extended his arm across the back seat and sighed. “Me and another inmate were on the way to be transferred to another prison across the state when the van crashed and I snuck away. According to the papers, prisoner 213123 died in the fire while prisoner 44536 escaped.” 

“Let me guess, you swapped your numbers so it seemed like you died instead of the other guy,” I snorted. 

He merely shrugged with a smirk. “Are you going to turn me in?” 

I pursed my lips already knowing the answer. “Why are you telling me all of this? If you’re on the run, don’t you think you should have come up with a different identity?” 

“I trust you, angel,” he answered, not missing a beat. 

Trust. 

How can this man trust me when I hadn’t spoken an ounce of my own transgressions? 

“You don’t even know me,” my voice was hushed. 

Noah brushed away the hair from my face so he could look directly into my eyes. “I was betrayed by someone I’d known for years. It’s a feeling, telling me to trust you.”

“You said you didn’t kill anyone, right?” I questioned while resting my head against the headrest. 

We both were still naked and the cool air from the vents brought chills to our skin. 

“Bank robbery. My crew and I were set up. I took the fall for all of it. I got twenty years while they went into hiding,” Noah’s fingers brushed along my shoulder. 

“How long did you actually serve?” 

He gave me that infamous smirk, the one I found myself swooning over. “Three years, just enough for my crew to set up shop somewhere else.” 

“Canada?” I teased with a lift of my brow.

“You can come with me, ya know?” Noah suggested while stretching out his long limbs in the backseat. “Get away from whatever you’re running from.”

I suddenly froze in front of him. “What makes you think I’m running from something?” 

He lifted my chin with a tattooed knuckle, his breath fanning over my lips. “The look in your eyes matches my own. And maybe that’s why you haven’t run from me yet.” 

The truth in his words scared the hell out of me, how he could read me so well like a book. 

“We should get back on the road if you want to get to your friends on time,” I said while pulling away from him. 

Without saying another word, I pulled out a pair of sweats and a t-shirt, quickly changing. I hopped over to the front seat and clicked the belt over me while Noah threw his previous clothes on and got out of the car to walk around to the front seat. 

“You fucked up my seat belts,” I grumbled while pulling back onto the main road. 

“Send me the invoice when you get them replaced,” he chuckled. 

Four hours and the glowing moon later, we were closer to Canada than before and Noah had been reading a book while I silently sang along to the words on my playlist. Every so often his hand would graze over to my thigh, squeezing it when he noticed I would start to doze off. 

“I’m fine,” I assured him with a nod when I’d been caught again. 

He placed the book back in his bag before pointing to an upcoming exit sign. “I think I saw some restaurants up ahead. Let’s get something to eat and I’ll take over driving.” 

Bright red and blue lights filled the car and I cursed when I peeked in the rearview mirror seeing a cop attempting to pull me over. Sweat gathered at my palms as I looked over to Noah, wondering what I should do. 

His jaw was clenched tight and I thought he was about to yell at me, blaming my reckless driving for getting pulled over. Instead, he patted my knee and motioned to the car. 

“Pull over. It’s alright, angel. Just act natural and he won't suspect anything.” 

Swallowing thickly, I did my best to remain calm because the thought of acting naturally knowing I had a wanted fugitive in my car not to mention what I was running from made it impossible. 

Once the car was at a stop, I started running my hands up and down my thighs, doing whatever I could to stop my racing heart. 

“Just tell them you were falling asleep so we were planning on switching drivers, okay?” Noah said while placing a hat low over his eyes. 

You’re so fucked! How can you hide someone who escaped from prison? 

Well, according to Noah, people think he died in the crash so maybe the cop won’t even notice him.

Oh really? And what's your excuse? How do you plan to explain all that blood in your apartment and his-?

A firm tapping on my window made me roll it down with an innocent smile as I handed him my license. “I know I was swerving.” 

“Have you had anything to drink?” The officer asked, shining his flashlight in my face after taking a peek at my license.

I squinted my eyes while shaking my head. “No. I’m sober. It’s been a long drive and we were planning on switching at the next exit.” 

This made the officer glance over to Noah, who kept his head down as if he were asleep. 

“Hm. Well, I ran your plates. Do you know Sean Writhe?” 

My soul had been sucked dry, leaving me a bag of skin and bones as I slumped into my seat. 

No. No. No. This cannot be happening. 

“Yes,” I said quietly. 

“He’s the registered owner of the car, is that right?” 

Noah shifted in his seat next to me when I answered. “Yeah.” 

“According to your license, he’s your husband,” the officer said. 

The noise that came from Noah made my stomach drop and I knew that there would be no way I could explain myself to him without him getting upset. 

“Soon to be ex, we’re separated,” I said while rubbing my hands over my thighs. 

The officer raised a dark eyebrow at me, his salt and pepper combed back away from his face. 

“Sean Writhe is dead. Officers back in Los Angeles found his body in your shared apartment.”

I bit the inside of my cheek, trying to keep my snarky remark to myself but ultimately failing. 

“I didn’t think Montana cops were particular about knowing Los Angeles crimes.” 

The officer's eyes sliced into me, one hand on his hip. “We are when we spot a wanted car driving in our parts of town. You’re wanted for questioning in your husband's murder.” 

“Fuck.”

Noah’s curse from next to me caused the officer to shine the light on him again, this time longer than before. I watched in horror as his shoulders went rigid, the realization setting in on who exactly was sitting in my front seat. I wasn’t sure how he recognized Noah with the short hair and hat but it had to be one of his many tattoos that gave him away. 

“Sir,” the officer's voice was shaky as he began reaching for his gun. “Can you step out of the car for me?” 

Shit. Shit. Shit. 

“Angel,” Noah’s voice was a warning when I glanced over to him, my body shaking with fear. 

The softness of his almond eyes underneath his hat eased me a bit but then everything next happened so fast, I couldn’t register it all until it was too late. 

Noah pulled out the gun from his bag and then reached over my seat to pull on the handle, making me fall back and out of view when he aimed the barrel of the gun at the officer; three loud pops reverberated in the confines of my car, along with my screams. I covered my hands too late, seeing the officer's body fall to the ground in a heap of blood. 

Teeth sunk in deep around my heart, dragging it to the depths of hell along with me, and I choked on the air around me. I desperately needed the oxygen to fill my lungs again as I clawed at my throat, still lying down in the driver's seat. 

“Shit,” Noah clambered over his seat towards me, eyes staring down with worry. “Angel, are you alright? Say something.” 

I shook my head, my brain not functioning enough to say anything, so he raised my seat again and cupped my cheeks. 

“I need to know you’re not going to pass out on me, okay? I have to deal with the body before someone drives by and sees it.” 

The body. 

Even with the vice grip surrounding me, I gave a curt nod which was enough for Noah, who slipped out of the car towards the body that lay on the other side of my door. Daring a glance through the open window, the headlights from the officer's car shined bright on his deathly form. Two bullet holes in his chest, one directly in the middle of his forehead. 

“You said you’re not a killer,” I finally found my voice through the haze. 

It was as if everything was slowly coming back to me. The officer pulled us over, finding out that what I had been running from finally caught up to me, and Noah took care of the problem. 

Just like I had done. 

“Circumstances changed, angel,” he grunted while dragging the body towards the back of my car. “Pop the trunk.” 

I blinked rapidly before pressing the button, the trunk springing open. The shift of the added weight made the car buckle before Noah slammed the door shut and then was back in his spot next to me. 

“What are you doing?” I wondered, watching him type something on his phone. 

“We need a new plan,” he said. “There’s a lake three miles ahead, away from prying eyes. I need you to drive your car there, I’ll follow behind in the officer's car where we’ll dump the cars and him.” 

My eyes widened. “Excuse me? We’re doing what now?” 

Noah ran a tired hand over his face with an audible sigh. “We need to get rid of the evidence, angel. Then get far away from here as soon as we can. Soon, others will come looking for him and us.” 

As much as I wanted to scream at him, remind him there was no us, I knew he was right. The faster we deal with the body in the trunk, the faster we can get away from it all. 

“Okay,” I nodded while starting the car. “I’ll follow you.” 

Noah’s grip was tight on my chin as he forced me to look at him, anger filling his eyes. “Once we’re done with this little hiccup, we’re going to talk about what happened with your husband.” 

The venom in the word husband made my skin crawl. 

“Ex,” I spat through gritted teeth. “I was divorcing him.” 

“Right,” Noah clicked his tongue. “Was that before or after you killed him?” 

My silence gave him the answer he needed. I couldn’t judge or grill him about being a killer when I was one. And now, so was Noah. 

“Follow close behind, okay? I don’t need you to lose me. It’s only a three-mile drive,” Noah left me with a tender kiss on my forehead that eased away some of the fear and worry. 

Five minutes later, I stood off to the side holding my arms to my chest as I watched Noah empty all of our belongings from my car and then wipe everything down. 

Washing away the evidence. 

“What’s the point if we’re sinking the car?” I asked. 

The moonlight struck through the clouds, casting Noah in an eternal glow and if it had been any other moment in time, I’d wrap myself around him to taste his lips. But now, the only thing I thought of was the sound his gun made when it killed the officer. 

“Just in case they find the car and pull it out of the river,” Noah said with not an ounce of worry in his voice. 

Must be nice. 

He’d already put cinder blocks in the officer's car, letting it drive off the ledge of the cliff to the waters below with a loud splash. For the next few minutes, we watched as the same thing happened with my car and I held onto the two bags that held my entire life's possessions. 

“How’d you do it?” 

Noah’s question jarred me out of the trance I had found myself in. 

“Uh,” my tongue darted out to wet my lips. “I stabbed him. Except I missed and ended up slicing his arm instead. He chased me through our apartment until I locked myself in the bathroom. He eventually broke down the door but this time I was ready for him and sliced the femoral artery.” 

“Fuck,” he whistled low, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “Quick death.” 

“Not quick enough,” I muttered under my breath.

Noah stepped in front of me, blocking the path to my sinking car. He was taller than me by a full foot so I had to tilt my head up towards him. The calloused pads of his fingers grazed over my cheek and I allowed myself to relax with his touch. 

“You made that comment earlier about how you had worse things happen to you than a simple cut of a knife,” he noted.

I nodded. “Sean wanted the perfect trophy wife and when I didn’t deliver, he took it out on me any way he could. Beating me, starving me, or locking me away in our crawl space. Sometimes if he was really pissed at me when I said no to sex, he would-.” 

The words died on my tongue, unable to finish the sentence. But I didn’t need to, Noah understood. He pulled me into his embrace and left a kiss on my hairline as I wrapped my arms around his broad back, resting my cheek against his chest. 

“He deserved death,” Noah grumbled. 

“I gathered the strength to leave him with the help of my brother but Sean was the son of the mayor so when I tried to serve him with divorce papers, they somehow disappeared.” 

His grip on me tightened as I continued. “I was staying with my brother at the time so I met Sean back at his place to try and talk him into getting a divorce. It went sour pretty fast and that’s when it happened.” 

I rested my chin on his sternum now so I could gaze up at him through my lashes. “There’s one more thing you should know.” 

When he nodded, I took a deep breath and spoke. “Before, when you asked me if I was on birth control, I lied.” 

His body went tense in my grasp so I squeezed his hips. “I can’t get pregnant. Sean forced me to have a hysterectomy.” 

“What?!” Noah’s eyes were blazing with hatred. 

“Sean didn’t want kids but also didn’t want to wear a condom. He thought I’d get fat if I went on the pill so he thought the next best thing was to remove my uterus. He had some surgeon friends that did the surgery, no questions asked.” 

“Death was an easy way out for him,” he seethed. 

I let out a deep breath, hoping it would not only calm myself but Noah as well.

“It’s a part of my life I’m trying to leave behind. I have plans to meet my brother in Wisconsin in three days then we’re off to live our lives in Vermont. That’s where I was headed when you found me.” 

“When you almost hit me with your car,” he corrected with a smug smile. 

I playfully smacked his chest before slipping out of his embrace to grab my bags. “Matt, my brother, stayed behind to clean up my mess so the least I can do is keep my promise to him and meet him at our rendezvous point.” 

The corner of Noah’s lips twitched as he wanted to say something but ultimately nodded and tossed his bag over his shoulder. “Well, if you and your brother change your mind. There’s always extra space in our encampment in Calgary.” 

“Encampment?” I questioned, scruffing the heels of my shoes on the gravel. 

We were still standing on the edge of the cliff beyond the trees, far away from the road so no one would see us. 

“My crew bought ten acres of land in the middle of the woods in Calgary. Spent the last three years building homes, making it livable, so when I finally broke out, I’d have somewhere to go,” Noah explained. 

“And you want me to join? Like a cult?” 

He mocked the hurt by holding a hand over his heart. “I would never! It’s not a cult, angel. Just a place for me and my friends all to live within a few miles of each other. Plenty of homes with privacy.” 

My bottom lip caught between my teeth as I weighed his offer. While it sounded very tempting to be able to live within miles of him and see him every day, I made a promise to Matt; one I couldn’t break. 

Clearing my throat, I tossed my hair on top of my head in a messy bun before placing my hands on my hips. 

“Well, now that our ride is at the bottom of the river, how do you expect me to fulfill my end of the deal?” 

Just then, thunderous sounds of motorcycles crept up from behind, spinning around us in quick succession, it made me dizzy to watch. However, Noah had a smirk on his face when the spinning bikes halted their movements. 

“About time you showed up,” he said to one of the men who stepped off his bike. 

When the man took off his helmet, long chocolate waves fell around his face and I sucked in a breath at how gorgeous he was. The light from the street lamp above captured his strong cheekbones and the nose piercing in his nose. 

“Well, aren't you a sight for sore eyes,” the man chuckled with an unknown accent. 

Noah and the man hugged. “Nice to see you, Joakim.” 

Joakim ruffled Noah’s hair. “Nice haircut.” 

He smacked his hand away just in time for another man to step up to the group of us, this one shorter than the other but his smile brought immediate comfort. 

“Folio!” Noah gathered the man in a bear hug. “Catch any good fish at Omens?” 

“Every morning!” Folio beamed. 

“Omens?” I quietly asked. 

Noah turned towards me with a smile. “It’s the name of our encampment.” 

“Oh,” I mouthed while adjusting the bag on my back. 

Folio motioned to me with a nod. “This her?” 

“Angel, meet the guys. Folio and Joakim,” Noah introduced while throwing an arm over my shoulder as a way to claim what was his. 

And I didn’t stop him.

I gave a small tentative wave. “Hello.” 

“Sorry you had to deal with this one the last 24 hours,” Joakim said. 

“Oh, he wasn’t that bad,” I linked his hand with mine as it was still resting on my shoulder. 

“You tell her?” Folio asked Noah. 

“Not so much tell but overheard and put the pieces together herself.” 

Joakim chuckled. “Smart cookie. And you still stayed with him?” 

“What can I say?” I glanced up at him. “He’s charming.” 

Our eyes locked and I noticed how pouty and full his lips were. It was then I realized we never kissed. Not even when we fucked in the backseat of my car and I suddenly wanted to change that. 

“We should get going before someone comes looking for the missing officer,” Joakim said. 

Noah nodded before leading me over to one of the bikes the guys rode in on and I practically dug my heels into the ground. 

“There’s no way I’m getting on that,” I shook my head. 

“Angel, it’s our only ride. We’ll get to Canada a lot faster this way,” he explained while placing the helmet on my head, after taking out my hair from the bun. 

“I already told you, Noah. I’m meeting-.” 

“Your brother. I know, I know,” he nodded with a sigh. “I’ll let you take one of my cars. It’ll be waiting for you once we reach the border and you can leave right away.” 

The thought of leaving him made my heart ache but I knew it was something I had to do. 

Before I could ask how all four of us were planning on going back with only two bikes, Joakim pointed a finger at Folio. 

“Watch your hands, fish boy. I’m not Michelle where you can feel up on the back of your bike,” he threatened with a smile. 

Folio waved him off before the two guys climbed onto Joakim's bike and I very carefully climbed on behind Noah. I let my arms hang loosely around his side which made him grab both of my hands, wrapping them around his stomach. 

“You need to hold on tight,” his voice came through the com in the helmet, making it easier to hear him through the sounds of the wind. 

I squealed when the bike jerked with a start, gliding along the darkened roads as the rising sun began to break over the horizon. 

Just as he promised, once we reached the border of Canada, there was a car waiting for me; a shiny black escalade. 

“Wow,” I whistled low while hopping off the bike. “What other secrets are you hiding from me?” 

It was a joke but the look in Noah’s dark eyes made me shudder with the fear of the unknown. 

Joakim and Folio had no issue crossing the border but they still hung back and waited for Noah to cross; in case there were any issues. Noah had explained during the drive that he had changed his name. 

Going into prison, his name was Davis Seb. Now it was Noah Sebastian. His hair was cut shorter and he wore a black turtleneck and jacket to hide all of his tattoos. He reassured me many times that he shouldn’t have an issue getting into Canada. 

“How far of a drive do you have to Wisconsin?” He asked while leaning against his bike, long legs stretched and crossed at the ankles. 

I stood off to the side, close to the SUV, and checked the GPS on my phone with a wince. 

“About twenty hours.” 

Noah hooked a finger through the strap of my backpack and pulled me closer to him, my legs straddling him in a standing position. I ran my fingers through his hair, brushing away the bangs from his face. 

“If you change your mind, both you and Matt will have a place to stay,” he said. 

“You don’t have to do that, Noah. This was only supposed to be a ride, nothing more.” 

He shrugged before nuzzling his face in the crook of my neck. “That was before I got to know you. As much as I don’t want to, I have to let you go.” 

“Maybe just until everything dies down with us, ya know? Once the dust settles,” I suggested with a hopeful smile. 

One Noah immediately returned. “Omens will always have a place for you guys.” 

“How will I know where to find you if I change my mind?” I teased while playing with the buttons of his jacket. 

“There’s a burner phone in your bag; untraceable. It has my number so you can text me when you made it safely to your brother and coordinates to Omens. You don’t need to let me know when you’re coming, just show up, angel.” 

“Okay,” I agreed while biting my lip. 

“You know,” he dragged a finger over my bottom lip, almost ripping it out from my teeth. “We’ve been together for almost thirty hours and I still don’t know your name.” 

Instead of giving it away, I stepped out from his embrace and motioned towards Joakim and Folio, who were growing antsy waiting for him. 

“Your friends are waiting,” I said. 

Nodding, Noah climbed back onto the bike but before he drove off, he glanced over at me and tossed me the keys to the car. 

“Try not to crash my car, yeah?” 

I giggled with a wink. “No promises.” 

He started up the bike, revving to life inside my chest, but before he drove off, Noah tossed me a bag. 

“Before I forget.” 

Peering inside of it with a raised brow, I nearly dropped it to my feet when I saw it was full of money. 

Way more than he originally offered me in the beginning. 

“Noah,” I glanced up to notice that he was waiting in line to cross the border. 

I watched with my heart holding steady in my chest as the person checked his I.D. and then him before letting him go with a nod and I let out the breath I’d been holding. Once I was settled comfortably in the Escalade, I pulled out the burner phone to see there was already a text waiting for me. 

Noah: I hope to see you soon, angel. Drive save. 

With a smile, I texted back. 

Me: Y/N. My name is Y/N. 

Knowing he was driving the bike, he wouldn't have time to respond so I texted Matt from my phone instead. 

Me: Got delayed a bit but back on the road. Everything is fine, I will explain once we meet. I’ve got a new rendezvous point if it works for you.

He replied almost immediately. 

Matt: Where are we headed?

I texted him new coordinates before putting the car in drive, tires squealing against the asphalt as I peeled away from the Canadian border. 

Four Months Later

“Are you sure this is the right place?” Matt asked while peering out of the front windshield from the passenger seat. 

I nodded, driving slowly through the vast forest of trees. “These are the coordinates he sent.”

“Why won’t you text him? Let him know that we’re lost,” he sighed while falling back into his seat. 

“We are not lost!” I defended while easing the Escalade through the thick trees. “It’s ten acres of land, I doubt they would build their houses on the first few.” 

For the last four months, I had kept myself in hiding, starting over with my new life in North Dakota. After leaving Noah, I was quick to change up plans because I didn’t want to be far from him when I was ready to find him again. With the money Noah had given me, I was able to pay for a hotel up front for the last four months so Matt and I could live there, just until recently when my name was cleared in Sean’s murder. Somehow, Matt was able to make his death look like a suicide. Every time I tried to ask him how he simply hushed my question with a swift pat on the head. 

“I’m your older brother. It’s my job to take care of you.” 

I’d also been keeping an eye on the news for Noah’s escape from prison but like he had said, everyone thought he died in the accident. The officer’s death was never brought up, people close to him thought he ran off with some hookers or something. 

With the silence surrounding our transgressions, it was safe to leave hiding and return to each other. I hadn’t spoken to Noah at all the last four months besides telling him I made it safely to my rendezvous to which he responded with two angel wings. I knew we had to keep the communication to a minimum which is why I hadn’t told him I was coming; he was the one that said to just show up. 

Suddenly, past the clearing of the large maple trees turning red and orange due to the cooler autumn weather, houses appeared along with a large group of people huddled around a large bonfire. The sun was setting, casting everything in a purple hue and when I put the car in park, I breathed a little breath of relief when I immediately recognized someone sitting in a lawn chair. 

Joakim, had the biggest smile on his face when he noticed the car with the plates reading OMIIINS

“Come on,” I motioned for Matt to follow as I jumped out of the car, smoothing out the yellow sundress. 

The air had chilled since I left North Dakota twelve hours ago, in the early morning. 

“Hi,” I waved to Joakim. 

“Well, about time you showed up,” he smacked his thighs while rising to his feet. “Let me introduce you guys to everyone.” 

For the next few minutes, while I introduced Matt and me to everyone, Joakim said everyone's names slowly enough so I could remember. 

“Since you’ll be living here, you have to remember,” he winked. 

Folio, who I remembered from that night, and his girlfriend with the short black hair Michelle.

Bryan. 

Nicholas. 

Davis and his girlfriend who had split colored hair, black and orange. Her name was Sarah. 

And lastly, Ash, who smiled at me with a toothy grin. “Noah hasn’t stopped talking about you since he got here four months ago. He’s been working nonstop on making this place home for you and your brother.” 

The fire rose and crackled with earned life when a gruff voice sounded from behind me. 

“Angel.” 

Whipping around on my heels, I came face to face with Noah and nearly stumbled back at his appearance. His muscles were more defined, indicating he had been working out. There was a faint auburn scruff covering his upper lip and chin, not a lot but just enough. He was dressed in a pair of gray sweats and nothing else, the broadness of his chest making the tattoos seem larger than before. But it was his hair that had me nearly falling over myself. 

It was long again, not nearly as long as when I met him that night. Now it stopped just above his shoulders, the familiar brown waves making me smile. 

“You grew your hair out,” I pointed to him. 

He shrugged with a lazy smile. “I got tired of seeing my neck.” 

My lips parted to speak again but his rough hands snaked behind my neck to pull me into him, crashing his mouth on mine. I moaned when the taste of something sweet yet spicy mingled with my tongue and wrapped my arms around his neck, deepening the kiss by molding into him. It was a hungry kiss, full of desire long overdue, and Noah’s teeth scraped along my bottom lip as he pulled away. 

“You came,” he breathed before placing a kiss on the tip of my nose. 

I giggled. “You offered me a place to stay, remember? Aren't you glad you didn’t kill me?” 

There was a wickedness to his smile, one that made my pussy clench. 

“I could have easily murdered you without hesitation,” he reminded me with a wink. 

I stood tall on my feet, arms still wrapped around his neck. “Why didn’t you?” 

“Those angelic eyes made me all dizzy and weak.”

I kissed him again, this time with more passion than before but it didn’t last as long, much to my dismay.

“Now that you’re here, I’m not letting you go, Y/N,” Noah’s hands tightened on my hips. 

I let out a soft moan when hearing my name on his lips. 

“Say it again,” I begged. 

And he did, over and over again as he lifted me from the ground and my legs wrapped around his waist. 

“Nicholas, show her brother to his place. Y/N stays with me,” Noah ordered while running up the stairs of our wooden home, the slamming of the door cutting off my fits of laughter. 

[satansindexfinger]

Giving the Brothers the Cold Shoulder After an Arguement

Warnings: self-deprecation and allusions to depression (Levi)

Summary: After getting into a heated arguement with your demon partner, you decide ignoring them is the best way to handle it. When do forced to interact you remain cordial but it's obvious to anyone you aren't letting up.

Lucifer; Mammon; Levi; Satan; Asmo

Lucifer

Two can play that game. If you think Lucifer, the representation of pride himself, is going to break and come crawling back to you? You've got another thing coming.

He's more than willing to reflect your withdrawn attitude, and he does it exceptionally well. If nobody knew about your relationship prior they would think you're just mere acquaintances.

Of course, he will keep up the appearance of formality by engaging in minimal conversation like, "MC, would you pass the salt?", "Diavolo mentioned he wanted you to attend today's council meeting.", "Don't you think it's too late for you to be roaming the halls?"

But nobody can miss the ruby glare, that he convinces himself is subtle, he sends your way every time.

Unfortunately it will take awhile for Lucifer to get over his ego enough to properly address the situation. The more stubborn you are at ignoring him, the more irritated he gets, and the more determined he is to keep the apathetic facade up.

It's the accumulation of small things that eventually get him to reconsider. How empty his bed feels when you're not in it. How listening to music isn't nearly as relaxing without his human leaning their head on his shoulder. How the coffee tastes bitter when not prepared by you. How your avoidant gaze makes his heart sink.

His brothers, and even Diavolo, can feel the anger seeping through his skin as they would get the brunt of it.

After a surprisingly long amount of time, Lucifer will break. He'd make up some valid excuse that involves you visiting his study, and once you go in he will make sure you are not getting out. Not until you hear him out.

"How much longer are you planning on handling this like a child?! Is this how you deal with confrontation? By avoiding it?"

The demon catches himself and his stern glare almost instantly turns into a regretful pout. He recognizes it's his pride and ego that got you both to this point with a shake of his head. He stares at the floor for a few beats before lifting his head up with furrowed brows.

"I... I'm sorry. It's not your fault. I never thought I would be affected by some human ignoring me but this only made me realize you're not just some human to me. I should've insisted we talk about this properly before resorting to this. So, would you allow me to make things right? Let's talk... I can't bare to be apart from you like this."

Mammon

He's quick to pout and exaggerate how much he's ignoring you back. Verbally.

"Pfff, as if I'd care if MC doesn't wanna talk ta me. Can someone tell them how much I'm ignoring them and how I dont wanna see their stupid face ever again? 'Cause I don't!"

It only lasts for a day. It takes Mammon going up to your door, about to break in and excitedly drag you out somewhere, as usual, until it hits him that oh shit. You're still meant to be mad at each other. His hand hovers over the door knob for a bit until he sulkingly leaves.

Getting ignored by you is honestly killing him. As much as he tries to act like he doesn't care, it's beyond obvious how much he's trying to get your attention back. The lingering looks and his overall childlike whining is more than enough to indicate he is missing you. His brothers are beyond tired of his complaning, too.

He can't restrain himself from busting your door down and demanding you stop giving him the cold shoulder. It's been three days! Surely you aren't mad at him anymore and you can go back to cuddling, right?!

"C'mooooon, MC! I'm sorry I made ya mad, I'll make up fer it! Anythin'! So just stop ignorin' me already.. I miss you."

He's aware of how desperate he's being and it makes him red from embarrassment, but he'd rather be honest than go through this torture. He'll keep one in mind to be more considerate in the future so it wouldn't resort to him being avoided by you ever again.

Leviathan

Levi's the one who would take it the hardest out of everyone. Boy's self-esteem is fragile enough as it is and getting ignored by you would just shatter whatever remainder he had of it. Don't expect to see him out of his room for awhile.

Henry's getting a front row seat to Levi's self-deprecation galore. Of course he made you so mad you don't want to talk to him! He's surprised you even spent time around him in the first place! Why did he ever think you'd stick around his gross, annoying, socially inept otaku self? He did this to himself, right, Henry?!

At this point Levi's forgotten what you two even argued about; he's too busy holing himself up in his room and trying to distract racing thoughts with games and anime. It doesn't feel the same without his player two though. He's just going through the motions without paying full attention to what he's playing/watching.

It goes on for a week or so until one of the brothers has to step in and convince you to go check up on him. As mad as you are at him still, everyone knows you're the only one Levi will answer the door to. He's been falling behind on his assignments, not even coming out for meals (thanks to his snack stash).

You're surprised to find his door unlocked. You spot him in his bed/bathtub, clutching at a pillow, looking absolutely miserable. He lifts his head up to chew you out for bargning in until he realizes it's you. He gets up so suddenly he almost falls over.

"M-MC?? What are y-you doing here?! Did my brothers send you here...? Because I know you'd rather die than see me; I screwed up so you're finally tired of me. You don't have to try to make me feel better. Just go tell them I'm fine."

Just looking at him makes you feel bad, no matter how pissed you were. It takes a lot of convincing that you do not wish he was dead and that you just want to talk. Levi will be apologizing every few words, possibly cry, but after a thorough conversation he will calm enough to reevaluate what started this.

Satan

Satan will be furious enough during your heated exchange as it is; so much so he would force you out of whichever room you're in so you don't have to witness him tearing it to shreds. He's already feeling guilty for losing his composure around you but after you start ignoring him completely??

Man's going to need a two hour session of letting out pent up rage in his room every day this goes on for. Of course, he will not let any of it show in public. Especially around you.

Much like the eldest, he will remain cordial with you. Not so much to save face as to prove that he is a-okay without you, and that this doesn't bother him at all. Even though he is absolutely not okay and it bothers him to an absurd degree.

Unlike Lucifer, however, it takes him much less time to swallow his pride and talk to you. He recognizes you're both dealing with a silly arguement in your own childish way and have to deal with it by having a civilized conversation.

Definitely not because he looked up heaps of books and resources on couple disagreements and how to fix them.

"Listen. This has gone on for far too long, so don't you think it's about time we settle this? I'm sorry I lost my temper. It wasn't right of me. I don't like this distance we have right now.. let's fix it. I will hear you out properly this time. As long as you can do the same for me."

Surpsingly very mature and understanding about not just the cause of the arguement, but why you chose to avoid him. He promises to do better and give you both time to cool down if you were to ever have an arguement again so it doesn't end in you taking these drastic measures.

Asmodeous

This is just a phase, right? You were just being overdramatic in the moment and you'll be back to showering him with attention soon! Right? How could you stay mad at his beautiful face for long?

Asmo will delude himself into believing the above so strongly. He will continue to act as he normally does around you, all cuddly and affectionate, thinking your attitude is you just playing hard-to-get.

"Awwww, cmon, MC! You can stop acting upset now! Although your pouty attitude is really cute~"

When you keep making it clear you want nothing to do with him for the time being, the avatar of lust is internally shattering. He thrives off of your attention. Having it taken away is worse than withdrawal. Not that he will make it obvious the first few days.

Seeing that clinginess isn't helping him, he will attempt to make you jealous by alluding to his fanbase and how lucky any one of them would be to have him. Ironically this backfires as it turns you even colder to him. He is at a loss and at his breaking point. What else can he possibly do?!

It all boils down to Asmo getting tipsy at a party one night and seeking you out. Crying, clinging to your clothes, blubbering about how lonely he is without you, and what he would do to get your grace back.

"Darling, please!! I miss you so much, I don't think I can take it! I love you so so much, just please look at me in the eyes again! You still love me more than anything, right? Whatever I did to make you mad I'll show you I didn't mean it! Just let me. I want to feel your love again... can't be myself without it."

It's a shame he has to be under the influence to spill what he's really thinking, but it manages to soften your resolve enough. Expect to get pampered and spoiled to hell for weeks as that's his way of making things right.

[ghcstao3]

more mi6 ghost and sas soap i beg!!! it itches something in my brain so hard!!!! i love ur writing sm ur sosososo talented <333

(original post since it’s been so long i am so so sorry. also apologies if it's paced weirdly i never had much of an idea where to take the original prompt. thank you though, for supporting my writing :) <3)

-

Soap would never be so naive as to expect a warm welcome from a team of elite agents, but the cold shoulder he's thus far received from one of said agents hardly seems necessary in its place.

He's barely even said a word.

The haughty bastard keeps staring at Soap, too, like Soap can't tell there are eyes on him behind sunglasses, and a frown behind a medical mask. He refused to shake Soap's hand, hadn't even been introduced by name like the others—Ghost, is all that was offered—and now he was scrutinizing Soap in some indecipherable way that Soap would put up to a cause of him being military, if it weren't for the fact that no one else of similar status was getting the same treatment.

It's bizarre. It couldn't even be the mohawk, for once, because he'd actually grown that out in anticipation of this high-honour, high-stakes mission.

Of course, the treatment doesn't ebb as days, weeks stretch on. But Soap learns to live with it, throws himself into the mission like he has something to prove, acquaints himself with everyone else.

Ghost becomes a background nuisance. He and his perfectly tailored suits hardly hold any weight to Soap by the time they're forced together and everything becomes a whole lot clearer.

Two months into the operation is when the team finally encounters the kind of action Soap is used to; bouts of gunfire, ducking for cover, barking out commands, incapacitating enemies with force before stealth. Begrudgingly, Soap and Ghost are left to cover one another's sixes.

Admittedly, Ghost is a damn good shot and has a rather keen eye for enemies. Soap would never utter this statement aloud, but they work terribly well as a team.

When everything goes silent for several minutes and they've received confirmation that the area's been cleared, that they're free to proceed with the mission, Ghost and Soap cautiously move from where they'd been taking cover.

Then Ghost is shot in the chest.

Another few gunshots ring out following, as Soap drags the agent back into their hiding place. Thankfully his bulletproof vest had taken the brunt of the blow, but it's obvious the wind had been knocked out of Ghost, evidenced by the sharp, wheezing gasps that try to pull air into his lungs.

Soap offers nothing more than a clipped sorry before ripping off the mask that's clearly hindering Ghost's ability to draw a proper breath.

His heart drops. Soap knows that face.

For good measure, he removes Ghost's sunglasses as well, and—fuck. Yes, Soap knows that face. Intimately.

"Simon? You bastard, what the hell?"

Simon winces. He's still breathless when he replies, "Johnny, don't—later. Fuck."

Later. Soap huffs. He only agrees because there are more pressing things, of course, but also because he's not happy to imagine the nasty bruise that was surely going to blossom across his partner's chest in the coming days.

They're not as useful the second time around, but they get what they need done. Soap operates purely on confusion and a mild frustration until later finally arrives, because he'd just like to know... anything, really.

Unfortunately, later doesn't even come when the mission is completed. Later doesn't even come until about a month following Soap's discovery. Suspense nearly kills him.

They're both home again. The operation had been of enough importance that it had, thankfully, warranted everyone at least a short break. Simon is only home because of the bruise that has yet to fade.

Things are tense, initially. Words are terse yet not unkind; they give each other space yet they go to sleep in the same bed each night. Their mutual stubbornness keeps them both from acknowledging the elephant in the room.

Until Soap grows too impatient, nearing the end of his own leave.

Over an otherwise silent dinner, Soap finally asks, "Will I ever get to know what was going on during that mission, then? Why you were being such a prick?"

Simon pauses, setting his fork down with a sigh. His shoulders slump as he sits back in his chair and drags a tired hand over his face, and Soap almost scoffs. Like the issue hasn't been bothering Soap as well.

"I didn't want you to worry about me over the course of everything. In case something happened," Simon confesses.

Soap snorts. "What, like you wouldn't be worried about me? Like you aren't worried about me, already knowing what I do for work?"

"No, Johnny, that's not what—" Simon sighs again. Soap catches the way he almost moves his hand to rub his chest in habit, before rethinking the choice in remembering the bruise. "Of course I worry about you. I just... didn't want to create any unnecessary risks. I trust you, more than anyone, but I've also been in this line of work for a while. I know my own limits."

Soap hangs his head. He... understands. He does. His own career requires the same kinds of limitations, but he's still upset that Simon felt he couldn't manage.

"I'm sorry," Simon eventually murmurs. He reaches a hand across the table and covers Soap's balled fist with a warm, callused hand. "I was wrong. You're a good soldier. Should've known that seein' you were chosen for the task force."

A blush burns at the tips of Soap's ears, and gradually he unclenches his hand. "I forgive you," he says. Soap doesn't think he could fault Simon forever, anyway. "But you'd better make it up to me."

"Of course." A smile tugs at Simon's lips, something almost mischievous. "Anything you like."

(This, of course, meant that Soap would be taking great pleasure in beating Simon's records at the gun range. And perhaps a few other things as well.)

[sinsandsweetness]

Rickyl fucking reader in a car while a herd passes, but she has to stay absolutely quiet so no walkers hear them. But they sit there and mock her the whole time cus she can’t stay quiet:( I’m thinking maybe some subby Daryl too!

Bby anon

(couldn't make subby daryl fit here but I hope you enjoy nonetheless <3 )

“Mphmm,” you moan, the sound coming from your throat more than anything. Thankfully, the majority of your moaning and groaning has been muffled into Rick’s hand. Covering your mouth and forcing you to shut the hell up. Not that it was incredibly efficient.

“Baby, you're gonna get us fuckin’ killed if you can't shut it.” Daryl whispers, the tip of his cock hitting your sweet spot at nearly the exact same moment. Rick’s other hand reaches around your waist to rub lazy circles onto your clit. 

You can't speak, not with the hand forcing your mouth shut. So you only nod in return. Trying your hardest to contain the high pitched squeak that desperately yearns to crawl up your throat. 

You feel Rick's lips brush against your ear, ready to mock you for how damn needy you are, squirming around in his lap. How you were the one who begged them to fuck you, and how you promised you’d be good. That you’d be quiet.

 And now that they’re both inside of you, fucking you to a rhythm that has you seeing stars, you really wish you hadn’t made such a promise.

“Cant even help it can you, sweetheart? So fuckin’ needy.” Rick’s voice is low and quiet, and just as you think about coming back with some smartass remark about him being the one who’s making all the noise, you feel him release his hand from your mouth and grab underneath your knee, opening you up even further for the man in front of you. 

“Oh god,” you whine, immediately regretting the words leaving your mouth. But you can't help it. The knot in your core is so damn close to unraveling. And the men inside of you are holding each end of the rope. One good pull and you'll be a freakin' puddle, seeping onto the leather bench seat beneath you.

“Always so damn noisy. Shoulda known you’d misbehave.” Daryl leans in to catch your lips. Taking your bottom lip between his teeth and dragging it out as you do everything in your power not to groan. Not to make a fucking sound.

Apparently, you passed their test because you hear the two men let out a synchronized huff of approval. Speeding up their pace and rewarding you for your efforts.

“Such an obedient little slut aren't you? You’d do anything to get filled right up, ain’t that right?”

And though you don't respond, the way you sigh as your head lulls back on Rick's shoulder, gives them all the confirmation they need. 

[lilypadeater]

YOUR WRITING IS SO MUAH 💋

request :3

could you do a smut where Rick is kinda mean towards the reader but that’s only because he’s into her! And he’s kinda a perv 🎀

Try It On

Rick Grimes x Fem!Reader

Summary-(Request)

Content Warnings: +18, MDNI, age gap (20s and 40s) smut, p in v, unprotected, fingering, degrading, perverted and jealous rick I suppose, kissing, flirting, cussing, UNEDITED

The Georgia heat forced you to wear shorts and a tank top, which Rick definitely didn't mind seeing you in. Water sloshed around in the bucket with each step you took, and some even spilled onto you. You poured it into the cow troughs and made your way towards Maggie and Beth.

The girls were standing by the tents of the survivors living on your farm. You nearly rolled your eyes when you saw Maggie flip her hair in efforts of flirting with Glenn, one of the survivors. Beth awkwardly third wheeled them, so you decided you rescue her. "Beth, Daddy needs you," You called out.

She seemed to have caught the hint and scurried away from Glenn and Maggie's flirtatious interaction. You turned to the house but Glenns voice stopped you, "Hey wait! We need your help."

Slightly surprised, you turned back around and asked, "For what?" Maggie sauntered over to you with Glenn following closely behind her.

"We need you to come on a run with us," Maggie demanded.

The idea of going outside the farm was exciting and terrifying at the same time. There was 'infected' everywhere, you assumed. But that was simply an assumption, and you were sick of being cooped up in the farm. It couldn't be that bad, plus, you had Maggie and Glenn to watch out for you.

You paused for a moment before replying, "Well, I'm not opposed to the idea, but why?"

"We need to cover a lot of ground in a short amount of time. Glenn and I are gonna check pharmacies for medicine, you and whoever else are gonna check the stores for ammo."

Now, you were completely against the idea. Maggie and Glenn wouldn't even be around to look out for you. Your safety relied on whoever else agreed to go. "Why the hell would you even want me to go? I can barely shoot a gun."

She rolled her eyes, as if it were the most obvious answer, "You're the only other person here, besides Daddy and Beth, who knows the town as well as me. Don't worry, we'll find someone experienced to protect you." Her snarky tone ticked you off, but you decided to ignore it.

Glenn could see your unconvinced face, and decided to chime in, "Actually, I'll see if Rick could come. If he's able to protect a 12 year old boy, he'll be able to protect you."

It was embarrassing to be seen as s damsel in distress, but you really wouldn't be able to survive out there on your own. The two were eager to have you to come on this run, so you really couldn't say no. You sighed, "Fine, I'll go, but I don't think Rick would agree to it." Rick was the leader of the group on the farm, and he showed his disliked towards you the moment he laid eyes on you. It was clear he'd avoid you at every chance.

Rick couldn't deny the attraction he had towards you. The short dresses and tight tops you wore had his gaze lingering on you for far too long. Your lips looked so kissable every time you spoke to him. It was wrong for him to be attracted to you, Hershel would probably kill him for it. That's why he kept his distance from you and often gave you the cold shoulder.

When Glenn approached him and asked, "Would you mind coming with us on a run and partnering up with Y/N? She's kind of defenseless out there and we'd figure you'd be the best at making sure she stays alive." Rick didn't know what to do.

Being alone with you was something he'd never agree to, for his own well-being. It would be tantalizing to see what he couldn't have right in front of him. But knowing someone else would protect you, filled his veins with jealousy. He wanted to be your protecter, savior, and anything that meant keeping you safe. In his eyes, you were his, you just didn't know it yet.

"Yeah sure, I'll keep an eye on 'er," He nonchalantly answered.

You saddled up two horses, one for Maggie and Glenn, and another for you and Rick. Maggie rushed into the stables while holding onto Glenn's hand and giggling. Before you could say anything, Maggie announced, "Rick's just getting his gun ready, you'll catch up to us," and got onto the horse with Glenn sitting behind her. It was evident that they were going to be doing more than just searching for medicine as they galloped away.

Rick's footsteps snapped you out of your thoughts. You turned towards him with a hand on the horse's course fur. "Ready to go?" You asked softly, trying to seem polite. He just nodded in response and got onto the horse in a swift motion. "You know how to ride a horse?" You inquired, slightly confused at how well he did it.

"Yeah. Get on," He dryly answered. You were disappointed at his response and got onto the the back of the horse. Your body was pressed up against his back, making your stomach flutter and his heart race.

"This one's jumpy, so I'd be careful," You informed as you snaked your arms around his waist to hold yourself securely. The horse jolted forward and trotted out of the stables.

You directed Rick toward the town, but it was hard to focus on the dangers around you when you were so close to him. He smelled of a campfire and the forest, intoxicating you.

After about half an hour, you finally reached the town. The horse's loud footsteps attracted a walker, but Rick effortlessly stabbed it in the head. He began to tie the horse to a fence, but you quickly stood in front of him, stopping him. "What if she gets eaten?" You whispered, your voice laced with concern.

"Then so be it. There ain't nothing we can do, but this area seems fairly clear anyway," He replied with some edge and gently moved you to the side.

"Are you sure? Please can we look around to make sure?" You pleaded, feeling distressed from the situation.

He could see the worry in your innocent eyes and felt guilt creep up on him. "Fine," He grumbled and pulled his gun out of its holster.

You smiled in appreciation and watched as he tied the horse to the fence. Rick turned to you and asked, "Where's your gun?"

Completely clueless, you looked up at him and replied, "What gun?" Your father had forbidden the use of guns for you and your sisters, so the only weapon you had was a hunting knife. It was small, and you had to sneak it out of your father's shed, but it got the job done. Well, at least you'd hope it would.

He rubbed his forehead with his hand in frustration, "Jesus Christ, jus' stay close." You took this as a sign to grab his hand, lightly pulling him in the area you wanted to check. Rick was taken aback, but holding your hand was thrilling. He loved how soft and gentle your hand was, compared to his rough and calloused one.

After inspecting the area and finding no walkers, you deemed it safe enough to leave the horse. You guided Rick through the abandoned town, occasionally stopping at some stores to loot. Being in his presence made you feel safe, despite his attitude.

"This used to be my favorite place to shop," You explained and pointed to a boutique. It had broken windows and weathering, but there was still some clothing inside. "Now everything in it is free." Your comment formed a slight smile on Rick's face.

"We can check it out, but it's gettin' late, we need to head back soon," He plainly stated. You released Rick's hand and pranced towards the store eagerly. Rick followed you closely, slightly disappointed from the loss of physical contact. He did a quick sweep through the store to ensure no unwanted visitors would interfere with your looting spree.

"Look at this!" You exclaimed and excitedly picked up a short red dress with lace detailing. There were a couple tops and skirts you decided to take as well, stuffing everything into your backpack. It was dusty, but nonetheless beautiful.

Your smile and joy brought a sense of warmth around him, but the sunset outside made him anxious. "Are y'done yet? Walkers gonna be crawlin' everywhere soon," He hissed impatiently with his arms folded.

"Yeah, could you just help me try on this dress? I don't wanna take it all the way back if it doesn't fit," You replied and held up the wine red dress with elegant lace designs adorning it. He simply grumbled and followed you into the dressing rooms, hiding his anticipation.

You stepped into a dressing room and closed the curtain almost fully. The temptation to glance at you through the sliver filled Rick's mind, but he chose to turn away and ignore the growing bulge in his pants.

After undressing, you needed help zipping up the back of the dress. It barely covered your ass, so bringing it with you wasn't practical. Yet the urge to show Rick encouraged you to call out for him. He strode towards the dressing room as you slid the curtain open, revealing the beautiful dress. His eyes devoured the sight in front of him and roamed your body. Your legs and cleavage were on perfect display and the color complimented you beautifully.

"Zip me up?" You asked and turned around, pretending his gaze was unnoticed. The enclosed space required your bodies to push together. His warms hands reach your back and held you in place while her zipped it up. You could feel your cheeks heating up when his hand made contact with your bare skin and his erection pressed against you.

"Y'like it?" You whispered and tilted your head back, peering up at him through your lashes. Rick's eyes hungrily stared down at you as his hands traveled to your waist.

"Mhm" he muttered, tracing your body with his hands.

“Show me how much you like it,” you muttered, leaning into his touch and turning to face him. His lips grazed over your forehead before you felt his rough hand slip under your dress.

A smirk formed on your face when you met his hungry face. You guided his hand to you inner thigh, letting out a breathy gasp when his fingers reached your heat.

His fingers brushed over your soaking clothed pussy, "Fuckin' minx, already so wet." The feeing of his fingers rubbing your clit and hearing his words sent chills down your spine.

Rick's movements brought you close to the edge, just for him to slow down and deny your release. "Please," You whined, only receiving a sadistic smile from him. His hand left your clit and slipped out from under the dress, leaving you frustrated for more. "Just fuck me already," you panted, desperate to alleviate the growing desire between your legs.

He said nothing, simply cupping your face with the same hand and shoving the damp fingers into your mouth. You were surprised, but still felt yourself sucking on them eagerly, slightly tasting yourself.

"Only if you ask nicely," He smugly whispered into your ear before pulling them out.

"Please fuck me," You pleaded. In one swift motion, he spun you around and pressed you into the wall. Your hands supported you against the wall, as the sound of his belt unbuckling ignited a fire in your stomach. He pushed your dress up, just enough to slide your underwear to the side and coat his rock-hard cock with the arousal on your folds. The sensation earned a whimper from you as you struggled to stay quiet.

Rick eased into your drenched cunt slowly, giving you some time to adjust to the stretch. Your tight cunt squeezed around him, almost too tight. He was pressed deep inside of you, practically pushing against your cervix. He began to slowly thrust in and out of you, filling the small room with your whimpers and his groans. “You’re a fucking slut,” he rasped, causing your face to heat up in embarrassment. A loud and desperate moan left your lips as he sped up, grabbing your hips to push himself even deeper.

His hips rutted into yours roughly. “Fuck, I’m almost there,” you panted as the tingling sensation in your stomach increased.

A sinful smirk played onto his lips and he muttered “Good girl.” His praise sent you into your orgasm as he could pounding into you. Your walls clenched around him, finally slowing him down as he approached his own climax. You Rick grabbed a fistful of your hair and brought you closer to his face, shoving his tongue into your mouth. He stuffed your cunt with his cock completely before coming inside you, painting your walls white. You moaned into his kiss, satisfied at the feeling of being so full.

He slowly pulled out of you, causing some of the white liquid to dribble out. Your lips disconnected, gasping for air. Rick stared into your eyes with a sense of astonishment as you both caught your breath.

You met his eyes and smirked, “I guess you really liked the dress?”

🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓

Lmao this took me so long to finish cause I was like “wtf am I doing” the whole time, sorry if it’s a little all over the place

Make more requests guys 😜