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#why couldn't I just sleep for my eight hours like a normal person?
al-ghoul · 1 year
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I am a notoriously dumb fuck today, seems to me.
Have to collect some saliva for tests.
Was told to do this "Immediately After Waking Up If You Wait Ten Minutes It Won't Be Correct!!!1"
The next one goes in 30 minutes and the next one in 60. And then not to go back to sleep for the whole day, and then do one before going to sleep in the evening.
Chew on the cotton for 1-2 minutes, put it in the tube, write down the time. Simple, yes? No!
Woke up, tried to contemplate did I actually wake up or not yet, got scared it's taking too long, grabbed the cotton, start chewing on it like a good boi I am, took the phone to write the time - turned out I was sleeping for only two hours, it not the morning yet.
Freaked out that I fucked up the tube, went to frantically google where to buy a new one, while deciding should I just go for it and call it a morning, when came back to my senses turned out I was chewing on the cotton for 20 minutes now.
The test is for stress hormone. (ba dum tss)
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goodluckclove · 5 months
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Hey so, in regards to my last post on electroshock, I'm processing more with my dear friend @ivaspinoza and have concluded that I am upset and need to rant a little about using this as a troupe. It's probably not going to be pretty or encouraging at the end like my usual thoughts on writing, so if you don't want to see me genuinely upset, I'd skip this.
Trigger warning for electroshock, medical trauma, family trauma, unreality. Be safe, friends.
So I read a whump prompt post that threw in "shock treatment" as a possible tactic that would leave a Whumpee "shaking and terrified". No further details on how or why, it was just a single reference as to a thing you can do to a character in your writing. I was surprised to read it, it was the first time I've seen it referenced in the prompt ideas that pop up on my For You page, and over the course of the next hour I proceeded to get more and more upset.
I wasn't planning on doing anything about it. It's frankly a new experience for me to be triggered like this over something I see online. I had no direct interaction with the post because I told myself that the writer just had a severely limited understanding. Maybe they're young. When I was in early high school I would've thought shock treatment was an edgy thing to happen to a person in a piece of media.
And it's that thought that ultimately motivated me to sit you all down and say something you might not realize. Writers, artists, you guys all know that Electroshock Therapy...still happens, right?
It happens a lot. 100K people a year, more or less, according to a singular Google search. It's not common, and it's only used for severe cases, but it is used. And oftentimes it's a pretty big deal. In fact, I'd dare say that it can be permanently and absolutely devastating for a family.
It was for mine.
My mom got ECT for severe depression when I was around 19 years old. From what I know, that's one of the only cases in which doctors will offer it - depression, mania, and schizophrenia that aren't successfully managed by any other means. For a few months my dad would drive her once, sometimes twice a week for treatments. She would have to wear diapers to the clinic they took her to, because since ECT is just the process of inducing multiple small seizures she would often piss herself.
She would not come home shaking. She would come home tired. I don't even think they gave her drugs. I've had a small seizure before, you aren't left twitchy and anxious - you're tired. You want to lie down. She would sit in the backyard in a daze. I would have to tell her to raise her arms so I could cut off her hospital bracelets. She wasn't catatonic, either. She could still hold a conversation and make jokes. In many ways she seemed normal. Just tired, tired, tired. A little absent in a sense.
The mood changes were stark and frightening. She would throw things. Dad told me she shattered a glass elephant I bought her as a present. She would storm into my room and scream at me for no reason. I bought a mini-fridge so I wouldn't have to go into the kitchen when I'd get hungry. If she was terrified, it didn't look like how you'd expect.
I stopped staying at home as often. I would leave the house before she woke up, sleep all day on the couch in the upstairs of a coffee shop that I considered a second home, and only come back once my Dad was back from work. While Mom was undergoing ECT, I was afraid to be alone with her. One night I had nothing else to kill time with, and to avoid going home immediately I skipped taking the lightrail back from downtown and instead biked eight miles on a freeway bike path, alone, at night.
My dad had me stay at my grandmas for a month because I couldn't take it anymore. This probably blew up in his face, as by then Mom forgot why I left. She thought he kicked me out. She kept asking me to come back and telling me she loved me. She did not remember almost kicking me out herself the night before I left.
ECT fucks your short term and long term memory. If you met my Mom she would tell you her depression is cured, and that's because she no longer has any memory of any of her childhood and most of her adulthood. That means, by proxy, she no longer remembers raising me or any of her other children.
I asked my mother if she remembered anything from my life growing up and she said no. For a birthday present that year I wrote all my favorite memories with her because now I'm the only person that knows they actually happened.
And you know what's crazy? Doctors use ECT as a last resort because they don't really know what it does long-term. I'm learning first hand, though. Mom went in for round two of treatment a little over a year later (Did you know ECT has a relapse rate of a little over 50%?) and the results were about the same. But as time goes on her memory is getting worse. When I saw her for the last time, about a month before going no-contact, she was forgetting things I said earlier in a conversation. If she develops early onset dementia I will not be surprised.
Was it worth it? I don't know.
Is it ever worth it? I don't know. I just don't know.
What I do know is that Electroshock is the most impactful thing that has ever altered my life and the lives of my family. More so than Mom's suicide attempt. It is a massive, tragic, terrifying thing. I'm not saying that you can't talk about it in media. Next to Normal does a pretty good job depicting it, and that's because they had the sense to research and ask people with experiences.
People use SA as a trope and understand it's a big deal. People use suicide as a trope and understand it's a big deal. If you're going to mention ECT as a plot point in your story, go ahead, just take the time to actually know what you're saying and doing.
Please. Have some respect.
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signalpocalypse · 3 months
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𓏲𝄢 ▎lovebirds: 𝘬𝘢𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘬𝘢𝘻𝘶𝘩𝘢 𝔵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳
𓏲𝄢 ▎synopsis: 「 after a heated argument between the two cause of a overwhelming addiction, kazuha returns to an unforgivable sight. 」
𓏲𝄢 ▎tags: gnetural 𝜗𝜚 angst 𝜗𝜚 drinking 𝜗𝜚 fluff 𝜗𝜚 alcohol addiction 𝜗𝜚 lowercase intended 𝜗𝜚 morden!au 𝜗𝜚 lowkey toxic relationship 𝜗𝜚 slight occ!kaekazu 𝜗𝜚 2.6k wrds .
𓏲𝄢 ▎Badtz: personally this wasn't the easiest nor hardest thing to write, some plot [ tiny bits not huge ] were taken from fanfictions I've recently seen therefore I'd like to give full credits to my angst writers, also another thing this fanfiction is kinda all over the place since I was writing it all night and it's current six:fifty-eight in the morning 😭 and I fell asleep twice while making this and now I'm finally posting it without editing .
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it happened again, you did it again. why were you surprised? you were bound to lose it. even if kazuha informed you countless times, spent minutes, that eventually led to hours and hours taking the lead role of your therapist and boyfriend. though his efforts were always in vain, the alcohol always found its way back into your life.
kazuha had unfortunately grown used to your usage of alcohol, yes you had a high tolerance though that was never the point. no matter how many times you'd say ‘no worries kazu I got it all under control now!’ or ‘only one bottle I promise..’ kazuha knew you'd end up chugging innumerable bottles. you’d often use it in a hyperbolical way to joke about your cravings but kazuha never laughed. not even once.
kazuha had to countlessly throw bottles away and even force you to discard them in front of his very eyes only to discover one of two possibilities, either you bought more bottles or you had the audacity to hide the rest from you.
( you were hopeless )
but kazuha never told you that, it was always something stopping him from throwing you out. though when he did you'd be knocking right back on the door, more drunk than before. begging on your knees with salty tears decorating those half lid eyes, you didn't care who was watching nor who ridiculous you appeared to the human eye that was kazuha's. feeling like he was going to vomit from the alcohol burning his nostrils.
he couldn't just leave you, you were like a bird with clipped wings, though your wings never seemed to heal and only got worse as time passed.
but today? kazuha actually gained hope and happiness. days he'd see you in the living room no alcohol in sight when you cried while he comforted, no alcohol in the fridge, no alcohol in hiding. there was nothing. was this addiction over? would you and kazuha finally be free from this caged relationship he had almost felt chained to? no. he should've known better than getting his hopes high with you.
you and kazuha had gone on a date, though you thought it was about your addiction “ending” he insisted it was just for giggles and genuine happiness. to relieve your mind of any stress, to remind you that kazuha had been with you through thick and thin, continuing this cycle with you despite the consequences he'd get because of it. even after your date you insisted on baking with the male, surprisingly on both halfs you hadn't thought of alcohol, just kazuha. but unfortunately, all good things must come to an end.
recently you've received unneeded criticism from your workspace. it didn't have you craving, it just annoyed you, but stressed you out was the nights you were forced to stay in ‘til three or hell even six in the morning due to those addictions having your work overdue, coming home at around six:thirty to a loving kazuha sleeping soundly on the couch. you remembered almost getting fired for the quantums of late work, it didn't surprise you, nothing about this job surprised you anymore.
your eyes threatened to close, you were working those tiresome nights, your workspace looked more pedestrian than normal. today you got around two in the morning, you didn't know what had gotten over you but next thing you knew, bottles were in front of you, bitter taste burning your throat.
bottle after bottle, the bitterness threatening to go down, you threw on the sidewalk with a disgusted look painting your face, everything and I mean everything was spinning.
before you knew it you had blacked out, it wasn't from the burnouts during work it was from alcohol, no matter how bitter it tasted you only asked for a stronger dose. familiar voices echoed in and out through your ears, but why did you crave more? why did alcohol force its way back into your life? why did you force it back into your life?
you woke to a pounding headache, your eyes widening, noticing it was your— kazuha’s house. you felt like you were going to throw up again, your breath cutting short, stomach empty with guilt, digging your nails into your skin like it was human nature. you wanted to hide, so you did. you didn't know where you were hiding, but what you did know was your heart stopping the moments that front door opened.
❝please, come out. I'm in no mood to play this game with you.❞ you couldn't move just curl into a ball, that's when you finally noticed you were hiding, where you always stored your alcohol bottles. you hadn't come there to hide, you came there to drink.
after minutes, almost an hour of silence, kazuha's silhouette made your heart jump. ❝please come out willingly or I'll drag you forcefully.❞ wrapping into a tighter ball and scooting away from him, though within seconds you were being dragged from your spot while trying clawing at the ground trying to remain in there.
your screams, desperately pleading him to stop, to leave you there fell on deaf ears ‘til you were fully out. ❝kazuha ‘m sorry— sorry, so sorry! I was stressed and I wasn't planni—❞
❝get out.❞
everything fell silent, like your world had collapsed. he was kicking you out? but it was all an accident, you swear! before you could respond kazuha was already grabbing your hand, not hard enough to hurt you but firm enough to drag you out. even if you pleaded countlessly, he wouldn't listen.
once he finally stopped walking you knew what was bound to happen. ❝I'm not going to humiliate you by dragging you out so please just walk out.❞ you weren't moving nor was he listening. and that was how your argument started, all he said before leaving was “by the time I hope you'll be gone, but If you aren't I will drag you out.”
you did the only thing you felt like doing, alcohol. bitterness. your hands trembled, the cool glass meeting your lips, what if you did more? you needed more, kazuha felt like your light when all you did was drink and drink ‘til you passed out or kazuha would put you to rest.
by the time kazuha returned he almost fell back, looking down to see, you were still here. clinging to his leg dried and wet tears alongside alcohol mushing your brain. ❝kazu— I'm so sorry, I promise I'll stop, please just give me another chance please, please, please— goddammit kaedehara I love you so much I swear, I'll try to stop, just for you okay? just please don't throw me out, please?❞
the platinum blond couldn't even bear looking at you, his heart swelling with his back pressed against the door and his hands shaking. ❝we can't— it's unhealthy and it's ruining us.❞ he mumbled in a shaky voice. a part of him wanted to leave you yet the side you knew and loved couldn't abandon you.
❝kazu— baby, I love you, i love you i swear I'll try❞ ❝you don't love me. if you did, you'd respect my wishes in leaving my house or stopping your addiction. but you failed to do either❞ burying your head in his leg, you knew he was right. tugging at his shirt struggling to stand on your two feet. stumbling forward and wrapping your hands around the male only to be pushed back, unlocking the door and wanting to push you out, fighting his emotions with a drained sigh, he locked the door.
❝you sleep on the couch.❞ kazuha's voice was stern but also regretful, pushing you back and quickly making his way to your– well now his bedroom. (maybe yours and his if you act right)
your clothes reeked of alcohol and sweat, stumbling your way to kazuha’s room, sticking to the walls for support. you didn't need alcohol right now, you just wanted kazuha more than anything. yeah your cravings could wait but kazuha? he definitely couldn't. he was more of a need than a want, the medicine to your sickness, he was the one who picked on the broken pieces of your heart, the one piecing them back together with that warm inviting smile. you loved kazuha, you really did even through his flaws you still loved him, though you couldn't just choose between the two. alcohol was most likely all you knew, you had thought about smoking but when you instantly didn't like it.
parts of you were still sober, not much, which you equally loved and hated. poking your head in, the blond was in the showers. slowly you made your way to the closest, grabbing some random clothes and subconsciously grabbing a shirt that you knew wasn't yours, but would he really mind?
you decided to use the bathroom in the hallway, but when you went to turn the water on you fell into the shower getting your wet so you just waited with your arms crossed.
by the way kazuha had finished he was surprised to see you waiting there, your face and shirt were half soaked and your pants were getting wet from water dripping from your face and drenched shirt. you didn't even have to explain kazuha just sighed and told you to wait there. kazuha wasn't surprised, you'd done this before but way funnier, but today it wasn't as funny, no one laughed. not even a chuckle nor a giggle.
you two didn't even talk and when you tried touching him he just put your hand back into the receptacle. despite kazuha's disappointment and need to be alone, he didn't rush nor was he rough. even when the both of you finished, giving you a towel and carrying you out, though it felt comfortable you could tell kazuha wasn't having this.
instantly putting you in the bathroom located in the hallway since “your” clothes were originally placed and that was the end. once you came out the bedroom door was closed and the bottles were gone, your throat felt dry and unfortunately he had almost gotten all the bottles.
kazuha's shirt was warm unlike the bitter taste burning your throat yet it still felt comforting. instantly putting the bottles away upon hearing the male open the door, you don't know what came over you but the moment you saw kazuha you ran and hugged him.
❝kazuuu! baby your home!❞ your words slurred, grabbing his hand and putting it on your cheek while he just stared. an unpleasant look spread across his face. ❝I've was already home to begin with.❞
you frowned, tilting your head in confusion. ❝oh you were? i didn't notice you ‘til now!❞ a smile spread across your lips, kazuha tried moving away from you, but you were glued to him like paper, like the cotton that warmed his soft skin. ❝kazu— baby, I love you so much!❞ glaring at you and finally pulling you off and sitting you on the couch.
❝this is where you'll be sleeping alright?❞ just as you were about to protest kazuha silenced you. ❝it could be temporary if you act right for the night then i might allow you to sleep with me again.❞ thinking about it for a moment an idea forming in your head. ❝mhm! but kiss me first.❞ kazuha eyes widen, raising a brow. ❝what? n—no!❞ ❝then I'm not sleeping out here!❞
looking you up and down, rolling his eyes ‘nd grabbing your cheek and pressing his lips against yours. the taste of alcohol didn't sit right with the male, it was clearly the reason for his pull back. ❝now stay and sleep.❞ standing up laying your head on his shoulder. ❝but before, can I have another—❞ ❝no. sit.❞ pouting sitting back on the couch. kazuha stared at you for a while, slowly backing up, before he turned. that's when he finally noticed. ❝is that my shirt?❞ he questioned stepping closer realizing in fact, yes it was his shirt.
❝why? do you— actually just nevermind.❞ kazuha just made sure you stayed there before leaving to his own bed.
later into the night, one am to be exact. kazuha woke up to a slow and short knock. lazily slipping out of bed, it wasn't any surprise to see you just standing there. ❝kazu i can't sleep, please can we sleep together?❞ ❝we already agreed on you sleeping in the living room.❞
❝i’ll sleep on the floor.❞ you suggested, digging your nails into your skin kazuha simply shook his head. ❝i want you to be comfortable, no sleeping on the ground.❞ ❝but i can't sleep at all!❞ crossing his arms, the both of you continued going back and front tiredly ‘til the blond gave in. honestly he didn't know what was worse the fact you stole his shirt or that he gave in.
he was glad you stayed on your own side, getting comfortable and eventually falling asleep, at around three he was woken up again. he didn't move, he only hummed. ❝kaedehara, I still can't sleep.❞ kazuha's eyes slowly open ‘til they were half lid. he was barely even conscious, shifting around now facing you. grabbing your body and resting his chin on your head, you could tell he was barely in the right state of mind. hugging his body, he was warm, driving closer to his embrace.
when you awoke, the bits of sunlight hitting your face, the bed felt cold, kazuha was gone and your head was hurting like you hit your head against the wall numerous times ‘til you passed out. the sound of the door opening caught your attention, kazuha handed you a cup of water and painkillers.
without any thoughts you instantly hugged the male almost making him drop both the water and painkillers. ❝kazuha please don't kick me out–❞ ❝just take the painkillers and then we'll talk alright?❞ you nodded watching kazuha leave them on the nightstand. taking the painkillers and water, it was hard to digest, speaking of the thought that your throat felt awfully dry.
a certain scent filled your nose, it smelled good walking towards the kitchen seeing kazuha making breakfast for the both of you, he almost jumped seeing you watch him but he could tell you were hungry. ❝please eat okay?❞ nodding sitting at the table, it was awfully silent, maybe even uncomfortable.
a plate was set in front of you, it smelled better than alcohol, poking at your food the smell almost had you drooling. ❝hey, i thought about last night and since i couldn't come to a decision i talked to someone about it, without details of course!❞ he noticed how you weren't reacting nor touching your food anymore.
❝i’m not kicking you out, i’ll try again with you. just please, don't make me regret my decisions.❞ your head shot up, you didn't know how to react nor what to say. kazuha approached you with caution, hugging you warmly and pressing a kiss on your forehead.
❝are you willing to try with me?❞ ❝of course i am!❞ kazuha smiled pressing his lips against yours yet this time it felt better and lasted longer. ❝good now please eat, it took me forever to make that.❞ you giggled, hugging him warmly. everything was back to how you both wanted it, though you weren't ever a fan of therapists you went for your own sake (and kazuha’s). maybe this time it’ll be different if you tried, all you knew currently was you'd do anything to keep kazuha in your life.
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Henry Danger Reader Insert | Captain Man x Reader: SEASON 5
Episode 11: Grand Theft Otto (SMUT)
*heyyyyyyyyy, guess who's bringing sexy back? and two chapters in a row no less. this smut was born from my inability to think of how else to start the chapter, a reluctance to write eight whole minutes with no (y/n) present, a trip to victoria's secret and a lot of piano music with ambient rain sounds (my secret to writing freestyle). 
word of warning, this smut does include some even more mature themes than usual that are discussed but not fully played out (not yet) and i know they're not for everyone, so just be aware of that, exploring different things for different people :)
as always my dudes: don't like the boom-boom then skip ahead until the next warning because this one uses bad words, bad ideas and a lot of the stuff grown-ups do in the real world. Have fun :) *
There was something to be said about couples who lived through the night and slept all of the day. 
They were made of tough stuff. It was almost essential, anyone who went against the body's natural clock needed a certain level of resilience just to struggle through the inconsistent sleeping patterns. That's why (y/n) sometimes liked living underground; you can sleep at any time when the sun doesn't shine. 
But not always.
She missed windows. She missed nice scenery. She missed having a front door and porch, a backyard most of all. How nice would it be if she could wake up in the morning and let the fresh air in instead of a mound of dirt and earthworms?
Maybe it was petty; after all, the Man Cave was great and she'd been promised compensation later down the line. Ray wanted his sweet girl to live in a palace but his bank account would never stretch that far, so a quiet little house in the country would have to do. One where their family would have space to grow unhindered. That was a far-off dream but he swore that the next place he had would have a great view. Maybe a mountain or the cityscape. Something that spoke a little more than stone walls.
And yet very occasionally, not too often thanks to their patchy sleep schedule, there came a day where the view in the Man Cave wasn't so bad after all.
The past two weeks had been hell. Emergencies left, right and centre, people begging down the phone line for help, which sometimes Captain Man, Miss Danger and Kid Danger could give and sometimes they couldn't. Like, when the old lady phoned up asking if they could help her play bingo, they had to grit their teeth and politely say no. But when there was an explosion at the paint factory, they had to go check it out... and discover that once household paint goes on, it doesn't come off.
Fast forward another thirteen days of many showers and a bottle of paint stripper, things had calmed down, leaving Henry a free afternoon at home and the loving couple to crash until midday. For fourteen hours, they slept, dead to the world to the point where when they finally did wake fully rested, they realised how they hadn't had any personal time.
A man couldn't live without his sweet girl and a woman couldn't live without her doofus, so as Ray pottered around the bathroom, having dragged himself from their pit of blankets muttering something about needing to shave the last two weeks off, (y/n) found herself feeling...generous. 
Of course, she was a patient woman. Hell, she'd waited ten years for her perfect man, so she knew when the right time to strike was. But goddamn, normally, she would've called herself an animal, a degenerate, because standing in front of the mirror with a new set of lingerie on, waiting for her husband-to-be so she could give him a heart attack was just not how things usually ran.
However, (y/n) had to admit, she looked hot—and it was a great confidence booster. 
White lace and silk smoothed over her boobs to push them in and upwards, creating the illusion that they were naturally sculpted to give her a perfect cleavage whilst also revealing taut, hardened nipples. Running down her waist and tummy was yet more lace, sheer and soft as it formed a corset to highlight her shape. 
She hummed softly in her throat when the underwear was pulled high over her curves, her core getting slick at the mere thought of Ray mouthing over her clit just to pull it down and have his fill. She'd chosen this set with him in mind; garters and stockings weren't her thing but seeing him lose his mind was too good to resist, so they sat mid-thigh, clipped to the corset where they'd inevitably stay since he fucked with them on, no exceptions. 
Once upon a time the girl who stared back at her would think she was mad and strip it back off along with the light coat of mascara and lipstick she'd put on, but now, she was loving it. And the best thing? Ray would lose his mind. 
No mad scramble to the bed, no way. She'd never seen a Victoria's Secret Angel jog down the runway so she delicately placed herself on the bed, thinking about how she should sit—lie—pose—how did people do this? Laying down made her feel dumb, after all, she wanted to see Ray's face. Sitting felt too formal, like she was waiting for a board meeting or something, so she went for a mix of both, which she guessed was posing. 
In the middle of the bed, she stretched out her legs, crossing them at the ankles to make them seem longer and her hips even more mouth-watering. Her chest pushed out as she leaned back with her arms behind her to stay propped up and it felt like an eternity spent waiting for the faucet to turn off and the humming to finish. 
The thong was starting to dampen and her hips rolled by themselves in response, thighs rubbing together because it had been so long since she felt his breath between her legs, his hands roaming up her back, his cock between her lips. She was desperate but patience would make everything worthwhile.
In the bathroom, Ray had spent the last half an hour in limbo. He'd started shaving, just as he'd promised since Captain Man didn't look as appealing sporting a hobo beard, despite his precious girl's insistent pleas that it made him look tough and rugged. 
More like it would make her thighs burn when he finally got a chance to settle himself between them and taste that sweet pussy of hers. God, her thighs, her tight cunt, her perfect tits, he'd missed them. 
He'd missed her in general; even though they'd still spent every waking second in each other's presence, it was hard to be romantic when you were driving to an accident, getting a fat guy out of a drive-thru window, eating on the way back, napping for half an hour, only to go out again. They'd barely had enough energy to talk, let alone fuck, and dear god, he was desperate. 
He wanted to roll her over and push into her blazing heat that morning, wake her up right and pull orgasm after orgasm out of her until he'd caught up on every one they'd missed, but he'd held back. It didn't matter if he was hard, leaking, and in need of attention; he figured that, after such an arduous few days, (y/n) needed rest, and even his gentlest pace wouldn't give her that.
Not that it would be gentle. He wanted it hard and fast and dirty, so he'd removed himself from her arms before her bleary eyes and fuzzy mind could remember that his aching cock had been pushed up against her slit all night.
One cold shower later and he was fresh-faced and smooth-cheeked, but not a satisfied man. He'd tried to take the edge off, had wrapped a hand around himself to find release but had bitten his lip to smother his frustrated groans when it just wasn't enough. He needed wide eyes, soft moans and a perfect hole to empty his balls into, so he just had to wait for his hard-on to go down under the freezing spray since he wasn't prepared to bear down on his sweet girl simply because he had the libido of a seventeen-year-old.
So, when he left the bathroom with nothing more than a towel around his waist, he certainly didn't expect the sight that awaited him. 
"Hey, sweet girl, should we make some pancakes or order Sushi Dushi? 'Cause it's lunchtime but I'm feeling like—holy shit..." Food was no longer on his mind as he entered the bedroom and took in the vision that was waiting for him on the bed. 
His sweet, sweet girl, sat on the bed like a goddess clad in lace and silk with her doe-like eyes trained on him as her lower lip was pulled between her teeth. Her breathing was shallow as he watched one hand trail from the comforter, snake between her thighs and into her panties to begin teasing her clit, all the while maintaining eye contact. 
All the blood in his body rushed south as he watched with a dry mouth and empty brain, wondering what he did to deserve an angel like her before snapping out of his trance. 
As much as he loved the sheer eroticism of it, that job was his and his alone and any of her pleasure came from his mouth, his hands or his cock, which was back to being like granite now that his eyes raked down her form. Shit, her tits looked so good, he wanted to bite, suck and squeeze them until she was writhing, begging for him to move onto her soaked pussy.
"Fuck, baby—I—fuck, is this all for me?"
"Mhmm, wanted to look pretty for you...and I'm so wet too. You took too long, Captain," she whined, intensifying the stroking of her fingers to increase the heavenly pressure on her clit, which seemed so swollen and throbbing after sitting on the bed for too long. Ray swallowed thickly at her words and stared darkly at her clothed pussy, watching until his mouth was set into a firm line. She knew his rules.
"This is pretty, little one, you look so fucking hot. But that's my pussy you're touching," he murmured, stalking towards the bed as she continued to work herself, only to drag it from her panties at a slow, teasing pace when he was within touching distance.
"'M sorry, sir, I couldn't help it. I woke up and knew I needed your cock in me...but you weren't in bed," she smirked and raised her slick fingertips to her mouth, tongue dipping out to taste them as he leaned down to loom over her, eyes never leaving hers. However, a soft gasp fell from her lips when strong fingers curled around her wrist, the sudden skin-on-skin contact feeling like fire, and he pulled it up to his mouth instead. "Where were you? Why did you leave me when I'm so needy?"
"Needed to shave, sweet girl. Although I have to admit, the idea of fucking you did cross my mind," he whispered smugly before closing his lips around her digits, moaning when his tongue caught her sweet taste as he sucked it off, much to her delight. 
(y/n) smirked as his eyes fluttered closed, aching already from the small glimpse into the pleasure he'd been denied, and she saw no problem in reaching up to his hidden length that was twitching under the towel and tracing her fingers over the leaking head. The reaction was instant, a guttural groan that vibrated against her fingers and a fire in his eyes when they finally met again. 
"I needed it, still do. It's been too long—and I've been saving this to try and seduce you," the woman breathed out as he pushed her shoulders gently down to the mattress so he could trap her against the soft cotton and explore the gorgeous number she'd donned. It had been shoved in her wardrobe for a special occasion rather than a boring, Saturday afternoon, but it would still be thoroughly enjoyed and that's what mattered, especially when his hands started twitching from not knowing where to start.
It was like he was a child struggling to contain his Christmas excitement; he wanted to leave her cunt until last, that way it would draw out the pleasure until it was painful for both of them to wait any longer. Her tits looked almost too perfect to grab roughly and he was torn between keeping them trapped in the white material or freeing them for his use. He wanted to run his tongue over them as her legs with those fucking hot suspenders closed around his waist, wanted to take her over and over again until she was ruined for any other cock.
"It's working, darlin'. I wanna fuck you so bad, wanna make you remember who you belong to—who belongs to you." A squeal left her throat when he pinched her nipple through the lace, a slap landing on the same tit, not a second later, which had her back arching into him. 
Her hand reached for the towel still tied around his waist and with one hard yank, its knot unravelled, freeing his cock so it rested on her clothed cunt with its underside rubbing against her slit. Ray hadn't expected her to be so sudden and his hand closed around her throat loosely, allowing him to tilt her head up until she had no choice but to look him in the eye for what she'd done.
He roamed down her body, biting the top of her breasts and licking to soothe the flesh when his teeth pierced it, her fingers tugging at his hair when he kneaded her tits roughly. It wasn't enough to satisfy the burning in her core, not even when he leaned down to mouth at her nipples through the lace but when she begged him to remove the barrier, thinking that it had done its job of making her look beautiful, he refused.
"Take it off, Ray. I—I need—-it's not fair that I can't feel you!"
"Fuck, no, sweet girl. You look so damn hot in this, I ain't taking it off. I'm gonna fuck you like this and you'll take it, won't you?" He growled at her whining and trailed a hand over lace and silk, over her hips, over her tummy and her mound to the soaked, sorry excuse for underwear. "You'll take anything I give you and love it because I know this little pussy just needs filling. That's what makes you run your mouth at me."
Ray had always known that he leaned more towards lace than leather, preferred innocence over sex kitten, but damn, he couldn't help but fall in love with the way she exuded both sexuality and purity. Had he not taken that innocence over and over again since that first night, he wouldn't have known that she was as dirty as he was, as shown when she pouted innocently even when he rubbed sudden, rough circles over the satin and her clit. 
The ensuing moans that fell from her lips were downright sinful, so was the wetness that aided his finger in pushing into her pussy and how she clamped down immediately, whining when he pulled it straight back out so cruelly. Her already bruised lip was tugged between her teeth again as she propped herself on her elbows to watch him slither down her body to come face-to-face with her most intimate area. His view was blocked by the thong but his eyes remained dark with his dilated pupils as he nuzzled against the soaked material, hot air blowing over her quivering thighs.
"Don't tease—don't tease...please."
"Just admiring what's mine, sweetheart," he murmured, taking his time to pull the thong tightly up her hips until the silk's stitching was snapping and popping, just so he could see how it cupped and pressed into her lips before pulling it aside to begin his assault. 
His mouth found her clit instantly, groaning when the sweetest honey taste flooded his mouth and his tongue ran through her folds to collect more. It danced around her opening before plunging in, tearing a scream from her throat as she held the thong for him in one hand, his hair in the other, allowing his hands to pin her thighs to the bed. 
She noticed how his fingers couldn't stop trailing and snapping the suspenders so they pricked at her skin, something she'd add to the long list of kinks he had when her mind was back in reality. A brief second of respite came when his tongue ceased exploring her walls to suck and slurp at her lips and then her clit harshly, only to return to fucking her not half a second later. She thought a punishment would be in line for her when her fingers left his head to rub her swollen nub furiously, chasing her orgasm as he got off on her wrecked gasps of pleasepleaseplease and hoarse moans of moremoremore. But it was actually quite the opposite.
"That's it, sweet girl. Rub this cunt, get it nice and wet and ready so I can drink you up when you cum," he growled from between her legs, stare pinning her down so she could do nothing but obey, "You want to cum, don't you?"
"Yes—yes, fuck, I wanna cum so bad!" "That's my good girl..." And so, Ray dived back in, wanting to see her wriggle and writhe under his grip so he could use the tidal wave of slick to push into her pussy with no resistance. She always came at least once before he did and the knowledge that she'd be left trembling but satiated gave him the strength to ignore how his cock and balls were begging for release. 
Honestly, he was surprised that he hadn't creamed the sheets yet like a teenager. Seeing her clad in so little lace should've made him, but he staved it off, reasoning that it would be better to cum deep in her pussy and feel her walls tighten around him than the soft nothingness of blankets. 
(y/n)'s fingers flickered harder as he increased his movements tenfold, moving his tongue in and out of her hole as he would if it were his cock, aiming for the spot that made her squirm and whine. He could feel it, her oncoming release, just from the way her walls quivered and her thighs juddered, trying to fight against the iron grip keeping them spread wide. 
A gentle shudder and then it was all over, core clenching tightly and gushing for his awaiting mouth as she kept stimulating her clit through her orgasm, screaming his name until her voice was ruined. Even when the wave mellowed and started to settle, he stayed drinking what he could, licking at her sensitive lips for the last drop of honey he could find because he had been starved and he was finally ready to have his fill again.
"Too—too much, baby—" "S'been two weeks since I last tasted this pussy, darlin'. Still fucking delicious," he said against her folds, practically raking his face through them one last time, focusing on her clit to electrify the nerves there, before pulling away to kneel on the mattress. Hungry eyes raked over her dishevelled form, ravished with her cunt exposed and twitching. It was fucking beautiful, but there was one thing missing.
"As gorgeous as you look in this, sweet girl, I wanna see those tits," Ray said gruffly and no sooner than he did, she scrambled to unfasten the corset and throw it to the side, but he stopped her, "fuckin' keep it on—that's it, push it down. Can't let you take this off, you pretty little thing, might just keep you in it permanently."
"You want the whole world to see me like this? Want them to see what's yours?" (y/n) asked, her eyes innocent but her smirk teasing as she carefully freed her chest of the lingerie, pushing the straps down her shoulders so the corset bunched around her tummy. 
And then, unable to stop herself as his gaze impossibly darkened further, she reached forward for his hard length, giving it a teasing tug, licking her lips when a choked moan and stuttered thrust betrayed the control he loved to have. Thin ice.
"Dirty girl—" he snapped and brushed her hand away, although she didn't have to pout for long, "hands and knees, ass in the air for me." 
A smile broke out on her when he flipped her over with ease and she scrambled to do as he said. Arching her back, she wiggled her hips for him, unashamedly presenting her needy cunt for him just as he'd asked. She looked over her shoulder so she could see his every twitch when shown the hole he was going to fuck raw. 
"You ready for me, sweet girl? Ready for this cock that belongs to you?" Ray snarled, rubbing his dripping head from her clit to her entrance, coating himself in her slick. It was always a squeeze trying to get his fat cock in there but when he was finally balls deep, it was always worth the effort. She fit like a fucking glove, still tight as though he hadn't fucked her nearly every day since the day she said yes but it was definite that she was ruined for anyone else, almost moulded to fit him.
"Yes, so fucking ready...always," the woman whined, holding the thong to the side for dear life as he broke into her, splitting her apart inch by inch until he was at the hilt, balls pressed tightly to her clit as he gave her a moment to adjust to being so full.
"Fuck—fuck, you're always so tight, little one. Like you've never even been fucked—" he said throatily, snapping his hips into hers in small thrusts, trying to stay deep and go slow until he couldn't resist the temptation to go harder, faster, give her what she needed, "But we both know that's not true, right? We both know that you're not innocent."
It didn't even register in her mind that one hand had stopped kneading her jiggling ass until a loud crack broke through the symphony of flesh slapping flesh, grunts and quiet yelps. His hand came down hard on her right cheek and she clenched around him unintentionally, proving him right. She loved it, loved being his dirty little girl underneath her kind smiles and helpful nature, loved relinquishing her sharp mind to be his slut for hours on end. 
Her arms collapsed as he kept up the relentless pace, cock being squeezed in a vice-like grip that had his vision clouding until nothing but her and his end were in mind. A soothing hand ran down her back and pushed her head into the mattress and she knew that he wanted her to stay down and keep showing him her pussy and allow him to fuck it how he wanted.
"Show me this pussy properly, darlin'. Y'know I love this getup but fuck—gotta see it," he rambled, clawing at the thong that was so small that it made fire lick up his spine, but it was in the way. He wanted her bare and shaking after weeks of nothing, so he reluctantly pulled out of her warmth for a brief moment and teased it over her ass. Frantically, her hands came up to her sides to help him yank to about mid-thigh, just enough for him to continue freely, but damn, if the sight of her didn't do something to him.
"Fuck..." he groaned lowly as he pushed back in and began a slow, deep pace, building up to what they'd been going at before when he felt a familiar urge come over him.
It was filthy, taboo, even wrong perhaps, something they'd joked about when drunk but never discussed because it was the thing for young couples to try out or pornstars to show off. Not something he'd ever expect a girl as sweet as her to consider or allow. This was his primal urge to bury deep down and keep to himself, but fuck, when she curved her back again to push her ass up further, he couldn't restrain himself.
His hand ghosted over her asscheek as it normally would, squeezing at her supple flesh as he rocked into her, balls slapping her clit as they swayed. And as his thumb pressed into the crevice, that's when it brushed over her forbidden, puckered rim. His abs tensed as he did, imagining what it would be like to fuck her there, not that he ever would because he respected her far too much, but he still gulped. Especially when she hummed a high-pitched whine and clenched the halo of muscle. Fuck...
"S-sorry, shit—shit, god, I...sorry—" he stumbled an apology, picking up her curiosity and interrupting it as discomfort or even fear. So, naturally, he backed off, stuttering his thrusts as he jerked his hand away like it had touched fire. He hoped that in the haze of pleasure, she'd forget about the slip-up--forget about how he almost lost it when he had both holes on show in the warm light, but how could she? 
(y/n) swallowed thickly, having felt the minuscule touch and found herself...interested.
Ray had a list of kinks and preferences as long as her right leg three times over; he loved being on top but he also loved being ridden. He loved taking her anywhere, anytime. He loved using the filthiest, most vulgar dirty talk, and he adored making sure his partner felt safe.
But this—this was new and hell, he didn't need to be sorry or scared. She was up for trying anything with him once.
"No..no, s'okay, s'okay—you can touch it," she whispered and angled her hips backwards, pushing her pussy further down his length and also offering herself up. She wanted this, wanted to explore and try it out.
Ray almost fainted at her words, having anticipated silence or rejection but never acceptance and it broke the frayed thread that his self-control had been hanging onto. If the spank from earlier had been hard, this one was rough, harsh, brutal, sounding like lightning the moment his hand hit her ass because fuck; he knew she was filthy but not this filthy.
"Dirty—dirty fucking girl. Never thought you were such a filthy, cock-hungry—never thought you'd let me touch it," the hero punched out, his voice wrecked and gravelly and so damn hot. His pace increased to a soul-shattering bangbangbang, forcing the air from her lungs as he abused her slobbery cunt and more. 
He traced over her back entrance, teasing it lightly, never using any pressure so she could get used to the sensation and he kept an eye on her every movement, looking for any sign that she didn't like it, but judging by how she seemed wetter than before and how she was whimpering and suffocating his cock, she needed more, not less.
"I'll let you do anything—anything—shit, you can put a finger in there if you want—" she offered, not expecting him to take her up on that offer because this was a new idea after all, but Ray...Ray thought he'd died and gone to heaven. 
His hips slowed down and a hand cradled one side of her pelvis as the other ran up the curve of her cheek, trembling from how turned on he was. It truly was a miracle that he hadn't cum yet given how tight his balls felt but dear god, he was gonna hold off. Maybe for only five seconds or less, but he was gonna because his thumb was circling her asshole.
"Hottest girl I've seen, sweet girl, so damn sexy..." he muttered, thrust quickening to increase the pleasure as he pressed against the tight hole, breaking through the natural resistance until he was poking in, "Fuck—so tight, just like your pussy. You ever take it back here, sweetheart?"
There was a hesitant edge to his voice like he wasn't sure if he wanted to know the answer because it would mean that she'd once had a similar level of trust with someone else, but he couldn't help it. He had to know.
"N-no. Dre—some have tried but I would—wouldn't let them... I'd let you, though," she whispered as he suddenly slid all the way in, right down to the last knuckle until his thickest digit was buried deep inside of her. The impropriety of it was eating her up alive and she clenched, feeling deliciously stuffed full as his cock split her open and his thumb gave her something else to squeeze. 
Ray was certain that he was moments away from orgasm, reeling from how...dirty it felt, how...right, not just from the image of fucking a hole that would be tighter than her tiny pussy but knowing that he was the only man she'd ever let near her—and he knew most of the men she'd dated, some more than others.
"That right? You'd let me fuck—let me fuck your tight, virgi—" He choked at the idea and slammed his hips into her ass jaggedly, feeling his thumb rub against those forbidden walls and a wave of panic washed over him when he felt his end appear on the horizon, hurtling towards him. No one else had ever made him cum uncontrollably but a squeeze of her core muscles and a grinding undulation of her hips to feel him brush up against her every wall and his hand was dashing to her clit to madly circle it.
"—Shit, shit—not gonna last, darlin'—need to cum in your pussy...can you cum on my cock?"
"Fuck, yes—gonna cum with your thumb so fucking deep and this perfect cock filling me up," (y/n) whined and began rocking backwards to meet his thrusts, not caring if her skin was sore from the constant slapping or if his fingers were sliding around her slick lips and frustrating her clit from the poor stimulation.
"F-fuck—-I love you—" was the last thing he said, garbled and stuck in his throat until he came with a devastatingly hoarse cry. Her pussy strangled his length as he made sure the snug fit couldn't be any closer and her body sucked him in when cum was pumped onto her walls as deep as it could go. The feeling of warmth flooding her womb caused her walls to flutter as she went over the edge too, rambling the phrase back as her cheek smushed against the mattress, body turning limp.
What felt like hours passed. Seconds, really, but eventually, Ray cleared the fuzziness in his mind, swept away the cobwebs and blink one, two, three times so he could see properly again. His sweet girl was slumped into the comforter, her body ready to fall if it wasn't for his brushing grip on her waist, which he instantly relinquished when he realised just how hard it was.
His thumb was slowly and gently removed from her second entrance, him being mindful of the pain of resistance now that they were coming down from their highs. A whimper left her mouth, probably unintentionally when it finally slipped free, and next came his cock. The moment the tip was away, he was quick to pull the thong up her thighs, intent on keeping his precious load in there for as long as possible, although he doubted it would stay with that string barely covering her folds.
And then, at last, she was released to snuggle into the bed, ass slumping with a bouncing crash. Her doofus returned from his dominant, dark side, keeping his sweet girl warm by cautiously spooning her. It was so cosy; her back was against his heaving chest as they laid there for a while before anyone spoke and when they did, it was his baritone in her ear.
"You okay?" Ray asked, his voice gruff but full of its usual goofy friendliness as he nuzzled into her neck and lovingly squeezed her breast—nothing sexual, just him holding whatever flesh he found.
"Yeah...that was intense," (y/n) replied, her voice also sounding raspy from the excessive screaming but still, she sounded happy as well. A content sigh left her lips as her eyes slid shut and although he didn't show it, she knew that the noise made him relax. Every time they tried something new, her lover always freaked out a little afterwards, but she was fine-- fucking blissed out, but how was he to know that?
"Yeah. Yeah, it was. Are you sure it was okay? It was...good?" Ever the worrier and people say she had problems with nerves. 
"I would've told you if it wasn't, doofus. I loved it like always...just didn't know you were into butt stuff," the woman held a light tone, trying to not sound negative or anything like that because he was trying so hard to make sure she was comfortable, a trait that made her fall deeper in love with him when they first started fucking.
"Not massively but...yeah. I've only ever wanted to do it with you, no one else was ever—y'know—curious. But if that was enough for you then, that's fine, sweet girl. We can stick to lingerie and handcuffs if that's what you wa—"
"Raymond, hush," she rolled in his arms until she was on her back and he was on his side looking down over her. Her poor lip was back between her teeth as their faces stayed close, noses brushing as her hand came up to lace their fingers together because they were in this together, after all, comfort came for both parties. "The lingerie is definitely staying since nothing gets you harder—"
"Seeing you naked gets me just as hard, sweetheart." Cocky bastard. Where was the fun in that? It was true that if she came out of the bathroom, fresh from the shower without a towel, he'd be all over her like a rash with any excuse to grope her but she enjoyed dressing up and waiting for him more than a surprise pouncing. She was a patient lady and the real fun happened when the roles were reversed and he was her prey.
"Whatever, you dork. My point is that I meant what I said. I'll let you do anything and that includes fucking me there too. As long as you don't forget my pussy when you do." An irresistible offer by all accounts and Ray's smirk grew in tandem with hers as her words sunk in. His perfect girl; sweet angel and little devil rolled into one.
"Don't think I'll ever forget this pussy, sweet girl. Not ever," he whispered his reply before placing his lips delicately on hers, his hand sliding down to rest over the lace bunched across her stomach to remind her that he never lost sight of what he adored.
The moment was peaceful. Tongues explored their mouths and tastes, remapping known territory lazily as they basked in their mid-afternoon, post-sex glow...right up until a rumble across his palm reminded them that it had been a good fifteen hours since they last ate. And the protector couldn't have his future wife hungry.
"What was that you said about pancakes earlier?" (y/n) asked as he pulled back with an amused smile, her wide-eyed, innocent look returning that had his cock twitching at the thought of them staring up from between his legs as she sucked—no, they were not doing this again. Down, boy. 
"Stay here, darling. I'll go make some," he promised her, pressing a kiss to her forehead as he untangled their lips and reluctantly rolled off the bed to find wherever he tossed his jeans last night when they fell into bed exhausted. Ray only bothered to tighten the belt after yanking them up, even forgoing underwear since he'd strip out of them and into fresh laundry when he returned with a tray of enough food to feed an army. 
First, he just had to make sure she was fed first because it was his instinct to. After all, this was merely practice for when they finally owned that quiet house with nice views, windows, a front door, a porch and a backyard, although he hoped that by then, they'd only be exhausted from running around after a few children.
*welp. that was a thing. i hope the more adventurous types enjoyed that, i did tbh. it's nice to do something different but from this moment forth, WE ARE SAFE AGAIN. fear not, the light will return and maybe even Ray's interest in "stuff "👀*
~
"Mmmm, god, these are good," (y/n) moaned as she shovelled mouthful after mouthful of fluffy pancakes and toppings into her face. Technically speaking, they were Ray's famous mancakes, fresh from the pan and made tall with all manners of syrups, fruits and chocolate chips. 
She was certain that there was way too much for one person on her plate but saw it as a personal challenge to finish the lot since it had been her doofus who'd made them just for her and it's not like she could feed him. He'd eat the odd mouthful she offered him, but how could he take food out of his starving girl's mouth? That was unthinkable.
"Keep making sounds like that and I'll make sure they taste even better, sweet girl," the hero smirked as he placed his plate on the couch table and came to slide in next to her. In the time it had taken the pancakes to cook, he'd gotten properly dressed and she'd replaced her slightly wrecked, definitely crumpled ensemble with simple cotton shorts and one of his huge t-shirts, stating that crime was low that day and it was not like they had places to be other than the Man Cave, so comfy-casual it was. 
Plus, Ray was a sucker for his sweet girl in his clothes, so he was happy to let her wander around taking in the beauty that was his fiancée, happy in their home with the food he'd made her, ready for a chill day.
And she hadn't followed his command of staying in bed, far from it; after ten minutes of scrolling through her phone, answering texts, emails and checking trashy news sites, she'd grown bored of the bedroom and wandered through to the kitchen to find her doofus cooking up a storm. He pouted when she hugged him from behind, saying that he wanted to make his beautiful future wife brunch in bed, but one comment about how she felt lonely apart from him and he was sold. 
They'd danced in the refrigerator light and said good afternoon to a smug Schwoz, who looked like the cat who got the cream for some reason until he made some reference to the entire hideout shaking from the way Ray fu—he was lucky he didn't get a punch to the teeth for that. So, now, they were in the main room, set to wait until they were needed, which meant an afternoon for movies. Or so (y/n) thought. 
"Come between me and my pancakes and we will be at war, doofus," she giggled and pointed her fork in his direction with the best serious face she could muster. No one could ruin this for her, but it was impossible to glare at him for so long when he was such a dork with his floppy hair, so a smile soon cracked the seriousness.
"I surrender, baby. You can keep the pancakes if it means I get a kiss," Ray fluttered his eyelashes like the lovable idiot he was and grinned when she quickly kissed him without hesitation, leaving the taste of honey and syrup to linger on his lips. The sweetness was enough to satisfy him for a while and as Schwoz pottered around the room, calibrating and tinkering, they fell into easy conversation, talking about anything and everything just as they had always been able to.
It wasn't until they were on their last pancake each that (y/n) said something that broke the peace and caused the universe to shift in a way that she could never have predicted. After all, who cared that much about moustaches?
"Hey, you know Jasper?"
"Yes, unfortunately, I know Jasper," Ray replied through a mouthful of pancake, his tone turning dark at the mention of the boy he loved to dislike. It wasn't even dislike at this point, it was just how their relationship functioned, but nevertheless, it made her roll her eyes.
"Whatever, doofus. Anyway, apparently, according to Charlotte, he grew a moustache when he was in Idaho," the heroine told him, not thinking anything of it since it was Jasper they were talking about and males grew facial hair every day, it's not like it was a new phenomenon. So, it wasn't until the clattering of Ray's fork on his plate that she looked up and saw her lover's wide-eyed, dare she say awed expression, complete with a trembling bottom lip. Was it something she said?
"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Jasper, as in the Jasper, our Jasper, grew a moustache?" Ray blinked a few times and his hand came to circle his wrist in a firm grip. It wasn't enough to hurt but it captured her attention completely and (y/n) frowned at his strangely over-the-top reaction.
"Uh, yeah... I mean, I know it's weird because he was gone less than a week and one minute, they're our babies, collecting buckets and doing stupid stuff to impress girls, and the next, they're pubescent teenagers on the verge of adulthood and they have facial hair, but—" 
In all honesty, (y/n) could feel herself tearing up a bit at the thought of the teens growing up so suddenly because it had only felt like yesterday since they were still proper children. Now, they were grown, ready for their own lives and it's not like she was stupid—it had always been on the cards that they'd move on and become independent at some point but since when did she care like a mother losing her children? Someone needed to pass her a tissue but by the time she looked up, Ray was scrambling off the couch.
The last scraps of his breakfast were left to go cold when he rushed to the holo-caller as if his life depended on it. His very confused fiancée watched with knitted eyebrows as he punched in the code for Henry's watch and impatiently waited for the kid to pick up. No, no, it was fine, she wasn't sniffling over the idea of losing three family members because of life's natural flow, everything was good. At least she could distract herself when the boy finally picked up, looking all tall, and handsome and grown up. 
"Hey, what's up, man? We've got a little bit of a situation here—" Henry answered rather quickly, not at all phased by how excitable his boss seemed. After the disastrous afternoon he'd had, he wasn't in the mood for quick chitchat but there was something about the art of growing hair on their faces that made men go nuts.
"(y/n) told me Jasper has a moustache now. Lemme see it!" The hero exclaimed excitedly, not even picking up on the boy's hurried tone. (y/n) perked at the mention of the situation, wondering what the hell it could mean and found herself wandering from the couch and over to the machine, dipping in and out of frame as Ray shuffled from one foot to the other.
"Yeah. Jasper, come here," the kid looked at his friend and upon hearing his name, Jasper stepped across Henry's bedroom and smiled at Ray's grainy little body. 
Immediately, the hero laughed and clapped his hands in amazement, thinking that for once in his life, the weirdo was actually the coolest of his employees. He was a man who needed to be clean-shaven nearly all of the time and it was always thrilling to witness the power of testosterone pumping through a boy's veins to give him body hair. Definitely thrilling.
"Aw, Captain Man, that's a sweet 'stache! Sweet girl, have you seen Jasper's moustache?! Isn't it great?"
"Are you kidding me?!" Charlotte facepalmed at her boss' reaction, sounding like she had something in her mouth but (y/n) ignored it as she analysed his facial hair and came to the conclusion that yep, that thing right there, that was a moustache. Hair. On his lip. Good stuff. The professor was in the house tonight. 
"Yeah, awesome... Sorry, doofus, I can't lie to you, it's just a moustache. What's so great about it?" 
"Thank you, (y/n/n)! At last, someone has sense!" The woman's confused face put Charlotte at ease for the first time that night. Ever since Jasper had walked through the door and interrupted her and Henry's study session, it had seemed like the entire universe loved it. Henry, Piper, the police, everyone gave it high praise for reasons unknown to her, so it was nice to find a common ally. Ray, however, was unfazed by their unity and still sat happily on the opposite side of the fence.
"Schwoz, I just saw Jasper's 'stache! It's sweet!"
"Raymond, I have ears!" (y/n) winced as her doofus bellowed unnecessarily to the genius across the room, who quickly downed tools to scurry over and see this mythical creature for himself. Henry rolled his eyes at how his boss reacted and at how he didn't hesitate in bringing his sweet girl into a side hug as a subconscious apology, but it was the suddenly very crowded holo-call that took the biscuit.
"You like?" Jasper asked, stroking his upper lip with a smarmy expression.
"Yeah! That is a very manly lip schweater!" Schwoz nodded enthusiastically, the same wonderstruck look on his face as Ray, who was near the point of drooling as if he had his lover stood in front of him wearing his favourite dress on her. Their eyes were fixated, unable to look away as the girls' eyes met through the digital divide and it was like they shared the same thought at the same time.
"Has the whole world gone crazy?"
"Apparently so, yes..." (y/n) wrinkled her nose and shrugged, not at all impressed that her romantic breakfast—lunch—dinner—had been left for something as trivial as a moustache. She was also kicking herself for not getting dressed properly earlier as now that she wasn't being chased around the kitchen by Ray and a handful of pancake batter, the chilly AC of the Man Cave was giving her the shivers. The cotton t-shirt and shorts combo had been a mistake, so had forgoing socks and the mention of sweaters was a cruel tease.
"Crazy for Jasper's 'stache! You're getting a raise, buddy."
"Yes!" For Jasper, winning his boss' approval was a dream come true and it was certain that Ray was deadly serious. But, it wasn't just impressive that he'd forgotten about their love-hate relationship so easily, the way he seemed to sense his fiancé's discomfort was straight-up uncanny. 
Without looking down, it was like he could sense her goosebumps and unashamedly wrapped himself around her in a bear hug; long arms brought warmth to her body as they crossed her chest and the heroine sighed contently at the heat from having him pressed against her. That was better but not for long.
"Look, later on, we can all give some love to Jasper's lip sweater," Henry butted in, sounding a little too serious for (y/n)'s nerves. He was one of the lads, shouldn't he have been acting like a child too? And yet, as ever, Ray didn't pick up on any tenseness, he merely made plans to worship the little patch of fuzz as he'd worshipped his sweet girl that morning because both were a thing of beauty to be revered.
"Can and will!"
"Right now, we got a problem, okay? 'Cause Piper's talking bird found out that I'm Kid Danger, so now, we're hiding it in my closet so it doesn't tell the secret to everybody in Swellview!" The boy blurted out, spilling every last bean to his boss because he'd learned on every past occasion that lying about things like this made everything worse. 
Look, it wasn't his fault, technically, it was Charlotte's. When Piper brought her class parrot home, she'd warned them that it was capable of mimicking sounds, so the girl just had to open her mouth and say the dumbest phrase in the history of dumb phrases, leaving them with a massive problem on their hands. And to think, Ray and (y/n)'s afternoon had been so pleasant.
"You got yourself into quite a pickle, my friend!" Ray chuckled, although he was more nervous than amused. Releasing a sigh, (y/n) massaged her temples and tried to take in as much comfort as she could from the idiot behind her to try and fight the migraine she knew was coming. Accidents would happen but for once, she wanted one day off without some form of disaster falling into her lap, be it professional or personal. Would that be too much to ask?
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, here's what I'm thinking," Henry said, having had time to think long and hard about their plan of action, "all right, I'm going to go to a pet store. I'm gonna find a bird that looks exactly like the one that—"
"Ehhhh, that's stupid," the large man floating above his wrist replied dryly, not even letting him finish because it was that bad. Messing about trying to find an identical bird was dumb and a waste of time, which they didn't have since Piper was already in a tizz over losing her parrot and understandably, it was only a matter of hours until her search party took it into their heads to start sniffing around Henry's room.
"Okay..."
"What you need is a bird clone," Ray suggested instead. He was a strong believer in the idea that science could solve every problem on Earth and even though he didn't understand how it worked, he employed two people who did. Well, he was in love with one of them, but she'd do it as a freebie since she couldn't resist his cute face. For the teens, though, that sounded like madness.
"What?" "Can you two clone a bird?" Ray ignored Henry, looking at Schwoz for a second before nuzzling his nose into (y/n)'s hair and ear, planting a kiss on her cheek just for the hell of it.
"Yah."
"Well, identical cellular reduplication isn't my strong point but in theory—"
"They can clone a bird," Ray confirmed to Henry, not wanting to hear one word of his sweet girl being unsure. It would be fine, he trusted her when it came to smart things and it's not like she'd be doing this alone. If anything, she'd be more like an assistant to Schwoz since biology wasn't her specialist science and whatever the outcome, he'd proud of her anyway, whether they made a monster or a bird.
"What do you need? A feather?"
"Yah."
"Anything containing genetic material, really. But a feather's good," (y/n) nodded, feeling a little uneasy at the idea of her first cloning experiment. There was the unethical side of it, the danger, the possibility of something going wrong, the pressure and the need for perfection to worry about but apart from that, this was a learning opportunity and from the very best, no less. After all, Schwoz had cloned many things over the years, including some things that were better left unspoken about.
"They need a feather," the hero instructed his sidekick, who couldn't that the team was about to do this, but what choice did he have? Face his sister's wrath and risk his identity being revealed? That was off the table, so it had to be a cloning job. He just hoped Schwoz and (y/n) knew what they were doing.
"We can get a feather."
"Great. You bring us a feather, Schwoz and (y/n) clone a new bird, that don't know nothin' from nothin', we kill the old one, swap in the new one, badda-boom, badda-bing, me, my sweet girl, Schwoz and Jasper go to the batting cages," Ray made it sound so easy...and horrible. Everything apart from the killing part was perfect; it wasn't the parrot's fault that it had heard something that shouldn't have been said in the first place, so murdering it was just cruel.
"Yes!"
"No! Raymond, we are not killing the poor bird!" The girl in his arms scolded him, trying to be firm even though she had no idea where the old parrot would go. It was kinda difficult, though, what with her flaming cheeks and everything. 
In her experience, a trip to the batting cages often meant leaving Schwoz, and now the lucky Jasper, to hit baseballs into the night whilst he dragged her off to one of the secluded, shady corners so they could make out like teenagers. It was never about the sport, it was about getting her alone in such a risqué place and pressing her into a wire until she saw stars, so the sooner they cleared this mess, the better. 
Hey, no one ever said she wasn't a teenager too.
"But sweet girl..."
"Yeah, let's not kill the old one," Henry joined her argument, not wanting to hurt Otto the class pet, but it was a big mistake cutting into the longing gaze of a man and his fiancé.
"Potahto, potato, just bring us a feather."
"It's potato, potahto," the boy corrected him, earning himself yet another glare for being pedantic. Ray was a master with words, often getting them muddled in his head, so he didn't appreciate it when he was mocked for getting one tiny detail wrong, especially from a kid who he was trying to help.
"Potahto, potato, potato, patahto, just bring us a feather, you spicy tomato!" He snapped and left it to Schwoz and (y/n) to wave goodbye to the kid as he stomped off to go and pick at his pancake leftovers. They were slightly soggy by now and chilled from the cool air, but still sweet enough to soothe his anger, or maybe it was the way he could stab his fork into them that was therapeutic, who knows? 
Either way, the real stress relief came from the angel who floated over with her learned calmness, being the only thing that could ever truly make him feel better.
"Y'know, one of these days, we're gonna have a day where nothing goes wrong..." (y/n) sighed and sat on the edge of the couch's back, hands resting on his shoulders. They began to massage away the knots that lay beneath his skin, thumbs drawing tight circles in thick muscle and Ray groaned at the pressure. His head lolled back as the pancakes were forgotten again, no doubt those remnants were destined for the incinerator now that she had his full attention and loving gaze.
"One of these days, I might just marry you and we can go live someplace where no one will bother us," he replied softly and her heart squeezed at the sudden turn from her lighthearted joke. He'd never leave Swellview behind, not until he was certain that there was someone to take his place but the notion made her smile all the same. Peace would be a change, but maybe not an unwelcome one.
"Careful, doofus. Offer to elope again and I might just take you up on it."
"We could. Doesn't have to be much, just enough to let me call you my wife," Ray whispered, hand coming up to lay on top of hers on his shoulder so he could feel her engagement ring, present on her finger like always. He knew she wanted a wedding, but god, the thought of finally having someone make it official sounded so damn good. If she was his wife in his heart, what difference did it make? He'd take her either way.
"Sounds nice, but it'll be worth the wait, Ray," (y/n) whispered, swallowing the lump that formed in her throat as she denied him what he sorely wanted. She'd marry him even if it killed her and maybe some part of her wanted to be married so badly that eloping had crossed her mind, only to be shot down. 
They'd regret it in the end, that she was sure of, and whilst she didn't have many fears for the future, regretting marrying the love of her life was one of them. She never wanted him to be sick of the sight of her, so a wedding day it was, even if they still had nothing ten months down the line. "I promise."
Ray said nothing and they went back to an easy silence as they waited for the feather delivery. He'd hold her to that promise but he knew he wouldn't have to. His girl was worth waiting for.
~An hour later~
"Come on, come on, come on, come on, pick up, pick up, pick up, pick up, pick up," Henry said under his breath as the annoying drill of his PearPhone's dialling tone rang in his ear. It was safe to say that his situation had gone from bad to worse after Charlotte collected one of Otto's feathers and now, he wasn't just facing his sister's weather but the entire neighbourhood's.
He didn't understand why there was such a big fuss over one bird. Otto was just like any other parrot but there was a police presence in his house, a prayer vigil outside his door, and a man wanting to hunt down the bird with a snake, which would end badly he just knew it, and he started to panic about the mob growing on his porch. Just because they were peaceful now didn't mean they wouldn't lynch him when they found out about how he was the birdnapper, the one they'd been praying for.
So, the kid was desperate for any news from the Man Cave, where Charlotte had scurried off to with the feather once she'd been grilled by the cops and their pathetic sketch artist. Of course, in the hideout, things were progressing quite well, Schwoz and (y/n) were on the ball, cloning away, Ray was sitting on the couch staring dreamily at his sweet girl as she floated around the place and Charlotte was waiting for the moment the cake was out of the oven. So to speak.
"Hey, Henry. What's up?" She answered in a semi-chirpy tone that grated against her friend's sour mood.
"Hey, did Schwoz and (y/n) clone a new Otto yet?" Henry asked, praying that they already had a new bird ready to be substituted in. He couldn't hide in his bedroom forever; eventually, the birdman and his snake would come sniffing (do snakes sniff?), and then, they'd find their prize stashed in his closet. And that would be game over.
"Uh, hang on," Charlotte told him and looked over at her fellow smarties as they poked around with science that was beyond her education, "Are we close?"
"I think so..." "He just needs a couple more minutes," they answered. Honestly, (y/n) wasn't that good at cloning...or anything to do with biology but she saw it this way. Otto's DNA, the stuff they'd pulled from the feather, was like cake batter and all they were doing was shoving it in a very special oven, turning up the heat and waiting for the cake to rise. Any deviation from that plan would ruin the cake...or something to that metaphor.
"They say we're close." "All right, well, tell Schwoz and (y/n) to hurry up because there's a bird-sniffing snake on its way and they're gonna find Otto in my closet and they're gonna hear—" Henry panicked and opened his closet door to reveal the little red bird still sat on its perch, only this time, it didn't say it's favourite phrase, much to everyone's surprise.
"The moon landing was fake!" It said in its helium-like chirp and for a glorious moment, Henry thought their problems were over because hallelujah, it didn't say his biggest secret.
"Hey, wait a second, Otto's stopped saying that—" "Henry is Kid Danger!" Charlotte cringed as she heard the shrill squawk of the parrot, that hadn't learnt to say something new. 
"Dang it!" For a moment there, the boy had thought that Otto could be returned to Piper with no worries because if he didn't say the K-D word, then everything was fine. Or not. He just had to go and spoil it.
"Well, why can't you sneak Otto outta the house before the bird-sniffing snake even gets there?" Charlotte questioned, wondering what was stopping her friend from leaving before he got caught. In the background, she was trying to ignore how her boss was giving her friend goo-goo eyes, turning her back on him so she didn't have to see him blow a kiss only for her to sweetly catch it. If Henry thought he had it bad, she had it worse.
"Because my house is surrounded by people holding up picks of candles on their phones and donating to Piper's GoFundYourself account. I need a new bird!" He snapped in reply and angrily ended the call. His voice was so harsh that it even broke Ray out from his (y/n)-induced haze to make him frown at the racket. What could the kid possibly be worried about that it meant he had to stop staring at his fiancée's pretty face, hips....butt? 
"Henry says you gotta hurry up and clone a new Otto!" Charlotte told the genius and his assistant as she shoved her phone in her back pocket and gave them a firm stare. Ray stood up from the couch and wandered over, seeing that things were starting to get exciting but for all the glares in the world, perfection couldn't be rushed. Did she want the cake to sink if they opened the oven door too quickly? Did she want Otto to be a mutant freak?
"Okay..." Schwoz shared a chuckle with (y/n) before looking at the girl kindly...and rolling his eyes a bit at how Ray leaned over to cup the woman's cheeks for a quick smooch, "Anytime you say hurry up and clone, that's when the mistakes happen."
"But it's safe, right? Like you two've cloned stuff before?" "Well, personally, no, but Schwoz has a lot of experience...and by the way, you need to get some antiseptic on those scratches," (y/n) replied truthfully before commenting on the frankly awful injuries that Charlotte had sustained after fighting Otto for a feather. They looked particularly sore but nothing that wouldn't heal fine without a little care and attention, but it was the clone that Charlotte was bothered about, not the state of her face. It was a good thing that Schwoz had been practising for years, more than anyone was aware of.
"Schwoz?" "Yeah, I've cloned myself—" he said when the girl looked at him, spilling the secret that he promised he would never let loose because he knew that it would piss Ray off. After all, it would piss (y/n) off. Cloning people was unethical and irresponsible in her eyes and once she told her lover that, it would be bye-bye cloning machine for him, so he resolved to keep it quiet so he could have lots of little helpers about the place. "I mean...I, myself, have cloned many things that are not me!"
Looking at him suspiciously, the little man's friend's lined up to stare at him judgementally, (y/n) stepping next to Ray so she could analyse his facial features. She knew a liar when she saw one but how was she supposed to prove that with no proof? Schwoz was very careful with his clones and so, they were never caught. Not yet anyway.
"Schwoz, did you clone yourself?" Ray asked, his arm sliding around his girl's waist as he stared down at his handyman. He was the boss, so he had a right to know what was going on in his Man Cave, right? It was bad enough dealing with one Schwoz, let alone, two or three or five or ten yet he didn't know that those other Schwozs were the reason that so much stuff got done around the place.
"Ummmm, noooo...." "Yeah, see, the way you're saying ummmm, noooo, makes me think you really have cloned yourself," Charlotte told him, seeing straight through that fake innocence and folding her arms. She knew something was going on, she wasn't stupid, but perhaps all three of them were deaf and blind because as they stared down the original, low and behold, a clone Schwoz snuck through the secret door. 
He happily waddled into the main room as he snacked on an apple. Clone Schwoz had no idea what was going on with his boss and friends but Real Schwoz wasn't about to let their secret be revealed. 
"Yeah, that's what I'm thinking too. The long no makes it seem like he's lying, right?" (y/n) looked up at her doofus and then at Charlotte, both of whom agreed that Schwoz was talking out of his ass. However, they were so busy debating whether he was or not, that they didn't see the second genius slope off when urged to by his counterpart, who thanked his lucky stars that they didn't look at him or behind them.
"Oh, totally, sweet girl. The short no is always true. The long no, that means he's lying," Ray pointed out, too wrapped up in the loving gaze of his fiancée and how it made his insides feel warm and fuzzy to notice the sound of the door opening and closing again. Rather, the only thing that was capable of breaking their trance-like staring was the ding of Schwoz's Clone-u-Lator, which he assumed meant something had happened.
"Oh, good! The clone is done! Everyone can move on!" Schwoz exclaimed and rushed to open the door of the machine. Talk about saved by the bell or the ding or the machine, whatever, he was saved. For now...
"Yeah, sure..." (y/n) gave him a pointed look and tucked away a small thought about investigating his lab in her mind. He might have thought he'd gotten away with it, but she'd get him one day and everything would become clear. Y'know, the day they didn't have a mouthy parrot to deal with.
Slowly, Schwoz opened the door on his cloning device and there, sitting on the small perch, was a parrot. And not just any parrot. It had a red and brown plumage, a glossy black beak, beady eyes and every claw on its foot; the perfect clone of the bird Charlotte had left in Henry's closet after wrestling for one of its feathers. She had to give it to the genius, the likeness was uncanny and it was a weight off her shoulders as Otto Two hopped out of the chamber.
"Oh, wow!" "Ooooohhh!" "He looks exactly like Otto!" Ray exclaimed as (y/n) grinned at their handiwork, happy to admit that most of it had been Schwoz just so she could admire him more. As he sat there on Schwoz's wrist, Otto squeaked happily and she would swear that it was the same bird if she didn't know better, so switching them would be fine and Piper would never know the difference.
"Yah, that's the point, schweetheart," Schwoz replied to Ray sarcastically and the man's face fell into a grumpy frown. There was only one person who was allowed to call him that and she never used such a bitter tone. Stupid clever people and their smugness.
"Hey, it's exactly the same in every way?" Charlotte asked, wanting to make sure that there was no stray feather or distinction that would make Piper smell a rat. She loved that bird and so did the rest of her class, so there couldn't be anything wrong.
"Mmm, pretty much. It just hasn't learned to say Henry is Kid Danger," Schwoz said, pointing out the key difference that was sure to save them. But, as per the universe's unfair way, the moment he said that forbidden phrase, Otto Two learned what they'd been trying to avoid. He should've kept his mouth shut, what did he think would happen?
"Henry is Kid Danger! Henry is Kid Danger!" Otto Two squawked and the four felt their stomachs drop. As Ray, Charlotte and (y/n) glared at him, Schwoz's gaze dropped to the floor as his cheeks flamed red, embarrassed that he'd said something so stupid when they didn't have much time and now, their saviour was their new executor. Not such a genius, after all.
"Nice going, schweetheart...." Ray quipped dryly and gave his handyman and cold look as he sheepishly handed the bird over to (y/n) for her to hold. He'd have to start again, that bird was now tainted with that phrase and wouldn't unlearn it, so they'd just have to keep baking until they got it right, which would be fun and easy and stress-free.
"Well, what are we supposed to do with this one?—All right, we get it, feathers," (y/n) asked as Schwoz quickly thumbed a few buttons and slammed the door shut on the cloning device, smiling at her nervously as the parrot bobbed its head and said Henry is Kid Danger, Henry is Kid Danger a million more times. She wasn't one for birds, rabbits, yes, dogs, definitely, but not parrots, they flapped and squawked and were so damn annoying, especially the talking ones, so what were they supposed to do with the spare? 
Releasing it was one idea, but that would mean Otto Two would blab his beak all over town and every Henry in the land would be hunted down. One of these days, she'd swing for Schwoz.
"Pluck it, roast it, stick it in a pot pie!" Ray smiled at her and began sizing the creature up for his dinner, which earned him a few mortified looks from his sweet girl and friends. Parrot pot pie? They weren't even sure if that was legal and more to the point, why would he want to eat the poor thing? The wasn't even enough meat on him for a full meal and everyone knows that Ray always ordered enough for two, just in case he could share with his dearest fiancée.
"Raymond! We are not eating Otto!...Or his little Ottolets!"  "But baby—" "No buts! Someone call Henry, see what's happening with him and that snake man," (y/n) put her finger on Ray's lips to silence him before looking at Charlotte, who nodded wordlessly and began scrolling through her phone. The boy was probably getting worried since they'd said they'd be over any minute, fifteen minutes ago. It wasn't their fault that Otto Two had gone wrong, it was Schwoz's, so due to that technical hitch, they had to start again and in the hurry, they'd forgotten to broadcast that update. Oops. 
Charlotte paced impatiently as her phone tried to connect to Henry's and in the meantime, Ray pecked at the finer on his lips, moving down to her engagement ring, her palm and then, on the pulse point of her wrist. (y/n) was giving him a faux-annoyed look as she tried to juggle the bird and his advances, but that morphed into a smile when he leaned down for a proper kiss. Looking at them through his eyelashes, Schwoz scoffed and watched his invention impatiently, wishing it could go faster without ruining the process. 
"Henry! Hey, we—" the girl exclaimed when she finally got through to her friend and in her haste, she didn't give him a chance to say hello. But Henry was quick to speak first because, in the brief time since their last con-flab, shit had hit the fan at his house.
"Hey, what the holdup?! The bird-sniffing snake is here!" He asked impatiently, worry coating his every word. The man who'd brought the snake was thankfully a massive gunch and as such, was too busy showing off and hyping the crowd to get straight down to business, so nothing had happened. Yet. That snake was practically begging to be let out and Piper was getting antsy and shouty and dear god, his nerve was beginning to slip from the stress it was under.
"Yeah, we had a little problem with the first clone—" Charlotte told him nervously and tried to mask that to no success. She wasn't inspiring much confidence in the boy, but just as she started speaking, the oven went ding, indicating that Otto Three was ready to go. Maybe this time, they'd have more success. "But the new-new clone is done and we're leaving right now."
"Right, no one say the word and we'll just back away to the elevator slowly..." (y/n) said quietly, pretending to put her hand over Otto Two's ears so he couldn't hear the plan and possibly spoil it. They all nodded solemnly and Schwoz carefully opened the machine to reveal yet another perfect Otto, one that hadn't been corrupted yet.
"Wait, wait...what was the problem with the first clone?" Henry asked as the party carried on outside his front door. He couldn't help it if he was curious and neither could Charlotte help it if she wanted to be honest. A little too honest, which led to being forgetful and loose-lipped.
"Schwoz said, Henry is Kid Danger, in front of it and—" "Henry is Kid Danger! Henry is Kid Danger! Henry is Kid Danger!" she explained, thinking nothing of her mistake until it was too late. Otto Three hadn't even made it out of the box when he started chirping her exact words, which were very attractive for a copycat parrot. As with Schwoz, she suddenly felt very stupid and knew that her ears and cheeks were growing warm as her friends' eyes twitched and their faces fell. 
"Oh, come on! I literally said don't say it!" (y/n) cried in frustration and her hands raised to pull her hair as Otto Two flapped off to join his twin in their annoying symphony. Now that one was saying it, the other couldn't resist and it was certain that what should've been simple was gonna take a while.
"We'll call you back," Charlotte said to Henry with a sigh and much to the boy's reluctance and maybe fear, the call was ended. Come on, he was on the verge of being hung, drawn and quartered, what were they playing at? It's not like cloning a parrot is difficult.
~Half an hour later~
So he thought. Henry was beside himself at the house as he waited for his dumb boss and dumb friends to get to his dumb self but as the seconds ticked by, he was starting to lose hope. He had no idea what was keeping them and it was starting to look like he'd just have to be murdered by the prayer vigil because help wasn't coming from the Man Cave.
By Otto Number Five, even Ray, (y/n), Charlotte and Schwoz were losing patience. Every time a bird had come out, that which must not be said was spoken and they had to start all over again. It was annoying but manageable when it was their fault, like when the heroine said it when she thought Otto Four was still cooking but when the birds themselves started squawking it like everything was one big game, things were starting to become unbearable. 
As they waited for Otto Six, they were praying that they all stayed silent. It was quite a collection now, all five were lined up on the computer monitors, looking down on the scene as if they were waiting to say something to piss the humans off, and of course, they chose their moment when their new friend—brother—self dinged to be done.
Absolute silence. With their fingers on their lips, the group held their breath as Schwoz opened the door, wanting Otto Six to not hear anything to do with Captain Man or Kid Danger or Miss Danger, so it was easier to just say nothing, apart from the odd parrot squeak. The door inched open and there he was, as perfect as the other five, totally pristine and innocent as he was lifted out, onto Ray's hand and into a new world where nothing could go wrong and no one could teach him anything because no one was saying wor—
"Henry is Kid Danger!" Otto Two or maybe it was Four chirped as they snuck towards the elevator and with panic flashing on their faces, the four ran to the elevator, (y/n) almost pushing Ray over in their mad dash. Perhaps if they got him in there quick enough, he wouldn't hear what his predecessors were saying and it would all be okay...
"Henry is Kid Danger!" Too late. The elevator door didn't open quick enough and as Ray rapidly tapped the button, Six opened his beak and let loose the four most annoying words in the human-bird language. Above the repeated Henry this, Henry that, some several shouts and groans bordered agony as they turned on their heels to reset the cloning device for the seventh time and for the man-child of the Man Cave, it was difficult to stay calm.
"Shut up! Shut up all of you! Why?! Whhhhyyyy?!" Ray glared at the parrots and squashed the urge to launch the one that sat on his fingers at them. His sweet girl would never forgive him if he did that and besides, he had her shoulder to sob into angrily as she came to hug away the pain, mumbling something about calming down, being better than a temper tantrum and plucking, roasting and Potpie-ing them later.
~
"Hurry up, Schwoz! Henry is freaking out!!" Charlotte exclaimed as Schwoz muddled through their seventh attempt at cloning Otto. She didn't want to rush the genius or his experiment since (y/n) had told her that shit goes wrong when you try to botch science, but for once, she was rushing. 
Halfway through the baking process, she'd received an incoming flurry of texts from her friend ranging from asking where they were to ones of a more dramatic nature. Namely, that Henry thought he was gonna die or something to that effect, which meant that it was imperative that this time, they got it right and quick, but Schwoz wasn't a man to be hurried, not when said hurrying could have disastrous results.
I told you! When you hurry the cloning process, that's when you get a lot of problems!" He tried to tell her but for Ray, excuses were pathetic because Captain Man and Miss Danger had a date with returning a lost bird to a little girl and they couldn't do that if they had no bird. 
"We are out of time! Just give me something, anything that looks like a bird!"  "Yeah, Schwoz, I know it's a bad idea, but just give us a bird!" The couple hissed, feeling itchy to get moving as they were already so late and on the verge of Henry having a heart attack or never forgiving them or both. She was the semi-scientist, she knew the risks but even so, she was willing to cut a few corners if it meant they could leave sooner. After all, it couldn't be that bad, right? 
"Fine!" Not wanting to be badgered anymore, the genius shrugged his shoulders and stopped the timer early, bringing forth the ding a good five minutes early. "He's not ready yet but here's your bird!" Schwoz glared and opened the door, knowing exactly what they were gonna face but he wanted to prove to them that he didn't make this science stuff up. Bad things genuinely did happen when you ignored Schwozie.
"Oh!" "Argh!" "Sweet cheese!" As the door opened, the unsuspecting trio were expecting to see a slightly ruffled Otto Seven, maybe with a funny eye or something like that, but oh no. Dear, sweet lord, no. (y/n) jumped back into Ray's arms and they clung to each other for dear life, much like the thing in the machine was as it trembled on the little perch.
In the box, was a mutant freak; the parrot had very few feathers left, kinda like he'd been shaved, and he was hunched over with scabby skin and a funny, crazed look to him that made them feel so sorry for whatever chromosomes and genes he was missing. Otto Seven was half the Otto the other six were and (y/n) and Charlotte felt like monsters for opening the door too early, but Ray...he didn't see that big a problem.
"Eh, I can sell it," he shrugged, angling the parrot between his hands and deciding that yeah, he looked horrible but at the end of the day, that was still a bird and the beloved Captain Man could tell the people anything and they'd believe him. After all, he had done them a favour by saving what was left of him, surely a scabby Otto was better than no Otto at all. "Come on, sweet girl..."
"But—but—the—doofus—we—huh?" (y/n) stammered as he took the bird and her hand, guiding her towards the elevator as she failed to articulate what she wanted to say. What did she want to say? The bird? Him? Her? Piper? She honestly didn't know what was happening as Charlotte scurried behind them without hesitation. She wasn't going to miss this for the world, the big moment when Captain Man handed Miss Piper Hart half the bird she originally took home, would be a tragedy to behold. 
But not half the tragedy of Henry getting his head ripped off if they handed over nothing more than Miss Danger's wobbly apologies.
~Henry's house~
It was all going at the kid's place.
Piper was sitting on an upside-down bucket as she watched the snake guy wow the crowd by swinging his bag about, enjoying how their voices went low and high whenever the big and its dangerous contents did. He'd been doing that for ages, goaded by Henry and Jasper since they were trying to drag it out for all of its worth since Charlotte had said that they were coming at some point. He was a massive show-off, though, so it wasn't hard to make him lose track of time with a few praises and Piper's well-wishers were actually just sheep with too much time on their hands so they'd do anything as per the pack mentality.
But Piper, well, she was starting to get pissed off as the rock music played on and as she looked around at her supporters, she couldn't believe that they'd been hanging about for so long. Anything could've happened to Otto in the time they'd been doing nothing, which meant change was in order.
"Okay, okay, stop, stop!" She shouted above the noise and the cheering and music ceased, much to everyone's disappointment and Henry's slight terror. "
"What's the problem?" "The problem is that you've been showboating for ten minutes. Are you gonna let the snake out so it can find Otto or not?" Piper asked the man sternly, who looked a little ashamed at her observations. He felt a bit bad that he'd gotten so carried away and Henry shuffled on his feet as he realised that his sister's insisting meant that his time for stalling was up.
"Yes, I will let it out..." the boy held his breath as the man looked solemnly at his shoes, but all hope was lost, "...after the conga line!!!!"
"YEAH!" To his massive relief, a stroke of luck fell thanks to the man's childishness and lack of professionalism, so Henry thanked his lucky stars and got in the queue for the conga. If it meant that the snake stayed in the bag, then he'd do some dancing, no matter how red-faced and annoyed Piper was getting because he'd been on the verge of a heart attack all day. The least he could do was try to relax as he steered the madman around the porch to keep his mind off of his snake.
"No! No conga lines! Use your stupid snake to find Otto! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" The girl screamed into nothingness, her voice drowned out by the cheers from the crowd and the upbeat music to the point where her vocal cords were sore. It was tough seeing her so frustrated and on the verge of tears but Henry had to stay strong for his own sake...but not for long because here came an even bigger showboat.
"All right, people, heroes comin' through! Make a hole, make it wide! That's right, let the lady through!" Ray announced, suddenly appearing from the darkness like a vision in blue and red with (y/n) shyly leading the way since he was a firm believer in sweet ladies first. 
Now, Henry had never felt this before in his life and he doubted that he ever would again—but dear god, he'd never been happier to hear that bigheaded voice. Just like he'd never been happier to see the lovey-dovey couple still holding hands even as he was preoccupied with what he assumed was Otto in that shrouded cage. He could deal with the cockiness, he could deal with the mushiness, he was just so glad that they'd made it at long last and just before the snake guy ran out of things to show off about.
"Oh, look! It's Captain Man and Miss Danger!" "And they've got the real Otto!" Henry and Jasper exclaimed in stale tones, sounding rehearsed and stupid to boot but no one paid attention as the hero set the bird cage down on the bucket that Piper had been sitting on. No one even noticed how Charlotte snuck into the group at suspiciously the same time as the heroes, almost as if she'd been with them, had anyone bothered to think about it like that.
"Did you find Otto?" Piper asked the heroes with wide, bright eyes that were filled with hope and wonder. Oh, how it would break their superhero hearts when they showed her what had befallen the seventh copy of her beloved class pet. Still, Ray could sell it just as he'd promised because he was a very smooth, charming talker and who could resist Miss Danger's winning smile? Not him, that's for certain.
"Uh-huh, sure did, little girl... He-Here ya go!" (y/n) tried to keep her face pleasant and her voice steady but it was kinda hard what with Piper staring straight at her. Ray's hand squeezed hers tighter as his other whipped away the white sheet that had been covering Otto's grotesque new features and honestly, the reaction of the crowd could've killed her right there. Henry and Jasper were looking at the couple and Charlotte with horrified expressions as they gave the tiniest shrugs and subtlest apologetic looks, but no one was more distraught than Piper as she took him in.
He looked like a half-dead chicken.
"W-what happened to him? It looks like he's been microwaved or something," She asked, not knowing where to look, whether that be his wings that seemed to grow from his backbone or his hoarse, jingling croak.
"Oh, well, y'know...the sickos that bird-napped him did not treat him very well," Ray lied, swapping a knowing look with his sweet girl and Charlotte as the crowd cooed in sympathy. They thought that the poor thing had been hounded and mauled by some cruel psycho but the reality was that they were the ones who were sick, they'd half-baked the cake so it was crusty on the outside but gooey and gross in the middle. Oh well, a sob story always worked in the animal's favour, maybe he'd make Swellview's Got Talent if they milked it.
"But when Miss Danger and I found those people, we beat 'em up!" The hero lied further, earning himself an eye roll from his fiancée that was mimicked by Charlotte because she knew exactly what was going through the man's mind. Oooh, Miss Danger fighting, oooh, she's so hot, ooooh, the people love him. He was loving it, punching and kicking the air as if he really had taken down some bad guys, but at least the crowd bought it. 
"I mean, yeah...we really did a number on 'em! Real bad..." "Otto's back, people!" (y/n)'s lack of convincing enthusiasm was supported by Ray's talent for working a crowd and he happily gave her a side hug as Piper led the crowd in chanting the name of the brave parrot who'd been to hell and back, only to fight beak and claw to return to his mistress. Well, if they were happy then so were they, even if it was a shallow victory.
"Otto! Otto! Otto! Otto! Otto! Otto!" "Captain Man! Captain Man! Captain Man!" And being the bigheaded that he was, Ray couldn't help but slip his own name in there until the kids and various adults were shouting it instead. Piper was a bit confused and the teens thought it was massively cocky of their boss but as always, the Swellviewian crowd just followed the leader and Captain Man was good at that.
"Captain Man! Captain Man! Captain Man! Captain Man!" "There you go..." Well, at least he was happy about it.
"You're a massive ego, you know that?" (y/n) said as she looked up at him with a bemused smile, admiring how he was able to make them do whatever he said so easily. It was conceited of him but she could never do what he did, the leading, the being confident enough to step in and command the crowd to do what you wanted them to do. She was rubbish at that and would never dream of willingly stepping into the centre of attention like that, so it was awe-inspiring that he not only could but enjoyed doing it. Not that she'd ever play to his ego like that.
"You love it." "Oh, yeah, keep telling yourself that," she giggled and squeezed her eyes shut when he pressed a firm kiss to her cheek as she was pulled into his embrace even tighter. Charlotte dared to look to her right a little and pulled a face when she saw her friend squeal and laugh at how many butterfly kisses were being left on her cheeks by the man who was revelling in his two loves; the adoration of the crowd and his greatest love of all. Her.
"Told you I'd sell it," he muttered against the softness of her cheek and for once in her life, (y/n) had to pander to his ego. That was true, he'd done a good job, which even Charlotte had to hand to him, even if she was gagging at the same time. A look over his shoulder to Henry and Jasper and Ray was smirking even more because they gave him a nod and thumbs up. He was smug, right up until the point when their admiration turned into smirks of their own as they made smoochy faces and swirled their tongues in the cool night air.
It was Captain Man's turn to be embarrassed.
~The Man Cave~
After Ray was done throttling them and rubbing his knuckles against their heads, (y/n) had dragged the boys and Charlotte back to the Man Cave, saying something about wanting to get out of her uniform since today had been meant to be a day off of sorts. 
So, back in their home and with the family crowded in one place, the man of The Cave had proclaimed that for the rest of the night, up until the inevitable first emergency call of the evening, they were gonna sit around the TV, watch bad shows or movies and not move an inch. 
So, as the computer's monitors kept an eye on the shadiest parts of town, the TV played whatever was on air and they sat around it. Jasper was relaxing at the computer whilst Schwoz, Henry, Charlotte and of course, Ray and (y/n) were sat/snuggled on the couch in what should have been an idyllic scene. And for once in their lives, the happy couple were joined at the hip but not in paradise, not even when she raked her lips from his cheek to his jaw because there were several guests currently outstaying their welcome.
Those fucking parrots. All seven of them. The original Otto had been brought back to the Man Cave, lest he b left at Henry's house to be discovered, bringing that total of irritating little chatterboxes to seven and they would not shut up. It was impossible to relax fully or enjoy what was happening on the screen because nothing could be heard except for—
"Henry is Kid Danger!" "Henry is Kid Danger!" "Henry is Kid Danger!" "Henry is Kid Danger!" "Henry is Kid Danger!" It was infuriating. They were sat on top of the monitors still and Ray could swear that they were gloating at everyone's suffering, especially his, as he tried to get cosy with his sweet girl, possibly snake a hand where it shouldn't have been but it was hard to be cheeky when every little thing annoyed her to the point of pushing him away. He wasn't hurt, not like you'd expect because he got it. The headache was very real and even he found himself not in the mood as the chirps and squawks continued until it wasn't funny anymore.
Some might say it was comical that they were in that situation but by the half-hour mark of listening to nothing but "Henry is Kid Danger!", it was getting difficult to hold it together.
"The birds are too loud, I can't hear the judges!" Henry whined as he leaned in closer to the set, hoping to catch what the people on the cooking show were saying. This was one of his favourite shows, on the count that they all had cute and hilarious British voices, it would've been nice to hear one line when the judges critiqued something bad.
"Or their funny accents!" Schwoz complained too, which was a touch of the pot calling the kettle black but he had a point. The birds were so annoying, so much that Charlotte was starting to sense the tension between the miserable couple next to her.
"Jasper, will you turn up the volume?" She asked politely, getting the feeling that if her boss got any more frustrated, he'd punch the wall...or Schwoz's head. And it wasn't like (y/n) was gonna do anything; she was currently slumped against the couch table, her face smushed into her arms as she tried to block out the infernal noise and all Ray could do was sling an arm over her back and pathetically paw at her for attention that she wasn't going to give him whilst her head hurt so much.
"Good idea—" "I got a better idea. Let's turn the volume down on the birds!... Permanently," The hero growled, his patience wearing so thin that it was now nothing more than a smear and he had the self-control of a toddler anyway. He wanted to hold his sweet girl and kiss her and hear her whisper naughty things and stupid jokes in his ear but most of all, he wanted her to feel better again. To see her look and smile at him again. 
So, in his head, it made sense to sneak his laser control from his pocket and raise his arm to fire at those damned parrots. One hit and they'd be nothing more than ash on the floor and his lover would be content to snuggle with him again. After all, what kind of protector was he if he couldn't commit a little bird genocide for her comfort?
"What are you talking about, doo—oh my god, Raymond! No!" (y/n) raised her eye with bleary eyes and peered at her lover in confusion as his arm left her back and took its warmth with it. It was only when she looked along to the connecting hand and what was in that hand that her brain suddenly stopped hurting and flipped into action, quick enough to lift his arm and skewer his aim, but not quick enough to stop the firing full stop. Rather, Ray's thumb hit the button and an orange zap left the controller but it didn't hit an Otto, oh no.
"Ah!" Jasper yelped as he felt a burning sting on his lip like a bullet had grazed his mouth, and he looked up at his friends to see their shocked faces but most importantly, Ray's guilty mug as they started pointing fingers.
"Are you okay?!" "You zapped Jasper's face!"
"That was (y/n)'s fault!" "I was saving that damn parrot's life!" "Y-yeah, she's too sweet to be blamed! It was Charlotte's fault, she wanted the TV to be turned up!" When Charlotte looked at (y/n) with an accusing glare, the woman recoiled and frowned because she had merely been trying to do the right thing, not join a game of tattletales. But of course, as always, Ray valiantly jumped to her defence and practically hunched over his lover to bare his teeth at Charlotte for her outrageous suggestion.
"You shot off my moustache!" Jasper yelled at the horrified trio and whilst they weren't big fans of it in the first place, Charlotte and (y/n) felt just as bad as Ray as they saw his bald, slightly sore but definitely red upper lip. Despite having it for less than a week, the teen had grown quite attached to his lip sweater and was fuming to know that it had been lost for something so trivial, like losing a soldier because of a general's poor order.
"Noooooooo!" Henry screamed, his face contorting in pain and anguish as if he was the one in mourning. His best friend had looked so cool, cooler than anything to anyone he'd ever seen, so to see it shaved off was devastating.
"It was an accident! (y/n) hit my zapper!" Ray squeaked and fluttered his eyes innocently, which caused his sweet girl to look at him with mutiny in her eyes. Oh, why didn't he stab her in the heart whilst he was at it? One mean look from Jasper and his shaved whiskers and he was whimpering, leaving her to the dogs to be torn apart and she would be offended if she didn't know that in serious circumstances, he'd never betray her like that.
"What were you thinking?!" "I was trying to save the birds! Which, by the way, are now quiet, thanks to me!" The woman snapped at Henry and then glared at her future husband, both of whom seemed more upset than Jasper at the loss of the moustache. But she was right; since the laser had fired, the birds hadn't made a peep, probably because they were scared shitless by the hulking hero and the silence was bliss.
"Yeah! At least the birds shut up!" Charlotte told her friend, nudging his arm to get him to back off so they could enjoy the quiet and hopefully, the couple next to her would mellow out. (y/n) huffed and flopped back into the couch, ignoring her heart's desire to latch onto the bicep brushing against her arm and hug it for the rest of her life. The fuchsia shirt he was wearing made them bulge and seem extra huge, perfect for snuggling or holding onto when he dragged her off to f—or not. She was sulking, feeling moody after being sold out so his buddy wouldn't get mad over a moustache. 
"At least the birds shut up." Spoke too soon. It must've been something about her voice because the Ottos picked up on the phrase the minute she said it and this time, it was even more annoying. Not because they'd been quiet, although that did grate, but because now it felt like they were being deliberately annoying, mocking even, because they had the power to toy with the pathetic humans who were too soft to do anything against them.
"At least the birds shut up." "At least the birds shut up." "At least the birds shut up." "At least the birds shut up." 
"Ray?" (y/n) murmured darkly to her fiancé, swallowing thickly as her head began pounding again, souring her mood even further. Those little bastards with wings, she wanted to step on every one of them because they were ruining the last scrap of her day off and that just wasn't on.
"Yeah, sweet girl?" Ray acknowledged her in a tight voice, feeling a similar dull pain set in between his temples, meaning any hopes he had of laughing away the tension for his "betrayal" were dashed because neither of them was in the mood for fun.
"Let's make some parrot pot pie." She growled, not even caring about how morbid her idea was and of course, Ray was at the end of her rope just as she was. And obviously, he would do anything for her, so when he began shooting again, it was up to Charlotte to try and keep those damn birds alive again.
In the chaos, as a small girl tried to fend off a man twice her size, as an odd boy stroked his stubbled lip, as a lanky kid walked off, as a genius ducked for cover and as seven birds chirped to their heart's content, (y/n) let her forehead touch the cool table and plugged her ears with her fingers as her eyes slid shut. The world was blocked out like there was an ocean in her head, and at last, there was peace in the Man Cave.
Sort of.
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aprillikesthings · 7 months
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YOOO time for more she-ra rewatch
lolol at myself bc when I opened Netflix it was clear I'd left it paused right at the end of that sword-dragging scene eheheheheheh
so I watched it again
ahem, anyway
s1 ep 10, the beacon
my headphones aren't buzzing this time, thank fuck
(lol I got real distracted during this one)
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oh right they all think Entrapta's dead
Also ADORA STOP
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I mean I can't blame any of them for feeling that way
lol and then I got distracted and wrote a bit on my fic--I got some ideas at work today and wanted to pursue them.
and by "ideas" I mean I suddenly thought "hey remember that one bad breakup when you were 23, how the weekend after when you were alone in the house you cried so hard you worried you couldn't stop and started to panic and hyperventilate, and it only ended because a friend called to check on you? you should put that in the fic :D"
back now.
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I dunno if they meant to do this, but to me it looks like Adora's WAY more upset than Glimmer and Bow are. I know part of it is her blaming herself.
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yeah that's not good
"I'll recharge, stop glitching, and my mom never has to know :)" that's not how that works bb but okay
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(hordak is speaking here)
And...that's a good point. She-Ra is even more dangerous than Hordak thought before, because she was part of the Horde and knows a LOT about them.
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BAHAHAH I WAS WAITING FOR THIS
So this is one of the episodes I watched the first time with Daci over rabb.it. (That was actually our first "date," which is THE MOST LESBIAN THING EVER. Literally watching She-Ra online together in voice chat because we were long-distance.)
And I know this because I made a joke post about it to tumblr referencing K/DA, my fandom obsession at the time. That was on April 30th, 2019. I think that was the day Daci bought the plane tickets for their first visit. They moved in with me less than a year after that first visit.
Okay I looked up that date in our discord chats and
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EIGHT HOURS lolol okay we watched the show the day before I made the post. Also Daci had just bought the plane tickets I was right-- that visit was the last weekend in June.
We'd been flirting for months but I didn't actually believe Daci was serious about it until they bought the plane tickets. And then the NEXT WEEKEND after watching she-ra and Daci buying those tickets my dad had a brain hemorrhage and we took him off life support a few days after that, and Daci and I started video chatting EVERY DAY because I was alone in the house and off work for two weeks of bereavement leave.
ANYWAY OFF TOPIC
Fuck one of my keys is acting up and the the paintbrush I use to dig under my keys to fix it is upstairs where Daci is sleeping, if I drop any r's that's why
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I mean that seems fair. Also: Emily!!!
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I'm trying to suppress how hard this is making me laugh and FAILING
Also her nose is wiggling omggg
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Did you know it's canon that Catra is entirely covered in hair like an actual cat? Or at least it's "word of God" via the showrunners on twitter. But outside of fan art by furries nooooobody includes that. Especially not in fic. Which is fine. Because I personally do not want to write that. Her ears are fuzzy, the marks on her arms are just birth marks, but the hair on her body is just normal human body hair and that's it.
THAT SAID I think I've only read one fic that intentionally included her sense of smell being stronger, and it was referenced in ONE LINE for smutty reasons eheheheheheh
Anyway it's this fic and it's by a friend and it's good
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SURPRISE!
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Catra's expression is so often some variation on "...the fuck?"
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Literally read a fic last week with a scene about how getting ill in the Horde was a good way to end up dead from a combination of bad nutrition/healthcare and being a victim of bullies but I cannot remember which fic it was
NO WAIT it's this one I think. I've still got two chapters to go reading that fic because I've been intentionally savoring it, the character stuff is just SO GOOD and it's just such the opposite of my own writing style. (But it's also the fic that has a scene of "Adora has a nightmare and injures Catra in her sleep," and I really hope nobody thinks I copied it considering I wrote mine before I read it in their fic, aaugh)
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oh god there's a gif I can't find of a guy pressing his lips together like he's trying not to laugh and then looking at the camera and if you know the one: that one
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Entrapta and her lack of ability to understand personal space or normal boundaries is just so great but also the phrase "another woman's tail" is just perfection
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Yeah yeah I know Catra's being a manipulative little shithead here but also if I were to meet Entrapta and she didn't mind I would absolutely be twisting her hair CONSTANTLY just like I do my own
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the weird noises she's making must've been so much fun to voice-act
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So like, the whispering woods are like that one forest the hobbits walk through in the book version of lord of the rings where the trees keep like, closing in on them?
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DEEP SIGH
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that's the name of a g-idle song
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oh right I see what's going to happen here
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DO YOU THO
DO YOU
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she's trying to comfort Shadow Weaver after immediately insulting her, bc of course she is
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DIE, BITCH
"I was hard on you, I won't deny it; and I won't apologize. I just wanted to prepare you for the world. I just wanted you to be strong. :(" BULL FUCKING SHIT
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well, for a given definition of "strong"
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oh shit
Yeah that's a weird thing to bond over but okay
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I dunno why they did the cute little fangie thing here but I'm not complaining
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Okay so her face is stupid here (couldn't get a screenshot that included the caption and not the terrible face) BUT she really leaned into the sexy voice for this one and I made a noise and my laptop nearly slid to the floor pfft
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babymetaldoll · 3 years
Text
DIWK - Chapter six: "I don't know everything, despite the fact you think that I do"
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My gif
Word count: 12,6K
Warnings: Cursing, mentions of drug use, drug detox, physical violence. Spencer being a jerk.
Summary: (Y/N) had enough of Spencer's attitude and plans an intervention on her own.
A/N: Hello! how are you? how's your week going? my life is a mess and I'm fighting with a lot of anxiety and stress after the month I spent with my grandparents, so I've been taking everything with calm in the latest days. I hope you all enjoy this chapter! Spencer is... and then reader... ok, read it, and see you in the comments! Stay safe, kids!!!
Series Masterlist
Chapter one | Chapter two | Chapter three | Chapter four | Chapter five | Chapter six | Chapter seven | Chapter eight | Chapter nine | Chapter ten | Chapter eleven | Chapter twelve | Chapter thirteen | Chapter fourteen | Chapter fifteen |
───※ ·❆· ※───
(Y/N)'s point of view
After New Orleans, I thought things were starting to get a little better. For a few days, Spencer was a lot like himself again. It was refreshing and exciting. He smiled. He even looked like he had slept. And he wasn't rude. Not at first. Not until that Friday.
- "Hey, pretty girl"- Morgan appeared next to my desk and tapped on the pile of files I was working on- Got any plans for tonight?
- "I was actually going to meet my boyfriend. Why? What do you have in mind?"
Yes. Paul and I had a date, 'cos I hadn't seen him in two weeks. We had spent San Valentine's apart, 'cos we were out on a case. And I barely noticed it. I didn't have my hopes high for that night, though. Maybe pizza, a movie... I didn't feel like having sex, even when it had been over a month since we had done it.
- "I'm clubbing tonight, and I know you are a party girl. So, do you wanna come with me?"
- "As tempting as it sounds, I pass"- I smiled at my friend and shook my head- "All I can do today is have a quiet evening, eat something, watch a movie and then call it a day."
- "Are you sure? 'cos Emily is on board, and you two are my party sidekicks."- I chuckled and kept shaking my head- "Ok, alright. You lose. What about you, pretty boy?"
Spencer had been awfully quiet that whole afternoon. He was buried in his paperwork and only moved from his seat to get coffee.
- "Reid? are you listening?"- Morgan waved until he got his attention. But Spencer apparently didn't want to talk- "Hello? Earth to Reid."
- "What the hell do you want?"- I brought up my eyes to my best friend, 'cos his voice was as annoyed as rude.
- "Hey, hey, slow down, kid. What's your problem?"
- "I'm trying to work, and you don't let me! That's my problem!"- Morgan raised an eyebrow and took a deep break.
- "Ok, my bad."
Spencer glued his eyes on his files again, and I kept looking at him closely for a minute. He was fidgety on his chair. He kept scratching his arms, and he had flipped from human to whatever he was when he yelled at Morgan in a blink.
Of course, shit wasn't over yet.
- "Hey, do you want a ride home?"- I asked him and stood by his desk on my way out. He was getting ready to leave too.
- "I can take the subway on my own"- he talked to me like I was insulting him- "And I don't wanna get in the way of your fake date,"- he grumbled and put on his coat
- "Sorry, what?"- I wasn't sure I had gotten that right.
- "Yeah, you have a date with your boyfriend, and I don't want to get in the way."
- "What are you talking about, Reid?"- I couldn't believe his words. He was acting like a jerk.
- "You know, I don't get it"- he was mad. Furious. And he snapped in front of me, out of the blue- "Why are you still dating that jerk if you don't even love him? does he fuck you that good?"
I could see from the corner of my eye how every head in the bullpen turned to us. I looked at my best friend in the eyes and didn't say a word. I just nodded and grabbed my purse.
- "Enjoy your weekend, Reid."
I knew I didn't have to take those words personally. Spencer wasn't himself. But I was growing tired of justifying him in front of the team and myself. It was time for the big guns.
I tried to ease my mind that night, preparing myself for what I knew I had to do the next day. But I couldn't shake Reid from my thoughts. I needed to know what he was doing if he had dinner. If he was able to sleep. Shit! I needed to know if he was getting high all alone in his apartment.
What if he overdosed? What if he just decided to go a little further and his body couldn't resist it? He was too skinny. He wasn't eating correctly. Shit! He could die.
- "Hey, babe. Are you ok?"- Paul asked me all of a sudden. He was kissing my neck and trying to get under my shirt, and I wasn't even moving. I was thinking about Reid and how to help him. And meanwhile, my boyfriend was trying to have sex with me.
- "Sorry, what?"- I know, that wasn't a good answer.
- "Are you even here?"- he sighed and let me go- "Let me guess, you are thinking about a case."
- "No, I'm just worried about Reid."
I know. That wasn't a good answer either, considering Paul's angry face as soon as he heard his name. Paul hated Reid. Ok, Paul hated every single one of my friends, but he despised Spencer. He would almost see him as his sworn enemy, and they had seen each other in person twice in over a year.
- "Now you think about that nerd when we are making out?!"
- "What?! No! that's not what I meant!"- I tried to explain, but it was clear that wasn't going to work- "He is going through a tough time after the abduction and..."
- "Yeah, yeah"- he cut me off and stood up- "Everything about Spencer is more important than me! I don't wanna hear that shitty and sad kidnap story again!"
- "I'm just trying to say I am worried about him!"- I stood up and followed him around the apartment.
- "You are always worried about him!"
- "He is my friend. He is in pain!"
- "And what about me?! Do you even care about me?!"
- "Sure! of course, I do!"
I knew that was it all of a sudden. I didn't even want to argue with Paul, and neither explain to him how much I needed to help Reid. So I didn't say a word. I only stood in front of him. He brought up his eyes to me and sighed. It took him a few seconds to gather the courage to say what he wanted to say. But when he did, it wasn't good.
- "You are in love with him, aren't you?"
His question made my blood boil. I hated he made such a presumption only because I was worried about Spencer. I loved him, sure, but because he was my best friend. I was with him all day, every day. I saw him more than my own family. More than Lu, Mikey, or Frank. And I knew Reid was in pain and in real danger. Of course, Spencer was my priority.
- "No, Paul. I am not in love with him."- I looked right into his eyes and tried to make my point clear- "He is going through a shitty situation, and I wanna help him. That's all."
- "And do you love me?"
He had never asked me that before. We haven't talked about "love" in the whole year and a half we had been together. And, to be honest, I didn't want to lie. I didn't want to hurt him either, but it was the end of the line, and we both knew it.
- "Paul..."
- "That's a no,"- he said and folded his arms across his chest- "If you don't love me, why are you with me?"
- "Do you love me?"
- "Of course, I do!"- I raised an eyebrow and stared at him for a second - "Don't profile me!"
- "I'm not profiling you. I'm just sure you don't! And that's ok. Paul, we... This is not a relationship. It's two lonely persons holding onto something that didn't work."
We just stared at each other and didn't say a word for what seemed to be for ages.
- "Despite what you might think, I know you, (Y/N)"- he took a step closer to me and kissed my forehead- "And I know you love him."
- "Paul, I really don't. He is my friend, and I'm worried about him"- he simply nodded and sighed.
- "Sure thing. Take care"- started walking to the door and never looked back.
I stood alone in the middle of my apartment. That was it. The easiest breakup because neither of us was in love. And yet, I felt empty and sad. Tears started falling down my cheeks, and I didn't notice them until I was sobbing.
I wasn't sad I had lost Paul. I didn't understand where that emptiness and misery were coming from. Maybe it was grief for a relationship that was never meant to work. Perhaps I was sad because I had failed to maintain a relationship. After all, work had turned into my life. I was just like my father and my brother.
A part of me felt I was slowly turning into what I had fought not to be. And letting Paul might mean I was no longer the old (Y/N). And the new (Y/N) scared me: I was a Fed, I worked over 50 hours a week, and I had killed people. Bad people, but I had pulled the trigger. I knew I had the job of my dreams, and I knew I loved working at the BAU. But with every day that passed, I was walking further and further away from the version of me I loved.
And I was scared of what the new (Y/N) was going to be like. Was she going to be like her dad and lose her family due to her work? or like her brother? who couldn't have a normal life 'cos being a detective was more significant.
I knew we all made our own personal decisions, but a part of me felt it. We were all cut from the same cloth, and I was meant to grow old, alone, and the BAU was going to be my whole life until the day I retired, and the loneliness consumed me.
- "I need a drink."
Spencer's point of view
I took a cab home. I didn't want to take the subway because it would take longer to get there, and I couldn't wait that long. I needed one more fix.
I had been telling myself the same for a whole week now: Just one more. One last time.
But it never was the last time. Every night I failed, and that Friday, I was so eager to forget, I wasn't thinking straight. I snapped at Morgan and (Y/N), just 'cos I was going insane, craving Dilaudid.
After New Orleans, I decided to stop using it. And for two days, I did it. But, of course, I couldn't handle the need. That needle was going to be my end, and I was struggling every day to quit. It was impossible to stop on my own when I needed to quieten the pain somehow.
You don't know how much pain you are into until you numb yourself, and the weight of all your troubles and regrets is lifted from your chest. I knew it was eating me alive, but I had to be strong and quit. So, every day I tried. And every day, I failed. Just like that night, when I laid in bed and slowly unwrapped my belt from my arm, losing all connection with reality.
I had yelled at my friends, and they were probably angry at me. But shit! It was worth it. Nothing was even relevant as long as I could feel the relief Dilaudid gave me.
But it never lasted. And the following day, I regretted it all. I woke up dressed on my bed, a needle next to me and an empty bottle of Dilaudid by its side. Just like a junkie. Tears filled my arms as soon as I realized what had happened. What I had done: I had failed yet again.
My whole body was shaking. I needed to eat something. My last proper meal had been Thursday when (Y/N) and I stopped for dinner on our way back home. And I guess if it hadn't been for her, I wouldn't have eaten at all.
I took a long shower, trying to wash away the guilt. It's obvious to say it didn't work. But I consoled myself thinking last night had been the last time. That day I was going to be strong enough, and I was going to quit. I had decided. Nothing could stop me that time.
My breakfast was miserable: I made coffee and took a look in my fridge. Nothing. All I ate that morning was a bowl of cereal (without milk) and two cups of coffee and sugar. Sugar and coffee, actually, like everybody teased me.
I tried to read for a while, at a normal peace, because my head was still fuzzy. So I sat in my living room and grabbed a book from my coffee table: "The Illustrated Man."
After a few hours and four books later, my mind kept coming to the same place. I was out of Dilaudid. And it was a good thing, 'cos now I just wasn't going to get any more. That was it. I had officially quit. Yes. And I felt good. It was a new day, and I was ready to be clean and sober. So I made myself another cup of coffee to celebrate and took a look at my bookshelf. I picked another three books and sat on my armchair, ready to keep on reading. I didn't need drugs to be happy.
Around three in the afternoon, I couldn't stop moving on the couch as I read the sixth book of the day. I drank yet another cup of coffee, even when I knew what I really needed was to get some real food. But I didn't care to starve at that moment. There was only one thought in my mind: Getting high.
Maybe I wasn't ready to quit. I should try leaving it periodically. Actually, perhaps having a bottle around the house could help me ease my mind. Knowing it was there made me feel better. As good as using it.
I was going insane. I kept debating whether I should stay home or find my dealer and just get a little dose. Just enough for one more time. Maybe two. I kept walking around my apartment, creating excuses in my head to get high.
And that was when I heard a knock on my door. I stopped on my tracks, confused. I wasn't waiting for anyone, and I wouldn't really have many unannounced visits. So I walked silently towards the door and looked through the peephole.
- "Shit"- my voice was a whisper I prayed (Y/N) hadn't heard.
What was she doing there? Maybe she had come to talk about my attitude at the BAU. I had said some awful things, but that wasn't really a good moment. I didn't want to see her. I didn't want her to see me like this. I didn't want anyone to see me. So I didn't open the door.
But she knocked again. I didn't move and almost didn't breathe as I stood still by the door, waiting for her to leave. But she wasn't leaving. Instead, she kept knocking over and over again, driving me insane until I snapped.
- "What the fuck do you want?!"- I opened the door and yelled at her face. She widened her eyes, surprised, and didn't move.
- "You just came to stand there and look at me?- I shouted, and she flinched. She had to leave. I wanted her out of my house. But rather than leaving, she walked in and stood in the middle of the apartment.
- "What is wrong with you?"- she was making an effort to stay calm, but I could tell she was scared. She kept biting the inner part of her cheeks and crossed her arms on her chest. Was she scared of me?
- "Spencer, why are you acting like this?"
- "What the fuck is your problem, (Y/N)? Why are you in my house uninvited?!"
- "I called you like three times. I wanted to invite you to my house for dinner, but you didn't answer, so I got worried."
- "As you can see, I'm fine! And no, I don't wanna go to your house for dinner!"
Her eyes were wide opened, staring right into mine, and I swear it physically hurt to see her. She shouldn't be there. I needed her out. I didn't want her to see me like that, and I needed to get out and get some more Dilaudid. Now more than ever.
- "I'm making lasagna"- (Y/N) whispered- "Mikey, Frank, and Lu are coming."
- "I don't care, I don't wanna go to your house, I don't wanna go anywhere! I'm fine here."
- "But, honey bunny..."
- "Stop calling me that!! I hate it!! It's a stupid nickname! I'm not your fucking honey bunny!!"
The silence in my apartment was so deep, I could hear my own heart racing inside my chest. (Y/N)'s eyes filled with tears that soon started falling down her cheeks. She dropped her shoulders, and her arms hung at her sides, slacks.
- "Please"- she begged- "Tell me what's wrong. I want to help you, Spencer."
- "There's nothing wrong! don't you get sometimes I don't want to be stuck at you?! I already have to see your face all day at work. I deserve a break during the few weekends we have off!"
- "I know you don't mean that"- her voice broke, and her chin trembled, but she still made her best not to cry.
- "You don't know that. You don't know shit, (Y/N)."
I stayed quiet and looked away from her. I couldn't stare at those sad eyes for another second.
- "Please, leave"- I managed to control my voice for a second, in a poor attempt not to hurt her anymore. But she shook her head and sniffed.
- "No, Spencer, I'm not leaving until you tell me what's wrong with you. I am worried."
- "There's nothing fucking wrong with me, (Y/N)! Don't you get it?! I just don't wanna be with you!"
- "Please"- she begged, sobbing in front of me. I couldn't stand it. I couldn't bear to see her anymore.
So I ruined everything and hurt her. I pushed her. She nearly fell back but managed to stabilize. She was shocked by my actions, but I didn't even have time to think about what I was doing. All I could think of that minute was that I needed her out of my house to buy drugs and get high.
- "Spencer, what the hell are you doing?"
- "I asked you nicely, but you didn't leave. So now I won't be nice anymore. Get out!!"
I grabbed her by the arm and pulled her out of my sight. She cried, pleading I would tell her what was wrong with me. But I didn't listen. Instead, I dragged her out of my apartment and slammed the door. I could hear her crying in the hall for a moment, and it enraged me. I thought if she was crying, she herself had caused it. She had appeared at my house at the wrong moment, unannounced.
It wasn't my fault. I just wanted her to leave. I did what I had to do.
And I didn't regret it.
Not until Sunday afternoon, when an announced knock on my door forced me to drag my stoned body from the couch. It was a delivery boy who gave me a package and left. It had nothing written on it. Not even my name. When I opened the box, I found a computer and a note.
- "Play me."
I knew I was still stoned, but not enough to be imagining those kinds of things. I took the laptop to the couch with me. There was a video ready to be played in it. So I pushed play.
- "What the fuck do you want?!"- my heart dropped. It was me, but I could barely recognize my own face- "You just came to stand there and look at me?"
It was a recording of me yelling at (Y/N). She had taped everything, and I couldn't believe my own eyes. I was a monster.
- "I'm making lasagna"- my chin quivered at that scene. Her voice was a whisper, and I was out of myself- "Mikey, Frank, and Lu are coming."
- "I don't care, I don't wanna go to your house, I don't wanna go anywhere! I'm fine here."
- "But honey bunny..."
- "Stop calling me that!! I hate it!! It's a stupid nickname! I'm not your fucking honey bunny!!"
I paused the video, 'cos I couldn't take it anymore. That wasn't me. I couldn't believe I had said all those things to her. It hurt (Y/N), so I could get drugs.
I covered my face with my hands and cried. I was done. Not only did I not know how to recover from my drug addiction, but I also didn't know how I could ever look at my best friend again in the eyes after what I had done.
I remembered she had cried, and I knew I had been mean. But when I saw the extreme hate in each one of my words, I knew I had reached rock bottom. I needed help.
After a few minutes, I pushed play again. I knew I needed to see the whole thing actually to understand what had happened.
- "Please, leave!!"
- "No! Spencer, I'm not leaving until you tell me what's wrong with you. I am worried."
- "There's nothing fucking wrong with me, (Y/N)! Don't you get it! I just don't wanna be with you!!"
- "Please... Spencer, no! What the hell are you doing?"
- "I asked you nicely, but you didn't leave. So now I won't be nice anymore. Get out!!"
I hit her. I pushed her. She was there to invite me for dinner, and I hurt her. Who was I? What kind of beast does such a thing to his best friend?
Who would do such a thing to the woman he loves.
I curled on the couch, crying. How could I let that happen? When did I turn into a downward version of myself? Ethan was right. I had been dumb enough to think I could control it when in reality, drugs were controlling me. I was losing who I was. I could lose my job. I was losing my friends.
I knew things had been hard for me growing up, but I had finally reached a point in my life where I was happy. I liked my life. I loved my job. For once, I had real friends, and I was making good, catching bad guys. I had actually fulfilled my dream to work at the BAU. So why was I wasting it all?
- "Spencer"- I heard (Y/N)'s voice at the end of the video and saw her face on the screen- "I am here if you need to talk. I'm not mad. I just wanna hug you. Please, call me. Let me help you."
But I couldn't do it. I couldn't talk to her after what had happened. I dragged her by the arm out of my apartment. I made her cry. I didn't deserve anything. I couldn't deal with reality and the consequences of the monster I had become into.
Sunday, March 4th. That was the day it all changed for good.
(Y/N)'s point of view
Spencer didn't call. I wasn't surprised, though. I knew he would be affected by the video and probably felt like he didn't deserve my help. So I did what I knew Frank would say I shouldn't do. I put on my shoes and got ready to go to his apartment and pick him up. I was not going to leave him alone when I could see he was struggling to survive.
But when I opened my door, Spencer was sitting in the hall outside my apartment, hugging his legs, shaking. His eyes were puffy, and his lips were shattered. He looked at me, afraid I would be mad. But how could I? I just wanted to help him.
I kneeled in front of him and touched his hands. They were stone cold. His lips trembled as I looked into his eyes, and after a few seconds of hesitation, he finally threw his arms around me, crying.
- "It's ok, honey"- I whispered and felt his whole body shaking as he held me tight- "I've got you."
- "I'm sorry"- I mumbled, sobbing against my shoulder.
- "Shh, it's ok, it's ok"- I ran my fingers through his hair and kissed his cheek.
- "Please"- I had to bite my lips not to cry with him, but I knew I had to be strong for him- "Help me."
- "Always."
I poured two cups of tea on my kitchen island as I looked at Spencer eating a bowl of soup. He was swallowing it like he hadn't eaten in days, which was probably true. We had barely spoken in the last hour. He kept asking for forgiveness as I helped him walk into my apartment and sat with him on the couch. He held onto me like a castaway holds to whatever shipwrecks he finds to survive.
When I finally convinced him to eat something, he followed me to the kitchen and looked at me in silence as I cooked. I didn't know what to tell him, so I just did my best to stay calm. I knew what was happening next, and it wasn't going to be pretty. But I was ready to go through it with him.
- "Thank you"- he whispered and sighed as soon as he was finished.
- "Do you want some more?"- but he shook his head. I smiled at him and handed him his cup of herbal tea.
- "Cookies?"- he didn't answer. He just looked at me with those big puppy eyes and broke my heart.
- "I'm sorry"- he spoke so softly I almost didn't hear him.
- "Don't be."
- "I was a monster"- he stared at me, and I knew he was thinking I was never going to forgive him, when the truth was, I wasn't mad at him at all. I was just worried sick.
- "Are you ready to get better?"- I was afraid to ask, 'cos I was afraid he could change his mind. Still, I trusted the video had shaken him deeply enough to erase from his head any thought of relapsing.
- "Yes."
His answer was clear. Even when it was a whisper, there was no hesitation or no fear. Pure determination. It made me smile to hear him like that. And he smiled at me for a second, filling my heart with hope.
- "Ok, then this is what we are doing"- I walked to my desk and took a folder I had prepared for that day. I gave it to him, and he frowned, confused.
- "What is this?"
- "Our home detox plan. You and I are locked in this apartment for the next fifteen days."
Spencer looked at me, baffled. I just smiled and walked to the fridge to show him how prepared I was.
- "I got all the food we need, and the meds you might need, and a nurse that will come to visit daily to put an eye on you."
- "What? How? What about work?"
- "I'll talk to Hotch."
- "What are you gonna tell him?"
- "The truth"
I wasn't going to lie to my boss, not when he also knew what was happening with Reid.
- "Honey, he knows there's something wrong with you, and I'm sure he will understand our absence for two weeks. You and I have enough vacation days saved to cover that time. And you need it."
Spencer looked at me in silence. I couldn't read his face because his eyes hypnotized me. Even under those circumstances, his eyes were beautiful and sweet. Filled with hope.
- "Ok"- he nodded, and I hugged him right away.
- "I'm so proud of you, honey"- I whispered and caressed his hair for a second.- "Come on. We are doing one more thing before we start."
- "What?"
- "Cleaning your apartment."
I took Reid back to his place and got rid of the Dilaudid he had gotten that weekend: All of it. And the needles. I helped him clean because I didn't want him to find a messy apartment when he would get back there. Then, we packed a bag of clean clothes to take to my place. He looked weak but determined to change, which made me feel so relieved. My heart was joyful.
- "Do you have everything?"- I whispered and held his hand as he stood in the middle of the living room and took a look around- "Do you want to take some books?"- he didn't answer- "Spencer? are you ok?"
- "I don't want to be a burden"- he whispered, and I took a deep breath right away, trying to find the right words to convince him he wasn't and that there was no way on earth he could ever be a burden in my life.
- "You are not, I swear"- he looked down and played with his fingers in my hand- "I mean it."
- "It's not going to be nice"
- "I know"
- "And..."
- "And I want to be there, with you, all along. Ok?"- he looked at me, and my heart skipped a beat.
- "(Y/N), withdrawal symptoms from opiates include anxiety, sweating, vomiting, and"- he cleared his throat, embarrassed- "And diarrhea."
- "I know... but we are going to go through this together, one day at the time."
Spencer kept his fingers in my hand, tracing paths on my skin. I looked at him and bit the inside of my cheeks. I didn't want him to doubt himself, 'cos I knew he could do it.
- "One day at the time sounds good"- he murmured and looked at me with a tiny smile. I nodded and kissed his cheek. I don't know why I did it. I just know how much I liked it. The sensation of his skin, and his two days beard, I don't know what it did to me. But I even shivered.
- "Let's go"- I whispered and held his hand tight. He nodded and grabbed his bag. It was about to get real.
The first night with Spencer was wild. He hadn't used it in over a day, and the withdrawal symptoms started around midnight. We were on the couch watching a movie. I was already half asleep when I felt Spencer constantly moving. He started biting his nails and scratching his face every two minutes.
- "Are you ok?"- I whispered and looked at him. He was pale.
- "I'm not gonna be able to do this."
- "Honey..."
- "No, I mean it."
- "You can, and you will."
- "How do you know? I was weak enough to start using."
- "You were forced to start using, and you are strong enough to stop"- I sat straight and held his hands. He was freezing- "What do you say we put you to bed? I'll make you a cup of tea, and we'll see how you feel in the morning."
He didn't move. I kept his hand in mine, and he held it tight. Real tight. I don't know what he was thinking about, but after a few seconds, he sighed and looked at me.
- "Bed and tea sounds nice,"- I nodded and stood up, but he didn't move- "(Y/N)?"
- "Yes?"
- "Where are you going to sleep?"
- "On the couch"- he sighed, and his face was filled with guilt.
- "I can't let you do that. This is your house."
- "Don't worry about that now. Come on. You need to rest"- I caressed his hand with my thumb, and he finally stood up. But halfway to the bedroom, he stopped.
- "I feel so guilty to put you through all this."
- "I want to do this"
- "But..."
- "No, but"- I turned to him and cupped his face with my hands- "I love you, and I'm not gonna leave you alone. No matter what."
My words resonated inside my head for a few seconds as I stared at him. My stomach was fluttering, and my heart was racing inside my chest.
That wasn't good. But I didn't have to overthink my feelings because my best friend needed me.
Reid walked to the bathroom and put on his pajamas while I made him a cup of warm tea. I knew what was coming: nausea, shivering, throwing up, stomach ache, and more. But I was ready. Two weeks and Spencer was going to be ok.
I had talked about my plan with Hotch earlier that day, and he agreed to give us two weeks off and cover us. Spencer was going to be in Vegas, 'cos his mother had had an episode, and I would be in New York, helping my brother on a case. Seemed convincing. Having the two of us out of town would stop any of our friends to stop by unannounced.
- "(Y/N), thank you for doing this for Reid"- Hotch said before hanging up. I felt lucky to have him as my unit chief. He surely cared for all of us. I don't think anyone else would have done the same.
Retchings from my bathroom were the first thing I heard as soon as I stepped into my room.
- "Honey, do you need help?"- but Reid didn't answer. So I ran back to the kitchen and got him a Gatorade from the fridge, set it on the nightstand. Then I ran to my closet and grabbed a clean towel.
I opened the bathroom door and found Reid kneeled by the toilet. He had already flushed but didn't stand up.
- "Here"- I dampened the towel and put it on his forehead. He closed his eyes and sighed- "Better?"
Spencer just nodded and stayed still for a moment. I took off his glasses and pulled his hair back carefully. He started retching a second later, and I rubbed his stomach, cooing him. When he was done, I flushed and helped him stand up. That wasn't it, and I knew it. He knew it too.
- "Did you know brushing your teeth right after throwing up damages your teeth?"- he whispered, making me smile. It felt good to know deep down, even under those shitty circumstances, he was still the same good old Reid.
- "So, mouthwash?"- I moved the bottle closer for him, and he just nodded- "I'll be outside."
Reid drank a little Gatorade and made a sad effort to read after getting into bed but fell asleep in less than five minutes. I took the glasses off (again) and took the book from his hands. My heart felt warm just to see him there, resting.
But that lasted less than half an hour. I stayed by Spencer's side to make sure he was ok. I was reading when he started retching again. I grabbed the bucket I had already set underneath the bed and rushed to help him. His stomach was already empty. He was basically just vomiting bile.
When he finally fell asleep again, he started shaking. I touched his hand, and he was freezing, so I took an extra blanket from the closet, placed it on top of him, and set the room's thermostats to make it a little warmer for him.
I stayed by his side, reading until he woke up again. This time, he was sweating. I took a clean pajama top from his bag and helped him change. Then, I took the dirty pajamas and the clothes he had worn that day and put them in the washer.
I sat next to Reid on the bed and looked at him. He was awake, rolling over and over, not able to stay still.
- "Come here"- I whispered and tapped on my lap- "Put your head here."
I thought he was going to argue, but no. Instead, he did as told with no hesitation as I ran my fingers through his hair slowly, scratching his scalp carefully. I felt how he inhaled deeply and relaxed, at least for a little while.
But it didn't last. And the rest of the night was a long loop of puke, shivers, and sweat. Spencer finally fell asleep for good around six in the morning, and I dragged my exhausted self to the couch. Night one was done. Nine more to go.
Spencer's point of view
My whole body ached. I opened my eyes, disoriented. All I knew was that I felt I had been beaten up, but I didn't recognize the room. I did recognize the smell on my pillow, though. It was (Y/N)'s. That's how I remembered what was going on.
Adding to how bad I felt, physically, I felt worst knowing everything that had happened the night before and in advance for everything I knew would happen that week. But even knowing that, and even when I was embarrassed to be a burden, I was glad to be there. I was happy to feel taken cared of and loved. It was a change I never imagined I could experience. The one who always took care of his mother now had someone who took care of him. It was under a miserable context, but I felt loved anyway.
Even when I was loved only as a friend.
I stood up slowly. I was fatigued, probably 'cos I had spent half of the night puking. I drank what was left of the Gatorade on the nightstand and walked to the living room. (Y/N) was asleep on the couch. My heart ached to think how uncomfortable she probably was while I slept on her queen-sized bed. No one had ever cared so much about me before. So I walked to the kitchen and made her breakfast. A classical Reid breakfast. Coffee, cereal, and milk. That was it. That was all I could cook.
- "Hey, what are you doing?"- (Y/N) appeared suddenly and smiled at me so sweetly, I nearly dropped the coffee pot.
- "I'm trying to make you breakfast"- I confessed and blushed- "And as you can see, I'm not much of a cooker."
- "You made coffee, you covered the most important part"- she held the cup I had filled for her and smiled- "What if you get comfy on the couch while I make you something to eat?"
- "I can't let you do everything, (Y/N)"- the way she looked at me, my heart skipped a beat.
- "I'll tell you what: If I ever get sick or hurt, or anything happens to me, you are going to be the one taking care of me. Ok?"- I nodded and stayed quiet- "Now, go to the couch. It's a lazy Monday."
- "What does that mean?"
- "We stay in our pajamas, watch movies, nap, and do nothing."
How could anyone say no to that?
I wasn't hungry at all, but (Y/N) really applied herself with everything she cooked: she made chocolate chips, hotcakes, peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a smoothie, and also forced me to eat a bowl of fruit. She said I needed all the vitamins I could get, 'cos I had to get strong.
She sat next to me, ate the bowl of cereal I had prepared for her, and drank the coffee I had made. It was relaxing just staying there, covered with a blanket, watching Dr. Who. I felt my body losing up little by little. Until detox hit again. The light was bothering me, burning my eyes, and my body felt weak. Nauseous started kicking in, and before I knew it, I was throwing up on (Y/N)'s carpet.
She held a bucket in front of me and pressed a damped towel on the back of my neck.
- "Better?"- (Y/N) whispered and smiled at me. Her fingers tucked some of my hair behind my ears gently- "Do you want to lay down for a while? You are shaking."
I just nodded.
- "Ok, come on, let's go"- she held my arm and helped me stand up. She was right. I was shaking, but not just because I was cold. It was the withdrawal.
I was so embarrassed and mortified. With each symptom, I was a little more certain (Y/N) would never look at me the way I did. She would never fall for me after what she was witnessing. No one in their right mind would.
- "There you are"- she whispered, fixing the pillow behind my head as I laid on her bed again.
- "Can you please close the curtains?"- I whispered, covering my face with both hands. The light was too painful to deal with.
- "Sure, honey. Headache?"- all I could do was nod- "I'll get you ibuprofen, that will help with your body aches and the migraine."
I stayed still, eyes closed, hands covering my face, thinking how I had gotten to the point of having to detox my body from drugs. It was, without a doubt, the lowest moment of my whole life.
- "Ok, honey, try to get some rest, ok?"- (Y/N) whispered after I took the ibuprofen and drank half the bottle of water she had brought.
-  "Can you..."- I studied because I was afraid to tell her I didn't want her to leave me alone. I was afraid to be on my own. I didn't trust myself or my mind.
- "What is it? Do you want another blanket?"
- "Can you stay with me?"- I finally asked and held her hand. She just nodded, smiling, and sat next to me on her bed, making sure I was comfy and cozy, fixing the pillow again and the blanket. I looked at her as she laid by my side on top of the covers and held her book.
- "I'm here, Spencer. And I'll be where when you wake up, ok?"
- "Can you read to me?"- I closed my eyes 'cos the light was killing me.
- "And your headache?"
- "Your voice is soothing, and it would help to concentrate on something else but the pain."
- "Ok... then prepare yourself for some horror, 'cos I'm reading, yet again, "Something wicked this way comes."
- "It's one of my favorites"- I whispered and sighed.
- "Why am I not surprised?"
I tried to fight the waves of nausea, the pain in every muscle and headache, and only focused on the sound of her voice as she read. It took me back to when I was a kid, and my mom would read me every night. (Y/N) kept caressing my hair and reading to me. It was the closest I had ever been to heaven, even when physically, I felt like dying.
When I woke up, (Y/N) was asleep by my side. I tried to move, but my body was limp. It was too painful for me to get up on my own, and all I could think of was one simple thing: Dilaudid. I was craving it. I would never feel so bad if I had a fix. Just a little one. To make the pain go away.
I was making excuses to justify my need for drugs. I wanted to feel better, 'cos right there, on (Y/N)'s bed, I felt dead already, and my whole body was rotting. I just wanted to get a little high. It wasn't going to hurt anyone. Right?
Wrong. The bruise on (Y/N)'s arm was the reality check I needed. I hurt her. I hit her. I pushed her away from me. That's how low I had gotten. I would not let that happen again, and more important than anything else: I was never going to hurt (Y/N), ever again. And that I swore to myself that day on her bed.
There was no use in denying the fact I was in love with my best friend. She was the best thing that had ever happened to me. And I knew I was going to love her forever, even when she would only be my friend. I didn't even know when I had fallen so hard in love with her. I tried to remember the moment my feelings had changed from friendship to love, but I couldn't find it. I just knew I loved her, and nothing was ever gonna change that.
The kind of love that makes you think you'd die for that person. I would die for her, just to make sure she is safe.
I felt so pathetic thinking those things. Not because I didn't want to feel that way, but because I knew (Y/N) would never look at me like that. But still, I'd give her everything she could ever ask me for.
I just laid by her side and looked at her as she slept. My eyes were finally able to slide on every detail of her face. Her freckles, her nose, the color of her lips that even without makeup looked like a cherry. And the bruise on her arm. I was never going to forget about it and neither forgive myself.
- "Hey"- she whispered, fluttering her eyes- "How are you feeling?"
- "Good"- I lied. I didn't want to tell her I felt like dying. She stayed still, looking at me for a few seconds.
- "Are you hungry?"- I shook my head, even that hurt- "How's the headache?"- my eyes were killing me.
- "Better"- she nodded and sighed.
- "I know you are full of shit, Spencer Walter Reid. You don't need to lie"- I just closed my eyes and refused to open them again for a few minutes.
- "I just don't want you to worry, (Y/N). That's all."
- "Do you want to sleep some more? I'm gonna go..."- but as soon as she moved, I stopped her.
- "No"- I looked at her and held her hand immediately. Every muscle in my body hurt with that movement, but I didn't regret it- "Please, don't leave."
- "Ok, I won't go. I promise"- she held my hand and caressed it slowly and smiled so sweetly, I think I even smiled back.
We laid in silence for a while. I closed my eyes again, trying to breathe normally. (Y/N) was lying next to me. That would get my heart racing in a second.
- "The nurse is coming around five. She will put an eye on you every day if you need any medical attention, ok?"- I hummed as a response and kept focused on her fingers playing with my hand- "Maybe we can ask her to help you take a bath."
I wide opened my eyes at those words and noticed how my best friend was blushing.
- "What?"- she chuckled at my reaction- "I can take a bath on my own!"
- "Really? You should consider it then"- she stuck out her tongue to me and giggled- "Though your two days beard is cute"- she ran her fingers along my jaw and sent shivers all over my body. The proximity felt so new, yet incredibly natural, almost familiar.
- "Thanks?"- I answered with a question 'cos I had no idea what else to do. I just stayed still and looked into her eyes. She didn't say another word either. Her eyes were following her fingers, playing with my jawbone slowly.
I wanted to move a little closer to her and hug her, maybe. But I couldn't. Not only because I physically couldn't move without crying, but because her phone rang and made her jump on the bed.
- "Hey! Paco, how are you?"- I heard her pick up the phone in the living room and walk back to me, holding another bottle of Gatorade.
- "No, I'm on a case. In New York. I don't know how long, I wish I could predict how long it's gonna take to catch a fucking serial killer, but I can't."
I looked at her as she walked around the room, talking with Frank. Of course, it was him. She always called him Paco. I slowly sat down on the bed and sighed. I was paranoid about the shower. Maybe I stank. I hadn't bathed since... Saturday. Obviously, I smelled terrible. I had been sweating all night long.
I made my best effort and walked to the bathroom. Everything hurt. When I finally managed to take off my pajamas and ran the shower, I was weary. But the warm water made me feel a lot better.
I took a long shower. Not just because I wanted to stay forever under the warm water, but because I couldn't really move that fast. I washed my hair and considered shaving. But I didn't have a razor on hand, and if (Y/N) liked my tiny beard, I decided to keep it.
- "Hey! everything ok?"- (Y/N) asked from the other side of the door.
- "Yes, I'm ok"- she walked in, and I froze.
- "Ok, I'll leave a clean towel next to the shower, ok? It's warm"
- "Thank you."
I stayed still under the water until she exited the bathroom and nearly held my breath at the thought of her being there with me. It was too much, and to be honest, I was too weak to overthink it. But I knew it was going to be a thought that would hunt me back home.
(Y/N)'s point of view
I sat on the couch and drank my tea after leaving the towel for Spencer in the bathroom. My heart was racing, and that shouldn't be happening. Why was I so affected by my best friend? I knew I was worried, and all my attention was focused on him, but that didn't explain why my stomach fluttered when I looked at him.
- "Put your shit together!!"- I yelled/whispered to myself and shook my head.
Frank had called to know about Spencer, but I had to lie and act like I was at work. I couldn't just tell him what was going on in front of Reid. So I texted him the short version of the fact, and he asked me to keep him posted. He also told me he was going to keep Mikey and Lu away from my apartment those days.
Spencer took a shower and sat with me on the couch. I had cleaned the vomit from the carpet and kept a bucket near in case he felt sick. We read in silence for a while, and I kept checking on him every few minutes. He was nervous and looked anxious. I wasn't going to ask him what was wrong, 'cos it was obvious he was craving Dilaudid, and to be honest, I was scared he might start yelling and getting violent. So, I stood up and prepared him a smoothie. I knew he hated healthy eating, especially salads, but he was doomed. He had to put some vitamins in his body.
He looked at me disgusted as I gave him the glass but drank it quietly and gave it back in a minute. I was impressed.
He threw it up in less than ten minutes, though. So far, not so good.
He also vomited lunch. I knew his whole body ached, so I put on a Star Trek DVD to keep his mind busy in anything else. When the nurse came, she did a brief check-up and told me to continue with the same diet and ibuprofen in case of severe pain. We had to put an eye on dehydration. She also suggested we'd engage in some physical activity as soon as he felt better. Walks to the park were her recommendation.
I couldn't imagine Spencer walking out of the house under those conditions, but I had high hopes by the end of that week, he was going to feel much better.
The second night was worse than the first because his body aches hit him harder. He rolled in bed in pain, shivering. I stayed with him until late, trying to soothe him. I read and caressed his sweated hair. At a certain point, I just sat there with his head on my legs, and he started crying. His tears soaking my legs and his sobs breaking my heart.
I didn't know what to say. I don't know if there was anything to be said at that moment. So I just leaned in and kissed Spencer's temple. I rocked him like a baby and did my best to calm him down. He just kept crying on and on, tearing my soul apart. I couldn't handle watching him like that. I didn't know what to do to help him feel better too. All I could do was be with him throughout the process and hold him tight to make sure I kept all his pieces together. I didn't want him to fall apart.
When I opened my eyes the following day, Spencer was asleep in front of me. He was pale, and the rings under his eyes were darker than ever. But at least, he was finally sleeping.
I stared at him for a few minutes, planning the day. But soon, I realized I couldn't concentrate. I just looked at him. I knew my friend was handsome, even when he always argued when I let him know. But at that moment, he made my heart beat faster. His hair was messy and with some curls. His brown beard kept growing. I had never seen Spencer with facial hair, and I loved it. I wanted to tell him to keep it, but then I thought it might be inappropriate. Not that telling him was wrong, but what he was making me feel.
I refused to think I had a crush on my friend. Because I didn't. I was just worried sick for him, and my head was confused. It wasn't the time to think about that. I had to be a good friend and help Reid. His wellbeing was all that mattered to me.
So I got out of bed and ran to the kitchen to make sure everything was ready. I cooked breakfast and lunch, cleaned, and took a quick shower. I was walking out of the bathroom in my clean clothes when Spencer woke up. He rolled in bed and looked at me, confused.
- "Hey, how are you feeling, honey?"- I whispered and sat next to him on the bed. He yawned and nodded.
- "Better."
- "Great, I hope you are hungry, 'cos breakfast is ready"- he scratched his head and yawned again. And I swear, I had to mentally slap myself because I thought he looked adorable and couldn't stop staring.
- "Do you want to take a shower?"- I asked him and stood up. I had to do anything to keep me from being stupid- "I can also run you a bath. I got some salts that could make you feel better. They might help with your body ache."
- "Thank you"- he whispered and sat down. He just looked at me in silence as I kept myself busy opening curtains, folding blankets, and cleaning the bathroom, to get it ready for him
- "Did you sleep?"- he asked me suddenly- "You look tired."
- "Nah, I'm ok. I think I went too heavy on the coffee earlier."
- "How long have you been up?"- I looked at my wristwatch and sighed.
- "A couple of hours."
It was ten. I got up at eight. Spencer had finally fallen asleep at five. It didn't take a genius to see I hadn't slept properly.
- "Why don't you nap?"- he asked and tapped on the bed- "You look like you could use some more sleep"- that was tempting, I won't deny it. But no. I couldn't.
- "Tell you what, why don't you eat something and then we can watch a movie together?"- Spencer nodded and moved slowly. That's when I remembered he felt like shit.
- "Come here"- I stood by his side and held his hands- "Can you stand up?"
- "Yes"- he whispered and tried to move on his own. His legs were shaking, and so were his hands. He did his best to stand up, and after a few tries on his own, he succeeded. But after giving two steps alone, he stumbled and nearly fell.
- "I've got you!"- I said, wrapping my arms around him and keeping him steady. His whole face was red, in anger maybe, or embarrassment. I didn't want to push him to talk or do anything. I just made sure he wouldn't fall.
- "Wanna stay in bed?"- I suggested
- "No"- he murmured and took a step ahead
- "Ok, let's go to the living room then."
Spencer didn't reply. I was sure he was ashamed and upset. I just walked with him to the living room, trying to think of anything else: anything but the butterflies in my stomach.
It was getting harder to ignore the mental fuzziness I felt each time I looked at him. But I refused to think about it. It wasn't the right time.
But it got worse that evening.
We spent the whole day on my sofa, napping, reading, and watching Star Trek. I was getting dinner ready when Spencer's phone rang. We both stayed still. He looked at me with widened eyes, almost scared. I smiled and walked to my room to get the phone. It was JJ.
I'm not proud to say it, but an overwhelming sensation of insecurity and concern filled my body. Why was JJ calling Spencer? Were they closer than I thought? I don't know why I kept thinking all those things.
- "It's JJ"- I announced and gave him his phone. He hesitated for a moment and finally picked up. I walked back to the kitchen and poured myself a glass of water. What was wrong with me?
- "Mom is fine, thank you for calling"- I heard him say and closed my eyes. I had to focus on the food. I had to focus on helping him get better.
Why was I so upset JJ had called him? It was nice to know more people cared about him. Not as much as I did, of course.
- "Sure, I tell her. I'll see you in a couple of days"
I walked back to the living room carrying a tray with soup and salads. Spencer sat down properly and looked at me with a small smile.
- "I know you hate veggies, but you are doomed"- I whispered, reading his mind- "These are packed with all the vitamins and minerals your body needs."
- "Thank you"- he murmured and kept his eyes on me until I sat next to him and grabbed my bowl.
- "How was JJ?"- I had to ask. He cleared his throat and played with the lettuce on his dish for a moment before saying.
- "She was ok. She wanted to know if everything was ok with my mom."
- "Oh"- I didn't know what else to say. I tried no to think about it anymore, 'cos it was useless.
- "I kind of felt bad everybody swallowed our story"- Spencer confessed and sighed.
- "That's because I make up the best lies, honey,"- I smiled at him, but he just stared- "Everything ok?"
- "I'm not hungry"
- "Come on, at least have the soup, please?"
- "I don't want to barf all over your carpet, again"- he whispered and kept playing with the lettuce.
- "What if I tell you I made brownies? and you can have a brownie if you eat the soup?"- Spencer bit his lips and shook his head.
- "Why are you treating me like a kid?"
- "I am not! I'm blackmailing you with sugar as I would do under any other circumstance."-
And I wasn't lying. I would definitely try to force him to eat or do something with the promise of a brownie.
- "So? What do you say? Eat that soup, and we'll have brownies... with vanilla ice cream."
Reid stared into my eyes, and I held my breath. He was so pale, so thin. And yet, so beautiful.
- "If I vomit..."
- "If you vomit, you vomit. No hard feelings"- I smiled and tapped on his leg- "Besides, you need to get some vitamins in your body. You are too thin."
He didn't reply. He started eating slowly and kept watching Star Trek in silence.
Spencer successfully ate his bowl of soup and ate a little bit of the salad. I knew he hates veggies, so I didn't push him. As a reward, I prepared a big tray with brownies with ice cream, chocolate sauce, and hot chocolate with marshmallows and put it on the coffee table in front of us. We were about to start eating when we heard a knock on the door.
- "That's the nurse"- I said and stood up quickly. But I was wrong. It was Paul.
- "Babe... hey"- he smiled at me as soon as I opened the door and tried to walk in. But I didn't let him.
- "What are you doing here?"- I stood at the door and raised an eyebrow. I knew we didn't have a bad breakup, but after what he had said that night, I was afraid he might freak out to see Spencer in his pajamas watching tv on my couch.
- "I couldn't stop thinking about what happened the other night, and..."- he made a pause and looked inside- "What are you doing?"
- "I'm having dinner"
- "Alone?"- I didn't answer- "Can I come in?"
- "No"
- "Are you with someone? are you on a date?"- Paul pushed the door and stormed into my apartment. Reid turned around and looked at him, embarrassed.
- "What the fuck do you think you are doing? get out of my house!"- I grabbed my ex-boyfriend's sleeve and stopped him.
- "Hey, Paul"- Spencer waved from the couch, looking scared. His shoulders were tightened, and his eyes wide opened.
- "What is this nerd doing here?"- Paul turned to me, ignoring my friend.
- "What are you doing here? That's the question!"
- "I wanted to apologize for what happened the other day."
- "Well, sorry to crack the news, but if this is an apology, it sucks!"- I swear, I could feel my pulse speeding- "And there is nothing to talk or forgive, we broke up, and it was ok!"
- "Yeah, and now the nerd is here to make you feel better!"
- "You have no idea what you are talking about! And would appreciate it if you stop calling him that!!"- I freaked out and clenched my fist. I was going to lose it with him.
- "Good luck with the Ice Princess here!!"- Paul yelled at Reid- "If you are lucky, she is gonna hug you once!!"
- "Get out!"- I stood by the open door and slammed it as soon as he had left. My hands were shaking, my lips were quivering, and my eyes were tearing up.
- "Are you... are you ok?"- Spencer stood up and walked to me. He stumbled a little but managed to hold me. I didn't reply. I just broke into tears.
Why was I crying if I was glad I had broken up with Paul? Why was I so upset to see him at my house? Why was I shaking in anger?
Maybe I was just human, and I was tired of all the shit. Perhaps I was just sleepy or stressed with everything going on with Reid. Or the fact he kept thinking I had feelings for my best friend was too much for me.
Even the fact he called me "Ice Princess" hurt me. Yes, I wasn't a very physical person with him. But that was just because I wasn't in love with him.
For a few minutes, I just cried, soaking Spencer's pajamas as he held me tight, just like I had done for him the night before.
- "I'm sorry"- I whispered and sighed. I let him go and fixed my hair- "I shouldn't let Paul affect me so much, but I wasn't expecting to see him."
- "What happened?"- Spencer held my hand and took me to the couch with him. He handed me a dish with brownie and melted ice cream, and a spoon.
- "We broke up a few days ago."- my best friend looked at me in silence as his shaky thumb wiped off the tears on my cheeks.
- "I was actually planning dinner with the guys to give them the news, 'cos I knew they would like to celebrate... but that doesn't matter. You were right; I didn't love him. I don't know why I was still dating him."
- "I'm sorry"- he whispered and carefully wrapped me on a blanket.
- "Don't be. I really wanted to break up with him. I was just scared to lose who I used to be..."
- "You are never going to lose who you are, (Y/N)"- Spencer whispered and cut me a smile- "Frankie, Lu, and Mikey would never let that happen"- I sighed and nodded- "I won't let that happen either."
- "Thank you, honey"- I grabbed the spoon and took a big piece of brownie- "You know what bothers me? I don't know why I'm crying so much! I'm not sad! I'm angry!"
- "Actually, when you get mad, your body produces a flood of hormones that stimulate strong reactions in your body, like racing your heart and getting sweaty palms. In response to the elevated stress level, crying stimulates the release of oxytocin and prolactin. These two chemicals can bring your heart rate down and otherwise calm you after a stressful event."
- "Well, my fucking body makes me look weak and stupid!"
- "You could never look weak..."- Spencer hesitated for a second. It felt like he wanted to add something to those words but finally just stayed quiet.
- "Thank you, honey bunny. You are the best friend I could ever ask for."
- "Don't say that. You are the best friend I could have ever asked for."
We just stared for a few seconds. His eyes on mine, my hands still shaking, though I didn't know why.
It was a moment I knew I could never forget, 'cos it was the moment I first considered kissing Spencer.
It was a thought that only lasted for a second, but it was there. And like a seed planted on my brain, once I knew it was there, it could only grow and hunt me, like a ghost.
Spencer's point of view
My heart ached to see (Y/N) crying because of an asshole who never deserved her. And it also jumped of joy knowing she was no longer dating that jerk. I knew I could never make a move on her, but just to know she wasn't stuck with him made me happy.
But the fact she had gone through all that alone and didn't even talk about it for four days because she was too busy taking care of me made me feel awful. I didn't deserve any of that.
- "How are you feeling?"- she whispered and smiled at me after finishing her brownie- "Want me to heat your cocoa?"
- "I'm ok, thank you"
I stared at her in silence and decided to make the boldest move I have ever made with her, and opened my arm for her so that she could cuddle. She didn't hesitate and moved closer. I wrapped an arm around her, and her head rested on my chest. And trying not to make it look like a big deal, I also held her hand and caressed her skin, tracing random patterns on it.
- "I'm sorry for being such a bad friend"- I said and kissed the top of her head. I didn't plan it. I just did it. And it felt so good.
- "Don't say that."
- "I've been an asshole since Tobias."
- "You haven't... I mean, you have, but you had your reasons"- she made a pause and sighed. I knew something was bothering her, and I was hoping it wasn't our position because I loved how her warm body felt against mine.
- "Honey?"- she whispered, and I hummed as a response- "Would you call me a cold person?"
- "Never..."
- "I know I'm not a physical person, but..."
- "Me neither, and look at us"- I pointed out the obvious, and she softly giggled. He raised her head from my chest and turned to look at me. I swear all I could think of that minute was kissing her.
- "I am more loving with you than I ever was with Paul"- she confessed and sighed. Her eyes were sad. Clearly, what he had said to her had affected her more than she wanted to admit.
- "He didn't deserve it anyway"- she added and moved back to lay her head on my chest- "You do."
And after that, we just stayed like that, hugged on the couch, until the nurse knocked on the door.
- "You look much better"- I smiled at the nurse and nodded- "Still nauseous?"
- "Yes, but not as much as yesterday"- I whispered and looked at her, wrapping the blood pressure cuff around my arm, right next to all the marks I left with the needles. I wanted to hide them from everyone, and I thanked (Y/N) wasn't in the room. Of all people, she was the one I didn't want to see those marks the most.
- "They are going to fade soon"- the nurse whispered. I wasn't too subtle with my reaction, I guess. I just nodded and looked away.
- "Your girlfriend is taking excellent care of you. You are a fortunate guy"- I'm sure I blushed and turned to her immediately.
- "She... she is... she is not my girlfriend"- I felt I needed to explain it, I don't know why.
- "Really?"- and the nurse seemed to be in shock- "She surely loves you."
- "She is my best friend"- I whispered and felt how my heart was nearly bursting inside my chest.
- "You are lucky to have her"- she added, and I agreed.
I knew I was lucky. Even when (Y/N) wasn't my girlfriend, I knew I had to be with her. Always.
After thirteen days of home detox, I was back to being my old self again. I felt happy, healthy, and strong. I don't think I had ever felt that good before.
I loved spending those days with (Y/N), and I was pretty bummed I had to go back to my apartment the next day. The fact I had lived with her for two weeks was incredible. I knew it all happened under dark and miserable circumstances, but it had been life-changing.
Now I knew everything I wanted to know about her to help me make her day better and all her little quirks. Her favorite brands of tea, her favorite snacks. How she liked to take the last cup of tea of the day in bed, reading. Her favorite bands. How she always cooked singing. She always slept on her left side. And how after all those days, we would be so comfortable together, we would cuddle naturally, even without asking.
I don't want to overreact, but it was pretty heavenly to me, like the sensation I felt with the romantic poems mom used to read to me when I was little. Just don't tell anyone I said that.
- "Ok, dinner is ready"- (Y/N) announced and took the lasagna from the oven. I held a bowl of salad and walked with her to the dining room.
- "What do you wanna drink?"
- "A glass of wine, you?"
- "Red or white?"- I asked her and walked back to the kitchen. I didn't even wait for her answer. I took the white and two glasses. She smiled and sat down.
- "This looks amazing, (Y/N)"- and I wasn't lying.
- "Wait until you see dessert, we have three colors of Jell-O"- the fact she knew I loved jello wasn't what got me. It was how happy she looked to spoil me with my favorite dessert.
- "Thank you for cooking all my favorite meals."
- "You are welcome, honey bunny"- I smiled at her and poured a glass of wine for her and one for me.
- "Can I ask you something?"- I whispered, and she nodded- "Why do you call me honey bunny?"- she looked from her dish and giggled.
- "It took you forever to ask."
- "Well... I didn't want you to think I didn't like it..."
- "You don't?"- I wide opened my eyes and shook my head frenetically.
- "No! I love it! I just... don't know... where does it come from? You said I gave you the "honey bunny" vibes, but... what does that mean?"- (Y/N) chewed her lasagna and looked at me.
- "Well, I always loved that nickname. I thought it was adorable and never used it on anyone because no one ever gave me that vibe. I had never met my honey bunny before."
"My Honey Bunny." That woman was killing me, and she had no idea.
- "And I took it from Pulp Fiction"- she finally confessed and waited for my reaction- "Have you seen it?"
- "No"- I admitted and shrugged.
- "Then we are watching it after dinner tonight"- (Y/N) decided, and I nodded- "You still don't give me a nickname, by the way."
She had no idea, but I had a list of nicknames for her. I had written all the cute names I wanted to call on a notebook I kept in my satchel. But I didn't dare. I could call her cute names in my head all the time, but never out loud.
- "You don't have to do it if you don't want to, by the way"- she added and kept eating.
- "I have never done it before"- I accepted, feeling embarrassed- "Sorry."
- "Why are you sorry?"
- "I don't want you to think I don't want to call you by a loving nickname. I just..."
- "Come on, how would you call me? Do I give you any nickname vibe?"- I chuckled, and she smiled childishly.
- "I really like the story behind "nugget." I think it's brilliant"- she shook her head, and her cheeks blushed- "But for you... I think I have three options."
- "So you've given it some thoughts!"- I nodded and took a sip of wine- "Let me hear them."
- "Well... after that case in Oregon when you got lost in the woods, I thought I could call you "chipmunk"- I confessed and watched her face light up.
- "I love that!"
- "Really?"- I chuckled and looked at her holding my breath- "Well... then I remembered how we became friends and your obsession with cupcakes, so I thought I could call you that."
- "I love that too!!"
- "And..."- since I was honest, I took it a little further- "After last Halloween, and all the carving we did, and our movie marathon, I thought "pumpkin" was pretty sweet too."
(Y/N) sighed and smiled at me, her cheeks blushing and her eyes shining.
- "They are all awesome, so you should use them all, and I can look for more nicknames for you"- I simply stared at her and felt how my heart melted.
- "Ok"- I whispered, and she raised an eyebrow playfully.
- "Ok, what?"
- "Ok... pumpkin"- I whispered and held my breath at the sound of those words leaving my lips.
She really didn't have a clue about what she did to me.
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Next update: May 19th, 2021
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farfromsugafanfic · 3 years
Text
Sutures - Chapter Nine: Lost In Japan
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Genre: Soulmates AU, Idiots to Lovers, slight Enemies to Lovers
Pairing: Yoongi/Named Reader
Warnings (chapter specific): chest pain, health problems, getting lost
Synopsis: “A person often meets his destiny on the road he took to avoid it.” –Jean de la Fontaine
There was only one thing you and Min Yoongi had in common that night. You were both brokenhearted. You only intended to be together for one night, but when you both end up in the hospital the next day you discover that you are soulmates. It could kill you to be apart. As you and Yoongi attempt to sever the bond between you, will another be formed?
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When you landed in Japan, your phone was already blowing up with notifications. 
"Jang Sumi Seen With Min Yoongi's Bodyguard"
"Jang Sumi Joining BTS In Japan For Promotions"
The cameras already waited when you stepped into the airport. You were in the middle of the members, and instead of stopping for pictures like normal, bodyguards flanked in between the eight of you and the cameras. 
You felt as Yoongi reached down and softly took your hand. You looked back at him with a confused look and he just shrugged. 
"They all have their assumptions anyway," he said. "Just keep going. They'll try to get in our way, but just keep going. They won't bother you if you're with me."
You moved through the crowd with Yoongi's hand as your anchor. You heard the various fans gasping and screaming and the paparazzi asking questions and trying to provoke you and the members into a response, but before you knew it, you were in the back of a van and fastening your seatbelt. The satisfying click making you smile. You made it.
Yoongi was beside you. He still held your hand and you wondered if he noticed. His thumb rubbed lightly over your knuckles in a quick, sweeping motion. You didn't necessarily mind him holding your hand, it was just that there was no use for it now.
The van door shut as Jimin got in and plopped down beside you. A few seconds later, the van was moving.
"My phone blew up when we landed," you said. "Apparently, the bodyguard who helped me through the airport was your bodyguard?"
"Oh, yeah," he said, shrugging his shoulders. 
"What did you do then?" 
"Eh, we had plenty of bodyguards," he said. "Since we were in a group, it was unnecessary to have mine." 
"But, Yoongi, I know things have happened to you in airports before. You're an idol. You're a bigger risk." 
"Sumi, I lent him to you and something still happened," Yoongi said, his thumb brushing over your knuckles again, but slower this time.
"You really don't have to worry about us, Sumi," Jimin said. His eyes were closed and you'd honestly thought he was asleep. "We have enough bodyguards and we have Jungkook." Jimin kicked the back of the youngest's seat, who sat in front of him. 
You laughed and dropped the subject and instead gazed out the window at Tokyo. You'd only truly been to the city once when you were a kid, although you'd had many layovers in the Tokyo airport on your flight to and from the US. 
---  
"There's a problem with the hotel," Se-jin said, coming back out to the van. Most of the members were barely awake due to their busy schedules and how they'd gotten used to sleeping on most forms of transportation. "A fire sprinkler in Sumi's room burst and it flooded the whole room. The flooding is contained in her room due to the staff. Are you okay sharing a room, Sumi?"
You nodded. "Yeah," you said. "That's fine." 
"All right, does anyone--"
"I will!" All of the members shouted at once. You were amazed that despite their perceived states of sleep, they all appeared to be awake and fully listening. You laughed.
"She'll stay with me," Yoongi said. 
You turned to look at him surprised. "But, what about the rumors?"
"They know we're soulmates at this point. And, if you got caught staying with one of the other members, what do you think they would think?" 
Your brow furrowed. They already thought you had cheated on Minki with Yoongi, but if the media began circulating that you were cheating on Yoongi, you could only imagine the backlash you would receive. 
"Yeah, okay," you said. "I'll stay with Yoongi." Se-jin nodded and closed the van door as he went back into the hotel to finish checking in. 
"We've rented out the whole floor, so there should be no way anyone will find out," Yoongi said, giving you a small smile. 
"Then, why couldn't I stay with one of the other boys?" you asked, your lips curving into a smirk. 
Yoongi's ears turned red and he looked between you and the other members who watched in loving amusement.
"Just in case."
---
By the time you all got checked in and everything unloaded, the sun was beginning to set. You saw no point in unpacking your suitcase completely when you were only staying for four days. However, you unpacked your toiletries and headed to the bathroom. 
"Do you need to shower--?" you ask, but the words are left in the air as you notice Yoongi dropping the extra pillows and blankets from the closet onto the couch. "What are you doing?"
"Setting up my bed." He smoothed out the blankets and placed the pillow on one end of the couch. 
"You don't have to sleep on the couch. I trust you. It's not like we haven't shared a bed before."
"It's not that," Yoongi said. "I don't trust the urges. We've only had one, but I'm afraid if we lay together in bed. It would just trigger something." 
You nodded. "You're right. But, I'll sleep on the couch. This is your room." 
Yoongi shrugged and shook his head before falling back onto the couch and crossing his hands over his stomach. "Go take your shower." 
You sighed and went into the bathroom and took the shower you'd been long awaiting. Despite the coffee having been spilled on you hours before and changing into Yoongi's shirt, you could still feel the sticky cream-filled coffee on your skin. You undressed and folded Yoongi's shirt and placed it on the counter so that it wouldn't get wet and continued to undress. Only when you had finished did you realize that you'd forgotten to bring your pajamas with you. 
---
"Yoongi?" you asked, peeking your head out the bathroom. "Are you awake?"
Yoongi chose not to respond as you emerged from the bathroom in one of the hotel's white bathrobes. He didn't respond because he wanted you to strip in front of him, but rather, he was hoping to be asleep within a few minutes anyway.
As he heard you shuffle back towards the bed, he heard a small scuffle and you curse under your breath. He opened his eyes to see you standing by the bed as nothing happened. You unfastened the robe and allowed it to fall. 
Yoongi only caught a glance of your bare back before he shut his eyes again, although he felt a stirring in his stomach. He could only curse in his head as he attempted to focus on anything else. He didn't catch a glimpse of anything super sexual, but it didn't matter. Yoongi hoped this wouldn't lead to another urge. While he wanted nothing more than to pull you into him and kiss you up and down your body, he knew he couldn't for the sake of severing the soulmate bond. 
There were a few seconds of silence. He figured you'd finished getting dressed, but the light was still on and he hadn't heard you climb into the bed. He opened his eyes only to be met with a pillow to the face. 
"I knew you weren't asleep!" you said, holding the pillow above your head to bring back down upon him. Yoongi acted quickly and sat up and grabbed the pillow and tossed it to the side. 
You were dumbfounded for a second until you heard Yoongi laugh. "What was your plan exactly?"
You shrugged. "I don't know. I just wanted to prove you were being a creep." You wiggled your eyebrows as a smirk came over your face. 
"Hey! I didn't see anything. I kept my eyes closed."
"Mmm," you said. "I don't believe you." 
Before Yoongi could respond, a silence came over the two of you as you both simultaneously realized that you were straddling his lap and you could feel him pressing into you. 
"Sorry," he whispered as you climbed off of him. 
You shook your head. "No, it's okay. You didn't mean to. Let's, uh, let's go to bed."
"Wait, Sumi, what are your plans for tomorrow?"
"I just plan on going out and exploring a bit. I've never got to explore the city. Probably do some shopping, visit temples." Your eyes narrowed in curiosity. "Why?"
"I'll be working," he said. "Just make sure to get back here before me so we don't risk anything. I'm supposed to be done with the fan sign at five." 
You nodded. "You don't think being away from each other in general will cause anything?" 
It was only then that Yoongi realized that you hadn't been away from each other for nearly two weeks. While you might not be physically together, you were always within the same building or space. "I think it's been enough time." 
You nodded as you climbed under the covers of the bed and reached over to turn off the bedside lamp. Even in the dark, Yoongi could make out as you pulled the covers up to your chin and turned on your side. It made him smile. 
"Goodnight, Yoongi."
"Goodnight."
---
Your knees ached by midday, but your day alone in the city had been one of the best you'd had in years. You hadn't been truly alone for what felt like months. Sure, you slept alone and you could easily duck in the bathroom for five minutes of peace, but this was freedom you didn't think you'd have after the whole soulmate thing happened.
Yoongi was gone when you'd woke up that morning, the blanket tossed to one side of the couch. Not neat, but not exactly messy. It was odd, not feeling the aching in his chest when he was gone. You knew there were exceptions for when you were obligated to be apart, but since Yoongi worked so much, maybe it wouldn't be so horrible.
Your mind had still wandered to Yoongi throughout the day. Occasionally, you'd see a BTS ad campaign or someone wearing merch, but what really caught your attention was a small Kumamon figure. It was clearly meant to act as a paperweight or just to decorate a desk. You'd noticed that Yoongi seemed to like the character and after a quick Google search, it was confirmed. You bought the figure and tossed it into your purse.
With shopping bags in your hands and your camera in your hand, you managed to use your one free hand to pull out enough money to buy a taiyaki. You thanked the woman who handed it to you in your best rudimental Japanese. 
You were a few blocks away and halfway through your taiyaki when you thought to check the time. You nearly dropped the sweet bun when you realized it was 4:50 pm. Yoongi was due to be done in ten minutes and you were at least a half hour walk from the hotel--if not more. 
You rush out to the side of the road and attempt to hail a taxi. The first few passed you, but eventually one stopped and you frantically told the driver the name of the hotel. 
Within five minutes, the driver only managed to get a few blocks because of rush hour traffic. With nowhere to go, you were stranded. You'd gone the whole day without making a scene or being recognized (although maybe because you wore a baseball cap and mask), despite your face on the cover of magazine articles everywhere. And, you were afraid that you were going to have to end up on more of them to get out of this. 
You waited another five minutes before handing the driver a wad of cash that was definitely too much and apologizing as you got out of the cab. Carrying your bags and purse on your arm, you ran across the stopped lanes of traffic and tried to ignore the car horns and confused shouts. You checked the time. 5:01 pm. You ran and pulled up the GPS on your phone and entered the hotel address. 
Your vision blurred and you felt a small pull in your chest. It was warning you.
---
Something felt off as the van pulled up to the back door of the hotel. His palms begin to sweat and his heart beat against his chest as if he were sprinting. The door to the van opened and Yoongi didn't even remember it stopping or the rest of the members climbing out. 
"Yoongi?" one of the members called. 
Yoongi managed to his feet and out of the van but nearly collapsed against Jin, who grabbed him by the shoulder to stabilize him. He doesn't get far before he collapses against the wall of the hotel, his neck lulling back. 
"Yoongi, what's wrong?"
"Sumi...she must not be back yet..." 
Yoongi hears some talking and shuffling, but barely understands anything as two of the boys lift him up and inside the hotel. 
"They're going to look for her, Yoongi. It will be okay."
---
You'd made it a few more blocks, although you could barely tell. You were running, even though your vision was so blurred you could barely see. You used the buildings on the side as your guide and hoped you wouldn't bump into anyone. 
Your heart was beating out of your chest and you honestly couldn't tell if it was because of the running or that Yoongi was back at the hotel. You felt lightheaded and even with your headphones in you could barely hear the directions your GPS was telling you.
The edges of your vision begin going black and you feel your knees hit the pavement. This was it. You hoped a passerby would stop and at least call an ambulance. 
"Sumi!" someone a short distance away shouted.
You couldn't make out their faces, but you could see figures running through the crowd towards you. As you slumped against the nearest wall, you felt yourself being scooped up. 
"Sumi, Sumi, it's okay. We're not too far away. Come on, stay awake." 
You recognized Jungkook's face and allowed your face to fall against his T-shirt. It felt warm, but as you neared the hotel, your senses clearing a tiny bit, you realized it was a little too warm. You remembered back to the day before when you'd accidentally burned Tae's hand. 
"I-I'm sorry," you said. "It doesn't hurt does it?"
"It was just the T-shirt. Don't worry about it, Sumi."
His voice is soft and you can barely hear him over the commotion you're approaching. You can already hear the slew of photographers who are inside the lobby of the hotel and outside on the sidewalk. They haven't seemed to notice you yet, as their camera flashes and yells are aimed elsewhere.
"Jungkook! Jimin!" Se-jin called from the alleyway where he held open a service door normally only used for employees. While your vision had cleared, you still felt out of breath and your heart still convulsed in your chest. 
Jungkook ran towards the door and immediately into a service elevator. He didn't drop you back on your feet like you had expected him to. His arms were slung under your knees and around your shoulders. You wondered why you weren't burning his arms. Maybe because he wasn't touching your skin? Maybe the soulmate curse somehow recognized that he was helping you get closer to Yoongi? Whatever it was, you were thankful that beyond burning a small black hole in his T-shirt, you hadn't hurt him. 
The elevator dinged and Jungkook rushed you into your hotel room. Yoongi was already on the bed, a cloth on his forehead. He was sweaty, his shirt pulled up, exposing his stomach and his hair pushed back. 
Jungkook plopped you down on the bed beside Yoongi. Your breath evened out and your muscles relaxed, but the dull ache in your chest remained.
"Do you guys need anything?"
"Just some water." 
Jungkook went to the sink and filled a glass with water and set it on the bedside table beside you. "Just text or call one of us if you need anything." 
You nodded and Jungkook left the room. As soon as the door shut, Yoongi's arms around you and your face in his chest. His lips came to your forehead and you released a breath you hadn't realized you'd been holding.
"I lost track of time," you said. "I tried to take a taxi, but it was rush hour." 
"It's okay. It's not your fault. It was harder than we thought it would be." 
"Do you think we'll ever break it?" you asked. "If this was so difficult, if we can't even be apart due to a simple mistake, even if we were in love, how would we fix this?"
"I don't know. But, you should get some sleep."
"You too." 
You rested your head on Yoongi's shoulder, his arm slung around you comfortably, fitting perfectly against your waist and in the swell of your hips. It was the only place your body would allow you to be, but even if it was just the soulmate curse, even if you didn't love Yoongi, you knew there was no other place you wanted to be than his arms.
---
You fell asleep long before Yoongi did. Your small breaths tickling the skin on his neck and you were so still in his arms, only the way your chest moved slowly up and down indicated that you were still alive.
He'd never tell you, but he loved the way you looked when you slept. You scrunched your face up like a fussy baby and sometimes you'd make small moans in reactions to whatever happened in your dreams. 
It was nearly 1 am and Yoongi couldn't sleep. There were still pangs in his chest, but he wasn't sure if it was due to the earlier ordeal, or something else. He looked down at your sleeping form and carefully tucked stray hairs behind your ear. The ends of your hair were still a little damp with sweat, but he didn't care. 
You smiled at his touch and burrowed deeper into him. So deep, in fact, Yoongi wasn't sure you'd ever come out.
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nanaminokanojo · 3 years
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Play the Game | Nanami Kento X You | Part 7/8
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CHARACTERS: Nanami Kento X You (fem!reader | PLEASE READ THE NOTES BELOW*) | Gojo Satoru | Geto Suguru | Shoko Ieiri | Utahime Iori | other JJK Characters CHAPTER COUNT: 7/8 WORD COUNT: 6,400+ GENRE: romance | fluff | slight angst | smut MINORS DNI | ooc depictions | female reader with described appearance* | modern au | rich people au | aged up characters CHAPTER TRIGGER WARNING: profanity | age gap | cigarette smoking | strong/mature/suggestive language | smut (fingering, unprotected sex, slight daddy kink XD, etc.) SPOILERS: n/a STATUS: COMPLETED
collection masterlist
one - two - three - four - five - six - seven - eight
"Play the Game" Masterlist
"You always hide here when you're down," Geto said, stepping onto the rickety floors of the abandoned wooden gazebo at the far edge of the walled gardens. It was meant to be torn down but for your insistence for it to stay erect.
He took out a cigarette and lit it, taking a long drag when you didn't answer, huddled on one of the corners of the hexagonal structure. "You really shouldn't have done that," he told you, his voice ringing crisp in the still air.
"You should really quit that dirty habit," you muttered in a form of retaliation, not really in the mood to be lectured.
"I could say the same with your games, Y/N!" he said harshly, the first time he ever would. It was more for the fact that he felt frustrated that you kissed him all for the benefit of another man as opposed to merely scolding you for whatever wrongdoing you've committed. He felt all the more frustrated that he was doing it at all.
"I'm sorry if I dragged you into this," you told him sincerely. "I shouldn't have –"
"I am not sorry," he interrupted you. "I wanted that for a while now."
"What?" You stood up and walked towards him, making him turn to face you. "What are you talking about?"
Geto placed a hand behind his neck, exhaling exaggeratedly and throwing his head back, closing his eyes momentarily before meeting your blue gaze. "I understand why Kento is taking this harder than what you're expecting." He sighed. "It probably would have been better if you kissed Yuuji instead."
You just blinked at him, perplexed. "I don't get it."
It's now or never. He wanted you to know at least before you made up your mind, but knowing you, he knew you already did. And he wasn't going to be your choice. "Look, I like you. I wanted you for myself ever since you entered university."
"Huh?"
"And three years ago, I told Kento about how I felt," he droned on. "And maybe he thinks that's still the case, that I am still his rival where you are concerned."
"So are you?" you demanded.
He shook his head, smiling as he blew smoke at the opposite direction. "I know a losing game when I see one, and honestly, I'm rooting for the two of you."
You clutched at his arm. "Suguru..."
He ruffled your hair, throwing his cigarette away and hugging you to his side. "Don't get me wrong, princess. I was hurt that I wasn't your favorite anymore. I wanted to tell you, but you beat me to it and told me you liked Kento instead."
"You'll always be my favorite," you said. "You guys don't get replaced, not to me. I love you all differently, and I have things I share with each of you that I can never have with the other."
Geto's eyes widened slightly at your words. "I'll hold you to that." He snickered then. "Seriously though, where the hell did the two of you get things so wrong? Everything just went to shit in a matter of hours. And I thought Ieiri and I were being very specific with our instructions to you."
"Ieiri?"
"She's been talking to Kento, too. You two are just too dense and slow."
You punched him on the arm, glaring at him.
"Ow!" he grumbled, rubbing at the sore spot. "I'm a model, you know. You're not supposed to mark me."
"Oh, is that what you tell all your girls?" you teased.
He rolled his eyes at you. "Kento already made it back to the house. You should apologize."
You stood on your toes and kissed him on the cheek, hugging him tight.
"You might want to refrain from doing just that, princess," he said but you just giggled and made your way back to the manor. "You're still my favorite!" you called out.
He took another stick if cigarette, chuckling at you, but as he was about to light it, he opted not to.
**
You've done it this time. You just knew it. You realized that when you sobered up from all the crying you did after the incident at the lake. It was too late to say you should have listened to Yuuji and regret wasn't really something you could relate to. Typically. Now, you wanted him to say, "I told you so." Him and Megumi. Throw in Nobara, too, but you knew you weren't going to forgive yourself if things didn't turn back the way they used to be where you and Nanami were involved. That was all you were hoping for if he really has been put off by the mere idea of you.
Geto was just as much of a trickster as you are, but what you did not foresee was the result and his reaction to you, and you weren’t exactly ready for the his confession. That was a first and after speaking with him, you understood. Nanami was downright outraged. He might have not gone all out on you about the matter but you knew there was something else he wasn't saying. He has always been considerate of your feelings, and you were afraid you've trampled on his. It was regardless of whether you meant it or not. You just crossed the line.
The situation wasn't good, and you knew Gojo would have killed you if he saw just how you were behaving at the lake, and you could just pray to every higher being out there that he never gets to find out or you’ll have no choice but to sit down and listen to his lecture. He may be averse to the idea of you dating any of his friends, and he may be the best brother anyone could have, but he would definitely not tolerate what you have done.
A bigger part of everything that’s been happening was your fault. You knew it, and you weren't afraid to admit it either. Although Nanami may have his faults for being so much of an over-thinker and being indecisive, he was right. Why couldn't you be a normal person for once and just be honest about how you feel? Why couldn't you just tell Nanami you loved him and you have been in love with him for the longest time? Again, you couldn't relate to the idea because you haven’t ever been able to healthily express your opinion, but enough was enough. You were going to do it tonight. It didn't matter what the result was. You wanted him in your life, and you’ll go through lengths to have him.
After tossing and turning on your bed for what seemed like hours and later wearing a path on your bedroom floor while fidgeting on the hem of your silk robe, you finally decided there was no way you were sleeping. You couldn’t if it saves you when the dread of him totally disappearing because of what you do gnawed at you from the inside.
You were worried sick of Nanami who disappeared after the incident. You called him on the phone several times but every attempt went straight to voicemail, and out of your frustrations, you found yourself retreating to that same spot where Geto found you. You were only able to rest easy when he spoke to you, telling you that Nanami already made it back to the manor.
Functioning on instinct, you got out of your room barefoot, the flaps of your robe flying behind you as you marched towards the guest room where he was staying. You even had your fist raised to knock on the door but at that very moment, you stopped. For the first time, you felt vulnerable. You didn't have a clue about what you would say to him the moment you see him. You didn't know how you would approach him or if it was already the right time to do so. It was an unfamiliar feeling.
Digging your nails into your palms, you listened for movement on the other side of the door when you heard the door to the adjoining bath open and close, followed by the quiet padding of bare feet on the carpeted floor. Your breath snagged, thinking of turning away. You decided to do just that but then, the door suddenly opened, making you squeak in surprise, the sight of him dressed in just his navy pajama bottoms causing you to ogle his muscular chest and abdomen.
Well shit, you thought. He was beyond hot.
"Er..."
"What is it, Y/N?" he asked, sounding mostly tired than mad. He didn't look happy to see you, but at least he didn't slam the door to your face. Too much of a violation to his manners, you surmised, tempted to tease him, but you opted not to. You weren't in any position to be playing your little games.
You exhaled in batches before you finally found your voice. "I... n-need to talk to you. Can I...come in?"
He just looked at you for a moment before taking a step back and opening the door wider for you. He then turned his bare back to you as he walked over to the bed, the muscles on his sides and back flexing with each movement. He then motioned for you to sit on the chair situated quite far from him before he himself sat down, waiting for you to talk.
You didn't sit down and instead stood behind the chair, gripping its back. "Look, I'm sorry."
He ran his fingers through his damp, blond locks, looking like a model for an expensive underwear brand as he did so. "Hmm. Are you now?"
Your throat grew dry, wishing you could smack yourself right there and then for thinking of other things when you were supposed to be apologizing sincerely to him. You knew that he was trying to be sardonic but you couldn't help but think how mesmerizing he sounded. Composing yourself, you nodded. "I am. Suguru and I –"
"I don't wish to hear it, Y/N."
"It didn't mean anything!" you finally snapped, breathing heavily and not realizing you've crossed halfway towards him. You stopped, catching yourself just in time. "I just..." You sighed. "I just wanted to make you jealous."
“Well, what the hell, Y/N! You’ve succeeded.” His jaw clenched as he said the words, eyes intent on you and unrelenting. “And guess what, you’ve done more than just make me feel jealous. You made me feel guilty, too, because I can’t help but think that I pushed you to do that because of what I said to you this morning. Are you happy?”
“No…” You shook your head, your breath snagging. “I was being selfish. None of it is your fault so you don’t have to feel that way. You’ve been trying to talk to me all day, and maybe I should have given you the chance, but being me, I relied on my baser instincts and made a game out of things again.”
He stood this time, towering over you. "That's all you know. Games," he told you quietly, his tone at odds to his words. "You never really cared who gets played in the end as long as you're amused." He reached over and picked up a few strands of your hair before flicking them off his fingers in disdain. "Isn't that what it is?"
His words hurt. "No..."
"Unfortunately, I got caught up in it, all the while thinking that maybe you'll spare me because..." He shrugged. "Doesn't matter. I lost again. Congratulations."
"I'm sorry."
"Sure." He scoffed, shaking his head. "I'm tired, Y/N," he said as he sat down on the bed, burying his face into his hands.
This was it, you thought to yourself. You can't miss your chance. It was regardless of the consequences. You told yourself that. You were not going to back down even if it means you get hurt. Even if it means he would reject you.
Without thinking twice, you moved closer to him, settling on your knees directly in front of him just by his feet. You reached for his hands, gently easing them away from his face. You smiled at how big they were compared to yours, his palms rough against your fingertips. He let you pull them away, slowly moving of their own accord to cup your face, his dark, intense eyes searching yours.
"Y/N, I can't do this anymore."
You chuckled even as tears glistened in your eyes. You brushed his hair away from his forehead. "You read minds now?"
"I'm serious."
"Forgive me. I couldn't help it."
"What are you –"
Before he can finish what he wanted to say, you pushed yourself up on your foot and pressed your lips against his. You felt him stiffen against you, his hand tightening over the slope of your hips as you pushed him forward. You placed your left foot on the bed just beside his thigh while your hands took possession of his face, smiling into the kiss when he finally moved and reciprocated in kind. Your toes curled in anticipation.
He pulled you down, mouths enmeshed, breaths in sync, until you were leveled to him. He raised a hand, placing it on the side of your face, making you lean against its warmth. Your eyes flew open when he pulled away and pressed his lips against your forehead, lingering there before he kissed the tip of your nose, then your cheek just beside your mouth. Nanami closed his eyes as he leaned his forehead against yours, his hand soothingly rubbing at your bare thigh.
He was breathing deeply, brows furrowed together. Unable to help it, you started planting butterfly kisses where you could reach, capturing his lips again, hand gently caressing his jawline. Nanami twisted around, laying you on the mattress and hovering over you, continuing to kiss you. His scent had stuck to the sheets engulfing your senses and rendering everything nonexistent but him. You were lost in a world filled with nothing but him and the feel of his hands roaming all over your body in slow, sensuous movements as if he was blindly mapping out your every contour and curve.
"I don't think we should be doing this," he breathed out, chuckling quietly, but in the next moment, he sought entrance to your mouth, his hot tongue finding yours, stealing your breath. You held on tight to him, thinking he was overthinking things again, easing his mind by returning his ministrations in kind, and locking him in place with your arms wrapped around his nape. You moved your leg from underneath him, brushing your thigh between his legs, making his breath hitch when you applied the slightest of pressure, feeling him becoming stiff as you rocked your thigh back and forth against him.
Nanami drew back slightly, cutting the kiss. He opened his eyes, looking at you longingly, fingers tracing your shoulder. He looked at you with uncertainty as he fiddled with the lapels of your robe. "Tell me to stop."
At that, you smirked at him, your fingers also wandering up the expanse of his hard abdomen, slowly trailing fire up his chest to his collarbones. You bit your lip between your teeth as his skin seemed to grow warmer where you were touching him, the way he was unsteadily breathing adding to your thrill, beyond glad you had that effect on him.
"I don't want you to stop, Kento." You rose a fraction on your elbow and pecked him on the tip of his nose. "I want you."
He sighed then. “Y/N, if we’re going to do this, I want you to be certain.”
“Like a hundred percent certain?” you teased. “What’s the legal jargon for that? Do you want me to say, ‘Sustained,’ or ‘No objections, your honor’?” You giggled and he joined in, shaking his head. “Way to kill the mood though.”
“Sorry.” He flashed you a rueful smile.
Reaching out, you cupped the side of his face, eyeing him with as much conviction and certainty as you could. “You should know by now that I don’t do things I don’t exactly want to do. And when I say I want this – I want you – then that’s precisely what I want.”
He nodded slowly.
“You’re still overthinking.”
“I’m just thinking of what to say to Satoru –”
“You chose the wrong time to be talking too much.” You pulled him close, crashing your lips to his in reckless abandon. It was sloppy at best, but you hoped it would convey your certitude and confidence in what you were about to engage in with him. “You’re all I’ve ever wanted, Kento, I could cry just having you this close to me.”
Your words seemed to have unlocked something in him as his pupils dilated and his clear eyes clouded with want, and you couldn’t have been more glad that you decided to tell him how you honestly felt. Nanami lowered his head, claiming your lips with his in a slow, gentle kiss, his lips making love to yours in a seductive rhythm that spoke volumes of what he can’t typically express with mere words. The urgency in his kisses increased and you matched his fervor with yours, slightly rising off the bed to meet him halfway, taking as much as you could as he took from you – your breath, your heart, your soul.
As if a switch flipped, his gentle movements turned careless as he grabbed your shoulder and slid the robe off you, throwing it somewhere behind him, eyes alight with excitement as he further undressed you, pulling your matching nightie down, smirking when he discovered you weren’t wearing a bra underneath.
“You planned this,” he rasped.
You grinned smugly at him. “Maybe I did.”
“You’re beautiful,” he said, attacking your neck with open-mouthed kisses while his large hands took possession of your breasts, kneading them. You gasped when he caught one of your nipples, twisting it experimentally and watching your reaction when he latched his mouth onto the other, licking around it before giving it a particularly hard suck.
“Oh god,” you whimpered, eyes blowing wide when you heard the sound of your silks being ripped off of your body followed by a soft growl as he continued to devour your tender swells of flesh. His hands reached down, covetously taking your thighs, humming against your breast at the warmth and softness of your skin underneath the rough pads of his palms. He drew one hand upwards to the flimsy lingerie you were wearing, ripping it away wildly as well, making you gasp.
“Hey, don’t –”
Any protests you had died in your throat when he reached down the apex of your legs, his fingers immediately teasing your folds and rubbing gently. “Do you feel how wet you are, my love?” he rasped. “You want me this much?” When you didn’t answer, he prompted you by putting more pressure on the sensitive nub, making you buck off of the sheets with a squeaked out, “Yes.”
Your nether lips were slick with arousal and your clit started to become engorged as he touched you there, making you whine in pleasure as you carelessly threw your arms back on the mattress. He spread your legs wider, giving himself full access to your body while you lay there with hooded eyes, watching him have his way around you, his pupils dilated as he drank in every contour of your body.
“So beautiful,” he murmured, groaning in approval when you slightly arched your neck backwards, reveling in his touch. He started rubbing your clit in circles with just enough pressure to have you gripping on the sheets while his free hand took hold of your exposed breasts, kneading the supple flesh between his fingers. Nanami delighted in the way you looked writhing under his mercy, eyes hazy and mouth partly opened as you let out pleasured sounds, wishing to know how he can make you moan and tremble even more.
Nanami withdrew his hand from your chest and traced down the expanse of your belly until he reached your pelvis, securing you in place as he inserted his long digits into your throbbing cunt, going in and out. He chuckled softly at the sight of you taking his fingers in, the lewd sounds coming from your pooling juices as you clenched around him, spurring him on. He pressed down on your clit around and around, over and over again, circling around that sensitive part of you.
“Just like that,” you mewled, your hips lifting off the mattress to grind against his hand, meeting the friction he was creating and amplifying your desire.
He smirked as he hovered over you. “You just love this, don’t you?”
“Y-yeah,” you breathed out, feeling your first orgasm hitting you when he started erratically thrusting his fingers into you, the movement of his wrists quick while every thrust was accompanied by your snagged breaths.
Feeling himself getting harder and more titillated with the way your body tossed and turned beneath him, with his free hand, he shoved down his silk pajama bottoms, tossing it away along with his underwear, releasing his cock from its confines. He was, however, taken aback when you suddenly pushed yourself up, smirking at him as your eyes shifted between his dark orbs and his erection, thick, long and pulsating.
Without a warning, you pushed against him, your hands tight on his broad shoulders until his back was against the mattress. Having successfully turned tables on him, you straddled his lap and claimed his lips for your own, kissing him hard and unrelenting while your hands ran down his pecs, down to his hard abs, one of them racing faster than the other as you reached for his length, wrapping your fingers around it, its heat sending you on a wild rush.
“You’re so hot,” you droned absently, making him smile.
“You’re hotter when you’re trying to dominate me like this,” he responded, chuckling.
“Don’t I always though?” you teased, your grip on him tightening slightly while you ran your thumb over his tip, spreading his precum all over the pinkish head, making him quaver in delight. Whatever response he had in mind died right there and then when you lifted yourself up aligning yourself with him. You grabbed the base of his length, guiding him leisurely inside you, the slow pace driving you both on the edge. Your legs shook slightly as you slid down onto him, using his firm thighs to anchor yourself until you were fully sitting on him, his cock buried deep inside you.
“You feel so good,” he whispered, out of breath, feeling himself nestled in your warmth, fitting tight and snug as if you were made just for him. He sat up slightly, holding onto your hips as he slid out slowly, almost to the hilt, holding you up before very gently easing his way back inside, continuing with that slow pace, building a rhythm you both got used to. You held onto his shoulders, meeting every languid thrust halfway, establishing connection with every movement of your bodies.
“Ah…Kento…” you keen, as you both moved against each other, feeling every part of each other against yourselves, melding in a soft embrace as you rode him up and down. You both couldn’t get enough of each other, your nails digging on his back while his hands held your waist in a bruising grip. Your hips met each other in a steady rhythm, the sounds of your moans filling the room, mingling with skin slapping on skin and distinct squelching as you repeatedly swallowed his cock into your hole, making you crumple in rapture.
He reached up, placing a hand at your nape, making you lean closer to press his mouth onto yours, your tongues meeting in a duel, your whimpers drowned out by the action. He released your lips in favor of your neck, progressing downwards as he nipped on your flesh, all the way to your collarbones until he reached your breast, latching his mouth onto one of your nipples, making your toes curl as his ministrations brought about sensations that hyper-stimulated every one of your senses.
You luxuriated in everything that was him, the feel of his mouth on you, his length filling you up to the brim over and over again, in and out with every push, his smell, his warmth, the excitement leaping in his eyes while he focused on pleasuring you. You were caught in the midst of your love and fondness for everything that made up Nanami Kento, voicing it out by repeatedly saying, “I love you,” or broken parts of it anyway as if a prayer of fragmented pleas and exultation as he made you his.
He paused when he heard you say it, pulling away, his eyes wide as he gazed at you with his cloudy eyes suddenly becoming clearer while his vision focused on you. “Say that again,” he said.
“I love you,” you murmured, feeling your face grow warm at his unabashed scrutiny. Then again, “I love you,” with more conviction this time. “I’m madly in love with you, Kento.”
“You are?” he asked as if in disbelief, his mouth stretching into smile, eyes filling with joy when you nodded. And along with that, he felt himself growing even harder as if a silent affirmation to how he felt about you. “I love you, too.” He kissed you and laid you down on the bed. “So damn much.”
Nanami settled himself between your legs, placing them over his shoulders as he realigned himself with you, pushing in without preamble and pounding into you in a faster rhythm than earlier. He slid so easily inside of you as he pushed forward and pulled out again and again, the new position making your walls grip tighter around him while he fucked you deeper. He relished the way he was spreading you apart, mesmerized by the way you were connected.
“More,” you purred when you felt him hitting you right where you wanted him over and over again, making you see galaxies of stars as he rammed into you. “Right there.”
“Whatever you want, my love,” he panted, dipping himself even deeper. “You like that? You like how daddy fucks you?”
Your eyes shot open when he said that, knowing you were seeing a new facet of him you’ve never encountered before. But you were not able to dwell on that when you were prompted to respond with a rough, hard thrust, saying, “Yes, daddy. I do…so m-much,” when he pulled out all the way and shoved his dick back in, and in that same instant, you found yourself creaming around him. Your essence dripped down onto the sheets as he continued to thrust faster into you, his breath hitting your skin with the rhythm of his movements as he moaned your name, planting butterfly kisses on your neck.
“You’re so good,” he said as you clenched tighter around him. “Give me one more, baby.”
He hastened his pace even more, rising up with one of your legs hanging on his arm while his free hand reached down, playing with your clit, applying pressure and setting the tempo of his movements with his length which slid in and out of you unabatingly. Your moans were getting louder while your brain felt like it would turn to fizz as your heart pounded in your chest, holding onto the build of that familiar pooling of heat in your loins. In a sudden flurry of sensations, your body lifted clear off the bed as you came long and hard.
Nanami rode you through it, going even harder and rougher as groans started to spill out of his mouth, ending in a crescendo of your sensual cries and a dragged out moan from him as he came inside you, his white, hot seed coating your walls and overflowing out of you.
Closing your eyes, you tried to catch your breath, feeling a shiver run down your spine as you came down from your high. Everything felt detached and surreal as your mind started filling with thought after thought, dominated with nothing but the fact that he just made love to you, the idea not quite sinking in despite the panting, boneless mess that you are at that moment.
You gasped when you felt him pulling out of you before hovering over you to place a kiss on your forehead. You forced your eyes open to look at him, cracking into a crooked grin when you finally looked at him, his hands brushing away stray strands of hair from your sweat-matted forehead.
“I love you, Y/N,” he told you in hushed tones, while you were unable to do anything but nod weakly as your body succumbed to exhaustion.
**
He bet everything on Gojo’s wedding week. And it was all worth it.
The whole matter has not sunk in just yet, so much so that he didn’t get a wink’s sleep trying to make sense of it all, but mostly afraid that he will wake up in the morning and find that everything was just a dream. A very vivid, beyond pleasant dream. But the sun rose in the horizon, and as he lay there awake, he had his proof of everything that happened beside him, asleep and very much real, pressed against his side.
When you came to him the previous night, he was certain things between you would end. If he was being honest, he has had it with your playing. He didn’t know exactly what your aims were the previous night until you made the move. Again, if he was being honest, he was also being a coward, always the one at the end of the rope you were reaching for. He wanted to switch your positions for a change, but when he did, it felt like he was getting nowhere, just pulling the rope without anyone at the end.
He thought he had lost when you kissed Geto in front of him, didn’t know what to do with the information when you said you were doing it to make him jealous. And no matter how low you went just to get his attention or to retaliate to his lack of response to you the previous day, he couldn’t say he didn’t like that you did it, too. He didn’t like it per se, but your motivations behind it spoke volumes of how you felt. He was just too blind to see it.
You were right about certain things, one of them being the fact that he was supposed to know you and understand how you communicated. Another was the fact that it wasn’t too much for you to ask him to be selfish for his sake and yours. He had wanted to act exactly that way for a long time, and when you were giving him the chance, he walked away from it instead. And as per usual, you were the one who fought your way against him for the same aim of having him.
He sighed, shifting to his side to face your slumbering form. He felt his heart melting at the sight of you softly breathing and appearing so serene snuggled against him and wearing his shirt. He could almost laugh when you suddenly fell asleep on him right after he made love to you. He sighed, knowing you wouldn’t wake up any time soon after you closed your eyes, decided to clean you up and dress you up before settling beside you, too.
But out of everything, since the previous night, whenever he would remember you telling him you loved him, his heart just stops for a second only to resume its beating in irregular staccatos. You told him you could almost cry having him that close to you, but he was the one who felt like shedding tears about having you.
He bet his heart knowing there was a possibility that you would just toy with it and break it. In the end, he finally got everything he wanted in your person. He should have already known that in order to get to you, he has to go through everything, have his heart shattered if that’s what it would take. He wanted to peel all your protective layers, but you ended up doing that to him instead, and it was safe to say you succeeded. Still, although he felt like dying when he saw you kissing Geto, he wouldn’t have it any other way. He’d go through it all again if it meant he would get you in the end.
Nanami caressed your cheek with the back of his fingers, smiling when you scrunched your nose a bit, your brows furrowing slightly. Just then, your eyes opened, your ocean-blue irises devouring him in an instant in waves of emotions, the most dominant of them all being gratitude towards whatever higher power brought you to the world to exist and love him when you could have anybody else.
You broke into a sleepy grin the moment you saw him. “Good morning, daddy,” were the first words that came out of your mouth, teasing him the moment you woke up.
He felt heat suffuse his cheeks when you said that, flashing you a pained look. It hadn’t been embarrassing when he suddenly decided he had a daddy kink and wanted to hear you say it, but now that he has sobered up from the feel of you against him, he didn’t exactly want you to say it, not when you were mercilessly ragging him for it first thing in the morning. He didn’t detest it though.
Nanami diverted his gaze from you, his face turning red, but you abruptly rose slightly, grabbing both sides of his face to make him look at you.
“What are you getting all shy around me for?” you cooed. “Don’t you like it when I call you that?” You smirked. “Come to think of it, I was startled when you said that, too.”
“Are you making fun of me?” he said, pouting.
Your eyes rounded and you let go of him, even going to the extent of moving away from him.
“What?” he asked, suddenly panicked as he sat up, grabbing your arm, afraid you’ll walk away.
You clucked your tongue. “D-don’t do that…that p-pouting thing…” you spoke haltingly, unable to talk properly as you pinched the bridge of your nose, looking flustered.
“Do what?” he asked, not quite catching what you were saying.
“Don’t go acting cute so early in the morning. I’m not used to this side of you. Jesus, Kento,” you told him all in one go, your hands flailing about. “You’re messing with me.”
He arched a brow at you and started laughing heartily. You were genuinely distressed and he didn’t know what he would do with you. “I’m sorry, darling. I didn’t know you were not immune to my charms.” He pulled you towards him, making you face him. “How are you feeling by the way?”
“I’m fine.”
“Not sore anywhere?”
You rolled your eyes at him. “Fishing for compliments now?”
He shook his head slowly, not understanding what you were talking about. “I don’t think we’re on the same page.” He started fussing around you then, even lifting his shirt which you were wearing, slightly looking for telltale signs of the possibility that he could have hurt you in any way when he spotted bruises on your hips. “Oh no.”
“Why?” you asked, blinking cluelessly when you saw what he was looking at. To your surprise, he suddenly took you in his arms, his expressions indicating distress. “What’s going on?”
“I hurt you,” he mumbled. “I’m sorry.”
It was your turn to laugh. “You obliterated me, Kento, but I’m not sorry about it.” You pulled away from him and pecked him on the lips. “You were awesome.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“I should go easy on you. I don’t really like the idea of injuring you in any way.”
You narrowed your eyes on him. “You’ve set the bar on how good you can be between the sheets. If you hold back on me, I’ll throttle you. Maybe I’ll ask Satoru for help, too.”
“What –”
“You’ve been warned, Nanamin.” You leaned forward, planting your face on his chest. “Stop worrying. I don’t regret anything, and if you make love to me as well as you did last night every single day, I’ll gladly have my battle scars.”
Nanami cupped your head, rubbing soothingly, his eyes meeting yours while a slight smile played at the corners of his mouth. “You’re so weird sometimes.”
“You love me.”
He kissed the top of your head. “I do. With all that I am.”
“Stop getting into a tizzy then.”
“Okay, Y/N.”
“Okay, Kento.”
“Are you always going to call me by my name now?” he asked, tilting his head to the side. “I like it better than when you call me Nanamin.”
Your brows knit together then. “I’ve kinda gotten fond of that nickname though. But if that’s what you want, I’m down for it, too.” You grinned at him. “Kento.”
Nanami broke into a smile, but then you said, “Can I always call you 'daddy' instead?” He rolled his eyes, feigning annoyance. “I’ll throttle you.”
You chuckled. “My mother would flip!”
“Satoru would flip.”
You laughed, wrapping your arms around him. The two of you stayed that way for a few moments, just enjoying the comfortable silence while you listened to his heartbeat and basked in his warmth, his muscular arms wrapped around you securely. You’ve never felt safer.
You were, however, the first to break it.
“Kento?” you began.
“Yes, my love?”
“What are we now?”
“You’re all mine and I’m yours,” he stated firmly.
“So we’re official?”
He scoffed. “If last night wasn’t enough to make us official, I’d be happy to prove it further to you. You’re the woman I’ll marry. I’m not giving you a choice on that.”
You snickered. “Fine.”
“Fine?” he repeated with inflection, pushing you down on the mattress while he hovered over you. “Why do you sound as if you don’t like it?”
You burst into bubbles of laughter. “I’m not complaining…”
“But?”
“If that’s the case, I want Satoru to know first before the others. Is that okay?”
He nodded. “That’s just fair, I think.”
“Thank you.”
“Anything for you. When do you want us to tell him?”
You held his hand, entwining your fingers together and beaming tenderly at the way yours were engulfed by his. “Soon. Very soon.”
-end of part 7-
Aaaaand we're down to the second to the last chapter. This one's rather self-indulgent and I got carried away with the the "daddy" thing lol. Anyway, I would like to say thank you to everyone who's been reading this fic and looking forward to my updates. You guys make me happy!
*I used “you” here, but since my character is Gojo’s little sister who is established to be his female clone for reasons essential to the plot, she possesses the same blue eyes and white hair. I did not exactly want to create an OC (although technically, I did by describing Y/N), but I opted for the best of both worlds in this fic, leaning more towards the literary aspect of it as opposed to it just being reader/you-oriented. I hope this isn’t iffy to anyone, and yeah, i’m not being exclusive or whatever.
Thank you so much for reading. Likes, comments and reblogs are deeply appreciated! Hope you enjoyed it.
© ORIGINAL WORK BY nanaminokanojo. CHARACTERS ARE INSPIRED BY GEGE AKUTAMI'S “JUJUTSU KAISEN.” [20210806]
PHOTO/IMAGE/GIF/FANART CREDITS TO THE RESPECTIVE OWNERS.
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lokis-army-77 · 3 years
Text
If You Please
Chapter Thirteen
Bucky Barnes x Reader
Word Count: 6300
This is technically a reader insert but without the (y/n) and all that. She also has no name mentioned so feel free to imagine as you please.
Follow the reader through the events of the Captain America movies and experience her love for Bucky Barnes.
Warnings: canon typical violence
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My morning started off, as usual, I woke up, got dressed, and had a cup of tea before I left for work. The same monotonous motions I had gone through every day since I came to DC close to a year ago. The only thing that had changed was I was no longer sleeping under my bed and I saw Steve on a regular basis, as long as he wasn’t off on a SHIELD mission.
My commute to work was the same as normal also, but I couldn't shake the feeling that something was going to happen, something big. So I went about my day as normally as possible. Until that night.
Coming home from visiting with Peggy I noticed that the whole building was eerily quiet. Hastily making my way to my apartment door I took out my cell phone and dialed Steve’s number. It rang a few times before he answered.
“Hey kid what’s going on?” He said cheerily.
“Steve, where are you?” I asked as I looked around the hallway, nothing was out of the ordinary but it still felt off somehow.
“I’m walking into the front door of the building, why? You sound worried.”
“I don’t know, just be careful when you get to your apartment. I have a feeling something is about to happen, I just can’t put my finger on it.”
“Alright, I’ll let you know if something is wrong when I get up there. I’ll call you back in a minute.” he hung up just as I unlocked my door. The apartment was quiet and dark, I flipped the switch and the kitchen lit up. Nothing seemed out of place so I cautiously went around to each room checking for anything that could be wrong.
After finding nothing I made my way back into the living room. Out of nowhere loud gunshots rang out. I ducked in front of the couch but the bullets never came. My eyes widened, they must have been meant for Steve. Slowly I crawled my way to the windows and peeked out into the dark night. There was someone standing on the roof of the building across the road. From what I could tell, he was watching Steve's apartment intensely, that was until Steve shot out of the window and through the window of the same building. The man turned to run and I lost sight of him. I hurriedly shot up and rummaged around my bookcase for one of the pistols I had hidden there. After finding it, I rushed downstairs and to Steve's apartment. The door was wide open and stood in the hallway was Kate, Steve’s next-door neighbor. Lying on the ground next to her was Director Fury in a puddle of blood. I looked at her confused, what was she doing here and with a gun no less. I brought my gun up just in case she was part of the problem.
“Miss. Rogers put the gun down.” She ordered cautiously while pointing hers at me.
“Why should I? It’s pretty suspicious of you to be in my brother's apartment with a gun, standing over the director of SHIELD, who just so happens to be bleeding out.” She sighted and ungripped the gun before slowly lowering it to the ground.
“I know this scene looks incriminating but I am Agent 13, I work for SHIELD and Director Fury assigned me to be Captain Rogers’ protection.” Her explanation came out slow and steady. I gave her a skeptical look before lowering my gun and walking closer to her. I turned my gaze to Fury who was unconscious on the floor. I bent down and looked over at him for the wound that was bleeding. When I found it I put as much pressure on it as I could without damaging it further.
“Call an ambulance, he won’t be with us much longer if we don’t get him to a hospital right now.” I heard her walk away and come back soon after talking on the phone. I kept most of my attention on Fury's shallow breathing and weak pulse.
The ambulance arrived almost twenty minutes later, I rode with them along with Steve, who had come back a few minutes prior. The hospital was bustling as they took Fury to one of the operation rooms for emergency surgery. Steve had called Natasha Romanoff while we were on our way, she met us at the hospital and stayed close to Fury at all times. Steve took her into the viewing room to monitor what was happening in the surgery. I stayed behind in the hallway to give them space to talk, but also because I didn’t think a complete stranger should be watching the surgery of someone they had only met a handful of times.
As I sat there in one of the chairs I thought back to what Steve had told me about the man from the roof. He said the man was fast and strong, I was thinking of some sort of super-soldier like us. He would have been since he was able to catch Steve’s shield, even if it was with some type of metal arm. No normal person would be able to walk away from being hit with a vibranium shield full force. Suddenly Steve came through the door. I stood and gave him a questioning look and he just shook his head. My shoulders hunched a bit at the confirmation. Fury had passed. I walked over to him and placed my hand in his and squeezed.
“I think you should go. I’ll be fine, I have to deal with some stuff here.” His voice was barely above a whisper as he talked.
“Okay, I’ll see you at home, you can stay at mine while your apartment is being searched for evidence.” I gave his hand another squeeze before turning to leave but he pulled me back.
“No. You can’t stay at the apartment, it isn’t safe right now. You need to pack a bag and stay somewhere else for a few days. Somewhere that can’t be associated with me, just in case.”
“I have somewhere I might be able to go but what about you?”
“I’ll stay at the SHIELD headquarters, there’s no need to worry about me. Now go, quickly.” I gave a firm nod and briskly walked down the hall to the elevator.
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The FBI was everywhere around the apartment building. There were so many that it took me forever to reach my apartment without getting stopped and asked what I was doing there. Finally reaching my door I went inside and quickly started packing my largest suitcase with more clothes than needed. I also went and grabbed the second gun hidden in the bookcase along with the double-thigh holster. If there was going to be some sort of assassin, I was going to be prepared. There was just one last thing I needed before I left. Heading straight for my bedroom closet I tore the door open and got down on my knees. Feeling around I popped one of the floorboards loose and reached into the hole. I grasped the two metal cylinders, lifting them out into the light. I kept the bo staff hidden at all times, after waking up from the ice I had no use for it anymore until now. I reached my hand back into the hole and my hand hit a small velvet-covered box. I gently took it out and held it to my chest, then helped it out from my body a little way before opening it. There, gleaming in the dim closet light was Bucky’s mother’s engagement ring. I had kept it safe and hidden since nineteen forty-three. It was one of my prized positions and I knew the war front was not a place for it, I wouldn’t have forgiven myself if I were to lose it. I took the ring out and slid it onto my ring finger, it was weird but something was telling me I needed to wear it. I snapped the lid closed and hoisted myself up off the floor and shoved the disassembled staff into the suitcase and quickly zipped it up, sat it on the floor, and rolled it behind me as I headed for the door.
I got out of the building easier than trying to get in. Making my way to the curb I unlocked the car I had just recently bought myself so I didn’t have to walk to work every morning. I shoved the suitcase into the back seat and then made my way around the vehicle to jump into the driver's seat. The only place I knew I could possibly go was Sam’s, so that's where I went. It was almost three fifteen by the time I pulled into the guest parking lot in front of Sam’s apartment. Hopefully, he wouldn’t be mad at me for waking him up at such an inconvenient hour.
Grabbing the suitcase, I quietly walked up to his front door and knocked. I waited for a minute or two before knocking a second time, a bit louder. This time I faintly heard something behind the door just before it was harshly thrust open.
“What,” Sam spat out, eyes half-closed.
“Wow, is that any way to greet a friend in need?” I shot back. He opened his eyes a little more to see who was actually at his door.
“Oh, it’s you, sorry about that. I'm not really a fan of being woken up in the middle of the night. Why are you here, what’s the matter?”
“Well, in short, I think some type of assassin is after either high ranking SHIELD agents or my brother, and the Director was just shot in Steve's apartment. Steve didn’t think it was safe for me to stay in the building, given that I live above him. So I’m here to ask if it would be okay if I stayed here for a couple of days while everything gets figured out.” He stood there for a second, then rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands.
“I’m going to pretend like I comprehend what you just told me, but sure, come on in. You can tell me again in the morning when I’m not half-unconscious.” He opened the door wider and I made my way into his home. He led me up the stairs and into the spare bedroom. “Make yourself at home, I’ll see you in the morning.
“Thank you, Sam. Good night.” I called out as he slowly shut the door.
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The next morning I woke up around eight and decided to call into work saying that I couldn’t come in on the account of my apartment being broken into. A little white lie wouldn't hurt. Sam wasn’t home, he was probably on his morning run, so I decided to surprise him with breakfast when he came back, as a thank you for letting me stay for a few days.
Rummaging around in the pantry and fridge, I was able to find ingredients to make pancakes, bacon, and scrambled eggs. I was halfway through the second batch of pancakes when Sam strolled in through the back door.
“Hey, what smells so good?”
“It’s breakfast. It’s the least I can do to thank you for letting me stay for a while.” I scooped up two pancakes, eggs, and a strip of bacon onto a plate and handed it to him. “I hope you like the pancakes, they're my special recipe from the forties.”
“You didn’t have to do this. I’m always glad to help, no thanks needed.” He grabbed his fork and started to dig in. Nodding his head as he chewed, I looked at him expectantly. “Wow, these are really good.”
“Thank you, I know.” I grinned. He shoveled a few more bites into his mouth before he turned his attention back to me.
“Okay, so what’s this about an assassin and why do you have to stay here?”
“Well, when I got home from seeing Peggy last night something felt off in the apartment building. I looked all around my apartment to see if anything was wrong, but everything looked fine. That was until some guy standing on the roof of the adjacent building shot into Steve's living room. Steve ran off after the man and I went downstairs to check things out, that’s when I found our neighbor, who apparently was a SHIELD agent this whole time, was standing over the director of SHIELD. We called an ambulance and took him to the hospital where he passed away. And since we have no clue who the assassin is after Steve wanted me to go somewhere I would be safe. That’s about it, I have a theory that the guy has had some kind of super-soldier serum like me and Steve because when Steve was telling me about what happened when he chased after him, the guy caught his shield with one hand and just stayed firmly planted on the ground.”
He looks up, fork halfway to his mouth, and says, “Dang, that's crazy,” then proceeds to eat as if nothing happened.
“Oh, is that all you have to say?”
“Well, what else am I supposed to say?”
I sat there for a second before nodding. “Okay, fair enough.”
We spent the rest of the morning lounging around until Sam went to work, I later met up with him at the VFW for the weekly group meetings. After that, we went back to his apartment and just talked and played board games to pass time until we were eventually tired enough to go to bed.
The next morning came quickly, I woke up significantly earlier than the day before, early enough to tag along with Sam on his morning run, which he wasn’t too happy about since I managed to lap him even though I was just jogging.
“Come on Sam, don’t be mad at me,” I said as we made our way in through the back door of the apartment. “I can’t help it that I run jog faster than normal people.”
“Yeah yeah, shut up. Here.” he tossed me a bottle of water before he grabbed the jug of orange juice from the fridge. I hadn't even taken a swig before there was a knock on the door we just came through. I looked to the door and then at Sam with my eyebrow raised in a questioning look. “Stay there,” he said as he sat the juice down on the counter and went to see who it was.
I watched from the far side of the room as he lifted the blinds covering the glass of the door, and there on the other side, as filthy as could be, was Steve and Natasha. Sam opened the door and let them in after Steve said something.
“Steve? What in the world are you doing here?” I asked as I walked closer to where they stood.
“I could ask you the same thing.”
“Sam is my best friend. That doesn’t explain why you are here.”
“We met a few days ago, he seemed like someone I could trust. Especially now that we have everyone trying to kill us. I’ll tell you more but can we get cleaned up first?” Sam nodded and showed them to the guest bathroom.
They both came downstairs about thirty minutes later after Sam went up to tell them that we had made breakfast. I sat down at the table in front of Steve and waited for him to fill Sam and me in on what had happened the day before.
“Well, for starters, SHIELD has been infiltrated by HYDRA, there’s no telling how many of the agents are compromised. They have been working on what Zola called HYDRA’s new world order.” Steve stopped to take a bite of food.
“Zola, as in Arnim Zola? I thought he would be dead by now.” I spit out in surprise.
“He is now, we think. He had his consciousness transferred to some sort of computer data bank. He’s the one who wrote the code on this,” he pointed to Nat who held up a small flash drive. “We would have found out what it was for but SHIELD launched a missile at us, destroying Zola and everything else around us.”
“Which,” Nat butted in, “leased us to the next question, who at SHIELD can authorize a domestic missile strike.”
“It would have to be Pierce,” Steve stated.
“Who is sitting in the most secure building in the world?” came Nat again.
“Well, he can't be working alone, there has to be someone else.” I put in.
“You’re right, but who? Zola’s algorithm was on the Lumarian Star.” Nat looked at Steve in realization as he said that.
“So was Jasper Sitwell.” She revealed.
“Okay, then how do the two most wanted people in the world kidnap a SHIELD officer in the middle of the day?” He looked at her with eyebrows raised.
“You don’t,” Sam walked over and tossed a file onto the table before continuing. “Consider this a resume.”
Nat flipped through the pages, “Is this Bakhmala? The Khalid Khandil Mission, that was you? Steve, you didn’t say he was pararescue.”
Steve just looked at the picture that was attached to the file, “This is Riley isn't it?” Sam just nodded, he had told me about his partner a few times before, but never really in much detail.
“I heard that they couldn't bring in the choppers because the RPGs were so bad, did you use stealth chutes?” Nat continued.
“No, we used these.” Sam handed Steve a closed file. I stood up and walked around the table to look at the contents.
“I thought you were a pilot,” Steve said.
“I never said that.”
“Well, I'll be the first to say that that wingsuit looks cool as hell.” I looked up and smiled at Sam, who gave a laugh.
“Sam, I can’t ask you to do this. You got out for a good reason.” Steve reasoned.
“Dude, Captain America needs my help. There is no better reason to get back in.”
“Great, I’m helping too. I know I said I wasn’t doing the whole fighting thing anymore, but you three can't take down HYDRA by yourselves.” I affirmed.
“Okay then,” Steve breathed out, “Sam where do we find one of these?”
“The last one I know of is at Fort Meade, behind several bars and some concrete.” He had a tone in his voice like it was doubtful we would be able to get to it.
“That shouldn't be a problem,” Steve and I said in unison.
We made our plan on how we were going to abduct the man named Jasper Sitwell. We knew he had a meeting today at The Occidental restaurant, that’s where we would make our move. Sam would be our man in plain sight, I would trail behind Sitwell to make sure he went to the right car and didn’t try to run, and Nat and Steve would be on the roof of a nearby building with a sniper pointed at Sitwell for extra precaution.
Before we left I made sure I had my bo staff with me and my guns in their holsters. Nat somehow did something to a burner phone she had that would make it appear to Sitwell that Alexander Pierce was calling him, that's how we were going to get into contact with him, without making a scene. And just like that, we were off to Fort Meade to get Sam’s wingsuit.
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A few hours later, a little after twelve, we all took our places and waited for Sitwell to exit the restaurant, and when he did, I was ready. I was standing at the corner of the building on the right, closest to the car. His interaction with Sam over the phone was short before he started walking in my direction. He rounded the corner and was directly in front of me when I pushed myself off the wall in order to follow him to the car. I watched as he found the right vehicle, opened the back seat, and climbed in, shutting the door behind him. We had put the child safety locks on beforehand just so he wouldn't be able to get out and run. I made my way to the driver's side and plopped myself into the seat. Soon after, Sam slid into the passenger seat.
When we arrived at the building Seve and Nat were hiding in, I shut the car off and forcefully dragged Sitwell out of the back, while Sam ran off to start on his next part of the plan. Sitwell gave a few complaints before I silenced him with a look of indifference. Steve and Nat were waiting for us at the bottom of the stairwell, Steve took him from me and I followed them in ascending the stairs. Coming to the stop floor of the building, Steve pushed Sitwell into the door to the roof, the door swung wide and Nat and I followed through after them.
“Tell us about Zola’s algorithm,” Steve demanded and Sitwell quickly scrambled to his feet.
“I have no idea what you are talking about.”
“Why were you onboard the Lemurian Star?” He interrogated further.
“I was throwing up, I tend to get seasick.” Sitwell backed up to the edge of the building almost typing over the edge. Steve Grabbed hold of his suit lapels, holding him still. When he realized he wasn't going to fall his face changed demeanor and he had a small smirk. “Come one Rogers, is this all to insulate that you’ll throw me off the roof? This isn't really your style is it?”
“No, but it is hers.” Steve stepped away from Sitwell and Nat kicked him over the small wall. I let out a short laugh as I watched him plummet to the ground. I backed up from the edge as Sam flew up and dropped Sitwell back onto firm ground. All four of us surrounded the man hyperventilating on the ground. He put his hands up in surrender before finally telling us what we wanted to hear.
“Zola’s algorithm is a program for choosing targets.” he stammered out.
“Targets like who?” I questioned.
“Like you, or Captain Rogers, Bruce Banner, some teacher in a rural town. It doesn't matter, it targets anyone who is a threat to HYDRA. It doesn't matter. It knows now and in the future.”
“What do you mean by the future, it can’t possibly know who will be a future threat?” He finally picked himself up off the ground and looked at me.
“How can it not? This is the twenty-first century, everything is online, from any type of official record to the smallest social media post, even phone calls. It knows everything. Zola’s algorithm studied people's past and present to predict their futures.”
Steve stepped up, “What then?”
“Then the Project Insight helicarriers scratch them off the list, millions at a time.”
“Steve, we need to go now. We have time to try and stop them.” I said. He looked at me and gave a quick nod.
He grabbed hold of Sitwell's arm and tugged. “Let’s go.”
We all rushed down to the car and piled in, it was a little cramped in the back with Nat to my right and Sitwell to my left. We were on our way to SHIELD headquarters. Sitwell was doing to me our ticket and hopefully our way to stop this strike from happening.
The whole drive Nat kept looking at the time flashing on the radio. I gave her leg a poke, then asked, “What's the matter?”
“The strike is set to happen in sixteen hours, we're cutting it a bit close.”
“I know,” Steve spoke up. “We’re going to use him to bypass all of the DNA scanners and access the helicarriers directly.”
“No way,” interjected Sitwell, “That is a terrible idea, are you crazy-” He was cut off by a thud on the top of the car hood. We all looked up.
“What the hell was that?” I blurted. Then, suddenly a hand went through the left window and grabbed hold of Sitwell, ripping him from his seat and throwing him into oncoming traffic. I let out a loud yelp of surprise. There was more movement on the hood before bullets came through the metal directly in between Nat and me. She surged forward and into Steve's lap while I pushed myself over into the seat Sitwell previously occupied. There was a slight sting in my upper right thigh where one of the bullets barely grazed me. I barely had time to brace myself when Steve pulled the gear shift into park and the car came skidding to a stop. I was flung into the back of Sam’s seat but I was way better off than whoever had been on top of the car.
We all looked out the front windshield as the man tumbled down the highway and caught himself. He stood up and stared us down, he looked terrifying in his all-black, metal arm shining in the sun and face covered up with a fast. I kept my eyes trained on him until we were hit from behind by another vehicle.
The force from the other vehicle pushed us into the ban on the highway and he jumped up into the air and landed back on the roof of our car. I grabbed one of the guns from my holsters and started to shoot blindly upwards, hoping I hit something. Then the same metal arm as earlier came crashing through the front windshield and tore the steering wheel from the car.
“Oh shit,” yelled Sam as the car started to uncontrollably twist and turn.
“Press on the brake, press on the brake” I yelled.
“I am,” he yelled back.
I looked out the back window and saw the man now squatting on the hood of the vehicle behind us. They kept getting closer until they rammed into us again, causing the car to swerve hard to the right. We ended up hitting the median wall and as we started to flip I heard Steve yell, “Hang on,” before he grabbed hold of Nat and Sam and they flew from the car. I on the other hand tried to keep myself from being tossed every-which-way as the car tumbled down the road.
Once the car had stopped moving I kicked the door off and crawled out onto the glass-covered asphalt. Standing up I stretched my arms up high to try and free my tensed-up mussels. “That freaking hurt” I muttered to myself. I got back down on my hands and knees to rummage through the upturned car for my gun and bo staff, which had been resting on my lap before all of this started. I found them quickly and made my way down to where the others were.
The mysterious man had hopped off the hood of the vehicle and was walking forward with a large gun in his hands. He lifted it up and aimed for Steve. He pulled the trigger and a grenade launched straight for Steve, who blocked it with his shield. He was safe from the blast but the force of it knocked him straight off the bridge we were on. I had no time to run to see if he was okay before a group of men clambered out of the vehicle and started shooting at us. The three of us left on the bridge scattered to hide from the fire. I clicked open the magazine of my gun to check the amount of ammo I had left. I had already fired off nine shots, so I had eight more shots plus the seventeen rounds still in my second pistol. I snapped the magazine back into place and took a deep breath.
I picked myself up off the ground and looked over the hood of the truck I was behind. There were seven of them about fifty feet away. I took another deep breath and fired, hitting one of them in the chest. I wasn’t quick enough in ducking back down, the metal-armed man saw me and shot another round in my direction. I flew backward off the bridge and into a parked car. I slid down from the side and onto the ground, catching myself on unsteady feet. It took me a second to get my bearings back but when I did I looked in the direction I flew from. The group of men were standing right at the edge of the bridge. I looked down to see what they were searching for, Nat was running under the bridge and stopped right before they could see her. She turned around and brought her arms up into the air and started firing at the men, who ducked for cover. As they did so, she ran for cover behind a bucket truck, I also ran to catch up to her. They came back up from hiding and started to shoot in our direction.
“Nat, we have to go now, there isn’t any cover here.” I grabbed hold of her alright arm and tugged. “Run, I’m right behind you.” She nodded and started running. I started after her but turned around halfway to shoot rounds off at the men until I was empty.
“Over here,” I heard a shout and followed it. Nat was crouched behind one of the many abandoned cars. I came and crouched down beside her. We waited silently until she gestured her hand behind us. I barely lifted my head up to see through the windows of the car, there he was, right in front of us. I felt her hand grab my wrist and pull me back down, right before an explosion went off. It had caught me off guard, but it hadn't affected her, she was ready for it because not a moment later she vaulted herself off the trunk of the car and onto the metal-armed man. They wrestled around as she wrapped herself around his neck, he almost threw her off, but he managed to stay on, shifting her hold with her legs so she could get a garotte around his neck. The man stumbled backward and into the car I was behind before managing to toss Nat fifteen feet in the other direction.
He started after her again but she threw something at his metal arm that sent visible shocks through it. The delay gave her enough time to run away, but this was my chance to have a go. I quickly but quietly made my way around the car and behind the man. I reached my right up around his neck fast and grabbed hold of my wrist with my left hand and put all my weight onto my left leg. This brought him down and I used the force of the downward motion to shove him headfirst into the car behind us.
He lifted himself up off the ground and aggressively turned toward me. I reached behind me where I had put my disassembled bo stuff in its holsters. I brought the separate pieces in front of me and conceited them together, ready to fight. I quickly lunged forward and struck my staff at his head but his metal arm came up and grabbed the staff mid-air and jerked it from my grip. He looked at it for a fraction of a second then back at me before flinging it away. Well, this isn't good, I thought to myself as he came barreling at me full force. I managed to jump out of his way, but he caught my right wrist with the metal hand and yanked me back. I stumbled but caught my footing enough to turn myself away from him and have my arm break free from his hold. Continuing with the movement I spun around behind him and kicked his left leg out from under him. He fell to the ground but caught himself with his hand and used that to spin himself around and kick both my legs out from under me.
My head hit the ground hard enough to make everything fuzzy. I laid there waiting for the man to come and finish the fight but he never came. In my disoriented state, I picked my upper body up and looked around but he was gone. After a few moments, my vision started to return to normal and I could see the man and Steve fighting at the other end of the street. I slowly got to my feet and looked for where my staff had landed before heading in their direction. They were fighting pretty hard, neither of them had a weapon, it was just a blur of fists. That was until the guy threw Steve into the side of a van and pulled a knife. He moved fast, aiming his strike at Steve's head, But he caught the man’s hands. The knife ended up plunging into the van as the two of them slid down the length of it. Steve managed to maneuver behind the man and grab him around the torso to flip him backward. This gave him enough time to grab his shield, which was embedded in the back door of the van.
They poised for a second before resuming their furious pace. Steve blocked the man's every attempt to hit him with the knife. I watched as he ducked another punch and came up, shoving his shield into the grooves of the metal arm. Steve reached his arm behind him, capturing the other man’s head, and flung him over his shoulder. He rolled a few feet away and the mask he was wearing fell to the ground. He stood up slowly and turned in our direction, his hair fell from his face and I felt the world stop.
No, that couldn’t be him. Steve said he watched him fall from the train. No normal person could have survived a fall from that height, but yet there he was, standing just ten feet in front of me. I took a few steps towards him and his eyes darted from Steve to me and I stopped for a moment. His brow was furrowed in a kind of feral way but softened a fraction when I called out his name.
“Bucky?” the sound came out in an almost sob.
“Who the hell is Bucky?” He countered, raising the gun he had in his hand. He never got the chance to fire it because Sam flew in behind him and kicked him hard in the back. Bucky went tumbling and I started to run for him. He stood back up and the look he had on his face was one of confusion before he went to shoot again, this time he was stopped by a grenade that was launched from somewhere behind me. When the smoke cleared he had vanished.
I just stood there in complete shock as we were surrounded by SHIELD Special Forces. They took my weapons away and roughly locked my forearms in thick metal cuffs and led me to an armored truck. I was the last one in and took a seat next to Steve. I could feel his eyes on me so I turned my head to him.
“Are you okay?” He asked. I just shook my head and didn’t say a word.
“What’s going on? Who was that?” Sam spoke up.
“That was Bucky, I watched him fall almost a hundred feet from a moving train in 1945. He was my best friend and her fiance,” he pointed at me when he said the last bit. “He looked right at me like he didn’t even know who I was.”
“That can’t be possible, that was almost seventy years ago,” Sam said in disbelief.
“It was Zola. Whatever he did to Bucky when his unit was captured is what helped him survive.” I thought aloud.
“They must have found him-” Steve started but was interrupted by Nat.
“What happened isn’t either of your faults.”
“Even when we had nothing, we always had Bucky.”
The somber moment was interrupted when Sam noticed Nat’s shoulder oozing blood. He turned to one of the two armed guards sitting in the back with us and said, “We need to get her a doctor, if we don't get pressure on that wound she’ll bleed out.”
The guard shot out their hand which was holding an electrified baton, but instead of hitting Sam they turned it around and struck the guard beside them. The other guard jerked before the first one slid and kicked them in the head, knocking them out. We all sat there confused as the first guard took their helmet off.
“Oh my god, that thing felt like it was squeezing my brains out,” she let out. We all continued to stare at her.
“Maria, what are you doing here,” Nat asked.
“Isn’t it obvious? I came to get you guys, we have important business to take care of.” She bent down on the floor and searched the knocked-out guard's body for the keys to our cuffs. “Now listen closely, when the truck stops I’ll use this Mousehole,” she held up a cylindrical silver tube, “to create a hole in the truck and road so we can escape. It will happen fast so be ready.” After she explained what was going to happen she went around and uncuffed us. I rubbed my arms a little, just to get the blood circulating again.
Then all of a sudden the truck jerked to a stop.
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Tag List: @ginger-swag-rapunzel @underc0vercryptid-reads @geek-and-proud @intothesoul @leyannrae @starkleila @andy-is-gay
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morganlbr · 4 years
Text
I Thought You Hated Me Ch. 6
Master List First Previous Next.
~Monday, January 14th, 2019. 14/1/19~
Marinette had a good weekend, if you ignored all what Chat Noir did on that patrol that one night.
When her and Damian woke up, they had gotten ready for the day, and she managed to play UMS 3 with him. To her, he was the best competitor she had yet, since everyone else she played against lost easily.
Another thing she did was get him to try her parent's pastries. He made a comment about them being as adequate as Pennyworth's? Who was he?
But he did have to leave eventually, but she now had his number. She could and would text him as much as possible. There wasn't a moment at her home where her nose wasn't in her phone.
"Marinette! Get ready for school!" Tikki yelled at her.
Marinette looked at the time and saw she had an hour before school started. She thought that the sooner she got ready and went to school, the sooner she could stop being distracted by other things and text Damian.
She put on her outfit and went downstairs to get her breakfast. She greeted her parents and grabbed a bag and put some croissants in there.
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(Just imagine that it isn't shorts and actual jeans)
Closing the bag, she was on her way to school. She took some earphones out and put them into their spot in her phone. To save her some time, she called the person she had been texting for a while. When he answered, they continued their conversation from yesterday.
Marinette wasn't really paying attention to everyone around her at school, so when one of the girls in her class took her arm and dragged her somewhere. She was confused and voiced her confusion out loud, which had Damian asking if she was alright.
She reassured him, asking him to continue, wanting to know why Alix was dragging her somewhere in the school. Damian continued on, but wondered if she had ran into problems at school.
Suddenly, Alix stopped dragging her, and she figured she was somewhere where Alix wanted her to bed. Marinette, herself, kept listening to what Damian was saying, who was complaining how much of an insomniac Tim was.
Marinette noticed that she was in a room with the other girls in her class and they were talking, but she didn't think they were talking to her, so she ignored them and listened to the person she was on the phone with.
Suddenly, while the girls were talking, Marinette said something that had nothing to deal with what they were talking about.
"If that's him on a normal day, you should see how much I slept last night. Seeing as I made the outfit I'm wearing, texting you, and dealing with the idiot who thinks they can take away Tikki, I got about an hour of sleep."
She heard him say that he was going to help her get more sleep, while the girls in her class finally got her attention.
"Marinette!" The girl who was being called upon took an earbud out and looked at them. "Were you even listening? And who are you talking to?" Alya asked.
"I'm on the phone with a new friend I recently met." She told them. But saying that didn't feel right. "And before you ask, I'm not going to tell you who they are since I respect their privacy." She told them, seeing as they were about to open their mouths to ask who it was.
"Anyways," Alya continued. "Us girls wanted to know if you could go to our sleepover this weekend. It'll be us and Li-" Before she could finish, Marinette stopped her.
"Sorry I can't. I'm doing something all weekend." Marinette answered. It was true. They were going over their suspects for Hawkmoth that weekend, and she wanted to get his terrorism over with already.
"You just don't want to go because Lila is going to be there." Mylene accused.
"I didn't even know Lila was going to be there. And I really am busy. I have a sleepover at Kagami's place, which was planned weeks ago because her mother is allowing her to have one, then I have to help at the bakery until lunch the next day, and I have lunch at Chloe's, then I have to back to the bakery, and then later, my friend that's on the phone with me right now, insists that I get as much sleep that I possibly can." Marinette started.
"Angel, I don't need another Drake around." Damian said on the phone.
Marinette rolled her eyes and continued. "Then the last day I'm hanging out with him since I don't know how long he'll be in Paris since he doesn't live here." She finished.
The girls, mentally, thought that they would follow her to see if her story checks out. "Alright, but how about we do it next weekend?" Rose asked.
Marinette nodded, more interested in her phone call. "Yeah sure, if nothing comes up."
She turned around and put her other earbud in, ignoring anyone else who was talking to her. The only person she was actually interested in talking to wasn't even in her vision range.
"Marinette, I heard that you didn't want to come to the sleepover because I was going there. Do you not like me that much that you would make stuff up just to get away from me?" Lila asked, fake tears coming into her eyes.
Marinette looked at her with a bored look on her face. "I wouldn't go even if you didn't go. I've had my plans planned way before they even asked me. And I didn't make up my plans." She went back to the book in her hand, and started reading since they were in the middle of class.
"I can't believe you're still making stuff up just so you won't have to hang out with me." Lila exclaimed, full on crocodile crying.
Their classmates were trying to console Lila while glaring at Marinette. She just rolled her eyes.
"You don't have to believe me. Just know that I have things to do. I even offered to go on one next week, and it doesn't really matter if you come or not." She said,
Her class was starting to tell her some insulting words, while Marinette just ignored them, still reading her book.
"Marinette, go to the principal's office!" Mrs. Bustier told her.
"And why do I have to go?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Because of all the yelling everyone is doing because of you." Mrs. Bustier answered.
Marinette packed up her stuff and put on her backpack. She looked over at Chloe, not expecting to see her out later. "Do you want me to ask Tim to pick you up later?" Chloe nodded at her and she headed out the door. ;
Marinette stopped before going out. "They're yelling because you can't do your damn job right and the fact that Lila cries crocodile tears every time something doesn't go her way." She told her, looking her directly in the eye.
Mrs. Bustier stood out her seat and pointed to the door. "To the principal's office. Now!"
Marinette shrugged. "You can't say I'm not telling the truth." And with that, she walked out the door, leaving an enraged teacher and stunned classmates.
"Ms. Dupain-Cheng, you're suspended for a week." Principal Democles said when he saw her in his office. Mrs. Bustier had told him what had happened, well in her eyes, and he thought to suspend her.
"Fine with me." She said, shrugging her shoulders. She stood up and walked towards the door, ready to get a ride somewhere.
"This will also be going to the school board with this." He told her.
"Anything else?" She asked, looking over her shoulder. Not getting an answer, she left going to call a special friend to pick her up.
Fifteen minutes later, classes let out. Everyone came out and got ready to change their classes.
Everyone in Mrs. Bustier's class stayed in their groups and went to the front of the school since Alix and Kim wanted to have a race before their next class started.
Before they did that, they spotted Marinette sitting on the front bench in front of the school. She seemed to be looking in front of the school.
"What happened Marinette? Did you get expelled from school?" Lila asked, while everyone else started laughing.
Before Marinette answered, a guy on a motorcycle came in front of the school. No one could see who he was because of the helmet, but he was wearing a leather jacket with some black jeans. They couldn't see what shirt he was wearing because the jacket was covering it.
He took off his helmet and put it on the handle of the motorcycle. The guy had tan skin with green eyes. Anyone who saw him just stopped and stared at him. Some recognized him, while some just stopped and started because they thought he was handsome.
Marinette got up from her seat and went to the guy. He handed her a helmet and she placed it in her hands.
"Demon boy!" Chloe yelled out, causing all the attention to go on her while she went up to the duo. "Is Tim coming to pick me up later?" Chloe asked.
"I don't know about Drake's whereabouts Bourgeois." The guy, Damian, told her.
Chloe rolled her eyes and went on her phone to call someone. Marinette just put her helmet on and sat on the motorcycle. Damian sat in front of her and put his hand on the handle. Marinette held onto his waist. They drove off, moving far away from the bakery across the street.
"I can't believe she's cheating on Adrien." Alya said, when she saw the two driving by.
Lila just agreed, while she started some rumors about how she thinks they got together. Adrien, who was watching everything in the distance, was upset that ex moved on so quickly.
A/N: So, if you want to read the parts I haven’t posted yet, you could read it on my Wattpad since I had that there before posting it here. It has the first eight chapters of this story. The user is the same. @morganlbr The tag list are just people who have commented on this or asked about it.
@northernbluetongue @thecaptainthunder @our-preciousss @buginetye
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jafndaegur · 4 years
Text
Blue and Grey [where's my angel?]
Jumin x MC
a/n: Reverse Isekai. If you know the song; then you know the song.
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Where is my angel?
The end of a tiring day.
"Someone come and save me, please"
Is overshadowed by a sigh...
MC stared up at the ceiling, her phone held limply in her grasp. The Mystic Messenger app blinked sporadically with the "Normal Route" logo. Her lips wobbled and she hadn't realized the sob that wobbled in her chest. 
Everything had felt so real. She knew without a shadow of a doubt that she had spent eleven days with the most amazing people that she would know in her lifetime.
She fell in love with the most amazing man she would know in her lifetime.
Her breath quivered and a small squeak came out with her exhale. 
Living and in the flesh, Jumin had been real—every word, every touch, every bit. Same for the others. So why was it now that she suddenly woke up from the dream? Now the real world heaved a sigh and existed all around her as it had before the game. She didn't think miracles were real, but being transported into the world of the game had been a blessing. It saved her and in turn she was able to save someone she loved.
Except now.
MC turned off her phone, unable to bear the sound of the upbeat music or the warm yellow glow of the videogame.
Little time had passed since she'd been brought in and out from the videogame world, less than eleven days (probably less than eleven hours even). No one had worried about her, no one cared. She bit her lip and forced herself to not think about the near-empty contacts list on her phone.
She was forced back into reality and she would live. As she always had.
The color that had been so suddenly and vibrantly splashed into her life was striped away with the harsh scent of acetone and paint remover. 
She walked to work. Her manager greeted her with a practice smile and gave her the laundering list for the day. MC nodded mutely, pulled on her apron and went to the back of the dry cleaning facility. The party recipients were gone, and the lavish ballroom the RFA held their party in also dissipated. Only the sound of chirring machinery and the rustle of clothes, either in bags or not, now existed. MC stared at the rows of slowly shifting suits on the conveyor racks and wondered how often Jumin took his suits to a dry-cleaner. She momentarily fancied the idea of him just purchasing a new suit everytime he dirtied and old one—and she giggled. It was the first time laughing since she came back home. But the immediate pang in her heart at the idea of Jumin's bemused grin and his narrowed grey eyes caused her to swallow back a cry. Because he totally would find her notion silly, before saying something like "I only have the finest launderers in all of Korea dry-clean my suits. And I do leave a mean tip, if I say so myself, darling."
MC hated this.
She found that the world existed in faded hues of blue and grey. The sky glimmered in a dull linen blue, brushing up against the greyed horizon while the sun faded from view. Walks were the only thing MC found she could stomach after long twelve hour shifts. She hadn't the heart to delete the Mystic Messenger game, but she couldn't look at the sprites or the characters knowing she'd interacted with them as real breathing people. So it was a little comfort, but the cool breeze and the nighttime air in the city made her feel closer to her RFA friends even though they weren't there.
City nights in general made her feel closer to Jumin.
MC wondered if in some other universe, or world, or timeline, Jumin lived...missing her the way she missed him. He was far too expressive to be a simple videogame character after all.
She wondered if she was just a game to them too, a little person all coded up nice and neatly for them to choose their preferred routes.
A park between her work place and her apartment sat quaintly in the city. It was safe and hardly used at this time of night. For the past few months since returning, MC had made it a habit to eat dinner here, enjoy the night, and pretend she could see the stars. Tonight was no different. Pulling her thermos from her backpack and a bottle of water, she found a comfy spot on a children's jungle gym and sat down to eat.
Cars honked and neon signs buzzed. People walked on the streets. People talked loudly. She could hear it all from her little spot, and it felt almost nostalgic. For all the secrecy, Rika's apartment had sat in a fairly occupied part of Seoul, and from the little one bedroom MC had always been able to hear the city life.
She could hear it too, from Jumin's penthouse.
Closing her eyes, she tried to picture her friends. 
Zen was probably at rehearsals now. He worked late into the night, practicing, doing his best for whatever upcoming role he may be participating in. Jaehee was probably still at work too—although MC had thoroughly chewed Jumin out for working his poor secretary too hard—since she'd been allowed a revision of her schedule, late nights turned into noontime sign-ins for work instead of the usual eight o'clock.
Yoosung and Seven probably weren't doing too differently. Yoosung was probably causing another bout of sleep deprivation by playing a LOLOL tournament. Seven was also probably sleep deprived, but from doing secret spy stuff rather than having fun. She hoped regardless, that they were doing well.
And Jumin?
"And Jumin," MC sighed, sinking her head onto her knees and squeezing her eyes shut.
A deep and familiar baritone followed. "And me?"
She'd done this frequently, in her return. Imagine him there next to her, hear his voice, feel the ghost of his touch.
A warm hand gently rested on the top of her head, slowly smoothing out her hair.
She wrapped her arms around her legs. "You're probably at home, staring out at those stupid French doors in the living room watching the nightlife live on. Elizabeth the Third is probably at your feet, being the cute thing that she is before going off and finding something shiny that catches her eye."
There's an answering chuckle and her breath shatters in her chest.
Please, she begged. This isn't funny, this is just cruel.
There's quiet and the presence of the hand on her head gone. MC knew she was alone again. She won't go home yet, she needed a minute to collect herself. 
But then there's a shuddering breath and the most gentle murmur. "And if I were to say I'm beside you again?"
MC reeled back so terribly that she fell off the jungle gym. A sharp yelp escaped her as she landed on her tailbone and stars circled in front of her eyes. Hurried footsteps and the panicked shout of her name met her ears—she stared in a daze as Jumin hurried and crouched before her, worrying over her.
She gazed dumbly.
"My love, are you hurt?" Jumin's voice is urgent, and he gently lifted her arms, her ankles, twisting her shoulders, checking for injuries.
MC stares and stares and stares until she's squinting.
To his credit, Jumin bears her scrutiny without flinching. Just that same urgent and worried look.
"You're here." She finally breathed.
Relief visibly washed over Jumin and he relaxed. His hand, it's warm—so, so warm—gently cupped her cheek and MC leaned into the touch without question.
Jumin's nose brushed against hers. "I'm sorry it took so long."
"That's what you're apologizing for?" MC whispered, not knowing if she was supposed to laugh or cry or both.
A velvety laugh rumbled in his chest and he rested his forehead against hers. "Darling, I can't apologize for you being clumsy."
MC choked, shaking her head. Her hands tenderly cupped his face, thumbs sweeping along his jaw. Jumin closed his eyes and pressed a little closer to her, his breath feathering along her cheek with every heave of his chest.
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lost-in-the-80s · 4 years
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You Don’t Want My Love - Chapter 3
Pairing: Duff McKagan x reader
Words: 3,786k
Summary: Guns n Roses hires a new tour assistant, but nobody thought that Duff would fall for her.
In this chapter: Erin’s arrival on the tour turns the band upside down. Y/N hadn’t realized how much she needed a friend until she had her to talk to. Y/N and Slash go to an arcade.
A/N: 1- I was struggling with this chapter, so sorry if it’s shitty. 
       2- I was thinking about making a playlist inspired by this fic, do you guys want it? If so, let me know! 
       3- Also, reminding you that I’m posting a new chapter every Tuesday.  
Tag list: @roger-taylors-car @ladieswttda @teasid @metalheartofgold @slashscowboyboots​ @ginny-rose-sixx​ @rumoured-whispers​ @vinylvintage​ add yourself to my tag list :)
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After Tom’s departure Y/N couldn’t avoid feeling a little lost, she’d grown used to him instructing her and she missed his participation at the silent book club. It wasn’t a club though, just the two of them, sitting backstage reading without saying anything.  
The only good part about Tom leaving was that she finally got his bunk. It felt weird during the first night,  to sleep somewhere that wasn’t the couch, but as soon as she fell asleep her body got used to it. 
Duff was on the bunk on top of hers, as she was a light sleeper she would hear him mumbling some things while he was sleeping. He moved a lot also, which would usually wake her up, but she didn’t really mind.
It had been a week since Tom left and the things with the boys were starting to get back to normal. Duff helped her get more along with them, inviting her to play cards with the boys one night and asking about her opinion in random conversations, just so she could participate.
The two of them had grown quite close during this week, he was a nice guy, she could tell that. He always asked her to join them wherever they were going and even helped her with some of her duties when he had some free time.
And that was quite the problem. She liked his company, he was easy to talk to, and when there wasn’t a subject he would ask for her opinion on the books she was reading. He was a sweet boy. Too sweet to say the truth, and she was starting to want to be around him. But she shouldn’t.
Duff was from a completely different world, the two of them were complete opposites and the only reason why he was spending time with her was because he had no one else to. She knew that as soon as the tour ended she wouldn’t ever see him again, so she didn’t want to become too close to him.
She and Steven were back to normal, he never acted like that again and Izzy, well, Izzy was a hard person to read, he had never been rude to her, but they didn’t really talk. She didn’t take that personally though, he didn’t really talk to anyone.
Things with Axl remained the same, he hadn’t talked to her for eight days and counting, sometimes, she would laugh at one of Duff’s jokes and he would give her a death glare, but she tried to ignore.
Slash was another story. She talked to him, but just the necessary, she was still upset about what had happened during the party and expected him to apologize, but as the days passed, the less probable it got for him to do so. 
In that morning, she woke up before the boys, and after doing her routine and checking up her agenda she realized that they would reach the next city around ten in the morning. 
Talking to the bus driver, he informed her that they would stop for breakfast in thirty minutes, which allowed her to do her favorite part of the job.
Getting inside the bedroom area she turned on the lights while saying loud enough for all of them to hear. 
“Good morning, princesses! It’s 7 in the morning and we’ll make a stop for breakfast in thirty, so move your asses out of the bed and get ready!” 
Leaning against the wall opening, she saw Axl exiting his bunk, his hair was a mess as he slowly walked towards the bathroom while rubbing his eyes.
The second to wake up was Steven, just like her, he was a morning person. He got up quickly, putting a white tank top on before giving her a huge smile. “Good morning, Y/N!”
“Good morning, Steve!” She smiled back.
As soon as Axl left the bathroom and Steven got in, Izzy plopped on the ground beside her, he was dressed in just his underwear, which made her look in the opposite direction. However, she did notice the dark circles underneath his eyes and the remains of the hickeys Cheryl had left on his chest.
Cheryl had decided to accompany another band last Saturday, hugging Y/N tightly and telling her to call when she opened her boutique before leaving. 
As per usual, Slash and Duff didn’t get up. 
Getting close to Slash’s bunk she touched his shoulder slightly. “Slash! wake up!”
He mumbled in response and so she moved to Duff’s.
“Duff, time to get up!” Her head was at his bunk’s level. 
He moved slightly before opening his eyes, focusing directly on hers. A small smile appeared on his face. 
“Good morning, Y/N.” His voice was husky due to his sleepiness and for an odd reason, her heart started beating twice as fast.
“Good morning, Duff.” She smiled sweetly before walking out of the room.
Sitting on the couch, she grabbed a Vogue magazine and waited until the boys got ready. As the minutes passed by, all of them joined her in the living room, except for Axl, who was, as always, late. 
When the bus came to a stop and they got up to exit Axl finally showed up, she, Axl and Duff were the only remaining people on the bus and she stopped to let him go first, he was already hating her, she didn’t want to give him one more reason to.
“You can go first!” He gestured with his hand for her to pass. 
She looked at him waiting to see if he was being sarcastic, but the smile on his face told her that he was in a good mood. Strange, she thought while she exited the bus. 
The bright morning sun hit her skin and she stopped for a while, allowing the warm feeling to take a hold of her. Starting to feel as if someone was watching her, she turned around, finding Duff walking slowly towards the snack bar.
“He spends eight days without talking to me and then he suddenly decides he’s ok with my presence!” She scoffed while joining Duff.
“Erin is coming, so he’s in a good mood.” He looked down at her.
“Who’s Erin?”
“His girlfriend.” He opened the door for her to get in first.
“But he was hitting on me when I arrived.” She frowned.
“Oh, that! He was only joking that night.” Duff smiled at her, letting a small chuckle escape.
She and Duff sat beside Steven, in front of Axl and Izzy, Slash being to her right.
When the waitress arrived, she started making the orders, a month with them had been enough time for her to know that they had certain habits.
Izzy would always ask for a black coffee and a pack of cigarettes in the morning, while Steven would ask for pancakes. Slash and Axl liked scrambled eggs with coffee and Duff would usually eat pancakes with Steven.
After asking for the food, she took a pack of cigarettes out of her purse, giving it to Izzy. 
“Thank you!” He smiled at her. “You know, I didn’t expect much from you Y/N, but your efficiency is something to be recognized!” 
The compliment made her smile. “Thanks.”
As soon as the food arrived they started eating while making small talk.
“These scrambled eggs remind me of my grandma ones!” Sash smiled, “You guys wanna try it?” He extended the plate for the rest of them.
Steven got some for himself, while Izzy simply shook his head. 
“Want some, Y/N?”
“No, Thank you.” She replied while looking at her plate. 
She didn’t see Slash frowning when he looked at Izzy as if asking if he had done something wrong, to which he shrugged.
---
Back at the bus, she focused on her reading while Steven put some cartoons on the TV.
Sitting in front of her, Slash spoke up.
"Did I do something you didn't like, Y/N?"
She stared at him for a couple of seconds. How could he not remember? She thought.
Taking a deep breath, she closed the magazine. "Actually, you did."
He stopped for a second as if he was trying to remember. "What was it?"
"You seriously don't remember?"
He scratched the back of his neck. "...No?"
They all started to stare at the two of them. Even Axl, who was expecting to see a fight. He had seen what had happened that night, but he thought Slash remembered.
"You tried to kiss me that night at the party." 
"Wha-... Whe-... Oh shit, was that you?"
She nodded as a response.
Axl and Steven started laughing, Slash's face was full of confusion and embarrassment.
"Wait! She's the hot chick who you were complaining about?" Duff interjected, making fake quotation marks with his fingers.
Slash's face got hot and he thanked that his hair covered most of it.
The boys started laughing harder, even Izzy joined them.
"Oh shit! I'm so sorry, Y/N! I swear I didn't recognize you, I wouldn't ever have done that to you!" He rubbed his forehead and his embarrassment was enough to make Y/N realize that he was telling the truth.
"I'm so so sorry!" 
"It's ok, just don't make it happen again!" She pointed a finger at him.
"Sure, sure! You have my word!" 
---
After two more hours on the bus, they finally arrived at the hotel. They were in New York, and their hotel was huge, the lobby itself making Y/N's last apartment look like a shoebox.
She walked towards the receptionist and stopped in her tracks when she heard a high pitched scream. Turning around she saw a girl with reddish-brown hair running towards Axl, who embraced her tightly.
She was wearing white denim pants and a black tank top and seemed to be taller than Y/N. Brushing it off she went back to work, making the boys’ check-in. But she couldn't deny that she found the scene cute.
When she was giving the boys their keys, Axl stopped her to make presentations.
"Erin, this is Y/N, our assistant. Y/N, this is my beautiful girlfriend Erin." He was smiling again.
She looked at the girl, finding her smiling while extending her hand towards Y/N, who shook it, smiling a little.
"Nice to meet you!"
"I'm glad I'll have some female company around here!" Erin said, smiling harder.
If she smiles more, her cheeks will start aching. Y/N thought to herself.
"What do we have for today, Y/N?" Axl asked.
"Soundcheck at 2, interview at the arena at 4:30 and the Gig at 7."
"Sorry, doll, I won't be able to go with you." He turned towards Erin.
"But you promised me we would go shopping in New York!" 
"I can't, babe, I’m sorry."
She looked around and a smile appeared on her lips.
"Can I take Y/N with me then?"
Y/N looked up from her agenda. "Me?" Her eyes slightly widened.
"What if we need her?" Axl said.
"Let the girl go, we can survive without her for a day!" Izzy said, patting Y/N's shoulder before heading to the elevator.
"Do you wanna go, Y/N?" Axl asked.
"I could use some shopping." She smiled.
Erin made a happy sound before hugging her. "We're gonna be best friends!!" 
The action made Y/N laugh while hugging her back.
She was going shopping? In New York? She couldn’t believe it!
Once in her room, she took her time making a quick happy dance before quickly changing her clothes for a pink dress and some white high-heels, finalizing her outfit with some sunglasses. 
Getting at the lobby, Erin intertwined her arm with hers and so the two of them got in a taxi and drove towards downtown. 
The girls entered a store, starting to try clothes.
“What do you think?” Y/N asked, showing Erin a short black skirt. 
“Wow! You look fierce!” 
Y/N smiled, turning around to look at herself in the mirror again.
“But it’s a little bit short on you, sweetie, if you want I can get you a bigger size.” The saleswoman said while looking Y/N up and down. 
Y/N checked the skirt in the mirror again, it was definitely short, but she liked it. 
“Who cares if it’s short?” She asked, shrugging.
“If I was into girls, I’d definitely bang you!” Erin said laughing.
The woman’s eyes widened while she turned around leaving the two alone. 
“I hate it when they keep giving opinions.” 
“Uhh, me too!” Erin rolled her eyes. “Are you hungry? ‘cause I feel like my stomach is going to eat me!”
Y/N laughed. “I am!”
“Let’s go eat something then! it’s already 4 pm.”
“Really? Wow, time flew!” 
Getting near the store cashier Y/N started to get worried, she had picked lots of clothes by impulse and now she was worried that she wouldn’t be able to pay for all of this.
“Should I charge everything together or separately?” The woman asked when they put the clothes on the counter.
“Se-” Before she could finish, Erin interrupted.
“All together!” She handed her the credit card.
Erin looked at Y/N and saw the confused expression on her face.
“Axl gave me the band’s card, he said I should pay for your clothes since you keep up with him every day.” She giggled slightly.
“So turns out he’s not that much of an asshole!” Y/N smirked.
Erin nudged her. “He’s not an asshole, he’s just…. just…”
“Temperamental?” Y/N laughed.
“Sensitive!” Erin replied, but laughed along.
After getting their bags, the girls walked side to side towards a beautiful café, where they ordered cake and tea, sitting at a table on the sidewalk.
“So, where are you from, Y/N?” Erin asked when they finished eating.
“North Dakota”
“Wow, and how did you end in LA?”
“I got a scholarship at UCLA.” 
“Really? That’s awesome! And what course did you take?”
“Fashion. I wanted to be a fashion designer.”
“Oh, that explains a lot.” She mumbled before taking a sip of her tea.
“What do you mean?” Y/N leaned against her chair.
“Nothing, it’s just that, the boys get the feeling that you don’t like working here.”
Y/N frowned, but Erin kept talking before she could say anything.
“It’s like, you’re efficient, and you do the job perfectly, but you don’t seem to be enjoying yourself, it’s almost as if it was an obligation for you.”
Y/N stopped to think. “It’s just that, I had so many dreams, and none of them happened, and I’m feeling frustrated you know? I wanted to accomplish many things, but life hit me with a bus.” She looked to her plate, sadness overtaking her.
“Hey, I get that! Sometimes things don’t go as planned.” Erin touched her hand, offering her a warm smile. “But try to see this by the bright side. Like, what are your biggest dreams?”
Taking a deep breath, she drank the remaining of her tea before answering. “I wanted to open my own boutique and I wanted to travel the world”
“Why are you saying I wanted? You can still do these things!” Getting closer to Y/N she moved the flowers in the center of the table away, trying to see her better. “You want a boutique right? If you use the money you get with the tour to invest, in three years you’ll have enough money to open it. My dad works with the stock exchange, I can ask him to give you some tips!”
“Really? Would you do that?”
“Sure!! And you said you wanted to travel the world, girl, what are you doing right now? Look around, you’re in New York, in a few months the boys will go to Europe, you are traveling the world.”
Wow. Y/N had never realized it. She was indeed living one of her dreams. 
“I know that this wasn’t your dream job and that it must be really annoying to deal with the boys and stay for so long in that bus, but at least you’re not dealing with paperwork behind a desk.”
A smile started to form on Y/N’s lips. Erin was right, this was way better than paperwork. She could go to parties, dress whatever she wanted, stay at the best hotels and to be honest, she kind of liked being around the boys.
“Yeah! You’re right, Erin! This is not so bad!” 
Erin nodded excitedly while drinking the rest of her tea. 
“I think we should go back.” Y/N informed while checking the time on her wristwatch.
“Really? Can’t we stay for more? I wanted to go to more stores.” She pouted.
“I’m afraid not. Your boyfriend will freak out if nobody gets him his damn towels.” Y/N rolled her eyes, but giggled a little. “Speaking of it. What does he do with so many?”
Erin raised her hands in defense. “I have no idea.” She whispered while shaking her head.
---
The rest of the day went on by fine, Y/N helped the boys before and after the gig and collapsed on her bed when they got back to the hotel. So many hours walking in heels granted her a long and deep night of sleep.
She couldn’t avoid letting a small satisfied moan to escape from her lips when she got comfortable in bed. It’s so good to lay in a bed that doesn’t shake with the road. She thought, before falling asleep.
The next morning, Y/N woke up with her bedroom’s phone ringing. 
“Yes?” Her voice was grog and she barely could open her eyes.
“Y/N, I want to ask for breakfast, but I don’t know how to use the hotel’s phone.” Steven’s voice filled her ears, he seemed to be hopeless.
She frowned while rubbing her eyes. “But, how did you call me then?”
He paused for a minute. “With the… phone…”
She laughed. “Hang the phone and then press 0, the receptionist will answer you.”
“Oh, ok. Thanks, Y/N!” 
“It’s no problem, Steve.” She hanged the phone, laughing again.
Stretching up she saw it was 11 in the morning already. “Looks like I’ll have brunch!” She smiled, she loved brunch. 
After taking a shower and putting on a pair of jeans with a red blouse, she left her room, asking for the receptionist where she could find a good restaurant nearby. 
---
It was 6 o’clock now. She was in her room reading, her legs rested on the bed’s headboard while she laid upside down. A knock on her door took her away from the romance she was currently addicted to. 
Opening the door she found Slash leaning against her door frame. 
“What are you up to?” He asked casually.
“Just reading.” She pointed towards the book with her thumb.
“Put a jacket, let’s go out!” 
“What? To where?” 
“There’s an arcade nearby.” He put his hands in his pant’s front pockets. 
“Hmm, I don’t know…”
“Come on, everybody is out for dinner, we’re the only ones who stayed.”
Her lips turned into a thin line as she tried to think. 
“Come on, it’s gonna be fun! You can read some other time!”
“Fine! Give me 5 minutes!” She closed the door on his face, before rushing to find her new denim jacket she had bought the day before.
Applying some mascara and a nude lipstick she got her purse and exited the room.
When they got on the street, Slash spoke up.
“Once again, I’m sorry about the party! It won’t happen again!”
“It’s ok!” She assured him with a small smile.
Entering the arcade a red light covered their skins, Tears for Fears played in the background and she smiled, she loved them. 
“What do you wanna do first?” Slash asked after they got the tickets.
She shrugged. “I don’t know, it’s my first time!”
“Oh, so you’re having your first time with me?” He tried to smirk, but ended laughing.
She playfully slapped his arm while laughing. “Idiot!”
“Ok, pinball it is!” He yelled.
Slash taught her how to play and started complaining when her punctuation became bigger than his. “This is not possible! You’ve played it before!”
“I haven't, I swear!” She put her hand at her heart. 
They went on with the night, playing many different games. When they passed by Dance Dance Revolution she stopped in her tracks.
“Oh my gosh! Let’s do this one! Please!”
“What? No way!” He started walking towards another game.
“Come on, you’re owing me after the party!” 
“I’m disappointed you’re this type of person, Y/N.” He touched his chest, pretending that she had hurt him.
“Please!” She laughed at his drama.
“Ok, but I’m just watching, no way I’ll play this.”
She shrugged. “As long as you hold my purse!”
Choosing Walking On Sunshine by Katrina & The Waves she started dancing, stepping on the lights with mastery.
Her heart filled with happiness, she loved to dance, and she missed doing it more often.
“Wow! Great score!” Slash congratulated her when stepped out of the game.
“Thanks.”
He was leaning against another game table, looking into her purse, her small mirror was in one of his hands. “How do you manage to put so many things here?”
She got the mirror from his hand along with her purse, while shaking her head at him.
“You lied.”
“Me!?” She scoffed.
“You said you had never been to an arcade, but you destroyed that game!”
“It’s the truth. I had never played that.” They started walking towards the exit.
“How did you do so good then?”
“I was a cheerleader, I know how to dance.” They stopped, getting their jackets.
“A cheerleader huh?” They entered the empty streets and Slash lit up a cigarette.
She shrugged while making a bun with her hair.
They entered the hotel and got in the elevator.
“You know, for someone who listens to ABBA, you’re nice.” He teased her while smiling.
She rolled her eyes. “For someone who wears a shirt saying ‘I’m a slut’, you’re nice.” 
They laughed. The doors opened and they started walking through the corridors.
“This is my room.” She pointed stopping.
“Yeah, I know. It was nice hanging out with you!” He stopped on the other side of the corridor, in front of his door.
She nodded. “I can say the same.”
“Good night, cheerleader!” He said smiling, before entering his room and closing his door.
She rolled her eyes and entered her room. Something inside her head told her that they’d be good friends.
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Chapter Nine: Sleep Peacefully
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(Image not mine)
Rated: PG
~What story should I tell? Will it end happy, will it turn out well? What dreams do I own? Can I call any place my home?
And I rock myself to sleep, and I tell myself "don't get caught too deep" 'Cause I know by now, you're here for me.
And I tell myself "move along" and I tell myself "you were all wrong" But I know by now, wrong was right for me.
I'll sleep peacefully~
The black paved road of the near-empty highway stretched out in front of us, a stark contrast to the piles of glittering snow that the snowplows had pushed off the street. We had been on the road for 9 hours and were now somewhere in Iowa. The area we were now driving through was so much brighter than Copper Harbor ever was. There wasn't so much as a cloud to be seen in the sky. The last few orange rays of light from the setting sun sprinkled across the landscape as it dipped below the horizon, glittering and reflecting off hills blanketed in white. The sight almost hurt my eyes. It was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen. Whipping out my phone I snapped as many pictures as I possibly could, though I knew they would never do justice to the spectacular view.
The sun sank lower and lower and eventually vanished beneath the horizon. Then the stars came out. Scattered across the black velvet sky, they were so numerous it seemed impossible. I could see the differences in colors and size, and I could trace the shape of the Milky-Way. There were no trees or streetlamps lining the Iowa highway and it felt as if I was swimming through inky blackness, like I was swimming between the stars. The glittering lights were so bright and so close. It was special sort of magical.
I rested my elbows on my knees and my head between my hands and stared out the windshield at the beautiful black expanse. On my right, Castiel copied my position.
"Jack tells me you like the stars," he said. Upon hearing his name, Jack briefly looked to me and smiled before turning his gaze back to the window. I had been drifting in and out of conversation with various partners throughout the car ride.
"I do, I love them," I kept my voice soft and my answer simple, "I've never seen so many at once before. I don't think I'll ever get used to it." Castiel smiled softly.
"You know, I am several billion years old, and I am still baffled by the magnificence of this universe. Sights like this, they never get old." I turned my head away from the bright lights in the sky to look at the angel beside me.
"Have you been up there?"
He nodded.
"Yes, I have."
"What's it like?"
Castiel sighed in a melancholy sort of way. I could see the reflection of all those stars gleaming in his eyes.
"It's more beautiful than you can imagine."
I nodded and gazed back out at view of the heavens.
"I wish I could live up there."
Castiel chuckled.
"Someday you might. Who knows what will happen?" He said.
"Yeah."
"However," he added, "As for right now, I think you need to get some rest."
"Nah, sleep is for the weak." At that moment I yawned, emphasizing my point. Dean glanced at me in the rear-view mirror.
"We can pull off and stop at a motel overnight if you need some sleep," He offered. I shook my head and tried to blink away my sleepiness.
"Don't stop on my account! I can sleep in the car," I insisted.
"You sure?" Dean asked. I gave him a thumbs up.
"Oh yeah. I actually sleep better in cars, if you can believe it. Something about the noise and the motion puts me to sleep like a baby, I'm all good." For once I told the truth. I really did sleep better in cars.
"Okay, as long as you're comfy, we've got about eight more hours till' we get there." Dean turned down the volume on whatever album we'd been listening to all day. I'd never been a fan of rock music, but some of Dean's songs weren't that bad.
"We'll try to be quiet for you, Marty," Sam said. I yawned again and rubbed my eyes.
"Thanks guys, for everything. Honestly, I can't even remember the last time I had a good night's sleep."
"You're welcome, kid. This is what we do. Now shut your eyes." Dean mock commanded. I rolled them instead and turned to Jack.
"Jack?" I said to get his attention.
"Hm?"
"What are your feelings on being used as a pillow?" Jack's face was painted with all shades of confusion.
"I-I don't, um, I-" He tried to answer but I cut him off with a wave of my hand.
"I'm just kidding," I explained. "You don't have a choice in the matter!"
I grabbed his arm and tugged it around my shoulders so I could lay my head on his chest. Jack's entire body stiffened, and he looked to Cas with an expression that said 'Help me, she's doing something weird. Tell me what to do'. Castiel merely shrugged and in the front seat Dean snorted. I chuckled and waited for Jack to shift around a bit and get comfortable before I closed my eyes.
"You're a comfy pillow," I remarked.
"Um, thank you?"
I couldn't see his face, but Jack sounded extremely confused. I decided then that I needed something to hold on to. It took me a few moments to feel around for his arm but when I found it, I gripped his hand and held it up.
"This is mine now."
Wrapping his arm around my waist, I tangled our fingers together and smirked when I felt Jack chuckle and wrap his other arm around me in a way that was friendly and natural.
"If this keeps up, I think we're gonna have to have a talk with Jack about a thing or two." I heard Dean whisper to Sam.
"I heard that."
"Shut up, Mcfly. You're supposed to be sleeping." He scolded, teasingly. I kept my eyes closed but stuck out my tongue at him. I smiled when I heard him laugh.
"Goodnight, guys."
"Goodnight." Dean, Sam and Cas chimed together.
"Sweet dreams, Marty," Jack whispered.
With that, I let myself slowly drift into oblivion's velvet embrace.
***
"Is she asleep, yet?" Dean asked in a whisper, peering in the mirror at the sleeping girl.
"Um, I'm not sure." Jack craned his neck in an effort to find out, but he just couldn't tell.
"I'm trying, Mom," Marty mumbled into Jack's chest. That made him grin.
"From that I'd say, she's close."
"I'm not your mom, Marty," Dean sighed.
"Sorry, dad." She murmured. Dean just shrugged.
"Well, that's a little closer I guess," He said, his lips twitching with a tiny smile.
"Say, Jack, when's the last time you slept?" Sam asked, turning in his seat to face Jack who's face scrunched up as he thought about his answer.
"Four days ago, I think." He replied. Now that he thought about it, Jack realized just how tired he was.
"Dude. Sleep. Now." Dean ordered. Jack blinked a few times and yawned.
"No, I can wait." He yawned again.
"Jack..." Cas pressed.
"I can't go to sleep yet," Jack insisted.
"Why not? Marty back there did it just fine," Dean said.
"Gimmie back my socks, Biden," Marty mumbled.
"See? Out like a flickering lightbulb." Dean joked.
"No, you don't get it. I can't go to sleep, she's right here. She'd think I'm weird or something." Jack worried.
"Well, you're not exactly normal, Jack." Cas muttered under his breath.
"Look, she's the one sleeping on you kid." Dean paused, glancing at the others in the car. "That came out wrong. The point is, she clearly doesn't know the meaning of personal space. Just go for it." He finished, refocusing on the road.
"What do you mean?" Jack asked. Dean's eyeroll was nearly audible.
"Go to sleep, Jack. She ain't gonna care."
Jack nodded.
Snow began to fall on the roof of the Impala with a tip, tip, tipping noise as Jack rested his head atop Marty's. Her hair was soft under his cheek and he matched his breathing with the gentle rise and fall of her chest.
"I love that sound," She sighed, in her half-asleep stupor. Jack guessed she was referring to the sound of the falling snow.
"Me too," he whispered, closing his eyes and drifting off to the same place as the girl beside him.
***
"Jack."
...
"Jack!"
...
"You have got to be kidding me... JACK!"
Jack woke with a start. Blinking rapidly, he attempted to make sense of the world around him. Confusion washed over him as he could have sworn, he had fallen asleep in the Impala next to Marty. But he wasn't there anymore. In fact, he wasn't sure where he was.
Everything was white. The walls, the ceiling, the floor. Well, actually this place didn’t really seem to have walls or a ceiling or a floor. It was all just white, stretching off forever. Behind Jack somebody coughed.
"Behind you," They said, sounding rather annoyed.
Jack turned around slowly and cautiously. Standing in front of him now stood Marty. Her tiny hands on her slim hips and her face twisting into a frown that was somehow amused and annoyed at the same time. She raised her eyebrows at him, and her foot tapped rapidly on whatever surface it was that they seemed to be standing on.
"Heya, Jack." Marty smirked.
Jack's eyes shifted nervously left and right. His hand reached up on its own accord to rub at the knot he felt in his chest. He got the distinct impression that something here wasn't right. He planned to figure out what was going on as soon as he could determine where exactly 'here' was.
"Don't worry Jack, it’s just us. Or, I should say, it’s just you," Marty said, clarifying and confusing things for Jack at the same time. Jack shifted his gaze back to the girl in front of him.
"Where are we?" He asked, his brows drawing together. Marty smiled at him pleasantly.
"We're inside your head!" She answered.
"What?" Jack wondered how she could answer his question while giving him so many more at the same time. She giggled a bit at his confused expression. Spreading her arms like wings, she spun in a circle.
"Look around, Jack! It’s so big! You should be proud!" She stopped spinning to grin at him. The line between Jack's eyebrows and his confusion were deepening quickly. Marty tapped her chin and looked upward with a smirk, as if thinking about something. "But we really should both be proud." She mused.
"Marty, what's going on? Are you okay?" Jack took a step towards the girl reaching his hand out. Marty flicked her eyes up and down between him and his outstretched hand, her expression darkened. She held up her hands in a defensive gesture as she took a few sauntering steps back.
"First of all, I'm not Marty," She stated, evenly. Jack's position instantly switched from inviting to aggressive. He bent his knees and widened his stance, shifting his weight onto the balls of his feet, readying himself for a fight.
"Who are you?! Where is she?! What did you do to her?!" He demanded. His eyes pulsed with an orange light as he prepared to use his powers. The person in front of him, who apparently wasn't Marty, put a hand on her chest, gasping with obvious mockery.
"You wound me, Jack! You're not even going to ask who I am? I thought we were better friends than this." She closed her eyes and shook her head, sighing in an obnoxious and sarcastic way. Jack wasn't having any of this thing's games. He clenched his teeth and raised his hand threateningly.
"Where's Marty?" He growled, trying his best to imitate Sam, Dean, or Cas when they were in similar positions. The not-Marty just rolled her eyes, like she was bored.
"Yeah, no. We ain't doing that in here." She frowned, waving her hand simply. Jack scowled and tried to blast her back with his power, but he abruptly realized that he couldn't. Nothing was happening. She had taken his powers away. His eyes snapped open wide and he stared at his hand. Now he was the one taking a few steps back.
"W-what? I-" Jack stuttered. The not-Marty crossed her arms and leaned back on her heels, taking on a much more relaxed position.
"I think we got off on the wrong foot here, Jack. Can we start over?" She tilted her head and smiled pleasantly at him before sitting cross-legged on the ground. Jack nodded at her with a distrusting expression but hesitantly copied her position.
"Thank you, Jack. I'm sorry about the attitude earlier, it's just that, with this form you gave me, her personality and came with it and then there was your expectations and perception to deal with, so I had to battle through that. I'm very sorry, but I think we're all good now."
Jack was struck by just how pretty the pleasant smile on her face was and had to remind himself that it wasn't really Marty.
"What do you mean? Who are you?" He asked, expecting another vague and confusing answer. The girl giggled, her laugh sounded exactly like Marty's bubbling, wind chime laugh.
"I'm you, Jack!" She replied, brightly.
"No, you're not- you can't- how can you be me? I don't understand," Jack shook his head, bewildered. The girl giggled again.
"I'm not you you, of course. I'm your conscience! Or your sub-conscious or whatever, really." Jack didn't know what to say. Not-Marty leaned forward as if to tell him a secret. "Ya remember what I said about us being inside your head?" She reminded him.
"So, this is a dream?" He asked. She nodded.
"You could call it that, yes. So, you don't have to worry about Marty. When you wake up, she'll be right were you left her, safe, sound, and all cuddled up in your arms." She wrapped her arms around herself, jokingly. Jack nodded, sighing with relief, now he could figure out the rest of this weirdness.
"If you're my conscience, why do you look like Marty?" Was his next question. The girl claiming to be his conscience shrugged.
"You were thinking about her when you fell asleep. It's that simple." Jack nodded slowly.
"This is confusing," he stated. The girl just nodded.
"It is. Let's make it a little less confusing, shall we?" She stretched her hand out for him to shake, "I'm not Marty so how bout' you call me Cricket?"
"Why Cricket?"
"Like Jiminy Cricket! From Pinocchio!" She cheered. Jack took her hand and shook it firmly, still not completely sure he trusted all she was saying.
"Hello Cricket, it's nice to meet you?" He said, more as a question than a statement.
"It's nice to meet you too, Jack!" Cricket giggled for a moment before sobering up in a snap, "But we need to have a talk," She said, her voice grave.
"About what?" Asked Jack, carefully. Cricket chuckled at his apprehensive tone.
"Relax kiddo, it's not like I'm mad at you!" She reassured him.
"Then why am I here? What do we need to talk about?" Cricket frowned; her expression dark.
"We need to talk about Marty," She said. Jack narrowed his eyes.
"What about Marty?"
"There's something off about that girl, but I don't know what it is," Cricket answered.
"Why not?"
She rolled her eyes.
"Well, if you don't know, then I don't know, and we don't know!" She he exclaimed.
"Oh."
"But I'm telling you, all five-foot-two of this," Cricket gestured at Marty's body, "Isn't what it seems." Jack frowned.
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying, Martina is dangerous," Cricket deadpanned.
"No! She's my friend! She's not dangerous!" Jack protested. Cricket raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Really? How much do you actually know about her? You don't even know her full name," She pointed out, her voice harsh. "She's keeping secrets, Jack."
"No."
"Don't make me the villain here, Jack. You're making me the villain, I'm not!"
"Stop! Get out of my head!" Jack shouted.
"Jack, listen to me. I'm you and I'm trying to protect us!" Jack scrambled to his feet, shaking his head.
"I don't believe you!" The girl in front of him stood too.
"If you won't listen to me, then maybe you'll listen to mom." Then Marty was gone. Standing in her place was Kelly Kline.
"Mom?" Jack whispered he couldn't stop himself inching forward. Kelly opened her arms.
"Jack! Please listen to me, you can't trust that girl. I know she's your friend, but you need to look-" Jack cut her off.
"You're not real!" He said, backing away. In an instant, Kelly was gone, and Cricket came back.
"Fine, suit yourself." Cricket's glared was ferocious and her voice was cruel. "But don't say I didn't warn you."
Jack blinked and when he opened his eyes, Cricket was gone.
***
"We should probably wake em' up," Sam whispered as the Impala rounded the turn off on the dirt road that led to the bunker.
"Wait! Cas, do me a favor," Dean said passing his phone to the angel in the back seat, "take a picture of those two." Jack and Marty were still fast asleep. The only thing that had changed in eight hours on the road was that Marty had grabbed a hand full of Jack's shirt. Taking the phone from Dean's hand, Cas snapped three pictures of the sleeping duo.
"Here." He passed the phone back to Dean who took his eyes off the road to observe the pictures.
"Awesome." Dean grinned. "These are going in the black-mail folder."
"In the what?" Sam asked.
"The black-mail folder, Sammy. You don't have one?"
"Uh, no."
"Your loss," Dean shrugged, turning his attention back to driving. The car was quiet for a few minutes.
"So, what's in the black-mail folder?" Sam asked after a bit. Dean smirked at his brother.
"You'll find out," He said, ominously, "Next time I want something, you'll find out."
Sam decided in that moment that he did not want to find out what was in Dean's black mail folder. As the bunker came into view, Castiel reached over and shook the shoulders of the sleeping pair next to him.
"Jack, Marty, we're here," Cas urged, gently. Jack eye's opened and he blinked the tiredness from them, his neck was stiff, so he stretched it out. Marty, however, did not wake nearly as easily.
"Martina." Cas shook her shoulder again.
"Hmm?"
"Wake up."
"Five more minutes." She murmured. Jack chuckled at her antics.
"Marty, wake up. We're home." Marty's big grey eyes fluttered open and she turned her head to look up at Jack.
"Home?" She sighed.
"Yeah, home," Jack said. Marty sat up and yawned, stretching her arms and rubbing her eyes.
"Home sounds pretty good."
~What story should I tell? Will it end happy? Will it turn out well? What dreams do I own? Can I call any place my home?
And I rock myself to sleep And I tell myself "Don't fall to deep" Cause I know by now You're not comin' for me
And I tell myself "Move along" And I tell myself "You were all wrong" But I know by now Wrong was right for me
I'll sleep peacefully~
Lyrics from: Sleep Peacefully by Lilly Kershaw
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eveenstar · 4 years
Text
𝑺𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏 𝑮𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒔 [𝑨 𝑳𝒐𝒌𝒊 𝑳𝒂𝒖𝒇𝒆𝒚𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝒙 𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝑭𝒂𝒏𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏]
||➸𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐈𝐈: 𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭||
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Tags/Warnings: Possible amnesia, insomnia and a brief panick attack mentions.
Summary: You wake up back in your bed, with no idea how you got there in the first place. With a foggy mind, you notice that strange things are happening around your house.
Note: Honestly, I've been so excited to write this series. It's going a bit slow in the beginning but I promise from chapter 3 things will began to get serious! Can you guess what is happening in (Y/N)'s home?
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Loki knelt to the ground and pulled out a ring, his eyes focused on yours and you felt everything stop around you two.
"Marry me, (Y/N), " Loki said softly, grabbing your hand on his. "You'll never have to be alone,"
You smiled, you smiled as if you didn't remember this never happened. Tears covered your vision but it really wasn't tears, you weren't crying, but everything slowly began to get blurry. You felt yourself fall, as if your own soul left your body and fell into abism. Loki's voice echoed in your mind.
"I love you and that's all I really know."
You woke up in a harsh gasp, hands sweaty. You were met again with a cold house, now dark due to how late in the night it should be. Not even threads of light escaped through the blinds, nor you could recognize where anything in your bedroom should be.
Turning on the bedside lamp, you pushed yourself from the king-size bed and grabbed your forest green robe and dressed it, glad that at least it's somewhat warm.
Wasn't it blue?
The bedside alarm clock read exactly 3:30 AM, and you felt a sudden deja vu. Lately, you've been awaking up at this exact hour of the night, for no other reason than strange dreams.
You decided that a nice cup of milk would suit this situation, as you recalled that your mother used to say that "milk helps the sleep" and even though you doubted that affirmation of hers, anything now would feel better if it meant to help you close your eyes and drift off to another world. Your feet felt cold against the floor tiles, and again you forgot to wear socks (even though you were sure you wore them the day before, for one reason you know couldn't think why).
As you poured the milk down on your plain white mug, it finally accured to you. Yesterday's call with Natasha and the drive trip to the Avengers Tower. You ran a hand through your hair and frowned slightly, everything afterwards felt like a distant memory. Foggy and confusing. How did you end up in your house, in your bed? How did you forget? Probably from the lack of sleep you've been getting lately.
Maybe you should call Natasha.
Ignoring how late it was, you pulled out your phone and noticed it was dead. Sighing to yourself, you put it to charge while you left to explore your house and re-make the steps you probably took when you got home the day before.
Your clothes were all messed up in a chair, your shoes looked like somebody threw them across the room and didn't bother to get them, otherwise everything else looked in place. You paced back and forth, getting a bit impacient at your lack of remembering such things.
The flowers.
The Narcissus flowers.
Where are them?
You grabbed the empty flower vase, which used to be filled every week with beautiful flowers picked from your personal garden. The house withhold a tense atmosphere, heavy as the rain that falls from the dark clouds. The pale-coloured brightness that the kitchen's lamp provided a ball of light around you, like a little angel was protecting you against the darkness and you hoped it not to go away.
Your body was frozen in place, you didn't even realize you weren't breathing until a hrash exhale left your lungs and the flower vase fell from your shaking hands, into the mosaic floor.
You ran to your bedroom as if a big, bad monster was chasing you and quickly closed the door. You blocked it with a chair and turned on your phone, which was fortunately (and the luckiest you've been in a good while, most likely) charged enough to call someone.
"(Y/N)? It's 4 am, are you okay?"
"Something is wrong, Natasha, I, I can't remember anything."
"What do you mean?"
"Can you please come by my house?" You heard her grab something, "Please..." you whispered.
..."And that's when I called Natasha." You finished explaining and took a drink out of the cup of water Steve gave you.
"How long has this been happening?" He asked, a worried look on his blue eyes. Natasha, who was sitting next to him, carried the same look.
"Few days, weeks I suppose." You looked in between both of them, and guilt took over you. "I'm sorry, it's silly."
"Hey, don't say that. It's completely normal." Nat caressed your arm sweetly. It felt good to see her again, even though it was only yesterday when you two met. She looked exactly the same as three years ago, but she had a different aura around her. Sadder, darker. Steve had it too.
"Hey, (Y/N), it may not be the best time but...There's a therapy group I know, and maybe it would be good if you take a look at it." Steve suggested, his arms crossed and a deep look upon you.
You gazed to the ground again, "I'll think about it."
"I just think something's weird here, " Natasha said, "You never ordered Narcissus flowers to your home."
If this was another situation, you'd laugh at it. But Natasha was serious, and you knew it. The Narcissus flowers don't grow in your garden, and you followed a specific order of plants to buy every week, and they weren't in the list. They never were. Not after Loki's death.
"I probably ordered them by mistake." Play it off. Act cool. It's nothing, it has to be just a simple mistake. You got confused and ordered them instead.
"If you feel safer, we can get somebody to protect your house. Just for good measure." Steve took the mugs and cups to the sink, and didn't miss the chance to give another helpful advice like the good friend he is. You pondered on it for a while, and you could enjoy the company.
"Yeah, that'd be nice." Natasha, who was staring at you again, opened her mouth to say anything but you got ahead of her first, "Well, thanks for coming but I need to get a couple of hours of sleep. Sorry for bothering you guys."
"You would never."
You walked them to the front door, and Natasha pulled you in a surprise hug. You didn't even know how to react. It's been so long since you've had human touch.
She pulled back, and you swore you saw a tear in the corner of her eyes. Those tears that come at the most unfortunate moments, where you can't most definitely break down. Natasha hid them well, not from you, because you too know that trick. Never break down, never show weakness to anyone or anything. The woman gave you a calm (but you knew the pain behind it) smile.
"Call us if you need anything else, okay?"
You nodded and replied with a vague smile back.
The hours passed, passed and passed. The clouds in the sky were as heavy as your soul felt, and soon they began to cry out. The rain slammed against your windows and warned about an upcoming thunderstorm was on its way. Spring felt more as a Winter 2.0 and in the blink of an eye, it was eight o'clock.
According to one of Natasha's texts, a security guard would arrive at ten AM. Until then, you prepared a nice breakfast for you (and for the guard, you wanted to be as kind as possible). Thanks to Steve, who brought enough food to last for at least a few days, you didn't have to worry about starving now.
You, relaxed for once in a lifetime, made your way to the couch to hopefully watch some pre-recorded tvshows. You were too lost in your thoughts that you didn't notice how in all framed pictures of yourself, your face was blurred out.
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lilmissbeanie · 4 years
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Discord
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Navigation
Haikyuu Masterlist
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Keiji Akaashi x Famous!F!Reader
Song ~ Ass Back Home - Gym Class Heroes 
Genre ~ SFW Fluff
Word Count ~ 1.8k
Posted ~ 11/08/20
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Akaashi sighed as he once again read another article about Y/n L/n and Jason Derulo, or some other artist always presuming that they were together. He didn't want to be jealous, but he couldn't help it when he saw his girl with some other guys, wasn't that normal? 
He knew it was going to be hard when he asked her to be his girlfriend. He knew she would be away often she would be travelling for tours and of course, meeting up with other artists to collaborate on songs, even though he knew that her new song would be a collaboration with Jason Derulo. 
He trusted her, the same way that Bokuto would trust his sets back in high school, the way that Bokuto would always know that Akaashi would always get the ball to him to spike. He knew she would never cheat on him, that wasn't who she was. He knew by the excitement in her voice when he answered the phone, "Kei!" The excitable giggles paired with the massive happy grin he saw on video call on the rare occasions that she could. Usually, it was voice messages or texts with the time difference, but some times she would stay up late so they could video chat, he would let the small smile grace his features when she would rub her eyes cutely and yawn. The way he would tell her to go to bed cause she is tired and she would pout innocently saying that she wasn't worn out. She would ask about his day listening as she slowly doses off, he didn't take it as an insult he just knew she was exhausted. He would sit there smiling at her sleeping face, looking like an innocent child, where she still had her phone in a light grip facing her.
"Good night, my Juliette sleep well. I love you."
"I... l-love you too my Romeo" would often be mumbled back, in her half-dazed state. With Akaashi's love of literature, Y/n just slipped it out once called him her Romeo and ever since it stuck.
Running his finger around the rim of his glass he sighed, it had been a few days since he had heard from her, he knew she was busy he had seen on her Twitter and Instagram that they added more tour dates in America as they stadiums had sold out. It had been eight months since the pair were actually in person together. 
"AKAASHI!" He flinched at Bokuto's sudden loudness as said boy appeared next to him. "Why so, mopey? Oh, you're missing Y/n aren't you!" 
"Hey my Romeo, I'm sorry I haven't called or texted you in a while, the tour has gotten so hectic recently we are doing two shows a day, so most of my fans can come, and watch and my manager wants to add even more dates." He smiled, enjoying the sound of her voice even if it is over voicemail, and she sounded exhausted. He had woken up for work and seen that he had missed a call from her at three am. "I know you're going to ask when I am going to be home, but I don't know at the moment, but soon I hope I'm going to tell my manager that I need a break. I hope to be home for Christmas." 
Rolling his eyes, he shrugged and gave a slight nod to Bokuto's question.
Bokuto suddenly felt terrible for Akaashi. He didn't know how he felt. He didn't have a love like Akaashi. His passion is for Volleyball is his true love right now.  He remembered the day he introduced Akaashi and Y/n. She was at an after-party of a game that the Black Jackals won and Bokuto dragged Akaashi along. It was like the couple connected instantly and they soon got together. Bokuto would often turn up at Akaashi's find them sprawled out on the sofa, Y/n with her head in his lap, his fingers running through he hair as he read a book to her. Bokuto had gotten many pictures of them like this. He loved how relaxed Akaashi was around her, a way he hadn't seen with anyone else. 
He knew that she was going to say that. 
"Anyway I miss you my Romeo, I cannot wait to be home and in your arms again. I want to be in our little bubble of love and cuddles, of you reading to me while you play with my hair. I want to be in the studio with you listening to me sing my new songs and telling me which words would work better with the lyrics I have written." He laughed he did often sit in the studio with her after he finishes work, reading over her new lyrics and crossing out the odd word and putting one that worked better with the theme of the song. He loved watching her pick at the strings of her acoustic guitar playing a few cords and seeing if they worked when she ran her fingers over the keys of the piano. He loved that she could play different instruments.
"I love you so much, Romeo. I hope you sleep well. See you as soon as I can. Bye-bye, my sweet Romeo."
About three weeks later he was sat at his desk eating his lunch, watch the recent interview Y/n had with OK! Magazine. 
'So Y/n, when the tour is over what is the first thing you're going to do?' Chloe, the interviewer, asked 
'I think it will be sleep we've had some busy months recently, most days doing two shows to it is hard work.' He laughed along with his beloved. 
'We've been keeping up to date on your social media, who is this Romeo you keep mentioning, we often see and I quote, I miss you my sweet Romeo, or I love you, Romeo.' He would always reply, but his account was private so no one unless they followed him and accepted it. 
'My Romeo is waiting for me at home; I promised him I wouldn't mention him until he is ready for the spotlight as he isn't an actor or musician. But he is my Romeo, and I am very excited to get home and be with him again.'  He was so glad that she didn't spill the beans about their relationship. He already had enough of the spotlight with being friends with most of the Black Jackals team, he already has his pictures in magazines when the team goes out, and he gets dragged along with Kuroo by Bukoto and Hinata. 
'Can you tell us one thing about him?' Chloe pushed for more details about him. He loved how Y/n's nose would scrunch up, and her left eyebrow would shoot up as he tapped her chin in thought. 
'He was a volleyball setter in high school.' She smiled. Akaashi smirked at the fact she gave, there were many setters across the world, and narrowing down to him would be hard. 'And he is my bookworm,'
'A setter and bookworm, those don't often go together!' Chloe laughed, with Y/n soon joining her. 
'I know, and I have Shoyo Hinata and Kotaro Bokuto. But honestly, if it wasn't for him I'm sure some of my songs wouldn't make sense, a lot of my lyrics in my book have his scribbles in changing the odd word here and there, I would often wake up finding him hovering over my lyrics book a mug of coffee in hand proofreading them for me.' 
He couldn't help the chuckle that slipped past his lips at the dig at Bokuto and Hinata's dislike for books.
'He sound's like a gem! But back to the fact you've met the Black Jackals numbers twenty-one and thirteen. What are they like?" 
"I've met them all I know all the Black Jackals, all their school friends too, I met them all after a match against the Cheehle Ekaterinburg, an old friend Morisuke Yaku I knew from my middle school days invited me along, and that was where I met them. Those two boys even though they were bouncing around the court like anything they still had so much energy, I was shocked that anyone could keep up with them, it was like they were children who had just walked out of an all you can eat sweetshop.'
This caused Chloe to giggle. He liked the way Y/n slyly slipped in how they met.
'this Romeo of yours you didn't happen to meet him through your old middle school friend, did you? At this party' Akaashi's eyes widen as the interviewer hit the nail on the head, he was impressed at how Y/n kept her facial expression in check, just the usual smile she used for interviews, 
Saturday 5th of December 2015 was the day that Y/n finally returned home. She didn't tell Akaashi she was on her, she knew from Bokuto that they would be at his favourite restaurant that serves his favourite food, Nanohana no Karashiae, in a private room at the back. She drove her car into the car park of the restaurant, taking a deep breath she pulled on her cap and her dark sunglasses as she got out and walked into the restaurant, telling the waiter that she was here for the Bokuto party he nodded and showed her to the door. 
'Ah, well it was through mutual friends that we met.' He loved how she deflected the question, not letting them on that it was at the party they met.
He leaned his phone against the pen pot on his desk, leaving the video to play, while he got on with his work, the questions had now turned to make-up and what shampoo she was using. 
"Thanks, I'll be fine from here." She knew from the photo that Bokuto had put up on Twitter that Akaashi had his back to the door, purposely done for this exact reason. Pulling off the hat and glasses, she quietly opened the door slipping in and once again quietly shutting it. The room slowly went quiet as eyes suddenly locked on to her figure. Akaashi frowned at his friends, why did everyone stop talking all of a sudden and why Bokuto and Kuroo had whipped out their phones, pointing it at him, till he started to follow their line of sight.
"Happy birthday Romeo." She giggled as he slowly placed her back on the floor, their foreheads resting against one another.
"I'm home, my Romeo." His eyes instantly locked with hers the second he heard her voice, as the smiles so wide crossed their faces as he flew out of his seat wrapping her up in his arms, tightly as if he loosen his grip she would disappear again, he spun her around. He was ecstatic she was home.
Nine months, eleven days, sixteen hours and thirty-eight minutes since the last time he held her in his arms. Since he lasted kissed her. Since he last looked into her beautiful deep e/c eyes.
"You are the best birthday present I could ever ask for." He said as he entwined his fingers into her hair, pulling her into a deep kiss that was long overdue.
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ariddletobesolved · 4 years
Text
Days We Spend Under the Sun
Written for @helsa-summer-event uwu
Fandom: Frozen
Genre: Romance, Family, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Whump
Rating: T
Summary: Summer is not her favourite season, but a certain Admiral from the neighbouring kingdom is going to change that.
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Sorry, it took a while. And sorry if this one isn't as good (burnout slowly creeps in, but this event will last the entire month, yay!). External links are in the notes. I hope you enjoy it! More fluff coming soon.
Prompt 6: Lettin Off Steam
Chapter Eight
There are ways to let off some steam, and a snowball fight in the middle of summer is one of them, at least that's what Olaf said.
After breakfast, the snowman suggested the idea with glee, almost instantly backed by Hans and Kristoff. Whether it was the Admiral's way to make amends with the snowman or it was just his mischievous nature, Elsa didn't know. Next thing she knew, the trio managed to convince her—Anna had a meeting with the council that morning, so Elsa couldn't really escape.
The castle garden had become a winter wonderland in the middle of summer. The four of them were split into two groups—Elsa and Kristoff, Olaf and Hans. In mere half an hour, their laughter echoed in the open space, not caring if any of the staff glanced at them. No foreign dignitaries were present, and the council members were at a meeting with the queen. But what they had forgotten was the fact that the balcony of the meeting room was facing the garden.
"Kristoff, you aim for Olaf!" Elsa told the Prince Consort, as they hid behind an ice barrier. It was the deciding round. "I'll aim for Hans."
"Okay." Kristoff nodded, before throwing a snowball at the snowman, who couldn't even hide his bum behind the snow barrier Hans had built.
"Oh, no! I'm dead." Olaf gasped dramatically, before falling onto his back. "You're all alone, Hans."
"What? No! Come on, Olaf!" 
Hans reached out for his twig hand, only to have it detached from the snowman. He was too busy frowning that he didn't realise a giant snowball came flying at him. Olaf, who noticed it, let out a dramatic scream, eyes widened while pointing his other twig hand at the incoming attack. The Admiral thought that he was being his dramatic self—maybe he had rubbed himself off on the snowman, he didn't know—and when he turned, it was too late.
Buried under the snow, Hans couldn't help but remember the similar experience from years ago, only this time, he didn't fall straight into a pile of horse manure. He tried to move, despite the biting cold over his cotton shirt and waistcoat. He heard familiar chuckles, followed by coos. Who is she laughing at?
"Oh, hello, little guy!" It was Olaf, voice soft and child-like, as if he was addressing a newborn baby. "New brothers and sisters!"
Curious, the Admiral used all his strength to move the snow off him, before he felt something moving. He quickly got up and brushed the remaining snow, which had stained his dark purple waistcoat and white shirt. A small creature ran between his feet, followed by an excited Olaf, which of course was sensible enough to not mirror what the living snowball just did. His green eyes followed the creature he recognised as a snowgie—wait, there were more. 
"We won!" Elsa did a high five with Kristoff, before turning to the confused Admiral. Smiling, she came approaching, then wrapping her arms around his torso. "How—" But before he could continue, Elsa replied, "They came out from the giant snowball, I guess I was too excited I accidentally made some."
Turns out, excitement could also create lives—or living snowballs. So much for saying that snowball fights are for children. Shaking his head, Hans wrapped an arm around her, pulling her closer to him. He pressed his lips on her hairline, and she slightly leaned back with her hand resting on his chest. The couple stayed like that, as they watched Olaf and Kristoff trying so hard to keep those seven newly created snowgies from climbing up the balcony. 
"Should we help them?" Hans murmured.
"You go first, and I'll watch." She teased.
The former Prince spun her around, so she was facing him. "Would there be any reward, Your Highness?" An eyebrow arched.
Elsa winked, then poking the tip of his nose with her finger. “I’ll figure something out.”
Laughter rang in Anna's ear as she tried to focus on Lord Andersen's suggestion about a new regulation for some tenants in Arendelle Plaza. Yes, her gaze might be focused on the older man, but her mind was elsewhere. She wanted to join them so badly, yet her duty as a Queen of Arendelle refrained her from that. Is this what Elsa felt back then? Ugh, this is horrible! Then again, she needed to wait patiently. Just one meeting, then she would be off.
When the laughter died down, a brief silence came. Anna smiled in contentment, knowing finally she could focus. She gave a nod of approval for the new regulation, which could possibly enhance the tenants' wellbeing.
The meeting proceeded, and the queen's attention was on the last topic they should discuss: a slight change in the Arendellian Navy. Anna smiled, gladly doing a favour for her sister's happiness. It began from her own idea, and she told Hans about it. She couldn't believe she was suggesting it in the first place, but she would do anything to keep Elsa happy, as happy as Anna often saw her whenever the Admiral was around.
"Alright, so it's settled, isn't it, Captain?"
"Yes, Your Majesty." Captain Larsson nodded.
"Very well, then. Meeting adjourned."
Anna rubbed her palms in relief. She had done her part, and she couldn't wait until the following week. Nodding at a few councilmen, from the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of a familiar creature smiling at her from the window. A snowgie? She thought. Why would there be any—oh, is Elsa alright? The queen began to think of the worst. The last time those snow babies roaming around insinuating chaos was when Elsa got fever. Without waiting for the rest of the councilmen to pile out of the meeting room, Anna made an exit, flashing an apologetic smile on her way out.
"Your Majesty!" She heard Freya, Jensen's nanny, calling. "Queen Anna!"
Anna turned around to see the nanny curtseyed briefly, before walking closer.
"Is everything alright, Freya?"
"The prince is awake and refuses to go back to sleep, Your Majesty."
An idea popped in her head. With a smile, she followed Freya towards the nursery.
"Help me prepare the prince with light clothing, if you don't mind." Anna beamed. "We're heading out."
Anna ignored the surprised look Freya gave her. Even after she became the queen, the habit of asking if any of the staff could help her stayed with her.
"Of course I don't mind, Ma'am." Freya smiled.
Moments later, Prince Jensen was all dressed up in his white onesie with some lacy details on the torso to hide the buttons. He was now a big baby, attached to his mother's hip, while babbling. The energy radiating from him was enough to show that she was mama's boy. When the mother and son stepped into the garden to join the others, Jensen let out a squeal in delight, but not with the queen.
The grass was covered with snow, and so were the bushes. Two grown men were running after a few snowgies, each in a different direction. They got help from a talking snowman, who looked rather pleased than distressed.
"Papa!" Jensen squealed, reaching out one hand towards the Prince Consort, who was too busy to notice.
Anna took a deep breath, realising that it was more chaotic than she'd imagined. Normally, she would want to join them in snowgie chasing, but now that she was the one wearing a crown—figuratively and literally, she had an image to keep up. Her turquoise eyes scanned the surrounding, until she caught the sight of her sister, smiling at the shenanigan as she found a shelter in the pavilion. 
"Elsa!"
At the familiar voice, Elsa turned to see Anna coming approaching, while carrying Jensen. Her blue eyes were glinting with joy at the sight of her nephew—her little prince.
"Anna!" She said, before leaning in to kiss the prince's reddish cheek. "Hello, my Prince. You're finally awake, huh?"
Jensen stared at his aunt with glee. His hand went to grab a few strands of blonde hair, as he gave a little tug. Aunt Elsa had always been his favourite person, aside from Mama and Papa, obviously. Elsa gave a little yelp, but she didn't mind at all.
"Elsa, are you okay?" Anna asked, worrily put the back of her hand on her sister's forehead. "You don't have a fever, do you?"
"I'm fine, Anna." Her mauve lips curved into a smile, and instantly, Anna withdrew her hand. "I was just excited, I accidentally created some snowgies."
"Thank goodness!" Anna breathed in relief. Her attention was now back at the chaos. Kristoff managed to gather two in his arms, but from the look on his face, he was determined to catch more. The queen surely enjoyed the sight, especially with him not knowing that the meeting had ended. She knew the Prince Consort meant well. "Shall we go and help them?"
"Nah, just wait for a little while." Elsa smirked mischievously, then brushing some invisible dust off her lilac skirt. That morning, Hans surprised her with a lilac dress, quite similar to the one she had when she was queen. When and how he got it, she didn't know.
"Nice dress, Elsa." Anna smiled knowingly. "I'm glad you like it."
Elsa's eyes widened in surprise. "Do you happen to know anything, Anna?"
"Probably," Anna half shrugged, "or not."
But before Elsa could respond, she heard the familiar distressed call. "Kaere, a little help please?"
Shaking her head, the former queen flashed her sister a smile. "Well, it seems like we have no choice but to help them." From her spot, she waved her hands and the snow vanished into thin air. A few snowgies that were formerly hiding in the snow, were now circling around Hans' feet.
"Come on, then!" Anna beamed. She showered the little prince with kisses, before she took off. "Let's go to Papa!" The gesture was enough to make Jensen giggle.
Her sister's glee was contagious, Elsa knew that, and it seemed like her own nephew inherited that trait from Anna. Elsa waited for another second, before stepping out under the sun. She blinked a few times, becoming more aware of the sudden change of temperature, and her eyes felt like burning. She shrugged it off, thinking it was nothing more than her tiredness that began to kick in. It's probably the heat.
Either way, Elsa needed not to worry about it, for she was surrounded by her family and they had some bonding activities to do.
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