#wee update x

[newdawnfarcry]

Sorry for no activity, I’m on tumblr all the time I just have no creativity and don’t want to annoy people with incessant reblogging 🙂

[itsokbbygrl]

Proper Education Masterlist A Dark!Joel x reader/OC Saltburn Inspired AU

Prologue:

Our tale begins in a far off land, under the burning heat of a Texan sun. Two lives irrevocably changed—one by love, the other, obsession.  The dangerous naivete of youth combusting when exposed to the fire of envy,  A flame fueled by privilege, ineffable wealth, beauty, and lust so consumes  Our star-crossed pair, until all that remains is this— Is there such a thing as fate? Or merely the calculated hunt of a greater predator?

Inspired by this song and written to this soundtrack.

Chapter 1: Fair is Foul, and Foul is Fair Chapter 2: coming 3/22 at 7pm CT Chapter 3: Chapter 4: Chapter 5: EPILOGUE:

follow and click "get notifications" at @itsokbbygrl-notifs for updates sent via push notification. new chapters to be published every other friday around 7pm CT as real life allows. this story will be 18+ and consist of mature content and dark themes. reader beware. additional warnings will be added as published.

tagging some mutuals who may be interested in reading: @swiftispunk @5oh5 @merci-killing @javierpena-inatacvest @mermaidgirl30 @sawymredfox @joelsgreenflannel @tightjeansjavi @netherfeildren @survivingandenduring

[missmungoe]

I hope you write Shanks' pov more! It's really interesting and great and not just because of the explicit delicious chef's kiss smut. His thoughts and love for Makino is so lovely.

Oh then I have just the thing for you! A peek from the previously mentioned follow-up to Verses Not Fit For Singing in Public (aka the shibari fic), to be posted sometime this weekend once I've polished the edit. Timeskip setting this time, with plenty of (Sh)angst, smut, and Makino<3

He’d been working aloft all afternoon, refitting one of the sails, work that had been easier back when he’d had two hands, but he’d never been discouraged by a challenge, and had re-taught himself the things he’d once known, climbing the shrouds, and the sailor’s knots he’d once been able to do in his sleep, each one painstakingly re-learned with his remaining and non-dominant hand.

The lines flowed between his fingers now, the coarse texture of the ropes scraping his palms, calloused from years of similar work, his voice pitched low, singing under his breath to the rhythm of the motions as he slipped it through and under, looped and noosed and tightened with a decisive tug.

Smiling, his fingers traced the ropes, knotted tightly where he'd rolled up the mended sail, imagining the softer canvas of her skin, and closing his eyes, he sought the well-thumbed memory, recalling her under his hands, her delicate limbs pulled taut by the ropes, straining against the arch of her body where he'd bound her.

A breeze stirred him from the fantasy, the sudden gust carding through his hair and sending the shrouds creaking, and frowning, Shanks turned his eyes towards the horizon. A life on the water had attuned him to even the smallest changes in the weather, and he felt the tell-tale stirring in his gut now, but scanning the horizon found no sign that anything was amiss, only gentle East Blue with her demure sunset blush, as guileless as she’d ever been, but a gentle sea was only reassuring to a captain who didn’t know how quickly that could change.

The grip of unease didn't let go, but finished with the sail, he climbed down from the mast. He’d left his sandals somewhere, and the planks were warm under his bare feet, the deck newly scrubbed and oiled, but then even anchored for weeks, his ship was well-maintained. Pampered, even, the spoiled thing, hearing the pleased purring of her timbers, but then Makino had done more than just mend her sails, noting the fresh coating of oil gleaming along her banisters.

His shirt was soaked through with sweat, clinging to his back. He should probably wash up before heading to the bar, and turning towards his cabin, he spared one last look at the sea, and the water where it sighed over the shore, no more threat in the teasing push than in the breeze, even as he couldn't shake the sense that something was off, as though any second, the gentle tide might pull back to reveal its teeth.

His mind was elsewhere as he walked to his cabin, wondering if he should make a call to his scouts just in case something had slipped under their radar. And he must have been properly lost in thought, because he hadn’t noticed anyone coming aboard, and it wasn’t until he reached the door to his stateroom that he paused.

He didn't know how he'd missed her, but pushing the handle down to let himself inside found Makino seated in the armchair by his desk, the windows of his cabin behind her, and the naked horizon.

Shutting the door behind him, “Hey,” Shanks said, his smile warming at the sight of her. It wasn’t often she played hooky, least of all during her busiest time of day, and with his whole crew in her bar. “I was just going to wash up before coming to join you. Did you finally run out of patience with their baby name suggestions?”

He saw then that she had something in her lap, and recognised one of his logbooks, open and balanced atop her belly.

And he knew which one it was, the page open on his most recent entry, dated right before they’d returned from the New World. And Shanks knew even without reading it what it said, his own hand outlining his concerns regarding the expansion of Blackbeard’s territories, and the World Government’s inaction. The ripples from the war, and the approaching Reverie; all the things that kept him up at night, wondering if he was making the right choices.

“You’re not sleeping,” Makino said, lifting her eyes from the page to his. “I wanted to know why.”

Shanks considered the careful arrangement of her features, the steady weight of her gaze, and the cupid’s bow of her soft mouth, drawn with gentle purpose.

And he wondered why he was surprised that she’d noticed, when few things escaped her observation, or her haki.

The sigh that left him wasn’t quite surrender, but, “I wasn’t trying to hide it from you,” Shanks said, as he moved to stand before the armchair. “I just didn’t want to burden you with it when you’ve already got enough on your plate.”

His gaze lowered to her belly, hidden beneath the logbook; the other thing that occupied his waking hours, thinking of the life that hadn’t even begun yet, and wondering if his choices had already doomed it. That things beyond his control had already decided its fate; the baby who’d have his blood, and all that came with it.

Makino’s eyes were soft; in the warm sunset light of his cabin, they were a rich brandy. He hoped their child's would be the same; that they would be like her, dark-haired with those fine elfin features, and not immediately recogniseable as his, knowing already what that would mean.

“It’s not a burden to know what’s on your mind, Shanks,” Makino said. Then, her chin lifting ever so slightly, “And even if it was, I’d still want it.”

The words settled between them, folding like wings between the salt and the still air. And it wasn’t a demand, even if she could have phrased it that way, when she of all people had the right. It wasn’t even a question, asking him to give what he had vowed to give her, the day they’d bound their lives before a different sunset. In sickness and in health; the good with the bad. No, if it was anything, it was an offer, but then of course it was, because it was her, who had seen him long before she'd known him.

He wasn’t sure what to do with this feeling, the pressure around his chest that made it suddenly hard to breathe, and that he couldn’t tell if was gratitude or guilt, or both.

He felt suddenly out of his depth. And he was usually quick on his feet, situations and opponents analysed in seconds, rarely if ever hesitating when faced with a difficult choice, but then he’d once jokingly claimed that if faced with Scylla and Charybdis, the hardest choice would be which one would make for the better story (Buggy had called him a self-aggrandizing dick; Shanks had just laughed, but hadn’t disagreed).

Makino watched him calmly, waiting for him to speak. And there was no blame for withholding things from her, or even an expectation for him to share it now.

And this wasn’t an opponent facing him in battle, or a challenger come to unseat him, and yet observing her where she sat, he couldn't help the feeling that a challenge had been made all the same.

He looked at the logbook in her lap, and wondered how much she’d read, and what she’d found between the lines. Things he hadn’t told his crew, even his closest circle.

Then, “I dream about it,” Shanks said, meeting her eyes. “The funeral.”

The graves changed. Sometimes it was his old captain, sometimes Buggy, or Rayleigh. Ben and Yasopp and Lucky. Sometimes they weren't graves but his ship, broken on the rocks of that little islet; a monument to his failures. Any captain worth the title went down with his ship, wouldn’t leave as long as there was another soul aboard, but in his dreams, Shanks was always the only one left.

But the worst nightmares were about her. And lately, the one beneath her hands, who hadn’t even drawn breath yet; who didn’t even have a name to etch into a gravestone.

The hurt in her eyes was hard to look at, but he didn't try to hide from it now, only said, “I hope I haven’t been keeping you awake.”

He wasn't sure if he'd meant it as a question, when the fact that she'd noticed said its part, but, “You’re careful,” Makino said. “But I can tell.”

His mouth crooked. “So much for subterfuge. And here I fancied myself a master of stealth.”

Makino didn't smile. And someone else might have accused him of hiding behind his humour, but it wasn’t that simple. If it had been, he’d be better at hiding, but his humour was so tightly entwined with who he was, his grief included, there was no untangling it. It wasn't a mask; was just him, optimistic and cynical, ruthless and tender-hearted, pragmatic to a fault and yet still utterly, inexorably full of hope. A barmaid's husband, and an Emperor of the Sea; Shanks didn't know where the dividing line went, knew only that he was both, and that like the other parts of him, they were so tightly bound that there was no removing one and not the other.

Her eyes swept across him then, taking him in, barefoot with his shirt open, his cloak discarded, but unlike his clothes, there were things he couldn’t take off and leave in his cabin, like the mantle of responsibility, and the still heavier burden of his lineage, which grew heavier every week, as her belly did. And he wondered what she'd found between the lines now, when Makino asked him, “When was the last time you let yourself relax?”

His knee-jerk reaction was instinctive, to tell her he was a certified expert in leisure and relaxation, but what came out instead was the truth.

“I can’t remember,” Shanks said.

Her brows knitted, not in surprise, but as though he’d just confirmed her suspicions. And he was about to tell her she didn’t need to worry, that it was just a bout of insomnia and it would sort itself out, when Makino closed the logbook to put it away, drawing his gaze to her lap.

He stared at the spools of hempen rope; with the logbook open, he hadn't noticed them before, although the reason for their presence didn’t register immediately.

“If you came to help me with the sail, I already fixed it,” Shanks said.

Her eyes hooded a bit, a fey smile lifting her soft mouth, and the beginnings of realisation began to dawn on him, as Makino told him, “I didn’t come for the sail.”

[ifweburnweburntogether]

I’ve trapped you here. No, don’t worry about me.

DOCTOR WHO ★ The impossible planet.

[starry-knight-coffins]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Twisted-Wonderland (Video Game) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Fellow Honest (Twisted-Wonderland)/Original Male Character(s), Fellow Honest (Twisted-Wonderland)/Linh Tuantrove Characters: Fellow Honest (Twisted-Wonderland), Original Characters, Linh Tuantrove (oc), Gidel (Twisted-Wonderland) Additional Tags: Love Confessions, Confessions, Minor Violence, just some casual curb stomping u know? happens sometimes, First Dates, Dinner, Internal Conflict, Conflict Resolution, Miscommunication, Awkward Conversations, Gay Panic, Trans Fellow Honest (Twisted-Wonderland), HE'S SO TRANSMASC TRUST ME, Trans Male Character, he's trans and my oc is trans they're t4t good for them, Misunderstandings, Embarrassment, no beta I was too busy chewing pictures of Fellow Honest sorry Summary:

Gidel looked off thoughtfully before making a heart with his hands.

“Really?” Fellow scoffed, “Love? That's ridiculous. I don't love him, much less like him.”

Gidel crossed his arms, as if doubling down on his stance. Maybe Fellow has been telling him way too many romantic stories before bed. He should go back to telling him fairy tales.

“It isn't love.” He waved Gidel's option away with one hand, “It just can't be. It's too dreadful of a feeling to be something as light as love.”

… Or so he says. --- Fellow somehow falls in love with a particular wolfy pirate, and he's unsure on whenever or not it'd be wise to love him further or cut his losses. Why should he love another when he only cares about his brother, Gidel? Maybe it's because he has somehow, unexpectedly, fallen in love. Now is the perfect time to cut ties before his love grows any further... or let it bloom to see what awaits them.

[maraschinotopped]

actually im doing the cringetober prompt list i reblogged yesterday. fuck it we ball.

this is day 2 (self insert). i uh dont actually have any self inserts.... so i decided to draw some characters that used to be sonas but turned into ocs. thats close enough right? still got a bit of the self in there. its old self but whatevahhh

[tough-n-dumb]

cuddling over colorado

Epilogue—love surprises us. it ends.

Cornelia’s tone is light and it sounds as though she is stifling a yawn, so when Eli meets her eyes he doesn’t expect to see the way they glint like steel, her gaze bold and unflinching. Without fear, she had said as they rode through the last miles of Kansas, and he is able to see the sincerity of the words painted across her face. 

Eli and Cornelia’s time together riding through Colorado, with Wyoming ahead and Kansas behind. Set between Eli’s rescue and their kiss.

[altruisticenigma]

Me: I’m fine and totally normal about this very saddening, tragic and lowkey traumatizing thing

~24 hours later~

Me, one breakdown later: Nvm the CPTSD finally got to me; reality is now aligned🫡

[anaquariusfox]

I spent the evening looking into this AI shit and made a wee informative post of the information I found and thought all artists would be interested and maybe help yall?

edit: forgot to mention Glaze and Nightshade to alter/disrupt AI from taking your work into their machines. You can use these and post and it will apparently mess up the AI and it wont take your content into it's machine!

edit: ArtStation is not AI free! So make sure to read that when signing up if you do! (this post is also on twt)

[Image descriptions: A series of infographics titled: “Opt Out AI: [Social Media] and what I found.” The title image shows a drawing of a person holding up a stack of papers where the first says, ‘Terms of Service’ and the rest have logos for various social media sites and are falling onto the floor. Long transcriptions follow.

Instagram/Meta (I have to assume Facebook).

Hard for all users to locate the “opt out” options. The option has been known to move locations.

You have to click the opt out link to submit a request to opt out of the AI scraping. *You have to submit screenshots of your work/face/content you posted to the app, is curretnly being used in AI. If you do not have this, they will deny you.

Users are saying after being rejected, are being “meta blocked”

People’s requests are being accepted but they still have doubts that their content won’t be taken anyways.

Twitter/X

As of August 2023, Twitter’s ToS update:

“Twitter has the right to use any content that users post on its platform to train its AI models, and that users grant Twitter a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to do so.”

There isn’t much to say. They’re doing the same thing Instagram is doing (to my understanding) and we can’t even opt out.

Tumblr

They also take your data and content and sell it to AI models.

But you’re in luck!

It is very simply to opt out (Wow. Thank Gods)

Opt out on Desktop: click on your blog > blog settings > scroll til you see visibility options and it’ll be the last option to toggle

Out out of Mobile: click your blog > scroll then click visibility > toggle opt out option

TikTok

I took time skim their ToS and under “How We Use Your Information” and towards the end of the long list: “To train and improve our technology, such as our machine learning models and algorithms.”

Regarding data collected; they will only not sell your data when “where restricted by applicable law”. That is not many countries. You can refuse/disable some cookies by going into settings > ads > turn off targeted ads.

I couldn’t find much in AI besides “our machine learning models” which I think is the same thing.

What to do?

In this age of the internet, it’s scary! But you have options and can pick which are best for you!

Accepting these platforms collection of not only your artwork, but your face! And not only your faces but the faces of those in your photos. Your friends and family. Some of those family members are children! Some of those faces are minors! I shudder to think what darker purposes those faces could be used for.

Opt out where you can! Be mindful and know the content you are posting is at risk of being loaded to AI if unable to opt out.

Fully delete (not archive) your content/accounts with these platforms. I know it takes up to 90 days for instagram to “delete” your information. And even keep it for “legal” purposes like legal prevention.

Use lesser known social media platforms! Some examples are; Signal, Mastodon, Diaspora, et. As well as art platforms: Artfol, Cara, ArtStation, etc.

The last drawing shows the same person as the title saying, ‘I am, by no means, a ToS autistic! So feel free to share any relatable information to these topics via reply or qrt!

I just wanted to share the information I found while searching for my own answers cause I’m sure people have the same questions as me.’ \End description] (thank you @a-captions-blog!)

[generalsmemories]

To raise a child

✧ jing yuan x gn!reader ft. yanqing (platonic)

✧ based on the asks: 3 requests asking for a family fic with jing yuan and yanqing

✧ synopsis: raising a child is always hard, even when you're a long life species with a lot of experiences.

✧ contents: established relationship, fluff, found family trope (a.k.a my one weakness with every media), yanqing & reader have a slight rocky start, mentions of other characters, sentences in italics are readers thoughts.

✧ a/n: i'm not gonna chuck angst into a found family trope unless i feel particulary miserable, they just gonna have a good ole time being parents to a yanqing from when he was a wee babie to the lieutenant he is today - also a lot of this is my own interpretation SINCE I DON'T GET A CRUMB ON HOW THE HELL THIS MAN FOUND MY BABY. not beta-ed like usual i'm sorry.

The first time you were told about Yanqing's existence was when you were not onboard Luofu, which honestly made the first meeting between the two of you a lot worse.

"... Pardon, he found what now while I'm away?" you stare bewildreded at the messenger before you while clutching the letter Jing Yuan had written to you - you can practically hear his easy-going voice resound in your head through the words before you.

"What do you mean he suddenly picked up a whole child?!"

Safe to say that the Luofu were turned upside down by the time you came back to the ship. Rumours spread amongst the citizens, gossip between the storytellers and the newsboard retelling the latest news and constantly updating on any new "information" they had gotten.

To say you got stopped at every corner before you even stepped foot back in land was an understatement. You practically had a crowd waiting for you - it was only by the assistance of Yukong that you had managed to worm yourself out of the crowd and hightail home.

Maybe it's because Jing Yuan knew you would come home first, or maybe it's because he was aware that you had a lot of questions for him. Which was why you had gotten a text prior to landing with the single message of:

"Decided to take the day off today <3"

Safe to say he was left on read.

"Jing Yuan, what has gotten into you-" are the first words that leaves your mouth when you slam your entrance doors open, only for your eyes to widen when Jing Yuan is already waiting for you at the foyer. Hands behind his back and sporting his signature smile, but your gaze isn't at your lover before you.

Rather it was on the smaller child that was hiding behind his legs, he was by no means scared of your sudden appearance you noticed. Rather, he was sizing you up and down with a fierce gaze, almost like a lion cub who had just found its first prey.

The glare made your previous anger and confusion fade into a more surprised shock, rendering you speechless on how to proceed further. Jing Yuan steps in after seeing your anger dissipate upon seeing the fierce boy, raising a hand to ruffle Yanqing's hair before he directs his gaze back to you who is still staring at Yanqing in mild surprise.

"He's a feisty one isn't he?" is what he utters softly, and it's the slight exhaustion in his voice that causes you to let your guard down and put aside your confusion and need for answers aside.

Right now there's a young child before you, a child that you don't know the lineage of - but a child that Jing Yuan himself had picked up and stood his ground against public opinion for.

And Jing Yuan didn't do things without reason.

But you're well aware that he's also the kind to not tell you much as to why he had done a few decisions. As futile as you know it is, you would still try to get something out of him later. But for now, you would have to try to give a better impression of yourself to this kid who you're pretty sure sees you as anything, but a person with good intentions.

... What do you say to a child that is currently holding animosity towards you?

Seeing your distraught face makes Jing Yuan let out a chuckle, glancing down at Yanqing who is still staring fiercly at you, "They're not someone you should be on guard with. That's my spouse, they're just surprised by your sudden arrival is all, Yanqing."

So his name is Yanqing.

The reassurance from Jing Yuan makes the young boy relax a bit, but you can still tell he's very much on guard against you, "... I'm Yanqing," he mutters quietly.

The two of you seem to have a long way to go from the first encounter.

"... What were you thinking?" you question the moment Jing Yuan slides the door to your bedroom shut, you had spent the majority of the afternoon cleaning up a spare room for Yanqing to sleep in after the meeting while the two had headed out to prepare the paperwork for Yanqing to be offcially be recgonized as a Cloud Knight.

"... I saw potential?" he tries, but with one glance at your direction and being faced with your quirked eyebrow makes him let out a sigh instead, reaching a hand behind his head to pull the red ribbon tying his hair back.

He doesn't say anything as he makes his way over to you. Neither does he utter a word when he lets his entire weight fall on top of your own, the noise of surprise you let out making him chuckle, rubbing his face onto neck, "W-Wait, hold on. There's a literal child in this house now, what are you-"

"Dear, what are you thinking?" Jing Yuan snorts before you finish your sentence, wrapping his arms around your waist before flipping himself over so that you're laying on top of him, "Our schedule clashed together too much that it's been 2 years since I last saw you? And when I meet you again you looked like you were going to pull my head off of my own body, this is quite frankly the first instance where I get you all to myself," he explains, raising an eyebrow at your gradually reddening face, "Whatever you were imagining is beyond me, darling."

"... Shut up and tell me the truth already," you murmur before burying your face in his chest, lifting a closed fist to lightly hit his arm when you feel his chest rumble with his constrained laughter.

"I didn't lie when I said I saw potential. Despite his young age, Yanqing is quite gifted with the sword," he starts after a brief silence, fingers drumming along the spine of your back, "But it would be more accurate to say I'm preparing the future generation?" he muses out loud, sounding unsure himself which makes let out a chuckle, "Wow, I'm sure lady Fu Xuan would be delighted by the news of your possible retirement."

"I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint our Master Diviner for another few decades unfortunately. She's still far too young to take up the mantle of the general."

You hum, raising your head up from his chest to make eye contact, Jing Yuan directing his gaze from staring up at the ceiling to instead stare at you as well, "Next time you're thinking of picking up a kid, give me a heads up? Or else you're going to end up on the news again like today with the headlines of you committing infidelity."

He laughs, hoisting you further up his body to peck your lips, "Please, I won't be picking up another child anytime soon. But maybe I need to show the citizens that I only have eyes for one person if they were swayed this easily by the apperance of one child."

"... Please don't say something that embarassing in front of Yanqing."

"See, you're already being a great parental figure."

Great parental figure my ass.

Is what's currently running through your mind as you're once again, left alone with Jing Yuan's prodigal apprentince. it's been a few months after Yanqing's first arrival, and the relationship between the two of you seem to still be threading on thin ice.

Your relationship with the young prodigy hasn't gotten worse, but it has in no way improved either. Whenever Jing Yuan is not present amongst the three of you, Yanqing becomes extra reserved and takes extra caution to not bother you - which makes any attempt to even talk to him 10 times harder than it has to be.

Yanqing is out in the garden, brushing the fallen leaves into a neat pile while you're sitting by the living room table doing paperwork. And yet, ever since Jing Yuan had stepped out for some urgent business, the two of you haven't even spoken a single word to each other.

Yanqing was at an age where you didn't need to give him constant attention, but with the way you two had started on the wrong foot it felt a lot harder trying to get closer to him - mostly because the boy himself tries to not be a burden on you, which in a way has become a burden.

Not to mention, Jing Yuan spends the most time with him training him personally - so the time you spend with Yanqing is close to nothing compared to your lover.

The odds are truly against you at the moment.

At this point, the new paper scroll that you had rolled out were becoming useless with how long you had pressed the ink filled brush on it's surface, the gradual circle of ink stained paper growing with each passing minute.

Topics you can talk about.. Jing Yuan mentioned he was great with a sword, but it's been ages since I've held a sword myself till the point he's probably better than me...

Were you always this awkward with children?

Glancing at the clock, you notice it's almost time for your meetup with master Gongshu over at the Artisanship Commission. So with a reluctant sigh, you glance down at the paper scroll before you - that has long been ruined before you put the brush away and roll the scroll back up.

"... Yanqing I'm about to head to out to the Artisanship Commission, can you..." your voice dies down when you see the boy whip his head around the moment you mention the Commission. And although he tries to hide it, you would be a fool to not notice the sparkle in his eyes at the mention of where you are going.

"... Do you want to join?" you end up asking instead.

You've never seen his facial expression change so much in just a few seconds. First you could tell he wanted to agree, but then you're pretty sure he managed to figure out why you were going and didn't want to be a burden, but still wanted to go. You soon saw hope come back to his eyes, presumably remembering that you personally asked, but you saw the same hope dwindle down when he probably thought that you asked just to include him.

The sight made you laugh, "... A child is a child after all, no matter where they are," you whisper quietly to yourself, "You won't be a bother, Yanqing. And wouldn't it be better for you to look around the Luofu a bit? I'm pretty sure Jing Yuan has only brought you to the Cloud Knights training area after all, we can even stop by Cloudbreath Sleeves to take your measurements so that you can get some tailor-made clothes and not Jing Yuan's old clothes."

That seemed to be the only reassurance he needed.

You're pretty sure Yanqing hasn't noticed that your meeting with master Gongshu ended 15 minutes ago. Neither has he seemed to realize that the two of you have spent the next 15 minutes just observing his every reaction to the swords on display.

His eyes seemed particulary glued to an iridescent blue sword with a black handle, master Gongzhu giving a low whistle beside you, "He's got a good eye."

You roll your eyes, "Send me the invoice later," you reply back before stepping towards the awestruck boy, "Why not bring it home with us?" you ask, Yanqing jumping slightly in surprise, his head turning around with widened eyes, "I can't possibly ask that of you, I can just save up-"

"You're staring at it like it's your first love, Yanqing," you chuckle, reaching out to grab the handle, twirling it around before reaching for the scabbard right underneath where it was displayed - sliding the sword inside.

"Consider it a gift, for future endeavours."

He blinks, taking the scabbard from your hands, staring at the intricate design weaved into the metal - and you notice the faint tears forming at the corners of his eyes before the boy leaps into your arms to give you a hug, "I swear I'll treasure it, thank you!"

Perhaps too shocked by the sudden hug, you fail to realize that master Gongshu had quickly snapped a picture of the scene and sending it to a certain general.

Qingzu had to stop the very same general from storming away from the Divine of Foresight to head to the Artisanship Commission the very next minute.

"... Well the two of you seem to have gotten a lot closer these past few months," Jing Yuan comments the moment he noticed the position you were currently in. You merely glared halfheartedly at him, but Jing Yuan made no effort to help you - instead walking over to bend down to peck your forehead, careful to not wake the child asleep on top of you.

"I told him to head home before me since I still had affairs to tend to, didn't think he would immediately collapse on top of you and doze off," Jing Yuan remarks with a laugh.

You had one hand supporting Yanqing weight on top of you so that he doesn't topple over, so you decide to use your other hand to reach over and flick Jing Yuan on the forhead - a flick he moved away from with a smirk, "He just dozed off mid-talk too. He was talking about your recent spar match before he just fell asleep," you say, "And to think he vehemently denied not needing a nap after a training session because he's not a child."

Jing Yuan lets out another laugh at that, effortlessly wrangling Yanqing away from your hold and hoisting him up in his arms without manaing to wake him up, "Well if you treat him like an adult, he'll show the temperament of a child as well."

"You should try to get some rest as well, dear. We can just order something from Aurum Alley later," Jing Yuan suggests, to which you merely nod to, standing up to stretch your limbs, "Join me then, I'm sure our dozing general is quite tired too."

"My, what an alluring offer. Can I assume that there's something more-"

"Don't push your luck."

here's the 3 requests that wanted a family fic - i actually struggled a bit with how to do this, but alas - i just know future me will conjure something up again so have this as a teaser HAHA

[starlight-library]

mr. & mrs. 'surprise couple' | LS2 (SM AU pt 2!)

pairing: logan sargeant x reader (they/she pronouns!)

summary: logan and his partner decide to hard launch their relationship as casually as possible

warning: sweet sweet fluff

FC: @/desreii on instagram

a/n: better late than ever!

part 1 | now

yourusername

liked by logansargeant, alex_albon, yourbestfriend and 572,064 others

yourusername he’s so lucky i love him because this florida heat is NOT it. keeping my ass in this AC fr

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user394 OMG OMG OMG Y/N IS HERE!!!

↳ user204 LETS GOOOOO ↳ user42 i know her fit EATS

alex_albon GIVE ME MY GIRLFRIEND BACK!

↳ yourusername no ✨ ↳ lilymhe i have two hands! 😇 ↳ yourusername see?! ↳ alex_albon I DON'T WANNA SHARE ↳ logansargeant same!

user192 Y/N TIME!! GIVE US A WEEKEND PLAY BY PLAY PLEASE!!

user832 OMG IM ALSO IN THE PADDOCK CLUB AAAAAH!!!

user63 THE WORLD AIN'T READY FOR THE BADDIE!!!

logansargeant suddenly i have the urge to wander...

↳ yourusername i'll be waiting 🥰 ↳ alex_albon after we finish filming GET BACK HERE

yourusername tagged logansargeant

liked by logansargeant, oscarpiastri, alex_albon and 520,405 others

yourusername lego dates & a proper family movie night ❤️🙂‍↕️

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alex_albon WHO IS THIS HANDSOME FELLOW?!

↳ landonorris LOOK AT HIM!!! HE'S A SILLY GUY!!! ↳ oscarpiastri you brought the boy, this is the best news ever ↳ yourusername my son. he is just a wee guy and of course i brought him. ↳ alex_albon pls let me meet my fur newphew IM BEGGING 🙏

user204 THIS IS SO FUCKING CUTE

user59 GOALS!!!!

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yourbestfriend MY FAVORITE COUPLE!!!!

↳ yourusername we better be! ↳ logansargeant 🥰

user472 LEGOS AND A CAT IM--😭😭😭

user10 honestly this is the best update ever

logansargeant our beautiful little family 🩵

↳ alex_albon disgusting cute ↳ landonorris PARENTS!!! ↳ yourusername ❤️

alex_albon tagged yourusername and logansargeant

liked by yourusername, logansargeant, landonorris, and 1m others

alex_albon hire me as your wedding photographer 😤

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landonorris stunning photos for a stunning pair

logansargeant 10/10. no notes. go to photographer

↳ alex_albon DAMN RIGHT

oscarpiastri really captured their relationship in one

lilymhe my darlings 🥹

yourusername liked this comment

yourusername i'll call when the wedding is

↳ alex_albon good good

youusername

liked by logansargeant, alex_albon, oscarpiastri, yourbestfriend and 573,205 others

yourusername the duality of my man 🩵

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user205 HES SO SILLY

user10 god bless america

user03 THATS OUR CAPTAIN AMERICAN

user46 USA!! USA!! USA!!

yourbestfriend bitch pose NASTY 😭

↳ yourusername honestly nastier than mine 😭

yourusername tagged logansargeant

liked by alex_albon, oscarpiastri, landonorris, yourbestfriend, and 703,687 others

yourusername he may not won points but he has won my heart for sure ❤️💍🩵

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landonorris OMG?? OMG OMG OMG CONGRATS!!

↳ yourusername i know i know, thank you

oscarpiastri FINALLY!!! I was getting tired of him freaking out asking you this

↳ logansargeant SORRY I WAS STRESSED??? ↳ oscarpiastri it's fine, you're forgiven ↳ logansargeant 😑

lilymhe CONGRATULATIONS!!!

↳ yourusername THANK YOOOU ❤️

yourbestfriend OMG MY BESTIE IS GONNA BE A WIIIIIFEEEE!!! 👰‍♀️💍

↳ yourusername I KNOW!!! ↳ yourbestfriend RAAAH PARTY TIME!!! 🎉👯‍♀️🍾🪩🎉 ↳ lilymhe count me and oscar's lily in for party time! ↳ yourbestfriend of course!!!

carlossainz55 congratulations you two!

↳ yourusername thank you Carlos!

charles_leclerc SHUT UP. THIS IS WONDERFUL CONGRATULATIONS!!

↳ yourusername thank you!

alex_albon OH MY GOOOD. PLEASE LET ME BE THE PHOTOGRAPHER

↳ yourusername that'll be hard when you're in Logan's party... ↳ logansargeant babe! that was a surprise! ↳ yourusername whoops! my bad! ↳ alex_albon IM IN THE PARTY?! 😭 I'VE MADE IT!

logansaergant forever and always baby 🩵

↳ yourusername forever and always ❤️

[lovelyladyabsinthewrites]

Can I request ACOTAR poly bats x mate reader? Who got killed if you don't write that the reader just got injured badly? Thank you!

Injury HC (ft. poly!mates Bat Boys)

While I love me some heavy angst, I just couldn't bring myself to kill off mate reader even if its just for a hc 😭😅

Warnings: lots of mentions of blood, wounded/dying!reader, polyamorous mates, injuries, healing, angst and fluff, ft. mor, ft. amren, ft. madja, ft. wraiths

woof where to begin

it would be damn near impossible for any of them to think rationally at the sight of blood coming from you, not their beloved who should only be full of smiles and laughter

bat boys become overbearing if you even get a papercut

But this. . . this was something else entirely.

So much blood that they feel sick from the rusty smell of it that permeated the air.

You looked so small and broken; Rhys has already come up with a thousand ways to kill whoever did this to you. You were their beautiful, proud, cunning mate.

The first one to make a move toward your body would be Rhysand. Always rational under pressure as Azriel and Cassian look around in case there was an ambush by the enemy. He feels sick to his stomach the entire time he's checking your vitals. When his fingers make contact with your blood soaked head, the sticky substance felt white hot. Rhysand could wash his hands millions of times and still feel that searing sting of your blood on his skin.

When they finally get you safely to Madja, you do manage to regain some consciousness, enough to reach out and grab Azriel's hand as everyone was leaving the operating room. Its difficult to move your lips to speak but you manage to plead for Azriel to stay. His shadows always soothed you.

There's no rest for Rhysand or Cassian unfortunately.

Despite Mor and Amren's best efforts, they can't drag your other two mates away from the door.

Rhysand being constantly updated by Azriel through his thoughts and shadows

Cassian tried not to let dark possibilities into his head. They banged against the door of his mind, loud and clear. If you died. . .

"She won't die." Rhysand would tell him sharply. He couldn't lose hope. But the steady smell of your blood that refused to lessen worried Rhysand greatly.

For Azriel, he was forced to stand there at your side as Madja did her best to put you back together. He refused to look away. There was absolutely nothing he could do to help.

He furiously clenches and unclenches his hands. Angry with himself for not being enough to protect you.

In the wee hours of the morning, Mor finds Rhysand and Cassian slumped together asleep. She put a blanket around them and takes a seat to join them in awaiting news. Amren soon follows suit once she has risen from bed by worry.

Finally, Azriel emerges into the waiting room.

Cass and Rhys leap from their seats

You're alive, although incredibly weak.

Madja had to bind and fix your bones while also trying to stop your bleeding. The most important thing was that you would live with some major scarring.

For the next several months, you acquired three overbearing nurses.

Not that you were complaining.

They only allowed Madja to tend to you and that was just during your checkups. Even the Wraiths' cooking was monitored by one of the bat boys.

Azriel and Rhysand had the tenderest hands when they changed your bandages or moved you around so you wouldn't get bed sores.

When you were well enough, Cassian would carry you to the outside garden so you could enjoy the warmth of the sun personally. You'd sit on his lap with your head resting on his chest. You liked listening to him talk as your ear was pressed close to his heart.

You had to tell them to shut up a few times because of how often they would apologize to you about letting you get hurt. It wasn't their fault, you'd argue to deaf ears. This was actually motivation for you. To remedy this and prevent getting hurt this badly ever again, you'd have to train more. Get stronger so your mates wouldn't blame themselves for you getting hurt in their absence.

Rhysand may be the only one who doesn't coddle you during any kind of physical therapy. He's one for tough love. Cassian too. Poor Az is utterly helpless.

Oh, you're out of breath? Let me carry you, sweetling. Rhys and Cass being too difficult? I'll give them a talking to.

Once fully healed thanks to your bat boys, you feel stronger and better than ever.

[mphoenix-7]

Bitter Allies [Soap x Reader]

Chapter 9: The Cabin: Day 4 (pt.2)

Summary: Soap gets to you just in time. Now he needs to make sure you’re ok.

Word Count: 6,900

Warnings: NSFW, 18+, swearing, angst, strong language, slightly smutty but it’s mostly fluff, mentions of sex,

A/N: I got a puppy this past week and let me tell you, it’s made finding time to write soooo hard. But I’m still going to try with weekly updates! Please enjoy! Like, comment, and reblog if you’d like :)

Masterlist | <- Previous | Next ->

Bitter Allies • Part 9

"States?! States!!!"

Words really could not express how happy you are to hear his voice. You are sobbing, so relieved yet still so scared.

"Soap!!! Soap, please help!!! I need you! Please!!!" You're yelling as loud as you possibly can, voice straining as you continue to splash at the bear and hit the water with your fists. The black bear wasn't even reacting to Soap's voice. Its focus was solely on you.

"States?! Where the fuck are you?!" His voice is closer now but still so distant.

"In the lake!! There's a bear! Please hurry!" You cry out.

The bear then decides it's had enough playing around. It seems to splash water right back at you, making you hold your hands up to shield your eyes from the onslaught of water. You scream as you're temporarily blinded, opening your eyes just in time to see you're almost face to face with the bear. Its mouth is open, teeth bared like it's going to bite. You scream again, your body feeling a big rush of adrenaline flood your system. You swing at the animal, punching it as hard you possibly can right in the nose.

Holy fuck you just punched a bear.

Your hand stings from it making contact with the hard bone of the bear's muzzle, but the hit did buy you some time. While it's stunned, sneezing and pawing at its nose, you try to move to the side. If you went back anymore, your feet wouldn't be able to touch the bottom of the lake. You knew if that happened, you wouldn't be able to get away. The bear would quickly overpower you if that happened.

You want to get around it and book it for the shore. Even then, you knew bears were fast, and you wouldn't be able to outrun it. But maybe, just maybe, you could make it to the cabin. You can't even get around the bear though. The second you being to move, it's tracking your movements again. It pounces to the side, blocking you from getting away. It felt like you were being cornered. Stuck between a drop off into deeper water and the animal.

"Soap! Where are you?!" You yell, pleading with him to hurry up.

"States!" You hear Soap's voice closer now, and you can hear the sound of heavy foot falls. Glancing past the bear and toward the shoreline, you see him barreling through the foliage.

"Soap!!" His widened eyes connect with yours for just a second before he's looking at the bear swimming towards you. Instantly, his whole demeanor shifts.

"Hey!" He shouts, voice deep and harsh. A growl that matched the intensity of the bear's. "Fuck off, you wee bastard! Dumb bear! Over here!!" He yells at the bear, picking up a rock and throwing it towards the animal, striking it on its flank.

It brings the bear's attention over to Soap, shifting its angry gaze from you to him. Then without hesitation, ignoring the cold water or the fact his boots and clothes are going to be soaked, Soap charges into the water, keeping his eyes locked on the bear's. With its attention off you, you start to move away slowly.

"Go on, get out of here! Fuck off!!" Soap keeps shouting, splashing up water as he strides towards the bear.

The bear is looking between you, now further away, and Soap, who has an angry snarl on his face and looks intimidating as hell as he charges. It seems to decide it's not worth the trouble anymore. You're going to be too hard to get now. It starts to back off, making its way to the shore and watching Soap the whole time. It seems to have forgotten about you entirely. 

"That's right!! Get the fuck out of here, you ugly bastard! I'll turn you into a fucking rug if you come back here, you piece of shite!!" Soap continues to yell, storming after the bear as it backs away. He even manages to find another rock and hurl it at the bear again. All you can do is watch, feeling helpless and useless as he chases it off.

Once the bear's feet hit close to dry land, it turns and bolts back to the woods. Soap chases it a short distance, making sure that it gets the message.

"Yeah, that's right! Run to the woods and fucking stay there!!" Soap shouts one last time, waiting as he watches the bear disappear into the green brush. Once he's sure it's gone, he quickly turns to look for you. You're still huddled in the water, in roughly the same place you'd been when he got there.

"States!" He shouts, running back into the water to you. "States! Come here, swim to me! Are you alright, lass?" He asks hurriedly, not stopping until he gets to you. When he's close enough, he reaches out and grabs your forearm that's crossed over your bare chest, pulling you to him. It doesn't even fully occur to him that you're naked. It's the least of his concerns right now.

"Are you hurt? Did it get you?" He asks frantically, his eyes wide with panic. His hands run over your shoulders and down your arms a little, checking for injuries while trying to be mindful that you are naked.

"N-no... just got really close..." You wrap your arms tightly around your chest, trying to cover your breasts as you shake uncontrollably. The bone-chilling cold of the water and the overwhelming surge of adrenaline coursing through you are both to blame for that.

"Oh, lass, you're shaking like a leaf. Come on, it's ok now. Let's get you inside and warm you up, alright?"

Soap's voice is just as shaky as your body, but you don't notice it in that moment. All you can focus on is the way he wraps an arm around you, keeping you pulled close to his side, while his other hand rubs your arm to try and sooth you. He's so warm compared to the water. He feels so safe. You don't care about anything that was said before, you're just happy he's here with you.

Now that it's over, now that the immediate threat is gone, you feel yourself starting to break down. It starts with a little hitch in your breath and then you just start crying. Your head drops towards Soap, and he seems to hold you a little tighter as he walks you out of the water. The whole way, he is mumbling soothing things to you.

"Shhh.. it's alright, lass. You're safe. It's not coming back. I got you, ok? I'm right here. You're safe."

"I froze up." You begin to babble. "It was coming at me- and I just- I didn't- so I just froze." You're not even really sure Soap can understand a thing you're saying. Your voice is shaky, you're sobbing uncontrollably, hiccuping, and shivering.

"Hush, it's alright. Let's just get you inside." He tells you softly, walking you to shore.

You hug yourself tightly as the breeze hits your wet skin, causing your body to shiver more violently and making more goosebumps raise up. The only part of your naked body you can cover is your chest, but you're far from feeling embarrassed about your nudity right now.

"Hang on, lass. Let me get your towel." Soap gives your arms a squeeze and then leaves your side for a moment. He runs over to your now unfolded towel while you slowly walk towards him. "Here we go. Let's get your cover-" He's quick to pick it off the ground and hold it open for you, but he stops upon noticing a brown stain along one edge. Making a face, he tosses it back to the ground.

"Fucking bear took a shite right on it." He grumbles, looking around for anything else he can use to cover you up. He can't seem to find anything though, but he knows he can't leave you naked. You were already feeling vulnerable and scared. He wanted something to put around you.

"Ah hell, here." He sighs, starting to pull his own shirt up over his head. He wrings it out before putting your head through the hole and pulling it down your body. "I know my shirt's wet but it'll cover you up until we can get you inside. Come on, lass."

"My clothes..." You try to protest as he wraps his arms back around you.

Soap looks back as he starts walking you away. "You don't want them right now. They're all muddy. And I'm not sure if it's shite or mud. Come on."

He rubs your back as he escorts you to the cabin, your wet feet collecting dirt and grass along the way. You're still a shivering, shaky, and sobbing mess once you're inside. He walks you all the way to the bedroom, and you'd probably be shocked (if you weren't already in shock) as he sits you down on his bed.

"Hang on, hen." He says softly as he goes to get you his towel. The term of endearment is lost on you as he wraps it around your still wet body, rubbing a little here and there to dry you off.

Once you're somewhat dry, he goes to your clothing draw and picks out some underwear, socks, and your pajama top and shorts. He wanted to prioritize comfort over warmth since he could just wrap you in his sleeping roll or make you some soup to warm you up.

"Here, got you some nice dry comfy clothes. Can you put them on for me?" He's kneeling in front of you, hands rubbing your towel covered arms to try and warm you up. He's placed the folded up clothes off to your side.

You start to break down again. You can't help it. You'd already been horribly stressed before the whole bear thing, and then you'd been so vulnerable and thought for sure you were going to die. Plus your adrenaline levels were still super high.

"I'm a horrible solider..." You sob. "I froze up- I didn't know what to do! I always know, and my head went blank!"

"Hey, hey look at me." Soap says softly, cupping your cheek in his warm hand. "You're not a horrible solider. You're just upset from last night, and from this morning, and you were completely exposed. It's understandable. Any solider would have freaked out under the same circumstances. It's alright, you're not a bad solider. Just get dressed. We gotta warm you up and calm you down, ok?"

"But I am! What fucking SAS soldier gets scared by a bear!" You're stilling sobbing while Soap tries his best to console you.

"Stop it, you're not. Alright? You are a good fucking solider, States. Hell, I would have been shitting myself too if I was butt ass naked trying to take on a black bear by myself. Then again that bear probably would have went running as soon as he saw me naked. You can vouch for how horrifying that is, aye lass?"

Despite still being an absolute wreck, you laugh a little at his comment. It doesn't fix everything, but it brings a smile to your face, and that's good enough for Soap. He smiles back at you, taking a moment to move some of the wet strands of hair that are plastered to the side of your face behind your ear.

"I knew that'd make you smile." He chuckles. "Now, please get out of my wet shirt and put something dry on. I'm going to go get some soup on the stove. Something to warm you up."

You weren't exactly hungry at the moment, but Soap is up before you can even protest. He grabs a shirt on his way out and shuts the door to the bedroom to give you some privacy to get dressed, but he leaves it open a crack.

Slowly, you start to drop the towel from around your shoulders and take off Soap's shirt. It's way too big for you, but it did a good job at covering you up in the mean time. It's damp as you peel it off over your head, and you start to feel exposed again. Even if you are all alone, the feeling remains. You quickly begin to dress yourself in the clothes he laid out.

The whole time you redress yourself, you find your hands are still shaking. The scene plays over and over in your head. The bear growling at you, the fear that you were going to be eaten alive, the relief when Soap showed up. Thank God he'd been close enough to hear you. Who knows what would have happened if he hadn't been there. You can't even bring yourself to care about what happened before. You are certain you are alive because of Soap.

Once you're fully dressed, you slowly slide off Soap's bed. You don't want to be alone with your thoughts right now... thinking about what could have happened. Silently, you make your way out of the bedroom, pull the door open, and step into the kitchen. Soap is at the stove, stirring a pot of what is most likely chicken soup.

When he hears the bedroom door open, he glances over his shoulder to you. "Go lay down, lass. Soup will be ready in a moment." He tells you gently, but you stay put.

"I... I don't wanna be alone.." You admit softly, wrapping your arms around yourself and looking to the ground. You can't bring yourself to look at him right now.

Soap looks over his shoulder again, frowning as he notices how small you look. He'd be lying if he said it didn't make his heart clench in his chest. This wasn't the States he was used to seeing. Something had changed when he'd heard you screaming for him. Seeing you cower before that black bear, pulling your shaking body to his, and hearing you sob.

He's never seen you like that. Vulnerable. Scared. The bear incident had rattled you, but it'd also scared him too. He couldn't help but feel a surge of protectiveness. A desire to protect you. He'd always seen you as a thorn in his side, not someone he needed to protect. Not as someone he was afraid to lose.

"I'm here. Everything is ok now." He reminds you.

"If you hadn't been... I would have died..." You see your vision getting blurry again and hold your breath, not wanting to cry again. You've cried more in the last few days than you have in years.

"Don't think like that." Soap tells you firmly, his voice almost harsh.

You don't know what to say to him, but it's not like you could speak anyway; you're on the verge of tears again. Your body speaks for you, because soon, you can't hold your breath any longer. A shaky, uneven breath escapes you, the sound telling Soap more than enough.

"States, come here." Soap sighs softly.

You hesitate a moment before slowly making your way to him. By the time you reach him, the soup is beginning to steam. Soap moves it off from the directed heat before he turns to you.

"Look at me, lass." Soap says softly, grabbing your chin and pulling your gaze to his. "Don't even be thinking about what else could have happened. It didn't. I was here, you're alive. There is no point in imaging different outcomes. You hear me? Don't do that to yourself."

His voice was rough. You can't tell if he's mad or not, but you don't want him to be mad. The thought of another fight between you, especially now, is enough to break you.

"Are you mad at me?" You find yourself asking before you can stop yourself. Your voice cracks and a single tear runs down your cheek.

Soap's face changes instantly. His features soften up, especially his eyes. He lets go of your chin and brushes the tear away before looking away.

"No, hell... I'm not mad." Soap says carefully. "If anything, I'm mad at that bear for threatening your life. I don't... I don't want you dead, States."

You blink at him for a second as you take in what he's said. Soap's words weren't a declaration of undying love, but they had a similar impact on you. He wasn't saying he loved you—it was Soap, after all, he didn't like you—but his words carried a weight akin to a heartfelt confession. He didn't want you dead, and that was pretty special in its own way.

You struggle to find something to say. Of course, you know he wouldn't want you dead, but hearing him say it out loud felt strange, almost surreal. His concern felt genuine, and it left you with trying to figure out yet another emotion. You open your mouth, searching for something to say before the silence gets awkward.

"I would have been if-"

"Stop!" Soap immediately cuts you off, closing his eyes a moment as if he's trying to keep his cool. "I'm gonna be mad if you keep talking like that." He finishes, voice calmer now.

You frown at him. "But it's true! I was fucking useless. Everything I did to make it go away didn't work. I yelled at it, I tried to back away slowly, I splashed water at it. Nothing work, it just kept getting closer and closer."

"You just need to know the right things to do."

"What are the right things?”

Soap sighs softly. "We can talk about that later. Right now-"

"No, I need to know now!" You normally wouldn't beg Soap for any kind of help, which tells him just how terrified you'd been.

"States-"

"What if it comes back..." Your eyes are beginning to filled with tears at the thought alone of being in that position again.

"Hey, no more tears, alright?" Soap tells you softly, hands coming up to cup your cheek again and catching a salty tear as it rolls down your face. You sniffle and nod, trying to look away, but Soap moves his hand to your jaw to keep you looking into his eyes.

"Listen hen, that bear isn't going to be coming back anytime soon. Even if it did, I'm gonna be right here to chase it off again. I'm not going anywhere. You're safe."

You've never seen Soap's eyes so soft before. They're beautiful when they aren't glaring at you, a rich blue you could drown in. His voice is like velvet -soothing, heavy, and warm- wrapping around you like a soft embrace.

"You promise?" You ask as Soap drops his hand from your cheek.

"Yeah, I promise." He agrees, glancing away from you and to the pot of soup. It may have been off the heat, but it's bubbling now. "Soup is ready. Go wrap yourself up in my blanket, you still look cold. I'll be in shortly with the soup."

You look down to yours arms, which were covered in goosebumps. You weren't cold though. It was Soap's words that made them appear. You don't correct him on this though and just nod your head, padding off to the bedroom again. You sink back down onto his cot, tucking your knees to your chest. A second or two later, Soap is stepping into the bedroom, two mugs in his hands.

"Feeling better?" He asks you, pushing a mug of warm soup into your hands and then slowly sitting down by his pillow.

"Yeah. Still a bit shaken up, but I'm feeling better now." Your voice wasn't shaky anymore, and you think most of the adrenaline is gone now. You look down into your cup of soup, watching the steam come off it.

"Are you sure you're ok?" He asks, taking a sip from his cup and wincing when he discovers it's still too hot to drink.

"Yeah... I mean it didn't get to me. Just got really close and messed with me a little mentally." You frown, going to take a sip yourself and wincing. You hadn't seen Soap do the same thing a second before.

"Yeah, sorry. I made it too hot." Soap frowns when he sees you wince. You end up putting your cup down on the floor to let it cool off. Even the handle was getting kind hot. The cups you were using were the crappy military ones people used while out in the field.

"I'm sure it'll cool off quick." You say dismissively. You were just touched he'd made soup for you in the first place. Soap is also placing his mug on the ground a moment later.

"Do you... do you want to talk about it?" He asks slowly, unsure. "Otherwise we can talk about something else." He offers.

You sigh softly, picking at a string on your shorts. "I don't even know where to start really. It all happened so fast. I'm in the military, and I don't think I've ever been so scared in my life." You can't help but let out a dry chuckle at that realization. "I felt so helpless. I mean at least in the field I have my gear, and my training, but... I had nothing."

"That's not true." Soap shakes his head. "You have your voice. That's probably your best defense against something like a black bear."

"Bear didn't listen to me. I screamed and shouted at it. It did absolutely nothing." Your voice shakes just slightly as you recall it. Your throat still feels a little raw from all the shouting.

"Got my attention, didn't it?" Soap counters, his tone softening a bit as he meets your gaze. "I wouldn't call that nothing."

"Well it's a good thing you were close enough to hear me. Otherwise it would have been worthless. Bear ran off when you shouted at it. I don't get why it worked for you."

"Walk me through everything that happened. Did you start screaming at it instantly?"

You sigh softly and try to think back about the entire event. "Well... no, I guess not..." You frown, taking yourself back into the lake. "I was kinda in shock for the first few moments, and I think we just stared at each other. I couldn't remember if I needed to play dead or what, but then it just charged into the water after me. Tried to back away, I shouted at it, which didn't work. I tried looking for something to defend myself with, and it..." You pause to take a shaky breath, "it lunged at me the second I looked away. I splashed water at it, I screamed, I even fucking punched it when it got close to me- God it'd been so close to me... I was able to touch it... I saw its teeth. I could practically feel its breath on me..."

You trail off when you feel a warm hand gently grab yours. You were unaware that you were breathing heavily and clenching your hands into fists in your lap. Looking over, you see Soap has moved to your side, his eyes studying you and his brows pinched together in worry.

"Deep breath, aye?" Soap says softly.

"Sorry..." You breath out shakily. Slowly you relax your hand, opening it and letting Soap hold it better. He doesn't interlace your fingers or anything romantic, he just gives it a squeeze and then lets go.

“You punched that bear?” Soap asks, staying close to you instead of leaning back again.

You hum softly. “Yeah… yeah, I guess I did. I didn’t know what else to do. It was going to bite me if I didn’t.”

“That’s pretty bad ass.” Soap says, almost like he’s trying to make you feel better about yourself. “How many people can say they punched a bear?”

“I think it just made it more mad. I tried to run the second it was distracted, but it just jumped back in front of me.”

“Punching it was the right thing to do.” Soap assured you. “Most bears would have ran away if you did that. I think this one was too convinced that you were an easy target. So it wasn’t going to give up easily.”

You frown, hating to think you’d made yourself an easy target. You prided yourself on being able to handle yourself out in the field. It felt like your skills were slipping.

“How the hell do I make myself not an easy target? I did everything I could. I even fucking punched the damn thing. Nothing worked… I just don’t get it.” You’re getting upset again. You feel so frustrated, upset, and angry at yourself.

Soap grabs your leg and spins you to face him. You gasp as you find yourself suddenly face to face with him.

"Your first mistake was that you didn't stand your ground." He starts, face just inches from yours. On instinct, you try to back away from him towards the edge of the bed, but he just follows after you.

"You don't play dead or back away from a black bear. You can't show it you're scared or it's over. You gotta get big immediately, make your presence known, and don't back down."

You find yourself at the edge of the bed with nowhere else to go. You feel cornered as Soap cages you in, placing his hands on either side of you on the mattress. He looks intimidating as he towers over you, demonstrating the effects his instructions have.

"That should be second nature to you, yeah States?" He mumbles, as you watch him.

"Second,” he continues. “You get loud immediately. Your voice needs to be strong and confident. Just like in the field, you can't show fear and then expect the enemy to take you seriously when you get loud. I know you've got quite the vocals. That won't be an issue for you."

You look away, feeling vulnerable under his intense gaze. He instantly grabs your chin, making your eyes lock onto his.

"And you never, ever, look away from a black bear. Or any animal for that matter. You keep your eyes locked on, no matter what. Just like with me when we argue. You never look away from me first. You always hold your ground like the damn stubborn solider you are. Drives me fucking crazy when you do that."

His voice is deep and gravelly as he says that last part, and your thoughts instantly go to last night. How you’d refused to look away until he finally broke.

You find yourself locking eyes with him now. His hand remains firmly on your chin, his eyes staring dominantly into yours.

“Yeah, just like that.” He mumbles. The energy rolling off Soap feels similar to yesterday, but it's still different. It's a different intensity, one that makes you feel like you can't breathe.

He's towering over you, trapping you in like he's the bear that won't let you escape. Except it's not a bear, and it's just Soap. If you can stand your ground against Soap, you can stand your ground against a black bear. Soap was probably just about as dangerous as one, if not more. 

The fear melts away, replaced by the warmth of Soap's proximity. He's close enough you can feel his breath against your lips. You can feel the heat coming off his body as he leans over you. Your eyes still haven't left his, and how could you look away when his start to soften slightly. You don't want to fight anymore. You just want to get lost in the peace that his non-glaring eyes bring.

Then his hand slides from your chin to the side of your face, his thumb gently tracing along your jaw. The touch sends a shiver down your spine, and you can feel your heartbeat quickening. Soap's eyes are intense as they lock on yours, his pupils dilating slightly. The tension in the room shifts to something far more intense and intimate.

Your lips part, as if to speak, but no words come out. You're not even sure what you would have wanted to say anyway. Instead, your body seems to move on its own. You tilt your head slightly and then quickly close the distance, meeting his lips in a tentative kiss. The little voice in the back of your head is screaming at you, asking what the hell you’re doing, but his lips are so warm and soft, so different from how you remembered them feeling. The gentle pressure of his lips against yours makes that voice fade into the background until it vanishes entirely.

Soap is still at first, you hear him inhale through his nose when you first press your lips against his. As soon as you try to pull away though, his hand slips to the back of your neck, pulling you back in as he deepens the kiss. He kisses you back firmly, quickly dominating the kiss. A fire instantly ignites within you, and you melt into him. Your arms wrap loosely around his neck as you lose yourself in the sensation.

The kiss grows more feverant, yet your lips move against his at a deliberate, slow pace, resisting his attempts to quicken it. The wet, gentle sound of lips meeting and parting fills the air, mingling with the sound of your gradually quickening breaths.

You're starting to tremble slightly as your heart rate increases, yet Soap remains as composed as ever. You need to know he feels the same way, that you're not the only one affected by this. You slip a hand from around his neck down to his chest, placing it over his heart. His heartbeat thumps heavily against your fingertips, its rapid pace mirroring your own.

Soap gently takes your hand and pulls it away from his chest, guiding it back around his neck as he rocks back, settling you into his lap. His hands rest on your hips, pulling you down against him, positioning you right over the bulge in his pants. Feeling the firm press of his member between your legs has heat pooling there fast. Meanwhile, Soap's hands travel from your hips, his fingertips ticking along the sides and backs of your thighs, only adding to that sensation.

You move your hands to cup his cheeks, tracing them along his jawline and feeling the prickly stubble beneath your fingers. When you brush your fingers against the sensitive skin behind his ear, a soft, low moan escapes him. His hands shift from your thighs to your lower back, just above your butt. He presses you down against his bulge, grinding you against him and encouraging you to move.

The thinnish material of your shorts does not do much to separate you from the tough denim of Soap's pants. The seam of his pants is rubbing deliciously against you and you start to grind gently to keep that sensation going.

You moan softly at the contact, your lips breaking free from his as you do. Your eyes flutter open, and you find that Soap is already looking at you. His lips are parted, and his breathing is a little labored, but you hardly pay any attention to those things. His eyes are filled with emotions that you've never seen before. The only discernible one you can pick out in your haze is confusion.

"We need to stop." He whispers, and you blink at him in surprise. It takes a few seconds before you fully realize what he's said, but once you do, your heart drops a little.

You weren't expecting him to say that. Of all the emotions in his eyes, wanting to stop hadn't been one you'd picked out. He'd seemed so into it just a moment ago.

"But-" you begin to protest, but he cuts you off.

"If it was a mistake the first time, it's going to be a mistake the second time. And you're not in the right mindset." He moves his hands to your hips and starts to lift you off his lap. He sets you back down on his cot, and you notice him trying to subtly adjust the bulge in his pants, evidence he’d been enjoying it.

As initially sad as you are about stopping, you know he’s right. Having sex again really wasn’t a good idea. You’re not even really sure what you’d been thinking. Now that Soap had put an end to it, you felt embarrassed.

“I’m sorry...” You mutter, feeling your cheeks heat up.

Soap sighs softly. “Don’t be. It’s not like I didn’t kiss you back. Just forget it happened.”

You look down at your lap, a frown making its way to your face. Soap's words echo in your mind, pulling you back to the conversation you had earlier that day. To just forget it, move on, and act like it didn’t happen. Go back to the ways things were before.

"I… I don't want to go back to how things were." You find yourself blurting out, the words slipping past your lips before you can fully process them.

The thought of falling into the same old routine with him, arguing and bickering constantly, is unbearable. You wanted things to be different. You liked this. The soft touches, the gentle looks, his deep soothing voice and not the rough angry one. You don't want to give that up.

“What?” Soap says, confusion evident in his tone. “States, we can't keep fucking each other. It's only complicating things." He argues.

"No, that's-that’s not entirely what I meant. I mean like, I'm tired of us constantly fighting. I like this. I want things to be like how they've been today. Or at least the last few hours. Feeling like I can rely on you, not fighting, being civil. I want that for us, not what we had before. I don't care about sex. I just want… I want to connect with you. For us to connect with each other.”

You feel like you're opening your heart up to Soap, which is surprising. You've never felt this emotionally vulnerable around him before. The only thing that comes close is your first day together when you cried in front of him. Even sex with him had felt more physical rather than any emotional connection.

You wait with bated breath for his response as Soap looks away, his lips pursing together. You can tell he's uncomfortable with this topic.

"Soap... can't we just start over?"

Soap sighs heavily, leaning his head back against the wall and looking straight up. "I don't know if we can just start over." He mutters, making you frown.

"Can't we try?" You ask him softly, trying to look for any changes in his body language that you were pushing too much. You didn't want to ruin the somewhat peaceful atmosphere.

"I just don't see how-"

"Please." You push, and he turns his gaze back to you. He looks just slightly irritated, and you know you're pushing it too much. He’s getting annoyed.

"Keep in mind, I did almost get eaten by a bear today. So you know..." You add, using the near death experience to guilt him into agreeing while also trying to lighten things up a little. It seems to work as the irritated look leaves Soap's face.

"Steaming Jesus..." He mutters under his breath, clearly not happy with you using that against him. He wanted to say no so badly, but he found that the words wouldn’t leave his lips. Whether it was because of what you said, that you almost had died, or because deep down he really did want to start over, he wasn’t sure.

Finally, after a few seconds, he sighs. “Gonna hate making Price think he's right." He grumbles, his resolve cracking slowly. "Fine lass. But I'm not making any promises."

You’re honestly shocked he agrees to having a fresh start. You expected him to just close himself off and say no, but you definitely aren’t going to complain. Any tension you had instantly leaves your body, excited by the idea of starting over. Of you and Soap being nice to each other. Giving him a smile, you extend your hand out to him and clear your throat.

"Hi, I'm (y/n) (y/l/n) but people around here call me States. I've been with Task Force 141 for about six months now, but I don't think we've met yet." You reintroduce yourself to Soap, but he's making a face at you.

"Get out of here with that shite." He grumbles, swatting your hand away, but his voice is light, not angry.

Pouting at him, you hold your hand out again. "Aww, come on. Is that really how you want our first introduction to each other to be like?"

"You're fucking mad, woman."

"I almost gotten eaten by a bear today! The least you can do is play along." You argue, making Soap narrow his eyes at you.

"You're really going to play that card again?"

"Yep." You stick your hand back out, giving him an expectant look.

Soap looks between you and your hand a few times before rolling his eyes and groaning. "You can't use that for everything you know." He reluctantly puts his hand into yours.

You give him a smug smile and a little shrug. "If it works, it works. Now..." You clear your throat and nod towards him, hinting at him to continue playing along.

He gives you a glare before sighing deeply. “Ughh, hey, lass... I'm, uh, I'm Sergeant John MacTavish. Everyone expect Ghost calls me Soap. I'm the incredibly handsome and daring hero who saved you from getting eaten by a bear today."

You roll your eyes at him. "What you want a metal or something?" You grumble, but he's already said so much more than you expected that you can't really complain.

"Would be fine if you offered to do my laundry for the next month as a thank you." He shrugs, and you withdraw your hand from his.

"Just put me back in the lake."

"Alright." Soap shrugs, surprising you by reaching out for you. His hands grip your waist, and before you can react, he's attempting to hoist you up.

You gasp and start to squirm immediately. "Don't you fucking dare, MacTavish!" You warn, pushing at his hands and trying to wiggle away. You almost manage to get to the end of his cot, but he just gets up and pulls you back to him. He pins you down on your back as he stands over you.

"You going to do my laundry for the next month?" He asks, pausing and keeping you pinned while he gives you once last chance to agree.

"No! Fuck you!"

"Alright, guess I'm putting you back then." You squeal then as Soap hoists you up, practically throwing you over his shoulder.

"Put me down! I swear Soap!" You shout at him, pounding your fists against his back.

"I'll put you down in the lake." He tells you, turning to head towards the door, but then he kicks over your mug of soup, sending it clattering a few feet in front of him and spilling cold soup everywhere. "Ops." He mumbles, looking down at it.

You stop struggling when you hear the metal clanging, and Soap puts you down on your feet. You look down at the mug with Soap for a long second. Normally fighting would ensure, with either you cussing Soap out for picking you up or Soap getting pissed for you setting it somewhere he could kick it.

Instead, you take a deep breath and start to laugh. Soap shifts his gaze from the mug to you, seeming surprised by hearing you laugh. He must have been expecting some kind of fight too. You don’t notice it, but a small smile makes its way to his face.

“That's karma for trying to put me back in the lake." You shove him lightly, in a playful way, and step over the puddle to go into the kitchen to get some paper towel. You hear Soap scoff behind you.

"Says the one who's about to clean it up." He throws back, watching you grab the paper towels.

You chuckle softly as you walk back over, slapping them to his chest. "Nah, I was just getting them for you. You kicked it over, you clean.”

"You put it down there." He throws back, just like you knew he would.

"But I almost got-"

"Ahh!! No! You can't use that anymore! I already did what you wanted and did that cheesy introduction bit. Just go sit on your bed. Steaming Jesus." He gripes, but he goes to mop up the mess anyway.

You feel another laugh bubble in your chest, and you smile as you watch Soap squat down to lay the paper towel over the liquid. Even though it sort of felt like you were still arguing a bit, it was much lighter now. You knew things could flip and tomorrow he could be a total dick all over again, but for now, you wanted to enjoy this.

As you laugh, Soap finds himself smiling again. Perhaps you weren’t as bad as he thought. Maybe letting you in wouldn’t be so bad…

[see-arcane]

With a total of 1,176 votes tallied, the preferred plushie poll winner with 28.8% of votes is…

What a close one! Jonathan came in with 27.7%, the mysterious Mr. Morse with 24.9% and, delicious irony of ironies, London Dracula with 18.9%. Rest in pieces. Now, what does all this mean going forward?

First, just to reconfirm: I will absolutely be looking into the costs for having more than one plushie character produced at a time. For all that Mina has the top spot if it comes down to a solo run, Nobody Wants to Separate the Gothic Horror Soulmates, even as wee little plushies. It hurts my heart to think of. Mina and Jonathan deserve to sit side by side on everyone’s pillow. Just as Quinn Morse deserves to haunt the pillow next to theirs while casually throttling and carving London Dracula into pieces. For enrichment.

But beyond that, some other key things:

How is this getting done?

Sadly, I was not a cool enough kid for Makeship to greenlight a collaboration with me. Tragique. But while I was sitting around waiting for them to get back to me, I had time to browse around for other options. During that sniffing around I dug up a couple of promising manufacturers—one of which has some really neat options for not only plush toys, but all sorts of bric-a-brac like stationery, shirts, bags, cups, et cetera—and I plan to reach out to them for quotes to start with. Nothing really gets to move forward until I can nail down prices and the amount of X plushies to be made.

I am more than a little hesitant to tell anyone MAKE ME 1000+ PLUSHIES, PLEASE, THE TUMBLR POLL SAID THEY’RE GOOD FOR IT. These aren’t as simple as print/make-on-demand products, so I need to be careful estimating the amount of folks ready and willing to drop money on the little guys. But I will keep everyone updated on the numbers regardless!

Sooo is this a crowdfunding thing or an investment or what?

Don’t know yet. I am still between jobs at the moment—reminder to check out my Ko-Fi if you want to drop me a buck or commission some art!—but if this is something I can safely drop some of my own money in with the guarantee that it will let me do better than break even, I’ll do what I can out of pocket. However, if the cost of making something of good quality turns out too steep, I’ll start looking into stuff like Kickstarter and Backerkit and so on. I want to be sure I’m not gutting anybody’s wallet to pull this off and I want to be double-sure that what we’re paying for isn’t some flimsy throwaway junk. We are all here on the same Dracula book club starving artist site, so It Has to Be Worth It and not a money-sink for anyone.

Got it. Any other info to spare?

For the plushies specifically, this is when I’ll start:

Polishing up the current four designs into cleaner illustrations with different angles to provide for mockup samples with whoever I pick to manufacture with. If I get stuck on something—(which is likely)—I may throw up another poll to bug everyone about palettes and fashion choices. I have a few more designs I haven’t dropped yet for Epilogue Harkers, a non-Bloofer Lucy, and keychains that I’d love to share too!

Eyeballing materials. I’m already picturing a very close-cut cloth for the build and clothes, but I need to decide on filling too. Stiff overstuffing to hold a pose versus softer/lighter plush for floppy cuddleability. 

Poking at other character roughs, ala the Suitor Squad, the Weird Sisters, Van Helsing, Renfield, and Baby Quincey. And if all of those go well…

…maybe some designs for other favorites in the public domain playground. (Looks meaningfully at Clarimonde, Carmilla, Victor Frankenstein and the Creature, the King in Yellow, too many others.) ((But that’s all far-future stuff at the moment.))

Cool! But you also mentioned something about other merch?

I did.

Because goddamn do I want some Dracula-themed stationery. Journals! Memo pads! Pens! Every day we don’t have these things with the Harkers’ mark upon them is a victory for the forces of Count Dracula’s document-destroying evil. Likewise for shirts, totes, mugs, keychains, face masks and other things that could use some novel-flavored goodies. Hell, I’ll probably even get on with making stuff for The Vampyres to link on my website too. Because I am. Maybe behind on that. By several months.

Anyway.

I’ve got to start working on some designs for those too while the plushie process is progressing. Pray that my carpals don’t get tunneled.

Nice! Sounds like your plate is pretty full. So that’s it, right?

:)

Arcane?

:3c

Arcane. I need you to tell me this is all you’re working on.

>:}

Arcane.

Please stand by.

I have a little treat brewing for the Dracula Dailiers and @re-dracula folks in honor of a very special day for our good friend Jonathan Harker.

[eclectickss]

PGATW Part 10

Wanda Maximoff x Natasha Romanoff x OC (fem!reader)

Series Summary: The Avengers take a vacation to a private island rental off the Atlantic coast! You now have an opportunity to spend time with your new family, especially Wanda and Natasha. Chapter Summary: You go all the way... Warnings: no plot, smut (bottom!reader, switch!Wanda, top!Nat, praise, degradation, use of wanda's magic, a lil mommy kink, choking, oral, fingering, wanda magics/enchants a strap-on (r receives)), a wee fluff Note: this is the last foreseeable PGATW update! I had a few more ideas though so we will see. Thanks for reading! Word Count: 3.5k

Check out my series masterlist for links to the rest of the parts & general warnings. Check out my main masterlist for more works! Tag List: @suki-is-a-queen @yeetus-thyself @xenaizogie

The three of you walked back to the beach house and rinsed your feet off, not a single word being exchanged between anyone. The silence was maddening as the three of you walked up the stairs to the entrance, ignoring the looks from the avengers inside.

You could feel Wanda and Natasha's eyes following your ass as you lead the way up the stairs, putting a little more sway into your hips, careless as to whether the other two women noticed or not. 

Faster, detka.

Wanda pushed words into your head, but you kept your pace, finally making it to their room. You didn't know how long you could keep control of yourself though as your heart was racing when your eyes finally made contact with the bed. Your feet somehow manage to carry your body to the foot of the mattress, turning around to sit on the end. When you look up though, you find that Natasha is already climbing on top of you, maneuvering you to the center of the mattress. 

Her eyes dragged up every inch of your body, promptly followed by her hand tracing every dent, line and curve. By the time her eyes had finally connected with yours, you already felt like you were melting. 

"We can't wait to ravish you, darling." Wanda climbed onto the bed, sitting above your head and playing with your hair. You watched impatiently as Natasha looked up at Wanda.

"More than you know, Talia," the Black Widow added, smirking at her parter and dragging the witch in for a deep kiss. You almost moaned as you watched their lips work together, slow tongues and small noises escaping Wanda. A soft whine left your mouth and the women finally looked down at you, both smirking.

"Aww, look Wanda, our babygirl is needy." Natasha mocked, grabbing your chin and stroking it with her thumb. 

"Oh, what do you need, honey?" Wanda leaned over your head to connect with your lips upside down, you finding the new position fascinating. 

"I need you two. Fucking me. Now." You groaned. "Please."

"What a good girl." Natasha whispered as she moved back to sit you up. Wanda slid her thighs under your back, swiftly pulling off your shirt before resting your weight on her legs. Nat's hands ran up and down your sides as Wanda's explored your front. Every touch was driving you wild.

"Baby why do you have a swim suit on?" Wanda laughed into your ear. 

"Oh-" You nearly choked on a moan. "The outfit instructions titled 'beach clothes' is the least informative piece of information you can give a woman, you know?" 

The two avengers giggled as you struggled to steady your breath. 

"Well you look absolutely divine," Natasha added, leaning in to kiss the top of your breasts. 

"Black suits you so well, Detka." Wanda grabbed your throat gently, squeezing on the sides and drawing sinful sounds out of you. As Natasha explored your exposed chest, you arched into her contact, allowing yourself to loose control. 

"No, Talia." Natasha pushed you down, returning your back to the support of Wanda's thighs. She looked at the witch. "Darling, remind me what that word was that our sweet little slut used in that dream of hers?" The Black Widow grinned down at you. "Oh... I remember."

Wanda tilted her head, watching her partner in amusement.

Natasha leaned into your ear as she snaked a cold hand up your front. "Your mommies are in charge now, baby. Try to relax and be a good girl for us." Her teeth found your ear lobe drawing soft whimpers out of you. You felt her smirk against your skin, returning her attention to your chest as she slid one of your swim suit straps down your shoulder.

Wanda's hands worked the other strap down and Natasha watched as the witch shoved both of her palms down your suit and onto your breasts. 

"Detka, you feel so good." Wanda leaned over, speaking next to your ear. You moaned as she rolled your nipples between her soft fingers. The sounds coming out of your mouth were cut short by Natasha finally making contact with your lips. She initially caught you off guard, but you quickly eased into the rhythm, allowing her tongue to enter and explore you. 

You wanted to reach up to pull her kisses further into you, but Wanda quickly pulled her hands out of your top to pin yours to the bed. "Don't get greedy Talia. Your mommies are being nice to you right now."

That statement made you groan into Natasha's mouth, wanting to be obedient, but also wanting to know what the two of them looked like when you were misbehaving. Perhaps later. Wanda managed to slip her fingertips under your back to pull at the tie, taunting you as she slowly undid the knot. 

Natasha helped out by taking the rest of the garment off your body, your bare chest now exposed to the two women. "Oh, honey," Natasha began, staring at your erect nipples. "I'm going to devour you."

Wanda fixed her position under you so that she could access your lips as Natasha latched her own around your delicate nipples, the mouths of both women on you. The witch was softly making out with you, shoving her tongue in-between your teeth, giving way to your small bites and tugs. Natasha swirled her own tongue around one of your nipples as she began to pinch the other. Both women grew addicted to the vibrations coming off of your body as you allowed your quiet moans to consume the room. 

Wanda returned one of her hands around your neck, pulling her into you as she shoved her tongue as deep as possible. The witch forced a light choke out of you, sending shocks down to both of your cores. Natasha carried her kisses to the center of your chest, beginning to pull your thin skin between her teeth, leaving a mess of red marks behind. Your eyes were shut tight in ecstasy as her hickeys trailed down to your lower stomach, the Black Widow's hands running up and down your sides as Wanda's found your breasts. 

When the witch's mouth left yours, you gasped for air. 

"Oh my gods." Your chest heaved. "Fuck i'm- i'm going crazy."

Wanda laughed. "Yeah, detka?" Her fingertips pulled at your nipples. 

"Oh, Wands - please." You whimpered. 

"What is it, pretty girl? Are our generous touches not enough for you?"

Your eyes rolled into the back of the back of your head as Wanda played dumb. You could feel Natasha pop the button on your shorts, still keeping her kisses on your stomach as she listened to the conversation. 

"Fuck- I- you- both of you feel so god damn good." You struggled to form sentences. "But I need something inside of me."

Natasha laughed. "Patience, kotenok. We wanna take our time with you." She ran her hands down your hips. "Wanda, darling, why don't you put those pretty fingers of yours into our slut's little mouth. Keep her busy for a moment."

The witches eyes glazed over as she did what she was told, you welcoming the presence of two slender fingers on your tongue. You roughly sucked, swirling your tongue around her digits while staring into Wanda's piercing green eyes. You could tell Wanda was getting lost as you moaned on her, well aware of how you were effecting her. 

"Is our girl being good for you, honey?" Natasha stared at the sight before her. 

"Oh, so good." Wanda nearly whispered, refusing to break eye contact with you as she pulled her drenched fingers out of your mouth. 

"Perfect. Do you wanna reward her a little?" Natasha asked as she licked your cunt on top of your shorts.

"Fuck." You whispered. 

"Hmm," Wanda began. "Maybe she could touch me a little." The witch grabbed your wrist and placed your fingertips under her shirt. 

"Please."

Wanda laughed as she began to reposition herself. She replaced her thighs that you had been supported on with a pillow, then proceeded to straddle your chest, careful of the weight she was putting on you. You could no longer see Natasha, but you seemed to not mind as you could feel the Black Widow tease at the hem of your shorts and leave hickeys on your thighs. 

Above you, Wanda pulled her top off, exposing the skimpy bralette that was attempting to support her breasts. Before you got the chance to process the sight before you, the witch had also managed to unclasp her bra. You watched as the fabric sagged on her arms, but it wasn't sliding down all the way. 

"Go on, Talia." 

You immediately reached up to drag the bralette down the rest of the way, heart racing at the sight of her bare chest. You ran your hands all over her thighs and up to her chest, relishing your first touches on her hard nipples. The witch moaned as you began to massage her, chest rising and falling with her heavy breaths. 

At the same time, you could feel Natasha slowly work your shorts off of your hips, taking the black swim suit bottoms down with them. 

"Oh, baby." Natasha breathed at the sight of your dripping cunt, bending down to blow hot air your pussy, drawing a whine from your throat. "You look divine." She returned to marking up you inner thighs, but you now felt so much more sensitive. Unable to control yourself, a hand flew up to grip Wanda's neck as the other went to pull her waistband, giving a slight base of friction on her pussy. 

"Fucking- shit." Wanda gasped. "Talia." Your name escaped her mouth as more of a moan.

You smirked below the witch, breathing heavily and happily. You allowed your fingers on the top of her shorts to lower to her clothed cunt, slowly rubbing her out. The hand on her neck moved to her shoulder, making it easier for you to move her around. 

"Oh my gods." Wanda whispered, a hand flying to your own neck to support herself. You grinned taking deep, careful breaths, deciding to tug at Wanda's shorts to see what she would do. The witch's sharp green eyes met yours aggressively as you watched a switch flick in her brain. 

Red tendrils swirled around her free hand and she flicked them to the side of the room. You felt the fabric of her shorts leave your chest, the garment flying in the direction of her fingers. You gasped at Wanda's display of power, now able to see the wet spot on her panties.

This caught Natasha's attention as she chuckled into your pussy. "Go on, darling, let her taste you. I want to hear everything."

Wanda's glare didn't leave as she pushed up onto her knees, now hovering her panties over your salivating mouth. With another swift flick, her panties were off, her sweet smell hitting you like a bus. 

"Come on, Talia. I know you're curious." She smirked, running her slender fingers through your hair before leaning forward to support herself and sink towards you. 

Slowly, you reached your tongue out to her center, holding onto her hips. The moment that her warm cunt reached your mouth though, Natasha also made contact with your pussy. Your mouth quickly sent vibrations into Wanda, who in turn filled the room with her own moans. 

Natasha smirked. She had the both of you in control. 

"Fuck," Wanda groaned as your tongue swirled in her hot, wet mess. While forming a pattern was difficult while Natasha also sucked on your clit, you managed to explore Wanda's cunt, controlling her movements with your hands on her hips. "Natasha, baby, she feels so good," Wanda groaned.

"Yes she does," The Black Widow moaned into you, swirling her saliva around in torturous circles. She lavished in the sounds that escaped your throat, matching every dip and lick up to a whimper or groan. Your legs fought against the strength of Natahsa's arms and Wanda's thighs as you writhed under the two women, this moment in time sending you to a plane that feels like heaven. Welcomed knots began to form in your stomach as the two women worked their magic.

"May I - pl- please cum?" You managed to squeak out under Wanda's pussy. Natasha paused, dropping your heart off the side of a building. 

"Hmm... you can cum once our lovely Wanda does... that'll be a good reward." With that, she immediately returned to eating you out, making you gasp into Wanda. Our  Wanda, Natasha had said. 

You had to make Wanda cum before Natasha got to you... you had to show the two women how much of a good girl you could be. You focused all of your attention on Wanda, desperate to accomplish your goal. You quickly found a repetition that seemed to encapsulate the woman above you in pleasure, holding on tight to her hips so that you could keep her build in control.

Natasha could tell that you were closing in on the witch, so she decided to challenge you by picking up the pace of her torturous ministrations. You wouldn't give in though, you couldn't. The sounds coming from Wanda were telling you that you were close, so you pushed through. You forced yourself to only focus on the witch... how her swollen folds felt against your tastebuds and hips struggled under your hands. You zoned in on each swipe of your tongue, ensuring that her clit was run over through the abundant saliva and oozing slick. 

"Im gonna cum." She groaned breathily. You did it. You made no changes to your ministrations, ensuring that her orgasam hit. Wanda took a deep breath as her release sent a rush of physical power through your body and into Natasha's mouth, causing one more vibrating ripple to coarse through your pussy and add your orgasam to Wanda's. 

You were no longer able focus on the precise movements of your mouth as your walls pulsated around Natasha's tongue, the woman below you working off your high while you messily slowed down Wanda's. "Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck," You breathed into Wanda's cunt, trying to steady your body. You and witch took a few more seconds to regulate your racing hearts as Natasha torturously cleaned up your mess. 

Eventually, Wanda collapsed to the side of you, allowing the mattress to catch all of her weight. 

"Thank you," you managed to croak out. "Thank you mommies. That - that felt so good. You made me feel so good." You whined into the comforter, unaware the two women were staring at each-other as you thanked them. 

"Oh, what a good, good girl. Thanking her mommies for her orgasam." Natasha cooed and you turned to stare at her. The Black Widow made sure you were focused on her as she pulled her top off. You eyes the expanses of her stunning skin, having little time to admire her beauty before she also tossed her bra off. Before you knew it, the damp pool had returned to your core. 

Natasha abruptly reached for one of your hands, moving it to lay on one of her breasts. Joyously yet cautiously, you began to massage her, watching the eyelids of the woman before you slowly close and open. 

"Maybe we should reward her, Wanda?"

You flipped your head to find the witch smirking. "I agree, my love." Her green eyes taunted yours. 

"Wonderful," Natasha replied. "Get on your knees, Talia. All fours, honey." 

You obeyed immediately, the commands affecting you in ways you could never imagine. You were still a little worn from your first orgasam, but you assumed that feeling wouldn't last too much longer.

You could hear the sound of Natasha loosing her pants, but you couldn't see from your new position on top of the mattress. Wanda tilted your chin up to her, grinning.

"Something you'll come to understand very quickly is that I am not your average partner, Talia." Her accent sent chills down your spine. "I come with perks... like this one." Wanda let go of your chin but made sure that her hand was still in your line of sight. You watched as magic shot out of her hand in the direction of Natasha, but you couldn't see what it was doing. 

You looked at the witch in confusion, not feeling anything. She simply smirked, moving her focus to Natasha, as if giving her a signal. All of a sudden, a foreign object pressed up against your ass, drawing a loud gasp out of your throat. 

"Now don't be shy, detka. All I've given our Natasha is a little... add-on." Wanda whispered in your ear, entertained as she watched your eyes widen. These women were going to be the death of you. You whined as the witch playfully tucked a piece of hair behind your ear.  Natasha moved closer to you, now fully rubbing up against your entrance from behind, teasing you as she pleases.

"That's not little," You croaked and Natasha laughed, dragging her hands up and down your back. 

"You'll be alright, honey. You can let us know if it's too much, but I don't think you will." She grabbed onto your hips, slowly sliding into you. Soft, sinful sounds escaped your throat, knowing Natasha was right as she filled you up. 

"Fucking hell, kotenok, you're so tight for me." She moaned above you as you gasped.

"You- can feel me?"

"Yes darling," Wanda jumped in, crawling up high on the bed so you could see her and she could watch. "Natasha can feel all of you." Wanda smirked.

"Ohmygods." You mumbled as the Black Widow started to slowly pump in and out of your slick, addicted to the way her nails were starting to rake down your lower back and hips. The sensation consumed you, and to add to the heat of the moment, Wanda had now started touching herself in front of you. 

"You like what you're seeing, detka?" The witch asked.

"What i'm seeing... what i'm-" You could barely think as Natasha picked up the pace. "What I'm feeling. Ohfuck." You whined watching Wanda's delicate fingers. "Feeling so fucked out and pretty for my mommies."

"You're doing so well, darling," Natasha added, steadying your hips as you began to loose control. "Your pussy feels so warm around my cock... letting me fuck you like this, so needy and numb. Do you think you two will be able to cum with me?"

Natasha's words had an evident effect on you and Wanda, causing you both to give hurried nods. "Go- good girls." Words were beginning to have a harder time escaping her mouth, just as your brain kept getting fuzzier. "Ill just- need a-a few... few more m-moments..."

You could feel yourself on the brink of an orgasam, needing to dedicate all power to holding back. You whimpered as Natasha continued to brutally thrust into you.

The redhead gasped. "Fuck- i'm gonna-"

All of a sudden, Natasha had released into you, sending you over the edge. Wanda watched as the two of you collapsed, allowing her to finish herself off too. The three of you ended up in a sweaty sticky mess, piled on top of each other.

You grinned, happily surrounded by your two favorite people on earth. Wanda reached to hug your body and you reached for Natasha, everyone entangled and satisfied. Despite your sticky skin, you never wanted to let go. 

But nothing can last forever. Eventually, Natasha wiggled out of your grasp and stood up on the floor.

"What! No!" You groaned, missing her warmth. 

"Oh hush, Talia." She giggled. "I have to use the bathroom and clean up. I'm not running away." She said, waltzing towards the other end of the room, fully aware you and Wanda were watching her ass. "Besides, you two should probably clean up as well."

You turned to face Wanda.

"She's right, you know..." The witch spoke softly, her eyes shinning with amusement. 

"But i'm so cozy here..." You looked up to her innocently, flickering your glance in between her eyes and lips. The witch rolled her eyes but couldn't resist as she leaned in to softly capture your mouth, admiring your sweet and sincere kisses.

"C'mon, Talia." She pinched your ass, holding her hand out to you as she stood up. You hesitantly grabbed it, but you immediately realized that you never wanted to let go. The witch dragged you to the bathroom, the two of you joining Natasha in bliss... this was something you could get used to.

[waffles-art-writing]

Can you do Ghost(mw2) x female reader who is like Yor from spy x family(the jobs she has not the personality)

Female reader also has a child

COD MWII Ghost x Female!Assassin!Reader. (Reader has a child)

Summary: You’re recalled from retirement of being an Assassin, your daughter being your main priority. You end up going back into the field with Task Force 141. After the mainly successful mission, Ghost takes you home after finding out you’re injured but not sever enough to need to go to the medical wing. You share a soft moment with the cold lieutenant, showing the side of the quiet man no one has seen. The next morning the babysitter drops your daughter back home, your young child coming home to a surprise and a face she hasn’t seen since she was a wee babe.

Proofread: Kinda???? Not really

Pairing: Simon ‘Ghost’ Riley X Female Assassin (AFAB)

Age Rating: 16+

Codename: *Whatever you want it to be*

KEY: Y/N - Your Name. L/N - Last Name. C/N - Codename

Warning/Info: FLUFF!!!! Soft!Ghost, Injury Description, COD Violence, Female!Reader, Weapons. It is reasonably long. Call Of Duty Comic Description of Ghost.

If you want a part 2 please comment!!! <3 :) (PART TWO)

I apologise for the lack of posting, stuff irl has been picking up a lot and I will not be able to post as much as I wish I could. And I am applying for a new job which will result in me having to spend less and less time on here. :( but I’ll update when I can.

A screeching sound pierces through your calm, soundless sleep. The ear piercing sound making you groan, rolling over, smacking your hand onto your nightstand, slapping the screen of your phone. The sound comes to a halt, you look at the time. Eyes widening, you didn’t set the earlier alarm. “Shit shit shit.” You curse out, stumbling to pull on some pants, tossing a shirt over your head as you dash down the hall. Stopping to peek into your daughters room, who is fast asleep, covers pulled up to her chin, a foot sticking out of the bed to the side.

A soft smile spreads across your lips as you look at her. Her hair a mess on the pillow, hands wrapped around her stuffed dog toy, snuggled into it. You move away from the door, continuing on your mission to the bathroom, pulling your hair back into a messy bun. Life has been hectic ever since putting your job as an assassin on hold so you can have your daughter, and not end up losing her cause you’re not around enough. Only two people knew about you and your daughter, both of them still working well and truly.

You flick on the bright light in the bathroom, you look towards the mirror. Dark circles rest under your eyes, hair tousled and messy despite it being pulled up in a messy bun. You lean against the bathroom counter, turning the tap on to brush your teeth. Suddenly your phone vibrates, the sound echoing around the cold room, almost amplifying the sound. You tap the green button on the screen not looking who it was.

“Hello?” You answer, your voice quiet to not wake your daughter.

“Morning L/N.” The deep gravely voice of Price comes from the speakers, it almost sends a chill down your spine. You haven’t been called this early by him in a long while. “Morning John, is there something you need?” You cut straight to the point, not wanting to beat around the bush as to why he is calling you so early in the morning, on a week day of all days.

“Straight to the point as always I see. Yes, we need your expertise for an overview of a mission- Yes I know, before you even complain I know you aren’t in the field anymore, or thats what most say but Laswell says otherwise.” You roll your eyes, of course he would know you still do the occasional job but you haven’t done one for years, you aren’t even sure as to how he thinks you could help. “Mission Overview? What could I possibly help with?” You question, your hands running under the cold water to splash it onto your face.

“Its an Capture or kill mission and if the time comes and we, y’know gotta send the target on their merry way to an early grave, we want you to give us an idea on how we should do it.”

“And why can’t you guys figure it out?”

“L/N we need you for this, its a complicated mission… I myself want you in the field and execute this yourself…”

You sigh, running a hand down your face. You worked for KorTac - a mercenary group - and you assisted Price and his team the Task Force 141 on occasion. But you mainly worked solo, the Task Force 141 never met you, other than Price and Laswell. You met Ghost as well, you both stay in contact occasionally, only in case of emergencies… well more like, needing a ride from the base back home on the very rare occasion he decides to go home.

“Pay?” You ask.

“Whatever your rate is, kid.” He replies.

“Good. I’ll be there in 3 hours.” You hear Price reply with confirmation before hanging up the phone. Your fingers drum against the counter.

Okay, cool, doing another job, nothing new right? Just been out of the field for a few years, just gotta warm up a bit thats all… Right?

———

“Okay behave, don’t do anything silly and listen to your teachers. And remember to listen to Amber’s parents okay? Have a good day and a fun sleepover.” You say to your daughter - Emilia - kissing her forehead. “Yep!” She chimes, a smile spread across her cheeks, her braids neatly tucked up into a ponytail. “Good, Love you.” You smile, pulling her into a hug. “Love you too Mama.” She squeezes her arms around your neck, your crouched form still larger than her. Once you let go, she waves goodbye, running into school towards her friends. You smile, quickly turning around to walk towards the car park.

You make your way towards the dark blue sedan you bought far too long ago, still surprised it still works. Your face falls when you see a figure leaning against the hood of it, hands in their pockets, clad in black. Including a cap and what looks like a skull balaclava. You sigh, knowing who it is. Its not a common thing to see people walk around in a skull print mask and clad in full black.

“Lieutenant…” You greet when you reach him, he stands up and nods to you. “C/N…. Or should I call you Miss L/N?” He pokes, his dead pan tone not helping his remark to come across as teasing. You shake your head with a smile, unlocking the car. “I’m assuming you’ve been sent to make sure I end up coming right?”

Ghost shrugs, a small nod accompanying it. “We can’t be too careful…” He states, climbing into the passenger seat as you get into the drivers side. “Right… whatever you say Ghost.” You huff, buckling yourself in as you pull out of the car parking.

———

“The mission will be tough, but I brought an old acquaintance along to help us plan out a strategy. Boys, meet C/N. She has worked with me in the past and used to work for the Mercenary ground KorTac, she now works solo for the government.” Price states as you stand at the front of the room.

“Hello, Yes before you ask I’m what some call an ‘assassin’. I work solo but I haven’t worked in the field for some years now, as I have had other things going on. But I am still qualified to assist you boys in any way to make sure this mission is a success.” You pause, locking eyes with Ghost, he knows you’re nervous to be here again. You continue to inform them the best strategies for them to be able to do this unnoticed, especially while inside.

———

It’s the day of the mission, you managed to get a babysitter for Emilia. She wasn’t all too happy about you leaving for a few days, but you said you’ll be back in not time, and have a gift for her. Which is partly true, you just hope nothing goes south and cause you to stay away longer than you planned. You want to be back by the weekend, or at least before the new school week starts.

Your plan to stay out of the field didn’t last long, Gaz ended up falling sick with food poisoning, pretty bad food poisoning from the amount of time he spent in the bathroom or medical bay yesterday. Still having an upset gut this morning when you arrived at an ungodly hour in the morning, having just dropped Emilia off at the baby sitters.

The team is communicating back and forth over the comms, you’ve managed to infiltrate the building where the target is. The slick walls on the outside not making the job easier. You are definitely a lot less fit than what you thought you were, but still fit enough to keep up with the team and your job on this mission.

Assassinate the target, and get the hell home.

Simple right? Yeah really simple, if it wasn’t a great big warehouse like building with barely any cover or high points for you to use to your advantage.

———

“Got eyes on the target.” You whisper into the comms, slinking along the beams that support the A-Frame ceiling of the warehouse. “Copy that, Ready when you are C/N.” Price states, Ghost and Soap stating something of confirmation.

You step lightly across the beam, your light footwork going unnoticed by the man littering the floor below you. There’s a catwalk just below you, one armed guard standing at a door that leads into the office where your target sits, back to the door and window that overviews the factory.

The guard walks up and down the cat walk intermittently, observing everything below him. Never above him. How stupid.

As soon as the guard passes by under you, reaching a part in the catwalk railing that’s solid sheet metal. You jump down, landing lightly on your feet, the sounds of the factory drowning out your movement. Crouched low you sneak up behind him, slicing the backs of legs, right through the tendons that keep him standing. You spring up, hand covering his mouth to keep him silent. Other arm wrapping around to the front, quick jerk to the side. Lights out.

You gently lay his limp body down, tucking him up against the metal barrier.

“Guards out, preparing to breach the targets office.” You communicate. “Be careful C/N.” Ghost states over the Comms, both him and Soap just downstairs at the entrance, ready to breach if anything goes sideways. “Always am.” You hear Soap snort at your reply as Price growls at you all to focus.

Your skilful hands test the door, it doesn’t budge, the window that’s just a foot or two away from the edge of the cat walk is open. Either pick lock the door and risk getting caught with your back to the open or swing in through the open window and possibly fall and either hurt your self, die, or break all your bones then die by one of the other guards bullets. Either way you could end up dead.

Window.

Quickest way in.

———

The mission was a success, you managed to get into the room, secure the target and kill them. Clean and quietly. Getting out was a different mission entirely, one of the guards spotted the fact they couldn’t see another guard on the cat walk. They investigated and found the slumped body of the dead guard. Immediately yelling for the alarm to be pulled.

Ghost and Soap busted in to draw their attention to them and away from the office, all you had to do was get the fuck out and get to the extraction point. You managed to slip out the window on the far side of the office, but not without being nicked by the a few bullets.

You manage to sprint across the roof, throwing yourself off the edge and landing on top of a large truck with a large thump. You cough harshly, feeling like your ribs got smashed by a sledge hammer. You stumble to your feet, slipping off the side of the truck and sprinting towards the back fence of the compound, you glance to your right, seeing Ghost and Soap climbing the wall quickly. You fling yourself into the fence, dragging yourself over the top, thankful theres not barbed wire.

“C/N? You good?” Soap calls over the comms, you can hear he’s breathless, the faint sound of Ghost in the background barking orders out to the extraction chopper to start the engine. “Y-Yeah…” You wheeze, rushing through the brush of the forest, weaving in and out of trees heading uphill towards the small clearing the chopper is situated in. Your lungs burn, the cold air stinging your eyes and cheeks. The adrenaline numbing the pain in your leg and arm, your ribs still feeling like you’re wearing a corset.

You stumble into the clearing, Ghost and Soap a few paces ahead, the lieutenant spins around. Noticing you’ve arrived, Soap running to the chopper. You nod to Ghost as you approach, Ghost waits for you to pass before following after you into the chopper. You slump down into the uncomfortable chair of the helicopter, adjusting to keep your ribs from being pushed on by the seat strap.

Both the men ask if you’re okay, you wave them off chuckling while wheezing out a “Just a little unfit is all.” Soap chuckles, Ghost just shakes his head lightly, moving forward to signal for the chopper to get you all out of there.

———

Once back in England and on base you get a phone call from the babysitter a normal thing, it’s almost eight thirty in the evening “Hello?” You ask, bringing the phone to your ear as you walk down path towards the entrance of the base, car parked not too far front he entrance. “Hey Miss L/N! Lizzie here, I was just gonna put Emilia to bed. Are you free to talk to her?” The babysitter Lizzie states, it’s almost like a nightly ritual. Every night that you’re not home, whoever is looking after your daughter will call to see if your available to say goodnight to Emilia.

“Yeah I’m free.” You state, stopping at the end of the path by the entrance of the main building, sitting down on the bench outside. You hear Lizzie talking to Emilia, your daughter sounding tired but excited. “MAMA!” She calls through eh phone, you smile a and laugh lightly hearing your daughters voice warms your heart, her sweet voice making you happy. “Hey pumpkin. You behaving?” You ask her, having a teasing tone. “Yeah! We got to watch a movie while eating dinner!” She states happily, you smile listening to her talk about what happened throughout the day.

The door opens and closes, Ghost slips out into the cold evening. His eyes spot you off to the side, its dusk, the flood lights not coming on just yet. He can see your breath in the cold air, billowing out past your lips. His own breath billowing out into the air as he pulls his mask up, he leans against the small wall of the entrance staircase. He shoves he cigarette between his lips, cupping his hands around the flame of the lighter. He hears your laugh, it echos into the evening air. Its warm and light to his ears, his eyes flick up to watch you. He’s too far away to hear what you’re talking about.

You bid Emilia goodnight, shutting off your phone as you shoved it into your jacket pocket. Sighing as you search your small duffle bag for your keys, knowing you threw them in there. You wince, groaning as you lean over, gripping your side with ragged breaths.

Ghost pushes off the wall as soon as he sees you double over on the bench, showing pain. “Hey hey hey… what’s wrong?” He mumbles, flicking his cigarette in front of his boot and stomping it out. Stopping over the smouldering ashes to crouch down in front of you, pulling his mask down quickly as he kneels. “C/N what’s wrong?” He asks, his voice stern as he looks at your scrunched face, pain obvious across your expression. “My ribs- I… I thought they were just bruised.” You wheeze out, sitting back to look at him. His hands ghost over your knees as he stands, sitting next to you.

“Let me check, we don’t want you to go home with broken bones. Are you hurt anywhere else?” He asks, motioning for you to shrug off your jacket. “Just a few grazes from a bullet but I handled them, they weren’t deep.” You groan, pulling your jacket off, your thick jersey and shirt thankfully being warm enough in the crisp air. “Okay, may I touch your ribs? Under your jumper?” The taller man asks, you nod your head turning slightly so your back is facing him. His glove clad hands snake under your jersey and shirt, ghosting over your waist up to your ribs.

“Did you land on your back or front?” He asks, his fingers delicately pressing against your rib cage. “Front, kinda threw myself off the roof onto a truck roof…” you state, flinching when his hands snake around to your front, right under the hem of your sports bra. Rough gloves pressing into your ribs. You wine, flinching away from his hands. “Ow- Watch it lieutenant…” you snap, your body disagreeing with your sudden movements. “M’sorry” he mumbles, he pulls his hands back. Laying your jacket across your shoulders again. “Well nothing is broken from what I could tell, but you’re not driving.” He states, standing from his spot next to you and grabbing your duffle bag and throwing it over his shoulder.

You look at him confused, a brow raise as you slip your arms through eh jacket again, fixing your jersey and shirt in the process. You stand, looking up at the large man. “What? I need to get home, what the hell do you mean Ghost?” You ask, tone almost angry. “I’m driving you home, you shouldn’t drive when you have damaged ribs.” He states, keeping his explanation to a minimum. You sigh shaking your head as you follow him, he ready knows where your car is. You both arrived in the same vehicle so thankfully he remembered where you parked.

———

The drive back to your place was quiet, the occasional question, or observation. Ghost helps you out of your car, his hand ghosting over the small of your back guiding you up the stairs of the small apartment. “You didn’t have to walk me to my door, Ghost.” You state, unlocking the door and pushing the door open. Toeing off your boots by the door and dumping your bag on the couch as you walk past it, Ghost follows you in, leaving his boots by the door while closing it and locking it. He immediately walks towards your bathroom, he’s been here a few times, he knows the layout like the back of his hand. “Ghost? The hell are-” “Finding your med kit, take your shirt off, I need to properly check your ribs.” You stare down the corridor towards the bathroom with a shocked expression. You throw your coat over the back of the couch, walking down the hallway towards the bathroom, passing it towards your bedroom at the end of the hallway. “I’m in my room just so you know.” You call out, grabbing the hem of your jersey, wincing when you tug it up.

You jump at the feeling of calloused hands resting over yours. “G-Ghost?” You stutter, feeling his presence behind you, his breathing quiet and muffled by his mask. “Let me help.” He offers, more like stating he is going to help you even if you deny it. You lift your arms above your head, wincing at the movement. He tugs the heavy fabric carefully over your head, throwing it over to the hamper in the corner. You wince you turn around, looking up at the taller man. “Why… Why are you doing this?” You ask, brows furrowed.

“You go n’one else to help you, and I know that you wouldn’t get help.” He states, gently pulling your dark shirt up and over your head as well, your sports bra on full display. Ghost’s eyes linger on your chest for a second before quickly adverting his eyes to the medkit on your bed. “Sit down.” He mumbles as he opens the small bag, kneeling down in front of you. You sit with your arms tucked around your stomach, conscious of how you look.

You have always been conscious of your body, especially after your pregnancy. Your tummy never got back to as toned and flat as it was before. Stretch marks paint your hips and thighs, and your lower abdomen like tiger stripes, rough to the touch and unpleasant to look at. Ghost grabs the anti inflammatory cream from the kit, pulling his gloves off and warming the cream up in his hands. You stare at the movement of his hands, mind wandering to thoughts you never thought you would have again.

What would his hands feel like, I wonder if his touch is soft - he lays wears gloves maybe he has soft hands? Maybe they are rough, like his personality. What his he doesn’t like what I look like and thinks I’m disgusting, what if he thinks pathetic for being in pain. What if-

“Y/n?” Ghost asks, he’s being saying your name for the past few moments. You snap your attention back to him, letting out a small ‘huh?’ When you notice him looking at you with slightly furrowed brows. “Can I put the cream on?” He asks, his voice quiet, his hands resting on your legs, palms facing up with the cream smeared across them. “Oh… uh yeah…” A small blush of embarrassment paints your cheeks as you sit straighter, arms resting across your tummy. Ghost watches you sit up properly, reluctant to move your arms. He attempts to work around your arms, gently spreading the cream across your ribs. His hands are calloused but his touch his soft but firm enough to make sure the cream spreads.

“…Love, I need you to move your arms…” He states softly, his eyes looking up to yours, his soft with concern. You furrow your brows, looking away as you move your arms, the yellow light from your lamp glowing softly across your skin. The light bumped stretch marks marring your skin, the deep colour a large contrast against the rest of your skin, most of them have lightened but a few are still dark. You flinch when you feel his hands move lower along your rib cage.

He hasn’t said anything, quiet, like always, eyes analysing everything he is doing in great detail.

He finishes rubbing the cream in after gently lifting the side of your sports bra to get under the cloth, gently massaging the cream into your sore body. “Its still going to be bruise to shit, you’ll have to be careful…” He mumbles, he gently takes your left arm into his hands, peeling back the bandage you haphazardly wrapped around while back on the base. He smears the residue of the cream around the wound, “You did a good job at cleaning it…. Just half assed bandage” he teases lightly, re wrapping your arm with a clean bandage.

You shrug, handing your head, eyes trained on his knee thats pressing into the plush carpet of your room. The same carpet you paid too much money for and installed it yourself while almost 3 months pregnant. A lot of tears have been shed on this carpet, some blood but mainly tears. You hear him say something, your mind elsewhere as you mindlessly shake your head. Not a hundred percent sure on what you were disagreeing too.

You never noticed how detailed his tattoo is, its on display as he takes his jacket off, rolling his long sleeve up. The permanent ink thats been delicately painted into his skin stand out against the rest of his pale skin tone. The scars he’s gained after the tattoo break the ink in small lines, mostly the ink has stayed. His hands are large, rough but gentle. He’s always been a tough and scary man on the outside but you can see he has the same needs as anyone else. Love, affection and care… even partnership. Yes he has the team but he needs something more, but he’s scared, hesitant. Horrified if he gets too attached or too close with someone he cares about he will lose them, he’s terrier he will do the wrong thing, scare them off, pained himself in the a bad light he’s always been known to hold.

Ghost eventually gets to check the bullet graze on your thigh, its shallow. Still needing antibiotic cream and a new bandage, your track pants that unzip up your mid thigh are scrunched up around your hips and upper thigh as he works on your injury. Mumbling something as you hold the clothing out of the way.

“…Can you stay the night?”

Ghost’s movements cease for a brief moment, his breathing stilling as he glances up at you then back down at the bandage he’s wrapping around your thigh. You stay silent, looking at him. Hands itching to do something, but you can’t.

“…Sure…” he replies after a moment.

You nod your head, happy that he agreed. A little anxious despite the fact you know him, he knows you. Fuck he even knows your daughter since she was a wee babe, but hasn’t seen her for some years. She probably won’t remember him at all. She was barely three when he met her, she’s now turning six in a week.

Ghost zips your track pants back up, pulling the fabric down your leg. His hands linger on your covered calf. Fingers pressing in the muscle gently as he stares blankly. You can see he’s thinking, thinking to the point of being motionless. You lean forward, ignoring the slight pain thats throbbing throughout your body. You reach down a tap his hand thats on your calf, knowing he isn’t fond of physical touch. “Ghost…” you whisper, trying to draw him out of his thoughts.

He snaps his head up to look at you, eyes set at a hard glare which soften slightly when he realises its you. You give him a soft smile. “You okay?” You ask softly, his hands falling away from your calf, the warmth going with it. You miss it, the comforting weight and warmth of his large hands gripping your calf. He nods his head as he cleans his throat, standing to clean up the med kit and discard of the old bandages. “Yeah, I’ll be right back… Get uh…” he pauses glancing over at you when he turns to walk to the door. “Change and get into bed, I’ll get you water an a pain killer.” He states, closing the door behind him with a soft click.

Ghost shuts the door softly, careful to not slam it. He glances down at his watch. 2245 (10:45pm) he groans quietly, nudging the bathroom door open again the put the med kit back in the sink cabinet.

Why the hell did I agree to stay? What the fuck is wrong with me? Her skin was so soft… Her stretch marks were fucking amazing- FUCK I can’t think like this. I need to stop thinking like this, we are friends… are we even friends? What is she hates me and Is only offering for me to stay out of sympathy or it being late? God she has a kid, I can’t just barge into their life and be the man they see with their mother. I’m not a go-

His thoughts get cut short when he spots a photo of the fridge door, one side of it ripped, torn off. He reaches up and slides it out from under the sunflower magnet. The photo is of you, smiling as bright as the sun thats beaming in through the tree tops. Emilia is cradled in your arms, clearly only a few months old. Her big eyes beaming in sunlight, same colour as yours. Ghost’s fingers trace the ripped edge of the photo, he knew who was supposed to be there. He quickly pins it back to the fridge before taking the pain killers and water to your room.

———

You watch as Ghost places the bottle of water and pain killers on the bedside table. You’re sitting in bed, bag t-shirt and shorts. You look up at ghost, patting the bed next to you. Ghost stares for a moment, shocked you want him in your bed and not to just crash on the couch.

He opens his mouth to deny but you beat him to it. “You aren’t sleeping on that piece of shit couch, you’re staying in here with me. And thats final.” You state, tone firm. Ghost looks from you to the open space on the king sized bed next to you. His eyes flickering back and forth over and over again. “Sleeping on top of the blankets.” He mumbles out, knowing we won’t be able to get past your stubborn attitude, you’re a mother. You know how to get your way. You smile, a soft one of reassurance. You throw a spare shirt at him and point towards the box in the corner.

“Stole this from you a year ago cause you forgot to take it with you after you did your washing here…” You chuckle lightly, “The box should have some basketball shorts or something you can wear. They were my brothers that he gave to me when I was pregnant cause they were bigger than my clothes.” Ghost just nods, crouching down in front of the box and searching through it, he knows you would be angry at him if he slept in his clothes he wore that day.

He looks over at you then towards the lamp next to you, you get the idea and turn over. Back facing him, hand resting on the switch to turn it off as soon as you feel the bed dip behind you. It feels like an eternity for him to lay on the bed, even though he’s on top of the covers. You can hear a small groan emitting from his side of the bed, you flick the switch. The room delving into darkness, the only light peeking out from under our door, the nightlight that sits in the hallway for Emilia happily lighting under the dark corridor.

It quiet, apart from your breathing and Ghost’s muffled breaths, and the starting pitter patter of rain hitting the window. You turn to lay on your back, keeping your eyes on the ceiling.

“Thank you.”

Your soft words break the silence, Ghost looks at you from the corner of his eye. He’s laying like a dead man, straight as board, hands clasped together over his stomach as he looks towards the ceiling.

He hums in response, he turns his head to look at you properly, the dim light from the hallway making it practically impossible to see anything, but his eyes have adjusted easily. He reaches over to clasp your hand thats resting on your own stomach overtop the blankets. Squeezing it softly, letting you know he heard you. A small smile creeps up onto your lips. You turn onto your side, facing him now. He copies your action, bodies mirroring each other as your hands lay clasped together between the two of you. You let out a small sigh, his hand squeezes yours when he hears the heavy breath.

“Emilia would’ve jumped in between us if she was here, she doesn’t like when it starts raining late at night.” You state, smiling to yourself as you trace Ghost’s broad silhouette in the dark room. The small amount of light peeking through the thing curtains behind him on the far side of the room. “So she’s scared of rain?” Ghost’s rough voice cuts through the quiet, the gravel in his voice hoarse but still has a soft tone to it as he tries to talk quietly.

You shrug, unsure what she’s actually scared of. “I think it’s more when it suddenly pours down and it’s dark, the sound and lack of light scares her.” You hum, still trying to figure out what your daughter is scared of, even though you have reassure her many times that its just rain. You hear the deep rumble of Ghost making a humming like sound, like he’s thinking.

“Well… I’m sure there’s no monsters, you’re scary enough” he teases, squeezing your hand. You feign hurt, gasping and swatting his chest lightly. A giggle leaving you, a small, breathy almost non existent chuckle rumbles from Ghost’s chest. “God, if the Ghost thinks I’m scary, I really must be.” You laugh, teasing him back. Your ribs hurt from your laughter, but you’re too caught up in the fact you are hearing the one and only Lieutenant Riley laughing, laying on your bed, your hand in his.

“Nah, yer alright. You’re scary, but not as scary as Price when he hasn’t had his morning coffee” he jokes, tugging you closer slightly, he’s still on top of the blankets. His arm wrapping around your waist, careful on your sore ribs. “That’s true.” You agree, laughing softly as you place a hand on his chest, feather lightly touches run along your back. Your head tucked under his chin, his mask still on. Thankfully he didn’t wear the hard skull one and just a simple fabric one with a skull print.

Your laughter slowly ceases, breathing going back to normal. After a few moments of comfortable silence, you speak up again.

“Thank you again… This means a lot Ghost.”

A beat of silence passes.

“Simon…”

“What?”

“Call me Simon…”

Your eyes widen at his words, a warm feeling flooding your chest as you tuck your face into the nook between his shoulder and neck.

“Thank you Simon.”

“Anytime Y/n”

His words were barely a whisper, you fall back into silence. Its nice, the heat from his body keeping you warm, eating your pain in a way you didn’t think was possible. The pain killers probably taking most the credit for the lack of pain, yet the sense of security and comfort falls over you. Your eyes slide shut, breathing evening out as sleep pulls you into the depths of slumber.

“Goodnight, Love.”

————

You walk out of your room, hair messy, rubbing your eyes, feet padding across the hardwood of the hallway. Mind still in sleep mode. You round the corner into the kitchen from the hallway, bumping into something… more like someone. You wobble as you lose your balance, arms snake around your waist quickly, pulling you close.

“Careful, I don’t wanna take you to the hospital cause you broke your ass.” A deep voice chuckles, you look up, bleary eyed and confused. “O-Oh… Sorry Gho- Simon…” You apologies, rubbing a hand down your face with a groan, leaning your forehead against his chest. He’s changed into his cargo pants from the day before, same shirt from last night. It fits a little tight across his chest and his biceps but not too tight.

“Drinks on the coffee table, go sit down.” He states, his voice still laced with sleep. You look at him confused, glancing over at the coffee table. “Thanks, but you didn’t have to.” You state, walking over to the couch and slumping into it.

“I’m not the one who looks like I got ran over by a bus.” He teases as he walks over, bowl of fruit in hand and more painkillers and a glass of water. You thank him as he hands them to you, he sits next to you on the couch. “Feeling any better?” He asks, voice quiet. You nod your head, scooping some fruit into your mouth. The comfortable quiet gets broken by a knock at the door, you jump from your spot. “Shit” you mumble around a mouthful of fruit. “That’s Lizzie with Emilia.” You state stumbling from the couch, placing the bowl of fruit on the table, throwing your hair back into some sort of up-do. Simon stands from his spot, hands coming to rest on your shoulders. “Sit back down, I’ll get it.” He states, turning to go to the door.

“Wait Simon you still got-” you were gonna say hes still got his mask on, it will scare Lizzie and Emilia and confused them both as well. But your words die in your throat as you watch him tug it over his head, stuffing it in his pocket. You didn’t realise until now he must’ve washed the black war paint off when he got up. You watched in stunned silence, the man who never takes the mask off, ever. Has now taken it off, his dark short cut hair on display.

With baited breath you watch as the door opens, Lizzie coming into view with Emilia standing next to her gripping her hand. Lizzie looks up at the taller male with wide eyes, filled with confusion. You’re too shocked to register any words being exchanged between the two, you’re shaken from your trance when Simon turns to face you with a small smile. Jaw covered with a light stubble, dark chocolate eyes, a small scar cuts into his brow, two other scars rest just above his other brow. His nose is sharp, jawline defined. On his left another scars cuts through his top lip going up to the outer edge of his nose. There’s a another scar that paints his skin from the bridge of his nose trailing to the right, ending on his cheek bone below his eyes.

“MAMA!” Emilia screams, snapping you out of the trance properly. You crouched down catching her in your arms, ignoring the fact she just rammed straight into your heavily bruised ribs. “Hey pumpkin! I missed you so much.” Emilia wraps her arms around your neck, legs clinging to your waist like a koala as you stand up. Your arms scooped under her to support her properly as you walk over to stand next to Simon. “Thanks a lot Lizzie. I’ll go get your pay-” Simon stops you from moving towards the kitchen island to get your wallet. “Already paid her.” He states, hand resting on your lower back as you look up at him. Emilia looks between the two of you smiling. Lizzie waves it off and says shes happy to do it again, you bid her goodbye and close the door.

Emilia dragged Simon off to her room while you talked to Lizzie, saying something about wanting to show him her stuffed toys. You thank Lizzie again, showing your appreciation for her looking after your daughter. Once you closed the door, you stroll down the hallway. Hearing the rumbling timbre of Simon’s voice softly echoing around the apartment. You reach Emilia’s room, leaning against the door frame, you bite your tongue to not giggle at the sight in front of you.

There’s stands, Simon Ghost Riley, Clad in black cargo pants and a dark grey shirt. Sitting Criss Cross Apple Sauce on the floor, the pastel pink fluffy rug below him a strong contrast to his clothing. Emilia is rambling on about her stuff toys, pulling each stuffed animal off her bed to show the large man. Simon’s eyes are soft, just the barest hint of a smile on his lips as he nods along to Emilia’s words.

“And this one is Burt! He’s a water dragon! See!” The young girl states, a large smile on her face, cheeks rosy from excitement to showing a new person her toys. “Nice to meet you Burt.” Simon greets the toy, probably the umpteenth one he has greeted in the span of five minutes. “Nice to meet you too Mr. Simon!” Emilia states, hanging her voice to sound like a boyish drawl. You can’t help but chuckle at this, walking into the room when they both look over at you.

“I see your toys like Mr. Simon quite a lot, sweetheart.” You smile, taking a seat on the ground, knees tucked beneath you. Emilia smiles, nodding her head as she grabs another toy, leaving the small blue dragon next to Simon, like the rest of the toys she’s shown him so far. “She’s very confident and friendly for a kid.” Simon quietly states, keeping his voice low to talk to you. You nod and shrug your shoulders, a small smirk on your lips. “Yeah, I guess so. She always has been.”

“Mr. Simon… are you staying the night?” Emilia ask’s suddenly, gripping her favourite stuffed dog, in her hands. Simon looks from the young girl to you, in which you just nod to Emilia. “If your mum says I can.” He states, his tone soft. Emilia’s eyes light up, she jumps towards you, pressing the dog toy into your chest. “Please mama! Please please please! Can he stay!” She asks, more like demands. You laugh lightly, scooping the young girl up in your arms. Cradling her against you, humming in a a question manner. “Hmmm. I don’t see why not. SO yes, he can stay.” You conclude, laughing when Emilia squeals in excitement. “Thank you thank you!” She dashes from her spot in your arms, towards her bedroom door. “I gotta go build a fort for movies! Don’t come over till I’m done!” She states, dashing towards the living room, her bare feet pounding against the hardwood.

“Well… Look’s like you have a fan.” You tease the quiet man, a small smile on your lips as your eyes soften when you see him. His large and scarred hands softly gripping the small dragon toy in his hands. “Seem’s so… Guess I’m going to be spending more time here.” He states, standing as he places the toy back on the bed. You stand next to him, leaning up and leaving a light kiss on his cheek. “Thank you…” you softly state, placing a hand on his upper arm before leaving the room when you hear Emilia yell something about needing help.

Simon watches you leave, a hand ghosting over his cheek. His chest tightening with emotion, it feels tight but its almost comforting. He shakes his head as he follows you out, planning to help Emilia with her ‘fort’.